I do not own Sengoku Musou or its characters, and certainly don't own the people they were inspired by.
A/N: Do you know how difficult it is to find this pairing? I'm not sure it actually exists! Shocking, I tell you! I think they are completely hot for each other. So I think they deserve a fic, no matter how challenging it will be to keep them in character.
I want to mention that this is based off of the first Sengoku Musou, and was mostly inspired by Hanzo's Tale.
So here we go...I will try to make this as epic as I can. Thanks for reading!
Yawn.
The watchman snapped his jaws back together, puncutating with a lazy smack of his lips.
"Hey!"
The watchman glanced casually over his shoulder to see whom had spoke.
"Thank gods," he said, "It's about time, you rotten sack of beans."
"Shut up and go home to your ugly wife," the other guard responded. In light amusement, he shoved the guard he was relieving out of the way and took his post. The relieved watchman chuckled and left.
The watchman stood with barely contained bordeom. He lifted a chubby index finger and jammed it into his nose.
He could not have possibly noticed the shadow above him congeal and descend upon him like a guillotine. It struck the watchman down without a sound. The shadow then dashed along the wooden planks of the castle, light-footed enough not to trigger the suspicious sound of creaking wood that had purposely been installed when the castle was built.
The shadow leaped up expertly into a small storage room from where he could listen and observe the patrols. His keen senses pierced the dark of the sleeping castle, searching for his prey--Hideyoshi Toyotomi.
Sure that it was clear, he left his hiding spot to investigate deeper into Osaka Castle. With his kusarigama held firmly, he darted from room to room and listened intently for any change in the eerie silence that soaked the castle grounds. The quiet gave Hanzo a chill of doubt, but he had a mission to do--for his master's glory.
And then he heard something. Like an oasis in the desert, Hanzo was lured to its source. As the sounds grew louder with his approach, he almost chipped his stoic countenance with a smirk.
"Yu-Yuki-sama...Oh!"
Intermittent grunts were the reply. There was one particularly loud grunt before dead silence swept over again.
He knew what was going on in the next room; his one noteworthy obstacle, Yukimura Sanada, was getting his rocks off with some whore. It would have given him sick delight to interrupt their coitus with a few licks from his kusarigama, but it was neither his mission nor his desire to confront the crimson-clad samurai. He also knew that his master held him in high regard despite the fact that he was an enemy.
Hanzo took his perch on a cabinet, a spot that sufficiently draped him in shadow. He listened further.
"Yukimura, what's the matter with you lately?" the female asked.
A sigh.
"You know we can't chit-chat, Kunoichi. Hideyoshi needs our protection from that damned Hanzo." Yukimura said. Hanzo scoffed inwardly. It made sense, but it was nonetheless laughable that that joke of a ninja--the generically-named Kunoichi--would be sleeping with Yukimura. While mulling over the discovery, Hanzo could make out the clink and clang of armor being vested.
"Yuki...do you think I am a good ninja?" Kunoichi asked pointedly.
Yukimura sighed again. "Of course. You are my personal guard afterall." Yukimura replied.
"I mean, better than Hanzo?"
There was a pregnant pause. It became awkward, even for Hanzo, who wondered about Yukimura's hesitation.
"He said something to you, didn't he?" Yukimura asked rhetorically. Another pause. "We cannot ever underestimate Hanzo." he finally said. "I am going to go check on Hideyoshi-sama."
Hanzo heard Yukimura's footsteps walk away, but Hanzo was felt satisfied for having listened despite having to endure the whorish moans from Kunoichi. Firstly, he now had the chance to use Yukimura to lead him straight to his quarry. Secondly, he began to consider why Ieyasu wanted him to come to no harm if Hanzo could help it.
Hanzo moved gingerly to keep up with Yukimura, aware that Kunoichi had disappeared and was likely on patrol. He kept a healthy distance; he was sure Yukimura's strong spirit would be able to sense distortions in the shadows immediately around him. It would do no good at all if he even suspected that Hanzo had infilitrated on this night.
Yukimura approached a door and slid it open. He entered and paused to observe a figure nested under blankets in a richly-decorated bed. Satisfied, he then exited, closing the door behind him. As he was walking away, he paused suddenly.
Hanzo would not believe it if Yukimura could sense his presence. The shadow had attached himself to a corner where the wall met the high ceiling, far across from the room Yukimura had just left. The darkness soaked him like pitch, and Hanzo had consciously reduced his ki to a mere glimmer.
Then, Yukimura snapped his head around to his left, his gaze traveling just below where Hanzo was hanging.
'Impossible...' Hanzo thought, narrowing his eyelids.
Yukimura approached the bottom corner slowly like a cat on the hunt. He raised his spear defensively as he approached the darkness in the corner. He raised it higher as he approached, high enough to land a crushing blow...
The floor beneath Yukimura creaked, startling a rat that darted out of the darkness and scurried across the floor.
Yukimura dropped his stance, letting out a long breath. He shook his head with a slight smirk. He then turned his back to the corner to leave, not noticing the drop of persperation that had escaped Hanzo's brow.
Yukimura's footsteps grew fainter, but Hanzo resolved only to move until they were completely gone. Soon enough, once the complete silence resumed, he made his move toward Hideyoshi's chamber.
He opened and closed the sliding door without a sound as he slipped in. He approached the bed and looked over his objective who was buried beneath layers of bedding and pillows. Coldy and quietly, he placed his hand over the figure's mouth, turning him to expose the neck which he deftly split with his blade.
His eyes then widened in shock. What came away from the neck was not blood, but soft down. Confused, he stabbed at the mound beneath the blankets and once again his kusarigama came away with down.
'A decoy...'
"Gotcha!"
Hanzo turned to see a cherry blossom-colored kunoichi make a dive for his torso with twin daggers. He phased out of the way without a second to spare, and reformed behind his attacker.
"Tsk tsk tsk...Yukimura was unwise to use someone so foolish as his trap, as clever as it was." Hanzo said.
"Oooh!" Kunoichi fumed, making another quicky dive with her daggers. Though she was unnaturally quick, she sliced nothing but the air around Hanzo who used all directions to evade her. He made no attempt to use his own weapon, thinking that this undisciplined kunoichi could stand to learn from the humiliation.
She was nearly weeping as her empty swings began to exhaust her. Thinking her lesson over, Hanzo took advantage of her unravelled attempt to kill him and kicked her to the floor. He kicked her daggers out of reach before lifting her by the chin to expose her throat.
"Pathetic." He barked. "Although it is not my mission to kill you, I think you could stand to use a final lesson, young kunoichi. In the afterlife, remember that the art abandoned you for your mockery, and your flippancy is what destroyed you."
As he lowered his blade to her throat, his senses perked to attention. Instinctively, he lept into the air as a spear ripped through the door and sliced across where Hanzo had held Kunoichi.
Hanzo reappeared across the room and stood straight with arms crossed.
"Yukimura...Most impressive. Surely, if you could sense the pitiful ki of a rat, then you would surely not have missed our battle auras no matter where you were in the castle." Hanzo said.
"Hanzo! I will make you pay...for everything!" Yukimura declared, twirling his spear demonstratively. Kunoichi staggered to he feet and retreated behind Yukimura.
"It is not my mission to harm you." Hanzo replied.
"What do you mean 'it's not your mission'? If I have to defend Hideyoshi-sama with my life, then so be it!"
"My master requested you be unharmed, therefore I would suggest that you revel in such a compliment, no matter how indirect. But if you do stand in my way, I will spare no mercy."
Yukimura snarled before shouting "Then prepare yourself!"
He charged and swung viciously at Hanzo. The entire room seemed to darken, like clouds passing under an afternoon sun. As his blade fell, Hanzo's form phased and split into multiple illusions. The illusions surrounded the startled Yukimura.
It was unreal. Yukimura had no doubt then that he was dealing with a true master of shadow. He briefly wondered how one could contain such power for the sole use of an individual like Ieyasu. It crossed his mind that it was no different than any exceptional samurai who held a pure allegience to his lord.
But he had no time to mull over revelation. Adrenaline pounded in his ears. Yukimura raised his spear, waiting for Hanzo's move. Not knowing what told him to, he pivoted around just in time to parry Hanzo's strike. The illusions melded like a deck of cards into the true Hanzo.
"Excellent." Hanzo said.
Hanzo's eyes darted to glance over his shoulder, anticipating the incoming daggers behind him. He once again lept and somersaulted behind his female assailant.
"Unlike this one," Hanzo added. He raised his foot and kicked Kunoichi square in the back, sending her tumbling into the arms of Yukimura. He then used the opportunity to back out of the room and escape. Yukimura ran out to pursue, but could only watch as Hanzo faded into the dark.
"Dammit, you meanie!" Kunoichi shrieked at him. She looked up to study Yukimura's deadpan expression which was fixed on Hanzo's retreating form, then frowned. "Hey, Yuki! Are we just gonna let him get away?"
He looked down at her, retaining a far away expression. "Of course not," he said, "He won't be leaving until he has found Hideyoshi. Therefore he's not getting away, and I made sure of it. I have another trap in place in the event that this one failed."
Kunoichi looked down, embarrassed. "I'm sorry, Yukimura." she said.
Yukimura gave her a small smile. "Don't worry about it. We are up against a lord of shadow." At this, Kunoichi lifted her head and nodded.
By the by, I wrote a lot of this story before deciding to post it, but decided to split it into smaller chapters.
