Chapter Six
Akane's first sensation was panic as she felt herself being pinned down again, but the feeling dissipated when she realised that it was Kogami's arms wrapped protectively around her. The man himself seemed to be deep asleep, as if he hadn't truly rested for the time he and Akane had been apart. Knowing him, he probably hadn't. To be honest, neither had Akane, so she snuggled back into his chest and fell promptly asleep again. She'd felt the safest she'd been for the past two weeks tucked right in Kogami's arms.
The afternoon sun hung high in the sky when Toko finally woke them from their slumber. She seemed loath to do so, but she'd apparently received orders from the Emperor himself to stir them. "I really am sorry!" she apologised at Kogami, who was far taller than her. "It's just that Emperor Sasayama told me to wake you up. He… He, uh, also wants to know if… the both of you… and I quote- 'got it on' last night?"
"I'll go and tell him the answer to that," Kogami rolled his eyes and stepped out the room. Before he departed, he gave Akane a quick kiss on the forehead, pushing her fringe back to do so. His black yukata didn't looked crumpled at all, unlike Akane, who was famed for fidgeting around when she was asleep. Akane watched him leave. Toko nearly cried at the sheer amount of knots in Akane's hair and determinedly dragged a brush through it to smooth them out. She selected the nicest kimono they currently owned (a lilac one with blue and white dancing up the sleeves), and naturally, Kogami's rose pin. Akane practically felt naked when she wasn't wearing it, missing the weight of it on the side of her head.
Outside, Ginoza was waiting for them, donning his green yukata. Since she'd never had chance to tell him before, she told him, "You look really handsome in that, Ginoza-san." He'd flooded a bright vermillion and stuttered out a 'thank you'. Out of all her samurai, he was the one of the worst for accepting compliments.
"Well, my- mother recently made it for me, be-because of my promotion as the leader, and, I'm sure- that she'd be glad to hear that you, uh, the princess, like it, very much," he stammered as he lead them to Emperor Sasayama's throne room. She didn't expect it to be quite so empty, but there was one advisor, a few guards, her personal samurai, and Kogami, who was standing extremely close to Sasayama. The two appeared to be laughing and joking about something or the other, but they stopped once Akane entered.
Sasayama jumped to his feet when he saw Akane, but didn't bow, but waved rather cheerily, like they were old friends. It was at that point when she finally remembered that Sasayama knew an awful lot about her, and she knew next to nothing about him, other than what Toko had heard from other people, and it was hardly a reliable resource. Akane bowed a little uncertainly- after all, this man was an Emperor, so she should treat him with respect, but he chuckled and waved her back up. "S'okay, you don't have to bow." He called over to her. "You must be Akane-chan, huh?" Chan?! Akane was slightly baffled by this man's behaviour- nobody called her chan straight after meeting her, but she remained silent- she needed this person on her side, after all. "Shin-kun's told me a lot about you, and now I just feel grateful to finally be meeting you!"
"I'm glad to make your acquaintance as well," she replied with a small smile on her face. "Unfortunately I can't say a lot has been said about you."
"Of course not!" he guffawed. "Who wants to talk about my ugly mug when you can talk about somebody like you, Akane-chan? Now, come closer, it's awkward to yell things at you from this far away!" Calmly, she walked forward, Toko on her heels; Akane was glad she didn't have to face this alone. For some reason, the girl's presence calmed her, perhaps because it was Toko who saved her from her own bedroom during Makishima's attack. "Man, you're even prettier than Kogami said you were!" Akane blushed, avoiding the king's or Kogami's gaze for the time being. "Damn, call me impressed." His eyes flickered to Toko. "And what's your name, lovely?"
"Me?" she looked unimpressed, but continued anyway. "I'm Toko Kirino, Akane-sama's handmaiden."
"How old are you?" he looked confused at her claim to be Akane's servant. Maybe because she seemed much too young to be a handmaiden.
"I am sixteen," she replied dryly. Akane was totally wrong in her guess that Toko was fourteen- but the girl really did have a young-looking face.
"It's wonderful to make your acquaintance, Toko-chan," Sasayama grinned devilishly at her. "I've got to ask though, are you all alright? You must have faced some pretty horrific stuff during the attack and your journey here."
"I'll be fine," Akane replied, putting on a brave face. "But I beg of you, please make sure my samurai are fully recovered."
"Naturally, naturally!" Sasayama shrugged. "Consider us your allies, Akane-chan! After all, my family has had a long-lasting feud with the Makishimas- I suppose Ko told you that, we-" he broke off to chuckle, "-were going to come and storm your castle, right?"
"That he did," Akane sighed.
"Don't misunderstand! We just didn't want your dad or Makishima in charge of your country- as it is, you guys are the most powerful, and if Makishima seized control- it gives me the willies thinking about it." He shot her a thumbs up. "We wanted to make Princess Akane-chan into Empress Akane-chan!"
"Sir, what about the protection we organised for Akane-sama?" Sasayama's advisor called over flatly.
Sasayama's face lit up in recognition. "Alright, alright, Sugo-kun!" he rolled his eyes. "I was getting to that, if you'd give me chance!" He turned his attention back to Akane and Toko (though Akane suspected he now had eyes primarily for the younger girl, who instinctively hid behind Akane). "Since we don't know how long you'll be staying with us- well, it's until we kick Makishima's ass- I organised a safe house for you, Akane-chan! And Toko-chan too!" He beamed down at the two girls. "Another thing, there didn't happen to be a man named Sakuya Togane lurking around, did there?"
"Makishima organised it so he'd be my prison guard," Akane replied bitterly. "But thank you for giving me a safe place."
"Ah, shit, that's no good," Sasayama rubbed his face with a single hand, inhaling sharply through the nose. "That guy's worse than his boss… shit. Looks like Maki-kun was really serious about keeping you around, Akane-chan…"
"I-I-I won't l-let him!" Sho cried adamantly. "N-No way!"
"I believe you, Hinakawa-san," Akane smiled at the quaking man, knowing that speaking to a large group of people made him nervous. Even though the hall was empty in her eyes, to Hinakawa it probably looked full of people.
"Nobody will, Sho-kun," Masaoka flicked the new addition to the team on the forehead, and he screwed his eyes up in indignation. "Do we even have any idea on how to tackle Makishima, Emperor Sasayama?"
"Nope!" Sasayama grinned. "But Ko tells me you're a skilled tactician, so I suppose I can count on you to help us formulate a plan, right?"
"Of course," Masaoka assented.
"Great! Now, uh, Nobuchika-san, was it?" Sasayama looked pointedly at Ginoza. "Could you be so kind as to escort Akane-chan and Toko-chan with Shin-kun to their lodgings? The rest of your group can practice with my men for the time being," Despite his friendly tone, his words were absolute. "Akane-chan, I've already had a bath run for you if you feel the need to clean off!"
"Thank you, Emperor Sasayama," Akane inclined her head slowly. It seemed the meeting was adjourned, for now. As Kagari waltzed out behind Yayoi, he turned back and called over:
"Hey, Gino-kun? If you peep at Akane-chan in the bath, imma cut you, 'kay?" He winked as if he hadn't just threatened his boss and danced away. Ginoza was blushing out of embarrassment and offence, but Kogami patted him on the back and told him that Kagari's behaviour was always that zany.
Sasayama had built Akane's safe house in a clearing in the middle of the woods, so that attackers, if any, ran the risk of getting lost, and Sasayama had a group of guards circulating around the border of the trees. Kogami and Akane didn't speak for the whole time, but he held her hand, since he could tell that despite outward appearances, she really was afraid. At one point, he interlocked their fingers, and this time, the sense of repulsion she'd had with Shogo didn't come, but rather a feeling of security. Affectionate gestures from Kogami felt… well, she couldn't describe the feeling, but it made her heart warm. The house itself was more of a cottage, with flowers creeping up the side, and roses growing in the garden. The domed roof was painted red, but the main house itself was white, and made of wood with intricate designs carved in the sides. "Huh. I'm impressed," Ginoza gave the building a quick once over.
"This country is famed for its art, so this kind of thing is commonplace," Kogami explained quickly. "Obviously, there aren't as many as beautiful as this." Quickly, he pushed past Ginoza and Toko and lead Akane into the house, and she found it was just as beautiful inside as it was outside. Toko and Ginoza laughed at her antics as she looked in each room with a strange enthusiasm- of course, it had been the first time she'd been out of her country before, so naturally she'd be excited. Eventually, Ginoza had to strictly drag Kogami away for training, and told Toko to take good care of Akane, which of course, started with a bath. To Akane's surprise and delight, the bath was outside, like a natural hot spring.
"Toko, come in with me! The water's really good!" Akane called over to the plainly dressed handmaiden.
"Akane-sama, I couldn't!" Toko laughed at the offer. "Are you being serious?"
"Of course I am! You deserve it as much as I do- you've been travelling all this time, and you must have been scared too! Besides, didn't you always say that baths are good for relaxing?" Akane walked over to the edge where Toko was standing. "If not, I'll pull you in!" she warned mockingly.
"Uh… just give me a minute!" Toko grinned and soon she had joined Akane in the bath, giggling like crazy. "You're right, the water is good!"
"I'll wash your hair for you, if you want," Akane offered.
"I couldn't- would you?" Toko realised that it was no use to turn down Akane's nice gestures, so she sat in sheepish silent as Akane scrubbed shampoo gently into Toko's hair, and instead of rinsing it off, she dunked Toko's head under. Spluttering, she emerged, and wasted no time in splashing water at Akane's face, which Akane returned with equal vigour.
"Ara, ara, are we interrupting something~?" Shion's voice sang out. The two paused in their water fight to see Yayoi and Shion standing above them, both smiling. In Shion's hands was a sword not to dissimilar to the one Akane frequently practiced with back at home, and Yayoi was clutching a mannequin, and both revelled in the light that shone in Akane's eyes at the sight. "Heh, we got you a little something to pass the time. Now, then, Akane-chan, that bath looks absolutely divine… can we join you lovely ladies?"
"Be my guest!" Akane invited them in. Once the older women had joined them in the bath, Shion set to neatening Akane's hair up, and when Akane caught her reflection in the mirror, she preferred it short- she could see her face a little better. Yayoi watched the scene unfold quietly, styling Toko's hair in that same contented silence.
And then, nearly inaudibly: "We're being watched."
"Ah, a peeking Tom, huh? On the Princess Akane too!" Shion tutted.
"It's not a peeking Tom," Yayoi's eyes narrowed as she scanned the area. "I'll go and see what it is." She slid on a robe quickly and picked up the sword that they'd brought for Akane. "I apologise, but I must have this with me should I have to fight."
The three girls slipped out of the bath and into clothes in case they had to make another getaway, but Yayoi returned, shaking her head. "I guess I was just being paranoid. Sorry for making you worry," she bowed deeply and handed the sword to Akane. "Still, I can't shake it off, but again, it's nothing." After that, Shion set up a small training space for Akane whilst Yayoi and Toko cooked a meal for them. After that, they sat down on the floor and listen to Yayoi singing and Shion telling jokes. After several hours, the duo slipped back to castle, and Toko followed them, since Akane had requested some books to read. To keep herself occupied until the others returned, she ended up slicing at the mannequin again, and again until she had broken out into a thin sheen of sweat.
To cool down, she climbed out the window onto the roof, where she could see the stars better and laid down. However, her heart rate leapt when she briefly glimpsed a pale figure on the edge of the clearing, and she blinked, hoping it was false. When she looked where the figure had been stood, there was nothing there but the shadows the moon was casting down.
Sufficiently calmed, Akane laid back down, feeling utterly defenceless without her sword at her side. However, there was no questioning it. The figure that she'd seen, or thought she'd seen, belonged to Shogo Makishima.