Chapter Two

"Shifu, what happened that night?" I asked my master. "Kenji and Makoto had come to assist me against the assassins, and I ended up starting a fire to save my retainer. The guards had been cut down, and I remember being told to flee, which I did, but was cornered in Mitsuhide's study by . . . by Nobuhide! Him of all people! What was he doing there? I don't remember what happened after that. I think I fell and . . . and did I bang my head? How did I end up here?"

Despite the confused babble which spewed from my lips, Baihu smiled and sat down on the edge of my bed. He raised his hand slightly, indicating I calm myself.

I sank down, realising I was embarrassing myself and fell quiet. With my memories returning, much of the personality that went with it, also came back. While I had lived in Kunlun, I was still also me, but it had been a far more disciplined version of me, one without the modern day thoughts and attitude to accompany it. Now that my memories had come back, it was as if I woke fully, as if I had been half asleep for the last decade.

I glanced up at my master, and wondered whether the slight shift in my personality surprised him. I had almost forgotten that despite my lack of memory previously, he knew exactly who I was, as far back as knowing my original British name – Annie Williamson.

Baihu had looked after me and trained me despite my complicated background, and knew me now better than anyone. I owed him as much as I owed Mitsuhide. And I cared for Baihu as much as I cared for Mitsuhide. But whereas my love for Mitsuhide had been more romantic, though confused, my own love for Baihu was that of a disciple's devotion to her master. It was unique and platonic in every sense. And as the memories of my last ten years merged with the rest of my life prior to it, I knew in my heart I would do anything for my master.

"Yes, you did hit your head, or that is what we naturally had to assume when Yue Lao rescued you," Baihu said. "You had a head wound, and the trauma of the wound was the reason you lost your memories."

I placed a hand against my head, feeling the phantom wound still there, and the flash of memory from those last moments flickered in my mind. Nobuhide's words came to me, speaking of using my abilities against Mitsuhide. I had been using my Sight at that moment in time to stay one step ahead of Nobuhide, but it had been so draining. And his words had angered me so much that I lost the Sight in my rage, foolishly tried to attack him, only to have him push me. I had tumbled backwards, and that was when I collided with a cabinet and bumped my head. I remembered it now and winced.

I lowered my hand. "What happened then?" I asked softly.

Baihu sighed. But it was a good humoured sigh, one which put me at ease despite not knowing. "A lot happened," he said. "Nobuhide and his two ninja had never intended on assassinating you. Their intention had been to kidnap you and force you to serve them, of which I think you know, judging from your grimace just then. Nobuhide was on route back to his castle when Yue Lao intercepted him. Despite Nobuhide's power as a Pureblooded Oni of an ancient clan, Pureblood or not, he was not victorious against a God."

My eyes widened. "Nobuhide and Yue Lao fought?"

Back then, I had not known Yue Lao was the Matchmaker God. Thinking back on it, I probably should have known after he gave me the red string. But at the time, I had no reason to suspect the old man was in fact one of the most famous Gods in Chinese mythology.

What a sight it must have been, to see a God and Pureblood fight.

"Nobuhide is strong," Baihu said thoughtfully. "All Purebloods are strong, and though we are Gods and outrank them, they are still challenge enough for us if we do not concentrate. Nevertheless, yes, Yue Lao fought Nobuhide and was able to take you from him. Yue Lao came back here however, as in the Land of the Rising Sun, there was no where safe to take you while Mitsuhide was in Yomi."

I looked down, remembering one of my earliest memories of Kunlun. It was my first meeting with Mitsuhide.

"He ascended, didn't he."

"Mitsuhide did, yes. Do you remember your first meeting with him here?"

I nodded, feeling the shame and dismay again of having not recognised him and his relation to me at the time. But I did remember recognising his presence in acknowledging his rank as a God.

"Although my memory had gone, why did I not go back with him at the time?" I asked. "Please do not misunderstand. I would not have traded my life here for anything and I will spend the rest of my existence repaying your kindness to me. But . . . what did this whole experience mean?"

Baihu shifted his position, getting more comfortable. "You and I are very alike in our abilities, in that we both share the Sight. My Sight showed me, a long, long time ago, that you would one day become my disciple and it was my duty to ensure you began the path to immortality, and would one day achieve it. The circumstances upon which you would come to Kunlun were never clear, and I do not deny how you did come to me in the end, was not ideal for any of us, Mitsuhide included.

"Once here however, my main task was to teach you to control the Sight, of which you now have. But there was also the matter of somehow restoring your memory. Again, the Sight was not entirely clear on how to go about this, but your memory and trial were both connected. Therefore I trained you, hard, so you would be prepared for the trial when it came, and to fulfil my promise to Mitsuhide."

"You made him a promise?" I asked, surprised. Every mention of Mitsuhide's name caused my heart to flutter and ache with the desire to see him.

"I promised him I would restore your memory and return you to him in ten years."

I struggled to hold back my smile of relief. It quickly disappeared however as I realised something. "Were you both in correspondence?"

Baihu nodded. "For these past ten years, yes. You never would have seen him however as he needed to keep his distance from you while you trained. Mitsuhide's essence is demonic in nature, and while you were cultivating and absorbing the energies of Kunlun, if he came too close to you, the essences would mix chaotically and break your cultivation, corrupting it. So although in your memory you only met him once at the beginning of this past decade, he was in fact here very often, guarding you from afar."

I smiled and shook my head gently. "It warms my heart to hear. Though there was no need. We had you. This was the safest place I could ever be. "

Baihu smiled in amusement in return. "He is a good man, but he will never be at ease unless you are beside him. And I think the same can be said in return."

I flushed and looked back down, trying to think of another point which had been on my mind.

"Why ascend? I am human."

Baihu grew more serious and he sighed. "The Superiors brought you to this time for multiple reasons, some of which I See more clearly than they. I will begin by stating the most important fact. Your fate is intertwined with Mitsuhide's, and as Yue Lao has dictated, both you and Mitsuhide are bound together through heart, spirit and mind. Both you and I know what fate awaits him in the year of 1582. You were brought here to change it."

I felt my skin chill and my chest tighten.

"You come from a time era where past events have shaped a turbulent future and have set the board for what you know will be an apocalyptic third world war. It will be fought between the land they call the United States of America, and our own land of the Middle Kingdom. This, you know without having the Sight to aid you. It is your task to reset the past to ensure such a future never comes to pass. In order to do so, you must live through the events to change it. You must become immortal. It is the only way you can shape the future."

My lips were pressed into a fine line, and I was quiet, feeling the revelation sink in. What surprised me the most, was that I was not surprised. What I felt instead, was the monumental weight upon my shoulders.

"I don't know how to do it," I croaked. "And not just that; I come the future time era. Changing the past, now, will change so much to come. What will happen to me? What will happen to my parents and sister?"

I had not spoken nor thought of them for ten years. Now that I did, I found the tears sting my eyes with vengeance as the power of missing them surged through my body like a wave crashing upon rocks.

"Have no fear, my little Sixteen," Baihu said comfortingly. "I will explain slowly. You will not be tasked with this quest alone, for Mitsuhide is equally tied to it. It is actually his fate to sow the seeds of change, while it is your task to be the liaison between these nations. You give the commands. But he is the one to execute them.

"As you know, from your time era, the relationship between the Middle Kingdom and the Land of the Rising Sun is not a good one after the war crimes the Japanese committed across Asia. Yours and Mitsuhide's task is to ensure the relationship between the two nations grows closer, not further apart. Together, the two nations can bring about a lasting era of strength, peace and prosperity, and protect Asia from the barbarians of the other side of the world. Given your unique heritage, you are ideally placed to understand the nature of both the East and the West. Even if you cannot appease the future invasions from the Whites, at least both our land and the Land of the Rising Sun will have far greater strength to repel these conquerors and liaise on equal grounds."

I sat in silence, thinking over Baihu's words. I thought deeply, deeply enough to forget where I was and stood before my master rose. I walked around the room, head down, arms crossed, thinking and tapping the floor with my foot, before I exhaled heavily.

"I do not deny that such a united front between China and Japan has been a dream of mine since I was young. Both could offer so much to each other and grow in such unique ways. Ideally it should be between China, Korea and Japan. The three share similar roots and are of ancient heritage and rich in culture. The three are neighbours. They should be as close as siblings. But the Japanese didn't exactly help themselves when Hideyoshi decided to invade Korea, and then Tokugawa tried the same except even bigger. Hatred was born from those two acts, then the Brits forced their way into China using Opium and the Americans totally destroyed Japanese culture midway through the Tokugawa Shogunate. The cherry on the icing was when Japan then invaded Asia as a whole, massacred the men, raped the women, and even took the foreigners captive to build the Burma Railway. The whole world – the real world who remembers and understands their history – hates them! Except for the anime and manga fanatics at comic con."

I sat back down on the edge of my bed with a groan. "Even I have hated them, and still do to an extent. Regardless of my love for the Akechi family and the home I now have in Japan, I am still Chinese by blood, by spirit, and that will always come first. But my hatred stems from events which have not yet taken place in this time. For me, it has already happened. But currently at present, all is still well because it is still to come. And Japan is my home now, in the same way Kunlun is now also my home. Both have taken me in, protected me and raised me. I will be forever grateful to both, and I will do everything, absolutely everything in my power to protect both these lands in return."

I clasped my hands and bowed to my master, feeling the truth and conviction of my words as clear as the sky devoid of clouds. There was no doubt in my heart, and strangely, I found myself feeling relieved instead of stressed and overwhelmed. I was relieved because I now knew my purpose. And I was relieved to know in myself how much I believed in my conviction.

China and Japan were my home now. Both had suffered terribly from foreign invaders. Change and trade was good, but only if willing. China had been shattered by the British during the Opium War, and Japan had been forced to their knees and humiliated by the Americans on more than one occasion, the worst being the Second World War, when the world finally realised how much power the Americans had after they had dropped the nukes, and how horrifying they truly were behind the illusion of democracy and freedom.

But of course, who did the Americans learn that from?

My own kin, the British, I thought with disappointment. Their Empire had been one of the greatest in the recent world, but born of blood and destruction. Once the British Empire fell, the Americans took their place and have tried to copy it every since. The only thing which is different now is the power of nuclear bombs and missiles. The balance of my world, my time, hangs by a thread, as if a sword hangs over our head, held by single hair.

Baihu lowered my hands back down to my lap, where he patted my hands reassuringly. "Although I already know what you feel in your heart, it makes me pleased and proud to hear you say it. No matter the cost, peace must be kept. The stability of the spiritual realms and the mortal world, depend on it. And you will not be walking alone."

I looked to him, my expression softening. I trusted my master with my life. He kept his word and was honourable beyond compare. To hear of his support, his guidance and reassurance, was as warming as the sun touching my skin. He was as strict as the most disciplined teacher, but was also as doting and as caring as a father was to his precious daughter. He reminded me much very much of my own father, like Mitsukuni had. But the difference was Baihu was quieter in nature, and more generous than he gave himself credit for.

Both Baihu and Mitsuhide were now the most important people to me. And it brought me a joy I never thought was conceivable, to realise and know they had become close over the last decade.

"What must I do then, to start?" I asked.

"Rest and meditate," Baihu instructed. "It is imperative you meditate for the next month at least while in seclusion, to gather and stabilise your core. For the most part, you are well, due to the medicine I refined for you. After the thunder trials, even the minor ones like yours, it can set a God on bed-rest for thirty days. For you, Sixteen, you should actually be in seclusion for the next ten years at a minimum. But we do not have the luxury of time."

"That is ironic," I murmured.

Baihu chuckled softly once. "The medicine has sped your healing process, but there will be setbacks as a result. You will expend your energy far quicker than usual and find yourself fatigued quickly. There will be days where you are exhausted from the moment you wake in the morning, until you fall asleep the following night. But most of all, while your body is still weak, if you use your Sight, the power will feed on your life-force. This, you already know, as we have trained in it very carefully. Light usage of the power saps at your energy unless surrounded by the cold. But prolonged usage begins to take your life, which is demonstrated when you then bleed from the nose and ears"

I nodded in understanding, but then tilted my head in confusion as I went through my recollection of memories from my training sessions with him using the Sight. "How is it though that while I have been training here, I never bled any more after our first few sessions?"

"Kunlun is divine and cooling in nature. It compliments the energy required to power our form of Sight. Therefore there has always been an unlimited supply of energy for you to utilise when Seeing," Baihu explained. "But once you leave Kunlun, you will return to the mortal realm, where the air is not as pure. You may have ascended the first step, and your body and spirit are now no longer entirely human. However, the mortal realm is not forgiving, and the reality remains in that you are actually still very wounded from the lightning trial."

Baihu then turned and reached to my bed-side stand, where he picked up the Silver Cloud Fan. A white tassel and a small jade dragon hung from the base. I remembered receiving the Treasure from the Lord of Numinous Treasure. And I remembered training with it, both in fan form, and in its transformed sword form.

Looking upon the pale fan was the same as if I looked upon an old and cherished friend, one who was always there by my side, one whom I could always count on, and feel as driven to grow with it, as it did in return with me.

"The Silver Cloud Fan is one of the Treasures of the Lord of Numinous Treasure's Hall," Baihu said, holding it with care. "It is cold in nature and possesses a Yin core. As long as you are holding the fan while using the Sight, your power will not harm you." He passed me the Fan, and I opened it, once again marvelling at the paintings of silver clouds across its folds. A poem was written on the other side.

'Winter's breath of bitter stars,

Reveals forbidden beauty in cold sighs;

A silver wind shines dark and true,

Singing the voice of the windswept sky.'

"The Cloud Clearing Fan is bound to you," Baihu continued, and I glanced back up at him after reading the poem. I had read it too many times to count. But it was the first time I was reading it as Annie and Aki.

"But until your next lightning trial, never use the active Sight without the Fan in your hand."

I could not help but shudder at the prospect of another lightning trial. The sense of fear and trepidation which swept through me was enough to dry my mouth and make me feel faint. I shut my eyes for a moment, leaning my head against my arm which was resting over my raised knees.

"Do not worry, Sixteen. Your next trial will not come for many hundreds of years yet."

I knew ideally my next trial should be sooner. The sooner I could achieve a more solid form of immortality and spiritual power, the better. But I was in truth, relieved. I could not bear the thought of going through another three strikes of lightning anytime soon. I could still feel the echo of its booming, raw, unharnessed power ripping through me.

I shook the feeling away, and folded the Fan. "I understand, Shifu," I breathed. "In that case, I had better go into seclusion today. The sooner I start, the better it will be for my body."

"Indeed," Baihu agreed, and then stood, clasping his hands behind his back. "Take the Misty Vale Pagoda. Ask Rourou to help you prepare." He turned to leave, but then paused. "Well done on passing the lightning trial, Sixteen."

Though he did not expand, I heard the pride, as well as relief, in his voice. I smiled and bowed to him again. "Thank you, Shifu, for training me to become strong enough to qualify," I thanked him sincerely.

Baihu only smiled. He did not need to say anything, and then left the dorm to allow me to prepare for my seclusion.

xxx

In the rear courtyard behind Tara's castle, Mitsuhide trained with the spear against his mother. They were two forms which flitted across the stone like wraiths. The wood of the spears' body clacked against each other as they struck and parried. The two Purebloods stepped around each other, as if in an enchanting and deadly dance. Their movements were sweeping and vast, granted by the range the spear made possible.

Along the edges, Yoshitatsu sat with Mitsuhide's uncles. Miyoshino kept a young eight year old Tatsuoki busy with Mitsutada and Yuko. And Nouhime sat with Mitsuharu as they spoke more privately.

It was an unusual moment where the family, included the extended, where together in the modest castle of the Akechi, debating, training, and generally socialising in light-hearted circumstances. Makoto stood on the other end of the courtyard, explaining to a handful of guards the techniques and mastery behind Mitsuhide's and his mother's style. Servants and maids tried to peak from the screens to catch a rare glimpse of seeing Lady Akechi fight. She did not disappoint. Even Mitsuhide was captured in awe by his mother's skill, skill which she seldom showed. But here it was illustrated her expertise in the ways of combat and weaponry. She was many centuries old, with the proficiency to match.

Of all the weapons Mitsuhide had mastered over the years, the sword and spear were his favoured. He also bore remarkable accuracy in using a firearm, but he did not particularly like them. The noise was deafening, and killed brutally. There was a particular aura around the weapon which was twisted and corrupted. Dirty.

Nevertheless, Mitsuhide had taken it upon himself to obtain and master the weapon as well, taking on board the prior warning in Aki's journal and notes of the westernised weapons to come in the coming years.

The two of them trained in the light of the day. The air was warm with spring, birds chirped and the smell of the grass and trees drifted through the breeze.

Once the two of them concluded, Nouhime entered the courtyard to take Mitsuhide's place, and the two women danced a deadly dance using ninjatos instead. It was a sight for the local residents to behold, as it was also a demonstration to the outside that the Toki and Akechi were a powerful union, both in family, and in combat.

The main purpose of the general union however, besides showing solidarity after Dousan's recent defeat, was to inform the family of Aki's expectant return, of which the news was taken very well by everyone. Tatsuoki was more curious than anything else, given he had not been born until two years after Aki's departure.

While Nouhime and his mother sparred, Mitsuhide looked towards his nephew, and watched as Mitsutada showed him how to use a particular toy. Despite being grateful to know what is to happen in the future, Mitsuhide also despised it, and understood why Aki never spoke about it.

Though Tatsuoki was a member of the family, Yoshitatsu's first born and successor, Tatsuoki was recorded as a failure. Aki had written he would grow to become a man who was easily swayed and distracted by trifle pleasures. He did not possess the same spine and cunning ruthlessness that his father held. When the time came for Nobunaga to lay siege against Inabayama in 1567, Tatsuoki had either fled in the night and abandoned the province, or had been swayed by false promises from Hideyoshi to surrender and turn over the castle and its rule to Nobunaga. Tatsuoki was even supposed to challenge Mitsuhide's own right to rule in 1564.

Mitsuhide remained impartial to the knowledge. He kept it in his mind, and was careful of his interactions. For there was still a possibility it may not happen. Much had changed in Mino from what Aki had originally dictated was going to happen, a result of Mitsuhide's influence of change. The same could be said for Tatsuoki. Mitsuhide hoped so, and likewise also hoped Yoshitatsu himself would not die of unsuspecting illness in 1561.

Regardless of what may or may not happen, Mitsuhide was prepared for either outcome. No matter what, the rule and stability of the Akechi was to be maintained. If it meant shattering the Saito-Toki and absorbing them under his stern care, then so be.

Tatsuoki glanced towards Mitsuhide by accident, and Mitsuhide saw a flicker of unease and wariness pass through the boy's eyes before they turned back to the toy Mitsutada was showing him.

Mitsuhide's calm expression remained. It was odd for a child to show any measure of fear of Mitsuhide. Generally he was gentle and approachable on most occasions. But Tatsuoki had always been uneasy in Mitsuhide's presence. Part of it was because Mitsuhide's eyes missed nothing, and Tatsuoki had already displayed an extent of laziness from his spoilt upbringing. Mitsuhide sensed that subconsciously, Tatsuoki knew this.

Mitsuhide's eyes lingered on his nephew a moment longer, before he turned his attention to his other cousin, Mitsuharu. Mitsuharu's eyes followed Nouhime's every movement. Nouhime was twenty-one, and Mitsuharu was nineteen. They had grown up together for the most part, and Mitsuhide was glad he steered away from the union with Nobunaga, as Nouhime's skills were far too valuable to lose. And both Nouhime and Mitsuharu had grown fond of each other over the years. It would not be long now before an engagement was going to be made between the two.

Much had changed in the past decade, and Mitsuhide was eager to show Aki the changes.

xxx

A few days after Omi-no-Kata, Yoshitatsu, his son, and Nouhime returned to Inabayama, Mitsuhide found himself enjoying the simple company of his friend, Ichirou. A year older than Mitsuhide, Ichirou had come into his own as a smith not forging swords and weapons, but vital tools used for crafting, for carriages and carts, hinges for cabinets and boxes and many more. Though it had been suggested to Ichirou to one day venture into weaponry for higher income and greater skill, Ichirou was quite content with where he was in life.

Mitsuhide watched with amusement as Ichirou's son of ten years ran around the room, holding a wood-carved bird in his hands and pretending the bird was flying with enthusiasm.

Mitsuhide and Ichirou both were sat in the centre of the room in Ichirou's house, drinking sake and enjoying a modest, but lovingly prepared home meal by Aimi. Aimi herself was in the next room, nursing their younger son, kept company by Ichirou's mother.

"So, looks like a lot will be happening rather soon then," Ichirou said after a hearty sip from his sake cup. "Your cousins will be married by the summer, and the union will be solidifying between your family and the Toki."

"Mitsuharu had always been fond of Nouhime," Mitsuhide reflected. "But he had always been too shy in his younger years. And Nouhime never exactly helped the situation, despite feeling the same in return. So proud, she is. Even now, she still taunts and teases him."

Ichirou grinned. "Well, she is a little princess after all. She would never admit to anything first."

Mitsuhide chuckled. "Luckily Mitsuharu does have a strong and stoic will like his father, Mitsuyasu. Infinitely more patient than Mitsutada. They will make a good pair."

"Most certainly!" Ichirou agreed. "Though I have to admit that while I look forward to their prospective engagement, the news I am most eager about is Osamu's return. You say you have received news she is on her way back?"

"Yes. I do not know how long, but a month is a reasonable estimate. It is a long way for her to travel," Mitsuhide said thoughtfully, wondering how Aki would actually return, whether she would travel by the sky, or whether she would travel as a human would.

Speaking of her return brought a flutter of excitement to his heart, and as it always had done in the past, speaking of her and thinking of her brought him a lightness of joy which nothing and no one could ever compare to.

"Will you prepare a welcoming party for her?" Ichirou asked with raised eyebrows.

Mitsuhide snorted softly. "No. She has never cared for such things."

"Really? I would have thought she would. She has been to many parties and gatherings before. And she is out-going enough to have hosted events for the children of the town, including me, in the past."

Mitsuhide clicked his tongue and prodded his friend. "Silly fool. Just think, when had any of it ever been about her? Never? The one time she had been at the centre of attention was the first time my mother dressed her up. And Osamu had been mortified by the attention, and of the attention ever since when she has had to dress as a Lady. I remember that first day most clearly."

"Of course you do," Ichirou winked. "It was when you first realised how pretty she was and that you actually liked her."

Mitsuhide exhaled sharply, but felt the heat in his face nonetheless. "Don't tease me."

Ichirou leaned back and tilted his head. "You may be the Lord of this town, Mitsuhide, and co-Lord of the province. But to me, you are still my best man and brother. Of course I'm going to tease you. Who else will have the guts to do so besides me?"

Mitsuhide rolled his eyes, but smiled still.

Ichirou's son grew bored of his running flight and came to sit at the table. He looked up with big eyes at the two men curiously.

"Who are you talking about?" Keisuke asked innocently.

"We are talking about Akechi Osamu," Ichirou answered.

"The lake spirit?" Keisuke's eyes lit up.

In the ten years Aki had been gone, her absence had strengthened her presence in the town and surrounding area through the people's stories and tales of her. With each telling, the tale became more extravagant and magical, transforming her into the new deity of the region. The lake from which she had first appeared, had become holy ground and a place of worship to her spirit. She had become more legend than ordinary human as the years had gone by.

"Yes," Mitsuhide said softly to the boy. "But she was also a young woman, my retainer. She was magical, but also very normal. Your father, aunt, myself and Osamu used to play in the fields and throw snowballs at each other when we were younger. We used to go out to the restaurants to eat. Your father got so drunk one evening that he even vomited all over her."

Keisuke's eyes widened with shock. "Did you really, chichi-ue?"

"That wasn't my fault! You made me keep drinking," Ichirou objected.

"Hardly," Mitsuhide scoffed. "It was your idea to make a bet on how many bottles we could stomach." He turned back to Keisuke while Ichirou spluttered over his words. "Osamu was very real. Not a spirit. Did you know, one time she was so interested in two birds having an argument on the rooftop that she did not see where she was going. She walked into a wall and banged her nose, giving herself a nosebleed."

Ichirou had sipped another cup of sake, but spat it back out as he laughed. "Oh dear me. I remember that!"

The droplets of wine sprayed over Mitsuhide instead and he grimaced with a groan of disgust. "Seriously? You didn't think to turn your head the other way?"

Keisuke's wonderfully childlike laughter rang through the air with his father's.

"I hope you see, my son, that the all-powerful Mitsuhide and Osamu are not quite so scary and magical as the stories say," Ichirou said, pulling his son to his side where the boy giggled into his arm.

As Mitsuhide wiped himself down with a cloth, he smiled softly again. "I hope we will never be that scary."

"Mitsuhide-sama can never be scary," Keisuke said happily. "He is a kind and honourable gentleman. I want to be like him when I grow up."

"Eh? What about me?" Ichirou exclaimed. "I am honourable and kind too!"

Keisuke giggled again. "Chichi-ue is also silly."

Ichirou pouted. "Ungrateful child."

Mitsuhide held an arm out. "Come here, Keisuke. I will tell you some good stories about your father."

Keisuke grinned, and hopped over to sit next to Mitsuhide, where he told the boy funny stories about Ichirou, as well as stories which demonstrated how much of a gentleman Ichirou was also.

And the evening continued like that, until eight o'clock, when it was Keisuke's bed time and it was time for Mitsuhide to depart.

Ichirou saw him to the front.

"Do thank Aimi for the meal. It was delicious as always," Mitsuhide said warmly.

Ichirou smiled. "It gives her great pleasure to see you enjoying her cooking. In that sense she is probably the luckiest women in town because we have the Lord himself come to dine with us in our humble abode."

"Silly fool," Mitsuhide chided, patting Ichirou's shoulder. "She is lucky because she has you."

"And I am lucky to have her as well, in addition to your friendship. I am the only one to see this side of you, the carefree man who can be light-hearted and take my jokes – as well as my accidental spit. Osamu is the only other one to see this side, and more. Do keep me posted. I am a married man, but Osamu is as much my friend as you are. I miss her and look forward to her return."

Mitsuhide smiled again. "Of course. I hope that she will return soon, in time for Hanami. But she has a long way to travel."

Ichirou batted his hand dismissively. "Ah, it's fine if she misses it. There will be plenty more to come in the future. I am more interested to see how she may have changed."

"As are we all," Mitsuhide admitted. "Only time will tell." He looked away thoughtfully, before he then brought his attention back to his friend. "I will leave you to settle this evening. Thank you again, and I will see you soon. Good night."

Ichirou waved at him. "Good night, my friend. Take care and don't work too hard!"

Mitsuhide waved back, and made his way back to the castle.