Well, it was worth waiting a month for this chapter! It has not one but two holy shit moments in the B part, and some pretty nice scenes in the A part as well. Let’s see...
1. So we have Saburou, Ichi, Tsune-chan, Toshiie and Yuki visiting Owari for a nostalgia trip to the Oda home turf. They end up talking about seas, Saburou name-drops the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Japan, and then at Ichi’s prompting he lists some more that the others have never heard about, and it ends in a geography lesson about Italy and other western countries, which are... like... somewhere over there.
Toshiie and Tsune-chan get pretty fired up and decide that after taking over Japan they should go and conquer the rest of the world, while Saburou is like “uh, guys, I don’t remember Nobunaga taking over the world, so let’s not.”
2. Apparently now it’s Toshiie’s turn to make his love confession to Saburou. Saburou tells him to just calm the fuck down and go back to his post, but he’s having none of it.
“Your lordship! I am forever your dog!”
(Because “Inuchiyo”, you see.)
(Also, one helping of Mirage of Blaze flashbacks coming up!)
Saburou doesn’t budge, though, and after some pep talk from him Toshiie gets over his separation anxiety and announces that he’ll work hard to make him proud and whatnot. Yay.
By the way in this scene Saburou acts almost out of character - like one would expect “Oda Nobunaga” to act. He’s been showing signs of having developed such a side to his personality for a while, and in this scene he was really the sort of genuinely inspiring, insightful leader that Nobunaga is supposed to be.
3. Yuki is wondering about just who the hell Saburou is and where he came from, when Ichi strikes up a conversation and asks her to protect her brother, because he’s all that she holds dear. Yuki is like...
“But Oichi-sama, don’t you have three daughters?”
“Their lives are theirs. They should live as they please, it’s none of my concern.”
Yuki’s face is like “...okay.” But she promises to protect Saburou.
4. Mitsuhide comes to visit, but Ranmaru informs him that the boss is out. They talk a bit about how Ranmaru completely understands Toshiie’s feelings.
“You all feel very strongly about his lordship...”
“You do too, right, Akechi-dono?”
“In my case, though... he tells me it’s ‘heavy’.”
D’aww. Poor Micchi, he just loves Saburou too much.
5. Ranmaru sits Micchi down in a waiting room and brings him a box of konpeito. Thinking he’s alone, Micchi removes his mask, and it’s right then that Gou comes barging in, playing hide-and-seek with her sisters.
Gou of course thinks it’s Nobunaga who is not supposed to be at home. Micchi plays along and asks her not to tell anyone he’s here. He tries to bribe her with konpeito, all in vain, because Gou steps out and the first person she tells that her uncle is back is... Kichou.
"When did you come back?”
Micchi’s face is priceless. :D
6. Kichou immediately notices that something is off, so she calmly closes the door, sits down next to Micchi, listens to him trying to come up with some lame excuse as to why the lord of the castle is here sitting in a waiting room when he’s supposed to be way over in Owari, and finally she takes pity on him and tells him that she knows he’s Akechi Mitsuhide.
And this is so lovely, from start to finish. Micchi and Kichou are such a great pair with great chemistry (not in a romantic sense, but they’re both so ~fuwari~ that I swear I keep seeing stereotypical shoujo manga bubbles every time they share a scene). Kichou calmly and gently explaining that she’s been having this hunch for a long time now while Micchi looks on in defeat, is just adorable and I want to hug both of them.
7. Kichou notes the remarkable degree of similarity between Mitsuhide and Nobunaga, and wonders if it’s just a coincidence or if they’re actually related. Micchi assures her that it’s just a coincidence.
“It’s just a coincidence... It surprised me as well.
That said, I can’t see my own face so I can’t tell the true extent of it...
Do we really look so similar? Even to you, his wife?”
And Kichou drops the second bomb:
“Yes, you do. You two look the same.
However, your expressions and bearings are different.
You...
You closely resemble to how he used to be.”
HOW AM I SUPPOSED TO WAIT A MONTH FOR THE NEXT CHAPTER?!
I hope Micchi will tell her everyhing. She deserves to know, especially as she’s been having doubts and worries about Saburou lately. It would help her if she knew that it’s not all just in her mind.
