Categories > Anime/Manga > Samurai Deeper Kyo
"Charmed"
by Mina Lightstar
Edo was teeming with life.
He walked through the market, giving passing glances to the wares but mostly watching the people. The afternoon would wane before long, and the citizens of Edo were scurrying to take care of their business so they could go home.
Privately, he was a mite thrilled to be walking among them in Edo, with Tokugawa so close.
Yukimura had been far from isolated on Mount Kudo. For all intents and purposes, he had spent the years following Sekigahara on the mountain, never once venturing outside. Yukimura didn't mind what people said about him, and didn't care at all if that's what they thought. After all, the last thing he wanted was to have his wanderings revealed before being ready to do what he'd vowed he would: Bring Ieyasu down. Besides, Kudo was a wonderful place, and if he were going to be restricted to any place in the world, Yukimura was glad for the mountain.
But staying there for weeks on end was so very boring!
Under the guise of a perverted drunk (some would say it was not a guise) Yukimura frequently traveled to wherever his heart desired. Never too far, of course, to ease the pressure on poor Saizo's heart, but he was no prisoner on Kudo.
Strangely, he felt even more freedom in Edo today.
Yukimura-sama! Saizo's voice was shocked, scolding.
Ah, Saizo, you were there? Yukimura stopped, seeing a store that was of interest to him. It sold sake, of course. It was a joke. He hadn't really meant for Saizo to hear all of his musings.
I'm always here. And then he was: Stepping out from the crowd behind to stand beside Yukimura.
"Worried about me?" Yukimura mused in a hushed tone. He was hovering at the entrance to the shop, as though undecided whether he should spend the money.
"You know." He could hear the catch in Saizo's voice, the restraint it took not to tack "Yukimura-sama" on to his words. It followed, though, ghosting against his mind.
Yukimura shook his head. He didn't care what his Juuyuushi called him -- Yukimura, Yukimura-sama -- but Saizo was a lost cause. "You needn't be so formal," he murmured. "How long has it been, Saizo?" Without waiting for an answer, Yukimura entered the shop and swiftly ordered some sake.
"Genjiro-sama," Saizo said, never having left his side, "do you mean to meet with them tonight?"
"I do, indeed," Yukimura replied, paying the vendor and hefting his renewed supply of sake. The jugs were a welcome burden; he hadn't had a drink since the day before.
"And those." Saizo gestured to the jugs of sake that bounced and swayed with Yukimura's steps. "Are those intended as a sort of offering?"
Yukimura put on an expression of pure innocent happiness, looking down at the sake and then up at Saizo with bright eyes and a silly smile. "Do you think I should have gotten some for them?"
Saizo's expression was priceless, but it was the choked, sputtered Yukimura-sama! that made him laugh out-loud.
"I'll share," he assured his loyal protector. "I won't drink it all myself. Though I could, easily," he added, giving Saizo a sideways glance with his half-smile and narrowed eyes: A look that tended to make the other man's cheeks turn pink. This time was no exception.
"I know you could. Though I wish you would not." Saizo studied their surroundings with his own eyes, always on the lookout. He lowered his voice further. "Do you truly intend to find Kyo tonight?"
"Oh, I've found him already, I think." Yukimura brought a hand to his head, combing his fingers through his hair. "Good thing, too. I do believe my presence in Edo has been noticed."
"Yes," Saizo agreed. He sounded marginally worried, as though he were mentally running through any and all plans to keep Yukimura from coming to harm.
"Well, it will be interesting, at any rate." Yukimura was already heading toward the brothel. Maybe he would have time to see Akane if he arrived early enough.
"Do you think Kyo will agree?"
"Saizo," Yukimura breathed, giving the other what he knew to be a coy look, "is my charm not enough to convince him?"
Saizo's cheeks pinked again. "Genjiro-sama, forgive me, but I do not think Kyo will be taken in by charm alone...."
"Well, no," Yukimura lamented, "but that's why I have charm and something Kyo wants."
"At times, you play dangerously, Genjiro-sama."
"Your duty would not be so interesting otherwise, no? And when Kyo agrees to assist me, I would like you to do something for me."
"Anything, sir." This spoken in a firm, impassioned tone of voice. Now was no time for instructions, however, so they walked on in silence for several minutes. It was not long before the brothel was in sight.
"Saizo," Yukimura said fleetingly, "does my charm still work on you?" When the other man's whipped around at stare at him incredulously, Yukimura made sure he was wearing the most seductive look he possessed.
The blush was all the answer he needed.
+end+
by Mina Lightstar
Edo was teeming with life.
He walked through the market, giving passing glances to the wares but mostly watching the people. The afternoon would wane before long, and the citizens of Edo were scurrying to take care of their business so they could go home.
Privately, he was a mite thrilled to be walking among them in Edo, with Tokugawa so close.
Yukimura had been far from isolated on Mount Kudo. For all intents and purposes, he had spent the years following Sekigahara on the mountain, never once venturing outside. Yukimura didn't mind what people said about him, and didn't care at all if that's what they thought. After all, the last thing he wanted was to have his wanderings revealed before being ready to do what he'd vowed he would: Bring Ieyasu down. Besides, Kudo was a wonderful place, and if he were going to be restricted to any place in the world, Yukimura was glad for the mountain.
But staying there for weeks on end was so very boring!
Under the guise of a perverted drunk (some would say it was not a guise) Yukimura frequently traveled to wherever his heart desired. Never too far, of course, to ease the pressure on poor Saizo's heart, but he was no prisoner on Kudo.
Strangely, he felt even more freedom in Edo today.
Yukimura-sama! Saizo's voice was shocked, scolding.
Ah, Saizo, you were there? Yukimura stopped, seeing a store that was of interest to him. It sold sake, of course. It was a joke. He hadn't really meant for Saizo to hear all of his musings.
I'm always here. And then he was: Stepping out from the crowd behind to stand beside Yukimura.
"Worried about me?" Yukimura mused in a hushed tone. He was hovering at the entrance to the shop, as though undecided whether he should spend the money.
"You know." He could hear the catch in Saizo's voice, the restraint it took not to tack "Yukimura-sama" on to his words. It followed, though, ghosting against his mind.
Yukimura shook his head. He didn't care what his Juuyuushi called him -- Yukimura, Yukimura-sama -- but Saizo was a lost cause. "You needn't be so formal," he murmured. "How long has it been, Saizo?" Without waiting for an answer, Yukimura entered the shop and swiftly ordered some sake.
"Genjiro-sama," Saizo said, never having left his side, "do you mean to meet with them tonight?"
"I do, indeed," Yukimura replied, paying the vendor and hefting his renewed supply of sake. The jugs were a welcome burden; he hadn't had a drink since the day before.
"And those." Saizo gestured to the jugs of sake that bounced and swayed with Yukimura's steps. "Are those intended as a sort of offering?"
Yukimura put on an expression of pure innocent happiness, looking down at the sake and then up at Saizo with bright eyes and a silly smile. "Do you think I should have gotten some for them?"
Saizo's expression was priceless, but it was the choked, sputtered Yukimura-sama! that made him laugh out-loud.
"I'll share," he assured his loyal protector. "I won't drink it all myself. Though I could, easily," he added, giving Saizo a sideways glance with his half-smile and narrowed eyes: A look that tended to make the other man's cheeks turn pink. This time was no exception.
"I know you could. Though I wish you would not." Saizo studied their surroundings with his own eyes, always on the lookout. He lowered his voice further. "Do you truly intend to find Kyo tonight?"
"Oh, I've found him already, I think." Yukimura brought a hand to his head, combing his fingers through his hair. "Good thing, too. I do believe my presence in Edo has been noticed."
"Yes," Saizo agreed. He sounded marginally worried, as though he were mentally running through any and all plans to keep Yukimura from coming to harm.
"Well, it will be interesting, at any rate." Yukimura was already heading toward the brothel. Maybe he would have time to see Akane if he arrived early enough.
"Do you think Kyo will agree?"
"Saizo," Yukimura breathed, giving the other what he knew to be a coy look, "is my charm not enough to convince him?"
Saizo's cheeks pinked again. "Genjiro-sama, forgive me, but I do not think Kyo will be taken in by charm alone...."
"Well, no," Yukimura lamented, "but that's why I have charm and something Kyo wants."
"At times, you play dangerously, Genjiro-sama."
"Your duty would not be so interesting otherwise, no? And when Kyo agrees to assist me, I would like you to do something for me."
"Anything, sir." This spoken in a firm, impassioned tone of voice. Now was no time for instructions, however, so they walked on in silence for several minutes. It was not long before the brothel was in sight.
"Saizo," Yukimura said fleetingly, "does my charm still work on you?" When the other man's whipped around at stare at him incredulously, Yukimura made sure he was wearing the most seductive look he possessed.
The blush was all the answer he needed.
+end+
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