~*~*~*~
Nuriko scrunched up his nose. "Hotohori-sama, I don't know about this..."
The young emperor hid a smile
beneath his fist, his slim, imperial fingers dangling loosely over his
chin. Truthfully, he was more than a bit
surprised at the result of the tailor's endeavors--Nuriko looked, to all
extents and purposes, like a boy. It
was a little disconcerting, actually...and more than a little unnerving. Drawing in a short, preparatory breath,
Hotohori rose to his feet, took a few steps forward to study the young seishi
by the flickers of afternoon sunlight.
Nuriko was clad in a simple tunic of
soft, sandy brown, his slim legs covered in trousers of the same color, but of
a darker, richer shade. The tunic
itself was long, reaching well past Nuriko's shins, but it was cinched tightly
at his waist with a dark belt, and looked surprisingly stylish despite the
speed at which it had been constructed.
It also fit snugly against the eighteen-year-old's chest and arms,
showing off--for the first time in what Hotohori gathered was a long time--the
young man's flat, smooth chest, modestly-muscled arms, and small, slender
shoulders. Despite his earlier
protests, Hotohori saw that Nuriko's hair had been tugged up into a very full, heavy
bun, leaving only a few wisps of bangs dangling about his face and ears.
"There," said the tailor, a tall,
emaciated-looking man whose name Hotohori had never bothered to find out. The man rose to his feet, surveyed his work
with a careful, approving eye. "That's
the best I can do for you, Heika-sama."
His dark eyes narrowed, latched onto Nuriko's face with something very
akin to exasperation. "You, young man,"
he growled, "are the most difficult person I've ever had to work with." His gaze flickered to the young emperor,
hands flying into the air as he spoke.
"I should be paid an entire extra salary, just for putting up with
him! Honestly, Heika-sama! I've never worked with a more difficult
individual in my entire life!"
Hotohori blinked in surprise,
glanced questioningly back to Nuriko.
The young man stood quietly in the center of the room, arms folded
almost protectively over his chest, looking uncomfortable and a little
irritated himself. His lips were
twisted vaguely downwards, his nose still scrunched up in uncertainty or
disgust...but there was something almost playful in his eyes, something impish,
boyish... It was a strange expression
to see on the face of the gentle young woman he'd spent last evening waltzing
through the ball room with, and an even stranger expression to see on this new,
well-clothed stranger.
For a moment, he latched gazes with the
older seishi, tried to draw some understanding from those large, sparkling
violet eyes...but, Nuriko was giving away nothing, barely even blinking beneath
his stare. Finally, Hotohori gave up,
turned back to the exasperated-looking tailor and waved his hand in
dismissal. "Thank you for your help,"
he said formally. "I'll see to it that
you're properly paid."
The tailor muttered something
under his breath about there not being enough money in the imperial treasury to
satisfy him, spun on his heel, and stalked out of the room. Suddenly finding himself alone with Nuriko,
Hotohori moved carefully back to his chair, sank into it and folded his hands
in his lap. Nuriko, for his part,
immediately relaxed, moving over to a nearby chair and sinking into it with
typical grace. He moved a bit stiffly
in the unfamiliar clothing, though, constantly glancing down at himself as if
in disbelief, and still kept his arms folded tightly over his chest.
Hotohori cast the other man a suspicious glance. "Nuriko, what did you do to him?"
Nuriko blinked innocently. "Do?
Why, nothing, of course."
The young emperor eyed him
doubtfully for a moment...but, Nuriko only smiled. Finally, trusting he'd manage to pry the information from him
some other time, Hotohori clasped his hands together, turned another examining
eye towards the young seishi.
"Well...what do you think of it?"
Nuriko glanced down at himself
again, realized his arms were still crossed protectively over his chest and
lifted them, tugged his hands out before him in a sleek, catlike stretch. "The clothes are nice," he commented after a
moment. His lips twisted. "But, a little tight. And, the bun..." Two slim fingers rose swiftly upwards, tugged out the hairpin and
sent heavy waves of violet surging over Nuriko's shoulders, sweeping down well
past his waist. He smiled. "The bun is just as uncomfortable as I
remember."
Hotohori eyed him silently for a
moment, lips twisted in thought.
Finally, he rose to his feet, crossed to where Nuriko sat and paused
before him. "Stand up."
Nuriko did so.
The young emperor stared at him for
another moment in silent contemplation, finger tapping lightly against his
chin. Finally, he drew in a short
breath, let it out slowly through his nostrils. "The clothes definitely suit you," he began slowly, "but, the
hair..." He shook his head. "Isn't there anything else you can do with
it?"
Nuriko shrugged a bit
uncomfortably. "I guess I could braid
it..."
Hotohori inclined his head a
fraction of an inch, took a short step backwards. "Yes," he said. "Try
that." He smiled. "Then, we'll go out and test it."
The violet-haired seishi blinked. "Test it?"
"Hai."
Those soft violet eyes narrowed
suspiciously. "Hotohori-sama..."
But, the young emperor had already
turned and strode back across the room, was standing framed in the doorway, one
slim hand resting lightly against the wooden frame. A slight smile bent at his lips.
"You'll see. Come to my chambers
when you've finished."
And, then, he was gone.
~*~*~*~
The sun was slanting flatly in through
the windows, and the air was just starting to cool into early evening when
Hotohori realized that Nuriko had never shown up. He rose to his feet with a sweep of reddish robes, took a few
steps towards the door. Of course,
Nuriko was probably fine, had most likely gotten caught up in something--much
like he himself had gotten caught up in the paperwork he'd been doing.
But...
But, something wasn't right. Never, in all his time with the other
seishi, could he ever remember Nuriko being late to anything...or, not sending
any kind of word when he was. All his
common sense told him that, of course, nothing was wrong, Nuriko had simply
forgotten or found something else he needed to do...but, there was a dark,
heavy weight sinking into the pit of his stomach, and something like a soft
whisper against the back of his neck...no.
Something was wrong.
Frowning and wondering what might've
become of the young seishi, Hotohori took a long step out onto the palace
walkway, glanced briefly from right to left in search of some sign of the other
man, then sighed softly and began the trek towards Nuriko's room. The walk itself was a pleasant one--the air
had cooled enough that he was comfortable, even clad in his heavy imperial
robes, and the wisps of wind flooding up from the imperial gardens gave the air
a soft, fragrant scent. Suddenly
recalling the other seishi's fondness for the gardens, Hotohori veered off to
the side and started down a nearby staircase, was soon moving swiftly across
the palace lawn, heading for the gardens...
But, once he got there, he found them strangely silent, oddly
empty...Nuriko was not here.
Shrugging and beginning to feel a little
more uneasy, the young emperor turned back, climbed up onto the palace walkway,
and again made his way to the other seishi's rooms. There, the mystery deepened.
Nuriko's door hung wide open, the interior dark and empty, no sign of
the other seishi anywhere within. His
frown deepening, Hotohori stepped lightly into the room, moved almost
instinctively to the small mess beside the window. A small, intricately-carved wooden table had been flipped onto
its side, and its contents--a slender vase of lilies--had been thrown to the
floor as well, lay in a shattered heap of glass, water, and browning
petals...Hotohori felt a rush of panic slide through him. What had happened
here??
Something was most definitely
wrong...but, there was no one he could question, no one he could look to for
help... How was he going to find Nuriko
when he didn't even know where to start looking?? After a considerable bit of thought and a bit of genuine panic,
Hotohori at last decided to go to the only people in the palace he could trust
to advise him--his advisors. They'd
given him assistance concerning matters other than state-related before, so
surely they could help him to figure out how to locate Nuriko
now...certainly. Moving with the
swiftness of the frantic, Hotohori swept down the palace walkway, ignored the
occasional bow or greeting, and eventually--finally--reached the plush
lounge his advisors spent the majority of their spare time within.
Most individuals were required to knock
before entering, of course, but he was the emperor, after all. He latched onto the slim handle, pushed the
door gently inwards, and stepped inside.
"...really for the best," one of the men
was saying, bobbing his head slightly in time with his words. "Of course, we all know the more fitting way
of dealing with this...but, considering the circumstances..." The man looked as if he was about to say
more...but, then, one of the advisors rose with a leap from his chair, bowed
his head.
"Heika!" he exclaimed, sounding a bit
flustered.
The other men immediately rose to their
feet as well, offered short bows.
"Heika," one said. "What brings you here? Can we do something for you?"
Frowning slightly, Hotohori brought
himself more fully into the room, fixed a solid gaze on each of his advisors in
turn. "I need for you to advise me," he
said firmly. "I'm trying to find--"
The oldest of the advisors held up
a stopping hand, gazed at him almost suspiciously. "Is this concerning a matter of state?"
Hotohori stared at him for a moment,
startled...then, he shook his head, managed a brief, "No, but--"
"Well, then," the man continued
smoothly. "Perhaps you should discuss
this matter with someone else. We are,
after all, quite occupied with the other, more important matters you've brought
to our attention."
The young emperor's eyes narrowed
angrily. "This is
important. A member of the Suzaku
shichiseishi is missing, possibly taken under duress. I don't think I need to remind you of the consequences if one of
the seishi were to die before Suzaku could be summoned..."
The old man exchanged a glance
Hotohori didn't like with one of the others.
"The shichiseishi Nuriko," he said slowly.
Hotohori nodded.
The man shrugged his slim
shoulders. "Do not concern yourself
with him, Heika. He's perfectly safe."
"Safe..." He stared at them in sudden
comprehension. "You know where he is?"
"Hai, Heika. Please, don't concern yourself. We've taken painstaking measures to ensure
that he will not die."
"Where is he??"
The man made a smoothing gesture
with his hands, smiled at the young emperor placidly. "Please, Heika. Surely,
you can't be so oblivious."
"To what? Where is Nuriko??"
The advisor blinked at him. "Why, he's in the palace dungeons, of
course. The instant we found out about
his...deceptions, we did as you would've no doubt wanted, and had him locked
away. Don't worry, he won't be killed
yet--despite his traitorous actions, he is a shichiseishi. But, he has been punished...and, once Suzaku
is called, he can be dealt with as law commands."
A ghost of their earlier
conversation rose up in Hotohori's mind, stung him anew.
If I weren't a shichiseishi...you'd
have had me executed, wouldn't you?
Hotohori felt the anger bubbling up
within him, forced it back, fought to regain control. His voice trembled only slightly as he spoke. "What do you mean, he's been 'punished?'"
The old advisor inclined his head
slightly, folded his hands lightly before him as if in prayer. "Please, do not concern yourself,
Heika. He's been dealt with as
befitting a traitor to the crown."
Something within him snapped. Hotohori rushed forward, grabbed onto the
man's collar, and hoisted him upwards into the air an inch or so. "Take me to him," he hissed. "NOW."
~*~*~*~
