Alright guys here it is. Chapter 2 of Bonds of the Hōjō. I really appreciate the feedback and reviews that you guys l left for me, it really helps me out a lot. Oh yeah in case you guys are wondering, Ren's weapon will be like Naomasa Ii's swift steel blade except that the handle will be black with a red outline, and the gold Hōjō symbol will be on the blade. His moveset will be like Naomasa's with a few differences. His appearance will be like in the picture above but we'll get to that in the next chapter. So now without further ado, please enjoy chapter 2.
Chapter 2: New Bonds, Way of the Hōjō
(Odawara Castle training grounds, Kanto)
"Ahhh!", yelled Ujiteru as he was knocked down to the ground. As he recovered a long wooden spear was held up to his face. "Sorry you lose big brother", Ren said with a smiled as he lowered his weapon and held out his hand for Ujiteru. "Your just too good Ren! you've easily beaten all of us now", he said as he took Ren's hand. Ujimasa, Ujikuni, Ujinori, Hayakawa, and Saburo all looked in amazement as Ren had won. It had been about a week since Ren was adopted into the Hōjō, and he had become quite accustomed to living here. He and all his brothers were training together while Hayakawa and Saburo were watching on the side. With Ujiteru's defeat, that makes Ren the strongest out of all the siblings
"Wow big brother Ren is so strong!", Saburo yelled as he sat next to Hayakawa who was also amazed by her new brothers skill. "Impressive young master", spoke a man approaching the children. That man was Tsunashige Hōjō, the famed Warrior in Yellow, who was also in charge of training the kids. He had yellow and purple armor with a yellow scarf around his neck that had the Hōjō symbol on it. He also had a horned headband that covered his forward, and had his grey hair tied into a small pony tail on top of his head as well as a small mustache. "At this rate you'll surpass both me and your father in no time young master", he spoke proudly. "Thank you very much master Tsunashige, but I have a long way to go before I can match you or Father", he said humbly. Tsunashige had met Ren several days ago and he instantly took a liking to the boy for both his kind personality as well as his skill and dedication to his training. "Well anyway, I think that should be good for today, you're free to do whatever you want for the rest of the day", Tsunashige said.
As Ren was putting his training spear away, Hayakawa walked up to him and asked,"Um Ren, I was wondering if you want to go around the town with me". "Yeah sure. Sounds fun!", Ren said with a smile. In the past week Ren had gotten very close with his sibling but he had grown especially close to Hayakawa. Hayakawa's face lit up at his reponse and she quickly grabbed his hand and led him into the castle.
Inside the castle, Ujiyasu and Suikeiin were peacefully drinking tea and talking until they heard Hayakawa running in while dragging along Ren by his hand. "Father, Mother! Ren and I will be going around the town for a bit okay?", she said with a bright smile. "Okay dear, just don't stay out too late alright?", Suikeiin said. Hayakawa cheered as she ran outside followed by Ren. "Those two sure are getting along well", Suikeiin said with a smirk before looking at Ujiyasu. "You anticipated this didn't you?", she asked with a devious smile. "Heh who knows?", Ujiyasu siad as he took a sip of his tea. As he finished he looked outside and said," Oi Kotaro! I need you to go keep an eye on those two. At that moment as if out thin air a ninja appeared beside Ujiyasu. He was tall with red hair, and full black ninja armor. His skin was oddly gray with red marks underneath his eyes. "So I'm a babysitter now, Ujiyasu?", Kotaro said playfully with his usual devious smile. "Just go already, damn ninja", Ujiyasu said as Kotaro vanished. "Come on, admit dear you trust him a lot don't you? Why else would you have him look after our kids?", Suikeiin said with a smile. Ujiyasu could only grunt at her sentence before going back to drinking his tea.
(Central Odawara, Kanto)
The town of Odawara was bustling with life as usual. It was still a bit of a strange feeling for Ren, who was still not used to being able to freely roam around the city or anywhere else for that matter. His father had first taken him around the town about a week ago which had been a completely new experience for the boy. What surprised him the most was how kind the common people were, and how well they got along with the samurai. Typically the samurai would view peasants as lesser beings due to status bit here in Kanto, there was no such thing. Everybody treated everybody as family and always looked after one another. Ren instantly liked the place as soon as he saw it and has since become much more accustomed to the people.
"Hey Ren are you okay?, Hayakawa said as she noticed her brother lost in thought. Ren snapped out of his thoughts and remembered what he had been doing." Yeah i'm fine Hayakawa, so what did you want us to do together?", he asked happily. "I was thinking we could play around the town today, and maybe go to the lotus pond together later", Hayakawa said with a smile. "Yeah sounds fun!", he said as he gave her a big cheery smile. Hayakawa then looked away and blushed at his smile. She couldn't understand why it is that she felt so strange around him sometimes. A few days after they had first met, Hayakawa had started feeling strange whenever she was around him. One part of her wanted to keep being around him more, and another felt embarrassed whenever he was nearby. Ren looked at her with a questioned expression on his face before she shook her head and started leading him around the town. On the way an old lady in front of her shop greeted the two children. "Oh young master, my lady! It's nice to see the two of you out together". she said happily. Hayakawa and Ren greeted the woman with a smile before Hayakawa said, "Yes, Ren and I are planning on going around the town today". The old woman could only give a sweet smile while saying, "You two just look so cute together!". Both Ren and Hayakawa started turning as red as tomatoes and looked away from each other the moment she said that. "Oh I'm just teasing you two. Here, why don't you take these for later", she said as she handed them a bag full of meat buns. "Thank you so much!", they both said as took the bag and started running off. The woman couldn't help but think of how cute they looked together.
(Odawara Castle Outskirts, Kanto)
After several hours of playing around the town, the two kids decided to have a little picnic in the forest with the meat buns they receiced earlier. "Ahh! What a fun day, I'm really glad you were with me today Ren!", Hayakawa said while getting the meat buns out. "Yeah! Let's do this again sometime Hayakawa!", Ren said as he sat down next to her. As they were about to take a bite from their lunch, they heard a loud scream. "What was that?", Hayakawa said startled. "Sounds like someones in danger. We should go check it out", Ren said as he and Hayakawa began running towards the direction of the screaming. The two of them eventually reached a clearing in the forest and they were quite surprised by what they saw. It was a young girl about their age with long brown hair and red training gear on. In front of her was a large bear looking angry and ready to strike. Ren quickly grabbed a long, sturdy stick and jumped in front of the girl while Hayakawa helped her get up. "I have to get it's attention long enough for Hayakawa to get that girl away from here", thought Ren as he prepared to face the bear.
The bear suddenly started charging at Ren with great speed. "Is he stupid? Theres no way he can actually be thinking about fighting that thing!", the girl exclaimed as she was taken to a safe spot by Hayakawa. "Don't worry, my brother is really strong, I'm sure he can handle it", Hayakawa said reassuringly, but couldn't help but be a little worried about him. As the bear charged, Ren rolled to the side and quickly jabbed the bear in it's front leg which sent the bear tumbling. At that moment Tsunashige's words from their previous training sessions resonated through his head, "(Always be aware of your opponent's movements, and use that to your advantage)". Ren began looking at the bear's body movements to predict it's next attack. With a fierce roar, it got up on two legs and prepared to strike Ren with it's sharp claws. Ren saw that the bear had exposed it's abdomen and thought, "(Now!)". With that thought Ren quickly lunged forward and gave two powerful jabs with his branch directly into it's abdomen. Doing sent the bear stumbling back and disoriented, and with that Ren took the opportunity to give one powerful strike to the side of it's head. Ren then jumped back and prepared for the next attack as the bear recovered. It gave Ren a hard look before it decided to turn around, and began walking away. Ren gave a sigh of relief as he dropped his stick and began walking towards Hayakawa and the girl.
"Wow that was amazing!", the girl said with a blush. "(Ren is so strong)", Hayakawa thought as her face had a massive blush as well. "That was pretty tiring, and no thanks to you Kotaro", Ren said as he looked up at the ninja sitting on a branch above the them. "Hehe where's the fun in that?", he said playfully. Ren had met Kotaro two days after he first came to the Hōjō, at first Kotaro made him feel really uneasy, but after a few days Ren started getting used to him and has even been able to tell whenever he is around. Ren gave a sigh and ignored him as he walked up to Hayakawa and the girl. "So anyway what's your name and what were you doing out here?", Ren asked. "My name is Kai and I was out here training before that bear came out of nowhere and attacked me!", she replied. Ren thought for a minute before he realized something and said, "Wait you're Kai, as in master Ujinaga's daughter?". Ujinaga Narita was a general who served the Hōjō that Ren had met several days before, and he once talked about having a daughter their age that he would like to introduce to them sometime.
"Wait, how do you know my father?", she asked with a questioning look. She then took a good look at the two and noticed the symbols on their clothes. "W-W-Wait! You two are from the Hōjō?!", she asked with suprise. "Yes I'm Hayakawa and this is my brother Ren", she said with a smile. "EEEHHHHH?!", Kai screamed which caused Kotaro to laugh from his spot. "My Lady, My Lord, please forgive me for causing you so much trouble!", Kai said as she bowed to them. "H-Hey it's no big deal, we're just glad that you're alright", Ren said, as he tried to reassure her. "You two are so nice...", Kai said as she was amazed by their kindness. Then at that moment the three heard a grumbling sound. Kai then blushed with embarrassment and said, "I'm sorry, guess I forgot to eat". The three then laughed before two more grumbling sounds were heard. "Oh guess we forgot to eat too", Ren said as he remembered that he and Hayakawa were interrupted before they could eat. Hayakawa then got and idea and said, "Hey Kai, how about eating together with us over there". "Sounds great! Lets go!", Kai said as she followed them.
"These are amazing!", Kai said as she mowed down the meat buns together with Ren and Hayakawa. The three of them were happily eating and chatting together until they heard someone call out, "Kai! Kai! Where are you?!". A man then walked into the clearing and up to the kids. "Kai! Thank goodness your alright!", he said as he saw Kai. This man was Ujinaga Narita, retainer of the Hōjō and father of Kai. He then noticed the siblings and said, "Young master! My lady! Did my daughter cause you any trouble?". "Not at all. We actually had a lot of fun together", Hayakawa said smiling at him. "Yeah all three of us are friends now!", Kai exclaimed with a smile as she held out her first to them. Each smiled as they all bumped fists together at the same time, consolidating their friendship. "Oh I'm so glad Kai has friends. I know she is a tomboy and can have trouble getting along with people sometimes", Ujinaga said delighted about their friendship. "Father!", Kai yelled while embarrassingly looking down. Ujinaga looked up to see the sun setting then said, "Well it's getting late, we should go home Kai. Young master, my lady, please take care getting home". As Ujinaga and Kai started walking home, Kai rhen turned around and yelled, "Hey Ren! Next time I'll take down a bear myself alright?". Ujinaga then gave a confused look before realizing, "Wait, Bear?!". The three kids then started laughing while thinking about how they would never forget this day.
(Later that night)
"Wow you fought off a bear!", Saburo exclaimed after hearing Ren and Hayakawa's story. The whole family was sitting together in a room as Ren and Hayakawa told everybody about their day. "Heh sounds like you had a fun day with Ujinaga's kid", Ujiyasu said as he smoked from his pipe. His wife on the other hand was not as pleased as her husband. "Do you know how dangerous that was? You two kids need to stay out of trouble more", Suikeiin said seriously. "We're really sorry...", the two kids said as they both looked down. "But, I suppose that was impressive, and I'm really glad you saved that girl", she said with a warm smile. The two kids them smiled at their mother's words. "Alright kids, it's getting late. You all go take a bath and get some sleep", Suikeiin said to all the kids. Ujimasa and the other kids looked disappointed as they said, "Aww! But we want to hear more".
Later Ren was lying on the futon in his room unable to get any sleep. He couldn't stop thinking about everything that had happened in the last week. Losing his old family, meeting Ujiyasu, Suikeiin, Hayakawa and all his other siblings, fighting a bear and meeting Kai. It all felt like a dream that he didn't want to wake up from. "(Man, I can't get any sleep, I should go and get some fresh air)", He thought as he got up and started heading outside.
(Odawara Lotus Pond, Kanto)
When Ren reached the Lotus Pond, he was surprised to see Hayakawa there looking over the water. "Oh Ren, you couldn't sleep either?", she asked as he walked up to her. He looked at their reflection in the water before saying, "Yeah it's just that so much has happened since I came here". "Yeah it really has, but you know Ren, I really happy that I met you", she said with a big smile on her face. Ren blushed at her words before smiling and saying, "I'm really lucky to have met you and everyone here". The two of them then heard footsteps and were suprised to see Saburo walking up to them. "Brother, Sister I thought I might find you here". "Saburo what are you doing here?", Ren asked. "First I saw sister walking outside, then I saw you leaving too so I thought I would go to check it out what you guys were doing", Saburo replied.
"So hey Big Brother, how about you train with me?", Saburo asked with enthusiasm in his voice. "Wait, Now?", Ren asked surprised, as he looked up at the night sky. "Yeah! I want to be strong like you brother sonI can help our clan!", Saburo said with fierce determination in his eyes. "Don't forget about us!", a voice exclaimed. Walking towards the trio was Ujimasa, Ujiteru, Ujikuni and Ujinori, all with determined looks on their faces. "And don't forget about me", Hayakawa said pulling on his shirt. "You guys...", Ren said with a soft smile on his face. "All right then, let's do this!", Ren said determined as he raised his fist in the air. Up above in the Odawara Castle main keep, Ujiyasu and Suikeiin looked down at the Lotus Pond to see their children training together. They both had smiles on their faces while thinking of the bright future their children and their clan had. As Ren was training with his siblings he couldn't help but think of how lucky he was. "(Father, Mother, Hayakawa, Brothers, I will do whatever I can for you all and for the Hōjō!)".
(9 years later)
(Mt. Kasuga Castle, Echigo)
A large army with soldiers clad in white armor stood ready. Four people were in front of the army preparing to head out. The first was a woman with long black hair while wearing a long white robe and holding a long staff. The second was a man with white armor, talismans on his belt, a wide sword, and a large helmet with a golden Love kanji on it. The third was a large muscular man with a long scar acroos his face. In his hands are two massive blades the size of a normal person. In front of them all was a tall man with a fierce aura around him. He possessed a white coat on top of his battle armor, and a purple headpiece somewhat resembling like a monk. In his hand was a large sword with smaller blades sticking out.
"Ahh, I anticipate another glorious battle", the man in front said. He then raised his blade in the air and shouted, "Men advance! Let our blades of righteousness claim victory in battle!". With that the large army started their advance, with the sound of the roaring steps of their horses resonating throughout the area. "Let's see how the Lion and his children fight their battles. We make for Odawara Castle!"
And thats chapter two guys. The fun is just beginning cuz we're gonna get into our first battle next time. Again plz leave a review on what you think and look forward to the next chapter of Bonds of the Hōjō! EpicZL out!