Disclaimer: The author of this fanfiction does not, in any way, profit from the story. All creative rights to the characters belong to their original creator(s).
The Reclamation of Paralon
by Pout
Chapter 7: Forks, Forgeries, and Family
Breakfast was, for the most part, a lazy affair. Everyone was tired and contagious yawns were being passed around up and down the table. The Lord Ellestor was still tense and too busy worrying to catch Kamio slipping two silver spoons up his sleeve.
At noon, they reassembled for lunch. The midday meal was equally eventless, but with the hours dwindling down towards the deadline, Shishido seemed to have finally made a decision.
“Did you decide what you’re going to do?” Oishi asked.
Shishido nodded and scowled. “I’ll pay. I hate it, but I’ll pay.”
“Remember to get the deed authenticated,” Fuji reminded him.
“We had it verified yesterday. It’s real,” Shishido said, sneering. “I can’t believe the Regent is messing with provincial powers. It’s ridiculous!”
Ootori refilled his partner’s cup and pressed it to his hand, as if to say, ‘Calm down.’
Fuji cleared his throat delicately. “You’re bringing Irumi with you? He’s very capable.”
“Yes, he authenticated yesterday. It’s real,” Shishido frowned.
“Well, standard business practice and all that,” Fuji smiled.
Shishido nodded distractedly. “I think we’ll head out early. I want to get this over with as soon as possible. I want them out of my port the moment I sign.” This time, Ootori quickly snatched the cup out of the man’s hand as Shishido’s grip was tightening dangerously around the glass.
“Yup, well, things to do, people to see,” Kamio said with a smile on his face as he excused himself from the table and left three forks richer.
The transaction was done in public under a blue tent set up at the port. The many tenants of the Stack o’ Cards crowded around, held back by the quarter guard, all hoping for a miracle to save their homes.
Staring out at the crowd, Shishido felt the muscles in his jaw clench angrily.
“You have no other choice. Don’t think about it too much, Ryou,” Ootori said from the seat beside him.
“I hate being swindled,” Shishido said vehemently. “I hate that it isn’t even a scam! It’s perfectly legal!”
“The pleasantries are over, we just need to sign and seal, then the bad man will go away, all right?”
“Yeah, he’d better run,” Shishido growled.
“Juice, my lord?”
Shishido turned and shook his head at the servant carrying a jug of fruit juice.
“It’s very sweet, sir,” the man insisted, smiling.
Shishido watched him flick his hair over his shoulder and offer the juice again. “Great, I’ll bet he’s trying to poison me, too,” he mumbled with a glare towards the merchant’s back as his cup was filled despite his refusal.
“If you’re afraid, you should test it,” the servant said with that smile still intact.
The Lord Ellestor frowned and turned back to demand an explanation for the comment, but the servant had already gone. He looked to Ootori but his partner shrugged and shook his head as well.
As the merchant swindler returned with the documents, smiling much too smugly, Shishido looked out over the crowd once again. The faces of so many people frowning, crying, smiling – Wait, smiling?
Shishido stared at the face that stared back at him. It was the cryptic servant, but without the long hair. What the hell was going on?
“Twins!” Ootori whispered frantically. “They’re twins!”
Shishido fought to keep his face straight. Twins. Twins were rare in Paralon and he knew instinctively that these were the infamous Kisarazu twins. The stupid smirk on the face of the one in front of him was proof enough. On cue, a familiar face popped up beside the twin. Kamio smiled and shrugged. Beside him, another figure appeared, cloaked and hooded, a staff in his hands.
Shishido’s brow lifted as he called Irumi over and whispered in his ear, “Verify the deed. Use every test you know.”
The crowd watched as the mage finished the first test and instead of making a declaration of authenticity, he began a second test. The merchant sat up in his chair. “It is authenticated. What is this? What’s he still doing?” he asked perhaps a bit anxiously.
“Standard business practice,” Shishido replied lazily, looking bored. The merchant gulped. “Just a few more tests and he’ll be done.”
“A…few more?”
Shishido was beginning to get a bit nervous when Irumi completed test three without a negative finding. The merchant, on the other hand, was getting progressively more relaxed. Suddenly, Irumi made a surprised noise and looked down. As they all watched, the document began to turn black. A stunned gasp ran through the crowd. Shishido did his best to look more surprised than satisfied.
“This is a forgery, my lord,” Irumi stated.
The merchant sputtered and jumped to his feet looking outraged. “You conspire against me!” he cried. “Your mage is corrupt!” The crowd cried out against him with boos and hisses. Some threw things at him. Funny how none of the guards tried to stop them.
Shishido sighed. “Your deed is a forgery. As for you, take your ship, your men, and your silk house out of my province by nightfall. My people will see to it,” he said, flashing a pearly smile at the cowering man who was now covered in eggs and garbage. The crowd roared and began tearing down the tent as soon as Shishido’s entourage had cleared out. They cheered and blessed his name as he left.
As they neared the carriage, Shishido spotted Fuji waiting for them. “You can explain this later?” Fuji nodded as they all climbed inside. “Where are Kamio and those twins?”
Fuji had to hide a more sinister smile before answering, “They’re presently busy taking care of some…business. But we may catch up with them on the ride back.”
Shishido frowned, sensing trouble. “Taking care of business? The Kisarazus are? Crap. All right, tell me what just happened.”
Fuji explained that the twins had helpfully stolen the deed from the merchant’s ship the night before. “It really was very kind of them, don’t you think?” Fuji said straight-faced.
“Kind? I don’t think so! Great. Now I’m indebted to the Kisarazus. I’m not sure if I’m actually better off…” he trailed off as his ears picked up on something. “What is that?” His eyes shot open as he scrambled for the window. “What is that?!”
There was a throng of people gathered at the market plaza, and at the center stood two identical faces and a shock of carmine hair.
“What are they doing?! That’s my rug!” Shishido cried out.
“Oh no,” was all Ootori could say as the twins auctioned off the rug that had once been in front of the fireplace in the second floor reading room at the manor. Shishido was busy turning red in outrage. Ootori strained his ears: “What’s that they’re saying?”
Kisarazu Ryou shook out an old cloak. “Here we have a magnificent specimen of raw sex, my friends. Tears in the neck and belt region indicate that the Lord Ellestor has been engaged in…rough activities while wearing this robe.”
In the carriage, all the blood in Ootori’s body rushed to his cheeks, “How did they know…?”
“Arg! What are they doing?!” Shishido shouted as he hollered for the driver to stop.
Meanwhile, Kisarazu Ryou was finishing the hook of his sales pitch. “Guaranteed to spice up your sex life, boys! Any takers? We’ll start the bidding at ten gold! Do I hear ten? Ten? Yes!”
On the other side, his brother was auctioning off a silk robe.
“That’s my robe!” Ootori shouted as his eyes bulged.
“Rumored to be the preferred dressings of the Lord Ellestor’s companion, Ootori Choutarou, when visiting the pools. Let his virtue bless your family! Do I hear fifteen gold? Fifteen?!”
“I’ve never visited the pools!” Ootori cried out indignantly. “Ryou! Do something!”
The carriage had pulled up to a halt and now Shishido was trying to open the door, however in his flustered rage, it took him several tries before the latch released. He threw open the door and was about to order his guards to arrest the troublesome twins when a hand clasped his arm. Kamio smiled up at him.
“And here he is! The man of the hour! The Lord Ellestor, Shishido Ryou!” Cheers went up all around them. “Let’s give him a big round of applause for his selfless contributions to this charity auction for the needy!” They cheered and clapped and whistled. “Smile,” Kamio said out of the corner of his mouth.
“I’m going to kill you,” Shishido murmured back before smiling a strained smile and waving back. “Is there even a charity involved at all?”
“Sure. Charity for the needy, like I said.”
“The Kisarazus are not needy.”
“Fifty percent to the local hospital.”
“Really? Fifty? Yeah right.”
“Well, forty unless they really can’t bear to part with it.”
“At least forty-five or I’ll have your hide.”
“I got it.”
“And give me those!” There was some grappling, Kamio squawked indignantly, then Shishido stepped back and glared at the redhead. Kamio watched petulantly as the Lord Ellestor, with spoons and forks in hand, stepped back into his carriage and signaled the driver to take him home.
Back at the manor, Eiji found himself once again alone in the company of the Royal Heir.
The others had dispersed after lunch and Oishi had generously offered to stroll the outer woodland area with him. Eiji had jumped at the chance. His boundless energy was begging to be released upon the world in one form or another. A stroll would do.
The manor was surrounded by a nice stretch of forest with tall trees and firm paths weaving through. Currently, the pair was enjoying the former as they sat high above in the upper branches of a particularly sturdy tree. Eiji had been slightly surprised to learn that the prince was in fact a rather proficient climber.
“I didn’t think climbing trees was something that royal people did,” he confessed.
“Royal people? We’re just people, like everyone else,” Oishi laughed. “Actually, my first time climbing was when Kaidoh pulled me up a tree to escape some rabid dogs, one of the assassins’ more inventive schemes.”
“Like everyone else, you said? I just want to let you know that most people don’t go through that.”
Oishi smiled tightly. “You’re right. I guess they don’t.”
“Do you miss your mother?” Eiji said, quickly changing gears in order to fight the melancholy settling over the other man.
“Yes,” the prince replied easily. “I was very young when he died. The only thing I really remember about him was his smile. I think I remember that. I’ve seen it in paintings plenty of times, but I’m pretty sure the memory is real. And I remember that he loved me very much.”
“Do you think things would be different if he was still alive? I mean…with the Regent and everything.”
“I hope so. At the very least, I don’t think he would have let father take the throne from me.”
“Do you think you would be different if he had lived?”
“Me? What do you mean?”
“Like, do you think you would have turned out differently: kinder, meaner, smarter, stupider, wiser, lazier, more spoiled? You know, different.”
Oishi took a long moment to ponder this question to his fullest ability before responding. “I like to think that I would have been a better man for his guidance.”
It was a very simple reply and it made Eiji appreciate the sentiment. He smiled over at his new friend and said, “I think you turned out fine anyhow.” Eiji moved up onto a higher branch. “Do you ever wish he was still alive?”
Oishi shook his head. “I don’t like to think like that. There are too many wishes out there and a frivolous one is a waste of the gods’ time.”
Eiji’s jaw dropped. “So you never wish for ridiculous things?!”
Oishi laughed at his astonished expression. “I try not to.”
“Just so that the gods can grant the wish of someone you don’t know?”
“Well, there isn’t any reason to wish for impossible things.”
“But nothing is impossible! I wish for impossible things all the time!” Eiji said. “Like, I wish a raspberry tart would appear in my hand right now because I’m really hungry all of a sudden.” He held out his hand and when nothing appeared, he just shrugged and smiled. “I don’t think there’s anything wrong with wishing. If it’s impossible, it’s still possible. It depends on how much you want it. I mean, just look! I’m sitting in a tree with the Royal Heir of Paralon! That was pretty impossible just a few days ago.”
Oishi smiled wide. Eiji’s boundless enthusiasm and hopelessly optimistic outlook on life was infectious and he felt himself wanting to wish for impossible things because it didn’t seem so ridiculous anymore.
He paused and looked out over the scenery that lay before them. He could see the carriage of the Lord Ellestor winding up the path towards the manor. Down in the courtyard, he could see Tezuka training with Kaidoh and Momoshiro, blunt swords flashing in the late afternoon sun.
“If you could speak with him one more time, would you?” Eiji asked, turning to watch the prince carefully.
“Of course,” Oishi answered without hesitation.
“Oh? Do you have something to say to him?”
Oishi shook his head. “Not especially. But if I didn’t, I’d regret it all my life.”
Eiji frowned. “But, aren’t you angry about what he did?”
Oishi raised his brows in question. “What do you mean?”
“If he hadn’t given the throne to the Regent, you’d be King right now.”
“Well, I think my mother had more faith in father than he should have, but I wouldn’t fault him for it.”
“But-”
Oishi cut him off gently, “Family forgives everything, Eiji.”
Eiji turned away. He had lost the reins on this conversation.
“In any case,” Oishi said as he swung down to a lower bough, “It looks like Shishido and Ootori are back now. Let’s go ask them how things went.”
Eiji smiled mischievously. “I’m sure it went fine.”
“Ah, so how did it go?” Momoshiro asked, trying unsuccessfully to maintain a straight face.
Shishido glared at him. Then he glared at the fireplace. “Where’s the poker?!” he shouted. “He’s selling my poker?!”
Eiji and Momo burst into laughter as Oishi looked on in confusion. “I don’t get it. What’s going on?”
“How the hell did he steal it in the first place?!”
“Maa, they did a good thing today,” Fuji supplied rather unhelpfully as Shishido continued to rant.
That evening, when Kamio sat down at his place for dinner, he was not surprised to find that all of his utensils had been replaced with wooden substitutes.
If you would like to provide feedback on this story, please feel free to e-mail me at: poutonly@gmail.com.