Disclaimer: All credit goes to Shingo Nanami and フクロウ as usual. This is a short arc, but it's overall enjoyable. :)
理想の旦那様?
The Perfect Husband?
Part One
"Ah~, I want a cool boyfriend…"
One of her friends muttered.
As Kasane pretended not to notice the comment, she sipped her juice.
Right now she was with her college friends at a recently-opened stylish bar.
Though their main selling point is liquor and cocktails, they also had a wide variety of things on their menu. While the interior seemed to have an air of an old foreign building, it still somehow retained a modern image.
It seemed they were a business that targeted young women, so there was a limited time service just for woman after they opened. Soon after that, their reputation skyrocketed.
Before, her friends would invite her over, "Let's go, let's go!" So she finally gave in.
"You set the bar too high so you always break up right away."
"Wha~t!? I always polish myself everyday! This is all to find a good guy and marry him!"
"Well I do have to give it to your ability to keep polishing your 'appearance'..."
"But you still break up soon after. You get indecisive when you see another cool guy."
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement.
Indeed, the girl was quite cute and because of that, she was prone to changing boyfriends.
The shortest might have been three days.
At first she was shocked by this, but after a number of repeats it became the norm.
"But I want a boyfriend I want to brag about! Like a person whom everyone will get jealous of!"
The girl huffed out, emphasizing her words.
She says things like this, but she was the sort of person who made extra efforts in polishing herself.
For example, she made sure to learn how to cook well for her future husband, and made sure to care for her appearance.
She had an impression that she wasn't liked by her peers, but she was actually quite open minded and caring.
Though she can be a bit too free spirited at times, Kasane liked her and most likely the other girls shared that same opinion.
Well to sum it all up, she was a girl you couldn't hate.
"Well, I kinda understand what you're getting at…"
One friend said.
"Right~!? You definitely would want a cool, smart, rich, gentle husband to brag about, don't you!"
(...Cool, smart, rich, and gentle...)
Kasane blankly thought before recalling her husband's face.
….Somehow he perfectly matches her ideal partner… perhaps...?
...Although she should would have to glance over the gentle part.
It's been two years since she and Nobunaga got married.
It's been four years since she became a high school student.*
She never told any of her college friends that she's already married at this age.
She wasn't good at answering all those inquisitive questions and it was troublesome to explain to every person the same story over and over again plus the end result comes down to "Show me a picture of your husband~!".
Normally she would have already inherited the kendo dojo right after high school, but due to Nobunaga's efforts this destitute student was able to get into a university.
She couldn't thank him enough for this.
...Well, in the end she had to pay back a lot in return.
She wearily wondered at Nobunaga's stamina after every night everyday.**
"Kasane~, I haven't heard about your opinion on this matter."
"Eh."
"Ah~, that's impossible, impossible for Kasane. Cuz her heart's solely on her cute younger twins."
Her friends came in with smiles.
Her brocon was already a common knowledge amongst this group, because she would always talk about her siblings most of the time.
"Kasane isn't going out with anyone either right~."
"You~ little cutey."
"Uuu…."
One of her friends began ruffling her head.
Kasane's eyebrows remained dropping down.
(...I-I can't tell them… that I'm actually married right now)
It seemed like her friends' impression of her was an innocent child, and of course this would come out in the conversations a lot.
"Kasane is fine~. You just need to be our adorable, pure Kasane!"
One of her friends scooped her up into a hug.
Looks like she's a bit drunk.
"Why don't you take a vacation from love?"
One girl suggested to the first girl, who made the first complaint.
"...Nfufufu…"
"What the heck. What's up with that creepy laugh."
"Actually~... I already have someone I'm interested in~."
"Heh, who is it this time? Ah, is it Matsunaga-kun?"
"No way! He's not a college student! It's this attractive adult."
"What? Who?"
"The. Truth. Is~... the doctor whom I went to before is a total looker! !"
"The doctor!?"
"That's right! He's totally cool!"
The others eagerly joined in as she excitedly talked.
They gave her curious gazes.
"Heh~, so, what kind of guy is he?"
"Anyway he's really cool! He's tall and beautiful and while he's a bit taciturn he runs the entire hospital as the director! !"
"How old is he? You sure he isn't some old man?"
"It turns out he's in his mid twenties, so he's a super young doctor!"
Hearing that, Kasane began breaking out cold sweat. She turned her face down.
It can't be him, but she still couldn't brush away the bad promotion.
"...What's the name of the hospital?"
Kasane blankly asked.
Hearing that, her friend happily smiled and answered back.
"It's Oda General Hospital!"
"Buh-!"
She unconsciously spit out her water.
Feeling the questionable gazes from her friends, she frantically tried to find a way to cover this up.
(Uwa~, uwah~... What should I do about this~)
She was at a loss on how to deal with a maiden of a friend that fell completely in love.
This became a hard situation to deal with.
"Did you exchange email address?"
"Well you see~, When I asked him, "Could you tell me your phone number!?". But you know, this was our first meeting and plus I was his patient so he refused."
Hearing those words, Kasane felt inwardly relieved. Judging by that, her friend would usually back down.
"That's why next time I'll bring over some sweets and say, "Thank you so much for the examination!" So I can appeal to him that way!"
(Uu)
Kasane thought, "As I thought, it's no good."
Whenever she fell in love, she… how can you say this becomes blind to it. She's the optimistic kind of girl.
Kasane thought of reasoning with her, but she couldn't just tell her that the person she fell in love is already married, not to mention, married to her of all people.
"Ah, I heard that director is pretty good at what he does, but has a nasty character. I-it might not be a good idea to pursue him..."
"How did you know about that?"
"Eh! Eh, um, well…. You see! My home is in the neighborhood! Of that hospital!"
"Ah, I see."
Her friends took her reason and replied with things like, "So Kasane's home is in that area huh~."
"But, even though his personality isn't all that good, he's handsome and rich! If you have him as a husband, you'll live the high life!"
(Even though he's cool and rich and a doctor, he lecherous and also totally a giant sadist...! !)
Kasane muttered it all in her mind.
Truthfully, so really wanted to tell her friends that becoming his lover not to mention, his wife is really troublesome! It's really tough! She yelled in her heart.
"But that kind of guy should already have a lover right?"
"I'm going to bulldoze right through that! Love is all about the battlefield!"
...It's hopeless. Her friend is is blinded through love will not give up on him right now.
Well she already knew Tono-sama was popular and believed that it couldn't be helped, but whenever she thinks on how other women try to make advances on him when she's not around made her feel a childish jealousy.
She doesn't want him to know that she's jealous of that, so she never told him.
However, before all that she was also worried about what horrible things Tono-sama might say to her friend.
This might not be the best of developments, but that doesn't mean she wanted to hurt her friend.
She heard that he was especially harsh on persistent girls after all…
Well, she never saw it personally, but she heard it mostly from Nouhime.
However, this might not be enough to stop her friend.
"..."
Kasane frowned and drank the sake that the store clerk served moments before.
Tasting the sweet and sour flavor, it reminded of her own heart so she then guzzled it all down.
"Well that is unusual, for you to drink it all up like that."
"...Today I'll drink a lot! !"
"Oh~. today's Kasane is amazing." Okay~, I'll accompany you!"
Half looking for an escape, Kasane took hold of the next cup.
TBC
*Remember the grades in Japan are different. So elementary school goes from 1-6, middle school 7-9, high school 10-12. Just a tidbit for those who didn't know before.
**Nobunaga ya brute, let her rest! (; ・`д・´) What are you going to do when she's in the middle of exam week!?
Well then, I hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Hopefully I will be able to upload the next chapter very soon. So until then, I hope you all have a safe and enjoyable week.
