DISCLAIMER:
The characters belong to Sai Yukino and Kairi Yura, Kadokawa Shoten,
Madhouse Studios, etc., i.e., not me.
I'm just borrowing them for a
while to spin a tale
Submitted to
Saiun
Challenge's Week 18 Prompt. Word Count: 300 Words or less. I won 1st
Place.
‘Insignificant’
Gestures
By firewolf
September 2008
@>;-'-
To Reishin it had been an
insignificant throwaway gesture. The ribbon he had offered little Kou
wasn’t even purchased. Just a tiny slip of pale green silk he had found
when he was cleaning out his drawers. It was probably a remnant of a
message scroll that came from a merchant or an official from the Heki
province some decades earlier, since the vibrant green had faded to a
pastel green, which Reishin had casually thought matched Kou’s unusual
aqua coloured hair rather nicely.
The last thing Reishin had expected was for Kou to stare widely at him
with his fascinating grey-violet eyes in plain disbelief for this
‘gift.’ The reverence with which the boy accepted the bit of silk from
him made Reishin’s heart unexpectedly ache.
When the slippery ribbon proved frustrating for the boy to try and
fasten in his hair since he was more used to rough cord, Reishin had
tapped him on the shoulder and had the boy stand quietly before him
while he carefully tied the ribbon in Kou’s hair for him. The boy’s
eyes were practically shining when Reishin turned him around to inspect
his work. And Reishin was sure right then and there that he wanted Kou
to never leave him. That he was going to immediately start looking
through his library for books which would help him chose a proper name
for his son.
Years later, after that horrible period when he had felt obligated to
leave his son in prison to teach him the importance of being his own
man and not be blindly devoted to him; Reishin sent Kouyuu a box of
aqua coloured ribbons. His wife had responded quite quickly with a
letter asking him what he had done to make their son cry. Reishin just
smiled knowingly.
~owari~
