Chapter Three – Arguing with a Shadow

"Masamune…" Rin whispered hoarsely. She walked towards him and dropped to her knees, weak with relief. Her eyebrows arched into an upside down V as large tears formed in the corners of her eyes and Date blinked in alarm.

"Rin, what's going on? Where are we? What happened?" Date asked in confusion, turning his head from side to side to scan the tiny room quickly. He tried pushing himself up but instantly grunted in pain and had to lay back down, settling with just turning his head to the side to see Rin.

She didn't answer as she suddenly leaned forward and held his face with both her hands, suddenly kissing him firmly. He blinked again as his confusion doubled but responded quickly and kissed back with equal passion. He reached up weakly to touch her cheek and she placed her hand on top of his to keep it there.

"You're such an idiot, you know that?" she asked when she finally pulled away, her voice quivering. She shook her head violently to further vocalize her words, "Such a stupid, stupid… Idiot!"

She kissed him again and when she pulled away this time he only said in an amused tone of voice, "Well, good morning to you too, then." He glanced around again before asking, "Not that I mind being woken up like this, in my opinion, you should really do it like that more often, but is there any particular reason why you're so affectionate today?"

Rin sat back on her heels and she sniffed, wiping her tears away with the heel of her hand. "You don't remember?" He looked at her somewhat blankly and she looked away nervously. She unconsciously grabbed onto her bangs and began running her fingers through it. "Well..." she trailed off slowly.

"What happened?" he questioned. Rin folded her hands in her lap now but was still at a loss for words. She knew he wouldn't take the news of his defeat against Toyotomi lightly and she wondered how gently she'd be able to break it to him.

Perhaps she should just leave it to his army to explain it. After all, it was his army who really saved Masamune's life, not her, so maybe it really would be better to just let them handle it, as Masamune would take their loyalty into account. Maybe it would soften him up…

No… That wouldn't be completely fair to them, she decided. She would have to be the one to break the news. She would have to be the one bear Masamune's anger first, which she knew for sure would occur, if she knew Masamune as well as she thought she did.

"Rin. What happened?" Masamune asked again, more stern this time and breaking through Rin's train of thought. Rin's fingers danced in her lap and she bit her lip as Date focused a piercing gaze on her.

Finally she looked back at him and took a deep breath, grasping the hand that lay at his side with both of hers and answering, "You were defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi in Suriagehara several days ago. Your men just barely managed to save your life and they brought you out here to recover..."

She watched as Masamune thought her words over but they didn't seem to quite register immediately. She entwined their fingers together but he didn't seem to notice at all and Rin chewed on her lip in nervous anticipation.

Defeated by Toyotomi Hideyoshi? Him? The One-Eyed Dragon?

Impossible.

Date remembered now that he had been weak at the time of the battle but surely he hadn't lost. After all, he had already been forced to retreat in the last battle with the giant, so he couldn't have possibly lost again.

Masamune thought this all over as Rin gripped his hand tightly, trying to keep her voice gentle, "Masamune… Your army has been waiting for your recovery for a long time now, and I'm sure they'd much rather tell you about what happened, so I'm going to leave now so you can talk to them. Man to men, okay?"

He wouldn't answer so she kissed him gently on the cheek and squeezed his hand one last time before finally standing up and walking towards the sliding door.

Just as she got to it though Masamune called solemnly, "So I really got my ass kicked, huh?"

Rin paused, her hand gripping the handle tightly as she said, equally solemn, "Not at all Masamune… We were at a giant disadvantage without Kojurou-san and you were badly injured already. No one blames you for what happened… I'm just grateful that you managed to survive."

He shook his head in disgust, "Heh, I'm a pretty sorry man then, for losing to the likes of him. If it weren't for the fact that Kojurou is in trouble, I'd have to commit seppuku. What humiliation."

Masamune chuckled darkly and Rin finally whipped around to shout, "Why don't you get it Masamune? Why don't you understand that you can't win every battle in life?!"

Rin grit her teeth as Masamune eyed her wearily, "And why not? If it's like you said, I would have been killed if it weren't for my army, because I lost. This is war, Rin. If you lose, you die."

There it was again. That stupid message, Akane had said it too. She'd said in that same forlorn tone of voice. Suddenly Rin remembered her battle with Iruka Akane and how surprised she was when Rin hadn't killed her.

"But I lost… And a loss means death…"

She had said it with such a firm vindication Rin had taken pity on her. To Rin, a loss was only a loss and she was unused to the idea of having to kill every opponent for a battle, just for it to be considered a successful and official victory.

As a mercenary, she had participated in countless bloody battles, but not all of them seemed to involve immediate death. There was always a choice to spare the life of her opponent or kill and she could name innumerable men she had managed to defeat without bloodshed.

It was something she had learned as a child from watching her brother fight off stray bandits and chasing them away instead of killing them… Maybe that was how she had managed to raise such a large army for just one woman with a pair of fans and a stock of knives. Perhaps it was her sense of judgment between mercy and murder that earned her the title of "Shinigami".

Rin couldn't understand the rationale behind it at all.

"But you didn't," Rin argued."Toyotomi Hideyoshi spared your life, so that shows you're allowed second or even third chances, even in war!"

"Rin," Date finally said, stern again, "If I can't win against a weaponless man like Toyotomi Hideyoshi, I'm no more fit to call myself a dragon than the common garden snakes just outside our walls, like he says. Why don't you understand that?"

No, not that you again, anything but that, Rin thought. He'd used that kind of you when they "first met", during the battles when she was getting to know him… She hated that you, it made her sound like an enemy…

She shouted, "Because I understand that you aren't invincible, despite what you believe!"

She took a deep breath after her second outburst and silence filled the room. Masamune stared at her, a somewhat wounded expression on his face.

She took another deep breath to steady herself before whispering faintly, "You're just one man Masamune; you can't be a dragon every day. You have to realize that you'll lose battles, that there's always someone better than you, and that…" she shook her head from side to side gently and whispered even more quietly, "That sometimes you have to retreat and suffer a minor loss to win bigger battles."

The room was tense and Rin felt as if it were strangling her then. She looked at her feet to avoid Date's alarmingly calm gaze and he took his time before replying evenly, "Is that what you decided when you lost your army?"

Rin's eyes widened in surprise, looking up from her feet to meet Date's composed gaze. Although Rin was at a much different elevation than he, their gazes held each other and a new wave of emotions washed over her. Anger, sadness, guilt… Betrayal. She was surprised that Masamune had dared to bring up such a touchy subject.

Although she honored her army's memory every day by herself, it wasn't a topic she ready to discuss openly, even to the closest man she could think of.

Rin's eyes filled with tears again and she whispered, "Yes."

"And did you succeed?" Masamune asked, knowing full well what the answer would be.

Rin bit her lip and clenched her fists tightly, suddenly shaking with emotion. She knew that he had meant for his words to cut her, but she didn't understand why.

He always said he hated seeing her cry, so to intentionally mention something so painful to her was baffling. Why did he suddenly seem so spiteful? Unless... That wasn't the case this time and he actually wanted to see her cry.

Well, if that was the case, she certainly wasn't going to give him the satisfaction of seeing her tears. With a sort of infuriated determination she turned back to face the door and gripped the handle again as she answered in a hollow voice, "No."

"Hmph." Was the last reply she got before she left the room.

After she left, Masamune lay back down to stare at the ceiling and murmured to himself, "You were supposed to cry and break down first so I could apologize, you little flake... Rin..." he turned his head to stare at the closed door and stated morosely, "You choose to be too passive at all the wrong moments... But maybe..." he closed his eye wearily, "I'm not so different either... And that's where we're both wrong."

Date's army jumped as Rin unexpectedly threw open the door and they shuffled nervously, obviously caught in the act of eavesdropping.

They had just overheard their leader fight with his fiancée and not about something as trivial as what sort of colors they should have at their wedding, like what most couples would probably argue about, or even their usual little quarrels, but an actual fight. This made them very uneasy.

It didn't even involve yelling or screaming like most arguments between couples did, but maybe that was what was really frightening about it. Instead of unleashing their true anger on each other and getting a rid of their negative emotions, they bottled it up and became stoic and distant.

It was as if they were suddenly pushing each other away to avoid the pain of actually hurting each other with their true emotions instead of getting to the point and just getting it out of the way.

The Date army parted nervously as Rin walked past them silently.

A few of them muttered in consolation, "Boss Lady… Boss Lady…"

"Rin-chan..." Magobe murmured sadly but Rin ignored the fat man. It wasn't like her to be so stoic and they wondered whether they would have been better off if she had lectured them like she would have about eavesdropping.

If these were normal circumstances, she would have, but tonight was not the night. Instead, she passed through the whole army as quickly as she could and wished for them all to just disappear. They watched her retreating form silently before sharing anxious glances. It was just like when she first joined them.

As Rin left, she had managed to hold back her tears but as soon as she had gotten a fair distance away a cry ripped from her chest and her tears finally fell down. They were crystal like pearls that dripped freely down her cheeks and against the side of her hand, which she used to cover her mouth to hold back any other cries of anguish.

Masamune didn't realize how deeply his words cut her, but it was more because of her sudden realization than his actual words. He had been absolutely right and it was as if his mentioning it had suddenly woken Rin up to the realization that all the people who previously trusted her had died.

It had been her fault that so many people lost their lives and she tried all she could to redeem herself, but the truth was, she could never truly be forgiven. Not by herself and especially not by Maka, who firmly believed that the only way to avenge her 'family' was the death of their once admirable leader.

Why didn't she understand it earlier?

Her shoulders heaved as she bit back her sobs. "Masamune," she whispered to herself, "You're such… An idiot."

The following week went by relatively quickly. The One-Eyed Dragon had recovered enough to move independently and as soon as he was well enough to travel, had decided to continue their journey to Osaka, much to the army's dismay.

Masamune and Rin had barely exchanged two words to each other in that time as they rode along the countryside, even as the Date army herded the young couple to ride next to each other multiple times along the way. They refused to speak any more than necessary, let alone look at each other. Rin usually made sure she stayed at his right side or behind him and he didn't do much to change positions.

They refused to show their true emotions to each other and continually kept up a cold facade and an aloof air about them. Despite their anger though, they both worried. They desperately wanted to make up and go back to how things were before but because of the intensity of their first real argument and the new uncertainty of Kojurou's rescue, they remained stuck as they were.

It was pure torture.

Rin wanted so badly to just apologize, but she was too afraid and couldn't work up any courage to face Date. She reminded herself that she had been the one to walk away without apologizing first and that this could have been avoided if she hadn't been so melodramatic that night.

She would have gladly apologized first though, if she weren't so afraid of approaching Masamune... She chastised herself constantly for being such a coward. What was she afraid of, after all? It was only Masamune. She loved him. She knew he loved her, even though he'd never once confessed it to her, so why was she so damned hesitant? Why couldn't she just take the first step, when she was so ready to succumb and break down to him?

On Masamune's side of the argument, well, he was just too proud. As much as he hated having to ignore Rin, he couldn't bear the thought of being the first to break down. Dragons simply didn't do that, even for love. He knew he could apologize to her... But he would not be the first one to do so.

He knew this was wrong of him, but he couldn't help it. He'd already suffered humiliation of being the first to break against Toyotomi, twice even, so no way would he be the first to break during such a petty argument. He could hold out during that, at the very least.

That afternoon, the Date army was currently resting on the bank of Uesugi Kenshin's territory. They all waited warily to see if the War God would come out to meet them and Masamune was by himself as he practiced his sword swings with the Kokuryu in one of the fields. He seemed to be completely lost in his thoughts when suddenly remembered the time when Kojuroy had wanted to commit seppuku. He had failed to protect his lord and wanted to be punished for it.

He had given Kojurou a pretty good bruise on the face for it, and he remembered the pain that coursed up his broken arm on impact. Masamune sighed. It had been a dark moment… But then, later that day, Rin had managed to lighten the air between the men and things had returned to normal. If she hadn't been there to soothe their angry hearts, Masamune thought it probably would have taken even longer before he forgave Kojurou.

That's right... Rin had...

He looked over to the side and suddenly noticed Rin's lone form on the bank of the water just up ahead. He sighed.

If he couldn't have Kojurou by his side as his Right-Eye, he should at least have Rin at his back as his Shadow. A shadow was never supposed to leave its master's side and neither would it unless the light stopped shining.

Well... At the moment, it seemed that with this argument hanging over them, their light was somewhat obscured. He would just have to grit his teeth and shine that light again.

He sheathed his practice sword and tried walking confidently towards her.

Rin sighed deeply as she looked over the pond. She stared at her reflection as her cheek rested heavily on her fist and she took a deep breath, breathing in the pleasant breeze that blew by. The wind blew ripples over her reflection in the water and she watched the rings spread out.

It was so quiet without having to be by Masamune's side. Boring too... He never really talked much when they were together though. Actually, she had usually been the one to uphold most conversations with her random ramblings but he always seemed to have an innuendo ready and never seemed to be shy to tease her about her constant embarrassment of PDA.

She also seemed to be a constant subject of sexual harassment in his presence, but she had always forced herself to endure it despite her discomfort because she knew that was really the only way the one-eyed general could express his affection.

It didn't seem weird to her because that's just how she decided he was, but now as she thought about it, she wondered why that was. Why was it that the One-Eyed Dragon couldn't express his love through anything but touch?

Thinking really far back on it, she realized that not once in the time they had been a couple, had he ever told her he loved her. She had overlooked it until then, but now... Why was it that he never said "I love you" to her?

It was so obvious that he loved her as much as she did him, but then why wouldn't he say those three simple words? Was she not good enough? Was he just more shy than she thought? Or maybe, he didn't really love her... Maybe he never said the words because he didn't believe her worthy of them. The thought depressed her and suddenly she pulled her knees against her chest to hug them tightly as the sudden idea started niggling around her head.

That couldn't be it... she tried consoling herself. Masamune just isn't the type to throw around words carelessly, that's all. And he isn't going to tell you that either now because you were so petulant the last time you got to talk to him. She sighed loudly as she berated herself, oh why, oh why can't you just talk to him? He's supposed to be your fiancée, so shouldn't you be able to apologize to him freely? Stupid Rin, stupid-!

"Yo, you want some company?"

Rin jumped slightly at the sudden familiar voice and she blinked a few times as if she couldn't believe her ears. She turned to glance at Date before replying uncertainly, "Ah, sure…?" She had said this more question like than approval; as if she were really asking him if it was okay instead of the other way around.

Masamune seated himself beside her deliberately. He was careful not sit too close because he knew sudden acts involving any sort of connection could scare her, but he was nearby enough to be able to hold her if and when the chance arose. He moved to sit on his back on the sloping hill and used his arms to cushion his head.

They sat in awkward silence until Rin suddenly shouted in embarrassment, "Masamune!"

"Mm?" he answered somewhat sleepily. He seemed so relaxed and laid-back in Rin's eyes, but really he was wide awake and alert to every move she made, making sure that she wasn't about to run away. He studied her carefully out of the corner of his eye. He noticed that the more relaxed he looked to her, the calmer she made herself feel and the more determined she became to say... Whatever it was she wanted to say.

Even though she wasn't sitting in seiza, Rin had pulled her knees up to her chin and her hands fluttered on top of them, "I-I…"' She stuttered. Masamune sat up now to watch her more and waited patiently as Rin tried hiding her red face in her hands. She finally choked out, "I… Love you."

He smiled at their reflections in the water and hummed approvingly before using his typical reply of, "I know, Rin."

She knew that as a man of few emotional words, he often showed his feelings through actions rather than words and so she let him scoot closer to her; then he reached out to pull her head against his side.

What she didn't know, was that he hesitated only slightly before touching her. He was afraid of being too forward again until Rin unwrapped her arms from her knees to reach around his chest and he hummed again, now confident that they were on their way back to touching terms.

"A-and… I… Only want you to stay safe. You know that, right?" Rin asked in a small voice against his side. She was still trying to hide her face and apparent embarrassment by pressing her face against him.

Her voice was slightly muffled and he couldn't help but smile at the innocence of it all. When it came to expressing affectionate emotions, Rin was really about as awkward as a teenage girl encountering her first crush. Which, maybe for her, was true, as she had never started a relationship with anyone other than him. For her, he was her first crush.

"What I mean to say is that I'm sorry, so please forgive me!" she finally said in a rush, her eyes still tightly closed and she gripped his blue shirt with equal tightness. "I didn't really mean to anger you that night, so… Please!" she held her breath as Masamune began laughing silently.

She had burrowed her face into his side in an attempt to make her form smaller and Masamune chuckled, louder this time. He reached down to grip her chin firmly, tugging so she would look at him.

She averted her eyes immediately and wouldn't meet his gaze, her face a light pink. With a sort of defeated sigh he smiled. He blew gently on her hair so her hair ruffled slightly and she finally looked up to frown at him so he took the moment to kiss her forehead. Suddenly she squeezed her eyes shut and she could feel his lips curl into a smile.

"Rin, look at me," Date ordered softly as he pulled back. She peeked at him timidly for what seemed to be less than half a second before hiding her face again and he laughed quietly before lecturing mildly, "You're too soft-hearted for your own good. If you were always this easy to break down, you'd never survive in this war without me. But… I know how strong you really are… You're not weak, for a woman, and I admire you for it." He laughed and Rin peeked from his side again, finally smiling with relief.

He held her tightly and said, "I'm…" he faltered slightly and cleared his throat before continuing, "Sorry, too. I shouldn't have mentioned your army. It was a low blow, and I knew it. I just... Wanted you to cry or something so I could hold you as an apology. I didn't think you'd leave."

Rin smiled weakly, now brave enough to show her face again. She repeated, "I'm sorry... I understood what you wanted, sort of, but I was too angry to be the weak one. But..." she closed her eyes and said quietly, "I'm glad that you, Masamune, wanted to apologize first. But we're stronger now because of it, right?"

He nodded with a grin, leaning down to kiss her nose, "Of course, we are. We're the Strongest Couple in the Land of the Rising Sun, right?"

Rin laughed, "Since when were we ever called that?"

"Since we decided to stick together for the rest of our lives," Date said in a matter-of-fact tone of voice and Rin laughed again.

"I never said I'd stay with you for the rest of my life," Rin murmured. Date frowned but then Rin laughed, "I said I'd stay with you forever, you big jerk."

"Ahh," he said with a laugh. He grinned as he teased, "That's right, I remember now. You were drunk at the time, right?"

Rin flushed as she said indignantly, "Of course not, you jerk! I was being completely serious unlike other people around here! Besides, you know I have a low tolerance to alcohol in comparison to those who practically swim in it!"

She poked him gently on the nose and he laughed, "Well… Maybe you're right... Maybe I was the one who was drunk and didn't hear you properly. Perhaps you could vow to me again?"

Rin laughed softly, "Fine. I'm not hesitant about saying things like that. So, Date Masamune, are you quite sober right now?"

"Quite," he nodded in mock seriousness. "Although that may change if this vow isn't serious enough."

Rin rolled her eyes, but pulled back to stare at him seriously. "Alright then. I, Kazehaya Rin, the Crimson Shinigami and One-Eyed Dragon's Shadow, promise to stay by Date Masamune, the One-Eyed Dragon's, side forever and will never fall from him. I, Rin, will always support him, Masamune, no matter what. There, happy?" Suddenly he began laughing loudly and Rin pouted, "You jerk! I was totally serious about that whole thing and now you're laughing at me!"

Date stifled his laughter before choking out, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry! It's just that... I don't know, you're just too into it!"

She looked at him curiously and asked, "Eh? How so? You said you wanted a serious vow!"

He smiled as he held her tightly and murmured against her head, "What I really meant was that a simple kiss or 'I love you' is enough of a vow for me... So whatever you do, don't stop that, at least..."

Rin blushed slightly as she replied, "Sure, whatever you say Dokuganhentaime."

Date said somberly, "Growing up in a world where women hated me, I never got any of that, even from my own mother, so when you do it... It reminds me that I'm not completely hated by them."

"No woman could ever hate you now," Rin teased, "In fact, maybe that would be better if they did so I wouldn't have so much competition."

Date laughed, "No need to worry about that. No one could rival you... Because like you, I promise to never leave your side."

The two laughed again together and settled in a renewed silence, this time comfortable and relaxed. Rin nuzzled her face into Date's side and then returning to the subject of their previous argument murmured, "Just promise me you won't do anything reckless like fighting an experienced and well-rested monster while worn beyond human limits, okay? Without Kojurou-san constantly looking over you, I think sometimes you're just too careless for your own good."

"What?" he asked amused, "You think I can't pull my own stunts?"

"You know that isn't it at all," Rin sighed somewhat irritably now as Masamune pulled her closer. He aimed to kiss her but she turned her face at the last moment so he could only touch her cheek. She placed her hand over his lips and said seriously, "I just want you to promise that you'll be more careful. That's all I ask."

She moved her hand and he grinned, "All right. I promise."

Rin raised an eyebrow suspiciously. "Promise promise?"

Masamune held back a laugh and raised his right hand, then said with mock seriousness, "Dragon's honor." He wrapped his arm around her again to hold her and with a playful smirk said, "So let's seal it with a kiss, eh?"

Rin rolled her eyes as a blush crept onto her face but she smiled and said with mock annoyance, "You are, by far, the most single-minded man in the world."

"I try," Masamune said with a grin and finally closing the space between them.

A/N: ... You know... I think this really was the first time I portrayed Rin and Masamune arguing. ... Like, seriously, they were like the perfect freaking couple who never fought until now. Well, thank God that's over. =w= They needed to fight... It's healthy...

Anywho, it's been a while since I last updated! Sorry about that! It's gonna take me a while to update the next chapter too since I have to re-watch season II of BASARA. 'Cuz... I completely forgot what happened then. I mean, I've been so busy with my other BASARA fanfics and watching The Last Party, the events of season two have just... Gone. Gone with the wind!

Eh heh... So.. Please have patience with me... The last time I wrote for this fic was in December and since I tend to type chapters in an unlinear order I've already written the climax of the final chapter and a few little bits in between. ... The only thing I have to do, basically, is bridge them together so they aren't so random and jumbled up. -sigh- So much work...

And I have to figure out how to bring Maka and Akane back into the story... They're both kind of bitchy... But... I love them anyways... Geh... OCs...

- Jackal

(I mean, for the love of God, why did I not have these two have a serious argument before?! It opens up so many new ideas for future chapters! Mwuahahaha!)