This is set starting from very near the end of the series. I thought it would be interesting to see how things would progress after the initial hard fighting had been done. We now know the surviving characters, and I would like to explore where they went here. Except for a few necessary adjustments to the last few episodes, this will be canon.
As with any of these stories, I own none of Samurai 7, so don't sue me.
The Lord of the Rice
Prologue
Shimada Kanbei gazed toward the horizon without really looking. They had won. For the first time in his life, he was on the winning side. After what were, looked at coldly and objectively, relatively small losses, they had not only destroyed a major gang of heavily armed thugs, but had eliminated an entire sitting government at well. The village he had been hired to protect was alive and free. He should be feeling good right now.
If things were so good, though, why was he feeling so melancholy? Names like Gorobei, Heihachi, Kyuuzou, Kikuchiyo came to mind. Why had he gotten to live while they died? Shichirouji would be leaving to return to Yukino soon. With the wealth the village would gain from so many mecha, he'd easily be able to afford the gift she really wanted and marry her soon.
He winced. Kirara was here, too. True, she was certainly still alive, but it was likely to be some time before she recovered from his rejection. He'd known from the time he saved her when she jumped, trusting him to save her that she wanted him as more than a samurai. He'd hoped she'd never have the courage to say anything, but the eve of a desperate battle was a poor time to hide such emotions, and she hadn't. He had, though, and had harshly squelched her in the process. If anyone had asked, he'd done so to protect her. In truth, he'd done so to protect himself. Many years ago, he'd been much like Katsuhirou. He'd been trained to die; he'd not been trained to live.
He looked over at the still fresh mound with a sword sticking from it, a mound soon to be joined by three others. Whatever the farmers thought, the battles weren't over. Although he had been trained to die, he must, however painful it would be, live a little longer.
Notes:
I will be using few Japanese terms, but I will attempt to use Japanese forms of address. I have a little knowledge on the subject, but I'm sure I'll still make mistakes. Please try to bear with such mistakes. Also, some of the common Romanized spellings of character names seem a little unusual, so I may use slightly different spellings in some cases. In any case, I will try to be consistent within the story. If I use any other Japanese words, they'll either be defined in context or given a definition at the end of the chapter in which they first appear.
As with any author, I appreciate reviews, but I don't live for them. Please enjoy the story.