(A/N:) Forgive any mistakes you may see in this chapter, as it was beta'd rather quickly before being posted. Also, is anyone interested in reading a spin-off of Fantastic Baby that focuses on the side stories of Yukimura and Masamune's friends/enemies? This includes Motochika's story involving Mouri, Mitsunari's story, and many others to come. Lemme know in the reviews, if it's not too much trouble. Enjoy!

Chapter Six: Polar Connection

"Masamune-dono, why did you put so much paint on these brushes?" Yukimura pouted as he was left scrubbing the hell out of the pile of brushes they killed during their play-fighting. He growled a little in frustration as he pulled the paintbrush to his face to make sure all the paint was gone, but each time he did he found some stubborn bits and pieces that wouldn't come out. Masamune was in charge of wiping down the tables while Keiji was left scrubbing the floor.

"So much paint? Isn't that how much paint is supposed to be on the brushes?" Masamune asked scrubbing the table with much concentration. He glared at a dried speck of red paint that didn't seem to want to come off. He scrubbed harder but still it stayed caked onto the smooth surface. "You use such little paint it dries too quickly! I can't... Get it... OFF!" Masamune ended the sentence with a growl and he applied more pressure to the table. Soon he gave up and threw the rag on the table and folded his arms across his chest. "On every single table there's a little speck of red paint that just won't come off no matter how hard I scrub!"

Yukimura threw the last of the paintbrushes down in a huff and slumped in his seat, "Let us both swear never to take any sort of art class, whether it's together or on our own."

"Tch, that's a promise for me," Masamune said throwing his rag down on the table with a huff. Yukimura stood from his spot on the floor to sit at a table nearby. He groaned and smacked his head onto the table, his hair splayed messily over his neck. While it was still in the messy bun, some pieces fell loose and draped over his back like the original ponytail did. He sighed and closed his eyes, suddenly feeling exhausted. The bar was quiet, save for Keiji muttering things under his breath as he scrubbed the floor. It was very peaceful, and Yukimura really enjoyed moments like these.

The peace didn't last for long though, as a very angry voice muffled by the door grew increasingly louder from the outside. The door slammed open and in came Motochika, fuming mad and panting heavily as though he was running recently. Yukimura looked up from his place at the table to greet his friend, though he didn't lift his head because the cool surface was comfortable against his warm skin, "Hiya, Motochika-dono... What are you doing here? Did Maeda-dono call you too?"

Motochika ignored Yukimura and set his eyes on Masamune. "Masamune, you bastard! You stole my bike!" Motochika shouted gearing towards the teen. Masamune stayed seated and glanced up lazily at Motochika, a small smirk working its way onto his face.

"I didn't steal it. I borrowed it. I asked you for permission and you said yes," Masamune lied through his teeth. He let out a full smirk when he saw Motochika getting angrier.

"You're a liar. I was asleep! Anything I say when I'm asleep isn't true," Motochika argued.

"Oh really? Then what about when you say Magoichi's name in your sleep?" Masamune asked smugly. Motochika growled as a blush took over his face. He grabbed Masamune's jacket and pulled him towards himself.

"I said her name one time! And I thought I told you not to talk about that again," Motochika growled out.

"Magoichi? Did she stop by or something?" Ieyasu asked, obviously late to the party and not knowing the damage he caused by asking such a question. Yukimura couldn't help but laugh a little as Motochika's face grew redder.

Masamune grabbed Motochika's hand to peel it off of him then smiled back at Ieyasu coyly. "Oh, no. I was just mentioning how I met Magoichi a while back at a party when she refused this guy a dance. It was hilarious, and I never would've guessed that those two were childhood friends," Masamune laughed ending the argument he and Motochika were having. He turned back to Motochika and grinned. "I think we're about done with the cleanup, but since all of us are here anyways did you wanna hang out here? Or were you gonna bitch about your motorcycle some more and take me home?"

Motochika glared daggers at Masamune, trying to find some way to kindly punch his smug ass face into a wall, but no matter how badly he wanted to his body just didn't agree with him. He slumped and sat across from Yukimura, "I guess I'll just hang out here. I went through hell going through the crowded trains to get here; I'm not willing to go through traffic just to get back." He sighed and looked at Yukimura, who seemed to have fallen asleep with his head on the table and his arms holding his plaid jacket in his lap. Motochika laughed a little and raised an eyebrow, "The hell did you do to tired this kid out? I've never seen him so drained."

Masamune glanced at Yukimura and let a natural smile take over his face. "We just had a bit of a paint battle. I didn't think I'd tire him out that much," he gave a small chuckle still watching Yukimura's still form at the table. Keiji lifted an eyebrow at Masamune's words and scoffed.

"A bit of a paint battle? Both of you guys were covered in paint and the room was a total mess! We've only just barely finished cleaning and the mural still isn't finished!" Keiji cried out. Masamune waved him off and made his way towards Yukimura's table.

"Stop whining and complaining already. We got the place cleaned up and now you have Ieyasu and Motochika to help you with your mural. You guys go do that, and I'll take a break here with him. I'll join you in a little while when I feel up to it," Masamune said pulling out a chair and sitting across from Yukimura.

Motochika smirked at Masamune and stood up, taking off his jacket and leaving it on a separate table, "Sounds like you two got real friendly." he teased, but didn't dare press any further in fear of him bringing up Magoichi again.

Keiji let out an exasperated sigh and shook his head at Masamune, but partially understood his reasoning. He walked by and dropped off the bag of food at the table, "It might be a little cold but you can heat it up in the back, there's a microwave there." He said and nodded his head in said direction behind the bar. With one last look at Yukimura, Keiji smiled and returned to his mural, Yumekichi already setting up the paintbrushes.

"Thank you," Masamune muttered in his Engrish. He grabbed the bag and ruffled Yukimura's hair to get his attention. Yukimura blushed lightly at the awakening and slowly brought himself to the waking world. "You can rest here for a bit longer. I'm just gonna go reheat our food. I'll be back soon." Masamune let his hand linger in Yukimura's hair longer than he should have. His hair was so soft and smooth that Date almost went back for a second feel. Instead, he quickly walked away towards the microwave sneaking a few glances back to Yukimura.

After he'd nodded an okay as Masamune walked away, Yukimura then brought his jacket up onto the tablet and nuzzled it, allowing himself a couple more minutes of rest before he came back. He ran a hand through his hair, almost missing the gentle touch from earlier. He sighed and watched Keiji paint the mural, his eyes sliding shut as he grew bored. As pretty as art was to look at, he didn't find it interesting enough to watch for long periods of time.

Meanwhile, Masamune waited impatiently for the microwave to reheat their food, tapping his toes on the floor as if it would speed up the process. When the food was warm enough, Masamune quickly took it back to Yukimura and sat across from him again. He shoved the food in Yukimura's face before starting to eat himself. Yukimura let out an indignant squeak as the hot plate touched his cheek. "Here. Eat up. You look tired, so this'll give you some energy."

Yukimura sat up and stared at the food, mouth already watering, "T-Thanks, Masamune-dono." he mumbled and grabbed his chopsticks, "Itadakimasu~" he chirped before chowing down. He smiled warmly, "This is good. I haven't eaten since dinner last night, so it makes it even better!"

Masamune stared quizzically at the boy. "Why haven't you eaten since dinner last night? Do you like starving yourself?" Then Masamune looked over Yukimura's frame. He noticed that the boy was particularly thin. His stomach was flat and his tank top seemed too loose for his thin frame. His arms were also very thin, and if Masamune hadn't taken notice of the boy's strength in their paint battle, he'd go as far as to call the brunette fragile. But since Masamune knew of the boy's physique and strength he wasn't too worried about Yukimura's lithe figure. He was still worried of course, but he would never let it show that he was.

"Hmm? No, I don't do it on purpose, I promise!" Yukimura shook his head and rubbed the back of his neck nervously, "I'm not a very good cook, and neither is my caretaker. We normally order take out, but lately I've just been busy practicing my dancing and I easily forget to eat. The only real meal I'm guaranteed is dinner, since Sasuke manages to cook for us." He laughed a little, trying to ignore the heat rising to his cheeks. He didn't like people thinking he was pitiful, because in truth he really was fine. He was just an honest airhead with a lot of things on his mind, disturbing his usual routine.

Masamune nodded and continued eating. It made sense that the boy would unintentionally skip meals. He had never meant to accuse the boy of purposefully not eating, but it had just come out that way. He thought over what Yukimura had told him and smirked. "So you say that you've been practicing hard for the past few days right? Does that have anything to do with meeting me?" He couldn't help but ask. Part of him was just teasing the boy, but the other part was genuinely curious to see if he had indeed affected the other in any way.

The heat kept rising to Yukimura's face as Masamune spoke, and the question made his ears burn even more. He picked at his food as he pouted, his hand to his cheek as he propped his elbow on the table, "M-Maybe..." He muttered, shoving a riceball into his mouth to prevent anything embarrassing from slipping out.

Masamune sat still in shock, a blush forming on his face too. He wasn't expecting a straightforward answer like that. It wasn't a definite yes but the brunette didn't start an argument like he had originally thought. There was a soft clanking sound as Masamune dropped his chopsticks, but not even that pulled him out of his shock. Yukimura, however, jumped a little, startled by the clang of the chopsticks to Masamune's plate. He stared at the chopsticks and raised his eyebrow, curious as to why Masamune would drop them. Despite his curiosity, he kept his eyes locked on his plate of food. Masamune continued to stare at Yukimura marveling over the fact that he was indeed affected by Masamune as much as Masamune was affected by him. He soon started trying to see those brown eyes he had wanted to see again since that first night they met but was disappointed when he saw they were hidden under Yukimura's bangs.

Eventually, Yukimura swallowed his pride a bit to look Masamune in the eyes. His eyes widened a little at the obvious blush on the man's face and he couldn't help but stare. It was rather uncharacteristic of him, and despite his better judgment Yukimura smiled. Masamune started a bit at the smile and was pulled back to his senses. He cleared his throat and stood with his plate. "Well, I'm not really that hungry anymore so I'm gonna go ahead and clean this up. I'll be right back," he mumbled quickly scrambling away but trying to look calm as he did so. He hurried to run water over his dishes, almost throwing them into the sink. He turned on the faucet and took a deep breath as the water started flowing. He grabbed onto the edge of the sink to help balance himself. He gave a short chuckle at himself. He could almost call himself crazy for being thrown into a panic like that. Just one smile caused him to get so worked up. Masamune ran a hand through his hair and sighed. He had found himself a most worthy rival indeed.

Yukimura frowned at the panicked state Masamune had left in. "Guess I did something wrong..." he muttered to himself and readjusted his posture. He brought a knee up to his chest and rested his head on it, sighing solemnly as he ate. He was a little over half done and he wasn't one to waste food given to him, but he couldn't help but lose his appetite a bit. He bit his tongue gently as his head clouded over with thoughts on his rivalry with Masamune, and whether or not he was fit enough to be called a rival to him. He felt weak; not helpless, but weaker than Masamune. Yukimura put his chopsticks down and pressed his forehead to his knee closing his eyes. He felt a sudden knot coil up in his stomach with a feeling akin to what he felt the night they met. It was the feeling of a challenge rising up between them, a spark to start a huge fire in the depths of a forest. He loved that fighting spirit they seemed to have with each other, but something else tugged in the back of his mind. He just wished he knew what it was.

Once Masamune had calmed down, he calmly made his way back to Yukimura only to be shocked at the boy's sudden change in attitude. He laughed and ruffled Yukimura's hair, once again relishing in how soft the mass of brown was. "What's wrong with you? You look like your dog just died or something," Masamune teased sitting back in his chair lazily. He set his elbow on the table and rested his cheek on his hand, taking in Yukimura carefully. The boy seemed bothered by something, and Masamune was determined to find out what.

Yukimura squeaked again, and this time he glared at Masamune for causing it, "Why do you do that?" he muttered and ran a hand through his hair, "And I'm not sure what's wrong with me, that's why I'm trying to think about it." He sighed and hugged his knee to him, resting his head on it again and looked at Masamune, studying him almost.

Masamune stared blankly at Yukimura. "Why do I do what? Ruffle your hair?" he asked. He stared off into space to think carefully of an answer before looking back at Yukimura seriously. "To mess with you I guess."

Yukimura laughed, "Am I really that fun to mess with?" He raised an eyebrow questioningly.

Masamune stared at Yukimura in disbelief. He deadpanned at the boy before smacking his forehead. "Of course you are, dummy. If you weren't, then you wouldn't exactly be a good rival then would you?" Masamune removed his hand from his face to look at Yukimura and allow him full insight the raw emotions swelling inside him.

"W-What?" he stuttered, unable to say anything intelligent. A good rival? To Date Masamune? "You... What?" The bubbling feeling rose within him again, but he wasn't sure why. He just knew that if what Masamune said was true then that'd be a huge load off of his shoulders... He stared at Masamune for a while, not sure whether to believe that look in his eye. He blushed a little but ignored it for the sake of trying to get everything on his mind straight.

"I see you as my rival. You got a problem with that?" Masamune asked with annoyance, referring to Yukimura's stuttering and shocked mannerisms. He knew that neither of them had really claimed each other as their rivals, but Masamune liked to think that they both understood that. The fact that Yukimura was so shocked gave Masamune the idea the maybe Yukimura hadn't been thinking like he had and that pissed Masamune off for some reason. "Do you not see me as a worthy rival?"

"Of course I do! I just... didn't think you thought of me the same way. That's what has been bothering me." Yukimura said calmly, though at a closer look it was obvious he was shaking. Unable to really contain himself any longer, he laughed and a smirk graced his features, "But now that that's been sorted out I feel a thousand times better. Never have I come across someone who made me question if I was a worthy enough opponent to them until you, Masamune-dono, and I'm honored to be considered your rival." The fire within him finally returned, and this time it looked as though it left a permanent burn on the brunette's soul. His determination radiated from him, but in his eyes it shined the brightest. For the second time in his life he felt inspired by Masamune, and this time he knew it was no accident.

Masamune smirked at Yukimura's eagerness feeling lit up himself. He felt a surge of energy rush through him leaving a tingling sensation behind. Masamune knew that there was only someone worthy of being his rival could cause this reactions. Never before had he been so thankful to be shown up in a dance battle. Just as Masamune opened his mouth to taunt Yukimura, Keiji bustled over to the table shoving a bucket full of cleaning supplies in between them.

"Since you two obviously have enough energy after eating, why don't you go clean upstairs? I want it sparkling clean when I see you next. Think of it as a punishment since you two skipped out on cleaning down here early," Keiji said, sternly glancing at the two. Masamune grimaced before glancing up at Keiji. "Yes, Date-san. You have to do this," Keiji said almost reading Masamune's mind. Masamune glared at Keiji before resentfully grabbing the bucket.

"Let's go, Yukimura. We might as well start," Masamune grumbled making his way upstairs.

Yukimura quickly followed after him into the room upstairs. He excitedly ran to the center of the dance floor, skidding to a stop as he marveled his second home in its uncrowded entirety. "It's a lot bigger than I remember it being," Yukimura observed, his face falling to a frown at the thought of the workload. He glanced around and examined the dance floor itself. It was scuffed up in some areas and rather than the panels flashing different colors like he was used to, they were foggy and white. He looked around the room, finding it easier to see now that the lights were on. His eyes then fell on Date, who stood in the doorway staring at him. "Is there a reason why you're just standing there, Masamune-dono?"

"No particular reason. You just look like you're enjoying yourself, seeing this place without all the flashing lights and stuff," Masamune said, making his way to the center of the dance floor where Yukimura stood. He glanced down and whistled. "Man, that's a lot of scuff marks. Guess we better get started." Masamune stepped on a mark and began twisting his foot. He continued doing that all the way down the mark until it disappeared completely.

"How did you do that?! I didn't know you could get rid of scuff marks!" Yukimura exclaimed in awe. Masamune briefly glanced up at him before returning his gaze to his work on the floor.

"Well, this is actually an old trick that Kojuro showed me when I was younger. Back when I first got into dancing I would leave scuff marks all over the floor and he'd get so mad at me. He eventually just showed me how to get rid of them so he wouldn't have to all the time. Watch," Masamune said, making another scuff mark disappear. Yukimura observed carefully before attempting it himself. When he pulled his foot away, the mark was gone.

"I did it!" Yukimura exclaimed.

"Great, now I won't be the only one to get rid of them," Masamune said.

"You seem to be pretty good at housekeeping, Masamune-dono. Why is that? I kinda pictured you as the lazy type who couldn't cook or clean," Yukimura said, removing more scuff marks.

"Ah, well, I can't cook, so you're right there. I'm pretty good at cleaning, but it's not like I wanna be. If I had the choice I wouldn't clean at all, but Kojuro often makes me clean the house as punishment for something. If it's not that then I have to help him out in the fields," Masamune explained. Yukimura gave a hum, imagining Masamune cleaning the house with a stern Kojuro keeping watch behind him. He gave a small chuckle at the image before continuing back to his work. Masamune paused briefly to question Yukimura's laughter, but stopped and continued working.

It was a while later until the two had finished cleaning. They were both sore from the demanding jobs like sweeping, mopping, cleaning the tables and windows, and even cleaning the frosted glass panel on the door. Yukimura grabbed two bottles of water from the mini fridge and sat with Masamune at a booth towards the wall. He set one bottle down on the table while drinking from the other. Masamune thankfully drank from his bottle before setting it down on the table. He took in Yukimura carefully. "So where'd you learn to freestep? As we both know that style of dance isn't really popular here so how'd you come to learn it?"

Yukimura pondered the question, "Well I learned how to c-walk first, which I learned from Sasuke. He's the only person I've seen to c-walk and I found it interesting. After that, he introduced me to freestepping, but he wasn't necessarily one to dance in that style. I was still really interested in the style though so I taught myself through the internet, watching other people dance it..." He stared off into space, reminiscing of the times he would try to copy the videos he watched. He smiled, "After a while I got Sasuke into it and he practices with me sometimes. How about you? Where did you learn how to freestep?"

Masamune leaned back in his seat and folded his arms over his chest. He smiled as he remembered how he learned it. "Well, I hang around Motochika a lot and he likes to help out Mitsunari. They do jumpstyle which contribute to freestepping. I had wanted to do something like that since I admired the work that goes into that. I'm just not suited for jumpstyle so I did research on what I could do. Then I found freestepping and well, I've just been training myself in secret really. Our last battle was the first time I'd shown it to anyone, even Motochika," Masamune explained. He smiled fondly at remembered the shock on his face. "Be proud you brought it out of me."

Upon hearing this, Yukimura blushed faintly. He looked away from Masamune to hide it, though he knew the man could read him like a book. "I...I'm glad I was able to do that for you." He managed to say. He rubbed the back of his neck nervously, not used to accepting praise from people. Master Shingen rarely gave out his praise, but when he did Yukimura accepted it graciously. When it came to other people, however, it was... very different, "Sasuke's the only person I've c-walked and freestepped with, but nowadays he doesn't really see me practice so... I guess I could say the same to you."

"We'll just have to fix that then. Besides, I'm glad you practice dancing because of me, but there's a way to do that without skipping meals. Maybe something can be arranged to help you..." Masamune trailed off in thought preparing for how this would happen. He wouldn't mind having more encounters with his rival, but he couldn't spend too much with him. He did want to eventually surpass the brunette after all.

Yukimura blinked, then after registering what Masamune said he shook his head furiously and waved his hands in protest, "No no no, it's completely fine! I don't want you wasting energy on me just because I'm foolish and forget things. It's completely unnecessary!" As much as he said this, he really did hate skipping meals so often. He loved to eat and skipping meals was a dumb habit for him to do, he had to admit.

Masamune laughed softly before smirking at Yukimura. "What made you think I would be your babysitter? I'm not gonna hang around you all the time. I was more thinking that I might send Motochika over and you can dance with him for a bit. He'll pick things up easily," Masamune said. That and he can help scout for me, Masamune thought carefully. Having Motochika dance with Yukimura often would not only help Yukimura, but it would help Masamune when Motochika came back with information on Yukimura's new dancing abilities.

Yukimura frowned a little, almost hurt that Masamune seemed to want to avoid him as much as possible without breaking their friendrivalship. He understood why, but still, it hurt to some extent. "Well I guess I wouldn't mind hanging out with Motochika-dono more often. He's a very likeable person and nice to be around. And he bought me ramen as thanks for helping solve issues between him and Ieyasu-dono." He smiled fondly at the memories and all the laughs they had during dinner. Soon enough he forgot why he frowned and was instead laughing at things he and Motochika and the others exchanged that night.

Masamune somehow immediately became pissed off that Yukimura wanted to spend more time with Motochika and how he smiled so fondly as if he were remembering some sort of inside joke between them. He felt as if Yukimura thought all of the bonding they had done today was worthless. He wasn't going to allow Yukimura to hang out with Motochika so happily that easily. "You know what, I just remembered that Motochika likes to go parade around town with that motorcycle gang of his. They're a pretty rough and scary bunch, so I'm not gonna try to take their leader away from them in case I get beat up. I'll just come instead. Where do you wanna meet?" Masamune asked, glaring at Yukimura out of spite. He knew he shouldn't let his emotions get the better of him, but it was something he just couldn't help when it came to Yukimura. Something about this kid made him feel a sense of possessiveness, like he couldn't share Yukimura with anybody. He shifted slightly in his seat at these thoughts, feeling a little uncomfortable with himself. 'I blame my lack of close friends…' Masamune decided, ending his rambling mind.

Yukimura pouted slightly, "Masamune-dono, I don't think it's very good to be indecisive..." He sighed and thought about it for a moment, then pressed a fist to his open palm after coming to a conclusion, "We can meet at the boxing ring Oyakata-sama owns. That's where I practice all the time, and it's very roomy." He smiled, then leaned in closer to Masamune and raised an eyebrow, "So is this your final decision or are you gonna change it again, hm?"

Masamune smirked and leaned closer to Yukimura resting his elbows on the table between them. "I'm not changing my mind. You can't shake me off that easily. Count me in," Masamune said, his voice flowing with his confidence. He stared right into Yukimura's eyes to let him know just how serious he was.

Though his gaze didn't falter, Yukimura couldn't help but shiver a little under Masamune's cold stare, "I was just making sure, seeing as how you were the one who changed your mind in the first place. I thought you'd have offered to spend more time with me right off the bat, with the way you word things..." Masamune immediately started feeling guilty about offering Motochika to go dance with Yukimura instead of saying he would go. He didn't think it would offend the other boy this much. Yukimura propped an elbow on the table, leaning his head on his hand as he did so, "Speaking of words, where did you learn English?" The brunette never took his eyes off of Masamune's. They were a very interesting shade of blue, one he didn't normally see, so he took it upon himself to take in as much as possible.

Masamune simply shook his head clear of his guilt in order to answer Yukimura's question. "I guess you could say I was a good English student. Kojuro actually studied abroad in America to learn more about agriculture and horticulture. When he started taking care of me he decided to teach me. I was just interested by the language so I learned it easily..." Masamune soon found himself too distracted to finish the rest of his story or at least explain with better details. Instead, he found himself too busy staring at Yukimura's eyes. They looked at him with such passion and fervor that it made the brown eyes dance abnormally so yet it was so enthralling to him. He could feel them pull him in closer to Yukimura the longer he stared yet he didn't want to look away.

Yukimura could sense Masamune leaning in closer but he didn't have it in him to pull away. He swallowed nervously, his throat suddenly becoming dry. "Maybe someday you could teach me. It's kind of frustrating when you say things I don't understand." He said this quietly, fearing if he spoke in his usual volume that Masamune would be far away from him, this moment would be nonexistent, and they'd be up in each other's faces in a different way; fighting for dominance on the dance floor. He liked these moments of peace, because at least he knew he was enjoying himself rather than sitting at home bored or worrying about missing some unidentified talent.

"Maybe I will. That doesn't sound like a bad idea," Masamune said, his voice barely above a whisper. He didn't know why or how he was being so quiet or where this flow of conversation was going. All he knew was that he was enjoying it, and he didn't want it to end. He could feel himself slowly inching closer to Yukimura, but he didn't want to stop it. He found himself absolutely powerless in this situation, blown away by Yukimura's gaze.

As Masamune inched closer and closer to close the distance between them, Yukimura's eyes tempted themselves closed. His heart pounded in his chest, making his very body ache for some reason unknown to him. His neck and cheeks were burning but upon feeling Masamune's slow breathing against his lips, a cold chill ran down his spine and eased his senses while driving him crazy at the same time. Time moved too slowly for Yukimura, and in a desperate attempt to fill the gap...

"Hey, Danna!" Sasuke called as he bounded up the steps and opened the door to the dance floor, "I've been calling your phone asking when you were coming back, but you ne-" His sentence got caught in his throat as he set his eyes on Yukimura, whom he thought of as a little brother, leaning dangerously close on the man who both got him back on his feet and ultimately threw his peaceful life into chaos, "D-DANNA?!"

Masamune pulled away from Yukimura quickly coming to his senses due to the yell. Yukimura's face exploded into a deep shade of red, ears and neck burning as well. For some reason unknown to Masamune though, he became very irritated and disappointed. He leaned back in his seat with his arms folded across his chest as he glared at Sasuke. "Who let the monkey in?" Date asked scornfully. Yukimura turned in his seat to face Sasuke, who came storming in angrily. His green eyes weren't focused on him though, but rather the man sitting across from him

"S-Sasuke what are you doing here?!" Yukimura asked with a horribly shaky voice. Sasuke glanced at Yukimura, then back to Masamune, eyes practically set to kill. Once he had his fill of the silent treatment, he looked back at Yukimura.

"I was calling to ask when you'd be returning, but you never answered so I came here to ask in person..." He raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms, "It doesn't look like you were planning on coming home any time soon though, nor did it look like you were doing much work for Maeda-sama."

"Clown boy wouldn't let us help him anymore since we kinda drowned this place in paint. He sent us up here where we cleaned, and now we're taking a break," Masamune paused and stood up glaring Sasuke straight in the face. "Is there something wrong with those turn of events... Monkey boy?"

"Maybe there is, One-Eyed Dragon..." Sasuke said, unwavering under Masamune's threatening glare. "You've gotten pretty close to Danna... Dangerously close." He raised an eyebrow and a smug grin reached his lips. Yukimura sat quietly and watched them both, not wanting either of them to hurt the other.

"These things happen when you're given the chance to talk. I quite enjoy spending time with Yukimura so what are you gonna do about it?" Masamune asked stepping closer with confidence knowing full well there wasn't much Sasuke could do about it without things becoming physical. He knew he wouldn't get hit while Yukimura was in the room, so he decided to test out his luck.

"M-Masamune-dono, calm down, Sasuke doesn't mean any harm," Yukimura said, standing up and doing his best to separate the two. "And Sasuke, Masamune-dono means no harm. I've gotten to know him and he's a pleasant person to be around if you get past the rough exterior." Sasuke frowned as he looked back at Yukimura. He stared at him for a minute, a little hurt that his childhood friend found better company in this good-for-nothing delinquent. He glared back at Masamune for a moment, and then sighed, "Fine, fine... But I'm keeping a close eye on you."

Yukimura laughed, thinking nothing of the threat, "I'll probably be home at around dinner time if that's okay. I won't be out later than that, I promise." He reassured his friend. Sasuke nodded, then turned and left. Yukimura waited until the door shut completely and silence filled the room again before slumping his shoulders with a sigh, "Sorry Masamune-dono..."

"What are you sorry for, Yukimura? As far as I'm concerned he's the one who should be apologizing," Masamune said without thinking. He then saw Yukimura gear up defend his friend and Masamune stopped him. "But, I won't hold it against him. He does have a reason to not like me because of what happened the other night. I was a bit harsh to you both back then... Sorry for that." The apology was uttered as a low mumble, almost inaudible. It was so low that Masamune could barely hear it himself, then again he didn't believe that the apology was coming from himself either.

Yukimura tilted his head and leaned closer to Masamune, "What was that last part?" He had a good feeling of what he said, but he wanted to hear him say it clearer just to make sure. Even though he only got to know Masamune today, he quickly learned he wasn't the kind of person to apologize easily.

Masamune growled and blushed slightly turning to Yukimura with an aggravated glare. "I said I'm sorry about the other night!" Masamune shouted defensively. He wasn't even sure why he was apologizing. Sure he had gotten carried away, but things are usually resolved afterwards without an apology so apologizing to Yukimura now was an alien feeling to him.

A smug grin made its way across his lips and Yukimura laughed, "Apology accepted..." He looked up at Masamune and noticed him blushing and he couldn't help but smirk a little bit. Blushes didn't really suit Masamune, but it was nice catching them when he did. It made Yukimura feel like he bested him in some way.

"Tch, like I care," Masamune said turning away from Yukimura to hide the embarrassment written all over his face. Masamune desperately searched for a new topic of conversation and relaxed when he found one. "That friend of yours sure is overprotective. Are you sure he's not your true caretaker?" Masamune asked hoping to start a new conversation.

As Yukimura took his previous seat, "I'm sure. Sasuke is like an older brother to me, we've known each other since childhood. I guess through that he grew protective of me in some cases." He played with his water bottle on the table and sighed, "What about you? What's your caretaker like?"

"He's a pain in the ass," Masamune said bluntly plopping back into his seat. He then scratched his head as he thought further about his relationship with Kojuro. "I guess I only say that though because he keeps me out of trouble. He's not my father, but he practically raised me. He knows me better than anyone else so I can never get away with anything. It's like he KNOWS when I'm gonna do something bad. I'm thankful to him though. Without him I know I would have gotten myself beat up on several occasions." Date then laughed recalling some memories.

Yukimura smiled, "Well then I'm grateful to him too, because otherwise I probably wouldn't have been able to meet you." He absentmindedly played with the water bottle, rolling it around on the table as he spoke.

Masamune blinked at Yukimura shocked at his declaration. He smiled and carefully chose his next words. "Well, of course you would've met me. I just wouldn't be as handsome as I am now," Masamune teased, smirking deviously while his eyes gave off a smoldering stare to Yukimura.

Yukimura smacked the bottle off the table as he fumbled, caught off guard by Masamune's words. He glared at him with a small blush, catching on to his teasing but... still not quite used to how to handle it, "... I don't... know how to respond... to that." he mumbled quietly, still glaring.

Masamune smirked at Yukimura. "Then don't say anything. You know I'm right after all," Masamune said laughing once more.

Yukimura rolled his eyes and turned away from Masamune, hiding his blush, "What if I don't think you're as handsome as you say you are? Then you'd be wrong."

Masamune tried not to let it show how hurt he was by that statement by shrugging it off. He then lazily leaned on the table. "I guess to that I'd have to say to each their own, right? Beauty is in the eye of the beholder and what not," Masamune rambled quoting all sorts of words of wisdom.

Yukimura laughed and listened to him ramble, finding it soothing. Usually he was the one to ramble on and on about pointless things, but with Masamune it was different. He was the listener and Masamune was the speaker. He studied Masamune some more, taking some bizarre interest in his features. It was then that he realized he overlooked a very big detail of Masamune's, but he didn't notice until now, "Masamune-dono..." he started, but immediately regretted it as he didn't know how to ask without sounding offensive.

Masamune immediately stopped rambling thankful for the distraction. He glanced at Yukimura expecting him to continue speaking. When he didn't, Masamune decided to speak up. "What is it? You were about to say somethin' right? Speak up," Masamune commanded.

"W-Well... I wanted to ask about your eye patch..." he started, and then straightened in his seat, clapping his hands together and bowing his head, "Sorry if it's a touchy topic, I just... I didn't really notice it until just now and I got curious..!"

Masamune sat still for a while debating whether he should tell his story or not. After enough debating he decided to just suck it up. "Well, you see, as a child I had gotten some sort of illness like small pox but it was a really severe case. I had to get rid of some organ to live, but my mom wouldn't let the doctors perform open surgery so they took my eye. It's not as bad as I thought it would be, and it's actually pretty fun wearing this eye patch. Sometimes, things just work out better than you had expected," Masamune explained putting hand to his eye patch.

Yukimura listened to his story and frowned, "Your mother didn't sound like a very pleasant woman..." He noted, then dropped the subject altogether as he saw Masamune's face change. He didn't like that expression, because it looked... pained. Acting on impulse, Yukimura jumped up from his seat and grabbed Masamune's hand, "Let's go for a walk?" He found himself saying.

"Wait, what? A walk? Now?" Masamune asked trying to protest, but he gave up as soon as he saw Yukimura's smile. Instead he just let himself be pulled away by him, relishing in how warm Yukimura's hand was. In order to seem like he wasn't completely pacified he continued putting out verbal protests but otherwise showed no signs of a struggle.

"Yes now, I'm bored anyway and we can talk on the way!" Yukimura laughed and countered each protest effortlessly. He could tell Masamune wasn't really trying to say no, he was just too stubborn to say yes. That fact alone made Yukimura happy, knowing that Masamune wouldn't deny his request. He was glad to have gotten to know Masamune in such a short time so now he wanted to make him feel as happy as he felt now. As they battled each other with protests and counter-protests down the stairs, Yukimura smiled warmly to himself as he felt Masamune – a person he learned so much about and connected with in so many ways in such a short amount of time – take hold of his hand. With a little hesitance, the one-eyed teen squeezed tighter.

Yukimura didn't have to turn around to see it, but Masamune smiled to himself. He didn't feel disconnected, nor did he feel like something was missing in his life anymore. In the span of a few days, Masamune found a rival and someone he connected to while still being polar opposites of each other.

He found Sanada Yukimura, his closest friend.