The three-day journey on the ship from Kagoshima to Edo was… bearable. Thankfully, no one disturbed Kazama throughout the voyage, and he was able to collect his thoughts. The rumors he had heard were true, and there had been an increased foreign naval presence upon Japanese waters. Amagiri's informants at Nagasaki had claimed that they were there so that they could be repaired, and so their sailors could find respite upon land before heading towards China and Russia. Those claims were then proved to be false with the fact that new factories have emerged in Nagasaki, opened by those foreigners, manufacturing new Western firearms. He was sure that there would be some amount of chaos if the Westerners who landed on Kyushu went unchecked by the Bakufu. The Japanese did not take such blatant show of strength lightly, and would most likely see it as a challenge to their authority in their own lands.
"What are you thinking about, Chikage?" Hana asked her grandson as soon as they disembarked the ship that brought them to Edo.
"The folly of humans, Obaa-sama," Kazama replied. There was an air of unrest, thick among the humans. It had spread from the port-cities of Kyushu to the heart of the Bakufu in Edo, and he knew that with no uncertainty that it had everything to do with foreign naval ships. He did not know much about Western politics, but he knew much of his own country's to predict that nothing good would come from this exchange.
Hana chuckled. "You seem to do little else these days, my boy," she said. It could not be helped that her grandson thought lowly of the humans, who had forced their kind into hiding due to fear and greed. There had been a time when humans and Oni lived together in peace, but the humans, knowing that the Oni were nigh-Immortal, and damned near impossible to kill, feared them and started to conspire to drive them into non-existence. No self-respecting and self-loving Oni would ever seek to tie themselves to the humans now, although temporary alliances could not be avoided. Yet, Hana knew that with the sudden boldness of the pink-skinned humans that she had seen, coming into Japanese waters in big, black ships, she knew that a new reckoning would come to their country, and not even the Oni could escape it.
"Let us be free of such unproductive thoughts," the head of the Amagiri clan, Kazutarou said. "Your focus should be managing the terms of the alliance your clan with that of the Yukimura." Political marriages were political marriages, whether the bride and groom were Oni or not. The terms of betrothal would be carried out from the moment the agreement was settled. The Yukimura clan was as powerful in the East as the Kazama was in the West, and a union of both clans would mean a great exchange of either trade, service or martial matters.
Kazama rolled his eyes. Amagiri's oldest brother was highly critical of him, despite them being equals. Perhaps critical was not the keyword of his non-confidence in him, but it should be noted that being vassals of his clan, the fates of Amagiri were tied to that of his. "The terms have already been drafted," he said. "They will be revealed during the ceremony." They were in the territories of the Yukimura clan, with eyes and ears in every corner possible. If the other party heard the terms of the arrangement, they could alter theirs to make it more profitable for themselves.
Hana chuckled. "What I fear is that you will relent to what the Yukimura clan wants the moment you see your future bride," she teased her grandson, who scowled in response. It was true that young Chizuru was only a child, but news of her beauty had already spread far and wide. That could not be helped, since her mother was also a great beauty, a descendant of the Suzumori clan, another clan that was on the Oni Council. "Five year-old girls have their charm, you know."
"Perhaps we should turn back and wait ten more years then," Kazama said, not bothering about propriety when rebuking his grandmother. "I have no interest in taking a child-bride."
"Suit yourself," Hana returned. "However, if the Yukimura clan comes knocking at our door, demanding a groom for their daughter, you shall be the one to answer the call." She knew that Kazama was aware that there was only one Oni girl that had pure blood in this generation, and she knew that Kazama would welcome the girl as his bride for that sole reason alone. He would marry the girl even if he would not come to love her, because it was what his clan needed. Her grandson did not agree to a match with young Sen-hime of the Yase clan, because he did not relish being tied to the whims of the ruling clan of their people directly, and thus, little Yukimura Chizuru had been his only choice for a wife.
Amagiri cleared his throat before Kazama could say anything. "It is getting late, we should continue moving if we are to reach the Yukimura village in time," he suggested respectfully, his head bowed towards Hana. After spending so many years by Kazama's side, Amagiri learned that the most effective stratagem of stopping Kazama's explosive anger from building up and imploding would be to divert his attentions. The years may have mellowed Kazama somewhat, but there was no harm in using his old stratagem. Besides, it would be wise not to delay their travel, to ensure that their hosts would not be kept waiting.
"You still have much to learn from Kyuuju, my grandson," Hana reminded Kazama when he prepared their horse. "Patience being one of them."
"I try, Obaa-sama," Kazama replied, feeling his blood cool as the moments passed. It would be a long journey to the Yukimura village indeed.
It was a three-day journey upon horseback from Edo Bay to the Yukimura homelands. They were the masters of the Oni in the Tohoku regions, the reach of their influence in the north-eastern territories were was great as that of the Kazama in the south-west. While the lands of the Tohoku were considered to be the granary of Japan, the fruits of its forests held many secrets, and the Yukimura clan knew every one of them, becoming renowned hzpb0hjealers and doctors.
The head of the clan, Yukimura Chizo, was one such individual. He was an Oni-leader who preferred diplomacy and friendship over martial action. The humans in the surrounding areas did not fear nor hate the Oni, but were all grateful for the services that Yukimura and his family provided to them. Kazama often scoffed at his idealist leanings, but there was no doubt that he respected Yukimura, for being able to stand by his beliefs despite the clearly evident truth that humans were ingrates and would turn on him whenever it suited them.
"I hear water," Hana exclaimed with a wide smile. They soon came a meadow in the mountains, wide as the eye could see, where the grass was as green as the emerald leaves in the forests that they had passed, adorned with flowers of every hue imaginable. The meadow was cut into sections by a series of interconnecting streams that came from a nearby mountain, and the legends were true, its waters were so clean and pristine that one could imagine that the water was glittering as it ran downstream.
The Yukimura village was built right in the center of the great meadow. Its buildings were without fences or walls, and was open to all who would come. An Oni like Kazama could have fretted at the lack of defenses about the village, but it was of no concern to its rulers. Children frolicked and played freely while their parents watched on, while there were rows and rows of medicinal plants growing as abundantly as the agricultural crops of the Kazama village, tended to by carefully trained hands.
At the very center of the village was the Yukimura manor. Its permanently-open doors were painted a deep sapphire hue, and just a few feet away from it, were Yukimura Chizo and his retinue, dressed in the clan's colors of white and green. Of medium height and build, Yukimura had kind, brown eyes and hair cut so short that they seemed to stand on end, in a strange hue that seemed olive-green under the sunlight. At his side was his wife, Natsuko (née Suzumori), a former bodyguard and advisor to the current Yase-hime, having retired from such duties once she was wedded to Yukimura. Like the beauty of the Yukimura village, the tales of her beauty were all true. Blessed with snow-white skin and luscious chestnut hair worn in a braid adorned with flowers, her piercing eyes were emerald in color.
"The Yukimura clan welcomes our guests, the Kazama and Amagiri clans of the Satsuma-han," Yukimura greeted his guests with a low, formal bow. "My wife and I welcome you to stay as long as you wish."
"You honor us," Kazama replied, and performed the necessary greetings in reciprocation. He noted the manner in which Yukimura had held his wife's hand and continued, "Matrimony suits you, Yukimura. You seem to be aglow with it." He had not seen Yukimura ever since he had returned to his lands to marry Natsuko, and was willing to risk a little mischief in his reunion with his old friend.
Yukimura let out a hearty laugh following Kazama's jest. "Is this how you speak to your future father-in-law, young Chikage?" Yukimura asked. "Clearly, Hana-baa has not been able to fully rein you in yet."
"That would be an understatement," Amagiri Kazutarou interjected with a light bow. "Chizo, I thank you for your hospitality in these coming days."
"Do not mention it, Kazutarou," Yukimura replied. He then gestured towards his wife, and introduced her to all of his guests. "This is my lovely wife, Natsuko, from the Suzumori clan. Her great-grandaunt was Suzumori Yukina, who fought in the Battle of Sekigahara with my ancestor, Kazuya." After three generations, the Yukimura and Suzumori clans were tied once again in matrimony, and such greatness in their blood would certain show in Yukimura and Suzumori's children.
"It is an honor to have all of you as our guests," Natsuko said, performing the greeting-bow. Through her emerald eyes, glowing wild and free, Kazama could sense that Natsuko had not been a woman of peace as her husband was, because the very fact of the matter was that the Suzumori clan was just as militant as his own. How Yukimura had managed to capture such a free spirit, he would never know, but somehow, deep inside him, there was a sense of relief, because if anything happened, he knew that Natsuko would rise to the occasion in the defense of the Yukimura village. This much was inherent within her.
After the pleasantries were exchanged, the guests were brought into the main hall of the Yukimura manor, where the current Yase-hime was waiting for them. Senya was her name, a petite woman who exuberated power nonetheless. She would be the officiator of the betrothal ceremony that would commence the next day.
"It is a joyous occasion to see so many clans gathered in one setting," Senya said. Of the ten clans in the Oni Council, four were gathered there. There was nothing more unifying, more encompassing than a wedding, or rather the promise of one to come. "Chizo, Kazutarou, Chikage, I have not seen all of you together in many months… and Hana-baa, it is good to see you again." The four addressed bowed in reply, and after that, the last of the day's formalities were completed.
The clan elders of the Yukimura, Kazama, and Amagiri were then ushered into another room to talk amongst themselves, leaving the younger generation some privacy to discuss their own affairs. The very moment the elders left, sake was served. The first thing Kazama did was to turn towards Yukimura. "Yukimura, answer me honestly, did you want to go through this arrangement?"
"Why would I not?" Yukimura asked him in return, draining his cup of sake, raising an eyebrow as he looked back towards Kazama. "Even if you're not one of the richest families amongst us, you are one of the best swordsmen in the Oni Council. If you marry my daughter, her future would be secured, and I would have less of a worry in my lifetime."
Kazama rolled his eyes. "Yukimura. You always finish your sake in one go when you are lying. Out with it." Once his father had passed on, Yukimura was sent to Kagoshima to help him get through that difficult period of mourning, and ever since then, they had been close friends, and he knew everything there was to know about him.
"Most likely, you were forced to this alliance by someone else," Amagiri said. "Natsuko-san, tell us the truth."
Natsuko sighed. "It was Chizo's uncle," she answered. "He said that with the influx of the presence of the Westerners in our waters, the Bakufu would be plunged into instability. He wanted our clans to be united, to ensure that at least the Oni of the East and West would be safe."
It was obvious that Yukimura did not enjoy such talk. "Even if the humans wanted to do anything untoward to each other, they would not harm us. We have nothing to do with them at all," he reasoned.
"When war rises, the humans need medicine the most," Amagiri Kazutarou said. "They are using you, Chizo." No one ever questioned Yukimura's rule, only that he was too soft-hearted towards the humans. Then again, he was a doctor, and doctors were all compassionate souls, riddled with the fact he and his family had become pacifists over the ages…
Yukimura showed signs of not wanting to continue the discussion any further, and thus the subject was changed. "What about a bride for your son then?" Senya asked.
This time, Yukimura let out a full, roaring laugh. "That boy is destined to be a warrior, by the looks of him. I have full confidence that women would come to him in droves when he is a man grown." He seemed to be very proud of his children, even if they were only five. Noting the confused expression on Kazama's face, he slapped him on the back. "Ah, but you won't understand this until you are a father, right, Senya-dono?"
Senya chuckled. Senya had a daughter herself. The father was not an Oni from a powerful clan, but Senya had married for love. "Right indeed, Chizo," she replied. They were lucky, the Oni leaders of their generation. All of them had grown in a close circle, although they were of various ages, and were able to talk freely in private.
"Your daughter is only five," Kazama retorted, scowling towards Yukimura. "You expect grandchildren out of her at this age?"
"You misunderstand my husband, Kazama-san," Natsuko answered. "If you marry our daughter, you won't face the ages of the world alone, and, she would have a good husband. That is a well-thought plan after all." It was said that apart from being beautiful, Natsuko was also somewhat of a clairvoyant, able to see many years into the future. There was no doubt that she would have already seen into her daughter's future.
"Who knows, you would fall for her the moment you see her?" Yukimura added.
"Yukimura…"
"I was just kidding, Chikage."
HAN: I had a lot of fun making the Oni clan leaders interact with one another. Seriously. This should be a national sport. If you guys are confused, I used only "Amagiri" when referring to Amagiri Kyuuju, and Amagiri Kazutarou for his older brother. I believe that I didn't give the older brother a name in The Quest, woops. In case you want to know, here are the names of the Oni leaders in kanji. I can read Kanji because it's the same as traditional Chinese writing. However, I was educated in simplified Chinese... so yeah. There are also some references to Toki no Kizuna, which is the prequel to the Hakuouki series. One of them would be Suzumori Yukina's marriage to Yukimura Kazuya. In the game, the men you can choose to follow are Oni clan-leaders at the end of the Sengoku Era, so it would seem for this fic's sake that Yukina, the leading female of the game, went along with Kazuya's route, becoming Chizuru's ancestor. I've not played it, but there are various websites that would show you the plotlines of the game, which enabled me to stay within the fandom's canon as closely as possible.
Kazama Chikage: 風間千景
Amagiri Kyuuju: 天霧九壽
Amagiri Kazutarou: 天霧千太郎
Yase Senya: 八瀨千夜
Yukimura Chizo: 雪村千藏
Yukimura Kazuya: 雪村千耶
Suzumori Yukina: 涼森雪奈
Suzumori Natsuko: 涼森夏子
OnikuShita: From what I have gained from whatever lore on Hakuouki, is that Oni were species who are almost immortal, but Oni who have human blood would naturally live shorter lives. Since dear Kazama is a pure-blooded Oni, it would make sense that he would live longer than most humans. I put the number as around two to three centuries in the Quest, but it is most definitely not the rule. I saw the trailer for the second movie, and the very moment I saw Kazama riding a horse with Chizuru my heart melted! WOOHOO~
Olivia: Thanks for liking this one as well!
Elonore: Simply put, Kazama is a freakin' bastard. However, I feel that he is only so to those he deems "unworthy" of any respect. He loves his sweet little grandma to death, and will not dare do anything to Sen-hime, even if she interrupted him trying to woo Chizuru in Sekkaroku, no? The Oni clans are very interesting indeed. I can't wait to get my hands on it, though!
Megingjoro/ArYa: Naaaw, I have not given up on it at all! I personally was very intrigued by this pairing because I quite love to ship leading ladies with villains. I've already watched the first movie, and OMG, the anime pales in comparison to it. It's just more brutally violent, and focuses much more on the characters despite being only 1 1/2 hours long. In short, it was very well done!
Moons-chan: Thank you! I chose "The Journey" this time around, because it implies Kazama's journey towards Chizuru, right to the moment of the prologue in The Quest. ^_^
www.L.O.V. : Ah thanks! I hope you'll stick around in the future as well! (Oh I looked at your profile and found out that you're Singaporean. How are you ah? HEH HEH HEH - Am Malaysian, so... yeah. Can't help but flaunting our similar accents ^_^)
