Gorou stood at the bow of the merchant ship as the warm ocean parted before him, hissing softly as the ship's keel sliced through. Atop his head, his furry, pointed ears were filled with the sea wind which ruffled through his short brown hair. Forward gazed his eyes of seafoam green, like the shallow waters upon the coastlines of Watatsumi Island, his native home. Ahead was his imminent destination, and he regarded it with some trepidation: Narakami Island, the capital island of the region and the location of Inazuma City- the mortal seat of The Divine Shogunate.
Looming above the city and ocean alike, the castle of Tenchukaku sat regally like a lioness on a vast rock, watching over her territory. Gorou knew from past experience that the castle's battlements were flush with troops and the equipment of war; its offices were filled with the autocratic staff of the Tri-Commission bakufu; and from a royal purple throne in its tallest tower, god herself issued forth supreme executive power.
It was to that castle, and to that very throne room, that Gorou believed himself now headed. He found it to be an alarming turn of events, as but a day ago, he was in a very different sort of throne room within Sangonomiya Shrine. That throne was for a god who was dead, and so it was ever empty. However, kneeling on the dais before it, was that god's living and vivacious- and astoundingly beautiful priestess, Sangonomiya Kokomi.
It was a bittersweet meeting for Gorou. He loved everything about Priestess Kokomi. Her graceful form. Her soft lavender eyes. The way her lips moved when she gave him his orders. She had made Gorou her general, and together they had stalled the armies of the Shogunate long enough to see the end of the Vision Hunt Decree. They had spent many long nights in that room together, anxiously pouring over maps and troop reports, scrounging together the means by which to defy the unjust actions of an overwhelming military power. Now, after three months of peace following the lifting of the decree and the truce between the Shogunate and the Watatsumi rebellion, Gorou was almost coming to miss those hectic times.
But life moved on. The war was over. And as he bowed low before Priestess Kokomi and offered her the envelope of his retirement request, he felt a mixture of relief and sadness. His duty as a general of warriors was over, and now he could go back to being a normal person. But alas, normal people did not get to spend long nights talking with the de facto ruler of the island, the Priestess Kokomi. Of all things, he would miss that the most, by far.
But she was royalty, and he a commoner- and a dog-blooded mutt at that. Any romantic feelings he had towards Kokomi was just that of a fool barking up the wrong tree. He needed to get back to reality. Back to the real world. One can't live a life on a foundation of unrequited love.
Kokomi received his resignation with her usual placid, political smile. Gorou didn't expect anything more, this being something of a formal meeting between them. She bowed to him, not as low as he himself bowed, of course.
"Words cannot fully convey my gratitude to you, General Gorou," said Kokomi.
Were her lavender eyes… slightly misty? No. Gorou decided he was fooling himself.
Kokomi continued: "It is primarily through your efforts that our army was not overrun by the Shogunate. Every man, woman, and child of Watatsumi likely owes you for their continued safety and prosperity. And I, myself, surely owe you for my very life."
Gorou's heart thudded in his chest.
"For had you failed, I would not have survived the retribution."
What did one say to such as that? Gorou bowed low again and said: "It was an honor to serve you, My Lady, but you give me too much credit. I accomplished none of these things alone. The soldiers under my command deserve all the credit that is due."
Priestess Kokomi's smile grew slightly larger. That smile was like a brief break in an otherwise overcast night sky, the stars glimmering behind briefly and then gone. Gorou recognized that expression as a little of the true, private Kokomi that Gorou knew existed behind the woman's official persona as high priestess. It was a final, precious glimmer of the woman he loved passionately, and that he could never have.
"What will you do now, General?" said Kokomi, her official smile returned to her small mouth.
"I bought a farmstead on the top of the south ridge," said Gorou, his heart dying within him, but he managed to put on a bravely happy smile. "I'm going to grow sweet potatoes."
Kokomi blinked. "S- sweet potatoes? You will become a farmer? Is not our soil poor for such things?"
"Yes, it is," admitted Gorou. "But the people I bought it from didn't really know what they were doing. And they didn't have a Geo Vision, like I do. I'm going to make a go of it, and if it works out, perhaps I can figure out how to lessen our islands dependency on Narakami for vegetables."
The priestess looked at him thoughtfully. "Even in retirement, you are looking to serve our community."
Gorou felt a little sheepish and scratched himself behind one of his ears in his habitual nervous tick. "No, no, again you give me too much credit, My Lady. I just want a peaceful and simple life. That's all. And I like sweet potatoes."
"I see," said Kokomi. "Well, I will pray to the god for your success."
"Then I am sure to have it. Thank you for taking the time to meet with me, My Lady. I know you must be very busy and-"
"Actually, Gorou," said Kokomi, her voice taking a firmer, more direct tone that Gorou's ears twitched towards instinctively. It was Kokomi's order-giving tone, and his body was practically conditioned to attend to it. "I have a request of you, now that you are retired from military service. One that only you can handle as a private citizen. And it may very well be essential to the continued freedom and prosperity of our island. WIll you hear it?"
Gorou had been halfway standing up on his way out the door. But well, when Gorou heard something like that, he really didn't think he had any other choice but to sit back down and listen. His eyes, ears, and body refocused themselves on Priestess Kokomi.
"How may I be of service?"
"As you know," began Kokomi, "the relationship between Watatsumi and the bakufu is tense. We defied the Shogunate. And strangely, we yet live and breathe. It is a situation that defies precedent. And the mercy gained us by the Traveler sticks painfully in the throats of the Tri-Commission. With the Traveler gone on their way, there is no one left in Inazuma to speak our praises in Raiden Shogun's ear."
Gorou listened intently. He himself was surprised by the peace they'd enjoyed. One didn't rebel against the government and expect everything to go back to normal afterward.
"I believe the wisest course for Watatsumi island, at this stage, is to make very little noise and be regarded as most useful when left alone. I've increased incentives for our fishermen to sell their catch to the fishermen of the capital. I've granted exclusive permission to Inazuma City artisans to sell their goods here. I've even agreed to an extradition agreement for all future deserters and criminals we find in our territory, and contributed no small part of our navy to anti-pirate patrols of shared waterways."
Gorou kept his face carefully neutral. The economic plots of Kokomi was somewhat beyond him, but he understood the gist: make it profitable for Watatsumi to remain as it is, peaceful and distant in the west. But the extradition agreement? No few of Gorou's own soldiers had been deserters and escaped convicts of the Shogunate. And to deploy their limited navy?! Well, Priestess Kokomi knew best, of that he was always sure.
"None of my men will-"
Kokomi held up a hand gently. "I said all future deserters and criminals, Gorou. Those who fought for us have amnesty. Of that I made absolutely sure."
Gorou nodded, his fears mollified.
"All that said," said Kokomi, "I am loath to deny the Shogun any reasonable request for fear of it being interpreted as a sign of continued defiance. For example: the imminent arrival of a tax collector, charged with the collection of all back taxes owed by our province during the conflict. Interference or refusal of such formerly routine things might give fuel to those in the Tri-Commission who would see the war renewed. And this time as one of conquest with the goal of putting our island firmly under the heel of the Shogunate, once and for all."
That tracked for Gorou. Taxes were an inevitably of this peace. But the warmongers in the bakufu would gleefully see Sangonomiya Temple cast down in flames and Shogunate troops garrisoned in every village of Watatsumi- to keep an eye on the rebellious peasants of the distant west. Priestess Kokomi would not survive such a thing, and the immediate end of her life would likely be maliciously planned by cruel, vindictive men.
Kokomi continued: "And now I have received a specific and special request, from the Raiden Shogun herself. She asks, specifically, for you to meet her in audience in Inazuma City, the day after tomorrow."
Gorou blinked in surprise. "Me?!"
"Yes," said Kokomi, her small smile on her face once more. She placed a scroll on the floor in front of her, and with a long low bow, pushed it towards Gorou.
With trepidation, Gorou bowed to receive it. It was a roll of fine white paper, decorated by purple edging, all of it gilded with the symbol of the Shogunate: the eternal eye of the god herself. He uncapped the scroll:
Grant the bearer of this message, Gorou of Watatsumi Island, passage to Tenchukaku, wherein he will be brought before the presence of the Shogun.
All servants of the Shogunate reading this message are requested and required to speed this man's journey with paramount haste and care.
Gorou frowned and turned the scroll over. It was blank on the other side. Which had been plainly evident when he unrolled it, but he was so surprised by the message's brevity that he felt compelled to check anyway.
"What do they want with me?" said Gorou, somewhat aghast. He was the general of the rebel army, so the most obvious things on his mind were capture, interrogation, assassination, political revenge- you name it. It was like an invitation to the lion's den, from the lion herself!
A more cynical mind might have suspected a betrayal or a set-up, but of Kokomi, Gorou had no such doubts and these things never crossed his mind.
Kokomi frowned and shook her head slightly. "I do not know why they request you. But I was guaranteed your immediate safe return."
Suddenly, Kokomi's expression veered in a direction that Gorou had never seen before: deadly, menacingly serious.
"And they best fulfill that promise… or I would see Inazumi City burn, Gorou."
Gororu stared at Priestess Kokomi, the hair on his tail somewhat standing up in surprise. Meanwhile, Kokomi looked away from him and smoothed out the front of her already perfectly smooth kimono. When she looked back, her face was back to its usual, official, placid smile.
"So. It may be dangerous. But will you do this for me?"
"Yes, My Lady," said Gorou.
And in a day and half, here he was: on a ship about to dock in Inazuma City Harbor. He wore the plain brown kimono of a commoner. He carried only a small, humble tanto blade at his hip. His bow and other weaponry were left behind as, in accordance with Kokomi's strategy, Gororu wanted to appear as nothing more dangerous than a slightly well-to-do farmer on a trip to the big city.
Which, technically, was true. He was only a civilian now, and Priestess Kokomi thought that news would increase his chances of making it home. She'd advised him to be very upfront about that detail. It seemed an easy and reasonable precaution to Gorou as a shogunate warship drifted past them, the soldiers staring hard daggers at Gorou and everyone on the humble little merchant ship.
Gorou made a pointed effort to not return the stares from the passing warship. He was not a soldier anymore. He was a humble farmer. Soldiers were invisible to him because he existed in a world where soldiers would never have any reason to pay attention to him. Nope. Just a humble farmer of no consequence, import, or threat.
The ship arrived at the port and, after the usual hubbub of the crew tying up the ship and waiting for the customs official, the gangplank was finally lowered and the few passengers the merchant had aboard for some extra cash began to disembark. The customs official was a low-ranking commission member of some sort, and he efficiently eyed the documents each passenger presented and waved them onward. Two spearmen waited nearby- the muscle to enforce this clerk's imperious bureaucracy.
Gorou stepped forward and handed the man the scroll he'd received from Priestess Kokomi. The clerk frowned at it, then squinted at it, then went a bit bug-eyed and he opened the scroll with slightly shaking hands, reading it with the paper like a impromptu wall between his face and Garou's. After a second, the man's head peeked from behind the scroll to stare at Gorou for a second in wonder. He rolled up the scroll and handed it back to Gorou.
"Wait here at dockside, Mr. Gorou. I will have a palanquin summoned for you immediately."
That didn't sound like anything Gorou wanted to mess with. He had legs and feet. He could walk. It's not like anyone could get lost while trying to get to the castle atop the hill- it was visible from every single location on the island, pretty much.
"That won't be necessary," said Gorou, waving off the offer.
"Yes, sir. It is. I am obligated to do so, so please allow me to accomplish my duty." The clerk turned around and pointed at one of his two soldiers. "Ono! Summon a palanquin! And bring two more escorts from the guardhouse."
The soldier named Ono gave a soldierly affirmative and ran off on his errand. Gorou sighed at the fuss, but he could certainly empathize with a soldier needing to carry out his orders, both this clerk and the subordinate. Slightly dismayed at the situation, but unwilling to cause trouble for these men, Gorou settled in to wait.
Not a long wait, it turned out. In short order, a palanquin carried by two brawny looking bearers trotted down the dockside, three spearmen arranged around it in trotting escort. As the palanquin-bearers stopped before him, the clerk returned Garou's scroll with a respectful bow and a suggestive hand towards the awaiting palanquin.
"They will convey you to Tenchukaku. Step inside, if you please."
Gorou didn't particularly please, but it seemed pointless to object again at this stage. He thanked the man and squatted into the palanquin. He'd never been in one of these before, and never particularly had a desire to- but he might as well enjoy it for now. He settled on the cushioned interior and in a moment, the bearers lifted him onto their shoulders, spun themselves about, and then set off at a trot up the dockside, a spearman ahead of them clearing a way. The palanquin swayed and bounced in a strangely organic fashion, but the bearers quickly set into a rhythm and the ride smoothed out.
The palanquin moved out of the port and into the city, conveying Gorou through a veritable swarm of people. Dockworkers, sailors, porters, businessmen, and other travelers all moving about at urgent business. This was not Gorou's first time in the big city, but he was awed by it all the same. The capital city was a metropolis compared to the quiet rural province that was Watatsumi Island.
Gorou was from humble stock and walked or sailed everywhere he wanted to go. But this- this was kind of nice. He had a little window to look out at the crowds and the shops, he didn't need to worry about bumping into anyone, and no one seemed particularly interested in yet another palanquin moving through the city. He was anonymous, which was a luxury the animal-like ears on top of his head often denied him. And his rank.
The palanquin started on an uphill climb, and before long, Gorou could easily hear the labored breathing of the bearers as they jogged him up the long climb to the castle on the hill. The shops and restaurants of the commoners fell behind and they began passing more luxurious Tri-Commission buildings and the manors of their members, with their gardens and private balconies. Finally, they arrived at the gate to the castle and the palanquin stopped and swayed as the bearers breathed heavily.
A guard approached the window of the palanquin, obviously expecting something. Gorou passed out his scroll again. The guard read it quickly and evidenced far less surprise about it than did the clerk at the docks. Most likely the front gate of the castle saw quite a few more guests specifically requested by the Shogun than did the lowly clerk checking domestic freight. The guard handed him the scroll back, bowed slightly, then turned crisply and walked out of Gorou's vision.
"Open the gate!"
There was an immediate clanking of gears as the first gate opened. The palanquin moved forward, the bearers allowed through by virtue of his pass, it seemed. In a short distance, there was an immediate turn, another gate, though this one standing open already in a time of peace, and the palanquin came to stop in a large courtyard. This was apparently as far as he would be carried, and Gorou stepped out of the palanquin into the cobble castle courtyard.
At quick count, he spotted twelve spearmen and perhaps eight archers looking at him. Twenty men to watch a single courtyard, and another twenty to watch it at night, no doubt. Multiply that sort of military force over the entire castle compound and there could be nearly a thousand soldiers on duty at every moment. In peacetime. Without even the garrison being occupied.
Gorou frowned to himself as yet another guard approached for his scroll, this one dressed in much more fancy armor and wearing a big katana at his hip. Gorou become consumed with generalized calculations of manpower as the guard read the scroll and then said he would take it inside for verification and that Gorou should please wait. Gorou nodded absently.
Just the routine guard force of Tenchukaku probably rivaled the total number of soldiers in Watatsumi's entire army. That didn't take into account the soldiers policing the city and patrolling its outskirts and near roads. That could be another two thousand more, at least. And these were all guards. Not mobilized troops. When marshaled, they could be another, what? Between the Shogun's levy and those of the vassal families? 10,000 maybe? Maybe more? It was a humbling and alarming realization for retired General Gorou.
The evident truth was: he and Priestess Kokomi had held off the Shogunate only because the Shogunate had not even really been trying. It had been politically distracted perhaps? Or misinformed? Whatever had happened… if that ever changed… and the Shogunate decided that it really did want to assault Watatsumi... Well- Gorou much better understood Priestess Kokomi's eagerness to appear obedient and reconciled. Their very survival depended on it.
Gorou took a deep breath and craned his neck to look up at the castle tower. Somewhere up there… god waited to talk to him. The god he had recently led a rebel army against. The god who claimed the loyalty of soldiers he had killed with his own hands. The god who demanded loyalty and obedience above all things.
His heart was beating hard in his chest when the samurai returned.
"You're expected, please follow me."
Gorou nodded and followed the man into the heart of Shogunate power. No different than a scouting mission or a raid, right? No reason to be nervous. This was peacetime. The war was over. Unless this was just the preliminary round of the next war. And the Shogun hatched up a silly little plan to lure the enemy general into her castle, and what do you know, the stupid fool walked right in! Haha!
The interior of the castle's bottom floor was richly dark hardwood, pristine and gleaming. Not too much baroque decoration here in the most practical and public part of the structure- but from everywhere gleamed the swirling eye of eternity symbol. It was evident in purple on fabric and in gold on hardwoods. The message seemed entirely clear to Gorou: best be diligent in your duty, because the Shogun was watching.
Though if the Traveler's tale of the end of the Vision Hunt Decree was to be believed: the Shogun had, in fact, not been watching. Not for hundreds of years. The godhead had been inside her own head, musing on godly thoughts of some sort, and the realm had been left to the Tri-Commission bakufu and a puppet ruler. That ruler being a literal puppet, dancing on the divine strings of the Raiden Shogun's multidimensional consciousness.
Or something.
Gorou had been drinking at the time and was still somewhat suspicious that the Traveler was just making stuff up on the spot. It had been a rather jubilantly wild night that night. Victory tended to make one want to believe in just about anything that was good.
True or hyperbole. The Shogun was watching now. Gorou kept his breathing steady and his mind calm but alert as he moved through the castle. They pointedly turned away from the grand staircase and instead turned to a side hallway on the first floor. It was a surprising turn that made Gorou slightly nervous. He didn't expect to be set upon by assassins at this point, since why bother to bring him here? But there were plenty of dead people dead from things they were sure wouldn't get them dead.
The samurai led Gorou into narrower hallways, slightly more decorated, slightly more bureaucratic than the broad halls meant to allow for the quick travel of defending troops. A door was opened. Inside was a cozy and well-appointed meeting room. Leather and hardwood furniture awaited occupants, surrounded by walls nicely decorated with gilded murals of flowers and peacocks. It sure didn't look like a place someone would get murdered inside. Meanwhile, the samurai bowed and ushered him inside with his arm. Lacking any reason to decline, Gorou entered.
And sat.
The door shut.
And he waited.
And he waited.
His eyes roved the mural and the furniture for the hundredth time, finding no new or interesting detail.
And he waited.
Then, finally, he heard footsteps in the hall. The first in almost three hours. And with those footsteps, came a feeling of mild dread. The fur on Gorou's ears stood up, as did the hair on his tail. His nose became slightly wet, helping him pick up a scent he recognized. An instinctive and irrepressible anxiety spread through his body, filling him with an unwelcome mico-dose of adrenaline.
Omikami help me, thought Gorou with dismay, I think I'd rather it were the Shogun.
The door opened and in the threshold stood the voluptuous figure of Yae Miko. She did not so much as walk into the room but took rightful possession of it, her white robes flowing, her long bare legs gleaming, her peach pink hair bouncing in perfect curls past her shoulders. Light purple eyes regarded Gorou with curious amusement, and he tried to maintain his outward calm in their gaze. Yae Miko appeared every bit a high priestess shrine maiden of the Shogunate, but Gorou's body unerringly warned him of the true unseen reality: a shrine maiden was the least of what Yae Miko actually was, and every other bit of whatever she was- was exceedingly dangerous.
"General Garou," said Yae Miko, who had a default small smirk rather than Kokomi's default small smile. Her voice was languid and sultry, as if anything she said was worth the extra time to hear it. "I hope you haven't been waiting long."
"I have been," said Garou, forcing himself to be undaunted. "But I am not offended."
Yae Miko blinked at him. Then she laughed softly and the sound gradually turned into a purr. "That's one of the reasons I picked you out, General. Bold. Assertive. And polite. You would do well in the city, you know."
"Thank you for the compliment," said Gorou, and then he pointedly said nothing more for the moment. He was called here. It was her role to introduce the topic.
The silence stretched between them for a moment. Then Yae Miko laughed her purring laugh again.
"You must be wondering why you are here."
"Yes."
"You must be wondering why I am here."
"Yes."
Yae Miko smiled, her hand twisting into a pose as if presenting a prize. "The answers are quite related. You are here because I think you are the ideal man to do the Shogun a favor."
"... A favor."
"Yessss," Yae Miko said, smiling and watching him. "But that word somewhat undersells it. It is a rather big favor. But- perhaps it might help if you see for yourself. Show her in!"
At Yae Miko's command, the door opened again. This time there was a thinner, more lithe figure standing in the doorway. She wore a light purple kimono, and her body was not quite as buxom and curvy as was Yae Miko's, but the kimono could not completely hide the silhouette of an astonishingly perfect female figure. Gorou could make no shallow and instinctively male evaluations of the woman's face because she was also shrouded in a traveler's hat and thickly veiled.
"Sit here next to me, dear," said Yae to the new arrival.
The new arrival could clearly see, though Gorou didn't know how through all that veil. She entered and sat regally next to Yae Miko on the small couch. The veiled woman had a prim, aristocratic posture.
"Have you ever seen," said Yae, turning her attention back to Gorou, "the divine person of the Shogun herself?"
"No, I've not had that honor," said Gorou, sincerely. He might have faced off against the deity's servants in war, but that was duty, and he was still an Inazuman at heart. Something deep within him wanted to serve the god of his land, both living and dead.
"Exactly" said Yae, one of her fingers pointing at him in approval like he was a good student. "I wager there isn't a single person on Watatsumi that knows what their god looks like. Meanwhile, the Raiden Shogun's appearances in the capital have been rare, but still, she could not walk the streets without being immediately recognized by the people."
Gorou listened silently. There didn't seem to be any question in what Yae was currently telling him. His eyes drifted from her to regard the veiled woman with curiosity, sure that this person was to shortly be the whole point of this conversation.
"Would you believe me if I told you that the Shogun that the citizens have seen up to this point," said Yae with the slowness of an effort to build suspense. "Was not actually the Raiden Shogun?"
Ah, so the Traveler had been telling the truth. That confirmed it for Gorou.
"I would. It was the puppet."
Yae Miko blinked at him, obviously legitimately surprised for a moment. Then a dawning revelation came over her face. "Ah, the Traveler must have told you. Well, the cat is out of the bag, as they say. You can take your hat off now, dear one."
The veiled woman obligingly removed her hat. Underneath was the first woman in all the world that rivaled Kokomi's beauty in Gorou's mind. A face drawn of perfectly divine angles, eyes so vibrantly lilac that they almost glowed, royal purple hair that shone with luxurious silkiness.
"'Puppet' is a word far too primitive and vulgar to accurately describe this entity, General Gorou," said Yae Miko as she put a fond hand on the other woman's shoulder. "It might have been constructed, yes- but after centuries existing as the living vessel of the divine godhead, I assure you, She is much, much more than any simple noun humanity has in its limited vocabulary. And she is unique in all the world."
Gorou was only half listening to Yae Miko, because as she had been talking, the purple-haired, lilac-eyed demi-goddess was staring into his eyes with a curious and… slightly sad look. His heart thumped in his chest. His mouth went dry. He was utterly captivated by her.
"I'm Gorou," said Gorou, sounding stupid in his own ears. "What's your name?"
Yae Miko blinked and stopped talking, her gesturing hand closing into a fist as her eyes turned to watch the puppet's reaction to Gorou's question.
The woman blinked and shook her head slightly.
"We had not thought of that just-" started Yae.
"R- rey- rey dawn, sh- show gone," said the woman, haltingly.
"No, dear. That's someone else's name. Not yours. Not anymore," said Yae Miko, then she turned to Gorou. "The Archon has rejoined our world in person, and so her connection with this facsimile is no longer active. Her memories are erased, her mind practically a blank slate, but she has all the capacity of an adult individual and will grow into it in time."
"And you've given her no name?" said Gorou, a bit of anger slipping into his voice. To not even give her a name? No wonder she was sad and confused. If one didn't know who one was, what could one even stand on?
"Would you like to pick a name?" said Gorou, his attention again devoted to the purple-haired woman.
The purple-haired woman cocked her head slightly and frowned a small frown. "R- rey.."
"Rey?" said Gorou. "It sounds nice, but, there are fish with that name. And soldiers. And all sorts of things. What if we add a nice second sound to it? What about…?"
He ran through the common syllable sounds until one chimed in his mind. "Reyna? What about Reyna?"
The woman blinked at him and looked down, her mouth trying out the sounds. "Rey. Na."
"Reyna," said Gorou.
And upon hearing that name, Reyna looked up at him. Her eyes gleamed with lilac light and the first traces of a smile curved the soft expanses of her cheeks. "Reyna," she said. "Reyna."
"W- well," said Yae Miko, "That seems settled. She is Reyna, now. And for all intents and purposes, she is very much an innocent to this world. She needs to build and learn her own mind. She needs to learn what it is to be a mortal person in our lands. She served the Raiden Shogun well, and now the Raiden Shogun would see her happy and free, retired of her duties. Forevermore."
Yae Miko smiled at Gorou toothily. "And that's where you come in."
Gorou tore his eyes away from Reyna for the first time since their gazes had met. "What? Me?"
"Yes. As a favor to the Raiden Shogun, we would like you to take Reyna into your care and teach her about… life. Simple, everyday, human life. From the basics of self-care, to the foundational tasks of our society, agriculture, fishing, cooking, eating… and all the way to socializing with peers. Making friends. All the things you- er- we mortals do."
Gorou's shock continued unabated. "You want me… to teach Reyna… how to be a real person? Why me, though? Surely there are-"
"First! You are not of the bakufu or of the city's politics and you live far from the capital where no one will recognize her," said Yae Miko, obviously settling herself down to rattling off a long list of items. "You are a military officer-"
"I've retired," said Gorou. "I'm not an officer anymore."
Yae Mike blinked at him in a bored fashion. She clearly found the distinction immaterial. "You are the formal general of the rebellion's army, and the last person to whom anyone would think we would trust her to. And if you knew about her existence, we can be sure others do, too. Others who might wish to use her as political leverage or something more personally sinister.'
'Additionally, you are honorable, brave, and are proven in combat. You can protect her, though I warn you now, Reyna is fully capable of defending herself- the problem is more along the lines of… threat identification. Come to think of it: We have no real way of knowing what latent influences Raiden Shogun's possession may have left on Reyna. Someone like her has never existed before, after all...'
Yae Miko tapped a finger upon her own sharp chin, seemingly enraptured in a train of thought. "Oh. Where was I? Oh right… on the subject of you, General Gorou. The Divine Priestess Sangonomiya Kokomi implicitly trusts you and values you above all her subjects, and she is no fool."
Gorou blinked at that. That sounded like a bit of an exaggeration but he would not argue the point with Yae Miko in this castle.
'And finally," said Yae Miko with a soft smile. "I trust you for all those things… but mostly for the little bits of advice and wisdom you provide the readers of a certain publication at my publishing house. A person capable of those answers, plus all that I just mentioned, makes me certain that you are the only person in all Inazuma for this unusually delicate task."
Gorou glanced at Reyna, who was looking downward at the table in a politely demure fashion. He wondered if she understood what they were discussing. Was she scared? Confused? Both? Gorou thought he felt those things himself at this situation. A favor, they called it?
"H- how could this possibly work? I'm supposed to just… go back to Watatsumi with a woman to live with me in my house? The rumors and gossip… Omikami… it would be like wildfire. Even the city would hear of it."
Yae Miko stifled a laugh. "I think you overestimate the travel distance of mundane rural gossip from a fringe province, General. But regardless, I agree. If anyone is aware of Reyna and begins to covet her for whatever reason, than any such rumor in the world is best avoided. So, I think there is an obvious solution: We will have a cover story for this situation that is both reasonable and understandable to... rural sensibilities."
"Which is?" said Gorou.
"You will not return home with just… some woman," said Yae Miko, her smile widening in amusement. "You will be returning home with your new wife."
"Wha-," said Gorou, too stunned to even finish a single word.
"WHAT?!"