#mitsuhide monday

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 46: Divergent:  Katsu and Toshiie reconnect, while Mitsuhide gives Katsu a field promotion.

Mitsuhide x OC; Hideyoshi x MC (Mai)

All Chapters Archived on Ao3 

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

As Toshiie continued to level his best glare at Mitsuhide, well… my first impulse had been to laugh. I didn’t laugh, of course, and squashed the giggles before they could reach my mouth. The idea of my clumsy brother picking up a sword to duel the cool elegant Mitsuhide seemed a recipe for self-inflicted injury. When the initial humor faded away, anger jumped in to replace it. “You knew that I was in Sakai… and you didn’t come to find me?”

“If I might offer an explanation –.” Mitsuhide began, before the second half of the realization hit me.

“And you! You knew my brother was here and you didn’t tell me either?” Someone was going to be sleeping alone tonight.

“May I continue, Brat?” At my shrug, Mitsuhide raised a questioning eyebrow at Toshiie, who also seemed to be inclined to let him keep talking. “Might I first point out that you never mentioned your brother’s name?”

I hadn’t? I thought back… I might not have.

“It didn’t occur to me that I had met your brother until after you returned to your original time.” When Toshiie startled at that, Mitsuhide nodded to acknowledge he was aware we were from the future. “Katsu, Toshiie was the healer who treated you when you were in the accident. Why he chose not to disclose the connection and not to return to see you is something that you need to discuss with him.”

When I turned to look at Toshiie, who hung his head, Mitsuhide again took control of the conversation, this time by removing the wig to reveal his natural silvery hair. “Before you two talk though, I must introduce myself to you, Master Toshiie. My name is not Kyubei, its Akechi Mitsuhide. When your sister and I were here earlier this summer, we were pretending to be a merchant and his concubine.” Even though Toshiie bristled like an angry cat, Mitsuhide strolled to my side, picked up my hand and kissed it. “My brilliant fiancée was kind enough to agree to the charade in order to help me locate a kidnapped Oda princess.”

As Toshiie edged down from DEFCON one status, I gave Mitsuhide a look. Ok, he technically hadn’t lied, aside from claiming that we were engaged, but I still was going to have to expand on the story to Toshiie… hang on. I slapped Toshiie’s arm “You didn’t visit me because you thought I was a prostitute?” Way to be sex positive… not.

Toshiie threw his hands up in the air and looked to Mitsuhide, apparently now deciding that hewas the good cop, and I was the hard ass. Mitsuhide simply bowed. “Dear me, it appears that the two of you need some time alone to sort through matters.” He kissed my cheek, and then whisked himself downstairs, where I expected he would probably get a lesson in all kinds of nasty potions.

Who am I kidding? He had probably crept back up the stairs and was listening in. I mean…. I would have.

“I thought he was holding you against your will.” Toshiie glanced toward the stairway. “He seems nice though.”

“He’s not nice… but he is kind. Nice would bore me.” Since Toshiie didn’t respond to that, and had instead fallen into awkward silence, I gestured at the walls. “Is this your building?”

The response to that question was bitter laughter, a sound that seemed out of place coming from my brother. “No, I work for the herbalist in exchange for room and board.” He seemed not to know what to do with his hands, and so, taking pity on him, I asked for tea, even though I was not thirsty.

While he bustled around the irori, I took a closer look around his quarters. His place was small – there was no upper floor above us, so all he had was a cooking area and a main room. A futon was folded neatly in the corner, with two cushions sitting on top of that, but there wasn’t very much in the way of décor.

It was such a huge departure from his room in modern Japan, which had always been full of art posters, brightly colored textiles, and piles (literally piles) of books and graphic novels, that I realized my brother had become a completely new person. One I would have to get to know from scratch. Well… I suppose it was the same with me. I was not the same directionless adrenaline chaser I had been in my adolescence.

Once the tealeaves were steeping, Toshiie grabbed the cushions from the futon and placed them on the floor on either side of a tray table. I knelt across from him and waited for him to begin his story.

…

…

…

When a couple minutes had passed with him doing nothing but stare uncomfortably into his teacup, I finally decided to prompt him with a little bit of interrogation. “Would you rather start at what happened the day we got here? Or fast forward to the day you found me and didn’t stick around for me to wake up.”

“Wow. Harsh… But I guess I deserved that.” He still wouldn’t look at me. “Last fall… I was in a bad way. I um, drank. All the time.”

"The first night I was injured. I don’t recall much, but I do recall hearing a flute. That was you, wasn’t it?"

Mitsuhide inclined his head. "The healer mentioned you might find it soothing."

"Where is this healer now? Did he not come back after the first time?" It was strange to hear about a doctor who popped in once but didn’t come back to check on a patient. Maybe he needed to be sent for.

"From what Shojumaru has told me, the man is brilliant but rarely sober." As if to illustrate the point, Mitsuhide poured himself a cup of tea, rather than breaking out his sake. "As long as you appeared to be incrementally improving, I thought it not necessary to further test his sobriety."

Calling on the spirit of my moderately awesome ninja pal, I kept my face as impassive as possible.

“And I thought I had nothing to offer… that you would hate what I had become. I needed to clean up first.” He clenched his hands so tightly that his knuckles paled in the effort.

“I wouldn’t have cared. I mean… well, I would have worried a lot, but I wouldn’t have ever hated you.” Although I might have done my best to stage an intervention… which probably wouldn’t be possible in a place where the rice wine was sometimes safer to drink than water. “I just wanted my brother back. I’ve been looking for you – that is one of the reasons I became a courier to begin with. To find you.” I paused a moment, then prompted by honesty, I added, “Well, that and I hated being a housemaid.”

“Until I saw you with Kyu- er, with Mitsuhide, I thought you were dead. Eaten by a bear.” His fingers played absently with a rough chip in the side of the teacup.

Eaten by a … what?

“A bear?” There was nothing I could do after hearing that except laugh. “I’m sorry,” I said when I caught his hurt expression. “I know you must have been devastated when you heard that, it’s just… I’ve never gotten close enough to a bear to even be bitten by one, let alone become a bear meal. They don’t eat people. They’re more scared of us than we are of them.”

At that point, there was only one thing to do, and that was to hug him and pat his back and he tensed and shuddered a few times. “I’m sorry. You must have felt so lost.”

Belatedly, I wondered whether Aki’s gruff, slightly distant affection had indeed been exactly what I needed. After my first few weeks of culture shock, and reluctant acceptance that yes, I was stuck 450 years in the past, my entire motivation had been focused on physically and mentally becoming the best scout/ messenger possible. I had thrived on the challenge, more than I ever would have on any challenge I had faced in modern Japan.

“I thought it was my fault. I was the one who suggested we go to the shrine that day, and then when we were attacked, I couldn’t protect you.” His face was still buried in my shoulder, and I could feel his tension through his entire body.

“You wouldn’t have had to suggest it if you weren’t so worried about me, but… it would never have mattered. They would have figured out how to get us here no matter what.” Ok, that last bit was still a theory, but given the whole Aki situation, I think we were both supposed to be here.

He pulled back, and now his expression was one of curiosity. “What do you mean?”

“It’s a long story… but I want to hear about you first.” I figured Toshiie needed to unload and get everything out. Bringing up Aki right now would just derail all that. “All I knew, or at least what I thought I knew, was that you were on a ship of some sort.”

“We’re going to need more tea.” He poured out another serving. “That’s right. I was on a ship. We'd been at sea about six weeks," he made a disgusted face, "when we encountered a rogue wave that damaged the mast. The ship limped into Sakai for repairs and in the confusion, I escaped… and well, I guess they probably didn’t look too much for me. I was an awful sailor. They were getting tired of stepping in my vomit… and when they asked me to clean it up myself… well, I just got sick again.”

Yeah, that tracked. Toshiie always had had terrible motion sickness. “I didn’t have any money though and for a long time I just existed by helping out in a noodle place. Chopping and stuff. Putting those medical skills to good use. And then I actually did put my skills to use when the restaurant owner cut himself and I stitched up the wound… did you know that they’d never heard of sutures here?”

In fact, I was aware of that, having witnessed my share of battles from the sidelines, but I didn’t want to stop his flow so I simply raised my eyebrows to get him to keep going.

“Anyway, every so often I would do some actual medical work and after a while people started coming to me when they were injured or sick. The herbalist downstairs thought it would be a good business decision to have me up here, so it is kind of a trade. However, he takes most of what people give me for the care.” He gestured around the sparse room and at his worn clothing. “Hence.”

Ugh really? And I had smiled politely at the man when we came in? “That’s not fair!”

“It … is though. I might have not spent it wisely anyway.” He left that open for interpretation, but I got the inference. “I haven’t been very proactive about this… career. Or really bothered to do much in the way of advancing my knowledge.” He sighed. “At first the drinking was just to help the sea sickness.”

“And that helped… how?” Wouldn’t that have made it worse?

As if no years had passed, my twin was able to glean my thoughts again. “You’re thinking it might have made it worse… but I already felt so miserably sick, that at least at some point I wanted not to care about it. Besides, you should have seen the quality of the water on board. You do not want to know what I found floating in one of the barrels.”

Ew… I could imagine.

He turned serious again. “Once I was off the ship… it made things seem less awful.” I stretched out my hands to him and he took them. “I didn’t want to live… but after what mom did, I couldn’t kill myself either.” His grip tightened on me. “When I saw you alive, I finally had a reason to change.”

He … should have changed for himself. I didn’t want to be anyone’s reason or purpose (too much pressure), but now wasn’t the time for that. “And … did you… change?”

A rather strained smile crossed his face, and I could see that there were dark unhealthy circles under his eyes, but his next words were from the old Toshiie, my sarcastic twin. “Cold turkey, baby. It… sucked, but having knowledge of herbal teas helped get me through the worst of the symptoms.”

“I’m sorry I wasn’t here to help.” Because there were no more words to say, I pulled him into a hug, and as he once had done when our mother died, he sobbed on my shoulder. Toshiie always had felt things more deeply and fiercely than… no, maybe that wasn’t true. His way of dealing with pain was different from mine.  His outlet was emotion; mine had always been activity – to push my body until I couldn’t think.

Neither way was better or worse… they… just were.

After his emotional storm passed, he got up and pulled the teakettle off the irori. It had been steaming and spitting for a while now. He’d be lucky if there was any hot water left. While he made yet another pot of tea (well… he was probably still flushing poison from his system) I gave him the highlights of my past seven years, doing my best to get to this summer where I knew I would need to selectively edit information to match up to Mitsuhide’s story. “After Aki disappeared, Mitsuhide and I partnered up – “

“So you weren’t his fiancée?” Toshiie, of course leaped on that inconsistency, seeming (of course) very interested in my relationship with Mitsuhide.

“At the time it was more of a business partnership…”

“Heavens, wherever did you get the idea that I was offering you a partnership? You will be working for me, and you will do exactly as I say.” Before I could tell him where he could put his job offer (such as it was), he continued. “Don’t look so mutinous, Brat. Am I wrong in thinking that this was exactly the scheme you were planning with this man-” he nodded toward Francisco, “-as your conspirator?  And would you agree that I would be far more competent in the role than a man who was not able to appear at the auction in time to rescue you from danger?” In spite of, or more simply to humor, Francisco, Mitsuhide sent a friendly smile in his direction.

Again, yes. Mitsuhide and his mouth full of teeth would be an upgrade in that regard. If I continued with Plan A. However, I could move directly to Plan B – finding and working for this Shojumaru – without taking a partner. Especially one who would-

“I rather think your rejection of me, while somewhat personally hurtful,” he dramatically placed his hand over his heart, and directed an over-the-top lovelorn glance at me, “lies in the fact that unlike your language-deficient friend, I would exert control over your somewhat impetuous behavior.”

“My rejection, as you put it, lies in the fact that I don’t want to work for you. I don’t want to work with you. I don’t want to spend any time in the same room with you.” 

“OW!”

A punch on my arm startled me out of my reminiscence. Toshiie grinned at me. “Look at you, with that goofy smile on your face. You liked him even then. My little sister in love. Never thought I would see the day.”

Ooof. Goofy smile? Mitsuhide probably heard that. Oh boy. I was going to be teased for that for certain. “It was only after I got hurt that the two of us realized how we felt about each other… but Toshiie, I haven’t yet told you… it turns out that Aki is our father… he’s from some time in the future…. I mean the future of our future. If we hadn’t gone through the wormhole then, we might have ended up here at some point anyway.”

There was a long silence while Toshiie digested all that. “Wow. That’s some serious sci-fi stuff. I love it... Our bio dad, huh? What’s he like?”

“Gruff. Distant. But… I always knew he cared about me. Before learning he was our father, I would have said that I loved him as a father figure. My Obi Wan. Now… it’s all mixed up because of the multiverse … on man, I haven’t even explained that part of it yet.” Toshiie was looking at me with four parts fascination and one part incredulity. “We live in a multiverse, and you and I have alternate selves. There is only Aki, but lots of us, and in another timeline, I met my alternate – as well as your children. I met them. Nao and Mayumi. They’re pretty good kids. Nao likes to climb things.”

“Huh. Kids.” He smiled. “I don’t know why that helps. But it does. I feel less cursed.”

Well. That was good… but it made me wonder. My life, and Katsuko’s life and apparently my unmet alternate Okatsu’s life had turned out all right. Maybe the mysterious ninja self was good too.

But… were there timelines where we were not ok? Where things had gone as badly for us as they had for Toshiie in this timeline?

“Brat, I don’t recall you mentioning that you met an alternate version of yourself.” After spending most of the evening at Toshiie’s, Mitsuhide and I had returned to the machiya, eaten a light snack, and were now getting ready for bed. I’d hoped he’d missed that part of the conversation… but Mitsuhide misses nothing.

“Hah. I knew you were listening in.” His re-entry into Toshiie’s rooms had been suspiciously well timed to the end of my conversation with my brother, and his welcome interruption into what had been an awkward conversational lull had diverted the rest of the evening into a getting to know you session between the two most important men in my life. Under Mitsuhide’s acting of a fervent lover (and probably also under the spell of those cheekbones) Toshiie’s stiffness had melted away. By the end of the night, he’d agreed to Mitsuhide’s proposal to move to Azuchi.

“I was, and you would have done the same.”

Ok, that’s fair.

True, I had indeed expected him to listen in… but it had been difficult enough just to pitch my edited tale toward Toshiie. I’d decided I would just deal with the eavesdropper later.

Now, it was later… and I still hadn’t figured out how to handle any potential questions. Divert, divert, divert! I gestured to the parcel he’d brought back from the herbalist. “Did you buy something?”

“A little of this, a little of that.” He set a few paper-sealed packets up on the shelf where he kept the oil and incense. Then he turned around and gave me one of those looks. The look that seared into my soul and set my nerve endings buzzing. That prickly feeling… but now that I knew what it meant it was less frightening. “What aren’t you telling me?”

Ok… maybe a little bit frightening. But in a good way.

I knelt on a cushion, folded my hands piously, and gave him an innocent look.

Eyebrow raise.

Letting my fingers trail across the smooth straw of the tatami mat, I tried to ground myself. “It’s nothing really.”

Grounding would have been more effective if my kitsune hadn’t simply picked me up and tossed me onto the bed. He crawled on top of me and kissed the underside of my chin, his tongue flicking out to caress my throat. “You do remember I have my ways of making you talk… and moan… and scream.”

“I knew I shouldn’t have let you watch those old melodrama – oh!” He was already nibbling his way along my throat, moving leisurely up to my ear. I wiggled in anticipation of what would come next.

“You are avoiding the question.” That wicked smile told me he was having fun questioning me… and that he wouldn’t stop until he got an answer.

And, I suppose, that avoiding it would only make the revelation seem bigger than it actually was. “It’s really not that important. My alternate self is in love with Shingen.” When he frowned at that, I added, “but having met them both, the only way I could manage not to be weird about meeting another me was to think of her as my older sister, and as such, he will always be another brother in my eyes.”

Before he could respond, I hugged him closer. “Thank you for finding my brother. And for having someone watch over him.” I had not missed the nod that Mitsuhide had given to a man sitting across the road from the herbalist’s storefront. “It was the best grand romantic gesture a woman could ever dream of receiving.”

Well, that and travelling through time to find me.

There was silence for a moment, but I wasn’t expecting him to answer. Mitsuhide had as much trouble acknowledging a thank-you as he used to with accepting pleasure. Therefore, I was surprised when he very quietly whispered, “you are very welcome.”

“I’m glad he decided to come back with us. I mean, sure Kyoto isn’t that far from Azuchi, but it will be nice to see him every day…” Hm. That did remind me of one other white lie he had told my brother. “Although he’s going to figure out pretty soon that I’m not your fiancée.”

“He will not, because you are in fact my fiancée.” While I was still processing that matter of fact statement, Mitsuhide took advantage of my silence by kissing me thoroughly that most of my consciousness jumped the track to yes there, move closer, why are we both still dressed.

When my brain cells finally took control again… “I don’t recall there being a marriage proposal-“

“Consider it a permanent extension of our contract.” He propped himself up on one arm and smiled down at me, his fingers drawing little circles on my stomach.

“You know I’ll stay by your side without marriage. I’m more than happy as your lover.” Marriage had never been part of my dreams. “It’s not necessary.”

“You misunderstand. It is very necessary to my continued happiness that you become my wife. Until that blissful moment occurs, I intend to at least use the term ‘my fiancée’ on a daily basis.” He leaned down and placed a slow gentle kiss on my lips, one of reverence, one that said what his words could not. Then, he pulled away, and with that smirk, he added, “After all, do you not want to marry the man who can, to quote your brother, put that goofy smile on your face?”

I knew that was going to come back to haunt me.

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

[readtilyoudie]

Snow White With The Red Hair Volume 8

[ikeromantic]

Entwined Ch. 4

Part 4 of a multipart series. Mai has been reborn in the modern age after a full life in the Sengoku. The warlords as spirit animals find her again after 500 years of searching for her soul. Approx. 3500 words.

Part 1

Previous: Chapter 3

Kaiya was covered in fabric and notions. Bits of thread stuck to her clothes and dotted the floor around her. Mai knew she probably looked just as ridiculous about now. A pile of throw pillows lay beside her, made up of odds and ends, waiting to be stuffed. Her friend opted to make some aprons, and they’d been hand stitching the details on for the last hour. 

This was Mai’s favorite part. Trying to figure out how to use buttons or trim to create interesting patterns that would look nice once the pillow was fluffed, but she wasn’t making much progress. 

“So this guy takes you out to like, a romantic ruin by the lake and then tells you he’s not interested?” Kaiya laughed. “You don’t buy that, right? I mean . . . he’s clearly trying to play hard to get.”

Mai shook her head. “No! It’s really not like that. He’s just a client.” She put a stitch through the buttonhole, refusing to look up at her friend because if she did, she was sure Kaiya would see through her flimsy denial. She did like Mitsuhide. But it would never work out. 

“Girl! Look, he’s hot and he’s obviously into you. What is the problem? So what if you’re also his costume designer? If anything,” Kaiya leaned forward, her smile going even wider, “that just makes it easier to get his clothes off. Please please tell me you’ve done a fitting for him.”

“No! I mean, not yet. I’m supposed to meet him on Monday.” For a moment, Mai’s imagination got away with her. Thinking of what he must look like under the fabric. How close she would need to be to measure and pin. Her cheeks grew hot. 

Kaiya fell back, laughing so hard her body shook. “You’re practically drooling!” 

“I’m not!” Mai stood. “Look, ok, yes. He’s hot and flirty and how could I not like him? But Kai, he’s an actor! I’d get a reputation. And even if I didn’t, you know how actors are. I’d be his flavor of the week and then he’d move on to the next girl that caught his eye.” She sighed. “Anyway, you want a snack? I picked up those crackers you like.”

“Mmm. Yeah. Ok.” Kaiya watched her intently. “So, I get you. No actors. Even really cute flirty ones. So . . . what about grocery-guy?”

“Hideyoshi? He’s really nice.” Mai came back with food and tossed Kaiya her crackers. “I should text him.”

Her friend gaped. “You’re telling me you went on a date with the guy and then ghosted him?”

“No! I mean, I wrote him a thank you the next day so I didn’t ghost him. I just haven’t had time to - to write him back yet.”

“Back? Are you telling me he texted you and you left him on read?!” Kaiya snatched Mai’s phone from the floor and held it out to her. “You need to tell that cute boy you’re sorry. Now. You cannot ruin this just because you’re busy with work.”

Mai nodded and took the proffered phone. “I know. I just don’t know what to say.” She opened her messages to the one Hideyoshi sent her. “It’s only been a couple of days. It’s not like I’m ignoring him.” 

Kaiya leaned over to read the message aloud. “No need to thank me. I am lucky to have a beautiful girl enjoy a good meal with me. We should meet again soon. Whatever you like, my treat. And hey! Don’t work too hard! Smiley face. Is that the one with blushy cheeks? It is!” She pushed Mai’s shoulder. “What are you thinking? That’s the sweetest post-date text ever.”

“Probably not . . . ever.” Mai giggled. It was ridiculously sweet. “Ok. Let’s see. Mmmm, what about -” She started to type. “Hey Hideyoshi! How’s your weekend going?”

“Oh my god, Mai. That’s the best you can manage?”

Mai threw a button at Kaiya. “Shut up! It’s fine. It sounds normal.”

The reply was immediate. Both girls hovered over the phone, reading. “It’s fine. Would be better if I had another date with a pretty girl to look forward to. Smiley face. What about you?”

“Ok, ok. We’re packing up here and you are going to tell him you’re free right now. Invite him to the movies or something.”

“I’m not telling him that. It sounds desperate!” Mai wrote back. “Working on some side projects at the office. Would definitely be better with something fun to look forward to.” 

Kaiya gave the text a nod of approval. “Alright, that one at least sounds interested and a little mysterious. Still boring though. Tell him to send nudes!”

Mai felt her whole face go hot. “Kai! What the hell? I’ve never ever asked a guy for nudes!”

“Pffft. And that is why your dating life is dead. All work, no play . . .”

“So what? You asked a guy for nudes? You have got to be kidding.”

Kaiya laughed. “Well yeah, because cute guys don’t drop into my life from nowhere. If they did, I’d be starting an art gallery on my phone.”

“You wouldn’t! Gross!”

“The body is beautiful, Mai. And I appreciate beauty. Besides, if I don’t have at least a shirtless pic, how am I supposed to imagine licking ice cream off his -”

The office door opened. “Ah, hello?”

Hideyoshi poked his head in and looked around until he spotted Mai and Kaiya. Then he smiled and ducked his head, a little embarrassed. “Sorry to pop in like this. You look busy. Is it ok if I come in?”

“Um. Yes?” Mai scrambled to her feet as Kaiya stood up beside her. Both girls flushed to the tips of their ears.

Kaiya nudged her. 

“Oh, ah. Hideyoshi. This is my friend Kaiya. Kaiya, this is my, um, my new . . . friend? Hideyoshi.” Mai wanted to sink into the floor right then. Why was her brain so stupid? My new friend. 

Kaiya gave her a look that promised much teasing later, but she smoothly stepped forward. “It is so nice to finally meet you! Mai has told me so much about you.”

“All good things, I hope.” Hideyoshi grinned. “Anyway, I didn’t want to interrupt your work. I was just in the neighborhood when I got your text and I, I wanted to drop this off for you.” He held out a little decorative bag tied with a pretty ribbon.

Mai took the bag. “What? Hideyoshi, did you get me a present?”

He chuckled nervously and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s a little presumptuous. I know. It’s just, I saw it the day after our dinner out and . . . I don’t know. I thought you might like it. I’ll take it back if you don’t want it.”

Kaiya gave Mai a look that said her friend was not about to let her turn the gift down. 

“I’m sure it’s lovely. It’s just a surprise.” As in, Mai was pretty sure no guy she ever dated bought her something after the first time they went out. But Hideyoshi seemed pretty genuine. She peeked into the bag and nearly dropped it. Her eyes went wide as she looked back up at him. “This is . . . these are . . . no. No, that’s too expensive. Hideyoshi.”

She tried to hand him back the bag but Kaiya snagged it and untied the bow. “Oh. My. God. These shears are to die for! Mai, did you tell him you wanted these?”

“So it’s a good gift?” Hideyoshi’s eyes were wide and earnest.

“Good? It’s perfect. These have the comfort grip and the blades can be sharpened. Every seamstress wants a set of these.” Kaiya excitedly took the shears from the bag. 

Hideyoshi wasn’t paying any attention to Kaiya. His warm gaze held Mai’s. “I knew you liked sewing. Not just for work. I - I thought you might like these. More than a box of candy, anyway.” 

“I do. Thank you.” Mai normally refused expensive gifts because it always seemed like there were strings attached. Men often thought they bought a ticket to your pantyline when they paid for dinner. So what would a pair of pricey sewing shears get them? But Hideyoshi didn’t give off that vibe at all. In fact, he was beaming now and there wasn’t anything inappropriate in his smile. 

Not like the mischief and sensuality that always played at the edges of Mitsuhide’s sharp grin. 

Mai pushed that comparison out of her head. It didn’t matter, because Hideyoshi was perfectly sweet and very dateable and Mitsuhide was just a client. Even he said so. She cleared her throat. “Would you like a drink? Why don’t you sit down and I’ll grab a soda.”

Hideyoshi’s eyes crinkled. “I’d love to, but you look busy. And I’ve got places to be. I really did just want to drop that off for you.” He reached out and took Mai’s hand, squeezing it gently. “Thank you for accepting my gift.”

“Thank you for getting me something so thoughtful.” Mai couldn’t help but feel a warmth wash over her from his gentle grasp. She felt small and delicate in his hands. She caught Kaiya pretending to vomit just out of Hideyoshi’s line of sight. 

“Have a good evening. To both of you.” He let go and gave Kaiya a wave goodbye. 

When he was gone, Mai sagged back to the floor, staring at the shears. 

“He was gorgeous! What are you doing, Mai? He’s so nice and so so into you. He was looking at you like you’re tonight’s dessert. And you let him just walk out!”

“I mean, yeah? What was I supposed to do?” Mai rolled her eyes.

Kaiya laughed. “Look, if it was me, I would have kicked you out and jumped him right here.” She noisily kissed the air. “He’s tall and his ass is so perfect. And those shoulders . . . what the hell, Mai? This is the guy you ghosted for days? What is wrong with you?”

“I told you, I didn’t ghost him. I just . . . I’ve been really busy.” Mai shrugged. Her friend was right, of course. She was getting so wrapped up in work and Akechi’s teasing mixed signals. “You’re right though.” Mai came to a decision. “I’ll ask him if he wants to go out next week. Take a day and just go do something fun.”

“Yes!” Kaiya grinned. “And then come back and tell me all about it. You know I live for your dating life.”

Mai laughed. “Hey! No - what about that guy from the coffee shop? The barista?”

“Pffft. A load of nothing. He puts hearts in everybody’s foam.” Kaiya rolled her eyes. “All the good ones are taken or fictional.” She poked Mai’s arm. “You’re the only one finding the exceptions. Two hot guys.” She sighed.

“Three actually. Did I tell you about the chef?”

Kaiya threw a pillow at her. “What? Now you’re just getting greedy!”

Mai giggled. “Hey, it’s not like he was hitting on me. He was just really friendly. You’d love him. And . . .” She paused, remembering how familiar his company felt. As if he already knew her. “He said I should drop by again sometime. We could go together. Me and you, Asami, if she wants to go.”

“Yes” Kaiya grinned. “I like a man who can cook.”

***

Monday came too soon. Mai woke up before her alarm went off. She stared at her ceiling wondering if it was worth it to try to fall back asleep for another twenty minutes. Her eyes felt dry and itchy, and there was a steady pulse of pressure in her temples. After a moment, she forced herself out of bed and shuffled to the cabinet for eye drops and pain killer.

Every step made her head hurt more. Little colored lights flickered and floated at the edges of her vision. Not good, she thought. There was too much to do today to get a headache like this. She had to drop off a wedding dress commission and then meet Mitsuhide for final fittings on the first act’s costume set. Thinking about it just made her head hurt worse. Focus, Mai told herself. Medicate first. Worry about the day later.

On the way back to her bed, she stumbled and lost her balance. The pills she’d just taken threatened to come up. Mai swallowed, doing her best to keep them down. Her head spun as she tried to right herself and the pain welled up so strongly that she almost cried. She sat down on the floor and rested her head in her hands. 

“Ok, breathe,” she whispered. “Just sit here and wait for the painkillers to kick in. Yeah.” 

Ten minutes later, Mai felt good enough to crawl back into bed. Her head hurt too much to fall back asleep, but she lay there with her eyes closed trying to relax. She promised herself she would go to bed earlier, drink more water, take more walks - anything not to get another headache like this. 

It was clear an hour later that today was not going to happen as planned. Her head didn’t feel any better. If anything, it felt worse the second she tried to sit up. Mai used her phone to turn on her office closed message, and sent an apology text to her wedding customers with a promise to bring the dress by tomorrow. She texted Mitsuhide too, telling him she wasn’t feeling well and asking if they could reschedule fittings during the next rehearsal. 

Mai felt a little guilty about both, but there was no way she could work like this. She could barely see straight. Hopefully no one would be too upset. Word of mouth in this business was important. Tomorrow, she thought, she would pick up flowers or chocolate or something as an extra apology when she met with her clients. 

The bride texted her back almost immediately with a smiley emoji. ‘We were going to call you,’ the text said, ‘to cancel anyway. We need to meet with the caterers today so it works out. See you tomorrow, same time!’ That was a relief.

Mitsuhide didn’t respond back at all, which bothered her. She hoped he got the text and wasn’t just waiting for her with his crew at the theater this afternoon. That would be so embarrassing. Mai resolved to call in a little while, once her pulse stopped hammering at the inside of her skull. 

She drifted in and out of a miserable half-sleep where dreams followed her into her dark apartment and back beneath her eyelids again. A squirrel kept showing up, perched on the side of her dream-bed, blinking at her from her very real windowsill, ducking into her dream-kitchen, and disappearing again. It was really cute, and in her half-sleep it didn’t seem strange at all to have a flying squirrel running around the apartment. She wasn’t sure if it was really there or not, and didn’t care.

In fact, when a click-clunk sounded from the front of the apartment, part of her brain dismissed it as that naughty dream-squirrel. Mai’s eyes squinted open and she rolled over, peering into the front of the apartment, unsure if the noise was real or imagined. A dark silhouette stood in front of the door, back to her. 

Mai sat up with a shriek, going into full panic. The sudden movement made clouds of color burst in her vision and her stomach heaved. Everything spun as if she were falling. Her legs tangled in the blankets and she knocked her phone to the floor. 

The intruder took a step toward her. He had a bag in one hand, the other raised in the air as if to shush her. 

Mai threw her pillow. It was the only thing she could get ahold of and she didn’t know what else to do. The motion sent bright spots of pain spilling into her head and exploding behind her eyes.

“Ow! Hey! Calm down little mouse. I was trying not to wake you.” 

“Little . . . mouse?” The nickname settled on her like a cloak of calm. “Mitsuhide?”

He closed the distance between them and now she could make out his distinct golden eyes and white hair. He wasn’t smiling though. A crease marred his forehead and his lips were pressed together in a pale line. “I brought you some soup and medicine. I wasn’t sure what to get so . . .”

The squirrel from her dream leapt out of the bag with a bottle in its paws. It hopped onto her bed and held the bottle out. 

“Is this your pet?” The squirrel was so cute that for a moment she didn’t question why he was there or how he got in. It was the one from her dream, only she was sure now it was real.

Mitsuhide chuckled. “More yours than mine, I think.”

Mai took the bottle from the squirrel. It was a stronger painkiller than she usually took. “Hm. Smart squirrel. Thank you.” She petted the squirrel and then watched as it leapt and soared off the bed and onto the counter. 

“Let me get you some water, little one.” Mitsuhide set the bag down and brought back a glass. He watched as Mai took a pill from the bottle. “I brought you some soup too. I would have been here sooner if Masamune hadn’t been determined to get fresh ginger for it.”

“Ginger?” She tried to keep her eyes open, to look at him, but even the low light made them ache. 

Mitsuhide nodded. “It’s good for nausea, inflammation . . . anyway, I thought some soup would make you feel better.”

“So. You came here because of my text? How did you know where I live? And how did you get in?” She realized she suddenly had a lot of questions, but as they bubbled out another wave of agony pulsed through her head. She shut her eyes and tried to breathe through it.

“Let’s worry about that when you’re feeling better. Suffice to say, I can’t let my favorite costume designer suffer.” He smoothed her hair back from her face. The light pressure of his cool touch eased the pain just a bit, and Mai felt some of her tension leak away.

When Mitsuhide’s hand lifted, she wanted to call him back. But that would be weird. It was strange enough that he was here at all. Seeing her in her pajamas, hair messy, no makeup . . . Mai let out a sigh. 

“What was that, little mouse?” It sounded like he was in the kitchen.

“Just thinking this is the worst possible way for you to see me.”

Mitsuhide’s laugh was gentle. “I admit, you aren’t at your best. But even sick, you’re a beautiful girl. I didn’t come over expecting you to look nice. I just wanted to make sure you were ok.”

Mai’s lips curled up in a small smile. “Well, I think you’re only the third person to see me like this. Mom, Asami, and now you. So, welcome to the messy-Mai club?” 

“I’m a lucky man.” He sounded closer now. “Don’t throw another pillow at me, ok? I’m just bringing your soup.”

“If you didn’t want to get hit with something, you should have announced yourself or knocked at least.” 

The spoon lightly scraped the bowl. “That wouldn’t have been as much fun.” She could hear his smile as he added, “Your face in that moment was adorable. I don’t think your eyes have ever gone so wide.”

Mai wanted to glare at him, but opening her eyes right now seemed like a lot of work. “You’re a bastard.”

“Mhmm. Now open wide. Soup incoming.”

“Wha-” The spoon slipped past her lips and deposited warm, savory soup across her tongue. She nearly sputtered, caught mid-word, but managed to swallow. “Hey, I can feed myself.”

“Sure you can. Why don’t you open your eyes and show me, hm?”

Mai sighed. “Ok, point. But I can always eat it later. You can stick it in the fridge and go.”

“I could.” The spoon gently bumped against her bottom lip. 

She took the bite. The soup was really good. Sharp tang of ginger, the slight sweet taste of beets and carrots, and just the right consistency to go down easy and settle lightly in her stomach. Mai wanted to complain, but she was finding it harder to bother. Easier to just let this, whatever it was, happen. 

Mitsuhide fed her a few more spoonfuls, but stopped as she began to nod off. She didn’t need to say anything for him to notice the change in her posture, the way her shoulders relaxed into the bed. Mai couldn’t see the tender smile on his face as he adjusted the blankets around her. He leaned forward to kiss her forehead and then paused. His gaze clouded. 

“I shouldn’t have come. I know.” His words were quiet as a breath. “It isn’t fair to you.” A glimmer lit deep in his eyes as he stroked her hair, barely touching the strands with his fingertips. “But I’ve never fought honorably. Honor is for those willing to lose.” Then he finished the movement, pressing his lips to her forehead. 

The squirrel gave him a knowing look from where it sat on the countertop.

Next: Chapter 5

[onestubbornlass]

Mitsuhide: Murder was not on todays agenda.

Masamune: it’s never on anyone’s agenda.

Ieyasu: 👀 it is on mine, but it wasn’t supposed to happen till Monday but thanks Mitsuhide for taking my fun.

[haloshornsinkstains]

Masterlist

Under a cut because it may get long. I’ve noted the NSFW fics, but please read any warnings before the fic :)

I’ve also tried to note where the reader or OC has a specific gender, but there may be some mistakes. I’m going through to re-tag/label when I can, but if you spot anything let me know

SMAU

Red Flags and Long Nights  (Haikyuu, F!reader x Terushima)

Sins of the Past (BNHA, Shigaraki x F!Reader x Dabi)

Undercaffinated (Haikyuu, F!reader poly)

Cybird Ikemen Series

- And What If I Bite You Back? (Motonari x F!MC) NSFW

- Summer Shorts: Heat (Loki)

- Summer Shorts: Cold (IkeSen Modern AU)

- Summer Shorts: Party (IkeVamp)

- Summer Shorts: Fireflies (Sasuke)

- Summer Shorts: Beach (IkeRev)

- Summer Shorts: Vacation (Shingen)

- Summer Shorts: Fireworks (Fenrir)

- Winter Mornings (Fenrir)

- Indulge Me A Little (Motonari x F!MC) NSFW

- Ikesen at the beach 

Obey Me

Featuring my F!MC Kore:

Spirit Week Series

- Interrogation (Mitsuhide x F!MC) NSFW

Prologue

Monday: Wedding Day

Tuesday: Hawaiian

Wednesday: Pajamas

Thursday: Pink Insanity

Friday: Beach Day

Epilogue

Bonus: Photographs

- Texting Ban (crack)

- Compassion (TW: self harm, depression)

- Two Weeks (Belphie)

- Convention Escapades (Leviathan) NSFW

- A Birthday Letter (Mammon)

- Demons in my Head (TW: Self harm, depression, ED)

- Happy New Year

- Devildom Easter Egg Hunt

- Five times Kore went drinking with the Devildom

- The Jack-O Pose Challenge

- Happy Birthday Lord Diavolo

- Devildom Christmas

General

-Sleeping Beauty (Mammon x f!MC)

- Six Month RADiversary

- “I like that you make me laugh so much my cheeks hurt” (Mammon)

- “Your eyes are so pretty” (Mammon)

- “My on my, you are such a beautiful creature” (Solomon)

- Demon Brothers & Festive Decorations (Headcanons)

- How they comfort you (Demon Brothers, Headcanons)

- Kisses under the Mistletoe: (formerly) Undateables (Headcanons)

- Birthday Bash Part 1 (Mammon, Levi, Belphie)

- Devildom Valentines (Everyone)

- Hugging Them & Not Letting Go (formerly Undateables) (Headcanons)

- Hugging Them & Not Letting Go (7 Brothers) (Headcanons)

- Levi & F!MC in game wedding

- Morning kisses (Belphie)

- Their favourite positions (Headcanons, NSFW)

Haikyuu

- Kisses under the Mistletoe: Captain Squad Pt.1 (Daichi, Oikawa, Kuroo, Bokuto)

- Kisses under the Mistletoe: Captain Squad Pt.2 (Ushijima, Daishou, Terushima, Kita)

- Shiratorizawa Snowball War (Tendou feat. the Shiratorizawa Volleyball Team)

- Shiratorizawa Snowball War Part 2: The Confession (Tendou)

- Comfort HCs for Insecurities (Tendou, Bokuto)

- Dom!Akaashi Thirst Drabble NSFW

- Bokuto Size Kink Drabble  NSFW

- Birthday Bash Part 2 (BKAT poly, Tendou, Yaku)

- Accidental Confession (Yaku)

- Only One Bed (Atsumu)

- Love Notes: Bokuto & Akaashi (BokuAka poly)

- First Date Headcanons: Setters (Akaashi, Suga, Kenma, Atsumu, Semi)

- Love Notes: Tendou 

- Soft Tendou Comfort (chubby f!reader)

- Hairstylist Terushima

- How You’re Saved in Their Phone (headcanons)

- First Dates With Middle Blockers (headcanons)

- Carrying This Imagination, I’ll Go (Kita x F!Reader, Inarizaki & F!Reader)

- In Vino Veritas (Daishou x Reader) NSFW

- Horny Tendou & Daishou thoughts NSFW 

- “I never wanted to fuck you more than I do now” (Kuroo x F!reader, NSFW)

- Sneaking away to kiss and getting caught (Yaku)

BNHA

- Other Side (Dabi) Songfic

- Christmas Markets with Villains (League of Villains, Shigaraki x Reader)

- Walking on Ice Headcanons (Bakugo, Todoroki, Midoriya)

- Dating Dabi Headcanons  NSFW

- Dating Shigaraki Headcanons  NSFW

- Birthday Bash Part 3 (DabiHawks poly)

- Fake Dating (Hawks, Celebrity!AU)

- Love Notes: Dabi 

- Pro-Heroes First Date Headcanons

- Caring for You (Class 1-A)

- Aladdin! AU (Yagi Toshinori | All Might)

- Mine (Shigaraki, NSFW, TW: dubcon, omegaverse)

- Hawks Drabble

- Shinsou NSFW Drabble

- Kisses while one is sat in the others lap (Shigaraki)

- Soaking wet kisses (Bakugo)

Other

- Cabin in the Snow (Vanderwood - Mystic Messenger)

- Birthday Bash Part 4 (Chuuya)

- No Longer Lost Part 1 Part 2 (Vanderwood, NSFW)

- Kiss to distract someone (707 - Mystic Messenger)

- Kiss to the top of the head (Strife, Darksiders)

- Laying a gentle kiss to the back of the others hand (Lancer Diarmuid, Fate)

- throwing their arms around the other person and kissing them (Sasuke, SLBP)

- Kissing in a stairwell (Chuuya)

- Accidental brush of the lips followed by going back for more (Tengen Uzui)

Kinktober Masterlist (all NSFW)

[mineko811]

Because “drawing” your imaginary self is fun

And because it’s Monday

And this is the closest I’ll be toshort wavy hair that doesn’t puff out like lion’s mane.

Anyway, try it here. Have fun. Monday, too, shall pass.

@ikemenfics @snow--blanket @tsundere-mitsuhide @lulidrafts @ythmir-writes @pseudofaux @ikesenhell @forallyourikemensengokuneeds and anyone who wanna play.

[toloveawarlord]

Master List

Updated: June 18

New Updates will be marked with a ***

You can find my old master list HERE. I am not deleting it because it has older fics on it that are not included on this one.

OC Masterlist

Ikerev OC Picrew Collection

EVENT MASTER LISTS:

50 Types of Kisses

2 Yr. Ann. AU Flash Fics

Spooktober 2020

Spooktober 2019

25 Days of Christmas 2020

25 Days of Christmas 2019

25 Days of Christmas 2018

Murder Monday

Angels and Devils Valentine’s Event 2019

Ikemen Revolution

Series: Suitor/OC

○ For Crimson Glory: Iris Adley / Edgar Bright

Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 || Ch. 3 || Ch 4 || Ch. 5 || Ch. 6 ||

Crimson Shorts: Iris and Edgar One-Shots: Investigation ||

○ Visions of Red: Colette Marston

 Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 || Ch.3 ||

○ Shattered Glass: Nova Clemence

 Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 ||

○ Etched in Blood: Sophia Emerson/Fenrir Godspeed

 Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 || Ch. 3 || Ch.4 || Ch. 5 ||

Sophia and Fenrir One-Shots: Edibles || Glimpse of You || The Night Before ||

○ Behind the Times: Aspen Lancaster/Jonah Clemence

Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 ||

○ Tale as Old as Time:  Greer Atlas/Lancelot Kingsley:

Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 || Ch. 3 || ***

○ Ghost in the Starlight: Aster

Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 || Ch. 3 ||  ***

○ Star Crossed: Wren Blackwell/Jonah Clemence

Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 ||

○ For My Master: Edgar Bright/Shae Durham/Luka Clemence 18+

 Part 1|| Part 2 ||

○ The Jack of My Heart: Joanna Clemence/Edgar Bright

Ch. 1 ||

Drabble 1 || Midnight Escapades (nsfw) ||

○ Red Fever: Edgar Bright/Naomi Kaiser/Jonah Clemence 18+

Ch. 1 ||

○ Clever Little Fox: Clarissa Bright/Loki Genetta

Ch. 1 ||

○ Kyle Ash Mental Health Series

An Off Day ||The Human Heart || In Her Mind  || Tomorrow ||

Series: Suitor/Children

Kid’s Information:

Red Army Kids Older Gen as Toddlers

Red Army:

Lancelot Kingsley:

○ Chaotic Kingsley: Atticus

Ch. 1 ||

Jonah Clemence:

○ A Queen in the Making: Caroline

Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 ||

Edgar Bright:

○ Red Army Princess: Eden

Ch. 1 ||  Ch. 2 || Ch. 3 || Ch. 4 ||

Eden Shorts: Fireworks ||

Kyle Ash: 

○ Ashes to Ashes: Beckett and Sadie

Ch. 1 ||

Black Army:

Luka Clemence:

○ Twin Collision: Ezra and Valarie

Ch. 1 ||

Seth Hyde:

○ Devils in Disguise: Sasha

Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 ||

Fenrir Godspeed:

○ Black Army Mischief Maker: Finley

Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 || Ch. 3 || Ch. 4 ||

Finley Shorts: Turning Five || Godspeed Family Birthday HC ||

Au w/ @plumpblueberry Noah Blackwell - “After the Rain” ||

Neutrals:

Loki Genetta:

○ Caged Magic: Lux and Leif

Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 ||

Mousse Atlas:

○ The Atlas Puzzle: Khepri

Ch. 1 ||

Suitor x Suitor Kids:

Edgar and Luka:

○ A Pair of Jacks: Evie

Pt. 1 ||

One Shots: Silver-Lining || Confession

Lancelot and Jonah:

○ Crowned Royalty: Ivy and Rose

Pt. 1 ||

Mini- Series:

○ What Once Was: Emery Hayes

Telling Luka || Telling Jonah || Black Army ||

One-Shots:

Black Army:

Sirius Oswald 

Birthday Game (IDW)

Luka Clemence

I’m Here || Made a Maid

Fenrir Godspeed -

Tomato War || Main Assest

Red Army

Lancelot Kingsley

Sweet Temptation (nsfw)||

Jonah Clemence -

Despacito || It Matters (nsfw) || Family Sins || Stay Strong ||

Edgar Bright -

Light of My Life (IDW || One sided || Drunk on You (nsfw IDW) ||

Analysis of Edgar’s Trial ||

Kyle Ash

Under the Desk (nsfw) || Ghosts in the Night (IDW)

Neutrals:

Harr Silver

A Wish

Loki Genetta

Birthday Mess

Mousse Atlas

Sleeping Mouse||

Oliver Knight

Hideout||

Amon

The Mad King (IDW) ||

Suitor x Mc x Suitor:

Kyle/MC/Edgar

Sugar Rush (nsfw)

Edgar/MC/Luka

Lost Love (IDW)

Kyle/ Mousse/ Mc

Three’s a Set (nsfw IDW)

Suitor x Suitor

Jonah/Mousse

Take It Off (IDW)

**Headcannons: **

Angles and Demons AU

Angel HC || Demon HC ||

Ikemen Vampire

Series: Suitor/OC

○ At Your Service: Ophelia/Everyone 18+

Ch. 1 ||

○ And So They Met: Alara Bayar

Pt 1. || Pt. 2 || Pt. 3 || Pt. 4 || Part 5 ||

○ Alara One-Shots:

Birthday Morning (Alara and Mozart) ||

○ Twisted Games: Vira 18+

Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 ||  Ch. 3 ||

○ The Essence of Music: Coralie Van Alst & Mozart

Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 ||

○ The Sight of Stars: Arthur /Mina Van Gogh/Charles

Ch. 1 ||

○ Immortal Souls: Nyx/Comte

Ch. 1 ||

Suitor x Suitor with Kid:

Theo and Arthur:

○ Truth in Simplicity: Elaine Odette Doyle x Isaac Newton

Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 ||

Suitor One-Shots:

Theo Van Gogh

Stop Being Cute ||

Arthur Conan Doyle

Bound (nsfw)

Arthur Birthday Event 2020:

Bickering Buds || Distractions || Control (nsfw) || Rainy Days || Alcohol and Women || Playtime (nsfw) || The Best Detective || Things to Come || Drunken Pleasures (nsfw) || A Memorable Birthday ||

All Headcannons:

Parents dropping off their kid

Ikemen Sengoku

Series:

○ The Art of Love and War: Warlord Children (Multi POV)

   Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 || Ch. 3 || Ch. 4 || Ch. 5 || Ch. 6 || Ch. 7 || Ch. 8 || Ch. 9 || Ch. 10|| Ch. 11

○ The Ties that Bind Us: Rena Tokugawa / Ieyasu Tokugawa

Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 || Ch. 3 || Ch. 4 || Ch.5 || Ch. 6 || ***

Ieyasu/Rena Birthday Special

○ Clever Canary: Miki / Nobunaga Oda

Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 || Ch. 3 ||Ch. 4 ||Ch. 5 ||

○ Solitary Confinement: Katria Petrov / Masamune Date

Ch. 1 || Ch. 2 ||Ch. 3 ||

One-Shots:

Ieyasu Tokugawa

Injury || Snow Storm || For Her (IDW)  || Alone with You ||

Sasuke Sarutobi

Till Next Time (nsfw) || Nerdling ||

Nobunaga Oda

The Cost of War (IDW) || Konpeito

Yukimura Sanada

Pregnancy ||

Mitsuhide Akechi

A Day Out||

Kennyo -

Tryst in the Forest ||

Obey Me 

NSFW HC:

 Lucifer ||

○ Chaos Reigns (Dark Lilith)

Ch. 0 ||

Lilith One Shot - In Another Life

○ The Little Vampire: Levi and Nell

Ch. 1  || Ch. 2 ||

○ Sheep Among the Wolves: Karina & Diavolo

Ch. 1 || ***

○ Love and Lust: Verena/Asmo 18+

Ch. 1 || ***

Next Gen:

Profiles can be found here

[toreii]

Not much of a merch update because my shipment was very Twisted Wonderland themed. I basically replaced two items I had previously sold, and added Nobu’s 4th anniversary plate and Mitsuhide’s onsen acrylic stand.

That said, I’m very impressed with FedEx shipping. The weekend got in my way again, but this box shipped on Monday and I received it by Tuesday afternoon. Not to mention, it’s much cheaper than DHL.

[aurora-cybird-ikemen-anthology]

#Ikemen Playlist Ikesen Editon

I made a play list on Youtube but I will link the video of each song to each suitor as well.

For those that don’t want to you can click on the song by the suitor to listen.

Okay So I gave Kennyo two songs because I honestly couldn’t pick.

Playlist

▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃▃

┊     ┊   ┊   ┊    ┊    ┊

┊     ┊   ┊   ┊   ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩

┊     ┊   ┊   ✫

┊     ┊   ☪⋆

┊ ⊹

✯ ⋆  ┊ . ˚

      ˚✩

Nobunaga Oda: Fake It - Seether

Masamune Date: Wild Ones - Flo Rida

Yukimura Sanda:  What Was I Thinking - Dierks Bentley

Ieyasu Tokugawa: All of Me - John Legend

Hideyoshi Toyotomi: Monday Mr. Mom - Lonestar

Shingen Takeda: Where Them Girls At - David Guetta

Kenshin Uesugi: Little Bit Off- Five Finger Death Punch

Mitsunari Ishida: Thinking Out Loud - Ed Sheeran

Sasuke Sarutobi: Partners In Crime - Set It Off

Mitsuhide Akechi: Fall For You - Secondhand

Kennyo: Unsteady - X Ambassadors, or Smooth Criminal - Michael Jackson (Japanese Version)

[ikesenmotonari]

motonari masterlist

for @ginshoujo​, who asked for a masterlist of fics and headcanons! <3 i haven’t gotten around to doing this yet. i’m pleasantly surprised that someone wants to see them all!

edit: if you want to see my art, check out my art tag! i draw motonari a lot as well as my ocs <3

FICS

Sun & Sea -- longfic; ao3; updates biweekly on monday - tuesday (school got me last time! >m<)

Sun & Sea: Asides -- short fics based on the Sun & Sea universe; ao3

(the next ones are a bit dated, and might not be entirely accurate to his character. keep in mind i made this blog in 2017!)

the captain’s troubles -- motonari’s mildly tsundere side

afternoon kabedon -- mildly spicy kabedon minific

HEADCANONS

blog tag: lou makes headcanons -- this is where all my motonari headcanons go! these get updated pretty frequently!

motonari playlist -- songs that make me want to destroy the world

(and, once again, the rest will be a bit dated.)

motonari’s alcohol tolerance -- this was based on the alcohol tolerance pyramid with the uesugi-takeda and oda forces. ... now we know he hates it.

motonari vs mitsuhide in a shoot-off -- what’s their accuracy? their aim? who would win? ... the answer is they both have their strengths. i think mitsuhide is the clean killer, though. motonari, uh, likes expressions of grandeur...

ASK PROMPTS

(i haven’t done these in a long, long time. these are quite old!)

kings of the seas -- pirate au

sengoku furballs -- kitten au

pocket heart -- pocket-sized mc au

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter47: Epilogue Katsu settles in in Azuchi. Plus kittens.

Mitsuhide x OC; Hideyoshi x MC (Mai)

All Chapters Archived on Ao3 

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

Azuchi, Six weeks later…

The maids were going to kill me. Having been one myself, I understood the frustration of someone dripping mud across a freshly cleaned floor. But even though I left my mucky geta at the entry, there was no way to stop the rest of my clothing from scattering dirty water all the way down the corridor.

“You should just let Katsuko decide.” Though I’d intended to go change into dry clothes, I ended up halting by the door to Mitsuhide’s office area when I heard Toshiie’s voice.

What is this all about?

Before I could hide behind the door to eavesdrop, Mitsuhide called out. “I hear you out there, Brat, you might as well come in.”

As I entered, both took in my barefoot and soaked appearance with varying levels of concern (Toshiie) and amusement (Mitsuhide). I sighed. “Yes. My horse dumped me in a puddle again. Yes, in front of Nobunaga.”

On the bright side it had been after the afternoon of negotiations with a contingent of Nanban merchants, so at least I hadn’t spent the day messy and uncomfortable. Far from being insulted that one of his entourage had suffered an embarrassing splat, Nobunaga had been amused by the whole thing. Though he was still an imposing authority figure, and a stern boss, I suspected that below all that was an inner troll.

Mitsuhide took off his socks and passed them to me.

“Funny. That horse never does that to Ieyasu.” Toshiie’s comment confirmed to me that Ieyasu had continued to secretly ride her on the days where I was occupied with my duties as Nobunaga’s translator.

Eager to move the conversation away from my latest riding mishap, I turned to Toshiie. “What are you doing here?”

Usually at this time of day, he was in Ieyasu’s manor, while the two spent the afternoons exchanging medical knowledge. Now looking much more like the brother I remembered, he’d been enthusiastically training in feudal medicine. To everyone’s surprise, Ieyasu appeared not only to tolerate his company, but actually enjoy it.

Immediately Toshiie clammed up, looking furtive. Mitsuhide simply raised his eyebrow. Oh. Another romantic gesture was incoming. Mitsuhide had taken to love bombing me with just-because gifts. The gestures were always thoughtful, though occasionally embarrassingly timed, such as when he had Keiji perform a K-pop ballad in the middle of a banquet. (“How did you remember all the lyrics and teach it to him?” “I have my ways.”)

Hm. I would get nothing out of Toshiie with Mitsuhide around – I would have to privately interrogate my brother later.

“Come over here – I haven’t seen my darling fiancée all day.” Mitsuhide patted a spot on the floor next to him. I was soaked and muddy, but… details. If Mitsuhide wanted to be covered with ambient muck, who was I to stop him? After kissing me thoroughly (much to Toshiie’s embarrassment) Mitsuhide easily switched to business mode. “Was your day a success?”

“Yes to the negotiation, no to the drawing.” Before leaving modern Japan, I had printed out a screencap of Father Slappy Hands, and Mai had tried to draw him wearing period appropriate costume. I’d taken the drawing with me to show it to the Nanban merchants, but none of them recognized him. Nor had I been able to locate Francisco to question him about the man (or the gun).  He was still playing least-in-sight, and his business had been shuttered all winter.

Removing the drawing from the leather tube that had protected it when I splashed down, I unrolled it and showed it to Toshiie. “Do you remember this guy?” It was unlikely he would recognize the man who had spied on the gymnastics meet. It had been nearly fifteen years and Toshiie only had him on camera for a few seconds. So I was surprised when Toshiie said, “Nuno da Guerra. Why is he dressed as a missionary?”

Mitsuhide pulled our original screencap out of his desk and passed it to Toshiie. “Same man?”

Toshiie squinted at it. “Could be. What is this about?”

“He attacked us in Sakai. Once when we were investigating a slave auctions, and then a couple weeks after that.” At my selective edit (Toshiie did not need to know exactly how I had been investigating that) Mitsuhide raised his eyebrow, but let the omission go. “How do you know him?”

“I don’t know much about him at all. He would sometimes visit the herbalist.” Toshiie gave a bit of a shrug. “But… there are rumors that he’s bringing in opium from Goa.”

“That would certainly be a deviation from history.” A new voice came from the ceiling, then a moment later, Sasuke popped into the room with a graceful flip.”

“Dear me. Are you at all aware of a concept called… a door?” Mitsuhide gestured to his rifle, which was within reaching distance. “One of these days someone is going to hear you scrabbling around up there, shoot first, then question later.”

“If I ever made enough noise to, um, scrabble, Kenshin would skewer me before I lever left Kasugayama.” Sasuke turned and bowed to Toshiie. “Greetings and salutations. I take it you are Katsu’s brother.” He raised his hand in a Vulcan salute.

Since Sasuke’s greeting had only served to confuse Toshiie, I introduced the two of them and explained the future connection.

“Before this conversation can degenerate into a litany of modern Japanese cultural touchstones-,” MItsuhide’s eyebrow raise was in full force, “will you please expand on what it is you were talking about when you so charmingly… dropped in.”

Sasuke pushed his glasses up on his nose. “Historically, Japan never had the type of … issue… with opium that the Chinese empire did. Although its use medicinally dates from this period, it was rarely used recreationally, and by the nineteenth century the Tokugawa shogunate proactively banned it. Therefore, a foreign merchant attempting to disseminate it as a drug in this era, could theoretically do a fair amount of damage to a culture that has not been inoculated by China’s bad example.” Having dropped that lecture on us, Sasuke turned to Toshiie. “Did I hear you say you were working with the one and only Tokugawa Ieyasu? Would you mind if I accompanied you back? I’m eager to hear your impressions of that man.”

Seeming bemused by the torrent of words, Toshiie simply nodded.

“Wait, Sasuke. Were you just in the ceiling to spy?” Seemed like a rather large risk, especially when he could easily have just walked in through the entry.

“Ah. It escaped my mind when I heard him mention Ieyasu.” Sasuke dug a letter out of his kimono. “Yoshimoto sent this.”

Moving quickly, I grabbed the letter before Mitsuhide could confiscate it. “Thanks, Sasuke.”

He and Toshiie were already on their way out, with Sasuke eagerly listing his favorite Ieyasu accomplishments.

“It’s probably for both of us,” I said to Mitsuhide, hoping to prevent a sarcastic-

“Ah yes. Of course. I am accustomed to receiving love letters from a resident of Kasugayama.” He pulled me closer to him. “Hm, you are indeed quite damp.”

“There’s a thing called rain that you may have heard about.” Then, because I doubted he would let me leave with an unopened letter, I unsealed it and held it up so that we could both read it. “Save you the trouble of stealing it later.”

“Pity. I quite enjoy your attempts to ransom back your belongings.” He rested his chin on my shoulder and began narrating the letter. “’Dear Katsuko.’ Hrm. Inauspicious beginning. I would think you’d rate a darling at least.”

“If you’re going to snark all the way through this-“

“I make no promises.”

Sigh.

“I hope this letter finds you well. Thank you for the letter you sent via Sasuke. I shall cherish it always.” Mitsuhide tapped my forehead with his finger. “You wrote to him?”

“He did see me go over the wall. I thought he at least deserved to know that I survived… and deserved thanks for helping me out.” I elbowed him. “May I finish or are you going to continue to be a yandere about it.”

“Carry on.” He tickled the back of my neck. “He may have a paper from you, but I have the real thing.”

“’I am relieved to know that you survived your journeys through time, and if you are indeed settled in Azuchi, I wish for all your happiness. However, be assured there will always be a place for you wherever I am.’”

Hm, maybe I shouldn’t have let Mitsuhide read over my shoulder after all.

Luckily for the sake of peace in our relationship, Yoshimoto’s letter quickly switched gears to catch us up on politics. “You maybe be aware that Yoshiaki has entered a Buddhist temple. He will not be leaving it, as he recently suffered a brain storm that has left him rather incapacitated.”

Brain storm? Stroke? Yoshiaki was a little young for that, although I supposed it was possible.

“I thought that might occur.” MItsuhide sounded a bit… disappointed. “Although I do wish that could be confirmed.” Ok, not disappointed. Suspicious.

“As for your young friends, Sho and Hiko, they have settled in nicely at Kasugayama. Hiko has been all but adopted by Kanetsugu, who prizes education and has a school in the city. Our lovely flower Sho has a string of lovelorn vassals following her every step, although she does seem to prefer arguing with Yukimura. Shingen and I are amused by how easily they annoy each other. Meanwhile, I have returned to my passionate patronage of the arts. Come the Spring, I do believe I shall make the journey to Azuchi in order to explore the wares of your local artisans. I hope to encounter you then. Yoshimoto.”

“Is he warning us of an attack on Azuchi in the Spring? Or does he really plan to go shopping?” With Yoshimoto, it could go either way.

“I suspect the latter. Kenshin may be battle crazy, but he prefers to fight in a more open territory. Terrorizing civilians is not his style.” Mitsuhide made a move to confiscate the letter again, but I quickly folded it up. “It’s rather disappointing he wasn’t specific on the timing of his travel plans, in order for me to ensure you and I are elsewhere.”

I decided to ignore that bait. If we got into an argument, I never would get to the bathhouse, and I had become more uncomfortably damp as the afternoon wore on. A hot bath, and then maybe I could convince Mitsuhide to make an early night of… drat.

A long discussion of any of the things we had just learned had to wait. I’d forgotten that Mai had arranged the often-threatened “double date” for this evening. True, I liked Mai and Hideyoshi, and a meal cooked by Masamune was almost enough to make me forget my preference for a quiet night in. But given the already late hour, I rushed through my clean up, then had to press Mitsuhide into service to help me control my hair.

“Are you sure it’s going to stay?” I gently touched the series of knots behind my head, all held in place by a mass of hairsticks, including my beloved bellflower lockpicks.

He placed his hand on his heart. “I am devestated to hear you question my abilities as a hairstylist. It will last as long as it needs to last.”

With that cryptic statement, he led me into Hideyoshi’s manor… where I discovered that the hairstyle was meant to last until I bowed, at which point, the structural integrity disintegrated, gravity took over, and everything landed on the floor in a clatter of hairsticks. I cleared my bangs from my vision in time to see Hideyoshi wince.

Yep, I had already heard his opinions of how an employee of the Oda ought to look in public. It was similar to his opinions on running in the hallway, allowing Nobunaga to purchase a large quantity of konpieto in Saiki (as if I could have stopped him), and general tardiness.

To his credit, aside from flinching, Hideyoshi easily moved things along, becoming a perfect dinner host. Though Mai was the only one of us who had ever been on a double date, the evening proceeded smoothly enough, especially when Mitsuhide brought up Yoshiaki’s reported illness and the conversation turned to politics.

It was nice to be able to sit back in a relaxed setting and watch Hideyoshi and Mitsuhide interact. Though on the surface, Mitsuhide subjected Hideyoshi to as much teasing as he did me, I could see there was deep respect and admiration between the two of them. I recalled Mai mentioning that Mitsuhide only teased when he was serious, and I mentally amended that to the fact that he only teased where he loved.

Yep, his love language was snark.

As I continued to watch the two of them, Mitsuhide’s expression radiating relaxation and contentment, even as he good naturedly disagreed with something Hideyoshi had said, I realized that contentment was mirrored inside myself. I … was … happy. It was unexpected. Though I had spent most of my life running from unhappiness and my mother’s example, I had never run toward happiness. Instead, I’d had a hard-fought equilibrium, a balanced life that I enjoyed, and I’d been fine with my lot.

But this all was new. And… lovely.

Catching my gaze… and the direction of my thoughts, Mitsuhide smiled at me. “Happy?”

“Yeah. I can’t imagine anything that would make this moment better.” If I could have frozen everything in time, I might have chosen this exact point.

Although Mai did have a suggestion that was intriguing. “Mitsunari and a basket of kittens.”

“Ok, that might just-“

“No.” Her voice was full of wonder and amusement. “Mitsunari has a basket of kittens.” She sighed and gestured to a point behind me.

I turned and… Mitsunari stood at the door, holding a basket of kittens. A little grey one had already escaped containment and was climbing his arm.

@($^()*!(&*^

“My response was perfectly normal given the situation. He had a basket of kittens.” I took one of the hoodies I had smuggled back to the Sengoku and used it to create a makeshift bed for the new feline members of our household – Hawkeye and Natasha.

It turned out that Toshiie’s ‘secret’ meeting with Mitsuhide had been to determine which kitten I might like. They’d decided to let me choose for myself, hence Mitsunari’s sudden appearance (he’d gotten the message confused) with his cat’s recently weaned offspring. “Thank you for the gift. It was very thoughtful.”

I stood up and gave him a kiss.

“To be clear, the gift was the cats themselves, and not the man holding them.” He picked up Natasha, tickled her grey striped fur, then held her against his chest. “Until I saw you and Mai melt that way, I had not realized that women become that weak when presented with the sight of a man holding a miniature cat.” He set the other kitten on his shoulder then smirked at me.

It didn’t have quite the effect that Mitsunari had, but he looked handsome none the less, especially when he tapped his finger over his sensual lips.

“A basket of kittens. Not that he held onto that that long.” Mitsunari’s attempt to keep the kittens in the basket had met with certain failure, resulting in seven furry bullets ricocheting all over Hideyoshi’s quarters. By the time the five of us managed to round them all up, the double date was well and truly over.

Mitsuhide seemed to have ‘the touch’ with them, and he settled them onto the hoodie. They instantly curled into each other, and dropped into sleep. “Tomorrow, I’ll introduce them to Chimaki and ensure she understands they are friends. But for now…” He turned, scooped me up, and carried me to our own bed (he seemed to like doing that, and I was getting used to it). “I believe we should follow their example.”

In moments, we had created our own ‘cuddle puddle,’ our arms and legs entangled. “The fact that you remembered I still miss my old cat. It was… I’m…” Too many words struggled for supremacy. This was beyond happiness.

“I know.” He pushed my hair out of my eyes. “I remember every moment of that night. The best and the worst parts of it. I wanted to love you slowly and thoroughly, but I told myself that was not something I could have. Still… there was a part of me that pretended it was the first night of many. That we would return to Azuchi together, I would find a cat for you, and you would-“

“Give you everything. I have. And I will.” No more words were needed. He made good on his promise and began to make love to me, slowly, tenderly, taking time to assuage both of our needs, rocking against me as gently as a boat rode upon the waves.

Maybe it had been a longer route to get here… but we had made it.

The tenth thing I hate about Mitsuhide. The fact that everything about him makes it impossible to avoid loving him.

Coda: Sasuke

“Status update?” Aki, still looking frail and slightly feverish, settled behind the massive European style desk in his office.

Sasuke considered telling his part-time employer to take a few days off, but he settled for handing the man a bottle of antibiotics stolen from the hospital pharmacy. Though Aki had wanted to return to the Sengoku era immediately, Sasuke and Kayten convinced him to wait at least a week to ensure his infection would not recur. Instead, they had used the prototype to laterally jump to Sasuke and Kayten’s primary timeline, where at least the police (not to mention Shingen and their alternates) could not follow.

Now, after very little rest, the three were in the modern version of Aki’s manor in the Togakushi mountains, trying piece together the strands of the known timelines. While Aki was often out of communication range, as he hopped around the multiverse, he usually had let them know where he was going. The trips to 1578 and 1586 had been unplanned, leaving Kayten and Sasuke scrambling to not only manage the timelines, but also search for Aki.

“To borrow a phrase, would you prefer hearing good news or bad news?” Sasuke did at least like to prepare people first.

In this case, though, Kayten was clearly feeling less polite and her hiss of frustration suggested she didn’t appreciate his attempt to soften the blow. “One of the Katsukos was executed.”

A harsh way to put it, but Sasuke remembered the look on Kayten’s face when they arrived in timeline G a few days after her alternate had been put to death. He’d never wanted to see that look again.

Aki closed his eyes for a moment. When he reopened them, he said (in Sasuke’s opinion) the worst thing possible. “And Hikosane?”

“He’s fine. Dad. Adopted by one of Nobunaga’s vassals.” She got to her feet, glaring at them both under a fringe of violet bangs. “I know there’s a bunch of us… versions of myself scattered across the multiverse … maybe to you, it doesn’t matter if one of us dies. But it feels like little pieces of me are being chipped away.” For a moment it looked like she was about to say more, perhaps even include Sasuke in her blast of anger. But instead, she simply left the room, without even a slammed door to punctuate her outburst.

Unsure of whether to try to comfort his friend or continue to keep Aki company, Sasuke stayed frozen in indecision.

“She’s wrong.” Aki’s voice was so quiet, Sasuke might have thought he imagined it. “I lost them both once, and my response to that almost destroyed the multiverse.”

Coming next winter… As Yuki Likes It

Courier, scout, daredevil, housemaid … Bodyguard? Katsuko has had many identities in the seven years since a wormhole sent her back in time to feudal Japan, and she’s found a certain satisfaction working for Akihira. Then an accidental encounter with an alternate timeline gives her a glimpse of a blissful future with a handsome grey-eyed warlord.

To ensure that future for herself, Katsu accepts a mission guiding a young prince and princess to Kasugayama. But a series of betrayals endangers that mission, and only by accepting the escort of Sanada Yukimura do they have any chance of reaching their destination. Meanwhile, Katsu’s wish for that once-glimpsed future is tested by her growing friendship with Yukimura. Not that it matters, as Yukimura is fascinated by the beautiful Princess Shohime… a girl already betrothed to the Dragon of Echigo.

Only time can sort out this entanglement of mismatched lovers. And time… is the one thing that is quickly running out.

… Loosely inspired by Shakespeare's As You Like It

Excerpt

I handed Shohime my arrows, knowing her aim was nearly as good as mine. “You know what to do.” I nudged her toward the cover of trees. “Wait… give you your shawl.”

While she and Hikosane vanished in the undergrowth, I pulled my hair out of the braid, and wrapped her shawl around my shoulders. It would fool no one at close range, but hopefully I could lead our attackers out of the area until the Kanamori vassals could bring reinforcements.

Then I leaped on my horse, and making as much noise as I could, cantered out to the crossroads, where the mercenaries were still searching for us. Moonlight wasn’t fast, but in this mountainous territory, a surefooted horse was more valuable anyway. To ensure I had their attention, I shrieked in fear, then took off through the trees.

Behind me, I could hear the pounding of hoofbeats, and the occasional yelps as one of the ronin got too personal with a low-hanging branch. Taking a meandering path, I zig-zagged through the area, until I was sure the men behind me were thoroughly lost.

After that, it was simply a matter of finding my way back to the others. I love it when a plan comes togeth-

In the midst of my anachronistic celebration, I heard another horse behind me. “Hey! Stop!”

Yeah, that would be a big old no. I spurred Moonlight into action again, but this pursuer was a bit more competent than the others, and no matter how sharply I turned, I could not lose him.

Plan B.

I cut back around, across his path, and took Moonlight directly toward a puddle of water. As expected, as soon as her feet got wet, she reared up, and dumped me off.

Shit, this is going to hurt.

I thudded to the ground, rolled, and, as the rider approached, I pulled Shohime’s shawl over my face, pretending to be overcome with terror. Whoever wanted to kidnap her would be surprised to discover they had the wrong girl, but the longer I could string this out, the better chance I had to learn why he wanted her. As footsteps reached the spot where I had ‘fallen’ off my horse, I added a couple of theatrical sobs.

“Ah… geez. Don’t cry. Are you hurt?”

The voice was vaguely familiar. I risked peeking up at the man who was raking his hands through his hair in frustration… Sasuke’s friend? Yuki? What did Yuki want with the Princess? And how could I make his life a misery for grabbing me instead?

Another story has come to an end, and it's always hard for me to say goodbye to the characters - that snarky kitsune just worms his way into the soul, doesn't he? We will of course see these characters again in other longfics, and I'm actually in a few weeks going to do a follower celebration here, with one of the options being "suggest or vote" on a scene to go with a fic in the Katsuverse.

As you can see, Yukimura will be our next hero in longfic #4, and, despite the angsty coda of this story, I'm hoping it will be heavier on the comedy side (more in tone to Mitsunari's story than Shingen's).

Until then, I want to once again thank everyone who read this story, whether you were a Unicorn commenter, or left a comment sometimes or just quietly came in to read. I'm so grateful for everyone - I love this community, both here and on Ao3.

In the meanwhile, as I try to get Yuki's story written, I'll be bringing back a throwback Thursday fic, so starting in April, keep a lookout for A Mitsunari Night's Dream.

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

[readtilyoudie]

Snow White With The Red Hair Volume 14

[ikeromantic]

Heeelo ! Just wanted to ask a little question Is the next chapter of mitsuhide coming soon ? Ps: Love ur writing

Yep! Thanks for checking in!

This week is mostly going to be asks but the next Mitsuhide chapter will be up next Monday ^_^ I try to bounce between the ask box and my projects so everything gets posted in good time. I am also almost done with the last chapter for Leonardo.

[xathia-89]

Playing in the Alpha’s World - Pt 7

The private German lessons had been helpful, even when Hideyoshi had baulked at the cost for three of us to be tutored. Then his eyes had threatened to bug out of his head when I insisted that our tutor would be moving with us for a few months to Berlin to ensure that we could manage to continue managing to converse in a fit business etiquette properly. Mitsuhide just signed the cheque to authorise it and passed it to Nobunaga for the second signature.  

Kenshin had passed the bar officially over to Kagekatsu to manage now he had graduated from university. He listed the Berlin office as to where to get hold of him for future correspondence, and it meant he could open a bar with the same name since he kept himself still down as the owner. A Japanese theme dive bar would have its own merits and also something different to offer.  

We couldn’t seem to open the office fast enough, we had a demand to manage the accounts of so many businesses that we were getting Shingen to do our recruiting. I never felt like I was going home at any point aside from to sleep and shower, and the amount of times I’d been woken up by Mitsuhide after falling asleep looking over resumes or someone else’s request for us to manage them.

“Kayda,” Mitsuhide’s voice was something I heard more than Kenshin the past couple of months, as I looked up at him. “You’re exhausted. Don’t come in tomorrow. In fact, make it a four day weekend. I already know Kenshin has a bar manager and he’d rather close the bar than leave you be. You need to relax.”

“It must be bad if you’re the one telling me to do that,” I sighed, tidying up the executive desk I’d taken over with potential clients requests. “And before you say a word, no one will be ever able to find anything if I don’t organise this all before I go home.”

Mitsuhide didn’t trust me to get wrapped up in a new task, he lingered, waiting for me to finish filing everything away before I was escorted out to the street. He smirked as I flipped him off and said I’d see him next week, shifting my bag on my shoulder.

Berlin was like most capital cities. People came here to make their mark and way in the country, it was constantly busy. It wasn’t uncommon for us to arrange dinners to take place at eight pm at night, and then clients would go back to their offices afterwards. Not that we hadn’t had plenty of times of ordering in take away because it was so late and we couldn’t let problems sit overnight. The time zone difference was killing everyone. Nobunaga and Ieyasu had landed a few days ago in New York, and I was getting calls at all hours when people weren’t able to work out that I was GMT+1, making me eight hours behind Kyoto, and then six hours ahead of New York. We didn't keep very regular hours at the moment, and I suspected that may become the standard case for myself and Mitsuhide for the immediate future. One of us would need to take over the contact with New York and the other to focus on Kyoto with enough of a crossover to touch base. I was silent and focused on my thoughts as I walked home. I had insisted that the flat we had would be close enough of a range that I didn't have more than a ten-minute walk in heels to go. I never fancied needing to get transport home when I could walk.  

Kenshin was stuck on the news when I opened the door.

“Things must be bad if you’re being sent home for a four day weekend,” he smiled from the couch.

"I knew you and Mitsuhide exchanging phone numbers would be bad for me," I shook my head, locking the door behind me before I took my shoes off. "Well, I've fallen asleep at my desk every day this week, and I've been in for the past forty-three days on the trot as well," I shrugged. "I'm surprised I haven't had a heat," I sighed, sinking down onto the sofa next to him. I breathed his scent in deeply, snuggling into his chest as my head was resting on his shoulder.  

Kenshin didn't give me a chance to settle, though. "Your heat may not have started yet," he grunted. I was flat on my back on the sofa, and under him, my eyes wide open as the smell hit me and made me cream my panties immediately. "But my rut has," he murmured against my throat, kissing and nipping alternately as my skirt was pushed up around my waist to allow him unrestricted access with the removal of my tights and panties. "So I told Mitsuhide you would likely come into heat since my rut has started. Hence his instructions,” he mumbled, nuzzling into my neck as I felt the pleasure of his mark starting to bloom on my skin. “So, be a good girl and please your alpha,” he purred.

***

True to form, it was several days later as we fucked our way through the mutual heat and rut before I was back in the office. I saw a few of our workers giving each other looks, Kenshin had left a few markings more than a little visible given my office wear of open-collar shirts. I didn't have the energy to deal with it as Mitsuhide smirked to see the state I was in on my return.  

“It was hell without me, then?” I asked, looking through the post on my desk. It was starting to look like I was as much an equal partner in this branch as Mitsuhide was, instead of the secretarial role I had inhabited before.

“Yup. But you needed that, as did Kenshin,” he shrugged. “Nature is a fun thing,” he smirked.

“Tell me about it," I sighed, my computer taking its time in opening my inbox. "Shingen is on for getting us more employees at least, and he's offered to come over for a week too," I read off the top email with a nod, already bringing up a calendar to synchronise all three of us. "Also, have you put out for a secretary for us yet?" I sighed, peering around to look at Mitsuhide.  

“I was going to ask how you’d feel about it,” he replied. “Half of the things I am looking at I feel like I should be delegating, but I don’t have the staff to delegate to yet.”

“I know that feeling," I agreed, blocking us all out for the following Monday, Shingen would get the first flight in and land around 9.30am. He would stay with Kenshin and me to save on some costs, and there were enough restaurants to eat at around here where we could break and then work again. I was literally watching Shingen populate my diary with him as interviews were already being proposed for times at the office.  

Our reputation had preceded us. Everyone knew we could deliver the services, it was just mostly getting the staff. The late nights and early mornings continued, though not without the majority of people knowing that we were practically living at the offices to get things established. It wasn't uncommon for us to get messages or employees sticking their heads into our joint office, asking if they could help with anything. It was then we put the internal memo out that we were going to hire a secretary to assist with the management of our workload with the instruction to send a resume and cover letter to Shingen via email.

Both of us had been busy working through some potential new clients when my phone line went dead, and Mitsuhide was glaring at his screen. Then I looked up to find a smiling Shiori holding my phone line and power cable in one hand and then pointed to one of her co-workers holding the power and phone line for Mitsuhide. She smiled and waved as Shingen was chuckling to himself in the background, while Kenshin was glaring at the office in general. He must have been feeling a little territorial before being shown in as Shiori was already picking up the phone to call back the potentials with a cheery smile.

“I didn’t realise it was this bad,” Shingen frowned, looking over our desks. “I’ve got a lot of interviews starting at 9am tomorrow, and last for the whole week from 9am to 7pm, with an hour for lunch. But I feel like I should be making them for that scale for next week as well.”

“You’re all making it worse than it is,” I waved my hand dismissively. “We have interviews for four days, we can see who will fit in the company. They are all aware that just because they’re interviewing for one role, doesn’t mean that they won’t be offered another role, correct?”

“Yes, I’ve emphasised that it’s a booming company, and anyone who has done their research will be aware that it’s not a startup, just a new location,” Shingen nodded. “You sound like you aren’t talking to an experienced recruiter.”

His tone was a little rap on the back of the knuckles before my handbag was picked up, and then my backpack and Mitsuhide's.  

“What are you doing?” I asked, glaring at Kenshin and Shingen accusingly.

“You two need to catch up with me over lunch and then go through the resumes,” Shingen shrugged. “And we’re doing it at your two’s ‘flat’,” the way he used the air quotes made me frown. “It’s huge,” he laughed. “And you’re living in downtown Berlin, so I know it’s not cheap-”

“Someone’s grandmother sent us a down payment for buying property after the news of us being in a relationship was shared,” I explained. “We used it.”

“I did wonder,” Mitsuhide smirked, reluctantly joining us in the elevator to get going.

***

Going through resumes while perched on Kenshin's lap on our stupidly comfortable sofas was heaven. I had been forced to shower and get into one of Kenshin's sweaters and a pair of leggings on getting out before I was allowed back out to work. The coffee was made en mass, while we were doing individual evaluations and even some of the ones that Shingen had been on the fence about but not offered an interview were dragged out for potentially being brought in the following week.

One order of Chinese takeaway later and we had enough extras to bring in for two more days of interviews. Now, we glanced up at the clock in time to realise that it was time to get some sleep. Shingen smiled at Kenshin and me before showing Mitsuhide out, making him promise to get some sleep before letting him have his backpack back.  

“Will I get some sleep tonight?” He teased.

“The place was soundproofed already,” I yawned, before realising what I had implied, and blushed.

“Just checking, since Kenshin had never bothered,” he laughed, waving before taking himself off to bed.

Kenshin picked me up, refusing to let me get off him.

“Kenshin,” I whined.

“I want you to have the staff so that I know I can come home to you, and have you to myself for a while, but I don’t want you to be gone like you will be for interviews to ensure that,” he sulked.

“Mm, soon,” I murmured, nuzzling into his neck as I enjoyed the feeling of his arms around me.

[tsundere-mitsuhide]

I’ve been sitting on Nobunaga’s eternal route for ages. I just haven’t bothered to finish it. Now that Mitsuhide has been announced and with a date (one week!!!!) I’ve been trying to get through it. (No, I’m not going to drop it cause I’m halfway through chapter nine.) So I did some counting and I’m not going to be able to finish Nobunaga’s eternal route before Mitsuhide drops. I will still have chapter 13 + epilogue. I wasn’t planning to start Mitsuhides route until the Monday morning anyway because he drops a bit late in my time zone for me to be paying attention to the story. So the question is: do I delay starting Mitsuhides route by a day or two or do I use my hoarded chapter tickets to finish Nobunaga in time instead of using them for Mitsuhide?

[forallyourikemensengokuneeds]

Lessons learned ch 9

Mitsuhide was sitting in his office knowing she was in her morning class. It had been an eventful weekend, in fact, he couldn't think of any other time in his life so much happened. He was sitting back with a grin on his face knowing he not only had the best weekend of his life but he also knew it was only going to get better. He looked at the picture of the ultrasound that he had scanned and made a copy of and it had a small frame around it. He began to think of names and had a small list he would bring up to her. Though he knew the final choice would be hers he also knew that she was at a loss when it came to names as she didn't want to think of to much before the last weekend still not sure if she was making the best decision for the child. Now she had things at her hands she didn't have before, namely him.

"You look happy for once." The culinary arts professor walked in with a bowl of food that he placed on the desk for the man. He looked down at the picture on the desk. "What's that?"

"My son." Mitsuhide said as he stretched back into his hair.

"Your what?" the younger man asked as he was surprised.

"My son." Mitsuhide said chuckling.

"How come you never said anything before this?" Masamune said as he flopped into his chair.

"I had my reasons." Mitsuhide he looked at the food. "Thanks for the food but I already ate this morning."

"You ate this morning?" Masamune asked.

"She cooked for me before we left." Mitsuhide said as he smiled in a way that none of the other professor had seen before.

"She?' Masamune asked.

"Not sure the word I would use to describe her. She isn't just my girlfriend since she is also the mother of my child." Mitsuhide said, "Significant other doesn't work to much either. She is simply everything important to me."

"So who is she?" Masamune asked.

"That my friend will have to remain a mystery for a while." Mitsuhide said as he straightened his tie and stood. "Now I have a class to go teach."

"I'll see you later then." Masamune said as he also stood and they walked out of the office and Mitsuhide turned and locked his office door. He pocketed the keys and went to the lecture hall and opened the doors as he walked down to the small stage and he smiled at his class and began the lesson.

Noelle was meeting with her counseler after her class and she was on point for graduation in a month. There was no way she could fail her classes and she was down. She smiled and headed to Mitsuhide's office. She was on cloud nine as she made her way across campus. She saw a group of her old friends and she wasn't going to let the sight of them get her down.

"Noelle?" one called out as she ran over. "Holy crap you are getting huge."

"Thanks." Noelle said as she laughed. She was wearing one of the outfits that Mitsuhide had got her a few days prior. She did have to admit that they did fit better than her old clothes.

"So how is it going?" shelia asked.

"Well." Noelle said.

"Really? I thought you were cut off from your family." Shelia asked.

"I was. I found something better." Noelle said. "Right now though I have to get to work."

"Yeah I heard you got the job working as professor Akechi's TA. That has to be hard. He is such a dickhead." Sheila said.

"I don't find him to be." Noelle said. "But I do have to go or I will be late."

"Well good luck I guess." Sheila said as Noelle walked away.

Noelle muttered to herself that she didn't need luck anymore.she made her way to the office building that Mitsuhide's office was in and she went up the two flights of stairs and went to his office which the door was closed. She knocked and was called in. she opened the door and saw him standing behind his desk stretching. He looked at her and smiled.

"Well hello Miss Hanson. Shut the door please we have some work to do." Mitsuhide said as he looked at her.

"Yes, professor Akechi." She said as she shut the door.

"Lock it." He said as she shut the door.

"You have office hours." She said.

"I canceled them for today." He said as he walked over to her and pressed her back into the door.

"Mitsuhide." She whispered.

"Oh my love." He said as he bent down and kissed her hard. "I have been waiting to see you. Do you know how hard it was not to go and find you after your class?"

"I went to the counselor to make sure I would be getting my diapolma next month." She said.

"And?" he asked as he kissed her neck.

"I'm scheduled to get it." She smiled.

"Good girl. We will have to celebrate." He said with a grin. "Now you must be tired. Come sit."

"Professor what happened to things being different at work?" she asked with a smile.

"Professor huh?" Mitsuhide said as he sat down next to her. "I thought we left that behind a few months ago." He reached over and rubbed her belly, "How is my boy doing?"

"He has been quiet today." She said with a smile. She snuggled into Mitsuhide. "Did you really cancel office hours?"

"I wish I could but they don't open for another hour." He said with a grin.

"How was your class?" she asked.

"It went as expected. I often wonder if any of them are really listening." He chuckled.

"Well you know some of them had to take an extra course." She said.

"I did also make a few phone calls. Noelle everyone I talked too is interested in my idea. They all want in on it. I think I found something we can do together and you can run it." Mitsuhide said with a broad smile.

"What do we have to do?" she asked.

"Not much. Now that I have an idea of how many people are interested I think we could run this out of the house. With your business skills and your leadership in running it I think we could completely get this up and running with in a year." He said as he rubbed her stomach even more.

"We will talk about it more when we get home." She said with a laugh. "I assume I have some papers to grade sir."

"Noelle you are going to drive me insane you know that?" he asked as he smiled as he looked at her.

"one of us needs to professional." She said as she went to his desk and saw the new frame on it. She looked at it and then at him.

"You once said I have nothing in her that is personal. Now I have everything that makes me human in this room." He said with a grin.

"Mitsuhide." She said as he came up behind her and kissed her shoulder as he looked at the picture as well.

"What my sweet?" he asked with a chuckle. When she looked at him and then finally smiled. "Now that's much better. I have some papers for you to grade and I will unlock the door. I doubt any students will come in today. You know no one comes in on Monday's."

"Fine." She said with a sigh.

"Don't worry I will take care of you when we get home." He said softly.

She thought about what he just said and had to laugh. She settled into to her part of the desk that she had claimed to do her work. He unlocked the door and propped it open. He looked out into the hallway and saw Hideyoshi coming his way. Mitsuhide had an overwhelming feeling t shut and lock the door again but instead he just stood his ground.

"Good you're getting ready for your hours. I wanted to catch you before they began." Hideyoshi said.

"Oh and why is that?" Mitsuhide asked.

"I ran into Masamune this morning. Why did you tell him you were having a kid?" hideyoshi asked.

"Probably because I am having a kid." Mitsuhide replied. "A son to be exact."

"Since when?" Hideyoshi asked.

"Well I could describe the whole mechnatics of it all but honestly if you don't know that by now we have bigger issues." Mitsuhide replied.

"I am being serious Akechi." Hideyoshi said.

"So am I." Mitsuhide responded. "Look I know it is rather sudden but things change. I found someone who makes me happy and content and we are having a son in a few months. Life happens."

"But you never told any of us about this woman." Hideyoshi said as he looked over the other man.

"And I don't have to tell you all anything that happens in my personal life." Mitsuhide replied.

"What about your TA. I know you liked her for a bit how is she handling it?" Hideyoshi's voice dropped to a whisper.

"She is handling it." Mitsuhide chuckled.

"Why does that amuse you so much?" Hideyoshi's eyes darted to the other man.

"Everything amuses me at the moment." Mitsuhide said as he turned back into his office. "You hear that?"

"I heard." She said without looking up.

"Noelle?" he asked at her lack of interest in the conversation.

"Mitsuhide." She said as she looked up. The look in her eyes was breathtakingly happy.

"Damnit." He said as he walked over to her.

"What?" she asked.

"Now I really wished I had canceled hours today so I could take you home." He said as he kissed her head leaning over.

A few hours later and three students coming in to ask for extra credit otherwise they may fail the class he was ready to go. He still had a half an hour to go and Noelle was waiting for him. They had come in together this morning. When a female student walked in with a short skirt and and half shirt on. He immedienty knew who the student was and wished anyone but this one walked in.

"Professor Akechi. I have a question about your class." She purred as she sat down in the chair opposite his desk.

"okay." Mitsuhide replied as he waited for her to get on with it.

"Could you send your TA outside while I ask it since it is somewhat personal?" she asked.

"No." Mitsuhide said as he looked up at the student. "My TA is here for my protection as well as yours."

"What would a man like you need protection from?" the student asked.

"Any acusaions of improperty." Mitsuhide said.

"But sir I wouldn't do that." She stated.

"That's fine. My TA still stays." Mitsuhdie said.

"Well she may be into that type of stuff. I really need to pass this class and I don't think I am at the moment. Is there anything we can do to change that?" the student asked as she leaned over and showed her clevage.

"Sorry but no." Mitsuhide said with a grin. "Maybe if you had applied yourself to the course you would be faring better with your grade but I do not trade favors for grades."

"But." The student said as she looked down and saw the picture of the ultrasound.

"I didn't know you were married." The student said. "Maybe I should go and tell your wife about this conversation a bit."

"I'm not married, yet." Mitsuhide said , "I don't take lightly to someone trying to blackmail me either. My better half already knows the outcome of this conversation. I suggest you go and study for the final, you may scrape by a decent enough grade to pass the class that way."

"Fine." She huffed as she pouted out the door as she stomped out.

"Does that happen often?" Noelle asked.

"About five times a year." Mitsuhide said with a grin. "I have never taken one of them up on that offer just so you know."

"I figured that already." She said.

"I wouldn't either." He said as he kissed her neck gently. "Come on. It is time to go home."