Present:

The room held darkness, save for the sliver of sunlight slipping through the curtain. Letting out a soft sigh, I wasn't ready for the day to begin yet. Still securely in Ieyasu's arms, I laid my head back down on his chest, listening to his heart beat. He was awake, running his fingers up and down my back softly. "We've been in Azuchi for a while," I said. The more time we spent here, the more I missed being in our own home. There were so many familiar faces that I missed seeing.

"I've told you if you want to go home, then I'll send some men to guard you on the journey," Ieyasu responded.

It had been my choice to come here with him, and I do not regret it. "No, I want to be here with you," I answered, tilting my head up to meet his gaze. "I'm just missing our home more than usual today." I smiled brightly. Wherever he was, I wanted to be as well.

Rolling us over so he could hover over top of me, Ieyasu's lips pulled up into a smirk. "Then I'll have to give extra attention to you today." He dipped his head down to kiss me, running his hands down to my chest.

Nothing ever goes as planned for us when we were in Azuchi.

Footsteps came running down the hallway, stopping by our door. "L-Lord Ieyasu!" The vassal sounded out of breath. "There's an urgent message from Lord Hideyoshi for you." He knocked on the door for a second time.

I sighed and ran my hand through his hair. "Later, then. I'll hold you to your promise."

Ieyasu gave me one last kiss and left me on the futon to begin to get dressed. Only halfway done, he slid the door open when the vassal knocked a third time. "What is it?" Ieyasu's tone had turned cold, like usual when he spoke to others around him. Only I could pick out his slight irritation that we'd been interrupted.

The vassal seemed stunned. I didn't recognize him, so he must be a new recruit, and not one of Ieyasu's. His eyes fell on me for a brief moment, realizing what he'd done. "My apologies, Lord Ieyasu… Lady Rena." It was only when Ieyasu moved to block his view of me that the vassal cleared his throat and relayed the message. "There will be a war council as soon as Lord Hideyoshi and Lord Masamune return. There was an assassination attempt on Lord Nobunaga, but it ended in failure."

I still held the sheet up to cover my body even after the vassal had left. It wasn't unheard of for an assassination attempt to occur. Nobunaga had plenty of enemies. Still, it unnerved me to hear about it. Because… it could have easily been Ieyasu. We were allies of the Oda clan, and that made us a target by association.

"Don't look so worried, Rena. Nobunaga is fine. He wouldn't be so easily killed," Ieyasu said, holding out his hand to help me up. It seems he wanted me to accompany him to the castle. "I've got to gather a few items in case he needs some patching up. Get dressed and meet me at the entrance, alright?"

With a nod, I waited for him to leave before preparing myself for the day. Sliding my arms in the soft material of the kimono, I chewed on my lip. Being in this expensive material felt wrong to me sometimes. Some days I wanted to go back to plain clothes that I wore before Ieyasu and I were lovers. Back then, we argued with each other about most everything. He and I were very different people, with similar goals. The two of us would find the smallest issues to disagree over. It made my smile to myself to think about how far we'd come since those days.

It wasn't long before we were making our way through the town to get to the castle. I slipped my arm around his, hugging it tightly to my chest and walking close to him. The memories had swept away my thoughts, making me smile to myself.

"What are you so happy about?" Ieyasu asked, looking down at me with confusion. Nothing about being forced out of bed by horrible news about an assassination attempt should be making me act like this.

That only made me laugh. "I love you," I said, intertwining my fingers with his. Now isn't the time to bring up the past. He's got a lot already on his mind.

Some things never change. Ieyasu had no response, turning his gaze away. A hint of blush showed on his cheeks. "I don't like when you start acting strange," he said.

Ieyasu is very adorable when he gets embarrassed by affection. It didn't deter me from standing up on my tiptoes to place a kiss on his cheek. "I'm only speaking the truth," I replied.

Mitsunari greeted us at the gate, changing Ieyasu's mood drastically. He's a sweetheart with no ill intentions, but Ieyasu couldn't stand how clueless he could be. I liked him, though. He had a kind soul, lending a hand whenever asked and never once complaining about it. It did amuse me that he also had quite a lot of admiration and respect for Ieyasu, which irritated Ieyasu more. Mitsunari informed us about a woman that had saved Nobunaga's life, and how she ran off into the woods alone. Masamune and Hideyoshi had gone to fetch her. They had only just arrived back.

Some other vassals approached the men, asking to speak to them. He hesitated, but Ieyasu gave me the bag full of medical items. "Can you—"

I cut him off before he could finish. "Of course. I'll go see if Nobunaga needs any medical attention. Don't worry about me," I said. My skills as a doctor were on par with his own. Being on my own for so long, and then taking care of children younger than me, I had to pick up the tricks of healing in order to survive.

"I'll accompany you," Hideyoshi spoke up from the group. It wasn't hard to tell that he wanted to check on the health of his lord as well. Leading me through the castle, he spoke about the incident. The culprit had escaped, managing to evade all their soldiers.

Nobunaga rolled his eyes when Hideyoshi and I entered the room. "I've told you that I require no medical attention." He sat at his desk, working hard as always.

"Just let her see the burns, my lord. They shouldn't be left untreated," Hideyoshi chastised.

These two were close friends, even if they were lord and vassal. I moved around Hideyoshi. "You're in luck, because Ieyasu sent just about every kind of supply one might need for any fire related injuries." He'd even included stitches and a needle, should there be an open wound. Sitting on my heels, I held out my hand. "Let me see."

Reluctantly, Nobunaga set down his quill and held up his arm. The burns weren't so bad. The salve that Ieyasu had made should heal it up quickly and leave no marks. After wrapping it, I asked, "Is that all?"

"Yes, as I've said, I am fine," Nobunaga replied, his gaze moving to his most trusted vassal for a moment. Hideyoshi didn't look too convinced.

I packed away the things I'd used and laughed. "You can't fault him for being worried. We all were." News like that can change the tides of war. "Do we have any theories as to who was behind it?" Hideyoshi had mentioned that they didn't catch the assailant.

With a shake of his head, a grin spread across his lips. "Not yet, but I look forward to hunting down this coward who ran before finishing the job." He meant it, too. That gleam of excitement in his eyes said that he enjoyed the chase and would thoroughly enjoy torturing the man. The features on his face changed to realization. "Rena, you still have your informant in the east, I presume."

That took me by surprise, and it showed on my face. "Y-yes, I believe so." In the back of my mind, I knew where this was going. One of the kids that I took care of, one not that much younger than me, had begun to make a living off selling information. Because of the kindness I showed him, he would occasionally send me important things he'd learned.

"Good, I would like for you to go speak with him. I'm sure an informant of that caliber would be most useful," Nobunaga said.

Ieyasu is not going to like this. He doesn't even approve of me going to the battlefield and assisting as a doctor. "I'll speak to Ieyasu about it." This will end in an argument. I can already tell how poorly he'll take the news.

"I'll send someone along with you. I cannot spare Ieyasu, but Hideyoshi or Mitsuhide should suffice. This is not a request. As part of the alliance, I am ordering you to go seek out your informant and bring me back useful information." Nobunaga had a tendency to order anyone around him to do tasks for him, and that had caused tension between him and Ieyasu more than once when it had come to me.

"I understand, however, Ieyasu will not."

Nobunaga waved his hand in disagreement. "I do not care about Ieyasu's disapproval. I've given an order and it will be carried out."

Hideyoshi took a hold of my arm and pulled me up to my feet. "Rena, let it go. I volunteer to accompany her, with your permission."

"Very well. It's settled then." His attention had returned to his work. That signaled that the conversation was over.

Out in the hallway, I let out a breath. "This is not… good," I mumbled.

"It's not often Lord Nobunaga gives a mission of such importance to-"

I held up my hand to stop him. "That's not the issue, Hideyoshi. The informant… he lives in a dangerous province, on the edge of Uesugi territory. The reason I've never gone to visit him in person is because Ieyasu is worried someone will try to harm me. The town he resides in is always riddled with fighting." Being married to a Tokugawa makes me a target. Blowing out some air, I tried to give him a convincing smile. "I need to tell him, before someone else does."

I found Ieyasu with Mitsunari in the library. The two were discussing the numbers of the alliances armies. He had that irritated expression, and his beautiful green eyes lit up with relief when they met my gold ones. Stay calm, Rena. "Mitsunari, could you give us a moment?" I asked.

"Yes, of course! We can return to this discussion later this evening," Mitsunari replied with a warm smile. Without any questions, he exited the room with a book in his hands.

Though he seemed relieved that Mitsunari was gone, Ieyasu could easily pick up on my worry. "Is something the matter?" He asked.

Slowly sinking to my knees beside him, I nodded my head. "Don't be upset, okay?"

"What could have possibly happened with Nobunaga to make me upset?"

Taking a deep breath, I fiddled with the sleeve of my kimono. "He wants me to go speak with Joji," I said hesitantly.

The second I said his name, Ieyasu's eyes narrowed in disapproval. I hadn't told Hideyoshi the whole truth. It was true that he lived in a dangerous province, and going there could put me in danger, but Joji had been… in love with me. Because of that love, he and Ieyasu had never gotten along. Joji believed that Ieyasu had somehow forced me into marrying him, and no matter how hard I tried to tell him otherwise, he still hated him. He hated him to the point that he'd tried to kill him. Joji's plan failed, ending with me being the one injured.

And the result of this attempt had cost us the life of our unborn child.

A/N:

This story has two companion stories with a lot of crossover! If you enjoy this one, please go check out Clever Canary and Solitary Confinement!