Tadan! Matty, again, Suzuki's player, here. (I'll usually be the one posting, I'm thinking :3) Sorry this chapter has taken so long to post. I've had it. Just... I have not been editing. This actually isn't as carefully proofread as I usually would have, because I'm so desperate to post it and to not keep you waiting any longer. Life's just been very busy for me, lately, so you must forgive me for the delay.This is Chapter II of Koiji Ni. (Note that in Heian Japan, they don't wear kimono, but since the village is not truly set in those times, it has gone through some cultural evolvement through history, such as adopting kimono in addition to Heian garb.)
Please enjoy! Don't forget that we like to read reviews! Have a wonderful day everyone, and God bless!
A breeze blew from the mountains, whistling against the clay tiles spread over the roofs of the small town. From within a large estate, a large ornamental clock struck nine times, announcing the high noon of the day; a servant girl whispered to another of how the hour of the horse arrives so fast, and yet their lord sleeps so slowly. Both giggled nervously.
The town outside the private estate bustled with life, all clad traditionally. It was the fief of Minamoto, in Southern Gandara. The mood was light and happy, though hardly care-free, as all worked hard, knowing the opposite of such was hardly an option. The May-time sun shone brightly through the town, and the heat was mild and bearable.
A blonde man passed through, wearing a colourful kimono, short, with swinging sleeves. Below him were cloths tied tightly to his shins, beginning directly below the knee. He wore wooden geta sandals, and had a box wrapped in a black cloth, which was tied over his shoulders, his hand clutching the knot at his collarbone. Teal eyes stared forward, ignoring the strange look given by the virtually Heian townspeople.
He approached the walls of the castle, walking a long ways, passing alley after alley, wall after wall. All estates were walled, and he saw a bare amount of grass here and there along the streets.
The man frowned, tugging at his sack as he approached a bald man holding a pike, and a large black bag, standing before the gate. The man bowed his head to the bald other, whom did the same.The blonde smiled lightly, looking almost devious as he took out a small cotton pouch from the inside of his hard obi. He bowed once more, handing the bag to the man. It jingled notably. The one receiving the gift bowed deeply, the wind rustling his hakama. Setting down the pike and larger bag to the ground, the opening revealed a gruesome face of a man with a partially shaven head and a top knot, staring back up mennacingly towards the blonde. With a look of nonchalance, the taller blonde followed the household attendant through the entrance, slipping around back towards the servants' quarters.
The two men ascended the short wooden stairway of a long building after exiting those quarters and cutting speedily through a corner of the courtyard. It was connected to many others, with long wooden halls, windowed gates and railings surrounding most halls, which were exteriour. They sped across the wooden floors, along the deck of the house, turning a corner right. They passed rooms after rooms, until the attendant halted suddenly, giving the other an odd glance. The blonde bowed his head, smirking. The attendant stepped forth towards the shoji screen, the sun shining through it, brightening the wooden room. He slid it open, wearing an arrogant mask, assuming his usual tough nature as he entered. There were other similar doors within the room, which contained only a small girl, not extravagantly dressed. The attendant barked for her to leave, whereupon the blonde entered smoothly, gazing about the room. They slid through the door adjacent to their entrance, turning down a hall.
The attendant pointed his finger towards the last door at the end, not saying a word to the blonde. He bowed, and vanished out a different screen, stepping again onto the deck and shouting at someone harshly in the courtyard. The blonde snuck down the hall, slipping his hand down and removing his geta, which he held in his hand. His feet pressed against the wooden floor, and he approached the thin door. He smiled to himself, a very faint blush wiping over his cheeks as he shut his eyes in thought. Shaking his head, his spiked hair shifting itself with the motion, he opened his eyes, looking very confident, challenging, proud. The man switched his geta into the hand holding the knot at his throat, pausing before he slid the door open very slightly, peeking inside. With what he saw pleasing him, he slid the door open fully, stepping onto the tatami matted floor; it was very soft beneath his feet. He grinned deviously, shutting the door quickly behind him.
Shishi was still asleep under his blankets despite it being daylight outside. He curled up along a long pillow, snoring softly. His blue hair was down and a few strands fell over his sleeping face, which was calm compared to when he was awake. Shishi wore a light blue sleeping kimono that was only loosely tied. He had no idea there was someone else in his room as he rolled over, yawning but slept on.
The man smiled softly, analysing the boy. He went over quietly across the room, passing the curtain stands and folding screens, while avoiding to step into the decorated face wash bowl that sat against the floor. Candle sticks and stands stood behind some curtains, which he was careful to avoid as he stepped towards a rich kimono displayed on a stand behind a screen that had been set out by servants early in the morning. Below it was a shorter stand, an split hakama displayed proudly. The blonde placed his geta on the floor, taking the kimono and hakama from their stands. Picking his sandals up again, he draped the outfit over his arm, and stalked toward the boy lying on the matress sheet on the floor, descending to his knees. From the entrance to the room, neither could be seen from behind the extravagent curtain on its stand. He stared at the boy for a moment before leaning down, shifting the nearly silken blue strands of hair from his face. "Osamurai-sama," he hummed, smiling.
"I am sleeping, go away," Shishi was sleepy so he did not realize it was not a servant waking him and he rolled over and slowly opened his eyes But as soon as his violet eyes were open and fell on Suzuki, the samurai sat bolt upright in bed, eyes wide as he reached around for his word. "YOU! what are you doing here?!" Shishi said, backing away.
The man grinned, chuckling. "Do you not want me here?" he asked in a sing-song voice, retracting his hand.He set his geta again to the floor beside the boy's futon, setting the clothes to the floor with them on the opposite side of his lap.
"How did you get in here?" Shishi asked, his cheeks slightly red. He made sure his kimono was tied shut as he eyed Suzuki with narrowed violet eyes.
The blonde's smile did not fade. "With my feet," he responded tauntingly, setting his hands against his bare lower thighs, staring curiously at the boy.
"Funny, but my servants are ordered not to let anyone in my rooms!" Shishi growled. "And why do you have my clothes?!"
"So you may dress," he informed the boy, nodding matter-of-factly. "As to your servants, you may leave a note for one called 'Toshi' to be beheaded for treason before we leave," the man continued in a serious voice, the smile disipating from his face.
"Toshi let you in? And leave? Ha, I am not leaving!" Shishi ventured forth to snatch his clothes from Suzuki. "I am the son of the daimyo, what you think I would just go off with you?"
The man sighed, heaving his shoulders as he placed his hands against the floor, beginning to stand. "If you do not want your new sword, then," he breathed, staring to the ground during this motion.
"New sword?" that caught Shishi's attention. "But I can't leave..." he frowned, but he was torn. New sword... or leave his family.
The man grinned, glancing at the boy. "Yes, the sword I promised," he continued, halting with one knee up, one against the ground, his palms still against the floor. "You do not want it now, evidentally. So I will leave, and throw it into the river." His tone was rather dramatic.
"No!" Shishi said fast before he realized it. "I will...take it, of course," he said quickly, smirking.
The man sat back down again, staring at Shishi hard with an arrogant grin. "Then you will come with me," he demanded, leaning forward.
"Come where and for how long?" Shishi asked slowly, wary. He wondered what the other wanted and he made no move to get dressed yet. He normally was not modest or shy but there was something about this man.
"Neither have been decided."
Shishi frowned. "What is your purpose then?" the samurai asked, giving Suzuki a flat look.
"All with dear time, all with dear time," he mused, smirking.
"But I want to know!" Shishi frowned as he stepped behind a screen to dress and emerged moments later to pick up a hair brush.
The man smiled. "You will know! If you come with me," he promised sweetly, standing to his feet as he looked at the newly clothed samurai.
"But I am not allowed to leave, I am the son of the daimyo, I cannot just go," Shishi pointed out, a touch of disappointment in his tone as he brushed out his long blue hair.
He grinned. "Please do," the man requested artfully, eyeing the boy.
Shishi was about to answer when the curtain to his room was parted by the servant girl who helped him get ready every morning.
"Shishiwakamaru-sama?" the girl was young and pretty...obviousy the reason why she had the job of Shishi's maid. She stared at Suzuki though wondering why there was a strange man in Shishi-sama's room. And so she opened her mouth to scream, ready to raise the alert.
Suzuki stood immediately, leaping over Shishi's futon and grabbed the girl's shoulder and head. His hand moved swiftly from her shoulder to the bottom of her neck, his grasp firm and strong. Snapping her neck, he looked to Shishi. "GO!" he ordered, leaping to snatch up his geta, and grabbing Shishi's wrist. The man tugged the boy by the wrist out the door as other household attendants, roused by the girl's scream, traversed towards the room from others, from the courtyard...The girl's body lie in the chamber behind them, her eyes wide and mouth dully open.
"My maid!" Shishi squawked with surprise then yelped again when he was tugged along by Suzuki. His hair brush fell from his hands as he ran along behind Suzuki, wide eyed.
The man dashed through the halls, and into the courtyard, opting a shorter route than that he took with Toshi. Servants and retainers passing through the place gaped as their lord was being stolen. The artisan moved his grip to Shishi's shoulder, dodging strikes from swords as they ran through. He lost the sleeve of his kimono to one bushi as he pushed Shishi through the main gate, kicking over the bundle of heads that Toshi had left nearby. The boy was tugged down the nearest street, then another, and another, before they arrived... nowhere. The two stood before a wide river, the wind blowing the tree tops that lined the shore in whites and pinks. The progressing samurai were nowhere to be seen from where they stood, a good ways from the household by that point. The man relinquished the boy's arm, dropping his sandals to the ground before the river and placing his feet into them. He gave the other a sharp look, another wind passing through, shifting his spiked blonde hair.
Shishi was too stunned to really react as Suzuki dragged him along. He should have screamed or resisted...something other then letting himself be dragged along. But when Suzuki finally stopped, he could only look at Suzuki as he paused to catch his breath. Oh he was going to be in so much trouble when his parents got ahold of him but at the moment...he didn't care.
He backed up, lifting the sack from his shoulders and neck, setting it on the ground beside him as the man leant against the blooming cherry tree behind him. "Is it like a fairy tale?" he asked in a deep voice after a long, long moment of silence. One foot was propped against the trunk of the tree.
"Fairy tale?" Shishi smirked as he sat down to rest ,looking up at the cherry blossoms. "What is so important that you dragged me away like that for?" he asked after a moment.
The blonde smirked, lowering his lashes. "I am creating a fairy tale," he stated. "Would you join me, Osamurai-sama?" he asked, mocking the title again.
"You are creating a fairy tale? And how are you doing this?" Shishi huffed, crossing his arms.
"By finding characters," he chimed, grinning at the boy now.
Ok, this was creepy. "Characters? For what?"
The blonde pushed himself off the trunk, taking up the bag lightly in his hand as he moved to sit before the samurai. He grinned. "Have you ever wanted to be famous?"
"Of course," Shishi smirked. "And you can make that happen...?"
He nodded, eyeing the boy. "My conditions are this: You journey beside me for this tournament, in which you will initially obtain the new sword I promised to you, and ultimately renowned fame," he bribed, pointing his finger lightly at the boy for idle emphasis. "If you refuse, you make no gain, and return to your household as it is now." A smirk grew across his face slowly, thinking of the scene he left the household in; that thought showed in his eyes to the boy.
Shishi had wanted to leave..and had tried many times and failed. This might be the chance he wanted for so long. And he got a new sword and fame in the deal. "I have one question," he said, looking back at Suzuki.
The other grunted lightly in return, nodding once at the bushi, not taking his eyes from him. The smirk remained on his face, more arrogant now.
"I want to know your name, you never introduced yourself to me," Shishi smirked in return.
He narrowed his eyes, grinning. "Utsukushii Matouka Suzuki," he said slowly, emphasising his self-proclaimed title. "Casually the latter, until the tournament," he added nonchalantly, waving his hand to the side with a bored look. He preferred the full name.
"Nice to meet you, Suzuki," Shishi said, purposefully leaving off the title. "Well, in the light of current conditions...I will go with you but I want that sword."
"Heh." He smirked, shutting his eyes for a moment. "I do not give swords to strangers," he teased, opening his eyes again. The sun caught the men's hair, shining against it as a graceful wind rustled cherry blossoms from their branches.
Shishi reached out to catch a cherry blossom without looking. "You may call me Shishiwakamaru," he said after a moment.
He snorted. "Shishiwaka, then." He reached into the bag, pulling out the box that filled it. It was a fine wooden box, a chrysanthemum emblam carved into the top, being the imperial emblam. He lifted the lid, inside sat a folded red and black material, with a gold character glinting in the sunlight. Beside it were three orbs, decorative, with peaches on them. There was a smaller black wooden box, and then, the sun hit onto the hilt of a sword. Suzuki lifted it, only to reveal, as should have been obvious, that there was no blade. Shutting the box and wrapping it again with the black cloth, he handed the hilt to the boy, grinning.
"No, its Shishiwaka i maru /i ," the samurai corrected but his attention was caught by the items in the box. He frowned at only be given the hilt of a sword but he took it nonetheless. "It's just a hilt...'
"Mmhmm," Suzuki agreed cheefully, tying the cloth of the box again. His smile never faded.
"Apparently you don't know much about swords but generally, swords have a blade.." Shishi said slowly, as if speaking to a child
Suzuki glared at him. "Are you stupid?" he asked, scoffing. "Put ki into it!"
Shishi gave Suzuki a doubtful look but turned his attention to the sword. A red aura of ki formed around his hands and went into the sword. The hilt started to change, twisting apart to reveal twisted innards that seemed to move. The sword suddenly had a blade as the entire thing glowed with Shishi's ki. A few skulls appeared from the sword then, screeching but they stayed around Shishi. The samurai was grinning at the sword, and there was a very cruel glint in his dark violet eyes as he gazed at the sword. "I...love it..."
Suzuki grinned. "Please release it now," he requested quaintly. "I have named it."
But Shishi seemed too wrapped in the sword for a moment but the screeching souls vanished as he twisted the hilt closed, the weird look vanishing from his eyes.
Suzuki smirked. "It is called Makokumeizanken."
"Makokumeizanken...I like it," Shishi smirked back at Suzuki before looking at the sword almost with pride.
Suzuki leaned back on his elbows. "So you are joining me?"
"If I get to use this blade and become famous...yes" Shishi nodded, his family could do without him after all.
He grinned. "You will," the blonde promised the other. "Tell me about yourself?"
Shishi leaned back against the tree, still holding the sword carefully. "Well, what do you want to know? I am the only son and child of the damiyo of this region, my family have served Yomi-sama for centuries and the such," he shrugged.
Suzuki laughed. "I asked about you, not your family."
Shishi frowned but thought for a moment. Now that he thought about it, his life was pretty..dull and centered around his family. No wonder he wanted to get away..."Well, I have spent my entire life to become the next head of my family; not the most exciting life, I admit... I have trained with the best swordmasters and have never really left this area before..."
Suzuki cocked a brow. "Your life sounds terrible," he commented with an arrogant laugh.
Shishi gave him a flat look. "I know, why do you think I agreed to come with you?"
He continued to laugh. "Because you seem selfish! You came for the sword, and my good looks!"
"Your good looks? Pffh. The sword was just a perk and don't flatter yourself," Shishi rolled his eyes.
The man gave Shishi a very serious look. "I have every right to flatter myself, regardless it is not simple flattery," he said in a warning tone.
"Right, sure, whatever," the samurai said in a flat tone, but he would not admit that he did find the other a bit attractive...
"My beauty is what I pride myself of most!" he sniffed lovingly. His face even portrayed his ego.
Shishi only raised one eyebrow as he looked at Suzuki, clearly unimpressed.
Suzuki smirked, glancing back down a street not too far off, but still enough. The sound of feet stamping against the dirt ground was heard, the clinking of swords in their sheaths against each other and the grunted shouts accompanying it. The blonde man cocked a brow, readying himself, his bags, shoes... He made no glance at the other samurai as he saw one young guard appear, disshelved looking, in the alleyway he'd been staring down, shouts rejecting that location and promising far off others behind him. Even from the distance, Suzuki could see the wide-eyed boy gaping at him, gaping at Shishi, at the river side. After a moment of staring at each other, the boy shouted out, "SENPAI!!!!" shrilly, pointing in their direction briefly before taking hold of the hilt of his sword.
The boy ran towards them, hand on sword, as others quickly appeared noisily behind him, all of whom were equally surprised, and took similar action. Suzuki, then, jumped nimbly to his feet, slinging his bags over his shoulders gracefully. He took Shishiwakamaru's wrist in his hand, his grasp tight, and yanked him to his feet. "NOW!" he commanded, his expression very serious. The blonde set them off at a run, without releasing the other, following along the riverside, the shouts of the guards and their various noises behind them, but still approaching. Suzuki's pace only quickened.
Shishi squawked with surprise as Suzuki grabbed his wrist and pulled him along. He didn't protest, though he know how much trouble he would be in if they were caught; so the samurai decided to keep his mouth shut as he ran behind Suzuki, looking behind them to see where the guards were.
Suzuki had them round corner after corner as he entered back into the town, eventually landing them at an empty part on the edge of town. The blonde cut them through a small alley, and back to a bay of a river; he doubted it was the same one. He tugged them over the bay, slowly positioning himself and his new found teammate under the curved bridge that covered part of the river. They stood, shin deep in water beneath the bridge, Suzuki's hand still clasped around the other's wrist. He stared into the water, not saying a word, for a long moment, simply standing, breathing, not releasing Shishi.
Shishi wrinkled his nose in disdain at being in the water. But he knew if he complained, as he was prone to do, that they would be found, he would be dragged home to face his father and the such. He looked at Suzuki for a moment before looking up at the bridge.
Suzuki glanced at him, still not saying a word. The currents passed over their feet and legs, babbling serenely. Suzuki then offered a light smile to the other, almost in joke of their current situation. Just as he did so, the pounding of feet and jingling and clanking of swords and charms were heard once more, and again followed the anxious shouts of the guards who owned the noises. Suzuki's grasp on the boy's wrist tightened considerably as the smile quickly dissipated from his face; their hastened footsteps boomed over their heads as the samurai ascended and descended over the bridge, heading to a different side of town--- a side that their prey was not on, as they were, near literally, right under their noses.
Eventually, the noise returned to the calm flow of the stream over river rocks and any hint of the pair's soft breathing. Suzuki smiled again, and, ducking out from under the bridge to check how clear the path was, tugged his companion out from the water and back along the path again; he still did not relinquish the other's wrist as he pulled him along, seeming a bit more apprehensive this time round.
Shishi breathed a sigh of relief when the footsteps had faded away and followed Suzuki, trying to shake the water off. He didn't protest Suzuki's grasp on his wrist oddly, but walked just behind the other, not sure what to say for a few moments. "So where are we going exactly?" the samurai asked after a moment.
Suzuki stopped suddenly, turning around to the other who questioned him. He smiled, half-smirking, a strange glint in his eye. "To Paradise," he responded smoothly, staring at the other in the eye for a moment afterward before tugging him along once more.
"You better be right... I have never left home before and I can't imagine the consequences of returning there in shame," Shishi said evenly, looking right back at Suzuki with even violet eyes.
Suzuki simply chuckled as he continued them on their way. Soon enough, he wound them up in the forest, where the man looked very alert, looking this way and that as if studying. Finally, he started them going South, trudging through the woods with a certain sobre determination. The trees were tall, their trunks thick, and the foliage was dark against what little sky you could see. Then, there was the sound of people passing through the foliage, the mention of kidnapping, tono, Shishiwakamaru, and cardinal directions; it all came from the East, the direction of the town. Suzuki tensed, and bushes rustled as a different set of bushi emerged fervently. Very quickly, very silently, the blonde was plastered to a thick tree near them, his back and bag pressed against its trunk.
Similarly, thus Shishiwakamaru was tugged into hiding as well; the boy's chest was tight to the other's, Suzuki's same hand still grasping the other's wrist, as his other arm was wrapped almost protectively around the lithe shoulders, with his hand gently holding the other's head to his own chest. To him, it was as if to say 'be quiet' while being so himself; he couldn't care less what the gesture could mean to Shishi, so long as the other was silent. They stood like this for some time, so close together in almost an awkward embrace, until finally their hunters made the decision to head West. When all seemed fine, and the pair seemed quite alone, Suzuki looked down at the samurai boy pressed against his chest.
"To the South, then," he said with an air of humour to his voice, smiling softly as he released the other gently.
Shishi let out a soft oof at being pulled against Suzuki. Though he didn't look up at the other while they stood there. When Suzuki finally released him, he quickly pulled away, adjusting his hair.
"Right, of course," the samurai said in a firm tone. "The sooner we get away, the better..."
Suzuki smirked, adjusting his clothes and bags, following the act up with an graceful toss of his head, shifting the blonde fringe from his eyes.
"Then let's head onwards," he decided, still smirking, leveling his gaze with Shishi's. "Osamuraisama," he added, not particularly mocking, but definitely with a certain emphasis added; the smirk wasn't hugely compensation to the tone, either.
"You can just call me Shishiwakamaru-sama," Shishi smirked, walking in front of Suzuki with a graceful toss of his hair, that arrogance showing through once more.
Suzuki reached out, taking the boy's shoulder firmly. He turned him around, taking his chin in his hand and grinning at him. "You don't know where you're going," he alerted the other smoothly. "Shishiwakamarusama." The name was certainly mocking this time. Suzuki laughed, releasing the boy and stepping briskly forward ahead of him. "So, follow me, or walk beside me! I can't very well follow you, now can I!" Another laugh was given as he adjusted his bags, his teal gaze set forward, to the South.
"Hmph!" Shishi huffed at that but settled for walking beside the other. "Just don't forget, though, annoy me and I can have you beheaded," Shishi remarked, crossing his arms but it was a bluff.
Suzuki laughed, smirking at the other with a cocked brow. "You just abandonned every privelage like that, Shishiwakamaru."
"It doesn't mean I am not a samurai still," Shishi pointed out. "It is in my blood after all." the samurai decided not to mention his demon form for the time being.
Suzuki looked at him as if he were very stupid. "I don't care, Shishiwakamaru. Those rights that samurai have to behead others for mere insults don't exist outside your fief, or other samurai fiefs. We'll not be visiting those others, you do realise. You have no more rights than anyone else we'll come across, save for those you gain by simply being yourself." He smirked once more. "So forget your bloodline; it really lacks importance from here on out." His tone was very grave, almost amused.
That was hard for Shishi to understand since he had be raised otherwise. But instead of arguing, he huffed once more. Besides, he most likely would be disowned after this anyway, but he did not want to admit that Suzuki was right.
"Let's just get going, I am tired," Shishi snapped, his bangs looked a bit pointed though.
Suzuki laughed, grinning at the boy. "As you wish," he said. "Osamuraisama."
And so they set off, towards the South, towards the next town, towards the future. It was the Hour of the Monkey in this May of Southern Gandara, and their lord stepped briskly forward, away from a life he'd known nothing outside of. This was the beginning their future. And somehow, the breeze blew just as sweetly...