63 Hidemasa POV

Disclaimer: This chapter is written from Hidemasa's point of view instead of the normal chapters who are written in Harumi's/Nobunaga's point of view. This will be the only chapter written in Hidemasa's point of view and after this one we go back to regular chapters. Because I only want to use Hidemasa's point of view in this chapter, I'm not entirely sure how long the chapter will be. Hope you enjoy it all the same! For the people who have forgotten who Hidemasa was, here a small recap. Harumi met Hidemasa the first time in the library and after that they had become friends. They studies warfare together and hang out pretty often. Next to Nobunaga and her maids, Harumi is closest to Hidemasa.

Hidemasa hated what was going on in the castle. Nobunaga had instructed his warlords to not get close to his wife while he investigated if she was a spy or not. He knew lady Nohime-sama could never be a spy. It was daring for him to think so but he knew he had spent more time with her than her own husband had and thus he knew her better. Not that he was very happy with his new task. He had to investigate some merchants for Nobunaga. They always gave him these kind of tasks. All the older guys still didn't believe in him as a warlord. Luckily Nobunaga had put more trust in him since he helped defend the castle in the latest attack. At that time he had lead a few hundred men all alone for the first time. Truth be told, he only did exactly what Nohime had though out but still. He had made sure that there were as least casualties as possible. He wanted his own division in the army and lead some troops. He wanted to help Nobunaga on the battlefield but that would probably still take a while. Now he was on his way to Eda, one of the fasted growing cities in the country. Eda was jet to be under Nobunaga's ruling, but he figured that that wouldn't take too long. Beforehand he had send some of his ninja's to investigate. They gave him the information that the merchants in question were regularly meeting in the red light district in Edo. Edo was the only city that had a permit for brothels so all the scum on the land would gather there. It was a clever move from the merchants to meet there. One, it was far away from Nobunaga's ever growing territory. And two, There were so much shifty business deals being made there that suspicious people didn't stand out.

Just outside of the city wall of Edo was a different wall. Behind those walls was the red light district. You had to pay a hefty sum to get in and you could only leave if you had the permit you got at the entrance. That was another clever way to make the girls who worked there stay put. Not that it was really necessary. Hidemasa had heard stories of girls being beaten to death for trying to escape. Unfortunately he couldn't do anything about it. He was one of Oda Nobunaga's retainers and this wasn't his turf. He hoped that when Edo would become past of Nobunaga's territory one day he would do something about it, but at the same time what could they do? This was already going on for years and a new ruler wouldn't make any difference. Plus, it were only women...

Horses weren't allowed into the red light district so the last leg of the journey he made by foot. Even if he could go by horse he wouldn't have done it. He tried to be as inconspicuous as possible. He hid his face under the hood of his mantel and looked at the ground while he made his way into one of the vilest places on earth. Although he only had led an army division himself one time, he had been a great support for other warlords up until now and he knew a battlefield like the inside of his pocket. The metallic smell of blood, the trampled grass and corpses everywhere. Still, this place was worst. It smelled like feces while people tried to cover that up with hundred different kinds of strong incenses. People were talking all around him and it was way to crowded for his liking. The shops were just about to open so there were a lot of lonely men looking for someone to warm their beds for the night. He walked over the main road looking at the different shop signs. Lotus Garden, Moon Pavilion, The Rose Inn. All the shops within these walls were either brothels or taverns. He knew that if you went away from the main road you would first get into an ever worst neighborhood. At the main road all the brothels were distinguish places with popular geisha's and courtesans. When you would leave the main roads you would find places that would sell cheeper whores, most of the time with bodies infected with deceases, old and ugly.

Then, out of nowhere, the rowdy world around him seemed to mute for a moment while he heard a voice.

"DON'T TOUCH ME!" He heard a female voice. A voice that haunted him in his dreams and kept him awake at night. Franticly he looked around, looking for the lady attached to the voice. In one of the best brothels in town was a dispute between some workers and one of the girls. Even with the heavy make-up and the strange kimono he easily recognized her. What was lady Nohime-sama doing here? Hidemasa had completely forgotten his original mission and walked right up to the brothel, barging into the door.

"Sorry, we're not open jet." A girl said while she hurriedly walked up to him. When she looked at his face and clothing underneath the cloak her demeanor changed completely. Hidemasa knew he had a quite attractive face and his clothes were far better than that of peasants, rich merchants and even some officials.

"But if you could follow me to the front room we can serve you." The girl said.

"I'm sorry, there is a small dispute with the new girl." She explain when she saw Hidemasa gazing to Nohime. Hidemasa hadn't heard a word the girl had said to him. He was filled with rage.

"What do you think you are doing?" He roared while he walked up to the three men and lady Nohime-sama.

"I'm sorry sir, this is our new girl and she isn't for sale yet." One of the men said. He was clearly the boss of this brothel.

"Hidemasa-dono!" Nohime exclaimed in shock while she was still being manhandled by the two other man. Clearly they had beaten her.

"Lady Nohime-sama." He said while bowing. Even though this wasn't Nobunaga's territory, everyone knew who he was and knew the name of his legal wife. The boss of the brothels face turned ash grey while he finally began to understand the situation. Without delay Hidemasa took Nohime with him. The man still tried to negotiate with Hidemasa, saying that if he wanted to take her he had to buy her. Hidemasa didn't hear him and walked out of the shop while protectively taking Nohime-sama with him.

While he was in the shop his personal guards had looked out. They had also recognized the legal wife of Nobunaga. While Hidemasa was making his way out of the red light district, back to his horse, they made sure he wasn't followed. At the gates the guards tried to stop him but Hidemasa walked past them without even glancing at them. Here also his personal guards came in handy. Now he didn't have to fight all the guards off just to take Nohime with him. He put her on his horse and then sat behind her. The mantel he had been wearing was now draped over Nohime. He pushed the heels of his feet into the belly of the horse and they started moving. Nohime was silently crying while hugging herself. He wanted to get her back to the castle as fast as he could. He wanted her to feel safe again. He had no idea what she had been though to end up there and it broke his heart to see her like this. The thing he wanted to do the most was take her into his embrace and protect her from the world. He had known for a while that he was head over heels in love with lady Nohime-sama. But she was the legal wife of Nobunaga so there was nothing he could do. He knew it was wrong if him to think this way but that didn't stop him for his inpure thoughts. He hoped that Nobunaga would die during battle, making Nohima a widow and free woman again. If that would happen he would move heaven and earth to make her his wife. He would debunk his current legal wife to concubine and make Nohime his legal wife. He would disinherit his children from other woman to make her happy. He would do everything for her.

After a few of the best hours of his life they arrived at the castle. Never in his wildest dreams he had hoped to ever be this close with the woman he loved. And yet, the opportunity had presented itself. Now that the journey was over, he wanted that the horse wasn't so fast, just so he could be close to Nohime for a while longer. They opened the castle gates for them and at the stables he helped Nohime down. When they walked into the castle the news had reached Nobunaga already and he came to see what was going on. He clearly was startled to see his wife in this condition. Before Hidemasa could even bow and explain what had happened Nohime already ran to him and embraced him. Instead of silently crying in front of him she was now crying loudly while holding Nobunaga tight. In an instant Hidemasa could see he would never be a match for Nobunaga in the affections for his wife.