When a person answers 'love' to another person's love, they will end up loving each other.

When a person answers 'hatred' to another person's hatred, they will end up hating each other.

…but, what happens when a person replied to another person's 'love' with 'hatred'?

Please tell me the answer.

Will you—

—Mitsunari?

He was soaked in the deepest red.

Lying on the ground, right beneath my feet.

Putrid, raw stench of death fills the air.

I tried to call his name. I tried to wake him up.

But he wasn't waking up at all.

And never will be.

Choked by pain, I roared to the sky.

Loud.

Time was stopped—broken.

Unimaginable noises that surrounded me faded away, slowly.

The world faltered, crumbling before me.

Everything went black and white—

—and deep, deepest red.

"Milord. Lord Tokugawa."

A voice shook me up from my mind.

A man with a scarred face was standing right before me.

"Dragon's Right Eye. What is it?" I asked, ignoring his pestered glare.

"My master—Date Masamune—humbly asked for your permission."

I snorted. "It's not usual that One-Eyed Dragon is humble. So, what is it all about?"

The Dragon's Right Eye stared at me with a sharp glare.

"My master wants to change his position from the former one," he replied.

I raised my eyebrows.

"Why is that so?"

"He said, he wants to change his position to catch up with the Takeda Army."

At the time he said those words, I can feel uneasy—thrilly air around him.

I feel darkness, heavy atmosphere, disagreement, disapproval of something.

He asked that permission, but he seems to reject it himself.

"…Is it because of Sanada?" I asked, steered by my curiosity.

The man looked shocked, but he nodded heavily.

"Yes, it is."

My spine went chilly.

I laughed a little, then, I gave an approval to his request.

"…Fine. Tell him that his duty is to charge the Takeda Forces. And don't be late to join his party."

When I said the 'party' word, I copied the guy's way to say it.

The scarred man took his bow, and left me afterwards.

"Our greatest gratitude, Milord."

When he was gone, I took a deep breath.

I tried to throw away the heavy air lingering in my lungs.

But I was unable to do it.

It's choking me inside.

Why does Date so insist to clash his way with Sanada?

And what is actually he's thinking about him?

What is Sanada thinking about him?

What will be their resolve?

And what will be their end?

I chuckled, scratching my head.

"Fool," I mumbled,

"I should ask those questions to myself. How stupid of me."

What our end will be—

—Mitsunari?

Back then, I killed Lord Hideyoshi.

By my own hands.

But my actions were not that unreasonable.

I did it to you,

So you won't dirtied by Toyotomi's tyranny anymore.

I don't want you to continue that man's ruthless ideals anymore.

I just want you to stop.

Don't submit yourself to the darkness.

But you won't understand.

Why?

Tell me the answer, Mitsunari.

After few days, I found myself standing on the land of Sekigahara.

I turned my head, to see everything surrounded me.

I found Tadakatsu—with his giant, shiny drill spear—stood next to me.

Beside him, there were Uesugi troops, Saika renegades, and Date forces.

All together, they were ready and steady to face the enemy.

We—the Eastern Army—against the Western Army—led by him.

Suddenly, his images popped right in my mind—

—and it hurts me inside.

Really hurts.

I took a deep sigh, and looked up to the sky.

"Where can I find the answer?"

The God of War—Uesugi Kenshin—stared back at me.

"Of what question, if I may know?" he replied, with a somewhat curiosity behind his serene look.

I chuckled,

"Lord Kenshin," I said,

"When a person answers 'love' to another person's love, they will end up loving each other.

When a person answers 'hatred' to another person's hatred, they will end up hating each other.

But, what happens when a person replied to another person's 'love' with 'hatred'?

What do you think will be the answer?"

The God of War stood silently for awhile, before he smiled calmly to me.

"Even Bishamonten would find difficult to answer such question," replied him, as his loyal ninja stood before him and blushed her face.

"You guys," said a deep voice, "Stop being pansies, will ya? Why don't we enjoy this last party together, while we can?"

The One-Eyed Dragon, with his trustful Right Eye, pacified their horses—eager to take a run.

He grinned at me—with somewhat glimmering eyes, filled with faint sadness.

The God of War chuckled, gave his approval.

"Yes. The answer, Lord Tokugawa,"

He rose his silver, shining blade.

"You can find it here. Sekigahara. On this very land."

The war cry has been roared.

The troops were taking their clashes afterwards.

And the land was soaked in deep—deepest red.

He swung his punch right on my face.

It was a really hard hit.

"I can't believe it..." he gasped,

"I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU COULD DO SUCH A THING!"

Mitsunari gasped and panted in each of his words.

His breath was filled with anger and hatred.

His eyes emitted sharp, dangerous flashes.

His prescence lingered with strong killing intent—that I never saw from him.

I stood from the floor, wiping blood trickled down my cheek.

"Mitsunari—I—"

"DON'T YOU DARE TO CALL MY NAME! I'M SICK WHENEVER SOMEONE FILTHY AS YOU CALLED TO MY NAME!"

"Well, I—have my own reasons—"

"I SWEAR TO HIDEYOSHI-SAMA, I WILL KILL YOU! I WILL DEFINETELY KILL YOU!"

"LISTEN TO ME, MITSUNARI!"

He flinched when I snapped at him, and stopped panting.

"I did it…because I don't want you to continue Toyotomi's cruel ideals anymore."

"What the hell?"

"I don't want you to keep involving yourself in his darkness, Mitsunari! Stop submitting yourself to the Dark! Go forth and walk to the path of Light!"

"TO HELL WITH YOU! YOU JUST WATCH IT, IEYASU! I SWEAR, I WILL KILL YOU!"

"….."

And so, the end is marked for us all.

My wandered mind went back to Sekigahara, once again.

After time passed, the war was nearly over.

The Eastern Army managed to took the advantage.

Strong smell of raw, rusty blood filled the air.

Screams of agony heard everywhere.

I took a look around, and I was horrified.

This is the Hell.

The Hell that created from a certain person's vengeance.

And that certain person was panting, breathing hardly, right in front of me.

He wiped some bloodstain on his face, showing his eyes filled with hatred.

Why?

Why do you hate me so much?

I just want to save you from the darkness within you, nothing more.

Why do hate me like that, Mitsunari?

"This is not over yet," he whispered—with a deep, dark tone, "All of this will soon over, after your life falls to me!"

I stood there, silently, unmoved.

"This is…for Hideyoshi-sama!"

Mitsunari charged to me, with his sword flew to my body.

But I remain unmoved.

I waited for the finish blow.

Then, I felt my body being pushed, and I fell—slammed to the ground.

When I opened my eyes, I found Mitsunari kneeled over my body—right above me.

He breathed hardly, and stabbed his sword on the ground—instead of my throat.

I saw tears trickled down from his eyes—glowing beneath his shadowed face.

"…why…?" I asked.

He still gasped.

"…why don't you finish me off?" I asked again.

He still not answered my question.

I reached his cheek, brushed off his tears with my fingers.

He was trembling—in anger and anxiety.

"Stop your bitchings," he whispered, "I will end your life right now."

His grip tightened on my throat, gagged my breathing.

As my consciousness faded away, I know that was the right time.

I touched his face again, and I felt him shaking whenever my fingers sensed his skin.

"I love you."

Mitsunari's eyes were widened.

His grip was loosed.

I moved my face closer to his, and kissed him.

He was shocked, but he did not resist.

His trembling breath was calmed—I don't even know why.

"Don't stop," I said, "If you want to kill me now, just do it. I'm fine with it."

He bit his lip.

"I'm not expecting your answer," I touched his tears, "I've blurt my feelings out to you, and I'm fine with it. I won't wait for your answer. Just kill me now."

Suddenly, he stopped choking me.

He cried so many tears—red tears—melted with blood on his face.

"…you filthy…."

"You're the one who is filthy, Mitsunari. Look at yourself."

He was soaked in red, stained by blood.

Covered in mud and soil.

"You've been contaminated by the darkness."

He trembled, released his grip from my neck.

"Why, Mitsunari? Don't let your guard down—finish me! Don't hold yourself back—"

"Hideyoshi-sama…I'm not…"

His eyes were set unfocused. He was losing himself.

I gritted my teeth, almost losing control of my emotion.

"Mitsunari, dammit! Kill me, now! This is your only chance to get rid of the man you despise the most! Kill me now!"

"…Hideyoshi…sama…I…"

"If you won't kill me—"

A massive, buzzing noise came from behind—

"—THEN, I'LL BE THE ONE TO KILL YOU!"

—and stopped the moment of everything in my life.

"TADAKATSU—WAIT—NO—"

A huge, drill spear penetrated Mitsunari's chest.

And his body fell right before me.

"…Mitsunari…?"

He was soaked in the deepest red.

Lying on the ground, right beneath my feet.

I rushed to him, took him on my arms.

He smiled at me—without any traces of hatred filled his expression earlier.

"…Ieyasu…"

A drop of tear rolled down through his blood-stained face.

Putrid, raw stench of death fills the air.

"Mitsunari? Mitsunari—"

I tried to call his name. I tried to wake him up.

But he wasn't waking up at all.

And never will be.

"MITSUNARI!"

Choked by pain, I roared to the sky.

"AAAAAAAAAARRRGGGHHHHHHHHH!"

Time was stopped—broken.

Unimaginable noises that surrounded me faded away, slowly.

The world faltered, crumbling before me.

Everything went black and white—

—and deep, deepest red.

I woke up from the noise infiltrated my eardrums.

It's already late afternoon.

The bell rang, called the day off.

I raised my head from my desk, and stepped outside the classroom.

What a horrible dream, I thought to myself.

"You were dozing off again, Tokugawa?"

I looked at the voice.

It was him.

"Yeah. I read too much manga last night."

"Stop acting like a noob, you moron. We're all gonna face the friggin' finals next week, and you still read manga?"

I walked to my locker, and found a letter inside.

It's from a junior of our school—addressed to me.

"Say, Mitsunari," I said, while still holding the letter in my hands.

"What?"

"What if someone you don't like saying 'love' to you?"

His eyes were widened, but he wasn't losing his cool.

"Turn them down. It's just that simple," he answered.

"Okay, then."

I ripped the letter on my hand to pieces—much to Mitsunari's shock.

"What the—"

"Now, it's my turn to ask you a thing."

I pushed him to the wall, giving him no place to turn away.

"What would you reply to me when I say 'I love you'?"

He stared at me—with a strong, sharp glare.

"You really want to know?"

He pushed me back, and pressed his lips to mine.

Not long before other students found us smacking lips each other at the locker, I slammed on the floor—with Mitsunari above me.

"You still want to know my answer—Ieyasu?"

I chuckled, and felt the heat rose on my face.

"No need. I knew it already. Ha ha."

What happens when a person replied to another person's 'hatred' with 'love'?

…You can see me for one fine example.

Right, Mitsunari?