A Dragon and His Shadow
Chapter One – Making Deals with Dragons
How could this happen? How? How could she have been so foolish; so careless? How was it possible to be in a small army of a few hundred men, herself included, and then due to one foolish mistake, be reduced to one; her? How was it even possible?
After running through a forest and finally ending up on a river bank, a young woman, only about twenty-three or so, stopped to take a breath. It was all her fault. She had underestimated the opposing army and it cost her own.
She wiped her forehead with the back of her hand and panted. Sweat poured down her tired face and plastered comb-straight bangs. She blinked a few times as she stared over her knees and tried catching her breath.
How could she have been so thoughtless?
This wasn't the first time Kazehaya Rin had been sent on a job with the aid of her entire army at her back, but it would be her first to be in control of so many lives on one battlefield while gambling against the size of the opposing army.
For the first time in a long one, Rin was actually a little nervous. Her usual confident and laid-back air was only slightly less obnoxious and it was evident that she was uncomfortable with this request. Something just didn't seem right to her; but, a job was a job, and as a mercenary she swore to take on any work no matter who the employer and no matter for what army. She would not take any side but her employer's; nor would she question their reasoning so long as her men were paid for all their work in the end, and so she sought to get this job done like she would any other.
Besides that, by the end of this job she and her army would be paid a hefty price and only required that she go after the army commanded by Hojou Ujimasa. Plus, her employer had already told her that his army would be greatly weakened due to recent skirmishes and should only have about half of his normal crowd of men in condition for battle. Her army would be watched over and reinforcements would be supplied when required.
It would be a piece of cake for the Crimson Shinigami.
Or, so she had thought.
As soon as she arrived though, she sensed something was wrong. The other army didn't have only 50 percent of his whole army left, or even 60 percent, it probably had more around 90 percent, maybe even more! She had been tricked, and without the needed number of back up, her entire army was slaughtered. Without her even realizing it, she had lost over 30 percent of her men as Ujimasa's personal mercenary, Fuuma Kotarou whizzed right through. It didn't help that Ujimasa's army open fired with a mix of the Western weaponry they called "guns" and flaming arrows and it took all of Rin's strength just to protect herself from the hundreds of bullets shooting through the air.
They tried holding out as long as they could, "Don't worry!" Rin had called confidently, "The reinforcements will be here any minute!" But no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't win against the guns and with a sickening realization, Rin finally came to face the truth. There were no reinforcements and they had been left to die.
"Retreat!" She had yelled desperately, but it was difficult to hear her weakened voice over all the chaos and noise.
Before she knew it, her men fell down in every direction as blood streamed down each one's face. She fought to protect her remaining men as well as she could as the rest tried to retreat but she knew she wouldn't be able to win and as the last man fell to his knees, she did the only thing she could do; run. She ran as fast and as far away as possible.
She only had a few cuts from the enemy units who did join the battlefield, and one bullet lodged in her right shoulder, so she was able to get away and lose her pursuers quickly but the pain she felt growing in her chest was overwhelming and for a moment she thought she wouldn't be able to make it far enough away before she threw down her twin fans in surrender.
She almost did, but her sense for justice and the now desperate need to get revenge for her fallen men kept her going. She couldn't die yet; not until she paid her "employer" back for tricking her and causing the death of all her men.
Yes, he would pay, and dearly too. She would make sure of it. She would make sure that Akechi Mitsuhide paid with his life, if it was the last thing she'd do.
Rin fell to her knees as she finally decided to take a break from running. Her body screamed for a rest even though her brain yelled at her to keep going; to keep running until her heart gave out. She placed her hand on her wounded shoulder and glanced at it. She hadn't realized how much blood she had lost before but now, as the effects of adrenaline drained out of her, she realized how badly she needed medical assistance.
She wiped her face with the back of her hand again to see if there were any open cuts and she found it wet. She gently touched her cheeks. Had she been crying? She didn't even notice. She glanced around when the ground in front of her started going fuzzy and it looked like everything was swaying. She felt light-headed and was just about to lie her head down, just for a short rest, when she heard a quiet rustling come from behind her.
Without looking behind, she forced herself to get up. Although she knew how much she wanted death right then, she also knew that she could never have the comfort of peace until she got revenge so even though she wobbled as she got up, she forced herself to continue and to try and face whatever danger that was starting to close in on her. Slowly, she turned around, drawing out her combat knife from inside her obi, instead of her twin fans as she glanced around warily.
A man, looking not much older than her and wearing blue coat and a helmet bearing a crescent moon walked out with another man beside him and she grimaced. She knew who they were. She knew them very well. Disgustingly well, unfortunately.
"Ah, the One-Eyed Dragon and his Right Eye, it's a pleasure to see you two again," she started sarcastically. Her normally low, smooth voice was hoarse from previously shouting over a battlefield and she winced at how pathetic and weak it sounded. "I can't remember the last time I saw you guys in person, oh wait a minute, I actually do; it was yesterday, right?"
"Glad to see you in such a welcoming mood today, Rin-chan, and actually, we didn't come alone today," Date Masamune replied with an equal amount of sarcasm as several men also followed behind him. "You doing okay?" he asked in his other foreign language.
Rin smiled tightly as she replied mockingly, "Oh, you know, just peachy. I lost my entire army and now I'm face-to-face with the biggest asshole in the country. My day is going by… Just great." She paused for a minute to try and clear her vision, as it was suddenly getting more and more difficult to see clearly. She almost laughed because for a second there, it looked almost like her one-eyed opponent had two eyes…
Date smirked as he commented, "Looks like you took a beating as well."
"Shut up," Rin suddenly scowled as she spat out, "What do you want, anyway?"
"I was just around the area when I heard a young cry in distress," he said in a mocking tone and shrugging nonchalantly. "It sounded an awful lot like a young maiden so I followed the sound and here you were. I must say I'm a bit disappointed to find," he sneered slightly, "just you but... It looks as though you could use some help."
"No!" Rin shouted furiously. The 'just you' comment somewhat stung coming from him so she was quick to retort, "I don't need help from some one-eyed-" she took a step forward but suddenly her vision went black and she felt herself collapsing to the ground.
One year Before
Rin remembered quite clearly the first time she'd heard his name before. It sounded smooth in her mouth and she felt like it should hold some sort of important meaning to her, but she failed to remember what it was so she discarded the idea. Instead she repeated the name slowly, "Date… Masamune?"
"Yes. I would like your assistance in forcing his army to retreat a bit, Rinko-chan." Takeda Shingen smiled as he used his nickname for her.
"Only beat him back? Not defeat him completely?"
Takeda shook his head calmly, "No, there will be a time to destroy his army completely but today all I want your men to do is make sure that they retreat before crossing the border. I would help myself or enlist a few of my men under your care, but unfortunately I have matters in the west we have to handle. Are there any other conditions you have to make before we finish?"
Rin shook her head next. She'd worked under Takeda many times and he seemed to have taken quite a liking to her and she liked him equally as much as his impressive size and stature resembled somewhat to her father's. "No, other than that all my men get paid and that I decide how many and who to take is all I want."
"As you wish. You are now in my service for two weeks unless further notified." And with that, Rin dipped her head.
Just as Rin was leaving the room she heard her name called, "Rin-chan!"
Rin smiled, knowing exactly who it was before even looking. She turned as she greeted brightly, "Yukimura-kun! What's up?"
Yukimura panted as he caught up to the older girl, finally grinning childishly when she smiled at him. "Oh, uh, nothing really, I guess. I was just wondering what you were doing here today. Did Oyakata-sama hire you for a job?"
"Yes, actually, for two weeks. Though I don't think I'll be seeing you much since I'll be heading north tomorrow."
"Oh, I see then…" Yukimura looked down at his side, slightly disappointed and Rin smiled in what she thought a mature sort of way. He reminded Rin of her younger sister, even though there wasn't much of an age difference between her and Yukimura.
She'd known Yukimura for a long time now… How long, she wasn't quite sure, but long enough to easily tell anyone that he meant more to her as a brother than anything else. She reached over and ruffled his hair, something she had to reach up to do, as she said, "Well, I have to go gather my men and prepare for tomorrow. See you later, Yukimura-kun."
"Ah, by the way, Rin-chan!" Yukimura called and Rin paused to look back at him.
"Yes?" she asked.
"Er… Well… I was wondering whether… Um…" Yukimura swallowed as he tried forcing his words out and a sudden blush crept over his cheeks.
"Yes?" Rin asked again, encouragingly.
"I was wondering whether you… You wanted to… Er… With me…" he cleared his throat before finally spitting out, "Dango!"
Rin blinked in surprise at first, but then she laughed when she realized what Yukimura had been trying to say. She started walking away again as she called teasingly, "I'll think about it. See ya."
-The next day-
Date Masamune wasn't who Rin expected. For some reason, she had imagined him being some old geezer like Hojou Ujimasa. She didn't know why, maybe because of the level of respect she could hear Takeda Shigen had for the other man when he told her of him. Yes, a young, (she hated to admit it) very highly attractive young man wasn't whom she imagined.
Rin drew her twin fans out from the holsters sewn onto the back of her belt as she smiled. She had that certain glint in her eye as she always did when anticipating an especially difficult opponent and it seemed to amuse the young daimyo. "So, Date Masamune, we meet at last. You know, I've been wanting to fight you for a long time now, I just didn't have the proper excuse until this moment."
He replied in a calm tone, "Kazehaya Rin, eh? I've heard a lot about you. The legendary Crimson Shinigami, said to have a quota of lives she needs to take every day so high that by the end of each battle her own skin turns red and her normal white clothes dyed crimson. A ruthless witch, really. Perfect for the name 'cold', Rin."
He drawled her name out slightly and Rin shivered. The way he said it just sounded so... Formal. She instantly decided that she hated him and would never, in her right mind, work under him if she could avoid it. She flicked her wrist to open her fan but Date only smirked, not even bothering to draw his weapon yet. He mocked, "You know, when I heard the name, I always assumed someone stronger… Bigger, you know what I mean? At least with a fuller chest than just this."
"'A fuller chest…?' Did you say?" Rin repeated, her face turning a deep red color. "How dare you!"
"Ah, so that's why they call you, "Crimson Shinigami", eh?" Masamune continued mocking.
That was it. He was past the point of no return. Not only did this man have the nerve to use her first name on their first meeting, but he mocked her physically too?! Rin was going to murder this guy.
Rin scowled as she said, "I'll make you eat those words and then you'll see that I'm not called the Crimson Shinigami for nothing! Now, then, on guard!" with that she attacked. She lunged forward, throwing her left arm through first while opening her golden fan. Date managed to block the attack easily with one katana as he smiled.
"Is that all you've got?" he asked tauntingly in English.
"Don't get cocky, you one-eyed pervert, Rin scowled. She threw her right arm under his sword, jabbing him in the gut with her other fan which forced him to move back a bit. While he was still moving backward she threw a quick side kick, which pushed him back even further. She only smirked as she said, "I'm just getting started."
That was the first time they met, as Rin remembered, maybe a little over four years ago (gosh, had it really been that long?) and it wasn't the last before hundreds of other encounters and many other one-on-one fighting. Some battles she thought she could feel a strong hint of familiarity between the two, but on other days it was only a pure lust for battle. The two fought like old friends, but at the same time gave it everything they got, though at times Rin often felt that Masamune held himself back.
She figured he was doing it because she was a woman, and for that, she only fought harder against him. If one didn't know any better, one would say that Rin were the female counterpart of Date, or at least his rival but if asked, Rin would probably only give a half shrug and wave it off. After all, if Yukimura was ever around, she usually left the fighting between him and Masamune whenever the chance arose.
No way was she going to allow herself to get sentimental about him in any way.
An odd memory to resurface after just coming out of an unconscious state. Rin stared up at the ceiling of the room she was in as she thought; the last events before she had passed out suddenly resurfacing.
The recollection of the scattered bodies of her men was like a hot flash. Suddenly, the tears poured out of her eyes without warning and she choked back a sob and smothered her mouth with her hands, as if forcing back the noise.
Her army was gone and now she was all alone... She grit her teeth in frustration as she chastised herself. Crying again? Is that all you can do? Maybe Date was right to think the Crimson Shinigami would be someone stronger... Rin turned her head from side to side to shake the tears off and looked around, only now registering that she had just woken up in a new place entirely.
Instead of the previous riverside-forest scenery she remembered being in last, she found herself in a small room under a few blankets with a small courtyard to her left as a view. She turned onto her stomach and tried pushing herself up but grimaced as her arm crumbled under the weight of her body. Oh yeah, that's right… I got shot in the arm… How long ago? She tried pushing herself up again with her opposite arm this time and just when she almost thought she could make it she heard the sliding door open to her right.
"I see you're awake, Crimson Shinigami." Damn it, not this guy. He's the last person I want to see right now… Rin grimaced at the sound of his voice.
She barely glanced at Date, suddenly finding the need to sit up more important. She asked sarcastically, "Haven't you ever heard of knocking? I mean, what if I was getting dressed or something and you entered while I was naked?"
Masamune snickered as he said "I doubt I'd be seeing anything worth much. Most women like you don't."
There it was again, that "you" business, as if she were some sort of irritable species on her own. This annoyed her. Rin threw a quick glare at him. "Yeah, well…" she couldn't think of a satisfying retort this time, so she only managed half-heartedly, "Make yourself useful for once and help me sit up, will you?"
Date smirked again as he held her under the arms to pull her into a sitting position. Rin thought she imagined it, but she thought that his hands seemed to linger slightly. They were warm and she seemed to feel as if he were sending her some sort of message to relax and- She shook her head in disgust with herself and busied herself with getting comfortable. Once she was settled she asked, "So out with it, why did you help me?"
"My sense of justice told me to help a young girl in distress." Date replied immediately, seating himself next to her. He looked like he was in pain from trying not to laugh too hard, he could barely keep a straight face, and Rin noticed.
She rolled her eyes and said in disgust, "Yeah, right. So what's the real reason?"
"Hm…" Date thought about answering truthfully that he had recently been visited by Maeda Keiji in the attempt to get him to join a group rebellion against Oda Nobunaga, but as an afterthought, decided against it. Instead he only said vaguely, "Things are getting a little heated around here with the Devil King running around… I only thought that, maybe, you could use some help."
She noticed that he had said "you" and not "I". Rin rolled her eyes again and muttered, "Sure, sure…"
"There's the additional problem of Akechi Mitsuhide."
Rin tensed upon hearing that last name as she asked, "And?"
He shrugged off-handedly, "Well, I figured since your last employer didn't pay you for a 'job well done', you'd be in need of a contract."
"You're hiring me?" she questioned unbelievingly.
He shrugged nonchalantly, "I guess. As flat chested as you may be, you are quite competent on the battle field and we could always use another soldier. Or at least some eye candy," he teased and she glared at him.
"Men…" she muttered bitterly under her breath and he laughed.
"I also figured that since you botched your last job, you didn't get paid so by offering me your services you can pay off my hospitality."
"What?" she asked in disbelief, "You're joking, right?"
He laughed, "Of course. Forget it. Like I said, you don't have any money anyway."
He got up and started heading towards the door when Rin called, "Wait! You're right. … I do need to repay you for what you've done, and so I will."
"Huh? How?" he crossed his arms casually and reminded her, "You just lost your entire army and your previous employer basically fired you. Or, had someone fire at you."
"What I can't pay you in money, I'll pay you with my body."
She had a look of complete seriousness on her face so Date held in a laugh and asked in amusement, "Oh? And what if I don't want it? I mean, what could a scrawny chick like you do to satisfy me?" he smirked and Rin blushed when she understood the meaning.
"I meant that I'd work for you and do any of the jobs you want me to do without complaint," she mumbled as she averted her eyes in embarrassment. "I will even offer to be your shield if you ever need one, and I will work as loyally to you as if you were my own lord. I'll work as your shadow, so to speak, so get those perverted ideas out of your head, moron. I'm not going to be some sort of trophy of yours."
Date laughed loudly this time, "Well alright then, though, to be honest, I have Kojuro for that." He slid open the door and then paused, "By the way, who was your last employer?"
Rin looked outside to her left and mumbled, "Akechi Mitsuhide. I have a score to settle with him."
"Huh, so do I."
Rin looked back over to look at Date, but he was already gone.
So we have a common enemy here... That will definitely prove helpful for my quest of revenge. Hm… Things will certainly get more interesting from this point on. Rin thought, before finally settling back down on her back, and taking a long, restless sleep. Don't worry men… You guys… I will avenge your deaths. I promise.
A/N: alright guys! It's been awhile since I last posted/wrote anything for anything and I just recently finished watching the anime series Sengoku Basara after playing the video game Devil Kings (or, technically the original Sengoku Basara tampered by Americans (we're so silly that way!) I literally watched the whole anime series from 9:30 in the morning to 2:30 in the afternoon (my butt really hurt afterwards D:). Yeah, that's what I do after just getting out of school on the first day of summer vacation.
Typical weeaboo.
Anywho, I always seem to go for the cool, laid-back, slightly douche bag-ish/pewpie male characters and I guess Date Masamune kind of falls under that category (more so in the anime than the game) and so here is my contribution to the Sengoku Basara fanficdom. Thanks so much for reading, and I hope I find the motivation to keep writing for this series! ... Among other things.
Oh yeah, and if you haven't guessed already, bold and italicized words are words spoken in English. It's a common recurring trait in these fanfics for Date (or at least the 3 or 4 I've read), but hey,I had no idea what else I could use to differentiate the stuff. Date is one strange dude.
Which is why I love him.
Thank you! ありがとう!
- Jackal