Summer Vacation III: Honeymoon in Japan, Part 7
by Geri ([email protected])
My homepage: http://www.geocities.com/geri_chans_fics/index.html
Rating: NC-17
Pairing: Aric/Takeshi, Snape/Lupin
Author's note: {} Indicates character's unspoken thoughts
Disclaimer: Based on the Harry Potter series by J.K. Rowling; no money is being
made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Warning: This is a continuation of the Always series, but the main focus is on
Aric and Takeshi, and Snape and Lupin appear mainly as supporting characters.
Sequel to: Always, Summer Vacation, For Old Time's Sake, Three's a Crowd, Return
of the Raven, Phoenix Reborn, Phoenix Rising, Aftermaths, The Revenant, and
Ash's Story. Although it's not so much a sequel to the latter two stories as it
is a companion piece. The Revenant, Ash's Story, and Summer Vacation III all
begin at around the same time, a couple of days after the ending of
"Aftermaths," and pretty much run concurrently.
Summary: The wedding day continues--Dumbledore makes a request; Aric meets more
unpleasant guests, including one of Takeshi's ex-boyfriends; Tsubasa provides
some entertainment at the reception.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
"So what's up with Lupin and Snape?" Aric asked after the Professors had left.
"They kept giving each other these looks--" Aric mimicked Lupin's expression.
"--like they were trying to communicate through Legilimency or something."
"I don't know, but Remus is probably up to something," Takeshi replied with a
smile. "He does like to meddle in people's lives--with the best of intentions,
of course. He is a Gryffindor, after all."
Aric grinned. "And I'm a Slytherin. If someone's keeping a secret, I can't help
but want to find out what it is."
"And curiosity is a Slytherin trait?" Tsubasa asked.
"No, the Slytherin traits are ambition and cunning," Aric replied, his grin
turning a little sly. "But information is a valuable commodity among the
Slytherin elite."
Takeshi laughed. "Well, I'm sure that we'll find out what Remus wants soon
enough."
"Should I be worried that your friend might wish to meddle in my life?" Tsubasa
asked, looking amused.
"Oh, Remus is harmless," Takeshi replied. "Mostly."
"Ah well, I'm used to it," Tsubasa laughed. "I live among the tengu, after all,
who are inveterate meddlers and pranksters. If nothing else, perhaps Professor
Lupin will provide some entertainment and distraction, which I'm sure I will
find welcome before long." He sighed. "I miss my parents when I'm away, but it's
always difficult coming back home to the valley."
"You don't like it here?" Aric asked, but before Tsubasa could answer, the
children came running back with the dragonfly, which had reverted to its
original wooden form. One of the crane children asked Tsubasa something in
Japanese, and he shook his head, smiling ruefully, and made a reply that sounded
like a gentle refusal.
"He asked if Tsubasa would make wooden swords for them to play with," Takeshi
translated for Aric. "I think the children are excited by the presence of the
tengu warriors in general, and Tsubasa in particular. He's quite an exotic
figure to them, since the crane folk aren't warriors by nature. But Tsubasa says
that he can't give them swords, because the elders would be angry with him."
Tsubasa, who had overheard the translation, muttered under his breath, "Speak of
the devil," as a crane man walked towards them. He was tall and very handsome,
his black hair bound back in a tail so long that it brushed against the floor.
He wore a long silvery-gray kimono that probably would have made Dylan Rosier
(who favored silver clothing and jewelry that matched his eyes) drool with envy.
As the man drew closer, Aric could see that the kimono had been embroidered with
metallic silver thread in an overlapping feather design, so that it looked like
the handsome stranger was wearing a robe made of feathers.
But although the silver-robed crane was stunningly handsome, he looked down his
nose at them in a haughty manner that reminded Aric of Lucius Malfoy. He
appeared to be in his mid-to-late thirties, but so did Haruko, who had to be in
her late forties at the very least, to have two grown sons. The crane folk
seemed to age very gracefully.
Takeshi rose to his feet and bowed deeply; Aric hastily followed suit. The crowd
of children bowed as well, while Tsubasa remained seated, but bowed in the
direction of the stranger.
"Kazuhiko-sama," Takeshi said, straightening up from his bow. "This is my mate,
Aric Dietrich." Kazuhiko muttered something in Japanese that sounded
disparaging, and Takeshi's tone of voice changed from pleasant and respectful to
something still polite but much chillier. "Please, Kazuhiko-sama," Takeshi said,
"my mate does not speak Japanese."
"Your mate cannot be bothered to learn the language of your people?" Kazuhiko
demanded in English.
"Aric and I have been mated for only a few weeks," Takeshi replied, bowing his
head politely although Aric could hear his voice sharpening slightly with anger.
"Perhaps I misspoke; I should have said that Aric can speak only a little
Japanese, but he is working most diligently to learn our language."
Aric considered telling Kazuhiko about the "language lessons" Takeshi had been
giving him in bed, just to get a rise out of him, but the crane man didn't look
like he had much of a sense of humor, and Aric didn't want to make trouble for
Takeshi and his family. So he merely bowed and said, "Yoroshiku onegai
itashimasu," a phrase that Takeshi said translated as "I'm pleased to meet you"
or "please be good to me". Aric doubted that he could expect Kazuhiko to "be
good" to him, but as a former pureblood heir, he was used to observing
formalities that no one sincerely meant.
Kazuhiko just wrinkled his nose slightly, as if he smelled something foul, and
said disdainfully, "Wolves and crows overrunning our valley--what has the world
come to?" Then without waiting for a reply, he turned on his heel and stalked
away.
"Kazuhiko-sama isn't really all bad," Takeshi told Aric with an apologetic
smile. "He's just very conservative and set in his ways, and having so many
strangers in the valley is setting him on edge. But I'm sorry that he was rude
to you."
"You're more charitable than I, Cousin," Tsubasa said with a little snort,
although he didn't look particularly upset or offended, more resigned. He smiled
and said to Aric, "My American friends would say that he has a stick up his ass.
Or arse, I guess you British would say."
Aric laughed, a little startled to hear something so blunt and crude coming out
of the mouth of the beautiful and graceful crane man. A couple of the older
children, who must have understood English, giggled at the comment and explained
to it to the others, who started giggling as well.
"Shhh," Tsubasa said, laying a finger across his lips, although his eyes were
sparkling with laughter. "You'll get me into trouble." He turned the wooden
tonbo back into a real dragonfly and sent it flying across the courtyard again,
and the children laughed and ran after it.
"Kazuhiko doesn't bother me," Aric assured Takeshi and Tsubasa. "I know plenty
of people like him back home. Actually, he remind me of--"
"Lucius Malfoy!" Takeshi said, chiming in as Aric said the exact same thing, and
they both laughed. "But seriously, Kazuhiko-sama isn't that bad. He may be a
snob, but at least he's not a Death Eater."
"Why do you call him 'sama'?" Aric asked curiously. "Doesn't that mean 'Lord'?
Is he a high-muckety-muck?"
"You might say that," Tsubasa said with a wry smile. "He is Chizuru-hime's first
cousin, and therefore second in line to inherit the throne if she has no
children. But now that the princess is marrying Karasu, it's no doubt sticking
in his craw that the future ruler of the crane people will probably be
half-crow. In his mind, I'm no better than a crow myself, for forsaking my
people to live among the tengu."
Takeshi gave his cousin a sympathetic smile. "I don't think that Kazuhiko-sama
craves power for power's sake. He sincerely wants to protect the clan, but
unfortunately, he has a rather narrow and rigid idea of what is best for our
people."
"Most of the Death Eaters were just power hungry, but some of them sincerely
thought they were doing what was best for the wizarding world," Aric reminded
him.
"You're right," Takeshi said quietly. "But the crane folk are not violent.
Kazuhiko and the others who think like him would never resort to bloodshed. They
merely want to retreat further into isolation, sealing the valley off completely
from the outside world, even from the other shapeshifter races and the human
wizards."
"Such stagnation is a kind of death in itself," Tsubasa said, his expression
grave now. "If the clan seals itself off like that, eventually we will wither
away and die out--from inbreeding, if nothing else."
"But that will not happen now, I think," Takeshi said, smiling. "Chizuru and
Karasu will open relations with the other clans and lead our people forward into
the future instead of backwards. And perhaps someday Kazuhiko-sama will
understand that it is for the best."
"And maybe someday the cherry blossoms will bloom in midwinter, but I don't
think it very likely," Tsubasa said skeptically. "Still, I suppose one can
always hope." He rose to his feet and bowed. "Please excuse me, Cousins. I am
performing a sword dance at the reception tonight with some of the tengu, and we
have one final rehearsal before the real thing."
"Oh, that reminds me," Takeshi said. "Aric is a student of the sword himself,
and he would like to request a match with you."
"I've been taking European-style fencing lessons for several years, although I'm
sure that I'm nowhere near as good as you," Aric said politely.
"Of course, I would be delighted," Tsubasa told him with what seemed like
sincere pleasure. "I thought that I wouldn't have anyone to spar with once my
tengu friends leave the valley after the wedding."
"I didn't bring my sword with me," Aric said. "I didn't think that I'd have
anyone to spar with, either."
"No matter," Tsubasa said. "I can lend you a spare."
"Please don't hurt him too badly, Tsubasa-nii," Takeshi said, his eyes twinkling
mischievously. "I would like him back in one piece."
"Then I promise to do no damage that you cannot heal," Tsubasa said with a grin.
Then he bowed and left.
"I'm beginning to wonder what I've gotten myself into," Aric said, laughing
nervously.
"Oh, don't worry," Takeshi said cheerfully. "I'll brew some healing potion and
salve ahead of time."
"That's very reassuring," Aric said sarcastically.
"I can tell my cousin not to be too hard on you because I expect you to still be
able to perform your marital duties in bed, my wolf," Takeshi whispered into
Aric's ear, causing his face to turn scarlet.
"Don't say things like that in public," Aric scolded in a husky voice. "Or I
might not be able to control the wolf." It really didn't help that Takeshi was
wearing his hair in a ponytail instead of a braid. It was tied off at the nape
of his neck with a blue ribbon, letting the rest of it fall free to his waist,
and that length of shining black silk seemed to be taunting Aric, begging him to
touch it and run his fingers through it. "It's almost obscene, seeing you with
your hair loose in public," Aric whispered, reaching out to place a finger on
Takeshi's ponytail, just the faintest touch, the tip of his finger just barely
brushing against his lover's silky hair, but that was enough to send waves of
heat through Aric's body, making him shudder with desire.
"Oh?" Takeshi asked coyly, reaching up with one hand to touch the ribbon holding
back his hair. "And if the sight of me in a ponytail is enough to provoke the
wolf, what would happen if I took off this ribbon and let my hair fall
completely loose?"
"What would Lord Kazuhiko and the rest of your people do if I pushed you down
and took you right here and now in front of everyone?" Aric growled in a low
voice, and it was Takeshi's turn to blush, but it was not entirely with
embarrassment. His pupils seemed to dilate and his lips parted, his breathing
growing faster and more labored. Aric nearly did lose control of the wolf then,
instinct overriding reason for a split second, but just as he was about to
pounce on his mate, a hearty and cheerful voice called out...
"Ah, Mr. Kimura, just the person I wanted to see!"
Aric and Takeshi both jumped and turned around to face the Headmaster, blushing
guiltily like two Hogwarts students who had just been caught making out in the
rose bushes or under the Quidditch stands. Lupin grinned, looking very amused,
while Dumbledore smiled at them genially, and Snape just raised an eyebrow.
"Ah...hello, Headmaster, it's good to see you again," a flustered Takeshi said,
trying to regain his composure. "What can I do for you?"
"I was wondering if you might arrange a meeting between your cousin and myself,"
Dumbledore said pleasantly. "Perhaps in a day or two, or whenever is most
convenient for him."
"With Tsubasa?" Takeshi asked, looking startled.
"Yes," Dumbledore replied, smiling cheerfully.
"All right," Takeshi said, clearly puzzled but not pressing for more
information. "I'll speak to Tsubasa later and send you a message."
"You can reach me at Kamiyama-sensei's temple," Dumbledore said cheerfully.
"I've decided to stay in Japan and play tourist for a few days."
"All right," Takeshi repeated.
"Thank you, Mr. Kimura," Dumbledore said. "Please give my regards to your
parents. Ah, never mind--there they are, by the pond. I'll go and greet them
myself." He excused himself and went over to talk to Haruko and Isamu, and Snape
and Lupin also left before Aric and Takeshi could question them.
"So what was all that about?" Aric asked, confused enough to be temporarily
distracted from his lust. "Why would Dumbledore want to talk to your cousin?"
"Perhaps he wants to hire him as a teacher?" Takeshi speculated.
"He would make a good Physical Defense instructor, but Lukas is already in that
position," Aric said, frowning. "In fact, I don't know of any openings at
Hogwarts. Even if there were, would Tsubasa really be interested in moving to
England?"
Takeshi shrugged. "He's never expressed any interest in leaving Japan
permanently, although he does visit Reiko's family and some of his old
classmates in America from time to time. I guess we'll just have to wait until
Dumbledore talks to Tsubasa to find out what he wants."
They continued mingling with the other guests, making polite small talk,
although since many of the guests didn't speak much English, Aric spent a lot of
time smiling and nodding politely while having no clue as to what was going on
in the conversation unless Takeshi translated for him. Well, that was not quite
true--Aric suspected that Takeshi left a few less-than-polite remarks out of his
translation. No one was outright rude to him (other than Kazuhiko), and they all
greeted him with polite smiles, but Aric had spent enough time among the
pureblood elite to recognize false politeness when he heard it. Behind his back,
he often heard the word "oukami" mentioned, and thanks to Ichiro's twins, he
knew that it meant "wolf," which meant they were probably talking about him
since there weren't any other werewolves around.
"Are we scandalous, you and I?" Aric whispered to his lover, when they paused
for a drink between small-talk sessions. "Because I'm a wolf, or because I'm
male, or both?"
Takeshi smiled and replied, "Well, we're a little scandalous, I suppose. Not so
much to the tengu; they have no objection to same-sex romances unless it
prevents the head of a family from producing an heir, and since neither of us is
a tengu, the interspecies thing doesn't concern them, either, although it might
be a different story if one of their own chose a wolf as a lifemate. For the
cranes, the bond between mates is sacred. We believe that for each of us, there
is one person destined to be our other half, and it is forbidden for someone to
break up a mated pair; to do so would anger the gods. Of course, Kazuhiko and
others like him are displeased about outsiders marrying into the clan and
diluting the bloodline, but none of them would ever do more than grumble about
it. As for you being male, no one, not even Kazuhiko, really cares about that.
If anything, he's probably relieved that at least we won't be having any
half-wolf children."
"And the human wizards?" Aric asked.
"They are somewhat like the purebloods back home," Takeshi replied. "Same-sex
affairs are tolerated, but the participants are expected to be discreet about
it. They don't normally go about openly declaring themselves lovers like we are,
so that is a bit scandalous. The Japanese wizards don't have the same prejudice
about interspecies marriages that the purebloods back home do; in fact, it's
normally considered an honor to marry into one of the shapeshifter clans. We are
probably causing a lot of gossip, though, since the Japanese werewolves are very
isolated and don't normally mingle with the other races. And of course there is
the fact that werewolves cannot control their monthly curse."
"You told me that wolves were considered divine creatures in your homeland,"
Aric reminded him.
Takeshi gave him a wry smile. "And gods are often feared as well as revered, my
love. The human wizards do regard the werewolves with respect...and keep a
healthy distance from them. Most of the people here have probably never seen a
werewolf before. I think that they're more curious than frightened, though."
"Should I growl and bare my teeth a little?" Aric joked. "I wouldn't want to
disappoint them."
Takeshi just laughed and shook his head. They resumed circulating around the
courtyard and making small talk, when suddenly they came face-to-face with a
handsome Japanese man who was perhaps a few years older than Takeshi. There was
brief, uncomfortable silence, then Takeshi bowed and said in a polite but cool
voice, "Koichi-san, how nice to see you again."
"Takeshi-kun," Koichi said, bowing in return, a slightly strained smile on his
face.
{Not another ex-boyfriend!} Aric groaned silently, feeling a little disgruntled.
{Just how many of them are there, anyway?}
"This is my wife, Sayoko," Koichi continued, indicating a pretty woman standing
at his side, cradling an infant in her arms. "And our son, Kotaro."
"I am pleased to meet you," Sayoko said, bowing slightly while still holding the
baby.
"I am pleased to meet you, Sayoko-san," Takeshi said politely, bowing again.
"This is--" he started to say, motioning towards Aric.
"His mate," Aric finished in a firm voice, staring Koichi straight in the eyes
and moving a little closer to Takeshi. "Aric Dietrich." Then he bowed and said
in his best Japanese, "Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu." When he straightened up, he
saw that Koichi was frowning at him disapprovingly, but he wasn't sure whether
that was due to jealousy or because he wasn't being properly discreet. Not that
Aric gave a damn what Takeshi's ex thought of him. Sayoko's eyes widened
slightly, but she recovered quickly, and smiled and bowed politely.
Aric glanced over at Takeshi, who fortunately looked amused rather than annoyed
by Aric's possessiveness. "How are your parents, Koichi-san?" he inquired
politely.
"Very well," Koichi replied. "And yours?"
"Quite well indeed," Takeshi replied. "Business has been good; they're expanding
services at the restaurant." They all made awkward small talk for a few minutes
before Takeshi politely excused himself, to Koichi's obvious relief.
"Let me guess," Aric growled as they walked away. "That guy dumped you because
his parents wanted him to make an arranged marriage."
"Something like that," Takeshi said lightly. "We had a summer fling years ago,
only I didn't know at the time that he only intended it to be a fling."
"I'm going to tear that guy to pieces," Aric growled and Takeshi had to grab his
arm to keep him from turning around and going after Koichi.
"Calm down," Takeshi said soothingly. "It wasn't entirely his fault. It was an
error of miscommunication rather than an act of malice or deceit. I was only
visiting for the summer, so he assumed that we both knew it wouldn't turn into
anything serious. But I was sixteen and just beginning to discover that I liked
boys instead of girls, and I wasn't really thinking ahead. I got swept away in
the moment, and mistook lust for love."
Which probably meant that Takeshi had lost his virginity to that idiot they had
just been making small talk with, which made Aric even more insanely jealous.
"Are you deliberately trying to drive me crazy?" he groaned. "Are we going to
run into any more of your ex-boyfriends here?"
"No, I don't think so," Takeshi replied, smiling at Aric sympathetically,
although there was still a glint of amusement in his eyes. "My other boyfriends
were all British. I didn't indulge in any more 'summer flings' after that."
"That makes me feel so much better," Aric said sarcastically, wondering if they
were going to bump into yet another ex the next time they went to Diagon Alley.
He turned to glare at Koichi one last time, and was slightly disappointed to see
that the other's back was turned to him, so his rival couldn't see his murderous
glare. "If I can't kill him, can I at least bite him?"
"No, love," Takeshi said, taking him by the arm and gently steering him away.
"It wouldn't be polite."
"Screw politeness," Aric muttered under his breath, but allowed Takeshi to lead
him away.
Takeshi leaned in close and whispered into Aric's ear, "I would rather you screw
ME...after the wedding reception, of course."
Aric laughed out loud, causing people to turn and stare at them, while Takeshi
smiled innocently, as if he had no idea what was going on. "You're bad, my
love," Aric told his mate, but his tone of voice was approving and admiring
rather than reproachful. "It's that innocent face of yours that allows you to
get away with it. No one would ever believe me if I told them what kinds of
things come out of that sweet mouth of yours."
"That's because people expect wickedness from a Slytherin," Takeshi said. "They
think that we Ravenclaws are all dry intellectualism. But as a Ravenclaw, I
researched all the subjects that interested me most thoroughly, including..." He
lowered his eyes and smiled demurely. "...the arts of love. How else do you
think I recognized the manual that Theodore gave you?"
Aric laughed again. "I give up; there's no way I could best you, 'Keshi!"
"High praise, from a Slytherin," Takeshi said, grinning at him.
Aric leaned closer and murmured, "Would you mind if we created a bit more of a
scandal, love? Just a little bit?" Takeshi smiled and shook his head, so Aric
leaned in a little closer and kissed him on the mouth. He heard startled gasps
and giggles from the human and crane guests, and a few approving whistles and
cheers from the tengu. When he pulled away, Aric was gratified to see Koichi
glaring at him enviously. {Eat your heart out, you bastard,} Aric thought
smugly.
___________________________________________________________________________________________________
As evening fell, several of the cranes and tengu quietly left the courtyard.
Takeshi explained to Aric that the actual wedding ceremony was private, and
would only be witnessed by family members. "Basically, the couple pledges
themselves to one another, and the priest asks the gods to bless the marriage."
In the meantime, the guests were led to the reception hall. Instead of seating
them at large tables in groups, two long rows of small, low tables, one for each
guest, had been arranged on either side of the room; there were no chairs, only
cushions to sit on, but fortunately Aric had become accustomed to sitting on the
floor. At the head of the room was a raised dais with several more tables,
although it was empty at the moment.
Not long after all the guests had been seated, the bride and groom entered the
hall, followed by their attendants and family members. The bride's attendants
were wearing lovely silk kimonos, but of course Chizuru outshone them all in the
magnificent wedding robes that Ichiro and Kaori had made for her. The groom's
men were dressed much more simply, in black silk hakama, kimonos, and haori
coats emblazoned in gold with what seemed to be the crest of the tengu clan, a
sword crossed over a feather. Karasu wore a black kimono and hakama, and a long
haori made of bright gold silk that was decorated with a design of crows and
cranes.
"Like real crows, the tengu are fond of bright and shiny things," Takeshi
whispered to Aric.
The family members, including the King and Queen of the crane people, were
dressed in fine silk garments that were stately but subdued in color and design,
as if not to detract from the bride and groom, who were supposed to be the
center of attention. The wedding party took their seats on the dais, with
Chizuru and Karasu sitting in the place of honor at the center. The bride and
groom made a polite speech, thanking everyone for coming, and urged them to
enjoy the feast.
It was a splendid feast with many courses; Aric lost track of just how many
there were. It seemed that as soon as he had finished with one dish, another
would magically appear to take its place. There was rice, of course, and soup
and vegetables, and a great variety of fish and shellfish--which was not
surprising, since he knew that the main staple of the cranes' diet was fish.
There were also little ceramic jars of sake, which seemed to magically refill
themselves when they were emptied. Takeshi poured some sake for him into a
little saucer that apparently served in place of a cup; Aric noticed that the
other guests were not pouring their own drinks, but serving and being served by
their dinner companions, so he followed suit and poured a drink for Takeshi, who
smiled at him approvingly. Aric found the rice wine deliciously smooth and
sweet, and Takeshi cautioned him not to drink too much, because it was stronger
than it tasted.
"I seem to recall that you do not hold your liquor well, my wolf," Takeshi told
him with a wry, affectionate smile.
"I hold my liquor a lot better than Malfoy," Aric protested indignantly, but
drank sparingly nevertheless. The tengu didn't seem to have any such
reservations, and were soon laughing boisterously, ignoring the disapproving
frowns of the more conservative cranes.
Once the meal was over, and everyone seemed to be feeling mellow, aided by
copious amounts of alcohol (even Kazuhiko looked slightly less sour), Chizuru
announced that her attendants would perform a dance for the entertainment of the
guests. Three of the crane maidens took up instruments--a wooden flute, a small
hand-held drum, and a three-stringed guitar-like instrument that Takeshi said
was called a shamisen, while three other maidens unfurled silk fans and moved
into the aisle between the two rows of tables. The musicians began playing, and
the three maidens began dancing, moving in light, graceful steps. They used the
fans to accentuate the sweeping movements of their arms, which caused their wide
kimono sleeves to flutter like wings, and they would also coquettishly smile and
hide their faces behind their fans and sleeves. Occasionally they would
unexpectedly leap into the air, the hems of their kimonos lifting just enough to
expose a glimpse of dainty white ankles, which caused the tengu men to applaud
approvingly. The dancers seemed to hang in midair for a moment, defying gravity,
before floating gracefully back to the floor. Takeshi quietly whispered to Aric
that the dance contained elements from the mating dance of the true cranes, most
notably the leaping.
Lupin, who was sitting next to them, whispered, "It's very beautiful. It almost
makes you believe that they could fly, even in human form."
When the crane women finished their dance, everyone applauded enthusiastically,
and then Karasu announced that three of his best warriors would perform a sword
dance. His tengu companions cheered loudly, and the other guests clapped
politely.
A huge drum, nearly as big as a man, was rolled in and set sideways on a stand,
and a stout, muscular tengu man began pounding out a steady beat with two large
drumsticks. Two tengu men jumped down from the dais, casting aside their haori
coats, and Tsubasa jumped up from his seat on the floor, likewise throwing off
his own haori, and all three men rushed towards each other, drawing their
swords.
While the crane maidens' dance had been slow and graceful, almost sedate, the
sword dance was something much more primal that appealed to both the warrior and
the wolf in Aric. The three men leaped and darted about, their feet hitting the
floor in perfect timing with the drumbeats even as they slashed and parried with
their swords. They weren't using wooden practice swords, either; Aric could see
the light glinting off the polished steel, and hear the scrape of metal on metal
as the blades clashed against each other. They moved in an intricate pattern
that must have required perfect timing and excellent reflexes--one of the tengu
dancers sidestepped a sword-thrust from Tsubasa that would have stabbed him in
the belly if he had been a second slower, and immediately turned to parry a blow
from the third dancer, who then suddenly dropped to his knees and swung his
blade in a sweeping circular motion that would have cut Tsubasa off at the
ankles if he hadn't leapt up into the air at just the right moment.
The crowd gasped, and even Kazuhiko and his cronies seemed spellbound by the
deadly dance. Only it couldn't really be deadly, Aric told himself. Surely the
dancers must be using blunted blades; surely they wouldn't risk maiming or
killing each other just to provide a bit of entertainment at a wedding.
And then the first dancer struck at Tsubasa, who gracefully whirled around,
evading the blow and turning to attack the other tengu man. However, while his
body had moved out of harm's way, his long tail of hair still trailed behind
him, and the first dancer's blade sliced a small lock off the end of it, just a
fraction of an inch, but it was enough to prove that the blades were very sharp
indeed.
The spectators gasped again, in fear and shock and delight (although the latter
came mainly from the tengu) as those tiny bits of black hair fell to the floor.
"Merlin's Beard!" Aric exclaimed. "They're fighting with real swords!"
"Of course they are," Takeshi said calmly, apparently unperturbed about the
possibility of his favorite cousin being sliced to ribbons before his eyes. "Tengu
pride would permit nothing less. For a casual bout, wooden or blunted blades
would suffice, but these are three of the best swordsmen of the tengu clan, and
they are performing to show honor to their lord and his bride and his bride's
family. Honor and pride demand that they display their skills to the fullest."
"You used real swords in your fencing lessons, didn't you, Aric?" Lupin inquired
cheerfully. "Your sister even gave you a beautiful rapier for Christmas last
year, as I recall."
"Well, yes, but we also wear padded armor, and masks to protect our faces," Aric
said. "Nobody suffers anything more than a few bruises or strained muscles."
"The tengu have a saying, that true skill can be developed only through fear,"
Takeshi said with a smile. "They believe that without the element of danger, a
warrior will subconsciously remain complacent and be unable to develop his
talent to its full potential."
"The 'throw the baby into the deep end of the pool' approach," Lupin observed.
"Or perhaps the 'throw the baby off the tower' approach," Snape said dryly. "Longbottom's
uncle once dropped him out of an upstairs window to test whether he was really a
Squib or not. Come to think of it, he also pushed the boy off the end of a pier
once, too, so I guess that both analogies apply."
"That's pretty vicious," Aric said almost admiringly. "He would have made a good
Slytherin."
"I thought that Neville's Great-Uncle Algie dropped him by mistake," Lupin said.
"Of course that's what he told everyone afterwards," Snape said, rolling his
eyes slightly. "But if you believe that, then I'd better keep you away from
Uncle Ali. I'm sure that he has a bridge and a nice patch of swampland that he'd
just love to sell you..."
Lupin chuckled good-naturedly, and Aric smiled and said to Takeshi, "But
seriously, 'Keshi, aren't you worried about Tsubasa? One wrong move and he's
toast."
"I have faith in his skill," Takeshi said serenely. "The fact that Karasu chose
Tsubasa to participate in this dance is proof enough for me; he would never have
chosen anyone that he thought was incapable or unworthy."
"If you say so," Aric said, a bit doubtfully, hoping that Takeshi was right. The
drummer picked up the tempo, and the three dancers began moving faster, keeping
time with the music, whirling and leaping about frenetically until they were
moving so fast they became an indistinct blur of black and gold and green, with
flashes of bright silver as the metallic clang of the swords provided a
counterpoint to the drumbeats.
The drumming increased in volume and speed until it reached a crescendo and
suddenly ceased, and the three dancers froze in place, their blades a
hairbreadth away from each other's throats.
There was a moment of dead silence, and then the room erupted into applause. The
dancers sheathed their swords and bowed, then left the room, probably to change
their clothes or at least cast a cleaning spell, because Aric was close enough
to see that all three of them were dripping with sweat. The drummer also bowed
and left, looking nearly as sweaty and exhausted as the dancers.
The room erupted into conversation, and although it was all in Japanese, Aric
could tell by the marveling tone of their voices that the human and crane guests
must be expressing admiration of the dancers' skill, and shock that they would
perform such a dangerous exhibition. The tengu must have known about the nature
of the dance in advance, though, because none of them looked surprised, although
they also seemed to be praising the skill of the swordsmen.
On the opposite side of the aisle, two young tengu women were talking and
giggling together, then one said something in a sly tone of voice and elbowed
the tengu man who was sitting next to her. The man laughed and said something
rueful, and Lupin and Takeshi chuckled. Snape remained silent, but looked mildly
amused, and raised his eyebrows slightly as if the tengu trio had said something
interesting.
"What did they say?" Aric asked curiously, resolving to work harder on his
Japanese lessons. It got a little tiring, being odd man out all the time.
"The women were talking about how handsome Tsubasa is," Lupin explained, his
blue eyes still gleaming with laughter. "One of the young ladies said that she
would like to...er...invite him into her bedchamber, and the other said that
Kuro--I assume that's the young tengu gentleman--would have better luck with
that request."
"And Kuro said, 'I wish!'" Takeshi laughed.
"So your cousin is gay?" Aric asked.
Takeshi smiled and shrugged. "My cousin is discreet, and does not discuss his
love affairs with me. However, from what I have observed, and from the gossip
I've heard, I would say that his preferences probably lean towards his own
gender." Then he grinned and teased, "Why, are you looking for a new lover, my
wolf? Surely you're not tired of me already!"
"Of course not, you silly git," Aric scolded, reaching out to clasp Takeshi's
hand and give it a quick squeeze; he knew that Takeshi was only joking, but he
sensed that his lover would probably like a bit of reassurance anyway. "I was
just curious; you know that Slytherins love to gossip. You're the only one that
I want."
"I know, I was just teasing," Takeshi said, but he looked gratified by Aric's
words.
"Ah, young love," Lupin said to Snape, smiling affectionately at his two former
students.
"How nauseating," Snape muttered sourly.
Not long after that, Chizuru and Karasu thanked the guests for coming, and the
reception was officially at an end, although the bride and groom lingered to
chat with the guests and thank them individually. Snape groaned and winced as he
pushed himself away from the table. "My legs have gone numb," he grumbled. "I'm
too old to be sitting on the floor for hours at a time."
Lupin nimbly jumped to his feet and offered Snape a hand up, causing the Potions
Master to glare at him. "Nonsense, Sev, you exaggerate," Lupin said cheerfully.
"You're not at all old, and besides, I'm the same age as you, and I'm just
fine."
"It must be your werewolf blood," Snape irritably, waving off Lupin's hand and
awkwardly struggling to his feet on his own. "Canines are used to lying and
sitting on the floor."
Takeshi gracefully rose to his feet, and Aric stood up with slightly less grace
than his mate, but still with more ease than Snape, who gave both of his former
students a sour look. Aric smiled smugly, and Takeshi sympathetically. "It takes
some getting used to, Professor," the mediwizard said tactfully. "I've had a
lifetime of practice. Aric's had less practice, of course, but he's been eating
and sleeping on the floor ever since we got to the valley, so he's begun to get
used to it."
"Well, my old bones are a bit creaky, so I wouldn't mind a hand up," Dumbledore
said cheerfully, and Lupin helped him to his feet. "Thank you, my boy. I'll say
goodnight to the bride and groom, then head back to the temple. By the way, Mr.
Kimura, that was quite an impressive performance that your cousin and his
friends put on."
Takeshi bowed and said, "I'll pass your compliment on to them, Headmaster. And
I'll arrange the meeting with Tsubasa, as you requested."
"Thank you, Mr. Kimura; I know I can count on you."
"Well, Severus, perhaps we should be leaving as well," Lupin said, giving Snape
a look that could only be called "come hither": a sidelong glance through
half-closed eyes that managed to look both sleepy and sensual at the same time.
"It's getting late, and we should be getting to bed." The tone of his voice
implied that they would be doing something other than sleeping in that bed.
Snape's pale, sallow face turned bright red, and he snapped, "Yes, I think we
should be going, as it seems you've drunk too much sake tonight." He nodded
curtly at Takeshi and Aric, then took Lupin by the arm and all but dragged him
out of the hall with considerable haste as Lupin protested, "I'm not drunk!"
Aric and Takeshi grinned at each other. "Perhaps we should be getting to bed,
too," Aric said. He gave the ribbon tying Takeshi's hair back a gentle, playful
tug--not quite hard enough to actually loosen it--then leaned closer and
whispered into his lover's ear, "Or at least to somewhere we can be alone, where
I can take off that ribbon and kimono." He still felt a bit self-conscious about
making love under the same roof as his in-laws, so Aric murmured, "Maybe we
could go to that hot spring?"
"So you're developing a fondness for baths, are you?" Takeshi teased. "Well,
we'd better hurry, if we don't wish to find it occupied. I think there will be
quite a number of people looking for a little privacy tonight." And now that
Takeshi had mentioned it, Aric noticed that many young couples were pairing off
and leaving the hall arm-in-arm or hand-in-hand, obviously with romance on their
minds.
"Well then," Aric said, taking Takeshi by the hand, "what are we waiting for?"
Laughing, they Apparated to the hot spring, which fortunately, was still
unoccupied--but not for long. Takeshi flipped the sign around to "Occupied," and
they entered the dense thicket concealing the spring. And if any couples seeking
a private spot for a tryst had happened to pass by, they would have heard the
sound of laughter and splashing water, then sighing and moaning, and eventually
the sound of a wolf howling in triumph and joy.