Twelve Lies I Told Shingen Takeda

Chapter Seventeen: Shingen's POV - The Sand Trap

"Hold on, let me get the candle."

Did she actually think they were in danger of burning the place to the grou-

In the moment after the room went completely dark, instead of the anticipated return of her feminine warmth, there was the ominous sound of the door sliding open, then shut, followed by swift footsteps away...

She'd done it again.

It was only after the scramble to relight the candle that he discovered that not only had she run off, but this time, his clothes had gone with her. While he appreciated the symmetry of it – after all, last time, she had been the one who had ended up running naked into the night – he also regretted that his plans for the evening had been unceremoniously disrupted.

Not to mention he still didn't know her name.

On the upside, at least his friendship with the Innkeeper should ensure that clothing would be found for him, he had only to wait. Therefore, it could be worse.

The door slid open again. He glanced up with the hope that either she had changed her mind and returned voluntarily, or she had been caught and returned involuntarily... only to see Mitsuhide leaning against the wall, holding the bundle of Shingen's clothes in his arms.

It was worse.

Mitsuhide smirked at him. "Lose some things?"

After checking that his sword was close enough to grab should it be necessary to do so, Shingen asked. "Did she give those to you?" The little imp had said she didn't work for Mitsuhide, while in the same breath, proudly admitted she was a liar. Not that he could count on truth from Mitsuhide either.

"No. I witnessed where she threw them and took it upon myself to retrieve them." Mitsuhide tossed the clothes to him.

Ah, so she had only meant to delay him and not specifically taunt him. That ought to have made Shingen feel better, but oddly, it did not. Taunting would have signaled that she planned to continue their game. Delaying him hinted that her sole object had been to get away from him.

"Interesting how you happened to be right where it was possible to witness her exit." Shingen said. He picked up his kimono, and a cascade of sand fell to the tatami mat. "Dry garden?"

"Indeed. The brat did appear to aim in that direction." Mitsuhide yawned, a bit of theater that Shingen thought unnecessary. "And I was able to witness her departure because after being a captive audience to everything that lead up to it, it was a rather predictable ending to the show."

Translation, he'd been eavesdropping. Shingen chose not to make an issue of that, simply because if he and Mitsuhide were to enter a debate about methodologies, they'd be here all night. There were too many other pressing issues to discuss. "What are you really doing in Kasugayama?"

"Exactly what I told our, er, nameless friend. Confirming that the attack on our vassals had nothing to do with your Akazonae." Nameless? Did that mean that Mitsuhide didn't know her name either? Likely if Mitsuhide had known it, there would have been significantly more taunting.

As to the rest of the man's words, they were unworthy of consideration. "You ought to have known that without coming all this way." Shingen said. He began shaking sand out of his clothing – as much as humanly possible.

"One never knows what can be learned by making these little detours here and there." Mitsuhide said. "Someone seems fairly determined to stir things up between our clans. I thought it prudent to see if similar attacks were taking place here. Word got to me that someone attacked you last month."