First off, I'm terribly sorry it took so long! I've had one exam after another and this entire time I had been waiting for my laptop to be returned to me (which only happend today). I was happy to see that what I had already saved up for this story had not been deleted after all, my laptop had just randomly decided to save it in another file that I had no access to from my tablet.

Thank you to Aterina, Shiovaun and brizzy13 for following and favoriting and CurlyQue for following! Love you all!

Point outs to grammar or spelling mistakes would be much appreciated, as well as some feedback! ;)

Disclaimer: I wouldn't even be able to claim ownership if I were to make the original creators "disappear".

Chapter 7: Dragon-clad Warrior

Dealing with the Miyoshi Three was nothing if not a joke. Falling victim to their own trick was like a snake succumbing to its own poison. Pathetic. Kojuro had climbed the stairs, panting he had to support himself on his knees as he reached the top.

"Damn! I inhaled too much of it." He heard steps coming closer to him and held his breath, looking up at… "Matsunaga Hisahide!" Behind him, attached to pillars were Yoshinao, Samenosuke and Magobei.

"Good evening. I've been awaiting your arrival. I must say, I had hoped you were brought to me as a corpse. But I see you're not to be underestimated."

"I, Katakura Kojuro, am not called the Dragon's Right Eye for nothing!" Hisahide huffed, unpleased with the answer.

"Katakura-sama!"

"So sorry, Boss, we were careless!"

"Listen, sir, you can't do this! We'd love to be rescued, but Big Boss's swords are-…!"

"This will all be over soon," Kojuro interrupted Magobei. "Do not give up hope!"

"This is a surprise. That you actually brought the Six Dragon Claws here," Hisahide stated.

"I believe you made your demands clear."

"The One-Eyed Dragon is a rare man, indeed! That he would hand over his precious swords to save three common soldiers."

"Do not presume we're like other clans!" Kojuro shouted. "In the Date Army there are no common soldiers!" He further claimed, making the three retainers gasp. "If the day ever comes when we are abandoned in the battlefield, we will be ready for it!"

"I see. Why then, with the fate of the entire land in jeopardy, have you let yourself be caught up in this trivial matter and come all this way? If there was ever a time to abandon the men in fire, I think now might be good."

"That's easy," Kojuro responded, unwrapping the cloth with the swords from his back. "This is not where they were meant to die! We formed this clan of warriors in response to these violent times. I fully expect us to suffer casualties. However!" He added as he let the cloth fly to the ground. "I won't let one man die in vain, that is the way of the Date ad the will of Masamune-sama!"

"Boss, you can't…" Yoshinao weakly tried.

"Please, no…" Came from Samenosuke. But Kojuro wouldn't hear it. He threw the swords at Hisahide where they got stuck in the wood in front of him, forming some kind of passage for him, perfectly symmetrical with the hilts up.

"They're yours…for the moment."

"Katakura-sama!" Magobei cried out.

"You can't do this!" Samenosuke repeated.

"The soul of Date…in his hands?!" Yoshinao called out in refusal.

"Now these are my demands: Fight me!" Kojuro challenged. "If I win, you'll return both the hostages and the swords! If you can fight." Hisahide grinned, causing Kojuro to tense up.

"This should prove amusing," he chuckled as he descended a few of the stairs. "But it is not enough."

"What?!"

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

"This is all the Date Clan has to offer, if you want the Tiger of Kai's armor, go bargain with him!"

"Ha, as I thought, you misinterpreted my demands, after all."

"What the hell do you mean?" Hisahide's grin grew.

"'The Armor that needs no Shield'… I'm aware of the Takeda's family possession of such a treasure, but it was not the one I referred to in my demands." Kojuro's widened a fraction.

"What?!"

"I was talking about Date Masamune's armor. I'm not stupid, I'm aware of these swords' specialty. You were all too ready to use the swords, because you knew, even if your plan were to fail, you would still win in the long run. But you being in the Takeda household gave me a golden opportunity, so I made my demands concerning the armor I wanted a bit vague, fooling you into bringing it to me on your own accord, but in the end, he would not go so far to offer up his prized possession." Kojuro prepared himself, his left hand hovering over his sword's hilt. Hisahide smiled amused.

"Hold! Hold, I say!" The grin disappeared as both turned their attention to the staircase behind Kojuro to see the Young Cub running towards them, carrying a huge chest on his back. He came to an abrupt halt next to Kojuro.

"If you want the Takeda's armor, here it is," Yukimura called.

"Sanada!" Kojuro couldn't believe what he was hearing as he watched Yukimura set the chest on the ground.

"My name is Sanada Genjiro Yukimura. I come as proxy to Oyakata-sama, Takeda Shingen." He lifted the top from the box, revealing the armor inside. "Behold, the Armor that needs no Shield, treasure of the Takeda family, I invite you, Matsunaga Hisahide-dono, to verify its authenticy for yourself!" Hisahide lifted a hand to his chin as he watched delighted how Yukimura carried the Armor to lay it down an few feet in front of him and Kojuro.

"I never imagined both treasures would come together so easily…" Casting a quick glance over to the hostages, he continued. "But it's not enough."

"What?!" Yukimura was shocked. "These are the ransom you demanded!"

"Yes and no. I clearly asked for the Dragon Swords, but the armor I was actually speaking of is Date Masamune's which he dons for every single battle."

"Date-dono's armor? But then, why-…?"

"It was because I knew you would jump to incorrect conclusions and bring me the treasure of the Takeda. In the end, I would come into the possession of three great treasures I've long coveted."

"But what is so special about Date-dono's armor? And why describe it in such a way? If it was an armor that needed no shield, Date-dono never would've suffered such a wound!"

"The One-Eyed Dragon's armor's specialty does not lie in the defense from hostile attacks, that much is true. In the first place, it's main objective never was the protection from outside forces, but to protect the one wearing it from himself, or more accurately, these swords," Hisahide explained, indicating to the Six Swords to his sides. "These swords are not something you see on a daily basis, for they are forged from a dragon's fang." Yukimura's eyes widened, while Kojuro's narrowed. He knew far too much to his liking.

"A dragon's fang?"

"That's right. Of course, wielding a weapon of such eccentric origin should be nay impossible to the average human. Unless, of course, you wear the armor of the young Date. Whenever he heads into battle, Date Masamune is clad into dragon-wear from head to foot. Armor made from old shed skin, pressed together in several layers, clothes woven from the dragon's hair. Who would I be if I did not wish to possess it?" Yukimura turned to Kojuro.

"Is what he says about Date-dono's armor really true?" Kojuro's silence was more than enough for Yukimura. "I had no idea his armor held such power…"

"How the hell do you know all that?!" Yoshinao screamed.

"I have my connections. As the armor is not here, the swords might as well not be here as well, they are useless without the armor, after all. I won't even be able to remove them from where they are now." To emphasize his words, he reached out with his hand to grab one of the swords, but lightning flashed up from the hilt, making him recoil. The two other swords on the same side reacted as well.

"I don't understand…"

"These swords," Kojuro started. "Have somewhat of a consciousness. They differ between members of the Date and foes. In other words, anyone who does not see himself as a Date is a foe in the eyes of the swords and they will protect themselves. The armor protects the wearer from damage since the power of the swords is just so big even those deemed friends will end up hurt."

"I see…"

"Two out of the three treasures are beyond my reach…" Hisahide grinned, "Since I doubt you'll make it back in time to get the armor, I'll consider the deadline to be now." He snapped his fingers. The yard behind him with the hostages blew up in explosives.

"Katakura-sama!" They screamed out, before they disappeared in the destruction.

"Sasuke!" Yukimura called out in worry, but then there were explosives closing in on them, too, cutting them off from the armor, going off in a great fire. When the dust settled, the already destroyed temple behind Hisahide was burning brightly and Kojuro and Yukimura were laying on the ground, hit by the explosives.

Back at the Takeda mansion, Masamune's eye flew open as he once again came to. Groggily, he sat up, wincing as pain from his wound shot through his body, though it felt somewhat less painful than before…

A gentle gust of wind hit him from behind and when he turned, he was greeted with another one. Smiling, he reached up to pet Kaminari's muzzle.

"You finally awake, too?" Nevermind the fact that he had been sleeping himself until now. His eye traveled up to her eyes, which were glued shut with new dried blood. "Just what happened to you there?"

"They wanted information on the Date Clan, I assume," she shared her thoughts.

"So I guess your missing tongue's your own fault."

"Yes. I bit it off and as punishment, Mitsuhide gouged my eyes out."

"That sick freak…!" Masamune growled angrily.

"I can still sense auras, so I'll be fine, more or less. But they also cut the tendons at the back of my feet, so I won't be able to walk anywhere for quite some time."

"You being here's enough. I'm glad you're back," Masamune tried to cheer her up. He was rewarded by a gentle nudge with her muzzle. Suddenly, she froze.

"Someone's coming. I can sense an enormous aura closing in."

"Most likely Old Man Tiger." And sure enough, some time later did Shingen turn up.

"You took quite a beating. For a One-Eyed Dragon, I cannot imagine any opponent more formidable than his own Right Eye, attacking only from his right side," Shingen commented.

"It's nothing to laugh at."

"But he made sure to avoid direct hits to your gunshot wound. A rare and trustworthy man, indeed." A short silence followed. Not sensing any tension, Kaminari laid her head back down, as close to Masamune as possible and making sure she was right between Masamune and Shingen. Absently, Masamune started petting her head and going through her mane.

"Whatever." He cast a glance back behind him to where the armor had been. "You sent Sanada after him, I take it? The armor that was here, it's your family's most prized-…"

"It is needed elsewhere right now," Shingen interrupted, making Kaminari bristle for a second. Masamune turned back to Shingen. "A man who can do something, yet chooses to do nothing can never be a man who achieves greatness." He smiled. "Before long, we will bid farewell to these turbulent times and it will be you young men who carry on and define the era to come." A grin grew on Masamune's face, making Shingen look at him in surprise.

"You say that, but you're the kinda guy, who is gonna be throwing his way around forever. Or am I wrong?"

"No, that sounds like me, alright," Shingen agreed, laughing heartfully. Calming down, he continued. "On another note, I still find it hard to believe you actually managed to acquire such an astonishing creature."

"I didn't 'acquire' her. She came on her own, long after we met. She is our backbone, the reason I turned out to be the man I am."

"Sounds like a deep bond you two have." Shingen paused and became serious again. "Matsunaga Hisahide is the only general who has faced Oda in battle and been allowed breathing afterwards." He sat down on the porch with his back to the two dragons. "This could mean that he is under Oda's command and the Devil King ordered him to create some sort of diversion for us. That seems unlikely, though."

"Why you say that?"

"Matsunaga does not take orders."

"Then why did Oda let him live?"

"I could not say for certain. But…" He looked at Masamune from over his shoulder. "Perhaps when he found a rare cuckoo bird, he fancied keeping it in a cage." A menacing growl emitted from the blind dragon's throat. Seeing this as his cue to leave, he stood up. "Rest well for now, One-Eyed Dragon. The world still has great need of you." And thus, he went to leave.

"Takeda Old Man," Masamune called out. Takeda halted and looked through the partly opened screens at the One-Eyed Dragon, still petting the blind dragon, but focusing his gaze on him. "I will pay you back for this on the battlefield."

"After we defeat the Devil King, we can fight each other all the way to Kyoto." Grinning, he added "I know someone else, who wishes for that, too."

"Alright," Masamune grinned back.

After Shingen had left, Masamune went back to trying to calm Kaminari down.

"You know he didn't mean it, Kaminari."

"Still, it makes me angry, hearing that," she grumbled. "There's something else you should know."

"What is it?"

"Akechi Mitsuhide is not who you think he is." Masamune knitted his eyebrows together. "I don't think he recognized me, but I know it's him."

"Who?"

"Someone I met a hundred years ago. Back then we thought we had killed him. He and his brother were incarnations of the one who killed me."

"Then what would he be doing here?"

"I don't know. Back then, he was a really slimy little creature. No legs, sickles for hands, the head with long pale hair being the only human part of him. When we fought, he had a preference to either hide in the earth or his brother's stomach. He was too fast to see and attacked, trying to get a taste of our insides, especially mine. He and his brother obeyed no one but him. On his order his brother even attacked their creator." Masamune's expression contorted to a disgusted grimace.

"I'd always known that that dude was creepy as they come. What's his real name?"

"Kageromaru. His brother is Juromaru, though I'm not sure where he currently is."

"what about Nobunaga?"

"I don't know. He never came down to where I was being held."

"Life. Death," Matsunaga said, descending the stairs and approaching the armor. "All people repeat the cycle of being born and being broken. If you know that everything is temporary, do not resist what you desire, but take it, appreciate it and in the end, destroy it as freely as you wish." He bend down to pick up the armor, as Kojuro started to stir.

"Matsunaga…!"

"You're free to go, boy. I will gratefully accept the ransom you did manage to bring to me. The men you came to save are no longer. Fighting me will do you no good." But his words fell on deaf ears. Kojuro was glowing blue, lightning crackled around him in his rage. "Well, don't you look to be in a foul mood. I don't understand why you're so upset. I've obtained that which I desired. For the most part, at least. That is really all there is to it," Hisahide explained, brushing his hand over the helmet of the Takeda armor. Kojuro stepped closer, lightning still surrounding him as he unsheathed his sword.

"Damn you, Matsunaga…! Now, I'll show you how to open the gates of hell!"

"You clearly feel a need to take my life." Hisahide stood up from his crouched position and drawing his sword as well. "So be it. Take it as your desire dictates. It is the worlds only truth." Swinging his sword to the side, several black cladded men jumped in on the action, carrying huge bombs on their backs. Their war cries were empty.

Spinning his spear and thus creating a gust of wind, Yukimura blew the first few rows of them away, leaving them on the ground to gather their bearings, while more stormed forth.

"Never before have I fought anyone like these men," Yukimura stated both surprised and disappointed. "I sense nothing even resembling fighting spirit in them."

"That's because Matsunaga is paying them. He can't possibly have any loyal retainers." With that said, Kojuro, decided to make quick work of this and once again stuck his sword into the earth, before drawing his other blade, which caused an immense amount of lightning, scattering the men and making their bombs blow up uselessly in midair.

"Matsunaga, you're acting like a child throwing a tantrum!" Kojuro called out, running through the dust whirled up by the fighting. A few stray strands of hair had left his strict hair style and hung into his face. "It's time to send you to bed!"

"I hate to ruin your moment," Hisahide started. "But how do you think you can possibly win in your condition?" Startled, Kojuro froze where he was as, all of a sudden, his chest started aching and his throat burned, trying to get the oxygen the body needed. He fell to his knees. "The incense," Hisahide enlightened him. "Of agonizing death. A secret preparation I'm fond of. It grows quite lethal when combined with the poison you've breathed earlier." He charged and attacked Kojuro, though keeping his left hand behind his back, not deeming the situation important enough to use both hands. "You two cannot win!"

"Katakura-dono!" Yukimura called, running to his aid, but being blown off course by a bomb. As he flew, someone appeared behind him and caught him, carrying him off to a 'safe' place.

"Now that could've gone better."

"Sasuke!" Said ninja landed them safe and sound. "Are you hurt?" Yukimura asked concerned.

"Please, who do you think you're talking to here? Though it did get a bit dicey." They were distracted from further small talk by the clashing of Kojuro's and Hisahide's swords. They returned their attention to the battle in time to see Hisahide, now wielding his blade with both hands, forcing Kojuro to his knees, while Kojuro had to support the blade his right palm to avoid getting halved.

"Neither the Dragon nor the Tiger can afford to hold the tips of their tails too deep. A Devil devours all at his side they'll find it difficult to survive. Much less seize this country from his bloody talons, even against me, a withered, greedy, old hermit, you have no chance of victory!" Hisahide's blade inched closer to Kojuro's scalp.

"I'm sick of your pointless rambling!" Hisahide grinned, but was soon distracted by the Takeda ninja throwing little bombs at them, emitting some green gas. Yukimura stormed in and cleared the air from the dirt that had inevitably been whirled up. Not knowing the origin of the gas, Kojuro covered his mouth and nose, he was poisoned enough as it was.

"Katakura-danna!" Kojuro looked over to the ninja. "That smoke has the antidote! Breathe in deep!" Well, so much for that. He did as the ninja had told him and immediately felt his body lighten. Hisahide chose this moment to attack again, though he was blocked by Kojuro's blade. Exhaling, he growled, while the blue aura emitted from him again.

"You're mine now, Matsunaga." He assumed a fighting stance. "In the pitch-black nothingness of a single ray of light!" A huge gust of energy and lightning came forth, heading right for Hisahide. His face contorted to a fearful grimace as he had to realize that he wouldn't be able to dodge in time. Abd it hit him bull's eye, throwing him into the air and straight into the stone statue of Buddha, where he left a Hisahide formed crater in which he was now stuck in. he watched as Kojuro stepped closer to the statue.

"It's a shame, but someday you will fade from this world as well. For in the end, we all return to nothing."

"We will not just fade away. Though there is no way to know how long it may last. We will leave our mark on this world." Hisahide chuckled amused.

"There is no treasure you can take with you to Nirvana."

"You needn't worry. That isn't where you go from here. But I'll meet you in hell."

"Yes, you will," Hisahide agreed. "A brief farewell, then…Right Eye of the Dragon!" And a massive explosion went off right in front of Kojuro, engulfing the statue and the temple. Calmly, Kojuro sheathed his swords. Yukimura and Sasuke stepped up to stand slightly behind him.

"I'm in your debt," Kojuro stated.

"No, I'm as disappointed as you must be," Yukimura told it off.

"So sorry. It was all I could do to get out of therein one piece myself," Sasuke apologized, awkwardly scratching his cheek. He looked up to the burning temple and gasped. There was a silhouette standing up in the flames and then separating into three!

"Those are…!" Yukimura started.

"Katakura-danna!" Sasuke called out. Kojuro tensed up, ready to attack.

"MA-TSU-NA-GA!" A chorus of voices cried out angrily, making Kojuro falter. It wasn't HIsahide or some other minions approaching from the flames, but Samenosuke, Magobei and Yoshinao, all battered up, using logs for support to walk.

"Don't you even think you can kill us so easily!" Samenosuke...

"Yeah, what else you got?" Yoshinao…

"Big Boss's swords? You can't have 'em!" Magobei...

Getting over his shock and surprise, Kojuro just sighed. He should have known better. Exhausted, the three collapsed to their knees in front of him.

"You guys…" he grinned. There really was no army like their's.

"Katakura-sama!"

"Where is the bastard?" Samenosuke demanded. They looked around, but didn't see their captor anywhere.

"Aaghh, don't tell us…"

"Is it…over already?"

"It is." Disappointed about missing the action, they hung their heads.

"Still hungry," Magobei muttered as his stomach growled.

"Oh, man…!" Yukimura uttered.

"You've gotta be kidding!" Sasuke said in denial.

"Katakura-sama, we're so sorry," Samenosuke apologized.

"We are so ashamed, sir," Yoshinao added. Kojuro knelt down to be at eye-level, still smiling.

"You guys…did well." They grinned back at him.

"You're the one who said it, Katakura-sama," Samenosuke stated.

"This isn't the place where we were meant to die!" Yoshinao recalled.

"Not until the Big Boss conquers the whole country!" Magobei proclaimed. Kojuro's face softened.

"Yeah. That's the spirit." Laughing and joking they moved past this experience and made their way down the stairs. Yukimura approached Katakura, seeing this as a good opportunity to have some of his questions answered.

"Katakura-dono, if you wouldn't mind answering some of my questions…"

"Again, Sanada?" Yukimura tensed up, but upon seeing the joking smile sent his way, he dismissed his tension.

"Earlier, when Date-dono wanted to go rescue his men…I did not find anything odd in his behavior, to me he acted like he always did. Of course, I too knew he shouldn't go, considering the grave injury he suffered from. But your rejection of such an intent of Date-dono's seemed…extreme. Like there was something you knew that we did not," Yukimura tried to elaborate.

"I did. You saw it too, didn't you?" Seeing Yukimura's confusion, he added. "Masamune-sama' slitted pupil." Realization dawned in him and he nodded. He had been wondering about that as well. "For some reason, whenever he is gravely injured or calling upon every inch of power in his body, his pupil grows slitted. We have come to realize that it is a telltale sign of his body digging into its deepest resources to keep itself up and working."

"So seeing this sign, you recognized that Date-dono was in the worst possible condition," Yukimura concluded.

"I believe," Sasuke added his remark. "That it's not just 'for some reason'. You know why that happens." Kojuro remained for a while, listening to the cheerful banter of his rescued men.

"I do. Well, I guess I owe you for coming after me, so I will tell you what happened." Yukimura and Sasuke gulped, sensing the rising tension and the seriousness. "Masamune-sama liked to play in the woods when he was small and I accompanied him on those trips. One day, I lost track of him and looked for him and when I found him again, his clothes had been torn up from bushes. Miraculously however, Masamune-sama himself was not injured, not even a scratch. From that point on, he continued sneaking out of the estate into the woods and no one knew where exactly. I was like he disappeared. Due to unfortunate circumstances he lost his right eye and tension started to rise within the Clan. Many deemed Masamune-sama unable to rule, although he was the legitimate heir. Even his own mother favored his younger brother. She even went so far to poison Masamune-sama, hoping he would die." Yukimura flinched and looked at Kojuro in disbelief. "Fortunately, the tension in the Clan had made me wary, so I had been just outside the room when it happened. He forbid me to bring him to the healers, however, and I had no idea where else to bring him. I remembered the time when he returned without a scratch, so I took him to the woods, hoping whoever he had met up with for several years there would be able to save him. That's how I met Kaminari-sama." He closed his eyes as he remembered their not so pleasant first meeting. "She was more than willing to help me, but she soon recognized the poison to be one that had no known antidote available for us. There was only one option." Kojuro stared right into the Tiger Cub's eyes. "She ordered me to gouge out one of her eyes." Yukimura gasped and Sasuke did not look so unshaken either.

"One of her eyes?! But why?"

"I've heard rumors about dragon eyes granting immortality," Sasuke stated. "But I never thought it'd have some truth to it."

"Exactly. She took on her human form to make it easier for me. I did not know her, but I knew that no one, especially a dragon, hunted for the fame its head would bring its slayer, would willingly have their eye gouged out. So I did as I had been ordered. She immediately took over from there, never minding her bleeding eye socket. She mixed the eye with some water and honey and then made Masamune-sama ingest it. At first we thought it simply cured the poison in his system, but now we're not sure how it will affect him in the future."

"So Date-dono is not just a dragon in title," Yukimura stated.

"What about the armor? Is it true what Matsunaga said?" Sasuke asked. Kojuro nodded.

"Yes. Kaminari-sama had the armor and the swords made in secret, we had no idea what she was doing. She had been gone for more than ten days shortly after Masamune-sama received his name. Some thought that she might have run away since many authorities in the Date Clan were suspicious of her back then. But Masamune-sama insisted that she would return. And she did, bearing gifts for him and me."

"You too?" Yukimura echoed. Kojuro grinned at him.

"Just how do you believe I'm able to wield lightning myself?"

"You're saying your swords are made of the dragon's fang as well?" Saskue concluded.

"I am. The Six Dragon Claws were made from the two long fangs from her upper jaw. Three swords forged from one tooth. My two swords were made separately from the two remaining fangs in the lower jaw. What armor I wear on my arms is from the same material as Masamune-sama's armor, the old skins Kaminari-sama has shed over time."

"Wouldn't it be smarter to use the scales?" Sasuke wanted to know.

"It is next to impossible to remove a scale from a living dragon, not to mention excruciatingly painful for her, so Masamune-sama refuses to use them."

"Then what about the whole Foresight thing? I heard you and Matsunaga talk about it while I was sneaking around to get close enough to free the hostages."

"It refers to Kaminari-sama's ability to sense a person's aura."

"Sense someone's aura?" Yukimura echoed incredulously again.

"Yes. It's what will make being blind somewhat easier for her. In any case, we thought of that nickname when Kaminari-sama was able to sense a hostile unit advancing for a surprise attack several miles away. We were able to prepare for it which in turn confused the enemy and made them insecure, giving us the upper hand."

"The One-Eyed Dragon, the head of the Date Clan, his Right Eye, watching out for what the Dragon can't and the Foresight, able to see even the best planned surprise attack coming," Sasuke murmured. "That's one hell of a team."