Chapter 5

With a loud gasp Shiorin startled herself awake. She was covered in sweat which caused her robe to stick to her body. Her eyes were wide open and her blue pupils grew tiny in fear. After a few minutes passed, she calmed down and her breathing became even. Her bangs stuck to her face while she gripped tightly onto the sheets as she sat up.

Deep blue eyes scanned the surroundings in front of her, but there was nothing to see besides a plain wall. Her body slowly became less tense and her shoulders relaxed. Nothing else could be heard besides own ragged pants, so she closed her eyes again and laid back onto the futon.

'Another nightmare…' Shiorin confirmed.

She re-opened her eyes a few minutes later, then sat up again and slowly crawled off her futon. While she reached for her clothes, which were scattered on the floor, she slowly started to remember her nightmare. She couldn't push the horrible images out of her mind.

The images always showed her death and only death.

It reminded her of the young warlord who asked her to join his army a few weeks ago. These, the constant nightmares, were the exact reason why she declined. It wasn't that Shiorin didn't want to help him, she was afraid. Scared that somehow, she would end up like the dead people she kept seeing in her nightmares.

Joining Masamune's army meant that she had to kill. She would have to kill soldiers, probably robbing many families of their fathers. She would be constantly in touch with blood and carnage across the battlefield. This thought literally made her sick.

It is true that she often fought pirates when they raided her village, but she never killed them. She knew for a fact that she would probably be capable of killing them with the power she possessed, but the thought of actually doing that intentionally, made her feel nauseous.

Normally, to avoid too much blood spilling, she used her strength to destroy pirates' tools and weapons. With her abilities, demolishing gates and barriers was a breeze. This was usually enough to scare them away, without needing to fight them face to face.

If the pirates were to come and raid in large numbers like last time however, she was left with no choice but making them physically incapable of fighting. She usually did so by sending their commanders flying. Shiorin did not doubt that by doing this the most damage she did was probably breaking a few limbs, which she also felt horrible for. However, if it saved lives then it left her no choice.

This is all that she had needed to do up until now. Pirates did not possess a warrior's pride nor will. They were relatively weak.

Actual samurai? They would fight until death.

The young woman shuddered in fear. She decided to stop thinking about all of this and went to bathe. After she was done, she got dressed and left the small house where she lived.

The house had been so messy ever since her cousin moved out to join the army. Her aunt had also left the village, which her cousin had requested for her safety. She also had asked Shiorin to move out, but the latter decided to stay. She did not want to forsake her home, though, she did not blame her family for wanting something different.

Shiorin did not mind living alone and at least, she still wrote her cousin letters every now and then. Honestly, dealing with nightmares and taking care of herself was quite tough, but she did all that she could to at least keep her home safe.

Once she approached the village gates, she expected to see a lot of the villagers work and get on with their daily lives as usual.

In a few weeks time, they managed to rebuild quite a lot. Shiorin herself also helped wherever she could. Today, she was on her way to help out and fix the gates because they were still damaged, but the sight before her made her stop dead in her tracks.

She nearly assumed her eyes were deceiving her.

A countless number of armed soldiers were marching their way through the village gates. Before she knew it, they were scattered everywhere across the place.

The banners that the soldiers carried had a very familiar crest drawn on them. The armor that the soldiers wore, were a very iconic black, green and gold color.

The young woman wanted to turn around and run, but before she managed to, the final group of soldiers marched through and her heart started to beat twice its usual pace. A young man locked his lone eye upon her blue eyes, as he got off his horse. The crescent moon on his helmet shone a bright orange and gold, thanks to the sun breaking through. It was as if his presence became even stronger because of his attire.

Almost as if aware of this, Masamune Date smirked as soon as he saw the petite woman frozen in place as she stared at him in disbelief.

Magoichi Saika had come along after he recently became Masamune's newest ally. The gunslinger stared at his lord in confusion. What was the Date army trying to do here? He understood that it was not that uncommon for warlords to trade with villages for supplies, however it did seem very odd for a warlord to issue said trade in person. It made Magoichi believe that Masamune had probably come here for a different kind of reason. What could it be? After all, this village seemed like it was on the brink of poverty. A lot of houses seemed damaged, just like the gates they just entered. It did not seem like there was anything special about this place. It was small and far from home. The tall man doubted that it had anything of value. He was sure that this place did not even appear on any of the maps he has ever seen.

Well, whatever the reason for their visit, Magoichi did not question it. After all, Masamune did tell him not to doubt him ever. The tall man wanted to believe in the young lord's reasons for any actions he took.

Then he noticed that Masamune approached a young girl, who looked absolutely horrified for some reason.

The young man's one eye stared down at the girl fiercely. She had to crane her head up to gaze back at him.

"We meet again, Rin." He kept the same sneer on his face.

"…" No reply came from the woman he addressed, as if she had lost her voice. She wanted to say something, but she could not speak.

Magoichi, on the other hand, didn't know whether to laugh or question Masamune's intentions after all. What did the young man need from a small girl like her? He doubted that the one eyed dragon was the type for that type of amusement. Plus, she seemed to not be part of an inn. In fact, she seemed barely legal enough for such work, but that was another matter.

"Well?" Masamune broke the silence as he addressed the young woman once more. "Don't just stand there, say something. I can understand that you're surprised, but honestly, did you really think I would give up on you so easily?" The lord smirked as he closed his eye and turned around to take a few steps away from her. "Surely you did not assume I would leave things as they were." He turned back to look at those blue eyes.

Shiorin still didn't say anything, but she frowned and was evidently shivering. Masamune raised an eyebrow, but then smirked once again.

"I'll repeat it one more time Rin. Join me."

Magoichi gasped as he was absolutely baffled. What exactly was his lord asking? The gunslinger pondered. He didn't believe that the Date army would come all the way here just so that their ruler could pick up a courtesan. That seemed very unlikely. It was then that the taller man did notice the girl was wearing armor to an extent. Was she possibly a fighter? She seemed so tiny. The samurai hardened by war would absolutely destroy her.

"Masamune…?" Magoichi tried to question his lord.

Said lord gestured to his soldier to be silent. He would explain everything later on. Magoichi just nodded and did as he was told.

Shiorin just shook her head slowly, still uncomfortable with the lord's arrival.

Masamune chuckled, then he laughed loudly as he threw his head back as if he wanted to be as condescending as possible.

"Very well." He then spoke. "Do know, that I will not leave this village without you."

The woman's eyes widened because she didn't want to believe his words, but she did know that he was dead serious. In fact, Masamune started to order around his soldiers, instructing them to set up camp here right in front of the gates.

"B- but…" Shiorin stammered. She could not manage to say anything else.

The dragon grinned cockily, mirth in his expression. "Your choice." He shrugged. "I'll stay here and will make sure you're losing that nerve of defying me, or either you'll be wise and decide to come with me after all." Masamune's stare turned hard as he said this full of determination.

Her legs turned into mush. What was she going to do about this? Could she even do anything at all?

Masamune noticed her behavior. His heart was not made of stone. There was no more reason to fully insult her or make her feel even worse about any of this. He just wanted her to start being reasonable and make up her mind. If she could do this, then there were no more problems. However, if she would eventually join his army, which he was fully convinced of, she needed to grow some backbone. She obviously lacked confidence, but there was also the fact that she was shaking like a newborn lamb every time he opened his mouth. That would simply not do. No one could possibly fight like that. Her ability would go to waste and she would be useless.

He nodded to himself then spoke up again. "Fine. I'll leave you to think for the day, when you change your mind don't hesitate to tell me. But do remember, only today, if I don't get an answer out of you by tomorrow morning I will have to take serious measures."

With that, the young lord turned around, towards the Date army's newly set up camp. Magoichi followed, then looked back over to the girl. She looked utterly defeated.

"So, her name was Rin was it?" He turned to Masamune while they were on their way. "Are you sure about having someone like her in your army? Isn't she too young? Surely someone that small could not become an actual officer."

Masamune scoffed. "In fact, that woman is old enough. She is older than I am." he replied, which made the gunslinger choke in his own spit.

"What?"

The one eyed dragon just nodded. "Anyhow, age is scarcely of any import at all. I know that she does not look at all like a fighter, but you should see what she is capable of."

Well, if he said it, then Magoichi would believe him. Even if it seemed close to impossible. However, if what his lord said was true, then Rin would probably be a very good weapon in war. No soldier would expect to be taken down by someone thrice as small as they were.

The woman in question fell to her knees as she saw Masamune and the rest of his men disappear inside of the tents further across. She sighed and gripped tightly onto the edges of her dress. Just what was she supposed to do? She really didn't want to leave, she couldn't.

She was very afraid. This man wanted to send her on her way to die. In fact, death was not even the thing that scared her the most. She didn't want to see blood. She didn't want to get hurt. She didn't want to feel pain. She didn't want any of that. Heck, she was so scared, she felt paralyzed just thinking about it. How will she ever be useful to anyone at all? Why would he ask her to fight for someone of his stature?

These thoughts turned her legs into mush again and she collapsed onto the ground. Shiorin gripped at her head and slowly shook in disbelief and despair.

'…What am I going to do…?'

Meanwhile the two gunmen had carried on to their tents.

Magoichi decided to try and ask one more time. "So, this girl is an actual fighter, yes my lord?" he earned himself a frown.

"Yes, I have just told you, did I not? Her technique is something I have never witnessed before. Why? Have I not told you not to doubt me, Magoichi."

"You did, but I couldn't help but wonder if there could be a different reason as to why you would want to recruit a tiny woman to your army."

The one eyed dragon just stared as his new comrad spoke, then asked, "What other reason could there possibly be?"

"Well, sometimes powerful men like submissive women."

It took a few seconds before Masamune finally realized what exactly Magoichi was trying to tell him. His face immediately contorted in disgust. "How dare you question me having any other interest besides conquest. You make me sick." The young lord angrily turned his head away.

Magoichi laughed. "My apologies, my lord."

"I do understand though." Masamune continued, "Besides her weak appearance, there is also the problem of her mental state. She seems constantly afraid, cowering in fear. Like that, she will not be able to fight at all. We'd have to work on that somehow." The one eyed dragon turned around once more, facing the taller man. "But I believe that she can do it. There is no need for someone that strong to be afraid of anything. If I can make her believe that, she will become one of my most powerful soldiers. I know this for a fact."

The gunslinger just nodded. His lord seemed to be convinced, so who was he to question it any further. "If you say so Masamune, if you say so."

In the afternoon, the weather changed ever so slightly and a gentle breeze blew her black long locks out of her face. It was a nice feeling. Shiorin bought some supplies that she needed at her usual shop. On her way back home she greeted some of the villagers who were busy with either work or repairs.

Masamune's request was still heavy on her mind and she still had no idea what to do. She spent hours just pondering and before she knew it, it was evening and it was dark outside.

Inside of her room, she did nothing. She didn't move and was just staring at the ceiling, tears rolling down her cheeks.

She felt absolutely pathetic, crying because she was afraid. Despite not knowing what exactly to expect on the battlefield, as she never experienced it firsthand, thinking of the possible scenarios made her stomach turn. It reminded her of her nightmares, in which she saw dead people all the time. The worst part about it was that she felt like she knew the dead people in her dreams. They were connected to her somehow, she felt it. Though for some reason, she could never identify their faces. She could never remember them when she woke up. It made her extremely sad.

All of these thoughts made Shiorin think of her cousin as well. How could she have accepted to join the army so easily? Was she not afraid? How was she so brave? It was at that moment that Shiorin had wished that she had a little more spine, just like her dear cousin. Maybe then she would not fear death and maybe, she would actually make a decent soldier.

However, she doubted that would ever happen.

She had to make Masamune leave without her, somehow. She knew he was determined to have her among his ranks, but she just couldn't agree on that. There are probably hundreds of samurai out there who are stronger than she will ever be.

With a deep sigh, Shiorin sat up and then scrambled off her futon.

She had to talk to Masamune. He did say he needed an answer by tomorrow morning, so it would be best if she'd go tell him her thoughts as soon as possible.

The young woman rushed outside and was on her way to the Date army's camp. She did have to figure out which of the tents would belong to Masamune Date, but that shouldn't be too hard.

As she arrived she looked around and spotted the largest tent out of many others. That was probably the dragon lords'. Shivers ran through her spine again as she slowly walked towards it.

Some of the guards did notice her, but they merely stared at her, or either sent her a sneer as they whispered to one another. Shiorin couldn't hear what they were saying, but she figured that Masamune informed his guards beforehand that she would arrive.

Once she was in front of the tent, she reached out to open it, her hand on the fabric, lightly clenching it. Her heart was pounding in her chest and she found herself shaking again.

'It's now or never…' She tried to encourage herself. She remembered how Masamune warned her about the unpleasant measures he'd take if she declined his offer or refused to answer him at all. She braced herself, before opening the tent and walked inside carefully.

She looked up and nearly panicked as she wasn't expecting the young lord to stand right in front of her, suddenly only a few inches away. With a hard gulp, Shiorin craned her head up to look at the man.

Masamune looked down at her with a smirk. He knew she would give in eventually.

"I see, a wise decision."

Shiorin gulped again, and opened her mouth and tried to muster, "I–"

He raised an eyebrow questionably. He didn't expect her to speak, considering a cat seemed to have gotten her tongue last time. It made the one eyed dragon chuckle inwardly. He decided to patiently wait for her to say what she wanted to say.

"I w-want you to leave this village!" She tried to raise her voice a little and raise her chest to compensate for her stuttering, trying to make her nervousness less evident.

Masamune just looked at her, his lone eye showing that he was obviously surprised by her response. Several seconds later this astonishment turned into irritation as he changed the tone in his voice, deep, menacing and demanding.

"What did you say…?"

He would almost commend her for finally growing some backbone, however the sheer nerve made him grit his teeth. This peasant woman thought she could refuse him? The first time that she did, he was absolutely seething with anger, but he let it slide because he understood that she was just a coward and sometimes, cowards need encouragement. Never had he thought that she would dare to just walk up to him in his own tent just to tell him to leave? The more Masamune thought about the situation, the more he wanted to reprimand her for her idiocy. It seemed that this woman had no idea who she was dealing with.

"Listen," The one eyed dragon narrowed his eye and walked even closer to her than he already was. "I think you are misunderstanding me." Whenever he took a step closer, the woman was taking a step back. He kept moving in so close that she felt as if he would walk right over her if she didn't back off.

Unfortunately, when she wanted to take another step back, she tripped over something, a piece of armor on the ground, and it made her fall right onto her butt. She yelped and stared up at the man before her in fear. Her heart was racing and she wished she could run, but she was sure that her legs had given in by now because she was shaking so much.

With a scoff, Masamune lowered himself, squatting down to meet her gaze and looked her dead in the eye. "I am not asking you to join me." He leaned in dangerously close and their faces were only inches apart. "I'm telling you to do so. It's an order. You cannot disobey me. Do you know why?"

Shiorin just kept looking back at him silently. She was frozen in place, too scared to move. She didn't even shiver anymore. What could she possibly do? Even if she tried to get up and run, he might still just shoot her. There is no way she could escape a bullet within close range.

"Because you are a filthy peasant, nothing more." The one eyed dragon figured that she would not speak, so he continued, "Someone of your stature can't possibly oppose someone like me. Your life is insignificant and your death would not make a goddamned difference in this land." Masamune slowly backed away. He kept staring at her harshly while standing up straight. "Do you understand what I'm saying?"

The young woman flinched at the lord's words. She would cry, as she felt her throat becoming dry and rather painful, but she tried to keep it together, and managed to stop her tears from falling.

"You have no choice but to obey me." He walked away from her, to a small table with some scrolls on it. Masamune focused his gaze on it while he kept talking.

"I know that you are afraid. It's obvious. You cower at every word, you stammer every time you open your mouth and lastly, your eyes speak volumes for you." The one eyed dragon turned to look at the small woman. "But Rin, do you really want to die in vain? Do you really want this war to continue on?"

She flinched again, her lips slightly parted as she wanted to say something, but she did nothing but gasp softly.

Masamune nodded. "I thought so." He walked towards her again. "Not only do I demand you to fight alongside me to enforce my army, I also demand you to grow some damn backbone and fight for your village!"

'My village…?'

A small smirk formed upon the young lord's lips. He noticed that she became slightly less tense as her shoulders lowered a little.

"That's right." He responded. "I guarantee you that even though until now your village has been spared, if this war continues on it might get destroyed completely, and no one will care about any of the villagers that got wiped out."

Blue eyes widened.

Masamune huffed. "Exactly. That's why I am telling you to obey me and pledge your allegiance to me. That is your duty, it always has been, from the moment you took it upon yourself to fight those damn bandits that attack your home. You cannot run anymore, because if you do, that means you are getting in my way of conquest, and if you get in my way, I will have your head."

Icy shivers ran down the woman's spine. The one eyed dragon was absolutely merciless. His words made her mind feel numb, yet they also made her chest hurt.

"Rin," Masamune kneeled back down and held out his hand for her to take.

"I demand you, join me."