Ikémen Sengoku: The Goddess of Life

The Effect of Her Nature

It was nearly dusk when Irey decided to wander the castle. After today's rescue, she was more drained than usual. The wound in the back of her neck stung like a thousand fire ants and she found it rather peculiar how it just now decided to be a bother to her. She needed a place to go so she could calm herself and relax. The pond in the garden was the first thing that came to mind.

Little did she know, someone had beat her to it.

Mitsuhide sat on a sizable rock next to her cherry blossom tree, washing his left arm in the water. His back was to her, but she stole a couple glimpses at the fleshy wound across his forearm.

"You know, it's considered rude to stare." He turned his head towards her; a nonchalant smile on his face.

"Your perception is impressive." She said as she walked closer to him.

"Or perhaps your snooping could use a little work." He cleverly shot back. He pat the rock next to him, offering her a seat. She slowly sank onto it; her eyes gently locked on his arm now that she could see it up close.

The skin was scarred beyond belief and some patches were missing even a few layers. It was red and slightly puffy, looking like it could ooze at a single poke.

Seeing the concern on her face, a gentle smirk tugged at the corner of his lips. Not one of arrogance, but one of gratefulness. Grateful that she cared enough to be worried. And though he liked for her to worry from time to time, as it was his nature, he could never want her to be sullen. "It's not as bad as it looks." He reassured.

"Are you sure?" She questioned; her expression holding back a grimace. "It looks like you were burned."

"I was." He admitted casually, returning to clean the wound. "It was when I was out of Azuchi on a business trip for Nobunaga. This man who had hand tremors couldn't hold his candles very well, so you can imagine he dropped them. And just like that—whoosh!" He made an overdramatic motion with his hands. "Fire started. The people had a hard time getting out, so I ran in to help."

"Wow, you? Doing something charitable? I wouldn't believe it." The goddess half-heartedly teased. Though it was a mostly serious story, Mitsuhide didn't seem to think of it like that at all. He chuckled a bit, smiling at her.

"Hey, gimme some credit here, Little Rose. I'm not completely heartless. I can be pretty charming..." He leaned closer to her; a devilish smirk on his lips. "If you get to know me a little better." Red tinted her cheeks. She'd been disarmed by his words yet again. She wasn't sure what to do when he rendered her speechless like that. He was so confident; so sure of himself. She couldn't deny that it was an impressive trait.

Her hands unconsciously placed themselves on his chest, giving him a little push. It granted her enough mind to speak.

"Stop doing that." He laughed as he leaned his body away from her, taking out a small container of salve. "Finish your story." She demanded.

"There's not much left to tell. A piece of drift wood fell from the ceiling and landed on my arm. Scorched it, pretty much, but I'm alright." He unscrewed the cap.

"How long has it been since then? It still looks kinda bad."

"Eh... a month or two?"

"And it still looks like that?"

"Sheesh, you make it sound like an abomination."

"That's not how a burn wound should look after that long! You're still missing a layer of skin."

"It's just because I do my jobs efficiently."

"No, it's because you don't take care of yourself properly. Let me at least do something about it." She took his arm, which he swiftly yanked back.