Technicalities

"Something smells delicious," Tenpou remarks as he enters, returning from Goujun's office.

"Yo," calls Kenren. "I'm in the kitchen!"

"I have a kitchen?" Tenpou pretends surprise, surveying the organized chaos of meal preperation spread out across all available surfaces.

"Yup, it's this room where you keep the coffeemaker. I found the rest of it while cleaning up this morning."

"Amazing," Tenpou remarks. "You didn't have to go through all this trouble," he adds, "We could have gone to the mess hall."

Kenren shrugs. "It keeps me busy and out of trouble. Technically, I don't have anything better to do. For that matter, technically I'm not allowed in the mess hall while I'm not part of the army." He smirks humourlessly and begins dismembering a head of bok choy in the sink.

Tenpou responds with a snort and a dark look. "You know that no one would turn you away, they'd be glad to see you there. Your troops are still very loyal to you, and the entire Western Army is muttering about how unfair it is that you've been dismissed."

Kenren smiles gratefully at him but shakes his head, turning back to the counter and chopping a handful of mushrooms with a little more force than necessary.

"You're still General Kenren of the Western Army inside this building, no matter what anyone outside may say. And that's only temporary." The marshal's tone leaves no room for argument as he folds his arms across his chest and leans against the counter beside Kenren.

"No good news yet, then?"

"There's progress, but the nature of the process is slow." With a sigh of frustration, Tenpou adjusts his glasses absently, then digs in the pockets of his labcoat for his cigarettes and lighter.

"Ah." Kenren focuses his attention on peeling an onion.

"Goujun and I couldn't just ask the Jade Emperor to reinstate you, since you offended him by implicitly criticizing his order to Nataku, and so it's safer not to remind him about you at all for a while."

Kenren tries to hide a wince, but fails. Kami heal quickly and the bruises have all faded, but the memories of the 'discipline' ordered by the emperor are still fresh. "Right. So...?"

"So instead Goujun and Konzen are working together to nullify Litouten's order for your dismissal based on the evidence of falsified reports, and his failure to follow army protocol and bureaucratic procedure." He pauses to get out of Kenren's way as the general reaches for another chopping board.

Kenren snorts. "In other words, I'm to be saved by paperwork?"

Taking a drag from his cigarette, Tenpou nods. "It'll take at least a few days yet until they deal with Litouten's attempts to counter them, but there's not much he can do in the end without invalidating the entire bureaucracy."

"And so I get off on a technicality again." Kenren winks as he adds the chopped vegetables to the wok, where marinated tofu has been sauteing in sesame oil with fresh garlic and ginger, filling the apartment with tantalizing aromas. "To think it will be Goujun's doing this time. He's gotta resent the irony of that." Finding his hands unoccupied for the moment, Kenren plucks Tenpou's cigarette from his mouth and puts it to his own lips, inhaling deeply.

"Perhaps," Tenpou agrees, investigating drawers and cupboards until he find a pair of chopsticks. "But he wouldn't be doing this at all if he hadn't come to respect you for what you did. Even if he also thinks you're a fool for it. Same with Konzen." Snagging a cube of tofu from the wok, he blows on it before putting it in his mouth. "Mmm, this is quite good. You certainly are a man of many talents."

Kenren grins. "I aim to please. My cooking always impressed the ladies." Before Tenpou can remark on the past tense, he continues, "Oh, since you mentioned Konzen, I meant to tell you I invited him to dinner tomorrow. He refused, of course, but I told Goku and he promised to drag his keeper along, willing or not." He glances at Tenpou a bit sheepishly. "I hope you don't mind, I probably should have asked you first."

"What for? Sounds like fun." Tenpou reclaims the cigarette and continues his search of the kitchen until he finds plates, and takes down two.

"Well, these are your quarters, after all. And I'm supposed to be evicted from mine so it would be wrong to invite anyone there, even if Goujun is stubbornly neglecting to issue that order. Besides, Konzen would have really distrusted my invitation if I asked him to my place. He thinks I'm constantly hitting on him as it is."

"Aren't you?" Tenpou rolls his eyes and shakes his head. "This place is as much yours as mine by now. Do you even remember where your own quarters are?"

"Har, har," Kenren answers over his shoulder, vigorously stirring the tofu and vegetables with a pair of wooden utensils. "I'm also going to invite Goujun over for dinner next week, depending on when I can pull in a favour from one of my old friends in the Eastern Army. I owe our esteemed commander even more gratitude than Konzen, for bailing me out of the dungeon."

"Ah, that's not such a good idea," says Tenpou. "Dragons are carnivores, and he prefers to fast between visits home. He eats enough to be polite at formal banquets, but it doesn't sit well with him, and sometimes even makes him ill."

Kenren waves a spatula dismissively. "He eats fish, right? His home being in the Western Ocean and all."

Tenpou nods, but frowns. "Yes, but you know that the consumption of any flesh is forbidden in Heaven. That includes fish."

"Ah, but who's going to tell? Not you or I, and I don't think he'd object, do you?"

Shaking his head, Tenpou says, "If you cook fish here, the whole wing will smell it. No, I'm going to have to forbid it, too. It's not worth it when you're already in such trouble and Goujun is going to such lengths to get you out of it."

"Who said anything about cooking fish?" Kenren laughs at Tenpou's confusion. "Ah, the things you've missed out on from never being in the Eastern Army. There's a human culture in the East who have made a fine art out of the preparation of raw fish. That's why I need a favour from someone, to let me sneak Below through the Eastern Heavenly Gate so I can bring back some fresh stuff that day. It's a delicacy you have to try, you'll love it. Goujun will, too. Trust me. I've got it all thought out."

Tenpou looks at him thoughtfully, a genuine smile spreading across his features. "General, you never cease to impress me. And if you keep this up, you may just win Goujun over completely."

Kenren grins deviously. "Heaven forbid."

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Written 11 May, finished 25 June 2005