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

A Matter of Trust (Too Good to Be True)

"This is intolerable," Shujiro cursed as he stalked through the castle, his wife at his side, his daughter and future son-in-law following behind him, "that the Capital should ask us to allow troops to move through our lands without payment or promises of security!"

"I fear, my father, that this is merely the Capital testing its new strength – seeing how you and the other daimyo will react to it rebuilding its forces, moving its legions through other daimyos' territory," Nasami said coldly, her eyes bitter with the memories of the war she and Kambei had fought, along with the other samurai, not so long ago.

"So the Capital is planning to increase its forces once again," Kambei mused, "but are they planning to do so with the 'help' of the Nobuseri, or have they finally regained the ways of honor and allowed samurai to join the ranks of the Imperial Legions?"

"The only real question, my love, is what do we do in the meantime?" Noreiko reminded her husband softly, her hand resting on her swords.

Shujiro said nothing, but glanced behind him, his dark eyes resting on the faces of Nasami and Kambei, and his face became solemn.

As Long As You are With Me (No Worries)

"How was your meeting with your father and the other family daimyos?" Kambei asked her as she stepped into the gardens much later that evening, her face somber and her eyes distracted.

"I never thought…" she whispered, reaching for him and resting her head against his chest, "that I would see the day that when the petty feuds and battles that have plagued the rest of the Empire would reach our own borders, and yet…"

She let out a long sigh, and pulled him closer to her, closing her eyes and enjoying the warmth of him against her cheek, the quiet thumping of his heart and the strength of his arms around her.

"So what do we do now?" he asked her at last, once he sensed that she was calmer, more at peace, and more herself.

Nasami lifted her head so that her eyes met his, and then she smiled slowly and murmured, "We do what we do best, my love, we prepare to fight."

You Cannot Protect Her (In the Dark)

"Kambei-san," came a familiar voice from the darkened hallway, and the samurai paused on his way to his room to turn and face the daiymo's wife, Noreiko, who stood half-hidden in the shadows.

Kambei bowed low to her, again marvelling at how much Nasami resembled her mother, and how just looking at Noreiko showed how his own wife-to-be would look in twenty-five years.

"How can I serve you, my lady?" he asked, straightening and approaching her as she beckoned him to come stand beside her at the window, staring out onto the moonlit grounds of the Kyuden.

"I am concerned, Kambei-san, that if war should come to our lands, that you will try and protect my daughter," she said softly, but then she turned to him, her grey eyes luminescent in the moonlight, and she rested one hand on his shoulder.

"Do not bother to try, my future son… for Nasami has long since faced death on the battlefield, and if you try to protect her, if you put your concerns for her above what need to be done, then you do an injustice to both my lands and my daughter, and that I will not allow."

War is Coming (Stormy Weather)

"Come on, I've seen ashigaru that fight faster than this!" Nasami laughed as she deflected away a flurry of blades in the training yard of the Kyuden, shouting encouragement to the young samurai she was training even as she never stopped moving like the wind that blew through the courtyard.

"Nasami-san!" came a shout, and the samuraiko and the others stopped and glanced over to see the daimyo approaching, and in an instant, their weapons were sheathed or at their sides and their heads were bowed in respect of his station.

"I am glad to see you so vigilant, my daughter, for I have need of that vigilance… as we have just received word that a contigent of bandits have been seen on our western borders, spying, we believe, for our enemies in exchange for coin."

Her eyes full of disdain, her long white hair blowing in the breeze about her face and shoulders, Nasami met her father's gaze directly, then asked quietly, "Your orders, my lord?"

"Take ten samurai, including Shimada Kambei, and head west to assess our enemy – the strength of their forces, who leads them, their weapons, their mettle, anything and everything that we will need to know to destroy our enemy and restore peace to our lands."

Onslaught (Rising Tide)

Kambei's sword flashed even in the gloom of the shadowy woods as he cut down yet another half-dozen Mimizuku, and he cursed to himself as the bodies fell like so many others had before his blade.

A sudden explosion made his ears ring, and he glanced up to see Nasami take down a Raiden, her war cry louder than the explosion as she landed on her feet and immediately charged after her next foe, and even through his pride in his wife-to-be, he felt the stirrings of dismay, for their worst fears had been realized – the Imperial legions were once again being filled, but by the same Nobuseri that they had fought against Kanna and in the last Great War.

"Come on, you bastards, where is your honor," he heard her shout, her katana slicing through a Tobito that had come up behind her assigned honor guard, "or perhaps you've misplaced it, and you need me to find it for you!"

For a moment, Kambei laughed as he cut down four more Yakan combat machines, but the laughter abruptly died in his throat when a pair of glowing eyes appeared in the woods, trees came crashing to the ground before the massive figure, its sword poised in the air to come arcing down where the samuraiko stood.

"No," he whispered, then he turned and shouted toward her, "NASAMI, BEHIND YOU!"

To be continued...