A/N About the ages: Masamune 18, Yukimura 16.
6. Grief
Masamune sat alone in his quarters. He had no idea how much time had passed since his father's funeral this morning. Judging from the light streaming through the shoji door, it was probably somewhere before dusk.
After the ceremony, he had come back straight to his room and dropped down to the floor, his facade of indifference gone from his face. Staring at his hands, yesterday's horrible chain of events kept replaying in his mind, and his father's final words rang in his head again and again.
The sky was clear and the weather was temperate. Masamune was out hunting with Kojuro, and the day proceeded as normally as any other day until the news reached him - his father was kidnapped by Hatakeyama Yoshitsugu, the lord of the adjacent land.
Masamune immediately led an army to rescue his father. When they finally caught up the enemy in Takadahara, that Yoshitsugu bastard was waiting for him with a blade against his father's neck, demanding their absolute surrender.
The Date army instantly fell into turmoil at the shocking demand. It was the voice of none other than the hostage that silenced them all.
"Kill me, Masamune!"
Although his face remained impassive, his heart froze at his father's words. All color was gone from Yukimura's face as her grip on the spears shook. Even Kojuro was obviously shaken by the situation. His voice shook as he turned to his young master for decision. If they chose the life of their lord, Date would surely perish, but if they chose the clan's safety, their lord would die. This was a decision no vassals could make. "Masamune-sama?"
Masamune did not have a ready answer either. The only man he had ever esteemed was completely at the enemy's mercy. Could he trade his father's life with those of the entire army?
His father shouted across the field. "From now on, you're the clan leader! There'll be times of difficult decisions. Choose wisely!"
Masamune made the decision.
He wordlessly took a bow from a nearby soldier and took aim.
"Masamune!"
At his father's cry, he released the arrow. It flew across the distance and precisely pierced through his father's left chest.
Date Terumune died instantly.
A deafening silence fell over the field before his first command as the clan leader broke it.
"Kill them all!"
A soft knock on his door startled him out of depressing recollection. His brow creased in displeasure. He was not in the mood to interact with anybody now.
"Go away."
The door was slid open slightly anyway, and thin rays of evening sun streamed into the room. A pair of familiar brown eyes peeked from the gap.
"Masamune-dono." Yukimura called out softly, her shadowed face creasing with worry.
"What do you want?"
"Can I come in?"
Knowing her stubbornness, she probably would not go away until he let her in. He sighed and nodded wordlessly. She slid the door open further to let herself in before shutting it, and the room was dim again. There was a tray of food in her hands.
"You haven't eaten anything since yesterday."
He shrugged. "I'm not hungry."
She slowly approached him and knelt down to place the tray on the floor, the black clothes of her kimono flowing with her movement. He fixed his gaze on one of the crests woven near the joint of the sleeve and waited for her to leave; the last thing he needed now was her seeing how shaken he was by what had transpired in the previous day.
After a brief moment of uncomfortable silence, she tentatively reached for his hand. He quickly jerked it away.
"Don't."
"Masamune-dono?"
"Don't touch it."
"Why?"
"Do you need to ask? I've just killed my father with these goddamned hands!"
"Masamune-dono..."
Slowly, she reached out again with both hands, and took his hand into hers. This time he did not protest. He had warned her, and if she would not listen, then it was her business.
She said nothing further, just sitting there with her hands wrapped around his. Her warmth was a painful reminder that all of this was not just a nightmare.
Suddenly, it occurred to him what a strange combination they were. One almost had been killed by her father, and the other had ended his father's life with his own hands.
An ironic smirk curved his lips, and before he knew it, the question that had been occupying his mind since yesterday was out of his mouth.
"Have I done the right thing?"
She squeezed his hand gently. "From the look on his face, I think you have."
Her words hit him like a rock. His father had been a stoic man with few words and even fewer smiles, but in the last moment of his life, a genuine smile had graced his lips, and the look of peace and contentment had remained on his face even after his death.
"He was proud of you."
His widened eye swept from the crest to her face.
She gave him a sad smile. "From the way he had looked at you, I think he always had been."
To his consternation, his eye became hot and fuzzy as his vision started to blur from an unfamiliar wetness. He tried to blink it back but to no avail. A lone tear fell from his eye, leaving a trail down his cheek.
Was he crying?
Masamune could not recall when the last time he had cried was. His eye had remained dry even when his mother had left him for good. As the heir of the clan, he had never allowed himself such weakness, but now the tears started to fall freely on their own and he could not stop them.
Not wanting her to see such display of weakness, he turned his face away from her and started to rise to his feet, but he stopped at the tug on his hand. He hadn't noticed that she was still holding it firmly.
Touching his chin, she gently urged his gaze back to her face. To his surprise, her eyes were now suspiciously wet.
"It's just me, Masamune-dono."
Bewildered, he tentatively brushed a droplet from her cheek. The first and last time he had seen her cry was the night he had found her in the hospital almost a decade ago, and he had decided then that he did not like it at all. "Why are you crying?"
She smiled through her tears. "Because someone should... for you."
Was she crying for him?
Masamune was at a loss for how he should feel or what he should say. However, there was one thing he was certain of now.
No matter what happened, as long as Yukimura was by his side, he would somehow be okay.