Log; COMPLETED

[love-and-honour.livejournal.com]

When; The morning of January 21st
Rating; PG, for implied self-sacrifice
Characters; Mitsuhide [silk_in_ebony] and Nagamasa [love_and_honour]
Summary; At a critical moment, Nagamasa arrives in the City -- much to his own surprise, and the surprise of a certain other samurai.
Log;

Nagamasa had known this would be the outcome of his battle against the Oda when Nobunaga's forces first surrounded Odani Castle, but just as he had fought on the battlefield with no less conviction despite knowing his doom, he remained proud and defiant as he faced the Demon King.

It had been unjust of Nobunaga to make Oichi fight against him. The pain she must have felt! How could her own brother have been so cruel, knowing that she would already be losing her family? Even now, Nobunaga so casually mocked love and honour, and everything Nagamasa stood for.

It made anger burn in his chest.

But more than that, it hurt.

Nobunaga would not have this last victory over him.

In a final burst of spirit, Nagamasa turned his focus to Mitsuhide, who stood to his side a pace behind, and quickly drew the man's unguarded katana from its sheath; in an instant he had closed the little distance between himself and Nobunaga, and he held the sharp point of the blade to the Demon King's throat.

Nobunaga's taunt, in the guise of an invitation, a challenge to kill him then and there, was enough to dispel his anger. He would not throw aside his honour that way. He could not leave Oichi without both her husband and her brother.

"I'm sorry..." he began to say softly, and he let his eyes slide shut and braced himself, thinking one last time of his beautiful, beloved wife and how he wished to be in any other situation than the one he was in now; he quickly raised Mitsuhide's katana to his throat, ready to take his own life as soon as he had finished his final apology, "...Lord Mitsuhide."

For honour.

Comments

[silk-in-ebony.livejournal.com]

Mitsuhide had gone down to the carousel. He knew there were lots of new arrivals in the City today and wanted to see if there was anything he could do to help. His own experience when he first entered the City had been a confusing one to say the least, and anything he could do to make things easier for the newcomers, he would. It was his duty. It was honour.

"Lord Mitsuhide."

What he hadn't expected was to hear his own name whispered by a familiar voice.

He had been walking through the small crowd gathered in the area, and upon hearing his name, had swiftly turned around. What he saw prompted two reactions from him. The first was simple shock to see Lord Nagamasa in the City. The second was pure horror. He moved forward very quickly and promptly grabbed the blade out of the man's hand from where it had been pressed against his throat. A second wave of shock ran through him when he realised that the blade he held was one of his very own, Futsumitama!

"Lord Nagamasa!" he gasped. "What... what..."

Potential scenarios from which this Nagamasa could have come moved quickly through his mind, and he instantly tried to ignore them. He rather liked the young Azai Lord, and the thought of him committing seppuku was not one he wished to dwell on.

"Are you... I mean... are you alright?" he spluttered, not quite sure what to say while he was still confused.

[love-and-honour.livejournal.com]

Nagamasa was just as stunned, perhaps even moreso, when the blade was ripped from his grasp and he was woken from his intense, inward focus. For a moment he stared at Mitsuhide, wide-eyed and frozen, as he struggled to make the mental leap from one situation to another.

"Is this...a dream?" he eventually gasped in a mix of disorientation and awe, his previous situation momentarily forgetten in the wake of the City's image.

But when his gaze, which had instinctively begun to roam these strange surroundings, returned to Mitsuhide -- who was notably dressed differently to the one he had seen only moments before -- and he saw the horror and confusion on Mitsuhide's honest face, the shadows of his actions returned to Nagamasa, and the expression of pain and sorrow returned. Even if this was a dream, that look, and his actions...

He felt guilt settle in his stomach, and casting down his gaze, he echoed what were to have been his final worlds. "I'm sorry, Lord Mitsuhide."

[silk-in-ebony.livejournal.com]

Mitsuhide finally managed to get more of rein on his feelings, especially when he saw the look on Nagamasa's face. A natural wave of protectiveness washed over him. He patted the blonde man on the shoulder, trying to be reassuring.

"This is no dream... and I see no reason why you should say sorry, Lord Nagamasa," he said. "This is... this is the City, a place between worlds. People get drawn here without any choice in the matter. I've been here a long while now. You'll be alright here."

He was fairly certain that he wouldn't be letting Nagamasa out of his sight anytime soon. Whatever had caused him to want to commit seppuku... as long as he didn't know what it was, he'd need to make sure that the young man would not attempt it to do again. Drawing his hand back, he smiled slightly.

"I'm just glad it was me who found you," he said. "Means less confusion for you. I can explain anything you want to know... well, most things, anyway..."

[love-and-honour.livejournal.com]

"It isn't?" Nagamasa lifted his gaze again at the gesture of comfort, and the stirrings of hope shone on his face as his heart began to beat faster at Mitsuhide's words.

He had lost everything to Nobunaga's wrath; all that had been left for him was death in the name of honour. Could a second chance to live really be true?

"No... you wouldn't lie! Then, this is..." he trailed off as he looked to Mitsuhide with an earnest, almost painfully hopeful look. "Oichi. Is she here too?"

The hardest part of his whole recent ordeal had been forcing her to leave his side. To be without her had been unimaginable. If there was a chance that he could hold her, even just once more, then he had to know. All other questions, of where and why and what, could wait until he knew that much.

[silk-in-ebony.livejournal.com]

Mitsuhide sighed, and shook his head, sympathy shining in his gentle eyes. He knew the depth of love that Nagamasa had for Oichi, and seeing that hope fade would be painful. Though, of course, there was a chance that Oichi might come back to the City one day.

"She was here before, but she departed shortly after I arrived," he said. "She could come back at any time, but such things are unpredictable. The City can be quite uncertain in such ways."

He himself had not got much of a chance to talk to her before she had left. It had been quite sad... but such was the way of the City.

[love-and-honour.livejournal.com]

While his hope was dimmed some by the news that she was gone, it did not disappear completely, and Nagamasa even spared Mitsuhide a soft smile.

"It is more than I dared to hope."

The Lord of the Azai then took a few moments to observe their surroundings in proper detail, turning on his heel to stare at the strange architecture surrounding them. "What kind of a city is this?" he breathed, before he looked over his shoulder, looking apologetically lost.

"Where do I begin, Lord Mitsuhide?" he asked, his normal good temper returned.

[silk-in-ebony.livejournal.com]

"Ah... this is a City which contains much technology and devices from a future time," he said. "It will take some getting used to, but you shall adjust. I did; their kitchen equipment is quite remarkable."

He chuckled lightly at that comment, and flicked his hair back from where it had begun to trail down the front of his chest.

"The first thing you'll need to do is find a place to live, though I'm sure I can help you with that, hmm? This place is quite a wonder. Yes, it has more than its fair share of problems, but men of honour do their best to protect the innocent, including myself."

He paused briefly.

"...of course, then there are the curses..."

[love-and-honour.livejournal.com]

"The future?" he repeated, looking perplexed -- it was obvious that he couldnt quite grasp the true impact fo the suggestion, without the experience.

Nagamasa listened attentively as Mitsuhide continued, and he nodded with an expression of gratitude at the offered help with finding somewhere it live; however, it was the last comment of the Oda retainer's speech that drew the strongest reaction from him, and he turned to face Mitsuhide once again.

"Your just cause will have my lance!" he vowed with boldness, and it took a moment for the truth of the matter to hit him. "Though, I do not have it at hand..."

Still, he recovered from his err and promised, with less volume, "I will uphold my ideals of honour and love, in every way I can."

Just when his outlook was becoming simpler, the comment was enought to bring back his confused expression. "Wait... curses, Lord Mitsuhide?" his expression gained a hint of serious concern, "Of what sort do you mean?"

[silk-in-ebony.livejournal.com]

Mitsuhide smiled. The exact same Nagamasa he remembered; didn't really know the full extent of the sitaution, but offering his aid without the slightest bit of hesitation. A likeable, honourable man indeed, though... not the most intelligent. But it didn't matter much.

"Curses..." he said. "Well... they vary. Some affect personality, or one's body, or powers. Some affect the City itself. My beloved was turned into a doll not so long ago, the City became a desert kingdom, a friend of mine was forced to divulge an embarassing secret... they only last 24 hours usually. Some can be quite amusing, others... definitely not so. We deal with them as they come. Haven't much of a choice."

[love-and-honour.livejournal.com]

"Who is responsible? Can't they be stopped?" it seemed that he wouldn't require an answer, however, as he calmed himself and really considered Mitsuhide's last words on the matter. "You endure them without lasting harm?" he gave the other samurai a look of mild worry, though it quickly shifted into a lighter expression as some of the exact wording clicked.

"I am happy that you have found love, Lord Mitsuhide." He smiled, but the joy there was soon tinged with a hint of personal sorrow; it was no surprise that his thoughts quickly drifted to Oichi at the mention of love.

He remembered her smile, so gentle and radiant despite the pain in her eyes that it stole his breath away; he remembered the last echo of her footstep fading from the corridors of Odani castle.

Nagamasa lifted a hand to his breast in an unconscious gesture, but as his fingertips encountered a rise under the soft blue silk, he blinked, then smiled to himself, closing his eyes for a brief few seconds as he took in a deep, liberating breath; a sprig of wisteria still rested there, and it seemed that its implications strengthened his confidence, and freed a wieght from his chest.

'Oichi, do you like flowers?'

"I did not mean to cause you any trouble, Lord Mitsuhide," he said with honesty, before he laughed; it was soft and short, but to have so narrowly avoided death, to have a sort of freedom again, and to have a chance of seeing his wife again... he couldn't express his relief in any better way.

"At least you are compensated with an extra blade," he offered brightly, looking to the katana then back to Mitsuhide, before his expression was tinged with a hint of embarassment, and a faint blush touched his cheeks.

"Forgive me. It... has been a long day."