“Seiran, do you have a moment?”
Seiran blinked as Shouka-sama appeared silently in the door of his rooms just as Seiran tiptoed past. “Of course.” He wasn’t actually sleepy yet, and followed curiously as Shouka-sama led him to a seat at the antechamber’s small table. Shouka-sama sat down across from him, resting clasped hands against his chin. Seiran waited, watching the master of the house in the flickering candlelight.
“Seiran—” Shouka-sama hesitated, “Seien. Do you know who I am?”
Seien tipped his head, puzzled. “Kou Shouka, eldest of the Kou clan’s main lineage, though the leadership of the clan went to your younger brother,” he recited from years-ago lessons on history and politics.
“Ah.” Shouka-sama seemed to slump a little and scrubbed a hand over his eyes. Seien frowned; clearly there was something more. He cast his mind back, stumbling a little in his thoughts as he tried to set aside the raging chill of the year before this one and look closely at the bright, smooth memories of his years in the palace. The foolish, innocent confidence of them made him wince away a bit, but he could find nothing there to explain the tight line of Shouka-sama’s mouth.
“I suppose I shouldn’t have expected you to be told.” Shouka-sama sighed and straightened. “I am also,” he said quietly, looking down at his laced fingers, “the Black Wolf.”
For a moment Seiran couldn’t place the name, and then he could and started upright, staring. “You… but…!” How was it possible? Shouka-sama moved gracefully, to be sure, but… He was strong, yes, he had lifted Seiran before with no sign of strain, but…!
Surely someone that deadly should show it, the way it showed in his brothers’ eyes, or in Meishou’s smile.
But wouldn’t that be the most deadly of all, a corner of his mind noted, to seem utterly harmless? Was that not, after all, what he and his partner had done, among the Satsujinzoku?
Seien wet his lips and swallowed. The Black Wolf. The Emperor’s assassin. “Why are you telling me this?” he asked, husky.
Shouka-sama stopped looking taut and looked blank instead for a moment. “Oh!” He waved his hands. “No, no, you’re in no danger at all! It’s not like that!”
Seien couldn’t help slumping a bit with relief. He knew he was exceptional with a sword, but the stories of the Black Wolf were… daunting.
Shouka-sama made a slightly exasperated sound and rose to come around the table and lay his hands on Seien’s shoulders. “I didn’t take you in just to have you handy to kill,” he said briskly. “I took you in to care for you as a son of this household.”
Seien’s eyes widened as he stared up at Shouka-sama, struck utterly breathless by that matter-of-fact warmth. “Shouka-sama,” he whispered.
Shouka-sama smiled faintly. “I told you this so that you would understand what it means when I say that the Emperor sent me to find and guard you.” His hands tightened for a moment on Seien’s shoulders. “And when I say that I no longer need his command to do it.”
Wetness in Seiran’s eyes made the candlelight waver even more as he blinked it back. His voice trembled with the intensity of feelings too wild to contain—hope and fear and a rushing warmth he’d never thought he would feel again. “Shouka-sama…”
Shouka-sama’s eyes were dark and sober. “I always knew who you were. And I know, better than you think, what kind of choices are before you. So I’m telling you now: choose your path. Any shadows you see along it,” a small smile, “will be mine.”
Seiran bent his head. “Thank you.” He was dizzy with the strangeness of it all, of being offered protection. And, far more than that, of trusting in the one who offered.
Shouka-sama’s hand rested on his head for a moment. “You should be off to bed, then. Growing children need their sleep, and Shoukun will scold me if I don’t let you get it.”
Seiran laughed, and if it was a little damp neither of them mentioned the fact. “Yes, Shouka-sama. Good night, then.”
“Good night. Seiran.”
Seiran paused and looked back and bobbed a nod before closing the door behind him.
End
As usual, much squee <3. Seiran/Seien getting some much deserved ‘We love you!’ (in his face, where he can’t avoid it).
My favorite line is Shouka’s bit about the shadows on Seien’s path will be his….*awe*
Majo
Thank you! *grins* I got a big dose of Black Wolf visuals today, and am much in Shouka-love. I swear, all the men in this show are hot when they’re pissed off and protective.
I hope you saw the manga-visuals for Shouka-as-Black-Wolf as well, because while the anime was nice, the manga was …..*fans self* Um. Yeah. I hope you saw it too.
Fics for teh Win!
Majo
Yeah, it was the manga visuals I saw today. *sighs* Just scrumptious. *borrows your fan* I mean… wow. I am totally sold on collecting the manga.
Absentminded cute librarian dads who can’t make tea or do chores to save his life should not be so hot. It’s illegal. *fans some more*
…But I’m glad he is, anyway.^^;
Look forward to more!
Majo
Wait wait, manga visuals? From where? (if you don’t mind my asking)
grey_damaskena’s been posting camera pics on the Saiunkoku comm. I’d go through the posts for the older ones (The manga’s only up to ch. 7, and the scanlations are up to ch. 5)…
The specific one in question that I know of is in this post:
http://community.livejournal.com/saiunko
……So much pretty. <3
Majo
Right here. The most excellent Althea took a bunch of camera shots of a very tasty issue.
I was also directed to this thread, when I mourned the lack of tasty eye candy. The dear posters on there have scanned pretty much all the novel illustrations.
This is so true. xD
Oh, very nicely done, Shouka. *hearts him madly*
Isn’t he the sweetest assassin-daddy ever? I couldn’t resist giving him more play, once Seien decided to take life by the throat.
oh I win so much!!!
Sorry, continuation of the insane glee of having multiple Emperor Seien-AUs to read. Maybe the bizarre flu I’m suffering from now is some form of instant karma for having such an embarrassment of riches fall into my lap . . .
I very much like some of the imagery here. Seien’s thought about his previous life’s memories was something that particularly struck me, and the mention of Seien’s brothers and Meishou. Overall this was very tightly written and quite smooth, an acheivement to be proud of.
I know you intended this story to be part of the AU you’re working on, but I could just as easily see it fitting into the normal timeline as well. Since after all, we don’t really know to what extent Seiran and Shouka are aware of each other’s secret identities. So as far as that’s concerned, just about anything goes.
Ah, thank you for two (three!) excellent fics in as few days! I heartily look forward to more.
Fandom is all about having riches!
And thank you so much. It took a while to find the right tactile words for the way Seien seems to feel and act, in the very few glimpses we get of him as a child. The contrast between that and his exile year… well that’s going to keep coming up for him, that’s for sure.
Have also been reading through Shadow’s novel translations and feel that I really have to find a way to kill Meishou, at length, in this timeline. Really kill him a lot.
Seiran: *expression of alarming eagerness*
*nodnod* Since I decided to leave Seien with Shouka and family for so long, a lot of things are turning out to be very close, emotionally, to canon; it’s very fun to play with, I must say. *grins* Now, there’s the Shoukun story to write, and then on to the multi-parter and varying viewpoints. *rubs hands*
There’re lots of wonderfully fun things in Saiunkoku and one of the best has to be how despite being the Black Wolf, Shouka has absolutely no survival skills – he’d soooo die of malnutrition or bad dietary habits if he didn’t have Shuurei and Seiran looking after him.
XD ^^v
*dies laughing* It’s so totally true. Occassionally I think Shoukun is faking being bad at stuff, but Shouka is just an adorably lost cause.
It’s really a good thing they managed to find Seiran when they did, because without him I’m fairly certain the manor would have fallen apart for real, all the way. 😀 Either that or blown up in a particularly cataclysmic attempt at cooking. No wonder he and Shuurei are so good at taking care of domestic chores. 😉
*laughing* Oh man, I can just see it happening. You almost have to wonder whether the Kou clan sent Shouka to the capital just so he wouldn’t be blowing up the clan main house!
Shouka fic! Shouka fic!
YAY!
*bounces*
At some point, I did have something constructive to say. I swear*bounces some more*
*grins* Shouka is made of Win, no question about it.
Glee is perfectly constructive. *firm nod*
*waves back rather frantically*
No mentions of Ryuuki in this one but *squeeeee*, Shouka-sama!!
*bounces all over her room*
*hearts* Shouka is love, oh yes.
More little!Ryuuki in the next one! He’s so darn cute.
Whether he’s Librarian!Shouka, Assassin!Shouka or Papa!Shouka, he’s always love.
More Ryuuki in the next one? *starts waiting again* ^^
This is very nice. I’ve always been intrigued by Seiran/Seien’s past. And of course, Shouka’s one of my most favorite characters in SaiMono. I’m glad your short fic gives them justice. ^_^
Thank you! *grins* Shouka is definitely wonderful; I had so much fun writing in a bigger part for him.
1. Shouka is 1000000000xwin. You write him spot-on.
2. I had to read this line, Shouka-sama smiled faintly. “I told you this so that you would understand what it means when I say that the Emperor sent me to find and guard you.” His hands tightened for a moment on Seien’s shoulders. “And when I say that I no longer need his command to do it.” three times, just completely enthralled with how much you managed to pack into how few words. Very very impressed.
Shouka is totally my secret favorite. He just wins so much.
*blushes* Thank you! With these guys who almost never talk openly about their feelings, it can be a hard balance to strike; good to know it worked out.
Aww, that’s a lot like I imagined it happened when I watched the anime. Now I want to know how it’s written in the novels >.< Gah kanji…
Yes! More Shouka in canon! Actually the (very slow) manga for SaiMono does him very tastily.
*nodnod* Reading ‘Asuka’ already ^_____^