Yet another title comes from a TCM channel movie I hadn't seen, "It Happened One Night".
What transpires in here comes from episode 2 of "Genji Monogatari Sennenki" - between Genji and another lover, Lady Rokujo, who was one of the most intriguing women he'd known. The poems in here come from the episode, as well.
Chapter Four
It Happened One Night During Rain
Sakura rejected him.
She pushed him away because she wanted a fruitful marriage and to NEVER betray Izumi. It was like her to be clean and decent, but as for him...why did he have to behave the way he did?! Why did he forsake his morals in his unleashed passion on that woman, and with desperate words?
He could never stop thinking about her now, because he couldn't ever think of a time when he never got something. But come to think of it, he always had things given to him without ever asking for them. This would have been the first time he made a true choice of his own will.
Why am I intrigued by that girl? Perhaps it is because of the fact she is one link left to my brother, but it's never enough.
When he left his wife's estate after the plum blossom entertainment, he hoped to busy himself with other matters besides her petal-haired maid. Anything to curb the desire in his body...and in his heart.
Word went around amongst the men of the court of a woman who possessed great wit and beauty as well as a masterful hand at poetry filled with longing and melancholy.
Her name was Lady Konan of the Nagato Palace. Now that he remembered her name, she was a widow of the late master of the house, and her compositions had been sorrowful only in the event of her husband's death. But other than that, she had no equal despite the fact her verses touched audiences' hearts.
It was also spoken that she seldom left home for anything. It was not uncommon for women to be separated by screens and wooden security. Though this one was apparently afraid to leave her home, having no other purpose since her husband passed on. Even that didn't dampen the fact the Imperial Court was fond of her.
"Her handwriting is masterfully on your level, Itachi. She's said to educate people on improvement in that field. I think maybe you might be a match for HER..."
Itachi was completely taken aback, knowing all of this as well as by Shisui's bold words. He had no need to learn anything new from this renowned, possibly stubborn woman. He never knew women to be like that, but he supposed there was a first time for everything. Not to mention, his cousin added that he attempted to meet the widow in person, only to be rejected on numerous occasions.
Well, then, it's my turn to go out there and see for it myself.
He had an idea, beginning with the excuse to continue learning to improve his handwriting despite the worthy praise it received, and when he visited his former professor in the field, he was given a magnificent example particularly with the spacing and all. Something that could rival the greatest of calligraphy: the works of Lady Konan herself!
She'd composed this particular verse at least two months ago in a competition, and it was no surprise that she bested. But other than poetry contests, the lady lived a life of isolation.
It was public knowledge that she had a young daughter and no male heirs.
On a windy night earlier in the following month - and to, once again, distract himself from thoughts of HER - he made the trip up to the Nagato Palace where its widow and owner resided. Never mind the hour was ungodly; he needed to alleviate as much turmoil as possible.
The woman was behind a screen, so he could not see her face, but a candle was lit on the other side so he could only see the outlines of her body, glimpsing a very dark-colored kimono with specks of red. And her hair...blue.
First a woman with pink hair drew him, and now he was seeing someone with BLUE hair. And her voice was cool as the winds which harshly lapped at everything in its path, though beneath was curiosity tender as water.
"It's unorthodox to call upon a lady in the middle of a night like this when the winds are howling," the lady spoke, clearly having been busy before he arrived. "Just what exactly is the meaning of this...Prince Itachi?"
The meaning of this is on a night like this when the moon isn't full but is high and bright enough, the winds blowing through the trees and the grasses...which compelled me to visit you tonight. Bowing his head respectfully, he spoke these words in a softer voice than that of nature's present breath. Her posture seemed to stiffen.
"I was stricken with inspiration, and therefore, I came to you to compose. I never knew another poet to admire, my lady."
"...in that case, you can admire whomever you like, just as I may accept and refuse whomever I wish." Just as Shisui had said, and for a moment, he considered just leaving since he might get nowhere with this stubborn woman - but then his fortune changed at once. "But first, we'll see about that tonight. Let's make a deal: I instruct you this one night, and you leave."
He had anticipated that, and he swore if he wasn't worth her time, he would leave and never return.
If only he could see her eyes, so that he would know what she might be thinking of him, because her words only did so much.
"I accept your conditions."
~o~
No man ever came to her manor at an ungodly hour of the night, even if it weren't that late. Not even to request her tutelage; she had good reason to send away that Shisui Uchiha who had the gall to flirt with her besides asking for her mentoring skills.
Now this pampered Crown Prince was here in her home.
The wind on this night guided him to her, did it? Romantic phrases might work on paper, but very seldom did it have deeper meaning as time went on. Ever since her husband left her and their daughter Aoi alone, she resigned to having little to no male contact because no one could replace the love of her life...
...but now the Royal Prince had come to her humble abode. He knelt before her screen and was permitted no further. He showed he was more respectful than Konan gave him credit for, even swore on his word that he would leave her be if he wasn't worthy of her teaching. It escapes me why he would come to me if he is the master everyone speaks of.
There was only one way to find out, and that was by using tonight. She began just as the winds slowed their whistling: "The din of the thunderous gale, the luster of the brilliant moon..."
"...its voice muted in the pale moonlight, the wind is silenced," he finished, breath a hush in the silence.
The raging river came to mind when she picked up for him. "In a world without sound, the wind dances...and the water plays."
His eyes seemed to sparkle in the moonlight. "And in the stillness, I contemplate...as do you."
Was it her imagination, or did this suddenly become a direct conversation between them? An unseen force was compelling her to reply back, but whether or not it was to him or a part of the verse, she no longer had an idea. It seemed he was trying to peer into her soul without going behind the curtain. "On what do you dwell?" she asked. "An...unrequited past? A place you cannot return to?" Perhaps it is your brother whom you lost, and you are ever stuck in the times, or it could be a woman you cannot have...
"I have resigned it to a waking dream, like a snow flurry disappearing atop a mountain. I...reluctantly surrender what might have been and consign it to the connection of a past I cannot let go."
His response confirmed her thoughts, even if he didn't say who the unfortunate lady was. "Even if a man lives to see his thousandth year, he shall still lose his way," Konan replied, and it seemed that they were drawing closer and closer together without him ever coming towards her on his own volition...
His eyes had deepened with his words. "Were he to live ten thousand then, would he not be as lost as the young orphan?"
Time to ask him. "To speak of the orphan...what of your childhood?" She had to pick up her fan, opening it to show morning glory amid the sun.
"Anguish, longing...passion." Ah, so it involved wanting more: what had been taken from him and what he had been given was never enough. Somehow, it reminded her too much of...
The prince was still speaking. "My cheeks still flush thinking about the passion I cannot obtain. And of my past: how foolish to say that children are innocent and carefree!" Konan hid the bottom half of her face so that he would not see her shock, but she allowed her question and statement in one to slip past her lips.
"I have heard of more than one traumatic event in your childhood. A bud pricked by the cold and buffeted by the rain - only thus can the most beautiful flowers bloom." Because in this world, no flower becomes beautiful on its own accord.
The stun was visible on his face, and it seemed the moon only shone brighter as if to serve as a beacon of hope. "That is...precisely the kind of flower I love," he rasped.
For the first time, Lady Konan paid attention to his face through the screen: it appeared as if he had stepped out of a painting. Never had she'd seen a face like that...
Now it seemed as if the invisible link had been established when neither of them played a part. He was a master at verse as much as she was, and it was clear there was an understanding between them. She wanted to know more, but the hour was getting late. She was so tired and needed her rest, so he had to go before something happened.
He appeared sad - and, dismayed, she felt so - but had to acquiesce. She watched him go without another word, closing her fan as soon as his silhouette vanished outside the door.
~o~
Before he left, she insisted he continue his studies, and she had his gratitude.
If he said so himself, Lady Konan's reputation was as it made her to be: humble and noble. But as Shisui said, strong-willed.
"Behind every word," he said to his companion as they continued to travel home, "there was a depth of meaning - both concise and elegant." And she seemed to be willing to understand me...when Sakura wouldn't take any time to enjoy my company. "Perhaps she is the embodiment of what is known as a lady versed in high culture."
However, there was something else: the grace of her movements behind the screen, her cool but delicate voice, and most of all was the glimpse of her beautiful blue hair in the moonlight. The last detail made Shisui sputter with laughter, since not many women in the land had colored hair besides dominating dark.
Itachi found himself troubled; how could you admire a woman like Konan as merely a tutor?
~o~
After he was gone, Lady Konan was at her palace getting a bath of the hottest water she would need, but she was frustrated while her maids were excitedly speaking of Prince Itachi whom they asked if she would see again in the future. She snapped at them for speaking of such tiresome things - and continued to ask for more hot water until she would burn.
Ducking under the water, she thought she would wash away the thoughts of that prince who came to her home.
I heard he had been spoiled, fawned over...but I thought he was arrogant.
She'd been proven wrong, and it irritated her to no end. She just wished her ladies wouldn't talk about putting such bothersome ideas into her head; the least she could do was burn her frustrations under the water, arms over her breasts and letting the rest of her float away without shame...she hadn't done this since her husband passed on...
She wouldn't be surprised that people would learn of his nightly visit, but pray that it wasn't anything of the romantic sort. She was his tutor and nothing else. Hopefully it would stay that way. The only thing that did comfort her was the fact that "Lady Konan of Nagato could not be swayed by the magnificent Prince Itachi Uchiha."
Or so she thought.
Days later, when they were supposed to meet for their session, one of the maids approached her while she was in the middle of a new verse - about this glorious man in her point of view - and that was when the wave hit her that it caused her hands to shake, the ink falling off the brush and hitting the paper she spent all afternoon on.
He's not coming - because of unexpected official business.
Why are my hands shaking?
Why am I crying?
And why...why am I feeling such pain?
Indeed, why was she experiencing such foolish emotions?!
~o~
He would eventually return the next few nights to come so that they continued their sessions, but it remained nothing short of master and pupil, despite their different statuses.
Of course he heard people talking, but it was as they said: just literature and poetry, nothing else. In fact, he doubted it would ever be anything beyond that...but he would unknowingly find out it was contrary. Especially when he went to visit his wife once again, sooner than last time, but not just for Izumi's company alone.
He truly had to talk to Sakura, to try to alleviate the tension from last time. That meant canceling his session with Konan, so he prayed she'd understand when she received the note of forgiveness...
...but he had no idea how mistaken he was.
Except, his mind changed when he recalled her words: "I want a solid marriage and nothing uncertain. I can't betray the princess just to satisfy you, my lord."
Which meant that he had to change course from Izumi's estate and head right to Konan's, no matter his letter sent. He would explain why he had been in such a heat of the moment, the best he could.
It was on this night that it began to rain, though it wasn't terrible. If it got worse, he and the entourage had no choice but to stay the night...if the lady didn't mind, that is.
Within his possession was what he meant to give to Konan, though what was inside had to do with the fact his thoughts were so scrambled he couldn't word them properly on paper. Mostly because of HER, but he had to think of anyone but the woman he knew he truly wanted...
Arriving at the mansion, he happened to walk past one of the windows himself - and that was when he was gifted with a sight he shouldn't have seen, unless it was fate deeming it. There was the better view of the kimono hanging up now that he could see it: black as night, but bursting to passionate life with red blossoms, and would have been tied with the golden sash. Beyond it was none other than the lady herself, surrounded by a screen which consisted of the same bright blue which her hair was colored after, as well as green bamboo and pristine lotus blossoms. To represent good luck, wealth, divinity...
...as well as being far from the one you love.
She was bathing, and the thought of water as well as the downpour made him think of rejuvenation amidst everything that was dark and gloomy. Depression with the hopes of renewal, and to see her like this made him feel that the desire within his being began to burn anew, making him forget - for the while - about a certain rosette who insisted on preserving herself for another man and also to secure her status with his mistress as the closest of friends they were...
Skin clear as porcelain...hair blue as the water in paintings...and a breast partially shown to my eyes.
Itachi had to move before he was spotted, so he met with the chief lady-in-waiting and insisted he saw her mistress no matter how late it was - and brought up the rainstorm that overtook them on their way home.
It didn't surprise him that Shisui was already making advances on the prettiest girls from the middle and lower classes he could get amongst Konan's staff. While that was happening, Lady Konan finally arrived, in what appeared to just be the black and red outer garment along with something lighter, but that didn't matter for his eyes. She had been rushed and taken by surprise altogether, which displeased her greatly. "I thought you'd sent word you would not attend today. You've taken me at an inopportune time."
"Yes, and I apologize, which I hope you accept. It was an urgent matter that required my attention," Itachi answered, bowing his head. "I thought it would take all night, but I was wrong. I should have considered you had other appointments to keep..."
"Indeed I do," Konan answered sharply, kneeling down on her side of the screen. "As you said, it is quite irregular to visit so suddenly." Her hair appeared to still be mostly wet, or just damp, which he had never seen before, and he thought it made her appear more endearing.
"I felt I had to see you whether it was too late or not. And it was not only because of this storm. It was this..."
And so he left it before her screen, after sliding a bit closer before pausing at a respectable distance. When she opened it, there was a tight expression, and now it softened to something akin to surprise. "My goodness, what is this supposed to be if there are no words?!"
He chuckled. "It is a...love letter to you. I tried to think of what to say, but my thoughts became too complicated to translate it onto parchment."
"...you flatter me."
Was that all it was? If you asked Itachi, there was more to it than that, and he could feel it. "Your beautiful voice, your pale and delicate fingers, your slender shoulders...and your lips. Everything about you, after all the time I have spent with you, has made me burn with desire..."
One more thing was in place, which no one knew but himself. He had done it for many days without ever telling anyone - even her - and now he would give it to her so that she would see what he saw in his dreams...but just as she touched the paper, he didn't stop there. Custom be damned; he HAD to see her now!
And when he took her hand, he threw aside the blasted obstacle between them, and the horror was on her face at his brazen actions which he no longer gave a damn about.
Her face...it was even more stunning than in his dreams. Just like an angel from the heavens...
And he could SMELL her, too: though still drenched in water, there was also the underline of lilies and perhaps other flowers difficult to name - just as she had been difficult to read through in the beginning.
Their first kiss they shared was searing and wet as the hottest spring. It was pure, magical and consuming. Nothing he ever knew in his life...perhaps this is why men never get enough.
It was then that, before they could continue, she breathily broke off the kiss and insisted he let her go so she could tell her maid she was going to retire early, and no one was to disturb her - and their guest, His Imperial Highness, who would be given his own guest room...and it would be with her, which she said to him as soon as they were alone again. That was his cue to act out again, taking her by surprise - but delightfully this time.
She was very similar yet different from Sakura, whose body he saw forcibly but memorized well - and whose breasts were smaller than this one's and Izumi's. Konan's curves were supple and carved from pure ice, breasts ripe and full like the moon - twins, in fact - just like his wife's. Accompanied with her lush azure hair, she was a living goddess beneath his own body. And he intended to worship every inch of her, the same way man and woman were created for.
His intentions were to make this unshakable, passionate woman feel something beyond anything she comprehended.
In the midst of their drowning coupling, at the back of his mind which would come later when this was over, Itachi began to feel the smallest ounce - the starting point - of guilt gnawing at his heart at the realizations which rose within like a fresh body of water born from the storm.
I love Izumi, for she is my reason to be happy...but not like this. It is because of her handmaiden with pink hair who spurned me for reasons involving my wife and her virtue and honor - but this woman now in my arms completes me in a way I had been searching for.
And it was because he couldn't have the woman he truly desired, out of a sense of respect.
Notice how the love scenes aren't graphic compared to my usual style? It's because of the earlier facts I explained early on about the discussions of the naked bodies between man and woman. Thus this is purely romantic and not in a vulgar, pornographic manner.
Review! :3