#making Honno also have one cause YES!!!

[puffpawstries]

Honno gets a plush

[ranmanjuu]

titled “shin shin”.txt

came across a post... a long, long while ago about a god of death type reader and got super interested, since of all the cyikemen games, ikesen is the one most surrounded by death on a larger scale (cause, war and stuff), so i wrote this at... 2020? almost one year before, at 21th of july. i had more of it written, but i really didn’t like it cause it felt too “quirky wattpad reader” and plus me just copying from the original prlogue without adding anything, so... yeah. enjoy!

(also, very important that anyone who wants to do whatever with this idea, feel free, no need to ask me)

You didn’t like your existence

To call it “your life” would be simply wrong; you don’t breathe, you don’t eat, you don’t sleep. All you are is a walking, talking existence that has a job to do until you fade away. You didn’t even like your job.

To lead a soul from their death to the Land of the Dead was a grim job. You learnt their regrets, their anger, their sadness, all which you knew was personal. But you had to be there. You had to ensure that their soul is at peace, so when the time comes to cross to the afterlife, they don’t get reincarnated as a ghost, stuck forever with their past emotions.

Shinigami, was your kinds’ name. God of Death.

You were a part of the blanket term ‘yokai’, or as some would call in other names such as ‘ayakashi’. Those who fall under the category were spirits, demons, animal-like creatures, or, similar to you, gods. For as long as you’ve known, supernatural creatures didn’t mesh with humans well most of the time.

Fear of unknown from both parties led to anger, rashness, and cut communication and involvement altogether for perhaps half your life.

You’ve existed for long; you stopped remembering the exact number after 1.000 years. All you did now was remember the year you came to the world, and do the math. But that doesn’t matter much, does it? The only thing you concerned yourself with is when you’ll fade away.

However, for your own sake, you do take a break. Such a job is heavy for the heart, and a walk doesn’t help as much, but it’s a nice thing nonetheless.

Kyoto. You were just done leading a soul that got caught in a traffic accident. You never traveled outside of the country, but would it really matter if you did? You still appreciated everything as it were; there has to be some light in a life to look forward to.

This particular city was rich in human history, you knew that. Maybe it’d be a fun thing to do, even if you didn’t have much an interest in it.

“All your famous warlord knowledge, packed in a mag! Come get one now!” A boy’s shouts filled the nearby streets, attracting attention from the occasional passerby’s. Including you. A Quick Guide To Your Warlords, the magazine read on the cover. Sounds interesting, and you were bored, so you took one and stuffed it in your pocket.

With a blank mind, you were brought forth to a temple by your wandering legs. Honno-ji. A small, quiet, quaint place. The setting sky burned up above as the small cries of the crickets sounded all around.

You’ve heard some stories of the small memorial in front of you. One of the unifiers of Japan died here—betrayed, as you remembered. But you can’t draw an exact name.

While drowning in your thoughts, the approaching presence coming to you was acknowledged but not paid mind to further. Until you shift your eyes to the side as said figure was in your peripheral vision—a man dressed in a lab coat. The two of you said no words, only continuing to gaze at the stone in front of you.

You only started to react when the sky above you turned darker and darker—not by the setting sun, but by the awfully black and almost purple clouds gathering up above you. That’s unusual, you’ve never seen anything like that in your life.

The once bright and bold sky now rained down drops of water on your face. You didn’t even notice you shifted to your human form—and a look at your hands covered in specks of droplets confirmed that.

“What poor timing.” The man next to you said, causing your eyes to glance at him. He looked solemnly to the monument, then to you, “Are you alright? Do you have an umbrella?”

“No, unfortunately. I didn’t expect it to rain. . .” your eyes linger to above his head, where a set of numbers and a small text was visible to you only. The death profile, as the others call. A set of information that shinigamis can see in most creatures, usually entailing their names, time of death, and cause of it.

It’s a cursing bit of information; always reminding you of what you are.

Out of nowhere, a thunder ripped through the clouds and hit directly on the small monument—a loud crackle following along. Your arm flew up to protect the man next to you by reflex, as your body stood there in momentary shock. You’ve seen death by  lightning, but that was unlikely to happen now.

You whipped your head towards the human next to you, who seems the slightest bit appalled, but stood his ground. A strange thing catches your attention. . .

His death date. It’s flickering—changing.

From a century where he was supposed to die. . .to the 15-16th century.

A date of death changing has been a rare thing that happens, however unlikely, but—it’s never jumped that far before! To the past, too?

Utter shock froze you in place as the numbers flicker back and forth, leading your attention away from everything else—him asking you if you were okay, and most importantly—

—the black ball that formed where the stone was.

“Watch ou—“ before you can warn the man, the image of him next to you twisted and distorted, slowly getting sucked in whatever it was.

And so were you.

Wait! He isn’t supposed to die yet—!

The world faded to black.

       Ugh. . .my head. . .

Your vision fades in and out, clear then blurry, until you’re finally wide awake. The scenery around you changed drastically, what was first a small place in the city of Kyoto is now. . .a dark forest. You’ve seen this kind of environment before in your memories—you just don’t know how you got here.

The lab coat guy—!

You immediately stood up from the dirt beneath you, looking around and trying to sense his soul around you. Nothing. Pursing your lips in slight unease, you started making your way through the criminally underlighted woods.

You’ve roamed around in the forest before. Most of your time on this world, you didn’t settle in a house or anything, you preferred to just wander around like a lost ghost. You didn’t have a need for one—you don’t need shelter, not food, not clothes, nor drinks. You were a lost ghost.

The branches and rocks and whatever else you tripped on didn’t bother you. All you were focusing on is now just. . .walking. Without even a set destination. The only guidance you had was the occasional moonlight that peeked through the trees up above.

As minutes pass by, you start feeling a faint presence of human souls.

It’s distant, and not much from how weak it is, but I should go and see.

All other senses were rendered useless for now as you focused on the source of the souls, and slowly marched your way to it. It grew closer and closer, until you saw a faint light coming in the middle of the forest.

Two people, you now concluded. Your footsteps remained silent and your presence unknown as you creep near the light.

A fire was set in a small clearing, and you can now see the two people. A man with dark hair, dressed in monk’s clothes and a scar marking his face, with another feminime-looking boy, purple-haired in armor.

“Are you ready for this, Ranmaru?” The monk spoke in a low voice. “You’re about to kill the demon. Bring him down for good.”

Kill, huh. An assassination was about to commence.

“. . .Yes, Master Kennyo.” The boy—Ranmaru—spoke, wavering in unease but still tried to be certain.

‘Master Kennyo’ smiled; a bitter, unresting one, “Good. They’ve light the fire at Honno-ji, arrive there and kill him. I will follow shortly once the fire has spread,”

“. . .Understood.”

Clutching his sword until it shook in his hand, Ranmaru turned around and walked off from the clearing.

You overheard the conversation and calmly watched his figure fade away. It isn’t your place to intervene—not if this is fate, but even so—you’ll follow him. At least you can rest the soul of the victim.

In silent steps trailing him, you heard a last piece from Kennyo. “Finally, we’ll have our revenge. . .”

      You took your time in following Ranmaru’s path. If whoever’s assassinated dies, it’s soul will still remain until they can go to the afterlife. Time stops for them as long as it takes to get their soul guided away from the living land. Is it immoral in a way? Perhaps.

Unless. . .you can stop them from getting killed. But often when you try to intervene, the death happens either way.

So what’s the point?

Nihilistic thoughts aside, you sensed more human souls coming your way; five, from what you can tell. But you paid no mind to that. Until it got nearer, and nearer, and nearer, and—

“Oof.” In your blank stated mind, you bumped into someone, causing them to huff in surprise. You yourself paused and looked—a brown haired man wearing red armor, “Hey, watch where you’re going—!”

His complaints died on his tongue as soon as he finally saw who he bumped into. His expression, from a slightly irritated frown, turned more into one of confusion, “Huh? Hey, what’s someone like you doing here in the woods? Nighttime, also? Such weird clothing, too. . .”

His spoken words made you raise an eyebrow, “Ignoring all that, I’m sorry for bumping into you. I just had some business is all.”

“In the dead of night? What are you, an. . .enchantress? Those stories of w-witches in the forest?” The man’s voice wavered more with each passing word. The quirk in your eyebrow deepens.

“I assure you, I’m not—“

“Yuki~! We leave you for a few seconds and you’ve already found yourself a partner?” A velvet and rich voice arose from behind the dark bushes and trees, all of them being pushed aside to reveal an auburn haired man, this one more built in his body.

The one you’ve been talking to—Yuki—blushed and shook his head vehemently, “Ugh, no! I’m not like you; we just bumped into each other is all. And I think it’s some kind of witch, too—”

The redhead man tutted at Yuki in a disapproving manner, “Now, now, Yuki. Have I not taught you how to talk properly in front of such a beauty all this time?” His attention turns to you, and in a second, his eyes lit in passion, “Forgive me for his prudeness, my goddess, dear Yuki needs a lot more lessons than I thought. However. . .if you want to be with a real man, I’m always up for service.”

“Will you stop flirting with everything you meet. It’s disgusting.”

Three more people emerge from the shadows, the small bits of moonlight pouring to their features. The one who spoke was a blond one, cladded in blue armor and with eyes that said he wanted to have nothing to do with any of this.

“But Kenshin, you can’t just turn away at such a beauty laid in front of your eyes.” The flirt replied to the cold comment with a smirk.

“Stop. Or I’ll kill you.”

The bickering of the two were left unnoticed as another man with dark blue hair stepped up, far closer than what you were expecting. His hand reaches and caresses lightly on your clothes, “I have never seen such a design or material like this before. How fascinating. Would you like to switch with one of my kimonos?”

“Yoshimoto, I’ve already claimed them! Don’t steal them right under my nose.” Flirt Man threw a light complaint, turning away from Kenshin for a moment.

“Art is to be appreciated by everyone, Shingen.” Yoshimoto simply responds, now tugging lightly at the sleeves of your shirt.

Okay, you’ll admit it. You’re slightly overwhelmed.

So far, you haven’t said anything, mainly because you don’t want to. It feels like anything you say won’t make the situation better anyway. But still. . .even in your long life, this is quite bizzare.

You observed each of them one by one. Then your eyes landed to the last one, the same brown haired man you saw earlier. Now, in. . .some sort of ninja attire. While you tilted your head in slight curiosity, you’re at least satisfied to see he was safe.

And his death date has changed, too. . .

Speaking of death, you’re finally reminded of following. . .who was it, Ranmaru? to an assassination.

Gently freeing yourself from Yoshimoto’s admiring touches to your clothes, you bowed slightly in front of them, “I appreciate meeting all of you, but I have to go.”

You don’t see Sasuke opening his mouth to say something, and neither do the others, as you walked off to the darkness.

       You thought by losing your way from your unofficial guide, you wouldn’t find the destination. But luckily, even going in the same direction as he did led you to it. Honno-ji. This time, it’s in the midst of drowning in fire. You made your way through the front door and entered where the fire wouldn’t reach you—but it wouldn’t make a difference anyway.

And in the middle of the room not yet entirely covered in flames, was who you assume the victim, sleeping. The cause of death, “died in an assassination while the building was set on fire”, said as much. Dressed in black armor, you could tell he was important, somehow. Not everyone can casually wear one, despite the past few people you’ve met been donning it.

The text displayed above the man’s head displayed the same old. Nobunaga Oda.

On the other side, you see a silhouette approaching steadily, sword in hand. Ranmaru, you guessed. You double checked yourself to make sure you weren’t visible to the human’s eye, and you were just fine with watching another death as you have—

Until, for the second time today, the death date for Nobunaga Oda flickered.

You froze as what was 21st of July, 1582, blinked into a later date. Much later.

What. . .?! That was the second time today—what am I supposed to—

Your chest felt heavy, and your hands trembled in uncertainty of what you should do. Do you save him? Watch him die? Would he even die at this moment? Or would it be later? You’ve never been in this position—the answer was always clear. And now you’re terrified.

Your body swayed back and forth violently, as two sides fought in your head of what to do. But time was running out—he’d be assassinated if you didn’t take this chance. And he’d die. That’s the same as you killing him, you thought, and you’ve sworn to never do such a thing.

From your disarrayed thoughts, your legs moved on their own and walked to him. You’re saving him, then.

[bearsace]

through my broken and bruised eye, it was you i beheld.

Summary: Bearsace watches Mai grow up right before his eyes. (He is, after all, the one closest to her.) 

Or: a friendship through the ages, told in three parts.

Author’s Note: I’ve been wanting to get this fic published for almost a year now; I had so much fun writing it as I hope you do reading it! Please enjoy one of the most niche fics you might ever read: Ikemen Sengoku in Bearsace’s POV, a la Edward Tulane. Special thanks to @rainebowkitty for reading it over super quick! You can also find this on AO3 here.

Pairings: Nobunaga/MC, but fic centers around Bearsace/MC friendship

Genre: Friendship, family, fluff, hurt/comfort

Rating: K

Word Count: 4,000+

Read Time: 10+ minutes

part one / broken. kyoto, 2004-2017.

What is this?

When he blinked into existence, he felt soft hands beneath his arms. He could not move or speak, but he could feel, and with the hands, he felt warmth.

Who am I?

“Oh, Mai, he’s beautiful!”

“Thanks, Dad!”

Where is this place?

“You’re absolutely the cutest thing I’ve ever made in my whole life. I think I’ll call you… Bearsace.”

This warm feeling in his chest… he wished that he could put a name to it, but everything was dim, and it was uncomfortable to him not to be able to see the face belonging to the long, silky brown hair as it bent over him. The hands caressed a spot above his nose and lips kissed it.

“I still have to sew another eye on you, ‘cause the other one was the wrong size, and I promise you I will… but even though you’re not complete yet, just know that I already love you so much.”

Love . It was a foreign word, but somehow, Bearsace understood that was the name of this feeling. He could not move, yet he wished he could gaze into the face of she who loved him so much— Mai.

Love. I love you, too, Mai.

—

By the time Mai managed to sew another eye on him, he already loved her with all his stuffed heart. He could see her clearly now that he had two eyes, and she was beautiful, and he admired the way she would seat him beside her sewing machine and model gowns for him.

Mai had many ambitions. Bearsace would support them as much as one stuffed bear could. She was his best friend— his only one, to be fair, because every now and again her mother would glare at him and make some snide comment about being too old to play with toys. Bearsace would glare back.

And you’re too old to be judging your daughter like that, but you don’t see me complaining!

—

Mai became very sad very often because her job was not the best one. She would come home, take off her uncomfortable-looking shoes, and Bearsace would always feel his heart swell with bittersweetness anytime she came through the door.

He would wait patiently on the couch, where she placed him every morning, as Mai would slip silently into her room and change into a fuzzy pair of pajamas— Bearsace loved those pajamas!—  then, when her hair was up into a messy pile on her head, he would swell with happiness when she finally settled onto the sofa and pulled a blanket up around her legs, taking him into her arms.

Their favorite show was My Vintage Love, a story about a girl who fell in love with a CEO. Well, it was Mai’s favorite show; Bearsace didn’t care much for it. Personally, he enjoyed The Berenstain Bears, which came on the television one day while Mai was at work, but Mai never turned it on on purpose.

It was definitely one of their worst fights. 

Fortunately, it was pretty much the only thing that they fought about. Oh, and her job. Bearsace didn’t like anything that made Mai sad.

Sometimes, when she was curled up on the couch, she’d talk to him about anything and everything. Her dreams, her passions…

“Someday, Bearsace, I’m going to make clothes for women everywhere that make them feel beautiful and happy. Every single piece is going to be made with care and love...”

Like me?

“...sorta like the way I made you.”

I knew it. What will you do when you reach that high?

“I was wondering what I’d even do when I get to the top. Maybe I’ll start my own magazine, or maybe I’ll create a fashion line that emphasizes the beauty in every woman’s body, regardless of shape, size, or whatever society calls ‘imperfection.’ I loved you even before you had both your eyes; why shouldn’t every woman feel that same love?”

Yes! He cried in happiness. Yes, this is such a good dream, and I support you completely. Mai, you won’t forget me, even when you are making others as happy as you make me?

“Man, I’m hungry,” she said with a yawn, placing him on the armrest and setting him down before trudging to the kitchen. “I’m gonna go order in some takeout.”

He felt his heart pang in a little bit of disappointment. He hated it when she ignored what he said.

—

Bearsace hated Mai’s other friends. Like “love,” it took him a while to find the word for “hate,” until Mai slammed her phone into the couch, snarling,

“I absolutely hate Yuka!”

Ah, Yuka. A fine piece of work, she was. The first time he ever met her, Bearsace was on the couch as usual when Mai came home with her.

Hello! Bearsace had said, excited to make a new friend. But Yuka ignored him and tossed him to the side to make room on the couch for herself. How rude!

Not to mention, she seemed to have no idea what it meant to be a good friend, the way Bearsace did. She rolled her eyes at Mai, suggested she find something “better” to do with her time… really, how bad of a friend could one person be?

“All she ever does is beat me down on my dreams… she thinks I should go back to school for something more— more— more reasonable ?! She says I’m not talented enough to be a fashion designer? I hate that!”

It’s okay, Bearsace said, falling over into her lap. I’m here for you.

—

It was on a rainy day that Mai whooped for joy. Bearsace wished he could turn around, because currently he was seated on the couch watching My Vintage Love and he would rather be spending time with Mai.

But she came into the living room soon enough and lifted him into a hug, which made him very happy.

What’s going on, Mai?

“Oh, my dreams are so close! All I’ve gotta do is nail this job interview and then it’s no more time-wasting coffee runs for a devil boss, no more getting yelled at for even the little mistakes— no more of that for me. I’m so close!”

If a bear could dance, he would. But for now, he was content to revel in the joy that Mai felt as she danced, and danced, and danced.

—

“Fine stitching you’ve done on it,” said the interviewer.

Bearsace rolled his eyes. I’m not an “it,” he responded in a biting tone. He looked to Mai, wondering if she might share in some of the same annoyance that he did, but she held her tongue.

“I did all the stitchwork by hand,” she explained.

“Tell me, what was the reasoning behind acrylics for eyes, instead of buttons?” The interviewer poked him in the eye, and Bearsace wanted to flinch away.

Watch it, jerk. I use those to see.

Mai smiled that amused smile. “I guess I just figured it’d help him see better.”

—

When Mai got the call that she got the job, she squealed and ran into the next room to call her father. Bearsace was not jealous that she did not go to him first; after all, he knew that she would be a shoo-in, anyway.

He looked upon Mai with pride when she picked him up and squeezed him to her chest.

I knew you could do it.

“What do you say we go do something special, just you and me?”

— 

“I wasn’t expecting this much rain!”

Bearsace fit rather comfortably in her purse and was also impressed by the deluge that hit them at the temple at Honno-ji, though why Mai considered that a vacation was beyond him.

But it was special. They were there together, after all.

What absolutely was not special was this downpour! Mai’s hair was dripping, and also the hiring packet in her purse was going to get soaked. Never fear, though— Bearsace flopped over inside Mai’s bag onto the hiring packet, protecting it from the rain.

Thunder rumbled overhead and Bearsace found himself fearful; he couldn’t see anything! There were voices; one was Mai’s, and it sounded afraid, and he desperately wished to protect her. The other sounded as if it belonged to a man, and Bearsace felt alarm bells ring in his head. At all costs, he had to protect Mai.

Run, Mai, run! He had barely managed to say the words when a flash of white took over his world. All he could feel was fear.

part two / bruised. azuchi, 1582.

Bearsace didn’t like the Oda forces, or whatever other clown names they chose to call themselves.

He tried, he really did.

Hello! He cried again, excited when he saw the strange man taking a nap on the burning roof. Hello! I am Bearsace. And you are?

“I am Oda Nobunaga… How would you like to rule the world at my side?”

That seems like a pretty good deal, Mai. We should take it.

“Uhh, thanks, but no thanks.”

But that’s a good choice too.

And then they were running quickly through the bushes. Wryly, Bearsace couldn’t help but point out that they would not be running if she had taken that man’s offer, but Mai, of course, ignored him again.

— 

Bearsace tried very hard to make new friends. After discovering that he had traveled five-hundred years to the past, he was surprised for a moment, but only a moment. He was, after all, a talking bear.

Hello! He said to the man with the eyepatch. I am Bearsace. And then the man held a sword to Mai’s throat, and from that point, Bearsace would snap his teeth at him instead of greet him politely.

It’s nice to meet you! He said to the man who did not really smile, but wore a lot of yellow, which confused Bearsace, who associated yellow with the color of happiness. I hope we can look at each other happily. The man did not speak, except to insult Mai. Never mind. I hate you.

I look forward to being your close friend, he said to the man who was friendly and had a mole near his eye, and Bearsace soon discovered he liked him the best, because he was the only one who was friendly to Mai from the start.

The three who Bearsace did not particularly bother with were the one who reminded him of a snake, the one who lectured Mai too much, and the one who was dumb enough to take naps on the roof.

He didn’t really have time for negativity like that.

—

Fortunately, Mai was as smart and resilient as expected. With the help of a ninja— an actual ninja!— she built up a plan to return to the future after three months from now. That, unfortunately, meant that she was under the protection of these weirdos for the next three months. She was awfully lucky that Bearsace was there to defend her.

We’ll get through this, Mai. Together.

— 

It was very irritating, the way that those warlords seemed to fall for her within a matter of weeks and fawn over her as if she was a doll. Mai, for her part, did not seem to be getting attached, which was good, if they were going to return to the present and finish Mai’s dream together.

Following two months in the Sengoku, his friend began to spend some time away in the evening, which was nice but also lonely. Bearsace could not sleep, but he could sit and stare at the ceiling and think. Usually he would not get bored of it, except that he could not stand guard over Mai if she was not there.

She actually seemed to grow happy, which made Bearsace happy. That was really all it took, and because it seemed to be those handsy Sengoku warlords who made her so, he gave them his grudging respect.

—

Mai cried sometimes. She always wore her heart on her sleeve, but it was the small, conflicted sobs in the middle of the night that snapped Bearsace out of his daydreaming as he kept watch over her.

Don’t cry , he said as his heart ached. Please don’t cry.

It was then that Mai reached for her purse and pulled out the hiring packet, and Bearsace’s heart broke a little bit more.

We have so many plans, don’t we? You can’t be sad for those.

She sniffled and held the papers in her hand.

Look! I kept them nice and dry for you. Surely that must mean something. All our plans, all our dreams… I will stick by you. Don’t give up yet.

Mai ignored him again. She tore the papers in half.

—

“I’m not going back.”

The only person— or bear— more surprised than Sasuke was Bearsace, himself.

What do you mean you’re not going back?! You didn’t speak to me before making this choice on your own, so that we could make it together?

“I thought you might say that. What gives?” Sasuke gave that secretive smile.

“To be honest with you, Sasuke… I’ve fallen in love with Oda Nobunaga.”

You WHAT?! The roof man?!

“Oh, is that so?”

Be quiet, Sasuke. Mai, how could you not tell me this?

“Well, to be honest with you,” Sasuke continued, “I’m not going back, either. You see, I have found some employment here that I can’t bear to leave in such a tumultuous time. You understand. But Mai, by my calculations… it seems that we may be forced to return.”

Yes! Don’t give up on our dream, Mai! Bearsace exclaimed, though he immediately wished to take it back once he saw the crushed look on Mai’s face.

“Please tell me that isn��t true, Sasuke. It took a lot of soul-searching to choose that he means more to me than any desk job.”

Look on the bright side; we’ll have the chance to be happy again, in our own time, right?

Sasuke launched into a long-winded explanation that Bearsace was far too agitated to understand, but it seemed to boil down to this:

As long as Mai and Sasuke remained in the past, time itself would remain wrathful and relentless.

—

Mai stayed in her room that night and cried. She did not meet Nobunaga, whom Bearsace now realized she snuck out every night to see. She cried until Bearsace feared her chest would cave in with sadness. He leaned against her thigh and allowed her to bury her face into the top of his head until the tears stopped… and, inevitably, they would start again.

How could he have known that Mai was falling in love? In dismay, he realized that the seam between them was tearing faster than he could patch it up. He tried talking to her many times that night— would try to offer words of encouragement, that even if they had to go back, he would always support her no matter what. But no matter how loud he yelled, she only cried harder, ignoring him.

“I don’t know what to do,” she whimpered. “I can’t leave him.”

Those were the first words she had spoken since Sasuke left, and Bearsace was immediately at attention. For the first time in a long time, Mai picked him up and looked him straight in the eye, and hugged him.

With a pang in his chest, he realized that she didn’t hug him quite the same, anymore.

It’s going to be okay. Can you please, please just respond to me once? I’m so afraid for you.

Her tears stained his fur, and he didn’t realize that anything could quite hurt this bad. “What do I do, what do I do?” she repeated, as if doing so would create a solution.

Mai…

“Ugh, what am I doing…?!”

Mai?!

“I’m talking to a dumb… a dumb stuffed toy! You can’t even talk or think; why do I still even depend on you?”

She had never raised her voice at him— not even when he wanted to change the channel from My Vintage Love to just anything else. Startled, he fell backwards as Mai snarled down at him, tears in her eyes.

“Sitting here crying isn’t going to do anything. I need to think of a way to stay.”

With a note of finality, she took him out the double doors and sat him down inside the storage closet outside. The room went dark when she closed it, and he yelled for her.

— 

Bearsace did not speak for a long, long time.

—

A maid found him, once, and asked the castle head what to do with him. He said that because Bearsace belonged to the princess, she should put him back where she found him.

—

A rat ate one of his eyes and choked to death on it before the other one. It did not hurt as bad as Bearsace thought it would.

—

The roof of the closet caved in, and of all people, it was Eyepatch Man who found him.

“Ha!” exclaimed Eyepatch Man, tugging at his paws. “Mitsuhide, didn’t this belong to Mai?”

“Oh, dear. I hadn’t realized our beloved Lady Oda had forgotten anything when she left this room. How very much like her.”

“Look, he’s missing an eye. Guess he matches me, now.”

They forgot about him when they were done fixing the closet, and a castle boy put him back on top of a puddle of melted snow.

—

“Oh, it’s here somewhere…”

Mitsunari! Bearsace cried hoarsely. It had been many weeks (or months, or likely even years) since he had seen Eyepatch Man and Mitsuhide. He would have been happy to see anyone, but Mitsunari was a treat. Where is Mai? She cannot have forgotten about me…

“Just grab what you need and go. You’ll be late for the treaty-signing with the Uesugi-Takeda forces if you don’t hurry up.”

“You’re always so wise, Lord Ieyasu! I- oh, here it is!”

Mitsunari extracted a sword from the depths of the shed. It was ornate and lovely, and covered in dust.

“This will do for a fine peace offering, don’t you say?”

“A peace offering isn’t necessary, with Mai having strengthened our relationship with them so well. I still don’t understand why you were so insistent on…”

Bearsace could not hear what Mitsunari was insistent on, because neither of them saw him on the ground.

—

A young girl with carmine eyes and caramel hair was the next one who found him. Beaten down, Bearsace could offer little more than a weak hello. The girl tilted her head and tugged at a sleeve whose owner was partially hidden by the doorframe.

“Father, what’s this?”

part three / beholding. azuchi, 1592.

Nobunaga’s hands were oddly gentle when he propped the young girl on one arm and took Bearsace in the other. His face was blank, and those hawk’s eyes were boring straight into his.

But those eyes… they were softer, somehow. Content. Bearsace felt ashamed at the way he must look in those eyes that had clearly seen a happy life— were continuing to see a happy life. His face had grown tan, his hair cropped a little bit neater. A scar on his cheek that had not been there before was there now, but did not distract from his handsomeness.

That wry smirk was impossible to misplace, though.

“I recognize you, don’t I?”

“What is it?”

“Your mother made him. Have you seen her, little one?”

“She’s with my uncles.”

Bearsace was so surprised to see Nobunaga bend down to kiss the girl on the cheek that he thought his other eye might fall right off. And if the girl’s mother made him, and Nobunaga was the girl’s father…

“Leave us, Shingen and Mitsunari.”

Nobunaga had made quick time to the audience chamber, where two men and a woman were laughing heartily over a game of cards. The woman had her back to him, but she kissed the two men on the cheeks as they left, then turned around.

Her hair was shorter. Her eyes were bright, and somehow, the kimono seemed better-suited to her now than it had the last time he had seen her many, many years ago. She looked at Nobunaga and the girl with sheer love, and then her gaze dropped to Nobunaga’s other arm— where the stuffed bear sat— and turned disbelieving before filling with tears.

“Bearsace?”

...Mai?

—

Her hands were gentle as she plunged him into rose-scented water and washed away the dust of many years. Her fingers were gentle as they wove thread through his bursting sides. Her lips were gentle as she, like she had many years ago, kissed the spot where his eye would be.

“It seems like you’re just not meant to have this eye, Bearsace. I’m afraid acrylics haven’t been made yet, but between you and me, I think you’ll be just as cute with one acrylic eye and one button one.”

One thing that Bearsace had never noticed was that Mai stuck the tip of her tongue out when she sewed.

One thing that he did notice was that she was wrong many years ago when she told the interviewer acrylics would help him see better.

The button eye made his vision crystal clear.

—

“Yumi, meet Bearsace.”

It’s very nice to meet you, Bearsace said. His voice was still sore from many years of disuse. He felt an unnamed feeling in his heart when he gazed upon Yumi— Mai and Nobunaga’s daughter. Her face was impassive, but with the same spark of curiosity that both her parents possessed.

“I was… very mean to Bearsace when I was younger. Do you think that you can take good care of him for me?”

The corner of Yumi’s lips quirked upwards as she looked at her mother with twinkling eyes. She took Bearsace in her hands gently, tenderly, and kissed the top of his head.

“Good night, Yumi, and sweet dreams. I love you.”

As Mai leaned down to nuzzle her daughter’s head, Bearsace noted that she always had the makings of a fine mother. She smiled down at Bearsace next.

“I’m so sorry that I got angry at you and left you in that shed. You were always there for me when times got rough. I love you so much, Bearsace,” Mai whispered in his ear and kissed the tip of his nose.

Slowly, Bearsace felt the frigidity that had taken hold of his heart begin to melt away. He did not feel empty anymore.

I love you too, Mai. It no longer hurt when she could not respond, because he knew now that he would always be with her.

“Good night. I love you. Say good night, Bearsace.” Yumi said. She lifted Bearsace’s arm and waved at her mother with it.

For one blissful, thousand-thread moment, Mai waved back.

epilogue / azuchi & kyoto, c. 1600s-2016.

Nobunaga and Mai died hand-in-hand on a beautiful spring day after living a long and happy life together. They were the last of their friends to pass, and were buried with them, too. Bearsace had come to love the strange family he had found, who had all found each other, too.

Even if they had hated each other for so long.

When it came Yumi’s time, she held the hand of her son and made him swear to protect Bearsace with his life. And when it came his time, he did the same with his daughter, and she with hers.

Bearsace did not throw his words so much now. He spoke carefully, affectionately, and with all the wisdom he possessed after so many years.

Sometimes, he would reminisce.

The way that Mitsuhide’s lips puckered before teaming up with Masamune to tease Mai.

The way that Kenshin and Nobunaga would spar in the courtyard, scaring the maids even from across the castle.

The way that Hideyoshi nagged Yukimura, and the way that Yukimura rolled his eyes.

They made his heart blossom and wilt and laugh and cry and dance and sing— all at once. This was love, Bearsace had decided a few hundred years ago. The way he could so clearly see in his button-eye the joys that they had shared together— and the way that, after so many years, he could not help but care so deeply.

Even after all these years, Bearsace was in excellent condition because of how well everyone had taken care of him. It was why, when a great, great, great— who-knew-how-many-greats— descendant of the Oda donated him to a museum, he was placed in the center of the Azuchi-Echigo exhibit, right across from a weathered painting that explained the importance of Mai.

c.1582: An ancestor of the teddy bear, “Bearsace” was hand-sewn by Oda Mai, famous peacekeeper of the Azuchi-Echigo Treaty, then passed through the generations by her descendants. This is  one of the best-preserved artifacts of the Sengoku period. Generously donated to the Azuchi Castle Archive Museum by Oda Sakura.

“Huh. That’s weird.”

Bearsace had felt asleep for many years, missing the sound of her voice. When he heard it again, he almost felt his heart collapse in shock.

“This Bearsace kinda looks like my Bearsace.”

It took a moment for Bearsace to look down at the newspaper that Mai held in her hands, dated with the year of 2016— the year, he realized, before she and another version of him would go back to the Sengoku period. His eyes could not take enough of her in as she tilted her head, looking at him with a fond sort of bemusement.

Mai, he called, voice breaking with brilliant, shining emotion as she walked away, not thinking twice of the strange encounter. I missed you. Don’t forget to give me to Yumi, and don’t forget to sew me another eye.

But she was something of a white bird in a blizzard— he could not catch her. But he was content to watch as she walked away, farther into a life that he knew would make her very happy. This was all that he swore to do— was to protect her, so that she could finally be happy. The joy of it settled something within him, and visitors to the museum that day could have sworn that the bear’s face settled into a permanent, peaceful smile.

—

Bearsace did not speak for a long, long time.

[frywen-babbles]

Sounds of Silence pt1

A/N: Modern AU with Mitsunari! This is loosely tied to Everything comes with a price, set over a year after it. Unlike before, there won’t be a set release schedule bc this fic isn’t completely finished yet. (I just need some validation and motivation oTL). A big thank you to @dear-mrs-otome for telling me this idea doesn’t completely suck <3

Also spoilers for Mitsunari’s route!

When he opened the door all he could do was stare.

Behind it stood a young woman. And not just any young woman but the one he had seen at the library countless times reading books to kids in sign language. The woman he secretly always hoped he’d see when he went to the library, whose smile he couldn’t stop thinking about.

***

At first, Mitsunari was annoyed by the voices coming somewhere out of sight. Libraries were supposed to be where you could study in peace, he had no idea what could cause such a ruckus.

The sound of laughter guided him to the children’s section of the library, but what he saw wasn’t what he expected.

A young woman was standing in front of a group of kids, a book open in front of her, animatedly reading the book in sign language. The kids were excited, laughing and giggling at the what he assumed were the exciting parts of the story.

Mitsunari felt enamoured, his annoyance long forgotten. He didn’t even realise he had stared until the story was over and all the kids were circling her, trying to talk to her all at once. Her smile brightened her face and she looked so natural and happy amongst the kids Mitsunari felt almost jealous.

Just then, she caught him staring. He felt his face heat up and he turned around sharply, stomping back to the table he had reserved for himself. He planted his face firmly on the book open in front of him.

Gods, that was embarrassing. Who goes around staring random women, when they were supposed to study. Ughh…

*****

He saw her walk towards the children's section from the corner of his eye and somehow his head turned to look after her. She stopped to wait for a boy in his teens to bounce all excited to her a book in his hands. They shared a greeting but Mitsunari couldn't follow the signs they spoke with. It didn't stop him from staring after them when they continued on their way towards the room where he had seen her read to the kids.  

"Hey, are you even listening to me?"

Mitsunari turned to look at Sakon who looked at him a wide smile on his face.

"Or are you too busy staring after women to tutor me?"

"If you have time to lazy around and comment on everything I do, you must be ready for a quiz about all the important battles post-Honno-ji?"

"Ack! No! Don't you have any mercy, we just went through them 30 minutes ago?"

"Then what are you doing fooling around, you incorrigible dimwit. Get back to studying."

"I'm sure no one would have made me work this hard in the Sengoku period..." Sakon mumbled with a sigh.

"What was that?"

"I'm studying!"

When he was finally free of Sakon, he made his way to the children's section. But it was quiet, the children long gone. He was just about to turn around when he noticed a schedule on the wall. She would be back in an hour.

He could wait for that long.

Wait, maybe he shouldn't? Would that be weird? But he really did want to see her read again.  

He didn't see her until he got up to get some coffee from a vending machine. She was sitting on the sofas next to it with the same boy as before, lost in an animated discussion he could only guess the topic off.

A part of him wanted to loiter so he could watch them talk, but the reasonable part of his brain forced him to return to his table.

As soon as he saw her followed by the silver-haired boy he stuffed his things to his bag and stood up to follow her. A group of excited kids were already waiting for her but he stayed behind until everyone had sat down. Then he stepped behind the parents by the door, his eyes following the movements of her hands taking in every sign.

Unlike before, this time when she was finished she kept glancing at the clock and hurried away as soon as possible, almost colliding with him. The silver-haired boy tried to stop her but after some hurried signs let her go. The look on the boys face looked a bit like a lost puppy and for some reason seeing her hurry away like that made Mitsunari feel a bit same.

He was brushing his teeth in the evening when he felt the buzz of his phone in his pocket.

[23:12:45] <<bookshy>> do u evr feel like ur stuck in ur life? [23:12:52] <<bookshy>> like u shld hve accomplishd so much mor in ur life tn u hve?

He stared at the screen for a while before he typed a reply. He didn't know who bookshy was, not really. They had been talking with each other for years, but always with nicknames, always through messages in the internet. It felt more comfortable that way somehow. Knowing there was always a person willing to listen to you without judging.

[23:13:05] <<ManjuDreamer>> Are you feeling like that right now? [23:13:07] <<bookshy>> ya [23:13:11] <<bookshy>> i dunno wht ill do w/ my life [23:13:19] <<bookshy>> i thght id do so mch more u know? [23:13:22] <<bookshy>> and now i jst feel liek im stuck nd see no way out [23:13:23] <<bookshy>> is ths my life now? [23:14:50] <<bookshy>> evry1 says i shld b happy w/ wht i hve [23:14:59] <<bookshy>> i hve so much im feeling ungrateful whn i feel like ths [24:15:46] <<ManjuDreamer>> You still have plenty of time to accomplish your dreams. It's not for others to decide when you can be happy. [23:16:02] <<bookshy>> guess ur rite

He heard a knock on the bathroom door and quickly finished brushing his teeth. When he opened the door Hideyoshi was standing behind it already in his pyjamas.

"I thought you'd never come out," he commented with a yawn and pushed past him to the bathroom.

"Good night," Mitsunari wished to the closed door before he retreated back to his room.

[23:18:30] <<bookshy>> how was ur day [23:18:49] <<bookshy>> i saw the prettiest person today like hot damn [23:19:13] <<ManjuDreamer>> I saw an interesting person today too, I wish I get to see them again. Other than that, it was mostly my student being an idiot, so nothing new. [23:19:53] <<ManjuDreamer>> I tried to do some research on a paper I'm writing, but it didn't progress much. I was just about to go to bed so I have energy to study more tomorrow. [23:19:56] <<bookshy>> srry to keep u up [23:19:57] <<bookshy>> night! [23:20:10] <<ManjuDreamer>> Night.

***

Mitsunari tossed the wig from his head frustrated, running his hand over his face. He glanced at the mirror of the bathroom, at the perfectly drawn eyeliner, the perfect shade of blush, the perfectly applied foundation. The perfect set of lies, painted on his face.

[13:33:14] <<ManjuDreamer>> I went to see my mother.

He hesitated a bit before he sent the message. It didn't take long for his phone to bling with a reply.

[13:34:29] <<bookshy>> how did it go? [13:34:48] <<ManjuDreamer>> As well as you would expect. [13:34:51] <<bookshy>> u wanna t alk about it?

His fingers ghosted over the screen of his phone before he put it down and looked at the mirror again. He reached for the makeup removal wipes from his bag and scrubbed furiously at his skin until the last remains of the makeup were gone.

[13:36:18] <<ManjuDreamer>> She's there but I feel like I'm losing her. [13:37:01] <<ManjuDreamer>> Every time I visit she seems further and further away. [13:37:15]<<ManjuDreamer>> Sometimes I wonder if the mother I used to know is there at all.

He started to type his next message, but stopped, gripping his phone tight in his hand.

[13:38:34] <<ManjuDreamer>> She's my mother, but it's so hard. [13:38:42] <<ManjuDreamer>> I don't know what to do.

He glanced at the mirror to make sure his eyes weren't red before he pulled his shirt over his head and replaced it with one from his bag.

[13:38:47] <<bookshy>> ur doing plenty already [13:38:49] <<bookshy>> u dont have to push urself so hard [13:38:50] <<bookshy>> im sure shed understand [13:38:59] <<ManjuDreamer>> But I'm all she has. [13:39:02] <<bookshy>> i know [13:39:06] <<bookshy>> but u hhave 2 thnk abt urself frst [13:39:15] <<bookshy>> if u feel its too much u can keep a brek. ur not prfect. u dnt have 2 b [13:39:50] <<bookshy>> im alws hr 2 tlk if u need me [13:40:20] <<ManjuDreamer>> Thank you. It means a lot.

He put his phone on the side of the sink and wiggled out of his skirt. He really should buy a new one next time he got paid for tutoring. The zipper didn't work properly anymore and the hem was starting to fray. He kicked the flats from his feet and looked at the kneehigh socks on his feet. They wouldn't be visible under his pants anyway so he let them be and took his pants and shoes from his bag before showing the skirt and shirt in their place. He considered showing the wig in after them but realised making the wig presentable after that would be too much of a hassle. So he gently combed the wig with his fingers to sort out biggest tangles and folded it neatly in a mesh bag. Flats into a plastic bag, then into the bag.

Like countless times before.

He got dressed and made one final glance at the mirror before he put the bag on his shoulder and stepped out of the bathroom.

"Oh, Mitsunari! Here to see your mother?" a nurse greeted him when he tried to slip past the nurses' office without being noticed. What a nosy bunch of quidnuncs insistent of mothering him.

“Yes. I was just leaving.” He replied with a stiff bow.

“Come and have some tea with us! How did the test go you told me last time?” Another nurse poked her head from the office. Mitsunari resisted the urge to roll his eyes and offered another bow.

“I believe it went well. I still haven’t received the results.”

Half an hour later he was still stuck at the nurses' office surrounded by what felt like a flock of mother hens, all determined to squeeze every bit of information out of him they could. He was just getting up from his chair when a voice behind him froze him on the spot.

"Did my darling Saki leave already? She was just here... Such a dutiful daughter, coming to see her mother so often..."

His knuckles turned white as he squeezed the edge of the table, his head down. He wanted to turn around. He wanted to see his mother as himself. He wanted... needed to see if she'd recognise him this time.

"We saw her leave a while ago, Mrs Ishida. She's such a nice girl."

He heard a nurse walk his mother away and the sighs of relief from the remaining nurses.

"Are you alright, Mitsunari? You know we'll listen to you if you need to talk. Or we can help you find someone-"

"I need to go now. Goodbye," Mitsunari interrupted the nurse who had put her hand on his shoulder to calm him. He got up in such haste his chair fell to the floor with a rattle, but he just offered a quick bow before he fled the office.

He didn't stop until he arrived at the bus stop. There he sank on the bench, burying his face on his hands.

He took the bus to the library, staring idly out of the window.

[14:36:09] <<bookshy>> did u make it home [14:36:35] <<ManjuDreamer>> No. I'm heading to the library. The nurses got me again. [14:36:37] <<bookshy>> lol how did u mnage 2 escpe [18:36:56] <<ManjuDreamer>> Mother came to the office. [14:37:09] <<bookshy>> oh no [14:37:10] <<bookshy>> im so sorry [14:37:21] <<bookshy>> how r u feeling rn? [14:38:29] <<ManjuDreamer>> I don't know. I'll try to find some reading to distract myself with.

At the library, he searched for materials for his upcoming paper but when he sat down and tried to read, the words didn't make any sense.

When he had read the same page several times over and still remembered absolutely nothing he was interrupted from his reading by a book shoved on top of the one he was just reading.

"Can't you see I'm-!" the sharp words died on his lips when he saw the same woman who had read to the kids in front of him. She tapped on the note on top of the book and he looked down to read it.

'This is the book I was reading. You seemed interested'

She handed him a second book, a note on top of it too.

'I'll read this next'

When she shifted her weight from one foot to another clearly uncomfortable, he realised he was staring. He offered her a curt nod as a thank you and she bowed at him a small relieved smile on her lips. She seemed to hesitate before she signed something but he had to shake his head.

There was a slight shift on her smile, on her posture, and she took a step back.

'I'm sorry' she mouthed and offered him a bow before she all but fled, leaving him to sit alone, feeling like an idiot.

[16:19:20] <<ManjuDreamer>> I think I just made a complete fool out of myself. [16:29:59] <<bookshy>> lol rly? [16:30:00] <<bookshy>> wht did u do? [16:30:02] <<bookshy>> i thght fool wasnt in ur dicktionary [16:31:18] <<ManjuDreamer>> And for that terrible joke, I tell you nothing. [16:31:47] <<bookshy>> noooo hw wll i evr know how embarassng u can be if u don tell me? [16:32:32] <<ManjuDreamer>> You'll survive.

***

"She's not here today."

Mitsunari was startled from his thoughts by a familiar voice behind him. He turned around, vaguely aware of the frown his irritation had brought on his face.

"Who?" he asked as if he didn't know exactly who was the 'she' in question.

"I got this for you, I'm sure it holds some useful information." Mr Otani handed him a flyer for the children's activities in the local libraries. Mitsunari stared at the flyer blankly before he looked at Mr Otani, letting his irritation show.

"And what am I supposed to do with this?"

Mr Otani just smiled and pushed a book towards him as well.

"I'm sure you'll find this useful as well. Come find me if you need anything else."

Before he had time to protest Mr Otani left him with a wave, a wide smile on his face. He considered running or yelling after him, but changed his mind when he looked at the book in his hand.

'Sign language for beginners'

He tucked the children's program leaflet securely at the back of his calendar and checked the book out.

Something about the sign language intrigued him. She looked so graceful when signing. And so comfortable and she seemed genuinely love reading to the children.

At first, he thought he’d look up a few signs. Just in case some of the children needed help in the library. Just so he could talk to her. No, he meant the kids. So he could talk to the kids. But few turned into a few hundred. A few thousand. He was so lost.

***

[emeraldtawny]

Why I love the Kitsune

Okay....so something a little different than my usual fics or shenanigans. I make my favourite characters known quite frequently and, now that his route has been officially announced for Japanese release this year, I wanted to share something I’ve been chipping away at for a hot minute. I love Mitsuhide...like a lot....like, a LOT a lot. And I wanted to share my personal reasons why. If this ain’t your cup of tea, fine by me, but I need to scream about him now that I know I’ll get to romance him in like....a year and a half ;P

~Spoilers ahead~

1. First Impressions

Honestly when I first saw this dude rock up after MC saves Nobunaga from the Honno-ji fire...I didn’t think much. I liked his look: white hair and damn, those eyes! (I’m weak for anime men with gold eyes), but other than that, he wasn’t someone I thought would become my favourite. Especially with the early interactions of Hideyoshi mistrusting him and learning that IRL Mitsuhide betrayed Nobu and caused his death? ...yeeeah, I wasn’t entirely sold.

Mitsuhide was a slow burn for me - I needed to see him in other routes to let him shine, then I could be consumed by the light in his separate stories (ie. birthday, event stories). The moment I realised I was smitten was Masamune’s route. Him being the worst wingman by getting Masa drunk made me laugh so hard because it fit him well: sticking to the shadows and hiding his good intentions behind teasing as he helps his friends. But he also let his more genuine side show in Masa’s Romantic Epilogue, giving MC advice whilst also remaining very much himself and laughing at Masamune’s distress because of how cute she is sdjfsukdgbsdj.

From then on, I was hooked and decided to play Hideyoshi’s route next…..hehe, hehehe, he….it still hurts. I’ll go more into this route in particular a little bit later, but yes, his unrequited love broke me and only made me fall for him harder. Not just from pity because of how much it hurt to see him like that, but because now we know he totally deserves love and happiness for the type of man he revealed himself to be in Hideyoshi’s route. All in all, I was teetering on the cliff for a bit before I was Sparta kicked into the Mitsuhide hole...and have not wanted to move since :3

2. Personality

Phew, okay. Imma split this up into categories just to make it easier for you guys to read and so I don’t ramble and go on tangents.

Teasing, teasing….and more teasing

God, I love this trope so much. Those who hide their true selves behind honeyed words and calculated jokes both make me swoon and make me suspicious - a winning combo to get me invested in them.

For those reading this who are less familiar with IkeSen and need a comparison, think Edgar from IkeRev, except 1. More direct and suggestive teasing, and 2. More (if only slightly) moments of genuineness, like being surprised or taken aback instead of using his smile as a wall like Edgar would do. Even through his teasing, he slips in honesty (in every lie there’s a hint of truth, some say ;3).

While he is teasing and chastising (treating the MC like a child), he does genuinely care about her well-being. He uses teasing as his unorthodox way to let people know he cares for him while still keeping them on their toes about whether he’s telling the truth or not...this is why he’s a kitsune (a trickster fox spirit).

Pragmatic and Composed

It’s mentioned throughout both Hideyoshi’s route and event stories like Make My Heart Spark that Mitsuhide is not one for believing in things like fate or destiny. He’s described as self-reliant and honestly, I can't think of a better term for him. The way he works literally puts him in self-sacrificing positions where he can only work alone, so being capable without having the support of others is a skill he had to master quickly.

He also says things like “honesty can be dangerous”, which is a WHOLE can of worms for possible backstory.

What I like to imagine from this is that he experienced something traumatic, either to himself or someone close to him, where honesty was the cause. He convinced himself deception and leaving as little information in the open as possible was the best option. Hell, it even ties into Mitsuhide’s IRL counterpart, where there is nowhere near as much info on the guy compared to practically every other warlord. He thinks rationally, remains calm under pressure and can even remain teasing throughout...I respect and melt over him for that.

Beneath the wolf skin lies a sheep

I like thinking of Mitsuhide as a sheep in wolf’s clothing. He has to remain intimidating and unapproachable to those around him - even those close to him - so as not to disrupt his ever-scheming plans. But secretly, he has a heart of gold and he still makes it known...it’s just subtle. My personal favourite example is in his birthday story where he lets MC win at hanafuda just so she can win the bet and make her happy….gaah, I’m weak! It always just seems like his teasing remarks and subtle pushes in the right direction are his way of showing his affection, because it’s too dangerous for him to be openly affectionate lest others get swept into his business. A sad thought, but incredibly fitting. He’s also softer than he looks, he knows full well he shouldn’t get close, but you being the sexy, incredibly awesome MC you are can make even Mitsuhide be ensnared in the strings of love that bind his heart ;3

Other screaming about my adoration for the snek man

Just…..help me, he’s so smooth! I love love LOVE the way he talks, the way he’s translated into English just makes my heart go JFSBFSJBFWOUJFNW! He uses phrases like “modesty forbid” and “pray tell”...he just needs to say “perish the thought” and I’ll be even more wrapped around his finger than I already am.

Also, the pet names...I surprised myself with how much I like his use of them, especially him calling MC dear. I LOVE IT SO!! Idk how to describe this one and why it makes me feel things, I just...love being a silly girl, a good girl, a little mouse, a little seamstress and other nicknames sure to arise in the future >:3

Again, I’ll mention how he has a soft spot of the MC as he gradually warms to her and…seriously, it’s illegal to be that sweet, with such a nice smile on your face too. MITSUHIDE DESERVES LOVE AND I WILL GIVE IT TO HIM DAMMIT~!

Final screaming point of why I personally love him: his awareness and how he responds with it. It’s no secret our psychic fox over here is good at reading the atmosphere, and I love when he uses this gift in more tender moments. Picking up when MC is sad or distraught and offering assistance (after teasing of course), and I like to think in a romantic sense, he’d be the type to hold her close and stroke her hair while she just lets out her frustrations. And he’ll take them all, listening quietly and calming her down all the while. GAAAAH, I’m weeeaaakkk~

3. Personal Theories and Favourite Theories I Have Seen

I have speculated about this man a LOT and there’s a couple of theories I wanted to share just because it’s fun to make them and bounce off ideas :3

One I like to think about is his past and how it molded him into the man he is today. Using IRL Mitsu as a guide, he apparently worked as a messenger for a wandering shogun before serving Nobunaga and grew up in a castle bearing his family name. This makes me think that he might be similar to Ieyasu, perhaps being a political hostage at some point in his life. Mistreatment or torture would have worked to make Mitsuhide believe that deception and lies work to conceal his weakness, and how he’s so privy to torture and interrogation techniques.

Another theory is the one relating to his lack of taste. My guess is either a botched poisoning attempt from his work in his adult years, or through torture as a young child while his taste buds were still developing. @deathbyotome did an amazing fic for this called “Taste” on AO3 and I highly recommend reading it, it’s very good.

I’m also intrigued by how they’re going to incorporate Motonari in with Mitsuhide, considering Nobunaga put Mitsuhide in charge of the Oda contingent when war waged between the two clans. So they have history (at least...IRL history), so I’m wondering if that’ll come into play in the future.

~

Okay, I think I’ve rambled enough. Not even sure if people will even read this, but I just needed to expel my love for this man, especially now that we know his route is definite and will be coming. I just seriously, honestly love him and want nothing more than for him to be happy….but we ALL know his route is gonna be angsty as hell and we’re gonna be broken by the end of it. I am ready Cybird, let him break my soul so I can reach him and ease his heart. ….I’m not being dramatic at all bfasjdbafan. Anyway byyye, thanks for humouring me~! :3

[ravychan]

Fighting Fire with Fire Part One: The Wormhole (Revised)

Wasn’t happy with how this story came out for the first time, so I made some changes. Hope you all like it.

It began on a rainy day, left at an orphanage she withdrew from those around her not willing to trust anyone. After several failed family interviews, she meets the family that doesn’t give up on her. The couple took her without hesitation, training her in archery as a means to connect and form a bond. Once she opened enough to trust them, they also taught her first aid and survival skills. Up until the age of seventeen they had a happy life without any tragedy.

One day, during summer break, while they were spending time together a fire broke out, alarm spread through each of them as they tried to get all the students out of the building. The fire got worse and despite their efforts they could only get Tsubaki out of the building alive. They died in those flames holding each other as Tsubaki cried for the loss of the only family that loved her. A funeral would be held two weeks after the fire.

To her dismay, a lot of people were present, once again she had withdrawn from the people around her. At the funeral’s conclusion she excused herself and torched what was left of the dojo she grew up in, not wanting any reminder of the events that transpired on the day she lost her family. People gossiped about what she did for quite a while, she got to the point of wanting to escape everything around her. She wanted to run away find a new life where she wasn’t so miserable. Little did she know that was about to happen, if she chose to remain.

As she often did when stressed, she visited the temple of Honno-Ji looking at the event in thought. Behind her, a man approached,” I have noticed that you come here a lot. You seem to be pretty well known around here too, miss Tsubaki,” A man said as he approached her. Turning around she faced a man with brown hair and eyes, wearing glasses and a lab coat over some causal clothing. Glaring at him she grabbed him by the shirt,” What the hell do you know about my life?! You going to believe everything you hear from shallow people?” she snapped as she released his shirt. “Not at all,” he responded as he straightened his lab coat.

It was then that he saw it, the wormhole approaching them,” Miss Tsubaki, watch out!” he cried out as he tried to move her out of the aim of the wormhole but to no avail, as the wormhole had absorbed both of them. They had no idea that it had in fact sent them five hundred years into the past, where peace was a dreamer’s ideal. War ravaged across the lands from one side to the next, no one would be safe from the flames of war not even them.

As she woke, she looked around realizing that she was in the temple of Honno-Ji, to her dismay it was on fire. Panic started to rise, her throat got dry making her have to swallow several times, hands sweating, her body starting to shake. During her panic, she noticed a man slumped against the wall not far from her. Alarmed, she pushed her fear aside and rushed over to the man, telling him that he must help her get him out of the building hoping that he was still conscious. It was a slow trek to the outside of the temple, as soon as she was out that door, she was surrounded by the warlords waiting.

Once they took the man from her, her panic began to surface again. Not wanting total strangers to see her panic, she ran into the forest where she then hid behind a tree weeping. “They said I was better,” she said through her weeps as she slumped to the ground, putting her arms on her knees so only her bright red hair was visible. On the opposite side of the tree, the man that was with her at the temple stood listening to her weeping. Hearing the sound of horses, he whispered, “I will come back for you,” and then he disappeared into the shadows of the forest. Also hearing the horses, though not hearing him she wiped at her eyes and once she felt ready, she walked around the tree to greet the men approaching her.

Two men approached her, slowing the horses to a stop. One had sandy hair and yellowish eyes, he wore a red and green kimono; the other man had coffee brown hair, with a black eyepatch on one eye and the other eye was blue. Unlike the other man, he wore black armor with a blue kimono poking out the sides of the armor. They dismounted the horses and walked over to her, the man with sandy hair looked at her and said,” Lord Nobunaga wants to meet with you, so we have been tasked with retrieving you,” he informed Tsubaki.

She thought for a moment, looking between the two men and then said,” I refuse,” she told them crossing her arms. The two men looked at her dumbfounded,” Why not?” he asked her. She looked at him and said,” I will go only if you tell me your names and then ask me instead of ordering me,” she told him as she crossed her arms. The other man laughed and then said,” My name is Masamune Date, lass,” he told her as he looked at the man standing next to him,” Hideyoshi Toyotomi,” he responded as he shoulders slumped and he placed his hand over his face, seeing how stubborn this girl is already.

He lowered his hand as he looked over at her,” Now that you know our names will you come with us please, miss?” he asked as he stood up straight once again,” I suppose I could do that, call me Tsubaki though, Tsubaki Hikoshi,” she responded as she followed them to their horses, accepting help from Masamune as he helped her onto his horse placing her in front of him. Getting on the horse behind her, Masamune looked at the outfit she was wearing. What looked like a school uniform top which was blue and a matching short skirt and tall sock with loafer shoes. He rose his brow as he looked at her from head to toe,” Your outfit may not be to Lord Nobunaga’s liking, but we don’t have the time to get you more appropriate attire,” he informed her as he snapped the reins on the horse.

They rode off with Hideyoshi following close behind them, she watched the things around them as they rode. “It’s so beautiful here,” she whispered causing Masamune to smile,” You should see Oshu,” he told her as they rode on. They didn’t stop until they reached the gates of the castle, once there they took the horses to the stables. Once they finished putting the horses up they walked towards the castle gates, she was in the middle as the other two were on either side of her.

Entering the building, she swallowed hard nervous about what could conspire from this meeting with the most notorious warlord in history, Oda Nobunaga. Reaching the dais Masamune and Hideyoshi bowed in greeting to Nobunaga and then left for their seats leaving her standing there alone. He had black hair with red eyes and wore a black kimono, seeing her standing there he sat up in his seat,” It would seem that I owe you my life, but why did you do it? So many want me dead, it could have been your chance,” he told her as he crossed his arms watching her suspiciously. “Honestly, I didn’t even know who you were, just thought we could die and did what I could to get us out of there,” she responded. Each warlord held a shocked expression,” You don’t know who I am?” he asked surprised himself.

She sighed as she looked at Nobunaga,” The truth you won’t believe but I will tell you anyway. I am from 500 years in the future, I was absorbed into a wormhole and dropped into that temple, that is how I got there. In the future your name is well known yes, but what you look like is not,” she explained. The warlords looked at each other with raised eyebrows as if they were not sure what to think of what she was saying. Nobunaga narrowed his eyes at her,” This is your truth?” he asked with an irritated edge to his tone. She nodded,” What is your name girl?” he asked as he stood snapping his fan open and closed in irritation. “Tsubaki Hikoshi,” she responded as she watched him as sweat drenched her back as if she knew what was going to happen,” Well, Tsubaki you will get to enjoy the hospitalities of the dungeon until I decide otherwise or if you want to tell me the truth,” he told her as he motioned at the guards.

She looked down at the ground,” I had a feeling he wouldn’t believe me,” she said under her breath as the guards escorted her to the dungeon. Walking between two guards, she was shoved into a cell as they took her items and her most prized possession, her bow. She reached out for it just to be pushed back farther into the cell as they shook their head at her,” If anything happens to that I will never forgive you!” she yelled after them as they walked off.

As they walked off, she slid against the wall to the floor hugging her knees. “I don’t know what to do now…” she said in despair as she looked out the window above her. The sky full of stars she closed her eyes and sent up a small prayer. As the guards returned to the main hall, none of the warlords said a word. Masamune frowned as he looked at Nobunaga not agreeing with it, thinking it should be looked into further but kept his thoughts to himself. Hideyoshi stood,” M’Lord, perhaps we should have her in a room with constant guards instead of in the dungeon where she could get sick?” as he asked Nobunaga turned and looked at him,” No, she stays until I say otherwise and anyone seen helping her well you know the consequences,” as he said this he turned on his heel and left the room.

The room echoed with ‘yes, m’lord’ but Hideyoshi and Masamune had looks that said they were plotting something. Outside, the sun had sunk, and the temperature dropped in the dungeon, inside Tsubaki was huddled up squeezing the only blanket around her for warmth. Sighing, she looked at the floor shivering,” so cold, I miss the heat from my time. This is just stupid cold,” she muttered squeezing the edges of the blanket that much closer together.

Watching from the edge of the dungeon, both Masamune and Hideyoshi though they didn’t want to show themselves at first. Hideyoshi seeing how cold she was left and soon came back with a blanket. He handed it to the guard,” her clothes aren’t meant for this weather, we don’t know if she is guilty or not so give this to her but don’t say who it is from,” he told him as he walked out with Masamune following. The guard nodded and walked over to her cell and pushed the blanket through the bars. “But who gave me this?” Tsubaki asked the guard ignored the question and walked back to his post.

From the second entrance to the dungeon, Nobunaga had been watching the exchange. Smirking, he walked off as if finding it amusing. As punishment for helping her, he had sent them to take care of several small-time jobs though he hadn’t told him that it was for a punishment, just that it needed to be done. He looked out the window in the castle main hall, “almost five days now,” he muttered as he focused on his work. The generals looked at each other confused about what he was muttering to himself about.

In the cell, Tsubaki was wrapped in both blankets though her shivering had yet to cease. She had developed a cough and was starting to feel hot and then cold off and on. She would often look up at the sky at night and make that same prayer to get out of the dungeon in one piece. A few more days passed, and she got worse, her appetite started to suffer because of it. The guard that had brought her last meal noticed that the one from that following morning was hardly touched. She had not left that corner of the cell since she was put in it, not once did she look at the guards that took care of her nor did she cry or beg for release.

“This girl isn’t like any I have met,” one guard told the other who nodded in agreement,” No tears, no sass, it’s like she’s in her own world. Though I am concerned, she hasn’t been eating for the past few days,” he told his comrade. He nodded sharing his concern as they looked over at her seeing her wrapped up looking out the small window in her cell. The following day was the same as before she had not eaten anything and remained in the same spot. Yet, when they looked in, she wasn’t sitting up but slumped over with ragged breathing, her body shivering vividly. The guard holding the food looked alarmed, “Hurry, run and inform Nobunaga that she needs a doctor and fast,” he told her as he watched in horror.

The guard nodded and ran out the door, was about to pass Masamune in a dash when he called out to him,” Halt soldier, why are you so panicked? Answer quick,” he asked crossing his arms looking at him. The guard stopped, bowed and said,” The prisoner has slumped over, and seems to be vividly shivering and her breathing seems off, I have to tell Lord Nobunaga that she needs a doctor,” he responded looking at him worried. Masamune turned to him,” Then you can add to your report that I have elected myself to be the one to take care of her. If he has a problem with it, he knows where to find me,” he told him as he turned on his heel and ran in the other direction to the dungeons. Blinking for a moment, the guard ran to the castle to give his report.

Entering the castle, the man ran to the dais and knelt on one knee,” Pardon the intrusion m’Lord, the prisoner seems to have fallen ill, I have been ordered to let you know by Lord Masamune that he has elected himself to nurse her to health and I am assuming that means that he left to retrieve her by force if necessary,” he told Nobunaga with a nervous bow as he pushed his face all the way to the ground. Nobunaga let out a quiet laugh,” He has, has he? Let him do as he wishes but there will be no damage allowed to my dungeon. If there is a single bar out of place, it comes out of your stipend, understand? You may want to hurry if you want to stop him,” Nobunaga told the man shaking with laughter.

The man nodding bowed and turned on his heel walking fast out of the room and once out of the room he was seen dashing towards the dungeon. Nobunaga had a grin on his face as if enjoying the events,” Daring as ever, Masamune,” he muttered to himself with amusement,” What will you do next, I wonder,” with those words he returned to the meeting the guard had interrupted. Back at the dungeon, the guard entered just as Masamune was about to draw his sword,” M’Lord please stay your weapon, Lord Nobunaga has given you leave to do what you wish so long as the dungeon stays intact,” he informed him as he bowed. Masamune took his hand off the hilt of his sword and looked over at the other guard with the keys and motioned at the door.

The guard opened the door quickly, shaking made it take longer to open the door. Masamune rushed into the cell to check on Tsubaki. He frowned as he heard her ragged breathing and saw her body shivering. He leaned her body against his own and wrapped her in his overcoat as well as the blankets already around her and walked out the door heading to an empty room not too far from his manor, this way he could check on her easily. He called for some maids as he found her a room, ordering some cold water and rags as well as a robe for her to sleep in. The maids nodded scrambling out of the door each returning with the requested items.

As one of the maids dressed her in the robe, so she was not in the now wet clothes from her own sweat he was working on preparing the rags for her fever. He looked to one of the maids,” Go to town, bring the best doctor you can find tell him it is urgent and that I was the one who sent you,” nervously the maid nodded and left town with two soldiers that he had sent with her. The maid that was dressing Tsubaki left the room, bowing to him she said,” she is in her new robe and I have washed all the sweat from her body and she is now resting in her bed,” he nodded at her with a smile,” Thank you, if you are not too busy I would like you to do that daily. If I were to, as an unmarried woman it would be inappropriate,” he told her.  She bowed once again,” It would be my honor to help her, m’lord,” she responded. He thanked her and took the bucket of hot water and the rags and went in her room placing one on her forehead.

As he adjusted the blankets over her, the maid walked in with a doctor. Immediately, Masamune stood and bowed to the doctor as he explained the symptoms, “That is not good, she may be quite ill,” he responded as he looked in his bag of herbs,” This may help with her breathing, mix some in some porridge and it should help her recover. The rest is up to her, “he told Masamune. Nodding, he accepted the bag of medicine bowing to him he said,” I will be sure to make sure she gets it, doctor. I will personally make her food and help feed it to her,” he informed the doctor. The doctor smiled at him, “Good,” he responded and with a bow he left the room and made his way back to town.

Right as the doctor left, Masamune started to make the porridge for her, making it thin enough that she could drink it since she wasn’t conscious, he mixed the medicine in it as his final touch. Once finished, he walked to her bedside and knelt beside her propping her head up with one hand he used the other to tip the porridge in her mouth making certain she swallowed it before laying her back down once it was gone. He then checked the rag and changed it to a fresh cool rag, washing the dishes he used he placed them near the sink and made his way out of her room.

Every he was doing this to help her health improve, one day on his way back to his manor Hideyoshi stopped him,” Masamune, let’s talk at your manor,” he suggested. Not seeing a problem with it Masamune shrugged it off, “Alright, let’s go then,” he responded as the two walked to his manor Hideyoshi looked over at him,” Why are you going out of your way for a woman that is supposed to be a prisoner?” he asked with narrowed eyes. This made Masamune stop dead in his tracks and turn and look at Hideyoshi,” That lass has not shown any reason to be treated as such. We do not know if she is guilty of lying or not, until we do, I will treat her like what she is a sick young lady,” he snapped as he crossed his arms glaring at Hideyoshi.

“What would you suggest we do to find out then?” Hideyoshi asked Masamune returning the glare. “Hideyoshi, you are only acting like this because you don’t want to defy Lord Nobunaga, you wanted to be the one to help her as much as I did. Don’t deny that, it is the type of man you are,” he told him bluntly he then paused for a moment thinking of a solution,” The confiscated items, perhaps checking them will bring to light her story, evidence does not lie,” he told Hideyoshi. Hearing his idea, Hideyoshi’s eyes lit up though he didn’t deny or admit what Masamune said about him, this had him taking it as the truth. After a moment, Hideyoshi turned and left for the castle to tell the idea to Nobunaga.

As soon as Masamune was walking past the threshold of his manor, Hideyoshi went through the castle doors and looked for Nobunaga to tell him about Masamune’s idea. Once he found him, he bowed to him, “Lord Nobunaga, I ran an idea by Masamune in finding her identity; he suggested going through the items we confiscated from her. I was told by the guards she was quite upset about losing what looks like a bow in fabric,” he told Nobunaga. Nobunaga tilted his head to the side as he rubbed his chin with his finger and thumb and then nodded,” I will allow it, in fact I will be the one to do it,” he responded as he got to his feet. “Gather the others, we will see what she has brought with her together, Masamune included,” he ordered as he gathered her bag and bow and left for the dais. Hideyoshi nodded and left to find his comrades.

Once everyone was gathered, Nobunaga sat in his seat holding the case holding the bow and a bag. “Since we are not able to ask her anymore questions at this time, I have decided to approve Masamune’s idea and look at what she has in her belongings to decide her fate,” he told everyone in the room. Each of them leaned in so they could see what was going on as he took items out of her bag. First, was the cell phone he looked at it confused, “No idea what that is, moving on,” he said as he took the next item out, which was an envelope with her name on it. He opened the envelope and pulled the paper out. “Her name is on it, and the names of two other people. Her birthday--how is that possible we have not made it to the 1900s yet,” he said as he looked at it in shock,” This is something called an adoption certificate,” he informed the warlords.

Not seeing a need to look at anything else in the bag, he put the phone back though he slipped the certificate back into its envelope and then put it in his kimono. He then grabbed the case from the floor and carefully opened it, inside was a beautiful long bow. Engraved on it was her name and several engravings of her favorite flower, the lotus flower. He pulled it the rest of the way out of the case,” This is a beautiful bow, she has never used it on people it seems it looks so fresh and new the string not overused, I don’t think she has seen the battlefield,” he explained as he looked it over.

One of the warlords, a man wearing a yellow kimono which matched his hair color stood, his sea-green eyes narrowing as he looked at the bow,” m’Lord would it be possible for me to look at it?” he asked with a bow. Nobunaga nodded, motioning for him to come closer to him. As he came closer and was handed the bow, he looked at it from top to bottom,” This bow has been taken care of quite well, I agree with your assessment m’lord,” he said as he handed it back to him and returned to his seat.

“Well, now that it has Ieyasu’s approval any other opinions to add?” he asked as he looked from face to face. A man with silver hair and yellow snake-like eyes shook his head as he adjusted his blue and white kimono so that he wasn’t uncomfortable. The man next to him, had silver hair as well though unlike him he had purple eyes and wore a purple kimono, “no, m’lord” he responded. He nodded, “Thank you Mitsuhide and Mitsunari, then we are all in agreement, she was not lying and is not a threat to us. I am no sure of her age, but regardless all of you must see to her protection until she shows herself capable of protecting heself,” he ordered as he replaced the bow in it’s case. All of he warlords bowed and ‘yes, m’lord’ was echoed through the room. Once he finished zipping the case up, he handed the bag and case to Masamune,” She is allowed to have these back now, let me know when she is better, I would like to talk with her again,” he told him as he stood from his seat.

Accepting the items from Nobunaga, Masamune nodded,” Of course, m’lord once the lass is well, I will send a messenger post haste,” he responded with a bow. Nodding, Nobunaga left the room dismissing all the warlords. As the warlords left the room, Hideyoshi and Masamune exchanged looks though didn’t say anything as they too went their own way. Masamune went to check on Tsubaki in her room, seeing him approaching the maids bowed in greeting,” Has she woken up yet?” he asked as he stopped at the door, the maids shook their heads with a shared worried expression. He let out a worried sigh and entered the room. He placed her things near her bed, propping the bow in a corner and left for the kitchen.

Once again, he made the porridge with medicine in it and helped her to drink it before changing the rag across her forehead. Just as he was about to stand, her hand shot around his wrist, “Don’t go, please,” she pleaded weakly looking at him with her blue and green eyes. Smiling a wry smile, he sat down next to her,” You have beautiful eyes, lass, I only know one other person with them, and he is an enemy,” he told her with a laugh. She smiled weakly as she listened to him talk and slowly, she drifted back to sleep loosening her grip around his wrist.

It had been two weeks since she had been moved into her room, everyone who had met her was worried she may not wake up. While the maid was washing Tsubaki, removing her sweat she noticed her stir and her eyes opened. She looked at the maid seeming a bit confused, the maid stopped what she was doing and bowed to her,” Pardon me, m’lady. I was told to help keep your body clean while you were unconscious so you would get better,” she told her frantic as if worried she would get yelled at.

Tsubaki sat up and looked at her and then her surroundings, “Don’t worry about it, I appreciate you taking the time to look after me,” she told her with a soft voice as she leaned over in her bed to do a half bow. The maid panicked, shaking her hands, “Please, don’t bow to me I am no one important,” she told her panic stricken. Tsubaki looked at her,” If that were true, I doubt I would be better now and would still be in my dirty clothes. You may think what you do is little, but if not for you and the other maids’ places like this could not function. Though your status may be lower than those that you serve, don’t sell yourself short, you are just as important,” she told her with a smile. The maid, looking like she was about to cry bowed,” Please excuse me,” she said as she left the room.

Masamune had been outside the door listening to them, a smile crept across his face,” Valuing even the lower status people, she would make a good ruler,” he muttered to himself as he knocked on the door. “Yes? Who is it?” Tsubaki asked as she started to get up,” Don’t get out of your bed, Tsubaki it’s me Masamune, I’m here to check on you and to make you some food so stay put in your bed,” he ordered. Surprised she sat back down only able to respond with, “Ok,” as he came inside her room.

“It is good to see that you are awake, soon you will be well enough to come and go as you please, once you are better Nobunaga was wanting to see you, but wait until you are fully healed,” he told her as he was making her food. “Alright,” she responded as she watched him make the porridge. “You should make some for yourself too,” she told him causing him to smile he nodded,” Alright, I think I will. Always is better to eat together than by yourself,” he responded with a smile as he walked to her bed and sat next to her handing her porridge to her.

“I think you made that Maid’s day, telling her that you appreciate her like that,” he told Tsubaki as he took a bite of his food. She looked at him,” All I said was the truth, is it that big of a deal?” she asked eating some of her food. He looked at her,” A very big deal, most maids aren’t treated very well so to hear your words, it’s like a dream come true for them,” he told her with a serious expression,” Not many higher classed citizens are kind to their servants,” he added as he ate more of his food. She took in what he said and thought over it,” Then, I am glad I told her that, “ she responded after a pause.

Later that day, as Masamune was walking back from the castle to check on Tsubaki, he was stopped by Hideyoshi, “Wait a minute, I want to talk to you Masamune, don’t you go and get close to her and then break her heart by playing around or something, I doubt she will understand how you are,” he told him with a serious expression. Masamune looked at him laughing,” How I play? You’re one to speak, you get at least a hundred letters from different women a day, should you be lecturing me I wonder? Besides, if something were to happen between her and I, it would be our business not your’s or anyone else’s for that matter,” he snapped as he turned on his heel and walked off leaving Hideyoshi standing there watching his back fade out of view.

[toloveawarlord]

The Art of Love and War (Chapter 1)

Chapter 1: Nadia Oda (1 Month Before the Incident)

                             My father had been traveling a lot due to some monks who were trying to betray him. Kennyo had been their leader. He had a wicked scar on his face from a fight with Father. As far as enemies go, he’s pretty weak. None of his efforts ever made any progress. Most warlords as powerful as my father wouldn’t have even wasted their time dealing with it personally. My father was different. He liked to deal with his problems head on and always came out victorious.

              That’s why we were sitting at a table with these other monks. Generously, they’d offered us food and a place to stay for the night on our way back to Azuchi Castle. I’d tried to convince Father to keep moving. Something about this place turned my stomach. This temple in Honno-ji… it gave me chills.

              Stirring my chopsticks around in my rice, I rested my chin on my palm, leaning my elbow on the table. The monks were talking happily with my father, who sat at the very end of the table on my left. Though he continued to keep up the conversation, his eyes would travel back to me with disapproval.

              Before he could comment, one of the monks across from me spoke up, “Is everything alright, Lady Nadia? Is the food not to your liking?”

              Forcing a smile, I replied, “No, I’m just tried from all the traveling.” Making an easy excuse was simple, just make it sound convincing. I couldn’t eat right now if I wanted to.  Thankfully, the monk allowed me to escape this boring dinner. I made a huge deal out of my apology, and using my gender to my advantage worked.

              Finally, alone in my room for the night with a warm bath ready, I tried to relax. Each time my eyes closed, the feeling of someone watching me fell on me. It made my bath hard to enjoy. I nearly jumped out of the tub when the door opened loudly.

              “That was very rude of you, Nadia,” Father said, closing the door behind him.

              It’s also rude to barge in on a lady bathing… but I knew better than to say that. Pulling my knees up to my chest and wrapping my arms around them, I sighed. If he’s here, then dinner must be over. Had I been in that long? The water around my body had turned cold.  “I don’t like it here.” 

“It’s only for one night.” Nothing ever bother him. If there was any kind of threat, he took it as a fun challenge to overcome.

“A lot can happen in one night,” I countered.  

Silence took over in the room. Sighing, Father turned to leave. “Get some rest. We still have a long ride tomorrow.” He didn’t believe me. Anytime I voiced my concerns, he only told me that it would all be okay.  

After my bath, I tried to sleep. Tossing and turning on the futon only lasted few so long before I gave up. Every time a monk walked past the door, my heart skipped a beat. What kept me awake escaped me. Why do I feel this nervous? My fears became a big reality when a loud thump came from right outside my door. That is a sound I know. 

A body hitting the floor. 

Followed by silence. 

The candles in my room blew out with the wind coming in through the open window. I wasn’t very good at fighting. Why did I need to be when my father is so strong and practically untouchable? Swallowing the lump in my throat, my eyes tried to focus in the pitch-black room. Moving slowly back toward the door, the last thing I remember is the hilt of a sword cracking down on the back of my neck, knocking me unconscious.  

 Heat was the first thing I felt when I awoke. Then, smoke filled my lungs, causing me to cough. My head spun and pounded with pain. Reaching a shaky hand to touch the sore spot, I winced, retracting it quickly. Blood slid down my fingers. Coughing again from the heavy smoke, I realized that there was fire.  

The whole temple blazed. 

I have to get out here! 

Trying to drag myself to my feet proved futile. A large piece of wood trapped one of my legs. The heaviness of the smoke was taking a toll on my body. My throat burned from dryness. It hurts to even try to scream for help. Tears sprung to my eyes. I’m completely trapped! 

The weight lifted off my leg and then a set of arms slid around my waist, lifting me off the ground. I was only on my feet for a moment. Hooking an arm under my knees and the other arm around my back, I was in someone’s arms. “Mistunari.” My voice came out scratchy. 

His charming smile made me feel safe. “Don’t worry. I’ve got you,” he said, carefully maneuvering around the burning wreckage. It only took a few minutes for him to get us outside. Setting me down, Minori came jogging over. 

“Nadia! I’m so glad you’re okay! I brought a change of clothes for you,” She approached me with the same bright smile as her father. Her white hair was braided down the back. Her kimono that she was allowing me to borrow wasn’t short, like mine and Iri’s typically were. It went all the way down to my ankles.  

“Thanks,” I said, relieved to see another girl. Being out traveling meant I was the only girl. Even my twin brother, Natsu, had decided to go on another mission and leave me all alone.  

Minori helped me change in privacy. There’s no way I could have done it by myself. I could barely stand on my own. Once wrapped in my new Kimono, Minori made me sit, going to retrieve her father. Any movement to my leg caused me pain. 

Mistunari inspected my injured leg, pressing on the tender skin. “Does that hurt?” My winces told everything. Wrapping a cloth around it carefully, Mistunari said, “This will do for now. When we return to the castle, I will get you properly treated.” 

“Think Ieyasu will be there?” I asked. Truth be told, I’ve always had a little crush on Ieyasu. If only Iri wasn’t there always judging me. 

Mistunari laughed. “I’m sure I can arrange for him to treat you.”   

I leaned on my good leg, attempting to stay standing. This is going to be hard. For the first time tonight, I smiled genuinely. Out of the people associated with the Oda clan, Mistunari was the kindest.  

“I am glad you weren’t injured any worse than your leg. Now, I believe we are getting ready to leave for Azuchi.” He lifted me up before I could take one step, taking me all the way to where my father waited on his horse.  

Settled on the saddle bridle style with his arms barricading me on the horse, I leaned against him, closing my eyes. Exhausted, a yawn escaped my lips. “So, what happened?” 

“Unclear at this time. Someone tried very hard to kill us,” Father answered. He went quiet, probably to allow me to go to sleep. “Nadia, there’s blood on your neck.” Taking the reins in one hand, he inspected the wound.  

“Yeah, someone hit me with the hilt of a sword. No, I didn’t see them. Yes, I’m fine.” The annoyed tone in my voice wasn’t hidden. All I wanted to do was sleep.  

Father sighed, frustrated, but said, “Alright, we’ll talk about this later.” He fell silent, and let me sleep. 

After the events of last night, I knew things were going to change. Whoever attempted to kill my father would be hunted down and killed. Then, we still have all of Japan to unite. Father had always been ambitious, and had instilled those ideals in my brother and me. It would happen one day. All this war made my life complicated, even if I was a princess.  

[i0990]

Hana Oboro Review

My first otome game of 2017 woohoo. I’ll be frank and say there was only one reason Hana Oboro caught my eye initially and that’s Nobunaga. It has been a very long time since I was interested in a character on sight. As more info was released I thought the setting was a bit meh but not enough to put me off the game.

There will be some spoilers in this review so stop before the read more if you want to avoid them. If I were to say whether I enjoyed my playthrough then yes, I did actually, despite all the negative reviews on Amazon. However, I wouldn’t call it a superb game. The writing has a few flaws. Some parts of the plot aren’t well explained and the characters tend to make some rather unusual decisions at times. 

What I did like was the drama, something I definitely expect from a game set during times of war. It had enough entertaining moments to keep me interested and the characters were interesting. If you’re not too picky with the personality of the heroine and writing, and don’t mind the length, then I think the game is still worth a try. If you’re worried about spending unnecessary money then wait for a sale to get it.

*spoilers after the cut* 

Plot: If I had to summarize how the routes tend to go in general, it’d be to get the guy past the point in history where he dies(the love ends). E.g. for Nagamasa it’d be the siege of Odani castle, for Nobunaga it’d be the Honno-ji incident. In other words, instead of achieving some target like ‘bring peace’ or ‘take down the boss’, the goal of the plot is just not to die. So yeah, every end other than the love ends has either Ichi/the guy/both dying. It’s war, there’s no way Otomate won’t take the chance to kill off characters.

My main complaint is how some of the scenes aren’t linked together very well, jumping from battle to battle. Certain things that should have been important are kinda glossed over. For instance there’s the sachimitama. For something as important as it being Ichi’s ‘heart’ as an oboro, it’s barely mentioned in most routes. Likewise all that about Katsuie being an imposter. What was the actual Katsuie doing in the other routes? Freeloading at Mitsuhide’s place? Off on a road trip o.0? To be fair certain plot elements being left out here and there in each route is not a problem unique to Hana Oboro and I don’t consider it a serious flaw. It just nags at me a bit.

Another thing is how Ichi is somehow able to go off to battle with the guys and use her oboro powers without the men noticing it’s her doing it. Because of stuff like that the writing felt somewhat inconsistent overall. Romantic development was better in some route than others but overall acceptable.

As for the drama, some of the characters have tragic backstories, most of them have some sort of emotional baggage, and it all comes together like some period drama. Despite all the negative points of the writing, it still managed to make me feel for the characters. So plus points here. :)

Order I recommend: Nagamasa>Hanbei>Shingen>Nobunaga>Katsuie

Characters: Quite a big cast, so naturally some of the characters either don’t show up or are only mentioned in passing in certain routes. Overall I like how everyone has a distinct personality, even the sub chars. The main guys were all likeable enough. The interactions between the characters were interesting, whether it be casual banter or outright hostility.

Probably not a surprise by now, but Nobunaga was my favourite before I played and still is after I finished playing. But gosh of all the characters his personality varies the most across the routes. I laughed when in his normal end he gives up being an ambitious conqueror, and simply tells Hideyoshi to take over. Even Hideyoshi was like ‘Ehhh?!’ 

I find Nagamasa has the best personality among the main guys. Across all the routes, he consistently cares for Ichi and this doesn’t change even when he learns she’s an oboro. Shingen is also a sweet guy and Hanbei is cute. Katsuie contrasts well with the more quiet and cool headed personalities of the other guys.

Ichi is an ok heroine I guess. My main gripe with her is how willful she can be. She insists on tagging along to the battlefield even when she can’t fight, thus causing the other characters to have to look after her. Other than that she is a nice character, trying her best to help her loved ones and fighting to protect them when she must. I think she could have played a more active role though.

Along the sub characters I like Alan best. Seriously he needs a happier ending and I wish he had a route. Kenshin seems cool. Yoshikage got on my nerves a bit with his narcissism. >_>

System/Interface: Flowers everywhere lol. It’s pretty so I don’t mind. I find the animation for the in-game menu too draggy, although the menu looks nice. The glossary is a good feature since there are many terms and names brought up throughout the game. Unless you are very familiar with sengoku period history(I’m not lol), some of the names and terms will be quite alien. Every character has a Love, Normal, and Sad end. There are also other bad ends you can get by failing the battles but the game has no trophy that forces you to do them.

The battle system wasn’t very fun. Basically just wait until one of the banners start flashing then press L or R accordingly. Not too bad the first few times, but not when it’s 9x4 times per route. Some battles can be skipped but you’ll miss out on the bonus chibi CGs. Maybe it’d have been more fun if the battle system was a rhythm game like the last part of RDF’s ravir system or like in Kenka Bancho Otome.

Art/Music: Overall the art was pretty good. I like the vibrant colours and the character designs are unique. The only design I didn’t like so much was Kichou’s, because her head looks too big imo. CGs were good and conveyed the emotions of the scenes well. The only weird CG was this:

The odd one being he’s supposed to be asleep. Imagine reading the text going on about how he looks like asleep and Ichi looking at him, when all the while Nobunaga is just sort of staring at you. Other than that I thought Ichi’s side profile looked a bit off in a couple of CGs, but it didn’t bother me much. I want an artbook.

The music was decent but not exceptional. A couple of the tracks were nice but most of them have completely faded from my mind, even though the game was so long. The OP and ED were both ok but not my kind of song lol. 

So that’s that. As far as Otomate games go I thought Hana Oboro was pretty decent. I actually enjoyed it better than some of their other more popular titles. I do think it’s not for everyone though. If you are picky when it comes to writing or expect a very strong heroine it’s probably best to steer clear of this game. Imo it wasn’t as bad as some of the reviews on Amazon made it sound. Overall, no regrets getting this, and a fandisc would be nice to make up for how sad some of the scenes made me lol. XD

[ranmanjuu]

—gen z mc with uesugi-takeda + misc. forces

ahh, i’m so glad people liked my gen z oda hcs! lol it’s usually pretty slow from my writing blog experiences until now, but i’m rlly happy! i was planning to do u-t and the others but then i decided to stop at oda and continue another day. thx for the asks tho! and yeah, i do take requests but it’s more of a pasttime, since this whole blog is just my stupid ideas written out and shared out there.

also someone said that a gen z mc could be old enough to romance the warlords, like, early twenties. and yes, very fair if u wanna romance ur mans with memes and existentialism go for it!! i just think it adds more to the comedy side of this child they have to babysit, while not fearing death or any consequences from their dumb of Ass decisions. someone who fears no death and armed with no braincells is a fool, but a Child who fears no death and armed with no braincells is also a fool, but more bizzare and has That Vibe y’know

@niphredil-14​ and @arthotsglasses​

tw: s*icidal, violent jokes treated in a light manner

also spoilers to some things of their characters

—kenshin:

who is this,, , sassy lost child??

he first saw you prepared to throw hands with ronins who were being Elite Dickheads. ofc, armed with nothing compared to the sworded-adults, he had to interfere.

no matter how cold he treated you, masking his secret !!!-like concern, you seemed so unfazed through it. you still interacted with him like normal,,,,, why?? do you want a death wish?

and each time he threatened you with,, anything, you responded with, “the only one who gets to hurt & kill me, is ME”

...... what?

he’s convinced you’re the biggest fool of a person. and he’d be right but even so, he has a weirdly strong need to protect you as you two got closer. you’re often with sasuke, so it’s harder to avoid you.

even with all the Horrible jokes you make on a daily basis, if your passionate side with everyone having equal rights of being treated as human, for him it shows a side of you that makes you seem precious and pure and kind hearted.

and the overprotective side increases.

which is, ,, a bit problematic sometimes cause you have the tendency to target and piss off anyone in a 10 meter range by just one (1) sassy comment, along with your lack of impulse control and blurting out everything in your mind. it’s made you a lot of short enemies in the sengoku period, and kenshin would always be ready to slice them down behind you.

sasuke has to tame him down with his Masters degree in kenshin-wrangling.

at banquets, kenshin would often have you beside him. if you’re too young for sake do age for drinking exist in sengoku? probably not. it’s more of sasuke advising for him to not give you alcoholic drinks he’ll have you pouring for him or just munching away at pickled plums or food.

—shingen:

(ngl i kinda had a hard time with this since it’s erasing a big part of his overall character,,, flirting)

once he heard the news that oda had taken in somone as young as you during honno-ji,, ,,,he’s in a very “how dare that demon >>:( taking such a pure soul,....”

and when you’re taken to kasugayama as a captive, you’re,,, surprisingly very calm and whelmed. you don’t have much sign of fear or anxiety in your overall demeanor meanwhile you’re busy dissociating and spacing out to feel those

you actually don’t seem to hate your captor. but shingen isn’t sure if your ‘fingerguns’ is a good thing or not cause it depicts you pointing guns @ him,, (dw is good shingen)

while yes being held hostage—no matter how good you’re being treated—isn’t ideal and kinda not very cash money, you consider shingen v chill. man has a kindheart!! “i diagnose you with good vibes.”

if he ever sees your righteous side, as everyone else, he’ll deeply admire you. he himself is someone who believes in such as well. and hearing the circumstances in the modern world regarding those things (blm, etc.) his heart truly does go out for you. he feels sympathy for such a young person like you having to take action

also your dirty humor around him, echigo’s player, kind of makes him question where and how you learnt it

and,, his illness.

through getting straight to the point and not falling for it each time he changes subject/dodges the question, you managed to get to the bottom of his illness. shingen himself thinks it’s not something you have to burden with knowing—you’re so, so young.

but that doesn’t matter to you. the world’s given you such a shit time, you’re mature enough to understand the situation at least.

and as he finishes his explanation, all there was is silence. it felt wrong to say any of your usual quips,, so all you did was slowly came there and hugged him.

that was more than what he’d ask for.

—sasuke:

oh hell yeah

you are in your element with him. the chillest guy to talk to, and probably the first one you’re the closest to

your phone was dead after like 2 days of use, and you were miserable while hideyoshi, like a typical parent, told you to go outside and into town. sensing your bad mood, sasuke asked what’s up. you deadpanned, “my phone game ended and now i’m ready to commit not breath.” you oslemnly look out in the bustling streets and clutched your fist like an Anime Protagonist, “those boomer memes were right all along... i am absolutely Miserable and Useless(^TM) without it.”

in response, you could’ve sworn he did the Anime Glasses thing as well, “then we at team Moderately Awesome Sengoku Ninja are happy to announce the launch of a DIY phone charger, made with the electricity from a fruit and the main functionality of a solar panel. and has more durability than samsung’s.”

there were Stars in your eyes now. with a big grin, you thank him, “i’d die for you, sasuke.”

“then perish.” he said with a blank look. (yukimura, in the bg: ???!!!??!??!?)

the next day he consentually breaks in through the ceiling and gives you the weird contraption. you’re now saved, soul-wise.

the memes start coming and they don’t stop coming from the two of you. in any situation. whether it’d be at a teahouse, or at a battlefield that can determine your life and death.

and you can have discussions about current world events, or the past ones, with him and he’d understand completely what you’re talking about. it’s those rare nights when you’ve been thinking and have a deep conversation with him in his room, and as an adult, it makes for interesting results as well.

the others are endlessly confused, but you’re both so unapologetically yourselves.

and he’s super protective if the circumstances are tough. he feels bad for dragging another person in the sengoku with him—much less when they’re so young like you.

if you’re enough of a lil shit, once you’re taken into kasugayama, in the nights where you can’t sleep because brain at what would be 3 am, you’d probably trudge over to his room and wake him up to tell him what kind of mind-blowing shit you realized.

—yukimura:

when he saved you from falling to your death, your reaction already set off weird Vibes inside him. what do you mean, “you stopped me from fleeing this fleeting world by the sweet embrace of death” ?!?!?! are you crazy?? yes

he doesn’t waste time getting blunt with you at all either.

once he goes into azuchi as a merchant, he silently observes you talking to sasuke for a bit. what’s with your weird language?? and crude humor???? never in his life has he met someone in your age act like that wtf

even so, he still operates on the basis of ‘‘if sasuke trusts you, i trust you’’, no matter how utterly concerned you make him feel

you have a dirtier mind than him! unsurprisingly. along with everyone else, you often tease the poor soul, a nd you’d gladly tell him what the innuendoes mean ( 69, etc.) and maybe sprinkle in some gay jokes in there

and why do you keep mentioning this “bromance between him and sasuke” ?? what us,,, a bromance????? and why is sasuke in it??

he takes you out to teahouses to eat chestnut dumplings and other desserts with you. you always seem to target the one he doesn’t like the most and have a bit of banter

your relationship is built on banter but what’s different rlly

he treats you much more maturely than other people your age. as in, he doesn’t pull back his punches in words most of the time. you don’t seem to around him also, it looks like.

and, he’s also very protective of you. he regards you as his little sibling, as rat as you may be. and he does care about you—he might just be a bit unwilling to say it

—yoshimoto:

you think he’s very chill, if a bit unique but who were you to judge. and he is, if you ever meet him in echigo or even azuchi

his big liking to art and something of apathy to people is osmething you can respect. there’s something about that kind of Vibe that you find oddly a mood.

and oh boy oh boy you wasted no time pulling up your phone and showing images of what art is in the future. whether it’d be a screenshot of anime, fanart, aesthetic-like ones, palette-themed—the whole shabang. 

and, somehow, you were left ranting to him  about how some artists in the future get it so shitty for theft, reposting, not crediting, the list goes on (please be a decent human being to artist, sincerely the author) and he can’t help but just listen in silence and kind of thinking about how you’re so passionate about the Struggles of artists. and it isn’t something he sees often in the sengoku era—where war rules most things.

and he does find art from the modern times interesting, how they’re so different and vast in styles. and not only that, it’s not like the future only has one major style like then, each hand can draw such different pictures and still have beauty in each. he appreciates and admires that.

and he does tell you his thoughts ^ while you give your own insight. it’s so fascinating to see someone like you having strong opinions on this.

because, well, rn art is a big thing in our lives as we’re stuck inside. a part of entertainment is looking at any media of art—and he finds his view of art and yours quite the same. you two came from a time of turmoil (one moreso than the other) but still think art isn’t exactly irrelevant just because it isn’t a cure to diseases or the Ultimate Weapon.

you had to Surgically Remove him from your phone so you can use it and to stop him from draining your battery looking at the art

and he often drags you out to town and admire pieces when you’re holing yourself in too much. your comments are always unknown to him, “radical”, “that’s one i can vibe with ngl”, and the list goes on.

and you occasionally call him pretty boy as a compliment rlly

—kennyo:

when you first saw him at honno-ji, and he won’t forget the one (1) line you gave him, all you said to his warning of ooo spooky demons was, “that’s lit fam gtg tho”

and that alone was enough to stun him for a few seconds

honestly you told the others of your meeting with kennyo before they told you it could be kennyo. just a throaway line of “oh yeah there was this dude with a scar across his face.” / “,,, ,....that’s kennyo. he’s really dangerous actually—” / “oh, poggers”

you’re probably kind of half the reason the oda forces found who dun it.

and it was an eye for an eye, kennyo himself found out that you were their child chatelaine, and very close to the others. as per his villain-schedule, he kidnaps you .

he laments about how “such a pure soul such as yours is not to be stained by the demon’s hands”

oh how Wrong he was.

you were the definition of the opposite of pure. and you seemed unfazed, which surprised kennyo but shrugged it off. he was willing to face you screaming and panicking, along with shouldering the sin of doing the deed. but instead, he was met with a raised eyebrow and, “this is unexpected and probably not welcomed but what am i doing here.”

he was stunned for a moment before explaining what he can. 

“......... fuck.”

he cringed ever so slightly at your curse. but your attention seems to stray so quickly off of the fact that you were bounded and helpless, to the fact that you have the man doing unspeakable things to civilians and you absolutely don’t approve.

throwing your common sense to maybe be civilized, you went off on a rant of how human rights and how to not be an ass to him. all he could do was just listened, shocked to even cut you off.

when he did, he gave the whole ‘unsaved demon’ shtick, and you weren’t taking that kinda shit. he believed he was truly unsaved—you knew that. but that doesn’t make it okay.

eventually, he left you with a cold end of the conversation.

he admires your spirit in a way—but with what he’s experienced,,, it’s a bit of unreachable for him.

if at any point you saw the soft side of his with animals, you just gaped at him for a split second and whispered, “the gap moe is strong with this one.”

also old man died inside when you said that you’d fight god, along with many things.

all in all, to him, you’re insufferable. but weirdly,, fascinating.

you’ve totally ok boomer’d him once cause he rlly looks old

—motonari:

,,. if your speech to kennyo was bad, he’s going to rant hell.

motonari already knew you were interesting even when his men just spied on you. your behavior, so brash and impulsive, is going to be so fun to have, he thinks.

through some planning to stir up more chaos, he kidnaps you and brings you unto his ship. same as kennyo, you showed no clear sign of surprise, and that’s when he decided you were either used to this in any way, or a fool. both answers, he liked.

you’re kind of really confused on why he’s doing what he’d doing. “i get it, i like to stir up chaos myself but it’s harmless,, most of it—but not until the people are in danger, bitch.”

and by that line, motonari leans towards you with a deadly smirk, “now, i can bite, ‘kay kid? you don’t wanna be in the receiving end... do you?”

“do it, coward.”

and before he could let out even a wheeze of laughter, you continued on on a lecture of, again, not being a dick and letting people live their life in peace. and much less all of this damage, for what? chaos?? yeah you wanted to see the world burn but it wasn’t literally.

however, his patience was running thin. he shuts you up forcefully, and leaves.

even so, after a cooldown period, he still talks to you (,,,, well, that’s kind of a generous term) because, right he was, you were so fun in his eyes.

an interesting observation he made,,, was that you picked up on his big dislike of physical contact. and he’d think with how annoying you were at times, that you’d weaponize it. but you didn’t—in fact, you kept your space (not that you were planning to get close) and respected his boundaries.

he thinks you a bit of peculiar for that decision, some wary, and perhaps naive.

one of the days—the more dangerous ones—he was planning to take you to the oda as bait or something. and you weren’t taking it like that. two days before arrival, a storm racked up. you stood upon the edge of the ship with the rest of the crew watching you like you were a madman.

“the oda won’t want me if i’m dead, would they now?”

motonari stands in his composure, guffawing, “all i need is to make sure they believe you’re alive, kid.”

a smile that showed absolutely no fear and 1000 percent spite spread in your face, “not unless i decimate my own body until all the trail left is my blood. the only one who gets to do that shit to me, is me.”

finally, a look of wavering shows in his face.

you were saved last minute,, and the rest is history.

[ranmanjuu]

Can i request an ikesen hc, how would warlords react to a mc which is a physics major like sasuke and since they are both nerdy they spend a lot of time together and talk a lot about theories and all that science stuff. I think they'll get a bit jealous that mc is spending time with sasuke and confused as to ehat they're talking about lol

as stated before i have absolutely no idea of how physics is, much less of being a physics major. so like,,,,,,, all theories are ambiguous. they don’t exist other than that word. what are they talking about? the one who asked knows not more than the asker.

—shingen:

the first time of him seeing you talk with both such seriousness yet a twinkle lights in your eye, he can’t help but a chuckle let through.

“so, has sasuke finally found someone for himself?”

at first he plays up a bit of, “us mortals cannot understand what you’re speaking, my beloved deity, for you speak the language of the gods!” (”but sasuke can understand them though—”)

would absolutely, and constantly tease you for anything and everything. you could be talking about the inner workings of geophysics with sasuke and you’d hear the faint sound of wiggling eyebrows and metaphorical saxophone playing.

but of course, this won’t stop shingen from trying to win you over.

he does it his own style, the classical flirting with his sexy stature. yet, you always quip back in the jargon language he knows nothing about—and his several seconds of confoundment proves to be a good strategy as you flee the scene.

prior to you telling him that you were from the future, he did find it suspicious how you have so, so many “things that came from your hometown” that was painfully specific. and he’s shingen takeda, he’s known for being well-informed, so why hadn’t he heard of this before? some villages have their own tradition, yes, but it’s usually not enough to write at least twenty dictionaries about.

and even if he wants to find it, where would he go? the only two people who’ve learnt it are you and sasuke.

although he begins to pick up basic things whenever you talk to either him or the ninja. just small references that a high schooler can pick up.

for the sake of it, shingen’d probably try to do a physics pick-up line on you. but due to the lack of knowledge he has, it ends up with you on the floor laughing until you’re clenching your sides.

you can’t help it! it’s so wrong on so many levels it’s insanely hilarious while also painful.

after the laughter dies down, shingen takes it upon himself and pins you to the wall, his sultry eyes burning into yours, “well, it seems my goddess can do a bit of fixing on those, hm? please, my muse, do demonstrate how you do it properly.”

—kenshin:

(honorable mention hc: if you ever use terminology before the affectionate part of him comes in he’ll practically frown at you in deep confusion, “what are you talking about, you fool?”)

if his ninja had met you before he did, he probably wouldn’t have much of a problem. sasuke talks to someone, all he does is frown and just doesn’t care. but hoo boy you managed to slither into his heart without him even noticing it.

he’s just looking around the market for you, until he sees the sight of you chattering so brightly and passionately,,, with sasuke.

phase one: pouty mode. it lasts only for a few second, but his lips form a very strong scowl as it processes in his mind.

(phase one and a half: it’s where he glances at you and notice how you twinkle so brightly in his eyes—like a star beaming at him. except it isn’t at him. and so this honorary phase ends)

phase two: in a split second of his braincells barely managing together, he unsheathes his sword and begins to fish sasuke away from you. (”let’s duel, sasuke.”  /  “i’m afraid i was having a conversation with—”  /  “fight or i kill you this second.”)

phase three: usually it’s where you pull him away and lightly scold him, thus ending his bloodlust.

phase four: usually happens after the other party has left. pouty mode two: electric boogaloo; as he sulks like a child in envy and jealousy and you’re forced to cuddle with him and give him lots of kisses so he Functions properl after that.

of course, you can’t just let it repeat. you had a talk after some time, entailing that, kenshin, please stop chasing your vassals because they say one (1) word to me. with a lot of grumbling and reluctance, he agrees to it.

it won’t stop his lips forming into a scowl at the sight of it though.

he curses the oldened knowledge of the sengoku—he wanted you to talk to him about those big brained things. but alas, there wasn’t much he could do.

(”no, kenshin, you can’t go to the future just cause you wanna learn everything i learnt! the wormhole is gone and it takes at least 4 years—”)

—yukimura:

yukimura meets you the second time while talking to sasuke down in the market. and the decision to rebrand you from a wild boar to a witch casting spells were made in the flick of a second, just like that.

“hey, are you trying to hex my fried, enchantress?!”  /  “yukimura, they’re a friend from my hometown, it’s alright.”  /  “oh.”

as he says, a friend of sasuke is a friend of his! though he still doesn’t understand at all each time you make a physics reference, and still isn’t partly convinced you at least know an ancient language.

he doesn’t exactly buy into the whole ‘hometown-specific’ thing either, but hey. it’s sasuke and you, if you’re lying, he thinks, he’ll let you tell him in your own time.

but in the meantime, the fact you know terminology to references he doesn’t understand makes your daily bickering a lot funnier. what’s an atom and is his brain really smaller than that as you said? fun thing is he’ll probably never know if you and sasuke withhold such information.

if he ever sees you experimenting with something to examine the components, as long as it isn’t dangerous, he’d look at you in mild amusement and confusion, “what are you doing, silly?”

but if it dangerous (like guns, fireworks, etc.) he scolds you with a scowl, one born from pure worry.

once you two got together, you started going to dorky science puns. once again, yukimura doesn’t understand it, but the stupid grin you have on your face is just enough for him.

(he does ask sasuke about it later, resulting in a bright faced yuki, muttering a small “idiot,,” under his breath.)

—sasuke:

the moment you saw him at honno-ji, present day, you felt there was something familiar to him. like it’s a face you’ve passed through in the bustling streets. and the moment you saw his lab coat, you just assumed he somewhat came from the same college as you.

and just after he corrected you referring to him as “that college student” being an astrophysicist, your eyes brightened a thousand times, but tried to stifle it considering you were more or less being chased. 

you listened into his explanation of the wormhole closely, processing each word in fascination and curiosity. you had enough experience to know what he’s talking about—and it gave you so much euphoria from just simply listening in.

you hope to meet him again as he disappears in the shadows.

you do, to your delight. the very first day you went out to town, you encountered him at a stall. conversation immediately took off once you re-mentioned his degree, along with yours. from there, the wormhole was the center topic again, mostly talking about how he found where it would be and when it would be. you’d never heard of such a research back then.

and slowly, you grow an admiration to sasuke’s high intelligence. all the research he’s done, he’ll definitely show a fellow enthusiast, and you’re practically beaming at the chance.

so much so that you don’t notice the weirdened stares of the ones around you.

there nights when you’d sneak into his room just to ask him about something, or propose to him a theory since he’s the only person who’d get it.

and on some sleepless nights, you find yourself lying about with sasuke beneath the stars, peering into his telescope once in a while and geeking out about the small dots in the sky.

a part of you wished you met him sooner—but you feel like you couldn’t ever ask for more.

—yoshimoto:

truth be told, he didn’t care much at first.

his somewhat apathy towards people and more towards art becomes just ever so slightly apparent; as he lets you rant your heart out to sasuke while he admires some cloth in the background. you have your preferred friends, it isn’t his place to be opposed to it.

well, that’s what he thought of it—until you slowly got closer to him.

through talks of art and the different medias from your “hometown”, he learnt more and more about you. and his heart grew fonder and fonder.

until—for whatever reason—he found himself,,, feeling some kind of upset by the sight of you talking to sasuke so brightly like that? it’s like a part of him doesn’t sit well with it.

while he isn’t quite sure what he’s feeling, he’ll try to fish you away regardless. his good looks aren’t for nothing, even still having its charming effects on you.

putting up somewhat of an airheaded act, he mindlessly pulls you out of the conversation to look at some beautiful fabric, catching you off-guard for a moment. if you try to mention your talk with sasuke, it’s as if he doesn’t hear it as he whisks you off to another store. and another, another—until you’ve gotten some distance from the ninja.

even with all that effort, he doesn’t think much into the feeling inside his heart. what then felt like a storm, was now a welcoming, warm spring breeze in him.

he’ll figure it out, one day.