Heir to the March

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Akira110
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Heir to the March

#1 Post by Akira110 »

Prologue

A young Kitsune awoke to the light of the suns peering through his window. He had recently turned eighty-five years old and he was living quite a happy life. He raised his hand to his eyes to cover them as he stood up, the suns were a bit bright for his liking. As he climbed out of bed, his tail hung towards the ground. The young Kitsune yawned as he shook his head, trying to wake himself up a bit more. The door behind him opened and he turned around, grabbing a cover from his bed to hide the fact that he hadn't yet put his pants on. The maid walked in and gasped, "Milord! I deeply apologize for walking in on you while you're indecent!" The Kitsune blushed under his fur as he shut his eyes tightly, "Please, next time, knock!" The Maid quickly left the room and the Kitsune breathed a sigh of relief as he put the cover down.

The Kitsune walked over to his closet and put on his best garments, he was slated to meet the King of their race for the first time today, being the heir to the family name and all. As he got dressed, he looked into the mirror and ran a hand through his red hair. His green eyes looked back at him and he smiled, "I'm glad that I look somewhat presentable." The Kitsune pulled back his hair and tied it into a ponytail with the ribbon that his youngest sister had given to him, "I should look into cutting my hair at some point soon." There was a knock on the door and the Kitsune looked back to the door, "Come in." The Maid entered the room and the Kitsune turned around to look at her, "You're flustered still."

The Maid stammered slightly, "It... it was... it was..." The Kitsune smiled slightly, "You can speak your mind, I will not get angry." The Maid looked at him, "It was inappropriate of me to see you in your smallclothes like that!" The Kitsune looked at her, "Ayame, it is fine. You had no idea that I wasn't quite ready yet." Ayame frowned, "But milord, you were indecent, and it is inappropriate for me to look upon you while you are as such." The Kitsune nodded slightly, "If you were spying on me, that would be one thing, but you were not. You happened to walk in on me when I was like this." Ayame nodded, "Lady Sakura wishes to see you downstairs." The Kitsune nodded slightly, "Thank you, Ayame." The Kitsune walked past her and out of the room, he saw a younger male Kitsune in the hallway, "Hey there, little brother."

The younger Kitsune looked over at him, "Yoshiro, you're going with Mom to see the royal family for the first time. I'm jealous of you." Yoshiro walked over to his brother, "Well, according to our culture, I'm old enough to assume the position of head of the family if something were to happen to Mom and Dad, so it's very important that I learn how things work. Tatsuya, you should help Father while I am out." Tatsuya frowned, "I know that you're not a child anymore, but you don't have to treat me like one, Yoshiro!" Yoshiro smiled and ruffled his little brother's hair, "You'll always be my little brother, no matter how big you get, Tatsuya." Tatsuya grabbed Yoshiro's hand and pouted, "Stop that!" Yoshiro laughed slightly at his little brother, "Don't worry, I still respect you." Tatsuya pouted, but Yoshiro shook his head, "That behavior is unbecoming of a son of a marquess."

Tatsuya started to protest, but their mother's voice called out, "Yoshiro, come down here. We don't want to be late for meeting with the King, you know. It's not becoming of a noble to be late. Yoshiro nodded and walked down the stairs, his mother looked up at him, her green eyes staring at him as he descended from the upper floor. His mother sighed, "Your hair is messy. To the bathroom, go brush your hair." Yoshiro untied the ribbon from his hair and walked to the bathroom. He removed his shirt and dunked his head into the bucket of water that was there for him. As he pulled his head out of the water, he took a breath and spat out some of the water that had gotten into his mouth, his hair weighing down his head as he pulled it away from the bucket.

He grabbed a towel and dried his head off, taking care to dry his hair as he did so. He brushed his hair and finally tied it back into a pony tail with the ribbon that his sister had given him. Putting his shirt back on, he left the bathroom and walked over to his mother, "Is this acceptable?" His mother sighed, "That ribbon... most boys do not wear one of those." Yoshiro folded his arms, "Mother, it was a gift for my birthday last year from my baby sister. Do you really think that I'm just going to refuse to use it. Wearing it makes her happy and you know how I love to see her smile." His mother shook his head, "Fine, but you're going to have to cut your hair soon, you're no longer a child." Yoshiro nodded, "I know. I like my long hair, but it is not befitting of a noble in our culture."

His mother smiled slightly, "I'm glad to see that you are growing up and accepting your role in the world." Yoshiro nodded, "I cannot remain a child forever, Mother. This is something that I had to accept for a while." His mother nodded with a laugh, "It's alright, Yoshiro. Soon, your king will recognize you as the heir to the Sano family." Yoshiro nodded, this was a day that he had been groomed for all of his life. It was really all that he had ever known, but something nagged at his mind, "Mother, I've never once walked among the people. I've always been with nobles and royals." His mother nodded, "That's because of your youth and inexperience. While most people in our march are good people, some would love to take advantage of you and your kindness."

Yoshiro nodded as the two of them grabbed a pastry each and headed out the door to a carriage that was waiting for them. Yoshiro looked up at his mother, "Why don't we just ride over there on our paard?" His mother looked at him, "If we were riding on our lands, we would be riding on the back of a paard. We are traveling to Honoo. A carriage will allow for us to have some guards in case of a bandit attack." Yoshiro nodded, but he wasn't worried. He knew a fair bit of swordsmanship and he knew that his mother was one of the best swordswomen on the planet. His mother looked at him and smiled, "Well, when you're ready, feel free to climb into the carriage. The trip will take a couple of days, but you'll enjoy getting to see the royal palace." Yoshiro nodded and climbed into the carriage, his mother right behind him.
Been around this forum for over 8 years now. Everyone I've known has left, now it's my time to do the same.

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Akira110
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Re: Heir to the March

#2 Post by Akira110 »

Chapter 1

Yoshiro laid against the side of the carriage's interior, fast asleep. They had been traveling for a couple of days now. One of the guards looked at the young noble, "Have you told him about what had happened the last time that he was in Honoo?" Sakura looked at the guard, "He doesn't yet need to know. There isn't any Menschilche technology within Honoo anymore, so I doubt we will need to worry about him becoming agitated." The guard nodded and Sakura looked at her son, "Someday, I'll tell him what had happened that day, but... not today." Sakura remembered what had happened... she didn't like the fact that it revolved around her husband, but she had accepted that would be the case when she had married him. The guard looked at her, "Something is troubling you, Lady Sakura." Sakura nodded, "Yes, I sometimes wonder if history will repeat itself."

Suddenly there was a knock at the carriage door and Yoshiro jolted awake. He wiped off his shirt and shook his head, "I drooled a little in my sleep." Sakura smiled softly, "Well, that's what happens when you sleep like that, my son." The carriage door was opened and a Honoo royal guardsman stepped in, "Sorry for the intrusion, but his highness wanted the young nobleman to come to his throne room directly." Yoshiro looked around and the royal guardsman shook his head, "There aren't any other nobles around your age, young one. What's your name?" Yoshiro looked down, "Y-Yoshiro, sir." The royal guardsman nodded, "My name is Kenshin. You can trust me." Yoshiro looked at Sakura, who nodded, "I'll be there when His Highness finishes his business with you." Yoshiro nodded, he trusted his mother. Kenshin stepped out of the carriage and Yoshiro followed suit.

He was rather nervous as he looked around. The sound of the carriage door closing behind him startled him and he turned around. Kenshin laughed heartily, "His Highness had been expecting this day to come for a while now, young one." Yoshiro looked around, confused and nervous. He had never been to a castle like this, at least as far as he could remember. Kenshin smiled slightly, "Don't worry, everyone gets overwhelmed the first time that they come here. Even the heirs to noble families. Yoshiro nodded and followed Kenshin closely as he walked towards the castle gate, "I'm sure you will enjoy meeting His Highness. The King and Queen of our people are wonderful. It is truly an honor to serve them." Yoshiro didn't bother saying a single word to Kenshin, he was quite nervous and visibly so. Kenshin looked back at him, "If I didn't know you were nervous, I'd have mistaken you for being rude."

Yoshiro nodded and opened his mouth, but nothing came out. Words that he wanted to say formed inside of his head, but they wouldn't come out of his mouth. Kenshin noticed this and smiled softly, "You're shy, I can easily see that, young one. You don't need to be nervous around the royal family, they're all really good people." Yoshiro nodded, he couldn't bring himself to speak. Kenshin led him to a set of double doors, "Behind these doors are the king and queen of the castle. You should have been told what to do by your mother." Yoshiro had been trained for meeting the royal family, this was completely true, but he still couldn't help the fact that he was extremely nervous. Kenshin opened the door and Yoshiro breathed in, he tried to stand straight up, but as he took his first step into the throne room, his legs betrayed him.

Yoshiro hit the floor of the throne room, he was a bit shaken up, but no worse for wear. One of the guards walked over to him, but he shook his head. He picked himself off the floor and dusted himself off. He was extremely nervous and it showed by the fact that he was taking exceptional care to make sure that he had dusted himself off completely. There was the sound of a throat clearing at the end of the throne room. Yoshiro's attention snapped to the person who cleared his throat. He immediately stopped what he was doing and bowed where he was. The person shook his head, "Most people bow to me at the foot of my throne, not the door." Yoshiro rose and scrambled to the throne, bowing to the figure in the throne. He dared not to speak a single word.

The King leaned his head on his fist and chuckled, "When Sakura told me about you, I didn't quite imagine that you'd be like this. What is your name, young lordling?" Yoshiro didn't raise his head, "Y-Y-Y-Yoshiro, m-m-m-my l-l-lord." The King shook his head, "There is no need to be nervous, young one. You may rise." Yoshiro rose to his feet, but averted his eyes. The King folded his arms, "Now, if I can't look you in the eye, how will we have a proper conversation?" Yoshiro looked back at the King, "I apologize, milord." The King nodded, "Do you know my name?" Yoshiro shook his head, "Mother never told me. I... honestly spent my life in the manor that we live in." The King frowned and the Queen spoke up, "Do you know why this is?" Yoshiro shook his head, "I don't know entirely why."

The two royals looked at each other, it had been so long since the incident had happened, but they also knew that Sakura would want to tell her son at a time that she deemed appropriate. The Queen looked at him, "I am Queen Chiasa of the Kitsune Kingdom." The King nodded, "I am King Satoru of the Kitsune Kingdom. Yoshiro Sano, you have come here to be recognized as the heir to the Sano family, yet you have very little if any knowledge of the outside world. Do you have any knowledge of tactics?" Yoshiro shook his head, "Military stuff never interested me." Satoru nodded, "Knowing who your mother is... can you permit me one thing?" Yoshiro nodded, "You are my liege, I do not believe that I have a choice in the matter." Satoru shook his head, "Feel free to tell me no, if you are not comfortable with doing something."

Satoru motioned to a guard, "Get a couple of training swords." The guard nodded and Satoru turned back towards Yoshiro, "Will you permit me to spar with you, Sakura is the greatest swordswoman I have ever had the pleasure of crossing blades with. I wish to see how her son fares." Yoshiro had never been in a real fight before, but he nodded nervously. The guard returned with two training swords, Satoru took one of them and the other was handed to Yoshiro. Yoshiro looked at the training sword and immediately his fingers wrapped around the hilt. He lifted it and inspected the quality of the training weapon, getting used to the weight. He swung it around slowly a few times to get used to how it feels. Satoru laughed, "You really are your mother's son, but tell me, do you have her stance?" Yoshiro entered his own stance, "I lack the skill of my mother."

Satoru nodded slightly, "Well, this is a friendly sparring match. I just want to see if you are truly the heir to the Sano family." Satoru stood up from his throne and immediately lunged at Yoshiro. Yoshiro wasn't quite anticipating such a move and only just managed to move out of the way before the training sword reached him. His body quickly reacted as if he was sparring with his mother and he swung the sword, a little too hard, causing it to hit Satoru in the back of the neck. Satoru stumbled forward and the guards all looked at him, hands on their weapons. Yoshiro looked around, confused, he had no idea what he just did wrong, but Satoru stood up, "That was a rather impressive attack. You even went for a blow like that... you are Sakura's son, alright."

Satoru made a motion and everyone relaxed, "You reacted on instinct. I had no intention to actually spar with you as that would be unfair. You have spent most of your life training with the sword. I however tend to ride into battle on the back of a Paard, carrying a polearm. I would stand little chance against you." Yoshiro looked at the training weapon, "So the entire point of it was for me to react on instinct to protect myself?" Satoru nodded slightly, "Of course. If I really wanted you to spar with someone, I could've called in my champion. A man who trained alongside Sakura and is considered the greatest swordsman in all the land." Yoshiro was curious about this, but knew that it wasn't his business, "My liege, why did you call me here?" Satoru smiled slightly, "Simple, if you are to be the heir to the Sano family, you must know my castle and the staff."
Been around this forum for over 8 years now. Everyone I've known has left, now it's my time to do the same.

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