Nobuko smirked as she heard about the foiled plans and Hanbei's plotting. Another loss for him, another setback, another need to repurpose their army. And as a servant announced the Maeda presence in the fortress she knew Toyotomi was about to lose another piece of their prowess. As little as it was it would still be a hindrance. And all the talk of a new weapon. If it was what she believed it would sooner be used against the Toyotomi that in their benefit.
The losses that were happening from the shadows all over the country were still silent. She walked away calmly, her path crossing with Akio who had been summoned to Hanbei's presence. The Celestial Mistress's hands slid lovingly over the hidden blades in her sleeves while keeping her face neutral. Not your kill… she reminded herself, vanishing when no one was near.
So that was it. Nobuko thought, observing from the upper halls, peering into the courtyard, listening to the coughs and wheezes that were growing louder and more pained, audible even in her above spot.
Takenaka Hanbei was dying. It was interesting that he had been able to conceal it with so many agents within those walls. But it was not a vital piece of information. Too bad he hadn't died already. No one had ordered a hit and the ones against Toyotomi had failed. And she had forbidden any more losses.
But a dying strategist only meant that he was in a haste and explained the forceful way he wanted to proceed with Toyotomi's army. It also explained a bit more clearly why he had taken Kojuro.
A substitute.
He would have been luckier trying to persuade Mori.
Even if it would backfire horribly in the end.
But surely he was prepared for that.
"Matsunaga is arriving." Shiro whispered, deeply shadowed. Nobuko glanced at him for a moment, frowning. That man was very eager to answer the call after hiding and pursuing his treasures silently for those five years.
"Can you get me a copy of what he is being promised?" The reassuring silence and sudden absence of her guard was a good answer. She leaned forward, eyes narrowed.
Another wildcard that would sooner stab a man in the back and then take his possessions without qualm or care for promises other warlords held so sacredly high. Such ruthless flexibility was admirable. Unfortunately it was also in her way.
Most of the land was clean already, the subplots Hanbei had created with the shinobi and traitors he had available undermined. They had had some success in shattering some of the support of the hidden north force but not disabling all of them. Battle would soon break in Satsuma as first Toyotomi's deployment should be arriving. Mori would leave Aki to support and then betray. Toyotomi would be leaving for Odawara at dawn and Hanbei would be headed to Harima to intercept the future Mori betrayal as soon as he was informed of the movements.
Date was still on the move and edging closer, the only general that was not pinned or defending. Nobuko fully expected her child to disregard Date's orders as soon as he loosened the leash and just grab the Right Eye so the One-Eyed Dragon could perform a proper and speedy defeat of the Toyotomi.
Nobuko tapped the wooden railing gently and went back inside to find a comfortable eavesdropping position in the main meeting room. She did not like repeating hiding spots and whit Fuma Kotaro coming along loyal, for now, to Matsunaga she preferred to employ a lot more care.
Fuma was a clan-less mercenary but had never betrayed the shinobi. He chose to stay free of the family obligations and links, keeping the all in good business politics. If she could, as soon as he showed signs of completing his agreed duties to Matsunaga, it would be in the allied clan's interest to present a proposal and a hefty sum.
The steps were different from the usual.
Patrols had a rhythm.
Hanbei was easy to tell by the light sounds and the sounds the armours made when bowing.
The ones that came closer were harder, more self assured. New and unfamiliar was all he could say for the moment.
Kojuro opened his eyes slowly, breaking out of his meditative trance. He should be ready to face whatever, whoever came through that entrance.
Dusk was settling, making the cell darker and oppressing. Another trick to break the imprisoned. Soon though a faint moonlight would pour through the small gaps in the bars. As soon as his eyes grew accustomed it was quite soothing.
The lock mechanisms creaked when the guards outside allowed the visitor to pass. Or could be an executor. His words toward Hanbei could not have been clearer. Maybe it had been finally decided he was too much trouble and indeed impossible to turn.
"It had been a while Right Eye of the Dragon." A deep voice stated, accompanying the general that no one had seen for the last five years.
Kojuro's eyes widened for a moment, in recognition, rage and wariness.
"Matsunaga." Kojuro gave him his name, harsh and in disgust, to hide the startle the view had brought him. Matsunafa crossed the cell, barely glancing at its imprisoned, looking towards the small window, a slight smug smile on his face.
The Right Eye of the Dragon had seen them man blown with the statue at Todai-ji. At the time he had not questioned it. It was a common attitude. A better to die than be killed sort of path that left the victor incomplete, the target snatched away before triumph. Or just feeling relief that he was finally gone.
Sarutobi and Saki had questioned the convenience of the setup.
Kojuro had been happy to let the dust settle and walk away with the swords and men, with no lives lost on their faction and alliance.
"Oh… the netherworld had little in the way of noteworthy treasures, you see." The ermit general turned, still wearing the same smug smile, seemingly unchanged by time. It was unsettling but his discipline was not going to break because of the return of a supposedly dead man. Even if at the time he had been the one that had been robbed of the finishing blow. "I thought I would come and find some more amusement amongst the living."
The same kind of provocation said in an unemotional way.
"Free to come and go amongst the living and the dead?" Kojuro stated, keeping his own veneer of calm, sparing a glance, a glare. "I wouldn't put it past you."
"Sensibly received." Matsunaga appraised with approval, turning, hands behind his back, still looking around, cataloguing everything in sight. "Life and death of men is ultimately a trivial matter."
"So you're after Toyotomi's treasures, is that it?" It was the only thing Kojuro believe would make Matsunaga move and actually act.
"It is not as if I have come to steal." It was an easy admission, a slight shrug moving his shoulders as he approached. "Toyotomi's commendable strategist asked for my help." Matsunaga turned, measured steps bringing him closer. "I have been charged with the task of annihilating the Date Army. I will receive the treasures as remuneration for that." He was staring at the broken blade after casually announcing his mission, uncaring about the lies Hanbei had planted. "You must have sensed that the One-Eyed Dragon is still alive." Matsunaga smirked for a brief moment, something that reassured no one. "There is no better bait than his Right Eye to lure the Dragon in."
"Why bother assigning this task to you?" Kojuro kept his voice under control, slightly worried, baffled.
"Unfortunately for you I have no interest in Toyotomi's strategy." That was all he was going to say on the question. Whether he knew or just did not care was anyone's guess. His eyes were on the broken claw. "But what a shame. I thought this would be an opportunity for me to obtain the Six Dragon Claws as well, but to think that is now one sword short…" He placed a knee on the tatami, gloved hand hovering above the sword before gripping it, examining it in the fading light. Kojuro kept still, without reaction. Broken and lost it was still part of a set, a shard of Masamune's soul and it pained his general to have it taken like that. "But treasures are profound things. There are as many ways to appreciate them as there are people. Worn, scarred and no longer quite in its original shape…" He took the blade, standing, walking a bit, back turned. Why? It was such a careless, carefree thing to do... "One could say that that is what makes a truly supreme and rare article." There was a slight thoughtful pause.
The fusuma was open, the wooden bars beyond it also left unbolted.
Kojuro's eyes darted towards that. It was a chance. If he timed it right he could actually... go through the corridors, go through the gates. Take a katana, take a horse…
"If the One-Eyed Dragon himself were also such a man…" Matsunaga continued, dragging his attention back. Kojuro tensed under an unmoving aspect. "If he finds his Right Eye all but dead… reunited with his greatest treasure might he not rejoice, shedding tears from his one eye?"
"You are trash." Kojuro answered simply to those mad ravings. A shadow shifted outside for a briefest flicker. But in a fortress full of shinobi he could not be sure that that one shift was an ally, an enemy or simply a light moving in the corridor due to wind or patrol.
"There is but one thing that Toyotomi strategist has forbidden. That I must not kill you. Put another way…" Matsunaga still had not turned.
"Matsunaga!" Kojuro interrupted, taking his chance.
Throwing one of the pins of his jacket's collar, the one inscribed with Duty, throwing it hard towards the man, was a first decoy, crouching when he used the broken sword to defect the projectile, gripping the katana, pulling it out of its scabbard, preparing the blade to attack.
Before he could a blade was pressed to his neck, the space in-between him and the enemy occupied by a shinobi clad in black and white appeared in a flash of shadow and feathers, forcing him to a still stalemate.
"It means that as long as I don't kill you he does not care what I do to you." Matsunaga continued, having him pinned, chuckling slightly. "How intriguing."
"Reckless. The lot of you men." Kojuro flinched slightly in response to the acrid harsh tone Nobuko was using, cutting though the haze that was caging his mind. He recalled Matsunaga's presence and the shinobi he used against him. And a mist… "You faced him before and were fully aware that he has a preference for trickery and poison." The Right Eye sighed and began to move, sitting. The shinobi helped him carefully until he was once again sitting in a meditative position, taking a deep breath, his eyes clearing.
"It was a chance." He justified sourly, the edges a bit frayed after the dragging of time between the walls, thinking back on the open cage. It could have been a trap but it had been a chance. "I had to take it."
Nobuko's dark eyes narrowed.
Then she slapped the back of his head, huffing, unbalancing him.
Kojuro's hands touched the flooring. He stared at her, startled. Then he coughed, pulling his hair back, regaining the usual calm and calculation that made him a master strategist. As the days passed he found that he had to actually make an effort to be and act calm. It was not a good sign.
It had been a long time since anyone had treated him like a stubborn youngster.
"Was it a poison?" He asked, still feeling the after-effects.
"A mild one. Then…" The shinobi said softly, staring him down. "Tell me what you believe."
Kojuro closed his eyes and analysed the facts.
"He broke the masquerade Hanbei was keeping." Which meant the loyalties were not solid. Matsunaga only served himself. "I believed he would take me as bait." He added.
The conversation about the Dragon shedding tear and Matsunaga's usual methods…
Nobuko scoffed at him, still glaring.
It made his spine feel iced actually.
"A rumour is a lot easier to handle than a live male that when he had a chance to make it and actually escape, goes for the nearest katana and head on against the enemy." The kunoichi said in a very silky tone. "An enemy that has all the advantages." He flinched. It was a miscalculation born of anger, throwing the original idea away, true. Nobuko sighed in the moonlight, standing, looking towards the outside. "He is a bomb specialist. He can take down an army without needing an army."