The dragon and the silver mare

XVI. Come along with me!

The wormhole was about manifest again soon. I had to go home with Sasuke. He told his professor about our time adventure and he was kind enough to give me a permanent job as Sasuke's assistant thus I could stay in Japan. But we had to go home time to time and report on our research and get some work done at the university too. Masamune came to see me off again.

'Kitten, I'm going with you.' He said it casually and didn't even look me in the eye.

'What? Are you kidding me? When did you...?' I was so surprised, I didn't know what to say. 'Why?'

'Why not?' He shrugged.

'I mean what about your duties? You have a little baby now. What about Iroha and Mego? What if Nobunaga needs you?'

'I'm appalled by your questions.' He frowned. 'Naturally, I've already arranged everything. I trusted my vassals to take care of Oshu while I'm away. I asked Ieyasu to take measures is something goes wrong. Mego runs Aoba well and she enjoys herself much more when I'm not around. About Nobunaga, since Mitsuhide caught Kennyo, everything is calm but if something happens, again I asked Ieyasu to command my army. Also, Sasuke told me that we'll be back in two months. '

'You even contacted Sasuke?' I was impressed. 'You really arranged everything. Why am I hearing about this just now?'

'Because I figured you might try to slip from my hands because you thought it'd be better if I stayed here overseeing everything.'

'I see. I assume there is no point in arguing.' I smiled from the bottom of my heart. He knew me too well. I got so excited about showing him my time. 'Then... Come along with me!'

...

He adapted to modern life easily. After a week he used my smartphone and my tablet, he went on walks and to the supermarket on his own. He was amazed by the variety of produce. He was so cute... I often took Masamune out to explore the gastronomy of modern day Japan and the world. His latest obsession was pizza. I was overjoyed by seeing him so excited. And damn, he looked hot in modern clothes.

He made friends with the elderly lady who owned a small ramen restaurant on our street. He helped out there almost everyday while I was at work. I was glad he found something to do. One day, I was on my way home when I saw a long qeue of women outside the ramen place. The restaurant was fully packed with girls drooling over Masamune. I giggled and stood in line to surprise him. He was too busy with the orders and didn't notice me until I was next.

'Excuse me, I'd like a hot and spicy one like you, sir!'

'Ana!' His surprised face made me giggle. He glanced at the elderly owner.

'Go, son! You helped more than enough today.' She smiled at us.

Masamune took off his apron, jumped over the counter and threw his arms around me. 'You surprised me.' He kissed me on the lips. The girls sighed in disappointment.

'You've got quite the fan club.' I giggled. I hooked my pinky finger around his as we walked home.

'Are you jealous, kitten?' He smirked.

'No. I could easily kill them all.' I shrugged.

...

On weekends, we went sightseeing, to the cinema and anywhere worth seeing or trying. He wanted to go to Sendai.

'You say it only takes four hours to get to all the way up there from Kyoto? Unbelievable...' He traced our route with his finger on the map.

'It's so early.' I yawned. 'I think, this is one of those rare occassions when I need a coffee. Would you like to try it?'