Holding my breath, I crept around Hotaru and Yori's beds, kneeling down and tapping Kotone on the shoulder, "It's time." She tensed under my hand, but nodded under her quilt, getting up as I left.
Back in our room, Mizu was already up and dressed, just lacing her bracers on properly. "Kotone's awake."
"You tell your uncle I'll cut where it matters if she gets hurt?"
"Yeah, I think he got it."
"Good." Wrapping her hair in the tightest braid I think it had ever been subjected to, Mizu crossed over to help with my armour. "Got any advice for this?"
I shook my head, adjusting my metal skirt, "Never met him personally, or in battle. All I can give you are the rumours."
Her reflection settled next to mine, face set in stone. At first it looked like she wanted to say something, but then Kotone poked her head through timidly, holding several laces, "Mizu…"
Finding armour for her had been an issue, but the ninja core soon pulled through with some light gear she could comfortably wear. Better yet, the shinobi who'd brought it up promised us the stuff could stand up to punishment. From what I could tell as Mizu pieced it together, it was a body suit strengthened in vital areas and Kotone could wear something warmer on top of it.
But it wasn't her armour that had me concerned. Her eyes bore the same shadows they had in Oshu, and when Mizu's hands left her to pick up the next tie, Kotone started trembling again. For crying out loud, had the kid gotten any sleep? Something in them reminded me of when it was open season on Imagawa, and without realising; I'd turned my back to her, gesturing for her to jump up.
Small, shaky hands came around my neck, and with a draw of breath, I had her hoisted properly, head resting between my shoulder and neck. Mizu quietly collected the weapons, holding them close as we went downstairs.
Breakfast was being eaten on the go while everyone attended to the horses, receiving last minute orders. Hanzo was hanging out by the doors watching the action, putting his last mouthful of onigiri in as we came closer. "Horses are all saddled up. We're part of the rear guard Sayomi, while you're up front with the generals, sis."
"Plenty of people to make sure I don't fall off then." Saluting us with that remark, Mizu went in search of Masamune, handing the swords off before she did. Sensing people looking at her curiously, Kotone tapped my shoulder, and slid down when I crouched, picking up Satoshi's weapons and clinging to them with white fists.
"It's not too late to change your mind." Hanzo told her gently, sighing when she just shook her head.
Giving me a look, he went to get our horses, leaving me alone with her. She seemed ignorant to my attention though, swaying on the spot for a heart stopping second before catching herself and snapping back to attention. We had a day's ride to Echigo, and it looked like I'd have to hold onto her for most of it.
Sure enough, she managed to stay straight backed for the first hour, but after that, I had an arm wrapped behind me, and a forehead against my back. Hanzo kept a close eye on the pair of us thankfully, even reaching across at one sharp turn to position her again. I couldn't imagine what we'd do if someone actually had the bright idea to attack the convoy.
We knew when we'd entered Echigo without consulting the maps. Behind me, Kotone started shivering in her sleep, wrapping her jacket around her as much as possible. I was too entranced by all the snow around us to do much more than give my arms a rub every few seconds or so. The soldiers around us were in a mixture of confusion and awe, and even Hanzo seemed to be going back a few years, "So much for warmer weather."
Kotone jerked awake behind me when we got to camp, slipping off the horse and into Hanzo's waiting arms under her own steam. Once her feet were on the ground and I was swinging my legs over to join her, she was burrowing into her jacket, watching her breath turn to mist with the slightest trace of amusement. Pulling my packs off the saddle, I slung one over my shoulder, holding hers out.
When she took it, we started through the crowd of men, finally spotting Mizu and Magoichi by one of the already erected tents.
Spotting my armour, Mizu gave a half wave in greeting, stamping her feet when I was finally next to her, "I don't want to say it's cold out, but this suit was black when we were in Edo."
"I hope you brought something lighter." I smirked, dusting some snow off her shoulders, and pretending to recoil when she snapped her teeth at my hand.
Mock glaring for a few seconds longer, Mizu turned her attention to Kotone, cheerfully ruffling her hair, "Well, we look bright eyed don't we? Did you enjoy the trip up?"
"It turned cold really fast." Kotone mumbled, blushing at the laugh Magoichi gave. But it was a warm sound at least, and after dumping our packs in the tent we'd all be sharing, we trooped along to Ieyasu's tent, one of us blindly wondering if there was any tea ready.
There wasn't, but a good many torches were being lit, and standing next to one of them was warm enough. My hands were constantly flexing to keep the circulation going, but other than that, the strategy planning went as well as it would've back at the castle. "We need to get here." Ieyasu started, drawing a ring around the centre of the map. The landmass and camp were surrounded by a river, which would hopefully work to our advantage. "Kasuga's got her eyes on any routes the ninjas could take, not a hard job admittedly."
"So we'll be taking the ground routes like the rest of you then?" Hanzo hummed. "Sounds fun."
"If the army distracts the main force, we can smuggle people in by taking these checkpoints." Magoichi nodded, "Slipping past that many men shouldn't be too hard."
"Any idea who'll be up there?" I asked, leaning forwards when I got a confirming grunt.
According to what information we did have (as well as a healthy chunk of gut instinct) we could expect to see at least Maeda Keiji and Kasuga the closer we got to Lord Uesugi. Keiji's involvement itself depended more on him being in the area than allegiance, and a wanderer could be hard to keep track of at the best of times. "We may also have to deal with Kanetsugu Naoe." Ieyasu announced, holding his hands up apologetically at the groans he got in response. That idiot was the general who'd set his sights on Tadakatsu and was sent flying at the battle of Nagashino. I didn't know whether it spoke more for his fortitude or his idiocy that he was still in the army.
On the plus side…My mouth broke into a devious grin, eyes sliding over to Kotone round about the same time everyone else's did. "Why are you all looking at me like that?"
"No reason." Mizu stated unconvincingly. Cleverly, she chose to retreat then, parting the tent flap and heading to get her weapons and get started. She hadn't gone more than a metre before a gust of wind stirred the map, half of us scrambling to straighten it while the other half looked towards the doorway, wincing at her bellowing, "What is it with that guy and snow!?"
After Mizu had dusted her hair free of snow for I think the third time that day, Kotone and I followed her weaving steps between the men, the rest of our company behind us. The main charge was simply to distract the main gatekeeper while we dealt with a side camp to smuggle more men in. Hopefully we'd be fast enough to overwhelm them, but not too fast that we'd lose our entertainment.
Following the path all the way around, we wasted no time in pulling weapons and dealing with the small handful of guards on duty. Mizu went to deal with the camp's gatekeeper with Jiro and another shinobi, the trio of them bouncing attacks back and forth, easily dodging the desperate swings of the oversized spear. Tearing my eyes away, I went back to my own battle, only stopping to check on Kotone once. She seemed to be focusing mainly on unfatal strikes, a job made easier by the obvious confusion of her foes at seeing her. I didn't have such luxuries, and pushed my mind into its usual battle mind set, only slowing my slashes when I heard Mizu whoop and move to unlock the gates, while her comrades set up flares to alert our side of the new entrance.
That wasn't the only thing that opened though. As more Tokugawa soldiers surged in, the ground gave a shudder, my feet immediately bracing themselves as a stone idol carved to look like Bishamonten gave a shake and began to slide into the ground, revealing a snow covered staircase. "Was that on the maps?" I queried. Standing with one hand on her hip, Mizu consulted her memory before shaking her head.
"Nope, but I think it connects to the main entrance."
"So it's a short cut?"
"With that many stairs? Short is not the word I'd use." We started up them anyway, Kotone having to take two steps to compensate for our stride. The path seemed to be carved out of the rock itself, and I couldn't resist an admiring glance at how polished it seemed.
Of course, when we finally got to the top, my admiring face fell, and Mizu was forced to slap her forehead, cursing our luck. Finally catching up, Kotone quirked her head, clearly wondering what was wrong.
Only a solitary man occupied the plateau we were now on, and had I gotten a head injury bad enough to scatter my memories, I might've wondered what that meant my opponent was like. Were they so strong that they needed no assistance, and could wipe the floor with an entire unit of men? But not even a steel bar being applied to my head ten times would make me foolish enough to fear Kanetsugu Naoe for any length of time.
"Well." Mizu scoffed over him announcing himself and fighting a losing war with his scabbard, "Kotone, you're up."
Her head whipped around to look at us, eyes wide and clearly thinking the same things I had just been musing without the sarcasm. But at a pat on the shoulder, she took five steps forwards, stepping into perfect form and waiting patiently. Totally misreading the situation, Naoe finally pulled his sword free, "I see, so you hope to make a name for yourself by defeating me, the invincible Kanetsusgu-"
"Wait, this is the guy you were talking about?" Kotone scowled over her shoulder, realising our game. "You let me think he was tough!"
"E-Excuse me?!"
"Don't worry kid, he's made of iron!" I heckled, shutting up when Mizu elbowed me in the side.
Growling in anger at being tricked, Kotone let it flare outwards, Mizu swearing and taking a step back as it calmed, surrounding the girl like a shield. "Remind me never to piss her off."
It was probably obvious Kanetsugu didn't stand a chance. I'll be fair, he blocked her first strike, but that was probably more luck than anything, and the second attack came out of nowhere, Kotone practically teleporting to his side and knocking him into the air, her aura blasting him over the main gate as it finally opened, greeting us with the backs of a lot of heads as our side watched him fly. It was Masamune who recovered first, giving a long whistle before we heard an impact after a few seconds, "Congrats kid, you're officially as strong as Tadakatsu."
"Stop teasing." Kotone pouted, turning away to check Satoshi's sword for blood or damage. Satisfied it was still in one piece, she gave the area a cursory glance, "Where do we go now?"
"That's a very good question." Ieyasu murmured, "This is the centre of the camp."
"So where's Uesugi?" As if answering Hanzo's question, the wind picked up at a dizzying pace, shooting everyone through with cold. Tiny patterns of frost began to appear on my armguards, and for a dizzying second, I panicked about them becoming too brittle to use, which was when the wind slowly calmed again.
Opening her mouth to swear, Mizu didn't even get one word of her tirade out before the war horns sounded, and the charge of hundreds, maybe a thousand men joined the battlefield. "Woodpecker." She shrugged, hurrying off to thin the crowds. We hurried to follow her example, splitting up as we merged with the giant crowd of men. At one point I lost Kotone, and shoved my way through the soldiers to an empty space, hoping I could find her again.
Instead, my foot went out from under me, the other fighting to keep control on the slick ice. It was not my proudest display of dancing, and when I was finally able to bring the other foot down, somebody was applauding, while someone else gave a chittering laugh. "I was wondering who I'd meet first." Keiji Maeda grinned, double checking I was steady before coming over.
"You're rather jovial considering we have to fight." I returned, holding my sword out. Keiji just raised an eyebrow, not even moving his sword off his shoulders, let alone pulling it out of his sheath.
"And you're rather eager for a fight, considering you can't walk." Giving a scoffing laugh, I let my sword fall back to my side, quirking my head towards the fighting behind us.
Getting my meaning, Keiji led the way back across the ice bridge, perfectly at ease and unconcerned that one crack meant we were both in for a chilly swim. My progress was considerably slower, feet inching forwards until the toes reached the bank, and I was leaping onto it with gratefulness. "By now someone else will have found Kasuga. Kenshin will probably drop in sometime after." Keiji told me, almost conversationally as we took a few practise swings at each other. He clearly had the length advantage, but fighting Ieyasu and the others earlier had left him more than a bit tired. "So, I guess I'll just keep you busy while he and Ieyasu fight it out."
"So this is just one huge test?"
"Pretty much. He wants to see how Ieyasu measures up to old Takeda, and if he has the power to succeed him." Spotting an opening, I wait for Keiji to swing again, before ducking my head and charging under the blade and his arm, hoping to use his sword's weight against him. He recovered faster than I thought though, meeting my blade with his hilt, other hand gesturing around us, "Why else would he hold the battle here?"
"Because this is his province?"
Keiji's confusion actually let me get a hit in, is upper arm bleeding slowly from the scratch. "You mean…? We're in Kawanakajima."
I actually dropped my sword tip in surprise, Keiji taking the honourable path and doing the same, "But, this place is frozen. Isn't Echigo-"
"Sure Kenshin freezes his lands over, but this is beyond his usual control. Listen, can you pass a message onto Ieyasu for me? Kenshin probably won't tell him, not without some loop to it anyway."
I nodded in agreement, letting Keiji dictate to me, every word getting absorbed even when the battle quietened, and all that could be heard was the clash of a sword onto brass fists.
