Disclaimer: You may all be sick of me saying this, but all credit goes to Shingo Nanami and フクロウ. I am just a translator who wants everyone to know that there are Sengoku Strays fanfics out there….. that are in Japanese though… This is going to be a short chapter, but I hope you all enjoy it.

似た者夫婦

Like Husband, Like Wife

Nobunaga+Kasane+Nouhime

"Kichou*…. It's been a long time."

"And it looks like you're still in good health, Kazunosuke,"

After running into the three idiots and Katsusaburou when she was scouting in Kiyosu, she returned with them due to various reasons.

She claimed that she coincidentally ran into the injured Katsusaburou in the nick of time. But Nobunaga didn't know how much of this was true. This woman was evasive as usual.

"I thought you'd be gone for another six months."

"Did you think that I could apathetically roam around the country when there's civil unrest between my hometown and Owari?"

Kichou was always unpredictable by nature and was seldom seen in his castle.

Normally there's no way it's acceptable to leave the castle for a whole year. In other castles, the lord's wife wouldn't be permitted to travel all by herself, but Nobunaga, who cared less about formalities and such, gave special permission to Nouhime.

After all, they were only lawfully bound by political marriage.

In fact, as of now, both Nobunaga and Nouhime couldn't bring themselves to see each other as 'husband and wife'. Nobunaga never demanded Nouhime to fulfill her role as the 'wife' and vice versa. Nouhime was thankful for this as she could now do whatever she pleases.

"…That reminds me. I was pretty shocked, Kazunosuke. I never thought that I would see a girl at your side."

"…"

For a moment Nobunaga looked blankly at Nouhime as if asking 'Who're you talking about?', but soon deduced, "Someone at my side, a woman that Kichou doesn't know of yet…There's only one dull-witted girl that fits the description perfectly."

"…You mean that girl."

"From what I heard, it sounds like she's a favorite of yours."

"…And what of it?"

Actually that rumor was false, but since it was too troublesome to deny it all, Nobunaga just played along with it.

"It's nothing, I was only a bit surprised. I, who abandoned my duties as a your wife, don't have any objections to your love affair. In fact, I'm actually relieved that you have someone reliable at your side."

"…"

"Even now, I'm grateful for what you've done Kazunosuke. If I was married to someone else, I would never be aloowed to go outside of the castle. I would instead have to give birth to children and grow old without ever knowing freedom in my entire life. That's why with you as my husband, I have nothing to complain about. After all I've done to avoid my duty as your wife, I wondered how you could even forgive me for my selfishness." She thinly smiled. "…However, even I would have never known that innocent girls were your type."

"…"

Nobunaga scowled at her playful joke.

"Without my knowing, you began to smell like a human."

She pleasantly shrugged at his jeering comment.

"Tono-sama! Nobuyuki-san was calling yo-… U-um. Nouhime-sama?" She called out to Nobunaga before discovering Nouhime's presence. "I-I'm sorry if I interrupted something-!"

"I don't mind, little girl. I'll be going now," she approached Kasane. Forcibly raising the girl's face, Nouhime looked into her eyes.

"…Eh? I-is there something wrong…? ?"

Unable to comprehend Nouhime's behavior, Kasane's eyes widened.

"You have nice eyes," Nouhime grinned. Though she was still confused, Kasane widely returned the smile.

"Kazunosuke! You better not force yourself on this innocent girl too much."

"…F-force? ?" Kasane dazedly turned toward Nouhime.

"And little girl, make sure to devote yourself to him… I'll be looking forward to seeing your baby."

"…Wh-what! ? ? ?" Kasane's face flushed red as she raised her voice in shock.

"Fufu, Until next time, little girl." After one last look at Kasane's tomato face, Nouhime cheerfully walked off.

"…"

Left behind, Kasane nervously glimpsed fleetingly at Nobunaga.

"…She's a rather extreme person, huh…" She blankly turned towards the direction where Nouhime exited.

"She's always been like that."

"Like husband, like wife huh…"

She always seemed to be very vague and there were times when Kasane couldn't guess what she was thinking. She also had a fearless personality and bold manner of speech. Somehow she reminded Kasane of Nobunaga.

Nobunaga glanced in the same direction.

"…Such a shrewd woman," he faintly muttered to himself.

*Those who don't know Kichou is Nouhime's proper name.

As you all know, I will be gone for a while. However, I promise I will return to translate the next story by August 2nd. If you click to my profile, you'll see that I've recently opened a poll. Please feel free to choose a pairing, so I can see which couple you're anticipating to read the most. Anyway I hope you enjoyed this chapter! And please, don't forget to thank フクロウ for writing these lovely drabbles!