What just happened?

Meek Kaya act: head down, hand palming the dagger I kept strapped to my upper arm, mock-obedient… confused as hell.

No one followed us out. Mitsuhide tossed me up on his horse and swung up after, so quickly that we were gone into the rainy night - possibly while everyone was still bemused by our performance. Shojumaru/Motonari might have realized that we'd been searching the place, but we could count on Yoshimoto to muddy the waters a bit, and keep de Sousa's focus on the Chinese ceramics.

The pouring rain that made it impossible to debrief also made for a wet and uncomfortable journey back to the townhouse. This time of year, Sakai was cold at night, and I finally understood the term 'huddled for warmth.' As we plodded through the cold wet night, I continued to shiver. When Mitsuhide pressed himself closer in response, I could feel those lean muscles through both of our wet clothes.

We're …snuggling?

We're not snuggling!

This was just an act of physical self-preservation.

Emotional self-preservation advised me to keep away from Mitsuhide and the dangerous temptation he was proving to be. He kissed me… twice. Maybe that first kiss had been a clinically detached kiss of an actor, but the second one…That second kiss… There was a part of me that was convinced it been the kiss of a man.

Of Mitsuhide.

My logic reminded the rest of me that it had only been a way for an experienced director to get his leading lady to perform the scene perfectly in front of the audience. The only way for that to have been real would be if he were to repeat it in private.

Not happening.

Besides, did it matter? Sure, I could try to decode his motivations from now until the end of time, but my feelings were more important anyway. Those are what I needed to decode.

Ok. So he's attractive.

I had known this since we met. That didn't mean I was attracted to him. Liar! Fine. Well, if I was, it didn't mean anything more than highly active pheromones, or whatever it was that brought two people together. Acting upon the (alleged) attraction would only complicate matters. Truly knowing what went on inside his head was next to impossible, but I didn't think he had any ideas or plans in my direction. Nothing beyond simply teasing me because it amused him to do so.

Yes. That had to be it. So there was no need to talk about what just happened.

Ever.

When we reached the house, Mitsuhide sent me inside first to dry off and change clothes. Unfortunately, wet clothes meant an Obi knot that was swollen shut, and without Sho's assistance, I remained helplessly stuck in three layers of soaking kimono.

I got out my knife and tried to pry the knot free without any success. I was considering simply slicing it open when Mitsuhide, looking dry and comfortable in a loose Kimono walked in. (Without knocking… As usual). He lounged against the door frame, having perfected the art of "the standing casual" pose. "Dear me, it cannot be that tragic. I realize that it must be a shock to discover you're attracted to me, but it's not worth ending your life."

"You see me tangled up in this dratted fabric, and your mind goes there? That's not even an effective tease." Again, I tried to wedge the tip of the dagger through the knot.

"Come here brat, and let's see if we can rescue your wardrobe, and my reputation." Without waiting for me to move, he strolled over and began working to free me.

"Your reputation?" He looked so comfortable and, well, warm in those clothing that I felt almost relaxed in his company. "Did you have a prior career as an escape artist that I am unaware of?"

Those gold eyes met mine and a tiny muscle in his jaw twitched. No, he was not comfortable at all. "Your maid might be concerned if your clothes are shredded."

"Isn't that the point of the Kyubei masquerade - to have that sort of reputation?" I bit the inside of my cheek to school my expression as he slipped his hand between obi and my stomach. It almost felt like a caress.

"Kyubei breaks the spirit and dominates via words. He wouldn't need to resort to physical violence." He carefully untangled the cord, all focus apparently on my clothes.

"And this is different from Mitsuhide, how?" I'd certainly been on the wrong side of his words often enough.

"The man I am pretending to be seeks to dominate through fear and harsh words. If I were here as myself, I would have no need to break Kaya's spirit that way. It's far more amusing to tease." He tapped his finger on my forehead, and slowly drew it down my face as if he were drawing a line. "There is a certain reward to knowing you have coaxed open a bud. Breaking it off by the stem is a horrible waste." His finger lingered on my lips for a moment. He gazed at me, his mouth lifted in that familiar teasing smirk, before his finger resumed its journey downward.

I pushed his hand away before it got any lower than my throat. "Either way the flower only lasts a short while longer."

"Perhaps I should borrow a page from your suitor Yoshimoto and tell you that beauty that is short-lived is no less beautiful while alive, and even more lovely in its memory." He refocused his attention on the knot, which finally unraveled under his touch. At his tug, the obi slipped to the floor.

Quickly I grabbed the edges of my kimono to prevent a striptease. "Yoshimoto is not my suitor. I don't know what he is doing here, but he's not here for me." Or if he was, it was only because Sasuke had asked him to keep an eye on me. Of course, Yoshimoto was also perfectly capable sticking around just to go shopping.

Mitsuhide just raised his eyebrow at my comment.

Belatedly, I stepped back, out of his reach, and turned toward the cupboard where Katsu's clothing was hidden away from Sho's eyes.

His expression changed to one of suspicion when he saw the hakama and kimono. "You aren't going to go prowling the city for more information." It was stated calmly, but it was as much an order to stay put as anything.

"No. I'm freezing and these are the warmest things I own." I carried the clothes behind the screen to change.

"Fair enough." Something sailed over the top of the screen and hit me with a soft plop. Mitsuhide had tossed a drying towel over.

In that moment between switching from Kaya to Katsu, I felt vulnerable, as if the transition period between the concubine and the courier left me to face Mitsuhide without any protective armor. With a shudder, which owed nothing to the cold, I hurried to remove the rest of the wet clothes, dried off, and climbed into the thick fabric of my other life. Katsu's clothes were designed for the mountains of central Japan, but more than that this identity had been like a shield, and I very much needed to shield myself. By the time I emerged, warm, and covered from neck to toe, I felt much more prepared to deal with the man who had kissed me senseless earlier tonight.

Mitsuhide lounged on my futon, hands crossed behind his head. "One of these days, you will realize that such unrevealing clothing is something of a dare."

Maybe… I'm not the only one needing armor?

"Silver."

He sat up. '"Rather a non-sequitur."

"Senhor de Sousa had no problem working with Nobunaga, in fact he was considering going directly to him with an offer to set up trade more exclusively with Azuchi. Then Shojumaru offered to broker an exchange. Silver for weapons to be transferred to Motonari Mouri." I paused, realizing that I had spoken without taking a breath.

"So it was greed for profit that motivated de Sousa." Mitsuhide rubbed his chin. "That explains the initial loss of the shipment, but it's difficult to believe that de Sousa would have betrayed Mai and Hideyoshi when they visited him to inquire after the missing weapons."

Yeah… I agreed with that assessment. de Sousa seemed more interested in profit than politics. And Portugal was more interested in trade than conquest. "No, he doesn't seem to be that sort of risk taker. Motonari's name wasn't unexpected but…" I tried to sort out my tension regarding the information about Iekane in order to present it to Mitsuhide calmly. He didn't need to know that I was newly upset.

"I suggest you breathe a few times before continuing. I will demonstrate, as it appears you have forgotten how." He placed his hand on his chest and breathed deeply three times.

As much as I wanted to snark back at him, it was a good suggestion, so I paused to recenterand breathe. "The man supplying the silver is the same person who locked me inside that crate five years ago. So that might connect Mai and Hideyoshi's disappearance to Aki's, but I'm not sure how." What I needed was one of those case walls with strings and pushpins, like they used in all those old cop dramas.

Mitsuhide patted the futon. "Dear me, you'll wear a hole in the mat with that pacing. Sit."

I'd been pacing? Huh. I plopped down next to him, hoping that discussing this information could push out all the weird vibes from earlier.

"Start with him then. What do you know about this..." Mitsuhide left his sentence hanging.

"Yamaoka Iekane, no, he's not related. Aki has us all use his name." In de Sousa's letter, Shojumaru had referred to him as Kanamore Iekane. "He's using Kanamore now as a paternal name."

"Are you certain it's the same person? Iekane is not an uncommon name.'' Of course Mitsuhide had to be thorough, but something in me resented what felt like borderline gaslighting.

Needing something to do with my hands, I picked up one of the locks I'd been practicing on, and got to work on decoding it. "I have no proof, but he was in that warehouse five years ago at the same time as Motonari. So they do have a prior acquaintence."

"When you said Aki has you all use his name that suggests you have another name. It also suggests… he's not your father after all?" It was posed as a question, but Mitsuhide's soft voice held an accusation.

"He is my father, but for a long time he did not reveal that to me. I believed he was just a man who rescued me from an attack and gave me a place to live and a purpose." I concentrated on the lock, but I was really just aimlessly spinning the tumblers. Mitsuhide stayed quiet until I felt compelled to add, "he did not explain any further."

"You did not ask? Brat, my acquaintance with you has been fairly short, but even I'm aware this is one of the first things you would have asked." He brushed his hand along the side of my jaw. "That mouth of yours is never still."

That was unfair… especially given that I had ignored him for over half a week. I gave him a look.

"When you are in an argumentative mood, which, you must admit, is fairly often." He tapped my forehead, which, yes, I am aware was a dare to argue, but I was more interested in continuing the story… getting it over with.

"Um. He told me in that coded letter you stole." He'd already known I broke into his room to look for it. And now he'd be aware that I'd found it, but I had no other answer to his question aside from the truth.

"Mm. I did wonder if you'd located my hiding spot. Why did you leave it in there?" He took the lock away from me so that I would have to look at him.

"So that you could steal it from me again and hide it somewhere else? Or keep it on your person?" Which he had done anyway, as he had taken his puzzle box with him when he went on walkabout to Azuchi. "Is this important now? I thought your focus was Mai and Hideyoshi, and not my own property and history."

He inclined his head to acknowledge my point. "By all means. Please tell me what you know about Iekane… which, I imagine does indeed have some bearing on your history."

"I haven't seen Iekane for five years. And at the time… Aki told me he thought Iekane was motivated purely by jealously. But now I wonder if something else is going on." Something connected to the time travel? But Iekane wasn't related to that – at least, I didn't think he was. But what if-. I temporarily shut down that line of thinking. If I told Mitsuhide about the time travel, would he believe me? Or could I talk around it?

"Once again, I'm going to ask you what you aren't telling me." He turned my chin so I was looking right into those eyes, and it was absolutely the wrong time for that prickly feeling to return. Combined with the off-balance sensation that lingered from the kiss, I had a momentary BSOD as a rush of heat swept through me.

Finally my natural instincts kicked in, reminding me that this man was dangerous – dangerous in ways that I hadn't imagined when we first met. While I trusted Mitsuhide with my life, I couldn't trust him with myself. Not when this wasn't only my secret - it was Aki's, and Mai's and Francisco's and Sasuke's. And so I gave him a different truth, a painful one, one that would protect four other people. "I thought I might be in love with him - Iekane. That is how he was able to trick me into the box. He kissed me a few times." I was grateful that it had not gone any further than that, but still vaguely sick to my stomach at the memory. At the fact that I had let things go even as far as they had.

The look on Mitsuhide's face suggested that he'd been expecting a dessert buffet and received a package of airline peanuts.

"You must have been fairly young. A few kisses at that age is to be expected." He tugged on my hair. "Should you want more recent kisses to erase his from your memory, I am willing to oblige." He was teasing again, that was obvious. "Certainly, I can do far better than the man who tried to kill you."

Oh yeah. No question there. But Mitsuhide's kisses have a lethal effect all their own.

"Two wrongs don't equal a right." Oh great. I have resorted to quoting my mother. "In any case, my lips have nothing to with this. What should we do about Shojumaru, a.k.a… er, I mean, also known as Motonari?"

Mitsuhide returned to business as easily as that. "Motonari has access to an entire navy. Perhaps he's keeping Mai and Hideyoshi on one of those ships. Or he may already have taken them to one of the smaller islands in the South. I told Nobunaga to prepare a ship and have it meet us here, while I continue to keep watch over Shojumaru."

"Just you? What should I be doing?" As long as I was still metaphorically tied to Mitsuhide, I didn't want to be doing nothing.

He raised one eyebrow. I raised both back. I really need to learn that single eyebrow thing.

"As I pointed out earlier tonight, you do indeed resemble a startled rabbit when you do that." At that comment, I deployed my best, the absolute top of the line glare… and he mockingly wiggled his nose and ears. Only when I folded my hands in my lap and put on my 'ok I'm listening patiently expression,' did he continue. "We will continue to keep an eye on Shojumaru - as I surmise if I don't take you with me, you will go out on your own as Katsu."

"Or, here's an idea. I can go out with you as Katsu. I could be Kyubei's apprentice or page or assistant." Katsu's clothes were much easier to run in.

"Kaya will come with me." He tugged on my hair again. "Your disguise is very good, but anyone who has seen me with Kaya and then sees me with Katsu will be bound to remark upon the resemblance."

Ugh. He had a point. But at least I wouldn't be left behind. That was something. "As you wish."

He snickered. "Are you actually agreeing with me? I ought to kiss you more often."

That deserved an eyeroll and I provided it. But I was eager to divert the topic from that kiss. "Here's a thought. If you fully explain your plans and motivations logically, you might find I agree more often than when you issue orders or tease me."

"The latter is more fun. You might find that eventually you'll enjoy my teasing." Rather than touching me, he ran his finger across his lips, drawing attention to them. "As always the offer of renegotiating our contract is open."

"No thank you.'' I faked a yawn, and stretched. "Now, if you don't mind, it's been a long night and I'd like to sleep."

"If you say so. Make yourself comfortable." He scooted over, giving me room to lie down in my own bed.

"Alone." I hadn't thought it was necessary to clarify that, but as always Mitsuhide had to make each conversation a contest.

He placed his hand over his heart in an exaggerated charade of romantic disappointment, but obligingly got up. Then, he pulled the quilt around me and neatly tucked me in. For one half-horrified, half-thrilled moment, I thought he was going to kiss me goodnight, but instead, he just tapped my forehead. "Goodnight, Brat."

There wasn't anything else to say, except, "Goodnight."

By the time I heard Sho clattering around in the kitchen the next morning, I had been awake for too long. Nightmares about Iekane's kiss had merged into far less nightmarish but equally disturbing (in retrospect) dreams about Mitsuhide's kiss. Both had been an act, but Mitsuhide's fake kiss had been enticing enough to make me wonder what it would be like if he kissed me and meant it.

But that snip of hair he had saved in his puzzle box made it clear that someone, somewhere had a prior claims on his heart.

Not that I wanted it anyway.

Therefore any kissing (or beyond) that I did with him, would be purely for the fun of it. And while I wasn't opposed to that idea in principle, but it was a door I was… well I was afraid to open it.

Certain that my restless night was written on my face, I considered hiding in my room until he was gone for the day, but someone was bound to come looking for me. It was less work to just get up. I dressed in one of Kaya's least restrictive kimonos, and loosely attached a ribbon-like sash instead of the thicker, more formal obi. I was getting bored of Kaya's forcibly shortened steps. Worn this way, the kimono might drag on the ground a little, but I could almost take my normal stride.

When I made my way into the kitchen, it was to see that Hiko had joined us again. Mitsuhide was nowhere to be seen - not that he often ate breakfast with me anyway. Not that he eats anything resembling food either.

"Kyubei is downstairs in the office." Sho answered my unasked question. "He said that you should meet him there after you eat." She cast a critical look at the mess I had made of my kimono. "After I fix that."

Huh, yeah, figured she wouldn't let my too casual look slide. I took the bowl of stewed fruit and rice from her and knelt next to Hiko. "Is this your second breakfast again?"

"Third." Hiko spoke with his mouth full while Sho added, "He ate a rice ball on the way."

Wondering if I could casually find out if Shojumaru had a ship anchored nearby I asked, "Are heading down to the docks today?"

Hiko simply nodded this time, without adding any more information as he powered through his third meal of the day. I ate slowly, trying to figure out how to ask for additional details without appearing too suspicious. I finally settled on noting that Shojumaru had been at the 'banquet' last night. "I didn't realize he had an interest in art. Does he import anything like that? Statues, vases from the west?"

"I haven't seen any." Hiko didn't seem interested.

I decided to embellish the question, and added, "Kyubei has an interest and his birthday is soon." In all honesty, I had no idea when Mitsuhide's natal day actually was, but Sho perked up. Oh, because… shopping. I might end up regretting asking, if it meant spending a day sifting through trinkets in the market.

"The next time you and I have a free day, we can go to the marketplace and see what we can find." She thought a moment. "We could go to some artisan's workshops too."

I regret asking.

Then she folded her hands and put on a look of fake indifference. "Or... maybe that Yoshimoto will help us?"

Ha! I thought he had made an impression on her. Although maybe not as much of one as I had hoped, for she added, "Maybe if Shojumaru sees me with someone like Yoshimoto, he'll be more interested in me?"

"Don't be stupid. Leave him alone, Sho." Hiko handed her his empty plate to wash. "Shojumaru has better things to do than hang around with you." Before he could torture his sister any further, his attention skittered off into another direction and he pulled the three juggling bags that I (as Katsu) had given him, out of his kimono. "Kaya, let me show you what I can do!"

He awkwardly tossed the bags in the air, sending them careening in all directions. As he scrambled around the kitchen to catch them, he banged right into Sho, causing her to drop a bowl on the floor.

"Outside!" She made a shooing motion toward the stairs. "He's already destroyed a vase at home."

Oops. It was my fault for starting him on this hobby, so I followed Hiko down the steps and through the public areas of the townhouse, where Mitsuhide's fake business was doing its fake business thing.

"Going somewhere?" Mitsuhide didn't exactly grab my arm and pull me back, but his voice had the same effect of stopping me in my tracks.

"Only to the entry. Hiko is going to show off his juggling skills, and they're sufficiently random enough for Sho to bar us from the kitchen." I nodded at where Hiko's next beanbag toss nearly missed knocking a noh mask off the shelf.

"Ah." He bent his head back to the letter he was writing, which I took as tacit permission to keep going. Not that I would have stopped in any case. But... details.

I left him to it and hurried to the entry, where Hiko was already dancing on the edge of the curb, his face set in concentration as he tossed the bags into the wind. I wished I were dressed as Katsu so that I could give him a few pointers to help him control the toss.

A few times the bags went far to the left or behind him, causing him to jump back and forth between the sidewalk and the street. It was still too early in the morning for there to be any casual pedestrians to be bothered by this, although even at this hour, the city was not quiet. At the other end of the street, an oxcart carrying crates of, well, I assumed sake, pulled up in front of a restaurant. A couple fishermen came up from the direction of the harbor, both lugging baskets of their fresh catch.

Following them was a lone man, strolling, the epitome of 'acting casual.' As he approached, the figure became recognizable as Shojumaru. He halted across the street, and leaned against a building. The expression on his face was intent… almost angry? Was he watching the house? I supposed he could simply be waiting for Hiko. More likely, if I asked him what he was doing, he would probably use the kid as an excuse.

When he realized I had seen him, those features quickly rearranged into that affable smile.

Right. Smilers. Never trust them.

Further away came a crack that echoed through the street.

Gunshot?

Shojumaru and I both immediately alerted and looked around.

There … a man, just in profile, slipping around the corner of the restaurant.

The profile was enough though – it was Iekane.

Before I could give chase to him, I realized that barreling down the street was the sake merchant's cart, the startled ox gathering speed, as the leather yoke strap dragged on the road behind.

Completely oblivious, Hiko stayed in the street as he leaped after and caught a bag in one hand. "I got it!" His celebration kept him in the path of the runaway cart.

"Hiko!" He didn't hear me, but I was already running.

Shojumaru was rushing toward the boy too, but I was closer. Even with the impediment of the narrow kimono, I got to Hiko first. I grabbed his arm and flung him at Shojumaru, who caught the kid and set him on his feet, safely out of the way of the frightened ox.

I turned back toward the townhouse, but something tangled under my foot – the trailing fabric of the loose sash.

One moment of useless flailing was followed by the image of the street rushing toward my face.

Shit, this is going to hur-