Ronin Warriors Fan Fiction ❯ Auguries of Innocence ❯ Chapter Six ( Chapter 6 )

(Author's Notes: Thanks for the reviews! *grins* Don't worry, Shadow, Seiji's not a bastard. He has his reasons for hating Touma. I apologize for taking so long with this chapter. I had a bout with writer's block.

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

Author's Thanks: Shadow of Arashi, Danke, Tri, and Destiny's Lot for reviewing.

~Cinaed)

Auguries of Innocence

Chapter Six

Shin stared at Seiji Date in a mixture of wonder and fear. Many of the Xiongnu knew of their enemies' odd traditions, and the men called eunuchs were one of the odder ones. The auburn-haired warrior had often wondered if an emperor didn't want anyone to touch his concubines, why he didn't simply have woman--warriors to guard them. /That/ made sense to the Xiongnu.

"Why does-" Shin began, but was cut off by the hush that abruptly fell upon the assembled. He glanced up to see that the emperor had extended his hand forward. Fighting the urge to roll his eyes at the display of power, he waited to see what Ryo San had to say.

"I am the Son of Heaven," he announced, the statement straightforward and seeming to explain everything. "Heaven has chosen me as your ruler. With favor, we are winning the war against the Xiongnu savages. Heaven has even graced us with one of their leaders' presence!" That powerful limb flicked in Shin's direction, and the auburn-haired youth bit back a growl of rage. He was no savage, and the Xiongnu were the ones who were winning the war!

"Praise Heaven," murmured most in the crowd, their tones so bland that the Xiongnu suspected this was a ritual. "Let us thank them for giving us the Emperor."

"As Emperor, my word is law. It is thus my decision that our visiting Xiongnu be appointed a special task within our palace." Shin's eyes narrowed as those tiger-blue eyes fell upon him. There was a malicious glint to them that he didn't like, and his stomach began to twist uneasily. "The famous Shin Mouri shall become one of the caretakers of my children."

Shin had leapt from his seat before the final word had had a chance to ring through the room. Rage and humiliation surged through him, and the Xiongnu longed for his Fu Pa. If only he could stab the emperor through! He'd see who won the war between their people then!

"I will never do such a thing." Shin's cold declaration earned several astonished looks and an anxious one from Touma, but the emperor's expression didn't even flicker.

"So you say, Xiongnu." While those bright blue eyes continued blazing with smug delight, Ryo San called out to his people in a much louder tone, "I am the Son of Heaven. My word is law. Let us feast!"

Immediately, the room was filled with soft murmurs and the sound of food being consumed. The Xiongnu had no doubt that most were talking of his defiance. Shin, however, remained on his feet, glaring hatefully at the emperor. He'd get his revenge for this dishonor. A child's watcher! He, Shin Mouri of the Xiongnu, watching over children? It was an utter disgrace!

"Shin, please sit down," Touma whispered to him, his lovely face still fretful. "The meal will be delicious, I promise." A porcelain hand gestured towards the food. "Just look at it."

"I like /Xiongnu/ food," Shin snapped at him, although he knew he was being unfair to the blue-haired concubine. It wasn't his fault that the emperor was a bastard. He noticed Touma's miserable expression, and apologized. "I'm sorry, Touma. This is just so-so dishonorable! How shall I tell my people that I watched over our enemy's children?" Bitterness coated his words, and he glared down at his meal.

The smells were unappetizing, but he knew better than rising from his chair. It would only give Ryo San another occasion to humiliate him. Biting down on his lower lip, his green eyes bore a hole through the table. He was so lost in his resentment that he didn't notice that a single, violet eye was regarding him carefully.

When the courtiers fled away from the room, Shin still hadn't had a bite to eat. There was nothing here that he recognized. How he longed for the taste of freshly caught kill after it had been skinned and then roasted over an open fire! The very thought made his empty stomach twinge for something familiar.

"You could at least drink something," Touma murmured to him. This time, the concubine ignored the answering scowl. "The Emperor would not poison you." A timid smile formed on the azure-haired man's face, and a hint of teasing colored his next words. "He would let you suffer for a few weeks, and then kill you publicly."

"Wonders," remarked Shin in a dry tone as he reluctantly sipped from the glass. Immediately, he made a face, not daring to ask what he had just drunk. "Don't you have water?"

Wordlessly, with a hint of a smirk tugging at the concubine's lips, Touma pointed to an intricate jug on the warrior's left. Scowling, the Xiongnu drank several cupfuls of the tepid liquid before he got the taste of whatever that drink had been off his tongue.

"Concubine, you are to come with me." The sudden command made them both jump, and Touma glanced nervously over at the emperor before murmuring softly, "At once, Emperor." In a movement of dainty grace, the blue-haired youth rose and hovered beside the emperor's chair until Ryo San stood. The brunet sneered down at Shin.

"Xiongnu, you will be escorted to your new quarters. Your guard will explain your duty in the morning." Tiger blue met ocean green for a moment, and the Xiongnu grew secretly delighted. He had annoyed the emperor somehow! Noticeable annoyance glittered in those bright orbs, and Shin was very pleased with himself. He would have to discover what he'd done, and continue doing it.

"Oh, of /course/, Emperor!" His sardonic tone was obvious, and he was rewarded by the slightest flush on his enemy's handsome cheeks. Still, the emperor ignored him, and instead flicked his fingers in a commanding gesture.

"Guard." The single word urged a familiar soldier forward. Shin bit back a growl. He knew the emperor had done this on purpose.

The scarred soldier who had helped capture him (Cale T'ian, wasn't it?) didn't even acknowledge the fact that he had been one of his captors not so long ago. He simply bowed to the emperor and then waited for his orders.

"Escort the Xiongnu to his quarters. You are to be his official guard for the next few months."

"Yes, Emperor," the soldier murmured. Without another word, he pointed his weapon towards Shin. "Come with me, Xiongnu." There was an odd blankness to his words, as if he was being purposefully neutral.

Shin didn't have time to muse upon that fact before T'ian prodded him none--too--gently with his blade. Glaring darkly at the soldier, the Xiongnu lifted his chin and strode from the room. He didn't dare glance back at Touma to see the concubine's reaction.

The two warriors walked in silence for a long while, T'ian nudging him lightly whenever he needed to turn down a certain corridor. At last, the soldier stated in a gruff tone, "Here's your room, Mouri. If there are any complaints, tell me, and I shall speak with the servants."

"Do I have to sleep on one of those horrible beds?" The question escaped his lips before he knew what was happening, and he instantly fought back an embarrassed blush. To his further surprise, the soldier actually laughed.

It was a soft, hoarse sound, but it was a laugh nonetheless. "Mouri, you can sleep wherever you want in that room." He nodded towards a door farther down the hall. "That is where the children sleep." T'ian's voice abruptly hardened. "I will be outside your door, and if you try to harm either one of the children, I will kill you and beg for the Emperor's mercy lately."

Shin immediately stiffened, and glared at the soldier, despite the fact that T'ian had a deadly weapon pointed at him. His pride welled within him, and he couldn't help his words. "Xiongnu do not harm innocent children, even if the children's parents are monsters!" His voice was almost shrill with indignation that the man would think such a thing of him.

T'ian relaxed a little, but a scowl lingered on his scarred visage. "Even so, I must accompany you whenever you are near the children. The emperor will not see his children come to harm."

"Could you tell me about his children?" Shin found himself asking, his tone one of awkwardness. He couldn't believe that he would have to play with the future ruler of his enemies…. The humiliation was almost too much to bear.

"Princess Satsuki is seven years of age, while the Imperial Prince Miryo is three. I have never met them, but I have heard that Satsuki is actually kind to the servants." The final statement was in the same neutral style it had been when T'ian had spoken to the Xiongnu in front of the emperor. Somehow, Shin thought the warrior was actually being compassionate. Or at least trying to be.

The Xiongnu and the soldier gazed at each other for a long moment, and Shin took in his fellow warrior's features for a moment. It was easy to see that Cale T'ian was only twenty-five or so, and if he hadn't been branded with that obvious scar, he might have been quite handsome. As it was, his weathered features betrayed a composed, wise young man who knew the unwritten laws of life. His no-dachi remained steady in his powerful hand, and he was the very epitome of a steady warrior. Shin couldn't help but have the feeling that he might have been friends with the blue-haired man if he had been a Xiongnu.

The Xiongnu shifted uncomfortably after a moment. The ache in his back had returned, but something else was nagging at him. The need was so great that he realized he would be unable to sleep, on bed or floor, if he didn't ask the soldier.

"May-may I glance through their door? I promise not to disturb them. I simply want to see them." For some reason, Shin's pulse began to race as T'ian gave him an odd look but finally nodded. He /had/ to see these children while they slept. It was said by his people that one could read someone's soul while they slept. It was time to see if that belief would help him in the future.

Quietly, the two warriors began to walk down the hall, towards the room where the two youngest members of royalty slept. The corridor was silent other than their soft breaths and steady footfalls. Shin glanced down at the hard ground and longed for the damp mud after a refreshing rain.

Silently, T'ian opened the door just a crack, and motioned for the Xiongnu to peek through. Holding his breath, Shin stepped forward and glanced into the room, hoping that the children's beds were nearby. What he saw instead made him freeze in shock.

The two children were not sleeping. Instead, they nestled against a smiling Seiji Date, who sat upon a lovely carpet. Even as the Xiongnu watched in stunned silence, the beautiful blonde offered the children a gentle, sweet smile. The expression was so different than his bored look during the meal that Shin barely managed to keep from gasping aloud in astonishment.

"Did you two hear the news?" The eunuch's voice was higher than most men's, but it was more a high tenor than anything else, and quite pleasant to listen to.

Little Miryo regarded Seiji solemnly. The Imperial prince was rather pudgy at three years old, but his tiger blue eyes assured everyone that he was his father's son. "What?" The quiet inquiry escaped the little boy's lips as he settled himself in the blonde's lap.

"Yes, what, Seiji? Is Father giving us a surprise?" Princess Satsuki would grow up looking like her mother, Shin noticed. Already, her plain brown hair was revealing hints of red in each strand, and he knew that she would someday grow into her long legs. The princess wasn't in the eunuch's lap, but instead pressed up against his side and gazed up at him in adoration. It was obvious the two children thought the world of him.

The blonde laughed softly. "You could say that. You will be having a new watcher to play with. He comes from a foreign area, too. He'll tell you many interesting things, I think." Seiji looked slightly serious, his grayish-blue eye regarding the two intently. "He will have a guard with him because he doesn't like your father. If he tries anything, tell me. I'll make him go away."

Even as Shin mentally grumbled over the fact that everyone seemed to think he'd try to murder the emperor's children, Princess Satsuki beamed. "A new friend!" Her high, childish cry of delight made her brother wince, but she didn't seem to notice.

"I'll tell you, Sei." Miryo's quiet promise made the Xiongnu think that the prince wasn't one to mince words. Chubby fingers wrinkled the eunuch's shirt as he added, even softer, "Pretty shirt."

As the blonde smiled and thanked Miryo for the compliment, Shin regarded the shirt. It was nice and simple, even when wrinkled by a young boy's hands. Pale gold in color, it had crimson dragons soaring against the clouds.

Feeling as if he had intruded a bit too much, Shin quietly stepped back and silently shut the door. He turned towards T'ian in time to note the curious expression on the soldier's visage. One look from Shin assured the warrior that he would not say what he had been gazing so intently at, and together, the two went back to Shin's new quarters.

Shin entered the room alone, and glanced around at his new home, sighing. Without bothering to comment on the gaudiness of the interior, he dragged the blankets from the bed and curled up on the floor with them.

His eyes drifted closed, and only his warrior instinct noticed when T'ian opened the door a little to check on him after a few minutes. He heard the hint of chuckle drift through the entryway, and then the door shut with a quiet click.

Not even the Xiongnu's empty belly could keep the exhausted youth awake, and within a few minutes, he lost himself to the land of dreams, where he could dance around in the mud and not worry about anything.

TBC

(Author's Notes: *grins* Seiji isn't the bastard everyone thinks he is. See? His personality will be further explained (and developed) in later chapters. Joy! ~Cinaed)