[Toyotomi] for Wrat, who loves Hanbei
when the sun sets for you
Hanbei-centric, Sekigahara implied
AN: I have an entire host of plot bunnies waiting to be written and somehow, the one that comes out isn't even among them. Unsure of how this happened.
When the Toyotomi army officially formed and marched forth, Takenaka Hanbei felt for his pulse and counted down his remaining days on Hi-no-moto. He then took those days, divided them into the turns of the moon, and assigned each wax and wane a goal, an extreme, a clan to outwit, trick, and conquer.
Hideyoshi took one look at the plan, the superficial string of games and endgames, and grunted, "And when will the sun set and rise for you?"
Hanbei smiled and quietly responded, "There is no me, Hideyoshi-sama; there is only you, the Toyotomi army, and this scattered land," while his eyes echoed, but the sun will set eventually.
And so, when the Toyotomi army officially formed and Hanbei unrolled his plans across the table on the first morning, he threw away all sense of self, of individuality, of a single future. He lost himself in the swarming of war, of victories, and all went well until one day, Hideyoshi brought back a small shadow from the battlefield.
Hanbei took one look into the eyes of the young Ishida Mitsunari and knew that he was in trouble.
To be honest, the boy was absolutely impossible at first: all frowns and pouts with a head full of silky platinum hair that refused to leave his eyes. Hanbei hadn't been sure what Hideyoshi even wanted him to do with Mitsunari because the strategist already spent most of his time wishing for more hours in the day. At first, Hanbei thought of leaving the boy with his guards, but something about the way that Mitsunari clung onto the hem of his kimono clamped down on the very thought of leaving the boy. He would find himself taking the tape measure from the tailor's hands and measuring the distance from Mitsunari's pointy shoulder down to his slender fingers, and then tugging on the boy's cheeks to ease up the perpetual scowling. He would, strangely enough, find his lips twitching into a smile when Mitsunari addressed Hideyoshi with the highest of honors and would, perplexingly enough, find his arms around Mitsunari's shoulders when the boy's eyes threatened tears.
"We will not be here forever," Hideyoshi mentioned to Hanbei, who made a mental correction for that statement. "I need more powerful generals anyway."
--and so, later that day, Hanbei gently asked the scowling Mitsunari if he wished to serve Hideyoshi in the greatest way possible.
It wasn't that Hanbei felt threatened. In fact, he had long resolved to search for a replacement for himself anyway. It wasn't even that Hanbei doubted Mitsunari's ability--Mitsunari, who destroyed entire legions with one breath and the blink of an eye. Tempers could be tempered, and he knew from schoolyard games and sweet dipped dango that the boy had the capacity to smile. It wasn't anything, Hanbei thought, and for the first time in his life, the strategist was at a loss. He could not quite wrap his dying hands around why he would not teach Mitsunari all his tricks, all the intricacies behind the battlefield. He sat, consumed by the tumultuous mystery, and watched Mitsunari knock out another Toyotomi legion until one day--
--one day, when another young warlord knocks on the gates of Osaka Castle.
"In another life," Hanbei later reveals to the adolescent Mitsunari, who may or may not just have gotten his ass kicked by a jubilant yet naive Tokugawa Takechiyo, "in another life, you two would have been the best of friends."
"I hate him," Mitsunari growls into his palm as Hanbei dresses his wounds. "I wish he'd die. Suffocate. Burn in hell."
"The Tokugawa army is a great addition, you know. Takechiyo was there when Oda Nob--" Hanbei's voice suddenly falters when Mitsunari abruptly stands up and, with bandages still falling to his side, leaves the room.
It isn't that Hanbei feels threatened, the strategist confirms and feels his pulse the next day. He asks if Takechiyo suffers from digestive problems with that peculiar outfit of his, and notes how Mitsunari bristles in the background. He orders tea for three instead of two, and Mitsunari bites down on his bottom lip. He points to the weaknesses and strengths in Takechiyo's defense, and Mitsunari practically shaves off the entire roof of Osaka Castle. On the other hand, he sometimes hears that rare laughter, like an artless child with little practice, tinker quietly before he rounds the corner. He sometimes sees--perhaps, only as a hallucination--Take-no, Ieyasu's hand on Mitsunari's shoulder and the slow linger, like an extra step until the latter's brain finally catches up. When Hanbei rolls out the measuring tape for the very last time, his breath catches in his throat as he witnesses the bites down Mitsunari's flushed back, and his bones tremble under the burden of what might have been. One day, one day, Hanbei wakes up covered with blood and gasping for air, and nearly suffocates under the heaviness of his sickness and sins.
"Ieyasu," he calls out the night before the Tokugawa faction departs for the very last time. "Ieyasu, you must promise me one thing."
Confusion first crosses the vibrant warlord's face but he listens patiently. In retrospect, he should have known that it has been his last meeting with Takenaka Hanbei, who knows of everyone and everything but himself, but war takes priority. War takes priority, bonds are forged with blood, and Hi-no-moto is a beautiful but intensely selfish mistress. Ieyasu tries to not blink too hard, to not wipe his eyes even when he watches Mitsunari spiral farther and farther away, because the sun will set lest he chase the horizon forever.
And so, Tokugawa Ieyasu forgets about Hanbei's last words to him until he finds Ishida Mitsunari motionless at his feet and the ghost of Takenaka Hanbei's breath brushing against his ear.
Ieyasu, you must promise me one thing. You will take care of Mitsunari; you will take care of him. He is not like you; he will not survive in this world alone. I thought--We thought we could raise him right, but Mitsunari does not need war--he does not even need a nation. He just needs company and some one to return to. So--take care of him, you must take care of him in my place.
Ieyasu bows his head, but Hanbei isn't there to forgive.
fin
Edit: ARGGGGGGGHGHGGGHHHHHH BE STILL MY HEART
Hanbei-centric, Sekigahara implied
AN: I have an entire host of plot bunnies waiting to be written and somehow, the one that comes out isn't even among them. Unsure of how this happened.
When the Toyotomi army officially formed and marched forth, Takenaka Hanbei felt for his pulse and counted down his remaining days on Hi-no-moto. He then took those days, divided them into the turns of the moon, and assigned each wax and wane a goal, an extreme, a clan to outwit, trick, and conquer.
Hideyoshi took one look at the plan, the superficial string of games and endgames, and grunted, "And when will the sun set and rise for you?"
Hanbei smiled and quietly responded, "There is no me, Hideyoshi-sama; there is only you, the Toyotomi army, and this scattered land," while his eyes echoed, but the sun will set eventually.
And so, when the Toyotomi army officially formed and Hanbei unrolled his plans across the table on the first morning, he threw away all sense of self, of individuality, of a single future. He lost himself in the swarming of war, of victories, and all went well until one day, Hideyoshi brought back a small shadow from the battlefield.
Hanbei took one look into the eyes of the young Ishida Mitsunari and knew that he was in trouble.
To be honest, the boy was absolutely impossible at first: all frowns and pouts with a head full of silky platinum hair that refused to leave his eyes. Hanbei hadn't been sure what Hideyoshi even wanted him to do with Mitsunari because the strategist already spent most of his time wishing for more hours in the day. At first, Hanbei thought of leaving the boy with his guards, but something about the way that Mitsunari clung onto the hem of his kimono clamped down on the very thought of leaving the boy. He would find himself taking the tape measure from the tailor's hands and measuring the distance from Mitsunari's pointy shoulder down to his slender fingers, and then tugging on the boy's cheeks to ease up the perpetual scowling. He would, strangely enough, find his lips twitching into a smile when Mitsunari addressed Hideyoshi with the highest of honors and would, perplexingly enough, find his arms around Mitsunari's shoulders when the boy's eyes threatened tears.
"We will not be here forever," Hideyoshi mentioned to Hanbei, who made a mental correction for that statement. "I need more powerful generals anyway."
--and so, later that day, Hanbei gently asked the scowling Mitsunari if he wished to serve Hideyoshi in the greatest way possible.
It wasn't that Hanbei felt threatened. In fact, he had long resolved to search for a replacement for himself anyway. It wasn't even that Hanbei doubted Mitsunari's ability--Mitsunari, who destroyed entire legions with one breath and the blink of an eye. Tempers could be tempered, and he knew from schoolyard games and sweet dipped dango that the boy had the capacity to smile. It wasn't anything, Hanbei thought, and for the first time in his life, the strategist was at a loss. He could not quite wrap his dying hands around why he would not teach Mitsunari all his tricks, all the intricacies behind the battlefield. He sat, consumed by the tumultuous mystery, and watched Mitsunari knock out another Toyotomi legion until one day--
--one day, when another young warlord knocks on the gates of Osaka Castle.
"In another life," Hanbei later reveals to the adolescent Mitsunari, who may or may not just have gotten his ass kicked by a jubilant yet naive Tokugawa Takechiyo, "in another life, you two would have been the best of friends."
"I hate him," Mitsunari growls into his palm as Hanbei dresses his wounds. "I wish he'd die. Suffocate. Burn in hell."
"The Tokugawa army is a great addition, you know. Takechiyo was there when Oda Nob--" Hanbei's voice suddenly falters when Mitsunari abruptly stands up and, with bandages still falling to his side, leaves the room.
It isn't that Hanbei feels threatened, the strategist confirms and feels his pulse the next day. He asks if Takechiyo suffers from digestive problems with that peculiar outfit of his, and notes how Mitsunari bristles in the background. He orders tea for three instead of two, and Mitsunari bites down on his bottom lip. He points to the weaknesses and strengths in Takechiyo's defense, and Mitsunari practically shaves off the entire roof of Osaka Castle. On the other hand, he sometimes hears that rare laughter, like an artless child with little practice, tinker quietly before he rounds the corner. He sometimes sees--perhaps, only as a hallucination--Take-no, Ieyasu's hand on Mitsunari's shoulder and the slow linger, like an extra step until the latter's brain finally catches up. When Hanbei rolls out the measuring tape for the very last time, his breath catches in his throat as he witnesses the bites down Mitsunari's flushed back, and his bones tremble under the burden of what might have been. One day, one day, Hanbei wakes up covered with blood and gasping for air, and nearly suffocates under the heaviness of his sickness and sins.
"Ieyasu," he calls out the night before the Tokugawa faction departs for the very last time. "Ieyasu, you must promise me one thing."
Confusion first crosses the vibrant warlord's face but he listens patiently. In retrospect, he should have known that it has been his last meeting with Takenaka Hanbei, who knows of everyone and everything but himself, but war takes priority. War takes priority, bonds are forged with blood, and Hi-no-moto is a beautiful but intensely selfish mistress. Ieyasu tries to not blink too hard, to not wipe his eyes even when he watches Mitsunari spiral farther and farther away, because the sun will set lest he chase the horizon forever.
And so, Tokugawa Ieyasu forgets about Hanbei's last words to him until he finds Ishida Mitsunari motionless at his feet and the ghost of Takenaka Hanbei's breath brushing against his ear.
Ieyasu, you must promise me one thing. You will take care of Mitsunari; you will take care of him. He is not like you; he will not survive in this world alone. I thought--We thought we could raise him right, but Mitsunari does not need war--he does not even need a nation. He just needs company and some one to return to. So--take care of him, you must take care of him in my place.
Ieyasu bows his head, but Hanbei isn't there to forgive.
fin
Edit: ARGGGGGGGHGHGGGHHHHHH BE STILL MY HEART