Surprisingly to Y/N , when she wakes up the next morning at Yahiko's restaurant, she spots Shinji having his breakfast among one of the early guests. They did not make any agreement to see each other again today since she felt guilty for involving him last night. But Shinji came without a notice. Though she cannot deny that she is happy to see him again and is unable hide the joy on her face.
Seeing Shinji without the makeover as the soft sunray bathes over him, he shines beyond anyone in the restaurant, effortlessly. One could easily spot out Shinji from a crowd of people. He has that different, distinguished aura from others. A powerful presence by itself.
Y/N has breakfast and gives him another makeover before offering him another tour of the day, this time asking for his favorite dish and what he wants to see. To her surprise, he wants to try the best sa-ke in Kyoto to which she gladly takes him to. Yahiko and his mother had kept Y/N's real gender a secret from all of the customers as well as Shinji. To everyone, she is a man.
"Is there anywhere else you like to see?" Y/N munches on the dango she has in her hand.
They have made their way around the most popular part of Kyoto and the sun has now risen high in the sky.
Shinji glances over at her. Her puffy cheeks that is filled by the dango. For some reason, he finds the young man before him interesting and amusing. He didn't know why but he finds himself wanting to try breakfast at Yahiko's restaurant this morning. And "just in case" he sees Y/N, he can just ask her to be his tour guide.
Looking at her munching on her dango now, he finds himself unable to look away from her, as if he can see something in her that he cannot find from others. Something that is so precious in this time period.
"Oh, Hideyoshi." From around 50 feet away, Y/N spots Hideyoshi among a crowd of people.
Even from afar, Hideyoshi stands out due to his tall height and the preeminent aura of a daimyo.
"Hideyoshi?" Shinji repeats the name; his placid expression remains unchanged as he averts his eyes toward where Y/N is looking at.
"Oh yes, he's a great general of the Oda force!" She turns to face Shinji before running up to Hideyoshi. "Let me introduce you to him, I'm sure he will believe and clear you off from being mistaken as a thief!"
Y/N waves at Hideyoshi and greet him excitedly. However, Hideyoshi's gaze is fixed on the man he saw beside Y/N.
"Good evening Y/N. How's the duty going?" Hideyoshi greets her with a gentle smile, though his gaze remains fixed on the back of Shinji.
"Everything's going well..." Y/N smiles nervously.
She doesn't want to reveal what happened to Hideyoshi last night otherwise she is sure he will not let her enjoy the festival as freely as she wants to.
"Y/N, who is that man over there?" Hideyoshi questions the mysterious man who is still standing a safe distance away from them, his back facing against them.
"Ah, it's Shinji. Let me introduce you two." She replies innocently before turning around, but Shinji is no longer in his spot.
Hideyoshi raises up his right hand slightly to signal the two soldiers behind him to track down the man without letting Y/N know.
"Oh, that's weird." Y/N looks through the crowd for her friend but he is gone. "Maybe he has something to do..."
"Is it a friend of yours?" Hideyoshi caught her attention as his retainers passed her to follow the mysterious man.
"Ah yes, he is a really friendly guy I met yesterday. He's from the outskirt of town and came to Kyoto for the first time to see the festival."
"Is that so." There is a small hint of doubt in Hideyoshi's tone. "Good work, Y/N."
Hideyoshi's first compliment ever toward her brings a bright smile to her face, though she still feels ashamed that she actually didn't do anything much
"Being with you all really trained me." She said with mixed feelings in her voice.
"That's the reason why Nobunaga-sama agreed to let you join the Hunt Festival despite the protests from the other generals."Hideyoshi's soft smile appears on his lips again.
Y/N never ever gave it a thought that they needed permission from Nobunaga in order for her to participate. Upon her surprise expression, Hideyoshi continues.
"In this period of war, you need to become stronger to protect yourself." Hideyoshi urges Y/N to walk down the street with him. "You can't always rely on others to be there."
"So, the Hunt is an opportunity for me to become stronger? Despite the fact I could have died." Y/N munches on another dango.
"Nobunaga-sama always believe in the saying that you learn best with hand-on experiments." Hideyoshi chuckles. "He could never have let you die without a purpose."
The young daimyo now has a stern expression. His words suddenly remind her of the conversation she had with Ieyasu before she left for Kyoto.
-------------------- *Flashback*
"Oh, what brings you here Ieyasu?" Y/N looks up from her small basket filled with the fragrant herbs and flowers.
"It's where I work. You are the uninvited guest." Ieyasu said crudely to the woman who is trying to have a conversation with him.
"Oh... I'm sorry." She stutters when she realizes she had been coming into Ieyasu's work space without letting him know. "I thought it is for everyone to use."
There is an utter silence between the two of them. Y/N doesn't dare to mutter another word towards Ieyasu.
"What is your plan?" Ieyasu breaks the silence between them without giving her even a glance.
"Um I'm trying to make the best and simple fragrant pocket bag." Her voice clearly shows excitement in her work.
"I don't care what you are making... You are planning to stay at Azuchi forever?" Ieyasu said in annoyed with her stupid reply. "But it's not like you have a choice. A weak person like you can't survive out there."
"I'll go back to my home country one day." She smiles at Ieyasu though he isn't looking at her.
"So, you want to stay alive." Ieyasu looks up from the set of herbs he had lay on the table to lock gaze with her innocent eyes.
"Who wouldn't want to stay alive... Isn't that silly to ask." Y/N chuckles.
"Then stay away from Masamune and Nobunaga." There isn't any honorific when Ieyasu mentioned Nobunaga's name now.
"How come?" Ieyasu's sudden warning brought curiosity to the young woman.
However, Ieyasu's silence is the only response she gets. Though she does understand that Masamune and Nobunaga are two main forces of the Oda force, but she does not understand why she should stay away from them if she wants to stay alive. Unless events like the Hunt Festival is what Ieyasu meant.
"Thank you, Ieyasu." She bows at Ieyasu before exiting the room.
--------------------*End Flashback*
"Purpose." She mutters under her breath.
Hideyoshi glances over at the young woman, he didn't hear what she was mumbling to herself. He just smiles and continues patrolling down the road with her.
At a particular inn, a young brown-haired man in glasses is impatiently waiting for the return of his lord.
"You're finally back." He looks toward the open door to see his lord standing, unable to hide the joy behind his placid expression.
The man in glasses has on a simple red and white kimono with a small sword hanging on the side of his waist.
"How's the festival treating you? Sasuke." Shinji takes a step in before sliding the door close behind him.
"I've been enjoying the festival in this small closed space because you have given me the honor to look after your sword." Sasuke averts his eyes, unable to hide his dissatisfaction.
Sasuke was against his lord in carrying a sword around town because he wanted him to keep a low profile. His lord simply stands out too much without trying. But he regrets it instantly when his lord agreed to it because he was given the responsibility to look after his lord's sacred, legendary blade.
However, Sasuke is now more curious to why he is back when it is not even dark yet. Usually Sasuke would find his lord roaming around town looking for the best sa-ke until he can no longer find any open restaurants.
"You're back early today, Kenshin-sama."