Fushigi Yuugi Fan Fiction ❯ Facepaint ❯ In Which Mareu Stands Around In His Underwear ( Chapter 2 )

[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]

FY is still not mine, this is still a yaoi, etc. See Chapter 1 for disclaimers and warnings.

Facepaint

by Sunandshadow

Chapter 2 - In Which Mareu Stands Around In His Underwear

"L-lord Nakago!" The tailor sprang to his feet, startled, and saluted me. I looked confusedly to Tomo, not sure how I should react to this.

Tomo posed haughtily and drawled, "Look again, baka. That's not Nakago-sama, that's the 7th Seiryuu seishi Mareu-san."

The tailor blinked and peered nearsightedly at me. "Oh dear me, I'm sorry!" He turned imploringly to Tomo. "Please don't tell the shogun I made such an awkward mistake!"

"Well, I don't see any reason to bother Nakago-sama about it, provided you follow Nakago's command to promptly provide Mareu-san with some stylish but functional clothing." Like a wine connoisseur analyzing the bouquet of a new vintage, I sized up Tomo's style of communication. Unusually sharp… one might even say bitchy, but without unpleasant undertones of anger or whineyness. Intriguing…

"Of course, of course, Tomo-san! It's a privilege to serve a seishi!" Turning to me he made a small bow. "Mareu-san, how may I serve you?"

"Well, I'm going to need riding clothes, including boots, although I'm not sure if you make shoes here…?"

"Yes, you can have boots made here, that's no problem." The tailor began making notes on a sheet of paper.

"Okay. Do you have jewelry here too?"

"No, I'm sorry sir, for that you have to go into town."

"All right, have to do that later then… So lets see, I'll need a riding outfit or two, socks and underclothing… um… Help me out here, Tomo, what do people around here wear? I can't just ask for cargo pants and a t-shirt, no one will know what I'm talking about."

"You want a lined, hooded cloak, a swordbelt if you're going to be carrying a sword around, a bedroll, a travelling pack, one formal outfit in case you get summoned to any court functions, although they generally leave us alone, slippers for when you're in your room, a few scarves or bandannas, probably a dressing gown, and two or three sets of casual clothes." The tailor was writing madly, trying to get all of that down.

I blinked. "Thank you Tomo, that was very, um, thorough."

Tomo wasn't sure whether to take that as a compliment or not, so instead of responding he asked, "What, pray tell, are cargo pants?"

"They're trousers made of heavy material that have six or eight large pockets - they're very useful for travelling, camping, that sort of thing." I watched the tailor, and when he was finished writing I added, "I'm allergic to wool, sheep leather, and rabbit fur, so none of that can be in my clothes, and if the leather has to be treated with oil it can't be sheep oil, ok?"

"Ah, good thing you told me. Are there any colors or fabrics you prefer?"

"Well, I don't like brown or orange… or pink… do you have some fabrics I can look at? I'd like to just pick out what I want if it's ok."

"Certainly sir, right in here is the fabric room!" He led me around the corner, and Tomo followed.

I picked out a green silk that matched my eyes, a pale yellow that matched my hair, black, and white. And a rich violet that just caught my eye. "These colors, in silk, cotton, or leather, will be good. The cloak and boots should be black, the court outfit should have the green and/or the violet; beyond that I don't care, you can think up something aesthetically pleasing, that's your job. Aren't there any printed or painted fabrics?"

"Printed? We do make painted fabrics, we paint them to order here."

"Oh. Well, I'm partial to animal print, particularly tiger stripes, leopard spots, and peacock feathers."

Tomo and the tailor blinked. "Leopard spotted fabric?" drawled Tomo. "What an… interesting concept."

"Tye-dye is good too, but I don't imagine you know how to make that, and I haven't really got time to explain it. So anyway, if you want to use something other than the plain colors I gave you, you can use fabric painted in one of those patterns. Like the purple silk with blue or black spots painted on, or white silk with purple or green stripes - you get the idea?"

"Yes, yes, what an exciting idea!" bubbled the tailor.

I chuckled at his enthusiasm. "Do I have to decide anything else, or do you need to measure me, or what?"

"Yes, I need to measure you for the clothes, and then a cobbler will need to measure your feet for the boots."

"Alrighty. Where do I stand and what do I need to take off?"

"Fitting room is over here, please take off everything except your undergarments, if you don't mind." I followed the tailor to the fitting room (passing another man who was painting cherry blossoms on white silk). Tomo hesitated.

I looked back at him and smiled. "You can come in, it's ok with me. Probably marginally less boring than waiting in the hall."

He froze for a moment, then nodded and followed me in, sliding the door closed behind him. I chuckled to myself, wondering if he didn't say anything because he couldn't decide what to say, or because he didn't trust his voice. Either way, he was decidedly pink beneath the facepaint. Ah, it's fun to be a bisienen!

I went behind the changing screen and shucked my clothing, discovering that I was mysteriously wearing as underwear a pair of black satin boxers that had previously belonged to a set of pajamas I owned. Seiryuu must have switched that when he made me a guy. Good job he remembered - I wouldn't want to have to walk out there in girl underwear, or worse, in no underwear. I considered peeking inside to see what kind of equipment I had, but refrained because I didn't know how to make this body not have an erection, so it seemed best to avoid looking at anything interesting. The cool of the room on my chest felt decidedly odd, and I had to remind myself You're a guy, it's ok for you to not wear a shirt. before I left the safety of the changing screen.

I commanded myself to be nonchalant, and walked out into the room. The tailor motioned me to stand on the fitting box, so I stepped up onto it. I noticed that there were a couple of chairs along one wall, and Tomo had seated himself on one of these with his legs crossed. When I turned my gaze on him he quickly tore his eyes away from me and pretended to study the koi painted on the changing screen. I hid a smile, and turned partially away from him so he would feel free to admire me.

I had been measured by a tailor once before (for a bridesmaid's gown) so this wasn't that strange of an experience - basically I stood there for ten minutes, moving as he commanded so that he could measure everything he needed to. I cautiously stole a sideways glance at Tomo through the concealing curtain of my hair. Wide gold eyes watching me, and a small smile on his lips. Calm, cool, and collected… as long as he didn't have to meet my eyes, heheheh. He'd be so much more attractive without the facepaint though, I can tell he has a good facial structure… I wonder why he wears it? That style of design looks familiar, but I can't remember what it was associated with, just that it's something oriental, and not the kind a geisha wears. Maybe it goes with whatever social position he has - maybe he's a priest of the dragon god or a witch doctor or something. I'll have to keep an eye out and see if anyone else is wearing similar paint.

The tailor told me he was done, so I went behind the screen and threw my clothes back on. He led us into yet another room full of half-made boots and shoes, and turned me over to a cobbler. "This," the tailor carefully instructed his co-worker, "is Mareu-san, a new sei. Lord Nakago commands he be clothed, and he needs slippers and riding boots, black leather, don't use anything that came from a sheep or rabbit fur, he's allergic. And mark the leather you use, there's to be a matching sword-belt. Got it?"

"Hai. Sir, if you would please take a seat and remove your shoes and socks?" The cobbler cast an odd look at my high-top sneakers, but didn't say anything. I followed his instructions, and presented him with a foot to measure. Huh, even my feet look like guy feet. The cobbler laid a ruler alongside my foot, read the length aloud, then turned to a cabinet and pulled open the drawer marked with the same length. This turned out to contain foot-shapes made out of leather, which he held up to my foot to determine which had the best fit. It was patently obvious, however, that these patterns were made for feet much narrower than mine.

Tomo, who had been leaning against the wall watching disinterestedly, commented, "You might try Lord Nakago's pattern."

"Yes, I was just considering that." He opened another drawer and tried the pattern therein against my foot. It was a perfect fit. I raised an eyebrow. The tailor smiled and said, "Oh, good, we'll just use this one then." He grabbed a tape measure and took some measurements for the arch of my foot, the length of my shin, and the circumference of my calf at its widest point and the point just below my kneecap. "Okay, that's all I need."

Exiting the suite, we passed the tailor once more, and he gestured at a package beside him. "There are the socks and undergarments if you want them now, we always keep some ready in stock. You can take them with you or I can have them delivered."

"I'll take them, thank you. The rest of the clothes can be delivered whenever they're ready."

"The sooner the better." put in Tomo with just the smallest amount of threat.

"Yes of course Tomo-san, they should all be done within a week, some sooner." Tomo nodded, and turned to leave. I slung my package over my shoulder and followed him.

"Let's get your key now."

"Ok!" I responded cheerily. Getting new clothes always puts me into a good mood. I whistled a few phrases of "Gonna Dress You Up in My Love" and Tomo looked at me oddly.

"What strange music."

I shrugged. "It's what I grew up with, and I like nice cheerful music that bounces happily along. What kind of music do you like?"

"Opera." he said flatly, and I looked at him curiously, wondering how Italian music could have possibly found its way to ancient China. Then I remembered.

"Oh, right! That goes with the paint, doesn't it? I knew that style of design looked familiar, but I wasn't quite able to place it before. I haven't actually seen any Chinese opera, but I read a book about it once."

Tomo raised one eyebrow, and looked at me as if he were waiting for something. Probably for me to ask him why he was wearing opera facepaint, although for all I knew it was a fairly common thing to do here. Then I recalled Soi calling Tomo 'opera freak' and figured it probably wasn't that common. I tried to think of a diplomatic way to phrase my inquiry.

"So are you in the opera?"

He was quiet a moment, then said, "I was, until Nakago found me and brought me to the palace to be a Seiryuu seishi." Interesting. His voice had been soft and almost flat, so I couldn't read his emotions from it, and the paint hid the details of his expression. Hmm, maybe that was its purpose…?

"I've done some things with American theater. Not acting, but stage crew, painting sets, making costumes, doing makeup, art kind of things. It was fun." I had no idea why Tomo was looking at me with such perplexity. "What?"

"Nothing. We're here." I saw that we were indeed at the chatelaine's office. Tomo pushed the door open and my opportunity to pursue the subject further vanished. I sighed, and followed him inside, to discover him and the man behind the desk having a silent glaring match.

"Uh, hi, I need a key? I'm a new seishi, I'm moving into an empty room in their hall…?"

The official-looking man, looked at me, blinked, then narrowed his eyes at me. "Which room?" he inquired acidly.

"Um, the one across the hall from Tomo-san's. It has yellow walls…"

The man wordlessly reached into his desk, withdrew a key, and dropped it into my palm, carefully keeping himself distant from me.

"Thanks."

He glared at me. "Don't damage the room."

I blinked. "Of course."

Tomo turned and strode out of the room, so I turned and followed him, hurrying to keep up with his angry pace. "What's the matter with him, he have something against seishi?"

"He doesn't like you because you're a hin." said Tomo bluntly.

"But he didn't like you, and you're not a hin."

"He doesn't like me for other reasons." Which Tomo was obviously not inclined to explain what they were. Obvious possibilities being his costume or the fact that he was attracted to guys, if that was public knowledge. I didn't want to make him any more irritated than he already was, so I let the subject drop.

Tomo looked at me, surprised at my silence, and I just smiled at him. Then I was astonished to see him, very tentatively, smile back, and exchange his stride for a more casual pace.

"So…" I asked eventually, "How do these divine powers work? What's your seishi power?"

"My power is illusion - I can create an illusory object, say a sword, or a wolf, and for as long as it lasts it affects things as if it were real: it cuts, or bites, or whatever. I can also wrap a person in a whole illusory world, and while they're distracted they can be captured or killed."

"That would be really a really nifty ability if you were directing artists - you could just show them an illusion of what you wanted, and then they would know what you wanted them to make! How convenient!"

Tomo snorted, "Yeah, provided you can convince the artists you're not a black magician or a demon or something. I've commissioned things that way a few times, but it's really more trouble than it's worth, because people are stupid and afraid of anything different…"

I sighed. "Well, that's sad but true. That's why you have to cherish the few people who have open minds, and delight in the strange and new rather than fearing it."

Tomo blinked and considered this silently for a moment. "Hn. Soi might agree with you. Nakago definitely wouldn't. It's odd how you look so much like him, yet your personality is utterly opposite."

"It seems so. I'll have to study him more before I can guess at his motivations."

Tomo swallowed, suddenly afraid Mareu might be yet another person who would fall for Nakago and be hurt by his coldness. "You intend to study Nakago-sama?"

"I intend to study all the seishi. I'm a people person, I always like to understand the people around me."

"Oh." Tomo was soothed. "Ne, you wanted to know what the rest of the seishi's powers are, right? Nakago is the most powerful of us, he can throw ki balls, create defensive barriers, use ki to augment his physical strength, teleport… various things like that. Soi can control the weather and summon lightning to zap things, usually me it seems. Annoying wench… Anyway, Ashitare the wolfman has great physical strength and speed, Amiboshi uses music to channel his magic, if you're fighting with him you have to remember to keep your ears covered. Suboshi can move objects with his mind, which gives him deadly accuracy with his chosen weapon, the ryuuseisui."

"Hmm, that's a wide range of powers. How am I supposed to figure out what my powers are?"

"Well… go into an empty part of the garden where you can't blow anything important up, make yourself really mad or afraid, and see what happens, I suppose. Although if your powers primarily affect people you may need to go into town, find a hiding place, and practice on the townsfolk."

"Oh. Uh, ok." The morality of that last thought was questionable, but all of the advice seemed quite practical and clearly thought-out. Tomo seemed fairly intelligent, IQ certainly more than 120 as an initial estimate. That was good, I generally found smart people easier to work with, as well as simply more interesting than people of average intelligence.

We were back at my room, so I dropped my package of underwear off on the bed. I also took off my watch and checked through my pockets to see if there was anything I didn't need to carry around. Heh, my wallet, bet that wasn't going to be very useful, since ancient china probably didn't take dollars and credit cards… "Tomo, do we get an allowance for being seishi? I just realized I only have American money." I held up a bill as an example.

"Well Nakago is a shogun, so the rest of us are technically part of his division of the army, and as such we are on the payroll. You can request your enlistment bonus from the payroll officer, if Nakago remembered to notify him that you're here. Or he'd probably take Soi's word for it."

"Ok, well I need some money before I can buy the rest of the things I need in town. Should we try to do that now, or get the sword and the horse taken care of?"

Tomo frowned. "Well… actually it would be helpful to have Soi along for that too. I know horses fairly well, but Soi knows the officer in charge of the stable, and she knows a lot more about swords than I do. I'm not generally inclined to ask her for help, but you're going to need to be well-equipped, and she'll probably help if you ask her."

"I'll ask her, if you think it's a good idea. Do you know where to find her?" Yay, I get to have two pretties as my guides!

"She's probably at the practice field now. It's this way." I locked my door with my brand new key and followed him into the maze of the palace's hallways once more. I've never been very good with directions, and I could tell already that I was going to be hopelessly lost here for a while. At least every part of the palace seemed to have its own unique architectural style, that might help a little.

As Tomo and I walked, we passed several of the palace's other inhabitants. Judging from their clothing, I guessed that some were maids, some uniformed guards or servants, and others nobles; aside from the maids there were very few women, and I recalled Nakago's judgement that I was better off male. The idea of a repressive patriarchal culture made me nervous, I couldn't quite get my brain around the idea that as a male that threat didn't apply to me any more.

Equally disconcerting was the fact that all these random people seemed to be torn between gawking at me or getting out of my way as quickly as possible. Some of the guards even saluted. Obviously everyone assumed I was Nakago despite my odd clothing, and their reactions once again made me speculate about why everyone seemed so intimidated by him. My instinct was to shout 'I'm not like that! Everybody thinks I'm charming! People trust me to baby-sit their children!' but that didn't seem like a strategically sound idea. If this place was as rough as Nakago and Tomo had implied, I was going to have to hide in the shadow of Nakago's reputation for a while, at least until I figured out what my powers were and could hopefully protect myself with them. The idea of letting people think I was someone I'm not did not sit well at all with me, but I did my best to ignore the feeling and focus on the tasks at hand.

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