The Monkey and the Viper's Daughter ((Me x RyutheXIIIth))

[ViperFang]

The battle had been terrible. The betrayal of the formidable Akechi clan had torn Honnoji apart and burned it to cinders. The Oda were finished. Soldiers, officers, and even the illustrious leader, Nobunaga, were scattered to the winds as the fires consumed their bodies. The cries of the dying wounded echoed through the night. Treason had silenced even the sounds of nature. The Demon King had fallen to one of his most trusted retainers. Now all that remained was the smoldering remains of the temple...and one wounded figure that lied on the ground, weakly trying to crawl away from the ruins of Honnoji. She had been ordered by Nobunaga himself to flee. She didn't want to...she tried to argue, but he wouldn't have it.

Now, her body and kimono darkened by the ashes. No tears from her eyes, despite her relationship with the Demon King. Nouhime was far too exhausted as well as bitter for her loss. Mitsuhide. The name tasted like a vile poison on her lips. Revenge. That was a far more comforting term. She wanted to tear him apart for what he had done. He had shamed the Oda Clan and left the great Demon King's armies stranded, confused...they would be lost without him. She just knew it...if only the messengers had alerted Hideyoshi or Katusie in time...

...Those were her last thoughts before she fell unconscious, her head resting on the dry soil just beyond the burning gates. She was clearly still alive, just worn out.

 

[RyutheXIIIth]

The sound of a hundred hooves against dirt echoed in the dark woods, lit only by the torches some of the numerous men in armor wielded. Soon, though, they would have no need for those torches, for they would be welcomed by the sight of the once-magnificent temple of the Demon King now ravaged by fire. The flames of betrayal, to be metaphorically specific.

The man in golden armor who led the group reared his horse at the clearing, looking at the sight before him, his teeth clenched in anger and disappointment at himself for not having come earlier. "Dammit! We were too late!" he cried as his men reared behind him, also shocked at what they saw. After a moment's hesitation, the officer turned his horse around to face his men, raising his long three-segmented staff at them, his eyes still burning with hope. "No, it's still too early to say that! Our Lord won't go down that easily!" Of course, even as he said that, he doubted it, and himself, but he needed to maintain the morale of his troop, and so he faced the path again, holding out his sansetsukon towards the temple. "Keep moving! We must rescue our Lord while we still can!"

A while later, when they had reached the gates to the temple, Hideyoshi stopped again, seeing a familiar body on the ground before them. He signalled his men to stop behind him, and looked at the female before him again. It took him less than a second to recognize the loose black kimono she wore. "Lady Nou!" He started, quickly climbing off his horse and rushing up to her, quickly kneeling beside her, his eyes hazed with worry. "Lady Nou... You're... alive?"

 

[ViperFang]

She was lightly pulled from her unconsciousness by the sounds of a familiar voice ringing through the air. Who was that? Was she dead and simply hearing long-past souls? No, this wasn't someone that she knew that died...but she just couldn't place it. Her eyes remained closed even as the numerous hooves and feet approaching the area. The fires were still crackling behind her with the sound of more towers and walls collapsing in Honnoji. Why hadn't she stayed with him? Perhaps she could have helped kill Mitsuhide, at least.

Then, she heard her name called out. She tried to move to look at who was calling out to her, but she was still to weak. She heard quick footsteps rushing to her. At first, she had a feeling that someone was approaching to finish her off. After all, since she couldn't place the voice she heard, it was possible that it was someone that joined the Akechi. Instead, she heard the person kneel beside her and softly try to talk to her. She managed to weakly open her eyes and let them glide up to the man in question's face. It took a moment for her vision to clear up, and when she could finally focus, she fought back a gasp.

Hideyoshi. One of Nobunaga's retainers that had been requested to serve as reinforcements. She was certain that no one showed up strictly because they were in league with Mitsuhide. Yet, here was the man that embraced the title of 'Monkey'. She wished he had arrived sooner. He certainly would have turned the tide of battle. He was, after all, highly praised by Nobunaga as a genius. She coughed, her breathing raspy.

"...Water..." she managed to croak, too dehydrated to speak normally.

 

[RyutheXIIIth]

Tense eyes that looked at the Viper's Daughter as she lay wounded on the ground relaxed when her eyelids slowly fluttered open. The Monkey sighed of relief, closing his eyes; she was still alive, even if barely. He quickly snapped back to attention when she asked for water and nodded. Despite the fairly long journey, they had enough supplies with them. Hideyoshi turned to his men, ordering one of them to bring him a flask of water. "Also set up camp nearby in the woods. We're not going anywhere until we rescue any and every survivor here!" He received the flask from the soldier who approached him, and opened it, drawing his attention back to his Lady. He breathed in deeply as he led a hand under her chin and gently elevated her head, allowing her to drink from the flask that he held against her lips with a little more ease, at least with at much ease as her position would allow. There was so much he wanted to ask her, but now was obviously not the time.

 

[ViperFang]

She was near unconsciousness again when she suddenly felt cold droplets of water fall on her lips. Then came a small rush of clean water into her mouth. She closed her mouth and let it swish around her mouth a bit, moistening her tongue and throat before finally swallowing. Some of the water he had poured into her mouth had dripped from her luscious lips, down her chin and neck, and onto her collarbone. As she lay there, dehydrated, she could only curse herself for wasting those stray drops of water. She weakly opened her eyes, shifting slightly and spotting the smoldering ruins of Honnoji. She hissed in protest and turned away.

"...Take me away from here..." she demanded in a slightly less-raspy voice. "I...Get me away from the heat..."

She wanted to thank Hideyoshi for not leaving her behind, but her pride kept her from saying anything to him. All she could do was maintain her image for now, making demands here and there. She had to think now. Nobunaga was gone along with Ranmaru and most of his elder sons. Who was going to take over? It was essentially between Katsuie...and Hideyoshi.