Chapter 7: The Liquid Measure

Nicholas hit the water with enough force to knock most of the air out of his lungs. The impact stunned him, and the resulting disorientation allowed his body's natural instincts to override his mental control for just an instant. Unfortunately, as with most accidents, an instant was all it took. He breathed in, a potentially fatal mistake, as his lungs took in liquid instead of oxygen. It was ironic, really...He'd saved the Suzaku no Miko from multiple drownings; had dived off a cliff into a river after her, but was now in very real danger of drowning himself. In his defence, he had not been prepared—stepping through a doorway did not usually end in free-fall and an ice-cold dunking—for the plunge this time.

A second later, his thought processes snapped back into focus. Ignoring the intense burning sensation in his chest, Nicholas kicked his legs, forcing them to move and propelling himself upwards. Breaking the surface, he concentrated on his surroundings. The lake he was currently submerged in was still and quiet in the grey hours before dawn. Only the ripples caused by his presence broke the smooth mirror-like surface. To his left, a wooden pier loomed, its hard lines gently blurred by the dissipating morning mist.

"Oh bloody hell—...Nick!"

His guide, it seemed, had been spared the bracing dip in the frigid lake. She stood at the end of the pier calling his name and gesticulating wildly in alarm.

Swimming the short distance to her was a test of willpower and endurance. The water was excruciatingly cold and the pain in his chest intensified as he battled against the reflexive need to cough up the water in his lungs.

And then, somewhere behind him, there was a series of ominous splashes. He did not waste time turning around to see what had caused them. Instead, he channelled all his strength into closing the last few metres with Olympic record speed and launching himself upwards to grab at the edge of the planks.

Almost simultaneously, Adrienne caught hold the back of his shirt and heaved, helping to haul him clear of the water. Once up on the pier, Nicholas allowed his body to succumb to the coughs that would bring up the water he'd inadvertently inhaled. To anyone observing, it must have made for quite an interesting sight…He was doubled over on his hands and knees as he drew in harsh rasping breaths; whilst his lovely companion heartily thumped him on the back with far more enthusiasm than was strictly necessary.

Definitely not one of his more glamorous moments.

It was only a moment later that they both noticed something detaching itself from his shoe and flopping onto the dry wooden boards.

The long, black eel-like body was accessorised with jagged three-inch glass-like fangs. Where fins should have been, skeletal spines protruded with a sort of macabre elegance. The creature stared at them with eerie, iridescent milky-white eyes filled with the raw, uncomplicated need to simply devour.

"Were you bitten?" Adrienne demanded brusquely, her cornflower blue eyes dark with concern as she scanned him for injuries. "That's an Epirion Eel. The poison in their fangs would turn someone here into a shade, I don't know what would happen to a living soul like you, but I doubt it would be good news."

A quick internal inventory assured him that he had indeed escaped an unfortunate fate. The heel of his shoe, however, was not as lucky and bore an unmistakable ring of teeth marks. Nicholas rose to his feet, "It missed. Would not do to go the way of Achilles this early in the game now, would it?"

The mist hovering over the lake was almost gone as the sky continued to brighten. Running a hand through his wet hair, he tried unsuccessfully to suppress a shiver. He was completely soaked to the skin and chilled clear through to the bone. The surrounding air was slowly warming up, but not nearly fast enough. "Anything you can do about this?" he indicated his wet clothing which was now adhering damply to his body like a second skin…Not exactly a pleasant feeling while standing out on a dock at the break of dawn.

The dark-haired woman made a big production of giving him a very deliberate once-over, letting her gaze linger at various strategic places. "But you look positively sinful like that, my knickers may not survive," she simpered, topping it off with a cheeky grin and playfully lecherous wink.

He shot her a quelling look.

Nicholas knew that Adrienne was just being her irreverent self now that the danger was past, but contracting hypothermia would not help matters in any way...if indeed one could contract hypothermia in this realm. Whether it was actually possible to fall victim to a clichéd medical condition when one was technically a metaphysical projection was something which he had neither the time nor inclination to find out. The sensation of cold certainly felt real enough.

The failure to rise to her bait had her rolling her eyes at his lack of humour. "You're no fun anymore," she muttered under her breath—though pitched loud enough for him to hear—while flicking her hand in a swift gesture.

A wave of magic washed over him, leaving his clothes and hair dry when it receded. The feel of her power was different from anything he had ever encountered before; like a flurry of butterfly wings against his skin. "Thank you, Adri." he said, using the pet name from long ago and allowing a slow smirk to lift the corners of his mouth, "You might want to use that handy drying trick on your underwear now." This was familiar, their little game of one-upmanship, each trying to get in the last word (morbidly, he'd conceded the victory to her the last time that they'd played. She'd died, and he had never been able to come up with an adequately witty response to that. Death was so very…final).

"Oh shut up, you arrogant sod," his former girlfriend huffed with surprised laughter when she realised that it was his retort to her earlier comment. Mirth lit up her face, making her radiantly beautiful in a way that would steal the breath of almost any man. "I've missed this." I have missed you. The words went unspoken, but he heard them all the same. Once upon a time, this would have moved him, and he would have been no different from the general male populace in the appreciation of her beauty. These days, however, his preference tended towards petite, irrepressibly optimistic Mikos…

Adrienne broke their silent shared connection first, tilting her head towards the sprawling city a short distance away to the left of the pier. "There is someone in town who may be able to help us," she said in response to his unvoiced question.

Tucking his hands into his trouser pockets, he nodded amiably, "Lead on." Nicholas knew he appeared cool and unruffled despite the near miss he'd just had. Inwardly however, every sense, every instinct he possessed was clamouring in alarm, strung tight on adrenaline. A part of him savoured the rush—would always enjoy a good adventure—but the stakes were so much higher this time, and he was no longer playing with just his own life.

He waited until she had turned and started off over the weathered planks, before swiftly getting to work, handkerchief in hand.

By the time she stepped off the wooden boards onto solid ground and glanced back at him as they started on the road to the city, Nicholas was right behind her as though he had been there all along.

They entered the city, finding the streets crammed with stalls as if in preparation for a carnival, but curiously devoid of any human presence, perhaps due to the early hour. The streetlamps were festooned with colourful streamers, fairy lights and tinsel, lending a festive ambience. Yet, there was something decidedly odd, a certain…off-kilter feeling to the surroundings that he could not quite put his finger on. The city appeared to be an eclectic mix comprising of old-world charm, modern sensibility, and complete randomness. Quaint structures with what might have been Greek, Byzantine or Roman (perhaps even all three) roots somewhere in their architectural family tree were crammed between tall glass-and-steel buildings…If the concept of urban city planning existed here, he had yet to see any evidence of it.

According to Adrienne, there was a wise woman who resided in town who was rumoured to have once been a respected Delphic Oracle…although these days, she seemed to be content telling fortunes, dishing out relationship advice, and baking baklavas to die for. This revelation did not exactly inspire a lot of confidence, but Nicholas had experienced far stranger things in his time in the Universe of the Four Gods. Besides, seeking out the woman's advice was the only lead he had at this point.

The carnival stalls created a complex maze that apparently defied the laws of both physics and reality. After walking for a while, he was certain that the town was rearranging itself to keep leading them back to the same place no matter what direction they chose or which turns they took. His companion swore colourfully in agitation every time they turned a corner only to find themselves back in the now familiar main street, echoing his own frustrated sentiments even though he was far less inclined to show it.

"I'm sorry, Nick, I wish I could be of more help to you." Perched on the counter of a stall that was conveniently behind her, Adrienne sighed as she raked her hands through her silken fall of midnight hair. "I have no idea why things are like this…I usually have no problem finding her." Absently, she swiped two portions of crusty bread stuffed with cheese, tomatoes and prosciutto from the glass display beside her. She bit into one and casually offered him the other.

He wondered if hunger was getting the better of him, because the food that she was holding out—not to mention the food on display at all the stalls around them—looked absolutely delicious. Odd that he was only now noticing how distracting the smells were…There was not another soul in sight besides Adrienne, yet the scents of gourmet coffee being brewed and freshly baked bread permeated the air.

A stray thought teased at the outer edges of his mind; something that Seiryuu seikun had said in passing back in London. All legends have a seed of truth in them. While he did not like the implications of this particular line of thought in the least, it still posed a possibility he was not able to ignore or dismiss.

She shrugged cheerfully when he declined the sandwich, proceeding to finish off hers and starting on his. Nicholas eyed her, "Hungry, are we?"

"All that walking gave me an appetite," she mumbled around a mouthful of food. Adrienne came from a very old, distinguished lineage and had thus been brought up knowing all forms of proper etiquette. She knew exactly which fork to use at a formal dinner but had always taken great delight in eschewing what she referred to as 'posh' manners whenever she could. For a long time, even after her death, he'd considered her to be the most genuine and down-to-earth person he had ever met…Up until that fateful day he had found himself standing on a street in Tokyo, looking into the luminous hazel eyes of the only girl who had ever managed to surprise him.

And the rest, as they say, is history, he thought wryly. The Suzaku no Miko had unceremoniously crashed into his life, turned it upside down, and changed everything.

He turned his attention back to the issue at hand when Adrienne finally brushed crumbs from her skirt and hopped off the countertop. Nicholas decided to keep his own counsel for the time being, until there was more evidence to either prove or disprove his suspicions. "Are you going to pay for the food?" he asked curiously as they began walking again.

His lovely companion shrugged and grinned, "There's no need. One of the best things about being dead is that money no longer has any meaning. Even you would appreciate the simplicity of this economic model! It does free up one's time to pursue other interests, this being the place of eternal bliss and all." And then, just for a fraction of a second, an indecipherable look flickered across her face as she said thoughtfully, "You know, I never thought that I'd end up here...never really believed in the concept of an afterlife, to be honest."

What is it that you trying to tell me, Adri? Once again, Nicholas had the distinct impression that whatever that was buried in the subtext of what Adrienne was saying was more important than the actual words themselves.

Any further conversation they might have had on the topic, however, was abruptly consigned to the same dimension inhabited by pink pygmy elephants and flying porcines when the row of stalls they had been standing in front of minutes before exploded outward in a shower of wooden shards…

Every splash, eddy and drip of water sounded amplified by a hundred times. Unfortunately, there was no way she could block it out, short of sticking her fingers into her ears, but that would be far too obvious…and she refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing her so discomfited. Instead, Miaka settled for resolutely squeezing her eyes shut and trying to control the flush that had spread over her skin. It's a hot spring, of course it's hot in here…She was very good at lying to herself when the situation called for it.

"You can turn around, you know," he said mildly from behind her.

A tell-tale murmur of the water indicated that he had allowed himself to sink deeper into the pool, at least enough to preserve his (seemingly non-existent) modesty.

That did not reassure her in the least. "No!" It did not help that she knew exactly what Nakago looked like when naked! This version of him promised to be even more spectacular…Constant military and martial arts training (not to mention wearing that ridiculously heavy armour around all day) did wonders for a man's physique. Still, she had never pegged her husband's past self to be this much of an exhibitionist. Chances were, he was merely tormenting her, although she would not put it past him to flash her with the Full Monty if he thought that it would achieve some nefarious end-game or prove a point. Hence the turned back and closed eyes. And trying to ignore the hentai whispers in her mind that were urging her to find out if there were any other differences in physical attributes between this Nakago and the one she had married. For strictly scientific purposes, of course.

In short, she was doomed.

He made an amused sound at the back of his throat, "This will hardly be the first time you have been confronted with the male anatomy, given your rather expectant condition."

Miaka really wasn't going to let him goad her into responding, until she suddenly felt something trickling down the back of her neck. A drop of warm water, then another, and another…until it threatened to turn into a steady stream. She spun around, only to see him reclining back against the tiled edge of the pool. Eyes half-lidded and appearing utterly relaxed, the egotistical jerk seemed to be doing no more than idly contemplating the patterns created by the swirling steam…Only the faint, telling smirk playing across his face suggested otherwise.

She was about to let rip with a scathing comment about how such a juvenile prank was beneath him, but his smooth, resonant baritone stilled her words, "Tell me about him."

The sudden question had her blinking, trying to recall if she had missed something in their conversation thus far. "Who?" she asked in confusion.

"Your husband," the Seiryuu general prompted without any hint of impatience, turning his head lazily to meet her gaze. "He trained you to fight and use your chi, did he not?."

"H-how did you know?" Surprise had her blurting out the first thing that came to mind without stopping to think. She blamed the combination of heat, the annoyingly fit baka lounging naked—she was neither blind, nor dead—in the pool in front of her, and rogue pregnancy hormones for the untimely short-circuiting of her brain. Almost as soon as the words were out of her mouth, the former miko realised her mistake. But it was too late…the trap he'd so cunningly baited had been sprung.

This time, his lips curled in a manner that was gratingly triumphant, making her fingers itch to slap it off his handsome face, "I did not know for certain, until now. Thank you for confirming it." The blasted man straightened slightly, causing the warm water skimming the smooth muscles of his chest to recede; while the wet ends of his hair clung to his neck and shoulders. Miaka was sure Nakago was fully aware of how sinfully decadent he looked, and was not above using his considerable sex appeal to keep her off balance.

"You have yet to answer my initial query. Consider it…professional interest." Clearly, he was not going to let the subject drop. Eyes the colour of an arctic dawn pinned her with a stare which always gave her the distinct feeling that he was digging around in her mind, stripping away the outer layers and riffling through her innermost thoughts. His choice of phrasing strongly suggested that it wasn't a request, and that he would probably find something far less benign than dripping water down her neck if she refused to play this game. At the same time, however, she sensed that his question was as much out of genuine curiosity as the need to know thy enemy.

Miaka slowly drew in a lungful of the thick, humid air, taking a moment to frame her reply. "He…has a very commanding presence, pretty much a born leader. He always believes himself to be the smartest person in the room, which granted, most of the time, he is. He's also quite arrogant and high-handed …and never takes no for an answer." She paused a beat, heaving theatrical sigh, "In fact, he's a lot like you. Alas."

The blonde Shogun did not move except to arch a sceptical eyebrow, "And yet, you profess to love him," he pointed out with enough sarcasm to sink a battleship, "Despite his less than admirable traits."

She could tell that he did not believe her, but Miaka was unwilling to tell outright lies. It was much safer to stick as closely to the truth as possible, especially when dealing with someone who had a mind like a steel trap…there was less chance of her slipping up and saying something contradictory. Arguably, one did not need a good memory when telling the truth.

"What if I told you that he was willing to sacrifice his life, for people he barely liked, simply because it was the right thing to do? The first time he helped me, we were…closer to being enemies than to being friends." There was no need to feign the emotion that was on her face and in her voice at the bittersweet memory; Nakago had saved her at a time when she had been unwilling to save herself. "H-He is…my other half. He doesn't always agree with me, but he accepts me. Loves me. Hates me too. Comforts me. Questions me. He makes me think, consider all the angles, encourages me to wonder about things I've never thought about before. I'm a better person because of him; he's taught me so much. He makes me happy and exasperates me. He makes my heart beat; he excites me. I don't just profess to love him…I know I do." Wrapping her arms protectively around her middle, gently hugging the tiny new life resting inside her belly, Miaka finished with intense conviction, "And I love this baby, because it's his."

"Love is a weakness that can be exploited," her arch-nemesis said blithely, his face a perfect mask of studied impassiveness although she could detect the note of smug condescension behind his statement. "To believe that it is anything else makes one a fool and an idealist."

Miaka shook her head, resisting the urge to tell him how wrong he was. It was surreal, having a conversation with Nakago about love—how had they ended up on this topic anyway?—when he was like this; hard, cynical and driven by the desire for vengeance. The former Suzaku priestess reminded herself that the events which had changed their relationship forever (and shaped them both as individuals) had yet to occur, so she could hardly expect him to agree with her. "One day, perhaps you will change your mind. I hope to be there when it happens," When his silver-blue eyes narrowed, she smiled innocently and added in a lightly teasing tone, "Just so I can say I told you so."

His only response was to rise from the pool, barely giving her enough warning to turn her back with an alarmed yelp. Holding the bath sheet and his robe out over her shoulder, Miaka dutifully clamped her free hand over her eyes as a low masculine chuckle vibrated in the heavy, steam-filled air behind her.

"Then I am afraid you will be waiting for a very, very long time, my dear Yuuki."

Amid the dust of the wreckage, a cowled figure astride a massive black warhorse emerged, swinging a long scythe in lazy circles; wielding the huge weapon as if it weighed nothing.

The woman beside him uttered a Gaelic oath that needed no translation whatsoever as the Horseman turned towards them and began to spur his mount into a charge.

Distantly, he heard Adrienne yelling for him to run. He barked an order at her before surrounding himself in a bubble of calm in which time seemed to slow and everything came into hyper-focus. In the space between one heartbeat and the next, Nicholas summoned his powers, felt the kokoro symbol flare to life on his forehead, and sent three powerful chi blasts in rapid succession towards the nightmare vision that was bearing down on them.

The electric blue energy found their intended target with unerring accuracy, hitting the rider squarely in the chest…only to disappear on contact. Shock and self-doubt rippled through him, along with cold, sharp-edged fear. Not only had his attack failed to inflict damage, but it actually seemed to empower the Horseman. His adversary's skeletal face, visible from the depths of the hood, twisted mockingly into a grotesque rictus of a grin even as a bony arm drew back the scythe in preparation to strike.

For the first time, Nicholas knew what it was like to be truly afraid. While he did not fear his own demise, the thought of leaving Miaka and their child behind filled him with despair. Forcefully shoving the debilitating emotions aside, he allowed the part of himself that had never stopped being the shogun to take control. The soldier knew how to focus on the problem without letting sentiment cloud his judgement.

Dying now would mean failure of this mission. Miaka and the lives of everyone you know hangs on the balance…

It didn't exactly take a genius to figure out who, or more precisely, what was after him. Seiryuu seikun had a great deal to answer for, having failed to warn him of this possibility. Not that knowing this beforehand would have made the slightest difference ultimately, although he could have done without the nasty surprise. How did one confront an enemy of—literally—biblical proportions? Even he, always confident in his abilities, was less than sanguine about his chances of defeating one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Rapidly calculating his options, he chose the only one available which did not involve a highly inconvenient decapitation.

…Therefore, the obvious solution would be…not to die.

Nicholas turned, and ran like the hounds of hell were on his heels. Except, a pack of preternatural three-headed dogs would be preferable to being pursued by Death himself.

Ominous hoof beats thundered down the street behind him as Death, on his black destrier, closed in. The carnival stalls on either side of the street disintegrated into splinters as the scythe ripped through the wooden structures as though they were made of rice paper.

And then, the unthinkable happened as he drew level with Adrienne, who'd had a few seconds head-start ahead of him. In the split-second she took to glance at him, her foot hit an uneven patch of ground, causing her to stumble. With a cry, she went down; right in the path of the scythe's next swing. Without a second thought, Nicholas spun around without fully stopping and lunged back towards her even as the deadly blade swept towards them.

His body collided with Adrienne's with enough force to send them both tumbling out of the immediate kill zone. Simultaneously, a large wooden table from a destroyed stall catapulted straight towards the Horseman from the opposite direction. Both horse and rider reared backwards to avoid the heavy incoming object as Nicholas rolled smoothly to his feet, putting himself between his companion and their attacker. He'd gambled on a hunch, which had (fortunately) proven to be correct given that they were still in one piece. While he was not able to inflict damage with his power in its pure form, he now knew that it was possible to indirectly use his chi to manipulate physical items and use them as weapons.

The warhorse righted itself with a loud clomping of iron-shod hooves on asphalt and pawed at the ground impatiently. Its master tilted his head and regarded them with renewed interest, rather like a scientist observing an interesting strain of bacteria under a microscope…Bacteria, Nicholas mused with grim satisfaction, that is displaying an unexpected ability to fight back and defying attempts to eradicate it.

At his back, he registered the slightly husky cadence of Adrienne's voice whispering the complex lines of an incantation in a strange language. Slender fingers suddenly closed around his wrist and she yanked him to one side with surprising strength as the world around them suddenly became hazy.

Death leaned forward in his saddle, steering his mount in a tight circle and scanning the area intently. From the enemy's reaction, Nicholas instantly realised that Adrienne had cloaked them in some sort of invisibility spell. When he looked back at her in askance, she put a finger to her lips in the universal signal to remain silent and pointed to the gap which had opened up between two ruined stalls. A small alley extended beyond the broken beams and scaffolding, providing a viable route of escape. It would be impossible to swing a weapon the size of the scythe inside the narrow lane between two buildings, thus increasing their chances of keeping their craniums attached to their necks.

It should have been easy, making their way quietly over to the gap between the stalls under the cover of invisibility. Unfortunately, it appeared that even the Afterlife was not exempt from Murphy's Law. With a great deal of snorting, champing at the bit and a distinctly un-equine growl, the horse (which apparently had bloodhound DNA) turned its head and stared straight at them with demonic red eyes…

The next instant, Death was nearly on top of them, the scythe descending down in a killing stroke.

His luck, it seemed, had finally decided to run out. Damn you, Murphy.

Her luck—or at least whatever was left of it—had not so much as run out, as fled screaming in the opposite direction. Not only had Nakago decreed that she accompany him to inspect some troops currently on a training exercise, but as they had set out from the fortress at the crack of dawn, any lingering sleepiness had been promptly banished the second he had easily hoisted her into the saddle in front of him. Nakago's motivations for dragging her on this inspection tour were also highly suspicious. It was one thing for her to tag along behind him within the palace compound, but to a live military exercise? Wouldn't she slow him down? And what kind of diabolical jerk knowingly brings a pregnant servant to an army training site anyway? Annoyed at him as she was, it did not escape her notice that he was deliberately mindful of her condition and kept the horse at an easy canter rather than a jarring gallop.

When they arrived at their destination several hours later, her back ached from sitting ram-rod straight in an (mostly futile) effort to minimise contact with the hard-muscled body behind her. To top it off, the almost-palpable amusement emanating from the owner of said hard-muscled body did nothing to dampen her growing need to hit something.

Dismounting on the shore of a vast lake, the beautiful view made Miaka momentarily forget her misgivings…until she spotted a small boat headed towards them. A small boat, that was apparently supposed to take them to an armada of warships anchored in formation a short distance away. The warships were glaringly out-of-place in such peaceful surroundings…Shouldn't they be doing this at sea or some turbulent river somewhere? More realistic conditions and all that…

She was forced to revise her opinion in short order, after getting into boat. From a distance, the waters of the lake looked placid and smooth as a mirror, but the nearer they got to the armada, the rougher the waves became. Miaka was sure that she looked positively green and was about ten seconds from ejecting the contents of her stomach by the time she was helped on-board the largest of the warships. She'd never had problems with travelling on boats or with seasickness previously, but apparently all the rules went right out the window when one was gestating another human being! Clamping her teeth together, she concentrated on taking in deep breaths through her nose and trying to ignore the curious stares of the soldiers.

Miaka was largely left to her own devices once on-board, being as preoccupied as she was trying to keep her breakfast from making a second appearance. She caught sight of Nakago deep in discussion with the Captain in what appeared to be the command room on the ship's upper deck. Leaning against some crates stacked next to the high wooden railing which ran along the side of the ship, she closed her eyes, allowing the breeze to cool the sweat on her face and neck.

She was not certain how much time had passed before she became aware of voices filtering from the main deck. The crates, in addition to providing some convenient shade from the sun, also served to block her from view. While she knew it was rude to listen in on other people's conversations, as well as being fully aware that eavesdroppers rarely heard complimentary things about themselves, she could not resist tuning in.

"…what's with that girl with him? I wonder why he brought her along?"

"Yeah, I thought the Shogun had something going with Lady Soi…now that's one broad I wouldn't mind getting to know a little better…in a biblical sense, if you know what I mean!" another voice commented, drawing a few sniggers from the other speakers.

"Not if you value your life and private parts, Zhang!" the first voice laughingly retorted, "And if Lady Soi doesn't kill you for even thinking of approaching her, the Shogun probably will!"

There was a pause, before a third person spoke, "The one he brought with him wears his colours," the voice lowered conspiratorially, "I heard from one of the maids that she's carrying a brat. I bet it's his…"

WHAT?! Miaka pressed closer, straining to hear what was being said, but as luck would have it, the soldiers' conversation was brought to an abrupt end as orders were shouted from the upper deck. The former Suzaku no Miko glared down at what she had previously assumed were merely servant's robes, albeit in a different shade. I thought he was making me wear these so that it's harder for me to blend into a crowd amongst the other maids…Which seemed to make perfect sense, until one took into account the fact that the undisputed leader of the Seiryuu warriors had never actually needed to see her visually to locate her. She could be covered in flour, wearing a white fur coat and hiding in a snowdrift…and he'd still find her.

Going by the scandalised stares she'd thus far been subjected to, and the fact that she had not seen anyone else—except the blonde Shogun himself—in the same hues…The entire palace must think that she was his mistress! And him forcing me to stay in his personal quarters has certainly added fuel to the fire! The palace rumour mill must be having a field day speculating about her relationship with their esteemed Shogun. Everyone thought that she was pregnant with the blonde general's baby, and the most mind boggling part was that they were not entirely wrong.

Was that a bubble of hysterical laughter forming in her chest?

The sound of someone clearing their throat brought her out of her thoughts. She looked up sharply to see one of the ship's crew—the first mate?—holding a tray with tea and some savoury sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves. Tall, deeply tanned, with an athletic build, the man was almost the same height as Nakago. He extended the tray towards her without a word, surprising her for an instant before she instinctively reached out to accept the offering.

"Thank you!" she said politely, taking the tray, pleased that her stomach seemed to have unclenched enough that the thought of food was appealing. During the exchange, her fingers brushed against his, and the man yanked his hands back as if he'd been burned. Miaka blinked at the strange reaction, "Ano…Is everything okay?"

Tall, Dark and Handsome immediately bowed stiffly, "Begging your pardon, my lady. His Excellency instructed that you were to be provided with something to eat," he mumbled, sounding like he'd much rather be facing down a Kraken than talking to her. Miaka could almost feel the discomfort radiating off him, and it wasn't a reaction she generally got when interacting with others.

She studied the crewman, realising that he was waiting for her to dismiss him. Putting on her most guileless, wide-eyed expression, she bent to peer into his face and declared cheerfully, "No need to be so formal, I'm just his PREGNANT MISTRESS!"

The man flushed at her announcement, but did not contradict her, cementing her earlier suspicions that everyone probably believed that she was a loose woman who had seduced their Shogun from Lady Soi's loving embrace. Nakago no Baka! This is all your fault! Serves you right, I hope you have fun with all the rumours that are going to be circulating about you! It was underhanded and petty, but Miaka figured that she could be forgiven for being in a somewhat vindictive mood at the moment.

"My lady…"

"I see pregnancy has done much for your charming disposition, my love," the statement was drawled in a distinctive baritone as the target of her vengeful thoughts stepped into view behind the crew member. Nakago nodded to the other man, "That will be all, you may return to your duties."

"Yes sir!" With a respectful bow to his superior, the crewman beat a hasty retreat.

Nakago regarded her impassively, "You are upset about what people think of you," he said without preamble. And as usual, his observation was unnervingly accurate.

Miaka aimed an aggrieved stare at the future love-of-her-life, "Aren't you? The whole of Kutou thinks we're having an affair! Don't you have a reputation of unfeeling ruthlessness or something to uphold?" Not waiting for an answer, she bit aggressively into one of the rice dumplings.

He merely lifted a blonde eyebrow, the glacial silver-blue of his eyes glinting with suppressed amusement. "On the contrary, my association with you has done wonders for my reputation. I am now seen as highly virile for allegedly impregnating you and an honourable man for taking responsibility for it."

It took her a long moment to realise that her mouth was hanging open, displaying an unattractive view of half-chewed rice and meat. Snapping her mouth shut, she swallowed the food before demanding, "Wha-…What do you mean "taking responsibility"? There was no way that her bald attempt to ignore the first part of his assertion went unnoticed; but under no circumstances was Miaka prepared to have a conversation with Nakago about his supposed virility, even if it killed her.

The shogun closed the distance between them, backing her up against the crates and bending over her, "You wear my personal livery, you sleep in my quarters and attend me in the bath…In the eyes of everyone, you are my woman and my responsibility. No one would think it strange if they chanced upon us together, or if…" his lips were right next to her ear as his voice dropped into a lower, more intimate register, "…They caught sight of me ravishing you."

Once upon a time, such blatant innuendo from the most dangerous opposing seishi in the Universe of the Four Gods would have intimidated her. However, she now had the benefit of being married to said arch-nemesis, and was well aware of the game he was playing, "Try that and you will find yourself choking on a rice dumpling", she murmured sweetly, "Deadly things, these dumplings! People choke to death on them all the time."

A corner of his mouth quirked sardonically. If he was put out by his failure to throw her off-kilter, he certainly did not show it. He pulled back, out of her personal space, and half-turned towards the railing to look out over the water, "One day, Yuuki. You will not always have potentially dangerous food readily on hand."

Humming non-committally, Miaka chose not to comment as she focused on finishing off her lunch. She became aware of the flurry of activity on the main deck, and saw that they seemed to be quickly approaching a harbour on the opposite side of the lake. "Why did you drag me all the way out here anyway?" she finally asked, putting the tray carefully aside and turning the empty teacup upside down so that it would not topple over.

"Did I neglect to mention that this was your idea?"

Miaka wondered how she could have possibly forgotten how truly aggravating her husband's past self could be even when he wasn't trying to murder her and her seishi. "NANI? How on earth could this have been my idea?!" She pointed at him, then waved her hand to broadly encompass the other warships in the armada, "You're the military leader here, Shogun-sama, not me…and this is a military operation!"

The slow smirk that curved across his perfectly chiselled features made the hair on the back of her neck stand on end with an electric mixture of foreboding and unwilling arousal. Blasted hormones! Down girl, he's not the man you love. Not yet, anyway…

"Perhaps you recall moving a few of the model soldier figurines and putting them on a boat folded out of paper in my study one night?" He watched as the guilty realisation dawned on her, similar to that of a child being caught with their hand in the proverbial cookie jar. "That's right, you're here to visit the troops that you reassigned to train on marine manoeuvres."

Notes:

1) First off, I once again apologise for being almost 3 years late with chapter...Does anyone actually read FY fanfiction anymore? Real life came straight out of left field and hit me with everything it had, and for the better part of the last 3 years, I had neither the time nor the inspiration to write anything for this story despite it having a very special place in my heart. After so long, I hope my writing does not disappoint.

2) As you might have guessed, the recurring motif for this chapter is water. Actually, that's just a sneaky, artistic way of saying that...I really wanted to write about Nakago and Miaka in a hot spring.

3) Miaka's mischievous actions arising out of boredom when she was waiting for Nakago in his quarters back in Chapter 5 come back to haunt her! I deliberately dropped that easter egg in there with the intent that the last scene of this chapter would be the outcome of that action. Nakago had absolutely no intention of letting her get away with it, and was out to punish her knowing that she would likely be seasick because of her pregnancy. He is still very much the coldly calculating shogun with decidedly grey morals that we know and love from the anime series. Luckily, Miaka is now much better equipped to handle him (being married to his reincarnated self certainly helps) and they seem to have settled into some sort of bickering truce.

4) I have a headcanon that the colours black and blue form Nakago's personal livery, which no one else is allowed to wear within the palace unless given express permission by Nakago. When he poisoned Tamahome with Kodoku in the anime series, Tama appeared dressed in those colours (black clothes tied with a blue sash) while under Nakago's command. I had Nakago wear those colours in Chapter 4 when having dinner with Miaka, and the "maid" outfit that he has Miaka put on are also along the same theme. It is an open declaration of ownership, so unbeknownst to her, our dear heroine has been as good as walking around with a signboard with the words: PROPERTY OF NAKAGO.