My Little Bride

Chapter 17

Raucous war cries increase in every step the Daigo army takes as they tread in the enemy territory. Fire arrows striking the borders where the watchmen from the tower drop lifelessly, frightened villagers crying for help or mercy, samurais unsheathing their swords, sound of firing cannon across the area, blood and tears flowing down the Asakura domain.

Lord Kagemitsu observes from a distance how his force dismantles their nemesis.

"My lord," says a samurai waiting for an order.

"Go and find Hyakkimaru." the daimyo calmly states and the man nods before leaving.

He rewinds his youngest son's words and re-thinks what he had done for his domain and clan. I don't regret it. He whispers to himself. Hyakkimaru and Tahomaru are his sons and both are vital for his dreams and the domain's future. He gave everything for them from the moment they were born such as material possessions, education, combat training, and the power to rule. They are never deprived of anything. However, as a father, he wonders if he forgot to give them something. Something that they always crave, something that they always need.

The daimyo sighs while staring at the view before him which is the soon-to-be war-torn village. He has never been wrong with his decisions. Whatever he sacrificed in the past, it is for the good of his people. A leader who is willing to destroy even his humanity for the benefits of many - that is how everyone sees him. Yet deep inside, Lord Kagemitsu is just another ambitious man who wants to be at the top.

His sons will one day take the lead, especially Hyakkimaru, his heir. That is why he came up with the plan to betroth him with a bandit's daughter in the first place. To make sure that they will maintain a strong military force which is the backbone of every domain's future. Frankly speaking, he did not expect that Hyakkimaru will fall for the young lady. Marriage is but a tool to strengthen their forces and Hyakkimaru is lesser emotional between his sons and yet....

Kagemitsu closes his eyes. There is nothing to regret. He is convinced of that.

"My lord!"

His attention turns to a reporting samurai.

"The troop that we sent to exterminate the bandits are fighting with the enemies in the village!"

He looked at him with disbelieving eyes with mouth moving an incoherent 'how?'

"They're fighting alongside the bandits!"

Perhaps, he is never a perfect leader he thought he was.

-xxx-

Their stillness on each other's arms makes them almost forgot about the conflict that surrounds them. Dororo is the first to unhook her arm to look at his face. Her smile suddenly turns into confusion upon seeing his expression.

"What's wrong?" she asks. Hyakkimaru only stares at her vividly as though he had seen a ghost.

"Dororo," he cups her face with both of his hands and searches for her eyes. "You're alive..."

"Of course I am, you dummy," she replies, chuckling and smiles. "We burnt the underground dungeon where I was jailed and freed the prisoners!"

She continues to talk about her day to day life ever since she was caught by Asakura, telling him how boring her life in the jail was and how they feed her like a pig that was about to get eaten the next day. No seriously, they were feeding her six times a day!

Her presence is soothing and there is nothing in the world that could light his inner darkness from within the way she does. All the while, Hyakkimaru only listens with a simple smile, missing the times like this where she would endlessly babble and tell him how her day was.

"Oh! But we need to get out of here first. I'll tell you later!"

Hyakkimaru nods and looks around. He puts his thumb and pointing finger on his lips to whistle. A few seconds later and Midoro pokes her head behind a huge rock and goes to her master.

"Midoro!" Dororo pats the horse on the head before Hyakkimaru lifts her on Midoro's back. He climbs up and sits behind Dororo.

"We should find your father first," he says. Dororo nods, her eyes glimmering with excitement to see her father again.

"Let's go!