A Good Deed Gone Unpunished

Mai Makes A Master Plan

The Oda forces were a step away from chaos. Princess Mai's guards had run back to camp from a simple errand, scratched and muddy and lacking a princess. One of them was crying. The other was dead silent. Mai had been taken by enemy forces. It wasn't until a letter arrived from the enemy stating Mai's new, forced residency that anyone was sure she was even alive.

The soldiers were distraught. Few of them knew Mai personally, but they'd heard of her kindness from her guards, her work ethic from the maids, and her surprising fierce streak from the soldier she'd defended against Lord Akabori. Nobunaga was furious, Hideyoshi following en suite but with 300 percent more worrying. Masamune and Mistuhide poured their negative energy into fighting the enemy. Ieyasu appeared unaffected, but a handful of soldiers had spotted him pacing near the woods he'd sent her to.

Mitsunari was a complete disaster. Moreso than usual. He wasn't sleeping. He barely ate. Every plan he constructed carried a tight line of desperation. He'd walked into a tent pole (not unusual) and proceeded without apologizing (highly unusual). His clothes were a mess, his hair was a rats' nest, and his glasses were so dirty they wound up making his vision worse. Watching their main strategist not just fall, but plummet into a boiling volcano of stress and general dishevelment put everyone else at the camp on edge, enough so that Hideyoshi and Ieyasu eventually were forced to confront him.

"You need to pull yourself together," Ieyasu said, the moment they snagged Mitsunari's attention.

Hideyoshi cleared his throat after Mitsunari stared blankly at them. "What Ieyasu means is that your behavior is worrying us. You aren't taking care of yourself. We understand you're worried about Mai, but-"

"You don't understand." Mitsunari interrupted, worrying Hideyoshi more than irritating him. Mitsunari didn't interrupt people. He didn't talk with the dull, hopeless tone he was using now. He didn't stare with empty eyes. "The last thing I said to Mai... I told her I didn't want to see her anymore."

"So that's why she was crying when I saw her."

Mitsunari flinched at Ieyasu's frigid tone. Ieyasu was angry with him for hurting Mai. Mitsunari was angry at himself for hurting Mai. "I was trying to... When I'm with her it's hard to focus on anything else. I don't know why she's suddenly been so distracting, but I couldn't risk making a poor plan because I wasn't focused. I just wanted to keep everyone safe."

Hideyoshi sighed, a dramatic, long-suffering sigh. This was a mess. Maybe he shouldn't have waited for Mitsunari to figure out his feelings himself. "Mitsunari, do you enjoy Mai's company? Do you want her to be happy, even at your own expense? Do you want to hold her hand, to make her smile? Does she understand you better than anyone else?"

A soft nod. "...Except, maybe, Ieyasu understands me quiet well-"

"Oh for fucks sake, you idiot! You're in love with her!" Ieyasu threw his hands into the air with the signature exasperation only he could pull off. "And she's in love with you, too! Although she's as stupid about it as you are!"

Mitsunari just. Stopped responding. His face slowly reddened, the color becoming so vibrant he would have glowed in the dark. His eyebrows were frozen in a shocked position, letting his glasses slide down his face until the frame fell from his nose onto his lips. He was still as a statue- he might've stopped breathing for a second before Hideyoshi panicked and thumped on his back.

"Ieyasu, that was too blunt! You could've killed him!"

"To soon?! It's been months! I'm sick of them being oblivious and gross all over the place!"

"Mitsunari, Mitsunari can you hear me-"

The shell-shocked man in question abruptly stood. "I need to see Lord Nobunaga."