Chapter Text
Mitsuhide ignores Hideyoshi's pointed comment, smiling as Kotone and Ume exchange an exasperated look. He's noticed that since the girls appeared, they've been eating meals together more often. It's nice, if a little tedious.
It gets incredibly hard to breathe, and for just an instant, Mitsuhide thinks this is it. He's been poisoned. He won't accomplish-
The shadows in the corner of the room are... moving?
Colors swirl out of the darkness, and it becomes clear just in time for them to watch a woman shove another into the room. Hard enough to put distance between the window like thing and the woman.
Who has 13 tails and fox ears.
"No, Nat!" She goes to stand back up, but immediately collapses. Which makes him realize that the blood on her leg is probably hers.
"It's okay, Tsuki." The woman still in the window is also clearly injured, and much worse at that.
"Natsumi please-" Natsumi gives a sad smile, lifting up her sleeve. "No, you told me you were fine!" Her arm is black, dead looking.
"You have to live, Tsuki."
"No, Nat-"
"Promise me. Tsuki, promise me you'll live and be happy!" Tsuki struggles to her feet. "Promise me. Even if it's a lie."
"Natsumi, please." A single step has Tsuki hitting her knees with a pained hiss.
"Promise me, damnit!" Two large figures start to approach behind Natsumi. A quiet sob leaves Tsuki.
"I promise." Natsumi tosses a necklace at Tsuki seconds before a sword runs her through. It's silent as the window collapses, and Mitsuhide realizes none of them have moved during that little scene.
There's another quiet, almost silent, sob, which seems to tug on the girls. Ume and Kotone kneel down in front of the new woman, and his concern spikes when panic fills both of their faces.
"You're Tsuki, right?" Ume murmurs, hands fluttering around like she can't decide where to touch.
"I lied, I'm sorry." She sounds so broken.
"Tsuki?" Her attention finally seems to shift to Kotone. "You're really injured. Can we help you?"
"I'm fine."
"You're really really not." Ume's focused on something on her face. "Our friend Ieyasu knows medicine. Is it okay if he helps?" Ume's already waving Ieyasu over, not waiting for an answer. Nobunaga motions for him to listen, watching the girls carefully. Tsuki seems to realize they're not alone in the room, trying to turn around to see them.
"Fuck." Ieyasu scrambles to his feet the moment her face comes into view.
A long, jagged, cut runs down the left side of her face, her eye already turning milky. Tear tracks are quite visible, the left one red with blood.
Before Ieyasu can reach her, her eyes roll back, and she goes limp. Both girls go with Ieyasu when Nobunaga gives them a room for Tsuki. Leaving the rest of them in silence.
"She's… a Kitsune." Hideyoshi breaks it.
"Indeed. She's wearing the same type of clothing as Ume and Kotone when they first arrived." Nobunaga doesn't look concerned about her status as a yokai.
"So, she's also from the future." Masamune eyes the sake like he's contemplating it.
"The future must build women differently," Mitushide comments. "Ume and Kotone are outspoken but gentle creatures. This new woman, Tsuki, seems just as strong willed, but less opposed to violence." Which means he needs to keep an eye on her. If necessary, he can-
"I'm still confused about what she lied about." Mitsunari tilts his head.
"She promised she'd live and be happy. She lied." They all turn to Mitsuhide.
"You don't think she'll kill herself, do you?"
"I don't know."
Chitsuki blinks awake, almost able to convince herself it was just a nightmare. But the inability to see out of her left eye, the various bandages she can feel, and the bone deep pain and exhaustion tells her no, it really happened.
The strange ceiling also helps.
“You’re awake.” Chitsuki turns her head at the relief, finding a young woman with dark blue hair smiling at her. As soon as she realizes her hand is empty, she panics. “It’s right here.” The stranger holds out the necklace and ring Chitsuki gave Natsumi’s mother ages ago. “How are you feeling?” Lost, alone, agony.
“Everything hurts a bit.” She struggles into a sitting position, and the woman shifts closer, helping her. Despite the fact her tails and ears are visible. “You’re not… scared?”
“Because you’re a kitsune? No, I’m not. My name is Ume, by the way.”
“Tsuki, but I think you figured that out.” Her voice sounds dead even to her own ears.
“Yeah, we did. The other girl with me was Kotone.”
“The redhead?” Ume hums, giving a small smile.
“So, given your jeans when you got here, I think the same thing happened to you.” Chitsuki accepts the glass of water with a noise of confusion. “It’s 1582.” She inhales wrong and has to grab her ribs when her coughing fit sends agony through them. Soft hands rub circles into her upper back. “Yeah, I know. Kotone and I were shocked too.”
“You too?”
“We went through a natural forming wormhole with Sasuke, a scientist who studies them. He’s also around, but he tends to stay in Echigo.” Nothing about this girl says deception. A part of Chitsuki relaxes, finally in the presence of someone who is innocent. After so long,-
“Where are we?”
“Azuchi Castle.” And all that relaxation vanishes. “What?”
“1582, Azuchi? Is Oda still alive?”
“Yeah, he is.” Something must have shown on her face. “Is that a problem?”
“I didn’t get along with Oda when I knew him.” Ume seems to think hard for a second.
“Yokai don’t exist in this world, so I think you changed universes. We did something similar, an alternate version of our time line. So, maybe Nobunaga isn’t the same here?” Ume visibly debates with herself.
“Ask whatever you want. I-” the words catch as she remembers how she got here, “I barged in quite rudely. It’s the least I can do.”
“Hey, you don’t owe any of us that. We saw… we saw what happened.” Chitsuki wants to cry, but it seems to get lodged in her throat. She’s cried so much over the years, and yet this one time when she should--- she can’t. There’s no more tears. “Do you feel up to meeting the others?”
“Yeah, that sounds fine.” She accepts Ume’s help getting to her feet.
“We set your broken bones, which was kind of difficult. I think they were already trying to heal?” Chitsuki nods, used to that, eyes closed as she tries to push the pain back.
“Um, we bandaged the cuts that were still open by the time we got here. The smaller ones had already closed.”
"Sounds about right."
"Here, I finished tailoring this to fit you. I'll make you some of your own soon. I'm sure Kotone will want to as well." Swallowing back her pride, she asks Ume to help, everything too sore to dress herself.
Fuck, she can give herself today to ask for help. If only today.
She's led through the castle, and curiosity almost breaks through the grief. This is nothing like the Azuchi she knew.
"Hey guys." Ume pushes open a door, stepping in and holding it open.
"I thought you wanted to stay-" Chitsuki enters after her, and the man that was speaking falls quiet.
"How are you up?" A guy across from him asks. It takes a moment, but Chitsuki can remember him jolting to his feet to help her. Ume called him Ieyasu. "Your right leg was broken in several places, and your left ankle looked shattered."
"Kinda what happens when a sledgehammer is taken to it," she mutters under her breath. Apparently loud enough for Ume to hear.
She snaps around with a yelped, "A sledgehammer?"
"A what?" A one eyed man leans closer to Kotone.
"Think really big metal mallet." Her answer has everyone turning to look at Chitsuki. Who decides it's time to figure out her own stuff.
"Tokugawa Ieyasu?" His green eyes widen a touch, but he nods. "I guess you're right, Ume."
"What? Oh, it's not the same universe?"
"No, he doesn't look anything like the Tokugawa I knew." Chitsuki shifts off her right leg as agony shoots up from her ankle.
Still healing. Cool.
"Sit." The man at the head of the table motions to an empty spot next to a white haired man with gold eyes. She frowns for a moment before she realizes who he is.
Head of the table at Azuchi? Check. Commanding tone, expecting to be listened to? Check.
Oda Nobunaga.
And yet, he looks nothing like the one she knew. The one she killed. The one she ate. And he doesn't act the same. So far at least.
The first step is agony, landing on her ankle too hard. She refuses to stumble though, biting her cheek hard enough to bleed to stay quiet. He motioned to the seat closest to her, thank Kami, and she settles in it with as much grace as she can muster. Ignoring decorum, she stretches her legs out in front of her.
"You're still in pain, aren't you, little fox?" She blinks a few times at the man beside her, unsure how to take the name.
"It's just Tsuki."
"Yes, little fox, I know."
“Mitsuhide, leave her alone.” Mitsuhide?
“He killed my mother. I owe him no more loyalty.”
“And my lover.” A quiet pact in the dead of night over bottles of sake.
Chitsuki shakes off old memories, not needing to go down that path. She refocuses on the table and studies the men. There’s still three men she still doesn’t know.
“Come now, Hideyoshi. I’m sure she isn’t offended.” Panic shoots through her at the name.
“No, Toyotomi! It was me! It was me! Leave him out of it! No!”
“Tsuki?” Ume’s kneeling down beside her, hand on her shoulder. “Hey, are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine.”
“Are you sure?” Hideyoshi is the one asking this time, and she takes a moment to search his face. There’s only kindness in his gaze. “You can be honest with us.”
“In the universe I came from, there are different versions of you. I didn’t exactly get along with them. It’s a little confusing.”
“Why not?” Her attention shifts to Nobunaga.
“Differing ideals.” It's a simple answer, but it’s the truth. That’s what it boiled down to. She couldn’t just go along with their plans, not when they obviously ran over-
“And what are your ideals?” Best get this over with. It would be nice to know if this will be a repeat.
“Nobody is worth more than another. All lives are equal. This stupid caste system is just dividing people in manners that are worthless. It doesn’t matter what their job is, merchant, artisan, samurai, warlord, that’s not their defining factor. Nor is their birth status. Whether you’re born to the shogun or born to a shop owner, that doesn't determine how far you can go in life. It’s your actions, your behavior, that you should be judged on.” It’s silent after her little speech, everyone staring at her. And for just a moment, she feels an odd peace settle over her.
She can’t run. Her legs won’t support her, she knows that. If they go to attack, she can’t escape. She’ll die before she can even stand up straight.
“And these differed from the men who share our names?” Nobunaga breaks the silence, eyes narrowed and focused on her.
“Quite.”
“If you were to walk through the town, you’d find the streets lined with merchants who flock to Azuchi since Nobunaga-sama encourages them to come and sell.” A new sort of peace fills her at Hideyoshi’s words.
“I will unify Japan to bring an end to the caste system, to give people the peace they need to flourish as they are meant to.”
“Unify?” Her head tilts. “Not conquer?”
“No, my goal is not to conquer.” He’s not lying. Nobunaga really means that. “Was it just differing ideals that caused issues?”
“It was the root of all problems, but there were offshoots from that.” Three of her tails shift to support her to take pressure off of her ribs, as a fourth lays across her lap. None of them even flinch.
“What else was it?” The man with an eye patch next to Kotone leans forward.
“Oda demanded I became his attack dog, and I refused to help someone who saw everyone as lesser than him. He retaliated.”
“He hurt you?” The last man looks so sad at that.
“He killed my lover.”
“So you retaliated back.” She runs her finger along the wood grain of the table, simply nodding at Nobunaga.
“Did you kill that Nobunaga-sama?” Chitsuki shrugs a bit.
“Technically, he committed seppuku.” Her gaze shifts up to the man at the head of the table. “But you’re not lying, I can tell. It seems like our ideals align, so I have no issue with you."
"What about the rest of us?" Eyepatch asks, but Chitsuki gives another shrug.
"I'm still not sure who you are, or him."
“Date Masamune.” Eyepatch man. Which yeah, that makes sense.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I'm Ishida Mitsunari." The kind purple eyed man.
“Date I interacted with three times. Once when he was a very young child. His father had asked me to come and see if I could help ease his smallpox. I ended up having to take his eye.” She motions to her right eye, and watches him grimace. That must have also been the cause here. “I also fought with Date in one battle. The opposing man made it his life's mission to annihilate all yokai. And it was my job to protect the yokai.”
“Why’s that?” Mitsuhide has turned more towards her, looking down at where she’s leaning against her tails.
“It’s the Kitsune’s duty to protect yokai from the humans. Always has been. Date and I also bonded after that fight over how our mothers hated us.”
“Your mother hated you?” Kotone sounds so incredibly sad, but Chitsuki can only shrug.
“There was a prophecy, and since yokai tend to be superstitious, my parents put a lot of stock in it.”
“What was this prophecy?”
‘Kitsune with tails of unluck, prepare,
Your drive to protect shall end in a nightmare.
Only after your world ends in eradication,
Shall you find a world, by your creation.
War shall come knocking at your new foxhole
Show them the monster now stitched in your soul.’
“No one ever deemed it smart to tell me.” Change the subject. “I only interacted with Ishida briefly. Not enough to form an opinion."
“And what was this interaction?” Nobunaga is still watching her avidly. But there’s no uncomfortable aura, just curiosity.
“We were on opposing sides of a battle. I didn’t care either way in terms of who won. They were fighting over whether Tokugawa could take over Toyotomi’s legacy after he died. I wasn’t too fond of Tokugawa since he treated women poorly. Had 700 concubines, several of which died because they weren’t aware they ‘belonged’ to Tokugawa.” Ieyasu flinches back with a disgusted look. “But Ishida was supporting Toyotomi, so I supported Tokugawa.”
“Toyotomi was already dead though?” Mitsuhide’s smile flickers for just a brief moment.
“Yeah.”
“You really hated him. Why?”
“There were only two people in the room with Oda when he committed seppuku. Me and another. Despite trying to take the blame myself, Toyotomi killed the other person.”
“Who was it?” Chitsuki immediately shakes her head.
“I don’t want you to create a first impression of someone based on an event that I doubt will happen here.”
“You don’t think the same circumstances will occur?” She shifts her full attention onto Nobunaga.
“Don’t go around making a production of killing people’s mothers, and I’m sure you’ll be fine.” It’s silent for a beat.
“Stay here in Azuchi.” It’s a demand, but it isn’t.
“Nobunaga!” Kotone immediately berates him. “Won’t you please stay here with us, Tsuki? I think you’ll really like it here.” Ah, okay, she gets it. Nobunaga did that on purpose to prove that they’re different.
“Okay.”
No one asks about if she knew Akechi.