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pansexualkiba · 1 year ago

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@panda-monium64 you've opened the floodgates. Get ready for some shit.

PART TWO OF A SERIES. I'LL HAVE A MASTERPOST UP LATER.

TOUHOU SEISONOMOTO ~ GARDEN OF ETERNITY

I'll give you three guesses what the focal point of this one is.

Fun fact! As originally planned, this story would not only be happening SIMULTANEOUSLY to WDI, but also, for some reason, to Marine Benefit, a fangame I have no affiliation with due to being in MIDDLE SCHOOL when it was released. Because it was "developed" directly after WDI, but the characters were essentially revealed at the same time, I just sorta now place them as happening consecutively.

The plot: A giant fucking walled garden has appeared along the edges of the border, somewhere between the Sanzu and the Netherworld (so not directly beneath it). Nothing has happened yet, but people are curious and want to know what's in this weird garden. This has a bit of a Subterranean Animism type thing where the subshot you pick gives you dialogue with a second character whose "faction" wants you to investigate.

Because the theme is the garden, all of the important characters are essentially plant youkai. Of course, there's a bit of cringe here and there since they were also made in middle school. Let's start here.

ENCHOU TSUTA Creeping Plant of Antiquity Species: Ivy Youkai Ability: Capable of extending her limbs The guard of the Garden of Eternity. Due to her ability and stalwart personality, she was given the position of gatekeeper by the garden's boss. She, like many residents of the garden, awoke as youkai after many years of unstopped growth. As such, she can be considered the progenitor of all vine-like plants. Unfortunately, none of this meant anything to the protagonist's strength. She was quickly defeated in short order.

I actually genuinely like this girl? Idk what it is. The cool name, the fact that I made her hair decoration be a ribbon that looks like poison ivy leaves... She's got it all. The fact that I made her some random guard that gets Got in Stage 1 is more or less because I was a real PC-98 truther back then and I wanted to call back to Mystic Square, where the exact same thing happened to Sara. Anyways, now that we have canonical vine bullets, it's a lot easier for me to imagine how Enchou's attacks would actually look.

KOURIKO TANPOPO Snow Flower in July Species: Dandelion Youkai Ability: Capable of causing snowfall A Western-style dandelion youkai. She had desired to see snow right before she had awoken as a youkai. As such, she awakened a snow-bringing power when she awoke. She's completely unaware this is her doing, however, and she just wants to dance around in the unseasonable blizzard. Despite representing both flowering and seeding forms of the dandelion at the same time, she's still quite weak. As such, her threat level as an invasive species really isn't that high. As a side note, she's begun a lucrative business selling "dandelion tea" blends.

This was my favorite back in the day (lol). She's just a little guy, your honor. A little birthday girl. That last name, tho... Yikes. You'll soon find every single girl in this section is named after their plant unless further pointed out. This ended up being the naming convention for the Beast Realm Matriarchs in canon, so, uh... Whoops? Also, I think she reappears in the phantasmagoria-type. (Why did I put dandelion tea in quotes... It is tea. Why am I suspicious of this?)

MIRYOKU MOUSENGOKE Insectivorous Flower Species: Sundew Youkai Ability: Manipulation of attraction A youkai of a carnivorous flower. Her personality is to draw in insects before eating them whole. As such, she's rather like a fisherwoman. Her ability refers to not only her ability to spew insect-attracting pheromones, but also gravitational and electromagnetic attraction as well. As such, she's actually rather dangerous, despite her rather placid nature. She attacked the protagonist because she accidentally thought they were prey. It's sort of a parable of biting off more than you can chew, in that regard.

Another girl that tries to eat the protag... What was going on back then. Anyways, this girl is like, HELLA dangerous. I like how like, the edgy bits came in WDI in the latter half, but this chick is just here as THE edgy bitch in GoE. Fun fact, this girl did some cocomelon shit to me so bad that I made one of my personal e-mails one of her Spell Cards despite having NO REASON to do that. That's the power of carnivorous plants, I guess.

FUKU INABA Sake-Drunk Rabbit Species: Rabbit Ability: Capable of controlling alcohol levels A subordinate of Tewi Inaba. She was sent to investigate the garden, but was caught by Miryoku, along with a couple other youkai. Thanks to the protagonist, they were all freed, but Fuku needs to finish her investigation. With that, she attacked. -- INOE HIGASHIOKA Spice-Laden Tengu Species: White wolf Tengu Ability: Capable of tripling an object A white wolf tengu sent as a scout. Acting under orders from Lord Tenma himself, she entered the garden and was captured for food. Luckily, the protagonists freed her, so she was free to continue her scouting mission. She attacks Reimu out of a misplaced annoyance for Aya. Her ability does not extend to living things, but it does extend to gases, so she's extremely good at smokescreens. -- SANMI FUKUMURA Red-Meat Human Species: Human Ability: Capable of using magic stones A human from the outside world. She found herself wandering into Gensokyo sometime during the Foreign Youkai Incident. She is currently employed at the Scarlet Devil Manor as an assistant to Patchouli. She was sent to look into the garden by Remilia, but she was caught easily. She was just on her was out when she was attacked. -- SUIKIN TAKISHIMA Mineral-Rich Kappa Species: Kappa Ability: Capable of manipulating ores A scout sent by the kappa. She got into the garden just fine, but was captured by Miryoku. Luckily, the protagonist set her and a couple other inhabitants free. As thanks, Suikin offered to take over the investigation, but was promptly shot down.

The stage 4 midboss squad!!! Which one you face is dependent on who you have as your subshot. Their main purpose is to show that a good chunk of people have their eyes on the garden, and also to have jokes in their titles about how they were almost fucking eaten alive. I think of these four, Sanmi was the one that my friend liked the most? Very odd, that, but what can you do. I guess that's the power of the SDM.

DONNA BELLA Flower of Cassandra Species: Nightshade Youkai Ability: Capable of seeing the future A nightshade youkai that can foresee future events. She did, indeed, foresee that the garden would arrive, and indeed, foresaw not only the protagonist's arrival, but also her own defeat. The problem is that no one believes her visions. She's learned a little trick, however: if she phrases her visions just right, people will still believe them. The way to do this is to phrase her visions as the opposite of what will actually happen, so that people believe the contrary, and therefore the real vision. With that in mind, she set off to actively guide the protagonist to the main boss of the garden, as their aimless rampaging through the area would do no good to anyone. Not that anyone would believe her if she gave her real reason. Later, she showed up to help lead the protagonist to Tsukiko, to minimize property damage first and foremost.

THIS NAME........ THIS NAAAAAME......... BELLADONNA. DONNA BELLA. I mitigated my embarrassment at the time by making her theme title Italian... My little ass thought I was being SOOO CLEVER... Anyways this is a very fun weird inversion of Sagume's powers - Sagume actively cannot tell the truth, because the inverse of that will happen. Meanwhile, Donna's ability means that people won't believe her visions, so she lies so people believe the opposite. I just thought that was very funny. It's also pure luck they're both Stage 4 bosses - remember, I made this batch in middle school. Ten Desires was the hot new thing back then.

KUSURI KESHI Bitter Medicine Species: Poppy Youkai Ability: Capable of causing hallucinations The youkai of an opium poppy. She is the boss of all the poppies in the garden, especially in her field. She can put humans to sleep if she has enough of her subordinates working in tandem. However, they're all too laid-back and disorganized for this formation to ever actually work. Her ability lets her create the illusion of shifting shapes, but like all hallucinations, this vanishes when you reach for it. She actually has no relation to the overall incident, but she happened to be in the way of the protagonists.

Remember when I said I was an edgy middle schooler? My stupid little ass went "yeah let's put DRUGS in Touhou". Not as bad as it could have been, really? I sorta also mixed in the poppy field from The Wizard of Oz into this girl as well. I think it's sorta funny that I pointed out that she just has literal no fucking relationship to anyone in the hierarchy of the Garden, she's just sorta Just A Guy. Normally the unrelated mooks are stage 1 fodder.

SHIGAI HIGANBANA Necro-Romantic Corpse Flower Species: Rafflesia Youkai Ability: Capable of manipulating corpses The youkai of a rafflesia plant. Long ago, the Garden of Eternity was watched over by two humans. However, they were given knowledge, and upon defying their guardian's wishes, were exiled from the Garden. The garden, no longer watched over or guarded, soon grew untamed. Eventually, youkai began to spring forth from the plants. The immediate question was this: who was to take charge? Naturally, many strong youkai put forward themselves, but before any could act, a voice rang out. "It is only natural that I, the oldest of you all, should lead." The smell of rotting flesh filled the air, and Shigai Higanbana became known. Though centuries passed and the winds and animals carried away seeds to spread their descendants, the Garden had yet to be rediscovered by man. It got to the point where people began to wonder if there even was such a place. Thus, the Garden was moved to Gensokyo by complete accident, shocking everyone with its massive size. "Perhaps it moved to save itself." That is what Shigai thought to herself, getting ready to appear to her subordinates to calm them. That's when the protagonist arrived.

I don't think I need to explain what this fucking plot is about. I was like "oh this is SUCH a good plot twist" and as of now it's like. Yeah this could probably happen nowadays. But it seems TOO obvious. Also this was before I knew about The Last Comer so me being like "OMG....... Touhou Christianity....." but I also didn't want to just make Jesus, yknow? Anyways Shigai Higanbana is such a cool bitch. Her design has a little crown and she has rafflesia patterns on her skirt. She's leading the Garden and she has a Spellcard called "Higanbana's Monster". I love her so much. She's exactly the type of edge I'm not embarrassed about I WISH I could be this creative about OCs again.

TSUKIKO TORIKABUTO Poison Flower of the Moon Species: Monkshood Youkai Ability: Capable of manipulating moonlight A youkai of an aconite bloom. She has a nocturnal lifestyle, making her rather untrustworthy to the other, more sun-loving inhabitants of the garden. However, using her power, she can make moonlight stronger than its base form, sunlight. Despite the distrust of the other plants, she does care for everyone, and thus she leads a night patrol of which she is the only guard. Like Shigai and Donna, she actually knows what the garden's original name was, but she finds it unnecessary knowledge at this point. "Events in the past are in the past." Her power to control moonlight sent warning signs to the Lunar Rabbits currently living in Gensokyo, so they alerted the protagonists. And that is how she found her next guard shift under attack.

Technically, Tsukiko could be considered Enchou's direct superior. Make of that what you will. Anyways, what kind of fucking simplistic-ass name is Tsukiko? Love it when all these girls from like, the Fertile Crescent or whatever have Japanese names for some inexplicable reason. I think I get better at this later? Tsukiko really is just some bitch and I love her for it, but she's really just sorta here, isn't she. I ALSO love how I implied that literally only three people know the name of the Garden, but the only one who deems it relevant information is the leader of the whole place, and she never tells any of the inhabitants anyways. To be fair, they may not be curious in the first place.

If I had to place the Garden's inhabitants on a scale, I'd say they're on the Medicine Melancholy level of complete non-interference. As long as no one goes into the Garden, they're just completely unbothered about the whole thing. The only exception, I'd say, is Kouriko, who goes on to start selling tea blends to the Human Village. I don't know what she needs the money for, but it really does seem you can just sorta, sell whatever you want and no one will stop you. A fun fact about the Garden is that the closer you get to the side of the wall near the Barrier, the denser the forest gets until it's just a jungle devoid of light. I don't know where Shigai's getting the corpses for her attacks, but she IS near the Sanzu, geographically. Maybe that has something to do with it?

Anyways, in a few weeks' time, the most important Incident in this series will take place. And it all starts... With a meteor shower.

#Touhou #Touhou OC #panda-monium64 #Enchou Tsuta #Kouriko Tanpopo #Miryoku Mousengoke #Donna Bella #Kusuri Keshi #Shigai Higanbana #Tsukiko Torikabuto #Fuku Inaba #Inoe Higashioka #Sanmi Fukumura #Suikin Takishima #i wish i could draw. I need to show you these cool fucking plant outfits.

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the12thnightproject · 3 months ago

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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?!"

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