Please send all comments
to lareemackie@hotmail.com
I know. The concept
of a Hotohori-Tasuki fic is a little strange but for some reason, I've
always wondered what they would be like as a couple, maybe 'cos they're
two of my most favorite characters in FY ( the other being Suboshi! ),
maybe I'm just really twisted but the concept of a Mountain Bandit and
an Emperor together really really appealed to me! I don't know how
this is gonna turn out, It might really stink for all I know, ( And it
probably will ) so I would really appreciate comments. Anyways...What
else? Umm...I guess you can say that this will sorta be yaoi-ish
but nothing too hard-core. I'm horrible at writing love scenes, when
I do try they make me laugh. lol.
By the way, if you want to
read my other FY fic it is in my site here
Chichiri
sighed as he looked down upon the mess of empty sake bottles that lay scattered
on the table in front of his friend. Though he was used to seeing
Tasuki sloshed with liquor more often than not, he couldn't recall ever
having witnessed him in such a state, his shoulders hunched in defeat,
his amber eyes trained on the table top, tears occasionally rolling
down his cheeks. " Tasuki-kun? Tasuki-kun? That's enough,
no da." as he spoke, Chichiri took him by his slim shoulders and shook
him gently. When that had no effect, he tried to force the bottle
he held from his hands but Tasuki would have none of it and just tightened
his grip even more, his knuckles turning white with the effort.
Finally,
he spoke. " D'ya know what day it is, Chiri?"
" What
day it is, no da? Well, Tasuki-kun, I believe it's Saturday..." The
monks voice trailed off as he was pulled down unceremoniously beside the
bandit who seemed to lose more of his senses as he sank deeper and deeper
into his cups. He guessed that that wasn't the answer that he had
been looking for.
He
sighed. " You forgot. But that's okay. I didn't expect
yah ta remember it since you've always got so much on your mind, but me...He's
been on mine constantly ever since that time up in Mount Reikaku."
" Wait.
I don't understand, no da. What did I forget? Who are you talking
about?" Chichiri became more and more worried as he watched his friend's
face working to keep his tears at bay. He would have liked to go
up to the room that they had rented for the night to talk, at least there
they would be able to have some privacy and he would be able to tend to
Tasuki, unlike down here in the Inn's bar. " Tasuki-kun let's-"
The
depth of sorrow that Chichiri saw in Tasuki's eyes touched him deeply,
making him wish that he could do something to alleviate whatever it was
that was his friend's problem. He felt responsible for Tasuki now,
him being the elder of the two of the Suzaku Shichiseishi who remained
in this world. " Chiri-kun. It's been a year. A whole
year since Ho- since Emperor Hotohori died in the battle field. Can...can
you believe it? It seems longer than that..."
Gods.
How could he have forgotten such a thing? Horrified that he hadn't
included the Emperor's spirit in his prayers that day, Chichiri immediately
took hold of his prayer beads and began to mumble a supplication for the
happy rebirth of the man that he had admired so much.
" How
did yah meet him, Chichiri?"
First
he would tend to Tasuki, later the prayers, he decided upon the younger
seishi's interruption. He would be able to concentrate on them more
anyway in their room. " Well, as I recall it, it was in the throne
room in the Palace, no da. Tamahome, Miaka and I had just returned
from Taiitskun's place after we retrieved the Miko from Kutou, no da.
He...was very happy to see the Maiden back safe."
Tasuki
snickered. " You would think the guy's ass was on fire whenever it
came ta stuff about ole Miaka. Wonder how she and Tama are gettin'
along? Anyways, as I said, we were up in Mount Reikaku when I first
saw him. Had that fucking sword of his on my throat 'cos I made the
mistake of kidnapping the little idiot. He was crazy about her.
But not half as crazy as I was about him, I don't think..."
It
was times like these that he wished he hadn't listened to Tasuki about
not wearing his mask anymore. Though he tried to contain the surprise
that he felt at this unexpected pronouncement, he knew that it was painfully
evident on his face. He had never expected this. Of course,
he had known about his friend's preferences for a while now and none of
that really mattered to him since it had no bearing whatsoever on what
kind of person the bandit was, but he had never said anything about feelings
for the Emperor, funny how they still thought of Hotohori as the Emperor
even though he had been gone a year to this day.
" Yah
think I'm a freak, huh?" Tasuki asked, noting the stunned expression on
his friend's face.
" No.
Just...taken by surprise, no da." Chichiri reassured him. Thinking
that he also needed a drink to recover himself, the monk grabbed the little
cup that Tasuki had been using and poured a minuscule amount of sake into
it, sipping delicately. " He was the Emperor after all..."
" Yeah.
He was. He was prissy, incredibly one minded and so vain that sometimes
I wished I could just crack that mirror over that pretty head of his, or
cut off his hair just so that he'd stop fussing about it all the time but
most of all, he was the Emperor and no matter what he did or how hard he
tried to fit in, we never forgot that and that...that hurt him..." Tasuki
whispered, a soft smile playing on his lips as he remembered the former
Emperor in all of his glory. The one good thing that came out of
someone dying young and suddenly was that you always remembered the youthful
beauty of the departed person, not a haggard old shell that had tired of
life, and Hotohori had been just as beautiful the day that he had died
as he had been when he had first come into his life. " I wasn't able
to see past that at first but eventually, eventually I did. He was
the one that taught me that when you loved someone, what that person is
has nothing to do with it, whether he was an Emperor, or just some Mountain
Bandit 'cos what you know with your mind doesn't effect the way that you
feel. You just love when you have to and in Hotohori's case, I just
had to..."
~**~
The
cry of surprise pierced the still, morning air. Tasuki stood with
Chiriko, half immersed in the water of the lake. They exchanged looks
of trepidation with each other as they realized who it was that they had
doused with water, Chiriko poised and ready to make a dash for it in case
the poor victim decided to retaliate. " Errr...Hotohori-sama!" the
sandy haired boy flashed the man his most charming smile, " So sorry, sir!
It was Tasuki. He thought you were Nuriko. It was Okama-chan
that we meant to...uh...wet. So sorry for the mistake!"
Tasuki
glared at him, his fangs slightly exposed pissed off at the fact that the
little flute-boy was putting all the blame on him, which was exactly what
Hotohori was likely to do seeing as how the others all thought Chiriko
was such a nice kid when in truth he could be as much of a hell raiser
as he himself was, and seething at the use of ' Okama-chan' in reference
to the purple haired seishi. After all, though the others weren't
aware of it, he was an ' Okama-chan ' too.
Hotohori
stood silently by the edge of the lake, holding his dripping sleeves out
to his sides. " Quite all right, Chiriko, Tasuki. Though I
doubt that Nuriko would like having water thrown all over him much more
than I do or appreciate being called ' Okama-chan.' "
" No
Hotohori-sama, you're right." the little rat agreed readily, to Tasuki's
disgust. He knew that his anger wouldn't last for long though.
Chiriko may be a complicated brat but he was also a good friend of his,
much like Nuriko was. He wondered if it would matter to him, and
to the others if they found out about his ' peculiarity '. Would
Chiriko still be comfortable enough with him to bathe in his company as
he was doing now? Not that he felt any attraction to the boy.
He was cute enough, but not really his type.
" Well,
Hotohori-sama. What brings you out here?" Tasuki asked, lowering
himself into the lake's cool water and sending a shimmering spray flying
towards Chiriko, who soon retaliated with his own barrage. " Fed
up with trying ta get a word outta Mitsukake? Miaka been disgusting
you with her amazing lack of table manners or has Nuriko constantly staring
at yah finally driven yah up the wall?" His fellow seishi's obsession with
the man was a constant source of amusement for him, though he could understand
why he was so taken with him. Hotohori was pretty good looking.
A bit too solemn for Tasuki's liking though.
" No.
I didn't think anybody was down here so I thought I would take a bath myself."
for the first the Tasuki noticed the bundle of clothes in his arms.
" Oh!
In that case, come in here and keep Tasuki company, Hotohori-sama!" Chiriko
rose to his feet and began to make his way back to where he had left his
clothes. Tasuki noticed, not without some amusement, that Hotohori
had carefully averted his gaze from the boy's nakedness. What a prude!
He thought. " If I stay in there any longer, I'll get all wrinkled
and look disgusting."
" And
what make's yah think you don't look disgusting now, wuss?"
" Shut
up, Tasuki-kun." Chiriko told him with a laugh as he began to pull on his
clothes.
Tasuki
looked inquiringly at Hotohori as the boy strolled back towards the direction
of Tamahome's home, where they were spending the night before they made
their was to the Capital City of Kounan where Nuriko had told them that
they would meet the Emperor, though Tasuki didn't believe him since he
had noticed the amused glint in his eyes as he had mentioned this.
" You coming in, Hotohori-sama?"
He
shook his head, busy with wringing water out of his hair. " No.
I think I'll wait until you're finished, Tasuki."
The
bandit smirked. " Whatsa matter? Yah got somethin' ta hide
or what?"
Hotohori
stopped fiddling with his hair and turned his full attention on his fellow
seishi. " Now what could I possibly have to hide?" he demanded.
His vanity had caused him to fall right into Tasuki's trap.
He
shrugged nonchalantly as he ran his hand through the water, realizing that
this was the first time that he had even come close to a light hearted
conversation with Hotohori, who kept mostly to himself whenever he was
not hovering over Miaka. " I dunno. You tell me. I mean,
why are yah so shy about taking a measly bath? I was just thinking
that maybe it was 'cos your body was covered in pimples or something."
Hotohori's
eyebrow flew almost out of his forehead. " Of course not! I
don't like what you're implying." his mouth drew down into a small frown.
Tasuki
turned his back to him and concentrated on working up a substantial lather
in his hair. " Fine then. You go ahead and do whatever you
like, Hotohori-sama. I hafta warn yah, though, that I'm gonna be
here for a while so you're gonna have a long wait unless yah wanna come
join me now." He paused, knowing that this would clinch it once and for
all, " It's all right though if yah don't. You must be feeling shy,
I mean, seeing the incredible shape that I'm in and knowing that your body
doesn't even come close to the perfection of mine!" In his mind he gave
himself an imaginary pat on the back for being able to manipulate the older
seishi so easily.
How
dare he imply that there was something wrong with him? Forgetting
his initial hang-up, Hotohori wriggled out of his red outer tunic and set
it on the ground. Of course none of what Tasuki said had any truth
to them. He had always been vey proud of the fine shape that he was
in and he was going to wipe that smug smile off his face. His shirt
was next to go but his hands hesitated when it came to the draw string
of his pants, his cheeks flushing a bright red. He had never been
naked in front of anybody before, except for servants but then they didn't
really matter. This was Tasuki here, a fellow seishi and immensely
different from the kowtowing chamberlains that tended to him in his bath.
The
man in question turned around to face him once more, Tasuki momentarily
forgetting what he was about to say when he saw Hotohori, his breath catching
in his throat as he took in the graceful lines and planes of his body and
the smooth, pale skin, which, despite of what he had implied, was completely
without blemish. He cleared his throat uncomfortably, afraid of what
might come out of his mouth and desperately wishing that he hadn't baited
the man the way he had. After a while, he realized that he had been
staring at him for some time already. Luckily enough, Hotohori hadn't
noticed as he was busy working the piece of cloth that he used to tie his
hair back out of a few tangles. " Well, what are you waiting for?
I...won't jump on you or anything. I'm not Nuriko." But I can definitely
see why Nuriko might be tempted to do so...Tasuki told himself, turning
away so that he wouldn't have to look at him anymore, afraid of what might
come over him if he didn't.
Hotohori
stumbled over something that lay at the bottom of the lake but before he
could fall face first into the water, Tasuki reached out and steadied him.
He let out a soft laugh at his clumsiness and the bandit couldn't help
noticing how it made his already beautiful face even more radiant.
This was the first time that he had ever heard the guy laugh even though
they had known each other for several weeks by then and he wished that
he would do it more often. " Here, yah got something in your hair..."
he murmured, coming closer to him and removing the twig from within the
mass of dark locks, his senses being taken over completely by his scent.
" Got it." he announced, as he stepped away from his fellow seishi and
resumed his bathing, trying not to be too aware of Hotohori's close proximity.
"
Yah probably think I'm some sorta pervert scoping the guy out while he
was taking a bath like that but shit, Chiri! he was so beautiful!
If you had been there, if you had seen him then...Gods. Complete
and utter perfection, he was! Perfection...
"
Seeing him like that...Shit. I wanted him so badly! But I knew
that even though he managed to hide the fact, he was uncomfortable about
Nuriko's affections and who knew how he'd react if I tried anything?
He isn't exactly the approachable type either, which didn't help a fuckin'
bit. So since it was obvious that I had about as much chance with him as
I did with that tight assed Seiryuu creep Nakago, not that I wanted blondie
or anything, just a figure o' speech, I was all for forgetting about him.
Especially after I found out that he was the fucking Emperor of Kounan!
Damn, when I found that out, I just froze in my boots and remembered all
the things that I ever said and did to him! I was sure that I was
dead. Anyways, I thought it would be easy to avoid him and all, seeing
how enormous the Palace was and that he spent most of his time going over
business stuff instead of hanging out with us, if I avoided him, then I
wouldn't be tempted to do anything so I lay low for a coupla days and managed
to do just that but then there was that day when you were all too busy
with your own business to hang out with me..."
~**~
" So?
Whaddya say, Nuriko-chan?"
Nuriko
tipped his head to one side and pretended to mull Tasuki's offer over.
" No."
" Awww!
Come on! I need somebody ta come with me!" he whined, pulling vainly
on the smaller seishi's arm, unable to budge him at all, " If yah go out
to the city with me, you can buy a pretty gown or all those girl stuff
that you use to cross dress!"
He
jerked his arm away suddenly, sending Tasuki flying against Chichiri, who
was sitting cross legged on the floor. " In case you haven't noticed,
Tasuki, I've given up girl's clothes and I know you. You're just
going to pull me into the nearest tavern, get stinking drunk and have me
carry you home!"
" Chichiri?"
The
monk straightened his mask which had gone askew when the bandit had barreled
into him. " I'm a monk, no da."
" And
what the fuck does that have to do with it?" Tasuki demanded, longing to
get out of the Palace walls but not wanting to go out into the city on
his own. He didn't know how Nuriko could have managed to stay in
the place for more than a year without going crazy. He had only been
here for a couple of days and already he was sick of the constant inactivity.
" Monks
don't make it a habit to frequent taverns,no da."
Finally,
Tasuki turned to Chiriko, his last hope, and grabbed his arm before he
could say anything.
"You're
coming with me, kid."
" Oh,
no he's not!" Nuriko declared, grabbing his other arm and pulling him away.
" I don't want you turning sweet little Chiriko into a drunkard!
He's only fifteen! You can't take a fifteen year old boy into a bar
where all sorts of sleazy things go on!"
Tasuki
scowled. " I was drinking way before that! Time you learned
to be a man, Chiriko-kun and you won't be able to do that with Nuriko,
now will you?"
" Tasuki,
for your safety, I suggest you get yourself out of here before I get up
from this chair..." Nuriko told him sweetly, a hint of warning on
his tone of voice. " If you want to have a drink so desperately,
Hotohori-sama has a fine stock of sake. Much better than any of the
things that you would find in a tavern! Or just go out to the city
yourself! After all, you're a big, strong, independent bandit, aren't
you?"
" Fuck
it! None of you are any fun! Sometimes I think the Seiryuu
seishi would make better companions than you lot!" He heard Chiriko snort
at his last comment before he slammed the door with as much force as he
could muster. Dammit! What was he supposed to do now?
He had had his heart set on an outing with one of his friends. He
had always liked to have somebody with him while he was drinking he wished
Kouji was here. He would make a great drinking partner, along with
other things. He hadn't been with anybody for weeks now and it was
driving him crazy, especially since after he had become painfully aware
of Hotohori. Emperor Hotohori now, he reminded himself with a wry
smile at the hopelessness of it all.
It
was as though thinking of him had conjured him up. The Emperor was
only a few yards down the hallway from the room that the seishi now used
as a gathering place, leaning against the railing. Tasuki, remembering
the pact that he had made with himself of avoiding the man was about to
pass him by when he was struck by how lonely he looked. Without a
word, he plopped himself down beside him and tried to put the images of
Hotohori in the lake that had suddenly come into his mind at the sight
of him.
"Hey,
Hotohori-sama"
" Hello,
Tasuki."
" You
planning on going in to see those fu-...I meant, them?" He managed to catch
himself just in time. He had always toned down his swearing in front
of him, even before he had found out about him being the Emperor.
It just didn't seem right to say anything obscene in the presence of someone
so obviously refined and high born.
" No.
I just found myself with some time in my hands." He had wanted to, had
actually been about to but they had sounded so happy and raucous in the
room and he hadn't wanted to spoil that. His fellow seishi all immediately
seemed to watch their behaviour whenever he was around, as though they
were afraid of offending him, as was the case with Tasuki even now.
" That's
good then. You never seem to have any time to yourself."
" On
the contrary, I have far more than I desire." Hotohori said, unable to
keep the bitterness from his voice as he recalled his leisure hours that
were spent reading in his room or practicing with his sword.
" Oh."
Tasuki scuffed his boots against the floor, not knowing what to say to
this, finally deciding that the subject was best to be avoided. "
I was gonna go out to the city but none of the guys wanted ta come with
me...And I really wanted ta go too but I don't wanna go alone."
" Nuriko
has always enjoyed outings." Hotohori suggested.
The
bandit sighed. " I asked him but he said no. Mitsukake's busy
washing plants for medicine or some crap like that. Chichiri can't
'cos he's a monk and neither can Chiriko 'cos Nuriko says he's too young."
and fuck them all, he added silently.
" You
haven't asked me yet."
Tasuki
gaped at him openly, unable to believe that he had actually heard those
five simple words. Surely Hotohori-sama, Emperor of Kounan-koku was
not suggesting that he might want to accompany him! "You, Kotei Heika?"
he asked doubtfully.
Hotohori
took his disbelief for aversion to the idea of him tagging along after
him. " It's quite all right if you say no. I can't say I blame
you. I'm not exactly the cheeriest of companions and I would be a
burden." He turned his face away so that Tasuki wouldn't see his dissapointment.
He had hoped to get to know this man better. His outgoing personality
appealed to him.
" No.
It's not that!" Tasuki put in hurriedly, thinking that despite of himself,
he had been hoping to be able to spend some time alone with Hotohori, which
was almost impossible what with Imperial Advisors fellow seishi and a Miko
constantly underfoot. " It's just that, the place I'll be going to
isnt exactly one you'd take an Emperor to..."
" Even
better."
Tasuki
shrugged. " Fine then. If yah feel up ta it, why not?
I'd hate to have those advisors of yours suddenly noticing that you'd gone
and thinking that I kidnapped yah or something though!"
" They
won't notice." Hotohori reassured him. He was sure that they wouldn't
come after him since he had canceled Afternoon Court sessions with the
excuse of feeling a little under the weather. " Let's go then." he
began to walk off but was stopped by Tasuki who had suddenly grabbed his
sleeve.
" Wait
a second. We're not gonna get anywhere with you dressed like that!"
Tasuki pointed out, wrinkling his nose at the ridiculously elaborate outfit.
Hotohori
looked down at his outfit. " What's the matter with my clothes?"
he demanded. Tasuki wasn't one to talk. The great black over
coat was not to the Emperor's taste either.
" Hotohori-sama.
I dunno how much yah know about the people of Kounan but it should be pretty
obvious that none of 'em would go wandering about the Capital City decked
out the way you are!" Tasuki explained, wondering if his spare clothes
would fit on the taller man, he added without thinking " And I am most
definitely not going to go out with some guy that looks like and over dressed
duck!"
"
You shoulda seen the look on his face when I made that duck comment!
It was priceless! I...I laugh every time I think about it!
Hmmm...Sorry it took me so long to get myself together again...He just
looked so fucking funny! Yah know Hotohori could be a lotta fun when
he got it into his mind to be!
"Well,
after he'd gotten changed, we went out inta the city. He was looking
around like some big kid in festival time, as though being out and about
there was new to him and it probably was. He told me that he had
never gone out into the city by himself, without escorts and all that crap.
We were stopping every step to look at the things that they were selling
at the stalls, every little thing fascinated him. He was so cute!
After he'd wound down enough, I took him into a tavern and I got myself
a drink, he didn't want one, and we talked. Nicest talk I'd ever
had with anybody.
"
I told him about my family, about my ma and how she almost suffocated me
with those gigantic boobs of hers and how it turned me off milk for the
rest of my life. Then he told me about his and ta tell yah the truth,
it didn't sound as though he had the happiest family life. He had
a control freak for a mother and half brothers and sisters that he barely
even knew. Can you believe that? Not knowing your own brothers
and sisters? Poor thing...
"
Anyways, seeing him like that, being able to talk to him...It just made
me realize that no matter how hard I tried to kid myself, I was gonna have
a bloody rough time trying ta forget him...I couldn't. Not after
I realized just how fucking lonely his whole life was...How hard he's had
it...Before, I may have just been attracted to him 'cos I just wanted him...I
wanted him so badly it hurt but after that time out in the city, It just
showed me how easy it was to love someone like him.
"It
was afterwards, when we'd gotten back to the Palace and Nuriko'd finished
interrogating me about what I had been doing going off with Hotohori-sama
like that, when I was just thinking in my room that I finally admitted
to myself that I was falling for the guy and ta tell yah the truth, Chiri,
the thought scared me outta my mind! He was nothing like the other
guys that I'd ever been with. Nothing at all like Kouji and I didn't
know what I was supposed ta do. It had been easy with that bastard,
I just grabbed him and kissed him and we went from there but I couldn't
very well do that to Hotohori. He was different. Special to
me. That would have scared him off and I didn't want that.
I thought that even if we couldn't ever be anything more than friends and
fellow seishi, I would be satisfied with just being that and nothing more
but I still had to give it a go. I couldn't let him get away without
at least trying but shit, if he didn't want Nuriko who was such a looker
and a lot more refined than I was, what kinda chance did some Mountain
Bandit have?
"
I tried ta keep away from him after that, at least until I figured out
what the hell I should do. Every time he ran into me and wanted ta
talk, I'd make some excuse and I could tell that he was pretty hurt by
that but I couldn't do anything else, now could I? I managed to avoid
him pretty well until that time that Nuriko took MIaka to the star
gazing festival and he came ta me and asked me if somethin' was wrong..."
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10:52
AM 05/31/01