Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Auguries of Innocence ❯ Chapter Three ( Chapter 3 )

(Author's Notes: Once again, I want to thank all of you for reviewing Auguries of Innocence! I'm glad you all are enjoying it, and I hope you like the third chapter! I bet you're going to like the characters I introduce in the next couple of pages. *smug grin* Well, enjoy! ~Cinaed)

Auguries of Innocence

Chapter Three

Shin awoke gradually as a ray of light fell upon his visage. Long lashes fluttered open to reveal sleep-glazed green as the Xiongnu instinctively tried to gauge his surroundings, his brain not yet caught up with the past events. After a moment, the memories came flooding back, and the young warrior turned a glare towards the direction of the door, squinting and attempting to see the figure that held the blinding oil lamp. However, all Shin could see was the outline of a lean figure, standing in the open doorway.

"Why are you sleeping on the floor?" The curious voice was distinctly masculine, light and tenor sounding. "They prepared a bed for you, after all."

Shin opened his mouth to speak of the torture device his enemies called a bed, but instead coughed a harsh, painful sound as his stomach cramped up. He hadn't eaten since…. He had lost track of time, but he figured he had slept through the night, which meant he hadn't eaten since early the morning before.

"Are…are you alright?" Now the man's expressive tone betrayed his unease, although he made no move to help the coughing Xiongnu from the floor, instead simply standing there.

The auburn-haired youth had to resist the urge to snap something sarcastic to the useless man, and instead managed to say, between fits of coughing, "I'm just very hungry…."

"Oh! Well, I have some food for you." Sounding relieved, the lamp-bearer set the flickering lamp on the ground and stepped enough into the glow that his face was lit by the flames. The man looked no older than twenty-four, and was exceptionally beautiful; even Shin couldn't help but stare. His long locks of dark indigo fell around a pale, fair visage, accenting his high, delicate cheekbones. There was a quick, hesitant smile on those full, crimson lips, as if the beautiful man didn't know how to smile towards a prisoner. Even his clothing was beautiful, the dark blue silk robes showing off his slender, attractive frame. In his elegant grip, he held a plate of delicious-smelling victuals. The man knelt, offering him another uncertain smile, which didn't quite fit on that lovely face. "Here." The plate was presented to the Xiongnu.

Shin struggled to sit up, wincing as his back complained, the bruises reminding him of the blue-haired Rei Fuan who had humiliated him. He gritted his teeth and forced himself to sit upright, gathering his blankets across his lap and accepting the plate. "Thank you," was grudgingly muttered as his trembling fingers grasped at the warm piece of bread, ripping it apart and stuffing the pieces into his mouth, eating as he always had. He devoured the meal quick, savoring the warmth and flavors. Even if he detested his enemies, they did cook well. When he finished, he glanced up, just in time to see intense blue revealing the other man's disgust. Shin couldn't help but bristle, and demanded, "What?"

"You eat like a barbarian." The matter-of-fact comment caught the Xiongnu by surprise, and he narrowed his green eyes for a moment.

"I eat like my people eat. There's nothing wrong with the way I eat!"

"No, you have no manners," sniffed the obviously pampered man, tossing his head a little and sneering slightly. "You're a savage, just like the emperor told me."

"And who are you to say whether I'm a savage or not? At least we don't try and enslave your people and take over your land! We only fight you to defend our lands and people!" Shin snarled defiantly, glowering at the spoiled brat.

"I'm Touma R… Touma Hsiao." The way the azure-haired man said his name made Shin think that he expected him to know who Touma Hsiao was.

"Who?"

"The E-Emperor's…concubine, o' course!" The exclamation came from behind an annoyed Touma, and if Shin didn't know better, he could have sworn he'd seen a flash of self-loathing in those blue eyes as the concubine kept silent. The overseer had returned from wherever he had disappeared off to, and from the way he was slurring his words, it was quite obvious he was drunk. "The Mighty Emperor loves ya, dun he, Concubine?" Touma stayed silent, ignoring him as his delicate fingers reached out to take away the plate. The overseer, however, didn't seem to notice as he laughed heartily, reaching out to clap the concubine on the back, making the blue-haired beauty jump and glare at the man.

"Do you want to be dead, you fool?" Touma hissed, the venom in his voice startling both the drunken man and the Xiongnu.

The overseer blinked before scowling, a dark look in his eyes. "Ya think yer so great, dun ya, ya whore?" he snarled, towering over the equally furious man. The alcohol had obviously gotten to his brain, for he grabbed the concubine by his robes, his filthy fingers ruining the beautiful silk as Touma cried out in a mixture of shock and outrage. The plate dropped from his fingers to shatter on the ground. The larger man shook him roughly, sneering. "Just `cause the Emperor wants yer body, ya think yer so great…. Yer just a commoner, ya whore!" Resentment was in the drunkard's words as he continued to shake the concubine. "The rest o' us here…. We earned our places. Ya just slept yer way into the palace…. Every `un knows it!"

"I didn't want to come here, you idiot!" With surprise, Shin saw that Touma's face was no longer pretty, instead twisted into a mask of hatred and despair. "Do you really think I want to be the Emperor's fuck? Soldiers took me from my home and I ended up here. Yes, I'm a commoner, and I don't give a damn about whether or not you got here by an honorable method. You'll be dead by tomorrow morning anyway!"

The overseer shook him roughly again, silencing the blue-haired man with a growl. "I can…I can make it seem like the Xiongnu killed ya…." The sentence made Shin's blood run cold, and his fear wasn't helped any by the look of dread on Touma's fair visage.

"Leave him alone!" The Xiongnu's yell made the overseer jerk his head in Shin's direction. An ugly sneer formed on his face once more, and he glared menacingly at the young warrior.

"Silence, ya filthy Xiongnu." The overseer growled as Shin scrambled to his feet, the latter wishing he had his Fu Pa with him. "Stay outta this!" When the Xiongnu instead took a step towards the larger man, the overseer lashed out with a huge foot, catching Shin in his stomach and sending the auburn-haired man slammed against the far wall, all his breath rushing from his lips in a single, pained gasp. With a smirk, the overseer tightened his grip on the concubine's robes dragging the frightened man's face closer to his as he whispered, his alcohol-laden breath blowing into Touma's visage, "This has been a long time comin', whore. Ya got my brother killed because of even lookin' at ya!" He raised a fist and punched the terrified concubine across the face. Apparently not noticing that he had knocked Touma unconscious, the drunk continued his ranting. "Wouldn't be so pretty with a bruise on yer face, eh? Ya whore, this'll be fer my brother-"

He abruptly went mute and Shin saw the concubine fall from the large man's grasp to sprawl upon the ground before the overseer muttered a pained, surprised sound. Gasping for breath, Shin squinted, and only then saw the flash of metal sticking through the man's belly. The overseer jerked as the blade slid from his back, and then his lifeless body crumpled to the floor.

"Someone, get a healer for the concubine," ordered an all-too-familiar voice, and the Xiongnu mentally groaned even as he struggled to get to his feet. When he attempted to stand, however, dizziness overcame him, and he slumped back to the ground with a loud thump.

"And a healer for the prisoner," added another familiar voice as the two figures in the doorway stepped into the small room. Cale's sword gleamed red in the lamplight's glow, and both soldiers wore grave looks. The scarred soldier knelt beside the unconscious concubine even as Shuu stood stock still, moving towards no one as his face became unreadable.

"That's…the concubine?" he finally murmured, after a long moment of stillness. "That's…"

"Yes." Shin was bewildered by the pity he heard in Cale's voice. "This is Touma Hsiao."

"Hsiao." The Xiongnu attempted to heave himself to his feet once more at the rage he heard in that scornful word. "Who the hell dubbed him Touma Hsiao?"

"The Emperor."

"It's not his name! Touma…Touma is his name, but how dare the Emperor give him a new surname?!"

"Shuu…."

The unscarred warrior didn't reply, and instead stalked over towards Shin, who had managed to stand, leaned against the wall, blinking away black spots in his vision. "Are you alright?" As Touma had done, he made no movement to help the Xiongnu.

"I'm…fine." Just as he had done the night before, Shin refused to admit to one of his captors that he had been injured. His back would be one large bruise tomorrow, and he had cracked his head against the wall…. That was probably the explanation for the black spots in his vision. "Just…leave me alone…." The Xiongnu attempted to stand on his own, without any support of the wall, and his knees immediately buckled as the dark dots seemed to enlarge and envelop his sight. He crumpled towards the floor, his mind suddenly foggy, before strong arms enfolded him and pulled him to a warm chest.

"Of course you're fine. What was I thinking?" The same sarcastic tone as the night before, only this time the muddled youth couldn't glare, blinking rapidly to try and get the black dots out of his vision and get the odd lightheaded feeling that made his stomach clench away from him. Unfortunately, that wasn't happening.

~*~

And so instead of glaring at him like Shuu had thought he would, the Xiongnu's head lolled against the blue-haired soldier's chest and went limp, slumping into his arms like a broken doll. Shuu stared in astonishment for a moment, and then ignored Cale's raised eyebrow as he lifted the unconscious prisoner into his arms and moved to place Shin by the insensible concubine's side. Careful, gentle fingers checked the prisoner's frame over for any injuries, trying to find out why the Xiongnu had collapsed. Well, the knot on the back of his head probably had something to do with it, but Shuu suspected that the large bruise forming on that flat stomach hadn't helped matters either, nor the bruises beginning to form on the prisoner's back.

"Good thing you killed that idiot," he stated without looking up at Cale, his azure gaze lingering on the Xiongnu's visage. "He would have been screaming for death once the Emperor even started with him…."

He was too busy study the seemingly sleeping face of their prisoner to see the slightly knowing look that flitted across Cale's face as he knelt beside the unconscious concubine, waiting for the healers to arrive.

(To be continued….

Author's Notes: Okay, I don't know if the Ancient Chinese had oil lamps, but in my little universe they did. You'll learn more about Touma and why Shuu was so angry about his last name later. Oh, and the reason I wrote this scene is to show the dislike of most of the servants to Touma. Why? Well, first off, Ryo spoils him and second off, he's pretty! Anyway, please remember to review and give constructive criticism! ~Cinaed)