Disclaimer: Sorry of the long wait! As always all credit goes to Shingo Nanami and フクロウ。I hope you enjoy this chapter.

懐妊

Expecting

Kasane x Nobunaga

Part Two

"Are you alright?"

"Ah, yeah…."

"Kusanagi-dono?"

Ikeda had originally came to the rear unit to check on the injured and quantity of food.

When he arrived, Ikeda heard a familiar high-pitched voice and squinted his eyes in that direction.

There he found Kasane holding onto a soldier who had wounded his leg.

"Kusanagi-dono!"

Discovering her location, he rushed up to her.

"Ikeda-san."

Kasane widened her eyes, surprised by his sudden visit.

"Allow me to help."

"Eh, I-I'm sorry!"

"I have no excuse to give you, Tsuneoki-sama*..."

Saying that, Ikeda helped carry the wounded soldier to the medical team.

The team exposed the soldier's leg, dabbed on some alcohol and wrapped it in some cloth.

Ikeda turned his attention from the soldier to Kasane.

"It's rather unusual for you to provide logistical support."

"Eh? Ah, is that so~...?"

Kasane's eyes seemed to swim around at his comment as she scratched her head.

He raised a brow at her strange response.

"...Did something happen?"

"W-well nothing really did happen…"

Her hesitant answer only made Ikeda more uneasy.

Something is wrong.

This was quite strange.

He couldn't answer what was exactly strange, but he felt a sense of uneasiness.

"...Someone! Please give us a hand!"

"Ah, yes!"

Hearing a large shout, Kasane hurriedly ran in the direction of the voice.

"It seems they'll be running out of gunpowder, I have no time to go. So please take his gunpowder to the gun corps out in the front lines for me."

"Yes! Please leave it to me!"

Surely because there wasn't a lot of manpower back here that Kasane accepted the big, heavy-looking parcel that was pushed onto her from the soldier.

When she received, it seemed to him she felt package weigh down her arms.

Surely it was considerably burdensome weight for someone as small as her.

As soon as he accepted the package, she began to aimlessly stagger.

'Kusanagi-dono!"

Kasane stumbled, losing her balance in the process before she began to fall down.

Surprised, Ikeda hurriedly supported her form.

"Are you alright? Do you not feel well?"

The way Kasane was falling down was clearly strange.

He worried that she wasn't feeling well.

"The doctor told me that I shouldn't do any intense activities so…"

Kasane told him in an absentminded way.

"Doctor?"

Taking advantage of her current consciousness, Ikeda continued his question.

"Why did the doctor say that?"

"Lately I've been feeling sluggish…. When the doctor examine me, I learned I was expecting-**"

"...A child?"

"..."

Kasane then returned to her senses and immediately slipped out of his arm.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Eh! N-no… um…."

Kasane made an uncomfortable expression and began to mumble out her words.

"...Are you expecting a child?"

"!"

Kasane showed an open reaction towards his words.

Suddenly comprehending of the entire situation, Ikeda felt all of his blood drain from his face, dyeing it pale blue.

"Is it my lord's child?"

"Eh! Eeh!? ….That's."

Kasane's face dyed in a bright red color.

He had known for a long time that she and his lord got along with each other.

Including the fact that his master showed clear possessiveness and abnormal attachment to this girl.

He believed that this would happen one day.

Since he thought that his lord would no longer be satisfied by just letting Kasane, someone whom he was deeply attached to, stay by his side.

"Does my lord know this?"

Though Ikeda doubted it, if that man brought Kasane onto the battlefield knowing that there was a child in her belly… a chill ran through him.

"Tono-sama…... doesn't…"

"What's the meaning of this, Kusanagi-dono!"

Hearing her response, Ikeda unintentionally raised his voice.

Kasane made a small gasp as her body jerked and shrank under his voice.

"Even though you're expecting you come to this place….!"

"I-I'm sorr-y…."

Nearing bursting into tears, Kasane apologized to Ikeda.

Watching her response, Ikeda took time to regain his composure with a heavy sigh.

"Why did you inform my lord about this?"

"Because…."

The tears nearing pouring from her large eyes made it hard for her to continue her words.

"Anyway! We cannot allow you to stay here any longer! Please return to the headquarters with me!"

"But I still have to…"

"What on earth are you talking about!? What are you going to do if something happened to you!?"

After his stern scolding, Kasane apologetically shagged her shoulders, making her look smaller than usual.

Taking her by the hand, Ikeda quickly pulled her along with him.

TBC

*Ikeda's given name is Tsuneoki. His courtesy name or adult name is Katsusaburou.

**Here she says お医者さんに診てもらったら子供が... the sentence is incomplete however if it was the literal translation would have been 'When the I had the doctor examine me, I found out I'm expecting a child.' However the 'carrying a' is not complete in the sentence. So while she doesn't specifically say that she's pregnant Ikeda is quick to catch on which is why he repeat her words 'child' in the next sentence. OTL translating things like this is one of the banes of my existence.

Well I hoped you all enjoyed this chapter. Sorry that this was late, I heard from my friend that she was attacked yesterday so I was worried about her. Please be careful now that hate crime is really on the rise. My friend was ganged up by three trump supporters in her college campus parking lot in broad daylight. Had she not known martial arts, she would have been in a far worse condition... so please make sure you and your friends are watching out for each other. I want you all to be safe from harm.

Other than that, I shall upload the next chapter as soon as possible. So until then, I hope everyone has a safe and enjoyable day.