Vocabulaire:
1. Adoption (rules of) and families – Romans belonged to both the families of their mothers and fathers, but their names often meant that they were officially listed as members of one gens (family). For example, Gaius Julius Caesar was related to the Aurelii through his mother, but his name meant that he was primarily a member of the gens Julii Caesares (through his father). Hence his paterfamilias (s.v.) was the head of the Julii Caesares, and not that of the Aurelii.
As Hime is not a patriarchal society, this custom has been altered. Here, a character may take as his or her primary family that of either the mother or the father. The main gens to which one belongs is important, since it determines one's status (Patrician/Plebeian), among other things.
If a person were adopted into another family, he would gain a new name and be listed/recognised officially as a member of the adopting family instead. So if a Gaius Julius Caesar were adopted by a Cornelius, he would become a Gaius Cornelius Caesar (or something to that effect). Do not be misled by the retention of "Caesar" in the name, by the way: it is merely a cognomen, not a family name.
2. "Argos with Io" – A reference to the myth of Argus or Argos Hundred-eyes, a creature said to have eyes all over his body. He was tasked by the goddess Juno to watch over a woman named Io. He was a near-perfect watchman because of his many eyes: he had eyes even in the back of his head, and was able to keep some eyes open even as some of them closed in rest. Near-perfect because the god Hermes/Mercury was still able to steal Io away from him by lulling all of his eyes to sleep. Hence the other name the Greeks have for Hermes/Mercury, by the way: Argeiphontes.
3. College of Pontifices – The official association of pontifices (s.v.); a state body. It had power over several very important things, such as the task of ensuring that the calendar would coincide with the seasons, the proclamation of holidays, the approval of lex curiata (s.v.), and so on.
4. Crossroads college(s) – Gathering places for the associations of men/women who were tasked with protecting crossroads (i.e. intersections) of Rome's roads. The crossroads were held to be a sacred place, and frequented by supernatural energies such as that of the goddess Hecate, so the Romans paid great attention to their care. The members of crossroads colleges were from the lower classes, and often formed (fairly violent) gangs or fraternities.
5. Cunni, cunnus – A slang term for the female genitals; profanity/insult.
6. Demagogues and their relation to the office of the tribune-of-the-plebs – Most effective tribunes-of-the-plebs were outright demagogues, since plebeian tribunate meetings were usually determined by the support of the people attending—who had an overwhelming number of the lower classes.
7. Epicure – A term that originally stood for someone adhering to the Epicurean theory of pleasure, the meaning soon became perverted into something equivalent to a sybarite. The Epicureans were not as simplistic in their treatment of pleasure as the later, perverted sense of the word suggests. In this chapter, the meaning used is the second one, more common to that which we have today: someone who simply lives for and with pleasure, without the exquisitely refined approach that the original Epicureans actually prescribed.
8. Lex curiata – A law or resolution carried through the curiate assembly that could make adoption legal.
9. Paterfamilias/Materfamilias – The actual Latin term is paterfamilias, which means "head of the family", who should be consulted for all major decisions made by other family members. Materfamilias is added here to adjust it to the setting, since Hime is not a patriarchal society.
10. Pontifex Maximus – Head of the College of Pontifices; high-priest of Rome.
11. Pontifices (pl.), pontifex (s.) – An official priest of Rome. They were generally members of the senatorial families and members of Senate themselves. The priesthood was usually passed down through the family line, though there were some periods where it was acquired through election.
12. Stoic ‒ Term generally understood in those times as referring to those adhering to the philosophical school that prescribed indifference to sorrows as well as discomfort, thus explaining why most of the Stoics preferred to live in a "simple" (as opposed to extravagant) fashion.
Inter Nos
par ethnewinter
The Fujino army spent eight more days in Sosia, finishing preparations for the march to Argus and putting the local garrison in order. By evening of the last day, everything had been settled, every order acknowledged, and every legionary's gear and provisions accounted for. All that remained was to verify the movements of their foes, which the commander had seen to with her scouts. These scouts returned early morning of the eighth day. It was the result of their reconnaissance that Shizuru, her senior legate, and the Ninth's primipilus now discussed as they relaxed after their dinner.
"The reports all say the same thing, Shizuru-san," the senior legate said. "The Mentulaeans have retreated completely to their more western territories on their side of the border. With good reason. Some of their regions are having a whiter winter than we are. I'd say there's little to no chance of them coming out for a while."
"So I think," Shizuru said.
"They'll probably stay within their borders until the thaw."
"Our march to Argus should be straightforward then." Shizuru tapped a finger on the table. "Truth be told, I was expecting as much."
"It's better to be safe," Chie agreed before sighing deeply. "We can go through as planned. But, you know, I'm pretty tempted to go and lead an expedition into their territories right now. What with them being all bundled and cosy for the winter, this would be a perfect time to spank these fat hounds in the rear."
"I seem to recall an aphorism," Shizuru said, "saying that one should let sleeping dogs lie."
"You wouldn't like to do it, then?"
"I did not say that," came the reply. "After all, the aphorism does not apply to rabid dogs, in my point of view. In such cases, needs must strike them dead where they sleep."
"Now I like the sound of that," their other companion cheered suddenly, her acid eyes flashing. "The general tells it like it is, eh, Chie?"
Chie and Shizuru smiled at the primipilus.
"Happy as I am to receive your approval, I fear I shall disappoint you, Nao-han," Shizuru cautioned. "Much though I would like to carry out such an expedition, I have no intent of doing so. Just yet, anyway."
She held back a chuckle at the suddenly intense attention she received.
"Wait, wait, wait," Chie chanted, holding a finger up as though to make a point. "Just yet? You just said that, didn't you? Tell the truth, now."
Shizuru was tickled: "I was not about to deny it."
"What you said is just tantamount to intent of invasion."
"Why, so it is."
"Well, I'll be damned!"
Having exclaimed this, Chie turned to Nao.
"You heard her, right?" she asked with droll excitement, soft brown eyes dancing. "She just sat there and said it. I wasn't imagining that."
Nao pointed her feral grin at them.
"This is the first time I've heard you say that," Chie said to Shizuru. "You're usually so cautious about it, Shizuru-san. All this time you've been saying we don't have any intention of going into their lands. I was beginning to wonder if you'd truly be content to play a defensive the game the whole time, especially when we'd just been condemned to stay in the north indefinitely by the Senate."
She spoke quickly to forestall protest when she saw her general's lips part.
"Yes, I know you're going to say that all you said just now was that you would like to do it—and barring the 'just yet', actual intention and desire are different. But you've never even spoken of this desire," she told the younger woman. "I've been waiting all this time for you to talk about the possibility of a foray into Mentulaean territory, and here, when I finally don't expect it—bam!"
She snapped her fingers.
"That's a surprise bombardment, I daresay!" she concluded. "Just when I thought your ambitions were fading away, they hit me like a boulder from our catapultae. Consider me broken, bamboozled and blasted."
Shizuru regarded her laughingly.
"All right," she said. "I suppose I was trying to be politic, Chie-han. After all, our expedition's tasks did not include a description of going into enemy territory. Even if I have been entertaining the idea in my mind for a while now, it seemed better to keep it to myself."
She smirked and finished: "Particularly for the sake of my ambitions, as you put it. Surely you know why."
"Because it might rankle some people," Chie responded, with a long-suffering smile. "The Traditionalists might not have minded it before if you did try it at the start, though, I think. That was when they were still giddy about having undermanned you."
"Ah," Shizuru said. "You mean because they would have been counting on my defeat then?"
"More or less, though we both know the chances of that would have been slim. Still, after all you've achieved on this campaign, they won't be keen to cut you any more slack."
"Oh, I get it," Nao cut in. "It's even more dangerous for the general to talk about trying it now because our campaign's been going well."
"Exactly. She's shown what she can do even when grossly undermanned."
"The malicious cunni are afraid of being overshadowed by another 'impossible achievement' from her, right?"
"That's the gist of it. So she can't even make a reckless comment in front of someone about considering the matter, or the conservatives back home could get wind of it. They'd be on her like dogs on the chase."
"Jealous fu—"
Shizuru coughed, interrupting the vulgarity on Nao's tongue as well as the pair's conversation.
"All that you have mentioned considered," she began, "nothing in our situation has changed beyond the fact that you have actually heard me make such a comment—which is not a reckless one, I hope, in view of the fact that we are in a closed room and close company. My saying it does not mean anything great. We are still not going to invade the Mentulaeans, unless the House gives us sanction to do so."
"And a lot more troops, General."
"And a lot more troops, Yuuki-han."
Chie smiled wryly and finished the thought for them all: "Which they haven't and don't seem about to do anytime soon."
"Indeed."
"It's too bad!" the legate uttered, shaking her head vigorously. "Don't get me wrong: I agree taking on an empire their size is a bit daunting. But now that I've seen the quality of their commanders and armies, I daresay I don't feel as daunted as before. And this would be such a perfect time to strike too, when the scouts tell us the Mentulae are lazy with hibernation."
"They're probably snowed in, though," Nao warned. "So it could be a hard hike for us, too, say, if we were going and invading them now. Anyway, it's a good thing it's stopped coming down where we are. I've had about all I can take of the white stuff."
"Ah, the famously hardy Centurion Yuuki," Chie crooned maliciously, attention quickly switching to her friend's complaint. "Bothered by a little white stuff. So much for being hardy, eh?"
"Oh, go pluck feathers from some bird's arse."
"Quills, for the hundredth time."
"Whatever you call it, you still pluck it from a bird's arse." Having delivered this retort, the redhead wiggled her eyebrows at the other two women. "But I'll follow your lead just this once, Harada. I think I will go and pluck feathers from some bird's arse, later."
The legate stared incredulously at her.
"Whatever for?" she cried. "I've never seen you write anything other than your name on a scrip!"
"What do you think I am, illiterate?" Nao said dryly.
Chie repressed a smile, knowing very well that Nao was not only literate but also literate in the language of the educated: Greek.
"I do not think," Shizuru offered, "that you truly took her meaning, Chie-han."
A few seconds passed, after which Chie burst out into an explosive guffaw.
"Oh, that's what you meant? Heavens, Yuuki," she said, between chortles. "It's the day before we leave Sosia and you think of that? You're a classic, if ever there was one."
The primipilus grinned shamelessly and propped her chin up with one hand.
"Why not?" she said. "Like you said, Chie, I've got a name for being hardy. Playing around with a little bird tonight isn't going to make me so tired I can't march tomorrow."
"Oho! You do have your eye on someone in particular?"
"Just one a friend told me about. One of Makaku's." She turned to Shizuru then and explained succinctly: "Whorehouse in the city, General."
"I see," Shizuru replied, not at all fazed. "How interesting. It stands to reason that Nao-han would prefer a professional."
"Oh, yes. And this professional's said to be amazing—especially with women," Nao went on candidly. "I thought I could give it a try, since we'll be going tomorrow. Might as well have some fun on the last night."
"A reasonable proposition."
"Very reasonable, is what I think," Nao leered. "I hope she finds my demands reasonable too, later."
"I wish you well in the enterprise."
"I thank you kindly for the good wishes."
Chie sniggered at the exchange.
"I'm almost frightened for the woman, you lecher," she teased the primipilus. "It's just like you to do this at such a time, though."
Nao rolled her eyes.
"Stop playing at abstinence—it don't work that well, Harada. You can come along if you want, you know," she shot back. "But I already booked that girl for tonight so you'll have to find some other little bird to satisfy your needs. Or you can ask around with the farmers here if they have a spare duck they can lend you. I'm sure you'll have fun plucking it clean."
"Not only a lecher but a pervert," Chie answered sardonically, ignoring their general's muffled laughter. "I don't know why you even bother asking me, really. You already know that I can't. Besides which, I wouldn't."
She paused and added quickly, to their amusement: "And to be clear, I'm not only talking about being unfaithful to Aoi when I say that. That crack about a duck was just nasty."
"Suit yourself," Nao replied,. "It's your loss if you don't want to have a little enjoyment before the march. I'd ask the general if she wants to come along too, but..."
She trailed off here, bringing a smile to Shizuru's lips and a frown to Chie's.
"Don't infect her with your lechery," the latter pretended to scold Nao. "Shizuru-san's above that."
The general smirked at her officers.
"Am I?" she said.
"Are you going to protest, Shizuru-san?" Chie asked provocatively. "It would make my day if you did."
"It is eminently difficult to do so, given that you gave your earlier statement in what I take to be a defence of my virtue."
"Partly, though I'm also just saying what most people think, or think they see," Chie replied. She looked pointedly at the primipilus. "Nao would agree with me."
"We-ell, since you bring it up," Nao said in answer, before turning to smile at their commander. "It is pretty strange how you manage to stay out of it, General. Fact, it's godlike. I avoid relationships too, but I still need to get this sort of thing every now and then, else my bones start rattling something awful. But you don't even seem to need this much, at least."
Shizuru chuckled.
"I wonder now," she said with typical lack of commitment. "Do you think I really seem like that?"
"Why?" Chie asked once again. "Were you about to deny it?"
"Would it be of such moment if I did?"
"To someone like Chie, anything that's fodder for tittle-tattle is of 'such moment'," Nao said. "So you'd better watch it, General."
"I think I resent that," Chie said, seeing the opportunity for probing further into the mystery that was her young friend. "But Nao brings up a good point, Shizuru-san. You're definitely no Stoic—though I'll grant you aren't exactly an Epicure, either—yet you manage to resist what those philosophers call 'the urges of the flesh'. Or is 'resist' even the right word? You seem almost immune to it. I don't think I've ever heard you talk about such things, after all, let alone give any indication of being interested in them."
She opened her eyes wide and continued: "Even if Nao says it's a godlike quality, I actually think it's beyond godlike. Why, some have it that even the gods give in to the demands of their flesh, divine though it is!"
"The Greek Zeus being a particularly good case in point, I suppose," Shizuru answered drolly. "But even if we pretend that my situation is as you make it, I confess I see no reason for such an immunity to be laudable. The realm of Eros is not always opposed to virtue, and may well supplement it on many occasions."
"You speak with such authority," Chie teased. "Does it actually come from experience, then?"
"Not necessarily. It is entirely possible I have abstracted what I said from something I read before. If so, I cannot remember who said it originally. How silly of me. To quote or paraphrase an author without giving him credit is terrible, after all, even in casual conversation."
She put on an apologetic expression.
"Mayhap it is little suited to me to speak of this," she ventured. "Given that the general impression of me—as you say—is that I am isolated from the present subject, I fear that my words shall carry no authority with them if I do pass comment. As such, I might have to resort to using the authority of another yet again, and even if I do quote them correctly this time, it still seems highly improper."
Chie suppressed the exasperated smile threatening to break out on her face, conscious of Nao reining back a snigger. She and the primipilus were both after the same suspicion, of course, but it was beginning to be abundantly clear that neither of them would obtain something close to confession from their commander. How could one get anything even credibly suggestive from Shizuru Fujino that she would not offer herself? The only possible way—and one not likely to receive a proper answer, even—would be to ask her frankly about it, and that would be too crude. Not even Nao would ask such a thing of their general, and when even Nao refrained from doing something, that was sufficient to argue against the attempt of it. Oh, what to do, what to do! She would have trouble sleeping out of sheer curiosity!
Though if not from her, then perhaps...
She cast a furtive glance at the young woman sitting next to Shizuru. That character's beautiful but impassive face was devoid of interest in their talk, however. Her attention was directed to the open window, and though Chie looked the same way, she could not see what was so interesting about the plain view of dark sky.
Seeing the girl like this made Chie see the folly of her idea. Sphinxes put riddles to you, not the other way around!
Her shoulders relaxed as she decided to abandon her quarry for the moment. If Shizuru was set on skirting around it, then there would be no use in trying to force the topic. Chie would only get her answer when her friend was ready to give it—as always.
She looked said friend in the eye.
"I meant to talk about this earlier," she said. "We're going to be wintering in Argus, no? What are your plans for after that, Shizuru-san?"
Shizuru turned to the other Himean with them and asked what she thought the plan would be, if nothing at all changed with their present situation where Senate was concerned.
"Set up in Argus," came the centurion's reply. "Rest during the winter. Wait for the Mentulae to attack one of our garrisoned points."
"Correct thus far. And then?"
"Then it's anybody's guess," Nao said, throwing her hands up in surrender. "I'm not sure what you want to do after that, General. If I had to say, though, I'd say you'll use the smallest tiptoe they make on our side of the borders to convince the Senate to finally give us permission to run the bastards to the ground on their own turf. And to give us more funds and soldiers, while they're at it."
Shizuru's face lit up.
"You have a better head for politics than you yourself admit, Yuuki-han," she said.
"Thank you, General, though it's not the sort of thing I'd enjoy."
"The trouble with that scenario Nao's just described," Shizuru's fellow senator interjected, "is that even if the House is eventually persuaded, their deliberations before that may take so long we'll be in a tight spot before it's over. And even the mere fact that we'll have to wait for the enemy to make the first move means that we're already in a tight spot to begin with."
She eyed Shizuru suspiciously.
"Knowing you, Shizuru-san," she said, "you've already thought of that far ahead of me. That means there's something you know that we don't."
Shizuru smiled.
"Possibly," she said. "Were the latest news from Hime here, you would no doubt get a hint of it. But as the mail has yet to arrive and may take a while longer, I suppose it is best for me to tell you already. You see, Chikane Himemiya has decided to run for consul."
After the initial bewilderment had given way, a flurry of questions was shot at her by the senior legate.
"What made her decide? Were you involved? And how is that even possible?" Chie asked. "The nominations are way past. Even if the elections are postponed, it's not acceptable to put yourself up for candidacy after the stipulated period is over."
"Not any longer, I expect," Shizuru said. "Her tribune-of-the-plebs shall make it possible by legislating a second nomination period. I am uncertain as to what justifications Chikane has instructed Kaneda Izumi to use for his argument, but knowing Chikane, it should come through."
"She told you this in the letter we received last time," Chie guessed.
"Correct."
Chie shook her head in disbelief.
"Jupiter, she'll destroy some people's plans this year," she said. "I thought she'd go take a province first before going after the consul's chair, so this is really unexpected—but what a development! If she does run, she'll carry all the votes with her! The other candidates will be gnashing their teeth!"
"She'd make a better consul than all the other candidates put together."
The centurion concurred.
"Don't know her the way you do, of course," she said, "but I know about her. Good general, clean politican. And my friends at the crossroads colleges talked about her, since she was urban praetor when we left. They like her, and that's rare."
"Of course they would like her," Shizuru replied warmly, being very fond of this particular friend.
"Then it's good she's on our side, General," Nao answered. "Don't know her, so can't say more."
"Given that I do know her, allow me to say this much then: there can be no question of my faith in Chikane," Shizuru responded. "She told me she shall do all she can to acquire what we need for a proper campaign. Beyond or within the House, she is one of the few people of whom I can always be certain."
"You've been friends since childhood, after all," Chie noted, before saying teasingly: "Since nearly the same can be said for us, dare I hope your statement applies to me as well?"
"Naturally, you are another of those whom I trust in the same way."
"I'm glad to hear that. I suppose Reito-san is one of the others in House?"
Shizuru looked genuinely surprised.
"Why, no, not really," she replied, to Chie's astonishment. "Not to say that I distrust him. I simply do not trust him as much as I do you or Chikane, for example."
"Why's that?"
Shizuru thought it over.
"It is not due to any concrete experiences or suspicions, of course," she explained to them. "Nor do I think Reito-han an untrustworthy man, or anything of the sort. It is rather that he is a too much of a true politician. Do they not say that one should never turn one's back on a true politician?" she asked with humour.
"I don't see," Chie said. "How does Himemiya, for instance, compare? I always thought her a true politician too, you know."
"Oh, yes," Shizuru said. "But I am afraid I was not speaking of their skill in the political sphere and its games, or at least, not exclusively that. I meant, rather, their natural dispositions, among other things. At any rate, the resultant difference lies in the fact that where I would always easily entrust my life to Chikane, I would not have such consistency with Reito-han. To expand my earlier phrase, I have no trouble having my back to her, whereas I would follow the example of Argos with Io if it comes to him. To be honest, I would actually rest easier with Kazuya Kurauchi-han behind me—even if he is from the opposite camp."
Chie took a moment to respond.
"I'm not sure I understand," she said. "But my feeling goes with your opinion, I think."
Nao snorted, drawing their attention.
"I can put it plainly for you, Harada," she said. "What she means is that this Reito Kanzaki's a slick bastard. Knowing where you stand with him is just as dependable as knowing where you stand on marble slathered with oil."
The other two laughed.
"No steady footing, eh?" Chie said between sniggers. "Oh, that was good, Yuuki!"
"The simile is amusing," Shizuru agreed. "I do feel a little sorry for Reito-han, though. Marble slathered with oil, indeed."
"I was going to say 'slippery ice' instead of that at first, General," Nao said, before suddenly flicking a meaningful look at the general's bodyguard—who happened to miss the gesture. "But then I thought someone here might be insulted, you know."
The other two Himeans stifled chuckles.
"Careful, Yuuki," Chie warned. "You're treading on thin ice."
"Oh? Based on the lack of reaction, I'd say it's pretty thick."
"So the fisherman said, right before a wrong step found at him at the bottom of the lake," the other woman returned, setting off another round of laughter. She let them chuckle first before going on. "Anyway, going back to our topic, I'm glad to know what you just told us, Shizuru-san. About Chikane-san's running for consul, I mean, and her dedication to our cause. It's reassuring stuff."
Shizuru nodded.
"Our reservations about the Princeps aside, he is going to be part of our camp, right?"
"I believe so, but I have no word on that yet. At any rate, I am certain Chikane-han shall see to him."
"Oh, excellent," Chie nearly purred with contentment. "Well, this means I have more to look forward to after the winter. Having the head of the Himemiya pulling the strings—as consul, too!—is going to be perfect. It definitely makes life easier for us."
The primipilus suddenly grinned at this remark.
"With the people she has to deal with, though," she told them shrewdly. "I don't think you can say it makes life any easier for her."
In Hime, the subject of Nao's dry note was regarding her cousin with a blank expression. Her hand was hovering above a scroll on her desk, having frozen halfway in picking it up. She held this pose a little while longer before finally letting her palm rest on the rolled-up parchment.
"Forgive me, but just to be sure I heard you correctly," she said at length. "You are asking me to procure permission from the College of Pontifices allowing you to be adopted?"
The young woman seated across from her nodded. Chikane's eyes narrowed in response.
"Adoption is a serious thing, Cousin," she went on to say. "And not something to be played with. I sincerely hope this is not another of your games, Urumi?"
The other feigned hurt.
"No, it's not," she assured the raven-haired woman.
"Then forgive me for asking this again, but I wish it to be clear: you aspire to be adopted formally by another family?"
"Mm-hm, yes, that is the general idea. Does this conclude the interrogation?"
"Hardly! What imp put this into your mind?" Chikane asked, loosing a laugh. She shook her head with wonder. "Your idiosyncrasies do fascinate me, Urumi. Kanzaki is not really a family name most people would want to be rid of."
Urumi shut her eyes at this comment and smiled, more to herself than the woman before her.
"Not to mention Himemiya, hmm?" she said cannily, peering at Chikane from her blue eye while keeping the brown one shut. "But it's not like I am actually ridding myself of either name, you know. I will still be known as Urumi Himemiya Kanzaki, with only another surname added. Of course you're right—I will still be giving up my status as belonging primarily to the Kanzaki family. But that is hardly a great sacrifice for me. I need to do this if I am to get where I want to be, right now. It's nonnegotiable, unfortunately."
"That must be a remarkable place you wish to reach indeed, if even the combined weight of the Kanzaki and Himemiya names cannot get you there."
"Something like that."
"Do tell me whose name you intend to take."
"My friend Tomoko's. You remember her, don't you?"
"Nemura-san?" Chikane said, her mind recalling an extraordinarily lovely, if rather foolish face. "An old and very respectable family, I see. Old plebeian stock, I believe?"
"Yes."
"Your peer in age."
"Yes, though not in ability. She's awfully dull, to be honest." A faint smirk. "But Tomoko has her own talents."
"Ah." Chikane eyed her thoughtfully, guessing that she was talking about the girl's considerable physical assets. "Correct me if I am wrong, but is she not...?"
"An orphan like me, yes," Urumi continued, with a complacent smile. "That simplifies things, don't you think? Since she has no paterfamilias or materfamilias to hamper her, it should be a simple process for her to adopt me. She's already agreed to do it, in case you're wondering."
"And agreed to have you, her friend and peer in years, calling her 'mama'?" the elder woman remarked, with a trace of amusement. "Curious girl, to actually consent to such a queer thing."
Urumi held out her hands over the desk and stretched lazily.
"Tomoko," she said, with confidence. "Will do whatever I want her to do. It's been that way ever since we were kids."
"It seems more like you should be adopting her, then."
"I would rather keep her as a pet—though she is already that, in a way," came the retort. "But I shan't actually be calling her 'mother' to her face, of course. Only in public, and even then, that should be a pretty lark. Oh, I can't wait!"
"A lark," Chikane echoed dryly. "You said this was not lark, Urumi."
"It isn't," her cousin protested. "But there's no rule against me having a little laugh over it, even if the general intent is an earnest one."
The older woman looked up and released a sigh to the ceiling. After a moment, she turned back at Urumi with an enquiring expression.
"Well then, Urumi," she said. "Please tell me why you want to do this."
"Election as a tribune-of-the-plebs."
The languid smile vanished, was replaced by one of controlled surprise.
"I beg your pardon?" said Chikane.
"Election as a tribune-of-the-plebs."
"Why in the world would you want that?" Chikane demanded gently, once her astonishment had passed. "Is this what you meant by your words the other night?"
Urumi giggled as she recalled that evening, when she had announced to Chikane that she would be entering their—Chikane's and Reito's—arena soon. Though, she had qualified mysteriously, not strictly the same arena. It had left her elder cousin wondering what she meant when she went on to say that she would ascend a political office no Himemiya or Kanzaki had ever occupied.
"Yes," Urumi now said. "And just think of it: after Tomoko adopts me and I become an official member of the Nemura, I may be the first Himean citizen to run legally for the plebeian tribunate even with perfectly patrician blood in my veins."
She grinned, her expression like that of a child acquiring a new toy.
"That's an accomplishment in itself. Suou will positively flip when she hears about it—she might say I'm trying to match her feat of getting appointed a legate without being in Senate yet. Won't it be hilarious?"
"Facetious even now." Chikane smiled wryly. "This is the Kanzaki in you coming out, I think."
"But you always accuse Suou of levity, and she doesn't have a drop of Kanzaki in her."
"Actually, I was referring more to this scheme of yours."
"Oh, that. I still have a rebuttal: more of the Himemiya have broken traditions than the Kanzaki."
"I have to admit that is probably true. Certainly my own case provides base for rebuttal." The urban praetor tilted her head, her attitude that of someone having just apprehended something. "So this is why you've been frequenting the crossroads colleges. Drumming up support among the lower classes, Urumi?"
Urumi grinned an affirmation.
"Here I was, worried for you and thinking you were keeping dangerous company when in fact you were the most dangerous one there," Chikane said in a low voice. "I do not know why I was even worried. You have always had a talent for putting people of all walks under thrall."
"You have the same talent, Chikane, so I don't see why it should be remarkable."
"In varying aspects. Suffice it to say that you have even more of the makings of a demagogue than I." She smiled, suddenly intrigued. "A perfectly aristocratic demagogue. You would be a dangerous tribune-of-the-plebs, Cousin."
"No more dangerous than you as the senior consul."
Chikane looked tickled.
"And that," she said, "is exactly the point. I would be very dangerous as the senior consul."
She inhaled luxuriously.
"In any case, is this truly what you want, Urumi? To enter politics through the tribunate of the plebs instead of, say, the quaestorship?"
A determined stare: "I'm positive."
"Then I shall endorse your adoption to the pontifices," came the answer, bringing a wide grin to Urumi's face. "They will wonder at and oppose it, methinks, but I am fairly certain I shall convince them to pass a lex curiata. Our present Pontifex Maximus owes me a few favours, so I shall exhaust one or two for you."
Urumi bowed with her head, those distinctive eyes peeking out of her curtain of silvery-blonde hair.
"I'm so grateful I can hardly put it into words, so I shan't—or not so much," she said impishly. "Shall we say I will pay you back in action instead? I'm sure it hasn't escaped you that by doing this, you will have another tame tribune-of-the-plebs for next year."
"How good to know you have such confidence about winning the elections," the other replied. "Do not tell me you plan to ensure your win by bribery?"
"I don't think I have to, but it's possible to do that, too."
"Then do not let me catch you—or not in public."
"I'll be sure to remember."
"I have a feeling too that you shall not need to resort to that, anyhow," Chikane said to her. "And before I forget, Urumi: I hardly think the description 'tame' could ever be made to apply to you, whether as a tribune-of-the-plebs or not. Even so, it is true that it would benefit me to have you as a tribune-of-the-plebs. My tribune for next year is rather less inspiring—though still capable, of course."
She smiled at Urumi with humour.
"I am afraid to say that you shall have to do me a lot of favours in return for this one," she warned.
Urumi shrugged and said she would welcome the work as long as it was interesting.
"I believe I can satisfy that condition."
"And I'd love to ruffle a few Traditionalist feathers as I go," came the second qualifier.
"You shall ruffle more than a few, if the next year turns out as I expect," Chikane said. "You shall also have a lot of work for Shizuru's campaign, though I'm sure you already know that."
"Ahh." Urumi looked a little regretful. "I expected it. But, you know, it's something of a pity."
"What is?"
"Not being able to go up against her. It would be so interesting, you see."
The deep blue eyes were amused: "And in doing so, go against me as well?"
"Simply a thought," the blonde replied mischievously. "I wasn't even serious, Chikane. Rather, it's just that..."
"That what?"
The corners of Urumi's mouth turned downwards.
"It would be so much more challenging than going up against the Traditionalists," she explained. "They're all so dull! Unless it's Kikukawa-san or Wang-san, maybe. But one lacks style and the other lacks substance. Anyway, they don't interest me as much."
She cast a pouting look at Chikane, her fine, attractive features turning slightly childish.
"I would honestly prefer to set my wits against someone who actually has wits to speak of," she said. "And Shizuru-san definitely has that. Of course you do too—but you're family, and I can't go against you. The same with cousin Reito since he's my paterfamilias at the moment."
Chikane nodded.
"Though I must say that I disagree with your having dismissed our Traditionalist friends so easily, I still understand your point," she told the blonde. "One needs a sharp mind against which to whet one's own, to restate your argument. It may add to the appeal that you are not so familiar with Shizuru yet, for you've had few occasions to meet. But that can be amended in the future."
She smiled, met the blue and brown gaze.
"All the same, Urumi," she concluded, "do try to avoid going against her. I would much rather you sharpened yourself against me, come to that."
"Is that an invitation?"
"No."
They laughed.
"All's well," Urumi said evenly, later. "It's merely a stimulating idea—pitting myself against her—but that's all it is. For one thing, I happen to like her."
A lifted eyebrow and a smirk was the reply.
"Not that way," Urumi went on, faking a scandalised expression.
"I see."
"Mm-hm. I know we only met in passing before, and it was a long time ago, but I remembered her. And I've been hearing of her regularly for the past few years, so I feel as though I know her already, going from the genius of the things she's done. She's rather an admirable sort, is she not?"
"Yes, she is, though some people would disagree."
"Some people are just stupid," Urumi declared, while Chikane chuckled at the sight of her cousin's most disdainful expression—which was reserved for what the young woman called 'the mentally challenged'. Since Urumi had the lofty standpoint of a born genius, this meant that she doomed over three-fourths of the people she met into this category. Such was the haughtiness of great intelligence!
"Anyway, I've no problems with helping the two of you along," Urumi went on. "We should be able to give the archconservatives a good run for their money, Chikane."
"Then I shall get started on your adoption tomorrow. Is Nemura-san ready?"
"Yes, but don't call her that. It doesn't fit well."
A smile. "What, then?"
"Tomoko. You may add chan, I guess."
"As you wish. I amend my earlier words. Is Tomoko-chan ready?"
"Anytime."
"Good. Have her prepare a formal statement with her signature and seal tomorrow."
"Will do. And thank you again." Urumi sat back with satisfaction, inspecting her fingernails dreamily. "Isn't that typical, though?"
"What is?"
"That on the year you become consul, all sorts of interesting things start to happen. I can see them coming, even now." She smiled, cat-like and derisive. "Your consulship just might turn Hime upside-down."
"Even the hourglass must be turned on its head in order to usher in a new hour."
"Or a new era. It's going to be such an entertaining year."
Chikane made a suggestion: "I believe you mean 'controversial.'"
"Mm, but that is what makes it entertaining. It should be so much fun!"
"Yours is a fine approach," the other replied. "But I think some people would actually see it the other way around."
"Some people are just stupid," Urumi repeated, to her cousin's laughter.
Urumi's words, curiously enough, were being echoed leagues away.
"Some people are just foolish."
It was Shizuru who said this, talking to her bodyguard as she undressed. She was getting ready for her bath and the present conversation was an expansion of the one that had taken place a short while before, with Nao and Chie.
"This is one of the reasons for which I distrust people," she was explaining. "Foolish persons tend to act without proper regard for consequences. Strangely enough, they often pose more of a danger to those of intelligence compared to others who are less foolish. The unpredictability of a fool has foiled many a brilliant plan."
"Given their irregularity, I find them highly suspect," she said. "It is difficult to trust someone like that—though there are always exceptions. Still, I actually prefer to deal more with intelligent, dangerous people than with fools."
She stopped unwrapping her toga from her body and peered at Natsuki.
"I suppose that is why most of the people I trust tend to be dangerous ones."
The younger woman was sitting cross-legged on the tiled floor and she now looked up at Shizuru.
"Am I," she began to ask, lips slowly curving into a playful smile. "Shizuru, am I a dangerous one?"
"You most certainly are," Shizuru said with indulgence.
An amused sound.
"Besides being one of those I trust the most, of course," came the addition.
Natsuki smiled again, a little shyly this time. Shizuru returned to her task. She draped the sheet-like toga over her shoulders once she had finished removing it.
"At any rate, let us return to why I trust Chikane more than Reito-han," she went on. "But first, let me ask you something. Why do you think I trust you, Natsuki? You are avowedly one of the most dangerous people I have ever met. There is no doubt in my mind that you would pose a definite threat to my life were we ever to meet as enemies in battle—and I can say that of few people, believe me. Yet I have grown to trust you to the extent that I actually sleep defencelessly with you armed and ready in the same room. Why, then?"
The girl frowned thoughtfully. After letting her ponder it for a little while, Shizuru answered the question herself.
"There are several reasons for this, of course. Particularly in the past, when you were just beginning as my bodyguard," she told her. "Back then, one of the reasons was that I felt you were not foolish, nor was the king who assigned you to ensure my care. But the most important reason I have at this juncture is this: that I may dare to say you actually hold affection for me."
She tried very hard not to smile at Natsuki's blush.
"I hope I have not been wrong in saying that?" she teased. "At least I did not say something so daring as you actually being in love with me, you know. Unless you would actually agree?"
The smile she had repressed was forced out at the vicious colour swarming over the girl's face.
"It is your regard for me that allows me to trust you," she said, returning to their theme. "The same applies to Chikane's case. Her affection for me prevents her from considering a course of action that would be detrimental to my interests, even if said course would also be beneficial to her. The same applies to me, since my affection for her is a predetermined, invariable factor in any action. Her well-being, as far as I am concerned, is not a mere variable in calculation. It is a part of my life. Just as she has almost always been."
Natsuki nodded.
"She is a great friend?" she asked.
"Oh, yes. My very best."
"And the man?" she asked Shizuru. "This, um, Reito Kanzaki?"
The Himean began slipping her tunic from her shoulders, keeping the toga draped around her neck.
"His case is different," she said. "Among the reasons why I can rely on him is that he is not a foolish man. He acts with consequences in mind. He is a fairly dependable person, in that sense."
She let the tunic fall to the floor and kicked it lightly aside. She now began to remove her undergarments.
"However, I still do not trust him unreservedly in the same way I do Chikane—or the way I trust you, for that matter," she continued. "While I am on good terms with Reito-han, I still know enough to see that his regard for me is not of the kind that would make my wellbeing a preset concern for him."
She dropped her undergarments on top of the tunic pooled on the floor.
"Our relations are good enough to incline him generally towards consideration for me if I am involved, but they are not good enough for him to consistently reject a measure that would benefit him considerably while disadvantaging me," she stated. "His fondness for me is rather too light for that constancy, you see, as is mine for him."
Natsuki nodded again.
"And the other man?" she asked, at length.
Shizuru frowned at her.
"What other man?" she replied. "Aside from Reito-han?"
"Mm."
It took a while before she remembered: "Ah! Kazuya Kurauchi."
"Mm."
"Kurauchi-han. Well, it is actually different for him too," Shizuru admitted. "I said I would trust him a little more in the hypothesised situation because of his character. He is a naturally nice man, you see, and one who generally observes the dictates of popular morality as his personal creed. He is quite predictable, that way. Kurauchi-han would not stab a person in the back, insofar as he can actually help it."
Having finished her explanation, she turned to face Natsuki again. The toga covering her shoulders swayed as she moved, touching the floor.
"Well then, now that we have explained that," she said. "Would you please bathe with me tonight?"
She saw the change in her bodyguard's face, the younger woman's wide eyes conveying her surprise at the suddenness of the question. Shizuru smiled back. It had been a surprise battery since a while had passed since she last asked the young woman to share their bath.
All the better, she told herself. I just might be able to press that advantage.
"This must be the hundredth time I have asked you, but I actually have reasons this time—better ones than those I have already given," she told the girl. "We march just after dawn tomorrow. It is common sense to bathe before doing so, is it not? Particularly since we are in winter and fetching and heating water on the march is a greater challenge this season. Argus is a way off from here, and it may well be a while before we find a chance to indulge again in a proper bath. Hence we must bathe tonight—and if we do bathe tonight the way we usually do, one after the other, it shall take too long. That would mean that one of us—you, as a matter of fact—shall be losing time for sleep that is badly needed."
It seemed that Natsuki's surprise wavered a little here, although it was replaced by anxiety moments later when she dropped her eyes to the floor. Shizuru offered another justification, knowing the girl could sense what she was really after but was now only waiting for her to justify the leap, to provide the excuse the younger, far-more-fearful-of-sex Otomeian needed to willingly enter the trap.
"Furthermore, do you not feel the cold?" she pursued. "Even one used to the cold as you are would have to be mad to bathe in cool water. For the water shall have cooled by the time I finish, you know that. I would hate to have you develop an illness as we march or even before we set out. Far more efficient for us to use the same hot water together, while it is yet hot."
Still no response. The older woman resorted to her best cat-coaxing voice, feeling the wavering in the girl and pushing it further.
"Oh, come and bathe with me, Natsuki," she said. "I am speaking sense, for god's sake! Bathe with me already, else I will begin to think you really are afraid of me, under it all."
The girl looked up to scoff.
Oh, that pride!
"No?" she teased. "Then come here. There is no need to be shy. No one is or shall be here other than the two of us. You are making me feel bad with all this reserve. Do you not trust me, Child, even now?"
She felt a little bad for using their earlier conversation as an excuse. Still, she was convinced that Natsuki was not fool enough to fail to understand that all of these were merely excuses delivered for her sake. She wanted her to understand that.
"Tell you what, I shall not do anything you do not want me to do," Shizuru promised, trying to edge closer to victory by negotiation. "I promise that if I make you uncomfortable, you only have to say so and I shall remedy that."
Natsuki looked up again, eyes cautious but not intractable. She was almost in the trap.
"So shall you come over here now or ought I give you more reasons why you should? It is unlikely for me to run out of them—I am rather good at finding reasons for things I have set my mind on," Shizuru jested. "You should know that by now."
She was pleased to see the younger woman's lips twitch slightly at this, much like those of a person trying to hold back a smile. She hoped that meant she would not have to flog the argument to death, even though she was willing to do so if it meant a victory. She tried to tamp down her excitement as she held out a hand in the girl's direction, wagering everything on the moment being the right one.
"Come here, would you?" she beckoned again, smiling easily and invitingly. "I think we trust each other enough by now to at least be able to bathe together, Natsuki."
There was an instant where she was afraid that the other would refuse once more, but it vanished when the younger woman met her gaze. There was surrender there: an acquiescing nervousness in those bright green eyes. For her part, Shizuru kept her hand outstretched, focusing herself on ensuring it would not shake. She was soon rewarded when Natsuki rose stiffly from the floor and came towards her.
"Thank you," Shizuru said, smiling brightly at the young woman who had taken her hand. It was through this contact that she felt the extent of the other's anxiety, for the hand holding hers was deathly cold. It was an odd contrast to the heat rising from the water behind her, in the tub.
She pressed the icy fingers in an effort to warm them.
I hope my hands do not feel the same way, she thought with a bit of humour. An idea came to her mind and she bit back a grin at it.
I very much hope too that she is not thinking about Nao-han's frightening remarks earlier on plucking posteriors.
She looked up at the girl, whose eyes were twitching from one direction to another. She could almost imagine little animal ears coming out of the silky hair and flicking with nervousness. The girl could look so much like a cornered beast when it came to things that frightened her. Yet they obviously intrigued as well, else she would never have approached. Shizuru was convinced of that: of course Natsuki knew where they were headed! Shizuru would never have forced it had she not sensed the curiosity and welling acquiescence in her young woman.
Natsuki can always escape, was her determination. But only if she really wants to.
"I shall help you take these off," she said, looking pointedly at the bandages on Natsuki's hand. "Is that all right?"
Gaining permission, Shizuru began to loosen and unwind the linen strips. She willed her own fingers to be steady and not betray the excitement over what was to come. She finished her task quickly and let the linen bandages fall to the floor, not willing to bother with rolling them up properly just yet. Not when she had so much else to do.
"I shall help you undress," she told her bodyguard, keeping her voice as even as possible. "May I do that?"
She felt the younger woman stiffen. There was something pleasantly unsettling about that. It seemed to change the mood, and the change teased out a little of the anxiety in her too.
"Well, Natsuki?"
The girl met her eyes and a tingle came to her lips, which she realised were a little dry. Had she been breathing through her mouth the whole time? That was rather unsubtle. She licked her lips and Natsuki looked away, but not before giving assent.
"All right, then. I shall take this off first."
She reached up for the interlaced leather belts encircling the younger woman's torso, undoing their clasps as carefully as one performing a sacred ritual. Once the final belt was undone, she reached out, startling Natsuki a little when she slipped a hand around her to loosen the entire piece and slide it off her torso. The device dropped to the floor with a slapping, strap-like sound.
After that, it seemed oddly quiet in the room.
"I shall take this off now," Shizuru said to break the silence, her hands settling on the sash around her companion's hips. Natsuki swayed a little at the touch.
Shizuru's fingers ran lovingly over the sash as she searched for its ends. She found what she was looking for after a few seconds, and pulled them out from the tuck so that she could undo the knot. It was a little to the left side of Natsuki's back, so Shizuru had to reach behind her. The action drew them against each other.
"Umm."
Shizuru stopped at the sound and looked enquiringly at her companion. She forgot some of her own anxiety at the sight of scarlet cheeks, and paused what she was doing. Natsuki dropped her gaze in response and shifted her arms uncomfortably, trying to keep them from brushing the older woman's.
"Put your arms around me," Shizuru told her, understanding. "Rest them on my shoulders."
Natsuki complied, still resolutely avoiding her stare. Shizuru moved forward when she felt the clothed arms finally circle her neck, tentative even then. Their cheeks touched as she bent down a little more, and she continued what she was doing. It took a while for her to finish because the sound of the other's breathing was so close to her ear.
Letting the sash fall to their feet as all the other articles, she moved her fingers next to the trousers. Her hands skimmed the back before moving front, where she found the knotted ends of the drawstring cord. She undid the knot. When this was done, she slid her thumbs underneath the hem of the garment, feeling the arms around her neck tighten in response.
"Natsuki." She drew her head back a little, enough to see that the girl's eyes were closed. "I will take this off now."
Resting her cheek against the burning one again, she slowly began to pull on the garment. When she had widened the waist enough, she pulled it halfway down Natsuki's hips, after which the piece of clothing slid down of its own accord.
It was the furthest she had ever gone in undressing her.
She drew back from the embrace another time—though not enough to fully remove the arms around her neck—and stole a glance downwards. Her eyes greedily skimmed ivory-coloured flesh, trying to take in all they could.
Gorgeous legs, she marked, loving the sculptured, trimly muscled look of the slim calves and long thighs. Her view ended where a garment covered the pelvis, a sort of loincloth. She would have that white cloth off, too, sooner or later. But first she wanted to pay homage to those breathtaking limbs brushing her own. How could the girl have hidden them from her for so long? They were breathtaking!
Touching a light kiss to Natsuki's temple, she gently disengaged herself from the embrace, lifting the arms around her neck and placing the palms on her shoulders. Natsuki took the opportunity to open her eyes and looked up at Shizuru with a questioning expression.
Why did she look so frightened?
"I am just going to unlace your boots," Shizuru explained, trailing her fingers over the girl's cheek. "So that you may step out of them, all right?"
Natsuki assented. Shizuru pressed another kiss to the girl's brow, then knelt. The girl's hands stayed on her shoulders, their squeeze trembling and inconstant.
"Would you please step out of the trousers, Natsuki?" she asked, unable to resist curving her palm around one calf. It tensed beneath her touch, right before the younger woman complied with the request.
"Thank you."
She began unlacing the Otomeian's low boots afterwards. Once she had finished, she looked up again.
"Step out of the boots, please."
She assisted her by holding the boots while the girl lifted her feet from them. After setting the footwear aside, Shizuru eyed the dark socks protecting the Otomeian's feet. They were a contrast to Natsuki's pale skin and she found that fetching. She was almost tempted to leave them on.
Maybe next time, she thought, consoling herself by placing a quick kiss on the girl's knee as she peeled off one sock. Natsuki responded with a slightly stronger squeeze on her shoulders, although the sudden tightness of her calves betrayed her growing agitation even more than that act. The older woman smiled, coaxing her to lift her foot so that she could take the sock off.
When Shizuru worked on the other sock, a strange impulse ran through her and she gave in to it unthinkingly. Leaning forward until her head was on the outer side of the girl's leg, she angled her face and kissed the back of Natsuki's knee on its corner. It elicited a sharp gasp as well as a wild clutch of her hair from the younger woman's hands.
I see, she marvelled, placing a few more kisses there while ignoring the light tugs on her tresses. So this is a sensitive spot. How interesting. Her fingers had already succeeded in rolling the sock to the ankle, and Natsuki only had to lift her foot so that she could slide it off. But she wanted to try something first.
Keeping one hand wrapped around Natsuki's ankle, she braced herself by placing her other hand securely on top of the girl's thigh. She felt it flex in response, and smiled to herself. Then she leaned forward again and, turning her head to the side, licked the back of the girl's knee.
"Nn—!"
She grinned at the cut-off sound, feeling Natsuki's fingers pulling on her hair. She ignored them and pressed forward again, determined to hear that sound one more time. Her tongue flicked quickly against the same spot as before. This time, Natsuki did not cry out again but made up for it by giving several sharp gasps, her legs trembling violently with each stroke. Shizuru was delighted, although she had to admit she sorely wanted to hear a cry instead of just a gasp.
I will hear it, she decided. At least once more, before I stand up again.
"Natsuki," she said. "Could you lift your foot just a little for me, please?"
When the younger woman complied, she slipped off the remaining sock and tossed it away. As soon as Natsuki returned her foot to the ground, Shizuru began her assault and gripped the girl's thighs with her hands. She then turned her head to the side, latching her mouth onto the place she had been teasing. Sucking on it voluptuously, she was surprised by the sudden jerk of Natsuki's hand on her hair as well as the spasm that seemed to pass through the girl's limbs. But most of all, it was the sound: a whining, stifled whimper that left Natsuki's throat before the girl could stop it.
What a sound, she thought, her breath catching. She deepened her suction on the white flesh and was rewarded with another strained moan. It trailed off unevenly as she alternated sucking with nips of her teeth. The younger woman's legs started to shake with restrained violence. It seemed to Shizuru that the girl was trying to stop both her moans and her shudders but could not—and for some reason, she found that she very much enjoyed that.
She lapped again at the back of the other's knee, savouring the whimpers this provoked.
"Nnh—"
Oh god, that sound.
"Nuh–nnh–Shizuru, wuh–wait—"
Her mouth broke away at this broken plea, and she abruptly remembered what she was supposed to be doing.
So much for finally undressing her completely.
She sighed mockingly at herself and pressed one last kiss to the young woman's leg before returning to her feet. Her fingers dragged up Natsuki's thighs as she rose, eventually resting on the remaining garment on the Otomeian's hips.
"Forgive me for that digression. I shall continue helping you undress now."
There was no reply. Natsuki's head was bowed as she panted quietly and tried to recover from what had just happened, her eyes shut yet again. Shizuru raised one hand to lift her chin, seeing the true difference in their heights for the first time. It had long been obvious that she was taller, but the varying thicknesses in the soles of the footwear she had been wearing, added to her uncertainty as to the height of Natsuki's boot-heels, had also kept her ignorant as to how much taller she truly was. Now she realised she had about two more inches added to her already significant advantage, and discovered that she liked it—for it meant Natsuki had to tilt her face further back to meet her lips, and it not only exposed the younger woman's wonderful neck but also made her seem more vulnerable. As she seemed to be now, for instance, with Shizuru holding her chin up while kissing her thoroughly.
Sweet, the older woman was thinking as their tongues tangled. Natsuki was always sweet on her mouth. Her other hand was loosening the cloth around the girl's hips already, working it free of its tucks until she felt she could drag it down. They broke their kiss and Natsuki opened her eyes.
She looks like someone in a trance, Shizuru noted affectionately, drinking in the sight of the girl's burning face and hazed eyes. The younger woman was still panting, her hands still laced into soft waves of blonde hair. Shizuru watched the green eyes suddenly regain focus when her hand began to pull down the loincloth, a shot of panic streaking through them.
"Trust me, Natsuki."
Natsuki bit her lip and tried to turn her head away. Shizuru, in a fit of cruelty, refused to let her. The girl winced, the hand under her chin turning her face insistently towards a stare that was the colour of thickening blood.
"You are so beautiful."
Shizuru lifted one of her feet and used it to finish pulling the cloth down the girl's legs. Once this was done, she released Natsuki's chin. Natsuki did the same with the older woman's hair, dropping her hands to her sides as she struggled with a spasm of embarrassment that had her shaking and her legs drawing instinctively together. The Himean watched this for a few seconds, feeling unspeakably moved by the simple sight of the other's defencelessness.
"Natsuki," she said softly, using both hands to hold the younger woman's face. "It's all right, Natsuki. Please look at me."
Taking a step closer so that their near-naked bodies met, she moved one hand to Natsuki's back and began playing with the silky mane of hair, the other hand stroking the girl's sleek head as it buried into the crook of her neck.
I think I understand, Shizuru ruminated. This is a little disquieting for me too. It is also my first time to be so with another, after all. But she seems to find it so much more frightening. And she seems—no, she really is so young.
She crooned the younger woman's name, over and over. She could feel the nervous flutter of lips on her neck, hot and pleasant against her skin. And she could feel the rush of Natsuki's bare thighs on hers, which were only partially covered by the toga cloaking her shoulders. She could even feel Natsuki's breasts through the two layers of cloth separating them.
She pulled back. Natsuki was holding on to her, hands clutching at the toga just barely covering her body. She dropped a lingering kiss on the girl's lips.
"May I take off your shirt?" she asked. "It is the only thing left on you."
There was a pause.
"Natsuki?"
She almost sighed in happiness when Natsuki finally answered with a slow nod.
Her hands went to the front of the younger woman's shirt, skimming lightly over the peaks of the breasts underneath and outlined against the cloth. The hint of what lay taut and waiting under the shirt was incredibly provocative, and she began undoing the fastenings of the garment with painful deliberation, her hands now starting to shake a little from the effort of keeping her excitement under control. Already she could feel that wicked heat and slickness below, at the apex of her legs, where the desire seemed to form a knot twinning the one in her chest.
"There."
She finally unfastened the shirt, releasing it so that it dangled freely on the younger woman's frame. The open front revealed a pale strip of white skin from the collar downwards. She inhaled loudly when she tracked the strip all the way down, past the hips and to the shadowy, mystery-laden place between the girl's legs.
Then her hands were under the shirt, sliding the cloth from Natsuki's shoulders until it fell to the floor. The younger woman's eyes were lidded, her nostrils flaring. Shizuru could see the fine quiver of her lips and even hear the staggered breaths from between them. She studied the girl's face, noting all the indications of fear.
Natsuki looked so undone by her state of defencelessness. And yet she was making no move to cover herself either. Shizuru's eyes slowly dropped, lingering on the slim neck before moving down and taking in the rest of the body she had unwrapped. She felt her breath catch yet again, so overwhelmed by what was happening that she felt lightheaded. All she could have said, had anyone asked her how Natsuki appeared at the moment, was that the girl was smooth, hairless, and as handsomely put-together as a god. And even those words were inadequate.
I have marvelled at her face all this time, Shizuru thought, so blasted by the girl's beauty that she actually forgot to bring her slack jaw up. But ye gods, how could I have missed the rest of her for so long? I must marvel all over again!
After a while of staring, Shizuru finally saw she had let it go on long enough when she glanced at Natsuki's face. The poor girl seemed about ready to burst into flame, judging by the colour of her countenance down to her neck.
"Ah, Natsuki."
Cursing herself for her thoughtlessness, she drew Natsuki into embrace. The toga around her shoulders finally slid to the floor and their breasts slid against each other with a silky feeling that nearly made her reel. Something deep inside her was wrenching, and she inhaled sharply to alleviate it. Trying to ignore the feeling so that they could actually reach the bath, she murmured softly to the woman in her arms and urged her into their tub. Somehow, between her soothing words and caresses, she managed to get them both into the water.
The liquid lapped at their heated flesh without cooling it. Shizuru found herself sitting with her back against one of the short sides, making it possible for her head to rest on the edge. It was the position she favoured most when she bathed. However, for all her words earlier, bathing was far from her mind. Natsuki was straddling her hips, leaning forward with Shizuru's mouth on her neck and pulling at a pulsing vein beneath the skin.
She was making the sounds more and more loudly now.
Shizuru sat up, her hands cupping the other's rear underwater. Her fingers dug into the round flesh, pulling the girl closer until the white breasts were within reach of her mouth. She then abandoned Natsuki's neck and closed her lips over one breast, her tongue rasping slowly over the hard, honest little peak while her hands continued to massage the girl's behind.
She parted from the girl's breast after a while, giving it one last lick as if trying to imprint its taste on her tongue. Her hands came up from the water and she used one to play with the other breast, drawing lazy arcs around its needy little centre. The other hand began to scan the younger woman's body, slipping up to hold the curve of the waist before coming back down to knead a slender thigh.
"Natsuki, dear Natsuki."
She watched the girl's face, transfixed by its expression. Natsuki's eyelids were pressed tight, the dark brows above them furrowed together as if in pain. Natsuki's mouth hung open too, and sharp pants came through it in puffing, laboured bursts. A quick glance showed that the younger woman's arms were hanging at her sides, the hands clenching and unclenching in the water like those of someone drowning. Shizuru said her name again.
"Touch me," she instructed, smiling hazily at the other's glazed-over expression. "I told you before. You may hold on to me."
She smiled wider when one of the girl's hands came up to her shoulder. The other hand, however, held the side of her face. It left a wet trail on her cheek as it moved further back, the fingers digging into her hair. Shizuru's next words died in her throat as she caught sight of Natsuki's eyes, so intensely fixed upon her that it seemed they were incapable of seeing anything or anyone else.
Natsuki was leaning towards her.
"Natsu..." she began, halting the girl's lips a few inches from her own.
They looked at each other.
"Natsuki, kiss me," she said.
Their lips met so forcefully she tasted blood, but she did not mind. She felt the younger woman's arms circle her neck and replied by moving one of her own around Natsuki's waist. Her free hand went deeper into the water, landing on a quivering leg. It ran up slowly, and when she found the dark trench that she was looking for, she used one finger to tentatively explore it.
"Uhhnn..."
She smiled when Natsuki broke the kiss to moan, and studied the pained look on the girl's face as she continued the caresses under the water. It seemed to her that the hidden place between Natsuki's legs was even slicker and hotter than the water around them; how curious was that? She stroked that soft flesh again to test it out, and was gratified to hear another sharp sound break free from her girl's mouth.
How wonderful are the sounds this girl pipes, she thought, staring at Natsuki with unabashed desire. I could listen to them all day. And her face—oh, I could look at her face like this forever.
She continued her ministrations, enjoying the reactions they provoked from her lover. It was curious, she mused idly, that such tiny movements against that part of the younger woman's sex could cause her to lose all composure this way, her dark hair falling in damp tendrils over her face, and her expression beyond her control. It was curious as well that her hips seemed to be moving of their own accord, dancing lithely each time Shizuru's teasing finger reached a soft little nub within her wetness.
It was curious, too, that for every gasp the girl let out, a dull throb seemed to radiate from between Shizuru's own legs.
Paying careful attention to the young woman straddling her hips, Shizuru used her thumb to begin circling the tiny nub between Natsuki's legs, seeing that it gave the girl pleasure to be touched there. She was delighted by the reaction she got, which was a wild bout of shivers from the girl's body and a thick flurry of pleading moans. She watched with rapt fascination, unable to resist letting out a low groan as well.
Wicked love! she thought to herself, panting too. Is this what it means to be with a woman? To feel as though you could eat her alive or kill either she or yourself in the attempt? I want her to cry out again and I want to make her cry—I want almost to hurt her, though I want to soothe her at the same time. I am become a bundle of Want, of only Desire. I want nothing but her, and I want everything of her. And I am very much afraid that I am beginning to care less and less whether or not she will yield it.
She gave the nub under her thumb, so alike to a tiny and pulsing heart, a deliberate pinch. A cry rushed past Natsuki's clenched teeth.
My god, how can anyone ever get enough of this?
Her free hand came up from Natsuki's waist and clutched at the raven-coloured tresses, yanking them so that the younger woman's head was thrown back to reveal her neck. She closed her mouth over it in a rush, licking and sucking in a frenzy as she felt the girl's shivers grow more violent, her moans even less restrained. Hands tangled in Shizuru's hair.
"Nnn," came the whine, vibrating to Shizuru's lips. "Shizuru, please..."
This was followed by several brokenly whispered words in her language, which Shizuru did not understand. Nevertheless, the Himean understood the desperation in those mumbles enough to know that Natsuki was asking for something more. She knew just what it was.
A flash of alarm entered her mind at the thought, momentarily shunting away the white-hot fog obscuring it. How could she have forgotten about this? She knew that what she was supposed to do next would truly hurt the girl in her arms. That much she had learned from her perusal of erotic texts and from the stories of her friends. What she did not know was how to go about it to minimise the pain. Was there even a way to do that? She should have asked—whom? Ye gods, how did one even go about asking that?
Another needy groan jolted her from her deliberations. She looked up at Natsuki, who had somehow taken to pressing short, frantic kisses on her brow.
"Shi–Shizuru," she gasped, obviously reacting to the movements of Shizuru's thumb as it played with her harder. "Ah–ah–I—"
Her next moans fell into Shizuru's mouth: the older woman kissed her so slowly, so languorously, that it confused her body for a moment. She strove to match her tongue with the pace of that probing her mouth, striving hard to ignore the faster pace of the finger between her legs that was driving her mad. When she finally fell into the rhythm, Shizuru pulled back from the kiss and essayed a weak smile.
"Natsuki," she said huskily. "It may hurt a little."
A shimmer of confusion showed in the younger woman's eyes, bringing focus to them once again.
"Huh–hurt?" she asked.
Shizuru faltered.
She does not know, she thought, before answering herself: Of course she does not know! She did not even know how to kiss, and their culture is clearly different in treatment of this matter. Even if she pleaded earlier, it does not mean she knows what shall happen next.
The Otomeian had probably only been pleading on impulse, not even knowing what it was that she asked for. Shizuru took a deep breath, gathering her wits at this realisation.
Yet I have gone too far to stop now.
"If it hurts, hold onto me," she managed to get out, meeting the dusky green eyes. "Do not worry about hurting me. Or tell me if—if you wish me to stop. But I am warning you that it may hurt, so I shall attempt to be gentle."
Natsuki was panting even harder now, her hips still moving seductively against the stroking hand. She did not understand: all she understood was what her body was telling her, in a language it had never spoken before. Shizuru could see in her eyes that she had given over to this language's demands, could no more form the words to refuse than Shizuru herself could gather strength to resist. The culmination was coming, and it would not be stopped by either of them.
"Is that all right?" the older woman asked nonetheless, moving a finger carefully along the girl's flesh in search of the entrance. When she found it, she rested her finger just outside and asked again, though it was more of a warning. "Natsuki? May I go on?"
Natsuki looked at her distractedly, then moved forward until she had both arms firmly wrapped around the Himean's neck. Her open mouth sucked at an ear, causing the latter to shudder with pleasure.
"I take it that is a Yes," Shizuru sighed, ceasing the motions of her thumb and slowly pushing her finger inside. The lips sucking on her earlobe stopped, and she heard a gasp.
Hot, was her first thought, as she entered the girl cautiously. And like drenched silk. But then she felt around and came upon the obstruction she had been expecting, and she paused against its tangibility. She would have hesitated longer had she not felt Natsuki's hips move against her, seemingly willing her to finish it. She pulled her finger out, taking a deep breath herself.
Water splashed tauntingly against her chest, and she exhaled.
She put two fingers inside the younger woman, feeling the bit of membrane tear at the same time that Natsuki jerked and let out a choked cry. That cry soon turned into a whimper when Shizuru held her close with one arm, murmuring soft endearments into one blood-flushed ear.
"Shh," she whispered soothingly, feeling the slow protests of the younger woman's muscles both inside and out. "Shh, Natsuki, I'm here. It's all right."
She held her for some time, soothing her as she waited. When she finally felt the muscles constricting on her fingers relax, she kissed Natsuki's ear and slowly began to pull out. It still hurt the girl, she discovered. Even so, Natsuki's complaints were voiced without words, and the girl never once tried to pull away despite her shudders. It was with a relieved sigh that Shizuru greeted the time when Natsuki finally moaned in a way that indicated she had not made that sound solely out of pain. It prompted her to return her thumb to the tiny nub while thrusting in and out, mindful of the stuttered gasps coming her way. Natsuki's hands clutched at her, however, telling her the hurt had left or would soon be gone.
Before long, she felt the girl rock her hips again, now in time with her slow penetrations. The soft gasps in her ear turned fascinatingly moist. And the flesh around her fingers—the flesh around her fingers was sheer heat, she thought: velvety and tight and clamping on her invasion. She wondered for a moment if she could possibly fit another finger inside the girl. It seemed hardly possible, and yet she wanted to try it, in order to be able to feel more of that warm velvet around her.
"How soft you are inside, Natsuki," she mumbled approvingly, just as she slipped another finger inside; it went in almost of its own accord, she was surprised to see. "How delectably soft."
Natsuki reacted by moaning pathetically, rocking her hips faster against Shizuru's hand as the water lapped agitatedly against the edges of the tub. Shizuru smiled to herself, exploring with her fingers and paying attention to the younger woman's reactions in order to ascertain what gave her the greatest pleasure. After she found out the actions that seemed to do this, she finally began a steady rhythm with her thrusts, pulling and angling her hand up so that she could crush the little nub of flesh with her palm too, since it seemed to please the girl for her to do that. She pulled back a little from the arms around her neck, wanting to see the other woman's face as it contorted with ecstasy.
"Ahh!" Natsuki panted. "Hah–uhn!"
The younger woman bit her lip suddenly, in an effort to stop the sounds from issuing from her mouth. Shizuru saw it and quickly curled her fingers, delighting in the surprised gasp that provoked.
"Let me hear it," she demanded fiercely, her own breathing laboured. "I want to hear it."
Natsuki groaned in response, still attempting to cut off the sounds. Her face was suffused with colour as she bit back another groan, unconsciously shaking her head with embarrassment. Shizuru would have been amused were she not so firmly in the grip of lust by this time, a thwarted auditor and spectator determined to gain access to the full production.
"Let me hear you," she said again, actually a little angry. "Do not keep it from me."
She broke the rhythm once more, this time to add another finger and press against the narrow walls as they spasmed with shock. Natsuki's face twisted, a weak scream coming from her open mouth.
"Yes," Shizuru said with pleasure, staring adoringly at the girl's face. "Like that."
Natsuki kept a steady stream of moans and whimpers coming out now, her body flexing all over in a way that seemed almost as though she were in the death throes. Shizuru steadily heightened the pace. She felt a seeming increase in the wetness around her fingers. Everything, in fact, seemed more deliciously wet than ever before. Their skin, the warm water around them, Natsuki's sex against her hand, and even the place between her legs—all so intoxicatingly slick with heat.
Natsuki's moans were becoming more urgent. Occasionally, they were interrupted by feeble groans said in the girl's native tongue. Shizuru found the groans seductive. She laid a soft kiss on the parted lips near hers, tasting a hint of iron and recognising it as the result of the other's attempts to forestall her cries earlier. With each new sound, she thrust faster and harder, plunging so strongly into the other woman that the water around them seemed to be stirred up by an oceanic current.
"Shi–Shizu—"
She pressed the heel of her palm against the nub she had been rubbing earlier, desperate to hear her name on the girl's lips. The resultant thrash of Natsuki's head after her action whipped a few dark strands of hair onto her face. They stayed to caress her skin, stuck with mingled water and sweat.
"Would you say my name, Natsuki?" she asked, repeating the motion. Her tongue came out to lick at lips plump from bites and blood. "Say it. Now."
Natsuki gasped before submitting.
"Shizuru," she groaned, lapsing again into incoherent moans and mumbles afterwards. Shizuru could not respond this time, could only watch with the sensation of something burning thick and hot in the centre of her breast. Her entire consciousness was captured by the girl writhing on her lap, her ears tuned only to the sound of her name being adored by a voice squeezed from an instrument she had never played before. This was song, she decided, feeling as though it was not her fingers being pulled deeper into the girl. It was more than that, more than the fact that she was not the one being impaled or driven into a sightless rapture. It was herself being pulled in, sinking deeper and deeper into the blind warmth her fingers were torturing and beyond it.
"Shizuru—"
This again, followed by several beseeching words, exotic and heady to the older woman's ear.
"Oh–nnh–Shizuru—!"
Her movements getting even faster, more deliberate, as she willed herself to give the younger woman what had been requested.
"Ahh–ahh–hnn!"
How intoxicating, she thought, feeling the insides of the girl getting tighter yet again. It was as though the flesh was eager for her, urging her to take her fingers even further. She complied with its silent request, reaching in and beckoning to Natsuki from within. She heard Natsuki cry.
Then all she knew was the sudden contraction, the tightening walls of flesh and heat—oh god, what heat—which was like having one's hand in a furnace without being burned. She groaned as she felt Natsuki release, face red and hips rocking frenziedly against her hand. The girl was completely undone in that moment, weeping with pleasure, the cries jerked out of her. Shizuru watched as this happened, keeping her hand where it was driven into and against the girl's centre, the fingers still buried inside and resisting the walls trying to collapse inwards.
"My Natsuki," she whispered, entranced by what she could feel happening in the girl. "My dear, beautiful girl. You are mine now."
Then there were no longer cries. Only shaky gasps that trailed off into whimpers. Shizuru, for her part, continued to hold her lover close when it was finished. She drew out of the girl only when she felt the contractions on her fingers dwindle away slowly, the soft flesh still pulsing lightly from its ordeal. She saw some of the blood still streaked over her fingernails when she brought her hand out of the water and washed it off. Then she stroked Natsuki's head and waited for her to recover, murmuring praise and encouragement.
"You were wonderful," she whispered. "You were magnificent, Natsuki."
When the younger woman replied by murmuring her name again, she sighed with sheer pleasure. Her hands moved to encircle the lithe, trembling body, drawing the other so close it seemed she was trying to seal their flesh further than it had already been sealed. She kissed the gleaming black hair several times, disturbed by something ticklish in her throat.
It is true: she is my Natsuki now.
The girl shifted, still mumbling into the older woman's moist tresses. One of her hands came up to hold Shizuru's cheek, her mouth burning kisses through Shizuru's hair and into her scalp. She continued to whisper unintelligible words afterwards, the only lucid sound in her mumbles being the older woman's name, said again and again with reverence that could be accorded a god.
And Shizuru, receiving this, felt the lump rise again in her throat as she smiled.