The Beauty of the West: The Gold Route

Chapter Twelve: Journey to Mikawa

I already had so much I had to report after Kanbe had told me his story. Not only had he provided key information to me, he was also a key witness to what had happened. I felt like even though I had pretty much failed my mission, I didn't actually fail my mission.

"Ready yourself for the journey..." I advised. "Mikawa is a long way."

"I know. Wouldn't be so bad if I didn't have these damn things holding me back..." he sighed

"Who has the key?"

"Yoshitsugu, of course. Ain't gettin that back any time soon..."

"Hold on, let me see." I held his shackles still so I could look at the lock. I only knew vague ideas about picking a lock but I was going to try. "Do you have anything long and sharp?"

He had his men bring me a whole array of different long and sharp objects. For about an hour I tinkered with all the tools they had brought to me.

"It's no use kid... this lock was made so that it couldn't be tampered with." Kanbe finally whined.  It was like the whole time, he had hope that I would get it open. "We're wasting time."

"Hold on, I think I'm on to something." I stated in a hurry like talking was going to ruin my concentration.

"You've said that atleast four times-" right as he had mentioned that,  we headed a loud click, the lock popping open.

"Holy crap,  you actually did it." He said, in obvious denial. He had been stuck in those chains for so long that he thought it was only a figment of his imagination.  After a few moments he lifted his wrists into the air and looked at them.

I just watched as he spread his arms and stretched with the biggest smile on his face.
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We left soon after getting the shackles off. He had packed a few things like food and water for the trip. And we were on our way.

On the way, Kanbe and I had an interesting conversation.

"So. Your name is (Y/N), and you don't remember your last name..." he repeated what I had told him. "Do you think by any chance your name could be Toyotomi?"

"Toyotomi? Hm...now where have I heard that..." I thought for a moment and thought about the statues that Ieyasu had shown me. Was he asking if I was related to his late mentor? "The man that Lord Ieyasu killed, right?"

"Right. She was taken a long time ago. By...the Oda clan. Around the same time you were,  if I'm not mistaken."

"Huh. Well that would be a heck of a discovery. I couldn't tell you if I am the same person."

"Her name was (Y/N)."

I just stared at him for a moment before we kept walking.

"The reason I ask is because we were best friends. I was looking for her for a while before I got roped into this mess."

"I see." I didn't know what else to say. I didn't know if I was the same girl he was talking about, but I wish I did just so I could grant him closure. He had a sense of desperation in the way he asked me if I could have been a Toyotomi. In a way I wished I was, so I knew where I came from.
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In a few days we were within sights of the Mikawa Cliffs. I caught glimpse of the Chosokabe ship docked there, and they were probably awaiting my arrival so I  could report what I knew. I may have had to hurry. If they had been there long, he and Ieyasu probably locked arms already. I took a gun from my holster and shot it into the air 3 times as Sensei had done to seal a pact. I had hoped that atleast she would recognize the shots as a signal to my arrival.

"Double time." I told Kanbe and began running.

"Usually I would complain about running, but right now I love running!!!" He felt like he had to say. It made me smile in an otherwise serious situation.

"You're late, Raven." Sensei grunted upon seeing me. She was guarding Ieyasu against Captain Chosokabe. "I trust you have the information we need?"

"The men responsible for the destruction of Shikoku are Motonari and Yoshitsugu. Ieyasu's banner was planted,  and they needed the fire power behind Captain Chosokabe to win the war against the east." I spit out. It was silent for a moment while everyone soaked up the info.

"How are you sure??" Captain Chosokabe barked,  not wanting to believe he was just duped.

"They told me themselves. I snuck onto their ship. They were laughing about how gullable you were when they talked to you, Captain. They found me, I lost that battle. I was lucky Kanbe found me."

"Long time no see." Sensei waved to him. "Why exactly are you here?"

"I'm joining the East. Motochika wasn't the only one they tricked and used. I'm here to offer my services as a strategist. And this one interests me." He ruffled my hair.

"You too, huh.." Sensei chuckled. 

I guess I interested people? There wasn't anything interesting about me though, atleast I didn't think so...

When everyone had calmed down, I was able to get a moment with Ieyasu before I was to brief Sensei on details I may have not shared. She wanted to know everything from where I went to where I ended up. But that was in a moment.

"Well that makes 3 times you've saved my life. My debt to you just keeps getting bigger and bigger!" He laughed.

"You owe me nothing. As long as we're still up for the festival?" I smiled sweetly.

"Of course, we are."

"Where's Tadakatsu?" I looked around. Usually,  he wasn't that far from Ieyasu.

"Just incase things got ugly here,  Tadakatsu is nearby."

"I see."

"Raven. Briefing." Sensei nodded her head, beckoning me to come over.

"Yes, Sensei." I replied, and turned to approach her.

"Wait." Ieyasu grabbed my hand. The initial shock sent shivers down my body. His hand was soft.  He pulled my hand and led me to a tight embrace. "Thank you... (Y/N)..."

"I was happy to help, My Lord." I smiled. When I pulled away from him, I had seen his eyes glossy with tears of happiness. I didn't think that what I did was that important, but it was a big deal to him.

I walked over to Sensei so I could tell her everything. From there, we decided what to do next.