In the end, she didn't need to. While she was busy, Imari shifted to open her yukata, letting the front fall open. Kaede broke off from Imari's nipple as the cool air hit her at last, uncertain what to do. She didn't get a chance to ask, because Imari kissed her—hard—and she nearly shook to pieces as the comforting hand stroking along her stomach delved down to the juncture of her thighs, slipping beneath her fundoshi. Then the last barrier was gone, and there was nothing left to protect her.
The moment Imari's soft fingers closed around her and squeezed, Kaede went rigid. No one else had ever touched her there before. Her heartbeat dropped straight into Imari's palm, pounding there. But Imari didn't do anything else. She simply waited, searching Kaede's eyes for something.
"Is this okay?" Imari whispered. "You aren't breathing."
Kaede took in a lungful of air. She hadn't even realized she was short of breath. "Sorry. I just…"
"It's all right. You don't have to talk. Can I try something?"
Kaede chewed nervously at her lower lip. Her eyes flicked down between their bodies, taking in the sight of Imari's hand wrapped around her. The visual was enough to send another stab of desire deep into her belly. Wetness pearled at her tip, threatening to well over and spill onto the tops of Imari's fingers.
"Yes. I trust you."
Imari took Kaede's mouth in yet another slow, exploratory kiss, and once they both relaxed into it, she began to move her hand. She started at the top, drawing her thumb through the clear pool of wetness. Kaede's hips threatened to buck, and she managed to stop herself at the last minute. In a matter of seconds, Imari had found a spot that sent sparks shooting through Kaede’s entire body. More slippery heat spilled out, coating Imari's fingers, and Kaede would have been embarrassed if Imari hadn't groaned into her mouth at the exact same moment to show approval.
The extra slickness appeared to be what Imari was waiting for. She began to stroke, setting a slow tempo at first. Kaede had to break away from the kiss and gasp. The feeling of pressure was almost too intense, but she thought she might die if it stopped.
"Good?" Imari asked with a teasing lilt in her voice.
Kaede gave a jerking nod. She had sought relief with her own hand before, of course, but this was different. Imari touched her, toyed with her, showed her an entirely new way to feel. Kaede fought the instinct to buck with everything she had.
She didn't need to seek it out. Imari gave her exactly what she craved. Imari's hand began a steady sliding motion, drawing more pressure from the depths of Kaede's belly to throb through her. The fullness was unbearable, and soon she was groaning along with each pass of Imari's fist.
Part of her wanted to savor this new sensation forever, to enjoy the rush straight to her core, but her poor body couldn't handle something so intense for long. Far before she was ready, her stomach gave a powerful twitch, and the pounding ache within her exploded outward. She watched as she spilled onto Imari's hand, splashing over the tops of her fingers and running down her fist.
The matching wave of pleasure hit. The sweetness of release was enough to swallow her embarrassment, and Imari's lips swallowed her cries the same way. Kaede had no choice but to ride it out, to surrender to it and Imari as she gave everything she had. She leapt blindly, trusting Imari to catch her.
And catch her Imari did. Kaede was certain she had blacked out for a moment, because the next thing she remembered was Imari raining soft kisses on her face and murmuring sweet words. "Hey, it's all right," she breathed as Kaede let out a groan that was half-satisfaction, half-embarrassment. She had hoped to last a little longer, for Imari's benefit if not her own. "How did that feel?"
At last, Kaede was able to speak. "Amazing. You're amazing."
Imari laughed. "At least the hand I've got is good for something, huh?" Her hand slid down to the base and lower still, cupping the heaviness beneath. Kaede gave a jolt of surprise, crying out as more wetness she hadn't known she possessed spilled free.
Once the last waves passed, Kaede laughed. "Sorry," she mumbled sheepishly, burying her face in Imari's warm, sweet-smelling shoulder.
Imari's other arm wrapped around her, and she held Kaede in the crook of her elbow. "Don't be sorry," she said, still squeezing gently with her hand. "It was a pleasant surprise."
Kaede suddenly realized she could feel Imari's rapid heartbeat as well as the stiff points of her nipples. A different kind of excitement welled within her—an eagerness to learn and explore, to make Imari feel wonderful. "My turn?" she asked, raising her head to give Imari a hopeful look.
"I insist," Imari purred. The last of her tears were gone, and a look of hunger had taken its place. "Do you want me to show you how?"
"Please," Kaede breathed.
"All right, but it's more fun if you figure out at least a little of it for yourself." Imari tipped back, ending their embrace. She removed her fundoshi and spread her thighs, offering a view that grabbed Kaede's attention immediately.
Kaede had seen pictures on woodblock as decoration, but the real thing was miles different. Imari's pink outer lips petaled apart to reveal the deep red inner ones, and both sets shone with wetness. The gleaming folds looked soft as silk, and Kaede found herself reaching out to touch before she was conscious of the choice to do so. Carefully, she sat up and slid the tips of her fingers through the slickness, testing what it felt like.
The heat surprised her, burning even hotter than Imari's mouth when they kissed. She moved her fingers up a little, curious how high she could go. Something round and firm stopped her, and she peeled back Imari's folds to get a better look. Tucked neatly into its hood was a stiff red bud, and to Kaede's joy, it swelled as she touched it. She stroked the tip at first, watching the way Imari's stomach clenched as she did. The soft satin below fluttered, and Kaede watched in wonder a clear stream of wetness slid out.
Kaede followed it with her fingers, searching for the source. To her surprise, they dipped in further than she expected. Imari's entrance grasped at her with strong muscles, trying to drag her in. Kaede's eyes widened, but Imari smiled.
"It's okay if you want to go inside," she said, spreading her knees even wider and tilting her hips up. "You won't hurt me."
Kaede couldn't resist that invitation. She pushed forward with one finger first, surprised by how easily it slid in. As soon as it did, she was taken aback by how tightly Imari's inner walls clung to her. They weren't perfectly smooth as she had imagined, but pleasantly rippled. She began probing forward, trying to feel more, and Imari let out a low groan.
"Forward and up," she gasped, angling her pelvis to demonstrate.
This time, Kaede felt the spot Imari meant. It was a little puffier and firmer than the rest of the softness around her, and she worked a second finger past Imari's opening to feel it better. When she pushed into it, Imari let out an even higher, sweeter sound. Kaede repeated the motion again and again, and every time, Imari gave a sigh of encouragement.
Once, instead of angling forward, she slipped much further in and hit something else soft and round. Imari made a different kind of noise then, still one of pleasure, but she reached down to cup Kaede's hand. "That's nice, but what you were doing before is better. Please, don't stop."
Kaede followed instructions, watching as Imari began rocking urgently onto her fingers. She tried to keep up the curling motion, but Imari was squeezing her so tightly it was difficult to move. The stiff point of Imari's clit was even larger than it had been before, standing proudly beneath its hood and glowing an even deeper red.
Full of enthusiasm and confidence, Kaede brought her other hand between Imari's legs as well. It was awkward using two, but she didn't trust herself to do both tasks with one—yet. She trapped the hard point of Imari's clit between her fingers, pinching lightly to see what would happen.
Imari's reaction was beautiful. She arched, going taut as a bow, and then snapped, shooting up into a sitting position and screaming as her hips went wild. It was more than Kaede could have hoped
for. Imari flooded her palm with a rush of liquid heat. The river filled Kaede's hand and dripped down her forearm, but she didn't pull back. Instead, she pushed deeper, hooking against the sensitive spot inside of Imari to see how much more she could get.
Imari kept shivering and spilling for a long time, until her fluttering muscles finally stopped grasping so desperately at Kaede's fingers. They still twitched, but the jolting motions were light and sparse. She went limp and slumped back onto the bed, panting with exhaustion.
"You're a fast student," Imari said after a while, a wide grin stretching across her face.
"You're a good teacher."
Imari pulled Kaede back on top of her, wrapping a hand around her neck and drawing her in for another soft kiss. "Thank you for sharing that with me. I feel better. In moments like this, I don't need more."
Kaede didn't know how to answer, so she simply cuddled closer to Imari, inhaling her scent. It was tinged with the spice of sex, but somehow, that only made it better. "What now?" she whispered. "Do we go to sleep? Clean up?"
Imari arched an eyebrow. "Oh, we aren't finished." Her hand crept down along Kaede's body to cup between her legs again, and Kaede gasped as her shaft swelled to greet the touch. "Let's keep practicing."
***
The mountains of Aozora were not as Hayate remembered them. He had fond childhood memories of playing in the forest at their feet, the same one that connected to the province of Yukimura where he had grown up. Back then, they had been beautiful to behold. The dawn turned them a glowing pink, and the dusk a comfortable purple. He had felt safe in their shadow, protected from the sharp winds that whistled through their snowcapped peaks.
Now, as he rode through the streets of Taiseito toward his uncle's castle, they loomed over him in judgment, a stark, bold black against the sky. The evening noise of the city seemed dim, and he barely took notice of the people he passed. Some, seeing Kaze, stepped aside to let them through, but Hayate couldn't bring himself to acknowledge them as they bowed. He was too focused on what he needed to accomplish.
The castle guards opened the doors, permitting him through without a word. He dismounted just past the inner gates, leaving his horse to be tended to by one of the soldiers. As he entered the courtyard, he noted with some sadness that the garden was going to sleep for the winter. Several flowers had already wilted, the cloud bushes were silver at the edges with frost, and the branches of the trees were close to bare.
"It's going to be all right, Hayate," Kaze said, nudging gently at his hand in a gesture of comfort. "You're doing the right thing."
"I know." He paused before the castle's main entrance, taking a deep breath. "But no one ever said doing the right thing was easy."
He knew the truth in Kaze’s words—what he had refused to hear. If he truly loved Setsuna, he needed to ask Lord Aozora to help him reach her. Logically, he understood the decision he was making, but it still felt like a betrayal. Setsuna had taken him in as a child, and though there were moments she had shown a clear preference for Kaede as they grew older, his mother loved him as her own. Underneath all the old hurt, he was certain. This is what she would expect of me, if she were in her right mind. This is what the woman who raised me would have advised me to do.
Placing a hand between Kaze's shoulders for moral support, he entered. The halls were the same as he remembered them, decorated with the mon of Aozora: three white mountains against a dark blue background. He passed the banners, making his way through the familiar stone halls from memory. After passing through several outer rooms and startling a few of the servants, he finally arrived at his destination—a painted screen door decorated with a flight of slender cranes. Two guards stood on either side, spears in hand. When they noticed him, both bowed deeply.
"Yukimura-dono," the first said, rising only after several beats had passed. "Our apologies, but you were not expected. Would you like us to inform the daimyo of your arrival?"
"Yes," Hayate said, trying to sound more certain than he actually was. "I have important news to share with him, news that shouldn't wait."
With another bow, the first guard disappeared, leaving him alone with the second. Hayate turned to her and asked, "Has Shogun Yukimura sent word to Aozora recently? Messengers, perhaps, or soldiers? Anything you can remember would be helpful."
The woman’s dark eyebrows furrowed. "No, Yukimura-dono, I'm afraid not. There hasn't been anything aside from the usual letters to the daimyo, from what I've seen."
Hayate dipped his head in thanks. Apparently, his mother still trusted him to bring Kaede home and hadn't sent soldiers here looking for her. That, or Setsuna assumed that Kaede was far too smart to return home, even out of desperation. It also meant his uncle was unlikely to know anything about what had occurred. His stomach churned at the thought of delivering the news. What was he supposed to say? That his mother had gone crazy, Kaede had vanished, experiments were being conducted on wild yokai, and no one had bothered to make mention of it? His uncle would most certainly not be pleased.
Sooner than Hayate wanted, the first guard returned. "The daimyo will see you at once, tono. Please, go through." He and his companion bowed and opened the screen. Hayate squared his shoulders. There would be no putting it off any longer.
When he entered, a wave of warmth washed over him. The irori in the middle of the floor was lit beneath its table, and paper lanterns hung around the room to light it. The walls were stone, but hidden behind decorative screens, and mats covered the floors. At the other end of the room, Lord and Lady Aozora sat on their low platforms. They weren't wearing especially formal clothes, although their blue and white kimonos still befitted their station. Hayate suspected he had interrupted them after formal court hours, and he bowed in apology.
"Uncle, Aunt, it is good to see you. I'm sorry to trouble you."
"It's no trouble," Masaru said with a smile. "We're glad to have you, and Kaze as well, of course." With his dark complexion and his height, he looked like Kaede. Unlike his daughter, though, he was large and broad-shouldered, with a square, blocky chin that ended in a long, tapered beard. "Please, Hayate, sit. You're always welcome, although this is something of a surprise."
Hayate approached the tatami mat before the platforms and took a seat. "Unfortunately, this isn't a friendly visit."
"I assumed as much," Kotone said. Her hair was the same flaming red as Kaede’s, and she possessed a similar lean build. "Tell me, is this about Kaede? We haven't heard from her in months. I know she can be forgetful in writing letters, but I'm growing concerned."
Hayate hesitated. He felt as though he had leapt into a freezing stream and didn't know which way to start swimming. Kaze grounded him once more, padding over to take a seat beside him and nuzzling his shoulder. "Tell them, Hayate. It's what's best for everyone."
He took a deep breath. "I'm afraid you're right to be concerned."
More swiftly than he intended, the entire story came spilling out. He told them of Setsuna, of how she came upon the dream of a better society built on the backs of yokai. He told them of how that dream had changed her from a strict but fair leader to a person obsessed without omitting his own complicity. He told them of the way Setsuna had used Kaede's ability to draw the yokai in, and how most of them had gone wild afterward. He told them of the soldiers who had died, and he told them of how Kaede had run.
"At first, I followed her with the intention of bringing her back. I was angry that she had run away from what I considered to be her duty. But as I followed her, it was almost like a fog lifted. The further away I got from Setsuna, the more clearly I saw things. Even so, I didn't want to admit that she was making a mistake. I was stubborn." He turned to Kaze, who looked at him with clear pride. "Kaze was the one who finally convinced me to come to you."
"What about Kaede?” Worry knitted Kotone’s brow, and her lips were drawn tight with concern. "Was she all right when you last saw her?"
Hayate nodded. "Yes. She and her new companions left Yin to c
ross the Jade Sea. I assume she is still with them."
Neither Masaru nor Kotone looked satisfied with that answer. They exchanged a worried look, but they did seem somewhat relieved that, at the very least, Kaede hadn't been in danger the last time Hayate had seen her. "We need to send someone to Tsun’i to look for her at once," Masaru said. "Kaede is a skilled samurai, but crossing the Jade Sea is dangerous for anyone. There's no guarantee she even made it."
"I'm sure she did," Hayate said, compelled to speak up in his cousin's defense. "Kaede knows what she's doing."
"And what about Setsuna?" Kotone asked. "What do you propose to do about her? The situation you've described sounds alarming to say the least. And even if Kaede is found, she won't return until it's dealt with."
"If you're asking my opinion, we need to send soldiers to check on Setsuna at once. I know it could be dangerous, since her station is above yours, but I couldn't think of anyone better to help."
"What about alerting Empress Tomoyo?" Masaru said. "If one of her shogun is conducting dangerous experiments on the yokai, surely she will need to be informed."
Hayate felt a sharp stab of fear. He had hoped to avoid that, but now, he realized he had little choice in the matter. The secret was already out. Setsuna had always said the Empress would be told of their work eventually, when they had succeeded in their quest and the time was right. Hearing Empress Tomoyo's name now made Hayate feel ill. She was only fifteen and relied heavily on her court and the counsel of the shogun under her rule. If they found out what Setsuna had been doing, they would most definitely object. Some might even use it as an excuse to remove Setsuna from power and increase their own standing.
But isn't that why you've come here? To remove her from power, at least until she regains her senses?
"Empress Tomoyo is a merciful and just ruler, but the other shogun might not look on Setsuna's actions as generously," he said at last. "I was hoping we could resolve this quietly, without alerting them."
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