He took her arm, pulling her closer to him

Authors Note: At this point in the story, Kiori and Boushin are talking about an upcoming war. The background info you need is that at the ball in Koutou, Kiori was taken prisoner and nearly raped. Boushin had to fight the so-called emperor of Koutou to get her back, but he still didn't manage to kill him. Koutou troops began to invade villages on the outskirts of Konan, and then declared war. Boushin knows his duty is with his father… but how will Kiori handle it?

He took her arm, pulling her closer to him. "Don't worry, I won't let anything happen to you" She smiled weakly, pushing a lock of hair from his face. He had his father's hair, which was beautiful to say the least. "I know you won't, but still…" Her voice wandered off. "Still what?" Kiori put her head down on his shoulder. "I don't want to see you hurt. If anything happened to you… I don't know what I'd do" He brought her chin up and kissed her lightly. "Don't worry about me Kiori. I can defend myself, and so can you. But still, I can't let you come" Tears welled up in her eyes. "But why? Why can't I fight by your side?" He kissed her eyes gently, kissing the tears away. "Kiori, please… don't try to stop what's already going to happen" He sounded so sensible… like his father. She wanted to trust in him, to believe what he said. "Boushin… I can't lose you… if I lose you…" he cut her off. "You won't. I'll be fine. So will everyone else" She pulled him tighter, crying silent tears into his robes. He looked into her eyes. It made her melt, it always had. "One last time Kiori, before I go" He kissed her deeply this time. Boushin wanted more than anything to stay with her, to make sure she stayed all right… but he knew his place was in the ranks beside his father. Slipping her hands under the robe he wore on his shoulders, she pushed it away from him. He rubbed her back soothingly; he knew it calmed her down when she was nervous. " Boushin..." he looked down at her. "Kiori?" Her voice wavered in a way that he had never heard it before. "I'm… I'm scared… I'm so scared" He cradled her where they were sitting on their bed. "Shh… forget it… forget the war… forget Koutou… just for tonight Kiori, don't think about anything else" She closed her eyes and allowed herself to be absorbed into his kisses. He knew he might not be coming back from Koutou. He knew that after one month of marriage, he might not ever see his wife again. He also knew that Kiori knew this. Kiori's arms were around him when she fell asleep. She didn't want to let go… she knew that her arms would be empty when she awoke.

Sure enough, she awoke cold and drowsy. Looking up, she saw the empress at her door with a tray. "I thought we could have some tea." Houki said, giving her daughter-in-law a hopeful look. Kiori pushed the covers away, looking slightly at Boushin's spot on the bed, which, even though he had left hours before, still had an indentation of his figure in it. Houki took the tea into the sitting room and sat down, preparing herself a cup. Kiori dragged the quilt off of the bed with her into the room.