[Multi-Chapter] The Cut Sleeve: Chapter One
Title: The Cut Sleeve (Chapter One)
Genre: AU
Rating: PG
Pairings: None for the moment
Characters: Arashi, Kanjani8, NewS
Disclaimer: Done purely for entertainment purposes. I only own my warped imagination.
Summary: Several years later they all find themselves living lives that some of them didn't quite expect.
Author's Note: Based loosely on Qing Dynasty China, both politically and culturally. Please forgive any mistakes I've made (some purposefully for artistic license's sake, other's completely unintentionally). Dedicated to catacombkid who wanted an Ohno-with-a-harem fic and got me started writing this beast. ♥
Prologue
Aiba’s eyes were wide as he pushed his way through the press of people crowding the narrow city street, the bundle containing the few possessions he’d been able to bring with him clutched tightly in one hand. A change of clothes, a few books for studying and a charm that his grandmother had pushed on him as he was stepping out the door, insisting it would bring him good luck. He smiled a little at the thought of the last, ignoring a few of the more choice things he could hear people around him saying to one another.
He’d always known that the capital was crowded-he’d just never imagined there would be -this- many people. It made Canton seem small by comparison, and Canton had never failed to impress him with its size. He’d never felt more like a country bumpkin in his life.
“Did you see that? There are whores right on the street corners!”
Aiba turned to look at his friend, laughing embarrassedly at his comment. He wanted to shush Yoko and tell him that saying things like that here would make you an obvious out of towner, but the truth was he was a little overwhelmed by just how different things were here, too. And he was also kind of curious how Yoko could tell there were whores here. Everyone looked pretty normal to him. “Really? Where?”
“That guy over here,” Yoko said, not bothering with discretion, his voice loud even amidst the crowd as he lifted a hand and pointed boldly at the man in question.
Aiba stopped in his tracks, his face a little confused as he followed the direction of Yoko’s finger. “What? There aren’t any whores over there…”
“Just look at the way he’s standing. If those aren’t ‘I’ll fuck you for the cost of a meal and a hot bath’ eyes I don’t know what are.”
“Yoko!” Aiba swatted at his friend’s hand, slightly horrified as he watched the man in question lift a hand and wave, beckoning someone forward. Scratch that… beckoning them forward. “Now he knows you were pointing at him.”
“I think I love the city already,” Yoko grinned, straightening his robe, worse for the wear from weeks of travel and more than one night spent in a makeshift camp pitched in an empty field. He ran a hand through his hair and then cast a glance at his friend. “How do I look?”
“… Yoko, you can’t stop to have sex. We have to make it to my cousin’s before dark,” Aiba chided, although he had to admit as he stole another sideways glance at the boy who had stopped waving at them vigorously and was now approaching them that he wasn’t altogether bad looking.
The man-who looked more like a boy, really, if his height and his grin were any indication-was standing in front of them now, bowing slightly in both their directions. Aiba swallowed as he stared at him, trying to think of a good excuse to get Yoko to leave with him. The guy was pretty and all, but they needed to find his cousin’s place and he was pretty sure they were hopelessly lost at the moment. Not to mention they didn’t have enough money to be paying for sex.
“Hello,” Yoko grinned, his hand reaching back to make sure his hair wasn’t falling out of its binding as he gave the man a quick once over.
The stranger turned a dazzling smile back on Yoko, giving him a quick hello in return before he turned to Aiba. “I’m sorry for interrupting like this, but you wouldn’t happen to be Aiba, would you?”
“Uh.. yes,” Aiba answered, blinking in confusion. He wasn’t quite sure why a prostitute would know his name. He and Yoko had had a few wild times in their younger days but surely word of that wouldn’t have made it all the way here.
“Oh, good! Subaru has been looking for you all day.”
“You know Subaru?” Aiba asked, still not quite able to put two and two together.
“He’s my boss. He was afraid you might have trouble finding your way so he sent me out to look for you,” the man explained, a bright smile lighting up his face as he held out his hand to shake. “I’m Yasu.”
Yoko crossed his arms over his chest and looked a little put out now that it was clear he wasn’t going to be getting any sex anytime soon. Aiba and the stranger both ignored him and his pout in favor of the matter at hand.
--
“You should take this to them yourself,” Subaru sighed, repeating the same line that he’d said countless times over the years as Nino slid an envelope across the table at him.
“Don’t start that again. You know I can’t.”
“Nino, this is stupid. They know the money is from you. Why won’t you just go see them already?” Subaru argued even as he covered the envelope with his hand and slid it closer. He knew he wouldn’t win this fight-once Nino made his mind up about something he was a stubborn bastard about it-but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try. “They’re your family.”
Nino sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, his lips drawn into a thin line as he stared the older man down.
Subaru sighed and shook his head, knowing that that look meant an end to this particular line of conversation, whether he wanted it to or not. “Fine. But you should at least go see your sister. She has a son that she’d probably like you to meet, you know.”
“I know,” Nino answered, catching Subaru somewhat off-guard. Subaru knew for a fact that Nino had kept up on his family’s lives since he’d been sent to the palace. Hell, Subaru was the one who kept him updated on them half the time.
He also knew, however, that Nino didn’t talk about the fact that he kept up on his family’s lives, or that the amount of money he’d funneled to them over the years (courtesy of Subaru’s gracious help, of course), had to amount to most if not all of Nino’s generous palace wages.
“They miss you.”
“I need to get back,” Nino mumbled as he pushed away from the table and stood quickly, avoiding Subaru’s eyes.
“Nino-“
Nino stopped and gave Subaru a quick look over his shoulder, his expression carefully blank. “I have to be back in time for dinner or Jun will worry.”
Subaru sighed and nodded, his protests dying on his lips. He stood, instead, and clasped his friend’s shoulder with a forced smile. “Bring Jun next time you come. He hasn’t been here for years-he’s due for a chance to loosen up.”
“I’ll just lie and tell him we’re going shopping. Tell Maru hi for me.”
Subaru squeezed Nino’s shoulder in answer, his smile fading and sadness creeping into his eyes as he dropped his hand and watched the other go. He sighed to himself, staring at the empty doorway for a long moment until he finally managed to force himself to turn away, tucking Nino’s envelope carefully into one of his pockets.
--
“… and so I think you should focus on expanding our foreign market in the south. It’s already thriving with the influx of new ships and the Jesuits in that region, but if we continue expanding we could broaden the market and increase our profits from trade…”
Ohno nodded, his chin resting in his hand as he stared out into the courtyard, his attention far from the current droning economic report. He directed his eyes upwards, eyeing the beginnings of leaves lining the tops of the trees and wondering how much longer it would be until the birds took up residence in them again.
“… told him you’d arrange a meeting within the next few weeks to discuss the terms of the new trade agreement. He was rather insistent about his timeline. I was sure to explain to him that you have a busy schedule and things like this cannot be rushed.”
“Hmm,” Ohno murmured, smiling a little to himself as he watched a bird settle in a nearby tree, chirping softly to itself as it went about building its nest. Spring, more than any other time, made him feel restless in his own skin. It was hardest to concentrate on matters of state and economy and the squabbling of different statesmen as they vied to promote their own interests when hints that the world was once again coming to life filled the landscape around him like this.
The feel of a hand smacking him on the back of the head pulled his attention away from the outdoors and back to the stuffy state room. Ohno turned, his expression a little sheepish as he stared at the man sitting across from him.
“Have you even heard a word I said?” Sho sighed, shaking his head a little as he stared across the desk at his friend. If it was anyone else he would have been severely annoyed at being ignored for the last 20 minutes, but he’d figured out a long time ago he just wasn’t capable of being annoyed with Ohno. Granted, if he was anyone else he wouldn’t really be allowed to smack the emperor on the back of the head, either. Lucky for both of them they were who they were.
“Ah… sorry,” Ohno murmured, his expression sheepish as he lifted his hand to rub the back of his head, the gesture more one of a disobedient little boy than the ruler of one of the largest, most powerful nations in the world.
Sho couldn’t help a brief smile as he met the other’s eyes. “It’s okay. Why don’t you go enjoy the fresh air for a bit. I can leave these with you.” He indicated a group of scrolls in his hand.
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah, I need to get caught up on my correspondence anyway. Shun is expecting an answer to his request for more funding soon,” Sho waved the other off and stood, part of him secretly relieved to get a chance to get caught up on his own work.
“Thanks,” Ohno grinned up at the other and Sho couldn’t help but see the boy the other had been not that long ago. It still amazed him sometimes that Ohno was actually the older one here. “Come after dinner and we’ll discuss the trade agreement. “
“Read the reports before then,” Sho answered, giving the other a significant look.
“I will,” Ohno promised, laughing as he made a shooing motion at the other. “Go write your letters.”
“Don't get lost in the garden again,” Sho shot back, his expression knowing as he bowed low before standing to leave.
--
“Now this is more like it,” Yoko spoke up, his earlier dismay over having found out that Yasu was, in fact, not a whore (or at least not that he had established yet--he still said the other’s clothing was just a bit on the feminine side for him to be anything else) vanished.
Aiba couldn’t help but laugh at his friend, giving Yasu a sympathetic look as he watched Yoko throw an arm around his shoulders and guide him eagerly towards the door of his cousin’s place.
“You didn’t tell me that your cousin owned a whore house!” Yoko threw a manic grin at Aiba over his shoulder as he ushered Yasu into the building that was to be their home for the next few months.
“Actually it’s a gambling hall with live entertainment,” Yasu corrected him. “The whore house is down the street.”
“Close enough,” Yoko proclaimed and Aiba couldn’t help but shake his head. “So, are you the live entertainment here?”
“Me? What-no. What exactly do I look like to you?” Yasu shot back and Aiba cringed a little. They were here for two minutes and Yoko (dear friend and companion though he was) was already stepping on people’s toes. He just hoped he didn’t step on his cousin’s toes, too-Subaru could be a bit cranky sometimes.
“Well… that shirt of yours is a little tight. And purple… really?”
“What’s wrong with purple?”
“Nothing, if you’re my little sister…”
Aiba shook his head and followed, taking long strides as he tried to catch up with the pair before too much damage could be done. They were still bickering as Aiba followed them into the building, blinking a little at the lack of light inside. Somehow he didn’t remember it being quite so dark in here. Then again, the last time he’d been here he was 8 and his Uncle had still been alive and running it as an Inn. A lot had changed since then.
“Aiba!”
Aiba barely had time to register that the voice calling his name sounded vaguely familiar before he found himself encircled in a pair of arms and being swept up in a hug by a tiny, energetic man.
“Baru!” Aiba’s face broke into a wide grin as he realized that it was, in fact, his cousin hugging him and not some random stranger (which made sense, really… although stranger things had happened).
“Geez, kid, when in the hell did you get so tall?” Subaru chuckled, clapping Aiba on the back as he broke the hug to give the other a careful once-over.
“The same time you got so short.” Aiba laughed.
“Smartass.” Subaru made an indignant sound and poked the taller man in the ribs. “What the hell took you so long? I thought you were going to be here before lunch. I was afraid someone had robbed you both and thrown you in a ditch somewhere.”
“They were near the West Gate when I found them,” Yasu piped up, looking a little relieved to have an excuse to end the current conversation he was having with (an extremely animated) Yoko.
“The west gate? You really did get lost, didn’t you?”
“I’m not good with maps,” Aiba murmured, echoing his cousin’s laughter as he gave him an embarrassed look.
“I guess it’s a good thing I sent Yasu after you, then,” Subaru chuckled, and threw a curious glance at the stranger of the group. “This is the friend you mentioned?”
“Yeah, Yoko,” Aiba answered, reaching over to smack Yoko lightly to get his attention. “Yokoyama Yu, this my cousin, Subaru. Yoko came to the city to find work.”
Yoko nodded, grinning down at Subaru as he slung an arm across Aiba’s shoulders. “You’re lucky I’ve been looking out for him, you know. He’s a bit of an airhead sometimes.”
“Me? Hey-what’s that supposed to mean?”
“I told you we were supposed to go left at the big statue but you wouldn’t listen-“
“Go left? You’re the one who got us lost in the market looking for breakfast!”
“You didn’t really argue with me.”
“I was hungry!”
Subaru threw Yasu a look and both of them laughed and rolled their eyes, Subaru cutting the other two men off. “Let me show you your room and you can unpack while Yasu makes us all something to eat.”
“Great, I’m starving!” Aiba grinned at his cousin, his fight with Yoko seeming unimportant when compared to the emptiness of his stomach. Besides him, Yoko’s stomach growled and his friend grinned, nodding his head eagerly in agreement.
“Follow me,” Subaru mumbled, unable to help a quiet laugh as he turned towards the stairs. He made a mental note to postpone introducing either of them to Maru for as long as possible. He didn’t know if he could handle three people quite this idiotic all at once.
--
Ohno took a deep breath, the sharp scent of leaves and freshly overturned earth filling his nostrils as the soft hum of cicadas filled his ears. He knew, logically, that there weren’t any farms close enough to the upper city walls for him to be smelling what he was, but his mind refused to disassociate the scent of a freshly plowed field and springtime.
He closed his eyes and took another deep breath, leaning back against the tree, drawing his moment of freedom out. The light was already starting to dim, which meant that soon he’d have to return to the palace and his stuffy state room and discuss even stuffier matters of economics and business and foreign treaties with Sho. Ohno knew it was all important and part of the responsibility placed on him as his father’s chosen successor, but that didn’t mean he sometimes wished for something simpler in life. At the rare times like these when he actually got a chance to be alone with his own thoughts he always imagined that there was just this-himself and the sounds and scent of nature. It was the only time he really allowed himself to wonder why he was the one who’d been born into this life and why he was the one his father had chosen to take up his mantle after his death.
Not that he was ungrateful for his life-far from it-he was just baffled why it had to be him when he knew deep down that someone like Sho would have been so much better suited to this life. People respected Sho, looked up to him for advice, while in general people just seemed grateful if Ohno was able to finish a conversation without getting distracted.
Sho insisted, over and over again, that Ohno was cut out for this job and could, in fact, be a better emperor than his father and grandfather before him. He claimed that Ohno had some sort of insight into the world that he didn’t. Ohno might not have entirely disagreed with him, but he did know that no matter what sort of insights he had into the world he seemed to have an inability to properly convey them to anyone else. Words were just too hard to string together in a way that would make them understand.
At times like these Ohno imagined it would be a lot easier to be a tree, or a blade of grass, or even a bird. At least in nature everything had a place that it belonged, without question or reason.
“Shit.” The sound of rustling leaves and someone hitting the ground a few feet away broke Ohno’s train of thought and jerked him out of his reverie.
Ohno opened his eyes, blinking slowly like someone who’d just woken from a particularly restful sleep. He caught sight of a boy crouching a few feet away from him, examining a particularly nasty looking scratch along the palm of his hand, leaves sticking out of his hair at odd angles.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to come in through one of the gates?” he smiled to himself as the boy-no, man, he corrected upon seeing the other’s face-jerked his head up to give him a guarded look. Ohno tilted his head to the side and blinked at him, carefully examining his face.
“I-what?” the man stammered, his eyes wide as he stared at Ohno, seemingly frozen in place. “What are you doing here?”
“Sitting,” Ohno answered, frowning a little at the sense of déjà vu the conversation was giving him.
“Oh,” the other answered, seemingly at a loss for words, his expression looking more and more apprehensive by the moment.
“… Nino,” Ohno spoke up, his frown deepening as the name flashed across his mind and he gave the other a questioning look. “I’ve met you before.”
“Yeah-I mean yes, yes, sir,” Nino mumbled, dropping his gaze and huddling in on himself.
“Ohno,” he corrected the other with a soft sigh. He almost wished he hadn’t said the other’s name if it was going to make him act like this. He’d kind of enjoyed someone looking him in the eyes like an equal for once. “You work in the palace.”
Nino gave a terse nod, his face still carefully lowered and his posture submissive.
Ohno cleared his throat and stood, offering a hand to the other to help him up. His frown eased a little when the other took the offered hand after a moment’s hesitation. “Next time you should take the gate. The guards don’t really like people sneaking around in trees.”
Nino swallowed and nodded, meeting Ohno’s eyes for a brief second. He pulled his hand out of Ohno’s and gave the other a deep bow (one completely fitting of a palace servant, Ohno noted with a slight inner sigh).
Ohno reached out and picked a leaf out of the other’s hair on impulse and smiled. “It’s almost dinner time. You should probably go now.”
“Thanks,” Nino murmured, meeting Ohno’s eyes as he straightened and turned to scurry off towards the palace. Ohno watched him go, a soft smile still playing on his lips as he twirled the leaf between his fingers idly.
To Chapter 2
Genre: AU
Rating: PG
Pairings: None for the moment
Characters: Arashi, Kanjani8, NewS
Disclaimer: Done purely for entertainment purposes. I only own my warped imagination.
Summary: Several years later they all find themselves living lives that some of them didn't quite expect.
Author's Note: Based loosely on Qing Dynasty China, both politically and culturally. Please forgive any mistakes I've made (some purposefully for artistic license's sake, other's completely unintentionally). Dedicated to catacombkid who wanted an Ohno-with-a-harem fic and got me started writing this beast. ♥
Prologue
Aiba’s eyes were wide as he pushed his way through the press of people crowding the narrow city street, the bundle containing the few possessions he’d been able to bring with him clutched tightly in one hand. A change of clothes, a few books for studying and a charm that his grandmother had pushed on him as he was stepping out the door, insisting it would bring him good luck. He smiled a little at the thought of the last, ignoring a few of the more choice things he could hear people around him saying to one another.
He’d always known that the capital was crowded-he’d just never imagined there would be -this- many people. It made Canton seem small by comparison, and Canton had never failed to impress him with its size. He’d never felt more like a country bumpkin in his life.
“Did you see that? There are whores right on the street corners!”
Aiba turned to look at his friend, laughing embarrassedly at his comment. He wanted to shush Yoko and tell him that saying things like that here would make you an obvious out of towner, but the truth was he was a little overwhelmed by just how different things were here, too. And he was also kind of curious how Yoko could tell there were whores here. Everyone looked pretty normal to him. “Really? Where?”
“That guy over here,” Yoko said, not bothering with discretion, his voice loud even amidst the crowd as he lifted a hand and pointed boldly at the man in question.
Aiba stopped in his tracks, his face a little confused as he followed the direction of Yoko’s finger. “What? There aren’t any whores over there…”
“Just look at the way he’s standing. If those aren’t ‘I’ll fuck you for the cost of a meal and a hot bath’ eyes I don’t know what are.”
“Yoko!” Aiba swatted at his friend’s hand, slightly horrified as he watched the man in question lift a hand and wave, beckoning someone forward. Scratch that… beckoning them forward. “Now he knows you were pointing at him.”
“I think I love the city already,” Yoko grinned, straightening his robe, worse for the wear from weeks of travel and more than one night spent in a makeshift camp pitched in an empty field. He ran a hand through his hair and then cast a glance at his friend. “How do I look?”
“… Yoko, you can’t stop to have sex. We have to make it to my cousin’s before dark,” Aiba chided, although he had to admit as he stole another sideways glance at the boy who had stopped waving at them vigorously and was now approaching them that he wasn’t altogether bad looking.
The man-who looked more like a boy, really, if his height and his grin were any indication-was standing in front of them now, bowing slightly in both their directions. Aiba swallowed as he stared at him, trying to think of a good excuse to get Yoko to leave with him. The guy was pretty and all, but they needed to find his cousin’s place and he was pretty sure they were hopelessly lost at the moment. Not to mention they didn’t have enough money to be paying for sex.
“Hello,” Yoko grinned, his hand reaching back to make sure his hair wasn’t falling out of its binding as he gave the man a quick once over.
The stranger turned a dazzling smile back on Yoko, giving him a quick hello in return before he turned to Aiba. “I’m sorry for interrupting like this, but you wouldn’t happen to be Aiba, would you?”
“Uh.. yes,” Aiba answered, blinking in confusion. He wasn’t quite sure why a prostitute would know his name. He and Yoko had had a few wild times in their younger days but surely word of that wouldn’t have made it all the way here.
“Oh, good! Subaru has been looking for you all day.”
“You know Subaru?” Aiba asked, still not quite able to put two and two together.
“He’s my boss. He was afraid you might have trouble finding your way so he sent me out to look for you,” the man explained, a bright smile lighting up his face as he held out his hand to shake. “I’m Yasu.”
Yoko crossed his arms over his chest and looked a little put out now that it was clear he wasn’t going to be getting any sex anytime soon. Aiba and the stranger both ignored him and his pout in favor of the matter at hand.
--
“You should take this to them yourself,” Subaru sighed, repeating the same line that he’d said countless times over the years as Nino slid an envelope across the table at him.
“Don’t start that again. You know I can’t.”
“Nino, this is stupid. They know the money is from you. Why won’t you just go see them already?” Subaru argued even as he covered the envelope with his hand and slid it closer. He knew he wouldn’t win this fight-once Nino made his mind up about something he was a stubborn bastard about it-but that didn’t mean he wasn’t going to try. “They’re your family.”
Nino sat back in his chair and crossed his arms over his chest, his lips drawn into a thin line as he stared the older man down.
Subaru sighed and shook his head, knowing that that look meant an end to this particular line of conversation, whether he wanted it to or not. “Fine. But you should at least go see your sister. She has a son that she’d probably like you to meet, you know.”
“I know,” Nino answered, catching Subaru somewhat off-guard. Subaru knew for a fact that Nino had kept up on his family’s lives since he’d been sent to the palace. Hell, Subaru was the one who kept him updated on them half the time.
He also knew, however, that Nino didn’t talk about the fact that he kept up on his family’s lives, or that the amount of money he’d funneled to them over the years (courtesy of Subaru’s gracious help, of course), had to amount to most if not all of Nino’s generous palace wages.
“They miss you.”
“I need to get back,” Nino mumbled as he pushed away from the table and stood quickly, avoiding Subaru’s eyes.
“Nino-“
Nino stopped and gave Subaru a quick look over his shoulder, his expression carefully blank. “I have to be back in time for dinner or Jun will worry.”
Subaru sighed and nodded, his protests dying on his lips. He stood, instead, and clasped his friend’s shoulder with a forced smile. “Bring Jun next time you come. He hasn’t been here for years-he’s due for a chance to loosen up.”
“I’ll just lie and tell him we’re going shopping. Tell Maru hi for me.”
Subaru squeezed Nino’s shoulder in answer, his smile fading and sadness creeping into his eyes as he dropped his hand and watched the other go. He sighed to himself, staring at the empty doorway for a long moment until he finally managed to force himself to turn away, tucking Nino’s envelope carefully into one of his pockets.
--
“… and so I think you should focus on expanding our foreign market in the south. It’s already thriving with the influx of new ships and the Jesuits in that region, but if we continue expanding we could broaden the market and increase our profits from trade…”
Ohno nodded, his chin resting in his hand as he stared out into the courtyard, his attention far from the current droning economic report. He directed his eyes upwards, eyeing the beginnings of leaves lining the tops of the trees and wondering how much longer it would be until the birds took up residence in them again.
“… told him you’d arrange a meeting within the next few weeks to discuss the terms of the new trade agreement. He was rather insistent about his timeline. I was sure to explain to him that you have a busy schedule and things like this cannot be rushed.”
“Hmm,” Ohno murmured, smiling a little to himself as he watched a bird settle in a nearby tree, chirping softly to itself as it went about building its nest. Spring, more than any other time, made him feel restless in his own skin. It was hardest to concentrate on matters of state and economy and the squabbling of different statesmen as they vied to promote their own interests when hints that the world was once again coming to life filled the landscape around him like this.
The feel of a hand smacking him on the back of the head pulled his attention away from the outdoors and back to the stuffy state room. Ohno turned, his expression a little sheepish as he stared at the man sitting across from him.
“Have you even heard a word I said?” Sho sighed, shaking his head a little as he stared across the desk at his friend. If it was anyone else he would have been severely annoyed at being ignored for the last 20 minutes, but he’d figured out a long time ago he just wasn’t capable of being annoyed with Ohno. Granted, if he was anyone else he wouldn’t really be allowed to smack the emperor on the back of the head, either. Lucky for both of them they were who they were.
“Ah… sorry,” Ohno murmured, his expression sheepish as he lifted his hand to rub the back of his head, the gesture more one of a disobedient little boy than the ruler of one of the largest, most powerful nations in the world.
Sho couldn’t help a brief smile as he met the other’s eyes. “It’s okay. Why don’t you go enjoy the fresh air for a bit. I can leave these with you.” He indicated a group of scrolls in his hand.
“You’re sure?”
“Yeah, I need to get caught up on my correspondence anyway. Shun is expecting an answer to his request for more funding soon,” Sho waved the other off and stood, part of him secretly relieved to get a chance to get caught up on his own work.
“Thanks,” Ohno grinned up at the other and Sho couldn’t help but see the boy the other had been not that long ago. It still amazed him sometimes that Ohno was actually the older one here. “Come after dinner and we’ll discuss the trade agreement. “
“Read the reports before then,” Sho answered, giving the other a significant look.
“I will,” Ohno promised, laughing as he made a shooing motion at the other. “Go write your letters.”
“Don't get lost in the garden again,” Sho shot back, his expression knowing as he bowed low before standing to leave.
--
“Now this is more like it,” Yoko spoke up, his earlier dismay over having found out that Yasu was, in fact, not a whore (or at least not that he had established yet--he still said the other’s clothing was just a bit on the feminine side for him to be anything else) vanished.
Aiba couldn’t help but laugh at his friend, giving Yasu a sympathetic look as he watched Yoko throw an arm around his shoulders and guide him eagerly towards the door of his cousin’s place.
“You didn’t tell me that your cousin owned a whore house!” Yoko threw a manic grin at Aiba over his shoulder as he ushered Yasu into the building that was to be their home for the next few months.
“Actually it’s a gambling hall with live entertainment,” Yasu corrected him. “The whore house is down the street.”
“Close enough,” Yoko proclaimed and Aiba couldn’t help but shake his head. “So, are you the live entertainment here?”
“Me? What-no. What exactly do I look like to you?” Yasu shot back and Aiba cringed a little. They were here for two minutes and Yoko (dear friend and companion though he was) was already stepping on people’s toes. He just hoped he didn’t step on his cousin’s toes, too-Subaru could be a bit cranky sometimes.
“Well… that shirt of yours is a little tight. And purple… really?”
“What’s wrong with purple?”
“Nothing, if you’re my little sister…”
Aiba shook his head and followed, taking long strides as he tried to catch up with the pair before too much damage could be done. They were still bickering as Aiba followed them into the building, blinking a little at the lack of light inside. Somehow he didn’t remember it being quite so dark in here. Then again, the last time he’d been here he was 8 and his Uncle had still been alive and running it as an Inn. A lot had changed since then.
“Aiba!”
Aiba barely had time to register that the voice calling his name sounded vaguely familiar before he found himself encircled in a pair of arms and being swept up in a hug by a tiny, energetic man.
“Baru!” Aiba’s face broke into a wide grin as he realized that it was, in fact, his cousin hugging him and not some random stranger (which made sense, really… although stranger things had happened).
“Geez, kid, when in the hell did you get so tall?” Subaru chuckled, clapping Aiba on the back as he broke the hug to give the other a careful once-over.
“The same time you got so short.” Aiba laughed.
“Smartass.” Subaru made an indignant sound and poked the taller man in the ribs. “What the hell took you so long? I thought you were going to be here before lunch. I was afraid someone had robbed you both and thrown you in a ditch somewhere.”
“They were near the West Gate when I found them,” Yasu piped up, looking a little relieved to have an excuse to end the current conversation he was having with (an extremely animated) Yoko.
“The west gate? You really did get lost, didn’t you?”
“I’m not good with maps,” Aiba murmured, echoing his cousin’s laughter as he gave him an embarrassed look.
“I guess it’s a good thing I sent Yasu after you, then,” Subaru chuckled, and threw a curious glance at the stranger of the group. “This is the friend you mentioned?”
“Yeah, Yoko,” Aiba answered, reaching over to smack Yoko lightly to get his attention. “Yokoyama Yu, this my cousin, Subaru. Yoko came to the city to find work.”
Yoko nodded, grinning down at Subaru as he slung an arm across Aiba’s shoulders. “You’re lucky I’ve been looking out for him, you know. He’s a bit of an airhead sometimes.”
“Me? Hey-what’s that supposed to mean?”
“I told you we were supposed to go left at the big statue but you wouldn’t listen-“
“Go left? You’re the one who got us lost in the market looking for breakfast!”
“You didn’t really argue with me.”
“I was hungry!”
Subaru threw Yasu a look and both of them laughed and rolled their eyes, Subaru cutting the other two men off. “Let me show you your room and you can unpack while Yasu makes us all something to eat.”
“Great, I’m starving!” Aiba grinned at his cousin, his fight with Yoko seeming unimportant when compared to the emptiness of his stomach. Besides him, Yoko’s stomach growled and his friend grinned, nodding his head eagerly in agreement.
“Follow me,” Subaru mumbled, unable to help a quiet laugh as he turned towards the stairs. He made a mental note to postpone introducing either of them to Maru for as long as possible. He didn’t know if he could handle three people quite this idiotic all at once.
--
Ohno took a deep breath, the sharp scent of leaves and freshly overturned earth filling his nostrils as the soft hum of cicadas filled his ears. He knew, logically, that there weren’t any farms close enough to the upper city walls for him to be smelling what he was, but his mind refused to disassociate the scent of a freshly plowed field and springtime.
He closed his eyes and took another deep breath, leaning back against the tree, drawing his moment of freedom out. The light was already starting to dim, which meant that soon he’d have to return to the palace and his stuffy state room and discuss even stuffier matters of economics and business and foreign treaties with Sho. Ohno knew it was all important and part of the responsibility placed on him as his father’s chosen successor, but that didn’t mean he sometimes wished for something simpler in life. At the rare times like these when he actually got a chance to be alone with his own thoughts he always imagined that there was just this-himself and the sounds and scent of nature. It was the only time he really allowed himself to wonder why he was the one who’d been born into this life and why he was the one his father had chosen to take up his mantle after his death.
Not that he was ungrateful for his life-far from it-he was just baffled why it had to be him when he knew deep down that someone like Sho would have been so much better suited to this life. People respected Sho, looked up to him for advice, while in general people just seemed grateful if Ohno was able to finish a conversation without getting distracted.
Sho insisted, over and over again, that Ohno was cut out for this job and could, in fact, be a better emperor than his father and grandfather before him. He claimed that Ohno had some sort of insight into the world that he didn’t. Ohno might not have entirely disagreed with him, but he did know that no matter what sort of insights he had into the world he seemed to have an inability to properly convey them to anyone else. Words were just too hard to string together in a way that would make them understand.
At times like these Ohno imagined it would be a lot easier to be a tree, or a blade of grass, or even a bird. At least in nature everything had a place that it belonged, without question or reason.
“Shit.” The sound of rustling leaves and someone hitting the ground a few feet away broke Ohno’s train of thought and jerked him out of his reverie.
Ohno opened his eyes, blinking slowly like someone who’d just woken from a particularly restful sleep. He caught sight of a boy crouching a few feet away from him, examining a particularly nasty looking scratch along the palm of his hand, leaves sticking out of his hair at odd angles.
“Wouldn’t it be easier to come in through one of the gates?” he smiled to himself as the boy-no, man, he corrected upon seeing the other’s face-jerked his head up to give him a guarded look. Ohno tilted his head to the side and blinked at him, carefully examining his face.
“I-what?” the man stammered, his eyes wide as he stared at Ohno, seemingly frozen in place. “What are you doing here?”
“Sitting,” Ohno answered, frowning a little at the sense of déjà vu the conversation was giving him.
“Oh,” the other answered, seemingly at a loss for words, his expression looking more and more apprehensive by the moment.
“… Nino,” Ohno spoke up, his frown deepening as the name flashed across his mind and he gave the other a questioning look. “I’ve met you before.”
“Yeah-I mean yes, yes, sir,” Nino mumbled, dropping his gaze and huddling in on himself.
“Ohno,” he corrected the other with a soft sigh. He almost wished he hadn’t said the other’s name if it was going to make him act like this. He’d kind of enjoyed someone looking him in the eyes like an equal for once. “You work in the palace.”
Nino gave a terse nod, his face still carefully lowered and his posture submissive.
Ohno cleared his throat and stood, offering a hand to the other to help him up. His frown eased a little when the other took the offered hand after a moment’s hesitation. “Next time you should take the gate. The guards don’t really like people sneaking around in trees.”
Nino swallowed and nodded, meeting Ohno’s eyes for a brief second. He pulled his hand out of Ohno’s and gave the other a deep bow (one completely fitting of a palace servant, Ohno noted with a slight inner sigh).
Ohno reached out and picked a leaf out of the other’s hair on impulse and smiled. “It’s almost dinner time. You should probably go now.”
“Thanks,” Nino murmured, meeting Ohno’s eyes as he straightened and turned to scurry off towards the palace. Ohno watched him go, a soft smile still playing on his lips as he twirled the leaf between his fingers idly.
To Chapter 2