Love Letters - Chapter 2

Dearest Nakago, 

For many years now, I have known you. Since our first meeting, I found myself arrested by everything about you. Your beauty, your strength, and the heart that I believe--I know--beats within your breast. I have loved you since that first encounter. How often I have yearned to speak to you of these feelings, I cannot say. Words cannot express the depth of my love for you. I see you walk by in the morning, your hair gleaming like spun gold, and I could near weep for the emotions that take hold of me, stealing my breath with their passion. I have long been silent, but I can be so no longer. I love you, with all of my heart. I know that you have suffered. I know you have been hurt. However, I hope that you may trust enough to come to the shrine of Seiryuu tomorrow at sunset, so that I might speak these words to you. Always yours, and until tomorrow, I will wait.

Heaven: 

Both Genbu and Taiitasu-kun looked impressed. "Why don't you ever talk like that?" Genbu asked curiously. 

Suzaku shrugged. "I like talkin' this way. But it ain't very good for confessin' love."

Nakago's room: 

Nakago re-read the letter. Some part of him wanted to be touched--but the rest of him knew that whoever had written this letter had seen far too deeply into his heart. He had to find out who wrote it. This was a threat to everything he'd worked for for so long! He couldn't change his path now. It was far too late for that.

The next morning:

Tomo lay blissfully asleep in his chair, forehead mashed against the desktop, arms splayed out to either side, hair falling in a long, black waterfall in every direction. As he slept, he conversed with whoever he was dreaming about and sang, "I g'my N'ka-go... I g'my Naka...bleeaaacccggghhhh..zzzzzz......"

His door creaked open, just wide enough to allow a large, hairy man to slip in undetected. He prowled up alongside Tomo's chair and jumped up, holding himself up by his hands and keeping only his eyes over the tabletop.

"I g'my N'k'g...NUDE...." Tomo snorted happily and made a funky gurgling noise in his nose.

Ashitare sniffed at Tomo's face, then ducked under the table again. When Tomo didn't stir, he came back up and 'awrooo'ed quietly, then ducked under the desk once more. Again, Tomo didn't notice.

The wolf man got a decidedly homicidal gleam in his eyes, focused, and pounced, sending all of his 450 + weight barreling down onto Tomo's ribcage. Tomo's poor, human, ribcage.

Tomo woke due to the sudden lack of oxygen. Gasping for air, he dragged himself to the window, his nails digging long furrows into his floor. He tried to yell at Ashitare, but since his lungs were doing their best impression of empty grocery bags, nothing emerged but strangled gasps. He reached a blind hand out the window, where the unsuspecting Miboshi was floating by with a cup of coffee.

The demonic baby looked up, smaking his lips and muttering an "eeeeeeehhh" through a throat that obviously hadn't gotten moistened up yet. A very comic expression (at least from our point of view) spasmed over his face as a long arm reached out of the window he was drifting by and grabbed his head. He gave a gut cry of "GAH!" as he was pitched across the yard, his coffee spilling all over his robes.

As Ashitare leapt out of the window, Tomo collapsed to the floor, panting. "Fetch," he muttered. That was when he looked over at the door and saw the envelope. Blinking, he crawled over and picked it up, leaning against the wood as he opened it. Lifting the pale blue flap, he took out the letter. As he unfolded it, a faint hint of a familiar scent reached him.

Author Interlude:

"Eau d'Hin," Aeanagwen snickered.

Tomo's room:

His heartbeat quickening as he recognized the handwriting of his beloved shogun, Tomo read over the letter.

Chuin, 

Last night, I received a gift I never thought would be mine. Through what can only have been the intervention of Seiryuu, I discovered a letter in my room, one of your letters. I cannot describe the joy I felt when I read it. You do not know how long I have carried feelings for you within my heart. I have never revealed them, never dared to hope that they might be returned. I have been such a fool. But no longer. Chuin, I wish you to meet me in the shrine of Seiryuu tonight, as the sun sinks below the horizon. There, our god may witness the vow of love I will swear to you. It is my dearest dream that you will give the same promise. We've both been hurt so much. Perhaps we can help each other to heal. And then, the world can see you without that mask you wear, see you in all of your true beauty, as I have yearned to see you for so long.

Forever your own, 
Nakago

Tomo hugged the letter to his chest, hardly able to believe that it could be true.

In Heaven: 

Suzaku leaned back in satisfaction. "That should do the trick," he pronounced. "If blondie don't fall for that, then he don't deserve anyone."

Genbu, who was developing some very parental instincts towards a certain Seiryuu seishi, just stared at Tomo and hoped.

In Kutou:

Tomo floated downstairs to breakfast, hearts in his eyes. Yui, the twins, and Soi looked up at him from the table.

"Eeeeeeeeh," Yui groaned.

"Eeeeeeeeeeeeehhhhhhhh..." Soi grumbled. 

Amiboshi looked at Tomo blearily, then looked at his twin. "Eeeeehh?" he asked, waving a wobbly hand in the illusionist's general direction. 

Suboshi, dozing in the scrambled eggs, started, followed his brother's gaze and shrugged. "Eh," he responded, going back to sleep. 

"OHAYO MINNA!" Tomo squealed, skipping to the table, makeup long forgotten and hair still down. "It's a beautiful day, isn't it? Good morning, Suboshi! Good morning, Amiboshi!"

He waltzed by the twins, giving them a pat on the head. He grabbed Yui and spun her around the room before setting her back in her chair. "Good morning, Yui-sama!" Soi glared at him suspisciously over her coffee. 

"Good morning, Soi!" Tomo pealed, giving her a peck on the cheek. "I hope you have a good day today. I know I am! Who wants chocolate chip pancakes?"

"EEEEH!!!!" the twins cried. 

Author Interlude: 

"I want chocolate chip pancakes," Celleri said. "How come we don't get chocolate chip pancakes? We're the authors!" 

Aeanagwen sighed went to fix the lone cream cheese danish in the house for breakfast. 

In Heaven: 

"You guys are absolutely sick," Taiitsukun told them, blowing a smoke ring. "I like it." 

Genbu and Suzaku grinned and put their stationery away. "Thank you!" Suzaku chirped. 

On Earth: 

Tomo ushered all the cooks out of the kitchen. "You all have the day off! Go visit with your families and have a picnic! Give flowers to someone you love! Go meet your true love at sunset where your god can witness the declaration of your devotion to one another! Now, scoot! Away with you, so I can make pancakes." 

With some very odd looks in Tomo's direction, the cooks left the room, leaving the illusionist alone. After all, genki as Hell or not, Tomo is not somebody you wanna mess with, because he's a badass, and he could wipe you off the face of the planet if he so desired, and he woulda busted both the twins except--

Author Interlude: 

HWANG! 

"Oooowwwww..." 

In The Kitchen: 

Tomo went about his business and gathered the necessary ingredients to make chocolate chip pancakes. Meanwhile, in the dining room, everybody else was wondering what the Hell Tomo was on this morning, and where could they get some. 

Suboshi shrugged. "I don't know." 

"Maybe he got lucky," Soi said. 

Amiboshi gagged. "With what, might I ask? All he wants is Nakago, and that's just NOT gonna happen-" 

Author Interlude: 

The authors snickered. 

In Heaven: 

Genbu, Suzaku, and Taiitsukun all snickered. 

In The Dining Room: 

"- and anybody who would touch something like that-" here he gestured to the kitchen, as something burning rolled out of the door. "is NOT in their right mind and sick beyond all help." 

Author Interlude: 

Aeanagwen smiled. "Yup!" 

"HEEELLLL YEAH!!!" 

In the Dining Room: 

Soi yawned. "I don't care. I'm cramping, I'm irritable, and I seriously do not want to have to deal with his happy ass, 'cause I'll kill him and get in trouble."

Yui nodded. "Never underestimate the power of a woman with PMS." She was about to go into a rant and tell everybody various embarrassing stories about Miaka when Nakago graced them with his presence.

"Good morning, Nakago-sama! Can I get you anything?" Soi asked brightly, suddenly devoid of all general bitchiness and the aftereffects of sleep. 

"No." 

"Well, screw you then." Soi sat down and chugged her coffee. 

"GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOD MORNING, NAKAGO-SAMA-CHAN! How are you this fine, wonderful day? I'm great, thanks for asking! Would you like some chocolate chip pancakes?" 

Suboshi made very little noise as he loaded a new roll of film into his camera. 

"Tomo." 

"Yes, Nakago-sama-chan?" Tomo smiled happily and dumped a stack of pancakes, all cooked to a golden brown with flecks of chocolate scattered through them. "What would you like to drink? I saw some Quik in there." 

"Why exactly are you so... uhm.... what's the word?" Nakago snapped his fingers. 

Yui rolled her eyes. "Happy." 

"Yes, that's it. Happy. Why are you so happy?" 

Tomo just gave him a wide grin and a wink and said, "Oh, no reason. I'm just in a good mood because I've been catching up on my reading, is all." 

Nakago arched one eyebrow. Okay, well I know -he- didn't write it, thank Seiryuu. If he had, he wouldn't know what I thought of it and wouldn't be acting like he's been dipping into the opium...

Tomo bounced back into the kitchen. "Eat up, everybody! I made plenty! When Ashitare gets back with Miboshi he'll probably want some too. I wonder if he can eat chocolate..."

Even somebody as cold hearted and as much of a bastard as Nakago is needs to eat, and Nakago didn't know how to cook, so he figured 'what the Hell' and took a bite of pancake. The other four at the table stared, glad that someone else was going to try it first. Tomo was acting strangely and might have drugged it or something... or, as Yui feared, he might cook as badly as Miaka. 

"Hey... This is pretty good." 

Tomo heard this and made six more batches. "There's more if you want it!" 

Cut to Heaven: Seiryuu's Room: 

"Let's see.... Things to do.... Kill, kill, start war, kill, beat on Suzaku's Seishi, beat on my Seishi, kill, kill, kill a Seishi, don't care which one....Ooo, I get to kill again today!...And after lunch, I-- What was that? Okay, something is seriously wrong here. I know those vibes. What are they doing?" 

Seiryuu, knowing the forces that be on a more personal level than he'd like, (ha ha ha), decided that something was up. So, he did what any self-respecting God would do. He beat on his brother's door. 

"GENBU! I know you're awake, get out here right this second!" 

Byakko's door flew open with a crash. His fur was matted down, his eyes were bloodshot and he had all manner of symptoms of illness about him. "S...E...I....R...Y....U....U...."

"What do you want?" 

"I WANT SOME DAMN PEACE AND QUIET, OKAY!? If you want Genbu, go to Mom's place, he and Suzaku are all there watching something or another on her giant TV- probably a porno flick, knowing that sick turtle....how can he DO that with her around!?- so YOU can just LEAVE and STOP BEING SO DAMNED LOUD." With that, he slammed the door shut, curled up on his newspaper-under-a-sun-lamp and went back to bed.

"Suzaku... oh no...." Seiryuu debated going back to bed until it all blew over, but then he realized that if he did, some seishi of his was going to suffer some horrible abuse without his permission. And so Seiryuu hauled his scaly blue ass to Taiitsukun's mountain.