7 - Aihi
Beneath the bundle of gold and azure blankets rested Aihi's mother, Furahau Mika. Her face was gaunt, with splotchy, grey skin, and patches that were almost entirely black and shrivelled, dead, from the slow drain of energy from her body, thread by thread, by Lacotl's dark ki.
Aihi knelt beside her, pressing her head to the floor. Not just out of respect for her mother, the Shōgun, or as an attempt to apologize for the sins that had lead to her mother's sickness, but because she could not bear to look at Mika for long.
Mika's hollow face was a mirror to all of Aihi's blunders and regrets.
"Mother... I made another mistake." Aihi twisted her silver ring, a gift from Mika. "Every time I try to step into your shoes, to honour your position as Shōgun, to lead... I stumble, and I f
