DISCLAIMER: I do not own Samurai Warriors. They're all belong to Koei.
Author's Note: This story takes places after the Defense of Odani Castle. I will make this one a modern version.
--Death in the Family--
by cruger2984
Two months ago, Hirofuji - Nagamasa's grandfather's youngest brother - slipped on the floor, hit his head and never woke up. He died a bachelor at 68.
For three days Nagamasa slept at his wake - well, attempted to sleep was more fitting since he really didn't find that lying there with the slowly-rotting corpse of his grandfather in the room particularly conducive for sleep.
Owing to his lack of sleep, he didn't cry during his wake. He even barely peeked in his coffin.
It was weird to see his face behind the glass because he only knew him as a voice who would persistently call the house at two in the morning asking for his mom, his dad, his wife Oichi, Kazumasa, Tsunachika, Naotsune, those little kids we have seen in our backyard while we were working? Or to quiz him whether his salary was even enough to buy a decent burial lot.
⌠He went crazy," his mom told him as she prepared the Mass cards next to the coffin. He went crazy because of a girl - a housekeeper who ran away from him after a seven-month relationship.
Because his grandfather was single when he died, no one other than his surviving siblings - and their families - (begrudgingly) went to his wake.
It was the loneliest wake he been to. They expected people to come, but they never did. The room - although quaint - became very spacious. The open can of cookies were barely touched. And the smell of chocolate chips.
There were times when his mom and two aunts would point fingers at each other: "It's your turn to look after uncle."
"I have work tomorrow, I'm in Tokyo."
"You need to take a bath. I don't want the traffic to be stiffy. It will cause a rainfall."
"But who is going to protect it?" his mom would ask.
"Not me."
"Not me."
"The janitor. I will pay it. And then I will go early."
"That janitor."
"That janitor."
It wasn't their fault. Hirofuji barely attended reunions. He rarely bothered to know how they were. He never took them to church. He never visited them when they were sick. He was known to hurt people. He fooled around with a house servant. He impregnated her. He always kept asking money. He went crazy. He barely took a bath.
This was so different from his grandmother's wake some two years ago. The room was always full. They held her wake near the church - where she met most of her friends - for two weeks.
They had distant relatives from the province of Chikuzen and Echizen cramping themselves inside the small room; an old wisteria vendor who was his grandmother's customer made a long garland around her coffin; and a former servant chef even cooked an entire plate of rice cakes for all of them.
The prince of Omi cried during his grandmother's wake. He stayed beside her coffin. It was weird to see her face behind the glass because he always touched her face. Nagamasa is the grandma's boy.
At his grandmother's funeral, a convoy of 15 carriages, military jeeps and armored vans filled with grieving relatives and friends bade their goodbyes.
Last All Soul's Day, they surrounded Nagamasa's grandmother's tomb with flowers and balloons. They even stayed overnight to ⌠guard" her so she won't be alone.
This year, now that Hirofuji is gone, his mom expects that fingers will be pointed at their household.
"Who's visiting Hirofuji?"
His mom forgot the janitor's number.
THE END