Author's Note: Finally! The third chapter of 'A Samurai's Way'! So many things happening this week… but you're all going to think that I'm just fishing for excuses not to write the third chapter… so let's just start this! By the way people, please tell me if you guys want me to pair Katsushiro and Kirara up… it's so weird having to write something that I don't know if other people want them to be together…
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
S-Stuff like this: stuttering, spluttering, etc
1. One profile after a chapter: this time is Fujitaka Mai
2. No idea how many chapters this is going to be… 10? 20? Who knows…
3. The capital and Nobuseri fight ended 7 years ago
4. I'm making Katsushiro 13 in the anime, he's 20 in this fic.
Reviews!
babygurly17: my sis… thanks so much for your nice comments, your praise, everything you wrote made me more inspired… uh… just writing all this so you won't kill me for forgetting to include you for reviewing… thanks! By the way, I got that idea from some other Fanfiction writers, the number thing… and sorry! I'll be sure to write a Bleach fic after, I promise!
Fauna-chan: Really? It was that great? I'll make sure to write lots of action scenes and stuff in this chapter! Don't die! I still need you to read the next chapter (and for reviewing)!
Fires Of Destiny: THANK YOU FOR REVIEWING AND ADDING THIS FIC FOR YOUR FAVOURITES! Well, here's the next chapter! Hope it's to your liking, and thank you for your positive review!
Disclaimer: I own nothing of 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 3
The full moon illuminated the land of Kanna Village, the occupants already blowing out the candles and lanterns, getting ready to sleep. It was peace and quiet, with an occasional noise here and there. In the home of the mizumiko, most of the people residing there have fallen asleep- except for Kirara. She was wide awake, unable to sleep after Katsushiro's recount of his meeting with his fiancée, Mai.
Kirara looked at the bright moon from the window, leaning her head on her knees and loosely hugging them. 'Seeing Katsushiro -sama again has made me think about the times he has suffered to become a samurai. It makes me happy that he has finally found happiness with Mai -sama. Yet, why is it that when I think about Katsushiro -sama with someone else makes me jealous? I… is it because I have not found happiness with someone as well?' (1)
Unable to find a straight answer, Kirara got up, wary of waking others from their sleep, and got out of her house. The night sky was clear, and Kirara could see many stars glittering across the black sky, creating patterns made from the gods themselves. Kirara walked around, mind still unsettled, still thinking about Katsushiro. 'No… it can't be true. I have long gotten over that already. I'm… I'm so confused. Why is it that since Katsushiro -sama came to Kanna Village, my mind is at an unease? What is wrong with me?'
"Kirara -dono! Why are you up this late?"
Kirara looked around- she had walked a complete circle around her house, and a perplexed Katsushiro was standing in the doorway, scratching the back of his head. Kirara blushed, feeling a bit embarrassed for being too caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't seen Katsushiro.
"Katsushiro -sama! Gomen nasai, I didn't see you there. Why are you up at this hour? You should still be sleeping," Kirara replied, diverting Katsushiro's earlier question.
"Ah, I forgot to write a letter to Mai. She wants to have a report of what we're doing everyday."
"Demo… how are you going to send the letter to Mai -sama? Kanna Village is too far from Kiri."
"Eto… I asked Mai before- she seems to have an answer to everything, ne? Anyways, she told me to use a bird to carry the message to Kiri," Katsushiro sheepishly replied, reluctantly thinking, 'Even I couldn't get away from doing this. This is so troublesome…' (2)
"Tori? It's not really reliable though."
"Kiri tori are very well trained- they can go anywhere in the world, and come back to their owners. Not to mention they are also capable of taking their master's orders, not just for letter carrying," Katsushiro grinned, thinking back to the times Mai had attacked him with Kiri tori…
Katsushiro walked down the stairs from the Fujitaka household. His mind was still reeling from talking to Fujitaka -dono about tactics used to takeover the country run by the vicious lord, Wakayashi(3). The lord had ruled the land with an iron grip, those that resist or break any commands from the lord are immediately executed in front of the people- broadcasted, and brought shame towards their family name. Although the lord was rich and powerful, there was little people that either supported him, nor had stood up to him. It was a poverty filled land, the people rarely had any will to do either but to accept their lord's wishes and demands.
With a screech, a bird dove down at Katsushiro, attempting to peck out Katsushiro's eyes. With quick reflexes, Katsushiro punched the bird away. The bird sailed a couple of feet away, landing in a crumpled heap on the ground. Katsushiro inspected his hand- indeed, there were cuts from where the bird had dragged its beak across the back of his hand. He pressed down hard on the wound to stop the blood that was continually dripping down steadily. It wasn't that deep of a cut, yet it was enough for Katsushiro to be unable of use his hand as effectively as before.
"Ah! Daijoubu desu ka?"
Seeing Mai and her worried face, Katsushiro answered, "Hai, I'm-"
Mai had ran past Katsushiro- towards the bird that had attacked him. Laying its body on her lap, she said, "Get a hold of yourself! Did the thief did this? Answer me, Kon!(4) Say something!"
Still a bit confused by Mai's care for the bird, Katsushiro angrily yelled, "That bird attacked me! Yet you are caring for it as if it were your pet! I never knew Kiri birds are this aggressive to attack people!"
"They aren't. I told him to attack you."
"Why'd you do that for? If it was because I accidentally broke that vase-"
"That was my mother's favourite vase… and you, a common ronin… broke one of the few things that my mother truly cherished- you bastard!"
"Well, what truly counts is the memories you have of your mother-"
Katsushiro was interrupted by Mai, who, beside her, was a revived Kon, the bird. "Tear his face apart! I don't ever want to see his hideous face ever again!"
"W-Wait a minute here, Mai- you really aren't going to-"
The screech of the bird drew near Katsushiro, who-
"Katsushiro -sama? Katsushiro -sama, daijoubu? Can you hear me?" Kirara was waving her hand in front of Katsushiro's face. Still caught up with the past, Katsushiro swiftly grabbed Kirara's arm.
Squirming from Katsushiro's grip of her arm, Kirara asked, "Kataushiro -sama… you're hurting me."
Quickly realizing that he was holding her arm too tightly, Katsushiro immediately let go, apologizing for hurting her.
"It's alright… to think, that seven years ago, you were telling me that you won't let go of my hand… it's so nostalgic…"
Katsushiro nodded, a bit embarrassed for his little slip up. After leaving from Kanna Village, he had went from country to country, going into wars and mindlessly killing, killing… he couldn't remember much during those times, but sometimes, he could see the terror of their faces, the cries of lost comrades, sometimes even more- vows of revenge for their deaths, many times directed towards him. He rarely slept, either from the memories… or from those that have tried to kill him in his sleep. Meeting Mai had eased the pain of his past- she had confronted him, making him tell her what had happened. Had he'd been the person he was before he met Mai, he would've broken Kirara's arm… perhaps even thrusting his katana deep into her heart… but he wasn't like that. Not anymore, anyway.
"Well, I better start writing the letter. Kirara -dono, do you want to help me with it? I don't know where you keep your ink and brushes…" (5)
"Oh, sure, I'll show you."
"Eto… Katsushiro -sama…"
"Hai?"
"Isn't your letter… a bit too… rude?"
Katsushiro had finished writing his name at the bottom of the letter. Currently, it had looked like:
Mai,
So far, the baka and I are enjoying our stay at Kanna Village. Don't worry, we're going to have to put some muscle on that gaki- that's what happens when you spoil him too much, Mai! He couldn't even do anything with his kodachi! I'm going to make him work in the fields, and don't you dare say anything about it! You said that you'll marry me after I trained that idiot, you never said how. I'm thinking about staying at the Kanna Village for a year or so, then we'll head across the sea- I heard that they're going to war soon. (You see, normally, I would be there already if you hadn't have strapped me to that kid.)
Katsushiro
"Huh? It doesn't look that rude to me…" Katsushiro said, inspecting his letter, trying to see what Kirara meant by 'rude'.
"Eto… maybe I should write the letter to Mai -sama. She's your fiancée, isn't she?"
"Oh! Mai doesn't really care about that- if she did, she would've married some pretty boy already. If she wants a report, she wants a report about what I'm going to do about her brother." Katsushiro caught on to what Kirara had been trying to imply. In truth, Mai was not a woman to be swayed by petty romantic words and courting ways. Katsushiro knew- on their first date, Mai had yelled at him in the restaurant for bringing her there to eat. She was more into having everything plain, she later confessed to him.
Kirara yawned. It was already late, and talking to Katsushiro had made her forget about her thoughts about him. She bade goodbye to him, and went to bed.
Katsushiro sighed, yet wasn't tired like Kirara. He knew that once he would sleep, he would dream about the things he had done in the past. In the past, Mai would help him from having those dreams, but she wasn't here now. Katsushiro remembered how he had awakened most of the people in the inn he and Rei had stayed in because of those dreams. In the end, they had been kicked out, sleeping outside on the streets. He knew Rei had been suspicious of what had happened, yet had not questioned him further, Katsushiro was sure that Rei had not wanted to know.
Katsushiro whistled softly, and a bird landed on his arm, pecking its beak softly on Katsushiro's hand. It was the same bird that had tried to take a go at his face, yet it had long befriended him later when its mistress had fallen in love with this weird creature. It cawed at the irony of those two- it seemed that destiny was mocking at them. Soon, soon, its mistress would face the harsh reality of the past, and it will never be the same again. There was a fine line between love and hate, and a thinner line between good and evil.(6)
Katsushiro tied the letter to the bird's leg, mindful of its talons, and let it fly into the night air. He prepared himself for another long night ahead, reminiscing the times he had with Mai, waiting for the sun to come up.
Night has fallen on Kanna Village! Will Kirara ever find out about her feelings? Will Mai intervene and prevent Rei from working in the fields? And will Katsushiro ever find a way to sleep again?
Author's Note: Sorry it was so short! Only half of the last chapter! In truth, I was trying to write this longer, but I wanted Rei to work in the next chapter, and have Mai and Katsushiro interacting in this chapter… (and this is the last chance for you people to tell me if you want me to have those two paired together!) Don't go yelling at me for including Mai and the flashbacks in the chapter! It's to show that Katsushiro, even though he doesn't really show it, he misses Mai… you would too if your significant other is far away from you and isn't married to you yet! By the way, seeing as I got a new computer, it... didn't have Microsoft Word installed in it! I'm sorry if the doecument ended up messed... I'm trying to make it look alright... (it took so long :(...) Anyone want to go and change my WordPad thingy to Word Documents? Please?I can't seem to change the extension of it... post a comment on my LJ account (on my profile) or I might not be able to post another chapter... (well, maybe not that drastic... but desperate!)
Hyourinmaru's Dictionary of Japanese Words
mizumiko: water priestess… I didn't quite catch the Japanese term for it, but it should be close enough
-sama: meaning lord or lady
Kanna: In Chinese- God Nothing? (at least, that's what the characters say…) anyone know the translation in Japanese?
gomen nasai: I'm very sorry
demo: but
Kiri: mist
eto: um…
ne: right?
tori: bird
-dono: formal way of addressing someone, I guess it's like saying sir, or ma'am to someone
daijoubu desu ka/ daijoubu: Are you alright? (Response: Daijoubu- I'm alright)
hai: yes (it's the same in Chinese!)
kon: spirit (though I think the kanji for it means Gold in Chinese…)
ronin: wandering samurai (uh… translation from the subs of Peace Maker Kurogane: Souji -kun starry eyes kakoii!)
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.
baka: idiot
gaki: brat
kodachi: a short sword, between a wakizashi and katana in length
wakizashi: a short sword (probably shorter than a kodachi)
(1) The beginning of Kirara's feelings! She's jealous of Mai- now if only she would see that…
(2)I had to write it… Shikamaru luv!
(3) Some name I made up… I'm so proud of myself cries.
(4) I had to have Kon in this!
(5) Well, it's in the anime…
(6) that was me, trying to spout some philosophy and the stuff… I'm trying to have a little foreshadowing here! I'm just… using Kon, the bird to do this! I know, birds don't have wacko powers… but you never know… besides, Kon is a Kiri bird! Its name implies as 'spirit' in Japanese, so I thought it'll be cool for it to have some abilities- which you'll find out later… (I'm so mean!)
Profile
Name: Fujitaka Mai
Name Meaning: Fujitaka- I have no idea, just got that in my mind; Mai- that I have no idea either… although I did got it from somewhere…
Age: 18
Birthday: March 5
Origin of Birth: In the battlefield- was actually adopted by the Fujitaka family, which is another reason why Fujitaka Ran did not make her as his heir to the kingdom.Brief Background: She was actually one of Fujitaka Rin's (Rei's mother) friend's daughter, but due to unfortunate circumstances, was orphaned at birth. She was the lone survivor of her family- it was unknown as to what had happened to the rest of her family, but she was found alive by Fujitaka Ran. Due to much persuasion, she was adopted into the Fujitaka family. Treated as their own for many years, until Rin was expecting a child, she was pushed aside for the new baby. Angry at the attention the unborn baby was getting, Mai wished for the baby to disappear. On the same day, Fujitaka Rin gave birth prematurely to Rei, but died because of blood loss. Blaming herself of her adopted mother's death, Mai took care of Rei as their father buried himself into work.
Note From Author: I have an urge to write Hana instead of Mai whenever she comes up… Hana, short for Hanatarou in Bleach (Ganjuu's nickname for him, it seems…) Well, she was a character that I have little idea on how she was going to be- bratty, or really nice; and well, it sort of came in between… seeing that I didn't want her to be like Hanatarou… (maybe someone else will! hint?) No one really understands her, especially guys, and she doesn't want to marry a guy that doesn't understand her, even if it is for a better status for the family. She's an independent person, and she toughens up, only saving her kindness to her brother. (By the way… the 'unfortunate circumstances' about what happened to Mai's real family, I won't tell… it will spoil the plot that I currently have… so unless it changes, I won't tell… yet!)
Little Side Note: I'm currently working on more than 'a couple' of fics here… let's see… I have 2 Bleach fics, those Samurai 7 One Shots, this fic, my new MAR fic and my Naruto fic… not to mention summer holidays are coming to an end (cries 'Where did it go! Come back!') so… updates are going to be slower… sorry! Have to do well at school this year!
Hyourinmaru