Masters and Servants.

Due to certain unbelievable circumstances, I had to travel to the encampment of a foreign army.

"Here's your bean soup. Lady Mitsuha will talk to you later."

And because of a certain misunderstanding, I was imprisoned in the encampment and tortured everyday.

"Hey, it's been 3 days already."

"Yeah... When do you plan to let me go?"

"When you've finished your job."

I really hate where this adventure of mine is going into, not just the inconveniences but also the pain that I am suffering.

"Please don't chain my leg when I'm working, it's hard to move and respond to emergencies when something is clasped on my foot."

"Are you kidding me? I won't do that. Besides, you're currently a prisoner suspected to be a spy so just take it."

I was locked down in this place by the lord of this army due to the fact that I came here from a nearby village that they are about to lay siege on.

"I already told you, I was a travelling doctor until I set up a clinic in Aoya just this week."

"Haha... Like I believe you. Even if I do, I still can't do anything about it. Lady Kyouko is very upset that the bulk of the army wasn't able to fight in the first day and that the soldiers are dying from a disease and not on the battlefield."

"Why take it out on me then?"

"Go ask her if ever she meets you. I've been serving Lady Kyouko since she was a young child but I still can't comprehend her thoughts and actions."

"It seems like even the most loyal female general of the Kusanagi clan can't keep up with her master's wits."

"You imbecile-!"

"Ow!"

"Shesh..."

And in the end, what happened next is the most lousy apology that I have ever heard.

"I should have brought the balm..."

I spoke while laying on the hay laid on the floor and clutching my bruised arms. Suddenly, a couple of soldiers went inside the jail and opened my cell made of thick tree trunks.

"Doctor Hiroshi. Lady Kusanagi wants to talk to you in the courtyard."

"Okay..."

I followed the soldiers to the center of the camp and entered her tent. They were quiet, although they kicked me around whenever I limped from my injuries.

"Seems like 3 days of imprisonment isn't enough to wipe off the loyalty of a Kusanagi ninja..."

"Long time, no see, Lady Kusanagi."

I spoke plainly and leisurely held my slightly bruised face.

"Ugh... What a disgusting peasant... Anyway... your cure worked and most of the soldiers have already recovered. Though I don't believe that you aren't a spy, I'll let you go and pay you for your service... that is, after cutting off your tongue to make sure you wouldn't speak."

"About my payment. Just forget it."

I spoke plainly which caused a great confusion amongst them. Some of them blurted out a "Huh?" or "What?".

"What are you talking about? Didn't you came here for work? Why are you saying that you won't take any payment?!"

"Are you nuts, kiddo? Lady Kusanagi would pay you 200 Gold Kan! Gold Kan!"

An old man who looks like a veteran samurai spoke loudly while shoving his hand with two fingers stuck out on my face.

"Instead of a payment, I have a favor to ask you."

"A favor? Well then, let me hear it. I'll decide if I can help you."

I took out a silver hair pin inside my sleeve pocket and showed it to them.

"That hair pin-!"

"A white lotus flower?"

"So that's your favor, huh?"

Just as I guessed. They instantly knew what I want. I placed the pin back to my sleeve pocket and brushed my hair back in place using my fingers.

"Is it possible that you know the whereabouts of Aoyama Chiyo?"

All of them had grave looks on their faces after hearing her name.

"Iso river... She drowned at Iso river after falling from the wooden barge."

The female general, Ayanami Mitsuha, spoke and jittered while looking at the floor and adjusting her legs in a seiza position.

"Don't lie to me."

"What?! How dare you-!"

Just as the female general is about to take out her katana, she was stopped by her lord who raised her hand in front of her.

"So lying won't convince you, huh?"

"That's right."

"Shesh... Alright, she returned here last week and said that she still wants to serve me even after her near-death experience."

"And?"

"She insisted for many days until I got fed up and sent her back to Shinka to guard Fumetsu castle."

"I need to meet her. That's the only thing that I ask for."

After 3 days, the entire army marched to battle, disassembling their tents near the river. There, I was left waiting for her until mid-day.

"Iwasawa-dono! Iwasawa-dono!!!"

A cheerful voice came behind me which made me turn Shinzuke around.

"Aoyama-san. It's good that you're back to full health."

I spoke as both of us trotted our horses forward. She smiled brightly which I returned with a smile of my own.

"Hehe... Thanks to you Iwasawa-dono. I feel stronger than before. Another thing, thank you for the balm, the scars disappeared in no time."

"That makes me happy."

We followed the road to Aoya as we silently apreciated the scenery of the fine weather.

After about an hour, we rested at a stream where our horses drank and the two of us sat beneath a shady tree to pass the scorching high noon heat. This place is quite memorable for me and her, this was the same place where we first met.

"I... I've decided to resign from being one of Lady Ayanami's Pages."

"Eh? Why?"

To be honest, that did took me aback and made me feel like bad for her.

"I'm the wimpiest of my class though... I think that's also why Lady Ayanami immediately accepted my resignation, it was good riddance for her."

I looked at her while trying to hide my pity. Her downcast eyes and the subtle tone of her voice was enough to move my heart... I guess this is what it means to feel sorry for someone.

The week when I saved her, she keeps on talking about her childhood in Kiko province and how nostalgic it is to be back. I asked her why she participated in attacking her own homeland and she told me that the villages won't be attacked since the Kusanagi clan's enemy isn't the peasants but the current lordship of the province.

"Even during my childhood, not a single village in Kiko province acknowledged the power of the Akizuki clan. We didn't have any daimyos before them so the idea is already beyond absurd to us."

"Were you guys that late in forming a proper government?"

"All of the 3 Village chiefs came from a single family that branched out due to marriages, so a daimyo wasn't really needed. Besides, only a handful of people from the southern triad has ever seen the capital and none of us really knows who the current shogun is."

"I just want to ask this... What's this southern triad thing that I keep on hearing?"

"Oh. The southern triad is the farthest land south to the capital. It's composed of three major provinces led by three different clans and many other small lands where power is shared by merchants or bandits. Those clans of the major provinces are the Akizuki of Kiko, the Kusanagi of Shinka and the Yamaguchi of Fuku."

"Oh... that's news to me..."

I spoke and reached for a rice ball from my bag. However, my hand which I used to lean against the ground slipped and my face ended up falling head-first to Chiyo's lap.

"I-Iwasawa-dono-!"

"Ah! S-sorry!"

Talk about clichéd scenes... Regardless of my personal thoughts, at first, I didn't noticed that she was blushing lightly but saw it when I looked up. It made me freeze for a moment, making me unable to sit back up immediately.

"Um... Iwasawa-san... Thank you very much for saving me back then... If it wasn't for you... I would be-"

"I said don't worry about it anymore. But really... Thank you too..."

I looked away and was surprised to hear her sigh with relief and stroke my hair lightly.

"...Mm..."

"Iwasawa-dono?"

I found myself dozing off after she did that, my vision became dark and my body felt heavy.

"..."

How peaceful... So quiet and relaxing...

"Nii-chan! Onii-chan!"

What is this? A dream?

"His heartrate is slowing down! Get that bleeding under control! I'm still taking out the shrapnels!"

Memories? How?

"That promise... I will fulfill it... Then, I will avenge you."

This voice... a man?

"Rest in peace..."

I awoke as the horse waded on the stream and sprinkled some water on my face with its tail.

"Mm..."

I sat up and saw Chiyo sleeping. She looked adorable so I did my best to wake her up carefully. I patted her head lightly and she immediately woke up.

"Ahh-! I-Iwasawa-dono..."

"Let's go. We need to go back before evening."

I spoke with a smile as she stood up while clearing her face. We both made our horses sprint in order to chase the time that we spent during our nap.

By afternoon, we arrived at Aoya and was welcomed by what seem to be an army preparing for war.

"What the... Is that the Akizuki army? Chiyo! You need to escape!"

"No! That flag isn't from the Akizuki clan... That's my family crest!"

A soldier, mounted on a horse went to us while holding a flag embroidered with a flaming sword.

"Chi-chan!"

"Nobi-nii!"

The two of them greeted each other while circling their horses and laughing.

"It's been forever since I last saw you!"

"Me too! You look so manly now!"

This calm and comforting atmosphere surrounding them made me smile a bit.

"You must be that young man, thank you for bringing her back, lad."

The old man who leads this village approached us while riding his horse. I saw him several times after I settled down in here. However, he isn't wearing his usual yukata, instead, it was a heavy looking samurai armor... one that has thick shoulder plates and neck guards.

"...How?"

"What is it young man?"

"How did you know that I went to fetch her when no one in the village knew where I was going?"

"Nobisuke."

"Yes, sir."

He pulled out a musket from his saddle and showed it to me. It was the gun of that guy who saved me a few days ago.

"He informed us about it... He is... A mysterious man that does his things independently..."

"Okay..."

I managed to show a small smile as I adjusted the sleeves of my yukata to hide the bruises on my arms after being tortured by the soldiers.

"Father, why is everyone gathering for battle? Do you plan to support Lord Akizuki?"

"Are you out of you mind? Of course I will fight against the Kusanagi clan!"

"But the peace negotiations is-"

"This is not the time to speak that."

Hearing this, Chiyo was silenced. But she managed to say something surprising.

"If you're going, then I'm going too."

"Chi-chan. I know that you've been a Page to the Kusanagi clan for 9 years already. But doing this is just-"

"Nobi-nii!"

She mustered her strength and shouted at the young man beside her father. The old man sighed and spoke up.

"Chiyo. You will guard the village while I'm gone. I don't want to hear any complaints."

"But-!"

"I said no complaints!"

Her father shouted and she hung her head low as a sign of defeat.

"...Yes, Father..."

The old man replied and pointed to the entrance of the village where Chiyo trotted her horse to. He then turned to me and spoke.

"I'm willing to be your employer. It's inevitable to have a few dead and injured men."

"I understand. I'll stay on the rear of the line, I presume?"

"No, you'll stay in the village and treat the wounded once we get back. Another thing, look after Chiyo for me. That man said that I could trust you with that thing."

"Understood."

While they started marching, I noticed that instead of the usual spear that was the prominent weapon of the Ashigaru (Common) soldiers in the sengoku era, the majority of the soldiers that the old man brought has muskets and hand cannons.

"Aoyama-san, is it normal for them to use those weapons in battle?"

"Well, I'm not really surprised that you'd ask that... Those Tanegashima muskets aren't used in such a wide area."

"No... I'm used to seeing guns. What I want to ask is the number of them... Isn't it surprising that the village chief has enough to equip this many men?"

I asked and pointed at the marching soldiers that looked to be approximately 300 in number.

"Oh... that's not really surprising. My father is a warrior that doesn't have any reservations when it comes to fighting. He endorsed the use of muskets and asked the artisans to create enough to defend the village."

She explained and went down from her horse as she entered the village.

"Those muskets are well-made. It must have took the weapon smiths several failures before they got to perfect these ones..."

"Hehe... Your face is really enthusiastic, Iwasawa-dono."

By noon, I got back to the village and tidied up my home to receive my patients.

"Iwasawa-dono!"

I heard a familiar voice from behind me. It was Chiyo wearing her usual blue yukata.

"Aoyama-san... Why are you here?"

"I just wanted to visit and help around just like last time."

Hearing this, I felt strangely happy. I could feel a stupid-looking smile forming on my face, forcing me to avert my face and try not to smile.

"Well then, come in. I've just started cleaning and most of the stuff are still not in place."

"Oh... It's dusty..."

"Yeah, Would you like some tea?"

"Hehe... Maybe later, I want to help out in cleaning."

"Eh? Why? No, no... Just sit down and relax. Don't bother yourself with my responsibilities."

"But I want to help out."

Her voice was soft and when I looked at her, she's making an adorable, puppy-like face.

"Guh..."

"Pweese~"

"Ha... Alright, have it your way. But don't expect me to fall for it again."

"Yay!"

Man... Is my weakness still potent in this world?

"Iwasawa-dono, why is there so much books in your home? Are you perhaps a scholar?"

"Huh? Is it uncommon for a doctor to have many books in his home?"

"Well... Sort of. It could be understood if you only have books about herbs but your books have stars and iron tubes with smoke."

She must have mistook the lightbulbs as stars and machines as iron tubes with smoke.

"Hmm... Well, I might be a scholar in one way or another. I'm really interested in stuff like this. It might sound weird but this is the things that I find entertaining."

I spoke as I took the books one by one and placed them inside the shelf behind my new table.

"Just as I expected, Iwasawa-dono is really impressive."

"Huh...Am I?"

Both of us talked for what seems like hours. We talked about whatever we get ourselves to talk about. I teached her several things about medicine and she in turn, teached me some basic moves in martial arts.

By sunset, she offered to cook her special sukiyaki which I accepted.

"Are you sure you don't want any help? I can slice the vegetables if you want to."

I spoke as I poked my head out of the door and watched her fanning the flames in the stove.

"No, no. It's been a while since I cooked this so I want to ask your opinion. Thank you for the offer but I can do this."

"Okay. I'll prepare some tea then."

After an hour, she brought the iron pot inside and opened it to reveal the scrumptious-looking meat stew.

"Thank you for the food."

Both of us whispered and began eating. I noticed that I didn't have a rice bowl and that Chiyo began to hastily grab the chunks of meat and vegetables using her chopsticks.

"Umm... Aoyama-san..?"

"Please wait for a moment, Iwasawa-dono."

She replied with vigor as she narrowed her gaze towards the stew and switched the place where her chopsticks is pointed between 2 large pieces of meat, showing a rarely seen concentration on her eyes.

"Aoyama-san..."

"There!"

"Wah!"

With her sudden shout, I stumbled on the ground and turned upside-down.

"Hah... Iwasawa-dono, here's your-"

"Give me a few moments..."

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry!! I'm sorry!!!"

She bowed several times while apologizing.

"A-alright... I'm sorry for making you worry too."

"Umm... This is your rice bowl... Please enjoy."

"Alright, thank you for the food."

I spoke and spooned the rice and beef. I meticulously chewed on it and made the flavors run wild in my mouth.

"Mmp... The meat is soft and the texture is nice... Hmm... the veggies are cooked when it is still fresh..."

"Mm..."

While I'm describing the qualities of her dish, Chiyo sat there holding her breath and seems to be waiting for something.

"Hah... Your cooking is great Aoyama-san. You'll definitely make a good housewife someday."

"Unya!!!"

Hearing my reply, she immediately blushed and covered her face.

"Huh? Is something wrong, Aoyama-san?"

Though I know what's going on, I decided to feign ignorance. I wanted to see her reaction but I didn't expect this one. She's really cute.

"Now... You eat too Aoyama-san. This is your cooking after all."

"Umm... Iwasawa-dono."

"Yes?"

Though this cheesy conversation is getting good, a sudden question changed everything.

"Iwasawa-dono, are you... what kind of a person were you before you arrived here?"

She asked with a hushed tone as she looked at me with mild and docile eyes.

"Are you willing to listen to a short story, Aoyama-san?"

"...Yes."