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"Shino-chan and Sousuke-chan,” Fuse said, thawing slightly with Sazuki. “I fear not all my sons are interested in such things."

"And will the charming Hamaji-dono be with them?” Tamazusa asked with a warm smile, using the older honorific for “lady” for Hamaji.

"She will be,” Fuse said. “She's looking forward to the party."

I almost smiled at that. I liked Hamaji. We had met when Fuse took me for a two-week stay at my brother Shino's
kuni
when we had all gotten back from the real world after the Trust had taken me by force from the Dreamlands and Samojirou, Tamazusa, and my family, the
Hakkenshi
, banded together to rescue me and stop the threat from the Trust.

As part of that trip, I had been introduced to my brothers, the
Hakkenshi
, again, but as Keno, not Sakura. It hadn't been the most comfortable trip for me, but it had been interesting. I got used to the idea that I had a family again, more than just Tamazusa and Samojirou. My brothers had to get used to the idea that I was going to continue to live with my lord and my lover, as unhappy as it seemed to make some of them, Shinbee and Dousetsu in particular. They hated that I stayed with Samojirou as Sakura rather than living with them as their dead brother's avatar. But no one argued with me when Fuse, my brothers’ mother, made it clear that she approved of my relationship with Samojirou and that I would continue to be Sakura to the rest of the Dreamlands.

Hamaji had been the only one who had not argued with Fuse about it. In fact, she had made a joking comment that having another “girl” in the family would make it easier on her. Aside from her husband, my brother Daikaku seemed to be the only one involved with a woman, even if they didn't seem to be living with each other. Not that I thought that the
Hakkenshi
were all gay or something, but I thought they were like Mason and Wolf, guys more involved in their work at the Trust than relationships. Most of my brothers were lords in Nippon, like Tamazusa and Sazuki. The ones who were not were still powerful men to be feared, like Samojirou.

There was a pregnant pause, the silence almost becoming uncomfortable, when Shino, Sousuke, and Hamaji joined us. Shino and Sousuke were dressed as mirror images of one another, in black and red kimono and
hakama
. Hamaji was also in a deep-red and black formal kimono, her hair arranged in a formal style. It was a shock to see her like that, since she had usually worn her hair in a ponytail and dressed in very simple kimono during the time I stayed with them in Shino's castle.

"Mother,” she called out excitedly. “I was hoping to see you here."

Shino and Sousuke were a bit more restrained in their greeting, bowing to Fuse and Yatsufusa, then Tamazusa and Samojirou, before nodding to me.

"Please forgive my wife,” Shino said dryly. “We don't let her out of my castle too often."

Hamaji frowned at him, while Sousuke just smiled. Yatsufusa let out a little snort of amusement and Fuse smiled back at Hamaji. “You do know Sazuki-sama?"

Hamaji bowed deeply to him, suddenly formal. “I am honored to meet you,” she murmured. She also bowed to Tamazusa and Samojirou. “I am glad to see friends of Mother here too!"

"You must see if you can join us at the next
ikebana
exhibit,” Samojirou said with a smile. “And this is my companion, Sakura-chan."

Hamaji blinked a couple of times and bowed. I bowed back, all very proper and formal. She smiled at me and announced, “I adore your kimono. I must have one like it."

Shino and Sousuke groaned as one, while Sazuki's companion sneered openly. Hamaji ignored all of them to smile at me, recognizing me under all the makeup I was wearing, since I was dressed as a
tayuu
, a concubine, someone no proper Japanese wife wanted to know about, never mind dress like.

"Hamaji—” Shino started.

"We'll talk about it later,” Fuse promised her, glaring at her sons. “Now is the time that we need to be decorative and admire the flowers."

I almost laughed at that one. Fuse played the Game almost as much as Tamazusa did.

Sazuki and his companion moved off after a few more pleasantries. Fuse looked at Yatsufusa, and he snorted and sat down.

"I will be honored if you would all join us,” Tamazusa said.

"Of course we're staying,” Hamaji told her firmly.

"If only to start a whole host of new rumors,” Fuse added with a smile.

I spent the rest of the night serving them. Sousuke looked like he wanted to say something, but a look from Shino quieted him. Samojirou and Fuse made sure the conversation didn't lag between the visits of the other lords. I wasn't surprised to see that we seemed to be a popular group. I knew many of the lords were trying to figure out if Tamazusa and Fuse were negotiating some sort of an alliance after so many centuries of frigid politeness. It didn't help that whenever someone outside our group seemed to be near us, Fuse extolled the virtues of one of her unmarried sons.

It was toward the end of the evening that Sousuke finally brought up the topic that had been bothering him all evening, from the looks that he had been giving me. I was pouring him more sake when he grabbed my sleeve.

"How can you act like this?” he asked. I was relieved he didn't use my name, and so for a moment I didn't get angry. And then I did. It didn't matter that he was a little tipsy or that he was family, he had no right really to question my choices. At least not so publicly.

"Sousuke,” Shino hissed.

Samojirou glared at him, and I said nothing. That seemed to make Sousuke even angrier.

"How can you let him do this to you?” Sousuke continued. “Come back with us!"

"No,” I softly snarled at him, angry that he had ruined the evening by doing this. “Samojirou-sama—"

"We are leaving now,” Shino announced. Hamaji was glaring at Sousuke, and I had a sick feeling in my stomach about the fight I knew the three of them were going to have when they got someplace private.

Fuse threw an apologetic glance at Tamazusa, who nodded at her. Something passed between them that I didn't understand. Shino, Sousuke, and Hamaji left, their goodbyes formal and stiff. I was a bit stunned at what had happened. Sousuke was usually very easygoing and had spent most of my time with him teasing me. He had acted like the older brother I had never had, almost like Wolf, who had been one of the few people in the Trust who had treated me well. I wondered how long he had felt like this.

"Sousuke-chan—” Fuse began.

"Your sons are old enough to make their own decisions, Lady,” Samojirou said. “I don't hold that against you. I know that some of your sons are unhappy with me, as is your husband. Frankly, I thought that Inuyama-sama or Inue-sama would be the ones that wanted us to be parted."

I glanced at Samojirou for permission to speak. He nodded at me. “Fuse-hime—"

"Mother,” she told me with a smile. “There is no need to be so formal."

"Mother,” I said. It felt odd. I had never been that formal with my birth mother, but calling a woman who looked sixteen “Mother” was just strange. “You and Father must know that I am very happy with Aboshi-sama and Tamazusa-sama. I will not leave them, no matter how unhappy the family is with my choice. I am sorry about that, but if they cannot accept that, we don't have to meet. Please tell Hamaji and Shino that I am sorry that things ended so awkwardly. I look forward to seeing them again. All of them actually, including Sousuke."

"We will be enjoying the entire cherry blossom season all over Nippon,” Tamazusa said quietly. “I do hope to see you both again. I enjoyed your company. There is no need for us to hold old grudges. I never thought that you were responsible for anything that your father had done."

"Tamazusa-sama, you are as gracious as always,” Fuse said as she smiled. “My husband and I look forward to seeing you at the rest of the festivals."

"Until then,” Samojirou said. Yatsufusa nodded at him as Fuse bowed, and the two of them left us.

I was aware that there were still some lords about, even though it was very late. Most of them seemed drunk, but I knew appearances could be deceptive. Iida was openly staring at us. I thought that was very rude, but he was far enough away for him not to have heard anything.

"I think that it is time for us to retire,” Samojirou said.

"I agree,” Tamazusa said with a small laugh.

"You seemed to have picked up an admirer,” Samojirou said, nodding at Iida-sama.

"I think it is your adorable Sakura-chan that he is interested in."

Samojirou laughed and took each of our hands. With that, he walked the shadows back to the
shoen
.

Tamazusa

It was late when we returned home. The sake seemed to have made me mellow and relaxed. It was a strange sensation, since I usually didn't let myself drink that much. But it had been amusing, playing the Game with Fuse, in between the conversations where she extolled the virtues of her four unmarried sons. She seemed to have been almost ready to negotiate a contract with me. Shino had been horrified, Hamaji and Yatsufusa amused, and Sousuke I couldn't read. I had been as surprised as the rest of them by his anger at Keno. And then there had been that incident with Iida. I didn't know what the man wanted, and that bothered me. He was a lesser lord of a small island, someone I wouldn't consider either a threat or a potential ally. So why was he so interested in me?

"Keno-chan, why don't you get ready to retire,” Aboshi suggested.

"Good night,” Keno told us both with a smile and a shallow bow before going to their quarters. I thought he knew Aboshi and I wanted to talk without him about what had happened. I liked the fact that he had defended us to his family.

"He is delightful,” I said with a smile.

"And I have you to thank for him,” Aboshi said humbly. “I don't know what I would do without him now."

"I don't think that Inukawa or Inuyama will be an issue,” I said, unexpectedly moved by his comment. “And Inue can be controlled by the rest of his family. Yatsufusa, oddly enough, seems to approve of your relationship. None of the
Hakkenshi
will want to anger their father."

"I am not worried about that,” Aboshi said. “Fuse-hime will make her wishes known, and her sons will obey her or avoid us. You remember the trouble that she had had with them in the beginning, when we kept meeting at the same events? This will amount to nothing, as that did."

"The rest of Nippon will be too busy wondering why we seem to have allied after all these centuries,” I said. “I will make sure that no one guesses it is because your beloved companion is Inuzaka Keno."

"Sakura is the perfect disguise for him for a number of reasons,” Aboshi said with a frown. “I had used it to hide him from his family. Now it will be useful for any number of reasons."

"Inuzaka Keno's reputation,” I said after a strained silence. “I must confess I haven't thought about that."

The first Inuzaka Keno had been a fierce fighter and one with a reputation for being a cold-blooded assassin as well. There would be any number of lords and assorted samurai who would want to be the one with the reputation of defeating or even killing him. This Keno was a gentle soul, not one who could fight like that, even if he was competent. He would never be a killer. Aboshi would fight through the hells to protect him, and I, too, would do anything in my power to protect Keno from being a killer.

"What you also haven't thought about is Iida's interest in us,” Aboshi said.

I shrugged. “As for now, I'm not going to worry about it."

I felt too good to try and piece together what he wanted from us. I could deal with it either tomorrow or even never. It might have just been an isolated incident or even simple rudeness. Not much was known about Iida. He was a southern lord who held a small
kuni
off the coast of Nippon. If I needed to know more, I could have my spies gather the information. As for now, I was going to just enjoy the flowers and not worry about the plotting of the other lords, at least not much.

Aboshi smiled at me as if he were reading my mind. “I think that I've corrupted you, my lady.” He signaled to the maid hovering in the background, and she scurried off to assist me in my rooms.

I laughed and shook my head. “I simply am not worried about someone who is so inconsequential."

I wasn't being rude about the man; his
kuni
was far away from mine. While not one of the most powerful lords in Nippon, I wasn't without influence. With Aboshi at my side, I was stronger than I appeared to be. I treasured his support, and I hoped he and Keno spent many years by my side.

"And you shouldn't neglect Keno,” I mock-scolded him. “The poor child is probably waiting eagerly for you in your quarters."

Aboshi laughed, which I wanted him to do. I didn't want to spoil his evening by ending it with dealing with a rude little man, such as Iida. “I will obey your instructions,” he teased. “My lord."

I smiled at him, knowing what he wasn't saying: that he was loyal and would never betray me, something I had never worried about with him, no matter that he had betrayed and murdered Jin-yo, his former lord and the reason we both had been banished to the Dreamlands. I retired to my rooms, feeling almost giddy, and hoped Aboshi's night ended well also.

Samojirou

I walked into my quarters and wasn't surprised to see Keno and Yukiko giggling over something as she gathered his clothing to be cleaned and he removed his makeup. Yukiko adored Keno, as did most of the servants and the samurai. She bowed to me and bustled off to take care of Keno's clothing before she retired. Keno looked up at me with a grin, and I was struck by how beautiful he was. He didn't look feminine now; his shoulders and arms were muscled from his practice with Tamazusa's samurai every morning.

"Good evening, Samojirou-sama,” he chirped at me.

"I was Aboshi earlier,” I teased him.

He flushed. “I'm sorry that I broke the no-talking rule, but Sousuke startled me. I don't know why he was upset. He had been very nice when we stayed with him and Shino."

"I think that he is upset that you were Sakura tonight and not his brother Keno,” I said gently.