The Tale of Musashi's Blooming Lotus

Prologue

The cries of soldiers were heard from all over the Musashi Province and the stench of blood could be smelled from the very edge of the battlefield. Fighting on one side was the army of the Hojo clan; the other, those that served Toyotomi Hideyoshi. For the Hojo clan and those who served them, things were not going so well. Hideyoshi had taken them by surprise and took the opportunity to send out a massive wave of soldiers at them. However, his vassal, Ishida Mitsunari, took some of his master's forces to attack Oshi Castle where many of the Hojo clan's reinforcements were coming from. And so, the battle raged on.

Among the warriors fighting on the battlefield, there was a female soldier, no younger or older than the age of eighteen, struggling to fight her way through her enemies. Upon passing through the waves of Mitsunari's forces, the female soldier blocked an overhead slice with her bladed tonfa and then swung at the first attacker's stomach, allowing the blood to flow freely from his body as he collapsed to the ground. The next attacker that got in her way was swiftly cut across the chest as she passed by. After tackling another enemy to the ground and slicing his throat open, she noticed something in the distance: two familiar men that were battling furiously, one of them she recognized to be Ishida Mitsunari himself; and he was gaining the upper hand against the other man, her uncle. The latter struggled to defend himself against Mistunari's swift strikes, almost staggering each time their swords clashed against each other. But finally, her uncle's guard was broken and Mitsunari dealt four slashes across his body before stabbing him through the stomach. The female's eyes went wide and her mouth dropped as her uncle's body hit the ground. Mitsunari then sheathed his sword and began to walk away.

"Jisan*!" she shouted as she stood up and rushed over to her uncle's side.

"Kai... hime..." said her uncle in a weak and hoarse voice.

"Jisan, let me get help," said Kaihime. "You'll be alri– "

Before she could get help though, Kaihime's uncle stopped her by simply placing a hand on her shoulder. He then moved his hand to stroke her cheek.

"Little Kai..." he whispered with a smile. "How much you've grown."

"Nagachika-jisan?" asked Kaihime.

"Your father and I... we're... we're... we're so proud of you."

"What are you...?"

"I only wish... how I had you... for a daughter."

This took Kaihime by surprise and became speechless. Her throat then felt as if a strand of rope was tied tightly around her neck like a noose. The next thing she knew, tears were pouring down her face and she began sobbing quietly. Kai grabbed her uncle's hand on her cheek and held it. She didn't know what suddenly prompted her to act like this. She was used to not crying; it was very natural to her. Her uncle on the other hand simply held that peaceful smile of his.

"Kaihime... be... strong... take... care..." he said as his voice got quieter and his eyes slid shut.

Uncle Nagachika's body went limp and cold and his smile faded. In shock, Kaihime dropped his hand and stared at his now deceased body. She looked up for a moment and saw that Mitsunari, while a ways away from her, was still within a reasonable distance; meaning she could easily catch up to him. At the sight of him, her heart begant to feel it was being charred alive and her face turned from one of sorrow into seething rage even though tears were still falling from her eyes. She then stood and dashed towards the man responsible for her uncle's death. As she approached him, one of her bladed tonfas glowed blue and became cold in her hand; she was preparing for an ice attack.

"Mitsunari!" she screamed as she got closer to him.

The white haired man turned around and blocked Kaihime's attack, knocking the bladed tonfa out of her hand, causing it to freeze a small bit of ground it landed on in a blanket of ice. Kai, still blinded by rage, struck at him again with the remaining tonfa in her hand but he dodged to the side and swung at her face, slicing through her helmet and cutting her cheek. After a small yelp of pain, Kaihime ignored the sharp pain on her cheek and rushed at her enemy again. The white haired man easily blocked her next attack and held it. Just then, a soldier of his army approached.

"Mitsunari-sama!" he said.

Mitsunari sighed in irritation, broke the block and shoved the hilt of his katana into Kaihime's stomach, knocking the wind out of her. The pain was so great that she dropped her other tonfa and collapsed to the ground struggling to breathe. As Kai began to lose consciousness, she watched as Mitsunari turned to his subordinate and spoke with him.

"What is it?" he asked.

"It's Hideyoshi-sama!" said the soldier. "He's ordering us to withdraw!"

"What? Why?"

"Tokugawa Ieyasu... he's gathered an army and is rebelling against our lord!"

"...I should have known he was up to something. Alright, give the order to retreat immediately! We must regroup with Hideyoshi-sama!"

"Aye!"

Kaihime's world then fully faded to darkness as Mitsunari left her lying on the ground as if nothing had happened.

"Damn... you... Mitsunari..." she managed to say.

And then, she lost consciousness.

"...She's breathing!" said a voice.

"Kaihime-dono," said another. "Can you hear us?"

As light poured into her eyes and the world became clear, Kaihime groaned in pain. Her stomach was incredibly sore from having the wind knocked out of her and her cheek stung from being cut. Standing around her were several Hojo soldiers that seemed to have survived the fight. As she sat up and attempted to stand, one soldier took her arm and tried to help her on her feet... but she jerked her arm away.

"I'm fine," she said roughly. "I can stand."

She slowly stood up and clutched her stomach for a of her uncle's death plagued her mind. He was gone from her life forever... and there was nothing she could do to change it. Not only that, but judging from the Hojo soldiers' corpses that littered the field and the lack of any signs of Hideyoshi's forces only meant that he really did withdraw and that the Hojo forces had been bested in battle. The thought of it made her clench her fists. One of the soldiers took a step forward towards her.

"Ujimasa-sama requests your presence at his castle... he wants to see you immediately."

"Hojo Ujimasa-sama?" asked Kaihime, surprised.

As the daughter of a vassal for the Hojo clan, Kaihime had only met Ujimasa several times when she was younger. She didn't really get to know him as he would usually be working with her father, but the impressions she got from him usually weren't the best but not the worst either; long story short, he was a strange old man. But this was most certainly a surprise. Normally, her father would be the one Ujimasa would call in times of a crisis.

"Yes," he said. "Come, we must be on our way. But first, we should probably look at that cut on your cheek. If we don't do something about it, it might scar."

After a day's travel on horseback, Kaihime and the remnants of Ujimasa's forces that were temporarily under her uncle Nagachika's command had finally arrived at Odawara Castle. Due to Hideyoshi's attack, it was filled with much wreckage and people, survivors and the dead alike. Many of the people who took shelter inside were either being treated for their wounds or trying to repair the castle. The others, those that had died on the battlefield, were being mourned by their loved ones and prepared for their burials. Kaihime couldn't help but feel sympathy towards those who were grieving. Though she had seen dead soldiers many times before, every time it was still a sad sight to see.

Upon entering the war room within the castle itself, Kaihime noticed that some of the seats were empty, which only meant that the generals that were to occupy them were defeated in battle or being treated for their injuries. However, the generals that made it to the meeting, including Fuma Kotaro, were present alongside their lord and master, Hojo Ujimasa.

"Ah, Kaihime," said Ujimasa. "Please, sit."

Kaihime did as she was told and sat. There was an uneasy air about everyone. The Hojo clan took quite a beating from Hideyoshi's forces. She assumed that there wouldn't be any fighting from them for a while. But that wasn't the only thing that was on her mind. She looked at the generals. Someone was missing from the table.

"Wait, where is my otousan*?" asked Kaihime.

Everyone looked at each other for a moment.

"Er, well..." muttered Ujimasa. "About that... after we were defeated, your otousan had decided to preserve his honor... and committ seppuku."

Kaihime gasped and lowered her head. First her uncle, and then her father? Her hands clenched her legs and she struggled not to lose control of her emotions.

"As per the tradition of the main branch of your clan, the Narita, the oldest child must inherit the position of being a vassal to the noble Hojo clan." explained Ujimasa.

"Is that why I'm here then...?" asked Kai, shoving down her emotions and beginning to settle down. "To take his place as a vassal?"

"Precisely," confirmed Ujimasa. "We will discuss the details of his funeral at a later time. For now, we need to find a way to get back on our feet and reclaim honor to the Hojo clan!"

Kaihime bit her lip. Apparently, the rumors surrounding Ujimasa were true; all he seemed to care about was restoring the Hojo clan were true. As the meeting went on, she found herself daydreaming of both her father and her uncle's deaths; how they must have suffered greatly in their final moments. The anger inside began to tighten her chest. Kai wasn't going to let this go unpunished. About half way through the meeting, she had made up her mind: she would go after Hideyoshi and his vassal, Mitsunari. But she couldn't do it alone. As much as it ashamed her, she would need the help of the Hojo clan's army.

"Hideyoshi!" shouted Kaihime, interrupting one of the generals as they were talking.

"Eh, what?" asked Ujimasa, confused.

"We need to defeat Toyotomi Hideyoshi," said Kai. "That's how we'll reclaim the Hojo family honor."

"Don't be ridiculous!" scoffed Ujimasa. "Hideyoshi has been dead as of yesterday, thanks to Tokugawa Ieyasu. The news has spread like wildfire."

Well, that was one less person to deal with.

"What about Ishida Mitsunari?" asked Kaihime.

"He's alive and – " started Ujimasa, who then looked at Kaihime with an astonished look. "Wait... you're planning to go after him?"

"I think it would be the best course of action if we –"

"Bah! Foolish child! You're just using this as an excuse to get revenge for your family!"

"And if I am? What then?"

"I will not allow it, that's what! It's far too risky."

"Or maybe you are just being a coward, old man!"

Everyone in the room gasped.

"How dare you?" barked Ujimasa. "You would dare show disrespect to the Hojo clan?"

"We have served you for long enough!" Kaihime snapped back. "As the new leader of the Narita clan, I make the decisions for my family, and I say as of now we hereby resign from being your vassals! I will defeat Ishida Mitsunari; with or without your help."

With that, Kaihime stood up and left the war room in a huff.

Author's notes: (*jisan - "uncle" in Japanese (jiisan would be grandfather; it depends on the spelling). *otousan - father) Hello! I apologize for the sudden rush of drama. There will be comedy bits in the future. Also, I will be focusing on other characters like Masamune and Ieyasu and their point of view on things in the future. I apologize if my character comes across as a Mary Sue if she does seem like that to you. Hope you enjoyed the prologue!