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Aoba-jo was beautiful, and while it was still far from finished, the main enceinte had been completed, and the Date clan had moved in. It was cause for celebration, and Date Masamune was excellent at throwing parties. The problem was that his parties had a tendency to grow wildly out of control, especially when uninvited clans showed up. That, and the mornings after were always filled with regret and an inexplicable amount of nudity.
Kojuro woke up in the servant's quarters, of all places. He had some of his memories, but things were hazy, and after that, simply gone. Which was a problem, as the last he could recall of his lord was him running off to spar with the Tiger of Kai. A part of him was horrified that he had failed to keep track of Masamune, but a larger part had a damn headache and it was very hard to concentrate on his failings.
A cursory check of his being revealed that he still had all of his belongings, including, thankfully, his sword. Kojuro rose and cracked his back and neck. He needed to find his lord; the fact that the younger man was missing was a grave oversight on Kojuro's part. He decided to check outside first, as his Lord rarely retired to his room during more boisterous parties. The few servants he passed by on his way out gave him fairly sour looks, likely both for the disaster outside and for the intrusion into their quarters. Kojuro felt fairly chagrined, and resolved to give out bonuses for their trouble.
Outside was a mess of half-awake and still asleep soldiers, many of whom were down to their smalls. The destruction surprisingly extensive even in the relatively out-of-the-way courtyard. Luckily, it seemed mostly superficial, although Kojuro preyed his vegetable gardens had been spared. The Saika Faction, who had shown up with heavy artillery disguised as fireworks, were most assuredly responsible for most of the major damage. They would be getting a bill.
“Man,” came a voice from behind him. “Where did it go so wrong?” Kojuro didn't indicate his surprise physically, but he's pretty sure Sasuke knew he had gotten the drop on the swordsman. Katakura would have been angrier, if Sarutobi hadn't been looking a bit worse for wear, including the tell-tale signs of a hangover.
“What do you want, Saru?” Kojuro asked loudly, enjoying the wince and subsequent glare he received.
“Asshole,” Sasuke muttered. “Look, you don't know where the One-Eyed Dragon is, do you?” Kojuro narrowed his eyes.
“What do you want with my Lord?”
“Nothing with him, specifically, but I suspect Danna is with him.” Ah.
“You've lost your Lord too, then?”
“Not so much lost as...misplaced.”
“Right, of course."
“Look, have you seen him or not? I gotta round up Lord Takeda and the boys too, before we overstay our welcome.”
“I believe it is far too late for that.”
“Very funny.”
“I suppose I can allow you to accompany me on my search for Lord Masamune, so long as you keep quiet.”
“No promises.” Sasuke shrugged and Kojuro sighed. “Hey, that your guy?”
“Your guy” turned out to be Katsuie, fast asleep a tree and looking fairly haggard. The man had gotten incredibly drunk the night before, and had regaled them all with horrifying and sometimes hilarious tales from his time in Nobunaga's command. He'd eventually started weeping over someone Kojuro believed to be O-Ichi, but at that point he'd lost so much coherency it had been difficult to tell. Last he'd seen of him, his rival Sakon had been trying to cheer him up. Said man was sprawled next to him, wearing a decorated pair of hakama that looked suspiciously like the ones Chosokabe had arrived in. It made Kojuro worried for the state of the pirate.
Kojuro gently shook Katsuie awake, hoping he'd be able to help with the search, but the other man immediately doubled over and expelled the contents of his stomach all over Kojuro's shoes. Well. Looked like he wouldn't be much help after all. Katsuie groaned in agony and curled up on the ground, desperate to keep the light out of his eyes; he didn't even seem to register Kojuro or the mess he had just made.
Taking pity, Kojuro decided to look to the man next to Katsuie instead. He was none too gentle at waking Sakon up, although he was more careful to stay out of the way of any more projectiles.
“Ugh, shit,” Sakon managed to wake up without any major incident, but he didn't seem happy to be awake. “What?”
“I need you to take Katsuie back to his quarters before he expires out here.” Katakura ordered, only mildly concerned about the security threat Sakon posed. “He's staying in a guest room in the east wing. The servants can help direct you.”
“Ugh, yeah, sure,” Sakon rubbed his face groggily. He surprised Kojuro when he suddenly jolted. “Lord Ishida! I have to find him!”
“If you can get Katsuie inside before you do, I'd be grateful. Ishida can take care of himself for a little while, but I'm not sure Katsuie can.” Sakon looked like he had something to say about that, but a groan from Katsuie kept him from releasing the words. He looked at the miserable figure at his side in sympathy before turning back to Katakura and nodding.
As Sakon gathered his indisposed rival up, Kojuro caught Sasuke's eye and jerked his head in the direction of the main courtyard. The two made their way down the connecting path; there was a lot of potential area to cover, as the party had spilled out of the enceinte and into the rest of the castle grounds once uninvited clans had shown up.
Soon the pathway lead out to the main courtyard, which had been the party's original epicenter. A giant nabe pot had been “procured” from Kobayakawa and set up along with various banquets and cushions and lanterns. In retrospect, there had been no way the courtyard could have held everyone.
They came upon Tadakatsu, covered in streamers, glitter, and what looked to be an eyepatch, dangling from one of his horns. The large warrior was picking up the giant pot, which had been tipped over sometime the night before. The remnants of their dinner had seeped into the ground, somewhat, creating a pungent muck that several soldiers had made their bed.
“Hey big guy,” Sasuke called, and strolled over to help the larger warrior steady the pot. Tadakatsu made a noise to indicate his thanks. Sasuke gestured to Tadakatsu's horn. “Looks like you picked up a new accessory. Thinking of starting a life of piracy?”
“!!!” Tadakatsu exclaimed. Sarutobi laughed and patted him on the arm good naturedly.
“Yeah, I hear ya; I'd get seasick after a while too. I imagine you'd have to find a boat solid enough to bear your weight as well.”
“!!!”
“Woah, hey, I wasn't calling you fat!” Sasuke put his hands up in a placating manner.
Tadakatsu wasn't the only one of Tokugawa's men that was awake and cleaning. The rest were also helping the servants clean away food and garbage. Most of them looked ill, but they were disciplined enough to stoically work through their hangovers. Kojuro was impressed; his men weren't as unruly as they used to be, but it had taken him a while to work it out of them. Ieyasu seemed to inspire self-control in men better than anyone Kojuro knew. The man in question stood off to the side directing his soldiers. When he caught sight of them, he beamed and waved them over.
If Kojuro was displeased to see how chipper Ieyasu was that morning, Sasuke was positively livid.
“How come he's fine?” The ninja grumbled . Tokugawa looked less pristine than he had last night and he was still wearing the...bondage gear? He had seen fit to show up in. Fortunately, he had also obtained Chosokabe's kimono. Unfortunately, he had chosen to leave it up, which meant Kojuro got a perfect view of several suspicions bruises dotting the man. He was not going to think too hard on that one.
“Good morning, Katakura-san, Sarutobi-san,” Ieyasu greeted them warmly. Sasuke made a displeased noise in his direction that seemed to roll off Ieyasu like water. Man was nothing if not congenial.
“Morning Ieyasu. Have you seen Masamune-dono?” Ieyasu shook his head.
“No, sorry. I can point you in the direction of Mitsunari, however. Or perhaps where the women are? Maria-dono and Saika-san seem very good at keeping track of things like that.”
“Perhaps Saika would be the best option, I need to speak with her anyway.” Kojuro did not think he could deal with Ishida's brand of melodrama that morning. Ieyasu laughed; his energy was quickly wearing on Kojuro.
“I suppose that's for the best. Mitsunari wasn't too happy this morning.” Tokugawa paused, considering. “Well, not in his usual 'I'm going to murder everything' way. More like, 'I made a terrible mistake last night and my head hurts'.”
“Ah, well I will take care to keep out of his way, regardless.”
“Saika-san and Maria-dono are at the stage with the rest of the women. You remember where that is, correct? Well, you can't really miss it.”
“Yes, I recall where it is.” Kojuro had been hoping his Lord had remained within the walls. He had to remind himself that Masamune was more than capable of looking after himself.
“Well, good luck. I'm sure Masamune-san is around here somewhere.” Ieyasu told him brightly. “Probably with Sanada-san.” He chuckled at that. Sasuke grimaced. “My men and I are going to help clear up some of the damage. Then we'll head out before Mitsunari gets his bearing and starts rampaging”
“Alright, thank you Tokugawa-san.” Kojuro polity inclined his head, and made a note to encourage Sakon to round up his lord if he saw him again that morning. “And Ieyasu?”
“Yes, Kojuro?”
“Please at least close that kimono properly.” Ieyasu's laughter followed him as they walked away, and gave him little hope that his request would be fulfilled.
Kojuro was glad to see guards at the gate, although they had evidently been useless the night before. They bowed respectfully and let the men through, and the two quickly made there way down to the rest of the castle grounds. The stage was as Kojuro remembered, large and crudely made, but durable enough to withstand the many performers. Most of the men and women had migrated nearby at some point during the night, and someone had carved great gashes into patch of land for reasons unknown. A mountainous pile of clothing and other gambling winnings stood to one side of the stage. No doubt the Saika Faction had cleaned out every fool who had dared to challenge them. Which meant Date's men must have had nothing left.
Saika and Maria were indeed at the stage, with Saika addressing several of her men off to the side, and Maria resting on cushions no doubt stolen from the courtyard. The Oracle and Itsuki, who had bonded after a brief and childish rivalry over who had the larger idol status, and were now passed out together not far from Maria. They were using a deer- Shikanosuke's if he remembered correctly-as a make-shift pillow. Shikanosuke himself seemed to have been relegated to sleeping just off the stage with Maeda Keiji; poor kid. Naotora was retching nearby, with a couple of her women trying to cover her from further indignity. She tried to wave them off, unconcerned with keeping a lady-like appearance, and valiantly tried to regain some semblance of order by herself. Kojuro had to admire her stoicism.
Kojuro waded through the unconscious bodies, with the ninja close behind, trying not to step on anyone-particularly the women. The stage creaked ominously as he stepped up onto it, making him incredibly worried for the people still resting on it.
“Katakura-san, good morning.” Maria trilled, raising a hand. She seemed to sparkle in the morning light.
“Ah, Maria-dono, good morning.” Kojuro replied politely. “I apologize for not giving you and your friends proper accommodations last night. I fear I became somewhat indisposed.”
“Oh not at all,” Maria dismissed his concern with a tinkling laugh. “The weather was quite pleasant last night, so it was nice to sleep under the stars.”
“Still, it was wrong of me to not even be there to offer guest quarters.” He bowed in apology.
“Such a gentleman. If I hadn't witnessed your...prowess last night, I would never have imagined you were capable of such aggression.”
“My...prowess?” The words caught in his throat. Maria seemed delighted with his horror.
“Why, your incredible skills in kenjutsu, my dear. Some of those foolish boys were boasting about how well they handled their swords. You put them in their place with a lovely display.” Mortification settled in Kojuro's stomach as Maria gestured to the gouges in the ground. He had absolutely no memory of doing such a thing. He bowed low, embarrassed by the spectacle he must have made of himself the night prior.
“I am greatly apologetic for my unseemly display last night. I should not have let drunken pride get the better of me.”
“Oh no, not at all. It was quite an invigorating show.” Kojuro flushed at the leer the lady sent his way. He resisted the urge to fidget like a child.
“Um, yes, well.” Kojuro pretended not to hear Sasuke snickering behind him. He'd put the ninja in his place later. “I am looking for Lord Masamune, as well as Sanada-san.”
“Hmm, I don't think I've seen them this morning.” Maria put a hand under her chin delicately. She called to the mercenary off-stage. “Saika, dear, do you happen to know where our gracious host is?” Saika glanced back before wrapping up her talk and making her way up on stage.
“Are you referring to Date?” She asked, casting a brief glance at Maeda, still asleep against the platform. “I haven't seen him since last night. He flew by here fighting with the Tiger.”
“I see, thank you anyway.” Kojuro was about to get off the stage when he spotted the pile of winnings again, and he got an idea. “Magoichi, I assume all of that is last night's ill-gotten gains?”
“The Saika Faction obtained those goods fair and square. It is of no concern of mine nor my men if the rest of these louts aren't as skilled as my men.”
“Perhaps a trade, then? The Saika Faction is responsible for a lot of damage to Aoba-jo and the surrounding area. We will forgo demanding any major payments if you would kindly return the clothes to the more indecent soldiers.”
“I am under the impression that it was the revelers who caused the most destruction.”
“Playing coy doesn't suit you, Magoichi. I'm sure you aren't anymore keen than the rest of us to be subjected to such obscenity so early in the morning.”
“I can't say I care all that much.” Saika said, but she huffed and acquiesced. “Fine, we'll give back enough of the clothing to keep everyone presentable, as well as fix some of the worst of the damage. That should be enough to set us even, I believe.”
“That sounds acceptable, if you could have your men dismantle the stage as well, it would be greatly appreciated.”
“Fine, but we're keeping any valuables from Oshu's men.” Saika crossed her arms under her breasts, as if to close negotiations.
“If you can find anything of value from our men, feel free.” He smirked at her, knowing full well how difficult that would be. The gamblers in Date's army tended to lose any wealth they gained almost immediately. Magoichi grunted in acknowledgment and stepped away to kick Maeda awake. Katakura took this as his cue to leave, and as he stepped down from the stage he realized that Sarutobi was gone.
He glanced around, surprised, as he had expected to be stuck with his unwanted companion for a while. A call, executed in Chosokabe's rough baritone, caught his attention.
“Oi! Kojuro!” Chosokabe was waving to him a little ways off, just far enough that Kojuro hadn't noticed him immediately. In front of him stood the missing ninja, standing so Kojuro could just make out his face. It was twisted in a look of displeasure, which Kojuro immediately understood as Motochika moved out from behind Sasuke. Katakura abruptly closed his eyes.
“Chosokabe, there are women and children present.” Kojuro barked, pinching his nose. Well, that confirmed his suspicions about the state of the pirate. He opened his eyes again, but kept them focused higher up on Motochika's body as he walked over to join the pair. The pirate grinned, unashamed off his nudity; in fact, he merely cocked his hips forward, putting himself on further display. Sasuke seemed torn between laughing and gagging.
“No idea where my shit is; think I lost it all gambling last night. I'm trying to find my underwear, at least.” He gestured to his groin, but Kojuro did not follow the action downwards. Instead, he kept his eyes trained evenly on Chosokabe's face; not lingering too long on the naked, gnarled eye socket, but neither shying away from it. “The boys have already offered me their clothing, but most off them have nothing left either.”
“Many of my men are in a similar state.” Kojuro acknowledged. “Ieyasu has your kimono, Tadakatsu has your eye-patch, and I believe Sakon has your hakama. It seems the Saika faction cleaned out most of the soldiers, so she might have your footwear. I have convinced her to release enough of the clothing so as to make everyone decent.”
“Well, Ieyasu can keep the kimono. He has that silly little thing on, and it's kinda cold this morning. As a man of the sea, I'm used to a brisk breeze.”
“Well, swell for you,” Sasuke muttered disgustingly, shifting his eyes away from the man before him. Motochika threw back his head and guffawed loudly. “I'll see if Sakon and Tadakatsu will relinquish my hakama and eye-patch. You haven't seen my fundoshi by any chance?”
“I have not,” Kojuro told him. “And I'm not sure I would recognize it as yours if I saw it, anyhow.”
“Hey now, this isn't your run-of-the-mill underwear. This is my gambling fundoshi, purple with a nice sakura pattern; made of silk. I normally don't even bother with underwear, but when I'm gambling I tend to lose a lot of stuff. Might as well have another article of clothing before I have to resort to betting my canons.” Sasuke snorted.
“I think we can all be thankful for that.”
“You guys were looking for your boys, right? Pretty sure they never left the castle grounds. They were really going wild last night, I'm jealous.”
“Yes, well. We're hoping they didn't go too wild.” Kojuro thanked the pirate and they parted ways.
“I told you they weren't out here,” Sasuke crossed his arms behind his head as they climbed back up to the enceinte. Kojuro did not roll his eyes, because he was a man of great self-control, but it was a near thing. “I had difficulty imagining my Lord retiring to his chambers with so many guests on the castle grounds.” Sasuke picked up on his meaning and snorted. “Besides, it was possible he and Sanada-san moved their fight into the nearby forest.”
“You underestimate my scouting ability-and the amount of destruction the two of them can create-if you think I wouldn't have discovered if they were in there.” “Given that you still don't know where either of our lords our, I think I estimate them fairly accurately.”
“I was trying to be courteous by not snooping around any more than I have.” Sasuke shrugged, which looked awkward with his arms still behind his head. “Guess I shouldn't have bothered; lord knows you and your men have been all over Ueda-jo.”
“How Ueda-jo chooses to deal with its security is your concern, not mine.”
“Hey, not like this place is a paragon of defense. You may have a tough time getting an army up here, but gimme a night and I could wipe you guys out by myself.”
“Is that a threat?” Kojuro rested his hand heavily on the hilt of his katana.
“No, geez, I'm not going to do anything Danna doesn't want me too.” Sasuke held his hands up in surrender for the second time that morning. “I'm just saying: an earthquake could take this place out.”
Katakura chose not to dignify that with a response, and stormed on ahead. Sasuke hung back to give him some space, and soon they re-entered the main enceinte.
“So we're thinking what, Date's room?”
“I will go have a look in my Lord's chambers, and other apartments. You can keep searching around here.”
“Uh, no, I'm coming with you. I don't know what state Danna is in, he may require my assistance.”
“You mean you're worried my Lord or I might do something untoward to Sanada if you aren't around”
“Nooooo, ya think?” Kojuro bristled at the slight on his character, and the two bickered until they reached the mansion Masamune's apartments resided.
“Good morning, Katakura-san, Sasuke-san,” came a soft voice from the veranda, interrupting a particularly colorful remark from Sarutobi. The two of them turned away from each other to face Kenshin, who looked very relaxed. Kasuga was sleeping with her head in Kenshin's lap, and the God of War was stroking it peacefully.
The night before, Kenshin had endured a lot of loud demands for proof of his masculinity, mainly from Chosokabe's crew and, embarrassingly, Masamune's own troops. Kasuga had been quick to attack any and all foolish enough to question her lord.
“Good morning, Kenshin-Dono,” Kojuro greeted, bowing politely. “I apologize for our men last night, they were completely out of line.” He was apologizing a hell of a lot that morning.
“It's no trouble, I am used to such things.” Kenshin chuckled. “I find it quite amusing to keep everyone guessing, actually.”
“Kenshin, you seen Danna?” Sasuke was blatantly staring at Kasuga's tits, wrapped up in an appallingly pink catsuit.
“I have, actually, although not recently.” Kenshin tilted his head to indicate behind him, where the entrance to building had been deeply scarred by some recent fight. “The Dragon and Tiger passed through here in the early morning, spirits clashing brightly. I have not seen them since, and I believe they are still inside. Or perhaps, they found another way out.”
“That is helpful, thank you Lord Kenshin.” Katakura stepped onto the veranda and moved to enter the house as Kasuga stirred.
“Lord Kenshin?” She murmured, slightly dazed.
“Yo, welcome back to the world of the living.” Sarutobi grinned at her, causing her to sit up quickly.
“You!” She shouted, much to Sasuke's displeasure. “What do you think you're doing so close to Lord Kenshin?!”
“Hey now, I'm not the one who fell asleep when I was supposed to be protecting my boss.” Sasuke smirked at her. “You were really out, too. You should have woken up the moment we were within range.” Kasuga flushed with humiliation, and Kojuro couldn't help but feel sympathetic.
“Lord Kenshin!” She cried, falling into a kowtow. “I-I cannot even begin to tell you how ashamed I am for neglecting my duties in such a manner.”
“Nothing to worry about, my Beautiful Blade,” Kenshin merely had to smile for the kunoichi to stop stammering and melt. “Much as the sword is beautiful when sheathed, so too, is your sleeping face enchanting.” Kojuro did not know how the man could come up with such things, but Kasuga sure seemed to enjoy it, if her cries of delight were anything to go by.
“Well, if we're finished here, I guess we should check inside,” Sasuke told them, clearly not interested in seeing the two coo at each other. “Hey Kasuga, feel free to swing by Kai sometime. I can show you a new technique I picked up in Yoshiwara.” Kasuga squawked indignantly, making Kenshin chuckle. Kojuro steered Sasuke into the building before the kunoichi could stick him with her kunai.
There turned out to be a very easy-to-follow trail of chaos. They followed the destruction through the house towards Masamune's apartments, and Kojuro kept berating himself for not checking there first.
“Wait, do you hear that?” Sasuke put a hand up to one ear, straining to hear. It took Kojuro a few more steps, but he soon heard the sounds of battle.
“You don't suppose they're fighting this early?” Kojuro muttered to Sasuke.
“I think the real question is whether they ever stopped.” They wouldn't have, would they? Well, maybe Yukimura would, but surely Masamune-dono was a little more reasonable. Then again, his lord tended to act recklessly where the Tiger of Kai was concerned.
The fusuma to the main room of Lord Masamune's chambers had been completely demolished. The damage inside wasn't quite as extensive as the rest of the mansion, but clearly his lord cared little for his personal belongings in the face of Sanada's fire. He shared a brief look with Sasuke, who looked like he wanted to make a particularly raunchy joke. Kokuro was thankful the ninja decided to hold his tongue.
There was a small courtyard on the other end of the room, and the fusuma leading to the veranda were broken. Even before they step out onto the veranda the two can see their charges, still engaged in combat. Masamune had opted to wear his casual hakama for the party, and it had not stood up to the violence. In fact, a few more lucky strikes from Yukimura, and his Lord would be in a rather shameless state. Yukimura, who had, bizarrely, chosen to wear an outfit suspiciously resembling his Lord's, which had revved up Masamune something fierce.
“Oi, fight's over!” Sasuke called, causing the two men to jerk apart in surprise. Yukimura jammed the blades of his spears into the ground and Masamune clumsily put away his swords. “Unbelievable.”
“Ah, Kojuro,” Masamune grinned, bright and satisfied, despite how tired he looked. “Party over, huh?”
“My lord, have you been fighting all night?” Kojuro probably didn't need to ask, but felt himself compelled to do so anyhow.
“Heh, guess I have.” Masamune's grin became sheepish when he had to catch himself as he started to sway on his feet. Yukimura took that moment to collapse, desperately trying to use his spears for support. The ninja was over helping his charge up before he could fall over completely, and grunted as he bore the entirety of Yukimura's weight.
“Danna, what the hell have you been eating?” Sanada ignored him in favor of yelling at his rival.
“Curse the weakness of my body!” Sanada crowed, heedless of the ninja's close ears. It was impressive how loud Yukimura could be after hours of non-stop fighting.“I am greatly shamed, Lord Masamune, that my stamina has failed me so. My soul yearns to ignite with yours, but my body can no longer bear the burden! I must train doubly so to bring my body closer to my spirit!”
“Yeah, yeah, how 'bout you save that passion for after a nap? One can't live off 'the burning of the soul' forever.” Yukimura looked like he wanted to protest that, as though he thought he could live solely on his passion, when the rest of his body betrayed him by letting out a violent shudder of exhaustion.
“Sleep, yeah?” Masamune told him, pretending he wasn't using the tree he was leaning on for support. “We can go at it again when you wake up.”
“I look forward to renewing our battle after a brief respite. I shall dream of your strength and domineering spirit.”
“Oh, I'll dominate you next time we cross blades, for sure.” Masamune gave his rival a predatory leer. Kojuro and Sasuke shared a horrified glance at their lords' banter.
“Ok, bed. Now.” Sasuke frog-marched Yukimura back inside, leaving Kojuro with his slowly crumpling lord. As soon as the Tiger and Monkey were out of earshot, Masamune collapsed. Mildly alarmed by his lord's exhaustion, Kojuro went to his lord's side and examined him for any injuries that might have escaped his attention.
“S'good, Kojuro, just tired.” Masamune grinned tiredly at his Right Eye. Kojuro huffed and continued his examination. There were a couple of gashes and burns that would require attention, but nothing life threatening. Masamune's grin turned dopey. “Last night was good, Yukimura was really hot.” Kojuro sighed.
“Do you even remember anything about the rest of the party?” Koujro asked, both legitimately curious and completely exasperated.
“There was nabe and fireworks. I think Keiji started a dance.”
“Yes, and I fear your newly built castle is in need of repairs already. We also have several enemies on the premise.” Masamune laughed.
“I figured. It's fine, I want Aoba-jo to be a place of celebration and peace.” Masamune smiled as he leaned into Kojuro's shoulder “This was good, you know?”
It had been good, for whatever problems had arisen, and whatever damage had been done to the castle. Everyone was tense these days, friends were turning enemies, enemies were turning to grudging friends. They had been doing this for years, and would probably continue to do so for years to come. But for the moment, Date was happy, and Kojuro was pleased to see his Lord relaxed. He smiled, and helped Masamune to his feet.
Masamune swayed slightly, but kept his feet beneath him. He opened his mouth to speak when something behind Kojuro caught his attention. Date frowned and squinted his eye. Curious, Kojuro turned to find what his Lord was looking at. Exasperation crept through his body as he located a scrap of bright purple fabric flapping from the roof of the nearest turret.
“Hey Kojuro, is that a fundoshi?”