A/N: Thank you to all who have waited for an update to this! Well...to all of you have waited for an update to anything lately, really. Recently I became quite sick, but am slowly on the mend! That being said, being ill DID give me a bit of perspective on this particular chapter.

And special thanks to Admiral T. DeVanto for recently following me as an author. I appreciate you, my friend. I really do. And though I understand the hassle of receiving private messages, I still wish that I could thank you properly! Just know that your support of me and my work really means a lot to me.

And finally, as always, my apologies for any spelling or grammatical errors on my part.

'Uneasy is the head that wears a crown.'

-William Shakespeare: 'King Henry IV'

The gentle sound of rushing water filled the small, private room before it died into the softest sounds of water-droplets against the surface of the bathwater. Like rain against the surface of a Koi pond. And orbs of black obsidian watched as the water-droplets rolled off the tips of his long fingers after he had pulled them from the warm bathwater he now reclined in. He took a deep breath in, filling his lungs with the bath's steam and herbal aroma of the hinoki cypress shavings floating along its surface. The medicinal blend of essential oils was a fragrance he had grown accustomed to. One that stayed with him, lingering along his skin and hair long after he had left the bath house's natural springs and returned to his castle.

It had been this way ever since his childhood.

A string of sleepless nights always hailed and preceded the onset of his illness. And, as of late, his sleep had been quite fitful. Ever since he had witnessed the latest war games in the city's public arena. Now, his sleep was plagued with fever and chills. And...he ached. From his muscles. To his bones. And his joints. He ached. His body was raked in pain, and so he had needed to seek medicinal treatment and healing from the natural springs just outside of the royal gates.

As he grew older and had ascended the throne as king, and the reoccurrence of his illness had become less frequent, he had demanded that the members of his royal court accompanying him to the springs be diminished and reduced to only essential servants. As emperor, the fewer who knew of the weakened state of his health, the better. Vulnerability would not be tolerated from his many enemies, so he would never accept it in himself. Ever.

A soft knock came along the screen door to his private bathing room, and a muted, disgruntled sigh passed through his slender nose. Even though his servants had been few on this excursion to the hot springs, they were all extremely dedicated to the task of administering to his every need, whether he had requested their services or not. And he felt himself growing irritated with their constant presence and hovering in these moments where he wished to be alone.

Maybe if he were to remain silent, the servant would assume that he had left the bath and was somewhere else.

Maybe they would leave.

So he leaned his head back against the wall and closed his eyes. And he waited for the attendant to go away. But instead of hearing the sounds of departure from the other side of the door, the screen slowly slid itself open, then closed again as he gave another vexed sigh.

"I do not wish to be fussed over." The sound of his deepened voice bounced off the walls and came filled with the strain of his irritation as his brows pinched together. "Leave me."

"Come now..." The soft, familiar, feminine tenor came biting and caustic in response to his dismissal. "Is that any way to speak to your queen?" With this chastisement, dark thick lashes fluttered open to reveal dark galactic orbs filled with hatred and disdain for the woman standing before him.

"What do you want..?" He quipped with the narrowing of his dark gaze. "I've no time for your insufferable games, woman." As he said this, his brows furrowed into a scowl towards her. "I am unwell, and you know that your mere presence makes me ill."

Without a word, the woman simply smiled to him. A smile he was all too familiar with. One that was coy, holding with it dark secrets that lingered just on the tip of her treacherous tongue. Moving her lean, feminine figure from the closed door, her approach to the bath came slow. Lithe and eloquent with her graceful steps as the curves of her body came accentuated with the billowing fabric of her royal robes and the brightly colored kimono she wore. The sash holding the kimono closed came tightly wound to enhance the thinness of her waistline as she moved towards him. And his dark orbs followed as he traced her every movement until she delicately sat herself along the edge of the bath he reclined in.

The two of them remained silent a moment, regarding each other before the woman finally deigned to speak against her son's cruel words.

"Come..." She coaxed almost tenderly. "Lie back so that I might wash your hair." This came whispered from her lips as Akito spared her a credulous look of contempt.

"I have servants who administer to me." He replied frostily. "I've no need or desire of your services, Mother."

"Is it not a mother's prerogative to dismiss these servants in order to tend to her son's needs?"

He was quiet a moment, considering and weighing the meaning and intent of this offer of maternal tenderness, before he wordlessly slipped his body lower into the water in order to adjust himself so she could do as she wanted. And this action on his part seemed to please her as she smiled down at him. Cupping her small, delicate hand and plunging it into the warmth of the bath water, she slowly brought it to his head and let it gently flow from her hand. With the emptying of her palm, her fingers tenderly combed themselves through his dampened, glossy black hair before she gathered more water to repeat this cleansing ritual.

His eyes fluttered closed towards his mother's soothing touch as he found it easing some of his pain and discomfort. And he let himself float within this moment, bringing his focus along the steam slowly filling his lungs as his mother, the Queen, began to speak to him.

"There are whispers within the palace walls..." She said quietly as she continued to minister comfort to him. "This new fighter... It seems that he has caused quite the sensation." This came softly murmured from her lips. "They say he calls himself Ronin." And a sharply scoffed snort pushed through his nose as his brows lightly furrowed towards his mother's gossiping words.

"I see that you've been consorting with Shigure again."

"Mm, yes." She hummed lightly against the sound of the water as it ran through her fingers along his hair. "He said that you were quite taken with this fighter." Her words came laced in subtle curiosity as she spoke. "Why would that be, my son?"

"...he reminds me of someone..." He murmured quietly in reply as his eyes remained closed.

"Who?" She asked again, and his brows knit together in slight vexation.

"Who he reminds me of is of no concern to you, woman." He spat in an attempt to curb his mother's tongue and put her in her proper place.

"Of course not, my son." She merely cooed back. "It is not my place to question my king." Her tone came sickeningly sweet in the way she agreed with him.

And he absolutely hated her for this. So readily agreeing with him as if to pacify a small fussing child. It was demeaning, and she knew that it incited his anger.

"The crowd." He heard her voice as it drew him up from the flames of his building fury. "They cheered so loudly for this Ronin in his victory, did they not?" She murmured quietly as she slowly paced her words in order to choose them very carefully.

"A victory that was granted to him by his king." He spat in a defiant hiss as those eyes finally fluttered open to meet orbs as deep and black as his own.

"It was not you who ran that fighter through with your sword in the arena." She whispered quietly back to him, holding his petulant scowl. "It was not you who the crowd cheered for." Her expression remained neutral as she stared down at him from her place along the rim of the bath as she spoke. "It was not their king who they cried out to and adored," She said. "but a slave." This fell softly from her lips as she held her son's gaze. "A slave has won the hearts of the people, my son." As she reached out to tenderly caress his cheek, Akito sat up and his hand quickly raised from the water to harshly snatch her wrist and halt her movements.

"Is this what you came for?" He quipped in anger as he glared at her. "To antagonize me and rouse my anger?" He said, raising his voice. "You will leave my sight now, you vile creature. And you will not so easily show your face to me again while we are here." He hissed with the savage curl of his upper lip in a sneer. "Do you understand me, woman?" With that, he harshly shoved her wrist away, and without another word she rose from the bath and left him in silence.

But the damage had been done. Her poison words began to spread themselves along his skin and through the fragile tendrils of his troubled mind. And his thoughts grew dark in the wake of his mother's toxic words.

'My lord...' Akito heard this soft, familiar whispered greeting from beside him as he stared out among the chosen subjects gathered.

'Yuki.' His own voice sounded so hollow and empty as it emerged from his throat.

'Something troubles you.' His cousin and confidant murmured quietly as those black orbs continued to gaze along the royal court and its many attendance.

'This moment...' Akito whispered just as quietly as the two of them stood off in the distance away from the gathered crowd. 'It is not as I had imagined it.'

When he had uttered these words, his stoic features fell infinitesimally in sadness. His ascension to the throne had come far sooner than he had ever anticipated, at the tender age of 19. And it had come at such a high and painful cost.

The life of his beloved father, slain in battle during his latest campaign.

And Akito knew, from the wayward glances in passing from the members of his father's cabinet, that they did not believe him ready for the enormous responsibility of ruling this great nation.

'I wish...' Akito whispered, quieting himself a moment before he began again. 'I wish that my father were here. To lend me his wisdom and strength.' He said as his eyes lingered along the gathered subjects of his kingdom. 'He would know what to say to these people.'

'They are your people now, my lord.' His cousin responded quietly beside him. 'They will listen to your words and follow you as they followed him.' And Akito's thin, dark brows furrowed towards his cousin's words with the nagging question they stirred within him.

These people would listen to him, yes.

But...

Would they love him?

'I am glad that you are hear, cousin.' Akito said in a monotonous tone, gaining a small amount of solace in his cousin's company at his coronation.

'Where else would I be?' He heard his cousin ask in earnest. 'On such a momentous day as your crowning, my lord, my place is at your side.'

'Thank you.' Akito managed through the infinitesimal quiver of his voice and the faint nod of his head as a small pause of silence filled this moment between them before he spoke again. 'And you?' He asked as his gaze remained forward. 'How are you fairing, my brave little cousin?'

Yuki was quiet for long time. An eternity, it seemed, as the two of them stood together while Akito waited for reply. Waited...for his cousin to answer him before he finally received a response.

Soft.

Quite.

And entirely forlorn in grief over the sudden and violent loss of Akito's father and the nation's beloved king.

'I feel a great sadness. The king. He...' Akito heard his cousin's soft voice falter and trail off at the mention of his late father before the child cleared his throat to begin again, quieter and weaker than before. 'I feel a great sadness.'

Another moment of somber silence followed before he heard his cousin speak again.

'And you, my lord?' Yuki asked lowly in a cheerless tone. 'How are you?'

In this moment, with this question, there were so many things that he had wanted to say. So much that he wanted to confide in his cousin. So many emotions that he wished to express as he saw his subjects gathered for this event. Heavy was his heart this day.

Because the truth was...

He had not wanted the throne at the cost of his father's life.

But in his heart he knew that he could no longer afford to express such sentiment. Today, he was king. And he needed to clothe himself in the stoic strength of an indomitable leader of men and vast armies. This was not the moment to mourn the tragic passing of his father. With this thought came the hardening of his voice as he finally answered his younger cousin.

'I am fine.' He said with the lowering of his voice. 'You needn't concern yourself over my welfare, brother.' This came monotonously drawled from his lips. 'I possess many attendants who gladly see to that.'

'My lord...' This came softly whispered in a disquieted tone, and it was then that Akito turned to his cousin to finally look him in the eye.

'Do not fear, Yuki.' He said with the slightest softening of his stoic features. 'As you have said, these are my people now. Surely they will soon enough embrace me as they did my father, no?' Yet with these bolstering words, he saw the how the faintest flex of misgiving remained along his cousin's youthful face.

'There you are...'

The feminine lilt caused the two young men to look away from each other. As Akito wordlessly regarded the new arrival to their private moment, Yuki gave the subdued, reverent bow of his head.

'Milady.' The child dared utter quietly with an averted gaze as he avoided directly looking upon the Queen Mother.

Yet the young man received no response as the silent woman continued to regard Akito.

'My son,' She whispered softly to Akito as the two held each other's gaze. 'the ceremony is to begin.' She said. 'Come. It is time for you to take your place.'

With this, the woman held out a pale, delicate hand, wordlessly waiting for Akito to take it in his own. As he did so, the two did not so much as smile at each other. Between them was nothing more than silence and a lack of warmth that chilled such a bittersweet moment.

A son, surpassing his father.

A boy, becoming a man.

A man, ascending to greatness as the ruler of an entire nation.

Yet as he walked with his mother into the royal court the varied expressions of the people gathered seemed joyless and somber. This did not feel like a celebratory occasion. Everywhere he looked. Every face. They all seemed filled with grief over the loss of his father and their king. And Akito found himself wanting nothing more than to mourn with them. But he could not. This country needed a king. And as his father's heir, it was his place-and his place alone-to wear the royal crown and ascend the throne as Emperor.

It was his birthright, and solemn duty as his father's only son.

As he was led to the throne by the directive step of his mother, Akito finally reached his father's seat of honor and slowly sank himself down to gaze upon the faces of his attentive subjects. And all were silent before his mother, standing beside him, began to address the crowd.

'As you all know,' She began this inaugural speech on Akito's behalf as he remained stoically mute. 'my beloved husband, Akira, has fallen in battle.' And from his perch, Akito noticed how several people in the crowd hung their heads when his mother had spoken these somber words. 'But fear not,' She said, commanding the crowd with the grace and strength of a queen. 'for he has not left us without a sovereign ruler.' She said. 'Behold, I present to you your king. My son, Akito.' This came uttered from the queen's lips as she held the attention of the people. 'As you have honored my husband,' She said, gazing into the crowd. 'so honor him.'

With this, Akito felt his mother turn towards him. As those dark orbs stared into the gathered crowd, he felt the gentlest touch to his head as his mother crowned him king. And all lowered their heads in humbled, willful subjugation to the new emperor. Yet the whole room was eerily silent.

No one celebrated this moment.

A delicate hand was placed on his shoulder, and lips moved towards his ear in order to discreetly speak to him.

'You see, my son?' Akito heard his mother softly whisper into his ear. 'In the wake of your father's death, they hail your rein with deafening silence.' Dark lashes fluttered closed with these violent words as his long, slender fingers dug themselves and tightly gripped the armrest of his throne, yet he was powerless to silence his mother's words as she continued. 'It should have been you who fell in battle. It should have been you,' This came hissed from her lips in equal parts grief and hate. 'who died, instead of my husband.' Soft, petal lips brushed along his ear as warm breath continued to follow. 'Because you are sickly. Feeble, and weak.' She whispered. 'And they will never love you as they loved him.'

Dark lashes fluttered open with the knock upon his door, and his expression shaped into one of irritation towards this intrusion.

"Did I not tell you to leave me be, woman?!" Akito snapped with the raise of his voice in anger, believing his mother had returned to continue her spiteful antics.

"Your majesty..?" The startled, muffled voice from behind the screen did not belong to the woman he had been expecting, and this took him off guard a moment as he silently listened. "I've come with food and your evening tea." And Akito sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose as he squeezed his eyes shut.

"Leave it outside." He commanded authoritatively in a calmer tone. "I do not want it."

"But...your majesty." The timid, feminine voice stuttered from behind the door to his bath. "The physician insists that, in your condition, you eat and drink."

Akito found himself silently curing the royal family's caretaker, Hatori. He was not fond of the man's constant and insufferable fussing over his health. Though he could not be without him, Akito often wished that the man were less involved in his daily affairs.

"Sire..?" This muffled whisper came in the wake of his silence. "...I will be severely punished if I am seen neglecting my duties."

"Very well..." Akito sighed, finally relenting to this stranger's fearful words with an amount of mercy as his hands sunk back into the warmth of his bathwater. "You may enter and serve me." He gave this consent as he heard the screen barrier slid open, then shut.

Akito watched in silence from his private bath as a woman younger than himself shyly entered, dutifully keeping her eyes to the floor as she moved about the room to bring him his food and medicinal tea. Her figure was lean, and her robes plain. This young woman's almost mousy appearance was simple. Ordinary. Her dark brown hair bound in a loose bun to keep it out of her face as she worked. And she never once looked upon him as she served him without a sound. Setting the tray of various treats next to his bath within his reach, she gracefully lowered herself to her knees in order to pour his tea for him, keeping her eyes deviated to the floor.

Though all of the royal attendants that had accompanied him to the hot springs had been instructed to interact with him with the utmost reverence and respect-only speaking when spoken to-he found this young woman's meekness strangely fascinating. And those dark, depthless orbs watched her every movement as an odd sense of familiarity began plague him. However, instead of dwelling on this feeling, Akito looked to the elaborate tray of food. Taking one of the more visually enticing pieced of food between his long, spider-like fingers, Akito placed it in his mouth and was pleasantly surprised at the taste.

"This is quite good." He murmured almost to himself as the young woman continued to keep her head down and avert her gaze.

"Thank you." She uttered in a breathless whisper. "I prepared the food myself." The young woman folded over herself, placing her forehead to the floor in a show of humble submission. "I am pleased that it is to your liking, sire." Akito wordlessly stared at the woman a moment, in her state of reverent prostration, before speaking to her directly.

"Show me your face, girl." He commanded in a quiet, almost curious tone, and watched as the young woman slowly righted herself from the floor to face him.

Though her eyes still looked away and down as she wordlessly complied with this royal instruction. And Akito looked upon her for a moment, his dark brows pulling together in thought before he spoke to her again.

"Do I know you?" This question caused the young woman to lightly tuck her bottom lip between her teeth as she seemed to consider how she should respond to such a strange query.

"I would not presume to believe you would know the likes of me, sire." She whispered in reply, keeping her eyes averted as her voice began to fade. "I am no one."

"You seem familiar to me." He stated firmly as he continued to regard her with curiosity.

"I do not know why, your majesty." She responded quietly with the faintest flush of her cheeks, and Akito found himself growing slightly vexed with this young woman's submissive demeanor.

"Look at me when you dare to speak, girl." He snapped through lips held in a taut line, and the young woman visibly flinched before quickly lifting her gaze.

Akito was suddenly met with vibrant eyes the color of blue river stones. And the peculiar color of her azure gaze left him unsettled as the sense of familiarity only grew stronger. Now, more than ever, he was certain that he somehow knew this young woman, though he couldn't quite place where or how. And this growing sense of familiarity vexed him.

"Who are you..?" Akito harshly asked with the deepening of his voice and narrowing of his dark gaze as he witnessed the young woman visibly quake.

"I am no one, sire." She whispered again through the tremble of her lips, though she now held his stare.

"Your name, girl." Akito demanded in irritated response to her reply.

"Tohru." This came a helpless squeak from her lips, and Akito's eyes widened with this name.

He knew this name.

He knew this woman.

"You." Akito hissed through his teeth. "You are the the woman of one of my soldiers." And the young woman gave the swift jerk of her head as her eyes plummeted to the floor, causing Akito to scowl in anger. "You deny this, girl?"

"My husband did serve you, sire." She stuttered in response as her whole body trembled. "But he is no longer alive."

"I know that." Akito spat. "Because I was the one to give the order for his execution when he betrayed me!" He raised his voice as memories of his cousin flooded his mind. "And did I not dismiss you from my court at the same time?"

"You did, your majesty." The young woman responded quickly with the hang of her head. "But...I am the widow of a dishonored man." She whispered, and in the low light of the private bathing room, Akito believed that she had begun to cry. "No one would dare take me in...and..." Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks as she kept her head hung and her eyes downcast. "...I have nowhere else to go, sire."

"How dare you." Akito hissed in contempt of this young woman's bold decision to stay in his royal court. "For your insolence I should have you thrown out into the streets, girl."

"Please," Her voice quavered with emotion towards this threat. "I know the fate of such women," She uttered through a level of fear towards the heartless sexual exploitation of such unfortunate souls. "and I do not wish that." She lowered her shivering body again to prostrate herself in his presence as she spoke. "I would rather that you take my life, sire, if you wish to be rid of me." She begged. "Please."

Akito faltered for a moment. He found himself strangely affected by this woman's desperate plea for death over a life on the streets. Akito hadn't anticipated this. That the young woman would rather suffer his wrath and embrace death than be dismissed from his court. And her plight. It moved him towards mercy, though he did not know why.

"Stop your crying, girl." Akito commanded, his voice taking a softer edge of compassion. "I find a woman's tears to be most unsightly." He murmured lowly, and waited for the young woman to calm herself in his presence.

The two fell into silence, though the young woman continued to tremble with the prostration of her body on the floor of his private bath. And Akito found himself developing such a strange connection to this woman.

Yuki's woman.

"What will you do with me, sire?" The young woman's fearful voice quietly manifested through the silence, and Akito gave a small sigh of contemplation before he spoke.

"You may remain in my service," He murmured just as quietly as he gazed upon her humbled position on the floor. "for now."

He heard the young woman give a stifled sigh before righting herself. Though she had stopped crying, and her demeanor was calmer than before, those blue eyes still averted their gaze away from him as she began to rise and turn to the door to leave the private room.

"Wait." Akito called in a quiet, deepened voice. "Where do you think you are going?"

"Sire." The young woman whispered, her back turned to him. "I have other duties to attend to."

"Stay."

Akito watched as this request seemed to cause the young woman's whole body to stiffen in surprise.

"...sire..?"

"Please." Akito began again in a softer, coaxing tone. "You needn't serve or entertain me with conversation." He said. "In fact, I prefer you do not speak at all." This came in a deepened tone as he continued. "Just...stay with me until I am done with my bath."

"Sire." He heard the tremble of her soft, shy voice though she kept her back to him. "Is this a command..? Or a request?" She asked in earnest, seeming genuinely confused over the nature of his dictation.

"If you have duties of greater importance, I will not lower myself to begging for your company, girl." He said with the slightest edge of bitter condescension. "But my wish is that you remain with me."

Akito saw how the young woman contemplated this for a moment, standing in silence before she wordlessly turned from the door and quietly took her place on her knees near his bath. And as he sipped on his tea, the two remained in a comfortable silence.

A/M: A few mentions to take note of.

Yuki's quote "I feel a great sadness" came from the show Stargate Atlantis.

And the words 'Heavy was his heart this day,' from Akito's thoughts, was from the song "Dear Brother" by Puscifer.

Finally, thank you all for reading and supporting this story! It means the world to me!