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.\n
Shout out as always to @abrownfeminist​ for listening to my screaming and reading my sleep deprived gibberish. <3
<b>Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Flower of Winter</b>
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]\n
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]\n
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.
<b>The one calling for them was the
emperor.</b>
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. Â 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]\n
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.
<hr>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, Â 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]\n
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]\n
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]\n
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.
<hr>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]\n
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 <b>without good reason</b>….
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.
\n
<b>TRANSLATION NOTES:</b>
[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.\n
[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.
<b>WHALIN THOUGHTS</b>
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. \n
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. \n
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.
<hr>The next chapter will be the final installment of Flower of Winter. It`s simply titled as `Conclusion`.
WHAT WILL HAPPEN TO RYUUKI?\nHAVE WE SEEN THE LAST OF SHOU TAISHI?\nWHAT WILL BECOME OF CHOUKA AND SHIJAKU?\nWILL KOUYUU GET A RAISE FOR ALL THE SHIT HE`S PUT UP WITH?\nWILL SHUUREI EVER JOIN THIS GHOST PARTY????
Stay tuned for the final chapter of Flower of Winter.<b>\n</b>