Through the Eyes of the Dragon

Chapter 41

Chapter 41 - Life

The room reeked of tension, tea, stress, dusty parchment, and ink.

Creasing his brows, Takatora ran his delicate fingers over the map before him repetitively, snorting slightly as the stuffiness of his environment itched at his nose. Having edited its formation lines and movement markings based upon the steady inflow of reports filtering into his office, he now stared at the heavily circled Azuchian wall, scowling as he began to contemplate the worst. See, none of his real time plans had ever really worked out, disregarding the fluke that was his usage of the smoldering Fire Mountain. There was always some sort of a human error, some outside factor he never bothered to acknowledge, something somewhere-

“The Herbans are invading Acqua!”

Whipping his head to stare at the exhausted scout, the Tactician held out his silence for a little while longer, letting this new piece of information float about in his head. “The Herbans, you say. So Naoe HAS betrayed us,” he murmured, curling his hands into tight fists. Of course he had, that unpredictable ninja. Something had been off about him ever since he arrived in Ignis. Takatora should have expected this. “... Is that all?”

He amazed himself with how calm and level his voice came out, as if all this commanding was but a second nature for him.

“I... Date Masamune should be at the wall, though no other scouts have made it out yet. My apologies,” came the Scout’s simple response, head bowed in shame for not having anything else to say.

Shaking his head slowly, Takatora left his desk, approaching the little couch at the side of the room and leaning over to feel the neatly folded blanket left there on the seat. “It’s fine. Just report whatever new findings to Ishida, if you can.”

“Yes, milord.”

Listening to the quiet creak of the shutting door, Takatora was still as he picked up the blanket, wanting very much to imagine that it was still warm with his lover’s heat. But alas, Daichi had departed early that morning... and he hadn’t gotten any word since. Then again, he had insisted that all reports from Azuchi go straight to Mitsunari, so even if something had... occurred, he wouldn’t know about it unless the lord decided it was worth the time. Besides, he needed to concentrate on the war, not his... own personal and fawning emotions.

But what did he have to worry about? Daichi had made it this far, as well as he. He would be fine. There was absolutely nothing to worry about. Lifting the blanket to his face, he took in his lover’s familiar scent, frowning slightly as the action caused a small flicker of affection to throb in his heart. Yes, though he did his best not to show it, he really did love that idiot Daichi. His cold exterior was simply because he hated seeming weak and sensitive... and well, there was always that fear of being hurt far beyond repair again. He had lost him once already... so...

Returning the blanket to the couch, the Tactician slid over to where he had concealed all his former gear, lifting his robes to strap on his knife holsters and other equipment. If Naoe was heading towards the Acquan capitol like he figured he was... then that meant he planned to take out Namikawa before the RAO could take down Azuchi’s wall. Lord or not, he felt obligated to stop them personally, even if they were Herbans skilled in the art of stealth, navigation, and spying. For all he knew, all his information lines could be corrupted...

It was a risk he was willing to take. Once fully equipped, Takatora briefly scrawled out a note, telling Mitsunari not to freak if he was not found in his office. He was just going 'for a walk.'

Slipping outside, it took him a few minutes to orient himself, borrowing a leftover horse from the shed and turning toward the western coast. If he was fast enough, he could catch Genjiro's crew's attention, with whom he could then have sail him southeast to stop Kanetsugu before it was too late. There was a strong wind blowing from the north, so he could probably get there in time...