A Good Deed Gone Unpunished

A Brief Lull in the Action

There were few things in Mai's life that could be likened to religious experiences. They were as follows:

1. Eating red bean paste and vanilla ice cream for the first time.
2. The first time she'd sewed comething wearable (and Ms. Hakuai's proud face when she gifted it to her).
3. Seeing Mitsunari after being kidnapped and held by two separate captors.

He looked angelic as ever, even with muddy clothes stained in blood and well-used sword in his hands. Sunlight dappled his pale hair. His eyes were sharp and focused, locked onto Kennyo, a predator having trapped its prey. Mai couldn't help but stare in awe.

"The Devil King's tactician," Kennyo drawled. "How ever did you find me?"

"I had help. On behalf of Lord Nobunaga and his allies, I must respectfully request you release Lady Mai." Mitsunari's gaze never left Kennyo. His entire body was taught, ready to leap into action. Unlike in the castle, where he ran into furniture and fell asleep in his tea, his manner was threatening and calculated.

"And what would you do if I respectfully declined?"

The men behind Mitsunari adjusted their grips on their swords. Among the soldiers, Mai spotted Yoshiki and Hinata. Muscles she never realized were tense slackened with relief. Her guards had managed to make it back to camp safely.

Mitsunari's voice, when he responded, was glacial. It sent chills down Mai's spine. Her heart stuttered in anticipation from the raw tension in the air. "I would take her back by force."

Kennyo was charging the second the words left Mitsunari's mouth. Stuck in front of Kennyo, Mai could barely gasp as her allies' swords swung towards her. The metal blades swallowed up her vision and she screwed her eyes shut. The horse lurched, likely hurt, sending Mai tumbling to her left. A sad squeak snuck out of her mouth. Her arms hung behind her, still tied together, useless for breaking her fall.

The ground never hit her. Instead, one arm pushed from under her shoulders, and another grabbed her kimono to steady her before pulling her backwards. Mai opened her eyes to find Yoshiki and Hinata working in tandem; Yoshiki moving her away from the conflict while Hinata slashed at Kennyo.

Kennyo was struggling. It was clear he couldn't win the fight. The horse was out of sight. Mai hoped it ran away to safety. Mitsunari and his men circled the monk while he deflected strikes with his staff. Even so, he was nowhere near surrendering. The burning look in his eyes told Mai he would die fighting.

And- maybe it was naive, or pointless, or even privledged. God knew Mai had lived a softer life than anyone else in the Sengoku period. She was still an outsider looking in. Mai had never needed to kill to survive. Sure, she'd been homeless before, but she was homeless in a city with dumpsters of food and libraries with heating. Sure, her life had been in danger before, but it was from her own brain, not a man with a sword. She'd never seen her entire city burned down. Her experiences would never allow her to truly understand what people like Kennyo were thinking, but.

If she could do something - anything - shouldn't she try? Mai had seen Kennyo tend to Lucky. He'd gotten clean clothes for her without prompting. He was, in the end, a man struggling with a sadness deeper than Mai could know. Kennyo wasn't violent. He wasn't evil. He was tragic.

"Stop, Kennyo, please! Don't throw your life away like this!" Yoshiki's grip on her tightened, like he thought she'd run. Kennyo spared her a glance, that sad look reappearing on his face.

"This was always the way it would end. I will go down as a martyr, and my cause will never die."

Kennyo's erratic behavior suddenly made sense. Risking two armies after him just to kidnap one princess? Leaving his own army to ride into the woods alone? This whole time, he was planning on killing himself just to energize his forces. His men would never stop fighting with their leader's death on Nobunaga's hands.