It was Ichi's fault.
Everything is Ichi's fault.
And there's nothing Ichi can do about it.
Sorry.
Sorry.
So sorry.
Tokyo, 9th April 20XX
00:04 AM
It was raining, and the temperature dropped harshly.
A slim figure appeared from the dark, swayed through the empty streets.
A young woman limped—dragging her withered body.
Her black eyes emitted deep emptiness—it's like her soul was entirely vanished.
The woman wore a black sweater and a crimson skirt, and apparently she lost one of her boots.
She ignored everything—including her soaked body, shaking from the bitter cold air.
Despite her rugged condition, she kept walking like a broken toy robot.
She looked up to the sky—watching the silver full moon rose on the heavens' zenith, and breathed heavily.
"Yami-iro-san is shining beautifully tonight," she whispered—brushing her wet long, black hair.
The rain was getting harder, and she giggled—laughed uncontrollably.
"Nii-sama…Nii-sama, look…Ichi worked hard. Ichi worked hard…than anyone else…"
She continued to walk slowly across the street, while laughing and chuckling all the way.
"Ichi is a good girl…Ichi is a good, good girl…ahahaha…"
The raven-haired woman slipped her foot, and stumbled to the ground.
She still laughing, giggling like crazy.
" Don't leave Ichi alone here…Ichi would surely die in sorrow…"
Slowly, she lost her consciousness by the freezing air trapped her—and the downpour hitting from the sky.
"…it's no use. Ichi is always alone. Ichi will die here—alone."
Not long after she fell and soaked into a muddy puddle, a footstep approached her.
It was slow at first, but it's getting faster and faster.
By her foggy eyes, she saw a pair of legs coming—rushed onto her, splashing the water everywhere.
"Hey, are you okay?"
It was a young man—with a yellow jacket, crouched and examined the girl's livid body.
His eyes widened in shock, after finding the woman's identity.
"Are you…Oichi-dono? Why are you in this state?" he said, taking his jacket off and covered her body with it.
The black-haired woman giggled.
"Why, you are so warm…" she whispered—weakly, "You're so kind…just like the sunlight. Look, the sun shines in the middle of the night…so pretty…"
The man furrowed his eyebrows, unable to understand the girl's muttering.
"Anyways, you can't stay outside like this. You're completely drenched. C'mon, I'll escort you to the Oda's residence," said him.
"NO!" the girl barked, "ICHI DON'T WANT TO GO HOME!"
"Oichi-dono? Why? Your brother will get angry if you keep acting like this," stuttered the man, holding her hands to his grip.
The raven-haired girl laughed insanely, "Ichi is a good girl. Nii-sama won't get angry to her. Because…you see, Ichi is a good, good girl! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHA…!"
After she finished laughing, she fell unconscious—in the man's arms.
Tokyo, 9th April 20XX
10:08 AM
"I see. Good job on the report."
The yellow-jacket man—now wearing a kamishimo—formal kimono—instructed his men to leave from his office.
He sighed, and rested his stiff shoulders on a chair.
Suddenly, a knock on the door was heard.
"Excuse me, Tokugawa—this is Saika," said a woman's voice behind the door.
"Oh, please come in, Saika-san," replied the man—a bit startled.
The door opened, and a redheaded woman entered the room.
"So, I've heard about that girl last night," said Saika, "She's in your residence, by now—I presume?"
The man—Tokugawa Ieyasu—raised his eyebrows.
"Your information network really is marvelous. You knew it already?" said Ieyasu, amazed.
"Not really. I just heard the headlines. So, could you please tell me about what really happened last night?" answered her.
Ieyasu raised a bitter smile—and his expression turned serious.
"To tell you the truth," he started to talk, "You know about the Oda Family—the largest yakuza family around here? The girl—Oichi-dono—is the Oda Family's heiress now, since the fall of the Oda's Head."
Saika emerged from her seat—clearly shocked from the news.
"Nobunaga—the Oda's Head—has fallen? How can it be?" she barked.
"Keep your voice down," Ieyasu whispered, "I just got an information update from one of my agents. It seems that the cause of his death was…"
"I can't believe it," said Saika—confused, she completely lose her cool, "The Oda Family isn't dead yet, and now—we have to face a new Head? God damn it."
"Listen, Oichi-dono was the one who killed Nobunaga. She killed her own brother."
Once again, Saika gawked—scratching her head.
"Last night, she snapped and killed Nobunaga. From what I've heard from my agents, she lost her sanity due to Nobunaga's betrayal to Azai Group," Ieyasu said, checking his cellphone.
"You mean—last month's case? When Oda Nobunaga made the Azai went bankrupt—and driven the Azai's Head to suicide?"
"Exactly. The Azai's Head—Nagamasa—was Oichi-dono's fiancée. His death must be hard for her," Ieyasu muttered.
"…That drives the girl crazy, and she killed her own brother? What an irony for such legendary yakuza family," said Saika—cynically.
"This makes me feel a bit weird, though," Ieyasu giggled, "I thought you're the one who supposed to tell me this news. You didn't know about this stuff? I mean, with your information networks, I thought this would be easy for you to read."
"Actually, I let my agents left the Odas the night before—they need a brief rest too. What puts me to shock is, that few hours later, this incident would happen. And I believe, you've done some research to the Odas was caused by that girl, is it? Because you bumped to her last night. If you didn't, you wouldn't know about this, right?" Saika evaded Ieyasu's snark.
"Anyways, I'm worried about Oichi-dono," Ieyasu rushed—rose from his seat, "I'm going to check up on her. You're coming?"
"No, thanks," she rejected—coldly, "I have no interest in such a lowly being without any pride at all."
"Saika-san, you should watch your words," Ieyasu marked—his face turned dark, "She went unstable because of those hardships she was forced through her life. It's not her fault for being broken like that. She doesn't want to suffer too, right?"
"Whatever," the redhead shook her head—and walked out the office, "Just contact me later, and I'll come with some reliable informations."
Ieyasu smiled a little, and ordered his guards to make a way for him and Saika.
"I'll be waiting, Saika-san. Meet me at my residence anytime soon."
Tokyo, 9th April 20XX
10:37 AM
At Tokugawa's residence, a young woman was sitting in front of a mirror.
Three maids were combing her long hair and dressed her.
She stared blankly at the mirror—looking at her own reflection.
"…Miss," she whispered softly, "Where is he? Where is Hikari-iro-san?"
"Hikari-iro…you mean, our Lord—Ieyasu-sama?" asked the maid, confused.
"Ichi wants to see him," said the woman—blankly, "I want to feel the sunshine on my face—once again."
"Please, Milady—take your time. Our Lord isn't here for now."
"…then, Ichi shall wait for him?" she questioned—just like an obedient little girl.
The maid smiled, "Yes, please. Ieyasu-sama would have happy to see you fine like this."
"Hey, our Lord is here! Please, be prepared," said one of the maids.
Not long, Ieyasu entered the room—and the servants bowed before him.
"Ieyasu-sama," said one of the servants, "Lady Oichi is ready to see you."
Ieyasu cannot believe his very own eyes for what he saw today.
The creepy, unstable woman yesterday—now transformed into a calm and beautiful woman, dressed in black silk and satin dress.
Ieyasu instructed the maids to leave the room, then approached the woman in black.
"…are you—the one who saved Ichi?" said her, "Who are you? Ichi don't know you."
This reaction made Ieyasu even more shocked.
"Wait, you can't remember?" he gulped, "It's me—Tokugawa Ieyasu, head of the Tokugawa Group. Don't you recognize me?"
"You are a complete stranger. You cannot be trusted," she continued to mutter, "Nii-sama told Ichi to not trust a stranger."
"No, Oichi-dono—you've mistaken. I was your friend, and so do I now. You have known me long time ago, but you've lost your memories since yesterday. I'm not a stranger to you, okay?"
"…I don't know…..Ichi don't know what to do…" Oichi began to sob, and looked down on the floor.
Ieyasu stuttered—but he kept his mouth shut from his speeches, and letting Oichi to cry as much as she like.
After she has calmed down, Ieyasu began to speak.
"Look, Oichi-dono—I think it'll be best for you to come with me," he said—took her hands and grasped them tightly.
"Really? Why don't you take Ichi to Nii-sama? Is it bad?"
"I'm afraid I can't. If I sent you back to the hands of Oda, you'll be suffering again. Nobunaga has died, and you'll be forced to become the Oda's Heiress."
"My brother is dead…? No…you're lying…" Oichi glared with a deep stare—her head tilted eerily, much to Ieyasu's startle.
"I am not. But, please—stop worrying about such things," he took her into his arms—embraced her tightly, "More importantly, you're not alone. I won't let you suffer from loneliness anymore."
Oichi was shaking, beneath Ieyasu's arms.
Her heart shivered—it feels like about to burst open—from the warmth that engulfed her.
"Hikari-iro-san—" she began to cry, her voice was choked by tears of joy, "Am I…not alone anymore? Ichi…is not alone?"
"True," he replied—taking off his embrace, "You don't have to be afraid anymore. There's nothing to be scared of. I will be always by your side, Oichi-dono."
Oichi pressed her head onto Ieyasu's chest—listened to his heartbeat.
"Yes…yes…"
Tokyo, 9th April 20XX
15:23 PM
In the warm and windy afternoon, Saika arrived at the Tokugawa residence.
She was accompanied by her guards—each armed with guns on their hands.
Upon hearing her arrival, Ieyasu walked to the atrium—meeting her.
"Oh—hello, Saika-san. You got something?" he greeted, with a wide smile on his face.
"More or less. I just got few infos from my spies, maybe you'll take an eye on these," she said, snapped her finger—and one of her guards took a large suitcase.
In a graceful way, she opened the suitcase—and took out a large envelope.
"These were taken at the Oda's residence last night. Complete with some photos and a video recording. Take a look," said Saika—while her expression turned serious.
Ieyasu opened the envelope and examined the contents.
His eyes rounded in shock, after he discovered one of the photos showed Oichi.
In the photos, Oichi looks horrible—her body was completely red, soaked in blood, while her hands holding a large knife.
The other pictures shown dead bodies everywhere—the result of a terrifying massacre.
Ieyasu saw the pictures of Ranmaru—Nobunaga's adopted son—and Nou—Nobunaga's wife.
Their corpses were lying on the floor—murdered brutally.
And in the last of the photos collected by Saika, he saw the corpse of Nobunaga himself.
Ieyasu shuddered, and closed the envelope.
"This is weird," he said, "It's not on the news until now, is it?"
"No, we've checked on the TV, newspapers, magazines, radio, and net. There's still no sign about the news of Oda Family's massacre," replied her.
"Then, they must be covering it from the media to expose such an incident. They are preventing other yakuza families to know about their fall."
"We have two possibilities about this incident," Saika waved her hands, and her men locked the envelope inside the suitcase, "Creepy possibilities, Tokugawa."
"What are those?" Ieyasu gulped.
"First, the remnants of the Oda must have thought of the new Head—taking control of the Oda Family, after Nobunaga's death. From the informations we've collected so far, they intended to make that girl as the new heir. It seems they're oblivious about the fact that she killed her own brother, perhaps."
"This means," Ieyasu clenched his fists, "They're trying to find Oichi-dono's whereabouts? And then, crowned her as the new Oda head?"
"Yes, you can say so. Second, we have one corpse missing after the Oda Family massacre. Do you know whose it is?"
Ieyasu furrowed his eyebrows, then jumped—startled by his own thinking.
"Akechi Mitsuhide?"
"Correct. We cannot find his corpse everywhere. He might have been killed by Nobunaga's sister too, or the worst…..he's still out there—alive. Roaming around the town, searching for the last remnant of Oda's heir. The Odas and Akechi are racing—to find Oichi, then they can do her as they want to."
The news made Ieyasu trembling, imagining horrible things that would happen if Saika's information are true…
"What should I do then? This is really bad," he shuddered.
"About the first possibility, I suggest you to keep that girl out of the Odas' reach. We cannot comprehend to face Oda when they found their new power—and then again, this girl is unstable. We don't know what will happen if she takes control of the most powerful yakuza family around this country. We cannot let the Odas have this girl."
"Nice suggestion, Saika-san," he nodded, "How about Akechi? What if he really searches for Oichi-dono?"
Saika folded her arms—her face turned dark, "Do you know about Akechi's reputation in Oda? He's well-known for his treachery. He's on the top list of Odas' black list. What he wants from Oichi is…..maybe—he wants to kill that girl, for he loathes the Oda so much."
"Oh, no. Oichi-dono's life is really in danger. This is—too horrible for her!" Ieyasu muttered, losing his cool.
"Why don't you throw that girl away?" said Saika—mercilessly, "If you handed her to the Odas, we're finished. And if you keep her under your wings, then I'm sure one day Akechi would come to you and break those wings of yours. What would you do, Tokugawa?"
Ieyasu bit his lip, grunted.
"If I were you, I wouldn't involve myself—and my family, my organization—with that girl's problems. Or for the best solution—just kill her. It won't give you any problem."
"Saika-san!" said Ieyasu—enraged, "You shouldn't say such a thing that calmly!"
"Then, what will you do?"
"I won't give her to the Odas. She'll have to endure more pain again—being forced to become the new head. Nor just threw her away—letting her to become Akechi's prey outside there. I will protect her. I won't let anyone hurt her."
Saika was stunned in silence, unable to say a word.
"I know, she was suffering too much. Nobunaga-kou's treatments to her weren't that good. And Azai-dono's death…that's just too much for her! I don't want her to suffer anymore, Saika-san."
The redhead turned her face, bit her lip.
"To tell you the truth," she said—in icy tone, "I hate that girl so much. She's too low for a yakuza family with such pride like the Oda, and is a weak-mided fool. How can someone like her survived the cruel methods of world?"
"Saika-san, I'm sure she doesn't want to be born with these circumstances forced on her. You can't just push her to be like this or like that. I think, just let her be for this moment," Ieyasu sighed, and then scratched his head.
"If you intended to keep her under your protection, I don't really mind. However, you should heed my warnings," she said—ordering her men to make a way for her.
"Yes, of course, Saika-san. I'm really grateful for your informations. I'll be careful."
"Oh, and another one, Tokugawa," she stopped walking—and turned away, "If you ever dare to dress her with weird fetishes like lolitas or crazy cosplays, I'll dissolve our contract on the spot. Don't get me wrong, I just hate whenever some guy mistreats women."
Ieyasu laughed, "I won't. I'll treat her properly. I won't do such stupid things."
"Well, I know I can stick to your words."
"Anyways, do you want to have dinner together, tonight?"
"No, thanks. I have an appointment with my next client. I'll see you around soon—if I have another useful information."
"Well, safe journey, Saika-san."
Saika smirked a little, then moved out along with her men.
Tokyo, 9th April 20XX
18:55 PM
A young woman sat in front of a mirror—looking at her own reflection.
She swooped her long, black hair, and smiled a little.
"Hikari-iro-san is ever so kind. He gives this beautiful dress to Ichi. He treats Ichi delicious meals. He promises to protect Ichi—from any kind of danger that threatens Ichi's life. However, that's not what Ichi wants. What Ichi wants is…."
A man's face appeared on the mirror—right behind her.
Oichi looked at the figure with shock, and looked behind.
There was nothing.
"Who is that?" she asked—trembled, in fear.
She recalled the man's face once again—but it was too blurry in her memories.
"Who is that? What do you want from Ichi?" she whispered—while her hands were shaking.
She tries to remember, but once again, the man's face was too blurry.
Suddenly, an intense ache struck her head.
She slumped on the floor, clutching her head in pain.
"It—it hurts…my head hurts…"
"I'll protect you. So please, stop crying."
The figure appeared in her head, emitting white light—before disappeared into a blinding ray that hurt her eyes.
She startled, and gasped.
xxxxxxxx-sama?
No. It wasn't you.
It was a different person.
"Milady."
A knock was heard from the door.
"Ieyasu-sama asks your presence in the dining room. The dinner is served."
Oichi stood up, with teary eyes.
"Yes. Ichi will come there soon."
She looked at the mirror once again, and smiled.
She knew it firmly, that the man's reflection earlier was Ieyasu's.
"Yes, Hikari-iro-san. Thank you very much. Ichi is very happy. Very happy…."
She took a gentle step, and walked away from the room.