blue_cage | L5r snippeting

He had always known her as Hatsuyuki-hime. Outside their world, her name must have been something other than the fleeting snow, but they have forgotten. Doubtless, _she_ had wanted to forget, for rare did her eyes stray to the outside and her voice to raise in a sigh for the garden's beauty, and rarer still were the instances in which she stepped out of her silver pavilion. That was only when the man decided to visit, once, every turn of the season, and Hatsuyuki-hime would be as pale as the white silks that garbed her while they talked in the teahouse.

Haku was never invited to those meetings, and never wanted to listen in, for the dark man unsettled him, with his swarthy skin and black clothing, amidst their world of color. He kept close to Ichiko, who would go on, weaving, weaving, this time a white garment, suitable for a shroud.

"Is someone dead, Ichiko-sama?"

"Someone will be," was her cryptic reply. The garment, fashioned by a woman, for a woman, raised his fears.

"Will it be Hatsuyuki-hime?"

"It is not yet her time."

***

"To be born with your coloring is a gift - but we must pretend, Hakuseii. You must pretend you are ordinary, so they won't see what perfection you are."

***

It was Ichiko who did it, who dipped her hands into the darkness and pulled him along with it, to bring him back with his hair stained by gray.

"It is not dark enough. Again."

And he tried not to breathe, while the dye ran and dripped all over him, afraid the blackness would mark him as much as it marked his hair.

"There was an easier way," she said, by way of conversation as this torture went on interminably. "We can ask a shugenja to change your coloring, to mask it, but I would rather we do it this way, so you won't forget what this is, what you must do. This black color will protect you, and in turn you can protect Hatsuyuki."

"You will not answer to Hakuseii any longer - you will be Bayushi Ichiro, an ordinary boy of no consequence, except you have found favor in Kurodo-sama's eyes."

"But what of my name, what of the Ka - "

"You must never say that word again."

=_= I wonder how the poor kid survived the Akodo War College? X_x Ah, yes, nandiyan naman ang ever-trusthworthy, ever-popular, and (ever)-beautiful Akodo Akira, and they ph33r the power of the beautiful being's rejection! W00T! And there's Kuya Iuchi Hikaru to burn them to a crisp! XDXDXD WAI! SHINING!!!!

---

Extra Notes:
Ide YongHa
- aka (un)officially as Moto Chagatai's love child (WTF?)
- aka officially as Unicorn Battler YongHa, masked defender of the weak and the land of Rokugan!
- children like watching bunraku of his misadventures!
- actually has a transformation sequence. X_X His horse also gets armored for battle. (What? Black masks and nifty swordplay isn't popular anymore?)
- hates those who are weak (what the hell? >_<;)
- probably Hates Hikaru because a. Hikaru has Akira, b. Hikaru has done well either as samurai or shugenja, c. Hikaru is just too cool.
- inferiority complex - afraid he will be weak.
- (have to ask Hisui about this) He will be scarred by his battles and his fight with Shadowland creatures, and it causes him to become aloof.

Tsubasa ('Tsu' - Crane 'Ba' - feather 'Sa' - ordinary hiragana 'sa')
- Akodo Touya's and Kakita Hisui's child
- appeared to be very ordinary in his class because everyone is comparing him to his brilliant brother Akira.
- Tsubasa is just a late-bloomer, but he will become a good samurai.
- very pretty - actually, he looks a lot like Akira, just that he's so unconfident that people don't notice

Omake:

Hikaru, Touya, Akira, and Hisui are all in one room. Akira and Hisui are a bit away from the other two. Hikaru was facing Touya.
Hikaru: (fists on thighs, looking very serious) I - I will be honored to serve the family of Akodo Touya to prove I am worthy of asking for your son Akira's hand in marriage.
Touya: (raises eyebrow) But Akira is also a man.
Hikaru: It doesn't matter. Akira is the only one I want to spend my life with.
Hisui: (aside to Akira) You even have matching tattoos, if I remember right.
Akira: (doki-doki in the corner)
Touya: Then you are going to be an - er - wife to my son?
Hikaru: No! We will be husbands to each other.
Touya: But that is not how it's done in this family.
Hikaru: We're applying the gender equality laws of Rokugan here, Article 23, section 3, line 4.

Touya: You must prove yourself worthy of my son's hand.
Hikaru: I will do everything to prove I am worthy!
Touya: Then. (Slams Go board, and go bowls between them)
Touya: Therefore you must defeat me in Go. (evil grin.glint)
(Akira and Hisui gasped.)
Akira: (whispers) no....
Hikaru: I have one request.
Touya: You deserve one.
Hikaru: Allow me a 180 moku handicap!
Touya: Yes. But do you think you can win even with that?
Hikaru: (gulps)
They face each other before the Goban. It was his father's turn to make a move.
Akira: (clasps his hands together) Father, forgive me. I must do this for my happiness!
(Akira does a flying kick to the back of his father's head. Touya's head slammed on the board, scattering stones.)
Hisui: (raises Hikaru's arm) Because Touya bowed, he had resigned, and therefore Iuchi Hikaru wins!
Akira: Forgive me father! Forgive me father! I had to think of my happiness!

Hisui: We'd better think of a different stratagem for poor little Tsubasa once his turn comes.
Tsubasa: Once my turn comes to what?
Hisui: Ah, I know what...I will ask someone to summon the spirit of the greatest go player I know. Fujiwara no Sai!

---

Tsubasa: Why do you alwasy bully me?!
YongHa: Because I used to hat you and bully you, but now that my hate has turned into love I can find no other way to express it except by bullying you!
Tsubasa: O_o;

---

YongHa dislikes weak people, and because Tsubasa is so 'ordinary' and weak (a crybaby to boot) he dislikes the boy. Tsubasa is also so trusting that he will believe everyone's story (perfect for conning!) and it's because of that that a Shadowlands creature managed to whisk him away. Tsubasa started to cry, and the Shadowlands creature couldn't do anything, so Yongha managed to rescue him. YongHa called him stupid, so he started to cry some more. YongHa, feeling guilty, embraced him. That's how Akira and Hikaru saw him, and Akira kicked him.