Author's notes:
This might be too short...but there will be next chapter coming up, so who knows?
Hmm well, some craps I thought up off and tried hard to wrote this off.
Note: Words in bold like this are our adorable Masamune's famous Engrish, lol. Words in Italics are thoughts and flashbacks.
Warning: Bad storyline, bad grammar, maybe even OOC...I tried hard to keep them in character though, sniffles.
Happy reading!
MasamuneXOC:
Sounds of gunshots echoed throughout the Date mansion. Most of the men had gone to see a splendid battle between their head and the well-skilled general, all surrounding the training grounds and murmuring with excitements.
50…the general counted, shooting down another bottle, 51…
"Alright, that's enough!" a soldier shouted when the incense used as the time limit was fully burnt out. The head let out his last shot in time. Both the general and the head of the army stopped and lowered their guns, glaring (well, not the head though, he was smirking) as a few other soldiers counted the smashed bottles.
I have yet to finish this set of bullets…both of us have been going in an almost same speed, so if his last shot just now was the last bullet of this set…
...!
God, no.
The general was snapped back to reality when it was finally time to announce the results.
"Shiroishi-san shot down 53 bottles-"
Gulps.
"And Hittou got 54, so it's Hittou's victory!"
Some men gave a collective "oooooh", while the others gave a loud cheer. The general removed her hat and hung her head low. As if not depressing enough, the thought of only 1 more, JUST ONE MORE BOTTLE to shoot down struck her and she gritted her teeth even tighter.
However, Katakura Kojyurou went over to her and patted her head in an attempt to make her feel better. "You've done well."
She looked up to the brotherly figure and smiled, but it vanished when her eyes landed on her rival- Date Masamune. He grinned.
"Don't forget our bet, Satomi."
She felt an itching urge to shoot her last bullet at his very face, but it disappeared as quickly as it came when he flashed a smile before turning around. Satomi blushed and tried to find a place to hide her face.
ARGH…damn it damn it…why did it came to this?
Shiroishi Satomi, a general of the arching troop of Date army. At a very young age, she had been brought into the Date residence by Masamune's late father, Date Terumune, who was kind enough to offer to take care of her and her family.
Her father served the Date army long before she was born, while her mother was a frail woman. Both Satomi's parents had died, her father in a war, and her mother from shock from hearing her husband's death. Luckily for Satomi she had been raised by the Date clan. Since Terumune was often busy, Kojyurou was the one who often visited Satomi and her family and took great care of the young girl. He was like a brother to Satomi.
As for Masamune, Satomi and he were close friends ever since childhood. When he was young, he was locked by his mother in the mansion, not allowed to go outdoors. Until one day he managed to sneak out and met Satomi by coincidence.
The two got along well and had a lot of stuffs to talk about. He was also the one who thought Satomi how to aim better at the first place.
"I'm Date Masamune. Call me Masamune," Satomi flashbacked to when the young polite One-Eyed Dragon introducing himself. She wondered if anyone –other than Kojyurou- would believe if she said the arrogant Head of Oshuu was once an overly polite kid (compared to now) who never taunts anyone. That was only until she met him after not meeting for approximately three-four years though. When he returned, he was more confident…and even started to smirk.
Really, he wasn't as cocky when I first met him…
"Hey, have you heard? Musical Academy is coming to Oshuu this time for their world performance!" Bunshichi said excitingly as the whole Date armies were having their dinner.
"YOU MEAN THAT FAMOUS MUSICAL ACADEMY?"
The loud mention of the name attracted Satomi's attention. She went over to the group. "Musical Academy? When?"
"Yes, I'm sure you have heard of them right, Satomi-chan?" Yoshinao said, before having his head knocked by Satomi.
"I told you not to call me 'chan' anymore!" (Only Kojyurou was allowed to call her that, since he was like a brother to her)
"Ouch…anyway they'll be arriving to town during the festival a week later. You're interested too, Satomi?"
Her eyes widened. She smiled to herself and gave an eager nod. Although she never mentioned this to anyone before, it was like when she was young, when her parents took her to the festival and watched their performance-
"Ooh? And did I say you could wander from the army?" a familiar arrogant voice broke her from her train of thoughts. She scrunched her eyebrows together and looked at the One-Eyed Dragon who was standing behind her.
"And when did you say we can't go out by our own?" she retorted. His grin just widened.
"What if the enemy invades our territory? You as a general sure would know how dangerous is that, huh?"
Satomi gave a glare, but with confusion as well. He never object anyone of his army if they were to take a break or go out somewhere, as long as they are not in the midst of war of course, but this time he was obviously not allowing Satomi to the festival so easily. What was he planning behind that wide cocky smirk?
"What about this? We'll have a bet on a shooting session. If you win, I'll let you go to the festival."
A smile widened across her face, but Masamune hasn't finished his sentence.
"If you lose…" he placed a fist under his chin before a sly grin spread across his lips, "Three days. You'll have to obey my orders for three days, without any objections at all. How is that?"
"What?" Satomi questioned incredulously, her surprised expression was the same as Bunshinchi, Yoshinao, Magobe and Samanosuke's. It was a somehow unfair bet, but it's the only hope Satomi could participate in the festival. Furthermore she had been the best archer around, even if Masamune was, well, WAS better than her back then. So maybe she could-
"Why, afraid?" he mocked, shrugging before letting out a sigh of some sort. "How disappointing~ Shiroishi Satomi, the proud general of Date army is afraid of losing in a shooting session..."
"ARE YOU SAYING THAT I'M AFRAID OF YOU?" Satomi shouted, attracting numerous attention, even Kojyurou's, "right! I'll take on that bet!"
Masamune was back to his usual grin, except that it was wider. "Just what I want to hear."
Kojyurou just stared at the two and smiled to himself. "Here they go again…"
The news of the battles spread wide in the Date residence the next day.
Now that I've lost…not only I can't go to Musical Academy's performance, but to be a slave as well? Satomi thought angrily. She wanted to go to the festival so badly…her hopes are now crushed.
"Oi, stop pretending like you didn't hear me," a large hand patted on her shoulder, snapping her back to reality. Just then she realized she had been spacing too much ever since she heard about the performance. Satomi tried to shake the thoughts from her head to prevent herself from flying to rage.
"Jerk," she muttered under her breath.
"What did you say?" Masamune said, slightly annoyed. "Anyway, remember our bet?"
"WHAT ABOUT IT?" just like a switch being turned on, Satomi was unable to hold back her annoyance any longer and yelled, but that just increased Masamune's amusement.
"Being so angry when you took up the bet yourself," a sigh escaped his lips, and Satomi threw a fist at him- he was the one who forced her to take it at the first place! However Masamune caught her wrist before inching closer to her. She froze up immediately, feeling the heat rising up her cheeks. "Here's my first order."
Satomi tried withdrawing her hand but Masamune was holding it firmly. "C-can you let go already?" she looked the other way to avoid anymore eye contacts.
"Right, clean my room today. Stay in there until I return."
"Eh? But I have my trainings to do! Besides, don't you have Kojyurou-niisama to clean it for you daily?"
"No objections," he reminded, finally letting go of her wrist, earning himself blood daggers that were glared by the girl before him. "Oh, and remember to wear something else other than this uniform that will make you look like a proper maid."
Satomi gaped at him incredulously; the blush was now obvious on her cheeks- no, that's a glower. As if she wasn't angry enough, he smirked at her. "You…you…ARGH GOD DAMN IT!" she stormed off to the opposite direction. Masamune smiled at the girl.
He did not speak out his intentions. He wanted that girl to have a rest from her usual trainings- not like she needed to, but Masamune noticed she was pushing herself more and more, and only stopping during meals and sleep, and she even goes to sleep later than everyone. He finally decided she MUST rest, but knowing her stubbornness, she won't stop her training even if asked to…this is the only way to force her to take a break.
And for the meantime, Masamune decided to go to town on a peaceful day once in blue moon. When the soldiers noticed their head was going out, they decided to ask.
"Just out for a walk," would be his reply and would quickly walk away before more questions could be asked.
Kojyurou noticed that and walked towards him. "Masamune-sama? Where are you going?"
"Just out for a walk."
"Do you want me to accompany you?"
"It's okay Kojyurou, stay here," Masamune quickly walked out from the Date mansion.
Kojyurou stared at him. Being a caretaker of the young master for years, he knew better that Masamune was up for something…and being the protective retainer he was, he secretly followed him anyway.
Satomi frowned in exasperation. "I-is there no other clothes…?" she asked the maids.
"Why, Satomi-san, it looks good on you! And of course we only have Yukata," one of the maids stated the obvious.
She stared at her own reflection on the mirror with blush creeping its way to her face. It was wearing a Yukata and looked like a maid...a weird one at that. She did not want to believe that it was her reflection, but that's not going to be easy…
And having no clothes other than her uniform suits (which she wore in daytime) and Yukata (only for nighttime); she had to borrow her maid's clothes. What was she expecting, wearing a Hakama or Kimono?
Satomi gave the maids a deep bow, "thank you then. I'll be off now…"
"Nee Satomi-san, why are you suddenly wearing a Yukata for?"
She gritted her teeth as the unpleasant memory returned, "Please don't ask…" was her reply before she head off to Masamune's room.
She hated it. She had earned herself a somewhat impression of a tomboy (being strict in trainings, fierce, stubborn, loud, etc) in this Date residence. What would others react, seeing her looking all but maid?
Speaking of the devil, Bunshichi and his gang who was hanging around was walking from the opposite side of the hall. She cringed, fearing of how they would laugh, but they walked past her without paying the slightest attention. Satomi inwardly sighed, until Bunshinchi's jaws dropped and exclaimed, "Satomi?"
"Huh what did you say?"
She inwardly cursed and walked even faster, but Bunshichi managed to grab her arms. "I'm right!"
"Whoa Bunshichi, you serious?" the rest rushed to her to take a look. "SATOMI-CH…SAN? WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN THAT…THAT…THAT OUTFIT?"
Pursing her lips and blushing, she looked the other way silently.
"Don't tell me you wore that for Hittou?" Yoshinao suggested.
"That sounds reasonable…" Samanosuke agreed as Magobe nodded.
"They are well-known lovebirds after all…" the group burst into a fit of laughter. Satomi immediately grabbed a vase from a nearby table conveniently within her reach, causing the group to run away, still laughing madly. How much she wanted to hide her face in embarrassment…
This is your entire fault, Masamune!
Closing the door behind her with a loud bang once she entered Masamune's room, she scanned around the room while thinking how much and how she wanted to wreak havoc in here. Much to her surprise, the room was tidy and there was no much to clean.
As expected of Kojyurou-niisama to clean up the room so tidy…
She walked to the table and sat down, pouring herself a cup of tea. What was he planning, locking me in here? Now I can't do my trainings…
And then it hit her. She scrunched her eyebrows and scanned around the room once again.
Don't tell me…he wanted me to rest?
…that idiot…this idiocy of his is something that had never changed…
Being the well known interested-in-nothing-but-battles Head of Oshuu, Masamune could hardly believe he's walking in the middle of the town, looking around for shops for a suitable Kimono. Well it's not just war and battles he was interested in…there's something more than that, which captured his attention since he was young…
After what seemed like eternity, he decided to at least stroll into one of the shops and looked around.
"Ooh, welcome, Date-sama!" the boss of the shop greeted, "it's rare to see you around!"
"Yo old man. I just thought of getting some breather and decided to take a walk," he smiled.
"Nice to see you some time! Now what would you be looking for here?"
"Kimono."
"Of course! This way please," he led Masamune to the corner where numerous Kimonos were displayed. Masamune took a close look, and only then he realized…
He knows nothing about women clothes.
"Why, Date-sama? Buying one for your girlfriend?" the boss added jokingly, causing Masamune to sweat more. He hasn't faced these kinds of situations before and didn't know what he should do now.
"Can you let us see this one?" a familiar voice, neither his or the boss', came from behind him. The One-Eyed Dragon felt as if his heart would jump out and almost lost his footing.
"Ko-Kojyurou? What the hell are you doing here?"
"Ah, Katakura-sama as well! This one, right?" the boss happily took the Kimono from the shelf.
"I thought I told you to stay back!" Masamune whispered in frustration and embarrassment after pulling his Right Eye to a side.
"Pardon me, Masamune-sama. But I thought I should help since you've been wandering for hours…"
His jaw dropped, blushing even deeper. "…how long have you been following me?"
"Ever since you left."
Masamune shut his eyes tight and hit a palm against his forehead. "…right. You came anyway, but that's also a good thing since you're far more knowledgeable in these kinds of stuffs…" he mumbled almost painfully, "Kojyurou, help me to pick a suitable Kimono."
"For Satomi-chan?"
He froze. Completely. Kojyurou can't help but chuckle at the flustered sight he rarely sees from his master.
"Katakura-sama, here!" the boss passed the Kimono over to him.
"Masamune-sama," Kojyurou nudged the frozen Masamune, "what do you think about this?"
Masamune glared over his shoulders at the amused Kojyurou. "…whatever."
-Night-
"Hittou, Katakura-sama, welcome back!" the men greeted as the two walked back into the mansion. Both of them were holding large bags of stuffs the residents gladly gave them, and Masamune had asked Kojyurou to help him to keep the Kimono in his room since he would make Satomi stay in his' for the few next days.
"Both of you returned so late! It's already time for dinner by the way," Bunshichi said as he and the others helped the two with their stuffs. Masamune stared to the ground solemnly, recalling how hard he had to choose for just a Kimono. He's the Head of Oshuu, if anyone knows about that…
"You guys go eat first, I bet you guys are already hungry," the head said, knowing his men had waited patiently for Kojyurou and his return for dinner. "You too, Koyjurou."
"What about you, Masamune-sama?"
"I'm going to change my clothes."
Kojyurou smiled. "Yes, Masamune-sama. You guys, let's go for dinner!"
Masamune rushed to his room. Expecting to be jumped at with sharp fangs and claws, he got ready before opening the door, but his eyes widened instead.
Satomi was already asleep, leaning onto the table, and on it foods were prepared. His gaze was fixed on the girl before her for a while- he'd rarely seen her in Yukata nowdays…he walked towards her before noticing a piece of paper on the table.
[Wrote this just in case if you come back too late.
Here's your dinner.
I know you usually don't eat much; it's not good for your health if you continue to be this picky! This might not taste good…but whatever.
If the foods turned cold just throw them away.
You're already an adult, take care of yourself, GEEZ!]
Masamune smiled while reading the note. He sighed, sitting beside the sleeping figure and ran a hand through her hair. Leaning in, he whispered, "Who are you telling to take care? You are one too, sleeping like this; you'll get a backache by the time you wake up."
After a few silent moments of staring, he finally decided to pick her up gently in bridal style, careful not to wake her up, as she mumbled slightly in response to the contact. He set her down in his futon and pulled the cover over her.
"Masamune-sama?" he recognized Kojyurou's voice as he knocked on the door.
"Ah, good timing, Kojyurou. I'm passing dinner tonight."
"Eh? But-"
"It's okay," Masamune smiled as Satomi snuggled to the futon, "Tell the guys they could eat mine if they want to."
"Are you sure? You might have gastric if you skip your meal..."
"Not to worry. I already have mine."
Kojyurou understood immediately. "Yes, Masamune-sama. Then, please have a good rest."
As soon as Masamune saw Kojyurou's shadow was gone, he again ran a hand through Satomi's hair and kissed her on her forehead. "Thank you."
-Next Day-
"Mmm…" Satomi mumbled. Feeling so comfortable, she was reluctant to wake up, thus snuggled back to the futon and slept again. Until she heard Masamune's voice, that is.
"Morning Kojyurou. Please tell the maid to clean up the table for me," his voice was distant, from outside the room, followed by Kojyurou's "Yes, Masamune-sama". Satomi frowned before she opened her eyes and realized she wasn't in her own room.
"MY TRAINING! Jeez I'm late!" she shot up immediately. I must've slept too much last night! It's been so long since I've slept like this though…wait. Am I in Masamune's futon? She stared down while a tinge of pink slowly crept its way to her cheeks. D-don't tell me…
Her eyes landed on the pile of clothes in the corner of the room in time, which wasn't there the day before. And then she sighed in relief. Luckily. But then that must mean…he slept on the floor last night?
Staring at the pile of clothes for a while, Satomi looked over her shoulders and saw empty dishes on the table. She assumed he must've eaten everything, and a small appreciative smile slowly spread across her face.
That idiot. He could've waked me up…
Kojyurou entered the room and was surprised to see her inside. Satomi's jaws fell. Mentally telling herself to act normal, she quickly greeted "Good morning, Kojyurou-n-niisama!"
"Satomi-chan, what are you doing here?"
"I-I…uh, I…yeah, I'll clean these! It's okay, I will do these! M-Masamune told me to!" she stuttered.
He raised an eyebrow. "But Masamune-sama told me to tell the maids-"
"E-eh? Really? N-Nah, he must've forgotten! It's okay, tell the maids I'll do the cleanings!" she pushed Kojyurou out of the room "everything will be alright! Leave it to me!" before closing the door. "Hah…that was dangerous…"
Kojyurou stared at the door questioningly. Satomi was obviously lying- she was never good in that. He decided it's better to ask Masamune what happened instead.
"Masamune-sama…"
"Hmm? What is it Kojyurou?"
Kojyurou bowed his head low. "Can you explain why Satomi-chan was in your room early in this morning…?"
"Oh, that," Masamune smiled to himself, "nothing."
The smile made it worse. "Masamune-sama…" Kojyurou started, his face beginning to blush, "don't tell me…"
Masamune gawked at him incredulously, "Oi Kojyurou, what are you thinking?" he sighed, "alright alright. Nothing happened, really. She cleaned my room yesterday while we were out and fell asleep. I slept on the floor in the corner of the room, okay? I swear I didn't do anything."
His caretaker sighed in relief, which just irked Masamune more.
"Tch, give me a break. What the hell were you just thinking?"
"Hittou! Let's have trainings today too!" Samanosuke came from nowhere and patted on his back. Much to his friends' and Kojyurou's surprise, Masamune let out a loud groan. A very loud one at that. "…Hittou…?"
Meanwhile, after done with the dishes, bathe and had her breakfast, Satomi walked around, finding for Masamune. She hasn't seen him for the whole morning.
"Magobe!" she called when she saw him walking out with a tub of herb medicine, "Have you seen Masamune? And…why are you taking this for?"
"Oh, Hittou? He's back in his room. For this, it seems like he hurt his back. Samanosuke that bastard, he patted Hittou a bit too hard this morning," he tried to hold back a chuckle, "Katakura-sama is now nursing him. Nothing seemed to be serious though."
Satomi's eyes widened. "I'll go with you."
She could hear Samanosuke wailing louder and louder the closer they walk to his room. "I'm sorry, Hittou! I'm so sorry! I shouldn't have hit so hard, I'm so sorry!"
"Shut it Samanosuke," Masamune groaned, "I told ya it's not your fault."
"Hittou didn't break a bone or something right?" Yoshinao asked.
"Ridicu-"
"I'M SO SORRY HITTOU!"
"Shut up!"
The sound of door sliding opened interjected them. Magobe rushed to Kojyurou's side, who was apparently applying medicine on Masamune's back. Satomi entered forth and gave a cold look to Masamune before chuckling softly at the sight.
"What?" Masamune groaned, annoyed.
"Deserves you right."
"The hell?" he muttered. Too bad he had to lie still because Kojyurou was still applying medicines and his hurting back prevented him to stand.
"How are you feeling?"
"So so. You?"
"Me? What?"
"Had a good sleep?"
Satomi stared at him with slight surprise before smiling. "Yeah…"
The two stared at each other for a while, while Bunshichi and his group whispered to each other.
"I knew it!"
"Told you they are going out!"
"What did Hittou mean by having a good sleep…?"
"Shh, they might hear you…"
"Hey, don't you think they look good together?"
"Spring has finally arrived for our beloved Hittou! That's great!"
The group burst into a fit of laughter as Kojyurou sweatdropped. Masamune and Satomi picked up the tub used to contain medicine and a knife (used to cut the bandages) respectively, silencing the group immediately.
"Alright, Masamune-sama. I'm done. Don't move too much and you'll be okay in a day's time," Kojyurou helped Masamune to wear his hakama.
"Let's get out, shall we? We won't want to disturb the two lovers!" Yoshinao cheered and the entire group went out, laughing their heads off. Satomi, still holding the knife, chased after them but they closed the door just in time before she could stick her weapon onto someone's skull.
"GEEZ, CAN'T YOU GUYS SNAP OUT OF THAT CRAP ALREADY?" she yelled, her face blushing hard.
"I'll clean these up. Please have a good rest, Masamune-sama. Satomi-chan, I'll leave him to you then," he went out of the room then, leaving the two together before Satomi could say anything.
Satomi sighed before sitting beside Masamune. Silence hung in the air for some time until Satomi broke it. "…well, about the meal yesterday…"
"Ah~ it was the worst meal I've ever ate."
She clenched her fist. "SORRY FOR BEING A BAD COOK!"
Masamune laughed. Satomi stared at the sight for a while before leaning against the wall. But still he ate everything…it must have gone cold, but he still…
"…thank you."
"Hm?"
"You could've waked me up. I don't mind. See what happens when you sleep on the floor for the entire night?" she tried to look the other way from embarrassment.
Masamune closed his eyes with a smile. "Nah, this is okay."
"Anyway, it's only proper for me to thank you properly," now she was looking at him, her cheeks had a slight shade of pink. "Thank you," Satomi quickly blurted before looking away again. "But it's not like I'm going to forgive you for making me not able to participate in the festival!"
That made Masamune's eyes widened. Moving closer and closer to her, he whispered, "Satomi."
"Mm?" she turned around to look at him just to find his face only few inches from hers. Yelping in surprise, she instinctively jumped back. "W-w-what?"
Her heartbeat sped up when he moved on top of her, straddling her hips and inching closer. She retreated until her back touched the floor completely.
"O-oi, M-M-Masamune?" Satomi stuttered, but the space between them was still reducing. Kami-sama! What the heck is wrong with him?
"Stop struggling," his voice was barely audible.
"Masamune, stop joking!" she tried to push him away, but he caught both her wrists and pinned it to either sides of her head, causing her heartbeat to beat in a vigorous speed. He was so close now that the other could smell his fragrance. "Oi, MASAMUNE! MASA…"
When Masamune wasn't stopping, she shut her eyes tight, feeling the feeling of tears threatening to spill from her eyes. The man above him widened his eyes when he saw the frightened expression of hers, and his lips tightened into a straight line. Instead, he pressed his lips onto her forehead. This eventually surprised and made her stop moving.
After the long feeling of heat left her forehead, she slowly opened her eyes and Masamune sat up. Satomi then quickly scooted back, cautiously keeping her eyes on him, causing Masamune to slowly break out into a fit of laughter, which only made her astonished.
"J-Just…hahaha! JUST LOOK AT THAT FACE OF YOURS!" he said in between his laughs.
If possible, her face would blush even more, with both anger and embarrassment…and also, maybe, from the feelings of butterfly fluttering in her stomach? "S-shut up! That's not funny at all, YOU JERK!" she stormed out of the room and shut the door behind her. What is this? What is this that I'm feeling?
Why is my heart beating so fast?
"Satomi-chan, thank you-" Kojyurou said as he walked towards her, but stopped when he noticed her face colored overly red. Before he could say anything else, she dashed past him. "Hm?" still with questions, he entered the room, and saw that Satomi was not the only one who was acting strangely. "…Masamune-sama?"
His master was frowning at the floor, as if deep in thought, with a hand pressing against his forehead. He was so close to losing himself just now. He didn't know what got over him, all that he knew was he wanted to press his lips against that very girl's…
"Masamune-sama? Masamune-sama," Kojyurou placed a hand on his shoulder, breaking the other from his trance. "Are you okay?"
"Oh, Kojyu-" he hissed when the feeling of pain on his back returned. "Shit, shouldn't have done that…why did I do that?"
Although not knowing what actually happened, Kojyurou knew something was going on. He closed his eyes with a sigh and helped his master to sit in a more comfortable position. "Why not? Masamune-sama, sometimes, it's better if you confess directly and honestly. That is the best way for everyone."
Masamune frowned. "What the hell is wrong with you Kojyurou? I didn't say I wanted to confess my feelings to Satomi-"
"And I didn't say anything about confessing your feelings to Satomi-chan either."
He pursed his lips, letting a blush take over his face. "You're a complete bastard, you know that?"
Kojyurou replied with a chuckle. "I'm sure you can do it, Masamune-sama. Just tell her your feelings honestly."
"What if I sent her scurrying to all directions?" an unapproved scowl escaped his lips.
"Why don't you go with her tomorrow?"
"I only bought one ticket."
Kojyurou pulled out another one from his Hakama, causing Masamune's eyes to widen.
"That's…where did you get that from?"
"I figured out you wouldn't make a move on your own. I bought another one while you didn't notice yesterday," he placed it into his master's palm. "Be confident. She's important to you, doesn't she?"
"I…" Masamune trailed off, not sure what to react. He then sighed under the intense gaze of his retainer. "I'll try." Kojyurou smiled.
Sometime later, when his back felt slightly better, the One-Eyed Dragon decided to take a walk to kill some boredom and wandered into the training grounds of Date residence. As expected a familiar figure was training herself.
"Guhh…" Satomi shot an arrow furiously, one after another. In all of the sudden she shot five arrows at once, though only three of them hit their target. Eventually the general let out an exhausted sigh and lowered her bow. Why is it so hard to concentrate? It was never like this before…
"Oi," the voice which came from her back made her jumped. Nervousness got over her features.
"M-Masamune?"
"Did you forget the way I taught you how to shoot? Concentrate with your left eye and relax your shoulders, like this," he grabbed the bow from her and took five arrows at once before shooting them at the board, gaining himself a perfect score.
For a second, Satomi's gaze was fixed on Masamune's silhouette which was brought out by the crimson light of sunset. The sight was so surprisingly mesmerizing to the young general, it rendered her speechless. The moment now was so similar to their first meeting, the very image of the boy she didn't realize…
She was slowly falling for.
Her lips part open slowly without realizing. Masamune then turned to look at her, causing her to yelp in surprise and lost her footing in the process. The other was fast though- he caught the latter in time, but accidentally pulled her into his chest. The two stayed like that for a moment, Masamune enjoying the small but warmth feeling against his chest, while Satomi was too surprised to move. Eventually Satomi jumped back in surprise, again.
The One-Eyed Dragon was fast to break the awkwardness hung in the air by forcing a chuckle. "What are you doing? Being a general and all, you're surprisingly jumpy."
The other looked away, mixed with unfathomable feelings and embarrassment. "What are you doing here? Aren't you supposed to rest?"
"I'm already feeling better. Sitting in the room whole day, I might die from boredom, you see?"
"I guess you're just here to mock me," she pouted. "I know I know, you're the Head of Date Clan…I'm no match for you…" Satomi put on a shrug and turned on her heels to walk away before her face started to burn. Alas, before she could walk out from the place, a hand grabbed her wrist. "…M-Masa…mune?" she turned around to look into the longing eyes of the other's.
Masamune withdrew his hand immediately. "S-sorry."
Satomi stared to the ground and walked away quicker this time. When she was out of sight, the One-Eyed Dragon stared at his palm and whispered "It's hard to be honest though, Kojyurou…"
"Satomi? Oi Satomi, are you even listening?" Magobe gave her a nudge.
"U-Um, eh? Oh yeah. What were you guys talking?" she blurted, waving her hands hastily.
Samanosuke slapped a palm against his forehead and a laugh escaped Bunshichi's lips.
"We were asking what happened to Hittou- he seemed to space out a lot since this afternoon. Do you know anything?"
Upon the mention of his name, a tinge of pink washed over the general's face. "N-No. How would I know what happened to that jerk?"
"Because you both are lovebirds after all- WHOA!" Yoshinao's laugh was interjected by a pair of chopsticks thrown at him. "THAT HURTS!"
"Deserves you right. Thanks for the meal," she finished her meal and walked away.
"Hey didn't you notice there's something odd going on with both Hittou and Satomi?" Bunshichi whispered under his breath.
"It's dead obvious! Definitely something's going on with the two of them," Yoshinao replied.
"It's best for you guys to leave them alone."
"What, why? We're going to-" Samanosuke stopped when he realized the voice who said the previous sentence belongs to none of them four. The guys turned around. "K-Katakura-sama!"
"Finish your meal quick and help to clean up the dishes!"
"Y-Yes!"
Kojyurou sighed. Masamune-sama…please try your best.
Since she wasn't feeling like doing anything, the general decided to take an early bath.
Satomi sighed, feeling the warm water washing up against her skin as she got into the ofuro. What a tedious day…
Compared to the hours and hours of non-stop training I do on everyday basis, this is nothing, but still…why?
When the image of her being held against the One-Eyed Dragon's warm chest, she felt her face burnt again, not from the heat of the bath but from something else. She shut her eyes tight and tried to shake the thoughts away. Why doesn't it go away?
I-I know…these feelings…
I have it since way back before…
But why am I getting jumpier and easily scared nowdays? …ARGH!
Not coming to a useful conclusion, she frustratingly got out from the bath and changed her clothes. The image of Masamune was in her mind the whole time, even when she was walking back to her room.
Masamune…why are you haunting my thoughts so much? "AHH! WHY CAN'T YOU JUST DISAPPEAR FROM MY MIND YOU ONE-EYED BASTARD?"
"Who are you calling a one-eyed bastard?"
"WHOA!" she yelped, looking at the real person. He was standing just outside her room with his arms crossed against his chest- Satomi assumed he must be waiting for her. "N-No one! I mean, well, really I mean it!" Masamune gave her an annoyed look. "S-so, you, standing outside my room, is there anything…?"
"Come to my room later."
"Oh, alrig…eh? W-WAIT! WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT?"
"Just do as I said," he scratched his head and started to walk away.
"But-"
With his back facing her, he wiggled his index finger in a no-no way. "No objections."
Satomi frowned angrily at his back, with a blush slowly overtaking her features. After keeping her change of clothes, she awkwardly go to the latter's room to find him sitting on his futon. The only weird thing was he wasn't wearing his eyepatch, probably because it's bedtime now. But why did he call me to come anyway? "And…?"
Masamune signaled her to sit beside him, causing her heart to skip a beat.
"What-"
"No objections," he said coolly, a slight smirk on his lips.
"FINE FINE!" Satomi did as she was told angrily, but trying to keep the other from looking at her face by staring into another direction. What's wrong with him? She thought, but was interrupted when a couple of books were placed onto her lap. She stared at them. "Mm?"
"I can't really sleep tonight," he tried to keep his tone as indifferent as possible, "read them for me."
So it's like that, a laugh escaped her lips. "I'm not a babysitter. You can read them by yourself, don't you?"
She stopped when she saw Masamune staring straight in front of him with a somewhat serious face.
"…well, alright…just tonight then…" she read the titles of the book and one caught her eye- 'The Dragon'. She picked it up and awkwardly read it, while Masamune was listening attentively beside her. "Let's see. Once upon a time, in a heaven-like place where no humans can reach, there lived a clan of dragons. And among them there was a particular special one- a blue-colored dragon…
The difference of itself from the other normal green dragons made the others loathe and isolate him. Yet, the blue dragon never blames anyone for it. Instead, he was always grateful to his parents and tries his best to not let his parents down.
The father of the blue dragon was proud of his son, but not to its mother. She eventually looked down on her own child because he was being spread rumors, and she thought he would bring disgrace to his family…" she slowly trailed off. This story…
But Masamune said in a low voice, "Continue."
"You sure…?"
"Continue," he repeated.
Satomi gave a hesitant nod, but returned to the story anyway. "The blue-dragon was down, but he tries even harder to regain his mother's trust…day by day, he was staring from afar, watching how his mother turned from him to his brother. Wanting to regain the love, the blue dragon never gives up and kept improving himself. 'I will make mother proud of me,' he said.
That was until when the other dragons had started to spread words of lies about the blue dragon. The other dragons eventually grown to hate their family and caused the father's death…
The mother soon left the blue dragon with his brother, leaving him all alone. The sudden lost made a great impact to the blue dragon. 'Why me?' was a question the lone blue dragon asks frequently. Day by day he was asking the same question, slowly losing his insanity. Wasn't he trying his best? Hasn't he done enough? Or is that he hasn't worked hard enough to gain what he deserves?
Driven to despair, the blue dragon was in verge of killing himself, until a voice told him, telling him that he isn't alone. There were still others which care about him.
And then the blue dragon realized- how could he have been so blind? He turned around to look at a friend of his with other dragons behind, the ones who remained loyal and stayed with him until the very end. 'You are not alone'." Satomi stopped when she felt a weight on her shoulder.
"The blue dragon made his mind he will not give up anymore…for the sake of everyone…he was saved, by that very voice...by that very dragon…" Masamune was leaned his head onto her shoulder as he whispered.
"…Masamune?"
"I'm sleepy."
"I see," she smiled at the child-like figure and tidied the books, "I'll be off then, good night."
Masamune grabbed her wrist. "Stay."
Satomi's eyes widened. She was going to object, but close her lips when she knew he was going to say that 'spell' again. She sighed and sat beside the futon. "I'll be here only until you're asleep."
Instead, the other patted onto the futon. "Sleep with me."
That made her jaw fell. "…what?"
"You heard me." After a long stretch of silence, Masamune raised his eyebrow. "No-"
"Alright, alright, you long-winded bastard!" She awkwardly got to the futon, but stayed on the very edge of it, distancing herself from the other as much as possible. She tensed up when Masamune threw the covers over her.
"Are you planning to freeze yourself?" he commented in a sleepy tone before getting into the covers as well. Satomi made no reply and tightened her fist uncomfortably against the warm fabric. Confused with what was happening now and what happened to Masamune, she knew she won't be able to sleep like this tonight. Not like she could strike him up with questions like "what happened to you idiot?" since he was acting all normal…or so he seemed to be.
Her thoughts were interrupted for the umpteenth time when she felt arms wrapping themselves around her. Her voice was literally stuck and her heart was as if going to explode any moment- she had never got this close to anyone before! And for this male, this very male to be the first person to get this close, it made her mind went completely blank from shock.
Masamune buried his face into her hair, inhaling her fragrance while pulling her closer to him and further away from the edge of the futon. They were so close that she can even smell his scent and feel his heat. "Relax, I won't eat you or anything-" the word 'eat' made her let out an awkward yelp "-it's just cold tonight…just sleep…" his muffled voice slowly faded.
After taking some time and hard work to calm her heartbeat in tormenting silence, Satomi looked over her shoulders to see the peaceful look on Masamune. She frowned, her face blushing as red as cherry as she watched him. With lips parted slightly, chest heaving at a slow rate, Satomi was confident he's already asleep.
It was not often for Satomi to see him sleeping, not this close anyway. She observed him without having the intention to. His eyelid shut lightly, long eyebrow, silky hair, thin lips, that deep blue eyes of his which was always filled with confidence and enthusiasm…
She knew it- ever since long time ago, she had admired him. Everything about him. The way he talks, the way he teases her, how he always mock and get into arguments with her. His act, his voice, his smirks, his stubbornness, his confidence, his personality and attitude…his kindness behind his every act.
"Didn't you say you wanted to succeed your father? Train hard, make him feel proud. I'm sure your parents would be watching over you…"
"I…I will surely succeed father. I won't ever fail him and mother. Will you stay by my side until then, Masamune?"
"In exchange, promise me to achieve your dreams."
The one who pulled her up from the abyss of despair.
Masamune… "Maybe…I'm seriously falling for you…" Satomi whispered as she turned around, all the while being careful not to wake the other up, before she slowly touched that scarred right eye of his. With her eyes slowly swimming in tears from recalling his pasts, she hugged him and buried her face against his broad chest. "You are not alone. You will never be."
Little did she know Masamune wasn't asleep though. A small smile of happiness spread across his lips.
The dragon that saved the blue dragon from insanity…
Was none other than you, Satomi.
Thank you…
The two stayed close as they enjoyed each other's company for the rest of the night.
Sometimes I really wish I am the character in story...*gets hit*
Well that's it for chapter 1! I hope I didn't make the character too Mary-Sue...and hope you readers enjoyed this! XD