Bloodlines

A Family Tree

NOTE: Ayana is @jindalraekarkki's lovely OC! Thank you so much!

Masamune and Mitsuhide nicknamed the archivist 'Princess'. It was their idea of a joke, prompted unbidden by a remark Nobunaga made at the office. Something about Ieyasu 'rescuing a Princess in distress'.

"Very funny," he snapped irritably. It wasn't as if he needed a reminder on how he'd endangered the poor woman. The whole situation was his fault. "Back to the important things. Do we have some kind of a lead on this?"

"As it so happens? We do." Mitsuhide set down some paperwork. "The accelerant used for the fire is actually quite similar to the products we found in the office Masamune cracked into. It appears that someone in our current investigations to the mob has not only figured out that Ieyasu is involved on our team, but is taking an interest in obscuring how his family plays into their organization."

"So let me see if I understand." Nobunaga twirled a pen idly over his desk. "The Mob not only was in possession of photos of the Tokugawa family, a pair of former CIA agents deceased over a decade and a half, but figures out that their son is also in connection with the CIA, and that he is investigating on his own into this?"

Masamune frowned deep, his blue eye glittering. "That sounds like a mole to me."

The men fell silent.

"I'll certainly be branching my investigations into that possibility," Mitsuhide remarked lightly. "Don't you worry about that. In the meantime, we need to move the Princess into protective custody."

Ieyasu grimaced. How unfair was this? The poor woman would have to completely uproot her whole life, disrupt everything she knew–and it was all because of him. He clenched his fist tight.

"Have some opinion on the matter?" Nobunaga cocked a brow at him. "You appear tense."

"No opinion." He replied brusquely. It wasn't as if that train of thought mattered. But Mitsuhide kept staring, a knowing look emerging on those snaky lips. Of course Mitsuhide could tell what was wrong.

"How about this?" Mitsuhide suggested. "Our dearest Princess is likely a valuable resource in our investigations. She's already played a part, after all. We could move her into Ieyasu's custody."

"Intriguing. Do tell." Nobunaga folded his fingers together, resting his chin on the lattice of his knuckles.

"As excellent as Mitsunari is at his job, it's known that we're stretched a touch thin. I already took the liberty of looking into her background, and she is squeaky clean. We could employ her as a civilian contractor for this particular case. It would free up our process and provide Ieyasu with a bit of needed interpersonal interaction."

"I don't need interpersonal interaction," Ieyasu snapped. The idea of having someone in his personal space was almost offensive. Granted, he did owe her that much, and Mitsuhide was right–but still. "And I don't need a random woman living in my house."

"No? Not even with all the benefits of someone assisting you on your case? We all know of your aversion to working with Mitsunari."

Damnit. Ieyasu ground his teeth tight together. He was up against a rock and a hard place, and everyone knew it. "Fine."

Apparently she didn't have much. Maybe she just hadn't brought much. Either way, when he picked her up from her apartment, she only had two large suitcases and a confused expression.

"What's with that face?" He snapped harder than he meant. "Come on. Is this all you have?"

"It's all I need. I didn't think it would be polite of me to load up your space with my things."