[April 2010] [Word count: Free!] [Prompt: Citrus Flavor]
TITLE: Aftermath
AUTHOR: beyondthemoor on LJ
RATING: G…
GENRE: Humour, family-love, fluff
WARNINGS: - Canon, what canon? I do not own SaiMono.
AU/CANON: Modern University AU
CHARACTERS: Shuurei, Ryuuren, Eigetsu / Yougetsu, Kourin
WORD COUNT: Approx. 1,900 words
SUMMARY: The morning after aftermath. Lemons leave a sour taste in the mouth. (Follow-up to "The Party".)
PROMPT: April 2010 – Citrus Flavor
AN: 23 July, 2010: Sorry, forgot I still had to post this one! "Touchdown" and "The Wise Fool" should make more sense once you've read this one. ;)
"They got nothing on me," proclaimed a young man loudly from within his holding cell. A few of his cellmates just rolled their eyes, but most ignored the big-talk. "Just wait, they'll be letting me out of here in no time."
His smug, confident grin matched his words, and sure enough, by morning, he was escorted from his overcrowded temporary lodgings to what most had termed the 'check-out' desk to retrieve his personal effects, then turned loose out into the capitol again. It was a bright Saturday morning, not quite 7am yet, and the day held a great deal of potential for the blue-haired young man.
After a quick tour of the block, he paused in a run-down, nondescript café to use the facilities. There, he transformed.
After a quick wash in the sink, he straightened his messy blue hair and tied it neatly behind him, grabbed a sports jacket from a private locker he kept in the back (no questions asked, for him, when a few bills opened doors and closed eyes), and traded his sneakers for brand-name, high-end leather shoes. But what was perhaps the most altered was his expression, which had gone from cocky and aloof to hard, intelligent, and somewhat remote. And just a little bit upset, if the crease between his brows was any indication.
When he returned to the precinct, he was a changed man.
His ID, badge and advanced security clearance only served to reinforce this.
As he rounded the corner to the NTFU (Narcotics Task Force Unit), he spied someone he decided needed reminding of his priorities.
Feeling a set of irritated eyes on him—and how they were decidedly non-female, therefore even less deserving of his attention—Shuei glanced up and withheld a sigh, knowing exactly what was coming. Without a word he finished pouring his coffee (always coffee at the precinct, since it was at least slightly better than the insulting hot-leaf-juice that passed for tea there), and returned to his office, not bothering to close the door.
He wasn't disappointed.
Just as he'd plunked his greatly admired derriere into his oversize, leather, executive swivel chair, Shuei turned a patient smile on his guest.
"All night! You left me in there all night!"
(Said-guest slammed the door with far too much force to be entirely respectful, in Shuei's professional opinion. It was quite the start. Please, please let me taunt him with insubordination again, thought the superior officer with an internal grimace, that's just what we all need this morning, after last night.)
Shuei could already tell this was going to be a double, possibly triple-coffee tirade, and immediately lamented his lack of foresight.
"Good morning, Seiga," he finally sighed, and leaned back to take in the tantrum of one of his most decorated undercover agents.
Again, he wasn't disappointed…
Kourin woke early, as she always did, still held in Eigetsu's tentacle-like grip, as she'd never been before.
After a quick start, and even quicker check to make sure yes, she was still wearing everything she'd gone to sleep in, she slipped as gently as she could from his embrace and padded to the washroom. Morning ablutions completed, she listened intently for a moment as she exited, trying to figure out whose room was whose.
With intrepid grace, she stalked the hallway and noticed only one door had been completely closed-shut; she listened at the door for a moment, noted the sound of sheets rustling slightly before stilling, and her expression tightened.
Target acquired, she slipped her cellphone out of her pocket, sent a quick text message, and headed to the kitchen.
Kitchen table, in 5.
A formidable foe indeed, Ryuuren thought to himself as he closed his phone, reluctantly released a still-deeply sleeping Shuurei and slid out of bed. He grabbed his house-coat and a hair elastic on the way. While unintentional, the loose ponytail made the family resemblance between himself and his next-oldest brother even more striking.
When he came upon Kourin at the sunny breakfast nook, cup of tea in hand and a considering look about her face, he knew to be wary. She'd sought him out for a private conversation, and he had a feeling he knew what about.
"I have to admit, I was surprised," she began mildly, stirring her lemon tea. Perfectly dressed and hair in immaculate style, as always, the perfectly composed woman could have been mistaken for any unassuming, underestimated pretty young thing.
It was something she'd learned to use to her advantage, this secret weapon of others' assumptions.
Though she didn't expect it to work on the man across from her.
"In a way, you know you're not only underestimating both yourself, and Shuurei, for that matter," she continued, blowing on her tea. "You're ultimately insulting yourselves, too. I'd taken you for an intelligent man, Ryuuren. It saddened me to find out otherwise."
"I don't think I understand what you're talking about," he replied blithely, chin in palm as he rested his elbow on the edge of the table. His own cup sat in front of him, undisturbed.
At this, Kourin took another sip of her tea. She almost looked like she was remembering some fond memory, until she set her cup aside and turned to actually face him, full on.
"The pictures, Ryuuren. If anyone, and I mean, anyone, else were to have seen those, you would already be slapped with a restraining order by now."
Her tone was still light, but the woman's eyes shone with something different. Something protective. "In fact, I can't honestly say I'm not still considering it right now."
"They are merely an expression of my creativity and honouring of the bosom-sister-of-my-heart-."
"They are an invasion of privacy and an outright betrayal of trust."
The apt young woman's gaze turned piercing, and Ryuuren, while not unsettled or actually concerned, did pause a moment to take notice of it.
"Stalking, Ryuuren. It is serious. It is an outward expression of obsession."
Their eyes held a moment, hers refusing to let his drop, refusing to let him pass off his accountability.
"And don't think I just found the ones where you're playing with her hair," she said evenly, and gave him a very cold look. The frostiness continued with her next words, and Ryuuren refused to sit up straighter or acknowledge that she'd hit the marker on the head with any of her commentary, though it was hard.
Small, perfectly manicured nails curled under, fist tightening as the young woman, devoted to her friends, spoke again.
"I have to admit, I don't know why you left yourself so open, especially to me finding you out—that, I can't figure out-, but you have until the end of this weekend to come clean with Shuurei. Because if you don't, I will."
"Such ferocity from such a beautiful flower," he said, already pushing the buttons on his phone, still hidden in his house-coat pocket. "Why did you not try to use your beauty and perfume to lure me in, and then secure me with your thorns and trap?"
Kourin's phone beeped with the incoming text message. Face tight and weary, and already having expected it (even as she'd thought better of him), she opened it up and glanced down. It was a picture of Eigetsu cuddling up to her as they lay on the couch, taken—unbeknownst to them—while they slept the night before. Another beep sounded, this time it was a picture of herself… also from the night before… minus her shirt, obviously taken when she'd been flagging 'Yougetsu' down.
Without any sign of distress, she saved them both, and glanced back at up her acquaintance. He showed absolutely no sign of regret or doubt about what he'd just done-which was ultimately threaten her—and instead remained his usual impassive self.
But she would never, ever back down. Shuurei was her friend, and there was no way Kourin was taking this kind of behaviour lying down. If the roles were reversed, Kourin knew Shuurei would never let it go. Shuurei's sense of integrity was one of the things that drew people to her. Kourin was one of them. To see that integrity, that trust and expectation of others flaunted so casually burned Kourin in a way she could never express in polite language. Especially when it was flaunted by someone who was so close to her.
"Because I care about Shuurei, too, Ryuuren," she answered with quiet respect. "And I think hearing it from me would really, really hurt her."
With that, the young woman inclined her head to him politely and stood, backing her seat away from the table.
"Thank you for the photos, I will treasure them."
"Even if many others see it?" Was that another threat? Kourin refused to sigh or roll her eyes at his juvenile prank. The man was obviously just scared. It was wrong to mock the afflicted, as her 'grandparents' would say.
Then she considered just how much damage her reputation would suffer, should he actually do more with the photos.
Well, maybe just a bit of mocking…
Her smile icy, Kourin tucked her phone away and looked at the besotted man across from her.
Decision made, she walked away.
"Perhaps especially then. It will be obvious to all we care about each other," she said over her shoulder, and went to wake her boyfriend.
Frightening, definitely frightening, the torn young man thought to himself, having yet to move from the position he'd taken when he originally sat down at the table. From down the hall he heard the happy, soft murmurings between the couple, obviously content with themselves and each other, making plans and soon talking excitedly.
As he considered his option, Ryuuren sat at the table, staring through the window. He had taken to distinctly disliking Saturdays for a long time now, as it was the one day a week he rarely saw Shuurei. Her work schedule kept her at her bookkeeping assignment nearly the entire day, and her 'family friend' walked her nearly the entire way home. Waking up to Kourin's summons hadn't made him any more receptive to the weekend. He wondered, very briefly, if it was possible for him to cancel Saturdays outright. The notion held some merit—to him.
He was still lost in thought when he heard Shuurei's shriek of surprise from his room (from his bed, to be exact).
"Oh no, what time is it? I'm due at work in half an hour! Why didn't I hear my alarm? Why didn't I wake up? Why-…. Why am I not in my room?" (There was a pause, and the Ran prodigy continued to stare out the window, trying to decide the best course of action to re-arrange weeks into 6 days instead of 7.)
"Ryuuren!"
Yes, just as he'd calculated, she was now left relying on him for transportation to work.
Taking his cue, he called back a half-hearted, "Treasure-bead-of-my-heart's sleep walking is getting to be troublesome!"
From her spot on the couch where she was re-folding blankets, Kourin's expression suddenly darkened murderously as she heard Ryuuren's bold-faced lie.
"I'll make you pay, you SOB," she ground out between her clenched teeth, the blanket in her hands twisted in her tiny fists.
Completely misunderstanding her irritation, Eigetsu's face turned ashen and he dropped to one knee with his hands raised, pleading, "I'm sorry, I swear I will never have another drink again! I didn't mean to! I was forced! I'm sorry, please forgive me!..."
AN: Kudos to those who catch the "A:TLA" ref. ;)
AN: I was trying to re-work this because I find Ryuuren really OOC, but after a while, it seemed like I was making it worse. (Is it 'too many cooks in the kitchen' when it's just one really bad cook?) Then I thought I'd just use the first part for the "Forgiveness" prompt, and forgot to post it. So here it is, in all its 'glory'. XD Sorry, I'll be back with the funny later! I promise!
As always, concrit welcome. (This one needs work, I know.) ;)
Posted July 23, 2010.