The sun was sinking in the sky as the ship approached Watatsumi Island, a rather squat looking island with a low, sheer ridgeline that circled the interior in somewhat intermittent fashion. If one believed the old stories, the great serpent, Orobashi the Omikami, created the island when it burst forth from fabled Enkanomiya, the land under the ocean.

Garou thought the stories were likely to be true, as it was the only island in Inazuma where most of the island was below sea level. The sea endlessly flowed down into the center basin in a panorama of briney waterfalls, an eternal inward tide that pooled and vanished into the island's central point, a mysterious maelstrom where the water just… vanished somewhere. Perhaps back to Enkanomiya itself? No one knew.

In many ways, Watatsumi was a foil of Inazuma's capital island. The capital rose to the sky with the tip of the Shogun's great castle, while Watatsumi sank towards the depths with its mysterious maelstrom. The capital had Inazuma City and a few dense villages, while Watatsumi's population was almost entirely dispersed. The capital farmed. Watatsumi fished. The capital served their living god. Watatsumi worshiped their dead one.

That god, by the by, slain by Raiden Shogun herself. It was a fact that the people of Watatsumi never quite forgot, never quite forgave.

Watatsumi Harbor was another contrast to the capital: it consisted of a single, rather poorly-maintained pier serviced by an entirely empty stretch of sandy beach. If a trade ship was expected, then a sort of farmer's market opened up right on the shore; but otherwise, it was practically wilderness. Any arriving person would disembark and need to walk a goodly distance into the island's interior to reach the closest thing Watatsumi Island could say was its economic center: the South-Central Dry Market.

Today, Gorou noted that this ship was expected. A squad of Watatsumi army soldiers stood on the sands, watching their ship come in. Priestess Kokomi had mentioned the arrival of tax collectors, so the only thing about this ship that might be a surprise was probably Gorou and his new wife being on it. The soldiers would surely recognize him, so this would be the very first test of the ruse that was his fake marriage to the Raiden Shogun's sentient formal vessel, Reyna. He took a deep steadying breath, trying to think of a few possible scenarios of how the ship's arrival might play out.

Reyna followed his gaze towards the beach and seemed to notice the waiting soldiers. She immediately reached for her veiled traveler's hat, but Gorou reached out and gently touched the hat before Reyna could raise it to her head. She looked at him with an obvious question.

Gorou took a few seconds to frame his own statement to his new wife. He suspected that Reyna had received some manner of instruction from Yae Miko that Reyna should obey him in most things. Perhaps, even to please him in certain respects. Gorou needed to discover and work around those foundational orders as best he could, for Reyna's sake and somewhat his own… he would drive himself mad if he had to always second guess what she might want or what she might do because she thought she needed to.

"If you wish to wear that hat, then it would please me for you to wear it.," said Gorou, gently. "If you do not want to wear the hat, then it would please me if you did not wear it."

Reyna blinked at him, her eyes searching his face, her mouth opening just slightly in the intake of a surprised breath. She looked down at the hat and then gazed at the rapidly approaching island. She seemed to take a deep breath, and then tied the hat's strings to her kimono, obviously intending to secure it for travel rather than to wear it.

Gorou smiled to himself. So, she could make decisions on her own, assuming she was going hatless due her preference and not just because that was the second of two options. But Yae Miko probably had meant that Reyna was not ready to make big decisions for herself. Such as living with him or not, for example. But it seemed neither of them had a choice in that. Their fates were helplessly tangled up in Raiden Shogun's machinations, but Gorou could at least do his best to make sure Reyna did not suffer for it.

The boat crew saw to their own docking, and in short order, the two tax collectors and two of their samurai disembarked with Gorou and Reyna. They walked down the wooden pier in silence, and Gorou suddenly noticed that Reyna was quite a bit taller than he was. Almost a head taller, in fact, while he was perhaps half-a-hand broader. He hadn't noticed before now because either one of them had been sitting for every moment they had been together.

If there were any important ramifications of this height difference or not, Gorou did not have the luxury to muse over it now. The Shogunate Tax MIssion and the Watatsumi soldiers were about to meet, and he could already feel the attention of the Watatsumi men centering upon himself. He was something of a recognizable figure on this island, and he doubted his retirement was widely known- and if known, he doubted if anyone would take any heed.

He should probably just presume 'General' was his first name at this point.

"General Gorou!" said the captain of the soldiers, and Gorou recognized the voice immediately. That helped him place the face and the name. It was Captain Tetsu, a veteran and reliable subordinate of a subordinate who had served with distinction through most of the war.

Gorou immediately walked directly for Captain Testsu, and was surprised to see in the corner of his eye that Reyna was keeping pace with him at his side. He'd forgotten to give her any instruction, so apparently, along she came. He glanced at her, and she seemed mildly anxious. Well, she would have to be okay, because he couldn't well embarrass her now by sending her back or telling her to stop.

The eyes of the soldiers who had all been on Gorou all drifted to Reyna, some of the younger men even losing their military stoicism and staring at her in gaping-mouthed wonderment. Meanwhile, Captain Testsu, a veteran and a professional, had eyes for nothing but for whom he perceived as his commanding officer.

"Captain Tetsu," said Gorou with his parade ground voice as he returned the man's salute. "I present to you the Shogunate Tax Mission. Please escort them safely to-"

Gorou realized that he didn't know where these people were going.

"-to the place that the Divine Priestess has arranged for them."

"Sir!" Captain Tetsu saluted again, and then turned towards the quietly waiting Shogunate mission. He bowed to them formally, welcomed them to the island on behalf of the Divine Priestess, and immediately sent them off down the inland road with six of his men. Captain Testsu and his remaining three troops remained, presumably to make sure the Shogunate courier ship left without disgorging any other passengers. It was reasonable paranoia, but there was a whole island's worth of landable coastline with which to smuggle people anyway, so it was mostly for show: this is our island and we are watching you.

With the tax mission gone, the official aura of the beach faded in their wake. Captain Tetsu's eyes now joined those of his subordinates in looking at Reyna. After a half-second, Gorou realized he was supposed to take the lead now, being a retired general and everything.

"Captain, may I have the honor to introduce to you my wife, Reyna."

Tetsu's eyes flicked back to him in surprise, but then he smartly turned towards Reyna and bowed deeply to her. "The honor is mine in meeting you, Lady Reyna."

Lady? Gorou mused at the honorific. He watched Tetsu's rigid bow and he saw the younger subordinates bow in his wake, all their attention intent on Reyna. She was beautiful, yes, but there were plenty of beautiful women on Watatsumi Island- maybe not as beautiful, except Priestess Kokomi, of course. But certainly close enough. But Tetsu and his men seemed almost… captivated by Reyna.

Just like Gorou had been when he had first seen her, come to think of it. Well, rumor about Reyna's arrival would be in the soldier taverns tonight, which meant that by tomorrow night, everyone on the island would have heard of Gorou's new bride. There was no helping that.

Gorou turned his attention to Reyna who was blushing profusely but she returned a properly shallower bow to the soldiers and said nothing. It was up to Gorou to take over the conversation at this point while the Shogunate ship slowly got itself off the dock and underway.

Gorou had an uneasy sense that this little encounter was significantly pushing the envelope of Reyna's fledgling social capacity. He hoped she could make it through if he did the rest of the talking. She would just have to stand there and softly smile.

"We will leave you to your duty," said Gorou, refocusing the soldier's attention onto himself. "I've purchased a homestead high on the south ridge, and I am eager to see it. We- are eager to see it."

"Of course, General," said Captain Tetsu.

"Oh, and I resigned, Captain," said Gorou, "You no longer need to call me that."

"Yes, sir," nodded Captain Tetsu. "Is there anything we can do for you, General? I mean, sir?"

Gorou inhaled deeply. Maybe insisting that people drop his rank was just a waste of time, but he began to seriously consider Tetsu's offer. Officially, Gorou was a private citizen and should not be able to order around soldiers. But technically, his task of caring for Reyna was official business. On that reasoning, it would not be improper to use the offered military men to do his bidding.

And frankly, with Gorou and Reyna arriving this late in the day, he probably needed some runners to get some supplies. He had not yet set eyes on his property, and he imagined that it could be in a pretty sorry state. There was no way he would be able to get to market and back to the farm before dark, and the last thing he wanted Reyna to have to do on her first day here was hike back and forth in her formal kimono- in the dark. So… by having someone do a shopping errand, he could ensure that Reyna could be provided a reasonably comfortable first night in their new home.

"There is some help I need, Captain Testsu…" began Gorou. He spoke quickly regarding some things to be purchased and delivered to his property in the evening. Testu advised it was an easy ask and would be no problem, taking in hand Gorou's purse of mora to use for the purchasing.

"And could you pass on a message to the Divine Priestess through her guard?" said Gorou.

"Of course."

Gorou hesitated. He would prefer to report to Kokomi himself, but with Reyna in tow and it getting dark, the Sagonomiya Shrine was farther still than the market, by a huge distance. In addition, even though his new bride seemed entirely innocent, there was a latent instinct in Gorou's mind that made him not wish to bring Reyna and Kokomi together just yet. He needed to speak with Kokomi alone and secretly, but he couldn't think now when he might have a chance to do that. And he certainly couldn't put the truth down on paper for a written message!

He framed a message in his mind:

"Please tell the Divine Priestess that I continue to carry out her request, and that myself and my wife have arrived on the island safely. We intend to stay at my farmstead tonight and then we intend to visit the South-Side Dry market tomorrow afternoon. And with apologies, my wife is somewhat nervous around high-ranking persons."

Captain Tetsu was quiet for a moment. "I will repeat that message exactly, General Gorou."

Gorou smiled at him. Tetsu recognized a coded message when he heard it, even if he didn't know all the ramifications of it. Captain Tetsu was indeed a sharp subordinate, but he would probably be surprised that the meaning of the message would be almost as mysterious to Priestess Kokomi herself. She would know that Gorou had had no plans to marry anyone, and that it was likely related to his visit to the Shogun. She could talk to him in the market tomorrow, and that she should avoid being seen by whomever this wife person was.

At least, that's what Gorou hoped Kokomi would hear from that message.

With that solved, Gorou glanced towards the nearby dirt path that was the south coastal road. He wanted to be a bit more sure of his and Reyna's safety on their walk tonight, and all he had with him was his short sword. The island was patrolled, yes; but it also was rather large with lots of hidden coves and discreet coastlines. Hilichurl, ronin, pirates, and other sea-wandering threats can and did often come ashore. Not to mention the omnipresent slimes and other such minor monsters that always somehow managed to turn up.

Gorou glanced at Captain Tetsu's remaining men. They held spears but also had katanas at their hips. It was a surplus of weaponry, in Gorou's biased opinion.

"And, forgive these many requests, may I borrow a spear?" said Gorou, and then thought that it would be a good idea for Reyna to have a weapon. Even a complete novice might be able to stick the pointy end of a spear into something. "Perhaps two spears? I can send them back when your men deliver my supplies."

"Of course," said Captain Tetsu and he motioned to his men.

A man stepped forward to give Gorou his spear. He took it while making polite, attentive small talk with the soldier. He then handed the spear to Reyna, who after a moment of confusion, accepted it from him. Then Gorou turned to receive the other spear and chat with the second soldier when he saw everyone's eyes snap away from him towards Reyna. Gorou followed their glances.

Reyna's eyes were closed, as if she were lost in some memory, and she was confidently twirling the spear around in her arms. She began to turn, lifting her arms outward, taking small, precise steps in her formal kimono, her wrists spinning the weapon with a grace that made it seem like she had done this hundreds of times, thousands of times. Her hair flowed in the ocean breeze as she spun, whirling the weapon faster, the speartip audibly cutting through the early evening air, the orange of the setting sun gleaming off it, making the metal seem molten.

Her lilac eyes opened, a serene and small smile on her lips- and then she saw Gorou and the soldiers staring at her. She froze in panic, but the spear continued on its trajectory, spinning violently out of her grip. It sailed into the sky, everybody on the beach craning their necks to watch its flight, its fall, and its final soft impact in the sand about ten yards away.

Reyna silently bowed to them, her movements jerky and nervous, and she… well… she didn't exactly run because formal female kimonos did not allow much leg movement… but she very aggressively shuffled across the beach to retrieve the weapon.

"Reyna trained with spears as a child," Gorou said, his mind churning for an explanation that would save Reyna face. "But civilians are not allowed weapons in Inazuma City, as you know. So this is the first chance for her in a long time."

Captain Tetsu managed to tear his eyes from Reyna's shuffling movement back towards them. "Y- yes, of course."

As an off-the-cuff lie, it wasn't bad- but Gorou suspected that Captain Tetsu was capable of interpreting Reyna's display just as well as Gorou could: Reyna was a spearmaster, the startled drop of the weapon at the end did not make that any less true. No novice could spin a polearm like that.

Reyna silently returned to them, the spear pressed against her chest, its sharpened point facing the sky. She was blushing and she bowed again in silent apology. The soldiers seemed to feel obligated to return the bow with bows of their own.

"Don't worry, Lady Reyna," said Captain Tetsu. "A little bit of rust is to be expected in your situation."

But as Gorou then talked them all towards their farewells, he noted that Captain Tetsu's eyes had changed when he looked at Reyna now. He wasn't just seeing a beautiful woman. He was seeing someone who could potentially be dangerous.

Well- that wasn't a terrible reputation for Reyna to gain on the island through the rumor mill. Perhaps it would prevent people from trying to mess with her. There were quite a few shady people on the island who had earned amnesty during the war, and while Gorou trusted some of them- he by no means trusted all of them. And some few were just plain worrisome.

The soldiers went off along the inland road, walking down some old stone steps carved into the rapidly descending hillside of the island's interior while Gorou and Reyna started down the south coast road, more or less level with the sea. The sun, too, was sinking rapidly to be level with the ocean, gleamingly distantly gold over the horizon. The subtle orange light of near-evening bathed the land around them.

After a few steps, Gorou realized that this was the very first time that they were alone together. He lifted up to point down their chosen path.

"My-" began Gorou, but he realized he needed to mentally accept the ruse as reality. "Our land is about an hour this way, Reyna."

Reyna looked at him placidly and then followed his pointing arm with her eyes but she said nothing in response. He watched her walk beside him in silence, her eyes were roving about, looking at everything, her mouth open just slightly in an expression of curious wonder. Gorou mused over her a moment, watching her out of the corner of his eye as they walked the dirt road. Yae Miko said most of Reyna's memories were gone, but even if she had all of her memories, would the vessel of the Shogun have ever spent much time outside the castle? Apparently, her public appearances were few and far between. Just being outside would be a novelty for Reyna, intact memory or no.

Gorou decided that she was simply busy absorbing the experience of walking through the island. Gorou turned his own attention to their walk, trying to see with fresh eyes what he had seen a thousand times, to tap into something of Reyna's fresh viewpoint. To see his world how she might be seeing it now.

The dirt they walked on was pale brown and dry, hard packed in the center from traffic and more dusty at the edges where grass and vegetation was attempting to conquer it. To their left, a section of rock cliff had cut off the view of the sea and its wind. Bamboo and vines competed for space in the sun and were locked in a very, very slow race up the stone walls. To their right, a varied landscape of grass, tree, and blockish stone outcroppings gradually descended down. They couldn't quite see it here, but Gorou's ears could hear the faint echoing roar of the endless waterfalls that flowed into the grand basin at the center of the island.

Flowers and blooms dotted the roadside vegetation; a few sweet flowers here and there; a sprig of mint standing defiantly amongst some stones. And just ahead, the stately trunk of a lavender melon tree. It was in fruit at the moment, and Gorou almost immediately spotted one that looked to be at perfect ripeness. He had skipped lunch today, and Reyna- well, Gorou realized he didn't know for sure if she needed to eat or not.

"How about we try a lavender melon, Reyna?" said Gorou as he stepped forward under the tree and used his borrowed spear to carefully saw at the fruit's connection to its branch. Reyna stopped next to him, her graceful neck turned up to watch his spearwork. The fruit fell towards Reyna and, startled, she dropped her spear and caught the dropping melon- she stared at this new wonder with wide eyes.

"Nice catch!" said Gorou, setting his own spear down. "That's a lavender melon, and we can eat them in all sorts of ways. But I think ripe and fresh is the best."

Gorou held out his hands towards Reyna and she understood to deposit the fruit into his hands. He hefted the ball-sized fruit in one hand, drew out his short sword with the other, and he carved off half the leathery purple rind with the easy experience of a Watatsumi native. The flesh underneath was soft and tender, and it gave off a soft floral scent that reminded Gorou of his childhood. He carefully sliced into the flesh, his weapon not quite ideal to this more gentle part of the task, and it mangled the fruit a bit, but he managed to get a small piece separated off and he offered it up to Renya.

"Would you like to try some, Reyna?"

Reyna pressed her lips together, her eyes focused on the offered fruit. After a moment of hesitation, she reached for it, a finger and thumb grasping the soft fruit flesh and lifting it cautiously to her mouth. She touched it with her tongue, which Gorou thought odd. Was she just tasting it, or was she testing it? Regardless, the tongue test either passed the test or met Reyna's approval and she gently put the fruit into her mouth, her soft lips closing over the bite. She chewed once.

Gorou waited for it in anticipation.

Reyna's eyes widened in pleased surprise and she continued chewing.

"It's good, right?" laughed Gorou. "The sweetness just kind of explodes out, doesn't it?"

Reyna nodded as she chewed and he prepared her another bite. He watched her swallow, a tiny motion in the lines of her neck. So she did eat. Everything about her seemed entirely human. It was impossible to see her as a constructed being of any sort, so perfect was the work. Or perhaps: so thorough the transmutation due to Reyna's long divine possession?

"Delicious," said Reyna, softly.

Gorou smiled at the sound of her voice. It was a throaty, feminine voice, and conveyed a sense of soft power. But- so, she could talk! At least in a calm, private setting. And she had more than basic words, it seemed. So much the better. It gave Gorou the confidence that she could understand him, at least.

Together they stood idly and interchangeably ate parts of the fruit that Gorou managed to slice away from the overlarge pit at the fruit's core. With Reyna's first word to him, he was eager to maintain a momentum of conversation, if possible.

"What foods do you like?" said Gorou.

"This," said Reyna, as Gorou offered her another piece.

Well, not exactly helpful, but it was a response! "Fruits, then. Anything else?"

Reyna looked at him and made a sort of soft humming noise, but then a butterfly flapped its way past her face and her eyes locked onto it. She watched it with fascination while chewing on the fruit. Gorou sighed softly, apparently his question was forgotten. But then, it was a rather pretty butterfly- a vibrant indigo. Gorou watched it, too.

"Are you tired?"

"No."

The fruit was tapped out, and Gorou was about to toss it in the bushes but then realized he was a farmer now. Trees took years and years to grow, so day one was the best time to start. He held onto the pit and picked up his spear.

"Shall we go on?"

"Yes."

They went on. Gorou began to worry about Renya's feet, as the formal sandals she was wearing were not meant for this sort of terrain. If they were causing her any difficulty, she showed no sign and made no comment. Though, Reyna did not seem to comment on anything at all, so that wasn't exactly a useful metric for Gorou, at the moment.

The zenith of the sky was beginning to go lavender with the first signs of nightfall as they finally reached the signpost along the seaward side of the road: New Blossom Farm. It was the old owner's name and a bit on the nose for Gorou's taste, but it would do for now. He was glad to reach it, as he'd spent the last ten minutes of their hike worrying that it would get dark and he'd walk right past it.

He looked at Reyna and she was already watching him. "Well, this is it. I never actually looked at this place when I bought it, so- it will probably need a bit of work. …There must be some reason it was so cheap."

Reyna didn't have anything to say to that, but she looked with curiosity up the trail towards the farm. She had the right of it: the only thing to do now was go take a look. He'd figured that it was cheap because the soil was going bad, the slow and continual spread of the holysoil which caused the few plants that could grow in it to turn pink and purple. So far, no edible plant seemed able to manage that feat.

Gorou led the way up the path to their homestead. The little dirt trail was cozily framed by a boulder on the right and the curve of the island's outer stone ridgeline. Bamboo grew along both sides, giving the impression of a sort of green tunnel, and then they were there.

New Blossom Farm was a large plot of weed-filled land nestled snugly between the tall rock cliffs on the south and a cluttering of enormous broken boulders that stretched along nearly parallel to the south road- most of those old broken stones were covered in moss, bamboo, vines, and the occasional small tree that had found some soil in between the rocks. Gorou thought that most of open space had probably been similarly littered with rocks and boulders, but had been painstakingly cleared over generations, until the farm reached its current size of roughly one and a half acres. It wasn't much, but it was plenty.

"This is it, Reyna," said Gorou. "It needs some work. But this is our home now."

He looked at her, and she seemed as enraptured with the farm as she had been with the general landscape on their hike. So, she didn't seem to see it as a downgrade. Gorou was somewhat relieved. It was in sorry shape, but nothing about it looked like an insurmountable problem. The light was falling, and the entire farm was already in deep shade of advancing evening, but there was still enough to see by.

Gorou walked out to the middle of the acre, Reyna in tow, and looked around the neglected ruin that was his purchased farmstead. The wild plants of the island had already reconquered most of the acre. Vines invaded from the northern and eastern cliff sides, slinking their tendrils along the bare flat soil and doing an excellent impression of grass. Meanwhile, the northern downward slope evidenced the creeping advance of the purplish grass native to the island, which was indicative of holysoil. That was somewhat strange, as the vegetation-covered rockfield just near that purple grass did not show any holysoil corruption at all. So how was it here and not there? That was a minor mystery. And finally, one final invader from the east where they entered: bamboo. However, if he kept a watch on that one, he would only be invaded by bamboo shoots, a tasty edible item that he actually wouldn't mind having: his weeding of that flank would double as harvesting.

Yet all of that was work for future days. The sun was sinking rapidly and he had no intention of forcing his new bride to sleep outside on their first night in their new home. Gorou headed for the small farmhouse that sat on the north-eastern corner of the property, not far from the bamboo tunnel. As he approached, Reyna trailing along behind once again, he began to feel that 'farmhouse' was a generous title for the structure- semi-extravagant shack was probably more accurate.

It was boxy and small, with dingy brown sides and opaque paper windows that were, of course, torn open absolutely everywhere, but at least the wood trellising of the frames looked in decent shape. There was three feet of wood porch in good shape, by virtue of which the structure could then be called a house of some sort. The sliding door was constructed of bamboo and it looked entirely out of theme with the rest of the home, which was constructed of very old-looking wood planking.

Wood was scarce on the island, so the door had obviously been replaced with bamboo at some point- it didn't have as much strength or longevity, but it was strong enough to be a door and keep animals out, and most importantly, it was readily available all over the island for the low, low price of menial physical effort. One could even get it in two different colors! Green and purple!

The roof was thatched from the purple grasses and bamboo from the central region of the island. It was an old roof though, so the reeds had darkened to a purple close to black. It didn't look too bad, and if it didn't leak, Gorou would consider himself a lucky man. He hopped up onto the porch and slid open the bamboo door.

He was not a lucky man. The sky was clearly visible in multiple large holes in the roof. Rain had gotten in, through said holes, heavily and often. The floor of the house was a tragedy of water damage and dry rot. In some places, there were large holes into the hollow space under the house. All of the floor would have to go, as would the entire western wall as the driving rain from storms coming from the east had totally inundated that part of the structure.

Gorou sighed. It was a damn mess, and they had to sleep in it. Likely for a while, since fixing all this was no one-day job. It was a great mercy that the sky was clear and there was no chance of rain tonight. He hoped dry weather would last a week.

But luckily, water damage or no, most of the floor still seemed structurally sound to walk upon.

He glanced towards Reyna, a little embarrassed. What would she think? She who knew only the luxury and grandeur of god's own castle.

She noticed him looking at her. Her head cocked in question. "Home?"

Gorou sighed. "Yes. Sorry about the state of it. It will get better, I promise."

Reyna stepped into the structure and ran her hand along one of the good walls and then pressed her palm into it. She looked at Gorou with sparkling eyes and a happy smile.

"Our home. Reyna's home. Not Shogun's home."

It was Gorou's turn to cock his head in question, but Reyna's smile made him smile. "Yes. It is."

Reyne seemed again pleased by that prospect and wandered around the small house, it being about twenty paces in every direction and being entirely empty except a single, stout support beam in the center. Gorou watched Reyna explore and felt glad in her apparent happiness. It was like the water damage was invisible to her, or perhaps immaterial.

Reyna turned towards him suddenly and frowned. "Toilet?"

That. That was a good question. And a major answer in the whole 'how human exactly was the shogun's former puppet'' situation: Human enough to need a toilet, it seemed.

The toilet was outside and, blessedly, in very good shape. Though a hole in the ground had a rather limited number of possible ways to take damage. That hole was encapsulated by a rather well built bamboo structure, Gorou was rather impressed with it.

Reyna was not.

She stared at the open outhouse with obvious distaste and disdain. Gorou could only grit his teeth and scratch himself behind the ear. Yeah, the facilities in the Shogun's castle were probably a little more sophisticated…

These were the first negative emotions that Gorou had seen on Reyna's face. The arch of her eyebrows and the angle of her frown made her the very image of a displeased goddess. Alas, there was no helping it.

"Water," said Reyna, her tone taking on the sharp edge of a command.

Gorou sprang to oblige. Both the outhouse and the house had rain barrels and all of them were full. Gorou filled a bucket and found a little ladle nearby, which was lucky. He hurried about and set them in the outhouse.

"Cloth," demanded the former vessel of god.

Gorou offered her a handful of large bamboo leaves and a chunk of his soapstone.

Reyna stared at him with overt displeasure, then snatched the leaves and soap from his palm and entered the bamboo structure and shut the door. Gorou let out a pent breath and headed back to the house. Well, improving the toilet situation just rose to near the top of the to-do list. He was a little relieved all the same- that was a realm in which he was ecstatic that Reyna could manage for herself.

Gorou turned his attention to dinner, which he had not thought about at all until this very moment.

Whoops again.

If Reyna ate food and suffered from all the same consequences of that act that humans did, then she certainly needed dinner. Fool that Gorou was, he had not included food in his list of things he wanted Captain Tetsu's men to bring for him. He would have to forage for something. Maybe some more lavender melon? It was tasty, but lacked something as a meal.

Gorou remembered that he'd spotted some plants in the fields that did not look entirely wild, so he went out to get a closer look. There were a few carrots long past seeding. A squash plant that was not near ready. Then his eye caught a familiar leaf pattern. He rushed over and was happily surprised to find a sweet potato plant. And it was doing quite well! That was an excellent sign for his ambitions with this place.

He called upon the Vision Gem at his hip, his sense of touch extended out from the soles of his feet and sunk into the earth. It wasn't so much that he could see what was under there, but he could feel it. The compression of the soil, the hard spots of stone, the myriad tiny holes and passages of roots, ants, and worms- even the itchy pocket of the holysoil off to the north. Gorou located two nice sized sweet potatoes and ended the spell. He dug them up easily and was encouraged by the moist feel of the soil, but that holysoil patch. That.. that was going to be a little bit of a problem…

But a problem for another day.

Gorou returned to the house and found Reyna sitting on the porch. Her mood seemed returned to her previous state of mild wonderment, so maybe the outhouse had not been such a terrible experience as she might have thought. In fact, it was his turn to use it.

He returned to find Reyna still sitting on the porch, gazing up at the changing colors of the dying daylight.

"I found some sweet potatoes for dinner," said Gorou, gaining Reyna's attention.

"Sweet?" said Reyna. "Potatoes?

"They're great," said Gorou as he called again to the earth and pushed the sweet potatoes back into the ground, the dirt and soil accepting them as if it was water.

"Vision!" said Reyna.

"Yep!" said Gorou and he went behind the house where he remembered seeing some dry reeds and bamboo scrap. He quickly built a fire pile over the spot of earth that consumed the sweet potatoes. And then realized he had neglected flint and tinder.

"Oh," said Gorou, looking at Reyna in dismay. "I'm not sure how I can get a spark."

He considered rubbing sticks together, but that was such a pain and night was upon them. He could bash a stone against his sword, but you needed a certain kind of stone for that and he-

An arc of purple lightning lashed out and struck Gorou's pile of reeds and wood. He leapt back in shock, then immediately back forward as a fledgling fame grew up in the debris and then began faltering. With some adjustment and tactical breathing, Gorou managed to get the fire stable. He looked up at Reyna, the obvious source of the lightning.

"Vision?" he said.

"No," said Reyna with a slight upturn of her chin.

Was that? Smugness?

Well, now. There was a latent gift of Raiden Shogun, to be sure. She could command electro without a Vision, much like the Traveler… and god. That was interesting.

Gorou fed the fire as night fell in earnest. It would take a couple hours for the potatoes to roast in the earth All they had to do was wait and-

Voices called from the east. It was the soldiers arriving with Gorou's requested goods. He hurried over to them and guided them to the fireside. Reyna remained regally perched on the porch, her eyes gleaming in the firelight and deepening dusk. The soldiers put down a large crate and two huge bundles and bowed to her, again seemign to be captivated by her, even as both of them breathed heavily and sweated.

Gorou took out the large bottle of melon-wine he had requested and handed it to the soldiers along with their spears. "Enjoy this wine together. When off duty. That's an order."

"Yes, sir!" said the soldiers, and they departed in good spirits, with good spirits.

Gorou looked at the pile of goods and sighed in satisfaction. Captain Tetsu and his men had really come through for him tonight. He rummaged in the box and found one immediately needed item: a lantern. He lit it from the fire and took it into the house. Reyna rose from her perch to watch him curiously as he brought the bundles inside.

He opened the soft bags first and displayed the items to Reyna as he did so: "Futon. For you. Pillow. For you. Futon for me. Pillow for me. Sheets. For your room walls…"

Gorou pulled out a light, billowy purple yukata and a companion under-robe. Much more flexible than Reyna's stiff formal affair she wore the entire day today. "A yukata, for you. And it's purple, too. This is clothing for you for tomorrow, Reyna."

"Yukata," said Reyna.

Gorou was extra pleased with Testu's men. They'd even been thoughtful enough to get the color that Reyna seemed to enjoy. He stuffed his hand into the bottom of the bag. There should be one more thing… his hand found something extra silky.

"And this is your sleepwear," said Gorou as he pulled out what he thought was a standard, no frills, everyday woman's sleeping shift. What emerged into the lantern light was some very lacy, very racy purple lingerie. Where did those straps go? It must be some sort of Liyue import?

"Waaa-" said Gorou in shock.

"Ohhh," said Reyna in wonder.

Gorou stuffed the item back into the sack. Those cheeky bastards! He should never have given them that melon-wine! He hadn't requested this! Were they trying to give him a newlywed present or something?

Or. Then again. They were both very young, very single men. Did… did they think this was what women slept in on a regular basis?!

"Mine?" asked Reyna, cocking her head.

"No!" yelped Gorou. And then he looked at Reyna sheepishly. "No, ah… these are uh- mine. Sorry, you will have to sleep in your under-robe tonight, Reyna. I'll set up your bedroom."

Gorou quickly folded the sacks, the lingerie still lost inside one of them, and placed them safely in the corner of the room. He located the most sound corner of the house, which seemed the north-eastern quadrant, and quickly secured the sheets between the central beam and the walls, creating a closed off private space for Reyna. He placed Reyna's futon and pillow inside.

"This is your room, for now, Reyna," said Gorou. "I'll… upgrade the house soon."

Reyna regarded her 'room' with pursed lips, but then smiled and nodded. She turned and looked at him with serious eyes. "I will change. You will leave."

Gorou was shocked. Two sentences! "Y- yes, of course."

He exited the house and closed the bamboo door behind him. The lantern light glowed into the darkening night, making the farmhouse seem like an oasis of light. He could vaguely see the silhouette of Reyna behind her curtain untying her kimono. Gorou quickly turned away and tended to the fire. Shouldn't be much longer now on those potatoes.

The box of goods from the soldiers now seemed suspicious. He looked through it for any more embarrassing surprises, but only found what he expected to find. Meanwhile, Reyna emerged from the house wearing the plain under-robe that was meant to go with her yukata. Gorou gazed up at her in wonder.

It was a lot like Yae Miko's style, in that the top of the robe covered everything, but everything on the bottom half was mostly revealed. The sight of Reyna's long legs and defined calves traveled through Gorou's eyeballs and landed on something primal and instinctual in his core. He gasped and averted his eyes quickly. That was going to take a little getting used to. He'd managed to inoculate himself against the patch of thigh that Kokomi's style of robe always revealed, so he could manage the same thing with Reyna.

Eventually. Otherwise it was going to drive him mad.

Gorou took deep breaths and focused on extricating the cooked sweet potatoes from the hot hearth, pulling them out of the soil with his Vision. He plucked them out, perfectly clean. Whew. Reyna was literally so beautiful that it almost hurt to see it. Yae MIko's little lesson from earlier today danced in his mind.

I've seen many a good man tempted to strange acts due to a pretty face.

Gorou shook his head, fetched plates and chopsticks from the crate, and sat next to his new bride on the porch, her eyes following him the entire time.

"This is one of my favorites," said Gorou, picking up his own pair of chopsticks. "Ground roasted sweet potato! Now careful, they are too hot to touch. So what I did with my chopsticks is this.."

Reyna successfully imitated his technique and they took a bite of steaming, soft potato. Gorou sighed as he savored the natural buttery sweetness of it. Reyna seemed pleased.

"Delicious," she said.

Gorou smiled at her. He was lucky that she wasn't picky about eating. Both of them seemed quite hungry having only split a single lavender melon between one another in the whole day. They ate in companionable silence, which probably was Reyna's preference, anyway. The fire died down. The stars gleamed overhead. Reyna stared up at them with her mouth open.

He followed her gaze up to the sky. They were particularly brilliant tonight, hundreds of colors sparkling across the dark expanse. Come to think of it, from the few times Gorou had stayed overnight in Inazuma City, he'd noted that the stars were very dim there due to the constant light of the city.

"Have you ever seen stars this bright?" asked Gorou softly, as he scattered the fire. "Reyna?"

He turned back to find Renya slumped to the porch, her arms curled under her head, her legs closed together and drawn towards her chest. She was breathing softly. Asleep.

Gorou gazed down on her and wondered what this day may have been like for her. He might have not expected coming home with a fake wife, but he still came home to a place he knew. His homeland.

Had Reyna known what today would bring when she woke up this morning? Had she expected to be out here, about as far as one could get from the gilded halls of the castle in the capital? To go from the near embrace of god Herself to this run-down shack in the boonies with a man she didn't even know?

Gorou frowned in empathy. Whatever Reyna was- she was certainly brave. He greatly admired that.

He tip-toed past her, opened the house door, and then knelt down at her side. She did not stir as he gathered her gently into his arms, trying to ignore the splendid feel of her skin on his own. He lifted her easily, despite her greater height, and carried her past her sheet walls and set her gently down upon her new futon. She curled up around her pillow and made a sort of cooing sound.

"Good night, Renya," said Gorou, and he left her there.

He quietly unfolded his own futon in front of the house door. He wanted himself between her and any invader- and he didn't want her wandering out into the dark alone while he slept, either. One thing he'd noticed about city folk was that they didn't really understand just how dark it could get at night. And tonight, there was no moon.

Gorou put out the lamp, closed his eyes, patted the hilt of his sword to make sure it was right there, and then all the stress of the day assaulted him and, in the way of soldiers, he instantly fell asleep.