Ch 9. A Song of Rain

AN: some terms to know:

--junihitoe: formal ceremonial dress of the Heian period, typically has 12 layers

--pillow sleeve: term used often in romantic Heian poems. When a lover rests his/her head on the arm of their lover (both are lying down… DUH).

Coincidentally she performed the rain dance inside while it rained outside. The aristocrats who gathered inside the main hall of the imperial palace quickly became enthralled by Kyouyama Anna. They agreed that she single-handedly transformed their perception of the bad weather into a sight deserving of praise. Hao, in particular, commended the young woman on her ability to entice the entire audience simply by walking into the grand room. He couldn't help but feel immense satisfaction at each gasp and awe that Anna drew from the crowd.

A whole week had passed since they returned to the capital. They hadn't seen each other from the time they had walked on the beach up until now. Correspondence would have been very possible, but he preferred to give her a break. He had other things, other people, to fill up his time. So despite his growing interest in Anna, he still managed to keep his feelings in check. Besides, 'anxious' was never a fitting adjective for Hao.

Presently, his wife Jeanne was at his side, along with her father. Jeanne clung to Hao's arm, scorning the other ladies with her false displays of affection. She's silently claiming me in front of the other women, he mused. Cattiness wasn't beneath her, after all. How entertaining!

Tamao watched the same dance from the back of the crowd. She felt a simultaneous mix of admiration and envy for the young woman dancing. Kyouyama Anna was not someone she had heard of until now. All the men and women, young or old, were fixated on the skillful dancer as she weaved her fan gracefully in the air.

The blond had an unusual kind of beauty. There weren't any particular features on her face that were more astonishing from other beautiful women---something else made her extraordinary.

Something beyond the light golden hair that other Japanese women didn't possess. Something beyond her porcelain skin.

An aura. She exuded an aura. It projected mystery and depth.

Tamao heaved a sigh. Looking at this woman called Anna somehow made her feel defeated. But how did this stranger defeat her? And at what? She looked across the room; it was then that her feelings of inferiority were reaffirmed. Her sight fell on prince Hao, who was also watching the refined movements of the dancer. But he wasn't looking at her with the same admiration as the other people of the court. He seemed to have a whole different level of involvement, one she couldn't describe.

Elsewhere, Ren studied the details of Anna's attire. He took note of the intricate ornaments fastened to her blond hair; its metal pieces refracted light across the ceiling and walls. A silk woven junihitoe adorned her body. The theme of azure storks against an ivory background embellished its top layer. Its second lining was made of a transparent navy. The remaining ten interior layers consisted of various shades of violet and coral, some pale, some dusky, reminding Ren of a winter sunrise.

Oyamada Manta marveled at the beauty from his seat in the front row. Upon seeing the glint in his son's eyes, Oyamada Mansumi beckoned for his servant.

"Yes, Sir?"

"So this is Kyouyama Anna?"

"Yes sir, that is correct."

"What do we know about her?"

"Though her family history is unclear, she's somehow gained the queen's interest … the rumors say it was the queen who overlooked the lack of noble blood in her and personally brought Kyouyama into the imperial palace."

"Can we arrange a meeting with the queen sometime?"

The lanky servant looked at his master's face with surprise and nervousness. "Uh…y-yes."

Anna stayed by the queen's side for the remainder of the night, making it impossible for any man to secure a private conversation with her. She gave a small, polite bow to each person who tried to approach her. Though her manners were demure, her eyes were kept cold, never looking at the person, but always past him. She answered their conversational inquiries with few words, and instead, let the queen do most of the talking.

The kind of flower that flourishes in the snow, that Anna! Hao smiled to himself as he watched her quietly shatter the illusions of each man standing in front of her. They were naïve to think they could win her affections.

"G-g-good evening, H-hao-sama," came a soft voice.

Who was it that spoke? Hao turned around to face a young man deficient in height; he wanted to laugh at the extremity of it.

"Ah. Oyamada-kun, was it?" Hao narrowed his eyes. The young man was son of a merchant turned politician. Insects sometimes crawled their way towardsnobility. And here was a useless offspring, one that always stuttered.

"Y-yes, your highness. W-wasn't that dance splendid? And that wo----"

"Ah, it was." Hao turned around and walked away before the young man could stammer out the rest of his words. The prince gave a dismissal wave from over his shoulders.

The tall, hourglass figured woman watched the aristocratic social scenery unfold before her eyes. She cooled herself with a thick papered fan, its body outlined in gold and emerald. The long ribbons fastening the sides swayed as the fan flapped back and forth with the flickering of her wrist.

A small gasp escaped her lips when she felt a firm hand fall upon her shoulder.

"Enjoying the regalia, Jun-san?"

Tao Jun smiled from behind the fan. She could identify her new company without turning around. She recognized his voice. She recognized his scent. It was the familiar honey lotus scent from his sleeves, neither too flowery, nor too smoky. "I still find these events interesting. Some new drama is always spurned from these things. Speaking of, where have you been Hao-chan? You were missing from the concert last week."

Hao gave out an exaggerated sigh. "It's been years since I surpassed you in height, yet you insist on calling me Hao-chan. I wish you would give me some face."

Jun whirled around and batted her long lashes as a response.

"I was away on some business, if you must know," Hao said, feigning a tone of annoyance.

"Business you say? I do wonder about that," she said, stretching the words out playfully on her tongue.

He stepped closer towards her, towering over Jun with his height. "You know me too well." A few strands of hair had fallen over her eye; he slowly brushed it off to the side. "The green shades of your junihitoe compliments your hair."

"You've always been so bold, Hao-chan, flirting with me so openly with all these eyes on us. And why is the new wife of Umemiya Ryunosuke giving you such sad eyes from across the room? You didn't play with that poor thing too, did you?"

He looked in the direction that she indicated. He spotted Pirika who was standing amidst a crowd of flamboyantly dressed ladies. Indeed, she had a pitiful expression on her face. He didn't find it cute at all. "Funny, I didn't notice her till now."

"I also see your wife glaring intensely from the opposite side.

He trusted her statement to be true; seeing it for himself would be unnecessary. "That explains why I feel a hole boring into my back."

Jun let out a mature woman's giggle, the kind that's emitted with a seductive quality. Before Hao could say more, a loud cough interrupted.

"Onee-san, shouldn't you be heading home soon? Your husband waits, ill, at home."

"I suppose it's the wife's duty to nurse her husband back to health. Who knows what jobs are left for the doctors to do?" Ren could only scowl at his older sister's cheerful answer.

Jun turned back to Hao. "I wish you a good night," and she paused for a moment, thinking that perhaps she should give him some face after all. "Hao-sama," she finished.

Ren whispered into her ears before she finally departed. "Think about what you are doing, Onee-san."

Her retort also came in a whisper. "You've mysteriously turned into such a caring brother." She smiled innocently at him before leaving.

He looked after her, flushed. "Che."

"Ren, so what did you think?"

Ren looked at his childhood friend with a serious expression on his face. "What did I think of what?" Though he asked, he already had a feeling about what Hao was implying.

"About her."

"About her who?"

Hao let out another exasperated sigh and nudged his friend in the back.

"About the "her" that caused your face to swell for a couple of days."

"You …how do you always find out about these things?"

"Your Hao-sama has resources." They stared at each other for several seconds more. Ren blinked first.

"Meaning everyone's and anyone's servants are on your side. Those traitorous whelps, I should be rid of them and hire new ones."

"Don't be so angry. Besides, you haven't answered my question yet. What do you think of her? You did follow her too, after all."

Ren deliberated for several seconds. "So you're telling me you were there as well?"

Hao gave his friend a smug look. "More or less."

"This time, I'm not giving up so easily."

"Ren, don't you realize you've already lost?"

"Hmph. What makes you think you've won?"

"What makes you think I haven't?"

"I'm not going to argue with you all night."

"Alright, how about a bet?"

Ren smirked. "What's the wager then?"

Anna looked at the sliver of moon hangin in the sapphire sky. The gray clouds had dispersed, but the possibility of rain still loomed ahead. It was chilly outside and the small breezes were enough to make her body shiver. She pulled the collar of her thin white robe closer to her throat. The cherry blossoms were absent from the trees, having been completely replaced by young green leaves. The only trace left of the petals was the dots of pink floating in the pond below.

When his footsteps sounded against hard ground, she said, "I'm beginning to think I should hire some guards."

"It depends on who you are trying to keep out."

"Someone like you. Obviously."

The handsome prince stood below her wooden deck. His loose, long hair billowed with the cold breeze. Instead of replying to her comment, he just gazed at her face. It was a long and searching gaze.

A blanket of shadow fell across Hao's face when a large cloud moved across the sky, covering the moon crest momentarily, dimming the world.

And still nothing. No words.

When the cloud passed and the moon re-emerged, the lucid light streamed across Hao's face once again. He did not take his eyes off her face. Not once.

Loud bursts of thunder began to rattle the sky, making Anna look up suddenly. At first a few drops of rain fell. Plink-plank. Plink-plank.

And then it poured. Plinkplankplankplankplankplankplinkplankplankplankplinkplank.

Hao looked up at the sky, surprised, then back at Anna again, expectantly. When Anna gave no signs towards showing hospitality, he shrugged his shoulders.

"You'll let a prince stand out in the rain?"

"It's not my problem you're standing in the rain." In a matter of seconds, the prince was drenched. His long hair matted against his face. His clothes hung drooping against his body.

"How cruel."

"Go home."

"I have to walk quite a ways. It's raining much too hard and it's gotten much too late."

"It's not too late in the night. I'm sure you'll find a woman along the way, one who's willing to pillow your head with her sleeves."

"I'm looking at your sleeves."

"Look elsewhere."

"Ha ha! Anna, you're always so cold." He stepped up to her and grabbed at her wrists.

She tried to back away, but was too late. Her body was crushed against the dampness of his clothes. "Go die somewhere," she spewed.

He grinned widely at her. "Where I come from, someone of a prince standing gets respect."

"Prince or peasant, I will never respect you."

"What if I become king and make you my queen?"

"Not interested."

"My Anna, you are so hard to please."

"It's not that I'm hard to please, it's because you're the wrong person to try to please me."

"You think so? Let's see if I can prove you wrong. It's convenient that your living quarters is located in the most reclusive part of the palace." He picked her up from the ground and walked towards her chamber. He used an elbow to slide the door panel open.

"What are you scheming? PUT ME DOWN!" Her white robe was now completely saturated by his wet clothes and strands of his hair stuck to her face.

"I think I've seen this scene before. You yell, you make some threats, but in the end, you're at my mercy." He slid the doors closed with one foot and placed her down on her futon.

It was all making her feel uncomfortable. She didn't like the coldness of his wet clothes satiating her own. Didn't like the weight of his body that suppressed hers. His breath was too warm against her skin. And her heart was beating much too fast, much too hard against her lungs, and much too loud, deafening her. "I hate you," she snarled.

"I'm happy to hear that you at least feel something for me."

What she did wasn't working, so she tried a different approach. Maybe appealing to his sense of reasoning would work. "I'm glad you find it humorous, but I don't. If you say you respect me, then I suggest you treat me accordingly."

"What I find humorous is you talking about respect. It seems you could learn a thing or two." Though it didn't show in her eyes, Anna's distress resonated against his chest in the form of her loud heart beats. He felt the sudden inclination to subside her fears; his tone softened. "Don't worry; I won't take advantage of you. I only want to talk. It seems this is the best method for getting you to talk." He continued when she finally showed that she would not struggle against him. "I'm curious…how did the queen end up finding someone like you?"

"Will this be a conversation, or an interrogation?"

He smiled as he swept the wet locks of hair away from her eyes. "A conversation, silly. I wonder where you get this hardheadedness from."

"You ask too many questions."

"And you answer too many questions with more questions. Or you don't answer at all." He paused. "I must be a strange man then, because that's one thing I find endearing about you."

"I didn't ask you to be endeared."

"The results are still the same."

"You must find many things endearing."

"Meaning what?"

"Meaning you find many things endearing."

"There you go again."

"I saw all those women in the room, looking at you with such doting eyes. Makes people wonder which ones you had relations with. You must have told each one what you found so endearing. And the pitiful expressions on their faces each time you spoke to someone else…makes me laugh. "

"Are you jealous?"

"Jealous?" she scoffed. "You are nothing to me. I don't believe in the words you tell me."

"But I am serious about what I tell you. In any case, don't think you can divert my attention away from the original question."

"Is my background story just a way to pass the time? To entertain you?"

"Anna, if we continue like this, there would be no end."

She averted her eyes. A long silence ensued between them, save for the sounds of the rain persisting outside, falling lighter than earlier. Plink-plank-plink-plink-plink-plank. It had a lulling effect on her and would, perhaps, explain her new willingness to disclose her history. In a resigned voice she answered, "I met her when I was nine years old." She paused again for a long time. Hao didn't make a sound, waiting for her to continue. Anna looked up to the ceiling as if she had been pained by her memories. "I was a parentless child then, wandering through the sooty fields aimlessly…Day by day," she said softly.

Plink-plank-plink-plank.

"I was starving that day. She found me staring at a rotten tomato that had been tossed on the ground. I don't know why she bothered with me. Maybe pity. Maybe a sense obligation. She was dressed like a commoner at the time. All the townspeople who saw her with me cursed her for siding with a foreigner.

I asked her why she didn't leave me the way I was and she answered, 'Your eyes. There's something in your eyes that I liked. They're eyes that would never accept defeat.'

She never brought me to the palace until this year. She had me stay at the covenant until then. Her identity was not revealed until the day she transferred me here, but I always had a feeling she wasn't an ordinary person….."
Hao listened intently, absorbing every word she spoke. So many questions arose, especially when her story started to get disconnected, yet he didn't dare interrupt. Anna was slowly drifting off. She jumped around in her recount of the past, making less sense the further she went along. Soon her voice became hushed, until nothing more came out but heavy breaths. Realizing he couldn't hold the weight of his own eye lids open either, he allowed them to close, joining Anna in slumber. He would ask her to fill in the holes of her past later.

AN: Sorry, kind of a rush job at the end. My brothers kept on bothering me to play Halo with them.

--August 17, 2005