Sword Dance

S A Y A K A

Despite her long list of daily tasks at court, from overseeing the morning drills of the guardsmen, to standing watch over the morning judiciary proceedings at the Shogun’s palace, Sayaka often found the time of an afternoon for a walk through the city between her other duties. It was important to see, and be seen, by the regular patrons of the shops and businesses that called the capital their home. And it provided her a much needed excuse to stretch her legs after alternately standing still, and sitting still for the majority of the morning. The afternoon council sessions and – by necessity – tutoring of the young monarch, had a tendency to draw on for far longer than her usual patience could allow for, and by the end of a given day she was grateful for the release that the jog back to Iwato provided.

With the grey and dismal weather there hadn’t been much call of late for evening entertainments that would hold her in the capital until well into the night. She silently thanked the mountain for the predictable trend of the season. Staying at her shogun’s side, when her long-absent husband-to-be was waiting for her at home would be an excruciating exercise in self control. She wondered how he was faring with her grandfather without her there to ensure that the old man didn’t fall back on his old habits of scolding the man for trifles. Raigar wasn’t a junior ranked apprentice anymore, but a powerful and intelligent man in his own right. She sighed, acknowledging to herself that it wouldn’t matter how esteemed he was now. To her grandfather, her beloved would always be the half-starved sun-stroked foundling he was when he’d first entered the village. Sayaka smiled at the memory, and how it inevitably lead to far more pleasing memories of his tentative hands clasping her waist, and their first furtive kisses.

At first he’d been something of a dare for herself, not just indulging in a forbidden dalliance with a fellow student, but with an outlander as well. But he had been so earnest. Unlike so many others, hadn’t viewed her as a trophy, or a conquest, but seemed to genuinely marvel at her each time she allowed his touch. He’d told her he loved her; _her_, not the champion’s daughter, not the village prodigy, or the school’s star pupil, but _Sayaka_. He alone would encourage her to laugh when they were off alone in the woods, would hold her without teasing her later when she needed a shoulder to lean against. Raigar has let her be… herself.

Sayaka stepped under the shady porch of the city’s largest tea-house, nodding a greeting to the old woman beating her rugs on the railing adjacent in order to relax a moment.
She leaned against the porch railing, stretching her legs and smiling privately at the memory of her previous night. Strange to think that Raigar had held her in his arms and told her that she gave _him_ the gift of ‘self’, when really, in her mind, it was the other way completely. She would have never known herself in the first place without Raigar giving her the confidence to look. He’d found himself just fine without her help, Sayaka sighed, the best that could be said, honestly, was that she’d kept that part of him that he felt he’d been missing safely by. She’d kept it in trust for him, for when he was able to return and reclaim it. That counted for something, and was worthy of a little pride, but she doubted it balanced against the four hundred and eighty thousand gold pieces now hidden beneath her house. The audacity of such a fortune gave her a headache just thinking about it

She’d never known. Had never even considered that Raigar might be noble-born. That he might be as rich enough to _buy_ Iwato and everyone in it twice over, had just never seemed likely. Raigar was… Raigar. He’d arrived in the village with little other than his sword, and years later he’d left with much the same. Thinking back to the war, and what little she’d seen of him then, she couldn’t recall any hint of his prestige beyond her own. He’d been a captain, had men running at his beck and call, but no more than any military commander might. His uniform and cape were similar to the other knights camped outside her barricades. Certainly Raigar had never shown any of the arrogant self-righteousness of his younger brother. She shook her head, still amazed at the idea that two men might come from the same bloodline and yet be so diametrically opposed. How was it that one brother was the essence of everything right and good in a man, while the other represented everything petty and cruel? She did not know. Sayaka did not regret the scar she’d given the knight, nor the knowledge that he’d died by his brother’s hand. If a choice had to be made, which to keep and which to destroy, she knew which way her hand would have tipped. Better that Raigar survive, even with his nobility a little tarnished, than for Ooka to smoother his brother’s grace entirely. It was selfish perhaps. Sayaka acknowledged it. But as Raigar was the one she loved, she had a vested interest in seeing him be the one to overcome.

“Oh ho. Look who’s come ’round at last.” A mellow voice surprised her from the empty teahouse at her back. Sayaka turned to see a very well endowed, and still sleepy courtesan leaning against the window frame nearest to her lounging spot. “Here I was starting to think you were avoiding me… I mean, in my position, I’d have thought I’d be hearing the news straight from the proverbial horse’s mouth, but no, I find out about the Lion’s return from my damned matron instead of from you! For shame Sayaka. Shame! I thought we were friends!”

Nami was an old friend, despite their vastly different lifestyles and social positions. As such, Sayaka didn’t feel at all offended by the teasing pout the girl favored her with. Nami’s look turned sly as she rested her cheek against her folded arms.

“Then again, maybe you were too busy with your man to even remember poor old me.” Her knowing laughter made Sayaka’s cheeks pink in spite of her best efforts to maintain a professional demeanor.

“I’m sure I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Sayaka murmured, glancing around her to see if there were any lurkers within the distance who’d overhear. “He only just arrived a few days ago. What do you think I could possibly accomplish by then?”

Nami laughed again, “Sweetheart, I charge by the hour, and my men get their money’s worth, if you know what I mean. Don’t you go telling me you’ve had three days with your giant lover and you still haven’t made a move yet.”

“We’ve been… spending time together.” Sayaka agreed cautiously.

“Have you kissed him yet?” Her friend asked drolly. Sayaka nodded biting her lip. “More than once?”

“We’ve held each other twice now…” She confessed slowly, “I… I took his shirt off the other night.”

“Woo. You wild thing you.” Nami cheered lazily. “And how did you like it?”

“I liked it very much.”

Nami was suddenly at her side, arm draped around her shoulder, face held close to hers to make any confidences she shared easier to bear. “In that case, why the long-face, Sayaka? I’d have thought you’d be skipping along the rooftops by now. This is what you wanted, isn’t it? He was crazy enough to come back to you even knowing how much everyone would be glaring at him…? He must really love you.”

“I’m- I_am_ happy… it’s just that I’m afraid too.” Sayaka smiled at her friend’s look of surprise, certain that Nami had never expected to hear her utter such words in her lifetime. “He’s petitioning the village today for permission to stay, and for us to wed. If they say no, then certainly grandfather and I will work on them, and win out in the end, but there will be hard feelings. I worry they will blame him for my stubborn preference. Then there is the court! I cannot see how it will be that they will not say ‘no’… but there I have very little clout at all, and none at all as regards to Raigar.”

“No clout?” The woman beside her raised a doubting eyebrow. “Girl you have the ear of the Shogun himself.”

“Who is yet but a child and partially ruled over by the rest of the council.” She pointed out gently. “I would not wish to put him in a compromised position by showing me favoritism.”

“Allowing an honorable samurai the right to marry a man who, rumor has it, recently saved the world certain doom at the hand of the Queen of Ice? It doesn’t strike me particularly as pandering to an idle whim.” Nami disagreed dryly. “Damn. If he’s not worthy of you, I’d like to see who they think _is_! Until the great Buddah comes down from his lotus-throne in Nirvana and declares his intention to marry you, I don’t think your lover has all that much competition. Besides, he’s a good height for you.”

Sayaka laughed at the courtesan’s blunt opinion. “They would wish for me to marry someone from Kyoto City, at least. I think they’d be fine with a less worthy applicant so long as he came from a good family.”

“Damned old men and their damned prejudices about bloodlines.” The woman rolled her eyes, well familiar with the lingering isolationist tendencies within the noble houses, especially given her own background. “They like the money that outsiders bring, but god don’t let a daughter or son dare like more than that.” Slouching artfully against the railing next to Sayaka, her friend grinned broadly, “You know the way to counter that, don’t you?”

Sayaka blinked in confusion, shaking her head in negation.

“Girl, I know they say you’re like the most enviable woman in the city, but at times I think you really have taken one to many knocks to the head.” Twisting against the banister, Nami rested her elbows on it, not caring that her loose robe was revealing more than entirely proper to anyone walking past. Free advertising for the less wholesome services offered by the business, Sayaka told herself with a shrug. She felt a variety of curious looks turned her way as well, but paid them no mind. She’d been friends with Nami for far too long now for someone to come along pointing fingers and hissing about propriety. The woman in question reached out and flicked her ear, forcing her to pay attention. “You’re like… one of the best samurai your family has ever produced. Right?”

Sayaka shrugged, not liking to think of herself in such grandiose terms.

“Everyone thinks it.” Nami pointed out prosaically. “And whatever they think of _him_, it’s pretty clear he’s _freakishly_ powerful. Even I can tell he’s like a human war-golem, and what I know about fighting can fit in a thimble. So common sense states, that if you and he were to, you know, be fruitful and multiply. Your kids would be frickin’ titans. They’d be the envy of every warrior in the world!”

Pressing her hands to her cheeks to hide her sudden blush, Sayaka closed her eyes, willing herself to not give the matter too much thought. It wasn’t that the notion hadn’t occurred to her, especially in the wake of the news that Raigar _had_ prevailed against the unified might of the devil golems. The idea that the man she loved truly was able to stand up against gods, and _win_, only added to his long list of attractive qualities.

But the thought that the half the city that didn’t disapprove of him on general principles was already laying bets on the potency of their mingled lineage… that they were speculating on the nature of the children Raigar would quicken within her was simply too much. She’d never be able to meet someone’s eye again without wondering if they were thinking about her lying with her lover. And thinking about _that_ would fluster her beyond recovery.

Sayaka was already uncertain of how she’d manage to get through the upcoming months of pre-marital politics without doing something scandal-causing with the man living as a guest in her house. It seemed any time they were alone together for more than a few minutes, she couldn’t resist the urge to touch him, to kiss him, to have his arms wrapped tightly around her. Even then it wasn’t enough, for each small impropriety she allowed herself led to wanting to take further steps. Touching his face left her wanting to touch his chest. Touching that made her want to explore still further. Even as he’d dozed exhaustedly in her bathhouse, she’d found it hard to not look for a moment before waking him. Warmth settling into the pit of her stomach at the sight of his tightly muscled body curled beneath the bathwater.

Perhaps for Nami the sight of a naked man was grown dull with repetition, but for her? She bit her lip. She desperately wanted to see Raigar’s well defined shape again, touch it, taste it. And in turn he would touch her as he seemingly wanted to, his large hands beneath her clothes, mapping the textures of her body. She’d had such dreams about him lately, too embarrassing to admit to anyone, even Nami.

Taking a breath to distract herself from the far too pleasant memory of his body pressed against hers the night before, Sayaka schooled her voice and face into a measure of calm. “I’d be lying if I said the thought hadn’t occurred to me as well.” She sighed, forcing herself to be realistic about the whole affair. “But that may not be enough to lure those who lost sons ten years ago to my aid in this matter. They will call me a traitor to the city, if I marry him. They already are telling each other that he has somehow seduced me, or compelled me into this match. That I am a failed champion…”

“If they said that shit out in the open, they’d cause a riot as people stood up to defend you.” Nami slapped her palm against the wooden railing. “Bitter, sallow faced, sexless bastards don’t deserve to ruin the happiness of people who actually want to look to the future and find something worth living for. It’d serve them right if you flat-out-resigned your commission, just walked away with your man-mountain and never looked back. They don’t know how good they’ve had it with you all these years. You’ve been way too accommodating of their sulks.”

“Maybe so.” Sayaka nodded. “But I do not want to give up my post… For the first time in years I feel as though I am doing something worthwhile. The new Shogun has such promise, is so genuine in his interest in the city, and the people. I want to do all I can for him to ensure he becomes the man I feel he must be, if allowed to grow at his own pace. He truly has the makings of a great Shogun… I just… want Raigar too.” She toyed with her hands feeling as defeated as she ever had. “It’s too much to ask, I suppose.”

“If compelled to choose, could you honestly turn your back on a man who’s already waited more than ten years for you?” Nami stared at her, incredulous. “Girl, you’re mentally damaged. You really are.”

“What would you have me do?” Sayaka stared at her friend in frustration. “Give up my home? Give up everything I am, and run away with him? Where would we go? How would we live? He has no intention, he’s told me, of going back to London City. He… he’s severed all ties with that place, in coming here….”

“…And you imagine, that after doing _that_, he’s going to take no for an answer from you?” Her friend asked her grimly. “God Sayaka you are such- I know you were raised conservatively, but even so, you have to see the truth of things. There are times when you need to be a dutiful daughter, sure, but you’re forgetting you’re also a samurai. You’ve _killed_ men who’ve gotten in your way before now, and you will again! You want something? You _take_ it. Apologize later if you have to, but for once just stand up for yourself, will you? You know you’re right. You know they’re wrong. The only power they have over you is what you let them have.” The courtesan pushed herself to her feet and folded her arms across her chest. “So don’t let them have it.”

Sayaka blinked at the scolding, surprised to hear her friend echoing something that Raigar himself had told her, more gently, not so long ago. Nami was right, of course. If Raigar was willing to give up all he was, and all he had, in order to come to be with her, how big of a fool would she be to not be willing to do the same for him? She felt like a coward for how she’d been acting. She would not be ashamed of loving him, she resolved. Never again would she let herself feel that she was doing something dishonorable in marrying outside her tribe. Somehow the resolution made her feel better, a weight on her shoulders shifting, her guilt transforming into a low buzz of anger. “Thank you, Nami. I think… I needed that.”

“Good,” her friend sighed. “Because my next attempt to get through that thick skull of yours would have involved slapping you, and I don’t think that’d have gone particularly well for either of us.” The tea-house girl grinned weakly. “You’d likely just hit me back… And you hit a lot harder than I do.”

Sayaka nodded with a small smile. “It is rather my particular specialty. You have your skills, I have mine. Brawling, I’m afraid rather falls into my territory.”

“And yet I think I may have the upper hand on you for a while to come.” Nami chuckled throatily. “Because I’m willing to place a tidy bet that in the near future you’ll be wishing you’d paid more attention to _my_ particular area of study.”

Blushing, she refused to rise to the bait. Undoubtedly the courtesan would know _exactly_ what to do with a man such as Raigar. How best to please him as a wife should. Sayaka knew she was probably going to fumble and embarrass herself further with him if they continued as they were doing. Honestly, past the relatively innocent kissing and caresses they were already indulging in, she knew only theory of the rest. In this too, she was resolved to stop being a coward, and to that goal she drew a steadying breath. “Speaking of that. I was wondering if I could beg your opinion on a thing… How far would be acceptable, do you think, for a woman to go with a man whom she plans to marry soon, but, not immediately?”

“Excuse me?” Her friend laughed out loud. Reaching out to take her by the hand, Nami pulled her into the tea house and up the stairs, “This conversation has just gotten controversial enough that I think we need some privacy, dearest. You have time before you have to be back at the palace, right?”

“R-right.” Sayaka tripped up the shadowy stairs, and tried to walk softly past the rooms where the other girls were undoubtedly still sleeping after a long night with customers. “I mean. I know grandfather would be appalled to know we have even gone so far as we have… but, I know he’s rather-”

“Hopelessly behind the times?” Nami agreed playfully, gesturing that Sayaka could sit at the low table as she closed the door and fussed around her room, putting away various clutter to make the space more comfortable. “Honestly, girl, if I were you? I wouldn’t waste time with preliminaries.” Settling down on the cushion across from her, the courtesan gave her a considering look. “It seems to me, that if you’re determined to have him to husband, and soon, the best thing for it might be to forget propriety all together.”

“What?” Sayaka could feel her blush again, wondering if she’d ever manage to survive a conversation in the upcoming weeks without feeling her face grow hot. Between Raigar’s gentle teasing, and Nami’s bold-faced declarations, she didn’t know when she’d last had so many scandalous conversations in a row. “You mean I should-”

“I think if you’re serious about not letting the old farts at court, or anyone else, get in your way? You might as well do what girls in your position have been doing for centuries.” Nami grinned wolfishly as she lounge against the table.

“Get him to give you a child, or even just spread it around that you _think_ he’s given you a child, and you’ll be surprised how fast people will stop dithering and come to a decision.” The courtesan shrugged at Sayaka’s stunned expression. “Either they have to go announce to the city that you’ve done something so scandalous that it calls their judgment of your character into question, making not only you, but them look bad. Or they will have you hitched before you even start to show, and you get to sit back and laugh as they all jockey amongst themselves in boasting as to who was responsible for making the fabulous match in the first place.”

She shrugged. “Even if they come out against you, people are suckers for a love-story. The hard-asses’ll never be able to get anything truly malicious to stick. At worst you’ll have a month or two of crow to eat, but mark me if some far worse scandal doesn’t come to light by then and everyone forgets about yours. It always does.”

“He would never agree to that.” Sayaka found her voice at last. The idea that her friend would council her to do just what she was secretly yearning for, to give into the passion she felt every time Raigar touched her and just let her body have what it was craving, honor and virtue aside, was far too tempting. Only the thought of Raigar’s disapproving expression made her hesitant to try it. She was willing to weather a bit of scandal, if it meant that she could have him before the end of the year without all the never-ending intrigues of the court. But would he be willing to let her? Would he be willing to debase himself in such a way? His moral code was as inflexible as hers, in his way. She frowned. The idea of him deliberately taking her as a lover without due sanction from the city, and her grandfather, didn’t seem very likely. She sighed. It was probably impossible that she could persuade him to such a course of action. “He would say we should wait.”

“Then you should convince him otherwise.” Nami shrugged, not concerned. “You’ll soon learn, Sayaka, that even the most stoic of men’s decisions can often be overruled by their sword-of-flesh. You’ve mastered steel, there is no question, but if you master the _other_ sword… you’ll find that likely even your man-mountain will tremble and fall before you.”

“You mean I should…” Sayaka licked her lips. “Seduce him? But… I don’t know how…”

“You’re a pretty girl.” Nami rested her chin on her fist. “I don’t imagine it’ll take much. He enjoys holding you, right? Kissing you? Does he swell and stand when you’re close to him?”

“Uh, I…” She blushed again. “That is to say…”

“You are hopeless.” Her friend hid her eyes behind her hand in playful despair. “Ok. Stand up, clearly you need a crash course.” Circling the table when Sayaka gingerly did as she was told, Nami picked up her hands, settling them on her shoulders and then stepping even closer to her, bringing their bodies together. Sayaka blushed again, not that she thought for a minute her friend was trying to do anything scandalous to her, but at the predicament she found herself in.

“Pretend I’m like… two feet taller, and an utter stud for a second, alright? Now, you’re doing your ‘oh Raigar!’ thing, which I’m sure is adorable. But tell me, where are _his_ hands?” The woman settled her hands on Sayaka’s back, tucking her into a close embrace. “Here?”

“Sometimes.” Sayaka couldn’t help but laugh a little. Taller than her friend by a fair margin, it was very hard to pretend it was Raigar in her arms.

“Here?” Nami’s hands cupped her waist, thumbs moving against her armored uniform in pretend intimacy. Sliding lower still, she made Sayaka jump by grabbing possessively at her hips, pulling their bodies together with blatant sexuality. “How about this?”

“Um. Maybe not as far as that…” She couldn’t remember honestly, the feel of his hands on her was so good she couldn’t really say what he had and hadn’t done. “He likes to slide his hands along my back.” She shrugged a little, feeling her blush again. “Once he took my jacket off in order to better feel me, but nothing more scandalous than that.”

“Hmmm, well he’s got willpower, but we could have guessed that.” The courtesan sighed. Reaching between them, she made a fist and pressed it against Sayaka’s upper thigh, causing her to jump and try to pull away. “You ever feel a hardness _here_ when he’s petting you?” On seeing her nod and blush the woman smirked. “He ever rub it against you… sort of gentle like? Like he’s trying not to but he can’t help himself?”

“I don’t think so…” Sayaka bit her lip, not so ignorant of male anatomy that she didn’t know what her friend was referring to. “Is that what you meant by his ‘standing’?”

“When a man wants a woman as badly as I think yours does you, his body will seek her out given opportunity.” Nami agreed stepping back to give her a considering look. “Especially when encouraged. His dick will swell and grow sensitive to the touch, it will attempt to stand up against his body, in order to better reach yours. Whether he admits it or not, he wants to feel you pressed against him there. He wants to rub it first against you, then into you. It’s just how men operate. Even the most honorable and abstinent monks will feel it. They’ve just learned to control the urge by ignoring it, similar I’m told to how samurai are taught to ignore pain.”

Sayaka sat down slowly, mind taking on the lewd but very helpful information. “He always pushes me away, if we remain close too long. I too, have felt that it was best, to let go, to put space between us when I felt… weak.”

“That’s a good sign.” Her friend wandered over to her storage chests, opening one to fish around in side. “That means he isn’t nearly as immune to your presence as he’d probably like to be. He’s pushing you away for the same reason you’ve been. He’s worried he’ll forget honor and lay claim to you as if you were in _my_ line, and not his future wife.”

Pulling a small box from her carefully folded clothing, she waggled it cheerfully and came back to the table. “Normally, I’d applaud the guy for having some self control and wanting to do right by his girl, but in this case? Well. It’s up to you, but I’d guess that if you just kept at him for a little longer, not let him pull away, you’d find yourself on far more intimate terms with your lover than you are currently.”

“By rubbing against him?” Sayaka sought to clarify. “He wouldn’t be offended?”

“Maybe, later, after the haze of lust wears off, but certainly not during the act itself.” Nami shrugged. “Do try and get his pants off before things go too far, Sayaka, not much he can do for you on the ‘let’s have kids’ front with those on. So yeah, just, rub your hips together a little. Then strip those absurdly tight trousers off of him while he’s distracted, and rub against him a little more… and then… well, do what comes naturally. At that point I think He’ll be more than happy to show you in detail how it is a man comes to impart his seed to a woman. Just don’t rub too much before then or he’ll spill too soon, and you’ll have to start all over again after he cools off.”

“I don’t want to make him angry with me.” Sayaka shook her head. “That would be no way to start a marriage.”

“Your best bet of having a marriage at all is to have him sheath that sword of his in you. As early and as often as possible.” Nami disagreed. “If he does get sore at you for forcing the issue, I promise he won’t stay that way for long. Just rub against him a little more, he’ll come around pretty quick.”

“Maybe it’s best to wait after all.” She twisted her fingers together suddenly uncertain of the plan. All she’d really wanted to know was some trick for touching him that he’d enjoy, a way to make their random moments of intimacy more pleasurable. She wanted to do something for him in apology for his having to wait so long for her. But she wasn’t certain she was ready for the rest, or that he’d find it appropriate for her to act in such a bold manner. “I’m sorry I wasted your time. I should go back to court.”

“Coward.” Nami teased her gently, pushing the box across the table. “Take this, at any rate. Incase you change your mind.”

Sayaka picked up the box, and sniffed at it, the sharp fragrance making her frown. “What is it?”

“Tea.” The courtesan’s eyes were wide with false-innocence. “It’s very _encouraging_ tea though, so make sure you don’t give it to grandpa by mistake. Just a little goes a long way. But should you think, well, that you could use a little encouragement. Brew a small pot and give him a cup or two. Have one yourself, it won’t do any harm, but it’s mostly meant for him.” Nami smirked. “Get a little tea in him and you might be surprised at how willing he is to let you polish his sword.”

“Alternately, you could just bring him here with you one of these days.” Nami winked lewdly. “I’ll show you all kinds of things to do to him that he’ll enjoy, and heck, I’ll even give a discount, especially if you let me help you make him relaxed and comfortable.”

“Nami!” Sayaka pressed her hands to her face again, astounded by the offer. “He would _definitely_ not go for that!”

“You’d be surprised.” Her friend shrugged with a playful smile. “Most men are ok with sharing… so long as it’s the women doing the sharing. He might really enjoy the idea of having both you and a your friend at the same time, with a guy that big? I wager there’s plenty to go around.”

“You’re a terrible woman and I refuse to even think about it.” Sayaka stood up, tucking the box of tea into her obi with only minor misgivings. Nami was right, she didn’t have to use it, and if she wanted to, it was there. “I’ll return your ‘tea’ if I don’t end up using it.” She managed to distract herself with the mundane.

“If you need more advice on things to try… if you get bored with just rubbing for instance…” The tea-room girl picked up a fan and started cooling herself with it. “Send me a note, and I’ll see what I can do to set up a proper tutorial for you.”

“Now you’re deliberately _trying_ to make me blush.” Sayaka scolded softly, smoothing her hair and checking over her uniform to make sure she was suitable for court. “I’ll be in touch.”

“You know where I live.” Nami agreed mildly. “Good luck, sweetheart. And don’t worry so much. Laying with men can be really fun. If it wasn’t I’d have talked some codger into making me an offer years ago.”

“You’re still holding out for that blacksmith of yours.” Sayaka disagreed, knowing of her friend’s secret love-affair. “How much longer do you think, before he can buy you out of here and make an honest woman of you?”

“Oh I could buy myself out at any point.” Nami surprised her with the pragmatic disclosure. “I’ve been saving pretty much since I started at the tea-house, and I’ve got a tidy bundle amassed with the money lenders. “I just haven’t yet because I don’t want him to think that he hasn’t earned me, is all. He’s a proud man.”

“So you’re going to have him work himself to death to amass fortune enough to buy you… then what. Give it all back to him?” Sayaka laughed at the odd plan. “Wouldn’t you rather marry sooner and enjoy more time with him?”

“You do things your way, girl, let me do things mine.” Her friend waved her towards the door with her fan. “I don’t need novices providing me advice on _my_ love life. Keep it up and I’ll be obliged to come to your dojo and heckle your swordsmanship.”

“A hundred apologies, Nami,” Sayaka bowed to her friend. “I will take your good advice to heart.”

“Let me know how it works out.” Nami agreed, lazily sprawling backwards against her floor mats with a grin. “I’m curious to know if his flesh_sword is as awesome as the one he had slung over his shoulder last time he came. Take a measurement for me when he’s distracted, will you?”

“Terrible woman!” Sayaka gasped and shut the door against further outrageous demands. Walking quickly down the stairs and back out into the crowded street, she pinched her arm as hard as she could to give her something else to think about than how large her beloved’s ‘other sword’ was, and how it would feel inside her. Remembering the way Raigar had winced and hurried his friends out of Iwato after defeating the Earth King, she had to smile. If he’d felt anywhere as uncomfortable then about their teasing him regards to kissing her goodbye as she did now, she felt a deep sympathy for him.