Series: Chrysanthemum
Title: Lily of the Chrysanthemum
Author: ice
Genre: General, Romance
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: AtoJi
Summary: Set in a semi-feudal era. A raid on a province ruined a child's peaceful life, unexpectedly dropping him into another, more unsavory, lifestyle. Another will save him, yet, what will he be willing to give up for said savior?

Disclaimer: I can only wish I owned PoT. If I did, then the series would have 1. Officially have AtoJi as one of the pairings, 2. Be Hyoutei-centric, and 3. Tenimyu would also reflect AtoJi so that I can watch Kazuki and Takuya be all cute and stuff to each other. XD

Jirou laid back on the soft grass in the garden and sighed in relaxation as he stared up at the sky. He had been told many times that he would ruin his robes by doing that, but the ground was so comfy...

Normally, he would have been practicing one routine or another, but today, he just wanted to relax. It was also Atobe-sama's birthday tomorrow. It had been almost exactly five years since he had last seen the heir. He, himself, was now thirteen, the same age as Atobe when the older boy had brought him here. He wondered if Atobe-sama was ever going to come for him. He hadn't made his decision yet, but figured he had time. He could always decide then and there if it comes to that.

He wondered what the Atobe heir looked like now. While he had been just a child when he had met him, Jirou did realize that the young Atobe would grow up to be quite handsome. A charmer, perhaps, even with his overly pompous way of addressing himself. Jirou snickered. Atobe's expression had been quite funny when he had asked him why.

He sighed. His thoughts then drifted off to his Nee-san. Suzuka-nee-san had not contacted him at all in the five years he had been here. It was as if she had left and never returned. He wondered where exactly she had found a job. He hoped it wasn't some place far away. It would take him forever to find her then. He didn't want to think of the possibility that she had intentionally left him behind permanently. Perhaps Atobe-sama would help him track her down.

He turned over onto his front and plucked at the grass in front of him absentmindedly. Decisions were too tiring. Well, in any case, he guessed he should be happy he had completed the the course track set for him by Atobe's tutor. He had finished last week and could read and write as well as any noble who had had a private tutor from young until their older teens. He had been surprised when the tutor told him exactly where his education level was. He was on par with some of the best scholars around, especially because of the various books he read in his leisure time when he was bored. He found out later that half the books had been recommended by Atobe-sama.

"Jirou!" He looked up at the voice. Yuki-san was walking towards him. He sat up on the grass and yawned.

"Mm..?"

She crouched down to his eye-level. "How would you like to meet Atobe-sama?" She asked.

"Eh?" His looked at her, startled. That had been unexpected.

"Atobe-sama had requested for your company tomorrow night. It will be both your debut to show off what you have learned and the time to make your decision."

He could only nod at her numbly in shock. That was...abrupt. Well, not really, he supposed. Atobe-sama would be turning eighteen tomorrow.

"Great! We'll have to go choose your clothes and prepare then!" She grinned at him before pulling him up and dragging him inside. He didn't snap out of his shock until after she had raided his closet and thrown a pile of possibles and discards on his futon.

"Hmm..this one would be good for that group one...oh, and this one would be good for when you're playing the shamisen....and this one's good for that Sakura dance....hmm....and this one, and this one.....oh, this one's good too...." She looked at him briefly. "Were there any in particular you wanted to do?"

"Err..." Jirou considered it for a moment. "The ice one."

"Ohhhh....that one is pretty~!" She practically squealed. Jirou shifted away from her uncomfortably. She seemed to be more excited about this than HE was. "It was such a shock when you first showed it to me. Absolutely beautiful!"

Jirou only nodded along to her comments, realizing that he wasn't going to get a word in edgewise. He didn't think it was that amazing, considering he had made it up in the middle of practice while thinking of Atobe-sama, but whatever she wanted to believe was alright with him. He liked that one anyways. It was more of a kata than a dance, since he had blended his training with some dance techniques. He supposed the fan might have helped also.

"Okay, next!"

Jirou could only sigh at his superior's excitement.

Please leave a comment or review!