Dinner was the most messy and violent affair he had attended. At first it was fine with the nine Yuan siblings and himself all around the large table that was sagging with cooking. It smelt absolutely mouth-watering and all was going well, for about five minutes.

Then Keikoku joined them.

The food was great, and Shinrei complimented Anna, who cooed and piled more into his bowl. He caught the brief glance of Keikoku before the blonde was pulled back into an argument with Anthony, one of the older brothers. In that intense gaze, Shinrei blushed, recalling the piece of advice that Yuan had gave him.

That little argument turned to yelling, then a screaming match of petty insults. Then the inevitable happened. Well, it seemed inevitable, considering Yuan had made preparations for afterwards. Despite Anna's yelling and throwing a bowl at the blonde's head (which landed with an audible thwack), the two elevated their fight to the only thing available.

Food fight.

Fifteen minutes and one irate Anna later, Shinrei found himself shedding his clothes in the bathhouse that Yuan had. He was covered in a wide assortment of foods and what was probably his own blood from a flying mug that shattered against his chest. That's when Yuan intervened. Shinrei forgot about his sheer power until he lifted both men off the ground by their collars and tossed them outside.

In light of his injuries, Yuan insisted he used their bath house to bathe his wounds. However, Shinrei was having a tremendous amount of trouble untying his hakama. His hands were covered in a mixture of rice, sauce and blood (as was the rest of him), which made for very tricky manoeuvres with material.

With a sigh, he gave up for the moment, seating himself on the stool. He had managed to get off his tunic and tabi, so he was bare except for his now off-white hakama. He was strongly considering just cutting the knot off with his bukyokusui, and because of this he didn't notice the presence that had joined him in the bathhouse.

That is, he didn't notice until a pair of strong callused hands slid around his hips and began to deftly undo the knot. Shinrei, startled, tried to move away, but fount the body in close proximity to his was none other than Keikoku. And while said blonde undid his hakama, he felt the objection dying in his throat and replacing a large blush that had now spread across his cheeks.

It was Yuan's fault. If only he hadn't, well, enlightened Shinrei before dinner, he would have been able to smack his half brother, who had his hands basically on Shinrei's groin, away and into next week. Keikoku finished and let his hands linger a little longer than he expected on Shinrei's protruding hipbone.

Shinrei glanced back to see Keikoku wearing only his orange shorts and orange under-haori half off his bare shoulders. Mentally willing his blush to subside, he did the only thing he could think of. Criticize his brother.

"What are you doing in here, Keikoku? Don't you have a concept of privacy… and personal space?" he said, voice dangerously calm. Shinrei surprised himself with that. he was sure he was going to squeak. He didn't know why, but now he was seeing his good-for-nothing half brother in a different light.

"Anna pushed me in here. She said you might need help." Shinrei stopped to mentally curse the pink-haired woman, who was no doubt behind the wafting sensual perfume that was sliding under the door into the washroom. (Outside, Anna was having a hard time controlling her snicker as she went back to work with her fan and perfume).

Keikoku, who was still leaning over Shinrei, moved his head lower to his ear. He released a hot puff of breath and watched the shiver take course up Shinrei's spine. He cracked a small smile to himself and whispered into Shinrei's ear.

"Besides, I didn't see you saying stop."

"Get. Out," Shinrei ground out. Keikoku didn't leave for another minute, and when he did, Shinrei visibly sagged. That, he had not expected. Thanks to Yuan's warning (goddam him, Shinrei was blushing again!), he suspected that there was a long shot that his brother may come onto him, but not so… blatantly.

Shinrei stepped out of his hakama and cleaned the neat cut on his chest. He noted that it was not as deep as it seemed, and would heal without leaving too much of a scar. Something dawned in his mind that made him freeze momentarily. The Goyosei had a very little amount of scarring on their skin, but Keikoku's hands (he noticed when the started fumbling with his hakama tie) were covered in scars and calluses.

Shinrei shook his head and sighed, slipping into the heated water. The bath was very warm, and much to Shinrei's amusement, scented. He vaguely wondered how Yuan-sama came away not smelling like flowers, but then remembered he had never been close enough to find out before. He sighed and slipped lower into the water. He manipulated it so it cleaned him, but Shinrei didn't have to move.

He began to wonder idly what Keikoku smelt like, and then the lascivious statement surfaced again.

"…he can do things with his tongue you can't possibly fathom…"

Shinrei groaned. It would be very awkward working with his brother now.