Samurai 7 Fan Fiction ❯ Never Gentle ❯ Chapter 2 ( Chapter 2 )
Anime/Manga: Samurai 7 Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Drama / Romance / Angst | Type: Continuation | Uploaded On: 08.06.2006 | Pages: 1 | Words: 3.6K | Visits: 242 | Status: Work In Progress
by Midori Bond
It was another three days when a messenger came to Miroden. Lord Ukyo was now the Ambenashi, and one Shimada Kambe was to be executed for the murder of an imperial envoy. Nari sat under the night sky as lightening jumped from cloud to cloud. She stayed quiet the entire day. Between Shido and Momotaru, the village seemed to run as soothly as ever.
She hated the fact that her mind kept wandering. She had a village to protect. Just because the Nobusari were quiet, didn't mean that they were gone. In fact, she was sure that she could smell their oil on the sea breeze. She lower the brim to her headdress as rain started to fall. The rain always seemed to comfort her.
"Are you going to come inside?" Shido asked from the ground. He held a simple umbrella over his plum colored hair. "It's a lot dryer."
"No thanks," she said turning her face up to the sky. She wasn't going to shed tears for that bastard. After all of these years, she wanted to believe that he actually died in battle. That he hadn't returned because he was too injured. But the truth was more painful. He broke his promise and never came back. And what was worse, there was another samurai, a virtual stranger here to witness her breakdown. "I actually like rainstorms," she said trying to keep the tears out of her voice.
Shido heard them, but chose to ignore them. "You'll be useless if you catch a cold," he said reasonably.
With practiced ease, she jumped from the tree and landed on the soft grass next to him. "I'll be fine," she said before walking towards the docks. She knew he was following her. It was irritating. She was an adult. She didn't need an escort when walking through her own village. The thought, along with the thoughts of her father's pending execution was enough to make her scream. As Nari turned to her second, she heard it. The unmistakable whirl, the smell of hot oil in the air. Nari pulled the umbrella out of Shido's hands and listened to the rain. "They're here," she said lowly.
Shido's eyes widened as he looked out along the coast. He could hear the faint sound of machines. He turned and looked out to the forests. In the distance, he could also hear trees starting to fall. "Oh my God," he whispered. "They're trying to surround us."
"They aren't trying," Nari said coldly. She looked at Shido with serious eyes. "They have us surrounded." She looked at the pathway to the mountains and frowned when she saw the all too familiar shapes of a pair of Raiden fighters. "Go to Grandfather. Tell him they're here, he will take care of the rest."
Shido turned without question. Right now, Nari was his commander. She would do what was best for her village, and she would find a way for her troops to survive.
Nari stepped out onto the pier and closed her eyes as the leader of this peticular squad of bandits. "Hello, Tsuki-sama," she said respectfully. "We didn't have word of your arrival."
A restless hand waved in the air to silence her. "That bastard betrayed us," he growled. "Now we have to run and hide like cowards."
Nari frowned. "You were betrayed?" she asked tilting her head to the side.
"Tsuki-sama! There are weapons here!" one of the Raiden's yelled out.
Nari kept her eyes locked on the Nobusari in front of her. "Lord Ukyo sent out samurai to drive you from the various villages you plunder." She kept her tone reasonable, as if finding weapons in a fishing village was an everyday occurance. "The troop that was sent here built all of that."
"So you were planning on betraying us as well?"
"I can defeat them all myself," she said, continuing her reasonable tone. "There was no reason to believe that they would not listen to the one that holds their lives."
The large Nobusari looked at her. What she said was true, no one wanted to cross someone with more power, yet, none of his troops knew exactly how skilled she was. Only one man did. "Remember girl, I hold your life," he threatened.
Behind her cowl, Nari smiled. "I hold my life," she corrected. When she heard the equivilant to a growl coming from the machine, she drew her sword. "I decide when it ends, not you."
"Put that away," Tsuki ordered. When she made no move, he started to approach her, his own sword drawn. "We did not come here to slaughter a village."
"You came to hide away from the hunt your precious Ambinashi has ordered." When Tsuki swung his sword at her, she jumped into the air and landed on the blade. She ran up the sword, intent on taking out the leader before all hell broke loose. She caught a glimpse of Tsuki's targeting system and slid across the metal finish of the blade. As she neared the edge, Nari jumped to Tsuki's collar. As she drove her blade into the Nobusari's finish, she heard cannon fire errupt around her. She ripped open Tsuki's chest and barely dodged the laser blast that drove the Benigumo into the water. Nari regained her footing and ran up to Tsuki's neck. Just as a large hand went to grab her, Nari's sword severed Tsuki's head.
As she fell into the water, Nari felt something cut into her leg. She looked down and saw a number of lesser Nobusari swimming towards her. She surfaced and fought her way to the pier. Just as she neared the wood planks, a heavy hand pulled her up by the scruff of her neck. Angry gray eyes looked at Momotaru. "What are you doing here?" she spat.
"Saving your ass, gracious leader," he said sarcastically. As she looked at him, he smiled. "I get what you mean about being small," he said in a low voice. "If we survive this, I'll take you out for drinks... Nari-sama."
Nari was silent as she pulled off her headgear. With it being so soaked, there was as much of a chance of it drowing her as hiding her face. She looked at the large warrior. "I think I'd like that, Momotaru-dono."
The morning sun did little for the village. The docks, and most of the boats were destroyed. There were only a handfull of foot soldiers left, while the villagers were hiding in underground passages. Nari looked at her home with mixed feelings. While the Nobusari was crushed, there were still casualties on her side as well. A number of men and boys she had known for years were slain, as were five of the ten samurai that originally came to Miroden. The Raidens thought it would have been good to burn the village to the ground. She would have to explain why so many homes were destroyed. She felt her lips press in a thin line. Now she knew what her father meant when he told her he never won a battle.
"Nari-dono," Shido called. As he walked over to where she stood, he held his arm tight against his ribs. "I gave Shen and Kei permission to retrieve everyone from the tunnels."
She slowly nodded. She would have to face the villagers. The people she loved, knowing that she ripped their families apart. "That's fine," she said in a hoarse whisper. During the fight, she shouted too many orders. Trying to be heard over fire, rain and machines was nearly impossible. Her eyes closed as she started to feel her strength fade. She would face the village. It was her only choice. One that she would make with her head held high.
"Elder!" a voice called out.
Smoke eyes snapped open. A small distance away, the final foot soldier was rushing at Jiro. Without thinking, Nari ran to her grandfather's side. As she drew her sword, she saw one of the robot's black talons pull back. Both combatants swung their weapons, resulting in a silencing clang.
Jiro stood horrified as he looked at Nari's back. A single, bloodsoaked claw was protruding from it. "Nari," he whispered.
She looked into the scanner the Nobusari used as an eyes. The talon in her chest seemed to slip between the two blades of her sword. She twisted her hold on her sword and winced when the talon broke off of the robot. As it moved away from her, Nari sliced the Nobusari neatly in two.
"Nari!" Shido and Momotaru called out. They both saw the way she stumbled as she slowly turned to the village elder. With no thought of their own, they ran over to where she was now on one knee.
"Grandfather," she whispered as she looked at the old man in front of her. As he approached her, she noticed the blood splattered on his face. "The village is safe," she said blinking heavy eyes. As Jiro shook his head, she dropped her other knee and nearly fell face first to the ground. "But the cost was higher than I expected."
Jiro fell to his knees as well. "There is no need for your apologies." He gently touched her face as Shido pulled her into his arms. "You have done us all proud."
Nari shook her head and the world started to spin. As she started to pass out, she felt tender arms lifted her. "Too many losses," she whispered into warm skin.
Momotaru looked at Shido as he held her in his arms. A deep frown crossed his face when she passed out. "She's loosing too much blood," he said seriously.
Shido nodded. "Get her inside. I'll go find Sara and Hotaru."
Jiro stood as he felt tears in his eyes. "Yes, and after that, I would like for one of you to take a trip to Kanna Village."
Both Momotaru and Shido looked at him. Shido placed his hand on Nari's forehead and frowned. She was already starting to run a fever. "Get two mounts," he told the elder. "We'll go as soon as she is settled."
In the distance, Kei was scouting along the stream that lead into the mountains. He knew there was no need, but he couldn't face any of the villagers. He needed time to think about what had happened. He never intended to fight, but his sister asked him to.
The youth sighed as he rubbed his eyes. He would have to find a way to get over the deaths he'd witnessed, and caused. His eyes fell to the river and the frown on his face deepened. There was a trail of blood in the water. He turned up river and felt his eyes widen. A body was slowly following the current. He ran into the stream, hissing at the cold water against his skin. As Kei grabbed the slim figure in red, he realized that the man was covered in blood, and barely breathing. Without a second thought, he pulled the heavier man out of the stream.
Kei gingerly lifted the man onto his shoulder and sighed. He needed help, and no matter how much Kei didn't want to go to the village, there was no other choice. He would not allow someone else die for his mistake.
Just outside of the village, deep in a passage of caves, Shido looked around in stunned awe. There were a number of machines, and tubing all lined up for use. He looked at Sara as she opened a large tube. "What is this?" he asked.
She looked over her shoulder and gestured for Momotaru to lay Nari in the tube. "Medical equipment," she said simply. She went over to a console and started to type in instructions. "Nari convinced the Nobusari into a pretty decent trade off," she said as a number of small tubes and wires attached themselves to Nari's prone form. "We would willingly supply them with our fish and grain, in return, they give us any medical equipment that we need."
"And it worked, just like that?" Shido asked in disbelief.
Sara shook her head as she went to Nari's side. The talon in her chest would have to come out. She stepped closer to Nari and grabbed a hold of it. "She spoke with a man named Tetsuho Jin. She reasoned that it would be more benifical for us to have the equipment, and supplies than to not have them. If anything severe happens to anyone in the village, we would be able to treat them instead of letting them die. Thus negating the need to find a new village to ransack and bring under control."
Momotaru nodded. "She's got a point," he said lowly.
Shido frowned as he shook his head. "There's more to it than that," he said lowly.
"He is obsessed with my granddaughter," Jiro said from the passageway. "The last time he was here, he wished to inform me of his intent to court Nari."
Sara felt tears in her eyes as she ripped the talon out of Nari's chest. She roughly tossed the metal aside and slammed the lid on the tube shut. "Nari can barely stand the sight of him," she said lowly. "But he would use the village to get anything he wanted from her."
Jiro nodded as he watched the tube Nari was in quickly fill up with green fluids. "We are still in danger once he learns of our betrayal. There is no telling what he would do."
Shido looked at Momotaru before turning his gaze back to the old man. "Then what would you have us do?" he asked. "Stay here and fight all of your battles for you? Or allow this man to slaughter a village because of some woman?"
Jiro kept his head high, knowing he deserved each angry question. "All I ask is for you to go to Kanna Village, and tell Shimada Kambe what has happened here. After that, if you choose to stay, we will welcome you. If you choose to go, it is with our blessing. You and your men fought a proud battle."
"They were her men," Shido said leaning against one of the cavern's walls.
"Sister! I need a Medical tube," Kei's voice called out.
Sara's eyes widened in horror. She had just seen her brother, and he was fine. Now his voice sounded strained and weary. She was about to go to her, when Momotaru placed a hand on her shoulder. Her heart softened when he motioned to the other tube in the chamber they were in. As she went over to it, he left to go meet Kei.
Shido felt a small smile cross his face as Momotaru left. It appeared that the bear of a man was now tamed by two women from a small fishing village. He straightened and walked over to Jiro. "I will leave Momotaru and the others here. I will leave for Kanna village right now."
Momotaru returned with a man in his arms. "This looks bad," he announced. "There's even more blood than with Nari."
Sara looked at the injured man and frowned. "Shido-dono, please take Hotaru with you. I don't want her in the village until this man is gone," she said with a bitter tone.
Jiro's eyes widened as he saw the man being placed in the tube. "It can't be," he whispered.
"Kei, take Grandfather home. He doesn't need to see him in this condition either," Sara ordered. As her younger brother went to Jiro's side, she started to cut off the man's red jacket.
Shido frowned as he stepped closer to Sara. "Do you know him?" he asked lowly.
Sara was furious as she found the mortal gunshot wound. He had sworn that he would never return to Miroden. The life of a fisherman was something he didn't want. He would rather take after his dead father and become a samurai without equal. Blue eyes were hard as she looked at the injured man's pale face. His departure nearly destroyed her cousin and grandfather, and now she had to save him, to spare their pain. "His name is Tayama Kyuzo. He's my cousin."