11 days until Christmas! I don't own Basara.


Chapter Ten: Sacrificed Blade


The moonlight was heavily irritating my eyes, forcing them wide open, despite how weighted they seemed. I was reluctant to leave the dream, even though I knew that it would end as it always did, with me covered in blood and surrounded by the dead.

Sighing to myself I went to wipe the sleep out of my eyes, freezing when I was unable to move my hands. Scratch that, I actually couldn't feel them. All that I could've lived with, (You don't share a castle with a ninja without being used for knot practise a few times) but the man standing before me, with my bag open at his feet was not a sight I wanted to wake up to.

Perhaps most distressing was the fact that he was holding my sword, and seemed to be examining it with an expert eye. "That's mine." I managed to croak, still feeling the after effects of the drug on my mind.

"Ah you're awake. Good." The man turned to face me properly, but didn't release his grip on my sword. His overcoat covered his armour, one side black with yellow detailing, the other white, and a topknot streaked with a lot of grey. Perhaps most disturbing was the fact that I recognised him.

"Release me at once Lord Matsunaga!" I demanded, struggling harder against my bonds now.

In terms of personality, Matsunaga Hisahide could be best described as a villain, with no loyalties to anyone but himself, no matter how often he claimed to follow Lord Oda. "I'm afraid I cannot you see, it's rude to release a captive after sending out the ransom request. It just wastes everyone's time, doesn't it?"

"Ransom?" I whispered, raising an eyebrow, "Lord Oda will kill you for holding me like this. I hope you've written a suitable will."

Matsunaga laughed hollowly, waving his hand around the area, inviting me to look. Humouring him, I gave the place a quick glance realising we were in an old temple complex, and one that had definitely seen better days. Three of the pillars still stood though, and when I looked properly rather than scanning, a man was tied to each one, suspended from the ground. One of them was above me, and I glared at Matsunaga to get him to speak.

The look on my face merely made him smirk a little. "I'm afraid you've been asleep for quite some time, young lady. I've had time to take more hostages and send a ransom note, all before you awakened. It appears that you won't be seeing Kiyosu Castle after all."

"What do you mean?" I bit, struggling to make a timeline in my head. By all appearances, we'd been attacked by the bomber around noon, and seeing as the moon was still low on the horizon, then that meant the drug must've knocked me out for half a day or more. Long enough to get word to Gifu if you were fast.

"You see, the Demon King does not kill traitors, he makes examples of them. Your continued survival is in my hands."

"There's a little problem with that," I smirked, despite the ache in my legs from standing for so long, "I'm no traitor."

"Unfortunately that not how the Demon King sees it. So I'm afraid should Lord Date or Takeda appear with their ransom first, you'll be their hostage next. Your hand should tell the story if you don't believe me."

My eyes widened a fraction more, just as the man above me stirred back to life. Launching into a fresh tirade, Matsunaga didn't notice my head hang in shame, hair curtaining me on all sides. My sword had been taken, I was dressed in a furisode, perhaps the worst garment to wear if you intended to fight your way out of somewhere, and to make matters worse, I had apparently been forsaken by Lord Oda, and my only hope had become, of all people, the One Eyed Dragon and the Tiger of Kai. This truly was turning out to be a low point in my life.

"Shut your mouth!" My thoughts were distracted by the yelling of the man above me and his comrade.

"You can't pick a fight with Oshu and just expect to get away with it!" The third didn't have much to say, other than a whine about his hunger which somewhat embarrassed the other two.

Matsunaga on the other hand was amused by it, stepping ever closer to us as he spoke. I noticed my bag had been left to the side, the sword lying daintily on top. If I could just get free… "I hear the Tiger of Kai is providing aid and shelter to all those injured at Nagashino, be they friend or foe. That will soon be revealed for the hypocrisy it is. To willing give up the armour, a family treasure, for a clan who may well be your enemy tomorrow? No lord of any domain would do such a thing, let alone for men as expendable as you."

"If you're going to kill us just do it!"

"Do your worst, we're not afraid to die!" Yes, I could see they were part of the Date army now, they were as brash as their leader was rumoured to be. The man with six swords.

"I would," Matsunaga started, "But it seems the Dragon's Right Eye has hastened here in place of your poor cycloptic master." Those words had varied effects on the men, but the average emotion appeared to be shock, pleasing our captor endlessly. "You see what I mean? Interesting, if I add Date's most trusted tactician to my collection, even Takeda who must've certainly ignored your plight, will be forced to involve himself. An unenviable position, and all because he took pity on the Date in the name of a hasty alliance."

If what Matsunaga was gloating about was true, then these three had been taken straight from Lord Takeda's lands, from the border as the continuing argument revealed. That could only mean that the Tiger had actually opened his home to people he owed no loyalty to. A perplexing individual.

The name of my Lord caught my attention, spoken by the villain as he stared directly at me, alerting the Date men to my presence, "A grand alliance formed to protect the land they so recently fought over from the Devil King, who would rain death and destruction across the world. It is but a farce. Sharing ploys and strategies…" Matsunaga trailed off again, further analysing how the alliance would affect the future between the Takeda and Date.

Honestly, if I didn't know better, I'd suspect he was jealous they didn't ask him to join too. "The sadly fleeting lives you three were blessed with will have served a purpose."

"And the girl?" The guy across from me suddenly yelled, interrupting Matsunaga mid gloat.

"Yeah, what's her part in this?"

"Mere proof of the Devil King's intelligence. She is here simply because Oda has cut all ties with her." Matsunaga came closer, cupping my face with the barbed glove and forcing me to face him. "Rest easy, it will all be over soon."

What I did next would've horrified Lady Noh, but would've had Ranmaru laughing himself silly. Face scrunched up in disgust, Matsunaga calmly wiped the spit from his face, digging the barbs into my cheeks. "The ingratitude of the young."

"Boss Katakura!" One of the Date guys suddenly yelled, and indeed their leader had come up the near endless staircase, a large bundle tied to his back.

Releasing me for now, Matsunaga went to greet him, laying the patronising tone on thick. "I have been awaiting your arrival, but I must say, I was hoping you would be brought to me as a corpse."

"I, Katakura Kojuro, am not called the Dragon's Right Eye for nothing."

From my slightly obscured view, it seemed Master Katakura had noticed his men tied to the pillars, rewarded for his attention by them yelling out apologies for their carelessness and in the case of the hungry man, telling him not to give up the six swords of Date. "This will all be over soon, do not give up hope!" Was the only answer he gave them, which shut them up instantly, leaving him to deal with Matsunaga.

"This is a surprise. That you actually brought the six Dragon Claws here?"

"I believe you made your demands clear."

"The One Eyed Dragon is a rare man indeed, that he would risk his swords for three common soldiers." Risking a glance upwards, I saw the pride on the men's faces, and realised that as crazy as it sounded, this was very much in character for Lord Date, an assumption that was only proved by Master Katakura's next words.

"Do not presume we are like other clans! In the Date army there are no common soldiers!" Stunned by the words spoken, I missed most of the following speech, but gathered that despite the odds, the clan were first and foremost a family. A bond strong enough that they were willing to risk the soul of Date for three missing members.

"Now these are my demands, fight me! If I win, you will return both the hostages and the swords. If you can fight."

Looking over his shoulder at my groan, Matsunaga began descending the stairs, stopping to examine the six swords surrounding him after Master Katakura threw them. "This should prove amusing, but it is not enough."

"What?"

"As you said, I was quite clear in my demands. Without both treasures, I will not negotiate."

At a loss, Master Katakura merely stated that the swords were all the Date could offer, meaning that the Takeda had clearly not held up their end of whatever arrangement Matsunaga had started, which naturally made the old kusotare even more patronising, "As I thought, though Takeda briefly welcomed you into his home, he would not go so far as to offer up his prized possession."

I saw Master Katakura prepare to draw his sword anyway, but both men were interrupted by three shouts of "Hold!" that came from very familiar lungs.

Sanada Genjiro Yukimura had arrived carrying a large box on his back. It was not too much of a stretch to guess that the armour Matsunaga kept mentioning was inside the container. If so, then Yukimura must have some strength to carry it at the speed he was running at, and still have energy to pull it out for Matsunaga to see.

"Behold the Armour That Needs No Shield, treasured antiquity of the Takeda family! I invite you Lord Matsunaga to verify its authenticity for itself."

"I never imagined both treasures," Matsunaga whispered, staring down at the suit of armour before him, "Would come together so easily."

A small gust of wind blew past my cheek, Sarutobi Sasuke dropping into position behind the remains of a wall, flashing a thumbs up to the hostages above ground level, and a double take to me. Smiling despite myself, I missed the slight turn of Matsunaga's head, only catching his last words, as Sasuke dealt with the ropes securing me to the pillar with a dagger, "But now that I have them…I believe it's the end."