Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Auguries of Innocence ❯ Chapter Five ( Chapter 5 )

(Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews! *grins* Shadow of Arashi, I give you your Seiji. *humbly bows, rethinks, and then inches away, laughing nervously* Also, several more characters will be introduced in this chapter, and some things will be explained. *grins* Oh, and Danke? What exactly does "BFP" stand for and why exactly does it make you ill? *looks slightly puzzled* I'm sorry if it does but I honestly can't figure out what those initials stand for…. Anyway, enjoy!

Disclaimers: All these characters belong to whoever created the Ronin Warriors.

Author's Thanks: Cye's Girl, Split Persona, Khisanth, Shadow of Arashi, Firestorm, Tri, Danke, and Destiny's Lot. Thanks for reviewing!

~Cinaed)

Auguries of Innocence

Chapter Five

Shin followed the soldier towards Touma's room, wondering if the concubine was actually looking forward to dressing him in clothes of the palace, since the Xiongnu certainly wasn't. He bit back the urge to ask if their destination was coming up soon as he slipped into limping despite his attempts not to. The back in his back made him hobble a little in a fruitless attempt to try and use muscles that weren't bruised. The soldier didn't seem to notice, too focused on the destination ahead of them.

After what seemed like forever, Shuu halted before a large door that had giant monsters carved into the dark surface.

"What type of monsters are those?" The question slipped out before the Xiongnu could help himself, and he resisted the urge to flush in embarrassment at his ignorance. Who cared about some stupid monster anyway? The stubborn thought kept his face from turning a crimson red.

"They're not monsters. They're dragons, and symbols of supreme power."

"Oh." Shin digested this for a long moment as the blue-haired soldier stepped forward and knocked sharply on the door. These `dragons' looked like monsters to him. Why would they signify supreme power?

The door swung open, and Touma's excited visage appeared as the concubine began to gush. "Shin, I found the /perfect/ outfit for-" He stopped dead, his flushed face rapidly draining of color as he gazed in shock at the soldier, who shifted self-consciously but nevertheless met his gaze evenly.

"Touma-" Shuu paused, and Shin was embarrassed to find notice that his dark blue eyes were shimmering with tears. If they had been anyone else's eyes, they might have looked fetching, but set in the soldier's proud face, they seemed wrong. "I can still call you that, can't I?" His voice trembled only the slightest bit; he was a soldier, after all.

For a moment, Touma simply stared, frozen in the doorway like some porcelain statue of beauty. His azure tendrils fell to frame his visage, the locks caressing his pale cheeks and complimenting his vest which showed off delicate shoulders and a long, slender neck. The vest was beautiful, green with colorful images embroidered on the fabric. Two blue dragons gazed at each other, their would-be embrace separated by the line of the vest. On his chest, the image of an unusual bird was caught in half-flight, but Shin didn't recognize the type of bird. At last, Touma reacted, and his azure eyes filled with tears as the soldier's had. "Shuu!" The whispered name was almost a prayer, and the concubine threw himself upon Shuu and hugged him desperately, letting out a sound that was a half-sob, half-laugh. "You're really here!"

Feeling like an intruder, Shin simply held his tongue as he watched (with an odd sensation churning his stomach, a sensation that he might have defined as the emotion envy if he hadn't known better) the two embrace, laugh, and cry for a few minutes. When they finally pulled away from each other, Touma's face was flushed and his eyes were sparkling with happiness instead of tears.

"I thought you were dead," he murmured softly, reaching out to clasp the other man's hand as if the loss of physical contact was too much for him. "The Emperor said his men had killed you all."

Shuu snorted and tossed his head, offering Touma a cocky, arrogant grin. "Kill us? Since when has the Rei Fuan clan been that easy to kill? And why the hell do people call you Hsiao now?"

Touma looked slightly embarrassed. "The Emperor ordered everyone to. He said that I was above commoners now, and shouldn't be held to the common name of Rei Fuan anymore."

"You two are related?" The words flew from the Xiongnu's mouth before he realized his tongue had even stirred. Luckily, neither blue-haired man seemed upset with his interruption. In fact, Shuu smiled, an action which lessened the serious lines in his face and made him quite handsome.

"I'm Shuu's older brother by three years," Touma informed him, sounding jubilant and holding fast to his sibling's hand. The contrast of that porcelain, delicate hand against the other tanned, work-roughened one was startling. "We haven't seen each other in nine years."

Eyeing them both carefully, Shin was startled to see the family resemblance now that he looked for it. He fell silent once more as the two brothers refocused their attention on each other, both flushed and delighted with the reunion.

"How're Mother and Father?" Touma inquired, his tone hopeful and yearning.

"When I last heard from them last year, they were in good health. Mother's always worried about you. I'll write letters to them for you if you'd like. Since the Emperor lied to you, I would suspect he didn't want you writing home to them."

The concubine's eyes darkened briefly, and his grip on his brother's hand tightened for a moment as he replied softly, "The Emperor is very possessive. He refuses to share."

"I can tell," Shuu commented dryly, earning a wry grin from his older sibling.

Suddenly, Touma shook his head and glanced over at Shin, smiling brightly. "Oh right, you're to be dressed properly for the meal tonight. I have just the outfit. Just go into my room. It'll be right there." The two blue-haired brothers stepped aside to allow the Xiongnu entrance.

Shin nodded and stepped inside the concubine's chambers, which were very nice for one of his enemy's rooms. The first large, spacious room which seemed to be the main room of the concubine's chambers had an enormous torture device of a bed, covered in pale blue silk. Paintings of beautiful scenery decorated the walls and sculptures filled areas in a way that made the room seem roomier instead of more cluttered. When the Xiongnu's eyes fell upon what Touma had picked out for him, however, the large chamber was the farthest thing from his mind.

"You expect me to wear /that/?" Shin's tone was actually horrified as he gazed at the pale green robe.

His enemies seemed to have an obsession with the monsters called dragons, for gold dragons were embroidered on nearly every inch of the jade green robe. The collar was a sable color, with golden dragons rearing their ugly heads to peer up towards where Shin's neck would be. Would they come to life and rip his throat out at the meal? The Xiongnu shook the eerie thought away, but the robe was revolting to his eyes nonetheless.

"What's wrong with it?" Touma's voice had a hurt edge to it, but Shin didn't notice, too busy staring in dismay.

"No Xiongnu would wear something with those monsters on it!"

"He didn't know what dragons were until I told him," Shuu explained, sounding slightly amused at the Xiongnu's reaction to the outfit. "It's a nice outfit, Xiongnu. A lovely one for a guest of honor at the emperor's table. A person such as yourself should be honored to wear a robe such as this."

"I'm not wearing it," Shin stated with a mulish sharpness to his voice. If he had turned around, the auburn-haired youth would have seen that the hurt had slipped from Touma's voice to weaken the loveliness in his visage. Shuu, however, saw the suffering that Shin's objections were causing his brother. Although Touma was the older brother, the soldier slipped easily into protective big-brother mode.

"You're wearing it, Xiongnu," he growled, a fierceness that made Shin startle in his stance and glanced over his shoulder to gaze at the soldier with widened green eyes.

"Fine," he acquiesced after a brief pause, earning an impassive nod from Shuu and a brilliant smile from Touma.

The two brothers stepped out of the chamber while Shin unwillingly stripped himself of his clothes and robed himself in the outfit that he still thought was horrible looking. Why did his enemies have to have such horrible taste in materials? First beds, then dragons, and now clothing.

When the Xiongnu was dressed, Touma came in and washed Shin's visage before combing his messy auburn locks and attempting to tame them. He smoothed a sticky berry juice on the youth's lips, reddening his mouth. Shuu earned many cold looks when he laughed each time Touma's pearl comb caught a snarl and then when Shin yelped at the touch of Touma's fingers upon his lips. Naturally, the two Rei Fuan men chatted about old friends and adventures Shuu had had while Touma tortured Shin's mane.

Finally, Touma stepped back and announced that the Xiongnu would be acceptable to sit by him at the table of the emperor. Shin, his scalp aching from the concubine's sharp tugs, didn't think the torment had been worth it. Shuu had to post as a guard at the palace gates during the meal, so reluctantly he and Touma hugged and departed of each other's company, leaving Touma to lead Shin to where the emperor would be waiting for them in the Banquet Hall.

The enormous banquet room was amazing. Dozens, perhaps hundreds, of tables filled the room, each seat occupied by a noble of some sort. This was one of the few areas in the Forbidden City that anyone save the Emperor, his wife, his children, and his concubine were allowed into. Many heads turned towards the two newcomers, but Touma simply urged Shin forward towards the large table that was elevated above the rest and that had only four chairs. Two were already in use.

Despite the Xiongnu's hatred of the emperor known as Ryo San, he couldn't help but wish Touma had picked out an outfit like his. The outfit looked perfect on that bronzed frame. Of course, most things would have looked good on the handsome emperor. His wavy ebony locks tumbled down to lightly brush the sable collar which had (of course) two golden dragons soaring without wings against the blackness. The varying jet-black and crimson silk all held the monstrous dragons, all gold, but that fact only made the emperor's tiger-blue eyes blaze brighter than ever.

The auburn-haired woman beside him was clad in a lovely dress. Her shimmering locks of auburn were pulled into an exquisite bun atop her head, and several locks had strayed to tickle her flushed cheeks. As Shin watched, she absently flicked a stray lock away and leaned closer to her attendant, a blue-haired woman, whispering something in the other woman's ear, who smiled appreciatively at the joke. Although he didn't know the name at the time, the auburn-haired woman was wearing a cheongsam. The silk was unblemished white, clinging to her slender frame and complimenting her endowments (although she wasn't as endowed as most women). The traditional style of border complimented her slender neck, pale blue embroidered with black, orange, and yellow images. Although Shin couldn't see below the table, he would later see the lovely rose against the pale whiteness that was stitched in right where her left thigh would be when she stood. All in all, the white silk brought out the fiery auburn of her silky mane.

"That's the empress, Mia Koji," Touma whispered to him as they neared the table and began to the climb the steps. "And behind her is her most loyal attendant, Kayura. They are never out of each other's company. The emperor's children are in their private area of the Forbidden City, eating a private meal."

Shin nodded, wondering if the empress approved of her husband's concubine, but decided the time was inappropriate and that he would ask Touma later when they weren't in public. He watched as Touma prostrated himself before the emperor and then, when Ryo extended his bronzed fingers, lightly kissed the back of that powerful hand before moving to sit in his chair beside the emperor. A nervous blue-eyed gaze urged Shin to follow suit, and biting back a retort that would help him keep his pride though not his head, the Xiongnu slowly flattened himself before the emperor and only rose when Ryo San flicked a couple fingers at him to go to his seat. Shin settled into his chair, resisting the urge to wiggle with delight into the silk pillow that kept his bruises from aching. Instead, he glanced down at the table nearest them. One golden-haired man in particular caught his eye.

The blonde who watched the throng of nobles with a disinterested but enthralling Prussian eye was clothed in a shirt that complimented his gorgeous, trim body. Instead of dragons, the same odd bird that had been in the middle of Touma's shirt flew as golden specters against ebony silk. The golden borders and roses were beautiful, but couldn't compare to the young man's shimmering locks which fell over one eye, blocking that orb from view. The Xiongnu supposed that was a good thing. Even that single eye, which shifted from violet to a pale blush-gray every few moments, made him irrationally uneasy. He couldn't imagine watching both of the young man's eyes at once. His creamy, pale flesh was unmarked, giving him the same delicate appearance as Touma's flesh did, but there was an aura of power around this uninterested man that showed he wasn't weak.

Touma noticed him glancing at the young man, who couldn't have been more than twenty-five or so, and automatically shuddered. "Don't let him catch you staring at him," he urged, his soft voice revealing his own apprehension. "That's Seiji Date."

"Seiji Date," Shin repeated, his mouth fumbling with the new name. "Why does he look so bored?"

"Because he outranks them all and is one of the smartest men in all of our country," Touma whispered, his azure gaze skirting nervously back and forth between the two men. "He doesn't like most people, and especially dislikes me." The concubine gave a helpless shrug. "I've never done anything to him."

"He doesn't like you?" The Xiongnu had repeated the claim dubiously, but just then the blonde had caught sight of them glancing at him.

That orb brightened to a vivid violet, which narrowed in distaste at Touma, the expression on the golden-haired man's pale visage one of loathing and contempt, with such intensity that the concubine shrank back in his chair, his porcelain flesh taking on a grayish hue with fright. That violet eye shifted to glance at Shin for a long moment, and for that instant the Xiongnu was frozen in place. It was as if Seiji Date was gazing right through his flesh into the soul within, which unnerved him to no end. It was Shin who broke eye contact and when he dared glance back again, the blonde was murmuring something to the person next to him, a slight frown pursing those divine, full lips.

"Who /is/ he?" The Xiongnu managed to speak, but his voice was low, awed by the power and knowledge in that violet gaze.

Touma swallowed hard and looked a trifle miserable as color gradually returned to his visage. "The eunuch Seiji Date. He is the emperor's chief advisor, and has been by the emperor's side since he was nine."

(To be continued.

Author's Notes: To see Ryo's imperial robe, go to http://www.goodorient.com/goodorient/699004.html?AID=5469656&PID=985 525

To see Touma's imperial long vest, go to http://www.goodorient.com/goodorient/699006.html?AID=5469656&PID=985 525

To see Shin's clothing, go to http://www.goodorient.com/goodorient/699003.html?AID=5469656&PID=985 525 and think of it in a pale jade green. *grins*

To see Mia's dress (which I think she'd look gorgeous in), go to http://www.goodorient.com/goodorient/698004.html?AID=5469656&PID=985 525

And finally, to see Seiji's kick-ass shirt, go to http://www.goodorient.com/goodorient/698008.html Ignore the fact that women are supposed to wear it. I thought it'd look better on our dear Seiji-sama than any girl.

Yes, that was a much longer chapter than I thought it'd be, but I'm sure you all won't complain…. *blinks* Whoa, major déjà vu there…. Weird. Yes, I'm writing this at 11 at night, so ignore my brief bout with insanity.

~Cinaed)