"I put you through a lot today." Mitsuhide glanced at where I had hung up my clothing to dry. What was left of my inner kimono was little more than a rag at this point, with shreds of fabric fluttering in the breeze. There was a look of regret on his face. "You should take the opportunity to rest when it is offered."

After all he had demanded of 'Kaya,' why not put me to work as Katsu, especially since I was far more suited for this job? "I at least have had a bed to sleep in this week, rather than a cell floor. If anyone needs rest, it's you."

Before the argument could escalate, Kyubei stepped between us. "Katsu makes an excellent point about the potential advantage of a translator, Lord Mitsuhide." While Mitsuhide was still processing what had to have been an uncharacteristic rebellion from his vassal, Kyubei turned to me. "Katsu, make certain you return with Mitsuhide."

Something unspoken passed between the two of them, but I didn't need further insight into Kyubei's motivation. He suspected that if given the opportunity, Mitushide would make a suicide run to rescue the others. That… was clearly a possibility. "I'll bring him back." How I would manage that, I did not know – it wasn't as if I had ever been able to get Mitsuhide to do what I wanted. "Even if I have to tie him to me."

"Dear me, I hadn't realized how fond you'd become of restraints." The smirk had returned. "I weep for a lost opportunity."

Sigh.

"I … might have been too quick to promise to bring him back," I said to Kyubei. "Too many more of those comments and he will find himself tied to a tree instead."

Kyubei suddenly smiled, a look of joy that nearly split his face open. What had amused the normally stoic vassal? Mitsuhide loudly cleared his throat, and Kyubei sobered up instantly. "I'll finish organizing and double checking our weapons and supplies." He unearthed a spyglass from his pack. "As well as monitor the shoreline, although I expect Lord Nobunaga will keep Motonari busy for the remainder of the day."

With a nod, Mitsuhide acknowledged Kyubei's plans, then beckoned me to follow him. "I presume I will not need to tell you that stealth is of prime importance."

"You just did. Besides, I'm not the one wearing noisy armor." Though to be honest, Mitsuhide's clothing wasn't all that loud. He wore his battle gear relatively tight against that… body. Stop that Katsu! Consciously imitating his phrasing, I added, "I presume what you actually meant is that you would prefer that I don't talk."

"Indeed." He rubbed his finger across his bottom lip. "Interesting that your understanding doesn't translate to obedience."

He … had a point, so I mimed zipping my lips. Probably a useless gesture, since zippers would mean nothing to him. Therefore I was surprised to notice that an expression of stunned amazement on his face. Maybe Mai had zipped her lips at one point or another?

Without continuing the conversation, Mitsuhide simply turned around and melted into the forest. I mentally shrugged – another mystery of Mitsuhide – and hurried to silently catch up to him.

Since we already had a general idea where we were heading, the uphill climb involved less tracking and more pausing to hide at the sound of other beings crashing through the brush. Most of those tended to be wildlife, though once we had to roll into the underbrush when a contingent of about half a dozen soldiers stomped down the hill. They were not making any attempt to be quiet or stay hidden themselves, so apparently they didn't expect to encounter anyone.

As they closed in on our location, Mitsuhide pushed me underneath him. "Shhhh."

I hadn't said anything.

I hadn't even planned to say anything.

I couldn't protest that I wasn't going to say anything, because that … would be saying something. Nor could I give him my death-glare, because I was facing away from him. I settled upon showing my annoyance by poking his side… and in the process, jammed my finger on his armor. His amusement of my plight showed in a brief quiver of his stomach… it felt like he swallowed his laughter.

Only then did I become how deeply aware of how initimate we were. Working with Mitsuhide seemed to involve quite a bit of ambient touching. I mean, I knew I was totally swathed in Katsu's clothing and that he was wearing armor. But the way my body responded, we could have been naked. Thanks to our dip in the ocean earlier today, I had a very vivid memory of what his body looked like, the sharp planes of his muscles, and that taught belly.

Maybe I was just dealing with a delayed reaction to wet, half-naked, Mitsuhide?

Yeah, it was an image with an extended mental half-life. Maybe in about six… years… I'd forget what he had looked like.

While I was distracted by my untimely fantasy, the soldiers came close enough to us for their conversation to be audible. They spoke in Japanese, speculating on the very obvious battle going on just offshore. I understood from what little was said within earshot, that while they had been expecting Motonari to lead the Oda here, they were not expecting it to occur this soon. "Weren't he gonna let Oda stew in his own juices for a while longer?"

One of the other soldiers made a dismissive noise. "Eh, he probably had his reasons. By the time we get back to camp, I expect we'll have a message from Lord Motonari."

Message.

Hadn't thought of that.

Crap. The men on the hill might even now be expecting us.

"Not to worry, brat." Several moments after the soldiers left our vicinity, Mitsuhide's voice purred low in my ears. "Kyubei will make sure no messenger reaches them."

"How did you know?" He couldn't even see my face to read my thoughts.

"You tensed up, and it was a logical progression. You are nothing if not logical." He rolled off me, stood up, and helped me to my feet.

Still, even though he had spoken confidently, Mitsuhide's trek up the mountain became more purposeful, and he walked in grim silence, with his hand on the gun Kyubei had brought for him. His intensity was contagious, and I grabbed my sword, readying myself to fight if needed. Our caution was unnecessary though, and within another half an hour, we'd reached the summit of the hill without any further encounters.

Although the Mouri's camp didn't look like a permanent fort, it was clear they'd been here long enough to dig in, erect a few buildings and shore up defences. A rough wooden wall encircled the entire area. There was only one entry, right at the end of the footpath. Even so, while they might be able to fend off a direct attack, they would still be vulnerable to stealth. All of the surrounding trees were tall and sturdy and several had branches that hung over the camp. Easy enough for a few ninja – or one Kitsune and one scout - to climb over and drop in (though exiting would be a different story).

Mitsuhide and I crept around the perimeter of the wall before boosting ourselves into a thick tree that shaded a narrow windowless building in the corner. We could see the entire fort from where we perched. This building, and another on the opposite side, were the only solid structures in the compound. Several large tents covered the grounds. In the center of the camp was a cookfire, a command tent, and far too many barrels of gunpowder. They were armed enough to withstand a long siege – much better equipped than we were, in fact.

From what I could see of them, the majority of the soldiers were Japanese, but a couple were Nanban. Mercenaries, from the look of them, for they were subservient to a Japanese man who appeared to be in charge. We had arrived at a meal time and most of the men were sitting around eating off trays, or slurping some kind of soup from wooden bowls.

Suddenly a yelp of pain came from inside the building directly below us. I looked at Mitsuhide, wondering if that noise had come from his friend Hideyoshi, but he didn't appear to recognize the voice. Then the yelper continued in Portuguese, "Let go of my hand, you bitch!" This was followed by a-

Thwap!

A few moments later, a man stalked out of building, cradling a bleeding hand to his chest. "The Oda whore bit me," he said to one of the other Nanban mercenaries. The two of them walked over to the commander and had a conversation involving a fair amount of mime. Eventually, the commander himself marched over to the building below us and disappeared inside.

"The next time you bite one of my men, I will remove every one of your lover's teeth." His voice was a low growl, but the acoustics of the building sent the conversation straight upward, right into Mitsuhide and my ears.

"How do I even know he's still alive?" The woman's voice carried a mixture of defiance and despair. Mitshuhide's hand clenched convulsively on the tree branch he was holding until his knuckles were pale with tension. I wanted to comfort him, but what could I say? What could I do that wouldn't seem patronizing or appear to be making light of his friends' situation. I finally settled on placing my hand on top of his for a moment – a brief touch, to remind him I was here if he needed me.

"He's alive… whether he remains so, depends on you." Then something was said that I didn't catch, and a few moments later, the commander returned to the campfire and again spoke to the Nanban who had been bitten. The Nanban took a bowl of food to the other building … and…

Two buildings. Two bowls of food. Two prisoners.

Mai. Hideyoshi.

There was no evidence of Aki.


"Mai bit the Nanban." Probably that was unnecessary information, as Mitsuhide could have figured that out from the context, but after nearly half an hour of hiking in silence back down the mountain, I felt the need to offer something of value to justify my inclusion in the scouting mission.

"Indeed. She is but a mouse, but she can be quite fierce when she is passionate about something. It's quite compelling." Yet again, a reminder that this girl, though unattainable to him, was probably the love his his life. It was essential not to forget that. "What is wrong, brat?"

Not wanting to admit to… was it jealousy? It didn't feel like jealousy; it felt like… loss. I seized upon the other thing that had bothered me. "Aki isn't there, is he?"

He was quiet for a long moment, then Mitsuhide took my hand and gave it a squeeze. "I don't believe so. But … we'll find him."

We continued back to our camp and only when we got within view of Kyubei did I realize we were still holding hands. We let go… but not before Kyubei saw us and gave us that smile again. "All has been quiet here. I intercepted one messenger."

There was no evidence of either a fight, or a messenger, or a body, but before I could ask for more details, Mitsuhide interrupted my train of thought. "Brat, why don't you get some sleep? Kyubei and need to set some things up, and you might as well rest while you can."

I wanted to protest being told to nap like a two year old, but my head had been aching for a while, and Mitsuhide had probably noticed. So, like a good girl, I made a bed on a pile of leaves, curled up in a ball, and took a quick snooze under the warm late afternoon sun. I must have needed the rest, because even the sound of the distant battle at sea did not prevent me from dropping into a deep slumber.

When I woke up some time later, the sun had set, and Mitsuhide was sitting next to me, gazing down at me with an unreadable expression. I cautiously swiped my hand across my face, to check for drool. "Don't do that. Yeesh. Fifty shades of creepy."

He tilted his head in mock confusion. "Am I to understand from that rather odd colloquial expression that you feel uncomfortable if someone watches you sleep?"

"Yes. Wouldn't you?" I sat up, searched for my waterskin, and quickly rinsed my mouth out. "For the record, calling my name is enough to wake me up."

And before he could take that statement and turn it into a teasing opportunity, I changed the subject. "What is the plan?"

With a stick, he sketched out a map of the Mouri camp in the dirt. "While they appear to be guarding against attacks from this two direction," he made a mark on the map, "it seems they anticipate a large force and are prepared for a prolonged battle. However, they will not expect a single agent to slip in, and there are weaknesses from above." He drew a fairly accurate line of trees around the fort.

"Kyubei will create a diversion, here." He pointed to another grove of trees that was on the opposite side of the hill. "While they are distracted Katsu and I will approach through the forest here. Katsu, you will be stationed in this tree to provide cover, while I slip in and free the others."

"They are being held on opposite sides of the fort." I didn't want to argue with him, not now, but... oh what the hell, I'm not going to start censoring myself at this point, especially when I thought he was wrong. "As soon as you free one of them, the guards could be alerted and thus increase the danger to the other prisoner. Look, I'm completely happy to stay in the tree, and pick off as many as possible, but wouldn't it be better if we each went after one of them and snuck them out?"

"Are you doubting my ability?" Those eyes dared me to say yes.

"No... I'm just noting another way might be more efficient." I wasn't asking to throw myself into more danger on a whim.

"Duly noted." He poked at the area within the tree line. "Stay in the tree. I do not have time to give you a refresher lesson on the importance of doing exactly what I say when in a battle situation."

It was, more or less, a variation on gigs I'd done with Aki in the past, so it wasn't like I didn't understand was was expected of…

"I told you to wait for my signal! Then you were to stay in the tree. Are you in the tree?"

"No, but-"

Aki didn't let me finish. "Are. You. In. The. Tree?"

"You said stay hidden unless it was necessary. I made a judgment call that improvisation was necessary." I glanced back toward the travelers, where the warlord-from-the-brothel was tying up the sniper I had shot out of the tree.

"Judgment call? Your job is not to make judgment calls. Your job is not to improvise. Your job is to do what I say!" Aki was actually yelling… yelling at me. He'd never yelled before. "You're too impulsive, Katsu!"

"Katsu!" Mitsuhide placed his fingers under my chin, and lifted my face until we stared into each others eyes. "Promise to stay in the tree."

"Yes." My answer came quickly, but my mind was on that memory/not-memory that had just popped into my brain. What the hell had that been? Was my concussion acting up again? Aki and I had never had a fight like that. If it hadn't been the concussion, was I going crazy? No… I couldn't dwell on that new worry now. It was not the time to add to the confusion. Aware that Mitsuhide was watching me closely, I shook off that… whatever, and got to my feet.

The three of us packed up our supplies and hid them. If we needed them later, they would be ready to grab on our way out. Everything else - our weapons, a couple of small, easily shutterable lanterns, some portable medical supplies (Kyubei had been thorough – one would think he had done this before) - we carried with us.

On this cloudy night, the climb back up the hill was slow going. Even with the small amount of lantern light, the need for silence and the uncertain ground made us careful in our steps. Kyubei split off first, taking with him some incendiary devices, as he planned to light fires all along the eastern approach to the Mouri camp. We were high enough that I could see the lights of the battle happening out at sea. "I thought the Oda navy was bigger," I said to Mitsuhide.

"It is, but the object is to keep Motonari too busy to come to shore. Nobunaga has some iron hulled warships lying in wait if Motomari brings in his navy." Then he put his finger to his lips and indicated the path with a nod of his head. We were getting too close to talk any more.

We circled the wooden barrier until Mitsuhide stopped in front of the maple tree we had climbed earlier. "Up you go, Brat. Do try to stay put. I would prefer not to start torturing you at this late juncture."

He hasn't been torturing me all this time?

Since it was too dark for him to see my face, I rolled my eyes, then boosted myself up into the tree. The thick branches hung over the building where they were holding Mai prisoner.

While there were guards stationed at posts around the camp, the majority of the solders were seated around a fire pit. It looked like we had once again timed our visit with a meal. I imagined that Mitsuhide had, in fact, accounted for that, and planned things that way. Men with full bellies are slower to react. I settled in, and took the time to memorize where everything was within the camp, trying to determine how many men were armed with guns versus swords. Below me, Mitsuhide was running his hands along the rough-hewn bark of the wall, pressing his palms against it, as if he could become insubstantial and walk through it like a ghost.

What did I know? Maybe he could indeed.

About twenty minutes later, a shout went up amongst one of guards at the gate. He'd spotted one of Kyubei's fires. The commander sent a detachment of about a dozen out to investigate.

While the commander ordered another group of men to monitor the progress of the sea battle, the rest hurried to finish off their meal. One man picked up a bucket and poured the remains of dinner into it. It looked like Hideyoshi and Mai were getting the slops of everyone else's food, which, yuck, but at least they were not being starved, not even during this potential attack situation.

I quietly relayed that information to Mitsuhide. "They're bringing food to Hideyoshi's building."

Mitsuhide nodded and hauled himself over the wooden fence. He dropped silently to the ground on the other side. I doubted any of Motonari's men would notice him. Even I, who knew where he was, couldn't see him, for he stayed in the shadows untouched by lantern light.

When the guard returned with the empty bucket, a faint shadow eased the building – I only saw him because I knew what to look for. Meanwhile the bringer of food filled the bucket with more slop and headed toward the building below me.

"Watch your fingers," someone called to him. "The bitch bites."

"I'm not scared of a little girl." The man shrugged and continued into the building. I listened as his footsteps progressed deeper inside.

"Here's your dinner Princess." The words were gruff and sarcastic on the word 'Princess.'

If all went well, I'd soon be able to hear Mai's joyful reunion with Hideyoshi and Mitsuhide.

Unfortunately as it turned out, what I heard was:

Clunk!

Oof!

As if someone, like a mercenary, had just been hit with something heavy. Like… a bucket of food.

Those were not good sounds.

Those were the sounds of a woman who had gotten impatient and was trying to stage her own rescue, which good for her (#GirlPower) but her timing sucked. Because if her Birdman of Alcatraz cosplay attracted the attention of any more guards, this camp could become a battleground before Mitsuhide could break Hideyoshi out.

Should I do something?

Stay in the tree. I do not have time to give you a refresher lesson on the importance of doing exactly what I say when in a battle situation.

I couldn't tell if Mai had managed to free herself.

Maybe all hell was about to break loose.

Stay in the tree.

Maybe she had things under control.

I hung out in the tree for a few more moments, listening closely for any sounds below that would indicated whether or not Mai was in any additional trouble, but all I heard was soft clanking.

Ok, she… might be ok.

Then the commander looked toward Mai's prison and motioned for another guard to check on her. "Looks like someone needs to be taught a lesson."

Hell breaking loose, it is.