Chesirethebunny: Thanks a lot for pointing that out! I felt pretty embarssed after I read I got his dang NAME wrong. -_-"". I'm still new here in the Sengoku Basara fandom (two week member woo) and my game says one thing about Masamune's name and the subs I was reading for the anime said another. :P Sorry about that heh. *bows*
This might be the last time I update so fast again. I have two other stories I'm writing as well and it's hard keeping up with 'em all. Depending on how far the next chapter goes, it's likely this story will only have around five chapters, but that's enough for what I want to happen in that amount of chaps. Thanks for reading, and enjoy chapter two!
The first sign of daylight was barely on the horizon as Chieko sprinted out of her tent. The birds around her sang to greet the morning of peace, but she knew it was to be anything but peaceful. No one else in the tents surrounding were awake but her.
"Today is the day I grow up…" She muttered under her breath, letting the wind carry it farther and farther away. "Today…I'm Masamune's heir…"
With a smile of pure confidence Chieko leapt up in the air with happiness, pretending to soar on eagle's wings. The tales the men had told her last night as they drank sake were nothing short of amazing legends. Her father, the revered Dragon, had cut down thousands upon thousands of men, conquered territories, and brought down mighty warlords down to their knees! The blood of him pumped endlessly in her veins, blessing her with the power that could give her all those miraculous abilities as well.
The young girl soon arrived in her father's garden, the place he trained at. When she became the age where climbing trees was available, Chieko would climb the highest tree in sight and stay on a branch that pointed west: the direction of Masamune's garden. Hours and hours she spent, watching his every move. Later at night she would sneak out of her tent and practice the moves she witnessed with her dagger. While she might've never been able to perfect the techniques she studied from her father, she would tweak them to fit her fighting style.
"M-Masamune-sama!" She exclaimed as she entered the garden. The objectionable scent of pollen and sweat mingled in her nose. "I-I've arrived!"
In the center of the garden was Masamune Date, a small smile on his face. He was in his battle-scared armor, and was rapidly tapping his fingertips impatiently against his armor. "You gonna fight in those clothes you made?" He asked, tilting his head at her and looking over her hand-made outfit she wore the night before. "They are better than what Maeda Toshiie wears, but still. I'll have you fitted for some real samurai armor later…"
Chieko bowed respectfully to her father, not wanting to mention the fact she had an iron plate placed over her chest and arm guards with spikes on them hidden under her sleeves. "I'd be honored, Masamune-sama. S-So, about training-"
"Ah, as eager as I was when I was young…Follow me, Chieko…" With that the Ruler of Oushuu signaled for his daughter to follow him. She did just as he instructed, making sure she was at least three paces behind him at all times.
Truth was, she wanted desperately to talk to her father. Chieko Date wanted more than anything for them to sit down together with no tension and have a civilized conversation in peace (behind closed doors if that was an option). Biting her lip, she suppressed the thought and tucked it deep down as far as she could force it into her brain. "Yes, of course…Where are we going to? I thought you said I was sparring with Kojuro-dono today."
Masamune let out a short sigh and continued walking. "I will explain all in good time…until then, we are going to the stables, and I'm giving you a horse. You know how to ride the beasts, right?"
"Why, of course. Your men would always let me ride their horses when I was younger. That's how I got my first real injury." The brown-haired girl stated, staring at her Lord's back. "But, uh, may I ask why I must have a horse if I'm just going to spar?"
"We ain't having this party here." Masamune said as he neared the stable-house. Already two stable hands had brought out his horse as well as a smaller bay one. "As I said, this is training. Ya wanna be my heir? Prove to me you can do anything a real warrior can do."
Suddenly filling to the brim with confidence, Chieko nodded and ran over to mount her horse. Once she was up and seated comfortably she looked over at her father. "This will work." She ran her fingers through the horse's mane and smiled. "Yes, it will definitely work."
He nodded silently and jumped swiftly onto his midnight-black horse. It twirled its head in excitement and Masamune smiled at its willingness. "Yours doesn't come with handlebars, so make due with those boring reins." He said, a hint of amusement in his voice. "Now, are you ready?"
Chieko smiled and nodded. "Yeah!"
"Here we GO!" In one hasty kick, Masamune Date's horse reared right up and neighed loudly. Chieko watched in awe as the two hot-headed males galloped off, leaving her in a trail of dust.
"No way am I letting him show off!" She yelled at her horse before kicking it into a fast canter and then a full-out gallop. "If I lower my guard, I'll be ruined…I have to show him I can do anything…anything that a male heir could do!"
The sun was beginning to rise totally above the father and daughter's heads as they continued to gallop across the landscape. Masamune had crossed his arms against his chest long ago, not giving a care about anything in the world. To Chieko, it seemed like he wasn't even looking where he was going.
She, on the other hand, was about ready to drop. Never had she been on a horse at full speed this long. The leather reins tied around her hands had begun to make blisters, threatening to break and burst everywhere. Her legs were absolutely exhausted from having kicked the horse repeatedly. Her neck was aching from looking forward and up so long, and her back was burning from the sun staring at it. Even Chieko's own moral was beginning to become nothing but a memory.
"How you holding up back there?" Masamune called back to her, not casting a glance at his only daughter's condition. "You alright?"
Despite the aching dryness of her throat, Chieko opened her parched mouth and screamed back in response. "I'm fine! Do not worry about me! I'm still good as gold…"
She received no response, which made her worry to no end. Had she bitten off too much to chew? Was living up to her father's expectations just too much for her to handle? The dragonet feared that if she summited to failure, her battle-scarred father would burn her to death with his own breath.
"…Draw your weapon."
The blood was pumping so hard in her ears that Chieko nearly didn't hear the command given by Masamune. "H-Huh? O-oh, okay." With much effort, the young girl wrapped her calloused hand over the hilt of her precious dagger. "Why…?"
The answer to her question came as a jarring hit to the back, sending Chieko flying off her horse and onto the hard ground. She heard her horse's thundering footsteps over her, and covered her head in a natural reflex. Once she was clear the horse had jumped right over her small frame, she shot up and faced the attacker.
Looking at her with an expressionless face was Katakura Kojuro. Grey hairs were beginning to erupt from his hair, but that was no reason to underestimate the Dragon's Right Eye. His sword was drawn, pointed directly at her heart.
"Now…fight him! The heir that I will accept will be able to fight, even after being exhausted with traveling." Masamune said, screeching his horse to a halt and turning around to watch the match. "Kojuro, don't kill 'er please…"
"Understood, Masamune-sama." The experienced warrior said, his voice monotone. Yet the person whom had that monotonous voice shot fear throughout Chieko's heart. "Draw your dagger, let us fight…"
"B-but…" Chieko's head whirled and her mind was beginning to believe she was going insane, but she drew her dagger with her calloused hands anyway. "O-Okay…" Are you watching me, Father? She thought to herself, her entirety shaking. I will fight as much as I can, until I drop…
"Make sure to give everything ya got…BEGIN!"
Within a mere second Kojuro was already slashing widely at Cheiko, who could only block in a vain attempt to save her skin. Her opponent's strikes were fast and precise, and if she was one second late, the powerful blade would slash up her heart right out if its chest.
"I-I can't lose to you!" Chieko screamed, her blocks getting slower and the blade's tip closer to her shivering skin. "I have to prove to Father I am worth s-something!"
"I know…but when my Lord tells me something, I must follow his orders." Kojuro explained, "My heart and soul are entirely devoted to him! I must not break my vow!"
"Well I have a vow to follow as well! A vow to become Masamune Date's heir!" Chieko spat, determined more than anything to win. Her overworked body screamed and beseeched for her to stop, but her will was much too strong and as a result, kept on fighting. "You are in my way of that vow, so I must cut you down!"
Chieko Date's dagger went one way.
Kojuro Katakura's blade went the other.
Blood spattered over the ground, dying the dirt from brown to red in an instant.