Chapter One
"Nene, I don't want to trouble you any further.."
Her golden brown eyes looked up from their reverie, hearing the voice of her beloved husband, Hideyoshi Toyotomi, muffled by the sounds of rice flying through his mouth. She had just come back from a secret mission securing the waters of Edo from pirates and bandits hellbent on disrupting the peace, hellbent on stopping the Toyotomi Army.
She was exhausted, but still managed to stand up straight to perform her wifely duties; cooking and cleaning for Lord Hideyoshi, serving dinner to her children, boosting the morale of the army itself. She could barely stand, wobbling, her knees shaking, her eyes hollow and sunken in, but she wore a heavy smile as he finished,"...so if you don't mind, could you send for Cha-Cha, and I will allow you your rest."
"No.", she wanted to say. After all, she is his wife, and what woman in the right mind would send for her husband's whore?
When no response came from Nene, Hideyoshi turned to his wife in anger. "My darling, I asked a request of you." Still there was no response, just a glare coming from those tired eyes. Any woman who dares defy their husbands would surely be executed, but Nene cared not. She was sick of being a fool.
And just plain tired.
"Anything you want, my darling." she replied, walking away.
Hideyoshi forced another spoonful of rice in his mouth, screaming,"Oh Nene, I love you! You have the best cooking!" He kicked his feet and leaned back in laughter, as Mitsunari Ishida, Kiyomasa Kato and Masanori Fukushima watched on. They watched as Nene walked away, Kiyomasa unable to hide the annoyance in his brown eyes. "You ok, man?" Mitsunari asked, noticing that Kiyomasa was gripping his spoon until his knuckles turned white.
"Yes, I'm fine." he replied, hiding the anger in his eyes,"if you'll all excuse me.", he added, getting up from the mat. "Kiyomasa, is everything ok?" Hideyoshi asked. The white haired boy nodded and said,"I think I'm getting tired. If you don't mind, I'd like to retire for the night." "Very well." Hideyoshi said, nodding. "And if you don't mind, can you check up on Nene? She seems more tired than usual."
'You're only finding this out now?' Kiyomasa said to himself. He nodded and bowed, wishing everyone a goodnight, whilst walking past Muneshige and Ginchiyo Tachibana, who were in the middle of one of their epic shouting matches. He silently laughed to himself, he didn't know they got along like that.
He also wondered why Nene still remained with Hideyoshi, when she was well-aware of his dalliances and the likes. He knew she deserved so much better. He wondered how everyone could stand fighting and still be in love, where he was still single, holding a candle for the wife of his lord.
It's not fair.
It's not fair, he thought to himself, walking past Nene's room. He looked at her form against the curtains surrounding her bed, her ladies-in-waiting no where to be found. She was nude, or dressed in a tiny nightgown, fitting the curvy frame that Kiyomasa couldn't keep his eyes off of, watching her shadow dance in a series of yoga stretches before curling into her bed alone like she always did.
She was infertile, still, she ran her hands across her belly, imagining what it would be like to be pregnant. Maybe if things were different, she'd be able to keep Hideyoshi. Yes, she loved him, but part of her hated him all the same.
He dared to enter her bedroom, and as if to see her child entering, Nene pulled the curtains away from the bed, locking eyes with him. He jumped up in surprise, and quickly bowed, his head slamming against the floorboards, causing a slight giggle to depart from her lips. But that quickly turned into a frown, as she spoke in a monotone voice,"Let me guess, Lord Hideyoshi called for you to check up on me?"
Even her voice wasn't the same, she lost her cheerful, hopeful voice, losing it to the darkness around them. "No, actually, this is all on my own accord." he replied with a bashful smile. He was blushing, as red as a tomato, when he continued,"though I do not believe I belong here, my lady."
His presence brought a rare smile to her face, and she said,"Nonsense, Kiyomasa, a mother should see her children!"
So that's all I am.., he thought to himself. Just a child to a motherless, infertile woman. His heart ached seeing the empty spot on her bed, the frown lines on her flawless face, the tear stains on her cheeks, she tried to hide it, but he could see everything.
She yawned, blushing and holding her hands over her mouth. "I'm sorry, Kiyomasa, that was very unladylike!" He laughed and said,"It's no worry, my lady. You're exhausted, I can tell. Get some rest, I will see you in the morning."
A nod came from her, her hair bouncing with her adorable head, and she sighed, looking out at the seas around them. They were on a boat, traveling the sea route she secured earlier. Rough seas were around them rocking the boat back and forth, when a particular wave hit, thrashing the boat to the left, causing Kiyomasa to fall into Nene's arms.
They had their arms wrapped around each other, Nene's breasts pressed against Kiyomasa's chest, exhaling, and he shamefully watched them bounce with each breath. She was too naive to notice, and tried to speak, but she found no words able to escape her lips.
The only sound they could hear was their breathing, the raging waves outside, and the soothing sounds of Motochika Chosokabe's shamisen on the deck, the music notes dancing in the wind, flying into the room, serenading them.
A blush was spread on both their faces, when she finally spoke,"Are you ok?" "Yes, my lady." he replied. "Good, mama needs her boy all good and ready for tomorrow!" she said in her sweet, usual motherly tone. He smiled, glad to make her at least somewhat happy, and left her embrace. She ran her hand through his hair and smiled, leaving a kiss on his cheek. "Now get some sleep, children need at least 8 hours of sleep so they can be ready in the morning."
He nodded again and bowed,"Goodnight, Lady Nene." "Goodnight, Kiyomasa." she replied, watching him walk out the door. A sigh escaped her lips, a sad one as she heard the footsteps leave the hall, and once again, she was alone. It's not like she wasn't used to it, she came to embrace the loneliness, but sometimes...it still hurts.
She nodded in acceptance, knowing this shouldn't affect her as much as it is, knowing she had a job to do, to keep Mitsunari, Kiyomasa and Masanori from killing each other, to make sure Hideyoshi doesn't get any new consorts, to overthrow the Hojo, and secure Odawara Castle.
It was becoming all too overwhelming.
But this was what she signed up for. A ninja in her beloved husband's ranks, a mother figure where she couldn't be one herself, a shadow of her former self. Nene sighed and let her body sway with the boat's rocking, and slowly drifted off to sleep, with lingering thoughts of the sweet Kiyomasa Kato embracing her mind.
"I don't know how you do it." Kiyomasa said to Motochika Chosokabe. The blue-haired musician raised an eyebrow, letting his shamisen rest on his raised knee, and asked,"Do what?" "Keep us all awake with your racket." Kiyomasa replied. The two looked out into the darkness of the waves and said,"Didn't Lady Nene ask you to go to bed?"
Kiyomasa's jaw dropped. Just how close was he to the room? Had he heard everything? "..Yes, yes she did." he replied. "Then you best listen to her. Mothers always know best." Motochika replied. "Then why don't you stop playing and sleep?" Kiyomasa said. Motochika smirked. "Mitsuhide always did like to hear my playing before bed."
"What? What does Lord Mitsuhide have to do with any of this?" Kiyomasa said. "I still miss him.." Motochika admitted, looking up at the sky. "I know he's laughing at me, calling me a fool, but deep down, I wonder if he's disappointed in me, knowing I'm serving the man who killed him..."
"You had no other choice in the matter, did you?" Kiyomasa asked. Motochika shook his head and played a few strings. "He liked this particular song." he replied, instead of answering the question. Kiyomasa could only watch in awe at how Motochika presented himself. At first glance, he looked like a jackass stuck in the wrong era, a wild man without a care, but when you get to know him is to know the brilliance his young mind held.
He listened to the music giving a soundtrack to the dreary night around them, when Motochika said,"For my cause, I watched my soulmate die, I've watched my child die, I've followed the monkey's footsteps in hope of a new future. Not for me, but for later generations. All I've asked was that history remembers my deeds."
"I don't see why not. You're quite the visionary." Kiyomasa said.
Motochika turned to the white haired man and said,"Ah. You're still here." 'So he was talking to himself.' Kiyomasa thought. 'There's so much I could learn from this man.' "A bat should never have to bear his fangs alone. Let that always be a lesson, dear Kato." he said, watching a wave splash against his shirtless body. "Then why do you fly alone?" Kiyomasa asked.
"Heh." A chuckle fled Motochika's lips. "Because I've lost my way. I'm a bat on a lonely island, I've lost my wings, clipped from the hands of fate. I've come here to regrow them. A bat should never have to fly alone, but I do."
"Such a sad fate." Kiyomasa said. "I've accepted it." Motochika said, looking out at the waves,"the waves dictated my fate as soon as I locked eyes with Mitsuhide. Two souls entwined in one, we belonged together. I lost him, I've lost the light side of my soul. But I still fly, I want to find it. I seek it every day, I feel the breeze, it's like his hand brushing against me, I know I'm not truly alone."
Kiyomasa said nothing and let Motochika continue talking to himself, mumbling sweet nothings into the sea, plucking the strings of his shamisen. He turned to walk away, when Motochika suddenly said,"Hold close what you find dear. Even if it belongs to someone else, know that it will always be a part of you."
"Thank you." Kiyomasa said, and retired for the night, with lingering thoughts of Nene imprinted on his mind.