Sengoku Basara meets Samurai Warriors: The rise of the Toyotomi
Chapter 2
A/N: Hello everyone! Here is the second chapter and I noticed that I forgot to mention Ina's clothing in the previous one. She is wearing her Samurai Warriors 2 outfit for anyone wondering. Anyway, let us proceed!
Disclaimer: I don't own Samurai Warriors or Sengoku Basara.
Chapter 2: Before the storm
Motonari Mori took a sip from his tea and stared at the sun. He was sitting in his strategy room along with his guest and for the first time in a while, he was relaxed. He was waiting for the order to attack Chosokabe. He had been forced to ally with the Toyotomi, because, as he always said, he cared for Aki and his clan more than anything, to the point that he would sacrifice everyone for their land. He didn't like Toyotomi Hideyoshi and he couldn't understand how an airhead like Takenaka Hanbei had become one of the two most trusted strategists of the Toyotomi army. There were two other men in the Toyotomi army, though that he knew that shouldn't be underestimated. Yoshitsugu Ootani (the Sengoku Basara one), one of the men that Mitsunari Ishida had under his supervision was obviously the kind of man that made a fool of others and Motonari disliked, yet respected him. The other man was no one other than Kuroda Kanbei. That man made Motonari uncomfortable in a way that he hadn't felt in years. He read through Motonari despite his cold façade and Motonari had been thankful to the fact that Hideyoshi didn't care about his motives like his strategist did.
Motonari closed his eyes for a moment. He was dressed up in his usual armor, knowing that he could be called on the battlefield at any minute. But for now he was grateful, even though he would rather die than admit it, that his guest was there to make him forget about everything that was going on, even for a little while. Aya Gozen (Samurai Warriors 3 outfit), was one of the very few people he could tolerate. The thing was, she had become more than just tolerable to him these 3 years that they had known each other. She would visit from time to time and she would spend time with him. At first he had been annoyed, especially with himself for enjoying her company, but he had gotten used to her and he had even started feeling a little excited whenever she would write him about her visits. She was a calming presence to be around despite her attitude at times and he was grateful for her visits. But he knew that all good things didn't last forever. "When are you leaving?"
Aya gave him her usual smile. She had taken off her cloak and she looked so much smaller and fragile. "Tomorrow morning. My brother needs me. We need to take the Hojo down."
"I see.", replied Motonari. He had his usual cold façade on, but Aya had learned to read through him, much to his annoyance.
"I'll come back soon. I enjoy the warm climate here. Maybe one day, you can visit Echigo and finally see snow."
"I can't leave Aki unless I ensure that it will be safe in my absence."
"Isn't that what your new allies will eventually achieve if they take down Chosokabe?"
"Yes." He didn't say anything else and Aya's smile widened as she brought her cup of tea to her mouth. He hated himself foe even thinking of visiting Echigo, especially when Aki was still in danger, but now he really didn't have much of an excuse. Maybe he could visit, but he felt weird about that matter. The only reason he ever left Aki was for battle or meetings with his allies. So the whole thing seemed strange and foreign to him.
One of his men, whose name he didn't bother to remember came with a worried expression. "What is it?"
"Lord Kuroda is here. He wants to talk to you now.", said the man. He was shaking a little, knowing that Motonari didn't like being interrupted.
"You can go. I'll go for a walk in the gardens. I want to see the flowers one last time before I leave.", said Aya getting up and smiling gently.
Motonari nodded. He got up himself and followed the man inside. Kanbei was waiting for him in his strategy room. He looked as pale as a ghost as always and he had that neutral and almost bored expression on his face that made Motonari angry. He hated when people did… well what he himself did in order to mask their feelings. The thing with Kanbei was that he could see through him, while he couldn't do the same and that scared him. Still, he prepared himself mentally for the conversation that was to follow. "Lord Kuroda."
Kanbei barely acknowledged him. "As you probably guessed we are planning to make a move against Chosokabe."
"I see. Straight to the point."
Kanbei glanced at him but didn't comment. "Lord Hideyoshi hired Saika Magoichi (the Sengoku Basara one) and her men. You and her are going to attack from the sea, while our main forces will attack from the land. We were thinking about checking Chosokabe's military power, so you and Saika will attack tomorrow, but you will quickly retreat after you have evaluated his power. You will report to us and we will determine whether a simple attack on land will be the finishing blow or if we need you to attack as well."
"Why can't we just make one military advance? Chosokabe is obviously going to lose. We could finish it in one day."
Kanbei stared at him and Motonari felt shivers running down his spine. "I know that you and Chosokabe have history. But we hope that he will surrender eventually. We need more men in our army. If everyone follows Lord Hideyoshi, peace will have been achieved without much bloodshed."
Motonari glared at him. "I was under the impression that we would eliminate Chosokabe and Otome, not that we would befriend them."
"We could always do the same to you, shall I remind you."
Motonari kept on glaring at Kanbei, but he couldn't really argue with this man. There was a reason he had joined the Toyotomi and that was because they were much stronger than him. "I understand. I will start the battle preparations."
"You should be trying to convince that woman as well." Motonari froze. He hadn't told anyone about Aya's visits. "She is the War God's sister, isn't she? If you really care about her, advise her to make her brother surrender to us. Farewell."
Kanbei left, leaving Motonari staring at his back. He was glad that he was now alone in the room, because for the first time in years he allowed himself to fall on his knees and gasp. Kanbei Kuroda, once again, proved that he could read him with frightening ease.
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Ranmaru Mori (Samurai Warriors 2 outfit) was focused. He needed to land just one hit. If he did, he could prove that he was useful. "Come on brat! I haven't got all day.", shouted Motochika, who was seating on a rock with his anchor next to him. Ranmaru charged and brought his sword down with all his might, but Motochika simply deflected the hit by raising his anchor just a little bit.
Motochika sighed and Ranmaru backed away. "You are only using brute force and you keep attacking blindly. It used to work, but when it comes to my strength, I do not feel much from your hits. We will continue tomorrow."
"Oh, come on! I can still fight.", moaned Ranmaru.
"I never doubted that. You need to change your perspective, though. Go and train with Koshosho. She has more time to spare than I do. I promise that when we will finish with the Toyotomi, I will train with you more." With that Motochika left, leaving Ranmaru annoyed.
It had been 3 years since he started living with Chosokabe Motochika and his wife Koshosho. It had been a very interesting change, since he finally relaxed and had fun like a child his age should. The thing that annoyed him, though, was the fact that he had grown soft. He couldn't fight the way he used to and the fact that his opponent was usually Motochika didn't help. Motochika was huge and very muscular. He could deflect Ranmaru's attacks like they were nothing. Ranmaru had been training with him for quite a while, but his progress was much slower than when he was training with the Oda army. To make matters worse, Toyotomi Hideyoshi had them surrounded and Motochika had to pay more attention to what was going on, often neglecting Ranmaru's training, much to the young boy's annoyance.
As he was walking on the sandy beach, obviously frustrated, he came across Gracia (Samurai Warriors 3 outfit), who seemed to have been looking for him. Gracia, unlike him, was training alone. She wanted her magic powers to grow enough so that she could protect her new family, something she couldn't do with her old one. And much to Ranmaru's annoyance, she was doing better than him. He tried to act like he didn't notice her, but Gracia had already spotted him. "Ran, bow down for me."
"What…?!", he asked very confused. He approached her curiously and did as he was told. He wanted to know what the pink haired girl had in mind.
Before he could react, Gracia had placed a pink flower ornament on his hair. "There you go. It looks as great as I thought it would."
"What the…" Ranmaru immediately tried to take it off his hair, but was stopped by Gracia holding his hand. He stared at her even more confused and with a small blush on his cheeks. Many would mistake him for a woman, something he despised and having such a girly ornament on him would only make things worse.
"Please don't take it off. I made it just for you!"
"It's too girly!"
"It suits you!"
Ranmaru tried to take it off once again, but Gracia tackled him on the ground. "Come on Ran! It's lovely!" Before he had any time to react, Gracia was biting his exposed thigh.
Ranmaru sighed in annoyance and pain and felt his cheeks heating up even more. They were both acting like children again and he decided to be the bigger person and accept Gracia's ridiculous gift. He patted her head in order for her to stop biting. She rose up and gave him a hopeful look. "I will keep it. Thank you. But, focus on your training and not on stupid hair ornaments please."
Gracia's smile was radiant. "Great! That way we will be connected! I have a similar one. I have used protective spells on the ornament and that way you will be safe when the Toyotomi attack. We must be together in this. I will do my best to protect you, Ran!"
Gracia offered her fist to him. He smiled, realizing that all this was because Gracia was worried about him. He bumped her fist with his own. "I will protect you as well!" I will not allow the Toyotomi to take my family from me…
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"You haven't eaten much, Mitsunari!", shouted Nene (Samurai Warriors 3 outfit) while pouting.
Mitsunari sighed in annoyance. Nene was acting all motherly on him again and even though the act was cute a few years ago, now it was annoying him to no end. "I'm not that hungry."
"You are skin and bones! I am surprised you can even lift your sword!", shouted Nene, a little too loudly for his liking. Masanori, who was sitting next to him, snickered.
"I am perfectly fine, lady Nene. The food is just too much." He really wanted this conversation to be over.
"He just dislikes vegetables, like a brat.", murmured Kiyomasa, loud enough for both him and Nene to hear. Mitsunari shot him a glare, while Nene gasped.
"Is that true, Mitsunari?"
"Lady Nene, you already know that I eat balanced meals. I just eat less than those two buffoons.", said Mitsunari, quite satisfied with how Masanori and Kiyomasa glared at him, not that he showed it.
"Don't badmouth them Mitsunari! And you two, leave Mitsunari alone!", shouted Nene.
Masanori sweatdropped and Kiyomasa turned red under Nene's intense stare. Mitsuanri stood up and left the tent they were all in, despite Nene's protests. Outside, he found Yoshitsugu Ootani waiting for him.
"Mitsunari, did you have a nice meal?", asked the bandaged man.
"Yes. Even though I couldn't really finish it.", he replied as Nene shouted from inside the tent that he barely ate anything.
"Oh, let me guess… You killed many men today as well, right?", asked Yoshitsugu with a knowing smirk.
Mitsunari didn't answer and looked away. After battles in which he unleashed his full strength he would always feel a little numb. He would eat less, he would sleep less, but he knew that this was worth it if lord Hideyoshi was safe.
Mitsunari decided to change the subject. "Where is Ieyasu. I am looking for a sparring partner and I know that Sakon is probably somewhere gambling."
"Oh, I am pretty sure I saw him taking a stroll on the other side of our camp. Lady Naotora was with him." Yoshitsugu smirked once again.
Mitsunari sighed. "Thanks, Gyobu. If you don't want anything else, I am going to find him."
"Actually I wanted to tell you that the day after tomorrow will probably be the day we will attack Chosokabe full force. So be ready for it."
Mitsunari nodded and left Yoshitsugu in search for Ieyasu. He found the man around the area Yoshitsugu had told him to look at and he was indeed talking with Naotora. And Mitsunari decided to wait before he approached them since he was now witnessing one of the most ridiculous attempts at flirting by the Tokugawa leader. It was obvious that Ieyasu and Naotora were close since they had been around the same age and they used to be the only two children in their army. The three years he had known them, Naotora had grown into an objectively beautiful woman, even getting the attention of lord Hideyoshi at times, much to Nene's and Mitsunari's annoyance. Kiyomasa and Masanori would also hit on her at times, much to the girl's embarrassment and especially Masanori was getting annoying to the point that even Kiyomasa would try to stop him. Ieyasu, on the other hand, was a completely different case. He liked the girl in quite a pure way compared to everyone else and if Mitsunari was totally honest about the whole thing, he would prefer it if Ieyasu was the one to end up with Naotora. The only problem was that Ieyasu was the most awkward person when it came to flirting and that was coming from Mitsunari, a guy that didn't flirt with anyone. So he sat there watching the blushing mess that was Ieyasu saying something and laughing awkwardly and even worse Naotora doing the exact same thing. Mitsunari sighed loudly and got their attention. Ieyasu turned at him and smiled in that annoyingly cheerful way. "Yo, Mitsunari!"
Naotora turned redder and bowed at him, before leaving the two of them alone. Mitsunari stared at her for a moment with a raised eyebrow. "You two are pathetic.", he stated simply.
Ieyasu chuckled and rubbed his neck embarrassed. "I can't wait to see you falling in love with someone. That will be far more amusing."
Mitsunari scowled at him. "There is no way such a thing is ever going to happen. And even if somehow I were stupid enough to fall in love with someone, I wouldn't act like a complete moron like you did."
Ieyasu sighed. "If you think about someone else except for lord Hideyoshi for once, maybe you will fall in love."
Mitsunari's scowl deepened. "Lord Hideyoshi is my top priority and I won't have anyone taking that place. Besides I do think of others. Lady Nene for example. Speaking of which, tell your ninja to stop thinking whatever he does about her. She is a married woman and lord Hideyoshi's wife."
"Hanzo would never act upon such a desire, because he respects her. I am more worried about Kiyomasa when it comes to that matter. He does look like he has a crush on her. Also, if you do care about lady Nene, you should try to stop lord Hideyoshi from being a complete womanizer and having more concubines."
Mitsunari sighed. Ieyasu had a point. "I keep telling Kiyomasa to stop seeing her like that and as for Lord Hideyoshi… I am trying but he always makes time to be with other women. I don't like that, but I can't fully stop him."
Ieyasu smiled sympathetically at him. "How are you, by the way? You literally slaughtered those men back there…"
"I am fine.", Mitsunari cut in. "They insulted lord Hideyoshi, so they deserved what they got." Mitsunari looked down for a moment. He and Ieyasu had formed a weird friendship these three years they were together in the same army. Ieyasu could see through him and see that Mitsunari was bothered whenever he acted as ruthlessly as he did on the battlefield. "I need a sparring partner.", he mumbled.
Ieyasu gave him his usual smile. "Ok, I'm in."
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Ujiyasu had built a small camp outside of Kyoto, so that they could immediately respond in case of a sneak attack. He had sent a messenger to try diplomatic means in order for the attacks to seize completely. He knew it was a waste of time. But he was expected to try. The messenger came back at night and he told Ujiyasu what he expected to hear. "So, you came slinking back here, eh?"
Ujiyasu rose up and grabbed the shaking man from his helmet. He stared into his eyes with a smirk. "You've done well.", he told the man. Ujiyasu walked over the sleeping bodies of his men and spoke loud enough so that they could hear him. "They think we're ready to surrender. Those fools are probably already dreaming of getting back home to the girls they left behind."
Ujiyasu shook one of the men that were still asleep. "Remove your helmets and armor. We will strike at night."
Gasps could be heard throughout the whole camp. "Isn't that considered cowardice, my lord?", asked Kaihime.
"They keep pestering us for no good reason. I am not gonna play fair.", replied Ujiyasu. "Takeda and his men won't be here till morning. They will join us for our next attack."
Kai stared at him surprised. A shadowy figure appeared next to him with a smirk on his lips. "I will enjoy this…", whispered Fuma Kotaro. Ujiyasu didn't answer and kept staring forward.
End of Chapter 2
A/N: I finally managed to finish this chapter! I am sorry it took so long, but I had a lot of stuff to do for university and since my exams are starting soon, the next one will probably be ready in July. I wanted to thank star eyes pendulum dragon for reviewing my previous chapter and I hope to see more reviews. The scene with Ranmaru and Gracia is from Samurai Warriors 3, Ranmaru's cutscenes and the final scene with Ujiyasu is also from Samurai Warriors 3 and it is a cutscene called Overconfidence with Ujiyasu. Thanks everyone for reading. Till next time!