Warning: Mild sexiness.
Kushi Eighty-Three
"It's not too late to change your mind."
Aku was taking a walk with Touke through the palace. It was a beautiful day—but then, it always was above Unkai. Birds were tweeting, the breeze was blowing through the halls, the sun was reflecting down the wood and metal and stone, almost bright enough to hurt her eyes. It must be hell for Touke. Touke was in her daikyuu, a complicated vestment of black and a deep, living green, the second the color of Touke's dynasty. Aku, however, was dressed much more simply. Because she was the Kirin, people pretty much let her do whatever she wanted. So she dressed however she wanted: simple pants and a shirt. They were silk, of course, and decorated with fine embroidering, but her clothes were much simpler than Touke's. And she was thankful for that. Clothes like that wouldn't let her play around, as she still often did.
They were talking about Aku's trip. Once again, she was going to visit Enrin. En was finally starting to get on its feet, their restoration taking much longer than Kyou's, guided as Kyou had fortunately been by the Old Guard. She made the occasional trip over, to visit her childhood friend and sister, for lack of a better term. Touke had come with once, but she hadn't since.
"I don't think I'll be going," Touke said. Her country accent, over years of proper court speech, had entirely vanished. Aku mourned that slightly. "I don't think the Chousai would like me leaving the kingdom at the moment."
Aku turned to her, frowning. "Why? Is something wrong?"
"No, nothing big."
Liar. Oh well. If she didn't want to tell her, Aku wouldn't push. "I won't be too much missed, will I?"
"No, we should be fine."
Aku made a slightly pouting face. "You won't even miss me?" Instead of making a verbal answer, Touke just smiled, raising an eyebrow slightly. "I always miss you when I leave," she muttered, breaking eye contact.
Something changed in Touke's eyes. Aku had seen that look before, long ago, and she knew what followed it. Her veins suddenly flooded with warmth. "How do you miss me?"
The question, though, confused her. "Um?"
Touke took a step closer. "How do you miss me?"
"I'm not sure I understand," she said, frowning a little.
Touke grabbed her shoulders and, a little more forcefully than Aku would have liked, Touke slammed her against the wall. For a moment Aku was afraid Touke was about to hurt her (more than she had just done, of course), but suddenly Touke's mouth was on hers. She eagerly joined in the kiss. They hadn't done this in years. She tasted her Queen, felt her lips, her teeth, her tongue with her own. She had missed this, really missed this. It had been years since they had done this, and it felt so right, so perfect, she couldn't believe she had let it go on so long.
After a moment, Touke turned forceful again, leaning harder into Aku, her hands on her shoulders pushing and squeezing with almost bruising force. The kiss still felt more or less okay, a little rougher than she would usually like, but her shoulders were starting to hurt. But she wouldn't say anything. Touke's mere presence filled her with happiness, and when Touke touched her the world could die for all she cared. And that spoke deafeningly coming from a Kirin.
One hand left her shoulder, and Aku let out a mild sound of relief. It slid down her, brushing against her side, until it reached the space between her shirt and her pants. Touke's fingers slipped under the cloth, moving up until they met skin. They trailed along toward her back, leaving goosebumps in their wake. Then they slipped under the waist of her pants in the back, running over the skin of her rump. She squeezed her eyes tighter shut.
Then, suddenly, Touke's hand contracted, and her nails were digging into Aku's skin. She dragged her hand upward, scratching all the way to about half up her back. Aku let out a wailing noise that was probably a little louder than she should have allowed. It had taken some effort to be even that quiet. Touke separated their mouths to say, "Shh. They'll hear."
"You're hurting me, Touke," she said, trying not to whine. "Be nice."
"Okay, I'll be nice. I'll be very nice." Touke's hand rotated around Aku's body until it was at her front, quickly moving downward.
Before they could go much further Aku grabbed her wrist, even though lava was pouring through her veins, and she felt her body would throb itself apart. "What if they see?"
"No one ever comes here."
Touke was right—they were in an area of the palace that was mostly abandoned, and had been for years. Touke had cut back on the staff here, so some areas had been left stagnant, unused. With a deep breath, preparing herself mentally, Aku nodded, and let go. While Touke's hand sank, Aku lifted her opposite knee, wrapped her shin around Touke's waist, the arm untrapped around her shoulders. Aku knew from experience she would need them to support herself.
Touke's fingertips as they arrived between Aku's legs were ever so slightly cold, and Aku shuddered slightly from the sensation. Then, quite suddenly, Touke was inside her. A burst of white-hot ran through her, a blood euphoria, and she arched her back unconsciously, her mouth opening. Before she could let out a sound, Touke clamped her other hand over her mouth. "Shh." Aku whimpered into Touke's hand a little bit, but didn't attempt to resist. She couldn't resist.
Each motion of Touke's fingers brought her further and further into bliss. Touke's face moved to her neck, kissing, licking, nipping. Aku couldn't help the moans coming from her throat—though somewhat muffled by Touke's hand, she still did her best to keep them as quiet as possible. But she was quickly losing control. Her vision, even with her eyes squeezed shut, turned white, her blood boiled, her legs and arms reflexively tightened on Touke. She gasped with each touch, throbbed with each motion. The pressure built, and built, and built, until everything was a hot maelstrom of sensation. She felt she would explode.
And she did.
Touke carefully lowered Aku, who was still breathing heavily and letting out little whimpers, to the floor, putting her in a sitting position, straightening her clothes. For a moment, while Aku still sat dazed, Touke ran her hand through Aku's mane. "I love you," she whispered. Liar. She gave Aku one last light kiss on the lips. Aku barely felt it. And then she walked away.
That was the last time Touke had touched her.
And she didn't just mean sexually. She meant at all. It had been three years now, and Touke hadn't touched her at all. No more joining arms to seem more united, no more occasional hugs, no more Queen–Kirin snuggle time. All gone. Aku couldn't help the feeling that she had somehow done something wrong. Or maybe she hadn't done something. She didn't know. She had wracked her brain trying to find out, but she really didn't know.
Kyou was doing very well. As well as anyone could hope at this stage. Touke and Mei had put together a strong, military-rigid government that had proved itself in rebuilding the kingdom. Infrastructure—roads, levees, walls, and so forth—had all been repaired in the early years. Fields had been cleared of debris, hamlets had been rebuilt. Refugees had started to return, everyone was given an allotment, and agriculture had again started up. They were even starting to develop a strong merchant class now. The youma and natural disasters were gone, everyone was more or less safe. The system was a little more unfeeling than Aku would like, which she had done her best to change, but that wasn't in her control. She had more solid jurisdiction over Ten Province, where she bent royal decree a little so people were treated with a lighter hand. Her prime minister kept her from going too light, which frustrated her sometimes, but there wasn't much she could do about that.
She didn't think her Queen was losing the Way. Things were still going well. Aku heard no worrying grumbles of dissent, no whispers of youma, no signs of disaster. Nothing spelled decline. And it wasn't that Touke didn't still listen to her. Aku still had a presence at court, and Touke seemed to heed her advice. She had even completely deferred to her opinion a few times.
So why wouldn't Touke touch her? Even when Aku tried to initiate contact, Touke would pull away. Why? What had she done?
Aku was walking the streets of Renshou. She did this often, to get a feel for the attitude of the citizens. She wore simple clothes, covered her hair so as to not attract attention. Hair that red was somewhat rare, and most people knew she was a red Kirin, so it was better to hide a little bit, just in case. Many people wore head coverings similar to this, so it wasn't too conspicuous. It was a much nicer place than it had been years ago, Renshou. Before it had been a wreck, buildings demolished, starving people in the streets. There were still starving people in the streets, of course, as there was in any major city. That sight broke her heart so powerfully she kept herself away from those areas of the city. She couldn't let such tragedies distract her from the bigger picture. But it was a much cleaner, well-ordered place. People walked the streets back and forth, chatting loudly, buying things from this or that shop. It was a lively place now, color everywhere. It was good to see.
But she still felt miserable. Ever since the war she had been unhappy. Eighty-three years of depression. And she didn't know why. Everything was going so well. She should be pleased. She should be ecstatic to see her people doing so well, seeing further developments toward betterment every day. But she wasn't. Touke was cold to her now, but it had been going on for longer than that. She didn't know why. It sucked.
Feeling more than a little down, Aku turned into her favorite restaurant. Once she was inside, she took off the cloth covering her head, and tied it around her waist instead. Her hair being freed brought a sense of visceral relief. It was a nice enough place—not fancy, but not a dive either. She had been coming here since it had been founded, by the current owner's grandfather almost eighty years ago. She came here frequently. She came here so frequently, her disguise had slipped some forty years ago, and all the staff and regulars now knew who she was, so she didn't even bother covering her head anymore.
"Taiho!" the owner shouted from across the restaurant. All of the customers turned in their seats to look at her. Those who weren't regulars left their seats with startled noises to prostrate themselves.
"No," Aku said, waving her hand, "that's okay. Go back to your food." With odd expressions on most of their faces, they did. "Reiei, hello."
Reiei, the current owner of the place, was a tall woman with faded purple hair. She walked over to Aku, a huge smile on her face. She bowed low. When she straightened, she said, "It's good to see you, Taiho, as always. I think your usual table is open."
"That would be great."
Reiei led her through the sea of tables. A few of the customers were giving her dazed or shocked looks, but she mostly ignored them. By now, she had been used to it for decades. Soon she was at her table, a place in the back corner with a nice potted plant at the side. It always smelled nice over here, and she had a good view of the restaurant so she could people watch. As she sat down, Reiei asked, "Can I get you anything?"
"The usual, please." She hesitated a moment before saying, "And I could really use a drink."
"Just one or the whole bottle?"
Aku had discovered about twenty years ago that she could actually get drunk. It just took a lot. She suspected the substance of the feeling was substantially different than it was for humans as well. Reiei was asking if her want of alcohol was intended toward a simple drink or intoxication. "The whole bottle, please." A few of her shirei whispered the usual warnings—that the drink would affect them too, so they wouldn't be as able to defend her—but she ignored them. A flash of concern crossed Reiei's face, but she said nothing, and left.
A few minutes later, one of the workers arrived with a bottle of liquor and a cup. The man insisted on pouring the first cup for her, which she allowed. When he was gone, she took a sip, finding it as terrible and scorching as usual. So she just threw the whole thing back, and swallowed it with a shudder. Ow. Painful, but in a dozen more cups it would be worth it. She poured another one.
"Drinking again, Aku?"
Aku looked up, finding one of the regulars. This was Shoumei. She came every time around lunch. She owned her own shop a couple blocks away, a vender of these intricate little wooden devices Aku still wasn't exactly sure of the purpose for. Aku liked her. She was a nice woman, if a little annoying. "Yes, it seems I am," she said. Again, she threw back a drink.
"Mind if I join you?"
"Only if you get your own."
Shoumei let out a laugh, shaking her head. She waved down a waiter and made her order. "So, any particular reason you're down this time?"
"Is there ever?"
"Well, there was that execution last time."
A couple weeks ago, a criminal charged with rather egregious theft had petitioned her for mercy. She had been considering looking into it when he was suddenly dead. She had delayed too long in getting the stay of execution. It had hit her pretty hard. "Right. No, no particular reason."
"So, there's nothing to worry about?"
Aku, pouring another cup, frowned at her. "Worry about? Worry about what?"
For a long moment Shoumei hesitated, but the look on Aku's face must have convinced her to speak. "It's just a rumor."
"What's the rumor?"
"That Kyou-Ou beats you."
It took Aku a long while to gather her wits so she could talk. "What? No! Of course she doesn't! How could anyone think that?" Then she thought: maybe someone had heard them those three years ago, or some other time, and had misinterpreted the noises. In that particular case, it would be easy to do. Or someone had simply noticed the sudden distance in their relationship. Both were possible.
"So, no problem?" Shoumei sounded very relieved.
"She's not beating me. She doesn't even touch me anymore. Barely speaks to me outside of business, either." She swallowed another drink whole. Shoumei's face started whitening, her eyes wide. "Don't go getting that look. She's not losing the Way."
"You're sure?"
"I'm sure." She poured herself another drink.
"Well, weird rumors come out of Soufuu all the time. A lot of people just ignore them."
"I guess that was why the weird look from Reiei as well."
Suddenly, Shoumei said, "It's not that we don't think Meirei isn't a good queen. We do really appreciate her a lot, think she's doing a great job. She's good for Kyou. But someone can still be horrible in private while still accomplishing great works in public."
Aku frowned at her, downed another drink. "She isn't horrible in private. Why would people think that?"
"Well." Shoumei drew the word out really long, not meeting Aku's eyes.
"What?"
"How much do you know about the assault on Soufuu? During the war."
Aku thought for a moment. "Not a lot. They thankfully keep these details away from me. I really don't want to know."
"Maybe you should know what kind of government you're supporting."
That made Aku freeze, the cup halfway to her mouth. What? "What do you mean?"
Shoumei hesitated again. "Do you really want to know this?"
"You're the one who said I should," she said, a little reproachfully.
"Okay, I have a great-great-great-great grandfather—I think that's the right number—who left his post in the Ministry of Fall shortly after the war. He told us about this."
She downed another cup. "Told you what?"
"Have you ever thought it curious that every single person in the upper ranks of all six ministries were replaced?"
Aku's blood ran cold as she got a presentiment of what Shoumei was about to say. No. Oh, no. Touke wouldn't have. That was impossible. Touke was above that. "I had honestly never thought about it. Courts are emptied like that a lot, when a new dynasty starts. Sure, it happened quickly this time, but..."
"It happened in one day. After kicking the Chousai's food off the table—" Okay, that was just weird. "—Meirei cut off the Chousai's head. Then they moved over to the ministries. And started cutting off more heads."
This time, she felt her own face whitening. A sense of horror fell into her chest, spreading all the way to her fingers in a shivering, slimy feeling. She felt she might be sick. She found herself shaking her head. "No. I don't believe you. Touke wouldn't do that."
"Warriors do grave things sometimes," Shoumei said, a compassionate sort of regret on her face. Regret she had told Aku this, she was assuming. "I regret bringing this to your attention, but it's true." Called it.
Aku frowned in distaste, threw back another drink. At this time, her food showed up. She wasn't hungry anymore. "I can't believe this." She poured and took another drink. "I should have known. I can't believe she didn't tell me."
"It doesn't surprise me."
"Why not?"
Shoumei shrugged. "It's only logical people would want to keep such violence away from the eyes and ears of the Kirin. Everyone knows how much you hate blood."
"Yes," she grumbled, "but I also hate being lied to."
"Do you hate being lied to as much as you hate blood?"
A short pause. "No."
"So you can see where they're coming from."
"I guess." She let out a long sigh. "I don't like being kept in the dark. As I feel I am now. Can you think of any other rumors floating about? Perhaps something involving the Ministry of Summer?"
"Not that I can think of, no." It sounded like she was telling the truth. "But someone like me is very far from the Imperial Court, so I really have no idea. You should ask the Daishiba."
Aku sighed.
In a few more minutes she was drunk. Her head buzzed pleasantly, and she was dizzy enough she had a little trouble sitting straight in her chair. There was this strange feeling in her stomach that felt like her organs were trading places. Her vision kept sliding down and to the right. And there was this strange, giddy feeling running down from her horn that reminded her of how she felt around Touke, when she wasn't too busy being miserable to appreciate it. It felt like her insubstantial worries just floated away, and she felt much better. "That's much better," she said with a sigh.
Shoumei gave her a long look, the conversation interrupted. "You know, many people know how often you do this."
"Do they?" said Aku, her voice uncaring.
"We worry about you."
"Well, you shouldn't. It's my job to worry about you people."
"You're the Taiho. We don't want you to be in pain."
Aku sighed again. "I'm fine. Don't worry about it."
"You can't make us stop," Shoumei said with a smile.
Aku just sighed again.
A few minutes later, her food mostly untouched, she said goodbye to Shoumei, and stumbled for the door, her steps uneven and shaky. At the last moment, she remembered to cover her hair again, which took longer than usual, as unsteady as her hands were. She wandered out into the street.
She loved being drunk. It felt wonderful. Everything felt light and carefree, and she could just float on the feeling down the street. She felt so good, she would be skipping if she weren't sure she would fall. Every once in a while she would hold out her arms and spin in place, only making her dizziness worse. Once she managed to fall. People were giving her weird looks, the looks they would give any drunkard, she was sure. After a while walking around, she finally decided to move toward the palace. She had seen enough of the city, the improving conditions, and she had alleviated her misery, so there was no reason to stick around.
"Taiho," came a drowsy voice from her shadow. She paused, looked around her. Nothing seemed out of the ordinary, and her fuzzy brain had trouble making sense of the feeling. She thought she was being watched. A little hesitantly, she took a few more steps forward. In her blurry peripheral vision, she saw something move behind the food stands. When she turned, she saw someone standing there. He was shadowing her. She glanced around her. After some examination, she found a few others all around her. Hmm. That was weird. The situation raised a sort of bubbling fear in her, though mildly tempered by her drunkenness. But still, it was a problem.
So, totally forgetting she was in public, she whipped off her head covering and shirt and shifted right then and there. As always, when she took Kirin form, her drunkenness completely vanished. She soared into the air on steady hooves, immediately putting herself out of reach of the suspicious men. Spiraling into the air, she directly made her way for the Forbidden Gate. In a few moments she was flying into the palace, skimming over the tiles. She flew right for the Naiden, where she knew Touke would be this time of day. Like most of the palace, it was an extravagant place, surrounded by towering pillars, embellished with shining tile and precious metals and jewels. She didn't care. As soon as she hit the ground outside the tall, ornately carved doors, she shifted back, and rushed inside.
When she stormed into the Naiden, Touke on her throne immediately looked up to her. The Daishiba, who was kneeling before her, turned around to look, then very rapidly put his forehead against the ground. Aku heard the thunk. With a glance down she remembered she was naked. Whoops. Oh well. "Touke. I was in the city, and I was being followed. I thought you should know."
Touke gave a significant glance to the Daishiba, even though his forehead was still pressed to the ground. Then she looked at Aku, steadily meeting her eyes. "From now on you are to go nowhere without an escort."
"Is something going on?"
"No, nothing you need concern yourself with." Touke's response was almost too quick and confident.
Aku frowned at her for a moment. Something was definitely going on. But there was nothing she could do about it. The glance to the Daishiba told her it had something to do with the Ministry of Summer, with the military, so she probably wanted nothing to do with it. The escort would be an annoyance and a hindrance, but there wasn't a lot she could do about that, either. Queen's orders. For a moment she considered pressing Touke about what she had heard from Shoumei, but now wasn't the time. "Okay." Without another word she turned back toward Jinjuu to find some clothes.
(Note: I was too lazy to find the proper names for what I call "shirt" and "pants". SUE ME.)
Reiei: 姈勩
Shoumei: 偢謎
