Twelve Lies I Told Shingen Takeda

Chapter 9: Girl Talk

Well, that had ruined any hope I had of getting any quality sleep. While I managed to doze off once, my sleep was fitful, and filled with dreams that began with a promise of continuing what Shingen and I had started at the lake, then slid into the inevitable nightmare of being trapped in a small dark space. Better to get up and deliver Shingen's messages, rather than spend another hour staring at the window, waiting for dawn.

The sun was rising when I got into the town, and most shops were not yet open. Still there were plenty of people out and about, travelers wanting to get an early start, shop keepers setting up their stalls for the day, and ...

Wait...was that...?

Had that been Kyubei who disappeared between buildings? What was Mitsuhide's courier doing here? The Oda and the Uesugi-Takeda forces were in an uneasy peace, brokered by both sides' mutual affection for Mai. If Kyubei was here on Mitsuhide's reconnaissance, I wanted to know why. Maybe it had something to do with the attack a couple weeks ago?

Abruptly changing directions, I hurried to catch up, but when I got to the alley, the only person there was the owner of the adjacent restaurant, who was tossing scraps of fish to a muddle of homeless cats. "Good morning, Katsu," he said to me. "You're out and about early."

Making friends with the local shopkeepers had paid off. "Good morning, Susumu. My lord had some urgent messages to go out." I leaned over to scritch the top of the head of a calico as she gnawed on a fish skin. "By chance did you see anyone run through here a moment ago?"

Susumu shook his head. "I stepped outside right before you got here." He paused in thought. "I did hear something up above though."

"Thank you." I bowed to him, then climbed up to the roof. There were some scuff marks on the roof – I followed them across the roof where they dead ended. From here, whoever had made the marks could have either jumped to the next roof or climbed back into the street. I picked rooftop as my best guess, but the trail was already cold. I wasn't even certain that it had been Kyubei; it had been a blink or you'll miss it sighting, so maybe I had imagined him? Still – Kyubei would be a very random figure for my imagination to produce. Sure, I occasionally thought I saw Iekane lurking around – but that was understandable, since he still haunted my nightmares. Kyubei hadn't played nearly that large of a role in my life.

I resolved to pay more attention, to be ready to follow, in case I saw him again.

***

After returning to the castle, I headed for Shingen's quarters with the incoming messages. I knocked softly on the door, but there was neither a "come in" nor a "go away" response. I slid the door open wide enough to check if he was there (alone or otherwise).

Of course, he was still asleep, peacefully – after all the disquiet he'd caused me (both as myself and as Katsu) this past night – and (!) under the fabric he had taken from me. For one very brief moment, I was tempted to steal it back, but dismissed that immediately as a very bad idea. Instead, I simply dropped his messages off on his desk, then tiptoed away, pausing at the doorway to look back. He didn't even snore or drool. Unfair.

Before heading out to the archery grounds, I detoured into the room I had meant to investigate the previous night. Yes, it was a storage room, full of fabric that I presumed Mai had been holding for some project or other. Maybe she'd be willing to inventory it and let me know if anything was missing. Since I was due to meet her soo – whoops, now, and would be late if I didn't pick up the pace- I stuck that request in the front of my mind.

Inspired by my archery exhibition, Mai was determined to master the skill as well. For a complete beginner, she wasn't terrible, by which I mean that her arrows at least went in the same general direction as the target. But she was impatient with her progress. "Why can't I do this?"