Kagen no tsuki - Part 9: Light a new day

[yoru-no-hikaru.livejournal.com]

Pairing: KinKi Kids (AU characters)
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Don't own KinKi Kids, or anything JE-related
Warnings: bad language, mentions of sex
Setting: AU
Multi-Chapter


Intro: Things are easing out and moving into place again as everybody tries to find a new way to move on in life. Some roads are brightly lit, some are still in the dark and hard to make out, demanding a lot of courage to venture into. Go has chosen a particularly difficult path, but is willing to face whatever lies ahead and fortunately he finds a lot of support.


Note: Okay, I know it's short. Sorry. And so much useless dialogue again. Gomen ne. ^^ But it seems that I like how Go is finding a strength I never would have imagined he would have inside when I started writing this. The well-protected little boy is becoming a strong personality. In addition to that, Hikaru is also growing up and becoming a more considerate person. So, as I see this development and think about the way I feel, I think it is time to bring this series to and end. Please await the final chapter(s) within the following days and learn what kind of fate Go, Hikaru, Katsumi, Mariko and the other characters will meet. They have all grown very dear to me and I really hope that I can do them justice.

“Kurakawa-sama, I beg of you… If things continue like this we will be in severe trouble. The other family heads are already agitated. They will rebuke us if we don’t watch it.”

Masuno, Go’s current man for troop education and security looked pleadingly at his unreasonable master.

“Why should we fear their agitation?” Go countered. “If we do continue to handle things in this manner, they will be too occupied keeping their workers at bay to even send us a messenger.”

“That is another problem we might be facing,” Masuno tried to reason with Go. “Workers were revolting before. If we show weakness now…”

“Weakness?” Go cut in rather harshly. “You call giving people a decent pay and a part of the lands that was once rightfully theirs for cultivation a weakness? I’d say it’s justice.”

Masuno sighed. “Kurakawa-sama, the other families will not simply accept this. You have to act in favour of the clan, otherwise revolting peasants might be the least of our problems.”

“If it were for me, I’d go and fight with them,” Go said dismissively.

“To give them for free what your forefathers have worked for so hard?”

“More like they slew for it,” Go muttered. “Innocent people died and land was taken forcefully. Land that is not ours to own.”

“Kurakawa-sama, you misjudge those low people. You might think that they will look upon you with the same kindness that you show them, but the truth is, if they are given some sort of power, they will rip whatever of it you might have left right from you too. Then you will be the one left with nothing but dead soldiers at your feet.”

“You might think that I am unreasonable, even naïve perhaps. But there are ways in which you can put promises together and keep them honourably,” Go opposed. Just as the other made to impress his point on him yet again, he cut him off once more. “And that’s all that I will hear about it,” he stated, his voice strong, making very clear that this was his final point. “I want all the samurai and the men in charge of the farms right here tomorrow morning.”

Masuno gulped bitterly, his hands pressed together tightly into fists. Then he sighed, sounding defeated.

“As you wish, master,” he finally stated with a bow and then, without waiting to be officially dismissed, got up and fled the room.

Go sighed, relaxing visibly.

“You both have strong minds,” he heard Anju commenting from behind him.

Her voice sounded quite amused, but also a bit concerned.

“So I take it you disapprove of my tactics too?” Go asked casually, turning around to smile at the woman who had become a very dear mother-in-law to him.

“I would not go that far,” Anju answered politely. “I just think that if you two put your minds together instead of fighting each other so much, you would be even stronger.”

Go laughed inwardly. Even though he had managed to assure Anju that he was truly interested in her honest opinion and she had learned to voice it, she always held a diplomatic air in whatever she said. In a way he admired her for that. He had to admit that he lacked certain finesse there.

“Well, what do you do with a pighead like him?” Go asked, pouting a bit.

“It’s really a bit sad. The two of you are quite similar, actually,” Anju commented. “But you are similar in ways that won’t allow you to see it.”

“Hm… I can still tell you to shut up, right?” Go play-mused.

“Anytime,” Anju confirmed with a gentle smile on her lips.

“Are you worried that he might… refuse to follow my orders?” Go asked, turning stern again.

“Oh no,” Anju shot out immediately, shaking her head. “He will be loyal to you, I’m sure of it. He very much meant that thing about the dead soldiers, you know.”

“I see,” Go sighed. “So, he will dive into battle even though he thinks it’s stupid or no good.”

“He has been educated like that,” Anju tried to explain to him.

“So have I,” Go told her.

“I don’t think that’s true,” Anju opposed and earned a curious look from her son-in-law. “From what you have told me, your teacher Endo-san has taught you many things in rather… unconventional ways.”

Go thought about that for a moment, then nodded with a smile.

“Ah, that might be true,” he agreed. “My dad tried to teach me all the stuff that Masuno keeps going on about, but for some reason the things that Endo-san told me seemed more just and righteous to me. You are a clever woman,” he praised her with a grin.

“And you are a clever and indeed a righteous man,” Anju told him. “But your venture is big and it is indeed risky. Masuno has a point in warning you about the people you mean to negotiate with.”

“I know,” Go stated with a nod. “But even so… I want to try to make this a better place for everybody.”

“Still, even though you want to give them back what was once theirs, people are still angry. And they might misunderstand your good intentions.”

“I am aware of that,” Go replied. “And yet I feel that I simply have to try.”

“Even though it makes you so unpopular,” Anju said with a sad smile. “Isn’t it unfair? Both, the workers and your soldiers look upon you with grudge right now.”

“That can’t be helped,” Go shrugged. “People don’t like people who are… different.”

Anju nodded at that. “Why do you think that is?” she mused.

“Because according to them such people act irrationally. I work in ways they don’t understand. And fortunately for everybody we all have a natural feel of wariness towards things we cannot grasp. That is the root of all our curiosity. Because you want to feel wary of as little things as possible you develop the urge to learn. If it weren’t for that feeling, we’d most probably still be freezing in some kind of cave, only ever able to leave it while the sun is out. Just for me it’s a bit unfortunate right now, huh?”

Anju laughed slightly at that. Then she smiled.

“Endo-san must have been a very good teacher.”

“He was,” Go confirmed, smiling back.

“Did he also give you an advice on how to take people’s wariness away?” she asked kindly.

“Yes, he did,” Go answered readily. “I wonder whether it’s not too late for them, though. They have been formed and branded like this. Endo-san always said that knowledge gives you power. The more you know, the less things you have to fear. And in order to make people follow that path… He said this: People are ignorant and there is nothing you can do except educate them, or spear them. (*) ”

Anju had to laugh again, but this time she restrained herself rather quickly.

“Really, Go-kun,” she said, trying to sound stern, but the amused tone in her voice would not fade. “That is absolutely not funny.”

“Really?” Go mused. “I thought it was.”

“Well, then I assume you don’t mean to spear Masuno-san for good measure?”

“No such thing,” Go replied with a smile. “I’ll have a lot of people to face as I do this, one of them being my father and he is the one I’m most concerned about.”

“Because he is the one with the most knowledge about your person?” Anju supposed.

Go nodded, his face growing a bit darker.

“Do not worry too much,” Anju said reassuringly. “You are a considerate and intelligent young man, no matter Masuno’s opinion. And what you might lack in experience, you will compensate with your passion for what you believe in.”

“Which would only leave my lack of diplomatic skill,” Go stated grinning sheepishly.

“Isn’t it already a good thing that you know your own weaknesses?” Anju offered. “That helps you to avoid them, if you can.”

Go sighed. “I’ll try. I just hope I can make this work in a way that will make many people happy.”

“You will certainly make it,” Mariko chirped from the door. “Go-kun is awesome.”

“Oh, thank you, dear,” Go said with a smile, inviting his wife into the room.

“Are your meetings over now?” the girl asked, sounding impatient.

“For today, yes,” Go confirmed.

“Yatta,” Mariko exclaimed, flinging herself into her husband’s arms.

Go welcomed her readily, patting her back.

“You’ve been too busy lately,” the girl complained with a pout.

“I am sorry, dear,” Go mumbled, kissing her temple affectionately. “Once the new contracts are sealed we’re all gonna live much more peacefully,” he promised her, hoping that he would be able to keep his word.

______________________________________________________________________________________

“Haha, I bet the other daimyos are dying at the information that you want to split up land and give rights to the farmers,” Hikaru chirped out gleefully.

“That is to be expected,” Go confirmed, much more grimly. “You realise that this is not a good thing, right? If I don’t watch it, I’ll have my head detached from my neck.”

“Wouldn’t that be like the worst of the worst cases?” Hikaru asked, sounding a bit more down to earth, but still not really concerned.

“Well, it hasn’t happened in ages,” Go shrugged. “But I absolutely have to be careful.”

“I think it’s really cool, what you’re doing there,” Hikaru told him.

“Of course you do,” Go laughed. “You are one of the people who will profit from it.”

“How exactly?” Hikaru asked. “Do you mean that if common workers have more money, they come to the theatre too and my variety of customers will grow?”

“I’m talking about further changes, Hikaru,” Go told his lover. “This contract that I mean to seal will be the beginning of a new era. Going from there, there will be many more things that will establish. Civil rights that will benefit you too. Maybe not today, or well, maybe you won’t even live to see it anymore, but some day.”

“Hm, what do I care about things I won’t live to see?” Hikaru said casually, his voice full of sarcasm, as he daringly raised a brow.

Go had to laugh. “Omg, when have you learned what self-.irony is?"

Hikaru merely grinned back at him.

"Well," Go mused, "if you believe in souls, you can care that you will see them in your next life,” Go told him with a wink. “Plus, if you could help other people to avoid living the way that you do, wouldn’t you try?”

“Not really,” Hikaru admitted. “I am not kind-hearted as you are. Actually I think that most people aren’t kind-hearted as you are.”

“Right,” Go mumbled. “Kind-hearted as I am I offered to take you into my house.”

Hikaru rolled his eyes. “I thought we’ve been through with this. When it was about Saito, you said you understood my point.”

“But I’m not taking you in as a servant,” Go tried to reason with him.

“Yeah, like that would be any better,” Hikaru said dismissively. “People will look at me and gossip their mouths off. Plus, the essence of the problem is still the same. I cannot be your equal in your house. And I refuse anything but that.”

Go sighed in defeat, but yet smiled at the other. “I wish I’d have you as my consultant,” he stated. “You’d be a huge win. Not to mention that my current consultant doesn’t like what I do.”

“I’m sure that you’ll make it happen,” Hikaru assured him.

“That’s exactly what Mariko said too,” Go smiled.

“Oh, right, I completely forgot. How is your dear wife doing?” Hikaru asked, a trace of sarcasm in his tone.

“What’s with that now?” Go asked, feeling a bit bothered. “Mariko is fine. We have arranged very well and she seems quite happy.”

“Mh,” Hikaru nodded. “But you know that the day will come when she will ask you about your deeds as a couple, right?”

“So?” Go shrugged. “I don’t have a problem with it, as long as she’s willing. I want to have kids too, so it actually works in my favour.” Then he considered Hikaru more closely. “Don’t tell me it would be a problem for you. You are the one who gets fucked on a regular basis, just because you’re too proud to submit to any kind of superiority, which I have accepted and dismissed readily.”

“You call it `dismissing readily´ when you keep bringing this up every single time we get together?” Hikaru asked playfully.

“Just checking whether you might have changed your mind,” Go shrugged.

“I’ll let you know when that happens,” Hikaru offered. “Other than that, it’s fine if you have fun with your wife. Feel free. You just said it was sick, so I thought…”

“Well, she is still a kid now,” Go explained. “All I can do is to cause her pain and I don’t want that. It’s naturally different when she can enjoy it.”

Hikaru nodded at that. Then a playful smile came to his lips.

“Will you still think of me when you’re with her?” he asked suggestively. “Will you think of me to get hard?”

Go gulped at that. “I…”

“I never sleep with anyone but you,” Hikaru told him, slinging his arms around his lover’s frame and leaning in to whisper in his ear. “Whatever I do, I do it so I’ll have food. It’s a job, no more than that. But if you share intimacy with someone else… I want to be there with you, please…”

Go closed his eyes and his arms around his lover. Never had he thought it possible that your feelings for a certain person could be as strong as his feelings for this boy were. He thought they would burn him, if he didn’t watch it. Hikaru made him feel aflame in a way that was addictive.

“Okay,” he whispered back, then moved to capture Hikaru’s lips in a searing kiss.

_______________________________________________________________________________________

(*) This in my opinion true and hilarious thought was sadly not created in my mind. But it seemed to fit so well, I just had to put it here. I just want to write a special disclaimer, because awesome thoughts should be credited to the people who had them. The original statement, which btw uses “shoot” instead of “spear”, was used in the fantastic series “queer as folk” by the character Debbie Novotny.

Post note: Oh, I really love this series and it's kind of sad that it will end soon, but I feel that if I continued with it, the story would get distorted and it would simply not be right. So, I hope you'll stick around for the final part(s). I absolutely love the dicerction into which the characters are moving. I have grown very fond of Anju-san and I even like Masuno, who is trying his best in order to protect Go and his family. Mariko seems to find happiness again as well and I am so happy that she likes Go so much and that he loves her back as much as he can.

Chapter 8

Chapter 10 (FINAL)