An Imperfect Science | Ikemen Sengoku

Chapter 43

Ness was roused from her sleep by the sound of rain pounding on the roof of the tent. She was alone in bed, the space that had been occupied by Ieyasu cold to the touch, as if he hadn't been there for a while. She sat up slowly, blinking in the low light provided by the single lamp in the tent, and called his name softly.

「Ieyasu?」

「Everything's alright, Ness,」said Ieyasu quietly in response, 「Go back to sleep.」

She followed his voice and found him standing in the entrance of the tent with his back to her, gazing out on the dark rainswept landscape outside. He was little more than a shadowy outline. The thick cover of rainclouds obscured any light that the moon might have provided.

「You should sleep too. Sasuke's on watch, isn't he?」

「It's almost time for me to relieve him,」said Ieyasu.

The doctor's voice held clear reluctance. When she cast her eyes around the otherwise empty tent, she understood why. He doesn't want to leave me by myself.

「Is Mitsuhide...?」

「He's not back yet.」

Ness felt a surge of anxiety, 「Do you think something happened?」

「You don't need to worry about Mitsuhide,」said Ieyasu, 「He can take care of himself.」

「So can you, but...」

... but you almost died. She let the unspoken words hang in the air between them and regretted even thinking them. Ieyasu turned his head, his eyes a glimmer of emeralds cast in shadow, and let out a sigh.

「That won't happen again. We know what we're dealing with now.」

「Then you should be more worried!」

Her voice sounded overly loud in the small space. Ieyasu drew the tent closed and padded back towards her. He lowered to his knees on the edge of her bed roll, then reached out to pull her onto his lap and into his warm embrace. He placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. He had been unusually quiet, since they'd made the deal with the Uesugi-Takeda forces, and he was quiet now too.

「I'm sorry, Ieyasu.」

「What did you do now?」

「Asking you to help find... Yoshimoto Imagawa.」

「You're worried about that too? Don't be.」

Ness sighed, 「I can't just stop worrying. That's not how it works.」

Ieyasu laughed gently, his breath warming her hair, 「I know that. If it was, my life with you would be much easier.」

「You're worried about Mitsuhide too,」Ness said softly.

「I don't care what happens to him.」

「Is that why you were keeping watch for him in the middle of the night?」

Ieyasu let out a grumpy noise, 「You'd be sad if he died. I don't want to deal with that.」

Because I want you to be happy. Ness silently translated Ieyasu's words and dipped her head to hide the smile that rose to her face. But she couldn't help the feeling that there was more to it than that. Things between the three of them were changing and shifting in some indefinable way.

She enjoyed the peace and warmth for a few minutes. The sound of his heart beating steadily next to her ear marked the passage of time. Then the doctor sighed, raised a warm hand and pressed it to her cheek.

「You don't need to worry about Mitsuhide. The three of us have something in common.」

Ness was so surprised to hear Ieyasu openly admit to having anything in common with Mitsuhide that she had to take a moment. She struggled to figure out what he meant.