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It must be distinctively sinful for anyone to possibly look that beautiful and damn irresistible.

Kantai had always been aware that Shoukei was a pretty girl with long hair, nice skin, and large eyes. However, back in the day when he had first met her, he had been mostly preoccupied with other more “important” things, and both of them had been quite fond of simply roaming around in whatever clothes they could find that was relatively clean and relatively un-ragged. Her hands had always been callused with brooms and sponges, while his always smelled faintly of leather and metal that came from his reins and weapons. Even her beloved hair had grown split ends and bleached in the sun due to her indifference.

In the aftermath of Youko’s return to the Imperial Palace of Kei, Kantai had slipped into his new role as Captain of the Imperial Guard with a smirk and a mischievous grin. Though his new station originally required ridiculously ornate robes and uniforms, Youko’s preference for practical and simple clothing had made dressing-down less of a social gaffe than it used to be and Kantai took full advantage of it. The usage of a personal stable of various youjuu was thrilling and the easy access to higher grade weaponry were among the few new perks that Kantai enjoyed. All in all, life was fairly pleasant for Sei Shin despite the pointed looks that were forever directed at him. Kantai always found the barely veiled resentment amusing rather than antagonizing.

If Kantai slipped into his new role with a smirk and a mischievous grin, Shoukei settled into her own new role as imperial scribe with a sigh and a pout. To her surprise, she found herself sharing some of Youko’s sentiments about the overt ornamentations and luxury in the palace. The first night she spent in the Imperial guest quarters she had found the silk covers too cold and almost too slippery to sleep comfortably in. So accustomed to peasant life, Shoukei’s stomach had also reacted unpleasantly when she had first tasted the rich Imperial food, and she found herself sometimes longing for the simplicity and tastiness of home-cooking. She found herself bothered when she noticed (for the first time) just how much time people wasted a day bowing and observing court etiquette, court etiquette she had once viewed as absolutely essential. On the same token, Shoukei reveled in the beauty and luxury of her surroundings and was unable to resist the small smile that always flitted on her face when she pulled on her new silk court robes (for all her self-restraint, Youko was an immensely generous person). Unlike many of her friends, Shoukei was very familiar with the intricacies of court life and adapted into the new environment easily for the most part.

Despite the fact they were both close friends that operated in nearby quarters of the Imperial Palace, Kantai was surprised to find that a full month had passed before he finally saw Shoukei. Youko, who still had vestiges of her old personality shining through whenever she was faced with awkward situations, relied on the girl like a crutch when it came to social interactions and Shoukei was often occupied with extraneous duties.

Remembering their last encounter which had involved tears and slight awkwardness on his part, Kantai had warily approached the girl from the back, trying to gauge her emotional status discreetly. She had seemed fine with her back upright and her hair tied in an elaborate yet neat ponytail, but that didn’t mean he didn’t hold his breath when he tapped her on the shoulder….

And promptly had his breath stolen away.

Kantai was not unfamiliar with women. With a chiseled face, remarkable height, and bright eyes, he was considered a very handsome man, and women flocked to him. However, the bitter aftertaste of quick romps and quick love affairs had quickly driven Kantai into being a well-disciplined, mostly virtuous single male (as virtuous and well-disciplined a single male can possibly be that is). Overall his past experiences made him (at least Kantai would like to think so) generally resistant to women no matter how beautiful or how seducing.

How wrong I was.

Really, Kantai thought, he should have suspected Shoukei the moment she deduced that Saibou was not his true superior. He should have suspected the girl of being something a bit out of the ordinary, but no, he had been too preoccupied to give the matter more than a passing thought.

And I’m paying for it.

As noted above, Kantai was well aware that Shoukei was a pretty girl. That didn’t mean Kantai was well aware that Shoukei was the most beautiful woman he had ever met. In that moment when he first saw her with her hair shining healthily against her clean porcelain skin that gleamed and made his eyes transfixed on the little part of her exposed neck above her high white mandarin collar, he found it quite difficult to do more than to stare at her appearance. The transformation was subtle, but the effect was anything but.

She had been delighted to see him, and had eagerly launched into a conversation, but Kantai had been quite ill-equipped to do little more than give short answers and replies. Shortly afterwards, he quickly extricated himself from the conversation, and in as smooth and manly a manner possible… bolted. The haunting sound of Endo’s barely suppressed chuckle (that damned old man) still did horrors to his male ego.

If she had had that effect on him then, Kantai was darkly sure that Shoukei was out to kill him now. With her lips painted a delicate red and her lips and eyes powdered just so, and her hair let down in a very decisively modern hairstyle that makes him suspect Youko wasn’t as innocent as she claimed, Shoukei was deadlier than even a thousand armies to Kantai at this moment. The fact she wore white was like facing a thousand armies and boiling pitch.

“Kantai-san!” she said, her voice gentle. Her lips curled upwards as she raised her hand to wave childishly. For a moment, for a brief moment, Kantai thought he would get through the night relatively intact.

Until her lips (crimson-red, velvet-soft) parted as she gave him a full smile with her white teeth gleaming and her eyes laughing…

Damn.

He had it bad.