Ukyo ficlet: An Act of Charity
Note: I wrote this fic last year. So it's obviously not meant to be a commentary on anything that's in the news right now ;-) Anyway, this isn't quite meant to be a regular story. It's more like my notes on Ukyo's backstory for AoaA:
An Act of Charity
Ayamaro’s son did not remember much of his old life, but he did remember his original name. “Ukyo” was the name that Lady Ofuyu, nominal wife of Governor Ayamaro, gave him. But his original name was Taro. A common name for a firstborn son. Ukyo did not feel too attached to his old name. He was not particularly fond of his new name either.
Likewise, the unusual 4 year old did not feel strongly attached to his first mother. He was not particularly fond of his second mother either.
Lady Ofuyu, his self-appointed “rescuer” and second mother, never actually bothered asking him what his name was. Ayamaro’s official consort simply bestowed a name she fancied upon the ‘abandoned’ four year old who presumably had nothing worthwhile to say on his own behalf. Then the Lady of Kougakyo congratulated herself for the lofty act of lifting a needy commoner out of poverty into the luxury of the governor’s palace.
Lady Ofuyu also never asked about the whereabouts of Ukyo/Taro’s original parents, at least not as far as Ukyo recalled. For all the boy knew, the mother who bore him might still be alive. The last time Ukyo saw his birthmother, she was fleeing from their burning village; she was not dead. But Ofuyu , the manner of woman who, after a few cups of sake, would start preaching eloquently to anyone within earshot about her own “wisdom and compassion”, had apparently decided that she knew the best course of action to take with regards to the “poor orphan peasant boy” sitting forlornly by the rural highway. She insisted, against the half-hearted objections of her husband Ayamaro, on bringing the presumably abandoned child to live in the palace with them.
At first, Taro was confused by the kindness he received from the wealthy couple who brought him to Kougakyo. The four year old did not quite understand the significance of being adopted by a Governor and his lady, but he knew that he had entered a pampered life beyond his young imagination. At the same time, he could not stop wondering if his first mother, or other villagers who survived the Nobuseri assault, would eventually have found him had he waited a little longer at the roadside instead of leaving with the merchant caravan.
In the months after his adoption, Ukyo did not have many opportunities to acquaint himself with his new father. Governor Ayamaro, ever busy with his official duties, had no habit of sharing mealtimes or even bedtimes with his lady. When father and son met, Ayamaro was always cordial and sometimes even caring, though simultaneously a little detached. Even in the presence of his wife and child, the governor’s mind was always elsewhere, wandering through the Revenue Department of Kougakyo Municipal Hall, or perhaps partying in Jinjuku, the nanshoku district of Iyashi no Sato.
As for Lady Ofuyu, Ukyo saw her more often, although his main caretakers were nannies. The youngster very much wanted to like the rich fat lady and to believe her every word whenever she praised her own wondrous goodness in lyrical language, which was quite often. But for reasons he could not comprehend at that time, he couldn’t bring himself to love and trust this new ‘mother’ no matter how hard he tried. Something was not quite right. When Lady Ofuyu condescended to speak to her new son, she almost always ended up talking about herself. Ukyo had never before met an adult who behaved thus.
But the young boy, coached and prodded along by the servants, learned to respond to the lady of the house by flattering her after the manner of everyone else. “That’s how the Lady needs to be treated,” the nannies whispered to him. “It is unwise to do anything to jeopardize your good fortune. Conduct yourself in a pleasing manner to keep her favor.”
It wasn’t long before Ukyo/Taro realized that his new mother Ofuyu had never been truly interested in him. Taro’s ‘rescue’ was ultimately more about adding to Lady Ofuyu’s self-image and honor than it was about a “poor” boy’s wellbeing. That much became clear to Ukyo. He was only one of the numerous psychological “accessories” that the more-than-well-fed woman collected to prop up her ever-needy ego , and worse, his self-described do-gooder of a mother, so perpetually enamored with the idea of her own ‘ultra-specialness’ and ‘lofty enlightenment’, did not have the discernment to comprehend her own motivations.
It was not that Ukyo believed Lady Ofuyu loved him less because she did not give birth to him. He suspected that he would be treated the same even if he had been the fruit of her womb. Such was the self-absorbed nature of that female, or so he concluded. He could begin to understand part of the reason why Ayamaro had no desire for her company.
At the young age of 4, Ukyo, new heir of the Governor of Kougakyo, was already precociously perceptive as to the flaws in the human souls that crossed his path. Later in life, he would use this talent to manipulate the weaknesses and foolishness of others to his advantage.
It was perhaps unfortunate that Ukyo never grew to feel truly grateful to Lady Ofuyu, or to Ayamaro for that matter. Perhaps some of those who learnt of his misdeeds in later times would blame his ingratitude towards those who provided so well for him on the “inborn” callousness of an unredeemable psychopath. But for all anyone knew, Taro might have grown into a different man, perhaps better, perhaps worse, if someone else - his first mother or even a stranger other than Ofuyu - had found him at the side of the road all those years ago.
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Comments:
nanshoku - male male homoeroticism
Lady Ofuyu should be dead by the time of AoaA. If she appears in AoaA, it'll only be in the memory of Ukyo and maybe Tessai. I've not quite decided how much of a role she should play in AoaA, if any.
AoaA's Ukyo dilemma:
So far, his characterization is quite superficial: 'spoilt whiny manipulative brat.' But since AoaA is partly focused on exploring the gaps in canon wrt what goes on in Ayamaro's camp, I've found it necessary to give more consideration to Ukyo's motivations, and by extension, his background. There's very little, if any, canon explanation as to why he did certain things and how he came to be in the position to make those choices.
So I started thinking up an Ukyo backstory. But even if I write a detailed backstory for my own reference, I'm not sure if AoaA can afford to explore Ukyo too deeply. The fic already has 2 main characters - Hyogo and Kyuzo. And the perspective switches to Kanbei's for significant stretches of the narrative. I'm also planning on seeing things from Tessai's POV a bit more down the road. So, fascinating as Ukyo is, do we really need a 3rd main character? My concern is that the story will be even more fractured and discursive if it sidetracks into Ukyo stuff.
But at the same time, I do want to reveal enough of Ukyo's story for his actions to make sense. Any thoughts and insights are appreciated. If you think AoAA is already too segmented with the attention split evenly between Kyuzo and Hyogo, feel free to say so too ;-)