Chapter I: The Violin Room

Emperor Kuze saw Mikage off with outward indifference as he piled the furnishings onto a cart to be taken to the new court lady, his neck inclined regally. Though, in actuality, he had to withhold himself from smiling at his advisor's curious, almost somewhat mocking glances. Were it anyone else, it would have upset him, but there had always been something about the white-haired male that made his impish nature bearable. At least to a degree, at any rate. After everything was settled, said man cleared his throat, smirking as he drew the Emperor's attention from his thoughts. "Yes?"

"Might I inquire what you hope to gain by sending such lavish gifts to this girl?" Mikage was grinning, as if he knew the answer to some riddle unspoken, but Kuze only rose an eyebrow in silent inquiry, indicating for him to go on. "Ah, well, you see, I only find it strange. You have hardly given such an extraordinary welcome to any court lady that has joined us in quite some time."

At this, the Emperor released a sigh, glancing away from Mikage in thought. After some time, he pushed himself up from his seat on the side of the estate's porch, an expressionless look overtaking his features. "It is only an apology for what happened this previous night," he answered formally, approaching the other man. He pulled out a white letter, plainly sealed with no writing on the outside of the envelope. "Please take this with you and hand it over to Miss Suzuka personally to warn her I will be visiting later this evening."

Mikage seemed genuinely taken aback by this. He glanced from the letter to the Emperor before registering what had been said. Narrowing his eyes slightly, he took the note, still somehow managing to retain an impish grin despite the hardening of his expression. "I see. I will do as you ask." He bowed, any disdain gone from his features as a smirk took its place. He turned from Kuze and began to walk away from him, the cart following along behind him as if it were walking on its own.

The Emperor hummed quietly under his breath and shook his head at the peculiar sight before turning away from the outside world and reentering the large building. He passed by a few workers in the hall, all of whom stopped and gave him a bow before continuing on their way. Making it back to his room, he paused in his stride to his desk to glance at the parchment lying on the ground aside his pillow.

He walked over and picked it up, opening it to once more stare at the fine, yet slightly messy, ink-strokes upon the white surface. Oh! You should not apologize. It was not within your control, Emperor Kuze. Still, thank you for the consideration. Your welcome here at any time... and sorry for the mess. -Mikase, Suzuka.

He studied the words once more, his eyes softening. What a peculiar response it had been. Generally, it was normal for him to be blamed for any disaster brought forth due to his presence, especially where women were concerned. And yet, this woman... He was startled from his thoughts by a knock on his door and turned to see it open without his consent. He immediately calmed, knowing the only person who would enter in such a fashion. There stood his brother, Sakuhito, smiling brightly.

"Hello, brother," he chimed, quickly striding forward to stand in front of him.

"Good morning." Kuze nodded to him, pressing his lips together. "How did you get here without anyone seeing you?"

"I have my ways." Sakuhito snickered, then glanced at the note his brother was holding in his hand. "Official business?" The Emperor startled at his words, then cleared his throat and muttered something under his breath before moving towards his desk, setting the parchment down next to a white candle. His brother seemed not to be phased by the odd reaction, apparently opting not to question him further.

"Is there something you needed?" Kuze turned to face him again, a look of curiosity coming over his usually business-oriented face.

"Ah – no, not I." Sakuhito scratched his cheek absently, then shrugged his shoulders. "Actually, I just wanted to drop by and make sure you were okay. I heard what happened last night." He frowned. "Another assassin?"

"I would seem so..." The Emperor frowned as a look of worry passed by his brother's face. He let out a small sigh and walked forward, settling his hand on his shoulder gently. "I will put a stop to it before long without so much as a scratch. You will see." He smiled, his business-like aurora dropping as a friendly smile came to his face. Sakuhito cheered up immediately and nodded, patting his arm.

"If you say it, then surely it is true! I almost feel bad for the man who has chosen to cross swords with you." He let out a good-natured laugh. Both of them froze, however, when they heard another knock on the door, followed by the mousy voice of a maid.

"Excuse me, Emperor, but it seems someone is here to speak with you..."

Kuze glanced at Sakuhito, then sighed. He bid him a silent farewell, then made his way into the hall, sure to keep his brother from sight as he did so. Duty called.

Late that night, Kuze found himself wandering the stone trails patterned around the buildings surroundings his estate. Already, he could see the home lent to Suzuka ahead. When he was within distance to catch a glimpse of the garden behind the house, he stopped to stare at it a moment before frowning. It was old, and had not been used in quite some time... No doubt, it would do well to have a gardener sent over to take care of it.

He thought of this for a moment as he approached the door, raising his hand to knock gently on the wooden surface. Without hesitation, it swung open only seconds later, the perky pink-haired woman from the night before standing there with a smile on her face. She dropped in a bow quickly. "Welcome, Emperor. Miss Mikase has been expecting you." She moved aside to let him enter, closing the door behind them.

She went ahead of him to inform the court lady of his arrival as he lagged behind, looking around the area as he followed. A little more space had been filled up, and more of the boxes had disappeared. There still wasn't much around, but it was no longer an empty home. It was very quaint, actually.

He hummed in the back of his throat, a mark of approval, before turning his attention in front of him as he came to the same room as the night before. No longer were there pictures thrown about left and right; however, there was a stack of them upon the table. "What? H-he actually came again!? Really?" Suzuka was sitting on the floor once more when he entered, but her gaze shifted from Hinata to him when she noticed his presence. Immediately, her face flushed, no doubt assuming he'd heard her words.

"You really must work on your manner of greeting visitors," he commented, though there was the faintest hint of amusement in his voice.

Quickly, she stumbled clumsily to her feet, brushing her hair out of the way. With a nervous bow, she smiled. "I apologize! A-ah... welcome back, Emperor." Once more, Hinata dismissed herself, leaving the two of them to retire for the night.

Kuze walked further into the room, studying her nervous stance. His gaze must've softened as he looked at her, because something about him had quickly made her calm her nerves and sit back upon the floor. Not bothered by the casual notion, he glanced around the room. He noticed the new mirror had taken the place of the broken one, and a few of the other furnishings he'd sent her were about as well. "Did you enjoy the gifts I sent?" he questioned, casually.

"Oh! Yes. It was very thoughtful of you. And the candy was amazing! I've never had such delicious- ah, I mean..." She stumbled over her words, then closed her mouth. Her hand immediately went up to toy with her hair.

He took his gaze down to her and tilted his head, surprised by his words. "Candy?" he asked incredulously. He raised an eyebrow at this statement. "Amongst all the fine furnishings I send you, it's the candy that you enjoy the most..."

Her cheeks slowly began to turn slightly rosy, her gaze dropping to the ground. "Yes, well, I... it was really good candy."

He stared at her for a moment, then, unable to hold it back, let a gentle smile come to his lips. "I see. That is... refreshing," he commented, his voice quiet. His gaze locked on her in something akin to wonder. She fretted under the sudden kindness in his gaze, tugging at her strand of hair a little more fervently.

"Well..." she tried to start on another train of thought, but ended up halting, her eyes widening. "Oh, right! You sent the violin too, did you not?" Her gaze snapped up to him suddenly, her embarrassed expression replaced with an innocent excitement. "I cannot thank you enough, Emperor. I – I... when I saw it... I just – thank you."

"...You are welcome," he responded, the wonder still in his gaze even as he tried to revert back to his usual expression. "I hope you will entertain the thought of playing for me some day, if you wish to thank me properly."

"Huh?" Her eyes widened before a bright smile came over her features. "I-I'd love to! Once I get some more practice in, that is." She giggled, her demeanor taking on that of an excited child. He nodded in satisfaction, accepting her response.

Kuze opted to finally seat himself, moving over by the wall to sit upon the floor. He propped his arm up, resting his hand under his chin as he watched her. She looked surprised, then opened her mouth, eyeing a cushion nearby, perhaps with the intent to offer it to him. However, before she could get a word in, he spoke, "I do believe we still have the matter of the poem to discuss, do we not? Have you made any progress in figuring out who it may be from?"

Suzuka blinked, giving one last look at the cushion, before shaking her head slowly. "No... none. I've thought about it, but I honestly can't imagine anyone around here looking at me in that way."

He leaned further on his hand, grunting. "Why is that?"

Her face flushed at his question, and she fidgeted on her 'seat' for a moment before answering. "Well... I suppose I just cannot imagine anyone in this place having feelings like the ones that are expressed in the poem – not towards me, that is. I'm certainly not a high class woman... nor very refined. There are many other women here that are far better suited for the men here."

She paused, getting a thoughtful look. Then, suddenly, she smiled wistfully. "Not that I mean to insult the sender of the poem. Such kind and beautiful words are to be cherished with respect and admiration."

The Emperor stared at her once more, his head no longer resting against his hand. At first startled, it was after a moment that his expression settled into a thoughtful, neutral look. She tilted her head at him curiously. "...You truly are a wild flower, aren't you?" he said after a moment, but his voice was soft, far from insulting.

Her eyes widened at his words, followed by a sheepish smile. "U-um..." She seemed as if she did not know whether to take that as an insult or a compliment. She'd certainly called herself unrefined on her own, but perhaps it had been him that had originally planted that thought into her mind.

He studied her as that thought hit him, his lips pressing together. "There are too few wild flowers here, Miss Suzuka." That was all he said on the matter, but she seemed to accept that as a good thing, because her expression settled back into the same shy, content look that seemed to be her default aurora when company was around her. He paused before continuing. "You truly have no idea who sent it, then?"

She shook her head. "No..."

Kuze looked away from her briefly in thought, then nodded. "I see... then, I do hope this mystery will come to its close, in that case. I will continue to visit you as time permits me until it is taken care of." He flashed her a brief smile, then slowly stood from his place against the wall. He walked to stand in front of her and offered a hand to her. She stared at it curiously before accepting it; she was light, and he was able to pull her up with ease.

"Do you have any music for the violin currently in your possession?" he questioned, releasing her hand after a brief hesitation to make sure she had her balance. She nodded, pushing a few messy locks from her eyes.

"Yes; I brought all I owned. Do you know how to read music, Emperor?"

"Mm. A little. May I see what songs you have?" She seemed excited by his question, no doubt happy to have anyone inquire about her hobby. He had a feeling her current state of happiness had little to do with the person asking just happening to be the Emperor, and for a moment, he found himself wanting to smile childishly along with her. She asked him to follow her and showed him to another room; a considerably smaller room meant to be used as a servant room if need be.

Inside, there was a single chair in the middle, a stand with sheet music sprawled across it, and a violin propped carefully off to the side. He felt a sense of pride at seeing the violin he had sent her had already been in use, if the bow lying across the stand were any indication. He followed her in where a small box containing various papers lay in wait next to the chair. She bent down, shifting through it for a while before finding what she wanted.

"Most of the music I play has a folk sound to it," she explained, her voice softening as she spoke. "I do other styles, too, though." He took the papers from her hands and looked over them, a spark of interest in his eyes. He thumbed through them slowly, unable to really read them all that well, but curious of their sound nonetheless.

"They must sound beautiful," he noted, glancing up at her every so often. She was staring adoringly at the violin she had propped up. He paused flipping through the music to examine her. She gave him a knowing smile and nodded, confirming his words. "May I ask what sparked your interest in music?"

"My father." She wandered around the room aimlessly, studying the make of it. "He was a busy man, but he still made time for me. He bought me a violin to give me something to do while he was out so that I would not be bored on my own. Pretty soon, I was addicted to it, and he encouraged me endlessly. He never failed to listen to new pieces that I learned when I asked him to do so."

She paused in her speaking, her gaze faltering slightly. Kuze noticed and frowned. He had known her father; perhaps not as well as he should have, however. Her family had not been all that high in the hierarchy, after all. "He sounds like he was a good father."

"Oh, he was the best." Happiness returned to her gaze, and curiously, the Emperor immediately felt relieved. He noticed her yawn quickly after her retort and set the papers back into their box.

"I apologize. It seems I've stayed a little long, haven't I? You should rest for the night, Miss Suzuka." She glanced at him, then nodded sheepishly, turning to follow him out as he exited her music room. He stopped to face her once they had made their way to the entrance doorway. "I thank you for having me tonight."

She blinked in surprise, then shook her head. "Uh – no, no! Thank you for taking time to visit me like this, Emperor. It's truly an honor to have you here... um, despite my terrible welcomes. I will work on that."

In spite of himself, he found another smile forming on his lips. "I see. Then, I look forward to receiving more greetings from you." The insinuation that he intended to back up his word to continue to visit her seemed to cause her to fluster, but she kept a calm, warm look on her face.

"I look forward to giving them." She bowed to him, respectfully. "I hope you have a good night, Emperor."

"Hm." Kuze studied her yet again, and certainly not for the last time, as his mind reeled at her odd behavior. To any other, they would seem like simple responses that should not be thought about twice. But he was the Emperor; it was not like a woman to act so... normal around him. "You as well... Miss Suzuka," he murmured, still very much lost in thought as he bid her farewell and exited her household.

He stared up at the sky as he walked, bringing an arm up to rest his hand beneath his chin. "Refreshing." It had been the perfect descriptor for her, indeed. No doubt the other court ladies would say her behavior was rude or disrespectful.

Once he returned to his room, he once again took a moment to write a quick letter to her, feeling it necessary to do so, though he knew not why. Thank you once more for allowing me to spend time in your home. I look forward to hearing your music one day, Miss Suzuka. I'm sure it is indeed beautiful. -Kuze.

He knew it would seem odd to others for his interest to pique in such a way for a court lady, of all people. Yet, without his consent, his intrigue had grown again.

A wild flower amongst a field of those who wore masks...

Woo! Chapter 2, done. And in time for Valentine's day, too!

Writing Emperor Kuze is so much fun. I just love him so much. Gah! Kaljfakdshg -grabby hands-

I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I would write more author notes here, but I wrote this at two in the morning, and I'm tired. XD
Such is the way of my writing, it seems.

Reviews/favs/etc and constructive criticism are always welcome! Especially where characterization is concerned. OTL

-Matron of Madness

P.S. Regarding the MC's back story, I may or may not change it a little where the game was concerned. Mostly because I'd like to have more detail to it than the game gave, that is. Just so you know!

Thanks for reading!