Mitsunari stopped by Motonari's room not much later, and as he lifted a hand to open the door, it slid aside. Chibi wriggled out into the hall. Looking up at him, it shook its head. He peeked in and saw Motonari asleep in the bed.
Shutting the door behind Chibi, he motioned for it to follow him. It made an inquisitive noise and skipped after him as they retreated further down the hall.
"I need you to do a favour for me," he said, and its ears perked up. It stood up on its hind legs, wanting to help before it knew what it was supposed to do, forcing him to smile at its enthusiasm. "I need measurements."
It cocked its head, confused.
"The measurements for a new ringblade. I don't care how you do it, just get them out of him. Then bring them to me. And don't let him know I asked you."
Chibi wagged its tail and barked. Then it scampered back to the room and wiggled inside. Mitsunari wasn't sure how it would go about getting such specific information, but if its cuteness wasn't enough, nothing would be. Turning around, he left. This gift was sure to please.
Chibi, meanwhile, bounded over to Motonari and jumped on top of him, nudging him with a paw. When he didn't move, it jumped up and down on his side until he finally woke and pushed it off.
"Stop that, I was sleeping." He sat up, rubbing at his temples. "What's the matter?"
Chibi traced a circle on the floor with its paw and made an inquiring noise. It was a good time to catch him off guard when he was still blinking the sleep from his eyes.
"My ringblade? What about it?" he asked.
Shaking its head, it drew a circle again. It sat up on its haunches and waved its paws up and down.
"You're asking how big it is?" Motonari was amused. "You've seen it countless times these past few days. But it isn't the same as my old one."
That was what Mitsunari wanted. Chibi cocked its head and inquired again.
"My old ringblade? It got destroyed. It's silly, but I wish it wasn't. I used it ever since I was first able to wield a real ringblade."
Chibi inquired again. Motonari looked at it oddly.
"Why are you so curious about my ringblade? Are you up to something?"
As always, it was impossible to fool the strategist. Well, if Chibi admitted to being up to something, he still wouldn't trace it back to Mitsunari. So it barked and drew a circle again.
"You mean you want to help me make another ringblade?"
The puppy bobbed its head and made big eyes.
Motonari laughed. "No one can resist you, Chibi. You're always so eager to help. I could ask Mitsunari if it would be all right to send a request to the forge."
But Mitsunari was the one who wanted to make the ringblade! Chibi glanced around desperately for a solution. Bounding over to the table, it knocked over the brush stand and the inkstone.
"My, you're in a hurry," Motonari remarked, sitting at the table and picking everything up.
Chibi's plan worked. It watched as Motonari wrote out the specifications for his ringblade. How did he remember all this information? It made an awed noise.
"Of course I have to know these things," Motonari said. "I'm always prepared for anything."
Chibi waited for him to finish writing.
The strategist put down the brush at last and looked over the writing. "That should be everything. Now -"
Chibi grabbed the paper and ran out the door. It got as far away from the room as it could before it sniffed around for Mitsunari's scent. It followed him all the way outside, to the forge near the barracks. Spotting him at last, it barked around a mouthful of paper and scampered towards him.
"So quickly?" He knelt down and took the paper. Chibi had been careful not to get any spit on it. "Does he know it was me?"
The puppy shook its head.
Mitsunari studied him and smiled slightly. "You look like you just committed theft."
Chibi sighed and nodded.
"I won't be able to make a copy of this. We might run into him. Tell him you submitted it."
Chibi lowered an ear and made a noise. But won't I be taking all the credit?
"It'll work out, I think." Mitsunari leaned down to rub its head. "Good boy. I'll come by with a treat later. Now go on."
Skipping a circle around him in joy, the puppy ran back inside. It met Motonari halfway back to the room.
"Chibi! What did you -" Motonari saw that it no longer had the paper. "They were willing to take a request from you?"
Chibi wagged its tail. Obviously it wasn't for me.
He snorted. "You had no reason to take off so quickly. I suppose we'll just have to wait, though I'd rather ask Mitsunari if it's really all right."
Chibi chose to keep quiet and accompanied him back to the room.
#
As Motonari studied reports from scouts, Mitsunari dropped by, carring a soup bone for Chibi. The puppy didn't touch it just yet - it waited until he sat down, then clambered onto his lap and planted a kiss on his cheek before skipping to the corner and digging its teeth into the bone.
"You'll spoil him," Motonari remarked.
"He's growing. At least he won't turn out like you."
Motonari glared at him. "Earlier he made a request at the forge. It was for my ringblade. I was going to ask you first, but he grabbed the sheet and ran out before I could stop him."
"Do what you want."
Chibi glanced at Mitsunari and thumped its tail.
Motonari watched as the puppy gnawed at the bone, sometimes backing off to pounce on it and pretending to make a kill.
"You seem to be enjoying yourself here," Mitsunari said.
"As if you could tell."
"You've been smiling a lot."
Heat prickled his cheeks. "I…I have not!"
"You're happy, aren't you?"
Motonari shot him a glare, warning him to be quiet.
The swordsman only smiled. "That's a good thing, you know."
"And what about you?"
Mitsunari drew his knees up. "It's…been a while since I last felt this way. I've always felt alone."
You know nothing about loneliness, Motonari wanted to say.
"That's silly," he said instead. "You have a brother, don't you? And you have Yoshitsugu. How can you be lonely?"
Mitsunari's head sunk lower. "Onii-sama is away, checking on our territory in Sawayama."
Motonari felt a pang shoot through him. He could relate.
"Yoshitsugu can only provide so much for me. Besides, Hideyoshi-sama and Hanbei-sama…they were…" Mitsunari swallowed. "They were like another family to me."
"You miss them, don't you?" the strategist asked softly.
"Yes. But…it's not so bad now. Shiranui is out there somewhere and Chibi is here." Those yellow eyes met his. "And I also have you."
Motonari stared at him. Then it hit him, a strange and powerful rush of warmth that flared up deep inside his chest. He struggled to keep his face straight, to keep that wildness pressed down.
What do you think of me, Mitsunari? Why do you hold me in such regard? How long will it take before you relax around me? The words rested in the back of his throat, on the verge of tumbling out, and he wrestled with them.
Mitsunari studied him, then got to his feet. "I'll leave you in peace. All this talk is making me nostalgic."
With that, he went out the door. Motonari sucked in a deep breath to calm himself. This wouldn't do. Mitsunari knew exactly how to upset him. The strategist always prided himself on his calmness and detachment from emotion, but whenever it came to Mitsunari, it all crumbled away. He didn't know why, but he did know that it was unacceptable. The swordsman had power over him and soon he would be the one toying with Motonari. And the latter wasn't about to let that happen.
And yet he felt that excitement again, pumping through his body. He wished Mitsunari would try something new, something to liven up their little game.
Here he was, his heart contradicting his mind. Curse that Mitsunari!
#
Motonari tried to think of a way to get back at the swordsman, but his thoughts always lingered on the feel of those fingers against his own, and then he forgot about revenge altogether. He still wanted to be held against that chest, to feel the warmth he desired.
He knew now. It was the closeness that burned so brightly in his memory. It was the closeness of being pressed against another warm body. His heart shuddered when he thought about it, made him want it more fervently than before. Only that warmth could ease him and soothe the pain that had followed him for so long.
Just thinking about it, thinking about Mitsunari, made his pulse quicken. He pressed a hand against his breast and wondered what was wrong. No, he couldn't allow himself such thoughts. Such closeness was dangerous. Better that he stop now than regret the consequences.
But a part of him knew that it was too late. Mitsunari was the only one who could give him what he wanted.
When the swordsman entered the room carrying a large circular object wrapped in cloth, Motonari didn't have to ask. Chibi barked and wagged its tail.
Laying down the ringblade, Mitsunari pushed it towards him. "Here."
The strategist tugged off the cloth. His new weapon glimmered in the light, ready to see action. Due to differences in the forging technique, this ringblade carried a series of braided markings all around the inner edge and the metal had a purple tint to it. It looked like the moon.
"Is something wrong?" the swordsman asked, watching his expression.
"It's not as I remember it." Motonari traced the markings with a finger.
Mitsunari fidgeted. "Oh."
"It's strange, seeing something I used to have in such a different way. I didn't know it could be so beautiful."
Mitsunari sat back, relieved. Chibi padded up and sat there beside him, looking up at him expectantly.
Motonari glanced between them.
"I-It's nothing," Mitsunari said, noticing the movement of his eyes. "A weapon is important. I was afraid that it might be flawed. That's all."
Grumbling, Chibi pushed Mitsunari's leg with a paw. He shoved back with a hand and the puppy went rolling head over tail across the floor.
The strategist found their behaviour more and more suspicious. "Is there something you aren't telling me?"
"No." Mitsunari jammed his palm into Chibi's head as it rushed back and tried to headbutt him in the leg. "He's just…being difficult."
Chibi shook its head, heaving a sigh, before it padded over to Motonari and traced something on the floor. It was Mitsunari's crest. Then it drew a circle.
"You asked Chibi to get the specifications," Motonari said, "and deliver them to you so you could have this made for me. Am I right?"
Mitsunari shot Chibi a death glare and looked away. "Yes."
Chibi made an indignant noise. You weren't going to tell him so I did it for you!
Motonari found them amusing. "Why go to all this trouble?"
"I…" Mitsunari hesitated. "I wanted to surprise you."
"It's just a ringblade. I could easily have made the request on my own. There was no need to do this."
Silence. Mitsunari looked like a knife had been stuck into his gut. Motonari tensed, no longer sure that his response was the right one.
"You're right. Maybe there wasn't!" Mitsunari leaped to his feet and stormed towards the door. "You have no sense! You really don't know anything, do you?"
"Wait! Will you calm down? I am grateful, but I -"
Mitsunari paused in the doorway. "I'm glad," he said, then left without another word.
Whimpering, Chibi watched him go. Then it ran over to Motonari and slammed its head against his side, nearly knocking him over. It growled at him. You hurt his feelings!
"I did not! I only wanted to know why!"
Chibi glared. You could have been less insensitive about it.
Motonari heaved a sigh. Mitsunari's words still stung him. He looked at the ringblade. This, along with the mirror, was also meant to be a gift. Something stirred inside of him.
"I'll go talk to him," he mumbled.
