Malachi's POV
"Lord Mitsuhide, I've been awaiting your return." One of Mitsuhide's vassals, a man named Kyubei, spoke. "Has there been some news?" Mitsuhide asked, his smile still firmly in place. However, Kyubei seemed a bit stressed. "My lord.." Kyubei spoke lowly, leaning over to whisper to Mitsuhide. Whatever it was, he didn't want me to hear. As Mitsuhide listened with folded arms, his expression grew stern. He suddenly turned to me, speaking with authority in his tone, "This is as far as I can take you, Malachi. See that you go straight home."
"Did something happen?" I asked, my nerves slowly spiking. Yet, Mitsuhide smiled, almost as if he was trying to reassure me. "Nothing you need to concern yourself with. Your concerns should be the resumption of our lessons tomorrow." I didn't believe him one bit, whenever Mitsuhide said something wasn't a big deal, it was usually the opposite. But.. I didn't argue. "Okay.." Before I walked away, Mitsuhide did his head-pat thing again. But.. It seemed more tender and.. sadder than usual. Was it just me?
Once I returned to my room, I opened our "textbook" to review, but I couldn't keep focus. Studying was.. boring without Mitsuhide here. I like him, I mean- like him well enough to not fully hate his company. That's the reason why I secretly hoped the nasty talk of his assumed disloyalty was just that. Talk. Even if I can't fully tell what's going on in his mind. He really did seem like a nice person, at least, to me. And.. I want to believe that he is a nice person.
Third POV
With a sigh, Malachi returned to their studies. Meanwhile.. Mitsuhide followed closely behind Kyubei, down towards the deep cell within Azuchi's dungeons. Here, only the stone bore witness, and they spoke not a single tale. "..He's in here, my lord." Kyubei spoke. "How rude of me to keep a very important guest waiting. I know this cell isn't exactly.. comfortable."
The man's eyes widened at the sight of Mitsuhide, his voice paving way for panic. "You're.. Mitsuhide Akechi!" "If you know who I am, then I expect you know what awaits you. I am going to start by asking a series of.. questions." He spoke, his voice holding a level of danger and a sense of authority. The man scoffed, "Tch! 'Questions!' Is that what you call them?! Do whatever you like to me, Kitsune. I won't talk even if you kill me!"
A dangerous smile graced Mitsuhide's lips, not an ounce of kindness left in his pale golden eyes or deep, smooth voice. "Oh. You're very much mistaken if you think I'm going to kill you."
"..As mistaken as all the others who cry out to me begging for death."
Malachi's POV
I let out a shaky sigh as I awaited Mitsuhide's arrival. Nervous for whether I'd be able to answer whatever questions he may throw my way. However, when my door slid open, it was not Mitsuhide who greeted me.
"Malachi, I apologize for the suddenness. Your presence is requested in the audience chamber." Mitsunari spoke as he entered my room. "What's this about?" "Lord Nobunaga has called council. We've learned the name of the man responsible for the attack on Honno-ji." My eyes widened, they.. figured it out?
"You are late." Nobunaga spoke in a matter-of-fact tone as Mitsunari and I entered the audience chamber. I just shrugged my shoulders as I took my seat, "I apologize." The entire hall was thick with tension filling the air. "Mitsuhide, do you want to continue where you left off?" Ieyasu asked the man in question. "..A vassal I sent to investigate managed to capture one of the culprit's men- alive. That is how we know it was Kennyo, former abbot of Hongan-ji, who plotted against our lord's life." Mitsuhide explained.
Kennyo? ..Haven't I heard that name somewhere before? A scar appeared in my mind's eye, and slowly.. A face formed around it.
"I am called Kennyo, and I am a traveling monk. Perhaps I can be of assistance to you?" His smile honestly was creeping me out, but I didn't want to be rude.
"Thank you, but no thanks. I'm fine on my own." I knew I wasn't actually fine on my own, but Kennyo was seriously giving me a bad feeling. The main thought going through my mind was that I couldn't be certain that this wasn't the man I saw attack Nobunaga. Meaning either way, he's dangerous.
I held my breath as I watched him take a long stride toward me, only to place his hand softly on my shoulder, "You should return home quickly. Demons lurk in the woods at night."
I stared down at my lap as I realized that I had literally run past the man responsible for the burning of Honno-ji. "Sounds like he wants revenge on Lord Nobunaga for destroying his temple." Masamune stated. "..If you want to call it a temple. I call it a mountain fortress. With a moat." Ieyasu added on.
"And you're sure about this information, Mitsuhide?" Hideyoshi asked. "We investigated the man's background and confirmed he was indeed a monk attached to Ishiyama Hongan-ji. And he.. eventually confirmed our information." A sigh left from underneath Hideyoshi's breath. Suddenly, Mitsuhide smiled, "My, what an intense stare. Would you prefer I shared more details?" "No one needs to hear that."
Shivers slowly crawled down my spine as I realized what they were referring to.. It wasn't hard to figure out how exactly Mitsuhide obtained such information. "..Personally, I don't want to hear any of this. We've still got a war going with Echigo, in case anyone forgot." Ieyasu spoke up. "What news from Kasugayama?" "They remain firmly entrenched on our border, but there's been no more fighting since that opening attack. We don't know the number of Kennyo's forces, but if he teams up with the Uesugi-Takeda, we'll be in trouble." Hideyoshi explained.
"What would you have us do, my lord?" Mitsunari asked, giving his full attention to Nobunaga. "We will assign more men to keep after Kennyo. It's imperative we locate him. Uesugi and Takeda must not learn of him. Whichever of our opponents first run out of patience and strike, we destroy." Nobunaga commanded. "Yes, my lord." Mitsunari and Hideyoshi both agreed in unison.
Well, certainly seems like Nobunaga has a lot of enemies. I suppose the more power you have, the larger the target on your back. But that's even more of a reason to distance myself from Nobunaga, and get out of here as soon as possible.
Then I noticed that Ranmaru, who sat beside me, appeared to be shaking. "Is something the matter, Ranmaru? You look a bit pale." Mitsuhide addressed the shaking boy. "..Thank you for your concern, Lord Mitsuhide. I was just thinking..it's scary how many enemies we face." Ranmaru explained. "Indeed. And they could be anywhere."
I felt a bit bad for Ranmaru, so I gently leaned over and placed my hand atop his. "I know everyone's acting so calm but.. It's fine if you're scared." I smiled. "It is..? Heh. It's really..impossible to be calm when I know what's coming." Ranmaru told me, but I didn't have time to question him before Nobunaga interrupted. "Mitsuhide, you are to continue to search out Kennyo's movements." "As you command, my lord."
'Continue?' That means Mitsuhide's been working on this since that very first night.. I felt a small pang in my heart. So.. He's been busy being Nobunaga's left-hand man, AND instructing me. One of those jobs is very different compared to the other.. Isn't it strange for him to spend what little precious time he has on me? He told me it was to prevent my desertion. But none of this adds up. Mitsuhide could've easily assigned someone to watch me, instead, he went out of his way to teach me. ..Was watching me just a simple excuse? Had he said that to mask his real intention? Teaching me what I needed to know in order to survive? Taking a small glance at his face, nothing stood out to me as an answer. But.. It would further fit to say that Mitsuhide could be nice if he wanted to be.. Why do I feel happy about this? But- Of course, I shouldn't rush to conclusions. Not without proper evidence. Like Hideyoshi had said, Mitsuhide is shrouded in too much shadow and secrets to ever be entirely transparent.
With council ended, I quickly left the audience chamber, Mitsuhide falling into step beside me. "As you've no doubt begun to realize, my opportunities to play with you will be severely curtailed." Mitsuhide told me, a teasing smirk resting on his beautiful features. "I hate how you say that like I'm some kind of toy." I looked away from his direction, letting my displeasure be known.
"Yes, I know. And I'll miss you too." Ugh- If he keeps talking that way, I'll start thinking he's deliberately TRYING to make me upset. Schooling my expression to remain unbothered and stern, I replied. "You know, you really shouldn't make jokes about that, Mitsuhide." "And why not?" I finally turned to meet his gaze, "Because then it'll be harder for me to tell when you're actually being serious." He blinked in confusion. ..What was it I said?
Panicking, my serious tone dropped and was replaced by a more nervous one, "I-I meant.. If you're constantly joking around, no one will believe you when it's actually serious and important. Meanwhile, I WON'T miss you, so have fun with your long and boring assignment!" Mitsuhide smiled at me, clearly seeing through my act, "I will. And I shall do my best to check in on you from time to time." His hand reached out for my head like always- But.. I had had enough of his little games. I dodged his hand. "Not in the mood to be consoled?" He asked. If he truly wanted an answer to that, then I'll give him an honest answer. "You're not particularly consoling, that's all. Goodbye, Lord Mitsuhide."
Mitsuhide stayed silent for a few moments, but then, I could hear his laughter from down the hall. Echoing in my mind as I walked away. But I found it more particularly vexing than last time. Kind or not, no matter what I tried, I could never seem to get one up on him. Do I still find our back-and-forths fun? Had I become so used to them that I'd even begun to enjoy them?
That..
I would never answer.
