New Information

~*~

Time passed quicker than Koushirou could have ever imagined. Before he knew it, a few months had passed, and while he still missed his family back home, he had never felt so happy in his life. He loved to spend time chatting with the girls, Daisuke and Ken, Iori, and even Hikari would pop in to say hi every so often. He had become rather good at the shamisen, although embroidery still wasn't his forte. Nevertheless, he felt relaxed and calm; he and Sora would often meditate. But of course, there was always that bit of fear – that Lord Taichi would discover his secret, and this great life would disappear.

He and Lord Taichi had spent many a day together, talking, laughing, getting closer. Koushirou knew, without a doubt, that he was head-over-heels in love with him, and Lord Taichi never missed a chance to tell Koushirou that he felt the same. And while they had formed a close companionship, they had not even kissed. Koushirou was still trying to play "hard-to-get" because he felt as though it was having somewhat of an effect on Lord Taichi, but he was also simply afraid – just so afraid – of Lord Taichi's reaction to his discovery.

He couldn't even bear to think about it.

The few months he and Mimi had been in the daimyo's court had been relatively uneventful. It was filled with simple pastimes and the incessant teasing of Sora at her secretly seeing Yamato.

Oh, and they were thoroughly convinced that Daisuke and Ken were having a secret love affair.

So that morning seemed like any other morning to Koushirou. Hikari's royal tutor, Jou, had stumbled his way through some excuse to spend time with Mimi, and he was sitting against the wall, rambling on about something as she politely listened. Koushirou had asked Mimi at some point if she reciprocated the feelings Jou obviously had for her, but she had shaken her head no.

"Of course, Koushirou-kun, I think he's delightful. But you know…" She kind of shuffled uneasily at this. "I still kind of feel something for Lord Taichi. I know he's yours, but… I don't know. It's hard." She looked at him apologetically.

"I could never be mad at you for it," he told her. "Because I understand why you feel that way for him."

And that had been the end of that. Koushirou took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, letting his shoulders relax. He was supposed to be in a conversation with Sora and Miyako, but he had drifted off.

"Kouko-chan?"

He snapped back to the two girls. "Oh, I'm sorry, I kind of spaced-out."

"It's okay. Hey, could you do me a favor?" Miyako asked. "Next time you see Lord Taichi, ask him when we're going to see a Kabuki play next. I think we're long overdue, and you and Mimi-chan have never seen one." She grinned.

Koushirou sighed and shook his head. The whole court had been alerted Lord Taichi's sudden feelings for him through word-of-mouth, and many times, servants would come up to him to ask him to request something of Lord Taichi. But it was a rare occasion that he would ever agree.

But in this case, he was somewhat eager to see a Kabuki play.

"Alright then, Miyako-chan, I will."

"Bingo!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands. "I can't wait!"

Koushirou smiled and looked over at Mimi, who most likely had not said a word since Jou had walked in. So unlike her, Koushirou thought to himself, amused. But that's Jou-san.

He decided to walk over to find out what they were discussing.

"…and I asked Hikari-san if Lord Taichi had asked her for anymore advice about Kouko-chan, and what he had decided to do, and-oh! Hi, Kouko-chan."

Koushirou smiled as he sat down. "Sounds like I'd be pretty interested in this conversation."

Jou flushed in embarrassment. "I'm sorry, Kouko-chan! I can stop-"

"No, I want to hear what she said," Koushirou replied swiftly.

"Me, too," Mimi agreed.

"Well…alright then." Jou nodded. "Well, she said that he had been extremely mad when she first approached him about it, but he ended up listening to her. Although apparently, she ended up just giving him advice on love more than anything." He grinned. "Lord Taichi has basically just been rambling on to her about how great you are, Kouko-chan. He won't even give thought to the future, because he doesn't even want to think about it."

I don't want to think about it either, Koushirou lamented to himself.

"Well, I hate to say it," Mimi chimed in, "but he'll have to at some point. I mean, sure, Kouko-chan will always be here as a concubine, but…" She looked at Koushirou. "He's going to have to marry someday."

"I know," Koushirou said quietly. "I'm prepared for that."

"Shogun Yagami is adamant about that," Jou said. "He's one of the most traditional shoguns in Japan. But any shogun would want his son to marry."

"Taichi-san–" Koushirou paused and winced. Everyone had told him that it was okay to call him that in front of them, but he still felt uncomfortable doing it. "Lord Taichi has only briefly told me about his father. But from what I've heard, he's incredibly strict."

Jou nodded. I was apprenticing for Sasaki-san the last time he came here, which was a few years ago, when Lord Taich first took over as daimyo. I'll never forget it." Koushirou and Mimi could sense that he was becoming frightened just by thinking about it. "He was so loud and demanding…not even his own advisors could have a say in anything he decided. It was as though they weren't even there. He just seemed so…harsh. Like war was the only thing important to him."

Koushirou's eyes widened as he heard that. How could someone like Taichi-san come from such a monster?

"He must have put a lot of stress on Lord Taichi over the years," Mimi said sadly. "And no one wants to marry someone they don't love."

"Hikari-san said that if Lord Taichi didn't find someone within a couple years, they would have to arrange a marriage, which is usually what happens, as I'm sure you know." Jou looked up, and both Mimi and Koushirou nodded knowingly. "Shogun Yagami would probably have agreed to do that no matter what, but accordingly to Hikari-san, when he met Yuuko-san he immediately fell in love with her. Apparently, he threw a big fight to marry her instead of his arranged candidate. So he has some sympathy." A pause. "But not much."

They sat in silence for a while, the chatter of Sora and Miyako in the background.

"Excuse me, I have to go to the washroom." Koushirou stood up and went out of the room. He didn't actually have to go; he just needed to walk around and think on this newly-acquired information in solitude.

Every time he went to walk around the mansion, he would always find a new hallway or a new room. He had tried to be careful, though; Mimi had accidentally walked-in on Hikari's tutoring session, and she had felt simply awful about it (then again, Jou probably never would have met her if she had not done that). But he hated anything associated with being rude, and so he found no reason not to be cautious.

As usual, he discovered a new hallway. It was much starker than a lot of the others, so he figured that he must be near the servants' quarters. But it was deserted, and it was so quiet that he was a bit disturbed by his aloneness.

Maybe I should head back soon… They'll wonder where I am.

He went to turn around, but then he thought he heard voices.

Curious, he started down the hall again, trying his best to be quiet so he wouldn't disturb anyone. Indeed, there were voices – more specifically, a girl giggling. He frowned at this, and when he got to the corner, he peered around into the adjacent hallway.

And his eyes grew wide.

He could see Hikari's face, glowing with joy, as she looked up into the eyes of Yamato. His back was turned to Koushirou, but there was no mistaking that blond hair. He saw her throw her arms around him, close her eyes and murmur, "I love you."

He immediately pivoted and ran back to the room.