Dead On Arrival

***Author's Notes***

Thanks to everyone reading and reviewing. I sincerely appreciate it.

Kanada, along with Aya and Yukimura had been directed to one of the side chambers directly leading into the Court. If Kanada knew anything about Court, and he did, it was that grand and glorious presentation was expected. Being at least half of the expected centerpiece of the spectacle did not please him in the slightest and he tugged self consciously on the collar of his kimono.  He’d worn the red one with purple and gold trim upon Aya’s prodding that it had been a gift and he’d never worn it. Surely he had to have gone wrong somewhere in raising her, he thought. She never had been the demure princess his father’s court and indeed their society demanded she be. She had always been outspoken and frankly, loud, even as a child. At the age of three she’d demanded he be the one to brush her hair every morning and had screamed the palace down until the esteemed Shogun himself had allowed it just to make her stop. He smiled a little at that memory.

“What are you thinking that has you actually smiling, Father?” Aya asked, coming over to him.

“I was recalling the day you demanded I start brushing your hair in the morning,” he said.

“An excellent day for me to be sure,” Aya said, straightening his kimono. “Grandfather was most displeased I decided that on a day when court dignitaries were due to arrive.”

“You did that on purpose.”

“Very likely,” Aya said, stepping back to look him over. “Almost perfect.”

“Far from perfect or even almost,” Kanada said.

“Oh, honestly, Father!” Aya said, shaking her head then reaching up to pull two of the many hair ornaments from her own hair. “Turn around.”

“Why? What are you doing, Aya?” Kanada asked suspiciously.

“Making you even more beautiful than you are,” she replied, reaching up and fixing the hair ornaments into his hair.

“Aya! I am a man, not a woman,” Kanada said.

“True. But I look like you and I’m beautiful according to you, therefore, so are you. Besides, half the men at Court will be wearing hair sticks or something so you’ll not look out of place. If all else fails you can always stab someone with them.”

Sighing heavily, Kanada let her get on with it minus further protest because he knew he’d give in to her wishes eventually.  “Surely I spoiled you as a child,” he said, shaking his head and looking disgruntled when the hair pieces chimed. “I suppose I should be thankful that the only one allowed to wear several layers of clothing to convey rank is Enma-sama.”

“For the afterlife of me, I can’t see how you managed to survive Grandfather’s Court,” Aya said.

“Mostly by hiding behind your uncle,” Kanada said with a shrug. He glanced at the door, hearing conversation near it. He wasn’t at all certain how this second meeting with his working partner would go. He hadn’t seen the other man since they day they’d met and in all honesty, it hadn’t gone very well. He sighed heavily at the memory. It was his own fault it hadn’t gone well. He could and should have handled things much better than he had. He simply wasn’t accustomed to someone approaching him for any reason other than wanting something from him or with intention to do harm.

Saionji paused in the hallway, waiting for Kin to disengage himself from a group of ladies. He smiled and shook his head at his son. Dead or alive, certain things didn’t change, he though fondly.

“There you are, terrible brat!”

Saionji looked from his son to his great grandfather, whose appearance was greatly altered from his usual looks. At the moment, Seimei looked to be a man just short of his middle years, sunny golden hair was barely touched with white and the face was barely lined with anything aside from minor creases around his eyes and mouth.  Saionji’s lips twitched up. He knew that had he lived, he would have looked very much like Seimei at this stage of life.

“Playing the younger sage today, O-gi?” he asked.

“I have to keep up with you terrible brats somehow,” Seimei said.

“For some odd reason, I believe this speaks of vanity rather than keeping up,” Saionji said, tugging on a lock of Seimei’s hair.

Seimei huffed and brushed out the gold kimono he was wearing. “Terrible brat,” he said before marching over to the group of ladies and Kin. “Sorry, girls, this one only likes men,” he said, hooking an arm around the other man’s neck and dragging him away.

“O-gi! Why would you do that to me?!” Kin huffed as he was towed over to where Saionji was laughing.

“You’ll survive somehow. Isn’t that how you got here in the first place? Not being able to keep it in your kimono,” Seimei said.

Kin shrugged. “How was I supposed to know she had a jealous lover?”

“By paying attention,” Seimei and Saionji said together.

“Come along, you two,” Seimei said while Kin pouted at him. “We should get moving to make certain the Kamakura boy doesn’t try to kill you again this time, Saionji.”

“I doubt any attempts on my afterlife will be made here, O-gi,” Saionji said, moving ahead of the group. He paused outside of the room they were supposed to remain in until someone came to get them for Court. He could feel the different energies moving around inside. There was a serene, soothing energy that had to be the demon hunter’s husband if what Kin had told him about the man held true. Then a bright, solid force that had to be the demon hunter herself. Followed by a quiet and deep well of power that had to be Kanada. Saionji frowned at the door, pushing a little to get a better feel of Kanada to judge how this meeting would likely go. There was definite power there but also sorrow and loneliness that went core deep.  He brought up his abilities and pushed harder, now catching glimpses of a life void of affection or compassion of any kind. He cringed a little and backed his powers down to the point of nearly shutting them off.

Seimei had been watching closely, knowing what was happening. “Do you need me to shield you for now?”

Saionji shook his head. “No. I’ll have to get used to it somehow and the sooner the better. It’s just . . .”

“Painful,” Seimei said.

“Excruciating,” Saionji said. “How does any parent utterly ignore their child? Not give them any solid base to grow on?”

“You know as well as I do that those in power only care for the heir to the throne,” Kin said. He had seen that too many times in his work place.

“Then I thank all the gods I was a bastard,” Saionji said, shoving his hands through his already messy hair.

“Plus a really good parent,” Kin said, nudging Saionji in the ribs.

“Ha! Considering how you turned out, I have to wonder,” Saionji said, pushing the door open.

Kanada tensed a little as the door swung open then openly stared at the group that entered. They could have been the same man at various stages of life, clearly related. He wondered vaguely what it must be like to be a part of that laughing, golden family.

Aya grinned and walked over to the group that had just come in. “My gods, I’m such a lucky girl to be in the same room with five gorgeous men. Sadly, the best looking is my father but I’ll make do with the other four,” she said, hugging Seimei. “You look different than earlier, Seimei. Did you do something with your hair?”

“You are as much a terrible brat as these two,” Seimei said with a sigh. “Enma said that he would send for everyone shortly.” He looked pointedly at Kanada then Saionji before giving his grandson a shove toward the other man.