All trademarked items in this fanfiction is owned by their respective copyright holders (A Song of Ice and Fire by George R.R. Martin, Aoki Hagane no Arpeggio by Ark Performance, etc). The ones owned by me are past and future OCs, plot, and author's thoughts. This fanfiction is made solely for entertainment purposes and not intended for any material gain..

A Capriccio of Winds and Earths

Kekkon 7

Wakefulness came slowly for Tyrion. Again employing Shiomaru's tip to reduce hangovers, his headache was a lot less annoying this morning. Then again, it was hard to get annoyed when a beautiful creature sprawled next to him, contentedly in repose after a night of vigorous lovemaking.

Tyrion wasn't even sure if any members of the House of Kirino were ever born at some point. Hamakaze's skin felt like figurative silk under his touch, smoother than even the best kept whores at Chataya's. Her body was the right combination of supple and soft. Those breasts, too… he felt that he would not be able to stop talking about them, if prompted.

So he did the next best thing, burying his face between her mammaries.

"Yes, Danna-sama~?" Hamakaze asked in a breathy voice after a few minutes of Tyrion breathing between her breasts.

"Oku-san needs to wake," Tyrion said, his tone bright and loving. "There are obligations, even if we are said to be monarchs for a day."

"Danna-sama is much too manly for I," Hamakaze pouted. "But I will wake after Danna-sama lets me."

"Can't I just cling to you instead?" Tyrion replied, giggling.

"Like some sort of baby monkey?" Hamakaze said as she poked Tyrion on the middle of his forehead.

"Perhaps," Tyrion replied. "Who would object to being a baby monkey when you are the mother?"

"But these breasts have yet to bear milk, Danna-sama~" Hamakaze said in a lilting pout.

"Oh, believe me I would not want to wait for long my love," Tyrion said, finally extricating himself from Hamakaze after a quick peck to the lips.

...

Jon sighed. His day in the junior squire tourney so far had been quite eventful. He fought and won his battles, hoping to win the purse of twenty golden dragons in the finals. He was hoping that he would meet Renfred in the final round, but the assembled young squires of the Seven Kingdoms proved too much for Renfred to compete with. Jon bore witness of his friend's defeat in the hands of Loras Tyrell, the other finalist and his next opponent.

Jon had to admit, Loras was good. Not only was the Tyrell lad fast, he was also strong enough to break through Renfred's defense. Jon would have thought that it was honed natural talent like his own, yet Loras was squired to none other than The Woman in White herself, Ser Yahagi Kirino. If the tales Ser Clegane had told him was true, then the woman must have trained Loras with a brutal training regimen. Jon wasn't even certain his arms would last a month if he has to do three hundred swings every morning!

"Calm yourself, boy-o," Sandor said while patting his shoulder. "He's not much older than you. Don't let his standing frighten you, aight?"

"Yes Ser," Jon said after he let out his held breath.

"Ser Clegane! Good to see you again," the kingsguard greeted from across the small ring.

"Aye, it's been too long," Sandor replied. "I hope you'll be in the melee tomorrow?"

"Only by the leave of our king, but we will see," Yahagi said, before beckoning Sandor and the referee of the match to a hushed conversation.

"Hey Jon! Having fun?" A cheery voice said.

"Edric," Jon replied, leaning to the wooden post that served as the arena boundary. "I'm… I guess…?"

"Don't be so nervous!" Edric said as he patted Jon on both shoulders. "Ser Dondarrion always said, be loose and limber and your enemies will go a-sunder!"

"I… I try to?" Jon replied before a sigh. "How's your knight?"

"Following Bennard's trail of bodies closely," Edric said. "At this rate Ben might actually win the purse and attain his knighthood."

"Your friend, Jon?" Sandor said, having finished his tripartite meeting.

"Edric Dayne, Ser!" Edric introduced himself unprompted.

"Huh. Jon, there's a bit of a rule change," Sandor started an explanation. "You would only win if you can pin your opponent for three counts, you knock your opponent out, or your opponent yields."

"That's a bit… different," Jon said.

"Apparently it's a trial for Loras," Sandor replied. Jon's expression darkened.

"I'll go for a knockout then," Jon said in a low tone.

"Keep your distance. I know Graeme Crakehall learned something called 'fist arts' from Ser Kirino so Loras is likely to know too," Sandor said as he patted Jon's shoulder.

"Aye…" Jon said as he donned his helmet.

"Contestants to the fore!" the referee exclaimed.

The two young squires stepped forth and saluted, first to the royals, then to the referee, and then to each other.

"Loras of the house Tyrell, of the Kirino Shinkage School, stepping forth!" Loras declared.

"Jon Snow of The North, disciple of Ser Clegane, advancing!" Jon replied after a slight pause.

"Fight!" the referee shouted, and the fight was on. It was slow at the start, with both combatants circling each other cautiously. Then Loras seized the initiative and immediately put Jon on the defensive.

"Wow," Edric breathed. "They're fast."

"Frankly, they're terrifying," Sandor replied as the two lads clash, swords little more than blurry outlines. "It's like looking at my dead brother all over again, short a foot or three in height."

"Good thing Ser Dondarrion forbade me from entering," Edric said before a laugh. "I won't last a minute against them!"

"You'd get to play with a nice sword though," Sandor grunted. "Dawn is still your family's sword ain't it?"

"Yes Ser," Edric said. "Papa tried after nuncle Arthur died, didn't work out for him. Nuncle Vorian lost two fingers."

"Yowch," Sandor replied. "Guess it'll be your turn in a few years huh."

"Maybe I'll let Cousin have a go first," Edric said as Jon finally managed to disarm Loras from his sword. "Nice!"

"How in hell!" Sandor exclaimed as Jon was in turn disarmed by Loras, who caught Jon's blade with his gauntleted hands. Loras' disarming of Jon was executed in such daring that a cheer rose from the crowd at large. Now both disarmed, the fight noticeably swung to Loras' favor. His structured and precise punches were dismantling whatever defenses Jon could muster.

At least, that's the case until Jon caught Loras' arms and tried to put him in a hold he had once seen done by Hatsushimo. The tables turned for a short while, with Jon pinning down Loras almost to the count before Loras broke out.

"That was good!" Loras said, a grin on his face as he re-set his stance. "Where did you learn that?"

"A lady showed me," Jon growled.

"Great! Because now I shan't pull my punches!" Loras said before he charged in and tried to put Jon into a chokehold. They went back and forth, most times rolling in the dust and sand of the arena.

"Halt!" Robert bellowed, breaking the back-and-forth of Loras and Jon. No one had expected him to show up here, from the looks of the crowd. "Halt, in the name of your King!"

The two fighters stopped, more dumbfounded by the loud shout than anything. That changed when they realized that the fight had been stopped by the king himself, with them scrambling to their knees.

"Ser Kirino, why did you not halt this tussle earlier?" Robert asked, a little more force in his words.

"There are things best sorted by a good fisticuff, my king," Yahagi replied, her tone even. "Besides, my squire and young Jon exhibited some excellent use of grappling."

"And you, Hound?" Robert moved to Sandor.

"Nobody was badly injured yet," Sandor replied, shrugging.

"And the two of you!" Robert said to the two youngsters, still obviously frustrated. "Let me take a good look at you."

There were tense seconds as the king entered the arena and circled the two kneeling lads.

"I heard your brother Garlan is fierce, boy," Robert said to Loras.

"That he is, your grace," Loras replied, his tone respectful.

"Good to see you as fierce as he," Robert said, patting his shoulder. "And you! You say your name is Snow, eh boy? You do have that long Northron face on you, now that I thought of it. Who's your father?"

"M-... My father is Lord Eddard Stark, your grace," Jon replied groggily.

"By the gods! No wonder I thought I saw someone familiar!" Robert said, the anger in his voice replaced with realization, then elation. "How in the world did you get him, Hound?"

"He was with the Kirino coming into my land, Your Grace, looking for work," Sandor replied to the king. "Letting him be a clerk or guardsman would be an awful waste of swordsmanship."

"You said he was good?" Robert asked, the tone almost giddy.

"Better than many, your grace," Sandor explained. "I have another squire two years older, but Jon beat him more often than not."

"I like him," Robert said. "I should…"

"My king, I advise against taking young Jon as your squire," Yahagi cut Robert mid-sentence, eliciting shocked gasps from the audience.

"And why is that, Ser Kirino?" Robert's tone of questioning was low and dangerous.

"For his own growth and maturity, my king," Yahagi explained. "Take him into your employ when he is matured. If we take him now, I fear his basics would be weakened further from his change of teacher, and it would hamper him when he comes of age. I am certain that Jon would grow into an excellent knight, but he needs strong basics Ser Clegane is currently rebuilding."

"Oh curse your house, woman! Why do all of you have to be so wise? But… your house had never given me frivolous advice before or now," Robert moaned before addressing Jon. "Jon Snow! Come find me when you are a knight and I will find you a place by my side. I will make right by your father! The reward for his loyalty is much overdue."

"Thusly I bear witness to your words, my king," Yahagi said, bowing to the king.

"And so did I," Sandor nodded also.

"Excellent! And thus there's no objections to award both of our finalists the full purse, I trust?" Robert asked Kevan, who had been escorting him. "Because these two have the makings of excellent knights, believe me!"

"No, Your Grace," Kevan said.

A/N: Danna-sama and Oku-san are a respectful and rather old-timey Japanese way to refer to Husband and Wife.

This chapter is way overdue and I don't have anything stashed. I'd probably try better next month.