"There was a ghost in your room last night?" Masatsugu raised an eyebrow.
Describing the ghost to him, Masazumi glared. "Enough hiding things from your own children, Chichi-ue. What secrets haven't you told us?"
Their father heaved a sigh. "That was unexpected. Fine—there is a ghost who guards this castle, and I'm certain that it was he who kept this place safe from harm even when the Oda tore down everything else."
"See, that wasn't so hard, was it?"
"Be quiet, Masazumi. I'm not in the mood for dealing with your insolence today."
The older Ishida ducked his head and obeyed.
"Is this related to the crypt?" Mitsunari asked.
Masatsugu looked at them, his eyes yielding only a brief flicker of pain, before he got to his feet. "I suppose the time has come to show you. But first we need to purify ourselves before setting foot down there. It is a sacred place. Go bathe, and then meet me outside at the front gates."
The brothers obeyed. At the gates, Masatsugu led them around to a small rock garden at the back of the castle. A small roof covered part of the garden, and several stone statues of horses and birds decorated the sand.
As they watched, Masatsugu crossed over to one of the horses and gripped its raised foreleg, lowering it. For the bird, he raised its head. With a thump, the tiles under the roof dropped into the earth, a series of thunks sounding further underground as a hidden stairway expanded for them. Wordless, he gestured towards the passage and his sons hesitated before descending into the darkness.
A faint, strange bluish light emanated from the depths. They proceeded down the stairs and when they reached the bottom, Masatsugu raised two levers in the wall, resetting the statues outside. The stairs raised up again, closing the entrance.
Mitsunari shivered and glanced around. They were in a tight corridor with only one way forward, and the blue light flooded through from the small entrance to a much larger chamber before them. But before they could proceed, Masazumi cried out.
"The ghost is here!"
The air in front of them clouded up with a dark swirling aura, vaguely human in shape, and solidifying slightly. Two red points of light flared to life in the shadow of the face. Yelping, for it was a sight straight out of a nightmare, Mitsunari scurried behind his brother.
Only Masatsugu showed no fear. He stepped towards the apparition and bowed. "Grandfather. We meet again, after so long."
"G-Grandfather?" Masazumi's eyes grew huge. "You mean he's our..."
"Yes. This man, or what used to be a man, is your great-grandfather. It was he who protected our home from the attacking Oda and drove them off, leaving this ancestral castle untouched." Turning towards them, he gestured with an arm. "Look upon them, Grandfather. These are your great-grandchildren. I've raised them as best as I could, and they now serve one of the most powerful forces in the country."
Drifting closer to the quivering brothers, the apparition inspected them. No emotion could be discerned from its features. Though Mitsunari and Masazumi tried to be respectful, at this proximity an overwhelming aura of threat and death stifled any attempt at speech.
Seeming satisfied, the ghost retreated.
"It is time I took them here and explained some of their family's history to them," Masatsugu said quietly. "To meet the relatives they never knew. If you'll allow us, we would like to continue to the room beyond."
Lingering for a few moments, the ghost nodded, and its red eyes closed, the blackness dissipating like smoke blown away by the breeze.
"Come on, you two," Masatsugu said, walking towards the blue light. "Someone else is waiting for us here."
The brothers glanced at each other, then followed.
The circular room was huge, stretching around them, every stone and tile carefully placed. Arrayed around the room were three more exits leading to other parts of the crypt. In the middle grew a large tree, its limbs spread out like a leafy umbrella. The architecture of the room channeled some sort of breeze throughout, and the tranquil rustling of the leaves echoed. Blossoms scattered all through its branches, emitting that beautiful blue light. The tree's roots delved into the floor and vanished.
"What is that?" Mitsunari asked breathlessly.
"It's a tree known as the Night's Serenity," Masatsugu answered. "My grandfather first showed me this place, and even he did not know where the tree came from or when it was planted, but he suspects that it was cultivated by the Miura. The tree requires neither light nor water, instead relying completely on darkness. The blossoms glow because they are assisting the tree in capturing energy."
"It's beautiful."
"Over here." Masatsugu walked around to the other side of the tree's trunk. "Do not be alarmed."
Leaning back against the tree with his eyes closed, a man sat on the floor. He seemed like he was merely relaxing and taking a nap, his lips giving the slightest hint of a smile. Judging from the distinctive bang tapering to a point just above the nose and the style of armour, he was an Ishida warrior from their particular family. The pinkish silver hair was separated at the back and pinned up with two hair clips, allowing the long tendrils to flow freely downwards, and they wavered in the light breeze, giving the illusion he was alive.
The brothers paused, unsure what to make of this man. Masatsugu knelt down and squeezed one of the hands.
"Chichi-ue," he murmured. "I've come home. I'm sorry it took ten years. I only wish you could see your grandchildren."
Masazumi dropped to his knees. Evidently it was becoming too much for him. "So now you're telling us that this is our grandfather?"
"Yes, he is."
"Well...how come his body is here, and doesn't look a day past his thirties?"
"It happened some time after I entered the service of the Azai clan. My grandfather was looking after me, since the death of my father brought us together. One day, some bandits struck this town. They desecrated many of the graves by digging them up. I arrived just as they were trying to flee, and killed them to protect the townspeople. We tried to clean up the graves, and that was when I discovered the bandits had dug up my father. It was his pristine condition that sent them running in fear. Then my grandfather arrived, and he suggested that we should take my father to a more protected place, here."
Mitsunari fixed his gaze on Seishin's face. "And so you left him here."
"I was still very young, and barely a year had passed since his death," Masatsugu said quietly. "So we set his body up like this, and he seems like he's only sleeping now. I was happier that I could come down here, and be able to see his face and to talk to him. It helped me heal. It helped my grandfather heal, somewhat, after the falling-out he had with Chichi-ue."
"Do you know why our grandfather's body hasn't..."
"We're not sure, but it may have something to do with the beast claw and how often he used it. The beast claw absorbs energy from any kind of darkness, whether night or shadows. It must have affected him somehow."
The leaves wavered in the quiet of the chamber. Kneeling, Mitsunari felt that at any moment Seishin might draw in a breath and open his eyes, but it never happened. It was strange, because he seemed so alive despite being dead. Then Mitsunari understood—the skin and lips still retained the colour they possessed in life, instead of the colourless grey that the dead wore. Could the power of Miura artifacts truly preserve a person to this extent?
He glanced towards his father. "May I?"
Masatsugu nodded. So Mitsunari reached out with a trembling hand and laid it gently on top of his grandfather's. It was cold—a different cold than ice or snow.
"He's so..." Masazumi swallowed. "I don't know how to explain it. But I just look at him, and I'm filled with awe. He must have been a respected and deadly warrior in his time."
"He was. No one could use setsuna or Kyoukou like he did." Stepping closer to the tree, Masatsugu sat down next to Seishin. "I think I will stay here for a short while. If you two want to head back outside, you may."
Mitsunari glanced toward his brother, who jerked his head in the direction of the exit. So they left the crypt, reopening the passage to the outside world.
"I hope Chichi-ue isn't hiding anything else," Masazumi remarked, stretching. "I've had enough revelations for one day."
"Otou-sama seems to miss him a lot."
"He isn't like us. We at least have each other, but he's all alone, with no relatives or other loved ones."
"I wish he wasn't so lonely."
His brother looked away. "We still haven't visited our mother."
"Shall we go now, then?"
"We might as well."
Together, the brothers located the village cemetery. Along the way, they paused to purchase some flowers, and searched for their mother's grave. They found it, and laid down the flowers before kneeling in reverence and putting their hands together in prayer.
Mitsunari shut his eyes, and recalled Enma's face. The memories of their meeting still burned clearly within his mind to this day. With the gentle breeze rustling the grass, a peaceful warmth settled over his body.
He told her that he was doing well, and that she needn't worry too much about them. He would do his best to take care of his brother and father, promising that he would look after himself and asking that she give guidance when he needed it most.
Finished, he opened his eyes and rose to his feet. Masazumi was still kneeling, so he waited. They were the only ones here in the cemetery today—the townsfolk were all hard at work.
Masazumi got up, and together they left, returning to the busy market street. Mitsunari thought that they should bring some gifts back for their other companions, so they browsed the goods in various stalls and shops. Examining a shop selling carved objects, Mitsunari found a jade ball with an ornate wooden stand, both polished to a beautiful sheen. Though the jade was simple in appearance, it had a marvelous display of greens and whites, and reminded him of Yoshitsugu's beads. It would make a nice gift, so he bought it and the shopowner boxed it for him.
They passed by a stand selling omamori amulets. Mitsunari's gaze fell on one, embroidered in gold with red cord. Perhaps Ieyasu might appreciate it, so he purchased that too.
"I didn't think you would warm up to him so quickly," Masazumi remarked as they set off on the road back to the castle. "I never would have guessed from the way you treated him."
"Be quiet."
"You should be happy to have friends, you know. This is more friends than you've ever had in your whole life."
"Onii-sama, I..." He hesitated, trying to collect his thoughts. Masazumi remained silent until he was ready to speak. "I admit some part of me is still afraid that Ieyasu might turn his back on me like so many others. I know I am making myself vulnerable by opening up to him. But he is so sincere, and genuine in his friendship. I think it is all right to trust him."
"Your trust in others has been broken a lot. That's why you find it difficult. But, it's a small start."
"That's why I'm glad you're my brother. I know you'll always be here for me, even if the rest of the world condemns me."
"O-Oi, don't say things like that all of a sudden." Masazumi's cheeks tinted with red.
Mitsunari smiled and left that alone, not wanting to embarrass his brother any further. "How do you feel to be back here? I'm sure your memories are much clearer than mine."
"In some ways, I'm still trying to deal with the shock of actually being here. It's like I can't look at anything without a rush going through my body. At the same time...I feel sad. This is a reminder of the life we left behind." Masazumi glanced at him. "Do you ever wonder what we would be doing now if we weren't born warriors? Would we attend some prestigious academy, do you think, and become scholars?"
He laughed. "Businessmen."
"You're right. We'd start something together, that's for certain."
"It would be nice to have attended some places of higher learning, I admit, but Otou-sama and Hanbei-sama have both taught us so much. I don't think...something like that is really needed. Not with our current line of work, anyway."
"Ha! Is that some dissatisfaction I sense?"
"Not in the slightest! There is nowhere else I'd rather be than with the Toyotomi, at the forefront of carving out a future for this country!"
"In a way, it almost sounds like we're taking over the world, aren't we?"
"Oh Onii-sama, stop that."
As they reached the castle walls, Mitsunari slowed his pace a bit to take in the beauty of the old, yet sturdy building. When he was little he never truly understood what a luxury it was to live here, the comfort and security that this place provided. He was lucky to be born into this family.
Other questions crawled out of the darker corners of his mind. Where would his path in life lead him? Would this be the last time he saw this place again? Would he be all alone the next time he visited? They were ugly questions, the constant what-ifs that followed every warrior as they strove to fulfil their duty.
That's why Hanbei-sama sent us all here, he told himself, so that we can cherish whatever time we have left together, so that we have fewer regrets.
He hadn't come here to worry about the future, and had no time to waste doing so. Feeling more assured, he hurried to catch up with Masazumi.