Hello my dearies! I was so glad to hear from all of you about chapter 17 (I almost rewrote it, but I'll explain why I didn't over on the blog), it made me giggle and feel fuzzy and such! Aahhhh, thank you so much new reviewers and old…gah, it was amazing to read all of these. There is a lot of Tenzou love here in this chapter, very little KakaSaku but there will be lots in chapter 19 so hang in there! I'm also stoked that the "lemon on the blog" idea worked so well for many of you...Also: Plot!
Funfact: Koku if you'll all remember were the way people measured income and stipends back in the day in Edo-period Japan. I believe the original funfact was in another chapter.
Funfact: Koseki were these awesome family records/registries which the Tokugawa made pretty mandatory between 1600—1850ish. During the Meiji Restoration many of them were destroyed, ordered to be handed over and burned or somesuch, as a way of completely breaking off and away from the old shogunate system. Enough families to qualify using the word 'many,' saved their personal koseki however because it had been the only way for them to track genealogy, wealth, and social networks.
Births, marriages, deaths, etc were all recorded—The Tokugawa were big fans of documents and paperwork—and it was important to keep track of that stuff even after the Restoration. More koseki survived out in the country than in larger cities, just because it was harder to track down the owners. They got brought back, however, sometime during the 20th century. Yes this is important!
SubFunfact: Daughters were recorded on the koseki initially, but were struck from a family's records when they married and moved out. Women were only allowed to be listed on one koseki at a time (and only recently did Japanese law change to allow women to have a different surname than their husband or vice-versa), when they got married they got put on their husband's family's koseki. Funtiemz!
Funfact: In Buddhism at the time it was believed that this world was the one of suffering (Samsara), and was visited a lot during the reincarnation cycle. And basically if your life sucked it was an indicator of the one you'd led before. But if you were a good person through that awful life, your next one would be better. Yes. I'm also glossing over this HUGELY because Buddhism is a very multifaceted religion/faith/practice and there just isn't the time or room to do it proper justice.
Funfact: The Tokugawa required most everyone in Japan to be at least affiliated with a Buddhist temple, as well as being pretty chill with being affiliated with a Shinto shrine. State-mandated religion for the win!
Funfact: Tenzou would never be allowed, as he is, to have a proper katana and wakizashi—so Sakumo before he died asked that Tenzou get them. There is a previous katana and wakizashi funfact somewhere in the last few chapters…
Funfact: bokken were also covered in the last few chapters! I'm going to go find some pictures and put them up on the blog!
FunOtherStuff: Hooray for the return of funfacts!
Hiruzen had a lot on his mind recently. He and his family had had brief but intense suspicion cast on them just weeks ago—the Uchiwa family had been rounded up as traitors to the state. His great friend and near equal Uchiwa Fugaku had been arrested and beaten in Hiruzen's own home. It had been a terrifying week where the Uchiwa family was kept at the Sarutobi estate before they were loaded into wagons and taken to Edo. From there they would likely be taken on to Nagasaki. But the trauma was slowly fading and Hiruzen had other things to look to.
Such as the redistribution of koku from the disbandment of the Uchiwa family, estate, and lands. The house and its attached support buildings were destroyed for the most part, the inspectors and investigators deeming the estate too riddled with kirishitan meaning to be allowed to stand. So Hiruzen needn't worry about who to place in the house. But that still left the land, and the land-stipends, to be dealt with. Maps of the local area, marked down with precise measurements and labeled with family names, littered his study while he dug out more than two dozen koseki records on local samurai families who might benefit from a change in their incomes.
He already had a favorite by a long-shot, one who he was planning on giving as much as he could to. Hatake Kakashi had been kicked around by life so much that sometimes Hiruzen wondered what the man had done in his last life that merited such a terrible time of it. Hiruzen knew that what had happened to the Uchiwa had also been deserved, and that what he was trying to do was also something Kakashi deserved. It was an easy task, but the part of it that was giving Hiruzen a terrible headache was trying to figure out how to expand Kakashi's land without moving Kakashi around. Because he knew that no power short of the shogun would get Kakashi to uproot from his family holdings, no matter how small those holdings were or how great the temptation to move was.
Tenzou appreciated the silence in the house far more than he would have predicted after Kakashi and Sakura left for a two-week visit to Iimori. He wasn't sleeping on eggshells as it were, hoping to never overhear something he'd be traumatized by, for one. And also it gave him the rare time to fantasize about having his own home such as this—of that world where his horrible father recognized him as his rightful heir and then promptly died, leaving Tenzou everything. Tenzou knew it was uncharitable and terrible of him, but he hated his father. Orochimaru had seduced Tenzou's mother, left her when she fell pregnant, and hadn't even bothered to raise the son she'd given him. At least initially.
That was what bothered Tenzou the most about his only living parent—his mother had given his father a son, and still Orochimaru had only brought him to his house in Kyoto when Tenzou was five. Even then Orochimaru had done it out of paranoia and begrudging obligation, not affection or pride. He sometimes had half-remembered dreams of that place in Kyoto where his status was in a dangerous swing between the master's honored son and something less than common trash, and even more dimly did he remember the dark, small rooms his mother's former maids had raised him in while he'd lived at the imperial palace. Fujimi and its terribly gossipy villagers and estate servants was miles better than the places he'd lived as a child.
He also dearly loved living so far away from said town. Here he was free to practice his swordsmanship and other habits that he should have always been afforded—when he could snatch the time, of course.
The morning after Kakashi and Sakura left he got up early—to savor the silence longer—and made himself a simple meal. It was as he finished it and put the dishes away that someone knocked on the shoji leading from the garden. Tenzou's eyebrows scrunched together for half a second, wondering who it was, before he stood and slid open the door to reveal Asuma.
"So, Tenzou, Kakashi's not here to embarrass you, Sakura's not here to stare at you for knowing your way around a sword, and Kurenai is sleeping late today. How about it?"
They hadn't sparred for months and months—Sakura's addition to the Hatake family had both Asuma and Kakashi tightening belts and following the rules a little more closely, and Tenzou had allowed it because he hadn't yet known Sakura and whether or not she gossiped. He didn't need or want the rest of the local area to know that Sakumo had trained him as a samurai and had even bequeathed his katana and wakizashi to him. Besides, he felt he could take up practicing once more—Sakura hadn't asked at the time, but he had seen her staring at how easily he had armed himself a month ago in preparation to possibly defend her.
The first few spars were short and light, allowing Tenzou to get back into the swing of things. The weight of the bokken grew familiar to his grip and to his arms once more, and although he was already starting to feel his muscles screaming in fatigue he continued—he needed to practice and he had to start somewhere. It was made easier because it was more fun to fight Asuma than it was to fight Kakashi—Asuma flowed in and out of fighting stances, his bearing elegant and unreadable. Kakashi was a brash fighter with big, showy moves which were also terrifyingly fast—Kakashi moved like lightning, there one second, gone the next. His moves were unreadable simply because he moved too quick to get a read on what he was doing.
But Tenzou fought more like Asuma, so they were more evenly matched—Sakumo had been teacher to them both at some point. When Tenzou parried left to counter a strike by Asuma, the other man was already taking a smooth step backwards using that momentum as well as Tenzou's own strike to bring his weapon swinging around for another chance. But Tenzou's blade would follow a curve around, coming up almost from the ground to block Asuma once again. Whereas fighting Kakashi usually left the opponent bruised all over, fighting Asuma was a dance, swinging from one end of the slight grassy area near the fence to almost tramping around on the roughly tilled earth of the dry rice paddy.
Asuma held back on purpose and while it was embarrassing, Tenzou was also glad that he wouldn't be limping around for the next two days—which was another reason he rarely fought Kakashi in the past. Training with him was akin to masochism, because Kakashi tended to go all-out and push both himself and his opponent to be better, to be faster. If even one step was given up or away, Kakashi pounced. Asuma meanwhile gave Tenzou all the steps he needed, knowing that it had been coming on a year since Tenzou had picked up a weapon, even a training one, in seriousness.
Their breaths puffed white in the cold morning air—autumn was nearing its end and winter was fast approaching—and Tenzou for one felt a glorious rush go through him whenever he sucked in another breath of that cold air. It was a wonderful contrast to the heat of his hand on the hilt of the bokken, the slight warmth of his clothing, and reminded him of his toes safely (and warmly) ensconced in the boots bought last winter.
They parted ways after just over an hour, and Tenzou went about the rest of his day with his muscles languid and heavy from the workout—and he was glad to stretch out on his futon that night, arching his back just so in order to pop a few stubborn knots in his spine. Pakkun, who hadn't known what to do with himself since Kakashi and Sakura had left the previous morning, whuffled his way next to Tenzou—ending up suctioned to his side while occasionally sighing. Tenzou regarded the brown dog—which truly should have been bigger by now, Pakkun was most definitely the runt of the litter—with a little bit of suspicion, normally he would have been growled at or bitten by now.
The dog of course didn't ever mean anything by how he bit, it was just that Tenzou didn't appreciate that Pakkun acted that way at all. Especially when it was only towards himself. However, in the dim light Pakkun's brown eyes were just watery and sad and Tenzou had to relent in the face of the nearly-grown dog's misery.
Hiruzen could feel his hope fading. There was a way to increase Kakashi's holdings during the spring—enough to allow the man some extra income to support a hopefully growing family. But there was no excuse he had at his disposal for doing so—there was the fact that Kakashi had been injured greatly during the rebellion nearly two years ago, but any increase in his land should have been taken care of then. Hiruzen mulled over the possibilities that that explanation would pass muster.
It wasn't as though his reasons would be checked over too thoroughly, but he was on eggshells since the Uchiwa arrests. An entire branch of their family had managed to live for years unnoticed in his district, and he had even been friends with many of those living near him. Only by some miracle had they decided not to round up his family as well just for close association—Hiruzen still wondered, weeks later, at the fact that they had spared him.
His study was littered with the paperwork he had dug up and referenced endlessly in his ultimately useless quest. Family records, tax records, land grantings, land confiscations—traditional family alliances, records of family scandals, everything that tied into what samurai was awarded what land and how much he was to get for that land.
Hiruzen's quiet moping was broken for the day as a servant tapped hesitantly at the shoji, which had been shut for most of the morning.
"Enter," he called softly, trying to tear his mind from the predicament of Kakashi. He owed Kakashi's father so much and since Sakumo was dead, he had to repay the man's son instead. The pale worry etched across the servant's face was quite enough to drag Hiruzen's mind into the present. He nodded to the young man, asking him to speak his piece.
"A man was found this morning on the southern road, they've only just now brought him here instead of leaving him in town at the inn." Hiruzen glanced sharply over to the servant—this was most unnatural.
"Why was he not left at the inn?"
"They say that since the business with the Uchiwa they don't want any more strange out-of-towners. The interrogators apparently stayed one night there and questioned the entire staff before daybreak. Besides, he has no identification, letters, or money, and they are afraid he is in trouble with the law."
He mulled over these statements—there was nothing in them to suggest he was anything other than a traveler who had miscalculated weather, or had been robbed…or perhaps was even a monk on pilgrimage.
"They also said he'd been stabbed, though if he gets treatment he will likely live." Hiruzen couldn't remember where he'd heard it, but Kakashi's wife had a good hand with healing—and if she healed this unfortunate traveler, he would have to recover in Fujimi for the winter, and the extra burden on the Hatake household would merit…Yes.
"We cannot keep him here, he has far too unknown of a past to be near the clan—we were all nearly arrested based upon a single friendship, I cannot put so many at risk for just one man. However, I think that the Hatake can care for him." It was his servant's turn to glance sharply, but he ignored the impertinence. He would send an advance amount of money along with the injured man—Knowing Kakashi, the family would have budgeted tightly for the winter to make it to spring, and there was no way such a budget could include another grown man's needs of food and clothing.
Kakashi wasn't even in town to refuse—only Tenzou was at home, with Hiruzen's nephew Asuma nearby. He felt a slight pang in his heart at the thought of Tenzou, who had been denied so much in life. There had been little Hiruzen could do for the young man, more than a decade ago now, other than send him to live far away from town with Sakumo and Kakashi. If Hiruzen had had his way, he would have declared Tenzou his heir instead of forcing his reluctant son Iruka into the position of daimyo. Umino Iruka was Hiruzen's son just as Tenzou was Orochimaru-dono's son—and in the same manner.
Save for the fact that the Sarutobi clan had a great deal more honor than the Hebi clan—or at least honesty. He had no other sons than Iruka, the child born to him on his fortieth birthday. While his wife had declined for years to acknowledge the boy, Hiruzen had doted on him. Tenzou was about the same age, too—and since Iruka and his wife lived full-time in Edo, he made every excuse to see Tenzou whenever he saw the chance. And this poor unfortunate soul who had been rejected by the town was the perfect opportunity to take the time to speak with Tenzou without having the titles of village lord and family servant between them.
Tenzou and Asuma were drinking tea when they heard the shouts of the daimyo's litterbearers on the road. It was midmorning, which meant that Sarutobi-sama must have set out from his estate early in the morning in order to make it out to the Hatake land. Asuma had scowled as he heard the yelling of the Sarutobi servants—he disliked his great-uncle and Tenzou knew he made no excuses for it. Sarutobi-sama was of too soft a heart in his old age to properly punish his nephew save for ensuring Asuma's continued dependence on and loyalty to the family.
So it was no surprise to Tenzou that his companion quickly escaped the house long before Sarutobi-sama's retainer announced himself and his lord. He straightened his clothing as best he could before opening the front door to allow the visitors in. He quickly knelt in deference to his betters, the movements as well-practiced as should be expected of a man who had been a servant since he was twelve.
"I'm sorry to report that my master and his lady are not at home, they are not to return for another week," he quickly said in a loud enough voice to carry across the small courtyard, his head bowed. He waited for a response then, a customary apology for bothering the household before farewells were exchanged between the servants on behalf of their masters. But no reply came save for a few awkward shuffles as well as a quick, muttered argument before Sarutobi-sama's voice cut through the noise.
"I am Sarutobi Hiruzen, third daimyo of Fujimi and I will do as I please in my own district. All of you, including my high ranking retainers, would do well to remember this. Now, I am under the impression that the head servant of the Hatake household is left with the power to make decisions for the family in absence of its master. Is this correct?"
Tenzou pressed his face nearer to the ground before rising minutely to speak.
"This is correct, Sarutobi-sama."
"Excellent, now I require a comfortable place to sit and tea—the road was quite dusty. The servant's quarters should also be prepared for a guest if this is amenable to the household, as I will be leaving someone in the care of the Hatake for the time being."
"Of course, Sarutobi-sama, please make yourself comfortable inside. The household is honored by your visit."
Tenzou lifted himself from his bow to lead Sarutobi into the house, gradually straightening his back a little at a time as he closed the shoji behind the daimyo, leaving the retainers and servants outside in the brisk air. He didn't stand straight as he normally did around Kakashi and (once again) Asuma, but he didn't halfway crouch as he ought to have been.
He warmed the water once again for tea before turning his attention to laying out the second futon kept in his room, quickly setting it up properly for a guest of standing with the daimyo. Sarutobi was sitting relaxed near the fire when he returned, apparently waiting for Tenzou to serve the tea. Their conversation was proper, however much they dropped many customs between them there was still the chance that they would be overheard.
"Is Asuma's swordsmanship still worthy these days?" A question asking if Tenzou was practicing with the Sarutobi clansman—it wasn't often that they played this game anymore, but it was Sarutobi's way of checking in on his daughter-in-law's brother.
"Indeed it is."
"Good. Now, there is a small matter I wish the Hatake to take care of for me—namely overseeing the recovery of an unfortunate man found outside of Fujimi yesterday. His wounds have been patched although he remains unconscious, but the estate of the daimyo is in such disarray after…the unpleasantness…of last month that there is no one to properly care for him. This household is, however, small enough that he won't be overlooked even in the busiest of times. There will be an increase in koku assigned to the family in the spring due to his presence here—as well as the funds needed to feed another grown man over the winter. Will the household agree to this?"
Tenzou quietly thought it over, seeing through the plans easily enough. Sarutobi was atoning for the poor reward Kakashi had been given after his bravery and personal losses two years before—care for a sick traveler over the winter in return for greater financial freedom in the coming year? Tenzou could make that deal.
"It does, please allow my master to care for Sarutobi-sama's guest."
"I believe I shall—please pass my thanks on to your master."
And with that Sarutobi quickly excused himself, allowing his servants to carry the unconscious man in on a stretcher. Tenzou quietly directed them to his room—there was no way he would allow such a stranger to take up residence in Sakura's personal room, despite the privacy it would afford the man. He made a thin broth while the Sarutobi servants settled the new guest, coming to sit beside him once they had departed.
He was no more than a boy—maybe a few years older than Sakura, but certainly not as old as Tenzou himself. His face was naturally pale, with average features, while his hair was cropped fairly short near his ears. It fell in short, straight lines. Tenzou was briefly reminded of the Uchiwa, but this young man didn't have the look of one of them—he also chided himself that he needed to see more normal people from day to day. He had brown hair, Kakashi's head was a mop of silver and white, while Sakura's was pink. And here he was saying this boy looked Uchiwa simply because he had black hair. As though black hair was at all weird in the world they lived in.
Kakashi would no doubt be wary of their new guest, but he'd never say anything about it. There was little one could do to really refuse the request or order of the daimyo, no matter who one was.
Tenzou contemplated asking if they could hide Sakura from the boy, or vice-versa, to make sure he didn't share the news of a pink haired girl living in Fujimi. The flimsy explanation that she was a demon girl wasn't likely to fly very far under heavy scrutiny.
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