They now are trying to reach help before Katsuhirou dies. There may be some mild swearing in this chapter.
As with any of these stories, I own none of Samurai 7, so don't sue me.
The Lord of the Rice
The Day After
After giving those first, brief instructions to the men, Shichirouji grabbed his naginata and headed to the transport. Once there, one of the men had a suggestion.
"Osamurai-sama," a man who name he didn't remember said, "we knocked down a number of those nobuseri from the capitol near the bridge. I think we should be able to find useable zankanto sword there."
"Really? Which side of the bridge?" Shichirouji asked with great interest.
"The south side."
"Excellent. We'll go there as soon as the rest of the men arrive."
Indeed, there were a number of nobuseri carcasses south of the bridge, and, among them, a few of the huge swords. The first one he checked needed some major repairs to be operational. The second one was so buried that is would take a day to dig it out with the equipment they had. The third one had the cockpit totally smashed in. The fourth one seemed to have gotten jammed into some mode or another and was totally out of fuel. He was just about to head to the transport to look somewhere else when one of the men ran up. "What is it?" he asked.
"Osamurai-sama, we found one more in the trees over there. It looks like it's ok, but I really can't tell about these things," the man answered carefully.
"Show me," Shichirouji immediately replied.
Finally: one that showed some promise. After a few minutes, he managed to get into the cockpit. The fuel was nearly full, the controls were in good condition, and, importantly, it didn't look very stuck. He popped his head out of the cockpit. "Everyone stand back. If I can get it freed, I'll take it back near the center of the village, so meet me there. If not, you'll have to help me free it."
Although it wasn't lodged very firmly, it did start out on its side. It took him 10 minutes to get it freed, but it finally flew freely. He took it up for a quick test flight. Even if they were in a hurry, it wouldn't do any good if it crashed half way to the caves.
As Shichirouji went to the transport to get the men, Kirara quickly scanned the crowd for someone to help. She didn't want to take any of the men as they were already going to be overworked. About half way through, she saw Shino. "Shino-chan, I need your help."
Shino looked a little surprised but stepped forward. "Ok, I guess. What do you need?"
"I'm going to need help watching Katsuhirou-sama. It may turn out to be unnecessary, but I don't know how difficult it will be to watch him during the trip there, and, after we make it, I don't know what it will take for while he's recovering. Could you pack enough for at least a week? The caves are cool, so you will probably want some winter clothes to keep warm. Bring your futon, too. I don't think there'll be a problem, but bring enough water for a group of five for a couple days, too. Please get some cooking supplies, too. I don't think we'll need much food, but it doesn't hurt to be sure."
"Kirara-chan, I can prepare all that, but it will take too long to get it all from the house, and I probably can't carry it all, anyway. I might have time if Katsuhirou-sama could take me on the rapid turtle, though. Don't worry; I'll keep him awake and moving."
"Good idea, Shino-chan. Katsuhiro-sama, could you take Shino-chan to get her supplies?" Kirara asked. This looked like it was going to work out well. She was still uncomfortable around Katsuhirou, and Shino was skilled at this kind of work, anyway. While she was able to do the detailed planning and packing for something like this, Shino was very skilled at detailed preparations, cooking, and such. It would be good to have her along in case it turned out to be a more extended time away from Kanna.
"That would be fine. Shino-san, have you ridden on a rapid turtle before?" Katsuhirou asked.
"No. Is it difficult?"
"No. I'll help you on first. After I get on, you can just hang on to me."
As it turned out, Shino needed little help, and the short ride went uneventfully. She did like riding, though, and asked, "Katsuhirou-sama, do you think you could teach me to ride, after we get back, I mean."
"I suppose, although I don't know how useful it'd be."
"I'd just enjoy it. I think it'd be great to be able to ride."
Katsu shrugged. "If there's time, I could. We'll see then."
Shino jumped off as they arrived. She hurried inside, absentmindedly brushing aside her younger siblings. As Katsu walked in, she pointed to the buckets by the door. "Katsuhirou-sama, would you please go to the spring and fill the buckets? I need the water to fill the water bags for the trip."
"Spring?" he asked.
"Ichiro-chan, please show Katsuhirou-sama where the spring is."
"Yes, nee-san," he turned to Katsu, looking excited and trying to act important. "Katsuhirou-sama, the spring is just down this path. Just follow me."
Shino had few clothes, so there wasn't much to pack. Even so, there were a couple things she'd rather not pack in front of Katsuhirou, so she packed them while he was gone. By the time the boys returned, she had finished with her clothes and futon. "Ichiro-chan, have him help you fill the water bags," she said, pointing to the bags laying near the door while smiling apologetically at Katsuhirou.
While the boys were distracted with the water, she looked around in the kitchen for cooking supplies. She grabbed some rice, other basic ingredients, a few spices, the old cooking pot, and some other various items. Surprisingly enough, she was ready by the time the water bags were filled. She pulled the whole mess of things onto her back while Katsu did so with the water bags. "Ichiro-chan, tell momma that I had to help the samurai go to town. I'll probably be gone for at least a week."
"Really? Wow! Can I come too?!" he answered excitedly.
"No, not this time---we don't have time to take anyone else along. Now, what are you going to tell momma?" she asked, sounding very much like the older sister.
"That you went with the samurai to town and that you'll probably be gone for at least a week," he answered somewhat dejectedly.
"Very good," she said. Turning to Katsu, she said, "Ok, let's go."
As they rode, Katsu was impressed: Shino had handled the entire task very well. As the effects of the poison continued to take hold, though, that was about all he was able to think.
Katsu rode up just as Shichirouji flew up with the nearly-intact zankanto. Fortunately, his mount was used to battle noise and didn't buck. With the effects of the poison, his load, and Shino, he doubted he could have handled it if it had.
Kirara ran up, holding shielding her face from the wind whipped up by the zankanto as it landed. "Did you get everything?"
"Yes: three 10 liter bags of water, a cooking pot and supplies, futon with blanket, appropriate clothes…" Shino was answering as her father, Manzo, walked up.
"Excuse me, but this is urgent. Shino, could you come over here so we can talk for a minute?" He said.
Shino stopped, surprised. "Sure. Kirara-chan, could you make sure my things get packed? Thanks,"
After quickly dropping her things, she ran to catch up with her dad. She hadn't expected him to say anything, and she hoped he wouldn't forbid her from going. "What did you want, dad?"
He pulled out a small money pouch. "I talked Kanbei-same into taking one bale of rice. The price you can get should be much better there. I want you to sell it for the best price you can get, and see about arrangements for a bank account and for an account with the rice traders. You'll probably have to sell this bale to the shikimoribito, but we'll want to explore other options as well. If possible, set up an account so that we can sell rice at the rice exchange. I have talked to some of the other farmers, and we should be able to pool our rice so we can get higher prices.
Take this money so you can get some clothes appropriate for dealing with those traders. It will probably take a few extra days to accomplish all this, and that's fine. It would probably be better to wait until Katsuhirou-sama has recovered before you go beyond common areas of town so he can be an escort. I expect the bankers and traders will take you much more seriously if you come with a samurai. You'll need to buy him some new clothes and get him cleaned up before you go there, too. If you can get these preliminary arrangements made, I'll be able to start trading soon after you return.
I'll probably travel to nearby villages to see if they have rice I can help trade, too. I'm planning on going to Yamakawa tomorrow to see if they have any to trade."
Shino just stood there, stunned. Her father wanted her to do what?! "What? Are you sure? I've never done anything like this!"
"Do it. You've always been good at negotiating. I'd go myself, but they can't take that many people. I know you'll get back later than you would otherwise, but it needs to be done."
"I'll do my best," she answered solidly.
"Good. Now, take this money and run: they're ready. Remember, we're counting on you."
Shino waved and ran to the zankanto. Fortunately, it was already fully loaded, so all she had to do was climb on. She was still a little shocked. Her father, a known coward and mediocre farmer, was also by far the best trader in Kanna. That he would trust her with something so major… She shook her head. They had to make it safely to the Shikimoribito before she dealt with any of this, anyway.
The ride was tense. Kanbei spent most of the several hour flight sitting by the large white flag lashed to the side without looking back. Shichirouji flew without making any comments. Kirara sat a little further back than Kanbei, and spent all her energy playing tag team with Shino to keep Katsu somewhat awake and moving. Katsu was in a stupor, his attention moving between Kirara and Shino depending on who was more distracting at any particular moment. Beyond distracting Katsu, Shino was just confused.
Shino had thought that Katsu liked Kirara, but he really wasn't paying any attention to her. To be fair, he wasn't paying attention to anything at the moment, but he'd almost seemed to relax a little when Kirara had sent him with her earlier. She'd thought that Kirara had liked Katsu, but she was fussing over him like an older sister rather than like a girlfriend. Also, she was pointedly avoiding Kanbei. Except, that is, for the more than occasional glances she made his way. Kanbei avoided looking at anyone. Well, that is if one ignored the not infrequent glances at Kirara. Shichirouji just looked amused. All this was going on, and she just couldn't make sense of it. She knew she wasn't Kirara's best friend, and that she wasn't as 'girly' as some others her age, but this was ridiculous. It made her want to pull her hair out. Better yet, she could pull Kirara's hair until she explained things.
Shichirouji flew the zankanto slowly through the entrance to the Shikimoribito caves just before nightfall. Kanbei was careful to wave the white flag prominently. Less than five minutes in, a guard dropped to challenge their progress. Shichirouji immediately pulled the zankanto into hover mode.
The guard did a quick scan of the group. Although he hadn't met any of them, he immediately recognized Shimada Kanbei from photos his dispatcher had passed out. With a little more time, he recognized the other samurai and the water priestess, too. The final one seemed to be a somewhat nervous farm girl, a pretty one at that. He bowed slightly and addressed Kanbei. "Congratulations on your amazing victory over the capital! What brings you here so soon?"
"As he was falling to his death, it appears the emperor executed the command to scuttle all remaining units. Unfortunately, we didn't realize this. One of the backup scuttling mechanisms on the capital was to release a deadly relaxation gas. While he was doing a preliminary scouting of the area this morning, Katsuhirou-dono breathed in a small dose. We were hoping you might be able to help save him," Kanbei said, gesturing towards a barely moving Katsuhirou.
The guard shuddered. "Just a moment. I have to contact someone for instructions." He adjusted his radio to the emergency frequency. "Entrance guard at tunnel 5 here. I have a medical emergency."
An annoyed dispatcher glanced at his assignment chart. Yamashita, it figured. "A medical emergency at the tunnel 5 checkpoint? Yamashita-san, this better be good."
"Shimada Kanbei is here with one of his samurai dying from what he says was relaxation gas fr," Yamashita started.
The dispatcher, now fully alert, cut in. "Kanbei-sama, with a samurai dying of relaxation gas?! Shit!" He found the right point on the map. "Take them to the west entrance of the hospital, the one on tunnel 23. Can you find that?"
"Tunnel 23?"
"Tunnel 23. Take 5 until it intersects with 16. Turn right. Follow 16 until it meets 23. Turn right. Follow that until you get to the hospital on the right. Now, repeat it to me so I know you have it."
"Follow 5 until it intersects with 16. Turn right. Follow 16 until it meets 23. Turn right. Follow that until I get to the hospital on the right."
"Correct. How quickly can you get there?"
"They're flying a zankanto, so I suppose about 10-15 minutes."
"Go with them. Have them fly as fast as is safe. I'll have a medical team waiting when they get there. Move!"
"Yes, sir!" He dropped onto the zankanto. "We're going to go directly to the hospital. The first turn is about 500m ahead, where we'll turn right. I'll give further directions from there. They'll be waiting for us."
Shichirouji responded by accelerating.
Notes
Shichirouji uses a polearm, of which a naginata is one. I'm not especially familiar with all the forms of Japanese polearms, so I'm using a naginata. It is possible it should more accurately be called something else.
Nee-san: a short form of older sister