As the roof buckled and rolled, I dug down into my muscles for an extra burst of speed. In my peripheral vision, I could see Mitsuhide keeping pace with me. Underneath my feet, the crumbling certamic tile cracked and shattered, sending shards through the leather of my shoes. Then the building pitched backward, and I slid back with it, until Mitsuhide grabbed my arm and flung me at the tree.
Instinctively, I reached for the branch. The slick bark stung my hands, but I held on.
Where was Mitsuhide? I hadn't sensed him leaping for the tree as well.
Smoke billowed around us, with a whooshing backdraft, and I looked for Mitsuhide, only to find him half in the tree… with his foot wedged behind him in the fence. "Go!"
Not happening.
In fact, Hideyoshi had already grabbed onto the Mitsuhide and was hauling him toward us. Mai and and I added our weight, and we pulled him clear just as the building went up in flames. Behind him, even the fence collapsed under the shockwave of heat and sparks.
There was no time to celebrate our escape. Though the explosion and resulting fire had probably bought us some breathing room, since Motonari's soldiers were going to need to try to save their weapons and supplies, there was still the issue of getting off this island.
None of us hesitated as we hurried through the trees, rushing toward the cove. The fire-glow night was not enough illumination, and the path was slick and full of roots and gravel that made a flat out sprint dangerous to our health. From feel of things, the roof had sliced my shoe open, and it was harder to get a grip on the ground. Hideyoshi was clutching his ribs, and Mitsuhide was limping, but both stopped to help Mai when she tripped over a log and went sprawling.
Behind us, footsteps crashed through the brush – it sounded like they'd sent a few men after us. Hideyoshi reached for his sword, and only now did I wonder where he'd gotten it from. Possibly taken it off one of the soldiers in the camp while he and Mitsuhide were trying to get to Mai. But even as Hideyoshi turned to face what was behind us, Mitsuhide was there first, easily dispatching a soldier with a swift smooth strike of his sword.
And then we were joined by Kyubei who slashed at the enemy with a pair of short swords using a speed and grace that I envied.
Above us on the mountain, there was another explosion, this one louder than the first. The rest of their gunpowder, I supposed.
It wasn't long before the men attacking us decided they were fighting a losing battle, and scurried off into the forest.
"Boat is loaded." Kyubei cleaned off his swords with an easy flick that sent whatever blood he'd drawn into the earth.
"Good." Mitsuhide nodded at Hideyoshi, patted Mai's arm and … ignored me completely as he led the way to the cove. Hopefully the small boat could fit five people, because otherwise, I could almost bet that I would be the first person to be kicked out.
When we reached the safety… well, the relative safety of the cove, I hung back to watch the others. It was the first moment to catch our breath… for them to reunite.
Kyubei bowed solemnly to Hideyoshi, let himself be hug-mugged by Mai, who then turned to Mitsuhide and flung her arms around him too. He froze a moment and closed his eyes, lightly patting the back of her head, but I saw it. A quick flash of unguarded pain, before the kitsune's mask returned.
And though I had already suspected, in fact, known, seeing it played out on his face caused my stomach to momentarily clench up, followed by a cold tingling in my limbs.
He loves her.
If there had ever been any doubt of that, it would have been erased in that moment. I recalled the lock of hair that Mitsuhide had kept hidden in the box where he had secreted Aki's letter. Mai's hair.
Did Hideyoshi know? I glanced over at the man to check, but he wasn't even looking at them. He was leaning over, breathing hard. Yes he definitely was a worse condition than Mai. I dug through the supplies and found a waterskin for him.
He took a long drink. "Thank you.'' He handed it back to me. "I'm sorry, young man. I don't know your name."
Mai suddenly laughed. "I didn't get her name either."
At that Hideyoshi squinted at me, smiled and bowed. "Young lady, then." He turned to Mitsuhide. "You involved an innocent young girl in your schemes?" Even half out of breath, he sounded like a disappointed parent.
"This-" Mitsuhide plopped his hand on top of my head, and there was a warning in that pressure, "young, ahem, lady is Kaya." Oh joy we were keeping that damn name then? "And if you'll excuse us for a moment, we need to have a refresher course on following directions." Then he glanced up at the mountain. "Or will as soon as we cast off."
The royal we had returned with a vengeance, I see. How 'we' were going to have a private lesson on a boat the size of a studio apartment, I don't know... but once we all climbed aboard, Mai snuggled up with her man, and Kyubei expertly got to work manning the sail, so I supposed it constituted enough privacy for Mitsuhide's lecture.
He reached toward me, and I had the urge to flinch and duck, even though I knew he would never physically punish me. In fact, all he did was remove the shredded shoe from my foot. He held it up to the lantern light. "This… might have been you. Or Mai. Do you perhaps believe that because there were no casualties to your action that you are safe from the ramifications?"
In fact, I did not believe that at all. Not when the evidence of his low voiced anger was in front of my eyes. Still, I had to at least make an attempt to if not defend, at least to explain myself. "I had every intention of staying in the tree." It's not like this time I planned to ignore his orders, but the circumstances had called for improvisation.
"And, yet, you left the safety of the tree, left your post, putting my entire scheme at risk. You put Mai at risk." Clearly the latter was the most egregious error. I had risked Mai's life. Or at least, he believed I had.
She glanced up at the sound of her name. Though I am sure she and Hideyoshi were trying to ignore us, but out here nothing was private.
"She was already in danger because of the second guard. I thought I could just-" In my attempt to explain matters, I was getting things out of order. I tried again. "I thought-"
Mitsuhide put his finger on my lips. "Our agreement was for obedience, not thought." He returned my shoe, then rummaged through the supplies and pulled out a small ceramic jar. "Your foot, if you will."
It took me a moment to process the change in topic, then I realized that the jar contained salve. As requested, I extended my foot toward him, and he silently rubbed the ointment over my scrapes. Even through the cloak of his anger, there was still gentleness to his touch, harking back to the days after my concussion, when he had massaged healing oil on my forehead.
"Wait." Mai, who, I realized, had been silently observing our discussion, tried to interject her opinion. "I don't know exactly what's going on, but Kaya saved me after I- "
Boom!
Whatever else she was going to say would have to wait.
As our boat cleared the mouth of the cove, Motonari's ship lurked, ready to greet us.
While the cannonball didn't come close to hitting the boat, the resulting wave nearly swamped us anyway. As the small craft rocked and tilted, both Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi reached to steady Mai. It was like together the three were a single unit. Not exactly like some Sengoku era ménage. Just that they were so used to working together that they acted as one.
Given that I was not part of their trio, I followed Kyubei's lead and simply grabbed onto the side of the boat for balance.
Boom!
Another cannonball splashed down approximated in the same spot as the first one.
"Their aim is terrible." I braced myself for another wave.
"They're too far away to hit us." It was Kyubei who took the time to explain. "Motonari risks grounding his vessel if he comes any closer to shore."
"Then why? Oh. They're just not letting us leave." We were effectively at a stalemate. The Oda forces had Motonari's ship blocked, but neither one had managed to defeat the other. Our little boat was Motonari's insurance. Technically we were all still hostages.
Boom!
Once again, I grabbed hold of the side right before the wake from the cannonball tossed our little boat around. I glanced back at the island, wondering if we'd be better off taking our chances in the jungle against Motonari's men. Mitsuhide shook his head before I could even ask. "They know the area better than we do. I like our chances better in open water." He shuttered our lanterns. "In the dark."
Then the lights on Motonari's ship all winked out, and immediately after that the Oda vessel vanished into the darkness as well. We were all involved in a giant game of Marco Polo it seemed, for the remainder of the night. Clearly, no one was going anywhere until dawn.
As soon as we plunged into darkness, I heard Kyubei alter the direction of the sail, and felt the wind as our small boat moved further west. As my eyes adjusted to the darkness, I could see him take the sail down completely. Then a muffled plonk as Mitsuhide lowered our anchor into the water.
"First watch is mine." Mitsuhide's voice was so quiet I had to strain to hear him. The implable tone dared anyone to argue, although he apparently anticipated one from his friend, for he added, "Mai, if Hideyoshi doesn't sleep, you are to smother him."
There were no separate orders to myself, or Kyubei. Kyubei likely already knew what was expected of him, and as for me, Mitsuhide was probably wishing he'd never purchased me.
You've been a source of chaos since we met.
I should have just kept searching for Aki on my own. I would be no worse off than I am now. At least I wouldn't be stuck in a small boat in the middle of the ocean with Mitsuhide and his chivalric object of desire.
And her fiancée.
Who was his best friend.
Taking care not to make any noise, I found my pack, stuck it under my head for a pillow, and shut my eyes. Across the expanse of the water sounds carried incredibly well. From the soft sighs as Mai and Hideyoshi held onto each other in their reunion, Kyubei's faint whistling snores, and Mitsuhide's nearly imperceptible regulated breathing - yes these were all magnified.
But as sleep continued to escape me, I deepened my focus and listened underneath that. I could hear the creaks and groans of the Mouri and Oda ships further out to sea, the slap of waves against the side of the boats and occasional splashes of nocturnal fish as it tested the surface. The wind whispered to the leaves on the trees ashore, and a couple night birds called to each other.
And through it all, there was Mitsuhide's silent tense presence.
Alert.
Keeping watch.
He was still furious with me. I didn't have to see his face to know that. No matter that I had had good reason, I had deserted my post, and put those he loved at risk. We had finally gotten to the point where he trusted me, and I had just broken that.
As much as I still hated him…
Do you hate him? Really?
My regret illuminated a path, one that was full of memories: that teasing smirk on his face as he taught me how to pick locks, his glee and satisfaction when I broke him out of Motonari's cell... and at the core, the way he had washed my hair, held me when I was throwing up from vertigo, and played the flute when he believed me unconscious.
No. I no longer hated him. I wasn't sure exactly what I felt but, it wasn't hate.
Did I maybe even love him? I had always assumed that if I were to fall in love, there would be a knowing… a surety that I was in love. This? Tentatively, I probled my feelings the way I might have poked at a sore tooth with my tongue… carefully, to avoid hitting a nerve. Thoughts of the warmth and fun it was to debate him, the light in his eyes when he teased, the gentleness that he would probably deny he possessed…
But... what did it matter? Any respect or affection he had had for me before today was gone. The entirety of his feelings were for his friends. He was clearly in love with Mai, possibly even also with Hideyoshi.
Ow.
Yep. That was the sore-tooth nerve that just got poked. The pain I felt - it was worse than what I felt when I thought Aki had abandoned me at that Inn. As bad as when my mother killed herself. I felt cold all over and a tightness in my lungs.
So what would be the point of any further thoughts toward him? Even if he were not currently angry, he had no room in his life for me. I was not the sort to pine for what I could not have, not the sort to abandon my search for the rest of my family for some dusty corner of his heart. No, I would concentrate on the things I could control.
Good idea, Katsuko. Concentrate on getting out of this alive.
And, so, while I was mentally tossing and turning these feelings over in my mind, and physically dealing with the sharp corner of a box digging into my ribs, I became aware of a noise. The sound of metal gears, the groaning of ropes, and… a splash.
The sort of splash made when someone lowers a small boat into the water.
Creak.
The sound of wooden oars.
Splish. Creak.
The sound of a rowboat.
Splish. Creak.
It would be a risk to take a rowboat out in the dark, but if you knew this area well, and I presumed Motonari clearly did, you could navigate toward the island by sound.
Were they looking for us? Or heading to land to pick up reinforcements?
Splish. Creak.
Very carefully, I sat up. Mitsuhide had to have heard it too. I glanced over to where he had been before I closed my eyes, but couldn't sense his presence. After a moment of listening, I pinpointed his location next to our weapons. What was he planning? He couldn't shoot blindly at them - as soon as he lit the fuse on his gun they would know where we were.
Then I felt a light tap on my wrist as Mitsuhide handed me my bow and arrows. Did he want me to shoot instead? The rowboat wasn't yet within range. If it got close enough, I could probably hit something, but at the moment it would be a waste of effort. He leaned close, said into my ear, "Wait."
Then with a soft rustle of clothing, he stripped (I presume). Before I could react further, he turned and lowered himself into the water so softly that the boat barely dipped with his action, then ducked beneath the surface.
What the hell did he think he was doing?
He moved through the ocean silently, there was only the faintest ripple if you knew where to listen for it.
What if there were sharks?
Were there sharks?
The sky was ever so lightly purpling now. I squinted toward the direction of the rowboat, and in the dimness of pre-dawn, I could see the faint smudge skimming along the surface. I couldn't see Mitsuhide at all. Maybe he was the shark, gliding silently under the water.
If so, Motonari's men were going to need a bigger boat.
Next to me, Kyubei set up with - was that a crossbow? How had he gotten his hands on a crossbow? It was had to be Chinese made. They used crossbows far more commonly than we did.
Where can I get one?
"Where is Mitsuhide?" That was Hideyoshi, finally awake and talking over our shoulders.
I pointed to the water, then added a shrug to indicate that "in the ocean" was about as specific as I could get. From the approaching smudge of the rowboat, I saw the spark of a match cord being lit. Good, Now I had a target.
I Iet an arrow fly in the direction of the spark, hoping that given the slight breeze, the distance, and the rocking of our own vessel, I could manage to get close to hitting something. A sprong and a whistle indicated Kyubei had the same idea.
From the smudge, a thud and a muffled oath. No idea which of us had hit it. Maybe we both had.
From Hideyoshi a much less muffled oath. "The ocea- son of a bitch!"
He subsided as Mai responded in soothing tones. "Shh. Your injuries."
A spark flared.
"Down!" Kyubei ordered.
The spark was followed by the crack of the musket. I ducked, though it hadn't been necessary. Somewhere to the right of us the bullets slapped with water. And, then as the sun fully peered over the horizon, the rowboat containing four of Motonari's sailors came into focus.
What I could also see was Mitsuhide's arms, as he suddenly grasped the edge of the boat. For one horrible moment, I was terrified that he was going to haul himself on board and take on all of them at once, and I internally echoed Hideyoshi's cursing. Instead, with one tremendous pull, Mitsuhide yanked the rowboat over, dumping all of them into the water. The resulting splash echoed through the morning, as did, once again, Hideyoshi's swearing.
Quite a vocabulary he has in fact. Amongst the choice-er, as Mr. Spock would say 'colorful metaphors'? I heard the words, "self-sacrificial ass." Had I a spare moment, I might have enjoyed comparing notes with him.
As it was, I kept my eyes focused on ocean ahead of us. The sailors were splashing frantically around, trying to flip their boat back over. Any of their guns would be inoperable. As for their swords - well, they would have to decide whether or not to save them or risk sinking with them.
Ok. If that had been Mitsuhide's plan, it had worked out. I scanned the water to look for either the dark shape that would indicate where he was, or a quick moment when he surfaced to take a breath. With my attention on the water, and not on the ship further out to sea, I was startled by the:
Boom.
Which was immediately followed by a heavy splash as the cannonball landed in the ocean… right where I expected Mitsuhide to be. Holy-
"Fuck." (Hideyoshi again).
Mai simply let out a whimper as she pressed her hands in her mouth.