Warlords of Sengoku (Ikemen Segoku)

Part 9

Edited

Kiren POV

I woke to an uncomfortable quiet. A silence that screams, "you're alone." The darkness of the cell engulfed me, squeezing the air from the room. An oil lamp just outside my cell, for the guard, shone a meek glow, highlighting my frail figure against the dust-coated wall. Dust and dirt coated my once vibrantly coloured kimono in a sombre faded grey. The silence surprised me though. For a dungeon, I thought there would be a more prominent sound of torture. But there's nothing. Not even an echo.

I crawled, on all fours towards the gate. I wrapped my hands around the bars of the cell, craning my neck to maybe glimpse a sign of another human life. After maybe half an hour, I gave up on thinking that someone would come for me. I took a deep breath and shouted, "HELP!" Nothing. The next hour or so consisted of me screaming until my throat became raw and hoarse.

Hope had abandoned me. I shuffled into the corner furthest away from the door and most submerged in darkness. I drew my knees towards my chest and rested my head on them, covering my eyes so I wouldn't have to see where I was; praying that the next time I opened them, I would see something different, something better. My sobs were the last thing I heard before I fell asleep.

Shingen POV

Finally, Kenshin very shortly followed by a fuming Sasuke returned. By that point I had already dismissed the vassals.

"LORD KENSHIN!!! That was NOT necessary! Kiren can do no harm. You shouldn't have imprisoned her! That will only aggravate Nobunaga all the more, making him more likely to attack us on the thought that we are mistreating her... We are mistreating her!" Sasuke screamed at Kenshin.

"What have I missed? Who is this Kiren?" I questioned, thoughroughly intruiged.

"Kiren? Well we knew her as Asuna. She lied to us. Sasuke lied to us. This filthy woman is really the Princess of Azuchi, the one we heard rumors about- the one that's got Nobunaga under her spell!" Kenshin spat. I raised my eyebrow in concern because this really was some new information that I didn't see coming; usually Kenshin picked up on lying and Sasuke would rarely lie to Kenshin.

"Hmmmm." I said smiling slightly, "I knew she was unique; unlike any woman I've ever seen. I presume she is in the cells now?" I looked up at Kenshin, who nodded, "Tsumetai Shizukana". Meaning cold silence. It was a special cell for those who Kenshin wanted to slowly go insane from never getting to speak to anyone except themselves.

"This is good. We can use her against Nobunaga- lure him into defeat... What if, we exchange her for Yukimura? An enemy of my enemy is my friend right? We organise an exchange. Kiren for Yuki!"

"ABSALUTELY NOT!!" Shouted Sasuke abruptly, "we will not trade her like fabric! She deserves better."

"She deserves nothing!" Kenshin growled. "We owe her no loyalty. We. Owe . Her. Nothing." He said coldly.

"Please." Sasuke pleaded. "She is my friend. We both knew what you would do to her if you found out her real identity, so we lied. It was to protect her." Silence resonated throughout the room while Kenshin and Sasuke sat down. Everyone's thoughts on the matter rang clear despite lack of verbal comfirmation.

Suddenly a knock sounded at the door, startling all of us.

"Come in." Commanded Kenshin. A guard trundged forward and bowed, "My Lord. Please. The lady in the dungeon has been crying and screaming for the past hour. I'm dying. It's depressing!"

"Let her whine Ataru. She is a woman. In a cell. You should be able to handle that." Kenshin stated bluntly.

"My Lord, she's demanding to see you. Or Sasuke. Or Lord Shingen. Anyone really."