Disclaimer: Other than a copy of Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes for Wii, I do not own Sengoku Basara
Warning: This fanfic is based on the English version of Sengoku Basara 3 (aka Sengoku Basara: Samurai Heroes) thus this will not have any Japanese suffixes. This fanfic is a 'what-if' situation of Masamune's Green Route and is MasaIchi.
Author's Notes: This actually came to me when I played Masamune's green route and Ichi was going "let me hug you", "you are so beautiful. Sleep with me?" and "if you want, I can be by your side". Throughout the entire stage, all I could think of was "is she hitting on Masamune?" then I realized it was all random but still, the plot was born from that stage. –laughs- Anyway. For this chapter, 90% of Ichi's lines are from the game (Yeah. I wrote them down while playing the stage twice: first time with Masamune and the second time with Yukimura so he can level up).
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Green Route, Stage 2: Siege of Kanegasaki
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Masamune didn't know why he had decided to go that way. Kojuro had never asked a reason and Masamune was grateful for that. He didn't know if he could answer if Kojuro had asked. Tonight seemed darker than usual as they continued their march to Kanegasaki. He heard some of their soldiers whisper to one another about a rumor of a ghost living in Kanegasaki. Masamune wasn't the type to believe in ghosts. He was more interested in the rumor that remnants of the Oda forces were hiding in Kanegasaki. They began to reach the ruins of a fortress and Masamune could feel his horse was becoming unnerved by something.
"Lord Masamune." Kojuro called out his attention and Masamune turned his head to look at the ground. There were dead soldiers on the ground, most of which were already decomposing.
"It's the ghost. The ghost did it." Masamune heard one of his soldiers whisper.
"Give me a break." Masamune stared at the dead bodies as he said, "Unless that ghost of yours use spears, arrows and swords, I would say that a person did this."
"A person?" Another soldier asked.
"Kojuro." Masamune said his name and Kojuro understood immediately.
"Understood." Kojuro turned to look at the soldiers and ordered, "All of you, get ready. We might have to fight."
"Yes, Lord Kojuro!" They loudly answered and Masamune could hear them moving in a battle formation.
As Masamune waited for them to prepare, Masamune could hear a voice whispering to him, "Wait… you…"
It was a woman's voice.
"… Do not go." The voice whispered so softly that Masamune wondered if he just imagined it. He turned his head around to look at where the voice may have come from but all he could see was his men.
Kojuro noticed his actions and asked, "Is something the matter, Lord Masamune?"
"Kojuro…" Masamune continued to look around as he asked, "Did you hear a voice?"
"A voice?" Kojuro repeated, confused at what Masamune was asking but replied nonetheless, "I'm sorry, Lord Masamune, but I did not hear a voice. What kind of voice was it?"
"A woman's voice." Masamune replied and realized, "A very familiar woman's voice."
"A woman's voice…" Kojuro repeated once more but shook his head as he replied, "I did not hear such a voice."
"Lord Kojuro, Lord Masamune." One of the high ranking officers reported, "We are ready."
"Very well." Kojuro nodded and reminded Masamune, "Please do not go too far ahead from us. We must proceed with caution."
"I know that. Come on." Masamune guided his horse to a slow march. A cold breeze passed through Masamune's forces but he paid it no attention. As they passed a small hill, Masamune heard a voice calling out to them.
"Lord Masamune! Lord Kojuro!" The voice called out and Masamune raised his head.
"The scouts we sent." Kojuro recognized them immediately.
"I see." Masamune shouted at them, "Wait right there. We can't lose any one of you."
"Lord Masamune!" Kojuro shouted as Masamune guided his horse to a sprint, looking for a path towards the hill.
"Be careful, Lord Masamune! She's here!" One of the prisoners shouted.
Before Masamune could ask what he meant, he saw a gate right in front of him. In front the gate was a woman dangling upside down. Darkness was holding her by the legs and it slowly opened up in what appeared like a form of a spider.
"I can't see…" The same voice Masamune had heard said. It was coming from the woman dangling upside down.
"Maybe… I know." Masamune felt eyes staring at him. He got off his horse and walked towards the woman as she continued to speak, almost as if she was talking to herself, "Perhaps it is night. Perhaps I am blind."
Masamune finally got close enough to see her clearly. His one good eye widened as he recognized the pale black haired woman in front of him, "Demon King's sister…"
"How cruel you must be…" She was now staring at him with a blank expression, "… dragging me from my slumber into the light."
The darkness let go of her and she fell to the black ground. Masamune stepped closer and was about to reach his hand to her when shadow-like hands pulled her up. She stared at him with an expression that was blank yet gave a hint of sadness as she said, "I already miss the darkness. The sweet gentle dreams I dreamt."
She walked towards him slowly, as if she was in a trance. With a soft voice, she asked, "Who are you? Do you know who I am?"
"What-!" Masamune backed away as a large shadow hand rushed towards him. Masamune unsheathed one of his swords and slashed the incoming hand.
"Lord Masamune!" Masamune could hear Kojuro approaching with the Date army.
"Don't interfere, Kojuro!" Masamune ordered as he slashed another incoming shadow hands.
She continued to walk towards Masamune, asking softly, "Hello. Have you all come to meet me?"
Kojuro forced his horse to stop as two shadow hands appeared just in front of him, from both sides, hitting the other's palm as if it was clapping. Kojuro moved his horse away from the shadow hands and ordered the men, "Stand back, men."
Masamune was too busy slashing the incoming shadow hands that he did not notice that she had approached him in his blind side. Kojuro's eyes widened and he shouted, "Lord Masamune!"
Masamune turned his head and felt cold hands on his cheeks. She was looking directly at him as she asked softly, "Are you alone? I'm all alone too…"
She moved forward, her nose just a few centimeters away from Masamune as she added in a lower voice, "… all alone…"
"Lord Masamune!" Kojuro's shout surprised Masamune and he instinctively slashed, cutting her on the abdomen.
Masamune's eye widened in surprise but she seemed unaffected. She simply let go of Masamune and fell down, the shadow hands on her back as if to cushion her fall. Masamune reached his left hand and tried to grab her as she fell into the darkness but all he managed to do was briefly touch her cheek before she was swallowed by the darkness. Kojuro forced his horse to Masamune's side and called out, "Lord Masamune!"
They both stared at the door as it opened by itself. Kojuro looked at Masamune but, when Masamune did not speak, Kojuro softly said, "It wasn't your fault, my lord."
As Masamune opened his mouth to reply, he heard her whisper sadly, "Stop it. I don't want you to take my place."
Masamune looked around and Kojuro called out, "My lord?"
Masamune began to walk towards the gate as he ordered, "Kojuro, I leave our men to you."
"Lord Masamune-"
Masamune didn't pay him any attention and ran inside. Kojuro shouted his name once more but Masamune did not stop. Something about that woman… something about her just…
Masamune stopped when he noticed her lying on the ground. The ground surrounding her was in darkness. Masamune walked towards her slowly but stopped when he saw the shadow hands began to pull her up once more. Masamune heard her voice as she said, "Everywhere you go, I follow."
Her voice was lower and she looked as if she was having a hard trouble standing as she continued, "If you try to run, I'll catch you."
She raised her head and Masamune saw that her eyes, which had been black, now gave an eerie pink glow, "I won't rest until you're on your deathbed."
She finally stood up but the shadow hands seemed to be trying to keep her up as she continued, "I won't stop until I sleep in darkness."
She fell on the ground and clutched her head as she whispered in the voice Masamune was more familiar with, "Just a dream. Just a dream. Just a dream."
Masamune tried to walk towards her but he stepped back as a shadow hand appeared from where he had been standing. The large shadow hand tried to crush him but Masamune simply parried it. She backed away, as if his parry had hit her, and gave a moan. He heard one of the prisoners say, "I must not look into her eyes. Those cold empty eyes…"
Masamune's eye narrowed. Her eyes weren't cold. They weren't empty. They were-
"Shit!" Masamune cursed as he realized that he had almost got hit by one of the shadow hands around her, trying to grab everything around her.
"Have you seen them? There's no one here…" She whispered and Masamune could sense the sadness in her voice.
She was being controlled. Or maybe she was in a trance. Whatever the reason may be, if Masamune could get her away from those shadow hands, maybe she would stop. With that on mind, Masamune rushed towards her. She looked at the sky as shadow hands tried to grab Masamune, asking softly, "I can see a white bird flying away. To where does it fly?"
"I don't know." Masamune replied as a smirk appeared on his face. He slashed the incoming shadow hands and suggested, "Why don't you try and find out?"
She stepped back and nodded as she said, "I'm a good girl. I'll protect this place."
Masamune continued to slash the shadow hands as they came in every direction. With the same smirk and carefree voice, Masamune said, "Then why don't you be a good girl and stop attacking me."
Masamune slashed another hand and came close to her. She looked at him and whispered, "Sing for me. Sing a song you know."
The song Masamune remembered was not a song he wanted to remember. It was a lullaby from a mother that had wanted to kill him…
Masamune backed away from her and she looked like as if she was sad about his action and she asked, "Why are you running away from me? Do you hate me?"
She walked towards him, her hand reaching out to him as the shadow hands began to move more aggressively towards him as well, "Am I not nice enough?"
Masamune took three katanas and charged towards her as he announced, "Revolver!"
The shadow hands wrapped around her as if to protect her but they were all slashed by Masamune's three claws. She dropped to the ground and Masamune apologized, "Sorry. I don't know any songs."
She looked at him and a small smile appeared on her face as she said, "That's okay. I'll sing for you."
Before Masamune could reply, she was dragged into the darkness once more and the door opened. Masamune sheathed two of his katanas as he said, "So you're deeper inside, huh?"
Masamune heard her soft voice singing, "Wander freely, wander far off beneath the Devil's star…"
Masamune smirked and commented, "So you are singing for me? This is the first time a woman sings for me."
That wasn't exactly true but he'd rather not think about the lullaby of the woman who tried to kill him.
"In the dark, the girl so bright, got up to see the day by night…"
Masamune saw soldiers running towards him with their weapons raised. The banner on one of the men was the crest of the Oda so the rumor that the remnants of Oda's forces were hiding here was true. Masamune smirked as he said, "Sorry but I'm not in a mood to play with you all."
"Her fear in hand, her fear in heart, her fear did tear her soul apart…"
"I have a date with her right now." Masamune said as he rushed them. As he cut down one of the soldiers, Kojuro and the rest of the Date army finally arrived.
"Lord Masamune! Stop being reckless!" Kojuro reprimanded Masamune but Masamune simply scoffed and looked at him with a smirk.
"The white of flesh, the white of bone, the worms will leave your soul alone."
"Kojuro! I'll leave our troops and these guys-" Masamune dodged an incoming blade aimed at his neck and slashed the soldier as he continued, "-to you!"
With that said, Masamune ran towards the deeper part of the ruins. Kojuro sighed and shook his head but ordered the soldiers, "The four of you, retrieve the prisoners. The rest of you, follow after our lord! Defeat our enemies but try to get as many prisoners as possible!"
Her haunting song resonated all over for Masamune, "On and on the road does go, down into depths below…"
"Not a very innocent song." Masamune commented as he dodged a soldier trying to impale him with his spear. He slashed the soldier on the chest and continued to run towards the gate.
"Off you went to call the king…" Masamune could see the darkness forming on the other side of the gate, "… you wish to hear the Devil sing…"
From the darkness, she emerged with shadow hands supporting her. The soldiers around her backed away in surprise and fear. Even though she was part of the remnants, they were still scared of her. That fact alone made Masamune feel a hint of rage in him. She looked at him blankly and asked, "Where am I? Where is this place?"
Masamune was momentarily confused because of her words but managed to evade her shadow hands as he ran to her side. With a smirk, he offered in a joking manner, "If you don't like this place, why not come with us?"
She looked at him and tilted her head slightly as she replied, "I need no one to take me anywhere… because it is here I wish to stay."
"Really?" Masamune continued to smirk as he blocked the incoming shadow hands, "Not much of a view though."
"Lord Masamune! What are you saying?" Kojuro asked as he cut down the incoming remnants.
She looked at Kojuro and shook her head, whimpering as she said, "How cruel you are. To take so much from me."
Kojuro backed away as a shadow hand tried to grab him. Masamune rushed towards her and slashed the shadow hands around her, "Hey! Your date is over here!"
"Why does the monster hate me? What have I done?" She whimpered and shook her head as she continued to stare at Kojuro.
Masamune clicked his tongue and shouted, "Kojuro! Don't kill anyone!"
"I will try my best but-" Kojuro hit one of the remnants with a head butt and explained, "That will be quite hard to do!"
"Lord Masamune! Please get to the castle! We can hold our defenses there! She stops once the sun rises!" One of his scouts that had been captured explained.
"So the magic stops at daybreak, huh?" Masamune slashed at the shadow hands and shouted, "Hey! Over here!"
She finally looked at him and asked softly, "I think I was looking for someone. Wasn't I?"
Masamune stopped as he remembered a man wearing a white and red armor. His eye widened as he saw that she was suddenly in front of him. She stared at him with soft black eyes as she asked, "Are you lonely? If you want, I can be at your side."
Masamune slashed at her but her shadow hands kept her from getting hurt as he had anticipated. She began to get drag to the darkness once more and Masamune didn't reach out this time. He stared at her and smirked, "That's probably the most romantic thing a woman has ever said to me."
"Lord Masamune…" Kojuro said in a reprehending voice. Masamune chuckled as she finally disappeared and ran towards the deeper part of the ruin.
"Take care of things, Kojuro!" Masamune shouted without looking back as he raced towards the next camp. She was sure to be there.
Just as he expected, the next camp was right on top of the stairs. She was dragged out of the darkness right at the final step of the stairs and she looked at him as she whispered, "Let me sleep. Would somebody please put me to sleep?"
"Guess all this ruckus keeps you awake, huh?" Masamune joked as he slashed the incoming shadow hands. She was swaying back and forth, as if she was in a trance, but she would always look at him when she speaks.
"Run… run… run…" She repeated as she walked towards him.
Masamune chuckled as he slashed the shadow hands while saying, "You say run but you're the one walking towards me."
Masamune stepped to the side and parried an incoming shadow hand. Like last time, she staggered back and gave a moan. Her moan sent a feeling to Masamune. The first time, she had been a bit far from him but, this time, he could clearly hear her moan. If he had to describe the feeling he felt, it felt like fire. Unlike the fire he felt for Sanada Yukimura though, this fire felt more… primal… more…
"Shit." Masamune cursed and slashed the shadow hands around her.
She looked at him and raised her arms as if to embrace him, "Come here. I wish to give you a hug."
"Maybe when you're not surrounded by those shadows!" Masamune replied as he stepped forward. He noticed her face erupt into a smile and felt her hands around his shoulders. Masamune sliced her across the abdomen and the shadow hands took the blow once more.
"I've been speaking to my brother lots." She said with a smile as the darkness dragged her down once more.
Masamune's eye grew softer as he stared at her while he said softly, "Sorry but the Demon King is dead."
"It's too painful to move now…" She whimpered before finally disappearing as if she did not hear his last sentence.
"You must stand up, Lady Oichi! We are the Demon's forces!" One of the remnants said and he growled, slashing the soldier who spoke. She appeared to be in pain yet these soldiers just…
With another growl, he rushed deeper once more. Her words, her mannerism and her voice… Everything about her caused a fire inside him to grow. Especially that moan…
It was wrong. So wrong but…
The next camp was right next to the next gate and it was larger than the other camps and Masamune saw her get dragged up by the shadow hands between two soldiers wearing black and had a piece of square clothing in front of their face.
"My brother's dead? What do you mean by that?" She backed away and shook her head, "Why are you telling me lies? I don't want to listen."
"He's dead so-!" Masamune growled as the flurry of attacks coming from the shadow hands were becoming more aggressive, "-you don't have to do this anymore!"
His words seemed to have registered to her and she whispered as she walked towards him, "You are so beautiful. Would you care to sleep next to me?"
Masamune forced a smirk and slashed the incoming shadow hands as he replied, "Okay. I have to ask. Are you coming on to me?"
She nodded and Masamune couldn't help but be surprised at the answer. But he seemed to have gotten the wrong idea as she continued to nod as she swayed, whispering to him, "I see… you are doing this because you're lonely too…"
Masamune smirked and asked jokingly, "Was that a rejection?"
He could hear his army shouting as they neared where Masamune was. Masamune rushed towards her and apologized, "Sorry but it seems we have to cut our conversation short!"
It may have been a hallucination but it appeared as if she had nodded to his words and he slashed her once more. She began to fall to the darkness and Masamune heard one of his soldiers shout, "You are the Demon's forces! You're very existence is a sin!"
Someone laughed hysterically and replied, "We serve our Demon Queen!"
Masamune clicked his tongue and his grip on his katana tightened. They serve her? That sentence only made him feel anger building inside him. If they truly serve her then they should understand what she truly wanted.
The gate opened and Masamune went inside. She was sure to be inside. He could feel it. The stairs were filled with spider lilies on both side and it only made the whole journey up that more eerie. Spider lilies…
To never meet again…
Lost memories…
It suits her perfectly.
He saw her staring at the sun as it rose. She fell on her knees and whimpered, "There is it."
She placed her hands on her head and shook her head as she whimpered, "I don't know. I can't."
She looked at him and asked, "Was it you?"
Masamune walked towards her slowly and shook his head, "No. What you're trying to remember isn't me."
The shadow hands helped her up and she whispered, "I can't remember. Can I sleep now?"
She raised her hand towards him and begged softly, "Please let me sleep."
"Lord Masamune!" Kojuro's voice was right behind him.
Masamune raised his katana and said to Kojuro in a carefree manner, "That was the best escape attempt I've ever seen. Too bad it failed."
Masamune rushed towards her and sliced the incoming shadow hands. She backed away but fell down, staring at the ground as she whispered, "My feet hurt. I don't think I'll be able to walk any further."
"You don't have to." Masamune raced towards her and shouted, "I'll destroy the shadows dragging you!"
Masamune unsheathed his six claws and shouted, "Magnum Strike!"
All of the shadow hands formed in front of her as if to protect her and Masamune's katana erupted into electricity, destroying all of them. The shadow hands were blasted away from her and she fell down. This time, Masamune caught her and held her. She looked at the sky and whispered, "I knew… I always knew that the hole in this heart can never be filled."
His eye softened at her words. Masamune noticed that the darkness was beginning to gather underneath them and he picked her up and jumped back. She looked at him and placed a hand on his cheek, "Will you not let me sleep? I am so tired."
"I would but not in the darkness." Masamune replied as he stood, still cradling her in his arms. Behind him, Kojuro and the rest of his army was standing and watching.
"I am the blue dragon of the north." Masamune announced as he turned to face them. He saw that some of the remnants were also there, staring at him as he continued, "Old and new alike, I will claim everything in the land and rule it as my own!"
Masamune turned to look at the woman in his arms and added softly, "That includes you, Demon Queen. No. Oichi Oda."
Oichi's black eyes glistened with tears as she gripped the fabric of Masamune's clothing. With a small voice, she asked, "Does that mean I am no longer alone? Can I… truly stay by your side?"
"Yes." Masamune nodded and smiled gently, "So rest now. Sleep not in the darkness but in the light ruled by this one-eyed dragon."
Oichi gave him a beautiful smile and closed her eyes, nuzzling against Masamune as she whispered, "Thank you, Lord Dragon."
When he realized that the woman in his arms was finally asleep, Masamune turned towards Kojuro and said, "I've made up by mind, Kojuro."
"I can see that, my lord. Well now." Kojuro turned towards the remnants and asked, "What shall we do with them?"
"Anyone that tries to take her away from me will have to die." Masamune narrowed his eyes as he hissed, "I will not let you use her for your own gain. Got that?"
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NOTE: For next chapter, take your pick on which stage I'm going to do:
Battle at Tetorigawa (Matsu and Toshiie Maeda)
Kaerikumo Castle (Yoritsuna Anegakoji)
Yes. This is how this story will work which means you guys get to pick the route I'll take: green, violet or yellow (I always felt it was weird that Masamune got so many routes when Yukimura only gets three. Lord Happy is the other one who has that much routes… I think). At least three reviews would be sufficient otherwise I might get a tie. –laughs- Anyway, I hope you guys liked this chapter. It's a bit hard not making Ichi say 'Ichi will be by your side'. –grins-
