Disclaimer (1): This is a fan written work based on the works of J.K. Rowling. It might possibly also have some elements of a number of other works. There is no money being made from this, it is merely a work meant for the entertainment of myself and the masses. This is merely for fun, and no profit. I repeat: I am not making any money out of writing this.
Disclaimer (2): I also do not own anything that has to do with Juuni Kokki, Juuni Kokuki, Record of the Twelve Kingdoms, The Twelve Kingdoms. The only things that will probably be mine to claim are some of the names that will appear in the fic.
Warning: OCs OOCs Sues, and some crack. You have been warned.
Note 1: Post-DH Disclaimer (2) anime/novel Crossover
Note 2: While I do have some clinically confirmed mental health shit, I'm not a pro when it comes to helping others with their own shit, other than be a friend. And while I have been in relationships, each one had been a different experience.
Legend: # denotes change of time, while "*" denotes change of scene/perception/POV/center of attention/small change in time
Satisfaction
Chapter six
A few more months later, after Asari was reunited with Kousui, and after Ryuuki decided to bend the knee to Kaizoe, our many protagonists found themselves continuing their journeys, some longer than others, while others shorter – since Ryuuki could not guiltlessly carry his, now forever, young companion on his back.
The Ryuu kirin wasted no time in heading back to Funka Palace, in order to let the whole of the kingdom know that he had chosen a ruler. This was partially due to just wanting to make sure that Kurai wouldn't do anything to him, in the form of a prank or a joke or anything that could give his kirin heart a heart attack. Kaizoe tried his best not to play small pranks on his, now, subordinate – but he was still technically a kid, so some jokes let slip, and the kirin constantly had to palm his face, yet didn't regret his decision.
There was a lot of things that needed to be done, like reorganizing of the ministrers, the cabinet, etc. Lots of things that would normally make a kid snore, but not Kaizoe who'd been exposed to all manner of such political things from a young age – plus hanging around Kurai, among other worldly leaders. He'd also had to fend for himself a bit, as Ryuuki could be a little bit clueless at times. So there was also that. He was street smart and could see things that the kirin couldn't, and thus could avoid being led astray.
Jo Rohou's rule had ended on a bad note, a really bloody bad note, which also left a lot of positions in government vacant. So a lot of people needed to be officially placed in those positions, and the young ruler needed to do so before chaos erupted once again. It was possibly the threat of the Karasu Sousetsu stepping in to keep the peace, that kept anyone from really doing anything in the light of day.
There were also, thankfully, reports of the underground reorganizing itself out of fear from some unknown foreign power, to better suit whatever needs the new ruler might have for them.
Basically, the Han underworld had gotten in contact with their Ryuu counterparts and made it known that if they didn't want to be out of commision, they'd do their damned best to conform to the needs or wants of their new monarch or face a bloody war that would leave Ryuu's rivers running red with the blood of criminals. Their corpses would be torn to pieces and left as nothing but white bone once the many black birds were through with them.
The Han underworld emissaries didn't really know why they needed to mention that, but they did so under the orders of their superiors.
Other than some idiot hurling a spear at a cloud in the sky as a show of misplaced defiance, the enthronement of the new ruler of Ryuu went off without a hitch, and Ryuuki could breathe a sigh of relief.
The Funka Palace had quite a large number of visitors as an after party of sorts, which kept Kaizoe quite busy as he had to meet with the many leaders of the world, not just the rulers of each kingdom, but some sennin, and even Hisen. It was noticed by a lot of those who visited that Kurai was absent from the festivities, which was quite unlike him – or so those who knew him believed. Though representatives of the Karasu Sousetsu were present to give their congratulations to the new ruler.
Ryuuki was, thankfully, too busy to worry about why his bloody friend wasn't in attendance.
Sairin was a little disappointed that she didn't get to catch the elusive annoyance during the festivities, but at the same time was happy that she didn't have to deal with his shenanigans.
Some rulers were disappointed that they didn't get to meet the infamous Karasu no Kurai, only his representatives that didn't really make them feel the awe that they would expect from such a lofty group. But there wasn't really anything they could do about it, it wasn't like they were gods that could just summon whoever they wished to be in their presence.
It had been a long time since Kurai had first arrived in the world of Juuni Kokuki, many things had happened since that first day, since he'd first decided to help out the people of Tai, and leave chaos in his wake in every country he visited after, before seemingly dropping off the face of the world.
It wasn't really all that surprising that there were quite a number of people wondering about the whereabouts and activities of the missing member of their level in society.
#
Somewhere on the long coast of the Red Sea, Asari and Kousai were enjoying the cool sea breeze. Or at least Kousai was trying to while Asari tried to get her out of the shell she had trapped herself in as a form of coping or protection during her time in captivity.
It was a slow going process, and one wasn't about to give up on the other, while the other simply refused to leave the safety of her shell. It had kept her relatively sane throughout her whole ordeal.
Asari had decided that they'd stick to less populated areas until Kousui was more comfortable around him, and small groups of people – like other women, children, and the elderly – that could be found in small villages. Thankfully she had recognized him, as a friendly face, some time ago, and thus wasn't as guarded around him as when they'd started out after the escape from the auction house.
He made sure to always be within either her sight or within shouting distance, in case anything happened. This included when he went hunting or foraging for food, or bathing time – he'd just look away, but his other senses were as sharp as his knives when it came to such times. He wasn't about to give fate an excuse to trip him up again.
In keeping with his "The Baker" moniker, he always did have some form of bread or pastry on him wherever he went. He'd rent out an oven to make new ones, that never spoiled, whenever he was close to running out. This served as their main source of nutrition on their journey around the world.
He didn't go around causing trouble, as he already had quite a lot on his hands, like taking care of, not only himself, but also his one and only companion. It wasn't a tiresome job, not that he viewed it as a job, but it did take up a lot of his time.
Another thing they avoided were seemingly deserted mountain roads, if they had to travel through them, Asari made sure that they had other companions with them at the time. Like a merchant caravan, or mercenaries, a group of people that wasn't a crowd, but wasn't a questionably small number that could be in cahoots with the local bandit groups.
It was during their time together that Asari grew to learn more about his companion, and somewhat former employee. Like how she wasn't fond of meat, it made her sick actually. Fish was somewhat a gray area, he wasn't quite sure how that affected her, but meat was a no-no. He'd also found that she was greatly repulsed by even a hint of the scent of blood, so he had to catch himself on several occasions from leaking his own, even his bloodlust had to be sealed to some extent – not that he had a problem with that.
There were other small observances, like how her personality didn't do a 180 one week every month, he mostly chalked that up to her still being mostly immsersed within her mental bubble. She did crave sweets at times, but he barely noticed the duration of that craving session since he almost always had sweets on him somewhere. He might as well become the candyman with how much sweets and confections he had on his body or in his bag.
There were times when he felt that he should be annoyed with his need to act a certain way, but found that it wasn't that annoying at all. He was helping a friend, after all, and such minor sacrifices he was willing to do for her. He'd done so much more for other people after all, so what's a little bit more for just one person, who seemed to have had it much worse than he had.
Unlike her, he didn't have much to lose, and also could go wild at a drop of a hat – and he had, for her sake, or for the sake of finding her again.
Now that he'd been with her for quite some time, he could pick up where he'd left off when it came to his other finding a person quest – that being finding Hourin, his own kirin, the one who'd astrally bent the knee to him. There shouldn't be that many red headed women with amnesia, but, as he had come to find, it was still very much like searching for a needle in a haystack without a magnet helping you.
He had tried locating her via whatever magical means that he could think of, but something just kept getting in the way. Scrying was the worst – he'd get a message equivalent to 'The number you dialed is incorrect'. It was quite frustrating that one of his cheats did not help him all that much when it came to his search.
At the same time, he would also forget that he had such an important thing to do – this coincided with the times he spent exclusively with his one and only companion. She sometimes reminded him of the fanciful stories of the unicorns back before the Ministry of Magic was a thing, when magical creatures were free and unencumbered.
Kousui could be aloof or regal when she wanted to be, be it a subconscious or conscious action. It mesmerized Asari all the same. She'd become this unattainable wonder that would take his breath away, the feeling would eventually pass and he'd chalk things up to being tired.
"*"
It was difficult for her to choose to leave her inner world, her inner world was where she felt the most safe to be in, where no one could hurt her. But that world was lonely, all she had was herself and her thoughts and memories.
She longed for the days where she could laugh or smile, especially the times she worked as the cashier of Asari's main bakery. Even though she didn't miss having to deal with the military type people that would visit every now and then.
Her experience as a captive, almost always confined to small rooms, without having the ability to decide for herself or the freedom to go out into the world, while also receiving subtle threats to her health and safety whenever she so much as hinted at making a break for it. The few times that she had tried to escape, and go out to try and be reunited with the person she was closest to, were always met with failure and her being locked in a room with no windows or light – there would also be faint hints of a certain murky scent of iron in the room, and dried stains which she'd see before the lights were put out.
As time moved ever forward, she did find herself lured out from her inner world by the coaxing of the man who she had been reunited with. She'd been extra trapped within herself, in shock, when she'd thought that she'd been bought by some unknown person yet again – so it had understandably taken a while for her to realize that the person that had bought her, and returned her freedom, was none other than the person she had longed to be with once again.
She found that he was patient to the extreme when it came to her, he didn't rush her into coming back out of her shell. She was also comforted that he was extra vigilant to her needs, but not to the point of smothering her with his presence.
As the days and weeks passed, the sense of comfort and security she felt while in his presence grew and grew. And she couldn't help but wonder at how good he was at giving massages whenever she'd hint at or ask for one, their mode of travel could get pretty tiring, making muscles and such stiff. They were healing sessions for her body and mind, he was quite magical in a way.
She knew he was intentionally doing something to her, pushing away her bad memories and negative thoughts away or making them muddy whenever they'd talk to he'd touch her. The touches were always light, and what she enjoyed the most were the very rare and brief hugs he'd give her – it was as if he was squishing all her disarrayed pieces back into a whole.
Eventually, their travels lead them to Kei's capital, Gyouten, after Kousui decided, and voiced, that she was ready for more populated areas.
Why Asari decided on that place as their destination, Kousui didn't know and didn't bother asking.
#
There was this thing that Asari would do that sort of puzzled Kousui – he was very good at avoiding to bow or kneel to another person. He avoided it entirely, and anyone that would try to get him to do so ended up feeling that they were in the wrong, and that any other bad thing they'd done recently was really bad and that they needed to correct themselves.
She never thought to ask him why he was so repulsed by the idea of bowing to someone else, since she herself, had no problem with protesting herself before him. It wasn't a thing that he'd ever asked of her and that she ever found herself needing to do, but it was a thought that popped into her head once or twice.
The thought of lowering herself before any other person, though, did bother her a great deal – and it wasn't just because of her experience as a captive – but something deeply ingrained within her soul. She didn't know the exact reason, but that's how she felt.
It was a really good thing for the two of them that Kei didn't require prostration, except for in formal occasions.
Upon entering the city, and after getting a room at an inn, Kousui realized even more how Asari had so many odd connections or friends. He seemed to know so many people, this was most evident when he managed to secure them a place where they could live and open up a bakery. Usually one needed to be a citizen first, but Asari somehow managed to do it by talking – and some bribes, probably – Kousui wasn't really sure. But found it fascinating.
Getting back to the routine of working behind the counter of a bakeshop really helped ease her even more into being out of her shell, and getting back to the version of herself before that traumatic experience of hers. Even though it also included the occassional odd person who comes to visit, not to buy any bread but to receive orders from Asari.
These men didn't look to belong to the army Kei, but they were definitely military officials.
Then there were the people who Asari, after operating hours were over, confirmed as being sennin. She didn't ask how he knew that that's what they were, it was quite bewildering. But she chalked it up to him just being that odd.
He was odd. Asari was odd. Kousui knew that from the very beginning. He was anything but normal. Many of the things he did weren't normal, but it was more evident now that they were in Kei.
He had this aura, or something, that just attracted people – not in the romantic sense or similar ways – but in the way that it wasn't just regular citizenry that visited their bakeshop, but even government officials. There was this one woman, Sonshou, who Kousui later on found out was actually a royal scribe for the Kei court. Sure the food that Asari made was heavenly, but to even attract a royal scribe. He was something else.
Three months into their stay in the capital of Kei, Kousui noticed something else: Even though Asari did encounter a lot of beauties, men and women, he treated them all equally, but he treated her differently. She was quite sure about this.
This observation of hers reached the point where she was very sure that he only had eyes for her. She wasn't sure how to feel about that. She found it a little bit odd that as time passed by, she ended up thinking about such things. She puzzled over it, spent time on it, and even talked about it to the few female friends she'd made thanks to her job at the bakery.
They didn't really help her, just giggled and such. Though they did suggest that she might try and coax something out of him. Based on what they'd seen of Asari, he'd answer her if she ever asked him or confronted him about her observations.
But before she could work up the courage to do so, she overheard a conversation between some guests of Asari's and the man himself.
Two visitors, admitted that they came for a visit after finding out through others where he was, and that they wanted an update on his search – a search that either slipped her mind or she just wasn't aware of: Asari had, all this time, been searching for another woman. That was the only detail that mattered, and the only detail she heard about.