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Izumi · 9/19/2026, 7:29 PM

He slept — and he dreamt a dream she could not see. Izumi could tell by the way his eyes danced beneath his lids.

Her silver moon looked so peaceful like this that for a moment, she could forget that everything between them had become ever-so strange since that night. The glances from afar as they walked past each other, the general pleasantries, the polite distance — the distance. That is what bothered Izumi the most. They could not change what had occurred from that night, yet it was as if they’d been running away from each other. Izumi needed to talk to him, not only about the life she would be cultivating within her, but about them. About the state of their relationship, because anxiety had made her unsure of it.

Though only for a moment, the sight of his peaceful, sleeping face would keep her grounded.

and tenderly, a dainty paw would reach to caress his temple. For she had not held him, nor been this close to him in weeks.

Yet the crane quickly retracted the moment he’d open his eyes. Blinking, eyes falling to her feet as she backed up and gave him his space. She spoke first as he settled into consciousness, and it was as if all the blood drained from his face.

Why? — the empress wondered. Did he already know what she would bring up? Did any memory of that night bring him so much regret that it discomforted him?

Was she the only one between them that hadn’t regretted their embrace? She hadn’t known whether to feel angry with him, or disgusted with herself. A woman of her standing was now pregnant and without a husband — all because her self-control waned for one night.

How much longer, Osamu? She….didn’t even bring up the pregnancy like intended yet. She’d forgotten about the pregnancy at that moment. The knit in the samurai’s brow had concerned her more. How much longer must we walk on eggshells until we talk about what happened that night? I can’t take anymore of this…

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Westmoor Wakes

The Silent Crane