FIC: Decisions, Part 1

[geri_chan]

Title: Decisions, Part 1
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Victor (reincarnation of Vesca)/Young Count
Word count: ~2,310
Disclaimer: Characters belong to Matsuri Akino. No money is being made off this story; consider it a little wish fulfillment on my part.
Sequel to: Daiki (last chapter ended here)

Summary: The youngest Count D yearns to learn more about his father, but at the same time, is afraid of what he might find out.

***

The youngest Count D had long been aware that the elder Count who had raised him was actually his grandfather, not his father. But he was the only parent D had ever known, so he had always called him "Father".

When he had been a young child, perhaps four or five years old, Father had gently explained to him that his real father had died when he was a baby. When D had asked how his father had died, Father had answered vaguely that he had died in "an accident," and had refused to elaborate further.

D had been curious, but as he had never known his real father, it was only an intellectual sort of curiosity. He had thought that perhaps he ought to be sad that his real father was dead, but it was difficult for a child to mourn a complete stranger. "Father" was the one who had raised him and taught him how to care for the shop's animals, who had scolded him when he misbehaved, who had read him stories and tucked him into bed at night. "Father" was the one that D loved, not some stranger he had never met.

As he grew older, his curiosity grew stronger, but since questions about his birth father seemed to upset Father, D eventually stopped asking, out of love for the parent who had raised him.

"It's a painful subject for the Count," the pets told D. "You should let the past remain in the past."

But there was a shadow of worry in their eyes that was more than just concern for their guardian. There was something mysterious and troubling about the death of D's birth father, and while he stopped asking questions of Father and the pets, he continued to wonder about it in the privacy of his own thoughts.

He began to suspect that it had something to do with the way his older brother had fled Los Angeles for Tokyo and then returned a couple of years later with his detective. D had met his brother only a few times over the years while growing up, supposedly because Father felt that the detective would be "a bad influence on an impressionable child" due to his "uncouth manners". But D always suspected there was more to it than just simple disdain of his grandchild's human lover, even though he knew that Father did indeed regard humanity with contempt.

It was a little lonely, having only Father for family, even though D loved him dearly. So for a very long time, he had wished to be closer to his brother and get to know him better. When he reached adulthood, he had deliberately set up shop in San Francisco so that he could watch over his brother from a distance. He could have tried to visit his brother in person, of course, but Father had made it clear, without ever explicitly saying so, that he did not think such an action was advisable. And from the gossip D had heard from listening in on the pets' conversations when they thought he wasn't around, and from little tidbits of information that his customers happened to let drop, he had learned that Detective Orcot and the L.A. Count D had once been adversaries. The Detective had been investigating mysterious deaths linked to the petshop, and had initially viewed the Count as a suspect. Obviously, they had managed to overcome their differences, but the Detective was said to be a man of principle, stubborn in his zealous pursuit of justice, and had been passed over for promotion time and again because he wouldn't play politics or bend the truth a little to suit his superiors' wishes. The Detective overlooked his Count's business, perhaps because he was no longer using his pets to exact revenge upon humanity. Father often complained about how his grandchild had "gone soft" while living among the humans.

But the youngest D abided by his father's wishes, and was carrying out the duties of the D clan. Even though all his customers willingly accepted the risk by signing the contracts, and were therefore responsible for their own downfalls if they chose to break those contracts, the Detective might still view him as a murderer. And D did not want to cause strife between his brother and his brother's beloved.

And he was also afraid that if he forced his brother to choose between him and the Detective, that his brother might choose his mate over his blood kin. His brother and the Detective had created a child together, after all, and that was a bond as strong as blood.

So fearing to lose his brother completely, D had been content to watch over him from afar. But he had been delighted when Christopher Orcot had stumbled upon his shop, giving him another link to his brother. And even better, Chris's temporary infatuation and ill-fated courtship had inadvertently led to a friendly, tentative overture from his brother, an invitation to dinner which had in turn led to a triple wedding invitation when his brother and the Detective, and Chris and Tet-chan, and Daiki and Raphael had all suddenly chosen to formalize their unions.

Now they talked often on the phone, and visited each other from time to time. D was afraid to jeopardize their new closeness by prying too deeply into past history. The pets were probably right; he should let the past remain forgotten. But still, he could not quite shake that naggingly persistent curiosity from his thoughts.

He was brooding over this problem once again when he gasped as an aura of vast, nearly overwhelming spiritual and magical power suddenly washed over the shop, heralding the arrival of his visitor. D was grateful that he had been given that moment of warning to compose himself before the doors to the shop swung open and Lord Souki casually strolled in.

At first glance he looked like a normal human: a young man of average height with light brown hair, dressed in a Chinese-style tunic and trousers, similar to D's but less ornate. He was handsome, but not extraordinarily so--certainly nothing approaching the strikingly inhuman beauty of the Ds. He could walk down the streets of Chinatown without anyone giving him a second glance; outside of Chinatown, he would get that second glance, but only for his unusual manner of dress.

But D, of course, knew whom the young man really was--and he was neither young nor a man--well, not human, at least, although he was male. He was Souki, the Sapphire Unicorn, eldest and wisest of all the Kirin, most powerful of all the Sacred Beasts and Celestial Guardians. He was said to have a twisted nature of whimsical cruelty, and even the mightiest of dragons feared to offend him.

D gracefully dropped to one knee and bowed his head respectfully. "Welcome, Lord Souki," he said. "You grace our humble shop with your presence."

The Kirin giggled, looking deceptively innocent and harmless. "Oh, there's no need to stand on ceremony," he said, casually sprawling across the couch as if he were in his own living room. "I just happened to be in the neighborhood and hoped that you might invite me to share a cup of tea with you. It's so hard to find good tea in the human world..."

"Of course, Lord Souki, I would be honored," D immediately replied, although he rather doubted that the Kirin had "just happened" to drop by for a cup of tea. But then again, Lord Souki was said to be whimsical, so maybe he was telling the truth, and besides, who was D to question one of the Sacred Beasts?

One of the pets, a young crane girl, brought out a tray of tea and cookies, set it down on the table with trembling hands, then bobbed a quick curtsey in Souki's direction and fled for the safety of the back rooms. Some of the other pets remained in the lobby, but they had retreated to the far ends of the room, keeping a healthy distance between themselves and the Kirin.

"I see that my reputation precedes me, as always," Souki sighed, with an air of mock wistfulness. "I swear, I don't know why everyone believes those horrible rumors about me!"

D quickly stifled the thought that maybe it was because the rumors were true, and said politely, "Oh, it is only that they are shy, Lord Souki; they mean no offense. It is only that they feel awed to be in the presence of one so noble and magnificent as yourself."

Souki smirked as he accepted a cup of tea from D, his sly sidelong glance indicating that he knew the truth--how could he not, when he could read hearts and minds? Still, he allowed the white lie to pass without comment, asking only, "Will your esteemed grandfather be joining us for tea?"

"I am afraid that he has recently gone abroad," D replied. "He heard a rumor of a Kelpie in Scotland that he hoped to bring back to the shop." D hesitated, then told another white lie. "I am sure that he will be sorry that he missed you, Lord Souki."

"Oh, I highly doubt it, but it's nice of you to say so," Souki laughed. He reached into some hidden pocket on his tunic and pulled out a small glass jar. "Please give Sofu this gift from me; perhaps it will sweeten his temper."

D examined the jar and said, "Homemade strawberry preserves--I am sure that Grandfather will be delighted with your gift, Lord Souki. Thank you very much."

They made polite small talk for a few minutes, until Souki set down his cup and said, "Something seems to be troubling you, child."

D smiled ruefully and replied, "Of course I cannot hide my thoughts from you, Lord Souki." And then he was filled with a sudden excitement as he realized that perhaps Souki could help him solve the mystery of his birth father's death.

"Father raised me after my real father died," D said. "But no one has ever explained to me exactly how he died. Father grows upset and refuses to talk about it when I ask him, and my brother looks sad and fearful if I even mention the slightest hint about our father. The pets will not tell me anything, either. It seems to be some sort of dark and shameful secret that everyone knows about except for me. I was wondering if you knew something about it, Lord Souki, since you are such good friends with my brother."

"I was in Dhalashar when your father's death occurred," Souki replied. "So I did not witness it, though I have heard secondhand rumors. And I think what you want is the truth, not rumors or speculation."

D nodded, his feeling of hope deflating. It occurred to him that Souki had his own way of discovering the truth, but he supposed that it wouldn't be right to ask him to read Father's and Brother's minds, even if he had the audacity to ask the most senior of the Kirin to play detective for him.

"It is a little audacious," Souki said with an amused smile, and D flushed. It was difficult not to embarrass oneself around a creature who could read minds!

"True, but dignity is highly overrated, in my opinion," Souki said cheerfully. "I won't read your brother's mind for you, and Sofu isn't around to be read, but you do have a means of discovering the truth already at your disposal, Count."

"I do?" D asked, his brow creasing in a puzzled frown, before he caught himself and smoothed out his expression. Wrinkles and creases were unbecoming of a D.

"Your friend Mr. Holland is a private detective, is he not?" Souki reminded him.

"Of course!" D exclaimed. "I could hire him to look into my father's past! Although as a human, he won't be able to discover the full truth, but still, all the Count Ds have some contact with humans--it is a necessity of running a shop, after all. I might be able to at least get an idea of what happened and whether Detective Orcot was involved with my father's death."

The pets began making distressed noises, and Souki cautioned in an unusually (at least for him) gentle voice, "However, before you hire the detective, I would advise you to be sure that you really wish to know the truth, child. There may be good reasons why your grandfather and brother do not wish to discuss your father's death with you, and an investigation may uncover truths that you would rather not have known."

"That would be poetic justice, would it not?" D asked with a wry smile. "How many times have I led humans to their destruction by giving them exactly what they said they wanted?" He took a deep breath, then slowly exhaled. "I know that the truth may be painful. Still, I would rather take that risk than continue to live in ignorance, never knowing what happened to the man who gave me life--never even knowing what kind of person he was." That disturbed D as well, not just the fact that he didn't know how his father died, but that he didn't really know anything about him. Had he been stern or mischievous? What had been his favorite color and his favorite food? Well, being a D, he had probably been fond of sweets, but had he been partial to strawberries as Father was, or had he favored chocolate, as D himself did?

Perhaps it was his imagination, but he thought he detected a hint of respect and approval in Souki's face as he said, "Then I wish you luck in your endeavors, Count D."

Part 2, Part 3