Ch. 6 Lie, Cheat, Plot.

Thank you to all the patient readers who have kept reading, if not for you guys I would have scrapped this story a long time ago.

-Joushou

Mori Motonari took stock of Masamune and his second in command and noted Maeda Keiji, before his eyes wondered to Motochika and a small villager. He felt a tick of annoyance at finding the Shikoku pirate here, one because he despised the man and two because he had not foreseen it. He had opted to leave his hat off but his boots were still on.

"To what do we owe the pleasure?" Masamune asked his usual confident grin in place. Motonari focused on him then.

"I'm looking for a known criminal, and no Chosokabe it is not you." He said disdain dripping from every word. Motochika stood up to glare at the shorter man.

"Perhaps you should tell us of this criminal." Masamune said almost snickering at the tension between the two lords.

"Why don't you join us Lord Mori?" Kojuro asked motioning to a seat next to Masamune. Keiji scooted a bit towards Ren trying to be covert. Motonari took the seat and glared at the man covered in dirt curious as to why he was here.

"You dine with your villagers? How very odd." He mentioned as a maid brought in more sake and food. Masamune laughed and sat down.

"Well not often, you can see how they dirty up the place." Masamune said jokingly. Motonari simply stuck his nose up and grunted an agreement. Kojuro looked between Ren and Motonari thankful that the usually astute man had not yet discovered her.

"So what sort of criminal warrants your personal chase?" He asked gaining Motonari's cold stare.

"My traitor sister." He said holding out his cup to the maid who held the sake.

Next to her Ren could feel the tensing of Motochika's body, she saw his grip on his cup tighten and the porcelain crack. She prayed that he would not give her away, though she could hardly blame him if he did. Keiji laughed halfheartedly and knocked back his own drink.

"Surely she has not betrayed you!" He said jokingly, but Motonari was not amused.

"She most certainly has. I ordered her to marry the master of Kyushu and she ran away. Now not only will I have to find another way to obtain his territory but also keep him from attacking my own because of her childishness." Ren bristled under Kojuro's jacket, but it was Masamune who spoke to keep her tongue at bay.

"What fun is that? I say just attack the man and take it! Marriage alliances never end well." He said pouring his own drink. Motonari gave a 'hmpf.'

"She has disobeyed me, for the last time, and when I find her I will throw her into prison." Keiji stared at the older Mori in shock. Even though Motonari never showed much affection for her, Keiji had still believed that deep down Motonari had loved Ren, but now he wasn't so sure.

"No wonder she ran away from you." Everyone went still as Motochika spoke. Motonari stared at the pirate like one stares at a bug.

"I don't see how it is your business." He said coldly. Motochika smiled a dangerous smile towards Mori.

"Of course it's not, but I hope she escapes you and your messed up world." He said slamming his cup down. Mori glared as if trying to kill Motochika with his eyes. Kojuro cleared his throat and stood up.

"I don't think a villager should be sitting in on this conversation." He said motioning for Ren to stand. She did so awkwardly, trying to seem old and sore from a hard days work. Just as she was being led out by Kojuro Motonari stopped them.

"Wait boy." He said and Ren went as still as a rat caught in a trap. She turned quickly and sunk to the floor into a shabby bow never once looking towards Motonari.

"Do not gossip about what you have heard." Was all that the man said. Ren nodded reverently and hopped up to escape with Kojuro. Her heart felt as though it would pound out of her chest, she had been not five feet from her tyrant brother.

"I too don't think I could stand your presence any longer." She heard Motochika say before he followed them out to the hall. As the doors shut Ren felt Motochika's glare on her back. Kojuro led her towards the bathroom and a maid took over from there all the while Motochika followed.

"Let her bathe and put on some clothes, then ask her your questions." Kojuro said sternly. Motochika nodded and crossed his arms.

"I'll wait here then." He said glaring at the bathroom door.

Ren stood in a daze as Masako and Hatsuhana scrubbed her down, it gave her time to think. Motonari had been serious when he said he was going to imprison her. What had started off as a simple childish desire for adventure had turned into something much more serious. Now she was running for her life. Motochika had said that he hoped she escaped, but had also said it was none of his business. Ren didn't know what to make of that, or the fact that he didn't give her away. As she was tossed into the steaming water and rinsed off she began to feel more and more like life would never be the same.

Motochika slouched against the wall near the bathroom doors, how could he have been so blind? Her hair, her eyes, her face, even her tone of voice all of it was so similar to Motonari that only an idiot would not have known who she was. In his defense though when they had met she had been dressed like a commoner, but after that? When Masamune had dressed her up?

"Baka." He whispered staring at the ground, he wasn't sure what to think but that he'd been played a fool was very clear.

'..You'd hate me!" At the time he'd been so confused that she would think that, he had immediately thought that to be impossible. Now he understood, now he wasn't so sure that was impossible. The bathroom doors demurely slid open and two of the household maids bustled out, one with toiletries and the other with a dirty purple yukata. The two each gave him a small bow and rushed past him, but the taller older one stopped suddenly and gripped the yukata tightly.

"Lord Motochika." She said clearly having a hard time speaking to him.

"What?" He hadn't meant it to come out the way it had, he sounded almost hateful.

"Please, Ren-sama...she didn't mean to...well what I mean to say is...She's very upset! So...So, you be nice to her!" The girl said giving him a curt bow and pulling the other girl along down the hall. Motochika nearly smiled, it appeared that Ren whether she meant to or not accumulated allies the way her brother accumulated land. The quiet clearing of a throat turned his attention back to the woman at hand.

Motochika had really looked at Ren before, and he'd always thought of her as pretty, not so much beautiful, but pretty. Now though with her short hair slicked back and freshly cleaned and her porcelain skin shimmering from the dew of her bath he thought differently. He could see why Motonari would plot to use her as a bribe to some old lord, she was just as dangerous as Mori, and oddly enough beautiful.

"I suspect you know by now." She said, her hands placed gracefully in front of her, folded the way great ladies held their hands, her head was bent and her eyes glued to the floor, a picture of what a lady should look like and how one should behave. It instantly pissed him off.

"Yeah, I know." He said moving closer towards Ren and pinning her between himself and the wall.

"I understand if you...well you know." She said backing into the wall but never glancing up at him.

"What? You mean turn you over to that bastard in there? Ha, not bloody likely. I said I'd take you to Kenshin, didn't I?" He said feeling a tick of annoyance at the lady like Ren. She shook her head and placed a hand on his shoulder to keep a distance between them.

"I relinquish you of this promise, and am grateful that you will not submit me to my brother." She gave a small push hoping to pass by him, but Motochika would have none of that. He pushed closer until he towered over her and she was forced to use her other hand to keep a modest distance.

"A promise is a promise and unlike the Mori family who lie to get things their way I will uphold mine." He knew it was a cruel thing to say, but he wanted her to get angry, to yell at him, to push and tell him he was wrong. Ren sighed and nodded.

"You're right, we lie, we cheat, we plot." She said it with such a reserved calmness that Motochika nearly shook her. Who was this girl? Finally she looked up at him, but she didn't seem to see him.

" Thank you for getting me as far as Oshu, but I don't require you're assistance any longer. I won't ask for you're forgiveness, I of all people do not deserve it." With that Ren slipped under his arms while Motochika was stunned.

"Go back to the ocean Lord Motochika." She as she disappeared down the hall.

Ren choked back the tears that threatened to fall, and focused on breathing in and out. As soon as she had come out of the bathroom she had seen how upset and angry Motochika was and that had been the last straw for her. It had been nice while it lasted but this adventure had come to an end, she needed to find a way to quietly get to Echigo.

She had wanted to continue with him, when he had said he'd still take her. Her heart had leapt, and warmth she'd never felt before made her chest itch. She had wanted to collapse into him and tell him that, yes she wanted that more than anything. Her mind had slowly won out though, it wasn't that he wanted to take her, but that honor dictated that he must. She had immediately thought that the kindest thing she could do was release him and let him return to the sea that he so loved. It had taken a piece of her, telling him that, and instead of that warm scratchy feeling she now felt more cold than she'd ever felt. As a Mori, Ren would never be enough, but as she walked through the hall towards her guest bedroom she thought about earlier that day. How she had legitimately wanted to be a better person because of and for Motochika. She owed him that much at least.

In her room it was dark, and the door to the courtyard stood halfway open. No one was around and silently Ren thanked God. It was the perfect opportunity to escape. She quickly shuffled over to her handful of things, dressed in the first yukata she found, which was appropriately a dark green, and placed her dagger in her obi near her left side. Her hair was still wet and the cold of the night seeped through it down her head and to her body. She was about to step out of the door when a swift hand caught her gently by the arm. Beyond being frightened at the moment Ren simply looked at the hand and followed the arm to the face of an extremely beautiful woman.

"Don't scream." She said motioning towards the door. Ren nodded mesmerize by the woman. She was tall, a bit taller than Ren, her eyes were amber and a perfect almond shape, and her hair was a lovely light golden color that Ren hadn't really seen before.

"Are you a goddess?" Ren asked dumbly, and the woman blushed the color of a rose.

"Of course not! I'm Kasuga, Lord Kenshin has sent me!" She let go of Ren and turned her face away, in order to collect herself, before explaining why she had hidden in Ren's room. So even Kenshin knew, it was fortunate really.

"You see, at first I was just supposed to follow you and Lord Motochika to Echigo, but now that he and you have fallen out and your brother has shown up, I thought it would be best if you came with me." Kasuga said folding her arms over a very ample chest. It caused Ren to look down at her own in dismay. Kasuga blushed again.

"Alright then. I am in your hands Kagura-chan." Ren said holding out a hand for the kunoichi to shake and smiling. Kasuga stared silently at the young lady before her, and yet again her face went tomato red.

"What?" Ren asked noticing the steam coming from Kasuga's ears. Kasuga quickly pulled Ren into her arms and sprinted from the house of Masamune.

"N...N...Nothing!" she stammered. Already Ren liked Kagura very much.

Above the house seated in a tall tree sat another ninja, and while he was busy grooming his hawk his steely eyes caught the movement of the golden hair woman and a wicked sort of smile made it's was to his mouth.

"Oh ho ho, what do we have here?" He sent his bird after the two women and went to report.