"Hai!" I answered and rushed to meet her waiting arms.

"Look at you, so sweaty!" she wiped my face with a piece of cloth. "Where is Kan-chan?"

I looked around before pointing at the direction of the turtle garden. "He's probably still out hunting for Noriko-san's gift."

"That mischievous cat!" she laughed before continuing in a lowered voice, "What did that woman do to you this time?"

"Oh, the usual," I replied as nonchalantly as I could. I didn't want to worry mother so I pretended that the cruelty I was experiencing in the inner palace didn't hurt me.

Mother's beautiful face crumpled into a frown. "My dear son, you don't have to hide anything from me," she pulled me into a hug before continuing, "I'm sorry I can't protect you all the time."

I bit my lower lip as I fought the tears that threatened to fall. I took a deep breath before answering her, "Okaasan, I'm fine. I really am."

"Always remember that although everyone around you is cruel, there will be people who will love and care for you with all their hearts. Your chichi and I love you more than anything in this world," she said comfortingly. "Forgive me for being powerless, mother is merely a concubine. She is nothing compared to the official wife."

"You have nothing to apologize for, mother."

She let go of me to look me in the eyes, "When the time comes and you become the shogun, promise mother that you will treat your wives equally. You have to make sure that they treat each other well, there should be no jealousy and compet.i.tion between them. Do not subject my future grandchildren into the kind of living environment you are currently experiencing. Promise me."

I furrowed my brows and shook my head. "I won't have to promise you because I will only have one wife. I will make sure I love and treasure her the way mother has taught me."

She laughed and patted my head. "Alright. But if that doesn't become a reality, you'll have to remember what I said. No favorites, okay? Don't be like your father. In favoring us, we have incurred the wrath of the other wives and their children."

I slowly opened my eyes and rolled on my stomach. It had been a long time since I dreamt about mother, the last time was probably after the great fire killed her and almost everyone in the ooku. It was the eve of chichiue's return from the war in the south when a fire broke and nearly engulfed the entire castle. I ran as fast as I could and searched for her everywhere inside the inner palace but failed. In the end, only a handful of the maids as well as my two brothers and I survived the fire. Father died two years later with a broken and grieving heart.

"Mother, what is the meaning behind your visit?" I asked out loud. "Is this your way of reminding me of my promise?"

~~~

At exactly the second hour of the rabbit, I readied myself to formally start my day. While sipping my cup of tea, I listened as Taneyuki-san informed me of my schedule for the day.

"The northerners will arrive on the second division of the final hour of the snake, my lord," he said.

"Mmm," I nodded my head. "What about the woman?"

"She has been given The Room with A Secret as per your instruction," he informed me. "She is currently under the care of Ryuko-san."

"That's good," I emptied the contents of my cup and handed it over to him. "Give her a tour of the area, I'd like to do it myself but my hands are full."

"Who will a.s.sist you in your audience with the northerners, my lord?" the workaholic old man asked anxiously.

"Mugi will take your place for the time being," I told him. "You're the only man I can trust my women to be around with, you know that."

"Yes, and I am deeply honored to have your trust and confidence, tenka bito," he bowed at me.

"I leave everything to you," I tapped his shoulder and made my way towards the door that can only be opened inside the ooku.

~~~

After scanning the osuzu roka twice, my eyes narrowed when I didn't see the face I was looking for. I dismissed everyone with a wave of my hand; out of the corner of my eye I saw Ayaka looking at me with a questioning look. I ignored her and went to the room where the woman from last night was staying.

I slid the screen door open to see the wizened face of one of the castle's oldest servants staring at me apprehensively. She, along with the five other maids under her, went down on their knees to humbly pay their respects towards me.

"Where is she?" I asked. "Why were you not in the bell corridor earlier?"

"Kaname-sama, Lady Hinata is still asleep," Ryuko-san started to explain. "When we tried to wake her, she angrily told us to go away before going back to sleep."

I didn't say anything and just went to see her. True to Ryuko-san's words, the woman was indeed still asleep. I sat in one corner of the room to observe her. Her beautiful face was slightly covered by her hair as she slept on her stomach, the rise and fall of her back told me that she was not pretending to be dead to the world.

A few minutes later, she stirred and began to wake. She removed her blanket, sat up, and looked around. When I heard her sigh, I couldn't help but make my presence known.

"Saddened by something?"

When she saw me, her brows furrowed as if she was confused. She then got up, walked towards me, and cupped my face.

"It's you," she said, her face radiated with incredulity. She touched my cheekbones and jaw, claiming that she remembered them.

Grabbing both her hands, I asked, "Hmm? You remember? Tell me, what is it that you remember?"

"Your eyes, your face… Everything," she replied as if spellbound.

"Oh? Have we met before?" I tried to remember but failed.

"Yes, we first met in the bamboo forest. You gave me a tsubaki bloom."

I slowly pushed her to the floor and pinned her down. Things were getting interesting, I wanted to know what she'll say next. "What happened next?"

"I then removed your mask but I woke up."

Ha? "You woke up?" Where was she going with this?

"Yes," the woman frowned, obviously disappointed. "The second time, I was crying and you went to look for me in the same forest. You comforted me and then…"

There it was, the appealing blush that made her smooth skin glow. It took me my everything to stop myself from kissing her cheeks. "What happened next, Hinata?" I whispered in her ear. "I need to know, tell me."

"We…"

"Yes?"

"W-we kissed," she immediately hid her face in her hands.

It took me a while to understand what she just said. When her words clicked, I let go of her waist and laughed my head off. "We kissed? Woman, you have a very wild imagination!"

"But it's the truth!" she looked at me indignantly.

"If it is, then how come I don't remember meeting you?" the look on her face made me want to pounce at her, so I did. "Surely I won't be able to forget a beautiful face that easily."

"Ever since I came to j.a.pan, I've been having weird dreams! The ones with you in it are the craziest!" she swatted my hand off her chin as if my touch scalded her. "Even if it was just a dream, I'm sure the man I kissed was you!"

The words coming out of her mouth were so ridiculous I had to laugh again. "I have heard of women dreaming about me but none of them have admitted to it! I like your honesty, you are indeed an interesting woman!"

My laughter was interrupted by a pillow hitting me squarely on the face. I'd have commended her accuracy were I not offended by what she just did. "Did you forget why you're here?"

"I am to become your newest lady-in-waiting," she replied haughtily.

"And do you know what that means?" I couldn't wait to see how she'd react when she finds out what being mine entails.

"No."

I nearly cursed when she bit her lower lip, it completely caught me off guard. I am not some inexperienced adolescent, I shouted in my head. I willed myself to focus on the issue at hand. "The ladies-in-waiting under my care work as personal a.s.sistants who tend to my wardrobe, baths, and meals."

Her conceited front cracked. "I am to become a chambermaid?"

Oh, no. Why would I waste your beauty by a.s.signing you such tasks? "I can also appoint them as my concubines, consorts, or even as my official wife. I have an opening in my harem," I told her. "Are you interested in becoming my woman?"

She gaped at me. "A chambermaid does not have the right to sleep in a room as opulent as this. Your question is just for formality, is it not?"

I praised her intelligence once more, stood up, and offered her my hand. Unfortunately, she still needed some taming and ignored it. She then asked cautiously, "What if I don't want to be your woman?"

I was right, she needs to be tamed! I pretended to be unaffected. "Oh, that's simple. I can just accuse you of being the mastermind behind the kidnapping of my niece and have you beheaded."

She looked horrorstruck, her next words were basically telling me that I had no shame. I accused her of making me look like an evil person and, not waiting for her to rebut, I pulled her close. "Hinata, do you have any idea just how powerful I am?" I caught a whiff of her scented skin, I wanted to smell it better so I buried my nose on her neck. She grew stiff in my arms but I didn't care. "I am basically the king of all j.a.pan, the emperor and his family are beneath me. My every word and command is absolute. n.o.body can argue my decisions."

I kissed her neck, her skin was as soft as it looked. As she continued being unresponsive, it triggered a strong desire within me to possess her but I knew I had to restrain myself. "So what do you think?"

"I… I am yours," came her shaky answer.

Her words were what I needed to hear so I saw no other reason to continue pressuring her. As I walked back to my study, I traced the contours of my lips. The taste of her skin lingered in them, her scent was imprinted in my memory.

"Hahaue, is this why you visited me today? Have I finally found the woman I said I'll marry and treasure for the rest of my life?"