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DAY THREE: "Only If It Makes You Happy..."
Fandom: Ikemen Sengoku, Canonverse
Ieyasu knew he waited too long to say anything.
“Ieyasu-sama,” Mitsunari whispered over his stack of books to Ieyasu sitting across from him.
“ What, ” Ieyasu hissed. He was halfway through an excruciatingly dense text and did not need his train of thought interrupted.
“I’m sorry to bother you Ieyasu-sama, but this is about Kira-sama.”
Ieyasu huffed. Everywhere. Everyone. All about the castle. ‘Kira-sama’ this, and ‘the chatelaine’ that. Ieyasu was sure he heard her name more often than the rooster crows he’s heard his entire life. Ieyasu almost wished the damn woman died in the fire while rescuing Nobunaga.
When Ieyasu didn’t say anything, Mitsunari continued. “I can’t get her off my mind.” Mitsunari frowned. “I keep wondering if she’s well. And sometimes I think about how her face lights up when she talks about the seamstress jobs and…”
Ieyasu raised his weary eyes to the ceiling as Mitsunari prattled on about the chatelaine and how cute she was and blah blah blah. He wanted to vomit. “ What is your point, Mitsunari.”
“-Oh,” Mitsunari stopped his rambling. “I...I’m not sure how to process everything. What do these thoughts all mean?”
Ieyasu dropped his head on his palm. How dense could one person be ? “I have a better question, Mitsunari. Why aren’t you asking Hideyoshi or Masamune about this? Unlike me, they actually enjoy talking to her, remember?”
“Oh. I never considered that,” Mitsunari said. “I know how you don’t like wasting the time of others. It’s so nice of you to let her explore everything around her, herself.”
Ieyasu gave him a look of disbelief. How Mitsunari managed to finesse an optimistic approach to Ieyasu’s contrarian nature was a natural wonder. Ieyasu’s eyes flickered back down to his book, incredibly unfocused now. “Yeah, whatever.”
Ieyasu tried to ignore the tug in his throat when Mitsunari got up to interrogate one of the other warlords.
“It’s cute, isn’t it?” Masamune said as the three of them watched Mitsunari and Kira exchange happy greetings. “If she wasn’t already taken, I’d scoop her up myself.”
Ieyasu scrunched his nose. “It’s disgusting. If I wanted to watch two idiots mucking around, I’d volunteer to monitor the chicken coop.”
“Ieyasu! What did I tell you about being mean to Mitsunari?” Hideyoshi said.
“He can’t even hear me,” Ieyasu said.
“Ohohoho. Go easy on him, Hideyoshi,” Masamune said. “He’s just as jealous as the rest of us.” He shot Ieyasu a wink.
“Mm!” Ieyasu sent Masamune a glare before turning on his heel and leaving. He didn’t care about stupid Mitsunari and stupid Kira. Ieyasu ground his teeth. Unlike everyone else, Ieyasu couldn’t afford to waste his time on stupid things.
“Ieyasu-sama?”
“What.”
“I want to buy Kira-sama a pretty flower arrangement, but I just realized I don’t know her favorite color.”
“Okay. Why do I care.”
“Well, I was wondering if you knew her favorite color.”
A sigh. “I don’t know, Mitsunari. But I noticed she wears a lot of blues.”
“Oh! You’re so observant, Ieyasu-sama! I am forever in your debt.”
A tug on the heart. “Yeah. Whatever.”
“Ieyasu-sama?”
“What.”
“I’m putting together a mix of tea leaves to give to Kira-sama. What kind do you think I should--”
“You’re what ?? Let me deal with this Mitsunari.”
“Oh, I couldn’t ask you to do that, Ieyasu-sama. I would just like some suggestions--”
“I’d rather not have to deal with taking care of her dying body. Just let me pick out the herbs before you give it to her.”
“Really? You would do that, Ieyasu-sama?” Eyes twinkle.
A gruff mumble. “I’d rather not see you weeping around the castle, so yeah.”
Hands clasp hands. “Thank you, thank you!”
He stutters. “It’s whatever. No need to touch me!”
“Ieyasu-sama?”
“ What ?”
“I want to take Kira-san out to eat and--”
“What?” Ieyasu nearly walked into one of the banisters in the corridor. Kira- san ? Since when had they gotten so close?
Mitsunari put a steady hand on Ieyasu’s arm, eyes curious. “Are you alright, Ieyasu-sama?”
“Yeah.” Ieyasu weakly tugged his arm out of Mitsunari’s grasp. He could still feel Mitsunari’s touch in the fading heat of his fingers. He looked away. “What do you want?”
“I need to find the perfect restaurant to take Kira-san for lunch together.”
Since when did Mitsunari pay attention to his diet? “Shouldn’t this be something you ask Masamune or something?”
Mitsunari hesitated. “I suppose, but...your opinion is the most important to me, Ieyasu-sama!”
Ieyasu gaped at Mitsunari’s glowing smile. It wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair. No one should look so angelic. “Wh--”
“I trust you have the best taste for flavors and healthiness.” Mitsunari leaned closer to a slowly reddening Ieyasu.
Ieyasu almost jerked backward. “Uh. If you really insist. I don’t go out to eat with women, Mitsunari.” There’s only one person I’d want to spend time with .
Mitsunari beamed. “I appreciate you taking time to help me with this, Ieyasu-sama. I really want to make Kira-san happy.”
“Yeah,” Ieyasu muttered. The two continued down the corridor to the library. Ieyasu swallowed hard. “Whatever you say.”
“Ya seem a bit more gloomy than usual, lad.” Masamune elbowed Ieyasu lightly at the post-battle feast.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ieyasu said. “Pass the chilli paste.” He held out his hand, eyes focused off in the other direction where Mitsunari and Kira were sneaking not-so-secret looks at each other. Ieyasu found himself lingering on them throughout the meal.
Masamune tapped the jar on Ieyasu’s temple. Ieyasu snatched it with a glare.
“You should really say something before it gets too far,” Masamune said, eyeing the couple. “At least confessing to her will help you move on, at the very least.”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.” Ieyasu nearly dumped the entire jar of paste on his plate. He considered dipping some in his tea. Maybe that pain would be enough of a distraction. The image of Kira running into Mitsunari’s arms post-battle made him want to tear apart the room.
“Come, now, Ieyasu,” Mitsuhide perked up from across the table. “Everyone notices how much you look at the happy couple.”
The twinkle in Mitsuhide’s eye made Ieyasu stiffen. Apparently, not everyone was convinced Ieyasu was in love with the chatelaine .
“Yeah. I look at them. With disgust,” Ieyasu said. “It’s always good to have a mental refresher of what true gruesome sights really are when I’m healing men who have their legs half-sawed off.”
Masamune shook his head.
“Unusual of you to give up without trying,” Mitsuhide murmured so only Ieyasu could hear.
“He’ll end up happier this way,” Ieyasu said. He shoved an entire spoonful of chilli paste in his mouth, focusing on the burn on his throat to forget the rest of the pain.