A/N: First, I have an apology to make. I just watched the fifth DVD in the series and learned that Kunichiyo and Takechiyo do not in fact live anywhere near Sunpu. So, there's a bit of setting error there... please overlook it for me. I'm really sorry. Secondly, I'm having a bit of struggle getting these chapters out lately, especially this one and the last one, hopefully it doesn't show? Either way, I think it's probably a good thing I'm taking a little break from this for a week while I'm up in MD for music stuff. When I get back, I'm sure I will be able to write with renewed fervor! Thank you so much for reading, and I hope you're enjoying my story!
Warnings: adult references, adult situations, violence, language
Firefly Effect
Monsoon
Amaya tugged the neck of her kimono up, but short of dragging the fabric all the way to her chin, there was no way for her to cover the bruises. She examined her reflection in the steel table in her mother's workroom. The piece of furniture had been an outrageously expensive import, but Akane had insisted that she needed something that would resist the abuse of her knives and other tools. It was also the only reflective surface in Amaya's family's quarters. Amaya tilted her head back to get a better look at the five finger shaped bruises that were just starting to form. She winced seeing the nasty shade of purplish red they had already taken; they would only look worse in the following days. She ran her fingers over the bruised handprint and hissed a little in pain. The bruising would make it hard to sleep for the next several nights as well, it appeared.
"Amaya-chan, what are you doing in here?"
Amaya whipped around, tugging her kimono up in the same motion. Her mother stood in the doorway, arms crossed over her chest, angry expression set on her face.
"J… Just looking for the bath salts," she lied, hand still clutching the neckline of her kimono tightly.
Akane quirked a suspicious eyebrow up at her and lifted a wire mesh container from a shelf within arms reach of her. "Of course you were." The phrase dripped sarcasm. Akane extended her arm to offer the container to her daughter. Without thinking, Amaya dropped her kimono and reached out with her right hand for the small basket. "Amaya-chan!" Akane blurted, immediately seeing the bruising, "What did you do?"
"N… nothing," she stammered. "I… I just… just fell!"
This time both Akane's eyebrows went up, but she didn't question. Instead she turned and searched her shelves of pre-made mixtures; things that were always in demand and so the apothecary always had some easily on hand. She lifted a tub off the shelf and handed it to her daughter, face completely blank. "Here, when you take your bath, spread this on the bruises and let it sit for a while. It will help the swelling go down and ease the pain a little."
Amaya stared at her mother with wide shocked eyes and took the container, balancing it under arm so she could still keep one hand free to hold her kimono over the bruising. She couldn't have anyone else seeing it and getting suspicious. "Thank you," she said quietly.
Akane rolled her eyes. "Don't thank me. I'm your mother. What less could I do?"
Amaya downcast her eyes, not having an answer to this, and slipped out. That imaginary bath was starting to have a lot of appeal. Instead of making her way to her tower like she had planned, Amaya took an alternate route to the common bath house off to the right of Castle Sunpu's complex.
She was glad the bath house was empty when she arrived. None of the castle's women would openly question or even show concern about Amaya's injuries, but they would most definitely whisper and speculate behind her back. I bet one of her lovers did that to her; erotic asphyxiation I hear it's called, Amaya could just hear the rumors that would have circulated the castle in less than a day's time if she were to be seen. And it most certainly wouldn't help that she was the daughter of Akane, resident whore of Castle Sunpu as she was known. Like mother like daughter, would most likely be right on the heals on the first accusation. She sneered at the thought as she slowly lowered herself into the water. Once she was used to the temperature, she reached her arm back to get the bath salts and sprinkled just enough for a faint relaxing scent to permeate the air. She replaced that container and unscrewed the lid on the bruise balm. She grimaced at the consistency of the substance as she scooped out a glob with her fingers and carefully spread it around her injured throat. It had a numbing effect, and Amaya let her eyes droop closed and her head loll back onto the edge of the tub. The healing substance spread, she dipped her hand under the water to rinse the rest away. She scowled just a little with her eyes still closed when she needed to use the other hand so she could dig out what of the goo had gotten stuck under her fingernails.
Amaya stopped in mid motion when she felt a hand tangle in her hair none to gently and yank her head back further. Her eyes flew open when she felt the cool steal of a knife against her throat, and she found herself staring up into narrowed red eyes.
"I hear you took the liberty of killing Lord Kunichiyo."
Amaya's eyes widened and she immediately recognized the woman from earlier that day. She was one of the Iga ninja that had brought Yashamaru to Sunpu. Amaya nodded just slightly, careful not to make contact with the knife at her throat.
"Do you have idea what pains you have caused the Iga in doing so?"
Tears had begun to leak down Amaya's face, not from pain, but guilt, and she closed her eyes in shame, unsure how to answer. Yes, she understood that she was held accountable for Yashamaru's fiancé's death and his attempted suicide, but did she understand the true hurt the Iga had suffered? Not at all.
"It is your fault that Hotarubi-dono is dead, and thus also your fault that Yashamaru tried to take his own life! Not to mention the damage you have done to the Iga's reputation! We are not underhanded conspirators who kill children to settle our disputes!" she snarled, sending Amaya into a fit of sobs.
When it was put in front of her like that, Amaya realized that she deserved the death the Iga wanted to give her. "I'm sorry," she struggled to get out through her tears and with her throat bent at such an awkward angle.
Akeginu was going to snap something about how she should be, but the girl continued.
"And you may kill me." She closed her eyes a moment, like she was coming to terms with the idea, and then they reopened them. "Because I understand I deserve such. Just… before you do, I have a question."
Akeginu was more than a little startled, and so let the girl continue.
"That you know that I poisoned Kunichiyo, does it mean that Koshirou-sama is still alive?"
Akeginu was completely floored by the question. "He… He's blind now, but yes, he is alive."
Amaya's face contorted in a bit of a frown. "Tell him I'm sorry he suffered such terrible injury on my account." Her eyes drifted closed, as though she was ready, then suddenly, they flew open again. She'd remembered something important she needed to say. "And… and tell Yashamaru- sama that I'm sorry… so sorry about his fiancé…" At this more tears started to spring from her eyes. "I… I never meant for anyone to die…" Her words dissolved into tears, and she tilted her head back a little further, eyes squinting shut, body tensing in preparation.
For a blow that never came. Akeginu sat back on her heals, and rested her knife on her thighs, hands atop it. Very slowly, one at a time, Amaya opened her eyes. There were no longer an angry set staring back at her. She lifted her head up off the side of the pool and turned around to face her assailant. The older woman's head was bowed and staring at the knife in her lap.
"Why didn't you kill me?" Amaya hazarded the question.
Akeginu looked up and met the girl's large, confused hazel eyes with her own. "Amaya-san, you are an anomaly." She laughed a little, though the sound was humorless. "You killed a child, barely out of its mother's arms if I recall Lord Kunichiyo correctly, and yet you express such deep remorse over the death of Hotarubi-dono, a woman you have never met; Koshirou-dono's loss of vision even though he tried to kill you; and Yashamaru-dono's attempted suicide, and you knew him neither."
Amaya smirked, another humorless expression to match Akeginu's. "Aah, and that is where you are wrong."
Akeginu started. "You knew Yashamaru?"
Amaya nodded and bit her lip. "We met the day before Shogun Ieyasu's perverted demonstration. I didn't know he was engaged to be married at the time." Amaya tilted her head back and stared up at the wooden panels of the ceiling and snickered bitterly. "If I'd've known he was engaged, I don't think any of this would have happened. How selfish of me."
Akeginu was confused. "Amaya-san, what are you talking about?"
"He swept me off my feet, and I don't think he had any idea that he did." Amaya scowled down at her reflection in the water, as though somehow everything could be blamed on it. "Now that I look back on it all, nothing he ever did was anything more than platonic." She shook her head. "How foolish I was to think his bold personality and common courtesy were any kind of courtship."
"Amaya-san," Akeginu craned her head a little to look at the girl's face. "Amaya-san," she repeated the name to get the girl's attention, and her head immediately snapped up. "I still do not understand."
Amaya quirked a bitter smile and cocked her head to one side in a slightly dazed expression. "I suppose I thought I was in love with him, though in reality it was more like an infatuation." She paused a moment and bit down on her lip. "When he told me that Shogun Ieyasu was pitting the clans against each other to decide next heir, I was enraged, and I still can't believe that pig would show such blatant disrespect for human life," she spat vehemently. The anger in her tone was the first emotion since regret and sorrow Amaya had shown.
Akeginu couldn't believe the girl could show such blatant disrespect for the Shogun.
Amaya continued. "I knew the competition, war, whatever you want to call the bloodbath Ieyasu wanted to start, would kill Yashamaru. I didn't want him to die, and I decided that I had to stop it, stop all of it before it could even begin." She bowed her head shamefully. "When I heard that Kunichiyo was sick and was getting medicine from my mother, I saw the perfect opportunity. A few jasmine berries in Kunichiyo's cough medicine and that was the end of it; no more issue of who would be heir." She broke down in tears again and thrust her fist into the water in frustration, causing it to splash up into her face. It took her a moment to rub the water from her eyes and splutter it from her mouth before she could continue. "It was all supposed to be over after that," she gritted out. "No more people were supposed to die. It was supposed to be the sacrifice of Kunichiyo's life for the sake of the Kouga and the Iga and anyone who might be caught in between." Amaya was again reduced to sobbing. "No one was supposed to die. I never wanted anyone to die. I just… just thought I could save him…" Her words trailed again into great gasping sobs.
Abruptly, she ceased sobbing and set her jaw, though silent tears still trickled down her cheeks. "Akeginu-sama," Amaya looked at the woman with defiant eyes that seemed out of place in combination with her tears, "Before you kill me, let me try to make things right. I think I can fix all of this."
Akeginu's eyebrows shot up. "Fix it?"
"Well… not fix it, per say. Call it damage control. Give me a chance, Akeginu-sama. No more lives will be lost on my account." Amaya knew that wasn't quite true, but it would serve her purposes here.
Akeginu stared at Amaya with unconcealed shock. The girl hadn't realized that if Akeginu had really still intended to kill her, she would already be dead, but now the kunoichi was intrigued, and so did not mention as much to the determined young woman standing in the water, fists clenched at her sides. "Okay, Amaya-san, I will you give a second chance." She managed a smirk to accompany the statement to make it a little more convincing.
Amaya beamed. "Thank you, Akeginu-sama."
Akeginu offered her a hand to help her out of the water. "Koshirou got you good," she reached to touch the bruised skin of Amaya's neck. The girl flinched back. "I need to teach him to be gentler with the softer sex." Amaya just shrugged her kimono back on.
She just stood for a moment with her back to Akeginu, then as she reached for her obi, spoke, biting her lip just before she did so. "Akeginu-sama, how is Yashamaru-sama?"
"Uncomfortable, but recovering well." Akeginu waited patiently for the inevitable next question, and the guilt ridden answer it would hold for Amaya.
The girl chewed her lip with a little more force and stared at her toes. "And Koshirou-sama?"
Akeginu sighed. "Blind, bandaged, and in a lot of pain," she answered.
Amaya visibly started.
"He refuses to see your mother about any of his injuries. I'm afraid… afraid he does not trust you or her."
A trickle of blood seeped from the corner of Amaya's mouth where her teeth had broken the skin. Akeginu reached and brushed the trail away, effectively startling Amaya enough to release her abused bottom lip. "You shouldn't do that." Akeginu was now close enough to see the soar on the corner of Amaya's mouth. "It'll never heal."
Amaya stepped back, out of the Iga woman's reach, more than a little confused by Akeginu's behavior. One minute the woman had been trying to kill her; the next she was treating her much the same as her mother did. "I… I should really be going," Amaya stammered, distrust clear in her wide hazel eyes.
Akeginu watched her go, hiding her smile behind her kimono sleeve just in case the girl looked back. Amaya-san really had no idea that her explanation had saved her, but Akeginu was not about to tell the girl as much and kill her fervor. There was a fire buried in those big sad eyes, and only little sparks were showing. Akane's daughter was much stronger than she herself or anyone else gave her credit for. And Akeginu would not deny that she was curious what the little apothecary planned to do to correct her mistake.
xxx
Koshirou's jaw was clenched; the muscles of his shoulders and forearms were clearly defined; and beneath the thin cover, Akeginu could see his hands balled into fists. It was taking all his effort not to just howl in agony. His eyes burned. He was so tense that when someone rapped tentatively on the door he started, the slight jostle of his head only causing him more pain. He bared his teeth and hissed out through them, but other than that he made no sound to give away that he was hurting. Slowly he lifted himself onto his forearms, intending to get the door.
"Koshirou-dono," Akeginu laid a hand on his shoulder to cease the movement. "I will get it. Stay." The hand was lifted away and Koshirou could hear her footfalls as she walked to get the door, followed by the slight scraping of the fusuma's frame on the wood floor.
"Amaya-san!" Akeginu blurted, a tad shocked to see the young woman so soon.
Amaya bowed politely, carefully balancing a little pot in her hands. "You said Koshirou-sama was in a great deal of pain."
Akeginu quickly connected the dots and realized what Amaya must have in her hands. She nodded.
"It's nothing elaborate, because I understand that Koshirou-sama is hesitant to trust me, rightfully so, I am unfortunate to admit. This is just passion flower nectar mixed with a fine powder of white poppy. It should ease the pain and help him sleep."
Koshirou seethed where he lay. "I thought she was dead, Akeginu," he snarled as best he could through the pain.
Amaya squinted her eyes shut and bowed a little further hearing the anger in his tone.
Akeginu looked over her shoulder at the bedridden Iga ninja, then back at Amaya, wondering if this was her damage control of the situation and feeling her heart sink a little at the thought. Maybe she had over estimated the girl.
"I'm giving her a second chance, Koshirou-dono," Akeginu answered calmly. "If you wish, we can talk about it after she leaves."
"She's leaving now, Akeginu-dono."
Amaya winced. "Please, Koshirou-sama, you should take this. Akeginu-sama said you were in pain…"
"I am fine," he snapped, startling Amaya so much she nearly dropped her pot. In her fumbling to balance it, she lifted her head and caught the way Koshirou gritted his teeth right after he spoke, a tell tale sign of agony.
Amaya brushed past Akeginu and knelt beside Koshirou, carefully setting the pot behind her a ways and slightly to her right where it was the least likely to be spilled. She reached a tentative hand out to touch his shoulder. As she expected the muscles were tight. She brushed her fingertips along his jaw line. "This tense, and you expect me to believe you're not in pain?" Amaya questioned boldly.
The identity of the person touching him finally revealed, Koshirou's hand snatched the speaker's wrist.
Amaya yelped at the bruising grip on her forearm.
"What? No knives today, Amaya?" Koshirou sneered.
Amaya wanted to jerk her arm free, but she remained still, clenching her own teeth against the pain of Koshirou's grip. They were at a standstill. "You're hurting me," Amaya bit out, as though it would be of any use.
"If I could see you," Koshirou snarled, "I'd be killing you."
Akeginu watched the exchange leerily and lifted Amaya's pot, opening it and finding a pinkish liquid inside. It was the color of passion flower nectar. She lifted it to her lips and sipped just a tiny amount to taste it. It tasted like passion flower nectar, with a slightly grainy texture as though something was mixed in, which must have been the poppy.
"Let her go, Koshirou-dono. She did not come here to kill you. I have tasted the medicine she brought." She capped the pot with a tad bit of force so Koshirou could hear the action. "It is what she says it is, and you are in pain. Let her try."
Amaya turned pleading on eyes on Koshirou, even though he couldn't see them. The fingers around her wrist tightened enough that Amaya was afraid the bones would crack, but then Koshirou released his grip completely. She just barely resisted the urge to scramble back away from him. Instead, Amaya reached under his shoulders and tried to lift him.
If Koshirou could have glared at her, he would have, as he lifted himself to an upright position with ease, only to find that as soon as he was upright, his head swam. Even though he could not see it, the room felt like it was spinning. He could feel himself falling backwards, and braced himself for the painful connection with the floor. Instead he fell against a soft body that made a quiet "oomph" sound when it caught him.
Koshirou's full weight against her chest nearly knocked the wind out of Amaya, and it was bit of a struggle to keep herself from toppling over with him. Akeginu handed her the jar. Amaya flicked the lid off with her thumb and reached around to rest the rim against Koshirou's bottom lip, her hand wrapped tightly around the container incase the bitter ninja decided to try and knock it from her hands. She was a little startled when Koshirou moved to take the rim of the little pot in his mouth and accidentally mouthed her thumb in the process. She immediately shifted the digit further down the ceramic side.
Koshirou sipped at the drink tentatively, clearly searching the taste for poisons.
"Koshirou-sama," Amaya whispered after several moments of silence. "I'm so sorry about your eyes, and I'm sorry about the damage I have done to your clan's reputation. I want you to know, I never meant for anyone to die. I…" she found herself choking on tears, "I killed Kunichiyo to stop the war between the Kouga and the Iga. It was naive of me…" she bit her lip, hoping for a response.
She got none. Koshirou continued to sip the contents of the little pot, as if he was ignoring her. He touched her hand to tilt the cup a little when she didn't realize he had reached the dregs, then drank them in one gulp. Amaya set the little container aside, and just before she stood, leaned forward to speak in Koshirou's ear. "I'm going to fix it, Koshirou-sama. Just let me fix what I've done, and if you still feel the desire to kill me afterwards, then I will let you."
The cold air of the room was a stark contrast to the warmth of Amaya's body against his back, Koshirou found himself thinking a bit disconcertingly. He heard the slide of the fusuma opening. "Goodbye, Akeginu-sama, Koshirou-sama. Please let me know if he wants more of the medicine," she offered, tone tinged with hope. Her voice was followed by the slide and slight thunk of the fusuma being shut.
"You should have been kinder to her," Akeginu chided. "She only wants to help, and you have no idea what kind of guilt trip she's put herself through over all this."
"Hnn," was Koshirou's noncommittal response.
Akeginu just sighed.
xxx
Amaya had to hurry if she was going to complete her next task before nightfall. It had to be done before Shogun Ieyasu went to bed that night, and also risked another trip into her mother's work room. This time she knew exactly what she wanted immediately. Blue lettuce was already a primary ingredient in Ieyasu's medicine. It would not surprise him if she were to make a blue lettuce tea with four or five times his dosage in it, easily enough to kill him. In fact, that was all Amaya did. She poured a large amount of sap from her mother's bottle into a tea pot, added water, and boiled it, knowing it would be cool enough to drink by the time she got to Ieyasu's rooms.
There was another matter to attend to as well. Amaya's disheveled hair and less than pristine kimono would not have her desired effect on the lecherous Shogun. She untied her obi on her way to her room and dropped her kimono and it on the floor as soon as she reached it. She dove for her closet and removed a box that she hadn't opened in nearly a year. She carefully withdrew the navy blue kimono with silver flower detailing and slid it on, then with practiced hands tied the burgundy obi that she thought matched it best around her waist, then quickly strapped her knives onto her forearms. She simply let her hair down, hurriedly brushing it smooth. She debated make up for half a second and decided she didn't have the time. The sun had set nearly an hour earlier and Ieyasu would be retiring to his chambers too soon.
Amaya rushed back to her mother's workroom, checked her reflection the table and snatched the kettle in the same motion, and darted out of her families quarters. Once she reached the more public hallways of the Castle in which servants were still hurrying about, she slowed to a much more graceful walk, not wanting to rouse suspicion.
Amaya shakily let out a breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding when she reached the door of Shogun Ieyasu's office. She inhaled deeply again, then let the air out slowly in an attempt to calm herself before she tapped as quietly as she could on the large wooden double doors and still be heard. The doors were huge, and they were only doors like this in the castle. She heard the rattling of the tumbler and the creak of the wood as it strained against the handles before allowing itself to be dragged.
Amaya bowed her head shyly to whoever answered.
"Why hello there," a familiar voice greeted.
Amaya smirked triumphantly, knowing the expression was hidden by her bowed head and loose hair. "Good evening, Shogun Ieyasu," she replied quietly, just the right amount of shyness laced into the words.
"What brings a little lady like yourself here so late?" he asked. Before she could answer, he reached out and cupped her chin in his hand to lift it up. Amaya just barely resisted the urge to grimace at the touch of the wrinkled hand. She almost tour away from him when he felt his fingertips brush her throat. The contact was not accidental. "Look at me when you talk, child, so I can see that pretty face."
Amaya stared at him with wide innocent eyes, and bit just the corner of her lip in a bashful expression.
"Now, let's try this again. What brings you here?"
"Akane-sama sent me with a pot of herbal tea for you," she explained, starting to bow her head again. As predicted, Ieyasu caught her chin in the same manner as before.
"No need to be shy, little lady," he assured with a large grin.
Amaya managed a timid grin back.
"Would you like to come in?" he offered, taking the pot from her and stepping aside so she could see into the lavish room.
Amaya managed a small blush in an appropriate reaction. "Uhm… I don't know, Ieyasu-dono… It is getting rather late," she stuttered out cutely, chewing her lip a little harder for more effect.
"Now, now, don't do that." Ieyasu had grown quite comfortable touching her face, and he reached out again, brushing his thumb over her lips. Amaya wanted to bite down on the digit so the Shogun jerked it back and howled in pain. She didn't see that getting her in the door, though. "It's not really that late. It's not like you have anyplace better to be, now do you?"
Amaya stared at her toes, despite the hand still holding her jaw, that she really wished would let go. "No…" she trailed, "I suppose not."
"Good!" Ieyasu smiled toothily at her. "Come right in."
There was already a zabuton at the table for her, and she gracefully lowered herself onto her knees upon it. She laid her hands lady like in her lap, one over the other, and stared down the table.
"What did I say about hiding that pretty face?" Ieyasu reached to lift it again. Amaya made a mental note to scrub her face raw before she went to bed. "Would you like some?" he asked, taking down two tea cups from a cabinet.
Amaya's eyes widened in a horrified expression that she was glad Ieyasu had his back turned for, before she came to an appropriate excuse. "Oh, no thank you. The dosage of medicine in there is much too much for a girl of my size."
"Ah, that's too bad." Ieyasu sat down at the table across from her. "Akane makes a wonderful herbal tea."
Amaya bit her lip in trepidation. She hadn't considered taste at all when making her concoction.
"Hmm," Ieyasu smacked his lips, "That's a new flavor, what does Akane call it?"
"She didn't say, Shogun Ieyasu. I'm sorry."
"Don't apologize." He patted her cheek, then finished the cup and poured himself another before speaking again. "What's your name?"
Amaya realized then that she could not give her own name, and she blurted the first woman's name that came to mind, slightly modified. "Hotaru," she answered.
Ieyasu nodded. "Are you new to palace work, Hotaru-chan?"
Amaya just refrained from flinching at the use of the diminutive honorific before she nodded.
"Are you Akane-san's apprentice?"
Amaya was a tad surprised that Ieyasu didn't recognized her at all, but she could use his surprise later to her advantage. She nodded yes in answer to his question.
"That's a pretty fancy kimono for a new apprentice to have already earned," he stated casually, and for just a moment, Amaya thought she might have been caught, but the Shogun's relaxed posture revealed nothing of suspicion.
Amaya blushed as darkly as she forcibly could. "Akane-sama said I should look my best when delivering to the Shogun." She stared shyly at the table, then snapped her head back up to look him in the face, as though she had just remembered that he preferred her to look at him. In reality, it was Amaya's way of avoiding another molesting caress. "She's loaning the kimono to me, just for tonight," she answered quietly.
"Well, you do look very lovely in it."
"Thank you, very much, Shogun Ieyasu." Amaya ducked and lifted her head in a little bow of gratitude. Her act was starting to make her sick, even if she was pulling it off well.
"You should come visit me more often. I often have some of the finest kimono makers in the country here. I would love to see you in one of their designs."
You mean you would love to see me not in one of their designs, Amaya thought, but kept the idea and the facial expression attached to it inside. "That would be most amazing," she replied.
Ieyasu was staring at her with unconcealed lust. She'd done her job, and now all that was left was the final touches. "Oh! Your tea cup is empty!" she noticed with mortified shock. "Here, let me pour you another." She reached across the table.
Ieyasu caught her wrist. "Nonsense, I've already had five. There's no need for another just yet."
Amaya knew that. She had been counting. Five was definitely enough to kill him.
"My, my, what soft hands you have." He didn't let her forearm free, and instead, reached with his other hand to caress her palm.
Amaya was fighting all her instincts to resist jerking her hand back.
She nearly threw up when she felt his mouth suckling her fingers. After several moments he lifted his mouth away. Part of Amaya thought she should cut off that hand once this was all said and done. "I think we should take this to my inner chambers."
"I think not," Amaya's actual personality slipped out and she tugged her hand back. "I… I mean," she stammered, "May I ask you something first?"
Amaya could think of a dozen and one innocent virgin questions that would have the Shogun Ieyasu drooling at her feet, and her demure expression prepared him for one, but she was done toying with Ieyasu and was ready to get down to business. In the same shy voice she had used all evening, she asked, "Would you name me heir upon your death?"
Ieyasu stared dumbly at her for a split second before he began to laugh hysterically. Maybe if all he had done was laugh, Amaya's reaction would have been a little less violent, but the lecherous pig couldn't just laugh, he had to speak, too. "You? Shogun? Like you have the brains to run a government in that pretty little head of yours. Whatever made you ask such a thing, Hotaru-chan?"
"Somehow, I thought your reaction would be a little like that," Amaya snarled. "And that's why I brought a back up plan." She unhooked the knife on her right forearm, and it dropped into her palm. She lunged over the table, and collided with Ieyasu with enough force to knock him over. Amaya could barely stay straddled over the large man's stomach, and he could have easily bucked her off, but he wouldn't, not with a knife pressed against his throat tight enough that it drew blood.
"Who… who the hell are you?" he stammered.
"Aw, come on, Dad, don't you recognize me?"
Suddenly Ieyasu's eyes widened in horrified recognition.
Amaya grinned devilishly. "Which one makes you sicker, Ieyasu? That you wanted to sleep with your daughter? Or that she's got a knife to your throat?"
Ieyasu started to stammer. "S… stop this, please. I… I'll give you anything you want."
Amaya pouted just a little. "That was no fun. You're a pushover, Ieyasu. You know exactly what I want."
"No! I can't give you that. Technically my… my son, your brother…"
"Half brother, you ass!" she spat in his face.
"Your half-brother! He's Shogun! You knew that! I'm the retired Shogun. I can't decide that!"
"Don't shit with me, Ieyasu! You and I both know you have the power to name me heir!" She leaned down to whisper hotly in his ear, "After all, you had the power to pit the Kouga and Iga against each other to decide the heir for you."
"What does that have to do with anything?"
"It has to do with you being a sick bastard who doesn't deserve to live because he was going to start a blood bath!" Amaya snarled and dug the knife a little further. There were enough rolls of fat on Ieyasu's neck that she could push for quite a while before she actually caused damage. "But that wasn't what we were talking about, now was it? Oh yes, that's right, you were naming me heir."
"It…it wouldn't matter if I named you heir," he stammered, "You would still have to wait for Hidetada to retire or die!"
Amaya threw her head back and laughed. "Do you think I haven't thought of that? That's why, daddy dearest, you name me heir upon your death. Understand yet? Because I'm quite sure you'll be dying long before brother Hidetada." She leaned down again to whisper in his ear. "I know you have the power to do that. You're son is a bigger fucking pushover than you if he's still letting you run things. He'd never question your word." Amaya sat back. "Besides, if it makes you feel any better, you'll always know that it's still your blood sitting on the throne, huh, Ieyasu?"
The Shogun swallowed hard.
Amaya slapped him across the face. "Well, out with it! Are you going to name me heir upon your death, or am I putting this knife through your throat and watching the pretty red water works as all the blood in your body spurts through a little hole in your pudge?"
"Okay, okay, fine."
Amaya smiled, all teeth in a less than friendly facial expression. "Now you're talking." She stood and let him stand, then lead him at knife point to his desk and into his chair. "Mmm, expensive," Amaya admired the imported woodwork. "Europe I'm guessing? I absolutely love it." She leaned around the chair and wrapped her right arm around his neck to press the blade against his throat again. "Uh uh uh, head up. I want to watch to make sure you write it right."
When he finished, Amaya let up with her knife a little. "Very good. Now go sit your ass at the table and have another cup of tea."
"But… but why?"
Amaya rolled her eyes and poked him in the back with her knife when he stopped moving. "Is because I said so still not good enough for you, Ieyasu?" She sighed. "Fine. It's to hasten up the effects of that blue lettuce overdose. Your heart should already feel like it's struggling to beat."
Ieyasu turned frightened eyes on her, and she smirked, again all teeth. "Yup, father mine, that's what that feeling is. You limbs getting sluggish, your eyes can't quite stay open, your heart struggling to pound. Blue lettuce. Now, sit down and have another cup, get this over sooner rather than later, because I just realized I can't leave until you're dead. You might rip up that ever-so-important will of yours, and I can't very well slit your throat. That might look suspicious." She wrinkled her nose.
The gaping Ieyasu was too humiliated to care anymore. He did in fact pour himself more tea, two cups, and downed them both. The last words he heard Amaya speak were less than heartening. "I'll be sure to tell those kimono makers you said bye," followed by a sniggering giggle.
Amaya didn't go to her rooms after Ieyasu died. Instead she returned to the bath house. This time, she was not slow in lowering herself into the steaming water. She plunged her whole body into the hot liquid, feeling it pleasantly burn her skin. It took a mere second for Amaya to get used to the searing temperature before she ducked her head under the water. She ran her hands through her sopping hair to push excess water out as she came back up. The next task was to furiously scrub her face, hands, and thighs. She felt faint when she thought of how closely she had pressed herself against the Shogun. Her stomach lurched a tiny bit, and to fight off the urge to vomit, Amaya bent a little so her face was in the water and she could scrub it furiously with the cloth. This man was a monster and a tyrant, and Amaya felt very little remorse for his death, but she was disgusted by the means she had used to deceive and kill him. She washed her arms with enough force that they were red with abuse when she drew the cloth away. Amaya didn't seem to notice. She washed the rest of her body with the same force and soaked away whatever traces of Ieyasu might have remained on her skin until her finger tips and toes were wrinkled. Only when Amaya was nearly dizzy with high temperature did she deem herself clean enough to leave. It was late, so she scurried back to her room wrapped loosely in a towel, carrying her kimono, obi, and knives. She would debate in the morning whether or not to burn the tarnished articles of clothing. As for the knife she had used, she would clean it and sharpen it until it was practically a knew blade.
xxx
News of Ieyasu's death just might have spread faster than news of Lord Kunichiyo's, and not a soul cried poison because Amaya had left with her pot of tea, and the Shogun was already known to have cancer. The only news that did rouse suspicion was the announcement of the new Shogun upon his death. An illegitimate daughter was not the usual choice for heir, especially when one's legitimate son already held the position, though the idea was not so bad a stretch. It helped of course, that writer of the will's handwriting did in fact match the Shogun, and no one questioned the little drop of blood that stained the corner. Much to Amaya's guilty amusement, the little world seemed to think that was Ieyasu's way of officially signing it.
And now, she quite literally had the whole world in the palm of her hand. Which, of course, included the ability to reinstate the No Hostilities Pact between the clashing Kouga and Iga.
A/N: Hopefully you enjoyed reading this. Would love to hear from you about it, and see you in a week or so.
