Chapter Hundred Twenty Nine — Slut (2/3)
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This is a weird place to put it in, but since @RedHead once asked me to do it, I decided to make a small fake map of Neko's Empire based on Honshu --

-- and here it is ^^.

Because you might be confused where everything is and how it relates to one another. So no worries! Now you can see all the places the characters visited and where the Lordships end ^^. Under spoiler, in two views. One is the Lordship border view, and the other is -- cities and landmark view.

And yeah, don't worry about Nagare city and castle not being on the map. Since they are on top of Suzumegara, they are considered existing anywhere in the Nagare Lordship. Wherever they feel like it. (Comfy =_=).

Spoiler

 

[collapse]

 

Chapter Hundred Twenty-Nine

Slut

Part 2 of 3

 

 

But unlike Nekohiko had expected, the tent was not filled with just three people.

There were five. Apart from Asazuma, Kazuragi, and Suminoe sitting on the floor around a hastily-made table with meager dishes from the nearby town -- there were two more people in here.

That Nagare officer woman, Etsuko. And a man beside her... someone Nekohiko almost didn't recognize at first.

"Uncle Daichi!" Abihiko yelled, dashing toward the middle-aged Hira soldier with pure joy. "What the hell--? Is Lord Okinaga joining the war, after all?"

"You dastardly little boy -- why did you have to grow up so tall I cannot even look at your face without having to tilt my head?" Dachi replied with a question of his own.

Roughly, he wanted to pat Abihiko on his head, but Abihiko deftly avoided him and tried to... yep. Of course. He tried to headlock the man three times his senior.

"I missed you so much, old man!"

"What did you just call me, brat--!"

And nobody in the tent stopped him. Not Kazuragi, only vaguely displeased at Abihiko's lack of proper manner, nor Asazuma who was busy drinking from her wine cup this early in the morning.

Not even Suminoe. Because Suminoe's gaze traveled straight to Nekohiko without so much as sparing anyone else a glance.

...

Nekohiko was petrified on the threshold, incapable of saying anything he had wanted to.

The mere sight of Suminoe dislodged all the painful memories and made him ache. He wanted nothing more than to fume again, as he had done almost half a year ago, in Suminoe's office in Izumo.

Look at him. How pristine and clean and indifferent Suminoe looked. How cold.

Sitting at Kazuragi's own table after having murdered Kazuragi's...

Nekohiko's heart burned and he averted his eyes, trading a tremulous breath in. His fists shook even though he told himself he would not get so frustrated with Suminoe ever again.

But he still did. Seeing him still opened the old wounds, and Nekohiko could not contain his anguish.

"Nekohiko," Suminoe greeted him, bowing as though to his superior. "I come bearing good news from the Hira and Hisome Lordships. They require your immediate atteni--"

Without waiting to hear the rest of it, Nekohiko turned and walked away.

Angry, he slapped aside the curtained tent door and almost flew into the Nagare soldiers who were walking past the entrance. He saw almost nothing before him, blinded by resentment.

He only wanted to storm off. Perhaps like a petulant child. But he just couldn't handle Suminoe now.

At least not next to Kazuragi.

That was too much. Too raw, too... cruel.

"Neko?" Abihiko was right beside him only after a few steps. But even he couldn't help him.

"Please tell Suminoe that if he wants to talk to me, he has to meet me alone. Without others," Nekohiko snapped. He didn't abandon his fast pace, going straight toward the rocky shore and the noise of the rumbling waves crushing the pebbles. Somehow, this unrestrained ambience helped him cope with what he had just witnessed in the tent.

"Sure, will do," Abihiko promised. Then pecked Nekohiko in the top of his head as though a child -- and ran off.

Nekohiko didn't even get to smack him for treating him in this undignified manner. He was the Emperor, dammit. Why kiss him on the top of his head just because Abihiko's enormous height allowed him to bully everyone shorter than himself?

So demeaning...

He calmed down as minutes dragged by and the tidal waves and their sonorous music lulled him back into serenity. He breathed slower and even smiled, squinting at the early sun peeking in through the fluffy clouds above.

His pebbles were skipping water to the cries of seagulls overhead when he finally heard the soft patter of footsteps behind him.

...

Suminoe's tall figure was solemn, like a ghost's -- in his stark white and black robes and the imposing headdress of his status. He held himself gracefully even now, when there was no one to see him here, on this busy wild shore at the edge of nowhere. His back straight, his shoulders open, his face...

...just as unreadably detached as always.

"Your Majesty."

Once again, as before, Suminoe wanted to bow to him -- but couldn't for the fear of being spied on by the soldiers from the camp in the distance.

Instead, he closed his eyes and inclined his head. Almost as ceremoniously as a true bow to the Emperor would be.

Nekohiko flung another pebble to skip over the waves, pretending like he didn't find this whole situation weird.

"You said you had some news from the Great Lordships for me?" he tried, wanting to sound indifferent as well. As though this was a business meeting between a governor and his assistant. Which, in essence, this was. "I am listening."

Slow, Suminoe advanced, watching the pale horizon with a frown.

"While the three remaining Great Lords haven't officially joined forces with you, they are... interested in seeing what you can offer them. In the long run. In case you win the war."

...

"I can only win the war if they ally with me, though?"

"Not necessarily. It might take a particularly bloody path to do that. But I and everyone else believe you can take the Usurper down, by most predictions. Just that it won't be pretty and will make the Empire fray and bleed at the seams if you do. In fact, the other Great Lords are a bit scared you might choose that way sooner or later. That's why they want to know what your plans are. Before they consider joining you."

Nekohiko titled his head, unsure. "My plans...?"

He didn't even have plans, to be fair. His plans had always been those of survival and... not getting into too much trouble while he waited for his allies to clear his path to the Throne.

He didn't know if there were any other plans he could have made. Suminoe was the one who had made them, after all. Nekohiko had always been a mere pawn.

Suminoe nodded, walking around Nekohiko on the jagged rocks. "The way I had always envisioned it would be for you to unite your people -- all the Great Lords -- under your will. Bring everyone together. And navigate the web of their machinations to not allow them to bully you into favoriting one over the other."

"I cannot do that!" Nekohiko gasped, staggered. "I cannot even keep up with talking to..."

You.

"...to Kazuragi alone, or Hinokuma," Nekohiko said instead. "Every time they speak to me, they treat me like a child and pester me with the stupid marriages. I cannot navigate all the Great Lords' sensibilities when there are five of them at once!"

"You won't need to." Suminoe turned. Although he wasn't acting as though he and Nekohiko were friendly again or as though nothing major had happened between them, a shadow of their former interactions loomed there again. Suminoe felt... perhaps not warm or fatherly. But familiar.

And nostalgic. Like returning back to Izumo and feeling at peace, once again.

"I'll be there with you," he told Nekohiko, calm. "I will not allow them to trick you or to force you. When one of them hogs too much from the Empire and needs to be taken down a peg -- I will do that for you. Even if my actions will seem cruel, to an average human."

...

He was talking about Yakabe again...

"I don't want you to do anything cruel, do you hear me?" Nekohiko whispered, cold with dismay. "I order you not to!"

"Most of the time, you won't even know, Nekohiko." Suminoe turned his gaze back to the sea as though contemplating the endlessness of sky and water, and the cold beauty of it. "Being an Emperor is a gruesome job. But I will protect you from any dirt and filth and horror it might carry. I will keep you pure and clean as the Empire's Spirits would want you to be. Don't you worry."

...

He wasn't even listening to Nekohiko?

Gods, why was no one ever listening to him? Could he even trust any of these people if they kept ignoring him like this?

"Did you -- or did you not attempt to sway Lord Okinaga into joining me -- by ordering the murder of his wife and daughter in Shiriya castle?" Nekohiko blurted, his voice groggy with fright.

This was a thought Nekohiko had feared to even acknowledge, in the last months away from Suminoe. But with how convenient Yakabe's death had been to force Kazuragi into allying with Nekohiko...

Part of him suspected with horror what else could Suminoe do to push the Great Lords into joining him. Why not Okinaga, too? Even if it hadn't worked out, yet.

Suminoe stared at him, blank.

"No," he replied with his perfect poise and tact.

"Are you lying to me right now?" The hot betrayal of tears started to make its way to Nekohiko's eyes.

For a moment, Suminoe dithered. But he never shifted his gaze away from Nekohiko's. Open and honest.

"I cannot call it anything else but an unlucky coincidence that this happened. But I did not plan it. Otherwise, Okinaga would have joined us already. Trust me," he said coolly.

"I want to believe you, but--" Nekohiko gulped with difficulty. "After the last time... I'm not sure I can."

"Of course you can. Out of all the people in this Empire, there are only two you should believe, Nekohiko. Me. And Abihiko. No one else."

...

Nekohiko raised his scalding eyes to the sky, shaking his head in bizarre denial. But already, he was being swayed toward trusting Suminoe.

Because Suminoe brought up Abihiko.

Because he made his statement count... and mean something even Suminoe perhaps didn't fully understand.

"He and I care about you. For different reasons," Suminoe said, quiet. "But equally. He cares because he is in love with you. I care because I am in love with the future of the Empire you will bring. Nekohiko?"

Nekohiko flinched from being addressed to specifically.

As though Suminoe absolutely wanted to make sure he paid attention.

"In the Spiritway, it is Bound that you will rise to the Emerald Throne and will bring peace and prosperity to the Empire," Suminoe spoke as though making an oath. "The Spiritside sings with the future that will come. I want nothing more than to witness that. But I am afraid I won't be able to. Neither will Abihiko."

Nekohiko's heart froze.

"What--"

This was so odd. Nekohiko knew some Spirit-attuned people talked about what was Bound and what wasn't Bound in the Spiritside to be. But their talks were all gibberish. And most of the time, nobody took them seriously.

Saying that some things were Bound to happen was just a figure of speech.

Nothing more.

Yet the way Suminoe just spoke of it...

"I can almost feel it. The Spiritway Binds both me and Abihiko to be the primary reason why you will get to where you need to be. And thus, however much you might disagree with what we do. However much you might be angry at how we address things. However strongly you might reject our reasoning -- please. I beg you -- believe in us."

...

The two of them stood so close, Nekohiko almost felt Suminoe's breath on his face. Dazed, he wanted to step away, but Suminoe caught him by the shoulder.

"I did not betray your goals, Nekohiko. Thus, you can be at peace believing that I have not ordered the death of Okinaga's family."

That was not what I asked...

I asked whether you did that -- not if I should believe that you didn't! Nekohiko wanted to scream at him. 

But all this torrent of information about the future of the Empire and the glory of Nekohiko's reign... it confused him. It blurred his thoughts and distracted him long enough to keep listening rather than demand truth.

"Perhaps one day, you will judge me a criminal and a sinner, worthy of execution for my transgressions and my cruelty against you. For murdering innocents in your name. But as long as I can shield you behind me no matter what and help you ascend to power," Suminoe paused, and a faint smile touched his eyes, "I am fine with that."

"..."

Speechless, Nekohiko gaped. Suminoe abused that, shortly.

"You and I can rehearse the way we work together against the Great Lords very soon, Nekohiko. There, you will see for the first time exactly what your reign will entail. In the constant balancing over a tightrope amidst all Five of the Great Lords."

"Huh--?"

Blinking, Nekohiko peered at the small tight scroll Suminoe passed him, then back at Suminoe's face inches away from his own.

"Within a week," Suminoe explained, kindly. "There will be a secret summit of all the Five Great Lords. Meeting you -- to talk about the potential of your reign and if they should or should not support you."

...

"All Five--?"

But how? Okinaga wasn't joining, and Hisomes and Utsuros didn't even care enough to bother! Since when did any of them consider--

"Think of it as a trial run. The three remaining Lords will not join you now no matter what we do. Only if we agree to show them what your reign between all five of them will look like. Then maybe they will reconsider their stance."

"This sounds so... important," Nekohiko breathed, clutching the scroll in his hands. His fingers trembled. "So stressful. I do not want to let anyone down..."

"It is. You have only one chance at convincing them all you can do it. That you can give them the sense of security about how you reign. Not too strongly, not too weakly. Just perfectly enough."

I am not even sure what that will entail! Oh helps me Spirits...

Slow yet certain, panic was settling inside Nekohiko's heart.

"Don't worry. I will be there with you," Suminoe promised. Once again, his eyes returned to the sea -- as calm and leveled as the sea itself. "And so will Abihiko. I'll make sure of that."

 

 


***

 

The place was quiet and somber and rather simple. Just a big lounge and dining area in a rented inn -- solely for tonight.

But the people who waited for Nekohiko inside... were the direct opposite of the mundane look and feel of the place.

Towa Hinokuma.

Utsuro Sakai.

Hira Okinaga.

Nagare Kazuragi.

Hisome Takarashi.

Even just the realization that he had to go there and face them all at once. The most powerful people, all in one place.

Ahhhh.

He couldn't take the last steps into the room, and kept freezing at the threshold, not wanting to leave the safety of the corridor separating him from the Five Lords inside.

N-no. Too intense! Too scary...

"I'm here," Abihiko slipped to him, his fingers twining with Nekohiko's under their long sleeves. He tugged, and Nekohiko swayed toward him as though leaning in for a semblance of strength and decisiveness Abihiko could share with him.

"You won't leave me even for a second?"

"Never ever." Abihiko cut a gleeful smile and wanted to squeeze Nekohiko for a last-minute secretive kiss, but--

First of all, Etsuko and Daichi were standing right next to them. Having escorted the two youths here under disguises all the way from the previous meet-up point Suminoe had prepared for them.

This summit of the Lords was done in great secrecy. Nobody could know who was gathering here tonight, and why.

So Kazuragi couldn't travel next to Nekohiko and Abihiko for a while now. He still felt he should give him his best Nagare officer to make sure they were safe, though. Hence -- Etsuko's unflinching gaze on everything Nekohiko and Abihiko had been doing for the last two days.

And on Asazuma's side... she also wanted them to be safe. Hence, Daichi.

But more than that, apart from Daichi and Etsuko -- who already made Nekohiko uncomfortable to display his affections with Abihiko -- there were other people in this small corridor.

Three unfamiliar Binders. Each wearing the colors of the three Great Houses that Nekohiko was meeting tonight for the summit. These three Binders were clearly the trusted soldiers of each Great Lord, having escorted their masters here under great secrecy.

All loyal and trustworthy people, Nekohiko supposed.

A young man with a very brutal expression on his face -- in the icy-blue Towa colors under his chainmail. A woman, being very flirty with the said man -- wearing Utsuro pale-white clothes. She had an easy manner and giggly disposition when her eyes fell on Nekohiko and Abihiko, but she didn't speak so far -- only smiled at them mysteriously.

And lastly -- what Nekohiko could only assume was a child. Or maybe an early-adolescent boy -- in dim-pastel colors of House Hisome, standing in the farthest corner and playing with...

Huh? With dolls? Some rag-dolls of such uncanny likeness of tiny little humans, Nekohiko couldn't help but want to avert his eyes.

The child's entire demeanor made him squirm, and he couldn't even tell why. Did he know this child from somewhere? It was hard to tell. He had never met Hisome children with such unfittingly-creepy faces.

What the hell was this gathering--?

Nothing Nekohiko wanted to participate in, honestly.

He shied away from Abihiko's caress. "Stop it. You are misbehaving."

"They are servants, don't bother with them," Abihiko explained when he realized the source of Nekohiko's displeasure. "Each of the Lords probably has a personal retainer they brought with them. They don't have to mean anything much, you know."

"Khem-khem," Daichi's rough voice came from behind them.

The man's eyes scrunched up in the fine net of wrinkles as he gave Abihiko a very direct glare. "Young man, watch your tongue. I might just spank you like I did when you were only a lil' baby--"

"You wouldn't dare! I am taller than you now," Abihiko scoffed, but did keep his distance from Nekohiko for now. If not due to Daichi's reprimanding -- then because Etsuko was watching like a hawk, too.

And her stare had none of Daichi's warmth or trust.

She always seemed as though she might stab Abihiko the next moment with how much he irritated her.

"We're not servants," the other woman -- the one wearing Utsuro colors, said with a playful leer up and down Abihiko's tall frame. Her elbow lay on the Towa Binder's shoulder as she reclined on him, but her eyes wandered freely over Abihiko as though she was considering a very delicious snack. "Remember that, stallion, and learn to treat us with respect. We might just be the sole reason your boyfriend will be kept safe from any attack and any danger. Including you. So get used to us, 'cause we aren't going anywhere after tonight, mmmhm."

"Huh? What do you mean--" Abihiko sputtered. "Also -- a stallion? M'lady, I'm fifteen. And you seem to be like, what... forty? Tch. Please keep your lewd looks away from me, thanks."

The Utsuro woman laughed, slapping the rigid Towa guy on the shoulder. Which he didn't seem to like whatsoever.

The woman was likely around twenty -- which would be obvious to anyone who wasn't Abihiko. Because of course he wanted to bully her, and of course he picked the most obvious way to do that.

"I like you," she drawled, eyes sparkling.

"Too bad, because I don't like creepy older women swarming around my boyfriend. Byee," Abihiko mocked in response then finally lost his patience and pushed Nekohiko forward and into the room with the Lords.

And Nekohiko didn't even get to have a say in this.

All that was on his mind was that statement the Utsuro woman had just made:

These five... Binders in the corridor -- would keep Nekohiko safe from danger? And they weren't going anywhere after tonight?

What did that mean??

"Ah. At last," Suminoe announced when Nekohiko and Abihiko barged through the doors of the lounging room.

All the Great Lords were already inside, sitting pleasantly around a small table -- or else pacing slowly around the perimeter of the room. Yet the moment the two youths crossed the threshold... Everyone's eyes went straight to Nekohiko as though he was the most unique and significant person in the room.

Or no -- in the entire world.

"Ah, the most important person is here," Lady Hisome Takarashi hummed with the most charming of smiles in her honey-tinted voice. "The young and dear Prince."

"The Emperor," Suminoe corrected her. "Bow to the Majesty. As the tradition Binds you to."

...

One by one, reluctantly -- but all the Great Lords in the room inclined their heads toward him. Even though their eyes never dropped down or stopped fixing him with their penetrating, doubtful gazes.

Ohh, this did not make Nekohiko feel any less mortified. Or any less ready.

His trial run of reigning over the Lords had begun.

 

 


***

 

Reigning wasn't easy, even when trying to moderate the discussion among five people.

Not a country, not yet an Empire. Just five people. Already impossible.

"...and how many land favors and tax omissions will House Nagare gain from this?" Lady Takarashi asked Nekohiko coyly. "House Nagare seems to have jumped into the alliance all too fast, and House Hisome wants to know exactly why. It cannot just be the marriage between the Nagare heiress and the Young Prince, can it?"

"Not everyone here cares only about the land and money, Lady Hisome," Kazuragi answered, grim.

"Oh yes, some of us care more about the power. Alas." Takarashi chuckled. "House Hisome can not offer any hands in marriage that would befit an Emperor, so we have to deal with what benefits we can. Which is land and money."

"You can offer the side-branch daughter of House Hisome, can you not?" Hinokuma raised an eyebrow in turn. "Perhaps she is not an heiress of House Hisome, but I heard young Sakami and the future Emperor are already acquainted at school. Is that not an advantage?"

"Ohhh, not when Houses Nagare and Towa give their best, no. No." Saddened, Takarashi dropped her luminous gaze. "At least House Hisome can rest peacefully, knowing that House Hira has no more daughters to offer. Ah... forgive me, Lord Okinaga. I forgot about your grief for a moment... my condolences."

...

Nekohiko's head was spinning.

The meeting hadn't been going for a long time, but already... he felt suffocated on it.

Ever since he had come inside and greeted all the Great Lords, the conversations had never really shifted to anything other than the Lords subtly poking each other, gnashing teeth at each other, making very oblique insults and threats at each other. While using Nekohiko as their meat shield -- and claiming that all they cared about was his wellbeing and future.

They hadn't even spoken to him directly yet!

Only vaguely -- by managing their trade deals with him about the policies, land disputes, taxes, leniencies...

Arghh!

His skin felt clammy with sweat, and his hands shook on his lap. He was so happy nobody saw because he hid them in his long, wide red sleeves. Careful, he kept shooting frightened glances at the Great Lords on both sides of the table.

Okinaga had somehow gotten so much older than he had been the last time Nekohiko saw him. There was actually silver color in his black hair now.

And the marks of grief on his tired, numb face...

It was pain, to see a man once so proud and sturdy as him -- so bent down with the weight of tragedy on his shoulders. To lose most of his family, his wife, and his only daughter in the war he wasn't even taking part in--?

...tsk.

Abihiko was seeing him for the first time since the Shiriya massacre, too. And the proximity to each other clearly took a toll on Abihiko, even though Okinaga might as well not noticed him there. Nekohiko ached just imagining the strained bond between them.

On the opposite side of the table, Kazuragi was deftly helping himself to the plentiful desserts on the table. He didn't seem to be into the discussion and showed his vast disinterest to anyone with how fast and merciless he was with the candied delicacies. As though this was all he had come here for.

As always lately, he looked... battle-ready. His uniform hugging his frame tightly, his features hardened with pain that had worn itself into detachment.

He didn't even look at the other Lords when they spoke.

"Yeah-yeah," Kazuragi drawled, splitting apart the fruity mollusk shell in his fingers. "I am so sure your condolences are heartfelt, my dear Lady of Hisome. And not at all laced with poison. Like when you gave me your commiserations on my husband's passing right before telling me how much better the Spiritside has been feeling after that. Huh."

"But was I not telling the truth?" Takarashi's eyelashes fluttered as she gazed at Kazuragi lovingly. She reached out, folding away her sleeve, to help him deal with his mollusk as though it was her duty to serve all men at the table. Which she had been doing all through the meeting, so far. Serving tea, helping the Lords to their meals even when they didn't ask. A picture of traditional femininity. "Forgive me, My Lord. Sometimes I forget how hurtful truth can be, ah... Let me congratulate you on managing to be the first ally of the Young Prince. And your gorgeous little daughter Kasuga -- the future Empress."

...

"The future Empress?" came the subtly menacing voice from the Towa side.

Next to Kazuragi, Hinokuma sat -- often rising from her seat to pace the room instead. Nekohiko had seen her frequently in the past few months because she had taken him and Abihiko in her camp marches just like Kazuragi did. Sometimes Nekohiko felt he was getting used to her brutal coldness and disregard for other people's feelings. Other times, she intimidated him all anew, as though he was meeting her for the first time.

Right now, she did that.

He just couldn't handle her so close to the other demanding Lords. All her cruel qualities shone that much brighter.

"What do you mean, the future Empress? The Emperor promised that the heiress of Towas was just as equal in his eyes as the heiress of Nagare," Hinokuma told Takarashi, her voice snapping with barely-restrained spite. "Two brides, two wives. The one who bears the child first is the one who gets to be the Empress."

"The one who proves to be most useful to the Emperor is the one who gets to be the Empress," Suminoe corrected her, pointedly indicating the map of the Empire that lay on the table amidst the scattered dishes. "During the Civil War, of course."

The Lords seemed to accept this well enough, but surely not all of them.

"Oh, but is that really fair with how young the heiress of Nagare is?" Takarashi chortled innocently. "Kasuga is too young to participate in the war, let alone to give birth to the future little Emperor, mmm?"

...

Nekohiko avoided looking at the last two Great Lords especially. Sakai's presence downright scared him because of how quiet and somber the man was, sitting in the dark corner of the room and merely observing what was going on. And Takarashi...

This beautiful, heavenly-sweet lady in her diaphanous veil that covered the lower half of her face -- seemed both Sakai's direct opposite, yet, at the same time, his only real equal in how sinister her presence was. The veil only highlighted the magnetic effect of her gaze -- and the deadly quality of her words every time she struck the conversation.

"How old is Young Kasuga?" Takarashi asked Kazuragi after she had taken the mollusk from his fingers and elegantly dealt with it, giving him back the already-prepped delicacy. Like the most dutiful wife would. "I bet she is adorable, My dear Kazuragi..."

"Well." Kazuragi seemed taken aback by Takarashi's niceness. He accepted the shells and lifted one to his mouth to sip the mollusk flesh from it. "She's nine. Of course nobody is talking about her giving childbirth to the new Emperor yet."

"See?" Hinokuma gave Takarashi and Nekohiko a victorious glare. "My Iokirihime, on the other hand, is ready to bear the Emperor's child right away."

"Ah, so you are forfeiting the title of the Empress to the Towa bride?" Takarashi nudged Kazuragi in the elbow exactly when he was sipping from the shell.

The man nearly choked with indignation. "Forfeit--? What!" The shell came to the table in his tightly squeezed fist. "House Nagare is not forfeiting anything! If the fate of who gets to be the Empress is decided by the right of childbirth, it is only fair if the Emperor waits to marry till Kasuga is of age--"

"But then Iokirihime will be past her prime!" Hinokuma roared at Kazuragi from behind him. Her menacing pace as she stomped around the table only amplified the effect of battle-readiness she emanated.

Not that Kazuragi had any less of it.

"She might already be, then," Kazuragi scoffed, reaching for his cup to clear his mouth.

Hinokuma descended to the floor next to him, her glower downright lethal on Kazuragi's face. Then flickered to Nekohiko. "Is Emperor truly not favoriting House Nagare in this deal? Is Emperor truly going to be fair to every House? Answer us, Your Majesty. Which of the two brides is it--"

What...

N-no. But--

"The Emperor has no favorites in this situation. Before Nekohiko has ascended the Throne, there is no "Emperor talk" to be had, really," Suminoe cut icily from his spot behind Nekohiko. "Let us first get to the Emerald Throne and the Crown, then -- after both noble Houses of Nagare and Towa contributed to his ascension -- will we speak about this again."

Ahhh... Thank Spirits for Suminoe.

Nekohiko almost felt as though dragged out of water, so intense this meeting was.

And he hadn't uttered a single word yet.

"Indeed. The Emperor's true favorite might not be Houses Nagare or Towa, anyway," Takarashi suddenly crooned, her head tilted. Her beautiful eyes flitted to Abihiko, then to Okinaga. As though amused. "The Emperor's true favorite is House Hira, isn't it?"

...

Nekohiko flinched, looking up.

"House Hira has lost its only daughter, dear little Kusuhi -- before she could be offered as a bride to the Young Prince, mmm," Takarashi went on. "But that implies that House Hira has no descendants. And no heirs at all. Unless..."

And once again, her gaze traveled to Abihiko.

Even though her words, so sharp and polished, had dealt a horrible wound to Okinaga sitting right before her. At the mention of House Hira having no heirs or descendants, Okinaga paled.

Slowly, he curled his hands into fists on his knees. "My Lady of Hisome. Thank you for explaining. I would not have realized this all without your help."

"No-no-no! Forgive me again, my dear Okinaga!" she gasped, heartily. "I only meant that obviously House Hira has a... would-be descendant, no? You have a ward son, after all. Your heir. And while all we do here is arguing about who is a better spouse and a favorite one for the Young Prince... note how the only heir of a Great House that is present apart from the Emperor himself and all the Great Lords is--"

And she gestured with a tasteful flourish at Abihiko. As though nobody here knew who she was talking about.

Like a magician on a stage.

"The heir of House Hira." Even under the veil, one could sense her smiling. "You are all late, my dear Lords of other Houses. There you go -- the real favorite of the future Emperor, mmmmm."

Nekohiko felt cold with dread.

Wh-why would anyone bring this up now?

What did this even entail? Then Takarashi went on and he understood.

"I assume the status of the favorite spouse of the Emperor's is not who bears the Young Prince a child. Thus, not necessarily a female, is it?" Takarashi kept on smiling, truly sinister in her suave charm.

"In that case, House Hisome wants to offer the Young Prince its own heir for the role of a future spouse. My beautiful sweet son, dear Morokata."

 

 


***

 

Ever since this bizarre meeting began, Abihiko only raised his head now.

His brow creased and one of his eyebrows arched skeptically. "Excuse me...? What the hell," he blurted out.

He wasn't supposed to, of course. This discussion was strictly between the Lords and Nekohiko. Even Nekohiko wasn't allowed to speak out of turn. Yet Abihiko didn't give a damn.

He gave Takarashi and the others an unabashed smile. "You're all kidding me right now, are you?"

Nekohiko's heart nearly stopped from such an obvious breach of etiquette. But he was worried for no reason. Takarashi didn't take Abihiko's response in bad faith.

"My, my. How long and arduous the plan of House Hira must have been. To have planted their heir in the Young Prince's proximity so long ago. And to have nurtured the favoriting relationship for all these years. Bravo, Lord Okinaga. Your efforts are truly commendable."

"Nobody planted anything or anyone--" Okinaga began, hoarse with disbelief.

"And yet, the Hira heir is the one who ends up in the future Emperor's bed. Nobody else." Takarashi's eyes crinkled up amiably over her veil. "And on his councils. And on his Throne, I assume. Is that not so? Mmm, Young Prince is surely very quiet and pale right now. Please, tell us -- were you not planning to marry the Hira heir at all? We all would like to hear."

"Nobody is talking about marriage order or plans yet," Suminoe tried to steer the discussion back to its roots. "This is ridiculous. And Nekohiko would never marry outside of official agreements -- and there have been none with House Hira, so far."

...

Nekohiko sat there, afraid to blink.

Or breathe.

Or even have a single thought in his head.

How... how did Takarashi guess he had wanted to marry Abihiko -- of all people? HOW?

He hadn't said it to anyone yet. Not even to Abihiko, whom he wanted to know about it first, when he was ready to propose such a question!

But this woman... she somehow knew just from looking at him?

Wait, a scary thought crossed his mind. Can the heirs of House Hisome read minds--?

Ah!! They probably could. But only to the people who were not proficient in the Hisome method! After all, any Binder trained in the Hisome magic would be able to negate an insidious spell like that? But since Nekohiko hadn't had his Hisome seal unleashed yet...

Was it possible that he wasn't protected from the subtle prods of his mind by Hisome spells, without noticing? Could he fix that?

He didn't know. He was afraid to even venture out a guess.

All he knew was that Lady Takarashi was truly the only person on his meeting he was afraid of.

"I d-do not plan to," Nekohiko said, trembling. "N-no. Just the Nagare heiress and Towa heiress. I would marry them. Not... Abihiko."

...

Spirits. It hurt him just to say this out loud.

But then, as the words left his mouth, he saw Abihiko's profile next to him subtly lower. As though Abihiko was dropping his chin, dejected at hearing him say that.

And somehow, that felt like such a stab right into Nekohiko's heart.

"At least for now," he added, stronger. "Because all the Houses demand so. If I had a choice, I would have... chosen differently."

All at once, the Great Lords snapped their gazes toward the two of them at the end of the table. And to Suminoe who was standing behind Nekohiko as though the person they expected to deny these words or to fix them somehow.

Except that Suminoe kept his silence.

Emboldened, Nekohiko didn't feel like backing down either.

"House Hira didn't plant anything," he went on, steady.

"I would beg to differ--" Takarashi tried to wedge in, but Nekohiko didn't let her.

"House Hira isn't even allied with me yet. What is there to scheme for?"

"And yet -- House Hira has unleashed its seal on the Young Prince while House Hisome hasn't. And House Hira apparently can offer the Young Prince a male spouse instead of a female as prescribed by the Imperial rules of continuing the royal line? Hmmmmm." Takarashi shook her head with a mirthless chuckle. "How interesting."

"You really want to put Morokata in his bed so much, huh," Abihiko told her in his usual blunt manner.

At last, Suminoe reacted, smacking Abihiko on the head with his ceremonial baton.

"Excuse you???" Abihiko cried, cowering.

"Insolence. Keep quiet," Suminoe warned him to Abihiko's vast displeasure. "Or behave in a sophisticated manner befitting your status."

"Brat," Kazuragi uttered under his breath.

"Foul-mouthed. Bad-mannered. Apparently, burning people alive just like his infamous mother? For the smallest transgressions?" Takarashi gave Nekohiko a dark look, nodding her chin toward Abihiko. "What a dirty reputation, ah... What a great future spouse of the Emperor." Obliquely, she turned to the other Lords -- Hinokuma and Kazuragi -- with a very pointed expression in her eyes. "And with some other things people say and know about Young Dear Abiko, I would be worried about the health condition of the two heiresses offered the Young Prince for marriage."

Kazuragi had been absorbing the conversation very grimly, as though disliking the direction it was going in, but not enough to disagree. Because he probably didn't.

Just like Hinokuma. Perhaps the two of them found it distasteful, to speak about these intimate matters in the open... but also... Their interests were opposite to Abihiko's.

They were fine with letting Takarashi drag Abihiko through the mud as long as it cleared their paths to Nekohiko's marriage goals.

To them, Abihiko was very much an obstacle, too.

"What do you imply?" Kazuragi scowled at Takarashi.

"Oh, with how many beds and beddable young men Dear Abiko seems to have been with..." Takarashi hummed, seeming shy all of a sudden. "Should we not worry about some diseases he might carry? You know. Khem-khem. Or the... shameless sort.  He frequents brothels and gambling parlors. What can a person pick in such places apart from bets? Ha-ha-ha. It's shuddering to think about, even! Is it at all appropriate for the future Emperor to be associated with someone of such a... questionable character?"

"..."

Nekohiko couldn't believe his ears.

What...? Was going on?

"It might sully the Young Prince's reputation and image, can it not?" Takarashi fluttered eyelashes primly.

"A questionable character?" Abihiko chortled. His tone suddenly shifted from his usual bratty one to something far more... elegant?

Nekohiko would struggle to describe it as anything other than "suave".

"Please forgive me for the sins of my past. They horrify me as much as they repulse you, ah. I have no idea what I was thinking," Abihiko said, a genuine hue of sadness coloring his tone lighter. "But please know for certain that my... diseases of the shameless sort are kept well under my guard. Not sullying my dear friend Nekohiko in the slightest."

"Oh?" Takarashi blinked.

"Mmhm. See? It might be quite... inappropriate for me to talk about it here, in front of all such proper people as the Great Lords who would never deign to discuss the love life of two adolescents," Abihiko went on, disheartened, "once again, I have to apologize for even bringing such a distasteful topic up!"

...

Nekohiko could sense the mockery in each of Abihiko's words, but with how sincere he sounded... it was hard to disbelieve he meant it.

Which was ridiculous. And all the Great Lords sensed it, too. Not that they could interrupt him when he spoke so inspiredly.

"--but Nekohiko and I have never actually been intimate," Abihiko finished, subtly hunching as though shy. "Ah, he is much too pure and his convictions of a monk -- too strong for my guiles to overpower him. This dirty slut is not sullying the Emperor, Spirits forbid! So please, never worry about me and my shameless diseases. Your Dear Morokata is safe, thank Heavens..."

The hush in the room was heavy with tension. Takarashi's playful yet somehow deadly gaze pinning into Abihiko never wavered.

"Why lie, Dear Abiko? Everyone knows--"

"Ehhh? Who knows what? Unless people spy on me and Nekohiko, what would they even know? And if so, then who are these perverts who would sit and peep at two young boys in their own private bedroom, ah!" Abihiko gushed, horrified. "Please do not tell me, Lady Takarashi -- you are spying on two little boys cuddling -- in your refined age! Are you?"

"So you are much smarter than you look, Dear Young Abiko," Takarashi purred at last. "And apparently, you do know manners of the fine society. Even though, most of the time you chose to behave like a savage?"

...

Smug, Abihiko reached for his wine cup.

"It's called acting, Dear Takarashi. And yes, I am quite good at it." With unbelievable grace, he sipped from his cup, then gave Takarashi a smirk. "Unlike you, you pretentious whore."

"..."

Nekohiko's stomach dropped, cold.

Abihiko, you--

--did not just--!

Lady Takarashi's eyes could not have arched in mischievous glee more. They turned into such lovely little crescents, she looked like a Fox Spirit now, smiling.

"Abihiko!" Okinaga's face drained of all color.

"You little asshole," Kazuragi whispered, albeit not so horrified. In fact, he rather sounded amused.

It was Hinokuma and Suminoe who jumped into action, each reaching to grab Abihiko and... bring him to justice? Or out of the room. But they had to expect that Abihiko would not go voluntarily.

Sakai, in the corner, gave his voice for the first time since the meeting began.

Eerily, and maniacally, he was laughing... At whom? Nekohiko wondered. At the Lords? At Abihiko? At... how much and obvious a failure Nekohiko was, trying to navigate the Lords without messing everything up even more?

Because, truly, Nekohiko knew this meeting was a failure.

One of many, many more to come.

And to all of this, Takarashi could only respond with a very polite little,

"Ah, but I was only telling the truth. Was I not?"

Which did not make it any better, in the end.

 

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