WARNING: Spoilers! If you don't know who Kenji is, please read at your own risk!
WITH DUE CREDIT: This fic was loosely spun off from two fics - "Over the Sting" by sasori and "Chronicles of a Rurouni", one of my earlier fics.
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Yesterday's Shadow is Tomorrow's Twilight
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Chapter 40: Mind Games
"Yuki-san!" Soujirou's bright, chirpy voice made Enishi decidedly more irritated, him not having had much sleep the night prior. And how dare the little prick change Enishi's name for him just like that! "Some guests are here to see Kakunoshin-san!"
Upon the mention of Hiko's artisan name, Enishi's previously muddled mind immediately whirred into action. Soujirou noticed the look of realisation dawn on Enishi's face. He smiled,E He turned. Slowly.
"This is my friend," Soujirou immediately introduced. If he noticed the shocked faces on three of the people in the group, he did a great job of hiding it. "Yuki-san!"
Silence reigned.
"Hello, Yuki-san," someone from within the group finally said. It was
the long-haired man - the only one who had not had a shocked look on
his face when Enishi turned to mildly glare at the entourage. "Pleased
to meet you."
he was sure he knew who they were.
And of course, he was sure they knew who he was too.
He was a little too late in making his decision. By the time he made a move to exit the house and search for Hiko, perhaps warning him of the coming guests, Soujirou had brought the guests in. "Please take a seat anywhere!" He chirped, much to Enishi's annoyance. He knew it was not that the boy did not have tact. It was just that he must have subconsciously sensed that this would greatly frustrate Enishi and thus reveled in making his voice as happy as possible in his presence. Enishi sighed, hearing the shuffle of feet behind him, knowing that this was a situation he would have to face sooner or later.
He turned. Slowly.
"This is my friend," Soujirou immediately introduced. If he noticed the shocked faces on three of the people in the group, he did a great job of hiding it. "Yuki-san!"
Silence reigned.
"Hello, Yuki-san," someone from within the group finally said. It was the long-haired man - the only one who had not had a shocked look on his face when Enishi turned to mildly glare at the entourage. "Pleased to meet you."
The other three were still too shocked to speak.
"Yuki-san had a terrible accident some decades ago when he saw someone important die before his eyes," Soujirou continued to chirp, purposely oblivious to the aura of danger Enishi was emitting in his general direction, "so he lost his voice! Please don't mind his sullen silences!"
If Enishi had not thought that that had been ingenius of Soujirou first and foremost, he would have strangled the happy little fellow to death, there and then.
"I see," the long haired man, evidently the leader, nodded. "I understand your pain, Yuki-san." He said, in a voice that was sweet like honey yet dangerous like the bees that surrounded it. Reaching up to touch his eyes with a pale, calloused hand, he stated, "I am disabled, too. Here, though." He ghosted a couple of fingers over his closed eyes.
This seemingly snapped his three other followers out of their shock. "Ming..." The one standing closest to him - the only girl in the entourage, stepped even closer and wanted to say something, likely in protest. The man - Ming was his name, held a hand out, silencing her.
"My name is Ming," he introduced, then gestured to where his followers were, "these are my companions."
"I am Guang," the tallest person in the group continued from where Ming left off. He was hulking, to say the least. He had an aura of a seditary predator, waiting to pounce if only the prey warranted it. His accent was thick, and his language unsure. "I am pleased to meet you." He bowed obligingly at Soujirou, who bowed back. When he turned to bow to Enishi, however, he froze, and began to tremble. "And... and you too..." he tried hard not to stutter, failing. He bowed, taking a long time to straighten himself.
"Da," the smaller, thinner man said, bowing. He, too, gave Enishi a dubious look which was a cross between grave fear and deep hesitation. He said nothing else.
"And I am Zheng," the girl was the last to introduce herself. She shot Enishi a lethal glare, though her pupils were also tinted with specks of fear. "Where is the master Kakunoshin? We wish to speak to him, not his filthy dogs."
"Zheng, watch your mouth," Ming frowned at the girl, who shrank back slightly but continued glaring at Enishi. Enishi sighed again, this time inwardly. He retreated slightly so he could lean against the wall of the house interior, quirking an eyebrow at Soujirou. Soujirou simply smiled back. "I am sorry for her words," Ming said, also smiling, but much more deviously. "But she is right. We need to speak with the master. Can you bring us to him?"
"Why don't you sit down and rest a bit first?" Soujirou gestured towards the ground, he himself halfway kneeling upon it. "Kakunoshin-san has gone up to the retreats and will not be back until he wishes to return. If you are unable to stay indefinitely, I will be happy to take down your message for him and relay it to the master when he returns."
Da and Guang tensed immediately. Zheng continued glaring. Ming continued smiling. "That would not be necessary," he said. "We will have to speak to the master himself, or we will not be speaking to him at all."
"Mmm..." Soujirou rubbed the back of his head sheepishly. "...how terrible... because we do not really know where Kakunoshin-san has gone to..."
"This is an emergency!" The burly Guang suddenly shouted, slamming a fist against a nearby wall. The entire house shook. Wood and soil dribbled onto the ground from the ceiling. "Bring the man out at once!"
"Silence!" Ming's curt, yet commanding voice cut the stout man down. Guang calmed down, but was still evidently seething. "Will you please attempt to find the master, Souji-san?" He then asked Soujirou in a softer, more polite voice. "It is about the deal of big vases we had offered to him about two weeks ago..."
"Hmm..." Soujirou mumbled, eyes on the ceiling in a pondering pose. "The huge shipment of huge vases to be delivered to Azumamaro?" He offered. And this time, even Ming was surprised. The questioning look on his face made Soujirou literally laugh out loud. "Please don't look so surprised." He gestured to the ground, where several zabutons were already laid out. "Take a seat, please. I will answer your questions, if you have any."
The group still had doubt and suspicion written over their faces. Soujirou kept his smile warm.
"Yuki-san!" Soujirou suddenly chirped, very /very/ happily. "I know! Why don't you brew some nice, refreshing green for our guests here?" He grinned, teeth and everything, at the stunned Enishi, who had been trying to hide in the shadows all this time. "Don't let the guests look down on your tea-service! Oh, we don't seem to have any water so you may have to go draw some..." He pouted, but there was no compassion in his voice at all. "The tea leaves are in the back room. Thanks, Yuki-san! We'll be waiting for you!"
Enishi thought he almost blew a blood vessel on Soujirou. Suddenly, strangling the smiley face seemed like the best idea in the world.
--
When Enishi returned from drawing water from the well, Soujirou was already engaged in animated conversation with the guests. So engrossed they were in what Soujirou was saying, they did not notice him slipping into the house from the back door. Enishi shook his head, proceeding to brew the tea. He wondered how Soujirou was able to hold their attention for so long, when it was getting rather obvious to him that the boy was incessantly chattering about nothing in particular.
The pot of tea did not take long to brew. Once it was ready, Enishi carted the thing over, along with a few cups. He laid them in front of the guests and plonked himself down beside where Soujirou was kneeling. "Ah," Soujirou smiled at him. "Thank you!" Placing the cups before the individuals in the group and pouring out tea for everybody, Soujirou warmly invited, "Have a drink! It gets pretty cold around here when evening comes!"
While the guests looked suspiciously at their cups of tea, Enishi grabbed his cup and downed his tea in one gulp. The hot water slithered down his throat, almost burning it. But it was all right with him. The way things were now, he would not have minded downing the entire pot in one gulp, just to see if he would wake up.
The guests looked at him, impressed. Enishi slammed his cup on the ground, glaring up at the three who were not blind from where he sat. Immediately, they shrank back. Enishi wondered if he should grin maniacally while he was at it. That would really bring back memories for his ex-followers, wouldn't it?
"Yuki-san," a calm, serious voice jolted him from his thoughts. He turned, noticing that Soujirou had tilted his head so that he could look at Enishi in the eye. "Don't scare the guests like that, please?"
Enishi transferred his glare from the four sitting opposite him to Soujirou. But Soujirou was unfazed. He had seen enough Enishi-glares to be able to tell that this one had no real threat behind it. Well, not yet, anyway. Finally, Enishi relented. He rolled his eyes and relaxed into his posture, keeping his facade poker and aura calm.
Their little silent exchange did not escape the observant eyes of the girl known as Zheng. She frowned.
"So, as I was telling them," Soujirou picked up the conversation, once he knew he had control of it again, "Kakunoshin-san has gotten himself a new protege, and is currently in the retreat with his protege, training him in many things. It is a great honour that he has engaged us to continue his work for him while he concentrates on the bigger task! We are certainly pleased to be of service to you!" He bowed slightly.
"It seems rather incompetent of Kakunoshin-san to leave a huge task an important client has entrusted him into the hands of amatuers," Zheng immediately protested, venom dripping from her deep voice. "Does he hold us in no regard at all?"
"That is an unreasonable assumption, my lady," Soujirou looked in the direction of Zheng, smiling at her. "Yuki-san is well known for his craft in porcelain - skilled in techniques from both shores." He paused, to take in the doubtful look on the faces of the group. "Shall I tour you around his wares now?"
The trio looked to their leader, at a seeming loss. Ming himself was in deep thought, for his smile was no longer on his face. Only for a while, though, for he soon resumed smiling, saying, "That would not be necessary," he stated. "Since we have delegated the job to the master, we have absolute faith in his abilities - including his ability to choose his subordinates."
"Your words shine with reason, Ming-san," Soujirou smiled in his way.
"Thank you," Ming nodded. "When will we be able to speak with the master about a few things, then?"
Soujirou lifted a finger to point at the ceiling. "Of course! We can try to look for him, but I give you no guarantees. Please stay here for a while with Yuki-san, and I will be right back after I find him, if I ever do," Soujirou was saying, while slowly rising to full height. "I'll be right back...-"
"No! Wait!" the girl immediately cried out. "We will go with you," she insisted, while casting furtive, uncertain glances to a side at Enishi. Enishi stared at her back levelly. "The master seems rather adamant about staying out, so he may not wish to return at all," she tried to clarify, as she was attracting much attention with her illogical outburst, "and since we are already here, we will not leave without speaking to the master." She stood as well, amidst audience attention. "We will follow you."
After an awkward silence, the man called Ming stood as well. "Perhaps she is right. We will not be achieving much by staying put here. Souji-san, would it be okay if we accompanied you for the search for the master?"
Soujirou put on a troubled face. "But this may be a wild goose chase, Ming-san. I will be just running around the places I think he will be to see if they are there. I cannot guarantee that we will definitely find him." He tilted his head to a side questioningly. "...would you still like to go in this case?"
"Yes!" Zheng exclaimed.
Ming turned in the direction of her voice and gave her a strange look. He then continued calmly, "A nice walk along the paths of nature may sooth our nerves from the long journey to Kyoto."
Soujirou laughed funnily. "A nice /walk/, huh?" He mumbled under his breath. "...I wasn't really intending to /walk/, but anyway..." Aloud and clearly he said, while gesturing towards the back door, "This way, please!"
Everybody except Enishi stood and began shuffling out of the hut. The trio who accompanied Ming turned back periodically to stare at him. The girl merely grit her teeth, then ran ahead to catch up with Ming. The other two remained hovering about the doorway. They had something to say but were not saying it out loud, and that made Enishi feel rather frustrated. He had been staring at a particular spot on the wall, trying hard to ignore the looks the others were throwing in his direction. He knew that stirring trouble at this particular point in time would delay their mission further, so he chose to steer clear of it. But enough was enough, he decided. He turned.
Soujirou and Ming were already out of the house, and Zheng was clinging near him. Da and Guang were the two that had not yet exited. The sudden change in eye contact could literally be felt, for Enishi did not hold back his irritation.
"What are you guys staring at?" Enishi snarled softly, so that only those who were in the house could hear. He flashed the two frightened men a sly smile. "Don't you know who I am?"
The duo immediately tensed. Thick fear was instantly drawn over their faces. But before they could bolt or say a word, Enishi sighed loudly, running a hand through his hair. He stood silently, turning to stare at the others one last time. Without another word more, he exited the house via the front exit nonchalantly, as if he had never spoken a word before.
"Xue Dai!" Guang pointed at the other door with a slack jaw. He turned to Da, who was also staring at the other door. "Yukishiro!"
They stared at each other a moment more. Then turned tail and sprinted as fast as they could towards where their two other comrades were.
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... to be continued
22/12/04
tougenkyou . net / xd