Ayu was pacing around in a courtyard within the Imperial Palace in worry. Sometime had passed since Seijuro gave in and submitted to her rule but it came at a cost. Many of her soldiers and Seijuro's were now dead. Many of them good warriors. And to make matters worse, the Orochi, her friend, was wounded in his duel with Seijuro. In the end, despite his wounds, he managed to defeat Seijuro and convince him to accept her rule. Only to, shortly after, fall to the ground in a heap due to his wounds. He was then rushed to several doctors and medics, who were now tending to his wounds. And ever since, Ayu couldn't help but feel that it was her fault that the Orochi was in his current state. She saw the duel and she noticed something was wrong. Her friend was fighting well but not as well as he should have been. It was if something was bothering him and clouding his mind. Momiji even told her that their friend was not fighting as well as he normally would when they attempted to open the gates to the Imperial Palace. She guessed what was the reason and cursed her friend but also herself. Her rejection of his feelings of her were obviously still on his mind and were hampering his skills. She would have to talk with him about this soon or it will cause his death. She was about to march to the tent where the Orochi was being tended to when she heard a voice.
"Are you finally done?" Asked Seijuro as he made himself known by walking out of his hiding spot and marching up to Ayu. She turned toward Seijuro in surprise. She made sure that she was alone in the courtyard and that she was not to be disturbed. Her new guards had seen to that. She was about to ask Seijuro how he managed to get past her guards when she remembered that Seijuro was an Orochi, meaning he was skilled in infiltration and stealth.
"What do you want Seijuro?" Asked Ayu as Seijuro stopped in front of her.
"What I want is for you to deal with the emperor's champion." Said Seijuro, crossing his arms in front of his chest. "I assume you know what I am talking about." Seeing her nod, Seijuro continued. "He's distracted by something. I had seen it in our duel with each other." Remarked Seijuro, remembering the fight he had with the Orochi. During their duel, he had seen his eyes. There was something in them that piqued Seijuro's curiosity. They were filled with determination but they were also filled with sadness and pain. And not the pain he expected. It was a pain that came from the heart. Like he suffered a heart break recently. Another thing he noticed, was that the Orochi refused to look at Ayu during their duel, causing him to suspect that Ayu had something to do with it. "I assume that it is your fault somehow. Am I correct?" Ayu contemplated telling him before sighing and nodding.
"Yes. Sometime before all this. He confessed his feelings of me. I rejected them and he was hurt by it. I assumed that he was over it by now." Said Ayu, causing Seijuro to raise an eyebrow.
"Really?" Said Seijuro. "Why would you do such a thing?"
"*Sighs* Because of my duty as both a Daimyo and empress. I need to focus on our people. And if I allow myself to be romantically involved with someone during a war, I will be neglecting my duty." Explained Ayu. This explanation caused Seijuro to scoff.
"I never took you for a fool, Ayu." Said Seijuro, causing her to glare at him. "All our other emperors and empresses had been involved with someone during the thousand-year war. Why should it be different with you?"
"Because our people need a leader that's focused on them. Not just on one individual or group." Said Ayu.
"Our leaders before you did a good enough job at handling their personal life and the needs of our people. Are you saying you can't?" Asked Seijuro. Ayu was about to speak again but stopped when she realized that Seijuro was right in a way.
"I don't know." Said Ayu after some silence. "I just don't know. I want to have a family of my own but I also want to restore my house's honor." Seijuro grunted at that. He knew the reason Ayu's house was exiled and frankly he was disgusted by the Emperor for exiling them as well as imprisoning the Orochi. If he wasn't in jail when the Vikings invaded their lands, perhaps the damage wouldn't have been as extensive. "I'm not saying I don't want to be my friend. I'm saying that I want to put my duty first." Said Ayu.
"Are you sure about that?" Asked Seijuro. "Think about it Ayu. If the emperor's champion was as distracted as he was in the duel with me, how will he fare against the Blackstone Legion? He will surely die. And think what that will do to our army's moral. We need him with his mind clear and at his best. And to do that, you need to talk to him about this. Perhaps even give him hope that there is a chance. There's nothing that encourages a man as much as hope." Said Seijuro.
"Are you asking me to lie to him? Give him false hope that there is a chance for him to be with me?" Asked Ayu in anger. "So that our army will fight at their best as well?"
"Why should you lie?" Asked Seijuro. "You said yourself that you want a family and that you wouldn't mind having him as a husband. And I see no reason to be against it." Said Seijuro. Ayu looked at Seijuro in surprise. Was he asking her to just go up to the Orochi and ask him to marry her?
"Are you ordering me to marry him?" Asked Ayu suspiciously.
"Ordering? No. I merely said that you should think about starting a family with him if only to make him fight at his best. If you have any feelings for him, then all the better. It'll be a whole lot easier for all of us if there is actual feelings between the empress and her husband. You know what happened the last time that happened, right?" Asked Seijuro. Ayu nodded in agreement. The last time that an emperor or empress married someone with no real feelings between them did not end well for the empire.
"But it's against tradition for Daimyos to marry commoners, even someone as the Emperor's champion. Wouldn't that spark conflict between our people." Said Ayu. She would much rather avoid conflict with her own people. They needed to be united to stand against the Knights and Vikings.
"Perhaps." Conceded Seijuro. "But they will get over it, sooner or later. They wouldn't want to face the wrath of their leader, right? Besides, with only two Daimyos left, I'm sure they'll ignore it in favor of having a successor to the throne in case something happened to you." Said Seijuro.
"You do know, they'll want us to marry, right?" Asked Ayu, noticing the flaw in Seijuro's argument.
"Then they will face my blade for thinking they will force me to marry." Growled Seijuro. "Or that of my chosen bride. Whichever is first."
"You have a bride?" Asked Ayu in shock. She never thought Seijuro would have a secret affair with someone. He seemed not to be the type to do such a thing.
"Yes." Said Seijuro. "A Nobushi. I encountered her dealing with Viking looters some time ago. I was passing by and decided to lend a hand. The Vikings never stood a chance. After the battle, I praised her for defending her village alone as she was the only defender for it. She intrigued me, so I made a deal with her. In exchange for her services, I promised to donate some of my soldiers for her village's protection as well as funding the training for the village men so they can have a fighting chance against looters and bandits. She agreed and we went into an affair sometime later." Explained Seijuro. "In fact, she was there during my duel with the champion." Hearing that, Ayu recalled seeing a Nobushi among Seijuro's men after the champion defeated him. She looked tense and looked like she was about to attack.
"I believe I know who you speak off." Said Ayu. "But that still does not justify, me having an affair with the Orochi. How can I spend time with him while also dealing with the needs of my people? And what will I do when I have a child? I will have to spend less time attending the needs of my people to take care of my children." Said Ayu. Seijuro just shrugged.
"It will be a challenge for sure." Agreed Seijuro. "But when was life ever easy for us." Ayu had to agree reluctantly. Life was never easy for their people. "But, seriously Ayu. You should at least give the Orochi some hope that there is a chance with you. Otherwise, it may alter the course of our impending battle with the Blackstone legion." With that, Seijuro left. Leaving Ayu alone with her thoughts. After some thinking to herself, she marched to the tent where the Orochi was. She hoped that she wouldn't regret giving the Orochi some hope that they can be together after this. If she did, she will have a talk with Seijuro for talking her into this.