Chapter 4 Tit for Tat 2-1
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Chapter 2 Tit for Tat 2-1 After she slept for she didn’t know how long, and while she was still groggy, something was scratching her foot, she couldn’t help but giggle and mumble, “pig’s feet, yummy pig’s feet...” “Get up!” “Hey!” A voice right next to her ear scared her into sitting up. She saw a big square face. “You really do look like a piggie when sleeping.” Harunobu chortled while holding her face. Sakura shook her head to get away from his hands. How dare he mock her? He looked more like a pig! She stood up and couldn’t feel any aches and pains. Alright, so he didn’t try anything last night. But his smile seemed to show something... did he try to kiss her? If her first kiss was taken like this, she’d be so mad. “What are you thinking? Let me guess. You’re sad you didn’t get to spend more time with me last night, right?” Harunobu squinted his eyes, his expression smug. “You don’t have to be so sad, I should be able to see you every couple of days as long as I’m not on the battlefield with my father. Oh, I should have told you this before, since you spent a night with me, you’re now my concubine, and you’re now Takeda Sakura, remember that. You’re not some refugee from Kawanakajima anymore, okay? Come, help me put on my jacket.” Japanese Chauvinism was no joke, Sakura felt angry allover again. This man has just become a little less annoying before she lost her good will toward him. “Sakura, I just told you to help me dress.” “No.” “You dare to disobey the young lord?” “So what if I didn’t obey? So you’re the young lord, so what? You spent last night here, and now I’m your concubine? I know men from important families like yours like to change your underlings’ names, and it’s supposed to be some kind of honor. Spare me. You can get dressed yourself!” After her speech, Sakura raised her head and huffed. It felt good to vent! Harunobu raised his brow, an indescribable expression on his face. He shouted toward outside the room, “is Kaji outside?” “Yes, may I serve you?” A maid walked to the door and bowed. “From now on, I’ll need Sakura to be my sleep companion every night. Don’t make any mistakes in the nightly preparations.” He got dressed, grabbed his samurai knife, and marched outside the door. Sakura could feel her blood pressure rising. She wanted to assert herself with Harunobu, but now she’s made things worse. Did she have to let him have his way with her just for the dragon horn rock? If he won’t give her the rock, she’ll find it herself. Once she has it, she’ll run. She really doubted he’d have people watching her all the time. “Sakura, come outside.” It was Tsuru’s voice. “The lord is going to see the madam in the afternoon, go and get some pastries and sake with Setuna.” “Didn’t you say maids can’t go to the outer court?” Sakura tried to play stupid, even though she was secretly happy. It was an amazing opportunity; as long as she could get out of the inner court, she could find where Harunobu lived, the rock must be there too. “Why do you have so many questions? You’re serving the lord and the madam. Don’t think you’re special after being the young lord’s sleep companion, even if you were lucky to be a concubine, there’s many levels of that.” Tsuru shook her sleeves and walked off toward Madam Ooi’s, cursing under her breath. Sakura couldn’t stand Tsuru’s hypocrisy. She pretended to be harder-working than anyone, but she was very bossy in private, even with her tinny voice. After she did the tasks with Setuna, she pretended to have a upset stomach, and said she’ll be right back after the restroom, asking Setuna to go first. Luckily, Setuna was a maid who has been here for less than a year, and it was easy to lie to her. Sakura walked around the restroom toward a narrow path. The outer court was very quiet. Setuna said the lord and the servants were all out riding, so this was a perfect chance. But this house, Tsutsujigasaki, was quite big. Where would Harunobu’s place be? After some thinking, she decided to follow a servant to try her luck. After squatting in the shrubs for a while, she didn’t see a single servant. It didn’t make sense that the big house was so empty. Well, she just had to look in the rooms one by one, after all, time was money. She crept her way toward one room. Was no one here? Sakura walked into the room, where the door was half-open. It looked like a living room, with a pretty sculpted screen in the middle. It didn’t look like where servants lived. Could this be Harunobu’s room? She better find the rock before someone came in. She was in such a rush that she didn’t even close the door. “What are you doing?” An old voice crept into her ears like the murmurs of a ghost. Sakura turned around and almost jumped from the fright. Before she realized what has happened, the owner of the voice clapped, bringing two tall and brawny samurai charging toward her, whose swords almost forced her to the corner. Sakura took a good look, realizing it was an elderly man with white temples who spoke. The man had a rectangular face, tall nose, and dark mustache. His intense gaze was in contrast to his bright silver hibiscus and green samurai outfit. His voice wasn’t loud when he talked, but his piercing eyes seemed to see right into Sakura’s mind, making her shiver. “How dare you look at the lord? You must not want to live anymore.” One samurai yelled at her, pressing his sword harder at her throat.