Zui was smack in the middle of the four rebellious provinces, what amazed him was that the four of them didn't just decide to take it over.

:Whatever else their faults, they at least have sense enough to see the impossibility of that much,: Gyousou thought as he reviewed his opening stratagems.

It wasn't so much that Zui province would have been impossible to take over, because it was significantly smaller than any of the other four provinces surrounding it, it was that there was already a shuukou for that province and the other provincial officials had already seen what happened to those who tried to infringe on the authority of the capitol.

Since Ie Province and Ba Provine were both on the western coast line, Gyousou had decided to make his opening play there by using the ships to transport troops and supplies from the port city of Nanting in the south of Ran province. It was further south than he would have liked, but the superior transport facilities in Ran Province would make up for whatever time lag there would have ordinarily been over land.

His strategy was a bit risky, as he planned to actually split his army somewhat. Zui Province, where the capitol was, was actually right next to Ba province. There was a transport road that led through the mountains from Kouki to the two trade cities in Ba province Chienlen and Tungjou. That road was guarded at a narrow mountain pass by a well fortified structure called Fort Setsuhoka (Proudsnow Fortress). That was the fortification that Risai had just received intelligence on. Her agents (and Gyousou could only admire on the efficiency of Tai's information and internal spy network, that intelligence updates were received nearly hourly for different sources!) that its usual patrol barracks armed strength had increased from a Blue Unit to a White Unit over the last week with Ba Province sending in four times the usual reinforcements. The Yellow Unit that usually guarded the lowlands farther to the west had been deployed to shore up the defenses on the mountain pass. Asen expected Gyousou to attack, this much was and would be a given if he had received even the slightest hint the Tai's true king had woken from his slumber, and the positioning of the troops suggested that Asen expected Gyousou to move his troops through that pass and take Setsuhoka first.

:Normally in winter time, that pass would be the only way I could march my troops over the border and retake the province, but there are now ships that can move, at least somewhat, through the heretofore impenetrable frozen rind around the shorelines of the north in winter.:

Granted, the ships with the special reinforced hulls were not damaged as easily by the large chunks of ice that formed along the coast in wintertime, but even they couldn't go all the way north up into the frozen solid sheet called the Iceflow at the top of Tai, the ice there was simply too thick.

:But Ba Province is farther south than Ie province is, and the ice-rind around that part of the kingdom is not frozen solid in a sheet. For half a mile out to sea.:

Meaning that he'd be able to maneuver the ships carrying troops and supplies around the ice-forms off the coast of Ba Province. What he planned to do was what any good military strategist did. Play to his enemies expectations. He had assembled the armies in the north of Zui province with the seeming intent of marching them through the road to Tungjou via the fortified pass at Setsuhoka. This had, of course, caused the enemy generals to move their troops to stop him there at the bottleneck where they had the advantage of terrain. He wanted them all stuck there at the bottleneck between Zui and Ba and to that end he planned to send a portion of his troops under General Risai to keep them entertained. Once he took Kaitou Fortress the lowlands would be a relatively clean sweep according to recent intelligence reports, Asen had ordered any extra troops to man the fortresses along the mountain borders of Zui Province. Gyousou intended to take his troops, sweep west to east through the lowlands to the Provincial Captitol, put a shuukou of his own choosing in place with a small and loyal peacekeeping force, and move on to catch Setsuhoka Fortress in a pincer with his troops and Risai's Units.

:With the exception of the north-south range on the eastern border that leads into Zui Province Ba Province is moslty flat. If we march quickly, we should be able to overtake the lowlands. The winters there are not as bad, though "bad winters" are always relative in Tai.:

That left Ie and Bun Provinces. Ie was in the very north and westmost corner of Tai and was not well settled unless one counted goats. Bun Province also was lightly populated but saw probably about three quarters of Tai's gemtrade. Bun Province had a low population density mainly because thiers was broken terrain, difficult to make settlements of any size on and just as difficult to march an army over. Added to that was the fact that the northern reaches had been slowly and steadily emptying out of most of the civilian population over the last few decades. If battles were to be fought, at lest there wasn't a whole lot now to get in the way of them. Gyousou very much hoped that when he had finished with settling Ba and Ie, Bun and Jou would decide to lay down arms and accept his rule again. If the tale had not yet faded from memory he still had a good rapport with Bun, he knew that they would remember their king.

:Again, this is the north we're talking about,: Gyousou reminded himself humorously. :The only thing northerners are is stubborn.:

One had to be stubborn in order to live in a place like the northern reaches where it was rocky terrain, hard soil, hard land and bitter winters. There was a well-known proverb about the northern reaches "The only thing that come out of the Reaches are sheep, swords and soldiers." Yes the people of the reaches were stubborn, independent and clannish, Gyousou knew they'd be disinclined to listen to any ruler from the capitol, each little county lord considered himself king of his own little clan.

:And they also love to fight.:

The Northern Reaches was where the men of Tai had gained their reputation for loving to fight. A reputation that had traveled all the way to the sages of Mt. Hou. Gyousou often thought that whatever authority in Heaven had decided to call the ruler of Tai the "Peace-King" had to have been being ironic, for even under the reign of a good, king Tai was never truly at peace.

He took one last long look at his strategy table and sighed, for he knew that it was one thing to make plans, and another to deal with the contingencies. This particular idea of his might not last much past the west-to-east sweep, but at least it would get his people in place. Keeping them supplied in the middle of winter would be another matter. He had spoken with Risai on the matter but she had said that the skyways were things that required not only a lot in the way of particular raw materials, but also a whole bevy of land-surveyors and engineers and "technicians" (whatever that was, some sort of specialist perhaps?) as well as the builders themselves. It was built cautiously and with a great deal of double-checking and math and discussion of environmental factors. It was not something that was simply thrown up overnight for convenience.

:Which is a pity,: Gyousou thought. :An army marches on its stomach, if I had a more reliable way to get supplies delivered in enemy territory we could march much farther. Ah, well, it is what it is.:

As not only a general but as the king of Tai, he would make the best of things. This ship was not going down on his watch.

:The Imperial Court will be convened in mere hours, I suppose I should check to see that my Kouri is not fretting himself to pieces.:

Already dressed in the formal black imperial robes, he walked across the garden that separated Seiden Palace from Meiden Palace to go and see Taiki. When he entered the place where his kirin supposedly resided it seemed uninhabited, until he heard the echoes of giggling down the hall. Curious, he followed the sound.

In his defense, the screen partition that separated Taiki's quarters from the quarters that his young Royal Consort occupied was wide open (probably to make room for the flock of maids rushing about the chambers) so he rather thought that the dismayed screech was justified but the brush that was thrown at his head was a little uncalled for. After all, he did quickly apologize.

"I am here to see my kirin," he explained after he ducked safely behind the frame of the doorway.

The girl was placed on a stool in the middle of the room, like a statue on a pedestal, while her maids bustled around her. There were two putting up her hair, one to brush it and the other to hold the tray of hair ornaments. There were no less than seven maids holding out different outfits in different colors, there were two more playing in the jewelry box and another two in charge of ribbons. The proposed "doll" in all of the middle of this should have been the one directing the chaos, but no, like a usurper standing in the curtain behind the throne, Taiki was the one picking through her clothing, debating cut and colors and Tentei only knew what with the giggling maids.

"It's all clear now, Gyousou-sama," Taiki called a minute later. "We've taken away everything she can throw at you... Yuka! The jade-pendant is not a bolo and Gyousou-sama does not need his skull indented for him!"

"Was he raised in a barn?!" Yuka snapped back.

"You cannot speak of your husband thus milady!" one of the room maids protested, but it sounded more like she thought the whole thing was funny.

"It's like his mama didn't raise him right! Walking into a girl's chambers without knocking! No manners!"

"Now, now," he heard Taiki soothe.

"Why are you here, Taiki?" Gyousou asked curiously, not quite daring to show himself around the edge of the screen.

The kirin came over a moment later, already dressed in his most formal court zhishen, and smiled at his king, delighted as ever to be in his presence. Gyousou too was warmed by his kirin's affection. He had met the previous Tairen when the previous king had met with his generals from time to time on matters of military. She had reminded him of his then-wife Isana in some ways; she had had a poise and dignity to her that were a little more in keeping with the position of Taiho but she often seemed a little severe for a kirin. He had heard rumors that Kyou-ou's Tairen had lectured her king many times on his expenditures, but that could only have been rumor.

"Yuka picked out something too plain for our big night, so I thought I'd come over and help her choose something better," Taiki said candidly. "It's a big occasion after all."

"I see," Gyoousou said, in amusement.

His kirin was treating the Consort like she was his own personal life-sized dress-up doll. It sort of made him think better of her that she was clearly letting Taiki do whatever he wanted.

"It's good to see you having fun," he said with a smile.

"Do you really have to go so soon Gyousou-sama?" Taiki asked.

"I know you just got me back and it saddens me to part with you so soon as well Taiki," Gyousou said gently. "But I cannot let this divide in our kingdom languish any longer than it already has. I must go soon, but I can say that I will do my utmost to return quickly, and victorious!"

"If anyone can do it, you can Gyousou-sama!" taiki said, clearly trying to be brave for his sake.

He could see the lingering sadness in his kirins eyes... until his kirin's eyes fell upon the bixi that Gyousou had chosen to wear over the qun. He hadn't really paid much attention to color, simply grabbed the nearest he'd found.

"Oh!" Taiki said as he looked at it more closely. "This will never do. It doesn't match anything!"

Taiki grabbed his king by the crook of the arm and pulled him along with him into his young wife's dressing chamber. Mindful of what had happened the last time, Gyousou ducked by reflex. When he looked up however, the maids had covered her in a thick temporary wrap robe preparatory to dressing her up. Yuka did little more than send a glare in his direction.

Gyousou looked around at the milling chaos of her dressing suite, expecting to see an explosion of silks and satins and all sorts of fine clothing everywhere, instead he saw only eight fine Hanfuu and a few others that were less fine. Some of them weren't even silk, but were of a thinly woven "cotton-silk" that was a great deal cheaper than the real thing.

:Well, despite her claims to love fashion, at least it seems she hasn't been spending the palace budget on new clothing,: Gyousou thought.

The previous king had had the poor Minister of Heaven in agonies of despair on some years. Kyou-ou had thought that fashion was an art form as much as any other medium he'd indulged himself in, and he'd had an entire harem of beauties to dress up. And they couldn't all get the usual two suits a year like the rest of the palace staff, oh no, those ladies had to be kept current in the latest mode. What one courtesan had spent on dresses in a month would have fed an entire village for a year! Gyousou was quite relieved to see that the Royal Consort could manage to dress to her station without extravagant spending.

"Bring out the violet one, Lin," Taiki called. "We could match it with the dove grey shenyi."

"It is lovely Taiho," Lin said holding up a purple long-sleeved shenyi, the kind with a larger right hem on the bottom that was wrapped twice around the body to create a diagonal-line hem revealing the underskirt. The wide belt was grey silk with light purple satin wave patterns embroidered on it.

"But are you certain it's appropriate for the occasion? I mean, it is a little plain..." Lin pursued.

Taiki nodded in agreement, while Yuka, clearly bored, rolled her eyes and sighed heavily, looking put-upon. She was clearly getting a little tired of playing Taiki's dress-up doll. To forestall a complaint, a nearby servant poured her a cup of tea. It was clear that they were past masters at handling their mistress.

"Taiki, you've been at this forever. My closet is empty. Just pick one!" Yuka said exasperatedly.

"But none of them are pretty enough," Taiki mumbled. "We should have kept that one I made for greeting the warlords all those years ago instead of having it remade. Twice."

He looked injured about it, clearly it was a long-running complaint between the two fo them.

"It's been fifty years, it would be eaten by moths by now," Yuka pointed out with exaggerated patience. "What about the blue one, you love blue!"

"You just wore the blue one," he said. "Besides, it doesn't match."

Yuka's eyes lit on Gyousou, clearly out of desperation. He almost had to resist the urge to back out and beat a hasty retreat. The only reason he didn't was that Taiki had his bixi and qun and was currently holding them up to the different ensembles around the room.

"Why don't we ask your king which one he likes," Yuka suggested.

She clearly wasn't making the suggestion because she cared for his opinion or preferences, she just wanted a decision made so that they could all get on with it.

"You've seen his closet," Taiki said absently as he compared swatches.

Gyousou raised his eyebrows, that was the closest he had ever heard Taiki come to criticizing him! He was almost proud of the boy. Yuka heaved another sigh, but, he noticed, didn't dispute the point.

:All of my uniforms look the same,: he thought in puzzlement. :Why do they make such a fuss over ornamentation?:

"Ah! I know!" Taiki brightened, having come up with a solution to his conundrum. "Lin, bring out the white silk zhongyi with the scarlet trim, the one from the black ensemble, and the deeper crimson satin shenyi, the quju with the shorter sleeves. I'll want the white sash with the golden lilies on it from the grey ensemble and the translucent gold ribbons from the rose ensemble."

There was a breif flurry of activity and then the new outfit was made and Taiki positively beamed with pleasure. He held the bixi and qun that Gyousou had put on up to it, and the colors almost matched perfectly. Gyousou shook his head. Everyone had to have a hobby, he supposed.

"Oh my!" Yuka said, admiring the results. "It looks lovely! You're so creative Kaname!"

"It will go well under the formal daizhishuan I've been saving up for the right occasion. I still haven't finished picking out your jewelry or hairpins, and there's shoes too..." Kaname replied, signalling the two jewelry-box girls and the one with the tray of hair accessories over.

Yuka didn't quite sigh, but it was clear she wanted to as she rolled her eyes heavenward clearly calling on the deity for help or patience.

"Tentei can't help you now," Gyousou said with an amused chuckle at her plight.

"Just you wait," she replied with cool anticipation. "I'll be out of formal court robes soon, and without me around to dress up, he'll devote all of his attention to you."

"I already have an imperial uniform," Gyousou replied easily. "There's not much there he can fuss over. With you he gets several layers per hanfuu and the accessories besides. I think I'll keep you around to keep him entertained."

"So sorry, I already have plans," Yuka said, not sounding sorry at all. "But while Taiki is still busy with his plans for the rest of the court attire, I actually wanted to speak with you in private about something."

Yuka gestured him out onto the open walkway that separated her rooms from Meiden palace's inner garden, a (comparatively) small courtyard with a small koi pond, a cherry tree and a few decorative rocks. Three battle-maids separated off from the group and stationed themselves at strategic corners of the garden a discreet distance away, giving them the illusion of privacy while still staying near enough to come to the aid of the consort. Gyousou noticed this and didn't know whether to be amused by it or slightly insulted... he was standing right there after all, if anyone should come to her aid, it should be him.

"I think you're moving too fast," Yuka said without preamble.

Gyousou opened his mouth to speak and Yuka held up her hand.

"Hear me out. I know you feel like you've been gone for too long and everything's been languishing here without you, and you need to fix it, and that's good... I understand that. But I have a concern. If you are correct, and it embarrasses me to admit that you do seem to be on to something with the notion that that little Napoleon is up to no good in Tai, then that is all the more reason why you should not act hastily. I want this northern situation resolved as badly as you do, even more if that's possible, but your plan was thrown together in a matter of hours, your army was assembled in a matter of days, you don't actually know your troops and haven't really had time to get to know your enemy either. It just seems like things could go badly, very quickly."

Gyousou considered her words for a long moment. He did not like them. The very last thing he wanted right then was to be told that he should cool down and wait things out. By his observation there had already been enough waiting. If he hadn't had to reign the Royal Court in, he'd already be out on that field retaking his kingdom.

"My strategy is a sound one, but it relies on being able to act quickly," he replied. "If the enemy receives intelligence of my troops alternate movements towards the sea they will change their expectations and their strategies, and victory will be more difficult. Also, as far as movement goes, we only have the advantage until spring arrives."

"I'm not military strategist Saku-san, but I do know the way people think. I have noticed in my time that everyone, even the best of us, always falls prey to a particular character flaw. Taiki has told me that you tend to be impatient, as you are now. You want things done immediately so that everything runs efficiently-"

"As king it is my duty to bring order both here and in my kingdom," Gyousou said a bit sharply.

He was nettled that a girl who hadn't even known him for a week had the temerity to lecture him on his character. Her information was second-hand!

"I'm not saying don't do your job, yes yes doyour job!" she urged. "But my real point is this. Asen defeated you once by manipulating the situation to take advantage of your main character flaw, a want of patience. It would make me sad to see him defeat you again by using the same flaw. In fact, if as you say, he's been putting his own pieces into place, then he'll already be anticipating the fact that you'll summon up every reserve you have and run off to reconquer the north. I know I don't have to tell you that this leaves the rest of the kingdom vulnerable."

"The Provinces of Zui, Ran, Chou, Sui, Ki are under crown control," he soothed, at last having caught the meat of her real concerns in her little lecture. She was worried that if he deployed the bulk of the currently loyal forces of Tai away from their stronghold here then there would be nothing protecting her from attack.

"Even if Bun, Ie or Jou should attack in retaliation for my advances on Ba, there will be enough troops remaining behind to fight them all off long enough for me to return. I have ordered my Generals to prepare Kouki for a seige, which I will discuss with you at length in due time. Do not worry, you will be safe enough here in the Royal Palace."

"Having to cut your march off mid-campaign in order recall your armies to defend the capitol would be a splendid way to interrupt your grand march to victory milord," Yuka pointed out dryly.

"A sound strategic point," Gyousou said with surprised approval. "And one I'd already thought of. Come with me..."

Gyousou took her arm and escorted her to the strategy room in Seiden Palace, a room that had clearly not seen a whole lot of use in his "absence." There was a large table in the center of the room with a map of Tai and several markers on it to signify his own and enemy troops size and movements. There were red markers in scattered places along main roads and forts in Ie and Ba, but the main bulk of the enemy's troops were concentrated on the border between Jou and Bun Provinces.

Gyousou called her attention to the very eastern coast of the map at the corner of the top-most wedge in Jou Province.

"In summertime," he explained. "The Jou Provincials would be able to move south along the coast."

"I know," Yuka said sourly. "Many of them have taken to piracy. It almost makes me happy that this mess produces so many fine sea-youma. It keeps the pirate population down."

Gyousou suppressed a small smile at her dry observation.

"If they are to move at all in winter, it must be over land. Even that is difficult especially given their limited supplies."

"All four opposing provinces border Zui," he pointed out next. "But the largest and most accessible border is still Jou. It is difficult to march an army over the broken terrain of Bun, even in summertime. Asen has concentrated the bulk of his forces to launch a counter-attack on Zui as soon as I move all of my troops over to retake Ba."

"You're leaving it vulnerable on purpose!" Yuka said, amazed.

"The highest value in a covert operation is to play to your enemies expectations and then do something they don't anticipate. I am aware that my impatience is a weakness, but it is a weakness that my enemy expects, thus it is useful as a maneuvering tool."

"So what do you intend that we should all do while the capitol city is besieged... again?" Yuka asked, a little irritatedly.

"Outwait them," he replied. "The armies of the Left and of the Center of the Forbidden Army are already quietly deployed in shoring up the cities defenses and guarding the granaries here in Kouki. The opposition is desperate enough to besiege a city in wintertime, but they can only hold out for so long until their supplies run out. They cannot forage in winter so they need to win the siege before their supplies are expended."

"What about the civilian population of the surrounding countryside?"

"Find an excuse to evacuate them without making it look like you're anticipating an enemy march if you can, if not, you'll simply have to accept them as refugees when the time comes. It will stretch supplies, but I believe they will hold."

"So another war of endurance then," Yuka said with a sigh. "Will I have to greet these warlords too?"

Gyousou actually smiled.

"Asen will move, believing he has outmaneuvered me," he told her. "Once his troops have control of the city he will crawl out from under his rock to ascend the mountain."

"It's so nice that you have this all figured out. Now would be a great time for me to go on vacation. I believe I'll just pack my things, I think I hear a beach somewhere in Ren calling my name."

Yuka made as if to leave and Gousou caught her by the crook of the arm again.

"I must ask you to remain in place for a little longer yet," he said. "Now that I am awake and aware, Asen knows that I will not tolerate his interference, so the only way he will have to neutralize me is by taking a hostage. That hostage would be either you or Taiki, probably Taiki since he is defenseless and you are not."

"I hope you plan to stop him," Yuka said expectantly. "The accommodations on the Isle of Nen are not very pleasant but it is a near-impregnable stronghold. If he got either of us away to that place it would be very difficult to recover us."

"Naturally I plan to stop him," Gyousou reassured her, leading her over to the strategy table and setting up his markers to the strategy he envisioned. "With the way his troops are positioned, he will come at Kouki from the point on the very northern border of Zui, where the borders of Jou and Bun meet. I will move through Ba province from the western coast, as you see he has minimal troops in scattered places where they can't defend or aid one another easily. I will take them out one by one and march through Setsuhoka Fortress on the border between here and Zui. At that point I anticipate that the troops under his command will still be besieged outside of the city gates. I will come around the city from the southeast and the Forbidden Armies of the Left and Center will attack from the walls while I lead the army of the Right to harry their flanks."

The opposition would be literally fighting with their backs to a wall, trapped between the city's defense forces and the army that Gyousou would be leading to come up behind them.

"You know he's not going to move all of his troops for one single attack," Yuka pointed out next.

"And you say you're no military strategist," he replied, pleased that she was keeping up so readily with the discussion.

Yuka snorted

"Any merchant will tell you never to put all your stock in trade on one ship."

"Even if he does not move all of them for this one attack," Gyousou said. "He will move a large number of them. And mostly the ones from Jou and Bun it seems. By the end of the winter, Ba Province will be back under crown control and we will hopefully have taken out a fair portion of the opposition in Jou and Bun."

"What if you get held up?" Yuka countered. "Bun Province borders Ba as well as Jou, he could order his troops deployed to the south and cut you off before you can even reach Setsuhoka Fortress."

"You're looking at the map as a flat thing," he said with a little kindly humor in his eyes. "The border between Ba and Bun Provinces is a mountain range that would be very difficult to march troops over on a good day in summer much less during the middle of winter. Unless it is a kuokuushi, an arial force, there will be no southern troop movement. But good thinking. I will make a military strategist of you yet."

"I won't be here that long," she reminded him. "I want to be in Kei in time for the spring and summer fashion show. Youko promised me a new dress because she lost a wager against me."

"It both relieves and disappoints me that you're so eager to step aside."

"Let's say I'm well aware of my own fatal flaw," Yuka replied.

"And that would be?" he asked curiously.

"Cunning, ruthless ambition."

"That was a prompt answer," he noted a bit dryly.

"Yes."

The shortness of her reply told him both that there was an entire story around it, and that she didn't want to go into it so he should just drop it. Willing to respect her privacy on the matter, Gyousou changed the subject.

"I appreciate that you are willing to help Tai in this matter."

It already went without saying that she wasn't doing this for him in particular. If anything, she was there to help Taiki. Helping Taiki meant keeping Tai safe and stable.

"Only on the condition that you're send Taiki away to safety for the duration. The Capitol city of Kouki will be besieged and even two battalions of the Forbidden Army holding the gates are not enough to guarantee that the city will not fall into enemy hands. If that happens then the Imperial Palace will be overrun and captives will be taken. You and I both know that he cannot truly defend himself and certainly not against something like this. Send him on another of those diplomatic missions."

"I have no pretext to send him to Ren," Gyousou replied.

"Try Han, I did promise him jewels for his kirin after all, we can tie it up with a good-will mission to smooth over any misunderstandings," Yuka replied. "On his way over I'd also like him to stop by Hou, after all, I've had an unofficial correspondence with the Queen there, with your permission I'd like to make official ties. Such a mission will take some time, of course," she said with a conspiratorial smile.

"Quite," Gyousou agreed.

"Can I ask you something?" she said next.

"You may."

"Why didn't you order a few of your soldiers to head south on a kijyuu to execute Asen?"

"I did," he replied candidly. "But they returned with word that he had already moved out."

"I see..." Yuka said, flushing a little.

"You do not need to be embarrassed," he said gently. "You had to act with discretion and mercy in his case for your authority was limited and shared with Taiki. I understand this."

"Sometimes it seemed like everything I did... just made everything worse," Yuka said, gazing down at the map sadly. "I didn't want to divide the nation, much less throw it into a fifty-year stand-off. Risai always urged me to march north with our forces, but I couldn't do that. I didn't want to leave Kaname alone here, not when he was so scared he wouldn't see me again if I left. I couldn't deny people the protection of the soldiers to fight off the youma. It wasn't an ideal situation, but I'd managed to find a balancing point, a place that was just stable enough to endure."

Gyousou gently turned her from the map and took her hand in his. His gaze on her felt less like a crushing gravity and more like the gentle warmth of sun on skin.

"I do not know if I have expressed to you how grateful I am for all you've done," he said sincerely.

Yuka flushed and looked downward, suddenly unable to look up at him again.

"You don't have to thank me, I did it for-"

"I am aware of your reason, but all the same, Tai would not have survived without you. I love my kingdom. Duty to my land and people have always come first to me. It would have killed me to awake and find the land I love in ruins, and Taiki too ill to survive. A balancing point is more than enough to salvage the situation."

"I'm glad to hear it," Yuka said, clearly discomfited by his sincere expression of gratitude. She tried to remove her hand from his and perversely he held it firmly to keep it.

"You don't hear thank-you very much, do you?" he noted dryly, sensing her discomfort.

"Well, being Royal Consort is usually such a thankless job," Yuka replied humorously.

"I am sorry I must ask yet more of you," Gyousou added. "It is not a situation that makes me pleased with it either. Had it been possible i would have given you all the books and cakes you'd like and let you rest."

"It is what it is," Yuka said philosophically.

"Spoken like a true citizen of Tai," he replied with a smile.

It was a phrase and a life-philosophy common to the stoic, hardy northern people.

"At least this time you accepted my thanks," he noted humorously with a touch of rue for the way she had cut him off so neatly the last time he had tried to thank her.

"Taiki scolded me about it," Yuka admitted with a small smile. "I admit I felt a bit bad. I'm good with trade and politics, you'd think I'd be better at handling things like that, but business relationships and personal relationships are very different from the inside of them than they are from the outside, or at least that's the way it seems. On the outside you can look at it and see all of the weak points or the places where a word or a subtle nudge will give you what you're after, but from the inside its like... like swimming in an ocean and trying to enjoy the sunset. When you're on shore you can look out and see the colors on the water and appreciate it, but when you're in the water itself you stop being able to pay attention to things like that."

"I believe I see what you mean," Gyousou replied. "It saddens me a little."

She had been shut up there for too long, dealing with politics and problems, with people complaining in her ears all the time about things she couldn't do anything about. Walking a careful line as the Royal Consort would naturally curtail her relationships. If any of her enemies got even the faintest whiff of anything that might remotely be construed as improper behavior on the part of the Royal Consort they would have used it as a blade to rid themselves of her. It must have been lonely.

"How soon will you leave?" Yuka asked next, businesslike.

"In the morning," Gyousou replied. "I will handle the court and give Taiki his assignment tonight. You will be appointed to run the Royal Court in my absence. The General of the Left and the Center of the Forbidden Army will remain with you to handle the military affairs."

"Genral Risai is the general of the Right," Yuka noted. "She will be leaving with you then?"

"Yes," Gyousou replied.

Risai was one of his most trusted generals, he wanted her there with him on the battlefield. Besides, Jou was her home, he knew how badly she wanted to be there when it was brought back into peaceful rule, and likewise how badly she did not want to fight her own kinsmen.

"Oh, I see..." Yuka said, trying not to look disappointed. Gyousou caught it anyway.

"You and Hakkei Palace will be safe with General Kousou of the Center and General Banlai of the Left," he told her reassuringly. "I know you depend on Risai's advice for military matters, but you can rely on those two as well."

"If I can get them to stop fighting long enough to give me advice," was Yuka's somewhat tart reply. "Their personalities mix like oil and water. I think Banlai goes out of his way to provoke Kousou."

"They're bored," Gyousou said with a small shrug.

"Bored? With all I have them doing with the Youma, and the assassins, how can they possibly be bored?" Yuka wondered.

"Patrols and investigations are not true military maneuvers, and any man in Tai will tell you that any fight is better than no fight at all. When it's time for a good battle, they'll settle in and do what needs doing."

Yuka tapped a finger twice then three more times against the surface of the table, looking hesitant.

"Is there something else?" Gyousou inquired.

Yuka clearly debated internally, then decided to speak.

"You are using me as bait, aren't you," she said. Her tone was careful, and accusatory.

"After a fashion," he agreed gravely. "I dislike placing you in danger-"

"I'm always in danger," Yuka corrected him.

"More so now that Asen moving out in the open," Gyousou said. "I need a way to draw him out. He is not a man who gives away his advantages easily, and keeping to the terrain of the north would be a great advantage indeed when waging war. Conceivably we could fight this war for decades, as strategists we two have always been quite evenly matched. If I want to tie this off, I need to offer him a seemingly quick victory, a prize too tempting for him to resist, and one that he thinks he has planned for. It is a terrible thing I ask of you, but will you do it?"

"I want this over with as swiftly and decisively as you do," Yuka replied. "As long as Taiki is safe, I'll do what must be done."

"Then I thank you," he said.

He examined her with minute intensity for a very long moment. Yuka looked a question at him, clearly disconcerted by his scrutiny.

"You do not seem bothered by this," he said a little incredulously. "I do not know many who would accept the situation I have asked of you so calmly."

"It's not so different from what I've faced before," Yuka replied. "At least with this one, there is the hope for an end to this conflict instead of more interminable proxy-wars and sabre-rattling. Asen is an opponent I've faced before."

"That just means that he probably has a personal vendetta against you as well," Gyousou pointed out.

"Then let him come and bring everything he can muster with him," Yuka replied strongly, with a slightly anticipatory smile. "If he wants a fight so desperately, I suppose we'll have to see that he dies without regrets."

In terms of a fighter of Tai, to die without regrets meant that a warrior died fighting his hardest on the field. The way Yuka put it meant that she intended that this would be the last fight he would ever make. Gyousou found himself with an answering smile on his face, utterly charmed by her unexpected willingness to see the fight through.

"I suppose we shall," he agreed.