Takatsukasa's Theme
Fan Fiction of 美男大奧(Japanese mobile game)
wrote in 2016
The wind sweeps the remnants of the leaves. The withered scene rustles in the air.
In front of a glorious, old building, there are well-dressed guests with fatigues on their faces. It seems like an end of a banquet. They leave without a trace in a few minutes, with only sparkles of fire lights in the darkness.
“ Young Master, these are the presents that are received today.” A servant stands in front of a child’s room with his head lowered.
“ Just leave them there. I will tidy up by myself.” A soft voice flows out from the room.
“ Yes.” The servant solutes and leaves.
The door opens slowly, and comes out a juvenile who is around ten years old. He is wearing a bright, red kimono, with slightly messy short hair. The big round eyes blink of tiredness. The thin lips are slightly closed, with innocence on his perfect face. Although he is still young, it’s easily to imagine how handsome he will be in the future.
The juvenile quickly moves all of the presents to his room. The room is filled with boxes suddenly. Among all of the presents, the small box that carved with real gold has stood out, but he seems to have no interest of it and just put it into the closet.
“ Mr. Takatsukasa.” There are people talking outside again, but not to him this time.
“ Good evening, Mr. Konoe.” A low voice responses.
“ I wonder if your son is happy about the golden present that I gave him in his birthday party.” Asks Mr. Konoe.
“ He seems tired and already slept after playing the whole day.” Mr. Takatsukasa pauses a second: “ I can guess by just looking at the box, that it is worth of a fortune. I guess you want something from me?”
“ Ha! Mr. Takatsukasa is really smart, then I’ll just go straight for it. Actually, my brother offended His Majesty few days ago, so I am asking you to intercede for him.”
“ I see. Well, you have already sent a such precious gift, so I think I’ll just help you.” The voice of Mr. Takatsukasa still doesn’t show any emotion.
“ Thank you very much.” Mr. Konoe smiles.
The two people outside the room have already left, but the juvenile inside still stands silently.
Yes,… He knows that for a long time, that he is merely a tool for benefit exchange.
As the first son in the Takatsukasa family, he is still nothing more than a chess under the game of authority.
Nobody would care about his feelings, but only falsehood and coldness.
Five years later, the ten-year-old child has turned into a fifteen-year-old teenager.
The finely chiseled face, elegant but without losing manly, that will make all of the girls fall for him.
In this day, he and his father get some spare time during the business, so they can travel around.
“ Masters.” A plain-dressed man walks toward them: “ I wonder if you two Masters are the first time to come here. I am local and I humbly request that…”
“ Lead the way.” Mr. Takatsukasa interrupts.
“ Yes, yes.” The man bows nervously, and then starts to introduce.
The man seems nice song the way. He takes them to a lot of places. If ignoring the forever-serious face on Mr. Takatsukasa, they all have a wonderful time.
The sunset appears, and it is time to leave.
“ We can walk back by ourselves. You can leave now.” Mr. Takatsukasa speaks indifferent.
“ Yes, then…I wonder…how is the trip today?”
“ Yes, it was wonderful! Thank you very much. Also, just call me Takatsukasa.” The juvenile smiles.
“ Here.” Mr. Takatsukasa gives the man a small bag of things, and then quickly takes the juvenile away.
“ I have told you too many times that do not show the face that tells all the people to rob you!” Says Mr. Takatsukasa sternly.
“ I didn’t. He is a nice guy, and I think it’s ok to make friends with him.” The juvenile retorts.
“ Friends? Bullshit! All he wants is the money! I should have expected that you would be so naive and then reject!” Mr. Takatsukasa walks toward: “ We are leaving!”
“ …Yes, Father.” The juvenile looks back secretly. He sees that man opens the bag and counts the money happily, as if there is nothing else he cares.
The juvenile feels really uncomfortable in his heart.
True…
As being born in the authority, friendship will never be the thing he can have.
Never.
Time past, the juvenile turns nineteen.
It seems the Takatsukasa family is struggling of something this day.
“ What did you say!” The surprising voice of the young man rings in the large auditorium.
“ The first daughter of the General Tokugawa family will turn sixteen tomorrow. I will send you to Ooku (the place where the General’s wives live, but the gender is reversed in this fiction, so it will be those husbands’ residency) to serve her. You will need to be the father of her child.”
“ No.” Young man’s sharp eyes stares at Mr. Takatsukasa: “ I don’t care about the family’s benefit or what. I want to decide my own future.”
“ Really? But you can’t this time.” Mr. Takatsukasa squints his eyes: “ Because this is your reason to live.”
“ My reason to live? Is to become the principle husband? I will not believe this!”
“ You have to! Because this is the truth! Now get out of here!”
“ Wait! You…ah…” Before he finishes talking, a sudden pain on his neck takes his conscious away.
“ Good job, Kirigakure.” Mr. Takatsukasa looks at the ninja behind the sound man: “ Carry him to the sedan.”
“ Yes, Master.” Kirigakure responses. He takes the young man and leaves.
The young man sleeps calmly in the sedan.
Yes, his presence is nothing more than a tool.
Can’t waste any bit of it, and then throw away like trash after.
This night, the full moon spills the bright light.
In the garden of Edo Castle, the man looks at the moon silently without emotions in his eyes.
Look closer, there are some shadows near the brushwoods, but the young man doesn’t care about that, because they are the guardians, who protect him nominally, but actually restricting him from escaping.
Finally, the serene night has floated out a sigh.
“ Two years…”
Yes, two years. The time he has stayed in Ooku, and he is twenty-one now.
The countless resistances have only thrusted him in despairing abyss, again and again.
As if he will never pull away from this big and glorious cage.
Whatever, there will be nothing but more despair to think. He can only walk back to his room slowly.
He just wanted to have someone, who treats him with true heart without judging him as a tool.
The wish seems as simple as that, but it’s impossible for him.
The family that has the supreme authority, the first son of the Takatsukasa family.
That is what he is,
Taka Takatsukasa.
On the other side, on the gallery of the Edo castle, there is a man wearing a light blue kimono.
He stops in front of a golden door. There is a stele on the top of the door, with the words “ Room of Sunflower” carved on it.
“ Master Iemitsu,” The cold voice flows out from his mouth.
“ Come in.” A woman’s voice responses. Different from other women’s femininity and grace, her voice throws off stateliness.
The door is open, with an eighteen-year-old woman putting one of her leg on the teapoy inside the room, without any feminine temperament.
“ Master Iemitsu, I have told you many times that do not sit like that.” The sharp line of sight seems as transfixion, stares at Iemitsu.
“ Shut up.” Iemitsu spits: “ So what do you want? Kasuga.”
“ I’m here to affirm the schedule of the secret trip tomorrow.”
“ You are exceptional earnest this time. I’m afraid of it’s because of that asshole.”
“ You haven’t chosen your principle husband yet, so I absolutely need to make sure you get along well with the candidates.”
“ Hum, you know who I am.” Iemitsu slightly frowns.
“ Yes, so I only ask you to stay with him half of the day.” Kasuga slightly raise his smile, but with no joy in his eyes: “ Then, I’ll just start.”
Few minutes later, Kasuga leaves the room, and walks toward the building behind the Edo Castle. That’s the Ooku, where all of the candidates live.
Eventually, he stops in front of a red door.
“ Master Takatsukasa.”
“ Are you looking for me?” Takatsukasa returns from the garden.
“ I would like to affirm the schedule of tomorrow’s trip.”
“ Why am I the one that needs to go out with her? She can go out by herself!” Takatsukasa is not happy about that, of course.
“ This is your obligation as the candidate of principle husband, Master Takatsukasa.”
“ I have never said I want to be the candidate! Do not call me with that title!” Takatsukasa growls.
“ Whatever you think, you will need to attend the trip.” Although Kasuga shows respect in his words, the tone is undeniable: “ I’m going to talk about the schedule now.”
Another few minutes later, Kasuga finishes his job and leaves the room.
The weather is nice in the next day. Iemitsu and Kasuga walk slowly toward the gate. Takatsukasa is already waiting over there.
“ Too slow.” Takatsukasa slightly twitches his lips.
“ Oh really? I’m so so — rry, asshole!” The deliberately prolonged word shows her extreme resentfulness.
“ Naruto.” Kasuga ignores the gunpowder diffuses between the two people, softly calls a name.
“ Here.” A shadow jumps down from the tree, with no wrinkle on his outfit. This juvenile is around fifteen years old, with short orange hair, ninja outfit, knives, swords, and other hidden weapons.
“ You are the guard with these two today.”
“ Yes.” Naruto looks at them besides, just smiles with a sigh, and then disappears into the shadow.
At noon, the two people eat silently in the restaurant. Of course, they seat in separate tables.
“ Oops oops, I didn’t expect you are here.” A twenty-eight man walks toward them. He has medium-length beige hair, dressed in a black kimono. The forever-smiling face adds some mystery.
“ Oh, it’s Ogata.” Iemitsu responses casually, while Ogata grave a chair and sits down.
At this moment, there are three more customers enter the restaurant. Two of them are dressed light, with weapons wore on the waist, and the last one is dressed in scholar costume, with a folding fan in his hand. The three people are not ordering any dishes, but just drink the beer on the table.
“ Um?” Iemitsu looks at them with strange vision. Caring weapons on the street isn’t forbidden, but most of them are dressed in warrior. These three people’s outfits aren’t different from other commoners, and that would be weird.
“ They are from Wulin.” Ogata explains in depressed volume in case to be hear by that three people.
Wulin, just as its name implies, is the place filled with martial artists. Most of the factions are distributed in remote mountains outside the city. All of the reasons lose their effectiveness, but only forces as the absolute power. The place has gradually deviated from the feudal official’s control, and became a separate area, the world of “ killing.”
Fortunately, those martial artists seldom make trouble in the area controls by the government, but only buying the daily needs. Most of the rewards that posted by the government are completed by those martial artists. There is an aeriform consensus managed between the two sides.
As time passed, the two sides become indifferent with each other, as if the two different worlds. But, there are still a few people that are familiar with the two sides, as Ogata right now.
“ The one with a sword is Daoming Shang, known as ‘ The Eight-side Sword,’ the one with knives is ‘ The Knife of East’ Mingling Huo, and the scholar is Sixing Ximen, known as ‘ The Trouble Maker.’” Ogata introduces.
“ Oh.” Iemitsu seems no interest in that.
The three people sit down and talk out loud.
“ I say, Old Shang!” Says Mingling Huo: “ Why is Hierarch so stubborn about that monster? Do you see how quick her swordsmanship was with her white dress? I thought I saw a fucking ghost in the big daytime!”
“ I don’t know either.” Daoming Shang fills some beer: “ I passed by Hierarch’s room last time, and barely heard the words ‘ medicine’ and ‘ ingredients,’ who knows!”
“ He even ordered to take her alive…” Sixing Ximen shows up indecent expression: “ Maybe she is just Hierarch’s type. I heard that monster is still a little girl…Hey…”
“ Eh! It still belongs to Hierarch if captured, ok?” Daoming Shang smiles: “ This morning, I saw that monster around the reward board, maybe she is still near around! We should go and catch her! What do you say?”
“ This…are we strong enough? I mean…Left Guard challenged her few weeks ago, and it took such a long time to recover. I heard that monster didn’t even get a scratch!”
“ Left Guard was fighting along then. Can she handle if we all fight at the same time?”
“ Hum…I agree!”
The three reach an agreement and then continue drinking, without noticing that there is a bright red shadow walks toward them.
“ Hey! You!” Takatsukasa shouts.
“ Shit…” Daoming Shang is shocked and spills his drink: “ Fuck! Where did this asshole com from? Where is your manner!”
“ Hey…he is still young! Don’t be that petty.” Says Sixing Ximen: “ So what do you want?”
“ You shouldn’t go to catch that girl! It’s too impudent for letting a girl fighting with three men.”
The three stupefy, and deride at him.
“ Hahaha! Are you defending for that monster? Haha…that’s hilarious!”
“ Stripling, I advice you to stay out of our way, or you won’t even know you are dead!”
“ Master Takatsukasa, let’s go.” Naruto comes to Takatsukasa, speaks softly: “ If you insist, I’m afraid that er can’t even keep our complete corpses.”
“ What? No! I can’t let them kill a little girl!” Takatsukasa says indignantly.
The light flashes, and the blade has already came. Naruto pushes Takatsukasa away just on time, but it’s too late for himself to pull out his weapon. A white shadow sways, and the knife has already been cut into two halves before being noticed by all of them. The front part of the knife flies away and stabs deeply into the wall.
Few moments later, everyone finally sees who the white shadow is.
The pure white skirt has no decorative designs, with two black blunt swords on the waist. The soft black hair touches the waist, without any ornaments, only combs a little, but doesn’t feel messy. Seems like almost never coming into the sunshine, her hands are extremely pale, but without morbidity. The fair cheek and the light pink lips make her as an angel comes from the wonderland.
But if looking at her eyes: tame emotions with hidden released murderous look that drops the surrounding air to freezing point. Coldness and ruthlessness, as if moistening with blood without expression on her face, as it were a white devil.
Angel and devil, such an ambivalent existence, but doesn’t feel that way on her.
At this moment, Sixing Ximen endures the cold murderous look, and wants to touch the pale hand, but he draws back before that. He looks at the sword that is already on his neck, and sweats.
“ My gosh…ghost…I’m…I’m begging…” He can’t even speak clearly. The young girl in white just moves the sword away, and then the three run away with fear.
“ This…Thank you so much.” Takatsukasa gets back his attention.
“ Your welcome.” Surprisingly, her voice sounds childish: “ Me either. Thank you for standing out for me.”
“ What? You are that mons—” Naruto hurriedly shut up before finishing: “ I’m sorry.”
“ Miss, would you like to order some food?” The waiter comes. Although he pretends to be easy, the drops of sweat on his forehead betrays him.
“ Sure…um?” The girl suddenly looks at the door: “ No thanks, I’ll leave immediately.”
Sixing Ximen, hum…
“ Wait! The little girl is gonna sit with us. Serve some good food for her!” Ogata still remains that mysterious smile, while he pulls another chair: “ Sit! Make yourself at home.”
“ All! Of! You! Guys!” Iemitsu keeps twitching her lips: “ Stop making trouble! You already made lots of them!”
“ Don’t say that, ok? We still have money.” Ogata whispers to Iemitsu: “ This girl’s money was stolen by that scholar. Don’t you think we should pay her?”
“ Hum, you just want to talk about poison.” Iemitsu rolls her eyes.
“ Ha, I’m a doctor, so it can be relevant.”
“ You…” Iemitsu seems speechless and turns to the girl: “ Sit down.”
“ Posterity of Ancient Tomb, descendant of Mr. Guo Yang and the Dragon Girl, right?” The girl just sits, Ogata then asks: “ What’s your name?”
“ Jianxue…Jianxue Yang.” The girl is still emotionless, but her hands slowly reaches the sheath.
“ Oh, oh, I’m just a doctor that is interesting in Wulin.” Ogata explains: “ Young master Takatsukasa stood out for you, and I’m his friend. Isn’t it enough to gain your trust?”
“ You are not him.” Jianxue speaks with apartness: “ But you are from the inner city, so I guess you can be trusted for now.”
“ Ha, it will be better for a child to smile more.” Ogata shakes his head helplessly.
“ Um…Mr. Ogata, I think she is as same age as me.” Naruto hesitates: “ So maybe you should…”
“ I’m twelve.” She answers before Naruto finishing talking.
“ W-what!” Naruto says in shock. Then why is her fighting skills so…
“ Childe Takatsukasa.” Jianxue looks at him: “ Never do this again.”
“ Hum?”
“ Killing takes less than a moment.”
“…Excuse me, I have to go.” Jianxue slightly nods her head, and then disappears in just a moment.
While everyone is confused, there are more martial artists coming to the restaurant. They don’t pay attention to the waiter, but just looking around, as if they are finding someone.
“ Shit…Not here!” One man swears out loud.
“ Huh, must escaped before us! Fucking fast that monster!” Another one says with disgust, then the group just leaves.
“ Ugh…it must been hard.” Naruto starts to sympathize with that little girl, but he can’t say anything more.
“…” Takatsukasa seems thinking og something.
After lunch, the group then move separately. Takatsukasa moves along toward the market, seems just strolling, then he sees the white shadow he just met.
Jianxue stands in front of the brick wall where the rewards list usually posted, but there is nothing posted now. Then, she sees a bag that is handing to her.
“ Here.” Takatsukasa says: “ Short of money, right?”
“ Why help?” She doesn’t take that, but just looks back at him.
“ Well…they are useless to me anyway, so just take it.” He says dryly.
Money would never buy him freedom.
“ Useless?” She thinks for a few seconds: “ If it’s useless, then I don’t want that either.”
“ Huh?” He is speechless, but in a good way.
Everyone tries to get close with him because of money.
“ Is there something wrong?”
“ Ah…uh…what about your parents? Will they come and take you soon?” He is unable to explain, so he changes the subject.
“ They are dead.”
“ Uh…you are so straightforward…”
“ Oh…I apologize for my gaffe.”
“ No, no…I didn’t mean that…I mean…aren’t you sad?” Takatsukasa asks carefully. Most of the people feel sad when they lost their loved ones, although it’s not true for him.
“ Yes, but all humans died eventually, so why letting yourself fall into sorrow?” The petite body that doesn’t reach his chest, exudes overage thoughts: “ What about you? Will you feel sad?”
“ This…” He can’t think of any false words: “ No…probably…I’ll be happy instead…”
She just nods her head.
“ Don’t you think I am ruthless?”
“ No, nobody is ruthless. People looked ruthless just because there is nothing to make them affectionate.” She says lightly, but let a ray a light flows into his despair, even he himself doesn’t know.
“ You wait here!” He quickly rushes into the market, and returns with another bag of things a few minutes after.
It turns out to be some daily necessities.
“ This way, it is not useless anymore!” He smiles: “ And this, it must look good on you.”
He holds a plum blossom hairpin, that matches her white dress very well.
“…” There is a trace of surprise in her eyes. In order to facilitate fighting, she usually doesn’t wear any accessories.
But…
“ Thank you, I will wear it if I have a chance.”
The moment he touches her fingertip, he stuns.
That temperature is so cold that almost freezes him.
“ Are you…a human?” He spits out such a ridiculous question.
“ Oh…of course I am.” She smiles, and that stuns him again.
Her smile is beautiful.
Not the kind of flirtatious beauty, nor the smile scheming, her smile has no impurity.
“ I have to go, goodbye.” She collects the bag and disappears on the street instantly. The shadow in the dark chases over.
“ See you…” Looking at the street where she is no longer there, he suddenly smiles, a shallow smile that he hasn’t have for a long time.
Today, there is light that flows into his heart.
See you, means to meet again in the future.
Hope they have the chance.
[Fin.]
Taka Takatsukasa
達人
