сo-authored with Nami Tsutsuji

'Shima Sakon is slain!'

No.

'Shima Sakon is slain by people of Kuroda Nagamasa[1]!'

No. No-no-no. It can't be true. Yoshitsune hadn't even had a chance to check if they'd managed it in the tent! If they hadn't, all was lost.

Yoshitsune ran as fast as he possibly could. He didn't care if anyone had been able to see how quickly — despite being 'gravely ill' — he'd bounced off his palanquin and stripped off his mask. He didn't care that now his uncovered face wasn't in any way consistent with the presumed state of 'Ōtani Yoshitsugu', who'd been protecting the ruling house, the Toyotomi, with his forces. He didn't care he could be recognized by people he'd chanced to meet in his previous lives. He didn't care; he just wanted to get to his best friend's right-hand man as soon as possible…

"Wait for me, Shima-dono[2], I beg you! Mitsunari… Mitsunari won't make it through if—"

Yoshitsune expected Shima-dono to be in any state possible — dead, dying, gravely injured… but not fighting.

"No way could they lie to me… Is he THAT stubborn?" Yoshitsune stopped in his tracks. Right from where he stood, Yoshitsune could see Shima-dono holding his sword and fighting, despite his injury, so much like Benkei who'd protected Yoshitsune's residence when it had been besieged by enemies, till his last breath… Yoshitsune had to remember consciously why he was here, and he squinted to see better. Useless; too many people. He waited for a moment or two, grunted and told Yoshimori, who'd been following him as a shadow all the time, 'Go to the main camp, now, and bring Mitsunari to Shima-dono.'

Yoshimori scowled.

'Can one take the commander out of the main camp before the battle's over?'

'If he refuses, drag him here by force!' Yoshitsune shouted and took off.

He unsheathed his sword, crashed into the back of the mess and cut several Kuroda people down with a series of precise strikes. At last, Yoshitsune approached Shima-dono. Unfortunately, his fears were confirmed.

There was no thread.

"Goodness, I've left them alone in the tent, but they didn't manage to confess even right before the battle," Yoshitsune thought indignantly while slaying the rest of the enemies. "Insufferable fools… Alright, Yoshimori must be on the way back already, so as soon as Mitsunari gets here I'll create the thread myself, even if both of them will be totally against it… just to transfer Shima-dono to his next life…"

But there was still no sign of Yoshimori returning. And when all the enemies were defeated and the smell of blood filled the autumn air, Shima-dono staggered wearily and plunged his sword into the earth.

'Thank you for helping me… young master…' Shima-dono pressed his palm to his chest that had been bleeding all this time. He couldn't stand anymore, so he kneeled. Shima-dono trembled, his face got as pale as a piece of paper… or cloth covering a dead man's face.

Yoshitsune found himself next to Shima-dono immediately.

'It's me; Ōtani Yoshitsugu,' he blurted out, falling onto his knees.

'Gyō—' Shima-dono gasped, started coughing and bleeding from the mouth. 'Gyōbu… dono[3]?..'

'Now, now,' Yoshitsune touched his cheek comfortingly. 'Mitsunari's in the main camp, isn't he?'

"I wish it was his stubbornness that slowed Mitsunari down and not that he's—"

'I convinced my lord to… escape.'

Yoshitsune froze. It seemed like it had been the first time he'd felt almost completely terrified, despite this life being his seventh. What could he do now, damn it?! Now, when remnants of life were pouring out of Shima-dono's body along with his blood? Pouring out forever, since no thread, no next life!

'Gyōbu-dono… please, save my lord,' Shima-dono said almost inaudibly, with these words seemingly being his dying ones.

Yoshitsune felt his hands shaking. Yes, he could do one thing… But he'd sworn not to create false threads anymore! It was enough to recall what such a thread had made him, and Yoshimori, do right after it had been born; Yoshitsune still felt so bad as if they hadn't been going crazy six lives ago but recently… However, now, there was no choice. Either that, or Mitsunari was going to lose his beloved retainer forever!..

Without second thought, Yoshitsune tossed his sword away, took Shima-dono's face with both hands and shouted desperately, 'Sakon, I love you, you know?! I love you more than my life!'

Bewilderment could be seen in Shima-dono's cloudy eyes. 'Gyōbu-dono…'

Yoshitsune took advantage of Shima-dono's confusion and his own boldness, wrapped his arms tightly around the neck of his best friend's retainer… and kissed him.

"Sakon, please, believe me — I'll give you back to Mitsunari as soon as you reincarnate. Just buy into it, now." So he did. Yoshitsune had felt he'd been kissed back before life flowed away from the body he'd been holding, along with Sakon's — or his own? — tears… Sakon went limp; Yoshitsune sobbed soundlessly and bit his lip to the point of pain. His heart was missing a piece now; it was like that every time Yoshimori would have died before him.

"Therefore, I did it."

The realization, however, didn't make it easier.

'My lord?' Yoshitsune heard the words behind his back and jerked his head up.

Yoshimori. He'd been told to bring Mitsunari here, hadn't he…

'Have you found him?' Yoshitsune asked coldly, hardly looking back, hopelessly trying to get rid of the bitter lump in his throat.

'He's approaching on his own initiative,' Yoshimori replied pointedly.

Yoshitsune sighed heavily, put Sakon slowly down on the ground and took his sword. Yoshimori nodded towards the one coming closer, Yoshitsune could recognize his helmet easily.

"Approaching on his own initiative, you say… Too late…"

Yoshitsune felt unvoluntary irritation inside his chest, restrained himself and said succinctly, 'We're leaving.'

Then, both of them ran towards bushes beside the road passing through the forest. Breathe in, breathe out. It seemed like all the blood went out of his wounded heart, so that legs didn't want to obey… Breathe in, breathe out. Yoshitsune stopped. His body was shaking with feelings that brought undesired tears to his eyes. He didn't remember when Yoshimori had taken him by his elbow, leading the way. So, when both of them reached their destination, Yoshimori demanded, 'Please explain yourself.'

'What do you want me to explain?' Yoshitsune couldn't take his eyes off Mitsunari who staggered towards Sakon and fell on his knees onto the very place where Yoshitsune had been kneeling just a minute ago. Breathe in, breathe out. No time to weep along with his best friend.

'The kiss, maybe?' asked Yoshimori pointedly, so that Yoshitsune couldn't help looking at him.

Thank goodness it was different with Yoshimori. It was easier; Yoshitsune could always join him in death immediately, so that he wouldn't feel pain of losing him… But now they had to reach their camp. Breathe in, breathe out. "Mitsunari, please, don't you cry so loudly; you're breaking my heart. We both lost him, you know." Breathe in, breathe out…

'I couldn't stand still with Sakon dying — and having no soul mate, could I?'

Yoshimori pursed his lips. Lowered his eyes. 'Excuse me, my lord. You're so kind.'

Yoshitsune just waved it off. Much more important — and much more annoying — was the fact that Mitsunari dared touch Sakon.

"My Sakon."

It felt both hot and painful inside his chest, and tears were stinging his eyes again. Yoshitsune didn't brush them. He didn't blink as Mitsunari closed Sakon's eyes, prayed, glanced around and leaned down towards his lips. When Mitsunari kissed Sakon, Yoshitsune squeezed his eyes shut; it was too unbearable to see.

"Himiko[4] warned me so many times…"

Yoshitsune made himself look at Mitsunari again. Only then, he noticed a bloody-scarlet half-liquid thread oozing out of Mitsunari's chest. At the far end of the thread, there was a name, 'Kuroda Nagamasa', as if written by one's hand. This thread meant that Mitsunari loved Sakon more than life itself. A similar thread was attached to Mitsunari — thanks to what Toyotomi heir's mother, Yodo-dono[5], felt towards him. A hatred thread condemning both to inevitable rebirth. Well, it was better to get rid of such threads before death but two souls connected by it could at least survive. Yoshitsune had run towards Sakon when he'd heard of him being slain because there'd been no reason to worry about Mitsunari's soul. Yoshitsune had rescued the one who'd really needed it. More accurately, whom Mitsunari really needed…

"Damn Ishida, why haven't you followed Sakon's advice?! He's died to let you escape!"

'We're getting back,' Yoshitsune ordered, a little bit more harshly than he wanted.

Full of doubt, Yoshimori looked at Ishida who was quietly crying on Sakon's chest.

'He can't see anything,' Yoshitsune replied, his voice trembling with irritation. Still in a squat, he moved out towards the nearest tree. 'How pathetic.'

Fortunately, Yoshimori responded to Yoshitsune's confusion — from grief to jealousy — with due understanding. Well, yes, Yoshitsune felt extremely jealous. Despite Sakon being dead. Especially because his true soul mate was nearby… so true he hadn't been able to confess. Yoshitsune felt so jealous that he desperately wanted to go out and thrust the rival away from dead Sakon with his own hands.

"Ishida is a damned fool that he lost Sakon… No, no, I shouldn't think so… But he is a fool anyway."

In the forest, surrounded with the smell of green leaves — mixed with the persistent scent of gunpowder drawn from the battlefield — Yoshitsune regained his senses a bit. He'd done everything he'd been able. He'd helped his friend. Two friends. There was nothing to feel guilty about…

On the way towards his camp, one of the shinobi[6] belonging to the 'Ōtani' appeared. He got down on his knee and handed over a letter, 'From Acha-sama[7].'

Yoshitsune unfolded the piece of paper.

"Should you choose to go back home — I shall always wait for you. Acha."

Yoshitsune sighed. Himiko, that is Acha-sama, wouldn't have thought of getting angry about his misbehaviour. There was nothing particularly harmful in his defection. He couldn't thwart her supreme plan anyway. It was the new — and already broken by his lover's death — thread that felt much more frustrating now. Grief was pressing on the chest so violently that Yoshitsune knew he wouldn't come back to Himiko alive.

'Burn it,' Yoshitsune ordered as he returned the letter to his shinobi. 'Yoshimori, you're going to be my kaishaku[8].'

'Yes, my lord,' both replied simultaneously.

The battle in the Ōtani camp was already over. The fire engulfing village houses here and there was waning; corpses and broken arrows were sinking in pools of blood. Yoshitsune hid his face behind the white mask again and leaned his hand on Yoshimori's arm, artfully pretending lame and blind person he'd been known for years. Benkei and people carrying the palanquin had been waiting at the other end of the camp.

So, it was time to say their goodbyes before death. They'd see each other next time as bodiless ghosts, preparing to reincarnate.

'I love you,' Yoshimori mouthed at the last moment.

With his eyes only, Yoshitsune smiled to him.

One death poem later, he'd be able to die with a light heart.

Since he was sure he'd meet Sakon during one of their new lives.

[1] Kuroda Nagamasa — daimyō (great lord); son of Kuroda Kanbei.

[2] ~dono — a honorific suffix meaning 'master'.

[3] Gyōbu — the name/title given to Ōtani Yoshitsugu to reflect his higher rank.

[4] Himiko — the legendary miko (Shinto priestess) and queen of Yamatai-koku (one the states located on the territory of contemporary Japan).

[5] Yodo-dono — the name that Chacha took after she became the lady of the Yodo Castle.

[6] Shinobi — mercenaries trained in martial arts and stealth.

[7] Acha — one of Tokugawa Ieyasu's concubines who accompanied him at Sekigahara; ~sama — a honorific suffix meaning 'lord' or 'lady'.

[8] Kaishaku — a person assisting a warrior who committs seppuku (ritual suicide).