Chapter 21

"We'll leave everything in your capable hands, Katakura."

Understanding the situation Katakura replied, looking at Naoe with a sincere expression, "Don't worry about the situation here. I'll have everything taken care of."

"I still can't believe that Lord Masamune is no longer with us. How would Lord Kojiro reacts when he hears this news?" Takaya said sadly looking at Lord Masamune lying peacefully within Katakura's wrap.

"He's prepared for this. He and I have both known that Lord Masamune didn't have much time left, but neither of us would expect it to be this early. I just hope that Lord Kojiro will stay strong and take over the responsibilities that are passed down to him."

"I'm sure that he'll be fine," Naoe said, "and we have no time to lose. Lord Kagetora and I will resume with the others immediately."

"What about Yuzuru?" Takaya asked, gripping onto his friend's body in his care.

"He's still unconscious and he won't be waking up any time soon. I suggest that you trust him with me," Katakura recommended.

"I agree. We can't carry him with us. It is best to leave him here." Naoe said.

"You're right…," Takaya agreed, realizing that was the best option they have.

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With no other delay, Naoe and Takaya headed out to Matsamuno and little did they know more misfortunes were waiting for them.

"What's going on here? This place—it's like a ghost town." Takaya said with his eyes in disbelief. The streets were empty, lifeless, not even a soul was out in the open.

"I don't know," Naoe frankly replied, "I'm not sensing any life here either. It's like everyone has vanished from this area."

As they continued walking deeper into town, something didn't feel right. Takaya felt an urge from the pit of his gut and suddenly started running. "No!" he yelled. He ran toward the direction of his apartment and yelled out his sister's name, "Miya! Miya!" Before he could come any closer to his apartment, he stood frozen, staring at an open space where his home used to be.

"Kagetora!" Naoe came running behind and stood by the dazed boy as they looked at the disaster in front of them.

"What the hell happened here?" Takaya rushed into the debris, at least of what was remaining of his apartment.

"It looks like a typhoon came by and swept this entire complex to dust." Naoe said bluntly.

"This is not funny! Not at all!" Takaya growled. "Miya!" He called out, hoping that she wasn't lying underneath the collapsed building. Digging through the rubble, cutting his hands and fingers, Takaya fell to his knees. "She's not here," he cried, realizing how pathetic he must looked and how useless he was for not being around when his sister needed him.

"Something is definitely wrong here, we need to get away from this open area and find somewhere to hide ourselves." Naoe suggested as he observed Takaya currently lost between the purpose of them coming back here and his missing sister. "Let's go," he held the boy up and slowly they faded away.

Somewhere in a dark alleyway, Naoe and Takaya discussed their next moves. Neither of them had expected something as terrible as this to happen.

"What do you think is going on? Where is Oda? What is he planning to do to this town? Where is my sister? And where is everyone else? Haruie, Chiaki and Lord Kojiro? What the fuck is happening around here?" In a panic mode, Takaya's worries came out non-stop, one question after another.

"Try to calm yourself. I know that you're upset, but maybe this is part of Oda's plan. Just think about it, your complex is the only one in the entire town that was destroyed. Why is that? He's trying to get to you."

Takaya stared at Naoe as if he was the most amazing person in the world. Naoe was right, why was it that only his complex was destroyed and no other building in the near by area had even a scratch on them? The town was completely dead too.

"I'm sure that your sister is alright at the moment." Naoe continued. "If Oda has her, then he will keep her alive to use her against us. Now, we need to figure out a way to contact the others."

"Yeah," Takaya agreed, "but somehow I feel out of place here. For some reason, I think my energy is being drained."

"So, you felt it too? I tried to contact Chiaki with my telepathy, but it didn't' work. It's like… it's being block by some kind of barrier."

"Then how are we going to contact them?"

"I'm pretty sure that they're not waiting here for us. This barrier might have affected them as well, but they must have left us a clue or something.

"If the barrier is too strong for us to connect with them here, then can we try to contact them outside the perimeter of this town?"

"That's right! Why didn't I think of that?"

"In this situation, where would they go? What other places have we ever needed to meet up like this?" Takaya pondered his mind as he looked at the driver, and Naoe instantly caught his eyes. Instantly, they knew that they were thinking the same thing. They both knew exactly where their next destination was.

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Tokyo.

'Naoe! Is that you?' Chiaki managed to open a line of communication.

'Chiaki, we'll on our way,' Naoe responded.

'Hurry up! Things are not looking good.'

'Got it. Kagetora and I will be there shortly. Where are you at?'

'I'm… at…,' silent and they got disconnected.

"Watch where you're going!" Takaya shouted as he grabbed the steering wheel and pulled the car back onto the main road. "What was that about? You try to kill me or something!" He growled.

"I'm sorry," Naoe apologized. "Chiaki just contacted me. The transmission was a bit faint, so I was trying to concentrate on the link and forgot about the road."

"Did you get their location?"

"Yeah, but I'm not sure if I've heard him correctly."

"Is there a barrier around here too?"

"No, that's not it. The transmission was weak and there was something different about his voice. It almost sounded like it was echoing from inside a confined place."

"A confined place? Like a cell or a cave?" Takaya asked.

"It makes sense." Naoe realized as he heard Takaya's voice mumbling, "It's the perfect place to hide, not even Oda would have expect it."

"Where?"

"You'll see," and he stepped on the gas.

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Naoe and Takaya got there in no time, and Chiaki came to meet them.

"This place?" Takaya stared at the collapsed tunnel, which had held him and Naoe captive once. "What are we doing here?"

"There's another way in. Follow me." Chiaki led the way and his two comrades followed him. They never knew, but nearby, behind a large bolder was another entrance to this unpleasant place.

"How did you find this entrance?" Naoe questioned as he followed Chiaki through the dark and narrowed road.

"We got a map of old Tokyo the last time we came here. That was how we found you guys and surprisingly, it's still very useful. Another thing that you'll find surprisingly is this place. The cell that Oda held you captive before was just a small section of this enormous underground establishment." As the three men reached the end of the narrowed road, Chiaki opened the entrance and a shower of brightness immediately escaped through the opening. Naoe and Takaya quickly shut their eyes, burrowed their brows and slowly opening them and then indulging them to a magnificent sight.

"This place…," Takaya's eyes were still all over the place.

"I know…, it's like an underground palace, but let's not sweat the small stuffs and come inside." Chiaki led them in. "The lightings and amenity here still work. I'm assuming this place was built in case of emergency or big disaster where they need to evacuate and hide, so it was hardly ever used. But enough of that, Haruie and Lord Kojiro are waiting for us in the main house."

"Naoe! Kagetora!" Haruie greeted them happily, almost too happy as the men entered. She immediately gave them a hug.

"I'm glad to see that you're alright, too," Naoe replied.

"Yeah…, me too." Takaya said in a flat tone as he glanced at Haruie still hanging over the tall man, standing beside him.

"What's going on here?" Naoe asked and released Haruie's arms gently.

"I'm not sure where to start." She replied.

"I think we should tell them about our new plan and about our meeting with Kousaka." Lord Kojiro advised, joining into the conversation.

"Kousaka? How is he involved?" Takaya's raised his voice at the sound of that name.

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"That's bullshit!" Takaya roared from hearing his comrade's explanation of what had happened to this town, his people and especially his sister. "How can you even believe him?"

"There is no other option. Either way we look at this, we're screwed, so we might as well take a chance with him." Chiaki argued.

"But, Kousaka of all people!"

"Kagetora, please calm down!" Haruie said, trying the ease the argument.

"How can I calm down? It's my sister we're talking about!"

"I understand how you feel, but I have to agree with the others. Currently, we are at a disadvantage. Your sister is in the enemy's hand as we speak. Whether or not we trust Kousaka makes no little difference at this time." Naoe said calmly in his deep voice. Takaya may oppose their decision, but Kousaka may be their safest way out to save the girl.

"But Miya…," he sighed, starting to give in.

"Sometimes, the right decision isn't always the best one. I'd learnt that from my brother," said Lord Kojiro. "He had always been protective of me, but there were times that he had to make difficult decisions and look at a greater picture."

"What are you saying?" Takaya furrowed his brows, "Are you telling me to ignore my sister?"

"No, that's not what I mean. It's true that sometimes for a greater cause, sacrifices need to be made, but if there are ways to go around that, then wouldn't that be best?"

"I don't get you. Can you just get straight to the point?"

"From observing you and the other, I could tell that there are some tension between you guys and Kousaka."

"Our battle with him started long ago." Naoe conveyed.

"Maybe too long." Chiaki added.

"400 years to be precise." Haruie corrected them.

"And now, I ask that you to trust me on this. His soul isn't completely evil. I sense truth in his words."

"Truth?" Takaya questioned.

"Yes," Lord Kojiro replied, "Don't you ever get the feeling that he doesn't go all the way? Although, his way of expressing thing seems devious, but he's always holding back; it almost seems like he's trying to protect someone."

"Protect someone? Like who?" Takaya questioned again, more confused than ever.

"It's you, Kagetora." Naoe said, looking at the boy with a perplex expression. "I have to say that I don't like that man as much as I hate him, but there are times that I've noticed how he would purposely taunt you with his harsh words, but never let death greets you."

'Could it be?' Takaya thought silently as he listened to Naoe's explanation.

"Let's trust him this time," Lord Kojiro asserted himself, "And if anything goes wrong, I'll give you my head for this."

Takaya stared at the young Lord of Date, "How can you be so sure of yourself?"

A sly smile found the young Lord and quickly disappeared as he spoke with confident, "I have a gift. I can use to paralyze my opponent. If anything goes wrong, let me handle Kousaka. You and the others should concentrate on rescuing your sister and fighting Oda."

"Fine." Convinced, Takaya finally agreed. Somehow, he also felt obligated to take Lord Kojiro's offer. The boy seemed confident of himself. Plus, after all he owed the Date clan this much; Lord Masamune would have faith in his own brother too. "Miya, hold on just a little longer…," he muttered to himself.

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"It's completely dark."

"It seems that this place runs on solar energy, so it lit up in the day and dim down at night." Naoe observed.

"Solar huh?" Takaya didn't sound too interested.

"Is something wrong?"

"Nothing…, well…, maybe everything…"

"Are you worried?"

"If I say no, then that would it be a lie. But if I say yes, why the hell should I worry? We've been through this over and over and over. There is nothing new really, so why should I care so much?" Maybe the reason he cared so much was because he was afraid, but he didn't want to admit that.

"…" With no word to offer, Naoe stepped forward and stood by the younger man.

"I'm not sure what to think anymore. Even if we somehow manage to get rid of Oda; who is there too say that there wouldn't be another Oda Nobunaga out there. The cycle will continue and more people will get hurt. Who will be fighting the villain then? And will we ever be able to escape our fate?" Sighing heavily, "Am I greedy to say that I don't want this burden anymore?"

"I feel the same. I think we have every right to be greedy. If the evilness continues to exist there will always be someone out there to stop it. We've done enough; 400 years of service is more than enough. Maybe it's time for us to rest."

"Maybe…"

"By the time sun rise, this place will light up again. We will fight a battle that we don't know if we can win. It could be hopeless, but I want you to know that no matter what happens I will protect you."

"You don't need to tell me that. I've already know that much."

Somehow, Naoe felt contented just hearing those words. He felt recognized. "This may not be the time or place to say this, but… I love you, Kagetora."

Speechless for a second, "…yeah, I know." Takaya replied.

"Can I… hold you?" His mouth asked the question, but his hands had already sought for his lover's body.

Takaya didn't response nor did he refuse. Leaning against Naoe's larger form, he tried to take in the moment.

"We only have a few hours until morning." Naoe embraced his lover and whispered, "When the time comes, no matter what happen… be strong."

"Huh?" And with that, Takaya fell asleep in the warmth and comfort of Naoe's arms.

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End of Chapter

Smile: Got a little mushy and weird at the end of this chapter, but the story is progressing. Almost there…hang in there a little longer.