All Shades of Blue

Deployed

Even before called for the war council that morning, Masamune knew. Kojuro's correspondence reached him only scant hours beforehand with a single line: The Dragon leaves Echigo.

So this was it. They were headed to war.

In the whirl of preparation he nearly forgot about their darling chatelaine. There were so many things to do, so many arrangements to make, so many provisions to calculate and letters to send. The tasks were endless. But even in the thick of it he remembered to send a messenger to her.

"You called?" She asked, emerging in his doorway.

"Hey, Kitten–hell, could you do me a favor really quick–"

"Got it." She didn't need to be told. He had an ink brush in one hand and a bowl of rice in the other, so she handled the most pressing matter and fished Shogetsu out of his basket of freshly-written letters. The tiger whined pitifully. "Aww. Hush, you."

Masamune smiled and managed to put down his things. "Got any prep for war yet?"

"No," she admitted. "Not yet. How long will you all be gone?"

"Dunno, Kitten. If we're lucky, only a few weeks. If less lucky, it could take a month or so."

Sometimes he could read what she was thinking. Sometimes he couldn't at all. This was one of those rare moments where it dipped back and forth. He watched her calculate out days in her mind against some unknowable metric, the calendar of her mind compared against the shifting outline of war.

"How far from Kyoto will you all be?" She asked at last.

"Not so far. A day's ride or so. Why?"

"Alright. Then I want to go with you."

He fumbled with his chopsticks. One of them clunked into the bowl and bounced; Shogetsu's eyes went wide and he flailed for it, all limbs writhing like a squid. She yelped. Springing to his feet, Masamune only arrived in time to catch her when the kit used her chest as a springboard, wrapping her against his chest for balance.

"Alright there Kitten?"

"That is a wild animal, Masamune," she huffed at him. He laughed and tightened his grip around her waist. "Tigers aren't pets. This is partially why."

"That's standard cat behavior in general right there."

"Yeah, except that if he were a housecat, you wouldn't have had to catch me."

That was true. Masamune fixed her with his blue eye and watched with a grin as she realized (in one truly beautiful moment) just how close they were. "Yeah, Kitten. Bet you're not sorry he's no housecat now, huh?"

"I–" She turned an enviable shade of pink. "Sorry. Thank you."

Now that wasn't fair. He considered the finer points of pushing his luck. She was pretty and sharp and he liked that more than was wise. Before he could stop himself he skated his thumb over her mouth and watched her skin ripple in response.

"Masamune." Her voice was so small he wondered if it might disappear. "Stop."

That was his cue. He backed away immediately. "Sorry Kitten."

"No, I–I just–" She ground her teeth together. "Can I talk to you about something serious?"

"Weren't we?"

"I–yes." A beat. "You wanted to know why I don't really involve myself with anyone in Azuchi. It's the same reason I want to come with you to the battlefield. I'm not from this time, and it's only a matter of a month or so until I have to go back."

—

"No." Hideyoshi flatly refused. "No. It's too dangerous for her to come with us."

"Ok." The wind whispered around the assembled ranks. From high on his horse Nobunaga watched, amused as Masamune mounted up into his saddle. "I mean, I can respect that."

"Here it goes," Ieyasu muttered sourly.

"Really?" Poor Hideyoshi seemed so surprised. "You'll just let it go?"

With a laugh, Masamune pulled the Princess up into the saddle with him, wrapping his arms around her waist. The men assembled bellowed and cheered, so he shot them all a cheeky grin and kicked his heels into his horse's flanks.

"Sure–but you have to catch me first!"

For the first time since he'd known her, the Princess laughed with abandon as he galloped past the army. With a deafening roar the combined forces rallied after him, his own cavalry closing in around his lead. Nobunaga grinned broad over the rolling rows of glistening armor and spears on the move.

"Hold on, Kitten!" He commanded. "If you're going to return home anyway, let's have a little fun in the meantime!"

—

Kenshin was finally moving.

Once again Kennyo joined the flurry of activity thrumming around his campsite. The Oda were on the march to meet their enemy, Azuchi emptying out in a display of arrogant strength, and his chance at revenge grew only ever closer. He flung his scant possessions together and broke his own rule to head to the mountainside. From his perch he watched the silvery rows of soldiers streaming from the town, Oshu cavalry like the swirling foam before them.

What was that?

It was too far away to make out too many details, but judging by the icons alone, Date Masamune rode at the head of the pack. It made sense. He'd heard stories about the man's legendary recklessness (and seen some firsthand)–

What he didn't expect to see was another rider on the saddle. And no, he couldn't see their face–at least not well enough to know–but he knew already. Oh, he knew.

Damn Date Masamune. Damn his planning. Damn his stupid heart. For the millionth time, her earnest inquiry floated back through him: do you really believe you are Amida Buddha?

—

The camp buzzed with activity. She shoved her way through tents and provisions packed together, throwing her weight into wherever she was needed. There was enough patching and check listing and organizing for a lifetime, so she tied back her sleeves and worked until her hands were sore. At some point Masamune found her and urged her to rest, so reluctantly she eased back to the campfire nearest her own tent.

Soon the night fell dark around them. The glow of firelight shimmered all around, but it didn't reach the luminous sky. It shone as if painted with silver.

She'd miss that. No sky in the future felt so untouched.

Shaking away those treasonous thoughts, she dipped into the bowl of rice she'd prepared and took a few bites before she heard the faint whistle. What was that? It wasn't exactly quiet in the camp, but still–no. There it came again, more insistent this time, so she turned her head.

Kennyo beckoned at her from the trees.

"Hey!" Taking stock of her surroundings and finding it clear, she gathered up her hem and darted over to him. "What are you doing here? I got your letter but I didn't know how to send one back–"

His smile almost bruised it was so honest. "That's fine. Would you come with me for a while?"

"Yeah. Sure. Absolutely. I'm all yours."