A mistake had led him to the slave auctions of Sakai.

Three weeks ago, Mitsuhide had allowed Hideyoshi to investigate a misdirected shipment of Nanban weapons. Normally, he would have followed up on this matter himself, in fact, he might even have found the weapons before Hideyoshi realized they had gone astray…

Perhaps not that. The man was organized to the point of insanity.

As it happened, it had been Hideyoshi who had learned that a contract had been broken, Hideyoshi who had insisted upon travelling to Sakai to confront the Nanban merchant who had reneged on a promise of two hundred muskets for Nobunaga. And it had been Hideyoshi, who, confident that this was simply a communications error, who had decided to take his new fiancé – take Mai – with him to the port of Sakai.

"Mai hasn't seen that part of the country. After I sort this problem out, I can take her shopping for Chinese and Western fabrics, and then she and I will explore the city for a day." Left unsaid, but highly implied was that they'd not likely explore much more than their room at the inn.

Before Mitsuhide could make what would have been a perfectly reasonable offer to send Kyubei along as added protection, Hideyoshi had anticipated him and continued, "Were you about to suggest that I am unable to protect Mai from any threat?"

"Suggest? Dear me, no, I've seen you in battle." The additional protection was only because Mitsuhide was aware of how precious Mai was to Hideyoshi. To… everyone.

And so, despite his misgivings, Mitsuhide hadn't protested further when Hideyoshi and Mai set off. Hadn't, as he might otherwise have done, disguised himself as Kyubei and followed along at a discreet distance, to be on hand in the unlikely – but not impossible – event that something went wrong.

If it had been any other woman than Mai, he would have followed. While Hideyoshi could be highly suspicious of those in Nobunaga's orbit, he tended to be much more credulous when it came to his own safety. But… for the first time in his memory, Mitsuhide had allowed his feelings to overrule logic. There was a part of him that felt relieved when they left Azuchi. Relieved that for a few days, he wouldn't have to watch two of the people he cared most for in this world floating around in a bubble of their own private happiness. He wouldn't have to pretend not to be envious of that happiness.

When the moment that they were due to return came and went without sight of the couple, Mitsuhide knew immediately that something had gone wrong. Hideyoshi was punctual to a fault. He would have returned on time or sent word of a delay and an updated estimation of arrival.

After his initial investigation yielded no information beyond some vague rumors that Sakai's slave auctions were doing a steady business these days, Mitsuhide, with Nobunaga's approval (not that disapproval would have mattered in this situation), had traveled to Sakai, to find out for himself what had happened, to extract Hideyoshi and Mai from whatever predicament they'd found themselves in.

And thus, here he was, in the disguise that he and Kyubei shared, wandering past caged or fettered men, women, children even, hoping to see the familiar faces of his friends. These prisoners, he learned, were eventually bound for China, but he was informed that if he were interested in purchasing a concubine, an auction would soon take place in a room above.

The lowest of low, in his estimation were those willing to sell – or purchase – their fellow humans into slavery, but to establish his identity as someone to be trusted with information on future such auctions, he would at least have to spend some time in there, take part even, before allowing himself to be 'unfortunately' overbid.

Whenever he encountered people at their lowest, most depraved points, Mitsuhide never thought, 'this is the worst that humanity can sink.' On the contrary, venality often caused him to wonder, 'how much lower must I sink, what depths of depravity will I be required to explore?'

'Anything,' had invariably been his internal answer. For what he might be forced to do one day, would prevent others from debasing themselves on another. Far better for one person to lose his soul, than for thousands to lose theirs.

What the left hand must do, will protect the right hand and the head from becoming soiled by the stench of corruption.

He made his way to the room in question, intending to at the very least, memorize the faces of those willing to acquire a human. Though he had already determined that Hideyoshi and Mai were not aboard, they might have been at some point, and if he had to dig through the lives of every potential purchaser on this vessel, he would indeed do so.

As would be expected of his character, he slowly wandered past the young men and women, pretending a passing interest, putting on the mask of a cold degenerate who would welcome a concubine who would be unable to refuse any request, no matter how debased.

He hoped that mask would always stay a pretense.

CRACK

He'd automatically reached for his weapon, before he realized that the sharp retort had been the sound of a slap, not gunfire. Some unfortunate girl had run afoul of one of the more abusive customers. He noted the man as potentially worthy interrogating, perhaps even the bound woman with the reddening cheek might know some —

Akihira's daughter.

What was she doing here? Had she and her father, prompted by Mitsuhide's own message, travelled to Sakai to investigate matters on their own? If that was the case, where was Akihira? Or… had she taken it upon herself to do a solo reconnaissance and somehow fallen into the hands of the auctioneers?

The girl was reckless and overconfident. He would not be surprised if she had indeed done that.

He edged closer, hoping to determine the nature of things. Maybe Akihira was here as well, working to extract her from this situation. While pretending to look over his 'competition' for the auctions, Mitsuhide used the time to search for the older man. Akihira was, like himself, well practiced in disguise, but Mitsuhide believed he would know his friend if he saw him.

Even a cursory glance was enough to tell him Akihira was not here.

The girl too, was looking at the faces of the patrons, and he caught what he considered was a much belated twinge of worry cross her face, especially when the Westerner who had smacked her handed a purse to the auctioneer. "You won't get any more for her in the auction. This is my final offer."

He could not allow Akihira's daughter to become a slave of this man. Short of dropping his disguise and stealing her out of here, the only other option was to purchase her himself. In fact, buying her would support his current charade, making her appearance here a rather lucky coincidence.

Mitsuhide pulled out his own coin purse and tossed a substantial handful of coins at the auctioneer. The man winced at the sting of metal slapping his hands. "I believe this matches and exceeds the offered price." Akihira's daughter glanced up at the sound of his voice. From her expression, she was caught between relief and worry.

Worry, Brat. You should very much be worried now.

He turned his attention back to the would-be purchaser and calmly rested his hands on his sword. The man apparently decided it was not worth the fuss and slunk away. More likely he would return very soon with reinforcements. Best make an exit before that occurred.

He grabbed Akihira's daughter and tossed her over his shoulder. She was a tiny thing, weighing less than he'd expected, although she was certainly kicking and hitting at him with a fair amount of force. "What are you doing? Put me down!"

Not willing to waste time on arguing, he dumped her on the floor, knowing that would do just as much to establish his authority than anything overtly violent. "As you wish." She sat there, apparently stunned for a moment, glaring up at him. "Are you comfortable down there?"

After giving her a moment to think over the wisdom of her next action, he reached down to help her back up. She ignored his hand and stood up on her own. "After you."

If she didn't behave, she could get someone, possibly herself, killed. He yanked her close to his side and whispered in her ear. "I would prefer to get off this ship without having to kill anyone on the way, so if you could at least pretend to be cowed, it would make both our lives easier."

She eyed the doorway. "If you think there's going to be trouble, maybe you could untie me so that I can help defend us?"

Ah so she is armed at least. Allowing her to wave a sword, or more likely one of those toy throwing knives she liked to carry around, would do more harm than good, so he left her hands tied.

He'd untie when it was safe.

Or when she begged.

Whichever came last.

With one hand pressing into her lower back, he hurried her across the deck of the ship, letting go when three men approached them, weapons already bared. Ah, the thwarted customer. He'd been expecting hi-

"On your lef-" Akihira's daughter shouted an unnecessary warning, but before the words left her mouth, he'd struck the swords from their hands. A distant splash told him that at least one had gone flying overboard.

The customer's friends thought better of pursuing the battle, and once they abandoned him, he too decided it would be better for his health to leave the vicinity of the deck.

Before anyone else could elect to hinder them, they pressed on to the docks, where Kyubei was waiting as instructed. As Kyubei has proven, it is not that difficult to do as told. Feeling renewed annoyance at the girl whose rescue had hindered his investigation, he tossed her up on the horse and swung up after her. "Make certain no one follows us," he yelled over his shoulder at Kyubei.

Kyubei nodded obediently (!) and moved to the boat, prepared to lead anyone foolish enough to follow them on a fruitless chase across town. True, by tomorrow, most will have learned where he was, but that would be by design.

To be certain that they weren't followed, Mitsuhide took a circuitous route, eventually arriving at to the machiya he had acquired for the purposes of setting up a false identity as the merchant "Kyubei." He had already filled the storehouses with a variety of goods, to be trotted out depending upon the needs of future customers. Akihira's daughter darted a curious glance toward the storage area, but he was not inclined to give her a tour. "Upstairs." Without protest, she climbed up to the second floor, where he had arranged his private living space.

What was he going to do with her now?

The ideal solution would be to smuggle her out of Sakai altogether. However, having purchased a concubine, he would surely be expected to parade her around the city. To explain any future non-appearance, he would invent a story that she had escaped … that is, if he could ensure that she would leave town. Of course, now that she owed him a favor, he could ask her to do so.

Would she give him that promise? At the moment, she seemed the picture of submissiveness – gracefully perched on a cushion, her head downcast. The apparent meekness was an act, he knew, and he braced himself for an unpleasant discussion. "I imagine it would be too much to expect your gratitude."

As expected, she bristled at that, her whole posture stiffened with defiance. "For what? It took me almost a week to set that up."

He noted the lack of mention of Akihira in her explanation. She had been working alone. What would have happened to her if he hadn't recognized her this evening? Was she at all aware of how close she had come to becoming the toy of a degenerate? Perhaps he should give her an idea of what that fate would have been like. "Dear me, am I to understand that you were selling yourself in the slave market on purpose? That does put a different face on it. My bedroom is the last door on the left. You may disrobe first, although I would prefer that you wait for me to undress you."

Rather than apologizing or thanking him, she offered a rather feeble contradiction. "I wasn't selling myself."

That didn't deserve a response, so he settled back to await whatever wild story she was about to spin.

"Not exactly. I have a partner who was going to purchase me, thus giving me the opportunity to view the auctions from the inside, as well as create a back story for when he paraded me around the Nanban merchants." Apparently not even worried about Mitsuhide's authority (or, possibly willfully testing him), she set about working to free herself. She pulled her knife out of an ankle holster and tried to saw through the bindings.

That was not going to be successful, but he wondered how long it would take her to discover that for herself. "You cannot tell me that Akihira would permit his daughter to masquerade as a courtesan. What happened to your partner?"

"I … don't know." Her knife slipped and she balanced it between her knees instead. Then while he was still distracted by her doomed project, she stuck an imaginary dagger between his ribs. "Aki is missing. Like your friends Toyotomi Hideyoshi and his fiancée. Frack."

Mai…. Hideyoshi. Hearing their names without warning caused that twist of pain in his gut. Reminded of his primary purpose – and that her obstruction had caused him to abandon tonight's search, he pushed back his frustration onto her reckless little head. "You might have better luck if you held it in your teeth." What did she know about Mai and Hideyoshi? "Do you have a spy in Azuchi Castle?"

Once again, he received a flippant response. "Actually, we don't. You might have to repeat whatever lecture you normally give the castle servants and vassals about not gossiping when they wander around town."

That talk was repeated often, but likely the news of the disappearance was too big to be contained. Still, for her to ferret it out in such a short time was … somewhat impressive.

Her knife clunked to the floor and bounced out of reach. "It's possible they didn't notice me. I'm very good at being invisible in plain sight."

His encounters with her had suggested she was impossible to ignore, but in those circumstances, she hadn't been trying to pass unnoticed. When she was wandering through the town as Katsu, he imagined she could indeed fade into the background. If she wished. "An enviable skill." He got up and poured himself a cup of sake. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed her using her foot to pull the knife back, and then, as he had suggested, held it in her teeth to try to saw through the rope.

Watching her futile efforts might offer continued amusement, but they did have a few things to resolve, and it would be easier if he had her full attention. He pulled out his sword. "Hold out your hands."

Surprisingly, she trusted him enough to do so. He found it odd that someone so argumentative seemed to take him at his word and offer him a chance to injure her, without worrying that he would do so. But since his offer had been made in earnest, he cut the rope binding her.

As she massaged her wrists and wiggled her fingers, he noticed the rope had left abrasions on her skin. "Thank you. I will pay you back, of course."

"Of course." He hoped she meant the good turn in rescuing her. Though he had hoped that her gratitude could be used as currency to impel her to leave town, the news that Aki was also missing likely meant she would be in Sakai for the duration. He would possibly encounter her every time he turned around. At least though, he could try to convince her to limit her search to less dangerous avenues. "Do not attempt to sell yourself into slavery again. I might not be around to rescue you next time."

Her posture reset to that defiant stance. "My back-up plan involves keeping an eye on a certain warehouse. I doubt I will need rescue from that."

Which warehouse? Had she managed to discover something that he had not?

She was going to continuously be in his way from now until he found Mai and Hideyoshi unless he could come up with a method of keeping her occupied. "You've been a source of chaos since we met."

"You're the one who just messed up my plan. However, if I discover anything about Lord Hideyoshi or Lady Mai, I am willing to share information."

Forget keeping her busy. He'd chain her up, send her to Azuchi, and have Masamune – no, not Masamune, Ieyasu - keep her under guard. Out of his way. Out of his sight.

However, something about that plan was surprisingly –

Shouts from below disrupted that thought. He couldn't make out the words – it sounded like the Nanban tongue. Had her would-be purchaser found them so quickly and returned with more reinforcements? If so, it was a poorly thought-out ambush that would alert the victim to a pending attack.

He grabbed his sword and turned just as Akihira's daughter yelled, "Lord Mitsuhide – stop. That's my partner. Francisco."

She rushed past him and called down to the lower level. "Francisco, up here. Don't worry. I'm safe." She then added something in Portuguese. Presumably to calm the man down but given that Mitsuhide did not speak the language he could not be certain of it. She could have given this 'Francisco' the opposite instructions in Portuguese and Mitsuhide would never know.

She understands Portuguese.

A useful skill.

Too useful to ignore.

He kept his hand on his sword, just in case as a short, stocky Westerner rushed into the room, his words tumbling over one another. Mitsuhide caught the words "Katsu" and "Akihira," and none of the rest.

The daughter followed the gush of words without any problem and replied to the man in the same language. Not just familiar with the language. Fluent. Which turned her from an annoying impediment to a potential tool. Unfortunately, an aggravating tool.

The man turned to him and bowed so clumsily that Mitsuhide was afraid he would fall over. In truly terrible Japanese, he thanked Mitsuhide then held out his coin purse.

If this was her partner, no wonder she got into trouble.

He… was going to have to work with her, not just for her language ability, but … out of friendship to Akihira, he would keep the girl safe. She didn't need to know the latter – it would only inspire a more overt rebellion. "You are fluent in Portuguese?"

She seemed startled enough by the question to answer honestly. "Yes. Speaking anyway. Reading… I'm still working on that."

"That being the case, our previous agreement is nullified." He signaled for the other man to put away the money. I am most certainly going to regret this. "I believe I will keep you after all." If the situation weren't already so dire, he would have laughed at the expression on her face. "I purchased you and have no intention of selling you back."

Her look of sheer disbelief was replaced with disgust. "Strange. You don't look like you're certifiably insane."

Must she turn every conversational exchange into a duel?

While the daughter and the Nanban continued their conversation in Portuguese, Mitsuhide poured himself another cup of sake, which, he imagined he would need to restock if he was going to be living with her. "In truth, there is something about you that causes me to doubt my sanity – but my reason for being at tonight's auction was to establish an identity as a merchant who has a lenient attitude toward slavery of his own countrymen."

She nodded – the girl was quick witted, at least there was that. If she could only learn restraint, she would be a better agent for it.

"Having a-" He paused, not wanting to use the word slave, even in the context of a ruse, "concubine adds to the verisimilitude of this charade. Having a subordinate fluent in Portuguese, who can eavesdrop on the Nanban, puts me at an advantage."

Again, the three-way conversation continued, with the daughter translating for the other man, and then relaying his approval (not that Mitsuhide needed it) of the plan.

With a sigh, which indicated she reluctantly agreed (not that Mitsuhide needed that either), she added, "I really don't like the idea of being your partner."

Partner? He slapped down that line of thinking immediately. If this was going to work, if he was going to find Mai and Hideyoshi and Akihira, and keep her safe, then she needed to understand from the start that he was insisting upon absolute obedience. "Heavens, wherever did you get the idea that I was offering you a partnership? You will be working for me, and you will do exactly as I say."

Ah, there was that spark of rebellion – in fact it was a near conflagration of rebellion – that turned her entire countenance from conventionally attractive to strikingly pretty. As much as he chided himself for noticing, there was something in him that wanted to keep that look focused on him. But in this… he could not afford to be distracted. "Don't look so mutinous, Brat. Am I wrong in thinking that this was exactly the scheme you were planning with this man-" he nodded toward Francisco, "-as your conspirator?"

She gave a tight little nod to acknowledge his point.

"And would you agree that I would be far more competent in the role than a man who was not able to appear at the auction in time to rescue you from danger?" Mitsuhide smiled at her idiot partner. She not only needed someone capable at her side; she needed someone strong enough to exert authority over her recklessness. This ridiculous Westerner was not that man.

Authority… but with a humorous touch, perhaps. Disarm her with a bit of teasing. "I rather think your rejection of me, while somewhat personally hurtful," he dramatically placed his hand over his heart, and directed an over-the-top lovelorn glance at her, "lies in the fact that unlike your language-deficient friend, I would exert control over your somewhat impetuous behavior."

"My rejection, as you put it, lies in the fact that I don't want to work for you. I don't want to work with you. I don't want to spend any time in the same room with you." Her fingers reached out for the handle of her knife.

"Struck a nerve, did I? You do like being in control." The teasing hadn't disarmed her, but that spark in her eyes told him that deep down, she might be enjoying verbally sparring with him too. "Alas, do not, for one moment, imagine that I will permit you to leave. If I have to parade you around the city in chains, I will do so. In fact…" he smiled at her, pretending that he was indeed considering this option. "It would add an air of authenticity to the charade."

"Never mind. I can find Aki without you." She grabbed her knife and jumped to her feet.

"You couldn't even cut your way out of the rope with a knife, that, I will add, I am aware that you're clutching it in anticipation of fighting your way out of here, and I would not recommend that course of action." He turned to her partner, and carefully enunciated in slow Japanese. "Katsu and I are in agreement. You may go." He added to this statement a look designed to send the man hurrying out of the room.

It did just that. His footsteps were thundering down the stairs before the girl could react to his exit.

With a disgusted look on her face, the girl subsided back to the floor. "I would have managed the rope, eventually."

All her previous efforts had done was cut into her arm. He took her wrist in his hand and ran his fingers along the broken and chafed skin. Unfortunately, he had none of Ieyasu's medicinal salve to offer her – he would have to send Kyubei out to purchase something from an herbalist. "Hrm. I do believe you'd look quite fetching in chains," he said, half just to see how she would react.

"Oh, let's not." The protest was weak – but he could tell that her mind was already determining what her next gambit would be.

Keeping her off balance with a mixture of teasing and orders was clearly the way to proceed.

"Your protest lacks conviction. Perhaps the prospect of wearing chains excites you. Or… you have the ability to pick locks." He could feel the flutter of her heartbeat, coursing rapidly through the vein at her wrist. A quick glance at her throat – yes, there was an intake of breath too. "Oh my, your pulse did race at that. Practice a bit of thievery on occasion, do we?"

This one was going to cause him so much trouble.

The only silver lining was that she would also be amusing to tease.

In fact, he was rather looking forward to it.