Way of the Bow:A Chosokabe AAR-(Updated Chapter XXXXII 30/9)

[Robin de Bodemloze]

Nice update. Looking forward to seeing how they fare in battle.

A few technical points - apart from what Rex already said, I'd advise you to use less - or at least more consistent post editing of your screenshots. Right now the first and last images look incongruent with the rest. Making them the same width throughout also helps make it look neater. Just a thought.

[Merchant of Venice]

Nice update. Looking forward to seeing how they fare in battle.

A few technical points - apart from what Rex already said, I'd advise you to use less - or at least more consistent post editing of your screenshots. Right now the first and last images look incongruent with the rest. Making them the same width throughout also helps make it look neater. Just a thought.

Thanks robinzx I'm hoping that the Shoni have some massive army spawned and we will a truly massive battle!

On what you said I have been trying that a little but sometimes when not all the pictures are actually from in game it's sort of hard to get them all the same width. But I will definitely try

[Rijul.J.Ballal]

Nice... keep it up...

[Merchant of Venice]

Nice... keep it up...

Thanks rijul

[Merchant of Venice]

How guy head over to the Picure of the Year competition. There are some absolutely great pictures there that definitely deserved to be looked. So go over there and vote...NOW!

[Merchant of Venice]

Chapter IV: A new island


1547-Winter

The sand squelched under my foot as I leapt of the boat. I looked back, past the boats, hoping to see something, anything that would resemble home but there was nothing. Nothing, but the endless sea. I knew it wasn’t endless considering we had just crossed it in just a few weeks, but it still felt endless. I staggered a little bit around, trying to regain composure until I hit something. I looked up to see not an angry, annoyed face staring back at me but Aki’s gentle face as he gave off a little chuckle.

“I see you are trying to readjust to solid ground after so long at sea!” He put out his hand and I grabbed it, pulling myself up. I brushed the sand off and tried to act as if nothing had happened, but all Aki could do was laugh.

“You truly are clumsy!” He retorted.

“I… I am not clum…”I was interrupted by a log which had decided to park itself just in front of me. I got up and spat the sand out of my mouth as Aki rolled on the beach laughing like an animal. I looked down at him. He tried to contain his laughter.

“No I was wrong you’re not clumsy, just a natural disaster!” How he managed to get that out with the amount of laughing he was doing, truly bamboozled me.

“Get up Aki! Everybody is looking at you. You’re an embarrassment!”
It was a lie. No one was actually looking but they could have been. He slowly pulled himself together and got up. It seemed like half the beach was now on his back. He shook his shoulders widely, attempting to get all the sand off but it didn't do much. I suggested going for a quick swim but he was not impressed with my sad attempt at a joke.

“Hey Aki do you know where my brother is?” I asked hoping to change the subject.

“How am I supposed to know, he’s your brother!” He replied sarcastically.I looked at him, I was clearly not impressed and he knew it.

“It was a joke! When you look at me like that it’s a joke!” I continued to stare at him hoping to psyche him out.

“Stop looking at me like that! It’s creepy. Try asking around with some of the yari ashigaru commanders. Just stop looking at me like that!”
I stopped staring only to start laughing at Aki. Our merriness was interrupted by our commander’s voice.

“Hey you two, are you having a good time?” asked the commander sarcastically. Before we could answer ourselves he answered for us.

“Good. Now get your sorry selves over here. We make camp a couple of miles inland. I said move it!”
We rushed over to pick up our things and started the walk inland. About halfway on our journey I heard a rustling in the bushes.

“Aki?” I whispered. “I think I heard something.” I was frightened of what could be in the bushes possibly waiting to attack us.

“It’s probably just scouts.” Aki whispered back. “Well they know we’re here.”
Somehow I think there was something more sinister than a scout in those bushes that day.

Spring 1548:

The road to Saito castle was uneventful. We reached it within a couple of weeks. Scout reports had revealed that the castle was lightly defended; only three hundred men at the most. When we arrived, we quickly found out that this was more than true. The castle was home to only its most loyal samurai retainers. Attacks on their northern most provinces by our allies, the Mori clan had left these castles virtually undefended and ripe for the picking. We offered them a chance to surrender but they shoved it back in our face telling us that they would much rather die fighting than surrender.
Our Daimyo was a smart man and instead of wasting valuable soldiers, he surrounded the castle with yumi units and proceeded to shoot the enemy down. They quickly fell like dominos under the constant barrage of arrows from all sides. They desperately tried to hide behind the tenshu in an attempt to avoid the rain of arrows bearing down on them. It sadly did not work and by the time their leader decided to surrender it was too late, the majority of men were no more than lifeless bodies on the ground, their amour pierced with arrow after arrow.

**********************

“Hey Aki why are they destroying that building over there.” I pointed to the large building, which had scaffolding around it, and men with hammers pounding its stonewalls. Peasants were on their knees begging the men to stop but were only pushed away and their pleas ignored.

“That my friend is a small chapel. You know the Nanban right?” I gave a small nod.

“They brought over a new religion, Chris-tian-ity.”

“Crista-what?” I said, rolling the strange word over my tongue.

“I don’t know that much, just that it’s their religion. Several Daimyo’s have converted to this Christianity, forsaking the old ways and following this new God. The Shoni clan’s Daimyo is apparently a devout Christian and has built many churches to spread the word of his God. Our Daimyo sees these churches as both legacies of the Shoni rule but also as places were people can meet and rebellions can start. He has decided to demolish all churches and construct our temples in their place, thus putting the Shinto-Buddhist religion back in its rightful place.”

“But what happens to all the other people who believe in this Christianity?”

“Well they get….” We were interrupted by screams of agony coming from the town centre.
We looked over to see smoke rising into the sky. We rushed over to the town centre, our legs moving as fast as they could. More and more smoke rose up into the sky eventually forming a thick blanket overhead that for a small time blocked out the sun and replaced it with darkness. The acrid smell of the smoke held another awful odour, which smelt familiar, but I couldn’t quite place what it was.

When we reached the town centre, what we saw was terrifying. A large, wooden platform had been built and covered with split wood and tied to this pyre were men, five or six, it was hard to see as they were now engulfed in flames. There were just shadows amid the brightness of the flames. Their screams of agony could not quell the crowd that jeered for them to be burnt. Yells of “Burn the heathens!” and “Make them pay!” echoed throughout the town centre. Suddenly memories of that fateful day at that village came flooding back into my mind, the images overwhelming me. It felt so real as if I was back there in the past. Then the past and present converged into each one, each of them trying to dominate the other. With me caught in-between, then everything went black.
I woke up to the sound of whispers as heads crowded over me. “He’s alright!” “He’s awake!”
I tried to lift myself up, summoning all of my remaining strength but it was not enough, and I fell pitifully back into the comfort of my bed. It was only the painful throbbing from the back of my head that kept me from going all the way back into the abyss. As always Aki’s gentle face was there, kneeling next to me and dabbing my forehead with a wet cloth.

“Th…th…thankyou Aki,” the words only just stumbled out of my mouth.

“What for friend?” His tone was calm and soothing. I tried to muster a reply but yet again it was beyond my ability. I managed a smile and for Aki I think that was enough.

“It is alright, Yuki you will be fine. Just rest. Sleep is usually the best remedy.”
For a moment I thought it was Aki speaking for a moment but then a man clothed in white robes came out from the crowd. His skin was pale, almost white. His hairy moustache covered most of mouth but did not hide his reassuring smile. I could see it was a smile that would calm someone. Was he a doctor? He kneeled down next to me and offered me a drink. It did not smell great, a weird concoction of various things. I pulled a face at the prospect of actually having to drink it. I took a deep breath and drank it in one go, forcing it down my throat, hoping that would reduce the effects of the flavour. Yet again everything went black.

**********************

Aki burst into the room, waking me with a jolt.

“Yuki, get up now! Quickly!” I slowly got up, still half asleep and annoyed from being woken early. Aki egged me on to get up quicker but it fell on deaf ears.

“Aki, what is it? Why all the rush?” I fell back momentarily into my bed but my arm was grabbed and I was dragged out of the room by Aki. Screams of agony and horror greeted me outside and as I finally opened my eyes and looked around did the situation become clear. It was night but an orange glow filled the sky. Fires raged ahead of me, engulfing buildings, leaving a trail of ashes and destruction in its wake. Men, women and children ran past us, clutching their most valued possessions. War cries could be heard in the distance, the eerie sounds getting closer and closer. Flags appeared in the distance, their mons becoming clearer and clearer as they too crept closer. Aki tugged at my shoulder, urging me to follow him and not just stand there like a statue. I found myself running, my legs moving involuntarily as I tried to comprehend what was happening. Together we ran past buildings as parents dragged their terrified kids, screaming and crying from their homes. We got to the end of the town, with only the trees and the darkness in front of us. We stood there for a few seconds, contemplating what to do while the world seemed to stand still. We tried to move but all we could do was stand still, as a thousand choices for what do next spun through a head. And then for the third time, everything went black.

“Yuki, Yuki wake up!” I woke up to find Aki shouting in my ear. I clutched my ear, in an attempt to stop the ringing that Aki had caused.

“Are you alright?” Just before I could give a sarcastic reply, Aki continued talking.

“We heard sounds coming from… well coming from you.” His effort not to offend me showed in both his tone and his facial expression. Then it hit me. It was all just a dream; a horrible dream conjured up by my imagination.

“Thank the Gods.” I quietly muttered to myself.

“What?” asked Aki, possibly scared that he had offended me. I reassured him it was nothing.

“Anyway, do you think you’re fit enough to fight?” asked Aki.

“Why?” I replied, already knowing what he would say next.

“Because we march to Konoya castle at dawn.”

1548-Spring

We huddled around the campfire, soaking up its warmth while the flames illuminated our faces with an orange glow. We sat, telling ghost stories, stories of demons and evil spirits and tales of people possessed by evil kami. We spent all night scaring each other, creeping up on each other as the story met its climax and giving a loud and frightening “Boo” when the time was right. We continued right into the darkest hours of the night. A full moon hung above us, watching us. It seemed to be the “theme” of the night. Stories of men going crazy at the full moon, tales of evil kami possessing ordinary objects and injuring, even killing people. Satoshi, another one of my close friends, told a story of arrows killing their owners when a full moon appeared. He said he had heard of it from some of the old, yumi commanders. Right at the moment when he had everyone’s full attention, Itazurako, the most mischievous of our small group of friends (his name literally meant mischievous), threw arrows from behind, some hitting us and others not. We all got up with a jolt, expecting to find a Shoni raiding party instead we saw Itazurakko lying on the floor laughing until he could not laugh anymore.

We left him to roll around on the ground and started to pick up the arrows he had thrown at us. While searching for them, I found one, which appeared to be on fire. Cautiously I walked towards it. Its tip had caught on fire and now it was burning bright like its own miniature fire. Confused, I called over Aki. He too was amazed and soon we were all crowding around this one arrow, perplexed on what to do next. We all agreed to send word to our unit commander. He was less than thrilled at being woken in the middle of the night and asked us what we were doing up. We lied and pretended we were on patrol. Eager to avoid any more questions, we showed him the mysterious arrow, which was still burning. Astonished he asked how we had done it. We replied we didn’t know which was not actually a lie considering none of us did know, but we did have our ideas. The more superstitious ones thought, it was an evil kami but the logical ones had other ideas. I myself was baffled. What none of us knew then was that this discovery would forever change how the bow was used in warfare in Japan.

1548-Autumn

We stood before the castle gates, jeering insults and yelling battle cries at the enemy as the hid behind their walls, praying for a miracle. We marched forwards, closer to the walls and drew our bows and notched our arrows. Then silence fell over the battlefield. An eerie silence. It was broken by the orders to fire at will. But we all just stood there, in a sort of trance. Our commander repeated the order again but we just stood stuck in a trance. Then we all lurched back into reality, confused at what just happen. We looked back to find our Daimyo, cursing at us and yelling us to fire.
We set fire to our arrows, just as our training had taught us to, and unleashed volley upon volley of flaming missiles. Men could be heard screaming, their bodies being burnt to a crisp. Matchlock fire could be heard in the distance, sending soldier after soldier to their deathbed. We continued our relentless fire on the enemy until only the commander was alive, surrounded by the bodies of his men. He fell to his knees and started to pray, chanting some religious prayers.
Confusion fell upon us, we did not know whether to fire upon him or let him surrender. Then something indescribable happened. The clouds slowly obscured the sun, bringing darkness onto the battlefield. Rain pelted down on us from the heavens, rendering our fire arrows useless. Matchlocks blew up in the faces of the men who trying to fire them, leaving their owners covered in soot. The arrogant samurai, annoyed at the turn of events, started to bring down the gates, using whatever was necessary to destroy it. A makeshift battering ram was constructed, but just as the gates finally let the attackers through, lightning struck the gates, setting them alight in an instant, suddenly the gateway gave way and beams crashed on to our samurai, crushing them. The fire spread from the gates onto the wooded barriers and soon the castle was engulfed in a ring of fire, protecting the lone samurai. Cries of “Retreat!” echoed around the battlefield and soon what was an organized retreat became a stampede of soldiers trying to escape the flames. I stopped and looked back as soldiers rushed past me, sometimes running into me in their haste to get away. A feeling of déjà vu swept over me and I realized where I had seen this before. The events of that dream came flooding back, different but similar. It was all too much and suddenly I found myself on the ground unable to move my own body. It was all too overwhelming and yet again everything went black.

1548-Winter

A thick blanket of snow covered everything. From the tallest tree to the smallest bush, everything was white. Children played in the snow, throwing snowballs and making strange animals out of snow, while the calls from their parents to stop fell on deaf ears. It reminded me of my own childhood, when my brother and I used to play together. We were once so exhausted that we fell asleep in the snow. The whole village was looking for us until an old man found us sleeping peacefully next to a cherry blossom tree. We woke up the next day in our beds wondering how we go there. My parents told me that some good kami had helped us, rescuing us from evil spirits who had kidnapped us. It was only years later that I was told the real story, yet for some reason I still prefer the original story.

“I don't like the look of that.” Aki pointed to sky where grey clouds had started to block out the sun. We paid little attention to him, after all it was winter and grey clouds were not rare. More and more grey clouds appeared until very little of the sun’s rays fell upon us. It started to snow, little white snowflakes falling down on us. We passed watchtower after watchtower on our patrol, paying no attention to the snow, which although we didn't know, had gotten heavier and heavier.

Soon the snow started to cover us like it did everything else. It was not long until we could not distinguish soldier from tree and before long our Daimyo (who was leading the patrol) decided we would all take shelter in the next village that we came across. So we continued on, through the snowstorm. We soon could not see anything but snow. We were at the mercy of Mother Nature herself, she could either save us or destroy us. We started to hear voices around us and although we could not see them we felt we were being watched.

Suddenly men dropped from the trees, jumping on us and stabbing us to death. We found ourselves attacked from all sides as men emerged from the snow, yelling their battle cries. I stood there, terrified and scared. I just wanted to run, I did not want to die. I looked up into the trees, and saw hundreds of them perched on the branches. I looked up straight above me to see my own killer. He jumped onto my shoulders and I staggered around, my knees trying to the weight of both me and my attacker.
I looked down, certain I had met my end when I saw it. It lay there gleaming, like it wanted me to find it. I reached down with one hand, my other hand busy fighting off my attacker. It was kodachi sword used by most bandits as it was easy to conceal. I grabbed it and started to thrust furiously over my shoulder hoping that at least one would hit him. My attacker’s body fell down onto the soft snow, a puddle of blood spreading out from where I had managed to deliver the fatal wound. I gave a sigh of relief as my shoulders were relieved of the extra weight.

I looked around; our men had done a good job at repelling the attackers but whenever one fell another one was there to replace him. It was then that I saw our Daimyo, surrounded by the bodies of the attackers he had managed to kill, the snow blood red. There was now only one other man fighting him. It seemed to be another samurai and at first I had presumed we had been betrayed. I looked at him carefully and realized I knew who it was. Our Daimyo was fighting the lone samurai. I could now see the man’s face clearly and I was sure of it, and our Daimyo did not look like the one who was winning. He was visibly tired, and his opponent appeared to be the better swordsman. I reached for my bow, but it wasn’t there. Panicking, I looked around desperately, hoping it was just covered by some snow. I even resorted to searching on my knees such was my desperation. I went over to where I had been attacked. I looked around the man who had jumped me, wondering if he pulled it off before I killed him. My theory was correct, but I did not find it near his body but rather on it, the dead man’s hand clutching it. After a great deal of pulling, I finally got my bow back. It was covered in blood and it smelt like death.

I notched an arrow and aimed for his right eyehole on his mempō. I was doubtful of my skill to actually hit him there; only men who had trained with a yumi for decades could achieve such skill. My arrow whizzed through the air and hit him right where I had aimed.

I was over the moon, ecstatic. My ecstasy soon vanished though as he continued fighting as if he was unscathed, even with my arrow through his eyes. My second and third arrow were less successful than my first, but still hit him in places were it should at least severely injured a normal person.

I muttered a few curse words, still dumfounded at how he could survive getting hit by multiple arrows. Suddenly our Daimyo was swept off his feet, he lay on the trampled snow, not begging for mercy but facing death with honor, like a real samurai.
The lone samurai turned and looked at me and started laughing, at my pathetic attempt to kill him. This infuriated me, filling me with an anger I had never experienced before. I would not let my Daimyo die and

I cast away my bow, throwing onto the ground. I then clutched the hilt of the sword I had found earlier and started to run towards the lone samurai.
Time slowed down as I raised my sword. The lone samurai also raised his sword, his victory almost assured. As his sword came down to deliver the final blow, I took my chance and lobbed of his left arm, blood spurting out of the wound. Truly shocked, the lone samurai ordered a retreat, himself running from the field of battle like a coward. I stood and watched him run into the distance, our men jeering insults as the attackers fled.

Suddenly I remembered our Daimyo. I turned and looked behind me where his body had been but it had simply vanished. I looked up to see it had not vanished just moved. He stood there towering over me. His armour was covered in blood and dents from various sword hits.
“What is your name?” he asked with a sort of calmness not found in most men after just having a near-death experience.

“Errr… Errr Yuuukki” I cursed myself for my incompetence at stringing a sentence together.

“Yuki do you have some samurai amour?”

“Errr what? No.” I replied, confused at the manner of his question

“Well you’re going to need some!” he gave a small chuckle and walked away. I wonder if everyone acted like that when they had nearly been killed only minutes before. I stood confused at what he meant. And then it hit me and I was ecstatic for the second time that day. I was going to be a samurai! This time though, my happiness didn’t fade for a very long time.

[Steward Denethor II]

Good work . I am only just finishing chapter one but I will probably have the rest done tomorrow or the next day. My only suggestion is to put a link in your sig but I don't really that that's too important.

[Merchant of Venice]

Good work . I am only just finishing chapter one but I will probably have the rest done tomorrow or the next day. My only suggestion is to put a link in your sig but I don't really that that's too important.

Why thankyou Steward of Denethor I've been trying to do that but the closet I have come is to just putting a pic in like I have done. I haven't figured out how to link a URL in image yet. Any help would go a long way.

[Steward Denethor II]

[UR*L=your thread here][IMG]your image here[/IMG][/URL]

Take out the star in URL. I added it so it would show properly. I think its pretty self explanatory.

Wow, my 300th post . Not that you would care though.

[Merchant of Venice]

[UR*L=your thread here][IMG]your image here[/IMG][/URL]

Take out the star in URL. I added it so it would show properly. I think its pretty self explanatory.

Wow, my 300th post . Not that you would care though.

Thankyou for your help and congrats on your 300th post. Have some +rep

[Robin de Bodemloze]

I like what you've done so far. The picture of the burning castle in the rain was epic. Keep it up.

[Merchant of Venice]

I like what you've done so far. The picture of the burning castle in the rain was epic. Keep it up.

Thanks yes I do quite like that pic. I did require the use of a certain fire rocket unit

[Robin de Bodemloze]

More than one I think. Good stuff

[Steward Denethor II]

I would like to inform the readers of this AAR that this has entered the MAARC. Merchant of Venice, next time I would strongly suggest telling the readers about the MAARC and adding a link. My sincere apologies if this is considered annoying or obnoxious.

Click the picture below or click this link. http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?t=587867

[Merchant of Venice]

Thankyou Steward Denethor it completely slipped my mind. Thanks a lot!

[Merchant of Venice]

Dear most valued readers,
It has been just over three weeks since I have posted a new update or anything on this thread and one may be under the impression that this AAR is dead. It is definitely not. School has just restarted here in the land down under and thus the chores that come with it(homework!). Chapter five is under way and should be up soon. I can not say when but soon. I really want to make this AAR something special not just for me but for you and everyone. Your patience have my most sincere thanks.

Yours truly, Merchant of Venice

[Merchant of Venice]

Sorry for the long wait guys, chapter 5 should be up within an hour

[Merchant of Venice]

Chapter V: Lost

1549-Spring

My eyes flickered open to reveal a strange, unfamiliar face smiling at me, his black eyes staring into me.
“Where… where am I?” the words only just managing to slip out of my mouth. My body was covered in scars and bruises and each and every one of my joints ached beyond belief. Conjuring all my remaining strength, I managed to lift my head and shoulders off the bed, only to be pushed back down into the comfort of the bed by the old man.
“Rest is the best medicine.” he said, putting his hand on my shoulder, sending a slight stinging sensation through my body. He left the room only to return a few minutes later, armed with a wet cloth. He slowly knelt next to me and began dabbing gently at my wounds. I could not help giving a little yelp when the pain became next to unbearable, and I swear hearing him give a little chuckle at the idea of a samurai yelping in pain in response to an old men tending to his wounds. He eventually stopped attending to my wounds (much to my relief) and left the room, leaving my brain to try to come to terms at the situation. I hadn’t the faintest clue where I was. Focus on the positives, Yuki said the little voice in my head. Sadly for me, there were none. I was alone and scared. I scanned the room, hoping to get some clue from where I was. My armour lay in tatters on a small table next to me. My bow, my beloved bow, lay broken, its wood snapped in half. The room was dark except from the little sunlight that the small window allowed in. Outside I could hear voices and the sound of children playing. I lay there in my own hole of pain and fear until I decided that to find my way home I would need to sleep. So sleep I did.

**********************

The next time I woke up it was not to the sight of an old man, but rather to a beautiful, young woman. She sat elegantly on a small, wooden stool next to my bed, clutching my hands. The little amount of sunlight that was allowed into the room, shone brightly on her face, magnifying her beauty. She gave a small smile as I opened my eyes. In reply, I gave a faint grown as the pain from my injuries began flooding back. A few of scars had healed yet still my skin was littered with them. My joints ached to the point where most movement resulted in unbearable pain, thus leaving me bedridden. She handed me a small cup of water and signaled me to drink it. I was ever too happy to oblige, snatching it from her gentle hands and gulping it down in one go. The water rushed down my throat, invigorating me, giving life back to my wretched body. I handed back the empty cup and she placed it back carefully on the bedside table. She sat there patiently, staring at me, examining my next move. But I was too helpless to do anything, so my only option was to lay back down and drift off to sleep. For sleep was my only relief.

Over the next couple of weeks, my conditions slowly improved. My bruises began to disappear and my scars began to heal. And yet my muscles and joints still ached beyond belief. I slowly became more and more aquatinted with the true residents of this house, the people who had given me shelter and who had tended to my wounds so carefully. The elderly man lived with his wife and their two children. The elderly man's wife had become quite familiar to me as she brought me my meals. As I slowly got better, I saw less and less of the old man and his son as well. It was in fact the daughter whom I spent the most time with. Her name was Suzume. She was timid at first, but once her visits increased she became quite chatty indeed. She was smart, a lot smarter than she would make you think. She was funny too, and that helped immensely in getting over the pain. As our friendship grew, so did the sadness within me. For I was all to aware that this would have to come to an end someday. And that hurt the most.

**********************

Suzume and I sat under the shade of a Sakura tree, enjoying the blissful afternoon. We sat there, chatting, as the world went by around us.
"It's so nice here, is it not Yuki?" she said with an air or merriness in her voice.

"It is indeed." I replied truthfully.

"One can only wish to spend every waking minute like this. I wish I could." We lay there, at the base of the Sakura tree, gazing out into the distance.

"Ohh what's the point, Yuki? We're living a lie. Soon you will leave and everything will be back to the way it was, but even more boring. Ohh why do you have to leave?" said Suzume quite bluntly, taking me by surprise. She threw her head onto my chest and started crying intensely.

"You have to try to understand." I said in an attempt to calm her down. "I have to try and find my friends, my family...." She sat up and looked at me, her face red from all the crying.

"But don't you have one reason?" she asked, sniffing and trying to hold back the tears.
Yet still a rogue tear slipped past and ran down her beautiful, unblemished face. Our eyes locked and for moment I could see nothing but her. Nothing but her hazelnut eyes, her long, black flowing hair, her rosy red lips. I leant forward and kissed her. A small, faint smile could be seen under all those tears,

"Yes one reason." I murmured.

[Merchant of Venice]

Chapter VI- First Love


“Yuki, Yuki! Wake up!” yelled Suzume as she feverishly tugged at my shoulder. “I said WAKE UP!” she yelled again, this time quite a bit louder than before. I gave a faint groan in reply and tried to hide behind my pillow.

“Yes, yes, what do you want?” I replied, cutting her off before she did any permanent damage to my ears.

“Well darling, could you possibly, possibly please help father with his work. He has ever so much to carry and although he wont admit it, he is getting older.” She gave off a small, angelic smile and also a quick flicker of her eyelashes.

“But, but, what about my injuries?” I replied, clutching my leg.

“Ohh do be quiet!” she remarked, giving me a light punch on the arm.

“Ahh that hurt!”

“Get up will you. You will have a chance to visit the village and there might possibly be a certain reward when you get back.”

“What sort of reward?”

“Later.” With a small kiss on my cheek and swish of her kimono she vanished from the room.

**********************

“And here is the market, and here is the…..”

“Okay do you really need to give me the extended tour?” I remarked, dismayed at Suzume’s ability to turn a five minute tour into nearly an hours worth of walking.

“Oh yes I do!” she replied cheekily. And so we continued our tour of Kurokamicho, stopping ever so often to laugh and joke around. Clouds sat idly above us as sakura blossoms drifted in the gentle, cool wind. The town was bustling with people. The sweet chirping of birds and buzzing of cicadas filled the air. Spring, was truly upon us. We arrived at Suzume’s father around mid day only to be greeted by crossed arms and an annoyed face.

“Suzume, your late,” exclaimed her father with a disappointed look on his face.

“But...”

“No buts and you,” he turned to face me, his eyes glaring at me, examining me from head to toe. “think you’re up to it?” he asked, hoping to intimidate me.

“Yes sir!” I gave a mock salute, hoping to lighten up the mood although all I managed to evoke from anyone was a small chuckle from Suzume while her father stayed straight face as ever.

“Very funny but you’ll be laughing after the end of today. Suzume could you please leave us.”

“Yes sir!” She left barely managing to contain her laughter. Her father led me over to where he kept his stock. Nearly a dozen stacks of roughly eight or so boxes stood in the corner. They were covered in splinters and the box seemed to only just manage to hold its cargo.

“Gosh” I exclaimed, due to the amount of work that was ahead of me. “It looks like you’re selling incense to monks!” Suzume’s father was clearly not too impressed at my poor excuse for a joke.

“Well actually… we are! This is the finest incense money can buy. Trade with the Indonesian tribes has established quite a profitable business. We’re selling them to the monks up upon Mt Sakurajima. This is half a year’s supply. It has been quite a profitable piece of business.” He remarked, seeming quite happy with himself.

“But what if say pirates intercepted the trade?” I asked, curious to see his response.

“Pfff, that wouldn’t happen. The navy ensures it doesn’t.” I was not entirely satisfied with his response and his arrogance did not impress me. To me it seemed that no man of any reason would invest in such a risky business opportunity. But then money is hard to come by in times of war.

“Enough with the business talk, we should probably get to work. There will be a man waiting to transport the goods up the mountain. He isn’t hard to miss.” And indeed he wasn’t. He was quite an ugly looking man. He was large to say the least and it was quite a surprise that his stumpy legs could support him at all. His mustache was badly trimmed and mouth was bit short of a couple of teeth. His wagon was old and rickety and his horse looked like it had seen better days. He was quite a rude man too and on the whole rather unlikeable. Sadly I had to contend with this man the entire day. As if the work wasn’t bad enough.

“Over here!” cried out Suzume while frantically waving in order to get our attention. I slowly plodded over to her, my hands covered in blisters while my muscles felt like they were burning. “Mother made them. She thought you needed them.” She handed us the small, bamboo tray which was littered with pieces of yokan and other small snacks. We quickly devoured them like a pair of ravenous beasts.

“I think we should be finished today.” exclaimed her father, clearly aware of my exhaustion.
It was like music to my ears. I turned to Suzume. “So do I get my reward?” I asked rather like an animal waiting to be fed.

“Patience.” A small grin crept across her face. I was interrupted by her father.

“Yuki, may I have word?” I strolled over to him, anxious of his motives. It was not what he said but rather how he said it. “She’s amazing isn’t she?” admired her father.
Who? Ohh Suzume! Yes she is quite wonderful. You’re quite lucky… and so is she.” A smile emerged from his face, most probably due to my pathetic attempt at trying to flatter him. I was still quite confused and anxious where the topic was going.

“Yes, yes I am. She, hopefully, has a great future ahead of her.” I gave a simple nod in agreement. “That is why I cannot allow you and her to go on like this.”
I felt my whole world crashing down around me.

“Excuse me?” I was rather dismayed at his brashness.

“You have to understand.” His tone had changed to something more sympathetic. “You turn up here out of the blue. Somehow you manage to win my daughter’s heart. You proclaim that you are in the army, a samurai even yet you have no evidence except a broken yumi and some armour. How am I meant to believe this?”

“Because it’s true!” I replied bluntly. What hurt most was that what he spoke was the truth.

“It may be, but I can’t be certain of that. For now I forbid you to continue in your advances. I permit you to be friends but please no more.” I was shocked, dismayed at his words and his pleas fell on deaf ears as I attempted to hold back the tears.

“I love Suzume and she loves me. I will do anything I can for her even….” and with that I stormed off, caring little to finish my sentence. And so my tears were set free.

**********************

It was late evening by the time I arrived at the house. The only light came from the moon and the stars. In the distance, the lanterns of the town could be seen, illuminating the horizon. Suzume was quite surprised to see me though not impressed at my timing. I ran towards her, eager to get what I was about to do over and done with.
“Suzume, you know I love you?”

“Yes,” replied a dismayed Suzume, unaware of what I was about to do.

“I have to leave. I am not sure whether it will permanent or temporary but I have to leave. I am so, so sorry Suzume. Remember I love you.” I could see the tears swelling up in her eyes and the raw shock displayed by the trembling of her hands.

“But, but why?” It hurt so much to do this. To leave the one you love but it was unfortunately necessary.

“Because life isn’t fair!” I shouted, awaking much of the local wildlife. I slowly leant forward and kissed her forehead. The sound of her sobbing still haunts me to this day. “Goodbye Suzume.” And so I disappeared into the darkness and for the first time in my life I felt truly alone.

**********************

I woke up the next day, under the cool shade of a sakura tree, with little recollection of the night’s events. Yet one word had buried into my mind; goodbye. It repeated itself over and over in my head, tormenting me over my decisions. I tried over and over again to convince myself that it was the right decision. But for whom? For Suzume or for her father?What if I was wrong? But whether I was right or wrong I had to deal with the consequences. All I had left was some rice, water, my broken yumi and armour and a piece of silk, woven into a shape of a heart by none other than Suzume.It was a rough job, and to anyone else it probably had little value. But I valued it over anything else but I could not even bare to lay eyes on it. It symbolized not just the past but the pain both Suzume and I were suffering. But I could do nothing now. There was but one way and that was up. So I set off in the hope of returning home.

**********************

It took me very little time to reach the village. The village itself was quite vibrant especially around midday. People ran to and from houses and stores, old men stat blissfuly on the the water edge in the vain hope they might catch a fish or too. Countless boats came and left, the only reminder of their presence was the cargo they left on the wooden pears. Kids chased each other without a care in the world, occasionally bumping into an annoyed adult. The sun sat up in the sky, watching over its children and providing them with life-giving light and heat. Hopefully, within this bustling, little village someone would have information about where I was, and if possible how to return home. The merriness given off by the village seemed to wear off on me and soon I was smiling and enjoying the wonderful day. But I was too careless. From nowhere, Suzume’s father appeared. I scurried behind the nearest pile of crates, eager to avoid him. I peeped out the side to get a better view, only to find him arguing with what seemed to be a guard, his arms waving frantically about. The guard had had enough and quite rudely turned his back on Suzume’s father, to the sheer annoyance of Suzume’s father. I agreed upon staying out of sight of him ,lest I want to become proverbial tiger’s food. I crept between the buildings, much to the dismay of many onlookers. I needed to get out of here and get out of here fast.

**********************

After over an hours worth of asking the same questions, usually to no avail, I decided to pay the blacksmiths a visit in the hope of repairing my badly damaged armour with the little coin I had. The blacksmith seemed quite surprised at my arrival, possibly due to not having many customers. Nevertheless, he was quite eager to see me and even more eager to take my coin.
“So you are a samurai?” he asked eager to start a conversation and break the silence.

“Yes I was before...before I ended up here.” And then it hit me. I still had no idea about how I actually ended up here. I simply remember waking up in Suzume’s house. The last thing I remember was joking around with my friends in the local sake den. It seemed there was much I still didn’t know about my own life.

“Something bad must happened looking at the state of your armour.” He remarked as he tried to find a way to repair my armour. Eventually, he resorted to hammering away at the various dents that littered my armour, although that did very little to improve the state of it.

“It’s a shame I can’t repair your bow. You need a fletcher for that.” I paid little attention to his various attempts at conversation starters as I much preferred planning the trip ahead of me. The next topic, though, would interest me quite a bit.
“You could make the trip up to the monastery at Mt Sakurajima if you were really keen.” I was rather surprised at his suggestion. What would a monastery do that a blacksmith couldn’t?

“Why the monastery?”

“Because the monks attain enlightenment through a different method up there. They train, they fight, they do battle.” The idea that monks would be part of an army took me by surprise. “You probably don’t believe but wait until you see them with your own eyes. They even fight without armour, they wear nothing but their monk robes!” He too seemed to find the idea of men of peace in battle quite amusing. “Some specialize in the Naginatajutsu and some in the way of the yumi.”

This got me interested and intrigued. Now I had a new destination. My train of thought though was interrupted by the ever-talkative blacksmith. “I should have your armour repaired and ready by tomorrow, at worst the day after that.” We said our goodbyes and both went our separate ways. Indeed I had much to think about that night.

**********************

After being told that the repairs would take another day, I decided to make the long and arduous journey up Mt Sakurajima. These ‘warrior monks’ intrigued me intensely and I would rather like to see them myself. I left around about noon, a poor decision on my part with the benefit of hindsight, as the sun sat at top of the sky, its rays scorching the ground. This made my journey all the more tiresome and I was quickly regretting my past decisions. I was exhausted a mere half way up and it took all my will power available to continue. Thankfully, I was greeted with an absolutely breathtaking view of the village.
The mountains in the distance looked less daunting from up here, though their presence was still unnerving. The heavens felt but a jump away and the sun looked so close, you could nearly touch it. Whereas for some people, the height and view could possibly instill fear into them, it merely inspired me to continue my journey. And so I continued my journey, one stone step at a time, under the watchful gaze of the setting sun. I could sense its warmth leaving the Earth as the moon began to rise in the east, with it bringing the night. Indeed it was evening before I reached the monastery. From up here the view was greater but sadly impaired as a thick, blanket of fog had begun to cover the village, the village lanterns barely visible.

Sadly, due to the time, I turned my attention away from the wonderful view towards the monastery. The large, iron gates lay open, almost inviting you in. I could sense eyes watching me, and walked through the gates, ever watchful. But was this paranoia called for? They were after all a group of monks, men of peace. But something made me nervous. Ahead of me lay a zen garden, its pebbles and gravel arranged in beautiful and astonishing patterns. In the middle of the zen garden, lay a huge, bronze buddha, his metal eyes staring out into the horizon. Kneeling before him, lay a lone monk. He quietly chanted an ancient hymn, clearly unaware of my presence. I was clumsy though and he was quickly aware of my presence. He slowly got up and was soon facing me, his long, slender body leaning on his fearsome naginata. But something felt wrong, very wrong. While his right hand clutched the shaft of the naginata, the other hand was simply missing. It couldn’t be! It was the lone samurai!

[Hitai de Bodemloze]

Very nice AAR you have going on here! Good to see you finally picking up the quill again and keeping the Shogun 2 AAR sub-forum active Like others, I was both surprised and intrigued by your choice of having an ordinary foot-soldier as the protagonist. It's working really well though! Even though there haven't been any battles, I enjoyed Chapters V and VI and the insight you give into the other side of life in Japan. I like Suzume's happy-go-lucky nature and I really felt for Yuki when he had to leave her. I like where it's heading with the monastery too, the next chapter sounds very interesting. I don't want to pre-empt you or anything, but if Yuki became a ronin things would become very interesting I also want to find out just what happened in the interim between Chapters IV and V. Just how did he end up there?

Keep it up! +rep