Note: One of my best sources of inspiration has been the writing communities on LiveJournal. Like "Images and Words" (my two contributions to the 1sentence challenge), this story came out my contributions to the 5sentencefics community. However, I didn't want them to be just quick one-offs, so I made all 125 sentences (5 sentences for each segment, 5 segments per chapter, 5 chapters in total) part of a larger story. I also changed the order of the segments in the table to give me a finer control for my story.

The title, "Seishin no samurai," translates to "The Samurai's Heart" (or "the Samurai's spirit"). Each chapter has its own title, and in parentheses is the segment description.

This tale is set approximately one year after the Battle of Kanna, assumes that both Nasami and Kambei survived the battle, and that they are beginning their lives together.

SEISHIN NO SAMURAI

Always At My Side (Sentimental Journey)

"Tell me about Kyuden Shiden'issen," Kambei urged her as they rode northward, following the coastal road along the sea toward the home that Nasami had not seen in over five years.

The samuraiko's eyes grew misty as she thought of her family's castle, of the beautiful gardens and tended lands, of the walls and gates that were both elegant and strong, of the banners that snapped proudly in the wind.

"The Kyuden was a gift from the Emperor himself," she said softly, remembering all the tales that her family had passed down along the generations, "from a time when my ancestor's blade was swifter than that of an assassin, and saved the life of the Son of Heaven, and named for that act of selfless bravery."

Her mouth curved into a soft smile as she turned to him, murmuring, "And one day, the Kyuden and all of its lands will pass to me… to us… and our children, my love."

Just then, they rode over the crest of a hill, and when they saw the castle in the distance, Nasami reached for Kambei's hand and whispered, "I am home at last… with the one I love beside me."

Hidden Memories (Wax paper)

Kambei roamed through the large castle, nodding politely to servants and samurai alike, letting his feet carry him as they would, until he arrived at last in a large shadowed room filled with scrolls and texts… the Kyuden's library.

His eyes wandered over the many books, recognizing the family's devotion to the scholarly arts, as well as that of the sword, and drew a book at random from the shelves – poems that Nasami had collected during her wanderings across the Empire.

However, as he opened it, he was startled by a faint crackling sound, and he carefully turned the pages, until eventually he came upon a folded sheet of wax paper, and placed inside of it with care were seven leaves, their color still vibrant.

For a moment, he frowned, studying the flowers that lay pressed within the book, wondering what they meant, and then he smiled.

"Of course," he whispered, "Aki-no-nana-kusa… the seven flowers of autumn."

Yin and Yang (Perfect Balance)

"So, the wanderer has found her way home at last," the daimyo said thoughtfully, studying Nasami from head to toe, and then eyeing the tall samurai that stood beside her, "although it appears you found something on your journeying other than enlightenment, but you, Shimada Kambei, what is it you hope to find here at Kyuden Shiden'issen?"

"Nothing I would not find any place else that Nasami-san happened to be, my lord," Kambei replied, bowing slightly to his host, "for wherever she is, I will be, and while we are together, I am whole, as is she."

"Most poetic, Kambei-san," Shujiro said dryly, "and I will not ask my daughter if she shares your affections, for I am certain that she does, which means that there is only one right course of action here."

With that, he stood, and rested one hand on Nasami's shoulder, and the other on Kambei's, and pronounced, "I would not stand in the way of Heaven's wisdom that two souls who so clearly belong together and balance one another find their way to each other."

Overcome with emotion, neither Nasami nor Kambei could speak, but together they bowed low to the daimyo and his wife.

Shadows on Shoji (Personal Space)

She lay on her side, stretched out on her futon, staring at the sliding paper and wood screen before her, wondering if Kambei lay sleeping or awake, what he was thinking of or dreaming of, and wishing with all her heart that he was there with her.

Then she saw the shadows on the screen shift and move, and realized that he was lying just on the other side of the screen, and was now facing her.

Carefully, she inched her way forward on the futon almost her body was only a few inches from the screen, and lifted one hand so that the candlelight behind her cast gracefully dancing patterns on the screen as she made shapes from the shadows.

In the darkness, she thought she heard a faint chuckle from the other side of the screen, and she herself smiled as she continued her little shadow play, communicating without words, using only the shifting light and dark to convey the emotions of her heart.

But then, without warning, a faint breeze blew through the room, extinguishing the candle and cloaking the room in darkness, leaving Nasami alone in the night.

Deja Vu (Double Vision)

"I feel an uneasiness in my heart," Kambei told Nasami as he stood on the balcony of his room, surveying the lands of Kyuden Shiden'issen, "from a dream I had last night, and try as I might, I can't help but feel that something is coming…"

"You dreamed of days not long past when strife and conflict nearly tore the Empire apart," she said softly, coming to stand beside him and looking out over the gardens and fields, "of the days when blood soaked the rice and samurai turned on samurai until all honor had been forgotten."

"Yes," he whispered, turning to stare at her in astonishment, "but how?"

"I dreamed of it as well, and saw the flames of war once again blaze across the land until all had been reduced to ashes."

She rested her hand on her sword, looked him in the eyes, and murmured, "I pray that you are wrong, anata, but I fear that you are right…"

To be continued...