Interlude
At some point between the second and third round, long after Ness had lost the ability to speak in anything other than groans and whimpers and half-words in her native tongue that Mitsuhide couldn't translate, warm clouds of orange light began to chase the stars from the sky. Ieyasu ordered the kitsune to carry her inside, and he shut the terrace door against the onslaught of the day.
True to his word, the doctor refused to yield. No amount of begging or cajoling or cursing him could deter him from his path. When her last release came with a stillness and a whimper, water still seeping from beneath her tightly closed eyelids, he hadn't intended to yield then, either. But she had collapsed to the futon with a spent sigh and Mitsuhide had failed to rouse her with all his considerable efforts. Ieyasu had been forced to grant her a reprieve.
He leaned back against the cushions that supported him and let out a long sigh. When he relaxed, the grimace of pain that he'd been suppressing twisted his lips. Mitsuhide watched silently from where he lounged on the futon. Ness lay on her stomach between them, her head resting on her arms, her breathing soft and even. The skirts of her kimono tangled around her legs and clung damply to her skin. The kitsune's golden eyes gleamed intently across this chasm of damp blue silk.
「What do you want?」
Ieyasu's voice held impatience. Still, the hand he reached out to Ness, tracing a path up her spine, was gentle. Her bare back was flushed and marked and gleaming with sweat. She writhed beneath his tickling fingers with a murmured, sleepy complaint.
「You surprised me, Ieyasu.」
Ieyasu's face twisted into a scowl even as he slipped his fingers through her hair. Damp tendrils of it clung to the bandages wrapping his hand. Mitsuhide's smile was as sharp as a razor.
「Did you not expect me to yield to your manipulations?」
Mitsuhide laughed delightedly, 「Is that what you call yielding?」
「If you're unhappy with the results, then stop trying to manipulate me.」
「Careful, Ieyasu, you'll hurt my feelings.」
「You don't have feelings.」
The kitsune bowed his head, white hair falling to hide his face, and reached out one hand. He brushed a thumb over the back of her silk-clad thigh.
「If that was true, it would not bother me that you made her cry so much.」
「You talk as if you didn't have a hand in that.」
「It was my hand that unravelled her,」said Mitsuhide, 「but it was your name she begged for mercy. 」
Ieyasu drew his fingers out of her pale, damp hair, and rubbed the bridge of his nose with a sigh, as if that could remove the scowl that Mitsuhide put on his face.
「A great translator has no ego, Mitsuhide.」
「Is that a compliment? I'm flattered.」
Ieyasu sighed, 「Don't be disgusting.」
Mitsuhide's hair swayed like drifting snow, and his shoulders shook with barely suppressed laughter. He bowed his head and pressed a kiss to the leg below his lips. Then he lifted it, his chin resting on his hand, and the eyes that assessed the doctor were calculating.
「You are a much more formidable opponent than I anticipated, Ieyasu.」
「I don't care what you think.」
Ieyasu slid his hand back to push the unruly hair from his forehead, then he reached for the cluster of sake bottles next to the bed, shaking each one in turn until he found one that wasn't empty. He poured a cup, hesitated, then passed it over to the other warlord. Mitsuhide accepted it with a grin. He bore the expression of a man who had not been so entertained in a long time. Ieyasu sighed to see it and poured another cup for himself.
「I think... that she cried less, that last time,」said Mitsuhide softly.
「Hmph.」
「Slow progress is still progress.」
「If you say so,」said Ieyasu, taking a sip of his drink, 「The mental stuff is your area of expertise, after all.」
「You've said that before but there's no need to be so modest. Not after the masterclass you just gave.」
Ieyasu scowled into his cup, 「I'm not trying to teach you anything.」
「What a shame,」said Mitsuhide, with a smile that suggested he didn't mind at all, 「There's so much I can learn from you.」
「The only thing I want you to learn is how to shut your mouth.」
Ieyasu's words were a growl of irritation, but Mitsuhide just laughed, his breath sending a cascade of ripples across the blue silk beneath his lips like waves. Ness let out a breathy moan in her sleep. The doctor's eyes watched the way her lips parted and followed the line of her body as she inhaled, her spine stretching then relaxing, curves shifting beneath the fabric that preserved her modesty. Tension pulled the lines of his face into sharp angles.
Ieyasu sighed, 「What's happening right now doesn't change our agreement.」
「I would expect nothing less.」
「We hold our alliance until the target is dead. And then...」
「You make good on your threats to my life?」said Mitsuhide, amused.
「Don't tempt me.」
「That's what makes it so much fun. But I don't think the little mouse would like that.」
「She'd be the only one.」
Mitsuhide's answering smile was smug, 「So, we petition Nobunaga then...」
「The decision is rightfully his.」
The blond man didn't sound very happy about that. His face was particularly grumpy, his eyes filled with irritation. Mitsuhide shrugged.
「She'll like that even less than you killing me.」
「You may be right. Perhaps I will reconsider my options.」
Mitsuhide burst into loud laughter, and Ieyasu growled. In the middle of that, the girl between them stirred with a groan, and opened an eye that was the same shade of blue as the silks that clung to her damp skin. That eye focused on Mitsuhide's laughing face.
"What are y..."
Ness stopped. Her voice was hoarse and scratchy. She cleared her throat and started again.
「What are you two talking about?」
Mitsuhide's golden eyes gleamed, 「Mouse traps.」
「Oh. That's... not terrifying at all.」
She let out another groan and closed her eye again. It looked like she had returned to sleep but the gentle rhythm of her breathing was different when she was awake. Ieyasu shifted, putting down his cup, then leaned forward.
「Look at me, Ness.」
Ness made a complaining grumble. She turned her head and blinked open two blue eyes to look at him. The doctor raised one blond eyebrow, the ghost of a smile tugging at the corners of his mouth.
「You were still crying when you passed out,」said Ieyasu.
She met these words with a blank stare for a minute. Then she gasped. Her eyes grew as wide as saucers, her cheeks flushed, and a nervous half-smile curved her lips.
「I... that's... you're joking, right?」
Mitsuhide laughed, drawing back up to his knees, as if he knew exactly what was about to happen. Ieyasu held her gaze with a patient and solemn expression. Then he leaned even closer, a wicked smile blooming on his face, and she let out a desperate wail.
「Do I look like I'm joking, Ness?」
A/N: Just a short scene today, to keep you entertained while I figure out what the hell I'm doing.
I really enjoy these opportunities to explore the way Mitsuhide and Ieyasu's relationship with each other is evolving. Hope you enjoy it too!
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