#oc honno

[puffpawstries]

Honno did not take no as a answer

[laurzvahll]

when worlds collide @puffpawstries

bonus doodles ehe⬇️

[flowerakatsuka]

af attack for @puffpawstries! — kailee was kind enough to draw kurokara during af so i just had to draw hanichi in return!! i'm a huge sucker for height differences in ship so i love that ichi makes a perfect headrest for honno to use.

[bmpmp3]

last night i realized i could just put my silly little interdimensional oc dave into whatever universes i want so here's some self indulgent dave in sengoku but everyones really handsome era japan doodles i drew on da train today (feat mai, nobunaga, and sasuke respectively)

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 41: Phone Home - Has Katsu gotten Aki to the future in time to save him?

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?

Please take me to the right Kyoto! To the right time. I hung on to Aki so tightly that I could imagine him groaning, though the sensory deprivation of the wormhole meant that any noise I heard was an auditory hallucination.

Then, slowly, I did hear sounds… sounds I hadn’t heard for seven years…

Cars…

Busses…

Honks…

The hum of electricity...

And the screaming of tourists who were shocked to see two people manifest in front of their eyes.

Modern Japan… it was familiar, but not really home. Not anymore.

Had I been alone I would have taken time to breathe it in, to readjust to the noise and the crowd and the people. But Aki needed immediate medical treatment, so I stepped forward and announced to the circle of freaked out tourists in my best 'I went to art school and this is the only job I am qualified for' voice. "Historical Reenactments. Daily at the Azuchi Castle Ruins."

The tourists all nodded sagely, as if they saw such stunts often. Once the initial crowd moved off, I took out the paper with Sasuke's phone number, and approached a girl about my age. "Excuse me. My phone battery just died." I waved Iekane's device at her as an explanation. "Can I borrow yours? I need to call my boss before I get marked late for my day job."

She bowed politely and handed over a phone about ten generations newer than the last one I had owned. It had a custom case with some K-Pop band on it. If I had never left this time, perhaps I would be a fan. But I had, and the band on the case, though all adorable, also looked impossibly young.

I almost felt like more of a fish out of water than I ever had in the Sengoku.

With any luck I was both in the right timeline and that my timeline’s Sasuke had the same phone number of the Sasuke I had just left. Mentally crossing my fingers, I entered the number and waited. While the phone continued to ring, I kept half my attention on Aki, who was slumped over on the bench. If Sasuke didn’t answer, I would need to try-

"Mikumo Sasuke." Sasuke's neutral tones directed towards what would be an unknown number.

"Sasuke. It's Katsuko." Not yet five minutes in modern Japan and I'd already reverted to the name of my childhood. "Katsu. I'm at Honno-ji."

I turned away from the girl and lowered my voice. "I've got Aki with me, and I need to get him to a hospital."

The quick-witted Sasuke didn’t ask questions. "We'll be right there."

"Thanks." He'd already hung up. I gave the phone back to the girl and repeated my thank you to her.

"No worries. Great costume. Looks really authentic." With a bow, she headed into the shrine.

Crouching next to Aki, I propped him up under my shoulder. "Don't you dare die on me now old man."

"I’ll do my best." The words were faint, and I could feel his fever radiating off him.

"I'm sure the hospital can fix you right up." I wasn't sure, but now that there was nothing to do but wait, I was babbling uselessly. Every once in a while, a concerned Samaritan would ask if Aki was ok, and I kept repeating that help was coming.

And eventually, a long shadow fell over both of us, and a familiar warm spiced voice said, "Sasuke didn’t tell me his friend was a forest Goddess."

Right. This Shingen hasn't met me.

I looked up at the modern version of the main I had just said goodbye to less than an hour (plus or minus 450 years) ago. The cargo pants, grey henley shirt and leather bomber jacket didn’t look out of place on him at all, although the barely healed surgical scar on his chest and flirtatious look he directed at me certainly did.

With my father half draped over me, it was not the time to go into that, so I introduced myself briefly, while Shingen helped Aki to his feet and propped himself under the uninjured shoulder. "Where is Sasuke?"

"Out front in his motorized palanquin." Shingen gave a little grunt as Aki dumped his entire weight on the taller man. Realizing that this Shingen was probably fresh out of the hospital himself, I hurried to Aki’s other side and carefully maneuvered myself around his wound.

Together we half carried Aki to the street, where an SUV was hovering near the bus stop. Leaving the motor idling, Sasuke leaped out. “Greetings and salutations, Katsu,” he said as he helped settle Aki across the back seat.

I don't remember much about the trek across town. Sasuke drove like a Yokai on acid, zipping through stoplights that turned red as we sped past. The streets blurred out the window, and now that the responsibility for Aki was divided up, the-time travel (and Sasuke’s driving) caught up to me.

Feeling vaguely sick to my stomach, I shut my eyes. No Mitsuhide to hold your hair if you barf here. Or put mint oil on – Weird… I could almost smell the mint.

Opening my eyes, I saw that Shingen was holding a tin of Mintia in front of me. "Try this. I keep them around just for these travels."

Ah. So Sasuke always drove like this. Good. To. Know. "Thanks." I popped a couple of the strong mints into my mouth, and indeed, it did help with the nausea, even when Sasuke whipped a turn so sharply that both Shingen and I grabbed onto the armrests for stability.

Thanks to Sasuke's University I. D., we managed to get Aki admitted through emergency services and by some miracle Aki's biometrics were already in the hospital system. The only real difficulty occurred when the admitting staff asked how he had managed to receive a gunshot wound, and why had it been allowed to go untreated for so long.

"I'm rather curious to know the answer to that myself." I heard Shingen tell Sasuke.

Yes, he would definitely want to know about the movement of battles in 1582 – he probably was even now wondering if Kasugayama had been under attack when I left that era.

To the doctors and nurses, I kept answering, "I don't know." Without any inside knowledge about present day Kyoto's crime scene, it would be hard to make up a good story. Any detail I created would be investigated by the police, "he only said he was attacked and robbed." I then drew on my now honed by Mitsuhide acting skills and put a sob into my voice. "Please, is my dad going to be ok?"

To my horror, I felt a real tear escape. Not completely acting. Unnerved by my tears, the hospital staff ended their interrogation and directed us to a family waiting area, while Aki was wheeled off to parts unknown in the bowels of the hospital.

Shingen liberated a box of tissues from the nurses’ station (by which I mean he flirted with the staff until they gave it to him) and set it on the table next to a seriously uncomfortable plastic chair.

Ok breathe. This is a University Hospital. It’s a top-rated trauma center. It will be fine. Breathe.

Once I had again composed myself, Sasuke, who had been typing on a tablet at warp speed, turned to me. "Are you interested in reading a library of protocols for treating gunshot wounds and blood poisoning?"

Timing, Sasuke. Timing.

I must have looked as appalled as I felt, for he hurried to add. "This is not from Dr Google, but actual medical journals... not that I've personally vetted them of course. I'm not a doctor I'm a physicist."

"That was funnier the first time you told it to me." Were we private enough to go into this here? There were other people in this room. Granted, they were likely dealing with their own issues, but...

"I do not recall making this joke in the past." Sasuke darted a quick look at the other people in the waiting room, then typed something into his tablet. My hypothesis seems too fantastical to mention.

I reached for the tablet. “May I?”

He nodded, so I began two finger typing a response. Ugh. I guess some skills you lose in seven years. Both Shingen and Sasuke leaned over me to watch my response form one letter at a time.

Aki shot in 1578. Took him through a wormhole to 1586 different timeline. You and that timeline’s Shingen helped me get him here.

“Holy crap on a cracker!” His exclamation, and the fact that he nearly shot out of his seat, earned us all dark looks from the others in the room. He lowered his voice to a whisper. “Multiverses.”

I nodded. Hopefully that would satisfy him for now. At the moment, I didn’t have the mental capacity to explain more, either verbally, or on the tablet. Luckily, that set Sasuke off on another mad typing excursion, and Shingen, at least satisfied that he hadn’t missed an important battle, took another look at me, and offered to get some food. "What do you like to eat, Angel? The bistro in the lobby has very good pastry. I have tried it all.”

"Oh. Maybe just tea and soup." I had no urge to test a seven-years-in the- Sengoku digestive system on anything heavy (the shock to my intestines when I first arrived in 1575 had been a painful enough experience that I was in no hurry to repeat). Shingen nodded and made himself scarce.

With Sasuke still in mad scientist mode, I finally took a moment to glance through the paperwork I’d been given in intake and realized that Sasuke had pulled both academic and financial strings here.

"Thank you," I said to Sasuke when he had paused in his typing. "I don't know how I'll repay you--."

"It's not an issue." Sasuke gestured to his tablet. "You are making infinite contributions to my scientific knowledge." Wait until you get a look at this device. It was not the best location to show him that… not with all the witnesses about, let alone any closed circuit cameras that might be in the area.

Given my circumstances, I was going to have to rely on his charity for a day or so. While I did at least have the numbers and passcodes to Aki's accounts in that letter, without an I. D. I wouldn’t be able to access them. Granted, I could probably get a replacement for all my papers with a vague 'travelling, got robbed' excuse, but it wouldn't be immediate.

With those practicalities, and the trying-not-to-think-about-it concern over Aki circling in my mind, I gratefully accepted a comforting bowl of ramen when Shingen returned (also with a bag of pastry and a carrier containing three to-go cups). From the smell, it seemed like Sasuke was drinking a seriously dark roast coffee, which I guess also explained his typing speed. The smell reminded me of Francisco's office and for a moment I pictured myself back then all those weeks ago - when Francisco had offered Mitsuhide a cup of coff— and then an earlier memory superimposed over that one.

“You ought to be able to perform both at the same time.” Mitsuhide motioned me over to the writing desk, opened the drawer for like… three seconds… and then slammed it shut again. “What is in the drawer, brat?”—

My mental picture slid to when I searched Francisco's office to retrieve my letter. There... had been a gun in the drawer. I'd been so focused on Aki that it hadn't registered at the time. But it had not been in there when I was there last week (two weeks ago? Time flies when you’ve got wormholes). Sure, owning a gun would not be unusual for a Portuguese merchant. But I had never seen Francisco use a gun. Well… something just felt off.

Damn it. Not for the first time I wished Mitsuhide were around so that I could talk about this with him! (And wouldn't he tease me about it too!).

"Ms. Yamaoka?" A doctor entered the room with an electronic tablet in her hand. "I wanted to update you on your father's condition."

I jumped to my feet, aware that behind me, Shingen and Sasuke had done so as well, just to support me.

"We removed the bullet without any major complications." She hesitated and I realized that this was going to be one of those good news, bad news situation. "However, the infection at the site of the wound and the fever has put him at high risk for a cascading multi organ failure."

I felt a reassuring pat on my shoulder. Shingen. It was the pat of an authority figure to a subordinate, an 'I'm here to help if you want’ kind of thing, and I appreciated that he had dropped the flirtatious exterior. The slight clicking behind me suggested that Sasuke was already looking up all the potential treatments in the medical library. "We'll do everything we can to support his system, but to give the antibiotics a chance to work, we've put him into a medically induced coma." She paused, waiting for me to ask additional questions, but I had gotten the gist of it.

She handed me a few informative packets on their treatment and on patient family support options. The paperwork was a bit overwhelming, when all I wanted right now was, "Can I see him?"

The doctor frowned. "Visiting hours technically ended-"

Shingen edged closer to her. "Doctor. You are truly a Goddess of Healing. We're grateful for everything you do. All my young friend needs is a few minutes with her father, just to ease her mind."

Ha. Apparently that charisma could be deployed at will and with military precision. I was granted five minutes but warned that he wouldn't know I was there.

I was used to Aki seeming bigger than life, but now, hooked up to several machines, he looked drained and very old. As warned, he didn’t register my presence, so I simply sat and held his hand, as if that could be a conduit to transfer my energy to him.

When my time was up, I leaned over him and whispered, "Aki, if you don't recover, I am turning your spy network over to Takauji."

It was the smell of coffee that awoke me the following morning. I sat up on the futon and looked around the room, taking in details that I had been too tired to notice the night before. Sasuke's two-bedroom high rise condo was sleek and ultra-modern. Given how much of a history buff he was, I was surprised at how no-frills it was in terms of decor. It kind of seemed... not him.

In spite of the stark decor, it was comfortable, full of every imaginable convenience. I'd half slept through my first shower in seven years, then, with my hair still wet, I had fallen asleep almost instantly on the futon in the living room (both Sasuke and Shingen had offered to give up their bedrooms for me, but I had insisted that I would be fine on the futon for a few days).

Something clicked and beeped, and I finally located the smell of coffee as emanating from a complicated looking automatic espresso machine. It was the only visible appliance in the open kitchen. The thing beeped again, and, as if on cue Sasuke shuffled out of his room, hair flopping everywhere, glasses slightly askew, and made a beeline for the machine.

Recognizing a caffeine addict when I saw one, I waited for him to get a few sips into his system before engaging in conversation. "How in the world did you manage to survive in the Sengoku without coffee?"

"Indeed, it was one of the only thing I neglected to factor into my decision making when I initially went back in time. However the benefits of immersive historical and scientific research outweighed the inconvenience of the pre-Dutch explorer era." He finished his first coffee, poured another cup, then pulled an electric kettle out of some neat hidden cupboard, filled it with water, and plugged it in.

"Aki's friend Francisco had coffee - when we get back, I should connect the two of you.'' And also question Francisco about the gun. But that was something to worry about later. I had more pressing issues to deal with. “Did the hospital call with updates to Aki’s condition?” Sasuke had left his details with the hospital, since I was still without a phone.

Sasuke held up one finger, slipped back into his room at a much faster pace than he had left it, and returned with his phone. "No messages," He handed it to me. "I presume you want to call?"

He was correct in that, and once I had made it through the frustratingly complicated hospital voice system (yeesh, it was easier to get a message to someone in the Sengoku era than it was to get a live person on the phone) only to be told that Aki’s condition was unchanged, Sasuke had set out a bowl and whisk, and a packet of tea.

By the time I had prepared the tea, taking comfort in the fact that this at least had not changed from the Sengoku era, Shingen joined us. He had either slept in, or put on a kimono, and he looked a bit more like the Shingen I had met in 1586, although he was unhealthily thin; a condition that I imagined would change soon enough if he kept eating sweet pastry for breakfast.

Once we had all gathered our respective food and drink items to the table and taken a few bites to sate our hunger, Shingen asked again the question that I imagine had been nagging at him all night. "How did your father get shot?"

And so once again, I found myself explaining how and when I found Aki, but, not wanting him to question too much about 1586 (I was in no mind space to handle the awkwardness of explaining that his alternate was in love with an alternate version of me), I skipped right to the device, knowing that Sasuke would take over as soon as he saw it.

After explaining what Sasuke Mach 1586 had discovered about the thing so far, I turned it, and the letter he had written to himself over to him, and had the rare experience of seeing his face light up with scientific glee. "Holy crap on a cracker - it's a... I don't know what to call it."

"We were joking that it’s a mini-flux capacitor." Although who knows maybe that is what it was.

"Though I wouldn't dare question your scientific knowledge Sasuke," Shingen looked at the device warily. "I do not want you to accidentally transport us to yet another place in time."

"At the moment, it's coded to me, so we should be ok." Just to be extra safe, I folded my hands in my lap.

Sasuke scanned the letter to himself, making happy murmurs about science and multiverses. Then he set the letter down and sighed happily. “My day is complete. My alternate Sasuke has evidence of yet another alternate Sasuke.” He turned the device over and over in his hand.

“Yeah, according to Katsuko, there are at least four of us, so there are likely four of you too and-“

SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE

The device vibrated violently, let out an electronic beep, and a tiny green light began blinking.

"Sasuke... what did you do?" Shingen's voice had gotten ominously quiet. I glanced around the room, looking for that odd ripple I had seen each time the device activated, but at least on that end things were normal.

"I have not begun any actions that would cause it to activate," Sasuke set the thing down. "Whatever just initiated was automatic."

"Like a self-destruct program?" Yeesh. And I'd been carrying that thing in my kimono.

"Perhaps. Or a homing beacon."

The blinking light intensified in speed, let out another SQUEE.

Then the light went out and it silenced.

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

[limonzu]

OC dump for the evening pt2

And for those curious. She ended up leaving the coconuts at Honno-ji, for her kids to pick up in the Sengoku and do with as they please :>

She's all the same character, just different things going on. She's the mother of my other OCs, (proud mother of 4) heeheheheeheh

I'll have to info dump on her a bit later

Maybe even later tonight too haha

[writingwhimsey]

Picking Back Up Ch. 1

Just an idea I had for an Ikesen Masamune fic based on the events of his dramatic ending. Summary below the cut! Features my OC/MC Ava and Masamune.

What I imagine would happen if Ava had been pregnant when she was thrown back into the future in Masamune's dramatic ending. Then how Masamune reacts when she returns with a baby after their year apart. I hope you enjoy!

Chapter 1

I sat on my bed, timer in hand. Just waiting for it to go off, staring out the window. It was the longest three minutes of my life. The timer finally went off and I walked into my bathroom. I took a deep breath before picking up the white plastic stick. Two pink lines.

A mixture of emotions swirled through my chest. I was happy, but at the same time...I was feeling terribly lonely. The father of my child was five hundred years away and I had no way to share the news with him. I didn't even have a way to know for certain he was even alive. The last time I had see him, he was trapped in the fiery wreckage of Honno-ji.

"No...Masamune is alive." I told myself as I felt the tears coming. I looked at my reflection in the mirror, resolve in my eyes. "He had to have made it out. He promised...and I promised to find my way back to him."

It was then that I heard a knock on my apartment door. I made my way to the front door, not even realizing I still held the test in my hand. I checked out the peephole and saw Sasuke standing on the other side. I threw a smile on my face as I opened the door.

"Hey, Sasuke." I greeted him. "Come on in."

"Thank you." He replied, giving me a small smile.

Once he was inside, I gestured to my couch. "Have a seat. You want any water or anything?"

"No, it's alright, Ava." He replied. "Are you alright? You look like you've been crying."

I reached my hands up to wipe at my eyes. "I'm fine." It was then that I realized I still held the pregnancy test in my hand.

"Is...is that what I think it is?" Sasuke asked, his eyes on the white plastic.

I let out a sigh. "Yeah...and before you ask it's positive."

"So, you have even more reason you want to return to the Sengoku?" Sasuke asked.

I nodded. "Yes. Speaking of, have you found anything more about when the wormhole will appear?" I asked.

Sasuke nodded. "Yes, I have it calculated...one year from the day we arrived back here."

My eyes widened. "A year? That's...that's so long."

"I know. I wish it were sooner."

"Well...at least I'll have modern medicine when I give birth." I replied. "I just...I wish that I could share all of this with him."

"I know." Sasuke replied.

I could picture it so clearly. Telling Masamune and him being happy at the news. He'd probably say something about it being an adventure that he couldn't wait for. I could see him cooking, telling me he was going to fatten me up...then as I got farther along telling me how cute I looked. Maybe even talking to the baby calling him or her an impudent kit.

Sasuke was handing me a tissue. "Here, you're crying again."

"Sorry." I replied.

"It's understandable given the circumstances." Sasuke replied. "I will keep searching to see if there's any chance of a wormhole appearing sooner."

"Thank you, Sasuke."

In the Sengoku...

It had been about a month and a half since the wormhole had appeared and taken Ava away while Masamune was trapped in the fire. He'd been unable to get out on his own, a smug Yukimura pulling him from the fire. He hated that he owed that man his life, but he did.

Masamune was staying at an inn not far from Honno-ji. He and his men were overseeing the reconstruction of the temple. "My lord, do you really believe the princess will return and return here?" Kojuro asked him.

Masamune nodded. "My kitten will find her way back and I know that this is where she'll show up. It is where it all started anyways."

Kojuro nodded. "How long do you plan to stay here?"

"At this inn? Till the construction of Honno-ji is complete. Then...I'll stay at the temple until she is back."

Kojuro nodded. "I'll make sure to keep everything in place then."

"I know you will." Masamune replied, giving his vassal and friend a smile.

Kojuro bowed before leaving.

Masamune sat out on the veranda of his inn room and gazed up at the sky. "I know you'll come back, Kitten. I'll be waiting for you."

https://writingwhimsey.tumblr.com/post/676369282984214528/picking-back-up-ch-2

[toastedawesome]

A good stretch is a good start to a good day! 

[mayasshitposts]

I posted 85 times in 2021

14 posts created (16%)

71 posts reblogged (84%)

For every post I created, I reblogged 5.1 posts.

I added 55 tags in 2021

#cybird ikemen - 9 posts

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Longest Tag: 29 characters

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My Top Posts in 2021

#5

I’ve been waiting for you (Sasuke x OC)

Prompt: None Game: Ikemen Sengoku Characters: Sasuke Sarutobi, Rukmini Chakrabarty (OC)Warnings: Angst/Fluff- starts with angst SASUKE POV Summary: Sasuke and Rukmini had been in a relationship for 2 years before being transported to he Sengoku era through the wormhole. How does Sasuke spend the four years without Rukmini, as he waits for her arrival. Notes: - Sasuke wakes up in the middle of a battlefield - Spots Kenshin and saves him - Go to kasugayama - Analysis, starts calculations - Starts training - Meets yukimura and they become friends - Sasuke's inner thoughts - After he almost dies, he cries himself to sleep - Timeskip to honnoji - Hears yuki arguing with someone - The U-T Forces inspect and Sasuke offers to escort her- - They hug and cry silently.

The world was dark, everything was hazy. One could hear the distant sounds of swords clashing and the thumping of hooves. Men were shouting war cries. The air reeked of blood and death.

Sasuke Mikumo's eyes fluttered open as he was greeted by a bright orange sky and the sights one could only associate with war. From the corner of his eye, Sasuke spotted a man crouched on the ground. He sensed some movement, and before he knew it, Sasuke's feet were moving on their own as he pushed the man out of the way of an arrow. The rest of the events were a blur as the next thing Sasuke remembers is sitting in a large hall, surrounded by men who seemed to belong to a historical movie.

"You don't seem to be from around here," Said one of the men. Sasuke whipped his head towards a man with stunning blonde hair and a piercing gaze of different coloured eyes. Sasuke fumbled, but shook his head, "No, I am not from here." He said.

"What's your name?" asked the man. Sasuke paused for a moment, before introducing himself, "Sarutobi. My name is Sasuke Sarutobi."

 ****

 A peaceful fullmoon night had fallen over Kasugayama castle. Sasuke had discovered that he had saved the Sengoku warlord, Kenshin Uesugi's life, and now Kenshin would train Sasuke in the art of the ninja, and provide him with a place to stay. However, what puzzled Sasuke the most was the events that led to this moment. Just a few hours ago, he was standing at the Honno-ji monument with his girlfriend, Rukmini.

 Flashback:

 Sasuke Mikumo had met up with his girlfriend Rukmini Chakrabarty at the cafeteria at Kyoto University. They were both working on their joint post graduation thesis on astrophysics specializing in wormholes and time travel. While researching, Sasuke had made an interesting finding. "Rukmini?" He started, as they ate their spaghetti. The girl looked up from her plate, gesturing for Sasuke to speak.

"According to my calculations, a wormhole is supposed to open near the Honno-ji monument, and it should take us 500 years into the past. I want to test it out, would you join me?" He asked. Sasuke was nervous that she would refuse, or call his calculations stupid.

"Sure." Said Rukmini, catching Sasuke off-guard. Rukmini looked at her boyfriend of two years closely as she continued, "We'll be together, right?"

Sasuke nodded as he smiled a rare smile, "Of course we'll be together!" He exclaimed. Flashback end

 They had gone to the monument together when the wormhole appeared, yet Rukmini was nowhere to be seen. Endless possibilities ran through Sasuke's head. Could Rukmini be stuck in another dimension? Did he actually travel through time? Could Rukmini have stayed back in their original time? Sasuke could feel hiss heart clench as he thought about the worst possibilities.

 He had been dating Rukmini for two years now. They had met at university as they had been studying in the same department. Sasuke had fallen in love with her goofy personality and her dedication to academics. Sasuke winced as he felt the pangs of separation. He loved Rukmini, more than anything in this world. Sasuke dedicated the next four years of his life to calculations, and the study of ninjutsu. Sasuke met some friends along the way, including Shingen Takeda and his faithful vassal Yukimura Sanada. Over time, Yukimura became Sasuke's closest friend and support system in the Sengoku era.

 Sasuke's calculations predicted that Rukmini would arrive four years after him at Honno-ji.

 One day, Sasuke was on a scouting mission away from Eichigo, when he was ambushed. He fought valiantly, but the enemy overpowered him, beating him down. It was only when Yukimura arrived with reinforcements that the attackers fled.

Injured and frightened, Sasuke cried himself to sleep that night. What would happen if he had died? Who would tell Rukmini? Who would comfort her when she arrived? All Sasuke wanted was to feel her warmth, and to reassure her, and himself that he was still alive. Sasuke missed Rukmini, he really did.

 ****

 Four years had passed since Sasuke had first arrived in the Sengoku era. He was with Kenshin, Shingen, Yoshimoto and Yukimura, as they travelled through the forests near Honno-ji for scouting. They had heard about Oda activity near the territory. Sasuke was glad, as he expected Rukmini to arrive in the Sengoku on that day. The party observed activity near the temple as they lay in wait. Yukimura had gone ahead while Sasuke waited in the shadows.

Suddenly, Sasuke heard Yukimura arguing with someone. He rushed towards the voices and spotted Yukimura talking to a woman. The woman seemed familiar. Sasuke's breath hitched in his throat as he caught a clearer glimpse of her face. Sasuke moved closer to listen in on their conversation. The others join Yukimura and start questioning her. Sasuke knew that the girl was getting nervous. He emerged from his spot as the girl's eyes lit up as she noticed him. Sasuke looked at her, tears pricking at his eyes. He felt that he was alive again.

 "I'll escort her back to the city," Sasuke offered. The men were reluctant, but agreed, considering Sasuke was the safest option.

Once Sasuke was sure that they were alone, he pulled the woman into his arms and let the tears fall. "Rukmini," He whispered, "I've been waiting for you."

13 notes • Posted 2021-01-24 13:55:07 GMT

#4

Hi to my wonderful Ikemen fandom!

I noticed that a lot of negativity is being spread, and it saddens me to see so many of the wonderful creators are the targets.

I know I'm a new voice here, and I don't know a lot of you personally, but I do read your work, I do my best to like and rwblog everything, but I sometimes miss posts or just don't see them due to my own lack of activity.

All I want to say is, please, continue to contribute to the fandom like the lovely gems you are. You all inspire me to come out of my writer's block and do stuff myself.

Thank you for everything you do. I love you all.

-if you ever want anyone to leave hearts and hugs on your posts, I'm right here

27 notes • Posted 2021-02-26 12:14:52 GMT

#3

So I was told that Seth's shocked face would look great on anyone. So here. Seth's shocked face on some characters.

See the full post

54 notes • Posted 2021-01-20 20:05:50 GMT

#2

See the full post

65 notes • Posted 2021-03-01 02:39:59 GMT

#1

A follow up to this post

And a request from @kisara-16

Arthur with Seth shocked face.

67 notes • Posted 2021-02-28 16:31:42 GMT

Get your Tumblr 2021 Year in Review →

[amenomiko]

Thank you for the request @fluffyneko

Permission to use my OC in this plot were granted! Thank you so much ❤!

Nobunaga

Dark red hair, ocean blue eyes.

People may assume that the color of her hair itself is fierce, but to him, she is nothing but another woman he come across with. Yet, what makes him intrigued is the gleam in her eyes when she was talking to him.

There were no signs of fear, nor insecurities of her surroundings but only passion and bravery. He find it amusing when she proclaim that she is the head of an assassination group, from the future, particularly.

He scoffed, "You might had gotten the damage from the smoke from the fire more than I do. You need a rest." It's obvious on how he found her nonsense talk amusing, but he was wrong.

Without hesitation she agreed to follow him to the battle. And in that battle itself, she easily take over the battle tactic side, grabbing the weapon and use it as if it's a normal thing to do. There's a tightening feeling in his chest to the way she fight, killing her enemies ruthlessly; not even flinching to those blood that smeared all over her kimono.

Ever since then, he will bring her to the battlefield more often, fighting side by side, protecting each other's back. Yet, as time goes by, no matter how strong she is, there will be a moment where he will do all the killing, and shielding her at the same time, to her dismay.

A.k.a he has fallen in love with this heiress.

Masamune

He had been watching her, ever since the day she had rescued his lord. That night at the honno-ji is where it all started, especially when she tried to escape, and was good in using the horse with ease.

When he manage to chase after her, they had exchange few blows to one another, of which it peaks his interest in knowing about her more and more, specifically to his need for fun, and wild battle.

Still, there are times she can be reckless, and when it happened, it makes him confused to her character. She is ruthless and reckless next, somehow that side of her is like a coat to her real self-- in a way resulting in him, find her innocent and adorable.

"You can use both range type of weapon, Lass? Now isn't that something?"

Oh it is. It has created something in his thumping chest that very moment when he get to witness her in using both of her sword and gun. She was slashing the enemies, then shooting them at the same time. Now isn't that.. Hot?

Mitsuhide

She was under a man disguise when he first met her. It was so perfect to the point he couldn't detect her real identity, until he carried out his usual mission of revealing one's secret.

"You can say I am just like you, Mitsuhide." She begin, and he raised his eyebrows. "Like me, you say?" Somehow he get the gist of her real identity. Soft voice, petite size for a man,...

"I know what you are thinking, and you are not wrong." She chuckled, eyes returning back to bore into his. "You see, I am saying I'm just like you because.. I'm also a left hand to my head of my clan, and impersonating someone successfully. It's our forte, don't you agree?"

His lips slowly curve into a grin. "Hooh? Left hand, you say?"

"And what makes us different is that.. Due for me, being the head of an assassination group, it is one of the essentials to get into disguise,"

She pulled up her male character wig, silky hair gently bounce against her shoulder and down to her chest, smiling wickedly as she continued, "..So, impersonation is very important, in order to trap my enemies."

His eyes widen; both in amazed and surprise, to her and himself, of where he realized how she had successfully trapped him, in believing she is a man from the very first time they've met. Not to mention how different she is when her hair is freed, making her real gender to glow.

"Future changes must not be underestimated then, my little assassin." He chuckled before smiling from his heart to her.

Kenshin

Matters that related with women is not something that will sway his heart. Not like the other men, nor that charmer of Kai.

Except for her.

It can't be helped, his ninja said, that she is from the same place as his, and he is worried if he get into danger if she lived alone. Obviously that was a lie, until Kenshin knew where she came from, and her real background is.

Despite saying he hates women, she still reside within his castle, as long as she won't be a huge nuisance. There were no interactions between them, then one day..

Enemies swarmed the castle with surprise attack. She, who seem to be weak and innocent in his mismatched eyes is now fighting solo without any injuries on her body. She didn't quiver in fear, none. She killed without second thoughts, even when the enemies beg for mercy.

It was revealed that she came from the future, and a left hand woman of the head of the mafia clan nonetheless. Not only that, she is the leader of her assassin group, who specializes in both long and short range weapon.

..Matters about women didn't bother him. However, for the very first time, he wanted to spar with her-- where it is also a first record where someone could swing his Himezuru out from his grip with ease.

"....."

He stare at his impaled Himezuru in shock, and back to her grinning lips. "Well..? Do you want another round?"

His lips mirrored like hers, and now his expression is gentler when he faced her again.

[puffpawstries]

cuteness aggression Extra!

put a band-aid to make it better!! :]

[laurzvahll]

yayyy some of this years art fight attacks !!!!! This was my first AF and I had so much fun I won’t lie :3 I loved drawing everyone’s characters even if I didn’t get to finished all the attacks I had planned

we got Kurse for @oh-gh0st and Seth for @rlvdnt

Darling for @toadstool32 and Kuroba for @flowerakatsuka

Honno for @puffpawstries and Erina for @girlymatsu !!!

And the unfinished attacks:

Ghost for @oh-gh0st , Aini for @pekodayz , and Mizuki for @cottonthingy :3

When AF started I sketched out all my planned attacks , so here are the ones I unfortunately didn’t get to finish :’( but im gonna try to if I find the time , even if AF is over . Tysm to everyone who drew my ocs I had so much fun and I can’t wait for next year!

[palettepainter]

Character design practise with my own interpretation of Powerloader’s family 

I’ve always thought PL would come from a family with a younger siblings, him being the oldest. These where all random designs that popped into my head while I was thinking about what headcannon to work on. I’m only really proud of the second, third and fourth design in this - may tweak the other two a bit. I put some brief notes in the drawing but incase they aren’t clear I’ll leave some notes on each characters personality below

(left to right)

-I’m thinking on naming her Chikara or Gado, honestly her design I like the least so I may just scrape her or give her a complete redesign, it just feels to meh to me. She was designed as the second oldest sibling after Powerloader, she keeps the other siblings in check and does most of the house work when her mums not around. I imagine her as an officer/boxer, she’s the kind of person to take charge in the face of chaos. It’s very rare she snaps but sometimes she’ll loose her cool and get angry, mostly at her brother Haka/Hono

-Hakka/Hono is my favourite design! I feel as though I nailed the design I had in my head perfectly for him! He’s also got a more developed story in my opinion. Hakka/Hono is the third oldest sibling, his quirk is landmine where he can turn anything into a small explosion based on touch. He was pretty close with Higari until he left for the main city to study at UA. With how busy his life became studying at UA and what happened after Ectoplasm lost his legs Powerloader gradually began to forget to write back home. After Powerloader left for UA things gradually went downhill for the family: their father died leaving their mother in a bad emotional state and no one around to run the family business. Hakka/Hono drops out of school in favour to care for his mother and younger siblings, as well as try and keep the family engineering business running. All the kids had to grow up fast to help out, and Hakka/Hono felt as though Higari had ditched them for a better easier life in the city. When his calls and letters became non existent Hakka/Hono ends up getting physically and verbally angry, he lashes out at people and even his own siblings, which leads to him running off to go vent his anger out in some place private. One day when Hakka/Hono has gone to a nearby dumb to let out his frustrations he ends up turning a broken down car next to him into a bomb, which detonates right next to him, leaving left side of his body permanently scarred. The hospital bills for his recovery make him feel more guilty, he blames Higari for his own mistakes becasue he’s embarrassed with himself, ashamed that he only made things worse for the family. 

He ends up bullying his older brother when he comes round to visit, pushes him around a lot and is very sarcastic with him. The only person in his family he gets along well with is his youngest sister

-Taiho and his twin sister Kowasu/Chikara are two halves of a whole. They are always together and both work as engineers for the family repair business. They’re the main driving force that’s keeping the business running and the two have actually come to like the job a small bit. Taiho in his spare time likes to practice stunts with his quirk, as a kid he wanted to be a stunt performer, but after his dad passed away his dreams had to be put on hold so he could pull his weight around the home - Taiho also has a small part time job in demolition, his quirk makes him perfect for the job, and it’s extra money.

His sister is more laid back but tends to be the leader when the two are out repairing cars or support gear. The town they live in is in the country and is fairly small, so the community is very friendly, the most they repair is cars, bikes and sometimes household appliances. Despite the twins both coming off as care free and funny, they’re both pretty bad at being honest with their own feelings and opinions. When their father died and they had to be the ones taking care of their mother they felt as though they had to push aside their own feelings. If they feel sad or frustrated like Hakka/Honno, they go somewhere private to let it all out

- Yosetsu/Suru is the youngest of the group and is the most chipper, but that’s only becasue she feels as though she has to be the innocent/perfect/all is fine kid of the family. Being the youngest she naturally didn’t/doesn’t have to pull as much weight as everyone else, but she feels guilty when everyone is putting in all their effort and she’s not. She wants to be an engineer for the family business and thus has grown a hobby of tinkering and inventing in her spare time. She basically lives in the family garage where she spends most of her time building and taking apart random machines. Hakka/Hono is the one she’s closest too, Hakka/Hono took her under his wing after their dad died, it was the big brother in him and - with Higari not there to be the big brother - Hakka/Hono had to take up that place

DO NOT REPOST/EDIT/COPY/TRACE MY ART OR OC’S!!!

[ayellowbirds]

“I will write my own story!” CHECK OUT! RIDER: LEDA! [チェックアウト!  ライダー:リーダー ]

I’m finally working on a long-intended redesign of my Kamen Rider OC, Kamen Rider Leda (仮面ライダーリーダー). In the human identity of Ramie Honno (本能 怜見), the alien Leda rebels against the same forces she once almost led. About to be announced the new leader of the Galactic Survey in collecting the information of civilizations by stealing cultural memories, Leda made a diversion to visit one of the planets further down the list of targets in order to evaluate it for her plan to revise the order of attack.

But her undercover investigations reversed her opinions: the Galactic Survey had taken to grooming its members from birth, and the fragile foundations on which their teachings had been built were shattered as Ramie happened upon a book discussion group that rapidly began churning out headcanons and fanfiction seeds. To the Survey, a story was done once it hit the final draft, and Leda was blown away by the idea that fiction could have a life after publication. Settling in as a human, she promptly forgot her original goals and pursued work in libraries.

So, she was unprepared and out of practice when the invasion happened without her. As the replacement leadership of the Galactic Survey targets the stories of Earth by stealing the memories of the most precious cultural touchstones, “Ramie” pulls on her old disguise tool, the Kairan Driver (回覧ドライバー), and becomes Story Rider Leda to fight against the monstrous fiction-themed Surveyders (サーベーダー) formed by stealing stories. 

Activating the Kairan Driver by inserting the Marginalia Key and triggering the “Open Page” acknowledgement, Ramie transforms into the Diary Page (ダイアリーページ ) form, secretly her natural appearance as an armored alien and a weaker form that is mainly suited for evasion. By rotating the Diary Key again, she activates her default Blank Page (ブランクページ) combat form. As Ramie fights Surveyders and recovers the Earth’s great stories, her allies help her to create power-boosting Electriform Books (電身書籍) that she can use with the Kairan Driver and Marginalia Key to unlock new “Jacket” forms, including:

Akazukin Jacket: The axe-wielding, wilderness-specialized Little Red Riding Hood form can also summon the Okuleader (送リーダー), a wolf-styled motorcycle with a mind of its own. Hey, why does this form seem so eerie, uncanny, almost ghostly?

Hoshinoojo Jacket: The ultra-powered form Ramie unlocks after coming to terms with her origins, this Le Petit Prince-styled form summons the power of readers to tell their own version of a story, and make something new, allowing Leda to “rewrite” Surveyders.

Meitantei Jacket: The vision-enhancing Sherlock Holmes form, specialized for searching for the tiniest clues—from missing objects, to Surveyder weaknesses. Odd how the wind seems to blow more when she uses this form....

Suikoden Jacket: Calling on the power of the 108 warriors of Chinese classic Water Margin, this nimble form is focused on splashing strikes with a variety of weapons. There’s something familiar about its feudal warrior styling, though. 

Taketori Jacket: Summoning the power of the story of Princess Kaguya, this form grants incredible leaping ability and powers of intense light. Almost like a rocket launching into space, huh?

[bmpmp3]

Ikesen NW OC week day 1,  Introduction - It’s Real Masato Hours

About him: My worst Ikesen OC!! He’s genuine garbage, just a yandere who belongs in jail.

There’s a lot of tricky things about making yandere LIs but it’s especially tricky for someone like me who has very, very specific tastes that I’m quickly learning are Not What Most Yandere Fans Want jsfkdkjdfs listen....I just want an Absolute Garbage Boy, I wanna get Absolutely Fucked Up for like 10 chapters, and then I want the yandere to go to jail in the good ending like Get Outta Here with that redemption nonsense boo hoo i have a tragic backstory so its okay that i killed everyone you love Like Girl that’s alright but I’ve SEEN IT i wanna get FUCKED UP and then i wanna throw the yandere into the trash where he belongs is that so wrong

anyway enough prefacing, here’s the garbage man himself, Masato! Masato’s a pretty nice dude with a generally kind and gentle demeaner, although he can seem a lil’ ditzy with some goofy questions here and there. His employees tend to like him, he doesn’t yell or get mad like ever, and he seems to care about their wellbeing. Also that’s all a facade, he’s pretty cruel as a businessman but he keeps it behind the scenes, his ditziness is him playing dumb to make others let their guard down, and he couldn’t care less about anyone except for how they could help him further his own goals qwq

He’s in his mid-thirties and he owns a fairly large clothing company which MC is applying for a job at in the prologue. While he does actually seem to have some interest in design, the company’s a bit of a front?? Not completely, it does design clothes and its pretty normal except there’s just a couple labs hidden in there that seem to be researching something....not clothes related?? More time travel and wormhole related?? 

Masato also funds as much research into time travel and wormholes as he can find (sorry Sasuke.......ur grad student work was for this fucko), his motive is kinda weird and vague right now ‘cause I’m not a great writer but like, he’s somehow got it in his head that he’s got some kinda destiny involving isekai-ing himself into the past?? I think he was certain he was born in the past or something and was accidentally wormhole’d here as a baby? And now he’s gotta fulfill some kinda destiny or whatever  he wasn’t secretly a baby from the past, but through his research he found out a girl was adopted in just the right area and just the right time for her to be from a wormhole a couple decades ago  yeah MC is a sengoku baby that was wormhole’d into the future by accident in this route and she doesn’t know  this is my yandere LI and I get to choose the level of nonsense in his route 

anyway I think out of some kinda weird jealousy? he kind of becomes obsessed with MC? maybe he thinks if he can have her, then he can keep on track with his weird destiny stuff?? maybe he really did just straight up fall in love with her? Maybe somewhere between? anyway that’s why he lowkey tracks her down and gets his people to scout her for a job, he wants to get close to her without freaking her out yknow

Route: his route would be kinda funky, MC would get sent through the wormhole and she’d live in the sengoku era for like three months and while she didn’t fall in love with anyone romantically, she and sasuke did fall in love with their sengoku families so they decide to stay, a cute sorta mass-friendship route? I also want that without Masato ruining everything, I think all games would do nicely with a mass-friendship route......anyway back on topic

enter Masato: who spent the last three months in the present trying to figure out where the hell MC went which led him to the honno-ji monument’s wormholes, he gets to the sengoku era and acts all gently confused and surprised (even though he went here on purpose) and tells the others he has no idea what’s happening he was just admiring local historical monuments and suddenly hes here, so he just lives in Azuchi with MC for the next while as Sasuke tries to figure out when the next scheduled wormhole will be this does kinda throw a new wrench in Sasuke’s and MC’s plans to live in the sengoku era just chilling with their adopted sengoku family of warlords, but that’s something they’ll deal with when the time comes

I think his plan would start by him being nice and friendly with MC with some subtle attempts at convincing her she wants to go back to the present with him, but as that doesn’t work I think he’d escalate

I think he’s got some wormhole controlling stuff down? I think his research teams fucked around so much they got him a bit of an ability to time travel at will? not completely, it’s probably messy and doesn’t always work, probably with some kinda machine, maybe something to do with Wormy? oh my god did they kidnap Wormy set my boy free oh maybe that’s why he doesn’t just grab MC and go, maybe Wormy still has a bit of control and is trying to protect her? 

anyway I think he’d escalate by getting some of his underlings from the present to mess around with things in the background of azuchi to scare MC into thinking this place really isnt safe and she should go back home with him, like maybe there seems to be more bandits attacking her than usual, that kind of thing

but when that doesn’t work he’d get people to Deal With (read: they are found mysteriously dead? it seems like normal assasination but what’s going on) those who are close to MC, ily nobunaga but I think he’d be the first to get killed? ‘cause it’d fuck so much stuff up, hideyoshi would go nuts, everyone would be confused and scared, good time for Masato to swoop in and convince MC that she’s gotta go home with him

also in this route MC would have dormant time travel powers btw

and when all the murder doesn’t work I think he’d just give up and just kidnap her, maybe chop off a limb or two, can’t escape, its better for you if i keep you here with me type of yandere, that kinda thing

in the “romantic” (heavy, heavy quotations) I think it’d be like the first bad ending in ikesen history jfdksfdss everyone’s dead and MC’s stuck with Masato forever

the dramatic end would have MC unlocking some time powers and finally throwing masato into the trash where he belongs, like i dunno if she’ll actually kill him? it feels a lil out of character but it could also be interesting as like the only time she actually let a bad guy straight up die? or maybe he just gotta go to jail, maybe sengoku jail instead of normal jail, thats full o’ torture or whatever right? its what he deserves

also im a sap who loves a happy ending so i would like it in the dramatic end if she used her time powers and wormy and was somehow able to bring back her dead friends qwq

Relationships: MC: I think in the beginning MC would actually really like him, listen he’s a handsome man and he acts really nice, he seems to have an interest in clothing as well, he’s like six feet tall, listen MC girl, I get it, dont worry, but over time as things get weird and scary in the local sengoku towns she might start noticing some weird stuff about Masato himself, and sooner or later she’d realize he’s behind everything and Would Not Be Down With it Sasuke: Sasuke would spent like the entire route being kind of thrown off by him ‘cause his name sounds so familiar sjfdskjfsdks and by the time he figures out that Masato Miura was one of the people funding research Sasuke worked on I think Masato would have already started Fucking Things Up and Sasuke would feel.... So Bad Mitsuhide: I dunno I just think most of the warlords would trust Masato okay once they see MC seems to be fine with him, but I don’t think Mitsuhide or Ieyasu would ever trust him, Mitsuhide especially ‘cause he’s a sneaky boy who can spot a fellow liar from a mile off, i think he’d keep pretty quiet about it for a while though, at least until he can figure out what’s actually going on, I think Mitsuhide would be pretty good for like someone to help MC take Masato down in the Dramatic End Ieyasu: Ieyasu doesn’t trust like, anyone, I don’t think he’d trust Masato lol although he might be a lil too vocal about his distrust compared to Mitsuhide so that might make Masato wanna....get rid of him sooner.....im sorry ieyasu ily

Love Rival: Since this is so full of my own fanon I think Wormy could be a fun love rival! especially since the wormhole is so important to Masato, turns out the wormhole hates his guts and wants him to leave MC alone fkdjfdks

Image Colour: Light Orange

Pet: He’s got a guinea pig, he never got around to naming it but he keeps it ‘cause it reminds him of MC somehow, around later parts in his route when we get Kidnap-y(tm) he’d start calling MC weird, kinda insulting nicknames like Piggy jfkdsjhds 

[the12thnightproject]

Chapter 43: Past Present - Katsu finally learns more about her parents, while an old video reveals someone has been watching her a long time.

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 if nothing had happened, the device sat on the table, acting innocent.

"I suggest that we move back a bit, in case Katsu's theory about a potential explosion is correct." Shingen already had his hand on my shoulder to pull me out of a potential blast zone.

We all scooted back about a meter, staring at the thing.

Waiting.

Nothing happened.

After about a minute when the only sound was our breathing, Sasuke cautiously approached it again. "I believe it sent a signal."

"E-T. Phone home?" Of course it wasn’t actually alien device (probably not?), but that was the closest analogy I could come up with.

"Indeed. Er... since we don't know who, or what may answer that call, would you be comfortable if I put this in my safe?" Sasuke gingerly picked up the device and nodded to a built in locker that appeared at first to be a simple cabinet.

"Go ahead." I watched him lock it away. "It's not like I'm going to be time travelling until Aki recovers."

"And if you plan to go back to Sengoku, Honno-ji wormhole will open the night of the winter solstice, or you could come with us when Togakushi manifests a few weeks after that. Lord Shingen has another six weeks of pulmonary therapy, so we were aiming for that."

As if to remind himself that his access to coffee had an expiration date, Sasuke went over to his espresso machine and made another cup.

"Thank you for the offer. It all depends on what happens with Aki, but I will keep this all in mind." Either way, it looked like I was going to be here for at least another month, if not longer.  Which meant there were some practicalities that should be taken care of. I glanced at the clock. It was still too early to go to the authorities to replace my identification, but I did need to do something about my clothing to avoid looking like a cosplay reject.

When I verbalized my intentions to the others, Sasuke replied "Katsu, it’s Sunday."

"Oh wow. I completely forgot about the concept of weekends.” Or seven day weeks, for that matter. In the Sengoku, weeks were ten days long. So, no official business or banking yet. “I can still shop right?" Before I left Tsutsujigasaki, Katsuko had given me some modern yen, as she and Shingen had a supply tucked away in case they ever went through the wormhole again. Plus I had some Sengoku era coinage that I likely could sell at an antique dealer for enough cash to tide me over until I could access Aki’s bank account. "Are there open stores within walking distance from here?"

One experience I was not eager to repeat was Sasuke's driving.

Later that afternoon, attired in jeans, a t-shirt (Ironman, of course) and a hoodie, I returned to Aki's room in ICU. His condition was unchanged, and I was half frustrated, half grateful for the fact that I had no idea what all the medical monitoring devices he was hooked up to meant and what information they sent to his treatment team.

Ignoring the beeps and whirs of the machine, I closed my eyes and pretended I was back in Aki's private study, giving him one of the many scouting reports I had delivered over the past seven years, seven years in which I was an apprentice, an employee, not a daughter. As objectively as possible, I told him of what Mitsuhide and I had learned in Sakai, of Motonari’s return from the dead, and of the current plot between Yoshiaki and Iekane. And of course I again reassured him that Hiko was safely sheltered in Kasugayama.

He didn’t respond. I knew that he would stay unconscious until the hospital decided to wake him up. Could he hear my voice? "Aki… why didn’t you ever tell me that you were my father?"

It was a question that I hadn't had the courage to ask at Tsutsujigasaki, a question that the other Katsuko, safely confident in her place in that world, in her place with Shingen, had likely been able to ask during those times she was taking care of him and forcing willow bark tea down his throat.

Was it worth asking when he could not answer, probably could not hear me?

Francisco had said that Aki returned once, and my mother sent him away. Had he given up on us so easily? Or…

"Fourth?" Though I bowed and took my placement with outward humility, inside, I was a bundle of confusion and anger. My balance beam routine had been the most difficult of everyone's in the twelve and under group. Harder than half of the older girls too. Oh not at the level of the girls going to junior or senior Worlds. But I had hit every trick. What had I done wrong?

Still, I knew the rules. Smile. Bow. And if I seethed, I would do it inwardly. Complaining would give me the reputation as a sore loser. I wasn't sore... exactly. Just... confused, in a semi-annoyed way.

I was plotting how to politely ask the gym's coach to tell me how I could improve my placement in the future, when I realized that all the coaches were huddled together, looking out toward the bleachers. They seemed… tense. Worried.

Better wait until another time.

After politely congratulating the winners, all of whom would now advance to regional competitions, I threw on my clothing and met my brother out in front of the sports facility. Toshiie had been there to film the event on his phone for mom, since she was having one of her bad days and hadn’t come with.

"I was robbed," I said, once we were safely on the bus and out of hearing of anyone who had been to the competition.

Aware that his job as twin-who-knows-nothing-about-athletics, was to agree with whatever I said, Toshiie nodded solemnly. Then he spoiled it by saying, "I didn’t watch the whole event. Too busy watching the man get thrown out."

Huh? "What do you mean?" And thanks Tosh. I knew he didn’t care about sports, but I thought he'd be interested in supporting me.

"Some strange man was watching the meet. He said his kid was competing, but no one recognized him." Toshiie shrugged. "It was more interesting than gymnatistics. Sorry."

Huh. Again. Thanks bro.

My awareness returned to the present, with a hopeful thought. Maybe… maybe once my mother had sent him away, Aki had kept watch from a distance. Maybe he even had been the man at the gym?

I pulled out the temporary pre-paid phone I had picked up that afternoon. Fairly no frills, but since it was on Sasuke's account, I didn’t feel comfortable getting a lot of services. Once I got a new ID, I'd maybe invest in an android, but well anyway… this phone did have a browser so I navigated to the Youtube account that Toshiie and I had shared.

Easy enough to recall that my password had been Tony_Stark1610.

I video traveled through time, past all the freerunning videos that Toshiie I had filmed during the our final year in modern Japan. Then to random cat videos of Tony-Stark and hiking videos of Toshiie's, before locating the gymnastics competitions.

I'd rarely looked at them while I was still training, and once I quit, they drifted to the bottom of the date filter. I’d not had any interest in nostalgically revisiting what had never been ‘glory days,’ but everything was still up there. After a couple false starts, I found the competition in question. If Toshiie had thought the mystery man was more interesting, he would have filmed him.

With the sound turned very low, I skimmed through the meet, making sure to pinch zoom every time there was a crowd shot.

I saw no one familiar there.

Finally, I heard a voice in the background stating, "Of course I have every right to be here. My daughter is competing."

That had not been Aki's voice, unless he was disguising it.

Of course he had never watched me as a child. There had never been any distantly interested father figure making sure that we were ok.

Stupid to have thought otherwise.

I don't know why I felt as disappointed as I did. Whether Aki had been silently watching my childhood or not, made no difference. For over eighteen years, he had not been around when I needed him.

Then for seven, he had been everything.

I was just about to stop the recording, when the camera swung around as Toshiie filmed the speaker. A man who was obviously not Aki. A man who was not my father either. I understood why the other parents in the audience had been suspicious, for he was not Japanese. He was also… not a stranger.

Two months ago, or more specifically four hundred and fifty years ago, this man had tried to buy me at a slave auction in Sakai.

Father Slappy Hands.

He’d tried to purchase me.

He’d tried to kill Mitsuhide.

And he was a time traveler.

“Aki… what the hell is going on here?”

Aki had been in a coma for a week when my new identification papers came through, thanks to Sasuke doing a little bit of hacking to move things along. Being able to access my money (a lot of money) made me at least feel more independent. "I should probably find a short term apartment and get out of you guys' hair," I said one morning as I folded up the sheets I had been sleeping on. Well, trying to. I never have been able to fold a duvet cover neatly.

Shingen took the sheet away from me, and re-folded it. Perfectly. "If you want to tangle in my hair, you are more than welcome to, Angel."

"I swear, I'm going to put out a flirting jar, and every time you break out one of your cheesy lines, it's going to cost you." Seriously. I hadn’t had enough tea to deal with him this early in the morning.

"Katsu, you are of course more than welcome to stay here as long as you need. But I suspect you want a bigger place to bring Professor Yamaoka to when he recovers." Sasuke, who was on his third cup of coffee, brought his tablet over to me. "As it happens, my parents need a house sitter while they travel to Portugal."

"Oh. That's actually." I glanced at the tablet, which contained photos of the house in question. "A good idea. I wonder if they have any photos of my mother."

Sasuke paused, with the coffee cup halfway to his mouth. "Is there any reason why they would?"

Whoops. There was something I’d forgotten to tell this Sasuke (in fact, I had forgot to tell the other timeline’s Sasuke as well). "Apparently she was your nanny for a little while. That’s how she met Aki to begin with."

He tilted his head. “The Childhood Friends trope! I always wanted to be part of that one."

"If you stretch the definition of childhood friends to include in vitro, then I suppose so." Sasuke had likely been too young to even remember my mother, but... details.

He got up, rummaged in a cupboard and retrieved his go bag of Sengoku era belongings. From there, he pulled out a piece of paper that had a five by five grid and... "Wait. You're playing Trope Bingo with your Sengoku life?"

"It's more of a general bingo, but yes." I watched him check 'childhood friends! "I didn’t think I'd ever fill out this card. Now all I need is Ieyasu Tokugawa’s autograph for full bingo."

Good to know, Sheldon.

Returning to the original topic, I told Sasuke that I would indeed be interested in house sitting for his parents, and since I had no other plans for the moment, Sasuke and I headed over to their house, while Shingen left for the pulmonary rehab clinic.

Luckily for all involved (meaning myself, and any car or pedestrian who would otherwise encounter Sasuke when he was vehicularly armed), Sasuke's parents lived with walking distance of his apartment. True, to a ninja and a courier who had both roamed the length of Sengoku Japan, everywhere was walking distance, but it really was only about twenty minutes from his high rise.

The Mikumo house was tucked back in a quiet neighborhood, but conveniently still close to a teahouse, a noodle shop, and even a pizza place.

“What was it like, meeting another version of yourself?" Sasuke stopped in front of a historic townhouse, not, actually terribly different in architecture from the Sakai townhouse I'd shared with Mitsuhide, although of course this one had been built within the last century. At least one of their neighbors clearly celebrated Christmas, for they had twinkle lights shining from their window.

"It was weird... surreal, I guess. Possibly not any more surreal than the fact that I had this conversation with your other self too." I watched Sasuke fish a key ring from his pocket. "Yeah, um, anyway, I had to pretend she was an older sister. She said she had already met two other of me, um, us, so I guess she was a little more used to it."

"Fascinating." After jiggling the key in the lock for so long that I was tempted to put my lock picking skills to work, Sasuke finally got the door open, and gestured me inside.

The decor was a hodgepodge of classical Japanese art and artifacts, piles of books and journals, mismatched antiques, all of which barely made sense together, and I finally understood why Sasuke chose to live in a sleek modern apartment. "My apologies. My parents, as meticulous as they are in their studies, tend to be rather random about housework."

"Aki probably felt right at home here. He's the same way in his office." The rest of Aki’s manor, though, Fume's domain, was of course neat and clean at all times. "Um, so about that."

"Right. I imagine you'd like to see if they have any mementos of your mother." He beckoned me past a living area with a flat screened TV that felt a bit anachronistic, then into a large office. The office at least was slightly better organized. Sure, the paper clutter was a bit out of hand, but someone had put neat labels on all the file boxes, which were organized by year and topic. "If they do, it would be in here. Er, theoretically.”

“Would they be ok with me looking through this? Or… well, with me in general?” Daughter of their former nanny or not, it looked like they had a lot of expensive things here. Not a lot of people would be comfortable with someone they hadn’t met staying in their house.

Sasuke looked up from where he was multitasking on his phone. “I sent them an email telling them about you. Statistically speaking, it takes them a mean of three days to remember to open their email; but since the previous house sitter left without notice, I'm sure they won’t be upset if you go ahead and move in."

Oh. Well. Good. Except. It didn’t feel good. It felt… lonely.

Sasuke edged out of the office, and gestured to the stairs. "The bedroom is on the second floor." He looked back at me. I hadn’t moved from the office. “Is something wrong?"

"Nothing wrong. Not really. I guess I just got too used to being surround by people." First Mitsuhide, then Yoshimoto, the gang in 1586, and now Sasuke and Shingen. "Eh. I’m sure I'll be back to my hermit ways in no time."

He paused between the first and second floor. "Do you want to wait for Aki to be released first before you move in? I am more than happy to continue to host my childhood friend."

Perhaps I knew then already that Aki would never be coming home with me. Psychic flashes of the other timelines aside, I've never been particularly perceptive. Maybe I'm just used to Aki's ways. Maybe I'm just used to people leaving without saying goodbye.

A few days after I moved into the Mikumo's house, I finally received an alert from the hospital that they were bringing Aki out of the coma. By this time, I had Sasuke’s parents’ vague assurance that they remembered my mother, and a rather (thankfully) less vague one that they would be fine if I searched through their archives for a memento or two. Archives was a rather odd way to describe their method of organization but... details.

I had at least managed to sift out a photograph of Aki and my mother smiling at each other and holding hands. It didn’t even look like they’d realized the photo had been taken. I put it in an inside pocket of my new messenger bag. Then, prepared with the photo, and a list of questions, not the least in which involved the Nanban priest and Francisco, I headed out to the hospital.

The late December clouds were thick and some hopeful weather forecasters were promising a “White Christmas for those who celebrate it.” I imagined that would make the Mikumos’ neighbors (who, I discovered were visiting American professors) very happy and I supposed their multicolored Christmas lights (which they never turned off) would look lovely against the snow. But given the warmer air that came with a light drizzle of rain, I doubted we would see any snow today at least. Dodging the raindrops, I hurried to the hospital arriving just as visiting hours began.

Even before I got to his room, I could hear Aki’s voice, patiently explaining to the police (yes, oh of course the hospital would have called them too) that he had no memory of being shot. His mind was a blank. "The last thing I recall was trying on an outfit for a costume party I had been invited to."

Eep. I hope he wouldn't be required to produce that invitation. Then again, maybe he had stuff like that set up in advance.

"Excuse me. Hello officers. May I be allowed to visit my father? "I bowed respectfully toward them.  "I've been very worried."

I summoned all the acting skills that Aki and Mitsuhide had taught me and put on an 'I'm innocent and naïve’ expression. After an unspoken conversation between the police, they both retreated to the hallway, where I'm sure they could both overhear us. With that in mind, I pitched my voice louder and said, "Dad! You're awake! I've been so scared!" It wasn't all acting, I realized. I had indeed been scared.

Aki took my hand, patted it gently. He didn’t smile, but that wasn’t a surprise. He wasn’t much of a smiler. I suppose that was something I inherited, or learned, from him. Or my mother. Hard to say which.

He crooked his finger, and I moved closer to him, knowing that he was about to import a great secret. Or as it turned out, ask a question. “Where is it?"

Confused, I looked around the room, then realized he was referring to the time traveling device. "Sasuke has it locked in his safe - where it will stay until further notice." I added the last part in case he was about to try to zap himself into another timeline.

All he did was nod approvingly, so maybe he was just making sure it was secure. "You are with young Mikumo then?" He made a move to sit up, but I pushed him back (on the non-injured shoulder).

“Careful, don’t strain.” He scowled at me, so I fiddled with the mechanics of the bed and raised the frame under his head he was sitting upright. "No. I'm house sitting for his parents. Whom… I believe you know.” I got out the photo of him with my mom. "What happened?" Vague question. It could have meant ‘how did you meet?’ or 'how did it end'?

But Aki would probably answer how he wanted anyway.

He took his time looking at the photo, and then he finally did smile. It was the smile of heartbreak.

"You know of course, that she was young Sasuke's caregiver. To be honest, I did not notice her at first, I was more interested in working with his parents to research the Sengoku." He paused. Coughed. "No, that's not correct. I tried not to notice her. She...she… had a way of moving that was like water. She danced while she walked. Even moving her hands… she flowed. But I would not have acted on that interest. As you may have guessed, or perhaps Francisco told you, I am not native to … “ He gestured to the hallway where the police were waiting, and broke off.

Native to this time. The meaning was clear. I nodded. Questions about his own time would need to wait until we were no longer in danger of being overheard. "One afternoon, I was to meet them for study, but there was a confusion. I thought the meeting was at their house. They thought it was to be at the library. When I arrived at the house, it was to a frantic Mayumi. Sasuke had disappeared."

"Kidnapped?" I threw my hand over my mouth, but thankfully even in my surprise, I hadn’t spoken loudly.

"No. He'd just wanted to touch the sky. Somehow he'd managed to climb onto the roof. Between the two of us, we got him down. The child was very pleased with himself and complete unaware of the scare he’d given us. We agreed not to tell his parents. After that intense bonding experience, she and I just gravitated to each other.” He coughed again, and I poured him a cup of water. “I knew it was inadvisable to get involved. Yet I could not stop."

“Toshiie and I are the result of an inadvisable relationship. Good to know." Although… hadn’t I already known that? Mom’s sadness and bitterness had imparted that lesson long ago. Was it really a surprise that Aki felt the same?

Aki winced. "That perhaps did not come out of my mouth the way it sounded in my head."

"Right, old man." I let him go with just the sarcasm. "Francisco said that the two of you had to leave very quickly and that you didn’t know about us before you left-"

"This is true." He took hold of my hand. “I would have done things differently otherwise.”

“Instead of ghosting her.” I took my hand back. Some things are impossible to forgive.

"I thought I would be able to control the time I returned. That would appear that I'd only been away a couple of hours. I’d been one month away in the… you know, then I came back here. The two of you were five. After contact for over five years, she honestly wanted nothing to do with me.  I did ask to be part of your lives, but Mayumi wanted a guarantee that I would be able to visit at set times. Which, now you know how impossible that would have been. She said you all would be better off without me, and honestly, I thought she was right. At the very least you would be safer."

I… was getting pretty tired of men thinking I would be safer without them. I got out my phone and found the video of the gymnastics meet. “Interesting you should say that. Because I encountered this man in Sakai. And it was not a pleasant encounter. Is he from… wherever you are from?”

Aki looked at the video, and I watched his face closely. And what I saw there for a moment was fear. “The video is too blurry." He blinked. “Or perhaps my eyes are tired.”

At that moment, I felt complete and total sympathy the Mitsuhide I had met in the forest at the beginning of the summer. “What aren’t you telling me?”

He closed his eyes. “I think the pain-killers just kicked in.”

Before I could call him on that, there was a rustling at the door, and the medical team bustled in to take his vitals and shoo me out.

"One more question, "I whispered it to Aki as I carefully hugged him goodbye. "Did you bring Toshiie I there on purpose, or was it all just a coincidence?”

In typical Aki fashion, he answered a question with question. "What do you think?"

Liquid grey.

Well that weather forecast was wrong. I peered into the grey drizzle of late afternoon Kyoto and cursed the fact that I had yet to purchase an umbrella. December weather in this part of the country was just variable enough that I should have considered that "Sixty percent chance of a white Christmas for those who celebrate it," translated to one hundred percent of something wet falling from the sky.

As I huddled in the covered entry of the hospital, I debated ‘taxi’ versus ‘suck it up and run’.

A large black umbrella suddenly blocked out whatever light was left. "Need an escort, Angel? No, don't say no. At least brighten my day by walking with me."

"I'm not the one recovering from lung surgery." I fell in step next to Shingen anyway, knowing that he would probably argue with me until I agreed, and standing out in this weather wouldn't be good for him.

"My doctors and therapist all say exercise is the best thing for me." He put his arm around my waist. "Stay close, you're getting half wet."

"Haven't you already used up your flirtation stock on the hospital staff?" Knowing that in another timeline this man and an alternative-me were deeply in love had made hanging out with this Shingen awkward at first. But I had come to think of him as an older brother, even though he never could turn off the flirting.

Once he realized I didn’t take him seriously, we'd settled into an easy friendship. "The man who is tired of flirting is tired of life." Then, in a completely different tone of voice, he added, conversationally, "Join us for dinner?"

"Which of you is cooking?" A free meal with Sasuke and Shingen would put off my going home alone to sulk about Aki’s stubborn resistance to telling me what was going on, but it would depend on the meal.  Shingen randomly tossed things in a pan because he liked the ingredients separately, without any consideration to how they would taste together. Sometimes, that worked out. Often, it didn’t. He wasn't as awful a cook as Mitsuhide, but he'd had some pretty spectacular fails. Sasuke, at least, could and would, follow a recipe.

"Sasuke." Shingen answered my question easily. I figured he was aware of his own deficiencies as a chef. "I am to provide the ingredients. He texted me a list."

He paused to indicate the market across the street.

Hm. At the very least I should accompany him to make sure he bought the right ingredients and didn’t get distracted by sweets.

"How is Aki today?" Shingen asked as I subtly tried to detour him past a sweet shop. "At least let me buy dessert, Angel!"

"Get Sasuke's list first. Otherwise your dessert is going to be squished." I hip checked him toward the vegetable stand.

He frowned for a moment. "You have a rather strategic mind. Any consideration to working for me when we return to the Sengoku?" Obediently, he worked his way through the shopping list occasionally stopping to ask me to help translate Sasuke's text speak (for a scientist, he has a very colloquial vocabulary when it comes to texting).

"I haven't decided what I'm going to do yet. It depends on Aki - who, to answer your previous question, is well enough to deflect any questions I throw at him about the whole-" I lowered my voice. "Time travel issue."

He took that opportunity to lean closer (because, Shingen). "When he's well enough to have a long conversation, I would very much like to have a long talk with him."

Wouldn't we all like that. My verbal response would have been just that, but at that moment, both of our cell phones buzzed a text alert from Sasuke: Houston. We have a problem.

"Bad news or good news first," was Sasuke's greeting when Shingen and I hurried into the apartment. Given that the place looked like there'd been a battle - furniture was askew; pillows were on the floor; and … was that a ground spike in the corner?- I suspected I already knew the bad news. "Bad news."

He turned and pointed to the wall safe, where the door was still cracked open. "I walked in just as he opened it. They. There were two."

Shit.

And Aki had just asked if it was secure.

"And your silver lining?" Shingen looked Sasuke over. The moderately awesome ninja didn’t look too banged up, he was limping slightly.

"I believe I've just met one of my alternates." He sounded half thrilled, half chagrined. "Theoretically. They were masked, but I ought to be able to recognize myself in a fight."

Double Shit. The implications of Aki asking about the device’s location hit me. He hadn’t wanted to confirm it was safe. He’d wanted to know where it was.

"There were two of them?" Shingen flipped the table back upright.

“Yes.” Sasuke pushed his glasses in place. "Without visual confirmation I cannot be certain, however I believe the other was a Katsu."

The news that I had an alternate who was a ninja would have to wait to be digested later. I was already halfway to the door. At Shingen's quizzical look, I threw the name Aki, over my shoulder, and after a startled moment, the two of them were close behind.

But even though I risked Sasuke’s speed demon driving to get back to the hospital as fast as possible, it didn’t matter. When we reached Aki’s room, it was empty of everyone aside from two very confused and angry police officers.

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