A/N: I'm pretty peeved at the moment. Someone updated Wikipedia and now it turns out that Mitsuhide was born in Tara castle. I'm not going to go through my last eight chapters and change it again -.- so I will stick with what I have at the moment. The Akechi live in a castle soon enough anyway in the fanfic (like now). Great thing about fanfics is that they don't have to be historically accurate.

I've also changed how Mitsuhide refered to his father in the previous chapters from 'Otou-sama' to 'Chichi-ue'. Thanks to Ryujin Mei for pointing that grammar out and correcting it :) And I also changed his referal for his mother from 'Oka-sama' to 'Haha-ue'.

Right! This is the beginning of the second arc! Thanks to all for following and reading my fic. Remember to review!


Chapter Nine

April 1542; 4 years after the death of Akechi Mitsukuni

The sound of violent battle filled the air. Men roared battle cries, swords clashed, naginatas swiped, arrows flew and shields shattered. Smoke puffed through the air as sheds were set alight.

I drew back a bow, aimed down the hill and let the arrow lose. It struck the target through the neck, collapsing to join the dead that already littered ground. I fired a quick succession of arrows at Saito's men that were charging up the hill. They just kept coming! My unit were outnumbered. The Toki-Akechi army in general was outnumbered. Even though Inabayama Castle – looming behind me – was under our control, it gave us no advantages.

"Osamu-sama!" One of my soldiers panted. "We cannot hold the outer ring for much longer!"

I ground my teeth together. It was something I had been aware of from the beginning. My men were getting slaughtered.

"Blast it," I muttered under my breath, before I then shouted, "Fall back behind me! Do not cross this line!"

My order was obeyed and my soldiers scrambled back up the hill, leaping over the barricades as fast as possible, desperate to stay one step ahead of Saito's vicious army.

Struggling to keep my desperation from showing, I watched carefully as the timing of my little plan came into play. It was not a big plan, just something to buy some time for my men.

When enough of my men had crossed the invisible line I had drawn with Kenji, I yelled, "Now, Akito!"

A second later, the line exploded, creating a wall of explosions and flying rubble and dust, ripping limbs from the Saito that had crossed the line. The Saito soldiers screamed and the ones behind were flung back.

I spun around. "Retreat back to the outer wall and seal the gates!" I commanded.

"Aye Aye, Osamu-sama!" They shouted back, rushing back up the hill. I stayed at the rear with some of my remaining archers, firing at the Saito soldiers that were lucky enough to avoid getting blown to pieces. It was enough of a gap though to give my men enough time to retreat.

Kenji joined me and he threw makeshift grenades down the hill, which exploded as they hit the ground, blowing more Saito soldiers to pieces. Seeing grenades had been a shock to me when Kenji first showed me what he could do a year or so back. I was not particularly familiar with artillery during these times, but who was I to argue? It was extremely useful.

Akito Kenji – the man whom I first met when I first came to this world five years ago – flashed me a calming grin. He was the first kindly face I saw when I woke after being brought through the lake. "Our little plan worked, Osamu-san," he mused.

I smirked in grim irony. "Yes, it did. But it was only a stall."

We dashed backwards up the hill, and when I had run out of arrows, I cast my bow away and withdrew my katana again, something which I had earned a year ago from Mitsuyasu.

The last four years had been peaceful, but the growing civil unrest within Mino had been developing over the last two years. It had been something that I was both expecting and dreading.

In 1542, Saito Dousan rebelled against Toki Yorinari and divided the province with civil war. Both sides were evenly divided, or so I thought. Dousan's brutality, wealth and arrogance brought him superior power. And in this battle, the Toki would lose. Which meant that so would the Akechi, for they were allied with the Toki.

I had prayed that somehow, I would avoid getting caught up in this struggle. Never did I think that one day I would end up becoming an officer that played an important role within one of history's real battles. And I was a girl. Though, that fact was ignored by most. I could fight faster than a lot of them, I thought like a man, commanded like a man, and dressed as a man.

Not only that, this was my first battle, and I was on the losing side.

Never did I think that I would be forced to kill. How did I go from 6th form graduate, to officer of the Toki-Akechi army?

I had no idea. I thought that I would have found a way to go back to the future by now, but it had yet to happen. Now, I was twenty-three.

Except I still looked the same as when I first came to the past.

"You have not aged, Aki," Lady Akechi said when we were alone. "It is as if your body has frozen at eighteen."

An arrow whistled past my cheek and I ducked, avoiding another that zoomed above my head. I had already been shot once in the back barely an hour ago. I did not want another arrow hitting its target.

Now was not the time to think of the shocking possibility that I had somehow stopped aging. I had to concentrate on staying alive and keeping as many of my men alive as possible.

Kenji and I were the last two through the gate which was slammed shut behind us. We panted on the other side, but there was no time to rest, no matter how much my muscles screamed for it. There were more soldiers behind the wall of the castle who were under the command of another officer. Our forces combined together.

"Archers!" He ordered the archers that were up on the higher levels and platforms. "Slow their advance!" The archers rained arrows down the other side, but arrows came back up. Men grunted and cried as they were hit by the Saito, falling from their platforms.

My jaw clenched. Pounding drummed against the gates as a battering ram boomed against it from the other side. I indicated my archers to the gate.

"Stand in formation. Shoot down anyone who breaks through that gate." I turned around to the foot soldiers. "Form ranks! Kill any who cross that wall! Do not give them the chance to overrun us!"

Despite the strength I forced into my voice, I knew that my orders would be useless in the end. The outcome of this battle had already been decided before it even began. Even if I did know the details of this battle and how the Toki were defeated, I would not change it, because history had to follow its course, no matter how much I wished otherwise.

A messenger rushed up to the officer and I, dropping down on one knee. That was something else I never thought would happen to me. Although I was Mitsuhide's bodyguard and nothing more, it appeared that my reputation had grown somewhat. Some treated me as a Lord, or Lady, depending on how I dressed. The suffix 'sama' was often at the end of my name now. It was something that I could not get over.

"Mitsuhisa-sama and Yorinari-sama have retreated behind the northern and eastern gates!" The messenger stated.

The officer tsked under his breath. "Mitsuyasu-sama has yet to retreat."

"Tch! It is only a matter of time," I said.

"At least our gates still hold."

"For now."

The officer looked at me darkly. "Your lack of faith is disappointing, Osamu."

I looked back at him flatly. He did not know that we were going to lose. His faith in Yorinari and blinded him.

"Keep us informed," I told the messenger.

"Yes, Osamu-sama! Kondo-sama!" He dashed away, and we turned back to the battle. Kenji stood beside me as my right hand.

Boom!

The battering ram continued to pound against the gate. Hooks were thrown over the wall and I felt my heart sink into my stomach like a rock. Fear pulsed in my bloodstream.

"How many grenades do you have left, Akito-san?" I asked, trying to think of some other way I could have him use the explosives to my advantage.

Damn it! I wish I paid more attention to modern warfare! Seeing as bombs are everywhere in my day.

I already paid a large amount of attention to it, as such things fascinated me. Games were the only way I could live it through. Halo was a particular all-time favourite. But my knowledge was severely lacking still.

Kenji smiled thinly. "I will not lie. I'm running short."

Saito soldiers were climbing over the wall one by one. Some fell as they were hit by arrows; some got through and fell onto the naginatas that waited like a bed of thorns. They kept coming though, and some passed even the line of naginatas, meeting the samurai head on.

Boom!

Wood splintered as the front gate cracked. My grip around my katana tightened.

"Why can't you transform and end this battle quickly?" I had asked with a tight voice before the battle started.

"Because we live amongst humans and must act as such," Mitsuhisa said warningly. "This is a human battle, therefore we fight as humans. Just because we are a superior species does not mean that we impose our will on others as such. We are humans amongst humans, and Oni amongst Oni. This will be a fair and decisive battle."

I growled. In that case, it was no wonder that Dousan – a human – defeated the Toki. He had the mind of a serpent. The man was more of a Yokai than the real ones I had met.

If Mitsuhide were two years older, being sixteen rather than fourteen, then he would be the officer in my place, and no doubt directing his unit better than I was. Despite his young age, he was showing remarkable understanding of warfare. Yorinari said he was destined to be a general.

It was a very accurate statement, for indeed Mitsuhide had the sharp mind of a war general.

Our defences held for longer than I was expecting though, but soon enough, another messenger ran up to us.

"Mitsuyasu-sama has retreated!" He puffed.

"Crap," I cursed, earning a few strange glances with my English. "Now we're boxed in."

"Yorinari calls for a brief emergency meeting," the messenger then said.

"Now?" The officer – Kondo – growled, glancing at the soldiers fighting. I seconded his reluctance.

The messenger nodded. "Immediately."

Kenji grasped my shoulder. "I will take temporary command. Do hurry back though. I'm not supposed to take this kind of responsibility."

I met his gaze firmly and nodded. Though Kenji was not an officer, he was intelligent. As the Toki were short on officers, Kenji would have to take the role while Kondo and I were gone.

The messenger hurried us through the castle. It was no time for formalities as we met the other Lords in one of the courtyards.

"Toki-sama, Mitsuyasu-sama, Mitsuhisa-sama!" We exclaimed upon entry. I offered a quick bow.

"Osamu, Kondo," Yorinari acknowledged as we jogged up to them. The messenger bowed, and quickly left.

"We are in a tight situation," Yorinari said, getting straight to the point. "We are surrounded on all fronts. It will not be long before our gates are breached."

"What do you suggest, Yorinari-sama?" Mitsuhisa poised.

"Although we have been forced to retreat, our gates are still well-defended," Yorinari said, clenching his fist. "The Saito army cannot attack us as one large unit through the gates, giving us the opportunity to cut them down until they run thin."

When I first met Yorinari, I was stunned to find out how much of a dreamer he seemed to be. His plan was stupid and naïve. We did not have the strength to continue holding back Saito's men, even if they did attack in more manageable waves. This could not even be classified as a siege. We were too ill prepared for that. The gates would be broken down within a matter of minutes and our numbers had already dwindled.

Despite this pointless plan, I did not argue. Despite the terror and panic that saturated the air, somehow, I did not feel as worried about death as I should have been. Because I knew that the three men before me would survive anyway (though I was not sure about Kondo). The Akechi would go on to become great. But that could only happen if the Toki lost today.

Kondo, with his absolute faith in his Lord, obeyed without question. I glanced at Mitsuhisa and Mitsuyasu. They glanced back at me.

"Any questions?" Yorinari asked.

"None," Mitsuyasu said, causing my eyes to widen slightly in surprise. They were not going to argue with the plan?

"Good. Dismissed."

With halting movements, I turned around, stunned, and began to follow Kondo back to the southern gate which we defended. I passed through a room when a hand landed on my shoulder. Turning, I faced Mitsuyasu and Mitsuhisa.

"Mitsuyasu-sama, Mitsuhisa-sama," I said in shock. "What are you both –?"

"What is the outcome of this battle, Aki?" Mitsuhisa questioned. All light-heartedness had gone from his tone. "The only surprise you have shown throughout this whole ideal is being promoted to an officer for this battle. Yet you have shown little surprise with regards to this battle that we now fight."

I gulped, before exhaling softly under the intensity of their stares. "Isn't the outcome obvious?" I asked quietly, careful to keep my voice low.

There was a beat of silence. "We lose?" Mitsuyasu murmured. It was a stinging statement, bitter truth.

I looked away, neither nodding nor shaking my head. "But no one dies." I took a deep breath, deciding to tell them what would happen. It was a risk I was willing to take. This was not an event I had dreamed of. The future-predicting dreams had no pattern. Sometimes it was of important events, other times it was of something completely irrelevant in the town, like a scuffle which required the judgement of the Akechi Lords. If I had dreamed of how this battle would turn out, then would have I been able to change it so that the Toki win?

But if that happened, then history would change. Perhaps that was the reason why I had not dreamt of this battle? The only dream of any relevance to this event was that I was held as a prisoner for a week or so with Mitsuyasu in Inabayama Castle.

"The Toki are exiled from Mino, but the Akechi's power rise further," I sighed. "Saito Dousan wins this battle and becomes the next governor of the province, and the Akechi serve him."

My Lords watched me in silence. Mitsuyasu's expression did not change, but I noted how Mitsuhisa's fell slightly in dismay.

"Serve the Saito?"

I met their eyes grimly. "That is what is written in history."


Mitsuhide sat in silence within a room of Tara Castle. It was a castle that the Toki had given them a few years back. It was far more fitting than the manor, even though the manor was large enough. Despite this being their new home, he found that he missed the manor, which had gone to another minor Lord who was fighting in the Toki-Akechi army against the up-riser, Saito Dousan.

His uncles and Aki had left over two weeks ago. Travelling to Inabayama took time, then they had to prepare for battle and organise some sort of strategy. The fighting started yesterday.

His katana lay beside him, sleeping, until it was forced to waken and reap the lives its master sought to take.

Despite his strength and intellect, he could not yet join any such battles until he was at least sixteen when he was then considered a man. If he were two years older, then he would be another officer on that battlefield fighting for Inabayama Castle. He would be fighting with his uncles as another Akechi Lord. He would be fighting alongside Aki.

His eyes narrowed.

He recalled the moment that his uncles called for him and told him what was to happen.

"Just for this battle, Aki will be temporarily relieved of her duty as your bodyguard. Her combat skills and knowledge of warfare is advanced enough that she will be promoted to an officer status, to fight with us as an equal."

It had been hard to hide his dismay. The last thing he had been expecting was having Aki fight in a battle without his company. He did not feel jealous. No. It was concern that he felt.

During the five years Aki had been with them, her combat abilities had improved to the stage where she could be classified as a samurai. As the Toki-Akechi army were short on officers, it would only make sense then to recruit Aki as another officer as she was Akechi Osamu, adopted daughter of Akechi Mitsukuni.

And ever since the night that took his father's life, Mitsuhide had been insistent on ensuring that both he and Aki learnt to fight together as a team. It had been a while before he could properly reflect on how he felt from the fight that night. Even when Aki could barely stay conscious, she still protected his back, just as he protected her in return.

She had saved his life twice now, and he had saved her life once. The debt still had to be paid. And he was more than happy to pay it.

Mitsuhide kept his thoughts silent. But he could not deny the stirring wish that he and Aki could fight side by side, as Lord and bodyguard; as officer and officer; as friend and friend.

He wondered though. Wondered how well Aki would fight today. He did not doubt her skills or leadership abilities. However, she was inexperienced, like him.

His jaw clenched.

Dousan.

The snake of a man caused this civil war. If the Akechi and Toki could fight with their true power, then there would be no doubt as to the outcome of this battle. However, they could not fight as Oni. They had to fight as humans.

Would the Toki-Akechi win?

It was hard to tell. They had all severely underestimated Dousan's greedy and ruthless mind from the beginning. Yorinari had already shown signs of kow-towing down to him by giving him his concubine, Omi no Kata – also known as Miyoshino-hime.

A beat of dull fear pulsed through Mitsuhide. It was not his fear.

He looked up. The jade tiger – attached to his leather hairband – glinted in the light.

That was not his fear that pulsed through him. It was Aki's.

Mitsuhide frowned, his hand beginning to reach out for his katana when he stopped himself. What good would that do? The battle was miles away from Tara Castle.

Grudgingly, he pulled his hand back and sighed. It was an odd thing – telepathic links.


"Aki, do you know of or believe in telepathic links between certain people?" Mitsuhide asked her as they sat on the rocks by the lake, waiting for the sun to dry them. They had been practicing sitting on the bottom holding their breath. Aki had lost the competition.

"That is a random question," she laughed softly. "Where did that come from?"

Mitsuhide looked across the lake, not intending to say why. He asked though, because every now and then, he could somehow sense when she was either in distress, or wishing to speak to him when she was nowhere near him. Of course, the demons of the supernatural world that he was part of could communicate telepathically to each other, but his link with Aki was slightly different. He could sense her.

"I don't just believe in them. I know of them quite well," Aki said. Her statement surprised him and he glanced at her. "I had such a link with my father who – like me – unfortunately could see the future as well. Whenever I was in distress of some sort, he could sense it. Whenever the family would split and one of us did not have a mobile phone, he would call me mentally. Of course, I did not hear that, but my instincts would tell me to look in a certain place, and there he would be."

Mitsuhide gazed up the high windswept clouds. Aki said that they were called 'cirrus' clouds, some of the highest in the skies.

"Your Otou-san sounds very much like you," Mitsuhide mused. "Aside from the idiocy of his youth."

They both chuckled at the stories Aki had told of her father.

"Why did you ask, Mitsuhide-sama?"

Mitsuhide shook his head. "No reason."


That little conversation however had confirmed his suspicions. He had the same link with Aki, though it would be many years, he suspected, before he could understand it or what it meant.

He closed his eyes in defeat as Aki's fear faded, replaced by silence. His instinct knew.

They had lost.


I was forced to my knees, kneeling in a line with the other officers of the Toki-Akechi army. Those not too far in ranking from us were kneeling behind. Our hands were bound tightly behind our backs with ropes that bit our flesh, adding to the pain that was already throbbing through our bodies. I was cut and bleeding, adding to the scars that were already on my body from the Oni attack four years ago.

I glanced at Yorinari, Mitsuhisa and Mitsuyasu. They too were covered in blood. Some of it was theirs, until their wounds healed, but most of it was of the men that they fought alongside and killed. However, they did look tired. It was a relief actually to me, to see them tired. It made them seem more human, more down to earth than the supernatural beings that they actually were.

I blinked the blood and dirt from my eyes and looked up through narrowed eyes. My body was so tired.

Our weapons were confiscated. Saito officers were lined both in front and behind us. Soldiers guarded the outer lines. The air reeked of smoke and death. The dead were everywhere, buildings were ruined.

It was eerily quiet.

Saito Dousan stood before us, still clad in his armour with his helmet removed. He was not an attractive man. His stature was big and sturdy, making him imposing and intimidating.

Katana bare and still stained with blood, he pointed it at Yorinari, tapping the apex of the blade beneath Yorinari's chin.

Dousan smirked cruelly. "Well, well, Yorinari. Who would have thought that you were this weak? Pity that. It must be an embarrassment to the Minamoto ancestors, to see their descendants defeated by me, a man of merchant origins."

I tensed. Because of Dousan's sly nature, the man never found out the true nature of the Toki and the Akechi. He was never told. If he knew, then I bet he would not be rubbing his victory in our faces, I thought angrily. I'm going to have to serve this arrogant bastard for the next fourteen years?

Provided I was still around, that was.

"You are outnumbered, Yorinari," Dousan continued. "I have the larger wealth and power, therefore I claim Mino as my own. You do not have the strength of numbers to retaliate against me."

"What do you intend to do, Saito-sama?" Yorinari questioned with a hint of mocking to his tone. Dousan heard it and kicked him in the head, causing the man to be flung back. I flinched in horror at the unpredictable ruthlessness.

A faint murmur passed through the Toki-Akechi before it was silenced by Dousan's glare.

"Hmph, you try my patience already, Yorinari," he said darkly. "But, this victory of mine has put me in a good mood. You and the rest of the Toki are hereby exiled from Mino. You should count yourself lucky that I will not execute you, because despite my loathing for you, I suppose you were the fool who enabled me to climb to this position of authority."

The Toki-Akechi gasped in anger at the insult and the sentence that was delivered. I on the other hand, felt my shoulders sink in defeat, not surprised by it. I liked Yorinari, even though he was irritatingly naïve and dim sometimes.

Beside me, Mitsuyasu and Mitsuhisa did not react at all. I had already warned them of what to expect from this battle.

"This sentence is in effect immediately," Dousan announced. "Escort the Toki from Mino."

Toki Yorinari was grabbed by two guards, who led him roughly away. Sadness touched my heart and I closed my eyes briefly. Murmurs came from both sides; dismay from the Toki-Akechi, and victory from the Saito. The officers remained silent, but some of them showed obvious anger – Kondo being one of them.

: He will be fine, Mitsuhisa murmured, his mind open to both his brother and me. Ever since I had been let into the loop of Oni, Yokai and the lot, they also practiced seeing if I could hear their telepathic voices and vice versa. I could hear them and reply back to them, but only if they established the first link. I could not talk to them first without them having made the connection first.

Instead of frightening people as it would have done for any normal person, I found this telepathic communication absolutely fascinating now that I was gradually learning more about these supernatural beings.

: Even if the Toki lose their place in the human realm, Mitsuhisa added, the supernatural realm will hail them accordingly to their bloodline and power. Their failure in the human world will have no impact on their reputation in the supernatural world.

I took some comfort from his words, as guards came and went.

Dousan turned his attention to the officers. "You all on the other hand have a slightly different choice. You can either join me, or remain loyal to the weak Yorinari and be executed."

"I would rather die than serve the retainer who betrayed his Lord!" Kondo spat.

My eyes shot to him in alarm.

"As you wish," Dousan said flatly, beheading Kondo on the spot without warning. I was not able to hold back my stifled gasp as the head thumped to the ground and blood fountained from the stump of Kondo's neck. His body collapsed on the ground before Dousan, and the blood spread across the courtyard paving to touch his boots.

Immediately I looked away, jaw clenched and feeling my heart hammer in my chest out of thinly controlled terror. Dousan was indeed ruthless. I prayed silently that he did not notice my flinch.

It was not in my luck.

Dousan stopped in front of me and with his gloved fingers, he forced my chin up to look at him.

"Osamu, Osamu." He smirked. His face was far too close to mine to be comfortable. "You did far better today than I was expecting. You truly are a fascinating woman. Perhaps I should make you one of my concubines – and then I will kill you. You are too much of a thinker to be considered harmless in the bedroom."

I did not hear the last part. The word 'concubine' stuck in my head like a bee to honey, but with the stinging shock of a dagger through the gut. I was still a virgin. If I were to have sex with anyone then it had to be with the man I had fallen in love with. No such thing had happened yet, and the thought of Dousan's flesh against mine made the hairs on my arms stand on end, making my skin crawl in disgust and fear.

"That will not be necessary, Saito-sama," Mitsuyasu cut in monotonously.

Dousan's attention turned to him, but he did not let go of my chin. I swallowed my growing hysteria.

I don't want to be a concubine! Please lose interest! Please don't force me to be your prostitute!

"Saito-sama?" Dousan quoted.

"Yes," Mitsuyasu nodded before Dousan could take it the wrong way. "Osamu is an officer and Akechi Mitsuhide's bodyguard. We ask that you do not make her anything more or less than that. On another note with regards to where our allegiances now lie, I will speak on the behalf of the Akechi clan as a whole – we hereby serve the Saito clan and Saito Dousan, new Lord and Daimyo of Mino."

More gasps rippled through the soldiers, both from the Saito and the Toki-Akechi. Dousan let go of me roughly and moved to tower over Mitsuyasu and Mitsuhisa. The Akechi Lords' expressions remained unreadable. They were not intimidated by Dousan, after all, the two Akechi Lords were something more than human. However, they could not show that to their new Daimyo.

"If you speak on behalf of your clan, then Mitsuhisa, bow down and kiss my boots," Dousan sneered. "Taste the blood of those who served the Toki-Akechi that stains these boots of mine."

With a worried and angry glance, I looked from Dousan to the other brother. It almost looked as if a flash of amusement flickered in his eyes briefly.

Without arguing, he lowered his head, and his lips met Dousan's bloodied boots. The shameful and disgraceful act was done, and the Saito laughed mockingly.

They would not be laughing for long. Soon enough these two clans would be working side by side.

Dousan smirked. "Swallowing pride must be a bitter thing, Mitsuhisa. In that case, the Akechi now serve me. In order to ensure your loyalty however during the transaction, Osamu and Mitsuyasu will be my temporary prisoners. Think of it as insurance. Should the rest of the Akechi not follow your lead, then these two will die. When I can be sure that the Akechi's complete obedience is to me, then I will release them."

My eyes narrowed slightly. That part of my dream was true after all. Mitsuyasu and I would be his prisoners.

The ropes that bound Mitsuhisa were cut and he bowed. "As you wish, Saito-sama."

Dousan grunted. "Now get to work immediately. And you four!" He jabbed a finger at the four closest guards behind Mitsuyasu and I. "Take these two to the cells."

Mitsuhisa bowed one more time before he was escorted out to begin the Akechi defect from the Toki to the Saito, while Mitsuyasu and I were hoisted up roughly and led away.

"Now who else wishes to follow the Akechi's example?" I heard Dousan boom behind me. "Or will you chose the Toki and be executed?"

"Oof!" I puffed as I was shoved along, never getting to find out who sided with us and who chose death. I kept my mouth shut as we were taken down to the lower levels of the castle into the prison beneath. It stank of old excrement and stale straw that was stained with urine.

I was pushed into one cell and Mitsuyasu was pushed into the one next to me. Our bonds were cut, before the barred doors slammed shut in our faces. I glared at the backs of the guards as they headed back up the stairs, laughing at the disgraceful position that the Akechi were currently in – we had been forced to abandon our allies and defect to the enemy side. Where was the honour in that?

Had I not known history, cold fury would have seethed within my soul at this downfall.

"Knowing it still doesn't make it any better!" I spat bitterly under my breath, kicking the bars once in frustration.

"Nevertheless, it is done. The Akechi still maintain our standing in human society, which is currently more important," Mitsuyasu said dully, sitting down against the cold stone wall.

I turned to look at him. Indeed, he was right. It was done, the Akechi had switched allegiances to the Saito, and managed to keep their dignity and position. Still though, that did not ease the burning anger within me over the shameful act that Dousan had forced Mitsuhisa to do.

With a huff, I sat down in the middle of my cell, where the ground was the least dirty. I breathed in through my mouth so I did not have to smell the stench so strongly. My heart still raced in my chest and exhaustion roared through my aching and injured body.

"What will happen now, Mitsuyasu-sama?" I asked in defeat.

Mitsuyasu was silent for a few moments. "Mitsuhisa will go back to Tara Castle and inform the clan of the situation. Then over the coming days, the rest of the Akechi will swear allegiance to Dousan and everything that is under our control, will follow our lead and acknowledge him as the new Daimyo of Mino."

I gazed down at my lap in shame. How disappointed would Mitsuhide be at this failure to quell Dousan's uprising? How would he look on us when we returned to Tara Castle?

It had been a while now since I last saw any of them. Was Kenji alright?

"How long would it take?"

Mitsuyasu shrugged slightly. "That will depend on how cooperative the rest of the clan is."

I sighed softly. Just like how I waited for my time to return to the twenty-first century, I now had to wait to be released from this cell.

The silence began and I closed my eyes from tiredness. It was better to sleep, to meditate. Time would go faster then.

But I knew in my heart that it would go slowly. I just had to endure it.

"You met our expectations," Mitsuyasu said quietly, hours after we had been imprisoned. I opened my eyes and looked up at him. He had the same sort of expression that those who knew and taught me in the twenty-first century wore. Their expectations were strangely high for some God forsaken reason.

And judging from their expressions and praises, I tended to meet them more often than I realised.

"Were they high or low?" I asked softly nonetheless.

"High," Mitsuyasu stated bluntly. I smiled faintly and shook my head in dismay. "It is unlikely that Dousan will demote you from your position as an officer," Mitsuyasu continued. "However, you are a member of my clan, and your fate is ultimately determined by the Akechi – no other. We had our doubts about whether you would be suitable later on as Mitsuhide's true bodyguard, but I believe that those doubts are now void."

I stared at him, before warmth spread through me at his roundabout compliment. It was so hard to get any praise from him, for he was a cold and distant man who showed little emotion.

I smiled, and bowed to him. "Thank you, Mitsuyasu-sama."

He simply grunted and looked back out through the bars, uninterested once again.


14 days later

Mitsuhide stood in the courtyard with his arms crossed and scowling, tapping his toes against the paving in impatience. He was one of many people in the courtyard who greeted Mitsuyasu and Aki as they returned from their temporary imprisonment at Inabayama Castle.

There were smiles all around as the two were welcomed back. When Aki spotted Mitsuhide, he saw her expression falter slightly and she came before him.

"Mitsuhide-sama, I –"

"You are late," he interrupted.

Aki blinked. "Mitsuhide-sama?" She stammered.

"You should have come back days ago," he said irritably.

She stared at him. "Y-you are not disappointed?"

His eyes snapped to hers. He was only a few inches shorter than her now. "About what? The defeat?"

She looked awkward and he exhaled sharply. "As long as we are alive, defeat is never a true defeat. Had you lost completely, then that would be a different matter."

She was silent for a moment, letting the noise and babble of everyone else wrap them in a cocoon of their own little world. The awkwardness faded from her posture and a tiny, cunning smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"You were concerned that I may have died?"

He flinched unsuspectingly. She hit the target. "You were worried about my safety?"

"Hmph!" He harrumphed coldly, looking away, unable to stop the slight flush that tinged his cheeks. Aki laughed. The sound was light hearted and filled with respite.

"You are so very sweet, Mitsuhide-sama," she teased, like she had done on countless occasions before in the last five years.

"Hurry up and get rested. We start our team training again tomorrow at dawn," he said icily. That though was just to mask the complete opposite feeling within him. He was relieved that she was still alright, relieved to see her smile and to hear her laugh. Even the teasing was a relief.

Because Aki was back. Alive and in one piece.


A/N: And that's another key point in history that has now happened :) Things should be advancing faster now through the timeline. But I do like my detail and getting my relationships established and developed. It's no fun if everything gets achieved right at the beginning, otherwise it isn't as deep XD Please review! Reviews = faster updates ;)