Twelve Lies I Told Shingen Takeda

Chapter 11: Shingen's POV - Puzzles

He'd been deep enough in sleep that the knocking barely registered on him, might even have been part of an unremembered dream, as was the swish when the door slid open, and the sound of Katsu's feet, padding as lightly as a cat, to his desk. But those sounds in succession were enough to drag him into awareness and squint his eyes open for a brief moment as the young man propped a stack of messages on his desk, next to the puzzle that he still hadn't solved.

Solved in time, rather. Shingen had been putting the puzzle back together every night, so that each time Katsu picked it up, he had to begin anew. It didn't seem to frustrate him though, and whenever he restarted, he approached the puzzle with enthusiasm and an apparent strategy that Shingen knew would eventually prove successful. Perhaps, one of these afternoons, he would give Katsu more time to put it together, or more likely Katsu would solve the thing faster – he was getting closer each day. For now, watching his new messenger as he concentrated on finding the solution was proving to be an entertaining diversion.

There was a tactical brain in there. A tactician's temperament? Maybe, maybe not. Katsu was certainly too impulsive, sometimes too quick to speak, too quick to sarcasm (which might be Yukimura's influence). And of course, the young man was focused on the search for his brother, a search that after all these years, was likely to be futile.

Though it wouldn't be a bad idea to have his mitsumono keep an eye out for Toshiie as well – once Katsu had an answer, one way or another, perhaps Shingen could help guide him in a direction that would allow him better use of his mind and instincts.

Katsu softly walked to the door, then possibly prompted by those instincts, turned and looked back at Shingen. He closed his eyes, keeping them shut until he heard the door slide closed a moment later.

"I suppose I imagine myself a teacher now," he thought to himself. His old friend Kennyo would laugh at that idea, but maybe all that was needed to find teaching rewarding was to have a compelling pupil. It was similar to how he felt about guiding Yukimura from a rebellious teenager to the capable adult he had become ... maybe these things would be part of his legacy.

Meanwhile, he had a viable plan for the unneeded courier whom he had basically taken on out of pity. You're guilty of being impulsive from time to time as well, he told himself. The young man potentially could have been an enemy agent. But Sasuke had vouched for him, and Katsu had passed the tests that should have revealed him to be a spy, had that been the case. Instead, his somewhat rash decision had paid off by rewarding him with a messenger who was fast, reliable, and quick-witted.

Having dealt with – at least theoretically – Katsu's future, Shingen turned his mind to the lovely spy he'd encountered last night. Who had sent her? And for what purpose? Not assassination – he'd taken a good long look to ensure she wasn't hiding any weapons. Then a second look to confirm the first... and appreciate the view. When he'd first seen the little beauty, water droplets sluicing off her body, he'd momentarily thought she was indeed the mermaid he'd called her. Her feigned shriek of surprise had brought him back to his senses. None but a spy would have braved that cold water. Though the waterlogged nymph had obviously miscalculated just how cold that lake could be at night.

He'd decided to give her the opening she'd planned and teased her by stealing her blanket. He'd expected her to rush out of the water, plaster her body to his, then thank him for warming her, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. Whoever had sent her was clearly aware of the reputation he'd carefully cultivated. Had the night gone as he'd anticipated, he would have lowered that body to the blanket, and enjoyed thoroughly exploring every inch of her, before sending her back to her master (whoever that may be), without the information she sought.