I'm finally back from a very long hiatus. I hope people will still find this attempt at a somewhat realistic fanfiction interesting!
Please leave a comment if you enjoy! I love interacting with you guys! ^^
Mitsuhide sighed as Kani Saizo walked off; he did not want to leave Hiroko's side, but he knew he had no choice. "Hiroko," he whispered to his wife in his arms.
"I know," Hiroko responded almost immediately, much to Mitsuhide's surprise. She slowly lifted herself off of him, "Please be safe."
Mitsuhide sat up and hugged his wife, "I will. I love you."
Hiroko wrapped her arms around him tightly and kissed his cheek, "I love you too."
They slowly broke their hug and Mitsuhide stood up, "I'll be back soon."
Mitsuhide drowsily stumbled through the dark in the direction Saizo went. The air was still moist and thick though the rain had stopped; the occasional flash of lightning and boom of thunder showed that the storm was not over. Suddenly, a flame appeared. Though small, it shined through the complete blackness.
Mitsuhide walked to the flame and there stood Nobunaga, Saizo, Toshiie, Katsuie, and finally the injured Sadanori- whose arm was bandaged. "Sadanori... Are you alright?" Mitsuhide asked as he laid eyes on the wounded arm.
"I'm fine. You're lucky I came back out here after this," Sadanori grumbled in response.
"What happened over there?" Mitsuhide questioned with a yawn.
"Well, we ran into Saito Tatsuoki and Inaba Ittetsu," Saizo answered. "We should probably get this done quickly. I dunno if they're on their way."
"Good. Enough useless talk. It is time to save Dosan," Nobunaga continued. "We need to get contact with inside of the castle."
"Contact..." Mitsuhide muttered; he had an idea but had no idea how to carry it out. "There is one way."
"Speak," Nobunaga uttered, all eyes now on Mitsuhide.
"In case of a siege, Lord Dosan had each castle place flammable towers that were to be burned if reinforcements to relieve the siege were on the way," Mitsuhide stated. "But... I'm sure Yoshitatsu knows this. And probably already destroyed the towers." No one in the group responded, so Mitsuhide spoke up again, "There is one more place we could light a signal fire. Inside of the village outside of the castle is a tower, it also has a place for a fire to be lit."
"How will we let the castle know it's us and not Yoshitatsu trying to lure them out?" Kani Saizo asked.
"There is no way," Nobunaga responded. "We'll light the flame and then fire upon Yoshitatsu's men. That will cause them to get out of the castle and help."
"How are we going to get inside of the village to light this fire?" Katsuie questioned lowly.
"This is Mitsuhide's land. Surely he knows a way." Nobunaga chuckled.
All eyes fell upon Mitsuhide, who sighed and rubbed the side of his head. "I suppose," Mitsuhide spoke apprehensively- truly having no idea on how to get into the center of the village.
"With all this rain, how'll you light the fire?" Saizo asked.
"Thankfully the tower is roofed. Hopefully the wood is dry enough to start a fire," Mitsuhide crossed his arms and sighed.
"Good," Nobunaga said before looking at Toshiie and Katsuie, "Dog, get Mitsuhide some firestones and send him on his way. Katsuie, ready the men to strike at a moment's notice of the fire being lit. Especially our gunmen." Katsuie nodded and began gathering the men, while Toshiie walked away.
"Sadanori, I want you to follow Nobunaga's orders, understand?" Mitsuhide said quite sternly to Sadanori.
Sadanori rolled his eyes and grumbled, "Alright, I'll do it."
"Saizo," Mitsuhide then looked to Saizo, who was standing at his side.
"Yeah, Lord Mitsuhide?" Saizo answered.
"You have been..." Mitsuhide paused, "Very helpful to me today. You've saved my family. Saved me. I wouldn't be here without you, and I don't know how to thank you," Mitsuhide smiled at him.
Saizo grinned widely and looked away from Mitsuhide bashfully, "Dontcha' think you're being a little too kind?"
"Not at all." Mitsuhide chuckled, before his voice became more serious, "You're the only person I can rely on here. I know this mission is almost suicide, so I won't command you to come with me, but... I'm asking you to come with me."
"Of course I will! It's what Lord Toshizo woulda wanted me to do!" Saizo responded confidently.
"No. Saizo," Mitsuhide responded. "I know you're infinitely loyal to Toshizo, but I'm asking you, not him. Will you, Kani Saizo, come with me?"
Saizo looked confused for a moment, but finally nodded. "Yeah, Mitsuhide," Saizo sighed and spoke lowly. "I just know how close you and Lord Toshizo are. He wouldn't be too happy if I didn't protect you or your family," Saizo shrugged now. "But it's not all about servin' Lord Toshizo. I kinda wish I had a bond like you two had. I thought maybe being as loyal as possible would help with that," Toshizo chuckled as he spoke.
"I understand," Mitsuhide smiled and nodded. "Saizo, when all of this is over, you, Toshizo, and I will all get a drink and celebrate our new friendship."
"Thank you, Lord Mitsuhide," Saizo grinned.
"No need to call me lord; we're friends, Saizo."
"I'll stop calling you lord once we get outta this alive," Saizo joked.
Nobunaga crossed his arms as he watched the two speak. "Interesting," he mouthed to himself.
"Good luck, you two," Toshiie said to Mitsuhide and Saizo as he handed Mitsuhide a couple small bags. "The firestones are in that one," he pointed to a larger bag. "And I put some gunpowder in the other one, in case you can't get the fire going. But be careful, that stuff is dangerous."
"Thank you," Mitsuhide nodded and took the bags and tied them to his waist. "Let's go, Saizo," Mitsuhide said with a sigh. Saizo nodded and followed Mitsuhide toward the end of the forest.
Mitsuhide stopped as they reached the edge of the trees and the village was in clear view; he turned back and looked into the empty forest. Kani Saizo threw his arm around Mitsuhide's shoulders and spoke quietly, but jubilantly, "We'll getcha' back to your family. Don't worry."
"Of course," Mitsuhide nodded, before the sky caught his glimpse. Slivers of moonlight penetrated the dense overcast, and Mitsuhide hoped that it would not be enough light to give them away. "Now let's hurry."
Mitsuhide surveyed the area from their spot in the brush. Luckily, most soldiers had taken refuge inside of the village buildings, and the outside was sparsely guarded. "All eyes will be on the castle. That should help," Mitsuhide whispered to Saizo. Mitsuhide continued to scan the village as well as he could. Each soldier forced to have guard duty outside held a torch, or at least the ones that Mitsuhide could see. He was worried that some may be lurking in the darkness, but it was going to be a risk he had to take.
"I don't know how we can sneak by them without taking out at least a couple," Mitsuhide whispered to Saizo. Saizo nodded, and they both hurried for cover behind a building. They stayed low to the ground and- from what they could tell -out of sight from any guards. Although their time in the open was only brief, it felt like an eternity to Mitsuhide. He was already breathing heavily and attempting to gather himself.
Mitsuhide took a deep breath and looked back at Saizo, gesturing for him to follow. Mitsuhide began slowly walking towards the edge of the wall, staying as tightly pressed to the building as possible. Mitsuhide and Saizo continued to weave their way past buildings and guards through the cover of the rain, until finally they approached their destination. Now in a small alley, they could see their target. However, an unaware guard standing at the exit of the alley- and several feet of open space -separated them from the tower. Mitsuhide turned to Saizo and put a finger to his own lips before slowly approaching the lone soldier from behind. Mitsuhide unsheathed his katana as slowly, and silently, as he could manage; he knew that there was no honor in stealthily killing another, but it was necessary. Besides, he figured, Yoshitatsu had already committed the most dishonorable act of them all. Mitsuhide stepped directly behind the guard before swiftly covering the guard's mouth and stabbing his katana through the guard's upper back. Unfortunately for Mitsuhide, the guard struggled much more than he had anticipated; Mitsuhide was forced to wrestle the man to the muddy earth beneath them and hold him down until his body fell limp.
Saizo helped Mitsuhide- who was now covered in mud -to his feet and together they dragged the body deeper into the alley. The two of them now approached the edge of the alley, and stared down the tower in front of them. Lightning struck and thunder soon followed as they hesitated. There were guards around, but none of them seemed to be paying particular attention to the tower. Mitsuhide and Saizo looked at each other, and nodded in unison; the two of them took off running towards the tower. As they were just steps away from safety, Saizo hit a particularly deep spot of mud and tumbled to the ground. Almost immediately, shouting could be heard and guards began to close in.
Mitsuhide stopped momentarily to help Saizo until Saizo yelled, "Go! I'll be alright!" Mitsuhide- having great confidence in Saizo -complied and dashed up the tower as quickly as he could. After reaching the top of the nearly thirty-foot tower, Mitsuhide grabbed the firestones and attempted to light the large abundance of wood. Although the tower was roofed so the wood was still dry, the fire would not light. Mitsuhide could now hear the sound of battle beneath him. Although he had not wanted to use the gunpowder as he was unfamiliar with the substance, he had no choice; Mitsuhide dumped the bag of gunpowder on the wood, and once again began to grind the firestones together to generate sparks. The first spark to hit the wood suddenly created a giant, unruly flame; the flame's rapid formation shocked Mitsuhide and caused him to jump backwards, which made him slip from his muddy sandals and tumble off of the tower onto the mud below with a sloshy thud. Mitsuhide groaned as he laid flat on his back with rain pouring on him. Though his senses were shoddy from the impact, he could hear the loud cracks of gunshots, the shouting of men, and the ongoing boom of thunder. Mitsuhide tried to lift himself up, but he was too dazed and clumsy to stand; he finally collapsed in the mud.