No notes except content warning: Brutal murdering and angst.

Chapter 11

Finally the sun was rising, which meant that morning had arrived and that it was time to return home. The Date army was bound for Oshu. Masamune was very tired from their battle and he was sure that most of his men were equally fatigued, but he also knew that just like him, all of them were excited to be reunited with their loved ones again. He examined the campsite with content before their final departure. This was the moment all of the Date had longed for so badly.

Well, most of them anyway. Magoichi, who had just made his own preparations, watched his fellow soldiers chat. Some of them mentioned drinking at their favorite bar in celebration of their victory at Hasedo, others were full of glee as they talked about their wives waiting for them at home. The gunslinger was also very excited, mostly for them and for Masamune of course. For him, this all did not matter as much. He no longer had a real home waiting for him anyway, but that would not dampen his spirits, even though he had to admit that it stung a little when he thought about it. He truly missed his friends and his family. He also missed his buddies from the Saika renegades, but he figured that thinking about that now would do him no good.

Thankfully, someone else caught his attention. Look who finally popped out of their tents and made an appearance.

"Well, well well, if it isn't the little lady Rin." He exclaimed cheerfully as he watched her walk up to him somewhat slowly. Magoichi was genuinely happy to see that she was doing alright. At least, at first glance. "How are you feeling?"

In all honesty, Shiorin did not know how to answer that. How was she supposed to feel? She didn't know. She was very, very exhausted because she did not get a lot of rest after Masamune left her tent last night. She really tried to sleep, but she couldn't. All she did was cry, mourn, and rethink the young lord's words over and over again. She felt like something inside her was broken. All these years, she had lived without knowing a single thing about her parents and why they weren't there.

The longer she thought about it, the more Masamune's words started to make sense. She slowly became angry. Very angry. For one, she was furious because all the nightmares she suffered throughout her whole life were all caused because of one man. On the other hand, she was also seething because no one ever told her the truth. Not the villagers, nor her aunt, nor her cousin. Now, she did understand that it must have been hard on them to tell a young girl about how her parents were brutally murdered by a man who was simply insane. Though, she was mostly upset that she had not even known that they were dead in the first place. All this time, she had secretly hoped that her folks were still alive out there, somewhere. This hope however, was now shattered.

This very fact alone, left an unsoothable pang inside of her chest.

"Rin?" Magoichi asked once more, because from his perspective, all he saw was the young woman glare and stare in front of her while not saying a single word. It was a little bit unsettling. He figured that she had not completely recovered yet, which he honestly understood.

She was not that far gone though. Repeating her name was enough to make her temporarily snap out of her thoughts. Her sapphire blue eyes finally connected with Magoichi's darker ones, and she replied, "Better."

The gunslinger let out a relieved sigh. The woman speaks! He believed he didn't hear her say a word since they got off that horse during the Hasedo siege. Then again, before he knew it he had a fight on his hands and she had left his side, but he didn't want to recall that part for obvious reasons. He sent her a gentle smile and reached out to put his hand on her head, a playful gesture.

Shiorin flinched ever so slightly, because she didn't expect it, but she didn't make a fuss of it.

Kojuro walked up to the scene and immediately remarked, "Don't forget, Saika, you are no longer allowed to monitor her." Because obviously, he failed to do so once, he will fail to do so again.

Magoichi just scoffed. "Yeah, yeah, I know. I am aware. Though, if I am suspended, who else is going to do it?" He asked genuinely.

"I am." The man answered dryly while adjusting his spectacles.

This caused both Shiorin and Magoichi to stare at him in confusion.

"Excuse me, but how are you going to do that when you are supposed to be the lord's 'right eye'." The gunslinger mused while asking out loud.

"It is only a temporary decision. After all, this will only be the case for the trip to Oshu. This does not apply to actual battles. By then, we will need to find another solution. Such is Lord Masamune's order."

Shiorin stared at the man, then said softly, but loud enough for both her superiors to hear. "I won't run away again." Her eyes showed certainty. It was not that she magically stopped being afraid now. No. She was still scared and honestly, she did not want to get confronted with death ever again. However, she could not run from her fate.

That and there was no longer any point to it. Up until now, she had spent her life being afraid of her nightmares and the uncertainty of death was her biggest fear and always had been. Now that she knew that her nightmares were not just visions, but in fact a product of her past, it made her feel very different about it all. She did not know how to describe it. On one hand, she felt empty and lost. On the other hand, she felt complete. The missing pieces from her broken mind became whole. It was a painful process and it was horrifying. Whenever she thought about it, she could still clearly see the brutal deaths her parents had suffered.

But she no longer needed to run from it.

Magoichi and Kojuro looked at each other for a moment. Neither said a word, but they just nodded to the young woman.

Eventually, preparations for departure were made and the Date army was ready to leave for Oshu. Horses' saddles were packed and carriages were filled. Masamune made sure his troops were in formation, then moved to the back, beside Kojuro, who would be in charge of supervision and protection of their lord. Shiorin was seated behind the spectacled man. Then it was time for the one eyed dragon to give the signal and the Date army began their march to home.

While on horseback, Kojuro softly muttered to the young woman who was tightly holding onto him. "I think it is about time that you learn cavalry yourself." Because after all, a soldier who cannot even ride on horseback by themselves was a little bit ridiculous, but he figured that he could not blame a peasant for something like this.

"I'm sorry." Shiorin apologized. After all, she had already caused so much trouble. Not that she ever chose any of this, but in all honesty, now that she knew about her past, she felt all the more lonely. Her aunt had left the village and her cousin had left her to serve another army. Shiorin had literally no one else left. Of course, some of the villagers looked out for her and even their blacksmith did a lot for her when she was still at home. However, these people were not her family.

The Date army was all she had now, as weird as it might sound. These men were now her home as she would most likely, never return to her village again. Or at least, not anytime soon. This thought made her heart ache.

Kojuro merely scoffed. What was he supposed to do with this woman? He figured he should try and reassure her a little bit, after all, he was not as cold as some people would think him to be. Just like his lord, he too did not like to see people suffer. Whether they were commoners or not, they were still people.

"There will be more than enough time to do that in Oshu. For now just make sure not to fall off." Well, it was his way of attempting to reassure her at least.

The young woman did not reply to him, but it did not matter.

The rest of the trip continued in silence. The other soldiers were chatting during their march, most of them discussing the events in Hasedo, others relived memories of their home. After several hours, the Date army took a short break before resuming their advance.

At the end of the day, the sun was setting and it was a sign to the army that it was time to set up camp yet again so that they could continue their trip the next morning.

This was what the following three days looked like for the Date army. Advance, set up camp and leave again for the next destination. It was a very tiring process for all of the soldiers, considering they only recently fought against the Uesugi clan. Despite their victory, it was not like they hadn't suffered any casualties at all. A lot of soldiers had to recover from their injury all while traveling and carrying their equipment around, but that was what life was like for a man of war after all. None of them complained, as they had lived to see their home once more. It was what drove them.

On a fateful evening, it was once again time to set up camp. Masamune ordered his men and gave them the necessary instructions.

Rin was also doing a lot better now, or at least, it looked like she was. He was happy to see as much. An amused smirk spread on his face as he watched the woman from a distance. It seemed that she was trying to help one of the injured soldiers carry some heavy equipment to their side of the camp. The soldier in question refused at first and shook his head, but when the woman lifted up all of the load without breaking a sweat, the man's eyes almost popped out of their socket. Maybe she had gained a little muscle as well considering that in order to wield her type of weapons, you probably needed some type of strength besides musou alone. It was still a funny thought considering her small size.

"My lord!" A young man's voice called out and it made the dragon's head perk up, only to see one of his men, Hisahiko Tateoka, run up to him.

"Ah, Hisahiko." He smiled at the man, who was only a few months younger than Masamune himself. "No need to bow your head so low. I have yet to commend you on your last performance at Hasedo castle. Kojuro has spoken highly of you."

Hisahiko cleared his throat. He was happy with the praise, yet he could never respond properly to it. Especially not when it came from their Lord himself. "Thank you, my lord. However, could you please forgive me for my insolence. There is something I need to speak to you about."

The one eyed dragon raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

The soldier moved closer to Masamune, and whispered, "I think setting up camp here might be a little dangerous."

"Why? Is this place any different from the other spots we set up camp at before? I think it is late now to move though. If we break off camp now, we won't make it before dark to our next destination."

Hisahiko just shook his head. "I am aware, my lord. However, that is not necessary I think. It is just that I happen to know these roads. If I am correct, we should be in the Miharu domain right now, right?"

Masamune nodded while listening to what his subordinate had to say.

"I used to live in a village nearby. My father, who used to be a merchant, often traveled these roads all for the sake of delivering his wares. However, he was often attacked by bandits." The young man noted.

"Hah." The dragon just shook his head. "I see, you have done well to inform me, Hisahiko. Do not worry about such trivial matters though, there is no possibility of me nor any of our men being bested by their sort."

Hisahiko looked at his lord in relief. He was probably right, but still, while his father was capable of paying adequate guards to protect him, his life almost ended one day, all because of those bandits catching him off guard at night. That is why the young male wanted to warn the dragon, just in case. If only his lord would watch his back properly.

Masamune showed a reassuring smile, then patted Hisahiko on the back.

Once all the tents were made, and equipment was settled, it was time for the men of the Date army to eat. The cook had made a simple dish, a hot chowder, perfect to make anyone regain their strength with a simple bite.

Most of the men were sitting in groups by a fire. Some by their tents and others decided to take a stroll not too far from here.

Magoichi decided to join Kojuro and Masamune at their set up table. "Well, well, well! If it isn't my lord and his right hand himself." The gunslinger grinned as he sat down with his bowl of chowder.

The two nonchalantly greeted him. The dragon however, had a small smirk on his face. "Maybe I should follow your example for once. I wish I could be as laid back." He had to commend Magoichi for being the way he was. While some would see him as just a womanizer, he was one of the most level-headed men that Masamune knew. Sometimes, he envied the gunslinger for this.

Said gunslinger just grinned at Masamune in response. "What can I say? It is a talent."

Kojuro just shook his head at the absurdity, but he immediately got Magoichi's arm around his shoulders. Great.

"Come on, Kojuro. Lighten up, will you? We just won a big battle against a big clan. We are allowed to relax after our great achievement, no?" He shook said man, which caused his spectacles to slide off his nose.

"Saika, let go of me." He warned, but the gunslinger would have none of it.

"Come on, Kojuro. Here, you should eat some more." He lifted the bowl of chowder and brought it close to the spectacled man's face.

What in the world was happening to him?

"Hold on a second, Saika. Are you drunk?" The sudden scent of alcohol lingered as soon as the gunslinger suddenly was only inches away from him. Kojuro frowned. This explained a lot. Hell, where did the man even find alcohol? Did he have that on him all this time?

Masamune however, finished his own food and got up from his seat. "It is time for me to rinse the fatigue off me. I will be back later." And with that, he left poor Kojuro with the drunk Magoichi.

"My lord!?"

It has been God knows how long since Masamune last took a proper bath. The need to wash himself was great, thus, he went out of his way to find a nearby place to do just that. Of course, he could not guarantee that it would be easy, but as long as he would not stray too far from camp, it would be no problem. All he had to do was find a nearby river where the current was not too strong. So far, he did not hear any water run though, so he probably was not even close yet. No matter.

He walked for quite a while, until a noise made him stop dead in his tracks. Unfortunately, it was not the sound of running water, but the sound of rustling leaves.

The dragon quickly turned around and darted towards the noise, but it was only when he tried to reach for his sword that he realized that he did not take any weapons with him. A foolish mistake. What should he do? Returning back to camp just in case seemed like the most sensible option, so he immediately turned towards the opposite direction as fast as he could. He looked up at the sky. Apparently, he had been away for quite a while. The skies were dark and all that illuminated the way through this forest were a set of stars and the crescent moon. It was a beautiful sight, however, the dragon had no time to admire it. If he listened closely, he could tell that he was being followed by someone.

Assassins? Possibly, but foolish. If any clan out there was trying to assassinate the one eyed dragon, all hell would break loose for them. He doubted that Kanetsugu would try something so insolent after their agreement. Neither would Ieyasu, because there was not a single possibility of him wanting to eliminate his strongest ally. Not until his opposition was still fighting their own battles.

Then, who could it be? Perhaps whoever was chasing him was just a foolish thief. Which would make matters less worse, but actually it would become a huge problem if he were to come to harm. After all, he was unarmed and while the dragon surely was not incapable of fighting without his weapons, it would be a problem if they came after him with any type of blade.

Masamune gasped as he suddenly felt himself lose his footing and with a harsh thud, he fell to the ground. What in tarnation?

He quickly turned onto his back and tried to gaze at what just attacked him, but nothing seemed to be there, until he spotted a tightened wire tied to a tree. Did someone just place a trap here? It wasn't there before and he was sure that he went the right way.

Unfortunately, the one eyed dragon was right. In fact, what he did not realize up until now, was that he had been followed ever since he left the Date's camp. It all suddenly made sense when a rugged looking man suddenly appeared from behind one of the trees and attacked Masamune with a short knife. The cheapest trick in the book, but who was he to complain.

The dragon quickly rolled out of the way and got up in a swift motion, trying to push against his assaulter so that the latter would trip over. It worked and before he knew it, Masamune was on top of him, making sure that he held down the hand that was holding the knife.

"State your business, you imbecile. Do you have even the slightest idea who I am?" Masamune glared down at the man, who tried to glare back just as hard.

"I know who you are, Masamune Date. You are the scum of Japan and you are ruining this country."

Ah, so it was just one of those people who believed that the one eyed dragon of Oshu was just a mad man. Masamune would almost pity him for being misinformed, but he was also very angry at the fact that this imbecile was attacking him in the least subtle manner possible. Did this idiot really think he could assassinate a ruler of his stature with such a pathetic attempt? It was actually an insult and honestly, Masamune considered it as such. If it were just another bandit or pirate, it would have been even more acceptable than this blasphemy. This was just sad. Now imagine that if the young lord actually managed to let this fool succeed.

This thought alone made Masamune literally sick to his core.

Then again, something did not add up.

If this man before him was truly just a commoner who happened to hate him, how come he knew about his army's whereabouts? It couldn't be just a mere coincidence, could it? Did this man just happen to find the dragon and his army out here, in the woods? That did not make any sense at all. Surely, someone made him do this. It was time to get some answers.

The dragon raised his other hand and clenched it into a fist before swiftly bringing it down onto his assaulter's face.

"Who do you work for?"

The man just glared. His rotten face smirked smugly. It angered Masamune to no end, so he decided to land another blow on the man's face. A tad violent, yes, but he had all the right to it.

"Tell me."

"Unfortunately my lord, I am in no position to give you such information. I would rather rot under the ground." The assaulter confidently stated.

This insolent bastard. Obviously, death did not scare him, that much was obvious. No, fools like this deserve to get tortured until they suffer and whimper and beg for forgiveness. If Masamune only had his guns with him, he would make sure to put a bullet hole or two through the man's hands.

The dragon was ready to compensate however, by landing another blow on his assaulter, however, the latter reacted fast this time.

He spat in Masamune's left eye, which made the young lord flinch in response as he gripped at his one and only eye.

The assaulter took this moment to throw the one eyed dragon off him and to the side. He immediately got up, tightly gripped onto his knife and kicked the young lord in the stomach, which made the latter cry out in pain. The second time however, knocked some air out of his lungs and his breath hitched as his assaulter kicked him again and again.

"This. Is. For. The. Hatakeyama." The man said in between kicks. Then realization sunk in.

This was not an assassination attempt by someone of an opposing clan. This was an angry clan survivor. The Hatakeyama were one of the clans the Date used to be affiliated with. They were also the ones who kidnapped his father and it was because of them, that Terumune Date was dead.

Of course, Masamune gave the order for many of the clan to get shot that fateful night, but they had it coming. They had always opposed the dragon's campaigns, it would not come as a surprise to learn that even until this day, they would still bear hate against him.

The Hatakeyama survivor did not stop attacking Masamune and he kept on going, until he finally let the young lord gasp for air. He watched the dragon try to scramble onto his hands and knees, before slowly trying to stand. He wouldn't let him though.

This time, the one eyed dragon was met with a harsh headbutt which knocked him right onto his back. The young man hissed in pain while his assaulter just stared at him and slowly walked up to him.

"This is the end of the dragon's reign…" He said quietly while he spat again at the young lord before bringing his foot down onto the dragon's arm. He used full force and it caused the young man to cry out yet again.

Masamune could not believe that this was happening to him. Of course, he figured his many enemies would eventually try to attack him at some point. Hell, he would consider them fools if they would not even try, however, he did not expect it to happen like this. In the middle of a forest while he was unarmed and initially, unaware. It was pathetic and now he could not even fight back anymore. That Hatakeyama scum would stoop as low as this.

Said scum was ready to strike one final time. He looked down at the dragon, and prepared to aim his knife at the young man's throat. He slowly raised his arm.

It was all up to him now. A final survivor of the Hatakeyama clan. The other family members that lived, just gave up on their name and decided to let Masamune do as he pleased. Not him though. He was different. His name might be unknown to many, but it would not last. He would go down in history as the man who put an end to the Date legacy.

It was now or never.

Masamune expected this to be the end of him.

But that end never came.

His eye was closed because he had braced himself, so he didn't see what happened. All he could hear was a woman's scream, followed by a thud. The sudden weight of his assaulter disappeared off him, so the young lord figured something happened. He opened his one eye and carefully scanned his surroundings, only to be completely shocked by the following scene.

The Hatakeyama survivor was on the ground, whining and crying for his life. On top of him was a small woman, screaming and screeching incoherently, lashing out and beating down her fists upon the assaulter.

Rin had appeared out of nowhere and was attacking the Hatakeyama clan member with an expression Masamune had never seen on the woman's face before. It was, for lack of better wording, very unsettling to witness. She was wild and her movements seemed almost feral. It was only then that the young lord had noticed that she, for whatever reason, was not wearing any kind of clothing at all, leaving her skin bare for all to see. All she had on her were her weapons, her glove-like claws, which were now coated in Hatakeyama's blood.

"R-Rin!" He called out to her. However, she did not respond. The woman kept screaming and beating down his assaulter, who by now, stopped moving entirely. After a few more hits, he also stopped making any sound and Masamune assumed that this was it for him.

Even so, the woman did not stop for a single moment.

The one eyed dragon coughed and wheezed, trying to catch his breath as his sore, aching body made it hard for him to move, but he managed. Slowly, he got onto his feet and hobbled over to the scene.

"Rin…" His voice was weakened and barely audible above the woman's higher vocals. "That's enough. It's done." He grimaced a little as soon as he got close. The assaulter's face had become beyond recognizable because of the violence. Masamune assumed that she hadn't refrained from using musou either, though knowing that it could have turned out even worse than it already was while it seemed like she had lost full control, was a terrifying thought. Because if she indeed had held back this much, with all of this rage inside of her, then perhaps he didn't even know half of what she was capable of.

In any case, despite that he ordered her to stop several times, she didn't. So he figured he needed to yet again, calm her down himself. With what little power he had left, he dropped himself on his knees behind her, covering her eyes and her mouth. Just like he did the night when she found out about her past.

Shiorin kept thrashing about and screaming loudly, while he gently spoke to her, "That is enough. Look, you've saved me. You've done well..." Because in fact, she did save his life very unexpectedly. It was such a sudden twist of development that it confused even him, but now was not the time to dwell on it.

After a while, he suddenly felt wetness on his hand and he could hear the young woman sob quietly. This surprised the dragon, and he gently lowered his hand from her eyes and he gazed immediately into pools of blue.

He suddenly didn't know what else to say. What should he say? At least she stopped attacking the assaulter. Masamune didn't dare look at the battered body. It was slightly different from the usual deaths he witnessed.

The dragon lowered his hand more and his arms were wrapped loosely around her shoulders as they wordlessly stared at each other. He noted that her heart was beating fast inside her chest, he could feel it. Her gaze was panicked.

It was honestly such an awful sight. A woman with pale skin, completely bare covered in nothing but blood.

Suddenly, her quiet voice sounded, "H- he was going to kill you…"

Masamune looked at her and nodded.

The young woman continued, "But I couldn't let him…" Because after all, if Masamune were to die, she would yet again lose another part of her home. She couldn't let that happen. She couldn't take it. Of course, it was because of Masamune that she had to leave her village, but at the same time if he didn't take her from there, perhaps she still would not have realized what had happened in her past. That thought frightened her. Now she was part of this army and she belonged to it. If she would lose what she belonged to, she would have nothing left. She had to protect it at all costs.

In all honesty, Shiorin did not even remember what happened within that split second. Before she arrived here, she was washing herself in one of the nearby rivers. Though, when she heard a noise she decided to inspect it. She took her weapons with her, just in case and it had seemed that she was right to do so. She didn't really have time to get dressed once she saw what was happening to Masamune at the time. Almost as if on instinct, she rushed to the assaulter and from there her body moved on its own, without her really thinking.

Perhaps it was instinct. Perhaps it was because she was finally freed from the uncertainty of the dreams that haunted her and probably, will still continue to haunt her.

Perhaps it was because she was scared to lose him.

Shiorin did not want to think about what she would do if Masamune got killed in front of her eyes. She just did not want to experience it. Not again. Not this time. She felt like the one eyed dragon had controlled part of her fate, thus he held some sort of power over her. It scared her, but at the same time it made her feel safe now.

Because as long as he would be alive to yell at her and tell her that she was indeed strong enough, she wanted to believe in his words and wanted to keep being under his control.

As long as he would be alive, then maybe, just maybe, she could survive.

That night she had chanted his words over and over again and right now, those same words were repeating themselves inside of her head.

'Kill, or be killed.'

Masamune tried to get up, but his body wouldn't budge: It seemed like his assaulter had hurt him quite badly. Instead, he removed his coat and draped it across Rin's shoulders because after all, she could not stay bare like that.

He wanted to say more to her, but honestly he still had trouble trying to comprehend what just happened. He figured he could save this conversation for another moment.

Which was the right decision, because Kojuro and Magoichi arrived at the scene almost as if on cue.

The two men were shocked to see their lord and the young woman in such awful states. When they noticed the dead body, both of them quickly figured that something serious had happened in their absence.

Kojuro decided to tend to his injured lord and the young woman, while Magoichi requested help from the medics.

It was going to be yet again a restless night for the Date.

Psycho mode activated.