Hanafuda: Playing cards of Japanese origin that are used to play a number of games. The name translates to "flower cards". The name also refers to games played with the cards.
Daimyo: Honorific for a Japanese feudal lord.
Dango: A Japanese dumpling and sweet made from mochiko (rice flour), related to mochi.

Mai

She wakes up with a languid stretch, the sun high in the sky and reaching the entirety of her futon, deeming it already afternoon. After a blink, she notices she's lying in her futon. "Huh? My cheek kinda hurts…"

How did she get there, actually? To her dismay, last night seems to be a blur—and it's never a good thing when that happens, growing somewhat anxious. Scanning around the room, her eyes fall upon a decorative sword sitting in one of the alcoves. In fact, she didn't notice that was there before. She worries her lower lip; all of a sudden, swords seem kind of…

"If you want to live, drop your weapons and go back to your farms now. As for everyone else, make one move and you die…"

Not as cool as she once had thought after seeing them used to hurt people.

"You can't order me around!"

… And even less so when they're used against me.

A cold shiver runs down her spine, almost feeling Yoshitoshi's blade about to hit her, trembling despite being currently safe in the confines of her room. How heartless can these so-called 'lords' be? Or worse, how can these struggles seem to go down to whoever's the strongest or the richest in the lands?

In all honesty, she can't bring herself to believe she was the one to confront the daimyo in the first place—the picture that pulls out in her mind of the events feeling like happening to another person entirely. Despite loathing people like Yoshitoshi, she knows she's not that brave as to make such a scene, much less so as strong. What would she have done if Masamune hadn't been there to help? Would she have died without ever making it back home?

It seems to be a proper time to stop treating the place as the setting of a cutesy historical movie, or she's going to get killed for sure. What should I do? Do I learn to fight and become like Masamune? She suspects Nobunaga has indirectly been encouraging her to go down that road, with the gift he gave her.

The only thing I ever wanted to be was a fashion designer, stay out of trouble and spend my days with only needles as the sharpest objects around me. Do I really have to kill to survive now?

No matter how hard she tries, Mai can't truly picture herself solving her problems the same way as the people from that past time seem to do. From how she sees it, branding a sword takes courage, determination—many perks she definitely doesn't have.

On one hand, she could stay cooped up in her room, hiding from the world for the remaining five months. But if she's going to do that, it's clear she should've just taken up Nobunaga's offer to do princess-like activities. "Playing Hanafuda and having drinks and treats for five months doesn't sound so bad, though…"

Just then, she spots a letter left by her pillow—next to her war fan, another weapon, of all things. Apparently, it looks like it's from Masamune; each stroke of the brush looking like it'd been done at the speed he liked to ride.

"You did well last night, enduring two long rides and the confrontation in the hall. I have nothing but praise for the way you leaped on the enemy commander with just a war fan during your first battle. And the daring way you conked out on my horse last night." The last line certainly fills it in, and it's been obviously Masamune who brought her back to her room.

The previous night's events slowly come back to her, first recalling how comfortably she'd been atop his horse—how comfy she'd ended up being with him. The memory of Masamune playfully nuzzling her hair eases her gloomy mood a little, a fleeting smile pulling at the corners of her mouth.

At the bottom of the letter, Mai spots one last line, added as an afterthought. "P.S. Make sure you get some food in you when you wake up."

Her smile widens at that. "I suppose he's not too bad after all…" The mention of food makes her stomach growl in protest, "Wow, I really am hungry!" To be fair, that's probably where all those dark thoughts are coming from. "No, I'm definitely not staying put. As for what I will do, I'll figure that out after breakfast,"

With her head clearer, she gets out of bed, eagerly reading herself for work.

Like yesterday and after taking a quick breakfast, she's once again called to the audience chamber for a meeting. Mitsuhide's there as well, greeting her with one of his sly smirks.

"I heard you did commendable work last night." Nobunaga begins with a polite nod, "Now that the Princess has arrived, Hideyoshi, you may report on last night."

"Yes, my Lord," At the cue, Hideyoshi comes to a stand, facing the rest of the attendees. "The traitor, Yoshitoshi, showed some resistance, but Masamune successfully incited his forces to break up. We defeated them without unnecessary loss on either side, and captured the former daimyo."

Nobunaga turns to Masamune with an approving look crossing his crimson gaze. "Excellent work, Masamune. I'm placing his territory under your control," He decides, "Maintain it well to prevent further discord."

"That's exactly what I intend to do." Masamune's confidence doesn't falter in the slightest. So, now that region becomes part of Masamune's fief? That's interesting. "Oh, but you really should reward the star of the night."

A squeak leaves her as Masamune directs everyone's attention to her. "What? You're not talking about me, right?"

Masamune's chest seems to puff out proudly, "With only a war fan and no thought to her own safety, Mai tackled Yoshitoshi to the ground and then knocked him out to keep him from fleeing." He explains the course of events from his point of view, prompting her to drop her eyes shyly at all the guys staring at her in apparent awe.

"Huh? With a war fan? I didn't hear that part. Where did you get that, Mai?" Hideyoshi wonders, sounding curious.

"From my personal collection," Nobunaga replies with no hesitation, somewhat smug about it—regarding why, Mai hasn't the slightest idea. "I'd wanted to see what she could do with it."

Not looking forward to spurring the praises further, she tries excusing herself. "Either way, it was the spur of the moment. And knocking him out is probably not how I'd describe it." Her brows knit into a frown, "I wasn't truly thinking straight and just hit him in the head, there's not much more to look into it…"

Mitsuhide brings a hand to his chest in a shocking manner. "What a gallant act of bravery!"

"I'm impressed!" Mitsunari pulls one of his bright smiles, looking like the picture of amazement, "Though I'm mostly happy to hear you're safe."

"As I'd foreseen, you are a most entertaining woman! For now, I shall reward you with its pair," With a flourish, Nobunaga produces a gunsen from his kimono, said one with opposite patterns of the war fan she currently has; the colors resembling dawn and dusk respectively. Turning it around with practiced ease, he offers the fan to her. "Continue proving yourself to me, and I shall think of more fitting rewards for you."

Her eyes go wide at the display of another war fan, feeling reluctant to accept such a thing. Truth is, she's surrounded by veteran combatants, and being rewarded with a weapon from one, of all things, is surely a very big deal, no matter how she looks at it. Although on another note, it must be way more impolite to not accept it, and after the way Masamune described her actions, she can't blame their surprise.

"Um, thank you, my Lord," Mai bows deeply before taking the offered fan, the weight and feeling of it almost the same to its pair. I get a reward for not dying! That's a first.

Hideyoshi clears his throat to recall the attention of his associates. "I have one more thing to report, Lord Nobunaga." Before continuing, he exchanges a look with Mitsuhide, appearing to communicate something between them with their eyes only. "When the traitor was asked for the reason of his revolt, he answered this: Shingen Takeda and Kenshin Uesugi are alive."

Mai guesses he doesn't need to report all the jaws in the room dropping at that. However, her breath hitches all in a sudden, not daring to even blink when Mitsuhide shoots a fleeting look her way—his intense gaze seeming to look into her very soul.

He knows. Oh, dear, he totally knows…

Those sly golden eyes linger on hers for more than strictly necessary before turning to his Lord. "I paid a visit to the dungeons on my way over, and can confirm those are his claims," Mitsuhide says flatly, not a single feature in his otherwise ever the scheming face giving away his true thoughts on the matter, "He was rather adamant about it. That makes it three in a week…"

She's not sure what he means by 'three', but the comment seems to prompt Nobunaga's curiosity, quirking a brow at his right-hand man, lips twisting into a smile. "So, you're insinuating those two managed to stave off death, is that it? Very interesting…"

"They could still be grim rumors, my Lord," Hideyoshi remains skeptical, "I'm not sure whether to believe the claims of a traitor that easily,"

"You have a fair point, Hideyoshi," Nobunaga procures another fan—this time a decorative one—snapping it open, appearing to ponder deeply about the situation. A minute later, he comes to a decision, "We don't have enough information to confirm these statements or declare war yet. Ieyasu, drop your investigation with Mitsunari and join Mitsuhide in gathering every scrap of intelligence you can."

Ieyasu's face is iron, barely containing a certain fury hidden within his emerald gaze. "If the Tiger of Kai truly lives, you'll be the first one to know, my Lord."

"I trust you would. As for the rest: Masamune, you have the fastest scouts among us. Send them to the borders and see what they can find. Hideyoshi and Mitsunari shall provide you with assistance."

"I'm sorry. What?"

All heads—but mainly Mai's—turn to Masamune at that, his sapphire eye sharp as steel, face deadly serious. She can practically feel the tension falling upon them all.

What in hells is he doing?

Still, he seems unwilling to agree just yet. "Correct me if I'm wrong, Nobunaga, but are you truly asking my troops to pursue the dead instead of helping the living?" Masamune tilts his head skeptically, "The bastard Yoshitoshi left his domains in complete shambles. I've got to act now before his people die of starvation. Sparing my troops to assist in what clearly looks like a goose chase isn't helping any of us."

Lord of the Castle and northern ally lock eyes upon one another, engaging in a battle of wills. For a split moment, Hideyoshi appears to struggle to produce a word, but to no avail, left only to stare wide-eyed at a firm Masamune. Mai's heart pounds wildly—worse than before under Mitsuhide's scrutiny—not looking forward in the slightest to witness a confrontation between such powerful daimyo, feeling pretty much like an awful third wheel.

However, to what it looks like everyone's shock, the one breaking the tense silence is no other than Mitsunari. "If I may, my Lords, Lord Masamune is correct and already has a more vital task ahead of him. Can I suggest for him to provide us with his reserves for this?" His angelic face is the very picture of diplomacy as he takes on both situations to deal with, "I believe with a small number of the Date's experienced scouts at the lead, Lord Hideyoshi's can fill it in with ease."

"My reserves are stationed to strengthen the Castle's defenses, Mitsunari." While Masamune sounds slightly more lenient to the young strategist's suggestion, he can't seem to help to point out what appears to be something obvious to all of them.

"And that is not to mention the culprit behind the Honno-ji incident remains to be found," Mitsuhide adds, "While I am close to making a breakthrough, it's still unwise to leave Azuchi's defenses unattended at these dire times…"

"True. Nonetheless, there is still a way," Oddly so, Ieyasu looks like struggling not to stammer when Mitsunari turns to him, "Perhaps Lord Ieyasu's troops can cover for them in the meantime?"

"Oh, ah," Definitely caught by surprise, Ieyasu blinks a couple of times before replying, "I can do that, sure… if Nobunaga approves,"

With so many enemies and issues to tend to, Mai doesn't wonder why Nobunaga takes as long as he does to speak his mind—the blow of his fan he flickers it across his face, the only sound in the room for a while. In the end, he finally accepts with an acquiescing nod. "What say you, Masamune?" Still, his crimson gaze returns to his ally, nearly scrutinizing him.

In Mai's opinion and after the group's willingness to work together, it doesn't leave much room for Masamune to disagree. And when his mouth curls into one of his easygoing smiles, she can anticipate his reply before he voices it.

"In that case, yeah, I can work with that."

The very tense meeting finally comes to an end, and after breaking up, Nobunaga assigns Mai with sorting all this correspondence. Admittedly so, it's a light job after the former ruckus from last night and the stressing afternoon everyone went through.

Quite thankful for having the chance of taking it easy for the day, it sadly leaves space for her mind to roam and her thoughts to scramble. Should she say something about Shingen and Kenshin being alive? And what was Masamune even thinking when he pulled such a scene with Nobunaga? To her frustration—and fear—most of the scenarios she tries to brace herself for appear to be direr than the other, all practically leading to more wars and confrontations.

What the hell should I do about this? Ugh, Sasuke, where are you when I need you the most?

Feeling lost for any advice, her thoughts drift to the closest one Mai has to a confidante in that time period, next to her time traveler, astrophysicist and ninja friend. Not knowing what else to do and with anxiety creeping up to once again threaten to take the best of her, she uses her break to pay a visit to Masamune. In truth, she either liked how hectic things got the last night, and perhaps a small talk could help to clear the air between them.

His retainer, Kojuro, meets her with a genuine smile at the entrance of Masamune's manor. "Welcome back, my Lady. It's very good to see you rested and safe."

His cordial manners help with putting her racing mind at ease, if slightly. "Thank you, Kojuro." She says, meaning it in many ways, "I wanted to let you know how grateful I am for you looking after me last night. It was very thoughtful of you." Then, she bows to the waist as a show of her true appreciation.

"Please, Princess, I was just doing my job." The Date retainer flusters at that, dark blue eyes crinkling, looking unsure of what to do with her display of respect, "I wouldn't like you to bow before a lowly man like myself."

That only makes her find him quite humble indeed. "In that case, I am grateful not as a Princess, but Azuchi Castle's chatelaine. Would you take that?" She persuades him a little, flashing a charming smile his way.

Kojuro returns it with a sheepish one, "If it gets you to stop, then yes." Both chuckle together before he eagerly leads her into the manor. "Lord Masamune, Lady Mai is here to see you." He wastes no time announcing her to his lord.

They find him sitting at his desk, looking like writing away with that fast hand of his. "Mai, hello. Sorry, but I'm a little busy right now." He perks up, shooting an apologetic smile, "You don't need to leave though, just wait right there," Apparently so, it's bad timing on her part.

Taking a cushion in front of his desk, she sits down quietly, not wanting to disturb him. Although it doesn't take long before curiosity finally gets to her. "What are you writing?"

"A letter to my cousin, who's currently taking care of my fief," He says, brush not stopping its fast pacing.

"Huh? You have a cousin?"

"Yeah, a brat called Shigezane. He currently has Nihomatsu Castle to himself but is overseeing the construction of Aoba while I'm here." An endearing crinkle pulls at his eye, seeming to hold him in high regards despite the casual way he mentions him, "I want him to set arrangements for distributing rice from Oshu's refilling grain storage to Yoshitoshi's former territory."

A mix of concern and indignation washes over her. "So, you weren't bluffing this morning. Are they truly that bad?"

"Yes, they are. The bastard stole all the grain and sold it to buy equipment." He scoffs, "I've only seen it this bad in places that were experiencing a famine."

Just then, Mai recalls taking a glimpse of Oshu's former—or rather current as of then—size when reading her guidebook. And he rules all that land on his own, which is already as impressive as it is, but even so, he doesn't flinch at the idea of bringing in more people to his care.

The thought makes her thoughtful. He's smart and kind, not just a pretty face. And he's got a very pretty face. "On a brighter side, it sounds like they've got a good ruler in you now…"

"I'm going to make sure they don't starve, at least. No one deserves that." Masamune speaks enthusiastically, but unlike last night it's a warm excitement.

A breeze from outside sweeps through the room, rustling his chestnut mane as he keeps writing. He really is gorgeous. Not a flawless, model-like beauty like Mitsunari is, but he does have a very rugged, sweep-you-away look. Not to mention the eyepatch—which he most likely doesn't wear for fashion, making her wonder, whatever happened to his eye, really?

As she sits there pretty much daydreaming about him, Masamune suddenly sets his brush down. "And done. So, what did you need?"

She's quick in shaking off her imprudent thoughts, "Right. Well, about last night…"

A teasing smile curls at the corners of his mouth, somewhat rendering her lost for words. "Last night, huh? You wanted to continue where we left off?" Her eyes treacherously linger on that alluring quirk of his lips. He must be doing that on purpose. "You did fall asleep on my horse. Guess you were pretty comfortable there,"

"What? No, I didn't come here for that—" Even when she positively finds him incredibly attractive right then and her stomach flutters at the innuendo, she has an actual reason for going to his manor.

His smile grows, making her realize she's falling into step with his playful flirting again. "I got it in one, didn't I?"

"No. Absolutely not," She tries to maintain some defiance, despite knowing she's partially lying about it. "The reason I fell asleep on your horse is because we were out of danger and I was finally able to relax."

"You were able to relax around me? Hmm, maybe I'm losing my touch."

Gah! How can he make everything sound so enticing? I mean—uh-oh…

Masamune comes around his desk and sits before her, his gorgeous eye fixing on her face. He drops a strong hand on her shoulder, sending a funny jolt through her, and she has to gulp at that. "A-as I was trying to say, last night's battle got me thinking about things."

That makes him tilt his head, curious and concerned altogether, "I thought something might've gotten to you. I was sure it was exhaustion."

Part of what got me was you. But she doesn't dare to mention that. "In fact, I've been wondering a lot about how people in this time lives." Instead, she turns serious for once, "I told you before, and there's no war where I come from—no swordfights or battles. Honestly, it's really hard for me to understand how all of you tolerate all these endless confrontations so naturally. How do you do it?"

"I see." He bites his lower lip, pondering about what she said, "I think I've got what you need. Are you free for the day?"

"Yeah. What are you thinking about?"

"We might take in some more of the sights in town," He puts on what seems his most convincing face, "Last time we just visited the markets, but there's so much more to see of Azuchi,"

Sights as in plural? "Uh-huh. And how many sights are we talking about?"

An impish smile tugs at his ever-appealing lips, "Well, you're the one from 500 years in the future. What about 500 stops to show you what life in our time is truly like?"

Wait, what? He can't be serious, right?

All in a sudden, Masamune picks her up in his arms and rises with her, anything but nonchalant. "Um, are you intending to carry me all along the way? I can walk…"

"I know, kitten. But I just can't have you relaxing too much around me," He whistles while carrying her out of his room, too late for regrets.

Despite claiming about not looking forward to it, Mai can't help but wonder how Masamune even manages to put her at ease every single time they hang out together. Carrying her to the gates, she has to give up on her hand once again as he eagerly leads her through the streets of Azuchi town, this time joined by a very excited Shogetsu after figuring out it'd be a nice time to take the kit to a walk as well.

To be honest, she doesn't mind in the slightest, their stroll pretty much feeling like a date. First, he takes her to the markets to look at fabrics the tailors are offering, the bare sight of so many incredible silks in display almost making her dizzy with amazement. Inspiration strikes her right away, her eyes setting on a roll of gorgeous deep blue fabric, dyed ever so carefully it takes her breath away. Nonetheless, by the time she considers purchasing it, Masamune's already dragging her away, breaking into pursuing a certain imprudent kit.

Surprisingly so, she'd somewhat be upset at getting pulled and dragged around that way. But the eagerness in which Masamune seems to want her to take on as many sights Azuchi can offer makes it incredibly endearing to her eyes, her heart feeling like melting at his thoughtfulness.

Not long after, they find Shogetsu at the riverside, round belly up and playing with a pair of children, making the two of them chuckle wholeheartedly. Apparently struck with an idea, Masamune leaves her there for a moment, returning quickly with sweets purchased in a nearby store.

Both take a seat on the grass, basking in the beautiful landscape before them. "So, how did you even got Shogetsu?" Mai makes casual conversation, taking her time with her dango.

"Well, it was Kojuro who found him," His eye follows the tiger cub as he bounces around, pawing playfully at one of the children, "He was wailing next to his wounded mother. Seemed to be the only one of his pack who stood behind,"

"Oh, poor thing! When was that, though? He still is a cub,"

"The night you appeared, actually," He turns thoughtful for a moment, "We were taking a detour through the forest to get to Honno-ji and stumbled upon the little guy. I handed him to Kojuro and procured he'd be brought to Azuchi with us,"

The picture of Masamune's retainer struggling to grab such a squirming kit like Shogetsu makes her laugh. The poor man seems to always be taking on the most tiring tasks, from the little she knows of it. "Seems you have a penchant for sweeping kittens off their feet…"

Soon, a pained groan leaves her, realizing she just fell for his silly teasing and accidentally called herself a kitten. "Ha! Maybe I do," Masamune grins wickedly at that, wagging his eyebrows, "I wasn't about to leave him there to tend for himself either way…"

To some extent, she gets the feeling for that being something he'd do, "And why the name? You seem to be kind of fixated on a moon theme, if you ask me," She gives him a once-over look as if to prove her point.

He chews on his dango before replying, "You really can't tell? Haven't you seen how the moon was that night?"

Shrugging nonchalantly, Mai gives him a somewhat apologetic smile. "To be honest, I was too stressed trying to find my way around to stop and appreciate the sight."

"That's too bad. You missed one hell of a blood moon." He points out, "My guys were just as spooked as you did, that night."

"Huh? A blood moon?" She tilts her head back confusedly. What is he even talking about?

"Ah, that's right, future girl." He seems to recall just then, "Well, it's said around here witnessing a blood moon—or a moon shrouded in red—bears an ill omen of some sorts. I wasn't up to name the kit after that, though, so Shogetsu just stuck."

The comment makes her quirk a brow, growing skeptical. To be fair, she's vaguely heard of that, but had no idea people believed said things that far back in time. "And I suppose you don't go by such tales?"

"Don't get me wrong, I do respect them. But I'd rather follow my hunch than mysterious stories," Masamune says with honesty, turning his gaze to the river and his cub, "And that night my hunch told me something interesting was bound to happen. Turns out, in my opinion, my hunch was right."

Their eyes meet, his soft smirk drawing her to him in a somewhat spellbinding way, prompting an endearing smile of her own and a small blush to creep up her cheeks. Honestly, how does he manage to turn her insides into mush with just one look, one word, one smile? Probably she may never know.

Either way, she really likes it. And more so, she likes him.

"Well, can't really argue about that…"

As much as she's aware she's most certainly the only one taking on their outing as a date, she can't remember having such a day like that in her life. And what a day! After their little picnic, they ended up playing with Shogetsu and the children—and damn, Masamune's truly good with toddlers—took a languid garden stroll afterwards, and had dinner at a popular restaurant nearby.

By the time they're on their way back to Azuchi Castle, she's pretty sure she'd seen the whole city twice over. Reminiscing on it, Mai comes to the realization she'd been so focused on the injustice and struggles of the current time, she hadn't really taken in the people, the things, the tranquil lifestyle, the incredible sights of Japan of the past.

"And that's about it for Azuchi. Cities from 500 years ago aren't so bad, are they?" By how smug and assured he sounds like, he already seems to know the answer to that.

"True. They're not so bad at all," And you, most of all, are not so bad either. "Thanks for the tour, Masamune. I had a very good time,"

He shrugs it off, "No need to thank me, kitten. I just do whatever I feel like." That goes without question, but she smiles gratefully either way. Just then, he brushes a long finger across her cheek, almost making her smile falter with the affectionate touch coming rather out of the blue, her heart skipping a beat. "Come see me anytime. You're always welcome,"

And with that, he finally lets go of her hand—he'd been holding her most of the day as he dragged her from place to place. She feels a rush of refreshing coolness on it, making her realize how hot her hand had been.

"See you around," Flashing a lively smile her way, Masamune walks back the way they'd come.

She's not sure for how long she stays watching his retreating figure, but what she's certain of, is that she already misses his tender grip on her. To some extent, their date leaves her with an answer to the question that's been swirling in her mind for the entire day—the layers of Masamune Date she slowly unveils leaving little room to argue about.

He's a man after my own heart, isn't he? Pah, way to go, Mai.

A fuzzy tail curling around her ankle pulls her out of her reverie. "Shogetsu? You still here?" The tiger cub casts a cutesy look up at her, yellow eyes big and kind of pouting—and quite getting onto her, not finding much resistance to that pleading look. Snorting in spite of herself, Mai pulls the cub into her arms, "You know what, you win this time…"

Shogetsu, the bright moon, makes justice to his name with his gaze, nuzzling tiredly against her chest and content with being carried inside the Castle. And Mai, on another hand, is just as content with having something from Masamune to keep her company, if only for a while longer.

A-N: And this is it for this year! I hope to find you wonderful people around in this upcoming year for more Maisamune shenanigans - but mostly SHOGETSU! :D