Adult-FanFiction.org : Anime

400 Years Apart	By : Cynthermes Category: +M to R > Mirage of Blaze Views: 4263 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: Mirage of Blaze and its characters solely belong to Kuwabara Mizuna. I’m just going to creep into a corner of her sand box and play the part of a wannabe historical writer. No profit has been made in the construction of this story.

Chapter List
- 21
- 22
- 23
Chapter 22:

The Dragon’s Eighth Star

A/N: In a secret rest house covered by a mysterious fog near Lake Ashi were three men and a sleeping dragon.

This is a continuation of the present at the end of Chapter 12. It should come to attention by now that in between long arcs from the time-slip, there would be sporadic chapters containing Naoe’s struggle in saving Kagetora’s soul.

Disclaimer: See (chapter one)

The chirp of the crickets, the dewy smell of grass, and the coolness of the night wind banished the traces of slumber in his shivering frame. Naoe awakened below a dark indigo sky to find himself wearing the same wet dress shirt and slacks. Only a second was spared to wonder where he was before the thought of Kagetora sends him panicking. Where was his lord? He weakly rises to feet that simply refuse to bear his weight.

He gritted his teeth and tried again only to fall sideways. He cursed but when he looked up a stern face was gazing down at him. “Saburo-dono is resting in the adjacent room. If you wish to see him, you would have to wait for your weakness to dissipate.” Pale face, tall and lean, long thin hair tied in a high knot: despite being a kanshousha, this one’s presence was muted to Naoe.

A memory flashed, “When you wake up, the person who shows himself directly serves under the one currently in possession of ‘our’ souls.”

Remnants of the Hojo and this man in particular… Naoe should have known better than to believe enemies do not strike twice in a row and with completely different motives. This shinobi had helped him release Kagetora in the mirror. Why would he suddenly be the one behind his lord’s recapture? Was that their intention from the start? Despite the implication of a double agenda, it didn’t mesh well with their tactical principles somehow. “What did you do to Kagetora-sama?”

“Glaring at me won’t make you get up any sooner, Naoe-dono. Like you, I am just an instrument of His Lordship. And He too simply fulfilled Saburo-dono’s wishes.” Could this one even speak normally? Naoe was incensed but chose to hide it well in a veil of docility.

“I guess I’ll simply wait here, lying like some half-dead man while I leave the fate of my master to some marionette.” Well as docile as he could get without becoming rabid, he couldn’t sit still like an obedient dog while his lord’s life was hanging in the balance.

Naoe didn’t even have time to yelp in surprise as he was hoisted up an unexpectedly strong shoulder. “Your sarcasm would have had more venom if your chi isn’t so depleted. You couldn’t practically throw me a nenpa even if you tried it with all your might.”

Was he acting smug? Naoe bristled silently but was unable to retaliate any more than a simple clenching of fists. His lower limbs hung like a boneless heap. It sure did give his current ‘carrier’ the satisfaction of being under his mercy.

And as promptly as he was carted away like a body bag was the same exact manner he was dumped unceremoniously on the foot of an occupied bed.

A still form reclined on the futon dressed in a yukata as pale as his skin.

Naoe started. “Takaya-san…?”

Saying his very name did nothing to dispel the strange mirage before him. Takaya… tan-skinned, assertive eyebrows, straight nose, muscularly-lean body, short dark hair like that of an adolescent cub budding into a full-grown beast but not quite… was not the one he was seeing.

This young man was… not his Takaya-san. This was Kagetora, the Kagetora in his dream… the one who he knew almost nothing about in their first lives…

Saburo Kagetora.

“The soul is the spiritual liquid that flows inside its solid container: the body. And yet in Saburo-dono’s case, it is his soul that now shapes the appearance of his vessel. It is most intriguing.” The shinobi said in a very bland manner that didn’t fit the awe in his statement.

He sounded like a man fascinated by ripples on the surface of a pond.

A pond that was gradually being altered from within…

Naoe was on the verge of panic but willed himself to remain calm. They were doing something to his lord and it was already affecting his current physical form. Apart from the fact that Takaya was in a coma, Kagetora’s soul was missing, and the Hojo becoming even more of a threat after the Tsutsuga incident, Naoe didn’t know where to begin.

“I don’t understand.” Naoe said as he resisted the urge to crawl desperately to reach the gradually ever-changing appearance of Takaya’s body. The boy’s hair was growing longer, his hard callused skin lightening into a finer, pristine kind that was otherworldly in its beauty.

“Kagetora-sama would never…”

“…return to the Hojo?” A flat monotone spoke his thoughts. “Naoe-dono, did you know why Saburo-dono died at Samegao-jo?”

Naoe blanched.

A cold, icy fear had latched at his spine and he swallowed.

He had not expected the shinobi to come up with such a question delving into his master’s past… A past that he was not even a part of.

How much did he know about Hojo Saburo?

Hojo Saburo, seventh son of Hojo Ujiyasu was sent to the Uesugi as a hostage in exchange of Kakizaki Haruhie. Saburo Kagetora was not Uesugi by blood⁸⁴ and thus had been Naoe Nobutsuna’s enemy.

He, being the leader of Uesugi Kagekatsu’s faction had driven Saburo Kagetora to his death in the fires of Samegao-jo. Now why would an agent of the Fuma, the elite shinobi serving under the Hojo hatch this delicate subject in the open?

When Naoe found his throat too dry to speak, Fuma Kotarou regarded him with an indecipherable stare and continued, “When Kenshin-dono died, we knew immediately that Saburo-dono was in peril having lost his adoptive father and legal guardian among the Uesugi. And just as we predicted, ambitious vassals pushed forth their hidden agenda, pressuring Kagekatsu-dono into a civil war against his sworn brother.”

“The Hojo had already abandoned Kagetora-sama when Ujimasa-dono succeeded as the clan lord!” Naoe snapped already getting irritated to where this conversation was going. What was the shinobi trying to tell him? It was useless. Kagetora would never think, would never wish of returning—!?

“Is that what Kenshin-dono told the Uesugi?” Calm, cool eyes pierced Naoe’s sprawled form sharper than any blade. It made the kanshousha have second thoughts on whose presence he was actually dealing with.

What is he…? Naoe crushed the beginnings of doubt taking root at the core of his psyche. The shinobi exuded a steel countenance of unshaken certainty to be spouting untruths. It left Naoe creeping in the dark again. How much does this man know about Saburo Kagetora?

“When the alliance between the Hojo and the Uesugi came to an end, Kakizaki Haruhie was returned whole, unharmed, and safely, was he not? What do you suppose did that mean?”

…

“When you wake up, the person who shows himself directly serves under the one currently in possession of ‘our’ souls.”

…

The same words in his dream raced inside his head. No… it couldn’t be…

“Ujiyasu-dono…?” Naoe risked an odd conjecture and saw the shinobi lift his arm. A crimson blaze surrounded it and instantly he felt unnatural heat seep through his body.

He went rigid, bracing for an attack, which he couldn’t possibly deflect and so was truly astonished when he felt his lost strength returning. Naoe managed to sit up but regarded his unexpected host warily.

“You really must be something among the Uesugi for having recognized me, Naoe-dono. For once, I give Kenshin my praise for having chosen you as my blood son’s protector… although reluctantly I say otherwise in some matters…”

Naoe caught a surreptitious glint in his eyes for a split second but was unable to interpret it.

The two men watched each other silently before Ujiyasu resumed speaking. “You can drop your guard a little, Naoe-dono. I am not going to stick a knife on your back the moment you turn it.”

“How can I be at ease when an enemy warlord, as respectable as you are planting seeds of doubt on Kenshin-kou?” Naoe, having finally found his voice swiftly retaliated.

If it shall be a duel of words, then he would be damned not to fight.

Ujiyasu, using the shinobi’s body sat across from Naoe in a traditional collected manner a daimyo of his rank would typically assume. “A curious one, you sure are. I do not blame you. Many have not taken careful consideration of the true circumstances surrounding Saburo’s adoption to the Uesugi.”

As unthreatening as he may act, Naoe could not, could never lay his guard down around this man. Ujiyasu’s well-disposed and tolerant demeanor was very dangerous. It made even Naoe’s beliefs about their overlord and god of war shake in their foundations.

“Among my sons, Saburo was undisputably the most beautiful. Even as a babe, simply looking at him gurgle happily and cradled on his mother’s arms evoked such a feeling of wonder upon me and his siblings. As he grew a couple of years I cannot help but think that he would upset the tradition of succession if he were to remain under my care.

He would eventually overshadow Ujimasa’s charisma and exceed his talents one day… this I was certain. Many would be willing to stand by his side and fight wars for him. He would become Ujimasa’s greatest rival among the realm. And to my mistake, I have already groomed Ujimasa perhaps too much to be my heir.

Given the situation, he and Saburo would be pitted against each other for the title of Sagami no Kami. There would be civil war among the Hojo. It would have been no different than the Otate no Ran, you see?

I simply cannot let that happen.

The Hojo had unique strength because of cohesiveness. It is the only ruling clan to have ever lived known to never have internal conflicts. My sons all agree to aid and support each other. Saburo’s existence threatened to destroy the established order of things. I have no choice but to send him away.” Ujiyasu shut his eyes forcefully as if he were in pain.

Naoe clenched his fists. He refused to believe it. “That’s…!”

“Cruel, I know. But such was the reality of our time, am I correct Naoe-dono? Any other daimyo would have thought the same as I did.

Opportunity presented itself when Nagatsuna-oji⁸⁵ lost his sons in a battle against the Takeda. I was ready to give him Saburo to comfort him in his grief. Thus my then youngest son was adopted for the first time. He grew to the very temples of Hakone into a boy. However, I have learned that Nagatsuna-oji plans to betroth his daughter to my son. The proposal seemed harmless at first until I realized that Saburo would then succeed to being the governor of Hakone if he becomes Ojisama’s heir.

The situation becomes no different. Knowing Ujimasa’s position in the idea of sharing governance with a younger counterpart, it made me reconsider. I could not allow Saburo to be Nagatsuna-oji’s son any longer.”

To be the outcast in one’s true family…

It hurt.

Naoe hurt to have to know this.

It was just painful beyond words. And he thought Kagetora could take no more… It made his past crimes and grave offenses against his lord the salt to half-healed wounds.

“Forming an alliance with the Takeda became another opening. Without second thoughts I offered Saburo up as a hostage. I was confident, having Shingen-dono’s contract not a secret to me. With everything he learned from Nagatsuna-oji playing the flute, a little poetry, a fine hand with the bow, and horsemanship, Saburo would please Shingen immensely.”

Naoe’s eyes immediately narrowed. If this was where those nasty rumors started then… But Ujiyasu gently met his anger with a soft chuckle. It was strange, having to see the shinobi’s face come to life with human emotions. Suit him well, it did not and Naoe’s simmering rage dwindled like a neglected hearth.

“Shingen was far from delighted at first. He thinks I have insulted his graces presenting my very young, talented, and pretty son to seal our alliance. But he was a man who loved the arts, being an established poet himself at a young age. He soon succumbed to the weakness of teaching my child his own style at literary pieces. And thus Saburo earned the jealousy of many of the Tiger Lord’s admirers.

I would have never expected that it was one Kousaka Masanobu Danjo who would protect him against Shingen’s mad suitors.”

Now that he thought about it… Naoe could only picture Kousaka shielding his young Kagetora-sama from an army of Takeda Shingen’s lovers. And then there was that one slip of the tongue when they first met… Kousaka had inadvertently addressed Kagetora as Saburo-dono. It really got into Naoe’s nerves when Kagetora (not Takaya) only shrugged it off.

What disturbed Naoe were not Kousaka’s taunts or malicious leers but the mere fact that the Takeda general knew a piece of Kagetora’s past that perhaps he would have no part in. It triggered his insecurities about the man he revered. To withhold a scrap of information about the man he worshipped drove him insane… like an itch he couldn’t scratch.

His thoughts may well have been written on his face when Ujiyasu pinned him another disapproving glance. “Ujimasa… possessed a similar look in his eyes whenever the name of Saburo leaves my lips. I would never have understood what it means before now.”

“Pardon me,” Naoe said quickly but internally smacked himself for giving away too much in a single reaction.

Ujiyasu heaved an uncharacteristic sigh and rubbed his temples. He stared pensively ahead before continuing, “When the Takeda besieged Odawara-jo by fire in that infamous year* I never expected Saburo to be returned to me, alive. Now I ask you again, what could Shingen be telling me with that gesture?”

*Year 1569 (See chapter 6 onwards)

The Hojo Clan Lord means his previous question regarding Kakizaki Haruhie’s return to the Uesugi after being held similarly as a hostage. In truth, Naoe seriously didn’t know what to think about it. It could only be stubbornness on his part but… “As I see it, it only shows a sign of honor and goodwill, Ujiyasu-dono.”

Hojo Ujiyasu laughed. “You are a loyal man of Kenshin; I should have never expected anything less.” Naoe would never comprehend this man’s dual nature.

“It means as much as he was very fond of my son, Shingen wanted his daughter, Obaiin-hime returned. Our alliance was over.” There was not a trace of humor in his eyes.

“Impossible,” was what fell out of Naoe’s gaping mouth before he had the wit to cover a hand on it.

“Surely, fighting Shingen on the left and Kenshin on the right would be quite hard on us, and so Ujimasa decided to ally ourselves with Kenshin. Again, making Saburo be adopted as a hostage would be advantageous to serve both our means. His years amidst the company of the Takeda would be valuable when it comes to warfare. Never in my wildest dreams would I come to regret that very decision of mine until centuries later.”

Kagetora-sama’s adoptions were not at all a product of a warlord’s whims… Naoe was so horribly awed to find out. They should all have known better. It was all sound calculation on the Hojo’s part.

And that was not even the worst of it…

Naoe chooses to play dumb, “If I might not be so straightforward, Ujiyasu-dono… why would you regret ever placing your son under Kenshin-kou’s care?”

The four walls of the room trembled and for a moment Naoe feared that the powerful onshou preferred a much destructive and nonverbal response. When the rumbling noise of the earth ceased, Ujiyasu appeared to be finally capable of showing anger. “Should I respond to your question as if it were in the most distant past or now at present times, Naoe-dono? It is because I have two very distinct answers for each.”

Naoe was unaware that he was about to know Kagetora’s two different fathers in a whole new light.

“In the past, even if another said otherwise, I WOULD HAVE RAGED THAT I NEVER GET TO HAVE MY SON BACK! I thought Kakizaki Haruhie’s return would be enough for the Uesugi to get the message. It seems I was mistaken.

I had foolishly thought that since Kenshin had already adopted two sons, my own would be spared. It didn’t even occur to me how much the child’s hunger for parental love would come to be the gods’ retribution against us for sending him away. In the end, I thought I had no one to blame but myself.”

Naoe was aghast. He only sat motionlessly to witness a man, a father crumble before his eyes as he was swallowed by regrets. Being the sole outsider to see his beloved’s father at his lowest was not in any way easy.

Ujiyasu now had trouble composing himself. He was hunched over, a hand cradling his brow while the other curled into a fist by his lap. “Let me ask you again Naoe-dono. Did you know why Saburo died at Samegao-jo?” His voice was nothing more but a pained rasp.

Naoe felt his mouth opening and closing but no words came out. He still couldn’t figure out the essence of this question… unless he wanted to outright admit that he was indirectly responsible for Saburo Kagetora’s death. Fortunately, Ujiyasu didn’t expect that much out of him either.

“Winter came at such a terrible time. Echigo was known to be struck by the seasons harshest every so often. And the Uesugi, I would only come to know later had returned my son’s loyalty to them only by murdering him! Saburo turned his back on me, on his siblings, on his homeland and for what? To finally ask Ujimasa and Ujiteru for help when Shingen’s son, Katsuyori and Kenshin’s son, Kagekatsu had cornered him.

Do you not think it, hilarious? Or was it fate telling us that history does repeat itself?

It was the Takeda and the Uesugi in a pincer attack against the Hojo all over again!”

The irony of it all… Naoe wanted to grieve all over again as well.

“There was nothing my elder sons could do for him. And now… now…” Tears were falling one after another down a stern man’s face. Ujiyasu took a few calming breaths but failed to stump his sorrow.

“Even 400 years after his death, it seems Kenshin was not done with him. Fear not, Naoe-dono I will not be your enemy for now. I do not wish to imitate him after all.”

“Then please tell me… what is happening to my lord? What are you doing to Kagetora-sama?” Naoe asked in desperation. Even after everything he had heard, Kagetora’s welfare still came first.

Ujiyasu looked about to fly into another fit of rage but held himself in check. He could only break down so much and before the eyes of an enemy no less. “I’ve… I’ve never seen so much damage… to a soul.”

“What?”

“For once I am doing something fatherly to him. I am granting his wishes to see what he so wishes to see and at the same time… I’m desperately trying to heal Saburo.

I am disappointed. You as his protector should know the state of his soul the most.”

He was fed up… Naoe was fed up being kept in the dark. And if anything, something was happening to his Kagetora-sama, it should be his prerogative to know it first. “My ignorance is unforgivable but Ujiyasu-dono I am begging you… please tell me everything.”

Ujiyasu stood up, moving towards the shoji and opened it as silently as his current vessel’s capability. Kagetora’s biological father had his back turned on them.

Naoe felt doomed.

It seems Ujiyasu decided to keep the answers all to himself.

But as the beginnings of early dawn streamed through the wood and paper panels bathing the room in a silvery blue hue, he spoke…

“My son has suffered enough. I will keep Saburo’s soul hostage for as long as it takes if Kenshin decides to keep his silence in the matter that should have been given a hasty solution.”

Only two things entered Naoe’s mind should he leave things as they are:

One: Takaya’s body would die.

Two: Kagetora’s soul would never be the same again.

And there was one thing Hojo Ujiyasu demanded: Uesugi Kenshin’s presence.

Naoe doubted that he would be able to talk with the god of war himself before time runs out.

TBC~

84 – I may sound like a broken record here but neither were Kenshin and Kagekatsu Uesugi by blood. They were the Nagao, retainers of the Uesugi who usurped Norimasa’s position when he lost the war against Ujiyasu.

85 – Nagatsuna is Hojo Genan’s official name.

Post A/N: Now you know who’s behind Kagetora’s soul-napping! But it doesn’t even get that simple, does it?

Special dedication: Happy Birthday Ammy-chan! This one is dedicated to you. My muse worked overtime to get this done in time.
- 21
- 22
- 23
You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.You need to be logged in to leave a review for this story.
Report Story

400 Years Apart