#iekan

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 26 - Time Warped (Again). While Okatsu deals with the emotional fallout of recent events, Mozumi hosts a badly timed banquet, and Mitsunari consults another book.

Mitsunari x OC; Nobunaga x Mai

Previous Chapter

Logline - In order to protect a political alliance, Katusko and Mitsunari must pretend an engagement. But this “all business” arrangement is threatened by a coup against Nobunaga… and by feelings.

From the Military Notes of Ishida Mitsunari…

It is over. We succeeded in preventing Iekane’s forces from killing Nobunaga. Mitsuhide patted my shoulder and told me I had performed beyond his expectations. I’ve received word that Nobunaga plans to reward me for my service.

I should feel happy… We have won… and Okatsu kissed me. Perhaps as one might kiss a brother, however, her lips touched mine, which is the definition of a kiss.

But Okatsu still plans to leave.

No, that is a mischaracterization of the situation – Okatsu never planned to stay. This is something I knew. This is something I wanted. I no longer want this, but she will be with her family, she will return to a future that is peaceful and safer than here. I will be happy for her.

But…

…wait…

… Where is every--?

When Aki aimed his gun at the minion, I shut my eyes, waiting for images of my past to flash before me, as is foretold in popular fiction.

That didn’t happen.

Either I wasn’t going to die… or popular fiction was wrong. I had a bad feeling it was going to be the latter unless I took steps to avoid that fate. I opened my eyes again, knowing that as soon as Aki killed the minion, I would have to use that moment of distraction to act –

THWUMP!

With more power than grace, Mitsunari hauled himself over the edge of the tower and knocked the minion off his feet.  As a distraction, it worked wonderfully. I grabbed the war fan out of my kimono, jammed it into Iekane’s stomach, then flipped him over my body.

He landed right where Aki was waiting for him.

While Mitsunari was easily dispatching the minion, I grabbed Hikosane and yanked him out of the path of any stray bullet, sword, or –

THUNK.

Unconscious minions.

The second the minion hit the floor, Mitsunari had Hikosane and I in his arms, as far away from the Iekane and Aki’s fight as possible. At the moment, there wasn’t much else we could do except let Aki have his chance at Iekane. The two of them were evenly matched. Aki discarded the musket for his sword, and they battled across the perimeter of the tower, grimly trading hits, swords clanging against each other. Then Iekane backed up a step and pulled out a small rectangular object … was that a cell phone?

“No, you can’t it’s too-” Aki’s words were lost as he leaped at Iekane -

For a moment, out of the corner of my eye, I saw an odd aura – almost like the ones I used to get before a migraine headache. It felt like reality was rippling around me, almost as if the horizon was a curtain that was about to lift. I’ve… seen this before…

Then Aki’s forward motion took both of them over the railing of the tower.

Holy fu-

Mitsunari, Hikosane, and I rushed to the railing, and I was hoping against fate that I would find Aki clinging to the edge of the tower, and not in a broken heap on the ground below. Of course, he’d be clinging to the edge. This was Aki. Slippery. Wily. Acrobatic…

He was not clinging to the tower.

Nor was he – or Iekane – in a heap on the ground below.

In absence of their fight, the birdsong seemed unnaturally loud. None of us said anything to break the quiet. The three of us just stared over the edge, looking at�� nothing.

We weren’t that far off the ground… a fall from the tower platform would have been survivable, although neither Aki nor Iekane would have had time to drag themselves into the woods, nor was there any evidence of two adult sized bodies having thudded to the ground.

It was as if they had never been there at all.

Finally, I pulled myself out of the shock, and rushed down the ladder and through the tower to the outside, barely aware that Mitsunari and Hikosane were right behind me.

Aki?

Dad?

Even in my head ‘dad’ didn’t sound right. Aki was… just…  Aki.

And he was gone.

Vanished somewhere between the tower platform and the soft, springy ground – a ground that clearly had not been crushed by two men thudding onto it.

“Where did they go?” Hikosane looked through the brush around the tower.

“Um, ninja tricks,” was all that I could come up with on the fly. I might have been able to formulate a better lie, but my attention was caught by something on the ground. A few stray leaves. Normally, exactly what you’d expect to find on the ground in the middle of a forest.

But they were late Autumn leaves. Maple leaves. Brown and gold where all the trees around us had yet to change color. Nor were any of them maple. I picked one up to examine it. Aside from being out of season, it was just a leaf.

“There may have been men waiting down here to help Iekane escape.” Mitsunari’s explanation to Hikosane sounded more plausible than mine. He glanced at the leaf I had in my hand and nodded.

Aki and Iekane had somehow, without a wormhole, gone elsewhere in time.

“We’re going to go after them, right?” Hikosane tugged on my arm. “Iekane and your father.”

Mitsunari sent a startled look my way – I guess he had missed that part of our drama. “Yes, of course I want to go after them, but now isn’t the time. I’ll need supplies and more arrows,” and a time machine. “Besides, right now we need to get you back to Genba, where I am sure your own father will be watching for you.”

We walked quietly back toward the castle, still alert to any remaining stragglers from Iekane’s crew that would be lurking, ready to jump scare our party. But Masamune and Ieyasu had been quite thorough in the mop-up detail. Masamune’s reputation alone might have been enough to send many those mercenaries running.

I felt a light touch on my shoulder and looked over to see Mitsunari looking at me steadily. “How are you?”

“A few bruises, that’s all.” Hopefully not another black eye. “Nothing that needs medical attention.”

“That was not what I was asking.” He glanced back over his shoulder, to where the tower was still visible in the distance.

Yes. I had been aware that he was really asking, ‘are you ok after watching your father apparently die?’ I had no answer to that. I wasn’t used to delving through my psyche. My mother’s emotions had strangled Toshiie and I for years – I’d never seen any reason to inflict mine on anyone else. Mitsunari was asking me to access the sort of things that were usually packed neatly away. I was afraid if I unpacked them, I would discover feelings that I couldn’t shove back into the suitcase.

But…

Aki’s disappearance… no, I wouldn’t think of him as dead. The man had always seemed indestructible. He wasn’t though. Aki was human. He aged. He could die.

He could die.

He might already be dead.

I couldn’t cry now.

Not here.

Mitsunari took my hands, and gently pulled me into an embrace. Then, with my face pressed against his chest, I cried, while Mitsunari simply held on, his fingers soft across my back.

We returned to the last thing I was in the mood for… another banquet. If Mozumi was humiliated that his wife had not only been cheating on him, but had been treasonously plotting to kill Nobunaga, he chose to pretend otherwise. Or maybe this was banquet was more along the lines of a plea to Nobunaga, the old, ‘hey, I’m sorry a member of the household tried to kill you, but look on the bright side, you didn’t die, so let’s party’ distraction technique.

The mood, at least, was far more subdued than the engagement banquet, and the ‘let’s entertain Nobunaga’ banquets. Most of Mozumi’s vassals were still on the coast, and the ones who had stayed behind, like Susumu, had lost friends and comrades in the struggle. While they were grateful enough to be fed, they (naturally) weren’t in a celebratory mood. Mozumi himself was seated only with Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, all three with their heads together in an intense discussion.

Mozumi didn’t look like he was pleading for his life, but his attitude was far more deferential than it had been a couple weeks ago. I wondered if they were trying to decide Lady Yone’s fate. Normally, she would have been sentenced to death for her treasonous acts, in fact, I was surprised that she had not already been executed. But Mai had pleaded for leniency, for the sake of her daughters, all of whom were under the age of ten. Last I heard, her punishment had yet to be determined.

On the other hand, the happiest person at the banquet was Shohime, who was in her element, alternately – or, well actually simultaneously – flirting with Keiji and Masamune. Both seemed happy enough to reciprocate. I wondered if they were getting her ‘beautiful, perfect, but dumb’ persona, or if now that Hikosane was safe from Lady Yone, Shohime was finally going to be able to allow her true self to emerge.

One person who had escaped the celebration was Mitsuhide, who had claimed that the sight of his injuries would put people off their food. Personally, I thought that unlikely – these men and women had seen far too much danger and battle to care. More likely, he didn’t feel social, or had decided to keep his presence on the down low.

Hikosane had also been able to escape the ‘banquet’ and was supposedly in his room – but I had a feeling he’d snuck out to the stables to hang out with Mitsuhide.

I would have like to have been able to get out of the feasting too – it would have been nice to be able to find a time and space in which to process the events of the few days. But since I was supposed to be an Oda Princess, I couldn’t suddenly claim to be mourning my father (long-dead in my fake backstory). Additionally, to avoid confusion, Hideyoshi had (reluctantly) decided to let the false engagement stand until we returned to Azuchi.

But… I wouldn’t be returning to Azuchi.

Travel in this century being what it was, I intended to part ways with the Oda and Mitsunari as soon as we left Genba. There wasn’t time for me to go all the way to Azuchi and then travel back up to the Togakushi shrine  – I would miss the wormhole if I did.

Until then I would pretend to be a happy, engaged Princess. As such, I looked over and smiled fondly at Mitsunari, who was happily catching up with Ieyasu (less than happy to be caught up with). Déjà vu, Mitsunari’s hand came close to knocking a bowl of soup into Ieyasu’s lap.

Ieyasu braced himself, that familiar scowl descending his face. Mitsunari slowed down, moved his bowl out of the way, and continued the conversation.

Startled, Ieyasu blinked. Then he frowned again – must be disappointed not to have anything to complain about. If I had been in a better mood myself, I would have laughed at him.

Yes, Mitsunari had changed. Well. A little. He was less clumsy. More confident. Oh, under that he was still the too literal absent minded, sweet genius that I …

…couldn’t possibly allow myself to think, to feel about in that way.

Suddenly, I could no longer stand to be in a room full of people and before I could think of any excuse, I jumped to my feet.

“Are you feeling alright, Okatsu?” Looking concerned, Mitsunari reached for my hand, but I was already backing away from the table.

“I’m fine. I thought I’d steal some dessert and take it up to Hikosane.” It was a stupid excuse – Hikosane probably had been fed the same meal we had. But I realized I did want to check in on the kid. “Oh, no stay put,” I added when Mitsunari moved to join me. “I know you haven’t seen Ieyasu in a while, and you want to spend time with your friend.”

Ieyasu sighed the sigh of a man facing a long evening.

Without allowing either of them to say another word, I hurried out of the banquet hall.

Eventually, I tracked Hikosane to the stables – just as I expected, he was pestering Mitsuhide and Kyubei to tell him about their adventures.

“Young man, you are one question away from becoming as annoying as – that one.” Mitsuhide indicated me with a nod of his head.

“Truly? I am honored by the comparison.” Hikosane gave a rather Mitsunari-esque response. Perhaps he had been spending too much time with both of us.

“That was in no way intended to be a compliment.” Mitsuhide stood up, signaling to us all that whatever patience he had was at its end.

“Huh, actually, I took it as a compliment too.” I held out my hand for Hikosane. “If I can annoy you, I must be doing something right.”

Kyubei hastily smothered a laugh, which earned him a look of doom from Mitsuhide.

“Anyway, I will be out of your … wig… soon enough. And you can sooth yourself with the knowledge that Hideyoshi hates me even more than you do.” Every time that man looked at me, his jaw twitched as if he were biting his tongue.

“There is that.” Mitsuhide then turned serious. “Neither I nor Hideyoshi hate you… far from it. You’re simply too volatile for my peace of mind. Doing the work that I, and by association, you, do, requires a certain cold calculation that at this point, you do not yet possess.” I opened my mouth to protest that (which… might have proven his point), but he continued, “And I would regret it if someday you were to acquire that skill.”

He turned back toward Kyubei, who, I belatedly noticed, was sitting in front of a partially completed shogi game – I suppose Hikosane had interrupted them. I wondered if Mitsuhide and Aki would ever get the chance to complete their long-running game. Hopefully, wherever Aki was, he was still alive and would be able to return to this time.

My expression must have been unusually unguarded, because Kyubei said, “Hikosane has told us what happened to Akihira. Do you think Iekane would take him prisoner?” Unspoken was the ‘or simply killed him elsewhere?’

“That’s certainly a possibility.” Or they could both be chasing after each other in a different timeline, but that wasn’t something I could bring up to this audience.

Reminded of his manners – or at least of macro-etiquette in this type of situation, Mitsuhide turned back to me. “I am truly sorry that you lost your mentor. I imagine you were close.”

“He’s her father!” Hikosane had not yet fully learned the lesson of keeping information private, but this likely wasn’t something that I would have been able to hide from Mitsuhide in the long run anyway. “Of course, they were close!”

That bombshell prompted mirror image raised single eyebrows from both Kyubei and Mitsuhide (yeesh, can everyone but me do that?). “Fascinating. That was information that had escaped me.”

I considered telling him that it had been a surprise to me as well, but it would do him no harm to believe that I had always known and had managed to keep it a secret from him. I also imagined I’d get some spy credit chips if he thought that I had grown up being trained by Aki. “Well. You can’t know everything.”

That, in my opinion, was a perfect exit line, so I gave Mitsuhide a version of his own mocking bow, and a more polite one to Kyubei, before leading Hikosane back to the castle.

Hikosane looked back over his shoulder toward the stables as we padded through the corridors of Genba. “I’m looking forward to knowing him better.”

“I don’t think anyone really knows him, aside from Kyubei.” The castle had quieted down for the night. Seemed like the banquet had ended earlier than usual, and people were heading off to bed.

“When Shohime and I are living at Azuchi, I will make it a point to learn as much as I can from and about him.” Hikosane’s voice held a solemn vow, but I was more interested in what he said, and not how.

“You’ll be living at Azuchi?” I slid open the door to his room, and automatically scanned it for samurais and snakes. The page waiting for Hikosane flinched under my stare and stepped backward, nearly tripping over the futon.

“It has not been formalized yet, but we went to Nobunaga and offered ourselves as hostages – no, it’s what I want – and Shohime too,” he added quickly before I could make a protest. “While you may not think it’s necessary, I wish to learn more about governing and I’ll learn more from Nobunaga than my own father.”

This was clearly true, and if his life was still in danger from Iekane, Azuchi was a safer place for him to be. “You’re right, you probably will.”

“I can learn from you too. I’ve never known a kuinochi princess before.” He bowed to me.

Neither have I.

“Hikosane, I’m going on a long journey first – to spend time with my brother and look for my father. I don’t know exactly when I’ll be returning to Azuchi.” Too many directions I wanted and needed to go. No matter where I ended up, part of my heart would be somewhere else.

He looked at me a long time, then ran to me and gave me a long hug. “I am certain I will see you again.”

“You’ll see me tomorrow.” I bowed to him. “Good night, Hiko.”

As he slid closed the door to his room, I wished I were not leaving. I would like to see this child grow up and become whatever it was he was to become. I even wanted to see what kind of damage Shohime would do to the Azuchi warlords.

Who knows… maybe she and Mitsunari would end up together after all. I wished that thought didn’t hurt as much as it did.

I took a deep breath.

And then another.

By the time I got back to our room, I had composed myself… until I opened the door to discover that Mitsunari had lost his mind.

He was …? I tilted my head to try and get a better perspective on what he was… he was… well, it looked like he was playing a game of invisible twister with an octopus.

When he saw me, he blushed, then lost his balance and collapsed in a heap, half on the cushion and half on the floor.

I rushed over to help him up. “Are you alright?” By which I meant both physically and mentally. He scrambled to toss something behind him. It, naturally, bounced off the wall. I put my hands up to avoid getting smacked in the face with it, and –

One of Mozumi’s pillow books?

I looked at the book.

I looked at Mitsunari.

He was still blushing.

For the first time in years, I could think of nothing to say. I might (possibly) have been blushing too. I simply handed the book back to him. My mind still blank, I considered whether I should just back out of the room, then re-enter and do a retake of the entire last five minutes.

Hey. Time travel. It could happen.

@lorei-writes @bestbryn @katriniac @lyds323 @briars7

[scoobydoojedi]

Mogami Clan

The Mogami of Dewa province were descended from the Shiba family and were founded by Shiba Iekane's son Kaneyori; the Mogami increased their influence during the Sengoku Period and reached their peak after the Battle of Sekigahara; they were, however, to lose much of their wealth and influence due to the poor administration of Mogami Yoshitoshi in the early Edo Period.

*Prominent People*

*Shiba Kaneyori*(????-????) In 1356, Iekane sent his son Shiba Kaneyori to the Yamagata basin as a measure to cope with the Southern Court army. Kaneyori built Yamagata Castle in about 1360, and won against the Southern Court army in 1367. After that, he settled there and took the name “Mogami”, from the town in Dewa Province. This is the origin of the Mogami clan.

*Mogami Yoshisada*(????-????) Mogami Yoshisada lost to Date Tanemune in 1514; after much battle and bloodshed in the common northern mist, the Mogami clan became dominated by theDate clan. After Yoshisada died, Mogami Yoshimori 2 years old then, became the master in 1522.

*Mogami Yoshimori* (????-????) Yoshisada's son

In 1542, a war broke out between Date Tanemune and his son Date Harumune. The Date clan’s power was diminished by this war called the Tenbun war, and Yoshimori seized this chance to succeed in getting independence from Date.

*Mogami Yoshiaki* (1546 – 1614) Mogami Yoshiaki was the first son of Mogami Yoshimori , of the Mogami clanand succeeded his father as daimyō of Yamagata. When Toyotomi Hideyoshi came to power, Mogami submitted to his rule, but later became a supporter of Tokugawa Ieyasufollowing Hideyoshi's death. He was known to hate the Toyotomi because Hideyoshi ordered the execution of Yoshiaki's teenage daughter when purging his nephew Toyotomi Hidetsugu, whom Yoshiaki's daughter was engaged to.

In 1600, he battled Uesugi Kagekatsu, an enemy of Tokugawa's, alongside Date Masamune (his nephew), another lord of thefar north. He aided in Date's siege of Shiroishi, and was then attacked in his own home castle of Hataya. Later that year, Mogami and Date supported Ieyasu at the famous battle of Sekigahara, after which Mogami's domain was expanded to 520,000 koku in return for his loyal service. This made the Yamagata domain the fifth largest in Japan at the time, excluding the land held by Tokugawa. He died at Yamagata Castle in 1614.



[iekanprodigy-blog]

Good old days | "peace or war?" • Seeing the situation where we are going through, I came up with a few drawings/ sketches alongside with the current situation. So yeah quarantine is on duo to the bio war (COVID-19)... Hope this situation comes to an end so that we can meet up with our loved ones and look up to the world once again.... pray to god, pray for peace. ^ Thanks to all doctors and co-workers, the police force, the government and also the public for the hardwork, patience and contribution towards the welfare of the country hoping for a better future. Thanks to all! ❤���🙏🏻 • And finally the drawing ✍🏻👇🏻 I'm actually out of white sheets (A4 and A3) on which I do my drawings usually (I prefer the most) so, I had to use my sketch pad after a long time to do these portraits. Hope you guys love it! Please love and share...❤🙂 • Stay safe #art #artist #artistry #artwork #artistsoninstagram #artistsofinstagram #black #white #blackink #paints #painters #pencil #sketch #sketchpad #paper #graffiti #graffiiart #graffitartist #instagram #instagood #love #life #likes #followforfollowback #quarantine #corona #theoreticalphysics #stayhome #strangerthings #iekan . . . . . . ⛑ (at Good Old Days) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-wZRxhjImp/?igshid=vvyldzppo3n0

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 34 - Dereliction of Duty: Maybe Mitsunari and Okatsu should have let someone know where they were, before Hideyoshi got worri... Too late.

Mitsunari x OC; Nobunaga x Mai

Previous Chapter

Logline -  In order to protect a political alliance, Katusko and Mitsunari must pretend an engagement. But this “all business” arrangement is threatened by a coup against Nobunaga… and by feelings.

From the Military Notes of Ishida Mitsunari…

Okatsu is asleep. Not the restless sleep that plagued her when we were in Genba castle – she appears relaxed. She curls up into me the way Kitty does (I hope this will not cause a problem with Kitty when we return to Azuchi, as I intend to continue sleeping with Okatsu). I believe she is happy.

I am certain I am… this happiness is something I never expected for myself. In fact, I did not realize that people could experience this depth of feeling.

She says that I don’t need to be more than I was… but that doesn’t matter. I already am.

We are-

She is awake.

Wait… who is at the doo-?

I’m not sure what woke me up. It might have been the sun, slanting through the window at an angle far too high to be morning. It might have been Mitsunari’s fingers as he traced a line from my cheek to the corner of my mouth.

It might have been the sound of running feet and angry voices…

Whatever it was, by the time the door slid open and-

Hideyoshi…

Mitsuhide…

Nobunaga…

and Mai piled into the room…

I was awake.

“Where the hell have you two been?” Hideyoshi yelped it over Mai’s apologetic, “I tried to stop them.”

“Oh my.” Mitsuhide leaned against the wall. “There was no need to take your fake engagement all the way into a fake honeymoon.” He sent a mocking look toward the pile of disheveled bedding that was mostly covering us up. “That is rather going far and above the call of duty.”

I refused to cower in front of either Hideyoshi’s disapproval or Mitsuhide’s teasing. At least Nobunaga seemed to be taking things calmly – ok, well, he seemed amused at Hideyoshi’s bristling and Mitsuhide’s sarcasm… so… calmly amused.

With perhaps a slight bit of bravado, I rearranged the blanket to confirm that the important bits were covered, then said, with equal bravado, “If you believe anything here was faked, you don’t know Mitsunari as well as you think.”

That, at least got smiles from Mai and Nobunaga, the expected scowl from Hideyoshi, and well, no response at all from Mitsuhide.

“During your activities,” Hideyoshi sounded like he was choking on the word, “did it occur to either one of you that we might be concerned over your well-being? At least once in the past ten days, you might have considered sending word of your safety.”

Mitsunari froze, although he had grabbed my hand and did not let it go. “I am sorry, Lord Hideyoshi. I did not realize so much time had passed.”

Mai actually snort-laughed at that.

As I didn’t want Mitsunari to get into any trouble (any more trouble), I turned to Mai and Nobunaga who, hopefully, would understand the subtext of my explanation. “For the majority of the time we were unaccounted for, we were in a situation where it was not possible to send a message.” And… probably best to gloss over the past three days since we had arrived at this Inn.

The two of them spent a moment in silent communication. “Understood.” Nobunaga nodded to himself. “Make yourselves presentable, after which we will discuss current matters- not the least of which will be to commend your performance in repelling Iekane’s forces.”

Put like that, it sounded like we had successfully pitched a project to a client, rather than, almost singlehandedly holding off an insurrection for three days… but, details.

Then Nobunaga turned, and more or less propelled Hideyoshi out of the room. Mai winked at us and followed. Mitsuhide paused at the door then asked, “I take it you were searching for Akihira.”

“Yes, sir.” Even naked, Mitsunari hadn’t dropped his formality. Of course, it was possible that Mitsunari had forgotten he was naked. “Unfortunately, even his more regular contacts were not able to locate him.”

Mitsuhide rubbed his chin and looked at me. “That suggests that you might be in need of a new master.”

“Okatsu has no need to employment.” Mitsunari pulled me closer to him so quickly I almost didn’t have time to pull the blanket with me (yeah, he had forgotten that we were naked). “I am able to take care of her.”

Oh dear.

It seemed that we did still have a few issues to work out. None of which were worth discussing while Mitsuhide was in the room.

Why was he still here?

“I believe I heard Nobunaga calling for you, Lord Mitsuhide.” Blatant lie, but I should get credit for saying it with a completely blank face.

“You must have excellent hearing.” Great. Trust Mitsuhide to want to stick around to tease us both.

“I do, in fact.” I looked around for something to throw at him, but came up empty handed. “Perhaps any discussion of future employment should wait for Nobunaga as he did make a prior offer.”

Go away.

Besides which, I doubted I could work full time for Mitsuhide without wanting to kill him – and I would be surprised if he didn’t say the same thing about me.

“If you wish me to leave, Brat, you need only to ask.” He made a show of looking at his nails as if to suggest that he was only sticking around because he had yet to be dismissed.

Beside me, I sensed Mitsunari about to object to the term, ‘brat,’ so I imitated Mitsuhide’s bored tone. “Lord Mitsuhide, you have permission to take your leave of us.”

“As you wish.” He bowed and left.

“Okatsu-”

I placed my fingers on Mitsunari’s lips, until I was certain Mitsuhide had left and was not lurking in the corridor as he had when… Wait- what was I remembering? I was suddenly hit with two blurry flashes of memories. In one, I ran into a corridor carrying a bundle of clothing and nearly collided with Mitsuhide. Before I could sort though that, it was replaced by another image, another corridor, this one red and black, garish almost, that spun dizzily around while Mitsuhide scooped me up and said something about a head injury…

Neither of these things had happened.

Had I just gotten a flash of Katsuko’s memories? Of Kayten’s? Or of another of the so-called alternate’s?

I rubbed my eyes, trying to push away the invading pictures. Was this what Kayten had to deal with all the time? No wonder she was so… difficult.

“Okatsu?” Mitsunari looked at me with concern. “You appeared to be … in pain.”

Oh, he was so, so much better at understanding my emotions these days. Of course we had just spend the last seventy-two hours exploring each other physically and emotionally – basically it had been a love language immersion class. “I’m fine. Just remembering a … weird dream.”

Maybe it would be good idea to think of the other Katsukos’ lives as a dream. Otherwise, I might end driving myself crazy for real. Had any of the other (sigh) alternates gotten flashes of my life? If so, I hoped they had enjoyed the last three days.

I know I certainly had.

Keeping my smile (and probably leer) hidden, I watched as Mitsunari got up and gathered the clothing that was scattered around the room. Oh. He did have a nice butt. Not quite Captain America level, but, darned close. Oooh. I can now objectify my fake fiancée!

Hm… was our engagement still fake?

Mitsunari turned around and caught me staring. “Okatsu, I love you, but I do not wish to keep Hideyoshi waiting. If you continue to look at me like that, that is certainly what will happen.”

“Understood. My apologies.” I needed to get dressed too, of course. At least for me, I had a change of clothing that I had grabbed before leaving Genba. Poor Mitsunari was stuck in the clothing that had gotten rained on.

Aside from a couple of corner of my eye glances at my maybe-not-fake fiancé, I managed to get up and get dressed, without pulling Mitsunari back to bed for round twelve.

Once I was dressed in Katsu-the-messenger’s clothing, I noticed Mitsunari was regarding me with a frown. “What’s wrong? Does this hakama make me look fat?”

“Fat? You are perfect, no matter what you are wearing.” He pulled me in for a quick kiss. “It is only that when you dress this way, I remember your work can be dangerous.”

Oh right. We do still need to settle this first (sorry Hideyoshi). “It can be, but I can take care of myself.” I put my hand up to stop his automatic protest. “Yes, I know you can take care of me as well. But I like what I do. As much as I love you, I wouldn’t be me if I sat around all day and did nothing.”

And then, because he still hadn’t responded, I hugged him tighter. “Anyway, I don’t even know who I will be working for. Nobunaga may want me to work as a translator.” But hopefully not all the time. It could get pretty boring to be stuck inside with papers and such. “As for Mitsuhide, I don’t think he would really ask me to do anything dangerous – he has his own spies and Kyubei for that.”

“I hope you are correct.” He kissed the top of my head. He was still holding on tightly, so I don’t know how much of that had gotten through.

“We have time to figure it out.” That was the best perk – since I had arrived in this era, I had been in a sort of limbo, while I searched for Toshiie and a way home. But now, I was home, and I knew where Toshiie was. If I could only figure out what had happened to Aki, it would be perfect. Although at least I knew that there were other people looking for him too… other versions of me looking for him. And since the other versions had also been trained by Aki, surely one of us would find him.

“Where are your sandals?” That was the first question from Hideyoshi once we had all crowded into Nobunaga’s rooms for a debriefing session.

Mitsunari looked down at his feet, as if he hadn’t realized they were bare (quite possibly he hadn’t). “I seem to have misplaced… oh.” At the last minute, he finally must have remembered they were now a pile of ash.

“We tried to dry them off after they got soaked in the rain, and they fell in the firepit.” I kept my smile as innocent as possible. Hideyoshi seemed satisfied with the explanation, but Mitsuhide gave me a look that suggested he knew what we had been doing while the shoes went up in smoke.

“Something will be found for you to wear before we return to Azuchi.” Nobunaga waved his hand in the air as if such a problem was beneath his notice. “If we can find nothing that fits, perhaps Mai can help.”

“Of course. Also,” Mai turned to me with a frown. “Shohime said she would pack up all your things and bring them to Azuchi.” There was a note of hurt in her voice.

Right. When I left, I had abandoned the clothing she had made. I hadn’t meant to hurt her feelings, but obviously I had. “I’m sorry. I would have loved to have taken them with me, but I thought I was returning to a life where they would not have been used.” Not a lot of call for formal kimonos in modern Japan. I mean, I could have worn one on special occasions, if I had been a special occasion kind of girl. But. I wasn’t. “I did take the blue-green one with me. I couldn’t bear to part with it, even if it would have been impractical back in our village.”

Mai continued to look a bit pouty, but she didn’t say anything more. Looks like I had my work cut out for me to repair that relationship.

Nobunaga gently stroked her arm before moving the conversation along. “I am given to understand that your former employer went missing after the Battle of Genba?”

“Yes… my father, in fact.” No use hiding it at this point, especially since Hikosane had already told Mitsuhide. To conceal it from Nobunaga after that would be disingenuous. “My intention was to look for him near our home in case he had somehow made his way back there. However the place was deserted – even his chatelaine was gone.” And where was Fume anyway? Another thing I would need to investigate. I mean, I didn’t like her, the feeling was mutual, but I hoped she was ok at least. “Our search led to a location where communication was impossible. Once we exhausted the search, we came here and intended to send you a message today.”

Hopefully they would never discover that we had arrived on-

“The innkeeper noted that you and Mitsunari have been here for three days.” Hideyoshi delivered that tidbit in the tone of an outraged parent… a.k.a his normal voice.

Thank Okitane. See if I send you a Christmas card this year.

“I am sorry, Lord Hideyoshi.” Mitsunari punctuated that statement by bowing low to the floor. Should I do that too? “This was solely my responsibility, as Okatsu is not used to having people concerned about her.”

The objection to this characterization of myself as a lost, orphaned waif (though ‘orphaned’ might be technically true) froze on my lips when Hideyoshi turned and gave me a gentle smile. “Okatsu, from now on, please understand that there are people who will worry if you are late or missing.” Then he… patted me on the head.

!

I must have looked surprised at the gesture, for Mai turned and stage whispered, “You’ll get used to that.”

“Monkey is correct.” Monkey? Nobunaga nodded at Hideyoshi. “You were instrumental in the Battle of Genba, and we will continue to consider you a Princess of the Oda, if that is your desire.”

Well, I could do without the Princess designation, but now wasn’t the time to protest. “I would like to continue living in Azuchi, in whichever capacity you would find useful. Thank you, Lord Nobunaga.” Because it seemed like the proper protocol at this moment, I followed that up with a respectful bow.

“Excellent. I am certain your knowledge of the Nanban language will be useful indeed.” He nodded to himself and I had a dark visions of a future filled with paperwork and official diplomatic functions.

That was fine. If I could be with Mitsunari, I’d eventually figure out how to arrange my days to my satisfaction (my nights, clearly, would be very satisfying). “As you wish, sir.”

“It’s settled then.” Nobunaga waved us out of the room. As I made my escape, I heard Nobunaga and Mai making plans to visit the Inn’s onsen.

I managed to avoid turning around to advise them that it was worth it to wait until night, when the stars over the vista of the mountains spread across the horizon like a velvet blanket. Nobody needed to know exactly how Mitsunari had spent our second night here.

It wasn’t… completely settled.

Hideyoshi wanted to talk to me. Hopefully this wouldn’t be an ‘offer I can’t refuse.’ Mitsunari had been willing to stay for moral support, but I turned him down. If the conversation grew uncomfortable, I didn’t want him stuck between myself and his lord.

I accompanied Hideyoshi into what was at some point going to be a very nice garden, though at the moment it was just a jumble of rocks and mud. We walked quietly for a little while, picking our way to the driest points. He’d called this meeting, he could begin it when he was ready.

“You were originally planning to return to your home with your brother – what made you change your plan?” Hideyoshi brushed some invisible dust off a large stone and gestured for me to sit.

I sat.

Of course, now, he was looming over me. “Mitsunari asked me if I would be permitted to come back and visit him – and I realized that if I left, there was no guarantee that I could return. My village is … not very accessible.”

“You come from the same place as Mai. She mentioned that.” As always, Hideyoshi’s voice softened when he said Mai’s name, and I, in my newfound happiness, was reminded to step very carefully. It wasn’t only the physical path that was full of obstacles.

Nor was I sure that he knew exactly where, or more specifically, when we were from. “Mai and I discovered we came from the same place, but my brother and I had to leave it seven years ago, so she and I had never met before.”

To be honest, I believed that Mai and Nobunaga really ought to bring Hideyoshi (and Mitsuhide at least) into our confidence, or we would continually having these awkward conversations. “My brother decided to return home and originally I intended to go too. But when Mitsunari told me how he felt… I couldn’t leave him.”

Even the memory of his touch on my cheek brought back that warmth, and the expression he had had on his face would be etched into my mind forever. Without my permission, a smile invaded my face. Feeling embarrassed, I turned away from Hideyoshi.

“I’ve never seen you smile… not like that.” Hideyoshi’s voice sounded strained. “I believe your feelings for Mitsunari are honest.”

“They are… but isn’t that Mitsunari’s business?” I understood that Hideyoshi felt somewhat parental toward Mitsunari – pretty much everyone in Azuchi did as well. But my feelings were mine. Mitsunari’s were his. What we chose to share with each other were ours.

Hideyoshi hesitated, and I could almost see the gears grinding in his head. “I only want to… Mitsunari … he’s … not… experienced.”

Well, he was more experienced now than he was three days ago… but I was curious to see where this was going and in any case, I wasn’t going to volunteer any information about my sex life with Hideyoshi (or anyone else, not even Mai, although I was certain she would eventually ask).

“He’s always been brilliant, but in certain ways he’s very young.” Hideyoshi seemed to be dancing around some extremely annoying ableist language here, and once again, just like that first day in the garden of Azuchi, I found myself annoyed on Mitsunari’s behalf.

“Inexperience and ignorance isn’t the same as stupid. Mitsunari is a genius, he is kind, and he makes me want to be-” I stole Mitsunari’s phrasing, “More than I was. He may appear to be unfocussed and absentminded, but he takes everything in and saves it until he needs it. Stop treating him like a toddler… he’s not… he’s a man, and the best one I have ever met.”

Whoops. Did not know that had been building up. Sorry Hidemama.

He turned red, then almost purple, at my impoliteness before the words eventually sunk in. When he finally spoke again, he sounded very very tired. “You. … Are correct.  I beg your pardon. I only wanted to reassure myself that you won’t break his heart.”

“I know that, Lord Hideyoshi. That is why I didn’t stab you with this fan.” I indicated the war fan that would be carried with me everywhere from now on.

“But perhaps that was simply the story I told myself.” He got that far off look in his eyes again, and I wondered if what he was really afraid of was an empty nest. Then he shook himself out of it and looked at the fan and sighed. “A war fan? I suppose it’s better than you wandering around with a sword stuck in your obi and an arsenal strapped around your legs.”

Well, still had all three knives on me, but what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. “It was a gift from Mitsunari, so I’m not giving it up without a fight.”

“It was? It seems he knows you better than I thought.” He laughed, finally. “I suppose we’ll need to train you how to use it.”

“Sure. I look forward to that.” Being allowed to continue all my training was important to me. “I honestly don’t want to be any trouble. I have every intention of being useful.”

He nodded. “I am aware of that.” He turned us back toward the Inn. “I suppose I should help find Mitsunari a pair of sandals… er, do I want to know what really happened to them?”

“You… really do not.” I fought back the impulse to be embarrassed about that by concentrating on the feeling of cold wet feet.

Apparently he was able to figure it out anyway, because that response prompted a courtesy cough. “Well. Then. Why don’t you pack your things – I’d like to get us all back to Azuchi before Keiji accidentally knocks it down with that cannon that he stole.”

Ooof yeah. Good idea.

He turned back to me. “When you pack, put the wet things on the bottom of your bag so the damp won’t get everything else wet.”

I know. “Yes, sir.”

He turned. And then back again. “Check the room twice before you leave – Mitsunari often forgets things.”

Sigh. “I will, Lord Hideyoshi.”

Once again he turned… and then back. Of course. “See if one of the tea maids can help you put your hair into a more… tamed… style.”

Yes. Yes. “Will do, sir” Yeesh could we leave this Inn and spread out so that we aren’t all on top of each other? The trip back would be excruciating with Hideyoshi micromanag…

Oh.

Hell.

Mitsunari lived in Hideyoshi’s manor.

If I moved into his quarters, I would effectively be living with my mother-in-law.

@bestbryn @katriniac @lyds323 @briars7 @lorei-writes

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 14:  Slings and Arrows - Mitsunari has a chance to play hero - if he can come up with a plan to help Okatsu avoid an expedition into the silver mine.

Mitsunari x OC; Nobunaga x Mai

Previous Chapter

Logline - In order to protect a political alliance, Katusko and Mitsunari must pretend an engagement. But this “all business” arrangement is threatened by a coup against Nobunaga… and by feelings.

From the Military Notes of Ishida Mitsunari…

Subterfuge - deception by artifice or stratagem in order to conceal, escape, or evade. It is not always possible, or even advisable to directly attack the enemy, especially when your objectives may be achieved with guile and stealth.

Personal comments: Lady Mai told me of research that was performed where she lived that came up with thirty-six questions that would result in a couple falling in love with each other. This good news was followed by the disappointment that Lady Mai cannot remember what these questions are, despite the fact that she had read about the research more than once.

Am somewhat disappointed that Nobunaga chose a consort whose memory is so poor.

However, Lady Mai is kind and lovely, which may make up with this lack of retention. She did, at least remember that the research included a suggestion that the romantic subjects stare into each other’s eyes for one hundred and twenty breathing cycles, and that love may arise from that.

This is very simple! I was able to count to one hundred and twenty before I could walk. I can absolutely try this tactic.

People who say everything looks better in the daylight have never spent a sleepless night. And while I was used to sleepless nights, I was not used to dreams in which a love-bespelled Mitsunari carried off Shohime into a field of poisonous flowers… flowers that grew over the coffin in which Iekane had buried me alive. Nor were those everything-will-be-better in the morning folks forced to spend the day wresting with the epic poem from hell

Rather than diligently translating, my brain was on the Iekane problem, and my eyes kept straying to Mitsunari – purely to make sure he wasn’t going to suddenly declare a potion-induced love for me. His head was bent over his work, so he was obviously in extreme focus mode, going back and forth between a book he was reading and his notes. Every time he moved from book to paper, it looked like he was losing his place. His scrolls kept rolling back up and individual pieces of paper were flying every which way.

“Would you like me to take notes for you?” The offer was out of my mouth before I could think better of it. But it would get me out of poetry hell and distract me from my Iekane worries. “I can write pretty fast and that way you wouldn’t keep losing your place.”

He looked up at me, pushed his glasses to the top of his head, and gave me that beatific smile. I waited for him to say something, but he simply looked into my eyes.

No hardship on my part – he has such pretty eyes and there was always suck a sweetness and a center to him that never failed to calm me and…

Look away!

“Eleven,” Mitsunari said quietly.

“What? Eleven what?” Here we go again. Yesterday it was paper, today it was random numbers? Was Nobunaga was working him too hard? I pulled my thoughts away from my personal dilemma and studied him. He did look a bit frustrated.

“No matter. Yes, Okatsu, that would be very helpful.” He patted the place next to him and I relocated. Picking up the brush and paper, I waited for him to begin. Mitsunari grabbed the book and squinted at in in confusion.

I plucked his glasses from the top of his head and handed them back to him. He gave me a chagrined smile.

“Could happen to everyone. I used to always leave my-.” I stopped, realizing he wouldn’t know what sunglasses are. “Well anyway, it happens to everyone.”

We began again and soon we were deep into work. I didn’t completely understand exactly what I was taking down – but then I never understood poetry either and if this was helping Mitsunari get through his pile of work, then fine by me.

We were fairly deep into it when we were interrupted by the sound of a strangled sob at the entry to the room. Shohime stood there, her eyes full of tears.

Again.

That’s it. I’m stuck in a Groundhog Day scenario where I’m constantly running up against Shohime’s ethereal crying. Seriously. Every time I think she’s gotten past the waterworks, something sets her off again. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to be a bother.” And… there it went. The single tear that dripped a silvery trail down her cheek.

If I did that someone would likely compare it to snail goo.

Heaving an inward sigh, because (a) I had said I would help her, and (b) if not us, she might turn again to Lady Yone, and who knew what fatal solution that woman would come up with, I asked, “Is something wrong? Something new wrong?”

“No. I saw you two together and it made me sad that I’ll never find that in my life.” She gazed at Mitsunari with sincere expression and twisted a lock of that shiny hair in her hands. “My fiancé arrived last night, so I imagine my wedding will be soon.”

“There you are!” Mozumi and Iekane appeared behind Shohime. “Lady Yone is looking for you. The seamstresses are here to work on your wedding outfit.”

An expression of frustration flashed across Shohime’s face before it was wiped free and replaced by that ‘resting perfection face’ I was getting used to seeing. She turned to her father and fiancé, bowed low, murmured a soft, “Of course,” then gracefully glided away. Hm. Something about that first look suggested that she might not be as much of a Sengoku Barbie that I’d thought. I filed that away to think about later and performed the same expression wipe for myself before facing Mozumi and Iekane.

Once his daughter had disappeared, Mozumi turned to us. “A rare prize, isn’t she?”

Even Mitsunari knew this was a ‘smile and nod’ situation. We smiled. We nodded. Mozumi then turned and brought Iekane forward and presented him to us, introducing Mitsunari as “Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s most trusted vassal, and his fiancée Oda Okatsu.”

Iekane bowed to us, then repeated my name in somewhat disbelieving tones. “O… Katsu?” He paused, tilted his head slightly, and pursed his lips. “Interesting. You remind me of someone I once knew. But… well, it will come to me, I am certain.” It was said so smoothly and innocently that I was the only one who could hear the threat in that. I’m sure though, if I called him on it, he would say that he was only teasing me.

Smile and nod. Smile and nod. I did both as blandly as possible along with a polite bow that was not quite as low as it ought to have been, given that he was now a daimyo in his own right. “I am pleased to make your acquaintance. Shohime is a lovely girl and deserves all the best in a husband.”

Translation? Not you.

Mozumi inclined his head toward Iekane. “Lord Iekane’s merchant ships and our silver are a perfect combination. I’m very happy Shohime was able to attract such a conveniently placed marriage.”

Way to use your kid as a bargaining chip. I mean, yes, political marriages were the rule, not the exception – even Nobunaga’s relationship with Mai would likely need the Emperor’s stamp of approval prior to marriage - but beyond the whole Iekane thing, I understood why Shohime seemed so conflicted about it. This wasn’t so convenient for her… or for Nobunaga, as he was interested in the silver as well. Interested enough to ally with Iekane too? Is that what Iekane wanted? If it was, it would explain why he just subtly threatened me.

Into the awkward silence, Mitsunari finally spoke. “Then we are happy as well for Shohime and Inane.”

Oh God. He didn’t. I choked off a laugh while Iekane glared at Mitsunari.

Mitsunari looked from Iekane to Mozumi in confusion. “Insane?” He bowed. “My apologies. I am not good with names.”

“He’s really not.” I tried to be helpful, even though in my head, from now on, ‘Iekane’ would likely be translated to ‘Inane’. “His cat is called kitty for that very reason.”

“Ah.” Iekane apparently decided not to make an issue out of it, but instead go for another personal shot at me. “Okatsu, then you must be used to answering to more than one name.”

In his current role as jolly lord of the manor Mozumi placed a hearty hand on Iekane’s shoulder. “This afternoon, we’re all going to tour my mining operation. Nobunaga has expressed great interest in it. I imagine the two of you should enjoy getting out of this archive room as well and enjoy the outing.”

INTO the silver mines. That would be a giant nope from me. But would Mitsunari understand what that would mean for my claustrophobia?

“Although I imagine that would be incredibly fascinating,” Mitsunari gestured to the pile of books and papers, “I must refuse. There is far too much work for me to do here, and Lady Okatsu is too much help to me for me to let her go. I do know what I would do without her.”

“Nonsense. I’m certain Nobunaga will allow you an afternoon off. I will talk with Hideyoshi and make arrangements.” Mozumi and Iekane bowed and took themselves off.

Into the silver mines.

Into the silver mines with Iekane.

FML.

“Do not worry, Lady Okatsu.” Mitsunari gently patted my arm. “I will figure out a strategy to get you out of this.”

I must have looked skeptical, or maybe my worry about going underground (I figured the mines would be underground… or in a tunnel… or ugh! I couldn’t even follow that trail of thought into the dark) had overwhelmed me, because Mitsunari reassured me again. “I promise I will formulate a strategy to prevent you from having to go into the silver mine.”

I took a deep breath. And then another. I believed in him.

“Perhaps we could find a mild poison, one that would incapacitate you for a day.” He cocked his head to take in what had to have been an incredulous look on my face. “That was a joke. Did I not tell it correctly?”

“You did not.” But the utter #jokefail of it all was charming in its own… twisted… way, and that was enough to make me smile.

“I will work on that.” He nodded to himself.

I was glad Mitsunari had my back. Even though he was a bit clumsy and absentminded, the fact that he wanted to help me, that I wasn’t alone in this, made me feel… well. I wasn’t sure how I felt, but I was glad he wanted to help. “Thank you.”

And… he was doing that staring thing again. “Okatsu, could you hold very still?”

“What is it? Another spider?” I held still, waiting to feel those skittering feet. But he simply put his fingers to his lips and simply looked at me. I waved my hand in front of his face. “Do you need to take another break?”

He sighed. “Three.”

Late morning came and went without any solution. Mitsunari was soon borne off by Hideyoshi for some sort of man conference to which I was not invited. Again, at loose ends, I did the one thing I could do to make me feel less powerless: I took myself and my bow and arrows out to the archery practice field next to the castle. If I could relax and focus under these circumstances, then anything was possible. At the same time, losing myself in the, well, zen of my practice would help me relax for a while.

Whump.

(Center target).

Whump.

(Center target).

My power of blocking out stress were good, but not enough to block out the whisper of kimono silk and soft footsteps approaching me from behind. I caught the scent of that cloying incense that floated along with Lady Yone. Turning to her, I bowed.

She returned the gesture. “You are quite skilled at that.”

Already prepared with a response should anyone question my abilities, I said, “As a young girl, I was enthralled by the legends of Tomoe Gozen.”

“Ah. She is a better role model than Ono no Komachi.” That comment definitely belied a familiarity with Mozume’s literary tastes. Komachi had written erotic poems, and now, hundreds of years after her death, her love life had risen to legendary status.

Did Lady Yone bring her up for any particular reason? Or was she simply making conversation? “Maybe. I have never devoted much energy to criticizing what a woman must do to survive.”

“Or thrive, if we are still talking about Komachi.” She took hold of one corner of her kimono and performed a few graceful dance steps.

I risked turned my back on her long enough to speedily hit all the target bags. “As did Tomoe Gozen.” Time to figure out what the hell she wanted. “Lady Yone did you come out here to debate philosophy?”

She laughed – delicately, but the sound was like nails on a chalkboard. “Such a suspicious mind you have, Lady Okatsu. I simply came out for a stroll and when I saw you, I decided to make idle conversation.”

Not taking the bait. Aki taught me that listening and waiting were useful tools in the interrogator arsenal. The question was… was she interrogating me, or I her? “It is a lovely day for a stroll.”

Make of that what you will, Lady possibly-tried-to-kill-your-stepdaughter.

Whump.

(Center target).

Whump.

(Center target).

“Indeed. I am giving Shohime and her fiancé a moment of privacy so they can get to know one another.” She took out a fan and fluttered it in front of her face. “My darling is so worried about her pending marriage, but simply a few moments in Lord Iekane’s company will go far to allay her fears.”

Yeah. Good luck with that. “He seems pleasant.” Which is true. He seems that way. Reality may be different. “Shohime …seems resistant.”

“Not everyone is as lucky as you and Mitsunari.” She reached over and took one of my arrows out of my quiver. “I presume that since you are a reader, you are familiar with western mythologies, such as that of the Greeks?”

“Somewhat.” Though my rudimentary high school basics, supplemented by Marvel Comics probably would do as well as what she would have been able to consume in this era.

“Their love God, Eros, had only to shoot a man or woman with an arrow to generate love.” She plucked the string on my bow and my nerves jangled accordingly. “But love can grow slowly as it did between myself and Lord Mozumi, and it will between Shohime and Iekane.”

“Helped along by those purple flowers?” I gestured to the hills above the castle, where the torikabuto could be seen growing in their poisonous little clusters.

Lady Yone shook her head. “Oh, not those. They are poisonous.”

I punted the concept of subtlety into oblivion. “Why did you tell Shohime they could be brewed into a love potion?”

Finally, Lady Yone looked appalled. “What? No! Oh no! I told her to gather sakura blossoms and bathe in them. She must have gotten confused!” She put her hands to her cheeks. “What have I done?”

“One of Nobunaga’s servants caught her in time.” Probably best not to mention which one. “We told her not to pick any more.” Whether or not her acorn sized brain would remember that was another issue altogether.

“Oh, thank you.” Lady Yone heaved a sigh of relief. “I would feel simply terrible if my words inadvertently caused Shohime’s death.”

Well. She sounded sincere. But Iekane’s sincerity last night was causing me to second guess everything. Was I simply too suspicious? “It would be a terrible tragedy… she’s so young.”

“She’s always been such a simple, sweet child. Mozumi’s preferred companions find her to be a nearly irresistible temptation, and the poor girl has no idea.” Again, that theatrical hand to her heart. “I thought it better to have her safely married to a young man like Lord Iekane who can care for her.”

Aaaand we’d circled back to Iekane. I waited. Maybe this time Lady Yone would come out and say what she wanted to say. Sooner or later the shoe (or the spider encrusted sandal) would fall.

“Last night, when I found you wandering in the hall, you appeared to have come from Lord Iekane’s room.” Yup. There it is.

I’d wondered if she had noted that. “He heard me passing by and mistook me for a maid.” More or less true, in fact.

“Interesting. He said much the same but noted that you seemed confused.” She tilted her head at me, but her attitude was basically, ‘citizen viewing a crazy person.’

That’s how Iekane was playing it – any accusations I made toward him and he’d claim I was crazy. My fingers itched to grab my dagger and have it out with him, but that would just play into his script. “If someone got you mixed up with a maid, would you not also feel confused at first? Once we sorted things out, he was apologetic.”

“Well, one would hope that in the future your behavior will not encourage that sort of confusion.” She smiled at me again, but this was more of the bared teeth threat that had been simmering throughout our entire conversation. After a polite (barely) bow, she drifted away.

Ugh. I really hoped that Mitsunari had come up with a plan to get me out of an afternoon with all of these people.

#Spoiler. Mitsunari did not get me out of it.

And so that afternoon found me and the rest of Nobunaga’s retinue, as well as Mozumi, Iekane, and Shohime riding the few kilometers over to the Kamioka mining operation. “Do not worry.” Mitsunari edged his horse closer to mine and spoke softly into my ear. “I have a plan.”

In such a crowd, I couldn’t question what Mitsunari planned, I could only hope he executed it soon. But he didn’t act when we stabled our horses, or when we entered the refinery area where one of Mozumi’s mine operators explained the smelting process.  I might possibly have been more interested in that if the lesson was to be followed by either a quiz or a snack, rather than a hike down underneath the mountain… and ugh it was really warm in the room. If Mitsunari couldn’t rescue me soon, I was likely to throw up.

Which might get me out of going underneath, come to think about it. Hm, maybe I should not have been so quick to dismiss Mitsunari’s poisoning idea.

Hideyoshi tapped me on the arm and I jumped and yanked my arm away. Belatedly, I realized that he had been talking at me.

He frowned. It was his macro expression when forced to communicate with me, I’d learned, but today’s Hideyoshi did seem a little more gentle. “Okatsu, you seem distracted. If you aren’t careful, you’re going to knock over one of those bins.”

“I’m sorry. It’s… the heat.” I fanned myself with my hand, until he gave me that, ‘you forgot your fan again’ look. (Oops, so I had). “I’m sorry.” I apologized again, although I honestly had lost track of what I was apologizing for.

Hideyoshi tilted his head toward Mitsunari. “I imagine you’d be safer if you stick with your fiancé.”

Translation – Mitsunari needs protection from the Princess again. I looked over. Shohime had broken away from her stepmonster and Iekane (not that I blamed her) and was edging toward Mitsunari. He was listening with fascination to the man who was explaining how the silver was separated from the rock, using some kind of lead smelting method that had been developed in Korea. I imagined that Mitsunari would somehow figure out a way to make that information personally useful. Even though he appeared to be absorbed in this new information, he still smiled at me when I joined him.

Blocking Shohime’s access, I took his arm – and right in time too, as Iekane barreled over to retrieve his prize. The last thing I wanted was for Iekane to turn his poisonous attention to Mitsunari.

“Shohime, you father says they’re ready to take us inside.” Iekane gestured to where Mozumi stood impatiently with Nobunaga and the mine foreman. “Mitsunari, Okatsu, are you looking forward to a nice long trek underneath the mountain?”

Did he know? Was Iekane even aware of what his maybe/maybe not attempt on my life had done to me? His expression was open, eager, smiling… but it always had been. Besides, how could he know? I had not been claustrophobic when we had last seen each other. Maybe he was simply picking up my mood and teasing me for the sake of generalized torture.

“I simply cannot wait,” I said, making sure my expression mirrored his.

We picked our way along a steep rocky path over to the mine entrance. I took a deep breath. Maybe it wouldn’t be too bad.

I can do this.

I can do this.

I can do this.

Miners went into that thing every day, and they came out again, no problem and –

Mitsunari suddenly turned his ankle on a stone, and stumbled, falling into me, knocking us both to the ground. He managed to brace himself so that he didn’t land literally ON me, but I was startled enough about the whole thing to let out an ‘euf’ when I landed.

“Okatsu!” Did I harm you?” His voice was louder than normal, and if everyone hadn’t already turned to look at us before, they were sure looking now.

Well, I probably would have an interesting bruise on my rear, but it hadn’t hurt any worse than when I fell in the earthquake at the beginning of sum- wait. What earthquake? In a moment of vertigo, I had a vision of a stable and a memory of knocking someone out of the way of a falling beam. But …That had never happened. I rubbed my eyes, trying to clear the vision away. “I think I’m fi-”

“Don’t move!” Mai rushed over and examined me as if she were a professional nurse. “I don’t like the look of your ankle!”

My what? There was nothing wrong with my ank- oh. I slanted a glance at Mitsunari, who hovered over me in concern. Ah ha. This was his plan to get me out of going into the cave. “I am very sorry, Lady Okatsu, I hope it is not broken.”

Mai’s hiss of concern was so over-the-top it would need a parachute on its way back down. “It could be. I’ve never seen such a bruise.” She twisted her hands together and bit her lip, looking like she was about to break into sobs.

Looked like I needed to reign in Meryl Streep and Daniel Day-Lewis. “I tweaked it a bit. I’m sure if I stay out here and rest it for a little while, I will be fine.” I threw in a brave little wince of pain. “A day. I’ll be fine in a day.”

If I left this solely up to Mitsunari and Mai, they’d have me wheelchair bound for the rest of my life. And I didn’t think wheelchairs had been invented yet. I reached for Mitsunari’s arm. “If you could help me stand?”

Mitsunari helped me to my feet, and I stood there, keeping all my weight on my other foot. My left foot. Note to self. The right foot is the one that is injured. Then a worried-looking Hideyoshi made his way over and reached toward my foot. “Are you in a lot of pain, Okatsu?”

I made a show of wincing and pulling away from his reach, as if fearing the pain of touch.

“Don’t jar her!” Mai screeched.

Then, the next thing I knew, Mitsunari had picked me up in his arms. “I’ll take her back to Genba castle. There’s no need for anyone else to change their plans.”

“Yes, yes, do go back.” Mozumi looked impatient to get on with showing off his operation to Nobunaga.

Without waiting for anyone else to respond, Mitsunari carried me away.

“Keep your foot elevated,” Mai yelled after me.

I waited until we were well out of earshot of the others. “Thank you. That was a clever plan.”

“Yes. I am happy that Mai agreed to help.” For as slight as Mitsunari looked, he seemed remarkably strong, and wasn’t out of breath at all.

For a brief horrified moment though, I felt the urge to snuggle (!) against him. Instead, I peeped over his shoulder - we were long out of sight of the mine. “It’s probably safe to put me down now.”

“We’re almost to where we stabled the horses. I don’t want anyone there to report that you were walking.” He seemed perfectly content to carry me, and there was a faint smile on his face – although knowing him, he was probably doing some kind of studying in his head – so I settled back into his arms and turned my face toward the sun.

One thing I really appreciated about Mitsunari was his comfort with silence. He didn’t seem to feel a need to fill a quiet moment with useless chatter… he was peaceful. After running into Iekane last night, my brain had been chewing on that conversation over and over. I didn’t want to think any more. I closed my eyes and enjoyed the sensation of sun on my face and the strength of Mitsunari’s arms as he carried me away from the mountain. “Are you comfortable?”

“Mm hm.” So comfortable I wasn’t capable of forming words.

“Good.” His words were almost a sigh in my ear. “Perhaps you and I should run off.”

@lorei-writes @bestbryn @katriniac @lyds323 @briars7

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 28 - Mitsunari POV Chapter - A Soft Place to Land. Another peek inside Mitsunari's brain.

Mitsunari x OC; Nobunaga x Mai

Previous Chapter

Logline - In order to protect a political alliance, Katusko and Mitsunari must pretend an engagement. But this “all business” arrangement is threatened by a coup against Nobunaga… and by feelings.

From the Military Notes of Ishida Mitsunari…

That… was not a good idea.

I did not expect that she would leave.

What have I done?

Mitsunari wondered at Okatsu’s ability to smile as if she meant it, when it was only as recently as this afternoon that she had sobbed until she was dizzy and shaking with emotion. Though her eyes appeared wetter than usual, she was looking around Mozumi’s banquet room with an air of quiet interest. Because he knew her, had over the past few weeks studied her, he knew that beneath that calm expression, she was still devastated. But he suspected he was the only one who did.

“Are you listening to me at all?” Ieyasu slapped his hand on the table for emphasis. “Did you get hit on the head while you were out there, because you’re worse than usual.”

“Thank you for your concern, Lord Ieyasu. I am uninjured.” Mitsunari dragged his focus back to his table companion. He was lucky to have such a friend looking out for him. To prove his health, he repeated, word for word, their previous conversation.

“Ah. Well. Alright then. Here’s a helpful hint. It’s polite to look at the person you are speaking with, and not the woman…” Ieyasu trailed off, glanced at Okatsu, then back to Mitsunari. “Oh. Wonderful.”

Happy that Ieyasu had caught on (perhaps he, like Nobunaga and Mai, could give him advice on love), Mitsunari smiled at Okatsu before turning back to Ieyasu. “Indeed, Okatsu is wonderful.” He moved his soup bowl to the side. “I am happy you like her too.”

“That is not what I-” Ieyasu sighed. “At least she’s not helpless, unless she’s completely succumbed to your influence.”

“Do you think perhaps she has?” That would be good news. He was prepared to list to Ieyasu the evidence both for and against Okatsu succumbing to him, but the lady herself suddenly stood up and excused herself.

“Are you feeling alright, Okatsu?” Perhaps she wanted to cry again. He should go with her to make sure she was alright.

“I’m fine. I thought I’d steal some dessert and take it up to Hikosane. Oh, no stay put.” She caught him before he fully was able to stand. “I know you haven’t seen Ieyasu in a while, and you want to spend time with your friend.”

She rushed out of the room.

“I haven’t the slightest idea.” Ieyasu answered Mitsunari’s previous question, while he glowered into his teacup. “And I prefer not to discuss it.”

The banquet ended soon after Okatsu left, and rather than getting pulled into whatever policy discussion Nobunaga and Hideyoshi were discussing with Mozumi, Mitsunari returned to his quarters with a certain book carefully hidden under his haori. Last week, or more specifically the day before Iekane’s coup attempt, Nobunaga had suggested that Mitsunari read one of the pillow books. Though Mai had protested that Mitsunari was unlikely to find it useful, Nobunaga’s response had been that at some point in the future, Mitsunari might be lucky enough to need the information contained between the covers.

Mitsunari still didn’t know if, or when, he would need such information. Tonight? Probably not. Okatsu was still upset and unlikely to be in a frame of mind to partake in physical affection. However, this also appeared to be an area where a certain amount of research and advance knowledge would be useful, so he considered the tome to be necessary preparation… for… some… hopeful… night in the future.

Unfortunately, the book contained no text, only artwork. And while it contained a multitude of paintings of couples in varied acts of intimacy, there were no instructions on how the participants had achieved those positions.

Of course, some of them were self-explanatory. Mitsunari had witnessed horses mating in a field (though he thought perhaps that humans preferred face to face encounters); he understood the basic mechanics. But as he continued to page through the book, the couples appeared in increasingly difficult-looking acrobatic poses. He paused on an illustration, where the man was on his knees, one arm fully extended to the floor, the other holding his partner underneath him, but suspended in the air. At least that is what appeared to be the case. The artist wasn’t particularly skilled, and Mitsunari couldn’t even tell where the woman’s other leg was.

Unless…

Was the illustration upside down?

Mitsunari rotated the book.

No. That was of no help.

Well. That seemed rather precarious. What if he lost his balance in the middle of it all? He could end up injuring Okatsu.

Curious to determine whether or not he could even maintain that sort of balance on his own, and for how long, Mitsunari placed the book on the floor, then attempted the emulate the three-pronged stance.

He was already teetering on the edge of disaster when Okatsu slid the door open.

The combination of embarrassment, surprise, and the need to hide the book, resulted in him thunking to the floor. He winced as the corner of the book caught him in the rib.

Okatsu hurried to help him up. “Are you alright?”

All he could think was don’t let her see the book. He tried to casually toss it onto the futon.

It missed the futon, smacked against the wall, and came sailing right back into her hands.

A voice inside of his head, a voice that sounded suspiciously like Ieyasu said, Congratulations. You know you couldn’t have achieved that if you tried.

Okatsu glanced down the book now in her hands… and back up to his face… and back down to the book.

He waited for her to say something in that calm businesslike way that in this case would have been extremely welcome, but… she just quietly gave him back the book. Feeling a need to explain, he said, “Lord Nobunaga suggested that I read this.”

Although at this very moment in time, Mitsunari wished he had listened to Mai instead.

Okatsun continued not-looking at him. “Why?”

“I wanted to understand love.” He ran his finger over the drawing, then realized he had just fondled a breast (granted, a two-dimensional representation of one) and quickly shut the book.

He wished she would say something so that he could figure out if she was shocked, or upset, or disgusted (hopefully none of those). Instead, she quietly seated herself by the tea table.

Mitsunari stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, then decided it would be less odd if he sat, so he settled on the futon, where he could see Okatsu’s face, but wasn’t close enough to touch her, in case she was thinking that he was as perverted as Mozumi and wanted to keep a safe distance.

Finally, she spoke. “Why?”

Because I might be in love with you. Because when you’re around, and when you’re not around, I feel both thrilled and scared, and the thought of you leaving is a pain I’ve never before experienced. Because if this is love, I want to know if there is a way to make you love me back.

None of those things he could tell her. He settled on a half-truth, wondering if he could lead her into giving him more insight into how she felt about love… about the idea of loving him. “Because I need to know what it feels like. Does it hurt? I think it must hurt sometimes.”

Hoping to gauge some sense of her feelings – or even her thoughts – he paid close attention to her as she took the book out of his hands and placed it on the desk face down (which was not how one ought to treat a book, even such a book as this!).  So… the book made her uncomfortable… but that was a symptom of something and not a cause. Many things could make her uncomfortable, and few of them were good. Eventually, she said, “this is not the kind of book that will help. It might not be in any books at all. Love is different for everyone.”

He nodded at the pillow book. “It seems like it would be futile, then to write this sort of text.” What he needed to know was what it was like for her.

“That’s not love. Well, I mean people who are in love enjoy those activities, in fact being in love likely enhances the experience – but that sort of thing can be enjoyable between any two-” she seemed to pause and think something over, before continuing “-people who are willing to participate.”

Yes, he had gathered that, having overheard enough discussions throughout the years that made clear that males at least enjoyed the activity with willing partners. Likely females did too, although Mitsunari was less clear on the mechanics of female enjoyment. Hence the book. “That makes sense. In which case, I have a follow-up question.” He tapped the book. “Is the knowledge in this necessary for…”

Okatsu blew a strand of hair out of her eyes. “I’m pretty sure it’s the kind of thing that people figured out long before there were books. Or there wouldn’t have been people around to write the books.”

Which was logical, although didn’t help him much. “Yes. I see.”

“Honestly, I don’t think this book is a ‘how to.’ Mozumi collected it because he enjoyed looking at the drawings. I mean, sure it probably helps to know what you’re doing. But you don’t need a book.” She reached her foot out and gently poked his leg. “Yes, there are things that you can figure out without a book. If two people attention to what each other likes, then it’s a good start.”

Now, that was a helpful clue. Pay attention to what the other person likes. He already knew that Okatsu liked it when he touched her hair. But how would he be able to tell if she was amenable to more? “I’m not always adept at understanding what others like or feel. Is it permissible to ask? For example, if I said, ‘Okatsu, where do you like to be touched?’ it would be ok?”

She touched her neck and lightly rubbed it. He wasn’t sure if she was aware she did that, but Mitsunari was aware. He imagined brushing his hand across her throat and watching her eyes drift shut in response.

“Um. Yeah. It’s ok.” She pulled her hand away and locked them together in her lap. Before he could ask another question, she put up her hand. “Please. I am really not the person you should be talking about this with. When it comes to the examples in that book, a lot of my knowledge is purely theoretical.”

That was a bit of information that made him feel both better and worse. Better because it was upsetting to think of Okatsu performing these intimacies with another person. But worse in the sense that he’d been hoping she would be able to coach him through any inherent difficulties.

Of course, she now looked so uncomfortable that he decided to borrow one of Mitsuhide’s mannerisms and poke fun. He’d noticed that that sort of distraction often worked to alter a mood (not always for the better, but he believed it might in this situation). “Ah. I understand. Would you like to borrow this book when I am finished reading it?”

She tilted her head as if she couldn’t be sure if he was joking. Then, she asked, “What were you doing when I came in?”

Hm. The answer to that was technically embarrassing, but he could think of no other explanation but the truth. He sat down next to her and showed her the page he’d had open when she walked into the room. “This looked rather difficult to achieve, and as I am generally clumsy, I wanted to test it out in case it was something that could potentially result in an injury.”

She started laughing.

Well.

He hadn’t expected that sort of reaction from Okatsu. Masamune, yes. Mitsuhide definitely. Nobunaga might even have been amused. But he hadn’t realized before that he was a joke to her. He felt his entire body collapse into itself.

“No… No. I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at-” she gestured to the room at large. “All this.”

Oh. She’d been inviting him to laugh with her. To share a joke. He wasn’t being excluded… he was being invited into a very small circle. A circle of two. He tried to picture what he had looked like when she entered, and he realized that without context, it might have seemed quite odd. “When you walked in… the look on your face. You must have thought I had gone mad.”

“I did, yes.” She flipped a few pages of the book and stopped at one where… was the man upside down? How was that even possible? Okatsu started giggling again. “Thank goodness you didn’t attempt this one – you might have given yourself a concussion!”

He suspected her assessment was correct. He tilted his head sideways to take in the full effect of the drawing. “I cannot imagine anyone performing that without injury.”

“Well. I could get into that position – it’s a simple handstand.” Okatsu stood up and so smoothly flipped herself upside down that Mitsunari was momentarily awed by her dexterity. “With a little artistic flair.”  She then opened her legs wide – a move that he couldn’t decide was more attractive for its skill, or because she had very nice legs. “But I don’t see why you would when a futon is perfectly comfortable.”

Hm. Nobunaga had been the one to suggest this book. Therefore, he must be the one who could answer that question. “Perhaps I ought to bring the book to Nobunaga and asks him to elucidate the purpose of these later illustrations.”

Okatsu blinked very rapidly. “I wouldn’t.”

True. It wouldn’t be good to bother Nobunaga, especially not now when he was trying to unravel the politics of Genba. “Hideyoshi then. Yes. Hideyoshi would be more patient.”

More blinking, and then Okatsu started laughing again. “No! Don’t make me laugh when I’m upside down!”

She was going to fall!

Mitsunari tried to catch her, but he only made matters worse.

Instead, he positioned himself so that she would have a soft place to land.

Okatsu had been cushioning his falls – his physical awkwardness – for weeks now. It was nice to be able to return the favor. And perhaps that was something that being in love meant. Making sure your love always had a soft place to land if they fell.

She was still laughing when she landed on him, and something that felt like pure joy bubbled up inside him and he could do nothing except laugh along with her. No, he didn’t need a book to tell him what love felt like. This was love. This was knowing. This was…

This was Okatsu’s face suddenly shuttering... “I’m sorry, I must be crushing you.” In an instant, she leaped away from him and dashed behind the screen.

What happened? “Okatsu, are you alright?” He slowly got to his feet. The screen meant privacy. It meant alone. It meant… lonely.

“Yes. Fine. I’m just changing into my night clothes.” Her voice sounded a bit rusty.

He glanced over at her futon, where her night clothes were neatly folded and waiting for her. “Okatsu. Your nightclothes are out here.” Figuring that she might want them, he handed them to her over the top of the screen.

“Thank you.” He heard her take a shaky breath. The same sound she had made earlier today when she cried over her father. Okatsu was either crying… or trying not to. But the screen meant that this time, she would not accept his comfort. He didn’t want to cede the room to her when she was this upset, but to give her some privacy, he picked up The Art of War and opened it. He’d already read it through, and so it was in his head, but Okatsu would likely not be looking that closely at the book anyway.

As usual, he heard the rustling behind the screen, but this time, no discarded clothing hit the floor underneath the screen. Nor was it tossed over the top. And so, when she reappeared, dressed in her night clothing, he knew, because he was looking for it, that she had put it on over her clothing.

She was obviously planning to sneak away.

Tonight.

He had been far too aware that she would be returning to her old life. But he had wanted this last week with her. More time to memorize her, to find pieces of Okatsu and times they spent together that he could put into his memories like the books. Times that he could take out and re-read to himself when he felt lonely.

“Goodnight.” She dove into her futon.

“Goodnight, Okatsu. Sleep well.” He thought about it. If Okatsu wanted to be away from here, he should support her wishes.

But he would not let her leave unescorted.

No. He would not give up this final week with her.

@lorei-writes @bestbryn @katriniac @lyds323 @briars7

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 23 - The Stand: Mitsunari’s small force continues to delay Iekane’s troops - but can they also manage to rescue Mitsuhide without giving away their position?

Mitsunari x OC; Nobunaga x Mai

Previous Chapter

Logline - In order to protect a political alliance, Katusko and Mitsunari must pretend an engagement. But this “all business” arrangement is threatened by a coup against Nobunaga… and by feelings.

CW: "Onscreen" death of unnamed ronin

From the Military Notes of Ishida Mitsunari…

A good General is often faced with difficult choices…

Why do none of these books tell you how it feels when you make them?

Every time I send Okatsu into battle, I send part of me with her.

Mitsuhide? To be killed?

Mai’s announcement caused a moment of stunned silence. Surely, she had to be exaggerating. Mitsuhide was the sort of person who could escape any situation that he wanted to, and I believed the only reason he was still a captive of Iekane’s men was because it suited his purposes to be there. But maybe that was wishful thinking on my part (Mitsuhide drove me crazy, but I wouldn’t wish for anything horrible to happen to him. Itchy socks. I wished for him to have to deal with itchy socks. Not torture or death).

“Please, Lady Mai, show me what you saw.” Mitsunari eyed the binoculars speculatively, as we all hurried to the top level of the tower. “Does this device work like a telescope?”

“Enough alike, yes.” Sasuke took the glasses from Mai and demonstrated for Mitsunari how to use them.

“I don’t see anything.” Mitsunari turned, with the binoculars still in front of his eyes, and nearly brained Sasuke in the process.

“Over there!” Mai pointed toward the west.

Without asking permission, Aki took the binoculars and peered through them, scanning the horizon in the direction Mai indicated. Apparently, he easily found what Mai had spotted. “They’re not making much effort to stay hidden.” He handed the glasses to Mitsunari and helped him focus them.

“Well. It’s not like they would be expecting to have to avoid binoculars. It’s not like they would be expecting this kind of… technology.” Although apparently there were far more time travelers in this era, and specifically on top of this tower, than anyone would be expecting.

“This is correct.” Mitsunari stared through the binoculars for a long moment. “However, there remains the possibility that he is being used to bait us into an attack.”

He turned the binoculars over to me, and it took me only a few seconds to locate where Iekane’s men had Mitsuhide securely tied to a tree. Even from this distance it was easy to tell that he’d been severely beaten: both his eyes were black, his lip was split and bloodied…  and he didn’t appear to be conscious. If that had been part of his plan, then he was a masochist. “No. If they wanted him dead, he would be dead by now.”

“How can you be so… calm about this?” Since I was still looking through the binoculars, I didn’t know who Mai was addressing, but I suspected she meant me. I also suspected that she meant ‘callous.’ Or maybe ‘unfeminine.’

“Not being calm wouldn’t help.” I passed the binoculars over to Sasuke, who had yet check out the situation.

“Perhaps the intention is to ransom him, although that would suggest they have someone to ransom him too.” Mitsunari tapped his hands on the railing. “Most likely though, they want us to try to rescue him, and they are purposefully making it appear to be easy.” He was going into that zen strategy mode again. “Perhaps we should give them what they want… but not what they expect.”

The moon rose in the sky as our teams prepared to act. Once again, Mitsunari had divided us into groups. The majority of our forces, led by Sasuke, dispersed into the night, prepared to hassle Iekane's men with booby traps, small fires, and even a fake haunting by a zombie (Sasuke's idea), all intended to scatter Iekane’s forces and at least draw out some of the mercenaries guarding Mitsuhide.

Meanwhile, Aki led a four-person extraction team that approached the area from the opposite direction. After the expected protest from Toshiie and a less expected one from Mitsunari, I had won the argument to be included on this team. The plan was one that Aki and I had used before, and therefore I could execute it smoothly. Though I was still furious about the 'Professor Yamaoka deception,' I could put that aside for the sake of this mission. Mitsunari wanted to come along too, but even he admitted that stealth was not his forte. Instead, he assigned two of Susumu's men – Endo and Daisuke- as extra muscle to protect us if necessary.

“Please, do not make it necessary,” Mitsunari had said to Aki.

Soon after the first group left, Aki’s team set out. I paused and glanced up at the tower, where I knew Mitsunari was watching through the binoculars. I gave him a very brief wave… the sort of wave a little girl ballerina might give to her parents in the audience of a school play.

“Katsu.” Aki sounded impatient. I hurried to catch up with him.

Mitsuhide was being held about five kilometers away, which would take us at least an hour to walk since we were taking care not to be seen or make too much noise. Mindful of that, and the listening presence of Susumu's men, I knew it would be a bad idea to discuss the whole Professor Yamaoka thing with him at any length.

And yet I was too curious not to ask. "Why didn't you tell me? You had to have known from my clothes, where I had come from."

"I thought you would adjust faster and easier if you believed there was no way to return," He then put his fingers to his lips. We weren’t close enough to where Mitsuhide was being held to be heard, so clearly he simply wanted to avoid talking about it. But. Details.

Once we got closer, he held his hand up for us to stop so he could prepare the rest of his disguise. He pulled a bottle of sake out of his pack. This was a gig, we'd done often when we were tracking bandits. Had we? Sometimes it felt like parts of my life with Aki were a dream. But no, not a dream. We’d played out this scenario often.

Aki poured the sake all over himself, while Endo let out a squawk of dismay. Guess he thought we were going to get to drink that. Quietly, Aki went over our orders one final time. "Endo, stay here and keep the escape route clear. While I distract them, Daisuke will rush in and cut Mitsuhide free, and as quietly as possible get him out – carry him if you have to. Katsu, from above, set off the diversion. Stay in the trees unless I tell you otherwise. Got it?"

Yes. of course. Why wouldn't I get it? But I simply nodded. The same order from someone like Mitsuhide might have had me bristling with indignation, but Aki didn’t mean to sound patronizing.

I scampered up into the closest tree (I had spent so much time in trees these past two days that I should consider building a nest in one) and made my way to a tree overlooking a cleared area where Iekane had left Mitsuhide tied up, and under guard of at least a dozen men.

Most of the guards seemed to be playing some kind of dicing game, and not paying much attention to Mitsuhide. Then again, it wasn’t like Mitsuhide was trying to get their attention anyway. It looked like he was still unconscious. Daisuke would indeed have to carry him out of here.

Then the air was filled with the mellifluous tones of off-key singing as Aki came blundering into view. "Good evening gentlemen. Might a poor beggar trouble you for your dinner?"

All the mercenaries leaped to their feet and reached for their weapons. Ok, this group was armed with swords, not guns, which would make my job a little less dangerous. "Get out, vagrant," the leader said, punctuating the statement with a stream of spit aimed at Aki's feet.

Aki scratched his balls and swayed back and forth. “Here now. No cause for that. I can sing for my supper. Or... would you want to see a magic trick?"

That statement was met with hoots of disbelief, but rather than chasing him off, the mercenaries took bets on how quickly they could figure out how the tricks were being done.

Once the leader gave his go-ahead, Aki made a show of eyeing their stewpot, and rubbing his stomach.

“After you perform, if we liked your show, we might throw some fish for you to catch in your mouth.” The leader plopped down on the ground, his back to Mitsuhide.

As soon as all the attention was on Aki, Daisuke crept over, cut Mitsuhide free, and slung him over his shoulder. Before Aki had even finished his first trick, Daisuke already disappeared into the forest.

Aki continued to perform a series of amateurish sleight of hand tricks to buy Daisuke time to get away. The soldiers were more entertained by pointing out his mistakes than the tricks, but eventually one of them turned his head and noticed the actual disappearing act.  "What the hell? This prisoner!"

As soon as they all rushed to examine the cut rope, Aki melted into the forest.

Part two of the plan.

I had already prepped an arrow, and let it fly in the direction away from the others, intentionally sending it crackling through the underbrush, making it sound like someone was fleeing. I sent another one at a further distance.

They took the bait. As soon as the men abandoned the camp, I made my way back through the trees, leaving no evidence of my passage.

The plan had been to return individually as soon as each task had been completed. Thus, I was surprised when I climbed down from a tree several hundred meters away from where the mercenaries had been camped, to see Endo waiting for me. "You didn’t need to wait."

Endo smiled ruefully. "Lord Ishida made it clear that I was to return with you, or not at all."

That did not sound like something Mitsunari was likely to have said. "He did?"

"He was very polite about it. He said please. ‘Please make sure Lady Okatsu returns safely.’ It was the way he said it." Endo gave me a respectful bow, then gestured for me to follow him.

No time to argue or even to decide how I felt about that. We crept silently through the forest, doing our best not to disturb the brush around us, stopping only when we heard the telltale sound of a sword fight: clanking metal, men grunting with effort, the whistle of swords slicing through air.

Knowing that the sounds of battle would mask our approach, Endo and I crept closer, in case it was one of our own who needed help. Maybe Iekane’s men had caught Daisuke and Mitsuhide?

We broke through the trees to catch the tail end of a swordfight, in time to witness Aki slice through the chest of one of Iekane's men.

Death was instantaneous.

I swallowed quickly, doing my best to stay impassive. I had never seen Aki kill before. We had always taken prisoners and left them with a local Daimyo. I pushed back my nausea and shock. This situation was different. Our team didn’t have the means to take and keep prisoners. A quick death was the only solution.

Aki looked at me for a long time. There was something in his expression – regret. Then he simply wiped his sword and replaced it at his side. “There may be more of them. Go back to the tower.” Before either of us could respond, he melted off into the shadows.

When Endo and I returned to the tower, Mitsunari was bent over his notebook with that intense focus I recognized so well. He was one with his strategy and likely wouldn’t look up even if a bomb went off next to –

He jumped to his feet and hurried to us, and the next thing I knew, he had hugged me again.

A girl could get used to these hugs.

He looked down at me for a long moment, before stepping back, bowing briefly to Endo, and returning to his notebook.

It had all happened so quickly that I could almost pretend it hadn’t happened at all, because something about what that hug did to me… I felt off balance and nearly tripped over Hikosane, who was boiling what looked like medical instruments over the fire… oh, right. Mitsuhide.

In the ‘nursing area,’ the mood was solemn. Toshiie grimly tended to Mitsuhide, who, although conscious, looked to be in even worse shape up close.  Mai stood by, her kimono rumpled and shapeless, uselessly wringing her hands. “I’ve nursed on the battlefield before.” She blinked back tears. “But never someone I know as well as Mitsuhide.”

“Mouse, you are far too softhearted.” Mitsuhide bit off the rest of his comment with a groan. “Whereas you, boy-” he directed that comment at Toshiie, “are not softhearted enough.”

Toshiie ignored him and continued bathing his wounds in… “Is that iodine?” He had a whole bag full of anachronisms, didn’t he?

“If I’d known I was going to be in a war, I would have brought a gallon. Not to mention a needle and suture thread… are you aware that they don’t even stitch wounds here?” He patted a cloth across Mitsuhide’s face. “You’re lucky you didn’t lose an eye. Or your spl-”

Since Toshiie was apt to go on if I didn’t stop him, I had no shame about interrupting. “Lord Mitsuhide, were you able to take the message to Kyubei?”

“Formality, Brat? I must look worse than a feel. Stop that.” He shot a glare at Toshiie, who had been about to swoop in with more iodine. “Yes. He set off for Azuchi straight away.”

Well, that was, at least one piece of good news. Rescue would arrive, as long as we could hold out long enough to greet them.

Mai handed Toshiie a long piece of fabric – oh that had been torn from her obi. “I only wish I could do more to help you. Mitsuhide, you always take on too much.”

Mitsuhide gritted his teeth as Tosh wrapped the fabric around his ribs. “Hurry up with that. I imagine they’ll eventually follow me back here, unless I go distract them.”

“No.” I shook my head to emphasize the point. “Aki was in charge of this gig… mission.” As if summoned by his name, the man himself slipped into the tower. “He’s not some novice.”

After stopping to whisper something in Mitsunari’s ear, Aki joined our group in the ‘medical corner.’ He bowed to Mitsuhide. “You look marginally better, friend.”

“Have you lost your mind?" He yelled across the room at Mitsunari. "Didn’t you at least consider that they were using me as bait? Iekane has known someone was in the forest since you attacked their supply wagons.” He slapped Toshiie’s hands away from the bandage around his ribs. “Enough. Since your sister and her insane master went to the trouble of saving my life, I would prefer to continue breathing.”

“Yes, they knew we were out here somewhere.” Mitsunari brought Mitsuhide some tea. Mitsuhide viewed it with suspicion, then downed it. “They were getting closer to finding us. This way, they will follow a very specific trail. One that will not be as easy to travel as they expect, and we will be waiting for them.”

Since Sasuke was looking particularly triumphant, I asked, “Ground spikes?”

Sasuke tapped his nose. “Indeed. As well as a few other surprises.”

With another groan, Mitsuhide got to his feet. “So be it. Let me hear this plan of yours.” Hm. That sounded like Mitsuhide was planning to take over. While I supposed that he did outrank Mitsunari considerably, it seemed unfair. Mitsunari had been working tirelessly over the past few days, putting together this team, allocating skills, devising tactics. I was annoyed on his behalf that Mitsuhide seemed poised to assume command.

He caught my look and correctly interpreted it. “I’m not planning to place myself in charge. I’m simply looking for opportunities to add my own twist to things.” He inclined his head to Mitsunari respectfully enough, especially given the state of his injuries. “Mitsunari is a brilliant strategist, but he’s rather apt to play by the rules. We’re unfortunately, to the point where the opinion of someone more familiar with dirty tactics is necessary.”

“I am happy to discuss anything you wish.” Mitsunari, at least was unbothered.

“Discuss things sitting down.” Toshiie patted the ground. “You need to rest and-”

Mitsuhide just flapped his hand impatiently at him. “Aside from your sister, do you happen to have any relatives in Azuchi? Because you sound far too much like Hideyoshi for my comfort.”

Huh. He did at that.

But intense planning would have to wait, as there was a shout from Lady Hana, who was our current lookout. “Signal fire from the other tower. They’re coming!”

“Some of them will be delayed by the trenches we dug, but the fastest should be here soon.” Mitsunari handed me my bow and arrows. “Okatsu, prepare the archers and wait for the signal.”

I nodded. Shohime shed her ‘dainty Princess’ disguise and jumped to obey. Mai hesitated, looking at the arrows with distaste. “I can’t kill anyone. I can’t.”

If she didn’t stop freaking out, she was going to be the one killed – possibly by my hand.

But… my job was to rally my troops. Mai was an archer, and therefore my troops. “I know you never expected or wanted to take arms. And if you really can’t bring yourself to do this, you can keep cadence.”

That was something I could easily have done on my own, but at least then she’d have something to do to keep her mind off panicking. And perhaps once she realized how drastically we needed her, she would change her mind. “Besides… Nobunaga … will probably think that Warrior Mai is really freakin’ sexy.”

“This isn’t a game, Katsuko!” She wrung her hands together.

“It’s never been one.” Could I slap her? I really wanted to slap her. Even Shohime was wiggling her fingers as if she was trying to prevent an action she would regret later. “Mai. It’s your decision, but if you aren’t going to help us, then stay out of the way.”

All around us, people were preparing for battle. Even Toshiie seemed to have gotten it together, and had a thick branch at his side, ready to defend the injured if the tower was overrun.

Mai looked around, then took a deep breath. And another. “Right. You didn’t come out and say it, but Nobunaga needs me. Although I don’t know how good I’ll be.”

I nudged her toward the ladder. “It doesn’t matter. The enemy is going to see a sky full of arrows.” (Slight exaggeration). “They’ll have to take cover either way.”

We hurried into place, lining up in a formation along the south end of the tower, and I prepared them to release the arrows on Mai’s staggered count, so that the stream of arrows would not be predictable. A steady rainfall of arrows would have been preferable, but we didn’t have enough arr-

A movement at my side caught my attention.

“Hiko! What are you doing up here?” Shohime scolded her brother before I could.

He pulled up the binoculars. “I want to know what is happening!”

It wasn’t any more dangerous up here than it was on the lower level. And if arrows or bullets started coming at us, I would throw myself on top of him if necessary. There wasn’t time to ban him anyway, as there was a bright flash, then a loud bang. A cloud of smoke rose above the trees. “Another munitions explosion?” There hadn’t been the same kind of shock wave as the other ones.

Mai turned toward in the direction of the smoke. “Smoke bomb, more likely. Sasuke makes them.”

Ah. Handy that. I might have to ask him how to make those when this was all over. Presuming we were all still alive.

In any case, if the smoke was where they were, then that is where we should aim. “Ok, Mai, count us down.

Mai used her best ‘outside voice,’ to call cadence. “Who runs the world? Girls!”

Queen Bey would be proud of us.

We sent a line of arrows out in the direction of the smoke. Mai continued to ‘rap’ out her cadences at random intervals. We were doing great… arrows zipping straight and true into the sky, with barely a few misfires littering the ground…. but how long could we keep this up before we ran out of ammunition?

Though Susumu and the other vassals were well armed, and we’d captured a decent store of Iekane’s weapons, I knew we would likely run out of arrows before Iekane ran out of men.

Hikosane kept up a running commentary of what he could see through the binoculars. “Sasuke has set off more smoke and I believe about half a dozen men are now trapped in a ditch.”

Well. That’s something, I thought as I grimly shot off another arrow in the direction of the smoke. At this point, I had no idea if I was hitting anything or not.

As the night went on, we managed to hold back Iekane’s troops, thanks to a combination of the terrain, Sasuke’s booby traps, and the skills of Susumu’s trained vassals who were delaying the invaders at the first tower. And my lovely grrrl-power archers.

But we were almost out of arrows. I had asked Mai to slow down our cadence, but that resulted in allowing a couple of soldiers to slip through - where they had fallen victim to Aki and Mitsuhide (our final line of defense). I wondered if it would be worth trying to quickly run out and retrieve as many that I could find, or… “Hikosane?” The boy was still awake, likely running on adrenaline at this point. “Can you see if any of their supply wagons are close by?”

We needed to hold out the rest of the night. Tomorrow… well, actually this morning, might be the absolute earliest reinforcements would come, but they would all head to Genba to rescue Nobunaga first.

But they would come.

They had to.

“Yes, Okatsu. There is one close by.” Hikosane did not sound as excited by that as he should have been.

“What’s the problem?” Nothing was ever simple here.

“It is with their cannon. And the cannon is being guarded by a giant!” Hikosane raised his arm over his head.

A real giant? Like Hagrid or Hodor sized? Or someone who simply looked like a giant to Hikosane. I took the binoculars to see for myself.

Oh.

Maybe that wasn’t a giant – but – that was a really big dude.

“That was my last arrow.” Shohime looked at me for advice. I glanced at the rest of the women, all who seemed to think I would have the answers.

@bestbryn @lorei-writes @katriniac @lyds323 @briars7

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 29 - The Road Trip. The search for Akihira hits an unexpected snag… and an extremely unexpected additional search party.

Mitsunari x OC; Nobunaga x Mai

Previous Chapter

Logline - In order to protect a political alliance, Katusko and Mitsunari must pretend an engagement. But this “all business” arrangement is threatened by a coup against Nobunaga… and by feelings.

From the Military Notes of Ishida Mitsunari…

Before I went after Okatsu, Lady Mai explained to me the purposes of a “road trip,” and said that it would be a good way for Okatsu and I to have the time and space to explore our feelings. She also said that “friends to lovers” was her favorite trope (I do not understand the meaning of this), and that she “shipped us” (I also do not understand how a boat relates to this matter).

Lady Mai thinks it is possible that Okatsu returns my feelings but has held back because of our agreement to not fall in love with each other (Lady Mai also had some rather pointed words regarding said agreement which, in retrospect are likely correct).

This road trip will last one week. One week left to get her to fall in love with me. 

The bad news – every time I try to tell her how I feel, the words dry up in my throat.

The good news – no more war, no more distractions. I can direct my entire attention and energy to the Okatsu situation. Certainly, under the conditions of relaxation, we will be able to dispense with our original agreement.

For once, I was able to sneak away without any more interruptions. It helped that Interrupter A was keeping Interrupter B busy. “Were you simply being careless, or did you purposefully get yourself captured by Iekane’s men as part of another plan that you didn’t discuss with me in advance?” It sounded like Hideyoshi was taking the opportunity to get another lecture in.

“One hesitates to point out that in this particular instance, I could not have possibly consulted you.” I didn’t even have to see Mitsuhide to know that he had that smug look of mockery on his face.

Though I was curious to see where their discussion would go, I didn’t stick around to hear any more. Instead, I walked Moonlight to the main gates. The guards there were more concerned with keeping people out than letting people leave, and I probably looked like a housemaid off to meet a lover.

For a while, I continued leading my horse – though I was soon far enough away not to be overheard, the path was rocky and unfamiliar enough that I didn’t want to risk injuring her by riding too fast. At least that was what I told myself.

But maybe my slow pace was simply due to my emotions dragging their feet. I would miss these people – yes, even Hideyoshi and Mitsuhide. I ought to be happy to be going home. First to the mountain that had been my home for the past seven years, then back to a world with showers, beds, and technology. But I wasn’t looking forward to either.

Hopefully when I arrived at the mountain, Fume would have heard something from Aki – maybe he’d already found his way back from wherever he and Iekane went to.

If not – well, she could put up with me for a few days until it was time to meet up with Sasuke and Toshiie. I could scrub the floor for old times’ sake. Ha! As if she would give me a choice.

Just as I reached the crossroads where the narrow path into and out of Genba branched into three directions, my musings were interrupted by the sound of hoofbeats off in the distance. Knowing that ‘Okatsu’ was less safe than ‘Katsu,’ I pulled Moonlight off the main path, forcing her to follow me into the woods. Once whoever it was had passed, I would complete my transformation to Katsu. It would be nice to return to an identity that was more familiar and more natural than Okatsu had ever been.

The hoofbeats came closer, and then Moonlight, the traitor, snorted and whinnied. I glared at her, but it’s not like you can successfully shush a horse.

The hoofbeats stopped.

Moonlight whuffled again.

Just for that, if it’s a hungry bandit, I’m going to suggest he eat you first!

I readied my sword, just in case, then the brush parted and – “Okatsu.”

“Mitsunari?” Stupid question. The moon was bright enough that I could see it was him. “Why did you come after me?”

He led his horse off the path, at which point, Moonlight rather happily greeted it. “Why did you run away?”

“Didn’t Hideyoshi give you my letter?” Hideyoshi would not have forgotten to do that.

“I didn’t talk with him. He and Mitsuhide-” He stopped and shook his head. “That isn’t important. Okatsu, what is going on?”

I couldn’t tell him that I had left to spare his feelings. I suspected he wouldn’t understand. So, I gave him the other reason. One that was a truth, though not the truth.

“I need to find Aki. My father.” The word ‘father’ felt odd coming out of my mouth, and I realized this was less about Akihira being my father, more about him being the man who had taught and supported me for the past seven years. I was more worried for that man, than I was for the time traveler who somehow had been my biological parent.

“I am coming with you.” The complete matter of fact tone gave no opening for discussion. This was the stubborn version of Mitsunari, who might patiently listen, then go ahead and do whatever it was he wanted. The Mitsunari who had followed me down a hill to fight a giant. The Mitsunari I had fallen in love with.

“I can outrun you, you know.” I felt compelled to at least point that out, even as I led my horse back onto the main road and climbed into the saddle.

“If that is your wish. Eventually, I will catch up because I know where you are heading. Yes, I do,” he added when I turned to question that. “You mentioned it that first night you were here.”

I had, hadn’t I? Mitsunari would remember that. “Hideyoshi isn’t going to come flying after us, is he?”

“He may wish to, but I told Mai where I was going, and she can talk him out of anything.” He leaned over to nudge me with his shoulder and nearly toppled off his horse.

Ok. That convinced me that I couldn’t just leave him out here alone. He could defend himself from almost everything… except possibly his own clumsiness. “Alright then. If we hurry, we can probably get to Aki’s manor tonight, and avoid having to camp outside.”

Fume would probably find him charming. All he would need to do would be to smile at her the way he was now smiling at me and –

Well.

Anyway.

We picked our way quietly through the hilly countryside. Mitsunari had enough foresight to bring a lantern, which served us well when the moon set late into the night.

Once the sun rose, we made better time, even when the trail narrowed and angled sharply uphill. Mitsunari was content to allow me to lead the way, and the topography didn’t allow us to talk much. As always, it was a comfort to knowing his calm, steady presence was nearby, and I had to keep reminding myself not to get used to it. Our parting may have been delayed, but it was still inevitable.

Mid-morning, I pulled Moonlight to a halt. We were close to the Togakushi Shrine… where it had all begun.

“This is where your time doorway opens, yes?” Mitsunari looked around, as if expecting to see a literal door in between the trees.

“Yeah, hereabouts. There was a rainstorm when I left Modern Japan and a blizzard when I arrived here, so I’m not sure of the exact location.” Sasuke probably knew right down to the specific blade of grass. “All I noticed at the time was the cold and the oddly dressed bandits.”

While Mitsunari continued to explore, I watered the horses, then grabbed my pack and pulled out the food I had ‘borrowed’ from Genba. “As good a time as any to eat.”

Mitsunari plopped down on the ground next to me. “Oh.” He wore that I-knew-I-forgot-something expression again.

I divvied up my rations. “More than enough for two, and I figure Fume will be happy to feed you.” She wouldn’t be thrilled to see me, but the one thing she liked more than yelling at me was feeding people, so at least we wouldn’t be heading into starvation.

Once we settled in to eat, Mitsunari quizzed me about life in modern Japan. “I wanted to know before, but we were busy.”

Only Mitsunari could boil down ‘caught in a siege’ to ‘we were busy.’

“In some ways, there’s a lot the same. People are people… we just have more technology. Some stuff to make life easier and more convenient, some simply for entertainment.” I tried to think of one thing that would make him understand how far we had come. “Oh, I know. Ebooks. You would love those.”

“Yes, if books are involved, I know it is something I would like.” Mitsunari listened as I explained as best as I could the concept of electronic tablets and books that you could order into your hand whenever you wanted. “Your future sounds enticing – although if I could ask for a book at any time and have it appear, I might never do anything else.”

“When I first met you, I thought you were somewhat like an ebook device.” Then I grinned when Mitsunari opened another of my ration packets and winced when he saw carrots. Probably about the time I realized he was human was when I discovered his intense dislike of carrots.

“How so?” He handed me the packet of carrots and turned his attention to making tea. Then it was my turn to wince, as he put far more tea into the kettle than he needed to.

“In the way that you can store entire books in your head.” I got up and fed a carrot to Moonlight, since she was really who I had brought them for. I offered another to Mitsunari’s horse, but he turned his head away. “Your horse doesn’t like carrots either?”

“I suppose not.” He grabbed a handful of grass and brought it over to the horses. Then leaning past me, he reached over my shoulder to feed it to his horse. “You believed I was a type of mechanical device. Do you still think that?” He was so close his breath tickled my ear. “I hope you understand now that I am very much human.”

“Of course, I know that. It was just a first impression.” I stepped away before I gave in to the temptation to lean against him. “Should we get going?”

“We haven’t had tea yet.”

Right. Tea. Can’t forget that.

I survived the tea.

We spend the remainder of the day climbing through the mountains, electing not to stop for another meal, as I didn’t like the way the sky was looking.

When the path grew more treacherous, I looked back at Mitsunari – unlike Kyubei, he seemed to have no issue with heights. “The view is spectacular.” He paused and looked at the surrounding peaks. “I know you didn’t grow up around here, but the years you did live here you must have been tempted to look at it all the time.”

“Actually, I did grow up not too far from here by distance –we would need to pass too close to the Uesugi-Takeda territory, or I would show you." I had never taken that view for granted either. I loved the mountains, in any weather, and even on the worst days of my life, if I could escape into the mountains with my board, I always felt restored. “Besides, we’re practically there-”

I pulled Moonlight to a halt. The front gate looked like something had attacked it.

Alert for potential ambush, I drew my sword.

All around was silence.

There wasn’t even any birdsong.

Mitsunari dismounted and examined the stone wall. “This doesn’t appear to have been damaged by an army. It simply was neglected.”

That didn’t make sense. “Two months ago, that gate was in perfect condition.” I kept a solid grip on my sword and looked around the deserted courtyard. Even Fume’s garden was overgrown with weeds. “Illness?”

“Perhaps.” Mitsunari and I tied our horses to the gate – at this point, I would have welcomed it if Fume came out to yell at me.

Weapons drawn, we cautiously approached the manor. Mitsunari carefully opened the main door, then entered the house sword first. I felt like we were a group of police entering a potential crime scene and I had the impulse to yell ‘clear’ when I saw the kitchen was deserted.

Unlike the overgrown garden, Fume’s kitchen didn’t feel neglected… it seemed… staged.

“What?” Mitsunari opened the lid of a tea kettle and peered inside. I don’t know what he thought he would find in there.

“It’s like a set… um, a stage, waiting for actors.” Had I been living the past seven years in some twisted version of ‘The Truman Show’?

He nodded. “That… Yes. I don’t know much about theater – that would be Mitsuhide’s expertise. But I have a sense of … unreality.”

More than a little creeped out, I took hold of MItsunari’s arm and pulled him out of there. “Aki has an office further back.”

As I led him down the corridor, I looked around for evidence of hidden cameras. Not that I saw any – but that’s the nature of hidden, right?

Aki’s office seemed a bit more lived-in than the kitchen. Both rooms were dusty, but I didn’t feel a sense of ‘uncanny valley’ like I had in Fume’s domain. I lit the lantern Aki kept on his desk, as the one small window didn’t provide much daylight.

“Ah. That is better. Perhaps there will be an explanation in these books?” To my utter shock (#sarcasm), Mitsunari made a beeline for Aki’s personal archives, while I busied myself with rifling through the desk. It occurred to me that maybe Aki’s preference for the taller, European style desk had been because it came with the ability to lock the drawers.

However, the desk wasn’t locked and the drawers were empty, except for a bit of a harsh grainy… coffee grounds? Coffee grounds. That should have been my first clue that Aki was also from the future – it would still be a few years before Dutch traders brought coffee to Japan.

Hmmm – so what else could I discover? I ducked under the desk to look for hidden compartments.

From Mitsunari’s side of the room came a thud, a yell, and then what sounded like a mechanical rattle. I rolled out from under the desk…

No Mitsunari.

Also.

No bookshelf.

Ah ha! Sneaky Aki – there must be a hidden room behind that wall. I only had to find the…

More thuds from behind the wall. “Mitsunari? Can you hear me?”

“Yes.” His voice was muffled, but I could understand him.

“I think the switch is on your side. Did you press anything or pull a lever? Or maybe touch the books in a certain pattern? Do you remember what you did?” Stupid question – I was sure he remembered everything.

Sure enough, the mechanism rattled, the shelf spun, and Mitsunari reappeared, his eyes wide. He looked one part startled and two parts thrilled. “I was not expecting that.”

No one expects the Spanish Inquisition.

“Me either. I thought secret rooms only existed in fiction.” Although, come to think of it, they might already be common in medieval European architecture – to hide all those escapees from the Spanish Inquisition. “What was back there?”

“I did not take time to look. I was afraid of losing you.” He patted my arm as if to reassure himself that I was still around. Then he examined the shelf. “How does this work, I wonder?”

Likely some sort of spring action – without electricity, there wouldn’t be many options. I was more interested in what was behind the wall. I was not, however, interested in getting stuck in a dark mystery chamber, so I grabbed a cushion from Aki’s chair – it also smelled faintly of coffee – perhaps he been here recently? “Alright, open it again.”

Mitsunari held up his finger and grabbed the lantern first.

Right. Good idea.

The he yanked on an oversized folio, and the shelf spun us both into another room. Just before the shelf sealed us in, I shoved the cushion in the gap, to prevent it from closing completely. (Yes, I was aware that the door opened from the bookshelf side, but I was taking no chances).

Holding the lantern high, Mitsunari turned to face…

…a nearly empty room.

Just a room.

The only items in it were a couple of shipping trunks.

"Huh. Aki’s never been a minimalist.” It seemed silly to hide an empty room. At the very least, you’d think he would have put five years’ worth of canned beans and a few jigsaw puzzles back here.

Mitsunari very thoroughly swept the light around, then placed it on the floor in the center of the room. “It is extremely clean in here – someone must have visited recently, or there would be dust.”

Good point – although maybe this room had been sealed so well that no dust could get in? Ugh. What if we ended up sealed in here? I backed away from that thought, not wanting to get sucked into the claustrophobic spiral. “To the trunks?”

Without anything else to examine, we headed for the trunks. Again, Mitsunari drew his sword before we opened the first one, and I prepared to push him out of the way if it was booby-trapped – or housing vampires (vertically challenged vampires).

I threw open the trunk and saw -

Clothes.

The unexpected normalcy of it all made me want to laugh at my paranoia. “I think these are Aki’s. At least, I recognize-” 

!

There were voices coming from somewhere outside the room!

No need discuss a plan -  Mitsunari and I dove behind the trunks. They wouldn’t hide us from someone determined, but we wouldn’t be visible when the door opened.

The voices got closer and then…I realized we had made a critical error. “The lantern!”

We’d left it in the middle of the floor. Mitsunari rushed to grab it, and instead of picking it up, knocked it over and plunged us into darkness.

I heard the lantern rolling across the floor.

Followed by the unmistakable sound of someone banging their shin on a trunk.

Followed by a thud, and an ‘oof.’

“Are you ok?”

“I am not hurt, aside from my pride.” Another clunk. I felt around for Mitsunari, but he seemed to have landed too far from me.

It was too late to find him; the voices were nearly on top of us.

The wall spun once, then again. It happened too fast to see anything but the brief flash of light from Aki’s office.

Wait. What happened to the cushion?

“A rotating wall? I can’t believe I never noticed that.” A woman’s voice, sounding somewhat amused. “Shall we?”

“One moment, Devil, I want to see how this works.” Man’s voice. Deep, almost velvety, full of affection toward the other speaker. “Ah, it’s a spring mechanism.”

“Devils?” Mitsunari’s confused whisper came from my left as the bookshelf began to turn again.

@lorei-writes @bestbryn @katriniac @lyds323 @briars7

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 22: The Lucky Charm - Although Mitsunari’s small group of defenders score a victory, things are not looking good at Genba Castle..

Mitsunari x OC; Nobunaga x Mai

Previous Chapter

Logline - In order to protect a political alliance, Katusko and Mitsunari must pretend an engagement. But this “all business” arrangement is threatened by a coup against Nobunaga… and by feelings.

From the Military Notes of Ishida Mitsunari…

Sasuke’s ‘smoke bombs’ are highly effective weapons when the object is to confuse and overwhelm the enemy – although the smoke does not discriminate and some of Mozumi’s vassals became disoriented as well. In the confusion, I fell over a crate – although honesty forces me to admit that may have happened without the smoke. I regret we were not able to steal the gunpowder and instead were forced to destroy it, as I know Lord Nobunaga nor Lord Hideyoshi have little patience for waste.

Hopefully, Okatsu is safe in the tower. Though I told her the truth that taking charge of the archers is the best use of her skills, it is also true that keeping her safe is a priority for me. I do not want to spend another day like yesterday, watching her leave for, then waiting for her to return from a dangerous mission.

BOOM.

Hikosane rushed to squeeze herself in the corner between Shohime and me as we all watched thick smoke billow into the sky. "What was that?"

"It had to be Iekane’s gunpowder stores, well at least some of them.” Iekane wasn't dumb enough to keep all his gunpowder in one place. “I can’t think of anything else that would do that." I forced myself deep breath, and then another. Iekane’s men wouldn’t have destroyed their own ammunition, so the explosion must have been part of Mitsunari’s plan.

"Shit’s about to get real." Toshiie muttered. His knuckles were white against the railing.

"No battle experience on board that ship?" I hadn't had a moment to talk with him about what we'd each been doing for the last seven years - and now was not the time either- but there was a part of me that felt bitter over the fact that he had yeeted himself back to modern Japan without a second thought for me. Ok. Sure. His first thought was that I was dead; but what kind of idiot believes the word of a bunch of bandits? I was used to him being the smart one, but after seven years, I’d realized that book smart was worthless in this era, unless, like Mitsunari, one had the combat skills to back that up.

"No. They had me doing grunt work. Lots of swabbing the deck and repairing sails." Without asking permission, Toshiie grabbed the binoculars and peered into the distance. "There's a crap ton of smoke."

Swallowing the initial urge to sarcastically point out that everyone here could see there was a crap ton of smoke, I asked, “Do you see Mitsunari? Or Susumu?” Once again, I told myself that everything would be alright. That Mitsunari wouldn’t have followed through with any plan unless he was certain he could execute it.

But as before, logical arguments don’t work against feelings, and my feelings were … worried.

“I can’t see anything except smoke and trees.” He gave me the glasses back.

I scanned the woods, looking for that bright smile. Not that Mitsunari would be smiling. It’s just what I pictured in my head when I imagined Mitsunari. That calm smile.  "Pretty soon, Susumu and Mitsunari ought to be back with whatever supplies they could steal. There may be injuries. You should get ready."

Hopefully, they wouldn’t lead any of Iekane's men here. I told myself not to worry about that outcome. Mitsunari likely had a contingency pla-

Oh. Wait.

I was the contingency plan.

“Archers, keep watching for enemies from the west.” Calmly, more calmly than I felt, we all readied our arrows.

Toshiie looked at me, shook his head, and climbed back down to the ground level of the tower.

As it happened, our precautions weren’t needed. Mitsunari, Susumu and the other vassals had taken a circuitous route, stopping first at the south tower and it was close to midday before they returned to our base. By that time, the second shift of archers was on top of the tower, Shohime and I were "napping," and Hikosane was asleep for real, curled up on his side next to Shohime.

"Mitsunari, you're back!" Shohime jumped up and gave him a big hug (so much for her talk of stepping aside for me). Maybe old habits died hard? Only yesterday, she'd been drooling over Mitsuhide too. Of course, Shohime was only seventeen. Maybe she'd been born and raised in this era, but the bottom line of seventeen-year-olds: hormones gotta hormone.

Mitsunari suffered her embrace politely. Though he didn't hug her back, he didn’t shake her off and yell girl germs either.

Ok, you can let go of him any time now…

When she finally let him go, he hurried over to me. And hugged me.

Alright. He’d survived, and I let myself get lost in the happiness of his return, the relief that he was in one piece. He was here. He was ok. He was solid, and warm… and…

Ok, you can let go of him any time now…

When we finally broke the hug, I looked Mitsunari over for injuries before I led him to the area we had set up for his command station. Well technically it was simply a cleared out space in the corner, but I’d made sure that we’d cleaned the floor as well as possible. “What happened? We saw the explosions.”

"Susumu and our team captured a wagon of arrows, medical supplies and food.” He nodded to the entry, where several men were carrying in boxes of supplies. “His vassals are unfamiliar with guns, so we elected to destroy them by setting fire to the gunpowder." He frowned, and little worry lines set up camp on his forehead. I wanted to soothe those away. "Nobunaga will be disappointed. He dislikes waste."

"He'd also be disappointed if those weapons were used against him." Granted I wasn't a fan of guns to begin with, but we didn't have the manpower to hoard Iekane’s muskets, defend them, and present them to Nobunaga later. "I think he'll understand."

"It-it's only that I wish I had been able to think of a plan that would have enabled us to keep the guns." He looked so freaked out by the fact that he had 'missed' this piece that I had to hug him again. I’d never seen Mitsunari this distraught when it came to matters of the military. It was unnerving.

I held on tight, lightly patting him on the back, the way I would if he had been Hikosane. "You didn't strategize for keeping the guns because that is not our objective. Our objective is to get in Iekane's way enough to keep Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Mai alive until Masamune and Ieyasu can get here with reinforcements." And also, not die either.

Goes without saying.

He clung to me. "You are correct. Thank you for the reminder." He let his hand rest on my cheek for a moment.

We'd managed to stay alive over a day. One down. Two to go.

Two to go, if Mitsuhide had gotten to Kyubei before running into Iekane’s men. But it wasn’t worth bringing that up right now. Mitsunari knew the situation as well as I did. And it was a situation that was likely to get worse before it could (potentially) get better now that Iekane had to be aware there were guerillas in the misty woods.

“Your turn to rest.” I nudged him toward the medical area, where we were talking turns sleeping.

“But, I need to-” he made a helpless gesture with his hands, as I put my fingers to my lips, and indicated the sleeping Hikosane. “Work,” he finished in quieter tones.

Gently, I put my hands on his shoulders and pushed him into a sitting position. “Close your eyes for a few moments then. If you fall asleep, I promise I will wake you up when Sasuke returns.” I sat down next to him, prepared to stare him into at the very least sitting still. He had done this for me… turnabout was fair play.

He nodded, then before I could move, he lay down with his head in my lap. “If you will be my pillow block.” He closed his eyes.

Instinctively, I pushed his hair away from his face. He smiled, then within moments, he was asleep.

“We need to get out of here.” At the sound of his voice, I looked over at Toshiie. He was staring at us and scowling. “The sooner, the better.”

My hands were still tangled in Mitsunari’s hair. Toshiie was right. The sooner I went home, well – home to modern Japan, the better.

Midafternoon, Sasuke returned. Trudging next to him was a tear-streaked Mai. She wasn’t yelling, exactly, but her strident tones were loud enough for everyone to hear her. “-you aren’t listening to me. You have to try again – I’m his lucky charm!”

Where were Nobunaga and Hideyoshi? I couldn’t imagine a circumstance where either of them would let Mai out of their sight, unless … they thought it was her only hope of survival.

By then, Mitsunari was awake, and already huddled over his plans. When he saw Sasuke and Mai, his look of initial relief was followed by one of disappointment. I realized he'd had the same thoughts that I had.

Mai immediately threw herself into my arms (there's a lot of that going around). "They made me leave!" The fact that the normally cheerful and smiling Mai was in tears was a shock to my system. Even though I had only known these warlords for a few weeks, I knew that her smiling face was the center of their galaxy.

I patted her on the back, while Mitsunari stood by looking sick. "What happened?" he asked Sasuke. By then a small crowd had gathered, and Shohime pulled a hostess act, ordered everyone to sit and imperiously requested one of Susumu's vassals to make tea. He scrambled to obey, so her beauty obviously still had power.

"Now," Shohime said, once we were sitting down, and Mai was wrapped in a blanket (stolen supplies for the win!) and sipping tea. “Please tell us what is going on at Genba."

Mai had slipped into wordless misery, so Sasuke began. "As a ninja, I am much used to employing pathways through the ceiling to get in and out of buildings."

"As you do in Azuchi on a regular basis," Mitsunari murmured, causing Mai and Sasuke to exchange a guilty look. "Yes, we have been aware of this. Mitsuhide and Ieyasu were in favor of setting up traps in the ceiling, but Nobunaga determined you were no longer spying and decided to let you continue to have your fun."

Sasuke muttered something in Klingon (I knew that it was Klingon, but not what he said ... although I could probably guess), then added, "That may have the effect of making it less fun. In any case, the area in the ceiling in Genba is... not as roomy. While I was able to make my way through, it is not large enough to fit Hideyoshi or Nobunaga or most of his personal guards... or your father." He nodded at Hikosane and Shohime.

"Our father is with them?" Hikosane seemed relieved. Then it occurred to me that Hikosane might have suspected Mozumi of going along with Iekane’s plans.

How frightening to believe your father could be guilty of treason. For the first time, I realized that father: unknown might actually be a good thing.

"Yes. Mozumi is with Hideyoshi and Nobunaga, and about a dozen of their guards have barricaded themselves in the tenshu and are holding off intruders. I managed to give them some additional tools- smoke bombs, ground spikes, that kind of thing- but only Mai fit through into the space in the ceiling.”

"They forced me to leave." Mai’s hands were clenched into fists, and she nearly spit the words out of her mouth. "For months, he insists that I join him for every battle until this one. He made me go with Sasuke."

That... suggested Nobunaga didn’t like his odds. I didn't look at Mitsunari, afraid he'd confirm my guess.

"Did they understand my warning?" I wondered if my effort with the arrow had helped at all.

"At first, Hideyoshi thought it was an attack, but I saw the fabric." Mai got a hold of herself. “I thought it was from Sasuke since the note looked like his handwriting.”

It did? Sasuke turned to me with the unspoken question, but Mai had continued her story before I had a chance to think about the implications of that. "Hideyoshi saw what was going on outside, but it was too late to escape." She turned to Mitsunari and grabbed hold of his haori. “You have to rescue him."

Mitsunari seemed to deflate in front of my eyes. "I'm sorry. We're doing everything we can. Iekane has at least three hundred soldiers and there are less than forty of us." He rubbed his head. “I’ve been thinking and planning and I’ve gone through every strategy in my head, but I cannot figure out how to solve this with the people and equipment we have. All we can do is try to delay until Masamune and Ieyasu arrive with reinforcements.”

If they arrive. But now was not the time for to add to the pessimistic outlook.

Mai looked like she was going to start crying again. But instead of that, she took a long moment to stare us all down. “I can’t believe any of you. Nobunaga is the key to the future. You have to do more! Don’t just stand there being useless!” She pressed her fist to her mouth, then, apparently needing a moment alone, either to compose herself, or to have an even bigger breakdown, climbed the ladder to the upper floor of the tower. It didn’t quite have the same impact of a stomp, a flounce, and a slammed door, but she still left a group of people standing around in paralyzed silence.

Two more days.

We had to hang on for two more days (for the moment, I was going to ignore the possibility that they weren’t coming) which meant, keeping up morale, which at that moment, that meant keeping up Mitsunari's morale. I got up and massaged his shoulders. “She didn’t mean that.”

“She did. She said nothing I had not told myself.” He leaned back into my massage for a moment.

"You are the smartest man I know. If anyone can figure out how to keep this going, it's you."

Some of the tension went out of his shoulders. "Thank-you." He turned to Sasuke. "What specifically is the situation in Genba? Where are Iekane's troops? Are they inside the castle?"

He handed Sasuke a rough drawing he'd made of the castle, a brush, and ink (trust Mitsunari to take off after a runaway princess and bring writing supplies with him). Sasuke reached into his seemingly endless bag of Ninja tools and withdrew a felt tip pen. "Er, it will be faster if I use this," and proceeded to mark up the map under Mitsunari fascinated gaze. Whether it was Sasuke's information or the pen that enticed him, I do not know.

"Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, Mozumi, and some guards have control of the tenshu. Iekane and Lady Yone have taken over the connecting guard houses, and their soldiers are within the inner walls. They've set up camp in the courtyard. Then, outside the walls, more of Iekane's men, their supplies, are stationed throughout the forest."

Mitsunari looked at Hikosane, who sat up straighter, and looked upon Mitsunari like a peer. "Hikosane, how difficult would it be to breach the gates?"

"It's never been done in Genba’s three hundred years of existence." He took Sasuke’s pen and experimentally poked his finger at the end, smiling at the dot it had left on his finger. Then he drew a line along the trail leading to the gate. "I imagine the only reason Iekane managed to do it is because Lady Yone let him in."

Mitsunari then patted my shoulder. “You know Iekane better than anyone. Do you believe he would destroy the castle or burn down the tenshu to get to Nobunaga?"

"I never understood why Iekane does what he does. I still don't get why he tried to kill me." I sensed Toshiie startle at that statement. "My initial thought is that Genba is too valuable because of its defensibility to destroy. He plays a long game, and I think he’s patient enough to wait Nobu-."

"Unfortunately, you might want to speed up the timetable on Iekane’s patience, Katsu.” A new voice had interrupted me. A new, but familiar and welcome voice. “I agree with your logic, but on my way here, I passed a half-dozen of Iekane’s mercenaries who are escorting a cannon. I imagine that it's headed to the castle, though at their speed, it will likely take another day to arrive."

An "old man" melted out of the trees, despite the fact that we had sentries posted.

Aki.

I stared for a moment, relief warring with frustration. Where had he been? Then, I rushed to hug him, glad that whatever mission he'd been on, it had been successful.

But before I reached my mentor, Sasuke let out an exclamation that shocked me to my core. "Professor Yamaoka?!"

Professor Yamaoka? Sasuke knew Aki? Knew him from the future?

My forward motion screeched to a halt. Sasuke had to be mistaken. Maybe Aki was some great-great-grandparent of this ‘Professor Yamaoka,’ …. But the chagrined expression on his face said it all. Aki was from the future. And he never told me.

"Professor Yamaoka? " I couldn’t say much more out loud, but I hope he was hearing my 'what the hell' subtext loud and clear.

He had never told me. Even though I had been suffering from the most extreme case of culture-shock and homesickness imaginable… no, more than that, I had at times wondered if I had gone crazy, Aki never once bothered to mention that he was also from the future. Seven years ago, I would have given anything to know that I wasn’t alone.

Mitsunari had frozen, his hand on his sword, clearly uncertain if Aki was friend or foe. At this point, I wasn’t sure either. “Okatsu, you know this man?”

“I thought I knew him.” I turned toward Mitsunari to perform the introductions. "Ishida Mitsunari, my fiancé, this is Yamaoka Akihira, who has been my lord for the past seven years. Prior to that, I don’t know what he was, or did."

I'm not sure if Mitsunari understood that what I meant to say was, 'this is Aki. He has been lying to me for seven years, but it's probably ok to trust him in battle.’ He did return Aki's bow politely.

"Prof- er, Lord Yamaoka..." Sasuke struggled at the etiquette of it all. "Have you been here all this time?"

"Mr. Mikumo." Aki close to address him first. "No and yes, depending on your definition of here." Cryptic as always, although after one startled look, Sasuke seemed satisfied, in fact he seemed thrilled by that response. Aki turned to me. "Katsuko, I'm aware you must have many questions, and I will do my best to answer them--."

He was interrupted by a screech from the upper level of the tower.

Were they coming?

Everyone reached for their weapons, preparing to defend ourselves…

But it was Mai who came rushing down back down the ladder so fast that I was afraid she was going to trip on her kimono. The illicit binoculars were clutched in her hands. "It's Mitsuhide. I think they're going to kill him!"

@lorei-writes @bestbryn @katriniac @lyds323 @briars7

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 20: The Ewok Operation - Okatsu tries to alert Nobunaga about the approaching danger; Mitsunari devises a plan to stall the invaders; and Mitsuhide makes a sacrifice.

Mitsunari x OC; Nobunaga x Mai

Previous Chapter

Logline - In order to protect a political alliance, Katusko and Mitsunari must pretend an engagement. But this “all business” arrangement is threatened by a coup against Nobunaga… and by feelings.

From the Military Notes of Ishida Mitsunari…

Allocation – a good commander knows when to allocate his resources and personnel in order to achieve their objectives.

Personal comments – Okatsu has been trained as a courier and in reconnaissance. She may be one of the best archers I know. However, while sending her out on a mission makes good strategic sense, I am terrified that she will not return.

This may be the first time I have truly understood the personal costs of the tactics written of in texts. “Resources and personnel” are not simply words and concepts … they are people.

I’d been fast… but not fast enough.

I was close… but not close enough.

Iekane’s men were indeed preparing for a nighttime raid on Genba. Could I still find a way into the castle to warn Nobunaga? The only obvious entry was through the gate, but Iekane showed no sign of abandoning his post. Perhaps I could these-are-not-the-droids-you’re-looking-for my way past him and simply stroll in... no... not wearing these clothes. He'd wonder why I wasn't dressed as Okatsu.

Still, I refused to give up without trying. Maybe there was a hidden way in. If I crept along the outer wall toward Genba’s tenshu, maybe I could find another route. I would have to avoid the wall sentries, of cou-

Where were the sentries? 

They ought to have been posted along the walls, but no one was visible. Had they joined Iekane’s troops? Or were they being held prisoner somewhere? Overall, the situation appeared increasingly dire for anyone in Genba, although at least the missing sentries should make it easier for me to get to the tenshu unnoticed.

I found a tree that hung close enough to the wall to allow me to swing over, then ducked out of sight. Keeping my body low, I flattened myself against the stone, crawling slowly toward the tenshu, staying alert to any sound that would indicate an approaching guard.

It was eerily quiet.

Not until I reached the first guard tower did I understand why – the sentries were sprawled out under the tower, bodies stiff and cold, faces frozen in agony, a broken tea pot at their feet. Lady Yone’s calling card. Apparently she had found a use for the torikabuto after all.

I had been too late for these men, too.

Picking up the pace, I hurried toward the tenshu, looking for a door, window, any way in. There was nothing. The window slits were far off the ground, and too small for any human to climb through.

The most frustrating thing? I could even see Nobunaga’s quarters from where I stood. The window slits revealed flashes of green where Hideyoshi paced back and forth, his posture a picture of frustration. Probably he was upset because Mitsunari and I hadn’t come back yet. Nobunaga was sitting calmly, and though I was too far to see the look on his face, I expected that it was reflecting his amusement at Hideyoshi’s agitation. If only I could get one of them to look out - really look - out the window.

In the midst of my churning thoughts, one thing came to mind: "what would Mitsunari do?”

First, he would take stock of his inventory. What did I have with me? My bow and arrows - both my old arrows and the heavier tipped arrows I had purchased in Azuchi. My sword. The war fan Mitsunari had given me. Two daggers. A few acorns. The note the mysterious Kunoichi had slapped into my hand – had that been just yesterday?

Second, he would determine whether the inventory would be useful. Potentially ... could I shoot an arrow into Nobunaga’s room and get his and Hideyoshi’s attention?

Yes of course I could. I’d already tested the blunt tipped arrows and they could easily travel the distance I needed.

Could I manage not to hit Hideyoshi… or anyone else in there? Hideyoshi paced like a dervish, but Nobunaga was holding still. I also caught the flash of Mai’s light purple kimono, but she was sitting down, so she too would be easy to miss.

I would have to time things perfectly to ensure no one got hit. But, if Hideyoshi saw an arrow fly into the room, he was most likely to think it was meant to kill Nobunaga (he already saw assassins under every rock). It was possible he would alert Mouzi and Iekane that Genba was under attack. That was the last thing I wanted.

If I had a brush and ink (my country for an actual pen) I could use the paper from the kunoichi’s note and write a new one... or…

I reread the note: “Hikosane is in danger. Protect him at all costs.”

I tore the note into strips. Now I had a piece that said "In danger." Using my dagger, I cut off a length of material from my kimono. I wrapped the paper around the shaft of the blunt tip arrow, then secured it by tying the fabric around that. It would have to do.

Hideyoshi should recognize the arrow as one from Azuchi, Mai would recognize my kimono fabric.

“In danger" ought to speak for itself.

Plan in place, “all” I had to do was get the arrow through the narrow window slit.

I braced myself against the wall and took careful aim, trying to account for the slight weight of the fabric, waiting for Hideyoshi to clear the window. I would not get a practice shot – I had to get it right the first time.

I was a still as a mountain.

I listened for the wind, but it was a calm, still day.

I pulled back on the string…

Focused, picturing in my mind the arrow zipping easily through the slits…

Breathing into my belly…

And…

Now!

I loosed the arrow.

The shot was true and zipped through the tiny space (ha! The next time someone needs a shot to go through an air duct in a Death Star, they should call me). From my vantage, I could see Hideyoshi immediately throw himself in front of Nobunaga and Mai. He pulled them both below the sightlines of the window.

After a long moment, he cautiously peered through the window.  I could tell from his posture the exact second he spotted the dead sentries, and beyond that, the warriors creeping through the trees. 

Before I could wave to get his attention, I heard a single set of footsteps and the rattle of the lacquered armor Mozumi’s sentries wore. Was this someone simply investigating why the call to change the guard hadn’t gone out? Or did they already know? At this point, it was impossible to tell who was with Iekane, and who was not. Either way, I did not want to stick around to explain. Hopefully I had given Nobunaga and Hideyoshi enough warning to either escape or to barricade themselves inside and hold out until rescue.

Three days.

Three days for Masamune and Ieyasu to arrive with reinforcements. Until then, our small group would need to find a way to slow down Iekane’s forces and try to assist Nobunaga from the outside.

I retraced my steps along the wall to return to the cover of the trees, but the tree branch I had used to swing to the top of the wall, had, without my weight, sprung back out of reach. Climbing down the wall was my only option. I found a portion of the wall that was in deep shadow thanks to the mountain and the angle of the courtyard, and descended as carefully as I could, before letting go about halfway down to drop quietly to the soft grass.

It was about twenty meters to the cover of the forest. If I was going to be seen or caught, it would be while I was running through the patch of open land. I could cover that distance in less than five seconds. As long as no one was looking in my direction… I could manage that.

If I was lucky.

Anxious that at any moment I would hear the shout of a guard or the crack of a musket, I sprinted for the forest, my breath in my ears, and the pounding of my feet seeming loud enough to echo through the mountains.

When I was safely above ground again, clinging to the upper branches of a friendly cedar tree, it was all I could do to not wrap myself around the trunk and never let go. But… I’d made it this far. I could make it back to Mitsunari.

As quietly as I could, I crept over the men who were hunkered down throughout the forest around Genba. Although they weren’t especially loud, they weren't trying to be quiet either. Their ambient noise was enough that I was able to pass above without attracting any attention.

Once I passed the initial ring of camps, there were fewer soldiers to avoid, which made it all the more shocking when I heard the words, "--have no interest in you. I was tryin' to retrieve a runaway horse."

It was a peasant’s dialect.

It was Mitsuhide’s voice.

I froze where I was, as the voices grew louder, clearer.

"A runaway horse? Yours?" Unfamiliar voice, faint coastal accent-which would make sense for one of Iekane's vassals from Tsuruga.

In another moment Mitsuhide appeared, acting unconcerned by the fact that he was surrounded by several armed men, one of whom I recognized as one of Iekane's personal guards.

Should I try to rescue him? I knew how Mitsuhide would answer that. He would say no. I wasn’t certain he even needed rescuing. Mitsuhide was wily. Maybe he could get out of this on his own.

"Not my horse. It belongs to my master, and if I want to keep my head attached to my body, I need to get her back before he notices she's gone.” Mitsuhide made a move to leave, but the men had their swords out before he could take a step.

"Your master ... that would be Oda Nobunaga, would it not?" Iekane’s guard was neither unobservant, now stupid. "I've seen you talking with him in the stables."

Well. Hell. He might need an assist after all. It wasn’t as if I hadn’t had to assist from a tree bef--? … a wave of dizziness passed through me while in my head, there was a vision, as clear as memory of sitting in a tree, my arrow trained on a group of ronin who were menacing hapless travelers. But. Though it was clear as memory… this had never happened.

Why was it in my head?

In my distraction, I shifted forward, and the sudden change in balance rustled the tree at just the wrong moment.

At the sound, Mitsuhide’s eyes flicked upward. Though I had immediately pressed myself backward, nearly out of sight, I know he saw me. He tromped loudly on a piece of dead wood near his feet.

“Oda pays my salary, yes. A man’s got to eat.” Mitsuhide spit on the ground. "Doesn’t mean I have to like it. Or him. Wouldn’t care if I threw my lot in with you, if the pay ain’t bad.”

What?

Was Mitsuhide actually the traitor history had made him out to be?

No, that couldn’t be right. He’d seen me. If he were a traitor, he would have revealed my hiding place. Without looking again at where I was hiding, Mitsuhide made an obvious show of scratching his his nose. Was he signalling me? The nose scratch was a signal that Aki and I often used – it wouldn’t be too much of a stretch of the imagination that Mitsuhide was aware of Aki’s signals.

Message received. I didn’t like it, but Mitsuhide, for whatever reason, wanted to stay with these men. Maybe he was playing along to learn more details about Iekane’s plans and assets.

I stayed motionless on my perch, hardly taking a breath, until they moved on in the direction of the castle.

It was only after the woods were quiet again, that I realized I didn’t know if Mitsuhide had managed to contact Kyubei before he encountered Iekane’s men.

“We've got problems,” had been my blunt way to announce my return. “More problems.” Probably I should have built up to that, but my entire trek back to the camp had been a mental recitation of everything that had already gone wrong or that could go wrong.

Despite my announcement, the look that I received from Mitsunari was one of relief. “It’s been a long time since you left.”

“Mitsunari was pacing!” Hikosane looked up from where he had apparently taken over the cooking. Well. He couldn’t do any worse than Shohime who had cajun-cooked the rabbit, or Mitsunari who thought that his tea leaf stew was drinkable.

“Oh. I’m sorry … it didn’t really feel that long on my end. I was too busy with… stuff.” I explained about Mitsuhide, repeating everything I had overheard. “He knew I was in the tree, listening, so for whatever reason, he intends to stay with Iekane’s army for a while.”

"If he was with them, then he will do his best to learn as much about their assets, then destroy them from the inside until he can find a way to escape.” Mitsunari glanced down at his notebook which he had already filled with various plans.  “I trust he knows what he is doing. However, I wish he had told me what he intended.”

Generally, I was less trusting than that, but there wasn't a lot we could do about Mitsuhide at this point anyway, "I don’t know if he made it to Takayama to get a message to Kyubei. Iekane's men are creeping all over the woods. He could have run into them anywhere.”

Mitsunari was silent for a long moment. “We will proceed as if he made it. Because the alternative is too bleak to consider. What is the situation at Genba?”

Otherwise known as:  Okatsu delivers bad news part three. “Iekane was at the castle gates. I couldn't get near enough to personally warn Nobunaga either.”

"But... you did something didn’t you." Mitsunari stated it calmly, confident that I had figured out a plan. I wanted to bathe in that confidence.

Before I could respond to him though Hikosane asked, "Do you think that he will attack my father?"

"He might, if he thinks your father is in the way of what he wants." Honestly, I wasn’t sure if Mozumi was still alive. The fact that the sentries had been poisoned suggested that he wasn’t aware of Iekane and Yone’s plans, although I didn’t have any solid evidence of that either. I didn’t want to upset his children any more than they were already. Instead, to Mitsunari, I said, "I was able to shoot an arrow into the room where Hideyoshi, Nobunaga and Mai were. I stuck half of the ninja's note on it; the part that said 'in danger! Hopefully that will be enough of a warning."

Mitsunari’s confidence extended to Hideyoshi and Nobunaga. "They will understand. Hideyoshi will try to get Nobunaga out, or if he cannot, he will protect him with his life." I wished I had his certainty. Mitsunari must have read my expression, for he added, "I acknowledge the situation is not good, but I am hopeful we can devise a strategy to help them until Masamune and Ieyasu arrive with reinforcements.”

"Then. Let's get to work. We will be... like..." I could think of no example that he would relate to.

"Like?" He prompted me with a gentle smile.

With a sigh, I finished with the word, "Ewoks." Before he, or anyone else could ask, I hurried on to say, "they are in a story from my village. Their fighters were outnumbered. But they were in their home forest and they knew the land. They were able to use small, directly focused attacks to delay the enemy until the main force was able to destroy the enemy’s base."

"Ah, so this strategy can be titled 'the Ewok Operation.’ " Mitsunari wrote the words down in his notebook.

Sure. Why not?

"We must acquire more fighters, weapons, and tools." Mitsunari said. "The armies generally keep supplies in their rear guard. If we can capture one... or more of those, we'd be in a better position." He turned to Shohime. "Will any of your father’s vassals fight against Lady Yone, or will they assume that any instructions she gives them come from Mozumi?

Shohime frowned. "Yone is not popular. Many of my father’s vassals do not live in Genba Castle, but in manors and a garrison further down the mountain. They may not be aware of the current situation."

"I'll alert them!" Hikosane jumped to his feet and was halfway out of the clearing before Shohime grabbed the back of his haori and pulled him back. "I can do this. They'll know me."

The warning note about Hikosane’s danger was still fresh in my mind. I didn’t know where it came from or if he was still under threat, but there was no way I would be letting him go off on his own. In fact, I wouldn’t send any ten year old out into the forest, especially not at night. The sun was already setting, and it would be fully dark before he got very far. "Then I'm going with you."

“No.” Mitsunari’s prior gentleness was replace by a firm order. “We will all go.” His tone said, ‘don’t argue.’

I argued. “Hikosane and I will be faster if it’s just the two of us.”

“We split up before and lost Mitsuhide. Okatsu, I know you are strong. Capable. I do not doubt your skills. But… waiting for you to return.” He tapped his chest. “It hurts in a way that nothing ever has before.”

It’s impossible to win an argument of logic against someone’s feelings.

Hikosane led us along a narrow trail down the mountain until we reached the manor of Susumu, who Shohime assured us was loyal to the Kanamori. “He is my mother’s cousin and has no reason to follow Lady Yone’s orders.

While we waited for the gates to open to us, I looked around. The manor was small, but neatly kept up. Someone here appreciated order and, if the statues of Raijin and Fujin were any indication, had a healthy respect for the weather. But what I didn’t see, was evidence of a personal guard or a lot of vassals. Maybe Susumu would be willing to aid us… but how much aid could he afford?

Though it had gotten late, Susumu was still awake, and he was in his receiving room writing letters by the light of two lanterns. When he saw Hikosane and Shohime, he immediately bowed low. "Lord Hikosane, Princess Shohime, this is unexpected." He turned a questioning look at Mitsunari and I.

Hikosane hastily introduced me as, "This is one of Oda Nobunaga’s trusted vassals, Ishida Mitsunari, and his fiancée, Oda Okatsu. Not only is she a Princess, she’s one of Nobunaga's kunoichi."

Field promotion! (Though Nobunaga, not to mention Hideyoshi would be shocked to learned he employed a kunoichi). Hikosane knew the Mozumi vassals better than I and if they were wont to be impressed by titles and female ninjas, I was not going to argue.

Before we could get trapped in a polite small talk rabbit hole, Shohime jumped in. “Lord Susumu, we need your help. Genba is under attack.” Interestingly, I noticed she had abandoned her helpless princess act. There were no tears, no handwringing – this Shohime was all warrior.

“What?” Susumu looked from Hikosane to Shohime with confusion. “How?”

Hikosane gestured to Mitsunari, who expertly relayed the situation as only a military commander could. Susumu, nodded along, his knuckles tightening on the edge of his desk as the import of the crisis sunk in.

"How quickly can you gather my father's vassals?” Hikosane asked, once Mitsunari had finished.

Susumu frowned. "By sunrise, however the problem is few of them are left to be summoned. Your father ordered General Makino and over one hundred men to accompany the latest shipment of silver to the coast. He said he’d received credible information that the shipment had been targeted by robbers."

Damn it. The orders must have come from Iekane. Lady Yone, or maybe they had convinced Mozumi that that had been necessary. But now was not the moment to worry about that. If we couldn’t convince Susumu to help us, then we had lost before we began.  "How many are left? It's unfortunate that your general has gone with the shipment although Mitsunari is an expert strategist.”

A quick smile bloomed across Mitsunari’s face at my praise before he put his ‘serious strategist’ expression back on. “If I know our resources, I can deploy them where they will be most effective. Mozumi’s vassals know the territory. Iekane’s mercenaries do not. This is to our advantage.”

"I believe there may be up to twenty vassals and an additional dozen support staff." Susumu strode into the corridor and requested a waiting page to round up every man in his household. "I'll send out messages to the others.”

As the page departed, a young woman entered the room. She bowed low to us. “Susumu, why did you not alert me that we had visitors? Lord Hikosane, Princess Shohime, I must apologize for my husband’s lack of manners.”  Susumu’s wife appeared to be much younger than her spouse, but she looked at him with affection and trust.

“Lady Hana. Do not trouble yourself on our account.” Shohime again blew past the small talk. “We are not able to stay.”

After pressing a kiss on Hana’s cheek, Susumu relayed a series of household orders that Hana nodded at with enough familiarity to suggest this was not the first time he’d needed to go off to war in the middle of the night. She headed directly to a wall, where several swords were displayed, removed one, and handed it to him with the competence of a soldier.

And… I had a thought. “Lady Hana, are you much of an archer?”

Without prompting, the much-smarter-than-anyone-knew Shohime picked up where I was going. “She’s very good. As are many of the wives and daughters in the Kanamori clan.”

“How many of these wives and daughters would be willing to,” I paused, because willing wasn’t going to be enough in this era. “And, um, permitted to join us?” I glanced at Mitsunari, hoping he wasn’t upset that I had just usurped his authority.

“Trained archers would be very useful,” he agreed. “On a voluntary basis, of course.”

Susumu and his wife looked at each other, in one of those long, silent marital conversations. One that Hana apparently won, for he sighed and nodded. “If the situation is as you said, we will need them. I would trust her to defend the house, and therefore, I will trust her to help defend Genba.”

That decided, Mitsunari began to herd us out. “Thank you, Lord Susumu. We’ll leave you to make your preparations.” He turned to Hikosane, who appeared to be on the verge of pouting at being left out the recent discussions. “Do you know of an adequate location for everyone to meet?”

"Iekane’s men have the castle surrounded," I reminded Hikosane.

“I am not likely to have forgotten that.” Alright, someone has apparently taught this child sarcasm.

Hm. That someone may have been myself.

"Thirty men plus an unknown number of female archers." If he was disappointed, Mitsunari didn’t show it. "If we can capture some of their supplies, that will make their siege more difficult. We can then send out smaller groups on hit and run missions to harass Iekane's army."

We had returned to our old campsite, as Mitsunari had determined that most efficient place to meet with the Kanamori vassals was at the crossroads. Eventually, though, our base of operations would be moving to an old Takeda signal tower. Though the Takeda no longer held any territory around here, the towers still stood. Mitsunari had determined that both would be useful for our purposes. “We can use one as a line of defense for our small forces and the more hidden one as a place to keep the wounded."

My initial relief at getting the vassals dwindled. Wounded. Yes of course there would be wounded. Hopefully we'd be able to get some medical supplies when we attacked their rear guard. "We have a little while until sunrise, what would you like me to do?" It had become second nature to defer to Mitsunari in matters of military.

"Sleep. You must be exhausted by this time." He patted the ground next to him. He'd built up a small bed of leaves and spread his cloak on it. "If you won't listen to me as your fiancé, then consider it an order."

Well... I didn't like it, but I knew better than to break the chain of command. Still, technically it was Mitsuhide who was my boss and… "What are we going to do about Mitsuhide?"

"I have to trust that he knows what he is doing." Again, he patted the ground. "I need you alert later, so sleep now."

That argument made enough sense to me that I lay down as directed and closed my eyes. I didn't know if I could manage to sleep, but what Mitsunari didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him. I felt him scoot closer to me, then his fingers combed through my hair the way he had that first night we were in Genba castle, when all we'd had to worry about was keeping up the act. But his hands were as strong and sure as before and I found myself relaxing under the gentle rhythm of his touch, until I drifted off...

When I woke up some time later the first thing that my conscious mind registered was the low tones of Mitsunari discussing strategy with...

Was that Sasuke's voice?

I sat up quickly, trying to shake off the specter of sleep; but the first person I saw wasn't Sasuke. Sitting just a meter away, his hands on his knees as he watched me was-

"Toshiie?!"

@bestbryn @lorei-writes @katriniac @lyds323 @briars7

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 21: Exuent, Pursued by a Bear? - Okatsu’s reunion with her brother and Sasuke is postponed as they all prepare their attacks on Iekane’s army. Mitsunari heads out on a dangerous mission.

Mitsunari x OC; Nobunaga x Mai

Previous Chapter

Logline - In order to protect a political alliance, Katusko and Mitsunari must pretend an engagement. But this “all business” arrangement is threatened by a coup against Nobunaga… and by feelings.

From the Military Notes of Ishida Mitsunari…

Personal comments: I am no longer able to continue researching military theory, as events have conspired to throw us all into the middle of a military operation. Assets: One scout/archer; one Princess/archer; one ninja of self-described ‘moderately awesome’ abilities; one healer; and one small boy. Assets promised, not yet acquired: twenty vassals; a dozen servants; an unknown number of women archers.

Missing asset: Lord Mitsuhide.

Opposition: Upwards of three hundred men – some of whom may be paid mercenaries.

Mission: Prevent above three hundred men from overrunning Genba castle and killing Lord Nobunaga.

Keep Okatsu alive.

Kissing Okatsu should not be on this list, as it is no longer a priority.

Kiss Okatsu.

Was I still asleep and dreaming? Was I dreaming that both Sasuke and Toshiie were here?  No, because right before my brother yanked me into a hug too tight to be a dream, I saw Sasuke and Mitsunari standing behind him.

Toshiie’s hands were strong on my back, and he babbled nearly incoherently. "Katsuko. Oh God, I'm sorry. They told me you were dead. I swear, I never would have stopped looking if I'd known. I never would have gone back. I’m sorry. I should have protected you."

Dead? Me? I mean, even when I was locked in the crate, I hadn’t reached the point of ‘mostly-dead.’

His words didn't make sense, but did it matter right now? His hair was shorter, he looked a little thinner, there were new lines in his face, he wore a different pair of glasses ... but it was Toshiie "Sh. It’s ok. You found me... or did Sasuke find you?" Where had he been all these years? How had Sasuke found him?

I double checked to make sure that Mitsunari was out of earshot. Ok, he and Sasuke had politely withdrawn to give Toshiie and I privacy for our reunion. Further beyond them, Hikosane and Shohime were busy -- were they making ground spikes? In any case they were all far enough away to not overhear Toshie and my conversation.

"Actually, I found Sasuke in modern Kyoto. Katsuko, I was only in this era for a few months. The same wormhole that brought us here, sent me back to modern Japan almost seven years ago." He put his head in his hands. “I thought you were dead. The bandits said you were eaten by a bear."

"A bear? What?" I clapped my hand over my mouth to prevent laughing in his face. But seriously. I had encountered one or two bears in my time here and they never showed any interest in eating me. If Toshiie had spent more time here, he would know the bears were shy of people, "Never mind. Go on, I always thought you were on a ship of some kind. Guess that was as wrong as the bear."

“That’s right. I was on a ship. We'd been at sea about six weeks," he made a face (Toshiie always had had terrible motion sickness), "when we sailed into a storm. And I could tell it was the same kind of storm that brought us here. That fog bank moved right off the port side, and while they were all dealing with the storm, I dove right into it."

"Wow. That was…" Stupid. He could have drowned. "Brave."

"The next thing I knew, I was back at Togakushi, alone, in the middle of winter. I was messed up for a while.” He paused and looked down at the ground. In my family, the three of us had never used words like “depressed” or “anxious.” Even though psychology courses were required for his studies, Toshiie had nearly always avoided talking about mental health with me (well, until the day that we’d ended up sucked into the wormhole). So for him to even use ‘messed up?’ Things had been bad for him. “Anyway, eventually, I pulled myself together and went back to school." He lifted up a medical bag that looked far too anachronistic to my eyes.

"Look at you. Are you a doctor now?" It was hard to take in. While I'd had a life here, Toshiie had - eventually - picked up where he left off. It felt jarring, like we were two pieces of a puzzle that looked like they would fit but didn't.

"Not yet. Close. I have another year of residency." He glanced at Sasuke. "A couple weeks ago, I saw an announcement for a lecture about time travel. Since I've never had anyone to talk to about it, I went, and that’s where I met Sasuke. After he was done talking, I followed him out of the lecture hall, and said, you're not going to believe this, but what you described happened to me. We went out for a drink, and I told him everything.”

Sasuke and Mitsunari had made their way over in time to hear the last bit of Toshiie’s story. "And I told him, I do believe you... and I know your sister. She's not dead. I had already been making plans to return to-" He sideeyed Mitsunari. "To this part of the county."

"To this era. You may say that. I am aware Okatsu is a time traveler." Mitsunari spoke as casually as if he were offering tea.

He knows?

I must have looked stunned, for Mitsunari patted my arm before continuing. "I was already aware that Mai is from the future as she mentioned it on the day she arrived, and after observing her actions for a few days, I concluded she had not been lying. As you once noted you are from the same place as Mai, the logical conclusion was that you are also from the future. Since you did not mention it to me, I presumed you did not wish to discuss it." The words were mild, but his tone sounded hurt.

"I never mention it to anyone. Even Aki, who I've worked for for many years, doesn't know." Then because I wanted to give Mitsunari something of myself, a truth he could hold onto, I added, "My name actually is Katsuko. Mitsuhide changed it when he made me a princess." I put the word ‘princess’ in air quotes, although probably he wouldn’t understand the gesture.

That dazzling smile came out. "Katsuko." It sounded like he was tasting the name on his tongue. “Katsuko,” he repeated, and coming from his mouth it sounded like a song. "It is a pretty name. It suits you." Then he sighed. “I am terrible at remembering names though. I apologize in advance if I forget and call you Okatsu.”

For the sake of our charade, he likely should continue to call me Okatsu anyway, but it was nice to know that I was no longer lying to him about one thing.

Toshiie gave him a ‘back-off dude,’ big brother type look, then picked up the story. "Sasuke has a friend who is very ill, so he asked if I would also come along to-”

"- Where I work," Sasuke jumped in very quickly. Yeah, it wouldn’t be a good idea to advertise to an Oda that you worked for-.

"I'm also aware you work for Uesugi Kenshin. Do not censor yourself on my account." Mitsunari calmly sat with his hands resting on his knees as if he was doing nothing more than discussing the best brand of tea, instead of chatting with an enemy.

"Er. Alright then." Sasuke pushed glasses further up nose. "In any case, as Toshiie and I came through a wormhole at Honno-ji, it was simple enough to detour to Genba, but Mitsunari has briefed me on your current situation, and clearly it's not that simple."

"You'll help us though." It wasn't question. I knew he would do that for Mai. And I suppose given that he also was aware of Japan's future, it was vital that unification happened.

Sasuke nodded. "Mitsunari has been discussing strategy with me." He began pulling all manner of ninja tools out of his pack. "I understand we'd be practicing guerilla tactics to carry out attacks on the enemy until reinforcements arrive."

Finally, Mitsunari looked confused. "Gorillas... we need monkeys?"

"Um... it's just another word for Ewok." I didn’t know why it was called guerilla. I’d probably skipped school that day.

"Ewoks!" Sasuke looked at me. "If I had known you were also a time traveler earlier. I imagine we would have had some fascinating conversations."

Now it was Mitsunari's turn for that 'back off' look, and he directed it at Sasuke. However, he continued in a pleasant tone of voice. "Now is not the time for that. Okatsu, Katsuko.” He sighed. "As I said. I am not very good at remembering names.”

"Might as well leave it at Okatsu so as not to confuse anyone." We really didn’t have time to keep explaining a name change to Hikosan, Shohime and the Kanamori vassals.

Susumu had rounded up thirty-five vassals and servants, an additional six women archers, and all the spare weapons and ammunition he could find. Once everyone had gathered in our camp, Mitsunari outlined his plans. "I intend to split us in three groups." Susumu, you and I will take the largest force and to capture as many of their supplies as possible." He used a stick to draw out the military formations in the dirt. "We’ll isolate and outflank the supply chain here."

"Okatsu, you are to lead the archers, with Shohime and Hikosane to the top of the northermost signal tower. There you are to defend our rear guard and the-” he nodded at Toshiie, "medical facility for the injured."

“Hang on! I’m not part of this fight. I came back for my sister and nothing else. Sasuke promised he could get us home.” Toshiie tugged on my arm. “I couldn’t help you before, but I’m here now.”

This… was not the brother I remembered. What had happened to him? And while on an intellectual level, I knew that Toshiie hadn’t undergone the seven years of survival training I’d been through, but even without that, did he really think I’d abandon my friends now? “If you really want to help, then listen to Mitsunari.”

Toshiie turned to Mitsunari… and said, “Look, I didn’t go through all this just to watch my sister get killed. She’s impulsive. She’s unreliable. She’s-”

“Standing right next to you.” I elbowed him in the ribs. “I can speak for myself, and I’m not going anywhere until this is over.” One way or another.

With a calming hand, Sasuke patted Toshiie on the back. “I will get you and your sister home, but we can’t leave until Nobunaga is safe, or there may not be a home to return to.” Given all these witnesses, Sasuke couldn’t bring up quantum theory and temporal paradox, but the unspoken message was clear.

Although he clearly didn’t like it, Toshiie grudgingly accepted Sasuke’s statement. “Fine. As long as I’m stuck here, I will provide medical care to my best ability. Under these conditions.” That last part was muttered under his breath.

Calmly, as if Toshiie hadn’t been possessed by the spirit of Debbie Downer, Mitsunari continued his instructions.  "Sasuke believes he can find a way into Genba castle and potentially sneak Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, Mai… and Mozumi out. But if he cannot, he will at least be able to return with valuable information about guards and troop movement.”

His expression serious (although his expression always was serious), Sasuke saluted him and nodded.

"Based on how much Susumu’s forces can obtain or destroy, and what Sasuke learns," Mitsunari continued, "We will refine and move on to phase two of the plan."

All that was great and all... but I was a bit... peeved... that I was going to be stuck on top of a tower. Not that I would say anything to Mitsunari in front of anyone else (unlike my brother I understood the military chain of command… and unlike my brother I also had manners). Instead, I waited until everyone dispersed and Mitsunari finished relaying instructions to Sasuke, before approaching. "Lord Mitsunari." I bowed.

"Okatsu there's no need for formality.” Then he looked at me for a moment before frowning. "You... are upset?"

"Are you trying to protect me by putting me in beacon tower?" I thought I had proved my worth by now.

"I see. No. That isn't it. I want archers on top of that tower, and you are the best archer I know." Then, even though no one was looking, he took my hands in his. Instantly at his touch, I felt calmer. Mitsunari always could soothe the noise in my head. "I was treating you as a warrior and placing you where you are needed."

"Oh. Alright then. Thank-you." I paused, then withdrew my hands from his, feeling the cold as I did so.

The beacon towers were part of a network of towers that Takeda Shingen had built all through the territory when it was his. Since the primary function was to send smoke signals from tower to tower, the structures were crude, mostly open to the elements, wider on the ground floor, and tapering upward to the beacon level. The one we planned to use had been abandoned for months, although to be certain, we had one of Susumu's men with us (the Redshirt), to check things out.

On the ground level, Toshiie set up the ‘medical tent,’ in one corner, grumbling all the while about medieval medicine.

"I realize you’re being sarcastic, but this literally is medieval Japan," I reminded him, as Shohime, our girl-power archery corps, and I prepared to climb onto the higher level to set up the defenses. "You don't hear me grumbling about the lack of binoculars, do you?"

Toshiro reached into his pack and handed me a set of binoculars.

"Wow. Really?" Not taking a gift anachronism in the mouth, but… "Does Sasuke know you brought those?"

Tosh shrugged. "We weren't planning to be here that long. Just get you, help his friend, and hop the next wormhole out of here." He kicked at the dirt and leaves that littered the ground since the tower’s sides were partially open to the elements.

"Too bad you couldn't sneak a handheld vacuum huh?" I broke off a branch of a nearby tree, then flipped it leaf side down. "Here, Macguver this into a broom."

Tosh rolled his eyes (and to think I missed his sarcasm?) but grabbed the branch and got to work.

I joined the others on top of the tower, they were milling around and it took me a moment to realize that they were waiting for me to tell them what to do. Mitsunari had effectively made me commander of this team. I looked them over.

Though a couple women were around my age, there was one who had to be at least a grandmother, if not a great grandmother. Shohime went right over to the woman and hugged her. The woman whispered something in her ear, and Shohime laughed before turning to me. “Lady Okatsu, this is Ushi. She used to work in Genba castle and she taught me everything I know about archery.”

Well, that was good information that I hoped I’d know what to do with. I'd never been in charge before. It looked like I would need to rely on Shohime, whose transformation from airhead to semi-capable warrior had left my head spinning.

Alright. Speech time. Hopefully I would not suddenly develop stage fright. "If our luck holds, and of course we can't count on luck, we can remain undetected until Susumu and Mitsunari launch their raid. But as I said we can't count on luck. We'll start with four people, one keeping watch over each direction.” The top of the tower was only about four square meters, narrowing from the larger room below, so even though we all faced different directions, we would be able help to each other.

“Four up here watching. Two asleep. Two guarding and helping medical. We'll rotate in shifts every quarter watch." Given Shohime’s recommendation, I put Ushi in charge of the other shift, then sent them back to the main floor, telling them to determine for themselves who would sleep first. And… feeling like I ought to add some kind of inspiring words to fire them up, I said,  “And… um, clear eyes, full hearts, can’t lose.”

After the other shift retreated to the base of the tower, all was quiet. I sneakily used the binoculars to see if I could get a sense of what was happening at the castle, but these glasses had been meant for bird watching, and I couldn't see close enough for details.

"Shohime, how long have you been pretending to be..." I bit back the word 'stupid,' as I didn't want to insult her.

She understood what I meant. "Since I was eight. I saw Lady Yone about to smother Hikosane with a cushion! He was just a baby! I interrupted her and asked her to help with a dance I had been learning. It was easier protect Hikosane if she thought I was an idiot."

"I take it Lady Yone was pregnant with one of your sisters at the time?" Though Japan didn’t really follow the western tradition of primogeniture, Genba Castle's domain was on the small and poor side, especially before the silver mines had been discovered. Yone would not have wanted an unborn son to divide his inheritance with Hikosane.

"Yes." Shohine's shoulders slumped. "She steps up the efforts every time she is pregnant. Although this-" she gestured vaguely around the forest. "Was not something. I expected."

"I imagine Iekane helped her come up with this.... or maybe they found each other." I didn't want to discount the intelligence of another woman, especially, after misjudging Shohime. "Are your feelings for Mitsunari part of whatever it was you were doing to protect Hikosane?"

If she was sincere in her feelings, then maybe after this was over, after I went home, she and Mitsunari would get together after all. She'd shown herself to be resourceful and smart, although clearly she needed more education to be able to take advantage of that raw intelligence.

"How could anyone not love Mitsunari?" Shohime had a fond smile on her face. "He's smart and sweet and beautiful."

True, he was all of that and more. He would be very easy to love…

…if I weren’t catching the next wormhole out of town.

I must have looked upset or something, because Shohime leaned over and touched my arm. "But don’t worry Okatsu. No matter how I feel about him, it's obvious that the two of you are perfect for one another. Please don't worry that I will try to come between you."

At the moment, I was more worried about Mitsunari getting back from his mission with Susumu. They’d been gone a while… too long? I hadn’t been paying enough attention to the position of the sun to estimate how much time had passed. Something rustled in the trees below, and I took a moment to track and find it through the binoculars. It was just a rabbit. A regular rabbit, I presumed, and not a monster out of the imagination of Monty Python. “What about the poisoned tea? Lord Mitsuhide said you could have killed us all."

"I was afraid that Lady Yone was having me watched… that page that always follows me came to the castle in her entourage.” Oh. Huh. I had wondered why she hadn’t brought that seemingly loyal page with her when she ‘ran away.’ “So, I had to at least pick the flowers. But if the stable – er, Lord Aketchi had not already stopped me, I would have switched it out before I gave it to you - or to us, since I believe I was the intended victim. She wants Iekane to herself."

"Ugh. She can have him." I was years away from the naïve girl who had once found Iekane’s smile attractive.

"With a ribbon.'' Shohime and I smiled in a moment of simpatico. "Lord Aketchi said what I ended up giving you truly was a love potion. I suppose it was simply something like water?"

I shrugged. "With Mitsuhide, anything is possible. He might have truly handed you a temporary love potion because it amused him to do so."

"Interesting. Lord Aketchi sounds like a fascinating man. I imagine I could learn a great deal from him." There was a look on her face that made me suspect she might be willing to see him as a romantic prospect, but all jokes aside, I thought the age difference between the two was too great. Besides, I did not want anyone to get in the way of the great enemies-to-lovers romance that was Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi.

Any further conversation in this vein was interrupted by the sound of footsteps on the ladder, as Toshiie and Hikosane climbed onto the observation platform.

"It's as clean as it is going to get,'' Toshiie dusted his hands on his hakima. "Though in an ideal world we won't have any wounded anyway."

As soon as the words were out of his mouth, there was a muffled sound of gunshots, carried through the clear afternoon air.

Oh God. Mitsunari. That’s where he was. What if he’d been shot?

The gunshots were followed by a-

BOOM.

-that rattled the tower in its intensity.

My breath caught in my lungs as a plume of smoke rose over the trees above a dark orange glow.

BOOM.

@lorei-writes @bestbryn @katriniac @lyds323 @briars7

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 25 - Cloud City. Help comes from an unexpected source, but even as the battle is concluded, Hikosane is still in danger.

Mitsunari x OC; Nobunaga x Mai

Previous Chapter

Logline - In order to protect a political alliance, Katusko and Mitsunari must pretend an engagement. But this “all business” arrangement is threatened by a coup against Nobunaga… and by feelings.

From the Military Notes of Ishida Mitsunari…

She kissed me.

Fighting off seven mercenaries, one of whom was almost a giant, had not been on my Sengoku bingo card, although perhaps it should have been. I looked around for an escape route (a garbage shute, maybe?), because even if Mitsunari won his battle (and that was looking more and more possible, actually) I didn’t know if we would be able to hold off our newest attackers.

Still, Mitsunari seemed unconcerned that the number of mercenaries we were fighting had just almost doubled. He continued to press his advantage against the NEAGBSBD, even as the four additional soldiers closed in on the fighting duo. In fact, as soon as they got close enough, Mitsunari said to the NEAGBSBD, “Behind you.”

The NEAGBSBD winked at Mitsunari (!), then spun around and engaged Iekane’s mercenaries.

Wait, what? He is on our side?

Iekane’s men were just as shocked as I was. One of them called out something to the NEAGBSBD who simply let out a barbaric yawp. “You want to know who you’re fighting? It is I, the wild child of these war-torn islands, he whose name is sung far and wide, the roguish misfit, Keiji Maeda!”

Huh. And I thought that ‘not-exactly-a-giant-but-seriously-big-dude’ was a mouthful.

One of the two men I was covering, decided that was enough. He turned tail and ran. Unsure if we wanted to take prisoners, I grabbed a rock and hurled it at him. It clonked on his helmet and down he went.

Already, Mitsunari and the Keiji formerly known as NEAGBSBD had easily taken care of the others, and were busy tying them up, so I got to work liberating Iekane’s stock of arrows, as well as what appeared to be a crate of medical supplies. I wondered how much more we could manage to carry back up the hill and if Keiji would be willing and able to serve as a pack mule. Wild child. Pack mule. Same diff. “We should hurry and dump the cannon, then get this stuff back up to the tower.”

“Dump the cannon?” Keiji looked appalled as he crossed his arms in front of his chest. “You weren’t joking about that? Does this also mean you weren’t joking about the fiancé thing either?”

“I don’t know how long you’ve known Mitsunari, but have you ever known him to make a joke?” I chose to ignore the second question. Our fake engagement was likely long out the window in the middle of this chaos, but I had been hired to keep up the pretense until we left Genba. Anyway, it was simpler to ignore the question and let it stand until the acute issue of Nobunaga-in-danger-siege thing could be dealt with.

“Were you aware that this cannon was likely to be used against Nobunaga?” Mitsunari briefly explained the current situation to Keiji. “Why are you here? Hideyoshi was furious when you disappeared.”

“Hideyoshi is furious when I breathe too close to him.” Keiji rolled his eyes, and for the first time I felt sympathy toward him. If he truly was a ‘wild child,’ then I could see him bumping up against Hideyoshi on occasion – those occasions being, days ending in a ‘y.’

“Among other things, I was trying to steal this cannon and bring it to Nobunaga as a gift.” He patted the side as affectionately as if it were a horse.

“How were you going to get it to Azuchi?” If he drove it in the wagon, he wouldn’t have a free hand to defend it. If he pushed it down the roads, it would take days to get there. Sure, he seemed to be a strong fighter, but this was not a one-person job.

Keiji laughed, then shrugged. “I hadn’t worked out the details yet. Maybe disguise her and tell anyone who asked that it’s farming equipment…” he trailed off, apparently noticing that Mitsunari and I were both looking skeptical. “Engaged. Yup. See it now.”

“Look, let’s just dump this and get back to the tower.” I wanted to get the equipment that was actually useful back to where our friends were holed up and in danger.

“I’ve got it!” Keiji literally punched his hand in the air. “We’ll bring it to your tower and use it to defend yourselves!” He again patted the cannon like it was his girlfriend. And maybe it was. Who knows? I’m not about to question the mating habits of NEAGBSBDs.

I gestured to the steep path Mitsunari and I had taken to get to this campsite. There was no way the cannon would make back up there. “It won’t fit between the trees.”

Before Keiji could protest, Mitsunari added, “If we were not already in a critical situation, then yes, I would find a way to take the cannon with us. However, it will not be physically possible to transport it where we need it within the time frame that we would need it by.”

Keiji frowned and for a moment, something dark and bitter flashed across his face. Then he patted the cannon again. “Sute and I have been through a lot. I hate the idea of sending her over the cliff.”

I didn’t think it was worth wasting time on additional arguments. We’d gotten by so far without Keiji’s help. We could continue to do without him.

“In that case, stay with the cannon. Guard it. Make sure it can’t be used against Nobunaga. Mitsunari and I will get the rest of these back to the tower.” I had no patience for a warlord with an unaccountable fondness for a hunk of metal. Metal fetish.

“Okatsu is correct. Time is the most important commodity. If you wish to stay behind and stand guard, we will not stop you. When Ieyasu and Masamune arrive, please give them a situation update.” As Keiji continued to sulk, Mitsunari added, “In any case, you are needed to guard the prisoners.” He gestured to the men we had captured.

“That’s true.” Keiji’s cheerful mood returned. “Perhaps I’ll sing to them songs of the Oda to pass the time.”

The prisoners looked like they would prefer death.

Indeed, while Mitsunari and I lugged our stolen ammunition up the hill, we could hear Keiji begin his serenade in a deep booming voice that followed us long after he was out of view. “At least he can sing.” Probably that wouldn’t matter one way or another to the prisoners.

Could be worse. Could be Vogon poetry.

Our hike back up the hill was far less pleasant than the one down it. Every time I took a step, an arrow poked me in the side.

“I am able to carry more.” Mitsunari paused to wait for me while I shifted my burden from one shoulder to the other. Before I could make what apparently was a predictable protest, he added, “I am aware that you are able to carry it. However, this is a burden I wish to share with you. As I wish to-”

Sasuke suddenly appeared in front of us, melting out of the trees in that silent ninja way he had. “Kyubei has returned.”

Sasuke grabbed one of my bundles without asking. “He said that Masamune and a few dozen of his men will arrive later this morning. Ieyasu and the bulk of their armies will be here by mid-day.”

It was nearly over.

I wanted to collapse in Mitsunari’s arms in relief, but something had shifted in our relationship, which now seemed as precarious as my awkward bundle of arrows. If I was not careful, someone would get hurt. So, instead, I indicated the medical supplies I had liberated. “Good. Maybe we’ll be lucky enough not to need these.”

Of course, things did not tie up quite as quickly as I would have liked, but by nightfall, the Date and Toykugawa forces had easily overrun Iekane’s invading troops. Mercenaries and ronin can be skilled, but not especially loyal when it came to the choice between a paycheck and their lives. Once it was clear that they were vastly outnumbered, they left the field. Nobunaga, Hideyoshi, and Mozumi had indeed held out and defended their position in the castle, and soon joined their allies in the fight.

With some help from Kyubei and a detachment of Masamune’s men, the “resistance” (as Sasuke liked to call us) pushed back the attackers at the tower, and any of Iekane’s men who hadn’t already fled, were rounded up and escorted to the courtyard of Genba, where Nobunaga and Hideyoshi were dealing with them.

I figured I knew how that was going to go and felt no need to watch that carnage. I’d seen enough over the past three days. Mitsuhide and Susumu escorted an impatient Mai and Shohime back to Genba, while I stayed behind to say a temporary goodbye to Toshiie and Sasuke.

The two of them were going on to Kasugayama so that Toshiie could make that promised “house call” to Sasuke’s sick friend before returning to modern Japan in a couple of weeks (presuming that Sasuke’s calculations on the Togakushi wormhole were correct, and I saw no reason to think that they wouldn’t be).

“Katsuko, come with us. It would be stupid to get separated now that we’ve finally found each other again.” Though Toshiie’s words were relatively mild, he was packing up his medical equipment with swift sharp movements – always his ‘tell’ that he was repressing the desire to yell at me for something.

And, yes, I did know that deep down, he was worried for me, and upset that I wasn’t leaping at the chance to get out of here, but as glad as I was to see him, I had taken on responsibilities that I couldn’t abandon.

“It’s only a couple more weeks. I agreed to this job. I can’t just walk away from it.” Possibly, even probably, Mitsuhide would be fine with me leaving now, but I still felt like things were unfinished. Besides – I glanced over at where Hikosane and Mitsunari were dousing the firepit… sending up sparks that nearly caught Mitsunari’s haori on fire – I wanted to be sure that Hikosane was going to be safe from now on.

Aki caught the direction of my gaze and nodded. “I’m staying on here too. We’ll meet you at Togakushi when the wormhole opens there.”

Good. I was glad that I would have Aki’s company in the coming weeks, and there was a conversation between us that was long overdue. Over at the firepit, Mitsunari stilled – apparently eavesdropping, but I didn’t mind him overhearing. “Aki, are you also returning to modern Kyoto, or are you staying here?”

“My base is the house on the mountain, but there are some things in the future I need to take care of, so I plan to return for a little while.” He hesitated a moment, then gently patted my shoulder. “Are you unsure whether or not to return to your old life?”

That was not a question I wanted to answer with Toshiie standing in front of me. I don’t think he understood that I had come to think of this time period and the people in it as my home. I hedged and said, “I’m only worried about finding a job.” That was a pretty big worry. I didn’t have any modern identification beyond my old IC card.

“You will always have a job with me, no matter when I am.” Aki gave me that roguish grin. “After all, I still haven’t managed to turn you into a shogi master.”

“Or she could go back to school and finish her physical therapy degree.” Toshiie zipped his bag shut emphatically.

Never going to happen. I inwardly shuddered at the idea of spending the next few years of my life in a classroom. I hadn’t fit in when I was the same age as the other students – it would be even worse now that I was over half a decade older. “Tosh, go on ahead with Sasuke. I can’t just pop in to Kasugayama with you, especially after spending so much time with the Oda. Kenshin would toss me in his dungeon.”

Sasuke started to speak, then appeared to think things over. “That’s… entirely possible. I’d like to think that eventually I could talk him out of it, or if I were unsuccessful, Yuki and I could break you out through the crawl space in the ceiling, but I wouldn’t want this theoretical incarceration to result in you missing the wormhole.” He bowed low to Aki. “Professor Yamakoa, I will see you and Katsu in two weeks.”

Even though he was leaking frustration vibes all over the tower, Toshiie wrapped me in a hug. He was still my brother. When words forced us apart, we always found our way back to each other. “You’d better be there.” Then he nodded at Aki and Mitsunari and followed Sasuke out of the tower.

It was difficult seeing him walk away, but at least this time, I knew where he was going to be, and if he didn’t show up at Togakushi in two weeks, I would brave the dungeons and crawl spaces (ugh) of Kasugayama to find him.

But in the meanwhile, I would have a bit more time to ensure that Hikosane was out of … where did he go? “Where’s Hikosane?”

Mitsunari looked upward toward the tower platform. “He said that he left the double telescope up there.”

It took me a moment to figure out Hikosane had meant the binoculars. Yeah, wouldn’t want to have an anachronism lying around to confuse a future anthropologist. Figuring that it wouldn’t be a terrible idea to run up and do a quick check for any other forgotten items, I scurried up the ladder…

Just in time to see Iekane dragging a struggling Hikosane toward the edge.

“Oh, hell no!” I ran across the short distance of the platform and tackled Iekane, causing him to let go of the kid. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hikosane scoot out of the way, just before Iekane rolled over on me, and grabbed me by the throat.

I punched out with every available limb (ok, I flailed… it still had impact), as we grappled. I could hear Hikosane shouting, and then realized he had attached himself to Iekane’s back like a howler monkey.

“Hikosane, get out of here!” I elbowed Iekane in the gut.

“It won’t matter if he runs.” Iekane made a fist, and I rolled away from the punch before it connected. “No matter how many timelines you try to save in him, we’ll always be waiting for you.”

Timelines?

No time to consider the implications of that statement, I tried to bounce back to my feet, but Iekane was on me again, punching me in the stomach so hard I nearly lost my breath.

So much for politeness. Abandoning any hope of strategy, I fought dirtier than I ever had in my life – punching, kicking, biting. I thought I might have a chance, until one of Iekane’s minions came up over the side of the tower and grabbed Hikosane – just as Aki suddenly hurled himself into the fray.

The twin distractions cost me my focus, giving Iekane enough time to access his sword and yank me to him. He held the edge to my throat. The little yip of pain didn’t come from me – Hikosane was being held in a similar position by Iekane’s minion.

Aki didn’t even bother with his sword. He pulled out his gun. More useful at this distance, but I knew there wouldn’t be enough time to fire two bullets and rescue us both. Of course, Aki was never one to let facts in the way of a good battle … or a good bluff. “Let them go.”

“Seems like you have a Sophie’s choice.” Iekane pulled me closer to him, so close that I could smell his breath. In a just world, Iekane would have terrible breath (not that that would make my current situation any better), but he smelled faintly like mint. “Do you shoot my man to save the future… or do you shoot me to save your daughter.”

Your what?

I turned my face to look at Aki (as much as possible given the sword at my throat) but his expression gave nothing away.

Iekane would not have said that if he didn’t think it was true – he truly believed Aki was my father.

Yes.

Logic gave way to inner certainty.

Aki is my father.

Of course, Aki is my father.

But the questions raised by that knowledge – why had he never told me? Had he somehow brought me here to this time on purpose, or simply, against all odds managed to find me here?  – would have to wait. Because if Iekane killed me while I was having a fit of filial angst, I would never know the answers anyway… and… well, Aki seemed to be wavering between myself and Hikosane.

Hikosane is in danger. Protect him at all costs.

Costs to whom? Was that actually what the message was about? A message from my future self? Iekane had said timelines. Plural. And Mai had said the handwriting on the scrap of the note was Sasuke’s. Had it been a message from an alternate Sasuke in a different timeline?

Somehow, Hikosane was important to the future.

Many futures?

“Don’t do this.” Aki sounded like Iekane had broken him. That, more than anything else chilled me. Aki had never broken. But his hands were trembling on the butt of the rifle. I’d seen him act a shaky old man before, but never like…

Acting.

He was acting.

And so, I could play my role as well as Aki. Father? Mentor? He had trained me, and I knew what I needed to say. “Why Aki? Why didn’t you ever tell me? Why did you leave her?”

The best acting, the best lie, Aki had always said, was the lie wrapped in truth. Why did you leave us? Did you even know we existed? Why did you leave us with her? She was broken. Were you even aware?

“Leaving? It’s what he does.” Iekane stated it without bitterness. “People aren’t real to him. They’re tools. Even you. You’re his flesh and blood, and while he obviously favored you over the rest of us, did he ever treat you with affection?”

Distant affection. Gruff affection. But I knew which answer would rattle Iekane the most and so I deployed it with precision. “Yes. I’ve always known he cared.”

His fingers spasmed on my arm. “You always have been easy to fool. Aki could train you, but he couldn’t give you his brains.”

Aki directed a tight smile in my direction – whether the tightness was out of fear, or whether Iekane was correct that Aki cared for no one, I couldn’t tell. “I’ve always cared. It simply wasn’t safe to show it. Your mother could take better care of the two of you than I could.”

Debatable. But… details.

Aki ignited the powder on his gun, the clink of the flint sounding unusually loud in the sharp evening air.

Maybe I didn’t have Aki’s brains, but it didn’t take a genius to spot a flaw in Iekane’s logic. “If you don’t think Aki cares, why did you say it was a Sophie’s choice?”

“Because,” Iekane’s voice rasped in my ear. “I want you to die knowing how little your father cares about you.”

As if to either prove… or disprove Iekane’s point, Aki raised his weapon and pointed it …

…at Iekane’s minion.

@lorei-writes @bestbryn @katriniac @lyds323 @briars7

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 19: Storm - Okatsu, Mitsunari and Mitsuhide discover a plot to depose Nobunaga. But have they discovered it in time to stop it?

Mitsunari x OC; Nobunaga x Mai

Previous Chapter

Logline - In order to protect a political alliance, Katusko and Mitsunari must pretend an engagement. But this “all business” arrangement is threatened by a coup against Nobunaga… and by feelings.

From the Military Notes of Ishida Mitsunari…

Special Operations (SO) encompass the use of small units in direct or indirect military actions focused on strategic or operational objectives. These are aided by Intelligence, which uses information collection and analysis to provide guidance and direction to assist commanders in their decisions. However, when various branches of operations do not share intelligence with each other, critical errors may occur.

Personal comments: Is it wrong of me to feel both relieved and jealous that Lord Mitsuhide is here? I trust that he will be an asset in what I expect may be a situation more dangerous and complex than any of us expected. However, there is a part of me that wishes to be the hero.

Though an arrow had whistled right past his ear, Mitsuhide didn’t even blink at his near impalement. Calmly he reached over and yanked the arrow out of the tree.

"The next one will be buried in your heart." Shohime’s voice floated to us from somewhere behind the trees. "So, whoever you are, turn around and leave right now."

Huh. She wasn't completely helpless after all. “Shohime, it's Okatsu-"

"And Hiko!" Her brother jumped in. "I brought Okatsu and Mitsunari with me to help you!"

"Mitsunari is here?" There was a little ‘eep!’ of happiness, a crashing in the brush, then Shohime came flying out of the trees and threw herself into Mitsunari's arms. "Oh, Mitsunari, you came after me!"

Clearly at a loss as to what to do with an armload of Hysterical Princess, Mitsunari freed one hand, patted her on the head, and murmured the equivalent of a 'there, there' at her.

"This is the most amusement I've had in weeks, although-" Mitsuhide slanted one of those smirking looks at me, "perhaps you should rescue your fiancée."

So happy to have fulfilled your entertainment needs.

"Shohime, it’s thanks to Nobunaga's most trusted advisor, Akechi Mitsuhide, that we found you safe. He's been watching over you from afar, waiting to come to your aid if you need it." My words finally penetrated Shohime’s walnut sized brain and she stepped away from Mitsunari. Her eyes widened as she got a good look at him.

Yes, girl. He's pretty. Until he opens his mouth.

An impulse, for which I am sure I will be paying for later, prompted me to add. "Lord Mitsuhide is not married."

Shohime gave him a dazzling smile and dropped into a reverent bow at his feet. “I am most grateful for your consideration, Lord Mitsuhide.”

Mitsuhide gave me a look that indeed promised revenge later.

In return, I smiled as innocently as I could manage. "Well. You aren’t, are you?"

Hikosane helped Shohime stand. "If you truly planned to go to your mother, you're going the wrong way. Kyoto is south of here.”

She blinked her big eyes at him, and I had a sudden suspicion that she already knew that. No, this Princess was not nearly as stupid as she pretended to be. "Shohime, the note about going to your mother in Kyoto was to point us in the wrong direction, wasn’t it?” At my question, she pressed her lips together and looked away. “Why?”

"Is it not enough that I don't want to marry Iekane?" His name was spit out with revulsion.

"Oh, it is more than enough for me." Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Hikosane and Mitsunari nod as well. "I'm well aware what he's capable of."

"Really?" That was from Mitsuhide. "Do tell."

Shohime rolled her eyes and beckoned for us to follow her through the trees, eventually leading us to where she had made a small camp in a clearing. It looked like an efficient set up: a neat pack was stowed in a tree, she had cleared enough brush to safely start a small fire, and there was a rabbit roasting on a spit. Were it not for the fact that she had left that fire unattended, I might have further upgraded my estimation of Shohime's intelligence and survival skills.

With that apparently ingrained hostess of the castle manner, she invited us to sit down by the fire, before dropping her intel. “After my wedding, Iekane and Lady Yone plan to kill my father and Hikosane." Shohime gave the spit a little turn and the rabbit's blood dropped into the fire with a hiss. "I tried to warn my father, but I couldn't get anywhere near him without Iekane or Yone being there too."

"If you had told me, I would have requested a private audience with him." Hikosane spoke from the privileged only son status. "I don't understand what you thought running away would do."

"I wasn't running away. I wanted to make everyone think I was running away." Shohime spoke as if her plan was obvious to everyone. "While my father and Iekane are searching for me in Kyoto, I'll be in Tsuruga, looking for evidence of what Iekane is up to."

Sigh.

The diversion wasn't exactly a bad idea but how was she going to find anything in a city she’d never been to before?

"How did you intend to accomplish that? Did you have a strategy for when you reached Tsuruga?" Mitsuhide asked the question I had not.

"I would have come up with something before I got there." Shohime looked over my Katsu disguise. “If Okatsu can dress like a boy, I’m sure I can manage it as well.”

This prompted Mitsunari and I to exchange the sympathetic glances of the people who liked to have a plan A and a plan B before taking any action.

“The thing is, nobody knows you're missing, because I took your note before anyone saw it." Hikosane pulled her note out of his kimono showed it to her.

"Why? Why would you do that?" Shohime cried. She yanked the note out of Hikosane’s hands and glared at him.

"To keep you from getting into trouble." I stepped in front of Hikosane in case Shohime decided to act on her obvious frustration. "Your brother was trying to help.” Actually helping, but she was not likely to agree at the moment.

Pouting, Shohime subsided and sat heavily down by the fire. "Why did you even go into my room?" She poked at the burning logs with a stick.

"Before we go into that, Okatsu, I personally would like you to inform me, how you know what Iekane is capable of." Mitsuhide lounged on a rock looking as comfortable as he would on a soft cushion.

"Because he tried to kill her five years ago. Last night he tried to kill me!" Hikosane was not content with being silent any longer. He glared out at all of us and rattled his own sword, looking ever inch a pint-sized samurai. I imagined him doing his best to protect those around him, and honestly, even at age ten he would make a better leader than his father was.

Seeing that again we'd landed in the middle of the story and not the start, I brought Mitsuhide and Shohime up to date on my past with Iekane. Mitsunari took over to explain about the snake, with Hikosane jumping in to add sound effects and to mime Mitsunari's battle with said snake (only with slight exaggeration, which was totally acceptable given his age.).

By the end of the story, a tear-streaked Shohime had pulled her brother into her lap and was checking him for fang marks.

Mitsuhide dropped his smirky affect and raked us with a judgmental look that was right out of the Hideyoshi playbook. "Is there a reason why you didn't inform anyone about this last night?"

"We believed Hikosane would be safer if the person who put the snake in his room was still anticipating his or her plan's success." Mitsunari calmly answered the question. "I was going to discuss things with Hideyoshi today."

Our questioner didn't seem completely mollified by that. He turned to me. "Did it not occur to you to tell me what you knew about Iekane the moment you discovered he was in Genba?"

"It's his word against mine. I didn't think anyone would believe me." I looked down at my hands, remembering how scratched and scraped they were after spending hours trying to claw my way out of the crate. "Once he explained things to me the other night, I wasn’t even sure whether it was an attempt on my life or the accident he claimed it was."

"I believe Okatsu," Mitsunari took my hands. "I believe you."

I fought the urge to rest against him. It was such a relief that someone had believed me without question.

"I see." Mitsuhide stared at Mitsunari and myself as if not only did he see our point of view, but that he saw other things too. "In any event, I believe we would all agree that heading to Tsuruga without any sort of plan would be futile."

"I refuse to go back to Genba," Shohime kicked her feet in the dirt. "Not without evidence. You can't make - "

Mitsuhide held up his hand for her to shut up. There was a moment of silence – no not silence, what was that? - before Shohime’s voice carried over that other noise, "I'll tell them that you kidnapped- "

Hikosane did what neither Mitsu had the balls to do and slammed his hand over her mouth. Horses!" he hissed at her.

A lot of horses. As if an army was heading for Genba castle…

"I believe we're about to discover more evidence than we'll ever need." Mitsuhide said.

Or want.

We crept back to the main road, in time to see a line of calvary. It was a mixture of trained warriors carrying Iekane's banner and a more motley assortment of what were likely mercenary ronin – some of them even had that wide-legged swagger of sailors. The line swept back along the road from Tsuruga and merged into the horizon.

Mitsuhide put his fingers to his lips (unnecessarily – we all, even Shohime, were smart enough to keep quiet), as our group silently retreated to the makeshift camp.

"Why would Iekane attack my father's castle when they're friends? He would do anything Iekane asked of him," Shohime said as soon as we were far enough away from the invaders.

"He's not their target." I had in fact been worried about... I turned to Mitsuhide. "You suspected this, didn't you? That's why you're here instead of Kyubei."  Which meant that Hideyoshi had been kept informed the entire time as well. That’s why he was always in the corridors. He’d been patrolling, not micromanaging (ok, likely some of that too).

He acknowledged this with a short nod. "We were aware of the possibility, yes, although we were more concerned about poisonings, or singular assassins. Hideyoshi and I have been working with some servants to stay alert to such attempts. However, none of my information suggested Mozumi had access to an army.  Sakai Tadanao, the previous daimyo of Tsuruga had always been a man of peace." Mitsuhide turned to me with a look of cold fury. “Had you seen fit to share the information you had about Sakai Iekane, I would have investigated further.”

He was right. I had forgotten the first lesson Aki had ever taught me. Information was the most important currency there was. Still, I felt compelled to point out, “you didn’t share your suspicions with us either.”

Mitsuhide flinched, but before the two of us could get further into a blame war, Mitsunari redirected the discussion. "If you believed this was a possibility, then Masamune and Ieyasu are on alert?"

"They are in Azuchi but primed to receive a message to mobilize." Mitsuhide started off into the trees, and an expression of self-loathing crossed his face. “I ought to have stationed them closer. Okatsu, I apologize for chastising you. Even I had been aware of Iekane’s capabilities, I would not have had the information in enough time.”

“Three days.” Mitsunari seemed to be talking to himself. He glanced at Mitsuhide. “A bit over a day for a messenger to get to Azuchi, likely two additional days for Masamune’s fastest warriors to reach us.”

Impossible then. Though Iekane would likely wait until nightfall to attack the castle, he still had too much of a head start. But before the pessimism completely took over, Mitsunari continued. “Mitsuhide, you have Kyubei waiting nearby."

Mitsuhide inclined his head as if to say, ‘of course.’ “He has secreted himself in Takayama.”

“Please, Lord Mitsuhide, send Kyubei to Azuchi with a message for Ieyasu.” It was like Mitsunari had unfolded that strategic mind map in his brain and had already charted a course (a course in which there was a path that didn’t lead to ‘everyone dies’). He stood straighter, seemed confident, calm, and completely unlike the clumsy dreamer I’d met a few weeks ago. He nodded to himself, then brought out the notebook I had given him. "I will work out strategies to delay and distract Iekane’s army for three days.”

The take-charge version of Mitsunari must have met with Mitsuhide’s approval, for he nodded, and melted into the trees without another word.

Mitsunari paused, and then he spoke the next words as if it hurt to say them. “Okatsu, you're the fastest. Run to Genba to warn Nobunaga. I know it’s not necessary to worry about you or warn you to be careful." Mitsunari looked over at the fire, where Shohime had forgotten about the rabbit- it had burned to dry and desiccated carcass. "I will worry about you anyway." Before I could respond to that, he swept me into a hug and whispered, “stay safe. Do not take any unnecessary chances.”

I let the hug linger and his warm presence give me strength before stepping back. “Thank you.”

Because the safest and fastest route to Genba would be over rather than around Iekane’s army, I grabbed the closest branch, and hauled myself into a tree.

Below me, I heard Hiko's soft question to Mitsunari. "Wait, is Okatsu a Kunoichi?"

I didn't stick around to hear the answer. In truth, though Aki had trained me in some skills that overlapped a ninja’s, I had never considered myself anything but a courier and... well sometimes a tool in a long con, such as the one I was involved in now. On the other hand, being hero worshipped by a ten-year-old was just cool enough to let the mystique stand.

Besides, I had to get to Genba as fast as possible. I ran across the limbs, springing from tree to tree, until I reached the crossroads, where Iekane’s army was still marching through.

The road was only wide enough only for them to travel two abreast on horseback. Estimating the time that had passed since we first spotted them, there were at least two hundred, with an unknown additional number of them still coming. I doubted they would attack until the entire force arrived, so when they reached Genba, they would likely fan out into the woods and wait until nightfall. A daylight attack to the defensively designed fortress would be doomed to failure.

I couldn't stall any longer. But with the army blocking my access, I had to jump from the tree I was in to one across the road. The distance wasn't a problem. Doing so silently: problem.

Crouching on the tree limb, I ran through potential scenarios. When I jumped to the next branch, my landing was not going to be silent, it couldn't possibly be. Heck even squirrels were noisy when they-

Squirrels. There were squirrels everywhere. Hungry squirrels, preparing for winter.

Well.

Let’s feed some squirrels.

I grabbed a handful of acorns and dropped one onto the ground. Sure enough, a curious squirrel dashed over to grab it. I clicked my tongue to get its attention, then tossed another acorn to the base of the tree I planned to jump to. Without hesitation, the squirrel scurried across the road, and grabbed the acorn, then leaped into the tree.

As soon as it jumped onto the trunk, I made my leap across the road, landing in a rustle of leaves. The branch bowed under my weight.

The rider directly underneath me looked around and muttered something to his companion.

Don’t look up.

The companion looked around and noticed the squirrel scampering up the tree. He cuffed his friend on the head, and even from where I was balanced above them, I could hear his mocking reply. “Kuro, you’re an idiot. It’s just a squirrel.”

They marched onward.

Thank you, Ms. Squirrel!

No time to celebrate, though I did toss the squirrel another acorn before inching across the branch to jump to the next tree. When I finally figured I was far enough ahead of the invaders, I picked up the pace, leaping from branch to branch, until I reached the outermost castle wall, where I paused to scout out the situation.

And…

It wasn’t good.

Iekane was at the courtyard gate, talking with a man who I presumed as one of his associates. I hugged the tree trunk and looked down to the brush directly below me. There were warriors spreading through the woods along the perimeter of the castle wall.

Genba castle was surrounded.

I was too late.

@katriniac @lorei-writes @bestbryn @lyds323 @briars7

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 42: Mitsuhide POV Chapter - Other Half - Catching up with the Kitsune, as Hideyoshi attempts an intervention of sorts.

Mitsuhide x OC; Hideyoshi x MC (Mai)

All Chapters Archived on Ao3 

Logline - With Mai, Hideyoshi, and Aki missing, Mitsuhide and Katsuko reluctantly team up. Disguised as a merchant and his concubine, can they outsmart the man known as the God of Deceit?

As soon as the guard captain ordered their unit to the top of the castle wall, he knew. Something had gone wrong for Katsuko. Although Mitsuhide was certain his encounter with her in the courtyard had remained undetected, he had not been able to watch out for her as she returned to the castle.

Whatever just happened had resulted in Motonari and Iekane having a low-voiced conversation while the rest of them waited at attention, hands on the hilts of their swords, ready to draw them upon command.  

Mitsuhide stayed at the edge of the line, keeping his posture at attention, with his helmet low on his head. It would do her no good if he were to be identified before he could even determine the extent of the problem. So he stood still. Even though every muscle in his body was alert for an opportunity to take control of the situation. Even though his mind was already racing through a number of scenarios – none of which reached a positive conclusion.

In a few moments, another contingent of Kanamori vassals marched Katsuko and Yoshimoto onto the wall. She was still wearing that fur cloak, while Yoshimoto, on the other hand, was dressed in an informal kimono, and as usual, unarmed. Mitsuhide doubted that the man would be much help in this, but perhaps he was counting on the gloss that came from being an Imagawa. Indeed, he was already puffing up into the parody of an annoyed high-caste Prince. "Master Iekane, what is the meaning of this insult?"

"This doesn't concern you, Lord Imagawa." Iekane’s voice was a few degrees short of the groveling that Yoshimoto seemed to expect. Since this man was not yet familiar, Mitsuhide kept his attention on him, hoping to learn as much about Katsuko’s enemy as possible. From what she’d revealed of him, Mitsuhide knew that Iekane was a good liar with the patience of spider; able to spin a web and lie in wait for it to snare an unwary victim. "Motonari has a problem with a member of your household."

"I don't see how. My page has devoted his attention to me since the moment we arrived. Any insult would have come about because he was merely doing my bidding." Thus far, Yoshimoto’s approach was to throw around his status to protect Katsuko.

Unfortunately, what would work against the Kanamori vassals was unlikely to work against Motonari and that man’s distain for the current societal structure (a philosophy that Mitsuhide somewhat sympathized with, though he disagreed with a ‘burn it all down’ solution). Indeed just as expected, Motonari focused his ire on Katsuko, having apparently recognized her from their prior encounters. "Lord Imagawa, yer page is a spy who works for Mitsuhide."

Yoshimoto whipped out his fan and yawned. "Of course she's a spy. But she works for my cousin, not Mitsuhide."

For one very short moment, Mitsuhide wondered if that was in fact true. Was Katsuko one of the mitsumono? Had she always been so? He glanced over at her, and noticed a quickly concealed flash of surprise, that was then followed by a straightening of her posture, as if she was mimicking what she believed a Takeda spy would look like.

It seemed that Imagawa was improvising.

Keep talking. It would give him an opportunity to figure out how to defuse this situation without giving up his mission.

Rescue her first. Hang the mission.

No. Now was not the time for indecision.

Iekane started to speak, but Motonari took control. "Shut up." He turned to Katsuko and asked, "Yer one of the Mitsumono? Why’d ya help Mitsuhide?"

“The best way to gain his trust was to help him. And of course once he pulled us off your ship, I figured the only way I was going to get back to Kasaguyama was to work with him."

Good girl. That sounded plausible.

“By burning down my camp." Motonari’s words came out as a growl, but there was a different kind of light in his eyes.

"Next time tell your men not to store, the gunpowder so close to open flame.” She shrugged. "Hell of a fire though."

For a moment, Mitsuhide worried that she had pushed Motonari too far, but then the man started laughing. ”Hell of a fire."

The guards near Mitsuhide shifted uneasily, apparently not used to this type of volatility. Iekane looked around and seemed to be preparing to try and re-take control, but Katsuko spoke up first. "Lord Iekane knows this, because he and I were both originally trained by the same spymaster." She addressed the rest of the Kanamori guardsmen. "Just a suggestion, but you might want to get a food taster in for Mozumi's meals and drink."

Iekane put his hand to his heart. "Are you accusing me of harming my dear father? The man took me in, saved my life. I'm devoted to his health."

Hmmm. From that response, it was possible that Katsuko had hit a nerve. Mitsuhide continued to study him, watching his face for reactions, looking for any opening that would allow him to subtly help matters. As always, in the back of his head, help Katsuko warred with stop Yoshiaki.

But thus far, Yoshimoto appeared to have a slight edge of control. "Yes, of course you must be. A poor orphan is always grateful to the rich man, especially if he has no other living offspring."

The difficulty of this whole situation was threading the needle in such a way to get both the Kanamori vassals and Motonari on their side. Katsu and Yoshimoto had yet to manage that task, for Motonari simply shrugged away all hints of that accusation. "Heh. This is all very interesting. I don’t care if Iekane is offing his Pap, it all ends up the same in the end. Imagawa ya in for destroying Nobunaga and getting this party started or not?"

"The desire of my vassals is clear." Yoshimoto snapped his fan shut. "That said, I do not agree that Sakai is a worthwhile target." Did that translate into ‘not interested in wanting to stop Yoshiaki’? Or could Mitsuhide count on Yoshimoto’s aid?

"Iekane when you caused the cart accident, was your target me... or was it Hiko?" Katsuko sent her former friend a lethal looking glare.

Iekane caused that accident? Why hadn’t she told him that? As far as Mitsuhide knew, Iekane had not been to Sakai. Or was this something she’d only recently discovered and not had time to share with him?

"Accident?" Iekane laughed, and turned to look at the guardsmen, sending them a ‘do you believe this nonsense?’ look. "Kaya, you've always been clumsy. And little boys, well, they can get into so much mischief."

Interesting. It seemed that Katsuko had just led Iekane into a trap.

"Lord Motonari… Has Iekane ever met Hiko?" Her posture was triumphant as she snapped that trap closed. Mitsuhide felt a quick shot of pride in her interrogation skills.

Motonari frowned. "No. He ain’t been to Sakai. Do you have a point, spy? Or are ya wasting time waiting for reinforcements?"

"How does Iekane know Hiko is a little boy?" She took a deep breath, and spoke faster. "Hiko is in danger, from Iekane. Before my former master disappeared, he sent me a letter, asking me to find Hiko and protect him from Iekane."

Akihira’s letter… if only he’d let her have it back earlier… could this have been prevented? What did Hiko have to do with Iekane and Akihira?

"Why, why would I care about some street kid?" Mitsuhide was looking at Katsuko’s face when Iekane asked, and he caught her hesitation. She doesn’t know.

"Because," Yoshimoto must have noticed her panic as well, and began spinning a tale. "Hiko is actually Mozumi's son. His blood son. Hiko's mother was one of Mozumi's concubines. But Mozumi's second wife Osumi was jealous of Niwa, and arranged for an attempt on her life. Frightened for her safety and realizing she was carrying a baby, Niwa decided to fake her death, at least until the child was born. Unfortunately, during childbirth, poor Niwa’s death became a reality. This was when her sister decided to raise Hiko as her own. She already had a daughter, Sho, and the children were devoted to each other."

It was a wild tale, full of the Imagawa’s flair for the dramatic. Mitsuhide noted it was partially striking sympathy from the Kanamori guards and vassals, and was gaining a little ground on Motonari as well.

"And that is why Iekane plans to attack Sakai. It would be easy enough to kill one small boy in the confusion and make it look like an accident of war." Katsuko seemed more confident in this answer, an answer that Mitsuhide internally agreed might be effective on Motonari, whom he knew was not convinced that Sakai was an appropriate target for the shogun’s forces.

"That's ridiculous." Iekane addressed Motonari, "Lord Imagawa has spent so much time on the arts that it’s rotted his brain. No true warrior would believe such a fanciful tale."

But the Kanamori were on the edge of believing it, and Mitsuhide added in his part to tilt the balance in Katsuko’s direction. “Mozumi did have a concubine by name of Niwa.”

Iekane looked hesitantly over his shoulder but Mitsuhide was already hiding his face. He placed his hand in front of his mouth and directed his voice so that it appeared to be coming from the vassals. A stage trick, but a useful one. “Lady Osumi was the jealous type.”

“Are you really believing this nonsense?” Iekane’s voice was shaking. A cornered beast is a dangerous one. As he spoke, fumbled for something he had in his kimono. Something that made Katsuko turn pale, her fear visible even in this deepening night. Was he armed with one of those Nanban pistols?

It was only a split second of hesitation while he tried to calculate whether he could stop Iekane from shooting without jeopardizing his own mission. Failure in either could spell disaster for not only Katsuko but also Nobunaga. How could he weigh one against the other?

How could he weigh his head against his heart?

Before he could determine the best course of action, Katsuko gave him one last look, then before he could stop her, she jumped on Iekane. Mitsuhide leaped after, this time knowing he could use the excuse of protecting the Kanamori to grab her, but for some reason, Iekane pulled her close, and let the motion carry both over the side of the castle.

Mitsuhide put on a burst of speed and lunged for her, his hands only reaching empty air.

It wasn’t that far to the ground, a ground covered in soft snow… a fall from that distance would have been survivable. Even so, Mitsuhide would have forgiven if he had shut his eyes to the sight of her body hitting the earth.

But he didn’t.

Which was how he was able to witness Katsuko and Iekane vanishing into a shimmer of thin air.

“What happened to… ah…” Yoshimoto trailed off, but Mitsuhide caught his tone of voice. It was the voice of someone who had made a realization. Yoshimoto looked at him, and his eyes widened. Hm, it seemed that he had not been informed of Mitsuhide’s presence here.

“You know something.” It was only his disguise that stopped him from grabbing Yoshimoto by the neck and dangling him over the edge.

“I promise to explain… later. If you will back me up now.” Without giving Mitsuhide a chance to respond, Yoshimoto whipped around and addressed the vassals. “Witchcraft! The Kanamori imposter has escaped into the spirit realm and stolen my personal guard in the process.”

“Master Iekane was Yokai! Before they vanished, he revealed his true form is that of a Tengu.” Mitsuhide turned to the Kanamori guards. “We have been misled by a demon.”

“Yer not a Kana-“ Motonari scowled in his direction, then apparently decided he had had enough of the Kanamori and Yoshiaki in general. “Never should have trusted that the shogun had the brains to pull this off.” He made a mocking bow toward Mitsuhide. “Until later.”

Then he stalked away.

Mitsuhide debated stopping him, but Goro was still outside the castle, and was smart enough to follow Motonari back to his lair, back to where Kennyo was holed up as well. At the moment, Yoshiaki was still the more dangerous of the two, and stopping the shogun was his primary mission.

And at least in this, he could keep an eye on Yoshimoto, ready to question him about Katsuko’s mysterious disappearance.

It was well into mid-morning before Yoshimoto and Mitsuhide were able to have their promised talk. With a bit of prompting from Mitsuhide, Mozumi had tottered up from his sickbed, and in no uncertain terms, told his vassals he was honoring an alliance with Nobunaga. Generally disgusted by the attitude of both the shogun and the too-proud Imagawa vassals, the Kanamori vassals and guards evicted their former allies.

Yoshimoto seemed to have exhausted his supply of diplomacy and was unable to convince his vassals to return to Kasugayama. Therefore, when Mitsuhide had finally followed the man back to his quarters, it was to watch him pack his things in order to journey with Yoshiaki. This was a journey that the Imagawa Prince was clearly dreading. “However, if I am with the shogun, I may be able to distract him from his plans, at least until he meets with an unfortunate accident.”

Mitsuhide raised his eyebrow but did not comment. In truth, whatever Yoshimoto was going to have to do to “distract” the shogun sounded even less pleasant than any plans to assassinate him.

“Yoshiaki is not good for this country.” Yoshimoto’s voice was quiet but full of conviction. “I am uncertain if Nobunaga is the answer, and certainly my cousin does not believe so. But Yoshiaki’s use of my vassals is a mess of my making, and I see now that I must do what I can to unsnarl it. In any case, even with what is left of the Imagawa clan, the shogun does not currently have the resources to make trouble.”

Though this was indisputable Mitsuhide resolved to keep an eye on the situation, well aware that even with a small force, the shogun was capable of plotting revenge. But he had a more urgent question to be answered. “Do you know where Katsuko is?”

“I expect she has returned to her original time.” Yoshimoto rummaged in the shelf and pulled out a familiar pack. Katsuko’s. “She is from the future. About four hundred and fifty years forward in time. And… if you think such a thing is impossible, I suggest you discuss the matter with Mai.” He plopped the pack in Mitsuhide’s hands.

He hadn’t realized he was even reaching for it.

It sounded less plausible than Yoshimoto’s tale of Hiko’s origins. If Mitushide hadn’t seen Katsuko and Iekane disappear between the castle walls and the ground, he would have accused Yoshimoto of telling more folk tales. But the explanation of time-travelling explained so much, not just about Katsuko, but also Mai. “She told you of this?”

Yet another bit of Katsuko that Yoshimoto knew and Mitsuhide did not. It… hurt that she had never confided this in him.

“She did not originally, though we have discussed it. I have been aware of the existence of time travel for several years, and Kenshin’s ninja is from the future as well.” Yoshimoto kept his focus on packing up his own belongings. Even though the man took care to neatly fold his clothing, his hands were shaking. “If I must spend the next few months with Yoshiaki, I will be unable to give Katsuko her things, not to mention her horse… if she returns. I am given to understand that she comes from a time of peace. Perhaps she has had enough of these troubled times and the people in it.”

Perhaps. Perhaps she is safer where she is now….

"I'm not going to Azuchi. There’s no place for me."

"You undervalue yourself. If we don’t find Akihira, you have plenty of skills to make yourself valuable at Azuchi. Your language facility alone would be enough for Nobunaga to employ you as a translator."

“I know. Actually he offered me a job the first time I met him. But that wasn't what I meant." She had then put her hand on his heart. "There's no room for me here."

Mitsuhide rubbed his chest, as if he could still feel that touch of her hand as she reached for something he had no business giving away. Something he was no longer certain he had.

 “Shall I unpack this?” Kyubei’s voice was full of impatience.

Mitsuhide looked up from the pile of reports on his desk, to find his vassal uncharacteristically out of sorts. He was holding the pack of Katsu’s things that Mitsuhide had brought back from Genba. Though he had turned the horse over to Ieyasu, who appeared to get along very well with the temperamental beast, Mitsuhide had kept control over the rest. Control… but he had yet to look through them. (He had of course, taken the time to decode his handmade copy of Akihira’s letter – however it did not contain anything beyond what he had already learned from Yoshimoto).

Her personal items… though it was unlikely she would ever return for them, it now seemed… impolite… to search them. However, to refuse Kyubei’s request would only make the man overly suspicious. “Dear me, I had forgotten I had that. Yes, of course.”

He bent his head over the correspondence. As expected, Goro had managed to track Motonari to the Chugoku region, which was still home to the Mouri clan. Unfortunately, he had not yet located where Motonari had stashed Kennyo, as it seemed they were indeed lying low until Spring. Meanwhile the Imagawa and Yoshimoto had not even bothered to keep their escort of Yoshiaki secret, and had blazed an easy to follow trail to the port city of Tsuruga. Thus far, the Shogun was simply throwing his weight around the city without managing to increase his meager forces. And…

A flash of turquoise silk caught his attention. The yukata he had had made for Katsuko. It seemed that she had kept it. Or at least tried to before she’d been pulled back to her original time. He watched Kyubei shake out the wrinkles, and then a scroll of paper fell out of the garment.

It rolled within Mitsuhide’s reach. Without thinking, he opened it, and was surprised to see a drawing of a young man. What was she doing with this? The drawing was old… creased… the paper thinning as if she had taken it out and looked at it many many times. The subject … was a familiar face.

“Katsu’s brother.” Kyubei answered a question he had not asked. “She has been searching for him for as long as I have known her. Apparently they were attacked by bandits and he was carried away, possibly sold to the Nanban.”

No he was not. Katsu’s brother was currently living in Sakai, working as a healer. Toshiie.

“Will you return to check on her?”

The man backed further away from the bed, glancing down at his stained clothing. “No… I can’t. Not like this.”  With that, he fled from the room.

Only after it was clear the healer had left the building did Shojumaru speak into the silence. “Toshiie is a strange one, but he’s saved many considered too injured to survive.”

If only he had thought to ask her brother’s name when she mentioned he’d disappeared. Or asked even one question about him. Of course she would have devoted her life to finding him… and of course she transferred that obsession to Aki when he disappeared as well. Having already lost her home, her mother, and her brother, she would be fixed upon finding the one person left to her.

The one person who could be left for her.

“Kyubei.”

“I am standing right in front of you, Lord Mitshide.” It was said with touch of dry humor.

“So you are.” He tapped the drawing. “This man is living in Sakai as a healer. He should be easy for you to find.”

Kyubei nodded. “And bring him to Azuchi?”

He considered for a moment. It had been clear that Toshiie had not wanted to be recognized by Katsu, had not wanted her to see him. “Not yet. Not unless he seems to be preparing to leave the city. Simply… watch the man, and report on his well-being.” If Toshiie needed help, Mitsuhide would provide it. If he wanted to return to the future to be with his sister, Mitsuhide would figure out how to make it happen. She deserved that much, at least.

“I will do so.” He laid Katsu’s belongings on Mitsuhide’s desk, bowed, and took himself out of the room.

Never happy with a task half-done, Mitsuhide finished unpacking her things, and finding a place for them amongst his own. Though he deemed her return unlikely, there was at least some comfort in placing her small shogi set on the shelf, putting her clothing next to his in the closet, and setting aside a place on his desk for her brush and ink. At the bottom of her pack, he found another letter, this one from the ninja Sasuke, though it simply named two places, Honno-jo and Togakushi, each followed by a series of dates. He suspected that this might be an item more easily decoded by Mai, so he set it aside.

Then, he returned to his report, making plans for his next journey, whether it be to Chugoku to root out Kennyo, or to Tsuruga to help bring about Yoshiaki’s “unfortunate accident.” Wherever his lord needed him to go.

He had work to do. Work that no one else could accomplish.

That no one else should be asked to accomplish.

It was to be Tsuruga, it seemed. A secret trip, so secret that Nobunaga would not even be aware of it until after Mitsuhide had left.

Instead of outright telling Mitsuhide to go to Chugoku, Nobunaga had surprisingly assigned that task to Keiji, who… Mitsuhide supposed was capable enough to avoid getting kidnapped by Motonari, but didn’t quite seem terribly skilled in… as Katsu would describe it, ‘the art of being invisible in plain sight.’ Nor had his lord believed that sending Mitsuhide to Tsuruga was necessary. “To make any move upon Yoshiaki while the man is not actively rebelling would be considered an insult to Emperor Ōgimachi. In your own words, the shogun is not keeping his activities in Tsuruga a secret. A few spies placed in the city will be sufficient for the winter months. We will lay a trap for him in spring, should he attempt another attack.”

With the rest of Nobunaga’s council as witness, Mitsuhide could do nothing but publically agree to Nobunaga’s plan. In private… well, Nobunaga hadn’t specifically said that Mitsuhide couldn’t be one of those spies.

And so, it was under the cover of darkness that Mitsuhide stepped out of the entry of his manor.

Whoosh.

Clang.

The telltale sound of a sword whistling through the air gave him enough warning to meet that sword with his own, easily diverting the strike… although his attacker hadn’t been aiming to kill. “My dear Hideyoshi, if you wished to pay me a visit, you had only to knock upon the door.”

Hideyoshi gestured to the door in question with his weapon. “After you.”

“As you can see my friend, I am on my way out. Perhaps tomorrow.” Or in a few weeks, when I have returned. When Hideyoshi lifted his sword again, Mitsuhide sighed. “I’d prefer not to take arms against you.” He could, if he put his mind to it, best Hideyoshi in battle, but that would defeat the purpose of leaving Azuchi undetected. More than likely they’d just send Masamune after him. Another who could not master the art of invisibility.

“I insist.” Hideyoshi normal manner of speaking was one of gentle bossiness, however in certain instances, he could become as immobile as a statue. This, clearly, was one of those instances.

Stubborn ass.

Bowing to the inevitable, Mitsuhide went back inside, into his office, with Hideyoshi close at his heels, so close that if he stopped suddenly, he was certain that the man would slam into him. “Do you not trust me? I am wounded to the core.”

“Of course I don’t trust you. Not in this at least.” Hideyoshi waited until Mitsuhide was seated before settling down between the desk and the door. “I would trust you with my life. I would not trust you with your own.”

“Perhaps I was simply on my way out for a late night stroll.” He brought out a bottle of sake, and two cups. He would not need to fight his way out… he could simply drink his way out, as Hideyoshi had a lower tolerance for alcohol.

“You were not. You plan to set yourself up as a traitor, offer aid to Yoshiaki, while the rest of us wonder how much is an act.” Hideyoshi took the offered sake cup, but set it in front of him untouched. “Much as you did this summer, when you pretended to support Kennyo. Such an act won’t work a second time.”

“On the contrary, most still believe I am a traitor, and those who don’t would not expect me to repeat myself.” He drank his own portion of sake, hoping that Hideyoshi would join automatically out of politeness. When Hideyoshi simply continued to look at him, Mitsuhide poured himself another. It seemed he would not be leaving tonight after all. “You and Mai are exceptions, not the rule.”

For the first time in months, speaking Mai’s name did not cause that internal twist of pain. Apparently what was needed to get past that was to inflect a far deeper wound upon himself.

“You are not required to take on the burdens of all of the unsavory tasks.” If Hideyoshi settled back on his heels, looking as if he intended to spend the night if necessary. This was confirmed when the man gestured to Katsu’s shogi set. “Up for a game?”

“I didn’t realize you played. No… not that one.” Mitsuhide pulled his larger shogi table out from the corner, and withdrew the tiles from the drawer hidden inside.

“I know how to play, but as you are aware, Nobunaga prefers Go. There’s not been any time to play for my own entertainment.” Hideyoshi began setting up the tiles in the wrong order, immediately disproving the ‘know how to play,’ claim. “What is wrong with the other set?”

“Nothing is wrong. It simply does not belong to me.” He considered resetting the tiles in the correct order – or at the very least, flipping the ones that were wrong side up over - before deciding that it might be an interesting experiment to start from this unusual pattern. He therefore set out his own pieces mirroring Hideyoshi’s.

“How did it come to be in your possession?” Again ignoring the conventions of the game, Hideyoshi moved his tile first.

“Katsu… er, Kaya, was not able to take it with her when …” Mitsuhide paused, then figured that Katusko’s origins would not be a surprise to Hideyoshi. “… when she returned to her own time.”

“Did you simply let her go, or did you drive her away?” Hideyoshi moved his rook in a direction that the piece was not legally able to make.

“Are you certain you know the rules of this game?” When Hideyoshi simply answered the question with an ashamed smile, Mitsuhide gave up and began building a fortress with his tiles. “In this particular case, her return was somewhat of an accident of fate.” Or something involved with Iekane’s strange device.

Hideyoshi reached out a finger and knocked over Mitsuhide’s fort. “Was it? And the circumstances that led to this accident? Also fate? Granted, my information is third hand, as I am only aware of what Kyubei told Mai.”

“Kyubei is too loyal to gossip.” He thought a moment. “Mai charmed the information out of him.”

“While I’m certain she could do just that, in this case, your vassal is worried about you. You have jumped from one dangerous escapade to another without stopping to rest.” Hideyoshi nodded at the pack that Mitsuhide had brought back inside. “That seems rather a large bag if you were simply going for a midnight stroll.”

“Oh my, you do have a rather liberal definition of escapades. I prefer the word missions, and they are vital to the health of Nobunaga’s cause.” Although as honest as Hideyoshi was, maybe he would never understand the necessity of having one person willing to crawl through the muck for the good of the whole.

“Must it be you? Must it be now?” The question was posed philosophically. There was no anger in Hideyoshi’s tone. He began picking up the tiles and rearranging them again, this time in the correct formation on the board.

“It absolutely cannot be you. Not only it is essential that there be one person on the Devil King’s side with an unblemished reputation… you could not do that to Mai.” Hadn’t the entire experience with Motonari convinced Hideyoshi of that?

“Ah.”

“’Ah?’” Mitsuhide put his hands in his lap in an attitude of peaceful silence. After a long moment, he said, “You must be aware that I am well versed in the art of interrogation. Dropping a one syllable ah and waiting only works if you target feels he has something he must say. Therefore. Ah?”

“You believed, perhaps still believe, that you are in love with Mai.” Hideyoshi professionally tossed five pawns in the air, and counted the results. “I win first move.”

“Setting aside the issue of the truth of that statement, you can’t possibly think I would attempt to take her from you. I’ve known from the start that you and Mai are two halves of one.” He watched as Hideyoshi play an advanced opening. Apparently during the first ‘game’ Hideyoshi had been teasing him. Interesting. He hadn’t thought the man had it in him.

“Yes, we are.” Hideyoshi smiled. “I suspect, however, that you also believe that we,” he gestured to himself then to Mitsuhide, “are also two halves of one. I am the light half and you are the dark half.”

“Interesting theory.” Mitsuhide studied the game board, and realized that he would have to work to win this match.

“There’s more.”

“Oh do enlighten me.”

“I suspect that you were less in love with Mai, than with the idea of sacrificing a chance of happiness, as penance for the things you believe you must do.” Without even a shred of reluctance, Hideyoshi advanced the knight. Demon killer opening.

It was also, one of Mitsuhide’s favorite openings. He knew how to counteract it. He moved a pawn to protect the bishop.

Hideyoshi wasn’t finished with lecture. “Do you think that because I’m the right hand and you’re the left, that if I am happy, you must be miserable? You are permitted happiness, my friend… you only need to reach for it.”

“My happiness, as it were, is about four hundred and fifty years in the future. That is a bit of a reach.” Instead, he reached for his sake cup, and finding it empty, refilled it. “Even if there weren’t some rather pressing issues to take care of here. Kennyo. Motonari. Yoshiaki. Not to mention Kenshin and Shingen.” Although from what Yoshimoto had said, it appeared that Shingen had also travelled to the future. He and Katsuko might even be in the same place.

And… that was something he didn’t want to contemplate.

“Mitsunari has analyzed the situation and does not believe any of them will make a move until Spring. That gives us five months to plan. That also gives you some time to determine how to make amends to your Kaya. Time that will be available to you if you give up on these suicide missions.” Hideyoshi’s silver general ruthlessly tore a hole in Mitsuhide’s line of pawns.

“She is … not mine.” Even discounting the rest of Hideyoshi’s words, discounting the issue of time travel, or the necessity of the missions at hand, even if he could believe that the Gods would permit one such as himself to have a love… “My life is dangerous, and she would never be safe.”

“No one is safe anywhere, and would you not rather keep her at your side, than wonder what sort of danger she has gotten herself is into alone?” Perhaps thinking he had gotten the final word, Hideyoshi was silent for a while, as they moved from the opening of the game, until… “Check.”

Mitsuhide blinked as he searched the board for options. How had this happened? He never lost.

“I cheated when your back was turned to get more sake,” Hideyoshi said, unprompted. “No one is purely good or purely evil.”

Message received.

Be honest. Can you live without her?

No. He could not.

For that matter, he supposed he was curious to see if Hideyoshi could handle it if Katsuko went full on chaos goblin in Azuchi. It would serve him right if she did.

Mitsuhide picked up the piece of paper with the mysterious numbers and dates. “I suppose I should ask Mai what she knows about time travel.”

“Oh Good!” Without warning, Mai suddenly bounded into the room. At Mitsuhide’s raised eyebrow, she added, “Kyubei let me in after you guys. I was the back-up plan if Hideyoshi couldn’t change your mind.”

She plopped down in Hideyoshi’s lap. “Now… let me tell you about a modern concept we call the Grand Romantic Gesture. It’s got to be big, not just flowers, but something meaningful. Oh, and when you get settled we need to go on a double date…”

Hideyoshi met Mitsuhide’s gaze. “I believe I will have another drink now.”

@lorei-writes @selenacosmic @bestbryn @lyds323 @tele86 @akitsuneswife

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 13:  Lovers and Madmen - There are an awful lot of people wandering the corridors at night, none of whom Okatsu wants to encounter... all of whom she encounters.

Mitsunari x OC; Nobunaga x Mai

Previous Chapter

Logline - In order to protect a political alliance, Katusko and Mitsunari must pretend an engagement. But this “all business” arrangement is threatened by a coup against Nobunaga… and by feelings.

Chapter CW: Gaslighting

From the Military Notes of Ishida Mitsunari…

Indirect approach – Dislocation is the aim of strategy. Direct attacks almost never work, one must first upset the enemy's equilibrium, fix weakness and attack strength, Eight rules of strategy: 1) adjust your ends to your means, 2) keep your object always in mind, 3) choose the line of the least expectation, 4) exploit the line of least resistance, 5) take the line of operations which offers the most alternatives, 6) ensure both plans and dispositions are flexible, 7) do not throw your weight into an opponent while he is on guard, 8) do not renew an attack along the same lines if an attack has failed.

Personal comment: On occasion, Ieyasu has used the word ‘gullible’ in my presence. It is true that I prefer to give people the benefit of the doubt when their motivations are mixed. However, it does not necessary follow that I believe there is a potion that will cause two people to fall in love with each other, for if such a thing existed, more people would employ it.

How much simpler it would be to bespell an emotion into existence.

Or, out of existence.

Five years ago, this man had tried to kill me. Now? He was smiling, unconcerned, apparently happy to see me.  Had I entered an upside-down world?

“Kaya! You’re alive! Thank the Gods!” Iekane moved to hug me, but I held out the tea tray in front of my body as a shield. Iekane looked at the tray. “Are you a maid here?”

Dressed as I was in my nightrobe under Mitsunari’s haori, I probably did look like a servant. Iekane took the tea tray and set it on a table.

As soon as my hands were free, I grabbed my knife and held in front of me. Inside my body, that cold fear had settled in my stomach, clamped around my lungs, but I refused to shiver in his presence. I might feel powerless, but I would never let him see that.

Iekane cocked his head sideways and frowned at the knife. He raised his hands, palms up, as if he were placating a small child. “Kaya, what’s all this? Don’t you remember me?” He smiled. Oh yes, I remembered that smile.

“I remember that you tried to kill me.” I willed the hand that held the dagger to stay steady. If he made one move closer, I swear I would gut him.

Luckily for him, unfortunately for me, Iekane was smart enough to stay out of my reach. “Kill you? I don’t know what you’re talking about, Kaya.” He caught my glare. “Katsuko.”

I’d alert him to my new name later. If I let him live.

Wait.

Could I kill him?

Iekane was clearly an honored guest – his room was much nicer than the one Mitsunari had been given. Somehow, he had managed to convince Mozumi that he a person of some importance. The question was not whether I could kill him (I could. Probably.), but could I get away with killing him? My assumed Oda name wouldn’t save me. Mitsunari and Mai might possibly speak up for me, but Hideyoshi wouldn’t. Mitsuhide would likely develop selective amnesia. Nobunaga would dismiss my existence as unimportant.

No, I couldn’t kill Iekane – not here anyway.

“Kill you?” He repeated it one more time into the space of our awkward silence. “I haven’t the slightest idea what you are talking about.”

“Five years ago. Warehouse.” In the face of his smiling amusement, I felt my words leaving me without editing. “You locked me in a crate and left me to die!”

Iekane’s smile faded to a look of shock. “No! No. There was no lock on that crate. You ought to have been about to get out of it without any problem. Remember, we tested it. You must have pulled it the wrong way and panicked. You always were prone to jumping to insane conclusions.” Iekane sank to his knees. “I had no idea that you thought you were locked in.”

“If that was the case, why didn’t you look for me when I didn’t signal you?” I shouldn’t believe a word out of his mouth, but his utter sincerity was making me reassess everything I had ever thought I had known about that day.

Had I simply assumed the crate was locked? Had I freaked out over nothing?

“I couldn’t. Soon after I left the warehouse, I was attacked and left for dead.” Iekane rubbed the back of his head as if remembering an injury. “When I finally regained my senses, it was weeks later. I didn’t even know where to begin to figure out where you were.”

He’d been in a coma? No. Not buying it. But others… they might. “Why didn’t you return to Aki and tell him what happened?”

He sighed and hung his head. “I was afraid he’d blame me. You and Aki were always so close – I didn’t want him to take his anger out on me.”

Plausible. Also, cowardly. But maybe more plausible because he was admitting to cowardice? I was not ready to believe him, but I needed to know what story he would be selling to others. “How did you get from near death to… who are you?”

Iekane got to his feet, then bowed deeply. “Sakai Iekane. Lord Iekane. Daimyo of Tsuruga district.”

Daimyo of Tsuruga?

Iekane was Shohime’s fiancé?

Oh God. Shohime couldn’t marry him… he’d destroy her.

If only I had asked her what her fiance’s name was! Maybe I would have written that off as a coincidence, but with Hikosane’s ‘he smiles too much,’ and Shohime’s description of ‘good looking, nice, and old.’ Yeah. I’d have put all that together and been more prepared for our inevitable meeting. “That’s a big rise. From robbery victim to Daimyo and an engagement to Mozumi’s daughter.”

“It was a stroke of luck, in fact.” Now that he was back on his feet, Iekane acted as if the matter of trying-to-kill-me had been settled. With a smile he poured a cup of tea and sipped at it delicately. “I was rescued by Sakai Tadanao. Eventually, we became … close and he adopted me. Unfortunately, he developed a sudden fatal illness last winter, and I now here I am, the new daimyo.” He gestured to his richly embroidered kimono, and I recalled how Iekane used to complain over the plainness of the uniform like outfits we had worn as Aki’s messengers.

He then sent a rather sneering look at my own clothing. “As for you, why are a maid here… or… are you here to spy for Aki?”

He shook his head sadly. “If you’re here as a spy, then you must know, I will have to turn you over to Mozumi… or perhaps even Nobunaga. I wouldn’t like to treat an old friend so… but I couldn’t possibly cover up a potential traitor.”

He leaped for something by his futon – a musket – but I got there first and kicked it out of the way. “I’m here as part of Nobunaga’s entourage, and he’s aware of my history with Aki. In any case, the visit is to enable me to spend more time with my fiancé, Ishida Mitsunari.”

He was quiet a long time, but he looked me over so intensely that I felt like he was splitting my skull open and poking around inside. Finally, he seemed to relax. “Interesting. You too have risen from your humble beginnings. And you can assure me that you no longer work for Aki in any capacity?”

“Aki objected to losing a competent messenger to marriage, however we parted on friendly terms.” It was almost frightening to me how easy the lies came to my lips. Iekane wouldn’t be familiar with this version of ‘Kaya.’ I had not been a liar when we had known each other before. But a murder attempt will bring about all sorts of new facets of a personality.

“Then I must congratulate you on your betrothal. I am relieved that you found someone willing to overlook… the… er, insanity in your family line. He is aware of that, is he not?” He picked up his teacup. “I am tempted to sit here with you and reminisce about old times. Remember whe we used to sit together at Aki’s and talk about our lives? Our pasts? It’s such a pleasure to converse with someone who knows everything about you, is it not?”

After Iekane had (possibly) tried to kill me, I spent months thinking back on our friendship – zaprudering every conversation we’d had. I’d regretted telling him about my parents (thankfully, I had kept that time travel part out of it) because our friendship had been a lie. A betrayal. Now… a new regret. It’s such a pleasure to converse with someone who knows everything about you…

He knew everything. Every weakness. Every shame.

Iekane sadly shook his head and sighed. “However, it is rather late, and you ought not be in my rooms at this time. I am sure I will be able to catch up with you later.” He slid open the door, peeked out, then gestured for me to exit.

“I need to return to my fiancé in any case. Lovely to see you again.” Although I strolled out as if I had not a worry in the world, I could not reach the door fast enough for my peace of mind. I forced myself to wait until I heard the door slide shut behind me before I picked up my pace.

Could I believe him?

Should I?

And if not, then what could I do about it? The cooly placed comment about insanity in my family – well, it wasn’t true, although I imagined he could drop enough hints, with sorrowful downcast eyes to be believed anyway. He had just informed me that he had all the power in this situation. And therefore, for my own safety and the success of Mitsuhide’s current scheme, I had to at least pretend to believe that Iekane had not tried to kill me.

Until I could prove otherwise.

And damn it, he had taken my tea!

“Lady Okatsu.” That frigid tone stopped me in my tracks. I turned to see Lady Yone strolling toward me. “It’s rather late to be wandering through the corridors.”

Crap. Had she seen me leaving Iekane’s room? Was she surprised that I was wandering around, or surprised that I was still alive? Had she told Shohime about the flowers hoping that Shohime would serve it to us? Or had it simply been a joke that Shohime misunderstood?

Either way, now was not the time to question her. I just wanted to get back to my room, and wrap myself into three blankets. I wanted to stop shivering. “I got up to get a drink of water.”

“You got the water yourself? That’s rather… provincial of you. I always ask a maid or a page to get that for me.” Nothing in her voice suggested any surprise that I was still living.

“Naturally, when we are at Azuchi, that is what I do. However, Lord Nobunaga employs dozens of servants – I only have to blink and they come running. But since we are from home, I didn’t want to cause extra work for your staff. The few that I see seem terribly busy already.” There take that, Lady. I added a few innocent blinks and pretended that I had not just insulted her household and implied that they couldn’t afford to hire enough help. With another smile, I bowed to her, and took myself off. After running into Iekane, I didn’t the energy for protracted battle of polite insults with Lady Yone, or-

“Okatsu is there a reason you’re wandering around at night, dressed like that?”

-another late-night chat with Hideyoshi. Does he ever sleep?

I froze. Turned. Offered him a bow as well. “Just getting a drink of water. I’m going back to my room right now. Have a good night, Lord Hideyoshi.” I whirled and started to hurry away.

“Don’t run.” There was, as usual, impatience in his tone, and I turned around to look at him, his eyebrows were already in that deep V in the center of his forehead.

Although I shouldn’t have done it, the events of this evening had already put my mood on edge. “Lord Hideyoshi, when I went to the kitchens, there was an odd man talking with the maids. Perhaps you ought to go check things out.”

If it were at all possible, the frown deepened. “Thank you. I will do that.” He strode away, haori flapping in the breeze. Good. Let him and Mitsuhide annoy each other for the rest of the night. Someone ought to give a so-called love potion to them. It would make everyone’s lives easier.

Meanwhile, poison disaster averted. Love potion was… probably … just water. Iekane… he was still a problem… but I would do my best to stay far enough away from him… except… now that I knew who Shohime was engaged to, I felt a lot more inclined to help her.

Deep breaths. I was going back to the room now, where the sweet and uncomplicated presence of Mitsunari waited for me. I almost wanted to hug him. Not from any love potion. Just. Relief.

Everything will be fine.

Everything will be fine.

That mantra lasted until I returned to the room and discovered that Mitsunari, who was deeply engrossed in a book, had accidentally, or perhaps absently drunk the rest of the tea, which may or may not have contained a love potion, and that… I really didn’t remember leaving that close to him.

“Mitsunari!” He jumped. I had yelled more than loud enough to attract his attention. He looked at me and smiled, that beautiful smile that I was not at all going to be distracted by right now. “Did you drink that tea?”

He glanced at the cup. “I suppose I did?” It was half a statement, half a question. He looked back at me and tilted his head slightly. “Okatsu, that haori looks very nice on you. Is it new?”

“It’s yours.” I might… possibly have been gritting my teeth.

“I like you in my clothing.” He smiled again. “I like you not in my clothing too.”

Did he really just…? Dammit maybe that truly was a love potion.

“Um, thank you.” Once again, I wished I had the tea pot with me, to both replace the cursed tea, and to give me something to do with my hands. Instead, I reached for my abandoned comb, intent on putting it away.

Mitsunari reached for it at the same time, and our fingers touched, his overlapping mine. As much as I wanted to, I couldn’t pull my hand back. Mitsunari moved one figure across mine, a light, fleeting touch that skittered all the way up my arm faster than that skittering spider had the other day.

“I like your hands too, Okatsu.” He closed my fingers over the comb, his eyes never leaving mine. “Strong and pretty. Like you.”

“Stop! Please. Look, if that really was a love potion, I’m sure it will wear off by morning, and then you’ll feel really embarrassed about everything you just said or might say.” And even if it didn’t, I couldn’t let myself get too used to the pretty words or the look in his eyes. I had been distracted by pretty words in the past; it had nearly gotten me killed.

And… I was going back to Aki by the end of the summer.

I carefully folded up his haori, put it away, then got into bed. I turned my face to the wall.

“What if it wasn’t the potion?” His words floated over to me and covered me like a blanket. “I can simply like you for yourself. Can you accept that?”

“It’s the power of suggestion. The fact that you thought it was a love potion put that idea in your head. They call it the placebo effect. It isn’t real. I’m not real. Remember, I’m not an Oda Princess. These are not my clothes. Everything you think you like about me is just a costume.”

Okatsu isn’t even my name.

And Iekane can blow my entire life out of the water with one single phrase. Her mother was insane.

I put my arm over my eyes to blot out the lantern light and drew up the covers. I was still cold. Maybe I would never feel warm again. Was it this castle? Or just me?

@bestbryn @lorei-writes @lyds323 @katriniac @briars7

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 30: Cinnamon and Sandalwood. Katsu misses one connection, but makes another.

Mitsuhide x OC; Hideyoshi x MC (Mai)

All Chapters Archived on Ao3 

Logline - With Mai, Hideyoshi, and Aki missing, Mitsuhide and Katsuko reluctantly team up. Disguised as a merchant and his concubine, can they outsmart the man known as the God of Deceit?

Within another day, we'd arrived back in Sakai, although only Mitsuhide and I disembarked (Kyubei had taken a faster route by hitching a ride with the Oda atakebune). The others planned to sail further north to Osaka, then travel to Azuchi over land. While Mitsuhide received last minute instructions from Nobunaga… and last minute goodbye hugs from Mai, I made myself useful by checking that our supplies were ready to be transferred off the ship.

Though Mitsuhide hadn't specifically stated what we were returning for, I expected we still had to deal with de Sousa, and for that matter, it wasn't completely out of the question that ‘Shojumaru’ would reappear and brazen it out. After all, he was fairly well established and...

Toshiie?

After seven years, it's possible that my brother would have been changed out of recognition. And maybe my mind was playing tricks on me, for the man I had spotted rounding a corner from the dock had only been in my field of vision for a moment. But many times, a moment is enough.

His hair was much longer.

His walk was the same.

Abandoning our luggage as well as all sense of self preservation, I zoomed down the gangplank and sprinted after the man – my brother -  pushing past sailors and merchants in my haste. Toshiie hadn't seen me, and when I rounded the corner into the main street, it took me a moment to find him again. He was striding toward the main market area with a sense of purpose.

Even though it was a futile act, I yelled after him. "Toshiie!"  

The man didn’t turn around. But he probably hadn’t heard me yell over the throng of people out on this bright afternoon.

Luckily I had always been faster than he was, and I increased my pace, bobbing and weaving around the slowly meandering shoppers, until I reached the intersection of the outdoor market and the shopping district, and skidded to a halt, turning several times to reorient myself.

He was gone.

I stood there for a moment trying to guess his most likely direction. Had he gone into the spice merchant’s shop? The ceramics warehouse? Maybe he was visiting the Chinese herbalist or, had he not gone into a building at all? Had he continued on to a residential area?

"Is it beyond your ability to stay in one place for any amount of time longer than a heartbeat?" Mitsuhide’s arm locked around my shoulders as he all but propelled me out of the market.

"But I thought I saw- " Oh what was the point? Toshiie, if that had been he, was long gone, and I, as Katsu, was out and about in daylight. Not in my Kaya disguise, which, from the speed Mitsuhide was pulling me into the shadows, was apparently still in play.

“Who or what did you see, Brat?" Left unsaid again was an implied that was so important you took off without telling me. “Did Motonari make his way back already?”

My brother.

I didn’t say it loud enough for Mitsuhide to hear. Again. What did it matter now? The further away we got from the market, the less certain I was that I had even seen him. “No. I thought I saw someone from years ago. But now... I don’t know.”

“The man who tried to kill you? Iekane?” If possible, Mitsuhide’s glower became fiercer. “Or… Akihira?”

I shook my head. “No. Someone who’s been missing for a lot longer… so… Probably just in my imagination.”

Mitsuhide glanced over his shoulder toward the market, where the late day crowds were dispersing while merchants packed up their stalls. Impossible to tell what he'd thought of my claim. "Come along, we've much to do."

He didn’t further enlighten me, and stuck by a sudden exhaustion, I could only follow along mutely. In awkward silence, we returned to the building that had been our so called ‘love nest’ for the better part of the last few weeks. It was almost a comfort to be somewhere familiar. Home at last.

Unsure of where to go, in fact without any energy to even climb up to the second floor, I sat on the staircase and waited idly as Mitsuhide and Kyubei, who had easily beaten us home, huddled over a stack of reports that had arrived while we were gone. Only little bits of conversation drifted over to me, not enough to make sense. But whatever Mitsuhide’s spies had discovered was enough to make both men frown in concern.

After receiving low-voice instructions, Kyubei nodded and pulled his long hair up into a tight knot on his head. He was as much a master of disguise as Mitsuhide. They both could fully inhabit a new character with just a few alterations to hair and clotting. Dressed as he was in a somber blue, and carrying a prayer staff, Kyubei could be mistaken as a wandering monk – which, I imagine was in fact the point. He bowed to us both, piously, and slipped out the door.

Once Kyubei had set off, Mitsuhide and I were alone again. He glanced at the stairs, where I had been parked since we'd arrived. One eyebrow went up. "Dear me, I hadn’t expected you to interpret 'don't move,’ so literally. You’ve never been this obedient in the past, and I’m defining ‘the past’ as earlier today."

He loomed over me, staring. Which only made sense, given I was blocking his way to the second floor.

"May I have Aki’s letter now?" It was only one of a lot of things I would like to ask him, but it was also the one I had the most chance of getting.

"Noticed it’s no longer in the box, did you?" He didn’t move from his spot. Still looming. For such a lithe, elegant man, he practiced the art of looming quite well.

"I know you took it with you when you went to Azuchi.” I’m sure he was aware I had searched his room while he was gone. “After that… it was less noticing and more of a logical assumption." I shrugged. "I would have moved it."

"If we're going to be making demands…” He was back to the royal we again. "Would it not make more sense to have this conversation in the living area? You can't be comfortable like that."

The stair was digging into my back, true. But going upstairs, the location of so many of our experiences over the past few months, seemed like the fastest way to throw us back into a pattern of disagreements and negotiation.

Then again, at least he would not be looming.

I got up and turned toward the second floor.

"You're not heading for your doom." His voice was almost in my ear. "You may cease walking like a prisoner on their way to her execution any time now."

That wasn’t worthy of a response. Anything I said could and would be used against me.

Once we were settled in Mitsuhide’s more personal office space, this time with a cup of tea that he'd pretty much pressed into my hands, Mitsuhide shifted into a leisurely stance, one that suggested he was completely confident of the outcome of future negotiations, and said, "Akihira’s letter. Dear me, whatever did I do with it? My memory is so faulty these days. Perhaps it exists with the memory of you promising to do what I ordered."

Ah. I knew we’d be getting to this sooner or later. I’d figured he’d confront me again while we were onboard the Oda ship, but he’d been too busy. Or maybe, he had, like a parental figure, left me to think about what I had done.

Cupping both hands around my tea, I borrowed its warmth, hoping that it would give me courage to endure the discussion – a discussion that loomed just as much as Mitsuhide had done on the stairs. "If you'd bothered to ask me what happened instead of assuming I willfully disobeyed you, you would discover your memory is not faulty at all. I meant to stay in the tree. I would have stayed in the tree, but Mai chose that night to overpower her guard, and the commander got suspicious. He sent another guard to check on her, and I was afraid that one would raise the alarm."

"Mai overpowered her guard?" He sounded skeptical, though I don’t know why. Mai was sweet, sure, but she was more than willing to deal with danger if necessary.

"She hit him with a bucket then garrotted him with the chain. Well not permanently. I expect he'll have a sore throat for a while, but he should have survived." I took him through the thoughts that had led me to the conclusion that I needed to help her out.

For a long time, Mitsuhide was quiet. "You were wrong, as evidenced by the fact that Hideyoshi and I did have to fight our way to that building, so the very thing you intended to prevent occurred anyway.” He swirled the tea around in his cup. "That said, I acquit you of disobeying my order on a whim. Though your conclusion was wrong, I agree that you had few options to choose from." He shook his head. "I'm not sure what to do with you."

Why did he have to do anything? Our charade ought to be ending soon. When, or if, Motonari returned to Sakai, he already knew who we were. In fact he could have communicated this information to the other merchants of Sakai already. What was the point of continuing this way?

I hated to admit it, but the only clue I had to Aki's location was the fact the Iekane had been involved in the theft of the weapons. Even that was tenuous, which was why…"Aki's letter? Please?” If I could finish reading it, I might have a better idea of where he could have gone. Francisco had said the letter was written years ago, but that didn’t negate the possibility that it would have a clue to his current location. Though if it was not a where but a when, I could probably dissolve this partnership. No matter what Mitsuhide promised me, I couldn’t expect him to follow me through space and time.

"It's under my futon mattress." He smirked at me. "Had you ever opened up renegotiations, I expect you would have discovered it naturally, as it does tend to crackle when I lie down on it."  

Ignoring the tease (although it was kind of a relief that he was indeed teasing me again), I got to my feet. "Under your mattress? That's the most-"

"Obvious location.'' A sip of tea, very likely for dramatic effect. "And yet you failed to look there."

Well. I had looked there the first time I searched. I just hadn't looked there again after finding the puzzle box, figuring that he had another such box somewhere. "May I go get?"

"Again, I find myself incredulous that you're finally located your manners. I was under the impression that you would simply take it." The cool tones, so arrogant in his thought that he'd figured me out.

"Well I would if you weren’t home, but it did feel a little rude, I suppose, when you were sitting right here." I shrugged. "And I really don't want to wait until you go out... unless... you'd like to leave right now and let me think I am getting away with something?" Two can play this ‘I've figured you out’ game, Sir.

He stared. Then his lips quivered before giving way to a full on belly laugh. "Go. Go." Between spasms of laughter he waved his hand toward his room.

I went. His laughter followed me down the corridors.

The room smelled thickly of cinnamon and sandalwood, and more scent arose as I lifted up the mattress to find my father's letter. It was as neatly folded as the last time I had seen it, though I was sure he had again tried to decode it, especially once I had given him some of the key. I was confident though, he hadn't solved it all yet. There hadn't been a chance to do so before we’d been captured by Motonari, and if he'd indeed learned of the time travel, I couldn't imagine that he wouldn't have asked me about it. Still…

I unfolded it to confirm that it was the correct letter, and with all the pages intact. Then, I spent a moment smoothing out the sheets on the futon. It again seemed only polite, and I figured Mitsuhide to be someone who preferred a neat bed at night.

Cinnamon and sandalwood. The smell had become comforting. Familiar. Before standing up again, I leaned over, and took a long whiff.

When I turned, Mitsuhide was leaning in the doorframe. The smirk had returned to his face.

Kill me now.

Eyebrow up.

I braced myself.

"I'm beginning to suspect you are indeed interested in renegotiation.” And the smug was back in his voice. Smirk. Eyebrow. Smug. The hat trick of things I hate about Mitsuhide. "Perhaps as a way to say goodbye to our sweet love nest before we go back to Azuchi tomorrow."

"Don't flatter yours-- tomorrow?" But- “What about Aki?” I knew he was planning to return to Azuchi, but I thought we’d have a couple more days here. More time to get a lead on Iekane. More time… with Mitushide.

"I haven't reneged on our original contract." He didn’t move from his post at the door.

When Toshiie had at last moved out of our mother’s apartment, his roommate had two cats that did not get along. One would menace the other in the hall en route to the litter box. The cat didn’t actually attack the other cat… it just watched. And watched. It so unnerved the other cat that she peed in Toshiie's bed.

Not that I would ever pee in Mitsuhide's bed.

Just sayin.

"We appear to have exhausted our resources here in Sakai. In Azuchi, I have more tools at hand. As well you would have the booksellers as a hub of information." He smiled at me as if to say, ‘look, I’m sharing the plan this time.’

He wasn’t completely wrong. I had been thinking that Sakai was about played out. But I didn’t see myself making any progress in Azuchi either. "What are we doing here then?"

"Packing." He took a step into the room, "Or, if you're interested – renegotiating."

"Are you asking?" He'd originally been the one, long ago, to claim that I would someday beg him. I wondered if he remembered that.

"No." He gave a light tug on my hair. Almost the way a teasing boy would do to a girl in school. "I am suggesting an activity that I believe we would both enjoy. You were the one who was treating my bed sheet like it was a flower." He tapped my nose once, twice, before resting one finger on my lip.

I stepped back. I had a letter to read. "I have a letter to read."

He made a grand gesture toward the hallway. "I'm not stopping you."

No. He wasn’t. He was just teasing me.

I have a letter to read.

I scooted past him, making sure to walk at a normal pace. I didn’t look back, because if I did, I'm sure I would find him smirking at me. It wasn’t until I slid my own door closed that I allowed myself a deep breath.

My heart was beating so loudly I wouldn’t be surprised if he could hear it too.

I am suggesting an activity that it believe we would both enjoy.

He’s right. We would both enjoy ourselves. I wasn’t opposed to the idea. I was opposed to giving my heart to someone who clearly loved someone else.

He... already has my heart.

Mai's words came back to me. “He only teases when he really means it." Maybe? Maybe I meant something to him, after all?

But to turn around and walk back down that hall. To knock on his door. Could I take all those steps?

You’re leaving anyway. Wouldn’t it be nice to have the memory of the enjoyable activity?

Or… would that just make it worse?

Well. Maybe I would just open my own door.

I could make additional decisions once after that point.

I opened my door.

Mitsuhide, his pose as casual as ever, leaned against the wall directly across from me.

I hate him.

"I'm just getting a drink of water.''

"Were you?"

If he says one snarky thing, I'm slamming the door in his face.

Doors don’t slam here, but… details. I will forcefully slide the door shut in his face.

He had no words. There was no teasing, no snark, not even that knowing smile.

All he did was reach out his hand.

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