Starlit Reflections

Fushigi Yuugi is copyright Watase Yuu, Flower Comics, Studio Perriot, Pioneer Entertainment and Viz Communications. This fanfic is for personal entertainment only and not for profit in any way. If there was any, Tasuki would probably insist on a donation to his next pub crawl.

Chapter Eleven: Tea and Wisdom

Waking up, Yui blinked. This was not her bedroom. Her bedroom didn't have a swirling fresco in shades of blue painted on the ceiling.

She drew in a deep breath as the events of the day before tumbeld over her. The strange blue light... waking on the street... the street toughs... the strange boy with the spinning balls....

"Oh, you're awake."

Yui sat up and immediately regretted it. Her head throbbed painfully, but she still managed to look at the young woman who had been sitting beside the bed. She had long red hair tied in a braid over her shoulder, and wore a black and white dress with gold, blue and red embroidery. Yui frowned at the row of red pompoms that were sewn onto the dress, curving over the woman's slender shoulders. They seemed very anachronistic for some reason.

"Are you feeling better now?" the woman continued, her clear grey eyes concentrated upon Yui.

"Um... yes," Yui replied. "I'm... um... where am I?"

The young woman smiled, the expression lightening her face. Yui stared, amazed at how she suddely changed from a very attractive woman to a breathtakingly beautiful one. "You're in the Temple of Seiryuu in the city of Xi'entu." The woman's lips quirked. "And I don't suppose that means very much to you either."

Yui shook her head. "Seiryuu... the boy who saved me - he said I was Seiryuu's priestess. But I'm not a priestess - I'm not religious! I don't even buy good luck charms for exams!"

"That's all right - neither are most of the people of Koutou," the woman said reassuringly. "It's all right. You have time, and you're safe now; you can relax, and figure it all out for yourself."

Yui put her hand to her head. "Thank you," she said faintly.

"A headache?" the woman said sympathetically. "That's not surprising. Why don't you go back to your nap and sleep a little more? We'll wake you for dinner, and you'll probably have more questions then."

Yui smiled at her. "Thank you very much," she said softly, and lay down again, shutting her eyes.

She was drifting off when she heard the door open, and a young male voice say, "Elder sister Soi?"

"It's all right to come in, Suboshi," she heard the woman say. "She's asleep."

"She's all right?" the boy - Suboshi - asked. "She's not - hurt?"

The woman - Soi - chuckled. "No, you got there in time. But you were right. She's definitely our Priestess."

Suboshi paused, and then spoke in a firm tone. "You've been here for hours. I can watch her for a little while."

Yui could hear the smile in Soi's voice. "It's not very interesting, Suboshi. She's a quiet sleeper. I've been using the time to catch up on my mending."

"Have you run out of bandages for your fingers yet?" Suboshi's voice was warm with humour.

"Hush, you. I'm getting better with practice."

"I'll take you at your word. I need to practice, myself."

"Ahh...."

But Yui didn't hear any more, for at this point she fell asleep.

".... My Lady?"

Yui blinked, and absent-mindedly smiled as the blur of colours above her resolved into the face of the boy who'd saved her. "Hmmm?"

He blushed, and smiled shyly back at her. "My Lady, it's time for dinner."

"Please don't call me that; my name is Yui," she said absently, sitting up.

"That's right, we never did introduce ourselves," Soi said. Yui turned her face to see where the woman now sat in a chair between her bed and the door. "I am Haku Kaen, Seiryuu Shichiseishi Soi; and that young man is Bu Shunkaku, Seiryuu Shichiseishi Suboshi."

"Suboshi... Soi... Soiboshi," Yui said thoughtfully. "Those are the names of two of the Moon Inns of the Eastern Quadrant."

"Yes," Suboshi said, "We are two of the Seven Shichiseishi of Seiryuu, born to protect the Priestess of Seiryuu until she summons Seiryuu... well, she has to know!" he added in an aggrieved tone, responding to Soi's frown. "You know what Tomo's like - if he thinks she doesn't know, who knows what he'll tell her!"

Yui frowned. This is exactly like what happened to Miaka! she thought suddenly. "I think that I need to know more," she said slowly. "Can you tell me more over dinner?"

"We all will," Soi said. "You will be meeting the other two Shichiseishi over dinner, and I'm sure that there are things you will want to ask them."

Lau Rokou smiled at his guest over the tea cups. She dropped her eyes demurely, as befitted a young, unmarried maiden. The gleam in them before she discreetly veiled them, however, reminded him that she had quietly and efficiently engineered this almost entirely private meeting.

"Have I told you yet how happy I am to see you, Ren Ying?" he asked quietly.

"You may say it again, if you wish," his fiancee replied, with a mischievious smile and a glance at the shop, where her maid exclaimed over the fine materials. "It will give me an excuse to reply, 'I love you, too, Rokou'."

He pretended hurt. "You need an excuse?"

"Don't you know? No girl can say it first. We aren't allowed."

"That's silly," he said.

She lifted an eyebrow. "I know, but I didn't make up the rules. I only play by them."

Rokou blinked and cast a pointed glance at the rain that forced Ren Ying and her maid to remain at the shop, that young lady having 'forgotten' to order her umbrella that morning. "Yes, you do - when it suits you to do so," he commented mildly.

Ren Ying lifted her cup to her lips. Having sipped the honeysuckle-flavoured tea, she replied, equally mildly, "I'm so glad our parents betrothed us. An intelligent husband is to be treasured."

"And an intelligent wife is to be watched," he bantered back.

"So long as the view does not displease, I pray you will watch as much as you care to," she returned.

He laughed. "I will, my lady," he promised. "Oh, I most certainly will."

The door opened then, drawing their eyes to the door. A young man stood there, dressed in white and red silks. His brown boots were spotted with mud, and the end of his long brown ponytail was wet from the rain. He paused, eyes widening as he took in Ren Ying and her maid.

Rokou rescued him. "Lord Sai! You didn't send word that you were coming! Please, sit down, and permit me to introduce you to my fiancee, Zhao Ren Ying. Ren Ying," he added, turning to that lady, "this is Lord Sai, Ryuuen's best friend."

Ren Ying bent in a dignified bow. "It is always an honour to meet a member of the court," she replied. "But it is infinitely finer to meet one of Ryuuen's friends." Her eyes flickered between Hotohori's strained face and pleading eyes, Rokou's concerned expression, and the street. "I would that we might continue this conversation," she added, rising, "but I see that the rain is clearing. Thank you for your kindness and hospitality at my unexpected arrival, Rokou."

"You cannot leave so soon, Ren Ying," Rokou protested. "You have barely arrived!"

She smiled at this. "I agree, but still, I cannot stay," she answered, gesturing to her maid and allowing the girl to settle her wrap about her shoulders. She bowed again to Hotohori. "I am very glad to meet you, and I will be honoured by our next meeting."

Both men watched as she left the shop.

"Your fiancee is frighteningly sharp," Hotohori finally said. "I could almost think she recognised me."

"She did," Rokou replied.

"She did?"

"She's one of Kourin's friends, and it's well-known in our circle that the Emperor is Ryuuen's closest friend."

Hotohori's eyes narrowed. "Her name is Houki."

Rokou paused, blinked sharply, and then smiled slowly. "Ah. So now you know."

Hotohori suddenly looked unsure. "I came because...." His voice trailed off.

Rokou took a clean teacup off the tray, neatly poured tea into it, scattered in a few plum blossoms, and handed it to Hotohori.

"Thank you," Hotohori murmured, and took a sip. Setting down the cup, he finally said, "How do you cope?"

Rokou did not pretend to misunderstand. "It does get easier," he said thoughtfully. "You just have to keep remembering that there hasn't been any real change. Houki has always been Ryuuen. The only thing that's different is that now you know Houki is there, behind Ryuuen."

Hotohori took another sip, and then said, too-calmly, "My advisors believe I am considering Chou Houki as a candidate for my Empress."

"Are you?" Rokou asked.

"There would be problems. By custom, a daughter of a commoner cannot be any more than an Imperial Wife. But legally, I may declare any of my wives Empress. And it would be convenient," Hotohori said, watching Rokou over the edge of the teacup.

Rokou sipped pensively at his own cup.

The silence stretched out between them. Then, Hotohori burst out, "You're determined not to make this easy for me, aren't you?"

Setting down his cup carefully, so it made no sound against the saucer, Rokou stared at Hotohori. "You didn't come here to ask my opinion."

"Yes, I did!" the young Emperor declared. "I need to know what you think of my courting your sister."

"Do you intend to keep your promise?" Rokou demanded.

"Of course."

"Then you have answered your own question."

Just then the door to the shop opened, and a bright voice sang out, "Elder Brother! How are you? I...."

Rokou and Hotohori turned to face Nuriko, who was standing in the doorway, mouth open and arms akimbo. Behind her, the rain continued to fall, a steady flow from heaven to earth.

"Do come in and close the door," Rokou said mildly.

Nuriko shut the door to the shop behind her, but didn't come closer to the two men. "You're here," she said blankly. "Why are you here?"

"I felt like talking with Sir Lau," Hotohori replied defensively. "Why do you ask?"

"I - I - never mind," she replied. "May I have some tea, Elder Brother?"

"Indeed you may, Younger Sister," Rokou replied, then paused and said, "I've been wanting to say that for the longest time!"

Nuriko giggled and replied, "I've been wanting to hear it for the longest time!"

Hotohori blinked and said, "But surely you've been saying it to each other when you're alone?"

Both siblings exchanged a look. "There's the point," Rokou replied, a rueful note in his voice. "'When we're alone'. You of all people must know how hard it is for a person of wealth or birth to be alone, without servants around."

The Emperor closed his eyes, acknowledging the respectfully-phrased rebuke. "I had not realized that you shared this - honour," he replied, a twist of his lips giving the last word an entirely different meaning.

"I would not expect you to," Nuriko replied. "I didn't expect to interrupt a private conversation, either," she continued ruefully.

"It wasn't private," Hotohori assured her. "Miss Zhao was here for the first part of it-"

"Ren Ying was here?" Nuriko pounced on this scrap of information. "How was she? How did she get away from the old dragon? How are the wedding plans going? She's moving in here still? So that's why you have the good alabaster tea set out!"

"She's fine, she told her duenna she was going shopping this morning and then 'forgot' her umbrella, the plans are still proceeding according to schedule, we're still planning on living here, and I should hope I would not serve my fiancee with pottery!"

"You know Miss Zhao?" Hotohori asked.

Nuriko grinned. "She was the only one of Kourin's friends who could pick when it was Kourin or when it was me impersonating Kourin every time. We usually managed to fool everybody else. Ren Ying has a very twisted sense of humour, too. If there was a third person around who hadn't realized it was me, she'd play along, but make comments that had two meanings - one for our friend and one for me. I'd be sitting there suppressing laughter while she blinked innocently at me and our friend was wondering why Miss Kourin was suddenly so quiet."

"That sounds like Ren Ying," Rokou said with a sigh. "I wonder if it's too late to run away?"

"Oh, yes, far too late," Nuriko assured him blithely. "I'll have to be sure to tell Kourin you saw her."

"I'm a little surprised that you're here," Hotohori said to her. "I didn't think that you'd leave the Palace on a day like today."

"Any more than you would, Lord Hoto-"

"Lord Sai," Rokou interrupted.

Both guests turned to look at him. "I beg your pardon?" Nuriko asked.

"In this house, he is Lord Sai," Rokou said. With a smile, he continued, directing his words to Hotohori, but including Nuriko. "There must be a place where you are neither ruled by your rank nor dominated by your destiny. I volunteer this house. Here you will be Houki's friend, the Lord Sai, and nobody else."

Nuriko grinned. "Very well then, Lord Sai," she said. "I came down because, well, because I recently learned that brothers are important. Even annoying know-it-all older brothers who insist on giving unnecessary advice," she added, tossing a guileless smile at her older brother.

"More of Lady Uruki's wisdom?" Hotohori asked.

Nuriko had just taken a sip of tea, so she contented herself with nodding.

"Lady Uruki?" Rokou asked. "I've never heard you mention her before... who is she?"

Nuriko's face fell. She set her teacup down and folded her hands in her lap. "Princess Mei Ling of Hokkan, Shichiseishi Lady Uruki of Genbu, was a noblewoman who lived about two hundred years ago," she told her hands. "She wrote a diary during the gathering of the Shichiseishi of Genbu and the summoning of Genbu. She was... very young, only sixteen. She... died in the performance of her Shichiseishi duty. I recently read her diary. It was... enlightening. About a lot of things."

"And she won't let me read it," Hotohori mourned theatrically, in an attempt to break the mood.

It worked. Nuriko lifted her face - admittedly, only so she could tilt her eyebrows at him, but still - and gave him her famous 'You have got to be joking' look. "Lady Uruki wrote her diary for me," she muttered mulishly. "I've told you what was in it. You read the letter she wrote to me at the beginning. She asked me not to share the diary."

Hotohori sighed. "I know," he said, and turned to Rokou. "But it's still annoying!"

"So I see," Rokou agreed. Lowering his voice conspiratorily, he said to Hotohori, "A good tactic is to say 'All right,' and totally drop the subject. She can't resist telling you then."

"Really?" Hotohori said interestedly. "All right, then."

"ELDER BROTHER!" Nuriko shouted, half exasperated and half laughing. "I'm right here!"

Rokou blinked. "Why, so you are," he said mildly. "How's the tea?"

Hotohori burst out laughing.

Lord Yukino had many concerns.

As the Prime Minister of Konan, he had to sort out which concerns went where. He had to administer the large bureaucracy that ran much of the Empire, he had to keep the noblemen of the Court in line, and he was responsible for the upbringing and training of the Emperor.

The currently missing Emperor.

As Lord Nuriko was also nowhere to be found, he had little doubt that the two of them would return, sound of body and flushed with the guilty pleasure of a stolen afternoon. He might even be able to use it to nail the boy to that throne for the next couple of days.

It wasn't that he begrudged the Emperor the time off. Divine Lord Suzaku knew the boy worked for it. It wasn't that he disapproved of Lord Nuriko. The boy was more loyal and honourable than men born to the highest levels of the Court. And it wasn't that the relationship was improper. If anything, the way the two of them acted around each other was too sweet for words.

It was just that they had slipped off for an afternoon together, and there were no Imperial Wives in the seraglio. There weren't even any expectant concubines.

If the Emperor would just get one of the girls pregnant, then he could have Lord Nuriko in his bedchamber every night. He, Yukino, would lock the door behind them himself - if the boy would just make sure there was an heir first.

That was why he was so interested in this Lady Houki. Apparently Lord Nuriko had two sisters, not one; Lady Houki seemed to prefer to remain privately secluded, and did not spend much time around the rest of the harem. Intelligent girl. If the Emperor wedded and bedded her, then the problem would be solved completely.

The problem lay in that little word 'if'. Lord Yukino was determined that it would become 'when', and that 'when' would become 'soon'. 'Tomorrow' would be good.  'Yesterday' would have been better.

A soft step on the verandah behind him warned him. He whirled to see the Emperor trying to walk quietly past him to his private chambers.

"My Lord Emperor."

At that flat statement, Hotohori jumped and turned around slowly. "Lord Yukino. I did not see you."

Lord Yukino sighed. "You were with Lord Nuriko, weren't you." It wasn't a question.

"There wasn't any Court today."

The advisor frowned. "I had hoped to arrange for you to take tea with the Lady Houki." The Emperor opened his mouth, but Yukino held up his hand. "No - Your Majesty, you must hear this. You have no heir. You may take as many wives as you want. You may love as many or as few as you want. You can take Lord Nuriko to your bed every night. Nobody will care - if there's a prince in the royal nursery. You don't even have to marry the girl if you don't want to - Lady Houki is already your concubine. Just get her pregnant, and you can marry the Priestess of Suzaku or spend every night with Lord Nuriko if you want. But you need an heir."

The Emperor's face was shuttered, entirely blank. "I have heard your words, Lord Yukino." There was no expression in the Emperor's voice.

Lord Yukino sighed. "That is all I ask, my Emperor." He stepped to the side and bowed. The Emperor did not look at his advisor, but instead swept past him to his rooms. His empty rooms.

You heard me, Your Majesty. But did you listen? Yukino thought, as he watched the Emperor walk away.