"You two sound as if you know who this Yoshiaki guy is. Fill a guy in. Is he dangerous?" Sasuke nodded, "Very much so. Assuming.."

Malachi's POV

"Assuming he is indeed the fifteenth shogun of the Ashikaga shogunate, Ashikaga Yoshiaki." My eyes widened, THAT guy was the final Ashikaga shogun?! During our studies, Mitsuhide had briefed me on who he was.

"..So, you say this latest shogun wasn't deposed, he was actually driven out of the capital?" Mitsuhide nodded, a frown on his lips, "Yes, by Lord Nobunaga himself." He continued, "Initially, our lord supported Yoshiaki during the early days of his campaign of unification, until they came into conflict." Suddenly, Mitsuhide's frown deepened, showing his clear distaste of the man. "Yoshiaki took particular offense at power and authority being taken from him and distributed to those he deemed 'unworthy.' He challenged Lord Nobunaga to battle and was defeated, losing everything as he was chased out of Kyoto." Mitsuhide's expression lightened a bit but his tone remained sharp, "I have heard a rumor he currently resides in the port of Tomonoura, in Chugoku."

Something about this felt off. A shogun with a bone to pick against Nobunaga and a daimyo plotting rebellion in the same place at the same time? This can't spell good news for Nobunaga, not one bit. All of this new evidence in the light added a lot of weight to the daimyo's potential betrayal. And it was safe to assume that Mitsuhide made the connection as well, there's no doubt in my mind that he recognized Yoshiaki yesterday. And right after I confirmed Yoshiaki's identity.. Mitsuhide announces that he has all the proof he needs.. It all fits perfectly into place. Except..

"What on Earth is Yoshimoto doing with him..?" I muttered. Yukimura had a determined fire lit in his honey-brown eyes, "We'll have to talk to him to find out. Can you tell us where the daimyo's staying?" Without thinking, I nodded, "Yeah. You'll want to turn down this road-" I pointed out the direction, and Yukimura smiled softly. "..Uh-huh. Got it. Thanks." As soon as I'd finished, Yukimura ran off. 'Is he actually going there now?!'

I watched Yukimura run off, then glanced at Sasuke, "..Is Yukimura running off like that REALLY a good idea?" "There's nothing to worry about. Yukimura is very direct. But he's not reckless. I anticipate he's gone to inspect the premises and secure an infiltration route. I should probably catch up with him." Sasuke explained, beginning to leave in the same direction Yukimura had just run off to. "Alright, good luck and be careful then. Especially with getting to talk to Yoshimoto." I gave a small wave, to which Sasuke waved as well. "Thank you. As long as you're here, we may see each other again. And with that, I ker-vanish."

It was less of him vanishing and more of him chasing after Yukimura, but nonetheless, Sasuke left. A small part of me was happy to have met up with them here, another part of me had a really bad feeling about all of this.

The fact that Yoshiaki was a shogun did nothing to make me hate him any less than I already did. I especially hated the fact that we were getting further and further tangled up with him. I felt a chill well up inside as I clutched my bag to my chest.

"Excuse me, sir. This will only take a minute." "Wha-?!" Someone had clasped their hand over my mouth from behind, and in my surprise, they dragged me out of the market.

As soon as we were alone, I turned my attacker's force against them and flipped them onto their back. Running a hand through my hair, I looked down at my attacker. "Good job, you got the jump on me. But I can easily-" Finally, I got a good look at them, and found myself dumbfounded at who I saw. "Wait- Yoshimoto?!"