Kuze residence in Edo 1864 Japan
The prince of Kuze died on an autumn night. The red maple covered the courtyard of the Kuze residence and here and there a gust of wind whirled up the foliage, making it look as if the leaves were dancing in circles around each other. They spun around in a swirl of red and orange, only to flutter to the ground shortly afterwards.
Six Hatamoto banner-bearers were watching over the big gate, which demarcated the domicile of the Kuze from the rest of the world. The voices rose louder and then went quiet again, a murmur that swelled like the humming of an alarmed swarm of bees.
The leafy ground was suddenly lit by dancing lights coming from the lanterns carried by a group of soldiers.
A monk stepped out from the crowd. He knelt in front of the maple and lit an incense stick on a shrine that rested on its roots. Three wooden slats were already placed on the shrine, the so-called Sotoba, where the names of the deceased predecessors of Kuze were written. It was the time of Tsuya, the death wake.
What started in the Kuzes' home with a whisper soon became known through the whole country. It was the beginning of a new rule. Hiroyuki Kuze, the deceased prince's firstborn son, was promoted to daimyo after his father's death and was given the Sekiyado domain in the Shimousa province.
The start of the rule of the new young daimyo made the common folk wonder what changes it might bring.
The daimyo were now the most powerful princes and local rulers. They belonged to the Buke, the sword nobility. The members of this estate were the Bushi and thus the womb of the samurai. With the establishment of the shogunate, the Bushi were the most powerful group in the country and thus no power someone wanted to turn against. But people were proved wrong in their assumptions. The new prince was not like his father. He used his power to support the interests of Japan. And like a farmer growing rice, he began cultivating the smallest seeds on and off his field. One of these seeds was the Shinsengumi alliance with the shogunate. Even the prince had to submit to the shogun.
This story begins on the day when prince Kuze sent his daughter Akabara to Kyoto to serve the Shinsengumi as an Onna Bugeisha.
Akabara Kuze earned the respect of her entourage at an early age because of her riding, archery and sword skills. Her father, the daimyo, Hiroyuki Kuze called her 'Akabara', which means red rose. She combined fighting spirit and grace.
A lady of noble birth must be educated in singing, dance and the art of war. At the age of sixteen, and as a lady of standing, It was a conventional daimyo ritual to involve the offspring in the war‚ in order for them to become proud warriors and return gloriously to their homes.
The headquarters of the Shinsengumi was located in Mibu in Kyoto's immediate vicinity.
The squad that escorted Akabara consisted of only ten men. Anyone who believed that this was not enough protection for the young prince's daughter was wrong. Each of the Hatamoto Samurai by her side was worth ten more warriors. They had been prepared for battle since their childhood and would protect their mistress with their lives. As for Akabara, she would do the same for her henchmen and she would not hesitate.
The Fukucho of the group, Daisuke Yamada, watched his mistress inconspicuously out of the corner of his eye as she rode beside him. His dark eyes finally rested on the sword at her hip.
Daisuke was one of the strongest warriors Japan had produced. As one of the bodyguards of the Kuze, he participated in numerous battles with Akabara, and had yet to be defeated in any of them. His main weapon was a katana, known as Daikoku Masamune, which scared any enemy away. Akabara owned the sister of his blade, Kyogoku Masamune. The two swords were legendary and were passed down from ruler to ruler. To give such a sword to a Hatamoto was a great honor and a testament of the confidence the prince had in Daisuke.
Daisuke looked back at his mistress. Her face was impassive and was partially obscured by her long blond hair. This made it harder to read her expression, but he had known her since childhood. The way she gripped the horse's reins gave away her true feelings. She didn't want to be here. But she would not be Akabara if she had resisted her father's command like a rebellious child. Instead, she had simply accepted it and kept silent. The only evidence of her annoyance was her knuckles, which slowly turned white from her firm grip.
"Kuze-dono, do not worry, your father sent you here because he really sees the benefit in it."
She raised her head and gazed carefully at him with her pale green eyes, before a despondent smile crept over her lips.
"He wants to punish me," she replied softly.
"You shouldn't have said that he can't teach you anything anymore," Daisuke said politely.
Akabara's shoulders barely sagged at this comment. "Thanks, now I feel much better," she muttered sarcastically and Daisuke gave a harsh laugh. She blushed furiously and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ears. "Heya." She drove her horse into a quick gallop and the samurai in her wake did the same.
Headquarters of the Shinsengumi
"M'lady Kuze-dono," she was greeted by the dark voice of the Shinsengumi Fukucho.
He had long, black hair and serious violet eyes. He knelt down and bowed low with his palms on the floor. His comrades followed his example. Akabara waved Daisuke into the room and knelt down in front of Hijikata Toshizo. He raised his head and straightened up.
"Thank you, Hijikata-san, but please use normal greetings while I'm here," she gently asked.
Hijikata looked at her in surprise for a moment, then nodded and maneuvered himself into a cross-legged position.
"Your father wrote me a letter in which he explained everything. I cannot tell you how urgent the Shinsengumi need support," he said, and there was a sense of relief and malaise in his voice.
The other two men introduced themselves as Yamanami Keisuke and Kondo lsami. The man named Kondo lsami was the commander while Hijikata was his deputy. Yamanami Keisuke was the current Secretary General.
Kondo-san put a hand on his neck and laughed loudly. "Goodness, Toshi, don't be so pessimistic, Kuze-dono will think we've been completely lost."
"That's what we were," commented Yamanami dryly. "Without the financial support of Hiroyuki Kuze-dono and the reinforcement, we would have been forced to leave Mibu."
"Err…, well but Sannan-san..." Kondo-san flinched in embarrassment and caught an 'Are-you-serious' look from Hijikata-san.
For a moment Akabara's eyes widened and she stiffened. She had thought she would be meeting a group of dusty and stoic warriors, and now she was kneeling before these... peculiar guys. Eventually she decided to politely ignore what they had said and gave the commander an unreadable smile. She had somehow gotten used to that smile, and whoever saw it could not guess what she really thought. "Thank you Kondo-san, I am honored to assist you and I want to stay here to help as long as my father likes it," she assured him.
She pushed her hair over her shoulders so that it flowed over her back, and rose. The men rose quickly too. The man they all called 'Sannan-san,' pointed with his arm out. "Let me show you where you and your soldiers are housed, Kuze-dono."
She nodded and realized that the other two were staring at her. They quickly looked away.
Yes, she was used to curious looks. As a member of the Kuze Clan, she was not really able to remain unmolested. She turned on her heel and followed Sannan-san to her quarters.
The next morning
The news of her arrival had evidently gone around, for whenever she listened closely, she heard whispering which abruptly faded as it approached her area of the yard. She had been accommodated separately from her henchmen and could not really complain about the decor of the rooms. They really tried hard and what was there was enough for Akabara. Although the domicile of the Kuze was large and magnificent, it nevertheless captivated with its simplicity. As a member of the sword nobility, her great-grandfather remembered the simple life and the way of the sword, which is why no Kuze lived in great luxury.
Akabara got up from her futon and started rolling it up. Then she slipped out of her white Yukata and began to dress. Her normal everyday clothes consisted of a long red Yukata. It was cut in on the left side along her legs. The entire outfit gave her the maximum freedom of movement she needed in the event of a fight. On her feet she usually wore Tabi socks and Zori. Finally, she put a black leather strap around her waist and stowed her Katana and Wakizashi in it.
She opened the Fusuma that separated her room from the courtyard and stepped onto the wooden porch in front of it. The courtyard was empty except for a large sakura tree standing proudly in the middle…
Akabara leaned against the railing, studying the sakura petals in the wind. The pleasant breeze stroked her skin. She closed her eyes and allowed herself a moment of weakness.
Suddenly she heard a rustling and turned around hastily. At one corner of the porch stood a man she did not recognize. His blue eyes were partially obscured by dark, lilac hair.
He had been watching her. Their eyes met and for a moment both seemed equally startled but the stranger recovered much faster.
Feeling shy after the situation in which he had caught her, it was difficult for her to return his gaze, so her eyes wandered to the swords he wore on the right hip. Oh... right? Was he left-handed? Interesting. She looked up again at his face and immediately felt a wave of shock shoot through her body. His eyes were uncomfortably penetrating. As if he could look deep inside her.
Didn't… he wish to say something?
"Sumimasen," he suddenly said, revealing a deep, yet velvet voice.
Before Akabara could reply, he dropped to his knees and bowed low. "M'lady, Kuze-dono, I didn't mean to scare you," he assured her in a serious voice that made it difficult to perceive any emotion.
The anxiety that had spread in her stomach subsided and she felt herself in control again. A second later he stood up and she returned his gaze directly this time as she smiled at him. It was the same unreadable smile which she had given Kondo. She would not let him see how nervous he had made her.
"What's your name?" She finally asked.
It took a fraction of a second before he answered. "Saito Hajime, M'lady."
Suddenly the strange tension was interrupted by a loud clatter and a boy her age with a long braid jumped out from behind one of the Fusuma on the opposite side of the yard. Shortly after, a man with a green headband followed. "GAAH, Heisuke you little louse, just wait till i get my hands on you!"
"You have to be faster for that, Shinpachi-san, if you can even keep up with your old bones...ahahaha!"
"WHAT THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU'RE DOING?!" barked another deep voice.
Hijikata-san also appeared, furious and with a throbbing vein on his temple. Annoyed, he looked towards the two troublemakers and put his hands on his hips in resignation, then he turned to Akabara and Saito with an apologetic look.
"Kuze-dono... Forgive this outburst of silly behavior. I am afraid you will only think the worst of the Shinsengumi if this continues…"
Akabara shook her head slowly. "No," she answered calmly. She could feel Saito-san's eyes burning on her face.
Hijikata sighed in relief, then straightened. "I want to discuss something with you, if you would please follow me."
She nodded and followed Hijikata-san but she turned after brief hesitation. "It was a pleasure to meet you, Saito-san," she proclaimed. Then she hurriedly turned back, because something inside her knew he was going to look her way until she disappeared. The anxious feeling of the previous moment suddenly reappeared in her stomach.