Disclaimer: I believe it would be more appropriate to say that Sengoku Basara owns me than the other way around...

Warning: Sex.

Pairing: DateSana.

AN: Right. so I was supposed to post this ages ago, but I was meant to ease down on the porn, which kinda tunes down the atmosphere of the beginning. But upon rereading, I decided that it was fine like this after all.

Also, this contains drama. But that's DEFINITELY not my thing. So yeah, there IS humor there as well and no, you won't cry all the tears in your body reading this. I actually hope for a smile. Dare I go for a chuckle? ...Now, let's not get ahead of ourselves.

ANYWAY. There you have drama, porn and humor. Hope that it'll be fulfilling enough for you XP

Enjoy!

The mid-afternoon sky was dark, thick clouds covering it without giving it a chance to show any glimpse of blue anytime soon. The rain was falling, endlessly, drenching everything under it, turning the earth into a river of mud.

The small group of riders was advancing under the canopy of trees, the horses' hoofs occasionally slipping a little. Despite the terrible weather, no one stopped, no one paused, no one complained. No one uttered a word. They had a destination in mind, and would not stray from it.

The Tiger of Kai had passed away.

The trope exited the forest, entering a grass hill. It wasn't empty. Right in the middle, a large army, dressed in white, was standing, perfectly aligned. A little farther away, kneeling in the ground, uncaring of the mud soaking through his clothes, a man had his head lowered. The God of War was praying, commemorating for his long time rival.

The riders slowed down, but didn't stop.

Not too long after, the imposing walls of their destination came into view, and they slowed down even more, to a walking pace. They were longing those walls, in the direction of the gate, when a shadow slashed the air, stopping in front of their trope in the shape of a man.

Sarutobi Sasuke was standing here, shuriken raised, face hard and cold.

It wasn't hard to figure out that in the light of the recent events, everything had fallen back on his shoulders. He needed to protect everyone, and take care of everything, and if he had to take all of them by himself right there and then, he would do it.

Date Masamune raised one arm, commanding his men to a stop. His single eye stared into the ninja's one. His face was grave, and serious, which was unusual for him. Longish strands of hair were sticking to his skin over a single eye that currently looked steel gray. After a moment of silent staring, Sasuke lowered his weapon and nodded before turning on his heels and guiding them to the gate himself.

Once inside, they dismounted, and some servants came to silently give them a hand in taking off their belongings and bringing their horses to the stables. Masamune left them there, and followed the ninja, alone, to the house. They walked quietly on the engawa, finally out of the rain, for the most part. They rounded the house, until they reached a door. Sasuke then turned to look at Masamune, assuring himself he was not making a mistake by searching into that single blue eye. But Masamune kept his face blank, simply staring back.

Apparently deeming it safe, the ninja raised a hand, and quietly slid the door open, the sound of wood rubbing over wood drowned in the rain's one. Letting the dragon enter inside, the ninja himself staying at the door, arms crossed over his chest as he observed. Masamune stepped into the room, each step leaving a wet spot on the wooden floor, all the while untying the knots of his helmet. As he reached the futon in the center of the room, he lowered himself to his knees and put the piece of armor by his side, his gaze fixed on the occupant of the futon.

Facing him, sleeping slightly curled on his side, was Sanada Yukimura. And even through the very poor light, it was easy to see he had cried himself to sleep, his cheeks still glittering from the wetness there. Masamune reached forward with one gloved hand to caress one cheek briefly, with the tips of his fingers. Withdrawing, he turned his head to look at the ninja still standing in the doorway. They exchanged a long look, and with one last warning glare, Sasuke finally closed the door, leaving them be.

Masamune looked back at the body in front of him, now almost impossible to make out, and started tugging his gloves off. The rest of his armor followed suit, as discreetly as possible, although there was no really preventing the metallic noises. Not that it mattered, because the Tiger Cub didn't even stir.

It took a while, but finally Masamune was completely undressed. Much more at ease now that his soaked clothing and his armor were gone, he laid down on the futon in front of his rival, and rested his cold palm on the wet cheek. Yukimura was obviously a lot warmer than himself, but certainly not as warm as his usual self. This, more than the tears, spoke loudly of how broken his spirit was.

Under his palm, Yukimura finally stirred a little, without waking up. Instead, he started breathing a little more erratically, and fresh tears gathers at the corner of his eyes, hovering a little before sliding down, crashing on Masamune's fingers. Shifting a little closer, Masamune carefully sneaked one arm under him, the other curling around the thin waist, and pulled him against his chest.

After a while, Masamune fell asleep, lulled by the sound of rain, Sanada Yukimura clinging to him and silently sobbing into his chest.

A few hours later, maybe somewhere in the middle of the night, Masamune was woken up by the feeling of something pushing against his stomach. With a frown, he opened his eye to see Yukimura breaking from his hold, sitting up and looking down at him with surprise clearly etched on his features. He was confused, and wanted to understand what was going on. For all answer, Masamune kept his face grave.

Understanding came, and Yukimura's lips pinched together, his brown furrowing. He hiccuped, and averted his eyes before Masamune could see the tears leaking down again, obviously ashamed and humiliated but in too much pain to be able to keep himself under control. Masamune sat up as well, and laid a hand on his shoulder. Yukimura brushed it off, shaking his head wildly. Masamune then reached for both of the Tiger Cub's wrists, holding them in his grip and pulling to make Yukimura face him. Yukimura insisted, shaking his head again and stubbornly keeping his face turned to the side. So Masamune released one wrist, and reached for Yukimura's waist instead, pulling him flush against him. His other hand let go of the second wrist as well, and buried itself in the spikes at the back of Yukimura's head, forcing his head on the Dragon's shoulder.

It was all it took for Yukimura to let it go. Throwing both arms around Masamune's shoulders, fingers digging in his hair and back, he cried. Not silently anymore, but with loud, heart-breaking sobs, his soul splitting open over and over again. Not even the most cold-hearted man would have been able to withstand such utter despair unflinchingly, and Masamune felt the strings of his heart being pulled. Tightening his grip, he held Yukimura closer, crushing him in his arms, and buried his own head in his rival's neck.

Yukimura's cries calmed down a little after a while. However, his broken, now quieter sobs, still fell directly into Masamune's ear.

"Please..."

The word had been whispered, so low Masamune wasn't sure he heard it right, so he waited until Yukimura decided to say something else.

"Please, Masamune-dono, please, please, please..."

He kept chanting his quiet plea in Masamune's ear, begging for him to do something, anything, to make the pain go away. Masamune wished he knew how, but only Time could heal that sort of pain, and he was not the best when it came to comforting people. His brow furrowed and his teeth clenched in self-anger in front of his own powerlessness.

Finally, after some inner struggle, he did the only thing he could think of, the only thing that he know how to do, the only thing that would at least ease the pain away from a little while. Pulling Yukimura's head away from his shoulder, he kissed him. Just a strong press of lips against lips, something that could almost passed as accidental if Yukimura decided to push him away.

But he didn't.

Without even the slightest sound of surprise, Yukimura allowed Masamune to kiss him, immediately responding by tilting his head to the side and moving his lips, as if it was exactly what he had been waiting for, no matter how unconsciously. Since the go-ahead had been given, Masamune tilted his own head to the opposite side, and moved his lips as well. The kiss was hasty, Yukimura being obviously desperate and inexperienced, but Masamune didn't complain, just let him be for now.

After a while, though, he took matters into his own hands and guided Yukimura on his back, laying under him, never once breaking the kiss. He hovered above Yukimura's body, not touching yet, weight resting on one hand planted beside his rival's head. The other sneaked in between their bodies, grasping the blanket separating them, and pulling it to the side. He didn't lowered himself down on top of Yukimura right away, giving him the time to change his mind.

However, he did change the rhythm of the kiss, opening his mouth and sneaking his tongue past Yukimura's lips, encouraging him to do the same. Yukimura didn't protest, but was obviously at a loss about what to do now, and Masamune took complete control of the kiss, slowing it down by sliding his tongue sensually over Yukimura's, teasing it with the tip, rolling around, caressing it, slowly thrusting in and out of his mouth in a mock-show of what would come later.

Yukimura's hands had relaxed their grip a little, and one was clenching and unclenching in Masamune's hair, the other caressing over his shoulder-blades as he let of his first moan of pleasure. Taking it as is clue, Masamune lowered himself, nudging Yukimura's legs apart until he way laying in between, rounding his back a little so that their groins could touch. Yukimura moaned again and bent his legs, tilting his hips upward once before latching both legs around Masamune's waist.

They were really going to do this. They were really going to have sex. Together. It was wrong, very wrong. Completely destroying the boundaries of rivalry, carelessly ignoring those of friendship, and rushing into something neither would come undamaged from. He knew it, and certainly so did Yukimura, though he was in no state to care about something like this, only craving for something that would make him feel good instead of ripping his chest part. Masamune should stop this, before it went too far, but it was the only thing he could give Yukimura, and he knew that it was too late, that he couldn't stop now.

He kissed Yukimura deeper, pouring his raw dominating strength into it. Meanwhile, his hips started to work in slow, purposeful rotative motion, rubbing their groins together. With a muffled cry, Yukimura bucked harshly against him, seeking more. The legs around his waist tightened their grip, crossing at the ankles. He was wearing a simple yukata, and it only took a little bit of fumbling from Masamune's free hand to loosen up the obi holding it close for the flaps to fall open completely, allowing their hardening fleshes to come into direct contact.

Yukimura felt wonderful in his arms. Too wonderful. Masamune's heart was now beating rapidly in his chest, his desire rising. He shouldn't want Yukimura so badly, this was just supposed to be comfort sex, something they would have to forget later. But Masamune was losing himself in his rival, hungry for him, desiring him more than he ever desired anything or anyone in his life. And there was nothing he could do to stop it.

Their hips were rolling hard into each other, Masamune's pushing down, Yukimura's pushing up, in a hard, fast pace. It didn't take much more of this for the both of them to become fully hard, length sliding against each other almost painfully. Yukimura was moaning in his mouth, the sound reverberating down Masamune's throat. They were both panting, desire pulsating in waves from every pore of their bodies.

Unable to take it anymore, Masamune finally tore his mouth away and brought it on Yukimura's neck, sucking hard, nipping, licking biting every spot he could reach, all the while forcing three fingers into Yukimura's mouth. Yukimura welcomed them easily, without question, head slightly tilted back as he sucked on the digits, coaxing them with saliva. Masamune knew it wouldn't be quite good enough, but it would have to do.

Shifting position, Masamune took his hand from Yukimura's mouth and raised to his knees. Since Yukimura's legs were still around his waist, the Tiger Cub's ass was now hanging in the air, his weight resting on the back of his shoulders. Masamune calmed the rhythm of their rolling hips a little, though not stopping, and sneaked his saliva-coaxed hand under Yukimura's back, his little finger sliding in between the cheeks until it reached the tight hole there, from above. He circled it for a while, loosening it as best as he could by tickling it, then slowly, carefully, breached inside. Yukimura squirmed a little at the intrusion, but didn't protest, only kept on panting and bucking his hips.

Masamune forced his finger deeper, feeling the muscle constrict painfully tight around him. There has never been any doubt that Yukimura was a virgin, but feeling it around him like that? Masamune wasn't really sure he would ever be able to fit in there. He wasn't small, by any means. Once his finger was fully sheathed, he started a slow, thrusting motion, both loosening and encouraging Yukimura to relax, to get used to the feeling. Thankfully, since all Yukimura was wishing for was to feel something, anything, he didn't fight the feeling, and let himself relax easily enough around the finger, going as far as to push against it. Masamune kept going for a while, his thrusts slowly gaining speed, trying to reach deeper, to slam harder in.

When it became obvious Yukimura was very much enjoying this, judging by the way he chose to push down on the finger instead of up against Masamune's hips, back arching and head tilted back as he gasped on air, Masamune deemed it safe to add a second finger, a lot more carefully then the first one, scissoring both on the way in. Yukimura made a small pained noise at that, brown furrowing and biting his lips, but made no further complain. Masamune wondered if physical pain mixed with pleasure wasn't exactly what Yukimura had been looking for in the first place. Whether the case or not, it made his job a lot easier, and sooner than he would have thought, both fingers were knuckle-deep inside. The ring of muscle was clenching and unclenching around them, sucking them in or pushing them out, it was hard to say. Masamune waited a little until it relaxed some more, then started thrusting.

Masamune's entire focus was on that tight hole, concentrating in doing a good job, though he couldn't help but getting pretty worked up himself, wanting nothing more than sticking another part of himself in there. So focused he was, Yukimura's hoarse cry and full body shiver came as a surprise. Looking at his face, Masamune saw him with his head thrown back, mouth wide open, face completely flushed. His hands grasped at Masamune's back in urgency, and he forcefully slammed himself into the fingers again. At once, Masamune understood, and started thrusting again, harder, looking for the one spot that had made his rival see stars. It took a few thrusts but he found it again, if the loud moan and the tightening around his fingers were any indication. Trying to memorize it, Masamune kept assaulting it, over and over again.

He was getting impatient, and seeing Yukimura like this, lustful, lewd, lost in desire, made it even harder for him to hold back. With a growing sense of urgency, he forced a third finger inside, not really giving Yukimura the time to adjust before slamming all three into the special spot. Yukimura chocked, body momentarily freezing from shock. But as the fingers were hitting exactly where they needed to, he found his strength back soon enough, and was back to impaling himself on them, movements erratic. He was almost ready now, and Masamune didn't wait long before inserting a fourth finger, for good measure, and after a couple of thrusts, the tip of his thumb as well. Yukimura was tossing his head now, hands clawing at Masamune's back.

That did it. Taking all fingers out, ignoring Yukimura's sound of protest, Masamune grasped both of their lengths instead, jerking them off together in hard, fast strokes, coaxing his in precum. And then, he released Yukimura's and pulled his hips back a little, unable to at first as Yukimura's legs prevented him to, unwilling to let him leave now, but as he insisted, they relaxed their grip. Guiding his length, he pressed the head against Yukimura's entrance, rubbing the hole a little to spread some precum on it, before slowly pushing inside. He stopped once the head was in, taking a deep breath. Damn shit Yukimura was tight. Releasing his cock, he grasped Yukimura's hip instead, keeping him steady as he pushed deeper inside. His cock wasn't much bigger than all four fingers knuckle-deep, but it was much, much longer.

Yukimura had stopped moving completely, his entire body tense, back fully arched, mouth open in a silent scream. It took a long, endless time, but Masamune finally managed to bury all of himself inside. Yukimura's inner walls were smooth and warm as they clenched around him. He was deep, very deep inside, and he knew Yukimura had to be feeling way too full. Masamune paused once buried to the hilt, his cock pulsating. He wanted to move, but they moth needed a moment to get their bearings. After a while, Yukimura slumped down, and looked up at him strengthlessly, through heavy-lided, glazed-over eyes, mouth open and panting hard. Masamune took it as his clue and started moving, first with shallow thrusts, barely sliding out before pushing back in, but as he felt Yukimura relax, took more of it out each time, until he only left the head in before thrusting back in.

For a while, all Yukimura could do was clinging to him, body trembling, chocked gasps falling from his mouth. During that time, Masamune kept his thrusts slow, not exactly gentle, but at a comfortable pace. Finally, Yukimura managed to accustom himself to it, and pulled Masamune's head down for a kiss while pushing his hips back, impaling himself on the dragon's cock. From then on, the real deal started. Masamune accelerated the rhythm of his thrusts, as well as their brutality, his hips meeting Yukimura's halfway as the Tiger Cub pushed back.

It escalated to a fast, hard, merciless fucking, flesh slapping harshly and breath mingling through groaning, grunting pants and moans. The world disappeared around them, leaving only the two of them, the sounds they were making, now covering the rain noises, the smell of sex and sweat feeling their nostrils, the feel of their skin, sliding so smoothly against each other, the taste of each other, when their lips would brush and tongue would sneak out to lick each other, the way their body connected, working as one for the same goal.

And because it was the two of them, because it was Sanada Yukimura and Date Masamune, the rivals that had gone trough so many shit together, that had faced each other so many times, their fights always so intense, not matter what they would be doing, always having a thought for the other, true, real obsession, because of that, the sex blew their mind away in a way no one else would have been able to achieve.

They didn't know how long they kept on with this, how many times Masamune slid out only to immediately slide back in. But after a moment of eternity, Yukimura threw his head back, his entire body tensing, and screamed at the top of his lungs, face contorted in pleasure so intense he dug all his nails down the entire length of Masamune's back. The dragon, himself, was far from being done, and he kept on slamming, as hard as he could, inside the tight tunnel, ignoring the stinging pain of Yukimura's nails on his back. Yukimura's body shook with waves after waves of pleasure, semen spraying all over his yukata and Masamune's belly.

Masamune grimaced, frustrated. Yukimura was obviously way too spent to find the strength to push back again, at least not right now. So Masamune pulled out of him, and flipped Yukimura on his belly, pulling on his hips to raise his ass in the air. Satisfied with the next position, he pushed his length back inside, wasting no time before slamming forcefully back in, starting his merciless pace anew. One of his hand sneaked under Yukimura, and in between his legs, grasping his cock and stroking it jerkily, attempting to bring him into full hardness once more. Yukimura couldn't do anything be lay there, face pressed in the pillow, hands clenching the sheets on each side of his head, screaming.

Thankfully, since he was a virgin, and still a teenager, it didn't take him long before becoming fully hard again, helped by the double income of pleasure from the front and the back. Soon he was pushing back against Masamune once more, forcing the large cock deeper inside of him. This position allowed them to move more freely, and as such, their fucking was even harder than before. Finally, Masamune started to feel the prickle of his own release, so close under the surface. His hand pulled harder on Yukimura's cock as his own thrusts became more jerky, not letting much of his length exit from the hole now before slamming back in. Somehow, he managed to time in right, and just as Yukimura's semen covered his fingers, his own filled the Tiger Cub's ass. His orgasm came strong, and Masamune briefly chocked on air as a pleasure so intense crashed over him. His face was contorted in pleasure, teeth gritting, as black spots danced behind his eyelid.

He gave a few more shallow thrusts, to finish himself completely, grasping on the last strings of his orgasm. Finally, he stopped and pulled out, the sound terribly lewd, and let himself drop down beside Yukimura, on his back, panting for air. Beside him, Yukimura let his legs slide from under him until he was slumped on his stomach, also panting for breath, face turned in Masamune's direction.

After a while, Masamune swallowed and opened his eye before slowly turning to the side to look at Yukimura. The brown eyes, not that easy to make out in the almost completely dark room, stared back at him. They kept their gazes locked for a long moment in silence, face blanks, wiped of all thoughts. There was nothing in particular going on inside Masamune's head at that moment, not after such a mind-blowing orgasm. All he knew was that looking at Yukimura like that, and having his intense look returned, made his heart beat faster and his body tingle with desire.

Neither initiated it, it just came like a silent agreement, or a coincidentally perfectly timed snap, but they lunged at each other once more, mouth hungrily seeking the other, teeth clicking. It immediately turned into a dirty, hard, animalistic, jaw-bruising kiss, tongues and lips and teeth all playing together. Yukimura had both hands into Masamune's hair, and Masamune had one into Yukimura's, the other caressing anywhere it could reach.

Since Yukimura had been laying on his belly and Masamune on his back, the Tiger Cub's upper body was now resting down on top of Masamune's. As the kiss turned more and more heated, he shifted position, and threw a leg over the Dragon's hip, squirming until he was fully straddling him. They never once broke the kiss and in this position, it was much easier to keep on. Again, it came as common agreement to start rubbing their groins against each other, Yukimura rolling his hips down while Masamune pushed his upward, bending his legs for better leverage.

The Dragon's hand trailed downward until they reached his rival's ass, where they spread, grasping both cheeks in a firm grip and pulled them apart. He used this to help Yukimura in his movements. They kept on going for a while, until their lips were completely swollen and mixed saliva was leaking down the Dragon's cheeks, and until they were both fully hard again.

Then, Masamune pulled Yukimura up a little, until the tip of his cock nudged the puckered entrance once more. Understanding the message, Yukimura reached behind himself with once hand, grasping his rival's length and guiding it in. He then pushed down, releasing the length halfway in, to finish impaling himself down on it. His muffled pleading noises, he brought his hand back into the Dragon's hair, clenching it with both hands as he started moving his hips up and down.

Using his grip on Yukimura's ass, Masamune helped, spreading the cheeks wide apart while bucking his own hips up. Then didn't take is slow, immediately falling into a hard, fast pace, but the fact they were kissing impaired their movements some. So, reluctantly, Yukimura broke the kiss and placed a hand over Masamune's chest to help himself sitting up. Like this, Masamune was buried all the way inside. Since they were not needed anymore and would only ended up being a nuisance, Masamune took his hands off Yukimura's ass and grasped his hands instead, intertwining their fingers. Yukimura responded to the grip by tightly clenching his own fingers.

And then, they started moving. From his vantage position, Yukimura had to do most of the work this time, which he did without problem. Holding tight on Masamune's hands, he flexed his thighs to push himself up, only to let himself drop back down when almost all of Masamune's dick was out. It took him a little moment to find the rhythm, adjusting himself to the position, but soon he was riding Masamune's cock like it was the only thing keeping him alive, like it kept his heart beating and his lungs filling with oxygen.

Harder, and deeper and faster, Masamune slammed his hips upward into Yukimura's, feeling his cock being swallowed greedily by the hungry mouth with each thrusts, now the hole loosened enough to make the entering easy, though still tight enough that the constriction made him feel dizzy with pleasure. Yukimura's head was thrown back, back arched and long strands of hair tickling Masamune's thighs as he screamed himself hoarse, undulating his body with abandon.

Since they had come twice already, this orgasm took longer to come, and they kept going, enjoying every friction of the length against the inner walls, their main point of focus. It took a while, but finally Yukimura's movements became more erratic, his pants sounding more like gasps, his entire body frantic as he was close, so close, obviously feeling it right there. And then, he came, semen bursting from his cock and spraying both his belly and Masamune's. But it seemed like he couldn't stop, like he was lost in it, lost in the feeling, and he kept going, broken screams escaping his throat. It helped, because Masamune didn't have to take matters into his own hands and soon was coming himself, hips bucking hard into Yukimura's and head tilting back as a raspy grunt fell through tightly clenched teeth.

Yukimura still kept going for a little longer, until Masamune's cock started to soften and slipped from his ass. Coming down from his high, Yukimura let himself slump forward, his head on Masamune's chest, ear over his quickly beating heart. Their hands were still tightly clenched together, sweaty palms pressed against each other, now dropped on each side of Masamune's head. They were too utterly spent to move an inch, to even bother changing position, and it was exactly like that that they fell asleep.

It was the sound of chirping birds that woke Masamune up, and he frowned and grunted softly, unwilling to face the day. For some reason, his body felt heavy and way too hot. His hands felt tied, too. It only took him a few seconds to get his bearing back, but when he did, he snapped his eye open, staring up at the unfamiliar ceiling. Slowly, he looked down at the body resting on top of his, in exactly the same position they fell asleep in. Yukimura's breath was even, and it was obvious he was still asleep. Masamune tilted his head to the side to look at the peaceful face. Well, at least there had been no crying in his sleep this time. No, Yukimura mostly looked relaxed. And cute, too, if Masamune had to be perfectly honest with it.

Corny thoughts for thing in the morning. Great.

As if mocking him, a bird chirped in answer. Masamune sighed, his breath messing with the brown spikes just under his nose. As if on cue, the body above his stirred, and Masamune held his breath. He was not looking forward to what was about to happen, not one bit. He heard a yawn, and one of the hand in his attempted to free itself. Unsuccessfully and first, which made the Tiger Cub grunt, then try again, this time managing to bring it to his face to rub his eyes. Yawning again, Yukimura sat at up, directly on Masamune's groin, which made his breath itch in his throat.

As if just realizing something was off, Yukimura frown and finally opened his eyes, blinking down at him, once, twice, thrice.

"Masamune-dono...?"

Then suddenly, his brain caught with the memories of what happened last night, and his jaw dropped, eyes widening, and face turning an impressive shade of red. It took another moment to register everything, but once he did, he scrambled hastily and clumsily out of the dragon's body, only stopping at a reasonably safe distance. He sat there, on his ass, legs spread, hands supporting his weight and mouth opening and closing silently, struggling for words.

Masamune sat up as well, face blank, looking at Yukimura carefully. Yukimura's eyes widen even further and he yelped, before turning his body around, on all four, and scrambled to his feet, failing a few times, probably both because of clumsiness and soreness, until he somewhat succeeded. He was limped, terribly, in the direction of the door.

"I...I...I-I have duties to a-attend to. Ple-"

"Yukimura."

Yukimura stopped, back straight, one hand raised to open the door, at the sound of Masamune's voice. It was the first time ever Masamune had called him by his first name, and his first name only. He gulped audibly, and slowly, panic and confusion and shame mixing in a grimace on his face, eyes wild, turned around to face the Dragon.

Masamune looked at him for a while, still sitting, and then, making a split decision, stood up and crossed the room lightning fast, hands grabbing both of Yukimura's cheeks and pulling him in for a kiss. Fuck it. It was too late anyway. Yukimura's hands reached up for Masamune's wrists, grasping them in a shaky but tight grip, without attempting to pull them off. Their lips were brushing together, Masamune's urgently, Yukimura's hesitantly. In between kisses, Yukimura tried to mumble his weak protests.

"Ma-Masamune-dono..."

"I know..."

"We shall not..."

"I know..."

"This is wrong..."

"I know..."

Yukimura shut up after that, and let himself be kissed and pushed backward, until his back met the door. Masamune kept the kiss going for a little while longer, then broke it, keeping their lips close, close enough to brush as they spoke. His eye was closed and he just basked in Yukimura, fighting an already lost battle of wits against himself. Yukimura's hands dropped from his wrists to his bare chest, were they rested.

"Masamune-dono...I-I think I..."

"I know."

They stayed silent after that, their forehead resting against each other, not moving, not shifting, just staying like that for who knows how long. After a while, acting as one, they tilted their heads slightly to the side, and began kissing again, just the slightest brush of lips, but it was enough to light a new fire in Masamune. However, before they could go any further, a voice interrupted them.

"Danna!"

The ceremony lasted for a long time, a lot of people having showed up, most of them having something to say to commemorate for the Tiger of Kai, a great man out of a few. His body was burnt, then, and his ashes spread over the land he loved so much. All the while, Yukimura kept his face high, his back straight and his features serious. And if a few tears silently slid down his cheeks, no one would comment on it.

At day break, people started leaving, and Masamune was part of them. His men had already mounted their horses, and soon he would as well. He still had a few words to exchange with his rival, first, though. By-passing the ninja at the gate, and ignoring the long look he shared with his Right Eye, Masamune walked to his target. He stopped in front of Yukimura, and they stared at each other for a long moment. There was still sadness in these eyes, but he had apparently gotten some of his spirit back. His face was back to its serious, focused self, facing Masamune like the true rival he was.

"You are now the Tiger of Kai, Sanada Yukimura. Make him proud ok?"

"I shall do so, with all my spirit and soul."

"Excellent."

They paused, looking at each other for a moment longer, and then color rose slightly to Yukimura's cheeks before he bowed deeply.

"Allow me to express my most sincere and deep gratitude, Masamune-dono."

"Now, Sanada Yukimura. If you want to express your gratitude, show me what you can do with those spears of yours!"

Bowing his own head, Masamune turned it slightly to the side so that he was speaking directly into Yukimura's ear. His voice dropped to a whisper as he continued.

"Or, you could express it by rolling with me in my sheets next time, you see?"

He raised his head again, and so did Yukimura, his face now as red as his jacket, eyes wide and mouth hanging open. Leaning forward, Masamune brushed his lips against Yukimura's cheek and breathed against it.

"That kind of party is fun one in a while too, hum?"

Straightening again, he chuckled as Yukimura slapped a hand over his cheek, frowning in disapproval. With one last smirk, Masamune turned on his heels and mounted his horse. Crossing his arms over his chest, he gave one last look at Yukimura.

"See ya, Sanada Yukimura!"

With that, he turned his horse around and brought it into a run. A few seconds later, at already quite a great distance, he heard Yukimura's voice, loudly screaming his name.

"DATE MASAMUNEEEEEE!"

Masamune laughed, head tilted back.

"What a great delayed reaction Sanada Yukimura!"