(*............*)- author

Muzan hated sitting inside his room, day in and day out, not doing anything but reading books and learning languages. He didn't hate studying, but that didn't mean he was not bored by it! To look out of his window at that bright sunlight, the fields of rice crops they grew, the distant mountain ranges, the green hills just behind him, filled him with such an immense longing that his heart nearly wept in yearning.

No, Ah-Zan, intense emotions are not good for the body...To think, he can't even laugh or cry his heart out without fainting from exertion! What a pathetic body he had.

In those times he was very jealous of his Aniue. To be able to do all of that which he himself couldn't do, it must be so much fun, right? He also wanted to run around under the sun, pluck flowers, climb trees, swing around a sword, all things his aniue was too lazy to bother with unless forced.

It got on his nerves sometimes, how his aniue wasted his opportunity to use a perfectly healthy body to come and whine to him how tired he was.

But then..

Then his Aniue would say, "Yet, I'm forever glad I can do even half of what I'm able to do in this life, to do things I could only ever dream of. You know, Ah-Zan, I had always wanted to perform with a violin. In front of a huge audience, and my family sitting right there, watching me, cheering me on! I tried to do it once, when I was 12..."

He trailed off, his eyes taking this distant look that Muzan hated, that look only ever came when Aniue talked about his former life's sickness. A sickness just as bad as his own.

"... then, I vomited blood all over my violin and the stage because I got too into my performance, too excited, which was detrimental for my body.."

Muzan had only ever seen a painting of this violin thing, it looked small, yet elegant, and he was sure his Aniue played it just as well as he did his flute. But hearing something like that happening to his Aniue, in front of so many people.. from what he heard, Aniue's previous family was particularly loving towards aniue..

They must have watched Aniue keel over and faint, covered in blood blood blood blo-

"Which is why I'm so very glad I'm healthy this life! I hate sword training, running around, tending to the fields, but.. but now I can play my flute before an audience and I won't die from the euphoria I feel, standing on the stage. And even if my family won't be able to watch me now...I feel like my dream has finally come true..."

And thus, all of his animosity towards his brother will fade, replaced with bitter joy at his brother's happiness and a hope that, perhaps, in his next life, he too might just luck out!

It certainly wouldn't be too much to dream...

But he was living this life now, which meant being so weak that he couldn't get out of bed without being carried by at least three servants (not aniue because he was still the same height as himself, and almost just as thin, his aniue was quite the picky eater) and also meant he couldn't watch his aniue perform.

That was very frustrating.

He would watch, sitting at the window, as tents were put up in the distance with lanterns carefully placed around to not catch fire, lighting a path for nobles to move into the tent where his aniue performed, dancing, singing and playing the flute every year and he couldn't watch...

It was very frustrating.

Muzan and his Aniue were turning 15 the day after tomorrow, then they'll become adults, ready to be married (and probably married off in his situation, if his father's opinion was to be considered. But it wasn't, so he won't). And he had diligently painted a hand fan for his brother's dance tomorrow, as a 'birthday gift', a ritual him and his brother were doing since Muzan could understand words, small things, sometimes handmade and sometimes things found lying around that they knew will please the other.

Day after tomorrow was a big day for his brother, unlike the normal dances, this was a ritualistic coming-of-age dance his brother would perform after his Genpuku ceremony. So the fan needed to be perfect, beautiful.

And Muzan had discovered he had quite the talent in decorating things. So now he held in his hands a beautiful gold and red fan to match his Aniue's performance robes. A fan that had taken him two whole months to complete.

He was a stubborn person, he knew he could do it.

What angered Muzan to unlimited heights was that he couldn't watch the ceremonial dance! It didn't matter that his ceremony would not be with his brother's, but only when he was 17, but not being able to see?!?? He felt like burning the house down in dissatisfaction!

How bad could it be to hold him in their arms for the ceremony, at least for the dance!? He wasn't even that heavy! And they have the audacity to call themselves strong samurais!

"Xiao Mu, they are humans ah! Humans get tired when they hold something for too long, even a glass of water can tire one out, and my dance will last four hours! It would be rude for us to ask too much of them, right?"

"But I just want to watch Aniue dance! I just want to see... Yuan-nii make a name for himself..."

At that time all those months ago he had used the term Yuan-nii to melt his aniue into ordering their guards to carry him along. He really didn't expect him to stare deeply into his eyes and then just... stand up and leave.

Did he hurt his Aniue? Did he... disappoint him with his selfish request?

For those two whole months Muzan saw his Aniue less than he normally does (which is a lot, considering his brother always came to hide or procrastinate in him rooms), much to the old man's pleasure and his mother's concern.

This worry had spurred him into giving his all in painting the fan for the performance. He'd give it to his brother as his gift as well as an apology when he saw him tomorrow, because it was too late tonight and surely his brother would be too tired with the preparations to talk to him when he came to their room so late at night, right?

Wrong.

Muzan started dumbfounded at the chair with wheels in front of him,
his Aniue who wasn't even out of his robes yet (that he wore to practice the dance, he suspects) patting its back with a proud smile, sweaty face and all.

"Happy advanced birthday Ah-Zan, my Xiao Mu! Look what this Aniue made for you!"

Muzan blinked, again and again, then asked, "What is it that you made for me.." His dubious uncertainty was clear on his face.

For a moment Aniue's smile faltered, then he said with renewed excitement, "A wheel chair!"

Ah yes... he could see that. It was definitely a chair with wheels...

It seemed Aniue understood his confusion as he said, "Ah-Zan, you can't go to attend my ceremony because of your health, no one could possibly carry you and anyways arms aren't comfortable, the chairs will be too hard for you to sit on for that long. I just thought... why not fit some wheels to this chair, tie some pillows to it to make it comfortable and cover those pillows with nice cloth to make it look good? You can sit on it, and the servants need only push it from behind, the wheels will make it easier!"

Muzan, dazed after hearing that nervous ramble, went back to gaping at the chair, the red cloth covering its fluffy seat and back hiding piles of pillows, if his brother and his comfortable ways were to be believed. His gaze then went down to the wheels, attached to the Zaisu (*ancient Japanese chairs*) and he felt like he couldn't wrap his head around how these wheels were attached to that thing! It seemed impossible! It definitely didn't seem as simple as his brother made it sound!

(*simpler than this ofc!*)

Muzan couldn't even imagine the bullshit his brother must have spewed to get ahold of those wheels from their guards, and work under his father's nose at the same time..

He lowered his head to hide his tears and clenched the fan he held under his blankets.

"You're sure this will work?" He asked, glad the tremble in his voice wasn't as audible as he had thought it would be.

"Oh yes! Perfectly sure! I tested it! And as you grow older and get even stronger, you'll even be able to push yourself! Until then, Aniue will push this of course!"

Muzan looked at the wheelchair, then at his Aniue dressed in those robes he thought he'd never see his brother dance in and quietly said, "help me into it?"

"Of course!" his aniue said as he gently wrapped an arm under his knees and another behind his shoulders to lift him up. Muzan hissed in pain because his aniue really was too bad at this carrying thing, and then he was sitting on the most fluffiest chair in all his life.

Indeed, his Aniue really went all out with the pillows, baka.

Then he was being gently pushed from behind and oh. Oh....

He was moving... around the room.

That night, Muzan cried his heart out in his aniue's arms, as said brother fell into a panic, fearing his baby brother getting sick from all the crying.

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Aniue loved the fan, promising to use it in his dance instead of the gaudy golden one his master gave him.

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"This means I can attend tomorrow's welcoming ceremony right?"

"Yeah, sure- ehhh wait, ehhhh?"

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And another chapter done! I'll edit later!!

What Shen Yuan will wear day after tomorrow.

Genpuku: coming of age ceremony.