A/N: Because when Fluffy's Lady said, "Oo, I wanna know how Elmo and the Grouch met!" I just couldn't leave the idea alone. Thanks, love!
Kraken Wise
Kichiruka completed the routine with a dizzying whirl and a devilish wink. The full-house of applause was punctuated by the clink of gold coins in his range. He would collect them later. Right now, the court jester basked in his crowd's attention. Kichiruka knew he belonged to the public, mostly because he had never belonged to anyone else. In keeping to entertainment, he got to make as many friends as he wanted without ever making one mainstay.
And the connections weren't always that bad, either. Kichiruka gave a speedy salute to his benefactor in the audience. Ichikawa waved back with the tip of one black fin. Over the course of his life, Kichiruka had been to many places, but the past five years under this one ocean lord had proved the most lucrative. He liked to enjoy the time while it lasted. In a few more years, he might leave. Kichiruka never stayed in one place for long.
"Thank you for your kind patronage, my lord," the dolphin yokai said politely as he personally greeted Ichikawa for the evening.
The Lord of Mikan lounged in his strange, Western-style throne, the shifting green gleam in his heavy lidded eyes the only sign that he wasn't completely inert.
"Retiring so soon?" The purple vertical stripes on either of Ichikawa's cheeks quirked in a smirk.
Kichiruka laughed nervously. Laidback as his lordship was it occasionally unnerved Kichiruka. Like why does he have to make the simplest things sound dirty? "Yeah, I better."
Ichikawa fluttered his eyelashes. "Have you someone anticipating your arrival?"
"No, but it is a bit of a swim from here to…" He jerked his head in the direction of the capsized ship that he never really referred to as home.
"I don't see why you never take up permanent residence here." Ichikawa frowned slightly and even made the effort to straighten a little. He always made the offer and invariably Kichiruka declined in some way or another. It wasn't having his hospitality consistently skirted that bothered Ichikawa, it was the notion that Kichiruka, even after a handful of years in his service, didn't feel comfortable enough to stay.
Drifting backward as surreptitiously as possible, Kichiruka grinned. "Maybe someday eventually I'll take you up on it, my generous lord," he hedged. "Well, I shall be off."
"Until next time." But by the time the words had left his mouth, Ichikawa saw Kichiruka disappear beyond the next column. The Lord of Mikan sighed. And pouted. He genuinely liked Kichiruka. The lad wasn't just intelligent – in these years of service he never repeated a routine – he had the right wits about him to harness humor. Whether innate or through experience, the manta ray appreciated the quality.
Like most of his live capital, Ichikawa had little knowledge of exactly where Kichiruka came from. From his jester's routines and regaling tales, he gathered that Kichiruka's memory stretched back to the Mainland Invasion some two hundred years ago, he had lived with sea lions for a time, and had gone from one place to another without much loss or care.
And Ichikawa could feel the wanderlust creeping close to reclaim his subject like a fond parent. Kichiruka had been useful in pleasing the crowd, a trump card at welcoming foreign yokai who saw their customs mimicked, and more than once Kichiruka had proved instrumental in deflating high tension situations. In the centuries that Ichikawa had spent tending to his domain, he had not found a peer to Kichiruka. It was like searching for seashells and coming up with a lump of gold. Ichikawa was determined not to let the ocean plunder him of this treasure.
I will find reason for him to stay.
And among Ichikawa's many concerns that was one of the highest priorities.
oOo
Ichikawa's first priority sat in front of him. A geranium. The seeds had been gifts from a visiting yokai last summer. One year had since elapsed and they had only bloomed to a sorry, sickly state. Maybe it was a bad idea to bring them underwater, he considered. The foreign yokai had remarked that the plant would reach its fullest bloom under a gardener of decent character. Only then with the evidence present would he offer a trade agreement to the Lord of Mikan Coast. Ichikawa snorted, trying to prop up a drooping bud. What a con. We live in saltwater, how could anyone expect this thing to blossom?
Ichikawa felt a fine tremor in his horns. He didn't need to turn around to know that his wife was behind him.
"I say he's ready." Her tone was light and airy as if they had been holding a conversation for several minutes now and she hadn't just walked into the chamber.
Ichikawa hummed softly, still fiddling with a leaf on the geranium.
"Use him or lose him. You and I both know that boy needs a challenge or he's going to leave soon."
Ichikawa nodded absently.
"Listen to me." The siren slipped between her husband and the whimsy flower he was studying.
"I can't get it up," Ichikawa sighed forlornly.
She folded her arms over her stomach, cradling her breasts. "We have medication for that."
"I was talking about the plant," he huffed.
"Well, I wasn't."
Ichikawa smirked. "Then I don't know which of your 'pets' you could possibly mean because I'm perfectly fine." To prove his point, the manta ray drifted closer and pressed close.
"Did you talk to Kichiruka?"
"Not yet." Ichikawa sighed, already lost in her hair.
"And Tensai?"
Ichikawa busied himself traveling down her throat.
"Well?"
"Must you take all the fun out of everything?" He drew back, his small eyebrows drawing together. "Besides, it was a passing thought. I don't know if it'll even work."
The brow over the one eye presently peeking through her auburn tresses arched. "You haven't?"
"Come now, you know I'll feel better after we…"
"Priorities." She pressed a hand into her husband's chest.
"But the last one is finally out of the house and…"
"Now."
oOo
Kichiruka wondered why Lord Ichikawa was uncharacteristically short with him when they met. Probably hasn't gotten laid in the past twenty-four hours, he guessed.
Looking around the meeting hall – it never got old – Kichiruka saw scenery screens alongside gaudy portraits. Standing out against one background was a potted plant. A sorry looking flower that should have been bright red had only pale petals for show. Kichiruka tugged on the stem, trying to make it perk up. He only succeeded in uprooting it.
Ichikawa turned a blind eye to it. Instead, he rewarded his subject with, "I wish you to study under our very own Master of Arcane Arts, Tensai." When Kichiruka blinked, the manta ray elaborated, "The mean old swordfish who knows a thing or two about casting spells and such."
Kichiruka was still drawing a blank.
Ichikawa heaved a long-suffering sigh. Maybe it wasn't such a good idea if the dolphin was this unperceptive. "The swordfish, you've seen him, yes? Long nose, shorter temper?"
Kichiruka started out shaking his head, then slowly began to nod. "Yeah…wait, I think so." He had seen the slim, shadowy figure that occasionally slipped in and out of the court. Tensai, he had heard, wasn't an official member and so was relieved of much of the responsibility and privilege of "real" courtiers. Though many of the members despised him for having what appeared to be a close tie to the reigning lord. Tensai was nonetheless afforded private audiences and occasionally was cited as a source of insight. The bicentennial length of his residency within the domain made it pristine he was not one of Ichikawa's "toys" but an asset with considerable value and, perhaps, influence. That Tensai had been designated as merely the tutor to Ichikawa's children was surely pretext.
"So let me see if I understand correctly." Pressing his palms together, Kichiruka twirled an uprooted geranium by the stem. "You want me to learn a new craft and leave my former position?"
"No, not quite." I want you to stay. "I think your talents could develop with
"Do you seek to replace Tensai?"
Ichikawa's eyes fractionally widened. He hadn't considered that at all. If Kichiruka's potential proved all it could be, what would that mean when he finally outstripped his own teacher? Ichikawa shook out his wings. One step at a time. "I simply prefer not to become so dependent upon one subject to fulfill a specific role," he answered smoothly. "Let's just see how you perform for now, mm? At a certain point I should like to sample the extent of your lessons. See how everything proceeds with Master Tensai."
Kichiruka nodded. "One question, my lord."
"Only one?"
Kichiruka smiled. "Does Tensai have a good sense of humor?"
Ichikawa's laughter crashed like a tidal wave and his answer swept away the twigs of Kichiruka's hopes. "Such a question implies that he even has one to start with!"
The lesser yokai cringed, the geranium dropping from numbed fingers.
"You can keep that," Ichikawa said, scooping up the fallen flower. "I've given up on trying to make them bloom. As a matter of fact…" He tossed Kichiruka a pouch full of seeds. "Here. Have a ball."
Wandering out of Ichikawa's meeting hall, Kichiruka drifted through the main city. Maybe if he kept his ear to the ground he could learn more about this strange demon who didn't laugh.
oOo
"His title is Master of Arcane Arts," Kichiruka pointed out to the other yokai that invited him to the tavern that night after Ichikawa had informed him of this so-called promotion. At first, Kichiruka had decided that he could still make the most of it. His friends now persuaded him otherwise.
"They say he's not even a real Master of Arcane Arts," one demon opined.
Kichiruka sat at the tavern, his first drink barely touched. "How could he get such a title then?"
"Oh, you know how they say Ichikawa makes his exceptions and pulls strings as needed."
"Our lord has his ties. He probably found someone willing to do the job."
A concurring snort rumbled out of another demon that looked like a hammerhead shark with one eye in the center. "Our lord's an odd lot with how he goes 'bout gittin' things done. Unnatural luck in that he usually manages to find exactly what he's looking fer. Why if he ever needed a 'domesticated' demon to wed and bed a human he'd find 'im."
"Really?" Kichiruka stared wide-eyed and surprised.
The bartender laughed. "Don't go frightening the naïve boy there!"
Kichiruka tried to steer the conversation back on course. "I don't get it, though. This Tensai sounds very accomplished in his craft, how could he not be claimed a Master Sorcerer?"
"They say he broke some protocol."
"Protocol? Like what?"
"How should I know what the protocol is? Probably killed some'un."
Kichiruka blinked. "Killed someone?"
"Nah, guess not…probably killed lotsa demons to get a rep like that. Might've killed his own teacher – yeah, that would make sense. Now watcha gettin' all pale fer, Ki'ruka? Ne'er said he killed any of his students. All of Ichikawa's brats came out alive."
Kichiruka laughed nervously. "Yeah, but I don't want to be one of those famous exceptions."
oOo
With clenching hands that grew more claw-like at each convulsion, Tensai wanted to strangle his last student. He had never felt more used in his life.
But the last student…The last student disgusted him. It wasn't that the boy was stupid. Not by any stretch. Amongst his siblings he was arguably the brightest. But it was his attitude. He came in, received his lesson, practiced it, and left. He returned, took the exam administered. And left. When he didn't want to learn something, he sat quiet and listless. If his teacher stormed too much at the insolence, the boy curtly reminded Tensai who his father was. Thrice Tensai had appealed to Ichikawa who simply said, "Let him choose his education."
What sort of flippancy is that? Tensai fumed. But he endured it until the brat was good and ready to go.
He kept their relationship distant. Tensai didn't know why he felt that was a problem. He wasn't looking for anything here…
It's just…disgracing, he decided. No one liked to be treated as an object.
But it could have been worse. Could have been a lot better, too! But it could have been worse. Tensai could have been stuck with a complete fool.
Then Ichikawa entered his chambers. And told him who would be his new student. The court jester.
oOo
"You never did respect my position. That's what!" Tensai stormed from one side to the other of his study. Ichikawa waited. "Gods above, why?"
A slow, sleepy smile just curved across Ichikawa's face in response.
"Request for ritual suicide first."
"Oh, you're so dramatic!" Ichikawa waved a fin at his subject.
Tensai frowned as Ichikawa squirmed and giggled to himself. He gets off on this shit, I know it. The swordfish wished His so-called Excellency would get the hell out of his personal quarters. Giving Ichikawa a visual clue, Tensai parked himself near the exit.
Ichikawa smiled. Tensai was an impatient man by nature. Probably not suited to be a teacher in the first place, but that's what made things interesting. This should be an interesting experiment to see how quickly the little not-fish could learn. If Ichikawa liked anything better than his world of luxuries, it was the acquisition process itself and a singular tantalizing component: risk. His new investments only showed their mettle when they were placed just outside of their comfort zone. Tensai had been a real gamble when Ichikawa came across him. No one would have guessed the genius behind a glassy-eyed demon who had spent the last several decades drinking his memories away. Even after two hundred years since, Ichikawa had never asked Tensai of his circumstances. Mostly because it didn't interest him; but also owed to that two were completely different people – and the only one who mattered was his loyal, intelligent subject. Oh, and this Tensai had just that edge to get him what he wanted.
My dear Tensai, I suspect that you and this lad have more in common than you think. He knew the swordfish wouldn't believe him, so he kept the comment to himself. Instead, he said, "Kichiruka has much promise."
Tensai arched a skeptical brow.
"You can't expect opportunity to take root if you don't tow the silt yourself," Ichikawa added.
"Then why don't you worry about that?" the swordfish snapped.
"Because you're the one who can do it."
Like a specialized tool, Tensai thought bitterly.
"You will also be handsomely compensated."
Tensai frowned. "You can't just buy me."
"No, I didn't think so." Ichikawa's laughter bubbled. He sobered quickly. "But I do own you. So, my dear Tensai, when I offer compensation it is a favor between friends, wouldn't you agree?"
Tensai shrugged. Did he really have a say to begin with? "Now, I know that this is one of your little 'experiments,' but how long are you going to allow for a trial run?"
Tapping the tip of one fin to his chin, Ichikawa hummed idly. His eyes rolled leisurely over the stony ceiling. "Say, is that design new?"
"How long?" Tensai demanded.
"One fortnight."
Well…that was much shorter than Tensai had anticipated. Two weeks. He could manage. "So…" he sighed in resigned tones. "When do I meet this clown?"
oOo
Items listed on the contract included prohibition on desertion, seppuku, or sabotage. Kichiruka wondered what extraordinary circumstances had driven others to these extremes before. Getting his first look at the swordfish yokai he would call "teacher," Kichiruka didn't think it could be that bad. But he also didn't know that the same terms and conditions were meant for the instructor as well.
Tensai was all sharp angles and sails. His clothes swam on his thin, bony frame and large yellow eyes leered over a long, thin, lance-like nose. The flowing black robe with its bold patterns denoted his station, otherwise about the only thing that actually looked powerful was his tailfin. But shape-twisting was a common thing among ocean yokai.
Actually, he looks a little tired.
"Make your mark here," Tensai said blandly, pointing at the contract.
"I can write," the young demon chirped.
"Then do it."
As he scribbled his name, Kichiruka looked up. "You're not very friendly I take it?"
"Huh." Tensai studied his new pupil's name. "Clever?"
"Excuse me?"
"You have the word for 'clever' in your name. Or is that one of those cruel 'ironic' appellations?"
"No, sir?" Kichiruka hoped that was the right answer.
Tensai heaved a gusty sighed and looked in the other direction. "We'll soon find out."
"Oo, can you do that again?"
"Excuse me?" Tensai looked up.
"I dunno. Whatever you call it. I guess it was a sigh. Your gills all flared out and everything and…" Kichiruka trailed off.
Tensai drummed his fingers irritably on the stone desk, waiting for Kichiruka to shut up. As soon as the last stroke on the contract was complete, the parchment curled on itself and disappeared in a shimmer. Off to the main records, presumably.
Kichiruka didn't notice. He was too busy exploring the new setting of Tensai's study. If not too many people associated with Ichikawa's unofficial sorcerer, then this was a rare sight indeed. "Wow, what's this—?"
"Don't touch that!" Tensai smacked Kichiruka's hand aside and snatched the scroll up. "You're nowhere near adequate to even glimpse this level."
"Quantity control?"
"Quantitative enhancement," Tensai growled. "It multiples matter and…" He ended with a frustrated snarl. "Don't touch!"
"Yessir. Um, sorry." Kichiruka scratched the nape of his neck, not exactly sure what to do or what was expected of him.
"Here." Tensai handed him a rag. "Make yourself useful and polish every vial and ware on the shelves. For that matter, do the shelves too."
Kichiruka readily accepted the task. Most apprenticeships started with humble work…then he realized that just about every wall in the study had rows of shelves built into it. And in each shelf was no less than a hundred little glass vials. Damn.
"So, uhh…polish up here? Sir?" Kichiruka stood on floated up to scrub the barnacles off the first shelf. A thousand miles, a single step. A thousand miles, a single step…
Tensai didn't even glance up from his scroll. "Yes, make sure you do a thorough job, too."
"And how's this supposed to be part of my training?"
"It…ah, it improves your reach." And those shelves haven't been polished in years.
In this fashion, Tensai decided he could keep Kichiruka occupied without ever having to do much of anything. On a daily basis, his so-called 'apprentice' – Tensai's skin crawled at the title – was only under his instruction for but a few hours more than Ichikawa's brats had been. Sometimes, depending on Ichikawa's demands from his jester, less than that. So long as he could come up with new tasks for each time they met, Kichiruka would have an education in want of anything critical that Tensai actually had to teach.
But Kichiruka wasn't stupid either. By the fourth day it began to dawn upon him that maybe Tensai had no intention of imparting his precious knowledge. Fine.
Kichiruka had hoped that as time went on Tensai would gradually warm up to him. He was sorely mistaken. Ichikawa had always treated Kichiruka like a responsible individual and with a degree of amenity. Tensai, without fail, addressed Kichiruka with borderline hostility. The swordfish considered his newest charge an insult to his position. Ichikawa may have provided the means to take a Master's Exam and while Tensai was grateful he didn't appreciate that Ichikawa felt entitled to shovel whatever triviality he wanted the spell-caster's way. Passing on his knowledge to a professional fool? He'd sooner tutor a snail.
"Damn!" Kichiruka swore when he slid aside a heavy tub and smashed his fingers on one side.
"Watch your mouth," Tensai barked.
"Master Tensai, you curse all the time."
Tensai turned around and tugged at the lapel of his black robe. "Do you wear this?"
"No, sir."
"There's your fucking answer."
And Kichiruka finally called him on it. "Do you like me at all?"
Tensai swung around on Kichiruka, slamming his hand down hard on the nearest stony surface with enough force to fissure it. "I consider myself an excellent judge of what I like and dislike," he said. "And I dislike you."
"Well…I think if you got to know me…" Kichiruka trailed as the sharp tip of Tensai's nose shoved under his chin.
"No. I disliked you when I heard about you. I dislike what I see. And I know you will continue to do things I dislike."
Kichiruka gulped, his Adam's apple scraping against the needle-sharp tip that still pressed close. As an entertainer, his ego had a precarious connection to his audience's opinion. Tensai's words cut him down faster than the swordfish's bill could have accomplished in twice the time.
"Well," he huffed, taking sustenance from indignity, "Ichikawa still assigned me to you."
The sails on Tensai's head and forearms flushed a furious deep blue. "Do you think I'm like other yokai that act and abstain at the whims of greater demons?"
"N-no, sir," Kichiruka stammered, treading water backward. The anger in Tensai's aura pounded the space around Kichiruka, scraping against his own yoki. "I-I don't think you're quite like other yokai at all."
A curious expression flitted across Tensai's eyes. But only for a second. "Huh, you speak more truly than you realize. It might do you better to remain silent."
"As my teacher instructors," Kichiruka acidly replied and swept outside. The young yokai was at his wits' end. He wasn't meant for this position. Hell, he never even wanted it! Did Ichikawa want him to leave?
Kichiruka didn't go very far. Rather, he just sat outside among the tallest spires atop Tensai's study. He considered going for a swim, but a sudden motion caught his attention. Kichiruka paused to watch a small pod of dolphins zip by. He thought about giving a squeal to them, but what was the use? He had given up on following the simple cousins of his kind. They had their own routes to swim and, when they did come in contact with yokai, it was merely to ask the perpetual question on their minds, "Food?"
All dolphins always traveled in groups. Except, of course, Kichiruka. He never did like being a famous exception.
His family had been big. Kichiruka had eight brothers and sisters. His mother was respected for her healthy turnout and Kichiruka, her youngest, received a hearty share of the attention. Kichiruka chuckled mirthlessly. I was the ninth-born – an unlucky number. Maybe I was cursed from the beginning. He hoped his mom hadn't lost any more of his siblings in the turbulence of the Mainland kamikaze.
Now, his early memories were barely more than patchwork – his mother's eyes that were the startled blue of autumn skies, the cajoling laughter of his eldest brother, a doting aunt who always managed to worry too much. Kichiruka wished he could remember more specifics from those early days. What traces he did have he repeated to himself so as not to lose them. Because once something was forgotten it was lost. Kichiruka often hoped that even though his family might never see him again that they hadn't "lost" him.
His most detailed memory of his father was the rumbling baritone once advising, "Successful persistence is when you have built as strong foundation with the stones others have thrown at you."
But I haven't found any place fit to even begin a foundation yet. Kichiruka heaved a sad sigh and leaned back, his hand falling on a flat stone. He picked it up. Then searched for one with a better tip for writing. He considered sending word to Ichikawa that things simply weren't panning out.
"That's not how you write it."
Kichiruka started at the sound of Tensai's snappish tone suddenly behind him. Then he looked back at the hiragana on the slate, now feeling a little guilty.
If Tensai actually cared about what was being written he gave no hint. Instead, he picked up a sharp piece of coral and scratched out Kichiruka's characters, replacing them with the proper kanji for his name.
"Disaster?" Kichiruka read. "And you said mine was a cruel moniker."
Tensai frowned. "It wasn't given to me."
"You chose it?"
Tensai huffed. "It is the name by which Lord Ichikawa knows me. Now are you going to leave or stay?"
Kichiruka wavered for a moment, feeling terribly uncertain. It wasn't an invitation.
Tensai glared at him before giving the young demon his back and swimming inside. Like the trickling of water through the smallest of crevices, Kichiruka slowly began to understand why Ichikawa assigned him to Tensai of all people. When Kichiruka drifted back into the study, Tensai was behind his desk, deciphering the old inscription on a large stone tablet. He obviously wasn't used to having company.
And, at the end of the day, I'm here to make people smile.
Taking up a smaller tablet, Kichiruka mimicked Tensai's posture. After a couple of seconds, he glanced up over the ridge and grinned at his teacher.
While it wasn't the desired response, Kichiruka decided it was better than a glare when Tensai rolled his eyes.
oOo
Tensai continued to issue pointless tasks, but his lessons had a little bit more meaning. He allowed Kichiruka to learn the basic layout of his quarters and was marginally surprised to see that the young demon was a quick study. It didn't take long for Kichiruka to understand not only what went where but the why as well. That some potions were reactive to others and needed to be stored separately. And that others were compatible with other compounds.
"What's this one do?" Kichiruka held up a vial of a clear, viscous mixture.
"It's a filter," Tensai said. "When you want to desalinate the water, you apply it around the given area." He demonstrated by taking an empty jar and stretching the gel over the mouth. Several rough shakes and the outer surface was covered with a coat of salt. "See? This means that the interior houses only something akin to fresh water."
"Really?" Kichiruka examined the jar. The water inside didn't look much different, but he would have to take Tensai's word on it.
Kichiruka selected another jar. "What's in this one?"
"You don't recognize dirt?"
"I can see that." Kichiruka rolled his eyes and pulled a face. "I meant what's so special about this that you would actually keep dirt in a jar?"
Tensai shrugged. "Nothing." It was from a place that probably no longer existed.
So it's not important. But just as Kichiruka was in the middle of unscrewing the lid a cobalt hand slammed down on it. Tensai snatched up the glass jar from his idiot student. "It's a clear ware! You can see it just fine. Since when does seeing involve touching every little damn thing?"
"I find it helps me understand something better." Kichiruka grinned. And too late Tensai saw the wicked glint enter his eyes. "Like I wanted to try this." Reaching out, Kichiruka poked the tip of his teacher's nose.
Outside, any surrounding yokai commented that they never knew Ichikawa had a volcano in his domain. Or that Kichiruka made such an amusing projectile.
When Tensai finally let him back in – a full day later – a new line was added to the contact from then on. A prohibition on ever laying a hand on the instructor's person. Especially his nose.
oOo
After several days' nonstop exertion – performance, Tensai, mediation, Tensai, dog and pony show, Tensai – Kichiruka thankfully crawled into bed. But a strange lump kept him from getting perfectly comfortable.
A flower?
Kichiruka turned the dead remains of the geranium Ichikawa let him keep over in his hands. Digging under his shirt collar, he retrieved the little leather pouch that held the seeds. I've still got a week with Tensai. Maybe he knows how to grow flowers underwater.
Kichiruka considered this a bit longer. Nah, he wouldn't waste his time. But he held on to the seeds. Kichiruka wanted to experiment. And he knew someone who might appreciate a successful result.
oOo
There eventually came a time just a day or two before a full fortnight was up that Tensai realized he didn't have anything for Kichiruka to do. Short of actually teaching him something, anyway.
"You can…um…" He took a moment to think and wished Kichiruka wouldn't look at him with those big, damn cerulean eyes like he would actually take whatever he said to heart. I'm too old to believe that routine. "Ah, just take the day off. Go sit in the sun or something. That ought to be good for you anyway."
Kichiruka beamed. "All right then."
He did exactly as instructed.
oOo
Sprezzatura was a word Ichikawa had learned from a demon who hailed from a peninsula shaped like a boot. Ichikawa had to look twice at the map, too. Apparently such places existed. But whatever the circumstance, he liked the saying. In essence, it meant accomplishing something of consequence or great refinement without the appearance of effort.
And what a lovely ring to it!
While he appreciated the finer things in life – dramatic plays, good music, and novelties from afar – Ichikawa didn't like to make things more complicated than they ought to have been. All in all, his singular goal was to have a life of ease. For the best operation he simply checked to make sure that all was in order and settled. They weren't a very large kingdom, but materialistically everyone was content. Whatever their personal pursuits, Ichikawa didn't feel bothered enough to trifle with it. Oh, if push came to shove, he had to protect his holdings once every so often – but why not find someone else to do it for him?
During the war with the Mainland, Ichikawa had been fortunate that his holdings fell under the range of the Dog General of the Western Territories. They had weathered the resulting calamity without too much difficulty. Ichikawa had asked if the Great Dog Demon if he would ever consider an alliance in the future. A "we'll see" was written on the back of promptly returned message scroll. Shortly thereafter, the Inu no Taisho died from battle wounds, though scandalous rumor of the human female had even reached Mikan. Some said it was but only a few miles inland of Ichikawa's very own coast. Unfortunately, the Dog General's successor never inherited his sire's basic courtesy. Every envoy Ichikawa sent either returned scared wide-eyed and witless or, in the case of the last one, didn't return at all.
What a fix, huh?
"Lord Ichikawa, request permission to enter!" called a guard from outside.
Immediately, Ichikawa rushed to his easy chair, flung his leg over the arm and sprawled indecorously on the furniture. Look at ease, look bored, he coached himself. "Enter."
The guard came in, unaccompanied. Only a brown wrapped package in his hands. "A parcel for you, m'lord."
Ichikawa blinked. When he undid the string only one coherent thought came out. "Send for Kichiruka and Tensai!"
oOo
Their crab-clawed escorts leaving them at the door, both yokai were privately received in Ichikawa's court.
"Welcome! How are things proceeding?" The amused twinkle in Ichikawa's eyes brightened with the contrast between Kichiruka's grin and Tensai's frown. "So glad to hear it!" he said, even though no one had spoken a word. "Won't you follow me?"
"Is this for a preliminary exam?" Tensai asked, hoping he didn't sound too eager. Though now that he was faced with the possibility of being rid of Kichiruka, he wasn't entirely sure if he was comfortable with it. Well, at least things will be quiet again. Out of sight, out of mind.
Ichikawa laughed. "No need for it! Your student already gave me a fine demonstration of what he's learned from you in so short a time."
Tensai stopped swimming altogether. "Come again?"
"I wanted to thank young Kichiruka for his work on my geraniums." Ichikawa drifted aside to reveal a planter filled with no less than half a dozen healthy blooms. "You have an excellent student. He says he compiled this concoction listening to everything you've taught him in just this week alone."
Tensai was drawing a blank. But I haven't taught him a damn thing.
Kichiruka smiled. "I paid attention, see?" Gliding over to the planter, the young demon cheerfully explained its conception. "First I packed the seeds in filter gel. You really can't expect anything like this to grow in saltwater. Then I filled the planter—"
"Hold on a moment, from where did you obtain inland soil?" Tensai asked.
"Well, you did say there was nothing special about that one jar of dirt, so I admit I took a minor liberty and…" Kichiruka stopped talking as Tensai slapped a hand over his eyes.
"And then?" the swordfish ground out.
Kichiruka chuckled weakly. "I went through your scrolls and looked for a quantitative enhancement spell," he hurriedly confessed. "I never tampered with the original soil."
Tensai's anger dissipated. "That spell calls for a species of kelp I haven't kept in my study for over ten years."
Kichiruka nodded. "I know it only grows it the most hard to reach spaces. But I guess those odd chores kind of helped."
"Chores?" Ichikawa canted his head in Tensai's direction.
"And a recommendation to get more sunlight," Kichiruka added. "When they started to sprout, I set them outside and VAH-VOOM!" Kichiruka emphatically threw his hands up to demonstrate the speed at which the geraniums sprouted. He grinned proudly.
Tensai had to press a hand to his chin to keep his mouth from hanging open. "You…You actually heeded everything since…?"
The young demon shrugged and smiled. "I had only to listen. You provided the instruction yourself, sir."
Ichikawa laughed. "So modest!" Clapping a wing on Kichiruka's shoulder, he pushed him forward. "Change your mind, old friend?"
Tensai harrumphed. "I'd like to see him try to keep pace."
oOo
Kichiruka hustled out of the main court as soon as the show was over. He hadn't expected to get an encore. The objective was always to leave them wanting more, not begging you to stop. Rushing, he hung a wide angled right around the next bend. And ran head-on into one of the crustacean guards.
"Off to meet with teacher?" The guard laughed.
Kichiruka smiled good-naturedly. "I'm behind schedule to boot."
Guffawing harder, the lobster-like demon leaned on his post. "Still can't fathom that the jester's learning some real magicks now! Has that swordfish got you juggling his potions or –"
Taking the small tusk at his side, Tensai spiraled it to full length and shoved the end of his pike under the guard's chin. "And you are making him late for my next lesson. Kichiruka!" he called.
"Coming, Master Tensai!"
Tensai harrumphed. "Are you listening?"
"Yessir!"
Tensai gave a gruff "huh," but managed a smile when he did. He liked the sound of that.
.
A/N: I'm quite fond of backstories myself and, especially with the questions some readers have been sending in, this story needed to written. I'm delighted that you've enjoyed the original characters that have turned up on the scene of this particular InuYasha fanfiction.
