"Shit!"

"Fuck's sake!"

"Son of a bitch!"

"There's china on the floor." I murmured, not really comprehending the voice until she had swore again. "Wait, Mizu?"

"Yeah. Sayomi, why the fuck is the floor covered in china?"

"Stand still for a second. I've got a candle somewhere." When I finally located the damn thing and nudged the flame back into life, I easily spotted Mizu hugging the wall, boots in one hand, bag over her other shoulder, and a lot of blood on the floor. With the light to help her find a path, Mizu picked her way across, finally collapsing onto my legs.

She brought her feet up for inspection, wincing at the various cuts and pieces sticking out of her skin. Without sparing a thought for my own cringing, she began extracting what she could, talking to keep her mind off the pain, "So, why is this all over my side?"

"I got pissed off and started flinging things. Satoshi brushed it over there."

"Any particular reason you were pissed off?"

I hesitated before finally deciding to tell her, "Your brother."

Mizu continued picking bits out, and for a second, I thought she hadn't heard. I expected her to stiffen a little, or at least pause in her task. Instead, all I got was, "Really? Anything I should know about?"

"He thinks I don't want to marry him because I happen to be a little bit richer than I had thought."

"I take it you objected?"

"Viciously." Pointing to a piece she'd missed, I gave her a brief summary of the argument, latching onto a part I had found strange at the time, but hadn't really had time to ask about, "He said I wasn't the only one trying not to repeat my parent's mistakes. That mean anything, or is it private?"

Mizu shook her head, gasping with relief when she got the final piece out, pulling a pack of bandages out of her shoulder bag and going to work with them, "My brother's got a nasty temper, but he never loses track of what he's saying. Anything he flings in an argument is fair game. Anyway, thing is, our parents were of different classes, Mom being of a higher status in our village. When she married our dad, her parents disowned her, and she joined his rank. Romantic as it sounds, they sometimes argued about it. Hanzo's just concerned that if he, how'd he say it; tear you from all that, you'd one day end up hating him for it." Brushing her hair behind her ears, Mizu tied off the first bandage and stuck her foot out to inspect it, moving onto the next afterwards, "Don't forget, your parents might've done the same, but status tends to be the husband's."

"I know but…" Mizu looked round at my hesitation, her hands still winding the bandages. "Noble blood's given me nothing but trouble. The thought of losing that claim didn't sound like a horror story at all, you know?"

She thought long and hard about my words, finishing her bandages in silence. Only when the last knot was tied and she was replacing the roll in her bag, did she speak, "Have you tried telling him that?"

"I might've flung something vaguely like it at him."

"And then?"

"I might've stormed off to break something." It was my sheepish delivery that made Mizu look at me, the pair of us staring for a few seconds before giggling, hands clamped to our mouths to try and stifle the sound.

Mizu recovered first, hands slowly coming back down to wave at the pieces around us, "Yeah, looks like you did a good job."

With my own laughter though, came a small trace of clarity. "Mizu, what are you doing here?" The words cut into her breath, stilling it so effectively, I thought she might suffocate. A thousand emotions, a thousand lies flitted across her face, and I vaguely wondered which one she'd grab at.

To my surprise, her breathing started again, colour flushing back to her cheeks along with it, "I…I'll tell you in the morning. It's a really long and stupid story."

"Alright." I promised without thinking, looking out of the window to gauge the time. If I had to guess, it technically was morning, but I wasn't cruel enough to push this onto her.

It seemed to do the trick. Mizu gave a small smile and asked me to budge over, curling under the quilt with me, and almost immediately falling asleep, like she'd ran all the way from Oshu.

For all I knew, maybe she had.

When I suggested at a more decent hour that she go see the doctor, Mizu shook her head earnestly, going for the bowl of food I'd brought her up again, "Less people who know I'm here, the better."

"Fair enough. But if those cuts don't heal right-"

"I'm stubborn, not stupid. Trust me, I'll see him if I need to." I gave a doubtful glance at her feet, and at the blood on the mats, but didn't push the matter. The last thing I needed was to spook her and send her running off again. Not with those bandages anyway.

She did however keep her promise, but the story was far from long and stupid, condensed and as serious as it was. "A few days into my stay, his fiancée came to visit, insisting the contract needed to be met, especially in these times."

"Masamune's engaged? Sounds arranged."

"It is, at least that's what Masamune told me. Anyway, she and I didn't really see each other, and he behaved the same as he always did. But last night, we both had a bit too much to drink, went a bit further than usual and…Ah, it's stupid."

I fixed her with a hard look, arms folded, "Mizu."

"I might've, kind of, sort of screamedandslappedhim."

I gave her a second to think she got away with it, before speaking slowly and calmly, "You screamed and slapped him? What happened then?"

"Well, that sort of sobered both of us up. It just...happened all of a sudden. He looked so hurt, Yomi, couldn't stop asking me if I was okay, if it was something he'd done…" Her head fell into her hands, and began shaking wildly, "And the worst part was it wasn't. But he wouldn't believe me, and by then, Kojuro was bursting in to investigate and I didn't stick around to explain. I just left him there."

"What's to explain? We all go a bit further when we've had a few, remember when Hanzo tried to kiss me that New Year's?"

"It's…a bit different than that, Sayomi." With a long sigh, Mizu pulled her hair out of her face, staring off into the distance. At last, with another shake of her head, she stared at her feet. "I don't know if Hanzo knows, or not, so keep your mouth shut."

"I will." I swore.

Saying anything more than that would be a grave injustice to Mizu. I will tell you that by the time she finished, calming down as she distanced herself from it, my fists were clenched and it was my turn to shake. The words became steadier as she spoke, keeping me from interrupting, but when she finished, I gave a simple promise, "I'll kill him."

"Too late, already sorted." Mizu gave a wane smile, suddenly looking so much older. It wasn't so surprising, though, not after that discussion.

Seeing the shadows beginning to cross over her face again, and for lack of anything else to do, I tried to steer the conversation back to the original subject. "So you ran while Masamune was distracted?"

"Had a bag packed before they could try checking my room. Left my bow and the rest of my shit, but I got the important stuff."

That's how I knew how off kilter this situation had made her, to think that her bow wasn't important. As far as personal dramas went, this certainly shoved mine and Hanzo's argument into the background.

She gave a reluctant snort, "At least he still has his fiancée."

I don't know who was more surprised when I hugged her, Mizu or myself. "We'll sort this out." I promised, feeling her arms wrap around me hesitantly, "It'll get sorted or my name isn't Sayomi Hiroto."

Hanzo didn't look up when I came closer, but when I shoved the tip of my sword onto his spear and pushed it down, he gave me a glare, "What?"

"Geez, there's a welcome." Glancing around and spotting some soldiers trying hard to look like they weren't eavesdropping, I gestured for him to follow me, stepping back into the corridor and into an empty room. For a second I thought he would just be contrary and stay outside, but he defied expectations, though not without a show of groaning.

"What do you want, Yomi, I'm trying to practise."

With a roll of my eyes, I quickly filled him in, adding a quick warning about the china on the floor against the spiteful side of me. "She's up in our room, but you can't tell anyone. I'm going to head over to Oshu and get the rest of her stuff."

When he didn't say anything, my nose screwed up with a tiny trace of anger, "Just get upstairs and sit with her until I get back."

"Fine, but it goes without saying-"

"Yeah, yeah, doing it for her, not because I asked you to. I get it."

With this problem forcing us to cooperate for now, Hanzo poked his head out into the corridor to check it was still clear before waving me out. "If anyone asks I'll cover for you. Just be as fast as you can, okay?"

"Not a second longer than necessary." I promised, already moving.

My horse was saddled in a few minutes, almost running over the grooms in its haste to get started. She knew this wasn't a leisure ride, and acted accordingly, whinnying sharply to warn people off the roads, and clattering through the town gates before I could even apologise. Patting her neck to thank her for her speed this early, I hunkered down, letting her speed forwards with minimal guiding. She was an Oshu horse anyway (I think), so the way home was probably burned into her memory from birth.

From Edo to Oshu took a few hours, and I wasn't foolish enough to think the horse could keep this pace up for much longer. Already we were well into the forest, trees and shrubbery blurring into one green line. Within a few minutes, we would be at the rest point we had used last year. Thankfully, about an hour into my journey, when her galloping dropped into a light canter, my destination came to me.

A large bullet came around the corner, but when it caught sight of us, it revealed itself to just be another horse and rider, the mounts rearing up in surprise at being blindsided like this. Grabbing blindly at the reins, my fingers slipped and I ended up in the dirt, my horse calming a second later, while a grunt a little way off told me my new friend was in a similar situation. "Shit, you okay?"

"Nothing broken." I confirmed, sitting up and dusting myself down, "You?"

"Nah, I'm good." Masamune groaned, coming around to help me up. Grasping onto his offered hand and moving with the tug, I gave him a quick look up and down, deciding I didn't want to go back and tell Mizu her boyfriend was hurt. "What are you doing out here?"

"Could ask you the same thing. Where's Master Katakura?" I half expected him to burst out of a nearby bush, but Masamune's snort put paid to that.

"Left him watching Oshu and the kids. Your turn."

"On my way to you actually." Taking hold of my reins, I led my horse to the rest point, letting her drink and eat her fill. "See, I've got a really upset ninja hiding in my room at the minute. She told me what happened."

Masamune didn't say anything as he dealt with his own mount, just pulled a bag off of the saddle, holding it out for me to take. "And?" He finally asked, but it had no challenge in it.

"She's lying low for now." I gave the bag's contents a quick check, picking out a few of Mizu's clothes and socks in there. Not much, but enough for a few days. "How's the fiancée?"

He gave an irritated snort, "With any luck, halfway back to her family. I left Kojuro to deal with her entourage."

"I hope you're planning on giving him a raise." Along with a week's worth of paid leave and the promise it would never happen again. "Was she anyone I should know?"

"Just another daughter of the nobility. I got the feeling that if I left her in charge of Oshu, I'd come back to a pink war room."

I forced myself to laugh, receiving a slight raise of his shoulders as a response. "So, spring wedding then?"

"Oh definitely. You're all invited of course." The pair of us caught our breath, the air seizing with tension once again, "Can you talk to her, for me?"

"I think that's something you should do yourself." I prodded gently. "Maybe it works out for you both, maybe it won't. Or hell, maybe I'm crap with relationship advice. Either way, she'd appreciate it more than hearing it all second hand."

Something in there worked, Masamune nodding before moving towards his saddle, "You want to go ahead and announce me?"

"Nah, let her have this part of the fairy tale." I didn't have to tell him twice, and he was off like a shot again, leaving me with his sweetheart's bag and my own horse. Eh, ten minutes was enough of a head start.

Hanzo was insistent on chaperoning the meeting between his sister and his suitor, like any good brother should, but I convinced him (i.e., dragged him by the ear) to merely observe the proceedings from a balcony on the second floor while they walked in the garden. That wasn't to say he didn't watch them like a hawk, leaning a little forwards every time Masamune touched her. "Oh relax."

"Like hell I will. She so much as frowns I'm going down there."

He finally pulled his eyes away when I chuckled, only a small amount of force behind his glare, "What would you do if they married?"

"Protest." He said immediately, following it with a briefest shade of a grin, "Viciously."

"You'll get little support there I'm afraid." They made a good image together, especially considering Masamune, in his haste to get here, wasn't wearing his armour. If it weren't for the fact that both of us knew who it was, we might've mistaken him for any village man come a courting. "He'd be hard pressed to find someone like Mizu."

"Too right." Hanzo agreed, before curiosity arrived, "Like Mizu how?"

"Not temper wise." I stated, biting my lip at the laughter Hanzo released. Maybe we were on the path to recovery already. Even if it was just to distract him, I considered, taking a careful sideways glance below us, where Masamune had bravely taken one of her hands. Seeing Mizu didn't seem to be attempting escape or crying out for assistance, I continued, "Someone who cares about who he is, not just the title and land, but also knows the common people and what they need. Someone unafraid to question decisions, but willing to come to a compromise. Essentially? Masamune needs someone like him, someone realistic and fearless, but at the same time, soft."

Hanzo soaked in my words carefully, "What poetry did you steal that from?"

I gave a hurt tut and jabbed him with my elbow, a sly smirk spreading across my face when attention returned to the lovebirds, "Well, poetic it may have been, but don't you dare tell me it wasn't a good distraction."

"Eh, what do you- Where the fuck!?" Clapping my hands and cackling like a madwoman, I was unable to do more than stumble back a few steps when Hanzo went running to investigate.

Noblewoman I may have been, but damn if I didn't understand the need for privacy in these matters. Waiting a few more seconds to make sure he had gone, I leant a little further over the balcony, giving a sharp whistle, "Alright, he's gone!"

There was no matching whistle, and no guilty couple crept out from under the balcony like I had advised Masamune to do while Hanzo had been getting Mizu. He had followed the advice right?

It was Hanzo that answered the question for me, by appearing in the garden while I watched for Masamune's signal. Looking around furiously, he had the bright idea to look up, and even from my heightened position I saw how tense his jaw was, "Sayomi! Did you plan this?"

"I'm only mostly guilty this time!"

The next words didn't carry as well, obviously muttered, but the next sentence was clearly meant for my ears, "Lord of Oshu or not, if he's ran off with my sister, I'll kill him!"

Oh well at least I was safe. "She's a big girl Hanzo, I'm sure she can take care of herself."

To cut a long, and rather fuzzy story short (My laughter may not have been contagious, but poor Kotone later told me she thought I was going to run out of air at one point) we found them. Though, by that point we had half the castle on the lookout, after explaining that yes, Mizu had returned, and in true Tokugawa army fashion, Magoichi proved herself the sane one by checking the stable first.

With her standing watch, Mizu and Masamune probably weren't spewing declarations of true love or intentions for a spring marriage, but by the time the same idea occurred to the rest of the search party, Masamune was already saddled up, asking a simple question, "Are you sure?"

"Closer to New Year's, I promise. There's crazy stuff going down," She started, looking back at our not so hidden observation post, "I want to be here when it comes."

"Alright then, I'll get Kojuro to send the rest of your stuff here. Just take care of yourself, okay?"

"Don't worry, I'm a big girl!"

"That's what I said!" They didn't bother turning to look at me, but their grins definitely increased a little bit. Hanzo's reaction wasn't quite the same, as the back of my skull would happily attest, but by the time we moved out of our brilliant hiding place, his sister's hand had been elegantly kissed, and the perpetrator was halfway out the front gate.

Mizu stood staring after him for a while, a soft but contented smile on her face. As we came to stand by her, she turned her smile on us, "I told him everything."

Hanzo gave a start, giving me a suspicious glance, "Everything?"

"Everything."

Wrapping an arm around her, I watched Masamune's horse vanish into the dust it was kicking up. Under my hand, there was the faintest bit of trembling, but Mizu's grin never wavered, even when Hanzo scoffed at us both before kissing his sister on the cheek. Somehow, I knew everything would be alright.