Chikage turned his attention to her and flashed a very brief smirk. Her praise didn’t go unnoticed. As a matter of fact, he enjoyed it when she complimented him. The Oni’s eyes shifted back to his meal as he resumed eating. He knew he was capable of a lot of things when it came to Mishiko. Those things were not something he wished to discuss at the dinner table, nor did he wish to portray the thoughts that had been running through his mind in front of everyone either.<br/><br/>Amagiri and Kyo remained silent. Kyo knew that even if he attempted to object then nothing would come of it. However, there had been some seeds that he hadn’t tried to sow. Perhaps there would at least be one way that he could thwart the marriage. He didn’t see how this could benefit Chikage, or rather how she could.<br/><br/>In Kyo’s mind, she still had not completely shown her worth to him. All that he knew was that she had disappeared and then reentered their lives as if nothing had changed. Their Lord had gone for long periods of time, losing track of what he was really supposed to be after. By now, their country should’ve grown and their power should have been immense. Instead, he was parading around a woman, a woman that had brought nothing but trouble.<br/><br/>She was a woman that had come along and brought destruction to many peoples’ homes and fear in the civilians who worshiped him. There was some mistrust in the air that any of them could protect them. Her brother had brought about that all because of her. He wouldn’t have ever come along and done that if she hadn’t been around.<br/><br/>He just couldn’t understand why Chikage had been so enamored with a woman who had done such things. He stared into his plate, seething with hatred on the inside. But on the outside, he remained pleasant and chatty with all the girls. Chikage had all these women and he saw to it that he remained faithful to a wench of destruction.<br/><br/>The other girls around the table remained friendly to Mishiko. Their smiles had been genuine and filled with kindness. They adored their new Lady and it wasn’t that they hadn’t adored their Lords. Lord Chikage had always done them well and always treated them to the best. He was also great at other things that the Lady had been familiar with and he had shown them the ways of the world. However, nothing meant more to them than him finding his happiness with someone.  They had always assumed that they would one day be allowed the same once he did.<br/><br/>“So have you decided on what you’d like your wedding to be like? Flowers everywhere? Beautiful kimono?” Ami mused whimsically.<br/><br/>Maiko nudged her side and they both giggled. It was definitely odd seeing the girls like that from Chikage’s perspective. “I know I said it was whatever she liked, but are you all forgetting about me now?” Chikage teased as he ate a bit of fish. The girls laughed and continued to chat away and Amagiri shook his head with a smirk.  His Lord had always been this way: Flirty.<br/><br/>“I think you should be more careful how you tease these girls. Your bride-to-be doesn’t seem to be the type to take kindly to idle passes.” Amagiri chuckled.<br/><br/>Kyo smiled. He smiled one so fake that he was starting believe his false façade. “Oh worry not. She’s not that petty. Besides, what’s the problem with him flirting with the girls here and there, hm? They’ve always been here and always will be. He’s a man who has never settled for one woman.”