Saiou no Hana
BL
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Historical
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Drama
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BL | Historical | Drama |
“I would accompany Lord Teru, if I may.”
This cramped atmosphere- Shion wanted nothing more than to escape it. There were too many people, too many eyes turned upon him. It was almost suffocating. As far as leaving with Lord Yuma was concerned-
He had no particular desire to be laughed at again. The man’s arrogance annoyed him. Teru’s smile might’ve made him uncomfortable- he seemed pleased by unpleasant things- but at least it felt as though it reached somewhat deeper than his skin.
“Go, then,” Yuma commanded, rather brusquely.
Teru was chuckling very softly. Shion got the sense the two of them didn’t like each other very much. He put a hand on Shion’s shoulder, and his entire body tensed beneath it.
“Come. We have a great deal to discuss, you and I.”
He had no idea what Lord Teru was referring to. Hesitantly, Shion followed behind him as the man led him out of the room.
Teru kept him close at hand as they left the gate behind them. Whatever the man meant to say, he apparently wished to do so in private. Shion was grateful for this, at least. Having all those eyes upon him, watching him, had made his skin crawl.
“I know who you are,” Lord Teru began quietly. “I know your name, and I know that you recently ran away from the man you were apprenticed to, but I would like to know why.” He paused, waiting for an answer, but Shion remained silent. He wasn’t exactly eager to offer up all his secrets to a man he'd only just met.
“You are unaccustomed to living among men who rank far above you, so I will remind you, for the sake of your own well-being, that such a statement demands a response.” Teru smiled at him. “If you would rather not have the answer known, you must at least offer up a suitable lie.”
Yet Shion felt as though this man would easily see through any attempt he might make to do so. He sighed.
“I tried to purchase my freedom, but my master took the money and intimated I would be asked to do something objectionable in order for him to have more of it.”
“Objectionable, how?”
Shion blushed. He stared down at his feet. “He thought it might be more profitable that I should sell something else, unrelated to our craft-”
“Ah.” Lord Teru kept smiling. “I am certain it would be, but this would not be the best place in which to do so.”
He glanced up at the man. Surely some sort of emotion should’ve registered in his expression, shock, or disbelief, or disgust, or- something. Instead, there was just the same distant, amused look as ever.
“You must have known it would be difficult to survive the coming winter out there alone.” Teru paused. “But it is yet barely autumn, which makes your decision a bit less ill-advised. Considering the circumstances, you did quite well, Shion.”
The particular smile the man regarded him with now was slight but approving. Shion discovered, to his utter dismay, that he rather liked having Lord Teru’s approval.
“Why did my cousin say he was bringing you back with us?”
The man’s choice of words made him hesitate. It was as though there was something Teru knew which he himself had no idea of
“The money I was to use to purchase my freedom came from Kamui. Lord Yuma felt he should honor the late daimyo’s wishes.”
“Indeed, he would have,” Teru murmured. “I assume you were rather deeply involved with Kamui?”
Shion gazed down at the path in front of them. He nodded.
“Yuma would have you involved with him as well.”
“Forgive me, my lord,” he stammered, “for not understanding why you would think-”
The man softly shook his head. “I have known that man all my life. The more disagreeable he acts around you, the more you may be certain of his favor.”
“Then he must favor my lord very much.”
Teru laughed at this sarcastic observation. “Yes, Shion,” he agreed. “We are indeed very close.” The man studied him carefully for a moment. “If you should happen to decide that Lord Yuma is also to your liking, take care not to become too attached. He is to be married shortly, and it is of the utmost importance that he goes through with the arrangement. All his future plans depend upon it.”
Why was the man bothering to tell him all this? It hardly mattered to Shion, one way or another.
“My lord,” he responded softly, “I do not care for him at all in that way.”
“Ah, but you have only just met him.” Teru’s unhurried footsteps ceased. He turned towards Shion with a thoughtful expression. “And there is something lonely about you.” He watched, astonished, as Lord Teru’s fingertips brushed against his face.
The way the man was regarding him made him feel incredibly uneasy. His hand lingered there on Shion’s skin until it began to grow flushed. “It would be such a simple thing,” Teru whispered, “for someone to draw you out, alone, and do whatever he wanted with you, whether you found yourself willing or not.”
Shion suddenly noticed they had strayed from the main road, and now a line of buildings blocked it completely from view. He felt a peculiar emotion- not fear, exactly, although it was nearly like it-
A dangerous sensation assailed him. He found he couldn’t look away from the man’s intense and distant eyes.
“Am I to consider that a threat, Lord Teru?”
The hand drew away from his cheek almost casually. The man tilted his head back, narrowing his eyes. “It would not be beneficial for me to make an enemy of you, Shion. Consider this a warning not to place yourself in a situation beyond your ability to control. Men who carry three sharp blades always within their reach will not hesitate to use them.”
He glanced over at the scabbards jutting out from the silhouette of Teru’s body. This man had done nothing more than stroke his cheek, yet he’d been able to intimidate him so thoroughly, without ever having to resort to drawing a weapon. Some part of Shion was halfway in awe.
“I will be more careful in the future, my lord.”
“Come, then. This lesson is over. We should get back to the road and to the task at hand.”
Lord Teru turned and began to walk away. Shion felt strangely relieved. These colors- they were brighter than they had been before. Birds were singing and fluttering between the branches. There was the sound of muted speech and distant laughter, and the scent of the air after rain-
Teru glanced behind him. Shion was no longer keeping up, and he gave the man an apologetic smile, expecting to be scolded, but the samurai only smiled back at him in return.
“I would like to ask for guidance,” he began at length. “The people here are not aware that Kamui is dead, and it will become apparent once someone comes to buy that much sake-
“They will discover it at one point or another. It is not a thing one can keep secret for very long.”
Shion glanced up at the taller man beside him. Perhaps he wasn’t making his point entirely clear.
“Everyone will be in mourning, my lord.”
“It is better that they should mourn the old daimyo before the new one arrives.”
This man- was he always so cold and unemotional? Was that the reason he left Shion with this strange, uncomfortable feeling? Had he ever mourned for anything, or anyone, at all? Was it even possible-
“Tell them whatever you need to, Shion, in order to get what we came for.” The samurai gazed back at him with a smile. “I trust your judgment.”
“Fifty jars?” Teru shook his head. “Lord Hatori will not be pleased, but it is fifty more than he would have found waiting for him before. I will suggest he distribute it amongst the men as some sort of reward.”
Shion had no idea of Lord Teru’s status. Unlike Yuma, he hadn’t bothered to announce it grandiosely at the first opportunity. Teru- made him curious-
“You must be high-ranking as well.”
“No,” he laughed. “Not at all. My fighting skills are passable, but certainly not superlative enough to qualify me as a lieutenant of any degree, and my skill in dealing with soldiers is somewhat lacking as well.” He cleared his throat. “I am a strategist, Shion. I decide who goes where, and how, and when.”
“Then it seems as though you have the most important position of all.” Shion paused. “I do not envy your opponents.”
“Nor,” Teru added with a smile, “do I.”
The tension between them had eased. It was as though they had confronted it all at once, and now none was left remaining.
"They have carts,” Shion continued, “but we will need either horses or men to pull them."
“That is all up to Yuma. Our part in it is done.” He gave Shion that same small smile of approval. “I will see to it that you are rewarded as well. You have already proven quite useful.” Teru paused, in the way he often did, as though carefully considering his words. “I was surprised when you chose to come with me. I felt certain you would go with Yuma instead.”
“I found him disagreeable, just as you said.”
“Do you not find me disagreeable as well?,” Lord Teru asked quietly, the smile disappearing from those lips which were suddenly drawn and serious.
“No, my lord,” Shion responded, bowing. “I am grateful for your advice and protection.”
“Are you not curious as to why I should bother?”
He raised his head. Teru seemed to find something about his reactions confusing, and he had the distinct impression the man wasn’t accustomed to being confused.
“I am sure I will discover it in time. Until then, my lord, I will be patient.” He bowed once more. A hand fell on his shoulder, then he was startled by the sound of sudden laughter. Lord Teru was gazing at him, looking entirely pleased.
“We should return quickly. My cousin will be most irate if this task is not accomplished by nightfall.”
The common room was the same as he'd left it, hot and stifling.
Teru had gotten him some blankets from the storehouse and brought his own belongings over near the entrance, directing Shion to remain close by his side. Then he’d taken out a little scroll and begun to read. Shion stared at both the text and the man with a sense of fascinated delight.
Lord Teru glanced over at him with a puzzled expression.
“Is that where you get your strategies from?”
“Their inspiration, yes.” The man’s eyes narrowed. “These characters- you can read them?”
Shion nodded. “It would probably be a bit difficult to translate, as all I have ever read are medical texts, but I’m sure I could manage it, if given some time.”
Teru stared at him for a moment. Then he sighed, rolling the object up in his hands and binding it tight. He handed it over to Shion, who gazed at it questioningly.
“I will loan it to you. It would be useful for you to know.”
“Lord Teru- thank you-”
The man shifted his position, leaning back and resting his hand on one knee. “You must tell me what you think of it when you have finished reading.” Teru smiled at him. “I am curious what impression it might make on someone who is not one of us.”
He glanced down at the scroll now within his hands and gingerly began to unwrap it.
"You-" a voice suddenly murmured, close in front of them. "You are the one who brought the poultice, are you not?”
That voice-
The man at the gate, the one whom he'd protected from Kagamine's wrath-
Shion looked up just in time to see the samurai fall prostrate before him. He exchanged glances with Lord Teru, who slowly lifted himself back up, instantly alert.
"Forgive me, if you ever can. You were the only one who tried to help our lord, and I- I did not believe you. I lied to you. I took the medicine you had so generously brought for him, and I emptied it out on the ground- I thought it might be poison-" The words tumbled out so frantically Shion could hardly distinguish one from another. "If I had simply trusted you, or taken more care to find out the truth, our lord might still be with us-”
He stared down at the man's back, not knowing what to do or say. Teru had fallen absolutely silent. His sharp eyes watched the scene unfolding before him with cold, intensive interest.
"I have failed him," the man sobbed, "in so many ways. I have failed the entire province, and everyone within it-"