Disclaimer: Happy new year. I dearly apologize for the long hiatus, I got a job in a new country so there were plenty of things I had to do with included moving, immigration, wifi, and all the crazy shenanigans. I'm awfully late on a lot of translation projects, unfortunately, but because of long hours at work and consistent headaches, I've been getting I've decided to take it easy on translations as much as possible. Unfortunately, this is the last one for this series, so unless I can find another Sengoku Strays story this is it for now. Again I will be also translating the author's notes at the end so any commentary bolded afterward would be my notes. Anyways, all credit goes to Shingo Nanami, 紅音, and everyone who worked on Touken Ranbu. I would you all enjoy this chapter.

Touken Strays

About Her Name

I wish he calls me by my name.

When was it when I began to think such thoughts.

When I first became a Saniwa, I didn't dislike being called "Master'. In addition, the person himself had already explained the reason why he wouldn't call me by my name.

Primarily, it seems that to have a god know your name meant that you were handing your life to that deity. Though that person knows my name, there are many other swords that lend their hand to the Saniwa that do not know of this secret. He wished to avoid any potential dangers, so to avoid those swords learning my name, he insisted on calling me "Master".

With his violet eyes intensely gazing down mine; I could only nod to those words.

And so many months passed by. At this moment, there two factions in this citadel: those who only know of my time as a Saniwa and those who know of my past with Oda. If there were others who knew of my name, I believed that it wouldn't be a problem if everyone found out. And yet even I told him this, he would still stubbornly call me "Master".

...I was afraid. I believed the reason that person would call me "Master" was because I only a mere husk for a "Master", that he wasn't looking at me as "Kusanagi Kasane".

Not to mention, for him, his true "Master" was my lord and so I could only assume that the one reflected in his violet eyes could not me but him. I was so afraid of that, so afraid I couldn't do anything about it.

I don't know why I get so frightened. It's a sensation completely foreign to the time I spent with Oda and the others.

And yet, if that person were to possibly call me that one word, "Kasane", I realized this anxiety would clear away.

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The Master Who Wishes To Hear Her Name

(She does not know the name of this feeling)

I wish to call my master her name.

I wonder when such a thought occurred to me.

To call her by name, to embrace her in these arms, to make her be master to only him. Over and over, these thoughts continuously came to mind.

Fortunately, by extraordinary fate, I knew my master's name.

However my master is a gentle child, someone who deeply cared about her bonds with the people she knew, so surely she would never become a master for only me.

In addition, I do not call my master by name. For if I did, the others would learn of it. If they learn of her name, there was a possibility that they may steal her away to a place I would never reach. I wouldn't forgive myself if that were to happen. For I was the one who met her first, I couldn't bear the thought of having the others steal her away.

There was another reason I can't call my master's name. I was afraid that the one reflected in my master's eyes weren't me. I thought the one reflected in her eyes wasn't me, but my former master.

Master loved my previous keeper. Even after their separation, surely this hasn't changed.

And I was my previous master's, Oda Nobunaga's sword. It wouldn't be strange if there were traces of that man inside of me.

My master isn't looking at "Heshikiri Hasebe". For the one whom master truly treasures is Oda Nobunaga.

That is why I will not call her name. That man who would call her "Kasane" is not here.

In order for her to understand that the "Heshikiri Hasebe" who calls her "Master" exists, I could only call her by that title.

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The Attendant Who Does Not Speak Her Name

(The name of this unsightly sensation must surely be...)

I know my master's name. There are others beside me who also know her name.

However, we do not speak of her name.

Hasebe-kun told us. Not to say our master's name.

For while we may be the lowest of rank, we still situated on the throne of gods. If we were to learn of a human's name, surely we could easily change the fate of that person.

Surely we would have been better off not knowing our master's name.

However, as our master was acquainted with our past master's with Oda we already learned of her name, therefore we must not let her name spread to the others.

Indeed if anyone else were to learn of master's name, she may get into dangerous situations. We know of our master's personality. We know of her strength and compassion. That's why we don't want her to experience such frightening ordeals.

However, it would seem Hasabe-kun had another reason why he wouldn't call master by her name.

Whenever Hasebe-kun stares at master, I can see obsession, possession, and jealousy flicking in his eyes. It seems Hasebe-kun's feelings towards his master have passed the limit of retainer and master to love. And it looks like Hasebe-kun himself realized this as well.

However, master has no idea that Hasebe-kun has such feelings for her. In addition, she wishes that Hasebe-kun calls her by name.

Her eyes are tinged with a mix of envy and uneasiness. However, Hasebe-kun does not know of this.

They're misunderstanding each other on so many levels that I can't help but laugh at times. However, ignorant that I am to their feelings, I too can understand them just a bit.

Master has a past in which she lived with Lord Oda Nobunaga. Hasebe-kun was Lord Nobunaga's sword.

Hasebe-kun knew master before her time as a Saniwa and while master did not know of Hasebe-kun's name as the time, she saw Lord Nobunaga wield him. At the heart, those two were connected by the man called "Oda Nobunaga". And that is the cause of this tangle.

Master is under the impression that Hasebe-kun recognizes Lord Nobunaga as his only "master".

On the other hand, Hasebe believes that master is still in love with Lord Nobunaga.

Because he knew his previous master because he has seen his master previously before such a tragedy has occurred.

But, I think… that the two of them should be more honest with each other.

Master should be little more self-indulgence with her words, while Hasebe-kun should convey her more of his feelings.

After all, their feelings for each other are the same. It's not cool to have them continue having these misunderstandings after all.

Though it would be nice if they both noticed it.

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The Attendants Who Know Her Name

(They know the name of that feeling)

Afterwards

I'm terribly sorrrrryyyyyyyy

Though I haven't advanced the plot, I just wrote down a HasabexKasane fanfic purely based on my fantasies.

I really like stories that involve a painful unrequited love.

It would be nice for him to call someone's name. It's as if that person is precious, so I love this setting. Though he doesn't call her, he wishes to do it. And so here is the story of someone who wants to call yet doesn't. To be frank, I only wrote this on a passionate impulse, so this may be ambiguous.

Who appeared in the last part? Why the author's favorite Mitsutada-san of course. I am very proud to say that he holds the highest level of all my tachi. He's so cool, I love him. I believe that they act as a go-between through Hasebe and Kasane-chan's relationship.

As I hope to write these two is a sweet fanfic novel, I'll make sure to advance the plot.

Now then, thank you very much for reading until the end.

Hello again, and thank you very much for reading this fanfic. I hope everyone enjoyed this final chapter. I'm quite sad that the author hasn't written any more chapters to this series, but I'm happy that she wrote a very nice story in the meantime.

It's goodbye for now, but I hope to somehow come back with more stories for this series. So until next time I hope everyone will be in good health and spirit.