68Ren of the Sea
Chapter 1 Potato God
The air in the room was wrought with static. The elder brother calmly sipped from a steaming cup, while the younger sister glared at him (quiet unattractively) in attempts to cause him to burst into flames. In a corner of the lavish room a green set of armor stood proudly gleaming in the morning light, and next to it an odd green hat that curved in a very whimsical arch. The owner of this armor Mori Motonari was dressed casually today, in only a light green silk yukata with a white silk sash keeping it closed. His sister on the other hand had gotten dressed to go out and about, in a very beautiful lavender kimono that had red leaves embroidered on it as if they were falling, her pale green obi was hemmed with very expensive gold thread and had small white sakura flowers printed on it, rimmed also in gold. The girl herself had her brown hair, the same shade as her brother's, in an elaborate up do. It sported a few kanzashi that she favored and accented the green of her kimono. Her face was unpainted, but her lips had been tinted a slight pink as was appropriate for a young noble woman and her big deep chocolate eyes were rimmed in black kohl and a lavender power. She was a lovely girl, almost a woman at seventeen. Motonari would have married her off sooner but her temper scared off suitors of all types. It worked out for him though, instead of fighting for Kyushu he would marry her off to the lord and have her kill him.
"I will not! I refuse and you cannot make me!" She spat at him. Motonari lifted a noble eyebrow at him in admonishment.
"You will do as you are told Ren." He said using her given name. He sat his cup down and stared at her as if he were about to scold a child.
"It is a political marriage, once you take over he will be dead and you can go about your normal life again." He said as if this was a common occurrence. Ren-hime shot to her feet in a most undignified way and stomped over to her brother with steam pouring from her ears and her face steadily growing red. Once in arms reach she kicked the tray his tea sat on to the side, he watched in mild amusement at her tantrum. Ren's skinny hand shot out and grasped Motonari's yukata, and for good measure she gave him a sound shake.
"I would rather die! You can take your plan and shove it Aniue!" Ren could feel the heat rising off her face, and her stomach felt as though she would lose the breakfast she had just eaten. She should have known that something was afoot when Motonari summoned her to have breakfast with him. They never ate together unless it was with guests, because of an anniversary or if he had to tell her something she would not like. She had been so distracted about going to see the new ships he was building that she hadn't even noticed. Motonari removed her hand with little force and straightened his yukata before standing up. He stood about three inches taller than her.
"So you will let countless men die in a senseless battle just because you won't marry the lord of Kyushu? How selfish you are imoto." Ren felt tears sting her eyes, but should would not me manipulated by him; she had seen him do it to many times to his own men.
"All your battles are meaningless! Do you not care for my happiness? I'm your sister aren't I?" she sounded desperate now, she knew it, and she hated it. He was the strong one, she was just the child he took care of. Motonari's face turned stern all of a sudden and she felt a seed of fear grow in her stomach.
"You may be my sister, but like my soldiers you too must be given a purpose. You can't run around like a child all your life, grow up and except the responsibility you have been born into!" Motonari rarely got so mad at her that he would raise his voice but now his tone carried through their house. He even raised his hand as if to strike her and Ren closed her eyes and braced herself instinctively, but the blow never came. Motonari lowered his hand to his side and shook his head, and by now Ren had opened her eyes to stare at him. He looked at he one more time before sighing in frustration and leaving the room.
He had only ever looked at her that way once, when their mother had died. It was almost a warm look, but mostly it looked to her like he didn't know what to do with her.
Ren hated crying. It was trying, and pointless but she had cried after their fight. Her plans to see the new ships were never carried out and she locked herself in her room for the rest of the day. She did allow the maids entrance and once dinner rolled around a maid around her age came to give her dinner.
"Come in." She said as the maid, Mina, had knocked politely.
"Excuse me Hime-sama." The girl said kindly. She had a tray of beautifully arranged foods and steaming tea. Ren came away from her window that faced the ocean and sat down, she had changed into simple night clothes and let her hair down, it brushed the floor as she sat, bits shorter than the rest framed her face in lazy curls and the straight edge of her bangs brushed her eyelashes. This caused her to constantly blow them out of her eyes.
"Here you are." Mina said setting the meal up. Ren's melancholy drifted away for a moment as she noticed all her favorite side dishes. The servants of the Mori house adored her, especially the cook. She looked up at Mina and smiled. Mina smiled back and sat near the door to excuse herself.
"Oh, please stay Mina-chan." Ren said quickly before the older girl left. Mina nodded and moved closer to Ren.
"Mina-chan, I have to leave." Ren said halfway through the meal, her chopsticks hung from her mouth in a show of horrible table manners as she spoke around them. Mina's dark eyes widened at the statement.
"Hime-sama! You cannot leave, where would you go?" Mina said sagely. She knew though that Ren was hot headed enough to try.
"Somewhere that my brother would hate, I want to make him as angry as I am!" Ren said hotly, the chopsticks falling to the floor.
"And you will help me!" She said looking to Mina in determination, Mina looked ready to cry. Ren stood and began to pace, it was a spur of the moment thought but she knew she wanted to do it.
"Help me think of a place that would anger my brother." She said as she paced. Mina shook her head.
"Ren-hime, I…this is not a good idea." She said clasping her folded hands tighter. Ren turned and looked at her begging almost.
"Please, you will help me, won't you? Mina-chan?" Her doe eyes went misty and she plopped down in front of Mina and took her hands into her own. It took only two seconds of the puppy eyes for Mina to give in and with a defeated nod she said 'Hai.' Ren was just as manipulative as Motonari.
An hour later it was all planed out. Mina had gathered supplies enough to last a week, and one set of clothing that would help Ren to blend in with the peasants, and a kodachi in a deep green lacquered sheath. Ren had gathered money and sat it snugly in her sleeve. She had donned dark pants that synched at her knees and a brown gi like shirt that wrapped tightly around her torso, Mina had given her a green scarf, and one of the men had given her a bamboo hat.
Ren would hop a boat to the east and plead her case to Uesugi Kenshin, whom she had met awhile back. What she remembered of him she liked, he was a kind hearted man, he would help her.
"I have one last favor Mina-chan!" Ren said, all smiles. She was excited, she wondered what adventure awaited her outside the walls of Mori. Mina smiled defeated.
"Yes Ren-hime?" Ren handed Mina the kodachi and gathered her hair at the nape of her neck.
"Cut my hair to look like a boys, please." She said. Mina stared at the bunched hair and shook her head.
"I couldn't possibly!" She sighed. Ren looked over her shoulder and smiled warmly at her friend.
"I only trust your hands with this Mina, please cut my hair." Mina sighed, once again defeated by a smile.
"Hai."
Once the hair cut was finished Ren felt much lighter, and as she looked in her mirror she smiled. It was short enough to look like a boys, her bangs couldn't be fixed though. So it was no longer than her chin and curled here and there giving it a wild sort of look, nothing like Motonari's blade straight hair. Mina blushed as she stared at Ren.
"It's so cute Ren-hime." She said handing back that short sword. Ren Grinned widely at her, her teeth nearly gleaming in the moonlight. She shouldered her pack and gave a huff, it sure was heavy.
"Well Mina-chan I'm off, wish me luck!"
Enough servants were in on the plan that it wasn't that hard to get out. Mina saw Ren out the servants quarters and waved the girl off.
"Come back soon." She whispered as Ren disappeared around a corner. She knew eventually Lord Motonari would find her and drag her back. She smiled a bit sadly.
"Ah, youth." She said.
Ren felt like a ninja, well sort of. She had to hide twice now from a few patrolling guards. It was late enough for people to be asleep, and a kid wandering around was suspicious. At least she thought it could be. The bay was within sight, and with it freedom. She scurried down to it and once there asked about an outgoing ship.
"Well we got one leaving before dawn, but it's going to Shikoku, from there you could probably catch one to the east as far as Totomi, and then walk the rest of the way to Echigo." The old man was eyeing her suspiciously.
"Why's a kid like you wanting to go all the way to Echigo in the first place?" He asked frowning at her. Ren gave a nervous laugh and scratched the back of her head.
"I just wanted to see it, that's all." He sneered at her lame excuse.
"What did you say your name was boy?" Ren blanched, she had forgotten to think up a new name.
"Shin." She blurted out, before mentally slapping herself. The old man shook his head.
"Whatever, you have to go talk to captain Watara." With that she thanked him and hightailed it to the only boat still resting in port besides the great warships that her brother owned, she stuck her tongue out at them as she passed them.
Captain Watara was a good old guy; he let her catch a ride with him as long as she helped the cook that day. She wasn't much help but in the few hours she worked with the grouchy cook she became an expert as peeling potatoes.
"For a boy you have smooth hands Shin-kun." The cook said taking the last of the potatoes from her.
"Oh, uh…thanks?" she asked. He snorted and motioned for her to get lost. As they neared Shikoku Ren hoped that the infamous pirate her brother despised wasn't in port. Motonari had described him to her one night as the most uncouth brigand, who was absolutely evil.
"That is why I must destroy him." Motonari had declared in a moment of uncharacteristic passion.
"Then why haven't you beaten him yet?" Ren had asked, honestly curious as to why Motonari hadn't done so yet. He had glared at her and told her to go to her room. Ren snickered to herself just as the old captain joined her on the deck.
"What's so funny young man?" He asked kindly. Ren smiled at him.
"Just thinking about my stupid brother." Watara smiled too.
"We all have one, I suppose."
After a quick goodbye to those she had met on the boat, Ren went to inquire about heading to the east.
"I don't know of any going that far any time soon." A boy said. It turned out that he worked for the port master but really did all the work since his boss was a lazy drunk. She sighed and slumped a bit, she couldn't stay in Shikoku long, Motonari would look here first.
"Sorry I couldn't be of more help." The boy said sincerely. Ren smiled up at him and shook her head.
"No, it's okay thank you for your help." She said and the boy blushed a bit and nodded his head sheepishly. Ren looked at him oddly but went on her way to find somewhere to stay.
"I hear were going to Oshu! Aniki says he wants to visit the dragon." She heard. Ren's feet stilled as she tried to remember where Oshu was, she flipped through lessons in her mind before a mental map highlighted the providence. She did an abrupt about face and searched for the men. They stood next to a ship guarding it. They wore a ragtag sort of armor and each laughed at a joke the other had made. They caught sight of her staring at them and glared at her. She gave a weak smile and wave before disappearing around the corner.
'That's my ride!' she thought as she scouted the area. There had to be another way onto the boat. Ren noticed the large rope that tied the boat to the docks, if she could shimmy up that rope she may just be able to stow away in the cargo bay.
"What the hell, it's worth a shot." She said rolling up her sleeves and straddling the rope before pulling herself up.
Once near the top she barely peaked her head above the railing, to make sure no one would see her. Luckily the two guards on the dock seemed to be the only two shipmates left. She hopped the rail and landed with a slight thump which she hoped they had not heard. She made her way into the lower decks until she found a relatively bare closet like room. It was small and eventually she would need to use the restroom or get some air, so she knew she would get caught at some point.
"I just have to last long enough to be more than half way there! They won't turn around then." And hopefully they won't throw me over. She thought darkly. She settled in the small room and the day's hard work caught up to her and before she knew it she was fast asleep.
Men, they made so much noise. Ren yawned and made to stretch but found that her cramped mussels wouldn't obey her. Then she remembered where she was. She bumped her head on the door and cursed her stupidity. She wondered how long she had been out, or if they had left port yet.
"Did you hear something from the closet?" She heard a man ask.
"Don't be stupid Takamori, we're on a ship it creaks and makes noises." Another said in a deadpan voice.
"Oh shut it, I could have sworn I heard…" Ren held her breath praying that they would just forget about it. It wasn't to be though. The door opened slowly as if to cause her even more distress. The light from the lamps in the room stung her eyes, and now the whole room was silent. As her eyes adjusted she looked up from her spot on the floor into the shocked face of a rough looking man with dark hair that was pulled back into a short pony tail. She looked from him to the four men around a makeshift table that held a lamp and something that looked like dice.
She grinned like the cat who ate the canary.
"Oh, hey there." They stared at her as if she had grown another head.
"What are you playing?" She asked with a nervous laugh. Good going Ren, now you really will be thrown overboard. The men seemed to snap themselves back to reality and the big one who'd opened the closet grabbed her by the back of her shirt and lifted her into the air and out of the closet as if she weight nothing. Now they all looked utterly pissed. Each of them would tower over her if she had been able to put her feet of the ground, but at the moment she hung a few inches above it in the man's grasp.
"Seems we have a stowaway." One said dangerously cracking his knuckles. Ren waved her hands weakly in surrender.
"Let's not do anything rash gentlemen!"
As they passed other shipmates, she still hung in the air, like a puppy whose mother had ahold of him. She had crossed her arms though and frowned at each man who looked at her. As one man knocked on a rather ornate looking door more men crowed to see what was going on. The door opened and she was tossed like a rag doll to the floor.
"Hey!" she said twisting to glare at the man who threw her.
"Well, well, what's this?" Ren felt a chill steal over her entire body; the voice was altogether dangerous sounding, and sort of antagonizing. She turned towards the inside of the room and sitting next to a table with another man was the most intimidating man she'd ever seen.
He would be taller than Motonari if he was standing, and he wasn't thin like her brother but rather thick and hard looking. He dressed in a lot of purple, had silver wild hair, an eye patch and the eye she could see was watching her like a wolf watches a rabbit. She knew right away who he was, and cursed her luck. He stood up and she felt her jaw go slack and she was sure that it was hanging to the floor. He chuckled and knelt in front of her. Her blood went icy.
"Do you know what we do to stowaways?" He asked in a deeply disturbing voice as if he was having fun. She grinned halfheartedly in a last ditch attempt to save her skin.
"Have them peel potatoes all day?" She asked hopefully. He smirked and chuckled.
"We toss em'." He said snapping his fingers. In an instant she found herself snatched up again back the scruff of her shirt, only this time she struggled. Men in the background hollered and hooted something about a plank. She didn't pay attention to them.
"Wait! Wait dammit! I'll do whatever you want! WAIT I SAID!" She shouted and twisted trying to escape the man's iron grip. She was held out over the naked ocean, dangling, this must have been how the worm felt before it became fish food. She stilled instantly and stared at the murky water and now her hands sought something, anything to grasp onto. Chosokabe Motochika leaned out on the railing and watched the myriad of emotions that flashed on the young boys face.
He had to admit the boy had guts stowing on his ship, and that comment in his courters was funny, but something about the boy bothered him.
" You've got balls kid, and I like you, if you peel all my cooks potatoes to his satisfaction, I'll let you stay till we make port." He said smirking at the boy.
Ren turned to look at Motochika and nodded her head vigorously.
"I'll peel your potatoes so damn well you'll be calling me potato god! Just please don't throw me over!" The men laughed at this and Motochika snickered.
"We make port in Oshu." He said trying to figure out what it was that bothered him about the kid.
"I know!" Ren shouted. Motochika motioned to the man holding her and she was pulled back to safety. The men went silent as Motochika held up a hand to silence them.
"Everyone here works to stay; you will do the same kid." He held out a hand to her, as she had sunk to the floor. She looked at the hand and then to him and took his offered hand.
The kid's hand was tiny and in an instant Motochika noticed the lack of calluses and how smooth the skin was. Another thing that was odd.
"What's your name kid?" Ren looked directly at Motochika.
"Shin." It was then, as Shin looked at him that Motochika realized what bothered him. The boy looked an awful lot like Mori Motonari.
'Unlucky guy, to look like that tightwad.' He thought.
I know this senerio has been used about a billion times, but I thought it would make an awesome Chika-sama story.
1 Aniue -Elder brother, very formal slightly archaic Ren is using it in a very sarcastic way.
2 Imoto- little sister.
So if this were an actually anime (which is the way I see it in my head) the opening them would be TOP & GD - High High (google it!)
The ending theme would be Bad Boy - Big Bang (LISTEN I SAY)