[fic] With Dragon's Blood - Chapter Nineteen ~Bribery Is Ever a Spy's Friend~
Title: With Dragon's Blood
Author:
prettyorianna
Pairing: Akame, PiKame, JunDa, Koki/Maru
Rating: NC-17.
Genre: fantasy
Beta by: my cat. okay, seriously, nobody
Disclaimer: I don't own KAT-TUN, any of its members, any other JE people. I write this for fun and for other fans of these fine folks. But don't steal my plots, mmkay? I put a great deal of time into them except for when I'm randomly spastically spitting words onto a page. But I value those too... ALSO NOTE that if you steal my land, the language, the names, myths, maps or anything else from it and I find you, I'm sooo gonna be pissed. This world is special to me and I've spent almost 15 years on it.
Summary: Nobody believed an army could cross the mountains. Perhaps that's why nobody was prepared when they did...
Warning: Character death(s). Violence. Maybe more stuff; will modify as needed.
Nifty Banner done by Deshisoraba!!
Author's Note: Junno, Ryo, Tatsuya, Koki, and Yamapi. Enjoy!
The Master Posts:
On my journal - With Dragon's Blood Master Post
On the akame_ Community - With Dragon's Blood Master Post
On the akame_fanfics Community - With Dragon's Blood Master Post
On the je_kamenashi Community - With Dragon's Blood Master Post
On the kattun_fanfics Community - With Dragon's Blood Master Post
On the jin_fics Community - With Dragon's Blood Master Post
Chapter Nineteen ~Bribery Is Ever a Spy's Friend~
The first place Junno went once he was out of sight of Ryo was the harper hall. Despite what he’d claimed many times before to Ryo and Tatsuya, Junno knew exactly where everything in the castle was. He’d studied it. He even knew about some of the secret passageways (including one that went from outside the entire city to the Queen’s chambers, designed to be an escape if they were ever attacked). Actually, he pretty much knew them all because Catriona did.
Once he arrived at the harper hall, he pulled the old master aside, an man named Leeden. “I need a favor.”
“Who are you?” the old man eyed him warily.
Shaking his head, Junno said, “My name is Mr. Money. Mr. Money,” and he jingled the small pouch hanging at his waist, “has a favor to ask.”
Now the old man’s eyes were full of greed. “Nice to meet you, Mr. Money. What favor?”
“Keep Ryo occupied. Don’t let him watch over the prince.” Junno smiled brightly at Leeden.
“So the rumor is true, then.”
Now Junno nodded. “Yes. But don’t worry. The healer is with him and I will watch over him until he is better. I can do more for him than Ryo can; I’ve had some experience working with the healers in Fyrfenn. And Mr. Money is willing to pay to make sure that Prince Tatsuya gets the care he needs, not the care Ryo wants for him.”
He let the briefest hint of tears fill his eyes but did not start crying. Crying now would be overplaying his hand and the old harper might get suspicious. But almost crying, on the other hand, seemed just right.
Finally Harper Leeden nodded and Junno fished out a handful of silver coins. The man rapidly pocketed them and walked off.
His business with the old man finished, Junno raced to the Rose Gardens so that Ryo could “find” him there. If he’d judged the journeyman harper’s personality right, the man would definitely come after him. By hiding in the gardens, it gave the impression that Junno didn’t want to be found, even if he actually did want to be found and was planning accordingly.
And Ryo did find him there, about ten minutes later. When Junno heard the man approaching, he turned back on the tears.
“Are you crying?” The harper sounded confused.
Sniffling and making a great show of wiping his eyes, so that it looked like he was trying to hide the movement and wasn’t quite succeeding, Junno said, “No…”
“Look at me.”
Junno just sat there.
“Look at me,” the harper repeated.
Sniffling once more, Junno put on a half-hearted smile and turned to face the man. “See? I’m not crying. Why would I be crying? You’re just imagining things…”
Ryo snorted in apparent disbelief. “Yeah, sure. Listen, I just came to tell you that you can just leave now. I’m going to take care of him and I won’t let you in to see him.”
Inwardly smiling, Junno adopted an indignant expression. “You can’t do that! I have just as much right to see…”
A child’s voice and footsteps rapidly approaching interrupted him. “Harper Ryo?”
+++
Now Ryo wasn’t sure what to think. Surely that man, Junno, hadn’t been there long enough to have developed so deep of feelings for Tatsuya. But to find him here, crying in the gardens… Oh, yes, Ryo was sure he had been crying, despite the man’s protestations.
Maybe the man really did love Tatsuya just like he did.
But Ryo wasn’t the type to give up so easily. If Junno’s feelings for Tatsuya were genuine, all the more reason to keep them apart. “You can leave now. I’m going to take care of him and I won’t let you in to see him.”
Junno, indignant, shot back, “You can’t do that! I have just as much right to see…”
But their fight was interrupted by a child calling out for him. “Harper Ryo?”
“What is it?” Ryo asked irritably, glaring at the small boy. Say, wasn’t that the little boy that ran the harper hall errands?
The child blanched under Ryo’s glare but managed to get the words out nevertheless. “Master Leeden n-needs you. Sir.”
The widening smile on Junno face made Ryo want to punch him. So he did. Hard. It sent Junno sprawling to the ground.
“Hell’s drums, what was that for? Now I’m gonna have a big bruise and I’ll be ugly!” and he slowly stood up.
Ryo turned to leave without so much as an answer. The man didn’t really deserve one, anyway.
Considering how slowly the man rose to his feet, a return punch was not exactly what Ryo had been expecting. He probably should have been. Junno was apparently very quick on his feet and his fist connected before Ryo even realized the impending strike. Now it was Ryo who was sprawled on the ground.
The little errand boy let out a terrified squeal and ran off.
“Ow! Ow, ow, damn you! Why is your face so hard? Now my hand hurts!” Junno whined in a totally huff. “This is all your fault!”
Huh?
“It’s… my fault… your hand hurts? It was just a normal punch! By Man’dekael’s great sightless eye, how did you get so girly? And stop whining. It makes you look weak.”
And now Ryo was in a huff as well. Unfortunately, as much as he’d love to pound the ever-loving crap out of his rival, he was expected in the harper hall and he had better run along. That old dinosaur would skin him if he didn’t turn up in a timely manner.
But he wasn’t done with Junno. Not by a long shot.
+++
Tatsuya was slowly becoming more aware of his surroundings. He vaguely heard the healer talking to… well, to someone. The voice was familiar. Was that Junno?
“Junno?” Tatsuya croaked. He tried to sit up but he couldn’t quite make it. Every movement was exhausting.
But the man with the familiar voice was at his side in an instant. “It’s me. It’s Junno. Don’t try to sit. Just… you’re very sick. You need your rest.”
And a hand took his and it was a familiar hand. “Did… you hold my… hand before?”
Was Junno blushing? “Yeah. While waiting for the healer to get here.”
Turning his head this way and that, Tatsuya realized the healer was now gone and that he was alone with Junno. “Where is Ryo?”
Junno shook his head, “I don’t know. He helped me get you here and he told the healer to come but he took off after that. He could be anywhere for all I know.” He sounded angry…
Ryo didn’t care enough to come see him? So much for friends, Tatsuya thought sleepily. “Tired…”
“I know. I know. Here, drink.” And Tatsuya felt Junno’s hand behind him, helping him sit up enough to sip more of the cool liquid. “The healer would skin me if I let you go back to sleep without drinking this water.”
Tatsuya was very grateful. His mouth was so dry…
“Thank y-” he started to say as Junno gently laid his head back onto his pillow, but sleep was fast overtaking him. “So… ti…”
Junno’s hand squeezed his tightly. Fast losing consciousness once more, he barely registered Junno’s words, “healer… something… the water… to sleep…” and that was it. Tatsuya’s world went black once more as he passed out.
+++
“WHAT DO YOU MEAN, I’M RESTRICTED TO THE HALL!?” a very indignant Ryo shouted, momentarily forgetting himself in the face of his shock.
Master Harper Leeden slapped him. “You will remember your place, young man! And don’t blame me. This is your fault. Look at your face! If I let you run around with a black eye like that, it’ll make the harper hall look bad. So you stay here and you practice. I’ll put a cot out for you and have your meals brought in. Once your shiner fades, then I’ll unrestrict you.”
“But… Prince Tatsuya is sick…” Ryo was not above begging, if that’s what it took. “What if I promise to stay in his room and take care of him and not go wandering around for people to see me?”
“You can’t practice with a sick man in the room, you massive idiot. And you can’t afford to lose the practice time.” The man clicked his tongue in irritation. “It’s time you learned to make your own way in this world, instead of relying on powerful friends and family, Ryo. Other people will only get you so far.”
“But…” Ryo couldn’t believe it. He just couldn’t. And there was nothing he could do about it, either. It was completely in old Leeden’s hands and if Ryo disobeyed he might very well find himself stripped of knot and kicked out of the guild.
But… that meant…
That bastard Junno would get to nurse the prince to health and Ryo couldn’t even go explain his absence. Tatsuya will think he abandoned him.
No. No, no, no… he was not going to cry. He wasn’t weak, not like that ass Junno. He’d make Tatsuya understand, once his hall restriction was lifted. And then he’d make Junno pay.
+++
Admiral Koki pressed a button on the crystal screen in front of him. That was the last ship, reporting they had cleared the mountains. Now all four ships, still cloaked, were in open air over Aveena.
Tapping a few other buttons on the screen, Koki pulled up the reports from their covert agent Catriona. He’d read it many times before but he just wanted to skim it once more before issuing any orders.
Carmatain, secondary target. No magic. Mage Shadow in Castle Aveena. Mage Spirit in Castle Escarpa. Potential presence of other Mages in Escarpa. Magician Erist in Castle Bayrichta, where Catriona was currently working. A recommendation that the Magician and one of the Mages still in breeding age be taken alive on the theory that the magic in their blood was hereditary. An asterisked footnote - no proof of hereditary inheritance.
The suggestion had been sent onward to the Etreyan Empire and they had decided that it was best to hold off on bleeding the Magician until all of the Mages had been tracked down. If they bleed three of the Mages and manage to located a fourth or fifth one, then the Magician and that Mage is to be brought back alive. Scientists were even now working on developing ways to artificially impregnate a woman; if they succeeded, the Magician would be bled later and the Mage kept for breeding more test subjects.
Assuming they found enough of the Mages. If not, orders were to go ahead and bleed the Magician as well before returning.
The Magician was in Bayrichta and he was the most powerful. Better to go in stronger there. Reons was designed to thwart invasion, but only by land. Their biggest defense - the many walls - was useless against an air attack. They’d be able to drop their soldiers inside the innermost wall. Grabbing Orantina shouldn’t take more than one ship.
Admiral Koki pushed a few more buttons and then he was looking at the captain of the last ship in the diamond pattern, the Arashi. “Sir?” the image asked him.
“Break off and position over Reons, coordinates G-10 on the Strat-Map. Ready to take the castle but don’t strike until I give the order. Remember, the main goal is to grab Princess Orantina and get out; don’t waste time and manpower on anything else that does not lead to that end. You can snatch some slaves but you’ll be able to make a slave run when you rendezvous in Bayrichta later, so it is NOT a priority. I’m transmitting everything you need to know. Study it well and fair flying to you.”
Another button and the crystal screen’s image went away.
To the navigators hunched over the holo-maps, Koki said, “Keep the Kattun on course to Fyrfenn, but tell the Kanjani and the News to spread out a bit more now that we’re past the mountains. Let me know when we’ve arrived.”
It should take a couple of days to get there and, assuming nothing else went wrong, he could just relax until then. He’d done his part so far. Now, where would Captain Maru be at that time of day…
+++
Well, he might still be stuck with the dragons, but Yamapi was a little more relaxed finally. The agony he was feeling from Kame had lessened significantly (though it hadn’t entirely left). His mother even promised that it wasn’t too much longer before he’d be allowed to leave.
She told him he had one more thing he needed to do and that it would take some time but once he’d finished, he could go.
Apparently that “one thing” was still about practicing flying, getting stronger… because suddenly she wanted him to start lugging around sacks full of rocks while still flying. She seemed to think it was very important for him to be able to sustain total flying abilities while carrying incredibly heavy objects.
The ships had passed and she had finally let him out of the cave at least. He’d considered just leaving but every time his thoughts or actions even hinted in that direction, she’d shut down his attempt. Apparently he just wasn’t leaving until he did as she asked. So…
The best thing he could do was keep flying, lugging around the bags of stones, and hope his wings strengthened enough to pass her judgement.
Then he’d go to his love.
Because there was no way that his mother was right. Kame would never cheat on him. He knew that.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
The story continues:
Chapter Twenty ~Time For War~
A/N: Act one, nearing the close. But Act two will follow right behind it.
I think Yamapi is in for a shock when he finally gets to leave. Any guesses as to what heavy things he's going to have to lift in the future that he's strengthening now for?
I'm sorry if the stuff from Koki is a bit confusing. I'm not terribly happy with they way it turned out, but mainly you need to know:
1.) One ship is breaking off to go get Orantina/Mage Shadow.
2.) McAvrie/Magician Erist will either be killed last or kept alive.
3.) If they meet their mage-blood quota and find another mage, she will be kept alive.
4.) If both the magician and a mage are kept alive, they will be taken back to the Etreyan Empire so that they can attempt to breed MORE magic users for study.
That's basically it. But, yeah, I'm not sure I explained it all very well in the chapter. :(
Junno's plan seems to be working. Yay for him, yay that it means he'll soon stop poisoning Tatsuya, and poor, poor Ryo :(