Chapter 5: The Mercenary

My name is Hannah.

I couldn't believe it, but it had been almost two weeks since my life changed beyond my control, and today I learned to throw fire from my sword.

Toshiie Maeda was the instructor Hirate had brought to us. It still seemed unreal, in spite of everything else going on when Toshiie demonstrated by drawing his sword and after only a few seconds of concentration, the blade lit up with red light, and with a swing he sent and arc of light through the air, ripping several practice dummies more than twenty feet away apart, splinters and straw flying everywhere.

Maybe it was seeing someone else do it, but something clicked, and I was able to find that still point Nene had been talking about. It was like all my cares, all my worries, all my stress just melted away in an instant. In that still point, I found the heat, grasping hold of it, and opened my eyes to see the blade of my sword covered in flame from the guard to the tip, and I swung the blade wide across in front of me, the flames leaping through the air, smothering the target dummies and leaving them blazing as the source of my fire died.

"I did it," I said, not quite believing it, but there the dummies were, fully aflame, "I did it!"

"Yay!" Nene cheered, clapping her hands.

"Oh, wow," Toshiie said, rubbing one finger under his nose, "You could probably get fifty men in formation with that blast."

That was a less thrilling thought, causing my feelings to sink. The only thing I'd be using this for is killing. It seemed sort of unreal and far off, the thought that part of all this training was that I would have to fight, and kill, other people. And if I didn't, Nobunaga would probably have me killed.

I don't think I'll ever get used to this crap.

"Okay, my turn," Jack said, stepping up to the line facing the dummies, and I stepped back.

"You're past the hard part," Toshiie said as I moved near him, "Now you just need to practice tapping in until you can do it quickly and with pressure on you. Nothing more terrible than needing the magic in battle and not being able to find it."

Toshiie… I was struggling to remember much about him from my knowledge of history. He was a soldier in the Oda army, that much was clear. From what I could remember, he was exiled by Nobunaga for some offense, but his nephew, Keiji Maeda, as well as Katsuie Shibita recruited him for the attack on the Imagawa forces, and his performance there had led to Nobunaga allowing him to return.

He had a powerful presence. He was tall, muscular, and I'll admit, pretty good looking. He carried three weapons at all times, it seemed. A sword at his hip and a pair of short spears in holsters over his shoulders. And he was incredibly patient with Jack and my struggles to understand the powers these swords held.

Though then there was Keiji. He had come out to the training field, standing some distance away while Toshiie worked us through the steps to unlock this power. Now Keiji was a genuine giant, I'd say about as big as that monster, Tadakatsu had been, but unlike Tadakatsu, Keiji was strangely not nearly as intimidating.

One would even think he would be. He was built like a mountain, dressed in bright red clothing with a depiction of a tiger on his chest, and had a thick mane of black hair tied into a loose topknot that if let down, I've no doubt he'd resemble a lion more than a tiger. And that spear he carried so casually against his shoulder. It was more like a battle-axe on the end of tree branch, and the back end had a thick, heavy counter-weight the size of a small child.

And the next time I looked his direction, he'd moved some distance further away and was laying on his back in the grass, arms behind his head, looking like he was sound asleep.

"Jack, you need to stay calm," Toshiie was saying, "You're getting frustrated, I know. But that only makes it harder to find your center."

Jack sighed, though it was more like a growl, and put down his sword, resting the hilt against his leg as he wiped his hands on his clothes. Well, I couldn't say the process was easy for me.

I've never studied much of the whole zen and meditation thing, and this was very similar to what I'd expect. Calming all your thoughts and finding your center, and when I found it, there was the fire that I could grab hold of and unleash in a torrent in front of me.

Problem was it took several minutes of focusing to find that fire. And then the entire reason for this was that these people expected me to fight with it, and to even kill.

God, about a month ago, I was just a student with a normal life and now I was going to be a soldier. And if I refused, that maniac Nobunaga would cut my head off. I'd hoped, so hoped for the first week or so that I'd wake up back in my own bed and this would have all been a bad dream.

At this point, I was following along only because I was scared shitless of the alternative.

Jack was not able to summon up the magic of his weapon by the end of the day, though I managed to shoot a jet of fire from my weapon twice more over the next three hours of practice. One thing about it, this was tiring work. I was ready to collapse as Nene walked with us back to our room where we'd have a change of clothes waiting before going to the baths and then dinner before bed.

It was a break of the routine to find a boy, maybe fourteen or so, waiting by our door. He bowed politely to Nene and us, then said, "Lord Nobunaga desires your presence. You are to wait in his public audience chamber."

"We'll be there immediately," Nene said, and with another bow, the boy was gone at a run, clearly with somewhere else to be. Nene turned to Jack and I and smiled, "I think our lord wishes to check in on your progress."

"That's great," I muttered, falling into step behind her as she gestured for us to follow, "Am I going to get to kill someone tomorrow?"

"Unlikely," Nene said, "You need a great deal more practice first, until you can call your magic in an instant. In fact, I imagine he'll be impressed with your talent, Hannah. You are only a week into the actual discipline of your magic and you're already getting a small taste of it. It took Lord Nobunaga four months of effort to reach this point. I needed three weeks. You are extremely talented."

"Oh, so I'm not terrible, I'm just average then," Jack said.

"I'm sure you won't be far behind her," Nene said.

Curiosity got the better of me. "Has anyone ever done it faster?" I asked.

"Keiji Maeda," Nene said, "If I remember correctly, he only need two or three days to begin to tap his magic."

"I think I saw him today," I said, "He was taking a nap in the grass."

"That was him," Nene said, "While Lord Toshiie is rarely not on the training field, you'll almost never see Lord Keiji actually training himself."

"Are you serious?" I asked, "That guy's built like a mountain. How is he that big if he never trains?"

"I once asked him about that," Nene said, "The only response I got was 'Does a tiger need to train to use its fangs?' I'm not sure what he does to stay so conditioned, to be honest. Just a fair warning, if he ever invites you to dinner, don't accept an offer for a bath in his home. He thinks it's quite amusing to keep a guest bath filled with icy cold water. His own uncle was quite livid upon discovering it the hard way."

"Well," Jack said, "I can think of worse pranks."

"Save that for later," Nene said.

We had reached the audience chamber. The guard had clearly been told to expect us, and he bowed and slid open the door for us, motioning us to enter. There was no one in the room waiting for us, so Nene motioned for us to seat ourselves. The furnishings were no doubt sparse compared to European throne rooms, instead there were simply two lines of thin padded mats on the floor, arranged so that up to ten people could seat themselves on their knees on each side of the room. At the far end of the room was a larger mat where Nobunaga himself would no doubt sit during meetings with his inner circle.

We weren't waiting long, in fact, no sooner had we seated ourselves than the door slid open again and Nobunaga himself entered the room, and the youth named Ranmaru Mori followed only a few steps behind.

Nene bowed low as Nobunaga walked passed us, and Jack and I followed her lead.

"If you'll be patient for just a moment, there's someone else I need to speak to first before I get to you," Nobunaga said without even glancing our direction.

Ranmaru seated himself next to where Nobunaga's seat, facing back toward us and the door, but Nobunaga himself remained standing. It was only a few more moments before the next guest entered the room. It was a woman, she looked a few years younger than me, dressed in what I can only say was an extremely traditional Japanese gown, her hands tucked inside the large sleeves as she walked. She glanced down at us, giving a soft smile to Nene, before moving toward Nobunaga.

"Ichi…" Nobunaga said softly as she approached him, "I'm glad you came. We need to have a talk."

"You know I always have time to listen for you," the woman said, "I'm just wondering why we're not doing this in private."

"Because it is official business," Nobunaga said, "The past few weeks, I've been meeting with diplomats from another clan…"

"Ah, you intend to have me marry into the Azai clan," the woman said.

Nobunaga's expression shifted, for the first and only time, I saw surprise on his face. This caused the woman to laugh. "It's not that hard to figure out," she said, "You've been meeting with the Azai, and need to speak to me about official business. Your intent to make Mino your own is clear, so it stands to reason you'd seek allies to help you achieve that goal, and a marriage alliance is one of the easiest ways to create strong bonds of loyalty."

Nobunaga chuckled. "My sister is a wise woman indeed," he said with a soft smile, "So you have no objections?"

Ah, his sister. I knew her now. Oichi was her name and she was Nobunaga's younger sister.

"I've seen in your eyes the fire that our father saw," Oichi said, "You're going to change the world. I wasn't born with the magic of a hero like you, but I want to help in any way I can. And if I can make one of your potential enemies an ally, why would I object to that?"

"Now you're really making me feel like scum," Nobunaga said, " I could not ask for better family."

"No, you couldn't," Oichi said, "So when will I be leaving to meet my husband?"

"Not yet," Nobunaga said, "He will be coming here by next week. In fact, I intend to hold the wedding here as well. His name is Nagamasa, and only recently became lord of the Azai when his father passed. And besides, I need to do my part as the scary brother-in-law to scare him into treating you right."

"Well, don't scare him off before I get to meet him," Oichi said, "Will there be anything else, brother?"

"No, we shall speak more later," Nobunaga said, then glanced toward us, "I have other matters to attend now."

Oichi bowed her head politely before turning and walked away from him. She again glanced at us as she passed by, an amused smile on her face, before leaving the room, the guard sliding the door shut behind her.

There was something bothering me about her. A thought at the back of my mind I couldn't quite grab hold of. It had to do with Oichi, certainly. I couldn't quite remember what became of her in history. But I couldn't shake a bad feeling. And of course, it had to do with the man she called "brother."

"Now, Jack and Hannah," Nobunaga said as he seated himself cross-legged on the large mat, "You two seat yourselves here so I can speak to you. You as well, Nene."

We settled ourselves a short distance from him. Nobunaga's eyes never left us as we moved. His expression was as unreadable as ever. There was nothing threatening about it and yet once again, those eyes. Looking him in the eye sent a chill down my spine. No matter how many times I saw him, there was always that feeling that he knew far more than he should just by looking at you.

"You can relax, dear," he said directly to me, "I'm not planning anything untoward. Just checking in on your progress."

"Hannah here has managed to take the first step," Nene said, "Jack is going to need a bit more time, but I expect them both to be showing great progress in the next few weeks."

"That is good to know," Nobunaga said, "Now, I believe it's past time for an exchange. You two are strangers here, you must have many questions, and I have a few for you. So how about we make a game of this? You ask me a question, then ask you one. Give and take. Does that sound reasonable?"

"If we ask first, let me," I said, "What do you intend for us?"

"I should think that obvious by now," Nobunaga said, "I intend for you to become heroes in my employ. You will fight for me, earn fame and rank and possibly riches. You may even one day earn lordship and your own lands as my vassals. That is what I intend for you."

"You know, that sounds good to me," Jack said, glancing over at me. I wish I could understand why he was so enthusiastic about this. Though I'd admit, he'd certainly come to life over these past weeks, compared to the depressed introvert I remembered.

"I am glad to hear that," Nobunaga said, "Now, my turn for a question. Hannah, I've noticed you seem to know a great deal of our culture and many of the people in my employ, as well as others. You were brought here by magic… But I do not believe you are truly from a distant land. Tell me the truth… Are you travelers in time?"

Nobunaga's expression had turned hard. He already knew the answer, and was almost daring me to lie to him. And if he had guessed that much, then he was no doubt fishing to use my knowledge of history to his advantage. This man was even more dangerously intelligent than I realized.

"I thought that at first," I said, "But the fact is magic does not exist where we are from. It never did. I can only guess that we have not been moved through time, but perhaps to another world."

I was making it up, but after saying it realized it sounded more likely than anything else thus far. I was just pulling it from every fantasy story I ever read.

Nobunaga scratched his chin, staring hard at me. Again sending chills down my spine. "A pity," he said at last, "But never mind, it's not that important. You may ask again."

So he had been hoping to use my knowledge of history. I felt like I'd dodged a bullet there. But my immediate questions had been answered. Jack jumped in, asking when the conquest of Mino would start, which Nobunaga laughed as soon as they were able to get a foothold to attack the capital from, and that at the moment the Saito forces were preventing any of his retainers from establishing such a foothold. That was the point of the Azai alliance he'd been working on, to gain help from a clan on Mino's north, thus being able to attack the Saito from two sides.

Which led to Nobunaga's next question, which he directed at Jack. "You seem far happier than your cousin with the prospects of what is occurring," he said, "It makes me wonder what your old life was like."

Oh, now he was getting personal. And getting Jack started like that…

Sure enough, Jack launched into the usual moaning about his job, the degrading way people talked to him, and the nonsense about being so depressed he even contemplated suicide back in high school. Yes, I'd heard it all before. The internet generation at its best.

And yet Nobunaga was latched onto his every word. I couldn't believe it. He listened patiently as Jack told him stories of his job at that fried chicken restaurant of being insulted and abused by his boss and co-workers.

"They insult your integrity and you did nothing to challenge them?" Nobunaga asked at last, "Why not challenge them to a duel? That is the course of things, after all."

"Uh, that's illegal," Jack said, "Has been for a long time. Hundreds of years, I think. I kill someone, duel or not, I get life in prison, or even the electric chair."

"You're from a world that forbids a man from defending his own integrity?" Nobunaga said, "The only ones who benefit in such a world are the cowards."

Okay, well, culture shock aside, I can't say he was wrong. Still, Nobunaga was taking everything Jack said at face value. I wondered if maybe I had dismissed it all too quickly and he did have serious problems with his life that he was freed of here. He certainly never complained about the way Nene or Hideyoshi spoke to him, and they had been nothing but courteous and respectful to me.

"I understand now why you are so pleased to be here, but that does not explain you," Nobunaga said, turning to me, "I can only assume you were better off in your old home."

"Well, I wouldn't say it was perfect, but I wasn't unhappy, I think," I said, looking at the floor.

"Perhaps one day you will find a way to return," Nobunaga said, "But I think for the moment you should focus on what is in front of you. So the final reason I asked you here, Hideyoshi has asked my permission to take you out of the city for a time. He believes that taking you away from the distractions and noise for a few days will help with your training."

"It sometimes does, depending on the person," Nene said, "Interesting he did not mention this to me yet."

"Well, you're the one who married the monkey, after all," Nobunaga said with a small smile, "Maybe you should train him better."

"Oh, we're going to have a talk," Nene said.

"Well, you three are no doubt tired," Nobunaga said, "Sorry to cut the game short, but I believe that is enough for the night. On the morrow you shall leave the city to train further. And I'm sure you will have mastery of your magic soon, Jack."

I glanced at Jack. He seemed somewhat surprised by the comment, but then bowed his head to Nobunaga.

We were dismissed and Nene took us back to our room. There was at least one weight off my shoulders, now that it seemed Nobunaga wasn't going to suddenly change his mind and cut our heads off. I just wondered what was going to happen tomorrow.

Nene woke us early, Jack and I getting dressed and following her outside. The sun wasn't even up, but there were horses saddled and ready, and Hideyoshi was waiting for us as well. Without any further explanation, we were on our way, out of the city and into the lands beyond. Immediately surrounding the walls were the farmlands that stretched for miles, but before long we were beyond them and the sun was coming up.

It was beautiful, in its way. An ocean of grass as far as the eye could see over rolling hills. Owari was a fairly level land, no sudden changes in elevation. You wouldn't see that until you went further north or east, if I remembered my geography as well as history.

There was a soft breeze, but not enough to defeat the warmth of the morning sun.

"How far are we going, dear?" Nene asked Hideyoshi.

"Just a little further to the river," he replied, "I think that would be a good place."

"Should have brought a picnic," Nene said.

Honestly, Hideyoshi was acting a little strange. He kept looking about, checking behind us, as if he was searching for something, or maybe expecting someone to try to sneak up on him. Even as we reached the river and dismounted, he was still checking around, distracted.

Nene had Jack and I sit down by the river and began the usual steps, starting with meditation. It was relaxing to hear the sounds of the river and the birds in the air instead of the usual shouting of the training field. To smell the fresh air, instead of the sweat and dirt, was another great feeling.

I was shocked when a sudden scream of rage came from nearby, causing us all to look up as Hideyoshi screamed back at it. I saw him there, about twenty feet away, and there was another man. They were struggling and I saw sparks flying from grinding metal where Hideyoshi's sword slid against the reinforced underside of what looked like an old muzzle-loading rifle.

Jack and I jumped up, but Nene stepped in front of us, holding up her hand. "Wait a moment," she said as Jack started to draw his sword.

"Damn you," shouted the newcomer at Hideyoshi, "You'll pay for what you did!"

"That's what you think!" Hideyoshi shouted back, shoving him back and creating an opening between them, "You won't escape this time!"

The man charged at Hideyoshi with the bayonet on his rifle, only for Hideyoshi to turn it aside and try for a shoulder-block to knock him down. They crashed into each other, tangling together and falling in a pile on the grass with cries of pain.

Or at least, I thought they were pain, and then I realized they were laughing. Both of them.

"I should have guessed he'd be here, the way Hideyoshi was acting," Nene said.

"Who is it?" I asked.

Nene sighed. "Magoichi Saika."

"What was that?" the man, Magoichi, asked though his laughter, "'You won't escape this time!' Could you be any more of a cliché?"

"What about you?" Hideyoshi asked, sitting up, and put on a awkward face, "'You'll pay for what you did!' I could barely keep a straight face!"

"Who is this guy?" Jack asked.

"A friend of Hideyoshi's from his mercenary days," Nene said.

"Mercenary days?" Magoichi asked as he and Hideyoshi climbed to their feet, "Is that what he calls the boy following us around and feeding our horses now?"

"You're barely older than me, you mook," Hideyoshi said, "You're lucky they let you sharpen their blades."

"Hey, I at least got to do something with the weapons," Magoichi said, "Also wasn't dumb enough to get married. Hello, Nene. So good to see you again."

"I see you haven't been killed yet, gods forbid you make me happy," Nene said.

Clearly Nene did not care for this friend of Hideyoshi's.

"Oh, my dear, you wound my poor heart," Magoichi said, then looked up toward me, "Oh, and who's this lovely dear?"

"Well, Magoichi, you know my wife," Hideyoshi said, "These two are Hannah…"

"Hannah," Magoichi said, walking directly toward me, "A strange and exotic name… Don't look like you're from around here either. So good to meet you, my lovely lady. My name is Magoichi Saika."

I was in shock, not really reacting as he reached out, taking my hand and lifting it to kiss my fingers. He was close enough to finally get a good look at him. He was dressed in light clothing, but not the loose-fitting hakama most men wore around here, instead his outfit was almost European in design, with slimmer trousers and a jacket with short tails. His hair was tied in a loose top-knot, and his face darkened with a five-o'clock shadow, and he looked up at me now with a big smile, showing off his perfectly even teeth.

And that did it. I saw through him like a glass window.

"Not interested, pal," I said, pulling my hand free of his grasp.

"Oh, but you didn't even give me a chance," he said, not losing that smile, "I'm a very likable guy, just come get something to drink with me…"

"Um, I'm Jack," Jack said, mercifully trying to interrupt this.

"Good for you," Magoichi replied without even looking at him.

"Magoichi, I didn't ask you to come here to flirt, you know," Hideyoshi said, "I need your help with something."

"I figured as much," Magoichi said with a sigh, finally turning away from me.

"Oh, don't act like that," Hideyoshi said, "I promise you'll get paid this time. And it's a short job, should take more than a week."

"Geez, don't even give me a chance to guilt trip you little," Magoichi said, tapping his rifle against one shoulder, "How about I just shoot the rest of the fun for you?"

"Look, Magoichi, I need help," Hideyoshi said, "I've got some authority, but not over the military. So I need guards. Lord Nobunaga is seething over the fact his retainers can't get a good foothold in Mino."

Seething? He didn't seem like that to me last night. But then again, I had no idea how to read the man.

"See, what's happening is he wants a fort built in Sunomata," Hideyoshi went on, "The fact is, though, the samurai march up there like they own the place, and the Saito come down and kick them out before they can get anything done. So I figure the best solution is to call you, and we do this our way."

"Ah," Magoichi said with a smile, "So you want my mercenaries to run interference while you get the fort built. We don't need to hold the Saito, just slow them down."

"Exactly," Hideyoshi said, "If we can get proper defenses in place before the Saito arrive on site, then just a few heroes and a couple hundred men can hold off any attackers short of a real army."

"And you can get the supplies you'll need to build it?" Magoichi asked.

"Of course," Hideyoshi said, "I don't have authority over the military, but I can requisition building supplies easily. How much are you going to need?"

"Well, since you're my friend, I'll give you a discount," Magoichi said, "Five hundred gold coins in advance, and another thousand upon completion."

Good god, that was a small fortune he was asking for. These mercenaries must be really good to demand that kind of price. I wasn't sure about the real exchange rate, but I think a good horse ran at about a hundred coins.

"Done," Hideyoshi said with no hesitation, "I can be ready to start this by the end of the month."

"Sounds good to me," Magoichi said, "I'll head home and round up the boys. I'll send you a message when we're ready to move out. And when we're done, I'll buy you a drink with the money you pay me."

"No you won't," Nene said.

"Are you still holding that grudge?" Magoichi asked, turning to her, "It was an honest mistake."

"My husband drunk to the point the can't even speak and his hands inside a loose woman's dress is not a mistake, it's a nightmare," Nene said, "You're a bad influence, Magoichi."

"Well, you need at least one in your life," Magoichi said and turned back to Hideyoshi, "Well, if that's all, I'll be on my way. Good seeing you again, old buddy."

"You too, Mago," Hideyoshi said, "Try not to too many girls pregnant on your way home."

"And you try to get at least one," Magoichi said and winked at Nene, who did not respond, though a slight red tinge appeared on her cheeks. "And you, my dear," he said, turning to me, "Maybe we'll have more time later to convince you I'm not all bad."

"Oh, I'm sure you've got a heart of gold," I said sarcastically, "Give me a break. I'm not dumb enough to fall for a guy just because he's good looking."

"Ah ha! I am good looking, you admit it!" Magoichi said with a laugh, causing me to groan and a felt my face grow warm. Yeah, okay, he was. Big deal. Doesn't fix the fact even Hideyoshi's joking about him being a manwhore. If anything, I'd be worried about catching something from him more than anything else.

With a final wave he was walking away from us to where he'd tied his horse some distance downstream.

God, the day was just getting started and I was already sick of it. And the worst part was I likely would see Magoichi again in the near future, and knowing his type, I'd be practically fighting him off with a stick. I'd sooner take that bath with Lady No and her "wandering hands" Nene warned me about.

On second thought, I didn't want that either. That woman was even creepier than Nobunaga.

But while I did not realize it at the time, this meeting between Hideyoshi and Magoichi was the first event in a very long chain that would determine my future in this land, the effects of which would be felt until the very end.