Chapter Text
He was definitely not himself today.
Waking up calm and indifferent was the usual for the Lord of Mikawa Province, as he knew he had to get through the day with things that would either leave him in a bad mood or an even fouler mood. Whether it was because of his carelessness or someone had made him angry, his emotions were usually on the negative side.
Today, however, was... different, in a sense that as soon as he found himself looking at that girl, the former crossdresser turned kitchen wench, he would find himself unable to form a coherent thought. Worse, he would lose his train of thought during a meeting with his retainers whenever she would bring tea and sweets to them, all because his eyes would get distracted upon seeing her face.
Hell, he definitely knew something was wrong the very next day, the moment she brought out the desserts, in the form of dango for the men. It should have been impossible, but he swore he had caught a whiff of strawberries on her as she presented to him a plate of ichigo daifuku.
It was insane, really.
A mere kitchen wench like her, smelling like his favorite food?
So lost was he in is thoughts that she actually had to call his attention. "Lord Ieyasu? Are the... are the snacks not to your liking?"
Immediately, he glared at her, thankful that he was reacting as he normally would, glad that his mind had not been tainted by this stupidity he was suffering from. "You'd better make sure that these strawberries are sweet. Ruin my favorite dessert for me, and I'll make sure you'd wish you've never been born."
Her smile faltered for a moment before it recovered almost immediately. Curiously, he felt his stomach drop upon seeing her suddenly forcing the corners of her lips upward after his scathing words.
"I am confident that the strawberries I've handpicked myself are worthy of your palate, Lord Ieyasu."
The sadist in him wanted her to eat her own words, and even hoped that this failure of a dessert would be enough reason for him to finally send her away... even though a nagging voice in him told him that if he did, the Fool of Owari himself might take this opportunity to have her in his kitchen.
Or even the bedroom.
The last thought had him choking on the tea he was drinking after the first bite of the dessert, and before he knew it, he was coughing violently.
"Milord?!" Tadatsugu was by his side immediately. "Are you alright?!"
He immediately flashed a dirty look at the person who had been invading his thoughts for the past few days, annoyed that someone like her had managed to do it effortlessly, something that even Imagawa had been unable to do. The human mind was a stupid thing, really; it was war, and yet, it decided on its own that a commoner, who had no redeeming features that would put her at par with the noblewomen that Sakai had been introducing to him lately, was someone he would think about every waking moment.
To his surprise, he found no satisfaction in seeing her look at him as if she was facing the King of Hell, when he used to find himself smiling genuinely at the retainers who looked at him in fear. Try as she might to look brave, her hands that have balled into a fist were trembling.
Again, to his surprise, he found himself angry over the thought of her fearing him.
Since when did he care about what people thought of him?
"I'm fine. Take these away." While the sweets served to him were delicious, lately, he found himself having no appetite for anything.
Wordlessly, he stood up and headed for his room. Frustrated at the thought of his mind straying towards that girl of no consequence and confused as to why his emotions were going rampant today, he gave one last glare at her direction, missing the look of hurt on her face as he exited the Main Hall.
A few days later, a missive had arrived from Oda Nobunaga, asking for him to go to Kiyosu Castle at his earliest convenience. While he wanted to tell the other man to shove the letter up the place where the sun didn't shine, Sakai Tadatsugu had reminded him that as an ally of a powerful man, he had to indulge the whims of said powerful man.
"... we must also bring Sanae with us--"
He gave Sakai a confused look. "... And why should we even bother bringing that kitchen maid with us?" This was new, the Lord of Fools concerning himself with a Tokugawa retainer.
... Unless the Fool was using this invite as an excuse to seduce and bed her.
He found himself exhaling all of a sudden, and spoke again before his oldest retainer could give him the reason. "Do we really have to? It's been snowing lately, the roads are dangerous, and bringing her along will slow us down." The samurai knew how to ride as if their lives depended on it, while commoners such as herself would take their time traveling.
She was definitely going to be a burden to them and a headache for him.
"We are not in a hurry this time, Milord Ieyasu." Sakai Tadatsugu reminded him. "We can take our time traveling to Owari; Lord Nobunaga does not expect us to be there immediately, though he stated in the missive that he expects her to be there with us."
If possible, the young lord looked even more irritated than before. "Then she will be your responsibility for this whole trip, old man." He gave the retainer a hard look. "If I hear a single complaint from her, I will leave her behind, along with you."
"Milord, that is a bit--" before Tadatsugu could even object over the unusual cruelty of his lord, he stopped himself upon seeing the dark look on his superior's eyes, wondering what it was that had made the warlord agitated. "As you wish."
"Make preparations. We are leaving immediately." Ieyasu said. "The sooner we humor that Fool, the earlier we can leave."
The inn they stayed at on their first night was tolerable.
For the rest of the journey, Ieyasu had been in a good mood, which he knew was a relief to his retainers. Even he had noticed that he had become so moody lately, which was why he decided to withdraw from any unnecessary interaction with anyone, and everyone else did the same. Much to his private disappointment, the kitchen wench did not try to serve him any more ichigo daifuku, but made up for it with the main dishes. He had to hand it to her for asking Sakai what his preferences were, as he had been eating some of the most delicious winter delicacies for the past few days, up until they left for Owari.
Right now, he was sure to be stuck eating bland inn food until they get to the Fool’s castle, and was bracing himself for more disappointment until…
“Lord Ieyasu?”
His back was turned to her, and he felt his heart skip a beat upon hearing her voice. Thankfully, he had managed to compose himself before turning his head to look at her. “What?”
She bowed before him. “Would you… would you like anything to eat before you take a dip in the open-air baths, my lord?”
As much as he was tempted to say that he wanted her to make ichigo daifuku, he didn’t want to further any interactions between them.
… Not only that, but with both of them alone in his room (he still did not dine with his retainers), he did not want her to be alone with him unless it was absolutely necessary.
Being with her made it harder for him to breathe, with his heart pounding every time his eyes were on her.
This whole thing was insane, and he had to put a stop to it.
“No, I don’t want anything.” He informed her. “Get out of here.”
“As you wish.” She got up, and was about to head for the door when he called out to her once more.
“Ask Sakai to bring my dinner tonight. I do not want to see your face tonight.”
“… As you wish.”
His evening was supposed to be quiet and uneventful.
At least, that was what he wanted to happen after he had cleansed himself and had a long soak in the open-air bath, but for some reason or another, the gods, wherever they may be, had probably wanted him to suffer in the most sadistic way possible.
Sakai had barely laid down his dinner tray that contained an interesting dish called ‘hot pot’, which was filled with various vegetables and beef, when Toramatsu had come barging in, his face all red. While that would have annoyed him, he decided not to bother getting worked up over his page’s lack of manners, and proceeded to eat his dinner. Picking up the dipping sauce, which happened to be raw egg, the young lord proceeded to whisk the egg with his chopsticks while Toramatsu faced him and bowed.
“My apologies for suddenly barging in, my lord.”
When he gave out no response and simply laid down the dipping sauce so that he could hold up his bowl of rice, Toramatsu raised his head, turned, and bowed again, this time, to Sakai.
“Lord Tadatsugu, I… I am… I would like to request that Sanae have her own room tonight instead of us sharing a single room!”
Ieyasu had managed to hold onto the bowl of rice on his hand upon hearing the younger man’s request, but was unable to stop his leg from stick out underneath his right calf and hitting the pot of coals that kept his meal warm. At this, he cursed angrily both from the pain and Sakai’s treachery.
Why the hell did the old man bunk the two together when it was he who had insisted before that the kitchen wench was to have her own room after everyone found out that “Yahiko” was actually a girl?
Looking back, Ieyasu realized that at that point in time, Toramatsu had actually caught a glimpse of the kitchen wench naked from the waist up during the prank and—
His desire to eat dinner had disappeared all of a sudden.
“My apologies, Toramatsu. I may have overlooked assigning you two in one room.” Old Man Sakai had looked apologetic at least. “Please move your bedding and your belongings to my room.”
Despite the burning pain in his left leg, he managed to look at his page’s face and had let out a breath he never knew he was holding upon seeing Toramatsu looking relieved at the fact that he wouldn’t be bunking in with the newest retainer, and a female at that.
“Thank you, Lord Tadatsugu! If you’ll excuse me…” Toramatsu was practically running towards the direction of wherever his room was, probably to tell the kitchen wench that she would have the room all to herself.
For the first time in his life, he realized that the old man had the power to make his life comfortable or miserable. In this case, Tadatsugu was succeeding in making him feel unnecessary emotions over things that he usually did not get worked up over and making him remember a prank that he once pulled that had made him lose his appetite.
It would be too obvious if he did not eat the dinner that was laid out before him, so he forced the chopsticks up his mouth, barely tasting the rice and the flavorful meat dipped in egg, all the while trying to forget the rage within him. The constant reminder that Toramatsu had seen her partly naked, however, was something that kept playing on and on in his mind, furthering the rage within him. In the end, he only managed to finish half of his rice and meat, and had asked Sakai in a calm tone to take away the tray, as he didn’t want to eat anymore.
Ignoring the concerned look on his retainer’s face, he picked up one of his books and pretended to read one or two pages until after Tadatsugu closed the sliding doors, signaling his exit. Sensing that the old man was far enough from his room, Ieyasu grabbed his bag to dig for a burn salve that he made himself and applied it on his leg, wincing while he rubbed.
The madness was still consuming him, to the point that he was getting worked up over something that he had seen as a joke in the past. Not only that, but the rage he had felt upon hearing the possibility that Toramatsu and the kitchen wench were sharing a room tonight shocked even him.
She was nothing more than a servant… but how could she have managed to render him into a fool so easily?
He had his limits, and this had to stop.
Immediately.
Winter was particularly harsh this year, and she was so, so tired.
From the day they started their journey until they've reached Kiyosu Castle, not a single day went by without snowing. The usual three-day journey to Owari had taken them four and a half days, and that was because despite the weather conditions, Lord Ieyasu wanted them to get there as soon as possible. It had only been a few months or so, but she was back to wearing hakama, as it was impossible for her to ride astride in a woman's kimono. Side-saddles were out of the question because of the situation, and she was forced to endure the riding conditions that became more unforgiving because of the elements.
Her status as a commoner and a new retainer had made her unable to bundle up for winter, as she did not have the money to buy clothing that would keep her warm. She rarely traveled outside the capital during winter, so she was ill-prepared and had to make do with layering her clothes and, to her embarrassment, borrowing tunic from Toramatsu that he had outgrown. Some of the maids had given her hand-me-downs as well, which worked wonders now. On their fifth day of traveling, their pace had slowed down considerably; according to Lord Tadatsugu, they were nearing the castle, and they could take their time now.
Which was why she was back to wearing a female kimono, and was using a side-saddle that they had borrowed from one of the inns that they stopped at, promising to return it on their way back.
One reason as to why she was back to wearing female clothing was because they could take it easy now, and that they were no longer traveling at neck-breaking speed.
The other reason was that Lord Ieyasu wanted to keep up appearances, and no one would say anything if she was back to wearing female clothing. The Oda faction already knew the truth, and if they saw her wearing hakama, it would raise a lot of questions.
Seeing the castle in view should have brighten her up. Instead, she found herself yawn, feeling the exhaustion taking its toll on her. During the days they were on the road, even after a hard day's work, she was unable to get decent sleep. She would doze off for a few hours, only to wake up because the wood in the fireplace had burned out, and she would need to start another fire to keep warm. She would usually take this as a sign to get up and start preparing, as they often left early to continue their journey.
She had an inkling that any female would have protested over this rather punishing journey on the very first day, but knew that she could not risk voicing out the aches in her body. She had accidentally overheard Lord Ieyasu say that Lord Tadatsugu would be left behind with her if she said anything, and she refused to let the most senior retainer in the clan to be subjected to the cruel winter weather, all because she couldn't keep up with them.
Further incurring Lord Ieyasu's wrath was something she wanted to avoid if she wanted to survive. The man had disliked her to the point that he had casually remarked that he would abandon her if she would dare slow him down, and had gotten the elderly retainer involved as well. Not only that, but he had disliked the ichigo daifuku she had prepared, and had not been finishing his meals properly for the past few days.
It wounded her that he had come to openly show just how much he disliked her, but for the meantime, during this trip, she would just have to endure everything that came her way.
She spotted Akechi Mitsuhide making his way to greet Lord Ieyasu, and while most of the retainers got off their horses effortlessly to do the same, she was still trying to get her bearings. Her mind wanted her to sleep despite being atop a horse, but she knew she had to get down, acknowledge Lord Nobunaga and his retainers, and get to work. No doubt, all the men would be chatting to do some catching up, and she had to make sure everything was in order when they retired for the night.
Despite telling herself that all she needed to do was slide down and land on her feet, her balance was off, while her reflexes were dull from the cold and the sleepiness that was slowly threatening to take over. Before she realized it, she felt herself sway and found herself well on the way to the snow-covered ground. Bracing herself for the pain, she closed her eyes, knowing that her face would most likely not bruise that badly as long as she could use the snow to minimize the swelling and—
"Just what the hell are you trying to pull?"
She would have responded by rolling her eyes at the harshness of the tone, but with her low in energy, all she could manage to do was look up at a familiar face.
"Inuchiyo..."
Despite her eyes half-closed, she saw her childhood friend blanch. "What happened to you?! Your hands are freezing, but your face is all red!"
Was she?
She didn't know anymore.
Her fingers and toes were numb, but she didn't know how she compared to the others who were properly bundled up. She didn't protest when she felt his arms around her waist and placed his forehead against hers in order to accurately check her temperature.
"You're burning up. Geez, have you been dressing yourself properly?! It's winter, and now's not the time to be frugal." He hissed at her, referring to her being severely underdressed, as all she had worn were several layers of cotton kimono. Slowly, he steadied her against him, released her from her hold, and wrapped an arm around her waist, his free hand ready to catch her if she fell forward. It must have been foresight on Inuchiyo's end that when she tried to walk, he caught her immediately before she hit the ground.
" 'm f-fine..." she tried to downplay her state of drowsiness, but as always, Inuchiyo knew.
"No, you're not." She could picture him scowling at her right now, disappointed that she was being careless. "You've tried to dive headfirst to the ground twice. TWICE. It's either you're drunk out of your wits, or you're sick. I'll go with sick, since you don't reek of alcohol."
She managed a small smile and a sigh, as she found herself unable to voice out a chuckle, while her eyes were now closed, and ready to slumber.
"Can you walk? No, of course not, shouldn’t have asked." She would have screamed and yelled at him to put her down the moment she felt him carry her in his arms, and in front of so many people, but right now, she was glad that Inuchiyo was there to support her every step of the way. As soon as she rested her cheek against his warmth, she promptly fell asleep.