Chapter two: Mingling with the Mikawa

Ueda was a very warm and friendly place. There were all sorts of good smells coming from the local food vendors, and almost every day was a festival at the marketplace. These were people who were proud of their heritage and culture which was evident in all their songs and stories shared frequently in public plazas. Hiro loved the place, and he was very content with the idea of staying there permanently and becoming a part of this extended family. After all, there was some Mikawa blood in him somewhere. But first, a daunting task approached him; Saika was going to ruin everything about his quaint, happy town as long as his training would last. There were still a few months until the final tests.

"Alright, kid. Your lesson today is simple. Women."

Hiro gulped. Saika wrapped his arm around him, pulled his face closer and whispered,

"Now, don't try to hide it from me. I know you like 'em. I mean, unless..." His arm slid slightly downward and pulled Hiro even closer, but he cringed and pulled away.

"Yeah, that's what I thought. You'll be alright, kid. Just follow my lead," he said as he took Hiro further into the main square.

Women were not on Hiro's mind. In fact, he had passed on the opportunity to choose a wife from the noble Ito family that Hiro had the privilege of growing up with. However, his journey to become a warrior seemed so much more adventuresome. He would actually get to travel and live somewhere else for a while, which he couldn't have done towing a wife and children. Women are sly, beautiful, and binding creatures who have nothing better to do than to care for the next generation and prepare a meal at the end of the day.

Saika began, "Women are amazing, beautiful creatures that need a man to... You know, take care of them and care for their emotional needs."

Well, at least they agreed on the 'beautiful' part.

"You have to know how to play with their weak-spots."

A woman was about to cross his path carrying a sack full of items from the marketplace. Her soft and shiny black hair was tossed and pulled up into a bun on top of her head and she wore a casual green kimono with colorful flowers sprung about carelessly. There was even a sakura flower on her hair. Saika reached out an arm that wrapped around her fair and daintily small waist. He pulled her close and gently took her left hand in his right as if about to dance.

"You see, beautiful women love to take an evening out to dance across an open floor for the whole town to see what a catch she really is."

Regardless of the awkward situation that the girl was in, what with becoming all of a sudden very close to a total stranger, she truly enjoyed the attention although she pretended to be annoyed. Hiro thought that he might actually get to understand how women think, and that although they may seem to hate the forward approach, they may actually enjoy...

Saika immediately fell to the ground, dumbfounded. Hiro looked at the young lady strutting away and then at Saika staring up at him from the dust. His left cheek was red, and from the looks of it, even a delicate flower can overpower a cocky gun-slinger no matter how loaded his skills with women may seem. Now, there was an opportunity to get even.

"Alright, I get the point. If she slaps you and throws you straight to the ground, she must be begging for more. Well, then, I suppose I might just go run off after her and try again…"

Before Hiro was about to finish his sentence, Saika jumped up from the ground and wagged his pointer finger at him.

"Don't you dare!" He straightened up. "She has to come back and get you!" emphasis was on the 'you' part of his sentence. "She'll come running back, you'll see."

Hiro rolled his eyes and sighed. "Not to be disrespectful, but aren't we supposed to get on with my training? I've been practicing my target shooting and…"

"Ah yes, well she can just find me walking around town for the next few months if she really wanted," emphasis on the 'really' this time. He threw an arm around Hiro. "My little boy wants to go shooting his little gun, well! That's what we will go and do then. Back to the outskirts of town!"

Despite his hatred for being treated like a child, Hiro had no complaints. After all this wasted time, finally something productive was being done. However, Saika still had his head in the clouds. He stopped dead in his footsteps, making Hiro slam on his breaks to avoid a collision.

"What now? Saika, if this is another side lesson…"

Saika lifted his finger silently. Hiro looked around; there was nothing interesting or different about their surroundings, and he couldn't make out what he had stopped for. He circled around to look into Saika's eyes. He was staring straight ahead with his mouth open, as if looking at an incoming army on the verge of a surprise attack.

"What? What are you staring at!" Hiro was almost at screaming level, but Saika pointed straight ahead.

A small group of military men surrounded a single woman dressed in a flowing, red kimono seemingly made of the finest silk in the world; it gave off the shine of a thousand suns. Her hair was long and brown, and decorated with flowers that made a crown around her head. They came closer, but Saika just stood as still as if her eyes had turned him into stone. 'Oh no, not another woman lesson,' Hiro thought.

"Saika, this is enough! I promise I'll never ask this way again, but I demand some training time."

There was no response. He grunted in frustration.

"Besides, she is untouchable. Do you understand? You'll never get close enough to those guards to even smell her perfume!"

Oh, but they could smell her perfume. She was moments away from walking straight past the two, and they can already smell the lavender oil and the rose petals that made her crown. The closer she walked, the more hazy the air became. Her scent, her beauty, her very being made the air around her seemed to render any man drunk with love. The people around her smiled and waved; the children called out to her, wanting her to reach out and touch them; there were even people handing over gifts to her guards. She just smiled gently and took it all in stride. She passed by the wide-eyed Saika and Hiro and nodded her head at both of them, in the same graceful manner that she greeted everyone that she passed. The boys turned their heads without breaking their gaze. The sight of her was just so magnetic.

"Who... is that woman?" Saika asked.

"That's Princess Ina. She's the daughter of the Chief of the Military, Tadakatsu Honda," Hiro explained.

"Ina..." Saika whispered. Hiro shook his head back into focus.

"Yes, but she's way above our league. You'll be lucky if you get a formal introduction."

Saika kept staring; Hiro punched him in the arm.

"Lord Maigoichi!"

No response.

"Hey, look, you'll never even get close to her. She's always too heavily guarded, and when she isn't that Tadakatsu is just waiting to cut the throat off of anyone who is looking upon her with lust. You don't stand a chance!"

Saika slowly drew his head towards the young boy and grabbed him by the collar of his vest.

"Mark my words, Hiro Nagasaki. I will have that woman."