Chapter 3: Take Two- Yuzuki
Yuzuki walked into the war room with Sasuke and they sat down behind Yukimura. Lord Shingen had called them for a meeting and it sounded rather important. "Good the three of you are here now. With the Devil King Oda terrorizing the land of the rising sun something must be done about it! I plan on trying to rally the eastern generals to plan a full scale assault on Oda. Maeda Keiji as you have heard is trying to do the same thing. Now we know that he is headed for our friend Masamune at the moment. Yuzuki I want you to head over there and help try and convince the One-Eyed Dragon since he is a stubborn man. Sasuke I would like you to go to Azai Nagamasa for his help as well as present this idea to Kenshin. Yukimura I want you to deliver this message to Ieyasu Tokugawa. If this goes as planned Date will try going out on his own so we will use him as our spearhead. The Uesugi and Takeda will follow Date and pick up Tokugawa and Azai along the way. Now go and be as persistent and persuasive as possible."
Yuzuki and Sasuke left immediately with their ninja speed while Yukimura went to the stables to get a horse. Yuzuki headed north to the home of the One-Eyed Dragon. She jumped into the courtyard and had to duck as a large sword swung over almost cutting her head off! "Whoa what the HELL!" The two men stopped creating a tens silence. "Whoa, what the hell yourself." Yuzuki looked over at a young man with shaggy brown hair and an eye patch over his right eye. He was wearing a white haori and blue hakama. "Are you the One-Eyed Dragon?" The man sheathed his six swords and crossed his arms a look of amusement in his expression.
"What if I am?" Yuzuki knelt down and relayed the message lord Shingen had requested of her. "Lord Masamune I come with a message and a request from Kai. Lord Shingen has asked me to come to you in search of assistance." She looked up at the man who now looked agitated. "You see sir; we need the help of the Date army's numbers and strength in our assault on Oda at Nagashino. I was told that a man by the name of Maeda Keiji would be here to ask the same thing of you but lord Shingen sent me to reinforce the request."
She waited for a response listening to the steady beat of the rain as it poured down on them all. "Like I already told the Maeda clown I don't work well with others." She sighed and took a couple of deep breaths. Lord Shingen had warned her about his stubbornness but what this guy didn't know was that she could be just as if not even more stubborn than him.
"Lord Masamune with the combined forces of Date, Takeda, Uesugi, Azai, and Tokugawa we would have the upper hand against Oda! If we continue to let him roam about and cause destruction then the land will surely be his by this time next year! I have been informed that you have already met the Devil King at Okehazema. I was also told that his gaze caused you to hesitate. You wouldn't be refusing because you are afraid of the Devil King would you?"
Yuzuki smiled when she saw the anger in his lone blue eye. She had hit a nerve with this man and it was obvious. "Tch, like hell I'd be afraid of that guy! I told you I wouldn't be going and I have my reasons. If you think I'm scared than think again!" Then a man walked up to him and pulled him to the side. The two men were having a privet argument so she patiently waited. Then a man came over from behind her. He had long brown hair that was tied up into a high ponytail. He had three feathers in his hair and a small monkey on his shoulder.
"Hello my name is Keiji and this little guy here is Yumekichi. When you get the chance tell lord Shingen that I appreciate him sending you to help me out. Masamune is defiantly one hard nut to crack." She nodded and smiled at the little monkey who waved to her. "My name is Yuzuki Hitomi I am the newest member of the Sanada ninja corps."
The two men walked back over having ended their argument. "We leave tomorrow morning." Yuzuki looked up at him in surprise. He gave in to his retainer so easily! That must be the Dragon's Right Eye Kojuro Katakura. Yuzuki supposed that if there was anyone in this world you could get through to the Dragon it was his Right Eye. Keiji smiled as well and she followed the three men inside to get away from the rain.
The next morning the army took off for Nagashino where they would meet up with Takeda, Uesugi, Tokugawa, and Azai. Yuzuki ran beside Masamune's horse as they went. They were very nearly there when Yuzuki saw an army flag in the distance. It had the Azai Mon on it and so Yuzuki went straight to Nagamasa Azai. She came up to the blonde haired man but was stopped by his lance which was now pointed dangerously in her face. "Lord Nagamasa it's just the Date army. We are part of the eastern alliance we are on your side." The man looked at her with sad and regretful blue eyes.
"I am afraid you are mistaken ninja. I fight with my brother-in-law Oda Nobunaga. You are not my allies here but sadly my enemy." Yuzuki jumped back swiftly and pulled out her katana. "But Nagamasa-"She was cut off by the shake of his head. "Yuzuki my old friend I am deeply sorry. I cannot put Oichi in the position of having to choose between her brother and myself. I could never put my beloved Oichi in that kind of position." She had met Nagamasa and Oichi many times before in her past and knew them both to be kind people who only wanted their people to be happy. She knew that Nagamasa did not agree with what Nobunaga as doing but the fact that they were related by law prevented him from doing anything about it. "Nagamasa I understand if I must now be your enemy then so be it."
Masamune rode over his arms crossed face hidden behind his helmet. "I thought the generals were supposed to fight the generals. I never remember ninja fighting like this." She looked back and forth between the two men on either side of her. "Lord Masamune it is not uncommon for one's friend to want to fight when stuck in combat. I ask that you let me fight lord Nagamasa." The One-Eyed Dragon shook his head. "No this is between me and Azai your place is with Takeda go."
She nodded reluctantly and gave Nagamasa one last glance before disappearing into the trees. She raced for the Takeda camp and saw that they had begun fighting with Tokugawa. Nothing was going as planned! The lost both Azai and Tokugawa and now their hopes of having the upper hand had vanquished. Sasuke jumped down next to her startling her. "Yuzuki where's the Date army?" She shook her head. "They have been halted by the Azai army and are fighting a little ways back." She could see the stress and frustration in his eyes as he took in the information. "Dammit! I thought Azai was on our side! I heard an order go out to the Oda army harquebus corps to go and shoot down Azai! This could get ugly."
She nodded and quickly ran back the way she had come hopefully to warm both Date and Azai in time. The battle had already seemed as if it had been going on for hours as she got back to the two clashing armies both with a number of dead and wounded soldiers. Azai and Date were fighting in the center of it all lighting and flashed of pure white light engulfed the battlefield. As she tried to get the information out it seemed as if no one could hear her due to the heat of battle. No man was free to listen. Then both armies came to a haunting silence as the harquebus corps came rolling in on the other side of the field. Mitsuhide Akechi was on his demonic looking horse smiling with his creepy smile. He let go of Oichi and she ran across the field trying desperately to get to Nagamasa. She noticed that the firearms were trained on Nagamasa and not Masamune so she quickly acted accordingly. She tried to run and drag Nagamasa to the ground to save him but was too late.
She had almost reached him when the gun went off. She heard the crack of the fire and then felt a sharp pain in her side and her leg. She fell to the ground hard making her cry out. She heard the distant scream of Oichi as she fell to her knees to Nagamasa who had been shot multiple times. Yuzuki struggled to sit up and crawled her way over to her two old friends. Oichi was weeping into Nagamasa's chest as she pulled him close. Blood ran down the side of his face staining his blonde hair a sickening crimson. She managed to sit beside Oichi and put a hand on her shoulder.
Nagamasa's hand went up to Oichi's face and Yuzuki looked down at him. His eyes were full of pain and regret but he had a smile on his face as he looked at his wife for what looked to be the last time. "Oichi I-I'm sorry. I love you O-ichi" His hand dropped to the ground and Oichi cried out to him begging him not to go. Oichi clung to Yuzuki then arms wrapped around her neck. "Oichi I'm sorry. I tried but I was just too late." Yuzuki tried to remain focused but her vision seemed to elude her and her head felt like it was spinning. The pain in her side seemed more noticeable now than it had before. The last things she heard were Oichi's sobs, Mitsuhide's maniacal laugh, and Masamune cursing in the background.
Sasuke jumped down and rushed across the battlefield. He knelt down next to Yuzuki and picked her up removing her arm from Oichi's grasp. He turned around to see Masamune Date enraged and glaring down the field at Mitsuhide. "One-Eyed Dragon I suggest you retreat. With this many firearms turned against you your at an extreme disadvantage." He looked as If he was about to protest but then Kojuro Katakura came riding over with his horse. "Lord Masamune the shinobi is right, we should retreat." Having heard the suggestion from his right eye the Dragon sighed heavily and lifted himself on his horse after looking back at the two bloodied people on the ground by Oichi and Sasuke.
Sasuke lifted Yuzuki up and ran into the trees heading back to Kai. One of his ninja ran up beside him. "Master Sarutobi, where are you going?"Sasuke had to fight to keep his voice steady and calm. "I need to get Yuzuki back to Kai as fast as possible! Tell lord Shingen and master Sanada that I'll be waiting for them back home." The ninja nodded and left. The ninja went back to the battlefield and found master Sanada. "Where's Sasuke?" The young warrior sounded worried since it was Sasuke himself that usually reported to him. "Yuzuki was shot down by the Oda harquebus corps and he is making a desperate run to Kai."
"WHAT? Is Yuzuki going to be okay?" The young warrior looked very worried now. His eyes were wide in disbelief. "From what I saw…It would take a miracle for her to survive. She was shot in the side and in the leg. Azai Nagamasa was shot as well but we know he is dead. Yuzuki is alive now but I don't know for how much longer. The Date army is currently in the process of retreating. And I think we should as well."
It felt like her side was burning and she could hardly feel her leg. She felt the wind rushing past her and her hair was flying all over the place. She had regained consciousness for a little while and opened her eyes to see Sasuke. He had a scared and determined expression running as fast as he could. "S-Sasuke?" He looked down at her his eyes wide and scared. "Yuzuki! You'll be okay I promise! I won't let you die!" She could feel his heart racing in his chest and she could hear his hard breathing as he sprinted through the trees. She looked down to see her blood stains on both her shirt and his. The camo now obtained a new color along with the browns and greens.
She felt the cold metal tips of his gloves on her arm where the sleeve had been torn. She was having trouble breathing the air coming in and out rough and uneven. She was still fighting the threat of unconsciousness and at this point she was just too weak to win the battle. Her eyes closed involuntarily and her mind started shutting down until darkness enveloped her and she drifted off.
Sasuke flew through the gates and ran down yelling out for one of the female doctors. He ran into a room and laid Yuzuki down. He was about to turn and burst through the door again to find a doctor but one was already at his heels and was moving over to take care of her. Sasuke walked outside so that the doctor could get to work. He sat down on the porch and leaned his head back against the wall. He looked up at the sound of horses and he saw the One-Eyed Dragon and his Right eye riding up.
"Hey Sarutobi, is that girl alright?" Masamune jumped down off his horse and ran up with Kojuro at his heels. "I-I don't know she in there with a doctor right now." Sasuke cursed silently for letting the fear show in his voice. Then the two men did something Sasuke didn't expect. They walked over and sat down next to him on the porch. "The Takeda haven't gotten back from the battlefield yet?" Sasuke shook his head. "No I sent one of my men to tell Yukimura and lord Shingen that I was heading back. Where is the rest of your army?"
"We sent them on ahead back home."After a couple minutes the doctor came and opened the door allowing the three of them in. Sasuke sat down at Yuzuki's side and let out a sigh of relief seeing the rise and fall of her chest. Then he looked over as Masamune walked by. "So she's going to live then?" the doctor looked a little down about the question. "Well you see. I've done all I can for her. Whether or not she lives now is all up to her."
"Lord Masamune do you want to stay a while to make sure?" The Dragon smiled and shook his head. "Nah if it's really is up to her if she lives or dies then we have nothing to worry about. When we find the time we'll come back so I can thank her for saving my life." The Dragon's Right Eye nodded and they said their goodbyes before leaving to go back home. Sasuke sat there next to Yuzuki all da. He was about to fall asleep when he heard the sounds of the Takeda army filing in. Before Sasuke even stood up Yukimura came running in. "SASAUKE IS YUZUKI ALRIGHT?" The red clad warrior ran over to the far side of the room where Yuzuki was laying. "She'll be okay Dana." He sounded extremely tiered and he could hear the relief in his own voice "Thank goodness from what one of your men said told me I thought she might not be alive right now."