Entry tags:

weiss kreuz

The Road Towards Kamakura, part III (Weiss Kreuz, Nagi/Mamoru)
Title: The Road Towards Kamakura
Fandom: Weiss Kreuz
Pairings: Nagi/Mamoru, Crawford/Schuldig, Mamoru/OFC, Nagi/OFC
Rating: R
Summary: In exile in a distant and unimportant post for his family's crimes, Mamoru builds himself a new life.
Word Count: 61000 words.
Author's Note: Thank you so much to toscas_kiss for beta-reading, and to puddingcat, for her wonderful illustrations! This is a sequel to Sailing to Hirugashima, a science-fiction AU in a space-opera setting. Like that story, it takes its title from place names important to the founding of the Kamakura shogunate.
Sections: I; II; III; IV; V; VI; VII





There was little need to do anything if he didn't want to, but Mamoru dutifully sat behind his desk for part of every workday. For a while after the Children's Festival there was a flurry of interest, interviews and requests for information the embassy staff flocked to deal with, but now it had died away again. The days grew hotter as the summer progressed, till going outside was something done if possible only at night.

"Imagine if we had no air conditioning," Mamoru said, looking down the scant sheet of daily news Ito had given him.

"No fear of that," Hayashi smiled. "Alcmene couldn't run properly if there wasn't reliable air conditioning."

Mamoru put down the sheet of paper, positioning it neatly on his large and empty desk. Once the planet was more populous there'd be more need for an embassy, he thought. In his children's days, or perhaps his grandchildren's. After several months, however, it was time he accepted that for him this was just an exile, subsidized by the government. What, he wondered, could have persuaded an experienced diplomat like Hayashi to come here?

"Hayashi-san," he said. "This is a very quiet posting for a man of your capabilities."

Hayashi smiled in a self –deprecating manner. "Thank you," he said. "I'm no longer a young man, a peaceable job is very pleasant."

"No imperial ships are expected here – ever, as far as we know," Mamoru said. "If we are lucky, there will be only the most limited communication with people from home. Hayashi-san, there is no way for me to directly tell anyone outside the staff any information a staff member shares with me, and I promise you Lt Naoe does not care. Why would you want to come to a dead-end place like this? Surely it's not necessary to have more than Lt Naoe set to watch me?"

Hayashi looked very taken aback at such frank speech. He glanced aside, embarrassed. "Takatori-sama," he said. "Perhaps you'd prefer to go over the day's briefing another time?"

"Tomorrow, next week – it doesn't really matter," Mamoru said. "It's not a real posting, after all."

"Ambassador Takatori," Hayashi started. He took a deep breath, and started again. "The younger staff members," he said, "They are here, no doubt, to get experience outside the empire. Such postings are highly sought after, and almost certainly guarantee promotion when they return. You will forgive me for not speaking of people in particular. For myself –" He looked worried, Mamoru saw. "We're almost all from your home world, Takatori-sama. If you will forgive me, after the unfortunate political events that occurred, the economy was not at its best. The public sector was cutting back, and a man of my age would face compulsory retirement. Younger men could see better times ahead, more desirable positions in their future – as for me, I am long since widowed and have no children. I put my name down for Alcmene."

Mamoru stared at the grain of his desk's surface. It was not real wood, he knew, but it looked so convincing. "I'm truly sorry for my family's actions, Hayashi-san," he said in a low voice. "I'm sorry to have been so rude to you."

"Sir, I didn't mean to criticize your family," Hayashi said.

"It's what we deserve," Mamoru said. "I think I'll go over the briefing with you later." He barely noticed Hayashi leave. He thought of the news broadcasts, his grandfather's bitterness when stories about unemployment aired. His family hadn't just caused havoc among those in power, but had destroyed the lives and fortunes of people they barely knew existed as a class. People like the boy he'd once thought he was. He remembered being called into the living room behind the shop, Ken yelling, "Quick, you're not going to believe this!" and seeing the first broadcasts of troops patrolling imperial cities. The announcer's voice was grave. Martial law has been declared throughout the Hakucho system. Governor Takatori no Reiji-sama accuses seditious elements amongst the population of making such a move necessary. Stability will be restored and the guilty brought to justice --

"Look at the date," Ken had said. "This was months ago – if this is the start of it, what the hell's happening there now?"

There had been no more news for weeks, just the same footage of troops patrolling, arresting people for mysterious infractions of the regulations. The next real news had been of the lifting of martial law and the arrest of the governor and his co-conspirators. Mamoru wished it had ended there for him, that he could have gone on simply agreeing that power corrupted people and expressing thanks that such things couldn't happen on his world. Instead he had to live with what his family had done, the civilian deaths, the damage done to the fabric of society. Now we start again, boy, he heard his grandfather say. There will be no more such mistakes.

"We can't start again, Grandfather," he whispered. "I'm in exile and you're dead. Whatever my father thought he was doing, he's destroyed us all."

It was like a tender spot in his mouth after that, that he could not stop probing. He was driven to find out why the staff had come, if they had felt they had no other choice in the ruins his family had made.

"I very much wished to come, Your Excellency," Ito said, surprising him. "There were not many applicants for my position, and I was pleased to be chosen. It's hard to get such a position in a larger diplomatic mission, and I can hope for promotion in my next posting."

Mamoru felt warmed a little at the thought of one of his staff managing to leave. "You see yourself applying for other places?" he asked.

"Of course in your next posting I should like to continue as your secretary," Ito said.

The man's polite fiction touched Mamoru, though he did not indulge in imagining what things would be like if he could really have expected there to be anything else for him. Maybe, he thought, Nagi and Hayashi were right, and the younger persons on the staff saw this as a positive move. It would not be so painful for him to hear those stories. He turned his attention to Laurent, surprising the man as he drank the local appalling coffee in the staff's dining room.

"Why I came?" Laurent asked, as if the question was in a language he did not quite know. "I was fascinated with the legal system of the Alliance, Takatori-sama, it's why I joined the diplomatic service. To find I might go where I could put my knowledge to use – I jumped at the chance."

"It's hardly one of the Alliance's best systems, and certainly not one of their prize worlds," Mamoru said. "You had perhaps hoped for more."

"We must all start somewhere," Laurent said. "Some day someone will come to ask for a visa to travel to the empire." He smiled.

Mamoru looked at him as he drank; he was tall, with fair hair, like any number of men Mamoru had seen in public on Alcmene. "Laurent-san," he said quietly. "Do you ever wish you lived in the Alliance as one of their citizens? You could specialize in a field of law, live as you wished –"

Laurent looked alarmed, for which Mamoru couldn't blame him. "No, Ambassador Takatori," he said firmly. "I'm very pleased where I am –"

"I'm not trying to lead you astray," Mamoru said sadly. "Thank you, Laurent-san. I should leave you in peace."

"Sir," Laurent said before he could rise. "Takatori-sama – you never make a difference between your staff due to their background. Thank you."

"Oh," Mamoru said, embarrassed, "That sort of behaviour's not right, I've always thought."

"I have a degree from an imperial university," Laurent said. "I can speak the main language the Alliance uses, but it's the imperial language that comes first to mind. I might look like one of them, but I'm a subject of the empire. The Alliance would see the difference you try not to."

Mamoru nodded, and left him alone to finish his break.

Ishikawa was a pleasant surprise. Mamoru blinked a little as the normally shy man laughed. He had a story ready, Mamoru saw – how could he not, the ambassador's latest way of proving himself discomfiting was no doubt the stuff of gossip.

"We were told there were too many accountants," Ishikawa said. "A friend of my father's said he was sure he could find work for me, and I saw how pleased my parents were at the thought. Ambassador Takatori, they'd been introducing me to the most horrific girls and only being a junior person on low wages was saving me as a single man."

"Didn't you want to get married?" Mamoru asked.

"Not to any of them," Ishikawa said firmly. "My father's friend, he had a daughter who was back home after a divorce. Her husband must have run for his life, she was so opinionated! I could see how things were laid out, with a promised job giving a wage that could support a family, and ran for my life." He smiled at Mamoru's amusement. "Alcmene may not be far enough," he said. "She was very tenacious."

"I hope you're not bored as a single man here," Mamoru said.

Ishikawa looked down, smiling. "It's all right, I find."


It was cowardly, Mamoru decided, to put off talking to those who were more likely to have been effected by the economic damage. Kishida was the first he approached.

"It was a good opportunity for me," Kishida said. "There'd be no new posting to a better world, I knew. Those were being reserved for people who came from places untainted by political unrest, and people with families to support. I'm divorced, and my sons are adults – my future at home would have seen me stagnating in a back room with the paycut that all civil and diplomatic service employees were made agree to. What point was there in that? I'm skilled at what I do, and I was offered little more than a basic data-entry position."

Honda, a late middle-aged woman who acted as a secretary to Laurent and Kishida both said regretfully she would not have been able to support herself on the pension offered. Her friend Matthews, who filled the same position for Hayashi and Mori was cheerful to an extreme, mouthing platitudes about hard work and opportunities. Mamoru felt sorry for them both, having had Nagi explain their cases to him. Practically all the older female civil servants had been let go, throughout the system. Matthews, who might have felt herself safe having had a years-long affair with her supervisor, found his wives had taken revenge at last by influencing her transfer to the Alcmene mission. Mori shrugged and said he was getting on and while his record was spotless, everyone knew he'd been a firm supporter of the Takatoris' party in the past.

Martin was composed when he spoke to her, so much so that Mamoru thought he'd surely hear she hoped to find a better job after gaining experience on Alcmene. He'd decided to speak to her after the older staff members for that very reason.

"I asked to come," she said. "I needed a new purpose. After my husband was killed –"

"When was that?" Mamoru said, feeling the ground shift beneath him.

"Two years before we set out, Takatori-sama."

Mamoru sat back, feeling ill. He should have known he'd meet someone who was more terribly affected by his family than those who'd lost their livelihoods. This was it, he thought, this was not something from which he could run, though he longed to say he'd been as horrified by the civilian deaths as anyone, that the thought they'd been targeted at specific populations made him ill. He steadied himself and tried to meet her eyes.

"Martin-san," he said, "I'm so very sorry –"

"Oh, sir, no," she said gently, and Mamoru knew at once exactly how much his staff had been discussing him. "It wasn't due to the unrest, it was a traffic accident. The other driver was drunk."

"But it happened while things were bad," Mamoru said, still faint and ill.

"Yes, Takatori-sama. The army arrested the other driver, and he was put to death." She looked down at her hands. "I didn't want that. His family paid a lot of compensation to my husband's family. When I heard you were coming here, I applied to join the mission. My husband's parents didn't want me to leave, but I couldn't live there any more. My own parents are both dead, so I decided I needed a new life."

"And you ended up here," Mamoru said.

"I can be useful here," she said. "Sir – Takatori-sama, would you like a glass of water?"

"Thank you," Mamoru said. All his staff, he thought, all of them had made as light of their circumstances as they could, for his sake, and now he was making someone recount horrors to satisfy his curiosity. "Thank you," he said again. "I shouldn't keep you." He only really registered she was gone when Nagi leaned upon the table in front of him, and he looked up into Nagi's quiet face. Some time had gone by, he noted, but not much. "Do you think people hoped that if I was confronted with all the damage done just to these people, that I'd realize how much more damage my family did, and solve the continuing problem of my existence by killing myself from shame?" he asked.

"Don't even think of such a course of action," Nagi said fiercely. He tugged Mamoru up and into an embrace. "Why do you take things to heart so much?" he said. "No one here blames you. No, no they don't." He held Mamoru off at arm's length, searching his face intently. "You've been scaring people," he said, "As proved by one of them actually seeking me out, and at a run at that. Martin said you looked terrible, and she was right." He held Mamoru close again. "Don't look so shocked, I told you they all like you despite your terrible taste in friends."

Mamoru smiled weakly against his cheek, as he knew Nagi wanted. "Thank you," he said. "I'm all right now."

"You will be," Nagi said. "You've been dropping now for a while, but you're going to come back up. Things will get better for you. Try, Mamoru."

"All right," Mamoru said. They were all exiles, he thought. He should help them make something of that exile they could call home.

* * *



"Ambassador Takatori," Mori said, "I must speak to you about Ishikawa." He looked embarrassed, as if the words left a bad taste in his mouth.

Mamoru watched him glance at Nagi and away, and said, "Go on."

"He's been living in an apartment a short distance away," Mori said, "It's within the usual specified distance for staff, and he says the cost of transport has been factored in to the budget –"

"I hope this isn't about Ishikawa-san allegedly embezzling money to pay for transport," Mamoru said. "He can hardly be expected to walk in this heat."

"It's more the security risk he poses," Mori said stiffly, as if he did not approve of Mamoru's joke. "He has local friends."

"Oh," Mamoru said. "That's not bad, is it?" He looked between Mori and Nagi for confirmation.

"He has two local girlfriends," Nagi said, frowning a little at Mamoru's twitch of surprise. "There's no suggestion he's spending the embassy's money on them, but Mori and I wonder what he may have let slip. An investigation indicates neither is more than she seems, but neither seems aware of the other. Should that change, one of them might make a public scene, which would make us look bad. Which would undoubtedly cast light on the fact that Ishikawa has also lately –"

"—been keeping company with a young man," Mori said.

"He told me he was enjoying the single life here," Mamoru said. "I see it's true. If it's not interfering with his work, though –"

Nagi slid pictures in front of him, showing two dark-haired plump girls and a dark-haired youth with a round face. "The Alliance has different ideas about many things," he said. "For a start, they'll say the boy is too young. He's left school, but hasn't reached his majority. The women – the tabloids will pull up every stock insult they have."

"Ishikawa-san, of all people," Mamoru said, looking at the pictures. It was embarrassing, to see so clearly the kind of person Ishikawa liked. He pushed them back to Nagi. "Please deal with the issue," he said. "Try not to embarrass him too much over what should be a harmless youthful indiscretion." Mori looked at him like Mamoru was too young himself to talk so, then took his leave. "Lt Naoe," Mamoru said, and Nagi turned back as the door closed after Mori. "Does he think you're my youthful indiscretion?"

"I'd say so," Nagi said easily. "It's a step up from being seen as the monster who forces you to do terrible things to satisfy his desires, don't you think?" He grinned, the brief flash of his smile brightening his face and leaving Mamoru wanting it back after it was gone. "I'll try to spare Ishikawa's blushes," Nagi said, and walked out.

It was some days afterwards that the next budgetary report came to Mamoru. He thanked Ishikawa and read it over quickly, stealing surreptitious glances at the man. Nagi had said Mori dealt with him alone, holding Nagi over him as a vague and dreadful threat. What if Lt Naoe had been the one to find this out? It at least allowed both Ishikawa and him to pretend that Mamoru didn't know.

"Are you sure we can afford this much on O-Bon?" Mamoru asked; the number looked high.

"It was detailed specifically as an annual expense in my briefings," Ishikawa said, not quite looking at Mamoru. He'd retreated to his original shy demeanour ever since Mori had called him in. "That and New Year's are given a large budget for all embassies. If we were on a more important world we'd have more money to spend on it."

"Good," Mamoru said, smiling. He'd always enjoyed O-Bon. "I suppose we'll have to throw a party and invite local dignitaries. It might be too hot to dance outside, though."

"We'd be able to do it for a while, maybe late at night," Ishikawa said wistfully. "Who should I give the numbers to, sir?"

"Kishida-san and Hayashi-san, I suppose," Mamoru said. "We should make sure it isn't just the development council that are invited, I'm sure they can suggest names. And the staff should invite any local friends they wish, too." He looked at Ishikawa's glum expression and knew he'd bring neither girl to the party, and certainly wouldn't bring the boy. Hayashi had already told him Ishikawa had requested permission to live in the embassy quarters once more, citing a desire to save money. The threat of Nagi's disapproval was potent, Mamoru thought. It was a shame to have destroyed Ishikawa's fun so very thoroughly, but Mori and Nagi knew their jobs and it wasn't Mamoru's place to gainsay them.


The staff were happy to prepare for the celebrations, far from their families' graves though they were. The food in the staff dining room for days in advance was practice runs for the reception, the cooks adapting the unfamiliar recipes to the local ingredients.

"You won't fit in your uniform," Mamoru said, seeing Nagi with yet another snack.

"Don't worry, I'll stop before I get so fat Ishikawa starts fancying me," Nagi said. He looked slyly at Mamoru's surprise. "What, I'm not allowed make jokes during work hours?"

"That wasn't very nice," Mamoru said, prim lest he laugh. "Back to business: Hayashi-san says we should continue to refer only to 'summer celebrations', in case we offend any of the guests."

"It would be so terrible if they thought we weren't wearing pretty clothes and putting on fireworks for any other reason than pleasing them," Nagi agreed. "I suppose you wouldn't be keen on celebrating your ancestors anyway."

"Again, not very nice," Mamoru said, reading over the schedule of entertainments yet again.

"I'll make sure everyone toes the line and is decorative, quaint and harmless," Nagi said. "Would you like something to eat?"

"I'm already sick of party food," Mamoru said plaintively. "If the cooks can spare some, let's have nice, plain rice later."

"Sybarite," Nagi muttered, falling into professional taciturnity as Hayashi came in.

"The final replies have come in," he said. "Everyone invited will attend, except for one press writer." He looked disapproving as he added, "He of course has suggested his invitation was some sort of bribe."

"I suppose it's a change from demanding we shouldn't be allowed think of our forebears who so cruelly and unethically seized Alliance worlds," Mamoru said. After the last opinion column objecting to their presence, let alone their intention to keep a cultural custom Nagi had had suggestions for how to deal with such troublemakers, none of which were entirely diplomatic. Mamoru just hoped no one said anything rash in public once the party started.

In the event, his fears were unfounded. The catering staff glowed with achievement as people ate their carefully prepared food, and wore their new imperial style clothing well. The staff were relaxed and friendly to the guests, even Nagi seemed to be having a good time. Mamoru was grateful for his efforts, and pleased Nagi had so readily agreed to forego his uniform for the evening. It was a relief, Mamoru thought, that they were such a small embassy, and that Alcmene had so few dignitaries; it made for a much less fraught situation. The guests from the development council were polite and enthusiastic about the food and Hayashi's carefully chosen images of beauty spots on imperial worlds, those from the press discreetly took some pictures, and whispered overly-poetic descriptions of clothing into their recorders.

"They understand us so well; all the women on staff manage to be both willowy and like porcelain dolls, while we men have laid aside our usual taciturn warrior natures to enjoy the evening," Nagi murmured after he passed one reporter on his way to stand by Mamoru.

"Please tell me you're joking," Mamoru winced, but Nagi was gone again, leaving Mamoru with Kaminski, the head of the planetary development council.

Mamoru was exhausted when the final guests left, but pleased at how well everything had gone. He avoided Ito's plea to drink just one more glass with the staff, and slipped back to his apartments, finding Nagi by his side.

"Everyone behaved themselves well," Nagi said, as they stood in the peace of Mamoru's room.

"No work for you to do as political officer," Mamoru teased. "You must be disappointed."

"Devastated." Nagi started untying Mamoru's obi, only the slight look of concentration showing he'd had anything to drink. "Are you sorry you couldn't pay your respects at your family grave?" he said.

"Yes," Mamoru sighed. "Though I have the family shrine, that's something." He wondered where would he get more incense, once he ran out. Perhaps his enemies gloated that he was exiled from proper devotions and respect to his relatives.

"Mmm," Nagi said. "Families. Awkward things. We don't have them, in the Corps." He stopped, as if he'd said something he hadn't meant to. Mamoru waited; Nagi never said anything much about his training or the Psi-Corps, dropping only the smallest nuggets of information. He looked unsmiling into Mamoru's face. "Ask me again," he said.

"About what?" Mamoru said.

"About families, about wanting me in yours."

Mamoru flung his arms around him and crushed him tight, all gloomy thoughts forgotten.

"I said ask, not strangle me," Nagi wheezed. "I might sober up at any moment, you know."

"Will you join my family?" Mamoru said in a rush, squeezing tighter.

"Oh, all right," Nagi said, so studiously off-hand that they both started to laugh.

"What's different about now?" Mamoru said.

"I'm tipsy. I decided I could outwit most spies your enemies might someday send. I thought it would make you happy. But we keep things quiet – there's no point in attracting undue attention."

"Yes, whatever you want," Mamoru said, pleased. "Whatever makes you happy."

"It would make me happy if someone got a move on and started undressing me," Nagi said, pushing Mamoru's yukata off his shoulders, his usually-brief smile staying firmly on his face as Mamoru gladly obeyed.


* * *


Hayashi looked at first horrified, then coolly, falsely calm. Mamoru tried to seem as naively harmless as possible.

"We both trust and respect you very much, Hayashi-san," he said. "That's why I'm asking you to witness this."

"Respectfully, Takatori-sama," Hayashi said, "You're asking because you think someone like me would be a reliable witness should your circumstances change and you have the chance to ever publicly acknowledge this folly."

Mamoru felt sure such frankness could only be the result of shock. "I had thought that," he admitted, "But let us be realistic, my circumstances won't change. Lt Naoe has no interest in them changing – Hayashi-san, we're not trying to draw you into trouble –"

"You've persuaded a Psi-Corps officer to join your cause," Hayashi said. "Sir, you are in trouble whether you admit it or not."

"It's a private matter, he'll still be known by his own name," Mamoru said. "Truly, there's nothing political in our intent, he's my very dear friend."

Hayashi looked mulishly at the carpet. "This is dangerous for both you and Lt Naoe," he said. "Forgive me, Takatori-sama, but he gains no advantage from your family."

"He's not doing it for advantage," Mamoru said. "He's doing it to please me." He hated the way his voice sounded, he thought, like a child insisting on the happy-ever-after everyone knew life did not provide.

Hayashi looked at him seriously, then away. "The optimism of youth," he sighed. "You're both younger and more foolish than you can allow yourselves see, and you pretend you are not what you are. I should have advised you better when you tried on previous occasions to speak of him. If I refuse, will Lt Naoe remember what he is?"

"He wouldn't hurt you," Mamoru said too quickly, thinking though he tried not to of how much Nagi hated loose ends and potential risks.

"You are not sure," Hayashi said. "That at least is something. Don't be blind, Takatori-sama, just because you own a knife doesn't mean it will never cut you."

"He wouldn't let me commit treason," Mamoru said. "You know that, Hayashi-san." He had to prevent Nagi from killing the man, he thought, watching Hayashi run fingers, distracted, though his grey hair. "We'd be very grateful to you." Hayashi looked in silence at the floor, as if it held some secret.

"It's strange," Hayashi said at last. "When I was a young man I always thought that I'd have the strength to act properly if confronted with an impossible situation but I seem to have become a coward as I grew older. Please tell Lt Naoe I will give him no cause to worry."

"Thank you, Hayashi-san," Mamoru said, feeling as if he had been holding his breath and had released it all at once. "I'm sorry to have damaged your regard for me," he went on regretfully, sorry to have put a breach between them. He'd liked the growing ease with all his staff and wished he had not hurt it.

"You're an unusual young man, Takatori-sama," Hayashi said. "I have never wished you anything but the best and that has not changed." His smile was professionally polite. "And you have bound me to you quite neatly. There is, perhaps, hope for you. If you would excuse me?"

Mamoru watched him leave, trying not to grin in triumph. He counted to ten after the door closed, though he was sure Hayashi was not the type to lower himself to listening in secret, then pulled out his communicator, impatiently tapping his fingers on his desk till Nagi answered.

"He'll do it," Mamoru said, and laughed in purest pleasure at the sound Nagi made in response.


It was a simple enough matter at the end of it all, he thought, standing in what Nagi assured him was the most private of their reception rooms, scrolling down through the bureaucratic forms, touching his seal to the proper places, Nagi and Hayashi following suit.

"None of this is legal until recorded by an Imperial registry," Hayashi said, quiet and mild.

"The embassy is imperial territory," Mamoru said.

"—and we're registering it with you," Nagi added, calling up another set of forms. He smiled at Mamoru as Hayashi started filling them out. "It's rather anti-climactic," he said. "Shouldn't we be dressed in our best clothes and make dramatic vows?"

"How dramatic?" Mamoru said, taking his hands.

Nagi grinned and sank to his knees. "I will consider your honour the light by which I guide all my actions," he said. "My own life I will count as nothing and count my fate as lucky to die by your side in the hopes that we will be reborn together . . . don't get used to this," he finished, and bowed neatly down to the floor.

"Where did you get that from?" Mamoru said, trying to stop laughing.

"A local novel that is accurate in all its depictions of imperial life," Nagi said into the carpet. He sat back up again. "That was just a paraphrase, it went on for pages, though I suppose that might have been the fault of the translation software."

A soft sound made them both turn to Hayashi, temporarily forgotten. He stared at them as if they were exotic new lifeforms, blinking as Nagi gave him a look of challenge and came smoothly back to his feet to take Mamoru in a sudden, hard embrace.

"How old are you, Takatori no Nagi?" Hayashi said.

"Nineteen," Nagi said, his tone pleased at hearing his new name. Mamoru supposed it was not really a lie as there were less than six weeks to Nagi's birthday.

"Children," Hayashi said, shaking his head. He pressed his seal to the last section of the form. The pad beeped in satisfaction. "I pray you have the time to grow up."


* * *


"You're smiling foolishly again."

Mamoru kept his eyes closed and deliberately smiled as foolishly as he could up at the ceiling, feeling Nagi roll over beside him. "As long as I'm not doing it during work hours or in front of the locals."

"Trust me, you're doing it at work. You're a bit better in facing the locals. A bit."

"I'm a very pleasant young man, haven't you read the papers? – and the staff must think you're making me very happy," Mamoru said in deep satisfaction. He tried to look even more smug the poke in the ribs that got him. "Do you want to try a restaurant again tonight?"

"Hmm," Nagi said, sounding sleepy. "Heating frozen food or having someone else cook – and possibly spit in the dish. Which sounds more appealing to you?"

"I'm sure they didn't spit," Mamoru said, raising himself on his elbow and peering at Nagi's relaxed face. He hoped it hadn't happened, anyway. The Alliance had a number of festival days near the New Year, and the embassy was closed for what seemed to Mamoru like the most wonderfully lazy amount of time. The downside was the lack of freshly prepared food – though the kitchen staff had left enough frozen food to feed dozens of people, and the leftovers from the New Year's celebrations still lurked in the freezers, Mamoru and Nagi had already gone to restaurants for two dinners and a lunch. It was probably too much to hope that Nagi hadn't come across the article in a celebrity magazine that made much of Mamoru dining "alone", despite Nagi clearly being in the pictures. It would have been worse, Mamoru decided, for the magazine to have printed something close to the truth - Nagi kept too close an eye on the press, and loved the stories that made Mamoru wince or blush. The same magazine had included him in a list of eligible bachelors, something Mamoru had discovered after Nagi had printed out copies of the article and left them in places Mamoru couldn't miss. The pointed, frequently barbed, sense of humour was something Nagi had shown when they first met, and it cheered Mamoru to think it was another part of Nagi that had not been assumed, that was the simple truth.

"What's so funny?" Nagi said, suspicion colouring his voice.

"You are. Ah!"

Nagi folded his hands on his chest and looked meekly surprised, as if the unseen force poking and tickling at Mamoru had nothing to do with him.

"Let's stay in and heat something up," Mamoru gasped when Nagi finally deigned to show mercy. "We don't have to get up all day."

"Lazy. We have to get up for at least half an hour."

They did, eventually, and set out food in the small kitchen, Nagi suddenly too hungry, it seemed to even bring it into the dining room. Mamoru watched Nagi eat standing up; he was no longer surprised at how much he could go through. I burn it up, Nagi had said, off-hand, when first they met. Mamoru had thought he must play some sport for his college, and wondered what it could be. He blinked to find Nagi watching him back.

"You really would make a terrible spy," Nagi said, a small, familiar joke that made them both smile. He searched in his bowl and picked up the most appetizing bite of meat, holding it out for Mamoru to eat from his chopsticks. He looked solemnly pleased at Mamoru's appetite, and fed him another bite and another. Mamoru fed him morsels too; it felt warm and intimate and made him want to hurry back to bed.

"I told you things could only improve," Nagi said, putting down his bowl. "You haven't been unhappy recently, have you?"

Mamoru decided it would be foolish to admit he had carefully avoided thinking about such things, in case merely noticing damaged his good mood. The first, relieved happiness he'd felt at being safe was back, he decided, but deeper and more secure. "There's no work to speak of, but I've made friends," he said. "And you don't seem to be getting bored."

"I worked hard to get us here, it would be a shame to lose interest," Nagi said, a touch of his ability cupping at Mamoru's cheek before sweeping down his body in a way that made him shiver. Nagi's understatements, Mamoru thought, were a lot better than fervent declarations from anyone else.

"I'm just sorry to have distressed Hayashi-san," he said, trying to lean against the invisible force.

"Oh, he'll come round. He's just protective of you, that's all. He just needs to accept that I'm protective too." He put his arms round Mamoru, squeezing tight.

"You've done everything I wanted," Mamoru said. "I want to please you too, you know."

"You came here without complaint. You trusted me," Nagi said, still holding on. "Even when you knew what I was and must have thought I'd betrayed you, you still saw me. That's more –" he stopped, his face pink, and kissed Mamoru as an end to the sentence.

"Another few weeks and we'll have been here a year," Mamoru said, when Nagi was leaning quietly against him. It was a kindness to change the subject, he thought, now familiar with Nagi's odd shynesses. "You'll be glad to see the weather get warm again after the winter." He felt Nagi's amused, brief laugh. Winter on Alcmene was merely bearably hot, compared to the late spring and summer's blazing heat. Nagi laughed again as Mamoru took his hands and rubbed them, as if they needed to be warmed.

"We should go back to bed before we catch a chill," Nagi said, pretending to blow on his fingers.

Mamoru took his hand and pulled him eagerly from the kitchen.


* * *


"There's no more to report, Takatori-sama," Hayashi said. Beside him Ito bowed silently.

Mamoru sighed and stood up, turning away from his empty desk. "Well then," he said, "Let's call it a day. Or a week. Unless you think something requiring any of us to work will occur?"

"Perhaps a short break might be a good idea," Hayashi said.

"If there are any refurbishments needed, we could close down to let them take place," Ito said.

Mamoru had the feeling they felt sorry for his forced inactivity, and struggled not to let his annoyance show. At least Hayashi seemed to have forgiven him, he thought. He gave the briefest nod to acknowledge their bows. Perhaps he would ask Ishikawa if they could afford any new furniture or decorating. Perhaps, he mused, he would do something more productive and find himself a job. He hated his recurring realization that things would not change, that all their diligence was only for their self-respect, not for any real purpose. He should use the time to learn more of the local language, he decided. He'd been letting his study slip.

"Another coffee?" he asked at lunch, firm in his resolve to improve his grasp of the language.

Nagi blinked, and said something, too fast to follow. Then he took pity and said, slowly and clearly, "No thanks, I'll have water, I'm tired of coffee." He took the glass Mamoru got him, adding in their own language, "My accent's not as good as Hayashi's, you shouldn't take me as a good example."

"Huh," Mamoru said, wiping up spilled drops of water. "We're doing all right here, don't you think? And people will be starting to forget I exist?"

"I suppose," Nagi said, a little warily. "Why?"

"I was just thinking – if any of the staff wanted to do something else. Language teaching, say, or translations – would that be all right? There's sort of an air of desperation amongst them some days."

"Ah. Have you found any openings in flower shops?" Nagi said. He sounded more sympathetic than Mamoru had hoped. "If you're really worried about the staff, yes, I think language classes would be a good use of some of their time. You, however –" he thought about it. "Some travel, perhaps? Demanding a place as an observer on the planetary development council?"

"Right. They'd think the empire had designs on Alcmene. There has to be something I can do to improve my family's situation."

Nagi sipped his water. "You are the family. And me, of course. Improve your own situation, Mamoru."

"How do I make us look attractive enough for someone to ally with us?" Mamoru said, half to himself. "A disgraced name, a posting on such an out-of-the-way world, only one person left to the family officially – we need allies in case things get worse. Don't we?"

"It couldn't hurt," Nagi said. "I suppose I have friends, if we could find them." He looked down into his now empty glass, running a finger round the edge. "What have you got to offer allies?"

"I've been thinking - it's like you said, my grandfather still had people who might back the family, if we looked like we could ever be something again. There's a chance for us there, I hope. I might be too much of a risk, but if my son was seen to be blameless, and running things well here –"

"Ah," Nagi said. "I know you want to build the family up, Mamoru, but can you be that patient?"

"If I had something to work towards," Mamoru said.

Nagi was quieter for longer than usual. "Takatori children," he said at last. "You want to get married. Do you want me to as well?" He stood, brushing off Mamoru's hand. "You'll need to look among families your grandfather would have passed by in the street," he said briskly. "There's no point in thinking you can aim as high as your father's generation would have thought their right. Someone perhaps a little desperate, who is willing to gamble their daughter's life on your continued existence. To get even that, you'll need to look better than you do – you need to act as if you're totally secure, as if you don't think anything will happen to you more than already has." He walked over to refill his cup with the coffee he'd said he didn't want. "I think you need to already be a family man," he said, the air seeming to Mamoru like the dead still before a storm. "You should have a child. Given the technology available on this planet, you'll need a concubine."

"Nagi –" Mamoru said.

"Of course, you probably don't want to just pick some woman from the dross of the local population," Nagi said, as if he hadn't spoken. "I doubt you want Ishikawa to give you advice on them. You'll want someone who can speak the language and doesn't have stupid Alliance ideas about a woman's place. Honda and Matthews are too old, they probably can't have children. It'll have to be Martin."

He turned to face Mamoru, challenge in his face. Mamoru cleared his throat.

"Does Martin-san get a say in this?"

"I don't see why she should," Nagi said, flat and quick.

"I can't just –"

"She's a subject of the empire. She'll do as you say." Nagi took a deep breath. "Look, I'm not saying you should force her – just think about the benefits, and put them to her. You'd be gaining children to support the family, who couldn't threaten the main line of inheritance. Who could protect any children you eventually have from wives. She's not a bad choice – she's good at her job, her work with schools here has improved your image. Once the press finds out, which they will once she's pregnant, she'll at least look less alien to them. Martin likes you, she probably wants children herself anyway."

"You don't sound very enthusiastic," Mamoru said, thinking it sounded as if Nagi was talking himself into something he found distasteful.

"I didn't think it'd be so soon," Nagi said, and turned away again.

"Forget I said anything," Mamoru said, embracing him.

"You need allies," Nagi said. "You're right. You may never find someone to give you their daughters, so take the chance you have. Do you want to end up with some Alliance girl who would never be let forget her origins?"

"No," Mamoru said. "I don't. I'll talk to Martin-san."

"We'll talk to her together," Nagi said firmly. His smile was not at all reassuring. "You both need to know you're not giving me up."


* * *


"I've always appreciated the work you've put in to the education programmes, Martin-san," Mamoru said. "You and Kishida-san have no doubt helped the young people of this planet to better understand the empire and its customs."

"Thank you, Takatori-sama," Martin said, bowing as low as the table would allow. Other diners looked at them askance, as if he had required something servile of her. Mamoru kept a faint smile on his face and took the smallest sip of his overpriced wine. It had seemed a good idea to have dinner in the most pleasant of the restaurants he and Nagi had eaten in together, something that might be a simple reward of a hard-working member of his staff. He and Hayashi had eaten lunch in similar restaurants, after all. Now however, it seemed like the most stupid of mistakes. How could he say anything personal here?

"Please, eat," he said, and surreptitiously watched her pick nervously at her meal. Beside him, Nagi made an impatient noise and hacked at his main course with deliberate violence. None of them said anything for a few minutes, then, "Martin-san –" Mamoru said.

"Martin –" Nagi said at the same moment.

She looked between them, a worried expression on her face. "Yes, Takatori-sama? Lt Naoe?"

"This is the worst place –" Nagi started. He visibly calmed himself and said, "Martin, let me begin by saying I consider your loyalty to be impeccable –"

"Lt Naoe," Mamoru hissed, aghast at the sight of the blood draining from Martin's face. "He means it," he said hurriedly. "You're under no investigation, I promise you."

"I was reassuring her," Nagi muttered, sawing at his steak once more before glaring at it in hatred. "Stupid, barbaric eating implements," he said viciously, putting his knife and fork down with exaggerated gentleness. He bowed slightly. "Please forgive me, Martin-san," he said, more politely than Mamoru had heard from him since they had first met. "I'm out of sorts, and you are in no way to blame."

Mamoru did not look at the other diners, and ate another few mouthfuls while wishing he was somewhere else. "You're perhaps right, Lt Naoe," he said, and was relieved to see Nagi look calmer yet. "Let's finish our meal, and we can go somewhere more peaceful." They ate in silence, Martin rarely raising her eyes from her plate. When they rose to leave Mamoru was sure people looked at him and Nagi as if they had done something terrible.

"The embassy, I think," he said as they reached the car.

"Yes," Nagi said firmly, and slid into the driver's seat.

Martin hesitated, then got into the back quickly as Mamoru held the door open for her. She said nothing, just looked at her hands folded neatly in her lap for the entire journey, seeming to draw in on herself to give him more space. Nagi caught his eye in the mirror and Mamoru saw he was as awkwardly embarrassed as Mamoru himself.

"I'll make sure you get safely home," Mamoru said as Nagi parked the car. "There's something I want to discuss with you first, though, Martin-san."

"Yes," she said politely, and followed them into the residency.

Mamoru led the way through one of the reception rooms laid out in Alliance style, to one of the smaller, more private ones with imperial style furnishings. Nagi went to their kitchen, and returned quickly with a carefully hoarded flask of heated sake that he set out neatly on the low table before kneeling. Mamoru knelt at the head of the table and after another moment's hesitation, Martin knelt opposite Nagi, taking up the flask and pouring cups for him and Mamoru. Nagi reached across to take the flask and pour for her, which made her sink back in nervous silence.

"Martin-san," Mamoru said, "Please drink with us." He felt a little better as she obeyed, then refilled the cups. "You're an excellent worker," he said, "How are you fitting in to life on this world, Martin-san?"

"My neighbours are very pleasant," she said, "And my flat is quite comfortable. It is all right that I live in this area, isn't it?" she went on, sounding worried. "My salary allows it quite easily."

"Yes, yes of course," Mamoru said. "Do you enjoy it?"

"Yes," she said. "It's interesting, though I wish it was easier to buy familiar foods."

"And you've made friends? You haven't faced prejudice for being part imperial – I'm not mistaken in that, am I?"

"No, Ambassador Takatori. My mother's mother was an imperial. As for friends, my neighbours have a little girl," she said. "I've taught her to count in our language, and her parents have invited me to eat with them."

"Have you made any special friends?"

Nagi sighed impatiently, and Martin looked back and forth between them in something like panic.

"No, Takatori-sama," she said. "Just acquaintances, really."

Mamoru felt the resulting silence too thick to break, then saw with horror that Nagi had lost patience and drawn breath to speak. He leant forward, hoping to forestall him.

"Martin-san," he said, "My family is in somewhat straitened circumstances, as you know." He smiled reassuringly as she nodded warily. "I myself was not implicated in the events leading to these circumstances, as Lt Naoe can tell you."

"That's correct," Nagi said brusquely.

"Martin-san, it's my hope that the Takatori family can rebuild its position, and continue to serve the empire for generations to come," Mamoru said. He felt a little light-headed, and couldn't quite look either her or Nagi in the eye. "It's my duty to ensure the family's continuation," he went on. "Though I am a young man, I feel I should not delay in my duty to my family even though the circumstances are such that I cannot yet search for a suitable family to ally with. Martin-san, if you wouldn't mind – that is, if you have no special friends you prefer to take into consideration, I wanted to ask –"

Her expression was one of dawning horror. Nagi clicked his tongue in annoyance. Mamoru reached over to lay a hand lightly over hers, feeling how tightly they were clenched in her lap. "Martin-san," he said quietly, "I would never compel you, nor would I treat you differently in any way if you say no. This is still private, between us."

She didn't look at him as she said, "You want me to bear a child for you, sir?" She took a breath. "Would you want the procedure carried out in a medical facility or did you intend to provide me more privately with –" her voice trailed off.

"Oh. No, no that's not what I mean," Mamoru said. "I don't want to hire your womb, I want to do this properly, decently – I'd be very glad if you accepted a place, a permanent place in my household, Martin-san. I wouldn't just take your child from you. You'd be acknowledged before everyone."

He thought her hands unclenched a little.

"But what about Naoe-san?" she said, then her eyes widened in horror at what she'd said, and she dragged her hands from beneath Mamoru's to bury her face in them.

"Oh, for –" Nagi muttered, and leant forward towards her. "I will not harm you," he said. "You'll be under my protection."

She didn't seem any less worried by that, Mamoru saw, though she had at least uncovered her face.

"Martin-san," Nagi said sharply, "You needn't fear me – I know you are too respectable a person to take a place that isn't your own." He seemed satisfied at what he saw in her face, for his voice was more quiet as he said, "This is sudden, but consider the advantages – you would not wish to go through life without marrying again, I'm sure, but your choices are limited unless you wish to marry a local. Your children will be imperial citizens, and have a great family's name, and while they will not be in the main line of descent they'll be the eldest of Mamoru's children. No one can ever take your status as the mother of his first child."

She looked from him to Mamoru again. "You wouldn't take the child from me?" she said.

"No," Mamoru said. "You'd both be in my household, in my family. Anything in my power to do for you, I will." He found he was holding his breath then, waiting for her to speak.

"I'm honoured by your request, Takatori-sama," she said at last. "Please forgive my foolish hesitation." She bowed deeply to him. "I very much appreciate your goodwill, Naoe-san," she said to Nagi, and bowed to him as well.

"You can use my name," Nagi said. See? his expression seemed to say as he shot Mamoru a glance. I can be capable of grace. Mamoru was glad to see that Martin was sensible enough to simply stay silent. "Well," Nagi said in a satisfied voice, "Will I see about having you sent home safely?"

"Thank you," Martin said in a small voice. She watched him leave, then cast silent, sidelong glances at Mamoru.

"Thank you," Mamoru said. "We'll do this properly, I promise. No one will ever have cause to slight you." He beckoned her closer, put an arm about her shoulders and carefully touched his lips to hers. "Don't be afraid of me," he said.

"You've always been kind, Takatori-sama," she whispered, her voice shaking.

"Mamoru," he said. "It's Mamoru."

"Mamoru-sama," she said, looking down shyly, and said no more till Nagi came back to take her home.

Mamoru drank the rest of the flask of sake, waiting for Nagi to return. It seemed like a long and tedious wait, but when he checked the time as Nagi opened the door, it had only been fifteen minutes. Nagi knelt by him and took him in his arms, kissing him possessively.

"I didn't frighten her on the way home," he said.

"You frighten her."

"I frighten everyone. I'm used to it. I was very nice, really." Nagi smoothed his hands over Mamoru's hair. "We all just have to get used to things, I suppose. If I don't, remind me this was my idea."

"All right," Mamoru said.

He didn't know if he felt anything at all.


* * *


It had to be open, now that Martin had agreed, Mamoru thought. He went over his personal budget with Ishikawa, seeing what sort of money he had left to his name and what he could spend, and told Ito to make sure a third room was ready for personal use in the residency, and had him call up information on inheritance laws. He decided to speak frankly to Hayashi first.

"Hayashi-san," he said. "I'm going to change my will, to provide for Martin-san." Hayashi hid his surprise well, Mamoru thought. "I'm taking her as a concubine," he said, "I want her position acknowledged, I want her protected if anything should happen."

Hayashi nodded, and fetched Laurent, and as Mamoru had hoped, began the task of discreetly making sure the staff knew the news. Laurent gave no indication he had an opinion of any kind whatsoever, for which Mamoru was grateful, and simply took the numbers Ishikawa had provided and did as Mamoru asked. Finally, in the afternoon, he had Ito ask Martin to see him, and sat back, thinking that between her private agreement and the now common knowledge of the staff, she was unlikely to be able to change her mind.

"Takatori-sama," he heard, and looked up.

"Mamoru," he prompted politely.

"Mamoru-sama," she said, and sat as he waved towards a chair.

"I'm told that a room will be made suitable for you by the end of the week," he said. "There are plenty of rooms, but proper furniture needs to be bought, and it could be made much nicer for a female occupant."

"The end of the week," she said, calmly. "Yes."

"Whatever you need, please purchase it and give the bill to Ito-san. He can give you money now. Please also let him know about moving your belongings from your current accommodation."

"Yes," she said again.

Her calm tone unsettled him, as if she had something planned he didn't know about. Nagi had been horribly full of advice the previous evening, all expressed in terms of stealing marches and destroying enemies. It was something to consider though, Mamoru thought, even if Nagi just hated to lose and didn't want any idea of his to fail no matter how much he disliked it. The whole situation was unsettling, and he and Nagi were both as trapped in it as Martin, he thought. Nagi was too proud to admit it was a mistake, and would probably be offended if Mamoru said so. Which he couldn't, he thought, without shaming Martin utterly. They all had to act as if it were not a mistake, he decided. He and Nagi would have had to go through something like this sooner or later, and it was better to get used to it with someone who liked him as much as any of the staff did, and whom Nagi approved of. And who did not have a family to complain to if things went badly. He recoiled from the thought. I am not like my family, he thought. Not like that. He could be better than that.

"Claudine-san," he said, pleased that won him a direct look. "Won't you have dinner with me tonight? If you like we can eat in a restaurant, or at home. It's late, let's call it a day, and you can think about what you'd like to do," he said, ushering her from the office and towards the corridor that connected to the residency.

"I'd rather not go to a restaurant," she said.

"That's fine, we can have something sent from the kitchen, let's eat soon," he said, wondering if she was thinking of Nagi's performance the last time. He couldn't really blame her, he thought. "Have some wine," he said, after sending a message to the kitchen about the meal.

"Thank you," she said, still calm. She took the glass and waited for him to drink before taking a sip of her own. Perhaps, Mamoru thought, she had simply lost all hope and assumed he would treat her badly. It wounded his pride, and he found himself deciding some at least of Nagi's advice should be followed.

"Claudine-san," he said. "Please stay tonight."

She put her glass down gently. "Mamoru-sama, I have a great deal to prepare –"

"It's all right," he said, moving to sit closer. "I'd like you to see you don't need to worry about anything." She sighed, very softly, as he kissed her. "Please be at ease," Mamoru said.

"Naoe-san –" she said, and stopped.

It seemed unnecessarily blunt to say Nagi had discussed the matter with him and had promised his absence the whole evening. "I'm very fond of Naoe-san and he is fond of me too," Mamoru said, "He's not a person who should worry you, Claudine-san. Don't regret your agreement, please."

"Sir," she said in a sudden rush, "Your father was –"

"I'm not like him," Mamoru said, "I wasn't involved in any of his crimes."

"He was a system governor, sir," she said firmly. "Someone like me would not be seen as suitable in any way for you."

"I would not have been seen as suitable, if there were any other family members left," Mamoru said. "I'm just a useful bastard, after all." He smiled ruefully at her expression. "It's all right, it's not as if it's a secret. I'm not exactly what the Takatori family would like, but I'm what it has."

"I can't be what you would like," she said. "Older, a widow –"

"You're a sensible, respectable person. I hope I don't appear to make differences because of anyone's origins." He smiled at her quick shake of the head. "Let's be open, Claudine-san. I wish there were no discrimination and I try not to be prejudiced, but I can't pretend that if we were at home that I'm sure what I'd do."

"Things are different here," she said cautiously. "Kishida-san and the others treat people like me very fairly."

"Even if you're the person who ends up holding glasses of water for your infamous new superior who has been silly enough to stand out in the sun?" Mamoru teased gently.

"You were very polite even then," she said, then, "I loved my husband, Mamoru-sama. When he died, I told myself I could never feel the same for anyone else."

"And I love Naoe-san," Mamoru said, pleased by her ability to speak frankly, at least when Nagi was not present. "Neither of us wishes to erase anything important to the other, but we can also give each other something good, and be kind to each other. Can't we? Is this really such an awful thing? It's just us here, speak freely, I'll respect your decision."

"It would be kind if you didn't mind me working," she said after a moment.

"Oh." Mamoru blinked. "My allowance is enough to support you."

"The embassy is quiet," she said, "But there is work for me to do in the education and cultural outreach department, and it's a good and useful thing."

No doubt his enemies would find such an idea ridiculous and would claim he needed to allow her to work, Mamoru thought. It was something that his family would have baulked at, back in the empire. So, for that matter, was Nagi. He looked at her hopeful expression, and grinned. It really was yes, he thought.

"Things are different here," he said. "We can do things as we wish."

She put a hand lightly in his. "Perhaps you could ask that the food be sent later, Mamoru-sama," she said.

He tightened his fingers and rose, drawing her with him. "Yes," he said. "I can do that indeed."


* * *