Hey, guys! Another chapter, another chance. It has been brought to my attention by Hazelnut Coffee Queen that retelling the episodes is boring to some of you and I apologize for that. I personally like stories like this so I hadn't considered it. I will try to skip the more unneccessary scenes, but I am going to include those with the Date Army since they are the most important characters here.
Chapter 4: Memories
The only thing that could be heard were Mitsuhide's cackling and, though much quieter, Masamune's enraged growls from behind his clenched teeth. His glare so dark, no one would have questioned his nickname.
"Nagamasa-sama!" Finally able to move her legs again, she ran up to her husband, but stopped, her hands flying to cover her mouth in shock, as she took in the damage done to her beloved. Crying his name again, she kneeled next to him and lifted him up, murmuring "Please, no…"
"Ichi…this is a field of battle," Nagamasa said weakly. "It isn't safe for you...here…" Disregarding his words, she hugged him tightly, unable to accept this cruel fate. Far behind them, the third round was getting ready. Mitsuhide's chuckling alone alarmed here of his closer coming presence.
"Thank you for your services, Oichi-sama. I do feel it is worth mentioning that you did not accomplish one of your objectives. Worked out in the end, though." Then, he addressed Nagamasa. "Oichi-sama's marriage into the Azai was the groundwork for an attack on Asakura." Shocked that he would reveal it all now, Oichi's head rose up to look at him. "Her role was seduction, of course. Not just of you but your top generals. To undermine your authority." Shaking her head desperately, she tried to deny it, but her tears proved the truth. Nagamasa's eyes, which had been focused on Mitsuhide as he spoke, now wandered to his wife. "Or so it was supposed to go. Oichi-sama was incapable of this, because like a fool, she fell in love. Like a puppet on a string, too proud to reveal her true self, yet to weak to carry out her secret mission." Feeling the tears about to fall, she faced away fromher husband, her eyes closed, unable to face him. All the while, his eyes never left her, unbelieving of what he heard and yet finally making sense of everything. "Because she decided to nurture her marital bonds, she brought about an even more tragic end for those closest to her now share in her misfortune. Beautiful to behold, rotten to the core, sister of the Devil King." Features twisting to a grim expression, Nagamasa spoke up.
"Ichi…have you…truly deceived me all this time?" Now the tears sprang forth as Oichi slowly opened her eyes as she spoke.
"Nagamasa-sama, I'm sorry. You and the people of Azai, you have deserved better! This is…all my fault… I'm sorry, so sorry!" Suddenly, there was a hand in front of her. Believing he would slap her, she jumped slightly, but instead she felt him stroking her wet cheek. The hand pulled her back to him, forced her to look him in the eyes.
"How you must have suffered." Brushing the tears away, he continued "You needn't need more any longer."
"Nagamasa-sama!" She cried, holding his hand to her cheek, when Nagamasa groaned in pain.
"Soldiers of justice, I'm…sorry. While perishing here is my deepest regret…I, Nagamasa, have upheld justice to my very last breath." Looking at Oichi again, he asked "Ichi, tell me I was not wrong, that all this was not in vain."
"No, my beloved, you were not wrong. You were never wrong." Nodding weakly, he smiled at her.
"Thank you…Ichi. I love y…" He went limb in her arms. Catching him before he could fall out of her arms, she cried out his name over and over, tears running relentlessly. Still behind her, Mitsuhide chuckled.
"Your weeping, Oichi-sama, is music to my ears."
Having witnessed all that, Masamune picked up Nagamasa's now broken helmet.
"Kojuro…"
"Sir." Focusing his gaze on the creepily smiling general, Masamune wordlessly handed the helmet over to his Right Eye.
"Boss, what are you…?" He tried to ask, but deemed it futile as Masamune was already walking away from him, not listening to anything he might have said.
"We meet again," Masamune growled, his glare burning into his opponent. He just laughed.
"Crushing of the people's battles is getting to be your specialty. And to think not a single round hit you. You seem to be extraordinary lucky."
"I don't know what aftereffects he might suffer in the future. I have never tried this on a person, after all," a woman's voice echoed. "Other than fighting the poison it might give him further resistance and durability as far as wounds are concerned."
Masamune narrowed his eye as that particular memory surfaced in his mind. It wasn't originally meant for his ears. The owner of the voice had said this to Kojuro, something he had unintentionally overheard.
"You serve the Devil King…" You must have the answers I want…!
"Masamune-sama, don't do this, Sir!" Kojuro tried to stop him, the helmet of the fallen general held securely in his right arm.
"He was your shield, he fought for you! You gunned him down from behind like a rabid dog! This regression will not stand!" Mitsuhide once again laughed, this time much louder, like someone had told him a very good joke.
"I see you're angry, One-Eyed Dragon." He brought his scythe up, ready to fight. "Shall we have a little fun?"
"You're on!" And then, he charged. Mitsuhide's scythe took on the blow and kept it from advancing any further. "You freak, what the hell is with the drunk look on your face?!"
"My dear boy, I'm savoring the afterglow."
"What?"
"Nothing in the world gives me greater delight than troumling the steadfast bond between two lovers. The only pleasure that could even compare" Mitsuhide threw off Masamune's sword and jumped away from him in a high backwards somersault. He landed a couple of feet away from Masamune and then continued, all the while stroking his scythe. "Would be a worthy opponent, drenched in blood and tears, groveling at my feet for his life." Looking up from his scythe to the single eye of the Dragon, he added "Although torturing a captured dragon for information wasn't so bad either." Masamune's scowl made way for shock and disbelief.
No…! Mitsuhide's expression contorted into a taunting grimace.
"Now, let the festivities begin!" And with the look of a crazed man, he ran at Masamune, saliva flying from his mouth, his scythe swung around with no real strategy behind it to be seen. At the speed of the strikes, Masamune could only parry them, unable to predict any due to the random attacks.
This bastard… He knows something!
He was only vaguely aware of the ruckus to his right side, where Tokugawa and the joined forces were still fighting, but upon hearing dozens and dozens of gunshots and shortly following huge explosion did manage to draw his attention enough to make him inspect his blind spot with his valuable remaining eye. Though his opponent did not give him much time as he giggled again.
"With that, the eastern lands are crippled. Right for extinction any given time." Unwilling to hear anymore such nonsense, Masamune jumped high to crush Mitsuhide with an downward swing of his sword, but once again, Mitsuhide catapulted himself out of harms way like it was all a game to him.
"What's wrong, One-Eyed Dragon? I expected more from a general out for revenge for his beloved pet dragon. So, are you going to dance for me or not?" Cringing, Masamune kept himself from making Mitsuhide's head say 'Good bye" to its body.
"Nice speech," Masamune joked, though he felt like vomiting right there. "You could be hell's gatekeeper." Because that's were I'll send you! He was just about to grab his Dragon Claws when Kojuro came up next to him and stopped him, the helmet now gone.
"Masamune-sama, give the order to withdraw!" Masamune turned to him, not quite believing his ears. "With that many firearms trained on us, if we face them head-on, we'll be wiped out!" he stated, referring to the arquebus core still standing behind Mitsuhide,waiting for hisorder to shoot. Ignoring Masamune's annoyed huff, he continued. "As your Right Eye, I will share the shame with you." Mitsuhide cackled in glee. His hand shivering over the hilts of his Claw's for a moment, he growled in defeat.
"Damn it, sound the retreat." The soldiers did so, but with obvious reluctance and angry expressions. Many of them started leaving, uttering curses to the Oda faction.
"I suppose we'll hold fire," Mitsuhide chuckled. "It just doesn't seem…sporty." Masamune was still producing an rather impressive growl and his gaze alone would have been enough to kill the sick general thousand times over, if eyes had that kind of power. "Oh, I almost forgot!" Mitsuhide spoke up again, causing Masamune and Kojuro to go tense. "I've prepared a little souvenir for you. I would not want you to forget this little fight we had, after all. And it would be rude to refuse it since I have put so much work into it."
"We don't want it. Please keep it," Kojuro immediately answered, keeping Masamune, who was again about to charge at the man, at bay.
"Oh, but I was led to believe that this originally belonged to you. We…borrowed it from you and now, we're returning it to its owner since we don't have a use for it anymore." Behind the arquebus core came some uneasiness up. Mitsuhide grinned. "You have my heartfelt thanks for allowing us to keep it." The arquebus core parted to reveal a large number of people carrying a long piece of cloth by holding onto the longer sides of it from both sides. On the cloth laid a dragon. The dragon from the Oda encampment. Eyes still closed, though in the sunlight one could see the dried streams of blood flowing down from them. They had most likely been gouged out. The slightly parted mouth revealed a missing tongue. The head alone was at least as long as Mitsuhide was tall. Its long body needed to be carried by more than twenty people on each side, legs dangling to the ground as well as the tip of its tail.
"BASTARD!" Masamune seethed and fought against Kojuro, who now had to put his entire bodyweight to use in order to keep Masamune from running into his death.
"Please don't do this, Masamune-sama! We must not act rashly now! Kaminari-sama needs us right now!" Then he turned to the soldiers, who had not yet moved to retreat. "What are you all waiting for?! Call as many men as you can back and secure Kaminari-sama!" The second he closed his mouth, shouts became loud, repeating his order and moments later, the carriers had been replaced as the soldiers hurriedly carried the dragon to their army, where they were immediately surrounded by the unoccupied soldiers, now acting as their guards. "Masamune-sama, we must retreat now! Kaminari-sama needs to be tended to!" Growling, with his gaze piercing Mitsuhide, most likely with the most horrific way to kill him in his mind, he grunted his unwilling agreement. They got back on their horses and led their army away from Nagashino, completely disregarding the broken Oichi still kneeling there with Nagamasa's corpse. Their only concern was making sure that Kaminari's transport was never unguarded from any side. This was in no way anything they might have imagined this battle to turn out to be like.
"Masamune-sama…" Kojuro murmured. He could only imagine what must be going through the Big Boss of Oushu right now. After all what Kaminari had done for him…
"Masamune-dono!" A voice called. Alarmed, the soldiers looked over their shoulders to see the intruder, though they kept their horses going. "Date Masamune-dono! It is far to Oushu! Come to Kai, you can rest there!" Yukimura called. Not wasting any time, Kojuro spurred his horse to ride next to Masamune, knowing he wouldn't go willingly all too soon.
"Masamune-sama, let us take the Takeda Clan's offer. We have many injured, not to mention Kaminari-sama." Masamune didn't respond. "Masamune-sama?" This was not like him…
Suddenly, Masamune's body swayed and he fell straight off the horse. At first, nobody even realized what had happened and the troop came to a sudden and confused halt when they did.
"Masamune-sama!" Jumping off his horse, Kojuro ran to Masamune who now laid flat on the ground, arms outstretched. The others were calling out to him as well, but Masamune was unconscious and didn't respond. Finally, Kojuro was at his side and was about to look what was wrong when he noticed something wet on his gloves as soon as he touched Masamune. He lifted his hand to see the entire palm of his hand bloodied. Masamune's blood.
At the Takeda residence, they found that the wound came from a bullet that had hit him in the gut. Masamune was placed in a large room with a expensive looking armor in it. His futon was in center and on Kojuro's order, the dragon was carried into the room as well, where she now rested, her body curled up to fit into the room. Masamune's helmet, swords and armor were placed at the head of his futon and the dragon's head was next to the items like it wanted to bar Masamune from the expansive armor's sight, which was sitting like there was someone in it and looked onto Masamune, who would appear to the armor upside down. Kojuro had taken the liberty of asking for a hot water and lots of cloth, which he used to clean the dragon himself. Now that it was free from the fresh and dried blood, its magnificent black scales and fur shone in the candlelight.
Kojuro, with nothing left to do to keep his head occupied had sat himself next to Masamune's bed.
"How did I not notice you've been struck by an arquebus?" He chastised himself. "I pled myself I could stop your fight with Akechi." He felt his frustration grow within him. Frustration for himself. "As your Right Eye, I should have seen it!" He was thrown out of his self-hatred as he heard a loud noise from just outside the shoji-screens. Stomping over, he threw them open, revealing Yoshinao Bunshichi, Magobei and Samenosuke looking back at him, clearly startled from being discovered.
"Masamune-sama will be fine. Kaminari-sama hasn't shown any signs of life, but she will eventually recover as well." Sighs of relief came forth from all four of them. They hadn't heard anything of their Big Boss or the dragon, so hearing this was a great relief. "Enough! Quit moping and make yourselves useful! Gather all our able-bodied men and get out there! Follow Takeda's example and tend to the injured no matter what family they claim!"
"H-Hai!" And they ran off. Kojuro watched them go as he noticed Shingen and Yukimura approaching from the other side than the one the retainers had taken off on. He let them inside the room so that they could see the amount of damage for themselves.
Once again sitting next to Masamune's futon, he bowed to the Takeda Clan's two most important members.
"For your hospitality, I must thank you."
"It seems he is no longer at death's door," Shingen commented, inspecting the injured man, arms crossed over his chest. "But he has lost quite a lot of blood, my people are preparing something to pour down his throat. It should help him. But I'm still concerned about that dragon…"
"Again, my thanks. And don't worry. I know for a fact that Kaminari-sama will survive." This time, Kojuro bowed even deeper than before.
"Right Eye of the Dragon, do you resent our use of Date's army as the spearhead in our attack?"
"We have always acted of our own accord," Kojuro stated, straightening himself. "From the start, our actions were unrelated. To yours and Uesugi's."
"There are generals who still wish to fight over land. And it is their hop that we ourselves fall as we defeat Oda." Standing up, Shingen added "However, there is one man… One who is not a general, who we have sent to speak to Mori and Chosokabe."
"Maeda Keiji…" Shingen nodded.
"With us allied at his back, he had planned to face Oda on his own. He had hoped to resolve the matter without bloodshed. A fascinating man. It's a shame he has squandered his talents for so long as a Vagabond."
"I assume he planned the opposite…" Kojuro said.
"Victory is pointless if it leaves us all completely spent. Time is short, but I would like to have Oda fully encircled, before we attempt this again."
"It will be most difficult to get Mori and Chosokabe to your side. Also, the idea of teaming up to defeat a common enemy is not the way of the Date! But" Kojuro paused and took a deep breath, before he looked to his right, where Masamune was still unconscious. "Necessity knows no law." With Masamune and Kaminari and their conditions, a victory against Oda would be nigh impossible. But knowing Masamune, he would still go for it, to avenge Kaminari. Having received the answers they wanted, Shingen left the Right Eye to tend to the dragons of Oushu. Yukimura remained in the room, having some questions left.
"Is there something you need, Sanada Yukimura?" Startled from his musing how to best ask for what he wanted to know, he looked up at the Right Eye.
"Ah, well… I was curious about that dragon…" Yukimura further pronounced his curiosity by looking at said dragon.
"You mean Kaminari-sama."
"Yes. I would like to gain a deeper knowledge of this creature. I mean…just how did you get a real dragon to work for you?"
"It's not that she is working for us but more like that we are enjoying her favor for Masamune-sama."
"'She'? You are saying that this is a female? To think that they would torture a female dragon like this!"
"Masamune-sama will most certainly demand revenge for it. He and Kaminari-sama have known each other since he was little and she even saved his life more than once."
"Unbelievable…I never would have dreamed of a dragon going so far for a human!"
"That's true. Needless to say, Masamune-sama is deeply indebted to Kaminari-sama. He once told me that even if he worked his whole life toward that goal, he would never be able to repay her kindness. Seeing her beaten up like this after she got captured under his roof must have strengthened that feeling."
"I know this is rude of me to say, but…will she pull through? She seems pretty lifeless to me."
"Don't worry. As I said previously, Kaminari-sama won't die."
"Alright then… If I may ask one last question?"
"Go ahead."
"Why is she called 'Kaminari'?"
"That is a long story, truth be told. First off, her full name is Aoi Kaminari."
"She even has a family name? But why 'Blue Lightning'?"
"I'm afraid you will have to discuss this matter with Masamune-sama. After all, he was the one to name her such."
"Date-dono named her?!" Kojuro nodded his head.
"He did, but that is not my story to tell. You're after all still the enemy, even if we're going to be allies in Oda's destruction."
"You're right. Hence why I'm all the more grateful for receiving the answers you most graciously gave." Yukimura bowed to the Right Eye to show his respect, before he, too, left said Eye to his thoughts. All the while, Masamune stayed oblivious to what was happening around him as he was being held captive by a dream. Or rather a memory.
"Come on, Kojuro! You gotta be faster than that!" Bontenmaru laughed. He and Kojuro were currently in a forest close to his family's estate. Katakura Kojuro had been appointed as his personal attendant only recently. The Clan hoped Kojuro would be able to put a stop to his wild nature. Little did they know that Kojuro practically doted on him and let him do as he pleased as long as it did not look too dangerous.
"I'm right behind you, Bontenmaru-sama!" Kojuro called from not too far behind the little heir of the Date Clan. Bontenmaru's eyes widened as he realized just how close Kojuro was and sped up. He wouldn't let him win this one, no way!
Suddenly, he lost his footing as something gave way under his feet and he fell down a hill through bushes and thicket. By the time he came to a halt at the bottom of it, his blue Hakama and white Kimono were all scratched up and dirty. He felt the familiar sting of scratches on his face and arms, too.
"Chichi-ue and Kojuro will scold me again…" As he tried to get rid of at least some dirt, he spotted something glittering through the thicket. Curiosity getting the better of him, he pushed the branches aside to see more. His face literally lit up with amazement.
There was a giant lake shining in the sunlight and as he stepped closer, he could see just how crystal clear the water was. But the lake was far too deep to see the bottom of it, clear water or not.
"Hu?" Strange, he could have sworn that was an eye he just saw in the depths of the lake. "Is someone in there?" He called out, though something in him knew that this place was far too serene to have been visited by humans frequently.
"Who…are you?" To say Bontenmaru was startled when a silent voice answered him. It sounded female and echoed slightly and seemed to come from the depths of the lake.
"My name is Bontenmaru," He introduced himself, though he immediately decided not to give away what family he came from. At least, not yet. "I'm sorry if I disturbed you. You see, I fell down the hill and then I saw something glittering and I just couldn't help it…" Amused chuckling kept him from brabbling on.
"It's quite alright. I haven't had a visitor in ages."
"Do you live here? All alone?" Bontenmaru hesitated before he added "In the lake?"
"Yes, yes and yes. You see -Bontenmaru-kun, yes?- my circumstances don't normally allow me to live among other people."
"Are you ill? We have good doctors." The voice giggled again.
"No, I'm not ill. I'm the picture of health, in fact. It's just that people are quick to suspect me of certain things and they usually end up trying to capture me or end my life."
"Eee? But you sound so nice! Nicer than those old men around Chichi-ue!"
"Thank you, Bontenmaru-kun. But people are just far too quick to distinguish monster and human."
"Do they think you're a monster? Why?"
"…Do you really wish to see?" The voice sounded sceptic, but at the same time it was filled with longing. Bontenmaru nodded.
"I do!"
"Will you run home and tell your people of what you found here?"
"No! You're so nice, I don't want anyone to hurt you!" It was silent for a few heartbeats long.
"You can't even imagine what those words mean to me." And then, the water grew uneasy, the water threw up mud, making it impossible to see through. A big bulge then grew as something big emerged and the water flew down from it. Bontenmaru's mouth was in a wide 'o' shape as the water revealed the head of a pitch-black dragon. Though he could only see the head, he could already tell that the dragon was only half as big as he would have expected a dragon to be like at most. The dragon lowered its head to be closer to him. Bontenmaru then realized that the head wasn't all that much bigger than his 7-years old body was tall, but the mythical creature would have no problem swallowing him whole. But as he looked up to the dragon's azure blue eyes, he somehow couldn't make himself believe that the dragon would try anything like that. Finding his courage, he spoke up.
"You're a dragon! That's so cool!" Standing on his tiptoes, he stretched out his hands, trying to touch the dragon.
"You're not afraid of me?" She asked as her head came further down to let him pet her muzzle.
"I was startled at first, but" He smiled up at her. "You really seem too nice to hurt anyone!" Her eyes widened for a moment before she closed them and remained silent for a while.
"I believe you should go home now. I can sense your friend looking for you."
"Oh no, Kojuro is going to be so mad!" Bontenmaru fretted. The corners of the dragon's moth lifted in what was most likely supposed to be a smile.
"In that case, it would do no good for you to be seen to scratched up, right? Hold still for a moment." She further lowered her head until her snout was gently brushing his head, her breath ruffling through his hair, causing him to giggle at the ticklish sensation. He then felt like he was bathed in sunlight as warmth filled him, but unlike the sun's rays, this sensation spread from the inside out, making him want to bask in it forever. But all too soon it was over as the dragon lifted its head again. Bontenmaru opened his eyes -when had he closed them?- and reached up like he wanted her to continue what she just did. It was then that he noticed that the numerous wounds on his arms were gone. Instead of going to the dragon's muzzle, his hands changed course to touch his own face. No stings, no hurt. Astonished, he looked up to the dragon's gentle blue eyes.
"Did…did you heal me?"
"Yes. Now go, before your friend assumes the worst." Remembering Kojuro, he hurriedly turned on his heel and ran back to where he could already hear the faint calls of Kojuro looking for him. But halfway across the meadow he paused in his run and looked over his shoulder to the dragon, who was already swimming back to the middle of the lake to dive back into its depths. Hesitating for only a second, he called out to the dragon.
"I'll come back soon, so be ready to tell me about yourself, okay?!" As if caught off guard, like she didn't expect him to stop and call out to her like that, she turned her head in his direction with slightly widened eyes. After a few moments she bobbed her head up and down, before she really did dive back into the lake.
"Bontenmaru-sama, where have you been all this time?!" Kojuro demanded to know as he looked the boy up and down to make sure he was unhurt, which he miraculously was, despite his torn up clothing.
"Sorry, Kojuro. I lost my footing and fell down a hill. Then I kinda got lost, I guess," Bontenmaru said, sheepishly scratching the back of his head with one hand. Kojuro smiled and ruffled through the boy's hair.
"As long as you're not injured, it's fine." Bontenmaru grinned.
I hope this chapter was more interesting than the last three. I sure had a lot of fun with the last bit of it. ^^ I had actually planned to put the entire flashback scene in this chapter until I realized just how long it is. ^^'
I know you probably have questions, but they will all be answered very soon, I promise!