A smack to the forehead woke Kyoko. Startled by the contact, she opened her eyes to see a large hand pressed against her forehead, supporting its weight as her upper body leaned forward. She was very close to a certain pair of green eyes.
Kuon smiled, the appearance dazzling.
"Good morning Kyoko." he said. "Please excuse me for my actions. Though I do enjoy a good morning kiss, I'd rather not get one from an unconscious woman."
Kyoko yelled, jumping off the bed so fast she forgot that Kuon was still resting on her legs. As a result, the prince fell to the floor as she scurried away.
"Your highness!" she howled, hiding behind on of the tables that dotted the crowded room. "I can't believe you! Why didn't you wake me up?"
"I'm sorry" said Kuon, picking himself off the ground and walking to the other side of the table. "But it felt wrong to disturb you." He tried to move around the table to where she was, but Kyoko scurried the opposite direction. It soon became a dance between the two and the table, Kuon desperately switching directions to get to Kyoko, and Kyoko darting away to keep the table between them. "You looked so cute and peaceful sleeping I couldn't help but not wake you."
"You!-"
Kyoko started throwing things at Kuon, picking up whatever she could from the table. Roots, quills, and pieces of paper were sent flying. "Playboy! Here I was worried for your health and all you can do is pick on me."
"I'm not picking on you." said Kuon, arms raised to block the hail of items being thrown at him. "You truly did look peaceful. Besides, I can only act like this because of you."
The stream of ammo stopped as Kyoko paused her attack. Kuon lowered his arms, tentatively peaking over them.
"What do you mean by that?" said Kyoko, with a frown.
"I mean." said Kuon. "That I feel much better now, and I have you to thank for that."
"Really?" said Kyoko, the previous embarrassment vanishing. "I was able to help?"
"Of course." said Kuon, walking around the table, this time Kyoko didn't run away. He stood before her, a sweet smile on his face. "I feel lighter then I ever have in a long time, and It's all because of you."
Kyoko could help the tinge of pink that colored her cheeks. She was both pleased and embarrassed by the praise.
"I really didn't do much your highness." said Kyoko. "It's not that hard to be a lap pillow and give someone a massage, but I'm glad I could help."
Kuon gave a light chuckle, shaking his head as if dispelling a thought.
"Let's pick up this mess." he said gesturing to the ground. "I don't think Lory would appreciate it if he came back to finding his stuff thrown everywhere."
Kyoko inwardly doubted Lory would notice if they left it. The room only had some semblance of order because Kyoko had begun organizing it in her free time. She helped the prince pick up the stuff any way.
There was a light knock on the door.
Kyoko opened it to find Yukihito on the other side.
"Hello Kyoko." he said. "I was told Kuon was here. Have you-"
"I'm right here." said Kuon, getting the man's attention. "Sorry. I didn't send anyone to tell you where I went."
"Well, I figured you would stop by here after practice anyway." said Yukihtio. Kyoko spotted him giving her a quizzical look before switching his gaze back to Kuon. "But your next meeting is in fifteen minutes. If we want to be on time we should leave soon. Well, only if you're feeling well enough for it."
"I'm fine." said Kuon, and he truly did look fine. In fact, now that she wasn't either throwing stuff at him or blushing, she could get a good look at him. It was as if he was standing taller, or there was less of a shadow around him. No, that wasn't quite it. But it was the closest she could get.
Yukihito seemed to agree, because he smiled and said. "What ever medicine you took this time did the trick. Make sure to remember it for next time."
"Of course." said Kuon, his eyes flickering to Kyoko's for a second.
"Well then." said Kyoko, talking in case Kuon decided to enlighten Yukihito just what his 'medicine' had been. "May I accompany you guys out? I'm going to return to my room."
The three of them walked down the halls and towards the concubine quarters. Kuon insisted in walking her to the entrance before going to his meeting, and Kyoko couldn't find a way to refuse him without being rude. Hikaru was at the door as they exited and melted into the background as Kyoko and Kuon talked about the preparations for the festival while they walked. Kuon was telling Kyoko about some of the events. Since it was her first time, she didn't know what to expect.
The events sounded exciting! The streets were to be lined with stalls from venders all over the country, selling event items and souvenirs to the general populace. There would be balls, festival dances and all sorts of traveling performers, but the heart of the festival was the several tournaments ranging from boat races in the Silver River, to combat tournaments.
"Are you going to be participating in any of the competitions?" asked Kyoko.
"It's tradition." said Kuon. "Someone from the royal family always competes in magic swordsmanship, but this will be my first time actually doing it. My father usually would enter, but since he's not here the duty falls to me."
"Huh." said Kyoko. "That's interesting." She hadn't really ever pictured Kuon to be the fighting type. Thought now that she thought about it, he did usually have a sword strapped to his side when she saw him.
Once they made it to the entrance, he bid her farewell. But she called to him before he could walk too far.
"Um, your highness."
He paused, body half turned towards her. "Yes Kyoko. What is it?"
"I wanted to thank you." she said, twirling her thumbs. She couldn't help but feel a little shy about what she was thanking him for.
"For what?" he said. "I believe it's you I should be thanking after today."
"Well... it's about the advice you gave me." said Kyoko "About making friends. I'm managed to make a couple. Friends that is."
"Yes. I heard." he said, giving her a smile "I'm glad for you."
"It's all because of your advice your highness." said Kyoko.
He shook his head.
"I didn't do much Kyoko" he said. "It's all an effect of your efforts."
"Oh, but you did." said Kyoko looking up. "I was despairing, wondering why I should be friends with them, since they were all being so nasty." she grimaced, angry at herself. "But then I realized that I needed to give them the same benefit of the doubt I was asking from them. Because of that, I was able to learn things about the concubines."
At first it had been hard to see them as anything but a bunch of angry jealous girls, making up lies and talking bad behind her back, just like the bunch back home. But when she started looking at the individual faces behind the angry mob, she realized there was a lot she had been missing. Like the fact that only a few of the girls had actually outright hated her, while some had been mislead to believe lies and others were just too shy to talk to her with all the conflict around her.
"I feel much better about myself and about my situation now." she said with a bright smile. "So thank you."
"I'm glad I could help." he said. "I'll see you again this afternoon at dinner." Then he and Yukihito walked off.
Happy, Kyoko walked towards the quarters with Hikaru. It was only then that she noticed Yumi and Risa standing at the entrance. Kyoko's smile slowly dissolved. They were both staring at Kyoko, well, Yumi was more glaring then staring and Risa looked troubled. Kyoko bid goodbye to Hikaru, who gave her a meaningful look then glanced at the girls. She silently waved him away. He left reluctantly.
Kyoko approached the girls slowly. What were they doing standing there? Where they waiting for her?
"Hello." said Kyoko cautiously as she approached.
They didn't say anything, so she chose to just keep walking. She had just passed them when Yumi spoke.
"What were you talking to Kuon about?"
Kyoko stopped. Yumi's face was hard to read. She looked calm, but there was something wrong underneath. Like she was expecting something bad to happen and was bracing herself.
"Why do you want to know?" said Kyoko. Yumi wasn't in Kyoko's happy book. The woman was so rude most of the time, and Kyoko was done with it. What had she ever done to the her that she needed to make up those bad rumors about her?
"Just curious." said Yumi.
"You seemed pretty happy." commented Risa. "You crushing on Kuon?"
"No! That's not it." said Kyoko, a little too quickly. Yumi raised an eyebrow, clearly not believing her.
Great, yet another misunderstanding. Even Risa smiled knowingly at her. "It's just that he helped me with something that was bothering me and I was thanking him for it. It has nothing to do with that emotion."
"What was it about?" said Risa. She was politer then Yumi, but Kyoko still didn't feel comfortable with her attitude. She too appeared to be bracing herself for something.
"It's a little embarrassing..."" said Kyoko. "I was just-" Wait, why did she need to explain herself to them anyway?
"Yes?" said Yumi.
Kyoko was not going to be embarrassed, she was going to say boldly what she herself was proud of. Yet she couldn't help the slight blush on her cheeks. The two women noticed her change and stiffened.
"I was telling him some good news." said Kyoko. "That thanks to his advice, I was able to make friends and get along with the girls in the harem, well, at last most of them." she glared pointedly at Yumi, throwing out the words like a challenge to her. Let her try what she could, Kyoko had friends now. She wasn't alone anymore.
Yumi blinked, completely taken aback. She exchanged a look with her friend, who then burst out laughing.
"You told Kuon that you made some friends?" said Risa. "And that's what you were blushing about? Man, that's great."
Kyoko couldn't help turning red again, but she didn't back down.
"Yes that's right." said Kyoko. "Is there something funny about that?"
Yumi gave a long sigh, ignoring her friend who was still chuckling. "Not really." she said. Yumi was irritated, though at what Kyoko couldn't tell. "But now I feel like an idiot, and you probably will too after today."
"What do you mean?"
At that moment, a group of concubines came into view. One of them spotted Kyoko and hurried over to her.
"Kyoko." said the concubine. "Have you seen the main room yet? What happened? Does it have anything to do with you?"
Her other friends were soon beside her, asking similar questions. Kyoko was very lost, and eventually got them to calm down enough to give her a better description of what had happened.
"Someone trashed the main room." said the concubine with a long braid. "Or well, Kinda. They just littered everywhere. We assumed you had something to do with it because of what it was."
"What it was?" said Kyoko. "What do you mean?"
The concubine's answer shocked Kyoko, causing her to breath in sharply.
No... surely someone didn't.
Kyoko quickly walked towards the main room, ignoring the questions and voices calling after her. A small crowd of women were soon following. She didn't pay them any heed, not stopping until she threw open the door of the main room. What she saw made her stomach drop.
Scattered across the ground, their forms broken and shredded, were the remains of hundreds of crystal asters. The flowers had been torn from the ground mercilessly, roots and dirt still clinging to the stems. Translucent blue petals dotted the floor, like pieces of broken glass. The carnage seemed to emanate from the center of the room where one word was painted in red angry letters.
Leave!
Memories began flickering before Kyoko, the images shifting so fast it made her head spin. Ren. Her father. The oasis. Her mother's face. A dark room where the only source of light was the broken pieces of salvation now littered across the ground.
A hand rested on Kyoko's shoulder, making her jump. Midori looked up at Kyoko in concern.
"You alright?" she said.
Kyoko swallowed hard before answering. "Y-yeah."
"I noticed you liked to have that flower by your bed stand." said Midori. "Is this message for you?"
"Probably."
Kyoko approached the message, feeling empty. She knelt down, picking up one of the flowers, it's stem broken and splintered. Who would do such a thing? Did they know what this flower meant to her? If so, what did she do to deserve such brutal treatment of something she held so dear.
She hugged the flower to her chest, a hard lump in her throat. This flower, which was her connection to two important people in her life, had been so mistreated. It was as if her heart had been torn to bits, not the flowers.
Someone sat down beside Kyoko. It was Aya.
"You doing ok?" said Aya.
Kyoko took a deep, stabilizing breath.
"I'm alright." said Kyoko, proud her voice didn't crack. "Just a little shaken is all."
"Leave." said Aya reading the message. "What do you think this all means?"
"Probably just that." said Kyoko, fingers brushing the still wet paint. "Leave the harem. Stay away from Kuon."
"Or maybe." said Aya, voice low. "It means if you don't leave, I'll tear you up like these flowers."
Kyoko froze.
Aya cocked her head at Kyoko. Her brow was furrowed, as if she were sad. But there was no light in her eyes. They were empty.
"Or maybe it means" continued Aya. "This is what happens when you break a promise. If you take what's precious from me, I'll slowly take what's precious from you."
Kyoko started at her... was it possible. Did she?
"Aya." said Kyoko. "Are you the one that did this?"
"Of course." she said, face still a mask of concern.
Kyoko quickly stood up, backing away from Aya. The other concubine stood more slowly, injured shock on her face. But Kyoko could see through the fake tears now. It was all a ruse.
"I'm so sorry Kyoko." said Aya, her voice pitched just a little louder then normal. It carried through the room, catching the attention of the other concubines. "I didn't think this would happen if I told her. Please forgive me."
"What are you talking about?" said Kyoko. "Aren't you the one that did this?"
"Yes, you're right. I'm so sorry." said Aya. "This is my doing. If only I hadn't told her you lied to all of us, even though I promised to keep your secret."
"What are you talking about?" said Kyoko again thoroughly confused, but another concubine butted into the conversation.
"Oi Aya what's all this?" said a woman. "What did you tell your friend that could make them do something like this?"
"It's..." said Aya, giving Kyoko a hesitant glance, as if she was scared for her! "I promised not to tell."
By now everyone was listening to the conversation. A few more of the girls encouraged Aya to spill, but she shook her head.
"No." she said. "I didn't mean to cause trouble. I'm sorry Kyoko"
Aya quickly walked to Kyoko and threw her arms around her. Kyoko attempted to disentangle herself from Aya, but she held on clinging to Kyoko like a leech. A sickly mixture of revolution and bile was building in Kyokos throat. How had she missed the twisted essence behind her fake sweet one?
"It's not my fault." said Aya. "Please don't hate me."
"Let go of me." said Kyoko, struggling to pry Aya's fingers off her arm.
"Kyoko how can you be so mean?" said Aya. "I'm only trying to make things right."
"I said let go!"
Kyoko didn't mean to, but she was so flustered she used a little bit of pulse magic to get Aya off. But the way the girl fell you would have thought Kyoko had pushed her with all her might. Aya landed hard against a side table. The plates and cups smashed to the ground with a clatter, spraying the ground with food and wine and shards of porcelain.
For a moment no one moved, everyone too stunned at what happened. Then Aya began to cry.
"My arm." she cried, clutching her forearm. "It hurts."
Kyoko could see a line of blood on her arm. Something must had scratched her when she fell.
"I'm so sorry." said Kyoko, stepping forward. "I didn't mean to push that hard."
"Don't touch me." said Aya, shrinking away from Kyoko.
Kyoko was about to respond when she was blocked by Aya's friends. They rushed to her side, pulling out handkerchiefs and attempting to clean her up. Chieko stood in front of Kyoko, looking livid.
"What the hell is your problem?" she yelled at Kyoko. "Even if your upset you shouldn't take it out on Aya."
"That's not it." said Kyoko, looking around in panic. Anger, fear, and sorrow were all clouding her brain. The other women were staring at the scene, their eyes accusing her. It was starting to sink in just how bad it looked from the outside. "I didn't mean to push her. She just wouldn't get off then stumbled. I didn't-"
"I saw it." said Aya. Her voice was quiet, yet it managed to capture the attention of the whole room. "You and Kuon. In the clinic. He was sleeping in your lap, and you were stroking his hair, and then you two promised to meet alone later as well." She looked up at Kyoko, the picture of betrayal and hurt on her face. "Didn't you say you weren't after the prince? Didn't you promise that you weren't here for that?"
"That's not it." said Kyoko, feeling frantic. The women were whispering to each other, the atmosphere turning darker by the second. "I don't want him like that. I'm not lying."
"Then do you deny it?" said Yumi. Talking for the first time. She stood near the back of the room, her eyes steady as they judged Kyoko. "That you had plans to meet with Kuon? Or that you let him sleep on your lap?"
"Well..." said Kyoko "Yes he did sleep on my lap and we made plans to meet later. But it's not what you think." The murmuring became angrier, some shaking their heads and glaring in her general direction. "He needed help with his headache and then he wanted to sleep and there wasn't any pillows and-"
"Such great excuses." said Chieko sarcastically. "Excuse me for not believing you."
"I'm not lying." said Kyoko. "And I'm not in love with the prince. I was just trying to help him. Besides, Aya was the one that tore up the flowers."
"Are you serious!" said Chieko, practically bristling in anger. "After all the things that Aya did for you, and this is how you thank her? I knew you were a snake. Looks like you've finally shown your true colors."
"No, I'm not-."
"What happened here?"
The new voice was so commanding and powerful it stopped all conversation. Setsuko stood in the entrance, surveying the scene. Her eyes took in the scattered flower petals, the crying Aya, and Kyoko in one swoop. They lingered on Aya's arm, then back at Kyoko.
The rule Kyoko thought with dread we're not suppose to harm each other. Oh no. Her fears were confirmed the next second.
"Setsuko." said Chieko, pointing at Kyoko. "She broke the basic rule and hurt Aya. She should be punished."
"It was an accident." cried Kyoko. "I didn't me-"
"Silence!"
Both girls went quiet, the danger in Setuko's voice chilling them. Sestuko swept through the room, her presence overwhelming. She bent down besides Aya and surveyed her injury.
"Aya." she said, her voice a little kinder. "Come with me to the clinic. We need to get you cleaned up." Aya stood, hiccuping with barely suppressed sobs. "And you Kyoko." said Setsuko, her voice lowering dangerously. "Go to the green room. I will meet you there soon. Don't even think about leaving till we talk."
The next half hour was torture for Kyoko. She sat at the long table of the green room, fidgeting constantly. What was going to happen to her? They said there was a punishment for hurting the other concubines. What was it going to be? Were they going to publicly rebuke her? Or perhaps they were going to throw her from the roof of the palace.
Kyoko's heart was heavy, recognizing the feeling of shame and regret that clenched her stomach. She hadn't meant to hurt Aya, it had been an accident. Would Setsuko believe her? She remembered the look on the concubines faces. Things had just started to get better, but now, would anyone want to be her friend after this?
Kyoko was brought out of her thoughts as Setsuko entered, closing the door quietly behind her. Her face held no hint of her feelings as she strode over and sat across from Kyoko.
"You have ten minutes to give me your side of the story." said Setsuko. "Starting now."
Kyoko swallowed, then quickly told her what happened. She was talking so fast that it only took three minutes.
"You have to believe me." said Kyoko. "I didn't want to hurt her. But she wouldn't get off of me and I was freaked out because of her weird split personality. It was an accident."
"Accident or no, you did hurt her." said Setsuko. "And that's the part that matters."
Kyok fell silent, the dread making her feel sick again.
"I've talked briefly to the other girls and gotten their sides of the story." said Setsuko. "There will be a meeting to decide on your punishment. Everyone but you and Aya will be present and participate in the voting."
"I see."
"I should tell you," said Setsuko. "It is possible for them to vote to kick you out. If enough of the girls vote for this, Kuon will have no choice but to excuse you from the harem. We have done this with a few girls before."
Kyoko let the words sink in, feeling devastated. They could get Kuon to kick her out? It was ironic really. She didn't want to be in the harem in the first place, but leaving like this... it felt so wrong.
Setsuko's expression softened, looking at Kyoko with pity.
"Look." said Setsuko. "I'm sorry Kyoko. You're a nice girl, but you were too naive. No one is going to believe that you didn't mean to hurt her with so many eye witnesses. You got out played, fair and square."
Setsuko stood up.
"You can't stay here till after the meeting." said Setsuko "Find a relative or someone to stay with for the night. Then come back in the morning. The results should be finalized by then."
Setsuko left, leaving Kyoko feeling empty. She knew what the result would be. Aya had been her first friend to reach out to her and she was the one that had rallied the other girls to talk to her. She had been Kyoko's biggest supporter, and now without her... she was sure no one would defend her against being kicked out.
Kyoko hung her head, feeling completely alone.
Kuon tapped his finger against the table, impatient. It was twenty minutes after Kyoko was supposed to meet him for dinner. He hadn't even touched his food, wanting to wait until after she arrived to eat. Where was she? He didn't think she was the type of person to be late without letting him know in advance. Had something happened?
"I wonder where she is." said Yukihito for about the hundredth time. His councilor was seated at the table as well, picking at his food with his fork. "Do you think you scared her off? You probably did. And you were getting along so nicely this afternoon. Your beloved Kyoko probably-"
Kuon stood up, the action cutting Yukihito off from his vocal musings.
"Where are you going?" said Yukihito.
"To see what's keeping her." said Kuon. He had been patient waiting for her to come, but he thought it was about time to do something. Plus, his councilor was starting to get on his nerves with his not so subtly hints regarding Kuon's supposed feelings for her. Like the very smug smile the man had on his face at the moment.
The door to the dining hall opened.
Finally thought Kuon, thinking it would be Kyoko. But no, It wasn't her. It was Maria.
"Kuon!" said Maria, running up to him, obviously upset. "We have to do something. You're not going to let them get rid of big sister are you?"
"Calm down a second Maria." said Kuon, kneeling down and comforting the distressed girl. "What are you talking about? Who is your big sister and why would someone get rid of her?"
"Your new concubine, Kyoko." said Maria. "Something happened at the harem and Kyoko left. What happened? Does she not like us?"
Something stirred within Kuon. It was a mixture of shock, anger and dread. Kyoko had left? What had happened in the last couple hours?
"Maria." said Kuon, voice firm. "What else can you tell me about this. Do you know the details?"
Maria shook her head. "I overheard one of the guards talking about it. Apparently he saw her leave and she wasn't wearing her necklace. Where did she go? You have to bring her back!"
At that moment, the door opened again, and this time a servant entered. He was carrying a letter and presented it to Kuon. He took the letter and recognized the handwriting on the front. It was from Setsuko.
"What is it?" asked Maria.
"I think we're about to find out exactly what happened." said Kuon tearing open the letter, his councilor coming over to read it over his shoulder.
Kuon,
There was a tussle this evening which resulted in one of the concubines, Aya, getting hurt. It was only a small cut, but Kyoko was the direct cause of the injury. As she broke the basic rule, we are holding a meeting to decide her fate in the harem. She left the quarters as protocol demands, but I'm not sure where she went.
I have to tell you; I'm inclined to think this wasn't just an accident. I believe this was set up to provide an opportunity to have her thrown out, but I believe I am alone in this thinking. During the scuffle many things were said, and now the women are upset at her. Most of them are vocally pressing to have her thrown out. Overall, it does not look good for Kyoko.
I suggest you do not do anything to shield her at this time, as it will cause even more problems if you do, especially as you do not know the full details of what happened. I will contact you again when the results are out.
-Setsuko.
"What does it say Kuon?" said Maria.
"Something happened at the harem." said Kuon, trying to keep down his anger. He didn't want to scare Maria after all. "She's been sent away for a while." There was no way Kyoko would purposefully cause harm to anyone. Something had happened.
"Aya..." said Yukihito, thinking. "You don't think... Kuon. Could she have had something to do with this?"
Kuon grimaced, knowing where Yukihito was going. Kuon was not blind to the faults of his concubines, and it was very possible that she had set this up. Setsuko was right, he shouldn't step in. If he over ruled their decision and kept Kyoko in the harem, it would only cause more strife. Anyway, she didn't really need to be a concubine anymore. She was now a student at the clinic, so she could continue to work there.
No, what bugged him the most was the conversation he had with her just hours before. He thought about the bright smile she had sported while talking about the concubines and the friends she had just made. She was probably crushed, feeling betrayed by whatever had happened. Then there was the fact of where she would live after this, since she had no friends or relatives in the area. He needed to find out where she went first.
"Don't worry Maria." said Kuon, gentlemen smile hiding his anger as he ruffled the young girl's hair. "It will all work out." He would make sure of it.
Thank you for reading!
Hmm, so Aya turns out to be a snake. How many of you saw that coming? How many of you are surprised? How many of you don't care and just want to drop kick her? - That one is me.
Actually, many of you called parts of this big blow up of misunderstandings/problems. Pat yourselves on the back! Now to problem is, how is Kyoko going to get past this bump? We shall see.
I almost named this last chapter: "What I did instead of my homework." but then I decided not to.
CrimsonQueen24: "who is Ren in this story? Is he a childhood friend of Kyoko's or is he Kuon in disguise like in canon but backwards?"
-What has been established so far: Ren is the name Kuon gave Kyoko when they met as kids. Not much else has been revealed at this point except that he helped her feel better about her father's death. So yeah, it's backwards from the cannon. I'm glad you guys ask questions like this. Sometimes I've left things vague on purpose to give you something to discover as the story progresses, and sometimes I've forgotten to explain something and just assumed you all could read my mind.
Thanks again for all your comments. I'm glad you all liked the previous happy chapter. I've been looking forward to writing that scene since I started this story. Kinda mean of me to throw this wrench into it all. Have a lovely week! ;D
-Blushweaver
Imouto here, hope you know blush weaver loves you guys, as it's 1:00 am and she won't let me sleep till I proof read. Hope you like it as much as I did!
P.S. To clarify, I wasn't trying to rag on the scanlators. (I'm super grateful for them!) 224 is the chapter due for next month. I read the summary for 223 (which came out last week) on a blog. It's the chapter coming out next month I'm going to die while waiting for: Ren to the rescue! XD