With the coming of morning, there was still not a single Red Feather man awake. So hard they had pushed themselves, and so much alcohol they had consumed. It was only to be expected. Most of them lay there, in the courtyard, still in their armour, completely passed out and dead to the world. They greeted the morning sun with unconscious irritation, and shifted a sleepy arm to shield their eyes, before once more drifting into a deep sleep.
Once they finally did awake, they did not exactly feel fresh. Such was the price they had to bear. Even with such terrible hangovers, there was not a single man that did not smile. All the alcohol in the world could not drown out their feeling of accomplishment.
And yet they still had a promise to keep – an appointment to attend. He stretched like a cat, cracking his back in the process, letting out a satisfied a sigh. A little more sensible than the men – and perhaps with a little more motivation – he had taken back to the house with his wife, and shared a comfortable night.
"Guh…" Akiko complained, pulling the cover back over her face, in response to the sunlight that shone through. "Do we really have to wake up already?"
"It's past midday by now, so I'd say we probably should."
"But I'm so tired…"
"We will not march for long today, don't worry, and then we can all return to our beds knowing that we're a little closer than yesterday to our goal."
"That sounds great and all, but I'd still rather take the sleep." Despite her words, she sat up with a sigh, stretching just as he had.
"As would I, especially when my wife reveals herself so temptingly." He thread his arm over her bare shoulder, and pulled her head into his chest, planting a kiss on her neck.
"Honestly…"
"Come! Let us move." He jumped from the bed, waking himself up with rapid action, throwing on a fresh kimono.
She dragged herself from the bed behind him, and still yawning, she too began to put on her clothes.
The men were just as when they had left them, sleeping as soundly as an army of corpses. Only a few had awoken, prompted by the calls of nature, finding a suitable location to let loose a well-deserved piss.
Jikouji was amongst the awakened, always the early riser, and had found his mornings entertainment in watching some of the weaker-stomached soldiers continuing last night's vomiting spree.
"You've come to watch the show too, Miura? And you've brought your wife? Aren't you a lady pleaser? Come, I've reserved the best seats." He called out.
"You're a pretty twisted old man."
"If only you had called me sick instead, I would have been able to make quite the cunning joke." He lamented.
"Hence why I chose my words carefully, and avoided such suffering."
"Well, whatever the result, their suffering would seem to be far worse. Do you not have a hangover? I don't think I saw you stop drinking at all last night."
"No, fortunately. I surprise myself as well. I dare say it has something to do with the temple training – in the past I would have been passed out drinking only half that." He looked around, trying to find a certain face. "Say… Have you seen Matsudaira?"
"Over there." Jikouji pointed to a man, passed out with a slight bit more grace than the others, still seated with his legs crossed, only with his face down atop the table.
"Ah." He raised an eyebrow seeing him such a state. He had judged him to be a man of moderation, and would have thought, out of everyone gathered, he would be the least likely to give in his dignity as such. Perhaps that was part of the problem. His past moderation had done naught to build his resistance, and now, on this night, when he had truly needed a drink, he did not know his limits, and found himself to be in quite the state. "Well… Do you want to do the honours, then?" He asked his comrade before he went ahead and did it himself, knowing of Jikouji's more sadistic past time of waking up the later rising youngsters.
"It would be my pleasure." He dug his hands under the table, and revealed a rather sizeable gong, with a beating stick to strike it. He looked to be rather pleased with himself as he held them there, expecting a question. Whilst surprised by their sudden conjuration, merely knowing that a question would be expected, Gengyo decided against it, thinking that the explanation might be quite irritating and mundane indeed.
"Whenever you're ready." He said instead, as Akiko reached her hands to her ears tiredly, before closing her eyes, and resting her chin on Gengyo's shoulder.
BANG
BANG
BANG
He struck continually and brutally. The first strike was enough to raise and irritate everyone, but as the rest descended, and a rhythm was called out, even with their eyes opened, they longed for an escape.
Matsudaira's eyes flashed open, and he looked around with panicked alertness, not quite knowing whether he was. Tracking the source of the sound, his eyes finally revealed some sort of understanding, seeing Gengyo standing there. With that clarification came a more acute realization of just how irritating and painful that noise was, and his face said it all.
His expression was mirrored by the men around him, as they looked up with zombified visages, and throbbing headaches, only made worse by that abysmal noise.
Jikouji – quite enjoying their reactions – went to strike it again, but by that point, even Gengyo had enough, and he reached out his hand to stop him. "I think that'll do Jikouji…"
"Oh? I could quite easily just…" He reached his stick further towards the gong to ill.u.s.trate his point.
"I'd much rather you didn't."
"Very well, this old man serves you humbly, and will obey your request."
He nodded his gratitude, before allowing his own smile to blossom, seeing the men look towards him tiredly, quite clearly wishing to drop back down there and then, but not wishing to offend their commander.
"I would bid you all a good morning, but by now it is well into noon. I imagine none of you feel like eating, so you had only need prepare yourselves, and we will go and greet our new comrades as promised."
A collective groan sounded out at the prospect of action, but nevertheless, they soon rose up from where they sat, and headed off to wash their faces and grab a glass of water.
Akiko went off toward the houses in search of Rin and Isabella, whilst Gengyo was left to try and converse with their new general.
"How are you feeling, Matsudaira?"
"Like I've died multiple times over." He replied bleakly.
"Haha, I suppose I had better officially welcome you the Red Feather then. Dying multiple times is something of a requirement." He paused a moment, growing more serious. "Was it truly fine for you to miss the funeral of your men yesterday?"
Matsudaira looked down, a bitter expression on his face. "I drank in their honour." Came his simple reply. Understanding that a grieving man was not to be pushed for explanation, Gengyo gave a short nod.
"You'll have time to speak with them as we march. Though we must say you're a prisoner, for the sake of your vow, you may move amongst the caravan as freely as you please. I will not restrict you."
He nodded his gratitude, seeming not to wish to speak any further, and so Gengyo left him there, to collect his thoughts as he slowly woke up, whilst he oversaw the rest and made sure that they were doing as they were meant to be.
It took almost an hour, but finally, every single man was on his feet with all his belongings, and they were ready to march out of the city. The villagers lined the streets to see their exit, calling out praise to Gengyo and his men. They had lost nothing as a result of this battle, and had been given much in return. Despite their initial response, it had all truly worked out in their favour.
"Governor." Gengyo spoke to the man, as he stood by the gate, ready to close it behind them after they left. The hole in the wall had been repaired, and in truth, the city was in far better condition than it had been before they had arrived, and they even had the cannons to complement it. "I have stuck to my promises, as you see, and I intend to stick with this one as well: Imagawa will fall, so you best consider carefully with whom you place your loyalty, or the next time I come to this city, I might very well be the last thing you ever see."
"I will take your words into consideration, Miura Tadakata. Though I do not wish to see you again too soon." With their parting, he chose that moment to make a rather brave remark, which another man might have taken offence at. But this one merely chuckled.
"Nor I you."