Hello! I have finally updated! This chapter is going to be a bit of a filler but its necessary to build my canons. Thanks to BooksFan101 for her/his advice. Thanks to all who are following and to those who favourited. Enjoy!
The Date army was heading for Nagashino, where Keiji said that Oda Nobunaga would be. There was apprehension in the air as they rode, everyone nervous and excited for the catacalismic battle that was ahead. Hina, who was riding with Masmune, was deep in thought.
I haven't told him yet... Will he abandon me if I did tell him...
She shrugged to herself saying that what happens, happens.
"Hey Hina." Masamune jolted her out of her thoughts.
"Hm? Yes?" She said absentmindedly.
Masmune took notice of this and looked at her but continued on. "I was wondering, who is your brother?"
She felt a pit on her stomach. Oh Kami... What was she going to tell him? She thought it over frantically and was just about to give up when the godsent man Keiji, stepped in.
"Oh, you mean Yuki?" He rode up beside them with a wide grin plastered on his face.
"Yuki?" Masamune gave Keiji a weird look. "That's a strange guy's name."
"Yeah, he's constantly getting teased. And I have to admit..." He looked a bit sheepish. "I do a lot of it."
Masamune laughed. "Ah so is little miss princess the man of the house?"
Hina slapped him hard on the back of the head.
"Ouch! That went through my helmet!" He whined.
"Well don't call me a man!" She shot back.
"I wasn't calling you a man!" Masamune argued. "I was just saying that compared to your brother you are a man."
She didn't hit him and just when Masamune thought he was safe, she hit him again, even harder this time.
"KAMI!" WHAT'D YOU DO THAT FOR?" He screamed.
Hina looked frightened but held her ground. "Never insult my brother. He's twice the man anyone will ever be..." She said quietly. "Never..." Her tone was so serious that Masamune dropped the argument.
Keiji must have realised that it was going to be awkward and intervened. "Hey Hina, come ride with me! We have a lot of catching up to do!" He strained a smile.
Hina looked at him blankly and gave a curt nod. "Ok."
She sat herself on the edge of Masamune's horse. She jumped out and surprisingly, Keiji caught her.
"There you go." He said as he gently put her behind him. "So..." He began. "Actually, how has Yuki been? Headstrong and literally strong as ever?"
He began a conversation with her and realising that Masamune may need some space, pulled back to talk more. Kojuro watched the scene from behind and breathed a heavy sigh. He knew that Masamune was actually pretty terrible at making compliments and usually ended up insulting them one way or another. He rode up beside Masamune who was still slightly frustrated.
"Lord Masamune?"
"Kojuro, how come she was so defensive of him? I don't get it. One mention of her brother and she changes from Little Miss Mary Sue to a head hitting maniac?" He sighed and signalled for everyone to pick up the pace.
"If I may speak frankly My Lord..." Masamune nodded. "I suspect that she has had a hard life. I think something may of happened to her to do with her brother and she doesn't like to talk about it."
Kojuro didn't say that he knew something must have happened. He wasn't like Keiji, he had never met the girl before but the signs of traumatisation was evident in her, even if she was hiding it. He needed Masamune to discover this for himself though. He decided to try a more personal approach.
"Surely you have memories that you wouldn't like her to know My Lord?"
When Masamune went to say no, Kojuro simply raised an eyebrow. Masamune lowered his head on defeat.
"Ok, ok I do!" Masamune remembered things that made what would be his right eye burn.
"Exactly." Kojuro gave a Masamune an parental look.
Kojuro had practically raised the boy. His father died when he was three and his mother didn't want anything to do with him. She had always preferred his younger brother. Kojuro, knowing that wasn't right, asked her to accept Masamune as the heir to the Date clan but she refused. So it was with a heavy heart that Kojuro exiled her. With his mother gone, Masamune's care was handed over to Kojuro, who raised him as his own. Masamune's brother still stayed but when Masamune was fourteen, something terrible happened. It was Masamune's first battle and Kojuro told him to stay with him. He got over excited and ran out... And then... Kojuro's eye's watered just at the memory of it. That day he was going to take out his own eye, but he thought better of it. Masamune needed a right eye and that was going to be Kojuro. Unfortunately the clan elders did not think the same way. They thought that without his right eye, Masamune was unfit to rule the Date clan and were going to instate his younger brother as heir to the leadership. Kojuro and a few others stood against this, saying that he was just as good with his eye as he was without. Masamune's brother decided to silence Kojuro, the leader of the rebellion, and attacked him in the dead of the night. Kojuro had not expected the attack nor was he armed. So he accepted the fact that his death was near and prayed for his lord. Just when he thought the sword had struck, he heard the clash of blades. He opened his eyes... It was Masamune! He had somehow known what was going to happen and had rushed to Kojuro's room to help him. His younger brother fell with a groan. That's when Kojuro saw the blood. It was on Masamune's face and blade. Realisation dawned on Kojuro. His Lordship just killed his own brother! When the elders found out, they were shocked... And frightened. They didn't know how a the boy knew how the assassination was going to happen, let alone when or where. To kill his own brother, they thought this with a shiver. They were so afraid that they reinstated Masamune as the clan heir. Masamune was also horrified and went into a state of depression. Kojuro had to finally break him out of it. As Masamune's regent, Kojuro banished the clan elders that had tormented Masamune and put his supporters in instead. But instead of elders, they were the now the clan's head retainers, there to help Masamune not make decisions for him. When Masamune was eighteen, Kojuro decided he was ready and let him claim his birthright. Masamune was successful in uniting Oshu and was loved by the people. Kojuro still stood by him and always would, no matter what...
"Kojuro? You alright there?" Masamune looked at Kojuro with a hint of concern in his eyes.
"Yes of course milord. Just thinking."
"Well in any case, I guess I'm going to have to apologise aren't I?"
This was going to be the hardest thing he would ever have to do. Masamune had pride and this was going to severely damage it. But it was still something that he had to do.
"It is starting to get dark, let's stop for tonight my lord."
"Ok. Boys! We're gonna set up camp here okay!"
"Yessir!"
He'd have to talk to her soon. Masamune had goose bumps just thinking about it...
Another chapter done! And BooksFan101 the Mary Sue joke was for you. I tried to make it that Hina and Masamune only had a physical attraction and so I want to work on them becoming real friends and then falling in love. Keiji is a godsent man and I will stick to that! And as you can see in my username, Hina is my most precious OC. I was gonna use her later but... Oh well. :D
Update later! Keep looking!
