Author's Note: I had a lot of fun with this chapter, especially with Nobutsuna.

Enjoy :-)

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Sixteen years, nine months, six days

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At last - they were merely half a day away from Kasugayama - Saburō felt himself get ever so slightly curious about what awaited him at the ancestral home of the Naoe family. He took a deep breath to make sure he hadn't misinterpreted, but there was the same scent of salt, seaweed and wet sand he had detected earlier.

The seaside…

Ichirō who was walking besides him noticed and smiled. "Inside our lord's castle you can overlook the ocean from each tower and most of the windows."

For some reason Saburō hadn't even considered his new place of residence to be located at the waterfront. The name Kasugayama called mountains, snow and conifers to mind, and actually the countryside they had travelled through had all that. But there it was, right after the next turn, a strangely light and calm sea, very different from the ultramarine one at Odawara, the one he was familiar with from his earliest days on. It smelled the same, though.

"So, we crossed the whole country?" he asked, his eyes still on the ocean as they walked on.

"Yes, we travelled from one coast to the other."

His feet felt like it, too, Saburō thought with a grimace as they walked up to the entrance doors. He could see Naoe riding through them already and hurried up to be there and ready to take over Tsubame when he got off horseback.

/\/

Outside these walls, he was a general of the Uesugi army, a war hero. Inside, he was Naoe Sanetsuna's son-in-law.

Naoe climbed off his horse and passed the reins to Saburō who had appeared dutifully by his side as soon as they entered the castle. He didn't look forward to explaining to his father-in-law that the new stable boy was the only reward he had received for spending the whole winter and half of spring far away in the Kanto region.

Sanetsuna regarded him for a long moment, his face screwing up as if he were chewing the inside of his cheek. "Come inside."

Naoe obliged, gritting his teeth at the warm welcome. Geniality was the last of the reasons for which he had married into this family years ago, but his father-in-law's habit of treating him like a nuisance didn't sit well with him. Servants took his weapons and presented them both with tea as they knelt opposite each other in the main hall.

"You have rendered great services to Oda Nobunaga and proved yourself worthy of representing our house I have been assured. For such extraordinary accomplishments, the rewards must be just as extraordinary." The old man's features were completely serene. "So tell me, what riches have been bestowed on our house for your services?"

Naoe was perfectly sure that his father-in-law already knew how the spoils of war had been distributed. All of Echigo had probably heard the tale by now. Sanetsuna merely enjoyed watching him having to spill the beans in all the humiliating details.

"The last member of the Hōjō clan has been given into our custody as a servant", he answered with a calmness he didn't feel but was able to lay into his words at will.

Sanetsuna feigned surprise. "And apart from him?"

Naoe briefly thought of the mountain monastery where he had received his education as a young boy and inwardly thanked the monks there for giving him the ability to keep his peace of mind no matter which thoughts and emotions might surface.

"That would be all."

"No fiefdom?" Sanetsuna pressed with spurious incredulity. "No prebendary?"

It wasn't unimaginable, though, Naoe mused, that his father-in-law would overstep the mark one of these days. He was skirting around the edges of Naoe's patience already. For reasons he couldn't figure out, the image of Kakisaki's son rose before his eyes. No doubt the young man would have been throwing a fit by now.

"Is it the lad I saw in the yard upon your arrival?" Sanetsuna asked when he wouldn't rise to the bait.

Naoe affirmed, surprised that his father in law had noticed Saburō at all. He must have seen the boy briefly when Saburō had taken over Tsubame.

Sanetsuna was watching him closely now. He seemed on the verge of pursuing the topic, but decided otherwise. "Did you give your reports to Kenshin-kō already?" the old man wanted to know.

Naoe knew he was late for the reports. Their castle lay on the way to Kasugayama, so he had stopped here first. Then, there had been the delay caused by the attack of the Satomi. That was also something he needed to inform his lord about.

It wasn't hard to find an answer to Sanetsuna's question. "I'm leaving for Kasugayama right away."

/\/

Naoe Osen put down the brush on her dressing-table. In the mirror, she could see her reflection: oval face, the white and red fabric of her best kimono, long, glossy black hair falling over her shoulder, ready to be twisted into a headdress.

She could feel her servants' eyes on her, waiting for a reaction to the news that her husband had come home and gone away immediately without seeing her. She had not even finished her preparations for receiving him. Her gaze fell on the makeup jars her maid wouldn't need to make use of now.

"Is that so?" she finally said.

They'd been married for almost four years the major part of which her husband had spent campaigning. Osen knew better than to expect him to come running into her arms immediately after his return. But this behavior marked a new low point for their marriage for sure.

"You may go," she dismissed her maids, but gestured for Ateki to stay. Once they were alone she turned around to the old servant. "Well?"

Ateki immediately started to spill the beans. "The young lord was gravely injured during the last days of the siege, but he seems to be better now. It appears there was an ambush on them which delayed their arrival further. He was received by your father, but they only spoke for a few minutes, then Nobutsuna-sama left for Kasugayama."

Osen silently wondered what their conversation might have been about for Nobutsuna to practically turn on his heel. It wouldn't have been the first time for her father to criticize her husband's achievements and sometimes he was overstating his case.

Ateki leaned over to her and whispered conspiratorially, "Nobutsuna-sama was given a young boy as the only reward for his services to Nobunaga."

What? "A young boy?" For the months and months he had spent campaigning, her husband had been given a single slave?

"He is the youngest son of Hōjō Ujimasa, they say. Nobutsuna-sama employs him as a stable boy." Ateki couldn't suppress a chuckle. "I caught a glimpse at him earlier. A very pretty lad."

Osen gazed into space. Why? Why would Nobutsuna content himself with a good-looking slave? Was it possible that he had no choice but to accept the gift without snubbing Oda? Or was there something else behind this? She came to a decision.

"I would like my dinner now. Send the new boy."

Ateki shot her a surprised glance, then bowed respectfully and left the room to do her mistress's bidding.

Osen's gaze wandered off towards what was visible of her marital bed, half hidden behind a shoji. She felt her features harden. Would Nobutsuna grace it with his presence at all or set off for the next campaign straight away? Her father was displeased with both of them for failing to produce offspring.

If Nobutsuna was worried about the absence of descendants, he didn't show it - and he certainly didn't take any counteractive measures such as sharing his wife's bed more often. His lack of interest in female company had prevented him from taking a concubine, too. That, at least, was something to be grateful for.

Or was it, Osen mused. Maybe it would have been good to have a heart to heart sometimes with a woman in a similar position: given to a man who didn't behold a bit of interest for her.

"My lady, I have your dinner."

Osen startled. This must be him, then. The daimyō son turned servant. He'd spoken in precisely the right volume for his words to carry through the shoji, as if he had actually been brought up for this.

"Enter," she called, surprised by her quickening heartbeat.

As the shoji drew back, a slender lad in plain garments entered the room on his knees as it was imperative for servants. His eyes were cast downwards as the approached her, moving silently, his concentration on the tray he was carrying.

The light in the room was dim, but with the boy's face directly in front of her and his hair swept up into a ponytail, Osen was perfectly able to study his features. Her dinner forgotten, she took in the high cheekbones, the upswing of the eyebrows, the slender nose, the long eye-lashes, the sensitive mouth, the flawless skin - no makeup in the world could produce this effect, she thought.

Taken by itself, none of these features were extraordinary, but when they came together like this in the Hōjō boy's face…

I'd like to look like that.

The thought took her by surprise. In the twenty years of her life she had never compared her own looks to somebody else's and felt that she came up short. Her beauty was a given fact that she never gave much consideration to. Everybody was aware of it and had been her whole life - everybody except for her husband.

And now said husband had brought home this boy whose appearance outshone hers. Was it this face that had compelled her husband to accept this youth as appropriate reward for his war service? She had no doubt, the body covered by plain cotton was just as perfect. Slender, but not too thin, with the smooth, porcelain skin of youth. He must be a few years her junior, Osen mused.

The reason why Oda Nobunaga would consider this youth appropriate payment for Nobutsuna's services during the war were not far to seek. Lots of noblemen kept pretty young male lovers besides their wives and concubines. But as far as Osen knew her own husband wasn't any more interested in men than he was in women.

Then again, what did she know? Couldn't he be the reason that Nobutsuna was even colder to her than usual?

/\/

Saburō mentally kicked himself. Thinking of the lady of this castle, he had imagined an elderly matron for whatever reason. But considering Naoe's young age and the fact that her father was still alive, he should have guessed that she was young. Barely older than he himself was, it seemed.

She hadn't dismissed him after he had planted the tray with her dinner right in front of her. He was reasonably sure that he wasn't supposed to leave until he was told so, but the according command didn't come.

She wasn't touching the food either. Instead, he could feel her gaze on himself, scrutinizing as if she were trying to establish something. He couldn't make eye contact to possibly find out why she was doing this, but there were emotions radiating from her still which he couldn't place.

Was she that eager to see what an enslaved noble enemy looked like? Did she care at all about the enemies of the Uesugi and against which provinces her husband went to war?

He knelt in silence until at last, her melodic voice dismissed him. "Leave now."

And he did.

/\/

"This is curious, indeed."

Naoe didn't need to look up from his kneeling position to take a guess at the slight frown his lord was wearing. At first, he wasn't sure which part of what Naoe had just told him Kenshin-kō found curious. A lot of what had been happening since the fall of Odawara deserved to be called curious, after all.

"Did they elaborate on their motivation for trying to take the Hōjō boy?"

Naoe cleared his throat. "Their leader turned out to be a former retainer of Hōjō Ujimasa. He and his brother joined the Satomi only a couple of years ago after certain disagreements he wouldn't fully explain when we interrogated him."

"I see."

"I cannot say for sure that they planned to free the boy out of loyalty for the Hōjō clan. They might have been dissatisfied with how they were rewarded and - begrudged my prize to me." He couldn't help a sarcastic note creeping into his voice.

"Yes, about your prize…" A smile could be heard in Kenshin's voice. "Is he indeed as enchanting as rumor has it?"

His mind went blank. He had not the slightest idea how to answer to that. Much to his surprise, Saburo's face appeared before him without him even making an effort to remember the boy's features. Seeking refuge in empty phrases, Naoe cleared his throat. "Rumors hardly do him justice."

If Kenshin-kō was amused by his reaction, he hid it well.

/\/

"Will you explain to me what your brother thought he was doing when he attacked a convoy of our most powerful ally's soldiers?" Oda Nobunaga's voice was flat and cold as if he weren't really interested in the answer, just impressing upon Takahide the details of the grievance Katsuhide had brought upon them.

As if he didn't know himself that he was in dire straits. Satomi Yoshihiro was kneeling between them, his profile towards Takahide. As the Matsuda's daimyō , he would ultimately be held responsible for all misdeeds committed by Takahide or his brother.

"My Lord Oda," the words came slowly. "I beg your forgiveness for what my brother did." A few weeks ago, the warlord had consulted him on what should be given to Naoe to keep the Uesugi from reaching for Odawara castle. He had considered himself fortunate then for being able to offer Nobunaga that clue about Saburo. And then his brother had to go and render all of this void.

"You're not asking what became of your brother." Oda's bored voice penetrated his thoughts.

Takahide froze. The complete lack of information in Katsuhide's fate left only one conclusion to draw.

"Naoe Nobutsuna had him executed."

"My brother -" He finally said. What we did that night in Odawara came back to ruin us. "He was obsessed by a demon. By Hōjō Saburō who is a curse on everybody who lays eyes on him. All he touches he defiles." And now he managed to kill Katsuhide, as certainly as if he had cut his throat himself.

"Is that the reason why you wanted him to go over into Naoe's possession?" A hint of amusement was audible in Nobunaga's voice. "He crossed you, didn't he?"

Takahide lowered his head without an answer. An incredulous sound came from Satomi Yoshihiro that was quickly stifled, presumably at a glance from Nobunaga.

"You believe this boy to bring ill luck to those who cross his path."

It has been proven again and again. The lord's eldest son died while the Lady Zukeiin was pregnant with him. And then she died, too. That was the reason why Ujiyasu-sama sent him away and soon after he returned Odawara fell...

"And now the Uesugi have him." To Takahide's surprise, Nobunaga chuckled. "I am curious to see how Kenshin will fare with your little demon."

/\/

"My lord, if Oda will attack us -"

"When, Nobutsuna - it's a matter of time, really."

They were walking through Kenshin-kō 's garden, Naoe a step behind his daimyō .

"It doesn't really matter if the attack on your unit was orchestrated by Nobunaga himself to provoke me or if the Satomi acted on their own. War lies ahead of us. Again."

The prospect of having to enter battle again soon didn't subdue Naoe as much as it did his lord. War was his profession after all. Uesugi Kenshin, however, abhorred bloodshed. Any other man living in this era with this attitude would have been crushed between his enemies who possessed less scruples. It seemed astounding at times how such a peace-loving person had managed to stand his ground like this against the Oda, the Takeda, the Hōjō and a number of minor but aggressive clans.

"I will assemble the generals and inform them of what you told me. They must have heard rumors by now, so it's good that I can fill them in on the details. In the meanwhile, see to your troops and return here the day after tomorrow."

Naoe took a bow. "I will."

/\/

They didn't have any children, Naoe-dono and his young wife, Saburō had found out quickly enough. There were children running about the estate, playing with wooden switches instead of swords, but none of them belonged to the Naoe family.

Inside the castle, it was very quiet. Saburō could hear no sound but his own breathing and footsteps as he took Sanetsuna's dinner to the old man's rooms. In Naoe's absence, both his wife and father-in-law had engaged Saburō in such household chores, but in between there had been enough time to look after Tsubame.

Serving Naoe's father-in-law was not going to become one of his favorite duties, Saburō knew. He had felt the old man's eyes on him in the yard already, minutes after his arrival. He had been aware of those gazes again the last two times he had served Sanetsuna his meals.

So when he felt Sanetsuna's hand in his hair all of a sudden, he was in shock but at the same time not surprised. It was the same everywhere. Why should the men in this place be any different? There was an icy burning in his stomach that seemed to spread into all of his limbs, making it impossible to move. Still, he found the strength to look up from his kneeling position into the old lord's face.

Naoe's father-in-law looked him straight in the eye while his fingers curled around Saburo's neck. Frozen to the point that he had to remember to breathe, Saburō tried to remember how it had started back then, that night, in Odawara. With a touch like this? With a shove in the back? It was all blurry in his memory, taunts and laughter, scraps of conversation.

Sanetsuna though knew he was doing something wrong, the guilt was visible in his face but he still didn't seem able to stop himself. There was a certain insecurity about what he did even when he forcefully tried to rip down the neckline of his clothing. As if he resented Saburō for doing this to him, as if he were convinced Saburō had never consented no matter how Sanetsuna went about this so he relied on violence from the start…

It's me, Saburō thought with a kind of painful clarity. They all react to something I cannot control but it lures them in regardless. They all resent me for it.

"Experienced, are you?" the older man suddenly asked as if he had read from his face what Saburō was thinking about.

Saburō's breath caught in his throat. Sanetsuna stilled on top of him. He was still holding his wrists down, but made no move to remove his clothes as he'd been trying to earlier.

As if he had lost his appetite at the idea of Saburō being damaged goods, the boy thought and understood at the same moment that it must be true.

It was the strangest thing. He certainly didn't wish for Sanetsuna's hands on him or to be desired by him. But the reaction to this guess about his destroyed innocence still stung.

"Release him", an icy voice cut through the fog in Saburō's head. "At once."

/\/

He was so furious, his hands shook.

Giving himself over to rage was becoming an unfortunate habit these days, Naoe mused. What fueled his outrage further was that Sanetsuna didn't seem to comprehend how what he was doing was a violation of Naoe's rights as Saburō's master. He didn't appear embarrassed or feeling guilty in the slightest way. If anything, his anger matched Naoe's own who surprised himself with the magnitude of his rage.

"How dare you -"

He backed off Saburō, though. The boy came to his feet immediately, his face as white as snow. The collar of his garment was ripped. Unconsciously, his hand went up there to keep it together. His gaze flickered between Naoe and his father-in-law as if he expected them to gang up on him.

A new wave of anger surged through him. Sanetsuna had no right to lay a finger on any of Naoe's servants. "How dare I?" he repeated.

"You bolt in here, into my rooms like a -"

"I came with reports from Kasugayama. What have you been doing while I spoke to our lord? Trying to rape my servant?"

"You forget yourself, Nobutsuna!"

"You're not to touch him. He is mine and I decide what duties he is to fulfill in my household."

Sanetsuna stared at him in perplexed silence at the casual use of the words my household when referring to their castle.

"He is mine," Naoe repeated. The gods knew he hadn't asked for this prize, but he wouldn't give him up - not to Oda Nobunaga, not to Sanetsuna or to anyone else. The realization filled him with calm all of a sudden.

"Then act like it!" his father-in-law fumed. "It's your own fault. You don't claim him, but you won't let anyone else touch him, either. Do you really not know how to use him?" he sneered.

Apparently, Sanetsuna had spoken to the other servants about the relationship between his son-in-law and his new slave. Naoe felt Saburō's eyes on him. Maybe the boy had wondered the same thing.

He took a deep breath. "None of that is your concern. I will make use of him exactly as I see fit."

He had come to see his father-in-law with the prospect of having to fend off more insulting remarks at the news of the next war approaching. Next thing he knew he'd flown into such a rage at the sight of Sanetsuna trying to force Saburō that he entered into a fight without thinking. Now, his first priority was to get Saburō out of the room and back to safety. He met the boy's amber gaze.

"Report to Jirō," he simply said. "Immediately."

Saburō fled.

/\/

Author's Note: So - a very different Sanetsuna compared with the one I characterized in "There is No Such Place". But at least that gives Nobutsuna the chance to act as Saburō's knight in shining samurai armor ;-)

Hope you liked it!

Next chapter: an aftermath to what happened here… Naoe will have to make a decision.