DISCLAIMER: The characters belong to Sai Yukino and Kairi Yura, Kadokawa Shoten, Madhouse Studios, etc., i.e., not me.
I'm just borrowing them for a while to spin a tale
Submitted to the Saiunkoku Fic LJ's Fic Battle
Prompt 56) You-Shuu realising that Kouyuu's past is a lot more difficult than he first assumed. Gen or slash

Observations of a New Shinshi
By firewolf
September 2008

Youshuu rather thought Li Kouyuu was an interesting Shinshi. Despite graduating as Jorgen, and at 16 the youngest yet to do so since the imperial exams came into practice, he had none of the arrogance or pride Youshuu might have expected of a boy who was a lifelong scholar. The boy didn't even blink, nor acted outraged as was usual with the boys in previous years when Official Ro assigned him to clean the stables. In fact, in stark contrast to the Ran boy, who graduated Bougen after him, and who spluttered and obviously wanted to protest the assigned menial labour, Li just nodded with a wry smile of acceptance.

Curiosity made Youshuu unobtrusively check on the boys with the start of their tasks. As he had expected, the Ran boy knew how to handle horses. Youshuu didn't doubt the boy had also been taught how to fight with a sword and would probably enter the military rather than stay in the civil service when his stint as a Shinshi was over. However, Li surprised him. Given his much slighter and more delicate frame, Youshuu thought the boy was raised on books. Yet the horses were clearly more comfortable with him, and he apparently knew how to cajole and bully even the most stubborn stallions into doing his bidding.

Furthermore, he also showed considerable skill with a shovel and pitch fork too. Youshuu thought Li was quite kind to teach his fellow Shinshi how to shovel dung without first laughing when the Ran boy's first attempt had him dumping part of the load on his own shoes.

So... Li wasn't a pampered prince. That made him very unlike most Shinshi. Youshuu thought then that there was a lot more to Li Kouyuu than met the eye. It started Youshuu's habit of quietly checking on this new Shinshi. And he observed that Li wasn't anymore difficult or sullen when he was assigned to clean the lavatories or shine shoes either. However, it didn't take long for Youshuu to begin having misgivings about Li's shoe shining assignment.

It was an open secret that there were a few senior officials in court who had a taste for young boys. Normally they kept their activities confined to the Red Light district. However, during the period when the Shinshi were about, these men also took opportunities wherever it may lie to have their pick of the year's young and innocent newly minted officials.

Every year, Official Ro very careful assigned the plain looking and stronger willed among the Shinshi to these officials. For the most part, he managed to keep an eye out for the prettier and less confident boys to save them from the depredations of these men. However, the Shinshi assigned to more public assignments such as the stables, lavatories and the shoe shining duties were, unfortunately, in a much more vulnerable position.

Normally, the Shinshi assigned these tasks had too much pride and a strong will and therefore weren't in danger from these Court 'dragons.' Unfortunately, it appeared that Li Kouyuu didn't have the temperament to handle unwanted attentions. And while the Ran boy was always around with a handy shovel full of dung or a bucket of dirty water when they were together in the stables or the lavatories, Li was woefully alone when he was on shoe shining duty.

It would not have been quite so bad if Li was plain looking. However, with his unusual aqua coloured hair and mesmerising grey-violet eyes, Youshuu found that even he was not immune to feeling a flutter in his heart to have the boy kneeling at his feet. Having the boy occasionally looking shyly up at him while he shined his shoes seemed to invite whole hosts of inappropriate thoughts.

The situation was in no way comparable to the infamous chaos Kou Kijin caused when he was on shoe shining duty during his Shinshi months. However, Li made Youshuu unaccountably worried for his innocence. And Youshuu found himself making all sorts of excuses to free himself from his usual duties so that he could unobtrusively stand guard over Li whenever he found out the boy was on shoe shining duty.

It eventually came a time when Youshuu thought he should act at last; when a Court dragon decided to make his move on the boy and caught Li by the chin to keep him in place while he whispered a suggestion in his ear. Even from a distance, Youshuu could see the shock in the boy's eyes quickly turn to despair and quiet defeated acceptance. An epiphany struck the man then. An incredible revelation of how and why this quiet scholar could be so skilled with dirty menial labour, and so accepting and submissive to authority figures.

Youshuu would have stepped forward when the Court dragon started dragging Li to his feet with the apparent intention to pull the boy to a quiet corner for some clandestine activity. However, there was someone else also watching over the boy. Youshuu was quite sure that anyone looking at him then would have witnessed his face fill with shock to see Kou Reishin step out of the shadows to touch the Court dragon's shoulder with his fan.

At the Secretary of the Department of Civil Affairs' steely stare, the man quickly unhanded the boy and found an excuse to be elsewhere fast, leaving Li standing alone before Kou Reishin. And Youshuu found himself surprised again when Reishin reached a hand over to pet Li's head as he spoke softly to the boy; saying something which made Li's eyes light up with relief and a brief spark of hero worship. Then it was quickly gone and Li was picking up and settling his tools again to shine Kou Reishin's shoes as if nothing untoward had just happened.

Youshuu never knew what Reishin said to Li then, but it apparently lit a spark of confidence in the boy to give him a sterner backbone against inappropriate overtures. The Court dragons quickly learned to leave the boy alone after that. But Youshuu also thought the sentiment was greatly helped along by the rather significant disappearance of the official who accosted the boy and was interrupted by Kou Reishin.

And the reasons why the Secretary of the Department of Civil Affairs had an interest in this Shinshi eventually made its rounds in court too; that though Kou Reishin gave a surname of 'Li' to the boy, Kouyuu was his adopted son. No one dared try anything inappropriate or remotely threatening against the boy after word spread.

This bit of information about Kou Reishin greatly surprised Youshuu. He hadn't thought his boss had it in him to take in and offer love and protection to a little boy. And while Youshuu didn't feel a need to try and covertly guard the boy anymore, his interest in Li Kouyuu's growth and future had grown tenfold. He felt that the boy must be special indeed to have evoked true emotion from the normally lackadaisical Kou Reishin.

owari

Thanks for reading.
Cheers, firewolf