When Mitsunari awoke, the first thing he thought was, What is on my chest? It tickles. As he looked down, he was met with a dark head of hair. Reflexively, he stiffened, not being used to human contact. He then relaxed, knowing that his stiffening would probably wake the person up. As he blinked away sleep from his eyes, he also realised that his arms were also holding the figure close to his body. Remembering his last mistake of stiffening, he didn't react. Instead, he looked down, past the head of hair, and saw that the figure was in a black, silk kimono, the darkness contrasting hugely with their porcelain skin. His eyes widened. Araya? How the hell did she get here? More importantly, how did I come to hold her in my sleep? Mitsunari didn't remember much after when he first awoke, when he pinned Araya down. Only a voice that sounded like honey and silk, mixed together. It was soothing, and calmed him down. He also remembered his disappointment when the voice went away, but his eyes were closed so he couldn't see who had sang. His eyes widened even more. It must've been Araya, then. I never knew she could sing so well. Wait, he nearly froze. Since when did she care enough to want to calm me from a dream? The same, slightly warm feeling filled him again, but it was a little warmer this time. I can't move without waking her, and that is not an option. I'll let her handle the awkwardness and embarrassment when she wakes up instead. I don't have time for that. With that, Mitsunari closed his eyes again, and slept, but this time he had a pleasant dream about honey and silk and emeralds.
A few minutes later, Araya awoke, still feeling quite drowsy. The first thing she noticed, was that her head had changed from the soft pillow to a firm, solid object instead. This object also had some sort of heartbeat, she noted. As she went to get up, everything came flooding back. Mitsunari having a third nightmare. Her laying down next to him and singing. Him immediately stopping. Her falling asleep, promising to move later on. I must be on Mitsunari's chest! She blushed deeply, but didn't move. I have to admit, I didn't expect him to have such a firm chest, but it is strangely comfortable. She sighed, quietly. Either way, I have to get up before he wakes up and notices. As she made to get up, her waist was keeping her back. Mitsunari groaned quietly, and the barrier that kept her back grew tighter. But it didn't hurt. It was more of a comforting hold, that signalled protection. As she looked down, she found that Mitsunari's arms were curled around her waist, keeping her to his chest. She blushed even deeper. He must not even realise what he's doing. But I can't leave now, not without waking him up and having a lot of explaining to do. I'll let him handle the awkwardness and embarrassment when he wakes up; I'm still exhausted. By this time, Araya had snuggled even deeper into his chest, without thinking.
His steady heartbeat lulled her to sleep, and she had a pleasant dream about golden eyes and amber flecks and chestnut hair.
About another hour later, the door to their room opened quietly. Kiyomasa's head popped in through the doorway, and nearly fell over at the scene before him. Snickering quietly to himself, he went back into the hallway, closed the door, and ran quietly to get Raiden and Nene there to see for themselves.
Once he had rounded the two up, they all quietly tiptoed to Araya and Mitsunari's door. As Kiyomasa opened it, he whispered to the other two, "Be prepared to tease them for the rest of their lives."
Nene quietly giggled and Raiden snickered at that statement. Slowly, Kiyomasa walked into the room, beckoning for Nene and Raiden to follow. Once they were both inside the room, Raiden's jaw dropped, and Nene looked as if she was about to squeal in surprise. Noticing this, he quickly lunged to cover her mouth, but overestimated the force needed. Both he and Nene toppled over, and Nene's legs got caught with Raiden's as she fell so he was brought down too. The three misfits stayed on the ground in silence, desperately hoping that the crash made wouldn't wake the two 'lovebirds' up. Instead, they were shocked at what happened next.
Mitsunari stirred at the noise, then pulled Araya towards him, unconsciously. In reply, she then snuggled her head even deeper into his chest, right above his heart. In her movements, her right hand had been shifted, and was now being slowly stroked through Mitsunari's hair, absentmindedly. The three stared at the two in wonder and amazement. When sleeping, they showed more affection to each other than anyone could ever believe without seeing it for themselves.
"Aww," Nene whispered. "They look so cute together!"
Raiden chuckled. "I have to agree with you on that. Shame that they won't be like this when they wake up."
"I second that thought." Kiyomasa smirked at his next words. "Why don't we give them a little, surprise?"
"I like the way you think. I'm not sure what we could do though. Rip the duvet off them? Hide their clothes? Dump water on them?" Raiden asked, stuck for a plan.
"No way. We have to step it up. How about we dispose of the spare futon that Araya was supposed to sleep on?" Nene also smirked, working out the pros and cons in her head.
There were no cons.
"Yes! That's a great idea. Nene, you should move all her stuff off, and then grab it and keep it. I would say that we should hide it in our room but that's the first place that Araya will go to get it back." Raiden smirked evilly as Nene and Kiyomasa agreed with the plan. Nene slowly stood, tiptoeing to Araya's futon, and moving her large saddlebag off it. As she was lifting the futon, Mitsunari suddenly stirred, turning his head in Nene's direction. She froze. Kiyomasa, fearful that he would wake up, whisper-hissed at Nene.
"Abort! Abort! He'll wa-!"
Raiden covered his mouth, and nodded his head at Nene. Don't mind him. Keep going, you've almost done it! Nene continued her journey, lifting the futon off the floor and quietly running towards the door. As she made it into the hallway, Mitsunari's eyes suddenly snapped open, having finally heard Nene's running footsteps. His eyes were still clouded with sleep, however, and he didn't fully wake up until he heard the soft, but sharp closing of the door. As he craned his neck in an effort to stretch it, he finally noticed the hand slowly stroking his hair. His breath hitched. Araya had turned her head while he was stretching, and made a noise of protest. She was now tucked into his neck instead of on his chest, and was breathing hotly onto his ear. Mitsunari suppressed a pleasant shiver at the feeling. How am I going to get out of this without waking her up?
He frantically racked his brain for options, his mind fuzzy from the surprisingly nice feeling of Araya's hot breath and her hand stroking his hair. He couldn't think straight. The only solution he could think of was to just wake her up, with no hesitations. As he made to shake her awake, he only then just noticed that he was still clutching her around her waist. Are you serious! Why is everything going wrong now! He nearly groaned out loud, then caught himself before he did. An idea struck him, as he did that, however. Since he couldn't shake her awake, he settled for the next best thing, which was to just wake her up talking out loud. Even though he could've easily just shaken his head fervently, knocking her hands off and therefore waking her, deep down he didn't want to do that. He revelled in their close proximity; not that he had realised that, however.
"Araya...Araya! We have to wake up." He said, into the air.
She stirred, but didn't wake, just muttering, "What now?" into his neck.
He suppressed another pleasant shiver, this one more violent than before. "Araya. We need to get up. Now."
This time, it did the trick, and Araya's eyes snapped open and her hand stopped stroking his hair. She then tried to get up, blushing and realising where she was, but was stopped for a second time by his tightly wrapped arms. He flushed, realising he was still holding her, and released her. "Sorry. Didn't realise." He muttered.
The hand that was stroking his hair before retracted completely, and she sat up in the bed, head still fuzzy. "Sorry about randomly coming into your bed and all," She blushed deeply, reprimanding herself for even succumbing to the tiredness from before. "Y-you were thrashing, and I didn't know how else to calm you down but to-" Araya froze, realising that she had sung to Mitsunari in the night. What if he remembers that!
"Sing?" Mitsunari questioned, with an eyebrow raised. All traces of care and affection were gone from him as soon as she left the bed, Araya thought.
Of course he remembered. Why am I not surprised? "Y-yeah. Sorry if it was bad, or whatever." With that, she turned away from him, and made to head for her dresser to grab her new clothes and head to the bathroom. When she turned, she missed Mitsunari's eyebrows raise in disbelief. Does she honestly think she was bad? Far from it. I'm not going to tell her that though; God knows she'll be blushing throughout breakfast if I did.
He was cut off from responding to her, as she then spoke, nervousness evident in her voice. "Mitsunari? Do you have any idea where the hell the futon disappeared to?"
He looked towards her in confusion. There's no way it could've just vanished. He stood up, and walked towards her, brows furrowed. "What do you mean, 'disappeared to'? It can't have just va- Oh." He had thought that she was just being stupid, and that the futon was right in front of her, but it had indeed disappeared. "What? How!"
"I told you. I'm not an idiot."
He scowled at her. "Technically, I didn't say you were. I said you had to prove to me that you weren't. This isn't proving, this is just stating the obvious. You're not a complete idiot, congratulations!" He said, sarcastically.
She scowled in return. "Whatever. Anyway, have any ideas on where it could've gone? Must have been recently, since I was using it to meditate before I, you know, calmed you down." For once, she didn't blush as she said that sentence. If he's just going to ignore the awkwardness of the whole thing, then so can I. Starting now. She vowed then and there to always try and suppress any embarrassment or awkwardness. It was just making her an easy target for the others' teasing, and she hated it.
His eyebrows rose. Both at the fact that Araya didn't blush for once and that she was a meditator. "Never thought you were one to meditate."
She looked at him sharply. "Well, so what if I am?"
He mockingly put his hands in the air. "Calm down. I only asked." She scowled at him again. "Anyway, I have no idea where the futon is, but I can guarantee that either Raiden, Kiyomasa or Nene has it."
She had to agree with him on that. They seem to want to push us together as much as possible. "Should I check Nene's room and you check Raiden's?"
He smirked. "Sounds like a plan. After you," He said, mockingly gesturing for her to go first.
She scowled at his sarcasm, then gave him some herself. "Why, thank you. Never knew you were such a gentleman," She walked to the door, opened it and stepped out into the hallway.
He followed, still smirking. "Neither did I, to be fair. Meet back here in ten minutes." With that, he walked the opposite way to her, heading for Raiden and Kiyomasa's room. She also left, after scoffing at his retreating figure, down the opposite hallway to Nene's room.
Once Mitsunari had reached their shared room, he didn't bother knocking, and just walked straight inside and shut the door. Raiden looked at him from his bed in surprise, then smirked, remembering the scene they watched before.
"Morning, Mitsunari. What brings you here?" Raiden asked. Kiyomasa was just emerging from their bathroom, newly showered and dressed as he said this, and the two shared a knowing smirk.
"Cut the crap, Raiden. You know exactly what I'm here for." Mitsunari hissed.
"Relationship advice?" Kiyomasa butted in. "Have you two had a huge argument already?" He and Raiden both snickered. They were too mischievous for their own good, just like Nene.
Mitsunari scowled, then smirked, remembering the leverage that he had against the two. "Not at all. May I remind you that we're also not in a relationship?" He started. "I also suggest that you hand over the futon, before I accidentally spill a few secrets."
Their eyes simultaneously widened, but then went back to normal, thinking that he couldn't possible have any secret that was that scandalous against them.
"Like what, Mitsunari? Do tell," Raiden challenged.
His smirk grew wider. "Oh, you know, a certain female that is in the Tokugawa, has a high pitched voice, you know, I think her name was N-" Mitsunari was cut off from revealing her name by Raiden.
"Alright, fine! Just, don't say her name, please." He begged. By now, Kiyomasa was very interested to know who this certain female was; Raiden had never mentioned anything about a girl before.
"Wait! Who is this girl, Raiden? I've never heard anything about her before." Kiyomasa smirked at him, who was now scowling.
"Whose side are you on, Kiyomasa!"
Mitsunari dissipated their argument. "Oh don't worry, Kiyomasa. I'll tell you in due time. Anyway, I'm also sure that you have taken an interest in a certain female too? Her name also begins with an N, and she mainly wears the colour go-" He was cut off again by Kiyomasa.
"Fine! I get your point, Mitsunari. Don't tell anyone, about it, or you might find yourself without a futon permanently, you know."
Mitsunari scowled. "Fine, but hand over the futon first. What happened this morning will never happen again."
Raiden smirked widely. Mitsunari had slipped up. "What happened this morning, Mitsunari?"
His eyes widened, then narrowed at his mistake. "Nothing. Just a slip of the tongue, that's all. Hand over the futon. You know that I can't get another one." It was true. Hideyoshi had set up a rule that you are only allowed one futon per person, unless in some special cases that he had decided himself. The futons in the castle were rather expensive, as they were lined with velvet and had hand-crafted stitching. Only the finest for his troops, he had said.
"Oh, I know that. It's a shame that we don't have it though."
Mitsunari's eyes narrowed even more. "What do you mean you 'don't have it'? Who else could've taken it?"
Raiden barely suppressed a snicker as Kiyomasa answered. "Not sure, Mitsunari. I guess it vanished into thin air or something. Oh well, looks like you and Araya have to share your bed permanently now!" Mitsunari's eyes widened. "Well, I'll see you down at breakfast, Mitsunari. You coming, Raiden?"
"Yeah," Raiden stood, smirking, and walked over to the door. "See you later, Mitsunari! Have fun with Araya!" They both then ran out of the door, laughing loudly the whole way down the hallway.
Mitsunari still stood there in disbelief. Surely it must be in here! He began to search everywhere in the room: under the beds, in all of the drawers, in the cabinets in the bathroom, inside pillowcases, under mattresses. It really wasn't in there. Annoyed, Mitsunari left the room, and headed back towards his room. As he approached, he saw Araya there, sat on the floor dejectedly. She looked up, and saw him. Her eyes brightened for a second, then dulled again as she took in his empty hands.
"No luck?" He asked.
She shook her head, and stood up. "I literally checked everywhere in her room! It's nowhere to be found."
"Same here. I practically ransacked their room, and there was no futon. There's nowhere else it could be!"
Araya sighed, rubbing her eyes with the palms of her hands. "I don't have the time for their meddling right now. Let's just shower, get dressed and go down to breakfast before they eat it all."
Mitsunari chuckled. "To be honest, I can almost guarantee that they ate one of our portions just to see us argue about who got the last one."
Araya opened the door to their room, and walked in. She grabbed a sky blue kimono with flower embroidery and brown sandals, then finally replied to Mitsunari, who was also rummaging through his dresser for clothes. "Well then, let's not give them that satisfaction."
He stood up, clothes in hand and raised an eyebrow at her. What do you mean by that, exactly?
"I say we make a deal. Whoever gets showered, dressed and down to the dining hall first gets to have the bowl. Deal?"
He smirked, and shook her hand. "Game on, Kimura. Game on indeed." He whispered in her ear. She suppressed a pleasant shiver at his hot breath on her ear.
Araya then yelled, "Have fun starving, Ishida!" as she sprinted out into the hallway, heading for Nene's room to shower in instead. Mitsunari chuckled, then ran into the shower, his competitive side showing.
He wouldn't lose to Araya at anything.
Seven minutes later, Araya dashed down the stairs, heading for the dining hall, hair down in natural waves in her hurry. As she ran into the room, she noticed that there were only a few people there: Raiden, Kiyomasa, Nene, a random general that she didn't know, and there, sitting in all his glory, was Mitsunari.
"What...when...how?" She was in shock; she didn't expect Mitsunari to be quicker than her.
Mitsunari turned, and as he saw her, a smirk grew on his face. "Oh, it's you." he stood and walked over to her. "Looks like I won our little deal. Sadly, Raiden and Kiyomasa weren't as smart as we thought, and only ate their own portions, so you can still have breakfast." Araya chuckled at the practical insult to Raiden and Kiyomasa. "Instead, I choose that my prize should be another favour from you. So, you owe me two things again."
Araya scowled. "Just because I lost this bet doesn't mean that you get to choose your own prize. Anyway, how the hell did you manage to get down here faster than me?"
Mitsunari's smirk grew wider. "All in due time. I might just tell you after you've repaid your two favours."
"Fine. So where is this breakfast that I'm allowed?"
Mitsunari mockingly stepped to the side, and spread his arms out, showcasing the small breakfast bar that lead to the kitchen, that also had a single, steaming bowl of tanuki stew on top.
Araya's mouth nearly watered at the sight. She hadn't eaten, well actually, now that she thought about it, she hadn't eaten since she got back to her room while she was working with the Tokugawa, straight after the Battle of Komaki-Nagakute. As if on cue, her stomach grumbled loudly, and Mitsunari snickered. She gave him a sharp glare.
"Sorry that I haven't eaten since I left the Tokugawa; either way, it's not my fault. You were the one who kept me trapped at the stopover camp, so I didn't eat then, and as soon as we got here we went straight to bed. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a bowl of stew to be getting to." With that, she walked past him, making a beeline for the bowl, and grabbing it. She then sat down, next to a snickering Nene and opposite Raiden, who was sat next to Kiyomasa and Mitsunari. Without acknowledging anyone's presence, she began to eat, but with careful, precise movement and speed. No need to give them another topic to tease me about.
She didn't notice everyone else's stares on her however, as she ate her food. She either only stared down at her food or at the chopsticks in her hand.
"What did you do to her, Mitsunari?" Raiden questioned.
Said man then scowled. "I did nothing. She's just hungry."
"Doesn't look like it's just that. She's never completely silent any given time, unless she's pissed. So, I ask again, what did you do?"
Araya began to grow irritated at them. I hate it when people talk about me as if I'm not even there. I can speak for myself, thanks. However, she didn't show this. She just kept concentrating on her food, ignoring Kiyomasa's calculating stare. By this time, she was nearly finished with her tanuki stew, and was eating the last parts of the dish when Nene piped up.
"Guys!" All of their heads, except from Araya's, snapped towards her. "I think she would appreciate it if you stopped talking about her as if she isn't here, you know."
Araya finally reacted at that, and shot Nene a grateful look. Nene softly smiled back at her, even though she didn't actually understand what was wrong. As Araya finished her stew, she stood up, and silently walked towards the kitchen for it to be washed up. Back in the dining hall, Raiden, Kiyomasa and Nene all looked towards Mitsunari with expectant stares. He ignored them at first, and continued to eat his portion. Eventually he grew irritated, looked up and said, "What?"
Kiyomasa said, as if it was obvious, "Go after her, then!"
Mitsunari scowled. "Why me? Why not someone else?" In return, he received three glares. He huffed, "Fine! Whatever." stood up and also made his way into the kitchen. As he entered, he saw Araya kindly thanking the kitchen attendant for washing up her bowl, and her making her way to leave. On her way to the door, she finally noticed Mitsunari leaning against a countertop, staring at her. Her footsteps faltered for a second, before she regained her wits and continued on her path. Mitsunari sighed, exasperatedly, and moved to block the door, hindering her exit. She stopped in front of him and scowled.
"Could you move please? I'm really not in the mood for this right now."
He didn't budge. "Not until you tell me what's the matter with you."
A slightly warm feeling filled Araya; the same one that also filled Mitsunari prior. Since when did he care about my social wellbeing?
"Nothing. I'm fine. Could you please move now?"
He rolled his eyes in sarcasm. "Yeah, and I'm in love with you."
The slightly warm feeling disappeared. That actually hurt me for some reason. But to be honest, why didn't I expect anything less than that? Araya's eyes clouded with a hint of hurt, but it dissipated after a second. However, Mitsunari saw it before it could and his eyes softened slightly.
"Honestly, Araya. What's wrong?"
She snapped. She didn't need nor want his pity for her fucked up mind.
Everything over the past two days hit her all at once. The worry of Raiden getting killed on the battlefield, leaving the Tokugawa, the drama with Nene, the drama with Mitsunari, the constant teasing. It was all just too much, all of a sudden.
"Nothing, alright! Look, I appreciate you coming here and all, even though you were sent by Nene and the rest," He flinched slightly at that. "But please, leave me alone for a while!" With that, she pushed him out of her way, and he stumbled, in surprise. She opened the door, and ran outside, heading for the stairs. He followed her almost immediately, jogging to keep up with her. He grabbed her wrist, and turned her around. What he saw nearly shocked him to the core.
Tears were streaming down her face, slowly but surely. She looked at him, straight into his wide eyes. "Are you happy now! Finally got to see what was wrong, huh!" He let go of her wrist, still in a state of shock. With that signal, she ran back into the dining hall and up the stairs, not bothering to say goodbye to the three thoroughly shocked occupants at the table. Mitsunari then walked back in a few seconds later, eyes still wide, and sat back down at the table. He shook his head, as if to clear it, and the shocked haze left his eyes. Eventually, he noticed the three's shocked stares at him, and he sighed deeply.
"Don't ask. Just let her be for a while."
Meanwhile, Araya had sprinted up the stairs, into their room and slammed the door. She slid down the door, eventually coming into a crouch with her head in her hands. What's wrong with me? Why did I just scream at Mitsunari like that? He was only trying to help, but I didn't want his pity. The real question, is why did I get angry so quickly? Araya sighed deeply, stood up and crossed the room, to sit down by the window, since the futon was still missing. She closed her eyes, and began to meditate, but unlike normal, when she meditates to forget everything around her, she used the time to go over her thoughts and feelings about everything. Slowly enough, one by one, each issue was resolved, and she began to feel calmer. Finally at a standstill. Her tears had stopped, and a small smile graced her face for the remainder of her meditation.
By the time she opened her eyes, bright rays of light were streaming onto her face again, at full force. It was around midday; she had meditated for a good two hours, but had missed lunch. As she got up, she looked out of the window, and saw Nene and Kiyomasa taking a stroll through the gardens. A real smile came upon her face. They don't even know that they both like each other in the same way. They're hopeless. She chuckled softly when she saw Raiden, hanging from the tree that Nene and Kiyomasa were about to walk under, holding two handfuls of cherry blossom petals. As they walked under it, Raiden jumped down in front of them and threw one handful at their faces each. She watched as they both fell backwards onto the ground, blinded by petals, and Kiyomasa helping Nene up like a gentleman. It's painfully obvious to everyone but them, just how much they're in love with each other. Araya sighed. Then she realised something. Where is Mitsunari? He wasn't in the room with her, as Araya would've heard the door open, and he wasn't outside with the rest. She needed to see him, so she could apologise for her actions earlier on. I was out of order; completely controlled by hormones and feelings. It wasn't his fault. She walked over to the door, and opened it, about to walk down the corridor to find him, when she turned and saw him sitting on the floor, looking at the wall silently, lost in thought.
"Mitsunari?" She asked. It seemed as if he had only just heard her leave the room, as he looked up at her in surprise, then quickly stood up.
"Araya..." He said.
After a moment of silence, they both blurted out, "I'm sorry," at the same time, without meaning to. Mitsunari shook his head at Araya.
"What are you sorry for? I crossed the boundaries of your personal space, and caused everything. You did nothing wrong, Araya." She was shocked beyond belief. The warm feeling filled her entirely, making her smile softly and shake her head.
"No, I was out of order. Completely controlled by hormones and feelings that had just built up over time. I was wrong to take my anger out on you, Mitsunari." Suddenly feeling an urge for contact between them, Araya hugged him.
Mitsunari stiffened for a few seconds, then slowly put his arms around Araya too. Before he realised what he was doing, he nestled his cheek against her hair, liking the downy, silky texture of it. In response, she reached up, and traced patterns on his back, liking the solidarity of it and enjoying feeling where his muscles contracted and relaxed.
All in all, they both found each other to be soothing, and relaxing. Exactly what they needed in this land of chaos. Suddenly remembering where they were and what they were doing, they both jerked back, blushing and flushing awkwardly.
"What compelled you to do that, exactly?" Mitsunari asked with one eyebrow raised. But he wasn't mad about it, and you could hear it in his tone. He sounded quite relieved, in fact.
"Just showing you my gratitude, that's all. I'm not completely heartless, you know." Araya smirked, knowing that he would remember his own words. Before he could reply, she continued. "Let's just forget that it all happened, alright?" Araya told him.
Mitsunari gave her his signature smirk. "Fine with me. Now," He picked her up and tossed her over his shoulder, beginning to walk down the hallway.
"M-Mitsunari! Put me down!" Araya protested, but then began to laugh.
"Not just yet. Wait until we get to our destination, then ask me politely. I might just let you down then." He looked at her over his shoulder, and his smirk widened as she began to grumble about how she would get him back for doing this to her. He just laughed in reply, and went down the stairs, out of the entrance and into the courtyard. About a minute later, they came across Raiden, Kiyomasa and Nene, throwing petals at one another. Beside them, was a clear lake, topped with some lily pads and rogue cherry blossom petals.
"Guys!" Mitsunari shouted. They stopped what they were doing, turned to look at him and smiled. They all walked over before speaking.
"Hey! I'm guessing that you two made up, then?" Raiden asked.
"I wouldn't really call it that, more like a mutual agreement." Mitsunari said and Araya nodded.
"But now, his version of an apology is by kidnapping me and taking me here against my will." Araya grumbled.
"You know, I did say that if you asked politely that I may put you down. Care to listen more?" He mocked, using words from a previous argument.
Araya scowled, also remembering that event. "Fine then." She cleared her throat, sarcastically, and Raiden, Kiyomasa and Nene snickered. "My lord, if it is not too much trouble for you, could you please put me down? I'm sorry if it will cause you any inconveniences; that is not my intention." Just for added effect, she meekly bowed her head, though it was hard while she was still on his shoulder. Kiyomasa officially cracked up with laughter, Raiden and Nene soon following. Mitsunari just gave Araya a smirk.
"Well, since you asked so nicely, I suppose I could."
"Oh, thank you my lord! My greatest thanks go to you." Even Mitsunari started to snicker at her words.
"You're welcome. Just a word of advice," He said, then continued. He whispered the last part in her ear. "Be prepared." Without warning, he suddenly dropped her into the lake beside them, laughing as she arose.
"Mitsunari! I'll kill you for this!" She shouted, but was stopped from saying any more from a huge splash next to her. Mitsunari's head bobbed up from the water, slightly pissed off, but not fully, as he was still laughing at the furious look on her face.
"Raiden! Whose side are you on!" He mocked, using his words from that morning.
Raiden was too busy laughing hysterically on the floor at both Araya's and Mitsunari's faces to notice Kiyomasa creeping behind him. Before he even knew what was happening, Raiden was picked up and thrown into the lake by him, therefore covering Araya with another wave of water. However, before Raiden was fully out of Kiyomasa's grip, he grabbed hold of his wrist, hoping to topple him over too, and he succeeded. Kiyomasa wobbled on the bank of the lake before Araya's hand snaked up and grabbed his ankle, sending him into the water, and splashing Mitsunari, who was right behind her.
Nene was the only one left on the shore, and she had tears in her eyes from laughter. "Well, you guys seem to be in a bit of a, situation, there." She jokingly put her hand behind her ear, listening for something imaginary. "Oh, is that Hideyoshi calling me? I'd better not be late. See you guys later!" She ran off, snickering.
Everyone laughed at her attempts to get away from the soaked four in the lake. Mitsunari, who was still behind Araya, leant down and whispered in her ear. "I'd like to cash in one of my favours, now."
She turned around in surprise, then raised her head slightly, challenging him. "Alright then, what is it? And be warned, I only take your first answer." She whispered the last part in his ear, her hot breath clashing with the cool water slowly dripping from her hair onto his bare neck. He suppressed another pleasant shiver, then smirked.
"You have to stand completely still for one minute, no movements, or the favour doesn't count."
Araya was confused. Her eyes then narrowed. "What's the catch?"
"All in due time. Get ready." He whispered, then waded over towards Raiden and Kiyomasa, who were having a little water fight. He informed them of his plan, and they agreed, wading back over to Araya.
"Ready?" He asked her.
Her eyes narrowed, and she folded her arms. Give me your best shot, Ishida. She didn't speak aloud, only nodded her head once.
"On my mark." A few seconds passed, then he yelled, "Now!"
Araya was pelted from her left, right and front with petals, small lily pads and water. She wanted to just swim away from it all, but a promise was a promise, and she wasn't one to go back on them. So she stood there, stoically, as she was nearly blinded by the nearby flora and fauna.
A minute had passed, eventually, when Kiyomasa yelled, "I think she's had enough, you know." and snickered loudly at the sight of Araya. Petals were plastered to her face, hair and torso, and a rogue lily pad managed to suction itself to her collarbone. Araya was beyond seething. So this is what he meant. I'll be sure to get him back for this.
"Can I move now?" She ground out, careful to avoid getting a petal in her mouth.
All she heard were the snickers and laughs from the other three, then Mitsunari called out, "Yes. I think you've repaid your favour quite well." before he broke out in snickers again. All Araya did was huff in anger, and plunge down into the coolness of the lake, hoping that the water would gently wash everything away for her. It did; a flurry of pale pink petals started to float to the surface, while Araya still stayed under. She knew that she had no issues with staying under for longer than usual; her lungs were quite efficient. She closed her eyes, and her hair danced around her in the water. She looked ethereal, with the petals rising all around her, her calmness and serenity of being in the water, and the way her hair moved around her head; like a halo. At least, this is what Mitsunari was thinking as he looked down at her from above on the surface. A few seconds later, Araya's emerald eyes opened, and she swam to the surface, just as Mitsunari, Raiden and Kiyomasa were getting out.
"So," Raiden asked. "How did you like your little treatment back there, Araya?" He snickered. In reply, she just glared at him and crawled onto the bank, water pouring out of her soiled kimono. As she stood there with a dark look on her face, the water dripping off of her just seemed to emphasise the humour of the situation, and soon enough the three boys broke out in laughter again.
She looked at them sharply, hissed, "Not very much, to be honest." and stalked off, heading for her and Mitsunari's room to change.
As Mitsunari eventually made it to his room, still sopping wet, Araya had just emerged from the bathroom, fresh from a shower, and now instead in a forest green kimono, complete with brown tree embroidery along the hemline. She scowled at him when she caught sight of him.
He chuckled. "I presume that I'm not forgiven yet?"
She ignored his question. "Why did you do it?"
He quirked an eyebrow in surprise. "Do what?"
She rolled her eyes. "Why did you choose that specific favour, over something else?"
He smirked. "Remember when I said that I had more interesting methods than just a wall slam? That was one of them."
Her eyes widened slightly, then went back to normal. "Alright. Good to know." She made for the door, when a thought struck her, and she smirked. "In fact, I've changed my mind. Do you want to spar in the training room?" By now, Mitsunari was peeling off the upper half of his black robes off his chest as she spoke. She had turned around for a reply, when she saw him half-naked.
"Jesus, Mitsunari. Put some clothes on!" She turned her back towards him, blushing ever so slightly, and heading for her armour stand.
He just laughed at her. "I would, if you gave me the chance. Questions, questions. And yes; I'll be down in the training room in twenty minutes." With that, he turned from her, grabbed his war attire and headed into the bathroom to freshen up. Araya began to take off her kimono and put on the main part of her war attire. She slipped off her sandals, tied on her leg straps, tucked a knife behind each calf and pulled on her boots. Then, she fashioned her hair into a high ponytail, forgoing the mask for once, filling her saddlebag with her weapons again and heading down to the training room with it over her shoulder.
True to his word, Mitsunari appeared in the training room around twenty minutes later, fully decked in his war attire, tessen in hand. Araya's back was towards him, as she was rummaging through her saddlebag for her twin sais, but she still heard him enter. Once she had grasped them, she turned and walked towards Mitsunari, who was standing in the centre of the sparring ring, waiting for her. The ring was a large circle of dirt in the centre of the room. Once she reached him, she said, "Let's make another deal. Whoever's the first to win three sparring matches, has to give up two dishes of sake afterwards. Deal?" She asked.
"Let's step it up a little," He smirked. "Whoever wins the best of three sparring matches, instead, gets three favours from the loser, and it can be anything that they want. Deal?"
Araya smirked, her competitive side showing. She shook his hand, firmly. "Deal. Prepare to lose, Ishida." She whispered his last name in his ear. As she made to pull away, he suddenly grabbed her forearm and pulled her back to him, to the point where his chin brushed the edge of her ear. "Only if you are too, Kimura." He whispered in reply. She pulled away, giving him an overly-sweet smile, before standing at one edge of the sparring ring. He chuckled, and walked to the other.
"Ready to lose?" He mocked.
"Give me your best shot, Mitsunari." With that, the first spar commenced. At first, they both circled the edge of the ring, scrutinising the other for any weaknesses. Countless training sessions with Magoichi helped her in this situation. When assassinating someone, look at everything about them. Their build, how they stand, sit, and any movements. It could be life changing. Use everything around you to your disposal. She did just that with Mitsunari, and couldn't particularly come across any weaknesses. Other than one. He seemed too guarded, keeping his tessen over most of his body. If she struck with one sai at his head, he would be forced to raise the tessen to protect himself, therefore leaving his body unprotected, and easy to 'damage' with her second sai. After a few more seconds of circling, she ran full speed at Mitsunari, executing the plan in her head, other than the fact that she wouldn't actually hurt him. Intentionally, anyway. She made to strike his head with the sai in her right hand, and as she suspected, he raised his tessen to deflect the blow. In one fluid motion, she pushed back against him with that sai, forcing him to stumble slightly, and therefore lowering his guard for a fraction of a second. With that leverage, she shot out her left hand, aiming for the sliver of skin that you could see that wasn't covered by his body armour.
However, as she did so, it seemed like Mitsunari had expected it, as he suddenly twisted, forcing Araya's right hand to slip away from his tessen and knocking her off balance slightly. With the turning, the sai in her left hand also clanged off his black body armour instead of where she was aiming for. In her momentary swaying, Mitsunari pushed back at her, forcing the sai in her left hand out and onto the floor, and leaving Araya herself to topple over. Before she did so, she did a backflip, landing in a crouch at her fallen sai and picking it up again.
"Nice try, Kimura."
"Ditto."
Enough talking, I need to win this! Araya racked her brain for options. Mitsunari was wiser than she thought. Then it struck her. She quickly felt both sides of her waist, making sure they were there. Then, again, she ran full speed at Mitsunari, putting both sais into her left hand, and grabbing two shruikens from her right side waist pocket and hurling them at Mitsunari. His eyes widened. He quickly raised his tessen to block one, and did the same with the other, but in the time it took him to do that, he was momentarily distracted and Araya had jumped onto him, knocking him to the floor, sais back into both hands. In his surprise, the grip on his tessen went loose, and clanged on the floor also, a bit away from him. Araya used this distraction to her advantage, and quickly placed a sai on his neck. Mitsunari stilled, as she whispered, "Dead." She slowly got off him, collected her fallen shruikens, and went back to her corner. Mitsunari stood up, a scowl evident on his face.
"Hmm, I forgot to add in the fact that you were only allowed one weapon of choice. Looks like you took advantage of my momentary slip up. I think that you've officially proved that you aren't stupid!"
Araya scowled at him. "Why thank you, Mitsunari, but I believe that I have one more match to win?"
He grew serious immediately. "I think you're mistaken. I have two matches to win, and you have two matches to lose. Let's finish this."
"Get ready; last time I went easy on you. Now, I won't be so distracted."
"Ditto." He mocked.
Meanwhile, they didn't notice Nene standing in the doorway, watching their first sparring match in amazement and wonder. They are both extremely skilled: I would never want to go against them in a fight. Araya is an even better ninja than me; I think she matches Hanzō's abilities, too. Everyone else needs to see this for themselves, as well! With that thought, Nene raced off to round up some spectators, only hearing Araya say 'Ditto', before she dashed off.
A few minutes later, Nene had rounded up Hideyoshi, Kiyomasa, Raiden and the new general, Hideyaki Matsumoto, to watch Araya and Mitsunari spar. By the time that they were all able to watch, and keep silent, they saw Araya sitting on Mitsunari's mid-section, holding a sai to his neck and saying, 'Dead'. The end of their first sparring match.
Araya scowled. Just one more match. That's all. This time, Araya decided to be defensive. Just as she was thinking this, Mitsunari dashed at her, nearly slicing her with his tessen if she hadn't jumped to the side. He recovered quickly, but so did Araya. She already had her sais up, ready to parry any strikes. The only advantage that Mitsunari had over Araya was the sheer size of his tessen. It was about three-quarters of Mitsunari's height, and Araya wasn't much taller than that. This time, Mitsunari ran towards her, but faked a left swipe at her, causing her to lean to the left to deflect it. With her off balance, he did a leg sweep under her, suspending her in the air for a second, but while she was, she pointed her sais downwards, to the floor. When she landed, instead of straight on her back, the sais dug into the ground, providing her with the stability to perform a tucked backwards somersault, landing in a crouch again, with both sais pointing left and right. The height of the sais allowed her to gain leverage off the ground, which she couldn't have done with throwing knives or a dagger, for example.
"I have to say I'm impressed, Araya. I didn't think you'd be able to get out of that."
"Complacency leads to cockiness, which leads to mistakes. Don't underestimate me."
"Noted." He then again ran at her, just as she was standing up. Since she moved her arms towards her body last, they couldn't protect her in time when Mitsunari barraged into her, knocking her sais out of her hands in their momentary instability. Araya was again falling to the ground, and she felt behind her leg straps for the two throwing knives that were nestled there. She tugged them out, and again dug them into the floor to stop her from falling all the way, to avoid disorientation. Mitsunari was immediately on top of her, his tessen about to swipe for her neck, when her right leg looped over, kicking the tessen out of his hands also. Her hands still on her throwing knives, she let go momentarily and slid out underneath him while he was distracted, tugged her throwing knives out, and held them in front of her face and chest, expecting the worst.
Unfortunately, the tessen had only been knocked to her left side, so he was able to grab it quickly after she got up, him recovering faster than her and covering the small distance between them. She had just lifted her throwing knives to protect herself, when she was knocked to the ground, fully. Her head would've smacked against the floor, if she wasn't holding her knives. For the last time, she dug them into the ground, and used them to not hold her up, but instead to twist her to the side, reducing the impact of her fall. Mitsunari again sat on her midsection, holding his tessen tightly, and placed it against her neck before she could tug her knives out of the ground. She stilled, not wanting to hurt herself. "Dead." he whispered, albeit triumphantly. He stood up off her, and offered her a hand, which she took and heaved herself up with. She collected her knives and twin sais, and again stood at her corner.
"May I ask, why did you always dig your knives or sais into the ground when you were falling?"
She answered truthfully. "To avoid my head smacking against the floor, which will bring disorientation."
He nodded thoughtfully. "Remember, whoever wins this match wins three favours." he smirked at her. "Are you prepared to lose?"
"Only as much as you are." She replied, getting into a special position which was both offensive and defensive. Unlike the last time, Mitsunari didn't run straight at her, and circled the ring again. Slyly, Araya reached into her left waist pocket, collected the two shruikens that were there and did the same with the two that she put back in her right waist pocket. Mitsunari noticed this, however, and spread his tessen out to its full capability, which made it just brush his chin. Araya wasn't deterred by this, though. Since he had already seen, she clipped her sais to her belt on either side of her, ready to be released easily. Without warning, she tossed two shruikens at Mitsunari, and he deflected them, but as he was doing so, she threw the other two at his exposed left side, forcing him to move quickly and rather unstably. Time to show him the special modifications on my sais, I think. With that, she ran forward slightly to gain momentum and threw her sais at him. His eyes widened. Araya knew that eventually he would slip up from being barraged with weapons, and he did. As the sais hit his tessen, they bounced back to her, and she caught them by the hilt, running full speed at Mitsunari. She had successfully unnerved him enough for her to strike easily. Even though he didn't know her sais could boomerang back, however, he had expected her to run at him, and so when she reached him he caught her arm and pushed her back. With her slightly unstable from her momentum, he took the opportunity to jump on her.
Again, as she fell, she dug her sais into the ground, and twisted again. This led Mitsunari to fall on the ground himself, but he jumped up quickly, just as Araya pulled her sais from the ground. This time, Mitsunari ran at her, aiming to swipe his tessen at her midsection. In order to stop his advance slightly, she again threw her sais at him, but this time, Mitsunari expected it so he ducked, and they went sailing over his head. Araya's eyes widened, but she still fought. She grabbed a shruiken from each waist pocket, not throwing them at Mitsunari until he was close. She ducked down as he reached her, caught his leg and sent him to the ground. She jumped on his midsection, ad was about to place the shruiken to his neck, when he lifted his right arm, holding his tessen, and placed it at the back of her neck. He had expecting her to trip him, and when he fell he made sure to stretch out his right arm out of her reach. Araya scowled deeply, as he whispered, "Dead." with a smirk on his face. He removed his right arm from her neck, and she got off him, begrudgingly offering him a hand to get up. Instead of getting up, Mitsunari tugged on her hand sharply, sending her back on top of him, faces inches away from each other.
Araya's eyebrow rose. "Keeping me trapped again?"
His smirk grew wider. "Not for long. I just wanted to hear you say my congratulations."
She scowled. "Does this count as a favour?"
"Not at all. Just say it."
"Fine." She cleared her throat, mockingly. "I, Araya Kimura, present you, Mitsunari Ishida, with three favours from myself, and it can be anything that you want."
"Why, thank you. I'll let you know when I'm ready to cash them in." With that, he let go of her hand, and she stood.
"Not going to offer the winner a hand?"
"After what happened last time, not at all." She smirked, and he stood up on his own, sheathing his tessen. Araya was about to walk over to her fallen sais and shruikens when she heard furious clapping coming from the doorway. Hideyoshi, Nene, Raiden, Kiyomasa and another general that Araya didn't know walked in, while clapping in awe. Nene, Raiden and Kiyomasa gave the two a smirk, noticing their close proximity when they were on the ground. Araya just looked at them in surprise, not once during the three spars noticing that they were there.
"Amazing! You two are exceptionally skilled; I commend you both. I'm thankful and proud to have you in the Toyotomi, at my side." Hideyoshi praised. Both Araya and Mitsunari bowed, feeling gratitude at his words.
"Thank you, my lord. I will always fight by your side." Mitsunari said.
"I'm glad to have chosen the Toyotomi, Lord Hideyoshi." Araya added. With that, Hideyoshi nodded at the two, telling them to keep up the good work, and left with the other general. Araya then picked up her fallen weapons, and attached them to her belt and pockets, before Nene spoke.
"You guys were great! We were all really impressed. You're an even better ninja than me, Araya." Nene praised.
Araya was about to dismiss her last statement, when Raiden butted in. "Yeah, they were great, but you could cut the sexual tension with a knife." He smirked as Kiyomasa joined in.
"Especially in that bit at the end. Tell us, Mitsunari, what compelled you to do that?" Kiyomasa had a huge smirk on his face that matched Nene's and Raiden's. Araya's scowl matched Mitsunari's.
"It was just for her to say her congratulations personally. Nothing that your dirty minds are thinking of." Mitsunari answered, his eyes narrowed.
Raiden snickered. "Right. Very personal indeed."
Araya huffed, grabbed her saddlebag and walked past the snickering three to the entrance. She was exhausted; fighting Mitsunari had taken a lot out of her. Said man was right behind her as she left, also exhausted. He had to admit that Araya was a much better ninja than he remembered her to be, and fighting her had drained his energy quickly. As they both made it to their room, they both unknowingly collapsed on the bed in a tangled heap. Araya fell asleep within seconds, forgetting where she was, as her exhaustion took over her. Mitsunari looked down at her, wondering how she could be so comfortable towards him now, but soon followed her into peaceful oblivion.