Author's notes:
So to celebrate the release of SW4, my first reaction is to write KanHan sad/fluff story. (Because celebrating game releases with OTP stories is a great idea!) I would like to thank my friend skulledRenaissaince for her kindly editing, giving me the idea for this story, and being the cause of my sleep-deprevation on a school night from the "I have to write this!" thought. Thanks Skulled!
I would also like to add that SW4 has given me two new pairings (Kanetsugu x Kagekatsu and Yoshitsugu x Takatora) and when I get a feel for the personalities a little better, you can expect fics of these two pairs as well!
Now for the true story notes:
From what I've gathered Rose Quartz is a gem symbolizing unconditional love.
Ojisan is an honorific meaning "Uncle." I have a weird headcannon where Hanbei's son sees Kanbei as either a second father or uncle and vise-versa with Kanbei's son and Hanbei.
Dono, from what I've read, is an honorific that is used for someone you respect but see as an equal.
Unlike most of my stories, there is no historical accuracy intended whatsoever. To quote Shingen before Kawanakajima in SW3, this was "Merely a bit of fun."
Now, onto the story!
It rained heavily that day, as the heavens cried out their bitter regrets. That fateful hour that was inevitable,shortly after the Battle of Kizugawa. The day Kanbei had to watch as the one person he felt genuine care for was buried beneath the ground. The earth had reclaimed another soul into its gaping maw.
It was quiet that day. The only things said were the final things they had to say to the fallen strategist. Words cried out in final moments of peace. Final farewells and murmurs unsaid. One. After the other. After the other. Kanbei himself was struggling to keep his emotions held together, as he said his final goodbyes once again to the one person who genuinely understood him.
It was a somber day. A sad day…
Kanbei woke up early, as usual, to the sunlight shining through his window. It had been three days since Hanbei's funeral, and Kanbei still was not used to the strategist's absence. A blank hole never to be filled again, he had lingered on the thought for the past few hours. That did not keep him from having a small hope inside.
A hope that quickly went back to a mourning silence. He had turned to wake up Hanbei, who had taken to sleeping next to him the last few weeks, but soon remembered the other was not there. Sighing, the grim-in-appearance strategist got up, and prepared for his daily work, put simply, strategizing and any paperwork that he was to take care of that day. Expecting mountains that rivaled a particular, oh, Hydra. His lord, Hideyoshi, was preparing for the conflict at Yamazaki after all, and if he was going to fulfil his final wish to Hanbei, he would have to get straight to work. However, this morning he came across a distraction as he slid open the door to his room.
On the floor in front of him, sat a box. While boxes were not usually a symbol of interest, this one seemed different. It was a box wrapped in dark blue paper, with a design of a large, silver crescent moon and stars. A small piece of paper on the box read: For Kanbei, may it come in handy at some point!
The penmanship of the kanji was beyond familiar to Kanbei. It was the same writing as that of his cheery "other half." Though he knew that couldn't be possible, considering the recent circumstances. Despite that, Kanbei carefully pulled off the paper to reveal the box inside.
Another faint sign of hope he thought crushed stirred, once again, within his chest,
Lifting off the lid, it was revealed that an orb, similar to the one that he wielded in battle, lied inside on a bed of velvet. This orb was only similar in size and shape, though. while the orb that he used was typically made of jade, lapis, or ruby, this was was carved from a calmly pink-colored rose quartz.
Kanbei stared at the stone for a few moments. sure he was a great strategist, but just because one is great in the realms of strategy, doesn't mean they can figure out a cryptic gift and note. It was certainly not a stone meant for war though, that much he could tell. While Kanbei could feel magical properties upon touching it, he couldn't feel that of a warrior's spirit that he did with his battlestones. No grips upon it's smooth surface. It brought not the urge to destroy, but a priority to care and protect. While he was contemplating this, strange measure, however, Kanbei was swiftly brought out of his thoughts by a calm and measured voice from behind him. "Father, you're needed at the war council."
Turning, Kanbei saw his son, Nagamasa, standing next to Hanbei's adopted son, Shigetoshi, in the doorway. Embarrassingly he had been too into his thoughts to have heard the two of them opening the door. "I will be there in a moment." Kanbei replied as briskly as ever.
Both of the boys were about to leave the room at that, but the rose quartz orb caught Shigetoshi's eyes. Of course, seeing as his father had never taught him the saying, "Curiosity killed the cat," the boy had to ask the question on his mind. "Ojisan, what's that?"
"It's nothing." Was Kanbei's careful reply. "Simply a decoration." And with that, he followed the two boys to the room where the war council was taking place.
Nine days later, and the Battle at Yamazaki had come and gone. Kanbei's strategies had led the Toyotomi to victory, and he was now about get some well-earned rest. Something that was quickly seeming to be impossible as the days dragged on. A knock on his door had been heard, and so Kanbei had walked over to open it. However, no one was standing on the other side. The man groaned in exasperation. That had to be the hundredth time that day he had made a similar noise. Kanbei returned to his sleeping place, only to be bothered by what felt like a cold hand lightly grasping his shoulder. At that point, even the calm, collected Kanbei sat up quickly in surprise.
The cold hand disappeared after that, but soon another strange occurrence happened. The small pedestal that Kanbei was keeping the quartz orb atop began to rattle. As the grim strategist began to walk over, the pedestal then fell over, and Kanbei barely caught the beautifully carved crystal in his hands.
The second it was caught, however, a familiar-looking ghostly form was apparent. One of a short…
cheerful…
strategist.
It can't be… Was Kanbei's only thought. But it was, and that was confirmed by one sentence that was, matching his personality, cheerfully spoken from the ghost. "Hey there, Kanbei-dono!"
At that moment Kanbei almost dropped the crystal, but the ghostly form of his lover was quickly sent into a panic at that, the misty hands grasping for something they could not touch. "Hey, hey! Don't drop that! I can only talk to you and you can only see me if you're holding it!" He whined in his usual uplifting voice.
"How-" Kanbei started to say, but was quickly cut off by Hanbei's ghost. "It's a kami-blessed stone. I'm not sure if I could find another, so be careful with it. Blasted things are hard to find in the afterlife…. everyone here wants one!"
After that a silence fell between them, until it was of course Hanbei who broke it. "You know, I could have just haunted you for a while without you being able to see me, but I figured this was the better plan. Especially seeing your ever-so-frightened reactions!"
Kanbei glared at the cheerful one. "I was not frightened. Simply a little startled…" Even in surprise, he was haughty as always. But Kanbei's voice trailed off slightly at the end of that sentence. When he spoke up once again his voice was nearly silent. "Why did you come back?"
Hanbei's face grew oddly serious at that point. Odd in the sense that this was someone who would remain cheerful to the very last. "You know, the afterlife is pretty peaceful. There's no war, and I can get in plenty of sleep. But still, it's missing something."
"Oh?" Kanbei asked. "And what might that be?"
"You." Hanbei replied simply. "In the afterlife, it's hard to find others. Because of that, it can get pretty lonely. Plus, I did say I'd be the light that watches over you. The moon and the stars at night, and hey! With all the time I had for thinking I found the answer for if it rains. But then I thought, what if you're where the sun, and the moon, and the stars can't see you? What if you needed someone to confide in? And that's where this comes in." Hanbei finished his speech by pointing to the orb that laid in Kanbei's hands. Then he put a hand on one of Kanbei's. "And see, so long as you're at least touching that, I can actually touch you without, well, you know, going right through you."
At that moment, to Hanbei's surprise, and not a moment's hesitation on Kanbei's part, the orb was set on the ground, and Hanbei temporarily flickered out of existence. Then Kanbei touched his foot to the stone and his love flickered back, with a not-too-pleased look on his face. That look quickly disappeared however, when Kanbei gently wrapped Hanbei in an uncharacteristically warm embrace. "You never said I had to touch it with my hand." Kanbei replied as the faintest tear fell down his face. "I missed you so much."
Hanbei looked up into Kanbei's eyes, and then pressed his head back into his chest, while hugging him back. "I missed you too Kanbei, I missed you too."