The Dancer Chapter 2
I posted this on the Yamane Ayano comm a long time ago but forgot to put it here. Sorry...
Title: The Dancer
Pairing: AxA
Warnings: AU. I'm not Japanese and all I know about feudal Japan comes from manga and movies, so historical inaccuracies and other anomalies are to be expected.
Disclaimer: Viewfinder and its characters belong to their creator, Yamane Ayano. I'm not making any profit from this fanfic.
Summary: Takaba Akihito, a young samurai-in-training, is sent to the house of powerful daimyo Asami Ryuichi as a spy.
What have I done to deserve this?
Takaba silently lamented as he forced his limbs to move to the music from the other side of the room, painfully aware of his dance teacher’s critical eyes on him.
“Slow down!” With that admonition came a smack of paper fan on flesh. “Follow the music!”
Startled, the young man all but lost his coordination. Miyabi-sensei sighed and gave a sharp word to the koto player, who was seated behind a screen at the far end of the room. The music stopped and the woman took a few steps toward her pupil.
“Where’s your concentration today?” she said unsmiling. “I thought we understood each other. At this rate you won’t be ready in a year, let alone two short months.”
“I’m sorry, sensei,” Takaba said dejectedly.
The woman looked at him with appraising eyes and said quietly:
“I know you are your father’s son. That’s why I agreed to train you. You know what an honor it is to have the lord’s trust. I’m sure you don’t want to let him down.”
“I am sorry.” The young man straightened to his full height. “It won’t happen again.”
The woman looked up into his eyes and nodded.
“Alright then.”
She signaled to the koto player to start again, and this time Takaba let his mind go blank and let the music guide him. Never once did images of himself and his friends chasing each other around the dojo cross his mind, and only when the last strains of music were fading away did he become aware of a rustling sound from the doorway.
“My lady.” Miyabi-sensei turned and bowed, her face once again unreadable. “What can I do for you?”
“Oh, nothing, Sensei.” Lady Mie stepped into the room and gave a little bow to the older woman. Miyabi had been Mie's dance teacher until the day she decided she had had enough of her pupil’s endless tantrums, went to the daimyo and resigned from the job. Coming from any other, that move could have meant severe punishment, even death, but the daimyo admired Miyabi for her talent and dedication to her job and knew that he had her complete loyalty. More importantly, he knew his own daughter. So he acquiesced to her wishes and gave her a pension that allowed her to live comfortably. She had never forgotten his generosity, and when he sent for her three weeks ago and asked her to help train young Takaba, she had immediately agreed.
“I just wanted to see how our new dancer’s doing,” the daimyo’s daughter said, her eyes alight with mischief - and not a little malice, thought the older woman.
“Quite well, my lady,” said Miyabi. “In two months’ time even Lord Asami will be impressed.”
Takaba looked up in surprise at his teacher’s vote of confidence. The mention of her bridegroom-to-be had a dramatic effect on Mie. Her jaw set and her voice took on an edge.
“Good, then. If you’re done with Aki, I want to have a word with… her.”
Teacher and pupil sighed in unison, silently thanking heaven for making Mie remember in time that the koto player, still seated behind the screen, was not in on the secret plan to have Takaba infiltrate Daimyo Asami’s household as a female dancer.
“What is it, Mie?” Takaba asked his childhood playmate after they had taken leave of Miyabi-sensei.
“Nothing,” Mie said nonchalantly. “I’m bored and thought we could chat for a while, just like old times.”
“I have to practise the koto, you know.”
Although the plan was for him to join the bride’s party as a dancer, the daimyo’s chief adviser thought it wise that Takaba should also brush up on his koto playing -- to increase his chance of being called on to entertain Asami and observe the goings-on in his inner circle.
“Aren’t you supposed to be preparing your trousseau or something?”
“Do you have to talk about that too?”
Mie whirled around and gave him a fierce stare.
“Well, what do you want to talk about, then?”
“Anything but… that.”
Takaba turned to look at the pretty girl by his side and felt a pang of pity.
“Why do I have to marry an ugly old man?” Mie said with feeling.
“Well, he isn’t that old,” Takaba said. “As for ugly…”
“I wish I were a man,” the daimyo’s daughter continued to rage. “Then I would be able to marry anyone I wanted…”
“Mie, don't be silly,” said Takaba seriously. “If you were a man, you’d be your father’s heir and your marriage would definitely be arranged. You know that.”
Seeing the young woman fall silent, he continued:
“Everybody has a job to do. Yours is to marry Lord Asami and mine…”
“You’re just as bad as the rest of them!”
Mie stamped her little feet and fled, leaving Takaba to contemplate his own job with a sense of resignation and not a little dread…
“His name is Takaba Akihito.”
Asami Ryuichi looked up at his right hand man, his eyes sparkling with interest.
“He is the son of daimyo Takeda’s former aide, Takaba Kuniaki. His mother was a distant cousin of the daimyo’s late wife. Both his parents died when he was very young and he was brought up in the daimyo’s household. He was Lady Mie’s playmate until he began his samurai training. Some thought he was in line to become the daimyo’s aide one day.”
“Thought?”
“Yes, my lord. Until three weeks ago, that is. That was when he moved out of his quarters and our spy hasn’t seen him since. Some think he has replaced Toda Ranmaru as the daimyo’s personal valet, but as Toda is still around…”
“Still wearing that haircut?”
Kirishima Kei met his master’s eyes briefly and nodded.
“Yes, my lord.”
“Interesting…” said Asami. “Find out where he is and what he’s doing.
“Yes, sir.”
“And how is Lady Mie?”
“She is well, my lord.”
Kirishima wasn’t about to tell his lord that his bride-to-be was busy making it known that she didn't at all agree to their impending marriage. Her father had given his word that the wedding was to proceed as planned and what Mie wanted did not matter.
“Good.”
With that Asami went back to perusing his correspondence with his cousin the shogun. Kirishima bowed and quietly left the room, unaware that his boss was staring, unseeing, at the jumbles of words on the page, his mind wondering back to daimyo Takeda’s garden and the beautiful young man standing alone in the dim light of dusk…
(To be continued)
Title: The Dancer
Pairing: AxA
Warnings: AU. I'm not Japanese and all I know about feudal Japan comes from manga and movies, so historical inaccuracies and other anomalies are to be expected.
Disclaimer: Viewfinder and its characters belong to their creator, Yamane Ayano. I'm not making any profit from this fanfic.
Summary: Takaba Akihito, a young samurai-in-training, is sent to the house of powerful daimyo Asami Ryuichi as a spy.
What have I done to deserve this?
Takaba silently lamented as he forced his limbs to move to the music from the other side of the room, painfully aware of his dance teacher’s critical eyes on him.
“Slow down!” With that admonition came a smack of paper fan on flesh. “Follow the music!”
Startled, the young man all but lost his coordination. Miyabi-sensei sighed and gave a sharp word to the koto player, who was seated behind a screen at the far end of the room. The music stopped and the woman took a few steps toward her pupil.
“Where’s your concentration today?” she said unsmiling. “I thought we understood each other. At this rate you won’t be ready in a year, let alone two short months.”
“I’m sorry, sensei,” Takaba said dejectedly.
The woman looked at him with appraising eyes and said quietly:
“I know you are your father’s son. That’s why I agreed to train you. You know what an honor it is to have the lord’s trust. I’m sure you don’t want to let him down.”
“I am sorry.” The young man straightened to his full height. “It won’t happen again.”
The woman looked up into his eyes and nodded.
“Alright then.”
She signaled to the koto player to start again, and this time Takaba let his mind go blank and let the music guide him. Never once did images of himself and his friends chasing each other around the dojo cross his mind, and only when the last strains of music were fading away did he become aware of a rustling sound from the doorway.
“My lady.” Miyabi-sensei turned and bowed, her face once again unreadable. “What can I do for you?”
“Oh, nothing, Sensei.” Lady Mie stepped into the room and gave a little bow to the older woman. Miyabi had been Mie's dance teacher until the day she decided she had had enough of her pupil’s endless tantrums, went to the daimyo and resigned from the job. Coming from any other, that move could have meant severe punishment, even death, but the daimyo admired Miyabi for her talent and dedication to her job and knew that he had her complete loyalty. More importantly, he knew his own daughter. So he acquiesced to her wishes and gave her a pension that allowed her to live comfortably. She had never forgotten his generosity, and when he sent for her three weeks ago and asked her to help train young Takaba, she had immediately agreed.
“I just wanted to see how our new dancer’s doing,” the daimyo’s daughter said, her eyes alight with mischief - and not a little malice, thought the older woman.
“Quite well, my lady,” said Miyabi. “In two months’ time even Lord Asami will be impressed.”
Takaba looked up in surprise at his teacher’s vote of confidence. The mention of her bridegroom-to-be had a dramatic effect on Mie. Her jaw set and her voice took on an edge.
“Good, then. If you’re done with Aki, I want to have a word with… her.”
Teacher and pupil sighed in unison, silently thanking heaven for making Mie remember in time that the koto player, still seated behind the screen, was not in on the secret plan to have Takaba infiltrate Daimyo Asami’s household as a female dancer.
“What is it, Mie?” Takaba asked his childhood playmate after they had taken leave of Miyabi-sensei.
“Nothing,” Mie said nonchalantly. “I’m bored and thought we could chat for a while, just like old times.”
“I have to practise the koto, you know.”
Although the plan was for him to join the bride’s party as a dancer, the daimyo’s chief adviser thought it wise that Takaba should also brush up on his koto playing -- to increase his chance of being called on to entertain Asami and observe the goings-on in his inner circle.
“Aren’t you supposed to be preparing your trousseau or something?”
“Do you have to talk about that too?”
Mie whirled around and gave him a fierce stare.
“Well, what do you want to talk about, then?”
“Anything but… that.”
Takaba turned to look at the pretty girl by his side and felt a pang of pity.
“Why do I have to marry an ugly old man?” Mie said with feeling.
“Well, he isn’t that old,” Takaba said. “As for ugly…”
“I wish I were a man,” the daimyo’s daughter continued to rage. “Then I would be able to marry anyone I wanted…”
“Mie, don't be silly,” said Takaba seriously. “If you were a man, you’d be your father’s heir and your marriage would definitely be arranged. You know that.”
Seeing the young woman fall silent, he continued:
“Everybody has a job to do. Yours is to marry Lord Asami and mine…”
“You’re just as bad as the rest of them!”
Mie stamped her little feet and fled, leaving Takaba to contemplate his own job with a sense of resignation and not a little dread…
“His name is Takaba Akihito.”
Asami Ryuichi looked up at his right hand man, his eyes sparkling with interest.
“He is the son of daimyo Takeda’s former aide, Takaba Kuniaki. His mother was a distant cousin of the daimyo’s late wife. Both his parents died when he was very young and he was brought up in the daimyo’s household. He was Lady Mie’s playmate until he began his samurai training. Some thought he was in line to become the daimyo’s aide one day.”
“Thought?”
“Yes, my lord. Until three weeks ago, that is. That was when he moved out of his quarters and our spy hasn’t seen him since. Some think he has replaced Toda Ranmaru as the daimyo’s personal valet, but as Toda is still around…”
“Still wearing that haircut?”
Kirishima Kei met his master’s eyes briefly and nodded.
“Yes, my lord.”
“Interesting…” said Asami. “Find out where he is and what he’s doing.
“Yes, sir.”
“And how is Lady Mie?”
“She is well, my lord.”
Kirishima wasn’t about to tell his lord that his bride-to-be was busy making it known that she didn't at all agree to their impending marriage. Her father had given his word that the wedding was to proceed as planned and what Mie wanted did not matter.
“Good.”
With that Asami went back to perusing his correspondence with his cousin the shogun. Kirishima bowed and quietly left the room, unaware that his boss was staring, unseeing, at the jumbles of words on the page, his mind wondering back to daimyo Takeda’s garden and the beautiful young man standing alone in the dim light of dusk…
(To be continued)