A Song for the Devil

Strength

Several hundred men had sifted through the ashes in search of my body. When they were certain they had gone through every inch Ieyasu sent most of them to a base camp near by and Hideyoshi began searching again for another two days without very much rest or food until he dropped to his knees finally allowing himself to give up and cry the tears he had been hold back since they first came upon the place. His vassals were there to support him and bring him to the base camp to rest and that was when the ashes moved and they heard a strange groan before the ashes were shaken off to reveal the last person in this world they thought they would see, much less naked and half way through a pregnancy only Hideyoshi really knew about.

Hideyoshi wrapped me up in as many of his layers he could before carefully scooping me up out of the ashes and refused to let my feet hit the ground until we returned to the base camp and to his tent. On the walk there he explains how long they searched and everything leading up to my appearance. "You never cease to amaze." He nearly laughs. His vassals stay close, creating somewhat of a guard around us as we walk through the camp and the men there stare in awe or excitement as we pass them. When we got to the tent Ieyasu attempts to follow us in. "I should examine her... and the pregnancy... and..." he was stuttering as both Hideyoshi and I stared him down until he left. Has he ever looked at me with so much concern? I'm assuming that's what I see in his face, but it could also be curiosity and intrigue at the rapid change in my physical state.

Hideyoshi lays me down on the futon and lays down next to me, eyes fixed to the belly. "Where were you?" He asks before his honey colored eyes look up at me. "I was so close to giving up hope..." He swallows hard.

I reach for his cheek. "I was with the phoenix—" he nods but stops cold when I finish, "and Nobunaga." His eyes widen now.

I tell him everything I can remember from the encounter and he is just as perplexed as I am. "What did he mean, 'remember him as he was and find him there'?" I shake my head tiredly.

I try to sound excited, but the exhaustion is hitting me too hard as my head continues to sink into the pillow. "I'm tired! I haven't rested in—" I sink into a dreamless sleep too fast to finish.

The feeling of movement inside of me stirs me half awake. Hideyoshi is fast asleep beside me, his soft breaths as he sleeps, probably for the first time in days make me smile for a moment. At first I think the movement I felt in my core is some kind of residual affect from the phoenix's powers until it happens again and I realize, its completely natural, it is my child moving inside of me, making himself known to his mother for the first time. As my hand meets my belly to feel the way my skin moves when I can feel him dancing inside of me something like a shadow grows near the entrance of the tent. The shadow has form, It's not the shadow of someone approaching from the outside, it is definitely a figure inside of the tent already. My eyes continue to adjust to it's presence as small details of the shadow's attire become visible and as soon as they do, as soon as the red and black clothes, the district flower symbol of his clan, I know it is my child's father, I know it is Nobunaga appearing to me again even if his features don't appear before me. "I see you." I whisper and Hideyoshi stirs beside me. I don't look at my sleeping husband, my eyes are glued to Nobunaga's shadowing figure as it begins to fade again and slide away before deep sleep overcomes me again, this time holding me tighter.

When I wake up the next morning Hideyoshi is already gone from the tent and some of my clothes have been set out for me to change into. I manage to get up from the futon, not without great effort, and start to pull my clothes on. I am still struggling to tie my own sashes when Hideyoshi reenters. "May I help?" He asks as his chin rests on my shoulder. I run my fingers through his hair briefly before asking for help.