Flower Of...

Parsed with an automated reader. The content accuracy is not guranteed.

Despite all of the craziness going on in my life this week, I FINALLY managed to edit this chapter to my satisfaction.

This is the second to last chapter of the story, and the titular chapter.

As always, MASSIVE SPOILERS FOR THE ENDING OF THE SAIUNKOKU MONOGATARI NOVELS. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.You can read the previous chapters of Flower of Winter here.

Shout out as always to @abrownfeminist for listening to my screaming and reading my sleep deprived gibberish. <3

Flower of Winter

At that

moment, Kouyuu clutched the emperor`s body, feeling as if his heart was being

crushed in a vice. He fell on his knees.

A cold dark

wind gushed into the hall where the new year`s greeting were taking place.

Tap.

The sound of

a footstep echoed.

Tap….

Kouyuu

raised his head, crouching on the floor and clutching the emperor, who was

younger than himself.

Two men

carrying lanterns entered the hall, the sound of their cold footsteps

reverberating.

Kouyuu

froze.

“…..wait….”

It had grown

strangely dim. The lanterns swayed, but it seemed like time itself had frozen.

Out of the corner of his eye, Kouyuu could see that some officials from the Sentoukyuu were bewildered, but all he could focus on was the scene

before him.

Kouyuu held

the emperor, whose eyes were tightly shut. The two men approaching did not

reflect their real age, as their appearance was that of their twenties, when

they had first entered the service of the emperor who had been scoffed at as

foolish. One held a sword embossed with an iris in his hand.

Long ago, he

had heard from the emperor. When the emperor was tired and could walk no

further, Shuuei had promised to come and take him away. Seiran had promised to

stay by the emperor’s side until the end.

“Don`t come.

Shuuei, Seiran….please don’t take him away yet.”

Two years

ago on the day before Princess Chouka`s birthday, Kouyuu searched for the

emperor who was supposed to go on the incognito journey. He had found the

emperor collapsed in the chamber of the deceased empress.

Kouyuu had

actually known for a long, long time that the emperor was tired, that he wanted

to rest already. During his bumpy reign, Seiran had passed on, and Shuuei had

died protecting the emperor. Even afterwards, he had wordlessly continued

sitting on the throne. Most likely, for Kouyuu`s sake.

It was

alright already, was it? Kouyuu had asked himself countless times. He should

let him rest already. But the words that came out of his mouth were the

opposite. He had forced the emperor to take medicine he didn`t want to

everyday, and had switched personnel to call Eigetsu to the palace.

Kouyuu

embraced the emperor.

I`ll be waiting for your return, my

lord….

When Kouyuu

had left the back gate at the designated time, below his eyes was the figure of

the emperor who should have been unconscious, but was instead slowly running

away with his daughter on horseback, waving.

The dark

purple throne the emperor had been heartlessly bound to for a long, long time.

His heart

had stopped, and he had knelt down.

Though the

emperor was sound asleep, his cheeks were mysteriously flushed. Just where in

the world was he freely wandering around, Kouyuu had wondered.

Sometimes,

Riou would come show him documents written in the emperor’s hand in ink that

was not yet dry. A lingering, nostalgic scent that Seiran and Shuuei had favored

would rise from the papers. Kouyuu had kept absolutely silent about it. [1]

He had

contacted the Hyou Clan, without letting Riou know, and had sent a letter to

Princess Chouka with the instructions for preparing many elixirs. Ran Shijaku

had sent him a letter, writing that it might be possible that Kanshou could

grant the emperor`s wish. [2]

Kouyuu was

happy. The emperor had searched constantly for the deceased empress, had tasted

the pain of the throne many times, and had wandered around the shadows of the

palace alone, thinking of Shuuei and Seiran who he had lost. Even so, the will

to live was still left in his heart, as he wandered the earth. And at last, he

had dragged his heavy body back, for the sake of Kouyuu and other subjects. He

was that sort of emperor.

“I`m begging

you…Shuuei, Seiran.” Tears ran down his face. “Don`t take him away. It`s no good

if it`s not this emperor. Wait a little longer. If it`s Riou or Chouka-sama,

it`s not good. It has to be him. Don`t take him away.”

Kouyuu

touched his forehead to the floor, pleading with his two friends. But the two

didn`t stop.

“Kouyuu-dono,

you should already know the reason why we have come here.” Seiran told him, as

if it were a matter of fact. As the two walked towards them, a chill different

from that of winter filled the air of the hall. The two were unshaken, and

everyone realized the reason why they were there.

The gathered

officials froze, as if they were spellbound. No one could say a single word.

There was no one who had loved their lord, had stood beside him, and had given

their all as Ran Shuuei and Shi Seiran had.

That`s why

they sympathized with them.

The one calling for them was the

emperor.

They were

here because the emperor himself wished for it.

Riou cried

out. In the dim hall, only Chouka and Shijaku rushed to Kouyuu`s side. Shijaku

gripped the hilt of his sword and stood directly in front of the two famous

generals, who had been heralded as the “Ran and Shi in the military”. [3]

“…Father.

Shi-Shogun. If you receive a soul in exchange, will you quietly leave?”

“I praise

your willingness to act here. But, you`re sacrificing yourself? Stupid son.”

“Then, I ask

you to return empty-handed.”

Shijaku

unsheathed his sword, and crossed the distance between them.

However,

when he was just a few millimeters away, Shuuei easily blocked his blow with

his iris sword, returning it with one of his own.

Seeing that

Shijaku had been sent flying back towards the throne, Chouka`s legs could no

longer stand.

“Oji-sama….”

was all she could force out. She gripped her father`s pale hands tightly in

both of hers. Chouka had played the erhu

for an entire day for her father three times. Grandfather Shouka. And then…the

funerals of Seiran-oji and Shuuei-oji…

She couldn`t

forget the deep grief of her father at that time. Long ago, when her father

would go out alone, she had felt that he would never return again. Chouka did

not even know what to ask of her two oji-sans who had come to make the emperor

rest, after he had finally returned to the throne.

If….

If there

were a person who could stand before Ran Shuuei and Shi Seiran, there was only

one.

“A Ran and

Shi in the military, a Li and Kou in the government”. The last one remaining.

The prime minister who continued to serve the emperor. [3]

Kouyuu

embraced the emperor, raising his face to glare at the pair.

For the

first time, Seiran and Shuuei made a face, as if an unseen shield appeared.

Seiran stopped.

“Kouyuu-dono.

Halfway, the emperor also noticed that something had changed. Not just because of Kanshou…”

That due to

the actions of his concerned prime minister, he continued be bound to the

earth.

When the

emperor first began to wander in the shadows of the palace, Kouyuu had lit

seven candles inside the small mausoleum. He had continued to light them

without fail, every day, so even though stars had fallen five times, the

emperor remained on this earth.

To the

extent that the emperor himself had not noticed he was a spirit until halfway

through the journey, and even Chouka had continued to mistake his spirit for

his living body. Kouyuu`s wish had been so strong, that it had extended the

emperor`s time.

“…Kouyuu.

The emperor`s last request to Seiran and I was to wait until he had returned to

you, who was waiting for him. Even when separated from that seat, he was always

worried about you and the subjects left behind. Without taking my hand at the

end, he journeyed on. He remained here until today for your sake. Is that not

enough?”

Kouyuu

embraced the emperor`s body, and mumbled something in a small voice.

In the hall

where time had frozen, the pairs` lanterns trembled.

“Even so, the wish that we can grant is not your`s.” Shuuei cold-heartedly replied.

The two set

down their lanterns, and knelt before the emperor. Shuuei placed a hand over

his heart, and bowed.

“My lord.

Just as promised, Ran Shuuei has come to take you away.”

“You`ve

become tired, I believe. Now once more, we pledge to serve you…” With Seiran`s

words, the two, along with the lanterns, disappeared once again.

Chouka was

shocked, her tears falling onto her father`s cold hand.

Tap.

The sound of

a footstep.

Chouka

raised her tear stained face. Her eyes blurry, she blinked.

She saw for

the first time, neither a crow nor a phantom, but the real man with black hair,

with a frustrated expression, walking through the hall with an aristocratic and

arrogant gait.

The two

lanterns swayed in the darkness.

Ryuuki

walked in the palace of shadows. It was the middle of the night and not a

single soul was around. Beneath the pale moon, the light from the lanterns

fell, illuminating patches of the shadows. There was no one in his office,

where only the birdcage remained, and the archives and pavilions. In the garden

where he cut flowers, the wind blew, rattling the treetops…Sometimes, he could

hear the sound of Ou Ki`s koto and Shuurei`s lullaby from the past.

As Ryuuki

strained his ears, Seiran, who was accompanying him on the left, questioned

him.

“It`s

nothing. It`s just that I was thinking that I can`t hear the erhu.”

“Ojou-sama`s?”

“No.

Chouka`s. That amazingly terrible erhu.” Ryuuki sighed, as he walked. “On the

day that you two passed, she also played it for me until the strings snapped. I

want to hear it once more.”

“……”

The silence

extended, and the lanterns swung in the wind, on the lonely star laden path. He

had thought once, that even if it was terrible, it would be sad to not be able

to hear it again forever. She had practiced her erhu in the inns, and even

though she was aware of her lack of talent, it seemed that she enjoyed playing

it. She hadn`t become an expert like Shuurei had been, but she slowly made

progress, developing her own style. He had enjoyed listening to her.

One day, he

would have to leave Chouka behind. Until that day, he had thought that there

would be no rush. In the midst of many other wrong assumptions, that had been

true. And finally, that day had come.

He wandered

around looking at the places he had spent his time, one by one, in the same way

he had before.

The figure

that came to mind when he looked at the sakura tree in the garden was not

Shuurei. Instead, mysteriously, he saw the figures of Chouka and Shijaku.

“You`re the one I want.”

(I came here in the end without

giving Shijaku any kind of response….)

He hadn`t

said any cool words like Ou Ki had. When he thought back to his own despair at

the time when Ou Ki told him to wait and mercilessly left, he couldn`t help but

want to turn back towards Shijaku.

Ryuuki

passed the sakura tree, and turned his feet in the direction of room he had

come to most often on his night walks until now. He crossed the empty corridor,

and opened the door to the chamber where Shuurei had died. He searched for

Shuurei`s smiling figure, which he had envisioned countless times, day and

night. But no one was there; it was empty today as well…

He was

disappointed. He entered the lonely room. Just before he had fallen

unconscious, he had found the Chouka`s letter laying on top of the pillow on

the bed. There was once again another letter.

It was

addressed to Ryuuki…..but the handwriting was not Chouka`s.

Ryuuki

picked it up, and opened it. When he finished looking at the contents, he

realized that he was standing in the doorway to the chillingly empty hall of

the imperial court. The torches before him lit, one by one, as if by the hands

of a ghost. From the large doorway where Ryuuki stood, the thorn covered throne

which he had sat on for over thirty years was in full view.

Ryuuki, with

Shuuei and Seiran by his side, walked towards the throne. He thought of Kouyuu.

When he thought of Kouyuu`s voice, pleading to not take him away, and the tears

streaming down his cheeks, he felt regret.

It was the

first time Kouyuu had cried. On the day that Shouka died, on the day that

Shuuei and Seiran had died, those three times Chouka had played her erhu until

the strings snapped, Kouyuu hadn`t shed a single tear.

I`ll be waiting for your return, my

lord…

For the past

two years, while looking at Shuuei`s outstretched hand, he had put it off just

a little while longer.

Is that not enough?

Kouyuu`s

reply to Shuuei`s question, he had properly heard it.

It`s not

enough at all.

When he

heard that, his heart hurt. Those were the words he had once said to Yuushun.

Standing besides Yuushun`s coffin crying, he had followed after Ou Ki and

continued walking. On the snowy day when Shuurei had passed, when he and Chouka

had cried, those three had come to get him. On the day that he lost those two,

Chouka had played her erhu for him. On the days when the sound of the erhu

didn`t cease, Kouyuu and Riou would come searching for him without fail. When

he looked upon those subjects, no matter how painful, no matter how much he

lost and lost, he didn`t feel like running away from the palace.

He had never

thought that his existence was necessary to someone. Long ago, he had searched

for someone to fill the void in his heart, but before he realized it, someone

needed him instead. When Kouyuu made him medicine every day, when Riou didn`t

notice Ryuuki`s illness, and when he started to show signs of noticing it, when

Shijaku put a charm on him at inns, every time Chouka would come searching for

him in the middle of the night with a worried expression on her face, he thought he would walk a little longer.

Ryuuki looked down at the throne.

Ryuuki had

walked until this point for the sake of his subjects who wished for him to stay

on this throne for some reason.

The various

things he had left undone, and his unresolved worries crossed his mind.

“…Do you

have regrets, my lord?”

“Yeah. I

have regrets. I had thought that I wanted to stand up from this chair….but

Shuuei…Kouyuu has not asked me for a single thing until now…”

The paper he

held in his hand fell to the floor. Most of the page was empty, and only two

lines were written on it.

It was

Kouyuu`s handwriting. Since when had it been there? No, there was no doubt that

it been left there since the day Ryuuki collapsed two years ago. Because the

only ones who could enter that room were Chouka and his three retainers.

“The day when you meet the deceased

empress in this room as you wish, may come someday. Until then, don`t go anywhere.

I`m waiting beside the throne. Even if I am the only person still left.”

Just as

promised, without leaving before Ryuuki, he had continued to stand at his side,

supporting him. Until this day.

He hadn`t

thought that from the bottom of his heart, he wouldn`t wish to die. Not matter

how much time passed, he had continued to be by his side. It was the only wish

of his beloved prime minister and friend. If he could only grant it….

“For just a

little longer is fine, I want to be by Kouyuu`s side….”

Behind his

back, Shuuei bitterly smiled and sighed.

“It can`t be

helped, I suppose. If that`s your wish…”

The pair

looked somewhat happy.

“I made

arrangements just in case, but driving away that three legged crow is going to

be impossible, isn`t it Seiran?”

“If you

don`t, you`ll be looked down on by Yuushun-dono again. `My lord, you`ve come

here rather soon after I left, haven`t you? Was it truly an incurable disease?

` he`ll sarcastically say.”

“Yeah…Kouyuu

was also furious. He let you rest for two years….and even lit those candles…The

problem is the door. I think Your Majesty can outsmart him as you are now…

That door…” [4]

A small,

murmuring voice discussed something. That door? Ryuuki looked around

restlessly, but there was only the familiar throne. As he thought so, the

lights suddenly began to extinguish, and it became pitch black.

The next

moment, Ryuuki was standing alone in an unknown, desolate field.

At the end

of the narrow road ahead, paved with white stones, there was a dead-end. It was

like a cliff, with nothing beyond.

Seiran and

Shuuei were nowhere to be found. The night sky should have been filled with

stars, and yet the sky he saw was strangely growing lighter. As Ryuuki looked

up at the night sky, he took notice of that door.

Underneath

the canopy of stars, he saw two shining bonfires, and a huge suspended door.

And one more thing.

At the end

of the wasteland, a single crow was perched on the branch of an old tree, which

blocked the landscape like a bone. As Ryuuki met the crow`s cold-hearted,

purple eyes, he remembered something.

The crow

changed into a black haired man before Ryuuki`s eyes.

Thud.

The man`s

footsteps rang out in the wasteland.

Just like

Chouka had once described, the man appeared cold, aloof, and cynical. He had

been in the palace longer than any other, as old as a sakura tree. He knew his

father, Ou Ki, Ruka and other statesmen. He was the man who once told Ryuuki

that he was a pawn to be thrown away. The high ranking official who had been

there before Ryuuki.

His age was

different, but as Ryuuki gazed into his cold eyes, he knew the man`s identity.

The face of the man he had been searching for so long for was there. Ink flowed

down the dark face of the man.

Ryuuki

grinned. All of his memories had returned.

“…Shou

Taishi.”

He had

thought that if he met this man, there would be something he wanted to say. He

had thought there was a mountain load of things he wanted to say to him. The

man who knew Ryuuki`s darkness and fragility, who had watched over the path he

walked from the beginning until the end. He wondered just how his life was

reflected in this man`s eyes.

But as he

looked at the man`s face, he didn`t care a bit about that.

Ryuuki now

no longer cared what Shou Taishi`s answer would be. The answer to most of the

questions he wanted to ask already laid in the palm of his hand. Even if Ryuuki

asked, he probably wouldn`t tell the truth. Just like he had lied to Ryuuki

about the straw doll.

Looking into

the unchanged eyes of Shou Taishi, Ryuuki laughed once more. This time at

himself.

Although his

memories had vanished, he had searched for his figure…chased after it. The

one other man who had never truly seen Ryuuki.

Even so, just

by him appearing in the end, the sacrificed pawn felt as if he had finally

reversed their positions..

“Look at

that pathetically touched expression. If you`re moved, open that floating door.

That straightforward expression, what a stupid emperor. Hurry up and return

that triangle cloth on your head..” [5]

Everything

finally clicked. This was certainly Shou Taishi, with that high handed and

sarcastic manner of speaking. But somehow, he was angrier than he had been at

the past, as he appeared younger than himself (and rather good looking).

“….I thought

there wasn’t anything I wanted to say to you, but there is. You shitty old

man.”

“Which one

of us is an old, you old man? Go wash your face in the Sanzu River and look at

me again.”[6]

“Old ma…!

Even without looking at you, there`s no doubt! But!”

Ryuuki`s

gaze grew distant, and he turned his heel. There was something else he needed

to tell him.

“Since she

was young, you`ve been loitering around Chouka. Take responsibility. Hmph, I`ll

go running over the Sanzu River, because I want to talk with Sou Taifu, Sa

Taiho and Shouka first and foremost!”

Ryuuki felt

an impact so strong that he thought the back of his head had been crushed, and

he went flying away like a ball. In order catch Ryuuki this time, the three

legged crow flying on the road to the underworld had sent Ryuuki flying with a

roundhouse kick of the Shi Immortal. He saw Ryuuki off, watching his

dumbfounded expression. [7]

Just before

he broke through the door floating in the air, he saw Shuuei and Seiran on the

path quickly waving their hands.

“Ryuuki, you

finally got one in against Shou Taishi, huh? But next time, we`ll definitely

come to take you away. Ojou-sama isn`t really waiting, so it`s okay this time.”

“Waaaaaait a

second, Seiran. I`m actually really curious about that. There`s been no trace

of her at all.”

“ `It`s okay

if we don`t go get him yet, isn`t it.`, she said, to stop me.”

“Your

Majesty.” Shuuei fell onto his knees. “I

regret leaving you behind, but protecting you was my long cherished dream.

Don`t apologize. My only regret is leaving you earlier than I had intended. You

know, I actually really wanted you to take my hand. I wanted to take you with

me, because I want to serve you again….but Kouyuu has done his best for you all

alone, so I`ll wait just a little longer…”

The lanterns

that were always in the pair`s hands, each vanished into the darkness. In the

small mausoleum, the lighting of two candles was reflected in Ryuuki`s mind.

Ryuuki

opened his eyes. “Somehow…there were various things I was worried about, so I

came back.”

“Is that so?

I`ll praise you for the first time then.”

Ryuuki was

wrapped in a tight embrace.

The court

where the new year`s greeting was being held was in an uproar. While the crowd

rushed forward, there was a single black haired man who left in the opposite

direction. Only Chouka followed him.

The man

headed towards somewhere, his stride showing no hesitation. The immense,

familiar imperial palace was clear in the frozen winter.

Past the

beautiful colonnades, past the Sentoukyuu, laden with icicles, past the snow

covered garden…

Chouka had

been familiar with this scenery since she was a child, but as she approached

the man, in that moment it unexpectedly transformed. The palace before her eyes

was that of a previous architectural style. As if the four seasons were turning

backwards, the palace transformed to that of olden days, perhaps one thousand

years ago.

In the same winter scenery, Chouka could smell

the scent of blood and war. The palace was covered in blood as far as her eyes

could see, and there were numerous corpses and severed heads with blood still

oozing out of them. The sounds of destruction, voices full of resentment, the

rising black smoke from the fires and

ravages of war…he had walked in

this desolate word covered in bones, again and again.

In this

corpse filled world where nothing changes no matter how many years pass, there

was the blood covered throne.

The man she

was following lifted his foot to heartlessly crush the skull of some emperor

from another era.

Chouka

grabbed his sleeve from behind and stopped him.

He turned

back, surprised. With the cold-heartedness of ice that seemed like it would not

melt for an eternity, he was annoyed.

“Will you do anything for that man`s

sake? Even if it means a life of suffering, are you prepared to take that man`s

hand?”

….Chouka

still didn`t understand her father`s mysterious words.

But now, she

had found another reason besides her father to return to the palace.

This was the

world that the man who hadn`t shown even the slightest expression of happiness

walked in.

Chouka

extended both her hands. It was different than hugging the small crow, so she

grabbed his clothing tightly. He turned his head towards Chouka, puzzled.

Chouka peered into his cold eyes.

She had

merely existed in the palace, so she had left to search for this moody, frozen

crow.

If it would

warm him, she would caress his feathers for an eternity.

Chouka

stretched on her tiptoes and kissed the crow`s cheek as if to comfort him. [8]

After a long

moment, the man`s eyes widened, and he pulled away in surprise. He pulled

Chouka`s hands off of him. After dropping his gaze towards his hands, he looked

back at Chouka once again.

When she was

a child, the crow had lectured her “Don`t do such things without good reason,

girl”.

There was no

way she was doing it without good reason….

Wondering

what she should talk about, she turned her eyes away from the man`s.

The next

moment, the man unexpectedly disappeared. She had no time to thank him for her

father.

She was

surrounded by the quite snowy scenery of the palace during new year’s

greetings. There was not a single footprint in the snow, nor any trace of

feathers. At their sudden meeting, all of her self-confidence had depressingly

disappeared.

Chouka

looked down at her own hands.

Although her

hands had been covered in many scratches during her two year journey, they had

all disappeared without a trace.

TRANSLATION NOTES:

[1] The text specifically mentions the scent as being one liked by bother Shuuei and Seiran here, despite having referred to it as Shuuei`s secret blend before. Not sure what`s up with that.

[2] Kanshou has mystical abilities. I`ve answered an ask about it, so check out my Flower of Winter tag.

[3] This is a famous line from the series. Basically the golden age of Saiunkoku was when there was ` A Ran and Shi in the military, and a Li and Kou in the government.`. The line appears at the end of the first novel.

[4] The speaker of this line goes unnamed. I am approximately 86.75% sure I know who says this line, but it would be an unneeded spoiler for the last two novels and Heart of Ice. If you`d like to know anyway, please message me.

[5] Ghosts in Japan are typically depicted with triangular white cloths on their foreheads.

[6] The Sanzu River is a concept in Buddhism. It`s the river you must cross to reach the after life. The western equivalent is the River Styx.

[7] The Shi Immortal (Shi Sen? Shi Spirit?) is Shou Taishi. Just wanted to make that clear.

[8] Making it clear that the crow is still in human form here. The text from Chouka`s perspective generally refers to him as a crow despite his appearance.

WHALIN THOUGHTS

Well. That was an absolute JOY to translate…

This section clears up a lot about what the hell has been going on for this entire story.

Kouyuu is a sweet sweet child who must be protected at all costs. The bond between him and Ryuuki is really the highlight of this chapter.

From a translator`s point of view, I really hate when Shou Taishi speaks because of the language he uses, but as a fan I really enjoy his conversation with Ryuuki. The Ryuuki we see here is much closer to the Ryuuki we know from the original series.

And the fact that Ryuuki is mad that Shou Taishi is younger and hotter than him gives me liiiiife.

I wasn`t really feeling ChoukaxCrow(Shou Taishi) before this section, but you know what, I`m not mad about it. I admit that I prefer Shijaku, but there`s a lot under the surface here.

The next chapter will be the final installment of Flower of Winter. It`s simply titled as `Conclusion`.

WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO RYUUKI?

HAVE WE SEEN THE LAST OF SHOU TAISHI?

WHAT WILL BECOME OF CHOUKA AND SHIJAKU?

WILL KOUYUU GET A RAISE FOR ALL THE SHIT HE`S PUT UP WITH?

WILL SHUUREI EVER JOIN THIS GHOST PARTY????

Stay tuned for the final chapter of Flower of Winter.