Disclaimer: I dearly apologize for the late update. I suddenly had a job offer out of the states, so I had to prepare for the trip this past month + do online classes at the same time so it was extremely difficult to balance the two and find time to translate this. But finally I'm finished! And we're finally on the last chapter too. So let's get started. All credit goes to Shingo Nanami and フクロウ. Thank you everyone for reading up to this point and I hope you all enjoy this chapter.
こんな織田家族
This Sort of Family
Kasane x Nobunaga
Part Two
"Then do you know how this is read?"
Ikeda said as he pointed at the book in front of Kasane.
Gazing upon the beautifully written lines of sentences on the thick book, Kasane cradled at her hair.
"U, u~m…."
With a clearly troubled expression, she became to think.
Though he knew that his mother came from a commoner family with no academic background, he had no clue she would struggle this hard with reading a sentence.
It seems like this study session was only for his mother's sake.
Kimyoumaru had also neglected his own studies to help his mother instead.
"...I'm sorry."
Dejected, Kasane dropped her head; a white flag of surrender.
Seeing this, Ikeda let out a small sigh and answered, "This is read as 'sourou*'
"...Why is this so hard to read….? This isn't the Japanese I know…"
Muttering this outloud, Kasane fell onto her desk and sulked.
It's very mortifying to be unable to study in front of a child.
"I'll get us some tea to clear my head!"
Kasane shot up from her seat as she said this.
Humming a tune through her nose, she eagerly headed towards the kitchen.
Ikeda and Kimyoumaru could only watch her in a bewildered fashion.
After coming back to his senses, Ikeda intentionally coughed and began to speak.
"After paying too much attention to Kusanagi-dono, I have failed to assist you in your studies Kimyoumaru-sama… My dearest apologies. Is there anything you don't understand?"
"Ah, not really…"
Kimyoumaru's eyes gazed down at his own book.
He tried to act as if he's absorbed into the words of the book, but he then turned his attention back at Ikeda.
"...Is there something wrong?"
"Katsusaburo, I heard you were in love with Mother."
Ikeda had a coughing fit after he heard this.
In fact his coughing fit was so violent that he actually felt worried for the man there.
"...Why do you ask that now?"
"Do you still love Mother?"
It was an innocent question.
There were no adult qualities to him, Kimyoumaru is still a young child.
He couldn't win against curiosity.
"...That was a long time ago."
"You say that, but you still haven't gotten yourself a wife."
"...I'll have you know, there were many other men who also yearned for her."
Ikeda lightly replied back to Kimyoumaru.
"Nobunaga-sama had suddenly stated that he 'impregnated Kasane so he would take her as his wife', just think how shocked the other men were as they heard that..."
"Other men?"
"The three idiots were part of that group."
Three idiots, now that he knew full well.
As veteran retainers for his father back in the day, they were used for his father's personal missions and were considered to be very useful compared to others.
The easygoing and cheerful Toshie; the most steadfast of the three, Gorouza; and the reckless and unfriendly Kuranosuke.
So those three also fell in love with Mother.
"...Compared to me, who was a spy, those three were always by Kusanagi-dono's side, and in addition, that suspicious man named Toukichirou would always attempt to make an advance whenever he sees her. He was utterly heartbroken when he heard of their engagement. More than half of the young male retainers that had a connection with Kusanagi-dono shamefully broken down into tears."
"...That…. Must have been a crazy spectacle."
"Yes indeed. It was just that. Furthermore, Kimyoumaru-sama was already in your mother's womb so even more so…"
"..."
"...Kimyoumaru-sama?"
As Kimyoumaru went deep into thought, Ikeda sent him an inquiring gaze.
That expression, while he was still young, was the spitting image of his father.
"More and more I think about it, I don't understand. Why did Mother and Father get together…"
Now that he has heard this, surely there must have been other men out there.
Other options than to marry that belligerent, selfish, and arrogant man.
He was sure there would have been a man that was more gentle, more calm; someone who would have treasured her dearly.
So why did his mother choose that man.
"Sorry for making you wait!"
A voice cheerfully chimed in.
Ikeda and Kimyoumaru both jumped and trembled at her sudden appearance.
After all they were talking about her past behind her back.
"? What's wrong?"
"Nothing…"
As usual his dense mother made a puzzled expression glanced in their direction.
Relieved that she didn't catch on, they sipped the tea she brewed for them.
"...What does Mother like about Father?"
"Ehh~?"
Hearing his sudden question, Kasane carefreely raised her voice.
Meanwhile Ikeda coughed out the tea he just drank.
It seems that he didn't believe Kimyoumaru would ask the question out in the open.
"...I have a feeling that I said this before though."
"I can't believe that Father is gentle. He might only be gentle to Mother."
Kimyoumaru sullenly said.
"He was never gentle to me, not even once."
As he bluntly said this, Kasane wryly smiled.
"...Really? It might be hard to see, but he does have a soft side you know?"
The expression of his chuckling mother was adorable, just beautiful to his eyes.
"Oi."
A deep voice drew everyone back.
As the three of them fearfully turned their attention to the voice, they see a foul-looking Nobunaga.
"Tono-sama!?"
Kasane openly jolted in response.
Seeing her react this way makes him wonder if she has a hard time dealing with his father.
"Katsusaburo! What are you skipping out work for! We have an urgent matter. Hurry up!"
"...Understood."
"You're misunderstanding something here! Ikeda-san wasn't skipping out of his work! Right now he was actually helping us study…"
"Study?"
Kimyoumaru creased his brow.
If his own father, who disliked negligence, knew that he was grumbling about his studies it's guaranteed he'll rage like a demon.
While his mother frantically tried to soothe his father, her appeal didn't reach Nobunaga's ear.
"It would be lonely for Kimyoumaru to study all alone, so I thought this was a good chance to study myself and then I asked Ikeda-san to help!"
She huffed while Kimyoumaru felt himself become exhausted.
Eyeing his father's mood becoming increasingly worse, Kimyoumaru heaved a heavy sigh.
"And you thought that would be a good excuse! No matter what the reason is negligence is negligence! In addition, Kimyoumaru! Did you skip out on your studies again! !"
Kimyoumaru trembled under the angry roar of his father.
As he thought, his father wasn't nice.
There was not even a speck of gentleness his mother claimed to be found in him.
Under the pressure of his raging father, Kimyoumaru pitifully felt tears welding into his eyes that it took all his strength to bear through it all.
"I shall take my leave."
Ikeda lightly nodded and quickly took his leave.
Heavy silence filled the area.
His mother, still dissatisfied, was glaring at his father.
That father, with the same look of his mother, stared at her before glaring down at him.
Hoping not to lose to that glare, he desperately fought to keep the tears from falling.
"Even though you knew Katsusaburo was busy, you still went to ask him."
He then understood that his mother was trembling from his father's accusing tone.
When his mother gave a tiny nod, his father bellowed, "You fool!"
"Katsusaburo would then have a workload of assignments to do afterwards! Just what on earth were you thinking you idiot!"
Indeed, what Nobunaga was saying was true.
Kasane couldn't argue that she made a burdening request to the ever so busy Ikeda; she gazed down at her feet.
What his father said was right.
However, surely he didn't have to go that far to prove his point.
Anger bubbled within him as his loving mother faced the wrath of his father; Kimyoumaru slipped between his parents and glared at Nobunaga.
"You didn't need to say it like that! Mother didn't have any bad intentions!"
"If you thought I would forgive her whether she had bad intentions or not, then you're gravely mistaken beansprout."
Hearing the word beansprout only added fuel to fire.
As he thought his mother made a mistake of marrying this man.
To say things like this to his own child, to with own mother.
Before he could even burst out from anger, Nobunaga opened his mouth.
"...You two come to my room."
Still in a foul mood he spat out those words as Kasane and Kimyoumaru trembled below him.
After all he was going out his way to change the location to lecture then, not to mention that place was his room.
Surely it was going to be a very, extremly long disagreeable lecture for them.
Both mother and child slumped behind Nobunaga as they followed him out.
This sort of open reaction to the things he disliked was something he inherited from his mother.
"Sit."
After entering Nobunaga's room, he gave them an order.
Feeling the fatigue of what's awaiting them, Kasane and Kimyoumaru both had the desire to run away.
However, if they were to even attempt to do that, it would be certain that a merciless father shower them with even more pain and misfortune upon them.
And that very father was searching something on his desk.
After a while, it seemed that he found what he was looking and took it one hand before planting himself before them.
"Hurry up and bring out your books**!"
"Heh?"
His mother unconsciously let out a confused voice.
They saw Nobunaga's usual inkstone and brush in his hand.
"Ah, um~... No lecture….?"
"What, you want a lecture that badly?"
"No-no! Not at all!"
Kasane shook her head with all her might.
"...Father, why did you call us here."
Kimyoumaru through the question.
He came here prepared for a lecture, but his father showed no signs of attempting it.
"To begin with why did you go ask Katsusaburo before me! ! You could have asked me first to teach you before anyone else! !"
Nobunaga yelled with a stern face.
In a serious manner Nobunaga said this in an angered way.
Kimyoumaru and Kasane both went, "Heh?" in response.
"But, Tono-sama…. Aren't you busy…?"
"The same goes for Katsusaburo!"
Again he bellowed out in a loud voice; Kasane and Kimyoumaru covered their ears.
The air seemed to blow away from his roar making it feel like their bodies shriveled up.
"I don't have that much time. Once, twice a week. For the time we'll thoroughly use only one hour. Got it."
"..."
"Got it!?"
"Y,yess! !"
Kasane immediately answered to Nobunaga's voice in the conditioned response.
"Now that you understand hurry up and prepare!"
"Y-yes!"
Kasane and Kimyoumaru hurriedly became to prepare for their studies.
Kimyoumaru has placed in Nobunaga's seat of his foreign desk that he used for state affairs while his father stood at his side.
His mother stood on the other side, it looked like both of them were lined up together.
"Listen well, this is…"
He could hear the voice of his father, the man who normally didn't come close to him, resonate right by his side.
To think his father, who showed no interest in him, was going out of his way to teach him.
"..."
Not used to this situation, he felt his back straighten up.
He felt that he couldn't show any signs of carelessness before this man.
Feeling that his mother was smiling, Kimyoumaru turned his attention to her.
"...He has an usually gentle side to him, right?"
His mother whispered.
In a very small, tiny teasing voice, she gently smiled.
"...What."
Noticing Kasane's state, Nobunaga questionly stared at her.
Even under that gaze, his mother adorably smiled and laughed, "It's nothing."
His father is awkward and tyrannical and selfish and strict; there are times that he truly fears him from the bottom of his heart.
But,
Even so,
He might not hate having this sort of father.
END
*Alright…. This is going to be kinda complicated. So the kanji we got is '候'. And in the dictionary it's read as 'kou' meaning season, weather. However, this is the Warring Period so I figured that it might have been read differently. And lo and behold there is another way to say it + different meaning. It can be as a regular verb as 'to serve' or can be used as an auxiliary verb (so it's in the -gozaru/gozaimasu category). It would be used to replace -masu stem and can also be read as 'sou', 'sau', 'soro', and 'su'. I may have to study on this more later, but this is what I have for now.
**He says tools for studying. So I guess he means papers and brushes and possibly books, but since he's a really blunt guy I just put books to make it curt.
Thank you Ivise, BarelySafeForWork, EverRose808, niln, SaturnWolf3, hagino690, Tziphora, LunarButterfly121423, Ruler2050, Out of Things to Say, EmbraceEveryDream, Nyght elf, Salliea, Twix03, LunaOlcaRaca, BlackAngleloverofL, stoic. hypocrite , Choco-tan99, johanne asherei, Zecrea, Thererza, Dragon'sHost, Kaitou Ryuki, ivyknightfire, Hinasukichan, Mysticchowz, Coral179, hopeless illusion, Procrastinatingismyforte, orionthranduilion, myvividreams, Wife of the Great Fool, LucianKnight, Elfandkamilia103, varee, ACloudOnTheHorizon, Serpentine Wisdom, taytay1933, AnimeFreak9096, Silv Sapphire, Shusaira, KurokoChan8, Loser ON Parole, Shusaira, Elieboii, AlphaGuardianDelCieloWW, SliverSnake, Go check under your bed, kusaru kazuki, Toyantzin, kittycat98, camelia17, debbie. vang99, angelic94, ShadowEndowedNiceties, ruevedette, and everyone else for all the comments, follows, likes, and support over the past three years. It's been a long run and there were many hiatuses but we've now reached the end. I feel a little strange after finishing such a big project, but at the same time I feel a very satisfied and happy. I hoped you all enjoyed what you've read up to this point.
Special and many thanks to フクロウ for writing all these stories and allowing me to translate and upload her stories to this website. I can't thank her enough for providing us these stories.
I still have to update the next chapters of Touken Strays. I will try to get to it very soon, if I can with my schedule. So until next time I hope you all have a lovely and safe week ahead of you. Thank you very much for reading Owari's Stray.