Ryuu spied her red hair over the bushes. When he saw her this morning, scrubbed cleaned from head to toe, he tried not to gawk at her flaming red tresses and emerald eyes. He could have sworn she was a brunette. "A grown woman shouldn't be hiding in the bushes."
"Go away!" she cried out.
"I'm not leaving so you should just come out of there."
"Why are you here? I thought you hated me."
He sighed then grumbled. "I don't hate you. It's your father I dislike." He crouched down. "If I hated you, I wouldn't have saved you."
"You didn't know who I was then!"
"That's true but, like I said," he repeated, his tone gentling, "I don't hate you. Now can you please come out?"
She ignored him and he decided to stick his hands in and lifted her out like an errant child. Kuriko protested lightly when he sat her down on the stone bench and handed her a handkerchief.
"I'm not the easiest person to talk to," he began awkwardly, tense with discomfort. "I apologize if I have offended you. It wasn't my intention. Being alone for years has made me...," he struggled to explain, "Insensitive and unsympathetic to people's plights." Ruefulness shadowed his gaze. "You shouldn't allow anyone to dictate your worth - not your sire, and definitely not me. If you tell me what I can do to make you feel better, I will try my best."
Kuriko was grateful for his apology but, his 'friendly' request only made her suspicious of his intentions. "If you're uncaring, then why did you save me? Was I that pitiful?"
He didn't answer immediately, raising her anxiety.
Ryuu had been thinking, not wanting to give her a half-hearted response. "No, it wasn't pity. Finding you was a complete surprise. I didn't know why but I was drawn to you. I confess you look better now than the first time I saw you — covered in blood and God knows what else". Their gazes locked, a haunted emptiness in his. "It wasn't because you begged me. There was a look in your eyes. One I know well."
She blinked. "What look?"
"The desperate cry for help."
Her brows slanted in confusion. "You mean when I was drugged?"
He nodded. "A year ago in Nanyang, I discovered the nobles were testing a new drug on destitute villages. A person would be offered a sum of money to take the drug but, none of them survived. Once the victims spiral into a cycle of addiction, they are brutally cut off and left for dead. I've encountered many who begged me to kill them — to be set free." His fists curled tightly. "I hated the helplessness, and it was then I realized I am no better than my brother who allowed this to happen."
The touch of her hand startled him. He couldn't understand the kindness in her gaze. "You must care a great deal for your people."
He bit back a cruel laugh. Interminable shame resided with the emptiness of his soul. "Don't you know what they call me?"
She shook her head.
"The Irresponsible King. The Vain Peacock." He dared her to call him out on his hypocrisy. "Kyou is called the Crimson King for his glorious battles. Shuhei is the King of Desolation. And our oldest brother, Akio is the Eye of Wisdom, but I am saddled with an unworthy title."
"I don't understand. Your remorse is strong," she stated. "You claim to be irresponsible, yet you have a conscience. That doesn't sound like a man who doesn't care. If so, why do you persist? You can make a difference if you set your mind and heart to it. As the saying goes, better late than never."
"It isn't that simple," he growled vindictively. "I chose to be the Irresponsible King." His despair intensified, hinting at a deeper turmoil. "I chose to neglect my nation because I never wanted the title! I was forced to uphold a ridiculous sense of honour and responsibility that I never respected as a boy."
His chest heaved, like there was more he wanted to say — bottled up emotions he couldn't form into words. Still, she prompted, "But?"
"But what?" His voice harsh with shame and self-loathing.
"I think your initial reason to be indifferent no longer applies," she pointed out. "You chose not to care but all the experiences you've had and the fact that you saved my life doesn't mean you're bad." Her head tilted questioningly. "May I ask...why did you choose this path?"
"Because I feel unworthy," he acknowledged the buried truth of his mother's passing. "I was the outcome of the old Emperor's affair with my mother — a married woman. After her husband divorced her, she became a royal concubine, believing she was...loved. When my father moved on to another pretty, young thing, my mother was devastated. She spiralled down a very dark time. After her death, my father appointed me as the King of Shiryuu to assuage his guilt. He never attended her funeral or cared about us. How dare he believed a nation would make up for his heartlessness!" His words vibrated with suppressed rage. "I was an obligation, and I hated it."
Kuriko sympathized, knowing this wasn't easy for him. "My parents are no different than yours were. My father wedded my mother to elevate his status and there are rumours about how he was promoted to General." She threw him an apologetic look. "I am sorry too. I was angry when you accused him. No daughter wants to believe her father is a villain." A vice-like grip of pain surrounded her heart. "My father doesn't love me because I'm not a son. My advantage is to marry into a noble household and never besmirch the Tsugumo name."
They both fell silent, lost in their thoughts.
Ryuu never imagine this conversation would turn into a confession, opening old wounds they would rather not dwell upon. Though, he admitted it felt...cathartic, having never talked to anyone so intimately. "What are your plans?" he asked quietly. "Will you return to your family?"
"I don't have a choice. I have nowhere else to go." Her shoulders sagged in defeat.
"You could journey with us," he suggested, trying to comfort in his own…stiff way.
She sensed his sincerity. With a brief but sad smile, she replied. "Thank you. I will think about it."
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Kyou couldn't sleep a wink, gently disentangling from Inka. When she murmured a protest, he kissed the top of her head, whispering soft assurances until she fell back to sleep. Then, he slipped on a robe and went for a walk.
He heard the whimsical melody of a familiar flute, seeing Shuhei lounging by the lake.
"It's been years since I heard this song," he commented after the music ended.
"You were the only one you ever enjoyed it." Shuhei reminisced, setting aside his bamboo flute. "Can't sleep?"
"No, you?"
"After Catrina's death, I've been diagnosed with insomnia. I can't sleep even if I want to and when I do, my dreams are haunted." He tapped the faint circles under his eyes. "The reason for these."
When Kyou was four years old, Shuhei had left the palace. Now, he was nineteen and Shuhei was twenty-three. He noticed the years had left subtle changes on his brother's face — gone was his chubby youth and laugh lines. "How did we end up this way, brother?"
"There is no answer to that, Kyoutarou. It is what it is."
"You sound like a pair of doddering old men," Ryuu brusquely cut in, appearing from thin air.
"How touching," Shuhei drawled sardonically. "The three of us together."
It would be a lie if Kyou said he wasn't upset by his brother's abrasiveness. Gone was the gentle soul. "Bitterness has changed you, Shuhei."
Shuhei disagreed. "I think it adds a nice edge to my personality."
Ryuu crossed his arms, leaning against the pillar. "Forget about your personality, what's your next plan? Are you going to the Nanyang?"
Kyou arched a brow. Instead of suspicion, he genuinely wanted to understand Kairyuu's mind. "We're going to visit Akio as soon as we retrieve the Ashina tribespeople. What's it to you?"
"It must be a certain redhead's doing," Shuhei sniggered, elegantly snapping open his fan.
Ryuu ignored his brother's ribbing. "It's been weighing on my mind for months. I was disturbed by the depravities of drug abuse in Nanyang, and I believe General Tsugumo is a key player who must be stopped. His drug ring left thousands of deaths in its wake." His expression darkened. "You're aware of how my mother died, and I would never wish that on anyone - victim or not."
"Is this your stand on the future?" Kyou dug deeper, not satisfied with his vague response. "Are you implying that you're going to take your duties seriously and change for the sake of Shiryuu? Are you willing to change?" His light air died an instant death. "I wish to see a stronger resolve, and if you're spouting empty promises, I'll say it now. You're incompetent and you don't deserve to be King."
Shuhei's gaze flickered to a soundly chastised Kairyuu. Though severe, Kyoutarou wasn't wrong on that account. A King was made up of more than his bloodline. It was the uncompromising determination to undertake the people's sufferings, to cast aside personal affections, relationships and to make absolute sacrifices for the greater good - to be both good and bad when needed - to be cunning and compassionate when needed. In context, to be an extraordinary strategist of mind, body, and soul - a skilled manipulator.
Looking upon Kairyuu, he had none of those except a blooming sense of sympathy.
"I don't blame you for doubting me," Ryuu said, knowing he deserved the Emperor's scorn. "I have a lot to make up for and I am ashamed to admit that my motivation was awoken after witnessing the sufferings of the Nanyang villagers. I've never felt so powerless, and it's then I realized that I do have the power to change the future. I'm an idiot for taking this long to come to my senses." His mouth flattened. "You have to understand...the emotional havoc our father left...it wasn't easy to just forgive and forget."
"That is a point I have to agree on," Shuhei remarked tersely. "The fact that Kairyuu's ready to turn over a new leaf," he stole a glance at Kyou, "Isn't this a favourable outcome?"
Kyou remained silent, those dark eyes assessing. Then, he said. "One chance. And I'll be watching. If you ever need help, I will not turn you away like our father had done. The good of Shiryuu benefits the Kingdom. But," he paused, voice lowering brutally, "If you cross me, brother or not, I won't hesitate to kill you."
It took all of Ryuu's courage not to cower in the face of the Emperor's quiet wrath. So this was the Emperor of Xi. He expected nothing less. Kyou wasn't a man who tolerated betrayal or granted second chances. There was no leniency, not even to his own flesh and blood. He could only nod, "I have been warned, Your Majesty."
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At Nanyang Palace...
"Shadow, what news do you bring of my brothers?" The silhouetted figure behind the blinds asked as he occupied himself with his calligraphy script.
"Your brothers are in Donggu accompanied by the Emperor's faithful Commander. There is a strange woman travelling with them. She has unusual silver hair and appears to be close with the Emperor."
The man paused, feeling a spark of curiosity. "A woman you say?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. This shadow believes her to be a survivor of the Ashina clan and the Emperor appears fond of this woman."
"Interesting," the man murmured. He retrieved a small note and wrote a message before rolling it up. "Send this message to General Attaw of Xi. You have my permission to commence as planned. I have a feeling I will be having guests soon."
"Yes, Your Majesty." The shadow bowed and retreated as mysteriously as his namesake.
Humming to himself a sinister song about a lonely child who killed his pet bird out of spite, he smiled in the dark. "Soon mother, soon."
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