Utsushiyo Monogatari: Crimson Shadow

Chapter Seven: Tangled

"Sugawara-dono, this is too kind"

"Formal as always. Don't do that or I will start calling you Fumi-dono", Kiyogimi  laughed loudly and gave Katori a warm hearty pat on the back. Formalities were exhausting in the imperial court. Kiyogimi  was having none of that in his private residence. Besides, he was fond of the fragile-looking young man donned in a fine white silk kosode who was an exact replica of his father, Fumi no Toshiro. Kiyogimi  only lamented the deepest regrets when he had left for Kure, the Middle Kingdom. Toshiro died during his passage away across the seas. He found comfort in Katori, for he, like Toshiro, seemingly had the refined knowledge of literary works which seem to flow easily with ease from youngster's pleasing mouth. A tinge of sadness entered Kiyogimi marring the moment - Katori looked just as sickly as his father.

"Well, where shall we start, Katori?", Kiyogimi  asked as his attendant started grinding the inkstone. He could hear the giggling sound of his ten year old niece. Turning around, he could see her peeping curiously from the open door at the young man. Seemingly oblivious to the attention, Katori was admiring the plum blossoms in the yard in front of the hall. Kiyogimi  paused to muse at the young man's good looks. Like Toshiro, there was a refined feminine and genteel quality. One which Kiyogimi had found familiar in the courts of Kure. 

Kiyogimi beckoned reluctantly to his niece to enter. She was not yet a woman. Had she undergone the genpuku ceremony to become a woman, he would have forbid it on grounds of impropriety. As her dress rustled softly across the wooden boards of the hall, Katori turned around. His large brown eyes emitted a soft glow as he bowed to her when she lifted her sleeve to cover her smile. His eyes averted in politeness. After the customary greeting, Katori turned his attentions to the plum blossom tree again. What a fine young man, Kiyogimi smiled at the thought happily. His judge of character was not wrong. 

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Yakō nearly choked violently on his sake, spluttering some of the clear liquid around as he attempted to wipe his mouth. Katori gave him a long hard stare as he lifted a light fragranced silk handkerchief with a visible female scrawl in front of him. 

"You amaze me ", Yakō gulped the rest down as he proceed to read further and grasped it to read the hiragana poem.

"A bright light...entered...my life...the moon and the stars....", Yakō read as he struggled to keep a straight face at the poorly written poem of a lovelorn maiden. With a graceful wave of his unblemished hand, he bade his handmaiden to leave the room. She complied with his request for privacy and moved out swiftly facing him to slide the door close. Katori rolled his eyes in annoyance as he awaited the fox's verdict. With a naughty wink, Yakō drew the silk handkerchief lightly across his face to provoke the Daiyōkai more.

"My love, my life...", Yakō went on in a high pitch, poorly imitating a young maiden. 

"If you are not helping..."

"Give it to Makoto. He might want to get back at you by seducing that young maiden.", Yakō joked but slowly tapered off as another cold hard stare was thrown at him. Silence followed awkwardly.

"Fine fine, Sugawara is your pawn and you need to keep him. Ok ok. How would old Yakō deal with this problem...", he pondered as he calculated the possible outcomes. 

Katori was not interested in this maiden. Yet both knew that a refusal could offend.Hell hath a woman's scorn. Delicate matters needed to be diverted away. Makoto would be an option, if Makoto not was like Katori. IF. The two loggerheads hated each other and each meeting would bring a fight, yet their personalities were quite alike. Yakō was not about to delve into the reasons. His ego was flattered highly that Katori sought him for help, instead of the Dragon Daiyōkai , Seiryu. Then again, Seiryu would not have much experience in human courtship  matters.