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shiraume_ficExperimental post, using DreamWidth. This was updated months ago on FF.net, but I never got around to it on LJ, so...
This is a Sanada/Yukimura side story that was written at![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
jehzavere's request, as she wanted to know the Rikkai side of the business (which is only hinted at briefly). The title refers to something that is illusion, or unattainable, like a flower reflected in a mirror, or the moon's reflection on water.
(August 12, 2007)
追記: 鏡花水月 [추기: 경화수월]
It was water's nature to reflect, just as it was moon's nature to be reflected. Such was the nature of the world, unquestioned and unchallenged, and likewise, Genichirou never questioned his place in his world. He was the second son of the prestigious Sanada family, one of the chief retainers of their daimyo. His brother would succeed as the head of the family, and he would be obedient to his brother and dedicated to the cause of his clan, and give absolute loyalty to his lord. His life would belong to the country itself. All of this, as familiar as breathing, made up his nature, and his place in life.
Until he met a laughing boy - for that was what he appeared - on a night with a particularly beautiful moon, in the outskirts of the city. In the old shrine he stopped by to pray, there was a pond full of lotus blossoms. In the midst of the blossoms he glimpsed at a pale back, so slender and beautiful that he thought it was a girl at first, and blushed only when he realized it was a boy. The boy's smile widened at his blushing face, and he beckoned.
A spirit, Genichirou thought at first, at the surreal but exquisite picture the boy made in the moonlit night, his features too perfect to be mortal, standing waist-deep in the water, surrounded by lotus. The water was calm around him, reflecting the full moon above, a veritable mirror full of flowers.
A dream. It had to be.
"What is your name?" the boy asked, and the voice, low and sweet, nevertheless carried the kind of authority that was accustomed to being obeyed.
"Sanada Genichirou," he answered, but did not think to ask for the boy's name in return. The boy was far too beautiful to be considered manly, yet commanded a presence like no other he had seen. The boy's smile flashed white teeth behind the peach-colored lips.
"Are you here to look into the water?"
"I was just out walking," Genichirou answered uncertainly. "What is there to see in the water?"
"Who knows..." the boy smiled, and drew closer to him, to the edge of the lake. He slipped out of the pond gracefully, and Genichirou hastily averted his eyes, realizing the boy indeed was naked. Soft laughter, tinkling like bells, reached his ears.
"What do you see?"
Genichirou belatedly remembered he was supposed to look at the water, and did so. He frowned. "I don't see anything but the lotus and the water."
"Not the moon?" The boy had pulled white gi over himself, but his legs, pale as the moon, were still fully visible. Genichirou took care not to steal another furtive glance.
"The moon is merely a reflection. That's not real."
A peal of silvery laughter. "I suppose. Like a flower in the mirror, the moon on the water." Then the boy was silent for a while, standing to pull on his hakama pants without a word. He looked at Genichirou for a moment, expression suddenly serious. "How would you know if it is indeed a reflection, meant only to be looked at?"
Genichirou knew that phrase; it meant something beautiful but unattainable, like a perfect blossom reflected in the mirror, and the enchanting moon reflected on the water, both equally unreal.
"I would reach into the water, and see for myself," Genichirou replied, and was surprised to hear himself. The boy, however, seemed pleased, and smiled once more.
"I will remember, Sanada Genichirou. Until we meet again."
Genichirou stared after him for a long time, until the boy disappeared from the view, and only then did he realize he never asked for the boy's name. The whole encounter had a dreamlike quality to it, and while he never forgot it, he never thought he would see the boy again, either.
When Genichirou met the boy again at age fifteen, it was at a formal banquet held by the Daimyo Maeda. The boy was sitting behind Yukimura Takahiro, Lord Maeda's chief aide-de-camp. The boy met his gaze, but the serene and severe heather-gray eyes held no recognition, nothing but unapproachable dignity befitting Lord Yukimura's son and heir. Genichirou's eyes slid over to his father, several seats down from the Daimyo's chief vassals, and his older brother sitting unobtrusively behind him. A flower in the mirror, and moon on the water, indeed. Genichirou looked down, and did not look up again.
When the banquet began, Genichirou hardly took note of the table being set before him, until he noticed a bowl of water sitting unobtrusively to the side.
Inside, floating in the clear water, was a small, perfectly-formed silk lotus blossom.
Fin
This is a Sanada/Yukimura side story that was written at
jehzavere's request, as she wanted to know the Rikkai side of the business (which is only hinted at briefly). The title refers to something that is illusion, or unattainable, like a flower reflected in a mirror, or the moon's reflection on water.(August 12, 2007)
追記: 鏡花水月 [추기: 경화수월]
It was water's nature to reflect, just as it was moon's nature to be reflected. Such was the nature of the world, unquestioned and unchallenged, and likewise, Genichirou never questioned his place in his world. He was the second son of the prestigious Sanada family, one of the chief retainers of their daimyo. His brother would succeed as the head of the family, and he would be obedient to his brother and dedicated to the cause of his clan, and give absolute loyalty to his lord. His life would belong to the country itself. All of this, as familiar as breathing, made up his nature, and his place in life.
Until he met a laughing boy - for that was what he appeared - on a night with a particularly beautiful moon, in the outskirts of the city. In the old shrine he stopped by to pray, there was a pond full of lotus blossoms. In the midst of the blossoms he glimpsed at a pale back, so slender and beautiful that he thought it was a girl at first, and blushed only when he realized it was a boy. The boy's smile widened at his blushing face, and he beckoned.
A spirit, Genichirou thought at first, at the surreal but exquisite picture the boy made in the moonlit night, his features too perfect to be mortal, standing waist-deep in the water, surrounded by lotus. The water was calm around him, reflecting the full moon above, a veritable mirror full of flowers.
A dream. It had to be.
"What is your name?" the boy asked, and the voice, low and sweet, nevertheless carried the kind of authority that was accustomed to being obeyed.
"Sanada Genichirou," he answered, but did not think to ask for the boy's name in return. The boy was far too beautiful to be considered manly, yet commanded a presence like no other he had seen. The boy's smile flashed white teeth behind the peach-colored lips.
"Are you here to look into the water?"
"I was just out walking," Genichirou answered uncertainly. "What is there to see in the water?"
"Who knows..." the boy smiled, and drew closer to him, to the edge of the lake. He slipped out of the pond gracefully, and Genichirou hastily averted his eyes, realizing the boy indeed was naked. Soft laughter, tinkling like bells, reached his ears.
"What do you see?"
Genichirou belatedly remembered he was supposed to look at the water, and did so. He frowned. "I don't see anything but the lotus and the water."
"Not the moon?" The boy had pulled white gi over himself, but his legs, pale as the moon, were still fully visible. Genichirou took care not to steal another furtive glance.
"The moon is merely a reflection. That's not real."
A peal of silvery laughter. "I suppose. Like a flower in the mirror, the moon on the water." Then the boy was silent for a while, standing to pull on his hakama pants without a word. He looked at Genichirou for a moment, expression suddenly serious. "How would you know if it is indeed a reflection, meant only to be looked at?"
Genichirou knew that phrase; it meant something beautiful but unattainable, like a perfect blossom reflected in the mirror, and the enchanting moon reflected on the water, both equally unreal.
"I would reach into the water, and see for myself," Genichirou replied, and was surprised to hear himself. The boy, however, seemed pleased, and smiled once more.
"I will remember, Sanada Genichirou. Until we meet again."
Genichirou stared after him for a long time, until the boy disappeared from the view, and only then did he realize he never asked for the boy's name. The whole encounter had a dreamlike quality to it, and while he never forgot it, he never thought he would see the boy again, either.
When Genichirou met the boy again at age fifteen, it was at a formal banquet held by the Daimyo Maeda. The boy was sitting behind Yukimura Takahiro, Lord Maeda's chief aide-de-camp. The boy met his gaze, but the serene and severe heather-gray eyes held no recognition, nothing but unapproachable dignity befitting Lord Yukimura's son and heir. Genichirou's eyes slid over to his father, several seats down from the Daimyo's chief vassals, and his older brother sitting unobtrusively behind him. A flower in the mirror, and moon on the water, indeed. Genichirou looked down, and did not look up again.
When the banquet began, Genichirou hardly took note of the table being set before him, until he noticed a bowl of water sitting unobtrusively to the side.
Inside, floating in the clear water, was a small, perfectly-formed silk lotus blossom.
