[Thanks for helping me with this <3 @kanarenee @a-night-on-polaris ]
Being left behind in the middle of war was not something Shigezane felt comfortable with, however he knew his role this time was more important than only protecting the castle. This time he had to protect Pora. He had to protect Masamune’s wife as well as their home. The thing was… he could not seem to find Pora anywhere.
He looked in all places Pora frequented: her room, Masamune’s study, even the garden in case she was chasing cats again. Pora had always been good at being in places she shouldn’t have been, surprisingly him in weird corners and closets, but this was starting to get concerning. Since Masamune left she’d been in plain sight, working in his wake. But now…
“Damn. What am I supposed to tell Masamune? Sorry, I lost your wife?”, he sighed.
Taking care of Pora was not exactly easy, but he wouldn’t call it difficult either. Natsu’s frame caught his eye, and he let another sigh escape his lips. Now, taking care of her was hard. She seemed to be looking for someone, and he decided to try his luck. If she was looking for Pora, then it would be easier for both of them to look for her together.
“Oh, Lord Shigezane” she bowed briefly. “Did you need something?”
She had heard Pora’s voice behind the door earlier, but now no one seemed to know where she was. Natsu had asked all the maids, yet no one saw her. Had she not been feeling so sick, she could have talked to her. There were a lot of things she wanted to ask Pora, yet it seemed she would have to wait: Pora had disappeared, somehow.
“I was wondering if by any chance you saw Pora” he pouted. “That woman has quite the talent for hiding”
Natsu shook her head, stiffling a laugh. “No, I haven’t. I was actually looking for her myself”
“Then let me help you, doll” he ruffled her hair.
They began the search. There were some spots Shigezane would have not thought of if it wasn’t for her, yet they had no luck. No sight of Pora until Natsu decided to enter Lord Masamune’s study. If Pora had gone out, Natsu was sure she would have left a note for them at least. Anything that would tell them where she was.
“I will go for Kanako. Rest. ps: Don’t tell Shige”
-Pora.
Natsu took the note, and looked briefly at Shigezane. She did not know if he was angry or just disappointed, but the pout on his lips made her laugh. He looked like a child more than ever, all grumpy, and she could understand why.
“Tough luck Doll, I just read it. Dammit Pora.” He complained, crossing his arms. "What do you mean don’t tell me?!”
“I guess she did not want to worry us…”
“You realize she just went off on an adventure without us. Masamune is going to kill me” his exasperated expression made her laugh more. "And then he’ll dig me up and kill me again”
Something she had ignored until then caught her attention: it was a letter from Nobuyuki. Natsu knew she should not been reading letters that were not addressed to her, but as worried as she was for Kanako, she couldn’t care less. She had to know if she was getting better… or worse.
Standing right behind her, Shigezane read the letter with her.
"Looks like we need to bring them home, don’t we, doll?” Shigezane put a hand on Natsu’s head, ruffling her hair. “Don’t tell Kojuro I brought you with me. We’ll find them.”
It took all her focus to stay seated on the horse, but Pora did not care. She had already made it out of the gates through the back escape Masamune had shown her in case of emergencies. Kanako not answering her letters was an emergency as far as she was concerned.
Masamune’s clothes were heavy; she had known it, but wearing them was different than taking them off him. How did he sit up straight dressed like this? Pora felt her cheeks burning at that thought, but she could not help but smile despite her embarrassment. His clothes had his scent attached, and she could feel his smell all around her. It was like being in his arms again, though his warm was missing and so was the beating of his heart against her back.
She was so distracted, her mind completely lost in her husband’s memories that she did not hear the galloping of a horse getting closer and closer.
“If I didn’t know any better I’d think Masamune turned into Bontenmaru again.” Pora startled when she felt someone grabbing her shoulder. She turned her head and felt the blood leaving her face, her cheeks once red as apples now pale as paper. Not even Natsu’s apologetic smile made her feel better; she had been caught.
“Shige—“
“What the hell did you think you were doing? You can’t go to Ueda alone! You can barely sit straight on a horse, you look like a sack of potatoes in Masamune’s clothes, and your hair is a dead giveaway. I’m here to help you, did you forget that?” Shigezane’s eyes narrowed with frustration. “You know how hard it is keeping Masamune alive, well it’s harder to keep you alive.”
He let go of her arm and run a hand through is his hair. “How were you planning to bring Kanako back by yourself, anyway? You didn’t open the letter from Ueda.”
Natsu nodded. “I did not mean to open it, I just… wanted to know if Kanako was alright, but does not sounds like she is doing any better. Lord Nobuyuki said he was going to send her to Oshu”
It really did not sound good. If they were going so far as to send Lady Sanada to Oshu, then they definitely did not know what else to do to help Kanako. She saw Pora shrugging, trying to find the words to reply to that, but she stayed silent. Shigezane’s angry gaze had stolen her words completely.
“I won’t make you turn around now, we’ll meet up with the escort soon enough. Next time ask me first. I don’t care if you are Pora or Lady Date or the Shogun’s wife, I’ll get you where you want to go. Have more faith, Pora.”
“What if I was the Empress?” she asked, a light of hope in her eyes.
A chuckle escaped Shigezane’s lips, as he reached to ruffle her hair. “"If the Empress knew my name then I’d get her where ever she wanted to go too. Here, let me help”
He took the reins of her horse.
“Here is the part where you can tell me what a good friend I am” he smiled, but Pora shrugged. She could never win against him. In fact, she doubted there was someone who could ever win against Shigezane.
Silence settled between them, the only sounds they heard that of their breathing and the galloping of the horses. His hand on Pora’s rein so he could control her horse, and his arm around Natsu so she would not fell. Finally, Shigezane let out a sigh of relief: Masamune was not going to kill him, and at least Pora had some help now.
It was time to look for Kanako.
Saizo saw them, his face expressionless as he watched them go from the branch he was standing on. He could not help but wonder if it was necessary to make such a fuss about Kanako. However, he could recognize them easily: Lady Date, his cousin, and Lord Katakura’s lover. A sigh escaped his lips.
“Didn’t realize Lady Kanako’s visit warranted an escort of this caliber” he drop down, right in front of them
Pora did not react at all. Her mind was set in finding Kanako and no one was going to stop her, not even him. Shigezane recognize him: the ninja who was always with Lord Yukimura. That meant Kanako was close, and even though he wanted to feel relieved, Pora’s expression did not let him.
“Step aside, ninja boy” Pora said, crossing her arms. Thank god Shigezane had the reins. “I am here to see my friend and you won’t keep me from doing so”
Even though his expression did not change, for everyone was obvious that all intention of joking was gone from Saizo’s face. He would not judge her; she was worried and she had all the reason to be, yet no one could see Kanako. Not in the state she was in. He would not let them see her until they reached the castle safely.
“You’ll have to wait, little lady. Let’s get her to Yonezawa first”
Pora stayed quiet. She could read people well, and even if Saizo was usually so hard to read, she knew he was not lying. He was not trying to hide Kanako. He was trying to protect her, and that let her know that it was worse than she thought. The possibility made her tremble, but Pora managed to hide it.
Shigezane nodded at his words. “However, I need a favor”
Saizo raised an eyebrow.
“Natsu’s sick and she doesn’t weigh much, and Pora’s bad with a horse. Anyway I can sneak her in the palanquin so Pora can ride with me?” he smiled. “Then we’ll go straight to Yonezawa”
“Fine”, he turned back, finally seeing the palanquin coming to sight. “Make it quick”
“Thanks. Alright doll, time to get down.”
Shigezane slid from his horse, hands finding Natsu’s waist to lift her off. The palanquin came into view not long after. Natsu stiffened, suddenly nervous. What exactly would Kanako look like? How bad off was she? What was she supposed to do?
“Just take care of her, yeah? I’ll handle Pora.” He winked and pulled the door back for Natsu to enter.
Once she was inside, Shigezane hopped back to his Pora and waited for Pora to mount behind him, handing the reins of her horse off to one of the Sanada retainers.
