Thereâs actually a story behind this, dear @redheadkittysâ đ. Gather around and find out the truth behind Shawâs attire...
(Nb. Many thanks to the lovely @acrispyapple for providing me with the image above! đ)
Authorâs Notes: If you havenât heard George Michaelâs iconic Careless Whisper before, please do yourselves a favour and check it out. It is, in my mind, the quintessential sex sax track đ€Ł
Tearing the black apron from around a trim waist, Shaw tosses it onto the stainless steel counter, drawing stares from coworkers in the kitchen as they halt in the middle of frenzied work. Â The young man pushes through the double doors, running a hand through strands of lavender hair as he coolly ignores the cacophony of shouts calling for the sous-chef to return.
He had tried to remain calm. Â Fronted like it didnât bother him when he saw her in that body-hugging dress, strolling into the hall that had been lavishly decorated with the LFG CEOâs funds â the very guy who was now onstage doing his best impression of Yo-Yo Ma. Â Didnât even blink when that blonde superstar proved he was Itzhak Perlmanâs equal on the violin. Â Managed still to keep his cool when the professor and his own brother arrived with instruments that hinted at their phallic prowess.
He had guessed theyâd try to keep him out of sight for something as big as the third anniversary of the game, going so far as to confine him to the kitchens for the dinner gala. Â Even that, Shaw had made his peace with.
But this? This, he couldnât afford to ignore.
âCareless Whisperâ was their song. Â
Softly strummed on his guitar to lull her back to sleep on those nights where she padded out of his bedroom, hair mussed and looking like a goddess descended to Earth in nothing but his old t-shirt. âThe rain is keeping me up,â sheâd murmur with a seductive smile, extending her hand in invitation.
Yes, their song was currently being butchered by the quartet on stage and even Kiroâs magnetic voice did little to save this classical rendition that called for a very different instrument altogetherâŠ
âŠa very different kind of man.
âHey, thatâs mineâ!â
Brass cool and sleek, the heft of the sax feels just right in Shawâs hands as he rips it from the grasp of a musician in the makeshift pit of the accompanying orchestra. Â A murmur washes through the crowd, growing in volume as the man with lavender hair strides up to the stage, standing front row centre.
He waits until the echoes of halted music cease in that grand hall, feels the sharp edges of the daggers being stared into his back. Four men, all strong and powerful and yet so helpless in the face of his desire for the girl.
Heâd show them just how the song was supposed to be performed.
Lips on the reed, hands on the keys.
Eyes on the girl.
The sweet sounds of the sax swell, the signature refrains of âCareless Whisperâ filling the room to wet the panties of every woman there.
Shaw: 1. Â Paper Games: 0.
Hope you all enjoyed this little joke of a drabble! Thank you so much for reading đ Check out more of my work here! đ
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over the past few days I have been talking to Anna a lot on the whole thing that went down. The people she was referring too in her posts, and the whole fandom altogether. Anna was in the fandom longer than I was and I think there are only a handful of hold outs that are still here from the beginning.Â
The sad fact is Anna was the most neutral person in the fandom. She helped people with their questions and she never meant to be an answer blog. She was the person who did the most for all of us as a collective and a few people drove her away. That to me is unforgivable.Â
I was never to talkative with her until this happened but we had talked before. She gave artists a safe way for them to have their art spread in a way that was supposed to be safer for them. That was of course until the few toxic idiots had to go and start crap with her or better yet steal her posts. I have seen this persons blog. It is an exact copy, written word for word the same, in the exact format Anna used. Though the person in question has also talked with me that they took their posts down, I just saw they had not. This is the reason Anna left.Â
Those who know me or have followed this blog should know by now I defend my friends. I consider Anna my friend. You want to say BS about how she wasn't a creator. She was just that. She was a defender of artistâ s and their work. She worked quietly and more politely then most of us would ever be. She created a blog that gave us access to many more pieces of art then most of us would ever see. She did so with the artistâs in mind.
I hope that she does come back at some point but I will keep defending her and her posts. The fact that a bunch of idiots who canât read all that well are the ones bringing the hate to people is sad. It is even more sad that just a few of you are so self absorbed that you think your opinions are better than everyone else that you are literary sucking the life out of this fandom. So thank you for ruining something because you think your opinion is so important I will tell you right now, it isn't.
What happened with @acrispyapple is unacceptable. Do y'all realize how much money, time and effort went into Anna's blog? Not only she made posts about every route, cg, event, gacha, update, she also offered to answer to everyone's questions. All this for FIVE games. And all this properly tagged so we could refer back to anything whenever we needed. When I first found her blog, I was honestly shocked that someone really was willing to do all this.
Anna, you should do what you feel is better for yourself, but know that if you choose not to come back, you will certainly be missed đđ
Ikesen fanfiction by impracticaldemon
~ for acrispyapple, with thanks and best wishes, and
for Vespe, Yuuki, and all my other Kenshin-fan friends!
Words:Â 5800
[Note:Â about Kenshin, based on an incident in Masamuneâs route]
Coming soon to AO3 and FFnet [but tumblr isnât kind to links]
Summary: Kenshin chooses not to kill Date Masamune when the enemy warlord is saved from imminent disaster by the unexpected arrival of the rumoured Oda princess. The princessâ willingness to protect Date at all costs--and the fact that his enemy is obviously fighting injured--ruins the whole thing. But what if somebody else wants to save Kenshin?
~~~~~
The Other Manâs Princess
Anna had known it would be a difficult battle. She might not have the years of experience of the men and women around her, but she was observant, and it hadnât taken her long to learn to read the signs. At first, sheâd only been able to gauge a situation by looking at the local inhabitants as a whole: were the men cocky, serious, or grim? were the women resigned, tight-lipped, or overtly anxious? After almost a year in the Sengokuâand a hard, dangerous year it had been, until recentlyâshe was much better at understanding the nuances of war, and she noticed more subtle tells, such as increases in the price of food, and fewer merchants in the marketplace.
Sasuke arrived back at the castle first, as he usually did, to bring news to the reserve commander, Kurata, and to her. Sheâd noticed he was troubled almost immediately, even though his first message was that Kenshin was safe, and that the troops were withdrawing in good order. Apparently, the Oda had been able to bring up their reinforcements faster than expected, which meant abandoning the conflict for another day, when the Uesugi-Takeda forces had grown stronger.
âIt was pretty bad out there,â Sasuke told her confidentially, once heâd given his formal report. âIâm glad Yukimura decided to retreat. Lord Kenshin wasâwell, he was as unstoppable as everâbut the joint Date-Tokugawa cavalry had already targeted him once, and they would have gone after him again once the rest of the Oda forces arrived.â His gaze became unfocussed for a moment, and he sighed.  âI would never say this to my employerâor to Yukimuraâbut it was pretty amazing seeing Tokugawa Ieyasu and Toyotomi Hideyoshi on the battlefield together, near the height of their powers.â
Normally, Anna would have smiled knowingly at his absurd-but-genuine adoration of the Sengoku superstars, but she could tell that he was worried about Kenshin, and that made her impatient. She waved a hand in front of Sasukeâs face.
âHeyâninja boy!â She raised both eyebrows, and gave him a very direct, âstop-stallingâ look.  âI know you have to get back thereâyou always doâso you might as well tell me what you didnât tell Lord Kurata.â
His eyes slid sideways for a moment, as they usually did when he was thinking, or embarrassed, or both, but they returned shortly to meet hers. Sasukeâs expression rarely changed much, but sheâd learned to tell the difference between excited-stoic and worried-stoic. This was definitely the latter.
âAt some point during the battle, Lord Kenshin took off on his own, as he does, and he and Date Masamune ended up in a one-on-one duelâwhich is actually very rare, despite what you see in movies and stage plays.â  He paused, caught Annaâs expression, and hurried on. âAnyway, I missed what led up to it, but I was in time to see the conclusion.â
âYou were hurrying to Kenshinâs side to protect him, of course.  Iâm sure it wasnât just an opportunity to see two of the great swordsmen of the era in personal combat.â Mentally, she face-palmedâhadnât she just told Sasuke to skip the fanboy stuff? It had to be nerves.
ââŠThere may have been an element of extreme personal excitementâafter all, Uesugi Kenshin and Date Masamune never met like that in our timeline.â
âSureâgo on.âÂ
âJust as I was approaching, Lord Kenshin disarmed Lord Masamune, who appeared to be injured. It looked like Lord Kenshin was going to kill Lord Masamune, but then an Oda soldier suddenly jumped out of the grass waving a rifle, and distracted Lord Kenshin by yelling at him to stop. As you probably know, Lord Kenshin isnât easy to distract when heâs fightingâor not for very long. But this time he stopped cold, because the voice was clearly a womanâs.â
âA woman? Nobody ever lets me go off to Kenshinâs battlesânot that I want to be in them.â
They exchanged a look. Sasuke shrugged semi-apologetically; Anna shrugged in acceptance. Kenshin would never want her anywhere near such a battle, and she knew enough, after two months of getting closer to him, not to push him too far when it came to her safety.  He was a wonderful, caring, fascinatingâdevastatingly beautifulâman, but he had wounds that she was still figuring out how to heal.  Patience and steadfastness were what he needed, and once sheâd decided he was worth itâvery early on, in factâsheâd thrown herself into the joy and the trials of being there for him. Â
~~~
Sheâd originally met Kenshin in a town about a dayâs ride from Kasugayama. Heâd rescued her from two brutish ronin who were intent on dragging her off as punishment for standing up to them on behalf of an elderly shopkeeper. Kenshin had refused her thanks, but although heâd seemed coldâeven rudeâthereâd been a quality about him, beyond his obvious beauty, that had drawn her in.  When heâd saved her from the same two men just a few days later, heâd criticized her survival skills, but heâd calmly walked her home, and heâd slowed his pace to hers.  More than that, heâd told her to be herself with the people around her, something sheâd somehow forgotten how to do since being dumped into the Sengoku three months before.  It had been exactly the advice sheâd needed, and sheâd been grateful.
Not long after, sheâd met Sasuke, whoâd been shocked to discover another âfuture personâ so close by. Â Heâd offered to bring her to Kasugayama, where it was safer and more comfortable, and sheâd had little reason to refuse, and at least one good reason to accept. Â In fact, she hadnât been altogether surprised to discover that Kenshin had arranged for Sasuke to check up on her in the first place. Moreover, Kenshin hadnât seemed to mind Sasukeâs seemingly abrupt decision to bring her to the castle, despite his reputation as a woman-hater. Â She and Kenshin had spoken often since then, although Kenshin always came up with specific reasons for seeking her out, much to the amusement of his ally Takeda Shingen.
~~~
ââŠYes, it was definitely a woman, based on the voice and hair. She was pretty well disguised by her armour, butââSasuke stopped and held out a hand, as if to say, Iâm so sorry, please donât kill meââshe was awfully short for a samurai.â
He looked at her hopefully. Â It took her a long moment to catch the reference, but then she groaned.
âStar Wars, Sasuke? Really? And thatâs a really obscure reference. Youâre lucky my undergrad was science, honestly.â
âThe original Star Wars movies are a key part of geek culture, sorry.  I guess she kind of reminded me of Princess Leia. Though I suppose a Lord of the Rings reference would be more appropriateâyou know, âI am no man!â and all that.â
âSasukeââ
âLord Kenshin just stared at the woman, totally ignoring Date Masamune. But sheâwell, she tried to shoot him.â
âButâyou said he was fine! Â Or did she miss? Â Iâm impressed she could shoot one of those old matchlocks, actually.â Â And I am not feeling competitive. Â At all.
âLord Masamune rushed in and somehow managed to deflect the shotâactually knocked the barrel of the rifle up. Heâs fast.â
âI donât understand. Â Why would he protect his enemy? Â Was it some kind of dumb chauvinist thing? Â You knowâ'canât let a woman kill my enemy for meâ?â
Sasuke gave her an odd look.  âWellâŠâ he said slowly, as though feeling out his words, âyou know how I said thereâs a person like us living in Azuchi?â
âYes⊠You mean it was her?! And she tried to protect Date Masamune by shooting Kenshin?!â
Sasuke looked as unemotional as usual, but she was pretty sure it was a façade.
âIt was an interesting event from a time-travel, or alternate universe, perspective.  A person who shouldnât be there tries to kill a man who should already be deadâer, sorry if that was tactless.â  Sasuke blinked apologetically, but added, âAnd she does it for the sake of a man who died five hundred years before she was born. You can imagine how I felt.â
âNo.  No, I really donât think I can. What happened next?â
âI think Lord Kenshin was⊠very disturbed⊠by the fact that there was a woman there in front of him, clearly prepared to kill, and also, wellâŠâ
âPrepared to die?â
âYes.â
All at once, Anna could imagine how the strange scenario must have affected Kenshin, and it suddenly became far more important to see himâto reassure himâthan to hear all the details. Â Especially with Sasukeâs unique editorial commentary. No matter how bizarre it was that another time-traveller had tried to kill the man Anna loved, during a battle that had never taken place in Annaâsâor the other womanâsâown history, the important thing was that Kenshin was probably hurting.
âOkay, just give me the gist of the rest, Sasuke.â
âLord Masamune said he was ready to keep fighting, but Lord Kenshin put his sword away and walked off.  He said the fight wasnât fun anymore, so he was letting them go. I didnât want to make things more tense, so I didnât intrude.  Not that I left him alone, of course.  I made sure somebody brought him a horse. But⊠he had that smile.â
âSo Kenshinâs on his way home right now?â
âYes.  This all happened yesterday.  I left mid-afternoon to report back here. I thought⊠I thought you might want to know about it ahead of time.â
âYes, goodâthank you, Sasuke.â It came out sounding abrupt, so she tried again.  âI mean it: thank you.  Youâre a good friend, and an amazing ninja.â
âYeah, thatâs me. Â Your friendly neighbourhood spider-ninja.â Â
The words sounded oddly lonely, instead of cheerful, but she let it go. She had reviewed her options, and made her decision. Â âIâm going with you, Sasuke. Â Donât bother to argue.â
ââŠHeâs not hurt, Anna.  I promise, if he needed medical help, Iâd have told you.â  Anna had medical training, and had been working hard to learn Sengoku-era medicineâalthough it consisted mostly of inefficient herb-lore, last-ditch surgery, and opium, from what she could see.  At least Japanese doctors believed in cleanliness, unlike their European counterparts of the same century. And to be fair, a good doctor could diagnose and treat wounds, and set bones, and alleviate the effects of certain illnesses. Â
âI think he is hurt, and I think you know it.â Â She fixed him with what she hoped was a compelling stare. âNow wait for me right hereâor better yet, find me a good horse. Â It will take me less than ten minutes to change and grab my bag. Â Got it?â
~~~
âYou shouldnât be here.â Â Kenshinâs voice was flat, and Anna winced a little at his tone.
Sheâd knownâbased on Sasukeâs storyâthat heâd probably be struggling, emotionally, but it was hard not to react when it felt as though heâd suddenly decided to ignore how close theyâd become over many weeks of conversations, quiet evenings out on the engawa, and even occasional disagreements. He refused to admit it, but he was extremely protective, and theyâd had to sort out some framework they could both live with, where he knew she was safe, and she didnât feel stifled. That was a work in progress, obviously.
âI was worried about you,â she told him, letting her sincerity speak for itself. Â âI wanted to be beside you, so that I could see for myself that you werenât hurt.â
âWhy didnât you stay where you were safe? Â Iâve told you how dangerous it is to travel right now. Â You should have listened to me.â
She could tell he couldnât hear herânot properlyâand instead of frustrating her, that settled her resolve to be patient and gentle. Â Once sheâd set aside her hurt at her chilly reception, sheâd seen the expressionâthe fractured lookâthat hovered behind Kenshinâs cool stare and irritated, dismissive words.
âAs I told you, Sasuke was with me the whole time, Kenshin-sama. Â And I am always safest with you, wherever that is.â
Kenshinâs beautiful, mismatched eyes narrowed slightly, but they stopped moving restlessly around the room, and focussed on her face. Â That was better.
âIâthatâs not the point. Â You should have waited for me.â
âIâm sorry I couldnât wait. Â I wanted to see you. Â Youâre important to me.â Â Anna stretched out a hand to him, and Kenshin automatically took it, then looked almost comically surprised by his action.
They were kneeling facing each other in Kenshinâs tent. Â Anna had dissuaded Sasuke from going in with her when theyâd arrived, regardless of military protocol, and in spite of Sasukeâs evident determination to bear the brunt of Kenshinâs wrath. Â After a certain amount of argument, Sasuke had admitted that it would be pleasant not to face a sword at his throat the moment Kenshin took in Annaâs presence. Â Consequently, she and Kenshin were alone, which was for the best. Â Alone in the immediate sense, at leastâthere were thousands of soldiers in the camp around them.
Kenshin cleared his throat. Â She knew that he wanted to keep making his points about her safety, and about following orders, but he felt constrained by their joined hands, and by the comfort he took from her touchâsomething that heâd told her once, after enough sake to poison the ordinary man.
ââŠI suppose youâre here now.  And at least you came straight to me, and are unharmed.â  His gaze softened a little, but Anna didnât relax her guard.  He was no longer cold, or frowning, but his smile remained disquieting.  âYou know⊠If I canât be sure that youâll stay in the castle while Iâm away, I may need to take better precautions to keep you safe.â
âI already feel safe,â Anna said immediately, working hard to keep her tone light, but firm.
âYou arenât always careful enough, Anna.â Â Kenshin suddenly extended his free hand to caress her cheek and jaw, catching her off-guard. Â Although he had once rested his head on her lap, and they often held hands latelyâby strictly unspoken accordâthis touch was new, and more deliberately intimate. It was also undeniably possessive.
âI appreciate your concern, Kenshin-sama,â Anna responded, as calmly as she could. Â She did her best to focus on the tricky situation with Kenshinâs emotions, rather than the rush of warmth that flowed outward from his hand. Â âHoweverââ
âI sometimes wonder if I should lock you in your quarters, for your own protection. Â You can be reckless.â Â Both tone and expression were bright and brittle.
Anna managed not to react to the threatening words; sheâd known that it was a risk to come out to meet him. Â Instead of pulling away, she resolutely set aside her fear of being locked up in favour of conveying how much she appreciated his touch. Â She covered Kenshinâs hand on her cheek with her own, and turned her face further into his palm.
âI know that itâs important for me to be careful,â she told him, âmost of all when Iâm not with you.â
Kenshinâs eyes narrowed, but after a moment of surpriseâit obviously wasnât the reaction heâd expectedâsharpness gave way to interest, and a hint of amusement. His fingers on her face gentled and then stilled.
âAre you trying to persuade me that your journey here was undertaken with safety in mind? Because you are safer with me?â He stroked her cheekbone with the pad of his thumb, and she wished she could just relax and enjoy beingâsomehowâimportant to this very special man.
âI wouldnât go that farâŠâ
âNo?â  Kenshin leaned forward, so that their faces were almost touching.  The humour had vanished from his two-coloured gaze. âThatâs good⊠But you wonât promise to stay put.  And a woman doesnât belong on the battlefield.â  His grip on her hand and face tightened again.  âHow can I make you understand?â
âI understand, Kenshin-sama.â Â She might not appreciateâor agree withâhis declaration, but she also knew better than to take it at face value. Â Kenshin was trying to use a simple, obvious (to him) statement to express a complex fear. âI know you donât want me to go onto a battlefield, and I agree that it would be too risky.â Â For now, anyway, she added silently to herself. Â Sometimes it was hard to wait patiently, not knowing how things were going, wondering if she could be helpful.
âYou say you understand, butââ
Anna could almost see the struggle going on behind his ice-sculpture features. Â He knew, rationally, that she hadnât been the woman on the battlefield when he was fighting Lord Masamune. Â But the sight of a woman in mortal danger had clearly opened old wounds. Â It made her sad to see him so obviously afraid, even when he expressed it as concern for her safety. Â He was fearless by nature, and immensely strong, but that just made it worse for him.
âI have never ventured onto a battlefield,â she assured him. More slowly, she added: âAndâI wonât. Â Not unless you agree to it first.â Â Sheâd given it a lot of thought during the ride to the camp. Â It had been a struggle from the beginning to balance her modern views on freedom with the realities of life in feudal Japan. Â But sheâd decided this was a choice she could give up, for Kenshinâs sake.
âWell, I donât agree to it. Â And I wonât.â Â Kenshinâs words were forceful. She would have been irritated, if she didnât understand him as well as she did now. Â âIt would be foolish and pointless. Â I wonât allow you to put yourself in such danger.â
âI will accept your decision.â
âYou have to.â Â He was torn between asserting his authorityâthe man was akin to a divine prince to his clan, after allâand seeking reassurance. Â Not that he was one to invoke his rank, or power, explicitly. Â It was just part of who he was. Â Anna sometimes challenged that assumption of authority, as it applied to her, but she understood it.
âI mean it, Kenshin-sama. Â I will not follow you onto a battlefield without your knowledge and agreement.â She couldnât quite bring herself to say permission. Â âYou donât have to force me to obey you. This is important to you, so Iâll let you decide.â
âAnnaâŠâ
âYes?â
He remained silent, unable, or unwilling, to voice his thoughts. Â After a time, he seemed to reach a decision that satisfied him, and he smiled.
âI will take you home.â
âYouâll take me back to Kasugayama? Â I meanânow?â Â It was getting late; the sun had disappeared over an hour ago.
âIt will be fine. Â I know the road well, and I can be back here well before dawn.â
âButâŠâ  This time it was Anna who was at a loss for words.
Kenshin withdrew his hands, although he paused to stroke her hair in a reassuring manner. Â Anna felt her heart thump almost painfully in her chest, and for just a moment she forgot how to breathe. Â Which was ridiculous! Â He affected her like this, more and more as time went on, but she could never decide what part of the attraction was his physical beauty, and what part was everything elseâhis integrity, his (constantly denied) kindness, his strange combination of strength and fragility. Â Or maybe sheâd been truly lost when sheâd come to believe that he needed her?
âWeâll just take one horse, to avoid being separated, or attacked.â Â The brisk, almost enthusiastic, statement brought her sharply back to earth.
âBut, why do we have to go at all?  You must be tiredâŠâ  Not that he ever seemed tired after even the most gruelling battles.  This time, though, she saw traces of strain.
âWeâre not far from the castle, by horse. Â Itâs much slower for the infantry, of course.â Â Kenshin regarded her intently, frowning a little. Â âOr are you tired after riding here? Â You can rest, and have tea, while I hear Sasukeâs report.â Â His expression changed when he mentioned Sasuke, and Anna suspected there would be swords involved. âTo be expected,â Sasuke had told her.
âKenshin-sama. Â Isnât there room for me in the camp? Â I thought it would be pleasant for youâfor usâto see each other, even if you didnât have much time to spare.â Â
Of course, she didnât say that she had needed to make sure for herself that he was coping all right with his strange encounter with The Other Womanâthe other time-travellerâwho isnât The Other Woman in any way, why did I even think that? Ugh! Â It was annoying to realize that there had been a twinge of jealousy in her sentiments toward a woman who might even be a friend, if they could ever meet. Â Or maybe Iâm just worried that it isnât me whoâs special, and any woman from the future would be new and interesting?
âItâs better to return to the castle.â Â Now his tone was flat, and that caught her immediate attention. âIââuncharacteristically, he seemed to change what he was going to sayââappreciate your effort in coming here.â Even though they werenât touching, she could sense tension return to his body as fairness warred with instinct. âIt wasnât wise of you, but you were anxious. Â Women are emotional.â
As if you arenât! Â Amazingly, she managed to keep that to herself. Â It was worth being patient if she could help. Â Kenshin had come to terms with her arrival relatively quickly, had even seemed reassured to have her nearâfor a short while. Â But now he wanted her back in the castle, and it might be more sensible to give in. Â Hopefully, he wasnât serious about locking her up.
âIf weâre going to go back, then Iâd rather leave sooner than later.â Certain parts of her body wanted to protest the whole idea of getting back into the saddle, but she was starting to catch Kenshinâs restlessness. Â Or maybe they both wanted to be away from others for a while?
Kenshin nodded, relaxing, but he scrutinized her closely before rising to leave the tent. Â When Anna moved to follow him, he waved her back.
âYou might as well rest a little. Â I have to talk to Sasuke either way, and it may take me some time to get away.â
âBut I thoughtââ
âI wonât go farââAnna was quite sure he wouldnâtââso donât worry. Â Get some rest.â
He spoke brusquely, and left the tent without looking back, but Anna was only briefly discomposed. Â She guessed that Kenshin had noticed her fatigue from the earlier ride, and was giving her an excuse to recover before starting back. Â Of course, heâd made it impossible to refuse.
~
They left an hour later. Â Sasuke saw them off, his face even more unreadable than usual in the gloom. Â He appeared to be uninjured. The moon was still low in the late summer sky, but approaching full; its light dimly illuminated the path theyâd be taking through a rippling series of hills and valleys. Â There wasnât much flat land in Japan, once you were away from the sea.
Kenshin had insisted that Anna ride with him for safetyâs sake, but she hadnât needed convincing. Â The rest had helped, but while Kenshin knew every part of this route, and rode as easily as he walked, she had no such knowledge, or skill. Â Privately, she thought that the danger of falling off her horse, or guiding it into a hole, far exceeded the chance of being attacked. She couldnât imagine any bandits stupid enough to prey on the roads this close to Kasugayama. Â Besides, sheâd come to be with Kenshin, so why wouldnât she ride with him?
âAre you comfortable?â
âYes, thank you, Kenshin-sama.â Â
It wasnât quite true, since sheâd become unexpectedly self-conscious from the moment heâd lifted her into the saddle and seated himself behind her. His arms were warm around hers, and it was impossible not to be fully aware of hisâtaut, lean, muscledâbody against her back. Â They both wore thin summer clothing, and despite Annaâs light haori, worn in deference to the damp night air, she felt as though they were practically skin-to-skin. She was glad she was facing mostly away from Kenshin.
âDo you always ride so stiffly? Â No wonder you were tired. Â Didnât Sasuke teach you to ride?â
âOh! No⊠I mean, yes, maybe that was it.â
Kenshin shifted, transferring the reins to one hand, and tightening his other arm around her. Â She tensed, and then gave up and settled back against his chest. Â How could she resist? Â She wondered if her heart-beat was as loud to Kenshin as it seemed to her. Probably not. Â Right?
âAre you sure youâre all right? Â You seem alarmed. Â Thereâs nothing to fear while youâre with me, and we have no need for haste, so I wonât push the horse.â
Or maybe he had super-human powers of observation, when he wasnât focussed on other things. Â Looking down, she realized that his hand was wrapped carefully around hers, and his thumb was pressed to her racing pulse. Â Of course. Â So he had noticed her pounding heart-rate. Â While riding a battle-trained horse through the near-dark on a winding, hilly trail.
âIâm not alarmed. Â Iâm not afraid of being attacked, Iâm not afraid of falling off, and Iâm not afraid that youâll go too fast. Â You pretend itâs not true, but you are very considerate of me.â
He was loosening up as he rode, she could tell. Â She, on the other hand, was struggling to keep her cool. Kenshinâs voice carried warm breath past her ear as they rode, and it was yet another distraction to add to all the other pleasant-but-possibly-inappropriate distractions happening right now. Â She wondered, again, what he really thought of her.
âIs it considerate to make you ride through the night with me after you have just endured the same ride in the opposite direction?â
âMm, okay, Iâm not sure on that one, but if youâll tell me why, then I can answer your question.â
âYou can be very stubborn.â
âSo can you.â
ââŠIâve heard that before.  I wish you wouldnât quote Shingen at me.  Itâs annoying.â
He was âannoyedâ enough to tighten his grip on her, but it felt a lot more like a hug than anything bad. Â Anna realized that sheâd be very okay with hugging him back, if they werenât on horseback, on a difficult trail, in the middle of the night. Inadvertently, she sighed.
âWhat is it, Anna?â
âNothing.â
âAh.â Â His breath tickled her ear again, and thenâand thenâhe softly kissed her temple.
âKenshin!â Â Did she really squeak like a fangirl just there? Â Yes, yes, she did. Â Damn.
âSasuke told you about the womanâDateâs womanâdidnât he?â
âUmâyes?â Â Context? Hello? Â Did you just move from kissing me to asking whether I knew about the other womanâno, the other time-traveller who just happened to be a woman? Â She was curious, irritated, and a little âglowyâ all at once.
âAnd thatâs why you came to see me?â
âYes⊠I suppose thatâs true.  I was worried.â
âThere was no need to worry about me. Â Sasuke sometimesâfrequentlyâoversteps his bounds.â
âI worry about you, Kenshin-sama. Â I care about what happens to you, and I think about what youâre doing. I wonder if you are all right.â
âI didnât want you anywhere near the battlefield. Â Or in an armed camp full of men. Â Sasuke shouldnât have brought you here.â
Okay, now what? Â
âIs that the answer to why weâre riding through the night like this when you should be back at camp overseeing your army?â
âThere were a lot of wounded. Â Oda Nobunagaâand in this case, Date Masamune and Tokugawa Ieyasuâis a worthy opponent.â
She wanted to point out that heâd just changed the subject again, but over their time together sheâd become adept at following his thoughts. Â It took an agile mind, and a certain intuition, but she could do it. Â Sometimes, she made him spell it out anyway, but it was so comfortable being with him like this that her inclination to push back was waning rapidly.
âYou didnât want me to insist on tending the wounded?â
âI didnât want you wandering campâit would be dangerous and inappropriate.â
Inappropriate? Â She wasnât sure whether he meant that she might see, or hear, inappropriate things, or whether he was just being weirdly jealous. Â Come to think of it, he could mean both.
âI donât think I would be in any danger in your camp, with you nearby,â she said, seriously. Â âBut I travelled to the camp for the sole purpose of seeing you, and even if I didnât like it, I would follow your instructions while at the camp.â
âShe saved Dateâs life, you know. Â I probably would have killed him before Tokugawa could get to him. Â Though he showed surprising stamina for a man who I suspect was badly wounded.â Â Kenshinâs assessment was ungrudgingâhe admired courage and strength in friend and foe alike. âI look forward to a proper fight in the future.â
âSetting aside your quest for a suitable opponentâŠâ  Anna leaned her head back more securely against Kenshinâs chest, and suppressed a sigh of contentment.  âYou know that Iâd do a lot to save your life, right?â
Kenshin immediately tensed. Â âYou promisedââ
âBut you have my word that I wonât chase you onto a battlefield.â
âGood.  I donât need you to.  Youâre a very strange womanâI shouldnât have to make you promise not to subject yourself to⊠all that.â
âIn exchangeââ
âYouâre trying to bargain with me?â
âIâm hoping youâll hear me out.â Â She took the silence that followed as assent, if not happy assent. Â âI want you to promise youâll live.â
âYou what? Thatâsââ Â He stopped abruptly.
âIâm very sorry if Iâve upset you, Kenshin-sama.â Â She hadnât wanted to. Â Sheâd much rather have ridden on without conflict. Â âBut I care about what happens to you. Â It will make it easier for me to stay away from battles, or war camps, or whatever, if I know that you are doing your utmost to come back safe and sound.â
âYou donât need to worry. Â Nothing ever touches me.â
âKenshin-sama⊠I trust you.  So if you tell me that you will do your utmost to live, then I will believe it.â Sheâd try, anyway.  But it would help a lot if she knew he cared enough to come back.  Sheâd heard the whispers that he couldnât be touched, couldnât be killed, because he was the so-called God of War.  It just made her more worried, since sheâd already noticed a certain sad fatalism in Kenshin.
They rode in silence for several long minutes after that. Â Kenshinâs grip on her slowly relaxed, but remained strong enough to be reassuring. Â She found she had to keep pressing her lips together not to add to what sheâd saidâwhether to cajole, or entreat, or just argue. Â Eventually, she heard Kenshin sigh, but gently, like a release of pent-up breath. Â He drew the horse to a careful stop, allowed the reins to loop over the pommel of the saddle, and wrapped both arms around Anna.
âI told Date Masamune that dying for love was the worst kind of foolishness. Â And it was both of them! Â She risked everything to be thereâsheâd already interposed herself between us once, earlier in the fight, although neither of us knew it. Â But Date was worse. Â He was losing, heâd just dropped his sword, and he still had the nerve to knock away his womanâs killing shot.â
âBravado?â Â Sheâd suggested that before, but Kenshin hadnât answered her. Â Right now she cared more about Kenshin talking to her, and holding her, than anything else, but she was still a little curious.
âNo, worse. Â He didnât want her to have to kill. Â He didnât want it to change her. Â I didnât hear all of it, but that was the gist.â
âI think thatâsââ Anna stopped on the edge of saying that she thought it was very sweet. Â More than just sweet, it showed true caring and protectiveness.
âIt was ridiculous. Â He endangered both of them by not letting her shoot. Â I had to let them go after that.â
âOf course you did.â Â Because he was a good man, and had too much integrity to pursue a fight under such circumstances. Â And probably because seeing the woman there shocked him. Â But either way, it was just like him to refrain from mindless killing, despite leaving an enemy commander alive.
âI wasnât being kind.  They took all the enjoyment out of the fightâboth of them.  âŠAnd Iâd heard Date was a ruthless adversary, the kind of man who didnât let sentiment come in the way of his duty!â
He sounded peeved, Anna thought. Â She had to smile. Â She hid her face so that he couldnât accuse her to laughing at him. Â Then she felt a kiss on her hairâthe first of several. Her body temperature seemed to rise with each kiss, and the way his hands were stroking her back. Â She didnât protest when Kenshin finally lifted her face up to his and pressed his lips to hers. Â A hand slid into her hair, and their kiss deepened, becoming more passionate.
When it finally ended, they were both short of breath. Â Anna wondered if she looked as startled andâhappy?âas Kenshin. Â Probably worse, she decided.
âYouâll stay safe?â Â He spoke almost too softly to hear.
âIâll do everything I can to stay safe. Â How about you?â Â The moonlight turned his hair and eyes to silver; he looked almost otherworldly.
âIâllâYou know Iâll need to go on fighting?â
âYes.â Â She wouldnât debate the need, or whether it was personal, or duty.
âYet you still want me to stay safe?â
âI want you to promise to keep yourself alive.â
âI can do that.â
âThen I will promise to stay as safe as possible, and to stay alive, for you.â
âAnna, you areââ
âVery strange?â
To her surprise, he laughedâshe wasnât sure sheâd heard him laugh before.
âI was going to say stubborn. Â And hard to resist.â Â He stopped laughing, and bent to kiss her just below the ear, in a way that made her gasp. Â âAlso, right now, I want you all for myself.â Â He kissed her jaw, and the corner of her mouth.
Anna hummed her agreement. Â That wasnât a problem: Â she wanted Kenshin all to herself, as well. Â Really, this moonlight ride made perfect sense, now that she thought about it. Â Sheâd just have to count on Kenshin to keep her from falling off the horse.
[END]
A/Note: I hope you enjoyed this foray into the âokay, but what about Kenshin?â or âand in the background...â or âoff-stage...â If you get a chance, let me know what you think!
Note 2: I didnât tag anybody, because tumblr search isnât good about *any* links anymore, including links to people on tumblr (eyeroll). Iâm still trying to figure out a work-around for this!Â
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Iâve been listening to Utada Hikaruâs song, âFinal Distanceâ and felt inspired by the lyrics to write an angsty drabble for Nobunaga. Dedicated to @toreii because sheâs amazing and Nobunagaâs hoe. Also tagging @acrispyapple  because she gives me grief. Just kidding, love you, Anna. Enjoy!
âI want to be with you now.â he murmured as he held onto her hand.
âBut look at our distance with the two of us.â she replied as she pulled away from him.
âWe can still make it and start over again.â he urged.
âWe canât be as one.â she surmised before turning to leave his side.
The heartbreaking conversation he had with her ran through his mind as he stared at his empty bottle of sake. Did he neglect her for so long that she no longer thought that she was important to him? Was she still bothered by his decision to take on a concubine per the orders of his clan? Didnât she know that he still and only loved her?
Nobunaga sighed and stood up from his desk. Maybe a walk would help him clear his mind. But before he could even move, the partition flew open with a heavy thud and Nobunaga looked up to see Mitsunari out of breath with windswept hair.
âPardon my intrusion milord, but we have an emergency! [Name] has run off with one of our horses, and she has left a note behind for you.â Mitsunari spoke as he rushed over to Nobunaga and handed him the scroll.
Furrowing his eyebrows, Nobunaga quickly opened the note and saw [Name]âs handwriting. It looked like she was in a rush when she wrote it, and although she kept her message brief, he knew what she had meant. She was still troubled by their growing distance.
âIâm tired of swimming and even youâve become silent. I want to see you, but an invisible wave pushes us. Again, just a little more distance.â
âGather some vassals to form a search party immediately and fetch me my horse. We leave now to find her.â Nobunaga stated as he tightened his grip on the note and moved past Mitsunari with a flutter of his white haori.
âUnderstood, milord.â And with that said, Mitsunari rushed out of the room to gather more members for their search party.
With Mitsuhide and Masamune using their tracking skills to find [Name], Nobunaga felt his heart burn with fury as cold raindrops splashed onto his face. Was she this careless to run off during a stormy night? Did he cause her this much pain for her to not even care what would happen to her? Of all the nights to run away, why this one?
âIt looks like her trail leads to an open meadow. I think she would have been traveling to Echigo at this point.â Masamune affirmed as lightning flashed through the night sky.
âWeâll find her and take her home. She wonât survive in this storm.â Nobunaga declared as he galloped towards the meadow.
Suddenly, through the curtain of the rain, Nobunagaâs eyes widened when he saw the person he was looking for. There she was, in all her sorrow and beauty, standing in the rain with her hand stretched out and staring up at the night sky as though she was waiting for the gods to respond to her and answer her prayer.
She was so far from him yet so close to being in his grasp. If only he could just hurry and reach her and close their distance.
â[Name]!â he called out, hoping that she would spare him a look of acknowledgment.
As [Name] heard her name, she turned to glance at him with apathetic eyes. The warmth that she once held for him had disappeared long ago. But despite the look in her eyes, she gave him one last small smile and opened her mouth to speak.
But Nobunaga could not hear her words. They didnât reach him as he tried to ignore the calls of his men in order to reach out to her to close the distance between them. Then, without warning, a flash of lightning struck in [Name]âs spot and frightened his horse from galloping any further.
As he shielded his face with his arm, the brightness of the lightning also blinded his view for a temporary moment before it disappeared and everything had calmed down once again. But as he looked to where [Name] had stood, he saw that she was no longer there. It was at that moment that he figured that the wormhole had taken her back to her time. Regardless, it didnât change the fact that he was alone again.
âYou, who gets hurt with a single word, taught me what loneliness is again.â he thought with a pained smile.
âMilord, are you alright?â Mitsuhide asked as he rode up to Nobunaga.
But the Devil King did not respond as he got off his horse and walked over to where the lightning had struck. He crouched down to touch the wet soil with one hand and covered his eyes with the other.
âNobunaga, I wanna be with you. Someday, even with this distance, weâll be able to embrace it.â
Nobunaga looked up at the sky and allowed the raindrops to mix with his distraught tears. Perhaps it was best for [Name] to return to the modern world where she would not have to deal with the issues of his clan and politics of this era. It didnât suit someone as wonderful as her. He had to simply let her go for her own sake at this point. After all, she would always hold a special place in his heart.
But for their love now, this was the final distance.
So I never expected I would fall into otome hell, but now that I'm here I just want you guys to know that I love this fandom. You guys are fucking hilarious and I am living
tagged by @acrispyapple thankie~  (°âĄÂ°âĄ).:ïœĄÂ
edit: I realized too late that I posted this to the wrong blog so shh Iâll reblog it to the right one
10. Chris Hemsworth
9. Iâm not âalrightâ, Iâm Katsura from gintama
8. the gom + kagami from knb
7. Ryuji Sakamoto from persona 5
6. Hideyoshi Nagachika from tokyo ghoulÂ
5. Like more than half of the cast from utapri
5. Eichi Tenshouin & Wataru Hibiki from ensemble stars
4. Mitsuki Izumi & Momose Sunohara from idolish7
3. Nikkari Aoe & Kasen Kanesada from touken ranbu
2. Takashi Natsume from natsume yuujinchou
1. Makoto Tachibana from free!
Thereâs a lot of pairs, I love too many characters/people and Iâm bad at ranking. if only this was a top 20 list. tagging: anyone really! I never know who actually likes doing this type of thing so if you do end up doing this, tag me! Iâm forcing  @krazy19kat @dicksoutforzarkon to do this though~ (â„Ïâ„ ) ~âȘ