In a large room, a young woman sat and anxiously stroked her long, black hair while an older woman played a gentle tune on a shamisen. Each strum helped to sooth the young woman, who closed her eyes and began whistling along with the shamisen. The melody echoed throughout the empty manor, where it briefly continued even after the musician had stopped.
The older of the two gave off a wise aura, her hair was turning grey and her face began to wrinkle. Being a very traditional woman, she had her hair tied back with a large comb and many ornate pieces holding it together. Her light brown eyes were sharp; her nose was slim and pointy. Although a strict and mean old woman in appearance, she was always well-mannered with good intentions.
The younger woman was dressed very conservatively; she was wearing a long white dress covered in purple bellflowers. Her sleeves reached her hands while her arms were wrapped in bandages up to her elbows- only her fingers were exposed. Her legs were in a similar state, her ankles were wrapped in bandages up to her knees. Even inside her own home, she had a hood pulled over head, trying her best to hide her face from being seen. However, despite all the covering up she did, she had long, shiny black hair flowing over her shoulders and down the front of her dress.
The aged woman set down the shamisen and gently ran her thumb across the younger woman's scar ridden face. "How do you feel?" The older woman asked as she stopped examining the other's scars and looked into the her eyes.
The young woman sighed as she slumped over. "Still worried."
"Sit up, that's bad for your back." The older woman stood up and walked out of the room.
"Of course, Lady Chieko." She muttered as she sat up straight.
Toki Chieko returned with cups of tea for the both of them; leaving behind a trail of steam from the other room. "Hiroko. Don't you worry about them, they'll be back."
"I know, but..." Hiroko paused and took a sip of her tea. "Still, it hurts to think of all the horrible things that could happen to him..."
"I'm his mother, trust me, you'll ge-" She was silenced by the room's sliding doors opening.
Hiroko gasped and got onto her feet as quickly as she could in her dress. She ran to the door and greeted Mitsuhide with a tight hug. "Darling! I was so worried!"
Mitsuhide smiled and wrapped his arms around Hiroko. "I was worried about you too, my love."
Hiroko smiled up at him. "I thought you went to battle without telling us, I was scared that I wouldn't have gotten to say goodbye..."
"Of course not, I'd never make you worry like that." Mitsuhide gazed into Hiroko's eyes now.
Hiroko looked away and grumbled. "I worry every time you go out, you know..."
Mitsuhide sighed and squeezed her tightly. "Let's not get into this right now, dear. We have to leave Inabayama, so go gather whatever you need."
"Leave? But why?" Hiroko questioned.
Before Mitsuhide could respond, Mitsuharu stepped around the two lovers and into the mansion. "Our family has served Dosan for generations, even when the Aunt Chieko's family ruled, and we refuse to tarnish the Akechi name by serving a traitor such as Yoshitatsu!"
Mitsuhide let go of Hiroko and nodded. "And there's no doubt that Yoshitatsu and his conspirators know this. Since he hasn't come after us already, we must use this opportunity to escape."
Chieko sighed as Haru, Tada and Yasu all stepped into the room. "Did you all have to get so muddy out there?"
The three looked down at themselves, their clothes and shoes were covered in mud. "Sorry, mom..." Yasu apologized.
"Mother, there's really no time for that now!" Mitsuhide complained.
"Well, I don't want everyone to think our clan is full of a bunch of dirty, misbehaven children!" Chieko responded.
Mitsuhide rolled his eyes before speaking. "Go change as fast as you can and grab anything essential; we're leaving as soon as possible."
They all agreed and split up to gather various items to bring on the trip to safety. After a couple of minutes the six of them left their mansion on horseback. As they passed by Inabayama Castle this time, it seemed nearly abandoned- save for the piles of dead and dying- and every other able body went with Saito Yoshitatsu to attack Saito Dosan.