Disclaimer: I do not own the Mai-HiME characters nor the movie Hua Mulan. Any variation from the story would be mine. But aside from that, everything belongs to their respective creators.
...
"In this life, heroes are the ones who keep us safe and alive," a middle aged man stated as he walked across a group of men, some were playing shogi while the others held baskets. The man who spoke was holding something of what seemed to be a basket woven out of dried leaves and in it was some kind of vegetable that he was sorting out. His name was Kuga Nobu, a war veteran. And the group of men that were there with him in the center of the town square were also his comrades in battle.
"Then again the only heroes there are the ones who died in battle," he added as he made his way to a ledge to take a seat. Suddenly he coughed a few times before taking in a breath and sighed. Given his age you would never imagine one such as him as a sickly man. But the war took its toll on him and was forced to an early retirement. With such a poor town, he could only do much to sustain a living let alone sustain his health.
"Ah, there's Kuga-san again with his feelings," one of them spoke up in comment to the veteran's statement and they all smiled at each other.
"But then again if it weren't for his feelings we wouldn't be here any more," another added. And they all nodded in agreement.
As the men went back to do whatever they were doing a young woman with midnight black hair tied in a loose pony walked towards the group. She carried a tray with a pot and a wine bottle and two drinking saucers and approached Nobu. She was Kuga Natsuki, the only daughter of Nobu.
"It's time for your medicine father," she said placing the tray beside Nobu and she proceeded to pour the contents of the pot in one of the saucers.
"I want to drink wine," he said paying no heed to the medicine as he looked over his daughter.
"Of course," she smiled as she opened the wine bottle and poured it over the other saucer. "Here, this is your medicine," she lifted the first saucer up and held it in front of her father waiting for him to get the drink. He looked at her for a second before looking back at the tray which had the other saucer and instead picked that up and drank it in one gulp.
"This is still medicine!" He looked at his daughter who now held a hand infront of her mouth and was stifling a laugh. Upon his exclamation his other friends looked at him in amusement.
"Haha, Natsuki is using battle tactics against her father," the oldest of the group mentioned. Natsuki bowed to him in greeting and he smiled at her. His name was Takeda Hiroshi, a master in kung fu and the father of one of their comrades who did not successfully make it out alive in battle.
"You shouldn't have taught her kung fu," Nobu told Hiroshi before facing Natsuki. "You should stop carrying that stick around. You're a woman now, you should be getting married."
Natsuki frowned at this. Coming from a military family the only thing she knew was fighting especially since her mother passed away when she was just 7. Ever since she was a child her father would always talk about his experiences in battle and how he wished he could have protected everyone of his friends and family. With her father mostly away due to battle she grew up under the care of Takeda Hiroshi who taught her everything to know about martial arts and kung fu.
"Grandfather I brought the sweet potatoes!" A young man around the age of Natsuki approached Hiroshi and presented to him a basket of the root crop. His name was Takeda Masashi, the grandson of Hiroshi and son of the late Kenji.
"Have you finished all your chores Masashi?" Hiroshi asked the young man. Masashi nodded eagerly. "When did you last practice kung fu?"
"Yesterday and today," he smiled at his grandfather.
"Oh really when? I didn't see you," Hiroshi asked his grandson feeling proud that finally his grandson practiced.
"From when the crow cawed until the rooster crowed, that's counted as two days right?" He grinned at him and Hiroshi was enraged. The other men laughed at this.
"You! Playing your jokes with me," he scolded Masashi and used his walking stick to beat him up and Masashi could only defend himself with his arms.
Before Hiroshi could give his grandson a good beating, a sound of a trumpet was heard as soldiers in horses came in their town signalling the people to gather around the center for an announcement. Everybody stopped what they were doing and gathered around the messengers.
"By order of the emperor, everyone is required contribute to the ongoing war. Farming families are required to contribute supplies. Military families are required to serve in the Imperial Army," the messenger announced as he signalled one of his men to bring out the military families enlistment letters."Takeda Masashi," Masashi walked up to the messenger and got the letter before going back to the crowd.
"Kaito Makoto," a middle aged man now walked up and got the letter. "Kuga Nobu."
"Father, don't, you're already sick," Natsuki tried to stop her father but he paid her no heed as he approached the messenger and got the letter. Natsuki could only frown as her father came back with the letter in hand.
"Norikawa Seito." Some more families were handed out a letter and it didn't take long for each letter to be delivered since they were mostly farming families. After the announcement the small group of townspeople dispersed one by one until no one was left and the group of messengers moved on to the next town.
...
"Hey there old friend, I didn't think I'd be seeing you like this once more," Nobu said polishing his sword outside the house. He eyed it's blade and was amazed of its quality despite of several dents, they were considered like battle scars that warriors can get during battle. He sighed placing the sword down on his lap and looking up at the star-filled sky.
"Have some wine father," Natsuki said holding a tray with a wine bottle and placed it down on the small table in front of him. She then opened the bottle and poured some wine in the saucer before handing it to her father who gladly took the saucer from her and downed it in one gulp.
"Ah," he released a breath after and looked back at the sword in front of him. He then patted the seat beside him signalling for Natsuki to take the space.
"You're a grown woman now, Natsuki," he started as he placed the blade down on his other side faced her. "If you want to do kung fu, be a man in your next life."
Natsuki kept a straight face and did not say anything. She reached for the wine and poured some more in the saucer which her father held which he gladly took and drank from.
"I have some money stashed away in the jar under my bed," he continued. "Master Yu has found you a husband. Get married after the new year."
Long silence filled the air as they both had no other words to share. Natsuki kept pouring wine for her father who gladly drank it each time. After a while they found themselves looking at the dark sky above.
"Your mother has been waiting there for so long," Nobu suddenly spoke breaking the silence. He was pertaining to the stars in the sky. Ever since then he told Natsuki that the stars were someonewho has already departed and was now looking over them from the sky. "She must be lonely already, being there for so long. Soon I would be joining her also."
Natsuki didn't say a word at all. Looking up she felt in turmoil. Her mother, Saeko, passed away when she was little due to a sickness that plagued their town. And all that she had left was her father and if he goes out then soon all she will be left is nothing. Her mind played with the thought of losing her father and it dreaded her dearly. With his condition surely he would die as soon as he steps foot in the battle field. Already with a plan she thought of earlier she slowly puts it to action. She poured more wine in his saucer and he drank the cup showing clear signs that he was already intoxicated.
"Natsuki, let's hit the hay, we have a long day tomorrow," Nobu said as he got the blade on his side. Natsuki gestured to one more drink and he accepted. Afterwards she helped him inside the house and settled him on his bed. She got the blade and put it on its stand along with the armor and prepared for the long day ahead.
...
"Hey let's beat him up!" A round fat kid shouted and he along with his friends proceeded to kick and punch the fallen boy on the ground.
"He's such a wimp," one snickered as they continued the assault over the poor boy who was by now lying in a fetal position with arms over his head to block the attacks."Where's yourkung fu now eh?"
The assault continued on with taunts coming here and there. The fatboy was about to deliver a big blow using his fists when suddenly a Y-shaped stick came out of nowhere and stopped his fist from plummeting down at the fallen boy. The three other boys were surprised and all of them looked at who was holding a stick.
"Sister Natsuki!"The fallen boy exclaimed more relieved than surprised to see her.
Insulted, the fat boy turned his anger towards her and tried to assault her. Unfortunately neither one of his punches made contact as Natsuki expertly dodged them and swayed them using her stick. Seeing that their 'leader' needed some help the other three tried to assault her as well but they ended up eating dirt when she finally countered their attacks and sent them face first on the ground. Trying to gain his pride the fat boy tried invain to atleast land one punch and after a few tries he did hit Natsuki on her left shoulder. But his tiny success was short lived when a hand grabbed his and twisted it on a different angle making him scream.
Nobu frantically searched every nook and cranny of his house for any sign of Natsuki or his armor. He woke up late that morning and when he called for Natsuki who was supposed to wake him up he was greeted by silence. At first he thought that maybe she was just doing her daily chores but when he went to fetch his armor he was surprised to find it gone. He looked everywhere thinking that it might have been just misplaced but not a single trace was found. He went outside to look for Natsuki and found that their horse, Duran, was missing also. Hepanicked. What if-? No. He shook his head thinking of the worst. That Natsuki had taken his armor and went in place for him. If they find out she's gonna die.
"I'm deeply sorry for my daughter's actions," Nobu apologized bowing down in front of the family of a fat boy who was now wearing a cast on his arm. Beside him was Natsuki who stood in silence as she watched her father lower himself to the ground."Please accept my apologies. I have failed to discipline her."
Nobu ran towards the village tower which was along the border of the town. He climbed up the stairs hoping to see if Natsuki was still in sight.
"Stop waving that stick anymore,"Nobu scolded his only daughter. He towered over her with handsbehind his back as she saton a chair."Fighting is for men.You're just a girl. No man would want to marry a woman more manly than him."
Tears freely flowed from Natsuki's eyes as she tried to hold back her sobs in vain. Her father shookhishead in disapproval and walked away leaving Natsuki behind with a parting phrase. "If only your motherwas still alive..."
The clear desert greeted his eyes as not a trace of living thing can be seen from anywhere in a mile's radius. He sobbed falling to the ground on his knees. He was now too late to stop her. If he goes to the camp they would find out that she is a woman and instantly kill her. But if he doesn't then she could probably die in battle. Either way there is no option without death but there was hope. A little hope in him that maybe, the skills she has would atleast allow her to survive the war. And he prayed to the Gods that she would.
...
Natsuki looked over the horizon where the town was once visible a while ago. She was dressed up in the armor of her father. Hair cut and tied in a tight bun above her head, she looked like a very handsome young man. She rode on the back of her most trusted horse, Duran where her father's sword was now strapped to.
Last night when she and her father came home she thought out a plan that would help her father not partake in the war.
Natsuki looked at herself in the mirror where she sized herself up to see if she could pass as a man. Checking out every angle she measured that she could pass as a small built man with a firm body. She was lucky enough that she wasn't that gifted int he front part of her body but still it could give her away. She then saw the bandagesat the corner of the room and thought of an idea. She could bind. herself. One by one ideas came to her mind and soon her plan was complete and theonlything leftw as to look for the final part of her plan. The wine.
She felt guilty decieving and leaving her father to take his place as an enlisted man. She felt bad. Her father was already sick and no one would take care of him now. But she knew he would fare better in town rather than what's out there. This fact reminds her the reason why she's there onher horse, wearing an armor and heading towards the military camp. Pulling on the reigns of Duran, she kicked off towards her previous direction with renown conviction. On the back of her mind she could only hope that she would not be discovered.
...
"Name," a large man asked, his voice as gruff as he looked. Natsuki couldn't help but wonder if she'd look the same after a while. He definitely looked like he's had enough battle for his lifetime with the lifeless aura he had.
"Kuga Natsuki," she said as he wrote the name with ink in a small piece of wood. He got a string from she doesn't know where and slipped it in the small hole on top.
"Number one rule here kid," he said as he held out the name tag in front of her. "Remember to always keep this with you at all times. If you get hacked out there this is the only thing that would tell us who you are."
"Right," Natsuki stared at the piece of wood in front of her before she slowly took it from the man's hand. She then left the line but before she did she raised it up a little as a sign of thanks before making her way towards her tent.
Not far away from her Takeda Masashi followed her with his sight. His ears perked up upon hearing her name a while ago when he was getting his spare clothes and looked around to see where it came from. He spotted her nearby talking to the man who gave out the tags squinting his already narrow eyes to check if he really was seeing his childhood friend. Moving out of line he followed her increasing his pace so he could catch up.
"Uh," Masashi nudged her a bit as soon as he caught up. "Kuga Natsuki?"
"Mhm," Natsuki turned around to look at the person who nudged her and was surprised to see Masashi. Without a word he took her by the arm and dragged her towards a less crowded path.
"What are you doing here?" He whispered as they made their way towards a bridge connecting to the tents. "Are you trying to get killed?"
"I came in place of my father," she said simply. "You know he wouldn't survive any of this."
"Women are not allowed here," he stated looking around if anyone was nearby to hear their conversation before continuing. "If someone finds out then you're dead."
"Then you have to help me keep this a secret," Natsuki said and Masashi only walked faster trying to ignore her statement. Still she called out to him. "Masashi!"
He stopped at her call and she caught up with him. She nudged him but he still refused to face her.
"Oi, promise me you'll keep my secret," Natsuki whispered.
Masashi could only look at her then back front as he let out a heavy breath before moving forward Natsuki in tow. "Alright."
"Yes!"
"But you have to follow everything I say," Masashi said as they now walked side by side. Natsuki giggled at this. "Oh ho!"
"Rule number one," he said pointing at her as if she'd done something wrong. "Men don't laugh like that! We laugh like this." He then gave a demonstration lowering his tone and pretending to laugh. Natsuki laughed at this mimicking him.
"Rule number two," he said emphasizing on the number. "We don't laugh that much. We're usually serious most times."
"Eh," Natsuki looked dumbfounded at this and looked at him with wide eyes.
"Rule number three!" He now exclaimed at her gesture. "Don't open your eyes like that, our eyes are not that big."
Now Natsuki knew she was being played at. The first rule she can understand but the second and third, clearly it was just made up. Giving him an incredilous look she snorted and marched of to their tent nearby while muttering. "You're the one that has small eyes."
"O-oi!" He lost his words at that and followed her to the tent.
...
"Give me a tiger!" A brusque man shouted as he released the pair of dice he was shaking on to the table. Sure enough, a pair of tigers faced them and he exclaimed in glee.
"Yosh!"
"Oi, gimme your bets," he coaxed the others around him and with heads down and shaking they gave him what he wanted. "Alright, who's up for another round?"
Natsuki stood at the entrance looking around the mass of people in the tent. Not far behind, Masashi came in and stood beside her.
"Let's go, I'll introduce you," he said motioning her to follow him inside the tent.
The tent was spacious and beds filled the room and were in line on both sides giving space at the middle to walk around. Masashi led Natsuki to the very end of the tent where they were greeted by a two round bodied men, one clearly taller than the other. "Brother Shi.""Brother Akira, brother Takumi," Masashi greeted back and introduced Natsuki.
"This is my brother Natsuki. Natsuki these are the Tokiha brothers."
They exchanged short pleasantries and greetings and Natsuki found out that the shorter man, Takumi, was the older brother of Akira, the taller guy. Masashi then placed an arm around Takumi's shoulders and led him a little bit away from the other two. "Brother Takumi, we wanted to exchange beds with you."
"Eh? Why?" The shorter man asked.
"Because my cousin has this condition and he needs a quiet place near the wall," Masashi reasoned. He lied about the condition but if they needed to conceal Natsuki's identity she needs to have limited physical contact with people as much as possible and if she were to be beside someone else they risk a possibility of her being found out.
"Oh, alright," Takumi agreed. They went back to the other two who were having some small talk about where they come from.
"Brother Natsuki, let's set you up here with me, this is where we will be sleeping from now on," Masashi said as he pointed at the bed next to the wall and placed his spare clothes on the bed next to it. Natsuki did the same with her helmet but left her armor on for added security so that they wouldn't notice her figure that much.
"I'll go get my other stuff from Duran," she announced to Masashi who was making his bed. She started to walk off but continued. "I'll be back in a bit, if you need me I'll be at the stables."
...
"I bet father already knows what I've done by now, I just hope his condition doesn't worsen," Natsuki said to Duran as she fed her horse some pieces of carrots. She was talking to her horse as if expecting him to talk back in return. "Do you think father's mad for what I did?"
"I'm sure no parent would stay mad at their child even if they disobeyed them." "Huh? Duran?" Natsuki asked looking at her horse as if it was the one that talked.
"No," the person spoke once more revealing himself from the other side of the horse.
"Reito, Kanzaki Reito." He smiled and held out is hand but was ignored by Natsuki.
"Do you eavesdrop on people often?" Natsuki asked him frowning.
"No," he answered honestly. "I was feeding the horses and was surprised that someone was talking and I thought that no, its no horse so I checked. You seem troubled so I answered."
"Oh," was Natsuki's only reply.
"Since you're here, want to help me feed the other horses?" He asked getting an armful of hay from the stack. Natsuki nodded and he split the hay in his arms with her and they fed the horses.
"So, what's your name?" He asked starting up a light conversation.
"Natsuki, Kuga Natsuki," Natsuki answered splitting up some hay and feeding the horse in front of her.
"You know, I have a great war horse, when I go with him to battle, we always go victorious," he spoke up in a light tone. "Wanna know his name?"
"What?"
He grinned before answering. "Kuga Natsuki." They shared a laugh and continued to feed the horses while engaged in a light conversation.
After feeding the horses they made their way back to Natsuki's tent as mentioned by Reito that he wanted to meet her group. Reito was a captain and was in charge to overlook the training of the new recruits. As soon as they reached the tent they were greeted by Masashi who took care of the introductions. Aside from Takumi and Akira, whom Natsuki already knew, they were introduced to a scholar named Tate Yuiichi who showed them a nicely drawn portrait of his wife on the back of his name tag which Reito immediately took a liking to.
"Oh, can you draw me too?" The captain asked sitting in front of him and making a pose.
"Sure," Yuiichi gladly agreed and Reito handed him his name tag before posing once more. The group was at the back of Yuiichi looking intently as the scholar started his piece. But before he could draw more their attention was caught by a loud banging sound that came from inside the tent.
"You!" A large burly man shouted as he pointed at a man who was crying above his bed. It was the same man who Natsuki saw earlier playing the dice. "Your crying scared away my tigers!" The large man approached the other and grabbed a hold of both his shoulders propping him up the bed.
"Poor guy," Masashi commented and caught Natsuki's attention. "I heard he sold himself in replacement so that he could have money to pay for his mother's medicine."
Natsuki felt for the poor guy. She too left a a father who was sick back at home. It was not his fault for crying and definitely not to blame for some bad luck one was having. So she approached the two and grabbed hold of an arm of the brusque man with one of hers. "Stop it."
"Who're you?" The man looked at her pissed off. "Don't meddle with someone else's affairs." He shoved her off and was about to punch the crying man when a hand stopped him again."Why you-" the man let go of the other and was intent on attacking her instead. She evaded the punches with little effort using her kung fu to counter attack some moves. Knowing that this petty fight would lead to nowhere without teaching him a lesson she decided to go on the offensive cornering him against a pole and crushing the bamboo water holder hoisted on top of him making him quiver on his spot. Satisfied with his reaction she retreated giving him no heed as he scampered away from her.
"If you want to fight do so in the battlefield," she held her head high as she made the statement. Reito watched the whole fight and he was impressed with her skills. Meanwhile, beside him, Masashi was too happy to brag about him being Natsuki's cousin. He had a smug look in his face and told each person near him that he was related to her. Natsuki, on the other hand, walked up to the poor guy and tried to comfort him.
"It's okay," she said rubbing the back of the soldier who was trying to hold back his tears.
"My father's also sick at home, but we can't do anything but be strong for them so we can go back."
While Natsuki was talking to the soldier Yuiichi finally finished his masterpiece and excitedly showed it to Reito. "It's done!"
"Wow!" Reito exclaimed getting the small piece of wood from Yuiichi. He smiled at him and thanked him. "You really got my good side here."
"One!"
Shield held in front. Sword readied behind. Crouched down. Feet spread out mirroring position of hands.
"Two!"
Shield forced to side. Sword stabbed forward.
"Three!"
Sword pulled back. Body straightened up. Rear foot kicked forward.
"Four!"
Turned around with feet never leaving the ground. Twisting to face the opposite direction.
"One!"
This was the routine exercise of the military headed by their troop's captain. Every morning they start out basic exercises to familiarize in combat breeding in to them like instinct. For the rest of the day they build up strength, stamina and endurance to help them survive the dreaded conditions of the battle field.
"Two!"
For this particular day however, the camp had an unexpected visitor. The horns blew suddenly surprising everyone in the encampment causing the soldiers to file in formation ready to greet the arrival.
Horses' hooves thundered as the cavalry entered the gates with a carriage in tow. Natsuki awed at the massive escort that lead the group and everyone else stopped what they were doing. It was by their commander's orders did they snap out of their curiosity and filed in line to greet the delegation properly.
Meanwhile, at the corner of their battalion, Masashi was arguing with the brusque man that caused them trouble the night before.
"Hey, watch it!" Masashi called out to the guy pushing him away from him. They were about to engage in a brawl when the carriage stopped and their commander announced the arrival of their guests. Their attention was diverted but Masashi saw something drop on the ground and grinned when he realized that it belonged to the fat man. So using his foot he quickly dragged the small pouch and kicked it behind him landing in the depths of the lake.
"Announcing the arrival of his Majesty, Emperor Takeshi Fujino." The footman announced as the carriage door opened and an elderly man in golden robes appeared on the doorway. He was of medium build and his hair already graying due to age, however his eyes differed and the pool of blood red irises shone in contrast to the rest of his aging face, standing out and full of life.
Once he stepped out of the carriage, no one missed out on the exit of a woman after him who donned a light purple kimono. She had light brown hair that reached the middle of her back and skin as pale as snow. One would not have thought of her as kin of the emperor if not for her eyes which were stained with the same blood red color only livelier.
"Her highness, princess Fujino, Shizuru."
Whispers suddenly filled the air as the men couldn't help but admire the exotic beauty of the princess. And some were wondering why the emperor and one of his daughters were visiting the camp. Their questions only bred more questions as the emperor and his daughter left for the general's hut and they were ordered back to training.
...