The Tale Continues (Saiunkoku Monogatari Fanfiction: Ryuuki x Shuurei lemon)

Chapter 20: Unexpected Reunion

Shuurei had just arrived in Kiyou after four years of traveling the whole of Saiunkoku. She arrived alone since Ensei and Tantan was given another job. She arrived eight days earlier than expected since she avoided stop overs. She had just submitted her latest report regarding her last assignment. Her things were brought ahead to their residence. She is walking home after reporting when she saw a familiar purple clothing. Her eyes widened and she froze at what she saw.

On the other side of the street, she saw Ryuuki kissing a woman. 'Is this the man he had become?' Her heart tightened and she held her chest as it suddenly felt hard to breathe. It felt like she had just been stabbed in the heart. This is something she never expected to see right after she arrived. 'Why am I feeling like this,' she thought.

Although she had been pushing Ryuuki away, she never imagined seeing him kiss a woman in front of her. Honestly, she did not expect him to do so. His declarations of love to her were sincere that she cannot fathom this even though she had heard rumors that Ryuuki had been bringing in women to the Inner Palace. She wanted to run away from that place; to hide before Ryuuki sees her, but she cannot move. She just stared frozen on the spot as bunch of girls arrived. 'Perhaps it's true that he had become a womanizer?'

Behind the thick bushes, Shuuei was stopping Kouyuu from moving out of their hiding place and move the girl away.

''Insolence! How shameless that girl is to kiss the emperor! This is exactly why I hate women. They are too pushy!'' Kouyuu remarked angrily.

''Now, now just shut up or we will be chased again too. Let's see how His Majesty will this with this kind of situation,'' Shuuei calmly said. Then he was silenced when Kouyou did shut up but stiffened when he spotted a certain someone. He followed Kouyuu's gaze and saw Shuurei who was frozen in her tracks and staring at Ryuuki and the woman. They could not believe their eyes. Shuurei is not supposed to be here yet.

''Catastrophe,'' Shuuei whispered as he saw the pained and stunned expression on Shuurei's face. ''His Majesty seems to be unlucky today.'' They instantly knew that Shuurei had misunderstood the situation.

''Are you sure we still won't intercede?'' Kouyuu retorted.

''Let us let His Majesty sort this out.'' Shuuei said with a bit of uncertainty in his voice.

''That's unfair! Just because she's the fastest runner among us,'' one of the ladies said with a clenched fists as she saw the scene. The other women nodded in agreement and sharply gawked at the woman who is with Ryuuki.

Shuurei saw him push the girl away. 'How rude of him,' she thought. 'After kissing her he would do that?' He run to a nearby bucket filled with water and dipped his face in it.

The group of women gasped. ''Stop him! He's committing suicide!'' one yelled and some of the girls quickly pulled Ryuuki away from the bucket.

'What's going on now,' Shuurei thought. Things are confusing her. 'Kissing a woman and then suicide? Totally unrelated.'

''Let me go,'' he said to the women and pulled himself free. Then to the woman he was with just a minute ago he said, ''that is terrible. Are you not taught that you cannot just kiss strangers that you encounter? Where are you manners?'' (''Exactly!'' Kouyuu said behind the bushes. He agreed with Ryuuki for once.)

The bunch of ladies laughed. ''He just said your kiss was terrible,'' one teased.

''That's what you get for going ahead of us,'' another said.

''But onii-san is really handsome,'' the woman said with a blush. ''See? Even his angry face is pretty,'' she added and the bunch of girls cannot help but agree as they looked at him.

''How unfair! Let us kiss you too onii-san,'' the bunch of girls said at once.

Ryuuki backed away like a scared cat but the girls are able to corner him. As Shuurei watched, she further got confused.

He was thinking of climbing the wall when across the street he saw a beautiful woman staring at him. He blinked several times thinking that he must have been hallucinating out of exhaustion. But as he gazed, he confirmed that it is indeed his beloved Shuurei. She had arrived earlier like he had dreamt before. She looked mature and more beautiful than four years ago.

Then he remembered his situation as he felt the women closing in on him. ''My savior!'' he said like a girl. But as he saw the expression on her face, he felt like his world had just fallen apart. She looked so disappointed in him. He immediately run to her side. He knew that what she saw is when the woman was kissing him and she must have thought it was him who is kissing the girl.

Shuurei wanted to turn away and ran as Ryuuki met her eyes but she could not move at all. She cannot even move a step back.

''I am deeply sorry,'' Ryuuki said with a bowed head.

''Huh?'' Shuurei said in confusion.

''I did not want you to witness such a terrible scene. I promise that I am devoted to you with all my heart,'' Ryuuki continued.

(''Eh?!!'' Kouyuu and Shuuei both exclaimed. They both thought that Ryuuki had already gotten over Shuurei.)

That is when Shuurei woke from her trance. His words annoyed her. 'This person! First he kiss women in public then he bows in front of me to apologize! What if someone recognizes him? It would be bad to see the king bowing like this.' Although Ryuuki just bowed his head slightly, it still means so much since he is the emperor.

She took a deep breath and folded her arms on her chest. Then to Ryuuki she said aloud, ''why won't you just go and drown yourself in that bucket? Just what do you think you're doing kissing random women in public?'' she scolded him. The bunch of girls stared at them in confusion.

''I did not kiss her. She suddenly kiss me. I –''

''I do not need to hear excuses,'' Shuurei cut him off. The girls are now regarding her sharply since Ryuuki is paying her so much attention and yet she is treating him cruelly.

''Who is this woman? Why is she acting all bossy?'' the most talkative one said loudly.

''Right. I want to pull her hair,'' another said.

''Or tie her up somewhere dangerous,'' a sadistic one added.

''Yes and scratch her beautiful face,'' someone else said.

Now Shuurei is getting a little scared at this weirdos. 'What's wrong with this girls?' she thought. 'One said I am beautiful though,' she smiled internally.

Ryuuki turned to the girls and covered Shuurei as if to say 'I will protect her against your wiles.' Then Shuurei heard him say, ''she is my wife.'' He looked serious when said this that no one was able to speak.

Next Chapter: The Chase