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A Castle of Silence and Bones
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021.
rats are still scurrying
(there is only one tool-of-trade in this world: the lie)
Kiku apprehends Yao - alone and in their chambers, a rare moment with war looming so closely (he will not believe it; will not acknowledge the pressing crisis; it is good that he is not an emperor) - the evening of the coronation. The funeral is scheduled to take place the next day, the priest has been told that the Showa Emperor died in good health, at peace with the world.
It is for the sake of the Empire, for the sake of the people in the Empire, that Kiku will continue to hold such a heinous lie to be a truth.
"Why did you kill him?" he asks, walking into the bedroom; the drapes are half-open, Yao is lying on his side, eyes completely open, hair draped across a sea of red pillows. Kiku waits for the other to answer, and when it becomes clear that Yao will not give a response, he walks over - sitting down, black uniform and silver epaulettes and all - on the opposite side of the bed, back towards Yao.
"Why did you kill him?" Kiku repeats, as Yao shifts.
Silence permeates - he used to enjoy (used to love) this serenity, this peacefulness; no more, no more.
"For the same reason you want what you can never have," Yao replies, as Kiku feels him turn over, either on his chest or his back, silk robes swishing with the silk bedsheets. It is the beginning of a conversation - the same conversation that they have been having for four years, and still, Yao does not grow tired of Kiku's response. "And you are wrong," Yao continues.
"How so." It is more of a statement than a question.
The startling contrast is made all the clearer by their respective postures: Kiku is stiff, ever-so-formal, with his back turned and fingers crossed; Yao is at-ease, limbs splayed across clean sheets, hands loose, hair undone. Particularly after the council meeting, Kiku does not understand (and still, understands all too well) why it is only Yao, even this many years after the war, who he will allow to act like this.
"It was your beloved Tennou-sama that killed him," Yao murmurs, and there is a shuffle of limbs, and Kiku turns - marginal bemusement dancing in his eyes; this much power, Yao knows that it is unwise push (and still he does, and still he will) - to see Yao holding a vial of clear liquid, printed neatly with German characters: Zyanid.
"I have the world," Kiku starts, and though Yao scoffs, Kiku continues all the same, "And I have given it to you - I have given you reign of the most beautiful palace in the land, the child of your Empress - a child of our shared blood - has ascended to the throne. I have given you a tongue, I have spared the lives of your people; I have given them peace - will you not be satisfied?"
He has a good third of the world under the name of his nation - he has assured the continued survival - if not prosperity - of not only China, but their neighboring nations as well. The council is completely under his thumb - will soon be under Asahiko's thumb, and still, Yao will not bend.
"Lies, lies," Yao whispers, in a sing-song fashion, as Kiku turns himself completely, and still finds himself entirely entranced, "I care not for your darkened love, let me return to the of the past - when I was happy, aru." It's in his childish tone, the lightness of his words, and the gracelessness of his characteristic (many, many years ago) end-note, that causes Kiku to snap.
Yao laughs when Kiku's hands place themselves around his neck; Kiku himself straddling the other, knocking the air out of Yao.
(And still, he has enough breath in him to laugh.)
"Kill me, kill me," he chants - in a language that is supposed to be Kiku's.
"Look to the future," Kiku demands, even as his fingers are tightening their grip (his heart is racing, pounding away, because Yao's flowing blood is beating right underneath his grasp), "I will pull you out of that past," Kiku vows, as Yao is still laughing, laughing, laughing loose arms not even bothering to put up a fight. "Remember me, always," he hisses, drawing blood underneath his nails, as Yao peacefully closes his eyes.
"I will never, never, never love you," Yao promises, even as his hips are jerking upward, the hardness of his member pressed against the folds of the kimono, and Kiku releases his hold on Yao's neck, moving his fingers to brush against the apex of Yao's hip; Yao digging his long, painted (once again, once again) fingers into Kiku's hair, into Kiku's scalp.
"I have made it," Kiku says - and he has forgotten how many times he has said this before, "so that there is no one else for you to love," and he plants a kiss at Yao's completely-clothed waist, left hand scissoring and right hand caressing, all while Yao moans and writhes - coming, again, to Asahiko's name, golden eyes snapping open, daring Kiku to repeat the previous statement.
Kiku himself finishes a couple minutes later, his dirty fingers - four of them, that is - pressed greedily in Yao's mouth, other hand snaked around Yao's waist, pressing himself deeper and deeper and deeper still. This time, Yao's eyes are open, teeth biting hard on Kiku's already bloodied fingers, and he calls the right name.
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The Council is, at first, reluctant (if not outright violent) to Asahiko's changes. But Asahiko has the backing of Yao-hime (as they have all learned to call Yao by now), and with the backing of Yao-hime is the dispassionate support of Kiku-sama. And so, one by one, the reforms are passed in as little as a month: generals are now forced to report to the Emperor with any and all military plans, and the Emperor is to draft any and all armaments.
Needless to say, the Council Room did not stop smelling of blood and gun oil for weeks after the initial (particularly grudging) concurrence on the military council's part. Kiku says nothing; Yao does not go near the Council Room with good reason.
And Asahiko, against even Yao and Kiku's expectations, manages to prove everyone wrong. He has been brilliant from birth, this, Yao is aware of. He is capable of holding his own in any discussion, Kiku acknowledges. But it is in the otherworldly ease which his wants get passed, and the success of said plans - neither Yao-hime nor Kiku-sama could have anticipated.
It is in his blood, the forever-adoring, perpetually-worshiping public continue to whisper, gaiety and surprise in their eyes as Tennou-sama announces that there will be no need for rations in a few months, for the army will soon acquire their materials from other sources. And there is a month-long celebration - where the sake cups are painted in blood from fallen armies (and still, the alcohol is delicious), when Tennou-sama makes good on that promise.
In a matter of months, Asahiko has managed to turn the jeers into approval into complete and unquestioning loyalty - for it is easy for the public to fall in love with a person whom they know nothing of (and still, there are whispers and shots in the council room - a result of his bastard blood).
Ironic, he thinks, that he should feel such a kinship with Kiku-sama - who still comes to every council meeting, who still sits in some platform or balcony with Yao-hime during every festival - for though Asahiko has his kingdom within his fingers, dangling on a string, Kiku still has everything he wants.
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