Ikemen Sengoku: Mai's Sister

For The First Time In A Long Time, I Let Someone Into My Life

3RD PERSON POV

By the time it got dark, Sora hadn't returned to the castle and Mai was getting worried too. Mai got to the audience hall for dinner and she asked the warlords.

"Guys, have you seen Sora?"

"No, we haven't, not since this morning anyway," Mitsunari told Mai.

"Has she not returned yet?" Hideyoshi asked Mai.

"No, after she nearly bit Nobunaga's head off, she stormed out of the castle, normally she goes for a long walk to clear her head but, she's never been gone for this long. I'm worried something must have happened to her."

Masamune stood up from the floor and he asked Nobunaga.

"Do you want me to look for her?"

"If you don't mind Masamune."

Masamune nodded his head and then he left the audience hall. Meanwhile, Sora was sitting alone near the river and she wiped away the last of her tears. Sora can't seem to get rid of the demons or the bad memories that haunted her. Sora curled up into a ball and she rested her folded arms on her knees.

Masamune walked through the start streets until he finally found Sora sitting alone. He walked over to her and knelt beside Sora.

"Sora?"

Sora glanced at Masamune but, she didn't have the energy to yell or shout at him to get him away from her. Masamune was surprised when Sora didn't bite his head off.

"Hmpf, that's a first, every time I see you, you would shout at me to go away, what happened?"

"...leave me alone..." Sora mumbled while staring at the river.

Masamune was surprised when she didn't even attempt to yell at him.

"That was pathetic, you usually shout louder than that to scare me off and threaten me."

"I don't have the energy..."

Sora said raised her head a little and Masamune saw her tear-stained cheeks and her red puffy eyes from crying so much. Masamune was shocked when he saw this and then he placed his hand on Sora's shoulder. She flinched a little and then he pulled his hand away from her shoulder.

"Please don't touch me...I'm a curse...and you'll get the death sentence too..."

"Death sentence? curse? Sora what are you talking about? when we first met you didn't say those things until now, what's changed?"

"...I've changed...you're right...I was a different person when we first met...but, ever since I came here...and being involved with that fight with the ronin...it's brought back too many memories for me..."

"Is that why you've been half starving yourself and getting sleepless nights?"

"I hate to admit this...yes...every time I close my eyes to sleep, my past begins to haunt me...every night, I still see her...Maria...my best friend...my sister...dying in my arms...I wake up either in the middle of the night or early in the mornings...I tried to forget about it but...I can't handle it...those nightmares are a reminder that I was too weak to protect the one person who meant to me the most..."

"So that's why you've been snapping at us and making your health worse. Sora, I don't know what happened to your friend but, what I can tell you, it's not your fault."

"Oh really...? then let me ask you this, how do you get over someone who had just died in your arms?"

Masamune didn't know what to say when she asked him that and then Sora asked him.

"How do you cope if someone you loved and cared for died right there on the battlefield..?"

Masamune looked away from Sora and he didn't know what to say to her.

"See my point? you warlords don't know...all you care about is fighting and helping that devil reach his ambition to unify the country..."

"That's true, we're not like those ronin if that's what you're thinking. Sure when we first met and when the ronin invaded the castle and tried to take Nobunaga's life, you and Mai obviously thought that we were dangerous but, we're not. Mai is getting along so well with us so why is it so hard for you?"

"...You don't get it, do you? ...whenever I put my life on the line, there's always someone there to watch my back and that's what Maria always did for me when we were in the army...but, when she protected me and when she died right there in front of me...I felt betrayed...if be there someone and if I get close to them again, I know something bad will happen."

"And you really think spending time alone and hurting yourself makes you feel better?"

"At least it's better than waking up every night after seeing that same nightmare over and over again!"

Sora shouted in frustration. Sora frowned before standing up from the ground.

"Why the hell am I talking to you for? you don't understand what I've seen or what happened to me during my army days..."

Sora was about to leave until Masamune stood up and he grabbed her wrist.

"You're right, I don't understand but, I can't stand by anymore and watch you suffer anymore."

Masamune pulled Sora into a hug and he held her tightly. Sora frowned angrily and she tried to get out of his grip.

"Let me go!!" Sora yelled angrily.

"No, not until you've calmed down and admitted that you need help."

SORA'S POV

I tried to push Masamune away from me but, he wouldn't release me. However, my fighting spirit was failing as Masamune held me tight in his arms.

'What's wrong with me? Why does being in Masamune's arms make me feel...safe?'

I stopped trying to push Masamune away from me as I timidly and slowly wrapped my arms around him.

'I don't understand, I thought the warlords of the Sengoku were supposed to be fearsome and al they cared about was getting stronger and helping Nobunaga unify Japan...so why...does this guy feel warm...?

"I don't get you Masamune."

"Huh?"

"You're a warlord and I thought-"

"You thought we cared about bloodshed and war, I admit, that's what we sometimes feel like but, not all of us are like that War God Uesugi Kenshin. It's true that I don't know anything about you or what you went through before we met but, if you want me to understand you better, you need to let me in, tell me what's been bothering you instead of bottling it up for so long."

"I can't... because if I do...I know something bad will happen to you...don't you get it...? I can't get close to someone ever again..."

I started to tremble and then Masamune gently stroked my hair and he then said to me.

"Don't worry, there's no need to be afraid, I'm here."

I gripped onto Masamune's kimono and then the tears that I tried so hard to hold back spilt out of my eyes again. I buried my face in his chest and I started crying. My legs buckled out on me and then Masmaune caught me in time and he continued to hug me to comfort me. For the first time in a long time, I have let someone into my life and I let him comforted me.