[fic] Harem: Resonance Chapter 06
Title: Harem: Resonance
Author: Relinquished
Fandom: YGO/PoT/Strawberry Panic
Summary: Discard all bonds of trust. Abandon all ties of friendship. For in the end, only betrayal will bring you power.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any characters that appear here. All the main characters will come from Prince of Tennis, Yu-Gi-Oh or Strawberry Panic and all the sub-characters from random anime/manga here and there.
Author’s Notes: I’ve noticed the last few chapters have been rather Strawberry Panic-based, so here’s a YGO-only chapter for you guys!! Sorry for neglecting our central characters!! Also, I’m not really familiar with ranks in the army, so I made up my own:
Lieutenant General is the deputy to a Major General, hence of a lesser rank.
Chapter Six
Ryuuji paused as a eunuch hurried past with a hasty bow, head down to try and cover the dark bruise on his cheek. He was the third servant to come from the Western Palace with injuries that day and Ryuuji was beginning to worry. Malik, although having a rather fiery temper, was not one to resort to physically lashing out at the servants when he was in a mood. The only person who frequented the Western Palace and did, however, was his older twin brother, Lieutenant General Marik.
Ryuuji’s footsteps slowed as he reached the gates of the Western Palace and looked back at his body servant.
“My lord,” the eunuch said on cue, bowing.
“Tell me, Rei…has the Lieutenant General returned from the summer campaign?”
“Lieutenant General Marik’s regiment is expected to arrive later this morning and present themselves to the Emperor along with Major General Kaiba in the afternoon sitting,” Rei replied.
“I wonder if he has returned ahead of his regiment then,” Ryuuji mused. “Well, then, Rei. We shall intrude ourselves on the Western Palace to see for ourselves. Come.”
He entered the palace to find the place surprisingly peaceful. There were no scuttling servants and no shouting, both of which were indicators of the Lieutenant General’s presence. In fact, there was no sound except the chirping of the birds that had settled in the garden away from visible sight. Surprised and slightly wary, Ryuuji made his way through to the main receiving hall, motioning for Rei to follow close behind.
There was a servant girl dusting the antique vases displayed in cases around room. When she saw who had arrived, she gave a gasp and a low bow, before rushing away to the inner chambers to notify Malik of his arrival. In the meantime, Ryuuji settled himself on one of the carved mahogany chairs to survey his surroundings. As he was doing so, Malik entered the room, Marik at his side.
“What a rare sight indeed,” Malik commented stiffly, folding his arms in front of his chest. “You were the last person I’d expect to show your face here, Lord Otogi.”
“Come now, don’t be like this,” Ryuuji said bracingly, getting to his feet. “We were only worried about you, my lord. We have missed your presence at social gatherings this past month.”
The Lieutenant General let out a sharp bark of laughter at this.
“Missed him, have you?” he sneered. “Missed my brother enough to ridicule him in front of the servants of the Inner Palace?”
“Now, now, Lieutenant General, let’s not point any fingers here. Everything was done properly according to procedures, there was no one to blame for the incident, however unfortunate it may have been.”
Ryuuji did not like the Lieutenant General. He was brash and unrefined, often bordering on being totally uncouth, and he was a very violent man. Whenever he did not like something, he made it known regardless of how appropriate - or, often, inappropriate - the situation was. Unlike Malik, who had painstakingly sought to refine himself when entering the Palace, Marik brazenly paraded his rough upbringing and his tall, dark and broad stature did nothing to soften the effect.
“Brother,” Malik said warningly, his hand upon the other’s arm. Ryuuji smiled winningly at both of them.
“I shan’t disturb either of you any longer. It is a pleasure to see you again, Lieutenant General, however surprising your early arrival is. We were under the impression that you would be presenting yourself to His Majesty upon entering the city.” Marik flushed darkly with anger, but Ryuuji continued on before he could speak. “But I’m sure that was merely an oversight in your desire to be reacquainted with your dear brother, am I correct? In any case, I wish you both a good day.”
He dipped his head slightly in parting and swept out of the room, leaving a fuming Marik and a suspiciously silent Malik behind. When the gates had closed behind him, he sighed. Rei was immediately concerned.
“My lord? Is there something the matter?”
“Ah, Rei. Being a concubine is very hard work, sometimes.” They continued down the road. “You always have to look your best, be on your best behavior and be always attractive and lighted hearted for His Majesty.”
“My lord has always done wonderfully,” Rei responded automatically. Ryuuji gave a rueful smile.
“Yes, I do try my best,” he conceded, examining the lining of his sleeve in a bored fashion. “I try to tolerate most things that I do not feel too fondly for. But I guess I have my limits too.”
“My lord?”
“You see, Rei, Lord Ishtar has been in the Palace for almost five years now. And in that time, I still have not learned to like lavender drapes.”
The heroic return of the Emperor’s armies from the summer campaign was welcomed by a spectacular parade. Men, women and children crowded the streets to welcome the soldiers home, bringing gifts and throwing flowers onto the road as they passed by. There was music and dancing on the streets as their Major General Kaiba Seto brought back the Royal hostage in a horse-driven cart behind him, swathed in chains.
The procession lead straight to the Palace Gates, where Kaiba dismounted and entered the gate alone. The rest of the army headed to the barracks. The hostage was brought with him into the Palace walls and taken to confinement chambers. As a servant led his horse away, Kaiba was approached by the Minister of Internal Affairs.
“Welcome home, Major General Kaiba,” the Minister greeted him. “My Lord is to be congratulated on his tremendous victory this summer.”
“You are very kind, Excellency,” Kaiba replied steadily. “I am told His Majesty wishes to see me?”
“Yes, my lord. His Majesty is in the Imperial Study.” The Minister bowed again. “I will lead the way.”
Kaiba gestured for him to move ahead and they made their way through the winding passages of the Palace towards the Emperor’s study. The Palace never changed, in all the years it had been home to an Imperial family. The walls were repainted the same vermillion shade every year to maintain the brightness and the tiles a majestic yellow-gold, but other than that, there was nothing different about the long, paved passages in within the towering walls. Suddenly, the Minister stopped in his tracks and bowed low.
“My Lord Bakura.”
The concubine returned the greeting with a elegant dip of the head, but his eyes were on Kaiba. The General bowed respectfully.
“Lord Bakura.”
“I must congratulate you, Major General Kaiba,” Ryou said with a smile. “We are truly grateful for your efforts for the empire.”
“It is my duty and my honour, my lord, to serve His Majesty.”
Ryou glanced over at the Minister, who bowed and excused himself, moving out of earshot. The concubine turned back to Kaiba and gave him another soft smile.
“It is good to see you are well, General,” he said warmly. “We have missed your presence sorely during the long summer months.”
“My lord is too kind,” Kaiba replied stiffly, his eyes trained on a part of the wall over Ryou’s shoulder. “If you will excuse me, I have been summoned to an audience with His Majesty.”
“Oh? I apologise for keeping you.” Ryou looked around questioningly. “Is the Lieutenant General not with you? I was under the impression he had been a part of the campaign as well.”
A brief flash of irritation crossed the General’s features and his next words were thick with barely concealed contempt.
“The Lieutenant General saw fit to arrive ahead on his own this morning.”
“Don’t be so annoyed, Seto,” Ryou said softly. His blue eyes were kind. “You cannot hope to change a man so set in his ways easily. Be patient. It will be hard, yes, but even an insignificant lump of coal can be polished into a diamond one day.”
“I only fear that this lump of coal will remain just that, no matter how much polishing is done by how many people.” Kaiba’s dark eyes lingered on the concubine. “I thank you for your words of advice, however, my lord.”
“I shall not keep you from your audience any longer, General. I daresay we will be seeing a lot more of you around now that autumn is settling in?”
Kaiba bowed low in response and Ryou watched him leave quietly until he had disappeared around the corner.
Author: Relinquished
Fandom: YGO/PoT/Strawberry Panic
Summary: Discard all bonds of trust. Abandon all ties of friendship. For in the end, only betrayal will bring you power.
Disclaimer: I don’t own any characters that appear here. All the main characters will come from Prince of Tennis, Yu-Gi-Oh or Strawberry Panic and all the sub-characters from random anime/manga here and there.
Author’s Notes: I’ve noticed the last few chapters have been rather Strawberry Panic-based, so here’s a YGO-only chapter for you guys!! Sorry for neglecting our central characters!! Also, I’m not really familiar with ranks in the army, so I made up my own:
Lieutenant General is the deputy to a Major General, hence of a lesser rank.
Chapter Six
Ryuuji paused as a eunuch hurried past with a hasty bow, head down to try and cover the dark bruise on his cheek. He was the third servant to come from the Western Palace with injuries that day and Ryuuji was beginning to worry. Malik, although having a rather fiery temper, was not one to resort to physically lashing out at the servants when he was in a mood. The only person who frequented the Western Palace and did, however, was his older twin brother, Lieutenant General Marik.
Ryuuji’s footsteps slowed as he reached the gates of the Western Palace and looked back at his body servant.
“My lord,” the eunuch said on cue, bowing.
“Tell me, Rei…has the Lieutenant General returned from the summer campaign?”
“Lieutenant General Marik’s regiment is expected to arrive later this morning and present themselves to the Emperor along with Major General Kaiba in the afternoon sitting,” Rei replied.
“I wonder if he has returned ahead of his regiment then,” Ryuuji mused. “Well, then, Rei. We shall intrude ourselves on the Western Palace to see for ourselves. Come.”
He entered the palace to find the place surprisingly peaceful. There were no scuttling servants and no shouting, both of which were indicators of the Lieutenant General’s presence. In fact, there was no sound except the chirping of the birds that had settled in the garden away from visible sight. Surprised and slightly wary, Ryuuji made his way through to the main receiving hall, motioning for Rei to follow close behind.
There was a servant girl dusting the antique vases displayed in cases around room. When she saw who had arrived, she gave a gasp and a low bow, before rushing away to the inner chambers to notify Malik of his arrival. In the meantime, Ryuuji settled himself on one of the carved mahogany chairs to survey his surroundings. As he was doing so, Malik entered the room, Marik at his side.
“What a rare sight indeed,” Malik commented stiffly, folding his arms in front of his chest. “You were the last person I’d expect to show your face here, Lord Otogi.”
“Come now, don’t be like this,” Ryuuji said bracingly, getting to his feet. “We were only worried about you, my lord. We have missed your presence at social gatherings this past month.”
The Lieutenant General let out a sharp bark of laughter at this.
“Missed him, have you?” he sneered. “Missed my brother enough to ridicule him in front of the servants of the Inner Palace?”
“Now, now, Lieutenant General, let’s not point any fingers here. Everything was done properly according to procedures, there was no one to blame for the incident, however unfortunate it may have been.”
Ryuuji did not like the Lieutenant General. He was brash and unrefined, often bordering on being totally uncouth, and he was a very violent man. Whenever he did not like something, he made it known regardless of how appropriate - or, often, inappropriate - the situation was. Unlike Malik, who had painstakingly sought to refine himself when entering the Palace, Marik brazenly paraded his rough upbringing and his tall, dark and broad stature did nothing to soften the effect.
“Brother,” Malik said warningly, his hand upon the other’s arm. Ryuuji smiled winningly at both of them.
“I shan’t disturb either of you any longer. It is a pleasure to see you again, Lieutenant General, however surprising your early arrival is. We were under the impression that you would be presenting yourself to His Majesty upon entering the city.” Marik flushed darkly with anger, but Ryuuji continued on before he could speak. “But I’m sure that was merely an oversight in your desire to be reacquainted with your dear brother, am I correct? In any case, I wish you both a good day.”
He dipped his head slightly in parting and swept out of the room, leaving a fuming Marik and a suspiciously silent Malik behind. When the gates had closed behind him, he sighed. Rei was immediately concerned.
“My lord? Is there something the matter?”
“Ah, Rei. Being a concubine is very hard work, sometimes.” They continued down the road. “You always have to look your best, be on your best behavior and be always attractive and lighted hearted for His Majesty.”
“My lord has always done wonderfully,” Rei responded automatically. Ryuuji gave a rueful smile.
“Yes, I do try my best,” he conceded, examining the lining of his sleeve in a bored fashion. “I try to tolerate most things that I do not feel too fondly for. But I guess I have my limits too.”
“My lord?”
“You see, Rei, Lord Ishtar has been in the Palace for almost five years now. And in that time, I still have not learned to like lavender drapes.”
The heroic return of the Emperor’s armies from the summer campaign was welcomed by a spectacular parade. Men, women and children crowded the streets to welcome the soldiers home, bringing gifts and throwing flowers onto the road as they passed by. There was music and dancing on the streets as their Major General Kaiba Seto brought back the Royal hostage in a horse-driven cart behind him, swathed in chains.
The procession lead straight to the Palace Gates, where Kaiba dismounted and entered the gate alone. The rest of the army headed to the barracks. The hostage was brought with him into the Palace walls and taken to confinement chambers. As a servant led his horse away, Kaiba was approached by the Minister of Internal Affairs.
“Welcome home, Major General Kaiba,” the Minister greeted him. “My Lord is to be congratulated on his tremendous victory this summer.”
“You are very kind, Excellency,” Kaiba replied steadily. “I am told His Majesty wishes to see me?”
“Yes, my lord. His Majesty is in the Imperial Study.” The Minister bowed again. “I will lead the way.”
Kaiba gestured for him to move ahead and they made their way through the winding passages of the Palace towards the Emperor’s study. The Palace never changed, in all the years it had been home to an Imperial family. The walls were repainted the same vermillion shade every year to maintain the brightness and the tiles a majestic yellow-gold, but other than that, there was nothing different about the long, paved passages in within the towering walls. Suddenly, the Minister stopped in his tracks and bowed low.
“My Lord Bakura.”
The concubine returned the greeting with a elegant dip of the head, but his eyes were on Kaiba. The General bowed respectfully.
“Lord Bakura.”
“I must congratulate you, Major General Kaiba,” Ryou said with a smile. “We are truly grateful for your efforts for the empire.”
“It is my duty and my honour, my lord, to serve His Majesty.”
Ryou glanced over at the Minister, who bowed and excused himself, moving out of earshot. The concubine turned back to Kaiba and gave him another soft smile.
“It is good to see you are well, General,” he said warmly. “We have missed your presence sorely during the long summer months.”
“My lord is too kind,” Kaiba replied stiffly, his eyes trained on a part of the wall over Ryou’s shoulder. “If you will excuse me, I have been summoned to an audience with His Majesty.”
“Oh? I apologise for keeping you.” Ryou looked around questioningly. “Is the Lieutenant General not with you? I was under the impression he had been a part of the campaign as well.”
A brief flash of irritation crossed the General’s features and his next words were thick with barely concealed contempt.
“The Lieutenant General saw fit to arrive ahead on his own this morning.”
“Don’t be so annoyed, Seto,” Ryou said softly. His blue eyes were kind. “You cannot hope to change a man so set in his ways easily. Be patient. It will be hard, yes, but even an insignificant lump of coal can be polished into a diamond one day.”
“I only fear that this lump of coal will remain just that, no matter how much polishing is done by how many people.” Kaiba’s dark eyes lingered on the concubine. “I thank you for your words of advice, however, my lord.”
“I shall not keep you from your audience any longer, General. I daresay we will be seeing a lot more of you around now that autumn is settling in?”
Kaiba bowed low in response and Ryou watched him leave quietly until he had disappeared around the corner.