Apart from a slight grunt when Hifuki pulled her head backwards, Yamashita remained silent in the face of those accusations. There was nothing she could say in her defense - both of them knew if it was up to her she would have wiped the entire band of rabble off the map and taken their castle to fortify it with her own troops. That was the way of things, as Hifuki had said, and she respected the other woman too much to offer platitudes about following orders, or some kind of brighter future once the throne was won.<br/><br/>For people like Hifuki, there was no brighter future no matter who was on the throne. It was hard enough to find a way in the world for herself, walking the edge of the line between acceptability and damnation - she knew it had to be even harder for someone who hadn't been given her opportunities. There was no place for women like this, no way for them to carve out their own realms within those of the empire. For a moment she was reminded of Oshi, and the calm respect the other woman had given her at their only meeting. Even she had been constrained.<br/><br/>When the blow she was expecting, feeling the fury in Hifuki's words, didn't fall, Yamashita blinked at her, surprised by the control exhibited in the decision not to simply lash out. But then the fist in her hair yanked her forward and her lips were forced apart and she experienced the first kiss she'd had since her patron had died a decade ago. For a moment, she was certain that there had been a mistake, that somehow Hifuki had misjudged things in the dark, but the intensity of the moment, the taste of sake on her tongue, and the insistence of her lips left her with no way to mistake the intent.<br/><br/>Yamashita's hands came up to grip the other woman's shoulders, attempting to hold her at bay as she broke the kiss.<br/>"Lady, please, this is not ... seemly!"<br/><br/>She knew of such things, of course, had heard them bandied about by soldiers who didn't know she was within hearing distance, but she had never met, never been... her astonishment outweighed her disapproval, simply because she had assumed that the only threat of a sexual nature would come from a man.