Unbeta-ed, because I pretty much forgot today is update day until now. All mistakes are mine.
Edit: It's beta-ed now and I apologize to all the people who had to see the unbeta-ed version.
There were five other clans that were in the same situation as the Urameshi, having to send a daughter or niece to the Emperor as a wife and a hostage. Out of them all, the only clan to have sent a man was the Urameshi Clan.
"What the – " The imperial eunuch started as his eyes fell upon Yusuke, at his hard musculature and his tan from being out in the field that stood out against the ladies' soft, delicate curves and their milky-white skin that had never seen more than a year's time out in the sunlight.
One of the women let out a sickening giggle, delighted at the trouble that Yusuke was surely in now, but he tried his best to ignore it.
"Yusuke of the Urameshi Clan," Yusuke introduced himself, giving the eunuch a two-finger salute instead of a curtsy like all the ladies before him had given. "Your stipulation was that a blood relative must be sent, and I am the blood of Lord Urameshi, my father."
"Wha– Preposterous!" the eunuch exclaimed once he stopped gaping. "Despite not explicitly stating so, we obviously only accept women of noble standing from the Clans."
Yusuke raised an eyebrow at him. "Then you should have been more specific. I'm here now, having to have gone through the ceremony like all the ladies have. In every aspect, I am the" – Yusuke hated how his breath hitched at the word – " wife of the Emperor. Are you going to send me back now, and break the vow that has just been made?"
The eunuch made a move to speak again, eyes glimmering like he longed to teach Yusuke a lesson, only for an unfamiliar voice to ring out. "That's enough."
Unfamiliar as the voice was to Yusuke, the eunuch obviously recognized the voice that he had been serving for almost all his life; he immediately bowed subserviently in the direction of the throne.
Yusuke gave the eunuch one last look, before bringing his eyes to the Emperor just like everyone in the room had. He couldn't see the Emperor clearly before with the wedding veil hanging over his head, but now with it off - and in the process, revealing Yusuke's masculine features to the world - Yusuke could look all he wanted.
From all the stories of the Emperor – from his military prowess to his ability to command and rule like no other – Yusuke had expected someone to be around his father's age, under the impression that the rumors were gathered and the Emperor's abilities were built over decades of time. It was only when Yusuke looked at the Emperor now that he realized he couldn't have been more wrong.
The Emperor couldn't have been any more than thirty-five, with jet-black hair and an unsmiling face. His face was beautiful and smooth like fine porcelain, but there was a clean line cutting straight across his eyes like a crack. It didn't look deep, but it scarred nevertheless, and Yusuke wondered how much the Emperor could see and how close the Emperor had come to dying.
If he had died , Yusuke thought uncharitably, none of this would have had to happen.
"Yusuke of the Urameshi Clan, tell me, does your family not have a daughter?" the Emperor asked. It was the easy way out to just say yes, yet that was a lie too easily to be found out, which would have made lying the dumbest course of action.
"No, that's not it," Yusuke said, voice ringing throughout that the room that just contained, including Yusuke, the six wives the Emperor had just married, the Emperor himself and the imperial eunuch. All the officials that were there for the ceremony had cleared out when the Emperor commanded them to, so no one else was there besides them and the soldiers standing guard outside the audience room.
He spoke before the Emperor asked another question, not wanting the Emperor to control the conversation and dictate what was being said, since Yusuke was obligated to answer any questions the Emperor ask and Yusuke had never been good at swerving them. "It's just… you claim that these marriages are for the sake of unionizing Senkaku and former Miyako, correct?"
At the sight of the Emperor's calm nod, forbearing and still listening, Yusuke let some of the Emperor's calm leech through him and continued with his well-rehearsed speech, "Do you know that, in our culture, it is not uncommon for men to wed other men?"
This time, the Emperor didn't stay silent, since it was obvious where Yusuke was heading towards with those words. "You mean to imply that having me, the Emperor, marry a man would show Senkaku's acceptance towards former Miyako's culture, which would help further integrate Miyako into the Senkaku Empire."
"The Emperor is as rumors said: intelligent and quick on uptake," Yusuke said slowly, trying to formalize his words as much as possible. "Yes, that's what the Urameshi Clan's trying to do."
"That's –" the eunuch started, for as much as the logic of the argument was sound, it was also clear that it was just a load of bullshit. The Urameshi Clan didn't want to send their daughter, plain and simple, so they sent a son instead. It could be considered as a grave insult if the Emperor chose to see it that way. At best, the Emperor could null the vow he said with Yusuke and send for Keiko instead. At worse, the Emperor could order the execution of the Urameshi Clan to set an example for all those who purposely misconstrue his words like that.
Sweat trickled down Yusuke's neck and it was only when the Emperor commanded Yusuke to look up that he realized he looked away. Yusuke obeyed and he didn't know what was in the Emperor's eye, but it was clear that whatever was there, there was no anger. Relief slid through him like water down a cataract.
"That's fine," the Emperor said. "As Urameshi said, it is true that I never mentioned specifically man or woman, only a blood relative. In addition, our union would assist in integrating the Empire, which is what the marriages are intended for." He looked at the wives he received and commanded in a soothing lilt, "Go to the Concubine's quarters. Tatsuya will show you the way."
"But, dear Emperor," another wife voiced, eyes sliding towards Yusuke's direction, almost unconsciously. "Although Concubine Urameshi" – Yusuke's skin and hand itched at that title – "is your lawful wife just like us, surely you don't plan to place a man in the same residence as us."
The others made plaintiff noise of agreement as one, making his skin heat up. He had to live like this, trapped in the palace with people who would smile innocently at him upfront and then smile much the same way as they try to stab him in the back? Yusuke's stomach rolled in the way it never had on the battlefield, where things were dangerous but also much more straightforward.
"Concubine Urameshi will be given other accommodations, my dear Concubines," the Emperor said. "Don't fret about it and proceed."
He gave the eunuch – Tatsuya – a look and the eunuch quickly scurried forward to escort the Concubines out, leaving behind only the Emperor and Yusuke in the room.
Silence descended upon them once again and as Yusuke examined the Emperor's face, his mind couldn't help but keep going over to the scar. Finally, he blurted out, curiosity burning like fire, "How did you not die from that scar?"
The anger that didn't appear when Yusuke revealed himself to be a man then made its appearance, swift and thunderous, chilly like the very essence of ice. "Speak no more of it in front of me, Yusuke of the Urameshi Clan," he said softly and dangerously, "or I will make your family take responsibility for this deception."
Yusuke's mouth snapped shut as his throat went dry. It wasn't hard to tell what deception the Emperor was talking about.
"Come," he said curtly, frigid voice thawing no less, "I'll show you to your chamber."
Without waiting for his response, the Emperor stepped down from his throne and swept past Yusuke to the doors of the audience room, throwing them wide open. The soldiers at the door bowed to waist level as the Emperor passed, yet even that didn't hide the widening of their eyes, their surprise when they saw Yusuke, a man, in the wedding gown of a woman. No doubt the whole world would know before daybreak that the Urameshi Clan had just married their bastard son into the palace, not that the Senkaku people would know the bastard part, of course. The origin of his mother was a poorly hidden secret, but a secret nevertheless.
Yusuke quickly hurried to follow the Emperor, struggling to catch up as his wedding gown inhibited his movement like nothing had ever before. Yusuke would have torn it up in frustration, but he didn't want the Emperor – who he was stuck with for the rest of his life – to think he was any weirder than he was, so Yusuke just gritted his teeth, heaved up the long parts of the gown so they weren't touching the ground, and followed.
Their walk was silent with no words exchanged. Yusuke was nervous for the first few minutes, but as the walk dragged on, he directed that nervous energy to looking around the palace instead. He didn't think he would be able to navigate through the palace; it was big and too similarly designed – all elegance and easy to the eyes with the same coloring – like a purposely made labyrinth.
At last the Emperor stopped, so suddenly that Yusuke almost bumped into him. Yusuke quickly took a step back and if it wasn't awkward before, it sure hell was now. On the other hand, most of the Emperor's anger seemed to have dissipated, so Yusuke counted that as a good thing.
"This is your chamber," the Emperor said, gesturing to the huge Residence that stood before him. "It was vacated by the previous Consort, so there are no maids or eunuchs here to serve. I'll send some over to wait on you, so for now, just settle in." He paused for a moment, and belatedly, Yusuke realized that maybe he was expecting Yusuke to say something, but then the Emperor shook his head. "Goodnight Concubine Urameshi," he said and maybe it was the atmosphere under the moonlight, but for a second, the Emperor looked sad.
