If Seiran had been the one in charge of guarding the palace, he thought, he’d have had a few words to say to the soldiers who patrolled the place.
He’d been tucked up in the eaves of the Archives all day, having come in over the roofs—the red roofs, for heaven’s sake!—and not a single guard had looked up yet. If this had been the forest, they’d all have been dead without any bandits having to bother coming down out of the trees.
A soft, light voice from the open window below him distracted him from such dark thoughts, and Seiran smiled. Ryuuki sounded happy today.
The Archives were the only place he dared try to catch a glimpse of his brother. Unlike the guards, Ryuuki was alert as any wild animal. It was only here he relaxed a little, in the quiet of Shouka-sama’s little domain.
“Shouka, Shouka, look! I copied the whole thing!” Ryuuki held up a scrap of paper proudly, showing off his careful brushstrokes.
“And a very good job, too.” Shouka-sama leaned over Ryuuki, one hand resting, gentle and light, on Ryuuki’s shoulder. Seiran’s thoughts darkened again as he caught sight of the soft bandage, showing under the neck of Ryuuki’s robes, that Shouka-sama was being careful not to touch. If any of their elder brothers ever passed near while Seien was moving through the palace, he swore they would regret it. Briefly. They would have to be dealt with somehow, and shared blood…
Well, sharing blood meant something different to him, these days.
“Shouka, is this true?”
Seiran blinked, brought back again by the sudden thoughtful edge to his brother’s voice. Ryuuki ran a small finger down one column of characters.
“Do the eight enlightened ones really still live among us and keep watch over the country?”
“That’s what legend tells us.” Shouka smiled down at Ryuuki. “And the temples, too.”
Ryuuki sniffed. “They aren’t doing a very good job, then. Everyone complains, all the time, about how hard it is to run things, and how everyone is making trouble for everyone else.”
“Ah, well.” Shouka-sama leaned back against the windowsill. “The enlightened ones can only help us. They can’t just take over the country; that wouldn’t be right.”
“Why not? I mean, if they’re enlightened.” Ryuuki leaned his chin in his hands, eyes wide and curious. Actually, Seien was rather curious what Shouka-sama would answer, too.
“All our tales of them, from the very beginning, tell us that, enlightened as they are, those eight served the emperor,” Shouka-sama said quietly. “That is their part. It is the emperor’s part to rule and lead. And he can only be one person, in this one place. He can’t take care of more than a handful of people, directly.” Shouka-sama smiled. “I suspect some emperors forget they have more than the people right here to care for.”
Seien flushed hotly, even though he was hidden up in the eaves and Shouka-sama wasn’t even talking to him.
Well… maybe wasn’t talking to him.
“But the enlightened ones, not being rulers, why they can go wherever they need to, to care for the country.”
“Oh.” Ryuuki considered this for a long moment, nibbling on his lip. “Okay. I think I see.”
Seien softened helplessly, touched all over again by his brother’s brightness, his sharp mind and pure heart. He would protect Ryuuki.
And if that meant protecting the whole country, to give Ryuuki and Shuurei a safe place to be, well, he’d do that too.
End
Huzzah for more writage!
An excellent piece to show how Seien’s selfishness can be translated into apparent selflessness. To protect the country so that Ryuuki and Shuurei can be safe would be a great reason for him to actually work toward being a good emperor.
And Ryuuki is utterly adorable. How can his other brothers and mother be so evil? *hiss*
Majo
Thank you! I’m pretty well convinced that Seien has little sense of political or imperial duty, certainly not after his lost year; it all seems to be down to personal emotions, for him. He binds astonishingly tightly, when he does at all, and those people are the only ones that matter. He can agree, in the abstract, that good leaders are neccessary, but to actually get him to sacrifice himself, basically, to the kingdom, I /had/ to get him back in contact with Ryuuki.
He’s such a stubborn muse!
Yes…the fact he seems to have little personal ambition or motivation to do anything for himself comes across, and Thea-san and I have both spent happy hours pondering it (well, at least half an hour). You’ve dealt with it most wonderfully here.
Binding tightly, indeed. I think it’s part of what makes him so interesting.^^ And the stubborness is cute too…
Majo
And once again, Ryuuki controls the fate of Saiunkoku. Even when he’s not directly in charge, somehow it all hinges on him.
. . . I might qualify for spamming at this point. Back to work with me . . .
*laughing* Hey, spam is good. Most of my flist aren’t into Kokumono, so this is the only place I get much discussion.
*hearts wee!Ryuuki muchly*
Also, Seiran reminds me a lot of Yukimura, in some ways. Or, possibly, it’s after midnight and my thinking is gone fuzzy. Maybe both. Either way, it’s fucking hot.
*grins* And there is more wee!Ryuuki, plus wee!Shuurei, coming up! They’re just darn adorable.
Seiran has a similar kind of steel, I think. Also, a freaking evil sense of humor, which I will hook you up with links to when you’re done overtiming. *cuddles*
Huzzah for the chibis, for they are the true masters of this country. 😉
. . . evil sense of humor? Well, I have some idea as to that, but dare I inquire as to the nature of these links? ::timid:: Don’t mind me if it’s something I ought not intrude on . . .
The chibis definitely rule the world.
*chuckling* I was fishing through Shadow’s journal and pulling out the entries where she talks about Saiunkoku, and the way Seiran treats Shuuei, goodness me. Wallet # 1, *snerks*. Not to mention any other suitors of Shuurei’s that are unfortunate enough to come into his reach. *very amused*
I put them all in memories, so you can find them here, if there are any you don’t have. A lot of the best stuff is in the comments. ^_^
Thank you very much for compiling all those links and telling me where they are; I myself am now committing them to my own lj memories. The Saiunkoku heading has gotten rather out of hand lately, it seems I shall have to add more, or figure out tags at last.
But yes, thank you very much. The effort is much appreciated. I hope to see more fic from you soon!
More coming today!
chibi Ryuuki fills me with joy, he definately does. Abused chibi Ryuuki makes my chest hurt, but that’s not something I’ll really complain of since I like angst and that is definately angst (and really, I’ve done a heck of a lot worse to the poor kid . . .). Poor Ryuuki.
Ah, but soon he’ll get his wonderful big brother back, and Seien will make all better! Or at least, I assume you’re heading in that direction. 😉
I liked your descriptions of Ryuuki, and I hugely approve of Shouka and the way he’s teaching (maybe? But I can’t doubt for a minute that he knows Seien is there) two princes at once. Shouka is truly a miracle, as Shou has attested . . .
More more more, please. Am especially looking forward to brotherly reunion because I adore brotherly cuteness. Wouldn’t mind hearing Seien’s thoughts upon first sneaking into the palace, or his thoughts the first time he glimpses Ryuuki again. Thinking of these things makes me extremely happy, oh yes.
Thank you much for posting and further writage!
Thank you! I’m just having the best time with the chibis. Making Shuurei and Ryuuki into demi-siblings makes me cackle with evil glee. I have yet to decide, quite, whether they get to get married in the end.
Lessee. *counts up* There’s the Shoukun story, the confrontation with Shou and Emperor, and then we get to the Triumphal (sort of) Return, with chibis. *wry* And then it gets complicated.
I love Shouka, and in a story filled with Total Failure Parents, he’s really a shining example of how to do it right.
Oo, those are good ideas for ficlets to add body to this. *rueful* The story is hurtling along at such a pace I’m having a hard time pausing long enough to flesh things out more than the most necessary character development. I think I’m going to be going back and tucking bits into the blank spots.
Its great to hear you like these, and thank /you/ for so much encouragement!
Excellent!
This fandom didn’t have enough fics at all, but especially not enough fics like this one! Fics with plots! Fics with Seiran being Seiran
as opposed to some sort of mutant superhero with no flaw! Fics with Shoukabeing hotbeing Shouka! Fics that prompt comments with way too many exclamation marks!I’m totally a fan,
and you should be scared!*hearts* Thank you! Really, Seiran is deeply flawed, and that’s most of what makes him so wonderful. *dotes on him*
And, hey, I’m totally good with fans; fans give me that much more motivation to run and keep up with the galloping plotbunnies. ^_^
*much love* I just stumbled across this, and I absolutely adore it to bits. Seiran’s characterisation is so well done. I also love how in that last line, protecting the country is almost an afterthought for him, rather than a priority.
Thank you!
*chuckles* Yeah, there are days I think my Seiran seriously wants to let the country go hang. Or, at least, let the /government/ go hang.
Who knows? Some of them might even deserve it. But yes, it will be interesting to see how he deals with the responsibility.
*is reduced to a vulgar puddle of goo from the chibi Ryuuki Love. And the big brother!Seien Love. And the Shouka Love*
And I’m afraid puddles of goo aren’t very articulate…
*hearts* Goo is good.
It’s really true, Seien was just /born/ to be a big brother. *dotes on him*
*loves all over him and Ryuuki*
Erm… Not that I don’t like your writings – ’cause I do! Really!! – but this “Age of Silver” stuff leaves me confused.
Is there a certain order in which those drabbles are supposed to be read? If so, HOW!? (Read: Could you please, pretty please put up some kind of, I dunno, order of reading or something? *makes puppy dog eyes*)
Another thing I’d like to know: are those drabbles going anywhere? Yes? Then I don’t mind the waiting and even they’re just there for the fun, that’s okay, too! <3
Well, yes, that’s why I say in the summaries, on the comm posts and the story both, which number it is in the arc; this one, for example, is third. They’re also being posted in chronological order.
It’s eventually going to be heading toward Seien as Emperor, and a reworking of some of the canon-time plot from that perspective; a lot of characterization development points have to be hit before it gets there, though.
At any rate, glad you’re enjoying them!
a;lskdhgsahgd
Seiran you smoopy crazy adorable kid. <3 Hiding on the roof like a wild animal, critiquing the palace guards, not quite sure whether Shouka is talking to him (cause you never know). So crazy head-over-heels for Ryuuki, too. Oh man. Just. *hearts*
Isn’t he the cutest little thing? So protective. *pets him* Glad you liked it!