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A small twinge formed at the corner of her mouth as she remembered that she had yet to scold Kunou in regards to her excursion from the previous day.
Still, she had apologized once again to Ichigo, as well as thanked him, for having to escort her daughter back home. He had waved off her apology and gratitude, offhandedly commenting on having experience with young girls in the form of two sisters.
Two sisters he seemed quite fond of judging by how his eyes tinted in affection and reminiscence.
"Yasaka-hime," His voice tore her away from her thoughts and nearly caused her to miss a step.
The two of them had slowly begun to cross over a light wooden bridge over the pond within her private gardens. Both had come to a stop at the apex of the arch. "Ah," She turned to regard him. "My apologies, Ichigo-dono. I was lost in my thoughts."
"It's fine," He said with a cool dip of his head. "I just wanted to apologize again for Souji's absence this morning in breakfast."
"It is understandable," Yasaka gave a gracious smile as she looked him in the eyes. "Souji-dono had a prior engagement of his own. I believe that was his reason for coming to my city, no?"
Ichigo nodded his head affirmatively and then opened his mouth as if to say something but suddenly stopped himself. She regarded the hesitancy in his face curiously. "Is something the matter?"
"Well…" His lips downturned in a frown as his eyes flicked away from her own, to the ground, and then back to her. "You wouldn't happen to know what happened after I spoke with Amaterasu-sama last night?"
Yasaka's cheeks tinged slightly in pink as her chest tightened and the muscles in her stomach knotted quite uncomfortably.
"Because I can't seem to remember a single thing afterwards." He finished, breaking eye contact with her and looking fairly distressed.
She took a breath and then exhaled before allowing herself to speak. "I am afraid I have no recollection to the events post my Lady's descent." Even as she delivered the lie smoothly, she flinched inwardly. This would have been the ideal way to break into the topic of their abrupt marriage however, business before pleasure.
The trade negotiations between her government and the Underworld would be tremendously beneficial to her people and their economy if conducted properly. She couldn't jeopardize such an opportunity by playing what would be akin to coercive matrimony. With a blistering headache, she realized that dropping that particular bombshell would have to wait until the treaty was ironclad and signed.
She raised her chin even as she did the same to a single eyebrow. "Why? Did something untoward occur in the evening?"
He quickly refuted her query and said, "I was just curious as I woke up in a completely unfamiliar place with no idea of how I got there."
"Understandable," She chuckled quietly.
"Although," Here she gave Ichigo a rather significant look. "If anything did happen, I would say that Amaterasu-sama has been known to indulge in mischief every so often." She turned back around, smiling at the mismatched jumble of relief and concern on his expression.
She continued their walk and they passed through a gazebo that connected to another bridge over the dark waters.
A few minutes in silence passed, in which Yasaka immersed herself in the encircling sounds of her gardens. The plop of rare fish long since extinct in the human world sent ripples in the black water. The singing of birds that existed only in her personal retreat resonated through the air. The soft flutter of butterflies coloured in iridescent hues, audible to her sensitive and golden furred ears.
And most of all, the muffled steps behind her that echoed a leaden doom and contrasted so heavily with the abundant life energy around her.
"If you allow it, Ichigo-dono," She began on a light tone. "I would like to set up a meeting between myself and the Lords of your realm."
"You wish to speak with the Four?" She could hear the slight surprise in his voice.
"Perhaps not all of them," She said with a small shake of her head. "I realize that gathering all four of them would be difficult as they, no doubt, have numerous duties to attend to. However, I wish to set up a committee to go over the proposal that Kyoto has received from your government."
He walked into her line of sight and she saw him nod his head from the corner of her eyes. "I can inform Sirzechs-sama that you wish to meet and discuss terms. Do you have a set date in mind?"
She faced him, though her mind was deep in thought. Finally, she gave a single shake in the negative and said, "I do not. However, I would assume the swifter the more beneficial for both parties."
"I can make su-!" Ichigo blurred and struck out with his arm even as Yasaka tensed and her tails sprung from behind her.
She turned with furious eyes as she felt her tails pierce through flesh and soak themselves in blood. She saw Ichigo's hand firmly holding an arm that held a dagger, which was positioned to be driven into her. Three of her own golden weaves had ploughed themselves through her would be assailant, all of which were fatal wounds.
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