Disclaimer: Same as before, I can't own Mitsunari or Ginchiyo because they would never allow anyone to do that.
Prompt: So this is the price I pay.
"Lord Ishida, the Kobayakawa have finally advanced."
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Sekigahara, 1600
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"But it is not the Tokugawa forces they are marching upon, my lord." The messenger sounded apprehensive. "Lord Kobayakawa ordered his troops against... against Lord Ukita."
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21 October, Late Morning
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His jaw clenched.
Ishida Mitsunari's grip on the welded metal tightened, to the point where his knuckles were white. Then abruptly, he relaxed, and his expression suddenly calmed. The harbinger of the news gulped uneasily. It was never a good sign when the Lord of the Ishida was too calm in otherwise hair-raising situations. "You will leave the battlefield now, and deliver this." He held out the tessen in his hands. The very weapon that characterised him, personally stylised with the crest of the Ishida ornately displayed on bright red.
The messenger bowed and took it from his hands. It took him aback, when he first took hold of it. The metal, supposedly cool to the touch, was warm, almost hot. The weapon had warmed to its wielder's blood. "Who am I to deliver this to, my lord?" He asked, tightening his grip around the hilt of the weapon. He would preserve its warmth until the weapon had reached the hands of its intended, no matter what the cost.
Mitsunari considered it for a split second before replying. And his answer surprised the messenger.
- - -
When the messenger had finally left, the sardonic Ishida lord exhaled silently.
This was for the best.
He would never have been able to bring himself to say farewell in person, and he knew it. He might have been able to, to Sakon, who had left the main camp to oversee the progress of the battle personally, just before the news of the Kobayakawa and the Mori's betrayal had reached him. He had no idea whether he was safe, or even still alive at this point, and could only assume the worst. Possibly to Kanetsugu, who was waiting for him to complete his half of the pincer attack. He regretted that he could not uphold his part of the agreement, but he would never be able to apologise. Words could be spoken to Yukimura, who was defending Ueda Castle with his father. In the end, it was for the best that the Sanada warrior was never able to arrive at Sekigahara to help him. But words of such feelings were not necessary between warriors who knew that their lives' ultimate destination was death, and that by what means was not important.
But he would never be able to say those words to her. The tessen would speak for him, when it reached her with the news of Sekigahara. Whether it was a victory or a loss seemed so unimportant now... so hollow.
He had lived his life by reason, and by logic. It had served him well many times over, and made him a skilled tactician. But combined with that sardonic and cold personality of his, he well knew how many enemies he had made. After all, most of them were out there on the main part of the battlefield, baying for his blood. A mirthless smile tilted the corner of his lips. Reason now dictated that with this dual betrayal, especially on the part of Terumoto Mori, the tide of the battle had turned drastically, and that his chances of winning were now very slim, near none. He might have held the high grounds, but now, Ieyasu's forces were driving him back, taking advantage of the sudden landslide in the morale of the Western Army's troops. The abrupt attack from the two highly undefended sides had also cost them several garrisons. He saw little hope for his victory now.
He thought of his enemies. Kiyomasa Kato, Masanori Fukushima and Naomasa Ii but a meager few amongst others. All former Toyotomi retainers, who he had scorned during his days serving with them under Hideyoshi. He did not feel any remorse for his actions, not when he still believed in what he had done. Kanetsugu and Yukimura might have taught him the importance of allies, and her, about the value of friendship, but he saw no point in sparing civilities for such as Ieyasu.
As Motochika Chosokabe had said before, 'There are times where you cannot use reason to justify a righteous act.' And that was exactly what this battle was. He could not justify his desire to fulfil Lord Hideyoshi's dream, not when Ieyasu had technically equal, if not more, contest to that right. Reason had served him well – he had taken the high ground and positioned himself advantageously on this battlefield from the very start, increasing his chances of winning.
But in the end, his allies had turned their swords upon him – not that he was entirely too disappointed, considering his dislike of them, which he had never made any move to hide. Terumoto Mori was one of those. If there was one man whose heart he wanted to personally drive a blade through most, it probably had to be him. He commanded the largest division of troops in the Western Army, and had also accepted the title as its leader. The fool, he snorted. No matter who emerged victorious this day, the Mori would win neither glory nor acceptance from either side. Neither he nor Ieyasu took lightly to traitors who had beforehand accepted official rank.
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The battle was rapidly crumbling. The Western Army, completely taken aback by the change in allegiances, was falling to those they had thought their allies. With the surge in Tokugawa momentum, Mitsunari could almost hear the thudding of hooves on the earth as the Eastern Army's mounted vanguard charged towards his current position. To flee? Or to fight? He wondered absentmindedly.
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"This is what Lord Ishida entrusted to me. He instructed me to deliver it to you at all costs." The messenger bowed low as he held out the tessen. As the noble's hands closed around the warm metal of the weapon, the messenger said softly, "I think my lord knew Sekigahara was all but lost at the time."
"What did you tell him?" The speaker's voice was wry and amused, though not joking. No, never joking.
He hesitated. "I... told him that Hideaki Kobayakawa had finally marched... but on Lord Ukita instead..."
"On Lord Hideie? That is..." Regret coursed through the speaker as the statement was spoken, with a hint of anger simmering beneath the surface. The regret, the messenger could sense, was tangibly due having been forcibly kept away from the battlefield by reasons that made little sense.
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Mitsunari's golden eyes narrowed. The division of guards who were his personal guard had already charged out to defend the gates of the main camp, leaving him alone in the large wooden garrison. So the battle had already advanced this far on his position. It was all but a declared loss on his part already, and he knew it perfectly in every inch of his tactician's mind.
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"You may take a rest in the castle before you leave. I am sure you are tired from the journey." The hands tightened around the tessen's hilt. "I will take care of this."
The tessen was adorned with bamboo paper which was partly dyed in dark red to contrast with the normal white portions, with the metal edges carved with cranes and other creatures. Right in the middle was a intricately painted word. "Gi." The recipient of the war weapon whispered as a hand was run over its rough, uneven surface, covered in many years' worth of scratches earned by protecting its wielder from injuries and often even certain death. A sigh escaped the current holder of the worth-proven weapon as it was again turned over in well-trained hands. What he expected to be done by having it delivered here of all places was clear.
"You fool, Mitsunari. So this is how you say farewell to an old friend?" Irony and bitterness warred for dominance in a voice that was usually calm.
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As he stood alone amidst the emptiness of the main camp, the final call for the last charge to swarm the main camp completely resounded through the vast plains of Sekigahara. He thought briefly of all he had done, all he had accomplished. All of his friends, and his enemies, the latter of which outnumbered the former by a long stretch. But as the Chosokobe lord would say, his struggle would forever carve his name into the halls of history.
And a wry smile crossed his face. "So this is the price I must pay."
A/N: Okay, so this is like another prequel for 'Sworn to Fealty'. Well, in regards to the prompt, this was the first thing that could come to mind. And once again, many of the little facts that appear in this story are taken from the timelines and notes provided in Anthony Bryant's fantastic book, Struggle at Sekigahara: 1600. If I could find it and buy it, I would. Now the problem is finding it. Anyways, do drop a review on your way out.
PS: I shall try to start on the last couple of chapters of Understanding Romance. I should have some ideas for how to end it constructed and refined soon enough... but please, don't get your hopes up too much, I might disappoint, on terms of speed and duration.