A/N This is an alternate story line for episode 4 of season 2. I'm not really comfortable writing Shonen-ai, so here you have a female Yukimura.
Gold and brown. Red and white.
These four colours have been occupying his mind lately. When he sees them on battlefields, his heart races with anticipation, and adrenaline rushes through his whole being. When they are missing, he finds his thoughts finding their way to the one person that is a combination of them all.
It was only a brief moment in one of their heated encounters, that he realized that somehow, somewhere in their never-ending rivalry, the little tigress of Kai has become the colours in his life. Everything becomes vivid in the brunette's spirited presence. He has never felt more alive than when crossing swords with her.
And now that death is going to claim his soul, they are the last thing on his mind before he succumbed to darkness.
The first thing he is aware of is the cool wooden floor beneath his back. It takes a moment to register that he is lying on the floor, and a longer one to open his eyes. His mind is groggy and disoriented like he has just woken up from a long period of deep slumber.
Is this what people call afterlife? No, if it were, he should not be feeling pain throbbing in his whole being, nor should his head feel like it is splitting. This time, death has grazed him so closely.
His one eye roams about his surrounding, but he cannot make much from what little observation allowed in such darkness except that the ceiling is unfamiliar. Finally, his eye settles on a shadowed figure nodding off beside him. When his sight adjusts to the dark, he realizes that it was one of his men. As if on cue, the man – Bunshichiro, he recognizes – slowly blinks his eyes open, and upon seeing that his consciousness has returned, almost breaks down into a sopping heap. His cries of joy must have been heard by the others outside, as many of his subordinates suddenly rush in to the room.
"Leader!" Their cry in unison rings painfully in his ears, worsening his splitting headache. Sometimes, his men can be infuriatingly enthusiastic in bad timing.
Sitting up shakily, he raises his hand to his face and inspects the heavily bandaged appendage. "Why am I alive? …Was it all just a dream?"
"No, leader. Actually,…"
Before his men can fully explain what happened after his had been lost to the world, the wooden door suddenly slides open, revealing a panting figure bending over her knees. His eye widens in utter surprise at the familiar silhouette, and he blinks a few times, wondering if he had lost enough blood to start hallucinating.
The shadowed figure looks up, revealing a pair of golden orbs with such vibrancy that rivals the Moon shining through the only window in the room.
"Masamune-dono!"
Before his mind can formulate a reply, the Takeda retainer rushes past his stunned subordinates to his side before dropping onto her knees, and, to his great astonishment, throws her arms around him, her face buried in the crook of his neck. She is so soft and warm and real, and definitely not some stupid hallucination he thinks he must be having. Looking down at the crown of her head, he vaguely notices that his soldiers are quietly retreating from the tiny room, probably trying to give them what little privacy the flimsy walls can afford.
"...Sanada ...Yukimura?"
His longtime rival pulls back a little, her arms still wrapped around his shoulders, and looks into his eye. The usual unadulterated determination is now replaced by painful solicitude.
"Thank God you're alive! I heard... I heard that you were..."
The sentence is left unfinished as if she fears only saying it aloud would realize her apprehension. If his single eye is not playing tricks on him, he thinks he can see the corners of her eyes glittering suspiciously. Could those be ...tears of relief?
Suddenly, the girl seems to remember herself. Hastily extracting herself from his bandaged torso, all the while blushing profusely, she inches away from him, her head bowed in embarrassment.
"Please forgive my rudeness, Masamune-dono. I was so worried I forgot my place."
Unfamiliar warmth spreads through his heart as he gazes at her endearing features. Despite all the crises surrounding them all, where a moment of delay can cost lives, she still cares enough to throw caution to the wind and came here to personally confirm his well-being. This alone says a lot for the warrior whose love and loyalty have always been dedicated solely to her master.
Maybe it is because of the loss of blood, or maybe his bottled-up emotions over recent chains of taxing events are taking tolls on his sanity, but before his mind can decide what is happening, his body moves on its own, closing their distance and grasping her chin in his less injured hand. Her eyes darted to his face in surprise and confusion before widening in bewilderment as a chaste kiss is pressed onto her lips.
The younger warrior literally jumps away from his grasp, one hand covering her mouth as the blush on her cheeks deepens several shades. Now the formidable tigress of Kai looks so much like a lost kitten that he almost chuckles. Almost.
"M..Masamune-dono!?"
It took a surprising amount of his iron willpower just not to grab that hand away and claim those soft, full lips again. Instead, he gives her his usual audacious smirk. "I'm fine now, you see?"
A brief second passes before the brunette recovers from her loss of words.
"I... I'm glad to hear that." Even in her jumbled state of mind, there is a natural grace to her movements as she rises to her feet. "I must head back to my duty now. Please get well soon, Masamume-dono." With those last words, she gives him a respectful bow and swiftly exits the room. Before his men can ask what in the world the Takeda retainer was doing here, she is gone as fast as she came.
Even after Yukimura was gone, the Oshu lord lays awake long into the night, his mind still reeling over what has transpired during those brief moments. What compelled them to do what they have just done? Why did she rush all the way here from who knew where just to confirm, or rather deny, his supposed mortality? And, more importantly, why did he kiss her?
The spirited brunette has been his rival for quite some time now. They challenge each other and battle with all they have whenever opportunity presents itself. However, there are some moments he could feel that the bond between them goes far beyond that of two warriors sharing the same goal, but to what extent he does not know. Introspection has never been his forte, and his current feelings for the little tigress are too complicated to be heeded in these times of wars.
Shaking his head, he pushes these disturbing thoughts into the back of his mind. Right now, there are far more important things demanding his attention. He needs to take back his Right Eye and destroy General Mountain Monkey once and for all.
For now, he can only hope that both of them will survive long enough, at least until he can sort out his own feelings for her.
However, whatever paths the future will lead them to, there is one thing he is certain of.
Whether he likes it or not, her colours will always hold a place in his mind.
Gold and brown. Red and white.
-Owari-