White Fox

Rebellions in the Castle City

Aiko let out a low whistle as they entered the city. Smoke arose from the streets, and they made haste as they rode together, Aiko's horse just behind Mitsuhide's steed.

They both stopped around a gathering of people, Hideyoshi looking out over the crowd. To the untrained eye, he seemed to be at home, but Aiko couldn't believe he wasn't the least bit anxious about what was happening. She wouldn't believe it.

"Well, what have we here?" asked Mitsuhide, surveying the crowd. His horse neighed and swished her tail.

"Chaos," said Hideyoshi. "You two sure took your own sweet time."

"We had permission," said Aiko, sticking her tongue out at Hideyoshi. She winced as the sound of a small explosion reached her ears. Her horse whinnied and she set to calming her down.

"What's all this about?" asked Hideyoshi, addressing the crowd.

A young man stepped forward. "You trampled over our fields in the last battle and then complain when the soldiers don't have enough food. What do you want us to do!?"

They had a point.

Mitsuhide's expression shifted for a fraction of a second, before his usual smile decorated his face. Aiko rather admired that. He tilted his head. "It didn't occur to you to tell us before you set the place on fire?"

The young man looked outraged as he met Mitsuhide's eyes. "Your samurai don't listen! And we aren't allowed to have an audience with Lord Nobunaga whenever we wish."

Aiko nodded. It's not like they were living in a democracy. Mitsuhide looked around, and Aiko followed his gaze. Nobunaga walked in from an alley. "I'm listening now."

The effect was instantaneous. Everyone in the vicinity bowed, and Aiko wondered if she should follow suit, but abstained as Mitsuhide gave her a small shake of the head. She wondered why, before it struck her—she had authority in the castle, and this was the best way to let the townspeople know. Nodding to him, she held her head high.

Nobunaga looked at the young man. "Come to the castle. I believe we have much to talk about."

Aiko smiled as the man paled. "Yes, my lord."

The rebellion dispersed quietly, and the man followed Nobunaga down the road. Hideyoshi walked over to Mitsuhide, whose eyes were silently trained on the city. "What were you two doing?"

"Investigating the rebellions. We didn't get much in that regard, but we do know who was behind the Honno-ji incident," said Aiko.

"And who was that?"

"Kennyo," interjected Mitsuhide.

Hideyoshi began talking about the rebellions in other parts of the territory, Kennyo and Kasugayama, and Aiko casually sidled off her horse, feeling her concentration wavering. Hideyoshi didn't notice her leave, but Mitsuhide gave her a side glance, a small smile tugging his lips as she walked away.

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Aiko's head was throbbing by the time she reached her room, exhaustion weighing down her bones. Wondering what was ailing her, she headed down to meet Ieyasu, but stopped in her tracks when she heard a muffled scream. It seemed to come from underground.

Following the sound outside the castle walls, she listened as it broke down into sobs and quiet gasps, before starting up again, almost as if they were... She put the thought out of her head, not liking where it was going.

Coming across a door that lead underground, she walked down carefully, making sure not to tumble and slip in the shadows. It seemed to be a dungeon.

"Lady Aiko, you shouldn't be here!" called a guard as she reached the bottom.

She looked at him, and then past him. A man was lying on the floor, pure agony on his face, drops of blood spattered around him. He looked familiar, and Aiko placed the memory—he was the one who had tried to assassinate Mitsuhide in the inn. His fingers were bent in awkward shapes and she turned away from them, not wanting to look too closely. Mitsuhide stood beside him, lips curled into a thin smile, but his eyes didn't hold their usual shine. It wasn't hard to guess what was going on.

Mitsuhide's eyes met Aiko's, and his eyes widened as his smile vanished. She shook her head apologetically. "I'm sorry. I heard someone screaming and came to see if someone needed help..." she trailed off.

The guard gave her a hard look. "This place is soundproofed."

"Not soundproofed enough, I'm afraid."

"Little mouse—"

She shook her head. "I'll leave you to it." She looked at the man on the floor once more. His eyes were closed and he was breathing heavily, and she felt sick to the stomach. "I'm heading up."

She ran up the stairs faster than she had gone down them. Abandoning her plan of meeting Ieyasu, she headed back to her room and sat on her futon. This was the 16th century. This was how they extracted information from their enemies, no matter how inhumane it might seem. But this went against her morals. The more she found herself giving excuses for what Mitsuhide was doing, the more confused she became. She couldn't blame him. She didn't want to blame him.

Aiko thought back to the scenario. Mitsuhide might seem sadistic, but his eyes weren't, and that was enough. "How can they question his loyalty after that?"

She pulled her futon against the wall and sat there, leaning against the wall as she hugged the pillow to her chest. She closed her eyes as exhaustion hit her in waves. She was half-asleep when muffled footsteps entered her room.

She felt a cool hand on her forehead. "A fever."

She opened her eyes. "Mitsuhide."

"I came to check if you were bawling your eyes out, but I wasn't expecting this."

She hummed slightly to acknowledge his words, and he pushed her down on the futon. She ran a hand through his hair as he froze. "You need this today," she muttered. "As much as I hate what you did, I can't even blame you. I keep making excuses for it and I hate it."

She didn't hear what Mitsuhide said, and she missed the tender smile on his face as he listened to her.

She woke up much later, feeling something cool on her forehead.

"You're awake."

Aiko looked beside her, where Mitsuhide and a worried Hideyoshi sat. Hideyoshi pulled the cloth off her head as she sat up. Mitsuhide pulled her to him, setting her to sit against his thigh as he held her around the shoulders. She leaned against his chest as he brought something to her lips. "Drink."

She did, and then almost spit out whatever horrible concoction was in it. Aiko pushed it away, and he held it out of reach so she couldn't spill it.

"That tastes terrible."

"Ieyasu made that medicine," said Hideyoshi. "You should probably drink it."

"Can I choose?"

"No," said Mitsuhide with a thin smile. He brought the drink to her again, and with a weary look at him, she grabbed his hand and drank it in one go. "Good girl."

"Ugh."

He set Aiko back on the futon, and Aiko put an arm over her eyes, drifting off as Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi were talking.

"You're fond of her," said Hideyoshi, after Aiko was fast asleep. She muttered indecipherable words as she tossed and turned. Mitsuhide placed a hand on her hair, and she snuggled closer to it, as if attracted to the warmth.

"Is that how it seems?" asked Mitsuhide, deflecting the statement.

Hideyoshi walked out of the room in silence.

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