Author's note: I want to thank all my reviewers. THANK YOU! (Hugs all reviewers)This will 

probably be short chapter because I am not perfectly sure how this fic is going to end.

 Until this I have just written whatever comes to my mind, but now I have kind of run out 

of ideas. I am quite sure that I want to make a happy ending but that is all I know for this 

point. I want to remind you again that English isn't my mother tongue so there may be 

some odd mistakes (I have lost my dictionary too). Try to enjoy and send me some feedback please.
 
Hangover
 
Rikimaru woke up and regretted it immediately. His head felt like it was going to explode 

in any minute and he had cold. Then he realised something: 
*Where is my blanket?*
 Rikimaru groped his surroundings eyes still shut hoping to find his lost blanket, but his 

fingers found only cold, moist stone floor. His eyes burst open ignoring the mother of 

all hangovers that tried to explode his head. He saw depressing grey stone ceiling.
*Where am I?*
Rikimaru turned his head and saw walls and floor that were made of the same grey stone as 

the ceiling. He turned his head in other direction to saw many empty wine and sake bottles

 and many shelves full of sake bottles. 
*I am in Lord Gohda's wine cellar . . . What on earth am I doing here?*

 Then his mind registered something so confusing that he forgot his other questions.
*Where the hell are all my clothes?*
Rikimaru stood up feeling himself weak and take few tottering steps and ran to the nearest 

empty cask because of the sudden, great need to throw up. When he had emptied his stomach

he started to seek his lost clothes.
*What the hell did I do last night? I hope nothing that I could regret later. I will 

never again get drunk. Why did I get drunk in the first place?*
 It didn't take long to find clothes that had been spread all around the cellar. His clothes

 were covered in wine or sake, ash and blood. Rikimaru couldn't remember was it his 

own or somebody else's. He had few fresh wounds in his body, like his old scars weren't 

enough. Suddenly he remembered;
*Gohda castle had been under attack. In the end Gohda clan had been saved by mystical 

white wolves and huge white tiger. [It was somehow familiar, like I had heard about it 

somewhere, but I can't remember where.] Lord Gohda and half of his army were dead. Kakeru

 had betrayed them all and killed princess Kiku. Why didn't I trust my feelings? Kiku could 

be still alive if I . . . *
Rikimaru knew deep inside him that blaming himself wouldn't bring the dead back to life, 

nothing would. Only thing he could do now was to give them proper funerals and remember 

them always.  
 
Rikimaru dressed in his filthy clothes, climbed upstairs and joined the group that had 

started estimate the damage that Gohda castle had suffered and rebuilt those damaged parts. 

He wondered where Ayame was and remembered that she had been quite exhausted after the 

battle maybe she was still sleeping in his room, where he had leaved her. Thought was 

relieving because he had feared that Ayame had seen him drunk last night. He couldn't remember 

anything after his third sake bottle and was afraid that he had maybe said or done something

 that he would regret. 
 
 
After two months of hard work the Gohda castle and its surroundings were rebuilt. Counsel 

Sekya and his colleagues were still trying to decide who would become the next ruler of 

the Gohda clan. They had started it right after Lord Gohda's royal funeral. Rikimaru had

 been helping rebuilt the castle and hadn't kill anybody over two months. It had been his 

longest holiday for years. Ayame had been avoiding him lately, Rikimaru didn't know why, but

 he didn't like it at all. Ayame was the most important person to Rikimaru and he was afraid

 of loosing her now that he had finally accepted that he loved Ayame.
*Why doesn't she want to see me? Did I say something insulting to her when I was drunk? 

I am almost sure that Ayame avoids me because of that. What other reason could it be?*  
He was fixing a fence when Sekya's voice interrupted his thoughts.
"Ah Rikimaru, here you are. I have been looking for you. We have finally decided the next 

ruler of Gohda clan."
"Who is the new master of mine?" asked Rikimaru.
"You." answered Sekya smiling widely. Rikimaru dropped the hammer that he had been holding 

in his hand without even noticing it.
"WHAT! No I can't become a Lord! I don't know anything about being a Lord; I don't know the 

rules or etiquette or anything."  
"Neither did Matsunoshin when he was chosen and besides I will teach and advise you as I 

advised Matsunoshin and his father before him. Besides people already respect you,

 it took years before people respected Matsunoshin as they respect you."
It felt odd that Sekya called previous Lord Gohda by his first name. Rikimaru took a deep 

breath before he started; 
"Counsel Sekya . . ."
"Call me Naotada as all previous Lords did."
"Naotada, could you tell me why you chose me?" asked Rikimaru confusedly.
"You are patient, friendly, wise, you listen advises, people respects you and I get along 

with you. It's more than I can say about other candidates. Oh, and it was also the

 previous Lord's wish that if he dies and princess Kiku is too young or some other way 

unable to rule Gohda's grounds, you will be the one who shall rule Gohda's grounds." Naotada 

Sekya said that last sentence like it was only some little insignificant detail.
"Can I somehow refuse from this honour?" asked Rikimaru hoping that he could do it.
"No, I don't think so." said Sekya. Still smiling he continued: "Well shall we return back 

to castle? You must move to your new chamber and make a speech to tonight's the party."
"A speech? What party?" asked Rikimaru. He had lost this conversation already and he was going

 to have a public speech tonight whether he liked or not.
"You have to make a speech to the party where I am going to introduce our new Lord to the 

Gohda clan." answered Sekya and bowed before him.
*This is too weird. Why this is happening to me? I never wanted to become a Lord.*
Sighing defeated Rikimaru walked to Castle and removed his possessions from his old chamber

 to the Lord Gohda's luxury, huge chamber which was his new chamber.
*I will never get used to this*

 thought Rikimaru as he placed his sword Izayoi hanging on the wall. He went to his 

new private library and read a little while. Then he returned his new chamber 

and wrote the speech. It wasn't perfect, but it would have to be enough.  
 
Author's note: I Hope you liked it. I would be VERY happy if you would send me reviews or 

questions or even flames. Because I need ideas to continue this story. This time 

I'll give some feedback to few of my reviewers. 
 
To Hecatonchires1: I would rewrite all my chapters better if I could, but I am not that 

good writer.
To Dragon Lady9: My mother tongue is Finnish.
To Hell: I think that in the Wrath of heaven Rikimaru seems to have feelings for 

Ayame. (And now I don't mean brotherly or friend kind of feelings)

 But Ayame isn't over Tatsumaru yet. That is how I see their relationship in the newest Tenchu.