Recent content by Ginrou

How Lady Jashu loathed the guests who sat around her. Some watched in silent rapture, others barely hid their boredom behind a glaze of sophistication. All, all of them assuming they sat outside the light of the stage. How her guests chittered and cheered, unaware of their own roles in the act...

Rain fell in streaks against the waxed paper walls of the house, thin grey threads of shadows lit by the warm fire within. Laughter and talk flowed as natural as the rain between guests. Women - sweaty from a day of work and travel, the powder on their faces beginning to cake - lounged on...

With a short wave of the hand that had just let go of the vial, Ginrou brushed away Hiei's thanks. "Please, save your gratitude for something more substantial," he said, not returning the smile, beyond the expected decorum that already lifted his features. "I do not have the time nor the...

Something about the other man's snide words set the mask back onto Ginrou's face. The smile he wore was resigned, polite. Not a wrinkle along his brow or in the corner of his eyes. "It eludes me, why you insist on making such a bad host of me." With a shake of his head, he let out a short sigh...

"Just trying to make conversation." The tangle of hair was finally worked free, the knot pulled apart and smoothed out into smaller strands. As soon as he released them from his fingers, they sprang up into loose waves. "A skill you might find worth practicing, especially so if you're new to a...

The door was to Ginrou's back. Still, he could guess who it was. Sliding open the door soundlessly and striding in with long, sure steps. Not with a bow or a polite utterance to declare his presence, as a servant or a guest would have. Well, if they were being so familiar... Staying seated at...

"Hirawa, you say?" The matriarch's darkened lips quirked up in a peculiar way, but she said no more on the matter. Every part of Lady Jasu flowed like the robes she wore, from her silver-silk hair to her long-lashed gaze. At Hanae's words, the matriarch's attention rolled away from the bowed...

The flower seller finally raised her head, and what a look she gave him! Now, here was some of the confidence he had seen in that painted sign, the curve of the letters proudly mimicking the health of each petal. Ginrou was so stricken that he forgot his previous offer, careless as it was...

The woman was so nervous. Ginrou pulled away as she sat herself up. He mirrored her, lowering his other knee to sit at the same level, back straight and hands folded quietly in his lap. A shame that all he could see was the top of her head, as Hanae bent her head low, as if she were still...

How had he gone from apologizing to the young lady, to having her kowtow before him? Ginrou slid his slippered feet back, a look of surprise crossing his face as Hanae asked for forgiveness. One that the flower seller wouldn't see, with her nose to the ground like that. She would be able to...

Ginrou didn't know what to make of the scene in front of him. He was still reeling at the gatekeeper's accusations, polite as they were. But the conversation slipped away from him as the musician - Hinoka - cried out in concern over Hiei's wounds. That madman Ryo had done more damage than he...

As she turned to lead the other woman away, Suyuna shot a glance and a thinly veiled threat at Ginrou. He felt his face grow hot at her words, an even mix of embarrassment and anger coloring his cheeks. "Fine then, take it to Lady Morikami," he spat back. "Perhaps you can also explain to her...

Two newcomers came up the garden path, and it was impossible not to overhear their conversation. Gin, who was still in the middle of arranging the second brew (formal tea was a long affair), stopped his work abruptly. He could only stare as everything got, worse. The little piece of the...

"Yes, I think we could all use a moment," he agreed with Hanae as she came over to inspect the injured Hiei. Gin took a seat opposite to Hiei, his robes spreading out neatly around him. He leaned back as the young attendant came padding up once more, and deposited a tray onto the table. On the...

It was Matsuri's turn to level a finger, and this one was pointed right at Ryosuke as he rambled on about big thighs and illustrious women. "Ryo... that's absolutely no way to talk about a lady," Her face stern and her voice steady, it almost seemed like Matsuri might have some shred of...