Tsuki no Shippo Ch.52 Summary

Upon returning to Iga, Hanzou is immersed in preparations for battle and Usagi wonders what's going to happen to the wedding. However, it doesn't seem like a good time to ask about it. Hanzou (+ Usagi and Mamezou) meets with the leaders of Southern Iga (Usagi's gramps) and Northern Iga (Head of the Fujibayashi house, Fujibayashi Nagato). Gramps seems to have brought a little white cat along with him ^_^. He thinks that Ranmaru may have been lying about the time of the invasion because it doesn't seem likely that war-wise Nobunaga would start a battle at a time and place where it will be snowing. His guess is that the invasion will be before the end of the year to catch them unprepared. Fujibayashi asks if he thinks Ranmaru would really lie outright like that, to which Gramps says he would have if he had found out that Hanzou and Usagi were actually shinobi. Hanzou argues that if he had seen through them he wouldn't have let them return alive. Usagi is squirming in her seat, knowing she's got to tell them about Ranmaru being in Koga and seeing her there. She's just about to confess when Gramps remembered that he promised Usagi her "mastery" of ninjutsu if she completed the mission successfully, and so bestows the title upon her. Usagi and Hanzou are thrilled.
She asks Hanzou if they can be married right away and he says yes, when things have settled down a bit (I think). With that Usagi is off to make preparations for the wedding feast, but Hanzou asks her to wait and remain here…

Gramps and Fujibayashi leave the room (Fuji asking Gramps what is up with the cat to which Gramps replies that its his friend "Miiko") and Hanzou asks Mamezou to go off and play…which means it will just be the two of them in the room! Usagi wonders if they're going to continue on from their kiss….but instead Hanzou leads her to a secret room upstairs. He says that very few people know about this room and that since long ago it has been used solely by the leader of Iga. (Kami no Hanzou knows about the room too. This is, of course, the room Kami no Hanzou searches in Natsu no Yume. The one where they played as children). Usagi marvels that he would tell her about such an important room and Hanzou replies that it's because she the woman who will be his wife. He shows her a trunk which contains important scrolls and heirlooms and tells her that if something should happen to him she is in charge of them. She starts crying and glomps on to him, begging him not to die. Its only a hypothetical situation, he replies. He won't die and leave her all alone. He's got to survive these troubled times and make her happy. They hug (awwww).

They climb down from the room and finally Usagi can't stand the guilt any longer. Emphatically apologizing, she tells him about Ranmaru possiblily knowing who she was. She's expecting him to be furious (and rightfully so), but instead he replies that it can't be helped and praises her for telling him something that was so difficult for her. Gramps, however, happened to overhear from outside the room and is not so soft on her. He's definite that Ranmaru must have known about them and immediately revokes her "mastery" of ninjutsu. He also scolds Hanzou for kissing Usagi on the mission. Apparently Mamezou had been doing some talking… Poor Usagi and Hanzou, now the wedding will have to be delayed.

Gramps says now he has to go investigate Ranmaru in Azuchi. Hanzou insists to go instead. Usagi wants to go with him, but Hanzou tells her to stay here and work towards getting her mastery. So now she's back to trying to jump over her little tree, which is not quite as easy as before because it has grown quite a bit (its about shoulder length to her). All of a sudden Goemon and Yuuri arrive. Gramps gives him the mission of going to the capital, blending in as a native, and sabotaging Oda's forces' procurement of weapons. He also tells Goemon to take Usagi along to pretend to be his wife (Yuuri insists on doing that, but her sister drags her off on a different mission). Gramps makes her the same promise as before; if she returns successfully she can gain her mastery of ninjutsu. Mamezou's mission will be to carry messages to and from the capital. Goeomon happily lifts Usagi into his arms and sings that they should do her best. Usagi firmly agrees. She's got to give her all so that she can marry Hanzou!!

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