The figure behind the screens was silent.

The Empress nods. "Good, then. Go on, make it happen."

Hantei Retsuhime fixed Yasuki Ryoichi with a glare.

"Kid. I am the Empress, and I told you to go do something. Are you really going to ask me whether a bunch of sticks thinks it's a good idea?"

A hush falls on the room.

Finally, the Empress grunts. "Yeah, I think so. You can't kill him, though, and I don't want him maimed."

Retsuhime grinned. "I don't know, maybe that just means he's smart."

So far, Sayomi had been quiet as she bowed and listened to the mission. Inside she felt a great turmoil mixed with excitement over this mission. Maybe this was an opportunity for the Lion to show they were not weak as the Empress had said... ... but what if something happened to the Empress while t...

"Ah. Well, he answers to the name Tatsuya. He'll look like those two statues had a baby." She gestures at some bric-a-brac, among which is a statue of Sadahako and another of Hantei Muhaki. "Should be a handsome guy, if in need of a bath. Middle aged."

We've a great deal to get through in 72 hours, so we're forging ahead. Players may understand that their characters have arrived prior to this post. The door to an inner chamber opens, and, supported by a servant, in hobbles the Empress. She looks a fright, face florid, eyes rheumy, but she does no...

--only to be silenced by a cough from the throne. A loud cough, and then the unsteady rise of the silhouette. "I've had enough." A cough. "Seppun-san, get your hand off that sword. We're above threats, here. I am sure that whoever made the original observation meant well, but we can all see this has...

It was then something that would go unrecorded occurred. Right in the middle of the talk of unity, the Daughter of Heaven began to cough great, wet coughs behind her screens The silhouette trembled, and then a sound emanated. No, it roared. It was long. It was loud. It was unapologetic. And, if the ...

The Empress nodded. This had been an unwelcome wrinkle, but there was nothing else for it. They had come to the hinge of fate, and, together, they had chosen to surrender to its pull.

/scene.

Retsuhime laughed. "You would never have said that before, just as I cannot say it now." The mirth receded from her features. "Doesn't make it untrue." A pause. "We're doing him no favors, but he's got the right to suffer with the rest of us."

She raised an eyebrow. "You sure you want Tatsuya in on that action, then? He'll only have it worse."

"Serves him right. I heard he pulled the same trick on poor Gorobei this morning. I think they really do mean to keep him locked up in his room all winter." She shook her head in exasperation.

The Empress accepted with a nod of thanks, popping it in her mouth. The sound of it rattling against her teeth as she sucked filled the silence.

"You've got my" *COUGH* "authority to do so. I'll have Tooru get you some papers." She adjusted in her chair. "Not that I give a shit after what he pulled, but Lord Ikoma is going to be a little miffed at this." She started to giggle, which turned into a coughing fit. "Serves him right."

"The hour is late. And the wave-people are everywhere. Have you got a bead on this...what's his name?, or am I going to have to call that up-jumped thug in here to get a report from her oh-so-secret snitch list?"

Retsuhime frowned, trying to...oh. "Oh." A pause as she tamped down the passions that threatened to spill over. "Anyone I know?" she asked through tight teeth.

Retsuhime sighed. "Ah, I see, and here I thought you were here to offer comfort, but now you're a monk you've got to throw wisdom in there too. I see how it is. Well, what have you learned?"

She shrugs, a bad habit from her youth. "I'm not. I've led a good life. I've held this thing together. Rewarded the virtuous; punished the wicked. If Lady Sun is pissed at me, we'll hash it out in a little bit. This mess is as much her will as mine, anyway." She shifted in her chair. "No use being d...