When I came downstairs the following morning, it was in time to see two long haired men huddled over a map. The real Kyubei was back – but Mitushide was still wearing the dark wig.

"Are the two of you going to switch back?" I asked, after making sure that Sho wasn't around to overhear. "Or are you going to mysteriously discover your not-evil twin?"

"We have no intention of switching. Would you be disappointed if we did?" He peered closely at me, but I'd already set my face to a Sasuke-esque neutral. "Studied blankness only confirms you're trying to hide something, Kaya. However to satisfy your curiosity, my vassal is only here to move some items and watch over some precious items for me."

Kyubei turned and gave me a quick smile, before rolling up the scroll and tucking it into his kimono. After bowing to both of us, he said to Mitsuhide, "all will be as you have directed, Lord Mitsuhide." Then he whisked himself out the door.

"A truly obedient vassal is such a rare find." Mitsuhide gave me a teasing smile as I exaggeratedly rolled my eyes at him. Then he took a moment to cast a critical eye over my outfit – while I was now obediently attired in one of the pastel kimonos, I'd lost a little weight when I was dealing with the concussion. It did not fit as well as it could. Still, I knew Sho had done her best, adding an extra fold before she tied the obi. To his credit, Mitsuhide didn't comment. He simply poked at my hairsticks to make sure the complicated style was securely pinned up. With a slight smile, he poked at the dangling bellflowers, which in turn tickled the top of my ear. "Meanwhile, it's high time we paid a visit to Shojumaru."

Oh? Were things finally happening? "Better not let Sho hear you say that. She'll want to come with us. Or do you think she will be necessary?" She might actually make a nice distraction if we needed one, should the plan include sneaking around. Although if something dangerous was planned, I wouldn't want her to get caught in a crossfire.

"Sho has just received a note from her mother, telling her that she's urgently needed at home." That Mitsuhide. He thinks of everything.

Indeed, just as the words left his mouth, there was a shriek from upstairs, then a thunder of footsteps as Sho dashed down the steps. "My apologies, Master Kyubei, Miss Kaya, but I need to go home." Mitsuhide waved her away, and she bobbed a quick bow and hurried out of the townhouse.

It probably wasn't worth questioning how Mitsuhide had managed to forge her mother's handwriting. Maybe Sho hadn't looked that closely at it? Whatever the case, we were soon on our way to Shojumaru's warehouse, without the added distraction of a lovestruck teenager.

As we left the machiya, I noticed a large hulking man leaning against the building across the street. He was dressed as a servant, but none of the servants I am familiar with have time to loiter like that. Indeed, as Mitsuhide and I walked down the street the man pushed away from the building and fell in step behind us.

"We're being followed." It was probably not necessary to point that out. I couldn't imagine that Mitsuhide wasn't aware of the man.

"Yes. I would be surprised if we weren't being followed." Mitsuhide had a rather grim set to his shoulders, and I noticed that not only had he reverted to wearing sword, he also had the priest's wheellock pistol tucked inside his sash. "Should I have brought my sword?" Although I had my knife strapped to my ankle, if there was going to be a battle, I was clearly under armed. "Or my bow?"

"Good gracious no, where could you hide them?" When I blatantly stared at his own arsenal, he added, "I'm not planning to shoot Shojumaru."

I took note of the word 'planning.' He didn't say that he wouldn't shoot Shojumaru – only that it wasn't Plan A. I presumed he would be perfectly willing to shoot the man if things went south.

"What will I be doing while you're not shooting Shojumaru? Dressed like this I am unlikely to get away with sneaking into his office, if he even has one." Last night, his refusal to tell me his plans had been annoying, but not unexpected. Today that had crossed the border to frustrating.

"You are simply to stay by my side," He patted my arm. "Don't despair, my bloodthirsty friend. There's sure to be some action before this all ends."

"If I haven't mentioned before, I really hate surprises." I tried to infuse that with as much authority as I ever had with him (which wasn't all that much).

That was received with his customary unconcern. "Indeed. Pity. I've found that no matter how much you plan, life always provides a surprise."

Fine. I guess he just expects me to smile and look pretty.

Mitsuhide must have had a spy on the warehouse, for he seemed aware that Shojumaru would be alone amongst a pile of long crates. As usual, being in this warehouse made my lungs tighten, and I clutched Mitsuhide's arm. He lightly placed his hand in the small of my back and gave me a reassuring pat.

"Master Kyubei. This is an unexpected pleasure." Shojumaru's smile seemed more forced than usual. "And Miss Kaya. I hope you are feeling better? I would like to personally thank you for saving my young employee."

Before I could respond to that, Mitsuhide broke in. "An unexpected pleasure? Is it? I imagine that we are indeed unexpected since I managed to dispatch the man you had watching my home. But I highly doubt you find it a pleasure."

Since when? Has he already forgotten the man who followed us all the way here? No. I had more faith in Mitsuhide than that. Which suggested that the man who followed us was one of Mitsuhide's employees. Ok. I guess he does have a back-up plan.

"Watching your house? I don't understand what you mean." Shojumaru managed a self-deprecating shrug.

"Don't you?" Mitsuhide's voice was quiet, low. Slow. I don't know how Shojumaru felt, but my entire body went cold, and he hadn't even directed that comment at me. Mitsuhide reached over and banged his hand on one of the crates. There was a slight metallic clink inside. "Nanban made muskets, I presume."

"What if they are? It's not illegal to import them." And in truth Shojumaru did appear mystified. Was it possible that he had yet to learn Mitsuhide's identity? Or was he just prolonging things?

"Indeed, you are correct in that. In truth, I have no real interest in these particular weapons, though I am curious to know where they are bound to. My concern regards a shipment that was diverted several weeks ago." If I hadn't been watching Shojumaru very closely, I would have missed it, but his jaw stiffened slightly. Mitsuhide continued speaking in a calm conversational tone. The two of them might have been chatting over a couple beers at a bar. "The guns were intended for Oda Nobunaga if that refreshes your memory, at least prior to you brokering a trade between de Sousa and a daimyo by the name of Kanamori Iekane."

"Heh." For one moment that mask slipped to reveal a gleeful grin, before Shojumaru spread his hands wide in an affect of innocence. "Did de Sousa tell you that? Even if it were the truth, what of it? The product goes to whomever wishes to pay the highest price. It's simply business."

If one of these two breaks out a "leave the gun take the cannoli," I'm out of here.

Mitsuhide continued his casual affect, not even indicating that he was prepared to that this to the mattresses. "Were that the only thing that was diverted, I would be inclined to agree. But according to rumor, two people important to Oda Nobunaga were additionally diverted to parts unknown, and a man could become very curious in your exports, and perhaps your imports as well. I'm wondering if you had as much hand in their disappearance as you did in the muskets?"

"I'm a simple merchant. I don't deal in human cargo." Shojumaru kicked lightly at a box, which in turn let out a non-human clink that pulled on my memory. "Anyone who tells you otherwise is lying. Did Nobunaga send you?"

"Perhaps my interest was simply to relocate another person. Or to make someone disappear." Mitsuhide jerked me closer to him, and ran his hand along my body, and even though I knew it was part of the act, I had to force myself not to squirm away. "I purchased this one on the ships, but she's beginning to bore me. She was only a poor substitute for a princess who spurned my suit. It has been told to me that you might help me procure this other woman. I can pay well for any trouble it causes you."

Would Shojumaru take him up on it? Did procuring the mystical Princess include making me disappear? If so, I hoped that Mitsuhide had a plan to extract me again from wherever Shojumaru sent me.

"I still ain't interested." The tone was dismissive, but his hands were clenched.

"My my. It seems you have some scruples after all, Motorari." Mitsuhide said it so casually, that I almost missed it. He'd made no inflection on the name, no emphasis to indicate that we'd discovered his identity.

"Simply not worth the risk, especially if your woman is a princess. Unless she is-" He broke off, apparently it suddenly hit him as to which name Mitsuhide had used. His eyebrows lowered and he squinted. "What did you call me?"

"I had not thought you deaf." Mituhide paused, and I got the sense that he was in some way stalling, for instead of revealing his identity, he continued, "I called you by your name. Mouri Motonari. Proclaiming yourself dead only works if no one alive knows your true identity."

"Heh heh. I thought I'd paid em all off." Shojumaru's entire posture changed, from the obsequious merchant to the menacing pirate in less than the time it took him to finish speaking. "Knew I should've found a more permanent solution."

Like Mitsuhide, his ability to inhabit a character was pretty amazing. When he dropped the Shojumaru disguise, his posture changed, and he seemed… bigger all of a sudden. He raked his hand through his hair, disturbing the styled neatness, revealing a couple of banded braids tight to his scalp. Even still attired in his merchant's clothing, he looked like rough, dangerous … capable of anything. "Your name ain't Kyubei."

Mitsuhide slightly inclined his head. "I have used it often enough. It will do for now."

With a scowl Motonari looked at Mitsuhide for a long moment. "Yer wearing a wig. Akechi Mitsuhide, or one of his vassals."

Was 'Kaya' supposed to have known who she was sleeping with? Thanks for giving me no directions, boss. But… it would be better to have Motonari think that she was just a pawn, rather than a weapon in case Mitsuhide needed an extra hand. I made sure to look startled at the accusation and tried to edge away.

"If you say so. I'm authorized by the Oda to negotiate for the return of Hideyoshi and Mai." Again, he patted his sword, which was fine for him, but I really would like to be armed with more than a dagger and a lockpick/hairpin.

At that, Motonari let out a long laugh. "I ain't open for negotiation. Maybe they're already dead."

I was still standing close enough to Mitsuhide to feel the jump of his pulse at that. But his voice was very steady when he responded. "I would be surprised if that were the case. They're more valuable as hostages. The God of Deceit might be ruthless, but he is not wasteful."

"Hostages. Or bait." Motonari let out a whistle, and half a dozen sailors appeared from the shadows in the back. "I imagine that holding both his right and left hand would be enough motivation for Nobunaga to come in person, and no matter how many ships he brings with him, I'd bet on the Mouri navy against the Oda's ships in a coastal battle."

"I suspect that would be a bet you'd lose, however I also suspect you are not one to debate hypotheticals." Completely nonchalant (or pretending to be so) Mitsuhide, turned to me and raked an annoyed look from my head to my feet. "Stop whimpering Kaya. This is none of your concern."

I hadn't been whimpering, but on cue, I let out a scared little peep. Probably this was Mitsuhide's way to signal Motonari that I had no part in planning this. Or would be useless as a bargaining chip.

Motorari's attention briefly flicked to me, and my cringing posture was only fifty percent acting. Dude was scary because he didn't appear to be predictable. But whether or not he intended to use me against Mitsuhide, I will never know.

The door to the warehouse slid open and a third party arrived.

"Master Shojumaru." Hiko stood uncertainty in the entry, clutching a message in his hand. "Did you send for me?" He looked around at the rest of us, and trotted closer. "What's going on?"

"What? No-" Motonari whipped back to face Mitsuhide.

"I sent for you." Mitsuhide brought the priest's pistol up and pointed it at Hiko. "Hiko, your master is quite fond of you. Perhaps he even sees a reflection of himself in you. Though you are a rather nice child, as children go, my friends take precedence."

Motonari waved his men back.

"Negotiations are open." Mitsuhide flicked a quick look at Motonari. "The life of one boy. Or the return of Hideyoshi and Mai."

Holy shit, Mitsuhide.

He was bluffing. He had to be.

"I'm not bluffing," Mitsuhide added in a conversational tone. "You will tell me where you're keeping them, or you will be cleaning this boy's blood of the floor of your warehouse." He pointed his weapon at Hiko. "You should also know that if I am Mitsuhide, my reputation as a marksman is not exaggerated."

I wanted to believe he was bluffing, but I knew how much Nobunaga's goals meant to him, how much his friends meant to him-

…how much Mai meant to him.

And as a chill swept through my body, I remembered his words from last night's lesson in Shogi.

"That is why you lost. You were so certain you could not win, that your strategy was solely to limit loss. Had you played to win, you might have managed it… Sometimes only a daring risk is the key to victory."

No. He would indeed be willing to kill a child, one he had no relationship with, in order to win.

"You can't." I didn't realize I wanted to stop him until the words were out of my mouth. "He's a little boy."

Mitsuhide's only answer was to prime the pistol.

He would. Oh God. He would.

I can't be part of this.

Breaking away from Mitsuhide's side, I threw myself on top of Hiko. If Mitsuhide wanted to kill Hiko, he would have to kill me first.

But it didn't matter. My motion had already been enough of a distraction. By the time I looked back, Motonari and Mitsuhide were grappling for the gun. In the chaos, Motonari's sailors rushed into the scrum.

I didn't want to watch.

But I had done this, I couldn't not watch.

Mitsuhide might have been able to take care of Motonari had the man been on his own. But given the addition of a dozen sailors, he was outnumbered. In moments, he was overpowered, two men holding onto him, while a third landed a punch to his jaw. Motonari made a gesture and the third man stepped back. Motonari picked up the priest's gun, and aimed it at Mitsuhide.

When Mitsuhide lifted his head to speak, it was to me. "Somehow I knew it would be you who betrayed me, Kaya."