#reishin kou

[shoujoseii]

[maomao9jinshi]

Just a couple being cute on their date

Saiunkoku Monogatari

[minsarasarahair]

Kou Reishin & Ko Houjo (Kijin) > Head of Civil Affairs & Finance Department + their assistants

[animiconz]

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[theresa-draws]

黎深

[kendochick-moor]

April 2010 - SaiMono - Ryuuki/Shuurei, Kochou/Seiran - Modern Uni AU of some sort...

n      need to re-work this to make it fit into the Modern University/College AU with Ryuuren x Shuurei x Eigetsu family love/fluff

n      need to write at least 1-2 one-shots where Seiran is escorting/meeting Shuurei to walk her ‘home’ from her job (write one-shot explaining fully why she’s working there?...)

n      need to write one-shot where Seiran x Kouchou are together, explain/hint at their relationship?

n      Need to write one-shot that explores Ryuuki’s situation a bit (thrust into being head of business/capital? Is known by reputation only, is a loner, is lonely, doesn’t get to socialize much, finds Seiran by chance, hangs out with him when he can, as Seiran is only person who sees him as ‘Ryuuki’, not ‘Mr. Shi.”…)

n      Need to write/consider the police force / justice system, where other characters fit in.

n      Shouka? Ensei? Reishin? Kijin/Kou?

n      Kouyuu / Shuei / Shuei & Shusui?

n      Eiki. Three Grand Guardians (Shou Taishi, Sou Taifu, Sa Enjun)

n      Also, completely re-do Seiran-searching-for-Kouchou scenes, they are stupid, useless, fanservicey, and could be tons better if given more thought/originality.

******************************

Word count: approx. 5,300 words

Genre: Modern AU, romance

Chars: Shuurei x Ryuuki, Seiran x Kouchou, Ensei

Summary: It takes a village to raise a… date?

******************************

“Do you really think this is the right time?” the pale-haired young man looked back at his older brother as the latter gently—but firmly—guided him towards the door of his apartment.

“Everything will be fine,” assured Seiran with a confident, if tired, sigh. Really, if he didn’t get Ryuuki out the door soon then Shuurei would be left waiting by herself in the cold night outside the cram school where she tutored. The walk from the office building, where the cram school was located, to the bus stop was short but passed through a few unsavoury parts of the city before it connected with the main thoroughfare. Usually Seiran would ‘coincidentally’ meet her on his way home, make sure she made it as far as her connection to the subway, and then be on his way back to his apartment in the opposite direction. The subway was well-policed and brightly lit, and there was a stop just one intersection away from her dorm. The dorm that was located in one of the safest neighbourhoods in the city. He’d made sure of that, with a bit of help.

The after-hours habit had been that way for the better part of the past year, since she’d started working at the Learning Center to make the money she needed for her university tuition. Their routine would have continued that way (with Shuurei none the wiser to how  deliberate –and out of his way—his nightly detour truly was) if it hadn’t been for the fact that Seiran’s fiancée, Kochou, was due to return from her business trip that afternoon and he had promised to collect her from the airport. And she’d called him from the stop-over airport, early that morning, to relate to him that, wonder of wonders, she’d just run into their old friend Ensei, and wouldn’t it be fantastic if they all got together? She thought so—and had talked Ensei into re-arranging his plans so he could come back with her to Kiyou. Surely Seiran didn’t have a problem with that? Good, because she was sure everything would be fine and they’d see him by lunchtime.

The plane had now been delayed by several hours.

So far, Seiran hadn’t been able to reach Shuurei, or his fiancée, and while he knew both women were more than capable of taking care of themselves… he worried. He told himself that logically, nothing would happen, everything was fine, and he was just being a mother hen. That really, they were in safe places, surrounded by a ridiculous number of security cameras, and knew better than to wander off. (With Ensei, or random people who asked her for help, in Shuurei’s case.)

That of course the pair of intelligent women would stick to well-lit spaces, avoid talking to strangers, and stay out of trouble… With Ensei.

Unconsciously his right eyebrow twitched at the incongruity of his secret dream and the reality that faced him. Why were all the women he knew danger-magnets?

Well if he couldn’t be in two places at once, he’d at least make sure someone was.

And if he happened to have noticed his little brother making puppy dog eyes at Shuurei when he’d joined him on a few recent excursions, well, there were worse escorts.

At this, Ensei’s rakish grin sprang immediately to mind, accompanied by its usual companion, the Industrial-Grade Migraine.

His younger brother’s voice broke through the painful haze rapidly fogging his brain. “What’s wrong? Why are you angry? Did I do something wrong?”

“Nothing is wrong,” rubbing a hand over his face to ease the tension that had clued his younger brother in to his mood, Seiran begged the powers that be for patience. Nothing is wrong, he repeated internally, nothing is wrong, nothing is wrong…

* - *

Ryuuki had parked at the subway station, ridden to the stop near Shuurei’s office, and walked the rest of the way in an outwardly calm manner, but his insides a nervous rush. He barely noticed his surroundings, except for one last errand…

The flower shops he’d passed were all closed – he’d wanted to get her flowers. But wait—would that be too formal? It wasn’t a ‘proper’ date, it was just collecting her, wasn’t it? Then he shouldn’t be trying so hard. Or should he? Should he be trying to impress her? What had his ani-ue said?!

“It’s ok,” he heard his brother’s voice in his head, “this is supposed to be casual. Kochou just wanted to have dinner together, so you go get Shuurei, and we’ll meet at the restaurant.”

Right, of course.

“Just be yourself,” Seiran had smiled at him, before patting him on the head and literally shoving him out the door.

The young man was convinced something was bothering his ani-ue by that point. And sending him off on his own to meet Shuurei? He’d never done that before!

“—uuki!”

And what if she didn’t like ‘himself’, he wondered slowly. What if she liked someone else? Was she seeing anyone else? He sped up, both his heartrate and his step, and doubt settled coldly into his belly.

“Ryuuki!”

The preoccupied man’s thoughts spiraled. He’d never had the confidence to ask her if she was involved, since he’d been so worried about the possibility of her answer being, “Yes, with the man of my dreams!”– and in his mind, how could someone like her not be seeing someone? Now he was terrified he may be rejected, and then what would they do for dinner?! This was a big night for his ani-ue and his fiancée, Kochou—what if he’d ruined it? Oh no, what if he ruined their entire relationship? His brother would never forgive him!

“Ryuuki! Is that you? Wait up!”

(A young woman’s voice rose in mounting concern, but the blond man’s focus was entirely inwards and he missed the repeated calls.)

The worried young man skidded to a stop at the thought that he’d just irreparably damaged the happiest part of his brother’s life.

It was all his fault--!

Suddenly he startled as someone grabbed his arm. 

“Ryuuki, slow down!” huffed Shuurei.

She leaned over her knees to catch her breath a moment before straightening up to look at him again, cheeks pinked. She pushed some of her loosened hair back behind her ear. “I just chased you for nearly a block –you looked so worried! Is something wrong? Can I help?”

Her beautiful dark eyes, large in her concern for him, shone in the darkness as she held on to him, refusing to let him go.

And his mouth went dry.

Then his brain fizzled out.

And he opened the former before the latter had re-engaged.

Whirling on her and grabbing her hands desperately in his, he pulled her to him (“Whu-Ryuuki! What’s going on-!”) and pleaded,

“You need to come to dinner! It’s the only way to save them!”

* * *

Shuurei paused, her eyebrows knit, and she remembered something Seiran had once mentioned to her about his little brother. “He always means well. But he can be a bit… impulsive.”

Ahhhhh… so ‘impulsive’ is Seiran-ese for ‘total spaz’, the young woman quickly deduced. It was so… Seiran… to try to put his little brother’s quirks, said brother being someone he cared deeply for, in a good light.

Actually…

Shuurei paused again…

Seiran’d been talking Ryuuki up to her quite a bit recently. Subtly, always subtly, but definitely a lot, for him. The pieces started clicking into place in her mind, and she controlled a reflexive eye twitch. Great. Her ‘big brother’ was playing matchmaker between her and his little brother. Spazzy little brother.

Oh, brother.

The aforementioned man’s face was inches from hers, still anxious. But noting how sincere he was, how determined he was to take care of his family, and how fiercely he gripped her hands—ow--, Shuurei stifled the urge to sigh and took a calming breath, hoping her escort had absorbed some of her pacifism.

“Ryuuki?” she repeated again patiently, cautiously, for she was sure it was at least the sixth time. She couldn’t help her voice pitching a bit high. She’d never appreciated how strong he was, or that he must work with his hands. The long, tapered fingers gripping hers were rougher than she’d expected. Not that she’d thought about him, or his hands, much. Really. Just once or twice, in passing. As she waved goodbye to him and Seiran, or as she went to bed alone in her dorm apartment. Wondering why she’d catch him looking at her from time to time on their way from her work to the subway…

“Hands,” she burst out, to reel herself back in from her distracting thoughts. She gave a faint tug, not actually trying to pull her hands from his warmth. Well, ok, now it was starting to hurt, but if he’d loosen his grip just a little bit, it wouldn’t be so bad. He had lovely hands, she noticed, the longer he held her, strong and competent, and wow, he must work out…

“Huh?”

This time, he truly looked at her; then down at their tightly clasped fingers; then understanding dawned on him when he became conscious of how white her trembling hands had become in his grip.

“I’m so sorry-!”

“Ah!” she shook her hands carefully, just a tiny bit, as he threw them away from him and stepped back a few inches to give her some space.

“Thank you,” she breathed and smiled at him.

“I didn’t mean to-!”

“-it’s ok!,” she sighed, covertly massaging her hands within the loose sleeves of her coat. That felt a bit better, and she refused to admit she felt even a touch disappointed. Already she missed his warmth. Just not the… enthusiasm. “So, Kochou and Seiran mentioned something about dinner tonight. Are we heading over to meet them?”

“I love you, please go out with me!” he wanted to exclaim, but wisely kept that part locked up behind the closed doors of his eager subconscious. He really didn’t need to scare her off with his desperate infatuation… yet.

“Yes,” he replied instead. One thing at a time, he reminded himself. Things had gotten off to a rocky start, but he just had to convince her he was worth her time, and that would help resolve any lingering misgivings. And he could always call his ani-ue to help him smooth things over if he really botched collecting Shuurei. He really hoped it wouldn’t come to that, though. He wanted to do this on his own. He’d liked her for months now, he just needed to get himself together and talk to her, without Kouchou or his ani-ue breaking the ice or ‘helping’ him out.

So far, though, she looked pretty… happy to see him, actually! His heart soared. Yes, tonight would be the night! He tried to keep his grin under wraps as his ‘date’ started speaking again.

Nodding brightly, Shuurei straightened her coat and tucked her now mittened-hands into her pockets. “Well, let’s go then. The battery on my cell died earlier this afternoon, so I didn’t get a chance to confirm things with Seiran. Do you know where we’re going?”

This time, he nodded at her and pointed back the way he’d come. “Kouchou-neesan chose it. I think we’ll have one of the private rooms for the night, so we can wait there for them. Her plane is late.”

Falling into step beside Shuurei, the young man heard her make a sympathetic sound in her throat. “And she’d been hoping to make it back early this time, too! She’s had so many business trips recently, she must be exhausted.”

“I’m sure my brother will take good care of her,” Ryuuki found the conversation came easily this time, and reveled in having Shuurei’s undivided attention. “So, how have you been?...” He held his breath. Well, gotta ask sometime, he thought. “Seeing anyone these days? Oh, are you ok!?”

“Oh, fine, thanks, sorry, tripped over my own feet, hahaha…” She straightened up, face definitely more red than pink now. Well, he hadn’t wasted time, she’d give him that…  “Uh, no, not… not seeing anyone…”

When she made to let go of his arm (which she’d grabbed when she stumbled), he tightened his hold and caught her arm between his elbow and side, not letting her go. While she bit her lip for a second, she didn’t protest. And after a few moments, she relaxed and hooked her arm properly through his. (Because it was more comfortable that way, she told herself, and didn’t look as ridiculous as being pulled along. That was all.) Of course, she had no idea that she was nearly beaming at him, just so sincerely flattered, when he glanced down at her.

For his part, Inner!Ryuuki cheered.

Yes, he could definitely get used to this now that he knew she didn’t have a boyfriend, the young man thought to himself.  (What a relief! Why did he wait so long again?) He could get used to it very easily. Hopefully, she would, too, he thought optimistically. Another peek at her profile, her eyes bright and happy, convinced him it might not be as difficult as he’d dreaded to win her over.

*- *

Forty-five minutes.

Seiran glanced again at the illuminated message board that listed the flights that had arrived and what gates they should pick up their baggage from, and he checked the nearby clock.

Her flight had arrived over an hour ago, and he’d been waiting there, just outside the baggage carousel’s security gate, for nearly forty-five minutes, and she wasn’t there. All the bags had been picked up; the information desk had confirmed everyone had left the plane; and no one had missed it leaving its last terminal in Kou province. It had been a full flight, no free seats.

Even in first class, where Seiran was sure Kouchou and Ensei would have been sitting. Together. Causing trouble…

The migraine flared and Seiran’s cheek twitched at the pain. Then he unclenched his jaw and tried to think again of where the pair would have disappeared to.

It was a random, though casual, scene, but as the tall young man turned to look around the terminal, his eyes caught on the sight of several tired pilots steering their baggage behind them as they headed to an escalator. They were laughing about their shift being “finally over!” for the night, and they “couldn’t wait to kick back & relax”.

The sign hanging above them indicated, “WINGNUTS à” .

Seiran felt his shoulders wilt a bit.

After depositing even more money into the parking meter, he trudged up the escalator to the increasingly raucous noise that welcomed one and all to the terminal’s beverage lounge…

*-*

“Anything yet?”

Ryuuki glanced at his phone. No missed calls, no voicemail, no text messages or e-mail. “Nothing. He hasn’t found her yet.”

“Hmmm… Maybe we should order some appetizers for ourselves?” Shuurei wondered aloud, leaning across the table to glance at the time illuminated on the front of Ryuuki’s cellphone before sitting back down her in seat again. “Oh no!” she exclaimed suddenly, her eyes fixed on the windows of the restaurant, just behind them.

Her company turned to look in her direction, and realized the problem.

“Was there supposed to be a blizzard today? I thought it was just a light snowfall!” he said, forgetting about the phone.

“That’s what I thought, too! Oh no, do you think they’re having problems landing?”

“Seiran would have called if that were the case,” he assured her. “More than likely they’re missing each other in the terminal. They just put the new addition on – maybe they’re still re-routing some passengers and flights?”

“Yes… Well…” her voice drifted off as she considered their situation. “How about we order and let Seiran know? We can always bring their food to them, and meet up for coffee at their place after dinner to chat.” Decision made, she looked to him for confirmation.

And that would mean a nice, private tete-a-tete dinner between the two of them….

“… no sense letting good food go to waste,” he agreed, and they signaled the waiter.

*-*

“Sure I saw them!”

Seiran nodded politely to the bartender to continue. It was the fourth bartender he’d spoken with. WINGNUTS apparently was a multi-level establishment, with different locations that catered to different clientele. Very particular clientele.

“I believe they were part of the conga line that went over to the Leather Fairy,” said the man, pointing helpfully at the bar two hops down the conveyor-belt walkway.

“Thank you,” the tired fiancé-turned-chauffeur roused himself from the stool he’d been leaning on and made his way over to the…

… ah, this one had a cross-dressing theme, he observed with another eye twitch…

… next bar.

Noting that it really shouldn’t have taken him 5 saloons to catch on that Kouchou and Ensei were leading him on a wild goose chase, Seiran sighed inside and soldiered on.

“Well helloooooo handsome! What can we do for you tonight?”

…. Why did it have to be a cross-dressing bar with a leather-or-feather dress code? And who’d allowed this kind of establishment to be built within an airport?! The last place had been a Tiki-styled family grill!

The Tiki had been Ensei, he mused dismally. The leather was definitely Kouchou.

As the greeter cheerfully offered up a leather vest or a fluffy boa to him before they’d allow him entrance, Seiran couldn’t help the heavy mantle of despair that slid onto his weary shoulders.

Oh wait, that was his new vinyl cape. (With matching fitted mask, it seemed, as he felt the elastic settling over his ears.) He sensed Ensei’s hand in this, somehow. The man had always had a fascination with capes…

Normally, he would never undergo this, he thought murderously, and wished he could set his glare to Maximum Punishment Beam. But his fiancé tended to tease him mercilessly about that. Or upstage him in that department. Not that he had much pride, (really, he didn’t), but he’d learned early on that that pride wasn’t worth the wrath of an angry Kouchou.

Speaking of, where was she—

The silver-haired man stopped short at the sight before him. Even through the mask, the form clad in glitter and spandex was unmistakable; the sashay in clear heels, the long, lustrous hair, the gown that was clearly more at home on a runway than an airport lounge.

And the 3-day old stubble confirmed it.

Oh hells…

“Ensei, if you come near me wearing that, I will not hesitate to defend myself.”

*-*

The weather that greeted Ryuuki & Shuurei outside the restaurant was nothing short of a white-out.

Ryuuki thanked someone on the phone, and returned to Shuurei’s side with a concerned grimace on his face.

“Any luck?”

“The taxi companies are all booked solid, and they have long waits since so many of the major roads are closed until the ploughs get through,” he informed her, helping her into her jacket.

Shuurei looked grimly at the frozen landscape, not liking their odds. “I haven’t seen a bus pass by since we noticed the heavy snowfall start, two hours ago. I think they’re sidelined, too.”

Which left them with few choices to get themselves home – and they weren’t dressed for the ‘trudging through sleet and snow’ option.

Well, not for very far, at least, admitted Ryuuki as he considered their alternatives. Unless she didn’t mind not going home…

“Do you think you could walk for 15 to 20 minutes in that?” he asked her, studying her reaction.

“Do you know someone nearby?” she asked hopefully. “I’m sure we can make it at least an hour! Better than building a fort in a snowbank…”

“Let me call Seiran to let him know we’re heading out…”

* * *

Kouchou smiled engagingly at the two men as she leaned comfortably back in her fetish chair.

“Really, you’d think you didn’t enjoy this. You should be smiling, you’re the most popular men in the bar at the moment!” she teased, sipping a cup of brandy through full, red lips. Her darkly painted and precisely manicured nails tapped the side of the glass from time to time, beating a slow, irregular rhythm.

“What about Ryuuki and Shuurei? They’re out in the storm, aren’t they?” asked Ensei, showing his usual concern for the young woman they all treated like family. He shifted subtly in his chair to relieve the stress certain parts of his attire were incurring on his person.

“Ah yes, they were to have dinner tonight with us, weren’t they? Did they meet up and find the restaurant all right?”

Seiran watched her feigned curiosity levelly. Then he knew.

“You set this up.”

“Did I? Really? I just thought it would be good for little Ryuuki to show a bit of initiative,” she corrected mildly, and held her glass out to the side for another refill as the waiter (waitress? wondered Seiran—it was hard to tell with the make-up) politely poured her another drink. “And he just called to say he was settling them into one of his hotels, didn’t he? My, my, darling… You taught him well, didn’t you?”

He refused to blush. Was she really insinuating his brother was following in his footsteps? If so… No, better not to follow that path of thought, he decided.

But, how had Kouchou known? He wondered briefly how long his beautiful, razor-witted fiancée had been aware of his brother’s attraction to Shuurei, and how long it had taken her to engineer this little rendez-vous between them (and timed it so exactly to the storm front’s snowfall), and felt a slight shiver on his spine. He was never, ever crossing this woman.

Loved her more than life itself, yes.

… but still, a little bit afraid of her, too.

* * *

“What a lucky break!” gushed Shuurei, gazing around their suite from their shared living room. “You know the owner of this hotel chain? Please tell them thank you so much the next time you meet!”

She unwrapped her scarf and held out her arms as Ryuuki helped her out of her coat, hanging it in the closet by the door. She glanced back at him curiously for a moment, surprised at his gentlemanly behaviour, then realized he’d been doing such little things for her all evening. Opening doors, pulling out her chair, arranging for a stay that night at the luxury hotel his ‘family friend’ owned…

“This place is very nice – please let me know how much it comes to, I’ll pay you back with my next paycheque.”

He bit back a reply of, “No need,” knowing she wouldn’t accept the generosity. So… he’d just have to ‘forget’ or ‘lose the receipt’ by the time she asked him for it. It was one of the business-class executive suites, one that was usually reserved for close family friends or when businessmen travelled for meetings, hence the living room. There were far more upscale ones in this particular hotel, but he knew she would have objected to staying in one of those… so this suited their purposes far better. And the fact the hotel itself was part of his own conglomerate (not that Shuurei knew that), well, that just ensured top level service from the staff. (Though he’d had to send Shuurei to sit in the lobby café a moment as he ‘arranged their room’ with the desk staff when they first arrived. The obvious fawning from the clerks and staff would have clued Shuurei in immediately to the situation, otherwise.)

“There are warmed robes in each of our bathrooms,” he took her through her room to show her, “and there are kettles with tea and coffee if you still need to warm up. Room service is complimentary,” (for us, he added internally), “so if you need anything during the night, don’t hesitate to let them know. Also, the staff said they’d be happy to launder our clothes for us overnight and have them ready for us in the morning.”

Shuurei just stared at him a moment, skeptically.

“And you know all this because?...”

Damnit, he’d said too much; she’d cottoned on.

“The front desk staff were very helpful.”

Still watching him for a moment, she raised an eyebrow but said nothing more.

“Breakfast will arrive around 8am. Is there anything I can do for you, before I go to my room? You look like you want to rest. You mentioned you had class in the morning… unless they’re cancelled, that is. Do they cancel university classes in bad weather?”

He was babbling, and shut up before he further embarrassed himself. He didn’t want to go; he wanted to sit with her, keep talking with her, and greedily draw her focus entirely to him. He hadn’t realized how fascinating she truly was, how intelligent, but he had a much better idea now, and was slowly coming to the conclusion that he’d like more than a simple relationship with her. He wanted more than the occasional rushed lunch or quick wave as they happened to pass each other; more than random conversation over dinner with friends; more than a ‘what if…’ look that passed between them from time to time. For now, it was a start, but he wanted to build on that with her. He wanted her to have everything she wanted, to achieve every goal she set for herself, to support her in her pursuits, and to help soften the blow if and when she fell—and he knew she would, she was just so idealistic and pragmatic, it would draw others to her to support and discourage her in equal measure, and he wanted nothing more than to banish those impediments from her path, except for the fact he knew she would resent him for his own interference. He wanted all of that for her, and he wanted to be a part of it with her. And knowing all this and what it meant, and how it might feel like he’d rushed into these conclusions but had in reality known her, been getting to know her through snatches of conversation and random encounters through his brother for months, it may have been a bit overwhelming... And he would admit, it was partly reckless, to want so much, after so little time actually spent solely in each other’s company. Was he perhaps obsessive, he wondered? To finally know someone who treated him as a person without wanting anything else from him in return (though he had a feeling his brother had not felt the need to inform her of his background, and it hadn’t come up explicitly between them yet, either…). That may change, of course, when she realized who he truly was; he would need to prepare for that eventuality. His soaring mood dampened a bit at that. From what he’d gathered from Shuurei’s disposition so far, she was from a family of scholars, formerly old money, but that had stopped pursuing knowledge for financial gain. She would figure him out soon enough, it was only a matter of time. Seiran had filled in the blanks surrounding her upbringing for him, when he’d made an occasional off-hand remark about Shuurei’s family. It seemed like she didn’t hold much regard for those of the ‘upper’ echelons of society. He hadn’t asked her outright, but there seemed to be something that had happened in the past that had soured her opinion of them. When they were just a bit more comfortable with each other, he would have to find a way to ask without giving himself away. (He had a feeling he’d be calling his brother for advice at some point in the near future…)

But she was so bright. Everything she did, she did with heart and determination. And he admired her for that. In a way, he wanted to be like her – to have that drive and boldness (even if he knew it was a pipe dream for himself in his position). Perhaps that was why he wanted to stay with her, to absorb her enthusiasm for life, her work and life ethic. But to ask for so much now from her would be ridiculous, presumptuous, avaricious; it would take time to build on their burgeoning trust, to see that trust into a warmer friendship, and then, if he was careful enough, more. She’d already shown she was comfortable with his company, to some extent, even trusting him enough to share a hotel suite with him – and he doubted he’d imagined it when she’d pulled closer to him as they vaulted over waist-high, ploughed banks of snow and ice (she’d insisted it was to keep their balance, but he didn’t think she would have blushed and nibbled at her bottom lip about keeping her balance). But he was well aware suggesting they cuddle together for warmth for the night would not go over well now that they weren’t shivering in thigh-high slush and sleet.

So much whirled through the young man’s mind as he watched Shuurei watching him thoughtfully in return. So much had been set in motion now that they had finally had an evening together, without the usual buffering from his brother or Kouchou. And now, thanks to the absence of their older ‘siblings’ and the opportunity to really start to ‘know’ the woman standing across from him, he wanted, finally, so much to start showing someone he was capable. To show her he was worth her rare, valuable time.

“I don’t have class until 10:30am tomorrow, actually,” she said finally, still watching him with a curious look. “And yes, with weather like this, the roads may be bad enough that they cancel classes for a day. Don’t you remember from your time in university?...”

“I didn’t get to go to university. I had to go to work,” to look after my father’s company, when his health failed, he thought. If he’d been born into a normal, regular family, he may have considered going to university – and if his older brothers hadn’t passed away (or vanished, in Seiran’s case), he may still have had the opportunity. But when he’d been the only one left, his choices had been revoked, his path decided.

And he hadn’t realized what his words had implied until he saw the expression on Shuurei’s face change.

“You didn’t get to… Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to--. And all through tonight we were talking about my studies--.”

“It’s ok!” he rushed, and before he could think better of it, blurted out, “I was planning on talking to someone at the university and taking a few courses soon anyway, at night!”

Which wasn’t a lie, exactly, more along the lines of a half-truth; he’d be giving the class to the MBA students, not the other way around…

But it seemed to work in his favour – as Shuurei suddenly brightened enthusiastically and her mouth dropped open in happy surprise.

“I can take you around campus, if you want? Are you free on…”

And there it was once more, her generosity all over again. In spite of how busy her own schedule was, she wanted to help him so he would have the same opportunities she did.

But he told himself he wasn’t misleading her or abusing that generosity… just… accepting it and its benefits, as he smiled back at he and agreed yes, he’d love to meet up with her again…

* * *

The next day, Seiran shrugged awake in his bed – it had taken them hours to get home from the airport the night before, or more appropriately, until close to dawn that morning. He spied Kouchou slipping her cellphone back into her dressing gown pocket as she sat up in bed sipping her coffee.

The silver-haired man debated a moment whether or not to ask why she wore such a self-satisfied Cheshire grin.

Then, remembering the events of the night before, he closed his eyes and feigned sleep again.

From her position atop the pillows, the beautiful woman glanced down at him and smiled, not missing his strategic retreat.

[undinefin]

miss mellen name all ur sons DO IT NOW- nom

hi ive been saving this for a while this will literally take me forever okay im making this organized. sons will remain male and those who identify as male. i have daughters and children as well, we will nOT go into that today

you asked for this.

bold = the ones that i LOVE (to save you from reading everything if you do you get a gold star

anime (last name first even if its uncomfortable):kashiwagi sora, kamiya tazuki, otonashi yuzuru, yadomi jinta, akabane karma, shiota nagisa, chiba ryuunosuke, horibe itona, isogai yuuma, karasuma tadaomi, maehara hiroto, asano gakushuu (i guess), A106, midoriya izuku, bakugou katsuki, iida tenya, todoroki shouto, kaminari denki, kirishima eijirou, kouda kouji, ojiro mashirao, sero hanta, tokoyami fumikage, yamada hizashi (mic), aizawa shouta, testsutetsu tetsutetsu, monoma neito, amajiki tamaki, togata mirio, shinsou hitoshi, hawks, wash (HES A WASHING MACHINE), sir nighteye, dabi, dazai osamu, nakajima atsushi, nakahara chuuya, edogawa ranpo, akutagawa ryuunosuke, kunikida doppo, miyazawa kenji, tanizaki junichirou, oda sakunosuke, fyodor dostovetsky, edgar allan poe, togashi yuuta, decim, clavis, ginti, kida masaomi, kishitani shinra, heiwajima shizuo, dragneel natsu, fullbuster gray, happy, fernandes jellal, redfox gajeel, conbolt romeo, eucliffe sting, cheney rogue, doranbolt, erik, midnight/macbeth, tachibana makoto, nanase haruka, matsuoka rin, hazuki nagisa, ryuugazaki rei, yamazaki sousuke, shigino kisumi, souma kyou, souma yuki, souma hatsuharu, souma hiro, kira takuto, rio izumi, sousuke (ponyo), all male named haikyuu!! characters, raven, maou sadao, ashiya shirou, urushihara hanzou, howl, usui takumi, kanou soutarou, yukimura shouichirou, tachibana taki, ishida shouya, shimada kazuki, phantomgive ciel, stucliff grelll, finnian, kanbara akihito, nase hiroomi, reigen arataka, kageyama shigeo (mob), hanazawa teruki, kihara tsumugu, isaki kaname, juugo, nico, uno, rock, sugoroku hajime, gokuu samon, natsume takashi, tanuma kaname, natori shuuichi, sora (ngnl), nezumi, shion, yato, yukine, kazuma, ebisu, genos, onsou no sonic, suou tamaki, hitachiin hikaru, hitachiin kaoru, morinozuka takashi, haninozuka mitsukuni, ootori kyouya, nekozawa umehito, hyakuya mikaela, hyakuya yuuichirou, saotome yoichi, hiiragi shinya, bathory ferid, natsuki subaru, haku, watari ryouta, arima kousei, yukihira souma, isshiki satoshi, hayama akira, aldini takumi, ryou kurokiba, ibusaki shun, arlert armin, death the kid, evans soul, black star, stein franken, cecil guy, ooji mochizou, tanaka, oota, pazu, yoshida haru, takasu ryuuji, katsuki yuuri, plisetsky yuri, chulanont phichit, altin otabek, ji guang-hong, lee seung-gil, inuyasha, shippo, miroku, sesshoumaru, kisaragi shintarou, kano shuuya, kokonose haruka, seto kousuke, son hak, shin-ah, jae-ha, ki-ja, yun, zeno, okumura rin, okumuro yukio, kuro (does he count), shima renzou, suguro ryuuji, yagami light, lawliet L, ryuk, elric edward, elric alphonse, mustang roy, yao ling, envy, zoldyck killua, kurapika, freecss gon, paladiknight leorio, kaneki ken, suzuya juuzou, uta, nifuji hirotaka, kabakura tarou, nifuji naoya, miyamura izumi, ishikawa tooru, iura shuu, yanagi akane, nekota, ichijou raku, maiko shuu, shi ryuuki, kou houju, kou reishin, li kouyuu, rou ensei, to eigetsu

books:ronald weasley, charlie weasely, harry potter, neville longbottom, draco malfoy, cedric diggory, scorpius malfoy, newt scamander (shhh im not doing a movie section), percy jackson, leo valdez, nico di angelo, simon snow, tyrannus basilton grimm-pitch (baz), levi stewart, magnus damora, felix gaebras, kaz brekker, jesper fahey, wylan van-eck, will herondale, james carstairs, oba yozo, the little brother in shatter me that deserves more, rudy steiner, max vandenburg 

kpop (i stan everyone equally so no bolds ;-; ):donghun/lee donghun, jun/park junhee, wow/kim sehyoon, kim byeongkwan, chan/kang yuchan, s.coups/choi sung cheol, jeonghan/yoon jung han, joshua/joshua hong, jun/wen junhui, hoshi/kwon soonyoung, wonwoo/jeon wonwoo, woozi/lee jihoon, dk/lee seokmin, mingyu/kim mingyu, the8/xu minhao, seungkwan/boo seung kwan, vernon/hansol vernon chwe, dino/lee chan, sungin/park sung jin, jae/park jae hyung, young K/kang young hyun, wonpil/kim won pil, dowoon/yoo do woon, woosung/kim woosung, dojoon/park dojoon, hajoon/lee hajoon, jaehyeong/lee jaehyeong

and the last pillar of my existance.....

utaite (no bolds):risru, houkagou no aitsu, maruguri, ityouyaku, noristry, banayuu, azusa yuu, stungun, wolpis, syun, kidi, kanseru, tsukasashi, shakemii, kogeinu, silvana, meychan, 3bu, rim, yukimi, again, utau onii-san, colon, shintaro, izu, ivu, senra, shima, aho no sakata, uratanuki, invaderT, clear, bee, pusu, s!n (ww), natsushiro takaashi, isubokuro, sou, rib, eve, amatsuki, shounenT, luz, itou kashitarou, kain, shoose, panaman, kradness, araki, nqrse, un:c, soraru, mafumafu

im sorry for any spelling mistakes and if ive forgotten anyone at this rate i probably have. i cant believe i spent 1.5 hours on this why do i take thing seriously

(how is it that ur off tumblr but still looks at my blog enough to ask me shit like this ily best mom)

[sewlastcentury]

in the past two weeks i’ve added WAY too many costumes to my list oh gosh

- orochimaru, naruto (otakon 17) - egalmoth, silmarillion (katsu 18) - günter von christ, kyou kara maoh (mag 18) - gyousou, twelve kingdoms (mag 18?) - seiran/seien shi, saiunkoku monogatari (mag/katsu 18?) - kou kijin or kou reishin, “ (???) - earwen, silmarillion (ota 17)

this list does not include all the others i already have seriously planned ;_; someone please stop me

[minsarasarahair]

Kou Reishin: Good thing Yuushun is here. He closed the grave that you and that snot-nosed Emperor foolishly dug for Shuurei. You're too naive. You don't think ahead, and that's why those old foxes can trip you up. You'll work in the Civil Service Ministry for the time being. Don't expect you'll be able to continue to fool around with your snot-nosed Emperor. Are we clear?

[minsarasarahair]

I still find it funny how similar Kou Reishin and Jiang Cheng are in terms of characterization. Especially the "Choose me" part. They only care about what they care and hate what they hate. They felt like supporting characters with attitude problem and crimes but definitely not the villain of the story.

I think Reishin has more crimes than JC tbh but because he's the head of influential family and he did it secretly. The others don't bat an eye. He's the OG JC for me before I met Jiang Cheng. In this scene, Reishin stated that he won't help his friend Yuushun in politics because he don't care about their country and hated the royal family including the inexperienced young Emperor Ryuuki but the stubborn Yuushun is like "that's okay. I can protect myself anyway." lol

[minsarasarahair]

Reishin's hatred toward the emperor is still so funny to me lol If Saiunkoku anime aired today, he will definitely be hated like Jiang Cheng because he don't hold back and has terrible personality.

[minsarasarahair]

Thinking about it. If Saiunkoku anime will have season 3, it will cover the Kou clan’s story. Because the next arc is when Kouyuu became imprisoned and Kou clan members who work in the palace boycott the king LOL Kouyuu is head of the Kou clan's adoptive son so yeah of course, they are furious.

Then we have the revelation of Uncle Reishin not helping the survivor of a massacre during his childhood. This survivor actually became his friend later on and don’t really harbor grudge against Reishin. Reishin is like MDZS Jiang Cheng. People will definitely overreact and say Reishin is such a problematic character in this present time LOLOLOL FYI Reishin didn’t do it just once but TWICE. Despite that, he’s one of the most popular Uncle character in Saiunkoku. I like him too. Maybe that’s why I like Jiang Cheng. He reminds me of Reishin lol

This is Reishin btw and the guy behind is the friend I mentioned.  

[minsarasarahair]

Sometimes when someone follow me with either Lan Wangji and Wei Wuxian's pfp/avatar, I became confused. Like are you sure? Why are you doing this? I'm a Jiang Cheng fan and will never see Jiang Cheng as villain nor antagonist even.

Jiang Cheng to Wei Wuxian for me is like Abe no Sousei to Tenka Kumo (Donten ni Warau), Kyoya Ootori to Tamaki Suou (Ouran High), Kou Reishin to Shi Ryuuki (Saiunkoku Monogatari) and Zhou Rongqi to Lou Zhu (You Yao). That's how I see him. Just a morally gray secondary character. Sure, he did bad things and act like a jerk but he's not an automatic a villain.

[minsarasarahair]

You know maybe Sha Po Lang's story is probably the closest Danmei to Saiunkoku Monogatari? Why?

Kou Shuurei and Gu Yun care about the politics of their country too much. A Censorate and a General. There are moments when other characters asked them why do they care that much to the point it will risk their life? Why Shuurei keep making herself involved in the world of politics despite people telling her to resign? Why Gu Yun keep serving the royal family even if they play a role in the reason why he's dying?

Chang Geng and Shi Ryuuki became a good ruler of their country because of their loved one. Chang Geng is only a regent but take his job seriously so his beloved general is at ease. Shi Ryuuki is not interested in governing originally but Shuurei as a consort tutor manage to persuade him. Of course, they both care about common people too but the main reason why they are a good ruler is their loved one. Both of them have growth where they witnessed the outside world thanks to their loved one so they decided to do something for it.

Kou Shuurei and Chang Geng experienced being the one who barely know what's going. Info about serious stuff are hidden from Shuurei because she's a consort that need to be protected in the beginning. She only learned about it once she became an official, censorate and governor. Chang Geng is the same during his stay in Yanhui where Gu Yun's Black Eagles protects him because he's the missing prince. Both care about economics side of the country originally but they also excelled in different fields. Chang Geng know medicine while Kou Shuurei is also an erhu player and a teacher.

Shi Ryuuki and Chang Geng experienced abuse from their mother despite being part of royalties when they are young. Ryuuki was abused by her mother because the emperor used to not favor him as a prostitute's son. Xiu Niang is Chang Geng's auntie but she's the closest bad mother figure to Chang Geng where she always attempt to kill him and even poisoned him.

Gu Yun and Kou Shuurei rejected their loved one's romantic feelings in the beginning and asked to find someone else but later they eventually learned to love them. Gu Yun already decided he will die in a battleground before he met Chang Geng and probably believe his existence is a bad omen that make people important to him keep dying so he's not interested in romance. Shuurei is too aroace for romance despite not minding getting married one day as part of her duty. Its easy for her to marry as duty and not for love.

Chang Geng and Shi Ryuuki do a lot of non-consensual kiss in the beginning as part of their advances. It make sense because the one they are courting is very dismissive of their feelings as suitors so they need to make sure that they expressed clearly they want them romantically. Tbh the relationship will not work if the other one is not pursuing that hard. It tones down later in the story tho because they are busy in their jobs. I swear they have great relationship as pair despite the noncon!

Both couple are power couple with sexy brain. Regent Emperor and General. Censorate and Emperor. The two pairs are not always together but what their investigating connects them in the end.

The main couple are distant relatives. Shuurei and Ryuuki are very distant relatives too but they are not blood related. It just that in Saiunkoku, royal Shi family marry a lot with influential Kou family. That's why they can be related. It also make sense why Kou is very powerful and influential family despite not being royalties because they have strong connection with royal Shi family. Shuurei's uncle, Reishin actually has a wife from Ryuuki's family. In Sha Po Lang, Gu Yun and Chang Geng are related too but very distant and Chang Geng's bloodline remained ambiguous because we didn't know which child survive so since he's the combination of two person we can still say he's distant related.

[minsarasarahair]

I'm very picky in reverse harem but I like Saiunkoku because it make sense. Kou Shuurei is a beloved princess of the influential Kou clan. Kou clan is not only rich but has a strong ties with Ran and Shi family. Being connected to this clan will obviously make one powerful so that's why men want her. But what's interesting is every man in the story has their own motives and not all are romantically attracted to her. Some are either kind or hostile to her without romantic feelings. In addition, Shuurei is not even interested in them.

A summary of how the men saw Kou Shuurei

Emperor Shi Ryuuki - Bisexual King. The only one who respected, understands and love her romantically. The end game who repeatedly court Shuurei until he manage to persuade her.

Shi Seiran - Her family's retainer who saw her as his little sister but not interested in being more than that. He probably like her but the thing is he's okay with the way they are.

Rou Ensei - Act like Shuurei's bodyguard and hinted that he like her romantically but he has the same problem as Seiran. Not interested in confessing and fine with their current platonic relationship.

Sa Sakujun - Dangerous hedonist suitor who's obsessed with her. He made Shuurei kill him with poison unknowingly. He's the worse.

Ko Kijin - Former strict but kind Boss and only say he's going to marry Shuurei to annoy Reishin but not really interested in her in that way. He treasure their healthy boss-employee relationship.

Kou Reishin - Shuurei's eccentric uncle who want to marry her to keep her away from other clans but not interested in her romantically. He only like her platonically and he's just being protective.

Li Kouyuu - Uncle Kuro is suggesting him to marry Shuurei so he can be finally become a Kou because his adoptive father Reishin won't give him the surname. He only see Shuurei as his student and nothing more. Tbh Kouyuu felt more attracted to either Ryuuki(he cried hard when Ryuuki is dying) and Shuuei(bestie). He has a wife in the ending that he probably married politically.

Shin Suou - His dad told him to propose to Shuurei for money and power but not interested in her romantically. He's a great friend to Shuurei though because he don't sugarcoat his words unlike others.

Riku Seiga - Shuurei's sly nemesis in the Censorate investigation team who hates her. Well, she hates women because they are weak according to him.

Hyou Riou Sr. - Obsessed in Barahime aka Shuurei's mom who's sleeping inside her and willing to sacrifice Shuurei to wake her up.

Ki Kouki - Terror boss who tend to test Shuurei's wits but obviously not interested in her romantically.

Ryou Anju - Bisexual who sleeps with Shuurei's mom figure courtesan Kochou and with former head of Kou clan. He used to see her as little girl but now he probably see her as a pawn for his goals.

Ran Ryuuren - Eccentric genius of Ran clan but only view Shuurei as his soul friend who he annoy from time to time.

Santa - Shuurei's childhood friend who has a crush on her for a long time. He confessed but rejected. Shuurei is not interested.

But I do think Ryuuki is the most special one because Shuurei treasure the cherry blossom tree sapling Ryuuki gifted to her. She also always try to protect Ryuuki from his political rivals.

[minsarasarahair]

I'm looking at the leak photos of "The Legend of Rosy Clouds" drama (Saiunkoku Monogatari Drama) and OMG! The male characters have pretty long hair!!! Like the length is very close to the anime/manga counterpart?? Its long! I'm digging Cha Shuoxun's (Sa Sakujun) look. He has wavy hair like Sakujun and he's wearing black. That's what I'm talking about! You don't need to copy everything in terms of character design from the original material. What important is the core of the character. He look so good. I'll definitely throw my morals once I see him in the drama LOL. Yes, he's an antagonist. He's like Ryuuki but more unhealthy showing of affection where he's more possessive and obsessive. In the anime, Sakujun is at his 30s and Shuurei is only 16. He's very creepy but interesting as character. Sakujun made me conflicted. Once I see Ko Kijin and Kou Reishin. I hope there will be. I don't think I can be normal. They are my ship. They better be shipable or else.