“I’m sorry, I think the blow to the head made my hearing go a little funny, you what?”

“I want you to marry me.”

“I think I need more tea…” Izue poured herself another cup and downed it. Sou sat in awkward silence. Not exactly how he envisioned his marriage proposal to go down, but nothing he could do about that now.

“I don’t want to seem rude or anything, but why?”

“You said it yourself. We’re a good match. It will also allow your father to remain here safely as daimyo. An attack on your father’s lands is an attack on Yashiro lands.”

“And it’s not like we’ve had an influx of suitors, dear,” Kuniaki interjected. Izue cast her father an angry glance. “You’re not going to find a better offer than this.”

Izue sat in silence. Kuniaki turned back to Sou. “There’s nothing more important to me in this world than my daughter. All of this-” he spread his arms around, indicating the room “-was for her. To give her the best possible life I could give her. To give her the life I never had. My parents were poor. Don’t get me wrong, I had a nice enough childhood and they showered me with affection, but we never had money. I spent many a day and night going hungry, wondering where the next meal might come from. My father was also a merchant, but not a terribly good one. He was killed by a passing samurai one day, for no reason at all. Just wanted to test out his shiny new sword, I suppose. But we found his body lying in the side of the street, a single slash opening him up from neck to hip. He bled out on the side of the road and not a single person stopped to help him.”

“I’m sorry to hear that,” Sou replied. It wasn’t uncommon of samurai even today to strike down peasants just for the hell of it. Kuniaki gave a small, sad smile.

“It’s okay, it was a long time ago. But not long after that my mother also passed. Heartbreak, I think. I took over my father’s business and did my best with what I learnt from him, and discovered that I was far better at talking to people than he was. In time I started to build a base of wealth and I met Izue’s mother. It was love at first sight.” He stopped and looked at Izue with the eyes of a doting father. “She was the world to me, at least until this little one was born. I didn’t think it was possible to love another human being so much, but the first time I laid eyes on her I knew it was true. I would die for her, and I would do absolutely anything to protect her.”

“Father…”

“But the day of my greatest joy was also the day of my greatest loss,” Kuniaki continued. “My wife died in childbirth. She never even got to see her baby before she passed… and I swore to myself, then and there, that my daughter would not have the same life I had. She would not go hungry, she would not find her father lying dead on the side of the road, just another anonymous corpse. I built my trade empire, I made the right connections, I assembled my army and I destroyed all who stood in my way. You can accept your lot in life, or you can choose to do something about it. I chose to give my daughter the best life I could possibly give her, and now that extends to you, my son. I’ve done all I can for her, but you, you can give her a happiness that I never could.”

Sou didn’t know what to say. It was an impressive story, to be sure. He could most certainly understand the feeling of wanting to do whatever it took to protect those he loved. He thought of Yuki, and hoped that she was doing well.

“You are a remarkable man, sir,” Sou began. “It it a pity we had to meet under such circumstances, but nevertheless, I am glad we met.”

Kuniaki waved his words away. “I have no regrets, my son, for if we hadn’t met like this then who’s to say what the future would have had in store for me and my daughter. Now it’s more secure than it’s ever been, and that’s all I wanted. What’s a little loss of power compared to that? Power is useless unless you have a reason to need it, son. Remember that. Power just for power’s sake is a good way to quickly lose everything you’ve worked so hard to gain. A smart man knows when to give and when to take.”

Sou looked over at Izue. The so-called witch. The woman who single-handedly nearly destroyed his army, not just once but several times. The woman who had constantly given them the run around, who had nearly killed Toshio, who had nearly cut him into tiny pieces in the forest, who had threatened Ayane and done all in her power to bring him down. She was smart, resourceful and skilled. He found that even through her attempts on his life and those of his men that he admired her. Respected her. Was he not here trying to do the same thing? War was war, but enemies were not forever. His grandfather had told him that when he was just a small boy. Find good people. Bring them to your side. A good leader has many enemies but even more allies. A great leader turns those enemies into his allies.

Izue and her father were two of those people. She was an incredible woman, his heart could not deny that.

“I’m looking forward to meeting your father,” Izue finally said, drawing his attention back to the room.

Sou smiled. So was he

.

At that moment Riko came barging into the room, her eyes wide with fear.

“Riko? What is it, did you find Toshio?”

She shook her head, trying to catch her breath.

“We just had a messenger, my lord. It’s about your father…”

Sou’s back straighted.

“What is it?”

“Your father, Sou… he’s dead.”