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“Rui?”
The man called for jumped as the door creaked open, shedding light into the dimly lit room. If the sudden call was surprising, the appearance of the emperor at the door frame nearly made the tactician fall off his chair.
“Y-yes, my lord?” He straightened himself immediately.
Rui’s relationship with the emperor wasn’t exactly close per say, but he knew that his lord respected him for his intelligence. The emperor himself was a relatively kindhearted man as well, he cared for the well-being of his servants and wasn’t in favor of overworking.
The emperor gave a sympathetic smile, “I’ve noticed that you haven’t gone outside of this room in a while.” They gestured around the area littered with papers and books.
The purple haired felt somewhat embarrassed to have his ruler catch him huddling away in a messy and dark room. He soon realized what the other was implying with his statement, “I… acknowledge that.”
The emperor chuckled, “I’m sure you’re sharp enough to know what I’m trying to say.”
Rui waved a hand dismissively, “There’s no need to fret about me. I assure you I’m enjoying my time here.”
“I don’t believe that staying in here for nearly a week straight is particularly healthy, if you were to ask me.”
He sounds like my father, Rui amused. The tactician remained silent as he awkwardly fiddled with a chess piece on his desk.
“How about a walk outside, at the very least? The scenery is quite beautiful, you should see the gardens. The workers did a splendid job.” A proud smile formed on the emperor’s face.
“Hum.”
“Emperor’s orders.”
The tactician sighed, slowly lifting himself off his seat. “Alright.”
“Wonderful. Have a pleasant time.” The elder man then waved and contently strolled away.
Rui moped for a small period of time before fixing his clothing to head outside, he could feel the shocked stares of the servants as he traveled down the hallways of the palace. Ever since the war ended, the tactician had locked himself in his room and only went out for necessities. Although he was never an outdoors person, he once held a fondness for gardening and greenery.
When asked by peers about his current habits, he simply replied; “There’s nothing to see now. I’ve already seen it all.”
—————
Rui had to admit the emperor was correct, the gardens were as eye-catching as he said. Vibrant chrysanthemums, peonies, orchids, a head of blond hair– wait, what?
The tactician froze in place at the unexpected presence of another person in the garden. They were crouching on the ground, inspecting flowers which had the appearance of stars. Their clothing consisted of vibrant colors and various other accessories, making their outfit a stark contrast compared to Rui’s.
He attempted to take a silent step forward, although the crunch of grass beneath his feet defied against him. The stranger immediately whipped their head around as shock dawned onto their face.
“Wha– AHHH!”
A deafening scream erupted out of the blond man as he stumbled backwards, Rui wasn’t sure if he could be even more surprised with the current events occurring today. He soon realized that the other’s screaming could cause troublesome misunderstandings, and quickly tried calming down the stranger.
“I apologize for scaring you, however– your screaming–”
The shocked individual seemed to register that his yelling would draw unnecessary attention, and that he was causing a scene in front of a complete stranger. He snapped his mouth closed and his face began turning a shade of red from embarrassment. A period of silence passed, once ensuring no servants were approaching their location out of concern, the blond slowly opened his mouth to speak.
“I-I’m terribly sorry! That was unbecoming of me, I’m afraid I get startled easily.” He bowed deeply to the tacitian.
“There’s no need for apologies. It was entirely my fault for approaching you unannounced.”
“Still—! As the eldest son of the Tenma family I must always act composed!”
Rui raised an eyebrow curiously, he had heard of the Tenma name before in discussions throughout the palace. “Tenma? Do you perhaps belong to the famous noble family?”
“Indeed! I am Tenma Tsukasa, the eldest son of the Tenma family!” The blond placed a proud hand on his chest.
“What might the heir to the Tenma family be doing here?” Rui noticed how the blond had fingers wrapped around the stem of a flower he was inspecting.
“Ah, um, picking flowers?”
“Picking… flowers?” Why would the heir to a noble family be picking flowers himself?
They blinked at each other momentarily before Tenma cleared his throat. “Ah, well, yes. I wanted to bring some flowers for my sister as she hasn’t been feeling well lately. I didn’t ask a servant to collect them for me as I wanted the gift to be sincere.” He followed his statement with a fond smile, admiring the flower in his grasp.
The tactician furrowed his eyebrows in thought, “Flowers are certainly a choice… especially after we just came out of a devastating war. Much of the landscape was destroyed, only this place is lively as it’s taken care of by our gardeners.”
“I know, that’s why I came here.” A tinge of sorrow plagued the blond’s smile, “I’m grateful that the emperor allows guests to freely pick from the gardens. I do remain hopeful that I could take my sister to a beautiful meadow someday.”
“Going all this way just for some flowers? You must really love your sister.” He found it quite endearing, Tenma seemed to be a selfless individual who would do anything to make his loved ones smile.
“Of course! Not only that but, I wanted to see more colourful scenery too. Flowers are an eminent aspect of nature’s beauty, wouldn’t you agree?” The shorter of the two directed his gaze to the blooming flower beds.
“I do admire flowers, however, I see no need to value them that highly.” Rui shrugged.
The blond gasped almost offendedly, “There’s plenty of value in wildlife! …Except for insects, but that’s besides the point!”
The tactician stared at the other unfazed, “What’s the point if it’s so short lived?”
Tenma’s smile fell slightly, “What do you mean?”
“Flowers are like human lives, don’t you think? They’re beautiful, yet wither so easily. Why bother?”
Being the most skilled tactician in the country never came solely with victory. He’s had the weight of thousands of lives rested on his shoulders. He’s had to calculate losses, determine what method would reduce the most casualties like soldiers were just numbers. He had seen the suffering and death of the people in the country. Happiness was fleeting in those dire periods.
“That’s exactly why we have to cherish them while they’re still here.”
Rui snapped out of his thoughts, noticing how the blond was beginning to approach him. He instinctively took a step back, but paused when gazing upon the soft smile that graced the other’s face.
Tenma gently grabbed the hand of the tactician and placed the flower he was holding into his hand. Rui stared back wide eyed, confused by the gesture and his racing heart.
“Do you know what this flower is called?” Tenma asked softly.
“… Aster?” He barely managed to breathe out.
The blond suddenly barked out laughing proudly, “So you do know your plants! Are you perhaps versed in floriography as well?”
“I don’t believe so, enlighten me.”
“To start, ’aster’ is the Greek word for ‘star’! Quite fitting for a future star such as myself, isn’t it?” Tenma exclaimed excitedly.
“I suppose,” Rui amused.
“And aster’s are quite honourable flowers to receive as well! They symbolize wisdom, faith, and love!”
Rui’s mind froze at the last word. “…Love?”
Tenma gaped, realizing what he had just said. His face immediately flushed bright red, “I-I mean, what I was trying to say was that it has many different positive meanings! It doesn’t have to mean that! Ha ha ha…”
“What if I wanted it to mean that?”
“H-huh?” The shorter one squeaked.
“It seems I was wrong initially. There possibly are things to cherish in life. If only the emperor told me that there was someone as beautiful as you out here, I may have realized it sooner.” The tactician’s words left his mouth before he could even process them.
“W-wha- huh-?!”
Rui tucked the aster into his sleeve and grasped the hands of the blond, inching closer, “I lament the fact we haven’t crossed paths sooner, it’s almost as though you were manifested from my dreams—“
“W-wait, stop talking!” Tsukasa raised his arms to cover the taller one’s mouth. His face was completely flushed, even reaching to his ears and neck.
After a few moments of awkward silence, Tsukasa’s hands fell to some degree, still being gently held by the wrists by Rui. “Gods, you’ve definitely swooned over some women, haven’t you?” He muttered.
The tactician blinked curiously, “Hm? No, I’ve never had a romantic interest towards anyone up until now.”
“W-what?!”
“On the matter of things which I believed to be short lived, courting was one of them. I always thought that love was futile, particularly during the harder times–” He swallowed down the lump forming in his throat, “I was terrified that one day I would wake up to hear that my beloved had been killed. I’ve… seen it happen with other people far too many times.”
Rui released his hold on the other’s wrists and shuffled backwards, grimacing at the memories that throbbed his heart. “I apologize, I don’t know what came over me.”
There was soft rustling in the grass, then, velvet palms resting on the sides of his face. “It’s all over now, isn’t it? I understand being scared… I almost lost one of my most precious family members during the war, especially with the shortage of medicine. It’s difficult, but if you only live in fear, you’ll prevent yourself from experiencing happiness. My sister taught me that.”
“I suppose you’re right,” The purple haired cracked a small smile. He reached for the flower tucked away in his clothing and settled it behind Tsukasa’s ear.
“I think it would be better if you kept this.”
The blond’s face flushed immediately, “Q-quit it with this! Are you sure you’ve had no romantic experience?!”
“I’m quite certain, perhaps I was just waiting for the right one to come along.” Rui smirked with his infamous feline-like grin. If he had learned some of these cheesy gestures from novels, that was a secret for him to keep.
Tsukasa made a few grumbling noises, but still appeared bashful. The bright boy was frankly, in Rui’s opinion, the prettiest thing he’d ever laid eyes on.
“May I kiss you?”
“Pardon?”
“May I have permission—“
The blond blocked his face with his hands, “N-no! You may not— at least not right now. We’ve barely known each other for a few minutes!”
“So I still have a chance?”
“Um,” Tsukasa began, “You see, my parents are likely going to arrange me with someone. For the sake of the family.”
Rui tilted his head, “Oh?”
“I believe it’s someone close to our family, high social status and a wealthy background.”
He lifted a finger to his chin, “Ah, so it’s just a matter of status and wealth?”
The blond frowned, “Well, of course. Isn’t it always about that?” He murmured somewhat bitterly.
“Then tell your family Kamishiro Rui would like their son’s hand in marriage.” The tactician smirked.
Tsukasa’s jaw dropped, “Y-you’re Kamishiro Rui!? The emperor’s most trusted tactician?”
“Indeed, is that perhaps not enough?”
“N-no, that’s much more than enough— I just didn’t expect to meet the famous tactician out here!” Tsukasa waved his hands frantically in reassurance, “But I can’t just tell them that.”
“Why not? You certainly seemed charmed by me judging by your reactions.” He teased.
The shorter one burned up once again, “T-that’s not the point! I… how about this, we can meet up here everyday at the same time. If you can swoon me over I’ll consider your proposal.”
“Ah… making me wait like this, how cruel…” Rui wiped crocodile tears from his eyes.
“Stop that!”
He chuckled, “If that's what Tsukasa wants, I shall comply.”
Tsukasa beamed, “Great! Just so you know it’s not going to be that easy to win me over!”
“Is that so? I believe you’ve blushed a total of four times so far.”
“Why were you counting?!”
“That’s five now.”
“Agh—!”
—————
Rui was seated at a conference table along with all the other important figures close to the emperor. They were in the middle of discussing the rebuilding process of various cities. It was going relatively smoothly until two men shared conflicting ideas, and now they began debating with one another.
The emperor merely sighed, filling his cup with wine. He then turned to Rui, who was seated next to him and evidently seething from boredom. “How was your outing?”
“Ah, the scenery was breathtaking as you said. I met my future husband as well.” The tactician stated casually.
The emperor choked on his wine, “I beg your pardon?”
“I met the love of my life. He is the most dazzling, beautiful, gorgeous…” Rui continued rambling on about his sudden infatuation.
“What is with this development…”
The purple haired looked at him with eager eyes, “My lord, do you think we could plant more asters? I’d be willing to assist as well.”
“Do what you like. Feel free to excuse yourself now as well, as the meeting is almost over.” The elder man waved him off.
“Thank you, my lord!” Rui immediately shot up from the table and rushed away like an excited child.
The other guests frowned at the boy’s lack of manners while the emperor simply chuckled in response;
“It’s nice to see that boy with his spark back.”