A Samurai's Way Chapter 2, a samurai 7 fanfic

Author's Note: Well, I'm back, with a new chapter of 'A Samurai's Way'. Well, it was supposed to start when they arrived at Kanna Village, but I don't know how to start that… BUT THEN! There was the chance of having a better way to write this… by starting where the first chapter ends! I know, I'm so smart (NOT). I had fun writing this chapter, especially when I'm writing about Rei. There's not really much humour in this fic, seeing as Kikuchiyo's not in it… Rei will just have to replace him!

Here's my little legend:

Stuff like this: means that it's a flashback
Stuff like this: means to emphasize on something
Stuff like this: means Japanese/ foreign words
Stuff like this: means flashback emphasis
'Stuff like this': means the person's thoughts
"Stuff like this": means the person's talking
"Stuff like this": means the person's talking in the flashback
'Stuff like this': means the person's thoughts in the flashback
STUFF LIKE THIS: means yelling, voice raising, etc
…: means pausing, hesitation
---------: means a scene change/ time change

And I've thought of having one profile after a chapter, although I have no idea how many chapters I'm going to have. By the way, the whole 'capital and Nobuseri fight' thing ended about… 7 years? Loads could happen in 7 years… and I'm making Katsushiro 13 in the anime, and so he's 20 in this fic.

So… Reviews!

Fauna-chan: Yea! My first review! You just brightened my day, thanks for the review! Well, nothing really happened in Kanna Village… yet, but telling would just be spoiling the plot… and yes, this chapter is much longer than the first!

Disclaimer: The only thing I own from Samurai 7 is… nothing. I borrowed the series off my friend… it sounds so sad… but it's the truth. I own nothing from Samurai 7. The only thing I own is this plotline in this story, the OCs: Rei, Mai, Fujitaka Ran, Hitoshi, Yamada -san, Fumi, Sora, Umei –sensei, and Hayate.

A Samurai's Way
By: Hyourinmaru
Chapter 2

As the day tolled on, the sun began to set, its light beginning to fade away. Rei began to look anxious, hands starting to fidget as the sky began its descent into darkness, the start of night. Katsushiro looked back at him, noting the frightened look on his face, he asked, "What're you so scared of?"

Rei jumped, his eyes growing wide, before realizing it was his teacher that was talking to him. Teeth clattering, he answered, "T-t-there's bakemono and youkai after dark-k-"

He was cut off by Katsushiro sharply hitting him on the shoulder. "You don't believe in those things, do you? They're just stories, nothing's going to be there. It's just there to frighten anyone from traveling."

"And apparently, it works, stories or not! I haven't seen anyone out here for the last six hours! We're the only idiots traveling out here!"

Rei had now curled up into a ball, rocking back and forth, moaning out loud, "We're going to die, we're going to die… I want to go back home… I want onee- chan!"

Katsushiro looked at the pathetic being, and decided to take pity on him. "We'll be arriving in a couple of more hours or so. Take a nap if you're so scared."

Rei yawned, moving his hands to rub his eyes- and ended up bashing his head to the floor.(1) "Hey! What gives?" He grumbled, and rubbed his head instead.

"Good, now that you're awake, you're going to walk on your own to Kanna Village." Katsushiro started walking, leaving behind Rei in his wake.

"Weren't we using that glider thing before? Why aren't we using that instead of having to walk?" Rei grumbled, staying put in his place.

"Look around you- you couldn't have used the 'glider thing', as you so adeptly put, around here. The only thing left is to walk."

The mountainous terrain was everywhere, in Rei's eyes. It seemed that the mountains could reach high above the sky, ending in a rough peak. There was little chance for anyone to be able to climb up the steep surface. There was a little path, running around the mountain's surface, that seemed barely enough room for two people to walk across. (2) Katsushiro continued walking, rounding off the corner, before Rei had a chance to get up to walk. He ran, hurrying to catch up with Katsushiro, but as he rounded off the corner, his feet didn't touch the ground, and he lost to gravity. His hand reached out, hoping to grab onto anything to break his fall, but the unyielding surface made it impossible to have any handholds. 'I'm gonna die, I'm gonna die, I'm gonna-'

A hand reached out and caught Rei by the waist. He looked up, and saw Katsushiro, holding onto his katana, unsheathed, and the blade stuck into the rocky surface of the mountain. Katsushiro grunted at the extra weight he had to carry, before digging his katana deeper into the little crevice he had made while in his descent.

"It would help if you used your kodachi so you can have something to hold onto," Katsushiro shouted at Rei. Rei struck the surface with his kodachi, but was unable to get a hole in the wall. Katsushiro rolled his eyes at the futile attempt- clearly it was shown that this boy had never used the weapon other than to scare off meager kaitou and people.

After a couple of fruitless attempts, Katsushiro, annoyed, shouted at Rei, "Grab my arm. I'll do it."

Katsushiro took the kodachi and plunged it deep into the wall, letting it go for Rei to cling onto it. They hung there for a couple of minutes, before Rei became angry at the situation they had come across.

"I thought you knew the way to wherever we're heading to. Why did we end up hanging around in the mountains, with nowhere else to go?"

"Someone told me that this was the shortest way to get to Kanna Village. Hang on- let me think of a way to get out of this. I can get out of this easily, but with you with me, it'll be hard to…" Katsushiro's voice trailed off, thinking of a strategy without leaving his student down there in the big break from the path. Anyone could see that it was a beautiful view up in the mountains- Rei could see for miles, if he wasn't sweating over the fact that there was probably little chance of him surviving if he let go of his kodachi.

"Hang on, he says, when I'm already hanging, dangling about a billion miles (3) above some rotten mountain. Why are we even going to Kanna Village anyways? It's just a village, not really important anyways- I can see many other villages around Kiri. What's so special about it anyways-"

Rei's rant was cut off when a stray wooden plank hit him squarely on the head. Eyes rolled up, his hands loosened on his hold of his kodachi, before pitching backwards, falling. Katsushiro caught him and the plank, looking up to see a middle aged man looking down at him.

"Gomen nasai, I didn't know there were people down there. Could you please throw up the plank for me?" the man asked, hands clasped in front of him.

"Rikichi! Long time no see… I haven't changed much, have I?"

The man, Rikichi, took a closer look at the man below him. He was tall, with broad shoulders, and a muscular body. Although having physical changes to his body, Rikichi could tell who it was by the teal colour of Katsushiro's hair, although longer, and was pulled back into a ponytail. His eyes widened, stammering, "Katsushiro- dono! I haven't seen you since you fought against the Nobuseri. But why are you hanging down there?"

Happy to see an old friend, yet a bit uncomfortable having to carry Rei and the plank while holding onto his katana, Katsushiro responded, "I'll tell you everything when I come up. I'll throw the plank first, then the boy. That alright for you?"

Rikichi nodded, preparing himself for catching those two things. The plank went up first, and with some difficulty, Rikichi caught it, putting it aside on the path. The boy flew up just the same as the plank, yet Rikichi had less trouble catching him, as he was shorter and had been unconscious after the plank had struck him.

Rikichi looked back down to where Katsushiro was pulling the kodachi out of the rocks, and asked, "Katsushiro –dono, do you need help…"

Katsushiro pulled his katana out, and jumped swiftly up the rocks, becoming a blur to Rikichi. Clearly, Katsushiro needed no help in getting out of the hole. He landed right beside Rikichi, who fell over due to his surprise.

Katsushiro picked up the fallen body of Rei, and from the corner of his eye, saw Rikichi scrambling up, and was now looking at him expectantly. He sighed, it was going to be a long story to tell.

"So you're training this boy to become a samurai?" Rikichi inquired, jerking his thumb towards the still knocked out Rei, who was being carried on Katsushiro's shoulder like a grain sack. They were walking through the outskirts of the Kanna Village, since Katsushiro had told Rikichi that he was heading towards Kanna Village.

"Hai. I'm planning on making Rei work in Kanna Village. He needs to train his karada, so I thought since Kanna Village is close to the sea, might as well visit."

"We'll be happy to have a new helper in the village! So, how long are you planning on staying?"

"About a year or so, I'm not sure yet. By the way, Rikichi, what were you doing out back in the mountains?" Katsushiro asked, smiling a little from Rikichi's enthusiasm of having Rei work in the village. 'This gaki hasn't worked a finger off of anything before. He'll probably be more of a nuisance than a help.'

"I was sent there to patch up that hole. Apparently, someone dropped a bomb there, and Kambei –dono told us about it."

Arriving at Kanna Village, they heard the distinct sounds of singing as the village folk started to plant their crops in the field. Children ran around, playing around in the vast field. A small boy ran up to Rikichi, hugging him around his legs, he shouted, "Otou!(4) Okaa, Papa's back!"

Katsushiro looked at the little boy, who appeared to be around four years of age. Aware of Katsushiro's gaze, the boy looked back, curious of the newcomer. Rikichi's voice pulled the two back to earth, introducing them to each other.

"Katsushiro –dono, this is my son, Hitoshi. Hitoshi, he's one of the seven samurai that saved our village from the Nobuseri."

A pretty long haired woman walked up to them, and hugged Rikichi. "Okaeri nasai, Rikichi."

"Oh, Sanae, this is Katsushiro –dono."(5)

Rei woke up again, lying on the wooden floor of someone's house. He was relieved that he hadn't died yet, but had a large bump on his head, and a major headache. Rubbing the bump tenderly, he tried to piece together his thoughts of what had happened. 'The only thing I remember is being stuck on the mountain…'

Anyone could see that it was a beautiful view up in the mountains- Rei could see for miles, if he wasn't sweating over the fact that there was probably little chance of him surviving if he let go of his kodachi.

Rei's rant was cut off when a stray wooden plank hit him squarely on the head. Eyes rolled up, his hands loosened on his hold of his kodachi, before pitching backwards, falling.

Not remembering how he came to be in the little house, Rei assumed that Katsushiro found some way of saving them. He looked around the little house that he actually would call a shack, and found that there was no one there. Sliding open the doors of the house, there was no one there either. In fact, it seemed like Rei was the only life form in the little village. Stepping into the middle of the road, he shouted, "WHERE THE HELL IS EVERYONE? IS THIS SOME KIND OF JOKE OR SOMETHING?"

Night came swiftly upon the village of Kanna, its people quickly lighted the lamps in their house, getting ready to sleep. Among the houses, one stood out from the rest- it was the home of the mizumiko. Lights already lit, there seemed to be more people dwelling in it than the usual.

Katsushiro talked animatedly at the crowd, consisting of Kirara, Rikichi, Sanae and Komachi. Even Kambei and Shichiroji had been present, only visiting the Kanna Village and the graves of Gorobei, Kyuzo, Heihatchi and Kikuchiyo.

"So then he went to Fujitaka –dono with his sopping wet clothes, and said 'I quit'. I swear, Rei doesn't seem to stick to the same teachers for more than a couple of months!"(6)

The crowd roaring with laughter, the door slid open, and an angry Rei walked in, followed by Hitoshi, who immediately went to his father.

"Is this the brat you were talking about?" Shichiroji asked.

"Oh, yeah, he's Fujitaka Rei. Rei, this is Shichiroji, over there is Kambei, the couple over there is Rikichi and Sanae- you've met their son, I think- and these two pretty girls are Kirara and Komachi," Katsushiro pointed to the people as he introduced them to Rei.

"The pleasure's all mine, I guess," Rei answered with a pissed off tone. He was still upset at being left behind, and had managed to get hold of a kid to show him around the village somewhere between midday. He sat beside Katsushiro, still sulking, and ate the food Katsushiro handed to him.

"Say, Katsushiro, you're training that kid to become a samurai? I don't think he has the potential to become one," Kambei spoke outloud.

Rei choked on the rice, and seeing his look of outrage, Katsushiro replied, "Ah, Mai and I made a deal, so I have to train her brother."

Filled with curiosity, Komachi asked, "What's her part of the deal?"

It was Rei that answered, mouth now free of rice. "Katsushiro asked Mai onee- chan to marry him, but she refused. She told him that if he was able to teach me to become a samurai, then she'll marry him."

Katsushiro pulled out a chain from around his neck, which held a ring. "Until then, we're engaged. It'll probably take a long time until Rei becomes a samurai, but I hope she'll be waiting."

Everyone was silent for a moment, thinking about this new piece of news. It was Komachi who broke the silence.

"So? How did you two meet?"

"You wouldn't believe it, but she called me a thief."

"Thief?" It had now caught the attention of all the people in the room.

"It was probably the weirdest day of my life…"

The city of Kaze was adequately named- it was windy all season, rain or shine. The citizens adapted well in the weather, and were famous at making coats all over the country. It was this city that Katsushiro came upon on to find a Fujitaka Ran. He was really lost, except he didn't show it- ending up getting more lost as he continued to walk further into the city.

A girl was seen running through the city, a pair of thugs hotly pursuing behind her. Quickly going around a corner, before ducking under a low beam that was used as a clothes line, she definitely knew the way around the area. The men weren't very much lucky. After running around the corner, they collided straight into the beam. The girl looked back at them, who were getting hit by an elderly woman for destroying her property. She laughed, flipping her hair back, she yelled, "That's what you get for trying to hurt a girl like me!"

Seeing what had happened, Katsushiro decided to ask the girl for directions. He walked towards her, was currently fixing the clothes line for the woman.

"I'm terribly sorry for ruining your clothes line, Yamada -san," the girl said profusely, the thugs already gone after getting beaten by an elderly woman.

"Nonsense, dearie. It was those gaki, their fault. Though I must say, why were you doing scurrying around with those two men? It isn't proper to be doing that," the woman said, a bit breathless from beating those thugs with her cane.

"Oh, I just said a couple of words to them, and they were threatening to beat me up! The nerve of them… not acting gentlemanly at all!" She finished fixing the beam and was putting the clothes back on.

"Oh, your mouth will be the death of you, Mai. Women should be seen, not heard. (7) Your father should be sending you to that ladies' academy."

"Oh, Yamada –san! You don't really mean that, do you? Times are changing- it's time women should be taking a bit of a voice for themselves! Besides, who will help you if I'm sent to that dreaded school?" Mai finished fixing the line, but was approached by a mysterious man in front of her.

"Excuse me, but could you tell me how to get to the Fujitaka household? I'm kind of lost," Katsushiro said.

"You're not a citizen in Kaze, are you? It's a bit far from here. You walk straight to your left, until you see a man in a booth selling umbrellas, and buy one for Fujitaka –sama, he loves collecting umbrellas. Then you take a right, and when you see a store that sells wind chimes, buy one for Fujitaka –sama's daughter. Then walk straight for about 10 minutes, take another right, and walk until you see a sapling that's growing in the middle of the road, and you see a medicine store. Walk to the store's left and it's there on your right- you can't miss it."

After Katsushiro left, thanking her for her directions, Mai was grabbed by two girls. "Hey! What gives?"

"You're so mean, Mai –chan! You could've taken him with you home," one of the girls said.

"Yeah, Fumi's right, Mai –kun, he's pretty handsome- look at his muscles!" the other girl said.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I'm supposed to swoon at every cute guy that comes in my way? Sora, I don't even know him, and he comes asking me for directions to my home? Please, as if I'm that naïve. He could be a robber or a hired assassin looking for my family!" Mai began walking, being trailed by the two girls.

"Demo, demo, you could've at least told him the right directions! Your house is the other way, isn't it? Not to mention you have lots of guards at your house, they can protect your family!" Fumi said.

"Yeah, no wonder my mother said that no one wants you! She said that every time someone worthy of getting to be your husband always ends up marrying someone else. You need a new personality, Mai," Sora said, wagging her index finger at her.

"Whatever, at least I'm not fake like you. Besides, I don't want a husband weighing me down- I'm going to be independent! Not to mention most of those men only want to marry me because I'm rich, I look pretty, and I'm famous. I'm going to buy something-"

There was a shriek so loud, everyone in the city was able to hear it. Mai patted herself down, looking anxious by the second. Her friends, Fumi and Sora, had fainted when she had screamed, and were lying on the floor behind her.

"Where is it? I know I had it when I left home- that's it! That man must've stolen my wallet!" Resolve strengthened, she made it her mission: to find the man- dead, or alive.

She didn't have to look far- Katsushiro had come back, after hearing that scream, he had thought that something had happened to Mai. Before he could even ask if she was alright, she smacked him, hard on the cheek.

"What was that for!" His question had sounded more of a exclamation due to his surprise.

"You- you, thief! How are you try to steal from me! Asking for directions to distract me from noticing that you've stolen my wallet! Now, give it back, or I swear I'll have you killed."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, lady, but I don't have your wallet. You can even do a strip search on me to see if I have your wallet," Katsushiro grumbled, nursing his cheek.

Up went the hand, and with a blur, came down on Katsushiro's other cheek. "You… you… you hentai!" she screamed, leaving him with two bruised cheeks.

Katsushiro looked around the shop, clearly having little experience with wind chimes. The lady of the shop same up to him, and asked, "Do you need any help?"

"Yeah- I have no idea what to look for! There's just, so many different wind chimes!" (8)

"Is it for a lover?" She asked teasingly.

"No! it's not like that- it's just a present for Fujitaka's daughter."

"Oh, you mean Mai –sama? She loves wind chimes… by the way, are you planning on visiting them? One of my workers found her wallet on the ground. I heard her scream a couple of minutes ago, I hope she's alright…"

"That's Fujitaka –dono's daughter? She slapped me and called me a thief!"

"So that's how you got those bruises on your cheeks. Well, if you're looking for a gift to Mai –sama, she'll probably want that wind chime," she pointed at a plain wind chime that didn't seem to stand out from the rest in her shop.

"But… that's so plain! Why would she want that?"

"It's because it's plain. She's been going around and telling people to buy her a wind chime, and they give her those really expensive and big wind chimes. All she wants is a plain wind chime, that's what she told me when she came over once. I'm not supposed to tell you this, but it's time the girl gets what she wants."

"And... does Fujitaka -dono like to collect umbrellas?"

"What on earth are you talking about? Fujitaka -sama doesn't like umbrellas very much, it reminds him of his dead wife!"

"I see… so, can you tell me how to get to the Fujitaka household? I'm a bit lost."

"Fujitaka household? It's a long distance from here!"

When Katsushiro arrived at the Fujitaka household, it was already dark. The servants had already lighted the lamps around the compound, and there wasn't anyone around the area- yet the doors were still opened. Katsushiro entered, and bumped into a little boy.

"Watch it, you idiot," he hissed, but was grabbed by Katsushiro.

"I'm looking for Fujitaka –dono," Katsushiro said.

"So? It's none of my business if you're looking for my father. Ask someone else," he spat, and twisted out of Katsushiro's grip, walking out of the house. Behind Katsushiro, a servant coughed, and lead Katsushiro to Fujitaka Ran's study.

"Oh, you're here, good, I hope you didn't have much trouble finding my house," Fujitaka Ran said, indorsed with the documents on his desk.

"No, I didn't have any problems," Katsushiro said, looking at Mai, who had been in the same room as him. She glared at him.

"Well, we'll talk in the morning. Mai, darling, take Katsushiro –san to his room.

"Hai."

Leaving Fujitaka Ran to his devices, they walked through the maze- like pathways in silence. Stopping at one door, Mai grounded out, "Your room, thief."

"Hey, can't you drop that? My name is Oyamoto Katsushiro. By the way, here, catch!" A bundle flew in the air, and she caught it. Wondering what was making a little 'clink' noise, she opened it, and saw her wallet, with a plain wind chime.

"The wind chime lady found it. So stop calling me a thief."

Unable to control her happiness, she turned around, and said, "Whatever, thief," and skipped away, in higher spirits, not listening to Katsushiro's vehement protests.

Katsushiro and Rei have arrived at Kanna Village! What will happen there? Will Kirara find love again? And will Rei be forced to do work in the fields? Find out on the next chapter of 'A Samurai's Way'!

Author's Note: Well, another chapter, done! It's way longer than the first chapter, not to mention more action! It's nine pages- without all the author notes and stuff included! Well, I've made Rei into a brat, just because I feel like writing him as a brat, so excuse the little change in attitude in this chapter. By the way, Kiri means mist… as for how I got that, it's part of Fuuko's last name in Flame of Recca, you know, Kirisawa… as for Kanna… well, I saw the kanji for it, but I have no idea if it's the same as Chinese, but it's roughly translated as God Nothing… well, the second kanji means nothing in Chinese, or close to it, anyways… if anyone really knows the translation of Kanna, it'll be appreciated… and maybe even help a bit in my fic, seeing as I need some names…

Well, lots of scene changes, seeing as I'm trying to make it longer… and since it's in Third Person, I can switch to different people… and POV. It's probably going to be like that for the whole story (I still don't know how this is going to turn out, seeing as I wrote the first chapter while I was semi- conscious… )

Hyourinmaru's Dictionary of Japanese Words

bakemono: monsters
youkai: demons
onee- chan: older sister
katana: a sword that is 25- 30 inches long… which is about 75 to 90 centimeters if you're more familiar to the metric system.
kodachi: a short sword, between a wakizashi and katana in length
wakizashi: a short sword (probably shorter than a kodachi)
kaitou: thieves
Kiri: mist
gomen nasai: I'm very sorry
Nobuseri: bandits
-dono: formal way of addressing someone, I guess it's like saying sir, or ma'am to someone
karada: body
gaki: brat
otou: less formal way of saying father… I guess it's like saying papa in English
okaa: less formal way of saying mother… like saying mama in English
okaeri nasai: welcome home
mizumiko: water priestess… I didn't quite catch the Japanese term for it, but it should be close enough
Kaze: wind
-san: meaning Mr, Mrs, or Mis
-sama: meaning lord or lady
-chan: addressing someone who's a girl in a fondly manner
-kun: addressing someone who's a boy, or a girl that is lower than them (either status, money wise or school wise) … there's many ways in using –kun
demo: but
hentai: pervert
hai: yes (it's the same in Chinese!)

Little Note: In Japanese, they don't have such thing as plural… so if it's one hito or seventy hundred hito, the noun'll be the same: hito (person). It's sorta like Chinese…

(1) Katsushiro's carrying him piggyback style!

(2) I'm talking about the way where Kirara, Shichiroji and Kyuzo took when they all split ways to get to Kanna Village. Apparently, it seemed to be the shortest route to take, since they arrived first.

(3) He's just exaggerating… but it'll probably kill him if he lets got of his kodachi… that's just how far it is from the ground, and how high the mountain they're on is.

(4) It's what that daughter called Mana, or whatever that guy's name is… so I'll use that for Rikichi's son.

(5) Introductions are getting too long, might as well skip it, since it was getting a bit boring for me to write (and probably to read too..)

(6) Don't. Ask. I have no idea what to put there…

(7) I know, it's supposed to be 'children should be seen, not heard, but whatever… but Yamada –san is old, she's still living in the rules of her era… and is this a little foreshadowing? smirks

(8) I don't either… I don't know anything there is to wind chimes… just saw the bit from Tactics… but no, that's not where Mai's name came from either…

Profile

Name: Fujitaka Rei
Name Meaning: Fujitaka- I have no idea, just got that in my mind; Rei- soul
Age: 11
Birthday: July 23
Origin of Birth: unknown (change in names of countries, it is believed that he was born in an inn from the Northern Region)

Brief Background: After child labour, his mother died, leaving his father to bring him up. Fujitaka Ran was upset for his wife's death, burying himself into his work and therefore having little time to take care of his children- so Mai was left to take care of Rei. When Fujitaka Ran conquered Kiri, Rei was the heir of the Emperor, even though he has rarely seen his father in his life. He has little friends before and after his father was the Emperor, and only has Mai to console with. His attitude suggests that he wants little to do with anyone, although what he really wants is friendship.

Note From Author: Seriously, I wanted to name him Kaoru, from FoR, you know, Koganei Kaoru? But I think Rei's a bit better, then again, they're both names that can be used by both genders. I was really sorely tempted to write Kon each time I write his name, from Bleach, since I'm sort of portraying a bit of him in this character, though more of the bratty side of him. He has a big heart, but it's hidden deep underneath his brattiness, and maybe we'll see it if Mai comes into this story. He doesn't really care about his father, seeing as he doesn't really see his father much, and I guess he probably thinks he'll be better off if his father's dead. He pretty much hates everything except his sister, but it'll change later in the story.

Little Side Note: I'm going to start another story, called 'Iced Peaches', a Bleach hitsuhina fic, so... I've made this chapter longer than I've really imagined it to be... I was planning on cutting part of the flashback out, seeing as it was pretty long, but I didn't, so... don't expect me to post until a week (7 days... or more..) is over... I'm also starting on Samurai 7 One Shots, so you'll get to read those soon. So, review, please! I need some suggestions (which is why I'm starting on other fics...) and you'll be a big help if you write some Japanese names...in your reviews... I can't think of any (brain dead...). And if you don't like something, tell me... I might fix it, on certain conditions...

Hyourinmaru