#but Yukimura's act 2 had me thinking some things

[krys-loves-otome]

Do have every intention of taking Mitsunari's route, but this lil shit muffin is making me morbidly curious.

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Drama CD Book Volume 6 Kazama

this is likely going to be my last hakuoki translation for the year. next month i mostly plan to focus on subtitling, getting a start on filling up my queue with yuugiroku content, and hopefully catching up to the deemo manga raws... 

also.... hakumyu sannan-hen. really? 

I know he’s popular, but i rank sannan below souji and heisuke... and as i’ve still yet to watch okita-hen (most i’ve seen is certain clips) and toudou-hen, i don’t know if i’ll be interested in watching sannan’s route. 

in my defence, i did saito’s route first (sannan betraying the Shinsengumi and I don’t like traitors), harada’s second (sannan being creepy because of him wanting chizuru’s blood), and then hijikata’s route (i rarely do the ‘official route’ first). lol. i can’t help that i don’t like him. hahahahaha. suppose this just means i’m more likely to look at getting live 3.

anyway, enjoy!

Hakuoki Drama CD Book Volume 6 Kazama Chikage-hen - Edo Higan

Translation by KumoriYami

Act 1

Time: morning

Location:

SE: sound of a door opening

Kazama: Hey, do you have any plans for today?

Yukimura: Nothing in particular... is something wrong?

Kazama: I have something to show you, so come with me.

Yukimura: You want to show me something... ah, wait.

Kazama: You'll understand when you see it, hurry up before the sun goes down.

SE: the sound of two people's footsteps

Location: In the oni clan's mountains

SE: sound of two people walking [kinda redundant, but that's what it says]

Yukimura; So, exactly where are we going? If you're wanting to go somewhere where you'll return home in the late evening, you should tell everyone else about it...

Kazama: Don't complain, now is the perfect time to go see that.

Yukimura: The perfect time.... Ah..... could it be that, we're going sakura viewing?

Kazama: I didn't say that. But, if that's the case, then so what if it is?

Yukimura:  I'd be delighted if I could view sakura in full bloom. After all,  would be very happy to view the cherry blossoms that are in full bloom. After all, they're the flowers I have profound memories of... Do yo it is a flower that I am very impressed with ....... Did you know that I like sakura?

Kazama: Don't you remember...? Could it be that you've already forgotten the determination you spoke of that day?

Yukimura; Determination..? Um, if you can, please tell me about it so that I can remember!

Kazama:....No, forget it. For you, it might be a painful memory.

Yukimura:...Even if that's the case, please tell me. For me to forget something that Chikage-san still remembers is painful.

Yukimura: And if has something to do with Yukimura Kodo?

Yukimura:.....Something to dow with y father.....Ah, perhaps...

Kazama: It appears that you've recalled?

Yukimura:....What happened that day isn't a painful memory. It was something that i had to overcome.

Kazama: You don't think that was painful?..... There's still some distance between where we left and where we're going. It'd be nice to look back together on that day with you...

Yukimura: I think so too.

Kazama: Is that so, then, allow me to tell you about it. So——

--------

Act 2

Time: morning

Location: Chizuru's home in Edo

Kazama (narrated): It was a few days after I killed your father, Yukimura Kodo, and after considering how you might feel uneasy about being around the man who killed your father, I found a different hotel and had Amagiri monitor your whereabouts from nearby. After hearing from him that you hardly left your house, I went to your house that day. There, you were blankly looking at the sky——

Chikei Kazama: I was wondering what had happened, and it turned out exactly as I expected.

Yukimura: Eh...?

Kazama: You won't feel sad/You couldn't help but feel sad [check game to clarify this. I don't remember Kazama's route that well]. isn't that what you said then?

Yukimura:......

Kazama: To feel those things, it's only natural for you to be like this.  However, the situation of the war northeast is not optimistic.

Yukimura:...Is it already time to go?

Kazama: Yes. The Shinsengumi has already left Edo. Furthermore, the next battle to break out will be in Aizu. In order to see their, no, the end of this pointless war, it is it is necessary to keep moving. If you don't want to leave yet, I'll have Amagiri stay——

Yukimura: I want to go, please take me with you.

Kazama: You responded rather quickly.

Yukimura: I returned to Edo, originally to meet up with everyone in the Shinsengumi...

Kazama: That is a suitable response, but in my opinion, it's an absurd response being made because you are incapable of seeing your own heart/thoughts, isn't it?

Yukimura:......

Kazama:...I'll come back tomorrow to hear your answer. Think it over again before coming to a conclusion.

SE: The sound of Kazama stepping away

Yukimura: Please wait! I.... my response still won't change today or tomorrow. I need to catch up to everyone in the Shinsengumi before the end, so please take me with you, please.

Kazama:  Right you appear to trying to put on a strong front. Isn't that because you just lost your father and you're just forcing yourself to do other things so you don't think about it? Moreover... don't you hate me, who killed Kodo? Wouldn't it be painful to stay with me and travel with me?

Yukimura: That's——

Kazama: Face your heart again, Yukimura Chizuru.

Yukimura:......!

Kazama: If you go to the battlefield with this half-hearted attitude, I won't be able to protect you. You will only end up dying midway  I don't think you're a fool who can't even understand that. Don't let me down.

SE: sound of Kazama's footsteps as he leaves

Kazama:....Draw out the determination you have to leave Kyoto for Edo.

Kazama (narrated): At the time, I was also unable to clearly arrange my thoughts, and watching you only focus on what was in front of you, I felt anxious. Even though as a woman, you were rushing to follow the Shinsengumi into battle, I always concerned about you, and thought perhaps that I judged humans wrongly. If nothing changed the next day, I was going to leave you in Edo like that but——

--------

Act 3

Time: morning

Location: Chizuru's home in Edo

Kazama: As promised, I came to hear your answer.

Yukimura: Um, before responding.... I sincerely apologize.

Kazama: What do you mean?

Yukimura: As Kazama-san said, I hadn't come to terms with everything and just wanted to run away... The death of my father, and the life he lead... It all made me feel sorrowful. That's why, me wanting to forget about my father.... I realized that I was running away.

Kazama:....Permit me to hear why you came to such a conclusion.

Yukimura:...Although we weren't related, I am my father's daughter——Yukimura Chizuru. So as my father's daugher... and as someone from the Yukimura family, I must thank Kazama-san for stopping my father.... To you who stopped my father.... Thank you very much. What sins my father committed are crimes that can never be forgiven. That's why, to stop him from conducting even more heinous crimes... As the daughter of Yukimura Kodo, I must express my gratitude.

Kazama:...Raise your head.

Yukimura: U-Um..... Kazama-san?

Kazama: Indeed from an oni clan... the bloodline of the Yukimura family.

SE: the sound of Kazama approaching Chizuru

Yukimura: !?

Kazama: I admire you.

Yukimura: Kazama-san, your face, it's too close! Please get away from me!

Kazama: You'll have to get over this sense of shame sooner or later.

Yukimura: Huh...?

Kazama: Because from now on, we must be walking together, no?

Yukimura: Wh-What does that mean?

Kazama: What foolish reason... is there to stay for? Although it is not my intention to follow them with you, I will certainly fulfill the promise I made with you, who is also an oni.

Yukimura: Kazama-san...

Kazama: Make youre preparations immediately, when you're ready, we'll be leaving right away.

Yukimura:......

Kazama: Don't look so stunned, hurry up with your luggage, or I'll leave you here.

Yukimura: I, I already sorted it out earlier!

Kazama: Oh... Good thinking. Then let's go.

Yukimura: Yes!

SE: the two's footsteps

SE: the sound of the wind blowing

Yukimura: Wow, the day of our departure coincides with the coincides with the start of the sakura season.

Kazama: You really love sakura?

Yukimura: yes!

Kazama (narrated): After hearing your answer, the anxiety in my heart did not dissipate, but rather became more elevated. I no longer thought of you as just a female pureblooded oni, and instead regarded you as the official head of the Yukimura family. It was starting from that day that I became interested in you on that day. The you who was admiring sakura that day, will always  think that you are just a female ghost of blood, but officially treat you as the leader of the Yukimura family. I became interested in you from that day. I will always remember how you admired the sakura that day.

--------

Act 4

Time: Daytime

Location: In the oni clan's mountains

Kazama: That's all I have to say.

Yukimura: I still remember... the determination I felt that day, I still feel it inside my heart. Although I hadn't been able to say it then, it's truly great that Chikage-san was with me that day.

Kazama: At that time, you were really not honest, and while you obviously had a good impression of me, you never admitted it until I went to pick you up. Well, you're not honest now.

Yukimura: At the time, it wasn't that I didn't have a good impression of Chikage-san, but even if I wanted to be a bit honest, Chikage-san would definitely say something annoying...

SE: the sound of stepping on earth

Kazama: Hey, raise your head/look up, we're here.

Yukimura: Wow...! As expected, it's very beautiful...

Kazama: Nn, it's the same expression as that day. I saw the smile that was able to capture my heart again.

SE: sound of the wind blowing

Yukimura: Chikage-san...

Kazama: Only you are able to move my heart. This will not change until I die... No, it will not change even if I die.

Yukimura: It's be inconvenient if that changed... Chikage-san, can we come here again next year?

Kazama: Not only next year, I will bring you to enjoy the sakura here every year. No matter what happens, I will bring you here so be prepare yourself.

Yukimura: Hehe, alright, I understand.

Starring: Kazama Chikage... Tsuda Kenjiro ---end---

[ranmanjuu]

—gen z mc with uesugi-takeda + misc. forces

ahh, i’m so glad people liked my gen z oda hcs! lol it’s usually pretty slow from my writing blog experiences until now, but i’m rlly happy! i was planning to do u-t and the others but then i decided to stop at oda and continue another day. thx for the asks tho! and yeah, i do take requests but it’s more of a pasttime, since this whole blog is just my stupid ideas written out and shared out there.

also someone said that a gen z mc could be old enough to romance the warlords, like, early twenties. and yes, very fair if u wanna romance ur mans with memes and existentialism go for it!! i just think it adds more to the comedy side of this child they have to babysit, while not fearing death or any consequences from their dumb of Ass decisions. someone who fears no death and armed with no braincells is a fool, but a Child who fears no death and armed with no braincells is also a fool, but more bizzare and has That Vibe y’know

@niphredil-14​ and @arthotsglasses​

tw: s*icidal, violent jokes treated in a light manner

also spoilers to some things of their characters

—kenshin:

who is this,, , sassy lost child??

he first saw you prepared to throw hands with ronins who were being Elite Dickheads. ofc, armed with nothing compared to the sworded-adults, he had to interfere.

no matter how cold he treated you, masking his secret !!!-like concern, you seemed so unfazed through it. you still interacted with him like normal,,,,, why?? do you want a death wish?

and each time he threatened you with,, anything, you responded with, “the only one who gets to hurt & kill me, is ME”

...... what?

he’s convinced you’re the biggest fool of a person. and he’d be right but even so, he has a weirdly strong need to protect you as you two got closer. you’re often with sasuke, so it’s harder to avoid you.

even with all the Horrible jokes you make on a daily basis, if your passionate side with everyone having equal rights of being treated as human, for him it shows a side of you that makes you seem precious and pure and kind hearted.

and the overprotective side increases.

which is, ,, a bit problematic sometimes cause you have the tendency to target and piss off anyone in a 10 meter range by just one (1) sassy comment, along with your lack of impulse control and blurting out everything in your mind. it’s made you a lot of short enemies in the sengoku period, and kenshin would always be ready to slice them down behind you.

sasuke has to tame him down with his Masters degree in kenshin-wrangling.

at banquets, kenshin would often have you beside him. if you’re too young for sake do age for drinking exist in sengoku? probably not. it’s more of sasuke advising for him to not give you alcoholic drinks he’ll have you pouring for him or just munching away at pickled plums or food.

—shingen:

(ngl i kinda had a hard time with this since it’s erasing a big part of his overall character,,, flirting)

once he heard the news that oda had taken in somone as young as you during honno-ji,, ,,,he’s in a very “how dare that demon >>:( taking such a pure soul,....”

and when you’re taken to kasugayama as a captive, you’re,,, surprisingly very calm and whelmed. you don’t have much sign of fear or anxiety in your overall demeanor meanwhile you’re busy dissociating and spacing out to feel those

you actually don’t seem to hate your captor. but shingen isn’t sure if your ‘fingerguns’ is a good thing or not cause it depicts you pointing guns @ him,, (dw is good shingen)

while yes being held hostage—no matter how good you’re being treated—isn’t ideal and kinda not very cash money, you consider shingen v chill. man has a kindheart!! “i diagnose you with good vibes.”

if he ever sees your righteous side, as everyone else, he’ll deeply admire you. he himself is someone who believes in such as well. and hearing the circumstances in the modern world regarding those things (blm, etc.) his heart truly does go out for you. he feels sympathy for such a young person like you having to take action

also your dirty humor around him, echigo’s player, kind of makes him question where and how you learnt it

and,, his illness.

through getting straight to the point and not falling for it each time he changes subject/dodges the question, you managed to get to the bottom of his illness. shingen himself thinks it’s not something you have to burden with knowing—you’re so, so young.

but that doesn’t matter to you. the world’s given you such a shit time, you’re mature enough to understand the situation at least.

and as he finishes his explanation, all there was is silence. it felt wrong to say any of your usual quips,, so all you did was slowly came there and hugged him.

that was more than what he’d ask for.

—sasuke:

oh hell yeah

you are in your element with him. the chillest guy to talk to, and probably the first one you’re the closest to

your phone was dead after like 2 days of use, and you were miserable while hideyoshi, like a typical parent, told you to go outside and into town. sensing your bad mood, sasuke asked what’s up. you deadpanned, “my phone game ended and now i’m ready to commit not breath.” you oslemnly look out in the bustling streets and clutched your fist like an Anime Protagonist, “those boomer memes were right all along... i am absolutely Miserable and Useless(^TM) without it.”

in response, you could’ve sworn he did the Anime Glasses thing as well, “then we at team Moderately Awesome Sengoku Ninja are happy to announce the launch of a DIY phone charger, made with the electricity from a fruit and the main functionality of a solar panel. and has more durability than samsung’s.”

there were Stars in your eyes now. with a big grin, you thank him, “i’d die for you, sasuke.”

“then perish.” he said with a blank look. (yukimura, in the bg: ???!!!??!??!?)

the next day he consentually breaks in through the ceiling and gives you the weird contraption. you’re now saved, soul-wise.

the memes start coming and they don’t stop coming from the two of you. in any situation. whether it’d be at a teahouse, or at a battlefield that can determine your life and death.

and you can have discussions about current world events, or the past ones, with him and he’d understand completely what you’re talking about. it’s those rare nights when you’ve been thinking and have a deep conversation with him in his room, and as an adult, it makes for interesting results as well.

the others are endlessly confused, but you’re both so unapologetically yourselves.

and he’s super protective if the circumstances are tough. he feels bad for dragging another person in the sengoku with him—much less when they’re so young like you.

if you’re enough of a lil shit, once you’re taken into kasugayama, in the nights where you can’t sleep because brain at what would be 3 am, you’d probably trudge over to his room and wake him up to tell him what kind of mind-blowing shit you realized.

—yukimura:

when he saved you from falling to your death, your reaction already set off weird Vibes inside him. what do you mean, “you stopped me from fleeing this fleeting world by the sweet embrace of death” ?!?!?! are you crazy?? yes

he doesn’t waste time getting blunt with you at all either.

once he goes into azuchi as a merchant, he silently observes you talking to sasuke for a bit. what’s with your weird language?? and crude humor???? never in his life has he met someone in your age act like that wtf

even so, he still operates on the basis of ‘‘if sasuke trusts you, i trust you’’, no matter how utterly concerned you make him feel

you have a dirtier mind than him! unsurprisingly. along with everyone else, you often tease the poor soul, a nd you’d gladly tell him what the innuendoes mean ( 69, etc.) and maybe sprinkle in some gay jokes in there

and why do you keep mentioning this “bromance between him and sasuke” ?? what us,,, a bromance????? and why is sasuke in it??

he takes you out to teahouses to eat chestnut dumplings and other desserts with you. you always seem to target the one he doesn’t like the most and have a bit of banter

your relationship is built on banter but what’s different rlly

he treats you much more maturely than other people your age. as in, he doesn’t pull back his punches in words most of the time. you don’t seem to around him also, it looks like.

and, he’s also very protective of you. he regards you as his little sibling, as rat as you may be. and he does care about you—he might just be a bit unwilling to say it

—yoshimoto:

you think he’s very chill, if a bit unique but who were you to judge. and he is, if you ever meet him in echigo or even azuchi

his big liking to art and something of apathy to people is osmething you can respect. there’s something about that kind of Vibe that you find oddly a mood.

and oh boy oh boy you wasted no time pulling up your phone and showing images of what art is in the future. whether it’d be a screenshot of anime, fanart, aesthetic-like ones, palette-themed—the whole shabang. 

and, somehow, you were left ranting to him  about how some artists in the future get it so shitty for theft, reposting, not crediting, the list goes on (please be a decent human being to artist, sincerely the author) and he can’t help but just listen in silence and kind of thinking about how you’re so passionate about the Struggles of artists. and it isn’t something he sees often in the sengoku era—where war rules most things.

and he does find art from the modern times interesting, how they’re so different and vast in styles. and not only that, it’s not like the future only has one major style like then, each hand can draw such different pictures and still have beauty in each. he appreciates and admires that.

and he does tell you his thoughts ^ while you give your own insight. it’s so fascinating to see someone like you having strong opinions on this.

because, well, rn art is a big thing in our lives as we’re stuck inside. a part of entertainment is looking at any media of art—and he finds his view of art and yours quite the same. you two came from a time of turmoil (one moreso than the other) but still think art isn’t exactly irrelevant just because it isn’t a cure to diseases or the Ultimate Weapon.

you had to Surgically Remove him from your phone so you can use it and to stop him from draining your battery looking at the art

and he often drags you out to town and admire pieces when you’re holing yourself in too much. your comments are always unknown to him, “radical”, “that’s one i can vibe with ngl”, and the list goes on.

and you occasionally call him pretty boy as a compliment rlly

—kennyo:

when you first saw him at honno-ji, and he won’t forget the one (1) line you gave him, all you said to his warning of ooo spooky demons was, “that’s lit fam gtg tho”

and that alone was enough to stun him for a few seconds

honestly you told the others of your meeting with kennyo before they told you it could be kennyo. just a throaway line of “oh yeah there was this dude with a scar across his face.” / “,,, ,....that’s kennyo. he’s really dangerous actually—” / “oh, poggers”

you’re probably kind of half the reason the oda forces found who dun it.

and it was an eye for an eye, kennyo himself found out that you were their child chatelaine, and very close to the others. as per his villain-schedule, he kidnaps you .

he laments about how “such a pure soul such as yours is not to be stained by the demon’s hands”

oh how Wrong he was.

you were the definition of the opposite of pure. and you seemed unfazed, which surprised kennyo but shrugged it off. he was willing to face you screaming and panicking, along with shouldering the sin of doing the deed. but instead, he was met with a raised eyebrow and, “this is unexpected and probably not welcomed but what am i doing here.”

he was stunned for a moment before explaining what he can. 

“......... fuck.”

he cringed ever so slightly at your curse. but your attention seems to stray so quickly off of the fact that you were bounded and helpless, to the fact that you have the man doing unspeakable things to civilians and you absolutely don’t approve.

throwing your common sense to maybe be civilized, you went off on a rant of how human rights and how to not be an ass to him. all he could do was just listened, shocked to even cut you off.

when he did, he gave the whole ‘unsaved demon’ shtick, and you weren’t taking that kinda shit. he believed he was truly unsaved—you knew that. but that doesn’t make it okay.

eventually, he left you with a cold end of the conversation.

he admires your spirit in a way—but with what he’s experienced,,, it’s a bit of unreachable for him.

if at any point you saw the soft side of his with animals, you just gaped at him for a split second and whispered, “the gap moe is strong with this one.”

also old man died inside when you said that you’d fight god, along with many things.

all in all, to him, you’re insufferable. but weirdly,, fascinating.

you’ve totally ok boomer’d him once cause he rlly looks old

—motonari:

,,. if your speech to kennyo was bad, he’s going to rant hell.

motonari already knew you were interesting even when his men just spied on you. your behavior, so brash and impulsive, is going to be so fun to have, he thinks.

through some planning to stir up more chaos, he kidnaps you and brings you unto his ship. same as kennyo, you showed no clear sign of surprise, and that’s when he decided you were either used to this in any way, or a fool. both answers, he liked.

you’re kind of really confused on why he’s doing what he’d doing. “i get it, i like to stir up chaos myself but it’s harmless,, most of it—but not until the people are in danger, bitch.”

and by that line, motonari leans towards you with a deadly smirk, “now, i can bite, ‘kay kid? you don’t wanna be in the receiving end... do you?”

“do it, coward.”

and before he could let out even a wheeze of laughter, you continued on on a lecture of, again, not being a dick and letting people live their life in peace. and much less all of this damage, for what? chaos?? yeah you wanted to see the world burn but it wasn’t literally.

however, his patience was running thin. he shuts you up forcefully, and leaves.

even so, after a cooldown period, he still talks to you (,,,, well, that’s kind of a generous term) because, right he was, you were so fun in his eyes.

an interesting observation he made,,, was that you picked up on his big dislike of physical contact. and he’d think with how annoying you were at times, that you’d weaponize it. but you didn’t—in fact, you kept your space (not that you were planning to get close) and respected his boundaries.

he thinks you a bit of peculiar for that decision, some wary, and perhaps naive.

one of the days—the more dangerous ones—he was planning to take you to the oda as bait or something. and you weren’t taking it like that. two days before arrival, a storm racked up. you stood upon the edge of the ship with the rest of the crew watching you like you were a madman.

“the oda won’t want me if i’m dead, would they now?”

motonari stands in his composure, guffawing, “all i need is to make sure they believe you’re alive, kid.”

a smile that showed absolutely no fear and 1000 percent spite spread in your face, “not unless i decimate my own body until all the trail left is my blood. the only one who gets to do that shit to me, is me.”

finally, a look of wavering shows in his face.

you were saved last minute,, and the rest is history.

[kaysutcliff-michaelis]

SOUMA-HEN 2021 CAST

Hi, humans and oni, all fans of Hakumyu!

Since Souma-hen is a thing again I’ve recovered my original cast announcement post and updated it. The info about the actors is a mix between what I’ve found about them and info from the official cast page, but I haven’t included every past myu/stage play in the official info, so I’d recommend checking it if you’re interested in seeing more of any of these people.

Without further ado, I present you the official cast for the 2021 version of Musical Hakuoki Souma-hen:

Mizuki Umetsu (梅津瑞樹) is Kazue Souma

28 years old, his Twitter is @MizukiUmetsu, and he’s been in Musical Touken Ranbu and the Sanrio Boys stage play .

Risa Matsuzaki (松崎莉沙) is Chizuru Yukimura

She’s a member of Roys, a Japanese female duo chorus group. Playing Chizuru in this myu will be her first time as an actress. Her Twitter is @risadegozaimasu and she’s 24 years old.

Hidetoshi Kubota (久保田秀敏) is Toshizo Hijikata

Has worked in films and dramas before, also has myu/stage play experience (Sengoku Basara stage play , Moriarty the Patriot myu, etc.). He’s 33 years old and his Twitter is @kubotahidetoshi.

Shuji Kikuchi (菊池修司) is Souji Okita

First difference with the 2020 cast! Shuji Kikuchi replaces Shogo Yamazaki, who first appeared in Hakumyu in Shitan Hijikata-hen. He’s 25 and his Twiiter is @kutisyu. He’s been in some stage plays before, like the Pirates of the Frontier UtaPri stage play .

Shoichiro Oomi (大海将一郎) is Hajime Saito

His Twitter is @shoichiro_oomi. The protagonist/”your” character in the Fate/GO Babylonia Myu, also has some experience as a seiyuu (in fact google doesn’t list him as an actor but as a voice actor) and is/was in a group called "Hi! Superb" 

Yuta Higuchi (樋口裕太) is back as Heisuke Todou!

His first Hakumyu was Shitan Hijikata-hen! He is 25 and he won a Junon Superboy contest (Most Photogenic) and according to Anime on Stage he’s been in other myus/stage plays, like Ensemble Stars and Yona of the Dawn. According to the cast page he’s been in  Ao no Exorcist and Hitman Reborn stage plays too. His Twitter is @higuchi24yuta.

Ryousuke Koike (小池亮介) is Nagakura Shinpachi

Second change in the cast, he’s replacing Yuta Kishimoto, who was Nagakura in both Shitan Hijikata-hen and Shitan Kazama-hen. He’s 25 and his Twitter is @ryosuke19951117. He was Akito/Agito in the Air Gear myu, and according to the cast page he wants everyone to think that Nagakura Shinpachi is cool (literally, 「永倉新八カッコいいな」kakkoii and everything)

Shouta Kawakami (川上将大) is Sanosuke Harada

He’s been in Tenimyu, Rice on stage, Hitman Reborn and Touken Ranbu stages/myus, among others. He’s 27 and his Twitter is @rjpmission. An anecdote: a few weeks ago someone I follow on Twitter went to see Rice on stage and he was one of the actors performing, which made me wonder if Souma-hen would happen since people from the cast were working on other things and I supposed that meant the situation in Japan was good enough to resume events like stage plays, included those that had been cancelled.

Teruma (輝馬) is back as Keisuke Sannan!

Sannan since Hakumyu Reimeiroku, he’s been in Kuromyu (William T Spears), Bungou Stray Dogs stage play, the Nanatsu no Taizai stage play and Tenimyu. His Twitter is @teruma_060 and he’s 31.

This makes me really happy! I still prefer Ryosuke Mikata, but he’s showed that he deserves the role, so I hope he stays in Hakumyu for many years to come! And I’m still mad that Teruma wasn’t in the Tango on the Campania Kuromyu...

Taizo Shiina (椎名鯛造) is back as Susumu Yamazaki!

First appeared in Shitan Hijikata-hen, and he’s been in some Sengoku Basara and Danganronpa stage plays, among others. He’s 34 and his Twitter is @TaizoShiina.

Taira Imata (井俣太良) is back as Isami Kondou!!!

Best dad since Okita-hen (second Hakumyu) and by this point, everyone’s senpai, what else can be said about this man??? If you’ve watched any Hakumyu other than Saito-hen, you already know him. Great man and actor, he’s 45 and his Twitter is @TAIRANT1975.

These are the characters/actors & actress that I covered in my first Souma-hen cast post. I actually wrote another one with the rest of the cast, but thanks to a broken mouse the whole post got deleted when it was almost finished. Time to redeem myself!

Syuya Sunagawa (砂川脩弥) is Saburo Miki!

Replacing Allen Kohatsu in the role of Miki, he’s 26 and his Twitter is @suna_syu_. It’s his first time in a musical, but he’s in the Kamen Rider Zero One drama. According to the Kamen Rider Wikia, he won the Avex Boys Award in 2016.

Masashi Sonomura (園村将司) is Risaburo Nomura!

He’s 22 and he’s @masashisonomura on Twitter. He’s been in Tenimyu and has done some stuff on TV (the cast page lists some things but I’m not familiar with them ;_;)

Masafumi Yokoyama (横山真史) is Kyuju Amagiri!

He’s 34 and he’s @masafumi21yoko on Twitter. He’s been in Touken Ranbu, Ikemen Sengoku and Toki no Kizuna stages.And as my friend and Amagiri’s biggest fan Lawrichai pointed out, he played Amagiri’s grandpa/relative in the Toki no Kizuna stage.

Takuma Sueno (末野卓磨) is back as Kyo Shiranui!

He’s 36 and he’s @sueno0724 on Twitter. His first Hakumyu was Shitan Kazama hen. Has been in the Sengoku Basara stage play and the Rantaro Shinobu myu (this one wasn’t that long ago so I remember seen funny pics of this on Twitter).

Hiroyuki Kawamoto (川本裕之) is back as Kodo Yukimura!

Egg dad since the times of Harada hen, he doesn’t have a Twitter account and apparently there isn’t that much info about him on Google D:

And... drum roll a big round of applause for our returning demon, the original, the one and only, SHOGO SUZUKI (鈴木勝吾) AS CHIKAGE KAZAMA!!!

I already spoiled this in my Souma-hen is back post but I’m sooooooooooooooo happy to see him back. He’s @Shogo_Suzuki_ on Twitter (where he’s posted photos of his Hakumyu-watching sessions more than once),he’s 31 and he played Kazama from the very beginning in Saito-hen until Live 2. During his absence from Hakumyu he didn’t stop acting, some of you may remember my post about his appearance in the Moriarty the Patriot myu.

Not that I dislike Yoshihide Sasaki (Hijikata in Reimei, and Kazama in Harada-hen and the 2020 Souma-hen cast), but I will always see him as my dear Viscount Druitt from Kuromyu. And let’s be honest, Shogo has his “own brand” of Kazama. He took the character and made it his own, having a unique way of portraying him and enjoying every last bit of it.

And that was the complete main cast! This time we had all the info from the start so I don’t think a follow-up post will be necessary.

As an ending note, I would like to dedicate this post to Serizawa’s actor, Akira Kubodera, who passed away last month. I’m sure he would love to see that everyone has been hoping for Souma-hen to return and that the Hakuoki Shinsengumi, or at least its spirit, can’t be defeated.

[lorei-writes]

Match-Up #16

Hello, @completeotometrash​​ ! Your turn has come! *evil laughter in the background*

Being analytical could prove to be quite an advantage in times of war. I presume that it would be appreciated especially by tacticians and those who would prefer for their partner to read the room well - although it seems to be overall a well-received trait.

Mitsuhide (+1) Mitsunari (+1) Shingen (+1) Kennyo (+1)

As for dry and sarcastic sense of humour, I presume that suitors with similar preferences would work best - or at the very least, it would spare the remaining love interests plenty of “ugh” and surprised pikach-esque moments. At the same time, I would like to take a moment to note that Mitsunari would not mind in the slightests and as such, he doesn’t get any negative points.

Nobunaga (+1) Mitsuhide (+1) Ieyasu (+1) Shingen (+1)

Timidity seems to be oftentimes perceived rather negatively. I presume that most suitors could see it as neutral quality, although some could perhaps find it as... Well, maybe not a boring thing, but it may not spark their interest, hence making the start of the relationship harder.  Also, a thing to note: some would definitely take it as a sign of surival instinct and perhaps would even view it as being smart.

Nobunaga (-1) Ieyasu (+1) Masamune (-1) Kennyo (+1)

Now, to being mature - in all honesty, based on that criteria, I would reason that some of more youthful and juvenile suitors could be a bad choice, simply because of the different approach to life.

Hideyoshi (+1) Shingen (+1) Yukimura (-1) Kennyo (+1)

Lastly, let’s consider being enthusiastic and witty in one point - I presume both could be greatly appreciated by some of the more lively warlords. I also think that the more intellectual ones could want a witty partner... And I also think that it could annoy Hideyoshi to no end, at least if used against him.

Nobunaga (+2) Mitsuhide (+2) Hideyoshi (-1) Mitsunari (+1) Ieyasu (+1) Masamune (+2) Shingen (+2) Kennyo (+2)

I believe all suitors would enjoy sharing time with a good conversation partner and as such, no points were distributed based on this trait. 

Ahh, allow me to send you virtual hugs, all of those are truly hard to deal with.

Now, rationalising ones fears and emotional side would definitely be hard to address if it was further promoted by one’s partner. I believe suitors who struggle with it themselves could make the issue worse, even more so given how they did rely a bit on MC for this sort of “wake up call”. To possibly provide a counter to it, I would perhaps point to some of the suitors fluent in feelings - either by being rather mothering in nature or by being able to read humans to a certain extent.

Nobunaga (-1) Mitsuhide (+1) Hideyoshi (+1) Masamune (-1) Kenshin (-1) Shingen (+1)

I presume I could sum the second trait as fear of being abandoned. I think that the warlords who start with more of a casual approach to the relationship or who straight-down want to break it apart would only aggravate it, at least initially. 

Nobunaga (-1) Hideyoshi (-1) Ieyasu (-1) Masamune (-1) Kenshin (-1) Shingen (-1) Yukimura (-1)

Now, for struggling with receiving comfort and being secretive - I presume that for one to even consider giving it out, they’d have to notice that something may be off and then they would have to pick a suitable way. 

Mitsuhide (+2) Shingen (+2)

Stubbornness - a fatal flaw at times, yet... It would be simply required to make some of the relationships work at all, given how some of the suitors tend to push others away. However, given the other mentioned traits, I presume it could work differently - and perhaps would show itself in caring for others. Or much rather, forcing them not to be complete idiots who act with disregard to their health. 

Mitsuhide (+1) Shingen (+1) Kennyo (+1)

1st Summary:

Mitsuhide (+8) Shingen (+8) Kennyo (+6) Mitsunari (+2) Ieyasu (+2) Masamune (-1) Kenshin (-2) Yukimura (-2)

Points distributed for likes:

Masamune (+2) - food, mixed point for appreciation of art of all forms Shingen (+2) - deep late-night conversation, as above Mitsuhide (+1) - deep conversations Kennyo (+1) - deep conversations

Points distributed for dislikes:

Shingen (-1) - bodily functions 

Allow me to explain: he undergoes a serious operation. He does not feel well before it and, quite honestly, the convalescence period afterwards could be rather unpleasant then. It may involve dealing with bodily fluids or well, having to dispose of those. Regardless - the game deffinitely coloured it up, but I had to deal with people after surgeries and I’d rather stay at least somewhat realistic here.

2nd Summary:

Mitsuhide (+9) Shingen (+9) Kennyo (+7) Mitsunari (+2) Ieyasu (+2) Masamune (+1) Kenshin (-2) Yukimura (-2)

Only characters with positive value by their names will be considered in the last stages of the match-up.

Shingen (+9) - too much verbal affection Masamune (+1) - too much verbal affection

Mitsuhide (-1) - he can be a bit possessive at times, but I presume it would be more on the annoying side and he does deal with it eventually

Mitsuhide (-1) - You both have terrible eating habits. Just no. Ieyasu (+1) - I’m sure he’d appreciate a person with such interest for humans! :o  Kennyo (+1) - I presume he would admire such dedication, double so since it could help humans.

Final Ranking:

Kennyo (+8) Mitsuhide (+7) Ieyasu (+3)

Kennyo

Confessed first: You, although you didn’t quite believe you’ve said it either.

Makes tea in the morning: Kennyo.

Hogs blankets at night: You.

Is the little spoon: Usually: you. However, when worse days come, he would not mind switching the roles.

Possible points for conflict: Kennyo may not always be aware how to address an issue properly. However, he would always try his best to be as soothing as possible.

Free time ideas: Tending to wounded animals, walks through the forest, foraging in the forest, deep conversations, Kennyo telling you stories of the past

Favourite date spot: Your garden.

A secret you share: You share a certain secret way of showing affection when you are in public: three consecutive hand squeezes mean “I love you”.

His favourite thing about you: How brave you are in your fights against your demons. He will be forever grateful that he opened his heart to you and wishes he could aid you in times of need.

His message to you: “My Love... Thank you for showing me back to the light.”

[hakuogakuen]

Hakouki SSL: All Saitou Emails

EDITED 7/31/2020 - reformatted 9/8/20

Hello! Here are the translations for all emails that Chizuru can receive from Saitou, as well as a simple method to allow players to identify which email they have received. Primary translation by yuugs and primary proof reading by kuririn, with further contributions by shizuumi, MaiMaiOtome, and a member of the otogelib server who preferred to remain unnamed. Translation begins below the cut!

(above is a simple graphic which that identifies where each character’s emails can be found) 

1. 南雲について 

Sub: About Nagumo

Although I don't think it's necessary, I thought I could send you an email so we can communicate better.

I joined Nagumo afterwards, but…

He didn't seem to be really angry. So rest assured on that.

That's all. I'm sorry if this was unnecessary of me.

[Thank you for being considerate.] or  [That's because Kaoru is not very honest…]

→ [Thank you for being considerate.]

RE: About Nagumo

...No, it's not anything you need to thank me for.

After all, siblings should get along since they /are/ siblings. 

→ [That's because Kaoru is not very honest…]

RE: About Nagumo

I guess so. There are definitely times when he's not very frank.

But he often talks about you when he's with me.

2. 勝負の時間だな 

Sub: It's time for battle

I'm worried that I won't be able to concentrate just before the test, but...

Before the battle begins, I wanted to say thank you.

Thanks to you, I was able to concentrate on studying. I'm really grateful.

["Battle" is an exaggeration…] or [You're welcome.]

→ ["Battle" is an exaggeration…] 

RE: It's time for battle

Not really. If you don't get a good grade, you could get extra work to do.

It wouldn't be too farfetched to call it a battle.

→ [You're welcome.]

RE: It's time for battle

Yeah.

Good luck to you as well.

3. 夏休みトラブル相談室 

Sub: Summer vacation trouble advisory center

I already told you about this earlier, but...

Summer's a carefree season, and the more you get to go out, the more you risk getting into trouble.

How have you been?

Have you been involved in any problems or anything like that?

[I'm fine.] or  [.........]

→ [I'm fine.]

RE: Summer vacation trouble advisory center

...Looks like I didn't need to worry.

That's good, then.

That's a relief for me as well.

→  [.........]

RE: Summer vacation trouble advisory center

W-What is it?

Did something happen?

Don't tell me, Kazama... No, Souji and Nagumo are also suspicious...

4. お化け屋敷消灯事件 

Sub: The haunted house 'lights off' affair

Um...... Yukimura.

I'm sorry about what happened.

I'd never have thought we'd run into that kind of trouble. 

Rather, I was very surprised as well...

[It was interesting.] or  [It was scary…]

→ [It was interesting.] 

RE: The haunted house 'lights off' affair

I see. Even though there were problems, 

you're saying that you still had fun over everything else.

.........

But I wonder if calling a haunted house 

"interesting" is actually a compliment...?

→  [It was scary…]

RE: The haunted house 'lights off' affair

Certainly, having the lights suddenly switched, separately from the attraction, was more surprising than one might imagine.

That your injuries were... No, that you weren't hurt is a relief.

5. 今日は大変だっただろう 

Sub: Today has been tough

It was somewhat boisterous, starting with the Christmas party preparations and then having the party go live right after

......

It must've been a particularly difficult day for you.

Did you not have any free  time to enjoy for yourself?

[I did, since I received a present from you…] of [It was fine thanks to you.]

→ [I did, since I received a present from you…] 

RE: Today has been tough

No... Rather, I should be the one thanking you...

...That's right. It may be strange, but I want to say it.

Thanks for receiving my gift.

→ [It was fine, thanks to you.]

RE: Today has been tough

I really didn't do that much.

......Well, if I can be of any help to you, 

feel free to contact me again.

6. あけましておめでとう

Sub: Happy New Year

Happy New Year again, Yukimura. 

I'm glad I could spend the start of the new year together with you.

By the way, I know we paid our visit to the shrine just now, but...

You were praying for a long time. What were you praying for?

[I prayed for good health…] or  [It's a secret.]

→ [I prayed for good health…]

RE: Happy New Year

So pretty much the same as me then. 

I hope that the both of us can stay healthy and not fall sick...

→ [It's a secret.]

RE: Happy New Year

...I see.

Then, I dare not ask.

I also, um, would find it difficult to respond 

if you asked me what I'd prayed for.

7. 落とし物について 

Sub: About lost property

Sorry for the sudden message.

It's Saitou.

A short while ago, I found a handkerchief in front of the school gate.

Could it be yours?

...It's just that I can't think  of anyone else at this school who'd have a handkerchief with such a cute, floral pattern besides you.

[It might be mine.] or [I have absolutely no idea.]

→ [It might be mine.]

RE: About lost property

So it's really yours.

It had gotten dirty with soil, so I washed it.

I'll hold onto it for now, so come get it when you have time.

→ [I have absolutely no idea.]

RE: About lost property

So this belongs to some other student then?

All the students here besides you are boys, so who exactly would own this kind of handkerchief...?

8. いい案はないだろうか？ 

Sub: Do you have any good ideas?

It's Saitou.

There's something I want to  ask you about today, so I'm sending you an email.

The truth is, Souji and Heisuke have been coming late more often lately.

Do you have any ideas to help them avoid being late?

[Maybe you should give them more strikes?] or  [I'll go meet them in the mornings.]

→ [Maybe you should give them more strikes?]

RE: Do you have any good ideas?

Strengthening the penalties, huh...?

I didn't really want to do that, but it may be the only way...

→ [I'll go meet them in the mornings.]

RE: Do you have any good ideas?

I see, that could work.

Heisuke often comes to school with you, 

but if Souji also came with you, it might 

drastically decrease the number of times he comes late.

...All right, I'll accompany you as well in that case.

I don't want to put an extra burden on you alone.

9. 南雲のことについて 

Sub: About Nagumo

Hear me out, Yukimura.

The other day, in the middle of  a conversation about you, 

Nagumo suddenly got angry over something minor.

He apparently seems to lose his composure when it comes to you...

[I'll go tell him off…] or  [I apologize for the inconvenience.]

→ [I'll go tell him off…] 

RE: About Nagumo

I see...

It's not really a problem if he gets angry at me, 

but it'd be bad if he acted like that with teachers or the other students.

I'd be grateful if you could warn him before this becomes a problem.

→ [I apologize for the inconvenience.]

RE: About Nagumo

No, I never thought it was annoying.

It's true that sometimes he'll bring up troubling things...

But that's just how things are.

He's your older brother. It's proof that you're important to him.

[nad-zeta]

Match up! (ᵔᴥᵔ)

Hi hi! May I please have a matchup for IkeSen? I’ve been reading through all the ones you’ve posted and I love how much thought and consideration you put into them! ☺️

A little about me; I’m just about to turn 23, 5’4”, a Leo, and my MBTI is ENFJ. Blue eyes, blonde hair, but ya girl is about to become a redhead and I can’t remember the last time I was so excited for a change like that lol 🤩 I’m pretty confident in myself, and sometimes that pride gets in the way of asking for help, but I can understand when it’s needed and put it to the side (temporarily).

I love love looove to read 😍 Lately I’ve been really into contemporary romance but I’m also a big fan of YA and adult fantasy! Oh, and academic texts, the reasoning for which I touch on below.

Learning is honestly one of passions, but it has to be on my schedule and the subjects I’m actually interested in. I just finished my BaH in History, and it’s cool because I can go off about fertility treatments in 17th century England or notable female figures in the Philippine Revolution of 1896, but I don’t know shit about much of WW1 🤷🏼‍♀️

I’m also super social, so I love going to parties and events (or better yet hosting parties and events). Social interaction is what keeps me going, and the side of me that loves quiet reading time comes out when i need to recharge. I also need something to do to keep busy, so I tend to alternative creative hobbies pretty frequently. And I’m always trying new recipes! Mainly baking different things, but really I’m willing to try cooking anything that piques my interest at least once.

I love to travel too! I’m a broke uni graduate so I can’t exactly afford to go anywhere rn, but I’d love to be able to travel the world and visit historical sites. They would have to be long trips though, because I have a habit of sleeping in and staying up late into the night, so I end up limiting how many daylight hours I have to get things done 😅

I think that’s about it? Me in a bubble lol. I’m so looking forward to seeing who you’d think I’d mesh with, thank you so much! 🥰

Hi hi, love! 🔥Thank you so much for the request! Awww I’m so happy you have been enjoying my matchups! ❤😆Sorry for taking sooo long!  I hope you enjoy and I hope you have the best day!❤🌻 @ohno-0tome​

So I match you with……….Shingen 

It had been a few weeks since you arrived in Azuchi and you were starting to fit in pretty nicely. I’ll admit when you first arrived the warlords were extremely cold and suspicious towards you, but soon they got to know you and had adopted you as their dearest little sister. 

You work incredibly hard for the castle and its people and all the warlords absolutely adored your bubbly personality. One of your closest friends was Mitsunari, as he like you was a fellow bookworm and scholar. You had also come to become quick friends with Masamune as the two of you would often swap out recipes and spend the day cooking delicious food for the Mitsus

Mitisunari had introduced you to the town library, where he too spent most of his time absorbing the knowledge from any and every book he could get his hands on. In just 2 weeks of being in Azuchi you had managed to read almost every book in the castle archives. So you would often accompany Mitsunari on his trips to the library to quench your own thirst for knowledge.

You loved going into town and just spending the day in the library, it was every book lovers ideal setting. Quiet, comfy chairs and a small teahouse in the furthest corner of the library, that sold the most amazing pastries and tea you have ever tasted. It had become somewhat a tradition for you to quickly finish all your chores and then make your way to the library, to sit in your usual sunny spot by the window. You had gone to the place so often that everyone knew you there, even the teahouse owner would keep your teacup full as you spent the day reading in the sun.

One day as you sat in your usual spot, a man walked past the library window and saw the most enchanting person he had ever seen. The way you red hair shimmered in the sunlight absolutely enchanted Shingen. Boy oh, boy did Shingen lose his heart to you the second your beautiful blue eyes met his. You gave him a small smile and went back to the young adult romance book you were reading. As you carried on reading your mind couldn’t help but drift to the mysterious man that you had seen through the window. You wondered if you would ever get a chance to see him again, and if hearing your thoughts, fate intervened

The next day you went to the library after work as per usual, the owner had told you that they had just gotten in a new shipment of YA books, and gestured to the top shelf. Honestly, you weren’t the tallest of people so you opted to climb a few of the shelves, so you could reach the books. You had no intention of asking anyone for help, as you were a strong independent woman. You carefully made your way to the top, gripping the small groves between the shelves for support. Just as you reached out to grab a book, your footing slipped, and you went tumbling down. You braced yourself for impact, yet it never came. When you cracked open your eyes, you saw two deep brown eyes and a gorgeous smile staring back at you, “Careful my angel, can’t have you falling down and injuring yourself, now can we.” 

He gently set you down on the ground, and the two of you got to chatting. You were incredibly social, and you loved meeting and chatting to new people. You couldn’t help but laugh and Shingen’s cheesy pick-up lines and his flirtatious way of talking. He definitely caught your interest, especially when you spotted him holding a book about history, and not just any history, English history. That afternoon was spent with the two of you excitingly talking about the historical events and figure of all the different places the two of you had read about. 

The next day you took up residence in your usual spot, when Shinegn walked into the library and took a seat next to you, to read a book of his own. This had become somewhat of a daily occurrence. You and Shingen would sit in your usual spot in the library near each other and just read. 

Some days the two of you would just sit and read without saying a single word, yet other days the two of you would sit for hours and hours in the tea-house discussing everything and anything, from new books read, to the most random of topics.

Shingen wasn't the only friend you had managed to make when leaving the castle to spend the day in the markets. You had soon after your arrival also met Yukimura and Sasuke, and the three of you became quick friends. You absolutely loved to banter and bicker with Yuki and completely geek out with Sasuke over history. Honestly, the three of you acted like a siblings. 

One day while you stopped by at Yuki’s stall for your daily bickering match, he let it slip that Sasuke’s birthday was coming up. Your eyes gleamed in delight at the mention of your friend’s birthday, “Yuki, I know just how we can celebrate his birthday!” You and Yuki spent many afternoons together planning a birthday surprise for Sasuke. You absolutely loved parties and hosting events, so you were absolutely in your element, planning out every detail. You, of course, left the guest list up to Yukimura cause he had told you that Sasuke had many friends that didn’t exactly live in Azuchi.

The night of the party, you were having the best time, Sasuke was so surprised that you and Yuki had managed to pull off such a big bash right under his nose. You were walking around mingling with all his friends when a familiar man caught your attention, was that…. Shingen? You walked up to the gorgeous man, “well well well fancy meeting you here.” You smiled at the sight of Shingen being caught off guard, “I was wondering what kind of celestial being would be able to pull off such a big bash right under our enemies noses, and I must say to find out that it was all your doing doesn’t surprise me.” Before you could answer Yuki and Sasuke came up to the two of you. Sasuke and Yuki were busy introducing Shingen to you when you, shocked them both with the revelation that the two of you had actually been spending the past few months together, reading and chatting in the library. You and Shingen spent the whole party together just chatting and joking away

Shingen realized that night that he had long ago fallen in love with you. He loved your bubbly social personality, he loved the way the two of you could just sit in comfortable silence for hours and hours not talking but just simply enjoying the presence of each other. He loved how confident and intelligent you were and how you hated asking for assistance/help of any kind. He just simply loved you. He was determined after that night to tell you exactly how he felt.

He knew from the many conversations the two of you had shared that you loved to travel and explore historical sites. So a few weeks after Sasuke’s party, he met you at your usual spot in the book shop. He gently took your hand in his, and lead you outside to a waiting horse. The two of you rode for what felt like hours, when you finally arrived at Kasugayama Castle. Sasuke had suggested to Shingen that he show you his home, as Sasuke knew you would absolutely love to see the home of another warlord, as it is low key considered a historical site in the future. The last stop of your sightseeing visit was Shingen’s room, which was full of the coolest historical artefacts. 

He made the two of you some tea, and you sat down across from him slightly exhausted from a full day of fun adventures. After tea, Shingen walked you to your room, as it was already too late to take you back home. The two of you stopped in front of the door, neither one wanting to part from the other just yet. That’s when Shingen took your hands in his and leaned in close and confessed his feeling for you. He couldn’t even finish his cheesy flirty confession, as before he knew it your arms were wrapped around his neck and you had captured his lips in a sweet kiss.

You decided to stay in Kasugayama Castle for a little while longer, sending word to Nobunaga and the other to let them know you were safe. Shingen loved finding our new thing about you every day. Like your love for baking, he had quite the sweet tooth and to find out that his goddess could satisfy that sweet tooth with delicious pastries, made his heart soar. He loved it when you would surprise him with your latest creation, after being inspired to try out a cool new recipe that piqued your interest. He loved how you could never sit still and always had something to keep you busy.

The two of you continued your tradition of reading together, expect the only difference was, now that you were together Shingen would insist you sit in his lap and read so that he could hold his goddess in his arms. 

This man will shower you in endless amounts of affection and attention. THB you loved it at Kasugayama Castle, as there was a social gathering almost every night. Whenever you would need to recharge your social battery, Shingen would be by your side in an instant, silently leading you away from the banquet so that the two of you could spent the rest of the evening in peace.

What did Shingen love the most about you? Well that easy, he loved that you would sleep in late into the mornings, especially if the two of you had had a late night staying up together. He loved to just lay there and watch that beautiful sleeping face of yours, while he gently rubs small circles on your back. 

He loved how you would wake up slowly and turn around in his arms while nuzzling into his chest to shield your eyes from the sun streaming into the room, to give your self 5 more minutes of sleep. He would tighten his embrace and trail small kisses from the top of your head, making his way down to your forehead, each of your eyelids, nose and finally lips, while whispering a sweet good morning. These quiet, warm moments with you every morning were beyond compare his favourite.

Other potential matches……………. Nobunaga 

I hope you enjoyed this dear❤🌻!

[janumun]

The Warrior in Scarlet [A Letter to You and Our Child Series]

Fandom: Samurai Love Ballad: PARTY

Rated: NSFW

Pairing: Sanada Yukimura/MC, Sanada Nobuyuki/MC

Characters: Sanada Yukimura, Sanada Nobuyuki, Kirigakure Saizo and Tokugawa Ieyasu

Tags: Angst, Smut, Memory Alteration, Amnesia, Fake Relationship, Regrets, Alternate Universe

A/N:  This fic is heavy on spoilers for Yukimura’s Act 2 and Destiny End so if you haven’t done that yet, and are avoiding spoilers, please turn back now! That is all and I hope you enjoy reading!

Words: 5137

Summary:

Yukimura’s sweet heart lives for and wants to protect what is most precious to him: her. He decides that the best way to go about it might just be for her to forget him.

.

.

“Please, I beg of you both…” Hushed words uttered through teeth clenched so hard, it was hard to hear him properly but the two men understood, for he had been imploring them to understand, repeating the same request for a while now.

“You’re an idiot, little lord.” The same cold, unsympathetic response.

“Please… Saizo.” Yukimura refused to lift his head, grinding it further into the dirt. “You are the only one who can take her pain away.”

Saizo’s gaze grew chillier with each word that left his best friend’s mouth. “Altering one’s memories is not a game, little lord.”

Nobuyuki looked upon his younger brother’s prostrate form with pinched brows, sorrow etched into his features. “Genjirou… are you absolutely sure you wish to do this to yourself?”

“I do, brother… let me do this one last good thing for my family. As the Soul of the Sanada, I cannot give them my life but… I can give them…” His voice broke off painfully. “…peace and a chance at normal happiness.”

“That is not how you…” An exasperated protest from the silver haired ninja.

“Please. I have made my decision. Do you know, Brother… Saizo…? She weeps into her pillow every night when she thinks I am asleep, whispering to herself how she wishes for the pain to go away. She is the kindest woman I know hence she tells me she is alright with me fighting in this war. She knows… she could lose me and yet she smiles at me.” His body was racked by horrid sobs now.

“She tells me to be brave and tells me she will be brave for us all, and she is… she is! It is I who is not brave enough to even entertain thoughts of what would come after – what it would do to her. I cannot, please, do not ask me to be the reason she finally breaks. Please… please…”

Silence prevailed. And then –

“I understand.”

.

-Summer of that same year-

It was the same dream she had been having for quite some time now. The long and bloody war was finally coming to a halt, she had heard. She was relieved. Even though half the faction of the Sanada were out there fighting, and many had already been lost.

She didn’t have any more nightmares as she had had for so many long hard months. They had just… stopped, a few months back when she had lost part of her memories. They had told her she had hit her head after having fallen down a steep hill, causing her to lose part of them.

It seemed like whatever had been tormenting her mind, causing her nightmares, had been lost as well.

She couldn’t remember the contents of it well - they were all a blur to her - one of those nightmares that faded from consciousness as soon as you woke up.

 No, now she was plagued by strange dreams. They were neither sad nor happy… they just didn’t make any sense to her.

Donuts, a sunny smile… she never saw their face. A flash of orange, Momo being swung up into strong arms, laughter, so much of it. Kisses that tasted of dusted sugar and whipped cream. Hands… the gentlest hands she had ever known holding her close against a scent that was warm, familiar and foreign all at once. Her name spoken with such reverence, she felt her heart give.

She woke up with a start, sweat soaking her clothes. She felt guilt stab through her like millions of tiny needles. She felt filthy and disgusted with herself, because the things she dreamt of; this… this stranger she dreamt of, it certainly was not her husband, the Lord of Sanada. These dreams befuddled her beyond measure. For whenever she was in the company of this unknown man with a presence like the sun, she felt… safe and happy, like coming home, a feeling she did not share for her husband. The thought shamed her beyond belief.

Nobuyuki slid open the door to their chambers, his other hand securing their sleeping daughter against his chest.

He stopped in mild surprise when he noticed his wife, who should have gone to sleep hours ago, sitting up in bed. Carefully shifting Momo in his arms so as not to disturb her slumber, he tucked her into her own bedding, laid down beside theirs.

He then joined his wife in bed, carefully inquiring after her as was custom for him ever since these dreams had started. Her heart lurched in her chest at his concerned expression. He was a good man. He did not deserve a wife who dreamt so frequently of being held by another man. Even if she didn’t mean to dream of him, the truth of the matter was that she did, meaning, that this man resided somewhere deep within her thoughts, an unknown lover manifested of soiled desires. It didn’t make her feel good at all.

Yet she could not let go of him, could not stop thinking of him whenever she had a moment to spare.

Silently, she shook her head at her husband. “I see.” He stroked her sweat slicked hair back from her face, caressing the side of her head. “I gather you still do not wish to share with me the nature of your dreams?”

She shook her head yet again. “I’m sorry, Lord Nobuyuki.”

“It is quite alright, dear one.” He stroked her face with gentle hands, ever so patient and giving. “Would you care to join me outside? The sky is particularly clear tonight.”

She did. After the endless monsoon season, she wanted to see the moon, not shrouded by dark clouds anymore. Perhaps it would do well for her mood.

 She took his proffered hand and together, they made their way toward the veranda. Nobuyuki slid the door shut behind them slowly, after checking in on Momo one last time.

He began to speak only after they were seated comfortably. “If you could find it in yourself to share even the smallest of worries that plague your thoughts, I would gladly listen, my dear. If you would let me help you, even a little.”

She stared at him, noting the understanding in his eyes, regardless of her answer and her heart ached. After a moment of contemplation, she opened her mouth to speak. “…I have been dreaming of a stranger.”

He listened, respectfully silent, waiting for her to continue at her own ease.

“I do not know them but… I feel like I should? I-I do not know how to explain myself any better than this. I’m sorry.”

Nobuyuki shook his head slowly. “No, it is alright. This is enough.” To her surprise, his brow had knotted at her words.

“Lord Nobuyuki?”

“Ah yes… perhaps it is someone you knew as child?”

“Perhaps.” she replied, doubtfully.

“You do know…”

She raised her head as he began to speak again.

“”You are an important person to me.” Something about the way he phrased it bothered her. As if… he were talking about a loved one but not quite a spouse.

 “That is why; I shall always be here for you.” He turned to her, smiling as he said so.

She stared back at him, at that soft smile, somehow subdued in its form. Another face – similar and yet different – flashed across her vision and she let out a gasp. She looked away from him quickly, heart hurting.

“Lord Nobuyuki.”

“Yes?”

“Please, hold me.”

“Pardon?”

She turned to face him, eyes moist with unshed tears. “Please, I need you to hold me. Please touch me. I want to forget.”

Nobuyuki did not ask her further questions. He complied silently as if he somehow knew what she was trying to run away from.

They reached for each other at the same time as their lips found the other’s. Winding her arms around his neck, she kissed him with reckless abandon, eyes screwed shut as she tried to drive away the image of that smile from her mind; that presence that made her heart hurt so much in this moment.

Nobuyuki’s hands trekked a precise path down her body, touching and probing where he knew she liked it best. She moaned into his mouth, grateful for the distraction.

He knew how to work her body well and yet, what was it that held her back so? His touch although well-known, felt almost alien.

“Lord Nobuyuki…”

“I’m here, dear one.” He held her close as his fingers made way underneath her clothes, stroking that one spot that had her break out in tiny shivers under his ministrations.

He rubbed her clit in slow, soothing motions, his lips leaving a trail of kisses across her temples, her ear, her hair. He was ever so patient and gentle with her, bringing her quickly to finish.

Even as she cried out for him as she came, even as she collapsed into his chest completely spent after such little effort; she had called for another person in her mind. It wasn’t her husband.

.

Nobuyuki had put her to bed soon after, having perhaps soothed her anxious heart enough to finally exhaust her to sleep.

How much time had passed since then? He sat out on the veranda alone, a bottle of sake at his side. He had stopped taking nightcaps as of late but at the moment, he felt like indulging himself.

He thought of his family and wondered how he could ease their burdens, how he could ease that person’s burden.

If there was one thing Nobuyuki cared for most in this world, it was him. Hence, when he had sought out his help, looking as if his heart were tearing to pieces – Nobuyuki hadn’t been able to refuse his brother.

He cherished him above all else and if it was what Yukimura wished for as his last plea on Earth, Nobuyuki would see to it that his will was carried out.

The Sanada heir had long since made his peace with the fact that his duty was to remain when everyone else left. To carry on the will of the Sanada, to make sure his clan survived. He could not go out there and fight his wars as he should have been allowed to. He could not go out there and support Yukimura at his side.

This was what he could do instead. To protect what his brother had had to leave behind.

He brought the cup to his lips taking a deliberate sip. “And to think I believed you did not possess a single selfish bone in your body.” He murmured to seemingly no one in particular. “You always managed to take me by surprise me at the oddest of moments, did you not, Genjirou?”

He turned his head sideways, in acknowledgement of the man beside him. Whether the pellucid apparition was really there or if it had just been conjured out of his intoxicated stupor – Nobuyuki didn’t really care for the truth at the moment.

He smiled at his otherworldly companion as he raised his cup in greeting. His companion was clad in red, just like the last time he had seen him, his back as he had ridden off to war – possibly, most definitely – his final one.

The scarlet warrior’s laugh sounded as delightfully animated as the man himself. “It is a rare sight to see you drinking this late at night, Brother. I cannot recall the last time I saw you this inebriated.”

Nobuyuki chuckled at his younger brother’s words as he brought the cup back to his lips. “Mm, I suppose you cannot.”

They sat in amenable silence for a long while before Yukimura spoke up again. “Thank you, Brother. For everything. I am grateful. I was blessed with such a caring older sibling, surrounded by nothing but love my whole life.”

That tiny smile maintained on his lips, Nobuyuki sipped at his sake, choosing to ignore his brother’s choice of words. Was. In past tense.

“You were my second parent, Brother and I am truly happy it was you.”

Nobuyuki directed a mirthful gaze his way, a slight teasing edge to his voice. “Our Yukimura is being surprisingly articulate with his words for once. Do not be so serious, my brother.”

Yukimura smiled at the mild rebuke, following Nobuyuki’s gaze toward the gathering clouds in the sky.

“It seems like rain again.” Droplets followed his casual observation as if Nobuyuki had somehow summoned them to fall at his will.

A heavy downpour followed almost immediately after, leaving him exposed to the tender mercies of nature.

Thunder rumbled overhead followed by lightening illuminating the empty space beside him. The steadily increasing storm sprayed errant water across his clothes, a drenching assault on his lone figure.

No one was out and about at the hour. Therefore, nobody noticed the way his cheeks seemed to be getting suspiciously wetter, faster than the rain could ever make them. Only Nobuyuki knew; the rain on his face had never been warm in the way as it was now, leaving his eyes as hot streaks down his otherwise chilly face.

.

It was a whole week before she saw Saizo again. Saizo, as Lord Yukimura’s personal ninja, had accompanied him into battle against the Tokugawa.

It was also right around the time the battle had ended that the dreams stopped as well. Gone like gossamer petals fallen off a cherry tree at the end of spring, the wisps and fragments of it already dissipating from her mind.

She had heard of Lord Yukimura’s final stand, had heard the whispers of his death in these very corridors. She had felt for the sweet man, for few were as good as her husband’s younger brother had been. She had also keenly felt for the irreplaceable loss her husband had suffered.

He still treated the others just as kindly, with a serene smile on his face, holding the remains of their clan together in his strength. Lord Masayuki was no longer amongst them. Now, Lord Yukimura had departed, gone far too soon; his life cut short at the end of this long era of war.

 Truly, Lord Nobuyuki was the last remaining of his blood family, and she felt for his pain as acutely as she mourned for the loss of that gentle man that had once been known as the Soul of the Sanada.

“You’re crying.” An impassive voice called out from the shadows of a nearby tree. Her head whipped up as soon as she heard that familiar voice, placing a hand to her chest to steady her heart.

“Saizo! You’re alive!” She felt a measure of relief flow through her at seeing him well. At the same time, she could not help but notice how strangely lonely he looked, as if there was someone else who should have been at his side, as he walked toward her on silent footsteps.

He came to a stop right in front of her, staring down at her face. “Who do you weep for, little lady?”

It was a strange question. Instead of why, he had asked her who she was crying for. She wasn’t though: crying. He was mistaken.

Before she could reach up to make sure of it, Saizo extended a hand toward her, wiping at her cheeks. His fingers came away wet.

“Huh?” She was confused. “I wasn’t crying, not a moment ago. This is strange.”

He continued to subject her to that same indecipherable gaze. “Is it now?”

He extracted a cloth that had been tucked securely against his breast plate, handing it to her without another word.

When she finally got a better look at it, she noticed it was a long piece of red cloth, a band really. Strangely, her hands reached for it without prompting, as if her body recognized it even if her mind didn’t.

Quietly, she turned it around in her hands, noting the edges that had frayed over time and the stitching that had so lovingly been done into it, to keep it together for even a little while longer. She traced the threads of the stitch carefully, her heart throbbing, a dull ache developing behind her eyes.

Tears fell unabated, wetting the fabric in her hand. “Why…? Saizo, what is this?” She turned to look at him for answers, only to be met by a gaze so wrought with unspoken emotion, it tore at her.

“I’m sorry, little lady,” was all he said, before he placed a hand across her eyes, momentarily taking her vision. His hand was so warm; it just made her cry even harder.

It was as if a dam had burst inside her and now she couldn’t stop. This one piece of cloth seemed to hold a lifetime of precious memories and she wept for the loss of them, the headband clutched tightly in her fist as she clung to Saizo’s clothes, crying like she had never cried before in her life.

.

Spring, Second Year

The Tokugawa were being hosted by the Sanada for the entire duration of negotiations between the two clans. Nobuyuki had completely settled into his role as head of the Sanada, managing and catering to their guests with decorum as befitted the Lord of his clan.

After greeting the relatively small contingent consisting of the Lord of Tokugawa himself, Tokugawa Ieyasu, along with his most trusted vassals, best known as his Four Heavenly Kings; the Lady Sanada was on her way to check in on her daughter who she was sure would be found playing in the back gardens at this time of the day.

She ticked the day’s tasks off of her mental check list as she made her way through the castle hallways. Tea had been served as soon as the Tokugawa delegation had arrived and now they were probably busy revisiting the terms and conditions of their alliance.

Shielding her eyes against the sun as she approached the gardens, she thought she spotted a blonde man hunched down just at the edge of the veranda, conversing with her daughter.

That kimono –

It couldn’t be –

“You’re just as abominably bright-eyed as that bull-headed father of yours,” she heard the man say to Momo in a tone that suggested utter boredom and disinterest.

“You’re… you’re a brat!” Momo shot right back, clearly offended by the statement. Lord Ieyasu raised an eyebrow at that.

Her heartbeat quickened in her chest as she observed their exchange. She knew she should intervene before her daughter ended up offending Lord Tokugawa any further. Heavens, this child…

Before she could call out, however, she was rooted to her spot in surprise yet again when she heard a tiny snort of laughter. Her eyes widened. Was Lord Tokugawa… smiling?

“That, you didn’t learn from your father, did you?”

“Mama calls me a brat whenever I’m a bad girl. You’re also rude and bad.”

“Oh, am I? Well then.” He rummaged around in the satchel he carried, pulling out a pale pink ribbon. “Here you go. I happened to pick this up on my way here. Thought it would befit a brat of Sanada.”

She could see Momo’s eyes sparkling, even from this distance. She seemed to have ignored the bite in his words as she stared fascinated at the proffered ribbon. “Pretty. Can I really have it?”

“If you want.” He still sounded mildly vexed with the whole conversation, his voice slightly gruff as he talked to Momo. Lady Sanada, however, noticed the softness of his gaze as he looked at her daughter.

Seeing Momo struggling to put on the ribbon, Lord Tokugawa hesitated for a moment before he spoke again. “…Want me to put it on for you?”

Momo’s only response was several vehement nods as she turned her head sideways, allowing him access to her hair.

He reached for her hair slowly, securely cording the ribbon through her locks.

“Finally gave it to you, huh?” Lord Tokugawa muttered something under his breath as he eyed Momo twirling around happily with her new present, something Lady Sanada couldn’t quite catch. She did not understand why he looked so forlorn, as if he were looking at something so bright, it hurt him physically and yet he didn’t want to look away.

She slowly approached him. “Lord Tokugawa?” Tokugawa Ieyasu shot up to his feet like an arrow, turning sharp eyes her way. When he saw it was only her, though, he relaxed slightly.

“I thought you would be at the meeting with my husband, Milord.” She remarked politely.

“Too much of a pain. I let Sakai handle it.” He wouldn’t meet her gaze.

“I see.”

 They both silently continued to observe Momo as she played, happy as a lark. She smiled surreptitiously at Momo, now aged 4. She was starting to grow out some very chubby apple cheeks, just like him –

She frowned as soon as the thought came to her. Who was she thinking of? Ever since that day with Saizo, who had disappeared from their lives soon after, she had developed this intense feeling of emptiness within. As if she were missing an important part of her; she felt incomplete without it. Like, how one would feel after they lost a limb to war or another equally vital organ, like losing your very basic senses of smell, sight or touch; it felt like she was back in the dark, stumbling around to feel for something, the shape or form of, she did not know, being guided solely by what the sensation had once been like: warm laughter, donuts and the sun. She couldn’t describe exactly what it was or who it was that she missed so much.

She had continued to hold on to that memorabilia from Saizo, though, she did not know the reason for it. She had showed it to Lord Nobuyuki in the hopes that he would be able to help her but he had simply given her a smile so utterly sad, taking her into his embrace soon after. In that moment, she had felt a sort of kinship with him, a friendship, unlike the bond of a married couple. She had felt consoled by him and in turn had soothed his wounds.

She now knew for sure that Lord Nobuyuki and Saizo were protecting a heavy secret, from her. She knew it involved Lord Yukimura. She just did not know how it all connected. Yet, what she was completely sure of was, that she could no longer continue on as Sanada Nobuyuki’s wife.

And when, she had finally gathered enough courage to take up the matter with her husband, he had agreed to separation fairly quickly. For the sake of stability within the clan, however, they had agreed upon her continuing to act in the capacity of Lady Sanada.

 Lord Nobuyuki’s easy agreement to a divorce had only solidified her belief. There was something out there she had lost, something precious. She would regain her memories of it one day. She swore to keep trying for the rest of her life.

“Hey.” Lord Tokugawa’s voice pulled her out of her thoughts.

“Yes, Milord?”

“You… made me porridge when I requested it of you. I’ll thank you for that.” His demeanor was not at all of a man thanking another person; he seemed entirely upset and offended as if she had somehow forced his gratitude. She tried not to laugh at that.

His eyes were firmly turned away from hers still. “I do not stomach mediocre food much. So… that gruel helped.”

“I’m glad I could be of service to you, Lord Ieyasu.” She smiled at him, not quite getting the point of this idle conversation. Lord Tokugawa had never struck her as the chatty type and judging from the constant knit of his brows, he wasn’t used to this either.

She recalled the last time she had ever seen him: that was when he had housed her and Lord Nobuyuki at his stronghold in Mikawa. She could only recall his unctuous smile, and those eyes that had always left her feeling cold and distressed, even long after they had stopped focusing on her. 

She had not seen him again after having escaped his castle to… to –

She frowned. Her memory blanked out after that. This man in front of her, however; he had changed so much. He had… mellowed out somehow, his demeanor softer, more approachable. No longer did he look as if he were fighting alone, taking the world on; solitary in his stance against it.

 With their future in his hands, she hoped that perhaps, they could finally start wishing for peace in these lands.

“I expected to feel utterly disgusted when I met you.” He shot out all of a sudden. She stared at him, a little startled. “You married the elder brother after he…” Lord Ieyasu trailed off, his eyes wandering toward Momo.

“But I see why you need Sanada’s protection. You have his child to protect, your child…” He murmured in a gravelly voice. “As much as I find myself wanting to despise you, I find that I cannot.”

 She did not quite catch the second part of his statement.

“Pardon?”

He turned toward her, flashing her one of his facetious smiles. “Good to see you are doing well, ‘Lady’. If the older Sanada had thrown you out on the streets, I was thinking I might have to take pity on you and your noisy urchin and adopt you into our household. Glad we don’t have to deal with that unwanted scenario now.”

Was this… his very twisted way of being kind?

“I tire of you. I’m returning to my chambers.” And with that he was off, leaving her very baffled as to the true nature of the man called Tokugawa Ieyasu.

She broke into a tiny smile, bowing to his back in gratitude, although he could no longer see her.

.

Obon, Third Year

The last night of the Obon Festival, she had asked for Lord Nobuyuki’s permission to attend the Toro Nagashi, which he had promptly granted.

Now, at the river with the rest of the villagers, she pressed her hands together in prayer before setting the paper lantern afloat along with the others.

The river glowed with the lights of a thousand souls and the prayers of their loved ones as the lanterns steadily floated farther away from the living.

Crouching at the riverbed, she watched the lights for a long time, even after most of the people had returned to their families that still lived.

. “Do you see me, Sanada Yukimura?” She murmured into the quiet night. “I hope wherever you are, you are at peace.”

“I still don’t fully understand what it is about you that joined me to you but… what I do know is that you were an irreplaceable person to me.”

The wind seemed to pick up a little as if it were acknowledging her presence.

“I… I have also reached the conclusion that you… you are – were - Momo’s real father, Yukimura. And for whatever reason we were parted, I’m sorry you had to bear your burdens alone.” Her voice sounded small, dipped in longing sorrow.

She seemed to catch a slight movement at the corner of her eye. Turning around, she thought she saw a red headband fluttering in the wind, its wearer smiling down at her. She blinked and he was gone in the next instant.

.

After changing into sleepwear, she trudged on to search for her ever elusive daughter, finally locating her in their chambers’ adjoining garden as she sat in the grass, silently staring up at the sky.

“Momo!” She called out to her, exasperated, making her way over. “It’s time to go to sleep, darling.”

Momo murmured something into the dark. She reached her side, placing a gentle hand on the young girl’s shoulder to rouse her from her daydream. “My baby, come now, sleep with mama?”

“Daddy.” She murmured, still staring star-struck at something just beyond her mother’s shoulder.

“What?” She asked, startled.

“Mama, its Daddy.”

“Is it? Lord Nobuyu…?” She started to speak, turning around as well before the words died on her tongue. A man in scarlet armor, as transient and ephemeral as the moon’s light, crouched at their sides, smiling at them.

She found that she had a lump in her throat she could not work past to form sounds. Momo suddenly collapsed into the grass, drawing her attention.

“Momo!” Her mother screamed for her, frantically before she felt - no, sensed - a soothing hand on her shoulder, and a voice as gentle as the softest whispers reached her ears.

“It’s alright. She’s just asleep.” His voice calmed her nerves and she relaxed instantly, smoothing the hair back from her sleeping child’s face.

“She’s beautiful,” the warrior in scarlet murmured next to her.

“Of course she is. She’s our daughter.” She replied without thinking, startling them both.

He called her name in that same whispering tone, though she recognized it immediately as a faded echo of the voice he had had when he was still alive. He reached out a hand as if to stroke her face but stopped just shy of her cheek. His hand seemed to shimmer against her skin, wavering as if he would disappear at any moment now.

“It’s you… Yukimura.” She placed her hand over his, feeling a tiny shock go through her at the contact.

“My heart hurts so much right now, do you know that, Yukimura? It hurts so much whenever I think of you.”

He gave her a forlorn smile. “I am sorry, for being a fool and not being able to protect you. You must not even remember me properly anymore, because I selfishly wished that upon you, to protect my own weak heart.”

She shook her head at him, tears streaming down her cheeks at seeing him again. Something was beginning to come undone and with it came the tears: happiness at seeing him again, sadness that she would lose him again, remorse at not having been strong enough to handle their burdens, together, in this life.

She ran her hands against his translucent form, trying to commit this one last time to memory.

“I loved you in this life. I love you still, and if we are ever reborn, I will seek you again and next time, I shall live for you.”

She smiled up at him, even as his form began to stutter and vanish. “You have my promise. I shall be yours.”

Yukimura gave her one of those sunny smiles she loved so much before placing a fleeting kiss on her forehead. And then he was gone, taking that life of scarlet with him.

.

[End Notes: This work has a second part, a ‘Yukimura’s POV’ version of the events of his Destiny Ending, set in the same universe.]

[soloragoldsun]

Favorite to Least Favorite Kyoto Winds Routes

Now that I have played through all of the routes, I would like to weigh in on who I liked and why. This will just delve a little into each route, mostly talking about my personal opinion rather than being a true summary. In the future, I may replay them again to give more detailed reviews of each. This game is good enough for me to actually want to do that! In the meantime, here’s my overall opinion of everyone. Remember, this is a Kyoto Winds list. I have not played Edo Blossoms yet, so this is purely based on the first game. Spoilers below.

#1. Favorite Angel of Perfection: Yamazaki Susumu

This gorgeous piece of wonderfulness shot up to the top of my list early on, and has remained there ever since. I love his route because there is a real sense of mutual respect between him and Yukimura. Unlike many of the other Shinsengumi members, who focus on protecting her and who often make her feel like an outsider, Yamazaki recognizes her potential in the medical field and becomes a mentor to her. He shows her that she doesn’t have to be a fighter in order to be useful. By the end of the route, Yukimura’s confidence is so high, she ends up being the one to convince Yamazaki of his worth when he laments his inability to fight in certain scenarios.

Also, I am an utter sucker for the loner type who quietly supports their love interest from a distance before the two even get to know each other. Yamazaki straight-up says that he was watching Yukimura and rooting for her in secret from the beginning! Another plus is how perfect Yamazaki is at showing affection. He’s very gentle, but very straightforward. Once he knows what his feelings are, he’s not shy about making sure Yukimura knows how much he cares. I just about died when he took her hands after being comforted by her and told her how strong she was and how much she meant to him.

In short, respecting your significant other and telling them you care is totes sexy. Yamazaki does that, and then some. He’s also hella pretty, and his blushy face is the cutest shit ever.

#2. Precious Sunshine Boy: Toudou Heisuke

Not to be dramatic, but I would die for Heisuke. His relationship with Yukimura is absolutely adorable from the very beginning! He’s the first of the main cast to be outwardly kind to her, and regularly stands up for her whenever he can. He gets major points for frequently reminding everyone that the Shinsengumi were the ones to originally take Yukimura prisoner, and are the ones at fault for most of the bad situations that require them to protect her.

I love that he treats Yukimura as his friend from the start, even telling her to call him by his first name due to their closeness in age. There are so many scenes when the two are playing around and enjoying each other’s company. However, there are also several deeper scenes that delve into the conflict Heisuke feels concerning the Shinsengumi. His departure with Itou leads to one of the most beautiful scenes in the game, when he and Yukimura meet each other in a teahouse. They can’t acknowledge that they know each other, since communication between the two groups is forbidden, so they spend hours just talking about the weather and other minor things just so they can be together for a little while.

Heisuke is a beautiful boy, and there is so! Much! Hand! Holding!

#3. Adorable Student Bean: Souma Kazue

I was not expecting to like Souma’s route as much as I did, but holy shit! He’s the cutest thing ever! His relationship with Yukimura is completely different than anyone else’s for two reasons: One, he doesn’t know she’s a girl until later. Two, Yukimura is his teacher when he joins the Shinsengumi. He spends most of the route referring to her as Yukimura-sensei, and is shown to respect her a great deal. The mutual respect and building-up in this route reminds me a lot of Yamazaki’s route, so I think it’s a trait of mentor/mentee relationships in this game.

One thing I like is that Souma is respectful and protective of Yukimura both before and after her gender is revealed. He rushes to protect her from Saburo’s harassment while still thinking she’s a man, and continues to call her his sensei after the truth is revealed. Also, there’s more of a sense of the two spending a lot of time together over the course of the route, which makes the romantic buildup seem very real. I especially like that this romance puts Yukimura in the more dominant role. I hope she’s the one to make the first move and kiss him in Edo Blossoms. I will die of happiness if this happens!

He also gets major bonus points for trying to sleep-cuddle Yukimura at the end. I am a sucker for sleep cuddles!

#4. Emotional Support Samurai: Harada Sanosuke

I liked Sano long before playing his route. He is another character who constantly strives to make Yukimura feel better about her situation and comfort her when things go wrong. This is even clearer in his route, which has several scenes of him looking out for her mental health, whether that involves sneaking out to take her for a nighttime walk or arranging a meeting with Sen so that the two can enjoy some wholesome girl-talk (which Yukimura was sorely lacking).

I did feel that Chapter Five was a bit lackluster in this route compared to some of the others, but it did a good job of solidifying the relationship between the two. Sano learns of Yukimura’s healing powers and is stunned, but insists that she isn’t a monster and that he will still protect her, since he sees it as a man’s duty to protect his lady. He called her his lady, and I am dead, okay?

As a romantic route, it had a perfect amount of buildup and sweet moments. I look forward to what comes next.

#5. Puppy Dog Eyes: Iba Hachiro

I’ll be real: This route could have easily secured the second-place spot, and even been a contender for first-place. It had everything I love in a romance. It had childhood friends reuniting. It had sweet, sweet backstory. It had probably the nicest character in the entire fucking game! Seriously, every scene with Iba and Yukimura was just so tender and beautiful! It felt more like a romantic story than pretty much all of the other routes.

So, why is it down here at number five? Well, it’s because YUKIMURA IS A FREAKING DUM-DUM IN THIS ROUTE! This woman was able to see through the feelings of some of the most closed-off characters in other routes, but somehow can’t figure out why Iba keeps putting himself out there for her. He literally takes her on dates, goes on about how wonderful she is, calls her his inspiration, and even calls her his love toward the end! And still, we have moments of her being like “Why is he doing this for me. This can’t just be an obligation to a childhood friend...” No shit, Sherlock! Does the man have to wear a shirt that has “I LOVE YUKIMURA” written on it in big red letters?!

So, yeah. This was a mixed bag. The good outweighs the bad enough for it to be higher on the list, but I really hope Yukimura actually gets a clue in Edo Blossoms.

#6. Sword Nerd: Saito Hajime

Ah, the classic Quiet Loner with a Heart of Gold. It’s an oldie, but a goodie. Saito is a good, solid route with a sprinkling of cute moments that balance with the emotional distance of other moments. Cute moments include Saito geeking out over swords, the snow bunny, and Saito freaking coming back from a freaking spy mission in order to nurse Yukimura back to health!

This route was definitely about building Saito’s respect for Yukimura, who becomes less timid and more determined to prove herself. As a result, she does spend a longer amount of time feeling like and outsider and doubting her worth. I look forward to seeing what happens in Edo Blossoms, now that she’s found her resolve.

Seriously, I am a sucker for sick fics! Why is this game pushing all my buttons?

#7. Epic Dork Bro: Nagakura Shinpachi

And here we are at the last member of the Golden Trio. Nagakura is a precious dork, and I love him to pieces! He spends most of the route acting as a goofy older brother figure to Yukimura, and the two develop a genuinely-adorable relationship. The scene when he falls asleep in her room and gets all embarrassed when he wakes up was particularly cute.

I did feel that the ending of his route was a bit rushed compared to the others. Also, I never felt that shift from him feeling like an older brother to him being a romantic interest. I look forward to seeing that change actually happen in Edo Blossoms.

Overall, this was a route with good moments that tapered off just a bit at the end, but I still loved it.

#8. The True Sexy Demon Man: Hijikata Toshizo

I genuinely enjoyed Hijikata’s route. I just happened to like seven routes better than it. The development between him and Yukimura is very solid, and it’s nice seeing him go from being stern and scary to gruff and caring. This route also made me hate Kazama even more than I already had. Seriously, let’s kill that fucker in the next game!

The appeal as a romance route was a bit lessened by Hijikata’s often-derisive attitude, and the fact that he calls Yukimura a kid from beginning to end. Like, hello? Talking to a grown-ass adult, here. If Yukimura’s old enough to be waifu material for a creepy Demon, she’s old enough to not be called “Kid.”

This had decent buildup, and the beginning of some good payoff. I’ll be waiting, oh second game, for my sweet reward.

#9. Threatening Jerkass: Okita Souji

I actually did warm up to Okita by the end of his route, but holy fuck did I have to slog through a lot of eye rolls to get to that point! He’s supposed to be the asshole who secretly cares, but he makes a little too much of a secret of it throughout most of the route. And, I’m sorry, but you can’t make me believe that him scaring a group of kids is actually an endearing scene. Can’t do it, game.

I did enjoy seeing him soften over time, but I really didn’t like all the moments when Okita makes cruel jabs at Yukimura, acting like he doesn’t care to the point where she actually believes him. I said this back at the number one spot: Telling the person you love that you actually give a damn is totes sexy.

Ah well. People are saying I will adore him in Edo Blossoms, so I’ll hold out for now.

#10. Doctor Evil: Sanan Keisuke

Sanan is a smooth motherfucker, and he’s hot as hell. He even had some really good moments with Yukimura that made me smile. It’s too bad he continues to exude the creepy scientist vibe between those moments. Even when being romanced, he still threatens you several times, including that scene when he almost cuts you for science.

He is definitely a good, complex character. I won’t deny that. It’s just hard to ship him with Yukimura when she spends basically the entire route feeling scared of him.

Please mellow out, you sexy, vampiric son of a bitch.

#11. Bad Touch: Sakamoto Ryouma

I’ve started reading up on the Shinsengumi and other individuals of the time period, and Sakamoto actually seems to be the most interesting and morally-sound. Too bad his route made me want to fall asleep. It had loads of good historical goodies, but this was bogged down by a romance that many YA books would laugh at.

He’s charming and oh-so-charismatic, to the point where Yukimura apparently feels a bond with him despite only spending a little time with him. He regularly gets into her personal space and refuses to back off when asked, but he just feels so warm and comforting and- *gag*

Yeah. The history and the non-romantic moments were interesting, but I’d rather do personal research for that.

#12. Edgelord McFuckboy: Kazama Chikage

I hated Kazama from the beginning. My feelings only deepened as I played route after route and saw the many, many ways this fucker can creep on Yukimura, kill her friends, and call all humans insects. He’s a racist jerk who wants a convenient broodmare for the McFuckboy Clan.

I will admit that the dialogue with him is always interesting. He is a well-spoken character, and an intriguing one. He acts gentler toward Yukimura in this route, but it’s only because she’s in a position where he’s literally her only option for protection.

He thinks humans are insects, tries to kidnap a woman to impregnate her on multiple occasions, and will gladly kill her friends in order to get to her. What a dick.

[blackcatanna]

Okita's Route Part 2: Still on Kyoto Winds because I didn't realise that I'd ramble so much

Predictably, I'm enjoying Okita's route a lot more than Kazama's. Also, I'm skipping a lot less than when I played Kazama and Iba's routes, which makes a lot of sense because Okita is actually in the Shinsengumi and, therefore, gets a lot of screen time. So far, he acts like an asshole but this isn't backed up by his actions. Apart from the casual child cruelty X_X

Chapter, uh, 3? I think...

I feel like Hijikata sticking up for Sanan is just making things worse X_X . Saying that he's not useless because he's a swordsman is just plain wrong. It makes it seem like he's just saying it out of pity. I'm sure that Sanan has plenty to contribute, besides slicing people up.

"Sanan is quite the beloved member here, isn't he? It's nice to see such a tight-knit group." -_- Itou is such a master of shade. Gently implying that they only keep Sanan around because of their relationship. You evil bitch X_X

"Ugh, who brought those bastards into the Shinsengumi?" RIGHT?! Glad to see that Okita's not blindly following Kondou's lead here.

"He is easily deceived by silver tongues, those who appear virtuous... but are real scumbags." As the great Roisin Conaty once said: "Charming is just lube for evil." However, this is kind of backing up what those asshole kids were saying earlier about Kondou being an idiot X_X

SNOOP SNOOP 👀

AH! OKITA CAUGHT ME TALKING TO MYSELF! AGAIN X_X

"Trying to run away behind our backs." -_- You know that's not true.

"Heh, I'm just messing with you." No shit. "I mean, unless you were escaping, then I'll slit your throat." -_- You just couldn't resist the opportunity to throw out another casual death threat, could you?

Is he worried about my safety? I KNOW YOU'RE TRYING TO BE FLIPPANT BUT I SEE THROUGH YOU.

"Good girl." -_-

"It sounded like something out of a fairy tale." Oooooooooh hooooooneeeey... Have you not been paying attention?!

Welp, Okita told me to scream so... AAAIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!

Oh, apparently, not that... OKITAAAAA! Bet he loved that.

"Aaaaaaaaaaagh!" Everyone, please stop screaming.

Ngl, Sanan looks good with white hair.

Apparently, Okita likes hearing me screaming his name... Good to know...

"Don't worry your little head. It would be my pleasure to help you die." O_O ... Isn't that a little hasty!?!

"You're not serious, are you?" HONEY X_X

"It's really annoying, you know. You think you're part of the Shinsengumi?" </3 Ouch X_X You're the ones who took me prisoner, y'know? However, Chizuru does often act like she's the only one who cares about the Shinsengumi members, which must be annoying af.

"We only keep you alive because you're useful. You are NOT one of us." Uh... Thanks for calling me useful? But is that seriously your attitude? Anyone who's not useful to you should just die? -_-

"His words shattered my already breaking heart." Aw! </3 Poor Chizuru bae!

"Seriously... You can really be a pain, you know that?" RIGHT. BACK. AT. YOU.

"It'd be easier to just kill you," Broken record much?

"Had their last thoughts as men been hope they might survive the madness? It sounded horrible..." YUUUP.

"Sano! Make something up!" Definite DnD vibes again! When you make the low charisma character roll deception X_X

"You're a miserable actor. Keep your mouth shut." I'm sure that this exchange won't seem suspect at all X_X

"Oh, Sanan... Who cares what you are? You're alive!" Bless Kondou's pure and simple heart :')

"Yukimura, you go back to your room. I know you didn't sleep much." Why am I the only person in this game who requires sleep? -_- Just a trend I've noticed...

"*Cough* *Cough*" O_O OKITA, ARE YOU OKAY!??? O_O

"You owe us a lil' booze! Or maybe even, heh, a little... company?" WHERE'S OKITA'S MURDEROUS INSTINCT WHEN YOU NEED IT!?!?

"Suddenly I felt a hand on my arm." BWOOOOOOAAAARP!!! PHYSICAL CONTACT ALARM!!!

"Calm down, kid." ... NO. I HAVEN'T BEEN TOUCHED IN MONTHS.

"Hey hey hey! Looks like she's got the hots for you, Souji!" Oh Heisuke X_X

"No matter what, I won't buy Ishida Medical Powder." XD Got to admire Okita for staying true to his convictions :')

"I'm using the hell out of you" O_o Calm down, Hijikata X_X

Guess I'm going to have to put stalking Okita on hold for now...

Harada and Shiranui should just kiss already.

""Huh? Chizuru?" Okita looked up from cleaning his sword as I entered the hall." OH, HE WAS POLISHING HIS SWORD, EH? ;P YES, I AM TWELVE. Tbf, his face really does look like he's been caught in the act...

"Oh shut up, will you? It's all your fault. The medicine you gave me totally doesn't w..." >:( I'm hoping that the reason that sentence trails off is because I give him a verbal smack down!!

"*Cough* *Cough*" O_O WELL, I GUESS NOW I CAN'T CALL HIM A CUNT!

BLOOD O_O

"It's nothing." ... BOI!!

This game is totally a forcing-stubborn-men-to-rest simulator X_X

"I'd been given instructions to stay away" from the physical examinations but ho's gotta ho', amirite?!

"Oh my... So you WANT to see those savages? What peculiar taste..." Itou, don't call me out like this. Although, I still feel like we should respect their privacy X_X

"Oh! Oh..." ALRIGHT, YOU THIRSTY BITCH, CALM DOWN.

*Camera zooms in on Nagakura's tiddies* -_-

"Your body's fine, Shin." - Heisuke.

"Don't you wanna order a slice of this beef cake? I got two meaty servings on a plate, right here." Aaaaaagh! X_X My eeeeyyyeees.... Can't... un-read... sentence... please... fetch.... brain... bleach...

"A medical exam is for finding problems, not showing off. Now move." PREACH, SAITO!!!

"I feel like it's rude to intrude..." AND YET HERE WE ARE X_X

"It grants immortality" ??? Except for the part where you turn to ash???

"You're forcing your body in ways the eyes can't see." LISTEN TO THE DOCTOR, GUYS!!!

Everyone's just... RIPPING Takeda to shreds XD

"I'm scared shitless, believe me." :'( Poor Okita

No smart comments here... this is just really sad :'(

He's seen me? It's been nice knowing y'all...

Finally, Chizuru calls out Okita for threatening to kill her so much.

"Desist, you hooligans!" Sen is such a Queen! I want a Sen route!

Chizuru and Sen standing up to these arseholes is giving me LIFE! :') PREACH, GIRLS, PREACH!!!

"What were you going to do if they hurt you gravely?" Regenerate, biatch! >:)

"C'mon, was she that pretty?" UM, YES. But I think that she gives off too much of a domme vibe to be Okita's type :P

Chizuru is getting VERY distracted by Okita's hair. You know those scenes in movies where the woman takes down her hair and it's all slow motion and super sexy? This series has a lot of that. Plus when they get their Western makeovers :')

"That's funny... You don't LOOK like an especially nosy, hand-wringing version of my mother." XD I mean, -_- That totally wasn't hilarious.

"I grabbed his towel and began to scrub his head." ... We totally are his mother X_X

"I feel like I remember a time when you were nice and quiet..." NOT ANYMORE, BITCH! AND NOW, I'M ARMED WITH A TOWEL >:)

"You're really good with your hands." O_o ... What?

"You tied your hair up so quickly..." Why don't you show me what else you can do with them? ;)

Now he wants to know what I think of his hair? :/

OMG, HE'S TRYING TO COPY KONDOU'S HAIR XD I HAVE NO WORDS (for once)

Oh, you're surprised that I kept my promise? I'll have you know that I am an honourable woman, good sir! >:/

But Chizuru's claiming to only have done it out of fear of being sliced and diced? :/Uh, sure?

Chapter 4:

"They're small potatoes." This game has some excellent phrases in it X_X

Itou wanting to change the Shinsengumi uniform because it's not "fashionable" enough is the kind of genius that I'd expect from this game's most relatable character :') Although, I personally think that the blue uniforms are pretty <3

Awe, Chizuru thinks that Okita's joking about killing Itou :')

Kaoru just VERY BLATANTLY giving away that he was involved in the notice board incident X_X

:O I'm slightly jealous to discover that Okita's casual death threats aren't just reserved for me!

I get the sense that Okita knows that Kaoru's a boy but I'm sure that it wouldn't stop him if Kaoru was really a girl. Hooray for gender equality!

"I felt embarrassed for even doubting her for a second," O_e SERIOUSLY??!??

We're just going to let him go now!?!

Now Okita's having a coughing fit D: It was so stupid to run off and make him come after us :(

"What if she had accomplices nearby" GOOD. POINT. Chizuru would be so easy to lure into a trap X_X

"Without me around, you're just a useless kid." But I have a great personality! So, together, we almost make one complete, functioning adult :)

"Stop being so timid." I wish that I had that power :'(

"You can rely on us when you need to." Aweee! ^_^

"even compared to the weakest Shinsengumi foot soldier, I was pathetic." HEY. STOP THAT. WHAT DID I SAY? GREAT. PERSONALITY.

"Did you need something?" "Blood." O_O AH. Well, at least he doesn't beat about the bush! O_O

"What the hell? That's a little cold of you, having that pass for a good-bye, isn't it?" YEAH! :'( MIKI IS RIGHT! </3 :(

"Saburo. Watch your mouth." I'm sure that Miki is sad when Itou dies but 90% of their interactions are Itou telling Miki to shut up. X_X

"Is... Is that okay?" NO. IT IS NOT OKAY. SAITO AND HEISUKE ARE LEAVING, ALONG WITH LITTLE PIECES OF MY HEART. D'X

"would that mean I could never see them again?" *sobs*

"We're going to keep relations amicable between our two organisations." AHAHAHAHAHA HA.

"Okita...?" "... Hm? Damn." Uh, nice to see you, too?

"Next time we run into 'em, we'll probably have to kill each other." O_O Don't be so flippant, you ass :'(

"Swords don't think" damn, I didn't realise that you were sword-kin. Everyone thinks and has feelings. I'm sure that no power could convince Okita to kill Kondou.

"Takeda also left" and not one single fuck was given. :')

Just going to ignore Okita making fun of my "bed head" -_-

"I've come to take you" orly? ;)

"Look, lady, you're not part of the Shinsengumi, so I'd appreciate it if you could keep your nose out of our business." So, now that it's convenient for you, I'm part of the Shinsengumi? -_- I still haven't forgotten what you said before, asshole >:( Remember? HEART = BROKEN.

Sen knows that I'm a SLUT ^_^

"I can't tell if you have guts, or if you've got rocks for brains..." It must be the latter if I'm staying because of you XP

*Terrible decision immediately has lethal consequences*

LEMME GO! >:(

See Kazama post for my COLOURFUL feelings on this cunt >:(

Kondou can be so badass when he wants to be :')

Why... Hello there ;)

"Gotta admit, I didn't figure you for this type of girl." Then you haven't been paying attention ;P

Oh yeah: BWWWWWAAAAAAAARRRRP!!! PHYSICAL CONTACT ALARM!!! And then some X_X

"Didn't think I'd be getting pushed down into bed tonight, least of all by you." Oh yeah? Who else did you have in mind? Kondou? -_-

"Oh no! No no no!" Chizuru, we know you're thirsty and it's okay! Embrace the thot within! :')

"Tell me... How is it? On top of me. Does it feel good?" PLEASE SAY YES, PLEASE SAY YES, PLEASE SAY YES!

"I hadn't realised I was still on top of him." Uh-huh. Sure. And what a terrible shame that was.

"If I go out, Kondou will get mad at me." And then no more bum fun :( (me@me: WHAT THE FUCK IS WRONG WITH YOU!??! me: XD Sorry)

"Okita's eyes shone with admiration for Kondou." X_X The fanfiction writes itself...

Just to be clear, I think it's pretty gross to ship people with their guardians, even if they're both adults at the time, because that's called GROOMING.

"He isn't going to need the Water of Life. I'll make sure of that." ... How, Hijikata?! He's literally DYING of tuberculosis!

And now he's not eating :'(

"I just don't want to. Is that really a problem?" Yes, because you'll starve to death.

"Hm, you are a doctor's daughter... Maybe you just can't leave a sick guy alone?" Or maybe I just don't want YOU to die, ass >:'(

I WILL MAKE YOU WHATEVER YOU WANT, JUST EAT IT!!! Ooooooh! He's blushing :O

He doesn't like bitter stuff but wants me to put grated radish in his porridge? O_o Well, I'm glad that he's cooperating :D

"I'm only going to eat it if it's delicious." Well, if you don't like it, I'll try again! :D

"Don't think I've given up or something." Okay D': <3

EAT THE FOOD, OKITA >:D

"It makes me feel good..." Hooray ^_^

"Could you keep me company for a while?" :O Okey! :)

"What would I talk about?" HELLO DARKNESS MY OLD FRIEND...

"He wasn't afraid to die," um, weren't you eavesdropping on his conversation with the doctor? -_-

"I want to help... But I'm getting weaker every day." Of course you do :'( This is more heartbreaking than him saying that you're not part of the Shinsengumi and just annoying DX

Maybe tell him that everybody likes having him around and that the Shinsengumi is where he belongs? Or, we could just leave him to wallow in misery... I guess that works, too X_X

"I couldn't see someone like Okita succumbing to a mere disease." ... Why, exactly? Is he supposed to fight it off with his sword or persuade it to fuck off with the force of his personality?

"He'll be fine. Right...?" NOOOPE.

SAITO 😍 I mean, uh, whatever... Totally not bothered at all...

WAIT, HOLD ON: SPY-TO. Yes, thank you. I am a genius :3

Finally murdering Itou for realskies! :')

I get that Hijikata and everyone are trying to look out for Okita but he's terminally ill. Keeping him out of the action is only going to keep him miserable until his inevitable demise. :'(

"Saito'll be here for a few days, so you'll have someone to play with." -_- Bit patronising, Hijikata X_X

Kazama being his usual, charming self X_X

Let's go find Okita and... Tell him to go back to bed? Okay...

What the fuck!?!! Kaoru!?!!

Do we ever get a decent explanation for why Kaoru was sent to live with some abusive fucks?

Kaoru... Why are you so short? I bet you were malnourished X_X

Okita's just watching this unfold, chomping on imaginary popcorn...

"Do you just plan to use her, like Kazama does?" O_o... I fucking hope not, because that would be INCEST!!!

"... No," OH, THANK GOD.

"What would you have done if I'd said yes?" Ugh, you said no already! Can we please move this conversation in a less incestuous direction X_X

"... No. You're free to take her." OKITA!!! HE'S MY BROTHER X_X Not that I'm expecting you to leap to my defense but this conversation is WEIRD as FUCK.

:O The Ochimizu! Is Kaoru trying to help Okita?! Misguidedly, but still.

"But... if their plan is to simply use my dear sister as some sort of demonic broodmare... I can't allow that to happen." ... Kaoru... :'O That's... Actually really sweet XO This is the first time that someone who claims to be part of my family has actually looked out for me :')

Oh, so Kaoru wants to use Okita to protect me from Kazama! I have a feeling that he's going to be disappointed if he thinks that Okita will do what he tells him to but I appreciate the gesture :')

"Please don't do anything that would hurt Kondou so, Okita." Ugh, even as he lies dying, he's supposed to be worrying about upsetting other people? >:(

"Okita the Fury; Okita the beast." X_X Bit harsh but okay.

"He had traded away his soul." Um, since when? XD

"Happy now, Kaoru Naguno?" "Yes I am." ... Fair.

"... For falling into my trap." Wait, what?!? O_O

"I'm happy I got to make my sister suffer." Kaoru, why? D': WE COULD HAVE HAD IT AAAAAAAAAAAAAA-AAA-AAALLL!!! DX

I'm glad that Kaoru did away with the Nagumo fuckers >:( But still, why take it out on me?!

Even dressed as a boy, Kaoru still looks prettier than Chizuru...

*Sigh* looks like I'm being choked, as usual X_X

I feel like Kaoru could easily have given Okita something much worse than the Ochimizu if he REALLY wanted to make me suffer.

"I'd run out of things to say." X_X Again?!

"This was my decision and I don't regret it." That is good to know :)

"You shouldn't get involved with a guy like me." Oh, here we go X_X

"That came out of nowhere," Too right!

"No" uh, does that mean "no, I won't get involved with you" or "no, I won't do as you say"???

Uh, is he crying?! "Hey! You can't just act like you're sick when you want something!" XD What the actual fuck is happening right now???

"I'm dead" ... Uh... Really? Because... You seem very much alive...

"I don't think Kondou wants you around just because he wants you to do things for him." FINALLY, some sense!

Aaaand, apparently, it's earned me The Unblinking Stare of Doom >:(

"Do you mind not trying to speak for Kondou." Do you mind not assuming that he's so much of an asshole that he'd kick you out just because you're inactive during the day?! >:(

"It's not like you're capable of knowing exactly how Kondou truly feels." YES, YUKIMURA!!! GET HIM!! >:D

"Do you think Kondou would still need me... Even if I can't hold a sword anymore?" YES.

"You're right." I know :3

"I'm just jealous of you, Okita, that you have someone like Kondou by your side." Yeah. >:'( Fuck you, Kaoru, fuck you, Kodo :'(

"Oh yeah, huh... I totally forgot." Ffs, Okita XD

"They just happened to be there when you were born, you know?" Yeah! >:( And they can all go to hell!

"Somehow, my chin had acquired something of an arrogant tilt" yaaaas! You live your best life, girl! Let go of the haters, cut out the negativity! Stick it to 'em!

Chapter 5:

"How dangerous could foreign weapons be?" Oh, my sweet, Summer Sanan X_X

"Why are you going on night rounds with us?" ... Wait, what?! Why am I going on night rounds?

AS IF putting myself in danger is going to help Okita in any way X_X

DAMN, KONDOU... Nice, uh, blood you're accessorising with, there. O_O MEDIC!!!

"Lucky for us, they're idiots." Hooraaaay!

Okita's not going to be happy when he sees this...

Speak of the devil...

HIJIKATA, STOP BEATING ABOUT THE BUSH.

"I thought for a moment that Okita was going to grab Hijikata and shake him." :O :D Please yes!

Okita is suuuuuper keen to blame Hijikata for this -_-

"If he dies, it's your ass in the fire, Hijikata." Another excellent image but this pointless conversation has gone on for too long X_X

"I will find you, no matter where you may be, and I will kill you." O_O OKITA!! I THOUGHT THAT YOU SAID YOU WERE CALM!!! Bloody hell X_X

Oh no... What has Okita done now X_X

Killing spree, mad science, aggressive interrogation, Hijikata murder? The possibilities are endless with this stabby boi.

Where exactly am I running to? "I had finally found him." HOW?! With the power of love?! O_o

Looks like "Killing spree" it is X_X

"I'm about to murder you." Ffs Souji X_X

"I'm just doing my job." OH YEAH?!? THEN WHY DID YOU FEEL THE NEED TO GO BEHIND EVERYONE'S BACKS, HUH?!

"What's wrong with me doing what I'm doing?" Yeah, what's wrong with sadistically slaughtering a bunch of virtually defenceless men as they attempt to retreat?! -_-

"I just killed people, no matter who it was, as long as it was what Kondou wanted." *Sigh* Kondou's not going to be around for ever, you know? X_X Maybe TRY think about why your doing what you're doing. Maybe learn from Kondou's example?

"Do not ever act out and worry the chief like that again." XD You tell him, Saito!

"Idiots." XD Hijikata

"I didn't wake up until evening had arrived." Oh look, it's me :)

OH, FUCK. That looked like a Kaoru silhouette :O

Why do they keep saying that Kaoru "tricked" Okita into drinking the Water of Life?! Kaoru offered it and Okita drank it. No trickery here!

"They wanted to avenge Itou. You remember him? The man you deceived and murdered?" XD Can't argue with that :')

"shoot the weaker target first." UGH. Why do I always get SHOT!?!

"Call me what you want." Oh, I intend to 3:)

Omg, I didn't get shot! :O BECAUSE OKITA USED HIMSELF AS A HUMAN SHIELD O_O ... BUT WHY?!??

NO, DON'T CHECK UP ON ME! WE NEED TO MOVE BEFORE WE GET SHOT AT AGAIN!!!

Oh no! O_O Doesn't look like he'll be moving any time soon O_O

"Okita! Okitaaaaa!" O_O

"It kills me to see you hurt, just as much as it kills you to see Kondou hurt!" O: <3 :'(

"What an idiot.. " No, Kaoru! You're the idiot! Because you will never be happy while you continue down this sadistic, evil path, wasting your own life trying to destroy someone else's and refusing to let go of your spiteful jealousy >:( At least Okita's risking his life for something good.

"The more despair and anger you feel, the more you look like me." ... Silver linings! :)

D: Did they use silver bullets?! :O

Wait, when did Yamazaki get wounded?! :O

Bless Hijikata for letting me stay with my crush XD

Final Chapter:

Yamazaki is fine :D Hooray!

"They need men, so we need to go now..." Uh... Then why aren't you dressed? X_X

"... I want you to remain calm as I tell you this." That is... NOT AN ENCOURAGING WAY TO START A CONVERSATION O_O

D': Inoue has fallen. :'( It hurts every time DX

Aw, he looks really sad :'( and no wonder...

"as soon as we arrive, I'm gonna swing my sword at anyone and everyone." Uh... That's the spirit X_X

ONWARDS TO EDO

[kumoriyami-xiuzhen]

Hakuoki Drama CD Book Vol 5 Saito

*sigh* as much as i prefer cooler weather, i don’t like the transition between summer and fall. always tend to get sick and half-feverish for some reason when the temperature fluctuates between hot and cool.

anyway, enjoy!

Hakuoki Drama CD Book Vol 5 Saito Hajime-hen - Summer Morning

Translation by KumoriYami

Act 1

Time: Night

Location: Saito and Chizuru's living room

SE: the sound of Saito opening a door

Yukimura: Hajime-san. I've brought tea.

Saito: Ah, thank you... in addition to the tea, there's also yokan?

SE: sound of Saito walking then sitting down

Yukimura: Yes, they were given by the neighbour. Please eat.

SE: Sound of Chizuru putting the tea down

Saito: Well, I must express my thanks to them tomorrow.

Yukimura: Ah...

Saito: What is it?

Yukimura: Hajime-san, show me your sleeve for a moment

Saito: My sleeve...?

SE: the sound of Saito lifting up his arm

Yukimura: As expected, it's torn. I'm really sorry I didn't notice it. I'll sew it up immediately. I'll get you a change of clothes for now.

Saito: There's no need, with this extent of a rip/tear, it doesn't matter if you mend it later.

Yukimura: That won't do, how can you wear such clothes

Saito: But...it's about time to go to bed. It's only been one night, this sleeve won't cause any problems.

Yukimura: No. Even though we'll just be going to sleep, I don't know if anything will happen, so please, lent me take that and mend it now, it'll be quick

Saito:......

Yukimura:....? Why did you suddenly freeze?

Saito: No, I suddenly just remembered that something like this happened before.

Yukimura: Eh.... At what time/When?

Saito: Don't you remember. It was at the time... it was something that happened while we were still in the Shinsengumi.

Yukimura: Something from when we were still in the Shinsengumi...?

Saito: You don't remember. Nn, it's no wonder. After all, it hadn't soon after you came to the Shinsengumi.

Yukimura:....I really don't remember. If Hajime-san tells me about it, I might be able to recall it.

Saito: Alright. It's nice to occasionally to look back. Then——

--------

Act 2

Time: Morning

Location: Shinsengumi headquarters (Yagi's)

Saito (narrated): I remember that it was summer, just like it is now.  I had just finished my training by myself and was preparing to go over to the well to wipe off my sweat, and as I was passing through the courtyard——

SE: Sound of Saito walking

SE: Sound of Chizuru running

Yukimura: Ha ah, hah.... ah, Saito-san! I finally found you... good morning!

Saito:...Can I help you?

Yukimura: I came to tell you that breakfast is ready.

Saito: Understood. I'll go after I head over to the well and wipe down my sweat. Yukimura: Okay...

Saito: Is there something else?

Yukimura: Ah, no... Okita-san said that you would be training in the morning, but I didn't think you'd be using a real sword...

Saito: When training by myself, I always use a real sword instead of a wooden sword. By doing this, you can not only have an experience that is closer to actual combat, and feel your own strength too.

Yukimura:...Um, may I ask you a question?

Saito:...Whether or not I can answer depends on the question, since that's the case, ask.

Yukimura: When Saito-san picks up a sword, do you feel lost/confused?

Saito: I cannot say never, but that has not happened since I've become a member of the Shinsengumi

Yukimura: But drawing your sword means that someone will get injured, or perhaps die... Why are you able to accomplish this without getting lost?

Saito: For the sake of carrying out my own beliefs and ambitions...  And, as long as it is to protect the Shinsengumi's way forward, I will not hesitate to wield my sword. Regardless if I have to sacrifice my own life.

Yukimura:...

Saito: Why did you suddenly ask such a thing?

Yukimura: Ah... I'm sorry that I keep asking you questions. Um, recently I was thinking... what it is I wanted to do... and felt lost.... then... when I saw Saito-san, I felt like I was lacking something... Ah/Yes.

Saito:...? What's wrong?

Yukimura: That, Saito-san... the sleeve of your jacket [im guessing haori] is torn.

Saito: Oh... these are just clothes for training. It will be replaced soon, so it doesn't matter.

Yukimura: If it's possible, can that be given to me to sew?

Saito: I'm grateful that you're willing to do this, but I can do it myself, you don't need to help.

Yukimura: But...

Saito: I've said a lot. I'll be going over to the well to wipe my sweat, you should go back first.

Yukimura: Please wait!

Saito: Is there something else?

Yukimura: Um, would you be inconvenienced if I said that I wanted to help mend that sleeve anyway?

Saito:....

Yukimura: Please allow me to do so. Please!

Saito:...There is no reason to refuse your request twice. Yukimura: Thank you! Then I'll go and pick it up from you after breakfast.

Saito: Nn.

Saito (narrated): That was the first time I noticed your eyes. Seeing your earnest face while you made that request, I didn't know how to respond. After, I quickly learned the reason for you insisted.

--------

Act 3

Time: evening

Location: Shinsengumi headquarters, Saito's room

Yukimura: Saito-san, is now convenient?

Saito: Yes. Come in.

Yukimura: Excuse me.

SE: Sound of Chizuru opening the door

Yukimura: I've mended the garment, so I came to give it to you.

Saito: Apologies, permit me to inspect it.

Yukimura: Okay.

SE: Sound of clothes being picked up

Saito: Nn, it would appear that the clothes were mended well, I'm grateful, thank you.

Yukimura: No, I'm... thank you.

Saito: Why are you thanking me?

Yukimura: Saito-san seriously answered my rude question, so, this is my thanks.

Saito:...

Yukimura: Saito-san? What is it?

Saito:  You mean you didn't propose to sew my sleeve for me out of your own volition?

Yukimura: I don't think it's the same. Everyone in the Shinsengumi is helping me find my father, and is [also] taking care of me, but I have nothing I can give in return. That's why, if there's at least something that I can do...

Saito: You don't need to worry about this so much.

Yukimura: But I, it would be very painful if I did nothing. Please let me help... I also want to make a difference too.

Saito: Is this why you said those words this morning?

Yukimura:  Yes. It doesn't matter if it's something small, as long as it can help everyone... I think that if there's something I can help with, I should be able to become everyone's strength.

Saito:....I see. I feel as if I've always been thinking that there was something off about how you were lately, I didn't expect it to be like this... I appear to have underestimated your abilities.

Yukimura: Eh...?

Saito: This morning, your eyes were very determined. There is more than one way to protect, some people use force to protect people, and some people rely on support to protect people. Just as you said, what you can do may be something small, but sometimes it can turn into a huge force.

Yukimura: I also have things that I can do... is it?

Saito: Nn. But I would not dare to make any assertions.

Yukimura:...

Saito: If your resolve isn't strong enough, the circumstances may somewhat change in the future. Just stick to what you believe in, however...

雪村千鹤：……？ Yukimura:...?

Saito: Forgive my bluntness, the Shinsengumi is a dangerous place for you to be in. You must bear in mind that thoroughly understanding the organization's inner workings [word I have here is inside story/inside information] can be dangerous.

Yukimura: Yes...! Thank you very much, Saito-san.

Saito: One thank you is enough.

Yukimura: Ah. Okay, thank you!

Saito:....Nn.

Saito (narrated): Perhaps, since the first time I met you and that day, I had looked into your eyes while neglecting the strong will behind them. Your sincerity touched me at that time, and I profoundly remembered it.

--------

Act 4

Time: evening

Location: Saito and Chizuur's living room

Yukimura: I'm sorry. After listening to you speak, I finally remembered.

Saito: Don't you think that this was very similar to what just happened?

Yukimura: Indeed, it's quite similar. At the beginning, I suggested that I mend your sleeve...

Saito: It's not only that day, but as long as you and I are together, from time to time, I will always think of each day I spent with you and everyone in the Shinsengumi, will always think of every day spent with you and everyone in the new selection group, these memories are treasures that slumber in my heart/thoughts.

Yukimura: I often recall those times. While I was still in Kyoto... when I went from Edo to Aizu... but I most often recall the day I had a great time trying to find that cat at headquarters and when I went to Shimabara... I often recall everyone's smiles and laughter of everyone from those times.

Saito: Yes. I'm very happy now, but it's not bad to occasionally reminisce about the past.

Yukimura: Nn. If you think about something again, you can always tell me.

Saito; Ah, but I also want to hear from you, if you remember something special

Yukimura: Of course, there are still things that Hajime-san doesn't know about

Saito: Things I don't know about? This is the first time I've heard that. Like what sort of things?

Yukimura: For example... even if you suddenly say that... there are more important things that that right now. I'll go get you a change of clothes, so wait [here].

SE: Sound of Chizuru leaving

Saito: Ah, hey! You still haven't changed.

Saito (narrated): Memories of the past, is it. If would be nice if I only recalled beautiful memories like tonight, but I can't forget those painful memories, because that was the path she and I walked together. The happiness I feel now is also an extension of those times.

Starring: Saito Hajime... Toriumi Kosuke

[saizoswifey]

Hi there! In one of your translations of Saizo’s act 2, shortly after Momochi asks teen Saizo if he would’ve killed his best friend if he knew the real betrayal reasons, the jp version said he wouldn’t. But the English version, it said he would. Do you know if this change was on purpose?

Hey dear! 

Okay, this is so interesting and I’m super glad you brought it up because I’ve actually been thinking about this so much since reading the EN route. 

That’s right. I’m back at it again with another god damn Saizo lecture broken down with bullet points and long comparisons like I'm teaching a friggin college course on the man hahah strap on in for some more Professor Wifey’s Saizology. 

So I don’t have any SS of this scene from Tenka unfortunately. So I can’t even double check to see what it says. That post you are referring to was based on translations I had done almost 2 years ago and logged away in my google drive. And regarding your question, there are some explanations as to why. 

The first is that I could have mistranslated that line. (it’s happened to me before! It will definitely happen again! pfft) I remember Momochi being a bit difficult for me to understand in some parts and I specifically remember going over and over those 3-4 slides in particular because it was such an important part and also because the way he (dingle bells) speaks and refers to people was odd and new to me so I was trying to grasp exactly what was being said about whom. 

If I mistranslated, it’s because of the wording he uses. To me, it truly sounded like ‘if you knew about it would you have listened to me?’ and Saizo said ‘no.’ The syntax is wonky to me.

And to me, it made sense in the end that Saizo wouldn’t have followed orders had he known. That would have been proof of his heart...The thing Momochi was trying to kill? I mean, if Saizo would have just killed Sanochika for any reason just because Momochi said to, then...why would Momochi need to go through all of the trouble with this plan? It’s so extra why wouldn’t he have just been like yeahhh Saizo you guys are getting too close you need to end him he’s weak and therefore weakening you. And according to the English version, Saizo says he’d just agree and do it. Sooooo....idk man. I’m glad you mentioned it because as I read in English I was also saying wait, what?? when that happened. Then my mind went into overdrive haha. 

If I WAS correct, (and I’m not holding my breath but hey, for 2yrs ago I think I got everything else pretty spot on aside from the fancy localization and tweaks they do to make it read smoother, so I'm not going to doubt myself too much haha!) then basically we have two sort of different versions of Saizo, honestly. 

That scene as I said was pretty damn important to building who Saizo is, where he was and how much he’s changed since then. Both are pretty impactful either which way you look at it, I guess. 

The Saizo that said No (JP)

would establish a Saizo that abides by the policy and moral code that he won’t just go around killing people for no reason. *(And sidenote buuuut: he’s stated in several other stories that he has a policy against killing people for any type of reason other than to fulfill his orders from Iga.)

would establish that although he will not enjoy having to end someone emotionally close to him, it’s not against his moral code and his intense loyalty to Iga will outweigh any other justification for not doing it (not killing, that is)

would establish that he’s always had a heart and morals but the chains of Iga were the last thing keeping him from fulfilling a life of no bloodshed

would establish that therefore the most difficult thing to overcome would be to finally break the bonds with Momochi, the person he trusted implicitly at one time, the person he had been devoted to and blindly followed orders from for his entire life. 

would establish that it was more focused on Saizo’s personal journey to break this way of life he had always entrusted and fell back on as a fail safe. In a sense, he could always hide behind Iga and not take responsibility for his actions. This was him finally taking responsibility for what he had done, deciding he did not want to use Iga as a scapegoat anymore, he did not want to continue taking lives on command, and therefore he had to face them and seize control back. 

The Saizo that said Yes (EN) 

(I also want to highlight here that the answer Saizo gives in English is that he would “more than likely obey.” Not a 100% yes. Saizo is the type to try and deny the humanity in him until he gets up to that moment and time and time again he ends up acting with humanity instead of the way he had predicted he would handle it. He struggled like hell even thinking he was guilty. We will never know canonically, so I will let you form your own opinions on what you think he would have done! )

would establish that Saizo has almost no moral code or policy to speak of. He will follow orders regardless and will kill even his best friend if told that’s what he needs to do. 

would establish that despite being obviously traumatized by what he had done to Sanochika, in almost any other instance it's not a case of moral grappling but rather just killing as a means to an end, no matter who or what circumstances. There’s less thought process involved. It’s detached.  

would establish that if this is the case, Saizo’s biggest obstacle is, in fact, himself, not Iga. 

would establish and imply that BECAUSE he has gone through life not really bothered by the way he lives, ONLY haunted by that one single incident, that the main focus of Saizo’s personal journey has not been about how devoted to Iga he is and how difficult it is to break free. His personal journey’s actual main focus has been about him learning to appreciate life (INCLUDING his own) and trying to overcome his own thought process to see the world in a new way. To grapple with the way he sees himself after MC helps him discover his moral compass. Grapple with the ways in which he starts to change, and the fact that he doesn’t understand the way his mind and heart work now. 

would establish that it’s not Iga that Saizo needed to be rid of in the end. He could have always left Iga, if he really wanted to. He had Yukimura!, and later and for a while, he had MC too. It was Saizo’s old self that he needed to defeat. Momochi manipulated him, terribly, but it wasn’t until Saizo was tired of being complacent in his own way of life that he was able to change it all for good. And he truly needed MC and Yukimura for that. 

And lastly, I believe these two versions of Saizo are actually synonymous, they’re the same Saizo. All of these aspects are present in this character that we read in event stories and main routes. Which is why I enjoy him so much. The layers are incredible. 

However, the ‘why’ on the importance of this line, then, is because of the fact that it comes from how Saizo actually views himself. Whether he said yes or no, that was his own thought on the matter. Which is why it changes his personal conflict/journey and not the character. 

So if they were to change it from one to the other, I think by looking above you can see that the JP Saizo would be a bit more tortured, passive, with a lack of control, an outer conflict he has to resolve. The EN Saizo comes off as more of a gritty character, cold and heartless, an internal struggle focus. Which I guess could be different enough to warrant a change between platforms? Though I really doubt anyone but me would sit here and contemplate all of what you just read, if you just read it. Lol. 

Either way, even if it’s a simple translation error and nothing more, it’s kind of interesting to dive into how one minor change such as that could create such different takes. 

[selenecrawford]

The Odd Pair 2

Warnings:

Shingen arrived to his home and greeted his family. His mother was happy with her son's success but she preferred a more humble lifestyle. Shingen always was pending that she never lack anything on their household. He always enjoyed the weekend visits because of her and Tomas. His father died of a heart attack while he and Yukimura were young leaving his mother to sustain the family. Growing up in town Shingen loved the peaceful, atmosphere and how laid back you could be. His room was always clean with the same posters he used to have on high school. Yeah those were the days were he was the start of the football team but also a ladies man. Girl's were always attracted to him. Shingen smiled at the prospect of always having an entourage of girls around him. Only one girl was always shy and never part of the pack. Selene.

Always looking like a boy she was always either studying or working on a car at the workshop at school. Her father was always scolding her telling her to be more feminine, yet she never paid attention. Shingen took a look at the little bookshelf finding what he was looking for. The school book in which there was a picture of Selene. Voted as one of the boys. She never used a skirt for that time. Giving a head shake Shingen pulled some jeans and a red polo shirt.

“Mom, I'm going to see the boys, I will be back later.”

“Be safe and try not to get into trouble, OK?” grinning like a mischievous boy Shingen went out to met the others at the bar.

Selene arrived at the house and gave a sigh to calm her agitated heart. She could still feel Shingen arms holding her. Clearing her mind she went on to clean the house in order to get everything in order. Since she had been working non stop for 2 years, her boss gave her a  license to put her affairs in order. At least working hard paid off was Selene's train of thought. Changing her attire for a more comfortable one, Selene took a look at the full body mirror on her room. Her hair was now on a low pony tail, with minimal make up, some lip gloss, the black shirt with the skinny jeans hugging her legs and black converse were the perfect outfit. Since nights were becoming a bit more chilly she got a light grey duster and decided to buy some groceries and go to eat. The cellphone ringing took her out of her mental planning.

“Hello?, Selene speaking.”

“Ah, Selene is Mr. Leonard Kruger your father's lawyer. How are you?” the old man's voice was rich and deep. Selene used to think he was a voice actor. But in fact Mr. Kruger was a friend of the family.

“Uncle Krug, its been such a long time. How is everything?” Kruger was also one of her many adoptive uncles Selene used to have.

“ I wish this will be a better time to call but, I'm afraid not. I'm sorry for your loss kid. Tomas might not be there always but believe me when I tell you he always loved you and worried about you.” his voice was solemn.

Fighting the tears Selene cleared her voice.” Thank you Uncle Krug. We managed to patch things up in the end.”

“Good, that's great to hear so in that case you will be for the lecture of the testament tomorrow at 9 am in my office.” with this Kruger hung up without giving Selene opportunity ask what he was talking about.

Shingen managed to get to the bar without incidents and located the guys at the end of the saloon. Aside Masamune everyone was having a beer and playing poker.

“Well, well, well the prodigal son has return home uh?” Nobunaga was the first one to spot Shingen arriving to the table.

Taking turns to shake hands with everyone Shingen responded ironically.

“Considering that you are the self proclaimed chosen one Nobunaga, I guess we both are back? How is the family?”

“Good, how is your mother?”

“She is good, mom as always being mom .” said Shingen smiling while taking a seat next to Kenshin.

“Selene was so beautiful today. It's a shame that it wasn't a better occasion. Now she is alone.” said Mitsurani.

“The lass had grown up quite well. I was glad to see her. I might invite her to meet Marlene.” said Masamune.

“If I remember you used to have a crush on her right?” it was Ieyasu's turn to speak.

“I did but on high school I understood that it was only that and we spoke about it. She was OK with it. Besides she used to have a crush with our Mr. Football star here.” Masamune pointed on Shingen's direction.

“I thought it was something temporary.” Shingen given a non emotional answer. He tried to not make it more than it was. He was still bothered by the way Selene acted with him at the cemetery.

“Selene is a great woman, perhaps not a beauty like the one you are now use to date now Shingen but I know the man who marries her will be happy.” Hideyoshi looked at Shingen with intensity.

Holding his arms up Shingen said. “OK wait a minute. We are talking about things that happened twenty years ago. Why am I being  getting my head bit off after all this time?”

“Because no sooner than she left you did the same. That prank was really low even for me and you know how mean I can be.” this time it was Kenshin who made the comment.

“Look, I tried to apologize she was already gone. Now, can we just take a break on this. If it makes you feel better I will apologize with her OK?”

Everyone agreed to Shingen's suggestion and let the topic die. The time passed while they talked about their own lives. When it was Shingen's turn his phone started ringing.

“Takeda here.”

“Ah, Shingen is so good to hear you. How are you? It's me Leonard Kruger, Tomas Crawford lawyer.”

“I'm good Mr. Kruger, how can I help you?” Shingen went to a less crowded section of the saloon to speak more in private.

“Tomas, made me in charge of reading his testament and he name you on it. I need to be on the office tomorrow at 9 am.”

“I didn't expect that from Tomas. OK I will be there.”

“Good.” with this Kruger hung up. Shingen returned to the table and took a lot sip at his beer.

The conversation continued until midnight when Shingen decided to bail out and going back home. While driving he passed Selene's home noticing the lights on. He considered stopping by but then decided against it since it was too late. She might be tired and need time to collect herself. With this he returned home and decided to get some sleep before his meeting with Kruger

The next morning, Selene woke up feeling a bit tired. She made some coffee and a cheese toast before getting for her meeting with Mr Kruger Looking at the day many memories came to her mind. Most of them were her running behind Shingen and playing with the boys. At some point she learned to dance but she kept it hidden. Only Masamune knew about it. She made him promised not to tell anyone about it since she feared being mocked. Dancing was her stress breaker. She could dance for two hours and help her clear her mind. It was also a good exercise for her in case she didn't got a gym near. Taking a small boom box she went to the room her father used as storage. The last time he told her that he cleared the place and now was empty. He was expecting her to come back one day to visit and she could use it. Her father was a complicated person in Selene's eyes. Taking the boom box she started the song. The notes and clap made Selene forget everything. Moving at the rhythm she start her routine, making turns and claps Selene loosen herself to the music until the end. At the end she was almost out of breath but feeling better and energized. Looking at the time she run to get a quick shower, dress up and wear a subtle make up. For this time she decided to wear, black trouser pants with a purple shirt and black blazer. This time she opted to only wear mascara, liner and lipstick. For shoes she put on her normally low heel shoes. She had a lot of things to do having a comfortable shoes will help her a lot. Looking at her outfit she let her hair loose with a headband to prevent her hair to fall on her face. This time she decided to use her cats eye glasses. Taking her purse, Selene went to the town.

Upon arriving she found she wasn't the only one waiting for Uncle Krug. Shingen Takeda was talking with the secretary who apparently had never seen a man in her life. Shingen was polite with her but Selene somehow saw some tension on Shingen's part. Shingen was wearing a terracotta jacket with white shirt and black trousers with black converse. He was looking dashing and really handsome. Perhaps, he might not like to flirt all the time. Clearing her throat she let her presence known to them. Shingen straighten up when he saw Selene. Today she was wearing a pair of cat eye glasses with a slim frame that will make her green eyes more alluring than unusual.  Since when she became so beautiful? Shingen was impressed with her change. Selene was civil but tried not to speak more than necessary.

“Good morning, Mr. Takeda.”

“Good morning princess.” Shingen gave her his best smile. Selene nods in response.

Shingen felt ignored and didn't like the feeling. He was going to tell Selene something when Leonard Kruger emerged from his office.

“Oh, Good morning, so good to see you both. And on time, come on, let's talk in my office.”

Selene frown at the implications of Shingen being present on the testament. That meant that her father added him on the testament. A small shiver run around her back. She started to have a bad feeling on the pit of her stomach.

“Well as you know, Tomas, decided to leave a testament. I asked  Nobunaga Oda and Masamune Date to be present on this day as witness.” after saying this Nobunaga and Masamune arrived.

“Good now that everyone is here let's start with the lecture.” opening up the document. Mr. Kruger started the reading.

“I, Tomas Crawford Edwards, here by leave my will and testament in order to let down my final wish after my dead. All my possessions will be divided as follows. The car repair shop and the Shelby will go for Shingen Takeda who I used to love like the son I never had.”

Shingen noticed that Selene tensed next to him. She was blinking rapidly. He felt bad when he saw her face getting sad.

“Next my home, my land which consist on half of the town will belong to my daughter Selene Constance Sakura Crawford  Mirakawa. I know Selene is a strong and independent woman, but I prefer if she would had married with a nice dependable, honest, man. So in order for her to receive her inheritance. She needs to comply with certain conditions. First she needs to live for one year in our home on this town in order to gain the rights to own the terrain. Second, she must marry Shingen Takeda and sleep on the same bed for that same period of time. They will need to learn to live together and can't abandon the house during this time, unless is to go to work related business. They must be together all the time. If by the end of the year you are still together you can inherit the properties mentioned before. Also Shingen you cannot be unfaithful to Selene or she will loose the inheritance. If Shingen or Selene do not full fill any of these conditions everything will be sold and the money donated to charity. Shingen and Selene will have 24 hours to think about this. If they fail to comply with any of these demands the testament won't be validated and you will loose your all including the car repair shop.”

@elievalentine @colivara @notsafefortum-blr @datemasamunemaiwaifu @unstoppablelinda @epicdragonlady @yeshasays @masa-little-kitten @mikamiw @kimi00twin @kouei116 @blue-bean-exe @mitsuhidethesnek @la-piperina @pirateprincessyuki @jennacat84 @valfraeyja @little-blue-octopus @sengokuotaku82 @serenity-writes @xathia-89 @shouta-bakugou @cailannuesugi

[ikesengoficss]

December 23rd: Christmas Morning Imagines

Oda Forces:

Nobunaga Oda

Having been awake for hours, Nobunaga grinned as he watched the way your face lit up as you arouse from your slumber, realizing it was Christmas morning. He chuckled as you suddenly jumped upon him, a large smile stretching across your face, yours arms wrapping tightly around him for a warm hug. With his large hand gently rubbing soothing circles into your back, he stands from the futon, and your legs are wrapped around his waist. “Merry Christmas, little fireball,” he says, pressing a gentle kiss to the tip of your nose.

Nobunaga couldn’t wait for nothing more than to cuddle with you beneath the tree you convinced to be placed in the main hall. He couldn’t wait to see the way you glimmered even more as you opened the gifts he placed beneath the tree, and perform every Christmas tradition you told him of.

Hideyoshi Toyotomi

His nimble fingers gently combed through your hair, waking your from your slumber. The way your cheeks become more crimson, and eyes sparkled just a little more than usual, was enough to make the warmth that coiled in his tummy burn just a little more at your adorableness. “Happy Christmas!” He says cheerily, helping you to sit up and placing you upon his lap. He pulls and gift from behind it and places it within your hands. “Now, I know you told me gifts go under the tree, but I want this one to be just between us.”

You open the well wrapped gift to reveal a beautiful necklace; a bright red jewel molted in gold, and on the gold is both your initials carved. You spin around in his lap, wrapping your arms around him, with enough force to send you both back. You repeatedly kiss his face, and he laughs, rubbing your back and holding you tight. “This is the best Christmas ever!” You exclaim.

Ieyasu Tokugawa

He could feel your hands on his shoulder, pushing and shaking him lightly, and your soft voice slipping into his ear in attempts to wake him up. He groans and glares up at you, but he can hardly keep the stern look on his face when he sees how happy and excited you are. “You really are a child,” he huffs, pushing himself up on the futon to wrap his arm around you and kiss your cheek, nose, then your lips.

He can’t hold back a smile anymore as you pull over your stockings -- you introduced him to the tradition back home of stuffing stockings with little gifts -- and frantically began to open the gifts inside. He grins when you find the ring inside, and acts annoyed when you jump upon him and shower him with kisses to show your thanks. But in no way was he really annoyed. He likes this, ‘Christmas,’ as it is yet another event to create more memories with you.

Masamune Date

He was just as excited as you. There was no sleeping during the night as you two discussed what ‘Santa’ would have brought for you guys. The two of you joked into the night, about Hideyoshi dressing up as a jolly old fellow with a bushy white beard and red as a cherry suit, setting the presents all under the tree that as a family, the Oda Forces decorated. In the end, the two of you fell asleep curled up together around 2 in the morning, and slept till noon.

It was Ieyasu who begrudgingly came to wake you up, and cursed himself as the two of you screamed at what you’d done, jumping up and grabbing him to bring him down the tree. Masamune keeps his arm wrapped around you the whole time as you both ungifted, pressing gentle kisses every once and while under the mistletoe.

Mitsuhide Akechi

He sat up in the futon, hand elegantly combing through your locks as your eyes slowly peered open. The light gleamed through the window, illuminating your lover above you, smiling and grinning, and a red hat with a puffball upon his head. It took you a few moments, but then your eyes widened, sparkling even, as it finally dawned on you it was Christmas morning. “Merry Christmas,” Mitsuhide chuckles, a sly grin on his face, though he gently kisses from the bridge of your nose, around your face, till alas your lips.

“What is it that you’d like to do first, my darling?” he whispers against your skin. First on the list was giving everyone their gifts, and then you begged Mitsuhide to build a snowman with you, since it snowed during the night. A white Christmas! How could he refuse you when you looked at him with such doe eyes, pleading for his company? It was definitely a sight he would treasure forever, and Christmas was definitely something he found himself enjoying more and more as it approached and finally became. “Why, of course, when a girl is good, she gets a treat. I guess it will be a treat for me, as well.”

Mitsunari Ishida

The gentle soul never sleeps, and how could he sleep tonight when he had the mission to make this the best Christmas in Azuchi ever for you. Christmas morning, Kitty gently pawing at your forehead, and Mitsunari pressed a kiss to your lips to wake you up. “It’s Christmas!” you exclaimed, jumping up, your arms wrapping around your lover who sat before you.

“It is! I can’t wait to see what the day has ahead for us,” Mitsunari says, one hand going to rub Kitty’s head as she sandwiches herself between you two, and the other arm wrapped around you, snuggly. He presses a kiss to your head before helping you to your feet. Hand holding yours tightly, he leads you down to the hall where everyone waits before the tree, excited for their first Christmas in Azuchi.

Uesugi-Takeda Forces:

Kenshin Uesugi

His slender fingers gently caressed your soft cheeks, carefully luring you from your sleep. A few of his white, soft and fluffy rabbits encircled the both of you, their warmth radiating upon you to help awaken you. He smiled as your eyes peeled open, glimmering, before widening as you jumped from the futon exclaiming, “It’s Christmas morning!” He chuckles, grabbing your arm and pulling you to his lap before you can run through the door.

“Silly girl,” he mutters, pressing a quick kiss to your temple, “What makes you think I’m going to let you go and spend Christmas morning with everyone, before I’ve given you a most special gift.” He presents to you a beautiful bracelet, one he has noticed you eyeing at a market stop. The squeel you let out when you see the beautiful jewelry is enough to make this Christmas perfect for him, and his heart warm just a little more. “Merry Christmas, my love.”

Yukimura Sanada

He felt a heavy weight on his chest, lightly bouncing upon him, dragging him away from his sleep and the wonderful dream he was having. As his eyes peeled open, he saw you, his love, upon him with a big smile on your face, trying your best to wake him up. Looking towards the window, however, he groaned, and quickly rolled you over so his arms trapped you snug against his chest and you were to his side. “It’s not even light out yet, dummy!” he exclaims, his arms tightening around you to keep you locked against him. A hand moves to pet at your hair, and he buries his nose into the loose locks, smelling pine from the tree you both set up. “I know, I know. But I can’t help it, it’s Christmas! I can never sleep on Christmas.”

Yukimura snorts, pressing a kiss against your temple. No way would he be getting out of bed at this time, but he could understand your excitement. He’d never admit it, but he was just as excited. “Do I have to sing one of those Christmas songs you taught me to get you to go to sleep?” A bright blush appeared on his face. He might regret this. You nodded into his chest and he sighed, snuggling back under the blanket with you still against him, safe in his arms. “You’re such a kid, dummy… ok… I don’t want a lot for Christmas, there is just one thing I need…”

Shingen Takeda

Mistletoe dangled elegantly from his fingers as he held it above you, the scent of the sweet leaves obscuring your senses. You awake to see your lover above you with the cheekiest of grins as he holds the mistletoe. “Merry Christmas, my heart,” he says softly before uttering, “Now where is my Christmas kiss?”

You giggle, lifting yourself up from the futon and wrapping your arms around him. You press your lips against his; gentle, and soft, at first, before more passionate by the moment, and the both of you pull away breathless. Shingen grins, his hand running up and down your back soothingly. “I know how excited you have been for this holiday. Let us go to the tree then, and see what the friend of yours, Saint Nicholas, brought.” He takes your smaller hand in his, pressing a kiss the the knuckles, before guiding you downstairs where everyone awaits before the tree.

Sasuke Sarutobi

He wanted to make this Christmas as perfect as possible, and make you feel at home, since he knew how much you loved Christmas. He thought for hours upon hours on how to make it as modern as possible, before he came to the conclusion alone in his thoughts, just being with him and with everyone else, was enough for you and as magical a Christmas. So you awoke in his arms, his loving gaze above you, a gentle smile gracing his face.

His voice was husky as he wished you a Merry Christmas, and told you the events he had planned for the day; Presents at the tree, some Christmas games for everyone to participate in, carols to sing, and a feast to be accompanied with the finest sake. “I want this to be a great Christmas for all of us, but… especially you. You deserve a wonderful Christmas and more.”

Other:

Kennyo

He couldn’t take his gaze away from you, watching you sleep peacefully below him. He promised you he would wake you up earlier than usual for Christmas morning, but he couldn’t find it within him to wake you. But one look at the tree, and imagining the sight of you, almost like a child, running to the tree to open your gifts, then spread the Christmas cheer to his followers, was enough to finally make him wake you.

He gasps when you throw yourself into his arms -- not that he isn’t used to his affection, just never something so forceful -- before he smiles and wraps his arms around you in return. “Merry Christmas, dear,” he says softly. “Merry Christmas, Kennyo,” you whisper back to him, pressing a kiss along his scar before his lips. “There is no one else I’d rather spend Christmas with.”

Ikemen Sengoku Advent Calendar

[lorei-writes]

Match-Up #19

@cheese-ception​, your time has come! *insert eternal flame*

Hmm... Well then, given how their public personas seem rather contradictory of each other, I would guess it would be something alike to hiding behind a mask of jokes and confidence and perhaps having interests alike to those of Yoshimoto? Regardless, both of them do share the tendency to self-sacrifice. They also think that they may die at any moment and so, must live to the fullest in the moment (whether it would mean indulging in art or simply choosing not to have regrets).  I presume that it could perhaps indicate that a calm partner with a soothing presence would be a good idea? Somebody level enough to bring logic into play when feelings take control?

Mitsuhide (+1) Mitsunari (+1) Shingen (+1)

Only one? Hmm... But which? Eh, leaving me with such a hard task and making me choose, cruel, I say, cruel... Well then, you’re very smart in regards to humans, as in, understanding why they may act a certain way. It may not make it any easier to apply to yourself, though. I would also like to note that in case of a partner being in need of support, I wouldn’t be surprised if you hid your needs for the time being - or to have decided to take care of them completely on your own, had the suitor been in constant need of emotional support.

Nobunaga (-1) Mitsuhide (-1) Hideyoshi (+1) Mitsunari (+1) Ieyasu (+1) Kenshin (-1) Shingen (+1)

Loyalty is truly a treasured quality, indeed. I presume it would be  particularly appreciated by those who had to always stay vigilant or lack stability in their lives.

Nobunaga (+1) Mitsuhide (+1) Hideyoshi (+1) Masamune (+1) Shingen (+1)

Oh, being determined to reach your goals? That’s awesome... However, as you’ve pointed out - it’s equally important to know when to give up. As such, I’d perhaps go forward with suitors who would be able to stop your drive a little. If that was impossible, I’d at least advise against those who’d think similarly, as not to amplify it.

Nobunaga (-1) Hideyoshi (+1) Mitsunari (+1) Masamune (-1) Kenshin (+1) Yukimura (-1)

Secrets? Hm... I can see how being able to keep those could be treasured by suitors who fear showing any weakness. I presume that those who need to gather information and employ the art of espionage could appreciate it too.

Mitsuhide (+1) Ieyasu (+1) Masamune (+1) Shingen (+1)

Ahh, cooking! Well, I suppose it can be either a shared interest of... A way of forcing others to take care of themsleves?

Mitsuhide (+1) Mitsunari (+1) Masamune (+1)

I am surprised negative self-image did not make it on the list... But, I am not adding anything to it, no-no-no. :3 Deal with having technically used only 4/5 points, sweets. *evil laughter* 

I presume that suitors who are at least somewhat fluent in emotion could be a good idea to counter both anxiety and depression. It may not make matters any better, but at least the chances of them worsening it are lower. Then, to target anxiety in particular, I would perhaps look towards very honest and genuine characters. However, I would also like to point out that they perhaps should not be too spontaneous - it may not be a necessarily bad thing, but being presented with stability from the very beginning may be soothing.  Lastly, I suppose that understanding suitors may be a good choice.

Nobunaga (-2) Hideyoshi (+3) Mitsunari (+4) Kenshin (-2) Shingen (+2) Yukimura (+2) Kennyo (+2)

Chronic illness is hard to deal with, indeed. I presume that a lifestyle that isn’t too intense may be preferable. I suppose that a reliable partner would be necessary too. Now, I don’t think they’d necessarily have to know how to do everything... But then, they should be creative enough to solve the issue without relying on their significant other. Another thing to note: I suppose that it may be best if the other person did not experience severe health problems.

Nobunaga (+1) Mitsuhide (-2) Hideyoshi (+2) Mitsunari (+2) Ieyasu (+2) Kenshin (-1) Kennyo (+2) Now, since it happened for the second time: if a character does not appear in a list, but meets criteria for it? It’s because they scored equal number of positive and negative points, hence ending with a zero. They were not omitted. 

To counter the third listed point (being better at taking care of yourself when somebody reminds you to and shows effort towards it at first), I presume we could just... List the characters who do that.

Hideyoshi (+1) Masamune (+1) Yukimura (+1)

As for the last point... Since it happened only two times in 34 years of your life, I suppose it may be negligeable. Even though I have an odd feeling that Nobunaga could trigger that. Hm. 

1st Summary:

Mitsunari (+10) Hideyoshi (+9) Shingen (+5) Ieyasu (+4) Kennyo (+4) Masamune (+3) Yukimura (+2) Nobunaga (-2) Kenshin (-3)

I’m afraid I’m not a favourite of any of the warlords, so I cannot distribute any points for the last mentioned thing, haha. As for the remaining ones:

Mitsuhide (+2) - treating people as equals, lifting others up Hideyoshi (+1) - lifting others up, treating people as equals, but also: telling others what to do Mitsunari (+2) - treating people as equals, lifting others up Masamune (+2) - as above^ Shingen (+3) - as above ^ + he could like candied ginger - and he definitely would share the sweets. 

Points distributed for dislikes:

Nobunaga (-1) - causing situations that could have been avoided (and were not, partially because of his ego) Ieyasu (-3) - at first he judges MC based on assumptions, some situations could have been avoided if it were not for his stubbornness, he tries to change MC at first Masamune (-2) - he may at times go into risky situations that could otherwise be avoided (whether it makes sense depends on perspective, I suppose), he at first tires to change MC

All suitors would be delivered positive points for standing in opposition of disrespecting people based on arbitrarty criteria, such as status - and as such, no points were given out based on this dislike

2nd Summary:

Mitsunari (+12) Hideyoshi (+10) Shingen (+8) Kennyo (+4) Masamune (+3) Mitsuhide (+2) Yukimura (+2) Ieyasu (+1) Nobunaga (-3) Kenshin (-3)

Only characters with positive value by their names will be considered in the last stages of the match-up.

Yukimura (+2) - may seem too juvenile  Shingen (+8) - I presume that his way of trying to get close to MC borders coercion (he presents their chats an an opportunity to gain data, but truly, it’s a sneaky tactic to get her attention and time)

It seems none of the remaining warlords would meet any of the listed pet peeves. 

It does not help at all, but you get sparkle points for being cute, yes.

Sparkle points: +100

It seems they’ve shown themselves out by now, haha.

Final Ranking

Mitsunari (+12) Hideyoshi (+10) Kennyo (+4)

Mitsunari

Confessed first: You - and only then did he realise that the emotion he was experiencing was just that, love.

Makes tea in the morning: You.

Hogs blankets at night: You.

Is the little spoon: You, most of the time.

Possible points for conflict: Mitsunari has a strong tendency to overwork himself. As much as he’s trying to counter it, he still may forget about sleep and eating if situation demanded it... And he may be a bit hypocritical in that regard, as he’d surely get worried if you did the same. In other words: the infinite loop of “you must take better care of yourself”.

Free time ideas: Mitsunari reading you books aloud, simply lounging and taking a moment to breathe while petting Kitty, going out to eat, cooking together - with Mitsunari trying to be truly helpful and not just an obstacle in the way

Favourite date spot: The garden opposite of archives. 

A secret you share: Mitsunari is aware of your health conditions, but he would never tell anybody about them without your consent. He oftentimes goes a bit out of his way to accomodate for them, which sometimes rises confusion among the other warlords - he just brushes it off as his own new quirk.

His favourite thing about you: How knowledgeable and truly smart you are. It would suffice to say that you’ve broadened his horizons a lot.

His message to you: “Thanks for loving me despite all of my flaws. I will do my best as to work on them, prince... My love.”

[atopearth]

Samurai Love Ballad Party Part 10 - Sanada Yukimura Act 2

Yukimura is as silly and serious as always, and Saizo and his brother love to tease him as usual🤣 I guess this will focus on the aftermath of the loss of Shingen and Nobunaga, since Yukimura’s father thinks that this is the time to ally themselves with the Tokugawa but Yukimura doesn’t want to because he was a part of the motion that led to Shingen’s death. Yukimura’s agony isn’t unwarranted but his father is right that they need to focus on the present… I’ve missed Sasuke and Saizo so much, I love them! But yeah… Really can’t blame Yukimura for getting so mad during negotiations with Ieyasu when he dropped the heroine’s handmade donuts on purpose in spite, that’s something Yukimura definitely won’t stand for! It’s not good for negotiations but I don’t blame Yukimura for doing that, he’s that kinda person and it’s because he’s that kind of person that I love him😊 But even more impressive is how Yukimura handled the situation! He got mad, but he still ate up the donuts from the floor as if it was nothing, just because he didn’t want the heroine’s efforts and hard work to be for naught. He’s such a great guy😭😭

It’s terrible that the Sanada must sacrifice something in order to ally with either the Tokugawa or the Uesugi since they are too small and have too less power now… But sigh😭 It’s too difficult to have them give an important strategic area to the Tokugawa, so most likely they’ll have to agree with the condition to hand over a hostage to the Uesugi and Yukimura will be the one to go… But it’s very likely that the heroine is pregnant… What to dooo? So glad that he finally chased her back instead of letting her leave to protect him, but omg, so cute when he was so strict about her not using knives since it might stab her in the stomach🤣 Then he gets angry at the onion for tempting the heroine to cook hahaha.

I really love Kanetsugu so I’m really happy that Yukimura and Kanetsugu acknowledge each other for the men that they are and are able to even confide with each other on child rearing hahaha. It’s so cute how Yukimura is learning so much from him🤣 No wonder why Yukimura was so concerned over the heroine’s wellbeing when she was pregnant, his own mother hadn’t rested well or been taken care of properly after birth and that eventually led to her weakening health and her death… It’s kinda saddening that Yukimura and Nobuyuki have sided with different people, but I guess like Yukimura said, the only reassuring thing is that no matter who wins, the Sanada line will continue…

It’s saddening that Yukimura had lost the battle, but at least he survived to see the heroine and Momo again! But to think that a thief would steal the last bit of their money to survive… I do have to agree with the heroine that it was so saddening to hear Yukimura say that his spear isn’t something he really needs to care about as much anymore… But it’s nice to see them enjoy some peaceful days until Ieyasu came to get him to aid him in his wars to assert his Divine Rule. But Hideyoshi has also requested Yukimura to fight alongside him against Ieyasu too… What will he do? So sweet of Shingen to have thought so far ahead and have sent sake to Nobuyuki to give to Yukimura on his wedding day since he most likely won’t be able to see it😢 I’m glad that their wedding was truly a joyous occasion, the Nobunaga and Mitsuhide Act 2 weddings seemed rather solemn after all haha. But depending on Yukimura’s choice, I guess it could be the last time they can truly be happy altogether…

It couldn’t be helped with the person that he is that Yukimura would choose to side with Hideyoshi at Osaka Castle…but the most heartbreaking thing is knowing that he will most likely die😭 It hits even closer to home since I recently went to Japan and saw the rebuilt Osaka Castle, of which it told of the times it had been burnt down, in which the first was from the war with the Tokugawa😢 Yukimura’s tenacity is really one to be feared, he lost the castle, is injured badly, yet he relentlessly was able to push against the forces and get to Ieyasu. The only crappy thing is that he’s resolved himself to death and has asked Saizo to apologise on behalf of him to the heroine that he won’t be able to return to her, which is just devastating. I know Yukimura is a samurai that can only live on the battlefield and cannot live a normal peaceful life, but I’m still sad… I actually feel sorry for Ieyasu, he already voiced to Yukimura that he did not want to see him on the battlefield, so seeing him there made him hesitate, especially since he’s seen Yukimura’s kid and enjoys the heroine’s cooking, it’s hard to kill the man who has such a cute family waiting for him especially when you saw them so recently…

The only good thing that comes out of this is that there is finally a clear victory for the Tokugawa and now he truly possesses the Divine rule to stop and protect everyone because he is the one that will unite all under him… It was pretty terrible to see Ieyasu hand Yukimura’s blood soaked headband back to the heroine though, the one she so painstakingly mended and cared for, it was just heartbreaking… Sometimes I wonder whether it was really necessary for Yukimura to step into this war again, and maybe really, it wasn’t necessary, but he does have enough of a name to warrant authority and followers and I guess it was inevitable that he’d have to go back to the battlefield eventually since that is his duty and what he has lived for his whole life… Since it must have been so difficult for the heroine to have to live without him and raise their child…

Present day Yukimura is still the silliest guy ever hahaha, still so earnest, kind and self sacrificing, it reminds me of why I loved him so much, so it’s nice to see that they can get their happy ending there. Overall, Yukimura’s Act 2 was okay, I liked how there was the addition of a child and how cute Yukimura was as a doting father. The heroine and Yukimura were still so shy and blushy with each other despite them having a child already so that was kinda weird at times, since it literally made me think they actually didn’t do it at all until the baby popped lmao. It was also nice to see Yukimura’s warrior spirit and also I guess the continuation of history after both Nobunaga and Mitsuhide died… But yeah, it was cute and nice, better than Mitsuhide’s Act 2, but Nobunaga’s Act 2 is my favourite right now.