Chapter 13: Jizo Saves: By the end of an eventful night, Katsu finally remembers where she’s heard Shojumaru’s voice before.

Mitsuhide x OC; Hideyoshi x MC (Mai)

All Chapters Archived on Ao3 

Logline - With Mai, Hideyoshi, and Aki missing, Mitsuhide and Katsuko reluctantly team up. Disguised as a merchant and his concubine, can they outsmart the man known as the God of Deceit?

Ok Jizo… any suggestions?

Wheellock pistols are faster than matchlocks.

How much faster, I didn’t know. Nor did I know if the priest was considered a good shot, but I did know that there wasn’t time to carefully evaluate my options. Maybe if I had been able to think things through I would have done something differently.

Instead, I left it up to the patron God of children and travelers, whose stone avatar was right by my foot, and smashed the statue into the priest’s head.

THUNK.

Technically Jizo hadn’t answered my prayer… but he was solid enough to knock out the priest, who crumpled heavily to the ground.

Heavily… and loudly enough to attract the attention of Shojumaru and Mitsuhide, who both withdrew their swords and assumed defensive postures. As I stood over the body, unsure whether to run or wait, Mitsuhide said something quietly to Shojumaru, then headed in my direction, presumably to check things out.

Taking in the unconscious priest, the pistol, and the statue I now clutched to my chest, Mitsuhide reacted instantly. He turned and called toward Shojumaru. “It was an owl… hunting,” he lightly prodded the priest with his foot, “…vermin.”

With rather impressive theatrical skills, he cupped his hands to his mouth, expertly imitating a night bird call, then creating the impression that a large bird was flying off into the night. To me, he simply waved toward the shrine, and whispered, “Go.”

No other urging needed. I set Jizo down, patted its little head, and fled the scene of the crime.

When Mitsuhide finally caught up with me, he had the priest’s gun tucked into his sash, nestled next to his sword. By my estimate, it had been nearly an hour since I’d left the courtyard. While I waited for Mitsuhide in the main shrine, various scenarios rebounded as regrets.  What if I had killed the priest? While I had no affection for him… I didn’t want to be a murderer either.

What if the Nanban found his body and it mushroomed into a diplomatic incident? What if I hadn’t killed him, but it became a diplomatic incident anyway? What if he had seen me right before I’d hit him with the statue?

Maybe instead of doom scrolling I would be better off just asking a direct question. “I didn’t kill him, did I?”

He glanced over his shoulder and put his finger to his mouth. “Come this way; everyone is leaving now.”

Translation – we’ll discuss this later.

He’d already flipped back into character, so I put on the attitude of the meek Kaya and nodded.

As we made our way toward the entry, he put his hand in the small of my back, an oddly intimate gesture that I puzzled over, until he gave me a slight push, just hard enough to send me stumbling into the path of one of the Nanban merchants I had been spying on earlier – Senhor de Sousa.

Only my innate sense of balance kept me from knocking the poor man over, but I had to grab onto his sleeve in the process.

“Kaya! You clumsy idiot!” Mitsuhide yanked me upright and pulled me back to his side. “I am sorry sir, this little girl has forgotten how to walk.” His words were in Japanese, uttered in a tone of voice that suggested anyone unable to understand our language shouldn’t be here.

Given that I was in character as well, there was no way to protest his flinging in me into de Sousa, but I wished Mitsuhide would tell me whatever his plan was first, instead of throwing me into a situation and assuming I could improvise it. I mean, I could improvise – case in point Jizo statue. But my preference would be to have at least a general outline of the scenario in advance.

The merchant waved Shojumaru over to translate and then complimented Kyubei on having a beautiful wife. After a quick conversation, in which Shojumaru it clear to de Sousa that I was a prostitute, not a wife, the merchant made a more general comment that this country was full of beauty and to have been accosted by a lovely young woman was no imposition.

What followed was Shojumaru more or less accurately translating the conversation between Mitsuhide and de Sousa about beauty, the about art, which somehow turned into de Sousa deciding to host a dinner in order to show us how things were done in Portugal.

And no, I still haven’t figured out how Mitsuhide manipulated things to that end – especially without speaking a word of Portuguese. He’s just that good at mind control.

By the time we climbed into that dreaded box, Mitsuhide seemed pleased.

“That was the entire point of the evening, wasn’t it?” This time, I settled quickly as close to the window as possible, hoping to get this trek over with. “You wanted a chance to meet de Sousa.”

“Mm. That’s rather an oversimplification. I had many objectives, but indeed Master de Sousa was an important one.” He shifted positions, and physically lifted me over to face him. “Sorry Brat, but your elbow was in my ribs.”

“Rude.” I waited a moment for him to explain further about de Sousa, and when he didn’t, I took the initiative and asked. “Why is he important?”

“Nobunaga had arranged with de Sousa to import arquebuses from the west. “Two days before the scheduled fulfillment, we were informed the shipment had been stolen.” He peeked out the window. “Far enough, I should think.”

He banged on the side of the palanquin, until we stopped and one of the porters opened the door. “We will walk from here.”

They seemed surprised, but Mitsuhide had already paid them the full amount, so they were happy enough to carry the empty box back from whence it came.

“Thank you.” Walking was definitely more pleasant, even with factoring in Mitsuhide’s unorthodox distraction methods.

Even with? Especially with.

“An umprompted thank you. You must have an improved opinion of me. Pity. I shall have to do something villainous to even the scales.” In spite of his words, he did offer me his arm companionably and after a moment of hesitation, I took it. Funny how quickly that had become a habit that we’d both fallen into. “We’re far enough away from the shrine that our walk will not be noticed. Far less likely to be overheard out here.”

He does nothing without figuring out how to multitask it.

“Why did Nobunaga order western muskets? Isn’t he already keeping the Kunitomo gunsmiths busy?” Our country had already begun the habit of improving upon western technology, a trend that would continue into the century that I was born in.

“We wanted to discover whether they are any faster or more accurate than what we currently use. As more enemies add guns to their arsenals, it behooves the Oda to use the most advanced weapons available.” He indicated the gun that he had apparently confiscated from the priest. “This appears to be an improvement over the flintlock.”

“Hm, that’s what it looked like to me too.” Aki had shown me drawings of the European wheellocks, but this was the first time I’d seen one up close. “What are you going to do with it?”

“Keep it for now – it could be useful.” He tucked it back into his sash. “Give it to Nobunaga eventually. I imagine he’d like it for his collection.” He paused a moment. “Or if you have any interest, I could teach you how to use it. I taught Mai and you appear to be much more…” He stopped, although, I’m not sure why. I was beginning, however, to recognize that note in his voice when he spoke of Mai.

“Athletic?” It was just a guess. Given that Mai was a seamstress, I figured she hadn’t spent much time on sports.

“Bloodthirsty was the word that came to mind.” It was said without any indication as to whether he thought that was a bug or a feature.

“As it happens, Aki taught me how to fire a gun. I’m just so much better and faster with my bow, that I never saw the point.” This century’s firearms were still pretty slow and clunky. Adequate for war, if you used them in staggered firing lines the way Nobunaga did. But not useful enough for me to use as a personal weapon. Although the Priest’s wheellock might a better for that purpose. Still… a gun was never going to be as comfortable for me as a bow. Or… a stone statue. “Do you know why the priest wanted to kill you?”

“Me? Was I the target? And not Shojumaru?” He took hold of my shoulders, almost… affectionately? “Stay there.” Then he paced off an approximate distance to where he and Shojumaru had been standing. “Could you be certain from this length?”

Hm. I thought back to the moment in question. “No. His body was blocking my full view of the scene. I um…” Assumed.

Mitsuhide returned to my side and tapped my forehead. “Thought that because you are often tempted to kill me, that the priest would be as well.” He laughed, a sound that was two parts amusement and one part bitter. “It’s true, there are many who wish me dead. However, besting the man in your auction is hardly the motivation for murder.”

I couldn’t disagree with that without seeming conceited. Nor could I disagree with the fact that I had sometimes thought about killing Mitsuhide. Although I probably would not have followed through with those thoughts. “People have killed for less.”

He hummed with what probably was an agreement, as we continued through what during the day, was a bustling area of town. Now, however, the shops were quiet, and there was little light coming from the personal living spaces above the businesses. It felt like we were the only awake people in Sakai.

It felt almost like… a date? Well, a date if your dating profile listed your interests as ‘murder, espionage, and long walks through sketchy dark alleys’ and your ideal date included assault with a deadly statue.

“I will know more after my interrogation.” Ah. So the priest was still alive. Until that moment, I hadn’t realized I’d been afraid to ask again. Afraid to think about, afraid to ask, and afraid of the answer. My worries, and subsequent relief must have been clear enough for he continued. “No. You didn’t kill him, although figuring out what to do with him now is an unwanted complication.”

“Hitting him was the only thing I could think of at the moment. I couldn’t call out a warning without dropping the Kaya act.” It wasn’t like we’d put ‘what do to when you come across a sniper’ into our contract.

“Peace, brat, it wasn’t a criticism.” In spite of his words, he squeezed my arm in a light warning. “That said, I expect you will otherwise consult with me before taking drastic action.”

Well, that was a ‘do as I say, and not as I do’ statement if I had ever heard one. I could comment on his habit of flinging me into the path of merchants without any warning. But… it wasn’t worth getting further distracted from our original discussion now, especially as I was still trying to figure out how Aki’s disappearance was connected to everything. “Did you want to find out directly from de Sousa what happened to the shipment? Do you think he sold them to another and kept Nobunaga’s deposit? Why this charade? You could simply have asked him yourself.” Mitsuhide had a fearsome reputation, even amongst the Nanban.

“Hideyoshi thought it was wise to give the man a chance to prove his innocence. He and Mai came here to, as you say, ‘simply ask.’ That was the last we heard from them.” The muscle in his forearm tensed under my hand – the only clue I had that there was something more primal under his teasing mask.

That tension… it occurred every time he mentioned her name, and unwilling to probe in that direction any further, I diverted the conversation to my own missing person. My missing father. “I wonder how or if Aki fits into all this.”

“Who knows what we will discover in the coming days?” Placating words. It was nice that he at least tried to make me feel better. “What did you discover tonight? Anything beyond what I already learned?”

He hadn’t bothered to actually tell me what his discoveries were, but… details. “Let me backtrack first and tell you what I discovered about Shojumaru this morning.” Had that been just today? I suppose if a day feels like it is a year long, then maybe so. “So, two things. One is that he appeared to be familiar with – friendly even – a crew of sailors from an atakebune. It didn’t fly a banner, so I don’t know its origins.” I thought back to that moment on the dock, trying to put into words why it seemed suspicious. Because when I said it out loud, it really wasn’t. Not in these times. “I thought it odd for a merchant.”

“He could be relying on a nearby Daimyo’s naval forces to protect his shipments from pirates.” He was quiet a moment, possibly considering the issue further. “So that alone isn’t evidence of crime.”

Mitsuhide had been in Sakai longer than I had, so he did likely know they did things here. “The other thing… um, I had a source inform me that he had seen Shojumaru converse with an agent of Yoshiaki’s.”

“A source?” Mitsuhide swept one of those head to toe searchlight glares on me. “I ought to commend you for having managed to turn an Imagawa into a spy, for Yoshimoto is the only person I can imagine who would realize that Shojumaru had a connection with the deposed shogun. Although Yoshimoto is not someone you should be spending any time with.” He rubbed his chin. “As with the other, on its own, it’s not particularly damning. The Kaigoshu merchants are desperate to avoid Sakai falling under Oda’s rule, and Yoshiaki has quite the grudge. It would not be out of the question for them to send another merchant, such as Shojumaru, to reach out to him. However, Yoshiaki is a man of little imagination who relies on others to carry out his whims. He might pay to raise an army against Nobunaga but would see no value in a self-governing city.”

Maybe. It was true that in spite of its value as a port, Sakai didn’t have the political value of a city like Kyoto. “So, the short version of all that is that the Kaigoshu might have sent Shojumaru to ask for help, but Yoshiaki is likely to have turned them down.”

Mitsuhide inclined his head. “It is one possible explanation.”

“But it’s possible that Shojumaru is not what he seems and Yoshiaki could be involved?” I was undecided about Shojumaru. On the surface, he seemed friendly, and certainly both Hiko and Sho liked him (granted, Sho was biased by his looks). But something about him gave me the woogies (to use a clinical term).

“At this point, it’s best not to discount any idea, but also… not to get attached to any theory either.” Mitsuhide seemed to be choosing his words carefully. “I would prefer to keep an open mind, rather than discount something which turns out to be important at a later stage.”

“Which brings us to tonight, in which I learned a few things, but nothing conclusive.” At Mitsuhide’s ‘carry on’ hand wave, I continued. “Shojumaru slapped down a suggestion from de Sousa’s friend that he could supply human cargo, and the man was surprised to hear that. Also, de Sousa previously imported something for him, but they didn’t go into detail.” That piece of information seemed to intrigue Mitsuhide, for I noticed that he briefly clenched his fist. “Does that mean something?”

“Perhaps. I wasn’t aware that they had any business connections.” He nodded. “It may be helpful.”

Oh. Well. Good. I did want to be helpful, although I cared slightly less about being helpful to Mitsuhide. Hopefully, it had been worth an evening of being treated like an object, or like… well, like a prostitute, for I was not ignorant of the speculative looks I had been receiving from the Japanese merchants either.

“There’s something else, isn’t there?” Once again, Mitsuhide stopped walking, and only after I looked around did I realize we were home. At the machiya. Not home.

“Nothing to do with our search. I’ll just be happy to scrub Kaya off my face.” I doubted Mitsuhide had ever been treated like a prostitute.

And yet, he did seem to understand after all. “Sometimes one must act in a certain way, a way that may attract suspicion or derision from others. You must hold onto a part of yourself that is true, and real, to fight off the doubts, especially your own.”

He slid the door open and gestured for me to go inside.

The words, or at least the sentiment behind them, even his pensive tone of voice seemed oddly familiar. And though we’d never had this kind of conversation before, something pinged my subconscious. “Is that something you do?” I was suddenly curious about this man, who even a moment ago had seemed only an obstacle.

But of course, he was more than that, even if I had refused to admit it.

“No. I am deserving of all that is said about me.”

I waited for him to say more, but he simply bowed. “Goodnight, Brat. Pleasant dreams.”

It was a clear dismissal.

#Spoileralert. My dreams were not pleasant.

 “You there! What are you doing with my … shipment?” Footsteps came closer to the box. I held my breath. Now would not be a good time to be discovered. And I hoped that Iekane wasn’t in trouble either.

“Finishing up unloading them!” I heard the lid on another box open, and the clink of metal. Crap. Of all the crates to pick, we’d somehow gotten mixed in with someone’s weapon smuggling outfit.

“Wait ‘til they get a load of these, heh heh.” The clunk of that lid. I prayed that this guy wouldn’t inspect every box.

Another voice, this one with a European accent that I couldn’t place through the walls of the crate. “I’m happy you approve, Motonari. You, boy, help us move these.”

“Of course.” That was Iekane’s voice.

I felt the box being lifted. It almost felt like being rocked in a cradle, and in spite of my anxiety, I felt myself becoming sleepy. But after about half and hour or so, my crate’s journey ended with a thunk. And then more thuds – oh the other crates.

The clink of coins. “Pleasure doing business with ye!”

“Pleasure doing business with ye!”

“Pleasure doing business with ye!”

Holy mother forking shirtballs.

I was halfway out of my bed before before my subconscious caught up with the rest of me, and well, basically slapped me upside of the head.

“Pleasure doing business with ye!”

Five years ago, while I had been trapped in the crate, I’d overheard Iekane speaking to a man named Motonari... a man who had said. “Pleasure doing business with ye!” Tonight, I had overheard Shojumaru say the same thing to the backs of the Nanban merchants.

Shojumaru, who now owned that warehouse.

Same voice.

Same man?

The need to tell Mitsuhide had me leaving my room and padding to the top of the staircase, before I hesitated, wondering if this was something that could wait for morning. I peered down to the lower level. If there hadn’t been a glow from the lantern light in the office, I likely would have gone back to bed, for as important as this information was, it wasn’t ugent enough to wake him up.

Even so, before I was halfway down the stairs, I had second thoughts. I could see Mitsuhide kneeling at his desk. The expression on his face was …

Bleak.

Maybe I should wait.

I wasn’t even one hundred percent certain that Shojumaru was…

“Pleasure doing business with ye!”

I was certain.

Though I hadn’t made a sound, something must have alerted Mitsuhide to my presence, because he looked up at me. “Couldn’t sleep? Or… were you interested in renegotiation?”

The look of devastation was wiped from his face as if he had dropped a curtain over it. It was replaced by that now-familiar teasing grin as he ran his thumb over his lips. The red stain of lip rouge had long faded. In my head, the memory stayed crimson. At the last moment, I managed to stop myself from touching my own lips.

@bestbryn @lyds323 @selenacosmic @lorei-writes @tele86 @akitsuneswife

Trials and Tribulations of an Unconsenting Time-Traveller

Part 21: The End

OC x Mitsuhide Previous Parts: Masterlist

Whew. Finally! The end! It is a short final chapter.

For a change, I actually feel relieved about finishing a series. I've definitely undertaken more than I could manage here. Nevertheless, it was an educational experience, so no regrets.

Content Warnings: major sacrifices

A hand reached towards her. Maria swallowed dryly as Mitsuhide patted her head.

Guide:

Characters in this story are assumed to be speaking few different languages. The following is assumed: normal dialogue notation = Japanese; dialogue written in italics = English. Any phrases not written in English will be put in the dictionary at the bottom of the work.

A hand reached towards her. Maria swallowed dryly as Mitsuhide patted her head.

“You liar,” she let out a bitter laugh. Lightning struck again. Her eyes began to prick, the man smiling at her with unusual tenderness.

“It was never meant to be, little mouse.” Mitsuhide rose to his feet. Hating him would make it easier on her, he was convinced.

He turned around. Left.

Mitsuhide was certain he did the right thing, regardless of any emotion the shouts chasing after him stirred.

***

The second time Maria travelled through time was not any less confusing than the first one. It was as if she ceased to be, as if she herself turned into that iridescent mist – and then she was already there, surrounded by commotion much too loud to be reasonable, her body smashing into the hard pavement below… At least partially, as something did cushion some of her fall.

“I’m sorry!” she shouted on instinct, several heads snapping towards her. Nevertheless, people averted their gazes the moment she stared back at them. A groan came from behind her.

“I’m so, so, so, so sorry!” Maria turned around, hands raised in front of her chest in an apologetic gesture. “Are you fine…?”

She barely managed to hold her jaw in place, a man lying flat on the ground. Considering that she did drop onto somebody, this much should not surprise her. However, the longer she looked, the more stunned she grew, a head of black hair shaking before he sent a glance towards her. His clothes, the unmistakeable confusion written over his face, eyes opened wide as he took in the people around, houses, cars, lights – Maria put her hand on his shoulder.

“Who are you?” she asked. The man, however, ignored her.

“Where are we?” was all he said.

“Future.”

“Future…?” he echoed, his gaze fixated on her as she got up. Maria brushed the dust off her clothes. She was no less determined than she was embarrassed – nevertheless, she did not falter, and approached the first person passing by them.

“Emm… Excuse me, what year is it now?” she asked, perhaps a bit shyly.

“Twenty-ten.” The woman did not even look her way, the pace at which she walked only increasing. Not that Maria could blame her. It wasn’t often that a stranger, a foreigner no less, with a scar on her face would walk up to you, all to ask about something so outlandish. Her shoulders slumped, she returned to the man.

“Future. Twenty-ten,” she reported back to him. “Your name?”

“Kicho.”

“Kicho… Kicho…” she repeated. It sounded vaguely familiar… “Sengoku?”

“Who even are you?”

“Emm… I… I’m a maid from Azuchi. Probably.” Maria cleared her throat. “Not here. We need to talk.”

“Why here…?”

“Not here!” she groaned, mildly aware of the fact that it could be taken the wrong way. “Not now. Move.”

She got up and left without any explanations – and soon enough, he followed after her. Truth be told, she was not sure how to explain that what they were sitting on was an asphalt road, and that if they were unlucky enough, they’d end up being run over by this very fast, very heavy thing called “car”. Language barrier was a dreadful thing, indeed.

***

The key turned inside the lock. Maria pushed the door open. She stepped inside and set her shoes by the entrance, a bag of groceries in her hands. Without thinking of it much, she put it on the counter. The apartment was small, if not simply overcrowded, a miniscule kitchenette connecting with a dining space.

“Kicho?” she called quietly, only to be answered by silence. She glanced towards the clock. It made perfect sense. It was too early for him to be back from work. Her arms felt unusually heavy as she slid the bedroom door open. It was tidy, or as tidy as it could be – Kicho wasn’t one to leave mess behind. She, on the other hand… Recently, she couldn’t force her mind to even consider cleaning. Slowly, she walked towards a small table, and reached for a sheet of paper. Writing wasn’t her strong side, but she had to try just regardless.

Several years had passed since her return from the past. Maria… She suspected she wouldn’t make it back from Kyoto. At the same time, however, she was nearly certain the night didn’t unravel in accordance with Mitsuhide’s plan. Perhaps it was truly fated for things to end this way. After all, she did let her anxieties rule her, and took her phone, documents and wallet on the trip.

Maria turned the lights on. It started to get dark. She reached for her passport – it was issued yesterday, although this yesterday had happened a long time ago now. Her eyes faltered as she looked at her phone. She clicked the record button.

“Hej! Proszę, wysłuchaj mnie do końca zanim usuniesz to wideo,” she stared to talk. Her hands trembling, she opened her passport and showed it to the camera. “To twój paszport, prawda? Ten sam PESEL, ta sama data urodzenia, zdjęcie, nawet numer seryjny. Odebrałaś go dzisiaj, koło czternastej, jeśli dobrze pamiętam. Poszłaś potem na kawę i do księgarni, ale niczego nie kupiłaś. Ja… Wiem, że to zabrzmi jak jakiś obłęd, ale wiem to wszystko, bo jestem tobą. I musisz, ale to musisz mnie posłuchać.

“Na początku dwa tysiące dwudziestego roku wybuchnie pandemia. Zostaniecie wprowadzeni w lockdown na początku marca – ja wiem, to samo w sobie już jest nie do pomyślenia. Ale przysięgam, nie kłamię. To wideo możesz zobaczyć tylko dlatego, że mój telefon i twój telefon to tak naprawdę jedno i to samo urządzenie, połączone z tą samą chmurą. W kwietniu mama zostanie okradziona. Koniecznie zmieńcie hasło do jej konta bankowego przed pierwszym dniem kwietnia. Cokolwiek co nie jest datą urodzin Fafika, proszę.”

Maria set her hands down. She looked straight into the camera, her face a mixture of sorrow and relief.

“Choć… W sumie nie wiem jak dużo mogę powiedzieć o tym, dlaczego w ogóle tutaj jestem,” she laughed. “Za parę lat wyruszysz do Japonii. Koniecznie odwiedź Kioto. A potem… Sama zobaczysz. To… To był drugi czerwca dwa tysiące dwudziestego piątego roku. Po prostu pojedź wtedy to Kioto. Może ciężko mi zaufać, ale stanie się wtedy naprawdę wiele ciekawych rzeczy. Spotkasz wspaniałych ludzi, przeżyjesz parę przygód… I nieważne co się stanie, gdy już tam będziesz – będziesz wiedzieć czym jest “tam” jak już się tam zjawisz – nieważne co, nie zbliżaj się do Kioto ponownie. Uwierz, że wszystko co dzieje się wokół ciebie jest prawdziwe od razu, nie popełniaj mojego błędu… I naprawdę, będzie cudownie.”

Maria hit the stop button. She uploaded the file to the cloud, fully aware that it would transfer to the other device connected to it – her phone, the one she held in her hand, but not exactly that one.

Kicho returned maybe an hour later. She didn’t tell him a word of what she had done. As on any other day, they started to prepare dinner. Her body felt heavier, but Maria ignored it. She was half-done with her meal when her hands refused to cooperate.

“Hm? You’re not hungry?”

“You could say that.”

Kicho furrowed his brows. “This doesn’t sound like you.”

“Say, Kicho.” Maria hung her head low. “Do you remember the date?”

“The date?”

“When we can return.”

“The second of June, twenty twenty-five. Why?”

“I promise I will be in Kyoto then.”

His fingers tapped against the table.

“What are you going on about? Aren’t we going together?”

“I think the other me has already seen my message,” Maria laughed. She smiled, her body slowly growing translucent. He stared at her with wide eyes.

“Why?”

“I’ve… I’ve realised there is a chance it will change the past.” She looked up abruptly. She knew how to hold her tears back. This time, she would not cry. “I don’t want to disappear either. But I wouldn't be able to live if I didn’t take the risk and tried to save her… In a way, I still will be alive… So… Please, take care of the other me when you meet her.”

“Maria –”

“Please.”

She disappeared. Not even dust remained.

Dictionary:

“Hej! Proszę, wysłuchaj mnie do końca [...]" - "Hey! Please, listen until the end of the video before you delete it. This is your passport, isn't it? The very same PESEL number, the very same birthdate, photo, even serial number. You've received it today, around 2PM, if I recall correctly. You've had coffee and went to a bookshop afterwards, but you haven't bought anything. I... I know it will sound like some insanity, but I know this everything because I am you. And you have, you absolutely have to listen to me. // "A pandemic will erupt at the beginning of 2020. You'll be in lockdown, starting from the beginning of March -- I know, that alone is hard to imagine. But I swear, I am not lying. You can only see this video because my phone and yours are in fact the same device, hooked up to the same cloud service. In April, somebody will steal from mom. You have to change password to her banking account before the 1st of April. Anything that isn't birthday of Fafik [common dog name], please. // "Although.. I actually don't know how much I can tell you about why I'm even here. In several years, you'll depart to see Japan. You must visit Kyoto. And then... You will see for yourself. It... It was the 2nd of June, 2025. Just come to Kyoto then. It may be hard to trust me now, but many interesting things will happen then. You'll meet wonderful people, you'll live through several adventures... And no matter what happens, when you will be there -- you will know where is this "there" once you are there -- no matter what, do not come near Kyoto again. Believe that everything what happens around you is real from the very start, do not repeat my mistake... And really, it will be wonderful."

// Final notes:

I don't think this ending is necessarily bad, to be honest. It just means she'll go trough a similar loop, although this time, hopefully, to see a different conclusion.

The alternate ending was for Mitsuhide to help her out of the wormhole. A short time-skip would occur, less than a month. Maria would be shown running errands in Azuchi. Her last errand of the day would relate to Mitsuhide, and so, she'd visit his manor. As it would turn out, their relationship was still rather ambiguous, although it would have clear romantic tendencies -- the sort of thing you ease to rather than are struck by. She'd end up working by his side, helping mostly with the security of Azuchi itself and collecting intel... And we can assume that this may be the ending she'd arrive on with the information she had given to her former/current self.

In a way, this perhaps is even happier than what could have been.

The End

Tag list: @bestbryn @xarexraven

My preferred reading list. | 1. The Robin and the Spirit 2. My Dear Elayna 3. Ten Things I Hate About Mitsuhide 4. From Seas to Sands 5. A Girl Like Coriander | Thank you!

Hi! Your first three choices are yours! The robin and the spirit, my dear elayna, and ten things i hate about mitsuhide! thank you for being willing to participate! :)

And Spring Became the Summer

[Read on AO3]

The very last of my follower fics for the 700 Followers gifts! This one was the bonus for making it to 750 before December, and I’m so glad I’ve FINALLY gotten this done...so I can do it all over again this year 🤣

The last term paper Mitsuhide writes for his undergraduate career he slips into a glossy plastic portfolio-- double-spaced and double-sided, graphs printed in full color-- and turns in personally.

It’s a wide-eyed TA that takes it, seated behind a desk that’s far too big for her. Or well, she’s not wide-eyed at first; instead she’s bent over her work, only glancing up absently to make sure she has it in hand. But a second one turns absence to alarm, eyes fixing to where he grips the plastic, and suddenly he’s all-too aware how easily how just one of his hands could swallow both of hers.

So is she; her eyes pulse wide, and then she’s tracing the line of his arm up and up doggedly, like as long as she just keeps going, she might hit the end of him. When she finally does, he offers her a sheepish smile, shoulders hunched lessen the blow.

She shrinks back, a mousey brown head peeking above an oversized university sweatshirt. So much for that.

“You could have emailed this,” she squeaks, plucking the plastic sleeve from his grip. “I mean, not that you can’t hand it in. It’s just, er...”

“No one does,” another adds, rolling across the floor with a level of curiosity that he’s pretty sure an in-person paper doesn’t warrant. When she measures him with her gaze, she enjoys every inch. “Pretty old fashioned, if you ask me.”

He recognizes both of them; their names had been on the syllabus at the beginning of the semester. He’d found them both on the department website, Amanda wearing the same Clarines sweatshirt she had on today, and Holly’s clearly from some beach vacation, cropped from the shoulders up.

(“Wouldn’t have pegged you for a stalker,” Obi says, hanging upside down from the armchair.

“I’m-- I’m not!” Mitsuhide sputters, heat creeping up his neck. One day, Obi would slip up and say these things in front of someone who mattered, someone with a much more rigid sense of humor than Professor Gazelt, or didn’t know to take every word of his with an ocean of salt like Dean Haruka, and then it would be him that got seated in front of a disciplinary committee. The last thing he needed to do before even finishing law school applications was explain his brother’s poor taste in jokes on the record. “It’s just...”

“That you’re compelled to look at cute girls on the university website?” he offers, so casual. “I could think of hotter majors, if you wanted. Psych seems like it’s the sort of place real tens might hand out, right? Maybe, uh, Education? Kindergarten teachers always are cute--”

“It’s polite,” Mitsuhide grits out, shoulders hunched up by his ears. “You should know everyone on staff in your department, just the way you should know everyone you work with. It’s the proper way to network.”

Obi watches him with wide eyes, like he’s some kind of zoo animal or-- or one of those really bad cooks on TV, the kind who tries to pan fry a chicken whole. “God, you don’t actually do that, do you?”

“It’s the secret to good business.” At least, that’s what his parents always told him.

“You must be...” Obi savors the moment, looking positively euphoric as he says, “Really fucking creepy at the department Christmas party.”)

“No one did,” says the first-- Amanda, graduate summa cum laude from Columbia-- tone aimed to shush. “I’m, uh, happy to take that, though.”

He gives her his most gracious smile. “Thank you.”

“No,” Holly-- Penn State, no honors-- mutters, casting him a speculative glance from the corner of her eyes. Hers go up and up too, but seem to come to a much more amicable conclusion. “Thank you.”

“Stop.” Amanda’s hands flex on the thin plastic; she has soft hands, a callus only on the knuckle of her middle finger, where a pen might rest. Like Shirayuki, only without the thousand nicks and cuts that dot her fingers, battle wounds from wrangling recalcitrant plants.

Her chin pulls up, set in a determined line as she says, “Congratulations on graduating.”

“Ah...” It’s a kind thought, and meant well, but knowing he’s about to spend the next three years earning the degree that counts softens the blow. “Thank you. I hope you have a nice, um, summer?”

“Definitely will be nicer not to grade papers,” Holly offers, immune to Amanda’s shushing. “Do you have pl--?”

“We should get back to grading,” Amanda says, just to the left of too loud. “Have a nice summer.”

Never repeat yourself, Mama always told him, it weakens your position.

You can never be too polite. That’s what Papa would say, when he thanked the cashier for a third time.

Mitsuhide winces; he’s always hated this, being stuck between his parents. It’s clearly time to leave. “Right. Bon été, Amanda.”

“Was that French,” he hears hissed the moment he’s stepped out the door; the same moment another voice says, “Did I tell him my name?”

He should have just emailed it. Mitsuhide can make any number of excuses about the joys of collating and color printing, about face-time and networking, but at the end of the day, he has to call a spade a spade: this has all been an excuse. A thin one too, to keep him out of the house. To put off what he knows need doing.

Mitsuhide steps into the cool air of the foyer, shivering as it catches the sweat that beaded at his hairline on the walk. His courage peaks as he stands there, right next to the shoe mat, grand stair stretching up before him, still in his oxfords--

And immediately effervesces when he catches sight of smooth, bare legs on the coffee table, fuzzy slippers worth more than his phone perched up on the mahogany. This is it, the moment of truth, fight or flight, and he-- he doesn’t know which way to run.

So he doesn’t. He’s drawn there with inexorable motion, a magnet to a lodestone, the hard soles of his shoes clacking against the wood the only thing keeping him grounded. It takes only a few steps before long, tanned legs lead up to sleep shorts; not the clingy kind that curve and cup, but the ones that hang like boxers around the tops of her thighs, rucking up as she moves. After that it’s a hoodie, worn loose and baggy, like it’s supposed to fit someone twice her size, its hood drawn tight against her face. Nothing...sexy, not the way Obi might say, with far too much eyebrows involved. But still, his mouth runs dry, tongue heavy behind his teeth.

How on earth is he going to do this?

“Kiki.” He speaks before he thinks, sinking down on the table. It creaks beneath him, ominous. “I owe you a date.”

“Oh shit.” Obi flops over on the recliner, wide gold eyes peeking over the arm. “Check out the balls on this kid.”

This is a terrible idea. He should have known not to do this in a-- a common room, one where other brothers might be hiding.

“Sorry,” he creaks, levering himself up. “I didn’t realize-- you’re clearly busy--”

“No.” Kiki’s lays her feet right on his thighs, pushing him down with a thump. “You were saying something important.”

He darts a glance to the shadow squirming obnoxiously on soft leather. “But Obi--”

“Obi,” she informs him, as imperious as any C-suite member, “can leave.”

Obi doesn’t so much bark out a laugh as honks it. “Not unless I got time to make popcorn.”

Her head doesn’t move an inch from where she’s got it, chin tilted up to meet his own gaze. Her eyes though, those slide pointedly away, fixed at their corners, radiating malice. Kiki is slow to speak, deliberate when she does, but her eyes-- well, there’s a wealth of words in every look, and right now they’re reading Obi the riot act.

It would have worked better if Obi wasn’t already so used hearing it.

“Ignore him,” Kiki decides, attention snapping back to him. “He’s furniture.”

“Oh, Ms Kiki,” Obi drawls, barreling towards a mistake, “you could sit on me any--”

“You were saying?” she says, every word iron. Obi takes the hint, for once.

“I, uh...well, you paid for a date,” Mitsuhide manages lamely, darting a worried look to where Obi lounges on the chair. “I mean, you paid a lot for a date. And I understand that you may have just wanted to donate to the frat, but if you wanted to--”

“I told you,” Kiki says, dry, toes flexing firmly on his knee. “I expect you to make it worth my while.”

“Ah, y-yeah.” Her saying that while looking at him like she did-- well, his brain had that queued up every time he blinks his eyes. Sometimes it changed venues, and there were some, uh, costume changes at times, but if he shut his eyes right now it’d spool up with perfect fidelity. “I thought it might, um, d-distract you if we tried before finals, but since you’ve finished-- we’ve finished--”

“As of twenty minutes ago,” Obi adds, so helpful.

“--I thought it might be a fun way to relax.” He’s honestly never felt less relaxed in his life just sitting here, contemplating it. Half of it he can chalk up to Obi, curled over the recliner like a gremlin, waiting to wreak his version of chaos the second he can weasel his fingers in, but the other--

Well, it’s hard to ask someone on a date when you know they’ve already got someone in mind for the position. Even if it’s just-- this. As friends.

His heart’s in his throat. At least, that’s what he thinks until Kiki’s mouth curves; then he knows it’s never been in his possession at all, but always utterly hers. “Sounds like fun.”

Tension rushes out of him on a sigh. “Ah, great. I though we might, er, go to Boston? You know,” he hurries to spit out, before any words can fall from her parted lips, “since there’s not much out here we haven’t seen.”

She hesitates. Of course she does. Boston’s practically her hometown, and he’s sitting here, thinking it’ll impress her. Like she hasn’t seen everything that’s worth seeing there twice over and in private. That she hasn’t just told him no outright is a testament to how well Mr Seiran’s raise her, and--

“Let’s make a day of it.”

Mitsuhide startles, nearly tipping off the table’s edge before he glances up, right into her row of perfectly straight teeth. Her mom’s smile, she always told him, but he’s only ever seen it on her. “I-- yes. That’s..good.”

Her lips curl, hiding her teeth. “Let me handle the accommodations.”

“Ah, no.” His head sweeps through big, nervous back-and-forths. “I couldn’t possibly ask you to--”

“You’re not,” Kiki informs him. “I’m telling you. I’ll handle accommodations. You’re seeing to the rest of the weekend, correct?”

“Y-yes.” He tries to fold his arms across his lap, but with her feet right on his thighs, it ends up with his hands covering her ankles. He expects her to move them, but instead her legs still, tendons relaxing under his palms. “That’s the plan, but, really--”

“It’s the least I can do.” She shifts her macbook off the couch’s arm, fingers already flying across the keyboard. “One night?”

“I...” He should decline. He should tell her that if she can drop a whole K on a date with him, he can shell out for one night at a hotel with a higher rating than a Holiday Inn.

But this is Kiki Seiran, heir to Seiran International. She’s not just used to five stars but the penthouse suite. He could book four star cheap on Hotwire, but imagining her in one of those suites, the sheets starched and thread count insufficient--

“Yeah,” he grunts, “one night’s fine.”

“Perfect.” Her teeth snap around the word. “Leave it to me.”

“So,” Obi starts before Mitsuhide’s even hit the last step. “We have a bet going on.”

He grimaces, shifting the duffel over his shoulder. “I’m pretty sure I don’t want to know.”

‘Pretty sure’ turns to ‘certain’ once he catches Obi’s grin. “It’s about whether you’ll get your dick wet.”

“Sorry, not interested.” He heaves the bag beside the front door, brushing off his shorts. “Isn’t it too early for you to be up? I thought you didn’t know about the hours before ten.”

“I had motivation,” Obi assures him, slinking up beside him with a grin a mile wide. “You know, Shiira says that you won’t on the grounds that you’re a gentleman.”

More like the lady isn’t interested. “I already said I wasn’t--”

“Kai says you will,” he continues blithely, “and you’ll come back on time. Shuuka agrees, except that he thinks you’ll miss check out with all the boning down and won’t make it back until evening.”

“Isn’t this breaking the bylaws?” Mitsuhide grunts, slipping on his sneakers. “Don’t we have something about betting...?”

“For money,” Obi agrees. “Zen still wouldn’t put a bet down though.”

That’s assuring at least. “Of course n--”

“Shiira already took his.” Obi shakes his head. “And we wouldn’t allow him to say the same thing except that he thinks it’s because you’re and idiot.”

Well, that’s a little rich, coming from Zen. Mitsuhide was loath to remind anyone that besides Obi, he is the most experienced, but-- some people should be taking that into account. Even if nothing is going to happen.

“Don’t worry, Big Guy.” Obi claps him on the shoulder, smile somehow drifting towards kindly. “I gave you until Monday.”

“Obi--”

“And Kiki will walk in with a limp.”

“Obi, you know that’s not...” His breath hisses between his teeth. “That’s not what me and Kiki are like.”

“You keep thinking that, Big Guy, but--” he leans in, cupping a hand around his mouth-- “my original bet was gonna be Tuesday. Too bad Kiki had already taken it.”

Mitsuhide stares at him, slack-jawed. “W-what did you just--?”

“I should have known, you’re already here.”

His head jerks up, right to the top of the grand stair, the beginning of a quick glance-- but it’s no use. There’s no possible way he could make his eyes focus anywhere but on Kiki, not when she’s wearing-- when she’s--

“Ooh.” Obi’s mouth curls, matching Kiki’s knowing smirk. “Is that a skirt?”

It is. And not-- not her field hockey kit, mid-thigh with shorts beneath, but and actual skirt, one that floats just above her knees, gauzy and floral. A single flash of leg tells him there’s nothing else beneath. Ah, well, besides the obvious. Mitsuhide swallows hard, mouth dry.

She raises a brow, hand trailing sinuously down the banister beside her. “It is a date, isn’t it?”

Her heels clack when she takes the last step into the foyer, clack because it’s the cork of her wedges that hits the floor first, because-- nom de Dieu-- she’s wearing shoes that tilt her a few inches close to him. Close enough that he could just bend at the neck and--

“Ah,” he coughs, fingers clenching in his shirt. “You might be a little overdressed. At least for this first part.”

Both her brows raise now. “Am I?”

“God,” Obi mutters at his shoulder, head buried in his hands. “You could at least say she looks nice.”

Well, when he’s right, he’s right.

“You look, ah, great though,” Mitsuhide hurries to add. “Beautiful.”

Kiki, to his surprise, beams. “Well, I brought a few outfits. I’ll change at the hotel.”

“Ah, sure.” He scoops up his duffel, holding out a hand for her bag as she passes. “You’re ready to go?”

Her mouth quirks at a corner. “As I’ll ever be.”

He hums, uncertain, suddenly left-footed with her so close. They should leave, but that involves a number a movements he’s suddenly stymied by.

Thankfully, Obi opens the door, practically shoving him onto the porch. “All right kids, be safe now.”

“Obi...”

“Don’t worry,” Kiki drawls, sashaying over the threshold. “I packed plenty of condoms.”

The door cuts off Obi’s laugh, but Mitsuhide can’t escape the pounding of his heart.

“You know,” he sighs, trailing after her, “you’re only encouraging him when you say things like that.”

“Oh that’s too bad,” she hums, floating past. “I was trying to encourage you.”

Part 1

Truth Be Told 2. Crisis

You pace around the room, obviously worried, as Ieyasu watches on, his viridian eyes tracing your every move. He hates seeing you like this, so much that he forgets the effects of the liquid he ingested the night before. He wonders why the effects are hyper-prolonged—it’s been at least ten hours since the two of you drank the truth serum during dinner, and yet here you are, still under its influence.

“Speaking of,” he begins, breaking your train of thought, “didn’t you drink some of the serum as well? How are you feeling?”

Ieyasu closes the space between the two of you, his feet touching yours as he presses his palm against your forehead. You blush at the proximity, which is definitely unusual, because your relationship with him has gone way past embarrassment. This Ieyasu, however, is different. He’s direct, he shows what he feels not only in action but also in words, something he often misuses, and that’s why you feel your heart beating faster. 

It’s like a brand new him.

“I’m okay,” you quickly reply, still slightly bashful. “The effects of it shouldn’t be obvious on me, though... I’m pretty much an open book.” All the times Mitsuhide declared you as readable has now become a mild assurance—they won’t know of the truth serum from you because you’re pretty straightforward in the first place. On the other hand...

“Ieyasu, don’t you have war council today?”

Shit. “...Yes, now that you mention it.”

“Should you just call in sick instead?”

“That won’t work,” he says, taking a lock of your hair and playing with it absentmindedly. “That would only drive some of them to come visit me to see how I’m doing, and it’ll be revealed that I’m doing fine, which would rouse suspicion.”

You feel your cheeks heat up again at his proximity and the fact that he’s playing with your hair while saying all that.

“Mitsunari and Masamune will definitely come to check up on me,” he continues. You bite your lip. You’ve never heard him talk about those two like they’re not pesky flies. Usually it’s “what a bother” this, “what a bother” that. Now he just sounds... sweet. And accepting.

“We’ll have to attend the council.”

“We?” You ask. He’s switched to brushing your hair with his fingers.

“I know you’re not invited, but you have to be there. You have to help me. Be my decoy—a majority of their attention will be on you.” There’s a hint of desperation in his voice, but with his hand stroking your hair and the little pout on his face, it’s kind of hard to take him seriously. You’re not going to ask him to stop, though.

“You’re asking me to make fun of myself so they’ll pay you no mind? Meanie.”

His frown deepens.

“Not like that, dummy,” he says, sounding more like his normal self, “don’t you realize they all have a crush on you? I swear, every day you’re with them is like a game of how to steal you away from me.”

Realizing what he just said, his body freezes, and red starts to flood his face. Ieyasu cups a hand in front of his mouth and begins to frantically look at anywhere else other than you, and you can’t help but stifle a little giggle.

“Are you jealous?”

You can see him physically struggling to let out one single lie, only to fail. 

“Yeah. How can I not? I’m your boyfriend, right?”

Shyly you reach out to hold his hand. It’s only been less than a minute, and here you are, missing his touch so badly.

“Please do it again.”

“Do what?”

“Stroke my hair. I... really liked it.” 

A look flashes from behind his brilliant eyes, and the next second you find yourself pressed so snugly against his body. His fingers brush your hair again, but this time he’s decided to pepper kisses on your face, forcing you to close your eyes.

“You should really be careful about saying things like that,” he says, moving towards your jaw and neck, “it’s doing stuff to my heart.”

“But I just want you to touch me,” you reply before you can think about it twice. He nips your skin in response and you let out a surprised yelp.

“That’s exactly what I’m talking about, that kind of talk... What do you want a guy to do, huh?” He whispers against your ear. “We’ve already done it so many times last night. Are you asking for it again?” 

“I-Ieyasu—”

“I can just take you again right here and make you cry out so loud, even that blockhead Mitsunari can figure out what’s happening in my room.” He begins to growl, and it sends a kindling heat down your spine, resting between your thighs. “Is that what you want? For us to stay in bed all day? That way we can avoid meeting others until the effects wear off.”

Oh heavens, you sigh, feeling your knees getting weaker by the minute. That would indeed be a great solution to your problem.

“But you can’t,” you reluctantly call out, enjoying the things his lips are doing to your ear. “There’s that update you told me about last night... Something to do with Motonari’s crew...”

Ieyasu stops his ministrations, slowly parting from you like he doesn’t want to. When you finally get a good look on his face, he’s blushing, but there’s a dangerous gleam in his eyes. 

“You’re right,” he concurs, “there’s that troublesome thing.”

You watch as he looks at you from head to toe, your kimono slightly disheveled at all the places his hands roamed. Then he smirks at you, a rare gesture, and your heart skips a beat in response.

“After the council, then.”

♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Interrogation (Mitsuhide x MC)

Available on AO3 here: Interrogation

Mitsuhide (Ikemen Sengoku) x MC. PWP, 18+

“You’ll find they won’t break Little Mouse.” Her head whipped up at the sound of his voice, heart racing as she felt cool fingers stroke her cheek. “Now, do you have my answers or do I need to pry them out of you?”

The cool air of the dungeons raised goosebumps on her flesh as Midori waited, twisting her wrists in the binds and testing their strength. They were tight enough to keep her in place, but loose enough to avoid any discomfort. She smiled, ‘the kitsune still has his weaknesses then’, though where he was now was a mystery. It felt as if she’d been here forever and barely a moment all at once, and with the blindfold over her eyes she couldn’t even tell if Mitsuhide was watching her squirm or not. She huffed, tugging at the binds once more.

“You’ll find they won’t break Little Mouse.” Her head whipped up at the sound of his voice, heart racing as she felt cool fingers stroke her cheek. “Now, do you have my answers or do I need to pry them out of you?” His voice was almost as gentle as his hands on her skin, but she could picture the wicked glint of his smile even from behind the cloth over her eyes. Midori shifted slightly, smirking in the direction of his voice. “Oh, you’ll have to try harder than that kitsune.” His laugh was musical, enough to momentarily distract her as he made his move. The smack rang out loud in the silent air, the sting soothed almost immediately as he ran his hand over her behind. Even through the layers of her kimono it was a powerful blow, and she bit her lip to hold back the moan that rose in her throat. “Such a beautiful shade of pink.” Mitsuhide purred, fingers toying with the edge of her kimono. “Shall I see where else I can turn such colours?” This time a quiet moan escaped her, her head tilting back to expose the column of her throat to him. “Perhaps you should try.” She heard the slight hiss of a blade being withdrawn from somewhere, barely stifling the hiss of surprise as the cold metal touched her skin. ‘I can trust him, this is Mitsuhide. And it was my idea.’ “Worried so soon Little Mouse.” “Stop mind reading you ass.” She tried to move away from him with a huff, but the bindings really were good. “Now, now, don’t be like that.” He chuckled, a hand pressing gently against her back to keep her still. “If you squirm I might slip and this blade is very sharp.” He touched it lightly against her skin, pulling just low enough to tug at the edges of her kimono. “Or you could just tell me what I want to hear and this could be over.” Midori took a deep breath, planting her feet and turning her head to where she thought he was. “I told you I wouldn’t make it easy for you, do your worst.” She expected more teasing, instead she felt the knife move downwards, followed by the unmistakable sound of tearing fabric. She winced a little as she felt her obi fall apart, sure no amount of sewing skill would be able to put that back as it was. “So troublesome little one.” The purr in her ear made her jump this time, and the carefully held blade nicked the soft skin of her stomach. She felt him tense behind her for a fraction of a second, until he realised the sound that left her lips wasn’t one of pain. She could practically hear the amused smirk as he traced a long finger down her newly exposed skin. “This is an interesting development.” Midori arched her back, pressing her body as much into his as she could. “Mitsuhide…” “Yes my dear one?” “I hate you.” “I’m very sad to hear that, given that I love you so dearly.” He traced the blade across her skin again, pressing just enough for her to feel the sting but not deeply enough to draw blood. His cool hand soothed the sting almost as soon as it was inflicted. She leant into his touch, breathing on the verge of ragged. “Mit… su… hide… please…” He hummed appreciatively. “Nearly dearest one.” “Damnit Mitsuhide, please!” The words were almost a moan. “I need you.” His hands stilled on her lower stomach, his own breathing ragged in her ear.  “Ple-” Midori’s begging was cut off by soft lips pressing against hers, his tongue tracing the outline of her bottom lip.

He pulled back too soon, a whine rising in her throat. “Good girl.” he murmured, fingers trailing down her cheek. “Tease.” She huffed in return, though the words lacked any bite. Mitsuhide chuckled, running a finger down her neck and between her breasts. “Ah but you love that about me.” “I’d love it more if you gave me what I asked for.” Midori grumbled. His breath tickled her neck as he trailed his hand lower, shifting slightly to be at her back and let her melt against him as his other hand moved up to cup one of her breasts. Without her sight every touch felt magnified ten times, her skin more sensitive to him than it had ever been. She gasped as his fingers ghosted over her nipple, distracting her for a moment from the other hand that had worked its way between her legs. His fingers found the sensitive bundle of nerves there, working in circles as she gasped and bucked against his hand. He chuckled in her ear, shifting slightly so his thumb remained pressed against her clit as long fingers pressed inside her. “You seem to be enjoying this little one.” The only reply he got were her fevered gasps and whimpers as skillful fingers brought her tumbling over the edge, his other arm around her chest all that kept her standing as her legs turned to jelly. She panted, leaning back against his chest and wished she could see the hungry passion she knew would be written across his face. It was these moments she treasured most, the places where his cool mask slipped and showed her expressions only meant for her eyes. As her breathing steadied and her legs regained some strength she tried to twist to face him, seeking his lips even when she couldn’t see. He obliged, of course he did, he would do almost anything for her, catching her in a kiss so sweet she could taste it. “Mitsu…” She breathed, resting head against his shoulder. “I want to see you.” He said nothing, but she felt him move to pull the blindfold from her eyes, freeing her hands seconds later to allow her to embrace him, even as she pressed feather light kisses across his collarbones. Pressed together like this she could feel the hard line of him through his hakama. She looked up, one hand reaching to cup his face while the other worked on freeing him from his clothes. Even with the desire she could see burning there his golden eyes were soft when they looked at her. “Let me.”  She sank to the floor, taking his hakama with her, glancing up to see his eyes widen as she winked and licked a long stripe from the base to the head of his cock before taking him into her mouth. It took Mitsuhide a moment to respond, one hand finally finding its way to the back of her head, resting there gently as she bobbed up and down. It wasn’t long before his grip was tightening, soon turning into an insistent tug. With a wicked smile Midori pulled back, flicking the head of his cock with her tongue as she did so. Mitsuhide sighed, sinking down to the floor with her and trapping her beneath his body.  “What am I to do with you?”  She smirked, lifting her head to kiss him softly. “I can think of a few things.” As his answer he shifted her slightly and slid himself inside, stealing any more smart quips that might have come from her mouth and replacing them with moans. She arched her back, pulling him deeper as he thrust into her. She wanted to watch him, but she couldn’t keep her eyes open, and in the quick glances she did manage she realised he couldn’t either, peppering light kisses along her neck and shoulder. His movements soon became more erracting, the kisses more fevered, and, just as she was reaching her peak he bit into the soft flesh where her neck and shoulder met, sucking a bruise into the delicate flesh. The rush of sensation was enough to send her crashing into her orgasm, and as he felt her walls spasming around him Mitsuhide followed her into his own.

Afterwards they lay on the floor of the dungeons, Midori’s head resting on Mitsuhide’s chest as he covered them both with his kimono, his hand stroking idly through her hair. “I hope you don’t treat all your prisoners like that.” She hummed, nuzzling her face into him. Mitsuhide chuckled. “Only the ones who ask me to interrogate them.” “It wasn’t my worst idea?” Mitsuhide had just opened his mouth to respond when they heard footsteps rushing towards them. Frowning he pulled Midori’s body closer into his, keeping her shielded with his kimono as he propped himself up on his elbows to see who was making their way into the dungeons in such a hurry, “Mitsuhide! I don’t know what you think you’re playing at but Lord… oh. Oh… no, I…” Hideyoshi stopped mid-tirade when he spotted the two of them, quickly trying to look anywhere except at the couple curled up under a kimono. “Lord Nobunaga wants to see you. I’ll… um, I’ll go.” He sped out, still looking very hard at the floor on his way out. “My, my… to think, all of the things I’ve done and I’ve never seen him quite so flustered.” Mitsuhide chuckled. “Perhaps we shall do this again.” “How did he know… Masamune.” Midori laughed. “Wait… did you want to do this again or just embarrass Hideyoshi? Though I have to admit, that shade of red was really something.” Mitsuhide pressed a gentle kiss to her forehead. “One of the many reasons I adore you. Now, we must move. Our Lord is waiting.”

Head-canon: Ikesen Warlords react to an MC who loves swimming

Requested by a lovely anon. Completely SFW, but behind a cut anyways for being kind of long.

Rating: Bell Pepper (see Masterlist for rating descriptions)

Oda forces

Nobunaga: “I fear nothing! No god, no demon, and certainly no lake!” He proclaims this loudly, hands on hips, wearing nothing but his fundoshi on the beach. He is utterly unprepared for the shock when Masamune shoves him into the cold water. You’ve never heard the Devil King scream like a little girl before. Masamune’s going to regret that real soon.

Hideyoshi: This is just one more thing for him to be suspicious about. Swimming? For fun? Outside of a hot spring? You’ll catch cold! All his efforts at forbidding you (and everybody else) to swim come to naught, so instead he sits on the shore with a pile of towels and dry clothes ready to warm you up as soon as you climb out. 

Mitsuhide: The kitsune is entirely uninterested in making himself vulnerable by splashing around naked outdoors, but for some reason he always manages to wander by with a question for Hideyoshi just as you’re getting out of the water. He also slips you information on everyone else’s weak spots, so you reign supreme when you teach the swimming warlords about chicken fights . He doesn’t want to get involved himself, but he is vastly entertained by the tiny Chatelaine quasi-drowning powerful warlords.

Mitsunari: The idea of swimming for fun has never occurred to this man, but he is instantly taken with the tactical possibilities of amphibious samurai warfare. He gets so distracted by this that you never do successfully get him into the water.

Masamune: I think we all know Masamune will be the first one to rip off his eyepatch and dive in with you. In fact, he goes out of his way to find deep bodies of water under cliffs and tall trees to jump in from.

Ieyasu: Will swim with you. But he will not have fun, goddammit. Prepare for him to be standing in cold water up to his armpits, shivering, and complaining about sand in his fundoshi. He won’t admit to enjoying himself, but you and Masamune can team up to goad him into a chicken fight. He’ll be on Nobunaga’s shoulders, of course. They tried the other way around at first, but turns out Ieyasu’s not tall enough to keep his head above water.

Uesugi-Takeda forces

Kenshin: Much like Hideyoshi, Kenshin is at first horrified by the idea. If you caught cold, he’d just die. Or figure out how to kill a lake. You manage to convince him you’ll be quite safe as long as he comes in with you, but you do have to teach him how to tread water first.

Shingen: Like Masamune, Shingen is very enthusiastic about this, but not for the thrill of danger. To the surprise of absolutely no one, the main draw for him is the fact that he gets to see you wet, mostly or completely naked, and if the water is cold enough he can warm you up right here on the beach later. His weak lungs mean he’s not comfortable in the deep water, though, fearing what might happen if he gets too tired. 

Sasuke: “Of course! Swimming is an excellent cardiovascular exercise and full-body strengthener. I’ve been doing it regularly since I arrived.” Sasuke is a very strong swimmer. He will also happily engage in chicken fights, where his ninja skills and reflexes are offset by his inability to see beyond the end of his nose without his glasses.

Yukimura: “Crazy woman! Why on earth would that seem like a good idea?” Shingen and Sasuke nod to each other and push him in fully clothed. Once he gets used to the idea (and strips off ten pounds of wet hakama), he proves to be a quick study and a strong swimmer. Good thing too, because when he carries Sasuke during a chicken fight, his friend’s blindness proves to make holding him upright harder than it looks.

Yoshimoto: Ugh, lakes. Dirt. Weeds. How uncivilized. He’ll sit under a tree on the short and watch, but wild horses could not drag him into the water.

Wildcards

Ranmaru: Ranmaru will try it, for you. But he really wishes you wouldn’t. The darkness of the deeper waters frightens him (the boy has demons, okay?), and he never does get very comfortable with the whole activity.

Motonari: Motonari is thrilled. Swimming is a vital life skill on a pirate ship! Unfortunately, this does mean he usually ends up trying to put you to work patching boards and scraping barnacles off the hull. That comes to a stop when you push him in the next time he tries to order you around. He’s furious, but he’s a strong swimmer himself, and eventually can’t stay angry when you dive in after him and the splash fight starts.

Kennyo: The concept of ‘fun’ has not figured in Kennyo’s worldview for a very long time. When you follow him one day as he does his waterfall meditation, the man completely loses his zen as you leap in with a laugh and a shout. Eventually you manage to convince him there’s more than one way to center a monk, and he lets himself be pulled into playing every once in a while.

Bonus, because I wrote this before I realised the request was ‘loves swimming’, not ‘can’t swim’:

Motonari: The ocean holds no fear for this man. He swims like a goddamn fish. But he hates/fears being touched, so the realisation that you can’t swim and he might have to leap in to save you some day scares the living daylights out of him. You must learn to swim! His approach to teaching to you, unfortunately, consists of tying a rope around your waist and shoving you over the side of the boat. “You’re doing great,” he laughs. “Just, you know, drown less!” He pulls you up before you get too tired, and quickly regrets it when you strip off your wet kimono and leave it on his futon to dry.

Long Lost Sibling - Nobunaga

I was in more than a little bit of a stunned state. I was clutching my bag to my chest, sat in ruined and smoky clothes while riding on a horse that belonged to a warlord who trusted me less than he could throw me. His hazel eyes were alight with passion when he had run to the scene of the fire. I learnt shortly after that, I had saved Nobunaga Oda from the flames that had been destined to kill him from the history that I had discovered. I was lucky that I hadn’t lost my bag, no one could understand why I refused to let go of it as it kept moving slightly, still as scared as I was most likely as I tried to keep my breathing level. I was used to a high level of stress and expectation on my head, but I felt like I was floundering out of my depth in this scenario. I had been meeting up with one of my college friends, who had followed his passion and turned to an astrophysicist. Then we’d been caught out by a storm, and somehow ended up five hundred years in the past.

I was grateful to arrive at the castle. I was given my own quarters, a bath and some clean clothes. The maids helped me with the kimono as I had hidden my opened bag in my wardrobe, knowing it would be safe there for this instance. Then the same man who had brought me here entered the room and instantly began to correct my crooked obi sash before he let me leave.

I was in 1582, I had saved Nobunaga Oda from the flames that had been his demise in my timeline, and I was surrounded by Hideyoshi Toyotomi, Masamune Date, Ieyasu Tokugawa, Mitsunari Ishida and Mitsuhide Akechi. Six warlords whose names I had been very well acquainted with during my studies. They had all been footnotes and names, now I was faced with the real things. And they were all armed. I hadn’t been unarmed until I had gotten changed. My duelling swords were in my bag, along with my sole companion in my travelling lifestyle.

Nobunaga kept staring at me, it was slightly unnerving, but I couldn’t let the ‘enemy’ know that. It was like a match warm up. If the opposition could sense your nerves, then it was a weak spot to exploit. I stood straight, holding myself as though there was a string attached to the ceiling. I had spent years training in more ways than one, and this was definitely the time I would need my own defence.

“I refuse to spend my days doing ‘girly’ things,” I finally snapped, refusing to let them lord it all over me just because I happened to pick up Oda’s eye while saving his life.

“Then I appoint you as my Chatelaine,” the Devil King stated, glaring at me as though wondering what I was still doing being present in the meeting.

I let myself out and used the maids to find my way back to my room quickly.

I heard the scratching at my wardrobe and quickly opened it as my cat glared at me. He always insisted on sitting in my bag to the point that I had my handbags made, especially to accommodate his quirks. Luckily, he hadn’t made any kind of mess in my bag or wardrobe, and I also had a veranda to let him get out for a stretch with access to the gardens. Though surprisingly, he hated grass and would do anything to avoid walking on it as he turned his nose up at me. The maids had left out some water for washing in, though Nobu instantly decided it had been left for him and eagerly lapped at it. I needed to get something from the kitchens for him as I pondered about the meat availability, and making a friend or two in the kitchen to ensure a good supply. I was scratching Nobu behind the ears as the door opened, and one of the older maids looked surprised at the scene.

“Don’t tell anyone I have a cat please,” I smiled, “I just need to make sure there’s always a bowl of water, and I need help getting him food please?” I asked with a head tilt.

“Of course, Lady Natsuki,” she bowed and immediately rushed off.

It sounded strange being referred to as a princess, I certainly had never acted in such a royal manner, though it was often referred to how I held myself as I was growing up. I existed in my own class, every movement was graceful and precise as I moved, and it was always the outwards appearance that came off as someone of importance. I could barely remember anything from before the age of ten, it was as though I just appeared in Kyoto, and I lived with my parents, who I barely saw. It was a constant flow of nannies and tutors, and I naturally attended a private school. My talent in ballet and fencing was encouraged and quickly honed. Before coming through the wormhole, I didn’t actually have a home. I spent my time travelling and attending competitions all over the world. I had been referred to as the master dueller, but it wasn’t something I believed I could call myself yet.

The maid came back with a tray of food for me, and it included an overabundance of meat. Nobu was at my knees in an instant, meowing incessantly at me until he had his portion of food in front of him. His purring was endearing as the maid introduced herself as Kinu, and she smiled at the sight of a now contented cat. He had already settled himself down on the futon covers, which was going to make it interesting for me getting into bed if it hadn’t already been a double one anyway.

“I’ll do what I can to help if you don’t want anyone else to know,” she offered.

“He gets overwhelmed by people easily, that’s all,” I explained. “So if people don’t know about him, then it’s going to be less stress for him. Thank you,” I softly finished. My exhaustion was hitting me like a ton of bricks now I’d finally stopped.

“I’ll come by in the morning, sleep well Lady Natsuki,” Kinu smiled.

“Please, drop the title, it’s just Natsuki,” I corrected. “See you in the morning, Kinu.”

Routine was essential around the castle. After three days of being avoided by Hideyoshi, I stalked him out and demanded that he tell me my duties the following day. It was just outside of Nobunaga’s tenshu where I had caught him, and Oda opened the door to commend my determination before telling his vassal that he was spending the day showing me how the castle worked tomorrow.

Toyotomi was far from impressed, but then I couldn’t do my job if I didn’t know what it was. I was introduced to everyone as the Chatelaine, and I made my connections in the kitchens and amongst the maids outside of Kinu. I helped them to get a few things passed the warlords, and I had the trust of the staff long before Hideyoshi was prepared to do anything of the sort.

I figured there was a banquet that night, judging from all the flying about the staff were doing. Kinu confirmed to me that I was right as I helped her to pick up a box.

“Natsuki!” I heard as we placed the final box on the counter level. “How many times do I need to tell you about not pushing yourself?” Hideyoshi was in mother hen mode it appeared as Kinu couldn’t hide her smile.

“We worked together, there wasn’t any strain in it for either of us,” I pointed out. “Also were you meant to inform me of the event tonight?”

Hideyoshi blushed as he was caught out.

“I won’t tell anyone,” I chuckled, “I’m going to get ready.”

There had been numerous reports from all the staff of strange noises coming from the Chatelaine’s room. Mitsuhide was naturally sent to investigate, as he made sure that no one could see where he was going. Kinu had been strangely close to the new arrival, and the two would often be seen gossiping while cleaning and working through the castle. There were rumours the two would eat together on occasions, but it hadn’t been confirmed by anyone yet. It was silent as everyone had been assembled at the banquet, and the kitsune slide the door open. It was organised to perfection, something that did remind him of the Princess as the sight of two long, thin blades perked his interest, but they would not be the source of the unknown sound. He opened the wardrobe carefully and was attacked by a black fur ball with claws, that then dashed straight out of the room. Mitsuhide paused for a minute and could feel that his face was scratched by whatever it was, logic dictated that it was a cat judging from size and speed. It wasn’t expected, but Akechi then realised he had just released the animal out into the castle and immediately then scrambled out of the woman’s room, forgetting to close the doors.

Masamune’s scouts returned during the banquet with a concerning report regarding the night at Honno-Ji, so everyone was dispersed. Nobunaga was walking with Hideyoshi to his tenshu, where the Lord had managed to persuade his vassal that this was definitely a suitable time for konpeito. The sugar candies were waiting for them in the room, and they started to digest the reports from the scouts. Then a scratch came from the ceiling, much to their surprise, before a black blob dropped through and started to lick at the candy in Oda’s hand.

A hurried knock and Toyotomi threw the door open.

“Hi,” I smiled and spotted Nobu sat very happily on Nobunaga’s shoulder while licking at the sugar candy in his hand. “I’m really sorry about this,” I said and went to pick up my stray cat.  

Then I was hissed and swatted with.

“Excuse me, mister,” I hissed back. “You know sugar isn’t good for you,” I scolded, much to Oda’s amusement as my cat refused to stop digging his claws in.

“How have you kept him secret for this long?” Hideyoshi was surprised that the fuzzball had an owner.

“He doesn’t normally like people, it’s just been him and me for a few years,” I shrugged, trying to avoid the fact that I’d fallen through a wormhole to get here. It wasn’t a lie, it was usually just me and Nobu in the RV I used as my travelling home. He didn’t like going outside beyond the cemented over car parks, even though I’d forever be begging for the little sod to go toilet outside of the RV. He’d usually make a deal of having a walk outside, and then coming in only to use the litter tray and go back outside. “It was easier to keep him in my room, and Kinu was always handy to help me,” I explained, scratching my cat behind his ears. “He’s obviously taken a liking to Nobunaga,” I shrugged.

“What’s his name?” Oda was curious as I froze up.

“Nobu,” I muttered, looking embarrassed and away from the two warlords.

“He does remind me of you,” Hideyoshi commented, getting a closer look at the cat who was now staring at him with wine coloured eyes.

“Well, at least he isn’t tearing the place apart-” I was interrupted by a slightly bloodied Mitsuhide joining the room. “Oh, that’s how he got out,” my eyes widened at the scratches across Akechi’s face. “That’s normally how he greets people,” I gestured to the white-haired male.

Hideyoshi looked like he was going to comment on the kitsune, but a look from Nobunaga silenced his vassal.

I was about to give up on having a cat. He was always on Oda’s shoulder or following the man about with devotion, regardless of where he was. I had heard that he’d even been in war councils. It didn’t help that Nobunaga ignored my instructions regarding feeding him sugar candies, I was beginning to sympathise with Hideyoshi, though I never let him know about my secret chocolate supply in my room.

It was a beautiful night, I had the doors open to admire the stars as I had the candle lit and some chocolate to finish off a long day. Then someone opened my door, and I had a black fur ball wanted something sweet in my lap in an instant.

“Oh, now you’re interested?” I chuckled, stroking Nobu affectionately as Nobunaga leant over to see what I was eating. “Close the door and take a seat, we don’t need Hideyoshi giving us a lecture,” I grinned.

We ended up talking about very little of importance, but I introduced the man to chocolate as he shared his precious sugar candies.

Then Toyotomi found us.

“Lord Nobunaga, Lady Natsuki!” Hideyoshi immediately scolded, though I had to admit that Oda was quicker than I could ever imagine. He was long gone down the corridor and left me alone to deal with a fully bristled mother hen.

I didn’t know what lead me to my actions, but when the vassal turned around to start telling me off, I kissed him passionately on the lips. He returned it with equal fire before we separated. I smiled and told him goodnight before closing the door. It took a little while before he left, walking in the direction of his manor. Nobunaga owed me as I trailed a finger over my lips that were still tingling.

“Lady Natsuki!” I looked up from my scrubbing of the floor to see Mitsunari looking concerned, a frown on the face of an angel. “Lord Nobunaga has some news for you, he’s requesting your presence in the tenshu.”

“This must be urgent,” I replied, making sure I wasn’t covered in muck before I stood up.

“Please, follow me,” he asked, turning about promptly and quickly leading.

I was definitely the most underdressed one in the room. Hideyoshi was scowling at my attire, but Oda cut him off before he could start.

“You need to pack and get ready to leave, you’re coming with us,” the black haired male stated.

“My Lord!” Mitsunari and Hideyoshi both exclaimed in surprise.

“As long as I can know where I am going,” I asked.

“I need my lucky charm with me to flush two dead men out onto the field,” he smirked. “You should be able to leave Kinu in charge of Nobu,” he added.

“I am still trying to figure out why I am sharing my cat,” I grumbled, making the two vassals smile to see us in such closeness. Masamune had made the comment that to watch me and Nobunaga converse was akin to watching siblings, which the other warlords had then agreed with and I chose to ignore.

“I like how you complain about your cat and not being dragged out to battle,” Oda smirked. I simply shrugged in response before we all cleared out to get ready for the upcoming event.

A thud behind Ieyasu made him jump. Natsuki had just been behind him while attending to a minor wound that needed bandaging before he would be sent back out. The soldier was looking shocked, and the Princess was unconscious on the floor. The warlord quickly finished his current task before rushing over to the woman. She wasn’t burning up, and she looked a little pale but nothing drastic.

“She was fine, then she was on the floor,” the soldier was gaping.

Tokugawa gathered the Chatelaine into his arms, a frown deep on his forehead. The other warlords would want to know, but there wasn’t a known cause for her collapse. It would worry them for no reason, but then again, Nobunaga was just as likely to punch him in the face for withholding the information.

“My Lord?” The man the Princess had been attending to was looking confused. His bandage was adequate as the blonde glanced him over.

“Find any of them, and tell them the Princess has collapsed. She is resting in Lord Nobunaga’s tent,” he instructed with a swift nod.

Hideyoshi rushed back to the camp as soon as the news was received. Oda had said nothing but would make sure everyone else left him alone later until they had figured things out for themselves. The Princess had no degeneration, but to see her in such a state without a cause was concerning for them all involved. There was nothing anyone could do for her by staying behind, she had a guard protecting her, and she had Ieyasu to hand in case of any complications as the vassal pressed a light kiss to her forehead before returning to the front.

My eyes were sore. I had slept with my contact lenses in, as I slowly sat up and tried to see what my surroundings were until I realised that I stood very little chance without taking out my lenses. I heard the tent flap move as I went to remove the second one.

“Huh, future inventions?” Oda’s voice made me jump slightly, and I gave him a glare from mismatched eyes before taking the second lens out.

“It’s one way of proving it, could you get my glasses from my bag, please? My eyesight isn’t the best after having my contact lenses in for so long,” I sighed, gently rubbing my currently closed eyes.

I heard the flap move again, and the guard stiffly reply to his Lord’s request to retrieve my bag and a change of clothes. I knew it wouldn’t be long before the rest of the warlords descended on me, but then again with Nobunaga’s presence, it may be a different story. Some bowls of water were found, and a makeshift screen erected so I could change in private.

My glasses were similar in style to those that Sasuke wore, only I had thinner frames, and my eyesight was nowhere near as bad as the poor ninja’s. It was bringing the world into focus for me and made reading a lot easier, though to avoid needing always to be removing my protective gear I favoured contacts, which also gave me the option to darken my eyes to a shade of brown from their unusual wine colour.

Tokugawa let himself in while I was changing and gave me his usual unimpressed expression.

“I didn’t exactly plan it,” I snorted, folding my arms.

“No, but there’s definitely the obvious right now that you’re Nobunaga’s sister,” the blonde shrugged, sitting me back down on the futon as I stared at the tsundere man in shock. “You two act and look like siblings, so shall we just face the obvious?” He asked us, acting as though we were the idiots in this situation.

“Just make sure she’s fine,” Oda grumbled, glowering at the other man in the tent.

I kept reaching for the bowls with water in to rub into my eyes. They were dry and itchy, and water was the best thing I had to hand. Tokugawa had left us for now, and it was like staring into a mirror after all of my dreams.

“I had these really vivid dreams,” I needed to break the stifling silence around us. “That you fought with me in one arm against someone else in the family, at father’s funeral,” I murmured, desperate to not look at his eyes as I needed to lift the burden on my chest. “Then there were all those occasions of you dragging me with you all over the castle, giving the staff heart failure as we’d be found in the pantry with the candies,” I was twirling a lock of hair around my finger. “And various people would catch us and scold us as Hideyoshi does now,” I couldn’t stop the faint smile from spreading across my face. “Then there are the times you would storm into the middle of my dance lessons to correct what I was doing,” I trailed off.

His hug was territorial. I couldn’t stop the tears as he laughed at them.

“I thought you’d been killed,” he admitted. “If you fell through a wormhole to get here, then you must have fallen through one to leave. At least you are safe,” he patted me on the head.

“And you stole my cat,” I sulked. “He hates people, but loves you! The things I’ve done for him,” I pouted and mock glared at the devil king.

“Well, you did name him after me,” Nobunaga smugly announced before I swatted him on the arm. “Then again I announced you to your proper title before we found out the obvious, princess,” he smirked. “Now to torment the rest of them,” he leaned in, a glimmer in his eyes that I recognised as dangerous for poor Hideyoshi, not that it would stop me doing anything as I grinned in response.

Toyotomi was wearing a hole in the ground around the campfire. Masamune was finishing dishing up some food, and chuckling at the state that his friend was getting himself into.

“So when are you two going to kiss?” Date grinned.

“Er, what?” Hideyoshi snapped his head up, a blush dark across his cheeks as he remembered the steamy string the couple had shared when he caught them sneaking candy late at night.

“Oh, I see,” the one-eyed dragon laughed. “She’s good then?”

“I will remove your remaining eye,” Hideyoshi threatened, the colour in his cheeks trying to outshine the flames next to them.

“You’ll need Nobunaga’s permission anyway,” Ieyasu added into the conversation. “She’s his sister after all.”

“What?” Masamune dropped the ladle he had been holding into the pot.

“Natsuki, she’s the missing sister,” Tokugawa shrugged. “She’s wearing glasses at the moment, and you can see that they’re practically the spitting image of each other, so no wonder Hideyoshi likes her,” the blonde added to the conversation, not taking his eyes off the bowl of food he was consuming.

Hideyoshi leapt over the seats and soldiers, making the other warlords smirk in knowledge before barging into the tent, his breath hitched in his throat.

“Er, hi?” I questioned, sitting on the floor next to Nobunaga, both of us taken aback by the sudden intrusion. It was like looking at the obvious now we had all figured it out, and my glasses were still absolutely disgusting. I pushed them back onto my face in defeat, acknowledging that I would need to find a clean piece of fabric somewhere and probably some water.

“So, it’s true?” Toyotomi was addressing Oda rather than me, and it irritated the hell out of me.

“You can ask either of us, instead of just defaulting to Nobunaga just because he’s a man,” I snapped, glaring at the vassal as I felt my brother’s smirk widen behind me.

“She does have a point,” Oda was enjoying this way too much as Hideyoshi was blushing for an entirely different reason now. “Anyway, we pack up camp, there is no point to further bloodshed,” the warlord declared. “And you will be sticking close to Ieyasu or me while we sort things,” he said, looking at me. I had to concede with a smile since I had not long recovered from fainting.

My brother was becoming an unbearable tease once we arrived back. It was officially announced that I was the sister of Nobunaga, and then there was a rapid increase in the interest and mail I was now receiving from daimyos, including Shingen Takeda who had decided I was now worthy of his attention. Nobunaga was thriving in the fact that I was determined to do as I pleased still, and kept up my role as Chatelaine seriously, despite that virtually of the staff were now terrified of me because of my change in the family name. Though the person I was missing the most, was the change in Hideyoshi. The vassal had taken to avoiding me completely at every turn. He was never there to offer me any help, but I had heard he was always scouring the castle to find any way of making sure he wouldn’t walk into me. It was hurting me, and Oda had figured it out.

I was told to wear a red kimono that my brother had made for me, and Kinu had done my hair in a different style while I was stood waiting at the gates at the time he had told me to. It was confusing, but I figured that he had a reason since he’d never given me any kind of instruction like this before.

It felt like a lifetime before someone was running in my direction. I was surprised to see that it was Hideyoshi, but apparently not as shocked as he was at my appearance.

His lips and mouth were red hot. I was cradled in his arms, and my head was being held to his demands. His tongue explored every millimetre of my mouth as I returned the fire, my arms wrapping around his neck just to give me something to hang onto. Then I jumped into his arms as a loud bang startled us both.

My brother was definitely the instigator of the entire scenario since he was wearing the biggest smirk of all the warlords. Not that Hideyoshi was letting me go, he just helped me to stand back on my feet and glared at our friends as I was trying to suppress a laugh.

“I told you monkey, she likes the sake and dumplings at the teahouse,” Nobunaga smirked broadly, not hiding his amusement at the situation.

“Oh, you set this up?” I asked, widening my eyes at the cocky man.

“Well, he was too busy avoiding you to make a move,” my brother replied. “Now go and make things right,” he ushered us away with a hand gesture and a knowing smirk. “And I don’t expect you to come home tonight, am I understood?”

“Yes, sir!” I laughed, before dragging Hideyoshi out of the gates.

Evidence

Again., Chapter 8–a collaboration by myself and @a-shout-to-the-void​ AKA Vaya. You can find all other IkeSen works of mine here, and Vaya’s here. NOTES:

Ieyasu woke in a tangle of limbs. At first he wasn’t entirely certain of where he was. It took only a few moments for him to blink the sleep from his eyes and realize that they’d all passed out together in the living room floor. Curled up beside him was Williams’ sleeping form, her head resting on his (very prickly and not happy) arm, and there--his hand wrapped around the both of them and cupping Ieyasu’s lower back--was Mitsunari. Hell. He looked so much like an angel asleep that Ieyasu almost believed his reputation.

What happened? He took a long moment to collect himself and remembered--ah, yes--they’d watched a movie in a pile on the floor. He had himself to thank for that one. What was he supposed to say if they, god forbid, talked about this? ‘I rather like you both’ was a sentence so far removed from his vocabulary that he almost wanted to laugh at it.

But he only had a little time to himself. He shifted to try and assuage the pins and needles in his arm, and Williams roused ever so slightly (with the sweetest and faintest of sounds). Mitsunari followed sleepily in turn. Ieyasu checked the clock on habit. Five a.m. Well, at least they weren’t in a rush.

“What time is it?” Mitsunari managed sleepily.

“Early. Got time. Maybe two hours before they need us in the office.”

“God,” Williams laughed, curving her hips back into his. Ieyasu struggled to compose his body. How was she so blisteringly hot? He’d always recognized she was beautiful, true, but now his whole person leapt to her every whim. “Okay. I’m too old to sleep on a floor like this. I’m definitely feeling it.”

“Well, I don’t even remember falling asleep.”

“Does one ever remember falling asleep?” Mitsunari posited, ever the literal one. “I suppose that would be an interesting study. Do--”

“Mitsunari?”

“Yes?”

“Shut up.”

Williams sat up. Ieyasu followed, his hips cracking loudly as they all untangled, the blanket draped over their legs falling away to the carpet. Mitsunari groped for his glasses and found them in his pocket, cleaning them with a cloth before setting them on his nose.

“So…” Ieyasu desperately tried to smooth his hair. No use. It poofed angrily under his hand. “So what now?”

Mitsunari checked the clock. “I suppose we all shower at some point and get on the train--”

“That is not what I meant.”

Williams cast them both an amused smile. “You want to do this at five a.m., but not while you’re making out with two people at once?”

If there were a pepper as hot as Ieyasu’s cheeks felt, he didn't know. “Look--look.”

“I’m looking.”

“Yes?” Mitsunari chirped up. “Well, if you’re referring to the current emotional situation, then the last time I was part of a trio--”

The whole world screeched to a halt. Ieyasu desperately floundered with his hands for time out. “When you were what?”

Those amethyst eyes just blinked innocently. “The last time I was part of a trio? Much like now--”

“You’ve done this before? How? When? What the fuck--”

Mitsunari looked almost smug. “I know my way around Tinder. Something else I picked up from Columbia.”

Ieyasu sat dumbly. Williams buried her face in her hands and laughed, a sweet, awkward sound in line with how he felt.

“Okay, so we’ve an expert. Please, oh wise one, illuminate the path or… whatever it is we should be doing right now.”

Mitsunari just shook his head. “I’m no expert, it only happened once. But we started by establishing if it was going to happen again or not. Do all parties here consent to being involved at the same time?”

“Can you please make that sound less like something Nobunaga would say?” Ieyasu groaned.

Williams brushed back her twists. “Um. Yes? I--yes. I--I don’t exactly know what I’m doing, here, but I really like the both of you...”

“And I like both of you, of course,” Mitsunari immediately offered.

Two eyes turned to him.

“I--” Ieyasu barely managed to strangle that from his throat. “I--listen--I don’t… I didn't hate what we were doing.”

“Well, that was enthusiastic,” Williams snarked.

“I’m trying.”

“Ieyasu is a bit more reserved with his feelings,” Mitsunari explained, and Ieyasu hated every second of how right he was. “He’s a bit modest.”

“Yes. Alright?” Ieyasu wondered if he could melt into the earth about now. “God, how do I even…” He trailed off, eyes bouncing back and forth between the two. Mitsunari, that agonizing, beautiful smile on his face, and Williams, looking the softest he’d ever seen her.

“When I’m… with you, both of you, I mean, I. You two are so… hard to look at. I can’t stop watching you, and it’s been driving me crazy, not knowing why, and then knowing why, and seeing how perfect you were for each other.” Every word felt like lead, but Ieyasu soldiered on. “I never thought, not even for a second, that either of you would ever… want me. I’m just having a hard time when you’re both so annoyingly perfect all the goddamn time, but of course I want this. You. Both of you. How could I not?”

“Stop it,” Williams murmured, and next thing he knew, she was in his lap, caressing every flyaway strand of his hair, peppering kisses over his cheeks. And for once--for once in his life--he just leaned forward and let her, allowed her to love on him so simply. Mitsunari’s long fingers brushed over his cheek affectionately (and they were pianist’s hands, he realized all at once, a rush of affection and frustration at his silver-spoon partner rushing through him). “I want you, too.”

Usually Ieyasu had a litany of things to do at this hour. Meal prep, going to the gym, trying to tame his hair--but in the cool grey dawn of this morning, he simply leaned forward and let them show his hungry heart love.

---

He and Mitsunari took the train together that morning. Williams dipped off in the wee hours to her apartment (“I haven’t even gotten changed yet!”). Mitsunari borrowed a shirt and recycled his trousers, and as they sat together on the train, they quietly linked pinkies together as if to share a secret.

Naturally, they took one step inside the office and Mitsuhide cast them a single look before declaring, “Hideyoshi owes me money.”

“Shut up,” Ieyasu snarled. “What are you on about?”

Mitsuhide’s silver-fox smile was telling. “I think the fact that you started with ‘shut up’ and not ‘what are you on about’ means you know exactly what I’m on about.”

Ieyasu couldn’t think to say anything except, “You’re a fucking snake in a suit.”

“What?” Mitsunari asked, clueless as ever. “What is going on?”

“Lan-gua-ge,” Mitsuhide chided sing-song. “I’m certain your little partner there will tell all.”

“Tell what?” Mitsunari asked again.

“He’s too much of an airhead to say shit,” Ieyasu groused, flinging his suitcoat over his chair. “So shut up and put your eyes back on the page.”

“Oh, but I’m having such a ball reading the room.”

On a horrible, terrible, no-good-very-bad cue, Nobunaga slid open the door to his office and stuck his head out. “Tokugawa. Ishida. What is going on out here?”

“We were merely discussing the latest turn of their case,” Mitsuhide lied smoothly, his face as impassive as ever. For one brief moment, Ieyasu was thankful that their coworker could lie like the devil. “Need you anything?”

Nobunaga looked entirely unconvinced, but he just nodded. “No. Keep it down.”

“Understood. My apologies.”

The door slid shut. Ieyasu pantomimed a silent watch your back to Mitsuhide. The man returned with a crude jerking gesture around his crotch.

Mercifully, the rest of the day proceeded as normal. They returned to gathering information about their active cases, sifting through file after file, sorting motions and pleadings and emails and memos as the clock ticked on relentlessly.

Then came the most critical piece of all.

Ieyasu jumped as Mitsunari suddenly appeared in his field of vision, slapping a piece of paper triumphantly onto his desk.

“I knew it,” Mitsunari announced, purple eyes gleaming. “I just knew something didn't fit.”

“Fit where?” Ieyasu scowled. “In what?”

“Well,” Mitsuhide drawled lowly from his nearby desk, not even looking up, “When a daddy and a daddy love each other very much…”

“In the case. The Ailes case,” Mitsunari pressed, either ignoring Mitsuhide or too excited to acknowledge him. “Look at this.”

A single giant photo, a screenshot from Instagram, of all places, covered the page. Ieyasu frowned. It was a selfie, with little in the background save for a corner of a house and the trunk of a car. Beneath the photo was a caption: can’t believe i almost witnessed a murder #findrenee. A few comments followed, but Ieyasu didn’t bother to read. “What am I looking at, exactly?”

Mitsunari pointed emphatically at the comments. Of course. “This photo was allegedly taken less than ten minutes before the victim’s time of death, on the same street, on the same day.”

“Even if that’s true, what does this tell us?”

“Williams’ witness reported a vehicle at the scene of the crime.”

Ieyasu slid the paper back toward Mitsunari. “Yeah, because it’s a neighborhood.”

He had almost turned back to his computer when Mitsunari spoke again. “I asked someone with the police to run a check on this license plate number.”

Ieyasu stilled. Mitsunari was rarely so insistent. “And?”

“This vehicle is registered to Renee Ailes’ boyfriend.”

“The twenty-two year old?” Ieyasu echoed. “The one that really shouldn’t be dating a teenager? The one that said he didn't know anything and police let him go? That boyfriend?”

“That boyfriend,” Mitsunari confirmed.

“None of this is in evidence,” Ieyasu murmured. “This might not even be anything.”

“But what if it is?”

“...It’s not our job to solve crimes, it’s our job to prosecute them.” Even as Ieyasu said it, his resolve wavered.

“And what if we have the wrong person?” Mitsunari pressed. “This doesn’t add up. You know it doesn’t. I know it doesn’t. We prosecute criminals.”

“And if we have the wrong person…”

“Then we’re hardly doing our job.”

Ieyasu sat in silence for a long, long time, his hand hovering over the mouse of his computer. They could forget about this. It was very possible. They could have nothing--just suspicions and doubts that didn't pan out. But--but--he looked up into Mitsunari’s bright violet eyes.

He trusted his partner.

Screwing his pride down, Ieyasu reached for the phone instead. It rang only twice.

“Shingen Takeda’s office,” came the familiar voice on the other end.

“Shingen,” Ieyasu managed, his throat dry. “We should talk. I’ve got something you might be interested in.”

Wounds- part two

Pairing : MC (not the original one) × Masamune

A warning : This may be getting pretty violent in the next chapters. There will a priori be mention of death, suicide, torture and scarification.

@manunelle, there it is !

Read Part one

War counsel

The week that followed the incident was unbelievably tiring. Since the old ghosts had decided to come back from the dead, another war was profiling and they had to get ready. Masamune’s territory of Oshu was a direct neighbour of Uesugi Kenshin’s province of Echigo. Preparing his region for war was now an utmost priority. Piles of paper were piling on his desk, and war counsels kept being summoned at impossible hours, inventory of the stock of powder and of other resources had to be done without delay.

He had no idea what the Princess was doing meanwhile, and it was honestly not his priority to know. Or that was what he kept telling to himself. But part of Masamune's mind was constantly rehearsing the warmth of her skin, her shudder and violent trembling when she had shove him away.

The broken smile she had given him preoccupied him.

And that scared him.

He was the One-eyed dragon. He did not worry about his future ; that was just not in his nature. But he couldn't get her expression of his mind. There was also the issue of her gesture. He didn't really mind being molested by a woman, and he wasn't against acknowledging one's talent. So why did it matter to him so much ? She had thrown him three feet away with only one hand. But it wasn't like she had really hid her strength and fight skills ; he supposed she just hadn't had the occasion to show it. Masamune wanted to believe she was genuinely honest and oblivious, he wanted to believe in those carefree smiles and truthful eyes.

But as Oshu’s liege Lord and vassal to Lord Nobunaga, as an accomplished tactician and warrior, he couldn't just let it slip. And he kept telling himself that was what irked him. He liked her a lot and he didn't want to find out she was related to god-knew-what plot. He needed to find out if she was a spy. Then, perhaps, at last, he could worry about her smile.

Just as Masamune decided he wasn’t going to be able to work on those stupid letters in this conditions, another -another !- war counsel was called. Again. He hated those chores, he wanted to see the princess, and he missed his kitchen. Bah, they would have summoned him in advance to try to get him to attend it on time - the fools ! being late was an art in itself.

“Milord, this isn’t the way to the main hall” Kojuro grumbled as his Lord strolled off in the wrong direction.

“Nope, it isn’t. I’m just gonna grab something to eat and get there. I’ll try to be on time, as usual” he snickered.

“As usual, he says …”

He had lied, of course. Oh, he did intend to make his way towards the main hall, but not without making a small detour by the lass’s chambers first … a bowl of ramen in each hand, he pushed the door and entered the room.

It was utter chaos.

Book laid half opened and scattered on the floor, kimonos and stolen hakamas could be found thrown around the room in random piles, paper were strewn everywhere around the room, and a small flora had begun to grow on a pile of branches and other vegetable waste that she must have picked up during her escapades in the woods. The shouji* were wide open on the outside.

This had to be a nice room; when it wasn’t in such utter disarray.

Masamune immediately put down the food on the sole empty place of the floor and scrutinized the room to look for more concrete traces of struggles. Had she been kidnapped ? He wouldn’t be surprised. Nobunaga, Ieyasu and himself had already enough enemies on their own as daimyos, and now that war was profiling, a woman that was known to be in their favor would be a valuable hostage.

Just as he was preparing to tell the others, he heard a light ruffle coming from the open shouji. He drew his katana immediately.

“Who’s there ?” he called threateningly.

“Crap.”

A dark haired head briefly poked out from behind the doors.

He sighed and sheathed his sword.

“Kitten, I can see you through the shouji. It’s transparent.”

“Masa ! I thought it was Hideyoshi.”

“And why were you hiding ?” he asked, feeling the smile coming to his lips.

“Well. I’m forbidden to go out without telling him. And also, … I may or may not be late for this counsel thing.”

She came into view and he noted that she was in this strange dark fabric again.

“Oh, you have to come too ? That makes two latecomers", he commented. “So what happened ?”

“What happened ?”

He gestured to the whole of her room. “Either there was a storm and you left the door open, or you’re just very bad at tidying things.”

“Don’t. It’s an organized mess. I know exactly where everything is”, she boldly lied. “But never mind that, is that ramen ? Can I have some, please ?”

“Well, shouldn’t you be at the counsel ?” he teased. He did cook it for her.

“You’re one to talk”, she replied quickly. “Alright, first I’ll get prepared then I can have the food. Can you hand me a kimono ?”

And she started to get dressed in a rush. She had her weird black clothes on again, and she had hastily tied a hakama to her waist, not even bothering to put on a kimono. As much as he enjoyed the inconspicuous sight of the side of her thighs, Hideyoshi and the others wouldn’t.

She had chosen an uchikake**. Weird choice. There was hardly anything more formal, and she didn’t strike him as a formal person. But as he looked over the rest of her kimono, he noticed most of it were uchikakes, and only one yukata*** and tomesode**** could be found. That was odd of the maids to choose such kimonos for her to wear, and he could now understand why she always ended in hakamas. It was a pain.

Masamune was going to ask her when she removed her hair clip. Her jet-black hair rolled in a dark cascade along her spine. He had never realized how long and deep they were, smooth like coal-colored silk. And yet so different from the straightness of the woman's in Azuchi. Her hair was a long wave that stretched from the top of her skull to the hollow of her waist. She obviously did not pay much attention to it, and leaves and twigs of all kinds were visible here and there. It curved and dove and folded in the most unexpected ways, yet it looked graceful and harmonious.

“No time to brush. Give me the food ?” she reached out to him.

“No powder ?” he dared ask with a smile.

He wanted to see her in a more sophisticated, less boyish style. She rolled her eyes.

“Powder ? With my skin tone ? I wouldn’t mind looking like a corpse, but I don’t think Hideyoshi’s heart could stand the shock”, she snickered.

“Ha ! Worth it”, he shrugged.

They made their way to the main hall, slurping their food on the way, competing for the place of the noisiest eater. Though she was extremely clumsy with chopsticks, and had to dive her face into the bowl to finish, she won.

“We’re here !”

“You’re late, both of you.”

They all rolled their eyes and Masamune barked a laugh while Hideyoshi was muttering under his breath about the man having a bad influence on her.

Mitsuhide made a side comment on her loose hair that was wavy and she shaped her fingers into pistols, pointing at Ieyasu and designating him as her "hair brother". That earned her a sharp “Quiet, madwoman”.

But most of the faces around them were grimm. That meant bad news.

~

She didn’t listen. She couldn’t. She was utterly bored and only attended the counsel because she needed to return in Hideyoshi’s good graces. She was half-sleeping and completely oblivious of the disapprovement of the other retainers. She didn’t hear when her name was called, and Masamune had to shake her awake.

“What ”, she yawned, obviously bothered.

“Don't sleep during counsel” Nobunaga ordered.

“I can't help it. I don't have any business being here. Why did I even had to come ?” she asked.

“Look around you, air-head” said Ieyasu.

All the other retainers were gone and they remained alone in the otherwise empty hall. The counsel was finished.

“Hideyoshi has requested you get another work at the castle. As you don't seem particularly eager to fulfill your role as Chatelaine” Mitsuhide stated. She didn't answer ; it was true. “As you showed a remarkable love for mobility-”

“Yeah, it's impossible to find you in the same place for more than ten minutes.”

“Don't interrupt me, Masamune. As I said, as you seem to like to be in constant movement, you're going to run some errands for the castle. Starting now.”

“Eh ? Pain” she dropped.

“Language !”

“Then it's settled, you'll find the maids to explain to you your daily chores” Nobunaga ordered. “Dismissed.”

“But I don't know the area, apart from the woods !”

“I volunteer to show the lass around and escort her”, Masamune said stepping in, before Hideyoshi could scold her for having been into the woods enough time to know it by heart. He had a grin pasted on his lips, but his eyes were more serious. He knew how she liked to get in impossible situations -much like him, in fact- but he was heartily worried for her safety. And … he wanted to investigate more on what happened between them the other day. It was his duty, after all, as an ally of Nobunaga, to the whole region of Owari, and to Oshu too. She didn't look like she minded, but he was curious. And- concerned.

*Shouji : In traditional Japanese architecture, a shōji (from the Chinese "bamboo fence") is a wall or door made of translucent rice paper (called in Japan, washi, literally "Japanese paper") mounted on a wooden frame. Shōji are generally referred to as sliding doors and retain space that would be needed for a hinged door.

**Uchikake : An extremely formal silk kimono with long sleeves and a train. It can be entirely white or predominantly red, gold and black. It is richly embroidered with many auspicious motifs such as phoenix, crane, turtle, bamboo, pine, plum blossoms. It is worn like a cloak over a generally white furisode (kakeshita) and is never closed by an obi. 

***Yukata : The yukata is worn during summer festivals. It is known for its bright colors and simple design. It is an informal cotton kimono unlined worn by women and men regardless of their age. Compared to other types of kimonos, yukata is much easier to put on and stays much cheaper. 

****Tomesode : The tomesode (literally "tied sleeves") is the most formal silk kimono for married women. He is struck with one, three or five blazon of the family and his motifs, which may be silver or gold, are concentrated in the lower part.

Note : in Japanese, words don’t have plurals, but for comprehension reasons, I had to put “s” at the end of some words.

Read Part three

Bookshelf Briefs 1/20/21

Goodbye, My Rose Garden, Vol. 3 | By Dr. Pepperco | Seven Seas – Last time I said that this series never quite tipped over into melodrama, but let’s face it, that’s what happens here. I mean, it’s good melodrama, and you really feel the tortured emotions of these girls who just want to be able to love each other. If I’m honest, the fact that this series has a happy ending feels a bit unrealistic given everything that’s been stacked against them since the start, but that’s OK, because it fits the work emotionally, and no one wants to see this end with someone visiting another’s grave. If you enjoyed Emma but wish it had more lesbians, Goodbye, My Rose Garden should be right up your street, and I always enjoy seeing Japanese authors write Victoriana. – Sean Gaffney

New Game!, Vol. 10 | By Shotaro Tokuno | Seven Seas – Kou is back and in charge, and the most interesting part of this volume was her decision to make Aoba the main character designer for the new game, even though she’s not the most talented artist in the room. Sometimes you just want a style. Elsewhere, Kou and Rin’s relationship continues to be “Rin is as blatantly gay as possible, Kou does not get it, but it’s getting more and more blatant by the volume,” and I figure a dam has to break at some point. As for the others, Nene is promoted to full-time employee after, of all things, an airsoft battle, and we see some of the aftermath of the previous game the team released, including some BL doujinshi popping up. This is cute, and nothing else, but it is very cute. – Sean Gaffney

The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window, Vol. 7 | By Tomoko Yamashita | SuBLime (digital only) – I don’t think there’s any currently running series that leaves me quite as desperate for the next volume as Tomoko Yamashita’s thoroughly excellent The Night Beyond the Tricornered Window. In this volume, we have Mikado learning to value the safe places he has had in his life while shying away from behind Rihito’s safe place, various people trying to dig up information about the professor, Erika’s mother finally growing a backbone and urging her daughter to run away while she can, and many not-so-subtle hints about the professor’s true identity. There’s a lot of plot, there’s a lot of emotion, and there are a lot of striking visuals. I love it so much and am bummed that it recently ended in Japan. At least there’s a forthcoming anime adaptation to look forward to! – Michelle Smith

Practice Makes Perfect, Vol. 4 | By Ui Hanamiya | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – There’s a bit less sex in this final volume, mostly because it is a final volume, and we have to wrap up all the plot threads that are not “let’s treat sex like practicing for a sport.” I was pleased to see that the manga made all the right choices. There’s a brief “I’m jealous the girl I love spends her days surrounded by hot guys,” but it doesn’t last and the hot guys are all rooting for him. I will admit I *hate* very public proposals, but if I can get over that, it was sweet. Best of all, Nohara is forced to choose between getting married or her career… and she chooses the career, going to Italy for two years and enduring a long-distance relationship. They even both get Olympic golds! Though not in sex. I hope this sees print; it was great. – Sean Gaffney

Pretty Boy Detective Club, Vol. 1: The Dark Star That Shines for You Alone | By NISIOSIN and Kinako | Vertical – As someone who can appreciate both pretty boys and mystery novels, I was intrigued by Pretty Boy Detective Club. Actually, I am still intrigued by the premise and think it would probably make a fun anime. As a light novel, though, I really wasn’t a fan. This first book in the series is told from the perspective of Mayumi Dojima, self-proclaimed “extreme contrarian,” who enlists the aid of a group of eccentric middle-school detectives in finding the elusive star she saw ten years ago. Mayumi’s narrative voice is not particularly enjoyable to begin with, but also because we’re following her, we see absolutely nothing about how the boys investigate her case and almost nothing about the boys themselves, except superficial things and one recurring joke about how one of them is in love with a first grader. I truly did want to like this but ultimately it merits only a “meh.” – Michelle Smith

Queen’s Quality, Vol. 10 | By Kyousuke Motomi | Viz Media – New arc starts here, with more than one snake possessing people and wanting out. Unfortunately, one of those snakes is in Kyutaro, and does in fact get out at one point, which leads to a scene that manages to be both scary and sexy, because he attacks Fumi late at night when they are both, not to put too fine a point on it, rather horny. Honestly, this is one of those series that’s worth reading for the art alone—it’s simply terrific here, especially when we get to see how badass Fumi can be, wielding both a sword and a headbutt with equal perfection. It looks as if we’re going to have snake vs. snake battling next time, which hopefully will not lead to clan vs. clan. I always enjoy when a new volume is out. – Sean Gaffney

Sacrificial Princess and the King of Beasts, Vol. 11 | By Yu Tomofuji | Yen Press – The kidnapping arc finally wraps up, with a lot of action and also a lot of heartfelt debate about what it means to be a good leader, including a glorious scene where Sariphi plays Fenrir like a fiddle, telling him “his majesty would come to where I am” knowing that it will get him to do it as well. After a very bloody battle, which takes up most of the middle of the book, His Majesty is so worn down he actually gets ill enough to turn human… a dangerous thing given that he’s in his chambers. Fortunately, he has his queen by his side. Also fortunately, there’s another wonderful battle scene, mock this time, between Lanteveldt and Jormungand. This remains a highly underrated shoujo series. – Sean Gaffney

Snow White with the Red Hair, Vol. 10 | By Sorata Akiduki | Viz Media – I always seem to fall behind with this series—as I review volume ten, volume eleven is due out—but reading it always reminds me how much I enjoy it. For one thing, we finally get Kiki’s backstory, and I enjoyed it—it’s not tragic, and she’s on relatively good terms with her father. The issue is that she’s being told to get married and return home, and she’s not ready to do either yet. The manga seems to be shipping her and Mitsuhide hard, but I dunno. As for our title character, she’s as happy as can be right now, which is perhaps ominous given this series is 21 volumes and counting, but it’s nice to see. Unless you’re an Obi shipper. Of whom there are a whoooooole lot. This is still wonderful. – Sean Gaffney

We’re New at This, Vol. 1 | By Ren Kawahara | Kodansha Comics (digital only) – This comes from the creator of Ao-chan Can’t Study, so the fact that it’s all about sex is not particularly surprising. More accurately, it’s all about our newly married couple NOT having sex—they’re childhood friends, and do love each other, but are both rather embarrassed about the idea, and both easily can “not be in the mood” if things aren’t perfect. The volume—and likely the series—involves them trying to get the other one into the mood. Best part of the manga is the wife, Sumika, who is the ‘deadpan stoic’ sort, which makes it funnier that she’s a rather horny newlywed. The husband, Ikuma, is alas more of a standard nerdy drip. Still, there’s enough fun here for me to read more. – Sean Gaffney

By: Sean Gaffney

Chapter 12: Fresh Air: Mitsuhide and Katsu take their act on the road… hopefully they’ll survive the palanquin journey.

Mitsuhide x OC; Hideyoshi x MC (Mai)

All Chapters Archived on Ao3 

Logline - With Mai, Hideyoshi, and Aki missing, Mitsuhide and Katsuko reluctantly team up. Disguised as a merchant and his concubine, can they outsmart the man known as the God of Deceit?

Professionalism warred with fear as Mitsuhide guided me to the street where the palanquin lurked. Yes, I’m contracted to behave in public, but I hadn’t thought to put “no small spaces,” into our agreement. Would it even be possible to control the panic and willingly climb into a box?

Mitsuhide slid open the door, but my feet did not want to move.  He stepped closer and spoke in a voice quiet enough to prevent the porters from hearing him. “Dear me, one would think that you’re afraid to being in such close quarters with me. Worried that you’ll be unable to resist me when we’re face to face?”

“That’s not it.” His teasing hardly made an impression at this point. My throat was already closing. Though I rarely told people about my phobia, Mitsuhide was minutes away from finding out the hard way. “It’s the box. I don’t enjoy being confined in this manner.”

Either he had no ability to conceptualize how frightened I was, or he figured he could talk me through it, because Mitsuhide simply picked my frozen body up and carried me inside.

“We do not have time to debate this.” He settled me firmly in front of him, and before I managed to utter a word of protest, the porters lifted the palanquin onto their shoulders. The sudden motion rocked me forward and I fell right into Mitsuhide. By the time I scrambled to a secure kneeling position on the floor cushion, we were already on our way to the Aguchi-jinja Shrine where the kaigoshu regularly met.

Quickly, I twisted my face to look through the window… only to realize it was covered by thick silk blinds. The little light that passed through only bathed the palanquin in a reddish glow.

Breathe.

Air.

I can do this.

I wasn’t alone, though I considered Mitsuhide’s company dubious at best.

Breathe.

I can do this.

Fresh air came in at the edges of the window. I could feel it. I was not alone. I was not locked in.

I gripped the side of the palanquin, trying to ground myself, trying to determine the boundary between myself and the walls.

“You were not being purposefully obstructive.” Mitsuhide’s dry tone pulled on my attention. “You truly do not like being enclosed.”

“What was your first clue?” Please don’t use this against me. I took a deep breath… and another. And a third.

“The fact that my wrist now bears indentations of your fingernails.” I hadn’t even realized I had grabbed him.  Mitsuhide pried my fingers off his arm, and transferred my grip to his hand. “Unless you are using this somewhat painful method to signify that you wished to hold my hand.”

“I was not.” That said, holding someone’s hand wasn’t completely unwelcome in this circumstance. His skin was cool and dry, his grip firm, and I felt more anchored to reality. I would have thanked him, except it was also his fault that I was stuck in here, and one good deed did not negate that.

“Perhaps, rather than fighting me on everything,” he tapped his finger on my forehead, “if you choose the most important battle, or if you can imagine such a thing, not fight with me at all, then I would realize when you have objections with merit.”

Oh sure, now he wants logic. “I don’t fight with you about everything.”

“Therein proving my point.” He reached across me to lift the shade that covered the window slats. “Does this help?”

“It does, somewhat.” I kept my eyes on the window, my breathing coming easier now, as the townhouse storefronts of the merchant district gave way to bigger manors with gardens and courtyards. The sun was setting and the sky had turned pale violet. I still didn’t like being in here, but seeing the outside world was enough to make it tolerable.

A breeze from the sea brushed across my face. The ocean-scented air was welcome, although probably it would be a bad idea to let it ruin the hairstyle that Sho had labored over most of the afternoon. With my free hand, I tentatively poked at one of the complicated knots. “It feels like she lacquered it.”

“Not a single hair is out of place. Rather it appears…” his voice trailed off, after taking on a considering tone. A dangerous tone. “It may be too perfect.”

“Was that not the impression you’ve created for your Kyubei character? That he very much takes stock in appearances?” So different from the real Kyubei that I again worried that his vassal would never be able to return to Sakai.

Mitsuhide tugged a piece of hair out of one of the knots, and it sprung free to curl under my ear.

“Hey! Why did you do that?” If Sho were around, then respect for age and authority or not, she’d probably kill him.

Or worse … she’d cry.

“The man I am portraying wants to possess pretty things, and show off that they are his, even as he mistreats his toys.” Mitsuhide freed another piece of hair, allowing it to twine through his fingers. “He would think nothing of arriving at this meeting having … played… with his concubine en route. He might even have marked her.”

He traced that strand of hair from where it lay against my neck, slowly trailing his finger down…

…along my throat…

… finally resting at the hollow where my neck met my shoulder. “Right there.”

Had I thought his hand was cool? Everywhere he had touched now smoldered with a warm steady glow, like a flame slowly working its way along the fuse of a rifle.

“Don’t even think about it.” Was I talking to him or to myself? Suddenly aware that I was practically in his lap, I rocked backward, pressing myself against the wall of the palanquin.  “Try it and I’ll cut your throat in your sleep.” I covered my neck with my hands.

“You wouldn’t find it painful. In fact, I believe the experience would be extremely pleasurable.” He leaned closer to whisper in my ear. “Peace, brat. I won’t mar that lovely skin… not tonight anyway.”

Not trusting him, I kept my hands where they were.

“Perhaps this instead.” He brushed his thumb across my lower lip, smearing the lip rouge that Sho had so carefully applied. His thumb was rough and calloused, though the touch was soft and gentle, and the confusing contrasts pushed my breath into my throat, where it hovered there, waiting...

I could not look away.

Then he rubbed that thumb over his own lips, transferring the rouge to his mouth, turning it into a slash of red.

I still could not look away, even when he flashed that teasing grin at me, acting as if he was privy to a secret knowledge that I did not share.

He looked good in make-up – belatedly I noticed he had outlined his eyes in kohl. In modern Japan, I imagined he could easily pass as a glam rocker.

“Ah. We are here.” He calmly… dispassionately slid open the door, winking at me before rearranging his face into the cruel Kyubei mask. “Head down. Stay quiet. After the meeting, the cowed Kaya will circulate and hope that her master doesn’t notice her. If I need you by my side to listen, I will come get you.”

He climbed out of the palanquin, then turned and offered me a hand.

With my nerves still rattling, I took it.

What had that been about? Was it really to costume ourselves for the roles we were about to play? Or had he been trying to take my mind off my fear?

I sneaked a look at his face. Those now too-red lips gave nothing away.

The meeting of the Kaigoshu was initially, at least in some ways, like nothing I had expected, partially because it seemed so wrong to conduct governing business in a shrine. But it was their usual meeting place. Aside from the location, it seemed to be like every other committee meeting ever. Countless topics and complaints were presented for debate, and nothing was ever solved. The thirty-six official members argued between themselves about so may petty issues:

Should taxes be collected on the same day every fourth week?

Were the merchants who lived closest to the moat more responsible for its upkeep?

Should the new foundry be built that close to the premises of a fabric store?

Even when Nobunaga’s name was brought up – a topic sure to interest Mitsuhide – it turned out to be a nothingburger, as the Kaigoshu members were convinced that Oda’s interest in trade would prevent him from interfering with the merchants of Sakai.

Yet.

He would eventually, but these men, and they were all men, didn’t have much imagination.

Once all the official business had been taken care of – or brought up, ignored, or dumped on someone drafted to solve it - it was time for non-member requests and a delegation of foreign merchants joined us.

With a shock, I saw the priest from the auction - he was acting as their translator. In all that had happened, I’d forgotten he existed. Hopefully, he had forgotten me as well, but in case he hadn’t, I edged behind Mitsuhide. While Katsu had the ability to become invisible… Kaya did not. Mitsuhide didn’t visibly acknowledge my reaction to the man, although he did discreetly pat my arm. I supposed that was all he could offer as reassurance, given that we were in public.

If the priest noticed us, he didn’t let on. Most likely he was being kept too busy translating for the Portuguese merchants, as they all started yelling at once. Eventually, one of the Kaigoshu held up his hand for silence, and pointed to the loudest merchant to go first.

The merchant, with the Priest translating accurately (although he was smart enough not to translate a couple of egregious breaches of etiquette) requested that his imported fabrics not be stored in the same warehouse as the spice merchant’s stock.

His request was shuttled off to two merchants who owned the dockside warehouse in question, in a rather ‘settle it yourselves’ solution. Another foreign merchant noted that there was a growing demand in the West for ‘oriental’ silverworks and wondered if he could be put in touch with local craftsmen. None of these matters seemed like they were related to our missing persons case, and I started to wonder that my entire masquerade would turn out to be a colossal waste of time.

After a parade of requests, the full gathering broke into smaller groups, to discuss specialized issues and projects. The priest accompanied the merchant who didn’t want his fabrics smelling like to spice to the previously mentioned ‘settle it yourselves’ meeting. Some of the other Nanban left the building to wander through the shrine’s grounds.

Mitsuhide nodded at a couple who were strolling toward the courtyard. “If you follow those two, I’ll circulate here amongst our countrymen.”

Fine by me – it would take me out of the vicinity of that priest.

While Mitsuhide approached Tadayo, the fabric merchant we had met last week, I went outside to the garden area full of smaller shrines, statuary, and sacred trees.

The Nanban merchants stopped at a statue portraying Raijin and Fujin, their conversation loud enough to be overheard. I walked past them, head down, hands neatly folded, then paused in front of a hokora, to stand in “prayer.”

At first, the merchants made fun of the sculpture, noting that they were ugly (pushing their luck, they were since they were insulting the Gods of lightning and wind – these were not beings that people who relied upon overseas shipping for profit could afford to anger) and speculating that even the uncultured English would not pay for the like. Upon noticing me, one of them said to the other, “that bit of exotic fluff though. We could command any price for merchandise like that.”

Ok. Yuck. But where? Who would they sell to?

Not betraying my interest in their conversation, I continued to stay as still as the statues lining the walkway. And while I could not be invisible dressed as Kaya, I could still be apparently oblivious and no threat to these men.

“I wonder if she know any tricks with toys.” The speaker continued along this vein, complaining about his unimaginative and pious wife.

All this was, of course, creepy, but it wasn’t helping me find Aki, Hideyoshi or Mai. Instead, I had to stand there and listen to them speculate on my bedroom skills. Both men would be happy to have a Japanese mistress, but it was clear they would rather pay a professional courtesan, rather than go to the trouble of acquiring a slave that they would be responsible for until resale. Of course, if one could be acquired and discarded easily, it would be another story.

Unfortunately, I was still stuck in this dead end, listening, for I suspected that if I turned to leave, the two of them might become more assertive if I were to pass within arms’ reach.

“Ah! Senhor Shojumaru!” One of the Nanban greeted the man, just as a third set of footsteps made his presence known. “We were admiring your country’s religious iconography. And the garden. So unusual. Such new and exciting flowers.”

Um. We were in a rock garden. But… details. Interestingly, they had addressed him in Portuguese, so apparently Shojumaru was fluent in that language.

Good to know.

There was the sound of a striking of flint, then a few moments later the smell of tobacco reached my nose. Shojumaru responded to their greeting in Portuguese - he knew these two men well enough to address them by name – Senhors de Sousa and Pegado.

“How is the latest shipment working out?” That was de Sousa again.

“We have no cause to be displeased.” Shojumaru took a long draw on his cigar as the three of them moved a little deeper into the courtyard. Luckily, they stopped before they got out of earshot.

“We have another ship arriving from Goa soon. Would you be able to guarantee safe passage for the same price?” De Sousa offered no additional details about what was on that ship, though Goa generally meant cotton and spice. Nothing illegal, although the safe passage did ping a question. How could Shojumaru guarantee that, why was he guaranteeing it to Nanban, whose ships those had to be, and safety from what?

I kept careful mental notes of all that. Hopefully, Mitsuhide was discovering additional pieces of the puzzle. So far, none of this seemed to be related to the slave trade, for that would be something that would be coming from here, not to.

It was only after I had almost given up the idea that I would hear something useful that Senhor Pegado asked about finding women to ship to Europe. It was a feel-things-out kind of question, tentatively phrased, and I don’t think they had any direct knowledge of Shojumaru’s involvement.

… and apparently he had no involvement. “I do not deal in human cargo. It is an insult to suggest that I would.”

The way the previously affable Shojumaru all but growled it had the other two backing off, although one of them offered a half-hearted apology. “Pardon, Senor. We had heard that you might be amenable to any type of exports or imports, but clearly our information was incorrect.” Then both men decided they’d had enough of the night air and scuttled away.

“Pleasure doing business with ye,” he muttered at their retreating backs, and once again his voice echoed across my consciousness.

Pleasure doing business with ye. Why did those words-

Crunch.

That night air that sent the Portuguese back to the shrine and a chill down my back also carried the sound of more footsteps, and the rustling of heavy fabric… fabric too heavy to belong to any of the Japanese merchants.

It was the sound of a priest’s robes brushing along the leaf-strewn walkway.

There had only been one priest in tonight’s delegation and I absolutely did not want to encounter him in this dimly lit courtyard.

Cursing my light colored kimono, I scooted off the path, as quickly and silently as possible, doubling around brush until I slipped behind an ornamental shrub thick enough to hide me from view. I dropped to my knees, biting my lip to avoid cursing when I banged my kneecap on a large … rock?

Carefully feeling around the dimensions of the rock, revealed it to be a small statue… of Jizo, if I were to guess by touch and size. Jizo was a Buddhist diety, technically out of place at this Shinto shrine, which was probably why it had been half-hidden in the shrubbery. Many people however worshipped Buddhist and Shinto Gods indiscriminately, and to be honest, at the moment, I could use a little protection from this little guardian of children and travelers.

With his cassock ominously whooshing along the ground, the Priest approached… then halted directly in front of the bush.

Jizo… a little more help here, please?

Could he see me? Smell me? Or sense me?

Nothing happened.

I counted off seconds in my head, and when I reached sixty, I risked peering through the leaves – the man wasn’t even looking in my direction. No, he was watching Shojumaru, who continued to smoke his cigar. A tiny glow of orange illuminated his face, which had been wiped of that ingratiating smile.

And yet another set of footsteps. At this point, there were probably more people out here on the grounds than there were inside the main shrine. “Master Shojumaru.”

That… was Mitsuhide’s voice. In front of me, the Priest’s posture stiffened. Alerted.

In a moment, Mitsuhide came into view. When he reached Shojumaru he bowed – just a slight shifting of his upper body that indicated he believed Shojumaru was in a lower caste.

What had appeared to be a calculated insult rolled right past Shojumaru. He couldn’t have missed it, so either he didn’t care, or was saving up for a later revenge. I was more curious to discover why Mitsuhide purposely tried to insult him.

“Master Kyubei.” A much deeper bow, flattering. I felt like I was watching a play – or I did until the priest shifted position and blocked my view. “Did you find the meeting useful?”

“It appeared to be similar to the petty maneuverings of a father who has yet to realize his child has surpassed him.” Mitsuhide more than likely grimaced at that, but it was too dark from where I was hiding to see his expression. “Ruling by committee would be useless in the face of a real threat. When attacked, one must act, not run back and meet to decide what to do. Surely you must agree, for you don’t appear to be a member of the Kaigoshu. Or… have you not been asked?”

“I have no role in the Kaigoshu due only to time and other responsibilities. I travel frequently.” Shojumaru gestured broadly with the hand holding the cigar. Even tonight he wore gloves, though it wasn’t nearly cold enough to require them.

“My mistake. Ah well. These petty officials can enjoy their posturing while it lasts. I’ll take care of my own interests with or without them.” All was quiet a moment, aside from the rustle of wind that brought the scent of tobacco and incense and body-odor d’priest to my nose. “That interest, of course, includes my latest toy. I was told she had wandered out here – did you perhaps see where she went? She’s new and has yet to learn that her place is at my shoulder.”

It was just acting, but I still felt gross. Maybe because I had just been treated like an exotic object by the Nanban merchants. Maybe it was because I was less than half a meter away from a man who had tried to buy me. But since Mitsuhide was well aware that I was out here somewhere, I figured he was testing Shojumaru, giving him a chance to pick a side of what might be considered a moral issue.

“The girl? I noticed her praying earlier.” He had?!  “But I don’t know where she is now.”

Once again, the Priest shifted position. But if I had any hope that he would be leaving that wish went unanswered.

Jizo… please?

The cassock rustled again, I could see the man fumbling at his waist.

Please don’t pee.

Especially not on me.

The priest did not take out the item I had been worried about. If only! Instead, what he held in his hand, its gold handle glinting faintly in the lantern light, was a wheellock pistol. Calmly, with enough familiarity to assure me that the man was used to, and unafraid of using, the weapon, he pointed it at Mitsuhide.

@bestbryn @lyds323 @selenacosmic @lorei-writes @tele86 @akitsuneswife

2019 In Review

This year marked the start (or rather, a continuation) of my transition into society. It kind of sounds weird when I put it that way, but the truth is that I have much to learn about how society works and that despite all my time on the Internet, I’m gonna have to face up to reality sooner or later. I’ve never really created a name for myself outside of my anime posts, English dub rants, or even my work on preserving the Sea Princesses series, but I still hope to continue posting online at times.

Where previous reviews were released on New Year’s Eve, this year’s review will be released a bit earlier for reasons that I’ll elaborate on in this post. Let’s begin after the break.

Sea Princesses

2019 has been a big year for Sea Princesses. During the first half of the year, I worked on transcribing the episodes and writing plot details for the wiki, since not a lot of work was put into them since the other admin, Liggliluff, joined the wiki in 2015 and gave provision for them. In the second half of the year, I renovated the character pages, adding infoboxes and story involvement (highlights for the major characters) to them. I also created pages for the (named) animals that appeared in the series. Since the wiki is pretty much complete at this point with the addition of transcripts and episode plots, any further work on the wiki from me (in regards to the animated series) is up to whether I feel like doing any.

After six months of seeing no further uploads on the Mr Bean and Friends channel, I caved and decided to shell out some money on a premium account to download the Amazon Prime episodes someone had uploaded to a website. Six months after that, I found that someone had downloaded the episodes themselves and uploaded them to KimCartoon. I know this was way after everything I had done, but better late than never, I suppose. The sad thing was that a few weeks after that, someone reached out to me on the Lost Media Archive saying that they had ripped some of the episodes from ABC iView and put a link to their MEGA folder on 4chan /trash/ and not /co/, which led to me not realising it until he told me about it. Regardless, the split English episodes and Spanish Disney Channel raws are still in my cloud drive folder.

While working on the transcripts for the wiki, I also wrote a review of the series. After watching it, I found that there were quite a few disappointments here and there, but the series wasn’t as bad as I had remembered it. Also, from July to October this year, artist Princess Rainbow Channel did some amazing fanart of each character in the series (including background characters) that trumps everything I had seen before and possibly after. Feel free to check it out here along with my reaction and her response.

Public opinion of the series depends on where you are; in Brazil, people are still bringing it up in their childhood memories on Twitter (usually in response to the question “what were some cartoons you remember from when you were young”), while in Australia, you barely get anyone talking about the series and even if you did, quite a few of them would be people trashing it. I’d seen a couple of Americans who had apparently seen the series as well; aside from the Latin American Spanish version, I have no idea which channel the English version was broadcast or where, otherwise I’d have known by now.

So like I said, the wiki is pretty much complete in terms of the TV series. As for the Princesas do Mar books, I am hoping to cover them in the long term when I have the money and capacity to do so. If you want information about them now, then I’m hoping that someone (mostly from Brazil) will be kind enough to provide transcripts and/or snapshots of them. There won’t be anything about the books on the wiki (with the exception of Marcela and the titles of the books) until I get that information, whether it be from a kind volunteer or by myself, so the entire thing’s pretty much on hold until then.

One thing I realised - the author, Fabio Yabu, recently published the first volume of the Combo Rangers graphic novel for free on WEBTOON. No doubt about it, Sea Princesses would have been more popular if it had received as much love as Combo Rangers. Maybe it’s time that Yabu showed some love to the series after nearly a decade since the last Princesas do Mar book published by Panda Books - I wouldn’t mind seeing rereleases, a graphic novel, ebooks or a compendium of the ten books published by Panda Books (those are the titles that I’m hoping to focus on for the wiki, everything else is irrelevant). With my current situation right now, if I can’t get transcripts or screenshots, then I’d be more happy to spend my money buying ebooks than printed books from Brazil.

Doctor Who

Right at the start of the month, the release date for Doctor Who Series 12 was announced to be on New Year’s Day with subsequent episodes to air on Sundays. Like with Series 11, I’ll be continuing the Thirteenth Doctor reviews after the episode airs. The prelude post will come out later with more details. In fact, it’s because of this that I decided to release this post earlier instead of on New Year’s Eve. That’s pretty much the only reason.

English Dubbed Game News and English dub rants

In case you guys missed it, I’m fully moving on from talking about English dubbed games. I don’t know if anyone ever saw this coming since the end of the feud a couple of years back, but I guess my promise to stand tall back at the end of 2017 must sound ironic now.

As I explained back in September, I’ve lost interest in video games altogether and had conflicting thoughts on how to deal with the occasional toxic comments on my pages. I didn’t mention this back then, but in case you were wondering, no, all the Vic Mignogna stuff did not play a factor in my decision. I’ve never been a fan of him so I don’t care and to be fair, innocent or guilty, he is really only one voice actor. In terms of Koei Tecmo games, he only voiced two characters in Dynasty Warriors 7 and 8 (Jia Xu/Xiahou Ba) along with two characters in Samurai Warriors 3 (Mitsuhide Akechi/Yoshimoto Imagawa), which, I should remind you, never made it onto a Warriors Orochi game. If Koei Tecmo wanted to replace him when the allegations came out, they would have done it already. Ironically however, they did just that with Dynasty Warriors 9, but with the whole cast because of the voice actor strike.

Speaking of the voice actor strike, I’ve noticed something that I never did back when I was writing the rants; a lot of voice actors are part of SAG-AFTRA and I’ve deduced that Japanese game companies are being cheap and cutting corners in localisation (specifically, dubbing) because they don’t want to hire union actors because of the cost (presumably). Additionally, I’ve also read that union actors can’t openly do non-union work, which leads to them being uncredited officially. I know I’ve supported the union during the voice actor strike, but I can’t help but think that I should have criticised them at some point during my rants because their rules for union actors kind of play a factor in this whole debacle of video game dubbing.

I’ve suggested crowdfunding as a way to raise funds to hire (union) voice actors, but in recent years, I’ve seen them go the way of Western game companies and put out season passes and neverending DLC packs. Anyone who defends game companies for being cheap and not dubbing their games has no right to complain about them being greedy in other areas. I kind of saw it coming myself, which didn’t come as a surprise to me. As far as I’ve heard, there aren’t any loot boxes or pay-to-win gimmicks in Japanese games, so I guess I’m still relieved.

As for my opinion on all of this or Japanese game companies, including Koei Tecmo, they haven’t changed much, although I’ve become more and more apathetic towards them given my declining interest in video games. Much as I hate to admit, I’ve gotten back into playing older Warriors games I still have for nostalgia and because I was bored and wanted to procrastinate. This shows that regardless of my thoughts, I’m still grateful towards Koei Tecmo for the games that inspired me in certain aspects of my life.

I’m going to burn a few bridges here and say some fuck yous to a few groups. First of all is a big fuck you to the haters, namely the dub haters, sub purists and opinion-neutrals (that much is obvious). Next up is a fuck you to Japanese game companies for being cheap in localisation (and by extension, even cheaper in DLCs), then a smaller, belated and ironic fuck you to voice actor unions like SAG-AFTRA for making the rules that lead to Japanese game companies being cheap in the first place and enabling them to keep doing it. Finally, a really ironic fuck you goes to my fans and all other fans of English dubbing - the fact that nobody else had made something like EDGN by this point, let alone before I found and joined the page, is really telling of what little you do to promote dub advocacy, let alone not being aware that things like said page or #NoDubNoBuy exist or supporting them by liking or sharing my posts.

Anyway, the current plan is to finish posting whatever games I’ve got in the backlog before New Year’s Eve and then unpublish the page sometime after. I’m not going to delete the page out of respect to its creator, who despite still being an admin on the page, has never posted anything since I joined it. The games list will be kept up through this link for reference. Despite the fuck you I just gave my fans (particularly the 230-so followers on EDGN), I want to thank everyone for the support you gave over the years and invite you to continue following me on my Facebook and Tumblr pages.

The state of social media

I felt that I should address something given YouTube’s new measures regarding COPPA, not forgetting that they literally said that they have no obligation to host content. At the start of last year’s review, I stated that there was always something that managed to affect my Internet life in stupid ways. I haven’t been affected directly this year, but YouTube’s measures have led me to think about what would happen if Facebook were to follow suit, particularly because Tumblr already banned NSFW content at the end of last year and Twitter looks like it’s about to follow suit themselves.

Sure enough, YouTube suddenly updated their harassment policy, which resulted in the Leafy Content Cop being removed as a result of retroactive enforcement. I’ve got nothing much to say about this except that it just proves what we’ve been suspecting all along. To be honest, around the time of the NSFW ban on Tumblr, I was kind of expecting that the parody I did would get flagged ironically, but I guess it never got near the radar, not that there would be any justifiable grounds for it.

Anyone who celebrates censorship or deplatforming with the same argument that “private companies can do whatever they want” should really look at themselves in the mirror because if any of this has proved anything, it’s that anyone can be censored or deplatformed with or without reason whether they’re following the rules or not. You’re all just sitting ducks and you don’t even know it even though you play by their rules in the hope that you won’t be next.

On a more lighter note, I wonder if I should use paragraph gaps instead of horizontal rules in future posts, given that Tumblr removed functionality for the latter in the rich text editor. Sure, I could manually add them in the HTML editor, but it would mean that they would disappear when I switched back to the rich text editor, regardless of whether I saved or not, and it would absolutely kill me to put them back in the exact same spots when I’ve changed something there.

In regards to Hong Kong

Back in August, I made a post about how I nearly got deplatformed from Facebook by the guy behind the feud because of what I said in my repostings of Hong Kong news. I really want to look back and laugh at it now not only because him doing so made him look like a pro-Beijing supporter, but because a pro-Beijing politician he scapegoated as a dub hater in a parody post to evade my criticism of him as such lost his seat in the district council to a pro-democracy newcomer.

In that post, I admitted that I did use some racial slurs in some of my repostings. Given the escalating violence (on both sides, police and protesters) since the start of the protests in June, I’m just gonna come right out and say it - if I could use one word to describe it and the negative reaction from those against the protesters (around the world), it would be the hard-r n-word. I used that word against said pro-Beijing politician because like many other people, I don’t think he’s a good person in any way. He’s advocated violence against pro-democracy supporters, has suspected links to the triads and commended old men in white shirts attacking people in black shirts at a train station following a protest some distance away. If that third thing doesn’t remind you of white (shirt) supremacy, then I don’t know what will. Let’s not forget that at the time, I reposted some news about him not being admitted as a solicitor in England and Wales, making him a “fake lawyer n-word”.

In case there are people who disagree with my (former) use of the slur, I want to acknowledge something here. I know I’m using the slur towards Chinese people instead of its historical target, namely people of African origin, but if it helps move the focus away from the latter, then so be it. If I could find another (preferably stronger) word to describe it, then I would, but at this point, I should be lucky that I’m able to control my anger and not use the actual word itself. If you don’t like how I used the n-word at all, then fuck you, you missed the point, but of course, you’re free to leave.

I don’t want to talk about the finer details or criticisms of any party involved in the protests, but I’m quite amazed with the pro-democracy protesters’ motto of not splitting their movement, not condemning the violence from the radical side and not ratting anyone out. In my interpretation, the radical protesters know that their so-called “violence” is illegal, but the other protesters can’t condemn them because words have barely had any effect on the government and they know that the radical protesters are the only people who have a chance of making the government cave into their demands or expose the true sides of Hong Kong and China’s governments to the international community, because their failure to do so five years ago was because they failed to keep their movement together. I probably don’t know as much about this compared to Hong Kong locals or immigrants, but I wager that at least some of my interpretation is spot on.

Two years ago, I said on my personal Facebook page, “I hope that the future of Hong Kong and its politics will improve for the benefit of the people, especially the younger generations, given everything that has happened up to now”. I know it may seem ironic right now, but I believe that the future will continue to improve for the better, but if it turns to the worst, then I hope that due justice may be served.

At the start of this post, I said that I was undergoing a transition into society. I’ll be finishing my university course and graduating at the end of next year, so at this point, I’m currently out looking for work. A lot of people make it look easy, but in truth, it’s been quite excruciating for me; because of some government benefit thing I signed up for, I have a quota of job applications that I need to send per month. It sounds easy, but after a while, it becomes so hard when you look at a job you think you’ll like and realise that you don’t have the necessary skills or experience for it. All I can say for myself is that I’ll keep praying for guidance and hope that I can find something that fits with my timetable, at least until I graduate.

See you all on the other side in 2020.

hi, love! have you read the epilogues for the current slbp event? ^^ do you recommend any of them? :)

Hello, Precious! I’m on mobile, so I can’t add screenies– is that okay?

To make up for it, I’ll give a summary of the epilogues!

I bought 5 of the 6 epilogues. The only one that I haven’t bought yet is Kojuro’s, but then Voltage put out the pov special, so I’m not sure if I’ll buy his as a regular epilogue or get the package.

That new hairstyle is looking at me! I really want it!

But I also want to keep my pearls…but the hairstyle is so cute…but MY PEARLS…

The first epilogue that I recommend is Masamune’s.

What I liked about Masamune’s was that the relationship with his mother is improving.

It’s realistic and believable, with both Masamune and Yoshihime making mistakes as they go, but learning from them, as they go about this process of reconnecting. Now, that’s part of his actual event story, but his epilogue picks up from there, with him telling you that he’s spoken to both his brother and mother, which is good.

When the two of you talk about the temperaments of your future children, it’s a very cute moment. On one hand, he’s worried about his clan, and on the other, he knows that any child of yours will be fine because they’ll have the best traits of both of you.

You reassure and comfort him, and are rewarded with Beast Mode Masamune, which is always a treat to read. You wake up to a sleeping Masa-chan, who stops you from leaving the bed and snuggles up next to you, telling you there’s no need to rush.

Then he rolls on top of you! Half-naked! Get it, Masa-chan!

Later, you find him crafting a rattle in anticipation for whatever child you may have.

Overall, it’s a very warm and fluffy epilogue with a little bit of smut to earn its pearls.

Yukimura’s epilogue starts with Man Bun-san inviting you to drink with him. I know it’s usually Inuchiyo that you have to watch out for around sake, before he swears it off, but I do t know if I trust any Sanada man around liquor anymore.

Masayuki tells you about his wife again, but he also talks about how Yukkin “chases after the shadow of his mother,” even though he knows he wasn’t the cause of her death.

For some reason, you think that Yukimura must think that you resemble his mother. Maybe I’m forgetting something, but I don’t think that you look like her? And if you do, that’s just creepy. I’d really rather not have that be a reason why Yukimura fell in love with you.

When you finish drinking, Masayuki tasks you with reminding Yukkin for the millionth time that he had nothing to do with his mother’s death.

Why the writers gave him this very specific persecution complex is beyond me, since they have everyone outright confirm that it’s all in his head.

When you go back to your room, Yukimura asks to make love to you, in his classic halting way. You start to get into it, but you pass out drunk before he can do anything.

You even call yourself “a pathetic drunkard.”

Yukimura offers to do the laundry for you, the next day, telling you to rest, instead.

On your way back from town, you meet up with Saizō and Yukimura, carrying backs filled with baby toys.

Yukkin thinks you’re pregnant because you’ve been making lots of foods with pickled plums, and certified OB GYN Saizō wrote that pregnant women crave sour food. Yukimura thinks he knows your body better than you do, and comes off a little condescendingly when he continues to tell you that you must not have noticed the signs, as if every pregnancy for all women– or even the same woman – is uniform.

I didn’t like that part, or how he insisted on doing everything for you because he didn’t want you to somehow hurt yourself. Pregnancy is not a disease.

At first, I thought he was just being sweet, but when he explains it, I thought to my self ‘oh, come on!’ Especially after he says that he won’t touch you until the baby is born.

But maybe it’s better that Yukkin doesn’t know the wonders of pregnancy sex?

At the end of the epilogue, we circle back around to the beginning of his exhausting complex about him being the “cause” of his mother’s death.

But! The writers make up for it by having you be the one to make a move on Yukimura, putting all of the smut in the last half of the epilogue.

Next spring, you go on a picnic for three…so either you have shortest luteal phase known to womankind, or the writers have never tried to chart a cycle.

This epilogue was okay. I bought it for free, so I can’t complain much.

I didn’t find it particularly funny or heart-warming, but I’ve never liked the eternally-clueless-but-well-meaning-man trope to begin with, and it seems like that’s about all the writers are willing to do with Yukimura when he’s not in battle or wallowing in synthetic guilt.

Nobunaga’s epilogue starts with you using your super power of happening upon hushed conversations specifically when your name is mentioned.

Nobu wants to bring you with him to, when meeting other lords, so that you can expand your horizons, saying “if I was to suffer a trophy wife, I could have bought one long before now.”

I like that he wants you to better yourself. He says to Mitsuhide that he won’t let him “reduce” you to that fate.

You realize that you’ve been allowed to keep up your job around the castle because Nobunaga wants you to retain your independence.

A few days later, Nobu tells you that the reason he gave his retainers vacation first, was so that you two could have yours last. You ride for several days and arrive at a lavish inn adjacent to an onsen.

The inn keeper and his wife gave just welcomed a child some days before, and are delighted to have both you and a Nobu hold him.

Nobunaga holds the baby wrong, so he starts to cry, and we learn that it is the first time that lord Nobunaga has ever held a baby, since all of his siblings have had wet nurses.

For some reason, this surprises you, and you make the leap of thinking that he’ll get better with holding babies…when the baby becomes old enough to play with.

Girl, it’s called a football/cradle hold. It takes a second and you can do it with one arm.

Nobunaga summons all the fluff and says: “All children are precious.”

There is a funny moment where you let your eyes rake over a booty-naked Nobunaga who’s walking around the onsen without a care in the world, and he wonders aloud why you’re so thirsty when you’ve climbed all over his goods before.

He starts to tease you under the water and you pass out from the heat. Dammit!

As you lay in bed, with Nobunaga tending to you with something to drink, you wonder how you will be his wife in public, when you can’t even manage to be his wife in private.

Nobunaga puts that nonsense to rest immediately, by saying that wherever you go with him, you are always there as his wife, so stop overthinking it.

He goes on to say that he wants to be with you whether you have a child or not.

Nobunaga makes up for lost time with his trademark asking you to scream for him and admonishing you when you turn away to hide your blushing face, as his starts with teasing you with his hand to making love of you, vowing that not even death can take you from him.

I liked this one, because Nobunaga is active in wanting to build up your self-esteem. He plans a trip so that you can ease your way into introducing yourself as the Lady Oda, while still protecting the things that matter to you.

There’s a little bit of comedy, a little bit of smut, but overall it’s about a man who thinks you’re amazing, and he wants to be a part of enhancing that, as a show of his love for you.

Next is Saizō’s. While you’re admiring the cherry blossoms, Saizō slides up to you and low-key promises to see the cherry blossoms with you again, the next year.

Later, you walk in on Sasuke asking where babies come from. Saizō immediately passes the question over to Yukimura, who says that it’s not something that he can talk about in the middle of the day.

Saizō tells Sasuke to come back in the middle of the night, then, and I almost dropped my mobile from laughing.

Yukimura tells Sasuke that he’s too young to know, which is debatable.

Side note: in some stories, Sasuke is said to be the same age as Yahiko, and in other stories, he’s said to be younger than Yahiko. Which is it? Is this like how the writers have said three different things about Masamune’s eye?

Anyway, in the end, no one tells Sasuke where babies come from.

Instead, Saizō asks you if you know where babies come from, one Yukimura and Sasuke leave. You figure that the best way to stop him from teasing you is to be blunt, which leads him to say that he has no intention of being anyone’s father.

Later on, you’re thinking back on what he said, and finding that the more he keeps saying it, the more it bothers you.

You go to his room at night, with the intention of being the one who makes love to him, rather than your usual dynamic.

As you two start to make love, the narration goes all over the place with you first thinking that you want to have his children and grow old beside him, to him telling you basically ‘lol nope,’ to him then immediately saying that it would be easier to get you pregnant, to you saying that all you need is Saizō, after all.

It’s like the writers forgot the premise of this epilogue: your feelings about being in a relationship with someone who doesn’t want children, when you do.

It’s pretty much every Saizō epilogue you’ve already read before. Whether or not you have children with Saizō is a topic that’s already been covered, so there’s really nothing new or different here.

Get it if you want to, but it’s not particularly a must have.

Mitsuhide’s epilogue starts with him saying he like “about ten” children.

Ahahahahaha– adopt some cats, how dare you!

He goes on to say that “given how fascinating I find touching you, we may find ourselves with that many in no time,” and I can’t hate him for it, that was a cheesy line with a smooth delivery.

We can absolutely adopt ten kittens, Mitsuhide.

You fall for his sweet talk, thinking that you would like to have “lots and lots” of his children, saying that you want to make his wish come true.

That evening, he invited you to look at the sunset with him and says “Now that I have you by my side, I will not let you go until my last breath has left my lungs.”

I just can’t with his earnestness. I’d give him all the kittens he wants.

You notice that he’s been drinking all day since the wedding, though, so don’t establish the Akechi Cat Colony just yet.

Mitsuhide passes right tf out after apologizing for drinking because he was so happy to have married you.

I could have done without the scene of you not only trying to lift his unconscious form, but of you being afraid because he’s stopped moving.

You laugh as you watch him writhing about in bed, but admit that it’s probably only because you’ve never seen him like that before.

In his drunken stupor, he calls your name and tells you to have lots of babies with him.

He wakes, the next morning, with a bitchin’ hangover, but he’s more upset that he wasted the first night of being your husband by getting drunk, “whining,” and passing out.

When you tell him not to worry about it, and that every day that you’ve spent with him has been important, he yukadons you and tells you to treat him as a man in private, and not as a lord, as he wants there to be nothing stopping you from loving each other– not even ranks and titles.

You say that you’re not ready for that level of intimacy just yet, to which he says that he’ll kiss you if you don’t.

He kisses you again and again, saying that “everything feels a little easier to deal with through a haze of pleasure, wouldn’t you say?”

He makes love to you, calling out your name the whole time, except for at the end when he begs you to call his. You finally call him just plain Mitsuhide, like he wanted, as you come undone.

You blame it on being in the throes of passion, to which he says that you’ll get the hang of it by the time you have ten children.

Ignoring the drunken part, which wasn’t very long, I thought this was a nice epilogue that I would re-read again.

Wide Florida Bay: They come from two entirely different worlds. Their friendship is a surprise most days, even to them. -Kiki and Obi finding common ground because of, or rather in spite of, their incredibly different upbringings.

“What are you wearing?”

Obi jerks back, head catching painfully on the closet jamb. Some pointed four-lettered opinions pour out of his mouth about it before he glances over his shoulder. Kiki’s perched on his bed, practically lounging, and for a minute he’s glad people can’t breath smoke because he’d be steaming.

“Why does everyone say I need a bell when you exist?” he grouses, turning back to his task of unearthing his duffel bag from the mount of crap that litters the floor. One good yank gives him nothing but a crick in his back, and he has some real words about that too.

“Because,” she drawls, one eyebrow raised at his struggle, “people want me to catch them with their dicks out. Now, what are you wearing?”

“What, like, now?” He looks down, assessing his gym shorts and half-zipped track jacket. Strictly doing-sweaty-chores material. Real laundry day couture. “Why, Ms Kiki, I could be wearing nothing but a pair of boxer-briefs and a smile, if you just say the –”

Kiki makes eye rolls look as easy as breathing and as elegant as waltz. “I meant for your date.”

“Oh.” He yanked at his duffel strap again, trying to have some reason not to meet her eyes. The thing won’t budge. He rubs his neck. “You mean the bid thing.”

“No.” The word is all edges, made to cut. “I meant your date.”

Air burst from him, like he’s been hit. She might as well, if she’s going to be – be like this.

“I don’t know.’ He twitches his shoulders, as close to a shrug as the tension in his muscles will allow. “Any of your places got a dress code? I think I have a sports jacket somewhere.”

“You mean that awful thing you wore to the frat banquet?” She wrinkles her nose. “Absolutely not. The only thing that’s fit to be at is it’s own viking funeral.”

Annoyance nips at him. “Well, it’s what I have.”

“Get something better.”

She says it so easily, and of course she does – Kiki Seiran has never had to sit down at her kitchen table and decide whether she gets a new pair of shoes or eats for the rest of the month. She doesn’t look at a hole in her jeans and wonders if she can soak the cost. Her net worth is estimated in the billions; she could wear her designer jeans once and throw them out every day for the rest of her life, and still never worry about whether she can Christmas in the Alps.

“It’s what I have,” he grits out, wondering if there’s any amount of emphasis that can break through that level of affluence. If her face is an indication, this isn’t enough.

She unfurls from his bed, eyebrows lifted with impatience. “Let’s go, you can’t bring that and – what is that, a skull tie? – on your date.”

There’s no amount of breathing that can get rid of the tension in his back now. “I don’t have the money for that.”

She shrugs, like the fact that some people have finite resources is a speed bump, not a road block. “I’m paying, then.”

“You already did your rich thing to get us the dinner reservation.” His hands fist in his lap. “And you’re paying for the hotel.”

“I’m not paying for the hotel,” she tell him, pedantic. “Seiran’s don’t –”

“It’s the same thing!” He doesn’t mean to raise his voice, but she just – she won’t listen. “It’s too much. You’re doing everything –”

“You’re paying for the –”

“That’s not what I mean,” he snaps, getting to his feet. He can barely stand to look at her. “You can’t just – fix everything for me. I’m not a charity you donate to so you can feel better about yourself.”

He’d swear the temperature drops ten degrees. “I didn’t say you were.”

“Yeah,” he chokes out. “But you all act like it.”

She’s silent for a long, long while.

“Fine,” she says, but the word is flat, roadkill on the highway. “I didn’t realize you felt like that.”

He lets out a breath. “It’s hard not to.”

“Never –” She bows her head, lips pressing together. “Never mind abut the shopping. What ever you have – it’s fine. I’m sure.”

Relief hits him like a wave. “Good. It’s what I have.”

“Don’t worry, Obi.”She smiles at him, lips parting to show teeth, and – and it’s not real. He can count on his hands the amount of times he’s seen Kiki smile – really smile – and this is limping next to that. It needs to be taken out behind the shed and put out of its misery. “Whatever you have is enough.”

She closes the door, leaving him alone in a room so cold it might as well be haunted.

“Well,” he mutters to himself. “That went shitty.”

Kiki is definitely upset.

She can’t just say it, of course not, but Obi knows how to tell. There’s no miraculous second smoothie out of the blender at Starbucks when she meets him for kickboxing in the evening. She doesn’t stop by his room to tell him when she’s done with the shower, leaving him to practically have to step on Kai and Shuuka to get in there before they mess it up. Texts he sends her no longer get a k in response, just…silence.

He knows he’s in trouble, though, when she’s not waiting at the bottom of the stairs Wednesday morning.

“What the fuck,” he tells the carpet. “It’s leg day.”

He pads into the kitchen, thinking maybe she’s – running late, or something. But instead of Kiki and a bowl of kashi, Zen is pouring syrup on a stack of Eggos, blinking at him owlishly as he peers around the corner.

“Jesus Christ,” he mutters, capping the bottle. It’s in the shape of a maple leaf; Mitsuhide’s family taps it themselves. Because if you’re going to be as Canadian as Mitsuhide is, you might as well go big or go home, or something. “Are people actually awake this early?”

“Dude, you know Mitsuhide.” The man is more regular than a rooster when it comes to getting up at dawn.

Ooh, he’ll have to remember that one. You get up more regularly than a cock is sure to get some quality glowering out of the Big Guy. “You seen Kiki?”

“She already left. To meet you, I thought.” Zen squints, taking in his gym shorts and tank. “Hey, are you guys having a fight or something? It’s just been…weird around here, lately.”

Obi lets out a hopeless sigh. “Fuck if I know.”

Zen’s head nods sagely. “Yeah, she’s like that. What do you think it was?”

“I don’t know.” That’s only half a lie, but – Zen’s trying to help. Obi braces himself. “I don’t know, a little while ago she was asking me about like, what I was gonna wear to t-t–”

Oh, goddamn it. Maybe he really needs to talk to Mitsuhide about this.

Zen’s eyes suddenly focus on him, not wary but – watchful. “To your thing with Shirayuki,” he supplies, casual.

“Yeah. My…thing.” He scrubs at his face. His stupid fucking feelings need to just – stop. It’s getting inconvenient. “And I said I had, like, a sports coat –”

“Not the one you wore to the banquet right?” Zen pops a soggy piece of waffle into his mouth. “Because that thing belongs in the garbage.”

“Oh my god, let me live.” Obi tugs at his hair and just – is there some sort of magazine rich people subscribe to so they can be so out of touch? “Anyway, she said she’d take me shopping, and I just – I tried to say no, and she pushed and I said –”

He’s not dumb enough to repeat that part. Not to Zen.

“– No, only…not nice.” He lets out a dry laugh. “Ish.”

“Ah,” Zen says, like it explains everything.

“Ah?”

“Yeah, it’s just…” He chews thoughtfully, fork end tapping at his chin. “Kiki doesn’t know how else to be friends.”

Something ugly twists in him. That can’t be right. “She thinks friendship is just…spending money on people?”

Zen’s shoulders twitch. “Yeah. I mean, Seiran International is worth something in the order of billions. Everyone at our school was in the one-percent, you know, but Kiki – I mean, I don’t even know how small that decimal has to be. And just – some people were more…inclined to take advantage of that than others.”

All his joints feel stiff, petrified in revulsion. “You mean some people were her friends because she would spend money on them? Kiki put up with that?”

Chief’s eyebrows furrow, mouth bent into a frown. “Middle school and high school is rough for everyone, no matter how much money you have. Her mom had just died, she was an only child – I mean, we were friends but like – I don’t know, rumors would start up whenever we were together.”

“So you just left her to deal with it on her own?” What the fuck kind of friendship was that?

“No! Of course not.” His cheeks are flushed, angry. “She hated them too. We wouldn’t talk in school, just after, and only when there weren’t cameras around to catch us. So she had to find other friends, and it just –” he shrugs, uncomfortable – “it made things easier for her. To think she had control over it like that.”

“So now she thinks that I don’t want to be her friend?” God, people this rich are from another planet entirely.

“No, it’s just…” He shakes his head. “She knows you’re friends. But I think you made her feel weird. You took something she thought was good and made it…not. If you get what I mean.”

Strangely, he sort of does. “I pretty much told her I didn’t appreciate her caring about me.”

“Yeah, sort of like that.” Zen coughs, awkward. “I’m not saying you should just…let her. You don’t like it, and it’s probably not good for her to keep this up. But…” He sighs. “Maybe just…be gentler about it.”

“Yeah.” He runs a hand through his hair. “Yeah, I – I got you.”

She’s there when he gets in, face flushed as she pumps her legs on the machine. He drops his towel down on the next bench, watching her ignore him.

“Thanks for waiting,” he says, a little pettier than he means to start with, but, well – fuck it. His feelings are hurt too. “You really need a spotter if you’re going to do that much weight.”

Her legs shake. “I’m fine.”

“Yeah, yeah.” He steps by the machine, just like how he’s used to, watching the way she won’t look at him. “You always are.”

“Glad you know the score.”

“Hm.” He rubs at his neck, scrounging for words. Or confidence. he could do with either right about now. “So.”

Her legs stutter in her rep. “So?”

“If I let you dress me up,” he starts haltingly, “I still get final veto power, right?”

At the bottom of her rep, she hesitates. “Depends. Who picked out that blazer?”

“I did.”

Her mouth splits in a grin. “Then no.”

“I was nineteen. It seemed like a good idea at the time.”

“That’s the whole problem.” She pushes at the weighs again, gaze darting over to him before fixing on the ceiling. “You can have an opinion. I’ll listen to it. Probably.”

“That doesn’t seem like a compromise at all.” He’s missed this. There’s a grin on his face he can’t keep down. “I feel like I should get a vote, at least. I’ve dressed myself just fine since.”

“Tell that to your shorts.”

“These,” he sniffs, “were five-ninety-nine at Target. It was thrifty.”

“You get a vote but don’t get to ask the price.” She turns her head just slightly to look at him. “Final offer.”

“Fine. Deal.” She puts the weights in their starting configuration, curling upright. “That’s your set?”

“Yeah.” She wipes down the seat. “Pleasure doing business with you. Your turn.”

“So gracious.” He lays down his old towel, strangely comforted by the heat her body as left behind. “Also, Kiki…”

She’s changing the bolt to his preferred weight, but she looks up, interested. “Hm?”

“If something’s important to you, just tell me.”

Her gaze darts away, but her hand lingers, squeezing around the knob. “It was important to you too. And you weren’t…as wrong as I liked.”

“Kiki.” He waits until she’s looking at him, until he’s sure she sees him. “You are what’s important to me, okay? Just…say something.”

Her eyes shift away, but a smile lingers at the corners of her lips. “Yeah, I’ll…keep that in mind.”

Tagged

Maud girl, I love you, but you'll hate me for this ramble😅 A - Ships that you currently like a lot. (They don’t have to be OTPs because not everyone has OTPs.) Friendships, pairings, threesomes, etc. are allowed. Well, I'll go with all of them. For OTP, my biggest are EdWin and Royai (from FMA), Karmanami from Assassination Classroom and NaLu from FT. Friendships... I love GrayLu platonically and RoyxMaes is the best brotp😍 and of course I freaking loooove all friendships from Haikyuu and Akatsuki no Yona... And I love Zen and Mitsuhide's relationship in Akagami no shirayuki-hime and Al and Ed are best bros and the freaking platinocial relationship between Handa and Naru gets me everytime and I should probably gp to the next ask before I ramble more than necessary. B - A pairing–platonic, romantic or sexual–that you initially didn’t consider, but someone changed your mind. Asano x Nakamura... I never even imagined them as a couple... Until I read a perfect fanfiction... And now I ship⛵️⛵️ C - A ship you have never liked and probably never will. I'll be hated.... But EdxRoy (just no, okay?! Mustang's like a dad to Ed!!) and Shirayuki x Obi because Zen😍😍 (I love their friendship tho) D - A pairing you wish you liked but just can’t. Yamaguchi x Yachi because I wnat Yams to be happy... But HinaYachi is love, HinaYachi is life!! E - Have you added anything cracky/hilarious to your fandom? If so, what? Not yet, but I joined FMABigBang so I'll add Ed being an overprotective drama queen (or rather, king) dad, so stay tuned! F - What’s the longest you’ve ever been in a fandom? Hmm... Almost a year in the FT fanfom!!! Happy birthday, I guess? G - Have you ever had an OTP? If so, do you remember your first one? Who was in it? I live for my OTPs! (Which just proved why I'm still single... I have my whole life aheeeaaaad~~) I think one of my first conscious OTPs (in that I knew what that was) was Harry x Hermione and it was shattered to pieces... Damn you, JK Rowling! (I still love you). H - What is your favorite source text for fandom stuff (e.g., TV shows, movies, books, anime, Western animation, etc.)? Hmm... Anime. Because it's lively and you can actually picture the characters miving when reading a fanfic! I agree with manga too... And sometimes books. Movies feel just too real to be placed in cartoons, though. I - Has Tumblr caused you to stop liking any fandoms, if so, which and why? No, but the haters were closed to it. Tho I did stop liking the small Usagi Drop fandom because of the manga spoilers that ruined my experience... To those who want to watch it, take my friendly advice, PLEASE don't read the manga. The anime is the fluffiest thing, so please just watch that. J - Name a fandom you didn’t think about until you saw it all over Tumblr. (You don’t have to care about it or follow it; it just has to be something that Tumblr made you aware of.) Bnha, which is why I started reading it. And Voltron.... I'll watch that soon, too. K - What character has your favorite development arc/the best development arc? Uhm... Well that's a hard one. I absolutely love the subtle and endearing development in Oreki (hyouka) and Haruhi in Ouran, but my favourite has to go to Tsukki for how well-built it was!! Furudate-sensei, I bow im front of you. Also, honrable mention to Karma in Assassination Clasroom. L - Say something genuinely nice about a character who isn’t one of your faves. (Characters you’re neutral about are fair game, as are characters you merely dislike. Characters that you absolutely loathe with the fire of ten thousand suns are exempt, as there is no point in giving yourself an aneurysm over a character that you hate.) I don't especially love oikawa. I admire him a tone, and I have a lot of his quotes forever saved in my phone, and I think he's the best setter of them all (I'm sorry, he has more experience and tehnique than Kags or Asaaahi, tho I agree that they'll become better than him in one year's time). So there: I aknowledge his amazingness altough he isn't my fave. M - Name a character that you’d like to have for a friend. Edward. I want to spend a full day with him and learn how alchemy works (and we'd complain together about how short we are). Also, Haruhi: I feel like she'd give the best advice when I'd need it. N - Name three things you wish you saw more or in your main fandom (or a fandom of choice). My faveourite fandom is FMA: everyone gets love and attention, and there's little to no hate. What I'd like for it is to make it alive again! I mean, there are events and the such, but the manga finished almost 10 years ago, guys! I hope the new live action will bring us back alive. O - Choose a song at random. Which ship or character does it remind you of? Hmm... Well On my Own by Ashes Remain was the first one that popped into my head and it kind of reminds me pf Natsu. He's that character that would always smile, but he's always surpressing his feeling ('I've been stuck in a cage with my doubt/I tried forever getting out on my own') P - Invent a random AU for any fandom (we always need more ideas). Random AU...? Honestly, I'm not the biggest AU fan, but if I had to, I'd choose 'we've been stuck in a traffic jam for two hours and we're bored, let's play cards; hey wait Gray, you're cheeting; no way I'm not!; mira, doing cutesy things won't help you win... Laxus don't give in!!; if Laxus is allied with Mira so is the thunder legion! Then I'm starting one on my own! Erza, I'll join... Great, now we have Wendy on Erza's side... All dragon slayers together! And exceeds! Wait lucy, starting a female club isn't gonna help ya! ...guys? That's not how you play pocker!' AU. Okay, I may like this one in particular. Maybe I'll write it:) Q - A fandom you’ve abandoned and why. I've abandoned the HP fandom. I still like the books, but I kinda grew out of it...? (And into anime😇) R - Which friendship/platonic relationship is your favorite in fandom? Uhm... In which one? If I'm going with FT, my favourite friendship is GrayLu. In FMA, it's a tie... I love Roy/Hughes brotp and Al/Ed brotp. In Haikyuu... Damn they're too many to choose! But I'd say the Karasuno third years: they have such a tight-knit bond!! And in AssClass it would be Karma/Okuda (it's canon in my mind but friendship in the manga). I just love how easygoing they are. Also, I love Karma/Nagisa in the second half. S - Show us an example of your personal headcanon (prompts optional but encouraged) Hmm... There are many. My fetish is seeing people sleep: I think you can tell alot about their inner selfes from the position they use when sleeping and from their habits, because they can't control or put up a façade when it comes to that. So my headcanon is that despite being loud and obnoxious, Natsu actually occupies less space than Lucy when sleeping: he takes a baby-posture, while she lashes all over the bed, sometimes punching him im sleep unintentionately. Natsu learnt to deal with it: he actually likes holding Lucy close to make sure she's safe while sleeping. She doesn't mind, especially not during winter. Oh and they also cuddle with a cup of hot coffee in their hands during the morning. Just an after-thought~~ T - Do you have any hard and fast headcanons that you will die defending? I do! I don't care if you agree or not, but Karma can be sweet, okay? Like he can actually be a good boyfriend (tho maybe a bit possessive). He's the best at telling what's on Okuda's mind and he always buys her toffee when she's feeling down. Oh and also, Riza is a very good mother, always putting her family first. Just letting you know. U - Three favorite characters from three different fandoms, and why they’re your favorites. Yes!! 1)Karma-assassination classroom. He's that one character that believes he's the best, only to get proven that he can be wrong. What's evenbegter is how he has room to develop and grow to be a better person... Plus, it seems I have a thing for evil goofballs. 2)This is a hard one, but Ed/Roy-Fullmetal Alchemist. I abso-freaking-lutely love all the characters in FMA, but these two attracted my attention. Ed because of how he thinks, how he wants to do good deeds in spite of his thorny exterior and how he miserably fails. I love the way he admits his failures and the way he deals with them can be childish (he's 14, for God's sake!) but he learns from them. Also, Roy because even though he went through Ishval, he still dreams of making the world a better place. I can respect a man who doesn't step over the ethics just to achieve that dream and who always bends and avoides hurting others, while never giving up. Maybe it's a dream, but I very much resonate with it. 3) Lucy from FT. She's the one character in Fairy Tail that has enough of a backstory and is weak enough to evolve. Moreover, she's not your typical girl: yes, she cares about how she looks, because she IS an woman, but she also cares about what's on the inside. She cares about her friends more than anything and even without being the strongest mage, still puts herself in danger for them. I love her resolve and her cute side, too. V - Which character do you relate to most? Hmm... Haruhi Fujioka from Ouran Highschool Host Club. Haruhi is the type to do things on her own and she repells the help of others to do her thing, which I also tend to do. Also, she shoulders a lot of her worries by herself. Plus, she never judges people on appearance and doesn't care about her own (being a girl, that's rare and helps me relate all the more). I just love her😍 (and sometimes am compared to her by my friends). W - A trope which you are virtually certain to hate in any fandom. Whiny female protagonist. I'm not a feminist or anything, but I've had enough of that! Yes, we all want a prince charming, but we can carry ourselves, thank you very much. X - A trope which you are almost certain to love in any fandom. Someone pursuing their dreams. Also, I love genre deconstructions (browny points if it's comedic). Y - What are your secondhand fandoms (i.e., fandoms you aren’t in personally but are tangentially familiar with because your friends/people on your dash are in them)? Voltron and Yuri on Ice (I feel like I've watched this shows even though I haven't). Z - Just ramble about something fan-related, go go go! (Prompts optional but encouraged.) Don't tempt me, I will! ( I kinda have this whole post tho) Okay so I'll rant about FMA because I feel it doesn't get all he love it deserves!!! (And because I refrained from fangirling on it up to now) And since we're talking FMA, let's talk Roy Mustang (you knew this would come). Roy is just one of those very strong people that are actually just goofballs on the interior and need love. Seriously, let's take a look at what this guy went through, ok? He's an orphan, but he never complains and learnt to love his cousins (sisters) and aunt (mom). He was taught by a pretty crazy (very talented, but Hawkeye did have a screw loose for inscripting a tatoo on Riza's back and you can't convince me otherwise) alchemist, and yet he managed to become the next flame alchemy. Despite being told not to, he joined the military with a childish dream and even after learning of the harsh reality in the Ishval war, he still went on believing that he can make the country a better place. Yet he's not perfect: he can lose his temper when it comes to those he loves (Mustang being killed) and he doesn't want any more people to die. He cheerisbes his team and wants to keep them all safe. He can be a cheapskate and also a bit of an annoying guy with Ed, and he can be obnoxious, yet funny as hell (tiny miniskirts!!!) Above all, Mustang feels HUMAN! Yes, he puts up a great act, but it's an *act*. He has a more sensitive side and you better not mess with it, or he'll burn you to ashes. This concludes the short version of my Roy Mustang appeciation post. Also, I have some headcanons about him being best dad (and his child being a daddy's girl/boy because of it) and of being a pretty intimidating Führer. This concludes my post. @bookstvseriesandanimes and @paperrabbit13 know what I'm talking about😅 And I tag @bookstvseriesandanimes @paperrabbit13 @shoujoinsights @candyforever123 @funnyshoujomoments and whoever else feels up to it:)