A/N: Be kind on me please. This isn't my first ff ever, but it's the first I've done in English. It's only my second language, my first being German. If there are any mistakes what so ever, or something I should improve, please tell me. I would treasure any advice you can give me!
Disclaimer: Neither Sengoku BASARA nor Inuyasha belong to me, they belong to their respective creators, I'm simply using them for my own amusement.
Chapter 1: Foresight
The rain fell to the ground in a constant rhythm with an angry fierceness. Yet, it was ignored by the man standing amidst the falling drops, unprotected and unyielding, swinging his sword around frustrated.
From some distance away, another man watched this scenery unfold, a worried frown plastered on his face.
Masamune-sama…
This man, who swung his sword like he wanted to slice the rain itself, was indeed the One-Eyed Dragon of Oushu, Date Masamune. Only a few days had passed since the battle of Okehazama. Kojuro knew, even though losing the head of Imagawa to Oda Nobunaga was part of his lord's restlessness, it was not the main cause of it. He was sure that Masamune had been reminded of that fateful night when the Devil King shot that gun.
That bastard of Owari took my Foresight.
In an instant, his blade sliced through the air again and for a split second, he saw the rain drops being sliced as well. Twice now had that Devil King taken something from him. He would get his revenge on that cocky bastard and take his foresight back from him!
"Masamune-sama."
He slowly turned around to face his Right Eye. He knew he didn't approve of how he was basically behaving like the child refusing to listen to anyone after being told ´no´ by his parents. He knew that, but he just couldn't find any other way to cope with it!
Before any of them could say anything, a third party decided to make itself known. Later on, he would vaguely remember having pity on the man for disturbing him while he was in a bad mood.
"Hello, the castle! The delicacy of Oushu, One-Eyed Dragon."
"What?" He didn't know this man, so how come he thought it smart to just waltz into the Dragon's den? With an bright red umbrella and such a colorful outfit it made his eye hurt.
"Your lovely guards at the gate told me I could find you here," the stranger said pointing back to the gate he came from to emphasize his point. More than irritated with his happy attitude, Masamune lashed out at him.
"If you're hungry, I think you want the teahouse." The stranger kept smiling though in a more awkwardly manner, scratching his cheek and mumbling something, though he could barely care less about it.
"What business do you have with Masamune-sama?" Kojuro asked. Apparently, he'd also had enough of this idiot. "You are in the presence of the Big Boss of Oushu, after all." Kojuro stared at the stranger like he expected him to launch a surprise attack. "It would be proper to introduce yourself first."
"Oh, sorry! My name's Maeda Keiji. Pleasure making your acquaintance." He pointed to the little monkey on his shoulder holding a leaf over its head. "This here is Yumekichi." The monkey squeaked and jumped to make his presence even clearer. As if their existence wasn't annoying enough.
"We have no need of a street performer here. Move along," Kojuro stated, clearly not in any way more pleased about this situation than his Lord. Unfortunately, the bastard was persistent.
"My word, this place is in lack of a woman's touch. Getting love to bloom here" He laughed "Gotta be one hell of a chore," Keiji said, completely disregarding the "invitation" to leave.
Kojuro stared at the man slightly wide eyed. Those words…
Masamune had heard him, too. Now, he was staring at the ground, his mind not on the same plane anymore…
A young boy, now closing in on his 13th birthday, upon which he would be declared a grown man and receive his new name. But that was not something he could be bothered with at this point.
Bontenmaru stood in the garden of his family estate and swung a sword around, his mind clearly not present. His claim as the next head of his clan was questioned due to his now missing eye. Even his own mother had turned against him! Speaking of which…
"Bontenmaru-kun, don't you think you've trained enough?" Bontenmaru turned to the speaker, standing on the porch that went around the estate. It was a black haired woman with long, wavy hair so black it would glow a bluish color when sun shone on it right. A bandage went around her head, covering some of that black hair and, more importantly, her left eye. She was dressed in a simple dark blue kimono, which pronounced the extraordinary blue color of her remaining right eye. He focused on his sword strikes again.
"If I slack off, they'll think I can't take my position seriously. They'll believe me to be a weak, undeserving son of their lord. I'm merely the second option to choose, now. If at all." His face adopted a deep scowl. "I'll prove to them all that I'm the only one who can unite Oushu and all of Japan."
"You don't need to prove yourself. There are already many soldiers and civilians who admire your devotion to your people. If the advisors of your father don't trust you, you can't trust them in turn, so when you become the next head you can simply replace them with people you can entrust your back to." The swings paused, though his face stayed turned away from her.
"Do you trust me?" The woman's eye widened in surprise.
"Hu?"
"Do you trust me? Would you leave the future of this domain to me?"
"Of course! I have seen that you're not just the reckless, weak boy the council likes to portray you as. You are caring and thoughtful to a fault and you always take the well-being of you subordinates into consideration!"
"Then can I make a request? I know I have already received more favors from you than I would ever be able to pay back…but I need to ask this of you." Now he faced her fully, looking straight into her eye, as if he was trying to find something there. "Please stay by my side. Tomorrow and the day after that, next year and the ones after that… I want to show you the world I will create thanks to all your efforts. I want to prove to you that I am grateful for you saving me," He grinned at her. The woman smiled kindly, touched by his words.
"I will stay by your side. Now and ever." She copied his grin before continuing. "I mean what would happen to this beautiful mansion without the touch of a woman? I won't have the Date mansion be a laughing stock."
They both laughed at that. Bontenmaru because of the lifted burden on his shoulder and the woman out of relief that her little lord had regained his happy self.
"I don't know what carnival you came from," Masamune finally deemed himself to answer. "But you're way too happy for my liking."
Bastard has no idea what he's talking about! He thought.
"Well, someone's gotta try and lighten the mood, right?" Keiji joked.
That little-!
"All joking aside, I've come here to propose an alliance." The angry glare on Masamune's face was immediately replaced with an expression of both surprise and confusion, though the general bitterness was too stubborn to leave quite yet.
"What? An alliance?" He repeated.
"My hope is to bring generals together in the united front," Keiji elaborated. "Then pit ourselves against the Devil King of Owari."
"Hu, that's what I haven't heard before. A street performer riding reign on a bunch of samurai."
"Er, Masamune-sama?" Kojuro tried to get his attention.
"What?"
"This man, he's the Maeda family's wandering rogue."
"Really?" Masamune turned back to Keiji, now with slightly more interest. "That makes sense. No wonder I thought your plan was beyond crazy."
"Yeah, well, crazy is kind of my thing. Point is, the time for squabbling over our petty differences is over. In any conflict, the more it escalates, the harder it becomes for those involved to see things clearly. That is especially true in war." Suddenly he slammed he giant sword including sheath he had with him with the blades end on the ground, his hands resting on the hilt near the guard. "Date of Oushu, Takeda of Kai, Uesugi of Echigo and Tokugawa of Mikawa will secure the eastern front. Then Asakura of Echizen, Azai of Oumi and as many of the western generals as we can get will surround Oda." He explained with a confident smile. "And I'll pitch in, too. Wherever I can."
It was silent for a while, the rain being the only one to keep up its music.
"Not one for brevity, are ya?" He looked out to the fields of the village. "Oda Nobunaga" He remembered his meeting with at the battle of Okehazama. The sound of the gun when he had shot Imagawa Yoshimoto. The realization about the truth of his Foresight's disappearance… "He's not just any old man."
"You've met the Devil King! Then you understand! A man of your skill-"
"A man of my skill," Masamune interrupted him. "Isn't interested in serving under someone else," he stated, facing him again.
This is my Foresight he stole from me. It's my battle and I won't have you mess it up!
"This isn't a matter of who serves whom. What I'm trying to say here-"
"Since it's clear you won't drop it," He interfered again and went into a fighting stance. "Make me see things your way." Keiji sighed.
"I really didn't come here looking to fight with you, but if it's a…some one-on-one you want, I hear you've got a great red light district."
"SHUT UP!" And he charged. Fast. His opponent didn't even have time to react before he was already there, intended to strike from Keiji's left side upwards to his right shoulder. Against his expectations, the rogue was able to jump back in time, causing only the red umbrella to be halved.
"Your way, then, One-eyed Dragon," Keiji consented, preparing himself.
"The hell is this?" Masamune asked, referring to the still sheathed sword.
"I heard many a tale of your daunting abilities. Figured keeping it sheathed makes it a fair fight."
How dare he! Making me look like a weakling!
"You won't like me when I'm angry," he growled, now every inch the dragon he was.
"What, are you saying you weren't already?" Keiji asked confused.
"Kojuro!"
"As always, Boss. Enjoy yourself."
Masamune charged again, running at his opponent in a half circle, ensuring he would be able to see every move by attacking him from his left. Keiji parried the blow with that monstrosity of a sheath and pushed him back, making himself free to attack. Which he did. With a high jump, he swung his sword downwards. Keiji's own strength combined with the force of gravity made the Dragon's arms shake under the sheer force. But he wouldn't give up so easily!
And so the battle went on with no one having the clear upper hand over the other. Finally, their swords clashed diagonally, freezing their wielders were they were, neither one able to move without risking his opponent's sword to end up in their throat.
"What is the point of ruling if you never find happiness?!" Keiji snapped. "Rather than bleed out on a distant battlefield wouldn't you rather perish in the arms of a loved one?"
Shut the fuck up, you shithead!
They jumped back, gaining distance from each other, observing the other's movements, trying to predict his next move.
"I would," Keiji continued. "The thought of Toshi and Matsu torn apart by war" He slowly unsheathed his sword, catching Masamune's interest some, and leaned it against his shoulder, making him appear lax, though his expression promised he was anything but relaxed. He was serious. "That is more than I can ever bear!" And blade met blade for real. "I know it must seem trivial to someone like you!"
He's trading on very thin ice, Kojuro thought.
"Why rule if not to make a better world? Where we are free to love and fight and laugh and cry, find happiness. A world where dying for-" Masamune broke through Keiji's defense and started to mercilessly put him under his onslaught.
How dare he. How dare he! HOW DARE HE!
Keiji tried to counter swinging his sword, leaving pink flashes behind, but Masamune jumped high into the air. Suddenly, the rest of the Dragon's Claws he had kept on the round, flew out of their sheaths and into his hands, leaving fearsome streaks of lightening in their wake. And he charged with a roar, befitting his title, fully set on incinerating this guy.
The entire area around them lit up in his trademark light blue lightening, morphing onto a giant dragon, soaring up the heavens.
Keiji's sword had fallen to the ground, his master sat a couple of feet away. Judging by the trails, he had been pushed back by the attack.
"Ow…" he moaned, before laughing up at the victor of their fight. The nerve this guy had.
"Sorry, flower boy. Go sell it someplace else." And with that, the One-Eyed Dragon turned his back to the Vagabond and left. Keiji tried to stop him, but when the Right Eye also turned away from him without even looking at him again, he gave up.
"Oh man…Though nut, indeed," Keiji murmured, majorly disappointed with himself.
"I have to say, Sir, I'm relieved," Kojuro stated. They were back in their castle in the assembly hall with Masamune casually leaning against a pillar supporting the building, looking out into the garden and Kojuro sitting in a proper seiza in the actual room, facing him. The rain had stopped some time ago, making way for the soft hues of orange and red of the sunset.
"About what?"
"At Okehazama, how you lost your courage when facing the Devil King."
"You ass. Enough with the sarcasm," Masamune interrupted, still not looking at him.
"Masamune-sama… Surely, you must have noticed it yourself," Kojuro tried to reason. "In that moment, you knew you could not die, that your position is such that you could simply not afford to. You came to realize this with every fiber of your being. You saw a man who carries the lives of his people upon his shoulders. Their pride, their future! You saw the ruler of a nation! I'm ashamed I did not notice it myself. Not until that strange Vagabond made me realize it. However, Sir, Keiji's challenge cannot go unanswered. The people of Oushu…and its entire army are prepared to follow whatever decision you make." Now, Masamune did turn his head to look at him, an expression rarely seen on his face plastered there.
"Kojuro…"
"As am I," he continued. "Since our first campaign I have been your Right Eye." He smiled. "And I always will be." After a short pause, he sighed and continued. "Though lately, it feels like all I ever do anymore is telling you what not to do."
Standing up, Masamue commented "Well, that's true." His back was now facing Kojuro, his eyes focused on the garden again. "Someone has to make a stand eventually. Not someone" A grin grew on his face "Only one man can. And that's me. I trust you'll have my back, Kojuro."
"Sir!"
You're gonna pay for making a fool of me twice. Imagawa I can overlook, but you're sure as hell going to give me back my Foresight, whether you want to or not! I ain't leaving you without her!
The next day, Masamune had gathered his soldiers, all geared up including horses, and ready to kick some ass.
"You boys ready?!" Masamune called.
"YEEEEEAAAAAH!"
"To Owari! We find Oda, take his head and bring back this Dragon's Foresight!"
"LET'S ROCK!"
"Alright. Then let's make some tracks!" And with that he spurted his horse into a gallop, leading the army, Kojuro slightly behind him to his left side and the rest following with cheer and war cries. Somewhere in-between, Keiji was easily distinguishable with his orange-yellow attire amongst the blue.
"Time to roll the dice", he stated, completely relaxed in the saddle, his head leaned on his right hand, a content, but also anticipating expression stretching his smile from ear to ear. "And I'm all in with Oushu to try the luck of the whole country."