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

7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7: the Priestess of War

Author's Note: My apologies for the long wait, I've been busy these past months I'm going to be getting back in the swing of thing this year, also to those waiting on Killing Kuroinu expect that next I'm going to alternate between my three works, also please check out Child of the Stars my new story, note that I'll finish my stories I never leave them unfinished. Also as to Dorothea's Ambition that story is on hold until I've finished this one, as it is very much based in the early part of it on events in this story however I haven't finished it yet so I need to in order to have the baseline for Dorothea's Ambition which I guess I should rename to Darkar Chronicles: Dorothea's Ambition as it is a sequel to Empire's End, of sorts. So I hope you enjoy this chapter, it took me a while to write but real life is a pain in the ass, also I nearly lost the story and other documents to crypto-scammers from the Philippines if you get a message on your steam account from someone you don't know claiming they accidentally reported your account don't respond, report that person as they are a Crypto-scammer and they will try their best to ruin your life.

Tenrou, three days after Tatsumi's victory against Najasho… Zuou sighed as Najasho's messenger gave him the report of the first engagement by his forces against the Golden Dragon Emperor: the results were- horrible; simply horrible, Najasho had taken an army of 300,000 soldiers to mount an offensive against Saryuu only to be blocked on various approaches by Imperial bastions and armies, when his general had found an actual beachhead and gotten his army ashore his path of advance was blocked by an Imperial Army, that Najasho had outnumbered 3 to 1, the battle that followed was a massacre with 2/3rds of Najasho's army having been killed by the superior firepower of the Empire's military; the Golden Dragon had built an untakable bastion and once Najasho's forces had been fully committed well that's when the Emperor revealed a powerful weapon that Zuou had no counter for in direct combat not even if he were to assemble all of Tenrou's forces: that being the Primus Imperator as Najasho something that according to Najasho was thought to be a myth, however seeing it wipe out a third of the army he brought was enough to get him to see reality. Najasho had also reported that before the battle the Golden Dragon Emperor and him had attempted to parlay a fool's action but it had revealed some crucial information; that being the Golden Dragon was under the direct protection of Najasho's former team the Elite Seven and that the members of said team were all female, beautiful and devoted to and married to the Golden Dragon Emperor; he also gave a detailed description of the Golden Dragon Emperor and sent a composite sketch with the courier.

"DAMNATION!" Zuou proclaimed aloud he then turned to the messenger, he was terrified as Zuou was now in an incredibly angry mood the messenger only registered the briefest movement before he saw no more as Zuou ruthlessly decapitated the man having drawn swiftly one of his two No-Dachi blades and with a single swing of his hand beheaded him Zuou then looked and Muzachi whom looked at him with the calmness of a gentle grasshopper.

"My Lord what are your orders?" Muzachi asked, Zuou calmed down.

"GUARDS!" Zuou shouted and several of his Black Wolf Guard, elite masked Samurai clad in reinforced Meihou Armor and wearing black Dire-Wolf pelt mantles with silver wolf heads atop their Kabuto helms walked in their No-Dachi swords drawn. "Dispose of this mess; I'll not have my throne room soiled by the blood of failures" Zuou ordered, and the guards proceeded to clean up the mess, Zuou then turned to the patient Muzachi. "Send another courier back to Nahashu, I've new orders for him, hold and adopt a wait and see approach, also send for Kuriaya I've a new plan that requires subterfuge" Zuou ordered, Muzachi did as ordered, about an hour later Zuou's sinister spymaster walked into the throne room. "Your orders my lord?" Kuriaya's voice replied, it was a voice that was distorted by the mask.

"Prepare your ninjas; I need one of your best infiltrators to head to Saryuu's capital; this mission is of great importance; the infiltrator has a single objective: find the Golden Dragon Emperor and kill him also send another team to secure Rinzu" Zuou ordered.

"Targeting an Emperor is no easy feat and not something that should be trusted to my underlings I'll undertake this mission personally my lord" Kuriaya replied.

"I see; I care not if you return successful or not; I want to only know the skill of the Golden Dragon in his security: also mind that he is guarded by a woman with long dark hair and red eyes; one of his many wives and she wields the blade Muramase; the sword that slays with a single slice: avoid her if you wish to return alive" Zuou explained: Kuriaya nodded then left.

An hour later the sinister spymaster had withdrawn to the secretive stronghold called Shadowmount; a bastion of ninjas and a secretive holding where the Order of the Jade Butterfly dwelt in as their greatest bastion; the spymaster summoned the Inner Council the elite of elite 20 master ninjas their faces shrouded by masks, the doors to the council chamber were locked and the Council removed their masks; Kuriaya grinned as the mask that concealed her identity was removed and that grin grew into a smirk when she allowed her long bright sea blue hair to be seen wrapped in a series of buns: eyes of lavender and skin that was pale but beautiful gave away to the others whom she was, the many woman of the Inner Council bore similar features but with varying shades of hair from sea blue to dark purple to jet black with similar changes in eye color with blues, purple, blacks and a few peridot green eyes looking upon their leader, in fact the entire Council was female and of the same clan. "I call this meeting of the Inner Council to order: first however is everyone in attendance; my sisters, my cousins?" Kuriaya began; she looked around taking in her fellow council members and- her family.

"Yes, Matriarch Kimi" The women replied as a group.

"Excellent: sisters, now let us recite the oath" Kuriaya whose true identity was Kimi Oarburgh replied.

"We the Oarburghs of the Royal Clan we swear by the blood of the Shadow Queens of old to uphold the oath of the Jade Butterfly; we swear to uphold the memory of Empress Merraid I, we swear that only one of true Oarburgh descent shall grace her throne only a Oarburgh shall rule the Golden Empire: we shall not suffer a false Emperor, shall not suffer a false king, we lurk in the shadows and we wait for the time to reclaim our throne" the Inner Circle recited.
"Well-spoken and never forget that since the reign of the Mad Emperor not one Emperor of direct Oarburgh blood has sat on the throne in Melitine, we shall not forget the outcast by our Grandmother Barbara we shall have our just due and serve only one in whom Oarburgh's blood runs true. Now my fellow Oarburghs there has been an- interesting development of late: we all are aware of the state of the isles and far more so the recent war with the Empire: I won't bore you with it; but I've called this meeting of the Inner Council in order to inform you all of a major mission that has been given to me by our current employer the Shogun: this mission is of utmost importance; I have been given the task to eliminate the leader of the Empire: the Golden Dragon Emperor whom leads the armies invading Wakoku, for one of you I've another import task, the capture of Princess Rinzu of Soukai; our agents have reported that the two are never too far from the other and thus the only recourse we have is for our own number two of which one will be me to get involved: none of our lesser agents will do to accomplish this mission: Sachi you are in charge of securing the Princess Rinzu, our informants report the Emperor is to wed the Princess of Saryuu in four days I'll infiltrate the occasion as the bride herself while the rest of you will secure her; she is not to killed Shogun Zuou will want her as a prize however this is but a test, a test for the Emperor to prove his decent he claims he is of direct descent from the Jade Butterfly herself and her beloved children the Dragon Emperor and her eldest daughter that is named after her then he should succeed in thwarting our efforts and if so he is the one our order has been seeking for centuries and as such we will be at his service" Kimi explained.

"Yes Matriarch" they replied, the Inner Circle smiled at the prospect of potentially having an Emperor that fitted their goals but where also thrilled by the fact that their leader was taking matters into her own hands, they then discussed the plans further.

In Saryuu… Tatsumi dodged and parried strikes; tutoring Hinata and Tobari was an enjoyable experience but far more so were his sparing battles with his Four Rakshasas; he was doing both at the same time, the former two watched the spar with interest and taking in every movement of their techniques; in these spars Tatsumi and his Champions held nothing back short of lethal blows, these fights were meant to test the limits of all in involved; Tatsumi dodged a strike from Kurome and parried one from Akame he then moved with the fluidity of a dancer out of the path of Mez before striking at her back only to be blocked by the quarterstaff she used during sparring, he did not forget about Suzuka and sidestepped Mez's sister causing a committed two-handed strike to propel the former into the later knocking them both out of the spar; Tatsumi only had Akame and Kurome left to deal with and took a two-handed grip with his sword and assumed a parry stance; parried Akame's vicious sword strikes before countering a series of strikes from Kurome; the two sisters proved their worthy and power their blades met with strong force and the wood from their strikes brook into splinters leaving both unarmed and thus forcing them to result to hand to hand combat: Kurome had a broad skill set with this and a size advantage but Tatsumi had a much larger arsenal of techniques and a strength advantage that brawn overpowered Kurome and allowed Tatsumi to fling her out of the sparring circle; he then had to deal with Akame whom still had a weapon he grabbed the dropped practice blade of Suzuka and took a defensive stance Akame unleashed a flurry of swift strikes Tatsumi blocked this offense with all the skill of a stonewall; the strikes met and soon Tatsumi overwhelmed Akame on the parry counter strike disarming her and pointing his blade at her chest. "Dead" Tatsumi remarked simply; it was custom in sparring at least with Tatsumi to make that remark on a win basically it was a comment of a real fight's outcome if that spar had been a real battle.

"Indeed: you win; alright I think that's a good demonstration of our skills" Akame replied.

"You can say that again ouch" Mez replied. "Sis you need to not overcommit" Mez remarked to Suzuka.

"I actually enjoyed running into you" Suzuka replied.

"Oh, please again with the super masochism; you know if you weren't my sister, I'd be snarkier about it" Mez commented.

"I can't help it I enjoy pain, especially when its Tatsumi-kun that's delivering it" Suzuka replied and blushed.

"Alright Hinata, Tobari, it's your turn now: first one vs one fights and then a two vs one and if your both still standing, you'll fight Akame" Tatsumi replied, both smiled and were eager for this; granted they knew what the outcome would be but in Wakoku the fight itself was enjoyed even if you lost; provided you survived.

"Ready for it my Emperor" Hinata replied and stepped up Tatsumi raised his hand to signal her to hold.

"Tobari first; then you Hinata: I've not done enough with regards to her training as I have with regards to you Hinata" Tatsumi explained, Hinata nodded and Tobari ran forward with two practice blades and eagerly began to fight him. "Rushing into a fight is never a good idea Tobari; always let the enemy come to you on your terms!" Tatsumi remarked as he parried the offensive strikes, he knew the strengths and weaknesses of a dual blade technique and noted Tobari was doing her best to play to the strengths of it: was it enough? Against most opponents yes in fact she was rather comparable to Tatsumi during his Night Raid days with Valroust and Smaug however that was Tatsumi before his first fight with Volgoth which caused him to completely rework his fighting style from the ground up, also Tobari was still learning the Imperial fist and thus Tatsumi used the fourth and sixth katas in the spar, the exact same ones that Volgoth had overpowered him with in their first real fighter, against Tobari's offense the results were quickly apparent: Tobari was disarmed and flung to the ground with his blade hovering above. "Dead" Tatsumi commented she attempted to knock his legs out from under him only to receive a sharp blow to the body in return from his sword. "Good initiative but again: dead" Tatsumi remarked.

"Damn it! Again, you've beaten me, and I'm top of my class!" Tobari exclaimed.

"A class that Spear and I managed to deliver a beat down to in your first spars against both of us; you clearly have much more to learn Tobari; consider what would happen if you ended up fighting Najasho a former Elite Seven with ALL the dangers that entails and then some considering he was their former leader, or finding yourself against Zuou or one of the other Ten Stars or any number of other skilled fighters that are on the face of Eden all each having but a fraction of my skill: trust me you have a lot to learn from me, remember I fought and killed an Arch-Demon bent on destroying our world and before that a fully grown Tyrant and the world's most terrifying Dragon along with a slew of other enemies from danger beasts to demons to Eden's best fighters I'm more then qualified to tell you that you have much more to learn; now shape up and ready yourself for the two vs one: Hinata your turn!" Tatsumi rebuked, Tobari left the circle and proceeded to observe the spar between her friend Hinata and her Emperor.

Hinata was a sharp contrast to Tobari in that she took Tatsumi's lessons to heart: this led to a more drawn-out fight and much harder one for both combatants eventually Tatsumi prevailed but after plenty of close calls and disarms where Hinata came very close to knocking him out of the Sparring Circle. "Excellent Hinata; still dead BUT you have more then held your own" Tatsumi replied, she smiled and blushed. "All right we'll take a 20-minute break for recovering our stamina and then we'll proceed to the two vs one fight" Tatsumi explained he then parked himself in a nearby chair, he noted Suzuka come over and she sat on his lap and began kissing him she also gave him a lap dance, Tobari blushed at it while Hinata had lost herself in a meditation exercise.

An hour and one beatdown of both his students later practice concluded and Tatsumi was tugged aside by Tobari to speak to him. "My Emperor: I- am sorry about my rash actions and my overconfidence; I'm just- trying to prove myself and I can see that I have much more to learn; I will do my best to focus on future lessons" Tobari apologized, Tatsumi smiled.

"Good Tobari, by doing that you've acknowledged you have much to learn" Tatsumi replied she then did the unexpected and kissed him on the cheek the Rakshasas let this happen.

"My Emperor; please let us go somewhere secluded I wish to service you in full" Tobari explained in seductive tone; Tatsumi sighed then smiled, the practice had pent him up the Four Rakshasas smiled supportively and gave their approving nods, they then went to Tatsumi's quarters for the duration of their stay in Saryuu and Tobari locked the door behind them and removed her Gi revealing she wore no underwear underneath apart from some frilly leg wraps above her knees she removed his own practice garb and his crown: Tatsumi's armor and main outfit were nearby and she placed the crown with them she then climbed on the bed and spread her legs, Tatsumi came over, she smiled lasciviously. "My body is yours my Emperor I give unto you my maidenhood and my love but please be gentle this is my first time" Tobari explained she then spread her pussy lips with two fingers Tatsumi kissed her and entered slowly then popped her cherry, Tobari showed no discomfort, Tatsumi noted she was rather tight she then captured his lips in a passionate kiss as he began his thrusts she wrapped her legs around him and began to moan as Tatsumi took her. He hadn't expected this but he wasn't one to shy away from an eager woman, Tobari was 17 and despite her young age she was surprisingly knowledgeable about this; being of a noble family on Soukai Tobari was qualified for marrying him and thus would not be a concubine, still that she was willing to submit herself like this was- unexpected but perhaps she longed for love and affection, and this would in turn cause her to redouble her training efforts.

Tatsumi broke the kiss and turned to Tobari's breasts; D-cups and drank from her right breast to her surprise and Tobari moaned as he did so and cooed as he drank, when finished drinking from the right he turned to the left and continued thrusting into her at a gentle moderate pace, Tobari soon experienced her first orgasm and moaned audibly, Tatsumi continued for three more minutes as he reached his limit, Tobari wrapped her legs and arms around him. "Fill me with your seed my Emperor, I will bear your children: take me to wife or as a concubine, I will honor my duty: I love you" Tobari begged and Tatsumi obliged, she released her legs and she pushed him back, then knelt admiring his length. "Let me clean it for you and service you fully" Tobari remarked and eagerly popped his length into her mouth before licking the semen off, she then wrapped her ample breasts around it and slowly massaged it; both of them blushed and Tobari's face was like a tomato with her blush she then eagerly licked the tip of Tatsumi's phallus before popping it into her mouth where she sucked and licked it with a surprising amount of skill for a virgin, she turned around allowing Tatsumi to tend to her folds fingering them licking them and sucking them Tobari moaned as she blowed him.

Soon both reached a climax and came again; Tatsumi noted Tobari roll off onto her belly. "How did you learn to do that?" Tatsumi asked.

"Cosmina gave me some pointers: she didn't tell you because I wanted to surprise you" Tobari explained wagging her butt in an invitation that Tatsumi took backdooring her and taking her black cherry, he lay against her back leaning on her shoulders.

"Has she been giving anyone else ideas?" Tatsumi asked.

"Didn't ask, she didn't tell; wouldn't be surprised if she did truth be told and in all honesty, I hope you enjoy any other surprises, well she did tell me that she was educating Princess I mean Empress Rinzu about it" Tobari explained as Tatsumi thrusted inside his hands fondling her breasts she moaned.

Meanwhile in Rinzu's quarters… Said Empresses were abed naked as Cosmina grinded against Rinzu's loins with her own as they tribed. "This position Rinzu is one that Tatsu-kitty's quite fond of only you'll be on top cutie, and he'll be on the bottom or other way around: it's really enjoyable either way you do it" Cosmina replied.

"I- can- oh see why" Rinzu replied to Cosmina her face blushing as she moaned as Cosmina's pussy grinded against her own.

"I'll take care of you Rinzu, show you what I know that way you'll best be able to please Tatsu-kitty" Cosmina replied and leaned down against Rinzu's body she fondled Rinzu's ample breasts and kissed her, a kiss Rinzu returned to her own surprise, she was enjoying this, Cosmina broke the kiss and began to suckle from Rinzu's breast as she fondled both bountiful orbs, Rinzu cooed and moaned as Cosmina grinded against her, Cosmina descended downward to Rinzu's clitoris and began to caress it with her lips and tongue, fondling Rinzu's breasts still. "Oh Cosmina; that's- where Tatsumi-kun enjoys, my ladyhood is feeling greet" Rinzu moaned out.

"All part of my work, Tatsu-kitty will be all the happier the more eager you are, and you can show how deeply you love him" Cosmina replied and continued her education by scissoring her and giving her a mutual kiss before they tribed again this time with Rinzu being the dominant partner.

At the same time Tatsumi had finished with Tobari who was laying off to the side of the bed with smile on her face as the two kissed. Tobari redressed and Tatsumi followed suit. Not to long afterwards Tatsumi decided to go see Rinzu and was surprised to find her and Cosmina in the middle of education, both smiled to see him and Rinzu spread her legs invitingly with a flirty face on, Tatsumi shut the door, Rinzu then put what she learned to the test and found Tatsumi all the happier for it, Cosmina then demonstrated more for Rinzu whom then practiced what Cosmina had taught her to mixed results, the more advanced positions were harder for her to pull off, but she managed to at least get some semblance of them down, Tatsumi was soon satisfied as was Rinzu and Cosmina to a lesser extent as she could go all day. "I'm hoping I'm doing better at pleasing you my beloved Tatsumi" Rinzu remarked.

"You're getting better, you know Rinzu how you perform in bed isn't concerning to me I'm glad that you are striving to better yourself but remember I love you for more than your beauty, I love you for who you are as a person and because you embody all that strive to protect and care for in this world of ours, but also because of your voice, your skills as a warrior, Rinzu I love all of you" Tatsumi replied.

"Thank you, that means so much to me Tatsumi" Rinzu replied she then held his hand and Cosmina held the other, both brought him to a bath, they tended to him more for a few more rounds, they then cleaned him and kept him happy, and after they finished dried him, dressed him, and groomed him. "You look like an Emperor ought, now we have a new day ahead of us Tatsumi, let's see what it has to bring; perhaps we can see some of Saryuu's sites I've not been here in a while, and you haven't so let's go find my good friend and Tatsumi's bride in the waiting Kotonoha and have her show us the sites" Rinzu commented and suggested.

The three left the room and were joined by Mashiro, Tsukushi, Cornelia and Naomi and soon after the Four Rakshasas and his three Sacred Swords Remus, Womyn and Balluck. Tatsumi soon found the lovely Princess Kotonoha playing with her younger sisters, those being children ages 5-10, in a game of tag. Tatsumi took a good look at her: Kotohana was a grey eyed beauty with long black hair, her graceful figure was clad in a blue kimono on her forehead she wore the crown of a princess or rather the Saryuuan heir crown, her feet were covered by footwrap socks, her kimono had a lovely flower pattern at her side was a Meihou Katana that had been in her family for about 3 centuries and had been passed down from King to heir for just as long. Kotohana was a master swordswoman, Tatsumi had seen her testing her skills in the garden dojo where she dueled the elite samurai of her household defeating each with methodical grace and precision she had also been tutored in many different things including various applications of writing from calligraphy scrolls to poetry along with arts like painting, music using a local type of horn found only on Saryuu called a Tsonga, she was by all means a worthy heir to inherit the Kingdom of Saryuu and quite a catch for the Golden Dragon Emperor in terms of marriage, an Emperor was the highest any woman on Eden could aspire to wed and a princess or queen were the highest an Emperor could aspire to have as an Empress. "Greetings Tatsumi" Kotohana greeted politely. "And you as well Rinzu and- Cosmina I do believe your name is?" Kotohana continued.

"Cosmina is my name, that's who I am and that's not going to change, besides I'm exceptionally happy with my life; I mean what more could I ask for then to be with my sweet, loving, understanding and compassionate Tatsu-Kitty" Cosmina replied, she leaned against Tatsumi and kissed him on the cheek. "Only a couple more days till you get to see what he can do in bed; trust me Princess you are in for the time of your life; of all the pretty boys on Eden Tatsumi is both the prettiest and the best of them in every way I can find no fault with him he's been kind and loving towards me sense we first met" Cosmina continued.

"So how long have you two been married?" Kotohana asked.

"Three years now, four come next winter I have loved every day since even the ones where we had to fight baddies and demons; every day Tatsumi is always there for me except when he had to go to places where I couldn't as I was needed to help Dorothea-chan with her research; I still do from time to time but since the end of the War that Mattered I've devoted all my time to being a loving mother to our children and my beloved's bringer of joy and happiness where every day I send him to heaven with my voice, my dancing and my skill in bed; when it comes to Tatsumi I know how to make him happy and will hear him out whenever he needs someone to be honest with, I'm honest with him, he is the same with me, there are no secrets between us" Cosmina replied. "Not one, not even my past" Cosmina thought internally; her past was a dark thing before she had met Tatsumi that she had only told four people about those four being myself, Linzi, Dorothea and Tatsumi after she had met him, they'd gotten along in deep love in affection. This love had resulted in five children so far and given Cosmina's nymphomania along with her own and Tatsumi's own insatiability they'd keep having kids until it was biologically impossible for them to have more, Cosmina wanted children out of a desire to have a family of her own after her original family had been violently destroyed by evil people and she loved every child she bore and every one of them they had.

"I treasure Cosmina dearly, and since Rinzu came into my life I treasure her too, I love my family more than my nation itself I will never lose that love" Tatsumi explained, this was a sure fact about him he was a family man thru and thru a loving husband to his many wives and concubines and a doting father to his many children for they were what he fought for and what drove him in his life. "I'll treasure you too Kotohana, I think though we should spend some time together get to know more about each other" Tatsumi added.

"I'd be glad to do that, let's do it, sisters I'm out of the game you'll have to go one without me" Kotohana responded, her sisters let out a collective "Aw!" and smiled Kotohana joined Tatsumi and his entourage.

An hour later… Tatsumi and Kotohana had entered a dojo for some sparring they had been accompanied by Tatsumi's Three Sacred Blades and the Four Rakshasas the latter of which Tatsumi had stand outside; Tatsumi had done his training and sparring allotment for the day already with Hinata and Tobari, but he was always up for more to make sure his fighting skills never lost their edge; it was even more interesting when facing a new sparring opponent. Unlike Rinzu who while very capable still had much to learn, Kotohana fought on equal footing with Tatsumi, she wasn't able to overpower him but he wasn't able to overpower her either, both also favored defensive styles which meant both were constantly trying to goad the other into making a mistake, the only difference in their fighting style was their favored weapon type and use of another technique, after a series of indecisive attacks by either Tatsumi was convinced that Kotohana was indeed a master swordswoman so he attempted style changing, this didn't help him beyond gaining temporary advantages, he tried working in his Imperial Fist and Oarburgh training but her own local martial arts skills negated that and while he did maintain a strength advantage Kotohana had the advantage of agility and both kept at it until both decided to call it a draw. "Well, Kotohana you are an amazing swordswoman, I've got some things I could teach you but not that much outside of that your sword skills are among the best, do you have any other combat skills?" Tatsumi asked.

"I've trained in a number of unarmed fighting arts, I'm also an amazing archer and a master of Kyodo, I'm a skilled horsewoman and know how to counter of a variety of weapons from the exotic to the unexpected; I've even used my skills to see off any unwelcome suiters who didn't take no for an answer" Kotohana explained she was definitely a warrior princess.

"I'd like to see your archery skills; Remus here is one of the best archers in the Empire in addition to being the best swordswoman of my Sacred swords and the wielder of a Teigu bow" Tatsumi explained, said dojo also sported a series of practice targets along with Yumi Bows and practice arrows. Both women picked up a bow and placed a quiver with 30 arrows on their backs: Tatsumi moved to the side. "On my signal you'll both fire; let's see how many direct hits you can get" Tatsumi explained, both woman smiled at him then strung and drew back their bows, Tatsumi raised a hand and gave the signal for them to loose arrows: the speed of both of those women was something that wasn't to be ignored, nor their accuracy within the span of a minute they had used half the arrows in their quivers and in thirty seconds more emptied them.

Tatsumi took a good look at the targets and noted how many arrows were in the bullseye, most of them had hit either somewhere on the bullseye and three had hit dead center, even the shots that didn't hit the bullseye were close enough, if the targets had been human beings they'd be pincushions; the fact that Remus and Kotohana had actually been on par was impressive though Remus had one slight edge; she had hit dead center four times where Kotohana had hid three which was all the more impressive given that Remus's bow of choice was a Teigu that always hit the target granted this could have gone either way so both were on par in his opinion. "Excellent work ladies; I'm- impressed; I think a demonstration of my own is in order" Tatsumi replied then turned there was a third target that was spotless beside two more which were likewise completely untouched, Tatsumi stood the same distance both woman were from said target and pulled out his side arm: this was Mark IV Grundel Arms 1587 Desert Eagle pistol of the kind Najenda favored and it was plated with gold he gripped it steadied it with his left hand and fired, the loud clack of the gun was a surprising sound for Kotohana while she wasn't unfamiliar with firearms given the recent adoption of them in Saryuu two years prior but those had different sound to them due to the nature of the weapons the firearms Saryuu had adopted were single shot arquebusses whereas Imperial fire arms were WAY more advanced centuries more advanced, what she didn't expect was that said target would have a massive hole it where the Bullseye was from a single shot nor the holes that Tatsumi placed in rapid succession around it in a circle Tatsumi then stopped firing and put the pistol back in a holster on his back.

"How? I've never seen a Teppou that fires more than one shot, is that accurate and much less puts out that much damage and can be used with a single hand" Kotohana replied.

"That Kotohana is what is called technological advancement, smoother barrels make for more accurate rounds, a different type of bullet made of stronger alloys does more damage and is easier to load, forged in different shape to maximize damage and covered by a metal jacket increased the power along with innovations that load the powder in with the round, and most importantly the magazine: a specially designed case that is loaded with bullets with a mechanism that fires the first bullet and immediately loads the next, when the magazine is empty switch it out within seconds where the firearms used by your people would still be loading their second shot, Imperial weaponry is miles ahead of any other nation outside the Dwarves and the Atlanteans whom also have this tech but we invented it on our own; it's also not something that has stopped advancing; by the way this pistol is capable of putting down a man with a single shot, this is the latest model and was custom built to my specifications the gold alloy is a decorative choice my wife Aria owns the company that makes this model of pistol: but even it is but a fraction of the power that Tsukushi's pistols possesses they are something else, Teigu firearms" Tatsumi explained.

"Allow me to demonstrate" Tsukushi commented then moved towards the targets that Kotohana and Remus had peppered with arrows, she then lifted Prometheus pistols and fired, both targets were decimated within a second and a single shot each Tsukushi then holstered her pistols with a practiced spin and turned towards those watching. "I never miss" Tsukushi commented, she then kissed Tatsumi on the cheek and held his arm. "I take it I won" Tsukushi commented.

"It wasn't a competition" Tatsumi replied.

"Aw, does that mean no reward, I really wanted to spend some time with you; alone" Tsukushi responded then winked and leaned on him, Tatsumi blushed.

"I'll do that with you later today Tsukushi" Tatsumi replied she smiled, the door opened and two of Tatsumi's Hatamoto entered; those being Iroha and Nemuri: all three were dressed to spar and had even dawned their armor to better represent conditions in an actual fight, their weapons however were put to the side as they entered.

"Greetings your majesty, we noticed the dojo had the four Rakshasas outside and I thought we'd come for some more training from you" Iroha greeted confidently and explained.

"Well then I'm warmed up, take your preferred weapon stand ins, also its good you're both in your armor that makes things more reflective of actual battle" Tatsumi replied, he then grabbed another sparing sword as his spar with Kotohana had resulted in the one he had using becoming frayed to the point of breaking he also grabbed a second sword, clad in his imperial garb Tatsumi was ready to face off against his two students; on a signal from Womyn after they were ready the spar began, two versus one, but Tatsumi had two practice blades.

Tatsumi let them take the initiative as normal to test their current skills they had many sparring sessions in which Tatsumi taught them about the importance of the approaches taken to a fight; he parried their first strikes and dodged and weaved, Tatsumi did this to remind them that combat is fluid, his style was very defensive and that was deliberate, in sparring Tatsumi always wanted to gage his opponents strengths and weaknesses especially the people he trained to fight: he didn't want them to have any weakness that could be easily exploited and thus make any enemy have a natural issue in facing their opponents so his defensive stance in the start of sparring was mainly taken to see how his sparring partner or partners had improved since last time. Iroha and Nemuri didn't disappoint, they were very advanced students and were skilled fighters bordering on becoming formidable ones: thus, from Tatsumi's perspective they were nearly about a third of the way thru their training.

Tatsumi noted flaws with Iroha's technique that needed improving, Iroha was using a wooden naginata as her weapon of choice was a naginata; but as Tatsumi knew a good deal about polearms from his extensive training and use of that type of weapon with regards to his own Teigu Halberd he noted she wasn't making the best use of her reach advantage and was focusing more on stabs where she should be focused on slices; from his sparring with Moegi he knew the Naginata's strengths and weaknesses and while Iroha avoided the latter she wasn't making full use of the former: thus Tatsumi focused on her while keeping Nemuri at bay, he closed the distance getting inside Iroha's reach and disarmed her of her weapon thus knocking her out of the fight from then on it was a one vs one between two sword users, one being Nemuri whom considered sword skill secondary and focused on marksmanship with the gun a mistake in Tatsumi's eyes considering an arguement between Mine and Esdeath some years with Esdeath's warning of the dangers of focusing on ranged combat to expense of other fighting styles.

"Dead" Tatsumi commented tapping both with his practice blade. "Iroha you are improving, Nemuri you're getting there but not even close you need alot more practice with the blade" Tatsumi explained both bowed. "Next time we spar I'll be actually teaching you instead of just taking in what you've learned" Tatsumi added.

"Yes Tatsumi-Sensei" both said, they didn't immediately leave for leisure which all the Hatamoto were on after the daily training as Tatsumi had tasked the Elite Seven under Shastavi with Rinzu's security for the duration of their time in Saryuu. "Tatsumi-Sensei may we come with you?" Iroha asked.

"Sure I don't see any problems with that" Tatsumi replied and both of them took their place at his side in guard position as they left the Dojo: a protective diamond was formed around Tatsumi by his protectors while he walked in center with Kotohana and with Tsukushi whom was leaning on him an arm wrapped in between breasts, Tsukushi smiled and was deeply happy, everyone was actually; but Tatsumi's happiness was the greatest, to him the threat posed by Zuou was one that while he took seriously was one he didn't fear because as much as Zuou may want to take what Tatsumi loved and called his own he had no way of doing so, not with Tatsumi's security also Zuou was no Volgoth he was just a very evil human being which was something he had dealt enough with in his life to know how to deal with, the location he happened to be in was also a safe place AND the fact that he was in Imperial territory so on his home turf even if it was recently annexed home turf it was still the Golden Dragon Empire and thus subject to the Pax Draconus that Tatsumi had made in the aftermath of the War that Mattered and that very thing made him all the more invested in being secure BUT free to do as he wished without worrying for security; Tatsumi believed that trading freedom for security was never a good idea by doing so you lost both, also being paranoid was not going to make him happy and thus he chose to be happy by not worrying about Zuou as he was not in any danger from Zuou at that moment in time anymore then he was trapped in a room with angry naked sumo wrestler wanting to maim him, neither was a danger at the moment and thus he didn't worry about it.

The time spent with Kotonoha concluded around afternoon they had seen a fair few sights in Saryuu including some actual Sumo wrestling which Tatsumi had taken a bet on and won each time, the princess was called by her mother to see the royal tailor for her wedding dress, Tatsumi decided to head to his own quarters, Iroha and Nemuri had been as he noticed trying to make a move on him; word from Tobari may have gotten to them or they were just doing this on their own initiative which they were in actuality, the main reason for this infatuation stemmed from knowing Tatsumi personally for a good amount of time and knowing of him, it was a common fact that many women and girls were in love with him for his selfness, sacrifice and action undertaken for the sake of everyone on Eden, he was the ultimate catch for a husband on Eden and when those women got to know him personally for a decent amount of time, a few weeks minimum it was natural for them to start falling for him but also another reason they were afraid of having their virginities stolen from them thru rape by a Tenrou monster thus they wanted to make sure that those were taken by someone they loved.

As he entered his quarters he Iroha and Nemuri went to follow him Akame looked at them and then at Tatsumi whom told her via his body language to let them pass and to not let anyone else in unless it was necessary or it was Aria or Esdeath or Rinzu that wanted to see them, for those two he'd drop anything else he was doing if they needed to talk to him about something urgently or wanted to spend time with him and for Rinzu he'd immediately let her in just to know she was safe and sound.

As the door shut Tatsumi took a seat. "You wanted to see me in private, are you thinking what I think you are thinking?" Tatsumi asked.

"You knew we were trying to seduce you?" Nemuri commented unsubtly causing Iroha to facepalm.

"You weren't supposed to tell him that outright but given he figured it out there is no point in denying it; but yes we were: my apologies my Emperor if we are reaching too far above out station but you are- everything the stories say about you and more: just- wonderful, for what you've done for our princess and our homeland there isn't a more selfless man on the face of Eden, to have such great power and to not abuse it is- its just too much for me to express" Iroha admitted.

"I think your handsome and- well none of the guys in our group with the exception of Hisame who told me no are my type: I just want to find a good husband, have a family and be safe from anyone that would do me harm I want to be loved as a wife and as a mother" Nemuri admitted.

"Why so sudden though: I'm not going to turn you away I'm just wondering why so soon?" Tatsumi asked, Iroha looked at him; shedding tears she hugged him her busty body pressing against him, he held her in a comforting embrace.

"I had a nightmare, I told Nemuri because she was in the nightmare- I dreamt of a world without you, a world without a hero to save Soukai from Zuou, it didn't end well, I was a child at least fourteen but I could have been twelve Hisame he was killed by Zuou, Rinzu Zuou took her and- he raped her, his soldiers captured me and Nemuri in the nightmare and sold us to Zuou for our weight in gold: he- did the same thing to me and Nemuri he did to Rinzu, then to all our friends all of us broken and Rinzu- she didn't break she killed Zuou and herself: it was a horrible nightmare but I'm glad that it was just that that I awoke to this my real life: I think the goddess was trying to warn me that I shouldn't take things for granted: I love you and I- want to be with you, not just because I'm grateful to you as the Dragon Messiah of Eden foretold of by the ancients but also because of how you treat our princess whom will one day become our queen and whom is already our Empress: I fear that if I'm captured in battle I'll still be a virgin and sold to that monster: I want to avoid that fate I want to have my first time be with someone I love and with someone who will protect me from monsters. I want that person to you my Emperor" Iroha explained crying, Tatsumi held her close, Iroha had from his time spent with her since she became one of his Hatamoto and his student a very strong person outside, inside she was very insecure, Tatsumi didn't want her to be that way he wanted her to be happy: he had many wives nothing was stopping him from taking two more and he couldn't bear to reject Iroha or Nemuri whom just wanted a loving husband; he kissed Iroha on the forehead then on the lips, she kissed back Nemuri came over he kissed her. The two smiled.

"Come I'll take care of you" Tatsumi offered, they undressed and walked to the bed Iroha locked the door, the three lay on the bed naked. "Now who wants to go first?" Tatsumi asked, the two looked at him took in his calm, handsome and happy face then looked at the scars on his well-kept chest and gasped.

"Are those?" Nemuri asked.

"The scars of wounds I took to save Eden, every one of them, the Empire has the means to heal such scars with our medical advancements and treatments I choose to keep them to remind myself of whom I am and what I went thru for the sake of everyone in the world, for those I love, those yet born, the living the dead, every living soul for them I put my all into saving Eden: and- I nearly died, for a time I may have actually been dead but I came back: I've got much to live for, and my scars remind me of what price I paid to keep that which I live for" Tatsumi explained, they looked at the one: the one near his right shoulder. "All my scars tend to be unnoticeable thanks to the one: that one is- the one that nearly did me in, the one that ending my hubris and killed the old me: Volgoth gave it to me, and it was perhaps the only good thing he did" Tatsumi replied, both kissed him, pressing their hands along his chest; Iroha still shed tears of joy; Tatsumi kissed her. "Who wants first go?" Tatsumi asked.

"I'll let Iroha take it if she wants to I can wait" Nemuri remarked.

"Iroha?" Tatsumi asked, she didn't say anything only nodded, Tatsumi laid her back.

"Please don't tease me, take it first then show me everything else I want to get the part that hurts out of the way first" Iroha explained, Tatsumi kissed her laid her back she spread her legs and he entered, she was tight and a virgin, he reached her barrier and she gave a single nod and a smile, he broke her hymen, she didn't let out any cry of pain it didn't even hurt her she kissed him as blood flowed down his length they rolled over and she bounced up and down atop him her black hair was let flowing when she undid her ponytail she pressed against him and kissed romantically, they wrapped their arms around him. As they did this Nemuri watched taking mental notes and thinking of how she wanted Tatsumi to take her, as she did so the two took the missionary position and from there Tatsumi kept going as Iroha experienced her first orgasm and blushed as she did so, Tatsumi kept going until he was peeking she wrapped her arms around him along with her legs. "Don't let me go I want to be a mother to our children; I want to be your wife marry me please" Iroha moaned.

"As you wish Iroha; I'll wed you at the same time as I wed Kotonoha; I'll explain to her the situation" Tatsumi agreed, he released, he had Nemuri come over; she to his surprise assumed the doggy style position.

"I want you to take me like this: but not my pussy: take my ass first" Nemuri seductively purred, Tatsumi nodded.

"I'll make sure his nice and ready first, don't want him to hurt you too bad" Iroha commented, Tatsumi was about to ask how she knew that and grinned. "My mother give me some advice before we left Soukai just in case I happened to fall in love, here let me show you what else she told me to do" Iroha explained and proceeded to give him a blowjob, Tatsumi had Nemuri come over he decided that while he was waiting for Iroha to make length nice and slick so it would slide in without trouble that he'd drink from Nemuri's ample breasts, EE-Cups that were just slightly smaller than Aria's or Esdeath's breasts, on par with Poney's Tatsumi drank, the blonde haired girl moaned he did so she then tickled his pecks with her hands as he did this, Iroha all the while kept blowing him, Tatsumi let her do this until he was sure that he was ready he then had Nemuri bend over; he took her dark cherry and moaned contentedly as he thrusted into her, his hands fondled her breasts genteelly, Iroha watched and smiled.

Tatsumi soon came having been warmed up by Iroha, but he gave Nemuri an enjoyable experience, she then strode atop him bringing herself down and popping her cherry and Tatsumi invited Iroha over. "Sit on my face; let me return the favor" Tatsumi explained, Iroha blushed and did so without question, Tatsumi worked his tongue going down on her while Nemuri bounced and moaned, a knock was heard on the door, followed by Rinzu asking to be let in, Tatsumi stopped, the two dismounted him and he unlocked and opened the door, Rinzu grinned and blushed when she saw him naked.

"Having fun without me? I'd like some more" Rinzu greeted as she stripped.

"Hope you don't mind sharing" Tatsumi asked, she giggled walked in she was surprised to see Iroha and Nemuri but didn't think anything bad of it, she joined, Tatsumi finished tending to Nemuri then turned to Rinzu whom had assumed the same position Nemuri had to begin with.

"I'd like to have you take me like this" Rinzu coyly said, Tatsumi obliged and Rinzu smiled, Nemuri and Iroha kissed him, he kept going till he released and then he let them take care of him, Rinzu gave him to Iroha who he gave her ass a good ride and Iroha to Nemuri whom gave him a titjob and then back to Rinzu, the two Hatamoto passed out after five more rounds each and Tatsumi then tended to Rinzu fully the Song Empress kissed him passionately as they made love; soon they were both satisfied and Iroha and Nemuri came to, they huddled close for a time staying that way until another knock came at the door; Aria's voice this time, at this Tatsumi again strode over to the door.

"What do you need my Capital Angel?" Tatsumi asked.

"Time alone with you, you're already naked are you?" Aria commented.

"How did you know?" Tatsumi asked.

"Because I know you" Aria replied, Rinzu and her two Hatamoto redressed and left the room, Aria knew what happened. "More additions to the harem?" Aria asked.

"Yes" Tatsumi replied, Aria smiled.

"I'm glad to have them along; now come over here my Golden Dragon and give your Capital Angel what she wants and what she needs, Tatsumi undressed her and Aria looked at him with a smile, she had matured as much as he had and she looked much like her mother, Tatsumi picked her up she bent over and Tatsumi went to their go to position; Aria's preferred opener and position was anal; why, because Aria really enjoyed it and it was Tatsumi doing most of the work she just had to relax and enjoy; Tatsumi did so at Aria's preferred pace enjoying every moment and movement, Tatsumi took ten minutes and as Aria expected on que released, she then rode him and the two kept making love, there were no further interruptions and the Capital Angel had her Golden Dragon to herself and soon another angel would be in the making.

Meanwhile somewhere in Saryuu… Kimi Oarburgh was a woman of many resources and a woman who could travel quickly, the reason her family bloodlines ability to control Danger Beasts, she and her younger sister Sachi whom was also her protégé and her planned successor had traveled by air using a Great Falcon, Wakoku hosted a number of Danger Beasts or as the locals called them Freaks, Great Falcons were simply giant falcons that were a menace to livestock and unwary Wakokuans whom weren't paying attention to the skies, the Oarburgh exiles had made a habit of taming them and other danger beasts along with Wrigglers that they had brought over with them to the isles to fill a role of allies, wildlife was very good when it came to preforming missions either as transportation, a diversion or as a subtle method of elimination.

Kimi and her sister had traded their shadow armor for kimonos of the nobility in the Saryuu style or rather they wore those clothes over their armor, it would be a simple task to infiltrate the palace as the King was inviting all to come to the wedding and Kimi had come to Saryuu many times before and thus like many of these places had an elaborate cover identity that was so well crafted and backed up by hard evidence that nobody would bat an eye, the same applied for Sachi, with their given attire were a number of concealed weapons disguised as normal objects that a noble lady would carry on her person or wear on her person, said kimonos they wore were actually made of silk covering specialized Oarburgh made clan armor; both of them sported an excess amount of makeup and their cover was very well crafted. They soon would meet up with agents and take assume fully their cover identities.

Their plan was simple, Sachi would secure Rinzu, and Kimi would deal with the Golden Dragon Emperor herself, it was a well-known fact that the emperor was a ladies man and Kimi intended to use that to her advantage, she'd used her beauty before to lure targets into a false sense of security and while she'd never bedded a target she had done a number of risqué actions to put one completely off-guard. Kimi's greatest advantage as a spy and assassin was that nobody knew that she was the sinister spymaster of Tenrou Kuriaya except for Zuou and her sisters, even the rest of her Kunoichi weren't aware of their leader's identity, the fact that she could be anywhere, and anyone was the ultimate advantage of any spy or assassin. Sachi would have the easier task in Kimi's eyes that being to gain Rinzu's trust and lead her off to be knocked out. "I've always been a fan of weddings" Kimi commented.

"Ever plan on getting hitched someday Kimi-nii?" Sachi asked.

"Oh yes, but only to a man worthy of me and my sisters as a whole: I must be tactful and prudent when selecting a husband, it would be a slander to my honor to behave as Moegi did and bed any man or woman that takes my fancy; I'm no whore nor a slut" Kimi replied.

"Yet our clan has a history with women and- lax morals" Sachi replied.

"Don't go there, I understand the true path of love, love for both women and men, to bond with my sisters and select a worthy husband as it stands however as Matriarch, I must have a good deal of tact regarding matters love and pleasure lest I end up like Merraid" Kimi explained.

"Alright you say that every time, and I'll say it again that you are missing out on the many lovely Kunoichi in our service and the many lovely ladies in Tenrou's court besides" Sachi commented.

"Please you're acting like Merraid: I'll not have a sister of mine play the whore" Kimi replied.

"Please I'm still a virgin in body Kim, don't worry about it, so what do you think of the Golden Dragon, the stories we've heard our agents have brought us what do you think of him?" Sachi commented changing the subject.

"I'll have meet him for myself, the question is does he have the blood and what extent does he have it: how far back is his pedigree and more importantly is he truly of the royal family much less of the Oarburgh Line" Kimi answered, the two noted they were approaching the first of their many safehouses, the wedding itself would be in four days, before that would be a reception a day before in which the various nobles would have a chance to meet the Emperor and his harem; a good time to get close to their targets and lure them into a false sense of security, perhaps Kimi could charm her way into the Golden Dragon's bedchambers and from there it would be a simple matter to have him at his most vulnerable, but that was only if he proved not to be of the line, she and Sachi had an ulterior plan that they had discussed with the circle, should the Golden Dragon be the one then their loyalties belonged to him first and foremost and even then it would still be required for Kimi to speak with him privately; Sachi and her had devised a series of gestures that would signal for the mission to commence, it be given the go ahead Sachi would carry out the kidnapping with the support of their agents whom had already infiltrated the castle, Kimi would lay low, her plan for the actual assassination was divided in two paths, the first was to attempt to seduce and lure the Emperor into a secluded location where the two were alone, the latter was to incapacitate Kotohana and disguise herself as her using her Allure Amulet. The Allure Amulet was one of the several clan Teigus of the Oarburgh family and one which Kimi had stolen before their exile to Wakoku, it allowed her to pose as any person with such a convincing illusion that allowed her to pose as anyone with all the traits of that person both their appearance and their voice that was so effective that only way to cause it to useless was if Kimi didn't know how to answer a given question about that person's life, however she had extensive background research on everyone of note in the isles and a number that weren't of note so Kimi was prepared.

Kimi had even prepared numerous plans for any mission and contingencies to deal with any target, with the exception of the Golden Dragon Emperor who was rather new on the scene and whom Kimi had yet to establish a thorough investigation of for that reason so her plans to kill him were most improvised with not too much information. Kimi also had a contingency plan to deal with Zuou should the Wolf-King decide that his spymaster had outlived her usefulness, those plans were very extensive and ready to be used at any time. The Wolf King hadn't however done anything to warrant those plans being used yet, she also reminded him that her clans' loyalties were to her first and foremost and that making an enemy of her would be a fatal mistake.

As it stood however Kimi was ready for her mission it would only take some time to put into place.

Meanwhile on the Island of Hochi… Amateru noted that after her most recent battle the people of Hochi were less inclined to face her on the open field, she was now having to begin sieges because as it stood her enemy was refusing to give battle and had adopted a defensive policy and had begun using scorched earth tactics, Amateru had prepared for such moves and had made sure her logistics were more than enough to avoid this being an issue: the natives of Sochi also lacked an important thing to make such a tactic work and that being they didn't have enough light infantry or light cavalry to harass her supply lines, the people of Sochi focused on heavily armored troops and firm defenses and had few horsemen with all their horsemen being heavily armored shock cavalry, they weren't employers of light troops outside mercenaries and as it stood the said mercenaries were already on Amateru's payroll as was custom with Tenrou's military policy, they had more than enough money to buy out and hold contracts with any kingdoms mercenary population with the exception of Muramase's that kingdom was so wealthy that Tenrou looked like a third world country in comparison.

Amateru noted the fortified bastion she was currently besieging, her forces had encircled it and were outside range of any ranged weapons even the defensive artillery used by Hochi, her forces were at the moment building siege equipment like ladders, towers and battering rams and setting up siege engines mainly mangonels and cannons: the plan was to assault the castle and this would be the sixth one so far, the mercenaries whom Amateru viewed as not true warriors due to their loyalty to coin rather than the War God's righteous cause made them frontline attackers, the Mercenaries weren't happy with this arrangement but after Amateru had some deserters drawn and quartered then stitched back together in front of their leaders the mercenaries didn't complain any further about their role in her plans, thus with the sellswords being the main siege fodder Amateru was able to keep her much more valuable soldiers in reserve to be used when it was most advantageous to do so. As it stood her current target would fall in a few days, that meant there would be about twenty more of such castles between her and Hochi's capital of Setsumaga Hochi: it would take some weeks but Hochi would fall in due time; not that it mattered as the Golden Dragon Empire was looming large in Amateru's mind and thus she prayed to the War God and the War Goddess daily and nightly asking them whom they favored for war: her loyalty was to the War God first and foremost and thus she'd follow the War God's Chosen side and Chosen Champion, an exemplar of victory and martial prowess.

Eventually after a time she perceived an answer to her prayers, the War God's chosen would be the one who could defeat her in single combat and would show mercy, with this sign Amateru became much more focused on the battle at hand and planned out her strategy.

Saryuu two days later… Tatsumi had spent time seeing the sights and getting to know the people of Saryuu in anticipation of his wedding, the ceremony was now set for the following day and thus Tatsumi had a good deal of leisure time at hand; time spent with his wives and concubines of course but also with his growing children and that day he welcomed in a new member of his family: one of his wives Nea had been heavy with child when they had left Melitine and try as he may to convince her to stay home she insisted on coming along anyway as she wanted him there when their bundle of joy decided to be born, he'd been anticipating it for some time as according to Aria and Dorothea she would be due very soon and when Nea suddenly lurched over during their jaunt of seeing the White Pavilion of Omi a local wonder and meant as a place to honor Queen Omi the Tiger Queen of Saryuu he immediately had her rushed to his ship's onboard hospital deck where some of the best doctors in the Empire tended to her and ensured delivery, soon Tatsumi witnessed the miracle of birth and unlike with his first experience of seeing it when Lila birthed Tatsumi Jr. Tatsumi stayed upright and didn't wince because it was something he'd gotten used to after a time of him waiting outside the crying stopped and he walked into the room he smiled to see Doctor Jarvis, Tatsumi's Imperial physician and a member of the original Night Raid who didn't see combat and stayed behind the scenes during his war, hand a healthy baby girl to Nea.

"How are they?" Tatsumi asked.

"In perfect health your majesty, we had no issues whatsoever with the delivery or any post-delivery medically she's completely fine and in a few hours should be ok to go" Doctor Jarvis explained, the man was about 35 years of age, handsome with short well combed black hair and grey eyes he wore glasses and the tradition garb of the Emperor's personal physician which was a mix of a noble dress uniform and doctor's white coat with the medical badge of the red cross.

"I'm glad to hear that, can you let me and Nea be alone with our new bundle of joy?" Tatsumi asked.

"As you will your majesty" Jarvis replied and left with the other medical staff leaving Tatsumi with his wife. Nea looked at him and smiled, looking at him was an amazing thing that made her happy the first time she could actually see him, Nea had been blinded by a bandit a day before she met Tatsumi and remained blind until about a few months after the war when Dorothea was able to get Renewal into mass production, that miracle of medicine was essential in repairing the many wounds of war, soldiers that had lost limbs in the fighting had this limbs regrown, those who had been blinded had their sight restored, the regeneration formula healed the physical scars of the war; Nea had gotten it sometime after he had recovered from his injuries it had taken about a couple months after when the bulk of the people who had needed it the most had gotten it before Nea was willing to receive some herself. Nea's happiness on seeing him for the first time with her own lavender eyes was an inspiration unto itself and my words as a writer can do it no justice other than that suffice to say Tatsumi lived up to everything Nea expected him to be and more.

"Well, how is our wonderful new bundle of joy doing?" Tatsumi asked.

"Healthy and happy, she's sleeping right now" Nea explained, Tatsumi came over and looked at the sleeping girl, she had her mother's dark indigo hair but his nose and likely he figured when she grew up his cowlick, wrapping in a blue blanket their newborn daughter was a reminder to Tatsumi of everything that he stood for, what he treasured most and loved most, his family.

"So, what are we going to name her? You know I'm not the best with names but here's my suggestion how about Stacy" Tatsumi asked.

"Nope; too girly, I think our little bundle will grow up into a tomboy, call it a mother's intuition: how about Delilah?" Nea asked. Tatsumi nodded.

"Delilah Nea Gildenstrom, how does that sound?" Tatsumi asked

"I love it" Nea replied, the two then planned out the room that their child would stay in, they had already set up her room in Tatsumi's manse which the Emperor lived in rather than the Imperial Palace Proper said mansion was part of the Palace complex and District and was an impressive structure in its own right, here however their child would stay in a room adjacent to Nea's and not far from Tatsumi's on ship quarters, while Nea was enjoying Wakoku she slept in the expansive royal quarters on board the Golden Dragon her reason for doing so was half due to her pregnancy with Tatsumi wanting to have the best medical facilities available that were on board his flagship ready for her to give birth at any time and half due to her wanting to keep her newborn safe and secure after her birth and the Golden Dragon was the safest place for their child in Wakoku it may not have been the best place for a child to be born on as it was a Warship but it had also been built with the Emperor in mind and thus it had been built with accommodations for him and his family in mind without skipping out on fighting ability the ship was half palace half fighting fortress, it thus made the ship VERY large and would have been an obvious target if anyone else on Eden had the technology to sink the ship but as it stood nobody else had that technology outside allies of the Golden Dragon Empire thus the ship was safe from anything that could sink it and that was the main reason why Nea resided on board however she did come ashore when Tatsumi did she just returned to the ship to sleep.

Once they were done discussing their plans for their child's immediate future and when Nea could be allowed to join the fight after she had recovered from her pregnancy as she was a very formidable fighter due to Tatsumi's training Tatsumi left to continue his seeing of the sights of Saryuu leaving Nea and her child to recover from labor. During this time Tatsumi noted the various sights and visited some of the historical parts of Saryuu's capital with Rinzu, Esdeath, and his children, he also frequented the local businesses buying local goods as souvenirs from the visit both for himself and for his kids whom were fond of the local toys he also discussed military planning and integration of Saryuu's Armies with Consul Rokugou and the generals of Saryuu's armies, this was actually a bit easier as Saryuu's military was having to be rebuilt from the ground up after recent defeats and thus training these largely new recruits in Imperial military training and the use of Imperial weaponry proved easier than it would have been with an established army. After this it was late afternoon and Tatsumi decided to stop at a fine restaurant for dinner, the local foods of choice were a mixture of sea food like Shrimp, Calamari and Oysters with various local meats largely beef and pork from the livestock that Saryuu produced all seasoned with local spices mainly Saffron and Cloves, with sides of potatoes prepared in various manners and a number of local fruits that were native to Saryuu and Wakoku at large exclusively, however the most common foodstuffs were barley bread and rice lots of rice, and the drinks that were favored was Saki a rice alcohol and a local barley beer but also Tea something the Islands had in abundance along with Coffee. After the dinner Tatsumi was approached by something that was always pleasant to see; a beautiful woman, and in this case a very unique one, she had Purple hair tied in two buns on either side of her hair, bright purple eyes of a kind Tatsumi found familiar in a way and fair skin, her attire consisted of a blue Kimono decorated with images of flowers and crescent moons, she wore an ornate headdress with the carved images of the three moons of Eden, she wore sandals and sported a fan but also Tatsumi noted a short sword but that was nothing unusual in Saryuu where every woman wore a blade of some kind. It was near sunset when he met her, and the atmosphere was added to by suns setting and Eden's rings where were now looking radiant against a main colored sky.

"Good evening" she greeted.

"Good evening, I'm the Emperor of the Golden Dragon Empire; Tatsumi Gildenstrom the Seventh, son of Emperor Isshin the second also known as the Lost and the Martyr and Empress Akame the first known as the Savior; I've got a large amount of titles and its a good thing I gave Pais a break or she'd be listing them off" Tatsumi greeted. "And you are miss?" Tatsumi asked.

"My name is Saori Hatakeyama of the Hatakeyama clan of Saryuu, I've heard the Princess is getting married, an interesting thing considering her desire to want a man that could best her in combat and would love her, very interesting; first Princess Rinzu gets married to you thus causing all of Wakoku's princes and kings to weep that the most eligible bachelorette in Wakoku is now spoken for and now this I find the current state of affairs in the islands to be fascinating" the woman replied.

"War is anything but fascinating, it's an ugly thing and something that should always be the last option of a nation never the first, and this war is stupid and petty caused by a man whom eagerly declared war over something that any other leader would have turned the other cheek to, sadly Eden is full of ambitious and petty people along with the stupid kind and the evil kind even after a LOT of all kinds died in the War that Mattered, I can only do the best to make sure said people that would cause the deaths of many innocents just for their own ego are rare" Tatsumi replied, the woman smiled at his response.

"Too true, way too true there are a large number of bakas living on Eden and that number never ceases to stop growing despite natural selection dealing with them: you are correct about war, it is a ugly thing, war allows for great changes and to bring an end to status quos along with dealing with governments that oppress their subjects: but war also brings with it maimed soldiers, murdered fathers, raped woman and many orphaned children some whom are also subjected to the evils of rape, torture and murder a dark aspect of life if ever there was one; now about you Emperor Tatsumi I must ask what are your feelings about your wedding tomorrow?" Saori asked.

"I've got my concerns for security as normal but I'm happy to marry Kotohana just like she is me and its better for her" Tatsumi explained.

"And the best fate for my friend possible" Rinzu commented from the side. "We were both faced with an ethical choice; both of us had to marry due to our responsibilities as heirs to our kingdoms, we both faced the dire threat of Tenrou's Wolf King Zuou, we had an option fight against Zuou alone and hope our nations wouldn't be conquered or look for an ally in a husband whom would have a military strong enough to deal with Zuou but at the same time was a ruler that wasn't after our land as a reason for marriage, I offered my hand to the Golden Dragon Emperor on suggestion from a goddess in my dreams, my beloved Tatsumi on a hope and was glad to see my hope rewarded with a loving husband; the same thing will happen to Kotohana" Rinzu explained, the woman looked at her with a smile.

"I find it interesting that you choose to avoid being conquered by Zuou by pledging your kingdom's freedom to the Empire; an interesting choice you avoided being conquered by one monarch by marrying another and sacrificing your nation's freedom; was there any option that allowed Soukai to avoid conquest, no: but I see that you preferred having a choice in whom would control Soukai the Empire or Tenrou, of the two you choose wisely: I know a lot about you Golden Dragon Emperor Tatsumi, much more then you think, your actions and deeds that are told in both books and song echo across Eden and I know that you are a wise ruler but one who is young, what drives you Golden Dragon Emperor?" Saori asked.

"Love for my family, a desire to ensure a better world for my children then the one I was born into and grew up in, an Eden that is a better world everyone that calls it home, a place where freedom and the ability to keep what makes you who you are as an individual, as a family, as a nation, as a culture, a race and as a whole as your own without fear of monsters that would take it away and the ability to fight back against those monsters whenever they show their faces: I fight the monsters so that my children don't have to, I strive to make Eden better so that my children and those of every family on Eden can grow up in a better world then the old one, I live and strive for a Brave New World, I live that all Eden can be free of evil" Tatsumi explained. Saori smiled, as if he had told her what she wanted to know

"I'm glad to hear that; you know my Emperor I'd like to talk more with you in private: perhaps in your current quarters alone and away from prying eyes?" Saori asked, Tatsumi knew a booty call when he saw one and in cases like this, he was not going to look a gift horse in the mouth; the Rakshasas were a bit more weary but trusted Tatsumi's judgement they need only keep the whole thing lowkey and under protection as when Tatsumi was a bed he was at his most vulnerable but not defenseless.

Suffice to say as the evening tide closed in and night fell as Tatsumi led the woman named Saori to his personal quarters, meanwhile Kotohana slept as she was early to go to bed and she wanted to awake early. Both were unaware of the danger as two of Zuou's assassins had slipped into the palace of Saryuu and into their own quarters.

In Rinzu's room… the Song Empress readied herself for bed as she too had the idea of getting sleep in early; she had just finished dressing for sleep when she heard a window open, she hadn't locked them she grabbed her sword and drew it just in time to parry an blade on a chain, a kusarigama, a weapon Rinzu hadn't expected to encounter, nor the attacker whom was clearly female even though her attire didn't reveal much her movements and build suggested a woman, the fight began, Rinzu had to buy time, she had dismissed her Hatamoto to rotate out to allow for the group to switch over but that had left her vulnerable, she also noted the woman was going out of her way to disarm her in order to incapacitate her to chain her up using the Kusarigama's chain. Rinzu parried a blow from the Kama of the weapon and it was obvious that it was Zuou whom had sent the Ninja. Rinzu did her best to defend before being disarmed but she was quick after being knocked to the ground she screamed then grabbed an empty wine bottle that Tatsumi had left behind the previous night and had yet to be cleaned and surprised her assailant as she was getting ready to chain her up by knocking her over the head, the woman fell down, Rinzu felt for a pulse and found it, Hinata and three others rushed into the room having heard the scream and glass breaking as they arrived, their blades were out.

"Put those away, I've managed to overpower my assailant, tie her up and take her to the ship Tatsumi will have questions for her" Rinzu ordered.

Meanwhile with Tatsumi… Tatsumi had already undressed and was shocked to see Saori smirk as she removed her kimono a flash occurred and a different woman was in place of Saori this woman still was beautiful if not more so then before but her eyes were a very familiar shade of purple and her hair was a very familiar shade of blue styled in two buns on either side of her head she wore black armor with a series of weapons and a number other things she smiled and Tatsumi saw her move her hand to side and grab her sword and Tatsumi had seconds to react when she drew her blade this wasn't the first time a female assassin had been sent to kill him in his life; but he while had a policy against killing women hard programed by nightmares of him killing Aria in his brain it did not mean he would NOT defend himself and thus was now having to subdue her, he grabbed a pillow and threw it at her this bought him time to get up; and dawned the golden dragon armor as he still wore his crown as he was going to give her the honor removing that article of clothing, however she had just thrown that opportunity out the window. With his armor on he quickly grabbed her by the wrist and swiftly overpower her grip on the weapon using his personal martial arts techniques, by this point the Four Rakshasas were in the room weapons out and ready she tried to reach for what Tatsumi knew from the Oarburghs were black eggs used to make an escape by assassins, Saori cursed her luck as Tatsumi knocked her out with uppercut. "Damn it!" Tatsumi cursed; "Next time I get the bright idea to invite a girl wanting to get in my pants to my room screen her for weapons" Tatsumi remarked turning to Mez.

"Get her dressed and then tie her up: I'll oversee questioning her myself; good thing this isn't the first time I've fought an assassin in the nude" Tatsumi commented, his wives laughed, Tatsumi put on his clothes and was unsurprised to find Rinzu with another assassin tied up.

The following morning… When Kimi came to she noted she was already secured with multiple shackles. "Damn it!" she cursed mentally; she had been too early in her drawing of the weapon, she should have waited until he no longer had the crown but how was she to know that said crown was a Teigu she thought it was merely a fashion statement, nor his fighting style for that front she did clearly noticed a mixture of Oarburgh Martial Arts combined with the Imperial Fist and numerous other fighting styles; she was fortunate that all her teeth were still in her mouth after that uppercut. The number of restraints chaining her felt a bit excessive but considering who the Golden Dragon Emperor was he wasn't taking chances, he obviously didn't know that she was Kimi Oarburgh or the mysterious Kuriaya all he knew was that she was an assassin sent by Zuou to kill him and she had no idea what awaited her now. "Damn this all, stupid so stupid" Kimi ranted to herself.

In answer to her rant the cell door opened and in walked Tatsumi, accompanied by Rinzu his entourage of bodyguards and of all people the one person Kimi did not want to see whom had recently arrived in the Islands: her cousin Merraid Oarburgh, the Rainbow Dragonfly Empress, dressed in a many colored silk dress of similar design to those worn by Merraid I in tapestries, with a crown made of jade and silver; her hair was long but at the top it was tied in a bun in an ornate scrunchie made of Jade and carved in the image of a dragonfly she had a few wrigglers perched on her shoulders fully matured into flying beetles, to her right was another woman that Kimi recognized as her childhood friend Gilberda, the blonde held Merra's left hand and was dressed in similarly imperial attire and wore a Diadem of polished silver and studded with Sapphires and Pearls, her right hand was held by Tatsumi whom was being clung to by Kimi's younger sisters Meela and Loris who sported matching and amazing imperial gowns and crowns with gems carved in the shapes of suns and moons all of them were flanked by the Four Rakshasas and Tatsumi's Three Sacred Swords, Remus, Womyn, also known as Wo-Ming, and Balluck all fully alert even with Kimi in shackles also she noticed Merraid's sisters Taeko, Chelsea and Saraya whom were looking at her with a mix of surprise and disappointment.

"I did not expect to see you again; tell me cousin why are you here and why did you attempt to murder my husband?" Merraid asked, she knew.

"How? How did you find out?" Kimi replied.

"Meela and Loris recognized you while you were out cold, my beloved Tatsumi asked if I could help with the interrogation of two prisoners and he led me to the cells to be honest I didn't expect you to be here much less work for that damnable fool Zuou also you didn't wait until you were close before attempting to stab Tatsumi or bother removing that armor of yours bad move, you were always to impulsive Kimi and eager to act that was why I was chosen to be matriarch after Grandma Barbara's death but also the reason she exiled you years ago" Merraid explained.

"How are Meela and Loris doing since I left since well my exile and that of Sachi and all those who were with me" Kimi asked.

"We're doing perfectly alright Kimi-Nii; we are happily married Tatsumi" Meela commented.

"And we've had babies a lot of them, Tatsumi loves us, and we love him, it's also fun to be around him and his other lovely waifus, Cosmina and Suzuka have such perky boobs and Sheele's big boobs are a handful, and you should see some of the knockers on his concubines" Loris added.

"A little too much detail sis; its way best to leave some things to her imagination: especially what Tatsumi does with his tongue" Meela replied, Loris purred and clung to Tatsumi giddily all the while cooing Tatsumi-kun. Kimi blinked shook her head and took a good look at her younger sisters and part of her was happy that they had managed to find love but also annoyed that they had gotten to him before she did part of her was REALLY regretting her choices that had gotten her exiled she was also surprised that they had managed to come back into her life about.

"Now what are you going to do? I'm not one to reveal my secrets easily, I'm prepared to endure any torture" Kimi asked testing him, so far he'd managed to charm her cousins into loving him and her sisters, she needed to test him further.

"I'll not be using torture; we are going to have a nice long discussion and maybe when we've finished, I'll maybe let you out of the shackles; until then you'll stay where you are." Tatsumi explained, Kimi could only shrug but mentally smiled to know that this emperor was one who was reasonable to deal with.

"Alright, enlighten me how did you manage to get my sisters and cousins to fall for you?" Kimi asked, Tatsumi sighed that would be a long story, so he'd give her the short version which I won't bother committing to writing as I've already written a chronicle called Empire's End telling the story of Tatsumi's rise, suffice to say Kimi was quite impressed.

"Well I'm impressed granted however my spies were aware of much of the details I was merely testing you Golden Dragon Emperor Tatsumi, I'm very impressed with your abilities and your feats, look I'll level with you there really isn't much point to keep secrets from you not for Zuou whom Merraid is correct about being a fool as only a fool would declare war on the Empire over something simple as a woman, speaking of greetings Princess Rinzu. Anyway, I'll level with you, I've got ties all over the planet from all points of the world and in every government save those of the Elves and the Dwarves they are way too shrewd to be influenced by my organization but any nation of human beings has my eyes and ears in it, even your own court" Kimi explained she then continued. "Suffice to say my services and clan are in true fashion of our clan for hire; at the moment we are in Zuou's employment due to him granting us a base of operations amidst other benefits; I know a great deal about him and his court including the Ten Stars of which I am one; you may have heard the name Kuriaya, the name is an alias that I crafted, outside my inner circle of true blooded Oarburgh sisters and cousins and Zuou nobody is aware that I and the spymaster of Tenrou are one and the same, suffice to say this allows me many freedoms and much room to maneuver, the main purpose of my organization is to make sure that one of True Oarburgh blood, a direct descendant of Merraid I and one whom is worthy rules the Empire and by extension Eden as a whole, my attempt on your life and Sachi's attempted kidnapping were a test of your abilities suffice to say you lived up to your reputation and your bloodline, suffice to say my loyalties to Zuou are over I'm not going to chain myself to sinking ship I and those who are under my control are now under your direct command free of charge, I'm an Imperial patriot first and foremost and a practical woman who sees the way the wind is blowing also my sisters are smitten with you and that is another point in your column thus I am at your command" Kimi explained.

"How do I know I can trust you?" Tatsumi replied, Kimi chuckled.

"Do I look like the kind of woman who'd stay loyal to an idiot like Zuou to the end, in my line of work you don't survive by siding with the losing side, besides I'm tired of Zuou's advances on me romantically when we are alone the idiot does not know when to take a hint that I'm not interested in him business only" Kimi explained. "Also I'll even give you some information, at the moment Zuou has sent Amateru one of his Ten Stars to conquer the island of Hochi, I happen to know a good deal about that force and exactly where Amateru's next strikes will be you could easily engage her army and defeat her, but I'd suggest not doing that, challenge her instead to combat she is obsessed with a prophecy to find the War God's Chosen whom is to be her husband and to be the one to rule all Eden I happen to know that she is expecting a challenger that can best her with the sword and I even know exactly what her terms for the duel will be" Kimi explained.

"How do you know all this?" Tatsumi asked.

"I have eyes and ears everywhere and thus access to the latest in Imperial technology for communication even the new satellites you, The Commonwealth and the Dwarves been putting up in orbit for the past year and a half, as I've said I have agents in every nation on the planet and my reach grows each passing minute; that entire network is now yours to command; now I'd very much appreciate to actually be intimate with you, my apologies for earlier " Kimi explained.

Tatsumi turned to Merraid and spoke with her in a hushed tone both were had their opinions on Kimi and after a lengthy discussion Tatsumi turned to Kimi he walked over to her and looked her in the eyes. "I require you to prove your loyalty Kimi, this time we'll do it but it will be in plain view of my wives after Meela and Loris tend to me you are to service me submissively I'll not be rough on your BUT you are to follow my every command" Tatsumi explained. "For now however that will wait until I can verify your information, I'll be back in about an hour and a half that will be the time it takes for my drones to verify that information" Tatsumi explained he then left.

Shortly… "Do you trust her?" Poney asked Tatsumi he smiled.

"I'm not sure, but for the moment as I've said many times before when it comes to intelligence trust but verify and then verify again; fortunately, Zuou has no idea of the capabilities of our nation's technology nor about our eyes in the sky" Tatsumi explained.

"A tactical genius is what Tatsumi is and that's the truth personally I know our big sis she's not going to stay loyal to an idiot like Zuou" Loris commented.

"I'd love him regardless of how smart he is and Kimi will learn how loving he can be soon" Meela commented, the twins held Tatsumi's arms tighter and cooed, Tatsumi knew he'd have some time and thus wandered off with the twins to his quarters. At the same time Rinzu approached Esdeath who was holding a happy Sayo, her daughter not her namesake, the giddy girl in her little military uniform was every bit a miniature version of her mother. "I love you mommy" Sayo cooed

"She's so adorable Esdeath; I hope my children with Tatsumi are like her" Rinzu commented.

"I'm adorable mommy" Sayo cooed out.

"You are also a nice strong sweet and amazing girl; I love you my angel: as to your hopes trust me any children you have with Tatsu-bunny will be a wonderful bundle of joy albeit a handful" Esdeath explained.

"Mommy why do you call daddy Tatsu-bunny?" Sayo asked.

"Because he is soft and huggable like a bunny" Esdeath explained.

"So Esdeath do you have any hobbies?" Rinzu asked.

"Oh that I do, most of them though involve things I do with my children, if your wondering no while I am a warrior by my culture and profession I'm more then capable of embracing my caring motherly side and well my girly side" Esdeath explained. "You know I'm aware of your singing talent Rinzu before you ask no I'm not going to ask you to sing to me: I actually would like your opinion on my own songs, I've come up with a song about Tatsumi and I'd like your opinion on it" Esdeath explained.

"Yay Mommy's going to sing! I love Mommy's singing!" Sayo cheered, Esdeath handed her to Rinzu.

"Hold her for me if I'm going to preform, I can't do it with one of my giddy three-year old twin daughters in my arms" Esdeath explained she then hummed a tune. "He's the Dragon of Gold and the world will bow to him. Because the Strong rule the world where the weak aren't built to win! And are they blind or what look at all we've got and love him! I've seen his strength Golden Dragon, Golden Dragon, I am with him I have made my choice, made my choice. We have everything, we have everything, we have everything! And all kneel before the Golden Dragon, we'll show you everything that we have, even if we must fight for it know even thru War I'll reach for his hand. Armies kneel when he blinks no resistance stacks to this! Hey! It takes less than you think to make a dog out of a prince! Prince! And don't think that we bluff we know we won't stop until its won! WON! I've seen his strength Golden Dragon, Golden Dragon! They'll kneel before him they get only one choice, a single choice! We have everything! We have everything! We have everything! And all kneel before the Golden Dragon, we'll show everything that we have! Even if we must fight for it, know even thru war I'll reach for his hand! Reach for his hand! Thru War! Thru War! All kneel before the Golden Dragon!" Esdeath sung, Rinzu smiled.

"That was a good song, a very interesting tune, a bit warlike for my taste but you're singing from your heart and that's what matters most; I think Tatsumi will love it" Rinzu commented, Esdeath smiled. "Do you know any other songs?" Rinzu asked.

"I know a number of songs, most of them are the ballads and war songs of my people the Patrassi as the last chief of the Old Patras Clan and the first of the new my duty is to preserve the histories of my people along with providing for those who are of my clan either by blood or by marriage; as such I know all that there is to know about my people but also all aspects of them: so yes I do know quite a few other songs and I'll favor you with the one that sums up my people's history Rinzu" Esdeath explained she then to Rinzu's surprise grabbed a stringed instrument that was known as a Gedaal which was a fusion of a harp and a violin, she strung the cords and tune began. (Song begin Le Chant De Roma: Fallen Heroes) "Children of Sacar! Sons and daughters of time. Long have known these lands, long have we called them home, ever wandering, never forgetting" Esdeath began the singing was in her own language but a translation to the Imperial tongue is provided here she then strummed the tune ever the more somberly before picking up the pace "At the Dawn of Man we reigned tall and proud! Great Glory was ours everlasting! Empire of Dawn! Empire of Time! Our Glory in ages past. That glory we gained, and glory lost, glory lost, lost to shadow and pain" Esdeath sung the tune jubilant then more dirge like a lamentation, the tune grew more somber and bleaker and then Esdeath let out a war cry before playing more intensively an intense beat like a war drum. "Dark Shadows rose against the world! Their Chains bound us in Pain and Agony! Against the Tyrants we rose fighting on! Surviving against all odds we live on!" Esdeath sung before letting out another battle cry. "The Strong Survive! The Strong Thrive! The Strong Protect! And the Strong never forget! That all! Empire's End! Empire's End! Empire's End!" Esdeath sung then concluded the song with an intense instrumental pitch. Rinzu had an expression of awe on her face.

"That was- I've never heard music like that before. What was that song?" Rinzu asked Esdeath whom had put down the instrument she then grabbed an eager Sayo.

"That was the song of my tribe's history I was taught it when I was as young as my sweet daughter here" Esdeath explained. "It tells the story of my people, the Patras whom were once were the rulers of Eden's first Empire of humanity, the Empire of Dawn, for ten thousand years my people held the world in their hands but overtime they grew decedent, blasphemous, weak, and they were brought down by the Yeenkarai, pressed into bondage, for six thousand years the Yeenkarai ruled nobly like unto the rulers of the six thousand years of the Empire the Dawn but over time a dark cabal seized power and they became evil, corrupt, tyrannical and eventually the worshipers and consorts of Demons, my people amongst the ancestors of every other nation in the world today rose up and with the help of the Dwarves and the Lizardman overthrew the tyrants of Yeenkar after that my people took up largely the nomadic life in the lands of our old Empire which the Golden Dragon Empire now stands on, some of my people tried to reclaim past glory and others built cities and their descendants live in the Northern Empire having made kingdoms but none succeeded in restoring the Empire of the Dawn and none of them we considered our own; we were humbled and so we persisted until I was six and then my tribe was destroyed by the savage barbarians of the Far North those tribes of people that no longer exist they were purged from this world during the War that Mattered as they fought for the demons and ultimately brought about their own doom: I was the one who conquered them" Esdeath explained.

"I've heard stories of you and really some of them I don't believe are true" Rinzu responded.

"Not all of them are, some are true but they each have their own elements of exaggeration and bias by those that tell them from either side of history, if the Revolutionary Army had won then I'd have been portrayed as a demon in a woman's body but then again if they won there would be no Eden because the demons would have destroyed it, no matter what people say that is little concern to me as the true accounts come from my own pen: I've actually decided to write my memoirs of my time as the Old Empire's Finest they'll be a best seller the world over" Esdeath explained.

"What's the difference between the Old Empire and the Golden Dragon Empire?" Rinzu asked Esdeath sighed having the expression of minor annoyance as Rinzu had just asked a question that required a very long answer.

"That is a question that requires a very long explanation; but I'll sum up the key ones however, the Old Empire was a system that had lasted for 15 centuries and had done great things in its time but about a 1000 years ago a great war between The Empire and Dwarves happened that weakened the Empire and other powers around it and soon after a massive Skavan invasion came bringing the whole of Adonai to its knees and it was beaten back only for them to after its end succeed in plunging the Empire into 300 years of civil war after their assassination of Emperor Tatsumi IV the Pearl Emperor who died leaving a multitude of ambitious princes and princesses without naming one of them heir thus resulting in centuries of civil war and infighting that was until Tatsumi V the Silver Emperor managed to restore unity then over the past five centuries of its life The Old Empire became more corrupt, decrepit and prone to fighting itself as much as the enemies to its outside, perhaps it could have been saved had certain things gone a different way but it alas died when Volgoth shattered it, he was the root of all of Eden's evil but also the Empire's doom from within, the Old Empire may have continued and improved had Volgoth not been freed from his prison which was accidental but Volgoth doomed it to die by killing two strong Emperors and driving the true heir's mother into hiding along with her child who lived in ignorance of his heritage until much later in life that heir being Tatsumi; the Old Empire had a number of other problems besides the corruption there were a number of issues with the quality of life you had entire settlements living in the past while cities thrived with innovation, the technological innovations were not shared as the corrupt nobility withheld knowledge that would have improved the life of the common people just so they could continue to have power over them; in the end the system would have doomed the Empire to stagnation at best and at worse a doomed system that would be destroyed by its own people as during the last years of its life anarchists and crazed radicals along with those who profit off of madness and bedlam rose up against the failing government forming the Revolutionary Army led by a monster who wanted to wipe out everything the Empire stood for in the past and replace it with his own vision." Esdeath explained, the history of the Old Empire was very interesting to Rinzu.

"The Golden Dragon Empire was created by our husband Tatsumi the Last Emperor of the Old Empire and the First of the new after the War that Mattered which saw in addition to the end of the Old Empire the end to the Revolutionary Army the demon invasion and many other enemies along with the restoration of old friendships like that with the Dwarves and the establishment new ones with Nova Atlantea and Amannar. The Old Empire may have died but the royal dynasty itself remains unbroken despite Volgoth's attempts to wipe out the Gildenstrom family, Tatsumi is still the Seventh of his name to rule thus bears the title accordingly as the line of Emperors was never broken, the Empire with regards to its people have not changed in terms of culture and groups that comprise it other than more have joined it and they are now more free and have better lives then under the old Empire; Tatsumi himself and a few others including myself created a new system Tatsumi wanted a system that benefited all the people of the Empire but at the same time maintained the strengths of the Old Empire as he views quite correctly that the people of the Empire are the greatest strength and greatest treasure of the Empire, as such the Golden Dragon Empire is what Tatsumi calls an Imperial Republic, a government ruled by an Emperor but not one that has absolute power like in the Old Empire, the power is divided amongst three branches of government and the people decide who rule them thru elections held every two years outside the position of Emperor which while elected the Emperor serves for life and the people have freedoms that other nations would find shocking; Slavery is outlawed and punishable by death for those that dare practices it in the Empire as is serfdom there is no peasant, slave or indentured servant in the Golden Dragon Empire only citizens and every citizen which means every man, women and child in the Empire is free to decide their own fate in life, the economy is strong and free, the laws are fair but firm, anyone tried by them gets the presumption of innocence, an attorney to represent themselves and are tried by a jury of their fellow citizens; a fair system of justice and all this is protected by the strongest and most well equipped and well trained and disciplined military on the planet. There are many more things I could tell you about Rinzu with regards to both the Old Empire and the New Empire but I think you're best off reading about them or finding out more yourself from others; I played a great part in the events of my nation's recent history but my focus these days is on preserving my own culture which is near extinct along with being one of the oldest on Eden and on restoring my clan all of which involve me being a mostly, bar the occasional conflict and giving Tatsumi advise, full time mother to my wonderful children; I'll not stop having them with Tatsumi until my body stops letting me have them" Esdeath explained

"I'm going to make that same commitment Esdeath; I owe him that at least; I mean he's perfect for me and I'm so glad to be married to him, I'm amazed that he is not only a loving husband but a truly wise and good ruler I have to see the Empire for myself" Rinzu replied

"You will Rinzu; you could even travel on an Airship to see it right now" Esdeath replied.

"No: that will wait, my people and those of Wakoku as a whole have suffered enough under Zuou's wars I won't leave Tatsumi's side, and I won't see the Empire until after this war is won; especially considering it was started over me" Rinzu replied.

"To that Rinzu I say you are a worthy ruler and wise beyond your years, much like Tatsu-bunny" Esdeath replied then blushed the two then continued to gab about things.

Meanwhile… Tatsumi kissed Loris as Meela gave him head, the three of them were naked in the sea of silks and velvets that was the royal bed which was about three times the size of a king sized bed and six that of the average bed; it could actually fit about seven people comfortably and seven more if you cared to sleep on top of another person, Tatsumi found that it offered a good amount of room for an position he may choose to take. Meela was a master of giving Tatsumi blowjobs something she was currently doing with the skill expected, not to say that her twin wasn't a slouch, but Loris preferred a different position to her sister, Tatsumi noted Meela stop and Loris mounted him. "Tatsumi" Loris cooed, Meela licked his balls, Tatsumi kissed Loris he ran his hand thru her blue hair holding her tight, Meela stopped and Tatsumi laid back to allow Meela to park herself on his face and he began to work his tongue. "Tatsumi is the best husband" Loris moaned hugging her sister.

"Yes he is" Meela commented, Tatsumi was already tense and ready to release, Loris cooed.

"Fill me up, I need more children for us" Loris begged, she already had four children with Tatsumi she wanted more and he was happy to give her what she wanted, he came, the sisters then switched places; both were eager to give him pleasure and he was happy to return the favor; soon Meela was filled up too and the three of them were curled up together smiling.

"I wonder how much Kimi-nii is going to enjoy this" Loris commented caressing Tatsumi's chest with her hand.

"She'd probably enjoy this as much as we did the first time; its too bad there isn't a hot spring nearby" Meela commented, both kissed Tatsumi's checks, they then had a couple more rounds before Tatsumi decided it was time to break Kimi in, Meela and Loris redressed Tatsumi after putting their own clothes back on and with the twins holding either arm Tatsumi left his quarters.

Soon they arrived at the cell of Kimi and she was unsurprised to see her sisters with Tatsumi. "Alright Kimi-nii we'll be letting you out but you have to prove you undying loyalty to Tatsumi-kun" Loris greeted.

"I see; I understand; I hope he is worthy of being a true heir of the Oarburgh line" Kimi replied.

"Oh he's more then worthy; you'll experience that firsthand; he's a brilliant and wise emperor, a genius and powerhouse in war, Eden's savior and the ideal husband for any girl on Eden not to mention he is handsome, strong and a ton of fun in bed" Meela remarked.

"Anyway we'll let you loose if you try anything to hurt our beloved Tatsumi you'll get it from us first" Loris explained, the two sisters unshackled their older sister; whom first off hugged both of her sisters.

"It's been what? 7 years since we last saw each other? I missed you both and you've grown so much" Kimi remarked.

"Indeed we have; now follow us and Tatsumi-kun; you're going to have some fun" Loris replied.

"Also big sis you're still a virgin Tatsumi will fix that" Meela commented.

"I'm looking forward to that; I hope you won't disappoint me" Kimi remarked.

"I've outlasted Moegi in bed Kimi, not to mention my harem trust me you'll not find me lacking in the bedroom besides I'm already warmed up thanks to Meela and Loris" Tatsumi responded.

"You two are full of surprises; I missed you two, really it hurt me that you decided to stay with Merraid" Kimi remarked.

"We don't regret that, we wouldn't have met our beloved Tatsumi otherwise, besides it was fun being Night Raid's fashion designers" Loris commented.

"Oh yeah, speaking of we need to make you something for your wardrobe" Meela commented.

"That will have to wait, I don't walk around in public as Kimi Oarburgh in Tenrou, I'm always the shadowy Spymaster in Tenrou's streets; besides I want you two to take your time if you've become great fashion designers I want your best work" Kimi replied, the three sisters along with Tatsumi arrived at the Imperial chambers, the four Rakshasas assumed their guard positions and Tatsumi entered the room along with Kimi and the twins, the door was locked and the twins helped their sister and Tatsumi out of their clothing before doing the same to each other, all were naked as the day they were born save for the fact that the twins wore garters and stockings, they moved to the bed.

"Now since you are new to this Kimi-nii we'll teach you how to best please Tatsumi" Loris explained, Kimi blushed on seeing Tatsumi's length that was now in a full erection.

"I see that the stories of the Dragon's dong were not exaggerating, I can see why so many women would want to be abed with and marry the Golden Dragon Emperor; I can also see why Zuou is so jealous of you Tatsumi, he tries his best to out do your reputation ever since he heard of your rise to power, his arrogance and hubris is to be expected of one of such a narrow mind. Well I hope that you live up to the stamina of a Dragon but given that you outlasted Moegi I'm certain you will have more then enough energy to handle a virgin like me" Kimi remarked; the twins giggled and Meela crawled to Tatsumi, Loris had Kimi move to be next to Meela and then knelt next to her.

"Now we'll begin your education in how to please Tatsumi, Meela will demonstrate I'll explain" Loris said to Kimi. "Pay attention I know you can do that big sis" Loris added, Loris began explaining how best to please Tatsumi orally, Meela demonstrated the methods in question stopping to allow Kimi to attempt to follow up, she proved a quick study, and was giving Tatsumi head effectively, the twins had her move her body to allow Tatsumi to return the favor: Kimi felt pleasure she had never felt before his tongue was supreme in the way it did its job she tried her best to match the efforts but found herself experiencing her first orgasm soon followed up by Tatsumi's own. She was not surprised that he was still hard she soon was moved to the side and laid flat, Tatsumi spread her legs. "Wrap them around" Loris explained, Kimi did so.

Tatsumi then entered her, Kimi winced and moaned as Tatsumi entered her and snapped her barrier, she moaned louder as he began drinking from her left breast while fondling the other one, it was an enjoyable experiance and Kimi felt bliss and happiness, she let him tend to her, he kept going for a time before he came again though after Kimi had orgasmed thrice and he did so outside creaming her chest and face in a nice bukkake, he then had her lay flat on her chest after the twins lapped up the seed she was surprised and made a very raunchy face as Tatsumi entered her anally. "Oh I rather like that; well don't make me beg, give me it" Kimi replied, Tatsumi obliged she relaxed as this felt rather soothing Kimi purred she heard her sisters moaning as Tatsumi was fingering Loris while drinking from Meela's breasts his right hand on Kimi's shoulder he tended to Kimi's needs that she never knew she had. Soon after a couple rounds Kimi passed out the Twins then took over, Meela mounted Tatsumi's cock while Loris straddled his face, the two bounced and moaned loudly until orgasms and then a change of position, Loris's ass was being tended to doggy style while Tatsumi made out with Meela the two straddled each other and Tatsumi switched between the loins of both sisters alternating before pulling both against him their loins pressed around his length as he groped their breasts drinking from both sets.

Kimi came two and saw the sight and watched and waited. "Damn where has he been all my life, and man I never thought my little sisters would grow up to become such eager women, they are enjoying him" Kimi thought, Tatsumi finished with the twins and noticed Kimi recovered. "You don't need to ask if I'm ready to go again; just remember keep your seed out of my womb after the war is over you may give me as many children as I can bare but for now no cumming in my pussy, fill my mouth and my ass all you want but not there" Kimi explained, Tatsumi laid back and Kimi gave him head she wrapped her breasts around his length and moved them up and down as she sucked him.

The lovemaking continued for some time, then was interrupted by a trumpet from Pais outside the room. "My beloved Emperor, the honorable King of Saryuu wishes to inform you that the preparations for your wedding to Princess Kotohana have been completed a day earlier then expected, her royal highness has requested to hold the ceremony today" Pais explained, Tatsumi was redressed along with Kimi who was clad in an Imperial Gown that was a spare of Esdeath's, dressed in that attire, Kimi felt concern that she was wearing someone else's dress.

"Don't worry, my wife won't mind I'll let her know that it's the best I can do for you under the circumstances, I don't want to have anyone ask questions about your attire" Tatsumi explained to Kimi, she smiled, the twins held either arm and Tatsumi walked outside, Akame and the Rakshasas awaited him along with Tsukushi and Poney the latter of which was looking concerned. "What's wrong?" Tatsumi asked Poney.

"I'd prefer to talk about this privately Tatsumi my love, it's a rather private matter" Poney explained.

"Tatsumi I'm so excited!" Tsukushi greeted giddy. "You know how much I love weddings, the lovely dresses, the wonderful food, the eternal unions of love; I'm happy to see a new sister to my wonderful family" Tsukushi explained, she then hugged him and held onto his arm, Tatsumi noted Poney grab the other, he was soon joined by the rest of his entourage along with his children that had been dressed in formal clothing, Tatsumi's royal attire was enough for a wedding ceremony, but his wives added a royal silk robe to his attire and had him trade his boots for silk padded shoes in addition to pampering him and making sure he was as ready for the ceremony as possible.

At the same time Kotohana was undergoing the same treatment, her wedding dress was bright blue with gold and silver threaded stitching soon the Warrior Princess of Saryuu was ready to go, her handmaids whom were due to become concubines assumed the role of Bridesmaids and were dressed in ornate concubine gowns.

Soon after Tatsumi arrived at the pavilion, the ceremony was held outdoors but under a pavilion as the two suns looked down, it was high noon and the Golden Dragon Crown shimmered in the sun light, those not of noble birth kowtowed in bows as he marched, those of lesser nobility knelt, Samurai drew and held their swords in salute, as Tatsumi strode down to the alter Pais and her sister Roxanna stepped aside and planted the Imperial Golden Dragon Banner along with the Banner of Night Raid to either side of the stair to the alter before sounded the Imperial March; in an interesting twist the groom was marching instead of the bride for in Saryuu it was the groom that came to the bride not the other way around. The two sisters were joined by a band which played the proud Imperial March as more standards were brought forth in front of Tatsumi and placed near the banners, Imperial guards and the newly established Imperial Knights took up positions of honor as cries of long live the Golden Dragon Emperor went up from the Imperials in attendance, the Elite Seven followed the Three Sacred Swords took up their honor positions followed by the Four Rakshasas who stood two on either side next to the alter stairs, Tatsumi stepped up to look at Kotohana then at her handmaids, and at the priest whom nodded.

He then spoke the ordinances of marriage in the tongue of Saryuu then in the Imperial tongue, Tatsumi and Kotohana exchanged vows, a priestess of Asha arrived and the same vows were made before her, then Kotohana was handed incense which she poured on the hearth in the center of the pavilion, a band was tied around the arms of both bride and groom with , a chant went up from the Priestess and after the final vows were exchanged and ordinances under gone the ceremony followed by vows of concubinage by the handmaids and the ceremony concluded with the bride and groom kissing, the Imperial march played once more as the Emperor walked down the aisle carrying his bride in his arms. The trumpets and drums sounded loud and proud and the bride, groom and the concubines were lead to a tent that was made for the consummation of the vows. Tatsumi tended to his new bride giving Kotohana his seed and then doing the same with each of his new concubines, after the bedding was concluded and those inside redressed came a feast, all eat their share; as the day concluded Tatsumi again was abed with Kotohana, the two ensured that a child would be in their future in nine months time Tatsumi then did the same for each of his concubines, he then did the same for Yomihime who was rather eager after the whole ceremony.

A few days passed as Tatsumi joined up with Najenda and Rokugou whom had been joined by more reinforcements at the newly established Imperial stronghold of Beachhead on Saryuu's western coast. The intelligence from Kimi had been spot on, drones and satellites had verified the troop movements of Amataru's army on the island of Hochi, Tatsumi then ordered messengers sent by ship to Hochi's capital offering aid against the invasion of their island offers that were accepted in short order. An army of 70,000 Imperial soldiers was then deployed battle ready close to the position of Amateru's army, which was still besieging a major stronghold.

On seeing the Imperial Banners a delegation led by Amateru herself came to parley with Tatsumi; this was granted on the condition that her troops allow the besiegers to participate in negotiations. Tatsumi noted the beauty of the warrior priestess but also the very intimidating Scythe, there was also an exchange of the dead between the two armies that had been locked in a siege, the Hochi delegation noted that the bodies of their dead whom had been dismembered in battle had been stitched back together to their surprise with the bodies of Tenrou soldiers that had suffers a similar fate being taken away for the same fate. Tatsumi noticed this.

"Greetings my holy adversary I've come to parley hoping that we can avoid unnecessary bloodshed" Tatsumi explained to Amateru after a tea ceremony.

"The Gods told me in my dreams you would say that, I'm glad to see my dreams have borne fruit thus far I hope to fully realize them" Yomihime explained, Tatsumi raised an eyebrow. "I have the gift of prophesy, I can see the omens, and know what fate awaits me should our armies clash, that is a fate I wish to avoid not for my sake but for the sake of those who would fall should I defy the god's wishes, for they wish us not clash in battle Golden Dragon but for the two of us to duel, not to the death but to reveal the strength for only in this way will the victor be decided" Amateru explained, Tatsumi nodded.

"I see, I must ask though why are the bodies of the dead stitched?" Tatsumi asked, Yomihime sighed.

"It is a custom of my people, of Tenrou and of the followers of the War God. In battle the honor and strength of the clans are tested, amongst many clans and kingdoms of Wakoku it is customary to bring the heads of a fallen foe before your lord, a practice that is honored in Tenrou, but those of the War God's followers have another custom, the dead of war from both sides must be honored and given proper ceremonies and burials, but also their body must be in as close a state as it was when it entered the world lest the spirits in the afterlife bear the injuries of this life. As such it is customary to stitch back the bodies of the fallen to make sure their bodies are as cleared of injury as possible, the bodies are then coated in sacred oils much like a child is at birth in Tenrou, then they a clad in the garb of their homeland, those of Tenrou are wrapped in wolf pelts and then sealed in a casket before being buried. This is the Way we honor the dead those who die in war that way the gods of Death and War can be both appeased" Amateru explained.

"How much is this practiced I've not seen it be done by other armies" Tatsumi asked.

"It is a custom of Tenrou, not of the other kingdoms save Muramase and Katuhara, even in Tenrou it is only practiced by those faithful to the gods, some clans and overmighty lords including the Shogun find it to be a waste of time: but it is a matter of honor, for a warrior of honor to slay another warrior of honor in battle they must for their honor's sake honor their fallen opponent in order to have true victory; for victory wipes away dishonor and honor is gained thru acts of honor" Amateru explained. "Surely those of the Empire have ways of honoring their dead and those of their foes?" Amateru explained.

"Yes we do, our own of course, our foes it really depends on if they fought with honor or dishonorably, for our foes that don't fight fair, those who committed treachery or who commit evils that are so appalling that they become monsters rather than human beings their bodies will either burn or hang from a cross of metal as their bones hang as warning, but for those that fight as true soldiers and those that put up a very good fight we bury them with honor" Tatsumi explained.

"That is good to hear, do you honor the gods before battle?" Amateru asked.

"That I do, we make the proper sacrifices offering the animals before our gods, we check the portents and whether they be fair or not we take to the field" Tatsumi explained.

"That is good to hear as well, the gods must be honored accordingly, now to the matter at hand, my army is not capable of fighting yours I know the power your soldiers possess I also know the strength my own warriors, while they are great warriors whom fight with honor and are well equipped in the best that can be provided they are not able to resist the might of your greater Teppou or of your metal steeds or of your birds of death: none in Wakoku save perhaps the Mountain Folk could face you and win: to die for honor is noble but to live and bring honor is greater still. As such we will not battle in the fields, your are potentially the chosen of the War god, the one whom I am to pledge myself body and soul to for eternity, thus I must test your might for myself we will fight in honorable combat one against one, it will not be to the death but to see how the other fairs, we will fight with ceremonial swords and in our own war armor, should you prove your might and defeat me then myself and my followers will join you, should you lose our armies will fight to the death" Amateru explained, Tatsumi noted she was serious about this, he didn't want people to die when they didn't have to that was always the way he fought, her request was honorable, Tatsumi then looked at Erasiel.

"She is sincere about her intents Tatsumi" Erasiel explained telepathically, Erasiel could see her aura's true intentions and they aligned with her words; he noted that her conviction was VERY strong and honesty was a something she embodied in fact he was certain that she wouldn't willing deceive another human being that she viewed with respect.

"I accept your challenge, I'll face you according to your customs" Tatsumi explained, Amateru nodded, Tatsumi noted complaining from the Hochi delegation.

"Do you want to spill more blood of your own people? I don't want to spill the blood of my own, if you aren't going to abide by my terms nobles of Hochi then I will allow Amateru to siege you until you comply I'm going to honor my own words as I am an Emperor if you aren't willing to abide by honor then you can pay the price of dishonor" Tatsumi explained to the Hochi generals, they acquiesced to the Emperor's demands, besides if it meant that Amateru's army wasn't causing any other problems for them then they were fine with that, the fact that they'd be causing problems for Zuou who had ordered the invasion of their homeland to begin with was an added bonus.

After preparations were made Tatsumi walked towards a circle that had been made for the duel; the rules of the contest were explained, no death blows, the victor must either knock the opponent out of the circle or disarm their opponent, to leave the arena before the contest was over meant that the opponent forfeited and thus the victor by default would get the prize. Only the blades provided were allowed, no other weapons only the blades, no restrictions on armor. The Swords were Katanas but these had blades that were dull as to avoid killing the opponent, they were ornately decorated with wolf's heads on the pommel of either sword and were decorated with rubies.

A chant of a song went up from a circle of warriors that surrounded the two combatants, Amateru was clad in battle armor that was ornate but made in the style of a Sohei, Tatsumi dawned the Golden Dragon Armor as Amateru insisted on it, his body was covered by gold covered Teigu armor that was flawless in form and articulated to a point that it was like a second skin, the Dragon crown covered Tatsumi's face with that of a Dragon. At a signal from the official the swords clashed, a rapid contest of sword blows. The speed of the two combatents made the fight hard to follow for the unadjusted eye but those who had the reaction speeds of soldiers could see it blow by blow. Flurries, parries, strikes, and all matter of sword movements clashed as the two fought with firm intent. The Duel itself lasted only about three minutes, time Tatsumi spent probing Amateru's technique waiting for an opening to reveal itself and it did and with a rapid strike he disarmed Amateru of her sword and flung her out of the circle, the duel concluded with the Golden Dragon Emperor victorious, Amateru then knelt joined by her army and swore an oath of undying loyalty to the Golden Dragon Emperor, one that only death could release them from. The banner of Tenrou was surrendered to Tatsumi and a Banner of the Golden Dragon was given to Amateru and her soldiers, the standards were likewise changed out, with the banners of Tenrou being sent back to the ships where they would be sent back to Melitine to be displayed in the Hall of Victory which was a museum dedicated to those the Empire had faced and defeated. With the passing of the standards oaths were made to the Golden Dragon Empire, along with the Gods of the Empire, after the conclusion of these formalities the army of Amateru was inducted into the Imperial army, Amateru would soon after marry Tatsumi in a custom and the two would be abed for half a day. Soon after Moegi arrived along with more troops and a message was then sent to Zuou by Tatsumi. Three of your Ten Stars now shine over me.

In Tenrou… Zuou took one look at Tatsumi's message sighed and placed it in a pile of other letters. He was tempted to burn or tear it but he was distracted by the implications and what he had to do now that three vacancies were now open in his elite command staff, in addition to the fact that three powerful Meihous would now be turned against Tenrou, he also had the personal pain of Heartbreak as with the message from Tatsumi had come a saucy letter from now Empress Moegi making Zuou feel a good deal of agony, he drowned his sorrow in Sake and when that proved not to be enough he had sex with nine of his concubines, it was then after the ninth woman he was greated by his mother. Zuou's mother did not like it when her son acted like he was doing right now, while Zuou may have been the ruler of Tenrou his mother held a good amount of sway in his life making sure to reign in his more- impulsive choices and provide better solutions, only his mother could command him, for while Zuou styled himself the Grand Shogun of Wakoku he was a Mama's boy and man whom trusted the advise of his mother. Zuou's mother was a interesting case as she was a noblewoman of Imperial blood whom had ran off with his father when he was still a prince undergoing the same path as Zuou leaving her lover and young newborn daughter behind, she had give Zuou's father five children including himself but also two sisters and two younger brothers, that marriage had been happy and his mother was still young in her thirties.

"My son I know how you feel, it's a hard thing to be heartbroken, my first love betrayed me with a whore and I ran off, my only regret being I in my haste left your half-sister behind; but such is fate: Zuou I'm not disappointed in your judgement but I am in your depression, my son you can do better" his mother stated blue eyes looking into his, her white hair shimmering along with her dress fully custom made by his mother.

"You are right mother, I must give thought as to my new three Stars, I must hold a contest to determine them; I'm angered that the Golden Dragon Emperor has taken my Moegi from along with Rinzu, in addition to Yomihime AND Amateru; I'll let the people know the truth, from now on Mother I'll double my efforts the Wolf still has his pack and I will hunt the Dragon down" Zuou replied his mother smiled kissed his forehead as Zuou left to ready himself for war.