Toki wo Koete no Kizuna

Chapter 6- Crystal Heart Part I

Azure- Hi everyone! /dodges randomly thrown items/ Okay, it's been a year. Stop trying to kill me. The only excuse I have as to why I fell off the face of the earth is…

I had severe writer's block.

For the Ieyasu/Mitsunari pair.

Don't believe me? here's a little something from a year ago, when I was desperately trying to come up with a plot:

Chapter 6- It's Not Called Stalking, It's Called Close Body Protection!

How many days has it been? How many weeks? How many months? Kusanagi Mitsunari had lost count of the days he had spent chasing, screaming and batting Tomitake Ieyasu out of his comfort range. Since the first day he had came to this school, the prestigious Basara Academy, he had caught the

Azure- and that's all I had written on the "Chapter 6" Word document. Well, under it were some more ideas for titles:

Chasing Moonlight (Azure- I actually liked this one)

I'll Stalk You Like the Sun Stalks the Moon

Light Stalking Night

Light Chasing Night

Light within Night

Oreo Cookie (And then I questioned my sanity.)

Azure-as you can see, I was really, desperately, out of ideas. So, I decided to sleep on it for the night. And another night. And another night… And another night x365. That's what happened. And THAT'S why you don't sleep on things you don't understand. (Wise words, from my professor.)

The original take was going to be simple. Ieyasu stalking the crap out of Mitsunari. Why? Because I thought it'd be funny. So, naturally, that didn't fly.

So I got back to writing because I was procrastinating from studying for my exams. I decided, what the hey, let's read some harry potter and Fullmetal Alchemist fanfics! And 'what the hey!' I feel like writing! So… that's what happened. I did some further research on Mitsumitsu and IeIe, and decided on where to go with it. So much for a humorous chapter… Oh well, reading back, my humor stank like the chamber of secrets anyways. /hahaHPjoke-ow…

So, before further ado, I shall let you guys have your chapter. Finally. Thank you for sticking with me for the year! I just finished 3 of my exams in my first term as a third year! Let's all celebrate with some honey and… houses? (Mitsu = honey, Ie = house, home) (As a side note, my right hand hurts like hell. My 2 exams I had today were BOTH WRITTEN. And I wrote so much my prof came by and told me- "Don't copy all my notes down onto the test!")

Special disclaimer: I (of course) don't own Sengoku Basara, but the idea the story centers around, "Crystal Heart", is owned by Lee Chi Hyong, the authoress of Demon Diary volume 1.

Chapter 6- Crystal Heart Part I

In a storybook we both loved when we were young, a person who loved another dearly was able to produce a gem that glowed with the most beautiful color. It was said that those who possesses the crystal heart is said to possess happiness itself. When love grows, it is said to crystallize and only once in a man's lifetime can he give the crystalline emotions to the one he truly loves.

It was a story we both treasured. I adored the story, despite being sick of the fantasy love stories of 'happy forever after' when reality always showed otherwise. The only reason that kept me enraptured in listening to the story being read to us daily was due to the secret oasis that only shows itself in the climax of the fairytale. As the prince begins to present the jewel to his beloved princess, my eyes would dart to the side, forgetting our kindergarten teacher's fake enthusiasm and trail towards his reddened features, flushed with excitement. His eyes would widen, glittering like the sun, and his mouth would widen ever slightly, letting his held breath flow.

I often reenacted the scene numerous times, crouching down to one knee and taking his pale and thin right hand in my large one. With a small bow, I would hold out my left hand, curled into a small fist, and raise it to his palely lighted golden eyes, shimmering with secretive excitement which he could never hide from me.

Even as a child, his embarrassment played out identical each time, but never was I bored of seeing it. A blush would creep up to his pale face, his golden eyes would dart away from my own, shimmering lightly despite being shaded by his silver locks, and his mouth would upturn into a shivering frown. With a fell swoop, he would flick his hand out of mine and growl at me, tears threatening to overflow from his golden, puffed eyes. "I'm not a pwincess, stoopid Ieyasu!" His toddler accent became rich as he yelled, tears about to fall. He would then turn and run away from me, while I would stand there, a fulfilled smile plastered across my small lips.

But that, just like the fairytale, was many, many years ago.

"-yasu… Ieyasu!" I felt something heavy fall onto my torso, jolting me from my slumber. I bounced, my eyes shot wide open, traveling around my surroundings to find the culprit who assaulted me when I was away in my dreams.

"…Motochika?" I glanced up to see silver. My eyes blinked a few times as silver and blue gradually shaped itself from the blurry images that morphed from my sudden wake. I threw the schoolbag he dropped on me to the side and sat up on the base of the tree where I had slept. "What do you want?" I mustered a strained question as I sat up. The sunlight peered glaringly down at Fujioka Motochika, his hair reflecting the light with a brilliant glow. I cocked my head to the side, blinking a few times as I pondered how fitting he looked under the bright morning sun.

"That's my line." Motochika groaned, rubbing the back of his neck as he picked up his school bag and threw it over his shoulder. "I get to school early for once and I see you passed out under a tree by the side of the school. Here I thought someone murdered you and didn't bother disposing the body." He closed his eyes, reciting his words with ease.

I laughed nervously, rubbing the sleep out of my eye. "Yeah, I guess you can say something like that happened." I noticed a pair of eyes on me and looked behind Motochika to see a student standing a ways away from us, staring. Blinking a few times, I readjusted my sight and recognized him as Takamichi Motonari, the class president in Motochika's class and also the said gruff boy's dorm-mate. Raising an eyebrow, I moved my glance back to Motochika, silently asking him what happened.

His face lit up lightly and he looked to the sky. He raised his hand to his face and started scratching his cheek awkwardly. With a small laugh, he replied, "It's nothing. We just started walking to school together." He laughed louder as I watched Takamichi Motonari humph loudly and jerked his head towards the school, eyes closed. He began progressing to the school and I turned my attention back to my gruff friend.

"He's leaving." I stated, grinning. Something happened between the two, and anyone who's even blind would be able to tell. Takamichi Motonari never associates with anyone, and even those in the music club which he leads don't even call him by his first name, afraid of his wraith. Of all the people, Fujioka Motochika was the first to break his wall down.

Motochika merely shrugged, "I'll see him after classes are done." He then turned his attention back to me, hands on his waist. "So what was this little thing about 'getting murdered'? Got turned down again?" He sneered.

Grudgingly, I nodded, stretching my arms up before standing. I grabbed my own bag, haphazardly thrown by the tree next to me, and wheeled it to my back with a swing. "You know how it is." I sighed.

Motochika laughed loudly and began patting my back with full blown whacks. "Haha, you're still young, boy!" Despite being the same age as me, he laughed heartily like a man of experience. "Your prey won't run from you. You just have to be patient!" We began walking towards the school, two men who once supported half the country on their shoulders.

I guess, for me it would be the whole damn country.

"Motochika, that's what prey do. They run." I turned to him, grinning. Motochika laughed even louder, his voice bellowing throughout the school grounds.

"A full blown punch across the cheek?"

"No." I groaned.

"A round house kick to the stomach?"

"No." I groaned even louder.

"A full blown karate chop to the neck!"

"This isn't slapstick comedy, Motochika!" I slid into my seat, hands over my face as Motochika's bellowing laugh resounded through the classroom. No one cared. It's not the first time he snuck into my class to be loud and rowdy.

And plus, the girls just can't seem to get enough of him; not his sea-blue eyes that could stare straight into their souls, nor his silver gray hair that shone like moonlight. The fangirls just keep growing every day.

"Come on, Ieyasu, tell me already! The bell's going to ring!" He pleaded, his sorry and pleading eyes looking very fake.

"Let the bell ring." I grumbled.

"Then I'll just bug you through class!" He piped, crossing his legs in the small, cramped chair where he sat.

I groaned again, dropping my hands onto my desk with a thud. "That's Akai Nagamasa's seat, you know. He'll kill you."

"Let him try!" Motochika crossed his arms and puffed his chest, as if ready for battle. With his blazer resting on his shoulders, I could only see him as a leader of some kind of school gang. With Akai Nagamasa being the head of the student council… well, the battle would only get uglier.

With an exasperated sigh, I relented. "I was coming out of the dorms today…" I paused as Motochika's eager face grew closer to mine, his eyes shining with thirst. He's really starting to remind me of some busy body with a monkey on his shoulder… I cleared my throat. "I was coming out of the dorms today and saw him leaving his dorm at the same time.

"I waved to him and said 'hello', but he plainly ignored me and kept walking."

"That's to be expected." Motochika nodded. For some reason, his reaction only pissed me off more.

Restraining myself from punching the pirate, I continued. "And I followed him, walking beside him to school. I was trying to make petty talk and just at least trying to get him to say something to me…" I reminisced, my mind wandered back to this morning when I prodded the boy with questions and danced around his back, dodging people walking the other direction and trying desperately to get his attention. "At least he did say something…" I mumbled, the last few words barely audible.

Motochika raised an eyebrow, his arms still crossed. Silently, he urged me to continue. With a depressed sigh, I answered his questioning stare. "He punched me in the gut and told me to 'Screw off and stop stalking me'." I put up my hands and curved my index and middle finger on each syllable.

Expectedly, Motochika had burst into hysterical laughter. He slapped his knee as he painfully gasped out the words, "Oh… wow… You've become a stalker, now?" he wheezed, laughing so hard I thought he might suddenly fall over with a heart attack.

I adverted my eyes out the window, an obviously annoyed expression plastered across my features. "Yeah, yeah. I get it. It's really funny."

Just as I said the last line, the bell rang, signaling class to begin. Motochika rose from Akai Nagamasa's seat, still holding his stomach and drying his eyes from laughter. "Alright, alright…" he calmed himself. "I should head back before Motonari comes and hunt me down."

The classroom door suddenly slid open and Kusanagi Mitsunari stalked in, eyes closed and lips turned in his permanent frown. He swept past us and reached his desk, a few desks in front of my own. Motochika raised his hand and waved as Mitsunari walked by, but was totally and entirely ignored.

He turned to me, shrugging off Mitsunari's usual cold shoulder. "Don't worry, he'll turn around soon. No one just suddenly 'falls out of a friendship' like that. Whatever you did, it was ages ago! He must be forgiving you now." He tried to reassure, smiling broadly.

I forced a smile back. "Yeah, well he's a stubborn kid. Always been."

Motochika waved good bye as he slid our classroom door close and made his way back to his class, only a door away from ours. I stretched my sore arms and sat comfortably in my seat, waiting for class to begin. I glanced up to stare at the sharp, silver hair that is patted so neatly down as Mitsunari moved about, grabbing his books and leafing them open on his desk. I shook my head, shaking away the memories of the serious and blood thirsty demon I made him into, and grabbed my books as well just as the door slid open and our homeroom teacher entered.

My mind struggled to stay on topic as Zabi Francis, our English and Religion Studies teacher, as well as our homeroom teacher (truly unfortunate…) ranted on about the founding of the Society of Jesus. I yawned loudly, but was dismissed by Zabi's (only) enthusiasm for the topic. My eyes wandered back to the same silver locks that shimmered brightly in the sunlight. How regrettable… his hair shines so beautifully in the sun, too…

I don't remember when or how I first met Mitsunari, but what I remember in our first encounter was awe and admiration for his breathtaking golden eyes and matching silver hair. He looked like a doll, with a stone-like emotionless expression and perfectly cut features. I remember tugging on my father's sleeve and asking him if he was a princess. Upon hearing my rude outburst, Mitsunari's stone-cold expression shifted as his eyes welled up with tears and a dark blush made its way across his beautiful, pale features. He gripped onto his mother's hand harder, shaking lightly. Feeling guilty for making such a perfect masterpiece cry, I let go of my father and stepped in front of him. He backed away, shrinking behind his mother. Seeing my attempt, she stepped aside, exposing the shivering Mitsunari.

I raised my hand, and his eyes quickly shut tight, chin tucked in as if he's trying to shrink himself into nothingness. I dropped my hand gently on his face and the warm touch made his eyes open slowly. Looking up, he quivered slightly.

With as bright of a smile as I could muster, I gleefully opened my mouth. "You're really pretty!"

He stared at me for a minute, frozen with disbelief. I saw the shine in his golden eyes and my heart skipped a beat. The next minute, he had swiped my hand off his cheek and his tears threatened to fall again. However, this time his mouth curved into an angry pout. "I'M NOT A GWIRL!"

After that, I would ask to go play with Mitsunari almost daily. We lived next to each other and so I always managed found a perfect excuse to visit the beautiful boy. He often stayed indoors, hiding in his room when I went over. After the fifth or sixth attempt, I managed to drag him out of his room and out to play in the park with me. Eventually, he grew to expect my visits and would stand on the doorway to wait for me. I would pick him up, and the both of us would make our way to the park, hand in hand. However much he appeared to dislike it, I always dragged him along until his complaining ceased, reveling in his blushing and embarrassed face. All his expressions, like the colors of a rainbow, came in many different flavors. Exploring them became a hobby of mine. Like this, we were really just ordinary children, with ordinary lives.

I opened my eyes as the droned out voice of the excitable Mr. Zabi came back. He seemed to have finished his lecture on the Society of Jesus and went on to talk about missionary missions to Japan in the mid 1500's. Groaning silently, I closed my eyes again.

"Don't touch me!" all the colors from his face faded into such a ghostly white I thought he might have disappeared. My back ran cold and my hands shook uncontrollably. The floor felt cold to my body as I sat there, confused and afraid. I could feel cold sweat trickling down my neck as I watched him, staring back at me with fear, disbelief and… worry.

I closed my eyes and brought my knees up to my forehead. My hands stapled themselves on my ears as I screamed between sobs, over and over again, "Don't come near me! I'm scared! Go away!" Warm tears poured down my face as I felt exposed, helpless, and strangely hopeless.

Flashes swept past my mind as I felt information flow in. My head felt like it was going to explode, pounding so roughly that I could hear each smashing drum play its rhythm to my aching brain. Unrecognizable bodies, twisted and strewn across the bloody ground covered the field with crimson. Red, that's the only color I could see in the monochrome movie that flashed too quickly but my brain picked up too easily.

A single man stood in the field in front of a large, old mansion. His fists were covered with fresh, oozing red and his face twisted into an unreadable expression as crimson trickled down the side of his face and down his chin. He was staring down at another body, laying entangled with his face in the blood red dirt. A gaping wound oozed blood from his back, cutting a perfect diagonal slash from his right shoulder blade down to the left side of his waist. The pool of scarlet water grew as all remaining life was slowly drained from the corpse. The man reached up shakily and covered his head with his hood and sat down, ignoring the crushing corpse under his weight. He hid his face under his hood and held his head low. The deafening silence droned on for mere minutes that seemed to last for centuries, before soft sobbing could be heard.

The class bell rang, shaking me from my haunting dreams. I slowly opened my eyes as Mr. Zavi shook his head. "Oh no, the class is over too quickly! I wish I could spend some more time to tell you about the Dainichi and the Shingon monks!" Mr. Zavi sighed as he made his way towards the class door and students cheered at the sound of the end of religion studies.

I yawned loudly and stretched. I ran my hand over my hair, feeling exhaustion rise from my stomach up to my torso and arms. I hate the wake after nightmares.

As the lunch bell sounded, I stretched and watched Saotome Yoshihiro-sensei, the biology teacher, waddle out of the class, books in hand. His small, white ponytail bobbed as he shuffled out of the class.

I turned just in time to see Mitsunari rise from his desk, ready to leave the room. I quickly shot up and caught up to him before he could reach the door.

"Mitsunari!" I called, patting him in the shoulder. He ignored me and kept walking. "Hey!" I tried grabbing his shoulder tighter, but he merely flung the door open and slipped out, with me still standing there.

I could hear some girls behind me snicker quietly, but I ignored them. With a huff, I stalked after him and closed the classroom door behind us.

"Mitsunari!" I called into the halls, rushing up towards him. I could feel his annoyance rise each time I approached him and yelled his name, but knowing that I'm getting through brought me more encouragement. "Hey, I want to talk-"

Mitsunari spun around, his hair flowed lightly as he did. His golden orbs twisted into fiery hate and his mouth curved into an indignant frown. I flinched as I watched his glare burn through my skull. My mouth ran dry as I tried to fiddle with the words in my mind. He opened his mouth, loath dripped with each word, "What do you want, Tomitake Ieyasu?" His tone screamed to make me leave while his body shook with the effort to stay calm.

"Mits-"

"Do NOT call me Mitsunari." He spat, golden eyes squinting at me with disgust. I felt a pang in my heart as my stomach dropped. "I am not your family, not your ally and definitely not your friend."

My mouth hung open as I tried to reach for the right words to respond to him. I could feel my mind go hollow and my stomach churn uncomfortably at his words. "I'm s-"

"And do NOT apologize to me. I will NOT forgive you." He continued, "Not in the past life, and not in this life time either! You betrayed me! You'll always be a liar!" He practically yelled. The students that were roaming the halls during lunch stared at us, anxious that a fight might start. To be perfectly honest, I was afraid that a long, black sword might actually fall on me as well.

As Mitsunari finished, he whipped around and stomped off, leaving me speechless and my gut feeling worse by the second. The helpless feeling returned as the flashes of a summer evening in the Tokugawa house painted in crimson returned to my memory. I laughed bitterly. "Damnit, Tokugawa Ieyasu. Bring your bloody sins with you to the grave."

It was my fault. What happened well over 400 years ago, and what happened 4 years ago was both my fault. 400 years ago, I murdered Toyotomi Hideyoshi, thus driving Mitsunari insane for vengeance. I then, followed through and murdered Ishida Mitsunari as well. The cold blood of those I killed never managed to wash from my hands, no matter how many years passed.

When I was reborn as Tomitake Ieyasu, I was granted the chance to meet Mitsunari again, as Kasunagi Mitsunari. As luck would have it, we became friends and I could finally start making amends. Amends that were 400 years overdue.

But the cruel hands of fate struck me with the accursed memories of Tokugawa Ieyasu, bringing me back to the night of which I murdered Ishida Mitsunari with my own two hands. That cold, silent night, I heard Tokugawa Ieyasu cry as a hint of his inner emotions, the first I've seen from him. The images and shock sent me swirling into darkness. I rejected Mitsunari—Kusanagi Mitsunari—from my life and dispelled him from my side. Once again, I betrayed Mitsunari.

Taken by darkness and confusion, Mitsunari's memories awoke shortly after mine—when we were 13. Mitsunari, who had been working tirelessly to wake me from my memory coma in which I responded to little, ate virtually nothing and even my parents had given up on me, had brought me to a nearby park when dusk settled in. We sat on the benches, where he offered me some sandwiches he had bought in a convenience store not far from the park. I didn't move, as I could barely hear his voice. Sighing, he dropped the sandwich back into the plastic bag and took out a melon drink an offered it to me. Once again, I answered with silence. I had heard from my family later that my pupils were lost, as if I was drowning in darkness, and my robot-like movements were nothing less than creepy. If possible, I was like a boy that had lost his soul.

Mitsunari, as impatient as he is, dropped the drink roughly onto the bench and stood up. The sudden sound made me twitch as, just outside of my dark vision, I saw something glimmer gold. Mitsunari was kneeing down in front of me and peering straight into my eyes. His face was so close, I could feel his breath. The flash of golden nearly brought me back from the abyss, as I tried to open my exhausted mouth and release a strained call for his name. But even that, was impossible as my inner voice was drowned out.

Mitsunari frowned, staring straight at me. He opened his mouth, ready to say something, but sudden barking caught his attention. He whipped his head around, and his eyes widened with fear as a Rottweiler stood, growling and barking at him. A collar rested around its neck, but what looked like a leash was ripped, the remains of its victory in escape.

The park was deserted as the golden orange dusk ushered children home. Only the demon, Mitsunari and I remained in the park laminated with the setting sun. The black dog approached slowly, growling with menace at Mitsunari and the frozen me. Mitsunari shook me, a little less than gently. "Ieyasu… Ieyasu!" He kept his eyes on the dog, not wanting to tear his eyes away in fear that the dog would jump him once he does.

The raven black dog took a stance, as if ready to pounce, and Mitsunari stood still, his hand shaking violently. He quickly closed his eyes as the dog leapt, his mouth open, poised to strike.

I could see everything. I was hardly blind, nor deaf to the outside world. However, this dark veil kept me from reaching out, like a one-way door of emotions. I watched as Mitsunari nursed me daily, as he got frustrated with me, lingering in my emotionally comatose state, and could do nothing but watch helplessly as he shook and cried with fear when the Rottweiler approached. Internally, I screamed. I fought, and I cried, begging to let me protect Mitsunari. Not again, I will not lose him again.

As the dog pounced, I felt my body flow with energy that materialized from nothing. I grabbed Mitsunari, on arm slung over his chin, the other held the back of his head, and twisted my body around to shield Mitsunari with my body. I could feel a cold slash go across my tiny back as warm teeth sunk into my flesh. The pain only came mere seconds after. I screamed, so loud that the dog let go and stepped back, cautious. I collapsed, with Mitsunari in my arms, onto the cement pavement. The blood on my tiny back rolled onto the ground, dying everything it touches into crimson.

Someone must have heard my cry, as my hazy consciousness heard yelling, then yelping, and shortly after, sirens. Between all the fading noises, I heard loud and heart aching sobs inside my arms.

The next thing I realized, I came to in a white room. My head felt dizzy and my back felt very sore. My arms ached and my stomach hurt. I was a mess. When my parents came into the room, my mother threw herself at me, forgetting my wounds. The sudden movements made me remember the open flesh on my back, and I let out a painful yelp as pain electrified my back and down my spine. My father reassured me and told me it was only a flesh wound and the dog was not infected with anything. When I finally remembered what happened, I asked about Mitsunari.

Both my parents gave me a solemn look before Mitsunari's mother appeared, pushing a stone-cold Mitsunari into my room. His golden orbs were blank and the surrounding skin around his eyes was red, evident of crying. Although he looked physically fine, he was in a wheelchair, and dressed in hospital clothes. The strange corpse-like image of Mitsunari struck imminent fear in me. I could feel my stomach churn as I felt an urge to throw up. I turned to my parents, my eyes demanded an answer.

Mitsunari's mother explained that Mitsunari was not injured, but when they finally pried me off of him, he was in a frozen state. The doctor claimed that Mitsunari had fallen into a 'vegetative state'—where he is awake, but his consciousness is lost. He blamed the traumatic attack and claimed that his young, 13 year old mind could not take the shock of his best friend being mauled in front of him, and has shut his consciousness out for protection. I swallowed a lump in my throat as I stared at Mitsunari. It wasn't –couldn't be the dog attack that threw him into this phase. I was just like that; lost, mindless and broken. The memory of the mangled Ishida Mitsunari returned to my mind, and I shook the thought away. With a quivering voice, I asked the parents and the doctor to leave me with Mitsunari. Although reluctant, they finally complied and went out of the blindingly white room.

I looked at Mitsunari. His silver hair and pale skin matched the pale green wear he was placed in. His lost, golden eyes looked misty and distant. Something clenched my heart as I stared at him, the broken doll with perfectly fine features. I pushed myself up from my bed and reached over to him. Placing a small hand on his cold, pale cheek, I whispered his name.

Nothing. No response. Was this how I was like? I could feel tears well up in my eyes as I felt all hope escape. I slammed my fist into the bed with all my strength, making a loud BONG as the springs countered my punch. I cursed under my breath, trying not to attract the parents back into the room. After a small breath, I lifted my eyes back to stare at his golden, misty orbs, glazed over. I sat back and hung my head as tears began to flow.

The memory of the other me crying over Mitsunari's corpse returned. I snapped my head back up, realizing that there may be a way to bring Mitsunari back. Uncertain about my presumption, but hopeless otherwise, I decided to try. I crawled on my bed, over to Mitsunari, who was parked by the end of my bed. Reaching a hand out, I once again touched his cold, frozen cheek. I leaned in until his face was inches from my own. With deep breath, I opened my mouth.

"Ishida Mitsunari, I, Tokugawa Ieyasu, have defeated Toyotomi Hideyoshi. I, Tokugawa Ieyasu, with the power of bonds shall control the land." I hissed the words out painfully. My heart wrenched at my own words as regret poured from my soul out and materialized into falling tears. I heard myself let out a small cry, but just as I did, I could see Mitsunari's eyes glint ever so slightly. Knowing that it was working, I continued.

"Mitsunari… " I took in a deep breath, silencing the upcoming sobs, "I will not give the country up to you nor Hideyoshi…!" With a strained voice, I finished. These words that resounded in my head, painting the battlefield between Mitsunari and I finally took form in our world, finally were conveyed from the darkness of my mind that I locked deep inside.

I watched as the mist in Mitsunari's golden eyes slowly dissipated. His mouth moved, and soft words emerged, barely above a whisper. "-atter how strong your army is…" his voice began to get louder as the words escaped slowly and without emotion, as if instructed to be spilt. "No matter how many nice words you go on spouting…" His soul slowly returned to his eyes as his he spoke on, darkness and hate returning to him through his words.

"I am…" he slowly moved his eyes up to meet my own, his soul fully returned to his eyes. I let out a gasp as I felt overjoyed that Mitsunari was back, but each syllable that he produced with that voice full of hollow hate stabbed at my heart, bleeding the past back into my body. "Looking with these eyes."

His body trembled as his golden eyes locked mine in its vortex of mixed emotions. I felt a shiver go down my spine as his mouth quivered, as if words he wanted to express were locked back by the hateful barrier produced by our words, as if muttering a spell.

"Ieyasu…" he whispered, his voice echoed in my head. I watched, the tears in my eyes still falling, as our peaceful life shattered before our eyes. I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, preparing myself. It all came down too quickly, too cruelly. Won't time turn back to when we were naïve children? I opened my eyes again and stared straight back at the golden orbs that I have loved so much. They used to shine with such simple bliss.

"…I'm looking, at your sins!" He hissed, the hollow emptiness lifted, and was filled with sudden and imminent hate. A single tear cascaded down his perfect cheekbone and dropped from his pointed chin.

Since then, I cursed it all. I cursed the gods, I cursed Tokugawa Ieyasu, I cursed Ishida Mitsunari, and I cursed my very fate, for ripping two perfectly normal, loving children, apart.

Azure- Sorry for ending it there, but phew~ Because of the planning I did for this story, it became a lot more organized. And thus, there were a lot more interactions and his past being revealed in one fell BOOM!

Well, actually, I lied. After each 'scene' I sat there going- ….what the hell should I do now?

I had the basic idea down. I had the basic past down (had to modify it. I was going to have Ieyasu born with his memories, but thought it would be hard to pull off a kid going around ranting about how he united Japan… the other thing I changed was Mitsunari was supposed to be born with the scar gashed across his body, a remnant of how he died. But it got too long and couldn't find a good place to stick that in.)

I –really- wanted to end the chapter in a lot of places, but just kept typing so I would have –roughly- the same word count for all my chapters. (This should be the shortest, if not one of the shortest chapters… I'm sorry!)

So, Crystal Heart will actually be moving onto part 2. Hopefully I can actually FINISH their story on part 2. And as everyone's demand, Motochika and Motonari are back! /gets shot/ okay okay, so it's not their own –centric chapter, but I wanted to put in more cameo appearances. So I had Motochika and Ieyasu friends (as per sengoku basara 3 for the wii) and also added… ZABI~ To be perfectly honest, I'm not in religion studies, and I never will be, so I really didn't know what he should blab about. So I went to his wiki page an grabbed things from there (Sir Francis Xavier~).

I'm sorry. I know it started out –SLOW- but it seems to be a horrible trait of mine to start everything out slow. If not, I usually slow down during introductions. I'm sorry, if anyone is getting upset about the SLOW START to my stories, leave me a constructive criticism review of rage T_T;

Review replies:

JapanManiac: Thanks, actually, telling me that Kojuro is missing solid personality helped A LOT! I will definitely write a Kojuro-centric chapter. It really helps to know these things! I really appreciate it, a lot! And Thank you, I really love Nagamasa/Ichi pairing as well. I am really glad you enjoyed it ^^

Somniyo: MitsuMitsuxIeIe is here! I hope you enjoyed this one as well! ^^

Ruaki: Oh, sake under the skies~ As a special spoiler-ish? Well, more like a 'please anticipate for it', I have planned in a future chapter to have them have their sweet moments again ^^ I hope my treatment with MitsuMitsu and IeIe was acceptable… To be honest, writing in Ieyasu's point of view was challenging, because he is either seen as really care-free or happy, or very determined. I decided to side with the determined view of him for the sake of this fanfic. I hope I didn't make him OOC! If I did, I swear to god I'd go back and change the whole chapter.

Sinkhearts: Thank you very much for your review! I'm glad to hear from a long time reader ^^ I'm REALLY relieved to hear that I managed to get their personalities. To be honest, writing Nagamasa was hard because he's not a very 'famous' character. He disappeared from the anime midway through, and in the games he doesn't get a lot of scenes either, so getting his character down was hard. Thanks a lot for your support ^^

Pokeaddict17: Thank you for your review! I love hanakotoba as well~ When I was in high school, I was obsessed! (mainly because I took horticulture…) but I love anything with meanings behind it (like names, flowers, etc~) so I'm really glad you enjoyed the flower chapter! :D

Azab: Thanks again for your constant reviews! I hope you like this chapter just as much as the last ones :D

Kuiinsama: Canada friend! /high five!/ Thanks for reading my ficcy and I hope you enjoy this chapter as well! Keiji actually will become more and more main later on. Hopefully he finds his conclusion in the new century as well~ Thank you for your support!

Metal-jam: Thank you for your constant reviews! I'm glad you're enjoying the stories. I hope you enjoy this one as well!

Mardy96: I'm sorry for the 1 year delay /broods in the corner/ But I'm back! And I am determined to finish this fic! I want everyone to have their happy conclusion! /Punches air/

Hoshi no uorufu: Thank you! I didn't even think about looking for Zabi's voice actor… thank you for your suggestion! But I have decided to stick with Francis Zabi because of his real life counterpart (Francis Xavier). Thank you for your suggestion, though! And if you have any more suggestions, I would love to hear them :D

Fear the Silly People: Your name is awesome. I hope Mitsu and Ie's story is acceptable at least up to this point! I'm excited to hear what you would think about their relation!

So that's all! Please, I would really love to hear what everyone thinks about Ieyasu and Mitsunari's story. Not just for review counts, but I just really would love to hear any suggestions. Did I get their personalities right? Is there something that seems REALLY ODD?

And by the way, Crystal Heart is definitely one of my fav. One shot mangas (it's like one chapter!) :D

Cheers people, won't update until after the 20th (my last exam), so have fun until then!