Daimyo: Honorific for a Japanese feudal lord.
Tenshu: An architectural typology found in Japanese castle complexes. They are easily identifiable as the highest tower within the castle.
Mai
"Remember: You're the one with the reins. It's you who gets to decide the way,"
It's a particularly cold morning, but the entire exercise along with—if kind of secretly—wearing another layer of kimono under her hakama has helped to not feel the chilly wind seeping into her bones. Mai can't say the same for the slight yet persistent soreness in her thighs, though, and doesn't want to imagine how people even manage to sit on those hard saddles in lighter clothing.
While it's been somewhat convenient she's always been prone to exercise, there's only so much of an edge to have in her current situation, toned legs or not.
"Y-yes…"
Kojuro catches her eyes nearby, in a well-timed moment to make a subtle gesture for her to straighten her back. Complying right away, he shoots her a thumbs up and a smile before returning to his task of sharpening his katana.
"Eyes up ahead, lass," Masamune reminds her with a wave of his hand, standing beside the black mare she's borrowed for her lessons, "You have to be confident when you're up there, no matter what. He'll know if you hesitate, and that's where you'll end up losing control,"
Turns out, taking riding lessons with one of the most reckless commanders around has been nothing like what she expected up to be, and Masamune is, in fact, a nice teacher. Strict and technical when it needs to be, he's so far managed to guide her through without truly imposing any of his wild ways on her, letting her be in charge instead.
In that particular case, practice does make perfect though, and so she rides up around a set of trees once again, each time faster than before for good measure. Trotting down the hill, Masamune's there waiting for her return—hands on his hips, eye squinting, and a satisfied grin plastered all over his face. The wind rustles his chestnut locks aside, and her secure grip on the reins loosens a little bit, her lips quirking up into a smile of her own, heart racing in tune with the hooves of her horse.
Oh, she could very much get used to that sight.
"Well done, kitten. Not bad at all for your first time…" He closes up the distance between them, yet purposefully doesn't help her hop down the saddle, waiting for her to do it on her own accord—another little detail she appreciates.
Once with her feet safely on the ground, Mai handles the reins to him. "I wouldn't have done it as well without your help. You're surprisingly a very good teacher, Masamune."
"'Surprisingly'? Why would you think otherwise?" Quirking a curious brow, he doesn't sound precisely hurt.
"Come on, given how wildly you ride, I was kind of expecting you'd be a pain on me…" She shrugs nonchalantly.
He can't seem to help the easy laugh that comes at that. "At this point, I don't know if I should be hurt by your low expectations of me," Walking together, the two of them meet up with Masamune's retainer. "What say you, Kojuro? Am I as awful as the lass implies so?"
Not appearing truly intimidated by the question, Kojuro briefly stares at the pair with an impassive expression. "I think… you reap what you sow," A very small quirk of his lips give away his amusement, but he's quick in adding, "Milord."
The baffled look Masamune gives him paired up with Kojuro's shameless deadpan gets to be too hilarious all in a sudden. Before she can refrain herself, she's bursting in laughter, loud and free, tears brimming her eyes. It doesn't take much longer until the men join her, snickering in spite of themselves.
It's been little more than a month since her arrival, but she's seen some of the staff shooting odd looks and subtle frowns at the Date crew. Regardless, Mai is more inclined to agree with the female attendants of Azuchi, and admit the northerners are one of the most interesting people in town. It could be thanks to the undeniable charisma from the daimyo of Oshu, sure thing, yet there's something very amicable from others like Kojuro or Yojiro, it becomes way too easy to be at ease around them.
To her eyes, they could pretty much fit into the 'bad boys' trope; funny, ruggedly hot, risky, and with a heart of gold. If you happen to be on their good side, that is.
"I see how it is…" Masamune stares at her in bemusement, although there's an odd twitch in his brows as he does so, squinting his eye a little—almost as if he can't seem to look away from her for some crazy reason.
A quiet moment goes by, and then she feels it; that strange, inescapable force drawing her to him and that gorgeous sapphire blue eye, the air around them changing drastically with a simple look from his part. Masamune's face softens, a heated gleam on his gaze, and her laughter falters, a wheeze leaving her instead, tongue darting out to lick her suddenly dry lips.
It's useless to ignore the giddy feeling for much longer, or denying it altogether. At that point, Mai's pretty much aware of what that spark between them is.
She's crushing on Masamune Date, and dangerously hard.
They must have been staring at each other like dorks for quite a while, for when she comes to realize it, Kojuro's surprisingly—and strangely convenient—nowhere to be seen. Mai presumes he's no fool to not have noticed the peculiar turn of her relationship with Masamune as of late. Although considering how close those two seem to be, pretty much like family, the thought of Kojuro appearing to be fine and even somewhat approving with having her hanging around with his Lord is one of the nicest things she's had ever since she arrived in that time period.
However, Masamune's quick into making all her thoughts drift only to him once again, closing the remaining space between them and tilting her chin up with an index finger. Meeting his eye, it's so much she can do to prevent her knees going weak at the sight of his very alluring smirk, robbing her of words.
Not like she's in need of any either way. Her eyes flutter close reflexively as his palm cups her cheek and leans in for the kill, stealing a content sigh right from her lips as Masamune kisses her sweetly.
Oh, boy. What am I ever going to do with you?
In all honesty, Masamune's lips could be the subject of poetry, and it's most likely their undeniable chemistry what makes those moments feel so right. And yet, regardless of how impossibly better their kisses are turning out to be, there's a little, familiar ominous voice still whispering within her mind.
'You shouldn't get used to this'. 'It's bound to end, and you know it'. 'It's better to quit it soon before it's too late'.
She doesn't quite reach his shoulders before they come apart, a sort of sadness tugging at her. Whether she likes it or not, the voice of her dark thoughts isn't outright lying, and there's no real guarantee of how much those… indulging moments between them would last. For all it takes, he would even be opting on messing around with another staff member the next week and that's it.
"What was that for?" It's all Mai can voice out from the awful pile of running thoughts.
"No true reason. That smile of yours is hard to resist, kitten…" He says, softly wiping her tears of mirth with his thumb, "Well, there's that, and also my way to tell Mitsuhide to stop creeping on us!" He raises his voice and speaks past his shoulder, although doesn't bother fully turning.
Just then, a flash of white saunters the hallways, a very characteristic snicker reaching the two of them, all but giving a certain someone away as he walks past without even saying hello.
"Oh, dear," Mai can't help going red as a tomato, feeling like a kid being caught in mischief, "For how long has he been there?"
"Does it matter?" Masamune shrugs, appearing not winded up to care, "Besides, it's not like it's the first time he does it, right?"
"What?" For some reason, that comment makes her panic, "Wait. What do you mean by that?"
He quirks a brow at her skepticism, "I mean, he was also at the castle gates, the other night," When Mai's eyes almost bulge out of their sockets, he tilts his head, looking confused, "I was sure you've seen him before I did. Wait… so it wasn't why you kissed me back there out of the blue?"
"No! Why in hell would I do that!?" She exclaims, "I-I was just playing around!"
She's certain she couldn't be looking any more mortified than she is then, but frustratingly so, Masamune seems to be quite the opposite at the sudden outcome, even almost pleasantly surprised. Apparently, it's his turn to burst into laughter, most likely at the current look of her face, and she smacks him on the arm for that. "Hahaha—hey! What was that for?"
"Mitsuhide just saw us and you're not even a little bit bothered by that?"
"Why would I be? It's his job to know all that happens, in and out the castle walls," He says matter-of-factly, winding an arm around her shoulders all too nonchalantly, guiding her inside.
When he puts it like that, it's hard to complain about that simple fact. Regardless, even when Masamune seems to be sort of accustomed to it, the mere idea of being stalked around can't help making her very uneasy, still feeling like being caught in something she shouldn't.
Reaching the hallways, he pats her head before letting her go, about to walk on their separate ways; Mai, onto Ieyasu's manor for her scheduled medicine lessons, and Masamune most likely to Nobunaga's tenshu. "Don't get too uptight by someone like that sly fox, alright?" He advises, shooting her a warm smile before turning to leave. "Oh, and say hi to Ieyasu for me,"
"Yeah, I will…" Mai mumbles, speaking to the wooden floor and for some reason growing moody, her thoughts becoming a huge mess.
Mitsuhide's far from being the main source of my troubles. You are, Masamune. Ugh, what the hell is going on with me?
Leaning against the wall, she sighs deeply, taking a moment to recollect herself and summon the will to go on the current tasks for the day. Or that is, until rather out of the blue, Masamune turns on his heels and pokes out his head past the corner of the hallway, dropping a sudden peck on her cheek.
She startles, completely caught by surprise, flustering in an instant. "That's a better look on you, kitten,"
However, before she can come up with something to say, Masamune's already gone, leaving her with a rather different sort of mess.
"Please, get that beast out of my sights. And its owner too, for the matter…"
For the first time, she gets to witness Ieyasu seeming to break from his ever deadpan composure, growing alarmed at the sight of an unruly tiger prowling about on the hallway, fast approaching to his place. It's when he scrambles for a wooden sword nearby when Mai takes his words to heart.
"I'm sorry, Ieyasu. Shogetsu's been following me around a lot lately," Packing up her notes in a rush, Mai tries keeping the cub from prodding further inside, putting some effort into barricading the door, "I don't think he means any harm, though. He's just lonely and looking for someone to play with,"
"You think I care?" The blonde scoffs, keeping a watchful eye on the door to his study. "Whatever. Neither that thing nor Masamune are getting close to Wasabi. Especially Masamune,"
"Haha, come on, Ieyasu. You say that as if Masamune would cook your pet—"
"He totally would. You're a fool if you believe otherwise." He says so seriously, it robs her of whatever possible retort, making her stammer just slightly.
To some extent and judging by the harsh tone of his voice, Mai notices Ieyasu isn't deeming her a fool only for that. Rather, he says that as if implying she doesn't know anything about Masamune or his intentions. However, with a purring cub curling around her ankles, it's all too easy to lose the energy to prod into his true thoughts, forcing an apologetic smile on her face.
"Thanks for today's lessons. We'll be out of your hair now," She says curtly, not waiting for a farewell and hopping Shogetsu in her free arm.
The rest of the day goes by in low spirits, missing out on the chance of meeting any of the commanders stationed in the castle due to a late war council summoned by Nobunaga. Midway to the evening, she's walking back to her room, quite ready to get on wrapping up the remaining of her studies and call it a day. Feeling a tad bit sore from sitting on a saddle almost all morning, her focus goes on slipping on the comfiest clothes she can find, rolling her shoulders and popping her joints in anticipation.
Or that is, until she slides the door open, a sense of wariness coursing through.
Someone's been here.
The room isn't in any particular mess—quite the contrary, in fact—yet it's easy to tell given the small slit on the balcony doors, and more precisely, the new contents carefully placed on her desk. Reflexively, one hand slides into the folds of her kimono, feeling the cold metal of her folded fan and taking reassurance in that before warily stepping inside.
In the end and after turning on the lamp, there's nothing truly suspicious—just a small wooden cup with a single flower inside, adding up a letter below. Nonetheless, it's all too easy to figure out who the sender is with the sight of the plum blossom alone.
"Oh, my. Have I been stealing your time? How rude of me! Perhaps I can make it up to you with this small token?"
Her blood runs cold all in a sudden. How in hells and heavens did she happen to have forgotten already? How could she have been so stupid to do so, actually?
With shaking fingers and a heavy heart, she finally gathers enough guts to read the letter.
"The owner of my heart deserves so much more than a simple flower, even more so when its beauty pales before hers. Yet I hope this humble token brightens your evening, as the mere thought of your smile brightens mine, beautiful Jewel of Azuchi.
Have you considered my offer? If so, an envoy of mine will meet you soon.
I'm eagerly looking forward to our fourth meeting."
Biting her lower lip hard enough to draw blood, all she can think of doing is tucking the paper into her purse in a rush, and bring the wooden cup to a more sheltered place when it wouldn't catch attention. Turns out, horseback riding and medicine aren't precisely all she has learned throughout the day, and if a certain kitsune happens to find out the sworn enemy of the Oda, Shingen Takeda, is still attempting to contact her, he most likely wouldn't be as lenient as he's so far being.
Before her brain finally falls into overdrive, Mai changes into sleeping clothes at the speed of light, practically jumping under the false safety of the futon covers, muscles taut with sheer anxiety.
Until a man's voice from the other side of the door makes her breath hitch. It couldn't be—
"Lady Mai, are you asleep?"
On one hand, she could be calling for help, and yet on the other, the closest residence from hers happens to be no other than Mitsuhide's, of all inconvenient people. "N-no, I'm still up. Who's this?"
"Oh? You don't recognize me?"
A huge wave of relief courses through her at the amused tone. Well, now I do, and the fact you're trying to hide it. Dropping her fans away, she then moves to open the door.
"Haha, very funny, Mas—wha—!" Abruptly, her visitor rushes inside and grabs her by the hand, drawing her his way and quickly sliding the door close. Mai stammers back at the sudden intrusion, partially trapped between him and the wall, looking up and meeting Masamune's intense eye. "What are you doing here this late at night? Weren't you at the council?"
"Would you believe it was a test?" He narrows his eye, "Were you thinking about your safety before opening the door?"
"I don't know. I opened it for you, and you're the least safe person here." She says matter-of-factly, stabbing an index finger against his chest, "Plus, you're not very good at faking your voice, 'lass'."
He seems to be willing to admit defeat in that regard, letting her go with a chuckle. "So, what's up? As much as I appreciate the visit, you didn't just come over only to check my security measures, did you?"
At that, a familiar carnivorous smile makes way across his lips, eyeing her hungrily, as a predator would when claiming a prey.
"No. I came for a tryst."
A-N: I've been struggling a bit with this part, but in the end decided to cut it off here because... I want to leave spicy scenes inside a single chapter. (!) So yeah, I'd say the continuation of this is interesting *eyes emoji*
Happy Valentine's day y'all! Thank you so much for sticking around and your support, it means a damn lot to me