I got inspired to create a "fairy tale" type story depicting Masamune as an actual dragon. Hope you like it!
There was once a dragon that ruled over a land. He wasn't feared by his people. He was deeply loved. His followers, his army, would gladly die for him. He only had one physical eye but he was very strong. The Azure Dragon. The Dragon of the North. The One-Eyed Dragon. He went by many names. Loved by those under him but feared by those who dare oppose him.
But he did have one weakness other than his blind spot. Every dragon had some sort of treasure. He was no different. He would hold his treasure gently in his claws while he slept and would watch over it as much as he could. He wasn't himself when he didn't have it. That's why his followers came around to calling his treasure The Dragon's Heart.
Of course he had other treasures. His Eye was the oldest and his Instinct the newest, His Eye helped him in battle and planning while his Instinct helped him in his split decision making, mostly on the home front. His Heart was just something precious to him.
He would sleep curled around it in a protective manner. Many people had threatened to take his Heart away. He didn't want to take any chances. He would be seen walking around with his Heart and barely did anything without it. He even brought it into the battlefield on multiple occasions. His Heart wasn't weak. It could fight for itself. Hell, he even encouraged it to go into the battle.
His Heart was a very complex thing. While people thought of it as precious, they also feared to get on its bad side, though it was very fragile. And while people feared it, many others wanted to steal it. The Dragon had to keep a close eye on his Heart. Not that it would ever wander. It was just that there were so many people out there wanting to take it.
One time, chaos broke out in a small area in his territory. He had to keep the peace as he leader. He took his Eye and headed off thinking it would be a quick and easy trip. He left his Instinct and his Heart knowing-hoping-that everything would be okay
He returned with his fangs showing in a smug smile but it soon faded when he saw his Instinct acting gloomy. It told him that his Heart was sadly stolen.
The Dragon became furious. First, at his Instinct for not protecting his Heart and then at his Heart for not being able to defend itself. And then sadness washed over him. His Heart was gone and he felt at fault. There was no evidence left behind. It couldn't have wandered away. He treated it so well. It had to be stolen. But by who, he didn't know. His Eye tried to comfort him, to try and tell him that they will form a search party as soon as possible and look for it. His Instinct told him that it couldn't have gone that far. Instead of responding, the Dragon just sulked back to his quarters without even looking at them.
He curled up where his Heart usually stayed and tried to sleep. There are so many people that wanted his Heart. He would have to sweep the whole damn country. Forming a search party will be fast but to search the country will take too long. The thief could easily ship his Heart out of the country. And then he will never be able to see it again!
With that thought, he quickly stood and ran to where he could easily overlook his village. He had to find it now, search party or not. He would look by himself. It would be quicker that way.
He stayed awake and waited for the others to fall asleep. He silently snuck out without wanting to alarm anyone. If he did, they would surely beg him to return to sleep. They care about him more than themselves. They would gladly sacrifice themselves for his well-being. He didn't have time for that. He had to go. Now.
He was successful in sneaking out but now he had to sneak past the gate guards. That was too easy. The two guards assigned for that post tonight were asleep. Once again, he didn't have time for this. He would have to deal with it later. Until then, he easily snuck past them and left his village.
He refused to rest. He wanted to get as far as possible before sleep overcame him. And even then, he would push himself. Considering his village was near the north, he headed to the northern most part of the country. It'll be easier to start at the top and work his way down.
Eventually, sleep overtook him and he passed out almost in mid-stride. When he awoke, he found himself near a village. He got up and decided to start asking there.
…Nothing. He found out nothing. He got nowhere. Village after village, day after day and he got nowhere. But finally he found out something.
"Oh, that?" a man said when the Dragon asked. "There was a group of men who had something like that."
"Where are they?!" The Dragon roared.
"T-they stayed in an inn a few days ago, b-but left," the man said, shaking. "T-they headed west! Said something about a ship waiting for them!"
The Dragon was enraged now. He took off to the west as fast as he could, not once until he finally saw the ocean. He almost collapsed then but he kept going until he reached the beach. He surveyed the shore as far as he could see and found nothing unusual. He eventually was able to relax for a bit and walked off to the tree line and began t make a resting area. He was able to keep an eye on the water. Sleep overcame him and he passed out.
A couple of days passed and her was beginning to get weak but he continued to wait. One day while he was sleeping, he heard voices.
"Hey, be careful with that!" someone yelled. "That too! It's valuable!"
He opened his eye and found many men and a ship. It looked Chinese. West. He believed he found the ship he was looking for. He got up and began to sneak his way through the trees. He had to get on that ship and check if his Heart was there. But something stopped him.
"Be gentle with that!" He turned to see what that man was talking about and almost had to restrain himself from running over there. "That one is very, very valuable. Do you know all the trouble we went to get that?!"
There, in some other man's dirty, filthy hands was the Dragon's Heart. Rage engulfed him but he had to wait until the right moment. His Eye had told him multiple times to watch this temper. Wait until the right moment, then strike. But he didn't know when the tight moment was. Every second that passed seemed perfect to go and save his precious treasure. But he was lost without his Eye. But even more so without his Heart…
It was dull…filthy. The days it was away from him took a drastic toll on it. It was dirty and scratched up. Seeing it like that filled him with even more rage…but he had to wait. He was greatly outnumbered but they would never stand a chance against him.
It was in the line to be loaded onto the ship along with other treasures. But his Heart was the precious in the bunch of various gems, jewelry and coins most likely to be sent to China to be sold. Getting rid of these men would do his county a favor.
His Heart reached the ramp to be loaded onto the ship and something within him told him to strike now. So he did. He stood and approached the edge of the treeline and saw something that made him grit his teeth and growl.
The man who had his filthy hands on his Heart approached who seemed to be the captain.
"We're going to get a lot of money out of this," the man said.
"Indeed," the captain said. "Now let's get this on before anyone shows up." With that said, the captain shoved the Heart softly.
That made the Dragon's blood boil even more then it already was. No one treated his Heart like that. A loud growl emitted from his throat, loud enough for the workers to turn and look at the treeline. An ice-cold blue eye was staring them down and pure white, sharp fangs emerged from the leaves.
The workers were still as stone as the mysterious face glared at them. It seemed to be moving towards them now. A large, blue-scaled claw stepped out onto the shore.
"Quick!" the captain yelled. "Everyone get everything on the ship! Especially the Heart! It's a dragon! It might be the Dragon! Get on the-"
The captain wasn't able to finish. An azure streak of claws and fangs attacked him and held him down.
"Who's idea was this?!" the Dragon roared at the captain. The man that had the Heart started to slowly creep towards the ship. The Dragon glared at him. "You! Don't you move! Back away from my Heart!"
The man did as he was told and left the Heart alone. The Dragon was so tempted to just take it and go but his anger was getting the best of him. His grip on the captain tightened until he final spoke.
"W-we were planning to go across the sea and sell everything!"
"Ha! 'Planning!'" the Dragon roared at the captain. "You're not going anywhere with my Heart!"
He raised his claw, ready to strike but stopped mid-air. He looked over at his Heart and began to walk towards it, leaving the poor man alone.
"I'll let you go…for now," he said as he took his Heart gently into his claws. "Return those other treasures and then I better not see you ever again!"
"Y-yes sir!" both the captain and the crew that was watching said.
The Dragon then turned and ran off in the direction of home.
Eventually, he looked down at his Heart and asked, "Are you okay?"
His Heart nodded.
Yes, his Heart was a human. A woman at that. All his treasures were human. She nestled herself in his arms and slept peacefully for the first time in days.
They returned back to his homeland one night and got to his sleeping quarters without anyone noticing and slept peacefully together.
The next morning, his Eye and Instinct went to check his sleeping quarters though they expected it to be empty. They stood corrected. Both of them almost shouted in joy, his Instinct more than his Eye, when they found their leader and his Heart sleeping together safe and sound.
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