Caged Heart

Summary: Post-Sekigahara. Mitsunari was captured and his loyalty was tested. Ieyasu didn't believe that Mitsunari loyalty was without limit.

Pairing: one-sided Ieyasu/Mitsunari, Kato Kiyomasa/Mitsunari, others/Mitsunari (basically almost everyone loved Mitsunari)

Warning: Yaoi, weird pairing, torture, humiliation, sexual situations, Mitsunari abuse

Well, it's been awhile... I feel bad now : |. This fic was written before SW3 came out, so it doesn't exactly follow the scenario.

Sengoku Musou © Koei

In Kato Kiyomasa's life guide book, Ishida Mitsunari was not someone that should be trusted. It wasn't like he had never trusted him though... That time, he was still young and foolish. That's why, he had allowed that guy to betray his trust.

He had known the man since they were little. They trained together as a child. Ishida was a small girlish looking boy with an unknown family background. That's why, he was often bullied by the others. That was what he used to believe. Only later, he found out that Ishida voluntarily let himself being abused in order to get Hideyoshi-sama's attention. Even the teacher despised him. Well…, who would not? He loved to make everyone around him look bad. Kiyomasa was the only one who didn't realize that.

They called him a whore. Yes, He could do anything to get what he wanted including sleeping with some powerful men. At first, he didn't believe that. Until one early morning, he spotted Ishida walking limply out of Nobunaga's chamber. Hadn't it been because of the Honou-ji incident, he was pretty sure, Ishida would have left Hideyoshi-sama's to become Nobunaga's direct vassal. The man had no loyalty.

However, what happened earlier that day surprised him. He couldn't believe Ishida let himself being humiliated in front of the public for the sakes of the Toyotomi. He really couldn't understand that man.

When the sun set, they finally released him from the pole, tied him and brought him back to see Ieyasu. On their way, Mitsunari stopped them.

"Wait!"

"What do you want?!"

"I know I'm in no place to ask for anything, but could you please take this off of me and return it to Kato Kiyomasa? I don't want to cause him any trouble." Mitsunari said as he stared at the tiger skin on his waist.

"Very well."

The guard unstrapped the belt from Mitsunari's waist and took the tiger skin, leaving Mitsunari completely naked.

They brought Mitsunari into an empty room and forced him to kneel there. Not long after that, Ieyasu and Tadakatsu entered the room.

"Untie him and leave." Ieyasu ordered.

"B…but…"

"Don't worry… Tadakatsu is here to protect me."

The guards untied Mitsunari as they were ordered. Ieyasu threw some pieces of clothes to his face.

"Put those on, I won't have a conversation with a naked man." Ieyasu said.

"You want ME to wear these rags?! You gotta be kidding me. I spent a whole day being naked. A few more hours won't be a problem. I won't take anything from you!"

"Fine…, if you want Hideyori-sama to see you like that tomorrow."

Mitsunari didn't quite get what Ieyasu said, but he quickly put the clothes on. Did that mean Yodo-dono decided to get involved in this matter? With her help, he probably would get through this without losing his head.

After he had finished, Ieyasu ordered him to sit.

"We got a letter from Osaka today, take a look!" Ieyasu said.

Tadakatsu handed him the letter. Mitsunari quickly read it. His hands were shaking.

So…, The Toyotomi had decided to abandon him. He could feel his eyes started to water. But no! He wouldn't cry! He wouldn't, especially in front of Ieyasu!

Instead, he sneered, "So…, what are you planning to do with me?"

"I haven't decided yet… Tomorrow, we will take you to Osaka. You'll be put on trial in front of Yodo-dono, Hideyori-sama, and other Daimyos. Are you planning to insist that you're loyal? Or do you plan to give what the current Toyotomi wants and carry all the blame as a traitor?"

"What I will do tomorrow is none of your business!"

At this point, Mitsunari actually had no idea of which path he should take. Doing things as what Yodo-dono wanted was one way to show loyalty. They would probably give him a swift death. However, he would be deemed as a traitor for eternity. The other choice would be to insist that he was loyal. His loyalty belonged to Hideyoshi-sama and he should defend that. In this case, they would probably torture him to death to get what they wanted. But, was all the pain worth it?

"You are confused, aren't you?" Ieyasu suddenly spoke, "I'll try to give you an easy way out. Tell everyone that you were wrong and Hideyori is not Hideyoshi's son."

Mitsunari stood up in anger, "Don't ever think that you can use me to give a testimony that Hideyori-sama is not the rightful heir! I will NEVER let you take this land from the Toyotomi!"

"Mitsunari, in order for this land to remain at peace, it needs a powerful leader. A small child like Hideyori couldn't fulfill that duty, especially with Yodo-dono's questionable devotion to The Taiko. You are blinded by your love for your master and forget your duty to the people of Japan. You were wrong to initiate an unnecessary war, but in this case, I might still be able to save you since you were not conducting treason."

Mitsunari laughed bitterly, "Ieyasu, if you hadn't acted so suspiciously like you were about to rebel, I would never have initiated this so called unnecessary war! Cut my head! I don't care! After all, I'm not needed in the world without Hideyoshi-sama."

"I think you are too tired to think rationally right now, guards!"

The guards came and grabbed Mitsunari's arms.

"Take him to rest and serve him some decent food! You better prepare yourself Mitsunari. Think wisely what you're going to say tomorrow."

Mitsunari just glared at Ieyasu as they dragged him outside.

"He's starting to crack…"

"Tono…"

"No matter how hard a stone (ishi) is, when it is continuously being hit by drops of water, it will eventually break."

Ieyasu sighed. He could tell Ishida was starting to crack. It was the letter that gave him the major blow.

"Tadakatsu, have you ever wondered why Mitsunari hadn't committed seppuku?"

"That's been quite a topic among the vassals, Tono. They believe he's too afraid to kill himself."

"Do you believe so Tadakatsu?" Ieyasu asked.

"I believe Tono wouldn't consider taking him as a retainer if that is true."

Ieyasu nodded, "He possesses understanding that most samurais don't."

"Mitsunari was so persistence to keep on living. But today, he told you to cut his head. He must be started to lose hope." Tadakatsu said.

Ieyasu really didn't want the boy to break, but he was also curious to what extent he would hold on to his believe.

"I'm afraid he wouldn't be able to handle tomorrow with his weakening state of mind."

Mitsunari buried his head on his knees. For the first time since quite a while, he let himself cry. It hurt… It really hurt when someone or something you cared so deeply no longer wanted you. He struggled to stay alive this far, because he needed to protect the Toyotomi. Even though that meant he must live in shame, he didn't care. But now, the Toyotomi had casted him away.

He knew that he still had to protect them since Hideyoshi-sama told him to. It didn't matter whether they wanted him or not. But…, he didn't think that he had any strength left. No one knew that what he wanted the most was to cut his bowel open and meet his master. But then…, what should he tell him? Tono…, Mitsunari led thousands of your loyal troops to demise and now no one's left to defend Hideyori-sama… That didn't sound right...

He was confused. He didn't know what to do, which path he should take tomorrow. There were so many kinds of loyalty. He didn't know which one was the true loyalty and which one was not. He was scared that he would choose the wrong path. He was scared that the right path would be too much to bear.

"Food comes, Ishida!"

Mitsunari didn't respond at all. He remained in his position.

"It's still warm! Ieyasu-sama is being extremely generous to you. You better enjoy it while you still can. 'cause tomorrow, when they declare you as a traitor, we are free to do whatever we want to you."

The guards laughed evilly and left him.

Mitsunari slowly raised his head. He saw a bowl of rice along with the side dish and sake. They were probably the best he got since his defeat. Truthfully, they were too good for a prisoner such as him.

It had been a while since he had something in his stomach, but he didn't have any appetite. It was so strange. He should be extremely hungry, shouldn't he?

Eat, Mitsunari… You need strength for tomorrow… - he told himself.

Mitsunari took the bowl and the chopsticks and started to eat. But not long after that, he felt nauseous and threw up. Mixing with the vomit was blood.

Notes:

Yodo-dono: Azai Chacha, Hideyoshi's concubine

Hideyori: Hideyoshi's heir

Kanpaku-Taiko - Title given to Hideyoshi by The Emperor. He was often called Kanpaku-denka (denka is something like His Highness), Taiko-denka after he had retired. Taiko means Retired Kanpaku.

Tono: My Lord

I can't believe I finally make an update! O_O

If I'm not wrong, this is the day Ishida Mitsunari Memorial Service is being held

I always feel that history was being unfair toward him. You just need to google his name to find out. The English resources do him no favor by portraying him as an incompetent unlikeable man who rose through the ranks through ass-licking and slandering others. But when I read the Japanese text about him, I couldn't help but cry foul over the injustice. How can a man such as Mitsunari being seen in such a negative light?

He reminds me of an honest official here who gains notoriety through his sharp tongue and zero compromise. This guy here makes a whole lot of enemies and I'm really worried because, obviously, too many bastards want to harm him.

I'm not saying that those who were against him, like Kato or Fukushima, are evil. But it might be that he was just doing his job and his rigid character allowed no tolerance with even the simplest mistake.

There are many stories about Mitsunari that are unavailable in English. I sort of intend to make it into a fanfiction just so that more people would know it. It's not a story of an ass-licker or slanderer. It's a tragedy of an extraordinary man whom ordinary people at that time simply couldn't understand. They assumed that he achieved everything he got through some dirty trick, while it's simply that they could never live up to his standard.