#ikemen sengoku famdom

[otomefoxystar]

Finding the Light - Chapter 12

Fandom: Ikemen Sengoku

Pairing Mistuhide X OC ( Evelyn)

TW: descriptions of being kidnapped

Everyone looked at Evelyn with worry, but they were all excited to see her nonetheless. She hugged each of them, but they were all gentle when they hugged her back. No one commented on her appearance, which was a nice reprieve. She was sure they were all questioning what happened and why she was so thin.

As soon as Nobunaga entered the room, everyone quieted down. “My lucky charm is back!” Nobunaga announced. She walked over to him, and he gathered her in his arms. “You’re too skinny. Has Mitsuhide been feeding you?” It was a nice reprieve until now. Of course, Nobunaga would say something. He always spoke his mind no matter who it would insult. “He’s been feeding me and taking really good care of me.”  Nobunaga’s eyebrows furrowed. “Why are you so nervous?” She cleared her throat. “It took a lot for me to come.” He looked her up and down, and she knew he wouldn’t let up. “You aren’t going to let me go until I tell you everything, are you?” A smile spread across his face. “Nope, so please do tell, why all the mystery? What’s going on with you?” 

Ieyasu cleared his throat. “Lord Nobunaga, maybe give her time to get settled.” Nobunaga chuckled. “She knows how I am. She should’ve expected that I would want answers.” Looking away from Ieyasu, she was met with crimson eyes surging with concern. “I can’t,” Nobunaga drew her into his strong arms. “You’re not sick; something happened, didn’t it?.” He squeezed her tighter. “I’ll tell you, just not here.” He pulled away and put his hand on her back.  “Okay” 

Nobunaga cleared his throat, and everyone’s attention turned to him. “Let’s start.” Evelyn sat in between Ieyasu and Masamune, and Ieyasu patted her head, then whispered in her ear, “You’re doing well.” She sighed, trying to relax. 

Nobunaga took his seat in facing them. “There’s a group of rebels terrorizing the townspeople. Masamune found where their camp is. We must go in there and persuade them to leave by any means necessary.” Nobunaga looked at Evelyn. “I think you should stay behind this time, Evelyn.” She gulped at the thought of being alone and clutched at the sleeves of her Kimono. Ieyasu grabbed her hand and squeezed tightly.

A knot formed in her stomach, making her feel sick.  “We’ll have dinner together, and in the morning, we’ll leave,” Nobunaga announced before he stood. Everyone stood along with him, and Nobunaga glanced over at Evelyn with a look of unease. “Mitsuhide, Hideyoshi, I need you two in the tenshu,” Nobunaga said as his eyes left her. Mitsuhide looked over to Evelyn and gave her a smile and a nod before he left her behind as he followed Nobunaga obediently along with Hideyoshi. Ieyasu turned to her. “Come get me if you need anything, okay?” She nodded, “I will,” and she exited the room with everyone else.

Evelyn reminisced about living there. She walked the gardens and chatted with Masamune and Mitsunari. The worry was written on their faces the whole time she was with them. Mitsunari had excused himself so he could start planning for their mission. Masamune wanted to make dessert for dinner; he invited her to bake with him, but she turned him down. She wanted to be alone; she didn’t want to see him look at her with worry.

She found herself in her room, and as she looked around, she remembered the night Mitsuhuide discovered something was wrong. He sat with her and wouldn’t leave until she ate. The very next day, he dragged her to his manor.

She was in such a low state, the trauma of what happened still so fresh. Images climbed into her mind, images she would rather forget. A large, warm hand covered her mouth. A firm chest pressed against her back as they held her arms behind her, making it impossible for her to escape. He dragged her behind the building into the alleyway. A moment later, she was blindfolded. Her heart rate quickened, and her chest felt tight. She had to distract herself and get out of that room. Tears trickled down her face as she walked the halls briskly to seek out Ieyasu and quickly wiped them away.

She found him in the infirmary sorting through his herbs. “Ieyasu.” He placed a jar down, looked toward her, and raised his eyebrows, noticing her puffy eyes. “Do you want to talk about it?” he asked. “Being here brings back the worst memories. I just need a distraction.”

Ieyasu grimaced at her explanation; he wished she didn’t have to suffer. “Come in; you can help me alphabetize these herbs. She nodded and took a jar off the shelf, then placed a different jar in its place. “I’m going to tell everyone tonight at dinner what happened to me.” She said as she worked.

Ieyasu moved another jar and looked over to her. “You don’t have to.” She was quiet for a moment before glancing at Ieyasu. “I need to. Nobunaga’s going to leave me here alone. I don’t know if I can handle that.” Ieyasu turned to face her. “And you’re hoping he’ll take pity on you and let you come?” Ieyasu narrowed his eyes, “Are you really afraid of being alone? Or are you afraid of being without Mitsuhide?” He asked curtly.

“Both?” She wasn’t entirely sure of the answer herself. Ieyasu sighed, “You’ll have to learn to be on your own eventually.” She knew that. She had been thinking that the moment Nobunaga told her she had to stay. “I know and don’t know how I will do that.” Ieyasu sighed, “You just do.” She glared at him. “You want me to be alone when I can’t even sleep through the night? When I can’t stop crying when unwanted thoughts enter my mind reminding me of what happened, of how pathetic I am?” Ieyasu saw the tears fill her eyes, took the jar out of her hand, and placed it back on the shelf. He pulled her into his arms. “I forget sometimes what happened to you. I’m sorry if I was hard on you.” She hugged him back, placing her hands on his back. The rest of the afternoon passed, with Evelyn helping Ieyasu sort his medical supplies. 

A dark curtain was cast over the sky, indicating night had fallen, and Ieyasu walked with Evelyn to the dining hall. Mitsuhide walked in just as she was sitting down. He smiled and sat beside her. She saw how tired he looked and looked at Hideyoshi, who looked just as exhausted. Nobunaga must’ve been going hard on them both.

After their meal and as the alcohol flowed, Nobunaga motioned to her, “Fireball, come here.” Nobunaga said. She walked up to Nobunaga and sat next to him. “My lucky charm” He drapped his arm over her shoulders. He looked at her. “You have this sad aura around you. I haven’t even seen you smile.” She looked down. “I smile…Sometimes.” Masamune looked over to her. “Lass, you smile about everything; you had such a drive for life. Now, you just seem miserable. What has Mitsuhide done to you?” He hoped his little joke would make her smile. Instead, she glanced towards Mitsuhide, who was teasing Hideyoshi and Ieyasu, rolled his eyes at their antics. She looked back to Masamune, “He hasn’t done anything, I’m more concerned about what I’ve done to him.” Masamune grimaced. “That’s not what I meant.” She sighed. “I know Masamune, and I appreciate you trying.”

She couldn’t stand how they were all looking at her. She was going to tell them tonight anyway. No time was better than now. “I’ll tell you all what happened.” Nobunaga moved his arm to wrap his hand around hers. He knew she was nervous; somehow, Nobunaga always picked up on these things. 

Their attention was on her, and it was so silent that the leaves blowing in the wind were heard. “I went shopping one evening, I’ve done it thousands of times, and nothing was different. Everything was fine until it wasn’t. My mouth was covered, and I was dragged towards an alley where I was blindfolded. Then I was carried to some sort of room or building I don’t really know.

” Tears formed in her eyes as she saw all their expressions. She took a deep breath, steeling herself. “My wrists were tied, and I couldn’t break free; I was blindfolded the whole time. Then they, I only know it was multiple men because of their voices. They…” Tears escaped her eyes, cascading down her cheeks. She wiped them away, and Nobunaga squeezed her hand. “They attacked me multiple times.” She wasn’t going to tell them how she was attacked, but she knew they all knew, but they all remained silent, even with the horror written on each of their faces. Even Mitsuhide and Ieyasu looked pained. Then she realized she had never told Mitsuhide how it happened and hadn’t told Ieyasu anything. 

She told Mitsuhide more personal details but never told him this part of the story. “They kept me till the morning; as they let me go, they told me, ‘Go back to your masters like the broken dog you are.’” The tears ran freely now, uncontrollable. Nobunaga shifted and took her in his arms, cocooning her safely into his chest as he rubbed her back soothingly. She cried, and everyone looked at them, stunned. Hideyoshi gave Mitsuhide a concerned look. Mitsuhide closed his eyes and nodded, showing Hideyoshi he knew what happened to her.

Finally, her tears dried, and she lifted her head from Nobunaga’s chest. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to. “He shook his head. “No, don’t apologize, cry if you need to cry. No one’s judging you.”  She wiped all her tears away and nodded as she pressed her lips together. “I’m going to go to take a bath and get some sleep.” Nobunaga nodded, “Sleep well,” She mustered a small smile. “I’ll try.” As soon as she left the room, Nobunaga adjusted his Kimono and ran his fingers through his hair.

Nobunaga turned to Mitsuhide, “How was she when all this first happened? You’ve been alone with her for months.” He sighed, “I’ll admit it was touch and go there for a while. I had to move her into my room because I didn’t trust that she wouldn’t hurt herself. She would hardly eat; it’s just been in the last month or so that she’s been eating a healthy amount. She’s finally putting on some weight. The nightmares haven’t stopped. She wakes up screaming. She’s made a lot of progress, though I’m teaching her self-defense. She’s shown interest in sewing again.” Nobunaga nodded. Not all is lost. It comes in small strides.

“This was not only an attack on her. This was an attack on us; they used her to get to us.” Nobunaga said, and Mitsunari cleared his throat. “If I may?” Nobunaga motioned for him to continue. “Do you think that perhaps the rebels did this to her?” Nobunaga gave him a hard nod. “I was thinking the same thing. We need to strike them down.”

Hideyoshi sighed. “I couldn’t agree more, but how will we know who did it? She heard their voices. Only she will know who did it.” Nobunaga raised an eyebrow, “Fair point, but can she handle it?” Mitsuhide cleared his throat. “She’s stronger than you think; she can handle it. It’ll be hard, but she can handle it.” Nobunaga took a drink of his sake. “Good. Then she comes. I’ll tell her in the morning.” Mitsuhide stood up. “I’ll tell her I was going to see her anyways; somebody needs to be there when she wakes up from her nightmares.” Masamune had his arms crossed, and he looked up at Mitsuhide. “You got your hands full with that lass, don’t you? Good luck.”  

“Are you taking care of yourself too, Mitsuhide?” Hideyoshi asked with concern. Mitsuhide smiled. “Of course, I couldn’t very well take care of her if I wasn’t at my best.” He stood up and sauntered off to her room.