Over the next few days, Akari started to tell him about the state of the vampire world. Rido was both pleased and annoyed by what had come of Kaname's death and his own apparent death. He was glad the assumption of his demise had created the chaos needed to allow him to heal in peace With everyone too busy trying to take control or at least work out what to do next, no one bothered to check if he was really dead. But at the same time, the Vampire Council was working hard to assume control without looking for heirs to the throne. It was clear that they had been waiting for an opening to take over. The aristocrats had been power hungry for quite some time, waiting for the demise of purebloods to take their place. In particular Asato, Rido had always known his so called loyal follower had his own agenda. But while his goals temporarily aligned with his own, he would allow it to slide. Now, the ones who had thought the path was clear, would be sorely mistaken.

"We must contact our friend within the council." Rido finally spoke up after much thought. Akari pulled a face of disgust, earning a small chuckle from Rido. "Invite him here but don't tell him I'm alive. I want to surprise that bastard." He then added with a smirk. "He will tell us everything, let's see if he can worm his way out of not looking for me or even slowing down the council. He should have been able to, seeing as he is the head of it."

"I'd rather he wormed his way into a hole and died." Akari muttered under her breath before settling down to write a letter. She knew he'd come running, he always couldn't help his wondering eyes. "In my opinion you need to cut off the head." She then added with a sigh.

Within a couple of days, their guest had arrived. Akari greeted him at the front door, ensuring her outfit didn't reveal anything that would allow his eyes to linger. "Thank you for coming Asato." She told him as he smirked, stepping dangerously close to her as he entered her home.

"No, thank you for inviting me." He gently took her hand and kissed the back of it. Akari tried hard not to pull her hand back and slap him. "You mentioned a surprise for me, in your letter." He then stated as he let her go long enough for her to close the front door.

"The surprise is me." Rido's voice chimed in from the top of the stairs. Akari smirked as Asato visibly froze.

"Lord Kuran." Asato bowed lowly and quickly pulled himself together. "I was under the impression that you were dead." He then added.

"Clearly that was wrong." Rido stated with his arms folded over his chest. "I would have expected such a loyal follower to come looking for me and not listen to the words of vampire hunters. You have greatly disappointed me Ichijo." He slowly made his way down the stairs.

"We believed them as Lady Akari had not spoken any different." Asato tried to shift the blame.

"And lead them straight to Rido, are you stupid Ichijo?" Akari hissed at him. "I was lucky I got out of there at all. I was not just trapped by rubble after the fight, they tried to keep me there afterwards. Now would the council have helped save me? I am a pureblood after all." She then hinted at the lack of movement by the council. "But no one came to my aid." She then added, pretending to look sad and hurt. Asato smiled nervously as he tried to come up with an answer.

"We were told by them that you were safe and resting. They said you were free to do as you pleased." He told her, shifting nervously. Akari huffed and looked over at Rido.

"Now, tell me why no one made the effort to search for their king or any to take his place." Rido ordered as he reached the last step.

"The council has always had plans to take over from the royal family, you have always known that." Asato pointed out, trying to state it would have happened if he was there or not.

"But why didn't they check first, that's my question." Rido snapped at him.

"The council knew both Kaname and his sister had perished by your hand. The hunters told us that you had perished yourself and Akari was at the time unconscious. They assumed that you had no pureblood children with Akari or anyone else. They also assumed that even if Akari was pregnant at the time, the hunters would deal with it. No one expected her to be allowed to leave."Asato explained, almost tripping over himself in fear.

"But you just said that they told you I was free to do as I please." Akari interrupted him before he could dig an even bigger hole for himself.

"Yes, but we thought that they would convince you to stay. And if you did try to leave and they stoped you, you would contact someone." His lies catching up with him. He had originally thought that Akari had invited to maybe discuss her move into politics. Maybe even earn him a chance to call her for a favour that would work greatly in his pleasure.

"They used the lack of clarity to make their move." Rido put it much more simply and Asato nodded. "Are there any plans in place?" He then asked.

"There will be a ball held next week, the plan is that the council will officially announce that they will be taking the royal families place. They will not expect Akari to attend or even for you to rise from the dead." Asato informed him, hoping that his lack of loyalty over power would not be held against him. At least long enough for him to get back on their good side, or run.

"Ensure Akari gets an invitation, say that she has chosen to settle down now that I have gone. That she is looking for a suitable husband. I'm sure that will help distract the council and many of the men there." Rido ordered. Akari glared at him, her arms folded over her chest. She would be having words with him later. She was not something he could use to get what he wanted. They had always agreed that they should talk to each other before suggesting such plans, but he chose to ignore it. "I will find a way in. The rest I will discuss with Akari." Asato nodded and stepped back to leave. "Ichijo, I will not forget your actions. You will be punished at a later date. If you fail in getting Akari in, you will be ash." He then threatened him, Asato nodded and rushed out of the front door to fulfil his duty.

"I'm not a piece of meat you can dangle in front of the hyenas." Akari spat at Rido as soon as Asato was out of ear shot. Rido sighed, he had been waiting for the backlash ever since he told Asato what to do. He would have preferred the chance to speak with her but he knew had to appear to be the one in charge with Asato about.

"It's not like that and you know it." Rido told her, reaching out for her. But she turned her back to him.

"Do you have any idea how much I have put on the line for you?!" She shouted at him, only looking over her shoulder. "I have appeared to be sympathetic to humans, everyone thinks I'll just jump into bed with however has the most power. My reputation is ruined and now you want me to flaunt myself in front of a bunch of men so you can sneak into the ball. For fucks sake Rido! Just show yourself to them!" Akari screamed at him. She loved him, she really did. But how was he blind to what he was doing to her.

"I know Akari. I do know. And when this is all over, we will set the record straight. You will be my queen." He told her calmly. He was well aware what everyone thought of her, even his own son thought for her as sex on legs when he first saw her. He would soon make everyone respect her, bow down to her. There were truly times where he believed that she was stronger than him. She could take on most in a fight without breaking a sweat. Her ability certain outweighed his own, control over fauna and flora would outweigh a lot of people. But she could take a lot more than he could emotionally. She could take the abuse overs threw at her and remain calm. She could ignore the rumours and petty name calling. But she was just as ruthless and cruel as he was. He pulled her into a tight embrace. "I will fix it, but we need to take them by surprise. Show them to liars and untrustworthy." He added as he felt her relax into his hold. "We can destroy their credibility in one blow and the council will be gone forever. No one will trust them and we will be able to take them out." He went onto explain.

"This will be the last time you do this. I am not one of your followers to use. I am your lover." She told him sternly, stepping back to look him in the eyes.

"I promise." He told her before kissing her softly on the lips.

"I'll hold you to that." She told him and he smiled.

"Good."