Devotion

The sun had been down for awhile when I heard footsteps approaching and muffled voices at the door. I didn't go to see who it was, I stayed on the balcony, continuing to watch the shadowy figures of soldiers and staff darting here and there.

Gentle steps approached me. I knew instantly it wasn't Nobunaga, he would have come in more forcefully and approached faster. Hideyoshi found me, resting my elbows on the railing. "Rina—" he approached carefully with his hand until he found my shoulder.

I stood and brushed his hand away. "When do we leave?"

"Nobunaga and I head north tomorrow." His amber eyes are a mixture of concern, fear, and sadness.

"I'm coming with you." I stated as firm as his leader would.

"No." He looked out now at the business below. "It's too—"

"Risky." I interrupt with a growl. "I've been to war with you before and—"

"And you were kidnapped by the man we are going to war with again." His words were tense and his eyes were stern.

"It won't happen again." I stated simply.

"What if you're— " he looked unsure of how to continue as he looked down at my abdomen.

"If I discover I'm with child while we are out I will return to Azuchi but until that is confirmed there is absolutely no way I can stay here." My voice had raised enough neither of us heard Nobunaga enter so when he spoke from behind us we jumped. "I keep telling you, her stubbornness rivals yours thanks to her passion that matches mine."

Hideyoshi shook his head. "You sound like you're going to allow her to come with us." He scoffed when Nobunaga lifted his shoulders as he spoke. "She's my lucky phoenix." The concerned lover huffed. "The two of you are impossible." And with that he stomped off towards the door.

"Wait!" I yelled as I lunged after him and grabbed his arm. He did not turn to me. "Don't leave like this. Not when it's avoidable."

Nobunaga walked past me and faced Hideyoshi. He cupped the worried man's face in his hands and pulled their faces close. "I know you're worried."

Hideyoshi grabbed his wrists. "You still haven't told her about the letter Nobunaga."

Nobunaga released his face and the both turned their attention to me. Hideyoshi still had my hand as he spoke "Let's sit."

"Just tell me. I don't need to sit." I demanded.

Nobunaga came to me. "I will tell you what is in the letter when you sit down." His eyes were steady. I sat at our table, Hideyoshi sat beside me, looking concerned with his golden eyes carefully watching me. Nobunaga took his seat in front of is, I could see he was already hardening himself for the war ahead. "Kenshin's letter was to congratulate us on our marriage, to announce that he was going to war against us, and to tell you that he has left a gift for us with your family."

My throat tightened and my stomach began to twist. My village is a three days ride from here, nestled between Azuchi and the North territories. The lump in my throat was making it difficult to remember to breath. I can only imagine what kind of gift the Dragon of Echigo has left for us, and my imaginings are horrific. The thought of him touching my people, my father, my mother, and my sisters burns that knot in my throat, replacing it with something so hot it almost feels like ice. The images of my village from my dream flash in my mind again. "What else do we know about my village?" I ask steadily.

Nobunaga's eyes shifted to Hideyoshi when he spoke. "I told you, our Phoenix rises to these things." Hideyoshi huffed again, the worry never leaving his face.

Nobunaga continued with his calm strength that Hideyoshi and I both adore and somehow find some comfort in. "The letter arrived only hours before we returned and our scouts have been reduced in size now that Mitsuhide has left."

I didn't let him continue. "Then we should go. Now."

"Rina—" Hideyoshi sounds irritated as he speaks. "That could be exactly what Kenshin wants."

I lifted an eyebrow, which made Nobunaga stifle a laugh. "That would be horrible strategy seeing as he wants to fight a war against the Oda. My village isn't the battleground he would want. Kenshin wants open fields that he can cover in blood. Besides, if it is a trap, what better way to take them out that surround the forces sent there for us."

Hideyoshi was stunned and remained so as I stood. "We are going. We should leave now, it's a three days journey from here."

Hideyoshi's sounds more confused than concerned now. "When did you become a strategist?"

Nobunaga answered for me. "When she came back to us. She's been studying under Mitsunari. She's the one who made adjustments to our last battle, and honestly deserves some credit for the victory."

I summoned Misayo to help me change and pack before turning back to the men. "I proved that I can aim when I threw my pins during my last dance. Show me how to shoot."

Nobunaga approached me and took my hands in his. "Okay. I'll show you. But we aren't leaving tonight."

I pulled my hands out of his. "Why not?" I asked.

Hideyoshi sighed. "You didn't sleep well last night so neither did we. We should rest here tonight and leave early in the morning."

Misayo announced herself before coming into the room. "Oh. Lord Toyotomi, I wasn't expecting anyone else to be here so late."

Nobunaga turned to her. "He will be staying the night Misayo."

Hideyoshi and I both lost our breath at his announcement and watched Misayo's response. I was surprised to see the pleased look on my handmaid's face as Nobunaga continued. "We are leaving early tomorrow, please help Rina get ready for bed, she's quite— agitated. Make sure her things are in order for the trip tomorrow before turning in for the evening."

Misayo happily brought me to the bath that she had already prepared for me that smelled of lavender. I stayed silent as she helped me undress and into the water. Once I was submerged I spoke. "Misayo— you seem— pleased."

She began pouring soaps into my hair. "It brings me joy to see you so loved."

"Joy?" I wondered quietly.

"All three of you have been through your own pains in life—" She began rubbing the soap into my scalp. "And there will be more..."

I turned to look at her. "More pain?"

Her voice is kind as she combs through my hair. "Yes. I've noticed that people who take on such dreams as Lord Oda meet equal or greater amounts of resistance. It's pushing through those oppositions that make legends of people, don't you think?"

I turn away from her again and let my head fall back so she can rinse out my hair as I think on her words. Is that why we are so loyal to him? Because he keeps pushing through when others think it's impossible or too difficult. Will that continue to bring hardships into our lives? That's why Misayo finds joy in seeing the three of us seeking comfort with each other? Because we are at the head of this movement to unify Japan and she believes in us.

When I come back to the tenshu Hideyoshi and Nobunaga are both sitting at the desk beside each other. The devil was reading a scroll and his partner is reading a book, one of my books. I stayed just out of view to listen to their conversation for a moment.

Hideyoshi brought his thumb to his mouth and was biting his nail as he spoke. "This is what she's been reading? You know, with her dancing, it won't take her that long to pick up the movements necessary to combat like this..."

Nobunaga grumbled. "I'm aware— and so is she. This is all close range attacks though. There's no way I could allow her to get so close to an enemy, especially one like Kenshin."

Hideyoshi's eyes flickered with irritation at the devil king. "You should let her train with Masamune and some of the other ninja. If Kenshin hears she's with us he might try to take her again, we could at least make it more difficult for a potential captor."

The devil's head dropped and he his voice shook. "I am a fool. I was so distracted by her reasons to fight that I didn't take the time to think of any other benefits."

The honey blonde rubbed his lover's back and spoke reassuringly. "Because you didn't want her charging into battle like you." He reached over to lift the dark haired leaders face up and run their noses together.

Nobunaga's voice is dark. "You know she will."

"Isn't that part of why we love her?" Hideyoshi teases.

They both chuckle and I walked into the room before they stopped. I walked to the futon and crawled into the blankets without waiting for them.

I heard them shuffling to put their reading down and get up to come to the futon. When they reached the end of the futon I reached my arms out towards Nobunaga and he climbed into the covers and wrap my leg around him as I reached back towards Hideyoshi. He climbed in behind Nobunaga. I didn't feel like being held by either of them, I wanted to see both of their faces before we were on the road, heading to war.

Nobunaga cupped my cheek and ran his thumb over my lips. "Will you be able to rest tonight?"

I shut my eyes for a moment. "I will try." I whisper. They are right, between repeatedly being claimed by them for the last week and traveling back to Azuchi with a trunk full of emotions and worries, I am exhausted.

"We can ask for one of Ieyasu's special teas." Hideyoshi says as he raises on to an elbow.

I'm fully prepared to shit this idea down. "You mean like the one you used on me? No thank you. I had horrible visions that night."

He grumbled as he laid back down. "You hadn't slept in days..."

Nobunaga was still fixed on me. "Rina. Is there anything else that might help you sleep?" His brows are slightly knit. He was supposed to be pushing his concerns and emotions down for the impending war, but was choosing to worry about me? I need to fix this so he can get rest and not be distracted by me.

I kissed him, an intimately slow kiss. When we parted I smiled. "That's all I need. Let's get some sleep NobuHide—"

"Is that our new pet name?" Hideyoshi asks, sounding tired. He doesn't even raise his head to be seen from behind Nobunaga's broad shoulders. "And the two of you are NobuRin. And you and I are HideRin. I love it." He sighed the last sentence as NobuRin softly giggled.