Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Kazemaru and Miharu ❯ Chapter 28

Kaze sighed. Today he would do what Miharu asked him, but he highly doubted things would turn out well. He braced himself one last time and walked towards the palace. When he came into view of the gate guards, they called for him to halt. He did so accordingly, and a messenger was sent out, the gates closed behind him.

 

Huh, so they aren't taking any chances, he thought.

 

As the messenger came close, he halted, paling.

 

“Yo…Yokai!” he gasped, seeing some of Kaze's more revealing features. At the sound of his terror, the guards on the top of the gate knocked their arrows.

 

“Wait,” Kaze said calmly. “I have papers.” He moved forward, holding out the document, but the man backed away, still horrified. Kaze sighed, and placed the papers on the ground, backing off a little.

 

After a moment, the man darted forward and grabbed the document, backpedaling furiously. He stood there and read them, and Kaze studied the beads of sweat that trickled down the man's forehead. After a long moment, the man looked up from the papers at Kaze.

 

“What is your name?” he asked, though it was clearly written before him.

 

“Kazemaru-sama” he gave his full title.

 

The man hesitated a while longer, and one of the guards called down to him to ask what was taking so long. He turned around, too dumbstruck to remember not to show Kazemaru his back.

 

“He's got papers!” he called up.

 

“What???” the others called back.

 

One of them called down to the captain of the guard, who quickly climbed up onto the battlements. “What's his name?” he called down to the messenger.

 

“Kazemaru-sama!” the man yelled up.

 

The captain of the guard seemed very startled, and squinted at the patient yokai below. “Let him in!” he said quickly.

 

The messenger and all the other guards looked very surprised at the captain's order, but rushed to obey. The gate was opened, and the messenger scurried and stumbled to get inside. Kaze approached slowly, with no sudden movements, as one would come upon a frightened animal. The captain met him at the gate, all smiles and greetings.

 

“Kazemaru-sama,” he said cordially. “Welcome to Kurihama palace. Lord Nakamura is anxious to meet you.”

 

Kaze smiled and murmured a greeting himself, waiting to be directed to the correct room.

 

The captain paused a moment. “My lord, I'm afraid you'll have to leave your weapon with the guard. I'm sorry for any insult or inconvenience.”

 

Kaze nodded. They weren't too stupid, but they also probably didn't realize he could decapitate a man with his bare hands. The kusarigama just made it easier… and cleaner. He unhooked the weapon, and handed them to a nervous guard, who seemed surprised at their lightness.

 

With that, the captain nodded him, and kindly asked Kazemaru to follow him to the audience chamber. There he met a cordial and smiling man, grayed and wrinkled with age but still hard as steel underneath. This man was no fattened politician, he had warrior written all over him. Kazemaru recalled that Miharu had once mentioned that her father had formerly been a Samurai before the rise of the shogunate.

 

After the introductions, they sat at a low table. It unnerved Kaze how normal they were acting. The air was thick with the scent of fear, but they were all trying to be so polite. Either Miharu had been right all along, or something was very, very wrong. He had an inkling it was probably the latter.

 

“Well,” Nakamura Kaito said, tapping the desk. “To what honor do we owe your presence, Kazemaru-sama?”

 

Kaze smiled at the man's use of his title. Better safe than sorry, he supposed. “Lord Nakamura, I am here to offer an alliance.”

 

Kaito raised his eyebrows, stroking his beard and nodding. “I am interested to see what you have to offer,” he said, “No offense, but I am not familiar with your situation.”

 

Kaze nodded. “Of course. Do you have a map?”

 

One was fetched immediately and laid out on the table. Kaito used a baton to point out a small area surrounding Kurihama that was already outlined in green ink. “This is the territory that the Shogun has allotted to me. All the villages and farms within this area belong to me and owe me taxes to the Shogunate.”

 

Kaze nodded. He noticed Yokosuka and his island were outside the perimeter. He tapped the map a moment, and then lightly drew his claw across the surface in a circle that contained and nearly tripled the size of Nakamura's lands.

 

“This is the land that I control.” He chose his words carefully, emphasizing that no one had given him anything. “It is devided into several vassalages, the heads of which owe me strict fealty on pain of their lives. Though I do not regulate the minor yokai, any action taken against me or my vassals is swiftly and easily handled.”

 

He indicated the area south of his lands. “I have an alliance with this territory.” He pointed west. “This yokai has alliances with no one, and does not tend his lands at the moment. He neither wages war nor controls his borders. He seems to be preoccupied with something else at the moment.” At last he drew the line of his northern borders. “To the north is where most of my forces are concentrated. We've been having some difficulties there, the result of which was the attack on your palace. We now have the situation under control, and continue to guard it heavily.”

 

Kaito's surprise was openly obvious. If it hadn't been clear before, it was now obvious that Kazemaru clearly outranked him. At last he swallowed, returning to a professional posture. “And what is your offer?” he asked.

 

Good. They were definitely getting somewhere. “I offer you protection. Interference from attacking yokai must disrupt the production of your lands a great deal. Since the attack on your palace I have placed my own barrier around the premise to ward off any further attacks. With this arrangement, I would extend my protection to the entirety of your territory. I would instruct my vassals to clear the area and keep the minors under control. I could offer you forces the likes of which your enemies could not stand up against, but I gather that you have alliances with all the surrounding provinces, due to the new system the Shogun has set up.”

 

Kaze showed off the little information he had gathered about human politics and relations.

 

Kaito nodded. “And what do you ask in return?”

 

Kaze took a deep breath. Here was where all hell would surely break loose. “I ask for your daughter Miharu's hand in marriage.”

 

Kaito looked strangely surprised. “Marriage? I hadn't expected that. I thought you'd ask for a sacrifice or something.”

 

Kaze swallowed his disgust and smiled harshly. “No, I'm not fond of that sort of thing. Lately, though, I have developed quite the affection for your daughter and I would like very much for her to be my wife. In my position I am able to assure you that she would be well cared for and would want for nothing.”

 

Kaito frowned. “Well, you see… there's just one problem with that. Miharu is my only child. My wife is dead, and I am getting on in years. I could remarry and try for more children, but…” he shrugged. “If I marry Miharu to a very eligible samurai he could stand as my heir, since I certainly cannot pass the title of Daimyo on to Miharu. I'm afraid the Shogunate would have a little difficulty accepting a Yokai into their ranks.”

 

Kaze blinked. He hadn't thought of that. “I could produce an heir for you. It is difficult to say, as these things do not happen often, but he may be able to pass as human.”

 

Kaito shook his head. “That is a risk I cannot take. Besides.” He looked up and his smile turned cruel. “I don't deal with yokai scum.”

 

Kaze did a double take. Had he just said that? Why all this pageantry if he hadn't intended to make the deal anyway? He balked, looking around the room. The number of guards had tripled while they had spoken.

 

Ah. An ambush. He smiled. The man had brains, he would give him that.

 

Kaito snapped his fingers, and a few nervous guards rushed forward with rope in their hands. Kaze looked at them, and shrugged. He would play along for now.

 

They tied him quickly, as the table and map were removed. Lastly, a priest stepped forward, said a few words, and placed a fuda on the ropes.

 

Kaze probed the spell with his jyaki to see how strong it was. The lightest touch nearly blew the paper clean off, and he almost laughed. How pathetic. Now he just had to figure out the least violent way to get Miharu and get out. Negotiations were over.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

AN:

 

I love writing Kaito… he's such an ass. It's so nice to have this all written out finally!!! This scene has been tugging at my brain since… well almost since I started the whole thing, more than a year ago! Stick around for my first fight scene ever!!!