Samurai: Asai Kyou

Task #2: Oku No Hitsuyona Busshi

Kyou let out a sigh and glared at the scroll in front of him. The numbers had finally come in, and he was in dire straits. The fire trap hadn't done what he'd planned for it to do. It hadn't taken out enough of Oda-kun's men, and it certainly failed to get rid of the battering rams. The castle had become a place of chaos instead. Two long, grueling months later, Oda-kun had finally retreated.

Kyou was beginning to doubt his ability to lead his men to victory. Instead of smoothly taking out the majority of the enemy, he'd only managed to slow them down. They'd still ended up in a drawn out siege, and he'd lost more than half his men. He was down to seven hundred able bodied men and six rōnin who had joined him and Naoki. Not only that, he was completely out of supplies and funding.

"Chikushō!" he cursed, slamming a fist into the rushes covering the floor. "Chikushō! How did this happen?"

Something has to be done about this, Kyou thought, bowing his head and rubbing his temples. I need to fortify and bolster my ranks. Even with Naoki's men, we're still going to be in trouble if we're attacked again. I could conscript men into the army... But I'd hate to do that if there's another way.

The shoji to his private chambers slid open, and Hiroshi-kun poked his head into the room.

"Nani?" Kyou let out a sigh. How much worse can this day get?

Hiroshi-kun sidled into the room, eyeing Kyou cautiously. "Is everything okay, nīsan?"

"Hai. Nandeshou?"

"Ano... Magoichi-san showed up at the gates. What should we do?"

"Tell him to leave!" Kyou snapped, waving a hand. "Why would we let him in?"

"Ma, ma..." Hiroshi-kun laughed, fidgeting with the hem of his haori.

"What did you do?" Kyou moaned, running his hands through his hair. I was wrong. This day can clearly become even worse.

"I didn't do anything, that I did not!" Hiroshi-kun protested, putting his hands up and clearing his throat. "Naoki-kun—"

"—let him in," Kyou finished, raising a brow.

"Hai... Sore de?"

"Where is Magoichi-san now?"

"In the shokudō."

"Go kick him out," Kyou said. "Haiku!"

"I don't think we should kick him out so harshly, Kyou-kun." Hiroshi-kun bit his lip and shuffled back a few steps toward the exit. "Natsumi-chan's rather smitten with him."

Kyou jumped to his feet. "Nani? Kanojo wa kare to isshodesu?"

"Ano... Kyou-kun... She's supposed to entertain our guests. What was I supposed to do?"

"Anything to keep that tonma away from our sister, baka!"

"Gomennasai, Kyou-kun," Hiroshi-kun muttered. "Demo..."

Kyou didn't wait to hear the rest of Hiroshi-kun's words. He pushed past his younger brother and rushed down the engawa of Suirō-jō's palace. His hand went to his katana's hilt as he ran. How could they let him in? Baka! He ruins everything. Chikushō!

He paused at the open shoji. Magoichi-san sat next to Natsumi-chan, a big smile on his face. "Hai. Your oniisan is one of my best friends. I haven't seen him in a long while though. His father and Oda-kun didn't get along well... But now that I'm no longer in Oda-kun's employment, I thought I'd stop by and say hello."