Beauty and the Hanjyuu

Chapter 2: Undesired, Unexpected

Disclaimer: I don't own Twelve Kingdoms or its amazing characters.

Shokei stride purposefully towards Yoko's sleeping quarters, intending to continue the conversation that they had earlier. Kantai said that he would meet up with her a little later, so she decided to go on without him. Suzu was delayed too, since she had 'matters' to attend to, as she had put it. "I wonder if Yoko would think that sneaking into Ei State College to visit Sekki is considered a pressing matter." She always knew that Suzu had this adorable crush on him, it was all too obvious. A few weeks after the rebellion, he had announced that he was going to leave the capital to head to Ei. Suzu had then promptly burst into tears and locked herself in her room, leaving a confused Sekki wondering if he had unwittingly said something that had upset her. "Nani…" he scratched his head.

Flashback

"Open up, Suzu! What are you doing, and why are you locking yourself up?"

Stoned silence. She tried again, knocking the wooden door lightly. "Come on, tell me what's bothering you? Is it something to do with…Sekki leaving?" She heard the muffled patter of footsteps before the door creaked opened before her. A gloomy-looking Suzu stared up at her, her usually bright eyes now blood-shot and puffy. She abruptly turned to face the opened window, embarrassed that her friend had seen her in such a wretched state. But that was nothing compared to the overwhelming emptiness she felt. He was leaving.

Shokei cocked a questioning eyebrow. This was very unlike Suzu. She wasn't the type to get so upset over small things; after all this was the very same girl who had single-handedly joined a rebellion to bring down the tyrannical Shoko without a moment of hesitation. She was courageous in her own right, yet something must have perturbed her so. Shokei tried to fight down the amused smile that was on her face as realization dawned. It was pretty simple: Suzu was in love with Sekki. And now he's leaving, naturally she would react that way. She slung a reassuring arm around Suzu's petite shoulders, trying hard not to laugh out. Love had a way of rendering people helpless in its wake.

"You know, if you really like him that much you should tell him about it. Its not as if he can read your mind, and besides," she tried to make her face look as innocuous as she possibly could, " he is kind of cute, not to mention talented at such a tender age. If you want to give him up, then don't blame me for cutting in…" She looked at her best friend through the side of her eye; the expression on Suzu's face having an uncanny resemblance to a blowfish. All traces of sadness magically disappeared from her face; instead, Suzu seemed more energized than before. "Don't you even try! He's –" She stopped in mid-sentence as she saw Shokei shaking with laughter.

"Shokei, you little imp! How dare you tease me at a time like this!" she exclaimed, giving her a playful smack on the arm. Shokei hugged her stomach as her sides began to ache from laughing too much.

"Well, I had no other choice. I'd probably have to talk myself dry of body fluids to coax anything out of you."

She propped her elbow on the window still, looking intently at Suzu, of whom the latter suddenly became very interested with the spot on her shoe. After what seemed like an eternity, she finally spoke. "I know I should be happy for Sekki for getting in, he really has what it takes to become an officer. But I just…" she sighed, continuing. "I don't even know if he likes me…I mean what if I tell him but he just blanks out or something? Perhaps I should just accept the news and let him go instead." Shokei could stand this no longer. She grabbed Suzu's wrist and dragged her out of the room.

"Look Suzu, I am not going to sit here doing nothing and watch you mope as you let such a chance slip away. If you just let him leave, Kami knows if he'll meet someone else and you'll be left to nurse a broken heart." She lowered her voice and placed both hands on Suzu's cheek. Her palms were warm and soothing, and Suzu felt that she seemed to be generating into her that bit of strength and determination that she needed. "You never know if he feels the same until you try, so don't blow it." She gave her a push, nodding her head towards the courtyard where Sekki was sweeping. Suzu took deep breaths, trying to will her heart to slow down. She gave Shokei a grateful smile before slowly walking towards him.

Shokei never managed to catch what they said to each other, but judging by the identical smiles of joy that were on both their faces, she'd say it was a success.

End of Flashback

She paused, stopping by the side of the hallways, admiring how the afternoon sun made the Palace Garden's flowers bloom with an unspoken vivacious spirit, brightening even the darkest corners. It would be nice to take a stroll with the one you loved, especially on a day like this. Suzu would definitely like this. Shokei smiled to herself as another face surfaced into her mind.

Rakushun.

She resumed her walking as her thoughts began to wander. She remembered the time that she had dragged him along with her to be thrown in jail for stealing Kyo-Ou's treasures. The poor guy didn't have the faintest idea what hit him. Yet, not only did he take her foul temperament in his stride, he didn't even blame her the slightest bit for getting him into trouble. He had been so accommodating and forgiving throughout the whole time they traveled together, Shokei sometimes found herself wondering if it was all just a dream. Had it been someone else that she had ran into, someone less hospitable than Rakushun, she most certainly won't be where she was today. She suddenly felt a sense of longing overcome her. It had been quite sometime since she last saw him. She promised that as soon as she helped Yoko tide through this obstacle, she'd do the same thing that Suzu did. She let out a soft giggle as she reached the threshold of the Queen's room.

"Thank you."

Shokei stepped back upon hearing those words. "Is Yoko busy? I thought she wasn't expecting any company today." She shifted her foot ever so slightly, and in that certain instant, she caught a clear glimpse of the visitor.

It was Rakushun? What was he doing here? As her eyes traveled lower, she saw that Yoko had her arms around him, her face nuzzling his ear affectionately. This wasn't happening…it just couldn't. Why was her best friend hugging the man she had secretly given… No, maybe she just caught them at a bad time. Rakushun was, after all Yoko's good friend too. He might be just trying to comfort her or something. If only it was that simple. Shokei felt her heart plummet to the bottom of her stomach, as she stood rooted to the spot, unable to take her eyes off the pair. Rakushun leant a little closer, his mouth inching ever so slowly towards Yoko. She felt tears well up her eyes as she turned, intending to leave when she felt someone grasp her hand.

It was Kantai.

He apparently witnessed the whole thing as she had. Raising a finger to his lips, he motioned for her to keep silent as she followed him out of the room. Back outside the hallway, he began to make his way to the stables. Shokei peeked at him, unwilling to show her face. He still hasn't let go of her hand. She wondered if he was going to say about what just happened. She looked down again. What a day it had been; one moment she was in high spirits and the next, she was…well she didn't know what to think. She just wanted to curl up in her futon and pull up the covers for the next few days.

"Ja…Kichiryo is all geared up, let's go." Before she could even open her mouth to protest, she felt herself being lifted and plopped on the magnificent black beast. Kantai swung one foot over and landed neatly behind her. He slapped the reins firmly and Kichiryo began his ascent towards the azure blue sky. In a few moments, all that was left of them was a tiny speck amongst the clouds.

Back in Kimba Palace….

"Ah-Choo!"

Yoko sneezed, just before his lips reached hers. Rakushun jumped back in shock, watching the girl before him blush furiously, her face a shade of red that would have rivaled her hair. "Gomenasai! Where did that come from…" she muttered, rubbing her nose. Despite shattering the whole romantic atmosphere, she was still unbelievably cute. 'Perhaps that had come at the perfect timing, otherwise Kami knows when we'll start to get down to serious business,' he mused as he sat down on a polished stool.

A/N: Acck. Shall honestly profess to tearing my hair out while trying to think of how to continue Second Glances and this fic. Sad to say, it resulted into nothing more than the demise of my brain cells; peeps, I've got writer's block. The horror, the mayhem! I need some help, if anyone wants to give me feedback or suggestions, review or even email me would be great. Till the next chapter then…