Once upon a time, I had been more at home running across rooftops and climbing trees. I would be that person again… if I could conquer the concussion associated vertigo… if I could push back my fear… if…

If…

If I could sneak out of the brig as easily as I snuck in.

It was a task made difficult because while the sailors paid less attention to people passing by above deck, they were more alert to preventing a Mitsuhide jailbreak. From my angle, I would not be able to see their location until they were almost at the doorway.

But… I could hear them. Just as once Aki told me how to listen for a change in the wind, I could listen for footsteps, and count the intervals between their passing. I pressed myself against the wall, watching the sailors patrol past, memorizing individual footfalls, waiting an extra rotation to confirm their timing. And when I made my move, the moonlight and light cloud cover were on my side, allowing me to melt into the shadows, unseen by the sky. After a painstaking creep, I oozed back onto the upper deck, and by the time the next sailor patrolled by, I was once again a boring little moon gazing semi-prisoner. Motonari even nodded at me briefly as he walked past.

Not wanting to obviously deviate from my established routine too much, I retreated to my quarters to await the darkest hours of the night. Once in my room, I temporarily hid Mitsuhide's sash in my bedsheets, while I contemplated another minor hiccup.

Kaya's clothing would not allow me enough freedom of movement to climb up to the top of the sails. And while stealing clothes from a random sailor was an intriguing idea, it would not be a workable plan. Even if I could manage to take someone's clothing without getting caught, the uniform might still be missed, and at that point, I would be the natural suspect (and tossed into the brig with Mitsuhide). Not to mention, I was highly unlikely to find something that wouldn't be too big. Most of the sailors on board were much taller and broader than I.

That left me with the task of altering Kaya's kimono. It would leave me wearing not much more than a tattered rag and if this captivity thing dragged on much longer there would be a danger of my clothes disintegrating off my body. Of course, I didn't much like this kimono anyway, and having already suffered one kimono related concussion, I was in no hurry to risk another.

Ok, then, semi-nudity it is.

Continuing the rip that had started the day Motonari had poked a hole in it with his sword, I yanked on the material until the tear spread halfway up the garment. I repeated the process with the inner kimono, using my teeth to get the process started. I put my clothes back on, knotting the jagged ends so that I could stride as freely as I could if I were wearing my male garb. It was indecent to say the very least, and anyone looking at me would potentially see a second moonrise tonight. Of course, if that happened, my butt would be the least of my worries.

Then I wrapped Mitsuhide's sash around my waist. The light colored kimono would blend into the color of the sails and the sash would like melt into the night sky. Hopefully anyone looking up wouldn't notice me… or my butt.

As long as you start right now and stop wasting time.

If I was still wandering around when the sun rose, none of this would matter.

In the past seven years, I had climbed hundreds of trees, traversed rooftops in dozens of cities, even scaled countless city walls. Hell, even in modern Japan, I had spent most of my time freerunning across Nagano's rooftops and snowboarding in the mountains. This, the mast, the sails, were nothing. A tiny head injury was not going to get me down.

Mitsuhide was counting on me.

He believes in me.

As the moon moved beyond the horizon, I took final centering breath and slipped out of the room.

The ship was even quieter than it had been under moonlight. Two sailors were on deck passing away the time playing a game of ban sugoroku by the amber glow of a lantern. Occasionally they would pause, and look out to sea, keeping alert for an attack that they would likely hear long before an enemy ship was in view. Sound carries a long distance across open waters.

Barefoot, I flitted through the shadows, then easily leaped onto the rigging.

I can do this.

The air, the heights had always been my escape. If a concussion induced bout of vertigo defeated me, at least I would die doing what I had always loved.

There you go. Think positive.

And if I splatted doing this, I could return as a vengeful spirit and haunt Mitsuhide to the rest of his days. Picturing my ghostly revenges on Mitsuhide propelled me up, further into the rigging. I would be a corporeal ghost, I decided, and I would short sheet his futon. My ghost self would also ensure that his sake was always at least fifty percent water. He claimed not to be able to taste food. Did that extend to wine? If Mitsuhide had a pet, I would ensure it peed on his sandals daily.

With the hemp ropes rough on my feet and hands, I kept going. It was a familiar roughness… akin to the feeling of bark against my skin. It was the feeling of freedom.

No need to look down. I'm going up. From this vantage, I could see a smudge of land off in the distance. It was still too dark to tell what was on it, but there was a very faint glow of campfire on the high ground. Was that where we were headed?

Forcing myself to continue, I hurried along, not pausing to take a breath in the crow's nest. Then to where the rocking of the ship and the brisk wind had me tighten my grip. But I would not fall. I can do this! I've been a daredevil all my life, this is nothing.

Almost there.

With one more deep breath, I gathered my energy and reached the top of the highest sail, where above it, a plain cream colored windsock flapped in the breeze. Motonari flew no clan banner or any other identification, not even a false Nanban flag, and Japanese pirates of course were not familiar with the Jolly Roger. This windsock was the equivalent of driving around with mud covering your license plate.

I settled down on the crossbar of the topsail, while I unwrapped Mitsuhide's sash from around my waist. There wasn't any simple way to attach it to the mast, so I looped it under the windsock and tied the best knot I could. At the next puff of air, the sash caught a breeze and spiralled out, like a ribbon in a rhythmic gymnast's floor routine. From a distance, anyone looking for it would likely see it, but from below it shouldn't be visible with the larger and wider sails blocking the view.

Ok. Finished. Now to climb dow-

But one glance under my feet, and the vertigo threatened to take hold again. How long does it take to recover from a concussion anyway? Shit. Motonari likely wouldn't notice the flag. He sure as hell would notice a half-naked girl clinging to the topsail. I had climbed up. I would have to climb down again.

With the horizon turning a lavender at the edges, I needed to do it fast and quietly... and blindly, because it had been the sight of what was below me that reactivated the nausea. I had climbed up without any physical difficulty, the ropes were within my physical reach without any excessive stretching. I could do it by feel - if I had to. And… I had to.

Ok, I guess we're doing this.

With my eyes tightly shut, I lowered one foot, feeling around until my toe touched the rope. Once one foot was safely down, I lowered the corresponding hand, keeping my stomach flush against the vertical rope. The first few steps were painfully slow, but once I got a rhythm going – foot-hand-foot-hand - it became easier to pull myself into the meditative zen of repetition, enjoy the cool wind in my face, and breathe in and out of the climb.

When I estimated I was three meters from the deck, I paused to double check my progress. Whoa! There was a sailor almost directly under me. He was just standing there, smoking a cigar, and the acrid smell soon reached my nostrils. I froze (as you do).

Move, dammit.

He didn't move, and I was moments away from becoming a sunrise shadow over his head. That… he would certainly notice.

Move. Move. Move! I am not the droid you are looking for!

My mind control game was useless. It was only when another sailor called out to him, telling him that he was needed to help cook the morning meal, that he finally moved.

As soon as he was gone, I finished my descent, dropped to the deck, and hurried back toward-

"Where do ye think yer going?" Arms crossed, Motonari barred my path. "And where…. where are you coming from?"

"I felt sick and came up for air." Just then, my body made my lie a truth, as the adrenalin, cigar smoke, and vertigo caught up to me. I slapped my hand over my mouth, and rushed to the side of the deck, just in time to empty my stomach overboard.

Motonari eyed me with disgust. "Only you would be so useless that you get sick at calm seas." He scowled. "Ye wouldn't be carrying the kitsune's brat, would you?"

It took a moment for his meaning any to sink in. "Oh, um, no. Um. The timing is, um, wrong." Couldn't claim it was impossible without revealing that the entire concubine story had been an act. "Um. Must have been something I ate."

He stared at me for a long moment, while I tried to look equally sick but not pregnant before he finally said, "I'll have Hiroyoshi find out some ginger root for ye to chew on. Go back to yer quarters."

"Thank you." It sprang naturally from my mouth. Motonari was, well, if you ignored the whole kidnapping of Mai and Hideyoshi and throwing Mitsuhide into the brig (which, technically he might have deserved for threatening Hiko), there was a tiny nugget of kindness in him. Buried deeply under that whole "burn the world" crazy.

Actually he would be easier to deal with if he were pure evil, because I felt slightly guilty about the scam we were running. Not enough to change course or anything. But I was wondering what made him tick, and how to get that clock ticking for the right side. If I could figure out what side that was. "Are ye just going to stand there or are you going back to-"

Boom!

Motonari was interrupted by a roar and a splash. A cannon ball crashed into the ocean right next to the ship, sending up waves that rocked us from side to side. I grabbed onto the closest mast for balance, and hoped that I would not be sick again.

From there several things happened simultaneously, as the sailors sprang into action, running to the bank of cannons while Motonari, after one long hard glance at the approaching vessel, a vessel that was flying a banner of the Oda, pushed past me, shouting orders at a rapid pace.

Knowing that my best course was to get the hell out of everyone's way, I edged backwards, and slammed right into a familiar body. "I hope that you know how to swim." Mitsuhide's voice was low in my ear, as he took my hand and pulled me out out of the way of a rope that was rapidly uncoiling.

"Of course I can swi-" was as far as I got before Mitsuhide picked me up in his arms, and jumped off the side of the ship.

I closed my mouth before we splashed into the sea, but I still got a nose full of saltwater.

It took a moment of sputtering as I tried to clear my vision and keep my head above the waves, before Mitsuhide captured my attention again.

He shouted something I could not hear over the waves and the roar of the cannons. Through sign language he let me know where he wanted us to go - toward the smudge of land. Holy hell, that was at least a kilometer away. I could swim, but with my clothes weighing me down, it was going to be exhausting.

With a glare at Mitsuhide and his once again let's-not-tell-Katsu-the-plan mindset, I took a moment to discard the top layer of my kimono. If the choice is between half naked and fully drowned, I'm going to be the living peep show, thank you very much.

Ok so much better.

Once again I started for that smudge of land, which... did not look to be getting any closer. Waves from the battling ships were making this a rougher swim than I'd anticipated, and the salt water stung my eyes.

Then Mitsuhide tapped me on the shoulder. I couldn't ask 'what' without getting another shot of seawater, so I swam back to his side.

"Kyubei is waiting for us." He pointed to the left, where, in my intent to make it to the smudge of land, I had not noticed the single mast fishing boat floating a few meters away. I looked from the boat to Mitsuhide. He gave me that smirk, a look that was in no way altered by the fact that he was treading water in the middle of the East China Sea. "Dear me, do not tell me you believed I was going to make you swim all the way to shore."

Could he at least have mentioned that before I jettisoned my clothes to the bottom of the sea?

The eighth thing I hate about Mitsuhide – the smirk.

Without a word, I altered my course and headed toward Kyubei's boat. Annoyance and renewed energy propelled me forward, and a few moments later, I hauled myself over the side of the little sail boat.

"Good morning Katsu," Kyubei said as stoically as if he were greeting me at the gates of a castle, without making an obvious show of looking at my probably transparent inner kimono. He peeled off his haori and wordlessly handed it to me.

"Thank you," I wrapped it around myself as best as I could. Mitsuhide had already found a blanket and was wiping his face and neck and … ok his clothes were clinging to him. I looked away before he could catch me staring. I mean, it wasn't soaking wet Mr. Darcy striding out of a lake moment, but –

It is totally a soaking wet Mr. Darcy striding out a lake moment.

"Everything you requested is under the tarp – as you suggested, Mitsunari was extremely efficient in gathering the supplies." Kyubei and Mitsuhide had already flipped into debrief and tactics, while I was still trying to mentally catch up from my change in status from semi-captive, to swimmer, to whatever was coming next. I risked a peek under the tarp to see if it held any clues to that.

Weapons and provisions mostly. It looked like what generally would be travelling with an army's rear guard. The tarp even turned out to be a tent. Plus there were medical supplies and a familiar pack …"My things?" Kyubei had even brought along my bow and arrows, sword, and Katsu's clothing.

"Indeed." Mitsuhide spoke over my shoulder. "You did once note that in purchasing you, I had access to two spies for the price of one. Welcome aboard… Katsu."

"Thank God. I will be happy to say goodbye to Kaya." Fancy kimonos and elaborate hairdos just weren't me. True, 'Katsu' was as much of a construct as Kaya, but the girl dressed as a boy was much closer to my personality than the concubine.

"Ah. Pity. I will miss her." Mitsuhide drew his finger along the edge of my ear, and I felt a zing all the way to my stomach. What did he mean by that? Did he prefer the ultra-feminine doll he had built for the purpose of investigating the Shojumaru and the merchants of Sakai? Or simply that our time in Sakai had been, as intense as the investigation could be at times, a bit of a reprise from a life that went from battle to battle? And if what was happening further out to sea was to be believed, another battle had already begun.

It was no use asking for clarification. No time for that either. I shrugged of the inner musings, and turned my face to the shore. The early morning sun had already started drying my hair, sealing it to my salt brined skin. As best I could, I finger combed it, braided it out of the way, and tied it up the end with a length of leather I kept in my pack for that very purpose.

Mitsuhide's long dark wig had likely joined my clothing on the ocean floor, and the sea air had fluffed his silver locks around his face.

Locks! Katsuko, stop describing him in the purple prose of a pulp novel.

He and Kyubei conferred about the best place to land the boat, and knowing by now that he would tell me nothing until he was ready, I sat back and munched on a pear I'd rooted out of the supplies.

By midday, we'd dragged the little boat into a hidden cove, one too small to be seen from a distance, and set up a small camp amidst the trees. I had happily changed into warm, dry clothing and was double checking the condition of my weapons. Mitsuhide, after noting it wasn't protocol and I was intelligent enough to have figured most of it out, allowed Kyubei to quick debriefly on why he'd arranged for our capture.

"Thanks to your information, we were aware that Shojumaru was Motonari, but hadn't been able to establish where he had taken Mai and Hideyoshi or how to get to them. None of the ships in Sakai Harbor were Mouri atakebune so he had to have borrowed, or rented one of the Nanban, vessels." Kyubei dug a small pit and got a cook fire started. "Lord Mitsuhide decided the best way to identify which ship would be to allow himself, er, yourselves, to be captured."

"During the week that you were recovering, a couple of Oda's vessels sailed to just outside Sakai, but we wanted Motonari to leave Sakai on our timeline not his." Mitsuhide, had also changed clothes and was now wearing the full armor he had worn the day I had first met him. "Now, while our ships keep him busy, we can extract Mai and Hideyoshi." He looked toward the cliffs above us. "That appears to be a logical place to build a fortification."

I glanced in that direction, and suddenly remembered. "There was campfire up there last night. I could see it from the topsail."

Kyubei sent a started look in my direction. "You? You climbed up there?"

Finally it was Kyubei who was the recipient of one of Mitsuhide's teasing looks. "My vassal is not fond of heights." Then, without another word, he stood up, turned and started walking toward the cliffs.

"Wait! You're not planning to do this alone are you?" After all this, I did not want to be left out at the last minute. Not when I knew I could be helpful.

"So bloodthirsty again?" He turned back and scrubbed his hand over my head. Great, the puppy treatment again. "Relax Brat, I'm only going to do some reconnaissance."

"And if they speak Portuguese? Would it not be helpful to have someone along who speaks the language?" Without waiting for his response, I stood up too, determined not to be left behind this time.

In this, at least, I refused to be his back-up plan.