A bear for Shingen
The morning air was fresh and crisp. The sun was shoving itself slowly onto the sky, and there were only few clouds on otherwise pristine azure.
A perfect day for a morning ride after breakfast, Shingen thought as he gently guided his steed along the road. It had something refreshing going for a morning ride. Not even Yukimura was allowed to accompany him, and the alone time provided him with an opportunity to think, to wind down. In case, he had always his sword with him.
As often, he didn't choose any particular direction, instead letting his horse walk where it wanted to go. They passed a couple of rice fields, where the first workers arrived. When they spotted Shingen, smiles lit their faces as they bowed and greeted him. The young Takeda leader smiled and greeted them back.
It was warming his heart. Kai wasn't a wealthy province, but Shingen had done whatever he could, and so, it was not lacking anything and the people were happy. Just like he wanted it to be. Too many rulers abused their power. Shingen, however, had always been of the opinion that it was a ruler's duty to care for his subjects.
Ahead of him, a row of trees appeared. So the horse had decided to take a stroll through the forest. Huh. Why not.
Shingen was approaching the front line of trees, when he saw a group of men exiting the forest. The guided two horses pulling a large cart. What lay on it was covered by brown blankets.
"Ho, good men!", he called to them. "What might you be up to?"
They smiled when they saw him.
"Shingen-sama!" One of the men approached him. "What a blessed day it is that guided you here. First, we managed to slay the beasts, and now we are lucky to be blessed by your presence."
"Beasts?" One of Shingen's eyebrows shot upwards. "What beasts would you be talking about?"
One of the other men pulled away a blanket. At the same time, the first one said: "Bears, Shingen-sama! Two of them!"
And indeed, two massive cadaver covered in brown fur were lying on the cart, almost too big for it.
"Why did you kill them?", he asked, unable to not feel a little impressed, even though he didn't like seeing two such majestic creatures in such a state.
"They were becoming dangerous", a third man explained. "It started with the occasional cattle going missing. We found out that it was a bear. We assumed it was just passing through, but then the number of killed cattle grew. It was only going to be a matter of time until it was going to attack humans."
"So we went on the hunt", the first man continued. "When we found two bears instead of only one, we decided to set traps – and now they're not threatening anyone ever again."
"Why didn't you come to me with all of this?", the young Takeda asked. "I could have sent men, so you wouldn't have to get yourself in such danger."
"We would have", the third replied. "But we thought, with all the preparations for war, we ought to first try and kill them ourselves before bothering you."
Shingen was touched. His subjects cared for him just as much as he did for them. It was moments like this in which he couldn't understand why so many warlords chose to rule with fear and force.
"Well then, let me congratulate you on this amazing hunt", he said and smiled at the men. "Now I have to go if I am to enjoy the morning ride before I have to return to the castle and my duties. Oh, and next time – do come to me or Yukimura Sanada straight away. I would be a lousy lord if I weren't capable of helping you at any time."
"Hai, Shingen-sama!", the men called in unison and bowed deeply as he guided his horse past them.
'And thus, everyone fights for survival', he mused as he rode through the green-tinted light beneath the trees.
Three days later, he went for another morning ride. In a curious instance of coincidence, his horse carried him the exactly same way on which he had met the bear hunters. As it walked along the path, he recalled the incidents. And he wondered what had become of the cadavers.
After a while, he decided he had gone far enough and ought to return to Tsutsujigasaki castle. He was just turning his horse, when a faint, barely audible noise reached his ears.
He pulled lightly at the reigns to make the horse stop and listened sharply. There it was again. Slowly, Shingen guided his horse off the road in the direction of the sound. Luckily, he knew this forest well, so he wasn't in danger of getting lost; and even if, his horse would take him home in any case.
When he was very close to the sound, he halted his steed and looked around, trying to find the source. There, something rustled in a bush and the same, almost miserable-sounding noise echoed through the air.
Shingen dismounted and approached it slowly, hand on the sword on his side.
What did come out of the bush, however, was the last thing he would have expected. First, a small paw covered in brown fur appeared. Then the rest of the small body appeared. Another wail escaped a longish snout.
In utter surprise, Shingen stared at the bear cup waddling towards him.
"Hey, little guy", she said in a soothing tone. "What are you doing here, all alone?"
The bear whined. Reaching him, it pressed itself against his legs.
The young Takeda looked around again. It was indeed odd. One would think that the mother would be around here somewhere. But there was no sign of her anywhere. Nor of any other bear, for that matter.
Since it seemed safe, he picked up the cub and cradles it in his arms. He frowned and examined it more closely. Now, up close, he noticed in what a bad shape the young animal seemed to be. It looked awfully thin, and the brown fur was dirty and disheveled. It appeared almost as if… as if it hadn't had something to eat for a long while.
Shingen's eyes widened as it dawned on him.
"Oh no…"
The two bears. The slain cattle. It was clear now what had happened. The bears had not just killed the farmers' animals for fun. They had needed something to eat for their cub. When the parent bears were killed by the farmers, it had been left behind, alone and growing ever more hungry.
The cub licked his chin. And Shingen was lost.
"Come on then", he said and returned to his horse. "I will care for you, poor thing."
He got into the saddle and guided the steps of his steed back to Tsutsujigasaki. The bear needed something to eat, and fast.
As the rice fields flew past him, Shingen's mind revolved around the question of how he would name the cub. Lost in thought, he gazed down on the ball of brown fur in his arm. How to name an animal… what a difficult choice indeed.
Then he got it and he smiled broadly at the bear cub.
"Koro! That's what I'll name you!"
In answer, Koro licked his chin again. And as the hooves of the horse flew along the road, Shingen's laughter rang through the morning air.
Author's note: … Whoa. Am I really the first one to post a story about Shingen here on ? I feel honored but also very sad and disappointed too. Oh well. To any Shingen fan stumbling upon this story, I hope you enjoy my take about how he got the bear cub Koro. n.n