Chapter 21 - Sibling's love
"Haven't been through this door in a while." Sasuke said, walking in ahead of the others. "Then again, last time i went through this door i was alone."
"Well then this will be a trip down memory lane for you." Mitsunari grumbled, drawing his sword.
"Memory lane sounds good. Oh! There it is!" Sasuke said cheerfully, pointing up the stairs towards a black door.
Masamune ran up ahead. Kyra and Natsu caught up to him, and Kyra had to return to her normal form as there was a sudden weak feeling between the three ghosts.
"Ugh, i feel… weak." Sasuke complained, gripping the stairwell.
"Me too." Natsu whined.
"Me three." Kyra agreed, putting her hand on the door and suddenly ripping her hand away as she yelped, as if burned.
"Kyra!" Masamune said worried running up to her. Kyra whined as she held her burnt hand. "Bastard made it so that ghosts can't touch the door." Kyra whined.
"Ghost can't but" Masamune said reaching for the door handle. The door didn't burn him, though there was the feeling of dark dread as he touched the door. Masamune gulped and opened the door. As he opened it, there was a huge dark room inside. and laid out on the floor in one neat row, Kojūrō, Ieyasu, & Motochika were all tied up, gagged, and blinded, as they laid still.
"Kojūrō! Ieyasu! Motochika!" Masamune said running up to them.
"No! Wait!" Kyra and Natsu yelled, running in after him as the door slammed shut, and the sound of locking could be heard.
Masamune jumped at the sound of the door slamming and locking. "No not this again" Masamune whined. Natsu and Kyra whimpered as the held each other, trying hard not to look at the room.
"You two. And here i've been treating you two so well, and then you go and bite the hand that feeds you." a booming voice said, making the girls whimper. "Then again, i guess i shouldn't have trusted two little girls to such an important task. And as for you, Masamune. You've got quite a silver tongue, persuading these two little brats to join your little cause."
" You mean save them from being told what to do by some damned monster" Masamune growled
"You girls seemed so excited when i gave you the offer. What changed your mind. You two know you can't just go through the process like the normal ghosts. You two are bound to me." The monster growled, making the two girls cry.
"So they may not be like the others, they may have helped you. Only doing what they thought would help! So shut up, you don't understand kindness, they do" Masamune growled
"Tsk. You don't even know the rules of being a ghost. Once you kill a person as a ghost, that's it. You're no better than me. You're leading them on the false hope that they can be released, and possibly return to being alive. Tell me, how much do you actually care about these two? Natsu there nearly killed Ieyasu. And Kyra was ready to kill Mitsunari with no hesitation. And they helped me kidnap these three. What reason do you have to care about them."
"You're right I don't know the rules. Then that makes me no better than you as well only i'm living. No false hopes anyone can escape here if they stay strong, we may go on the wrong path at times but we can always go back." Masamune growled and placed a hand on one of his sword and walked over to them. "I care for these two as if they are my blood. They are my sisters. Natsu my have nearly killed him but she didn't, Kyra may have been ready to but he's still alive which means she didn't as far as i'm concerned they haven't done anything that we have to deal with back home." Masamune growled.
"Oh well. I've always got your friend Hikari to take their place. And you two girls know that by doing this, you're just trading one set of shackles for another. You're just bound to a human now. There'll be no difference."
"Hikari ….." Masamune said sadly.
"Ah, but Hikari's a little busy at the moment, so i'll just have to deal with you myself. Girls. This is your last chance. Even better, i can send you back to your time, with your mummy and papa." The two looked up, and actually looked like they were considering the offer.
"Y-you're being serious?" Natsu squeaked.
"Completely."
The two girls looked at Masamune, their indecision clear in their faces. "Masamune…"
Masamune looked at them sadly "It's up to you two, looks like i'm dead anyway" Masamune sighed as he sat down. "If you chose to go with him then know I loved the idea of you two being my sisters, you two are amazing I really was looking forward to you two being with me and Kojūrō" Masamune smiled weakly as tears started to fall from his eye even though he tried to hide his fear he was shaking his grip on the sword had loosened as he looked over to Kojūrō, Ieyasu & Motochika "Why am I so weak?" Masamune said softly "I can't even protect the one's I love from harm"
There was silence, and the sound of a sword being unsheathed, as well as guns loading.
"Bad monster, making our big brother cry like that. How dare you." Natsu growled, pointing her sword out, and Kyra aimed her guns for whatever would come. Masamune looked surprised at the two but smiled tears still fell from his eye.
"Silly girls. You're still bound to me. And that means i can do this." There was a dark laugh, and a choking from Natsu as she held her head, dropping her sword as her aura flickered between blue and red.
"NATSU!" Masamune shouted "DAMN MONSTER STOP HURTING THEM. HURT ME!" Masamune shouted angrily
"Why hurt you when i can get a whole show out of watching you suffer." The voice chuckled, as Natsu started wailing as she started to turn red, and parts started turning black.
"Big brother… it… hurts…." Kyra sobbed as she held her stomach as she started to turn red too.
"Kyra" Masamune said. Masamune growled and pulled out all six swords and screamed out. "Damn monster show yourself now!" Masamune growled angrily.
"Of course." The voice chuckled, and Natsu looked like she was forced to stand, her left side a dark reddish black while her other side a blue tint. Her arm was forced to extend as she pointed the sword at Masamune, sobbing as she did so. Her blue side gripped the wall as she tried to stop her other half from attacking.
"Stop resisting!" The voice yelled, and she stumbled forward, her arm swinging her sword at Masamune while she tried to stop herself.
Masamune walked up to her. "Sis, you're stronger you can do it" Masamune said walking closer
"I… i can't. I can't feel my other side. It's like someone else is in control." Natsu cried as her sword aimed for his throat. Masamune blocked the sword.
"Natsu, no one can control you but you, come on, fight him back." Masamune said looking at her with a smile. Natsu tried to pull herself away, and closed her eyes in concentration, and held her other arm to her side as she restrained herself.
"GIve… me… stone.." Natsu said, gritting her teeth.
Masamune sighed and stabbed three of his sword into the ground freeing on hand to dig into his pocket and tossed it to Natsu. Natsu grabbed it and held it close to her, gripping onto it tight as her blue side started to push against the red. as the stone started to glow red, Natsu started to become more solid, becoming more real. In a flash, the stone shattered with the sound of breaking glass, and Natsu gasped as she fell to the floor with a thump, breathing hard, the shards flying and scattering around the room. Kyra looked up, mostly red now, and looked shocked as Natsu started to change to become alive.
"Impressive. You've broken the bond between you and me. Your sister on the other hand…" Kyra screamed and held her head as the pain intensified.
Masamune ran over to Kyra and hugged her "Kyra come on please your sister did it you can to"
Kyra gasped as she reached for a stone, holding it close to her chest between them as she growled and gritted her teeth. With a growl, she started to become solid, the cold feeling from touching her starting to fade, instead becoming warm body heat. With a shriek, the stone bursted in her hands, and she moved her hands to take most of the damage, the little shards cutting her new, alive hands. Masamune smiled "You two okay" Masamune asked breaking away from his hug.
"So…. sleepy…." Kyra mumbled, absolutely drained as Natsu was out cold on the floor. "Big… brother… so … warm…"
"You two sleep I'll keep you two safe don't worry" Masamune said happily. Kyra nodded and fell on the ground, going to sleep almost immediately.
"How sweet. They're alive through the power of love." The voice said sarcastically, sounding a little tired as well.
Masamune smiled at the two and then gripped his swords tightly and growled "Something everyone knows how to feel except you' Masamune said coldly.
"Nor do i wish to. It's only a temporary state, after all." The dark figure appeared, standing over Kojūrō with a sword, ready to stab him. "You should know that best of all, no?"
"KOJURO!" Masamune shouted then growled and ran over to Kojūrō. "Love can last forever if it's strong enough"
"Shall we test that, then." the figure raised its sword to Masamune. "Let's see if your 'power of love' can stop this!" The monster raised its sword and made a downward slice.
Masamune flung himself on to Kojūrō not thinking about his own safety managing to block the sword just in time. His heart raced as he saw how close it was to hitting him. The monster growled and kicked him, trying to get him to move. Masamune growled from the pain but didn't move looking at the monster with defiance. The monster chuckled and said 'how cute' before moving away from the three.
" I'll give you a choice. I'll let you pick which one i kill, and you can have the other two." The monster growled, walking down the line and his sword hovering over each of their throats.
Masamune stood up "I pick me then" Masamune growled
"Good choice." the monster chuckled, then gripped Masamune by his shirt and raised him to be face to face with the monster. The monster's blade prodded his belly as his shirt raised from being held up. Masamune gulped and looked at the monster with defence still. There was the sound of a gun loading, and the sound of fabric moving.
"Don't. Touch. My. Big. Brother." Kyra growled grumpily, as she fired, sending the bullet straight through the monster's head. The monster dropped Masamune, holding it's face as it screeched in pain. Natsu ran up, her sword in hand as she sent her sword straight through the monster's chest, as it screeched and dissolved.
Masamune smiled "Close one" Masamune laughed
"Too close." Kyra agreed, as she started untying Kojūrō and Chika, apparently having retained her ghost strength as she ripped through the ropes like paper. There was a pair of muffled shrieks, as well as a grumble of 'goddammit' as the three woke up. Kojūrō gave a sigh of relief as Kyra took off his gag, and he gripped the floor to steady himself, along with Motochika. Masamune sighed happily as he walked over to grab his three sword in the ground.
"Where are we?" Kojūrō mumbled, and yelled as he was tackled by the two girls, who were giggling.
"we're still in mitsunari's version house. You guys were kidnapped and me, Sasuke, mori, mitsunari and my sisters there had to come get you" Masamune said sheathing all his swords.
"Sisters? You don't have any… Woah! You two! But… you're not glowing! You're… alive! " Motochika said, scrambling in surprised from the two girls.
"Yeah I do, my two sisters Kyra and Natsu" Masamune smiled as he walked over to the three.
"Since when? But… how did you get them… like that?" Ieyasu asked, looking a bit fearful of Kyra.
"Well… they are kinda cute, at least." Motochika said, looking at the two, who blushed and giggled.
"Well since a while. well that's a long story, yha our cute sisters" Masamune laughed as he sat down and looked at Kojūrō. Kojūrō sat silently, looking at the three in a mix of shock and surprise.
"Got two girls on your arm already? Just a couple more and you'll be set." Motochika grinned, getting a middle finger gesture from both girls.
"You know Sasuke said the same thing" Masamune laughed "Kojūrō are you okay, I must have landed quite hard on you" Masamune asked looking sorry.
"Looks like i'll have my hands full from now on." Kojūrō said after a moment, smiling at the two. The two grinned at him, then ran over and hugged him, and Natsu ran over to Motochika and Ieyasu, looking them over for injuries. Kyra frowned at the broken foot, and looked really sorry about it.
"It's okay. You weren't exactly you, were you." Ieyasu chuckled.
Masamune smile happily and looked at Kojūrō "Your not gonna get onto me?" Masamune said questionably.
"For?" Kojūrō asked, as Kyra's attention was diverted to Motochika.
"Putting my life on the line to come and get you" Masamune said
"Oh i'll get onto you. Just not here." Kojūrō said.
"Ah, so you're not angry that we have two more kids running around the castle" Masamune chuckled
"Oh no, i'm angry. I'm absolutely furious. I'm just holding it until Motochika & Ieyasu are out of earshot." Kojūrō said calmly, though his eyes were narrowed in rage.
Masamune sighed and then looked at Kyra and Natsu with a smile. Motochika was staring a bit at Kyra as she poked around in his jacket, while Ieyasu was joking and laughing with Natsu as she looked at his foot.
"At least you three are safe" Masamune sighed
"We very nearly weren't. The monster came up, changing it's appearance to you, telling us something had happened. then, when our backs were turned, wham! Bashed us all over the head and knocked us out." Kojūrō said, rubbing his head. "Next thing we know, you're there. It's good you came when you did, kid."
"Well I couldn't let you guys be hurt, once we realized that the monster could block sound we came running and you guys were gone, I knew I had to get my family back, who knew in the process I would get more family members" Masamune smiled.
"You're certain they want to stay? Surely they have their own parents." Kojūrō asked quietly, watching Motochika and Kyra interact, and clearing his throat and glaring at Motochika when he seemed to get a bit too close to Kyra.
"They seemed happy with it" Masamune said
"I'm just glad you get the chance to have a proper family again. You've never had sisters, so i'm not going to spoil anything, but you really don't know what you're in for." Kojūrō chuckled. "Needless to say, you may find your share of sweets might go down a bit."
"You never know it might go up" Masamune smirked
"I assume you're completely unaware of 'the puppy eyes' trick." Kojūrō chuckled.
"Kyra mentioned it" Masamune said confused on what Kojūrō ment.
"Kyra, would you like to demonstrated to Masamune what the 'puppy eyes' trick is?" Kojūrō asked, smirking. Kyra turned and nodded, then faced Masamune. Kyra pouted, and sniffled a bit as she sounded she was about to cry, as she looked at Masamune with pleading eyes.
Masamune could feel his heart melt "Don't cry" Masamune said sadly.
"Good girl." Kojūrō chuckled, and Kyra immediately stopped, her face lighting up in joy of receiving approval. "Works every time. Especially when girls, and sisters, do it."
Masamune huffed "yet it doesn't work when I do it" Masamune grumbled
"It's a technique." Kyra said proudly.
Masamune looked like he remembered something "wait, if you guys went through our pockets. Kojūrō do you still have the candy!" Masamune looked pale
Kyra and Natsu looked smug as they each reached into their pockets, and Kojūrō patted his pockets.
"I also lost my rice ball" Masamune sighed
"It wasn't us, remember." Kyra and Natsu said, giggling.
Masamune sighed "I only had a piece of the candy and a few bites of the rice ball"
The girls each pulled out a candy, and a half of the rice ball, slowly unwrapping the wrappers.
Masamune looked at them when he heard the familiar sound of the wrappers. Both girls giggled and pulled out the candy inside, looking at him with smug grins. Masamune looked at them intensely as if waiting for them to ask if he wanted one. The two girls hesitated for a moment, but quickly popped the candy into their mouths before they could be stopped. Masamune sighed sadly and curled up. The two girls laughed at him, and put the halves of the rice ball in their pockets.
"That's the kind of thank you I get for saving everyone, no candy" Masamune complained sadly
Kojūrō chuckled and reached into the lining of his coat, having a smirk of his own. The two looked confused, then intensely as Kojūrō reached into the hidden pocket in his coat. Masamune sighed not noticing what Kojūrō was doing. Kojūrō pulled out a small bag out of the pocket, and the two girls squeaked in shock as to how they could have missed that. Kojūrō laughed at the two and waved the bag in Masamune's face. Masamune looked up to see a small bag in his face. He blinked a few times before grabbing it with a happy smile. He opened the bag to see the somewhat squashed but still mostly whole piece of cake. Masamune hugged Kojūrō tightly before he took a bite out of the cake slice. The two girls looked on enviously, waiting for him to claim he was full, or pack away parts for later.
Motochika walked over to the door to let the others in, and Sasuke ran in, stopping in surprise to see the two girls alive.