The Tattoo final
*~*~*~* Six Months Later*~*~*~*
Six months and the dust had finally started to settle on the capital. The general populous had easily accepted Ohno as their emperor and by all accounts the staff and servants in the palace loved him and saw him as the fair and good ruler that Nino always thought the man could be. The horrors of the old emperor were still being discovered and nobody could blame the one that had finally ended his life. As Ohno had said nobody ever spoke it out loud but Nino was greeted with respect and almost admiration wherever he went.
The corrupt council of lords had been displaced their positioned being comfortably filled with younger lords loyal to the emperor and nobody was sad when most of the older lords being discreetly taken care of when they had been heading for their castles. The reports were of bandits in the hills and the Emperor Satoshi had vowed to make the roads safer for people travelling.
He had set up a home in the town far enough away from the palace that the prices were cheap but a place that had a good garden that Jun could play in and keep nurse birds, cats, and dogs whenever somebody brought them by. Originally he had meant to have a quiet life with his boy but after only three months of that he had grown restless…Not for the murder but for something to do. As a poisoner he had a great deal of skill in healing as well as poisons and he had set himself up as an herbalist. He was surprised at first that people came to him but already his reputation for curing the incurable and only accepting food was becoming established and already he had droves of people coming to his door for his wares. He supposed that it wasn’t strange considering that he had taken so many people out of the world that he found great joy in making sure that people stayed in the world.
He had always found a great sense of joy in watching the life leave somebodies face but now he found more joy in seeing the colour return, more so when the families of that person were sure that there was no chance of survival. Turning away from his potions he went to the door watching his boy and apprentice, who had insisted on accompanying him, as they tended to a bird that had been brought to their home with a broken wing. A small part of Nino thought that the kindest thing would be to kill it but his boy had insisted that he fix it. It had been hard to wrap a bandage around the wing but it was worth it when he heard Takayuki almost screaming with happiness when the bird hopped from his arm to the fountain and back again.
“Takayuki, Tsukuru…It is time for you to come in now…Dinner…” Nino called with a smile wondering if anyone would believe that the person men feared, the poisoned spider, would do such a domestic thing. He had earned his peace, it was something that he had told himself each and every night, but it still felt as if it would all come crashing down around his ears.
“Father! Come Lookie!” Takayuki shouted waving at him from the fountain the bird perched on his shoulder. His boy really had blossomed since being away from his lord’s house, though he would never age in his mind he was able to be himself without the constant threat that somebody may take advantage. “He can use his wing!”
“Really?” Nino hummed with a laugh stepping out of his work room and walking over to the pair of boys that were allowed to be boys. The bird, a jay, chirped loudly its feathers ruffling as it bobbed up and down on his boys shoulder. As soon as Nino was close enough though it stretched out his wings and jumped to him showing his affection by pecking at his hair as if it was attacking a worm. “It really can, ne” Nino chuckled holding up his hand to the bird who happily hopped onto his finger the deep blue tail feathers brushing against his hand as its little talons hooked around his finger. “You are too tame little bird…” It was a sad thing to realise that the bird would never survive in the wild now but he supposed that it would be happy enough in their home of misfits. The jay gave a whistle fluttering back over to the delighted Takayuki. “Come on in…Dinner is ready and then you need baths…Both of you…”
“Yes, father/Yes, Kazunari-sama…” The voices said slowly together and Nino rolled his eyes ruffling both of the down cast head before realising what he was doing and heading back towards his workshop to close and lock the door. He might be a healer but that didn’t mean that the stuff he handled was any safer for Takayuki to play with.
Dinner was a simple affair but happy with both of the boy chatting happily about the bird, the market they had visited, and some other younger children that they had played with. Nino listened with a happy smile on his face barely needed to encourage the talk happy that his boy had a friend that he could share so much with though he was still his little bird who would insist on having his story told to him each night while playing with his origami animals. The dragon had slipped from being the bad guy to being misunderstood and now he was one of Takayuki’s favourites often being found crushed under his body when he woke him up in the morning.
The bleak point of his life, Nino thought later when the boys where in bed and he was sat on the veranda staring up at the stars in the black sky, was that Ohno had yet to visit him. In the earlier months he had understood. There was things that needed to be done, there was the traditional period of mourning and then the arrangement of the new council but as time wore on without even a letter from the palace Nino believed that Ohno’s love for him had been a lie.
“My tiger…Forgive me, Kazunari…” A voice whispered in the dark jerking him around his hand in his hair close to one of his poisonous needles. He swallowed down a lump relaxing only slightly when he saw Ohno standing his face glowing in the light of a lamp. “I didn’t mean to startle you…”
“My reactions have dulled slightly in the months since we last met, my emperor…” Nino replied bowing his head as he pushed the needle back into his hair. His heart was jumping against his ribs at the sight of the man that he still loved in spite of everything. Ohno hadn’t changed much over the months, the clothes that he wore were finer but they were still the same greys and blacks while his hair was still tied back with the scrap of cloth.
“I very much doubt that, Tiger…”
“It has been a long time, would you care for a drink?” Nino asked needed something to do with his hands. He was not used to so much nerves inside of him and his heart was fluttering more than the wings of Takayuki’s bird.
“Thank-you…” Ohno agreed with a nod and slowly Nino poured him a drink from his bottle of sake as the emperor sat down on the step beside him his back leaning against one of the wooden posts “I would have come to you sooner but…I had to leave the capitol…My sister…”
“Your sister?” Nino prompted with interest his eyebrow lifting up his face when Ohno’s voice broke a little.
“She is alive...” Ohno whispered surprising him more than anything else could have “Sho…He faked her death and took her away from the city…As soon as the mourning period lifted I went to her…She did not recognise me…She screamed whenever I approached…I stayed near in the hope that maybe she would wish to see me but she never did…”
“I’m sorry, my lo…Emperor…” Nino whispered his heart breaking for the man knowing how much that must have hurt him. To his surprise though Ohno shook his head giving a smile as he sipped his drink and said;
“I am not surprised…I’m just happy that she is alive…Her nurse…She told me that she asks after her doll…You…Would you visit her, my tiger…? I do not know if she will recognise you but…”
“I would be happy to, Satoshi…” Nino smiled almost happy when the graceful fingers moved over the wood to brush at his giving him the same feelings of love and completeness that he had always felt when he was with him. There was so much history between them, not all of it was good but neither of them were the people that they had once been but he knew that they needed and deserved each other. He gripped the fingers squeezing them tightly between his own staring into the dark brown eyes whispering softly “My love…”
“My Tiger…”
THE END
A/N: I view this as a weak ending but this was always intended to be the ending there is so much between them that I would be writing forever for them to resolve it all >.< I do want to write a sequel about what happens with Ohno’s sister and a small side glimpse of SakurAiba…But overall I really hope that this was an okay story…>.<
Six months and the dust had finally started to settle on the capital. The general populous had easily accepted Ohno as their emperor and by all accounts the staff and servants in the palace loved him and saw him as the fair and good ruler that Nino always thought the man could be. The horrors of the old emperor were still being discovered and nobody could blame the one that had finally ended his life. As Ohno had said nobody ever spoke it out loud but Nino was greeted with respect and almost admiration wherever he went.
The corrupt council of lords had been displaced their positioned being comfortably filled with younger lords loyal to the emperor and nobody was sad when most of the older lords being discreetly taken care of when they had been heading for their castles. The reports were of bandits in the hills and the Emperor Satoshi had vowed to make the roads safer for people travelling.
He had set up a home in the town far enough away from the palace that the prices were cheap but a place that had a good garden that Jun could play in and keep nurse birds, cats, and dogs whenever somebody brought them by. Originally he had meant to have a quiet life with his boy but after only three months of that he had grown restless…Not for the murder but for something to do. As a poisoner he had a great deal of skill in healing as well as poisons and he had set himself up as an herbalist. He was surprised at first that people came to him but already his reputation for curing the incurable and only accepting food was becoming established and already he had droves of people coming to his door for his wares. He supposed that it wasn’t strange considering that he had taken so many people out of the world that he found great joy in making sure that people stayed in the world.
He had always found a great sense of joy in watching the life leave somebodies face but now he found more joy in seeing the colour return, more so when the families of that person were sure that there was no chance of survival. Turning away from his potions he went to the door watching his boy and apprentice, who had insisted on accompanying him, as they tended to a bird that had been brought to their home with a broken wing. A small part of Nino thought that the kindest thing would be to kill it but his boy had insisted that he fix it. It had been hard to wrap a bandage around the wing but it was worth it when he heard Takayuki almost screaming with happiness when the bird hopped from his arm to the fountain and back again.
“Takayuki, Tsukuru…It is time for you to come in now…Dinner…” Nino called with a smile wondering if anyone would believe that the person men feared, the poisoned spider, would do such a domestic thing. He had earned his peace, it was something that he had told himself each and every night, but it still felt as if it would all come crashing down around his ears.
“Father! Come Lookie!” Takayuki shouted waving at him from the fountain the bird perched on his shoulder. His boy really had blossomed since being away from his lord’s house, though he would never age in his mind he was able to be himself without the constant threat that somebody may take advantage. “He can use his wing!”
“Really?” Nino hummed with a laugh stepping out of his work room and walking over to the pair of boys that were allowed to be boys. The bird, a jay, chirped loudly its feathers ruffling as it bobbed up and down on his boys shoulder. As soon as Nino was close enough though it stretched out his wings and jumped to him showing his affection by pecking at his hair as if it was attacking a worm. “It really can, ne” Nino chuckled holding up his hand to the bird who happily hopped onto his finger the deep blue tail feathers brushing against his hand as its little talons hooked around his finger. “You are too tame little bird…” It was a sad thing to realise that the bird would never survive in the wild now but he supposed that it would be happy enough in their home of misfits. The jay gave a whistle fluttering back over to the delighted Takayuki. “Come on in…Dinner is ready and then you need baths…Both of you…”
“Yes, father/Yes, Kazunari-sama…” The voices said slowly together and Nino rolled his eyes ruffling both of the down cast head before realising what he was doing and heading back towards his workshop to close and lock the door. He might be a healer but that didn’t mean that the stuff he handled was any safer for Takayuki to play with.
Dinner was a simple affair but happy with both of the boy chatting happily about the bird, the market they had visited, and some other younger children that they had played with. Nino listened with a happy smile on his face barely needed to encourage the talk happy that his boy had a friend that he could share so much with though he was still his little bird who would insist on having his story told to him each night while playing with his origami animals. The dragon had slipped from being the bad guy to being misunderstood and now he was one of Takayuki’s favourites often being found crushed under his body when he woke him up in the morning.
The bleak point of his life, Nino thought later when the boys where in bed and he was sat on the veranda staring up at the stars in the black sky, was that Ohno had yet to visit him. In the earlier months he had understood. There was things that needed to be done, there was the traditional period of mourning and then the arrangement of the new council but as time wore on without even a letter from the palace Nino believed that Ohno’s love for him had been a lie.
“My tiger…Forgive me, Kazunari…” A voice whispered in the dark jerking him around his hand in his hair close to one of his poisonous needles. He swallowed down a lump relaxing only slightly when he saw Ohno standing his face glowing in the light of a lamp. “I didn’t mean to startle you…”
“My reactions have dulled slightly in the months since we last met, my emperor…” Nino replied bowing his head as he pushed the needle back into his hair. His heart was jumping against his ribs at the sight of the man that he still loved in spite of everything. Ohno hadn’t changed much over the months, the clothes that he wore were finer but they were still the same greys and blacks while his hair was still tied back with the scrap of cloth.
“I very much doubt that, Tiger…”
“It has been a long time, would you care for a drink?” Nino asked needed something to do with his hands. He was not used to so much nerves inside of him and his heart was fluttering more than the wings of Takayuki’s bird.
“Thank-you…” Ohno agreed with a nod and slowly Nino poured him a drink from his bottle of sake as the emperor sat down on the step beside him his back leaning against one of the wooden posts “I would have come to you sooner but…I had to leave the capitol…My sister…”
“Your sister?” Nino prompted with interest his eyebrow lifting up his face when Ohno’s voice broke a little.
“She is alive...” Ohno whispered surprising him more than anything else could have “Sho…He faked her death and took her away from the city…As soon as the mourning period lifted I went to her…She did not recognise me…She screamed whenever I approached…I stayed near in the hope that maybe she would wish to see me but she never did…”
“I’m sorry, my lo…Emperor…” Nino whispered his heart breaking for the man knowing how much that must have hurt him. To his surprise though Ohno shook his head giving a smile as he sipped his drink and said;
“I am not surprised…I’m just happy that she is alive…Her nurse…She told me that she asks after her doll…You…Would you visit her, my tiger…? I do not know if she will recognise you but…”
“I would be happy to, Satoshi…” Nino smiled almost happy when the graceful fingers moved over the wood to brush at his giving him the same feelings of love and completeness that he had always felt when he was with him. There was so much history between them, not all of it was good but neither of them were the people that they had once been but he knew that they needed and deserved each other. He gripped the fingers squeezing them tightly between his own staring into the dark brown eyes whispering softly “My love…”
“My Tiger…”
THE END
A/N: I view this as a weak ending but this was always intended to be the ending there is so much between them that I would be writing forever for them to resolve it all >.< I do want to write a sequel about what happens with Ohno’s sister and a small side glimpse of SakurAiba…But overall I really hope that this was an okay story…>.<