HAPPY BIRTHDAY, NAKAGO-SAMA!
by Julie Farel


She only noticed it by accident. While gathering Nakago's papers for his meeting with the Emperor, Soi happened to glance at one of the official documents her shogun had included with his written reports. The Emperor had requested that all of his military leaders fill out personal information releases. These were to be kept on file in the palace just in case someone's "next of kin" needed to be told of unfortunate events that might take place. It was only a quick glance, but Soi noticed a portion of one of the lines: "DOB - November 17..."

Soi thought for a moment. "Hmm. Today is November 17th." Hearing Nakago and a few soldiers approaching the tent, she quickly shuffled the papers together, rolled them, and secured them with his seal. After leaving Soi with final instructions regarding his short absence, Nakago rode off in a cloud of dust, documents safely tucked in his saddlebags. He would return before sundown, he had told her. Soi, along with Tomo and Miboshi, were to have the troops ready for tomorrow's maneuvers.

As the dust settled, Soi began to ponder what she could possible give Nakago in honor of his birthday. Walking towards the supply tent deep in thought, she didn't notice Tomo standing in front of her, and they collided in an awkward fumble of arms and legs.

"Get out of my way, you painted trollop!" Soi growled, straightening herself.

"And just what's bothering her Highness today?" the painted trollop remarked. "Your 'squeeze' gone for a few hours and left someone else in charge?" Tomo smirked.

"I could have handled all the maneuvers myself, baka," Soi snipped, continuing to walk towards the supply tent. "I don't know why Nakago-sama had to include you and that little piece of...Miboshi! We were just talking about you." As Soi and Tomo approached the tent, Miboshi had "floated" into view. He eyed the two of them suspiciously. Since when would they ever be together talking at all, let alone about him.

"Nakago-sama asked me to find you both and have everything ready for his return," the bald child-like seishi commented. Soi wasn't listening to either of her compatriots. The frown on her face caught Tomo's attention, however.

"Soi? Soi?? Hel-LO, dominatrix!" Tomo taunted. Soi snapped back to the conversation, but she wasn't really interested in continuing. Instead, she asked a question she might come to regret.

"Did either of you know that today is Nakago-sama's birthday?"

The two anthropomorphic seishi stared at Soi, then back at each other.

"No," Tomo finally said, looking back at Soi.

"I didn't, either," Miboshi replied, drifting down to eye level with Tomo.

"Well, it is. And I think we should do something for Nakago-sama in recognition of this auspicious occasion," Soi commented, her posture becoming very official.

"Sounds 'SUSpicious' if you ask me," Miboshi whispered in Tomo's ear.

"So who the hell asked you, shrimp," Tomo grumbled, loud enough for Soi to hear.

"We should have something in place for Nakago-sama's return," Soi said softly, as she began to walk in a small circle around the possibly-male seishi. Tomo followed in step. Miboshi floated along, too.

"But what could 'we' do?" Tomo asked, having personal suggestions in mind, then figuring he'd keep them to himself at this time.

"I know!" Soi shouted as she suddenly stopped in her tracks. "We could bake him a cake. I'll bet he hasn't had a birthday cake in years!" Tomo and Miboshi looked at each other, then at Soi.

"That's not a bad idea, but do you know how to bake a cake?" Miboshi asked, figuring anything would help to get back on Nakago's good side after that unfortunate mishap with that misguided love spell.

"Of course, I do," Soi lied. "All women can bake a cake," she said, holding her nose up in a haughty position.

"I can't," Tomo muttered.

"You're not a woman, freak!" Miboshi pointed out.

"And this is my fault, midget?" Tomo shot back.

"That's enough!" Soi shouted, rolling her eyes. "Let's just see if we can borrow Cook's tent for a little while. This shouldn't take any time at all." The three Seiryuu Seishi marched off to the cooking tent, their minds full of triumph, the fates knowing better...

* ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ * ~ *

After dismissing Cook for what was to only be an hour-long project, Chefs Soi, Tomo, and Miboshi looked around the cooking tent, each hiding their lack of talent and expertise.

"So," Soi said confidently, rubbing her hands together, pretending she knew what she was doing. "Let's bake this cake. Tomo, get me some flour. Miboshi, get me some eggs." Soi cleared the top of the preparation table, then folded her arms across her chest. Tomo and Miboshi just stood there. "Today?!" Soi growled with a huff. She clicked her tongue as she went in search of a large mixing bowl and spoon.

"Demo, I'll get messy!" whined the feather-adorned seishi.

"Here. Put this on, wuss!" Soi scolded, tossing an apron at Tomo.

"It doesn't match my ensemble..." Tomo began, but decided to put the apron on anyway after receiving a nasty and potentially fatal glare from Soi. After digging around through several burlap bags, the painted seishi finally found one containing rice flour. Miboshi had managed to find the eggs, and Soi was busy getting some clean water from the rain barrel.

"Okay, let's mix the ingredients together. Miboshi, stoke the fire. Tomo, get your skinny ass over here and help me get this in the oven."

Soi seemed to have things quite in hand. She really looked like she knew what she was doing. So when the first "cake" was done, the three co-workers stared down at the...thing.

"It looks like a big cookie," Miboshi observed, looking at the very flat object. "Shouldn't it be a little taller?"

"You should be taller, too, dwarf," Soi snipped. "Well, at least let's see if it tastes all right." The three chefs tentatively broke off a piece of the...cookie...and took a nibble. All three spit out the offending creation.

"Blech! You didn't put any sugar in it, Soi!" Tomo said, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "I thought you knew how to bake a cake!"

"Are you questioning my leadership skills, baka?!?" Soi glared.

"Hell, no. Just your cooking skills."

"Let's try it again," Miboshi suggested. "This time with sugar, ne?"

Soi looked at her cooking mates and sighed. "Fine. Let's try it again, with sugar."

The hour-long project turned into four, as cake after cake came out of the oven in a variety of shapes and sizes, flavor not included in any of them, by the way. The sun was just beginning to set when the trio's last attempt at culinary catastrophe was met with a huge explosion. The blast sent the *cake* sailing through the top of the cooking tent. (The only way they knew it had landed was by the agonizing screams that could be heard from some unsuspecting soldier minding his own business.) A cloud of flour covered the three inept bakers as they sat in a heap on the floor.

"What in blazes did you put in that batch, Miboshi?!?" Soi sputtered, spitting flour out of her mouth.

"Something called 'saltpeter'," the little Buddha gestured towards the row of spices. "I figured it was some kind of salt. Your cakes have no taste whatsoever, ya' know!" Miboshi shook himself, sending more flour falling onto Soi.

"You moron! How much did you use?!? Saltpeter is used to make gunpowder! It's lucky you didn't kill us all!!" Soi threw the dirty bowl towards Miboshi but struck Tomo in the head. Tomo, not appreciating getting beamed with a bowl, picked up the spoon, still dripping with batter, and threw it towards Soi, but hit Miboshi in the face. This caused the pissed-off little oni to pick up a bag of flour almost as big as himself and proceed to fling it at Soi and Tomo. It broke open and a new cloud of flour dust settled everywhere...JUST as Nakago opened the tent flaps. The three ghost-like looking seishi froze, their mouths hanging open. "Uh oh," was the only quasi-intelligent thing Miboshi thought to whisper.

"What is going on in here?" Nakago said, very calmly, and very quietly. When he spoke in this manner, it usually meant death. The three culinary-challenged seishi scrambled to their feet, frantically brushing themselves off.

"I asked - what is going on in here?" Nakago repeated, this time not so quietly. He glared at each seishi before settling his eyes on Soi.

"Nakago-sama, we...that is I...uhm, it's just that..." Soi stammered.

"We were just trying to...uhm...since...it's your..." Miboshi attempted.

"It's just that...well, we...we..." Tomo mumbled. Tomo and Miboshi looked at each other, then back at Nakago. "It was HER idea!" they said in unison, pointing at Soi.

Nakago looked at a flour-covered Soi. "Well?"

Soi looked back at her traitorous co-conspirators with an 'I'll get you for this!' look on her face. Then she straightened and held herself proudly, hoping no one noticed her trembling.

"Nakago-sama. I thought, in honor of your birthday today, that I...that we... might bake you a cake and help you celebrate such a important event." Nakago raised an eyebrow. "Gomen nasai, Nakago-sama. We had a...little trouble...with some of the ingredients, and we..." Nakago held up his hand, and Soi immediately stopped speaking. The shogun looked around the disheveled cook-tent, shaking his head.

"Soi. I'll see you in your tent immediately!" Nakago turned and stalked out of the tent.

Soi glared at the two seishi. Tomo stuck out his tongue with a smirk. "Yer gonna' get it, yer gonna' get it," he teased.

"Clean up this mess," she hissed, as she grabbed a towel and followed her master out of the tent.

Standing before her tent, she tried to brush off the last remnants of flour. Soi closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and quietly entered her tent. Nakago was standing with his back to her.

"Nakago-sama," Soi began softly. "I...I wanted to do something for you for your birthday. I thought..." Nakago turned to face her. He looked at her with a blank expression. She felt her heart sink. He moved towards her and handed her another towel.

"Clean your face," he said in monotone.

"H-hai, Nakago-sama." Soi closed her eyes as she began wiping her forehead and cheeks one more time. She didn't notice that Nakago had silently moved closer to her. Just as she finished cleaning her face, Nakago took her in his arms and kissed her passionately on the lips. She dropped the towel and melted into his embrace, stopping the kiss only when she needed some air, the kiss having caught her off guard. She looked deeply into his blue eyes, somewhat confused.

"Arigatou, Soi," Nakago said softly.

"Demo, Nakago-sama, I...gomen...I..." Nakago pressed his index finger to Soi's lips, stopping her apology. She studied his face again. Was that...was that a twinkle she saw in his eyes?

Nakago slowly slid his finger from her moist lips and kissed her mouth sweetly one more time. Did she detect...a smile?

"Arigatou," he whispered. He stared into her chestnut eyes for a moment, then gave her chin the slightest shake. He then left her tent.

Soi stared into space for a few moments. She blinked. And blinked again. Then she did something she hadn't done since she was a child. She giggled.

The End Copyright 1998 Julie Farel

Fushigi Yuugi is the property of Watase Yuu (darn!)


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