Disclaimer: You know, i wish i did own Gate 7. I feel like there's a lot i could do a lot with it. /shot

The boy stared.

The entity before him was beautiful. It looked almost like a young girl with long, flowing pale hair. The almost came from the crown of her head, which was marked with three short horns, and her ears, which were long and floppy like a bunny rabbit's. She wore heavy layers of antiquated kimonos and had a particularly piercing gaze.

The boy had never seen anything so wonderful. He wondered if maybe he was in love.

He spared a glance sideways to his cousin. The other boy was just as entranced as he was.

"This is the oni of the Toyotomi clan," they were told. "This is Mikoto."

Mikoto, the boy thought, savoring the name. It was perfect for her.

Mikoto turned those keen eyes on him and his cousin. She only studied them for a moment, but it felt to him like an eternity of her seeking out the secrets inside his head. Everything he had ever done or said or thought – he knew she could see it all.

"You are Hideyori," she said to his cousin. "You are Hidetsugu," she said to him.

Hidetsugu. He wasn't an ordinary boy anymore. He was Hidetsugu Toyotomi, of the blood of the man who had succeeded in unifying Japan, where even Nobunaga had failed. He couldn't remember hearing about Hidetsugu in school, but he could find out.

Their guardian seemed satisfied. "So there is a Hideyori now." Turning to Hidetsugu's cousin, their guardian said, "As Hideyori, you are the heir to the Toyotomi clan. You will inherit Mikoto and the ura-shichiken. You will lead your clan well."

What? No! That wasn't right. It was Hidetsugu who should be with Mikoto. He turned a stricken gaze on his relatives. His cousin Hideyori's eyes were wide, his mouth open and just beginning to smile. He couldn't believe it.

Well, Hidetsugu couldn't believe it either. This was wrong.

They were fifteen years old. Once upon a time at that age the two boys would have gone through the genpuku rite of passage. Now, in this world, they were introduced to the oni to see if one of them could be contracted with her. Other clans did it differently, he knew; some didn't even know their own lineage. Their oni had to take matters into their own hands.

Mikoto hadn't been inconvenienced that way, but he knew she was still with the wrong person. There had to be something he could do.

That's right! He could take matters into his own hands. He'd make things right. He wasn't sure how, yet, but he'd do something.

"Mikoto is so incredible!" Hideyori gushed on their way back from cram school.

Of course she was. Mikoto was incredible, too much so for the likes of his cousin. Hidetsugu didn't say so, though. He was too busy brooding. He had looked up Hidetsugu Toyotomi. The man had been groomed for years as Hideyoshi's heir, but as soon as the original Hideyori was born, Hidetsugu was accused of treason and all sorts of other crimes. He had been forced into exile and then into suicide. Even then, the clan favored Hideyori. And what was so special about him?

Blood, he knew. Hideyori's blood was closest to that of Hideyoshi. But what was blood? A quirk of science. Hideyori just happened to be born to the right person. That wasn't fair. It had nothing to do with merit, or want. It was nothing but coincidence.

And here was Hideyori, acting like he had any right to any of this. Like he deserved it, when Hidetsugu knew full well he hadn't done anything to make him worthy of the treatment he was getting.

It was enough to make Hidetsugu crazy.

While he was inwardly fuming, the two teens stopped at a street corner to wait their turn to cross. A delivery truck approached. Hidetsugu made a decision in an instant.

Hidetsugu sat in an uncomfortable hospital chair. He kept repeating "I tried to catch him", in case anyone had seen his outstretched arms. Everyone thought he was stunned at what happened, so they left him alone.

He was stunned. There was a part of him – a large part – that couldn't believe what he had just done. He could have killed his cousin. He nearly had.

Hideyori was alive, though. Hidetsugu heard a doctor saying that he was in a coma. Maybe he would wake up. If he didn't do so within the next week or so, though, the odds were good that he wouldn't. Not ever.

And if that would happen, Mikoto's contract with him would no longer hold. It would pass to the next person with the strongest Toyotomi blood.

That would be Hidetsugu.

The part of him that wasn't worried for Hideyori was on pins and needles, hoping Mikoto's bond would transfer to him.

The day the doctors decided Hideyori wouldn't wake up would remain in Hidetsugu's mind forever. They had called in his guardian to discuss the situation. Hidetsugu was allowed to be there too, as he was about to become the new Toyotomi head.

"Right now, there's little chance he'll ever wake up," the doctor in charge of Hideyori explained. "The machines are the only thing keeping him alive."

Hidetsugu blinked. Even though he had hoped for Hideyori not to wake up, he hadn't quite considered what that would imply. Here was a chance. He could decide things once and for all.

"We'll need to think about when it might be time to let him go," the doctor continued gently.

"Of course," their guardian replied softly.

Hidetsugu felt like he was falling. He had been jealous, but he never wanted to kill his cousin. "We should keep him alive," he blurted. The adults in the room stared at him.

"I mean . . . as long as he's alive, there's a chance he'll wake up, right? Even if it's just a tiny one."

He knew what they were thinking. The poor boy. It must be terrible for him; he was there when it happened. They were very close (actually, they weren't, Hidetsugu interjected into this mental litany). He just can't accept reality.

Well, the reality was that this was all Hidetsugu's doing. And whatever else he was, he wouldn't be his cousin's murderer. As long as Hideyori was out of the way, that was enough.

"Of course," they said gently. "Whatever you say." The clan could afford to keep Hideyori on life support. And they had to obey their head.

All that was left was for Hidetsugu to see Mikoto and make his contract with her. It was something he agonized over for days. Would she like him? Should he bribe her? No, no, that wasn't what he meant. He would give her a gift.

That led to another several days of agonizing of what gift would be worthy of such a being as wonderful as Mikoto. It couldn't be anything less than perfect, so he had spent a long time lurking in the shops. It would have been easier if he had any idea what to look for.

Finally, the day came. Hidetsugu had decided to greet her with a smile on his face. Good morning, Mikoto!"

She looked at him with cool eyes. She knew, of course she knew. What was he going to do?

Then she spoke. "Good morning," she said.

Hidetsugu beamed with relief. Freed from worry, he suddenly remembered his gift, presenting it with a flourish. "I know i'm not worthy of you, but i brought you this. Girls like dolls, right?"

"Hmmm . . ." Mikoto's gaze revealed nothing. Hidetsugu held his breath.

"Yes!" Mikoto decided. "This is a suitable offering."

Hidetsugu smiled at her. "I'm glad to hear it."

A/N: Three one-shots in a week! I'm on fire! And it's a good thing i've directed some of that energy towards Gate 7, since it's been horribly neglected, as usual. I really did not mean to let this much time pass between G7 fics. I have several MasaHana fics in progress, but i've been on a Hidetsugu kick lately, so this one got finished first. I really like his moral ambiguity, and i especially wanted to explore how they said Hideyori's alive, but Hidetsugu is still the most suitable for Mikoto's contract.