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Wolf bowed to her, and I was relieved. I had been worried for a second that Sawyer was going to be the one in charge of this mess. I never thought it would be me. Wolf was the best choice. As much as I respected McGann, this wasn't the kind of op she should be in charge of. Fuck, I wanted her as far away from this mess as possible.

Tamazusa

It was over a week later that a courier from Iida and his escort arrived. I let him rest overnight before I gave him an audience. I received the courier in one of the smaller public rooms, since he appeared to be one of Iida's higher-ranked samurai. He had been Iida's only companion during the entire time Iida had been stalking me, for lack of a better term. He named himself Mawatari Kappei but gave us no other information. There was something strange about the man, and he seemed very uncomfortable in my
shoen
. Not like he was a country bumpkin overwhelmed by what he saw, but more as if he thought there was something wrong in my
kuni
.

I had Aboshi at my side, and I made sure that Keno wasn't with us. Not that he cared about such things, since Keno was wonderfully disinterested in any sort of power. I had a sneaking suspicion Iida's message was of a personal nature, since the courier looked offended that I had Aboshi at my side.

"Iida-sama sends his regards,” he intoned solemnly.

I raised my eyebrow at this. The man had traveled hundreds of
ri
to tell me this?

"Iida-sama, since he has come to the Dreamlands, has been impressed with the skill with which you rule your
kuni
,” Mawatari continued.

I nodded. I had used my time to gather information on the man, since Iida seemed to be interested in me. Iida had only been here a decade. He had died in the modern age, unlike many of us who were heroes and demons from the time before Japan had been opened to the West. He had managed to gain his
kuni
thorough his skill with a katana more than his intelligence. It was an island off the coast of Nippon that had been known as Tsushima in the real world, isolated and small. My land was rich, to the northwest of the Kanto plain, with many resources. I had been courted before because of my
kuni
, but Aboshi at my side had usually discouraged any serious interest, as I had more than once had called him my consort, even though he was more my
karo
, my chief counselor. However, with Keno accompanying him as Sakura, it apparently had changed the balance of power in our relationship, or so people thought. Iida was a modern being, one who might have no issues with taking advice from a woman since things had changed in the real world concerning the position of women. I still had no interest in him sexually nor wanted an alliance with him.

"I am flattered by his interest,” I said lightly. I was more curious than flattered, but I wasn't going to tell the man that.

"Iida-sama wishes to discuss many things with you.” Mawatari paused and glanced pointedly at Aboshi. “Alone. My lord hopes this will be a quiet visit and one that is not shouted about across Nippon. He would like to show you the beauty of his
kuni
and converse with you about the nature of ruling and rulers."

"Iida-sama flatters me,” I told him, deliberately sounding humble. “I am but a simple lord, not a powerful one, like Ishihara-sama or Sakamoto-sama. Surely they would be able to give him better counsel?"

Both those men ruled large
kuni
in the south of Nippon, spread over several of what had been separate provinces in the real world part of the islands of Kyushu and Shikoku.

"He doubts it,” Mawatari replied smoothly. “My lord admires both your intelligence and your beauty. He would be overjoyed if you would join him for a journey to his
kuni
—"

"My Lady is flattered by Iida-sama's attention,” Aboshi interrupted effortlessly. “But as lord of her own
kuni
, she rarely travels. And she wouldn't travel alone."

That was true, after a fashion. I rarely traveled the Dreamlands, but I did travel to the real world whenever I wanted to. I also took advantage of Samojirou's ability to travel in the shadows to occasionally visit parts of the other realms of the Dreamlands, but on the whole, I was content to stay on my own land. It was like that with many of the other lords. And Iida was a fool if he didn't think I would bring a handful of my Reavers with me. I doubted they would let me travel alone, less so than Aboshi. Even now, I could sense a few of them waiting outside this room, as was their custom. I wondered how Mawatari would feel if I invited them in with us.

"As I have said, I am flattered by Iida-sama's interest in me,” I repeated, “but I must discuss this with my
karo
before I make any sort of decision."

Mawatari looked at the two of us. There was almost a faint sneer in his attitude after I said that. I ignored it.

"Your advisor might be biased in this matter,” Mawatari said, after a small silence.

I smiled sweetly at him, knowing what he was hinting at. Aboshi was no longer to be trusted because of Sakura, since he was strong enough to rule his own
kuni
. Mawatari was hinting that he would overthrow me while I was gone and replace me. Unfortunately, Aboshi's reputation still haunted him after all these centuries. He shifted, but that was his only reaction to Mawatari's accusation.

"I trust him,” I said, with a slight emphasis on the I. “He is family."

Mawatari said nothing for a moment. “My lord would be overjoyed to meet with you. He would escort you by water, aboard his personal yacht, to his
kuni
. He desires to meet with you alone, since he also wishes to discuss a delicate matter of a personal nature.” He bowed and took his leave.

We were silent for several minutes before Aboshi spoke. “Iida is not to be trusted."

I laughed. Not because it wasn't true, but since Aboshi sounded like an outraged brother more than my levelheaded advisor. “I know that!"

"Meeting alone means that he is plotting something."

"It is the nature of the Game to be plotting,” I reminded him. “We just have to figure out what he exactly wants. Is Iida interested in my power or my beauty?"

"Probably both,” Aboshi told me without hesitation. “You are a fascinating woman. You also have not taken a lover in the centuries you have been here. To be the one who coaxes you into his bed would be a triumph for Iida."

"I have no intention of bedding the man!” I exclaimed, trying not to gag at the thought. “And I have always thought of you as my consort. You have been my dearest friend, here and in the real world."

"If I had not assassinated Jin-yo,” Samojirou said, “then Satomi wouldn't have killed you. I was not a good friend to you."

"Jin-yo was a pig,” I said softly, trying not to shudder and failing. The man had been crude, had treated me like a dockside whore more than a trained concubine. I had been simply enduring the man's attentions, hoping my next contract would be better, when Aboshi had arranged for Jin-yo's hunting “accident.” I had dreaded my next contract. I was getting older and that had made me less appealing to most samurai. When Samojirou informed me blandly that he would be assuming my contract—but expected no sexual relations—I almost wept, for I was so relieved at his news. Aboshi's tastes were known to me, even if he had been discreet when he had been with Jin-yo. He had no sexual interest in women. “And you had no idea that Satomi would betray me like that."

"I should have known that it would have happened and protected you in some way."

I laid my hand on his arm. “You did all that you could,” I reassured him. “And you have supported me here in a manner that no one else would have."

Samojirou

I wasn't surprised Iida was interested in my lady, since she was an interesting woman and a powerful lord. She hadn't been that social in the past few decades, so when she chose to grace our society with her presence, she had attracted admirers. I hadn't known Iida would be among them. But the man was new here, a younger lord who probably didn't understand all the rules here.

Iida was intrigued by the three of us, even with his rudeness to my Keno. Did he think Tamazusa would be jealous of him? Or threatened? The man was an idiot if he thought either of those things. But why approach my lady now? Was he interested in her or was there another plot here?

"You are worried,” Tamazusa said flatly.

"What does he want?” I posed. “Besides your body? Is he thinking of another kind of alliance? Does he want you as an ally for another reason?"

"It does sound like that,” she said thoughtfully. “But I doubt if I am going to know unless I talk with the man."

"I don't like the fact that he doesn't want you to have an escort,” I said.

A lord would always travel with an escort, even if just attending business in his
kuni
. To travel to another lord's lands, Tamazusa should take with her a small army of retainers, called a
Hatamoto
, whose duty was to protect her at the cost of their own lives. She had the habit of traveling with just her Reavers, which was unusual, maybe because of her ability to Gate to the real world. But if she were going to meet with Iida, she would need to do so with the traditional escort of a
Hatamoto
, even if the man had no idea what it was. It was the traditional guard from the Warring States era that had survived until the Meji Restoration, even if it had changed under the Tokugawa to more of an administrative position, as it was here.

"That is something that I can bargain with him about,” she told me briskly. “You and I know the Reavers will not let me go alone, even if he objects to any kind of escort. If Iida doesn't understand that, then he isn't worth playing the Game with."

"Is this more than a move in the Game?” I asked softly. “Do you want something more? I see you looking at Keno and I, and there is something about you...."

"I am content with my life here,” she reassured me. “I am overjoyed that you and Keno are so happy. I have no wish to have a man or anyone else in my life. You and Keno make me happy."

"I can never thank you enough for finding him,” I said huskily. I couldn't. I shivered when I thought about what could have happened to him in the real world in the hands of those animals. “He is a joy."

She smiled. “You're getting that look in your eye again."

"That look?” I repeated.

"The look that means that you want to find your blossom and do something scandalous with him."

"My lady!” I protested.

She laughed. “Let me think about Iida's offer. Alone. There are a number of issues with it, but it also might be an innocent offer. Iida may feel better getting advice from a woman rather than one of the greater lords. Or he might want to ask advice on how to search for a consort, something he might not be comfortable asking another man about."

"I had not thought about that,” I said. “Even if I don't think that is what he wants from you. There is something more to this. We just have to figure it out."

"
We
do not!” she told me with a laugh. “I will think about this, and you will go and spend time with Keno."

"My lady, I can—” I started.

She laughed again, and I took the hint. She wanted to be alone. I wondered if it was because she wanted to think about the implications of Iida's offer politically or personally. I know she has never sought a relationship with anyone here, even after all these centuries. She had chosen not to deal with a formal alliance, but she could have amused herself with a paid companion or a lover of either sex. But she had not, and I grieved for her, concerned that she couldn't find the happiness I had with Keno.

Thinking of Keno quickened my step. It was early afternoon, and he would be studying in the library. I went there and was rewarded by finding him in one of the side rooms he had taken over for his own use. He was sprawled on the floor and reading.

"Samojirou-sama,” he greeted me formally, rising easily and gracefully.

"Keno, we are alone. There is no need to be so formal,” I chided gently.

He blushed. “I'm always afraid I'm going to forget one day and call you Aboshi in public."

"Since Sakura is still as mute and charming now as she was in the beginning, I don't think that is something you have to worry about,” I reassured him. “And we are very alone right now, aren't we?'

"I think that Hikura-san mentioned he was going to be away for the afternoon and that I was to just leave my books here instead of putting them away,” Keno said.

I leaned over and kissed him when he told me that. I wasn't surprised that he was kissing me back eagerly. He wasn't such a shy flower anymore, even if we didn't always consummate our relationship physically.

"Hikura-san would be very angry if we made a mess in here,” Keno murmured after a couple of minutes. He sounded very dazed and a light brush against the front of his
yukata
, told me that he was as eager for me as I was for him.

"Then we will just have to be neat,” I told him. “Or just messy on you."

"Whatever you want to do,” Keno managed to whisper hoarsely.

I was touched by the trust he had in me. “Messy on you, it is,” I teased him.

We continued to kiss, our light cotton
yukata
growing damp in the heat our bodies generated. I managed to undo both our
fundoshi
and our obi between kisses, Keno's body grew slick and pliant, his arms wrapped around my neck. My fingers wandered to his hidden opening, and when I brushed against it gently, he moaned into my mouth, a needy sound that went straight to my shaft.

"Please...."

"No oil, my sweet,” I said regretfully. “And I will not take you without it."

I didn't let him say anything else as I pulled him tight against me. I teased his opening some more, aware of the fact that he was slick enough for something else. Controlling him with kisses, I eventually had him sprawled out on the floor below me, his
yukata
spread out below him. I knelt between his legs, pulling back long enough to admire the sight of him open to me like this, vulnerable and so sexy. I cupped his sac, stroking the delicate tissue, watching him arch into my touch as my fingers wandered lower.