"We have had rather a bad run of it, Ko-ko-san," Keihime said, stroking the tiny creature who had become her friend over the past year. "But things are turning. The junior courtiers may despise us, but those who understand power are coming our way. We will be Empress yet, won't we, dearest? Yes we will! Yes we will!"

The little fellow looked up at her and burbled happily as she scritched his tummy.

There was a scratch at the door, and, after the call to enter, it opened to admit the Otomo Daimyo. He was holding a sheaf of papers, but his expression lightened considerably as he looked down at Ko-ko-san.

"What a cutie," he said quietly.

"He has been a great support to me, Tooru-san. He understands and withholds judgment."

"It is hard to imagine a truer friend," Tooru replied, moving just that much further into the room.

"But it seems you may have another. The latest from home." He tossed the sheaf on her desk.

Keihime kept one hand on her squirrel-buddy and began to leaf through pages with the other.

"Hm...My, Tooru-san, but you have..." her eyes widened almost as large as Ko-ko-san's. "A masterstroke. I think that you can be quite proud of this. But how did you manage?"

"It wasn't as difficult as it seems. Apparently, none of the younger siblings are quite pleased with their prospects after his eldest inherits. We considered approaching the second-born, but Munemitsu learned that he's got plans of his own in the works. It wouldn't have been impossible to persuade him, but the nature of his plan was a little less savory than we anticipated, and it's likely that we would have ended up regretting pursuing him. But where a first- and second-born are locked in a struggle, it's the third-born waiting in the wings that looks to others for assistance, and Seppun Anzai was no different than others in that regard. She thought it much better to have a chance to be Empress one day than to wait on either of her brothers for the rest of her life."

"People do rush to compromise when they are looking at opportunities lost," Keihime said. "And a little ambition never hurt anyone. A great deal, certainly, but a little bit is positively necessary."

She gathered Ko-ko-san close and rose. "Inform Anzai that we accept her offer and finalize the adoption papers as soon you can. It would have been nice to make the announcement before the end of court, but I suppose we can't have everything."

"Not everything, but you can have something very close to it." Tooru bowed, gathered up the papers, and made his exit.

Keihime acknowledged his bow with a nod, careful not to jostle Ko-ko-san.

"Mummy's going to be the Empress, Ko-ko-san," she said quietly, running her finger down his back. "Yes, she is. Yes, she is."