Life had slipped into a new normal. Kiriko didn't have anything to complain about. Really, things had progressed rather quietly. Instead of moving out of Hattori's den now that the threat seemed to be resolved, she stuck close to him. He'd been persuaded to let her in once, now it seemed he was stuck with her. She would go to great lengths to ensure there was nothing for Hattori to complain about either, to be fair. The persuading would continue, artful as it was. Couldn't come off as overly eager, either. It had been a fun challenge, and it seemed she'd gotten her prize. Changes were beginning, subtle as they were. Kiriko found herself retiring earlier each evening, and sleep coming more deeply. More easily nauseous, she'd been shying away from much more than fish and egg. Well, that wasn't entirely the case. Yesterday she'd awoken with a craving for coconuts that couldn't be willed away. So much so, Kiriko promised Erik she would turn the large piece of amethyst he'd found into a blade for a knife if he brought her two. Thankfully, the boy had delivered. Perhaps the most glaring shift was just how much more she needed Hattori. At first, Kiriko chalked it up to her feelings for him. He'd kept her safe. He'd taken care of her. Of course she should feel this way. Still, they were apart for more than a few hours, she found herself anxious. Was it the trauma of the attack even that could maybe be written off. Too many things lined up, though she could have sworn she was out of season at the time... Not wanting to trouble Sedna (and not wanting to out her ahem extra curricular activity quite yet), Kiriko would face this examination on her own. Going down the same check list she would for any patient in her condition yielded the same conclusion. Emotions... so many emotions coursing through her system. The nervousness about Hattori's reaction was overridden by her excitement. It would be hard not to be excited. She could only hope that he'd feel the same way. Seeing no need to put this off, Kiriko summoned his cat with a psspsspss. "Can you get Hattori please? Not urgent, but important, when he has a moment." Slipping him the untouched half of her egg from breakfast, Kiriko watched for a moment as he slipped into the bamboo. Though her paws trembled just a bit as she set about preparing tea, taking great care to do it the way he liked. How was he going to react? Taking a deep breath, slipping a bit of ginger in her mouth to chew in an effort to combat the once-more rising nausea. "Speech"

Hattori was busy, that enough was a given. But his cat companion was willing enough to follow orders, even without the half-eaten egg to sweeten the deal. The Kaicho turned slightly at the sound of rustling leaves, his companion could move silently like any cat but made an effort to make some noise to announce his approach. By no means were Hattori and his companions friends, but they understood one another well, they were servants, but their relationship was still mutually beneficial. They spoke quietly in the shadows, exchanging a few words before the pair went their seperate ways, Hattori heading in the direction his Golden cat had just emerged from.

It wasn't overly difficult to find Kiriko, she made no effort to hide herself and her scent was more familiar than most these days. The silver of his eyes lingered on her form, her slender paws as she was already in the process of serving tea. He didn't even need to tell her how he liked it, she knew well by now. He thought it a bit presumptuous to call on him just for tea, but he held back his prejudices for now on the assumption she had something she wished to say.

"What do you need?"He said then, as he settled, getting comfortable atop the leaf litter.

Though Kiriko was nervous, the excitement was hard to hold back as well. Though she hadn't exactly asked Hattori, he'd accepted her closeness without complaint. He allowed her to curl up beside him, he'd allowed her to stay in his den instead of banishing her back to her own. He'd been receptive enough to get her into this situation-- takes two to tango, after all. Still, that alone wouldn't prevent her nerves entirely. Kiriko was better off when she was busy, so busy she would be. Tea prepared, ready and waiting. Bed made. Den spotless. It wasn't long before he arrived. Hattori settled, and the red woman passed him a cup of tea. Searching for the right words, putting them together in her head. Though she'd planned on what she'd say, why did the words seem to stick in her throat? Taking a sip of her own tea and fixing Hattori with a soft (albeit nervous) look, Kiriko took a deep breath before speaking. "I'm sorry to pull you away in the middle of the day," she begins, trying to steady her voice. The words feel... formal. Taking a moment to steady herself before delivering the news, allowing a more demure expression to take its place. Better. Soft, demure, open-- that should do it. "It shouldn't have been possible given the season, but... I'm pregnant, Hattori." Kiriko offered a gentle, hopeful smile. Looking up at him, near shy at the admission. For someone who tended to understand the ways of men, he was still an enigma. All she could do now? Hope for the best. "Speech"

"It is fine." He brushed her initial concerns aside, she knew him well enough-perhaps even better than most- to know small talk was of little interest to him. He was eager to brush past the pleasantries and get to the meat of the matter, and there was indeed a matter even if he couldn't quite work out what it was by reading her body language alone.

Kiriko, after serving the tea-a wise move-went onto explain why she'd called him here and- well, it wasn't what he'd anticipated at all. He had presumed she would want to talk about the aftermath of the attack or perhaps her feelings, things he hadn't thought were urgent at all, given how much he had on his plate these days. And more would be loaded on, it seemed.

He was silent and tense, his gaze unblinking as he watched her, as if the signs were something he could pick up with the naked eye. Which wasn't to say he doubted her, nor was he calling her a liar as she was a far more competent healer than he could ever be and yet... Hattori believed her when she hadn't foreseen this, he did not imagine it was all some plot of hers to meet some end. But it was unexpected, a shift in his path he hadn't prepared for in the least.

He sighed, it sounded more frustrated than he would have liked. After all that happened it hadn't been quite so easy to keep his cards so close to his chest, his annoyances slipped out more often than not. The look in his eyes harsher than he would have liked.

"And what do you wish to do about it?"

Brushing aside the pleasantries as he does... she expects it. Kiriko knows that he will. She needs it. The formality gives her something to cling to. Formality provided her safety in the storm. More formality would dissolve between them, hopefully, given the news. At least in the comfort of their own home... their own. She's getting ahead of herself. Swallowing hard, Kiriko's gaze remains steady. In this situation, she... well, she sits as his equal in ways that no other can. Whether or not that's a good thing for her... that was yet to be seen. Already, there is a slight swell to her sides. For her to be showing this early... well, large litter would be an understatement. Though frustration was clear in his sigh, dripping into his tone, Kiriko knows this is her moment to shine. Her movements are light, each step taken in a way that both minimizes her presence and accentuates all the right things. "You are a powerful, single leader, with no heir," she speaks quietly. Stepping ever-closer to Hattori, though her posture remains low. Inviting, though subtly so. Kiriko won't overplay her hand, but oh the promise of that heir and the way she'd let the low light of their den catch on the swell of her side. "I wish to offer you a solution to both problems." She doesn't meet his eyes. No, Kiriko's gaze remains fixed on his face, trying to catch any expression. Any indication. Any anything. It's a loaded question, an offer that left her cards on the table. Vulnerable, but Hattori hadn't let her down yet. Kiriko could only hope the offer was enticing enough. "Speech"

Her offer is as shrewd as it is politically sound. Though Hattori cared for his children in his own aloof and perhaps misguided way, they were not his heirs. If things had worked out different, then perhaps in a twisted version of his current reality they might have been, but he'd never been the sort to linger on the what ifs. It did him no good and to question his chosen course in life would tear at the seams of what he deemed necessary, there was no taking it back now, too much time had passed. Hattori thought that he was fine alone, he didn't feel a burning desire to fill the space at his side, and yet the thought of Kiriko being there was not intolerable. He liked her more than most and perhaps it would be wise to come to some sort of understanding, an arrangement.

Instead of this situation being framed as a problem, she posed it as a solution. A convincing argument he hadn't foreseen in the brief moments he'd had to consider how he felt, wondered what she wished to do.

He grunted in thought, ears flicking as he dragged his gaze away from her form. She'd been suitably demure, phrased it as a suggestion and not a demand- to say that she was skilled at her craft would be an understatement. Not that Hattori could perceive her machinations. After all, how could a spider realise it was in a trap before it felt the tug of the web?

He couldn't disparage her bloodline, Hattori knew in all likelihood he wouldn't get a chance like this again and it wasn't as if he was getting any younger.

"Hm. If you wish to keep them I will do right by you." Not only because it was the moral thing to do, but he also had something to gain from this. "You know who I am and what I am like, does that sit right with you?" Which was to say she should not expect romance from him, this would be a marriage of obligation and situation, yet she would gain all the same.

Two powerful bloodlines and a crossroads... Kiriko had a feeling she knew which direction he would choose. She remains close to his side, cheek tucked close to Hattori's shoulder. She'd landed exactly where she needed to be. To say she'd had this on her mind from the start would be a mischaracterization, no, she'd leave the conniving to the likes of her mother. No, her manipulations had been far more subtle, far more gentle. By the time Kiriko needed to put her feminine charms to good use, the feelings had even been genuine. Right, couldn't fault her too hard. The hopeful little girl that dreamed of a handsome man who'd keep her safe really had won the day. The idea that they both had something to gain from this sweetened the deal. Kiriko had successfully secured her future-- not just here, among the bamboo. She'd secured her future, and Hattori's too. He'd gotten all the important practicalities squared away, and she reaped the benefits. Any affection she showed him in the meantime was his to keep, reciprocated or not. She would be his wife. "It does." The words carry a weight to them. They taste like finality. Kiriko can't help but remain close to his side, still, at least for as long as he'll let her. Blame it on the hormones. "I will be a partner to you, Hanzō. In whatever way you need." It's a show of emotion the likes of which she hasn't shown since arriving. Ruby gaze settling on his face now, Kiriko speaks in earnest. While she may not understand him entirely, not yet, the risen queen will do her duty. Her brand of tenderness comes with quiet determination. She would meet him where he was. That's the best any of them can ever hope for, right? "Speech"

Kiriko was many things, but not foolish he'd wager. She had known him long enough to realise he was set in his ways, that even if he could change he might not want to. It was a lot to accept, Hattori hadn't been a good husband to Venom and there was always the possibility he would fail Kiriko in some way. And yet it seemed like a risk she was willing to take. Hattori would do right by her in this marriage of convenience, but that was ultimately all it was, for now at least, a necessity.  

It wasn't such a terrible fate, nor did it go against his morals or the expectations that had been drilled into him as a boy. His feelings were still somewhat mixed when he dwelled on his marriage, it wasn't something he'd ever tried to justify or delve into. It was just a series of actions, a step-by-step process he had ended in a rather callous way.

"Very well." It seemed simple as it was, Kiriko had no quarrels she was vocalising at least but he found himself with the urge to press. To make sure. "Do you have any stipulations?"