A/N: Yes, another chapter done! I wrote this for the fall season. Actually, I first thought of the idea when I had planned to go to the full moon viewing festival at this new Japanese friendship garden. However, I did not make it to it since the people I had planned on going with were bogged down with studying and among other things. But, the story lived on. Yes, it is a bit odd, but I enjoyed it. Japan is totally cool in the fall and yes, they do have fall festivals specifically for things like full moon viewing. If you watch enough anime, you get the picture. Anyhoo, just some silly fun. Enjoy!
I don't own S7
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Pale moonlight illuminated a palace courtyard. The full moon cast its pale orange glow upon an small group of people standing around.
"Kyuzo-dono! We're leaving."
Hyogo tapped his foot lightly but impatiently. He and a few others of Ayamaro's guard were waiting for their comrade. The missing individual soon showed up and there was an audible gasp of dismay.
"What on this planet are you wearing?!"
The silent samurai tilted his head questioningly at them and then examined his attire. He saw nothing wrong with it. It was the same red coat with the same twin katana strapped to his back.
"You can't wear that, Kyuzo-dono."
"Why?"
One of the guards with magenta hair strode up and lifted the edges of Kyuzo's red jacket disdainfully.
"Why? We're going to a festival, not a tournament."
"We are protecting our master."
"…"
"It would be better if you were to blend in better. Your outfit…does not blend in."
Tessai wisely intervened and attempted to reason with somebody with as straightforward logic as the fair-haired samurai. Said samurai then reexamined his outfit in comparison to the others.
Each of the assassins wore simple yukata with pale, autumnal colors. The one with magenta hair had a kitsune mask strapped to the side of his head while the others also had various little trinkets and accessories. True, he now realized that he indeed stuck out from the rest, and it did make sense that it would be better not to be noticed and therefore have the element of surprise. Yes, it was brilliant. Then something else dawned on him. He did not own a proper yukata.
"I-"
He was cut off when his companions grabbed him by the arms and dragged him towards the palace. Hyogo and Tessai watched Kyuzo be dressed up like a doll.
"…Brilliant excuse, Tessai-dono. Did you make that up on the spot?"
"Yes. I was concerned that Kyuzo-dono would still argue though. It was good that he didn't."
"Yes, it was."
They stood together in amiable silence. Each one patiently waited for the expected noise to come.
"K-kyuz-dono! I-I-I think it looks fine! Really!!"
Two-strained voices were heard a pair of doors slid open and the two assassins stumbled out into the courtyard. Hyogo and Tessai watched in mild amusement. They peered into the darkness of the inner palace and saw two silver arcs gleam menacingly as the moonlight seeped in and reflected off the cool metallic surface.
"W-we have to go now, so there isn't anyway for you to change…I'm SORRY!!!!"
The two guards cowered behind the other two samurai who grew more curious as to what they had dressed their lethal friend in.
It took every ounce of strength and self-discipline to keep from breaking into hysterical laughter. Hyogo quickly covered his mouth and pretended to have a coughing fit while Tessai forcefully bit down on his pipe.
"Die."
Kyuzo slowly prowled closer allowing the others to get a better look. He was wearing a typical yukata with all the typical clothing accessories. However, the coloring on the yukata was absurd for somebody like Kyuzo.
It was a bright red with an obi in a brilliant purple shade. The design made things gradually worse as bright orange little fish were towards the bottom jumping out of a bright blue watery pattern along the hem. His saya for his swords was tucked through the back of his obi but wrapped around the center of the sheathe was a shiny gold ribbon that tied into an elaborate flower bow. Hanging from beneath the obi was a fluffy kitsune tail tipped in white and to top everything off, Kyuzo also sported a pair of fuzzy golden-yellow fur kitsune ears.
Were it not for the beams of death shooting forth from the samurai's crimson eyes, it would have been pretty cute. Hyogo slapped himself for thinking such a thought. Kyuzo remained as stone-faced as ever, but his breathing looked extremely measured and controlled. Both Tessai and Hyogo swore the ears on top of his head would twitch every now and again in irritation.
"Kyuzo-dono, you look fine. And he's right. It's time to leave now. See? Here comes our lord with his son now."
Hyogo did his best to coax Kyuzo into sheathing his swords and refrain, for the time being, from killing the others.
Ayamaro strode up along with his son Ukyo. He looked them all over and then paused when he looked at Kyuzo.
"My, Kyuzo…You look…great in that…"
The magistrate of Kougakyou quickly nodded his head and then scurried off. As Ukyo passed by he looked Kyuzo from tow to head and smiled.
"You look so cute in that! Who knew a samurai could look that adorable."
There was a visible shudder from Kyuzo.He laughed merrily as he followed his father out the front courtyard. The two assassins that dressed Kyuzo quickly scampered off to get as far away from the silent samurai as possible.
Hyogo and Tessai began to follow the rest of the crowd when they noticed that Kyuzo was not with them.
"Where did…Kyuzo-dono! NO!"
The fair-haired samurai was kneeling on the ground with a tanto blade drawn and pointing at his stomach. It took many minutes of struggling before the two samurai were able to pry the blade away from Kyuzo and prod him along.
He brought up the rear of the pack as they walked down to where a long row of paper lanterns lit up the streets.
The atmosphere at the fall festival was filled with warmth and laughter, cheer and good will. The only exception was Kyuzo who was emanating a large aura of burning anger and hatred at humanity. As they walked through, many of the people would pause and point and whisper when they saw Kyuzo. He sincerely hoped that somebody would try to assassinate Ayamaro just so he could kill something. Heck, he would even step in to protect Ukyo.
"Try to cheer up…or…try to not send a death aura everywhere. You're making the children cry."
Hyogo whispered in Kyuzo's ear though whether or not he heard, was a different story. He, Kyuzo, and Tessai were the first to break from Ayamaro's side. They decided it would be more convenient if they took shifts so as to give enough room, but still be able to move in to protect their master.
The three samurai walked along slowly taking in the sites, sounds, and smells the multiple booths offered. After a while, it seemed that Kyuzo finally calmed down and returned to his standard neutral appearance. As they walked along, a pair of children ran by holding small bags filled with water and a tiny goldfish. The silent samurai watched them curiously and then looked around.
"I'm going to get some takoyaki. Want anything?"
Kyuzo lightly shook his head. Tessai looked around a bit before decidingn on what he wanted.
"Some steamed buns please."
Hyogo nodded and walked off to a side vendor to get the food. While he was waiting in line, Tessai noticed a vendor a short distance away selling various different pipes and the heavens only knew what else.
"I'll be right back. Excuse me, Kyuzo-dono."
He gently bowed his head and made his way over to the pipes. Kyuzo did not seem to notice or care. As he continued scouring the area, he finally found what he was looking for. Without a word, he silently moved in.
"I've got…the food…"
The pale faced samurai came back to the spot where he left his comrades and found the area empty. He looked to the side and noticed Tessai happily walking away from the vendor he was at.
"Here you go."
"Ah, thank you."
"Where's Kyuzo-dono?"
They both stared at each other worriedly. It was not that Kyuzo was some sort of child that they needed to keep an eye on. Well, actually, he was like a child; a very destructive one at that. They prayed to the heavens and Bishamonten that nobody would die tonight as they rushed off to find their companion.
As they briskly walked and scanned the crowds, something caught their attention. There was a large crowd standing around a vendor's cart. Using their super samurai senses, they could detect the ki of their blond friend. They walked over and forcefully pushed their way through the crowd. What they saw was beyond shocking. It was beyond words. It was beyond any of them could eve imagine.
"Bring. It. On."
Kneeling next to a small tub of water filled with hundreds of tiny goldfish was none other than the deadliest, most skilled samurai they had ever known. Squatting right next to him was a small girl who glared menacingly at him. Kyuzo stared just as hard back. They kept staring at each other as they shifted their grips on their wafer paddles and made sure they had a firm hold on their cup.
Tension filled the air as the crowd went silent in anticipation. The two opponents measured each other, attempted to get into the other's head and anticipate the next action. They tensed as the vendor held his hand up.
"GO!"
The minute his hand dropped, Kyuzo and little girl turned their attention to the tub and began rapidly scooping up fish. It was an incredible site to behold for many reasons.
First, whoever heard of such an intense goldfish-scooping contest? Second, whoever heard of such an intense goldfish-scooping contest between a grown man and a small child? Third, whoever heard of such an intense goldfish-scooping contest between a grown man and a small child where the grown man was a samurai dressed like a little kid and the small child looked just as cute? It was madness, simply madness.
The crowd hooted and hollered as they cheered the two on. Hyogo and Tessai remained silent as they munched very slowly on their food. They wondered if they should be amused or just sad, very, very sad.
"And that's the end! Ladies and gentlemen, please stick around to hear the final results!"
The crowd was struck in wonder while the two assassins were struck in shame. The tub was now completely devoid of any fish. It was beyond anybody's comprehension how the two got into the challenge in the first place let alone how they managed to catch all the fish using only one wafer paddle. Tonight's festival would surely go down in history.
"We have the results!"
Everybody was silent in anticipation. Hyogo and Tessai debated whether or not it was better if Kyuzo won or he lost. Either way, the outcome was just as sad.
"It's a tie! These two have managed to catch the same amount of fish! Wonderful! Here's your prize!"
The little girl and Kyuzo took the offered gift and bowed to the vendor. The little girl then turned to the silent samurai and giggled.
"Hey, mister, let's do this again sometime!"
She bowed and then ran off giggling madly. She tucked her prize into her obi and attempted not to spill the large plastic bag filled with goldfish. Kyuzo calmly watched her leave and then he himself too his leave. The crowd dispersed allowing Hyogo and Tessai to join their companion. It was close to their shift so they began to walk back to Ayamaro.
For the first part, they remained in silence. Kyuzo seemed oblivious to anything around him now but the other two were stuck in an awkward silence. Tucked into the back of his obi was a shimmering gold pinwheel that slowly spun in the light breeze. Just like the little girl, Kyuzo also had a fairly large bag filled with tiny goldfish. The other two wondered what he would do with them. For some reason, they could not imagine Kyuzo getting a tank and taking care of them.
"There you are…Been busy, haven't we, Kyuzo?"
Ayamaro eyed the bag of fish with something akin to amusement. The silent samurai simply slipped behind his master and took his normal guard position. The other two followed suit and stood by his side. Fortunately, he was not moving around. The magistrate had settled on a small bench that gave a view of the festival lane.
As they stood there, a suspicious motion caught Kyuzo's eye. Some shady looking individual was pushing their way through the crowd and heading straight for Ayamaro. When h got closer, he charged the magistrate and withdrew a sword.
"Die!!"
He lunged but never made it as a flash of a silver arc stopped him short and stopped him for good. The would-be assassin fell into a heap.
"Kyuzo, thank you so much! Your skill is as impeccable as always!"
The fair-haired samurai bowed and took his place back behind Ayamaro while underlings attempted to drag the body away and convince the crowd that they did not just see a samurai wearing fluffy kitsune ears and carrying a bag of fish cut a man down. They were having difficulty on the second part.
"Tonight was good."
Hyogo stole a glance at his companion when he heard him whisper under his breath. Kyuzo was standing at perfect peace. He seemed absolutely content in holding his bag of fish, glaring at the poor people passing by, and basking in the glory of his kill.
The rest of the evening went by without a hitch. There were no more unnecessary deaths, fish duels or anything else for that matter. At long last, they made it back to the palace and began to go their separate ways. As the assassins began walking away, Ayamaro motioned at Kyuzo.
"I'm afraid I cannot let you keep those fish. Dispose of them."
Kyuzo bowed or rather, tilted his head in acknowledgment and followed his companions. While they went to their rooms and began changing, the silent samurai walked out to the back of the palace grounds. He was undoubtedly going to go throw the fish away in the dumpster that was due to be crushed and sent away tomorrow morning.
He came back shortly thereafter with the same unreadable expression and changed back into his normal attire. After doing as such he leaned against the wall in his room resting his twin katana against his shoulder. Hyogo was glad that Kyuzo did not seem to hold any special attachment to the little fish. He shook his head as he decided that it would be simply foolish for him to think that Kyuzo, the deadly killer, would be attached to the marine life. With his mind at rest, Hyogo also turned in for the night.
Morning came and Hyogo was out walking the grounds as he normally did before reporting in for duty. As he walked along the back of the palace, his eyes locked onto a small garden pond. He walked over and stared at the koi swimming lazily in the water. He recalled the poor goldfish and their untimely death. As he did, he noticed something shiny in the water. Upon closer inspection, he saw a tiny fish swimming in between the koi. Soon after, he saw another one and then another. Before he knew it, the pond was filled with tiny little goldfish.
"Unbelievable…"
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A/N: What did you think? Oh as far as Kyuzo's outfit goes and why he was so mad and everybody else was so amused, that is a bit of a cultural thing. The older you get, the more pale and muted colors you wear in yukata and kimono. So, Kyuzo was probably a little irked that he had something so birghtly colored and with such a childish design. Not to mention the little kitsune gear. By the way, a kitsune is a fox. They're really popular in myths and is common for people to wear things like masks or sometimes ears. So yeah, Kyuzo looked like a little kid. The coloring scheme was actually inspired by some Japanese fanart where there's the cutest little Kyu-chan you ever saw sitting on the railing of a bridge, eating cotton candy, and wearing those colors and kitsune gear. Obscenely cute.
Anyways, I think I covered the cultural stuff, but if not let me know if you have questions. Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it!