Chapter Nineteen – I Am Not What I Am

Sasuke disappeared back into the ceiling, and I vaguely heard him say, "reinforcements," but it's not easy to pay attention to ninjas in the ceiling when the God of War is at your throat. When I finally breathed enough to take in the situation, to look beyond the immediate danger, it was to see that another set of Kenshin's men had Mai surrounded at sword point too.

Very bad things indeed.

One of the guards took my sword and daggers – not that they'd have been useful given that (a) I was outnumbered, and (b) would have been outnumbered if only Kenshin were in the room. Even so, without them, I felt vulnerable.

Nobody spoke.

While I was tempted to ask what was going on, I didn't know exactly what I was being accused of (for all I knew, it might have been something I had actually done) and figured it was best to keep my mouth shut until prompted otherwise.

From the back of the room, a man strolled up to us. It was Iekane. Of course it was Iekane. He'd gotten more muscular since the last time I had seen him, and he'd let his hair grow long, but there was that same damn smile. He reached toward me, and I ducked automatically back, memories of the last time I had seen him as vivid as if I was still locked in that crate – but he didn't touch me.

Instead, he reached for my sash, and pulled out the hand towel that Mai loaned me earlier. Silently, he handed it to Kenshin. Behind Kenshin's frozen expression was a flash of pain. I still had no idea what was going on, but clearly, we had just become the prom from hell.

"Now do you believe me?" Iekane said to Kenshin.

Kenshin folded up the towel and stuck it inside his kimono. "I gave this to Mai. How did it come to you?"

"Mai gave it to him." The fact that Iekane sounded so disappointed in us added credence to his lies. It was as if he had news that he could barely believe himself. "I saw them together."

Alright, I think I'm up to date on the story that Iekane is trying to sell. At least the 'what.' The why, and the why me, I'm still fuzzy on. "Loaned it to me."

The point of Kenshin's sword was back at my throat. "I didn't ask for your contribution."

He did, but I'm not going to argue with the crazy man with the sword.

Sasuke rushed into the room, with Shingen, Yukimura and Yoshimoto at his heels. Oh, I guess that is who he meant when he said he was getting reinforcements. "What the hell is going on here?" Shingen asked.

I was still wondering that myself. I mean, Iekane, unless he's got a memory like a sieve knows full well that I'm female, so why has he picked me to star in this tragedy? Granted in this era, gendered relationships were not viewed in the same way they were viewed in the absorbed-Christian-taboos-future. Here it was common for men of all classes to take both male and female lovers without anyone looking or thinking twice, although women didn't have as much freedom. But, yes, I could buy that Kenshin is so possessive that gender is immaterial. Still, there were plenty of other people in Mai's orbit whom Iekane could have chosen as her lover. Did Iekane want me out of the way for some unknown reason? And where, if anywhere, did the new information about Yoshiaki fit into all this?

Kenshin spoke in a voice that had been marinating in a freezer overnight. "Your courier and Mai have been…" He couldn't finish.

Iekane could. And did. "Consorting. I witnessed them together on multiple occasions." He hung his head in an attitude of sorrow and commiseration.

If I had been of mind to analyze Shingen, I might have wondered more about what made him flinch when he heard that, but Yuki jumped in. "That's crazy. Mai would never. Maybe he forced her."

Really Sasuke? That's your idea of reinforcements?

As Kenshin looked slightly hopeful at that, Yuki hurried to add, "Not that I think Katsu would either."

Better late than never, I guess, Yuki.

Shingen strode forward and tried to take control of the situation. "Perhaps we could sort this out with less of an audience?" He nodded to the contingent of Uesugi, Takeda, and Imagawa vassals, who were watching the proceedings with fascination.

"Why?" Kenshin gestured around the room. "They've all seen me gut someone before."

"Kenshin, this situation does not call for gutting." Sasuke walked a fine line in tone between talking a man off a ledge and placating a toddler. "Now put down the sword."

The sword swung toward Sasuke. He calmly pushed it away with one finger. "Or, keep the sword handy, but not so close to anyone's vital organs. That behavior would be out of character for Katsu, and as for Mai, you have to know she's completely in love with you."

Kenshin better hope that the latter is true after all this is sorted out. If it's sorted out.

Growing more articulate, Sasuke turned to Iekane. "Do you have any evidence of this or is it just your word against theirs?"

Iekane smiled. God, I hated that smile. I still saw that smile in my nightmares. "Mai gave him her hand towel – a precious memento from her beloved lord. Katsu was carrying it around."

Is he kidding? It's a flippin' hand towel. Talk about overdramatizing.

"It was raining, and s ….. he was dripping all over the floor," was Mai's first contribution to the conversation. I guess at this point she wouldn't be terribly convincing of her undying devotion. I know as hell I wouldn't be. "Kenshin, you're everything to me. Since we met in Azuchi, I've never even thought of anyone else."

Alright Cathy, go wait over in the corner for Heathcliff to return from haunting the moors.

Sasuke, apparently getting his Atticus Finch on, turned to me. "Is this what happened?"

"Yes. She loaned me the hand towel. I was going to wash it and return it later, but I got interrupted by … this." I tried to pitch my unspoken you ridiculous overdramatic murderous ass to Iekane alone… but I wasn't feeling exactly fond of Kenshin at that moment either.

"Hmmph." Stabby McStaberson didn't seem fully mollified, but at least he appeared to be listening.

"Wonderful, I'm glad that's settled," Yoshimoto said in a bored tone. He opened his fan and flapped it as if to dispel evil spirits. "Let's all drink and someday we'll laugh about this."

I side-eyed Sasuke. Again… reinforcements?

Sasuke turned to Iekane and said in as stern a voice as I had ever heard him use. "It appears you misinterpreted what you believed you saw." Yeah, he had an unspoken you ridiculous overdramatic murderous ass in there too. But… ridiculous and overdramatic as Iekane was, he'd been trained by Aki, which meant he probably was playing a long game here, and likely had a murderous Plan B.

"I can confirm that I sent Katsu outside in the worst of the weather, so I would think very carefully about how you answer Sasuke's question." Shingen had his hand on his sword, and those grey eyes of his had turned dark with anger.

And there was that damn creepy smile again as Iekane turned back to Kenshin. "I admit the incident with the hand towel could have been innocent, however, I was influenced by a previous incident, when I witnessed the two of them together. He followed her into her room – it was the night you were visiting Norimasa."

"I've never been in Mai's room. I don't even know where it is." Probably useless to protest at this point, since my life depends upon being judged honest, and I've been lying so long I doubt I know how to appear truthful anymore.

"Yes, of course you would say that," Iekane said. "However, are you saying that my own eyes are lying to me?"

"Yes, your eyes – or something about you – is lying," Mai spoke up, reminding everyone that I was not the only person accused here. "That was twelve nights ago, and I was alone in my room."

Why was she emphasizing the date? Iekane's story was a lie, but he could lie about any date he chose, so what was so special about twelve…

Oh.

Mai didn't happen to have an alibi for that night. But I did.

He just didn't know he was.

Mai gave me a pleading look. I got it. Even to save her skin, she wasn't going to break her promise to me. And… even at this moment, I realized I could still run. I could be out of here and no one would ever catch up to me. But I couldn't leave Mai to face the consequences of that.

"Twelve nights ago? I wasn't even in the castle at all," I said. Would that be enough of a denial for anyone? Unlikely.

"Where were you?" Sasuke asked, latching on hopefully, but oblivious to the fact that he was about to pull the pin out of a truth grenade.

Alright, I guess we're doing this. I took a deep breath. "I went to take a bath. In the lake."

Sasuke still pressed on, apparently determined to book his guest appearance on Law and Order. "Perhaps someone saw you leave, or return, and could confirm your story?"

I looked directly at Shingen and saw the moment he realized who he met in the lake twelve nights ago. Those eyes got even darker and there was a tightening of his jaw. These nearly imperceptible physical reactions might not have been evident to everyone, but I knew him well enough to recognize behind the initial shock, he was barely keeping his anger in check.

If I was at all lucky, he'd at least back up my story without going into the rest of the details to the room at large. From the expression on his face, I was not going to be anywhere near that lucky.

He walked over to me, his eyes daring me to look away. I tried to send a silent apology to him, but he clearly wasn't receptive. His hand gripped my chin, forcing me to look up at him. He grabbed his own hand towel and rubbed it across my eyebrows – the ink I use to thicken them into a more masculine shape was fairly waterproof, but some came off on the towel. He tugged my braid out from where it was tucked down the back of my kimono. With brisk movement, he undid the leather string that tied it, and combed his fingers through to release my hair. Even then, in the middle of his fury, though…reverb.

He looked down at me for a long time. I looked back. I didn't know what he was thinking, but I refused to blink first.

Finally, he spoke. "Yes, that night, this woman was with me." He spoke flatly, without any more inflection than if he had said, 'yes this morning I had fish for breakfast.'

In my peripheral vision, I saw Sasuke nod as if the answer was a surprise, but one that made sense in retrospect. I heard Yukimura say, "Wait, what? Katsu's a girl? How?" and immediately after that Yoshimoto's dry response to him, "the usual way, I would imagine."

Kenshin gestured to the guards surrounding Mai, and they immediately put aside their swords. That… was a mistake, because Iekane took that opportunity to turn her into a human shield, with his dagger pressed to her throat. He half-carried, half-dragged her toward the door.

Everyone looked to Kenshin for leadership, but for the first time since I had met him, he seemed unsure. He couldn't attack Iekane, because the only path to Iekane was through Mai.

Partly to try and stall him while someone else – anyone else- came up with a plan, and partly hoping to startle him into revealing something, I asked, "Are you working for Yoshiaki?"

Unfortunately, it was Yoshimoto who looked the most startled by that bit of information. Iekane didn't even raise an eyebrow. "Let's just say that at the moment, he and I have mutual interests."

Mutual interest in Kenshin going against Oda again, I imagined. Without Mai to talk him out of it, I could see that happening. And if Oda had to deal with Kenshin, it would give Yoshiaki an opportunity to swoop in. But again, I still didn't see what Iekane was getting out of this. And why he picked me. Why me?

I hadn't realized I'd said that out loud, until Iekane laughed at me. "Kaya, don't hurt yourself thinking so hard – you were only a convenient tool." Clutching Mai to him, he inched backward a few more steps. "I was going to use Sasuke, but the opportunity was too great to pass up when Mai loaned you the hand towel."

Sasuke patted his chest, the unspoken question evident in his posture. No, he didn't get it, but I did. The only thing worse than Mai betraying Kenshin, would have been Mai betraying him with Sasuke. He would have lost two of the people closest to him.

From the look on Kenshin's face, he understood the implications of that as well. "Let her go, Iekane. If you have a problem with me, then fight me, instead of hiding behind a woman like a coward." He took a step closer to Iekane, but that only resulted in Mai getting poked with Iekane's dagger. She bit her lip, but a little squeak of fear escaped.

Kenshin eased back, but I didn't trust him not to attack Iekane before Mai was safe, and I definitely didn't trust Iekane not to hurt her. This wasn't his first rodeo when it came to murder. "Was the opportunity too great to pass up when you tried to kill me before?"

Iekane was only partially be paying attention to me. "I tried to kill you a few times… can you be more specific?"

He did?

"Box."

Iekane sounded over it. "Oh, the crate. That one I just left up to fate whether you survived. If Motonari had let you out before you died of thirst, I imagine he'd have found some use for you. It didn't matter to me as long as you were gone."

From somewhere outside came a sharp whistle. At that sound, Iekane backed up another step, threw Mai on the ground, and dashed out of the room.

Kenshin hurried to her side and helped her up, but she finally found her spine, pushed him away and ran off. Kenshin hesitated a moment, then went after her.

Somewhere outside, came the sound of hoofbeats – three horses at least – pounding away.

"On it," Sasuke said as he, Yukimura, and Kenshin's guards took off running.

Wait. I want in on this! I started after them, but a pair of strong arms grabbed me from behind, trapping me in place. "Yoshimoto! What the hell? Let go of me – I want to go after him."

"You're not even armed." Yoshimoto held me firmly to him, even as I wiggled to get free.

"Give me your sword, then." I had no idea where Kenshin's guards had put my own weapons.

"I don't have one."

Oh. I felt suddenly sapped of all energy.

Once I stopped struggling, Yoshimoto released his grip and stepped back. He smiled, and picked up my hand, pressing a European style kiss to the back of it. "Kaya, was it?"

"Katsuko. If we're being accurate." Iekane had always refused to use either my birthname or 'Katsuhira.' He knew I hated being called Kaya.

"I'm very pleased to meet you." He looked down at my hand. "Katsuko, just because you're a fighter is no reason to neglect your skin care regimen."

Then he spun me around to face Shingen, who had been ominously quiet since my gender reveal party. "Cousin," Yoshimoto said. "I believe this one is your responsibility."

Hey! I am my own responsibi- Yoshimoto had already glided off in a whisper of lush fabric, off to do his Yoshimoto thing.

And I was left alone in a room with one very angry warlord.