One Bright Day in the Middle of the Night

Chapter 22: To Battle

Three days later, we were called into the audience chamber by Nobunaga. Everyone was tense, and I had been spending more of my time in the training dojo than anywhere else. I had more than a little nervous energy, and no where else to release it. I wasn't sure if it was just because I knew what was coming, or if it was out of concern for all involved, including myself. Ieyasu noticed it earlier today while we were sparring.

We had just stopped for a break, and for the second time in a row, I had actually beat him. He looked over at me, green eyes considering as I tried to catch my breath, a feral grin I couldn't yet remove across my face. I took a long drink of the cool spring water we had sitting there.

"You've improved. You've been more focused the last couple days." He wiped sweat from his brow with a nearby towel. "What happened?" I started, quickly looking over at him, my eyes slightly narrowed.

"What do you mean?" I was trying to play it off. "And why do you care?" I know I've been fixated lately, ever since my promise to Kenshin, and I had to make sure my abilities were sharp. Ieyasu narrowed his eyes, tossing the towel to the floor by the wall, and taking a grip on the Shinai he was using.

"Do you have to be so stubborn?" Ieyasu's words were my only warning and I turned toward him as he took a swing at me, and I blocked it, moving back into the middle of the dojo.

"Of course, I do."

We traded blows, and I got careless, ending up with his shinai under my throat.

"And now you're letting your guard down." Ieyasu make a sound of disgust, pursing his lips in irritation. "What's going on?"

I dropped my sword arm, lowering my weapon. I might not want to talk about things but it would be a good idea.

"I'm just upset about the coming possibility of war soon." I brushed a stray hair from my face that had escaped the confines of my ponytail, and tucked it behind my ear. "It's not that I am worried about my safety or that I might not make it back, that's expected." I shrugged, knowing that rationally I should be more worried about my safety, but it wasn't what really concerned me.

"I just have enough nightmares as it is without adding to them." I was treated to a look I didn't usually see from the fawn-haired Warlord. Surprise.

"You have nightmares?" He seemed to consider this for a moment, and I got the feeling he knew what I was talking about intimately. I put my shinai away, done with the sparring, and just plain tired. I nodded.

"I had them almost daily for a year or so, but they hadn't bothered me for a couple years until recently." I was more than a little disgusted with myself. "Nothing like waking up with a scream and in a cold sweat to get your day going..." I sighed, glancing over at Ieyasu who only nodded, a slightly vacant look in his eyes. It was obvious to me he agreed. It was not long after that, that word came by messenger that Nobunaga was calling council.

Everyone was gathered quickly, and Nobunaga looked to Mitsuhide with a nod.

"We received word from my spies in Echigo that this morning, the God of War left Kasugayama castle to march on Azuchi."

Quickly I thought about the distance between here and there. Roughly 170 miles or so, so at say three miles an hour march, they would be at the gates of Azuchi castle in roughly a six day march with a large army. I leaned over to Masamune sitting next to me, and he looked over, his eyes questioning.

"Messenger pigeon?" I whispered the question to him. I was rewarded by a smile and a nod from the One-eyed Dragon.

"A fast bird can cover that distance in three hours or so. That would mean that his army left at dawn." Mitsuhide ignored our side conversation and continued his report.