Yandere Yagen Toushirou / female reader.
Synopsis: Something seems different about Yagen after he returned from his kiwame training.
Warnings: A touken danshi breaks, use of drugs.
It all began when Yagen returned from his kiwame training. You noticed that he had changed a lot - in appearance, strength, and even some parts of his personality feel different. He seems more eager to participate in sorties, he's become extremely knowledgeable in drugs and their effects on the human body, and not to mention, he's far more protective of you now. You didn't think too much about it though, since he's naturally protective of his masters as the sword of loyalty.
You knew that Yagen only wanted to keep you safe from harm...
... Did he? Or was there something more to that?
"I'll protect you no matter what comes, general."
Your eyes widened at the tantou's sudden proclamation. You were in the middle of treating his wounds in the repairing room when he uttered those words, and you let out an airy laugh before setting your tools aside to caress the top of his head.
"That's really sweet of you," you cooed, brushing his bangs away from his pale face with a smile, "But I already know that. You tell me the same thing every day, even way before you went on your kiwame training." You then cupped his cheek, your thumb gingerly tracing the shallow cut that was engraved there during the sortie he had just returned from. With a soft sigh, you picked up a bandaid and gently placed it over the cut. "Try not to get yourself hurt next time. It pains me to see you in this state, Yagen."
Yagen's eyes widened for a split second before he quickly looked away, his cheeks flushing at your expressed worry for him.
"I promise to return to this citadel unharmed in the future, so that I won't waste any of your time and resources," he said. Surprise etched itself on your expression. You stared at him, lips parted slightly as you tried to formulate a response. Moments passed with no words exchanged between the two of you. In the end, you only called his name in a quiet voice.
"Yagen..." You embraced the tantou without another word and pulled him against your chest, with one arm going around his waist and one hand pushing his face into your shoulder. He immediately stiffened in your arms, having not expected this development.
"G-General?" he stammered. You stroked his head, your fingers carefully combing through his ebony tresses as if you were a mother trying to comfort her son. Heat crept up his cheeks at the affection you were showering him with; although he was embarrassed, he also enjoyed what you were doing to him. It felt nice, comforting, and it made him feel at ease. He always felt at peace whenever he was graced with your warm presence, and he wanted to keep that all to himself.
"Yagen, please don't say that," you murmured, "I don't mind wasting my time, energy and resources on you. You're very precious to me." Pulling away from him, you then held his face before leaning in to plant a kiss on his forehead. "I'll always heal you when you get hurt."
A warm, tingling sensation bloomed from the spot you had pressed your lips against, causing Yagen's face to glow with a soft red hue. You didn't miss his blush and chuckled fondly.
'I... love general,' he thought. He then placed his hands over yours, entwining your fingers together. You smiled at him, unaware of the dangerous and obsessive thoughts his mind was drowning in.
Yagen wants to protect you with everything he has. Even if he has to be wounded or break for you...
You are his to protect.
❀
A few days later, you received a notice from the Government of Time regarding the activities of the History Revisionists.
"These are the names of the swords that will be sent to the Memory of Shokuho. They will be part of the primary unit," you said as you handed a slip of paper to your secretary, Shokudaikiri Mitsutada, "I have uncovered the enemy's objective. The History Retrograde Army is going to be stationed at Honnouji Temple, on the night of the 21st of June, 1582, the day of the Honnouji Incident."
"The Honnouji Incident..." he echoed, eyes narrowing, "Is the enemy planning to let Nobunaga-sama live?"
You nodded. "That's correct. The enemy is planning to intercept Mitsuhide's surprise attack at night. All the other details, including my directive, is written down on that paper."
"Understood, aruji." When he turned on his heels to leave your office, you rushed forward and stopped him by wrapping your arms around his torso tightly, your face burying itself in his back.
"Please be careful," you murmured, "Come home safely, okay? I don't want to lose any of you."
Twisting himself around in your grasp, Shokudaikiri then cupped your face with a gloved hand, his thumb caressing your cheek with a hint of tenderness. The loving look that crossed his handsome features made your cheeks heat up slightly and you bit your bottom lip.
"You won't lose any of us. I'll make sure that nobody breaks during the sortie," he said, leaning down to plant a reassuring kiss on your lips. You let out a surprised gasp and immediately pulled yourself away from him, your hand flying up to cover your mouth. The tachi rubbed the back of his neck whilst chuckling sheepishly at your reaction. "I'm sorry, I just couldn't resist. But please, take that kiss as a promise from me, my aruji." He flashed you a bold smirk before exiting from the room to gather the swords that have been selected to participate in the upcoming sortie.
As he left, he was oblivious to the pair of watchful eyes following his every move, which harboured an unfathomable amount of hostility deep within. Yagen gazed at Shokudaikiri's retreating figure with a glare.
Another obstacle to get rid of...
Stepping out of the shadows, the tantou thinned his eyes into slits as his lips quirked sinisterly.
As Shokudaikiri stood next to the time portal, he made sure that all of the chosen swords are prepared to leave.
"Is everyone ready?" he asked, eyeing each member of his team. The unit he was going to lead consisted of Heshikiri Hasebe, Souza Samonji, Monoyoshi Sadamune, Tsurumaru Kuninaga and Yagen Toushirou. Everyone nodded at their leader's question. "Excellent. Let's head out with style!"
After activating the time portal, the entire team was promptly transported to the Memory of Shokuho in 1582. The moment they arrived in the era, Yagen slinked behind the unsuspecting Shokudaikiri, his hand inching towards the hilt of his tantou. His dark bangs cast a shadow over his glinting eyes as he steeled his nerves for the deed he's about to carry out.
"I hope you'll have no regrets," Yagen whispered.
It's time for Shokudaikiri to perish in the flames with Nobunaga, just like Yagen did according to history.
❀
You were utterly horrified upon receiving the shocking news of what had transpired during the sortie from Konnosuke. When you heard that the sortie team had returned earlier than expected from Ichigo, you immediately became worried and rushed out of your office to be greeted with a devastating sight in the courtyard. The little tantous were giving the gravely injured swords first aid to prevent their wounds from festering, and when you couldn't find Shokudaikiri anywhere, dread pooled in your stomach.
"Mi-Mitsu-kun... Where is Mitsu-kun?" you asked in a shaky voice.
Monoyoshi solemnly approached you with the hilt of Shokudaikiri's tachi, which had the blade cleanly snapped off. Your eyes widened as your hands flew up to muffle your shuddering gasp.
"He... broke...?" you whispered incredulously. You were unable- no, you didn't want to believe it. Why did he and how could he have broken that easily? The Memory Shokuho wasn't supposed to be a challenging map to conquer, and Shokudaikiri was also one of your most experienced tachis. "No... It can't be..."
With trembling hands, you took Shokudaikiri's hilt out of the wakizashi's grasp and held it against your chest. Eyes glazing over with tears, you then spun on your heels and fled from your swords, prompting some of them to call for you.
"Aruji, wait!" Hasebe was about to chase you but Yagen quickly stopped him by standing in his path with his arms spread out. Faltering in mid-step, the uchigatana regarded the tantou with a small frown to wordlessly question him. Yagen shook his head.
"I'll go after general," he said, "You're all wounded, so please repair yourselves first. I'll check up on all of you as soon as I've made sure that she's stable enough to be on her own." Asides from Yagen who only sustained minor injuries from the sortie, the other swords on his team were in terrible shape... thanks to a certain tantou who was cunning enough to lead them straight into the enemy's trap without rousing any suspicion from them. The Awataguchi sword smirked internally when Hasebe hesitantly agreed to his suggestion.
"I leave her in your capable hands then, Yagen," Hasebe uttered.
Without another moment to waste, Yagen left the others to search for his beloved master. It wasn't a hard task as he easily found you weeping in one of the hallways whilst clutching onto Shokudaikiri's broken form. You had collapsed on the floor, your tears flowing down your cheeks effortlessly. The sight made him knit his eyebrows together; he doesn't like seeing you cry nor does he particularly enjoy seeing you hold onto what was left of Shokudaikiri so dearly. He clenched his fists as he silently stood behind you with a shadow over his eyes.
What's so good about that candle-cutting sword anyway?
Yagen is much stronger now that he's in his kiwame form, so why aren't you giving him all of your attention? He even thought really hard to conjure up a plan to efficiently get rid of Shokudaikiri during that sortie...
"General," he called, drawing your attention. You stiffened before hastily wiping your tears away so you could look at him without appearing like a complete mess.
"Y-Yagen..."
He crouched down to your level.
"Is everything alright, general? You don't look very well," he remarked. You averted your eyes with pursed lips, feeling the waterworks coming again.
"Yes... I'm fine. Don't worry about me," you replied in a murmur. You squeaked in surprise when Yagen suddenly embraced you, pulling you flush against him. You blinked as he tightened his arms around you and placed his chin on your shoulder.
"Please don't show me your sad face anymore," said Yagen as he closed his eyes, "Shokudaikiri... He said that he loved you."
Yagen's last sentence struck you right in the heart. You always had feelings for the eye-patch wearing sword, so hearing his final message for you caused tears to brim in your eyes once more. Sobbing, you buried your face in the tantou's shoulder, making him open his eyes with a smile. Deftly pulling something out of his sleeve, he popped a restoril pill into his mouth but didn't swallow it. He then pulled away from you slightly to capture your chin in a tight grasp which surprised you. An ominous feeling settled itself in the pit of your stomach the moment your gazes met.
"What are you doing?" you asked.
"You love Shokudaikiri too, don't you?"
When you didn't respond out of embarrassment, he narrowed his eyes and slowly reduced the distance between your faces. He was so close to you that you could feel his breath fanning your lips.
"(Y/n)," he quietly began, using your given name for the first time, "Did you know? I also love you." Before you could say anything, he pressed his lips against yours. They fitted together like perfect puzzle pieces, and your eyelids fluttered shut at the foreign feeling that was stirred inside you.
When Yagen sensed you getting comfortable, he pried your lips apart and pushed the restoril into your mouth. Your eyes shot open at the feeling of him forcing something down your throat, and you accidentally swallowed the pill. You promptly broke out of his grasp, coughing loudly.
"Y-Yagen... What..." As you gradually lost consciousness, you collapsed on your side. Yagen swiftly caught your body before it could touch the floor and brought you against his chest. Leaning down, he smiled against your hair, happy that he can finally hold his beloved saniwa without restriction.
"I would be your most trusted companion in combat, so why rely on the other swords?" he cooed, stroking your cheek with the back of his fingers affectionately.