Bloodlines

Missing: One Shoe

They traced the video.

It was difficult for certain. After over a decade, there wasn't much that they could do to really narrow down the location, but they managed it. Ieyasu begrudgingly admitted to himself that Mitsunari knew his stuff.

"It seems to come from somewhere in Norfolk," Mitsunari advised him. "Have you ever been there?"

"No."

Masamune laughed. "It ain't said like it's spelled. They say it 'Nah-fuck', not 'Nor-folk'. They said back in the day of the Revolutionary War, when the redcoats were around, the women there wouldn't drink, nor cuss, nor–"

"I got it." Ieyasu sighed. "What kind of a place is it?"

"They make the battleships there for the Navy. It's mostly a shipyard." And at that Mitsunari paused. "They're trying to make it more... trying to drive up the property values, but it has a reputation nonetheless."

He didn't ask. The implication was obvious.

All they had was a radius to work with, but that was enough. Honestly, Ieyasu was terrified. What if his mother was alive still? What if she'd been chained up in that basement for a decade? What kind of a person would she be after that? He tried not to think about it (what were the odds, anyway? It was more likely she was dead and gone), but the thought still rung in his head like a bell.

It was a solid four hours to Norfolk (not accounting for anyone in D.C. deciding to be an idiot and clogging the streets, and they alwayswere being idiots), but Nobunaga didn't bat an eye when he asked for the time off. "As far as we are concerned, this is official business."

Ieyasu wanted to snark something about my family isn't government business, but held his tongue. The only way to get resources he needed was if he cooperated.

He got halfway through packing a suitcase when she rapped against his doorframe.

"Yes?" Ieyasu brushed back his hair and stared up at her.

"So when are you leaving out for Norfolk and how many days is it?" She asked, simple and matter-of-fact. "I need to figure out how much to pack."

He took a couple moments to process. "You're coming?"

"You ask like it's not a foregone conclusion."

"I ask because it isn't."

She just fixed him with a wry smile. "I'm in this now with you, it's foregone. So how many days is it?"

His mouth moved before his brain could really catch up. "Four. But–"

"Thanks!" And she vanished back into the guest bedroom, leaving him gawking in her wake.

He confronted her at the car the next morning. She leaned against the passenger door with her small bag and a smile, the grey Virginia morning swirling around her.

"Look." He snapped open the trunk. "You might have to shoot someone again."

Her smile faded. "I know."

"I can't babysit you if you get sick again this time."

"I know."

"Can you stomach it?"

"I don't know."

Ieyasu almost fixed her with his typical sour attitude, but one glance at her conflicted expression stilled him. "You don't know?"

"No. I don't. Is that so bad?" A pause. She handed her bag to him anyway. "But I signed on for this, and I'm sticking around regardless. Even if I don't like it, your mom is worse off than I am. I want to at least try and help her."