The Taming

At first, it felt hot on the lips — because of the kiss. Then, it felt hot on the cheek — because of the slap. Manmi groped for the interior handle, opened the door and scrambled out of the car awkwardly. ‘It wasn’t what we agreed upon,’ he hissed through the slightly opened window after the door had been closed in front of him. Then, he turned around and rushed towards the university campus. Nobunaga touched his burning cheek and smirked — the brat had never dared to do anything of the sort before. So, this, as Himiko said in such cases, ‘go game’ promised to be exciting. ‘My lord…’ said the voice from the driver’s seat, and Nobunaga could see Inuchiyo’s annoyed look in the rearview mirror. ‘Don’t you think that was somewhat… rude of you?’ ‘“Rude?”’ Nobunaga leaned back on his leather seat and fastened the seatbelt. ‘I just take what’s mine by default.’ ‘The world’s changed since the Sengoku Period, you know…’ grumbled Inuchiyo starting the engine. The world had changed… Nobunaga smirked once more. Contemporary Japan wasn’t really different from the Sengoku one. The same people, the same places, the same rules. “Since he’s my soulmate, not yours, damn Oda!” all of a sudden, Nobunaga remembered the words about his Akechi told by that insolent Saitō, and rubbed the bridge of his nose angrily. The two of them had escaped to America after graduation and were most likely married by now. Sadly, Japanese laws still prohibited same-sex marriages… Nobunaga was going to correct this mistake somehow. Since why could gaijin do it while they could not?.. The cell phone vibrated in his jacket pocket: his electronic diary reminded him of the upcoming session with his family therapist. Inuchiyo had just veered off the road towards the parking lot beside the clinic Nobunaga had been attending since elementary school. ‘How are you, Oda-san?’ asked Nakaba-sensei, as usual, after Nobunaga had seated himself on the white couch for patients. He sighed and started remembering events of the last week. Oichi, as usual, had been angry about everything thanks to their hatred thread and refused to talk to him. His mother had been vacationing in Okinawa and was going to return not earlier than in a week. The next Diet session was still far away. Nothing special, indeed. Except for Manmi who’d been either disappointing or flirting. ‘I’ve told my retainer I like him.’ ‘I think it’s good news,’ Nakaba-sensei smiled politely. It actually had been… until Manmi ran away. Yes, all of Japan, breathless, was looking forward to him, the Demon Daimyō, finding at last the ‘right’ soulmate, with love connecting them instead of hatred. During his school years, Nobunaga had been constantly reminded of how important and necessary it was to find one. He’d waved off at first, but then, as memories had started getting back to him, he’d gradually begun to give it more and more thought. But whom could he choose? All his former retainers — even his wife — had their own soulmates, while others didn’t want Nobunaga but his ‘living embodiment of history’ status. Even his current family. When being a child, Nobunaga had heard a story about his grandfather who’d changed his surname — one had been able to do it at the time, with the practice being prohibited only later — in order to come to prominence thanks to someone famous being reincarnated within the family. So, his parents had ended up lucky twice — twenty years separated, Nobunaga and Oichi had been reborn. Then, at last, after Oichi had started attending school, Nobunaga had met Manmi. Manmi Senchiyo. Something had clicked in Nobunaga’s mind, “It’s him.” Perfect candidate for a true soulmate: so familiar, so loyal, so not caring about stupid statuses given by stupid organizations striving to preserve ‘living heritage.’ At the time, Manmi had still vaguely resembled the pretty young man Nobunaga had taken from Araki to appoint as his koshō. But the more time had passed, the easier it had been to recognize the familiar image. And to remember nights spent in the arms of his Senchiyo… It was especially easy now, when Manmi was grown up and he and Oichi had been attending the same university, with the former still watching the latter on Nobunaga’s request. ‘What was the answer, may I ask?’ inquired Nakaba-sensei as cautiously as possible. Nobunaga made a wry face, ‘He slapped me and escaped.’ Silent, Nakaba-sensei wrote something down in his notes where he put all major points. ‘As a specialist, can you tell me what I did wrong?’ Nobunaga asked impatiently. He didn’t want to waste his time on causes, consequences and the rest of this boring stuff. ‘You treated him in a way you’ve been used to since your previous life, I assume.’ Nobunaga tilted his head, ‘Meaning…’ Nakaba-sensei sighed, put off his glasses and wiped them with a tissue he’d taken out of the front pocket of his robe. ‘Oda-san,’ judging by the tone, he was going to lecture Nobunaga on treating others as people but not his extensions, so he was preparing to roll his eyes. ‘I’d rather not waste our time on lectures. So many years have passed since you were thirteen. What I’d like to do instead… How do you really feel about this retainer, may I ask?’ How did he feel?.. Nobunaga wondered. What could he feel? Manmi was his by right, although he’d grown a bit audacious in this life. A good fuck had to be enough to fix it once and for all. It seemed like Nakaba-sensei could read his mind since he continued, ‘I do know you can love differently. You love your younger sister differently, for example…’ Nobunaga was reluctant to agree. Of course, he’d loved Oichi, ever since their previous life. He’d done his best to protect her. He’d cared for every aspect of her life. He’d even refused to marry her off until she’d turned twenty. Just to compare, Matsu and Kichō had been way younger when they had married Inuchiyo and Nobunaga, respectively. Oh, there was nothing Nobunaga couldn’t do for his princess. He was ready to indulge each and every of her whims; to endure any of her tantrums; to buy her all toys she desired and disappear from home each and every time she invited friends, in order not to provoke their hatred thread. He was especially ready to keep off her that Azai brat for he could awaken bad memories of her past. He certainly didn’t need her to remember those unfortunate beans she’d sent to Nobunaga so that he’d got to know about Azai being a traitor. Otherwise, Oichi would have blamed herself; she would have cried into her pillow night after night… What if she’d have fallen into depression?.. No, Nobunaga couldn’t let that happen. It was better for her to cry once on the wedding with Mitsui Sokubei than to cry for the rest of her life because of this Azai fool. ‘…Maybe,’ Nobunaga nodded slightly and locked his fingers. ‘So what?’ Nakaba-sensei pressed his lips together, lost in thought, and then said, ‘Perhaps… I can’t actually insist but… might it be possible for you to try treating him like you treat Oichi-san? I suppose, in such case he’ll be more willing to reciprocate. If you need it, of course.’ Nobunaga frowned. To treat Manmi like he treated Oichi?.. ‘Thank you, sensei. I’ll think it over.’ Nobunaga said goodbye and left the office, utterly perplexed. Inuchiyo, who’d been waiting next to the door, raised his eyebrows inquiringly. Nobunaga waved his hand for him not to ask anything before they would get into the car, so both of them headed towards the lift without a word. ‘So?’ asked Inuchiyo when both of them had fastened their seatbelts. ‘Sensei recommended me to treat Manmi like I treat Oichi. I still have no idea how one can do it.’ Inuchiyo hummed a little as he started the engine and left the parking space. Then, he sighed. Finally, he looked at Nobunaga in the rearview mirror. ‘Well, you care for Lady Oichi, for instance.’ ‘So what? Should I bring him dolls from America, too?’ Inuchiyo sighed, ‘My lord, you are like a child. You’ve already figured it out but still pretend you haven’t, for someone else to explain it to you. Start with buying him coffee, for example. Be nice. Have you ever been mad at Lady Oichi attacking you with her toys?’ ‘How one can possibly be mad at her?’ Nobunaga cracked a smile. It actually hurt that Oichi had hated him since her childhood; that she didn’t want to see him, to talk to him; that she beat his hand with her tiny palm each time he tried to pat on her hair; that she screamed whenever he wanted to hold her… In such cases, he humbly reminded himself that it was the hatred thread that influenced his princess. The thread that he would certainly have broken one day. By all means. At any price. Even if he would have to steal Manmi from Araki once again. ‘Okay, fine, I’ll try to be nice,’ sighed Nobunaga.