Laying on the toasty roof ledge right above the window to the large meeting hall, my eyes slid closed again. The sun warmed my skin, making the best condition for me to fall asleep. No one in the room was discussing anything interesting so resting my eyes was okay. Life is good when there is information to sell, though these last few days had been less than stellar on that front. More voices filled the room, and I could pick out his among the others, calling for the other warlords to settle.

"Aya, come here," Nobunaga called.

My interest was piqued. A woman in the council meeting? That's rare! Leaning over the edge, I peeked into the room. This woman, I'd never seen her before. She had long, sandy brown hair that was pulled back into a lose ponytail. Her kimono was the work of the castle seamstress. I'd recognize her work anywhere. Aya looked plain, and she clearly didn't like Nobunaga's demanding personality. Why the sudden interest—oops! Pulling my body back up, I laughed a little. Here it comes.

"Miki! How many times do I have tell you not spy on our council meetings?" Hideyoshi's chastising voice came from inside. He's a weird one. I mean, all of the warlords had their quirks, but this one took the cake. He had no value on his own life, and yet he acted like the nagging mother most days.

"Well, I wasn't invited so how else am I supposed to know what's going on?" I asked with an innocent tone.

Hideyoshi sighed. "It's none of your concern or business."

Leaning back over, I was face to face with him. His golden eyes were narrowed in disapproval. "It's my entire job. I'm an informant, aren't I?" It had been some time since I'd come to Azuchi and began working for Nobunaga. He's got plenty of money to spend on my information.

"Go away, Miki."

I stuck my bottom lip out in a pout. "Don't be mean, Hideyoshi. I work for you all don't I?" My head started to swim with all the blood rushing to my head.

He's never agreed with my line of work. "Until you find a better offer, that is." Hideyoshi couldn't bring himself to trust me, which is probably a good thing. His past is littered with juicy information. Coming from a group of gypsy people, and even trying to kill Nobunaga once to rob him. That's how the two met, and since then Hideyoshi has worked his way up being the most trusted vassal in the castle.

I grinned. "Now you get it. The highest bidder is the Oda clan, so my loyalty lies here for now." While the Oda clan was quite an interesting bunch of warlords, should someone want to pay me more than I get here, I would have no choice but to switch sides.

He reached out to grab me, but I sat up just before he could. The irritation showed in his tone. "Miki."

"Fine, fine. I'll go. Maybe while I'm in town, I can make some money from all those women who like you," I joked, mostly. He had all the women swooning over him, but I didn't see the appeal. Hideyoshi wasn't my type.

The town was busy as usual. These people lived believing they were safer being so close to Nobunaga. I didn't spend too much time in the streets down here, but I could easily see how enemies could slip in here unnoticed by those around. A sweet smell filled the air, leading me to a man selling sweet buns. Licking my lips, I paid for one and immediately bit into it, moaning as I did. "This is what I love about markets," I said to myself.

"Miki?" Rena's voice came from behind me. She was Ieyasu's wife. Information on her origin was hard to come by, and pricey at that. So, I hadn't bothered to figure her out. On the outside, she seemed like an ordinary housewife of a warlord, but there was something about her that I couldn't understand. "It's nice to see you."

Taking another bite of my sweet bun, I smiled brightly at her. "You and Ieyasu are still here then? I thought you would have returned to Mikawa by now." Rumors of an impending war had been circulating but I hadn't found any real truth to them. Maybe I ought to do some more digging. I dislike being the last to know about a war.

Rena sighed and nodded her head, wishing that to be true. "Yes, well, it seems he'll be staying in Azuchi for a little while longer." Her golden eyes never looked directly at me. She kept swiping her hand through her silver hair.

She's hiding something.

I licked the sugar off my lips. "You won't be?" She'd let that slip. She should have said we, but she didn't. It wouldn't be too strange for Ieyasu to send her back to their home, but Rena tended to follow him wherever he went.

Her body tensed, as if remembering something bad. "Miki, could I ask your advice on something?"

"Sure, I'd love to help," I replied with a smile.

Whatever she wanted to ask, she didn't want to do it here. Instead, we returned to her and Ieyasu's mansion. The maids greeted her kindly but avoided me. That wasn't unusual. I brushed it off, not really caring about them. Castle gossip never did interest me because it was usually useless information. Rena shut the door to the study and let out a breath. "There's this mission that Nobunaga is sending me on, to speak to an old friend of mine, Joji."

"Joji? The crazy squirrel keeper, Joji?" I asked. That's strange. How does Rena know him? He's still pretty young, but he's good at gathering useful information. That is, if he'd stop raising squirrels as carrier pigeons. I disliked dealing with him. He liked to be cryptic and he didn't keep to his prices.

Her surprise showed. "You…" Rena paused and laughed. "Of course, you know him. He's an old friend of mine and gives me information for free."

"Ew." My nose scrunched up disgust. For free? No way in hell! "Anyone who gives out valuable knowledge freely is either stupid or lying." Nothing is ever truly free. Eventually, they'll want something in return. I'd rather get paid up front.

Rena smiled, bobbing her head like she could possibly understand. "We've got quite the history together. I trust him to tell me the truth."

"Oh? Do tell. I love a good story," I said with a grin. If I dug enough, I could find out about her past, but that takes way too much work. The payoff is practically useless. No one would pay near enough for that kind of information. But, if she wants to tell me herself, who am I stop her?

The door slid open loudly, and I could feel his eyes boring holes into my back. "Get away from Rena, Miki," Ieyasu said harshly. He'd crossed the room and tried to grab me before Rena could stop him.

Luckily, I'm too quick for that. "She invited me here, Ieyasu. You should treat your guests more kindly." He's not as easy to tease as Hideyoshi and messing with Rena would put me in a bad situation very fast. His hand fell to the hilt of his sword and I held my hands up in surrender. "Alright, no need to threaten me." Still, I smiled and winked.

Unlike Masamune, who played along to my flirting, Ieyasu frowned. "One day you'll get yourself in more trouble than you can handle," he said, but his hand released his sword. Turning away from me, he sighed.

"Aw, are you worried about me, Ieyasu—" Too far!

I barely ducked out of the way of his swords path. It sliced through the air. Backing toward the door, I grinned bigger. "You'll have to try harder than that to hurt me. Better luck next time," I sang and spun on my heel to leave. Casting a glance over my shoulder, I look to Rena. "I meant what I said. No one in my line of work does anything for free."

Night had fallen before I'd realized it. Now would be an easy opportunity to sneak back into the castle. The guards had never once caught me. Not many of them were too bright and using the roof had become customary. At the highest level was a room that most warlords only used to receive special gifts and seek solitude, but Nobunaga practically lived in there.

The railing of the balcony gave a magnificent view of the town below and the sky above. I'd taken off my belt with my swords, along with my shoes, and left it all on the floor. Kicking my legs back and forth, my gaze rose to the stars above. The moon had waned, and only lit a portion of the sky as it usually did. The stars, however, seemed especially bright tonight.

"You did a fantastic job riling up Hideyoshi," Nobunaga's voice came from behind me. He leaned against one of the columns, watching me with an amused smile.

With a shrug, I laughed. "He's too easy."

"Come in here," He called, waiting where he was.

Hopping off the railing, I held my hands behind my back. "I heard a rumor that someone tried to kill you." While at Honno-ji, no less. The whole temple had been burned to ashes. In town before I'd met Rena, I'd overheard some of the guards speaking about the woman who had saved his life.

"If you have any information, I'd pay you whatever you like," Nobunaga said. Straight to the point as usual. He expected a lot from me, as he paid me quite a large sum for good intel.

"I'm not a miracle worker, but I can certainly find out who it is in a seven days' time."

This time Nobunaga laughed at me. "That confident, are you? Come in here with me. I'm in need of someone to warm my bed." He held out his hand to me, already knowing that I'd accept. Typically, I don't make a practice of sleeping with the man who paid me, but he was no ordinary man.

Feigning innocence, I tilted my head to the side. "I assumed Aya would be joining you. I mean, that's why you brought a woman that you only just met all the way back to Azuchi, isn't it?" I asked. From what I heard around town, this woman hadn't been seen anywhere near here. The likelihood of her being there by coincidence was not high.

Pushing off the wall with his shoulder, Nobunaga strode toward me. "Those sound like the words of a jealous woman." He wasn't going to take no for an answer.

Each step he took toward me, I took one back. "Are you trying to seduce me?" I asked. My back hit the wall, leaving me nowhere to run. Biting my lip to keep from smiling, I shrugged my shoulders. "Because it isn't working." My heart pounded harder in my chest.

Nobunaga rested his forearm above my head and reached out with the other hand to cup my chin. "I appreciate that bit of information, Mikki." He leaned down, his lips almost touching mine. "I will use it well." His brown eyes found my bright blue ones, full of amusement. "You're unarmed."

"Do I need to be?" I asked, my voice only coming out a whisper. Never had someone I worked for had this effect on me. Almost like I could let my guard down around him. If only… Grinning brightly, I moved to duck under his arm, and had I truly wanted to evade him, I could have.

He slid an arm around my waist, pulling me back against his chest. "Don't fight me, Miki. We both know you'll surrender." His lips kissed the exposed skin on my shoulder as he tugged the kimono down.

Reacting to his touch had become second nature to me. My head titled to the side as his kisses moved further up my neck. I knew this was part of the reason I came here. I could have easily returned to an inn to stay the night and come to see him tomorrow, yet here I was. All reason had left me. Even if this went against my code, being more involved with my clients than simply the job, each time I came back with the same expectations.

His hands slid down to untie the bow of the ribbon. Slowly, he'd disposed of all the things that held my kimono together. Sweeping me up into his arms, Nobunaga carried me over to the futon on the floor. A satisfied smirk grew on his face when he slid the material off my shoulders and pulled it open. "I have missed you, Miki." Running one hand down my body to explore, he placed a soft kiss on my lips.

That melted the last of my resistance. While it was entertaining to play around with him, surrendering to him never ceased to be amazing. It didn't matter that this was purely for pleasure or entertainment. These nights were filled with security and I had a roof over my head that I didn't have to pay for. Plus, he was a damn good lover, even if a temporary one. Being an informant meant never settling down. The flow of information was always moving around the country like a river. But, I'd come to think of Azuchi as a home of sorts, at least for now. A higher bidder might come along and sweep my loyalty away. That's how I've always operated. So then, why does the thought of that make my heart sting?

A/N

This story has two companion stories with a lot of crossover! If you enjoy this one, please go check out The Ties That Bind Us and Solitary Confinement!