Sengoku Basara meets Samurai Warriors: The rise of the Toyotomi

Chapter 12

A/N: Here comes the 12th chapter!

Disclaimer: I don't own Samurai Warriors or Sengoku Basara, only this story.

Chapter 12: A message with a double meaning

Masamune was having fun despite the odds against them. Seeing Kai had definitely raised his spirits. Kanetsugu was proving to be an interesting opponent and Masamune had to admit that he had underestimated the man before. The battle the two of them were having was becoming more enjoyable by the second. Kanetsugu would pull a new trick once in a while, making Masamune raise up his defenses and actually try. "Yeah, that's more like it, peace boy!"

Kanetsugu glared at him. "You are still going easy on me, One-Eyed Dragon. I can tell you are still holding back. I'm going to make you regret this!"

Masamune chuckled. "Huh! Good luck with that." He glanced at Kojouro and he grew serious. He had to get rid of Kanetsugu now, so that he could assist his right eye. "Shit! Well, I had fun while it lasted, but I have to get going. Dragon's Fang!", he shouted and attacked Kanetsugu, sending him a few feet away flying.

He turned to see Kenshin looking at him. He smiled. "I'm coming for you, War God!"

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Kojouro had been pushed back by Kenshin when Masamune gave the final blow to Kanetsugu. It was obvious to him that Masamune wanted to take his place on the battlefield. He was about to jump back in order to assist him when a blue sphere of energy landed right next to him, making him jump away. He turned to look at his attacker and he wasn't surprised to see Aya. She had a gentle smile plastered on her face, but the energy she was radiating with was deadly. "So, my new opponent will be the Right Eye of the Dragon. How interesting."

"You're the War God's sister. The infamous witch of Echigo. I won't go easy on you." Kojouro knew that he was the one with a disadvantage, but he needed to boost himself in order to actually have a chance in this fight.

Aya chuckled. "Aren't you adorable?" And with that she charged at him.

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Kai was fighting two opponents at the same time and she was having quite the hard time, much to her annoyance. "Damn you!"

Those two opponents happened to be Hanbei and Kanbei. They had decided to join the battle since they had predicted that the Date would eventually come. The Hojo had been calculated to the risk and Hanbei had even betted on their appearance. "Well, you are strong, lady. I have to give it to you.", shouted Hanbei.

Kanbei barely glanced at Hanbei as he spoke. Kai glared at them. "Be good enough and give up then!" Hanbei was extremely good at dodging her attacks and Kanbei's ability with the flames he used was an annoying thing to keep track of.

"Believe me when I say, I'd love to, but sadly Kanbei here insisted we both join the battlefield."

"…" , Kanbei didn't reply and just blankly stared ahead.

Kai blinked at them before she growled. "I'm going to put an end on this!" She started raising her energy and red light engulfed her.

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Hayakawa fell back and she gasped as she hit the ground with a thud. Mitsunari didn't pursue her. "Give up already. Go back to your home and play with your dolls."

She coughed and slowly rose up. She picked up her fallen weapon and took her battle stance. Mitsunari sighed. He didn't know why he was going easy on her, but he couldn't take her seriously. She was no warrior. She was a child. Hayakawa tried her best glare, which wasn't intimidating at all. "How old are you?", she asked.

He raised an eyebrow. "Sixteen.", he answered.

Hayakawa nodded. "I'm only one year younger. Stop treating me like a child when you're one yourself."

He blinked. "I'm far more mature and even that one year is enough when it comes to battle experience."

Hayakawa smiled. "You think you're more mature than me because you've discarded your childhood completely."

Mitsunari's eyes widened. He didn't expect that from her. He never thought about how much of his childhood he really sacrificed due to the war. But at the same time, he didn't have the privilege to care. "We have no time to be children in this era of war. That's why you don't belong here. You haven't grown up yet."

Hayakawa smiled. "Maybe you're right. But I wouldn't dare to discard my happiness like that for the sake of this war or for any war for that matter. I'm glad that I can fight for my family and that they are with me to show me what truly matters in such an era; to be able to enjoy your life with the people you love. Maybe I'm privileged to have lived such a life so far, but I truly believe what I just told you."

Mitsunari stared at her with a softened expression. Her words had made him think. Was his reason for fighting the same? Lord Hideyoshi was his family and he agreed with fighting for family more than anything. Still… "If you love your family, ask them to surrender to lord Hideyoshi. That's the only way you'll continue to live in ignorance. Besides, hasn't your father discarded a family member for his pride already?"

Hayakawa's eyes widened and her grip on her weapon relaxed. She looked down. "Saburo agreed to join the Uesugi on his own. Father didn't want to do it either. He had no choice. The best life that my father can offer us is the one we are living under his roof. If we were to lose that life… My father would hate himself for destroying that life. He is doing it for all of us. And his people. They are our extended family."

Mitsunari sighed. There was no point in arguing with her anymore. He could see where she was coming from and he understood her points. He didn't necessarily agree with her, but he didn't disagree with her either. He hated seeing her there, standing against him. She didn't belong there. She belonged to a life that she could be happy with everyone she cared about. And for some reason he couldn't just kill her. Maybe because he wished to be able to be as carefree as she seemed. He took his own battle stance. "Come."

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Kojouro didn't know whether he should be considered lucky or whether he should ask Masamune to change opponents again. His new opponent, besides being extremely powerful in a different way, was also getting on his nerves. "You damn witch!", he shouted.

Aya kept her usual smile on her face. She didn't seem tired or bothered by the insults. "Well, you're not as entertaining as my dear Motonari. You can't really keep a woman satisfied, can you?"

Kojouro's eye twitched. "You sure know how to push someone's buttons now, don't you?"

Aya's smile widened. "You men make it too easy. It's not my fault you're like that."

Kojouro attacked her, but she jumped away and used an ice spell under his feet. He barely managed not to slip. Aya giggled. "Clumsy in everything you can be clumsy at, I see."

Kojouro glared at her. "I'm starting to wonder whether you're actually worse than Sanada's vixen."

Aya chuckled. "Please. Don't classify me with little girls like her. But then again, you can't really tell the difference between one and a real woman, can you now?"

Kojouro charged at her again.

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Motonari and Motochika were back to back and they were both fighting against the Hojo men. Motonari wouldn't admit it, but he was relieved he got rid of Aya from being his opponent. Their fight would go nowhere and he would just become angrier than he already was. Well, not that in his current situation he wasn't getting angrier…

"Careful Mori! You keep on making silly mistakes when it comes to your footing! Don't tell me a specific lady has you that distracted…"

Maybe he should focus on killing Motochika. Nobody was paying attention to him and he could easily say that Motochika died by being an idiot.

"Motochika!"

And there goes his lie. Koshosho had jumped in with them and decided to assist her husband. Motonari glared at her, contemplating whether maybe he should kill them both.

"Yo, Koshosho! Everything ok?", asked Motochika with his annoying smile.

Koshosho nodded. Motonari glanced at her hair wondering how on earth she could fight with that on her head. "Everything good! We still have the upper hand, but I saw you two struggling and I came to help."

"Don't worry about me, babe. You should worry about Mori over there." Motonari glared at Motochika. "How are Ran and Gracia doing?"

Koshosho kicked a guy and jumped next to Motochika. "They're doing pretty well. You've taught them well."

Motochika chuckled and held Koshosho by the waist. "We both did."

Koshosho smirked playfully and kissed her husband passionately.

"I'm about to vomit.", said Motonari in his usual monotone.

"Oh, shut it Mori…", said Motochika, not really paying him any attention.

"We're in a battle.", said Motonari.

"And? You were flirting with the enemy before weren't you?", said Motochika.

Motonari glared at him. "We were simply conversing. Stop trying to make my relationship with her something perverse, Chosokabe!"

Koshosho giggled. "Oh, he is in denial."

"Same goes for you, you insolent woman!", said Motonari as he sliced down two Hojo men.

"He definitely has the hots for her.", said Koshosho chuckling.

Motochika nodded. "Good for him. Maybe getting laid will fix his stuck up attitude."

Yep. Being with Aya was definitely better than being with Motochika that was trying to give him an aneurism.

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Kasuga didn't know what to do. Her opponent wasn't really a human… Fuma Kotaro supposedly couldn't attack her himself, considering their clans' alliance, but he could easily send a couple of his wolves against her and pretend like he didn't know shit. "I can't really control an animal…", he had said with an evil smirk as he left her alone.

Kasuga had been unable to do much against these animals. They were too well trained and despite having a few of her kunai reach their aim on their skin, the wolves would still continue, seemingly unbothered.

She wanted to ask Kenshin for assistance, but he had a worse issue since he was fighting against the One-Eyed Dragon. She had to survive on her own and the only reason she was managing to do it so far, despite hating that reason, was that she had promised to Sasuke that they would meet again and she would prove to him how much stronger she had become under Kenshin's guidance. She sighed as she thought about the other ninja. He had his own battles to win and she had to focus on her own.

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Masamune didn't know whether to be excited or worried. Kenshin was too good for his liking. He guessed that old man Takeda was the same and that annoyed him a bit. "Well, I get why the call you War God."

Kenshin nodded. "I didn't earn the name doing nothing you know."

"I'm curious about Old man Takeda now, you know. The Tiger of Kai.", said Masamune, trying to earn himself a few seconds to breathe.

Kenshin smiled. "Funny. You've challeneged the cub so many times and yet you've never fought against Shingen. You're missing out, One-Eyed Dragon."

Masamune smirked. "Well, since he is holding on like you're, I might pay him a visit sooner or later. After all, I'm going to unite this land myself. So eventually, I'll have to beat you old men."

Kenshin's smile widened. "Well, good luck with that. Because that old man isn't going to give up that easily. Neither is Lord Shingen. One of us is going to be the one to unite this land."

"I like your spirit! Come at me, War God!", shouted Masamune as he charged.

Kesnhin charged as well.

They were both forced to stop abruptly by a dark figure appearing between them. Masamune's lone eye widened and Kenshin seemed surprised as well.

The man between them was no one other than Hattori Hanzo. The question was, what was he doing here? Hanzo didn't move when he spoke. "The Tiger of Kai has fallen. They surrendered to the Toyotomi. Lord Ieyasu is heading this way." The ninja then disappeared.

Masamune felt his blood ran cold. Shingen lost… Even worse, they surrendered. So that meant that Yukimura… was part of the Toyotomi now. Kenshin looked shocked and that was something that surprised the One-Eyed Dragon.

Then again, he himself could barely believe what he just heard. Yukimura lost. And the worst thing was that he gave up. Were the Toyotomi this powerful? If yes, was his goal a lost cause?

His train of thought was interrupted by Kesnhin suddenly shouting to his troops. "Retreat! We are going back!"

Masamune's eye widened in surprise and shock. The War God was considering surrendering as well. That was why he asked his troops to retreat.

Uesugi men were running past him, but he couldn't bring himself to attack any of them. The weight of the words he had just heard was getting to him and he felt unable to breathe.

Suddenly, he was forced to deflect an attack. He stared at Naoie Kanetsugu that had the guts to attack him in shock. Kanetsugu was glaring at him and he kept on attacking like a madman. Masamune could barely attack back, but gave it his all in one push that made Kanetsugu fall back. Masamune hesitantly raise his sword to his neck and Kanetsugu challengingly stared at him. Masamune got it. This man preferred to die here than see his lord surrender to the enemy. The thing was, he couldn't bring himself to move and give the finishing blow.

"Lord Masamune!" Kojouro;s voice snapped him out of his tranquility. He turned to his Right Eye with a grateful look. "What are we gonna do? The Hojo are retreating too!"

Masamune glanced at Kanetsugu. He was simply glaring at them. Masamune looked up at the sky. It was snowing. "We're also leaving.", he said finally. "Let's go and meet with the fool of Sagami."

"Wait!", shouted Kanetsugu.

Masamune glared at him. "If you wanna die so much, go ahead and commit seppuku. I won't kill a strong warrior after his army has already retreated."

And with that, Masamune left along with Kojouro, shouting "Retreat!" as well.

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Hayakawa hit the ground once again with a loud thud. "Your army is retreating. Get out of my sight.", said Mitsunari.

Hayakawa spat some blood. He had been going easy on her at the beginning of their battle but he had definitely stepped up his game in the meantime. She felt like a punching bag but she didn't feel like he had been too rough with her. Their difference in power was obvious and she knew that she deserved a far worse fate than a few bruises for challenging the King of Misfortune. She looked at him and smiled softly at him. He raised an eyebrow. "Thank you… For fighting on considerably equal terms with me… I should have died in this fight… I'm grateful you didn't kill me though…"

He scoffed. "I didn't see the point in killing a sheep when I'm really out there to fight wolves."

Hayakawa chuckled as an image of Kotaro's wolves appeared in her mind. Well, she was childish for finding something funny in such dismissing words, but she didn't care.

"What's so funny?", he asked annoyed.

"I thought about it a little too literally.", she said laughing a little more. She started coughing afterwards and she had to clutch her sides. Definitely broken a rib or two, she thought.

"You're an idiot.", he said while frowning.

"I won't argue with that.", she smiled at him as she slowly rose up to her full height and started walking slowly towards her army.

Mitsunari growled as he kept watching her stumbling. "You are pathetic. Let me take you to the Hojo."

He tried to grab her arm, but she pulled away and stared at him with an icy cold look in her eyes. "You let me live. If I were a true samurai, I would have been more than ashamed. Let me at least crawl back on my own."

His eyes widened briefly in surprise and he backed away from her. She nodded at him. "I have probably broken a rib or two. There are other people there with worse injuries. Some of them are from your army. Go and tend to them. They need their leader."

And with that she left him alone. Mitsunari had never felt so confused in his whole life.

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Ujiyasu stared at his retreating men, Hanzo's word playing over and over again on his mind. Kai approached him. "Are we all here?"

"Almost.", he replied as he saw Hayakawa limping towards them.

"My lady!", shouted Kai.

"I'm fine, Kai. Don't worry.", said the girl sounding mostly exhausted.

"This asshole!", shouted Kai. She grabbed her sword. "I'm going to kill him."

"No.", said Hayakawa and Kai halted confused. "We're in a real battle, Kai. He could have easily killed me and he should have. This is war. Not a game."

"My lady…", gasped Kai surprised.

Hayakawa smiled at her and looked at her father. He nodded at her and then turned to look something behind her with a serious expression. Hayakawa and Kai both turned and Hayakawa gasped as her eyes met Saburo's. Her brother stared at her for a moment, before he turned to follow the retreating Uesugi army, not bothering to spare another glance. "Saburo…", whispered Haykawa.

"Kagetora.", said an ominous voice behind her. Kotaro had joined them along with his wolves and he was petting one of them while treating his injury. "That's the name he goes by nowadays."

Hayakawa frowned. "He is still Saburo to me.", she said.

Ujiyasu didn't comment on that. He just stared at his son as he left. He then turned to look at their approaching "allies". "One-Eyed Dragon.", he said simply.

"Yo! The fool of Sagami did come right on time.", he smirked at Kai and Kai blushed and looked away.

Ujiyasu noticed this and frowned. "You're upset because of what happened to the Takeda, aren't you?"

Masamune turned serious. "They gave up. That's bullshit! Don't tell me you're considering doing the same shit."

Ujiyasu looked at him. "Are you considering it?"

Masamune glared at him. "Of course not! We are proud warriors and-"

"It's not about pride.", said Ujiyasu, taking a drag from his pipe. Kai stared at him surprised and Masamune did the same. "It's about my people. If fighting is the best course of action for them, then I'll do it. If surrendering means I am saving them, then I'll do that instead and as for my stupid pride, I'll challenge Hideyoshi myself. No Hojo clan, no nothing. Just the fool of Sagami against a monkey."

"But-"

"There are no buts and if you're a good leader, you'll figure that out." He looked at Kai. "We're leaving."

"But-", started Kai.

"As I said before, no buts. You'll catch up with him another time. We've got a lot of stuff to take care of. If Shingen fell, we need to prepare ourselves."

And with that the Hojo left. Kai looked behind her, locking her eyes with Masamune for a moment before following Ujiyasu. She looked at Ujiyasu with a pained expression. "You dislike him on a personal level. Why is that?"

"This man is no good for you, Kai. I'll explain to you why when we get back."

Kai nodded and followed him back to Kanto, a sour feeling making its presence known to her.

End of Chapter 12

A/N: And it's finally done! Sorry for taking so long and for that shitty ending, I really didn't know how to finish this chapter. I've been working, trying to finish my university project and getting sick this past few months. Also I'll be going to Spain for two months on April and I won't be writing on my stories till I get back and I hope that I'll manage writing another chapter before I leave. Thank you Star-Eyes Pendulum Dragon for commenting and yes, Mitsunari is having some girl issues, finally allowing himself to be a teen, though not as much as he should. Till next time!