A/N- Wow real live reviews! Four is a perfectly respectable number, after
all. Anyhow thanks for your comments. I'm not quite sure about the
Nuriko/Miaka thing yet but Hotohori is definitely gonna get hooked up.
Whether the poor man likes it or not!
Standard disclaimers apply, i.e. I don't own it, Yuu Watase does. She owns everything and a damn lucky woman she is, too.
What If? Part 3-Purple with Envy
Kourin paused at the corner and leaned against an opulent red column, sighing deeply. Ever since seeing the look the emperor had given that priestess she had been unable to lift the cloud of unhappiness that had settled over her, raining persistently on her heart. Even her brother's presence wasn't helping.
I've lost him to the priestess too. He'll go off with her on her mission and what will be left for me?
She bit her lip and began walking again. How many times could she walk around the palace? How many days would it be before she couldn't stand it anymore? The only thing that had kept her in this cold place so long had been a vain hope that someday the emperor might choose her to be his empress.
But that look. He'll never love me. I should've never come.
With her head in some other world, her feet were carrying her ever closer to the emperor's quarters. She would look back on it later and remember how his voice came to her, carried on a gentle breeze. She would remember seeing his face through the window without remembering any conscious desire to look inside.
But look she did. Kourin watched as Hotohori professed his love to the priestess as he held her, looking into her eyes. He said that he loved her and. with vision blurred from tears she saw the priestess stiffen in his hold, unease practically radiating off of her. She didn't melt into his embrace. She didn't even kiss him or anything!
She doesn't love him! Look at how tense she is!.She must want someone else! She turned away with a gleeful smile at this realization and immediately began plotting. Once again, her feet took over, this time taking her towards her room, which her brother now shared with her. Oh how delicious! I can't wait to tell him the news!
Her heartache, now erased from her mind, was being hastily replaced by what she was coming to think of as "The Plan." So the Priestess wants some one else, huh? Well we can't let her down now can we? Hmmm, I wonder who it is?
She scanned the ornate gold and red trimmed doorways in frustration and quickened her pace. Gods, how far had she walked? She quickened her pace even more as she realized she must have taken the long way around. Throwing caution to the wind for the second time that day she broke into a run, sandals and skirts in hand.
The railing, the red columns and the neat doorways whipped past. How she had missed running!
Unfortunately, she wasn't looking where she was going. She careened into an unseen figure in her path with enough force to knock them both over. She found herself on top of a blue haired man that she seemed to recognize. Turning cherry red, she got off him picked up her shoes and ran off.
Tamahome sat up and scratched his head. I've been meeting such weird chicks lately.
* * *
Kourin burst into the room with an enormous crash as the door banged back against the wall. Ryuuen practically jumped out of his skin, then went into fighting stance, expecting to see heavily armed intruder.
Instead, he saw Kourin, red-faced and panting, shoes in hand, with a huge grin on her face. He dropped his arms and straightened his back, looking slightly crestfallen.
"What-"
"Sit down! You'll never believe what I found out about the priestess!" Kourin gushed as she hopped around, maneuvering Ryuuen into a chair.
"Oh, Great Suzaku! What did you do?" Ryuuen exclaimed. He hated to think about what Kourin might've done to the poor girl. She could be pretty vicious when she was pissed off. There was that one time, with the brat next-door. He winced. The vomit-chili switch off had been hilarious and quite well deserved but. Miaka was so nice. "Did you-"
"Shush. I just happened to witness a fairly juicy confrontation between the priestess and the emperor. Now hear me out!" Kourin said as she tried to keep Nuriko from interrupting her. "Okay. Guess what I found out! Guess!"
"I have no idea."
"You're no fun. Anyhow, he was all over her but she wasn't going for it!" Kourin said in a rush, not pausing for breath between sentences. Her face overflowed with mischievous glee.
"What are you going to do about it?" Nuriko said with a sigh. Despite himself he was dying to know what she was scheming. Mischief was one of the things he missed most about his child and Kourin had it in spades.
"I need to find out who she likes first. Once I know that, I set them up together and the emperor is all mine!" She rubbed her hands together.
"That's it? How are you going to get him to like you?" Ryuuen said, leaning toward her now wrapped in the spirit of scheming.
"Oh, yeah."
"Kourin, I think you need to go back to the drawing board," Ryuuen said putting his head in his hands and sighing deeply.
Standard disclaimers apply, i.e. I don't own it, Yuu Watase does. She owns everything and a damn lucky woman she is, too.
What If? Part 3-Purple with Envy
Kourin paused at the corner and leaned against an opulent red column, sighing deeply. Ever since seeing the look the emperor had given that priestess she had been unable to lift the cloud of unhappiness that had settled over her, raining persistently on her heart. Even her brother's presence wasn't helping.
I've lost him to the priestess too. He'll go off with her on her mission and what will be left for me?
She bit her lip and began walking again. How many times could she walk around the palace? How many days would it be before she couldn't stand it anymore? The only thing that had kept her in this cold place so long had been a vain hope that someday the emperor might choose her to be his empress.
But that look. He'll never love me. I should've never come.
With her head in some other world, her feet were carrying her ever closer to the emperor's quarters. She would look back on it later and remember how his voice came to her, carried on a gentle breeze. She would remember seeing his face through the window without remembering any conscious desire to look inside.
But look she did. Kourin watched as Hotohori professed his love to the priestess as he held her, looking into her eyes. He said that he loved her and. with vision blurred from tears she saw the priestess stiffen in his hold, unease practically radiating off of her. She didn't melt into his embrace. She didn't even kiss him or anything!
She doesn't love him! Look at how tense she is!.She must want someone else! She turned away with a gleeful smile at this realization and immediately began plotting. Once again, her feet took over, this time taking her towards her room, which her brother now shared with her. Oh how delicious! I can't wait to tell him the news!
Her heartache, now erased from her mind, was being hastily replaced by what she was coming to think of as "The Plan." So the Priestess wants some one else, huh? Well we can't let her down now can we? Hmmm, I wonder who it is?
She scanned the ornate gold and red trimmed doorways in frustration and quickened her pace. Gods, how far had she walked? She quickened her pace even more as she realized she must have taken the long way around. Throwing caution to the wind for the second time that day she broke into a run, sandals and skirts in hand.
The railing, the red columns and the neat doorways whipped past. How she had missed running!
Unfortunately, she wasn't looking where she was going. She careened into an unseen figure in her path with enough force to knock them both over. She found herself on top of a blue haired man that she seemed to recognize. Turning cherry red, she got off him picked up her shoes and ran off.
Tamahome sat up and scratched his head. I've been meeting such weird chicks lately.
* * *
Kourin burst into the room with an enormous crash as the door banged back against the wall. Ryuuen practically jumped out of his skin, then went into fighting stance, expecting to see heavily armed intruder.
Instead, he saw Kourin, red-faced and panting, shoes in hand, with a huge grin on her face. He dropped his arms and straightened his back, looking slightly crestfallen.
"What-"
"Sit down! You'll never believe what I found out about the priestess!" Kourin gushed as she hopped around, maneuvering Ryuuen into a chair.
"Oh, Great Suzaku! What did you do?" Ryuuen exclaimed. He hated to think about what Kourin might've done to the poor girl. She could be pretty vicious when she was pissed off. There was that one time, with the brat next-door. He winced. The vomit-chili switch off had been hilarious and quite well deserved but. Miaka was so nice. "Did you-"
"Shush. I just happened to witness a fairly juicy confrontation between the priestess and the emperor. Now hear me out!" Kourin said as she tried to keep Nuriko from interrupting her. "Okay. Guess what I found out! Guess!"
"I have no idea."
"You're no fun. Anyhow, he was all over her but she wasn't going for it!" Kourin said in a rush, not pausing for breath between sentences. Her face overflowed with mischievous glee.
"What are you going to do about it?" Nuriko said with a sigh. Despite himself he was dying to know what she was scheming. Mischief was one of the things he missed most about his child and Kourin had it in spades.
"I need to find out who she likes first. Once I know that, I set them up together and the emperor is all mine!" She rubbed her hands together.
"That's it? How are you going to get him to like you?" Ryuuen said, leaning toward her now wrapped in the spirit of scheming.
"Oh, yeah."
"Kourin, I think you need to go back to the drawing board," Ryuuen said putting his head in his hands and sighing deeply.