Here's another new chapter! This time it's Juubei-chan's show!
In a meta sense, I want to welcome Raging Drake into the 'family' as well. They're new to this particular story, though they have patronized its prequels recently, and has started on the same journey as you guys. Leaving lots of reviews certainly is a way to get mentioned and congratulated this way! Hopefully, this is just the start of a personally-beautiful journey for you...
IRL-wise, I'm severely disappointed with the Final Singularity FGO movie. You have all those characters billed, so why on earth have you only invited 2 dozen (at most) seiyuus to voice a select few characters?! In-game, you have the backing of hundreds of characters, and this is the choice you make for the 'grand finale' of your movie?! Was there a budget squeeze somewhere? In short, for those of you who've waited patiently to watch it outside Japan like me... don't get your hopes up. Not only it's way too short, but there's barely any interesting dialogue in there to accompany the decent action scenes. Personally, I was terribly excited in-game when all those gorgeously-voiced Servants were backing us, the playable character, simultaneously in a chorus. You ruined that, CloverWorks. Shame.
With the most recent Marvel movies also being disappointments, it's a rather depressing month for my viewing pleasure... Damn.
Here's the mailbag, now with some of my answers (edited forlength and clarity) for Raging Drake.
Ghost151 & superpierce: She thanks you for your support! She's her FGO namesake, though I won't discount the possibility of her growing up to be just as... 'mature' as the latter. Do note the mythology of this story I interspersed occasionally mentioned the 'first' Himiko as the ruler of Yamatai, and the current Himiko who aims to expand Nihon into its glory days as Yamatai. (...) A descendant and namesake. Didn't I narrate this fact already in a past chapter? Tell me if I haven't so I can put it in. You can consider the FGO Himiko as a grown-up template for this one.
superpierce: Well, I didn't see Kintoki's giant mecha coming in canon either. So everything's fair game, I think.
Raging Drake: Yup! This [Chiyome] doesn't mess around, does she?
Raging Drake: (1) As you've seen in future chapters, it wasn't much of a c*** if it only happens once. I don't like how actual Japanese laws make cockblocking an acceptable workaround the rating system, so they can keep T-rated animes on air instead of more realistic M-rated ones. Don't you think the comedic effect of cockblocking gets tiring real quick? (2) Yes, from the title, you can gleam it's going to be a sad chapter. Naturally, I'm going to play up their relationship in future chapters, as you'll see when you read on. (3) 'Massacre'? Of Kagetora's p***, you mean? Or loincloth...
Raging Drake: (1) Kagetora will appear n*** most likely in the toilet. She seems to have great compatibility with that place. (2) Nah, not really a fight scene. Maybe later. (3) This is a case of single parenting. They had no father figure, merely 'grandfathers' who're long dead/inactive when the current generation's born. (4) Oh, everybody knows the answers to that. The CORRECT answer, though... that's the mystery.
Rarely ever in her life Mitsuhide felt so satisfied with the sense of paradox brewing within her.
She could see it on her blade, as she was repeating the same kata for what felt like the thousandth time today. To others, yes, the same – but not to her, or a sufficiently proficient and insightful martial artist, because her emotions rocked and rolled with each swing, never settling on the ultimate nothingness she considered the peak of martial arts. Her satisfaction, her anger, her eagerness, her disappointment, her hopes, her despair, her well-wishes, her killing intent… she could see it as if her practice katana was a mirror.
Well, clearly, it wasn't – she's not even using the various blades her beloved Muramasa made for her. After a few battles with them, she considered them too precious to casually use, despite her senpai's assertion the weapons he made were created for the sake of being wielded, instead of being placed on an altar to admire.
- Skid…! Skid…! Skid…!
Her feet barely grazed the expertly-manicured dojo floor, each panel made of seasoned and treated wood expensive enough to buy a family a day's worth of meals. Covering a wide, semi-open expanse, surrounded by intricately-designed zen garden, it should be a place specializing in creating peace, so those who trained here could be influenced by that.
In an area larger than the average Nihon family home, the lone figure of Mitsuhide truly created a mismatch for the eyes, since this place was built so dozens of warriors could train simultaneously, or for a pair of duellists to battle without restraint – enclosed enough to make close-quarters possible, yet wide enough to buy magi enough time to cast their spells if need be.
Yet, there she was, all by her lonesome with not a guard or shinobi in sight, filling the air with her everchanging emotional outbursts, challenging the natural layout of the place.
She was moving with contrasting changes in speed – at times painfully slow akin to a Magic Circuit exercise, another time so fast it felt impossible she wasn't using Reinforcement – but her footsteps' sound was eerily consistent, merely brushing the veneer and producing a rhythmic and oddly musical screeches whenever her bare feet danced across the floor. Now, Chiyome had been fussing lately about the potential of having irreparable callouses forming on her soles and toes… which she summarily dismissed, saying those were the proud marks of a warrior, but when the kunoichi argued back there were ways to both strengthen the immediate outer skin layers while also keeping a soft, pristine, baby-smooth skin men desired, Mitsuhide relented. Ditto Nobunaga, who was considerably more difficult to persuade owing to her stubbornness and lack of time applying this 'lotion' to her extremities.
In the end, this substance ended up being a valued product Owari could sell and import to earn a lot of money, which shut Nobunaga up.
And all those responsibilities inevitably fell into Mitsuhide's lap, being the one most talented and even remotely interested in administration and business among Owari's inner circle of retainers. Typically, those more specialized in their respective areas would start and guide her through the early phases, as well as teaching her the general lay of the land and tricks… before they were busied by war and other appointments, leaving Mitsuhide to manage one more sector in addition to her already-burgeoning list of tasks.
It's not like it's all a burden to her – on the contrary, she quite liked being the dependable one, because she could flaunt her genius to the fullest and let her inferiors knew how far they were from her. This basic arrogance was what remained after Muramasa beat the rest out of her physically and verbally, as well as after seeing what became of her counterpart in Nobunaga's original world.
It took quite some effort to peel off the wakizashi she's going to use for seppuku that time from her hand, with her instantly kneeling while crying and declaring she had wronged her lord.
"You can just work your butt off in exchange, you know?!" At that time, Nobunaga had yelled at her with an equal amount of tears, palms bleeding from trying to stop the wakizashi from the blade side and forgetting to use Reinforcement. "I need you, Jūbei!"
It was difficult even until today to simply think of that person as someone completely unrelated. Would she become like him, too? For her hair to become bright white, influenced by Nobunaga's naysayers to the point of betraying and killing her beloved lord?
Become weak.
The desire to prove herself, which was recently abating after she began sleeping and having orgies with her lovers, erupted once again, similar to how her young self was so eager to achieve something she became quite suicidal to do so.
Thus, her current sense of paradox brewing inside.
In many ways, she'd… grown up, especially mentally. Seeing how much influence she had on the common folks' livelihood through her recently-gained economic control, in addition to how the nobility class, though much weaker now in the Sengoku Period compared to the Heian, still exerted great influence on the lower caste, forcibly dragged her personal sense of responsibility out. The ruling class was given power so they could serve their citizens, instead of the other way around – such was one of the tenets of Nobunaga's new-and-improved 'Tenka Fubu' Mitsuhide held dear. When the Empress was leading by example, it became rather hard to fathom how she could doubt herself and think she's going to follow her original self's example.
That last thought fuelled the childish side she thought she'd dispensed long ago. The Ambition of Akechi Mitsuhide… sounded like a good title to a novel, but in practice, it simply interfered with the realistic duties she must attend to and succeed in. Those weren't places where she could afford overdoing things simply because she wanted to impress, or do things rashly to gain honour and reputation at the cost of actual results. There were things, in hindsight, she did correctly despite the risks in the past, but this older version of Mitsuhide recognized she wouldn't make the same decisions if she repeated things now.
Yes, those aspects shouldn't be a part of her anymore… yet, it's clear for anyone who looked at her blade she couldn't let go of them. In fact, they were rising in intensity and threatening to overtake her rational part, regressing her into a version she considered inferior.
She was happy to be entrusted to 'guard the keep', as the saying goes, but also frustrated she wasn't chosen to go to the front lines alongside her beloved people. She recognized the importance of her task, which was perhaps even more so than Chiyome, Muramasa, Nobunaga, and Danzō, because she's essentially guarding every single border of the current Owari, now spanning across Central Honshu surrounding Kyoto, and bordered only by the Tripartite to the immediate northeast and the Mōri Clan to the southwest. While there was a noticeable lack of insurgent behaviour internally, when compared to Nobunaga's previous life, it didn't mean no party wouldn't be interested in stirring up trouble elsewhere. Hence, Mitsuhide was tasked to use her immense administrative sensitivity to handle everything within the territory, instead of splitting her energy towards expansion.
Fortunately, Nagahide hadn't been acting up too much lately, most likely because she hadn't interacted with Muramasa for quite some time and had the opportunity to rebalance her thoughts about his relationship with Nobunaga. She wasn't part of the force sent south to conquer the Mōri Clan, and as such had stayed behind to assist Mitsuhide in any way she could.
The Akechi Princess General was simply using her free time to clear her mind through practising her swordsmanship, since apparently, she was also infected by a problem unique only to the higher-class: Her assistants were too competent, so she suddenly had an empty slot in her schedule she didn't know what to do with, except for continuously contemplating and improving her spirituality through moving meditation.
Nagahide wasn't around the dojo right now, but the two actually got along quite well, despite their lack of interaction. One could call their relationship to be a professionally friendly one – distant, polite, but with enough understanding for trust to naturally develop between them. She and her direct retainers had taken quite a lot of the administerial load away from Mitsuhide… because those were mostly routine, boring, but detail-oriented stuffs which drained one's soul the more they got worked on. Perhaps Nagahide, too, was distracting herself in her own way by doing this, especially since, if the Chūgoku invasion went smoothly…
…it's all over.
No more need for war, scheme, sabotage, and assassination. They'd all live happily ever after, together, as family.
The thought of Muramasa and Nagahide living under the same roof brought a smile to Mitsuhide's face, though due to her martial arts already reaching its limit recently, her movements weren't affected in the slightest. It was [Water], embodied to all its extremes – fleeting like mist, oppressive like rainstorm, peaceful like a lagoon, furious like a waterfall, treacherous like an ocean whirlpool, enchanting like lazy snow, refreshing like mountain spring, deceptive like blue holes, and destructive like a tsunami. She'd created more and more techniques beyond the basics her beloved senpai taught her to start, but gradually felt the need to challenge established warriors like Muramasa getting stronger, just to gauge how far she'd come.
It's unfortunate he'd left for Chūgoku already, and Kagetora had returned to Echigo under the constant angry yells of her small retainer, Kanetsugu. Mitsuhide had casually mentioned her wish for a spar for either of them, but because more pressing and official matters, the chance evaded her. She knew she didn't really have a chance against Muramasa, even if she went all out with incorporating her Magecraft with martial arts, but there's a good possibility she could triumph over the white-haired Princess General, emulating her beloved senpai, because the latter neglected her Thaumaturgical training… or perhaps was just untalented in it, choosing to focus on her martial prowess instead.
She continuously moved across the dojo, her usual baggy clothes of varying blue shades and long, thick hair made her appear to be dancing than practicing. Sword dancing was popular among royal courts to avoid accusations of indulging in striptease and other 'inappropriate' sexual acts – even though the ruling class usually defined what was appropriate or not – and it was a way for women to gain a standing among warriors, since it was considered a ritualistic and sacrificial act for several chosen deities, the purest form a female could worship as it could be.
…at least, that was the excuse all those eras ago. The current Sengoku Period was far more pragmatic and practical, never banning either sexes from any activity, even more so than Nobunaga's original world where she reigned supreme. Mitsuhide herself never learnt the art of dance, and her fluid, eye-catching movements were all a result of her training. This was in contrast to Nobunaga who, despite her rough and arrogant exterior, was a capable singer and dancer, at times performing to raise troop morale at the start of Owari's expansion.
Despite her concentration – or lack thereof, thanks to the tumult she's feeling since the start of this practice session – she abruptly stopped her blade once she felt someone pass through her basic detection-type Bounded Field.
"Kichō-chan? May I help you?" Mitsuhide asked evenly, barely even panting after almost an hour of constant movement. She quickly sheathed her sword when the little girl poked her head from behind the dojo's main door sill. "Come closer… unless you're put off by the smell of this place and mine own."
"O-Of course not…!" The little girl squeaked in protest, rushing forth to prove Mitsuhide was wrong in her accusation and betraying her earlier, obvious intention to watch on stealthily. "E-Eh… I just want to watch…" She instantly fidgeted when she realized her plan was foiled, and asked with upturned eyes at one of her fiancé's most trusted retainers.
"Ah, are you interested in swordsmanship, then? Pick up a bokken over there." Mitsuhide pointed to the dojo's far end, almost exactly opposite of the main door, near the obligatory decorative paintings and calligraphy where the 'master' should sit to supervise training. "At the very least, your body should be stiff from tea ceremonies all day, no? let's move around for a bit."
Kichō looked on stiffly, clearly not having the thought of exercise in her mind when she came here, but nodded dumbly when Mitsuhide, with her pressuring smile, strolled over and grabbed her hand tenderly to guide her all the way to the other end of the dojo. She snapped out of her muddleheaded state when she felt the weight of a wooden sword in her hand, slightly too heavy for her small frame. "E-Er, Akechi-sama… I-I…"
"Ah, don't be too nervous. Like I said, we're just going to be moving around some, alright?" Mitsuhide, typically oblivious of other's subtler emotions, verbally bulldozed on, nearly lifting Kichō off the floor as she dragged her to the centre of the dojo. "We can talk while we swing. Didn't Kippōshi-sama teach you the basics? Yes?" When she saw the kid absentmindedly nod, she continued, "Then, let's start!"
"E-Eh…" Kichō let out a reluctant voice, which thankfully Mitsuhide chose not to hear.
The older girl remarked, "You're worried about Kippōshi-sama, correct? Let this exercise take your mind off the troublesome stuff."
Nobunaga's little fiancé widened her eyes, surprised this usually-dense older sister figure was able to guess why she walked all the way here from her residence. They're currently in Owari's new central base, Gifu Castle, where Kichō's father and older brother used to live before its grand-scale renovation. This resulted in her getting tired more often, since her old home was nowhere near as big or lavish as this was. She was happy to know Nobunaga cherished her and her family this much to spend a literal mountain of resources to make this place to its current shape, instead of abandoning it and creating a new castle somewhere else, as was typical with warlords.
At the very least, Mitsuhide was correct. She'd tailored the movements so Kichō's much weaker body was purely pushed near its limit, but not overly so she was drenched in unpleasant sweat, considering her clothes weren't necessarily suited for immediate training like Mitsuhide's. "One step forward, one standard swing downwards. Now, do the reverse while backwards; block low. Let's repeat." The little girl let her current partner's voice to hypnotize her into autonomous movements, feeling the positive effects Mitsuhide claimed were actually palpably real.
What's funny was the 'tea ceremonies' the older girl referenced were all initially taught by her to Kichō, since Nobunaga was often quite busy, before handing the more advanced training to the recently-joined Sen-no-Rikyū. They were quite tiring, more because of the frequency, since many more people wished to see and cajole her now that her engagement with Nobunaga had been made public for some time. With Owari's increasing political power and suspected closeness to the Imperial Family, politicians flooded Mino almost every day trying to setup meetings with any member of Nobunaga's inner circle of retainers.
She'd long had a crush of Nobunaga since she was little, looking up to her in face of her older sister's abusive behaviour. It was a typical dreamy, long-distance pining and yearning, as her young age and relatively little talent in politics kept her away from a position where she could address Nobunaga as closely and casually as she could now. Yoshitatsu demanded all the attention all of Kichō's life until the former's death, ironically, at the hands of the gentle young woman beside her. In any case, she was just one of Dōsan's many daughters, and had little sway because of the aforementioned reasons.
The gallant, noble figure of her current fiancé was akin to the unattainable dreamher elders taught her she'd never achieve.
To be honest, she didn't really know much of the redhead. Certainly, not to the same intimacy Nobunaga's current set of lovers did. But she was fine with that, as her sheltered young mind simply concluded her time would come, and she still had plenty of shortcomings to make Nobunaga notice her. Unknowingly, because her body and mind still hadn't developed their sexuality yet, her love was still innocent and childish, more similar to how a little sister adored their older siblings. This was mostly due to her upbringing, because her contemporaries could already feel arousal with the same body, such as Masamune and Himiko – the former a rival in love she never met or even knew existed yet.
This was the result of Nobunaga spoiling her rotten, in contrast to her blood-related family situation, where her father was too busy handling her oldest sister to have any energy left for his other numerous children. Alas, in the end, it was Kichō's near-transparent presence which ironically spared her from Yoshitatsu's purge of her potential competitors, since the little girl was unremarkable in any way except for her beauty.
That particular attribute might have won her Nobunaga's favour, but certainly wasn't influential under Mitsuhide's overly-energetic and boneheaded 'exercise'. In just a few short minutes – compared to the older girl who'd been at it for hours on end, dumping her frustration at her own self-doubt into her swings – Kichō was already half-dead, panting and nauseous, her feeble arms and legs typical of a new-born fawn who'd only stepped into a dojo for the first time in her life.
"Oh, dear, is that Nōhime I see?" A middle-aged woman uttered with a slight shock on her face, seeing the petite princess being carried away by two maids like a sack of rice. "Are you not too harsh on her, my daughter?"
"MOTHER!"
However, unlike the usual familial love usually underlying that word, Mitsuhide's tone was filled with worry. "What are you doing here?! You should be resting!" Her body flickered with a speed she'd use only against her opponents, but this time she instantly arrived at the woman's side and pressed either hand onto her stomach and back respectively, forcibly supporting her despite her clearly able to stand upright on her own. "Come on, follow me! Shoo! Shoo!"
"Now, now, I am well enough to see my cute daughter train," she politely rejected Mitsuhide's gesture, commenting, "I haven't seen you in that getup since you were small. May I sit and watch? Or are you already finished?"
Honesty, it was the latter. But Mitsuhide felt guilty for sending away her mother for the nth time back to her room, and lied, "No, I was just in the middle of it. Kichō-chan joined me for a few minutes, but that's all she could take."
"Ahahaha… Are you sure you're not simply measuring her using you as the benchmark? You have a tendency to do that to everyone," the Akechi matriarch chuckled, revealing one of Mitsuhide's most well-known tendencies. "Besides, frolicking with your lord's fiancé when she is away… Hmm, you're quite devious, my daughter."
Mitsuhide's younger self would've choked, blushed, and blabbered an excuse, but this self – the one who'd become a woman without her mother's knowledge – simply shook her head, despite knowing there's absolutely no one around to eavesdrop a denial or excuse. "I get people marrying younger and younger these days… but Kichō-chan doesn't even see Kippōshi-sama that way… yet," she hastily corrected herself before continuing, "Besides, I have too much on my plate to invest in seducing Kichō-chan, however lovely she is."
A thought suddenly struck her… about something the older Akechi mentioned more often lately. "Mother… you're not scheduling me dates again, are you?" Her eyes narrowed suspiciously, brows furrowing in displeasure. "For the umpteenth time, I don't need-"
"Yes, yes, you're a grown-up now," her mother cajoled, though her voice and expression indicated she still see the maturing young woman in beside her – still insistent in assisting her walk – as her 'baby' she still nursed with her breasts yesterday. "Still, it'll be good for you to get out of that stuffy office Nobunaga-sama put you in! Look around; see the world!"
"That advice would be more convincing if what you describe my daily duties as is correct, Mother," Mitsuhide instantly criticized, finally reaching one side of the dojo where there's a high-quality feather-stuffed zabuton lying around for VIPs to use. Half-shoving her mother onto one she picked at random, she grumbled, "What I'm doing is far too important than meeting some up-and-coming lower-ranked nobles into my personal dining chambers. And don't you give me that look!" She huffed, before pointedly strutting away and summoning the bokken she used earlier into her hand from the far end of the room. "Even without considering any other explanation, I can't put what we've built in risk for… for your traditions."
"Then is it considered fashionable these days to sleep with your lord's male lover instead?"
- Clack.
Mitsuhide nearly tripped, forced to use the wooden sword's tip to balance herself. "I… I-I don't know what you're t-talking about."
"Of course. Excuse this old lady for talking nonsense."
It's obvious to the both of them Mitsuhide's lie didn't take. "M-Muramasa-kun… I am close to Muramasa-dono, naturally, for being his best kōhai and customer! There's n-nothing more between us!" She flubbed her honorifics, and even nearly used 'Shirō' – an intimate first-name basis definitely only used between lovers – but her genius only led her down a longer path to falsehood than a way out. She patted her growing chest – not quite to the size of Danzō or Nobunaga, but still expanding nonetheless beyond her mother's – and put up a proud expression, but again, the older woman wasn't fooled.
"Will I still be your mother if I can't tell whether you're lying or not, little girl?" She accused, though jovially. "Now, tell me all about it…"
"W-Why should I? L-Like you said, you're here to w-watch my training! And there's n-nothing to speak of!" Mitsuhide stammered off, huffing a few times on the way to the dojo's centre and closed her eyes, her body relaxing and stilling with a bokken held in both hands.
The Akechi matriarch quieted down as a result, sensing her daughter's stubbornness in avoiding the topic. Understandably so, since having an affair with one's superior's lover would always turn into trouble if the sin got exposed. Her first thought regarding Kichō's and her daughter's relationship was clearly a joke, since she knew the two girls weren't particularly close and were more akin to acquaintances than friends. Besides, it's more likely Mitsuhide to sleep with Nobunaga herself instead of the petite new fiancé of the latter.
"Oh, my…"
She was forcibly pulled out of her musing as she witnessed her daughter's current ability first-hand. Since Mitsuhide was small, the girl had always been physically and intellectually gifted, burning through every teacher the mother brought her in less than 3 months. Seeing her baby girl beat up young adults thrice her size was amusing at the very least… but that quickly stopped when Muramasa appeared in her life, which lead to the second part of her teasing.
It's clear the redheaded blacksmith had plenty of influence on her current swordsmanship. The Akechi matriarch, Wakada, initially brought in tutors related to the Saitō Clan, since their family was somewhat related and allied with one another. However, seeing Mitsuhide's interest lie more in serving the burgeoning Owari, and with Dōsan's blessings at hand, she allowed her daughter to start her servitude under Nobunaga from the beginning, essentially severing the ties to the Saitō Clan before it was officially absorbed into the Oda Clan after Yoshitatsu's failed coup.
At that age, she quickly established herself as one of Nobunaga's closest retainers, partially owing to their similar age and interests. This was also one of the reasons Wakada wholeheartedly supported her decision, since an up-and-coming warlord was always easier to cosy up to and establish one's influence by their side quicker. However, there was the risk of one's offspring becoming too influenced by their new masters and going out of control. Wakada wasn't the kind of parent who's fond of abusing this loophole, and sincerely wished Mitsuhide to do well for herself.
Part of that was because she was dying.
Hence, Mitsuhide was insistent she'd rest at every opportunity. While she understood and appreciated her daughter's overprotectiveness, it could be suffocating at times. It's a far better sight to see her daughter energetically and arrogantly swing her sword – proof of her successful upbringing – than seeing her face perpetually contorted in worry, nearly crying every time she saw Wakada.
The older Akechi's eyes warmed at her daughter's frankly beautiful swordsmanship, a far cry from the instinctive style she used to bully her elders back in the day. She was inadvertently witnessing Mitsuhide's aforementioned dance-like katas, enhanced by her flowing and fluttery practice clothes. Wakada wasn't an expert swordswoman by any measure, but even she could appreciate the athleticism, body control, and sense of aesthetics her daughter was displaying without pause, straight after that embarrassing verbal exchange.
'He's not a bad choice for a son-in-law at all…' Wakada thought about Muramasa – that handsome hunk of a blacksmith.
…wait, no; calling him 'handsome' based on Nihon's sense of beauty would be off. Well, he's not bad-looking, per se – simply a far cry from the delicate, almost effeminate handsomeness scholars, historians, and artists revered about from the previous era up to now. He was the epitome of rugged attractiveness – if one could summarize his entirety that way – in a sense he was the best among the countless blue-collar workers spread across Nihon. Even when Wakada was younger, he's not her type all; at most, merely a figure she could admire with a glance on the side of the street. But, certainly, there's nothing absolutely wrong with her daughter's tastes at all.
She was quite surprised how popular and generally-accepted same-sex love was, given the only 'tradition' she knew was still running strong was chronologically limited, presented by the fleeting wakashudō which was supposed to end when the younger partner came of age and engaged in a more mature heterosexual relationship. Typically, only males were tolerated in this act, but Yoshitsune's various female lovers certainly changed the state of play. Even so, it's still relatively constrained to the ruling class as only Princess Generals were allowed the same political and social stature as men, while the girls who didn't make it was still treated as poorly as always.
Human, yōkai – it didn't matter. In fact, it's only most recently a well-respected establishment of sexual services surfaced, which was created and managed by Chiyome. Male, female… The changes the Minamoto Clan brought to equalize gender and race merely shifted the problem to profession and social perception instead.
Of course, this was in regards of Mitsuhide's relationship with her own lord, Nobunaga. Wakada's ears pricked up whenever some juicy rumours about her daughter's supposed love life, since she wished to see her grandchildren before she died.
Because she's as normal a middle-aged woman as possible, aside from her social status and wealth, her inner monologue had spanned across her daughter's entire moveset, instead of happening in an instant like how Mitsuhide herself was capable of doing in the middle of combat. The sudden slowing and eventual absence of motion snapped Wakada out of her reverie, which made her curse she'd just missed one of her daughter's best performances.
"E-Eh, w-wait! Jūbei, w-where are you going?! D-Don't leave me!"
Instead of bowing and calling out to Wakada, as was typical when she arrived as an overenthusiastic parent to some of her daughter's social meets, Mitsuhide quietly closed her kata and started to leave without a word. When her mother leapt to her feet, the young girl scathingly and sarcastically observed, "Ah, I'm simply acknowledging you're right, Mother. It seems you really don't need me to fuss and be around you, so I'll be leaving. See yourself out."
"A-Awawawa! Look, M-Mother is sorry, okay?! I won't t-tease you anymore!"
But how could a middle-aged woman like her keep up with Mitsuhide, especially when the daughter instantly flickered away without a trace?
"Good work today, Jūbei-san," Motoyasu's timid but soothing voice greeted her during their scheduled dinner together, the much-shorter girl smiling from behind her glasses at Mitsuhide. She'd planned something to say next, but visibly held her tongue when she saw the older girl's ragged expression. "…must be tough on you." Her smile shifted into a pitying one, knowing they're close enough Mitsuhide wouldn't be insulted by it.
"Haa… Such is the burden of wealth and fame, I guess?" The Akechi Princess General bitterly smiled, sighing grandiosely while sarcastically commenting. "You seek it from the moment you realized their ambition… only to realize it's consumed you itself and taking control now, instead of you enjoying the advantages it brings."
"How poetic," Motoyasu vigorously nodded, making her glasses slip that much more down her petite, adorable round nose. She took a piece of sea bream, her favourite recent sashimi choice, off her plate and squealed when its flavour melted and filled her mouth. It'd gotten to the point her Narikama Tanuki Guardian Spirit popped out and landed on her head, its fat figure heavily contrasting its master's small frame. "Hmm! Good stuff! Ah, hope you don't mind me starting first…"
Mitsuhdie gestured with an upturned palm. "This is just a casual gathering, anyway. When most of us cancelled, I was secretly relieved I don't have to suffer any more formality." Dropping down in a very unladylike manner, she confirmed, "How can I prevent the raccoon from enjoying her meal? Please, go ahead. I'm hungry too, so let's skip the pleasantries."
The room fell silent apart from the sound of used utensils. Both of them had forgone the typical eating mannerisms of ladies of their calibre, though the ingrained social training was hard to shake off even as they speedily gobbled up everything and purposefully being messy with no one around to judge them. Genbu even saw it fit to join in the fun… well, as much fun as his lethargic demeanour would allow, anyway, since all it did was laze around on the floor and allowing the tanuki to hop and play on its massive shell. Given Narikawa Tanuki was also carrying a miniaturized model of a traditional Nihon caste on its back, their eventual combined figure became similar to a pyramid, with Genbu's wide shell serving as the base.
In Muramasa's absence, the daily meals of both the Owari contingent and Imperial Family was designed and provided by a chef Nobunaga just picked up out of nowhere, named Ken. His style was Nanban fusion – a far cry from Muramasa's reimagined traditional dishes – and one which Mitsuhide actually wished her lover would pursue, because it had a sense of aesthetics completely undiscovered by Nihon cuisine. Still, the redheaded blacksmith-cum-chef-cum-warrior appeared to have the knowledge and skill necessary to trump Ken's dishes whenever he wanted, but simply chose not to showcase the same path as most other cooks.
Incidentally, Ken's girlfriend apprenticed at the Sengo family Workshop, so it's not like this culturally foreign man was a complete outsider to Nobunaga's innermost circle of retainers. He also assisted in building up the concepts and general menu for Mitsuhide's burgeoning restaurant chains, noting every B-class gourmet food he knew to differentiate between each product, whenever Muramasa and Mitsuhide weren't available – which was, admittedly, most of the time.
Nobunaga instantly identified him as someone out of time and place, when they first met, similar to her and Muramasa, so even though the amount of trust she put in this relative then-nobody was unusual, the chef more than paid it back with his creativity and sharp-tongued wit. Usually, a 'special case' like him would be enough to create irreversible effects in Nobunaga's original world, but… alas, he was transported into a reality where people like him were rather common, actually. His female colleague also found her way under Kennya's wing, thus facilitating their rekindled relationship with Owari's most recent alliance with Hongan-ji.
His 'group' was under the direct observation of Kaede, Danzō's currently most senior traditional jōnin, who was also fuming she got left out when the rest of the Named Ones were taken to destroy both the Mōri and Takeda Clans, while she was stuck here babysitting benign individuals. Unlike Mitsuhide, however, who was surrounded by… interesting people to distract her, the kunoichi was suffering death-by-boredom almost every day.
…but that's a story for another time and character focus.
The silence went on for quite a while, since despite their eating speed, the amount of food they're consuming was similar to if the room was full. And because this was Gifu Castle's main dining area, it could hold nearly triple-digit number of retainers and officials… and the two girls were eating their portion as well, it seemed.
Of course, this was hyperbole, but that's what Ken felt as he laid on the faraway kitchen floor, passed out. That's what happened to a chef unable to use Reinforcement when processing mystical ingredients, prized for their inherent amount of magic energy when consumed by the rich and powerful. While these objects took to conventional cooking quite well – bar a few exceptions, of course, like when Chiyome attempted to have her husband cook one of the serpentine bodies she produced – the energy it took to properly transform them into something resembling their traditional counterparts were immense.
Wiping her mouth elegantly, Mitsuhide asked, "How goes Chiyome-san's mission? Any news?"
The tanuki girl shook her head. "She shed off her own men and went by her own to who-knows-where. If I have to bet, I assume she knows of a secret jaunt Shingen frequented, and chose that place to set up a secret meeting."
"That… sounds like what Senpai would do," Mitsuhide forced out after a moment of thought. "Going on a one-woman kill mission, against the might of the entire Takeda Clan…" She eyed the younger girl. "I assume he doesn't know?"
"Not to my knowledge. However, from what Hanzō has gathered, he has a propensity of lending mystical and ludicrously powerful weapons to her. So perhaps we shouldn't worry too much," Motoyasu concluded, before adding, "The Minamoto Great Ancestors are also moving."
"Ancestors? As in, plural?" Mitsuhide wondered. "Who else apart from Shuten-sama? Did one of them awaken?"
"No. It seemed this person has been a part of Hyakki Yakō all this time, but simply deep undercover. Hence, we don't know of her existence… until now," Motoyasu explained, her tone conveying she, too, heard this from second-hand information. "Fortunately, Heika's absence meant we're left with a lot more authority regarding classified information, so I managed to dig up where she was stationed all this time, if not her full identity."
Mitsuhide sighed. "Let me guess… more code names?"
"Well, consider it standard procedure," the bespectacled girl thinly smiled, continuing, "That's rather old-fashioned, don't you think? I was surprised when Nobunaga-sama approved of Chiyome-san's and Danzō-san's choice of terminology for our shinobi departme- I-I mean that's what Hanzō told me! It's h-his opinion!" She began to stammer once she realized what she was saying. However, seeing no help was coming from Mitsuhide's impassive eyes, she only squeaked out, "…don't tell anyone?"
"Do you realize this entire castle's full of surveillance and observation spells? It's too late, little racoon." Eventually, seeing Motoyasu's shiver not stopping, Mitsuhide shrugged. "It depends whether anyone will bother digging up the recordings, however. Like you said, we're currently short on manpower in these areas, since we're focused on other areas of security." She waved one hand, using a Single-Action spell to summon available nearby maids to clear their utensils away. Usually, in special occasions, Ken would be present in the next room and specifically allowed to eavesdrop and attain inspiration for his next dish, but as was established before, the man was far too knackered to bother. Knowing this, Mitsuhide added, "Personally, I think it's cool. Hence, I'm also your enemy from that standpoint."
"Ahahaha… Please go easy on me…" Motoyasu replied with an ever-decreasing volume. "F-Fine! I-It's Tomoe-sama and Shuten-sama!"
"Hoo? Damn," Mitsuhide cursed, "I wanted to meet her for the longest time! Why does Chiyome-san always get all the good stuff?!" She sharply shook her head in frustration, before eventually sighing in defeat. "Fine… Tell Hanzō-dono to meet me when he heard she's returned. Even a location is alright!"
"Noted. Of course, this was pending Tomoe-sama's and Heika's approval, so I won't promise anything."
"Hmph. When has your promise ever bear fruit? That's about as good as I can hope," Mitsuhide scoffed.
Motoyasu's typically timid and passive behaviour was nowhere to be found after that remark, however. "Well, apologies for being born like this. After all, this is the job Nobunaga-sama entrusted me with."
"Lying?"
"Manipulating truths."
"To most – including me – that's the same thing." Instead of pressuring further with her accusation, Mitsuhide immediately admitted, "But… I guess I'm calling you out hypocritically, because I'm also good at it."
"Being good doesn't mean I enjoy it, you know," Motoyasu finished, returning the room's atmosphere back to normal after a moment's tenseness. "Going back to our original topic, I believe Chiyome-san will be fine. There's no way she'd go down without Yamata-no-Orochi-sama manifesting in self-defence. That will be visible and palpable even from here and by me, who's terrible at magical detection, Jūbei-san."
"Yeah… if the Takeda Clan doesn't have a countermeasure ready at hand. Have you thought of that?" Because of their personalities, however, it's all-too-easy for Mitsuhide to return to her previous offensive tone. "We both know they know of Chiyome-san's powers and abilities. While I doubt they have something which could threaten a Divine Spirit of his level, there's plenty of techniques to seal her and his powers – or at least separate them. I assume Shingen is resourceful and strong enough to discover one way, if not more."
"But…"
The bespectacled short girl's rebuttal was cut short by Mitsuhide's sharp palm gesture. "I know, I know… With just Shuten-sama there, the two of them could level Kai on their lonesome. But it's exactly arrogant thoughts like that which brought down our opponents, and these were the weaknesses we ourselves target in the past, no? Why can't they do the same to use this time?"
"Neither of our opinions is wrong," Motoyasu concluded, knowing Mitsuhide also did the same. "Like I said before, all our concerns are 'noted'."
"If that came out another person's mouth, I would've reacted in disbelief," Mitsuhide gave up. "But I guess this must be what it feels like if like when talking to myself."
"Please, you only say that to conflate your ego," Motoyasu pointed out. "I won't fall for your trick this time."
"Ehehe… Was it that obvious?"
The racoon-like girl sighed. "I think if you do it every day, every moment, people is bound to find out. If I don't point it out, who will?"
Motoyasu had a point. All of Muramasa's lovers – and the man himself – were far too intimate and friendly with her they swept her more jarring inadequacies under the rug, categorizing them as her 'feature'. Meanwhile, Nobunaga's other retainers were too distant to frankly point things out without things turning sour between Mitsuhide and the other party – and because she was far too important and influential to the current version of 'Tenka Fubu', it's too far a risk to take just for some instant verbal gratification. Plus, it's more likely Mitsuhide's mouth would be sharper to the draw than theirs, meaning they'd just embarrass themselves for no reason.
In fact, Motoyasu also belonged to the second group. It's only Mitsuhide's respect over this smaller girl's administrative ability and internal importance she indulged in this casual banter. Without it, she'd most likely turn hostile regardless of the situation, since her stubbornness and pride wouldn't allow her to back down even if her intelligence told her it's more beneficial to do so. She'd engage even when Nobunaga and Muramasa were present – such were her innate competitiveness, for better or worse.
"So, do you think we should prepare for Nihon's apocalypse? If Kusanagi-no-Tsurugi gets summoned in multiple places and iteration, the islands will be…" Motoyasu trailed off, the threat and worry in her voice very audible. "I think Sengo-sama wouldn't get drawn into such destructive fights, but… regarding Shuten-sama…"
"Did any other Hyakki Yakkō tag along? At the very least, is there one close to Kai who can join Hanzō-dono's team straightaway? Ah, come in here, girls, and bring the apparatuses with you!" Mitsuhide lightly yelled out the second part, waiting for several seconds before the sliding door once again opened, revealing a new set of maids who hurriedly brought over several ritual tools. Shooing them away with a palm gesture, she quickly performed some quick motions in succession to instantly arrange them perfectly, while also floating them to the air. "[Map]."
- Zuuunnn…
A three-dimensional topographic map loaded into existence almost instantly, coloured both for height and territorial claims. It's rather confusing for a non-local due to Nihon's mountainous terrain, which meant the map resembled more of a surrealist painting of a rainbow than a readable third-person view, but naturally Motoyasu's and Mitsuhide's trained eyes easily processed the available information.
The territorial borders pulsated, shifted, and trembled every so often as the model processed real-life information conveyed by Owari's private network, though certainly not live and actual because there was a definite lag – around half a day's worth – but good enough to work with. Besides, all they had to do was focus around Kai and Chūgoku, despite the two areas being practically in the opposite direction to each other. It's far better than what Himiko typically did with Yata-no-Kagami where she had to monitor the entire empire at once, which was only possible with her extreme magical potential and spiritual connection to the land.
- Beep… Beep… Beep…
Flaming red dots were rapidly converging on the Mōri Clan territory, visible solely because of a closed-loop two-way positioning system. While more limited in function, it's far more secure against magical hacking – an area which was rapidly developing from its humble roots, where it's often laughed at by established schools. As a result, it's difficult to accurately perceive the opponents' move quickly, and made this technology still viable solely for observational and not reactive purposes.
Mitsuhide rose an eyebrow when she noticed a stray dot approaching from the sea, away from the formation Kazumasu was supposed to lead. "That is… Danzō-san?!"
The southbound force was all coloured according to Nobunaga's particular shade of red hair, meaning Mitsuhide currently couldn't differentiate Muramasa and the buxom kunoichi at first glance. Thankfully, additional information was available for the operation leaders – to a certain rank – so she caught this anomaly before…
…before what, exactly?
Motoyasu saw the same thing, and she was equally befuddled. Chiefly because she wasn't too aware of the intricacies of the southern invasion, busied with internal administration, politicking, and general affairs – taking a lot of Mitsuhide's burdens from her – which meant she couldn't provide any opinion the taller girl couldn't make fun about.
A talisman appeared from Mitsuhide's large sleeve, instantly combusting from her Single-Action spell, connecting her with Danzō.
- Static!
"Tsk, she rejected me," Mitsuhide complained, refraining herself from immediately and endlessly re-establishing contact. "Whatever… Now, Chiyome-san, where are you…?"
A rainbow-coloured dot soon came into view when Mitsuhide moved the viewing perception northwards, vibrating and rotating in a small circle in the outskirts of Kai province, close to the shore. The visual choice was in homage to her and Yamata-no-Orochi's multifaceted abilities, but Mitsuhide began to think it's rather garish and over-the-top now. "Let me guess… Neither Shuten-sama nor Tomoe-sama will appear on this map."
"Of course not. You know how those old folks react to being watched," Motoyasu confirmed quickly. "But judging from Chiyome-sama's movements, I don't think those two are going to be necessary."
Rather irritated Motoyasu kept repeating the points they were arguing since the start, Mitsuhide had to admit the racoon had a point. Most primordial beings had deep connection to the ocean, and Yamata-no-Orochi was Nihon's premier Divine Spirit with that attribute, beyond even Ming's myriad of oceanic dragons. The closer Chiyome was to open bodies of water, the more of his power she could draw forth. In short, it was Kelley's suicide when he decided to fight her on top of the ocean, with his sparing knowledge and connection to his own Guardian Spirit.
Most importantly, only a few dots were pursuing and surrounding the kunoichi, a sign Shingen was prioritizing quality over quantity. Smart choice, too – fighting Chiyome at full power would undoubtedly require some sacrifices, and the Takeda Clan would rather save up the conscripted farmers to develop farmlands instead of throwing them into the fire and ensuring the territory's ensuing doom in the short future. The latter was a predictable political move Nobunaga took advantage of to incite dissatisfaction in the lands she was about to conquer, thus ensuring she arrived as a saviour and liberator instead of a conqueror.
Still, all this talk only reinforced the fact the two ladies were here, stuck doing paperwork, instead of joining their brothers and sisters on the battlefield.