Chapter Text
The rhythmic galloping of his horse stilled the rumbling in Tahomaru’s mind, if only temporarily. He let Takahiro set the pace as he allowed his mind wander, trusting his horse to gallop smoothly without a guiding hand as he tried to ignore the tight feeling in his chest. He wished he could lose himself in this rare peace with the trees delicately lit in the afternoon sun, the wind lightly rustling the leaves and his horse taking him forward towards a great but pleasant unknown. He wished he could exhale and forget the weight bearing down on him.
A burst of noise from flapping wings and loud squawking on his right side brought him back to reality and he swiftly shot an arrow at the source. A green pheasant fell down before it could properly reach the tree canopy.
“Good shot, young master! I’d say you’re back to how you were before the—! Well… you are as before.” Hyogo finished his praise awkwardly as he rode up besides Tahomaru. The young samurai tried to give a small smile to show he understood, but even that was hard to summon. He lightly touched his right eyelid, permanently closed by the wound Hyakkimaru gave him.
Hyakkimaru. The demon that plagued his land. His maligned brother. The victim of an unfair deal. How could one person be all at once?
He watched wordlessly as Mutsu got off her horse to pick up his kill and added it to the other pheasants and rabbits they’d bagged this evening. The small pile of carnage only highlighted his frustration. Would it be better if he could kill his own brother as easily as these animals?
“My lord. I apologize.” Mutsu had mounted her horse again and was bowing her head at him. Tahomaru stared at her in confusion. “I suggested to go out hunting to ease your troubled mind, but it’s not working. This one is only here to help you.”
At this Tahomaru let out a defensive chuckle. He knew this was her way of inviting him to talk about his problems.
He had barely exchanged any words with his lord and father ever since he had found out the truth about his older brother. He had been dreading talking about it or frankly even thinking too deeply about the implications of the existence of Hyakkimaru and their father’s demonic deal. He needed a distraction.
He looked at the green pheasant hanging limp on her saddle and smiled sardonically to himself. He didn’t need a distraction; he wanted one. He was avoiding his problems again, but what choice did he have? Aggressively trying to solve the problem by force had cost him his right eye.
“I’m....alright, Mutsu. Thank you. Let’s head back. Father should be back from his meeting with the daimyo this evening.”
Mutsu gave him an unconvinced look but remained silent.
When they entered the mansion grounds again where a servant greeted them and announced that Lord Daigo was indeed back and had summoned Tahomaru immediately to his chambers. He did not bother changing out of his dusty and sweaty hunting raiments and headed directly meet his father.
“Ah, Tahomaru, I have excellent news for you and the future of our land and our clan.” Daigo Kagemitsu’s expression was uncharacteristically self-satisfied, and it reminded Tahomaru of a cat that had eaten a songbird and didn’t feel the least bit sorry about it.
Lady Nui was also in the room, though she seemed ignorant of whatever news had made the lord so content. Tahomaru was glad to see her recovered enough to be up and about, but he also felt a pang of guilt for not having visited her properly. His father was not the only one he had been avoiding.
Tahomaru bowed respectfully as he entered the room with Hyogo and Mutsu in tow. He made eye contact with his mother, though he couldn’t tell if it was accidental or they had unconsciously searched each other’s gaze. Lady Nui fidgeted and looked like she wanted to say something to him, and Tahomaru paused expectantly. However, she seemed to think better of it and faced her husband again, her hands folded demurely on her lap and her eyes somber.
Disappointed, Tahomaru knelt in front of his father and waited for him to share his news. He wondered if Hyakkimaru had been found, captured or executed. Somehow the last option filled him with dread, even though it was everything he could hope for.
“As you know, I went to see our master Togashi today to talk about affairs regarding our estate. And there was one issue that we have settled. You are now engaged to his oldest daughter.”
Tahomaru’s mouth seemed to stop working and he could only gape at his father with wide eyes. “W-what?”
His father frowned. “What kind of reply is that? This engagement is the best you could hope for! Now our clan will strengthen its bond with the Togashi and we’ll have their full support in battle. Not to mention her dowry: 10,000 koku worth of rice, five horses and several expensive pieces of art. What are you complaining about?”
“N-nothing, honoured father. I am just...surprised is all! It’s too sudden!”
“Don’t be foolish Tahomaru, marriage talks for you began before you turned twelve. Granted, you’re a bit younger than she is, but an opportunity this good doesn’t come twice. You will marry this girl.”
The finality in Kagemitsu’s voice made it clear this was not up for debate. Tahomaru swallowed hard and nodded, still trying to take it all in.
“Now, we have to arrange a betrothal ceremony where you’ll meet Togashi Norinaga, our daimyo. It’s high time you met him after all.”
“My lord,” Onui’s voice was delicate, and Tahomaru wondered if it had gotten softer since...the incident with his brother. “I was wondering when you called me here whether you had news about, well — our other son. I need to know if Hyakki-”
“Oku.” It was just a simple word, one that could even be used as a term of endearment, but Kagemitsu’s tone carried such venom that her words died immediately. The lord was avoiding looking at her, and Tahomaru had the distinct impression it was because he considered this whole business beneath him.
“I have been more than patient with your absolutely ludicrous behaviour in regards to that matter. You disgraced yourself in front of the entire army and yet I took you back home. What most men would consider a betrayal, I allowed.” At this he finally looked at her, and his eyes were full of cold fury.
“ So I suggest you start acting like a wife and a mother and attend to your duties as you should. ” He was not yelling, or even raising his voice that much. It was the malice in his tone that made Tahomaru flinch. An irrational part of him almost thought he might hit her. As it was, it was like he was hitting her with words. Onui stood as still as a statue, not breaking eye contact with her husband. When he finished, she bowed to him respectfully.
“You are correct my lord, I have been remiss in my duties.” She lifted her head. “We also need to arrange Tahomaru’s coming of age ceremony before the marriage.” With that, the dark cloud on Kagemitsu’s face cleared and he went back to looking confident. Tahomaru’s chest still felt tight but he decided to follow his mother’s example and let the matter go. Had his father’s fury always been like this? Or was he only noticing now?
Onui faced her son, her face now reserved and unreadable. “So you can have your official helmet, swords, and armor. Perhaps both ceremonies can be held at the same time? Maybe you’ll even change your name— or do you want to stay as Tahomaru?”
He could only manage to lightly shake his head. She nodded and for the first time the slightest hint of a smile touched her lips. “Well, you do not have to decide right now.”
This was the longest either of his parents had talked to him in months, perhaps years, and Tahomaru was reeling from the onslaught of information. It took him a while, but he finally found his voice and cleared his throat politely.
“Honored father? About the gi— about my betrothed. Um, what is she like? What’s her name?”
“What? Her name is of little import. There are bigger things we have to worry about. You’ll meet her on your wedding day.”
“Not at the engagement ceremony?”
“Of course not, that’s for you to meet her father and her brothers. The engagement is already set but you’ll still have to make a good impression.”
Daigo’s face lost its joviality again and his eyes hardened. “This should go without saying, but you must absolutely not talk about unnecessary things. I trust you’ll have the sense to not mention the Hall of Hell or anything related to that business.”
Tahomaru felt himself bristling at the idea that he’d be foolish enough to bring that up, but he bit down the feeling and bowed. “Of course not, sir.”
“Very well. You should go get changed and we will start setting dates.”
Tahomaru exited the room in a daze, unable to hide his incredulous face from his two retainers. Mutsu closed the sliding door behind them properly and shot a worried look to her young master.
“Congratulations?”
At least now he definitely had a distraction.
“The betrothal ceremony is the fifth day next month. Father wants to set the wedding date for the eight day of the tenth month.” Tahomaru returned to his chambers to find Hyogo and Mutsu waiting for him expectantly. Since the marriage talk did not involve anything military, they hadn’t been invited. He thought this exclusion was redundant, since he was going to tell them anyway.
Hyogo looked the most taken aback. “Young master, that’s only about five months away. Why the rush?”
“Those numbers are considered auspicious and would bring us good fortune. There was also something about my birth year being the year of the Boar which means that it’s good for me to marry on the year of the Tiger; so he wants the ceremony to happen before this year is done.”
The two siblings looked at each other. “I never took our lord to be so superstitious.” Hyogo mused with his hand on his chin.
Mutsu nodded. “That’s odd though, if he was worried about good fortunes, he would wait until the year of the Dragon or the Dog for your wedding.”
“What does it matter if it happens now or in two years? I have no say on the matter.” Tahomaru finally let his sulk become apparent, now that he was in front of his two most trusted retainers. He let out a heavy, baleful sigh and sat down quite unrefinedly with his legs crossed and his back bent.
“Waka, are you unhappy with this turn of events?” Hyogo leaned forward anxiously.
“If you-if you truly hate this marriage idea, we are prepared to go against the wishes of our lord, in spite of the cost to our lives.” Mutsu tightened her first, the leather of her arm bracer squeaking with the force of it.
“No, there’s no need to go that far. It’s just…” Tahomaru scratched the back of his head. “I don’t hate the idea of getting married, and I always kind of knew it would be arranged without me. This just feels like Father arranged this just to strengthen the might of the Daigo and nothing else.” He paused, drawing in on himself.
“The way he talked today was as if I was just his tool. His pawn. His pawn in a grand game that I’m not privy to.”
He looked at his two companions with pleading eyes. “Has he always been this way? Have I been too blind to notice all these years?” They were looking at him with alarm and Mutsu was the first to find her voice.
“Our lord has always had a calculating nature, but he never treated you coldly, we were witness to that! And is it such a bad thing for a domain lord to be shrewd with his dealings? Our province has been prosperous for all these years through the lord’s efforts.”
Mutsu realized she was gesticulating with her arms too much and slapped her hands to her knees to keep them in place. “Perhaps our lord has...lost some tact after this business with Hyakkimaru, but I am convinced that he still has your best interests at heart, young master.”
Tahomaru nodded and dragged his kyousoku towards him so he could lean heavily on it. He sighed dejectedly and looked at nothing in particular. “I do not want my marriage to be like my parents’.”
“With all due respect, young master, I do not think the unusual circumstances that made our lord and lady grow apart could be duplicated, so that will not be an issue.” Hyogo interjected almost cheerfully.
The young samurai snorted derisively. “That’s not what I meant. I didn’t like the way Father spoke to Mother today. I...didn’t like that at all.” He frowned deeply and straightened up, though his elbows were still on the armrest.
“I used to think I would try to copy my father in everything he did once I grew up to try to be the best leader I can. But now I’ve decided I’m going to do a few things quite differently.” His face was resolute.