Darkar Chronicles: Song of the Isles

by jedi7000nathan

Two years after the rise of the Golden Dragon Empire, Tatsumi sits upon the throne of the mightiest nation on the face of Eden. When a foreign King sends a diplomat offering his daughter's hand in marriage and requesting aid against an aggressive king Tatsumi accepts not knowing what would happen as a result. This is an alternate version of Hinowa ga Crush, pairing Tatsumixharem

6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6: The Deserter

Tenrou, Nahashu's bastion of Kikukawa… Nahashu sighed as he approached his home; his fief and lands entrusted to him by Zuou. Nahashu was in a somber mood, the discussions with Zuou about the Empire and what he could expect was not a pleasant experience it dug up bad memories; memories of abuse, dark deeds, and trauma; along with regret and self-loathing. Nahashu was known by a different name and bore great shame for his actions but also for his greatest sin in his eyes: his desertion of his nation that he served to the best of his ability.

Why was it that he chose to leave well like all things it began with a single choice? Nahashu walked into his palace taking a good luck at the various things; the statues of him in glory and of the Imperial gods, paintings and elaborate works detailing his actions; pictures of his family taken by a camera that he had imported from the Empire along with a large crate of film, and all manner of other things you'd expect in someone's home. It didn't cheer him but what did cheer him was the sound a of a young voice shouting "DADDY!" as a black haired blur in a little red kimono ran towards him.

"Miko" Nahashu said and smiled picking up his child and hugged her; she was one of twenty children Nahashu had with from his seven wives; the daughter of Aiko one of Zuou's many sisters the little girl had his bright gold eyes, a reflection of his past. "My father" he thought, the white hair the gold eyes, and a bastard to boot, it wasn't easy being the son of an ambitious politician or the son of the worst monster Eden ever spawned. Yes Nahashu was a child of Volgoth during his long possession of Honest Castnir; though it had been before that event at the age of 20 he was one of Honest's actual children the child of one of his secondary wives named Natalie, a prostitute that had taken his fancy and bore him children, Nahashu was a product of his father's depression and attempts to quell it before he began delving into dark pursuits before the crown had taken over him; it became more noticeable as a kid but growing up he wanted to be more than just another son of his father to prove himself and so after a long talk with his father he managed to convince him to put him into the training program for the Elite Seven and forgot about him after that. That was when he was still called by his birth name, Najasho: thinking of that name pained him, not least because he succeeded in the training but at what price he had become an Elite Seven but how many aspiring children his own age did he have to kill to get there and even more so when his father kept sending him the means to get thru the program, still he viewed his trainer and guardian Gozuki as his actual father.

After his training and because of his age and diligence he was given the position of leader and because of his status he was not required to fulfill the last test and kill his parents his father's role as Prime minister isolated him from such requirements. The only thing people he missed from his family were Lilianna his half-sister who was always nice to him growing up and his twin Nancy. That aside during his career he was a model soldier and pinnacle of Imperial discipline, yet the bureaucrats and military command never allowed him rise higher then Captain out of jealousy and loathing for his father which they took out on him. It all came to a head seven years ago, however.

Why did Najasho, leader of the Elite Seven, the Empire's model soldier their best special forces commander desert his nation and leave his family both old and new behind? Because of a woman and a mission gone horribly wrong a mission that gave him insight into how bad the Old Empire had become.

Her name was Annemarie Beatrice Gloryfield of the noble house Gloryfield, and she was and remained to the present day a beauty and- someone who did nothing wrong someone who was trying to do right. It had all been his father's doing a mission to kill her and her family for a slight a refusal to wed that monster and for obstructing his plans for war, it only took a simple document of false evidence to convince the Emperor to green light the mission and because the then Emperor had plans of his own that required him to play the long game he agreed and Najasho by his father's recommendation was sent: alone.

When he reached the estate, he infiltrated it disguised as one of the guards; no one suspected a thing when that night came he scaled the wall of the manor and opened a window to the room of Annamarie; a beauty with long lovely lilac hair and citrine eyes that opened to see him with his Teigu sword drawn instead of screaming she looked at him asked 'why?' What had she done wrong to justify an assassin of the Empire's Elite Seven to kill her?

That had made him hesitate and remove his helm; they talked, talked for some time and she methodically broke apart the arguments made and as he told her more about himself she- persuaded him further; but danger was still present, she woke her father and explained the situation and Najasho decided that killing them was wrong after some convincing he made his decision he and Annamarie would leave the Empire; go far from it into the Eastern lands beyond the Eastern Provinces where he had been sent and in doing so he would be presumed dead, he hated having to do it but he couldn't return to his family not his original family or his fellow Sevens not when he couldn't bear to tell them the truth. So, they left under cover of night dressed in the garb of travelers and taking only what was needed to start a new life. They did that during these travels he and Annamarie fell in love and some months after arriving in the east they married; Najasho only had one possible path that of the mercenary and soldier he was raised for war and knew not any other craft and Annamarie stuck with him thru this fighting alongside him and a number of Imperial expatriates to form the Band of Wanderers. About a year after leaving the Empire he and his company joined up with the band of a certain Prince, that being Prince now king Zuou of Tenrou, Zuou was a respectable man and treated Najasho and his wife and two children with respect; eventually news came that Zuou's father had died and Zuou decided those of his band that wished it could come to Tenrou with him for a new life where they could live the rest of their days lords of land.

Najasho during this time took a Wakokuan name; Nahashu and was entrusted a choice fief for his service to Zuou a man whom Nahashu believed was worth fighting for and 200 acres along with a strong castle, two towns and five villages were given to him along with the title of Daimyo and two of Zuou's sisters to wife along with a Meihou blade and suit of Meihou armor and the rank of Ten Star a prestigious rank; during his time in Wakoku he wed four more women, three human and one a Sea Elf from Amannar; Nahashu was chosen to be one of Zuou's top generals recognition at last for all the years of service that he deserved and that the Empire hadn't given him, his new home was great and like Zuou he believed that Wakoku needed to be united to ward off invaders.

Things had changed however in those years; the Demons had come; Nahashu's family made it thru that war unscathed but a number of soldiers that Nahashu had fought alongside for years died fighting them; his duties when not leading Zuou's troops were to educate them and train them in Imperial military tactics, for the commonfolk it was easier then with the nobles whom had long traditions that were adverse to change, soon however he formed armies and won many victories in Zuou's name making him lauded, he got along well with the other Stars with some exceptions for Moegi and Kuriaya, the former was a slut and he wanted nothing to do with her if he could help it as he was happily married to women that loved him and the latter gave him the creeps and reminded him of his former life with the tactics that they employed, they meaning that he never was sure of Kuriaya was a man or a woman or even human that mask concealed the identity of Zuou's spymaster whom was always watching everyone and anyone for any signs disloyalty, not that Nahashu would contemplate such things, especially now that the Empire had come to his new home.

"Why couldn't they leave us be and why did Zuou start a war with them" Nahashu thought as he held his daughter close to him and as he walked into the next room more children came to him along with his wives.

"Najasho welcome home!" Annamarie shouted, at her side were Nahashu's six other wives: Aiko and Kiki were two of the younger sisters of Zuou two of fifty sisters like Zuou they had black hair but had blue eyes, then there was Larulel; a Sea Elf of Amannar and diplomat whom Nahashu had saved from outlaws then there was Shion the busty and eager beauty that loved any chance to be with him and loved children A LOT, and lastly Kyoka, both exemplars of Wakokuan beauty from two different nations those being Muramase and Shimayana, where during peace time Nahashu had visited.

"Annemarie; I'm sorry I'm not going to home for long" Nahashu replied, she frowned.

"But you only just got back from campaigning what has changed?" Annamarie asked.

"The Empire is invading Wakoku" Nahashu replied with anger in his heart, Annamarie looked at him a mixture of surprise and- fear.

"Why though?" Annamarie asked.

"Does it matter? Definitely over something stupid if you want my opinion. At this point I'm not sure of the motives only that the New Emperor seems keen on adding Wakoku to the Empire" Nahashu explained, he took a look at her and walked forward into a hug his kids hugging his legs.

"Don't worry; but first Najasho lets think things over before you go and at least spend some time together before you leave" Annamarie suggested.

"Well, I guess it will take some time before the armies are ready I've given mobilization orders so we can spend time together a family" Nahashu replied, both smiled at each other and kids cheered. Nahashu spent the rest of the day with his family his children mainly; the little boys and girls most of them with his golden eyes and white hair, Eliza his eldest daughter foremost among them along with his twin sons with Kiki Elias and Gozuki that shared this trait. Time he enjoyed and for a time he forgot about the outside world and focused on his children playing with their toys with them, playing boardgames with them, playing make believe with them and even having a Tea Party with his daughters. After all this the day faded into night Nahashu was unaware of the fact that at the same time as he was in bed with his wives the man whom he would soon be facing as his enemy in war was doing much the same preparations for a wedding to Moegi and another a couple days later to Queen Saiha.

Nahashu was calmly unaware of these facts; Annamarie lay atop him naked which his other wives around him in a circle on his rounded large bed they had just finished easing his stress and he had filled each of them with his seed, he took a good look at each one, beauties, he had options to expand the harem thru concubines gained as spoils of war but he chose not to he was open to taking wives who offered themselves willing to him or concubines that did similarly but he was not one for taking people as spoils of war something that Zuou considered a little too nice of him he didn't care he wasn't a slaver or a rapist like some of Zuou's warlords another reason he didn't get along with Moegi and loathed when he was alive Kyoukotsu, he knew the reason though Zuou kept Moegi around, two reasons actually one she was WAY too good at her job and secondly she and Zuou were lovers and she had one of Zuou's children, that was motive enough to keep her regardless of things that she did in war. Nahashu didn't like a fair few of Zuou's generals for similar reasons; though he did have respect for a few like Yomihime and Amataru whom were warriors first and foremost though Amataru's habit of stitching the dead bodies of her enemies together was disturbing and creepy though compared to Kyoukotsu's habit of making furniture and bad artwork it wasn't too bad and Amataru did bury the bodies full honors in fact she claimed the stitching was to make sure that bodies were in fine state so that their souls wouldn't suffer in the afterlife; whatever the afterlife entailed.

For Nahashu he speculated that his may entail a good amount of fire and brimstone given his actions but given who brought him into the world he was destined in a way to have a large number of skeletons in his closet. That however was something that he had no desire to consider he simply focused on Annamarie; an hour passed he couldn't sleep; Annamarie noticed it. "Can't sleep?" Annamarie asked.

"Nope" Nahashu whispered back they looked at each other he rubbed his hands thru her lilac her.

"I noticed; you need your sleep Najasho otherwise you'll be in no position to lead troops" Annamarie replied.

"Maybe that's my intention; perhaps if I go on a sleep strike and not sleep Zuou will decide to send someone else to fight the Empire in Saryuu instead" Nahashu replied.

"You can't avoid your battles by having someone else them for you, besides what makes you think the Empire will be in Saryuu?" Annamarie replied.

"The fact that they've allied Soukai, the fact that Saryuu's king has a daughter in similar circumstances to Rinzu and has lost three of his four sons and the one that remains is a kid with two older sisters, the fact that he may think it's a good idea to do what Soukai did and join the Empire; I mean I can see the nobles wanting to join the Empire their lives won't change much beyond who is in charge of them and who they pay taxes to but the people are going to suffer if the Empire is anything like we remember it" Nahashu replied.

"And what if it isn't they've got a New Emperor at the demon invasion shook the world if there was any time for the Empire to have a change in its path and the way it worked it was during that war" Annamarie replied.

"I'd believe it if I saw it for myself but truth be told I'm a deserter and the new Emperor Tatsumi isn't keen on allowing deserters to live; everyone has heard the stories of forests of crosses from the Revolutionary Army and the fact that any deserter shares the same fate; far be it for me to judge but I'd be a dead man under him even if my crime was against an old regime it was still a crime against the Empire and new or old the Empire is still the Empire, you can put make up on a pig but at the end of the day it is still a pig" Nahashu replied, he then sighed. "This war is stupid and really an example of how hiding from our past didn't do much to help, you can hide from the Empire but eventually it will find you because it never stops growing; but still it's a hopeless cause, the Empire way more manpower then Tenrou could ever dream of and it's got amazing leaders and- still has Esdeath" Nahashu replied then shivered, at the same time a certain blue-haired general took a gaze off into the east out a window feeling a sense of someone had just said her name in fear thus causing her to smile before going to sleep. "Of all the people to survive that war just why did she have to be one of them? Anyone worth their salt knows what happens when she wages war that woman is a force of nature and an unstoppable one at that she doesn't just defeat the Empire's enemies she breaks them makes sure they don't rise up again; I can only hope for either mercy from the Emperor and the gods or to die in battle and not have to die on a cross" Nahashu added.

"You aren't going to get any sleep thinking like that; go to bed and stop worrying I've a feeling it will all work out fine in the end and you'll come out of this a whole lot better you'll survive you always have, and we'll be nice and safe" Annamaria replied and they both slept.

The following day in Soukai… Tatsumi woke up smelling of sex and with magenta hair in his face; he brushed the hair aside to see a smiling and sleeping Moegi holding onto him like he was pillow; if it hadn't been for the magenta hair he'd have assumed she was Esdeath as she was of similar build albeit she was shorter then Esdeath by about three inches, the fact that he was in bed with her wasn't a surprise he'd gotten used to waking up in bed smelling and looking like he did at the moment it came with who he was at this point he was the savior of Eden and the Emperor of the Empire women loved him and he loved women it was his only vice and the only one he allowed himself beyond light drinking. He did feel sore though and that was Moegi's fault as she had insisted on going at him for a few more rounds again he outlasted her but still she wore him out.

Moegi yawned and opened her eyes looking at Tatsumi. "Good morning handsome; oh, was last night a dream or reality, I'm guessing reality; oh, I don't think I've had that much sex with one person in my life" Moegi greeted; Tatsumi sighed she grinned. "Oh, don't worry I'm not going to do anything this morning I'm hungry and you and I are no doubt sore from all that fucking last night; I think I'll delay the next session for our honeymoon: that will make it all the more enjoyable; or I'll decide to bang you later today who knows I'm fickle when it comes to sex" Moegi replied.

"Do you have other interests apart from that, I'd like to keep that kind of chat out of the hearing of my many children" Tatsumi replied.

"Oh, that I do, I love poetry, history, battle strategy and tactics, fine art of all kinds and all manner of interesting things; so, what's it like being an Emperor?" Moegi replied.

"Hard work, but if I don't who will, my kids are too young and my cousins have no desire to rule, besides that would be running away from my responsibilities I don't do that" Tatsumi replied.

"Glad to hear it; so, what are going to be my duties as your wife?" Moegi replied.

"To love me and care for me, to bare and care for our children and those of my other wives, to protect the Empire when needs arise to fight at my side in battle and to do whatever task I need you to do which won't be often, and the remain loyal and faithful to me" Tatsumi replied.

"Then that's easy; also you need not worrying about me cucking you, I for one don't have a death wish and two everyone compared to you is a limp dick I don't think there is ANY other man on Eden that would come close with the possible exception of Nahashu but that prude is way more keen on his wives than anyone else I even offered to marry him once and he said no because he was afraid that I'd cuck him point being I won't sleep with any other man though I wouldn't mind time spent with my sisters-in-law" Moegi responded.

"I've got no problems with what my wives do with each other we're all family after all I don't care if my wives love each other more than usual" Tatsumi replied, Moegi grinned. "You'd get along well with Cosmina she's like you in a number of ways" Tatsumi commented, Moegi grinned.

"Sounds like she and I will be good friends; so how long have you been married?" Moegi asked.

"To Cosmina specifically or in general, in general 3 years and Cosmina again three years most of my wives came before I became Emperor, and that number went up after I began my campaign to reunify the Empire and again when I actually was formally crowned; every ruler on the planet wants to wed their daughters to me out of practicality for one reason or another; Rinzu is in that category but I love her she's the embodiment of everything I stand for and strive to protect and she's like me in a way well me about four years ago, naïve about this world of Blood and Lies with all that it entails" Tatsumi replied.

"I must meet her I have to see what is it about her that has Zuou so obsessed with her that he wanted me to kidnap her and bring her to him" Moegi replied.

"Zuou wanted you to kidnap Rinzu? I'm not surprised Kyoukotsu's orders were clear in that matter, we captured those at the same time we captured him" Tatsumi replied.

"Oh, I can see his reasoning, but it was rather stupid you know he told me he started a war just to have her; that's the way men like Zuou are they want what they can't have, and he wants Rinzu and will do whatever he wants to her as a trophy I've seen it happen to some other women over my time in his service also I couldn't help but feel jealous considering he already had me in his life what more could a man want" Moegi explained.

"What? Why though aren't you a woman yourself and why did you serve him so willingly" Tatsumi asked.

"For one he gave me a chance which is far more then my father was ever going to give me, secondly in the isles I don't know if the mainland has similar customs but when you win you take everything that your enemy owns, their wealth, their weapons, the land, their people, and their wives and children; in Wakoku you survive by being the best and strongest warlord around; besides Tenrou is my home what other nation would I fight for if not my own, but ultimately I follow the one who is strongest in battle and the best in bed and that happens to be you; I'm willing to give up a lot for you, I gave up my land, I'll give up my harem, I'll give up my ways of waging war and change to the new and better ways of the Empire, ultimately I stand to gain here; also what happens in wartime is something different from peace; in war men and women lose themselves in the haze and joys of it they rob, they rape, the kill, they burn; I've done all those things, but only to those who fight back who would've done that in turn to Tenrou, that's the way of the islands no one has ever gained power over all the islands because every time someone tries the other kingdoms band together to fight back; but let's be fair Wakoku hasn't ever been invaded by a power the size of the Empire for thousands of years not since the vile Yeenkarai did so and they're the reason no one ever has unified the islands beyond coalitions to check other kingdoms or against foreign invasions; the only powers that were stronger than us that are nearby were the Atlanteans and the Elves of Amannar and they shut themselves off from war and thrive thru trade; you know if Wakoku had more merchants and less warriors I'm convinced it would be more peaceful but then again money buys armies as the sword can oft be bought for the right price I should know I was a mercenary for a time" Moegi replied.

"You know I'm surprised Zuou was willing to let you sleep around with other men and didn't marry you himself" Tatsumi replied.

"In Tenrou we don't have the taboos that you in the Empire have, sex in Tenrou is something that most believe should be shared a woman who has known many men will be skilled to please her husband; a virgin is something that is rare in Tenrou as most men and woman lose that as soon as they are of age" Moegi replied. "Anyway, Rinzu is lucky to have you as her husband; I'd mind yourself about her though: Zuou is obsessed with her and is willing to do whatever he wants to possess her I know Zuou and when he has a goal he will do whatever it takes to achieve that goal or die trying, that means you have to keep an eye on her especially if Kuriaya is ordered by Zuou to send Ninjas to kidnap her" Moegi advised, at this Tatsumi was taken aback.

"What kind of things is Zuou willing to do? Hypothetically he were to capture Rinzu what would he do?" Tatsumi asked, Moegi remained calm frowned and shook her head.

"Hopefully such a scenario won't happen though the thought has no doubt occurred to you as it has to me; in such a case he would take her and a number of her ladies in waiting hostage and force them into his harem he'd marry her regardless of whether she wants to and would reduce her to a trophy for him to breed; he's done it before with the Kingdom of Ryuzya a small kingdom on a small island near Tenrou and the first external conquest of Zuou, that kingdom had been defiant against Tenrou for the entirety of the reign of Zuou's father Ishida and they had been independent for a 150 years after they broke off from Tenrou during the reign of Zuou's Great Grandfather, Zuou gave them the chance to come back to Tenrou peacefully, they didn't take it and he took their land, their lives and the daughters of the noble lords and the king as spoils of war concubines that are all subordinate to Zuou's first wife whom he adores: I hate her because she can be such a bitch towards any woman that so much as looks at Zuou the wrong way, I'm certain she has attempted to poison me specifically about fifteen times, word of advice that woman is more dangerous than her husband and twice as ambitious" Moegi explained. "Speaking of woman mind Zuou's younger sisters Kyoku and Satsuki those two are master warriors that serve as his co-commanders for his personal army and as his best generals outside of the Ten Stars they are not to be taken lightly, also its said in the isles that the women of Tenrou are like a poison flower, beautiful and deadly: every woman born on Tenrou is trained in the art of war like the men, every woman has their own way of fighting and some take war to extreme devotion like my fellow Ten Star Amateru, the woman is wedded to battle and sworn the God of War as Sohai Champion going around using that scythe of hers to mow down her foes like they were made of Tatami and crazy enough she takes no spoils of war for herself anyone she captures and anything she loots is sent to the War God's Temple in Etchu south of the capital of Muramase in Tenrou as a sacrifice to the god of war the captives are sworn to take the cloth of faith and the treasures are left as offerings, the one weird thing about her is her habit of sewing the bodies of her dead enemies back together just because she can and because she considers it important for their souls in the afterlife that their bodies be as preserved as possible before burial, also she never burns the enemy dead always buries them; Priestesses and Priests aren't celibate in Tenrou but I know for a fact that Amataru is a virgin and I have tried numerous attempts to correct that but she keeps on about a vision of whom she is to marry and bare children for the one whom the War God favors above all others the one who will conquer the world; I think she may be talking about you but I'll need to see for myself but given Amataru's unpredictability I wouldn't be shocked if you were the one" Moegi concluded with that Tatsumi flared up.

"So, let me get this straight if Rinzu were to be taken by Zuou he'd rape her?" Tatsumi asked.

"Rape is such a strong word, all is fair in warfare we say in Tenrou, but yes he would do exactly that he also is known for just torturing people when he's in a bad mood along with testing blades on criminals but that's normal practice throughout the isles the most crazy and disturbing thing he has done is eat the flesh of Mermaids something that is said to prolong a person's life and boost their strength stamina and endurance along with being virality agent; I personally thought you'd have figured that one out, in the isles anything that may be a crime in peacetime is not such in war why do you think Wakoku hasn't ever been unified apart from the disdain for Empire's spawned by the damned Yeenkarai it's because the kings, warlords, Daimyos and rulers only care for spoils of war normally they'll invade another kingdom take what they have and leave behind sacked cities and the corpses of their enemies and whenever some warlord gets it into their head to try to unite the isles the other kings without fail will band against that challenger: speaking of you'll have to watch yourself around the rulers of the other kingdoms, there are those that hate Zuou and would be willing to join the Empire but there are just as many that see you as a bigger threat and will side with him, and then you have kingdoms like Muramase and its triple alliance of kingdoms that'll just sit by and watch the whole shitshow play out, maybe they'd join you, maybe they'd join Zuou maybe they'll fight both of you or they'll just sit and stay at peace; they can afford to they have the strongest military in the islands" Moegi replied, Tatsumi was now enraged, Moegi noticed it. "Oh, please if your mad just remember I'm the messenger and if I've burst your bubble regarding your world perception on how the islands are then better I do it then Zuou or any of those who'd be crasser about it though I'm fairly certain Kyoukotsu would have been a warning to you" Moegi replied.

"I'm not mad at you Moegi, I'm mad at Zuou and no I've not been under any preconceptions that Eden is a world of Puppy dogs and Unicorns with everlasting peace and rainbows; it's just I'm disappointed that Zuou would stoop so low and angry at myself that there are still monsters of the human variety left on Eden and even more so that hold great power I may have wiped them out in the Empire, but it appears I'll have to redouble my efforts and make that effort global" Tatsumi replied.

"If it's any consolation you won't have to deal with any demons I know for a fact that Zuou isn't a secret Valtor worshiper and yes I've heard about that cult and fought against them during that War that Mattered as you called it trust me though I know all Zuou's personal secrets he told me everything I don't think he ever expected they my loyalty was to the one who is both best in battle and in bed" Moegi commented putting on a Purple, blue and pink kimono which shared the same pattern as her army flag. "I think today will be way more interesting" Moegi replied.

"So how many of Ten Stars are reliably on Zuou's side?" Tatsumi asked, Moegi chuckled.

"Are you trying to get into Yomihime's bed, if so you'd probably be able to the girl has a soft spot for sweets for starters secondly she has an interesting honor code hell she's never to my knowledge sacked a single enemy city; also she is such a prude and I enjoy trying to get her to lose that virgin status but all my efforts have done nothing the last time we spoke she told me to keep her out of my fantasies; look I was only suggesting a number of ways she could lose her virginity and my mistake likely was explaining the encounter in explicit detail which really didn't help my argument but I can't help it I've got such a dirty mind because I'm such a hedonist: speaking of are there any hedonists in your life?" Moegi replied, Tatsumi grinned at that.

"You should talk with Nancy about that; she's one though she's been faithful to me since we married; speaking of lets go find her" Tatsumi replied and the two fully dressed left the chambers where the Four Rakshasas were waiting for Tatsumi.

"Mez you and the other Rakshasas head to the brig and inform Yomihime that I'll be coming to talk to her personally" Tatsumi ordered.

"As you command my Emperor Tatsumi-kins" Mez replied, Tatsumi grinned and the four Rakshasas left. They only had to go down the hallway to find Nancy's room where the Night Empress sat surprisingly somber and in solemn prayer: that took Tatsumi by surprise as Nancy's religious life was something that was a rare sight and only happened on certain days of the year and- he noticed the photograph and stopped. "Come in Tatsumi-kun, I need the company" Nancy invited in a somber tone of voice.

The photograph was over a younger Nancy and a younger child with white hair and golden eyes. "It's that day of the year Tatsumi" Nancy commented. "Seven years now Tatsumi, seven years" Nancy said bleakly her face was not graced with a smile at the moment her gold eyes looked at him with longing and grief also tears hung though she had not been crying.

"Seven years since what?" Moegi asked, Nancy looked at her.

"Oh, you must be Moegi, I've been busy between caring for the children and personal reading along with sight-seeing that we haven't gotten the opportunity to meet: did you enjoy Tatsumi's touch, his caress, his natural bounty of a blessed body his royal phallus and the way it pierces your core?" Nancy asked, Moegi smiled gleefully.

"Oh yes: Fuck YES! I've- never had anyone like him before and it was an amazing experience and I need to have more soon enough; and here I thought it was impossible to find a man who could keep up with me; well now every other man is a limp dick" Moegi replied eagerly.

"Glad to hear you enjoyed: Tatsumi has a natural talent for this he can make any woman feel euphoric pleasure and ecstasy that nobody else can Asha certainly favors him indeed" Nancy replied. "Anyway you are do an answer to my question, seven years ago to this day my Twin brother Najasho died; he was dispatched on a mission by our father and never returned killed in action, only thing returned to us was a blood stained uniform and the locket I gave him for our sixteenth birthday he'd have not left that behind if he were alive; in retrospect it's easy to blame Volgoth for his death and that of everyone else that died during that period though to do so is- lazy as many compounding factors were in play, though in Najasho's case Volgoth was 100% to blame for it and that is the truth" Nancy explained.

"How was Volgoth responsible?" Moegi replied.

"Well this isn't common knowledge outside of Imperial family and I'd appreciate if you keep it that way there are people that would lose faith in themselves if they knew the whole truth: Volgoth possessed my father, though I was born before it became fully controlled in those days the demon was luring him to his doom, toying with his mind and his depression, my father lost his first wife in childbirth and shortly before that his mother to cholera, his father was a northern barbarian whom raped my grandmother and was killed afterwards when the Imperial cavalry slew him, but the damage was done; those Northern Savages from the Red Bears never understood what their actions would unleash on the world how could they have known that the child born of that unholy act would spawn the man whom would be an exemplar of order, righteousness and heroism but would also become the vessel for the greatest evil ever produced: my father was Prime Minister Valdis 'Honest' Castnir Grandmaster of the Order of the Radiant Dawn and unfortunately for all Eden the man whom would be possessed and killed by the greatest monster Eden has ever produced: Volgoth Ugor the most vile of all demons even more vile then his dark masters, millions of people of over centuries of history are dead because of that monster and my father had the misfortune of being one that demon happened to take as a vessel due to my father's curiosity and touching something he shouldn't have. He was controlled by that possessed by the demon his soul trapped in his body as the demon did ANY and every heinous act possible in his name in the shadows: but sometimes my father broke thru he never let the demon do evil to his children except when the demon had the mastery of him and that only happened twice; two of my brothers became demons because of that monster both damned for all eternity, not to mention how many he warped to evil and thus rot in hell as damned human souls: 29 in all that's how many of my siblings he dragged down with him" Nancy explained. "Najasho however wasn't one of them, he badly wanted to prove himself to father his whole life, and try as he may nothing could please that demon that had mastery over our father and he went to extremes joining the Elite Seven program and becoming an Elite Seven against all odds and even then regardless of how successful he was neither father nor the officers gave him his just due for his service, Volgoth sent him on a mission that would have earned the trust and- that was one he died on; I've got many reasons to hate that demon from his raping of my adopted son Kobi to possessing my father and warping my mind for the purposes of me sexually pleasing him or encouraging my relationship with my brother Syura and any number of reasons hell I even had attraction to Najasho and he would have warped that relationship with incest too: but above all these crimes the fact that he sent my twin to his grave for his own sick amusement and sick games its- his worse crime in my eyes apart from plunging Eden into madness and war; especially since he was my little twin and I was always sticking up for him as a kid; what happened when I wasn't there to watch his back? He died and I only hope it was quick" Nancy concluded then teared up and leaned into a hug from Tatsumi.

"That is- horrible; I- don't know what to say or how to react to this: well, let's talk about happy things unless you have business Tatsumi?" Moegi replied.

"Actually, I do, I've got a wedding for you me and Queen Saiha from Wako" Tatsumi replied, Moegi laughed.

"You and the Pirate Queen? Oh, that's just wonderful and too good, I wondered what she was thinking when she rejected Zuou well I guess she had better taste then me at the time: oh, I must see to making amends: by the way we'll need to see my troops and explain to them the situation, actually I'll handle that best that I give them the news and see what they think but first I'll cheer up Nancy she and I have a lot to talk about" Moegi responded Tatsumi left them.

Shortly… Tatsumi walked up the ramp to board his ship with Tsukushi and Poney to either side of him, the two Empresses fulfilled their duties as both his wives and protectors exceptionally; though it was hard for Tatsumi to focus with Tsukushi pressing her breasts against him as they walked, whatever deity had decided to give sweet kind and caring Tsukushi a bust to rival Esdeath's must have been a pervert, fortunately deities of Eden weren't in the habit of banging mortals unlike some gods of other worlds so Tatsumi didn't have anything to worry about. At least on the surface as the fact that today was the seven year anniversary of Najasho's death impacted the former Elite Seven members deeply; with the exception of Akame whom hid her emotions involving him behind a mask of happiness but that was mainly due to Tatsumi ever since the war had ended Akame always smiled and had joy in her voice which was a sharp contrast from the cold emotionless killing machine she had been when they first met but Tatsumi didn't dwell on that Akame as she was now definitely was a lot better than the cold machine and given the fact that since the war had ended she was for the first time in her life happy as she had everything she could ever wanted and everything she always wanted what she wanted was a loving family and she had one now Kurome was of a similar mind but mainly because she hadn't been on the team when Najasho bought it and she had replaced him.

When Tatsumi approached the brig, the officer on station saluted and indicated towards Akame whom had been waiting for him to arrive, both swords sheathed at her side and dressed in a red regal kimono with a ruby studded golden tiara in her hair which was tied back in a ponytail to the side of which were roses cut out of fine ruby, Tatsumi knew that while she was dressed as a Empress at court she could draw both blades faster than a blink and the bracelet on her right forearm was the dormant version of her Teigu Armor Gozuki's Legacy, though in her hands she was holding the book Teigu Wongo-Wongo which she was actively reading. "Good you're here, just reading up on our next destination after the wedding and that my husband should be Saryuu, its right next door and in dire straits; also the prisoner hasn't tried anything by the way according to the warden and the guards which is good she is also still in there also Dorothea told me to give you this" Akame greeted and pulled from a bag on her hip a piece of stationary paper with notes regarding the weapon that had been captured along with Yomihime; apparently it was on par with a Dragon Emperor Era Imperial Arm or a Dragon Arm, the lesser Teigus as they had been called, the weapon itself was however impressive in that it was in a dormant state and the level of power may be off, the Meihou as such weapons were called in Wakoku was on par with an Imperial Arm something that completely had Dorothea stumped as to how such knowledge had come into the hands of the Kingdom of Tenrou or to the isles in general, granted however records involving Wakoku were hard to come by as the kingdoms of said isles were deeply secretive and history itself was based largely on embellishment of every leaders great deeds and chunks of it had been lost due to the many wars in the history of the islands as some warlords obviously didn't care much for saving defenseless books and scrolls from the fires after a bloody siege battle.

"Interesting according to this Yomihime's sword is a Teigu or similar enough to it they only questions I have are how was it made, who made it and what was it made of: if there are other ways of Teigu manufacturing that means that perhaps there are other nations that have the means to make such weapons: that's a whole different can of worms for later though right now I'm going to talk to our guest" Tatsumi replied.

"Don't you mean prisoner?" Akame quipped.

"Considering the way that I've ordered her and had her treated I consider her a guest that can't leave until I say so which by the way the lengths to improve her condition were pretty extensive" Tatsumi replied then grabbed the bag from his side.

"What's in there?" Akame asked.

"Candy and no you and Kurome can't have any it's for our guest a little bird told me that she has a sweet tooth" Tatsumi replied, Akame chuckled, Tatsumi went down the hallway to the cell and entered it to find Yomihime meditating.

"I brought you a gift" Tatsumi greeted.

"Wonderful, is it poison?" Yomihime asked it was in jest obviously.

"Nothing of the sort; I personally don't engage in such measures to deal with my enemies I prefer the direct approach in doing so and right now said direct approach is diplomatic so here a little bird told me you may like these" Tatsumi replied and handed her the bag, the sweets inside surprised Yomihime as they were the exact kinds she liked.

"Thank you, now mind telling me how you found out what candy I like and what bird told you" Yomihime asked after eating a few sweets.

"Just the newest addition to my harem a friend of yours" Tatsumi replied.

"It's Moegi isn't it, of course it is, only a Ten Star would know that, so did you beat her army and take her for your own? Or did she switch sides based on lustful attraction" Yomihime answered.

"She challenged me to an endurance test: I passed, and she passed out" Tatsumi replied.

"Figures: you know though about her bedroom habits, but I don't care about it never have whatever she's interested in I'm not; also I'm not before you get an ideas celibate I'm just someone who finds her habits of sleeping with men out of wedlock and trying to convince me to join in- repugnant and I prefer to be as far away from her as possible but apparently even then she insists on following me: though I doubt she knew I was still alive or that Zuou knew that either you did tell her I was alive didn't you? Don't answer I know you did you just admitted to me, how the gods have cursed me of late, to be captured in battle instead of meeting the death I should have met and the first person from Tenrou that knows I'm alive is the one person I'd rather not know about me being alive if only because she'll come to annoy me some more" Yomihime replied.

"I've got other questions, did you know Zuou started this war over Rinzu?" Tatsumi asked.

"Of course, I did obviously, he ordered me to start it for him, you know why I did it? Because it was my duty to do so as Samurai, the duty of a Samurai is to serve their master and follow their commands to the letter, do I regret starting this war? Personally, yes considering the amount of people that will die as a result and because it is fool hardy to fight a nation that has virtually limitless resources, some of the best leaders in the world leading its armies, and the Savior of Eden as its Emperor" Yomihime answered.

"Do you know what Zuou had planned for Rinzu, for Soukai, for the Empire if he had been allowed to go unchecked" Tatsumi asked, Tatsumi looked into her golden eyes some reflection of the danger beast who bore her in the womb was visible inside as she regarded him with interest and curiosity of the kind that was trying to understand him.

"Not the full extent of his plans, he wants to rule the isles all of them and then once that is done who knows I suspect that he does indeed has his sights set on the lands of your Empire though he could look eastward or southward there are many lands to take that aren't in the dominion of a mighty Empire; as for Rinzu I cannot understand his obsession with her though I do know that his intentions I suspect would be political to keep Soukai from rebelling against him I assume that she'd become part of his harem I don't care for such things as you know though he has tried to get me to join it but as you know I could care less about such things and he at least respects that; but I don't know his true intentions regarding her" Yomihime replied.

"Do you believe that my marriage to her is both just and fair in terms of law and love?" Tatsumi asked, as if on cue Rinzu arrived.

"Tatsumi-kun!" Rinzu shouted and hugged him. "I was looking for you and Moegi-san told me where you were" Rinzu explained, then noticed Yomihime looking at her with- surprise and well awe.

"Rinzu this is Yomihime, Yomihime this is Rinzu my newest but also loving wife; while you've been imprisoned we've married and as you can see we are both happy with that choice; now you can answer my question please?" Tatsumi explained and asked, Yomihime's expression felt some shock.

"Yes- your marriage is definitely just and legal if we are speaking by the laws of Tenrou, Soukai, the isles as a whole and I assume the Empire, have you- consummated that union it's important for it to be recognized" Yomihime answered.

"Indeed, we have done that hopefully a little sweet angel is growing inside her and maybe he or she will inherit her lovely singing voice" Tatsumi replied he then smiled, it wasn't the calculated smile of a politician but one of legitimate happiness driven by Rinzu being near him something added to by Tsukushi and Poney also being close at hand along with his Rakshasas. "Could you bring yourself to harm such a beautiful and kind and caring human being like Rinzu someone who has done no evil and is pure in heart and good beyond measure? Or allow anyone to do the same" Tatsumi asked. "Also, way too kind and innocent for this world" he added mentally grateful though that Eden was a lot better than it had been three years ago before he had left Karsawa and headed to Melitine not knowing his destiny in a way back then he was like Rinzu completely unaware of the world's true colors that Eden was a world of Blood and Lies.

"Never! It would be dishonorable to harm such a person, it would be heinous, vile, evil, it would be an afront to my honor and my own heart and to every principle and value I stand for and I'd refuse to allow anyone else to do the same" Yomihime answered firmly.

"Yet you serve someone that aspires to do great harm to her, to reduce her to slave to his own sick perverted and twisted desires, someone who wants her to a point that he willing to do anything to have her even throw away the lives of his people and start an unwinnable war and all to take such a sweet, kind, and beautiful woman and break her into his slave Zuou is that man; I'm sorry if I'm shattering your world view but it has to be done I've experienced it myself and thus done my best to change it and still am giving my best to do so and I know the pain you must be feeling right know, but an undeniable truth of our world is that it is a world of monsters and worst are those in human skin I've done my best to wipe them out from the face of Eden but still there are those that remain; evil is evil I'm loathe to kill, I HATE killing more than the people I've had to kill and considering the monsters I've killed that is saying something, I hate to have my people go to war, people of my Empire that love me to such an extent they are willing to die for me I hate that truth and loathe to throw them into battle knowing that some of them aren't going to return home fathers and mothers whom send their sons and daughters to war not knowing if they'll return and the many things that the fallen could have done with their lives prevented from those goals because of a single man's ambition and lust for that which he can never have it is the duty of the living to carry on the memories of those whom had died" Tatsumi explained, Yomihime rouse up.

"Zuou isn't like that, no- he isn't he hasn't ever treated me in such a manner nor Nahashu, or Moegi or Amateru or any of the Ten Stars or any of his people; he has always been kind to me took me into his band after my father died gave me the chance to prove my clan honor as the eldest child he cannot be the monster you claim he is" Yomihime replied firmly strong in her convictions.

"He wants to rape Rinzu, he wants to make her his slave, he would burn all of Soukai, all of the Empire, all of Eden to possess her; can't you see that, he was willing to have you start a war and willing to send you to what he knew could potentially be your death for that, also I know for a fact that he thinks you're dead, hell Moegi thought you were until I mentioned I captured you alive; point being he sent you to die such in a fool hardy manner, is there any honor in throwing one's life away so recklessly to die for a man that is driven by his own sick desires his obsession with something he can't have a man whom allowed a monster like Kyoukotsu to ravage, rape, and murder people and make them into twisted blasphemous and profane false art and goodness knows what other monsters are in his service, to allow his soldiers to rape, murder, rob, burn and raze all to destroy any opposition to break people? A monster that has warped people and taught them to do evil. Why in the world would you support such a monster!? I've seen his ilk before, killed his ilk, put them down like the monsters they were and hated having to do so because I hate the fact that they had fallen to such a level that killing them was the only thing I could do and in some cases I did worse, the only one I wasn't able to put down but wish I did but was denied doing so by Volgoth killing him first was the worst of them all, he raped my little girl he raped my Kyoko she was only 12 at the time! Yomihime! Monsters like him fight for Zuou and what does he do, does he kill these monsters like any just and righteous ruler should like I have, no he allows them to ravage the lands; I've seen monsters; seen what they could do, and they are lowest form of human life even lower then deserters, lower than anyone save demons; they are like Skaven they are all of them vermin! They are demons in human skin! And Zuou is just like them!" Tatsumi ranted in reply, Yomihime opened her mouth to speak.

"Don't even try to put words in his mouth: I know full well what Zuou would have done to me anyone knows how he treats his harem you know why I rejected his offer of marriage because I had no desire to be in a loveless marriage, a marriage only because he desired my lands, my inheritance, my body, viewing me as little more than another trophy in his collection of women: some may love him but know that all that is an act: also Tatsumi you don't know the full context of that offer I was so enraged that he'd want me that I smote the head from the diplomat I started this war with Tenrou but Zuou would have started it anyway even if I hadn't; I was acting out and I regret it but I swore to myself that night that I'd never let my kingdom fall to Zuou, I swore never to be his slave, even if I had to submit my people to the rule of another I'd do it just to keep them safe from him; Yomihime if you think that Zuou is an exemplar of honor and good then you've already committed yourself to being his slave to follow his orders without thinking for yourself; you know what is the difference between a free woman and slave? A free woman has the ability to choose: I knew that by marrying Tatsumi I'd be giving Soukai to the Empire but I chose to do so on the fool's hope that he'd be better then Zuou and that he'd even accept my offer to begin with, I've never been so happy to have been proven right to have not only chosen wisely in marriage but also to have been blessed to have married such a kind and loving husband, yes he has a harem but that's to be expected of any monarch however he treats every woman in it with love, respect and genuine affection; Poney and Tsukushi can attest to this; who else would speak in Tatsumi's honor of how he is just, kind, loving, and wise beyond his years; that he is the messiah of Eden the savior of all that dwell on this world under the two suns and three moons and the slayer of the greatest monster to cause suffering to our world" Rinzu interrupted, her eyes filled with passion and conviction.

"I'll speak on his behalf too! Of all his wives of all those he's impacted I don't think anyone else can claim to have been impacted in the way I have been I live because of Tatsumi" Kurome began. " He was kind and caring towards me from the day we met, I was distrustful wrongly so, but I also suffered from a sick addiction to a vile drug made by Volgoth's spawn Izel, that vile poison ravaged my body stunting my growth rendering me infertile and dooming me to die, but Tatsumi didn't give up he along with the genius that is Dorothea worked to cure me; he tended to my needs, always visited me when I was bedridden save when he had other business, and when that vile poison drove me mad he was there to save me from myself even though I strove to kill him that moment; still though he saved me, Dorothea gave me the cure; Salvation it healed every ravage done to me over my life but that medicine wasn't my only salvation: Tatsumi is my true Salvation and my savior without him I'd not be standing here; I married him happily and have borne him three children and I've got two more in my womb as we speak and I love and cherish them as much as I do him but he gave me a family and more importantly reconciled me with my sister" Kurome explained tears from her eyes she then held Tatsumi affectionately.

"Would Zuou inspire such devotion? Would Zuou do such acts of kindness in selfless manner? I don't think he would he only shows such kindness if it benefits him" Moegi commented arriving. "Unlike you Yomihime I know him intimately know his ambitions; I followed him because was at the time the best in battle and the best in bed; I was wrong to do so: Tatsumi I've only known him for a day but still I know he is better than Zuou in every possible way; he is a leader worthy of my blade of my honor and devotion I will follow him not only as his wife but as my lord and to atone for the wrongs I've committed; the men I've raped, the cities I've razed every life taken and ruined all for Zuou's ambition his shaping of my mind that will be my punishment and my repentance for every single thing that I've done; I refuse to be a monster; not anymore" Moegi explained admitting her faults then crying Tatsumi comforted her. "I was so evil can you ever forgive me? Can I ever truly make amends for my crimes?" Moegi asked Tatsumi.

"Your crimes were not against me as such I cannot judge you for them it's not my duty, but you are right your way to redemption Moegi is to make right all the wrongs Zuou has wrought using you as a weapon; in my service you can have repentance, I'll discuss more of how you can redeem yourself spiritually" Tatsumi explained; he then looked at Yomihime she had broken down to tears and began crying uncontrollably; Tatsumi entered the cell and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I know the pain; I've felt it; for a time I fought for a horrible monster's cause; a man whom was responsible for the death of the parents of one of the women I love dearly, and I made amends for it, ended his ambition and even when he faced oblivion he was determined to die for his evil beliefs; he was like Zuou in a way; nice and caring on the surface but beneath it he was a monster: a rapist, a slaver, and man who was willing to murder innocent children for his own ambitions; like Zuou he let his pride and ambition blind him viewing me as a true threat even as the demons were on the rise even as I warned him that Volgoth was the true threat; he didn't listen and the woman whom he wronged most killed him; his vile plans and ideals extinguished for all time only to be remembered for his evil deeds and justifiably so; any man that would murder children for his ambitions is evil, any government founded on that very concept is evil, any man that would rape and enslave innocent men and women for their own power is evil just as any nation that would do such a thing is likewise evil; but truth be told just because a nation or a cause may be ruled by evil people does not mean all that serve them are evil nor that said evil can't be purged from that nation; it was not the case in the Empire it isn't the case in Wakoku, you aren't evil you know you aren't you do serve an evil man but you can change that; join me join my Empire that when it was established shed not any blood of its subjects, a nation where anyone can follow their dreams and be what they hope and want to be join me and you can redeem yourself and your honor" Tatsumi proclaimed with conviction tears from his own eyes shed; it was then that Yomihime stopped crying and- lept up to kiss him; holding him; he held her and kissed her back; they broke the kiss and they looked each other in the eyes.

"No one has ever shown me such kindness nor spoken such truths: not Zuou, no one save my loving father and mother; gods rest their souls, I can't deny it anymore you should be my lord and master not Zuou; I pledge myself body and soul to you Emperor Tatsumi my skills, knowledge, and my very self are yours to use as you see fit" Yomihime explained.

"Are you sure; remember though that you'd be free to do as you wish in my service I'd not require anything unjust of you" Tatsumi replied.

"Yes I'm sure; my Emperor- I- never lost a fight before until you bested me; and you showed me mercy; Zuou said that if I were to lose none would be given, he lied; you've not only showed mercy but kindness, respect and honor; I would marry such a person I beg of you to do so; take me as your wife or at least your concubine; for my sake I cannot bare to leave your side" Yomihime responded, Tatsumi kissed her she returned it; they broke the kiss.

"I'll take that as yes; and yes if you want to marry me you can just are you sure about that?" Tatsumi replied.

"Never been surer about anything in my whole life except my love for my family and candy; by the way do you have more sweets I'd like to taste whatever the Empire has on offer in terms of them" Yomihime replied.

"You can have all the sweets you want and more I'll give you love, a palace and manse to live in with me, dresses of the finest fabrics, weapons and armor made by the greatest of craftsmen some I'll make myself as I am a master smith, perfumes, saffron, myrrh, frankincense, pearls, marzipan, anything you desire I can give it to you, even children and family" Tatsumi replied, she giggled, then stepped up.

"Right now, I feel like I need a bath; showers and the clothes you've had brought to me have been well and fine, but a soothing bath is what I need along with more sweets also I'd like my sword back if your scientist wife is done looking it over before you ask I figured you'd immediately want to understand what a Meihou is exactly" Yomihime commented, she then giggled.

"According to Dorothea's research they are functionally the same as Imperial Arms also called Teigus do you know where they come from?" Tatsumi asked.

"Well, I can't say exactly it's not my area of expertise, but I can share some general knowledge; there are different ways they are made and by different people; the origins of the techniques are something I'm not familiar with at least in Tenrou we've always had the means to make them as have the other kingdoms; though the best have always come from Murasame and that kingdom guards the secrets that they know with the strength of a river" Yomihime replied.

"I see; is there anyone that would have such knowledge?" Tatsumi asked.

"Not that would be willing to share their secrets: the Meihou in Tenrou are forged by a class of Smith Priests, devoted to the Goddess of the Forge Ayimana, but getting any knowledge out of them is rather difficult given that they would sooner tear out their own tongues then speak a word of how they craft their works to someone outside of their order; in order to join the aspiring smith must take a vow of service for life to work the forge to your dying day: the grandest of these forges in the Moon Forge under Mt. Kayagogi in the eastern part of Tenrou. But other kingdoms have their own ways to forge the Meihous Tenrou's smiths are among the best in the island unrivaled save by the smiths of Muramase; it's said that the art originated there and if you think the priests of the Forge Goddess are secretive well the knowledge of the smiths of Muramase is so great and well-guarded that a foreigner simply asking about how they are made in sight of an official would result in that traveler's eyes being put out and them being thrown into a fiery pit to die if the authorities got wind of it they are that secretive" Yomihime replied.

"Thanks for that information; now Akame will see to getting your weapon returned and getting you equipped Mez go and inform the guards that she is free to go and Suzuka inform the locals on Soukai that Yomihime is now an Imperial citizen and any attempt of harm to her person will result in charges pressed and imprisonment until trial whereupon if found guilty the punishment will fit the crime" Tatsumi concluded. Akame led Yomihime off to get her weapon; Tatsumi was looked at by Kurome.

"I think we need to spend some time together Tatsumi; Alone." Kurome said seductively, Tatsumi and Kurome left the cellblock heading for their chambers: Tatsumi was ready for her but even still she managed to push him onto the bed without issue she then undressed seductively while Tatsumi did the same, Kurome had changed a great deal since their relationship had begun she was now 20 and had been 17 when they first became romantically involved; that greatest being her body, she had grown to a massive height even by the standards of humans: 7'6, which was a result of Salvation which not only restored her bodies functions but sent her growth into overdrive, it took about a year for her to finish growing; the only things however that remained consistent after this were her face, her jet black eyes, and her short black hair, now however she was a busty goddess with the figure to match; looking upon her naked body her ample f-cups the same size as Esdeath's defied gravity. Kurome soon straddled him and kissed him passionately; as his wife she knew how to care for him and he for her; considering that he was her true first and her messiah she had loyalty that was above and beyond. "Tatsumi-kun" Kurome moaned as she took Tatsumi's length inside her, Tatsumi eagerly drank from her breasts to her cooing; and from then on things became passionate.

Meanwhile in Tenrou… Zuou sat on his throne in contemplative thought thinking about what he would do today, as much as he wanted to take to battle and lead his troops his skills at the moment were best used running the kingdom from his capital, his thoughts were disturbed when his herald arrived in the room followed by a few soldiers with the captive; one whom jittered and shook with trauma. "My Shogun these men have been sent with tidings from General Moegi, Nagisa Castle has fallen and here before you is its former lord" The herald introduced, the prisoner was brought before Zuou, to his side Muzachi stood at attention and followed Zuou as he stepped of his throne towards the broken man.

"Your name?" Zuou asked.

"Hiro of the clan Ishizawa, not that it matters, nothing for me matter; my home, my wives to be, my concubines gifted to me by my father, my virginity all of them gone and taken from me by- the Hungry Wolves and the She-Wolf, she took them all- took them all; burned my castle to a ground; a scar on the lands of Saryuu a scar, not sure, not sure about the others: now why am I here? What happens to me?" Hiro replied, the man shivered in terror: Zuou took a look at him and regarded him with pity.

"What will happen to you? Well, I considered making an example of you but an example has clearly been set by my Ten Star and another is not needed which you can consider yourself fortunate for this mercy as I can devise far more grievous ways to make an example of you; no what I'll do with you is send you to live the rest of your days in a nice solitary monastery in the Kahachi mountains north of here: there you will take the cloth and become a monk and live the rest of your days in contemplation of the gods and wise words consider this mercy from your rightful Shogun" Zuou explained.

"I don't know how to respond, why such mercy?" Hiro asked.

"Because I don't believe in breaking a broken thing further than it already has been broken, also I'm in a good mood today and since you've already been made an example of there is no need to make a further one; soldiers take him Hoja Monastery he'll live out the rest of his days there also inform the abbot he is not to leave that monastery under pain of death, do you have any other news?" Zuou asked their captain stepped forward knelt and then rose at a signal from Zuou while the soldiers lead the former lord away.

"Yes my Shogun, as you know already Nagisa Castle has fallen, General Moegi has headed toward Soukai, she gave the order to raze the castle as the means to hold were- not available as the army with the exception of the five of us went with her to Soukai, however Saryuu has been weakened considerably; we also recovered some military missives and army documents when the castle was taken, General Moegi sent them with us; Saryuu's military has been battered also the King has lost his sons to battle with other forces sent to attack them; they've been holding out but their defenses can only hold so long; the only children King Hideyoshi has left is his daughters Kotohana, Kokoro and Ino and his youngest son a boy of a mere three years of age; Saryuu's sons have been spent so severely that those men that remain marry as many widows as possible to save the future generations they are kingdom on the verge of breaking and another attack will spell doom for them barring outside intervention they are ready to fall" the Captain replied, Zuou looked over the documents, grinned at the news then handed them back to the captain.

"Take these to General Nahashu he is already preparing three armies for an invasion inform him that he is to set out as soon as those forces have finished mobilizing after that you and yours finish this task disband and may return to the fields you've served me long enough and I'll pay you twice the average pension for your services and a generous severance package along with the allotted lands that Moegi has already promised you and your fellows you've fought long enough my soldiers and you've earned your reward for your services" Zuou replied.

"Yes my noble Shogun, we thank you for your kindness and generosity towards us" the captain thanked.

"No need the duty of the lord is to his people first and foremost and those who've fought long enough deserve rest from their toils; one more thing though captain would you do me a favor and find me a courier I have a message for General Moegi , by now she'll be in Soukai and I'd like her to know that her service will be rewarded soon enough after she brings me Rinzu" Zuou responded, the soldiers left along with the herald and Zuou turned to Muzachi whom was regarding his lord with a patient expression. "Don't think I've forgotten about you Muzachi, speak your mind you've been waiting long enough" Zuou ordered.

"Yes my Shogun and my lord to whom my blade and bow are sworn; regarding Moegi are you confident she will succeeded in the task you've given her?" Muzachi asked, Zuou regarded him with a neutral expression.

"Moegi is someone I do place a good deal of faith and I noticed that she has taken everything of value to her when she left, apparently her loyalty is such that she is willing to risk everything she has ever been given to succeed, as to whether she'll succeed is something I cannot be sure of, I do know though that she is the best weapon in my arsenal and without her I'd be hard pressed to find a replacement; soldiers and weapons are easy to find but military minded strategists are much harder to acquire I'm having enough trouble finding a replacement for Young Yomihime, ah too eager to prove herself I hope her death was honorable enough to please the gods" Zuou explained.

"Are you certain she'll follow thru with your orders; perhaps her loyalty isn't as ironclad as mine" Muzachi replied, Zuou frowned.

"The possibility of her betraying me is one I've considered as I have with any and all of my Ten Stars including you Muzachi, but I find it very unlikely she will betray me unless the Golden Dragon Emperor proves to be as good with words as he is with war or better in bed and battle then me as she would say" Zuou responded.

"And if she does join him or has already?" Muzachi asked.

"Then we are in deep shit; when it comes to assuring loyalty Moegi's has always been my first and foremost concern, for all her- eccentricities, she is a military mastermind on the level with the Golden Dragon's Esdeath and she is just as ferocious as the Ice Empress on the battlefield, thus she's been my prime concern from day one since I created the Shogunate and took the throne I've done everything possible to insure her loyalty and if she still turns against me then I'll admit I'm in greater danger then I thought initially, the Empire is a formidable enemy with near limitless resources and brilliant military minds, take away one of my best counters to them and turn it against me then it is conceivable that this war will be completely unwinnable" Zuou answered.

"This war; all because of a woman is she worth it though, many of our soldiers are dead either on the soil of Soukai or claimed by the deeps of the ocean and we face an invader with more power than any in the history of the isles; all because of a woman one that while I'd say that either you or me would desire to take her to wife more than any other I myself wouldn't have started a war over it" Muzachi commented, Zuou frowned.

"This war was inevitable Muzachi, even if I had allowed the dragon's union with Soukai and his marriage to their princess to go unchallenged eventually slowly but surely all Wakoku would be under Imperial Reign and I a vassal to foreign ruler an Empire and no matter how benevolent it may be it would still be an Empire, fact of the matter is Muzachi is that the Empire is poised to rule Eden, can you imagine what that would entail Tenrou would be just another island in a massive world spanning Empire, its people cogs in the Imperial machine and reduced from the power we once held: Tenrou once ruled all of Wakoku until the Empire of Yeenkar came and conquered and enslaved our people, I'll not suffer another Empire to rule Tenrou or the isles of Wakoku at large not again not after the torments inflicted against us by those cruel enslavers and their demon masters; but more importantly I'll not kneel to any foreign ruler no matter how noble and good no matter if he is the Savior of Eden I'll not bend my knees before him nor allow my nation to become a province in a spanning Empire not after the Yeenkarai ruled these isles not after what they did to our people, the chains that bound us in pain and agony along with slavery not again: Wakoku is Tenrou's and Tenrou is my home and land to rule I'll not suffer any others not least an Empire from that cursed continent of Adonai that spawned the tyrants of old and whose people have committed the worst of crimes, remember what Nahashu told us of the Empire when he came here, it is a sea of filth, poverty, corruption and vile people Tenrou will not be part of it not while I draw breath I've already decided that I'd sooner die then bend the knee" Zuou explained, Muzachi nodded in agreement, Zuou returned to his throne and resumed contemplation; unaware that his fears regarding Moegi had already come to pass.

Meanwhile on Katahumi Island near Soukai … Moegi sighed and wept with grief at what had happened, about a thousand of her soldiers now were dead and buried; when she had come to inform her troops of what had occurred they all eagerly agreed to follow her regardless of the new loyalties, the trouble had come when she had informed her soldiers of the new rules and her engagement; many soldiers were unhappy with this and a faction rose up to attempt to kidnap her and keep her for themselves, it had been a lopsided slaughter as the rest of her army remained loyal and Moegi herself was forced to kill many of them herself, it was painful for her to admit that perhaps her own habits of banging her troops may have gone too far as some of them had become devoted to the point of obsession and would not have her marry and took breaking up extremely hard. The most she could do for them was give them a quick death by her blade and to bury them an improvised cemetery on the small island where she had chosen to hide her force after this was done she loaded up her army and returned to Soukai; at the same time the troops from the Golden Dragon Empire had begun arriving as some ships had slipped pass the Ocean storms, these troops numbered 20,000 bringing Tatsumi's numbers up by a sizeable amount, these troops had been put to work training and equipping the Soukai volunteers and soon after Moegi's return her own troops with Imperial weaponry, armor and fighting tactics.

Even still being with Tatsumi wasn't much comfort for Moegi and she decided to take out her feelings on the whole mutiny in the only way she knew how apart from banging which was only going to bring back the memories of the fallen at that point in time. That way was by writing a dirge, a funeral death poem for those who had forced her hand that had made her give them the mercy of a swift and simple death. "Sons of Tenrou, my lovely wolves. I trained you for war and took you to bed. Death claimed you all" Moegi wrote, she then inscribed a dirge for each one of them as she knew each one by name, a thousand poems written in the space of an afternoon and during which Tatsumi refrained from disturbing her as he was preoccupied with other matters.

The whole experience made Moegi take a look at herself and come to a realization: that she had been in the wrong from the day she first took up the sword in Zuou's name, what honor would a leader have that allowed their warriors to despoil and ravage those who couldn't fight back; yes war was hell but she didn't need to make it worse for people that couldn't help being caught up in it; sure she didn't have her troops kill or murder those who couldn't protect themselves but she still let them rob, rape, pillage, and burn the livelihoods of these people which was even worse because at least the dead didn't have to deal with the aftermath of war, the living do and how many lives had she ruined even more so when she factored in that she had eagerly taken part in the mass rape and looting that would follow battles: too many lives had been ruined, but even then she refused to let that affect her new life; this would be her redemption for her crimes and Tatsumi would give her that chance and she had pledged herself and her Naginata to him as both his loyal vessel and commander but also as a wife an Empress.

Later… Moegi grinned as she wore her a purple, sky blue and burgundy kimono, it was her favorite dress as it also had yin-yang symbols decorating it but the reason that it was her favorite was because it made her completely unrecognizable from her military persona especially considering it was a way more conservative dress then the type she usually wore though it still presented a decent amount of cleavage; she had also finished applying a good amount of makeup and tying her hair in a ponytail in addition to putting on her best jewelry; the reason for this could be summed up in one-word: Tatsumi.

Moegi simply had to find the Four Rakshasas as they were with Tatsumi at all times and those four stuck out like sore thumbs but that was the intention best to let people know the Emperor's best soldiers whom are sworn to protect the Emperor at all cost are at his side willing to respond to and neutralize any threat to his person before Tatsumi could even draw his sword; when Moegi walked up to the four Rakshasas it took her only a single sentence to convince them she was no threat and needed to see Tatsumi and they let her pass thru the door to a private garden courtyard of the castle with only one entrance and where Tatsumi and Rinzu were spending time together, it was a scene out of a storybook and the two were holding hands while looking at the flowers in bloom, to the side a statue of the goddess of fertility, love, family, marriage, sex, and nature Yoruhime overlooked the young couple; even though Rinzu was one of many wives she was obviously a favored wife of the Emperor and had become a treasured, loved, and protected woman to Tatsumi; it was as Moegi walked in that Rinzu began singing a sweet song about the spring flowers, that voice made Moegi freeze and- relax, feeling happiness all the pain and sorrow that still lingered after her change of heart and writing of the dirges was extinguished and replaced by euphoria and the sweetness of spring, all happy things in Moegi's mind came to her forefront, happy memories from her childhood, her first kiss, her first sword, her first poem, her first younger sibling, her first time, her first Meihou which she still used to this day and all manner of happy memories were in Moegi's mind all at the same time, and then there was Rinzu, her music brought out fully the good that was inside Moegi's heart and brought to the front, soon after though the singing stopped and Rinzu along with Tatsumi were looking at her with surprise as they hadn't expected her to show up.

"Moegi?" Tatsumi asked, Moegi teared up.

"I'm sorry if I was interrupting a sweet moment, but please don't stop singing; I've never felt so much joy in my whole life at hearing that melodious voice" Moegi replied, Tatsumi stepped up and gave her a hug, then with all the grief of a child who has realized they had been horrible rotten and wanted to badly make up for it cried, and then after tears told him every single crime that she had committed admitting her guilt just to get all the pain out of her; Tatsumi didn't frown or turn angry with her he just listened and looked at her with pity in his eyes, Rinzu then began singing again, a song that Rinzu had learned from the many songs of Soukai, and this song was all about finding the good in all things no matter how dark and dreary they had become, she then sung more and more until Moegi had calmed down and looked at Tatsumi.

"Feeling better now?" Tatsumi asked.

"Yes- you aren't mad at me for what I've done?" Moegi asked.

"I understand cultural differences also while you've committed crimes they weren't against my people and weren't considered crimes by your nation, the important thing is that you feel genuine remorse for your crimes and want to make amends for them; Moegi I've dealt with monsters and you aren't one of them; you're just a woman confused and brainwashed by an evil man into doing evil deeds that while you may have enjoyed them you knew were those actions were evil deep inside; at heart you're a good person: I've a friend who was once like that; but the evil in him died and he since has made amends for it: if you want forgiveness you've gotten it from me already, if you are worried about your soul then I think I can help you with that too, and if you want Rinzu to sing so more go ahead and listen as long as we give Rinzu time to rest her voice" Tatsumi replied, Rinzu giggled then placed a reassuring hand on Moegi's shoulder.

"I'm willing to sing a few more songs but then I'll have to give my voice a break" Rinzu explained, Moegi chuckled and Rinzu did sing for about another half-hour; the two woman then sat by Tatsumi's side in the courtyard as the suns began to set.

That night… Tatsumi fell asleep after an exhausting experience with Rinzu and Moegi, the two had worn him out and he had done the same for them, as he slept he dreamt; dreamt of Rinzu dreamt of her and him spending time together; at first the dream was pleasant enjoyable but it eventually became warped by repressed fear; Tatsumi found himself nailed to a cross while having to watch Rinzu be violated by Zuou whom had become a human with the head of a wolf; it was made even worse when in that nightmare a She-wolf did the same to him and Rinzu shifted from being Rinzu to each of Tatsumi's beloved wife's and soon Zuou warped into Volgoth and all the while Valtor looked on laughing and berating him.

Tatsumi woke up that morning breathing heavily while Rinzu whom had been sleeping on top of him looked at him with confusion and worry. "What happened?" Rinzu asked.

"I had a- terrible nightmare; I'm not going to get into specifics just it was a fairly bad one and if it wasn't for the fact that I drove a sword into his skull I'd assume Volgoth was playing mind games again with me like he did constantly after he first regarded me a threat: those nightmares were horrible ones, ones of- everyone I know and love dying in horrible fashion; it's probably a lingering after effect of Volgoth; I've still had nightmares since I defeated him and those are just part of me worrying that one day that demon will come back" Tatsumi explained.

"How could he come back?" Rinzu asked, Tatsumi was certain she wasn't aware of how demons functioned.

"Well, you can't truly kill a demon for good, you can only banish them back to the hell they came from; they'll come back eventually if they want to and Volgoth HATES me with a driving passion even more then I hate him if you can believe it" Tatsumi explained, Moegi yawned and woke up. "Good morning Moegi" Tatsumi greeted.

"Damn you're up already; not a surprise you have the stamina of three dragons and then some" Moegi remarked. "So, when should we get married; I'd like to get that done and out of the way with so that I can dress like an Empress and have a legit excuse to bang you" Moegi asked.

"Do you even need a reason? Moegi we'll marry at the same time as I marry Saiha, and Yomihime too; by the way I'd like to know what her strong suit is as a general so that I can make sure she's where she'll make the biggest impact" Tatsumi replied.

"Well that's an easy question to answer; Yomihime is very much a lead from the front commander like me though she specializes in singling out enemy commanders and taking them down which is why Zuou sent her to deal with you; she is an unrivaled duelist and blademaster there are only four Blademasters in the isles that can actually beat her one on one; those being myself, Nahashu, Muzachi and Zuou himself, everyone else she beats in a one on one fight so best use of her is to have her as either your battle champion or at the vanguard of your elite infantry, she is also a skilled horsewoman so leading your shock cavalry would not be unsuited for her; now for me well I'll command and control find the weak point of an enemy force and take full advantage of it, I've never used the same tactic twice in the same battle trust me when it comes to the art of war there is no equal native to the isles" Moegi explained she then smirked and closed her eyes at the last bit visualizing the many moments in battles that she had been at the spearpoint of a battle plan the eye of a general that always knew where the key moment in the battle would be and would always go right for it; it was a rare trait amongst Eden's many military commanders and what was what distinguished the master tacticians and brilliant strategists from the decent commanders. Moegi clutched Tatsumi and wrapped a hand around his length though any plans at reenacting last night's events were interrupted by the door opening and Aria dressed in her best dress walking into the room with the Four Rakshasas at her side. "Time for a new day my Golden Dragon; more troops have arrived and Najenda has arrived with the advanced force along with General Rokugou whom has been made Consul for this campaign" Aria explained.

"Good Rakshasas ready my attire I need to look the part of the gallant ruler that I am" Tatsumi replied, and after a few minutes of grooming and dressing Tatsumi was as ready for the day as possible the last step was to put on the Dragon Crown and his Dragonscale cloak made from the scales of Glauradrost with an ornate carved dragon head that rested on his left shoulder, with these placed on and his sword at his side he walked out accompanied by his harem; whom were likewise dressed to impress. On the way to the port where the army was waiting Rinzu asked Tatsumi an important question. "So why are you called the Golden Dragon Emperor instead of just Emperor?" Rinzu asked.

"A good question, truth is I made the title up for myself as a challenge that I've since lived up to and because the world was ending and I figured I may as well go by a badass title; anyway it's an honorific, every Emperor and Empress of the Empire has one; it's a title given on ascension to the role and usually given by the monarch to themself when they come of age; my cousin didn't have an honorific as he wasn't of age to have one while he was Emperor; anyway as for the honorifics the names are also applied to spouses: for example Aria is called the Angel Empress after my nickname of Capital Angel for her: same thing with Esdeath and Cosmina and every member of my harem, usually when I give someone the honorific its usually either a sum of what they are as a person, what I know them best for or just a way for me to sum them up as person" Tatsumi explained.

"So, what about me? Do I get an honorific?" Rinzu asked.

"Sure, how about the Song Empress for your beautiful singing voice and the ability to soothe even the most grief-stricken of hearts; also, when you fight in battle or during sparring there is a rhythm to your sword technique" Tatsumi suggested.

"I like it; the Song Empress, that sounds nice and simple; best to keep it that way" Rinzu replied.

"Simplicity is often the best option; the simplest of choices in my opinion are the ones that make the biggest differences and the smallest acts of kindness shape our very lives I should know right Aria?" Tatsumi explained.

"True, that's how we met; I simply saw him another person down his luck in the mean streets of Melitine and out of my love for showing kindness to others took him in so that he'd at least survive the night; how was I supposed to know that my choice saved our world and changed my life forever; I don't regret it and am glad to have been blessed in such a fashion" Aria replied, then held his hand ever so tightly and leaned against him before holding his arm. "Tatsumi, my sweet Tatsumi" Aria cooed; Tatsumi smiled his Capital Angel always brought joy to him and he to her.

They arrived at the port soon after; Tatsumi noted that moored in the harbor were more battleships and destroyers along with transport ships that were docking thru rotations to unload their troops; the crisp professional soldiers of the Golden Dragon Empire stood at attention with their Emperor's arrival. In the years post war Tatsumi had reorganized and reformed the army creating five branches of it; the first being the infantry starting with the Dragon Legions, troops that fought in the new styles and using new tactics and equipment developed under his Empire, the second were the Old Guard troops that fought in the white and black uniforms of the Old Empire and used military tactics from said Empire which were still very good though they did use the newer tactics and weapons these troops were veterans of the War that Mattered and had served under Tatsumi and other commanders from said war, then there was the Cavalry units both mechanized and normal these operated in tandem with the infantry groups, then there were the auxilia which were troops from various parts of the Empire that had their own distinct cultures and styles of warfare these were trained professionals but they could fight an enemy in any number of ways, lastly were the Allied forces regiments troops that came from allied nations to the Empire like the Dwarves and Nova Atlantea; Artillery was assigned between all infantry branches as it served a support role and infantry was trained to operate artillery in order to make sure that if the main gunners and operators were killed in battle reserves could still use the guns if they remained operable; artillery was still in development as mobile and easy to deploy artillery had not been a strong suit of the Old Empire that preferred larger and extremely powerful artillery pieces that took longer to deploy as opposed to lighter and faster to deploy pieces something which Tatsumi was now correcting while at the same time still employing the big guns but also figuring out ways to make them more mobile. This was to say nothing of the Air Force, but that branch was a separate group from the Army, and this was to make sure that the two groups could better coordinate and allow the air force more autonomy from the army bureaucracy that even despite Tatsumi's reforms still had some issues largely due to some commanders of the Old Guard not liking the newer aerial units as they were something that required tactical applications that were out of their area of expertise. Also, the Royal Guard was its own separate branch as it answered to the Emperor directly along with Night Raid in the same manner thus to avoid any complications with the various commanders.

That aside the military of Tatsumi was very professional, experienced, and loyal, they were the best troops on Eden and would stay that way for many centuries to come and become even more renowned off world, however in the present the troops immediately all stood at attention then bowed at the arrival of their Emperor who bid them to rise. In the center of it all was Najenda dressed in what was mixture of her Imperial garb and military garb; the uniform was more ornate but also soft inside as velvet padding was under the strong fibers which were worn under the ornate mithril plate she wore as a protection, she also wore a white jacket with the ranks of Field Marshal displayed on it this jacket was from her days in the Old Empire's Army and had undergone some tailoring to reflect her new status in the New Empire; she also wore a diadem of polished mithril that was studded with pearls, sapphires, and Starblossoms slung on her back was her Old Teigu and now returned Teigu Roman Artillery: Pumpkin one of the most powerful guns ever developed by the Dwarves and a multipurpose weapon, to her right clad in redundant Imperial plate was her Teigu Susanoo, a biological Teigu who was formerly human, to her left was Consul and Field Marshal Rokugou a high ranking officer of the Old Empire whom had served under Esdeath when she was still head of the Imperial military, the man was tall 6'6, handsome and had blood red hair and grey eyes; dressed in the uniform of his rank and wearing the Consular laurel and sash along the Aetherium plated and ornate consular armor and crested helmet given to each the four appointed consuls Rokugou was to serve in the role for the duration of the war also with the three of them were a number of other high ranking Imperial commanders from all branches of the Imperial military with their own assigned roles.

The position of Consul was an old imperial tradition brought to the forefront by Tatsumi with the New Empire, this position in the old Empire had been ceremonial now however it was given to high ranking and experienced generals with a proven track record a consul had military authority comparable to the Grand Marshal and was given direct overall strategic command of any military campaign, only the Emperor and the Imperial family out ranked them in terms of command; the military powers allowed a Consul to command all branches of the Imperial military as overall strategist, six were appointed each year with the term lasting that long during peace time however during times of war the position could be held as long as the Emperor wanted that person to hold it is, also the position was appointed by the Emperor directly much like all Imperial command positions and Military Governors there was also no term limit on the position as to allow the best to be selected at any time. Rokugou had been selected alongside Empress and Field Marshal Lydia Agathe, Archduke Welkin Gunther of Gallia, Field Marshal Takemori, Grand Admiral Wave, and Field Marshal Isara Gunther; the man had a distinguished career before the War that Mattered and during it excelled by winning numerous victories in various campaigns while he never directly served with his Emperor in battle until the Final Battle of Melitine his army had lead a crucial attack on the East side of the city that forced the bulk of the demons into favorable engagements inside the city where skill with urban warfare shinned, his force also took the least casualties during that battle which was VERY impressive considering the many that did die in that battle. Thus, with such a track record Tatsumi gave him the position of Consul after it was established as it currently was in place, he served for a single year and then said that he'd only take it again during wartime; wartime was now and Tatsumi had appointed him to Consulship the moment war between Tenrou and the Empire broke out.

"Tatsumi; you're here and the troops are awaiting your command" Najenda greeted.

"My Emperor all troops await your orders, I'm at your disposal as are my fellow officers we are ready" Consul Rokugou explained.

"Good to see you all; alright how many troops have you brought; tell me that and we'll work from there" Tatsumi replied.

"200,000 of your Imperial Majesty's soldiers; not counting air support, and naval assets, in terms of ships we've 30 in total, three carriers, 10 battleships, 15 destroyers and two submarines; in terms of air assets, we've got 300 planes mostly strike fighters between the carriers; more troops are on the way and will be arriving pending mobilization your majesty" Rokugou explained.

"Good first off 20,000 of those men will be stationed here on Soukai to guard against Tenrou invasion and to train the locals; I trust you brought a surplus of equipment?" Tatsumi ordered and asked.

"Yes you majesty as ordered; I trust that it's for the locals?" Rokugou responded.

"Yes to that; as for the rest of our forces I want them to stand by we'll allocate them based on intelligence and movements of our enemy: at the moment we'll need to also finish diplomatic talks with potential allies, after that we can deploy troops where needed, also I want rapid response forces organized for deployment in any region and I need special operations units to survey enemy movements are hurt their supply lines we want to delay any mobilization on their part and force them into battles on our terms as for that make sure caution is taken I don't want troops dying because of recklessness we may outclass the enemy in terms of technology and command but they still have their strengths and I don't want my troops throwing away their lives in death and glory charges make the enemy do that" Tatsumi ordered.

"By your command, my Emperor; you all heard him; follow orders and make ready; any suggestions for the 20,000 for here?" Rokugou replied,

"Yes select the best troops when it comes to training along with fortifications; as to the fleet we'll use it where needed and the same goes with aerial assets, at the moment I want to mainly do scouting with our aircraft then hit surgical strikes on specific targets, Military only by the way and no strikes without intelligence gathered and my approval and your own Consul I like personal initiative but I don't like it when people take it without proper knowledge" Tatsumi replied.

"Yes your majesty; alright you lot let's get to work; General Gratian you and General Sarna will be in charge of defending Soukai and training the locals also construct fortifications for defensive positions" Rokugou ordered. "As for the rest of the troops you are on standby to be deployed wherever the Emperor needs you" Rokugou ordered.

"Make sure you're all ready for battle but in the meantime be at ease and get establish temporary barracks on the East side of the Island, I don't want any enemies to notice the actual size of the force; also keep all interactions with the natives friendly they are new citizens of Empire via this new province and I'll not have an disrespect shown, treat them as you would your fellow Imperials and know that lawbreaking will be punishable by the same standards as in the Empire itself" Tatsumi explained, the troops saluted. "Najenda and Consul Rokugou you along with the other generals come with me we'll establish our strategy for this war in the war room of the King's castle it will also be a good time for you all to meet your newest counterparts from the Soukai military.

An hour later… Tatsumi sat in a throne at the head of a large planning table; a map of the Islands of Wakoku was the centerpiece which had numerous models in place for the major cities and all strongholds and castles of islands in addition to smaller ones for military troops; additional pegs were placed with a Dragon crest on them for the Empire; Tatsumi noted the various islands and in total the Isles of Wakoku including all islands regardless of size numbered 700 islands in total with 24 main islands and 70 large islands making up the bulk of the Archipelago lands, smaller islands and islets were also factored into this number and these outnumbered the large ones; population and biomes varied between the islands, the largest of these were Tenrou, Saryuu, Muramase, Raika, Soukai and Sankai with other major islands including Wako, Hakurin, Goto, Hochi, Kikawa, Sado, Getsu, Shikoku, Kuroshio, Bakufu, Suiran and Houju; the kingdoms of the islands bore the names of the their islands too; each island kingdom controlling a number of other smaller islands in the immediate area. Tenrou was the most centrally located Island in the entire archipelago though it was only the second largest, the largest island was Muramase and the kingdom of Muramase that called it home covered a good deal of territory in fact they were the largest of Wakoku's kingdoms and allied with the Kingdom of Sankai and as of late according to Moegi at war with Tenrou as Tenrou had invaded Sankai drawing them in. At Tatsumi's sides were Rinzu, Esdeath, Yomihime, Moegi and Najenda, while Rokugou and the generals sat on the opposite end of the table; a quick look at the map and attendance call later and the planning began.

Planning was a rather complex task made easier by information from Yomihime and Moegi whom knew the inner workings of Zuou's ambitions and in Moegi's case the inner workings of Zuou's mind, along with his more dangerous aspects. Moegi revealed that Zuou's ambitions were to control all the islands as Shogun then lead them to invade other lands; originally the eastern kingdoms that were now part of the Empire and then the Empire itself which at the start of his conquests had been in civil war; his plans shifted when Soukai allied with and joined the Empire which he took as an immediate threat to his planned hegemony. As to Zuou's other habits Moegi explained the skills of Zuou and his successes along with whatever defeats and weaknesses he had; she also made an important revelation that sickened everyone in the room apart from Moegi whom had already gotten used to this fact and Tatsumi whom had already been told about this: that being Zuou had an obsession with maintaining his youth and his strength and to deal with this he was consuming Mermaid flesh which had properties including longer youth, increased awareness and strength along with it being a virility food that boosted his stamina in various acts in addition to boosting his libido and causing him to put out pheromones; she also explained how much of a threat in battle he personally was and straight up only about five people in the room could beat him outright not counting Susanoo. The strategy at the moment was to consolidate the gains made so far and to get the marriage of Tatsumi to Queen Saiha along with his marriages to Yomihime and Moegi out of the way; also, to send diplomats to the various kingdoms of Wakoku that were unaligned.

Speaking of diplomats soon after the meeting had concluded a diplomat from the Kingdom of Saryuu arrived; the man was a noble of court and came originally to speak to the King of Soukai; King Sotetsu had informed him of the new state of affairs and had some of retainers come escort him to Tatsumi whom had dismissed most of his generals and only had with him Najenda, Rokugou and Esdeath along with Rinzu, her Hatamoto captains and his Four Rakshasas. "The Kingdom of Saryuu begs for aid: Nagisa Castle has fallen, and the armies of our nation are spent, if Tenrou were to mount another offensive Saryuu would certainly fall; King Hideyoshi request the aid of Saryuu's ally; but I see that the Empire now owns Soukai and plead instead for the aid of the Empire" the Diplomat explained.

"I see; return to your king inform him that I will be coming to his capital to meet with him; Imperial troops are already ready for deployment: I'll take a force to defend and fortify Saryuu from Tenrou; do not worry everything will be fine now how long do you think it will take Tenrou to assemble a force to attack Saryuu?" Tatsumi asked.

"About a week to mobilize and another to reach Saryuu" The diplomat replied.

"Well, I think we can buy time; Najenda contact our air force units have our jets survey enemy movements and then have our bombers hit their encampments; only a few sorties just to slow them down and buy us time to dig in" Tatsumi ordered; Najenda grinned. "Consul Rokugou get about 70,000 of our troops ready to defend Saryuu; hold about 20,000 more in reserve to deploy where needed and have a small fleet identify a good location to lie in wait to block the enemy advance; the more we can slow them down the better as that means we can force them into the battle we want" Tatsumi ordered, the two followed his instructions.

"Return to your King and inform him of these developments; the Emperor will arrive in a few days there is an important event that he must attend before he'll arrive" Esdeath explained, the diplomat smiled and darted out of the room.

"Well, that gives me a few days more without killing" Tatsumi remarked, chuckles from those with him.

Wako Island, A few days later….

Tatsumi sighed as he waited on the Alter beneath the light of the Three moons, he looked up at the largest of the three; Eve beautiful Eve also known by another name unknown to him at the time Eostia, Tatsumi smiled. "There is life up there I just know it; Eve is as lush as Eden; I wonder if someone is looking up at the sky at Eden looking back at me over a long distance" Tatsumi thought unaware at that time someone was looking back at him someone fair and beautiful and with long hair like unto looks of Gold. "Asha watch over me and bless my union and I hope that one day I'll meet whomever is looking back from up there" Tatsumi thought not knowing that he would and it would bring him great joy from doing so; he noted that his brides arrived dressed in the finest of kimonos, Saiha wore a crown on her brow too the panoply of colors from her dress were amazing, the same could be said of Moegi; Yomihime by contrast had a more humble kimono but it was still nice even though it focused on yellow and purple; the yellow being the color of her eyes; her hair was tied back in a pair of buns with sticks in them. The Brides approached with bridesmaids who were likewise beautiful and were to become his concubines in custom with Imperial law; Yomihime was the first to reach the alter; near them was a priest of the God of the Sea as was custom in Wako; but also, was a priestess of the Wolf God in honor of Tenrou tradition, said priestess was named Chigusa and served as Moegi's personal priestess and her army's Chaplin who tended to the spiritual needs of the troops. Tatsumi noted several of Moegi's soldiers in the audience they were shedding tears of joy and sadness because their beloved leader was getting married a day they hoped would be something one of their number shared. Unfortunately for them Moegi's heart and love was elsewhere and that belonged to Tatsumi she walked forward with grace and a smile on her face; something shared by Yomihime and Saiha; the three beauties arrived at the alter and the ceremony began.

After some time the ceremony concluded and Tatsumi kissed his new brides and his concubines after which he and everyone in attendance was treated to a massive banquet of the kind Tatsumi had expected from a wedding though the food was exotic and mainly seafood with an exceedingly large amount of lobster, calamari and to his surprise shark and some whale meat as well due to the fact that in addition to a strong pirate tradition in Wako they were renowned for being some the best fishermen and whalers in the isles surpassed only by Soukai in that regard. Said food was delicious and fattening fortunately Tatsumi had plans to work all that off: Erasiel was the big consumer of food but that was expected as Tatsumi knew that said Phoenix had a sizeable appetite and three large stomachs; the local elk population in the Empire took a steep decline after he arrived.

After the meal came the bedding and notably no one was outside after they were allowed to go inside because it was considered sacrilegious to so in Wako much to Moegi's disappointment as in Tenrou it was the opposite hell in Tenrou weddings often devolved into orgies and both bride and groom often bedded many a guest; Moegi of course had no intentions of doing so only Tatsumi would be hers to bed. Moegi of course let the virgins have first go because she knew that if Tatsumi and her went first then everyone else would miss out. Yomihime was first and she was very uneasy about it; Tatsumi treated her with care and love educating her in what to do and after they were done she was passed out with a smile; Saiha was next and she was eager by contrast and took things more eagerly with Tatsumi making sure to keep her happy; following her the concubines tended to him in groups of three and he filled each of them up with his seed; then he and Moegi were abed for the rest of the time before both passed out in each other arms.

The following day Tatsumi carried out the following actions: Moegi given her recent history with Saryuu decided to stay on Soukai and get troops ready for other fronts as to avoid any diplomatic incidents with the people of Saryuu, Yomihime would go with him however; at the same time under his request Saiha mobilized her troops and sent to Saryuu under the Imperial flag; following that as Tatsumi returned to Soukai where the Dwarves under Umber had arrived; some had arrived before that but Umber's forces were recent arrival; she smiled to see him along with Gala whom was also there; Maulie the daughter of Tatsumi's sworn friend Dwarni was also waiting for him but she had arrived earlier with the vanguard. "Well look who has returned here; this is a nice place and very fascinating with regards to the history" Umber greeted as Tatsumi arrived.

The two hugged and kissed as husband and wife tend to do when reunited after a period of separation then Tatsumi grinned. "Soukai is indeed an interesting place: I'm happy to see you Umber and you too Gala; so, what have you brought with you here?" Tatsumi asked.

"A throng of 60,000 stout-hearted and dour Dwarves ready for battle along with twice that many droids; 60 Golems, 30 Sentinels and 15 War-Titans already for war: my father has more troops ready to fight for you and more dwarven forces will arrive" Umber explained.

"Good to have every one of those brave souls and those war machines: and I'm even more grateful to have you two with them" Tatsumi replied.

"Oh, don't get too sentimental you'll tear up; I'm happy to see ya too Tatsumi" Gala remarked then gave him a strong bear hug Tatsumi lifted her up and kissed her on the lips she returned said kiss aggressively and with tongue and the two made out for the time before Umber had them break it up.

"I think it's time we get to the business of war; now where do you need us and no don't hold any of the lads back in reserve for guard duty they are way too eager to throw their spears at the foes then draw their axes and kill the next rank" Umber explained.

"Saryuu; it's a nearby Kingdom that will be soon facing an invasion: deploy the throng there and we'll adopt a wait and see for the enemy to arrive I've got a pretty moderate assessment from aerial reconnaissance on what we're dealing with and it's a sizeable army of very angry Tenrou soldiers out for blood and booty" Tatsumi explained; Umber grinned.

"Well, the more for our axes to hue down; now I must see to studying the local history I am quite eager to learn more about the islands" Umber explained, Tatsumi sighed he also noted that in the time that Merraid had arrived with a sizeable force of 100,000 soldiers from the Oarburgh Clan and Merraid was very eager to see him as were Gilberda and Cassandra thus he spent the afternoon and much of the evening in the horizontal and doing the horizontal dance.

The following day they sailed to Saryuu and arrived at the leeward side of the island which was large and mountainous; Merraid was off the opinion that if the locals wanted to make their kingdom extremely hard to conquer they'd move all their cities into the mountains and build mountain strongholds. The guides from Saryuu's king arrived and lead them thru the countryside which was rich in meadows and rivers. The scenic route was enjoyable apart from an incident one afternoon.

Tatsumi had made camp by a river after a long march to allow his army to rest and recover energy; he and Rinzu had gone a distance from the camp following the winding river; the two had chosen a spot for a small picnic for the two of them the site however was rudely interrupted when a series of loud grunts that sounded like human shouts mixed with sludge were heard and ten large toad-like creatures rose out of the river. "Kappas!" Rinzu exclaimed, these were according Akame among the many Danger Beast species that lived in Wakoku and this particular type was a B-Ranked Danger Beast that lived in rivers and were infamously territorial; the creatures with slimy blue green skin hopped out of the water and advanced slowly as if warning Tatsumi and Rinzu that they were going to charge; Rinzu began to draw her sword; Tatsumi stayed her hand.

"Wait: I'll handle this, without drawing my blade" Tatsumi explained, she gave him a look of how the hell do you plan on doing that? Tatsumi smiled then looked at the Kappas. "Kappa Oarburgh Dominus!" Tatsumi shouted his eyes becoming greener then usual and a green bolt of energy went out from his hands that bolt zigzagged across all the Kappas which groaned in irritation. "You will all go upriver and find somewhere else to relax and you won't be trouble for anyone else" Tatsumi commanded and to Rinzu's shock the Kappas complied hopping back into the water and swimming upstream.

"What did you just do?" Rinzu asked.

"I've got the ability to control Danger Beasts: it's a family genetic trait from my Oarburgh blood; there are some types I can't control anything about Class A but it's enough to resolve most danger beast encounters without me having to draw a blade; Merraid taught me how to do it; her control is more extensive however because she has the Clan Teigu that allows full control of any type of Danger Beast short of a Dragon or a Tyrant" Tatsumi explained, Rinzu smiled and hugged him. "Now we can have our picnic without any more troublemakers" Tatsumi commented, Rinzu laughed sweetly and they set up their blanket and picnic as a whole; after that, the rest of the day was uneventful.

The following day they arrived at Saryuu's capital; the city was named Kobe and it was thriving but on the smaller side compared to say an Imperial city but that was not a fair comparison as the kingdoms of Wakoku still operated on a Feudal system whereas the Empire was a modern nation and a powerhouse of one at that it was also exceptionally wealthy and had way more room for people along with medical advances that allowed for the survival of more children into adulthood and thus the population though ravaged by the War that Mattered was making a strong recovery and the addition of new territories in the West and East made that even less of a hinderance as these lands were largely untouched by the War that Mattered. Kobe however was a city that was despite its thriving status an island in a hurricane's eye, that hurricane being Tenrou and Zuou wanted Saryuu as another gem in his crown.

Soon after they made contact with the locals and Tatsumi with his entourage were allowed into the city while his army made camp outside, Tatsumi noted the city's sights and made mental notes about the state of things: soon after a long tour he was lead to the royal palace a far more lavish one that in Soukai as Saryuu was rich from the silk trade and the spice trade along with other commodities including rich silver mines, thriving ruby mines and the production of high quality timber goods from their rich forests. Saryuu was a distinct nation amongst the other kingdoms of Wakoku in that they were a nation of merchants and craftsmen first and foremost they viewed the art of the warrior as secondary to the trade of the merchant for it was said in Saryuu that a swordsman can oft be bought by the right amount of silver or gold and such was in abundance and thus the armies of Saryuu were largely composed of foreign mercenaries with some major noble warrior contingents and some Ashigaru levies the latter of which were rarer due to a desire not to conscript the lower classes if not needed because it would negatively impact the economy and manpower.

The fact that many mercenaries had died fighting Tenrou wasn't enough to dissuade them from coming however that number had declined due to Saryuu being near defeat. When Tatsumi arrived and had the traditional formal greetings with King Hideyoshi the king immediately got down to business and explained the dire state of affairs. Tatsumi explained that he'd brought more than enough troops to defend the island kingdom and all he needed was the King's approval which was given Tatsumi then gave instructions via satellite phone to Najenda and Rokugou who began the deployment of the army across Soukai with orders to begin building fortifications and secure positions: Tatsumi wanted to make sure any invasion force had to approach via a single path thus to channel the enemy into a battleground of his army's choosing.

With that out of the way Tatsumi was introduced by the King to his family; his eldest a girl of 19 Kotonoha was a graceful, elegant and stunning black haired grey-eyed beauty; she was graceful and curvy but also a skilled swordswoman in a way she was very much like Rinzu but having the added bonus of having more siblings to take care of; her two twin sisters Kokoro and Ino both 16 were a handful to tend to and her youngest brother was only 10 and he was a troublemaker and eager child that like to get into places that he didn't belong in; her family was considerably larger as unlike Rinzu's father Kotonoha's father Hideyoshi was a ladies man and had seven wives; the king had sired over 10 sons and 15 daughters between them however the war between Tenrou has seen his sons spent down to one; his daughters were all young and warrior women but due to the losses he was only now having them take up arms. His eldest son Tetsuga died fighting against Kyoukotsu, and his flayed skin had been sent back to King Hideyoshi as rug in insult said skin had been buried by Hideyoshi; two more of his sons met the same end in a quest for vengeance; another son died when his ship had been sunk during battle with Tenrou. His fifth son Toyotomi had been viciously murdered by Ninjas sent by Tenrou's sinister spymaster Kuriaya after he had won a series of major upsets against Tenrou's commanders even beating Zuou's right hand man Muzachi in a fight and putting Tenrou's second largest city under siege. I'd explain how the rest died but you get the picture all of his sons had died fighting Tenrou bar two the youngest at ten whom yet lived and another Ichizawa whom had died fighting the Demons during the War that Mattered as unlike Soukai, Saryuu had not been spared from demonic invasion and those demons had done a number on the kingdom. As such in the past 5 years of her life Kotohana had found herself thrust into the position of heir to the throne of Saryuu by age; the succession in Saryuu was absolute cognatic which meant that women and men inherited on the same grounds.

Tatsumi smiled as she approached him, and she returned the smile with one of her own. "Greetings and welcome Emperor Tatsumi: I am Princess Kotonoha of Saryuu, heir apparent to the throne of Saryuu and by the looks of things you are to be our kingdom's new overlord: I'm glad to see you; you are quite handsome however I must get a measure of your martial skills here in Saryuu a suitor is judged by a number of things but first and foremost is his sword arm" Princess Kotonoha greeted, she then noticed Rinzu and smiled. "Rinzu-san nice to see you here; so, this is the man whom you've decided to wed after three years of keeping the isles waiting with bated breath" Kotonoha greeted, Rinzu smiled held her fan and waved it as she performed a courtesy and shook hands with her friend.

"Likewise, Kotonoha: I'm glad to see you after well about a month since you last visited Soukai" Rinzu greeted. "By the way Kotonoha I'd advise you to take a couple steps back the Four Rakshasas are very protective of their Emperor and husband" Rinzu added noting an uneasy Akame.

"Don't you worry about them Kotonoha; allow to approach" Tatsumi commented then shook her hand; Kotonoha blushed as she hadn't been expecting his hands to be so calloused and in the case of other Emperor's that wouldn't have been the case however Tatsumi had to literally fight his way thru hell to claim and secure his birthright and before that quest he'd been used to the hard life of a farmer and blacksmith as such the callouses were to be expected of him.

After the formal introductions and an explanation of the situation as a whole Tatsumi was led along with his generals to meet with the command staff of King Hideyoshi; that meeting took a good hour and a half followed up by another hour of actual planning as the first hour and half has been spent explaining the various weapons, troops and tactics in the Imperial Arsenal which had MANY options both tactical and strategic. Eventually they settle on a plan of fortification and control-zones; essentially the plan would be to build major fortifications across the island at key areas and force the enemy invasion force that was impending to either make an amphibious assault of Imperial bastions or come in thru areas that allowed Imperial army to fight with a defensive advantage: these essentially force Tenrou to fight a war that Tatsumi wanted them to fight or just to withdraw and not fight him at all which achieved the same end; Tatsumi's doctrine would win the day if there was no battle at all if the enemy wanted to wait months for him to move his troops out that was perfectly fine by him because in those months the titan that was the Imperial Military would have finished mobilization and would be ready for a full scale invasion which Tenrou stood no chance against.

The plan was frowned upon by some of the more hot-headed Saryuuan commanders but the fact that the Empire's military officers outnumbered them when it can to decision making and the fact that King Hideyoshi placed them under Tatsumi's direct command (With Tatsumi placing them under Esdeath's direct command) they were not going to contest the plan and as Saryuu could only muster at best 3,000 troops that would actually be able to stand a chance against Tenrou there wasn't an option other than to let the Imperials do the fighting for them.

After the meeting was over Tatsumi was led by Princess Kotonoha to a sparring dojo where they tested each other's skills with a sword and she actually gave him a fairly good fight near Akame levels of sword work but considering the fact that she was a warrior princess this was to be expected; he won of course but even then it was a good fight, and both had given each other some fairly hard knocks and a few blisters. After this Tatsumi was shown to his guest quarters which was another wing of the exceptionally large palace of Kodeku Castle which overlooked the city of Kobi and was the lynchpin in an extensive network of bastions and bulwarks which to Tatsumi's surprise when he looked out his window to see the extent of were a mix of human and dwarven stoneworking techniques; these bastions covered the entire city and extended outward toward the port with even the port having outlaying stone walls to deny any potential avenue of attack. The palace itself however was larger than that of Soukai's and itself was comparable to Tokorra's Jade Palace a massive stronghold and palace built over the ancestral Oarburgh clan Castle by Empress Merraid I; however, it was smaller but as the Jade Palace was built into and carved out of a mountain side by Imperial and Dwarven construction teams in an age of prosperity that was to be expected. In all honesty Tatsumi wondered if there was any bastion or city in the islands of Wakoku that could be comparable to Melitine in terms of size and design let alone age as the Imperial city was actually older then the Empire itself both his Golden Dragon Empire and the Old Empire it had replaced.

Tatsumi was jarred from his thoughts by Poney whom leaned on him. "It's a nice city but it isn't Melitine" Poney commented, she grasped his left arm.

"That indeed is the case, homesick already Poney?" Tatsumi asked.

"Yep; its bittersweet visiting new lands you get to see all the wonderful sights that new places have to offer but at the same time you long for your home and all the familiar comforts of them" Poney admitted, she leaned against him her brown hair in its usual ponytail which was held back by a silver scrunchie with her diadem of adamantine and diamonds towards the front of her hair, she was dressed in a white and red dress of the style worn in the Heartland provinces of the Empire, the gown was decorated with golden thread and sapphires; however under the dress Poney wore her Yocto-Bottoms a Teigu that boosted her agility that took the form of pants soft and silky inside but offering extreme amounts of protection; in addition to this particular article of clothing Poney had during the war taken up the Teigu sword Yue: Moonblade a Tachi that had been formerly in the possession of the banished Sorrowful one Assassin turned Brigand and Slave Trader Tanto but stopped being his when Sheele has ended his existence by flinging him off of a two-hundred foot cliff after she had castrated and disemboweled him, the sword had been in Night Raid's position for some time until shortly after the failed coup of Tatsumi which had led to the full scale demon invasion where it along with other Teigus had been offered to the various members of Night Raid to find potentially compatible users. Poney had been compatible and though swords weren't her preferred weapon of choice she had embraced and used the weapon to maximum effect during the Idiot's war and the War that Mattered afterward; the blade along with another blade this one a parrying dagger rested at Poney's side along her left hip. Poney leaned on him. "I need you; need your touch; it is the one thing from home that will always be with me" Poney whispered seductively, Tatsumi smiled and was lead to his personal chambers; Poney as one of his sworn protectors could come and go with him without anyone caring.

Poney removed Tatsumi's regal attire first his cloak of Dragon scales which she carefully hung up on a nearby chair, then his crown allowing his hair to be fully visible; Tatsumi had a very noticeable cowlick something that he personally didn't like but everyone else did and something that try as he might no matter how many haircuts he got that cowlick would always return to annoy him; Poney placed it on a nightstand nearby she then relieved him of his breastplate which was both ceremonial and practical as it was actually Aetherium overlayed with gold rather than having been made of gold and his silk shirt and his under shirt making sure again to be graceful with them she then undid her dress and removed her Yocto-Bottoms leaving her in a corset with garter and lace stockings and panties before relieving Tatsumi of his boots; his pants and his boxers leaving him in his birthday suit he then removed her bodice and her panties and carried her to bed spreading her legs

"I'm ready my love; fill me up and give it to me like love it" Poney purred, Tatsumi entered her and kissed her romantically on the lips, Poney wrapped her legs around him as his gentle and caring thrusts struck to her core; the kiss broke, and he turned his attention to her left breast the amble E-cup exposed and perky nipple ready for him; Tatsumi thirsty from the humid climate of Saryuu drank eagerly to Poney's enjoyment. "Tatsumi" Poney moaned and there was only one thing on her mind and that was him as long as she had Tatsumi she'd never worry about anything and she lost herself in bliss.

That night… Tatsumi and Poney looked at each other than to either side as Tsukushi and Rinzu had already slumped asleep, the moonlight gleamed in. "Can't sleep" Tatsumi asked in a hushed whisper.

"Nope; call me a bit concerned but I think we got here way too easy all of this is so easy so far and we haven't had any real setbacks call me paranoid Tatsumi, but my gut tells me that someone's out there that is going to be a serious threat someone that- I don't know I've got this twinge in my stomach something is wrong about all this" Poney explained quietly.

"Fair point I'm worried about that too this has all been way too easy Zuou sent what a lunatic and a nymphomaniac after Rinzu what will he throw after her next and more importantly when will he realize that I've turned two of his best weapons against him along with realize this war is a waste of time and lives" Tatsumi replied, he held her close then looked at Rinzu who was passed out with a goofy grin from being a bed with him her dreams no doubt involved going on adventures with Sparky-Sparky Boom-Boom Man, Shirshus, Ty Lee and a surprisingly knowledgeable merchant of cabbage or something fantastical and pleasant anything better than the reality of being under threat from Zuou however that was not something that he was worried about as she was within arm's reach of him and he had fought light night assassins in the nude before and wasn't going to shy away from doing it again if the need came to that though as it stood any would be kidnapper would have to get thru every defensive measure in between him and any entrance and should someone manage to get past the average security measures well his elite guard were ready to kick ass if need arouse; Akame was always vigilant for danger and always took two watches of the night before going to bed near Tatsumi there was even a spare bed provided for that: if someone were to sneak by Akame they'd have either be a magician or Aria and Aria wouldn't try to kidnap Rinzu or assassinate him not in this reality and not in many of the numerous other realities that existed as part of the broader multiverse.

"You're worried about her most: you've been having nightmares again and I can tell" Poney replied.

"Yes I have off and on- alright I do have a couple recurring ones involving Rinzu apart from that and a return a week ago of Nightmare Number 1 I've been getting good sleep and good dreams" Tatsumi explained, Poney smiled, kissed him.

"Sleep Tatsumi; and dream sweet dreams; you know what I'll take the next watch just so Akame can take it easy for once in her life: if you're still awake she'll be the one you'll have to talk to" Poney replied, both of them slumped out and Poney didn't take the next watch she stayed wrapped in Tatsumi's arms and the blankets.

The following morning was spent by Tatsumi in the horizontal as Poney rode him cowgirl; the two had overslept with Rinzu and Tsukushi being the sweet souls they had not chosen to wake them; finding out they were alone led to morning session with Poney on top, that lasted a good twenty minutes before they headed to the bath where a large tub had been made ready by Tatsumi's concubines while their beloved and his empress had been busy. The two spent a good amount of time in said bath playing with each other and having a couple more rounds of sex in the water. After they finished dress a knock was heard from the door which they opened to find Spear waiting outside with Hinata and Tobari to either side of her. "Good morning Spear" Tatsumi greeted.

"Good morning to you my Emperor and one true love; I'm going to blunt these two are now ready to undergo your personal training regimen: I've put them thru the wringer, and they've come out at a rapid pace" Spear explained.

"Alright then; Hinata, Tobari you two follow me and Poney I'm going to find a dojo and begin my daily exercise regimen we'll start your training there: Poney you'll be Hinata's sparring partner for today and Tobari as I've yet to test your sword work I'll be yours" Tatsumi explained, both women bowed respectfully and shortly they found themselves in the Dojo.

Before the actual sparring they proceeded to do a series of exercises that Tatsumi did each morning before his sparring sessions which usually were with whomever wanted to spar with him first thing that particular day: these were a mixture of stretches, crunches, sit-ups and punching a boxing bag and in the absent of that the next best thing a practice dummy. These exercises both got the blood pumping and woke up all the muscles that may have still been asleep. After the exercises each of the four combatants took up their favored weapon for a spar or rather a wooden version of it and proceeded to start a mock melee which led to both Hinata and Tobari getting their butts kicked but after a good slog of a fight they were exceptionally good but still had a good deal to learn.

"Alright now that I've had a good grasp of your combat abilities we'll begin the proper training" Tatsumi explained, Poney smirked, both Hinata and Tobari sighed as it was clear they were in for an even harsher regiment then Spear's, but they were ready for it.

Meanwhile on Hadeki Island north of Saryuu… Najasho had moored his fleet in a secluded cove; he was aware he was being watched but didn't know to the extent of the surveillance his army was under; and it was hard to hide over a million soldiers from a combined force of three of Tenrou's armies however Hadeki Island was a good stopping point; it was a bastion and safe harbor that Tenrou had taken from Saryuu early on and fortified extensively; the island had very thick jungles and was mountainous in terrain making it hard for anyone to gage the scale of Tenrou's involvement. "Damn it why is the Empire in Wakoku of all places and why the hell did they have to come here" Najasho thought to himself then shrugged whatever powers that had decided that Wakoku would be the next Imperial province added to the Empire were ones that Najasho at that point in time wanted to seize and smack upside the face.

As it stood though he was working with no information on the Empire's movements as scouting ships sent out by his army never returned and the transports were in his opinion floating kindling if any of the survivors of the few clashes were to believed; yet with the mass casualties and losses they had to be true and as such Najasho was taking as much caution as possible; fortunately he had not been given a stand and die order so that meant if his army started to take massive losses he could withdraw and change tactics or if need be retreat back to friendly territory and adapt. Najasho looked out at the soldiers; veterans from the War that Mattered as it had become called by historians across the world, few understood the military power Tenrou possessed; Najasho and Zuou knew how much it could bring to bear and at most that was a 100 million troops, sizeable numbers but Najasho knew that the Empire had WAY more people and could potentially field ten times that many and still have more in reserve and that was counting on a ground war; both of them knew this war was suicide Najasho though had resolved that he would fight for Tenrou not just to save his own neck but because he had a stake in the Kingdom two of his wives were Zuou's sisters and seven of his children his nieces and nephews he had married into the royal family and if the Empire wanted to wipe out said family they would. "I'm not going to let my family be taken from me; not after all I went thru to get us to where we are now; for their sake I'll fight" Najasho thought he held his helm tight and dawned it the mask covered his face; good in his eyes that meant if anyone from the Empire were to notice him they'd not recognize him immediately. "What are the odds that I'll run into anyone that knew me in the first wave of the invasion?" Najasho thought he then sighed, took the helmet off, and looked at the face engraved or rather the skull engraved on it.

"General!" A soldier shouted running up, Najasho noted that said soldier was one of the many Imperial expatriate deserters that had joined his legion when during the period before the War that Mattered; there were about a 100,000 Imperial expats that moved Wakoku before the wars with the eastern kingdoms locked down the Empire's borders and the sea lanes became hazardous due to pirates. "General Najasho; Ninjas have returned with the information you need" the soldier reported, Najasho was lead to his ten where a few Ninja from Kuriaya's network reported to him in detail that a massive Imperial force of about 70,000 soldiers and 20,000 Imperial Allies had landed on and was now fortifying Saryuu against invasion. "Commander Saito give this order to the troops to make ready for travel 300,000 of them: the rest of our troops are to stay here and fortify Hadeki Island which will serve as our base; this will be a probing raid not an invasion; if we can't break thru we withdraw and prepare another battle plan; Commander Varus I want my legions to hold here I'll take my personal cohort but the rest of our elites will be held here in reserve I want you and the other officers to dig in further here: if the Empire is building defenses we can do the same; we'll fortify this position and if the enemy does come to take it from us I want a selection of troops for a rearguard to allow us to scorch the earth if anything we'll give them a worthless island" Najasho ordered, the officers nodded and accepted his orders.

A few days later… Tatsumi's army had gathered at his chosen site for a battle; one that thru extensive defensive positions built over the course of days served as the only approach an invader could land at; aerial reconnaissance noted the movement of large transport fleet: Imperial warships were ready to respond but Tatsumi held them back in defensive positions that way the enemy went where he wanted them to go: as it stood he wanted to make sure his enemy had the option to retreat to the spread the message of what they'd be up against and make enemy leadership and soldiers consider whom their allegiance was best served in: having waged war against many human adversaries before Tatsumi and those under his command knew the limits of human willpower in the face of war with another human enemy that they couldn't beat.

Having chosen the battlefield the Golden Dragon and his army had all the time to prepare and set up the various positions for their soldiers and formations that the enemy would face; with that in mind Tatsumi had chosen the crescent formation a formation that offered great tactical flexibility in that it could be used to employ a variety of other formations the most famous being the pincer maneuver or the double envelopment or the Cannae encirclement or its little brother the Trebia envelopment where one closed in around the enemy on three sides and left an avenue for the enemy to retreat from; said formation also favored the Imperial gunnery line which was the bulk of the army; bows and crossbows had been with some exceptions phased out of the Imperial army with modern firearms becoming the mainstay; these rifles used high powered jacketed titanium rounds as opposed to lead bullets the reason being that lead was a softer metal and the harder alloys that were more abundant in Eden's many armor crafting techniques rendered lead rounds impractical more of the time the reason being that while a bullet did have a sizeable amount of force behind it the alloys used by many nations including Tenrou for armor were either bullet-proof or bullet-resistant when it came to lead round; though bullets were the mainstay Dorothea had invented what was called the dragon round; these were high-powered bullets that were tipped with an explosive that only exploded on hard contact with an object; said explosive was functionally an anti-infantry round that would take down any enemy soldier regardless of how armored they were. In addition to this Tatsumi had the grenades his soldiers used packed with nails that in addition to shrapnel would cause havoc to enemy troops their armor was of higher quality than that of the old Empire as Dwarven smiths had been setting up shop in the Empire and had shared their secrets with many an Imperial apprentice also there was a rich supply thru trade: the armor of an Golden Dragon Legionary was thick and covered all the spots that needed to be protected from the enemy said armor was both strong and lightweight it consisted of a full plate suit of armor usually made from a strong alloy like Titanium or Mithril and under it was worn fiber suit of reinforced fabric that was padded inside with cotton this fiber armor was fairly strong and provided a needed extra layer of protection; the soldier's helmets were of a variety but all of them sported a battle mask or visor which left only a slot for the eyes which in turn was protected a transparent aluminum window; the soldiers also sported a tower shield that served as a means of mobile cover that also served as a gun mount at range and an extra layer of protection in melee, for which a variety of blades were used but most favored the Falcata which was a sword that was good for chopping off heads with other favored main hand blades including the falchion, the longsword and the spatha with some soldiers favoring war-axes, maces and hammers. The Legions clad in gold and black in in some cases white and black were ready for Tatsumi's orders and the enemy would soon arrive.

This imposing force waited; the Dwarves were eager; clad in stronger and thicker armor then their human counterparts they were eager for battle while their automatons were also ready likewise; Tatsumi noted the frontline of Dwarven Warriors known as Runic Warders: this soldiers were the bread and butter of the Dwarven Empire and sported armor made of thick alloys and warded by protective runes some which had a nasty habit of reflecting enemy ranged weapons back at them this armor in turn was painted in the colors of the various clans; the soldiers nearest to Tatsumi were of the Goldenbeard Clan and thus sported armor that was black, yellow and red; the shields were diamond shaped their choice of weapon was a pair of long throwing spears and a strong battle-axe, halberd or sword, it was customary in Dwarven warfare for the frontline infantry to sport a pair of throwing spears which were thrown before the enemy made contact to further break up enemy formations that usually were worn down by ranged fire from Dwarven Gunners and Crossbowmen. The Dwarves were a remarkably interesting race when it came to military tradition due to the many clans involved as there were the great clans and a lot more minor clans and sub clans: as such some clans were innovative and used the most recent and greatest innovations to lethal effect while other clans preferred to fight in the ways of their ancestors without firearms and up close and personal and then there were those like the Goldenbeards whom were a mixture of both and the Dwarves could afford to take such risks as their strong armor made the weapons of any other race on Eden look like a joke most of the time. There were also Dwarves that fought not for the Dwarven Empire but for the Golden Dragon Empire itself directly those of the Silverblood Clan had sworn vassalage to the Golden Dragon Empire in return for the restoration of the lost holds as such their warriors tended to use armor called Dragon Armor which was strong armor made in the stylized appearance of dragons with helmets that resembled the heads of Dragons and with a scale style used in the armor itself.

Tatsumi took a look at the sea horizon line and noticed the enemy army that had just arrived he picked up a pair of binoculars and took in the sight though he couldn't make out much from the distance and thus put down binoculars and ordered for battle lines and formations to be drawn. The Soldiers and officers followed that order to the letter with a methodical and drilled measure of a well-oiled machine the front lines were established and Tatsumi noted the final measures for entrenchments had been put in place soldiers moved to their pillboxes and emplacements while everyone and everything else moved to take their places in the formation. After the troops were ready Tatsumi gave a general order not to engage until the enemy had made clear their intentions; the goal of this was simple Tatsumi had placed his force on the only route to Saryuu's cities that wasn't fortified by Imperial defenses; Tatsumi's intention was to deny the enemy battle or force them into a fight on his terms: as it stood time was on his side the longer Zuou's armies took to fight him the more time it gave the Empire to mobilize and there would be a point which the Empire would have mobilized enough military power and logistical support that Tenrou would be overwhelmed by sheer numbers of high quality and much better equipped Imperial soldiers and their many allies whom had also decided to join in as Tenrou's actions were outright a war of aggression which had caused even the most likely offence sitters to join in to their allies defense.

"The only chance Zuou has is well- he has none" Tatsumi thought even if Zuou managed to kill him and that was a big IF, the Empire would go on a crusade of utter vengeance to avenge his death there was no escaping the might of the Golden Dragon Empire; the only option Zuou had was unconditional surrender or face his death and the conquest of his Kingdom of course Tatsumi's conquest would be far different from that of previous Emperors the Golden Dragon Emperor had in mind the same diplomatic tactics he used during similar campaigns in the Western Kingdoms and Eastern lands of the Empire those being tactics meant to weaken his enemies using his image and offer of a much better life under his rule, in addition to this were tactics focused specific targets and elimination of major enemy leaders that could not be turned to his side or whom had essentially made him a personal enemy: he was willing to show mercy to anyone that joined him willingly the reason being Tatsumi had no intention of continuing killing after the war was over he had no intentions of wiping out Zuou's family or having war crime tribunals Tatsumi wanted the territory integrated after the war and the best way to do that was by respecting the local customs and not making any additional enemies he didn't want or need.

"How many are there?" Rinzu asked from nearby.

"A lot" Tatsumi answered; he had no idea how many soldiers were coming his way but he did know that a sizeable amount would be dead by the end of the day if their commander chose to give battle as it stood though Tatsumi was not going to attack them first he had no intentions of letting the enemy have any advantages and at the moment he held all the cards; he had no worries about supplies his lines were secure and even if the enemy could find a way to cause trouble there he had his air force that could bring in needed supplies via parachute drop and airlifts. He also had the advantage that the Tenrou Army had to go thru his army to get to any target of value on the island. The enemy came closer and soon was at a range where Tatsumi could using his binoculars make out their force; Samurai and Ashigaru soldiers made up the bulk of the army but these troops were augmented by his surprise Imperial troops or rather Imperial expats or Imperial deserters.

That sight made Tatsumi's blood boil he knew that he'd be having to kill again he hated that fact but the fact that he'd be having to shed the blood directly of his own countrymen his own subjects was an afront to his very heart and made him shed tears though he kept his composure. "Do you see them now: how many do you see?" Rinzu asked eagerly, Tatsumi lowered his binoculars and looked at her a sorrowful expression on his face. "Are we that badly outnumbered?" Rinzu asked.

"There are a lot of them but that's not what has me angry and sad at the same time: there are Imperials fighting alongside them Rinzu; Imperials" Tatsumi explained, Rinzu looked aghast Poney grabbed the binoculars are took a look and then passed them around until they came back to Tatsumi; Consul Rokugou moved towards his Emperor from nearby; clad in the ornate armor and golden decorated armor of consul Rokugou stood out from the rest of troops easily and he was accompanied by Esdeath whom after making sure the rest of the troops were ready had dawned her Teigu armor and held her blade the Teigu Eskellon in a ready stance. "My Emperor I saw them too; what are you orders: Empress Esdeath and I have made sure all troops are in battle formation; the enemy is now in range of our artillery and the gunners only await your order to fire" Rokugou explained.

"Tell them to hold their fire for now we'll attempt to parlay; if we can win without shedding the blood of Imperials today I'd eagerly take that" Tatsumi replied, Esdeath looked at him.

"Consul Rokugou; your Emperor has spoken give the order to his troops I'll speak with him" Esdeath ordered presently Rokugou left and was soon out of earshot. Esdeath looked at Tatsumi with a smile noting his somber mood. "I know that look; put on a smile and a happy composure; if the enemy does decided to negotiate perhaps you'll be able to convince them to surrender or change sides" Esdeath replied. "I know you aren't so eager to shed blood of Imperials after the War, I'm not eager to do so myself but if it comes to that I will; even though I don't want to; hell I'd much rather be at home playing with and caring for our children but as it stands that out of reach for the time being and we'll just have to make deal with what life gives us we are the Strong after all Tatsumi and the Strong Survive and Thrive while the weak perish and wither till they are naught but dust they break like water on the firm rock, we had best be making sure we don't break on the rock but be said rock: you know what you have to do Tatsumi we have to win to keep Rinzu and the Empire safe from Zuou and if Zuou will entice traitors and deserters to fight for him then that shows how much of a wretch he is: how weak he is in reality and how strong you are! Let's be ready Tatsumi for whatever fate has thrown at us" Esdeath counseled, Tatsumi smiled.

"I'm ready for whatever they've got" Poney remarked.

"Me too" Rinzu added.

"Me three" Tsukushi commented: Tatsumi took a look at his wives and smiled he took another look in the binoculars and noticed the enemy was now close enough that they'd see any symbol of parley that was invoked: and amongst them their own simple of parlay carried by outriding cavalry and their commander: Tatsumi noted that said commander wore a masked helmet that obscured his face and his armor along with the helm were made in a fusion of Wakokuan and Imperial style, at his sides were two different swords; one that was clearly a Meihou Tachi and the other an Imperial Arm blade. "The enemy commander is riding towards us with a banner for parlaying with us let's make ready to receive him" Tatsumi explained, everyone nodded Tatsumi then barked out orders to his troops to not fire on the oncoming riders and said riders stopped not too far from their position and dismounted walking the rest of the distance they reached the Emperor's command overlook under escort by royal guardsmen led by Empress Pais the herald of Tatsumi. "Your majesty the enemy commander has requested an audience with you to parlay" Pais explained.

"Allow him in; what brings you here my enemy my hand hovers speak not ill words for I hope that our soldiers need not die needlessly" Tatsumi explained.

"I've come to demand you allow entry; the Kingdom of Saryuu is an enemy of Tenrou and not an ally of the Empire you are on their sovereign lands and are obstructing our armies march" the general demanded his voice distorted by his helmet.

"That is where you are wrong: Saryuu is an ally of the Golden Dragon Empire and under Imperial protection" Tatsumi explained, he turned to a Saryuuan diplomat who had followed the Emperor and showed a copy of the treaty that had been signed by both Tatsumi and King Hideyoshi; the General didn't show a surprise or any emotion behind his mask.

"Then I see there is no way I can dissuade you from allowing us passage; I agree with you in that I've no desire to see my troops spend their lives recklessly, but I must follow my King's orders: he has provided me much and I in turn serve him as he has earned my trust and loyalty" The General replied.

"Speaking of I've noticed there are many Imperial soldiers in your force; I know my people by many things, their armor and weapons first amongst them: I'd like to know how they came to be on the side against their fellow Imperials and in opposition" Tatsumi explained.

"They are expatriates like me from the Old Empire, the old regime treated us all as expendable soldiers or caused the deaths of our loved ones and destroyed their property: or like me they were used as a means to an end: I was sent to kill a Noble girl just because she had refused to wed another noble family I refused to take her life and ran: I was a mercenary for some time before joining a band led by then Prince Zuou and we fought alongside him in many campaigns after he took his father's throne we were rewarded for our loyalty and actions and thus fight for him as he needs" The General explained; Tatsumi noted Poney whom seemed to have a look of disappointment then she stood up.

"That sword!" Poney remarked pointing at the blade on the general's right hip; the blade has Imperial in origin it was a broadsword with a diamond cross-guard and diamond bevel at the base of the sword the blade however was clearly an Imperial Arms from the design; polish and fact that is was lightweight was a dead giveaway without looking at Wongo-Wongo for the list of Imperial Arms. "I know that blade: that's the Water Dragon Sword: Yinglong! How the hell did you come by that blade; it belonged to a good friend of mine and- someone I loved!" Poney shouted, the man looked at her and at the women surrounding the young Emperor and- recognized them all.

The General sighed and removed his helmet revealing his face along with his white hair and golden eyes; Poney's jaw dropped as did Akame's along with the jaws of Kurome, Mez, Suzuka, Cornelia, Tsukushi, Gin, Remus, Balluck and Womyn. "Najasho?!" Poney shouted aghast, he didn't smile and sighed.

"I wasn't expecting you to come here; any of you much less did I expect you to be wives to the Emperor: but I shouldn't be surprised all of you are alive much less have become the bedwarmers of an Emperor what else are you to him and what is he to you? And just as important what am I to you all know that you know about me" Najasho replied, Poney was incensed and her face contorted with anger, sadness and something else: Betrayal.

"What am I to him and what are you to me: for starters Najasho you- you betrayed me, you- ran away abandoned us: I thought for 7 years you were dead and that wasn't the case you deserted; you left the Empire and ran away from everything and everyone for what? You abandoned me: I loved you! Not just as a sister loves a brother but as a woman loves a man; you ran away and left me behind and left me- to think you were dead that I failed you; I offered to go with you on that mission you told me to stay behind that you could handle it: why? I harbor no more love for you now; you've thrown all that love away, and you did so the moment you left I would have left with you and yet you left me and every one of us behind" Poney retorted but she was just warming up. "When you left I was at my lowest point for a month in a deep depression it was only thanks to my sisters that I managed to get myself out of it. I moved on hoping beyond hope for love; and- I found it; Tatsumi came into my life 3 years ago, and- ever since then I've been happy and joyful; he loves me unconditionally has given me a place at his side and treated me with love, respect and- kindness beyond that a woman like me deserves and- we've wonderful children: five wonderful children, they could have been yours but they aren't they are ours, three princesses and two princes all born of his seed and my womb: I love them dearly" Poney elaborated then wept; Tatsumi rose from his throne and held her then looked at Najasho.

"Why? Why did you run away, why did you desert not only your nation but your loved ones? Why weren't you there to fight alongside Night Raid along the New Empire against the demontide against the vile monster Volgoth Najasho? Answer me this!" Tatsumi asked.

"Why? Because the Empire is evil! It is a beast rotted by corruption, nation that conquers those whom it views as easy prey, a nation not worth fighting for. You know how I came to that conclusion? How I forsook my name and left to find a new life and found one in Tenrou? Well it all started when the Empire ordered me to kill one innocent woman just because she had refused to marry a noble: Her name is Beatrice and she is my first of seven wives: I will not return her and I will not bow to a nation that abandoned me: I didn't abandon the Empire it abandoned me; never rewarded me for my works, I killed, no murdered for the Empire and for my Father whose favor I never managed to earn and because of his status the reason I never advanced because the army loathed me because they loathed him: what did I get? Trauma, resentment, and rejection, thrown aside treated as a bullet, fire, and forget; I- I HATE THE EMPIRE! LOATHE IT! DESPISE IT! AND EVERYONE THAT BELIEVES IN IT!" Najasho ranted, Tatsumi frowned, sighed, Poney glared angrily at Najasho.

"The Old Empire, the one you hate is dead; destroyed by the demons by Volgoth; in its place I created a New Empire; the Golden Dragon Empire a nation of good and designed to destroy corruption I was there with Night Raid, I fought against the monsters both in the Empire and Revolutionary Army: I've killed monsters both human and Danger beast, I've toppled tyrants both of the human variety and killed a Tyrant the last one on the face of Adonai myself, I've slain the Titan of the Skies the evil and vile dragon Glauradrost and made this cloak from his scales and I restored the Pact of Gold and the Dwarves in accordance to it made my crown, blade, shield and halberd from Glauradrost's dreaded corpse; I've fought all over Eden from the Western Kingdoms to the Eastern Lands, from the Icy North to the Hot and Harsh South, I rule all Adonai from West to East and North to South and most importantly I slew and purged Eden of its greatest evil the Arch-Demon Volgoth who was behind all the suffering, rot, corruption and evil acts committed in the name of the Empire and beat back the demontide: I am the Savior of Eden!" Tatsumi retorted rising to his full height. "Tell me what you think of me; I've fought hard and killed I hate killing and did everything I've done just in ensure a future for my family, I've many wives and concubines and many children: I've taken a dynasty that only had four members living and taken that number to a hundred: I am Golden Dragon Emperor Tatsumi Gildenstrom seventh of my name, the son of Emperor Isshin II The Martyr and Empress Akame the Savior, the ruler of the Empire and all Adonai, Greatest of Dwarf Friends, destroyer of the Revolution Army, slayer of monsters, Demon-Slayer, Savior of Nova Atlantea and Prince consort thereof, slayer of the Last Tyrant, Bane of Dragons, Bane of Glauradrost, descendent of the line of the Golden Emperor Tatsumi I, the Jade Emperor Tatsumi II, Jade Butterfly Empress Merraid I the Dragon Emperor Tatsumi III and his beloved Dragon Empress Merraid II, also of the line of The Pearl Emperor Tatsumi IV, of the line of the Silver Emperor Tatsumi V and of the Brass Emperor Tatsumi VI, master of Imperial Arms and the wield of Glaurang the Dragon Crown, Michael the Sword of Truth, Enoch the Shield of Faith, Hadrous the Halberd of the Gods, Valruost the Blooddrinker, Smaug the Dragon Armor and the Primus Imperator: the only man to master seven Imperial Arms and above all else the bane of the damned for all eternity Volgoth Ugor Arch-Demon slave of the vile Valtor and I am greatest of all the Savior of Eden: I've bled for my titles, every single one was earned thru the sweat of my brow, my determination for the best for those I love and those I protect and my desire to make Eden a better world to improve the lives of all those whom live in squalor, under tyrants and those whom seek a better life: I fight for truth and right, I fight for Eden, for those I love, I fight for the Goddess Asha herself and I strive to always better myself and the lives of everyone around me: I've lost my father to a monster, lost my Uncle and Aunt to the same fate, saw my cousin have to endure horrible torture because I wasn't on my game: I've purged the Empire of all its monsters and ended the killing that wouldn't have stopped if Falkland or Volgoth won, I've endured all manner of harsh ordeals that would break a lesser human hell they may break even the most stoic and hardiest of Dwarves and the mightiest of Dragons. I've given the Empire a better fate and want you back Najasho: your crimes were NOT against me but against an Empire that no longer exists an Empire as dead as those whom died in its fall; an Empire murdered by a monster that corrupted it and made it worse than it had ever been and murdered my father: I'm no Volgoth; I'm no Tyrant, I'm no monster: I'm a just, wise and strong ruler, I'm a loving husband and loving father who wants for nothing: and I got it all because I never gave up, and because of my Angel Empress who thru one simple act of kindness, pity and love took me in: I am the Golden Dragon Emperor and I am Tatsumi Gildenstrom, I'm not anyone else, there is no other man like me there is only me" Tatsumi explained, Najasho was stunned, then incensed.

"I won't allow you to take Wakoku: to take this land I've called a new home, you speak of all the things you are but forget that you are one thing: you are not my liege I fight for Zuou: the Supreme Shogun of Wakoku, King of Tenrou and Tiger of the East: I am no longer Najasho I am Nahashu, Ten Star General of Tenrou and Daimyo of Kikawa: I've won many victories and been rewarded; I'm the brother in-law of my liege and have taken two of his sisters wife I've a family of my own I'll not let them down; I see we cannot reach an accord; then we must do battle: prepare for battle Golden Dragon and I'll take your mettle and judge you by your actions in war!" Najasho replied his face contorted with anger, Poney looked at him with loathing.

"I challenge you to duel of champions Najasho!" Poney challenged, Najasho chuckled.

"Refused; we'll meet in battle Poney not in a duel" Najasho replied Poney drew Yue and charged, Najasho barely had time to draw his own sword to parry; the two locked blades rapid strikes in fury from Poney battered Najasho's defense he then laughed. "Always eager to prove yourself!" Najasho replied but had to block another sword strike that one from a golden blade: which was followed up by a kick and Tatsumi stood looming over him.

"Get yourself from my presence spawn of Honest! If you want to fight do so in the field; these negotiations are over, guards escort him and his out of my camp: I'll grant you the honor returning to your forces unharmed but know this I've stayed my hand once you have two more chances: the third will be your last and after that I will strike you down myself, this a mercy I do not give lightly just so you know I could easily cut you down like I was carving a cake: get thee hence and tell you troops that the Golden Dragon Army awaits them and is ready for war!" Tatsumi replied picking him up; the Royal guards rushed in and escorted Najasho and his Hatamoto out of the camp: Tatsumi sheathed his blade as did Poney whom let out a flood of tears and cried, Tatsumi held her close; then thought hard about things: Nancy wasn't with him and was still in the court of Saryuu's king hammering out the terms of Tatsumi's betrothal and Saryuu's annexation she didn't know as he did that her brother was alive and worst still was now an enemy of the Empire; he'd have to break the news and she'd take it hard.

That in mind Tatsumi proceeded to join with his personal retinue in the center of the formation; the Imperator was on standby concealed by nearby canyon and ready for deployment at a moment's notice from Tatsumi's mental command. Tatsumi held it in reserve ready to deploy after the enemy had committed the bulk of their force and focused on making sure the final defensive measures were ready to receive them; he also made sure Rinzu was to the rear of her Hatamoto and placed an entire company of Royal Guards and their supporting armored brigade between her and the enemy: said company was among the most elite of entire Imperial Royal Guard, Tatsumi was taking no chances with regards to Rinzu's safety, he was allowing her to fight in battle but he was not going to let her do so without a sizeable force to back her up and whom had the duty of preventing her capture or death at all cost.

Najasho and his outriders returned to the main body of his army and Najasho was not happy at all in fact he was pissed because of his humiliation, the fact that Poney was now the wife of his enemy and that those he consider his family had betrayed him: or rather he had betrayed them but he didn't see it that way, Najasho was rather prideful when it came to his own actions it had been one of his main motivators for deserting as he had pulled of major and impressive missions as leader of the Elite Seven but had never received his due reward or rather what he wanted as a reward that being medals, promotions and a sizeable salary amongst other things but those had never materialized and this combined with other factors like Beatrice caused him to desert. Najasho's anger was due to bring rash action his force did outnumber Tatsumi's by a sizeable margin and thus he was willing to commit his force to battle to gage Tatsumi's ability and the strength of the New Empire's Army he was still willing to make a tactical retreat if things went badly but he had no intention of leaving without a fight, Tatsumi's army would win the day if there was no fight at all and as far as Tatsumi was concerned if Najasho and his army wanted to wait for Tatsumi's army to attack him he'd be a fool to do so as Tatsumi was first off the defender and secondly by waiting it was more time the Empire had to fully mobilize and when that happened there was nothing Zuou could do to win.

(Song Begin: Resist and Bite: Sabaton)

That out of the way Tatsumi gave orders for artillery to fire and his bomber squadrons to begin their runs in order to convince the enemy into either deciding to engage him or into sodding off. The new model Imperial artillery was made for rapid deployment and equipped with the new nail shells: nail shells were standard artillery rounds but with a nasty surprise inside they were loaded up with nails to maximize shrapnel damage these shells were an infantryman's worst nightmare with regards to artillery rounds; at the same time flame cannons were also ready, the principle being a massive flamethrower to burn enemy ranks when they got into range, and behind that all batteries capable of launching explosive and accurate rockets and missiles these were designed with enemy tanks in mind so infantry were an afterthought.

In the skies above the howl of Imperial bombers and dive bombers loaded to bore with bombs soured above with their deadly payload of bombs that could level city blocks ready to be unleashed; the Imperial aircraft were all made with jet engines and were thru collaboration with Dwarven engineers fitted with extra armor and shielding made to block various projectiles; these atmospheric craft were usually the size of Air Mantas with the large bombers being the size of the larger variety of Air Manta; these big boys the most common being the M-3 bomber which was the newest model to enter mass production having done so earlier in the year were loaded with twice the payload of a normal sized bomber and had three bomb bays loaded to bore.

The arrival of the aircraft resulted in much confusion on the part of Najasho and his army soon however the fact that these were a threat was mad quite clear when the bay doors opened, and the payloads were unloaded. Entire ranks of Samurai and Ashigaru were incinerated with those in Meihou armor surviving though barely the howl of artillery rounds was heard and Najasho ordered an all-out charge, the rush of wolf warriors stained with the blood of their fallen comrades surged forward towards the Imperial army; thousands fell to the artillery but thousands of them remained surging forwards with a rush of a tidal wave. As the enemy closed into the range of the snipers all unloaded their rifles firing with precision to the chinks in the armor of the Meihou armored soldiers while other soldiers died from high powered rounds; at this range, the flame cannons unloaded torrents of fire igniting the pelts worn by the Tenrou warriors over their armor and cooking men alive inside their armor. Tatsumi then signaled for the bracing of his soldiers as the enemy continued their charge then yelled "FIRE AT WILL!" and across the lines the loud sounds of thousands of guns firing bombarded the ears of and the barrage of bullets tore down, killed, and maimed enemy soldiers by the thousands and flamethrowers carried by incineration squads lit up the battlefield causing panic among the ranks of the Ashigaru and terrifying horses. Imperial calvary swarmed into the flanks all mechanized in this case and these tanks tore down swaths of enemy soldiers mowing down the enemy horsemen and infantry men like they were blades of grass the melee soon followed and Imperial blades cross with Tenrou swords for the first time in the war.

In the confusion of battle Najasho and his honor guard charged towards Tatsumi and his retinue Tatsumi ordered the Four Rakshasas in; Akame, Mez, Kurome and Suzuka rushed forward towards the honor guard whom eager to prove their strength charged fool heartedly towards the four women who had dawned their Teigu Armor and had their Imperial Arms drawn. Suzuka grinned and swung her blade the Greatsword carved thru 10 Meihou armored Hatamoto like they had been made of paper; the standard issue armor of the honor guard was of an inferior quality to that used to make the kit of the Najasho and the Ten Stars, and far more importantly the Imperial Arms used by the Four Rakshasas were made by the Dwarves in the Ancient past and thus cut thru the inferior smithing of men like it was nothing. Mez countered and dismembered man after man of Najasho's guard a number of them being Imperials people she found having to detest killing because traitors or not they were still her countrymen. Akame however had no remorse as she cut down these enemies they were trying to hurt her Tatsumi and killing people that wanted to do so was something she did as easily as breathing and treating them as if they were demons. Kurome enjoyed cutting down droves of foes even more so as they rose up from the dead to kill their comrades: Najasho noted Akame charge towards him with two blades in hand and remembered he had a previous engagement that is to say he booked it out of there because he recognized Muramase from the two men that had been in front of them dying from the poison that left dark runic lines across the body and had no desire to be on the receiving end of that sword he also knew that Akame was miles better with the blade from her kicking his ass many times during the sparring when they were still members of the Elite Seven; this sentiment was backed up when Tatsumi revealed the Primus Imperator and the Dwarven War Golems so Najasho ran with several of his honor guard staying behind he and the remainder signaled a retreat, if Najasho had looked back he would have seen his honor guard that had stayed behind being cut down by Akame to a man.

(Song End)

As Najasho ran so did his army with many dying from gunfire in the rout no Imperials followed them as per Tatsumi's orders prior to battle; the army of Najasho then fled back and soon they had disappeared over the horizon leaving their dead and wounded on the ground. Tatsumi then gave the traditional orders he gave after battle: that being to tend to the wounded and count the dead. On his side only 40 Imperial souls lost their lives, on the enemy side over 200,000 of Tenrou's finest now lay dead; the Imperial ranks had held, and the superior firepower and technology had won the day. Tatsumi's troops then inspected the field of dead pealing the wounded out from under them, those the of wounded that wanted aid were given it, those that chose to die in a feeble attempt to bring one Imperial down with them were bayoneted, impaled by spears or had their throats cut with Imperial blades some were finished off with a single pistol shot to the head but that was discouraged to prevent the waste of ammunition; the Imperial supply lines would be uncontested the entire war but the rather practical Imperial army was against wasting ammunition when a melee weapon achieved the same end.

Tatsumi soon after had to note the complaints of his Hatamoto whom having been placed behind his main retinue hadn't gotten to wet their blades with the blood of the enemies before they had ran. "You still have much more to learn and remember your duty is to protect Rinzu: I'll deploy you all more actively when you've finished your training: I'm not allowing ANY of my students to die due to them not being ready!" Tatsumi explained authoritively this dragon response was enough to cow the complainers though many had their pride hurt that they still had much to learn.

With the battle over Tatsumi let his aircraft harass the retreating enemies with strafing runs from his fighters to make sure that the enemies kept run: eventually Najasho's forces had gotten on ships and after two more spraying runs with lead being dumped onto the ranks of the enemies killing droves of Tenrou's warriors the aerial attacks were called off and returned to their bases; Tatsumi looked at the droves of enemies dead and noted an important thing his sword was clean and undrawn he had made it thru the fight without having to kill anyone himself. "What a macabre display" Esdeath commented as she noticed Tatsumi looked at the dead enemies.

"And a gruesome one: and a warning; having seen the aftermath of our Empire's new weaponry I am well disturbed by the results to say the absolute least; not because of what our weapons do to the enemies but because of the sheer quantity of dead and the fact that they managed to get as close as they did with so many dying on the way fighting on until ordered to retreat: if this is how every battle is going to go Esdeath I'm concerned there may not be many people to rule over in the isles of Wakoku when the war is won" Tatsumi commented.

"I can understand your feelings Tatsu-bunny, it's a staggering sight and let me be honest I've not seen many enemies that are brave or insane enough to charge into machine gun fire and flamethrowers wielding swords; I agree that it's very possible that there won't be many people to rule over in these isles but that is the way the world works; the Strong Survive and the Weak Perish, they were weak; you and our legions are strong Tatsumi, remember that the foolish also are weak as foolishness and stupidity are the height of human weakness" Esdeath reassured, Tatsumi sighed.

"Well let's get to burying them all; they may be our enemies, but they aren't demons by any means they were humans and thus it is the first responsibility of all human beings to bury the dead regardless of their nation" Tatsumi explained. The next three days were spent burying the enemy dead and the small number that had died on Tatsumi's side all of those had died to lucky hits on the part of Tenrou's warriors that had closed the distance into melee, their armor had minimal damage and the wounds had come from weapons being driven thru the few chinks that remained. The Imperials were buried in a mound constructed into a hill with the dead being intured properly, Tenrou's soldiers were buried in mass graves though effort was made to put the dead into them with some semblance of order rather than lumping them all in a pile.

Tatsumi then returned to Saryuu's capital with report of his victory which had arrived beforehand thus spent time finalizing the treaties both for his marriage and for Saryuu's annexation into the Empire.

Meanwhile on the Island of Hochi… Amateru smiled as she threaded her needle into flesh, that being the body of the enemy commander she had cut down, as part of her custom post battle the enemy's highest ranking officer that had been cut down during the battle was brought to her, Amateru wanted to make sure the enemy dead were honored properly one of the duties of a devout follower of the God of War wasn't just to fight on the battle and bring victories, but it was a responsibility to treat your enemies with respect and bury the dead of all that died in war in as respectable a manor as possible because it was believed that the dead could not enter the afterlife without the proper burial; thus Amateru believed that the bodies of the dead should be prepared as best as possible for that burial and her habit of stitching the enemy dead back together was born of this the reason being to insure the bodies were in as close to the state they had been when alive before their interment into the earth of Eden. "General Amateru: the enemy bodies have been sewn back together as per your orders; they are ready for interment likewise have all our own been treated for the same" A young officer reported.

"Good all that remains is their leader; war is a bloody and gruesome endeavor but it is also my duty to our god of war and something I enjoy; I love waging war against our enemies: as much as I love the comradery of those under my command I long for more; I long for the lord of war the man shaped by it but not warped by it, a man whom is a great a warrior but does not take life needlessly, brave but not foolhardy, a leader whom leads from the front but doesn't seek the glory: I seek that man more then I seek glory: inform my troops to make ready for the march; Hochi is a worthy enemy for Tenrou and I'm enjoying this war" Amateru replied she then smiled at her dead enemy. "I'll find him soon; I will find him and when I do I will make him mine or he will do the same" Amateru thought then continued stitching the lifeless eyes of her fallen foe looking upward.