Ch. 4 Party Crasher

So dinner went on, with the men becoming more belligerent as the sake flowed. Kojuro was ever a gentlemen and really made Ren feel far more comfortable than when she had first walked through the shoji doors earlier. Masamune and Motochika were laughing loudly catching up with each other, and Ren caught herself more than once staring at the fair haired pirate. Embarrassingly Kojuro had caught her a few times as well. He simply smiled each time in a knowing manner before commenting on the food, and asking her if she was feeling alright.

"At some point he's going to look back you know." He said the third time. Ren felt her face go pale at the thought. She quickly went back to a cold rice cake she had been nibbling on.

"I don't know if I would like that or not." She said more to herself, though undoubtedly the man had heard her. He chuckled but said nothing. It was then that the shoji doors slid open quite unceremoniously, and the room went quiet for a moment. Ren's eyes felt as though they may pop out of her head, and her mouth was wide open.

"I come bearing the finest sake in the land! You fools wouldn't know good stuff if it was plastered to your heads!" Some men laughed and others shook their heads, but Masamune stood up as if offended and pointed one of his six swords towards the intruder.

"Maeda Keiji! You louse! Come and prove these rash words!" He shouted in humor. Motochika was shaking with mirth, and next to her Ren could hear Kojuro chuckling. The man, Maeda Keiji was quite a sight. He stood about as tall as Kojuro and dressed in a flashy eclectic style. He wore his brown hair very long and in a high pony tail with feathers placed near the knot, he had a friendly face but at the sight of him Ren felt sick.

Keiji made his way toward the four of them with two large jugs of his so called good stuff but stopped dead in his track when his eyes wondered to Ren.

"Ren-Hime?!" He shouted in surprise. Now the hall was watching her instead, Masamune, Motochika and Kojuro all turned to her in question. Ren could feel the blood draining from her head, she felt faint and her heart had never beat so fast. Keiji's surprise melted into a happy expression.

"Imagine finding you here! How is your brother..." Before he could finish his sentence about her brother Ren had bounded up and over to him. She slapped a hand over his mouth and shook her head pleadingly.

"Shut your loud mouth wanderer!" She whispered harshly. The man gaped at her but nodded slowly. In truth Ren knew Keiji very well, he often travled through her province and so visited the Mori household just as often. Ren could feel the gazes of the three men behind her and turned to give them all a sheepish smile.

"I really do hate being called hime..." She tried to laugh it off but it came out very forced. Keiji removed her hand and slung a huge arm around her shoulders.

Motochika watched in utter confusion as Maeda Keiji acted so familiar with Ren, he felt a tick of annoyance as the mans finger puled at a loose strand of her hair. She deftly slapped it away with an ease that spoke to how often they acted in such a manner. He had a sneaking suspicion that Keiji knew far more about the young woman, and for some reason she didn't want him mouthing off about it.

"I see you've met the pirate princess." Masamune said gracefully sitting back down and motioning for Keiji to do the same.

"Pirate princess?" Keiji asked looking at Ren in wonder. She shook her head as if to say its a long story.

"Indeed, she stowed away on Chosokabe's ship disguised, poorly might I add, as a man." Masamune took a jug from Keiji and sat it down in front of him as the young wanderer sat to his left.

"Ha! Ren? I would have loved to see that!" Keiji said passing his other jug to Motochika who had stayed rather quiet the hole time. He watched as Ren went to sit next to Keiji, and another tick of annoyance caused his hand to grip his sake cup a bit tighter than necessary.

Ren took a ladylike seat next to Keiji, she was honestly very annoyed because the guy had a huge mouth. So to keep him from spilling every secret she had she sat next to him and took hold of his Sake jug.

"I was wondering about your hair, no wonder it's so short." He said good naturedly, and Ren had to smile at him the way you would smile at a child that was worrisome but that you had an affection for.

"Yes well, I was hidden for all of two days, not very clever of me." Ren said as she poured him a stingy amount of sake.

"Chosokabe how did you find her out?" The air headed man asked the quiet captain. Motochika , who's mood had suddenly shifted to one of suspicion and annoyance forced a smile.

"I felt her up." He said bluntly before downing his cup. The men were silent for a moment, and Ren was shocked. Her face burned in embarrassment, but her diplomatic lessons kicked in and she neatly giggled while bringing a sleeve covered hand to her mouth. Effectively her giggle earned her the eyes of all the men near her.

"How terrible you make it sound." She said to Motochika in a voice so smooth he nearly chocked on his drink.

"You see I had fallen into the ocean, and of course Keiji you know I can't swim, so he jumped in after me." It was Motochika's turn to blush and Ren felt some sort of twisted relief when she saw it.

"Ah, I see and as he was breathing for you he must have discovered you." Keiji said following her story. Ren plastered on a coy smile.

"Of course." She sent a court worthy smile Motochika's way, let him try to fluster her again. Masamune stared between Motochika and Ren, in giving her the kimono he had thought she would shrink and feel out of place, she certainly had seemed to earlier. However now it seemed he had given her a great weapon, one he had seen his own mother brandish many times.

"Well enough about how she met Chosokabe, how did she meet you?" Masamune asked Keiji. Keiji opened his mouth with his usual smile and was about to begin when Ren kicked his foot ever so slightly. She poured him another cupful as she eyed him venomously.

"Right well..." Keiji tried to think, why did Ren not want them to know about her? Then it clicked, Motonari and Motochika were mortal enemies, and now she was traveling with the pirate. He wouldn't rat her out, knowing full well the extent of her wrath, but he hated to lie to his friends.

"I was travailing in the west and we met at a festival." He said, it was mostly true her brother had introduced them to each other at a sun festival.

"She beat me at every game and stole my noh mask. I was inclined to believe that she was an imp and not a noble." That part was also true, Ren smiled fondly at the memory, she had been so glad to meet someone that her brother didn't detest and that she was allowed to run around with.

"You were too kind for your own good, I was trying to teach you that." Ren said sipping her own drink. Keiji laughed loudly as he was want to do and shook his head.

"Anyway, I visit her family from time to time." He said hoping to end the questioning there. They all seemed to accept his anwser and nodded, Motochika included. Ren almost sighed in relife until Motochika caught her quick glance his way. He looked almost angry, she thought anyway, and quickly looked away from her. The night slowly began to come to a close as men began to disperse and find places to sleep. Finally Ren was escorted back to her room by a maid.

Keiji waited till Ren was gone to corner Chosokabe. The pirate was a bit red in the face when Keiji got to him.

"Motochika, I just wanted to...well not warn you but ask that you be careful around Ren." He said seriously. He didn't want to think that Ren could be plotting with her brother to kill the pirate but he wouldn't put it past Motonari to use his sister in such a way. If anyone could manipulate Ren it was her brother. Motochika frowned but nodded.

"It does seem as though she's hiding something rather important." He muttered more to himself. He went to ask Keiji what her family name was but the eccentric young man had already wandered off down the corridor. As Motochika made it to his futon he decided to ask her tomorrow, and demand an answer.

As inappropriate as he knew it was, Keiji knocked softly on Ren's courtyard side door. The glass door slid open a fraction and her chocolate brown eye peaked through before she opened the door all the way.

"Its just you." She said in relief. Keiji frowned at her.

"Want to tell me what that was all about?" He asked crossing his arms. Ren sighed and shuffled past him to sit on the wooden floor so that she could swing her legs off the side. Keiji sighed before taking a seat next to her.

"Ren?" He prompted gently, he knew that with Ren you had to coax information from her kindly or she'd clam up. She let out a suffering sigh then.

"My brother tried to marry me off to the Lord of Kyushu, and I ran away." At this Keiji's eyes widened.

"Then he doesn't know you're here?" He wondered what sort of wrath filled rampage Motonari was on to find her. Ren shook her head and glared at the stone garden.

"No he doesn't and you'd better not tell him Maeda Keiji." Her voice promised pain if he did.

"I really didn't mean to stow away on Motochika's boat, I had no idea it was his, but..." He waited quietly for her to continue. Ren's voice was suddenly very small and soft.

"I was so afraid at first when I realized who's ship I was on, but Motochika is nothing like what my brother described." She looked to be tarrying off into her own thoughts.

Keiji studied her then, aside from the obvious physical change to her appearance, Ren seemed different. More vibrant, like a flower that had seen the sun. Under her brothers rule she had always seemed pale and wilted, unless she was out of his sight.

"Will you return to your brother?" He asked out of curiosity. Her face wrinkled and she shook her head.

"He'd have to drag my cold dead body back to that prison." Keiji laughed then and nodded, maybe what Ren needed was this little adventure of hers. She had always seemed haughty and spoiled at her home, but he knew that she was really very lonely.

"Hopefully that won't be the case." The two laughed and the conversation turned to lighter subjects, like Keiji's family and his travels. Little did the two know, but Kojuro was just around the corner listening intently. He had kept quiet at dinner but Ren's actions had also stirred his suspicions, he wondered if she was telling the truth now. Her display at dinner, her sly looks and gestures told him that she knew how to handle delicate matters, and perhaps espionage like a pro. He silently slipped away undetected and went to report his findings to Masamune.

Motonari, decked out in his green armor, glared at the young man kneeling in front of him. The boy couldn't have been more than fifteen and his fear was palpable.

"Tell me again what this...boy looked like." Motonari demanded, his permanent frown causing him a headache.

"My lord the boy was about my height, with brown hair like yours, and eyes your color, and he carried a green kodachi that had your insignia on it." That sealed it, Ren had come through the harbor.

"Did you see what ship she boarded?" He asked surveying the ships.

"No my lord." He said keeping his eyes to the ground. Motonari felt his headache worsen.

"But he, I mean she did ask about ships that would take her to the east, and asked which port was nearest to Echigo." Motonari sighed, of course she would run as far away as possible and to Kenshin no less.

"Very well you may go." He said releasing the boy and motioning for his retainer.

"Get a ship ready we're going to Echigo."He said cursing his sisters wild nature.

'When I find you...' his mind couldn't fathom up any images that were suitable enough for the punishment he would give her.

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