Doctor Who Fan Fiction ❯ Zenmon no Tora, Komon no Ookami ❯ Chapter 1

[ P - Pre-Teen ]

Zenmon no Tora, Komon no Ookami
(Tiger at the front gate, wolf at the back gate)
The Tardis was shaking. The Doctor was running around the console, pushing buttons and pulling levers. His three companions stood aside watching him. Suddenly something was glowing on Yuusuke's chest under his black kimono.
'Yuusuke-kun, something is glowing on your chest,' the Doctor said, not stopping his task.
Yuusuke reached into his kimono and took out a pentagonal pendant on a steel chain, with a large black round gem with a pentagram carved on it and a Tai'chi symbol below the gem. The pendant was glowing.
Yuusuke put his hand on his pendant .
'Yes, Your Majesty?' he said and then listened for a long time.
'I will, Your Majesty,' he said then.
The pendant stopped glowing, and Yuusuke put it back in his kimono.
'His Majesty needs me in the capital of Jianye,' Yuusuke said. 'When the onmyouji master Abe no Yoshimasa Hakase was conducting the Mizuawase no Harai ceremony for purifying the court wells, something hindered him, and neither Yoshimasa Hakase nor any other onmyouji can do anything about it, so I am needed in the capital.'
'I see,' the Doctor said. 'So let's go! Maybe I can help.'
'I'm sure you can, Doctor,' Yuusuke said.
'So Jianye, was it?' the Doctor asked, pressing something.
'Jianye, June 13 of the tenth year of Meihei,' Yuusuke said, nodding.
'Oh, doyoo, of course!' the Doctor said. 'Wind chimes and grilled eels!'
'Yes,' Yuusuke said with a smile.
'Allons-y!' the Doctor said, pressing something.
The wall of the Imperial Palace in Jianye was stone and tall, with tiles on top, large beautiful green trees showing above it and fluffy green willows near it. Suddenly there was a strange whirring noise and a blue wooden box with a blinking lamp on top gradually appeared by the wall. Its door opened and out came a tall thin young man with brown eyes and wild brown hair, in a brown striped suit and a long brown coat. Three people followed him. One was a tall slender young man with dark eyes and dark hair in a long ponytail, his forehead shaven and a white headband around his head, in a black kimono with a white one showing under it, white fingerless gloves and white socks. Another was a tall slender girl with large dark eyes and long shining dark hair, in a white wide closed robe and red loose trousers, a sword at her waist. Third was a short slender young man with dark eyes and dark hair in a ponytail, in a red wide closed robe and white loose trousers, a sword at his waist.
'Is this it?' the Doctor asked.
'Yes,' Yuusuke said. 'This is the wall of the Imperial Palace in Jianye.'
'Splendid,' the Doctor said.
They walked along the wall and came to a large gate. They passed through the gate and walked through a large beautiful garden with groves of plum trees, cherry trees and peach trees, flowers, streams and ponds.
'This is the Imperial Gardens,' Yuusuke said.
'Brilliant!' the Doctor said.
They came to a tall hedge with a gate with cypress roof on four pillars and a cherry tree and an orange tree by its sides, large beautiful buildings with Chinese roofs seen over it. They passed through the gate and another vermilion gate and entered a large courtyard with a large beautiful building in the middle, another to the left, another to the side and a lot of smaller buildings on the perimeter.
'This is the Imperial Palace,' Yuusuke said. 'In front is Shishinden, the Hall for State Ceremonies, where the enthronement and the installment of the Crown Prince is held, to the left is Seiryoden, Cool Hall, where the Emperor lives, to the side is Okurimonsho, the Imperial Library, and around are the residences of the Empres and high officials and offices.'
'Brilliant!' the Doctor said. 'How beautiful!'
'You aren't in a royal court for the first time, are you, Doctor?' Hajime said.
'No,' the Doctor said with a grin.
'Of course, you are a dragon,' Hajime said.
The Doctor smiled.
They walked to the Seiryoden Hall.
'How should I introduce you?' Yuusuke asked the Doctor.
'Sir Doctor of Tardis,' the Doctor said. 'It was the title given to me by Queen Victoria for saving her from a werewolf.'
The Doctor looked wistful.
'What's the matter, Doctor?' Yuusuke asked.
'I wasn't alone then,' the Doctor said. 'My friend Rose Tyler was with me. She was given the title of Dame Rose Tyler of Powell Estate. She's gone now.'
'I see,' Yuusuke said.
'Oh, Doctor!' Miyuki said.
They came to the Seiryoden Hall. It was facing the left side of the Shishinden Hall, with white open shoji and beautiful bamboos in front. They came inside. It was a room two tatami deep, with painted shoji, a hibachi and a niche with blue irises in a yellow-green porcelain vase. A tall handsome man in purple  Chinese-style robe and a black pointed hat was sitting facing outside, and a tall handsome man with brown hair and brown eyes, in a light purple Chinese-style robe and a black pointed hat was sitting afar facing another man.
Yuusuke, Miyuki, Hajime and the Doctor bowed and sat down afar too.
'Your Majesty, Abe no Yoshimasa Hakase, Sir Doctor of Tardis,' Yuusuke said.
The Emperor looked at the Doctor.
'We travel together,' Yuusuke explained. 'He's a youkai, a kind of dragon.'
The Emperor nodded.
'Kudou Chuunagon, Sir Doctor, help Yoshimasa Hakase to deal with the spirit in the well,' he said.
'Yes, Your Majesty,' Yuusuke said.
The Doctor nodded.
Yuusuke, Miyuki, Hajime, the Doctor and Yoshimasa Hakase rose, bowed and left.
'Kudou Chuunagon?' the Doctor asked with a smile.
'Yes, I hold the title of a Middle Counsellor,' Yuusuke said.
The Doctor nodded.
They walked across the large courtyard to the smaller buildings at the perimeter and came to a court between two beautiful buildings, with willows and a well.
'Is this it?' Yuusuke asked.
'Yes,' Yoshimasa Hakase said. 'I hope you can help for the spirit who lives in this well doesn't let me to perform the ceremony of purification. And I cannot even find what it is!'
'Let's see,' Yuusuke said.
He looked into the well.
'Something powerful here...an Umibozu. It's hiding very well.'
'An Umibozu here?' Yoshimasa Hakase asked.
'Umibozu, 'sea child'?' the Doctor asked.
'It's a water giant,' Yuusuke said. 'Usually they live in the sea, but they can live in other water too.'
The Doctor came to the well and said:
'Umibozu-san, the people of this place just want to be happy, and this ceremony is very important to them, so please let them!'
The water in the well rippled, and a small blue-green giant with round large eyes appeared out of the well.
He nodded and disappeared.
'Now you can do it, Yoshimasa Hakase,' the Doctor said.
Yoshimasa Hakase chanted something in Sanskrit.
'It's all right now,' Yoshimasa Hakase then said.
'Splendid!' the Doctor said.
They returned to the Seiryoden Hall and sat down.
'Well?' the Emperor asked.
'It's done, Your Majesty,' Yoshimasa Hakase said. 'Kudou Chunagon found that it was an Umibozu, and Sir Doctor persuaded it to leave us alone.'
'Excellent!' the Emperor said. 'So the Mizuawase no Harai was performed?'
'Yes,' Yoshimasa Hakase said.
'Very good,' the Emperor said. 'Kudou Chunagon, we thank you. Sir Doctor, you are granted the fourth rank. Come for your Joi ceremony and wear the robe of your rank.'
'Your Majesty, Sir Doctor came here by chance and doesn't know when he will return,' Yuusuke said. 'His ship has a mind of her own.'
'Very well,' the Emperor said. 'Sir Doctor, your Joi ceremony will be held tomorrow morning.'
'I can lend you my robe, Doctor, we are the same height and approximately the same size,' Yuusuke said.
'Splendid!' the Doctor said.
'Come tomorrow, Sir Doctor Shonagon,' the Emperor said.
'Oh, Shonagon, like Sei Shonagon? Brilliant!' the Doctor said. 'I like her books very much!'
The Emperor smiled.
Yuusuke, Miyuki, Hajime, the Doctor and Yoshimasa Hakase rose, bowed and went out.
'See you tomorrow,' Yoshimasa Hakase said and went away.
Yuusuke, Miyuki, Hajime and the Doctor walked to the gate.
'My Joi!' the Doctor said. 'Closest I had to it was my accolade by Queen Victoria. Then she banished me.'
'Who banishes the one who saved them from a werewolf?' Yuusuke asked.
'Well, Queen Victoria, she was strange,' the Doctor said.
'And you cannot return to England?' Yuusuke asked.
'Well, nobody knows she banished me,' the Doctor said with a grin.
'Of course, you are a youkai,' Yuusuke said.
They passed through the inner gate and walked through the Imperial Gardens, then passed through the outer gate and left the Imperial Palace.
'Now let's walk around the city!' the Doctor said.
'All right,' Yuusuke said.
They walked through the narrow winding streets of the city of Jianye with walls with Chinese roofs and trees showing above them. They came to a small temple with a market with hundreds of stalls selling morning glories, white, red and blue, and morning glory charms, looking as lovely as real morning glories.
'This is the Iriya Asagao Ichi, Iriya Morning Glory Market,' Yuusuke said. The morning glory charms, asagao mamori, are for health.'
'Brilliant!' the Doctor said. 'How lovely!'
'Here, have some money, Doctor, and buy yourself some asagao mamori,' Yuusuke said.
'Thank you very much, Yuusuke-kun,' the Doctor said and went to buy asagao mamori. He bought two red ones with white middle. He offered one to Miyuki.
'Please take it, Miyuki-kun,' he said.
'Oh, thank you very much, Doctor,' Miyuki said and pinned it to her white kimono.
Suddenly the Doctor saw a beautiful girl with large dark eyes and shining dark hair in a knot, in a blue kimono with blue hydrangeas. He went to her and gave the second asagao mamori to her.
'Please take it,' he said with a smile.
'Thank you very much, danna,' the girl said with a smile and pinned it to her kimono.
The Doctor went and bought himself another asagao mamori and pinned it to his brown coat.
They left Iriya Asagao Ichi and wandered through the streets of Jianye again. Suddenly something shaggy tangled in the Doctor's legs. He looked down and didn't see anything.
'What was that? Something tangled in my legs,' the Doctor said.
'Ashimagari,' Yuusuke said. 'It's an invisible badger or something. They like to tangle in people's legs.
The Doctor leaned, felt a shaggy back and caressed it.
'It's there!' he said. 'It's wonderful!'
The ashimagari rubbed against his legs and disappeared.
'Brilliant!' the Doctor said. 'What else lives in here!?'
'Oh, many things,' Yuusuke said with a smile.
They walked some more and suddenly saw a grey heron with fiery eyes and glowing feathers, flying in the sky.
'What is that?' the Doctor asked.
'Aosagi-bi,' Yuusuke said. 'Fiery grey heron. They just fly in the sky sometimes.'
'Brilliant!' the Doctor said and looked after the fiery heron.
They walked some more and suddenly heard a sound like, 'Basa-basa.'
'What was that?' the Doctor asked.
'Basan,' Yuusuke said. 'It's a giant rooster. They can breathe fire, but they are harmless.'
'Brilliant!' the Doctor said and listened to the basa-basa sound till it disappeared.
They walked some more and suddenly  the Doctor heard a sound of footsteps behind him.
'What was that?' the Doctor asked.
'Betobeto-san,' Yuusuke said. 'They just follow people. Say 'Betobeto-san, please pass!' and it will go away.'
'But I don't want it to go away!' the Doctor said. 'If it wants to follow me, let it be!'
Yuusuke smiled.
The Doctor listened to the footsteps, till they stopped.
'Brilliant!' the Doctor said.
They walked some more.
'Now let's go to my place,' Yuusuke said.
'All right,' the Doctor said.
They walked some more and came to a gate in the city wall. They passed through the gate and walked along a road among green hills with lush groves and fields. By one grove Yuusuke turned from the road and walked through the grove, Miyuki, Hajime and the Doctor following. They came to a glade with a small house surrounded by a wall with a gate, a Chinese roof and trees showing above   it. They passed through the gate and walked through the beautiful Japanese garden with rocks and evergreen trees. They came to a small house with a Chinese roof and open shoji, a room with tatami, a hibachi, a chest of drawers and a low table seen inside. They came in.
'This is my hut,' Yuusuke said.
'Wonderful!' the Doctor said.
'Please sit down,' Yuusuke said.
Miyuki, Hajime and the Doctor sat down. Yuusuke went out and returned carrying a black lacquer tray with a porcelain plate of pickled purple perilla leaves, four porcelain cups of tea and four pairs of chopsticks. He put it on the table and sat down.
'I'm sorry for my hut, Doctor,' Yuusuke said. 'I'm always on the road.'
'I'm always on the road myself, and I have no mansions, though I'm a Lord,' the Doctor said. 'I live in my ship.'
'And she's larger than the Imperial Palace,'  Yuusuke said. 'She is wonderful.'
'Yes, she is,' the Doctor said with a smile.
They stayed for the night in Yuusuke's house.
Next morning Miyuki and Hajime were sitting in the room that looked to the garden. They were dressed as always, but Hajime had a cuirass of tied together metal stripes over his red robe. Then Yuusuke and the Doctor came in. They both were dressed in light purple closed wide Chinese style robes with white trains trailing behind, white loose trousers with red lining showing at the hem, and little black hats, but Yuusuke had a sword at his waist and the Doctor didn't.
'You look stunning, Doctor,' Miyuki said.
'Thank you!' the Doctor said with a grin. 'Yuusuke-kun woke me up and helped me don these robes. They are so sophisticated, brilliant!'
'You are so exuberant, Doctor,' Yuusuke said with a smile.
'The poet William Blake said, 'Exuberance is beauty,' the Doctor said with a grin.
They had purple perilla leaves and tea and then left Yuusuke's house and went to the city, to the Imperial Palace.
'We look like real dignitaries with two guards,' Yuusuke said to the Doctor.
'Yes,' the Doctor said with a grin.
They passed through the city and the Imperial Gardens and entered the courtyard. They walked to the Shishinden Hall and came in. Shishinden Hall was encircled by a gallery called hisashi, and in the middle was a large free space crossed with boarded over walkways, and in the middle was a throne on an octagonal dais raised five feet above the floor and encircled by a beautiful screen with images of Buddhist saints. The Emperor was on the throne, and the hall was filled with courtiers in purple, light purple, red, green and blue robes and small black hats, and court ladies with long shining dark hair, in many layered colourful robes. Yuusuke, Miyuki and Hajime stood aside, and the Doctor stepped forward.
'Sir Doctor, come here,' the Emperor said.
The Doctor came up and ascended the steps to the throne.
The Emperor held forward a scroll and said:
'Sir Doctor of Tardis, for defeating a monster that hindered Mizuawase no Harai ceremony, you are granted the fourth rank and the title of Junior Counsellor, Shonagon.'
'Thank you, Your Majesty,' the Doctor said, bowing.
'Accept the paper certifying your rank, Sir Doctor Shonagon of Tardis,' the Emperor said and proffered the scroll to the Doctor.
The Doctor accepted the scroll with his open palms.
'You are dismissed,' the Emperor said.
The Doctor backed up from the dais.
He made his way to Yuusuke, Miyuki and Hajime.
'Congratulations, Sir Doctor Shonagon,' Yuusuke said with a smile.
'Thank you, thank you!' the Doctor said beaming.
He put the scroll into his sleeve.
At this point Yoshimasa Hakase and seven more people approached them. One was a short fat young man with dark eyes and short dark hair, in light purple robes. Another was a tall slender young man with dark eyes and short dark hair, in red robes. Then there were four tall slender girls with large dark eyes and shining long dark hair, in many layered robes over white kimono and red hakama, one girl's robes had upper green layer, then a light green layer, then a white layer, then a pink layer, then a light pink layer, then a white layer, another girl's robes had upper red layer, then two light red layers, then a green layer, then a light green layer, then a white layer, third girl's robes had upper orange layer, then a light orange layer, then a white layer, then a green layer, then a light green layer, and the fourth girl had very large dark eyes and very shining dark hair, and her robes had upper purple layer, then two turquoise layers, then a green layer, then a light green layer, then a white layer.
'Sir Doctor Shonagon, we want to hold a party in your honour,' Yoshimasa Hakase said.
'Splendid!' the Doctor said.
'Sir Doctor Shonagon of Tardis, meet Nikaidou Harunobu Shonagon, Matsuura Nioi-murasaki-hime, His Majesty's favourite lady-in-waiting,  sisters Minamoto no Asagao-hime and Minamoto no Hirugao-hime and their cousins Minamoto no Yorugao-hime and Minamoto no Nagare-dono,' Yoshimasa Hakase said.
'Glad to meet you!' the Doctor said with a grin.
'Matsuura Nioi-murasaki-hime, meet Kudou Yuusuke Chunagon, Saitou Miyuki-gozen and Kyuuhou Hajime-dono,' Yoshimasa Hakase said.
'A beautiful name, Nioi-murasaki, 'fragrant violet one', heliotrope,' Yuusuke said. 'And your robes are beautiful and in season, Kakitsubata, Iris, right?'
'Yes,' Nioi-murasaki-hime said with a smile.
'And Asagao-hime, Hirugao-hime and Yorugao-hime, yours are beautiful and in season too, Shobu, Iris, Tsutsuji, Azalea, and Hana Tachibana, Orange Blossom,' Yuusuke said.
Asagao, Hirugao and Yorugao smiled.
'Asagao, Morning Glory?' the Doctor said. 'I just bought an asagao mamori at the Iriya Asagao Ichi! Brilliant!'
Asagao smiled.
'And Asagao, Morning Glory, Hirugao, Bindweed, and Yorugao, Moonflower? Brilliant!' the Doctor said.
Asagao, Hirugao and Yorugao smiled.
'And Minamoto no Nagare, as in Minamoto kiyokereba nagare kiyoshi, If the source is clear, the stream is clear too?' the Doctor said.
'Yes,' Nagare said with a smile.
'Brilliant!' the Doctor said.
'Now let's go to my residence,' Nioi-murasaki-hime said.
'All right,' the Doctor said.
They left the Shishinden Hall and walked across the courtyard.
'So you defeated a monster, Sir Doctor-dono?' Nioi-murasaki-hime asked.
'Defeated a monster is strongly said,' the Doctor said with a smile. 'It was an Umibozu in a well. I just convinced it to leave the people of this place alone.'
'But it hindered Mizuawase no Harai ceremony, it's very important,' Nioi- murasaki-hime answered.
'Shishinden Hall,
A place often haunted
By monsters.'
The Doctor smiled.
'It's true,' Nioi-murasaki-hime said with a smile.
'For one, the Nue that Minamoto no Yorimasa, Asagao-hime's, Hirugao-hime's, Yorugao-hime's and Nagare-dono's ancestor defeated,' the Doctor said with a smile.
'Doctor means something like Hakase, right?' Nioi-murasaki-hime asked.
'Yes, or like Sensei,' the Doctor said with a smile.
'But it's your name,' Nioi-murasaki-hime observed. 'You are a youkai, right?'
'A Time Lord,' the Doctor said with a smile.
'How old are you?' Nioi-murasaki- hime asked.
'I'm 900 years old,' the Doctor said.
'Ara!' Nioi-murasaki-hime said. 'And you look so young! That's youkai for you!'
The Doctor smiled.
They came to a quite large building with a Chinese roof and open shoji, with beautiful bamboos in front. They came in. It was a room with tatami, a hibachi, a folding screen with blue irises and a zigzag bridge in golden water, and a niche with a pine branch in a silvery gray porcelain vase.
'Please sit down,' Nioi-murasaki-hime said.
They sat down.
'Sir Doctor-dono, please show your writ,' Asagao asked.
The Doctor took the scroll out of his sleeve and read:
'This is to certify that Sir Doctor of Tardis, for defeating a monster that hindered Mizuawase no Harai ceremony, is granted the fourth rank and the title of Junior Counsellor, Shonagon.
Atsuhito.
June 13 of the tenth year of Meihei.'
'Ara!' Asagao said.
'Yoshitaka-dono wrote to me and said that you visited him for his Gyokusui party and helped him very much, Yuusuke-dono and Sir Doctor-dono,' Yorugao said. 'He misses me very much, but he is well. He sent such a beautiful poem to me!'
'You are a butterfly,
And I the dreaming heart
Of Chuang-tsu.'
'I'm always glad to help,' Yuusuke said.
Yuusuke heard the Doctor's voice in his mind, 'What!?'
'I know,' Yuusuke answered in his mind.
'What Yoshitaka-dono?' the Doctor asked.
'Matsudaira Yoshitaka-kun, my friend,' Yuusuke answered. 'He was appointed the governor of Hunan this New Year. I reccomended him. The same New Year he met Yorugao-hime, and they fell in love. Then he presumably sailed to Hunan. I wanted to visit him.'
'Well, apparently you did, and so did I,' the Doctor said.
'But I don't remember that!' Yuusuke said. 'How can this be?'
'That's the life of a time traveller for you,' the Doctor said. 'It mustn't have happened yet.'
'Yes,' Yuusuke said.
'Well, now we must visit Yoshitaka-kun for his Gyokusui party, that's on the Boys' Day, right? And help him,' the Doctor said.
'Yes,' Yuusuke said.
'So Yoshitaka-kun is well? I'm glad to hear that,' Harunobu said.
'Yes,' Yorugao said with a smile.
'Will you play juuroku musashi with me, Sir Doctor-dono?' Nioi-murasaki- hime asked with a smile.
'Yes,' the Doctor answered with a smile.
Nioi-murasaki-hime went out and some time later returned carrying a board with outlined squares crossed with diagonal lines and sixteen white stones on the border and one black in the center. She put the board on the floor.
'In olden times
Sixteen warriors
Fought bravely.'
The Doctor smiled.
Nioi-murasaki-hime smiled too.
'I'll be Benkei,' the Doctor said with a smile.
'All right,' Nioi-murasaki-hime said with a smile.
Her sixteen warriors tried to push his Benkei into a corner, where he wouldn't be able to move, but his Benkei toppled her warriors in defence left and right.
Meanwhile Yuusuke, Harunobu and Yoshimasa Hakase were playing riddles, Miyuki, Hajime and Nagare were playing shiratori, and Asagao, Hirugao and Yorugao were talking between themselves.
Suddenly the Doctor noticed that Nioi-murasaki-hime was licking her lips and gulping.
'Nioi-murasaki-hime, are you thirsty and is your mouth dry?' he asked.
'Yes,' Nioi-murasaki-hime said.
'Excuse me, but are you also sick?'
'Yes!' Nioi-murasaki-hime said.
'Nioi-murasaki-hime, I believe you were poisoned with datura,' the Doctor said. 'Please drink some sou and lie down quickly. I'll tell you are unwell.'
'Yes,' Nioi-murasaki-hime said.
The Doctor toppled all her warriors.
'I won,' he said with a smile. 'Now please go!'
'Yes,' Nioi-murasaki-hime said and went out.
'Nioi-murasaki-hime is unwell,' the Doctor said. 'Please continue without her.'
Everyone nodded, but Yuusuke looked at the Doctor. The Doctor nodded.
The Doctor joined Yuusuke, Harunobu and Yoshimasa Hakase.
'So Yuusuke-kun and Harunobu-kun, you are friends with Yoshitaka-kun?' the Doctor asked.
'Yes, best friends,' Harunobu said with a smile. 'I miss him, but Yuusuke-kun can see him more often.'
'Three friends,
Instead of pine, bamboo and plum,
Pine, aronia and wisteria.'
'Yes, three friends of winter, pine, bamboo and plum,' the Doctor said with a smile. 'Matsudaira means even pines, Nikaidou means two aronias, and Kudou means friends with wisteria, that is, Fujiwara, right?'
'Yes,' Harunobu said with a smile.
When the party ended and everyone dispersed, only Yuusuke, Miyuki, Hajime and the Doctor stayed behind.
'What happened?' Yuusuke asked.
'Nioi-murasaki-hime was poisoned with datura,' the Doctor said. 'I told her to drink some sou and to lie down.'
'I see,' Yuusuke said.
'Poisoned? Ara!' Miyuki exclaimed.
'Oro!' Hajime exclaimed.
'Now let's go and see her,' the Doctor said. 'I'm very worried for her.'
'Of course,' Yuusuke said.
They went to the inner rooms. Nioi-murasaki-hime was sitting, pale but looking better, in a room with tatami, a hibachi, a golden folding screen with a powerful pine tree and a niche with blue irises in a yellow vase.
'Nioi-murasaki-hime, you are all right!' the Doctor said.
'I drank some sou and lay down, I was sick but I'm better now,' Nioi- murasaki-hime said. 'Thank you very much, Sir Doctor-dono.'
'Milk helps in cases like this,' the Doctor said with a smile.
'But who could have poisoned me?' Nioi-murasaki-hime asked.
'We shall found this,' Yuusuke said. 'Do you know I'm an Amenosa?'
'Yes, they told me,' Nioi-murasaki- hime said.
'We shall found who poisoned you, Nioi-murasaki-hime,' Yuusuke said. 'I promise.
'Yes, we will,' the Doctor said.
'Nioi-murasaki-hime, can you think of anyone?' Yuusuke asked.
'Well...there is one lady-in-waiting who dreams to become an Empress, but I don't think she could have poisoned me,' Nioi-murasaki-hime said. 'Her name is Tachibana no Yuunagi-hime.'
'Very good,' Yuusuke said.
They sought Yuunagi-hime, and people gave them directions to Yuunagi-hime's residence. It was a small building with a Chinese roof and open shoji and pine trees in front. They came in. It was a room with tatami, a hibachi, a folding screen with bamboos and a niche with azaleas in a blue porcelain vase. In the middle was sitting a tall slender girl with large dark eyes and long shining dark hair, in many layered robes over a white kimono and red hakama, upper layer dark red, then two lighter red layers, then a green layer, then a lighter green layer, then a white layer.
'Yes?' the girl asked firmly.
Yuusuke took out his Amenosa seal.
'I'm Kudou Yuusuke, and these are Saitou Miyuki-kun, Kyuuhou Hajime-kun and Sir Doctor Shonagon of Tardis. Are you Tachibana no Yuunagi-hime?'
'Yes, why?' Yuunagi-hime asked calmly.
'Matsuura Nioi-murasaki-hime was poisoned,' Yuusuke said. 'Fortunately, Sir Doctor saved her. She says that you want to become an Empress.'
'How awful!' Yuunagi-hime exclaimed. 'Yes, I dream to become an Empress, but His Majesty and Nioi-murasaki-hime love each other so much, I would never think of poisoning her!'
'She says the truth,' the Doctor said.
'Yes,' Yuusuke said.
'You know, there is a courtier, Shimizu Yoshinaka Dainagon, who wants for his daughter Yae-hime to become an Empress,' Yuunagi-hime said. 'She herself is gentle and quiet and never would think of it, poor soul! But her father is very ambitious.'
'Thank you, Yuunagi-hime,' Yuusuke said. 'Beautiful name by the way, Yuunagi, Evening Calm. And your dress is beautiful and in season, Susuki, Miscanthus, right?'
'Yes,' Yuunagi-hime said with a smile.
'Good afternoon, Yuunagi-hime,' Yuusuke said.
'Good afternoon, Yuusuke-dono,' Yuunagi-hime said.
They left Yuunagi-hime's residence.
'He won't tell anything,' Yuusuke said.
'Yes, but his daughter might,' the Doctor said.
They sought Yae-hime's residence. They found it, it was a small building with a Chinese roof and open shoji, with beautiful bamboos in front. They came in. It was a room with tatami, a hibachi, a folding screen with red maples and a niche with pinks in a white porcelain vase.  In the middle was sitting a tall slender girl with large dark eyes and long shining dark hair, in many layered robes over a white kimono and red hakama, five upper layers yellow, lower layer red.
'Yes?' the girl asked quietly.
'I'm Kudou Yuusuke and these are Saitou Miyuki-kun, Kyuuhou Hajime-kun and Sir Doctor Shonagon of Tardis,' Yuusuke said.
Yuusuke took out his Amenosa seal.
'Are you Shimizu Yae-hime?' Yuusuke asked.
'Yes, why?' Yae-hime said gently.
The Doctor knelt in front of Yae-hime.
'Matsuura Nioi-murasaki-hime was poisoned,' the Doctor said. 'Don't worry, I saved her. But Tachibana no Yuunagi-hime says that your father wants for you to become an Empress, though you don't wish that.'
'Yes,' Yae-hime said quietly.
'Yae-hime, could your father have poisoned Nioi-murasaki-hime?' the Doctor asked.
'Yes!' Yae-hime cried. 'He was talking about that, and about datura.'
'It's all right, Yae-hime, you shall come to no harm, I promise you,' the Doctor said.
'All right,' Yae-hime said.
'A beautiful name, Yae, Double Petal One,' Yuusuke said. 'And your dress is beautiful and in season, Ominaeshi, right?'
'Yes,' Yae-hime said with a smile.
'I'm charmed by your name,
So for that alone
I picked you,
O maidenflower,
Don't tell anyone
I have broken my vows.'
The Doctor smiled.
Yae-hime smiled also.
They left Yae-hime's residence and went to the Seiryoden Hall. The Emperor was sitting there.
'Yes?' the Emperor asked.
'Nioi-murasaki-hime was poisoned with datura,' Yuusuke said. 'Fortunately, Sir Doctor saved her. We investigated and found it was Shimizu Yoshinaka Dainagon who poisoned her to make his daughter Yae-hime an Empress.'
'Please don't execute him, Your Majesty, just exile him,' the Doctor said. 'He didn't kill Nioi-murasaki- hime thanks to me, and his daughter didn't do anything, she would never think of that! I promised her she would come to no harm.'
'Do you like her, Sir Doctor Shonagon?' the Emperor asked.
'Me? No, no, no, no!' the Doctor said.
'Well, Sir Doctor Shonagon, you not only saved Mizuawase no Harai, but our favourite lady-in-waiting as well,' the Emperor said. 'Your wish will be granted. We shall exile him to Guizhou.'
'Zenmon no tora, komon no ookami, a tiger at the front gate, a wolf at the back gate,' the Doctor said with a smile. 'Thank you, Your Majesty.'
'And Yae-hime shall be your wife,' the Emperor said. 'That way she won't be the daughter of an exiled dignitary, but the wife of a dignitary in the Emperor's grace, and she will be under your protection. You won't have to take her with you.'
'I know, muko-iri,' the Doctor said. 'I visit her in her house.'
'Your tokoro-awashi shall be tomorrow, and you can be on your way,' the Emperor said.
'Yes, Your Majesty,' the Doctor said.
They bowed and left the Seiryoden Hall.
'Well, congratulations, Doctor,' Yuusuke said.
'My wedding, tomorrow,' the Doctor said. 'I didn't expect that.'
They went to Nioi-murasaki-hime's residence. Nioi-murasaki-hime looked even better.
'Well?' Nioi-murasaki-hime asked.
'It was Shimizu Yoshinaka Dainagon,' Yuusuke said. 'He wanted for his daughter to become an Empress. His Majesty shall exile him to Guizhou.'
'And, oh, I am to be married to his daughter,' the Doctor said. 'She didn't have anything with this. Please come to my tokoro-awashi tomorrow and bring Yoshimasa Hakase, Harunobu-kun, Asagao-hime, Hirugao-hime and Nagare-kun with you.'
'All right,' Nioi-murasaki-hime said. 'Yae-hime is a good person.'
'Good afternoon, Nioi-murasaki-hime,' Yuusuke said.
'Good afternoon,' Nioi-murasaki-hime said.
They left Nioi-murasaki-hime's residence. They then went to Yae- hime's residence. Yae-hime was waiting them anxiously.
'Well?' she asked quietly.
The Doctor knelt in front of her.
'Your father shall be exiled to Guizhou,' the Doctor said. 'And I am to be married to you. My tokoro-awashi is tomorrow.'
'Oh,' Yae-hime said, blushing.
'I won't do anything that you don't wish, and I will protect you if your father tries something or if something else happens,' the Doctor said.
'All right,' Yae-hime said quietly.
'I invited Nioi-murasaki-hime, Minamoto no Asagao-hime, Minamoto no Hirugao-hime, Minamoto no Yorugao-hime, Minamoto no Nagare-kun, Nikaidou Harunobu-kun and Abe no Yoshimasa Hakase, I know them,' the Doctor said. 'And of course Yuusuke-kun, Miyuki-kun and Hajime-kun shall be with me.'
'All right,' Yae-hime said. 'I saw you leaving after your joi with them.'
'Till tomorrow, then,' the Doctor said.
'Till tomorrow,' Yae-hime answered.
They left Yae-hime's residence.
They then left the Imperial Palace and walked about the city and then went to Yuusuke's house.
Next morning they went to the Imperial Palace, the Doctor looking even more neat than usually, fussing with his clothes all the way.
'Doctor, you are looking perfectly all right,' Yuusuke smiled.
'You think?' the Doctor asked.
Miyuki and Hajime smiled also.
'Yes, Doctor,' Yuusuke said.
They came to the Imperial Palace and went to Yae-hime's residence. Yae- hime was sitting there in the middle, and around her were sitting Nioi- murasaki-hime, Harunobu, Yoshimasa Hakase, Asagao, Hirugao, Yorugao, Nagare and Yuunagi-hime. The Doctor  came in and bowed.
'Yae-hime,' he said.
'Sir Doctor-dono,' Yae-hime answered quietly.
The Doctor sat down beside her. Yuusuke, Hajime and Miyuki sat down with other guests.
'Nioi-murasaki-hime, I see you are all right!' the Doctor said.
'Thanks to you, Sir Doctor-dono,' Nioi- murasaki-hime said with a smile.
'Sir Doctor-dono is very talented,' Yoshimasa Hakase said.
'Yes,' Yuusuke said with a smile.
'Sir Doctor-dono, are you also an Amenosa?' Yae-hime asked.
'No,' the Doctor said with a smile. 'I'm just a traveller, I travel together with Yuusuke-kun. My title is a honorary one.'
'Oh,' Yae-hime said.
'The double petal cherry blossoms,
That bloomed in the ancient
Capital of Nara,
Now pour their fragrance
In the ninefold palace enclosure.'
The Doctor smiled.
'I must go to Nara someday, to the Festival of Light.'
'Are you always rambling like this, Sir Doctor-dono?' Yae-hime asked with a smile.
'Yes,' the Doctor said with a smile.
'I have heard that you are a youkai, Sir Doctor-dono,' Yae-hime said.
'Yes, a Time Lord,' the Doctor answered.
'Toki no Kami...' Yae-hime said. 'How old are you?'
'900 years,' the Doctor said.
'Then we all must be like cherry blossoms to you,' Yae-hime said.
'Everything in the world is like cherry blossoms,' the Doctor said. 'That's why it's so beautiful.'
Yae-hime rose and went out, and then returned with a porcelain plate of round  flat rice cakes. She knelt in front of the Doctor and offered the plate to him.
He took one cake and tasted it.
'Mm, very good,' he said.
Yae-hime smiled.
'Now we are married,' she said quietly.
'Now you can call me just Doctor,' the Doctor said with a smile.
'Youkai have such strange names,' Yae-hime marvelled.
'I have a birth name, but I can't tell it to anyone,' the Doctor explained.
'I understand,' Yae-hime said. 'Names have power.'
'And you are Yae,' the Doctor said. 'What a beautiful name, Yae! Yae-zakura, double petal cherry, Yae-giku, double petal chrysanthemum...'
Yae-hime smiled.
Yuusuke reached into his robes and took out a bamboo flute, put it to his lips and played a bright melody.
'Kitsune no Yomeiri,' Nioi-murasaki- hime said with a smile. 'Fox wedding, or Sunshine and rain. Very fitting.'             &nb sp;        
Yuusuke smiled also and played an energetic, happy melody.
'Azuma Jishi,' Yuunagi-hime said with a smile. 'Lion of the East.'
'Tamed by the peonies
On your robes,
This lion takes flowers
From his wealth.
Even his fierce temper
Is beloved.
Love and be loved
For thousand ages!
Wearing separate clothes
After exchange of loves,
In the threads of music
My heart is tangled like my hair.'
Yuusuke smiled.
'This is about him all right.'
'Please play Shochikubai, 'Pine, Bamboo and Plum', for Yae and I and for Harunobu-kun, Yoshitaka-kun and you,' the Doctor said.
Yuusuke smiled, put his flute to his lips and played a calm, bright melody.
'Yoshitaka-kun, how is he there in Hunan?' Harunobu said.
'I'm sure he is all right,' the Doctor said.
Then Yuusuke played some tender love songs, Aoyagi, 'Green Willow', Chanoyu Ondo, 'Song of the Tea Ceremony', Yoyo no Hoshi, 'Evening Stars', and Fune no Yume, 'Dream Boat.'
'Do you know how we met?' Yuusuke said with a smile. 'We were walking along a road through a bamboo wood, as usually, and there he comes out of the wood! He asked if he could join us, and of course I agreed. We travel together since then. And he guessed right everything about us straight away. Of course, I guessed right everything about him too.'
'Well, maybe not everything,' the Doctor said.
'What is Tardis?' Yae-hime asked. 'You are called Sir Doctor Shonagon of Tardis.'
'My ship,' the Doctor said with a smile. 'I live there. She's alive.'
'And where is she now?' Yae-hime asked.
'By the walls of the Imperial Palace,' the Doctor said with a smile.
'I have not seen any ship there,' Yae- hime said, puzzled.
'She's, well, sort of invisible,' the Doctor said.
'I see,' Yae-hime said.
The party was long, but at last the guests left. The Doctor rose also.
'Sayonara,' he said. 'I will visit you.'
'Sayonara,' Yae-hime said quietly.
They left the Imperial Palace and went to the Tardis.
'You can keep the robes,' Yuusuke said. 'You have the right to them, and you look handsome in them.'
'Thank you,' the Doctor said with a smile.
'If it wasn't for you, Nioi-murasaki- hime would die, and Yae-hime would suffer,' Yuusuke said.
'Well, I'm the Doctor,' the Doctor said with a smile.
They entered the Tardis, and the door closed. The Tardis disappeared gradually with a strange whirring noise, leaving the wall and the willows by the wall.    
  
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   &nb sp;