The Beauty of the West: The Gold Route

Chapter Eight:A Small Rest

I returned to my room and changed out of my sweaty clothes. I didn't have anything fancy, just extra training clothes. It looked almost identical to what Sensei wore.

I met Lord Ieyasu near the front like I said I would. He was waiting patiently, hands folded, facing the other way. I walked up to him, trying to ignore my nervousness completely.

"There you are, Raven." Lord Ieyasu greeted me when he saw me.

"Ready to go, My Lord? I hope you weren't waiting too long.."

"I don't think I would ever be waiting too long, no matter how long it was." He said with that smile of his. I tried not to blush, rather, I tried to just play it cool. It was sweet of him to say, though.

"I'm honored you feel that way, My Lord." I returned the smile.

"The honor is mine. Now. Shall we go?"

I nodded, and followed Lord Ieyasu out of Saica Territory. There was a small teahouse and inn some ways away, and I comfortable just walking there with him. It was nice to get out of all that commotion that was the Saica faction.

"I have so many questions, Raven, there is much I wish to know about you."

"I'll be happy to answer them..atleast to the best of my ability." I replied. The truth was,  I didn't know much more about me than he did. And that's sad. "What would you like to know?"

"First, if I may ask....what is your name?"

"(Y/N). My name is (Y/N)."

"(Y/N), huh... and your last name?"

"I uh...I don't remember. Odd as it sounds...I don't even remember where I came from."

"How long had you been with the Oda when I found you?"

"14 years..." I was ashamed to remember. "I'm so glad that nightmare is over. And it's thanks to you, My Lord."

"I was glad to help, and I'm happy my men were there."

"Why were you there,  anyway?"

"I thought the Demon King's men were acting more suspicious than usual. I used to be allied with him, so I know what he is capable of. It was a hunch."

"That was pure luck. I thought I was going to die in there."

"It was fate. Perhaps I was meant to find you." He smiled, and it made me blush.

He led me to the teahouse inn and we got something to eat. We sat there with tea and dumplings while we talked.

"(Y/N)..." he began after taking a sip of his tea. "I hadn't yet expressed my gratitude for the way you protected me. Twice."

"Hm?" I looked at him, wondering what he was referring to.

"When we first came here, you stepped in between Magoichi and I.  And then again today when you completed your training for my well being. Had either of those been actual life threatening situations, I would really be in your debt."

"My Lord, if I may be honest with you...it annoys me to see someone threaten you. You are important in a way that you cannot be replaced."

"And you think that you can just throw your life away in place of mine?"

"You're important to this war, and to this country. And I'm just..." I trailed off. "I just want to be useful to you."

"You are more than just a life to throw away. I want you to understand that." He mentioned softly,  and placed his hand on mine. I tried not to feel all jumpy and nervous, but I felt myself jump a little bit.

"It is an honor, my lord."

"Hey, did you hear about the summer  festival?" We both heard from a table next to ours. It definitely caught our attention.

"No, what is it?" Another person asked.

"A festival that lasts all the way through the summer. There's drumming, and fireworks.....there's tons of things to do!"

"How does that sound.... (Y/N)...?" Lord Ieyasu looked back at me.

"A summer festival? I wouldn't know what to do there. " I laughed. It's true, I didn't even know what fun was.

"(Y/N), there is much we need to do concerning this war with the west. There are still people we need to talk to, to ask about an alliance with us. But after it's all over..."

"Yes, my Lord?"

"Would you mind too terribly, joining me for this festival?"

It was silent amongst the two of us as I processed the fact that he had asked me out for the second time that day.

"You want me to go...to that?"

"...with me."

"My Lord...I'd love to." I agreed. "But I'm afraid I would have nothing to wear...and I may be a drag to be around."

"What you have on is fine...what makes you think you'll be a drag?"

"I've never... I just don't know how to act."

"Well. Either way, I'd love it if you accompanied me."

"Of course, My Lord, I will be there."

He stared at me momentarily with a slight smile before realizing he was staring at me, and took a sip of his tea.

(Ieyasu's POV)

I had asked  (Y/N) to join me at the festival we were just hearing about. It was funny that I had never heard of such a thing.

She said that she would love to go with me. I'm sure she was only saying that because she felt obligated to. It would be a while before we got to go, but I wanted to tell her something really important on the night of the fireworks. Other than that, I really wanted to express my gratitude for her being so protective over me. Would she accept my affections toward her though, I wonder? Either way, I was going to take her to that festival, and have an amazing time.

Telling the truth here, (Y/N) was beautiful. I thought so from the very beginning, even though she didn't speak. And now that she could, I felt myself wanting to talk to her more and more.

I had learned so much about her.  Some things she told me gave me a sense that I may have met her before. But, that was impossible since she had  been locked away all those years. This of course made me curious about her family. I wanted to see if I could find them for her. I was going to try, after this war was settled.