Chapter 3: The Chase
The finely furnished oak desk shook ever so slightly. "Is… is he here yet?"
Kouyuu silently shook his head from his position by the door, every now and then oh-so-inconspicuously poking his aquamarine head of hair into the corridor outside. When Ryuuki's trembling question repeated itself, however, he remembered that Saiunkoku's highly esteemed emperor was currently cowering under his large desk, and hence was unable to notice non-verbal gestures. He sighed, "No, Reishin-dono isn't here… yet."
Kouyuu shuddered, droplets of cold sweat beading at the back of his neck. As fearful of Reishin as Ryuuki was, the emperor really ought to be glad that he hadn't been the one to overhear Reishin's raging fit to Chamberlain Kou Kijin. Reishin's temper was really something to be feared.
Shuuei was noticeably absent, having disappeared to supposedly call for assistance to defend the Emperor's life. Kouyuu suspected Shuuei was just trying to remove himself from potential crossfire. Forget having accepted the Emperor's flower, if pledging allegiance to the Emperor meant pitting oneself against a murderous Kou Reishin. If the increased rattling of the desk was any indication, given a choice, the Emperor would rather betray himself than be cornered by Reishin.
It was times like these that made Kouyuu wonder how someone like Reishin was related to amiable Shouka and caring Shuurei.
Kouyuu's eyes widened in realization. Of course. That was it! Shouka!
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In retrospect, it probably hadn't been a very wise decision to just dash down corridors, instead of attempting to blend in with the other officials around. Even with Ryuuki leading the way to the Archives (even when in a royal panic, Ryuuki knew better than to let Kouyuu pretend he wasn't a direction retard), the influence of Kou Reishin reached far and wide.
Which explained how the Emperor of Saiunkoku and his Vice-Secretary of Civil Administration had been accosted by, of all people, the slightly less scary but creepier Kou Kijin. What a wonderful pair of comrades they made, the Chamberlains of Civil Administration and Finance, was Kouyuu's sardonically unvoiced thought. An opinion no doubt shared by countless others.
It didn't help that Kouyuu knew slightly more than others; namely the fact that Reishin was a lazy, malicious and manipulative genius who preferred to make crazy face masks for Kijin in his free time (he had stumbled over Reishin's workroom by accident, when trying to find his own room in the unnecessarily huge mansion) rather than aid his overworked department staff. That, and obsess over his older brother and niece, the latter being oblivious to Reishin's very existence. Kouyuu's shoulders sagged at the depressing state of affairs his country was in.
Not that Kouyuu had very much time to mull over his own disheartening thoughts. Not when eerie chuckling emitted from a distance he was less than comfortable with, coupled with an equally disturbing face that was streaked white, black and red.
Despite not having been tied up, Kouyuu couldn't move from his undignified position on the floor of the Finance Department. Finance Vice-Secretary Kei Yuri was nowhere to be seen, and somehow there was no other department staff in the vicinity. It seemed many preferred to keep their distance from the more-than-slightly-creepy Chamberlain.
Ryuuki, surprisingly, was still standing. "What is the meaning of this, Chamberlain Kou?" he demanded, using his best I-am-your-emperor-and-you'd-better-remember-that-I-have-the-power-to-behead-you-for-disrespect voice. With his back ramrod straight and face in a stern mask, Kouyuu could almost believe that the Emperor was totally unintimidated by his Chamberlain.
Almost.
If not for the fact that Kouyuu heard the slight trembling undercurrent in Ryuuki's voice, or the fact that the Emperor was standing just in front of him, and Kouyuu could see the nervous twitch of his legs through the violet robe.
He was Emperor, for the Seven Sages' sake! But then again, admittedly, Kouyuu would be scared of Kijin too, even if he were Emperor.
"Would you rather be caught by Reishin?"
Somehow, despite the obvious restrictions the wooden mask caused when it came to revealing facial expressions, Kijin managed to lace a smirk into his words.
At the mention of Reishin's name, Ryuuki's Emperor demeanor dissolved, and cold sweat started beading anew on his face. A reluctant "no" slipped past his lips, and he looked faintly green.
The Chamberlain of Finances laughed, a rich, throaty sound that his mask failed to distort, and had the Emperor and his aide staring at him in surprise. Who knew Kou Kijin was capable of sounding so… normal?
The astonishment, however, was momentary. Breathless fear soon flew across the two visible faces in the room.
An impatient rap sounded on the doors, one that Kouyuu recognized well. Ryuuki may not have recognized it, but the voice that followed certainly was a very familiar one.
"Kijin, are you there?"
It was Reishin.
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AN: I really enjoyed writing this chapter – what with Kijin's creepiness and eccentricities, as well as the fear he strikes in people's hearts. And dorky!Kouyuu with his internal monologuing :D Though I wonder if I'm overdoing it sometimes; do tell me if the characters are too OOC :/