Gorou woke suddenly, his eyes flying open, sitting upright with a jolt. His heart was pounding in his chest. His pulse thundering in his skull. Someone was going to kill him, unless he killed them first!

Gorou's mouth twisted into a snarl, revealing fangs. He was definitely going to kill first! One hand searched for his weapon, his ears twisting this way and that to try and find the enemy. His other hand moved to clear the blankets from his legs- and it thumped softly into Reyna's back. She murmured musically in her sleep and rocked herself back and forth on her side, but did not wake.

Gorou blinked in confusion, his breath catching in his throat. Who was this in his bed? Where was he?

In that moment, Gorou's mind came fully awake and let go of whatever nightmare it had brought into the waking world. His fear and bloodlust disintegrated like ashes in his palm, fading away in the morning light. Gorou sat there a long time in the morning silence, breathing deeply, getting himself together. Reyna continued to sleep peacefully at his side, her white robe contrasting sharply with her purple hair.

It was a month since Gorou last woke up like that, afraid, feeling like he was in the middle of a fight. He'd experienced it a lot in the first month after the end of the war, but it had gradually lessened. He'd thought it behind him, but- Yae Miko's prophetic vision must have dredged something back up that Gorou thought he'd put away. He sighed, scratching himself idly behind a furry ear, and he watched Reyna sleep.

Obviously, the former Shogun Puppet needed to sleep, as evidenced by her behavior last night and right this moment. But Gorou wondered if Reyna dreamed, perhaps even was dreaming now. What would she even dream about? Well, whatever it was (if anything), it seemed peaceful and pleasant. Gorou carefully extricated himself from their joined futons, leaving Reyna to her dreams. He turned to the font door and quietly slid it open.

Morning sunlight was just cresting the eastern cliffs, covering half of New Blossom Farm in gold. Gorou took in a deep breath of the mildly chill morning air, admiring the dew which glistened on everything that yet remained in the shade. The dark half of the weed-filled field sparkled, almost looking pretty. But not quite, because Gorou couldn't forget that those were all weeds that he would need to pull out of there.

By hand.

But that was work for another day. Gorou put his hands on his hips and gazed out on his decrepit farm and considered his objectives for this day: Reyna was the most immediate concern, as there was a great deal that she would need for her daily life in the country. Clothing, for one. Quite a few work kimonos and … whatever else a woman needed. Gorou wasn't entirely sure, but he was confident the tailor at the Southern Dry Market would be knowledgeable. And they would need food supplies. They would need something to put the food supplies in, come to think of it.

Gorou turned to look at the roof above Reyna's sleeping form. He needed reeds and bamboo and twine to make the house weather tight. And the floor's… maybe some mats to cover the holes at least. Floor mats over bamboo strips would work, for now. That would at least make the house more a house and less a ruin.

He scratched himself behind the ear again, watching Reyna's shoulders rise and fall as she lay curled on her side.

Oh, and he should get a pull cart to carry all those things back here from the market. He would need the pull cart to do work on the farm, anyway.

Did he have enough mora for all this?

Gorou tip-toed over to the supply box where his coin purse sat. He rummaged through it. He had a lot of high denomination coins, so that was good. But he would need to visit the counting house for more. He had a decent savings of his back pay, but in the Watatsumi military, even generals didn't make very much. Gorou shook his coinpurse thoughtfully in his hand. He would run out soon enough, today being a sizable chunk of what he had saved. He needed to start an income stream, sooner rather than later.

"You shared a bed with her?" said an ominous female voice.

Gorou's tail bristled, his ears shot up, his heart leapt into his throat. He whirled, his hands going for a sword he did not have on his hip. A masked woman stood in the doorway, blocking some of the morning light.

Her athletic body was lightly armored in black and purple leathers, a bare midriff showing the subtle abs of a powerful and muscular core. Dull, amethyst eyes stared out from a stoic face wreathed in pale green hair. She also had about a dozen knives sheathed all over her body, though none of them were currently in her hands. Gorou had the distinct impression that this woman was probably fast enough to have any one of those knives at his throat before he could bend down for the sword on the floor near his fee.t

"If this is anything like what it looks like," said the invader, "I'm going to make you beg for death before I deliver you to the Head Shrine Maiden."

"Who are you?" said Gorou, uneasily, steeling himself for a fight. He didn't know how this woman had snuck up on him. Not very many people could do that, thanks to his rather large wolfhound ears. But this morning, he'd not heard a whisper.

The intruder slowly took something out of a waist pouch. It was a pink and gold charm from the grand shrine on the capital island- Yae Miko's shrine.

Trusted persons will stop by, from time to time. You will know them by the charm they carry.

Gorou let out a little of his breath, relaxing slightly. This was one of Yae Miko's agents. So, the witch was checking up on him on the very first morning?

"May I come in?" said the armed and armored woman standing on Gorou's open doorstep. There was clearly restrained menace in her tone. It barely sounded like a question.

As was seeming to be Yae Miko's signature style, Gorou found himself lacking real choices even when dealing with the kitsune witch's subordinates. It's not like he could very well fend this warrior off without a weapon of his own. He could try, but he didn't like his chances. But there might be an opportunity to surprise the woman if Gorou played it cool for as long as he could.

"By all means," said Gorou through gritted teeth.

The woman stepped into the house, Gorou stepping back, keeping slight distance, keeping Reyna behind him.

"Step aside, General," said the woman, her voice soft. "I'm here to protect the vessel, too."

"Protect her from what?" said Gorou.

"Potentially from you," said the woman, her body taking on a combat posture. "Now. Step aside."

Gorou gritted his teeth. She had the charm. She was Yae Miko's agent. He had let her in. But something about letting her get at a sleeping Reyna made something in Gorou vehemently reject the idea.

"Mmmhmm," murmured Reyna.

Both Gorou and the invading woman froze and looked down at her. Reyna yawned and stretched out her arms, arching her back. Then she sat up and blinked up at them both, her lilac eyes soft in the morning interior light.

"Kuki?" said Reyna, her voice still sleepy.

And with that one word, the tension in the room vanished. Gorou realized Reyna knew this woman and his defensive instinct vanished. Meanwhile, Kuki didn't seem to find Gorou's presence relevant and she kneeled down before Reyna, her green-haired head bowed in respect.

"My Lady!" said Kuki, her voice gaining a flavor of zealotry. "Are you well this morning?"

"Hmm? Yes," said Reyna.

"Did this man hurt you?" said Kuki.

Nearby, Gorou bit back his instinctive denials. They would not be believed anyway. But even with an innocent soul, he felt a little uneasy. One word from Reyna to the contrary and he might find himself under attack. He doubted Reyna would lie about him like that, but he'd known her less than a day.

Reyna blinked up at Gorou, then she turned a frowning glance at Kuki. "No. He's nice."

Kuki visibly relaxed in her stance. She glanced up at Gorou, too. Her gaze felt slightly less hostile. Then, she returned to her questioning of Reyna.

"Did he touch you, My Lady? Here? Or here? Or here?'

Reyna blinked at Kuki. "No."

"Did he look at your naked body, My Lady?"

"No! I did what Yae said. I made him go outside."

"And he did?"

"Yes. And he made me a sweet potato. It was good!"

"I- I see," said Kuki, bowing her head. "Thank you for answering my questions."

Kuki stood, turning a simmering glare upon Gorou. She raised her hand to point at him menacingly, perhaps preparing to make some sort of threat or declaration. But Reyna made her own declaration first:

"I will change. You both will leave."

The bamboo door of the house shut. Gorou and Kuki now glared at each other outside on the narrow porch. But the lost momentum seemed to have taken a bit of the wind out Kuki's sails. She didn't immediately say anything at all. Her eyes traveled upward.

"There's a widow-maker up there," said Kuki. "You should take care of it before the next storm."

That was not the sort of statement Gorou was expecting from Kuki. He turned and followed her gaze. Sure enough, the large tree which loomed over the house had a large, dead branch that was hanging somewhat ominously over the farmhouse. He did need to take care of that before the next storm. If it fell on them in the night…

"Thanks, I'll-" said Gorou as he turned back to Kuki, but the woman had vanished. He glanced everywhere but saw no trace of her. No even a trace of her passage. There were no footsteps in the morning grass. No footprints in the dirt near the fire. Not a sound or a smell of Kuki to give any indication that she had ever been standing right next to him.

Gorou shivered. Where did the Shogunate find these people? Divinity did certainly attract the strange ones.

Waiting on the porch while Reyna dressed herself, Gorou reviewed his encounter with Yae Miko's first agent- obviously some sort of ninja. But Kuki had said she was here to protect Reyna. And while that phrasing seemed potentially coincidental, it could be implied that Kuki was stationed on Watatsumi Island to keep a shadowy watch over them both in a more permanent capacity. Gorou shook his head.

Yae Miko said she trusted him, then immediately threatened him. Yae Miko trusted him with Reyna for just one night alone, and then immediately verified him. The kitsune witch seemed distrustful of her own trust.

Well, if that put a formidable ninja in the area that wanted to protect Reyna, then Gorou had no qualms. Sure, tt was somewhat off-putting to have a Shogunate agent on the loose in the area, but technically the war was over and Watatsumi Island was a Shogunate province. Their agents had every right to be wherever they wanted to be, as much as Gorou and Priestess Kokomi disliked the concept. But if some third party group, like a hilichurl tribe or a band of ronin bandits came through the area suddenly- then Kuki could be a valuable ally.

But hopefully, nothing of the sort would happen at all and Kuki will find herself very bored.

The bamboo door slid open, and Reyna stepped into the light in her new summer yukata. This light purple kimono flowed around her body freely, and her sandals were the hardy, secure things that a rural farmer needed to get around on dirt and stone. She looked at Gorou and smiled softly. His heart warmed in his chest at the sight of her.

"Shall we go to the market, Reyna? We can have a lavender melon on the way, I think."

"Yes!"

And so they set off, side by side, Reyna somewhat towering over Gorou as they went. Out through their little natural bamboo tunnel and back onto the south road. It was empty at the moment, but there were not too many farmsteads out this way, so foot traffic was likely always to be somewhat light. The morning sun had already burned off any fog of the early morning and the sky was a clear, light blue.

Gorou realized there was a particularly good overlook nearby, and with the clarity of the morning, Reyna would be able to see almost the entire island. He turned them off the road and headed inland, guiding Reyna though grasses that gradually turned purple as they went north. They stepped through some purple bamboo and the great basin of Watatsumi revealed itself to them. Reyna gasped in wonder, her eyes sparkling.

Below them was an enormous crater in the earth, and from all sides, sparkling waterfalls of oceanwater tumbled from the rim cliffs, to flow endlessly down small riverlets to converge and fall into the churning maelstrom at the island's core. The crater cliffs were mostly sheer, but a few terraced steps of rock wound their way around the crater, giving it a somewhat laddered look. Purple vegetation waved gently from every ledge and crevice it could find. Small trees, bamboo, reeds, and other shrubs- all in varying shades of purple and pink. It gave the entire crate an other-worldly look. Near the center of the crater, perched on a large outcropping of what appeared to be enormous scallop shells, was Sangonomiya Shrine- the normally impressive structure somewhat diminished by their distance and elevation from it.

Gorou looked at Reyna as she gazed down on the landscape in wonder. Her purple hair, lilac eyes, and lavender yukata made her seem like she'd been made to match Watatsumi Island's color scheme perfectly. Suddenly, she looked at Gorou with a question obvious upon her brow.

"My homeland?" said Reyna.

Gorou took in a deep breath, his heart somewhat prideful about the island. He grinned at her. "That's right. You're a Watatsumi native now."

"Yes!" said Reyna, and she turned back to gaze down into the island's core with a happy smile and sparkling eyes. A gust of wind blew up the cliff sides, causing Reyna's hair and yukata to billow around her in the sunlight.

It was an image of Reyna that Gorou would carry in his mind for the rest of his life.