Burning Secrets
Bloodline, Chapter 2. You can find all other IkeSen works of mine here. NOTE: Ayana is @jindalraekarkkiβs lovely OC! Thank you so much!
Generally speaking, requests for further information went through their intelligence officers, but the very last thing Ieyasu wanted to do was consult Mitsunari. He also was free to just wait and see what Mitsuhide turned up.
But he really wasnβt feeling much like waiting. Heβd waited for decades.
Fortunately, he wasnβt at a loss for archives. Being so near the capital left him a thousand to choose from, so he did a bit of research and puttered into the parking lot of an unassuming office building the next day. It looked as if he might be the only one there. That was just fine with him.
Swinging the door open, he took a step inside and inhaled the dry scent of books. Row after row of old paperbacks stood to the right of him, a desk to the left. There, a short woman blinked at him. She was quite beautiful, if a little surprising--Ieyasu wasnβt certain for a moment that she was human. With long, dark hair and bright green eyes, clad in a pastel pink jacket, she looked more like a living doll.Β
βGood morning.β She was very quiet, too. Gently she set down her book, peering shyly over the counter at him.Β βCan I help you today?β
He cast a single glance at her name tag. Ayana.Β βYeah. Looking for some newspaper sources from October 1993. Where can I find that?β
βOh, um, thatβd be something our archivist can get a hold of. If you wouldnβt mind waiting a moment, I can fetch her.β
βSure.β
She hopped off her chair and pattered into the back room, emerging only a minute later with another woman. Annoyingly she wore no nametag. Her short hair swung in loose waves around her jaw, a pair of glasses perched on her head.Β
βHello. You wanted to look in our newspaper archive?β
βYes. October 1993, specifically in Washington, D.C.β
βI think we have some of those. Come with me and weβll take a look.β
They passed through aisle after aisle of meticulously cataloged books, each row stacked high. Halogen lights peered dimly into the shadowy corners. Out of habit, Ieyasu surveyed everything. Heβd never seen such extensive anti-fire measures--it seemed like a sprinkler lurked in every inch of ceiling.
βAfraid of fires?β
βOf course.β She grinned at him.Β βWeβve got a bit of a top notch fire system. Three backup systems, each independent of each other, sprinklers for every nook and cranny, monthly checks on the smoke detectors... We canβt risk losing our extensive collection.β
Ieyasu hadnβt really been all that interested, but it was good to know. He followed her far into the back corner. There, a series of grey filing cabinets lined the walls; in no time, she flipped through three drawers, producing several plastic covered copies of newspapers.Β
βIf you need our copier, I suggest our low-impact one in the corner, to best preserve the paper and for the highest level of resolution. Do you need anything else?β
βThis should be suitable. Thank you.β
He took his copies back to his apartment and poured over them. Fortunately, the specifics were such that he didnβt have to hunt too hard. Back in the Entertainment section, he found what he was looking for: details on the event at the Kennedy Center. Apparently it was some kind of fundraiser. Frustrated, he turned the page and found the photos.Β
And one of them was his mother.
Ieyasu paused for a long, long time, looking at her. The paper was in black and white, but even so he knew she was radiant. Her blonde hair, so much like his, was pulled back in a long braid. She held a wine glass and smiled broadly at the camera. Her long dress swept the floor, and to her right was another man smiling with her.Β
Why was he so familiar?
Ieyasu squinted at the photo, trying to make sense of him. No caption under the photo provided details as to his identity, but Ieyasu had the prickling sense that he knewΒ the man. Where the hell from? Something in the lines of his face felt so familiar that he wanted to throw the paper. Well--there was only one person to ask.Β
He called the phone number and prayed for his aunt. Wrong. His Uncleβs gruff voice came through the speaker instead.Β βEvening.β
βEvening. Iβve got a question.β
βIβve got a lot for you too, boy, but okay. We can start with yours.β
How kind of you, Ieyasu wanted to snark, but he just inhaled sharply.Β βI happened across a photo of Mom fromΒ β93.β
A pause.Β βDid you now? Where did you find that?β
βItβs a long story. I was sorting through some paperwork for the precinct and found an old copy of a newspaper. It happened to have a photo of her.β
βYou sure it was her?β
What was that kind of question?Β βYes,β Ieyasu answered irritably.Β βBut thatβs not the question. Sheβs standing with someone in the picture that is very familiar to me, but Iβm not sure how. Darkish hair, bright eyes, wearing a tux. He looks not far off from Dad. Does that ring any bells?β
His Uncle hemmed and hawed a while.Β βNot that Iβm thinking.β
βDid she have any brothers?β
βNope. Only child, and Iβm your Dadβs only sibling and it sure wasnβt me. Where was this event, anyway?β
βI didnβt say it was from an event.β
βWell, hell, Ieyasu, you said the man was wearing a tux. That guess wasnβt too far out the window.β
Fair. Ieyasu sighed.Β βSome charity from the nineties, as best as I can tell. No guesses?β
βNone.β
βAlright. Well, thanks.β
βMmm. Alright then. Good night.β
He looked at the photo on and off throughout the next day, wracking his brain for answers. Maybe he was overthinking. Maybe it was nothing, and his brain was inventing links where there were none. But--but stillΒ he couldnβt shake it from his mind.Β
Once work was over, he drove back to the library, hoping he could make it just before closing. Maybe there was something heβd missed in the original copy of the newspapers. Maybe one of the other ones would provide more detail on the photos. The air was crisp and nearby, someone had lit some kind of a bonfire. The smoke kept seeping out onto the road. So much for appropriate fire laws. Taking a left around a thick band of trees, he emerged in the parking lot to the library and--
And it was in flames.Β
Without a second thought he sprung into action. Leaping from his car, he sprinted to the front door and rattled the handle. Locked. The receptionist from yesterday was on the other side, shaking it too, her green eyes wide. He tried to put his foot through the glass and found it too thick to breach.
βMove!β Ieyasu shouted, and drew his pistol. She lurched to the side as he put three shots through it and kicked again. That time it took, shattering across the carpeted interior.Β βCome on!β
Ayana scrambled out of the makeshift exit, panting.Β βSheβs--sheβs still in there--she was in the back--our phone lines arenβt working!β
Ieyasu flung his cellphone at her and dove inside the building. Churning black smoke billowed against the ceiling, the section near the door already going up in a blaze. Shit. He vaulted the counter and tried at the back office doors, finding them empty. Where the hell was that woman?
Bang. Bang. Bang. A noise in the rear of library echoed through the crackle and collapsing drywall. He didnβt have much time. Shooting through the tank of a water cooler, he splashed the water over himself before sprinting through the burning aisles. In the back it was even worse. Despite his makeshift protection, he could feel the cold water on him sizzle and pop from heat.Β
βHelp!β Someone yelled. He pivoted and charged through an aisle to the copier room. A chair was jammed under the doorknob, trapping her in. This was intentional.Β
Kicking it free, Ieyasu bellowed,Β βSTAND BACK!β Then he gave her three seconds before bang--he popped another shot straight through the doorknob, knocking it free and breaking the lock mechanism open. The researcher came barreling out, coughing and clutching her mouth, eyes wide.Β
βCome on!β Grabbing her hand, Ieyasu immediately realized that their exit was closed. A bookshelf collapsed in a shower of sparks. Apparently the woman was too weak from smoke inhalation to yell anymore, because she just flinched in his grasp, weaving on the spot. Fuck. In one smooth motion, he flung her over his shoulder, looking for another route. There--a window to the exterior. Assuming it was also reinforced, Ieyasu squeezed off his last three shots through it and flung the chair heβd kicked as hard as he could through it. Crash! Sliding through the shattered remains as best he could with the woman over his shoulder, they staggered out of the burning wreckage to the sound of sirens in the distance.Β
βLook at me.β He set her down on the ground. She was weak and pale, eyes wide. Without asking permission, he rested his head against her chest and timed her pulse. Not good--not good at all. It was dangerously, dangerously weak. Treatments flashed through his mind.Β βWe need you to lie down.β
βMaβam!β Ayana flew around the side of the building, EMTs in tow.Β βOh thank god--β
βSheβs suffering from smoke inhalation.β Ieyasu hefted her back up into his arms.Β βShe needs the hospital now.β
He and Ayana kept by her bedside in the hospital, his emotions swirling back and forth between dismay, anger, and guilt. This had to do with him, he just knew it. None of the sprinklers went off. Both women were trapped, the doors locked well before closing time. The firefighters said some kind of an accelerant was used in the blaze.Β
Whatever was going on, both of these women were thoroughly involved now.Β
Ayana was taken into protective custody by Nobunaga and Hideyoshi first. That just left him at the other womanβs bedside, contemplating what was to happen now. After a long while in silence, she removed her face mask just enough to speak.Β
βI saw their faces,β she croaked.Β βThe ones that lit the fire.β
