Six: Heian-Period Historical AU
The shrine was festooned with banners, and the pounding of drums and stamping of dancer's feet filled the air. All the town's food-sellers were out, and the priests and miko were scattered across the grounds, overseeing both religious ceremonies and entertainments.
Any visitors to the fair should have thought it strange that a hastily-constructed archery range was outstripping nearly every other contest set up in that field. And yet, that was exactly what was occurring. Rather than the priests, the young daughter of a neighboring lord, Takane, and the heir to these lands, Haruka, were the ones responsible for this contest, which proposed to pit the lady against any challenger willing to pay for the privilege.
Normally, a noblewoman would not be allowed out of her father's house, much less to leave his territory. However, Takane was hardly a normal noblewoman. The maids who had raised her had been singularly independent-minded. Additionally, they were not opposed to lending her a peasant's clothing in order to allow her to have a bit of fun, with her parents none the wiser.
Loose, simple robes and a cone-shaped hat that shaded her drawn-on eyebrows kept her identity safe—especially when coupled with the fact that her status meant that few in these lands had ever been allowed to gaze on her face when she was not in disguise.
She had been even luckier in finding Haruka-dono, the young son of the local lord, who seemed to find her eccentricities appealing rather than horribly vulgar. Any other young noble would have instantly rejected a noblewoman so loose as her—one who dared stand in the presence of a man and even occasionally allowed her hands to emerge from her sleeves. Yet when Haruka discovered her subterfuge, he was merely amused by it, rather than horrified, as she had expected.
"Takane-shikibu, why have all these people come?" Haruka asked, surveying the gathering crowd.
Takane fought to keep her face expressionless, as was proper for a noble lady. "It may be that my reputation precedes me."
"Your reputation?" Haruka ventured.
"Do you recall hearing of a young lady who, in disguise, won a number of archery contests across Nihon?" Takane asked.
"I'm not quite sure," Haruka said. "I may have been bedridden at the time."
"So you may have been," Takane acknowledged, grimacing inwardly. She did not like to think on her companion's weak heart, which neither doctors nor priests had yet found the power to remedy.
Steeling herself, she added, "It does not change the fact that there was such a young woman. Nor the fact that she was I."
"You?" Haruka echoed, stepping back, as Takane threw a tattered banner over her shoulders like a cloak and faced the challengers.
"If you truly think yourself worthy to challenge the legendary Ene, come forth!" she shouted, as the crowd surged forward.
A/N:This AU is historically accurate aside from Takane's horribly socially unacceptable behavior. If you want to expand it and need more information, message me and I can set you up with some resources.