#slbp hairzo

[pseudofaux]

Pseu, may I ask for an SLBP Hanzo/MC/Ieyasu as teasing or as spicy as you want? Please?

YESSSSSSSS 😍😍😍 This has been on my mind since your ask popped up, I feel like my SLBP life has lead me to this moment. Thank you very much for asking for this, I really really hope you will enjoy it!

(Requests are closed, readers, but there are a lot to be filled in May and likely June, too! Feel free to follow along or just check in and enjoy as many as you like. A masterlist will go up when they are all completed.)

“If you are going to be here, you must sit very carefully. See that you do not disturb his lordship,” Master Masanari says. She nods immediately and is already thinking of ways to use her pestle quietly when Ieyasu snorts.

“I’m not worried about her at all, snake. See that you don’t ‘disturb’ me for once.”

Her eyes go so wide she feels the air on them. She will never get used to the venomous way Lord Ieyasu speaks to Master Masanari. They serve him, and he is lord here, but he is just a man, and she would have though no one in the world stupid enough to speak that way to someone as ceaselessly dangerous as her master. But that master does not seem the least bit bothered, and now she wonders if the reason he comes home to his room at night looking so very pleased with himself is because he is returning from time spent with someone who does not simper.

Or maybe he smiles so much because he has dangled something over Lord Ieyasu until the younger man snapped at him to get out. He does take a singular pleasure in vexing the young lord. She is a little worried, based on how they each slide their eyes to her when they think she is absorbed in her work, that she is something being dangled over Lord Ieyasu tonight.

Her mind may be nothing compared to theirs, but she would be a fool indeed to have missed all the Tokugawa lord’s looks over the last few months. They’ve changed from distrust to something she suspects is desire. It’s not her place to act on that-- and she does not have any wish to find out what her master would do if she ever made the slightest attempt-- so she has been polite and deferential. Only polite and deferential.

“Hey,” Lord Ieyasu says, and she can tell he is talking to her mostly by the way she can see how widely Master Masanari is grinning.

“Why do you work for that bastard?” he asks. Master Masanari only grins. It doesn’t even sharpen, really. Being a lord must mean being very bold, she thinks.

“Master Masanari is very good to me,” she says carefully. “He’s taught me many things, and keeps me safe from many harms.”

She prays he does not press, but the heavens are not listening. “Who keeps you safe from him, huh?”

“I have no desire to be safe from Master Masanari.” Her voice and the room are both very, very quiet. Until her master laughs in complete delight.

“I thought you would manage to hold out longer, Lord Ieyasu. I will ask Sakai to teach you patience, it seems you have a lot to learn.”

The Lord of the Tokugawa goes red in the face and jabs his writing brush in Master Masanari’s direction. “Listen here, you viper—” but then he gasps and trails off, and when she looks at her master’s beautiful face there is a splatter of ink on his flawless cheek.

She goes to him immediately, clean cloth in hand. But he grabs at her wrist and slowly shakes his head. “No need to dirty your supplies, darling,” he says mildly, and pulls her into his lap while she frets over his face. “This is Lord Ieyasu’s doing, and it should be his responsibility to clean up.”

She spares a glance for the lord of the Tokugawa, who is still red in the face but has sat back down in a way she might call (if he were not there to hear) vaguely meek.

“Sadly, I am repulsed by the idea of making his lordship attend to my face, so you must do it, little mouse. And be quick, please, you must help me avoid a stain.”

She reaches for the cloth again but his grip on her has no give. He smiles and gently shakes his head again. It seems he is trying not to move the ink too much.

“Please forgive me,” she says quietly, before she raises her thumb to his face, thinking if she can get the wet ink on herself it will at least be less on him.

“You are as stupid as you are sweet-natured,” Master Masanari says kindly. “Even maids know you must clean wet with wet.”

“It is the job of maids to know so!” she retorts, and looks around the room for some other idea. Lord Ieyasu is watching her in Master Masanari’s lap with very wide, wet eyes.

Wet. Ah!

She looks Master Masanari in his own merry eyes and slowly brings her thumb to her mouth. And she licks it.

“Clever mouse,” he says. “But not clever enough. You are so very close to it, my love. I promise you have everything you need.”

She stares at her thumb in a way that feels as dumb as he must think she is.

“Remember that you must hurry,” her master says calmly.

She jerks her hands up to cup his face. He does not hold her back. He smiles right into her face, close to his. She whispers “Forgive me,” and he smiles even wider and says “We shall see what I shall do,” before she closes her eyes and licks the ink from his face.

Bitter! It’s so bitter and cold! It tastes like ash and sadness. She pulls back to see how much of it she got. The splatter is gone but the ink had already begun to stain him while she dithered. “Pardon me,” she says before bowing her head, and then she comes back up to lick him again, trying to be gentle but somehow manage to scrub him clean. When she checks again it’s fainter but stubborn, set in his skin like venom.

Later, she resolves, when she is alone, she will go over the events of this evening very carefully and see if there was a sign that he planned this. But for now, she asks for his forgiveness once more before she sets her mouth over the stain and sucks to pull it out of him, same as she would if he’d been bitten by a snake. As if a snake would ever bite one of his brothers.

His cheek is so pliant under her. This would be something like pleasant if they were alone and she were not scrambling against a force she has so little control over. But, she admits to herself, Master Masanari probably wouldn’t be having so much fun if she weren’t scrambling.

She pulls back after several effortful sucks at his skin and looks closely.

“Bring me my little glass,” he tells her, patting her bottom in full view of Lord Ieyasu. She is already hot in the face, and she’s certain the young lord’s discomfort is apparent. She crawls out of her master’s lap (without any help, naturally) and takes the polished circle out of his case and hands it to him.

She thinks she managed to do alright. His face is pink where she sucked out the last of the stain, but she can’t see any traces of ink on him. It’s all on her tongue now, making every swallow taste dreadful. A part of her knows they could have all three been spared this trouble if he had just told her what to do, but even that part knows the idea of Master Masanari being direct is even more frightening than the way he toys with people.

He hums as he regards himself. “You were very enthusiastic,” he observes, touching the flushed spot gingerly. “But you were also every effective. Good girl,” he tells her. She nearly collapses on the spot. When he tells her to show him her tongue she does so immediately.

“Now for you,” he says, turning toward the desk in the room. “Since Sakai is not here to teach you a lesson, and I would be remiss in my duty if I did not address your lack of patience, I will show you the error of your ways.” His eyes glitter. “You must always be prepared to clean up your messes, Lord Ieyasu.”

That lord sits there stiffly and says nothing. Her jaw would drop if she were not so sure she will be told how to involve herself in the very next minute.

Indeed, Master Masanari says to her (without any of the ice that was in his voice when he addressed the highest ranking person in the room) “As I said, decorum repulses me from having Lord Ieyasu himself attend to the face he attempted to paint.” His smile for her is so real and warm she almost, almost believes she is safe. “And you did such fine work,” he adds, thumbing the spot on her own cheek where his is red. “Eventually.”

She feels her face go up in flames behind his hands, and he laughs and pinches her cheek. He is gentle about it, at least.

“I have no such compulsion to keep Lord Ieyasu from cleaning up your mess, sweet. Go sit next to him.”

He smiles at the worried look she shoots him, and that is so commonplace it is very nearly comforting. She goes on her knees with her head down and ducks it lower when she sits beside the Tokugawa lord. Up close he smells pleasantly like green things and expensive incense. A lord indeed. She does not dare to look at him.

“Show him your tongue,” Master Masanari says, and it is not kind, though it does not feel like the edge is aimed at her. She bows her head once more before coming up and opening her mouth for the Lord of the Tokugawa, averting her eyes completely.

“Did you get a good look at that, Tokugawa Ieyasu,” Master Masanari says like a silk-wrapped sword, “Did you see the mess I am talking about?”

“I could hardly miss it!” Lord Ieyasu snaps. “What of it?!”

Master Masanari tilts his head at the two of them and hums like they have amused him. She supposes somehow they have. “We’ll have to work on making your mind more nimble at some point, Lord Ieyasu. “Now you,” he enunciates clearly like he is talking to an idiot, “are to take care of that mess that you made. And I hope you’ll show us both that you are in fact a brilliant mind of our time and can do so more efficiently than my silly little assistant.”

Her face is downcast again, so she sees the way Lord Ieyasu’s hand clenches so tightly in rage that it trembles.

“I don’t think anyone has missed the way you look after her when she leaves a room,” Master Masanari says quietly. “You might be grateful for this private opportunity to correct your mistakes.”

He has never shown much possession toward her, but she has only heard him use that tone on enemies. It makes her feel very cold and alone.

“I am the lord of this castle, and your employer,” Ieyasu seethes. Master Masanari says nothing, seemingly content to leave the statement to stretch into the silence until it goes so long without being dignified by anyone else that it seems as though it must have been a pout.

“Oh, damn you to hell,” Lord Ieyasu says, and then turns to her and nudges up her chin. “Be still,” he says tersely, as though she could do anything else when his mouth slams down on hers.

Master Masanari claps three times in the quiet of the room and cheerfully-- cheerfully-- says, “The ink is inside her mouth, Lord Ieyasu. It will take a very long time if you do not vary your approach.”

“Shut. Up.” Ieyasu snarls, and he grabs her arms like she is the one who taunted him and pushes his tongue, wet and warm, against her mouth. She tries to apologize for the taste as she opens for him, but her words are lost against the press of him, and her eyes frantically seek out her Master.

Who sits serenely. There is a tiny glitter in his eyes as he watches, but his smile is not false. As best as she can tell.

Lord Ieyasu keeps his bruising grip on her upper arms, but he pulls back and makes a show of spitting nothing out of his mouth. “What did you do to my ink, you bastard. I’ve had it in my mouth before, it doesn’t taste like this.”

“Master Masanari!” she cries.

“Why would I have done anything to your correspondence?” he asks, the picture of innocence. “More importantly, did you say you imbibe the ink on your stone? Lord Ieyasu, there are much more pleasant--”

“ENOUGH,” Ieyasu shouts, loud enough that she flinches in his grip. His eyes flit to hers angrily but he relaxes his hands. He does not remove them.

“Open your mouth,” he says, the tension rolling off him like an avalanche. “Please,” he mouths.

She nods and parts her lips. This second time, his entry is slow enough that she would slump if he were not holding her by the arms. Who knew this man, with all his sharpness, could kiss so softly, so warm? His tongue is tentative but unharmful, and when it curls gently with hers she gasps and knows the pleasure of his smile against her mouth.

Master Masanari must have heard or seen or both, because he chimes in with a patronizing, “My goodness, is a simple girl better at this than you are? What will become of the Tokugawa?”

Lord Ieyasu’s fingers dig right back into her arms and he uses the grip to push her away like she has bitten him.

“You ask as if the Tokugawa depend on how well I can kiss your whore!” Ieyasu spits.

That hurts a little, but it’s not really of any consequence. His fingers shake where they hold her. She wishes she could offer him some comfort, or at least commiseration, but that would, without a doubt, make it worse for him. So she looks away from him and tries to breathe evenly. Her heart is beating very fast from everything that has happened. And from the gentle skill of his kiss. That was devastating. Why does he have no woman?

“Oh, but it does,” Master Masanari says calmly. She sees that there is a very long, sharp needle in his hand. “When I am vexed by an opponent, little lord, I throw a weapon, not a drop of ink. I’m disappointed you did not know this basic difference.”

The men stare at one another for a very long time, Ieyasu’s grip on her as tight as his glare is fierce. But animals know when they face a foe that can gut them, and if they want to live they show their bellies and slink away. The mighty lord of the Tokugawa lowers his eyes and screws them up tight when Master Masanari laughs, never one to let a belly go untickled.

“And I’ll need you to apologize to her,” he adds, clearly providing an afterthought. “Only I may call her whore.”

“That’s really not necessary!” she exclaims, trying to spare Lord Ieyasu the notion by waving her hands in her lap, but he snaps “Don’t pity me!” and she is silenced.

“Snake,” Ieyasu says, with impressive calm for someone whose body shakes from fury, “One day I will make you regret this.”

“I very much doubt you could, when ‘this’ makes me so happy,” Master Masanari says. “But I look forward to all your growth, Lord Ieyasu, as a servant of the Tokugawa and your friend.”

Tokugawa Ieyasu tches so hard she worries for his front teeth, but then he is turning his face toward her and she feels as pinned by the rich brown of his eyes as she often is by deep purple. Her lips naturally part to take in a deep breath as he looms closer, then fits his mouth to hers with finesse so stunning she squeaks.

Like a mouse. Which may be why Master Masanari laughs. But he does not interrupt them.

Lord Ieyasu sweeps his tongue over hers, recoiling at first from the taste but tutting into her mouth-- the warmth of his breath makes her chest tingle-- and coming back again, better prepared. He gently, gently licks her tongue, swallowing quietly every few times to take what bitter ink he manages to dislodge from her back into his mouth. Slowly his grip slackens again, and his thumbs stroke the sides of her arms above where he holds her. One is rough from archery, the other more supple. Both are very pleasant, a secret she resolves to forget immediately as soon as she leaves the room.

One hand lets her go entirely and strokes down her arm so pleasantly she does not know if she will be able to forget it. Certainly not the way he chuckles, deep and pleased with himself, into her mouth as he finds one of her hands and slowly curls over it just as he coaxes her tongue into his mouth so he can suck on it. The command in him, and the way she so immediately wants to follow where he guides her, say very promising things for the future of the Tokugawa. Even if Master Masanari is around to give him so much trouble.

“Show me your tongue,” Master Masanari whispers behind her ear. She startles with a cry and Lord Ieyasu parts from her with a curse. She had been so involved she was not even thinking about him in the room.

“Both of you,” he adds. “I do not want you to work too hard, of course.”

“I’m not showing you my mouth, you degenerate,” Ieyasu declares. “See for yourself if there’s anything left on her tongue.”

She can only turn her head so far, but she turns it that far and shows him her tongue, eyebrows up to show how she seeks his approval.

He hums and puts a fingertip on her tongue, rubbing lazily. “I suppose that will have to do,” he says. “Come now, little mouse,” he tells her as he gently presses her jaw up and closed. “Let us leave the Tokugawa lord to his work, he has not been very attentive to his letters tonight.”

“And whose fault is that, I wonder,” the Tokugawa lord grits through his teeth.

“Let us hope he works more tidily from now on,” Master Masanari continues as though he has not even heard. He pulls her back and to her feet. “Come, come. We will gather your things later.”

“So much for the virtue of tidiness,” Lord Ieyasu says. “Pick up after yourselves.”

“Oh, young lord,” Master Masanari says indulgently. “Do not worry. As your humblest servant I can tell you need some time alone to think over all that’s happened tonight. It is my pleasure to give you such time.”

Ieyasu sucks in a deep breath and sighs it out, but says nothing.

She bows and bids him good night on a whisper. He says nothing to her, either, but he nods. Twice. Abrupt little movements that make her smile and want to stay beside him. But Master Masanari has a hold on her arm and is pulling her out the door and then shutting it silently behind them.

“What a night for you,” he whispers as he pins her to the shogi. His hand protects the back of her head but does not muffle the thump, which Lord Ieyasu undoubtedly heard. “How does your mouth taste?”

“Fine,” she says in a small voice. “Normal.”

He puts his nose to her lips and breathes in like he would be able to catch the scent of ink inside her. He hums unquietly and she begins to fidget, worrying they are disturbing the lord he said they were leaving to allow to work.

She is unquiet when he tweaks one of her nipples, his knowledge of her body unerring and direct.

“Shh, shh,” he says, perhaps a touch louder than his usual speaking voice. “He’ll hear. I think that would distract him, don’t you?”

He kisses her before she can answer, and his kiss is surprisingly soft, the gentlest he has ever worked his tongue with hers. The familiarity of it to the kisses she had just received makes her weak, and the surprised moan it pulls out of her is nearly as embarrassing as the wickedness of his smile.

“You’re right,” he declares, not quiet at all. “I shall take you to bed at once, pet, do not fear.”

“Master Masanari,” she whispers, “That’s not what I--”

“SHHHHHHH,” he says like a performer, and she can feel her body deflate when she sighs between his body and the shoji. Why does she even bother?

“Come along now,” he whispers-- actually whispers-- right by her ear, tone silky and pleased as she has ever heard him. He must have thought this was great fun. When he pulls her by her wrist, she goes.

“Good night, Lord Ieyasu,” he whispers, and she is confused until she looks behind her and sees a shadow retreating from the other side of the lattice and paper wall.

She keeps her mouth shut, because she knows he does not like pity. But there is pity in her heart when she looks over her shoulder at the spot on the wall where he was standing, listening to them. She thinks of him each time Master Masanari kisses her that night, always gentle, so gentle, with tiny sucks of her tongue and all over her limbs. He strokes her arms and takes her hands and curls his long fingers around them. She thinks he is trying to keep Lord Ieyasu in her mind even as he pushes into her body and makes her call his name, helpless in the bliss he gives.

She dreams of red-brown eyes and the gentleness they hide, and the next time her master orders her to attend him in Lord Ieyasu’s office, she bows her head to hide her face in case it shows him any of her dreaming. Not that he wouldn’t know. Not that he wasn’t the one who put it there.

[wingcinna]

some next gen Tokugawa sketches, just cause~

[voltageslbp]

Say hello to the Riverside Rebellion's Divine Victory Prize! Find yourself on the winning Clan at the end of the Battle Event to earn the Fireflies on the River castle base! Look at these little Riverside Ninja & Samurai go!

[space-romantic]

A Well-Behaved Dog

Part four of “Our Lucky Dogs” is here!

Tagging the poms crew: @ravenhaired-mc @aldreaoakley @otome0heart (If someone want me to tag him/her, just tell me!)

And don’t forget you can read it on AO3 too!

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Genre: Fluff? Maybe comedy? MAYBE DOGS? Fandom: SLBP. Word count: 3578 Summary: Ichigo is not the sweet dog that Ieyasu thinks she is.

----

Spring had already arrived. The air was full of the characteristic scent of freshly cut grass. The cherry trees were already in bloom, bringing with them hanami and celebrations. As well as the classic spring cleaning of the house, new clothes to wear.

And before she knew it, with a smile on her face, MC was sacredly preparing ichigo daifuku to please the palate of a certain demanding lord.

While MC finished filling a teapot to serve this evening, Daifuku sniffed around the kitchen floor. Upon encountering a small piece of carrot, the dog tried to hit it with his little paw wanting to play with it. Unexpectedly for him, the orange piece jumped before his eyes with a sudden movement. As usual in this circumstances, the frightened puppy moved backwards and started barking.

Noticing the animal’s complaints, MC laughed softly. She reached out to pick up the piece of vegetable and threw it in the trash. Then, she stroked Daifuku's fur affectionately. His nervousness still noticeable, she managed to make him relax a little bit by him caressing behind his ears.

Silently, MC arranged the elements of the tray again. There was tea and ichigo daifuku; and for a twist, she had also made sakuramochi.

The last time she had practiced making different kinds of sweets, Ieyasu hadn’t accepted all of them willingly. His favorite would always be the ichigo daifuku, but spring demanded her to make food with floral motifs. The pink hue of the little cake made her happy and nostalgic at the same time. For a moment, she remembered her family and the moments they had spent together under the cherry trees.

She felt suddenly alone. In recent days, Ieyasu had been working hard, to the point that she hardly saw him if it wasn’t for the meals. Daifuku sometimes cried outside of his study, missing him. Preparing sakuramochi was almost like celebrating a hanami inside their house, but that still didn’t filled her heart.

She shook her head from side to side, taking away those ideas from her head. She then left the kitchen with Daifuku following her closely behind until they reached Ieyasu's studio. The puppy sat with his hind quarters resting on the ground, moving his head to the left— they had learned to recognize that action meant something had made him curious.

MC cleared her throat before calling“Lord Ieyasu, may I enter?”

The murmur that was heard on the other side quieted down the moment she finished speaking. She looked at Daifuku, who was already waiting for the door to open. The little one seemed almost unable to hide the joy that came from knowing he was so close to his master. His tail moved incessantly. His ears pointed, his snout seems to draw a smile.

After a momentary silence, the blond's voice was heard. “Try it if you dare.”

MC opened the door delicately. Upon entering, everyone turned in their seats, however, not to see her.

Daifuku ran quickly to greet everyone.He stood on two legs to greet Toramatsu, licking his ear, to which the page responded laughing and stroking his chin. Then he went on, standing between Tadakatsu and Yasumasa, circling around to show how excited he was to see them.

“Well, look at you. What a bothersome little thing you are.” Yasumasa looked the other way with weariness, implying that Daifuku's joy didn’t interest him. Contradictorily, he reached out and stroked the dog’s back while Tadakatsu patted his head, smiling.

After having finished there, he went swiftly to where Tadatsugu was. He threw himself on his back in front of the old man, showing him his belly. With small barks, Daifuku tried to get his attention.

“Ohoho, don’t listen to him, little one. You're not silly at all!” Sakai reached out to stroke under the dog's chin. When he was about to continue advancing down to caress his belly, they heard some claps. Daifuku stood up straight away, knowing what was going to happen.

“That’s enough, Daifuku.”

The pup rushed towards Ieyasu, standing on two legs once he was close to him. To obtain stability, he rested his front paws on the blond's shoulder, and kissed him on the cheek repeatedly, giving small licks that were answered with caresses on the puppy's lower back.

Once all the greetings were over, Ieyasu took the dog with both hands and seated him on his lap, stroking his neck under the collar.

MC responded to all this with a smile. She had already become accustomed to Daifuku's effusive greeting routine. She also knew that, secretly, everyone was waiting for him with affection, even Lord Sakakibara.

The moment MC finished setting the tray on a small table, she wet a cloth with water and brought it to the Lord of Mikawa to clean his cheek. Then, she served the tea in silence while Ieyasu wiped his face with one hand and stroked the adorable dog with the other hand.

When her husband had finished, she took the cloth and put it aside. The woman left a plate laden with sweets in front of everyone, so that they could decide on their preferences. Once she finished the tea service, she got up apologizing for her interruption. However, before she walked to the door to leave, Ieyasu interrupted her.

“Stay here, dimwit. This will be interesting.”

The blond glared at everyone in the room as he continued to pet Daifuku, who only let himself be loved by his master without realizing the true spirit in those caresses.

MC took a cushion and sat on it, next to her husband. She couldn’t help frowning a little, what could be of interest to her?

The ambience was tense. She noticed how Tadatsugu swallowed loudly. She also noticed that Toramatsu's eyes were turned down and that Tadakatsu's forehead began to bead with sweat. The only one who seemed to be in control was Yasumasa, until she looked at his hands and noticed that his knuckles were white from clenching his fists.

Ieyasu sighed loudly, showing his stress. His calm hands didn’t stop caressing the puppy. However, even if his attitude was tender with his dog, his mouth didn’t stop spitting vitriol to the others.

“How utterly disgusting. What in the hells are my retainers doing? How you dare blaming my sweet and dearest Ichigo?”

MC turned to Ieyasu, asking what the little one had done. She started to bite her lower lip, unable to hide her worry.

“Toramatsu,” the Lord of Poison Smile addressed his page, who had to look up. “Please, repeat word for word the nonsense you said a moment before.”

The dark-haired boy stood for a moment in silence, meditating, thinking exactly what he had said. He took a breath and began his story.

“As you may know, MC, every morning I give food to the sparrows that come, especially now in the spring.” She responded by nodding.

On several occasions, she herself had given him some grains to give to those visitors. That way, they didn’t eat the vegetables in the garden. On another note, MC thought it was cute to find nests with newborn baby birds sometimes.

“That's what I did this morning. I went out to the garden, next to the koi fish pond, to feed them. They were already waiting, so when I reached out to throw food… she stepped forward.”

“She?” asked MC.

“Yes. I’m talking about Ichigo.” Toramatsu was very serious, but his eyes showed a certain sadness. “She came running suddenly, leaving me behind, and started barking. The birds were frightened and flew in all directions. Some hit me, causing me to throw away the grains unintentionally. Ichigo…” The black-haired young man sighed again, disappointed, as if he regretted the outcome of the situation. For some reason, it was hard to talk. “Ichigo seemed to be delighted with the chaos, and once all the birds flew, she looked at me wagging her tail, as if she was proud of what had happened. Before I could react or say something to her, she had already left.”

In the meantime, Ieyasu listened to the story again without paying much attention. He took the cup of tea with one hand and stroke Daifuku’s fur with the other. He was silent during the tale, more concerned with untangling the puppy’s fur with his fingers.

The pup was happy in his arms.

When Toramatsu finished speaking, Daifuku got off his owner's lap to go to sleep next to Tadatsugu, who allowed his hand tenderly to stroke the dog’s head. The pup responded by sitting closer to his body, calmly.

Leaving his cup of tea on his desk, Ieyasu looked at Toramatsu, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards. Once again, the poison controlled him as he said, “Are you expecting me to believe this lie? Don’t make me laugh.”

Reaching out to take out a sweet, he glanced sideways at the sakuramochi, tempted by its color. Yet, he took with his right hand an ichigo daifuku and brought it to his mouth. Biting into the treat, he let the sweet flavor of anko melt in his mouth beforechewing the strawberry that gave the dessert a refreshing and delicate touch.

It was an invitation. Seeing their lord eat, the rest of the men felt free to take a sweet off of the tray for themselves. Everyone stretched out their hand at the same time, and that was the moment when MC noticed something out of place.

“Lord Tadakatsu”, MC pressed her lips before asking. “What happened to your hand?”

Tadakatsu looked at his right hand, which held a sakuramochi. On the back, there was a small slash, along with some scratches and red-blooded dots. He opened his eyes with surprise at have been discovered and tried to hide it quickly with the sleeve of his kimono, however, Ieyasu frowned as he, too, noticed his retainer's wound.

“Speak. And do it quickly, don’t make me wait.”

Tadakatsu became serious after hearing his lord’s voice and his eyes went to MC, who was the one who asked the question in the first place.

“This morning I arrived late for breakfast because I was cleaning this wound. When I entered the main hall the first time, I found Ichigo sitting at my place. I wanted to put her aside without bothering her since she was asleep, but she got angry and bit me.” Tadakatsu shrugged, implying that he wasn’t very concerned about it. Then he looked at the wound and with a frustrated gesture mentioned “It's funny… Ichigo has the same personality as Lord Ieyasu, however, I didn’t enjoy the bite.”

Absently, Tadakatsu took the sakuramochi to his mouth and made small sounds of delight. His face showed how much he was enjoying the sweet.

“… Ugh, so annoying.” Ieyasu rolled his eyes. After having listened to his retainer, the blond got up from his place to look for something in a chest.

MC, not paying much attention to this, got up to approach Tadakatsu and check the wound. She delicately took the retainer's hand in her hands.

“So… Ichigo did this?”

From behind, the weary voice of Ieyasu was heard approaching. “Didn’t you hear, dung beetle? He just said that Ichigo did it. Are we even paying attention?”

Once he sat down, Ieyasu threw some bandages and sage to Tadakatsu.

“Here. It's repulsive to see you with that untreated wound. Make sure you keep it clean or I'll make sure to cut off that hand from you myself.”

“… Ooh, with pleasure, milord.” Tadakatsu's face lit up with pleasure at the threats he received as he opened the small jar and applied the balm on the damaged hand.

While Tadakatsu tended to his injury, MC sat down again in her corresponding place, next to her husband.

“Hey, don’t start with that attitude, or you'll really piss me off, Honda,” Yasumasa hissed while standing aside, avoiding touching the other man. “Lord Ieyasu, I don’t know why we keep arguing over this absurdity. That our little Toramatsu can’t stand for his little birds to escape shouldn’t be a reason for a council.”

Toramatsu, unable to avoid it, expressed his annoyance once he finished sipping his tea. “Says the person who has the back of his kimono full of dog hairs.”

"Wha—!" The lord widened his eyes, as if they had discovered him committing a crime. “How you dare, you little piece of sh—!”

“Yasumasa.” Ieyasu’s icy tone showed that he was trying to control himself. Nevertheless, his gestures betrayed him. The absurdity of this situation had made the blond absolutely furious. He clicked his tongue irritably as he crossed his arms. Everyone in the room could practically hear him gritting his teeth. “Turn around. Now.”

As soon as he turned his back towards his lord, Yasumasa showed that his black kimono had dozens of thin white lines crossing it. He almost quailed when he felt his lord's hand touching the fabric of his back, watching the dog’s fur accumulate between the man’s fingers.

The Lord of Mikawa sighed with annoyance and only limited himself to hissing the word “disgusting”.

An ashamed Yasumasa turned to face the Tokugawa clan head, who had once again returned to his seat. He sighed a barely audible “forgive me, milord.”

Everyone, with the exception of Ieyasu, lowered their heads. It was better that way, instead of continuing to exalt his anger.

“Say, baldy.” The blond lord, exhausted, began to massage his temples. At this moment he just wanted everyone to leave, but he knew that he had to settle the matter once and for all.

“What was the damage that Ichigo did to you?” He smiled petulantly at the mention of the puppy. He decided to rest his elbow on the desk and lay his chin in his hand. The sweet smile he showed was a paradox compared to the eyes full of rage and fire he had in those moments. “Choose your words wisely. We don’t want to stay without a single hair on our heads, do we?”

Tadatsugu kept his mouth shut, coughing softly. He withdrew the hand that had been caressing Daifuku, knowing that the situation was complicated.

The dog, being deprived of affection, complained slightly. However, reading the tension in the environment at last, he went to lie down in silence between his owners. His ears were raised, not knowing what to do.

“Milord, I haven’t been affected by Ichigo's behavior yet.”

“You don’t, huh?” This calmed Ieyasu a bit. It meant that there was at least one person whom Ichigo respected.

“Certainly not. I'm well aware of that.”

“What the hell does that mean, old man? Are you implying that Ichigo will do something to you?” Ieyasu’s browns knit severely.

“No, milord.” Sakai's voice trembled a little, knowing that if he didn’t choose his words well enough, the situation could get out of hands. “Still, my suggestion is that we need to give her some incentive to be as well-behaved as Daifuku.”

“I have heard enough of this crap. I will give her a punishment myself.” The blond found himself looking up with apathy in the room, looking for a white smudge.

Fearing that the puppy would become another victim of her husband's anger, MC begged “milord, please spare—"

“Silence.” The only thing she found was ice in his words and a frown. “Now, where in the seven hells is she? She was supposed to be with you, kitchen wench!”

Her eyes widened in shock as she gasped. In the kitchen, it had just been Daifuku and herself. Ichigo hadn’t been inside with them during theday, and looking around the room, there was no sign of her here either.

She got up quickly, and headed for the door. Just at the moment she was going to go out, the door opened from the outside.

“Dear me, could it be that I’ve arrived at just the right time?”

A breeze scented with camellias entered the room. A kind smile adorned the face of Hattori Hanzo, as he closed the door behind him and performed a bow, greeting the Lord and Lady Tokugawa.

“What do you want, Hanzo? I’m too tired to be dealing with you.”

Ieyasu made no attempt to hide his bad-tempered mood. Next to him, Daifuku raised his head, barking at the silver-haired man.

“You have been really busy this week, your lordship.” Hanzo took no notice of Tokugawa's attitude, smiling while he looked through the window. “It's a shame, such a splendid season wasted in this four-walled prison.” A dramatic sigh filled the air. The silver-haired man’s sleeve went directly to his eyes, as if he were wiping invisible tears. Anyone who saw it would think that Hattori was representing a play.

“This spring will leave our lives before we know it. The larks will cry and there will be tears in the eyes of the koi if people don’t realize we have to enjoy the opportunity given to us by the season for such recreational activities like hanami.” Bending down to pick up something behind him, he asked “Isn’t that right, Ichigohime?”

Speak of the devil! There was the little one in snake’s arms, happy as if nothing had happened. Her fluffy tail moved with emotion from one side to the other,yipping as if confirming the words of the apothecary.

Lord Ieyasu's lips pursed briefly. His eyes refused to believe the love his princess seemed to have for that serpent. The smile ghosting across Hanzo's lips made him burst in anger on the inside.

“Explain this. Now. Or I will remove your tongue myself, you pox-ridden snake.”

“Of course, milord. As I said before, it’s time to enjoy the seasons and what’s better than to celebrate a hanami with the best companion available. A well-behaved lady, indeed! Shall we show them?”

The moment Hanzo said this, Ichigo responded by licking his cheek.

With his immutable smile, the man left her carefully on the floor and ordered her to sit down. Everyone held their breath when they noticed that she obeyed him. While everyone was attentive to the puppy, Ieyasu bit his lower lip in frustration.

Delicately, Hattori pulled a cherry tree branch from his sleeve and handed it to Ichigo, which she took with her nose waiting for the next order.

“Now, please, go apologize.”

And so she did.

Ichigo advanced showing some embarrassment. Her ears were low as she approached Tadakatsu and put the flowers at his feet. Then, she inclined her head looking at him with her saddened little black eyes.

Tadakatsu looked at his lord, who nodded as he stared incredulously at the scene. The giant took the branch with his bandaged hand and the little one moved towards him. Honda was already moving to withdraw his hand, with some trepidation, but he only received a couple of licks to his fingers from Ichigo.

The same scene was repeated with Toramatsu, Yasumasa and Tadatsugu. A delivery of cherry blossoms, just as if it were an offering of peace to all the men.

Ieyasu formed a fist under the sleeves of his haori at the scene.

Once Ichigo finished her deliveries, she sat down next to Daifuku, wagging her tail with joy. The blond looked at both puppies, narrowing his eyes.

“How did you…”

Unable to finish the sentence, the apothecary interrupted his lord. He approached MC, who was still standing by the door, with gentleness. Hanzo placed a cherry blossomed branch in her hands. A soft smile floated onto his lips.

“It's very simple. If you neglect someone for too long, do not they long to play with other toys?”

MC flushed when she noticed that Hanzo's gaze was fixed on her hands and then on her eyes, as if seducing her. That was the straw that broke the camel’s back in Ieyasu's mind.

“Every. Single. One of you. GET OUT!”

Frantically, the retainers got to their feet and hurried to the entrance, leaving the room one by one in quick succession.

Master Hattori laughed lightly and said "Well then, I must depart."

MC, knowing that her husband's anger wouldn’t calm down with anything at that moment, also left excusing herself that it was time to start cooking dinner.

The room emptied. The Lord of Mikawa was alone with his dogs. Ichigo gently licked one of Daifuku's ears, who was at her mercy.

The blond's gaze fixed on the ground. Someone had left behind a cherry blossomed branch. He took it with both hands, watching as a couple of petals fell. After all, maybe Ichigo just wanted his attention…

“Now what are we going to do, little beast? The Europeans were supposed to educate you well…”

With a sigh on his lips, the young man approached his pet.

Ichigo was grooming her partner's face, but as soon as she realized that her master was approaching to her, she stopped and looked at him with interest. Ieyasu's hands stretched to reach her fur, putting the flowers on her head, as if it were a natural hairpin.

“Perhaps we can go to see the cherry blossoms and have a hanami. Just the four of us… But not today.”

He found himself smiling. Maybe another day he could rest, and give his wife’s sakuramochi a chance.

The dogs waved their tails with joy, as if waiting impatiently to have a day out. Just the four of them, like a family.

[pseudofaux]

Hey Pseu, I want to thank you for always sharing your talent with us. It is always an immense joy to read your works.

If I could request for the HC, Comte or Hairzo and the "paaaainful yearning" with a dash of spice I'd be really grateful. Honestly just excited to eat up anything you have to write about anyone.

I hope you are staying well in the pandemic, thanks for doing this-i imagine it'll lift a lot of spirits.

Aww, hey, thanks for this! 🙇🏻‍♀️🥰 I’m grateful to see your name pop up here, you’ve given me a lot of support and I’m glad for a chance to write for you. Comte and Hairzo, whew, you came for my favorites and I respect that. 😂♥️ Masanari’s gonna be soooooo good for painful yearning, I think... I hope you will enjoy these!

Comte loves her scent so much (from their very first interaction) that he can’t stand it in the beginning of her days in the mansion, and since obviously he can’t stand staying away from her any better, all his agonized brain can think of to do is take her to a parfumerie to get her something new to cover it up. Then the night before their planned outing he realizes he’ll probably be the same way about her perfume and soon she will be applying it to her body and the fragrance will be in his house, clinging to every curtain... a very dark night of the soul passes, then a very long carriage ride where she is smiling at him from the opposite seat and also somehow present in every molecule of air around him. They finally make it into town and then outside the shop he suddenly begs her to stop, says he’ll buy her any and all perfumes she desires but please, will she take pity on him and not wear them until she is home safe in her own time?

After all they’ve been though, Hanzo still thinks, longer and harder than he would like, of sabotaging her work for the Tokugawa— he explicitly considers how much work it would be for him to let her put Ieyasu in real danger and get banished or sentenced to death, just so he could scoop her up out of the forest or a cell, lick up all her tears, and put her somewhere only for the two of them. Every time she smiles at him in Hamamatsu he’s relieved he hasn’t done it yet, and every time she smiles at someone else he’s furious with his dawdling. She inadvertently secures her place when she whispers one night that his bedding is so comfortable... and then nods off to sleep. He could give her something else but not replicate the comfort of his room, so he makes his (grumpy!!! tenuous!!!) peace with her talking to other people.

...still, sometimes Hanzo tells her he’s leaving earlier than he is to go off on shinobi business, and he hangs out god knows where (Tadatsugu’s room?) and only actually leaves after he’s watched her bathe—which is discomfiting, he is not used to seeing her unclothed and not doing something about it— and redress, and put herself to bed. Perhaps one time he stays and nuzzles at her hair, takes a deep lungful of her before truly leaving. Perhaps more than once. Certainly not every time. He is not so weak as that.

[pseudofaux]

Masanari please. The rest I leave up to you 😉

BLESS YOU I am grateful for this (and for the carte blanche!)! This doesn’t get dirty the way I expected it to, but there’s a treat in there I think is pretty delightful. I hope you will enjoy it. 🤍💜🖤

(Requests are open through May 1!)

They have already been sitting on the floor together for several minutes of silent work when he says, mournfully, “You hurt my foot.”

“I think you mean my foot,” she says gently, flexing the injured end of her in his hand. His grip tightens.

“No. I meant my foot. The same as if any other little mouse in my possession hurt their paw. These limbs report back to me,” Master Masanari says as he delicately pats on a poultice. “And they are mine.”

She sighs, piqued at the implication he has other mice and piqued at herself for thinking such a thing. But there is little point in denying or pressing him. And he is currently doing her a favor, treating the abrasion on her sole. He is a surprisingly--shockingly-- caring healer when he wants to be... he has been gentle with her angry flesh, and his smooth, cool hands felt like water itself when he cleaned the wound.

“Thank you,” she tells him.

“For reminding you of your place?” He asks it without looking at her, but she is looking at him, so even if she couldn’t hear the lilt in his voice she can see his eyebrows go up in a mockery of mild surprise.

“For all your help,” she says respectfully. His hum is very, very pleased as he looks at the way the poultice is sticking. He begins to wrap the first layer of bandage and she thinks he looks like a classical portrait of a weaver, some artisan with flowing hair and skilled hands. He’s not a nice man, but he’s a very beautiful one, and she does love him.

She briefly reconsiders her affection when he offers to slice Kiyohiro’s foot to show her what he means.

“No!” she tells him, and she tugs her own foot back, but his grip is around her ankle so all it gets her is a shocked feeling in her knee when she cannot move. “Don’t be like this,” she pleads.

“Then do not spend time being stupid that you should spend being still,” he tells her, as though it is a kind thing to say. The iron of his grip becomes silk as his hand slips back down to her foot. He leans down and kisses the tip of her middle toe, then nips it. He goes back to the bandaging.

Her mouth, or maybe her spirit, is stupid despite his warnings. Or maybe it was the sharpness of his bite after so much gentle care. “Do you kiss Kiyohiro the way you kiss me?” she asks. It sounds like a child’s taunt and she is instantly ashamed of herself.

He looks thoughtful but does not answer, and that’s when she knows her danger is very, very deep. Two of his fingers guide her foot to the floor, then press until she makes a noise of pain, which brings back his smile. Master Masanari looks right at her and smiles and presses again. Then he leans close to her and puts his hands on the ground as though he is not steady as a boulder without them.

“You’d like to watch me try, wouldn’t you, little mouse?”

Oh no. Oh no, oh no. How does he know?! She has never even allowed herself to have a fully-formed thought about them together! “No!” she sputters, leaning back as though he will not use the advantage of his hands on the ground to lean further forward and follow her, crowding her though there is nothing at her back. His presence looms over her like a hooded snake. “No!” she repeats, voice smaller. “I don’t know,” she confesses, smaller still.

“Do not test my patience, then, or I may kiss him and not let you watch,” he whispers. He does not hiss, but the words do not sound human.

And then he leans back, and the sunny afternoon resumes where it had just been so very shadowed. Master Masanari carefully sets his small case of tools and vials and bandages in order, and empties the bowl of water he used to clean her injury directly into the garden despite the impropriety. Her heart is beating the way it does when he kisses her senseless, which is twin to the way it beats when she runs for her life. She cannot do that now, not until her foot heals.

He knows it, he treated her. And he must have packed his healer’s kindness away with everything else, because he is very clearly making fun of her when he says, in Lord Yasumasa’s voice and very loudly, “I cannot explain the depth of my sorrow that I am unable to satisfy your voracious sexual appetite, but if you are determined to pursue the lord of the Tokugawa, rightly famed for his sensual prowess, I will humble myself and wish you the best.”

Oh no. Oh no.

He is very light on his feet, so light he can bite her nose, kiss the bite, spin in a dance of gray cloth and blood red flowers, and leave no trace of himself behind as he silently strides away, quickly but without any real hurry. She is still sitting on the ground with her mouth open in shock at the trap he wove around her when two maids with wide eyes turn the corner, looking for the source of the day’s newest gossip.

[pseudofaux]

I need a dirty fluff of our snakey man Masanari.

Dirty fluff! For him! Hmmmmmmmm. 🤔 I will try, for you and for our lord and snake-ior. I hope you will enjoy this! 🐍🖤💜🤍

“Whatever is the matter?” he asked at the door, as though he were afraid to step foot into the mess she had made of their room.

“I can’t find any of my obi!” she cried, frantically lifting a corner of the futon to look underneath. As there was nothing keeping her top closed, he got a lovely eyeful. “Lord Ieyasu told me to be at this morning’s meeting, and I can’t find anything to tie my clothes!” She went to a corner to look through clothes that needed to be washed. It made no sense that all her sashes were gone. The discarded ones, at least, should be in the pile with her few other outfits. She crawled frantically to another corner, opening the dresser and looking inside one drawer, then another.

Masanari stepped into to room. Gingerly. “You must calm yourself,” he said with a smile. “Where did you last see it?”

“Don’t you start!” she said, close to tears. Another drawer was opened, scanned, and shut. “I don’t have time for games!”

He made himself comfortable by the door, anchoring the energy of the room while her panic rose like a thing untethered. She was muttering to herself and looking extremely fretful... something in the realm of fear. He couldn’t help enjoying himself just a little longer.

But eventually, he said, “Come here,” in an steeled voice that allowed no argument. She froze, and she did look at a medicine chest too small and full to have any of her obi in it, but she shuffled over to him, shoulders slumped as she got to her feet. Her eyes were on the floor.

“Now... you need something to tie your clothes?” he asked the top of her head.

“Yes,” she said. “Please, Master Masanari, if you can help me please do it now, I am worried I will be late.”

He shushed her and turned her around by her shoulders, then pulled her back into the obi he had waiting for her body.

“You know, little mouse,” he whispered as he stepped close behind her and pulled the fabric tight, “Sometimes I want to wrap myself around you like this, and squeeze.” When he finished tucking and tying the length of cloth around her waist, he did exactly that with his arms.

She wriggled to turn in his hold so she could look up at him. “This was your doing, wasn’t it?”

He did not answer. He did kiss her, sure to put his tongue in her mouth and make her dizzy with scent and venomous purpose. His arms in his sleeves flexed around her as he laughed, counting the time they had left before she’d be truly late. He would have to bring her obi back, he supposed.

Eventually.

[pseudofaux]

HI JUST WANTED TO SAY THAT I APPRECIATE U A LOT AND HOPE U HAVE A GREAT DAY ; v ; 💖💖

🙇🏻‍♀️💜💜💜💕💕💕💕💕💕💕 That is very wonderful and mutual, thank you!!! I’m still a little weak from your gorgeous Leonardo (permanently weak from that Hanzo 🤤), and I hope you have a great day as well. 💐 Good luck with your week!

[pseudofaux]

Are you still tipsy and accepting asks? 🤣 What Christmas presents would you give to your top otome boys? And we can say money is not an object ヾ(๑╹◡╹)ﾉ"

Still a tiny bit tipsy*, ALWAYS taking fun asks! Especially from you! “#saizoswifey finna make a girl propose” is not just a tag... Hmmmmmmmmm. I like this ask, thank you! all my otome boys are tops

Nobuyuki gets a date making cologne and perfume for one another, a bookmark embroidered with the Sanada mon or one of his other motifs, a finely patterned scarf, a book of practical modern household hacks, and a box of candies made with out of season fruits (something like Fruit Delights/Aplets and Cotlets. Or just a Harry & David box).

Sirius gets quality gardening gloves and a glass iris stake so something can be blooming whenever he goes out to tend the plants. A clove-studded orange pomander for making “wishes” for kisses. New earrings. A certificate for one (million) “back rubs” on good, classy cardstock

Ieyasu gets a bûche de Noel made so perfectly even he can’t say anything terrible about it (surprise: the cake is rolled with strawberry jam. not a surprise: little marzipan tanuki on top). Whatever the latest high end blender is, for working with herbs or pulverizing spices. Doordash credit so he eats FOOD when I’m not home. 😂 Non food: lamps with warm stained glass shades for our nightstands and a print copy of the catalog for whatever museum exhibit he liked best that year. Also several hefty donations in Tadatsugu’s name to area children’s charities.

Hairzo gets his (...kitchen?) blades sharpened properly, a sleek and simple glass vial bottle of lightweight oil for... whatever he might like to use oil for, and a healthy sprig of mistletoe in a lavishly wrapped package.

Yoshimoto gets tickets to the opening night gala for a textile exhibit in a major museum, an antique puzzle box that hides a beautiful marble of milky purple and silver, and his request: an evening of just-us music at home. 💕✨

So many more favorites, but these are coming to mind! 😚😚😚 Thank you!

*moving on to our late lunch now... what booze goes with poutine? A Manhattan? LET’S! FIND! OUUUUT!

[pseudofaux]

Another anon came up with this prompt but your requests were closed then - something spicy for Ieyasu’s MC (Hana) and Masanari?

Ooooooh! Sure! Thank you for requesting this as part of my follower celebration. I’m sorry it took so long to get this done and out, unlike the others a chunk of this has been sitting in my drafts for weeks and I just wasn’t sure where to take this! Cut for length. It’s not too spicy, but there’s some spice. I hope you’ll enjoy it.

She had a chef’s sense of taste, and of smell. These things usually helped her, constant reliable ways to prepare things to the liking of customer or lord or... whomever. She considered it an aptitude that she had earned through years of work, and she was quietly proud of her skill.

But for the last few days, there had been a slippery, peppery sweetness in the air, and she could not pick out the notes of it. Pleasant but faint, the scent would come upon her at the strangest times— in the room she shared with Ieyasu, in the kitchen, in Ieyasu’s office, in the garden. It was so foreign but so present she wondered if Ieyasu had gotten his hands on some heavenly nanban scent... but he had not mentioned anything of the sort, and she was not nearly sure enough that it seemed safe to comment on to his face. She kept her pleasure and curiosity to herself.

Then one morning she made her way into the kitchen, where she found a man she had never seen before was lifting a cloth off the stack of rags she kept on the counter. In profile he was striking, tall with a strong nose and chin. When she gasped in surprise— not offense, it was simply so unlikely that anyone would be there before her, and he was a stranger— he turned to face her, and his speed made the ends of his magnificent hair sway. That was when she got the strongest sense yet of the mysterious fragrance.

“It’s you!” she said with a little laugh, and she breathed in through her nose. “I’ve been smelling you!”

The beautiful man looked confused, briefly, before he showed her a smile the likes of which she had never seen, so gentle, so mature, she thought she might melt.

“Smelling me, little chipmunk?”

She smiled back and shrugged in apology as she stepped into the kitchen. Chipmunk was an odd thing to be called, but it was hardly the worst thing she’d been called here, and she lived with Ieyasu.

“Your perfume, I think,” she explained. “It smells wonderful. Could you tell me what it’s made of? I can’t place the scents and it’s been driving me mad the last few days.”

His expression shifted, and when she realized it had finished moving there was something about his eyes that made her think his amusement was not for her to share. And then he smiled in full, opened his arms, and said “Of course, Lady.”

That made her laugh, unsure how to proceed. What did he expect, that she would step into his arms? But at least he wasn’t glaring. So her smile felt more sure as she took a modest step closer and sniffed the air. until he pulled her further into the quiet room and tucked her against his chest. Shock had her still, then it made her tremble.

“What will you give me, for the knowledge you seek?” His voice was shamelessly husky in a way that made her further uncomfortable, but up close and in full the perfume was so strong her anxiety was coaxed into stupor. She wanted Ieyasu, desperately, but the want was being squeezed, smothered...

“Ah... is there... anything you want?” she offered lamely. She felt very out of her depth but already addicted to that smell, sharp-sweet sap but more like honey, like fresh shisho but not... When he laughed, she nearly swooned.

“A good many things,” he whispered as his fingertips pressed the small of her back. He was so strong those points of contact pushed her along the line of his body.

“To... eat?” she clarified in a whisper.

“That and more,” he said. His voice was so low and steady and close, and there was warmth near her mouth...

A bird cawed from the gardens, and she realized where her body was in relation to his, and flushed so deep with shame she thought she might die. When she pushed away, he let her go with nothing but that soft smile from before.

“Stay safe in your burrow, little chipmunk, or keep to the sun,” the man said. There was a melancholy about him as he said it, but his voice was even and he was still smiling. She watched that smile as he stepped back into a deeply shadowed corner of the kitchen, silver hair becoming purple becoming black... and then she could tell she was alone. All around her there was pepper-sweetness, strange and beguiling and dangerous in a way she suddenly did not like as much as she had before.

Her hands trembled so long she couldn’t cut properly. So much for skill developed over years of work. The maids helped her and eventually shooed her out of the kitchen. She walked to the main hall, careful to keep to sunny spots but nervous even there, in case she’d been warned into a trap.

Ieyasu was golden on the dais, and it was a struggle not to run to him. “What’s wrong with you?” he asked immediately. His words were sharp as ever, but his frown was concern, not censure.

“Later,” she promised as she sat beside him. He touched her hand where no one could see and the steady warmth of it, and his smell, herbs she knew because he’d taught her, and the unmistakable scent of his pillow, helped her relax.

“You better,” he gritted out the side of his mouth so only she could hear. That calmed her even better.

[pseudofaux]

Hey! I just saw your 1000 followers celebration! So may I request some headcanons or just reactions if hcs are too much Hanzo, Kiyoichiro, Asra, Lancelot and Jonah would react if they saw their female s!o staring at someone's fine ass? Would they get angry? Join in? Thank you!!

This is another one that made me laugh, thank you! And thanks for requesting as part of my follower celebration!

Hanzo would be displeased and make his displeasure evident right away (and later). The response is possessive but of course he doesn’t make it about the two of them, it is about her indescretion. While smiling in that dangerous way of his: “My, little mouse, were there crumbs on that gentleman’s clothes?” Later spanks her and when he’s teasing her tells her to keep her eyes open. Pinches her every time she blinks.

Kyoichiro would get snippy, but it would come from a place of hurt. He would order her to work in the back areas of the shop and be extra critical of her dinner. The sweet goose would actually think of changing his own clothes but get upset with himself for even thinking it and sulk outside for a while. He’d confess in bed and feel much better when she slips a hand over his own fine ass.

Asra would quirk a brow at her and lean in to whisper “Like what you see?” He would call over and introduce the object of her focus (because Asra of course knows them). Wily magician would be ✨delighted✨ for the three of them to have tea together. On the way back to the shop, he would asks what it was she liked about what she saw, and then keep up the half-tease, half-inquiry while making plans to keep her blushing and laughing. Composes a very catchy ode to her fine ass on the spot and sings it shamelessly in the street.

I don’t think Lancelot would notice, or at least he wouldn’t understand, because he’s too polite to do such a thing in public himself. But if he realized Alice was looking at another person with physical appreciation, he would corner her somewhere semi-private (like a hallway— empty at the time, but not guaranteed to stay that way) and insist she explain. He would listen, but I think he’d be a little hurt, the poor dear. Mostly he would be embarrassed, and he’d want to be very close to her for reassurance. With a king[s]l[e]y kabedon, intense murmurs: “Explain it to me. Would you like me better in the same clothes? What can I do to make you focus on me instead?” If her answers satisfy him, he’s smug as hell for the rest of the day. Either way, he touches her derrière far more frequently than usual when they are alone that night.

Jonah (god love him) would interrupt whatever they were doing. Distress! Man in distress!!! “Wha-where exactly are your eyes?!” He’d lean over the table to hold her face or stride over to her, wherever they were he’d immediately reestablish or increase Physical Proximity Of Alice To Jonah Clemence™️ and get her eyes on him. “What was that?” he’d whisper, already having leapfrogged consternation to be asking in pain. Would expect need major and thorough reassurance that his ass is the finest in all the land and when satisfied he’d say of course it is. Clingier the next few days, but he does calm down. Some itch in his brain that he tries and completely fails to ignore makes him check himself out over his shoulder in long mirrors until she catches him and slips her hand into his back pocket while murmuring he’s so beautiful, head to toe, especially in those trousers. Jonah is flustered af the rest of the morning but after that things go more or less back to normal except he REALLY wants her to do it again.

[pseudofaux]

Can i ask for something spicy with either Hanzo (Masanari) or Ieyasu? thank you please!

Technically this came in after the deadline (requests are now closed, babes!), but I can’t say no to a spicy Masanari request because that’s one of the things I love most in this life. He is so magically delicious! 🤤 I hope you enjoy, nonny. 🙇🏻‍♀️🥰

He has decided not to fight it, because why deny himself the joy of her myriad reactions, the adorable way she blushes? There are a good many things he denies to himself. The little herbalist, and her heart, and her body: these are not to be among them. From her first trembles under his glare to that stubborn, stupid look she gets when she is determined… well, his determination is not so visible, but has been determined to keep her with him for quite some time now.

He has her in the Tanuki’s office to bother the young lord, and he has her in the Tanuki’s office simply because it pleases him to feel all her frantic quivering melt under his hands and all her protests turn to throaty, helpless sounds. She’s a sensitive one, the poor thing, always picking up on the vulnerabilities of others and then patching instead of poking. Her body has the same exquisite sensitivity, registering every touch. She has no talent for obfuscation. It is so easy to tease her that it should not be nearly so fun as it is, but when he has to be away from her he finds his mind thinking of new ways to make her wriggle.

In the Tanuki’s office, then. She is fearful they will be caught, somehow still unaware that he would never let that happen. To stop her eyes from their mad darting around, he takes her cheeks in his palms and she settles beautifully.

“Master Masanari,” she says. With a bit of reproach! Adorable. “We shouldn’t…”

Exactly.

Her only complaints as he undresses her are sighs, and despite her talk of “shouldn’t”, her arms cooperate with him. When she is seated on his lap, gloriously naked, those arms find their way to his shoulders and her fingers stroke shyly at his hair. It’s pleasurable, so he encourages her without teasing.

But then he has to tease her, because having her naked in such a place is too good an opportunity to give up. He tells her she must please herself and tries not to laugh as all her supple turns to stiff. She tries to squeak her way out of it but he is implacable until she moves to sit on the desk, and then he coos encouragement to her. It works as it so often does, making her dreamy-eyed as she touches herself more boldly. One hand strokes her breasts, her throat; the other rubs at the crown of her sex, noisy in a way that makes him happier than he can explain.

He stops her before she finishes, of course, and dresses her and escorts her, mess of frustration that she is, to his room. He has no problem making her vulnerable in odd places, because he will protect her. But Masanari only likes to be “vulnerable” on his own terms, which means in his room. It is there that he strips her again, rubbing her face with his thumb and his cheeks, and then strips himself and tucks them into the bedding. His back makes the blanket a tent over their bodies, sheltering the tenderness in her face when she reaches for him. He decides she has given him enough this night, and he brings her to quick, tidy bliss before he fits himself inside her, nearly shuddering as her body clings to him from the inside out.

[pseudofaux]

My GOODNESS, Hairzo snarking on Yasumasa is the finest treat, like... EVER. I’m gonna get gout this is so gd good. 😂💕

[pseudofaux]

Yukimura, honey, NOOOOOO

[pseudofaux]

Don’t worry, Hairzo, you’ll meet the first and figure it out.

(^that’s a street fair story I would THROW pearls at)

[pseudofaux]

I love Hairzo’s ES SO SO SO MUCH!!!

I can’t even pick an MVP. Tsuki’s great. Hairzo’s Hairzo. Tadatsugu is SO great. Tadakatsu is SO great. Yasumasa is SUCH a shit (and therefore, in this circumstance, a great plot device 😂). I’m going to play through again after I clear Sakuya and screenshot the whole thing. It’s just delightful!!! Mikawa 5ever!