#nobunaga new route

[satoshi-mochida]

Otomate Party 2024 announcements roundup - Mononoke Chigiri, Olympia Soiree Catharsis, 9 R.I.P. sequel, BUNNIES HIGH SCHOOL, more - Gematsu

Idea Factory‘s Otomate brand announced (2, 3) various new titles and updates during its Otomate Party 2024 event this weekend.

Get the full roundup of announcements below.

Otomate Titles

Mononoke Chigiri (Switch)

Genre: Otome Visual Novel

Tagline: After regaining your sealed power, take on your ancestor’s long-time rival, the Great Yokai…

Keywords: Yokai, Onmyoji, Modern Japanese-Style Fantasy

Staff: Nanami Takizawa (director), Mero (character designer), and Yumi Aihara (scenario writer)

Title Outline: After one thousand years, the great yokai ���Bakaneko,” who was sealed away by the protagonist’s ancestor Abe no Seimei, begins the process of resurfacing in the world once again. The protagonist, an onmyoji, confronts the Great Yokai alongside the yokai that appear before her…

Olympia Soiree Catharsis (Switch)

Genre: Otome Visual Novel

Keywords: Colorful Fantasy, Japanese Mythology

Staff: Wataru Watanabe (director), Satoi (illustrator), Yuma Katagiri (scenario writer)

Voice Cast: Yoshitsugu Matsuoka, Tomokazu Sugita, Nobunaga Shimazaki, Yuuto Uemura, Yuma Uchida, Shun Horie, etc.

Title Outline: From the age of the gods to the age of humanity… a new colorful fantasy and Olympia Soiree sequel is about to unfold. What was the “thing” brought by the waves…

OVER REQUIEMZ (Switch)

Genre: Otome Visual Novel Where You Must Choose Between the Truth and Darkness

Tagline: No matter the pain that awaits, I will not regret this decision.

Keywords: Kingdom of Oz, Murderer, Dark Fantasy

Staff: Kogado Studio (production), Tayu Kazari (character design)

Voice Cast: Youhei Azakami, Makoto Furukawa, Kaito Ishikawa, Ryouta Suzuki, Shun Horie, etc.

Title Outline: The Kingdom of “Oz” is another world ruled by a king and four witches. After wandering into this world, you are unjustly sentenced to death. Your only chance to escape is through a dangerous “ruins” inhabited by monsters. Accompanying you on this journey are young men—murderers—also sentenced to death. The story splits into two routes: “The Truth Route,” where you confront the past, and the “Darkness Route,” where you lose your way. Your journey with the murderers towards the end is about to begin.

Official Website: otomate.jp

Release Date: 2025

BYAKKO: Shijin Butai En Renki (Switch)

Genre: Otome Visual Novel

Tagline: This is a story that opposes sadness.

Keywords: Historical Fantasy, Age-Gap Romance, Tragic Drama

Staff: Noel Sakurai (director), 2tk (character designer), Machi Shimano (main scenario writer), etc.

Title Outline: A story set in the Bakumatsu period’s “Aizu Domain.” The fourth year of the Keio era. In preparation for a fierce battle against new government forces, the Aizu domain reorganized its military into a French-style system, forming “Age-Based Troops” with an emphasis on combat efficiency. The ultimate combination of “historical fantasy” and “age-gap romance” story is about to begin.

Release Date: 2025

Official Website: otomate.jp

9 R.I.P. sequel (Switch)

Genre: A Peculiar and Amusing Otome Visual Novel

Tagline: The more peculiar their appearance, the more lovable and maddening…

Keywords: Peculiar Omnibus Romance, Various Romances, Nine Main Characters

Staff: Afumi (director and scenario composition), Yuuya (original images)

Voice Cast: Toshiki Masuda, Shunichi Toki, Ryouta Suzuki, Tetsuya Kakihara, Nobuhiko Okamoto, Shinnosuke Tachibana, KENN, Youhei Azakami, Kouhei Amasaki, etc.

Title Outline: A full sequel to the June 29, 2023-released 9 R.I.P. An omnibus romance story that intertwines various strange worlds and peculiar people. What will become of the romance with the one you long for…?

BUNNIES HIGH SCHOOL (Switch)

Genre: School Violence Otome Visual Novel

Keywords: Delinquent High School, Ultimate Protagonist, Violence Romance

Staff: Mana Itou (director), Roku Rokugatsu (character design)

Title Outline: A brand-new title made in collaboration between Otomate and Mana Itou. Tokyo’s most notorious delinquent school: Usagi Private High School. Also known by the name “Bunnies.” The ultimate protagonist arrives at this elite delinquent high school, which is also known as a quasi-gangster training school.

Matsurika no Kei -kEi- Tenmei Kashokuden (Switch)

Genre: Otome Visual Novel

Tagline: This is a melody of love spoken between a pair.

Keywords: Chinese Fantasy x Exquisitely Charming Romance, Happy Fan Disc

Staff: Fumiyoshi Tatematsu (director), Ryou Hasumoto (original images), Ririka Yoshimura (scenario writer), Gesshoku Kaigi (Evil Line Records) (opening theme, ending theme, and background music).

Voice Cast: Nobuhiko Okamoto, Seiichiro Yamashita, Shun Horie, Shinnosuke Tachibana, Wataru Hatano, Takuma Nagatsuka, etc.

Title Outline: A fan disc to Matsurika no Kei -kEi- Tenmeiin Iden. Gather more “good fortune” in the midst of “misfortune.” The days they spent together, both past and future, are connected by a light of happiness. A title by the Jakou no Lyla and Cupid Parasite series staff.

Fuyuzono Sacrifice (Switch)

Genre: Otome Visual Novel

Tagline: A wish for a bride in a frozen world.

Keywords: Tsunekiyo Fujisawa (producer), Neko Tsumugi (director), Mawica Midou (character illustration)

Voice Cast: Yuuichirou Umehara, Liura (Ireisu), Ryouta Suzuki, Junta Terashima, Shinnosuke Tachibana, etc.

Title Outline: The world of Teidol is suddenly thrown into winter… Leticia, a girl blessed by the Goddess of Spring, spent each day continuing to pray to God for salvation for the people tirelessly awaiting the spring. And then one day, the Goddess of Spring finally descended and announced a solution—Leticia was to be offered as a “Bride of God” to the God of Winter. This meant the end of Leticia’s life as a human being. Will she be met by a dazzling, vibrant spring, or an eternal frozen winter? Her destiny is about to unfold…

Release Date: 2025

Official Website: otomate.jp

Altergear

Hypnosis Mic -Alternative Rap Battle- 1st period (Switch)

Genre: Rhythm Game / Visual Novel

Tagline: This time we settle things on Nintendo Switch!

Keywords: Rhythm Game, Hypnosis Mic, Rap

Staff: King Records / EVIL LINE RECORDS (original work), Kazui (character design drafts), Otomate

Voice Cast: Subaru Kimura, Haruki Ishiya, Kouhei Amasaki, Shintarou Asanuma, Wataru Komada, Shinichiro Kamio, Yuusuke Shirai, Soma Saito, Yukihiro Nozuyama, Show Hayami, Ryuichi Kijima, Kento Itou, Ryota Iwasaki, Kengo Kawanishi, Takaya Kuroda, Shota Hayama, Yuki Sakakihara, Eiji Takeuchi, etc.

Title Outline: The smartphone game Hypnosis Mic -Alternative Rap Battle- makes its Nintendo Switch debut. This first entry, Hypnosis Mic -Alternative Rap Battle- 1st period, will launch this fall. Additional story written by Hypnosis Mic series creator Yuichiro Momose will also be added.

Release Date: Fall 2024

Official Website hypnosismicarb.com

Otomate Graffiti

Soukoku no Kusabi: Hiiro no Kakera – Tamayori-Hime Kitan for Nintendo Switch (Switch)

Genre: Otome Visual Novel

Tagline: A mirror reflects two worlds, and the wedge of fate that holds two people together.

Keywords: Japanese-Style Fantasy, Blighted Love, Japanese Mythology

Staff: Tsunekiyo Fujisawa (producer)

Voice Cast: Tomokazu Sugita, Kousuke Okano, Daisuke Namikawa, Daisuke Hirakawa, Hiroki Shimowada, Kazunori Nomiya, Wataru Hatano, Tsubasa Yonaga, etc.

Title Outline: A sequel to Hiiro no Kakera: Tamayori-Hime Kitan. During the summer one year after the Onikirimaru incident, Tamayori Princess Kasuga Tamaki and her guardians must once again throw themselves into battle to prevent a new disaster—“the end of the world”—that has occurred in Kifu Village. What is justice? And what must truly be protected? What decision will Tamaki and those precious to her come to…?

Release Date: 2025

Suran digit for Nintendo Switch (Switch)

Genre: Otome Visual Novel

Tagline: When the ten numbers gather, the seal will be revealed and be a guide to the battlefield…

Keywords: School, Numer-Themed Characters, Sword Battles

Staff: Mero (character designer, original images)

Voice Cast: Koutaro Nishiyama, Kōji Yusa, Tatsuhisa Suzuki, Tomoaki Maeno, Kazuyuki Okitsu, Masakazu Morita, etc.

Title Outline: The private Soyogi Academy. The sons and daughters of the nine noble households—referred to as the “Suuke (Number Families)”—attend this school. Within the school, these students are treated as superiors by their peers. They have a secret—in this school, there is a war that only they’re able to fight in. It is called the “Suuransen (Number War).” Since the olden days, this periodically-fought war has been determining the rankings of the Suuke, as well as selecting a “Soyogi” who leads and controls the Suuke. This war was thought to never take place again after one number broke away. However, since the sudden re-emergence of “the number that should not exist,” the conditions for the Suuransen to be held have now been met… “When the time comes in which the ten numbers assemble, The carved seal shall guide you to the field of battle.” Her name is Reisaki Hiroka. She is the one who signals the beginning and the end. (via VNDB)

Release Date: 2025

[rjthirsty]

Introducing RJ!

Hi, y'all. I'm RJ, and I guess an idea of what I talk about typically goes in these posts. You'll find an extreme thirst for 2D men, my abnormal life, art I enjoy, and some of my writing. This is an adult blog, so expect everything to be M-rated and higher.

About me

I go by RJ Mercy on Twitch, Twitter, itch.io, and ko-fi. On Ao3 and tumblr, I'm RJ Thirsty. Get it? I thought it was funny.

I'm just your neurospicy NB aromantic friend who thirsts, streams, and writes fanfic and other otome-related content.

I'm chronically ill, which I forget new people don't know, but after 4 years, it's just something you live with at this point. Sometimes I'll talk about it, so don't freak out if I say I'm sick. It's normal.

I play mainly otome games. I play mainly on mobile, but also on Switch and PC.

I'm obsessed with the Ikemen Series.

If you're interested in what's in the mind of a simp, or maybe you want a rambling request, send me an ask and I'll do my best to answer.

If you like what I do, send me a ko-fi. I've started a membership system on there, and commissions will be listed there first.

Tags

#rjhyperfixate - my screenshots + rambles about otome

#rjthirsty characters - my OCs + ideas

#commission - my commission pieces

#rjthirsty fanfic - my fanfics, drabbles, and headcanons

#rjthirsty deceit and decay - A Gilbert-centric (IkePri) dark fic I'm working on

#rjthirsty ikepri au - an AU with gender changes

#ikepri abc - The alphabet with 1 prince a month

Masterlists & Fanfic Under Cut

Ikemen Prince Fanfic Master List

Deceit and Decay Masterlist linked in picture.

IkePri ABC Masterlist linked in picture.

Ikemen Princess Masterlist linked in picture.

Other Writing

The Loss of Youth (Kasey [oc] - IkePri) - Mature, DD:DNE, CW = Lots!

Flashes in Time (Kasey-centric [oc] - IkePri) - A Series of Drabbles, Angst

Kasey's Hobby (Roderic/Kasey [oc] - IkePri) - NSFW

Perfect Distraction (Okazaki/AFAB!Reader - Collar x Malice) - NSFW Commission

A Man Only You Know (Yanagi/AFAB!Reader - Collar x Malice) - NSFW Commission

Drowning in Desire (Nicola/AFAB!Reader - Piofiore) - Mature Commission

Bouquet of Obsession (Nicola/Lili - Piofiore) - NSFW Commission

Shackled to You (Nicola/Lili - Piofiore) - NSFW Commission

Pegging Morax Headcanon (Morax/AFAB!Reader - WHB) - NSFW Commission

Currently Playing & Completed

Ikemen Prince - All Main Routes - Chevalier Sequel - Leon Sequel-DNF -

Ikemen Sengoku - All Main Routes (Except Keiji) - Nobunaga & Hideyoshi Eternal - Hideyoshi Sequel

Ikemen Villains - William Mad Love - Elbert Main Route

All dividers used in fics come from @cafekitsune

Art, if not credited, comes from official art owned by @cyikemen

Banners are edited by me.

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter Three: Dearly Beloved - 'Okatsu' meets Kitty, Mitsunari meets Okatsu, Hideyoshi meets the end of his patience, and someone's face meets a plate of stewed eel.

Mitsunari x OC; Nobunaga x Mai

Previous Chapter

Logline - In order to protect a political alliance, Katusko and Mitsunari must pretend an engagement. But this “all business” arrangement is threatened by a coup against Nobunaga… and by feelings.

From the Military Notes of Ishida Mitsunari…

Diversion: The act of drawing the attention and forces of an enemy from the point of the principal operation; an attack, alarm, or feint that directs attention elsewhere. Two: a change made in a prescribed route for operational or tactical reasons. A diversion order will not constitute a change of destination. Three: a rerouting of cargo or passengers to a new point or destination or on a different mode of transportation prior to arrival at ultimate destination.

Personal comments: I have the worrisome notion that there is something important I have forgotten. Also, it seems I have misplaced my cat. Am more concerned about the latter, as if it is the former, someone will inevitably remind me.

If I were writing up a society puff piece for a newspaper about my “engagement” party, I would likely write that the food, prepared by Date Masamune, was excellent. The article would note that the entertainment, in the form of Hideyoshi and Mitsuhide’s bickering was… a choice. The bride-to-be wore a pale lavender kimono embroidered with sakura blossoms, with matching sakura blossoms pinned to her hair. And the groom-to-be was… a no show.

I’d been left at the altar by my fake fiancé.

While Hideyoshi and Mitsuhide went out in search of him, Masamune stayed behind to encourage me to eat my feelings. “Here, what do you think of this?” He poked a chopstick full of steamed eel toward my mouth.

Though I had been a vegetarian before landing in this era, I had since learned – out of both necessity and politeness - to eat what was set in front of me. In this case, it was no hardship – the one-eyed man I (as Katsu) had once gotten into a horse race with was an excellent chef. “Delicious.” Since he looked like he was going to try and hand feed me my entire dinner, I asked, “Are you flirting with me at my own fake engagement party?”

“Were I fake engaged to you, lass, I would personally make sure you had a wonderful time at our party.” He leaned a little closer than mere politeness should allow and gave me a you-gotta-love-me grin. “You would never need to fake anything – anything- with me.”

No. Probably not. Masamune was hot, charming, and charismatic. But as fun as I imagined a ‘fake’ relationship with him would be, it was a relief that he wasn’t my ‘fiance.’ A little of that flirting went a long way.

There was a disgusted snort from the other man at our small table. Eeyore – no, Ieyasu, must remember that – had refused to join the searchers, choosing to stay behind and eat in peace (his words). “Masamune, go flirt with the hired help elsewhere. You’re giving me indigestion.” He turned those gorgeous green eyes on me, then he frowned.

Correction. Frowned more.

“Have we met?”

Masamune looked up from where he was spooning more stew into my dish. “Now who’s flirting?”

More staring. More frowning. “No, truly, she looks familiar.”

“Ieyasu, you’re doing it wrong.” Masamune shook his head in mock dismay, before giving me another one of those grins. “If we had met before, I definitely would remember it.”

“Actually, Lord Ieyasu is correct, we’ve met before. And you too, Lord Masamune. I was dressed as a boy on both occasions.” It was better that Ieyasu remember the time he helped me care for my horse, than to make the connection between myself and the old man in the booksellers. Nobunaga already knew about the boy, but I didn’t want him to learn about the couple weeks I had spent in Azuchi earlier this summer… observing.

While the two of them quieted, both, looking at me as if they were trying to picture what I looked like as a boy, something caught my attention – a tiny grey moving blob, darting in and around people. Awww. It was a cat! I set my hand on the floor and snapped my fingers, trying to get its attention, but it didn’t notice me.

The poor thing was going to get kicked or stepped on though. I excused myself from my dining companions and hurried to perform a feline extraction.

However, the cat seemed perfectly (purrfectly?) capable of performing its own extraction, and I ended up following it into the corridor, where it meowed at me, then gave me one of those disdainful looks that said, ‘now that I have your attention, I don’t want it anymore,’ and padded into the gardens.

Feeling the need for some pet therapy after being dissed by my yet unknown fake fiancé, I followed the cat. She was sitting near the shrubbery, legs splayed, grooming herself. I stopped in front of her and held my hand out. “Hi sweetie. What’s your name?” Of course, the cat wasn’t going to answer… but it seemed the right thing to do.

The cat ignored me, her head tilted at something on the far side of the gardens. I heard it too… soft footsteps, that preceded the reappearance of that absentminded bookworm. Unsurprisingly Mitsunaru was reading and walking at the same time.

He stubbed his foot on a rock, and stumbled several steps, finally managing to halt his forward motion in time to prevent a fall.

Ok. He was reading and trying to walk at the same time.

Unalarmed by his near face-plant, Mitsunari tucked the book under his arm, then finally noticed me and the cat.

“That’s Kitty,” he said as if we had been in the middle of a conversation. He crouched down, put his arms out, and the cat – who may or may not have been named Kitty – jumped into them. “Kitty, did I lock you out again?”

“Hello Ki-.” No, there was no way I would be able to utter the phrase, ‘hello kitty,’ with a straight face. It would get filed away with ‘yes, master,’ which Aki had reluctantly deleted from our conversations after my third uncontrollable giggle fit.

I extended my hand to Kitty who sniffed it and decided I was acceptable enough. She bumped her head into my palm, demanding a good scritch. The was something so comforting in a tiny animal willing to accept attention… and I still missed my old ginger tomcat Tony Stark. He’d died a couple years before I ended up in this era, but the best cats all leave permanent pawprint tattoos. Hm, could I talk Aki (or, more accurately Fume) into getting a cat?

With his own head slightly tilted, Mitsunari looked at me, apparently searching his memory bank, then officially introduced himself to me and bowed.

After bowing in return, I said. “It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Overly formal, but it was time to try out the Princess manners on this semi-stranger. “I’m Okatsu.” Huh, Mitsuhide hadn’t given me a surname. Should I use Akihira’s, or wait for future instructions? Not that it seemed to matter in this case, as Mitsunari didn’t comment on the omission.

“Are you paying a visit to Lord Nobunaga and Lady Mai?” He looked around the garden, which was empty of other people.

“In a sense.” I stalled and covered that by dangling my obi tie in front of Kitty. Who here, aside from Nobunaga’s inner circle, knew about this scheme? It seemed safer to presume ignorance until further notice. “Actually, I’ve just escaped my engagement dinner.”

“Dinner! I wondered why I felt hungry.” He unconsciously rubbed his belly, disturbing the folds of his wrinkled kimono and revealing a surprising amount of muscle definition.

Recalling my attempts to feed him earlier this summer, I asked, “Did you lose track of time while you were reading?”

“Yes! I take it you do that as well?” Mitsunari beamed so happily that I was nearly scorched by the rays. One of the sakura blossoms in my hair was so overcome that it fainted and drooped over my eye. Huh. He ought to come with a warning. Caution: smile is deadly.

“I’ve been known to get absorbed in something to an extent that I lose track of time.” Generally, that would be riding and archery, not reading, but those were not exactly the most princess-like hobbies. I sent him an attempt at a mysterious-princess semi-smile, jammed the wayward blossom back in place, then turned my attention to the footsteps – two sets – rushing through the garden. I was pretty sure they belonged to… yep – Mitsuhide and Hideyoshi.

“There you are!” Hideyoshi said in a strained tone that I suspected would become his default mode when dealing with me.

“I’m sorry. I saw the cat, and-” Oh. He wasn’t talking to me. His attention was fully on Mitsunari, as he viewed the younger man with a mixture of impatience and affection.

“I see you’ve already met.” Mitsuhide looked from me to Mitsunari, who was cheerfully accepting Hideyoshi’s mild scolding about being late for dinner. “And here everyone at the party was waiting for you both.”

Already?

Both?

Is… ?

Since Mitsunari’s attention was taken up by Hideyoshi, I inconspicuously tilted my head in his direction and mouthed, ‘him?’

Mitsuhide smirked and nodded.

Him?

I’d expected my ‘fiance’ to be an unapologetic flirt, wild and free, like Masamune. Not… a human ASMR video.

That sakura blossom fainted again, this time falling out of my hair completely, hitting me on the nose. I sneezed violently, and the petals scattered everywhere. Several of them lodged in Mitsunari’s hair, where I imagined they’d be very happy to stay.

“Why were they waiting on me?” Mitsunari looked from Mitsuhide to Hideyoshi and back. I hadn’t thought he’d heard Mitsuhide’s comment, but maybe he’d been paying more attention than he appeared. “Lady Okatsu said it was her engagement dinner.”

Hideyoshi closed his eyes. He took a deep breath, then opened them again.

“We’re still here,” Mitsuhide said.

Yeah, that had been a close your eyes and wish for someone to beam the rest of us out of here. Too bad transporter technology hasn’t been invented yet. Maybe it never would be.

Ignoring Mitsuhide, Hideyoshi turned to Mitsunari. “We discussed this last night.” His tone was patient. His posture was defcon level three.

“Last night?” That was said with so much confusion that I again recalculated how much attention he paid to the world around him.

“You’re supposed to remove all reading material from the vicinity when you’ve got something important to tell him.” Obviously Mitsuhide liked poking the Hideyoshi.

“I did.” This was said between gritted teeth. Defcon two now.

It would be tempting to sit back and just watch the two of them snipe at each other, although such entertainment would likely be improved with popcorn. Which had been invented, but not in this part of the world.

Meanwhile Mitsunari looked like he had remembered… something. “Oh, you did take my book away last night. But I was at an interesting point in it, so I went back a few chapters in my head and re-read them until you left.”

He has an eidetic memory? Well, that explained a lot. He had read almost all the books on military strategy in Aki’s booksellers in only a couple weeks. But it seemed more likely now that he’d just been scanning them into his hard drive for later.

“Were you aware that he could do that?” Mitsuhide murmured to Hideyoshi.

Hideyoshi shook his head.

“What was it you wanted to tell me?” Mitsunari belatedly appeared to realize that he’d missed something important. “I am sorry that I did not listen last night.”

“Tonight’s party is for Lady Okatsu and you,” Mitsuhide began, only to be interrupted by Hideyoshi.

“Mitsuhide had a plan to bring in someone to pretend to be your fiancée.” To gain attention, Hideyoshi stepped in front of Mitsuhide, partially blocking him from us. “Initially, I agreed, but only if-”

Mitsuhide didn’t move, but his interruption was as successful as Hideyoshi’s physical block. “In order to ensure that Shohime-”

“-if you are willing to take part in this farce-”

“Tactic. It is a tactic that will, in essence, allow you to-”

“-but rest assured if you’re not willing-”

They interrupted each other so fast that it was unlikely anyone would be able to understand. Mitsunari looked from one to the other, his face looking increasingly worried. Kitty, wisely, jumped out of Mitsunari’s arms and got the hell out of there.

“-Okatsu is highly trained and will do all the work, you’ll only be required to-”

Lie back and think of England?

“-and the more I think about it, the more I believe it’s an ill-advised idea-”

“-it will work perfectly well -”

I stuck my fingers in my mouth and whistled. Everyone finally shut up. Military strategy. That was Mitsunari’s programming language. “Mitsunari. They want to use me as a diversion so that you will be able to study at Genba Castle in peace.”

“Oh, that is an excellent strategy. I would appreciate having uninterrupted time to study unbothered.” He said that completely innocently, but I wondered if underneath that was the hope that ‘no one’ would include McCoy and Spock over there. “Thank you, Lady Okatsu.”

“But when we are in Kanamori territory, you and I will need to pretend we’re engaged.” Hm, better clarify. “Getting married.”

“You will not be required to actually marry this… girl.” Hm… what had Hideyoshi been about to call me? He steered Mitsunari out of the garden. “I will go over the details while I help you pick out something more appropriate for the celebration.”

With a glare at Mitsuhide and clearly fake smile in my direction, Hideyoshi escorted Mitsunari away.

As they exited, Mitsunari looked over his shoulder at Mitsuhide and I. His prior confusion seemed to have been replaced with annoyance at being treated like a toddler who couldn’t dress himself. For that matter, I was rather annoyed on his behalf.

Once they were out of earshot, Mitsuhide calmly brushed sakura petals off his shoulders. “Did you… whistle at me, brat?”

I waved that away. “It got everyone to shut up, didn’t it?”

“I’m not questioning the result, only the method used to achieve it.” He rubbed his chin. Interesting. He and Aki have the same tell. I wonder if they taught that at Spymaster University. And really… he was going to lecture me about method versus results? “We’ll have to give you remedial instruction on manners and behavior before we leave for Genba.”

Translation, he was going to make me pay for that whistle. Truthfully, I felt a bit ashamed of that too. Aki had always encouraged me to speak my mind and stand up for myself, but I shouldn’t have acted that way in front of men who were virtual strangers. “I do know how to behave in public, and how to follow orders. I promise you won’t have to worry about any further insubordination.” I gave him a meek, eye-lowered bow.

“Don’t overplay it.” Mitsuhide laughed. He steered me back toward the banquet. “You wouldn’t be working for Yamaoka if you couldn’t follow orders.” I relaxed slightly, until he added, “you’ll still need to report to Hideyoshi for instructions on behavior. This is for his peace of mind.”

“Of course.” Mitsuhide didn’t care at all for Hideyoshi’s peace of mind. He was sending me to Hideyoshi so that we could annoy each other.

As we approached the main hall, the sounds of merriment and celebration had increased – well, they didn’t really need a bride and groom to party hard. When Mitsuhide slid open the door, a dual blast of heat and noise slammed into the corridor. “I’ll leave you here. I have every confidence in your ability to carry this off, and meanwhile I have made it my personal mission to get Masamune drunk at least once a week.”

Once Hideyoshi returned with Mitsunari, who had been spiffed up in a clean, wrinkle-free kimono, and his hair combed (mostly) and de-blossomed, the fake engagement resumed with 100! Percent! More! #Awkward!

“Lady Okatsu. Do you like… blue?” Mitsunari’s ears turned red, and he ducked his eyes to his plate. Apparently, Hideyoshi had impressed upon Mitsunari the importance of acting the doting fiancé in public but neglected to give him any suggestions on how a doting fiancé behaved. This led to Mitsunari attempting various conversational overtures, but not feeling confident enough to finish a sentence, so he was constantly rebooting and starting over. Each time that happened, he would look a little more flustered and flushed. The only good news was that our table with Ieyasu and Masamune was separated from the rest of the others enough so that from a distance, he looked like a proper blushing bridegroom.

The whole situation was motifying at best – before this fiancée scheme had been dumped on him, Mitsunari hadn’t had any problems talking to any version of me – whether I had been the old man, Katsu, or Lady Okatsu. “Yes. It reminds me of lakes and the sky… and…and...”

Oh hell, it’s contagious.

“My eye is blue.” Masamune winked at me for emphasis.

Ignoring the “help” from the peanut gallery, I asked Mitsunari. “Do you also like blue?”

“Yes. It is very… blue.” Blush.

Loading… loading…

Until Mitsunari finally ran default.weather.smalltalk.exe and asked me about the weather where I was from.

Ieyasu threw down his hand towel. “This inanity is putting me off my dinner. Can’t you talk about anything else?”

Mitsunari turned to him. “I’m sorry you are not feeling well, Ieyasu. I could make you some tea?” He looked prepared to sprint across the castle in search of tea.

Ieyasu’s big green eyes got bigger and greener. “Don’t you dare.”

Masamune leaned in too close to me and said in my ear, “Mitsunari makes terrible tea. Don’t ever drink it.”

Good to know, Mr-no-conception-of-personal-space. I scooted slightly away from him and turned back to Mitsunari. “My home is inTogakushi mountain range, and it’s nice in the summer and cold and snowy in the winter.”

This was acknowledged with a nod, then followed by BSOD.

Ieyasu snorted.

Right. Military tactics had worked before. At least it was a topic I knew Mitsunari felt comfortable discussing. “Where I live is rather isolated, up a narrow mountain path. If you were leading an attack force, how would you go about it?”

“It would be unadvisable to travel in strict formation. Rather the most effective tactic would be to conceal smaller units under the cover of darkness and for a surprise attack.” Mitsunari smiled and proceeded to play toy soldiers with his dinner, as he explained the schematics. Once he got into the topic, he came alive, with broad and mobile hand gestures that likely would have sent a dish of food into someone’s lap, if I hadn’t kept moving cups and bowls out of the way.

It was kind of like playing ‘whack-a-mole’ in an arcade, and I was enjoying testing my hand/eye coordination, when Mitsuhide swooped in for a fly-by teasing. “You all look like you are having fun.” He leaned over Masamune’s shoulder. “How is the happy couple? Are you enjoying getting to know each other?”

“Lady Okatsu is interested in battle strategies.” Mitsunari once again gestured widely. I tracked the path of his hand and moved my bowl out of range.

“Yes.” I directed my response to Mitsuhide. “So lovely to get to know Mitsunari-” I paused to move my teacup away from his elbow, “in front of so many people. Most people are forced to have to do this in private.”

I was not allowed to get away with the sarcasm. “Yes, it’s fortunate for you that we needed to get the word out so quickly,” Mitsuhide said mildly as he – wait… did he just pour something in Masamune’s tea? “So that Kanamori Mozumi will have word of your existence before you appear with Mitsunari on his doorstep.” With that, he thumped Masamune’s shoulder again, and moved on.

I should warn Masamune about-

“He’s correct.” Mitsunari had flipped the switch and self-promoted from space cadet to general. “If the purpose of this ruse is to get unimpeded access to the Genba archives, then the sooner our engagement is accepted as common knowledge, the better.” Whoa. Ok. He could indeed focus on something besides books when the mood took him. Mitsunari then reached for his bowl – which wasn’t where he had left it, and the sleeve of his kimono knocked his chopsticks to the floor. He leaned over to grab them and bumped the table. A bottle of sake teetered toward Ieyasu.

“I knew it was too good to be true,” Ieyasu grumped, right before I caught the bottle.

Close call.

Ieyasu let out a long sigh.

Which was when Masamune’s eye fluttered shut and he pitched forward onto the table, his head landing in Mitsunari’s bowl, sending a shower of food everywhere.

Well, it’s not really a party until someone faceplants into a dish of stewed eel.

Dear Aki. Please come rescue me. These people are insane…

I stared down at the blank sheet of paper. I absolutely could not write the words that had formed in my head. He was counting on me to both behave professionally around the Oda, as well as look into the politics in Hida. The denizens of Azuchi weren’t actually insane – I was simply just not used to them yet, that was all. And if I was feeling slightly lonely, without anyone to really talk to (Mai was lovely, of course, but she and Nobunaga were obviously in that stage of a relationship where they formed an entity unto themselves), well… I would be just as lonely back on the Mountain, with only Fume for companionship.

Yawning, I gave up on the letter, plopped myself onto the futon, shuttered the lantern, and did my best to try to sleep. I’m not a great sleeper in the best of times, and definitely not while in an unfamiliar place, so I was still tossing and turning when something squeaked in the ceiling above me.

Rats?

Squirrels?

Or worse?

Maybe it was my imagina-

Swish! Squeak!

Too heavy to be a squirrel.

I rolled out of bed and grabbed my dagger.

It was too dark to see much more than the shapes of the furniture. Plastering myself against the wall, I tracked the path of the noise. Then a ceiling panel moved, and a human shape dangled above the room.

The human shape said, “Tok.”

That was a weird battle cry, but she who waits to be attacked loses the element of surprise. I made the first move and yanked the person down. He (or she) landed on their feet, so whoever it was had been ninja trained.

That… would fall into the category of “or worse.”

@bestbryn @katriniac @briars7 @lyds323 @lorei-writes

[valnyte]

I will yeet here my speculations on what kind of fairytale villains a cast of new characters might be based off from (obviously not all of these, but just speculation and a bunch of nonsense) at the top of my head:

The new cast could be Privy Council, Golden Butterfly, Gang member who beef with Jude, or some sort of "I'm here to destroy the Cursed" group, but I am still waiting to be proven wrong so surprise me Cry(ingformywallet)birb.

• Gothel

I'm thinking, maybe William's foil character. If William (poster boy) is all about freedom and stuff, a Gothel based villain would have an ideal but very horrific means to try and get to them (think IkeSen Kichou to Nobunaga in that IkeSen prologue where the former blows up Azuchi)

• Snow Queen

Probably could end up as William's foil too, the same way a Gothel based villain would be.

• Sea Witch (I'm sorry but really? No Little Mermaid villains?)

Honestly, they can make dubious deals which could be a hilarious foil to Victor (makes honest deals) or is one of the leaders of a gang that have beef with Jude himself.

• The dagger from The Little Mermaid

Ok, if we have the duos if the Evil Queen and the Mirror and the 13th Fairy and the Thorns, why can't we have a Sea Witch and the dagger the Little Mermaid's sisters gave her that is also from the Sea Witch? I think it would make an interestimg duo.

•Rumpelstiltskin

Very dubious deals type of character like the Sea Witch. Also has an explicitly gruesome fate in the original fairy tale so... time to get creative.

• Big Bad Wolf (really? No villain based character like this? Cybird you quite literally enjoy Red Riding Hood inspired avatars in plenty of your games)

I'm thinking of a counterpart to Liam or Harrison. Either its the Wolf from Red Riding Hood or Seven Little Goats is fine, but acts as some sort of tie-in to either Liam or Harrison. The Big Bad Wolf is sly, curious, and straight up dangerous under a mask of pretending to be caring. Also, it is one of the villains with a usually violent death.

• Hansel & Gretel's Witch

When you think about it, where are the witches based villains. I'm thinking maybe a director of a dubious orphanage that has a degree of care for the orphans they take in but is ultimately still a villain. Totally not thinking of Genshin Arlecchino. Their tragic fate might be that they are fated to be killed by a child who they originally took in.

• Cinderella's Stepmother

Where is the most iconic evil stepmother /j. In all seriousness, I'm thinking of how Curses do work and how it is fairly lucky that none of the Curses are ever inherited. The curse will affect said Cursed person in varying ways but what if for an Evil Stepmother, their curse only works situationally? For the case of an Evil Stepmother, maybe the curse is that they are fated to fall in love with someone who will die young (cue tragic noises) before them. Cue "don't fall in love with me because you will actually die" dynamic which would theoretically be the worst sort of fate on MC's end.

• Cinderella's Stepsister/s

Cybird will never bring out a direct father-son related duo but they really are pushing many limits with IkeVil, yet one can only dream. Still, with a "Stepsister curse" they can get creative, particularly in terms of how if an Evil Stepmother curse exists, surely their child would be afflicted with the Evil Stepsister curse? In Alfons' route, we have a case where the previously Mirror cursed affected the family, but what if a two curses (Evil Stepmother and Stepsister) sit with a family until the one having the "Stepsister curse" dies?

[cidylee]

I don't know if someone will see this post or want to answer, but am I the only one having problem slide-scrolling on the Ikesen app? I look at the news after sending an inquiry and it seems the problem is Chrome 127 version? Do some of you have the same problem with that version? I try to do as I they recommand on the news and downgrade my Chrome, but I seem ot to be able too?

Does the team are usually able to resolve such problem? Has a problem has ever persisted? The news is dating from 28 August or something, so the problem has been going for quite sometimes... even though I don't think I had that problem for more than a week.

If the problem is not resolved, I don't think I'll be able to enjoy the game for long, since I cannot select some routes. Masamune, Keiji, Motonari, Nobunaga, Mitsuhide, Kennyo and Hideyoshi, gone. I didn't play Iesayu and Sasuke's routes, so I'm good for two months, but still. Makes me kind of sad.

[gloriouspiratenacho]

An Update

On Character AI:

Nobunaga is currently in progress. So far the bare bones model is doing pretty well! I still need to sit down an flesh it out more. See if I can capture some of his mannerisms.

Kicho is also seemingly doing pretty well? I'm going to leave him as a Work in Progress until I get further in his route, so some minor changes may happen. But he is currently available, regardless.

I've also been testing on other sites.

Character AI is great: it's free, and the characters really do feel very humanlike sometimes. But AI technology is new, and I feel it's worthwhile to check out the competition periodically, and make sure there isn't something better.

Reviews for new sites below:

Poe.com

Pros:

The bot builder can pick which LLM (ai model) is running the bot, as well as adjust the temperature. (Temperature controls how faithful and boring the responses will be vs how creative and possibly nonsensical.

Depending on the model, there may not be a filter.

Cons

Not free. You do get a fair amount of free daily messages though. But depending on the Ai model, you may run through them fast. I've picked a lower token model to get more messages from my bots, which also happens to be filterless.

Not meant for roleplay. Less rp bots, not as easy to build a rp bot.

Bots have to have unique names. So the naming on this site can get really nutty.

I've copied over Mitsuhide and Motonari from character Ai to test. Motonari has been absolutely fabulous. The behavior is there. He takes initiative to come up with new things. The replies are a bit long sometimes. Mitsuhide hasn't fared as well. The personality is just not where I want it. Character AI definitely has a better conversational model. I'll go ahead and make Motonari public if anyone wants to explore. I'll keep working on Mitsuhide.

Figgs.ai

Pros:

Completely and utterly free.

No filter.

Feels pretty close to character Ai in the way it works and replies.

Made for characters and roleplay.

Bots are more faithful to their programming.

Cons:

No filter. (which means it's full of horrifying porn bots)

The site is brand new, like only a couple of months old. They have a lot of things they are still trying to figure out. The site isn't as streamlined as it could be. They are working on it.

Can't delete bots you tried on a whim (yet)

When viewing your previous chats, you can't tell which is which. (no preview)

Not quite as conversational as character Ai. Bots seem like they do better with more direction.

I can just copy things directly from character Ai and drop them in the appropriate fields, it's super easy to build here. They don't have a character building guide yet, but luckily, I don't need to change anything. Unfortunately, my perfectly SFW character Ai bots are getting flagged as NSFW for some reason, so... In order to find my bots, be ready for some porn bots. 😅 As for behavior, I'm also not pleased with how Mitsuhide came out on here either. I'm still working on him. I moved over my OC Yandere Assassin, who is working very well, and two of my banned bots that were some of my favorites on character Ai. They are also working pretty well. The thing I have discovered is that you NEED a scenario for the bot to work well. All 3 that do okay? They have a mission. Mitsuhide does not, because I was leaving it up to the user to create the scenario, or not, and just have a fun chat with him. So I might have to give him a scene to work with. No scene, and the bot just keeps politely asking what you want to talk about, what you want to do, and about the weather. Just like Poe, Figgs isn't as good at conversation, and Mitsuhide's personality just isn't where I want it yet. Still working on it. WHAT FIGGS IS GOOD AT: slow burn romance. I put Motonari on there to test, and it was INCREDIBLY HARD to get him to fall in love with you.... Which is exactly how it should be. I had to work very hard to earn his trust. So if you get mad that all the characters at character ai fall in love after 2 interactions, this might be a better alternative. And lastly, it's a really new website. They are still working on it. There's no character guide, and some (most) of the bots are very, very badly built. If you try one out and it's awful, it probably isn't the website's fault. It's just a badly built bot. The Gale from Baldur's Gate 3 I tried was excellent. My bots are pretty good too (though Mitsuhide needs some work.)

I'm considering trying Yodayo.

Not free, but the bots seem decent, and you get a pretty good amount of free daily conversations, and I think it was actually even pretty affordable if you wanted to pay. I haven't built on there yet. You'll want to pick "Tavern" to chat. Unfiltered, so beware of porn.

If you know of any character Ai alternatives I should try, hit me up!

[shatcey]

Ikemen Sengoku

Main routes

Events

Disciplined by my darling (Yuki)

The locked up princess: Kicho Kenshin

Double or nothing: Mitsuhide Ieyasu Nobunaga

Motonari + Mitsunari

Forever I do: I lost Motonari

Work week: Mitsuhide

Heist of the heart: Election 15th place

His twisted affection: Just once Mitsu

101 lesson of love: Mitsu

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Birthdays

24/10 (Mitsuhide) 31/01 (Ieyasu) 18/02 (Kenshin) 03/03 (Keiji) 12/05 (Nobunaga) 07/07 (Yukimura)

24/10 (Mitsuhide) 2nd

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Other

Play on words Gacha stories Ieyasu name Sign Day of screenshots Long maintenance His food 7an (cards) Masamune (food!) New weapon Boyish humor

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

🔝 𝕊𝕋𝔸ℝ𝕋 ℙ𝔸𝔾𝔼 🔝

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

[samurailoveballadhistory]

The context in SLBP is different, but the whole plot is hilarious when compared to the history.

The Oda in real life knows damn well who Kobayakawa Takakage is. He was the contact person from the Mouri side when the Oda and the Mouri were still friends. Even if maybe it was never made known to the Oda that Takakage is one of Motonari's sons, the Oda side still knows he's someone representing the Mouri clan.

If somehow the Oda side doesn't know Takakage's full name due to the courtesies of the time period (the polite way to address someone by using their surnames or titles or aliases), they should still know that "Kobayakawa" is associated with Mouri.

Takakage and Hideyoshi frequently exchange letters. In fact, transcripts (and/or the actual artefacts) of Hideyoshi's letters addressed to Takakage exist, and you can read them in the Japanese national archives. The responses from Takakage sadly has been lost.

Also, maybe this is a new writer who were never briefed about the other routes, because MC being amazed at this is very strange:

How many times have we seen Hideyoshi just casually clowning around in front of and to Nobunaga's face and nobody cares? Toshiie and old man Shibata were also kind of casual with Nobunaga, even if they won't shove him around like Kageharu does with Takakage.

[daeva-agas]

Kennyo: (to Nobunaga) "I want to end this! Here. Through other ways than war."

Yoshimoto: "He (Shingen) died in peace surrounded by friends."

---

This 4 years ago backstory thing is like... “We’re going to tell you we made Kennyo suffer through utter hell that’s why he’s depressed and angry” WTF. Reading it makes the fact that Kennyo’s route is terrible, and the fact that he’s constantly kind of maligned in the other routes (they often make it seems like Nobu is not wrong, it’s Kennyo’s fault that he’s so angry on his own) just even more of a disservice and character injustice. Now I’m sad again :( 

As it turns out, Kennyo originally is the one who tried to convince Nobunaga to find a peaceful resolution. He seriously preached about “ending the cycle of hatred” to Nobunaga’s face like okay. Like the whole time Nobunaga is very confrontational, but Kennyo is the one who backed off first. 

Also the shogun keeps on pestering Honganji to join them to fight Nobunaga, and Kennyo is like “I said no, go away”. Even though his own followers also wanted to fight. 

By the way in the Shingen route I was under the impression that Shingen just spread the news that he died and Kennyo just happens to hear about it? Well, now they tell us that Shingen specifically sent Yoshimoto to lie to Kennyo that he died WTF, like no wonder Kennyo was so angry. 

Nobunaga was convinced of Kennyo’s sincerity and sent Kichou to deliver the peace agreement, and Kichou sabotaged it.

He already prepared a fake letter, but when he’s at Honganji, one of the more aggressive pro-war monks tried to kill him first. So Kichou was like “Good, we are of the same opinion”. He killed the monk, and delivered the guy’s severed arm along with the fake antagonistic letter and that’s what turned Kennyo so insane.

I guess the aggressive monk was there to make Kichou seem less bad for killing the guy? IDK, but well. Yeah... My soul is hurting skhkjfhgkdjg

[akitsuneswife]

My Ikesen OC Misaki Akechi (formerly Toshimasa). Made these (very) rough sketches of her (plus Mitsuhide.) She's basically a revamp of my old oc Kaoruko, she's got a new name and backstory. I'll put the lore under the cut!

Misaki's father was looking for an alliance with Nobunaga and since she was to be wed anytime soon, she asked her father to marry her off to someone in the Oda Clan. Nobunaga wasn't available (Mai exists within this story, which sort of follows Nobu's route in aspect to her relationship with him. Mai and Misaki become friends eventually!), but she heard rumors about Mitsuhide had made her want to know him. Eventually her father asked for a wedding between Mitsuhide and Misaki.

Misaki and her father stay for some days in the Oda castle and eventually the wedding is celebrated. One afternoon, she runs into Mai, who has letters for Mitsuhide and offers to take them from Mai. Eventually, she runs into Mitsuhide but he's talking with someone plotting against Nobunaga.

She's not seen by either of them but she goes to the Akechi manor very upset and waits late into the night expecting to see Mitsuhide and talk with him. She confronts him; the alliance between her father and Nobunaga is very recent, she's afraid that consequences will fall upon her father if Mitsuhide were to betray the Oda.

He tries to both distract her and dissuade her but when Misaki hears that Mitsuhide is going on a ´work´trip, she insists on going with him. Seeing there's nothing he can do to stop her, they both depart. Thus, they pretend to be performers to join a troupe; Misaki is delighted, she's always wanted to be a dancer but her father deemed it beneath her station.

They finish their trip with the play and... that's about how much I've thought about it haha.

I've mostly been thinking about the modern AU I've made up for them but I'll write that in another post!

[annicaax]

finally cleared my first route in ten days with my devil and I'm so smitten! kakeru is just my type! harsh domineering outside but an absolute softie inside, kind of reminded me of ikesen nobunaga. I also have eyes on shiki, rein, and meguri. this title may be my new obsession

[lorei-writes]

Ikemen Sengoku: Romance Looped in Time

Gen Fic Mai [1st Person POV]

A short drabble without a clear pairing. Attempted light horror / angst(?).

Content Warnings: none

---

I never understood why you would care, and I dare say I still do not. My current existence is nothing more than an error in the matrix of this world. How come a person can be alive before a day they were even born?

I shouldn’t be here.

I shouldn’t have loved.

My eyes prick, but I open them wider, fighting against the seemingly ever-present and all-knowing smoke. At this point, I am not even sure where exactly am I – this, whatever situation this is, has been replicated and repeated far too many times for me to count. There is no right path for me to choose, as the present will not crawl towards the future, instead retracting its neck into the sands of past.

I can never return.

I can only watch.

A man is lying over the tatami mats in front of me. My arms reach for him mechanically, my back threatening to break as I haul his body into safety. One day, perhaps, my spine will truly collapse. It seems to have retained the memory of the last time the weight of Nobunaga and everything that he is rested over my shoulders.

Cold air of the night cups my face as I excuse myself from the fire. My knees hurt, and surely, if they could, they’d roll their eyes. They’d ask me about my reasons for saving him. They’d demand to know why am I so insistent on not letting him burn down… Or, it may be that I am the one who wishes to understand that much.

What has me going?

What has me believing that something will change with a new route?

The old commotion breaks out. I play according to the script, but internally, all I do is wonder whose hand should I take this time. Who should be allowed to ravish me, to cherish me, to have my heart pang until we have to part. They’re all wonderful, in their own right – Nobunaga, who charmed me with his will and decisive, although scarred heart; Masamune, the one who personifies life; Ieyasu, the romance so sour that each drop of sweetness overwhelms your mind… And more, and more, so many more, from moon to sun, each so different, each so ideal in his imperfection, each breathing, living, loving…

Until our few promised months are over. Nobody gifted us a script for our happily-ever-after. Quite to the opposite, in fact.

I look up from my place in the saddle, my back pressing firmly against an armoured chest. Whose hand should I take? Does it even matter? Drown me in the story of our love, just so that I can return and taste another of your kind…

I’m sorry. There is no future to be had in this endless prison of romance. I may as well have fun.

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter One: Nobody Expects the Spanish Inquisition - Katsuko accepts a mysterious mission that will take her to Azuchi.

Mitsunari x OC; Nobunaga x Mai

Logline - In order to protect a political alliance, Katusko and Mitsunari must pretend an engagement. But this "all business" arrangement is threatened by a coup against Nobunaga... and by feelings.

Notes - Takes place after the ending of Nobunaga's romantic route, but before the epilogue. Slow burn (very slow burn). Friends to lovers. Canon typical violence.

From the Military Notes of Ishida Mitsunari: A primary goal of military planning is to enable Generals to meet their manning objectives for force size, composition, and wartime capability. To attain these objectives, forces must be appropriately structured with motivated personnel who are deployed to jobs suitable for their talents, and given training to improve their skills, even when the country’s security goals evolve to meet new threats. 

On occasion, it may be necessary to contract additional personnel, often mercenaries, who are specifically trained to carry out special projects.

Personal comments: Lord Hideyoshi read the above notes and reminded me that the hiring of additional persons should be performed by himself, and none other. He also said something that I am not certain I heard correctly, but it involved Lord Mitsuhide and a word that I am not comfortable writing down.

“She likes you better – it should come from you.” I eyed the missive in Aki’s hand as if it were an unexploded bomb. Ok, technically it was the match. The UXB was Fume. “She hates me. If I give her this, it will make it worse.” Yes, I am a messenger. Delivering messages is my job. At the same time, I’ve managed to do this job for years without becoming victim to the cliché, ‘kill the messenger.’ I had no desire to ruin this streak of not-being-killedness.

“I’ve been travelling for what feels like a thousand years.” There was wry twist to his mouth, as if those imaginary years had stolen not only time but also something incalculable.

It had felt like a thousand years to me too – I’d been here all summer, with only Fume’s dubious companionship. I was so happy to see a friendly face that I was almost willing to do as requested. Almost. “Well then, the time it takes for you to go into the kitchen and hand her the letter will feel like the blink of an eye, won’t it?”

“I cannot handle what is sure to be an unending spate of feminine histrionics.” He grabbed my hand and stuck the letter in it.

“Are you forgetting that I’m also female?” I shoved the letter back into his hands.

“You, my dear child, are never histrionic.” He waved the letter in the air. “Did I mention it’s in Portuguese?”

Dammit.

With a sigh I took the letter back, my fingers closing around the unfamiliar weight of the European vellum.

He patted my shoulder. “Good luck.” Shouldering his travel gear, he turned toward his quarters. “I’m off to sleep until tomorrow. Don’t bother me unless the world is ending. Don’t bother me then either.”

His footsteps trailed off, then I heard him pause at the doorway to the kitchen and tell Fume that he was under no circumstances to be disturbed. He was also probably telling her –

“Francisco sent me a letter?” Fume planted her squat body in front of me (had she teleported across the room?) and reached for the message. She must have been cooking when Aki stopped in to talk to her, because she still had a kitchen knife in her hand. The entrails of whatever she had been dismembering shone red and wet across the blade.

I felt less optimistic about that messenger not being killed thing.

Fume snatched the letter out of my hand, I had the dubious joy of watching her smell it, then clutch it to her cleavage. Finally, she opened it, sighed, and handed it back to me. “Translate this, Kaya.”

No ‘please.’ I considered requesting that she say it, but the letter was going to infuriate her anyway. No reason to push my luck. I opened the letter and skimmed through it, hoping Aki had been wrong about the contents… and-

Aki’s never wrong.

I wonder if Nobunaga’s job offer is still on the table.

“Don’t stand there like a witless idiot, what does he have to say?” Fume glared at me, and a bit of whatever she had been cutting slid to the edge of the knife and dangled. It was almost hypnotizing to watch that bit of intestine swing back and forth and back and –

“Kaya!”

Once, in a forest in Echigo, I encountered the God of War, and I was less scared of him than I am of Fume. I took a discreet step back, knowing that the knife would be flung at me once she heard what Francisco had to say. I opened the letter and read it to Fume. “My Dearest Little Squash Blossom.” (It absolutely did not begin that way, but my bedroom was close enough to Fume’s that I was aware of every pet name Francisco had ever called her. I unfortunately knew the pet name he used for his penis – which was not information I had ever expected or wanted to know).

“And?” She stomped her foot, and that bit of meat finally gave up and fell off the knife, landing on the floor with a loud, squelchy splat. Sigh. I was going to have to scrub that. “I swear Kaya, some days I wonder why Aki bothers to keep you.”

“Sorry Fume-sama. His handwriting is terrible.” I pretended to squint at the letter, rotating it as if to find a better angle. Mentally, I scrambled to find a diplomatic way to rephrase this ‘Dear John’ letter. “He had to travel to Goa for a family obligation.” I took another tiny step back.

“When will he come back to Japan?” When she was upset, Fume’s voice often rocketed through several octaves to reach a glass shattering pitch.

“That, he does not say.” Aside from what amounted to ‘don’t wait for me to return, have a nice life.’ Basically, it was the Sengoku version of break-up-via-text-message.

Fume’s screech of dismay would likely have all dogs in the district howling. The knife came flying, but though Fume has a terrible temper, she has worse aim, and I ducked it. While she was still raining curses upon Francisco, I escaped to the training grounds behind the manor.

During Aki’s absence, in whatever free time I could squeeze from the maid work Fume gave me, I had been working on my archery skills. My self-assigned task had been to become adept at hitting targets while I was on a moving horse. I’d gotten pretty good at this (it had been a really long summer) and could hit the target while seated in the saddle and while standing up in the stirrups.

Unfortunately, my current goal of hitting the target while hanging off the side of my horse was proving difficult. I either needed an extra hand or a better saddle, because my knee kept slipping off the pommel and I inevitably ended up thudding to the ground. Still, I continued to make the attempt. Falling off my horse was better than dealing with Fume when she was #MOOD.

After each fall, Moonlight would halt, trot back to my side, and nudge me with her nose. “What are you doing, you silly human?” At least, that was what I imagined she was saying. Fume might hate me, but my horse was my best buddy.

On my third attempt of the afternoon, I’d managed to get off a shot that landed at the edge of the target before thumping gracelessly to the turf.

Euuf. That one almost knocked the breath out of me.

Even with Moonlight nosing me, I spent a moment on the ground, staring at the puffy clouds in the sky, and pondering my life choices.

“Katsu, was there a purpose to this exercise other than practicing your falling skills?” The dry comment came from the gate to the yard, where a man with long dark hair looked down on me from his position on his own horse.

“Kyubei!” I got to my feet and dusted off my rear end. I couldn’t remember my Azuchi contact ever coming to this part of the country. I always travelled there, not the reverse. “Has something happened?”

“That was my question for you.” He climbed off his horse and glanced back over his shoulder at where the path angled steeply down the mountain. “We haven’t seen you in weeks, and Mitsuhide has an urgent request of your master.”

“Oh. Nothing’s wrong. Aki’s been away for some time. He finally returned this morning.” I glanced back toward the manor, wondering if ‘urgent business from Mitsuhide’ would meet his definition of the world ending. “I’ve been mired here all summer.”

I looped Moonlight’s reigns over the fence so she wouldn’t wander into the garden and eat something that would annoy Fume even more. “In any case, it’s good to see a friendly face. Welcome to The Mountain.” Aki had never actually named his manor, but given its location, most people referred to it this way.

“Mountain is rather an understatement. The path to here is vertical.” Once again, Kyubei looked over his shoulder at the view.

“You ought to see it in winter.” There were times when it was impassible for days. “It’s really an adventure coming and going then.”

He literally turned pale at that. “I will take your word for it.” His hand went to his waist where the edge of an oilskin pack peeped out from the vee of his kimono. “Do you know if Akihira is available to speak with me?”

“Um. Well, he did say he didn’t wish to be disturbed until tomorrow. Is there anything I can help you with in the meanwhile?” I directed Kyubei around to the front.

Kyubei paused and scrutinized me from toes to the top of my head, and I suddenly had the odd feeling he could see right into my soul. “Actually, I believe you can. Katsu, pardon me if this is an intrusive question, but are you a girl?”

Whoops! When I was here at home, I usually didn’t bother with the leather binder I used to flatten my figure, and my hair wasn’t neatly hidden away. Oh well. Too late now. “Not intrusive, and yes – though I am still Katsu. My birth name is Katsuko.”

He smiled. “You might be the perfect solution to our problem, Katsuko.”

Oh? Please. Let me be a solution to a problem, and not-

Just then the woman who generally considered me her problem blocked the front door of the manor. “Kaya stop flirting with this vagrant and come help me clean up.”

“Fume-sama, this man urgently needs to speak with Akihira.” I gestured to Kyubei, who bowed politely, but not with any particular deference.

“He isn’t to be disturbed until tomorrow, and I intend to make sure of that.” She eyed Kyubei with suspicion. “If he must speak with Akihira, then he can spend the night in the stable. Where, I might add, your horse also belongs, and not tied to the gate.”

I can’t win with this woman. “Play along,” I murmured to Kyubei before returning my attention to Fume. “This is Oda Nobunaga’s ally Akechi Mitsuhide. His message is extremely important.”

Kyubei instantly underwent a top to toes transformation – his posture straightened, his eyes took on a sharp gleam, and he flashed Fume a mocking smile. I appreciated how quickly he had done that. Although I was used to passing as a boy, and occasionally as an old man, I’d never tried to impersonate someone particular. “I’m given to understand that Yamaoka Akihira is in residence at present.”

A similar transformation affected Fume, who went from condescending to obsequious in the same amount of time. She bowed low and long. “He does not wish to be disturbed, but I am certain he would wish you treated as an honored guest. Kaya! Prepare a room for Lord Akechi.” She stepped aside and shooed me toward the guest quarters. “My apologies my lord. Akihira has treated this one as a pet.”

A pet would have people to play with, but… details.

When Fume is in a #MOOD, it’s easier to stand back and take it (while imagining a creative revenge to be named later). I turned to go inside, but Kyubei stopped me. “You do me honor, but it is, as I said, a matter of some urgency. Is there any way I can convince you to disturb him?”

“No need.” Aki padded down the hall, dressed in his nighttime robes. “It’s impossible to get any sleep with all this commotion.”

“Aki,” I said, hoping to clue him in before he broke Kyubei’s cover. “Mitsuhide – oof.” Fume had elbowed me, none to gently. “That is, Lord Aketchi travelled all the way from Azuchi to speak with you.”

With a conspiratorial smile, Aki turned to Kyubei. “He did, eh? Well, Mitsuhide, it’s a pleasure to see you… again. Shall we discuss this matter in my receiving room?”

Kyubei inclined his head and followed Aki into the house. I made to join them, but Fume grabbed my arm and yanked me back. “The floor, Kaya. There is something on it.” She pointed to the meat that had dripped from her knife earlier.

With a glance back to me, Kyubei paused. “This involves your messenger. Can she meet with us as well? It would save time.”

The “she” pronoun caused Aki’s eyebrow to raise, but he simply nodded and motioned me along. I resisted the impulse to give Fume a look of triumph.

I hurried after Kyubei into Aki’s office, skidding to a halt to avoid running into him. He’d stopped just inside the door and was looking around. I tried to imagine how the office would look to an outsider: an eye-searing jumble of odds and ends, Western trinkets and Chinese artwork culled from his dealings with the Portuguese traders, a mismatch of both Japanese style and European furnishings, and of course two shogi boards – one of which consisted of his ongoing long-distance game with Mitsuhide. I was used to it… but it could definitely be sensory overload to a stranger.

Kyubei looked down at shogi game-in-process. “This at least, is a familiar sight.”

“One would hope that this visit isn’t simply because Mitsuhide is impatient for my next move.” Aki paused by the firepit to put the tea water on to boil.

“No, of course not. Although, I will admit to being tired of losing to him every night while we wait for your message.” Kyubei glanced back and forth between the chairs that were facing a large European crafted desk, and the cushions around a traditional writing desk.

Aki gestured to the larger desk and chairs, which he preferred to use, claiming height was better on his knees. In all the years I had known him, he had not shown any evidence of knee pain. Once I had pointed that out to him, he’d told me it was because he sat in Nanban chairs. I think he chooses to sit there because it makes him look like a king facing his subjects.

Once we were seated at the desk, with cups of te- wait. Was Aki drinking… coffee? I sniffed the air and glanced at his cup.

“My latest find from a Nanban merchant.” He took a long sip. “Who, I believe, purchased it from a Dutch trader. Do you wish to taste it?” He pushed the cup toward me.

I knew what coffee tasted like, but ‘Katsu’ would not, so I took a sip then made a face that was not entirely fake. “It’s rather strong. Slightly bitter.” I don’t mind bitter. But I like my tea.

I passed the cup to Kyubei who also took a taste. “I imagine it could be an acquired taste but…hm.” He tapped his fingers on the cup. “I wonder if I might have some of this to take back to my master to see if he can taste it.”

That was an odd turn of phrase, but Aki simply nodded. “I’ll send a package with instructions on how to prepare it back with you. Meanwhile, I understand you have an important message from him?”

Kyubei handed over the message. Aki unfolded it and read through it with a few absent-minded hmmms of his own, a chin rub, and sidelong glances at me. “Mitsuhide asks if I have an apprentice or messenger who can pass as a woman. It appears to me that having Katsuko pretend to be a boy pretending to be a girl would be unnecessarily complicated.”

I imagine Julie Andrews would have something to say about that.

“Indeed.” Kyubei glanced at me critically. “However, we can do as well with Katsuko as herself. True, there would still be a bit of a disguise involved, but no one expects there to be any danger.”

No one expects the Spanish inquisition either.

I’m not really bothered by the idea of danger. After the past couple of months, I’d gladly take a change of scenery and would welcome. The denizens of Azuchi couldn’t be any worse than Fume, and even if there was some danger, it wasn’t likely to throw a bloody kitchen knife at me.

Aki rubbed his chin. “Kyubei, do you mind giving us a moment of privacy to discuss the matter?”

Kyubei bowed. “Not in the least. I’ll find your, er, kind, chatelaine and ask for a place where I can wash the mountain off me.” It sounded like he and the mountain were not fond of one another.

Once Kyubei had whisked himself away with all the discretion and attitude of an upper crust British butler (or at least a Netflix version of same), Aki turned to me. “I suppose the first question is, do you wish to do this?”

“My first preference would be to go with you on your next mission.” Aki often took me with him on short jobs, but not the long journeys where he went away, only to return looking as if the fate of the world rested on his shoulders… I would like to share that burden with him, if he would let me. Somewhere along the line, I’d stopped being just an apprentice to him, but he still shielded me from much of his work.

Aki smiled at me, but he looked … sad. Sad? Not an emotion that I usually associated with him. “That’s very … kind of you Katsuko. But these are missions that I must do on my own.”

“If that is the case then yes, please send me to Azuchi.” Not wanting to sound too overeager to be gone from home, I added, “If Fume and I spend much more time together, the next time you return, I cannot promise we’d both be alive to greet you.”

He laughed and ruffled my hair. “Alright my fierce… apprentice. Bear in mind you’ll be working for Mitsuhide who will not have as much tolerance for your brand of cheekiness as I do.”

I stole another sip of his coffee just to tease him. “You did teach me manners, remember?”

He groaned. “I do remember. That’s why I’m worried.” He looked out the window, but I had a feeling he wasn’t seeing lush summer greenery in the yard, but something less friendly…  something that weighed on him. Then he seemed to shake it off and looked back to me with that familiar professorial tone. “As it happens, you’ll also be spending time in the Hida region, and it suits me very much to have someone in that area, so I’m inclined to send you with Kyubei.”

I sat up straighter. Aside from the couple of weeks I had spent in the booksellers in Azuchi, I’d never had a solo mission. “What needs doing in Hida?”

Aki rustled around with the papers on his desk and pulled out a map. “There’s a great deal of mining in the area – many parties are very interested in those mines as the desire for Japanese silver exports increases. It goes without saying that Nobunaga wants control, but there may be people not happy for him to have that. I don’t expect that the area will destabilize – at least not quickly, but when you return, I would like to know your impression of the situation.”

Thrilled that he trusted me with this, I lifted my chin and fought back the urge to smile. Professionals don’t smile. “I won’t let you down.” Again though, there was part of my brain that had on repeat, nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.

“I know you won’t.” He took a large sip of coffee, savoring it as if it were the best beverage on the planet. “Or you’ll spend the next year solely under Fume’s authority.” He softened that threat with a smile. “I trust you know how to take care of yourself, but it goes without saying that I hope you’ll be careful and stay safe.”

Maybe it went without saying, but he had never before said it to me, especially not in that tone of voice that almost made me want to hug him.

And, so, I did hug him, and after a startled moment, he held onto me tightly, his palms pressed firmly into my back.

Although Aki encouraged Kyubei to spend the night and get an early and well-rested start in the morning, he preferred to leave right away, claiming that time was of the essence. Kyubei advised me not to bother packing any of “Kaya’s” clothing – advice that cheered me immensely, as Kaya’s clothing was a dreary pile of ugly kimonos in varying shades of mud. “Nobunaga will see that an appropriate wardrobe is provided for you. The Lady Mai is a talented seamstress and will be happy to outfit you.”

That didn’t provide much of a clue to what I would be doing, or what I should pack, but I simply threw together everything I would have brought along were I going on a trip with Aki, as well as my (sadly fraying) portrait of Toshiie, and the portable shogi set that Aki had given me on my most recent birthday. Though I knew I’d be dressing as a female, I chose to travel as Katsu – it was safer. Moreover, ‘Katsu’ was familiar, and I’d learned to keep as many familiar things close to me as possible, lest they disappear forever.

“I’m glad you were quick,” Kyubei said once we were on our way. “I do not want to make this descent after dark.”

“It’s actually easier if you can’t see where you are going,” I said, just for the fun of seeing him turn pale again. “At least if you fall off the mountain, you won’t see the rocks before you hit them.”

“I can’t wait for Mitsuhide to meet you,” he muttered as we led our horses along the steep path. Riding would have been faster, but I didn’t know how surefooted his horse was. Also, I doubted Kyubei even wanted to add another four feet of height to the equation.

“Why?” In truth, after delivering so many messages to him via Kyubei over the past four years, I was surprised that our paths hadn’t crossed.

“No reason… Katsu, can we stop talking until we reach flatter territory? I’d prefer to concentrate on not plunging to my death.” Kyubei sounded out of breath.

I glanced over my shoulder and felt bad for teasing him. I mean, put me in front of a tunnel, a cave or even a tiny windowless room, and I’d be a sobbing mess. “Alright, but to be honest, it looks worse than it is. Nobody’s ever fallen off the mountain in the summer. Well, not anyone who wasn’t drunk first.”

He grumbled something along the lines of about needing to be drunk to take this path.

It wasn’t until we made our way to flatter terrain that he regained his normal distantly friendly attitude. By the time we had camped for the night, he had relaxed enough to entertain me with some of his exploits.

“How did you manage to pretend to be Mitsuhide so quickly?” I set a copper tea kettle over the fire. “Oh, I wouldn’t eat those if I were you,” I added as Kyubei shook some of the coffee beans into his hand.

He ignored my advice and bit into one but managed to keep a straight face while what I imagined was very bitter coffee attacked his taste buds. “Some of it is training – but I’ve also had a lot of practice. He and I have exchanged identities in the past.”

“Really? I thought Mitsuhide was… older?” I’d once seen the back of his head – in fact that was the only glance I had ever seen of him – and his hair was silver-white.

“No, we’re of the same age.” Kyubei poured the coffee beans back into their metal tin. “Put me in a silver wig and anyone who doesn’t know him well would be fooled.”

Wow – I bet that made them fun at Halloween. “Will I be in disguise too?” Please don’t say housemaid.

“We’ll be presenting you Oda Princess.” Kyubei had a faint smile on his face.

“A wha-” I paused, realizing I had spoken with an unprincesslike mouthful. I swallowed, the tried… and failed… to come up with an appropriately regal reply. “Er, not that I’m not flattered, but you could have gotten an actress and done just as well.”

Kyubei inclined his head. “Indeed. Our Princess might have some additional duties more generally assigned to personal guards. But truly, as I said, we don’t expect this to be very dangerous.”

In other words, Princess-slash-bodyguard. On one hand, that sounded pretty awesome… aside from that voice in my head had that had swelled to an eight-part chorale: Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition.

@lorei-writes @bestbryn @lyds323 @katriniac @briars7

[babyilluwu]

Nobody asked but I feel like sharing my ship preferences for HxH characters.

So, Illumi and Hisoka. I'm literally hyperfixating on them rn and I'm 100% "hisoillu canon engagement". If I read a fic, they better be a couple or get together!!!

BUT I do not need them to be totally exclusive. I enjoy adultrio shenanigans, polyamory, threeways, love triangles. I don't like it at all when Illumi is left out tho. (I don't mean he has to be in every scene but he has to get his endgame).

I'm sorry for chrollo but I love it when he's the ex fling or has an unrequited crush on Illumi lmao. But like I said, I'm okay with them dating too.

In terms of HisoMachi, it's a ship I'm okay with and respect. I do think they have great interactions. It isn't something I'm very curious to explore tho. Typically the most I see in the fics I like to read is Machi being an ex or old hookup. Maybe I'd enjoy the poly route?

Now departing from Hisoka and Illumi.

I realize I don't really ship Kurapika with anybody. I'm totally okay with Kurapika ships tho! I love him as a character and I like the fanart. It's just interesting to not care particularly when there are such strong ships involving him in the fan base.

For troupe members, I think it's cute when the girls are all portrayed as gfs 😌✨ always gimme sapphics 😌✨ Phinks/Feitan, Uvo/Shal are cute too. I don't particularly enjoy m/f troupe ships tho. An exception (and maybe unpopular opinion?) is that I think Paku probably had a crush on Chrollo as a child. I don't believe they had a relationship, but I think there were strong feelings of affection for him as a person who could have been her childhood sweetheart if they didn't live such a fucked up life that forced both of them to toughen up and close off emotionally. Very bittersweet stuff 🥲

New ship no one asked for: HINRIGH/NOBUNAGA! No I will not explain

And ship I don't want to think about but then again I could probably be roped into it: PariGing. I just don't like Ging very much and he looks like he doesn't shower,,,,,, but the dynamics are great

And at last:

KilluGon. I'm not currently hyperfixating on them which means it's not content I'm actively seeking but do NOT BE FOOLED. THAT IS MY OTP. I WILL NOT TAKE ANYTHING BUT KILLUGON LOVING EACH OTHER AND ONLY EACH OTHER TILL THE END OF TIME. GIVE ME ANY OTHER SHIP INVOLVING THESE CHARACTERS AND I WILL WANT TO GOUGE MY EYES OUT. I'M SERIOUS

And that's it for today

[not-krys]

1. Introduction (Houki, Abby, Clara)

Totally dropped the ball on August's prompt (in that I completely forgot to do it in favor of doing some art stuff instead), but I did some of the prompt that was meant for August today.

These ideas stem from taking the beginnings of routes and putting my OCs in those meeting scenarios. As such, I guess technically spoilers for route beginnings? I guess? Houki gets IkeSen's prologue with rescuing Nobunaga, plus snippets from her original game's lore; Abby gets the beginning of Vincent's route, and Clara gets the wonderful beginning of Nokto's route.

Other warnings are that this is raw writings, no editing, and cuts off in places, maybe a lil rambl-y in others. Nokto is also a lil shit, but what else is new?

----------

Houki

Houki tried to close her eyes, trying to think this was all just a dream. That she was going to wake up in her room on Vale Island and that Jasper was going to scold her for sleeping in when there were other suitors and activities she needed to participate in, like Cordelia's tea party, or to watch the boat race that was going to happen later today.

Instead, all she could feel was heat and all she could smell was burning wood and smoke.

Had her room caught on fire? It wouldn't surprise her, really, since that incident with the poisoned letter.

But, no, this was certainly not her room. No plush curtains or glass windows in sight. Just burning pillars and the sound of creaking wood, straining under great pressure.

She also wasn't alone in the blazing room.

A man in black armor was laying on the floor, unconscious. In most matters, he seemed a handsome man, black hair to match his armor, a tall frame. A general, perhaps? His face was scowling in his 'rest'. Perhaps he was left to die in the blazing building. Not a comforting thought. Who was this man that would be left to die in such a place?

Going against her better judgment, Houki bent down to shake his shoulders, the crackle of the fire seeming to lick her cheeks.

Fortunately, her trapped companion seemed a light sleeper, as his eyes snapped open immediately, staring at her with bright carnelian eyes, red as the flames surrounding them.

"Who…?" his deep voice started before a pillar fell behind them with a loud crash.

"There's no time!" Houki said, grabbing hold of his hand, "we need to leave!"

The man didn't need to be told twice, standing up with the grace of a hawk taking flight. Houki covered her nose with her sleeve, trying her best to navigate through the blaze, coughing from the smoke. Her eyes were drying and hurting, as were her lungs. It didn't help that she was still recovering from the poisoned letter incident, making her breathing hurt much worse.

-----------

Abby

Abby sat on the floor, her back against the wooden door, hugging her knees to her chest. She wiped her eyes and saw the familiar brown coat, much too long and big in the shoulders for her, but the comforting scent of sunshine and fresh laundry eased her racing heart.

She was living in a mansion filled with vampires, as Arthur had made so plain to her. Rattled her with it, even. To make matters worse, when she tried to escape, she ran into two unscrupulous gentlemen. If Vincent hadn't happened by when he did…

She shuddered at the thought. She pulled his jacket closer, taking in more of his scent. The bruise on her wrist throbbed.

'She is a very special guest of this mansion,' she remembered him saying, his voice stern and vaguely threatening 'Touch her again and face the consequences.'

Vincent had been so protective of her, even if they had just met barely hours prior. She felt bad when she had swatted his hand away in her fright. She tried to apologize, but Vincent just smiled gently.

"Ah, it's my fault for trying to touch you without your permission, especially after going through something so scary."

He tried his best to comfort her, telling her that she can talk to Sebastian if she felt more comfortable, since he was still human like her. And, like a spell spoken, Sebastian did appear, taking her off Vincent's hands, helping her to her room. In her stupor, she had forgotten she was still wearing his jacket he had so gently and carefully placed on her shivering shoulders. She promised herself that she would return it in the morning, but would also ask Sebastian how to launder it first, since she was no doubt wrinkling it and staining it with her tears. She didn't want to cause him, or anyone else, any trouble. Especially if everyone else surrounding her was a vampire. Would they eat her if she did something out of turn? Arthur seemed to delight in the idea, especially when she saw the red touches on his starched and white collar.

She pulled the jacket closer, trying her best to hold back a sob. She didn't want to leave, lest she get a repeat of running into Arthur again, or anyone else for that matter.

The scent of Vincent's jacket wafted to her nose again.

—-----------

Clara

Clara felt like she was going to be sick. Her head pounded something fierce and she was surrounded by silken sheets and scent she normally would have associated with the unsavory parts of town.

Her eyes shot open, the morning light burning her eyes. She closed them again, a pained groan escaping her lips.

"Good morning, my dear." A voice said beside her, soft in delivery but the tone was full of amused mischief.

Her eyes shot open again, taking in the sight of ruby red eyes and a hand with painted black nails reaching for her forehead.

She shot up in the bed, immediately regretting that choice and held her head, her dark hair cascading over her face and shoulders.

"Well, that wasn't very smart of you, now was it?"

Clara gritted her teeth, still holding her head.

"Where… where am I?"

"My bedroom," that voice cooed, "you were so insistent last night, not letting me have a choice. It was quite bold of you, telling a prince you wanted to sleep with him."

"I would never-" her head throbbed, stealing her of her voice, "I wouldn't-"

"And yet, here we are, Belle."

Belle, right… She agreed to that yesterday. She had wanted to get to know the princes. And she had taken Nokto's word that he had sincerely wanted to help her.

This was not the direction she had thought, or hoped, the previous night would take.

She looked down at herself, still thankfully dressed in the fancy underclothes of the dress she had been given to go to that ball with that sleazeball of a prince, but the poofy dress was not on her person, instead laying in a precarious position on the floor. She wished she had the strength to glare at the prince no doubt grinning at her on the bed, but her head barely allowed her the pleasure of concentrating. The room even smelled like stale rose wine, making her stomach turn.

"Ah yes, you should know that you had wine spilled on your dress last night," she could hear the smirk in Nokto's voice, "thus why it's on the floor over there."

"What, I didn't just throw my clothes at you in my lust filled state that you seem to imply I was in?"

"You did try. I just dodged."

[jgjmk4-2]

Don't worry it wasn't that long ago.

Have you made a different account btw? Or have you left the fandom all together?

Ahhh nooo I'm still sorry 🥺

No, I haven't made a new account 😊 I still play Ikemen Sengoku, but super casually now. I don't have a fave anymore 😫 My love for Nobunaga has gone missing, I used to love him sooo much too 😭 I am enjoying Kicho's route right now though 🥰

I no longer play Ikemen Vampire or Ikemen Revolution though, I lost the accounts and I'm too lazy to send an enquiry to get them back 😅