"Fall before the strength of my blade!" Ginchiyo yelled. The battlefield was a chaotic one, and even whilst Ginchiyo fought, near her were all of the most experienced generals of Mitsunari's. Kanetsugu Naoe, Yukimura Sanada, Keiji Maeda... and Mitsunari himself.
In the midst of the chaos, she failed to notice the lone archer firing an arrow at her. The arrow pierced her arm, and with a growl of irritation, swung her sword towards the offending archer., only to have an enemy general throw a spear at her from behind. "Damn it...!" She hissed, readying herself for the blow she knew was to come.
But it never came, turning back, she saw Mitsunari, clutching his shoulder whilst swiping the enemy general to his death. Turning to face her, he smirked. "Fool... letting your enemy get behind you. Have you forgotten all your training?" He taunted.
Striking another general furiously with her sword, her eyes narrowed. "I'm not about to be beaten here!"
- - -
"Why did you... save me earlier?"
"You're one of my valuable allies. But you should still thank me, I probably could easily replace you, should you have died." Mitsunari touched his bandage with a hint of irritation on his face.
"It was so unlike you, in any case." Ginchiyo sipped her warm sake, watching the swirls of snow fall from the starless skies.
Mitsunari finished his drink. "I supposed that if I didn't help you, no one would." He laughed dryly.
Ginchiyo didn't reply to that one, and instead said, "The skies are beautiful tonight..."
Mitsunari's eyes had been humored earlier, but now they softened as he regarded Ginchiyo. "Indeed... dark is beautiful."
"I wasn't referring to that. The snow falling from the skies is truly a beautiful sight to behold." Ginchiyo sighed, setting down her cup.
"The dark skies are nicer on their own..."
"I see you're being your usual depressing self, Mitsunari."
Mitsunari stared at her intently. "You have a problem with that?"
Ginchiyo laughed lightly, the sound reminded Mitsunari of what cool water splashing over a crystal stone had been described to sound like. "I did not mean to insult. I was just being honest."
Mitsunari smirked as he returned to his drink. "I should stop expecting so much..."
Suddenly, Ginchiyo said, "Mitsunari. The war is near its end, and I wished to tell you that it has been an honour to fight alongside you all this while."
"Same to you, Ginchiyo... victory is in sight, all we need to do is reach out, and claim it..." Standing, he bowed to his companion slightly. "I take my leave first, I have matters to attend to. I'll see you around tomorrow..." Taking Ginchiyo's hand and kissing it fleetingly before leaving, Ginchiyo could only stare after him in amusement.
'All that Western trade has definitely had some effect on Mitsunari...' She left to return to her room, and along the way, passed by Kazerou and Kensei, who had been conversing on the bridge over the pond. "Good evening, Kazerou, Kensei." The more experienced general greeted them.
The two turned. "Lady Tachibana, how was your evening?" Kazerou said in form of a greeting.
"It was well." Ginchiyo said vaguely.
"Oh! Lady Tachibana, why is your face slightly red? Do you have a fever or something?" Kensei pointed out in slight shock.
Ginchiyo was surprised herself. Red? She couldn't be... blushing from what Mitsunari had done, right? She blinked to compose herself. "It is nothing, I was having some rather strong sake with Mitsunari a moment before I came over. I'll see you around." She took her leave, heading on her to her rooms once more, refusing to contemplate the reason why she was even blushing. However a stray thought flickered in her mind. 'Is it possible I'm falling for Mitsunari?'
Shoving the thought from her mind, Ginchiyo entered her rooms, and shut the screen doors behind her.
A/N: Thanks to Airtomorrow and sesshomaru-haku for reviewing chapter two! I just realised how many hints there are to this pairing in the game, and as you can guess, I love that fact. I'll add another chapter when I finish my homework, and get another one or two reviews.
WKD
