• Muromachi Era – 1500 AD – Before the Sengoku Jidai

    I held the scythe in one hand and a couple of sacks in the other. My forehead was dripping with sweat as the sun was beaming down on me. The day was warm and the air was moist and sticky. It was a bad day for harvesting the crops but someone had to do it. I hardened my hold on the scythe and with six swift slices I had filled up the sacks, now laying on my shoulders feeling like they weighed a tonne each. From the farm I had to carry the boulder-like bags of rice, pressing down on my aching shoulders, all the way to the granary which was 5km in the outskirts of my quiet town, Nagoya - Japan.
    As I slowly walked down the dusty road, I felt a gust of cool spring wind flew by, allaying the burning heat inside me. As I was travelling, I noticed the rice fields surrounding my own. Some unharvested rice lay in them like small trees bowing to the wind's howl. The thick forests lay beyond the fields, full of trees covered with blooming flowers and leaves with small creatures inhabiting them. I heard birds singing from the forest, then, gazing up, I noticed more of them soaring freely like the wind, the grey clouds hovering in the clear blue sky above. I looked back down to the rice fields and what I saw was the most heavenly person on Earth. Her name was Sakura Kaoru, the woman who I've longed for all my life. Her beauty is unrivalled by anything or anyone in existence. She had long, black, silky hair flowing down like waterfalls dyed with black, which highlighter her beautiful blue eyes that seemed like two clear crystal pools of the sea. Her body was shaped like perfectly like an hourglass. I smiled at her and she smiled back. It might not have meant anything to her, but it meant a great deal to me.

    Suddenly I remembered that I had to reach the granary before it closed. I panicked and tried to run as fast as I could. Not noticing the clump of rocks that lay before me, I stumbled over them, flinging the sacks of rice into the air. I hit the ground violently. The sacks of rice soon followed and smacked me on the head, causing me great pain and making me black out for a couple of seconds. The insides of my head were spinning, my vision was hazy and my body was aching. As I looked up, I found myself staring into a big dark figure, uncertain of who or what it was. It looked like it had a head, so I assumed it was human.
    'Are you alright Takezo?' said the dark figure.
    'I'll survive,' I replied. With my vision returning to normal, the dark figure slowly came into focus as my best friend, Takahashi Yahiko.
    'You see, this is what happens if you day dream while walking!' Yahiko remarked, mockingly.
    'Shut up!' I angrily replied. 'Its not my fault that the road isn't smooth!'
    'Forget about it,' he said. He reached out his right hand and pulled me back on my feet. Then he smiled at me strangely and picked up one of the sacks of rice.
    'The granary will close soon. You'd better hurry if you want to be paid,'
    'Thank you for helping me, Yahiko,'
    'No problem! Hey, I'll race you there. He he he..'
    'Sure! I just hope you wont lose to me that badly,' I said, preparing for the run.
    'Me, Lose to you?! Never!' he shouted back, boastfully.

    A bush warbler called its spring song and a cuckoo replied from deep in the forest. I always played games with Yahiko - since we were the best of friends - even if we were both “old” now. Even when we were kids, we would challenge each other. We would always try to see who can throw a rock the furthest or who could jump the tallest boulders. This was probably what a life of a peasant or farmer is meant to be. Our lives were peaceful and we were always working hard in the fields. We obey the Daimiyo - the King, and his samurai. What they demand, we always provide. What we were taught by our elders was to follow our own destiny. The Daimiyo as the head of the clan and the samurai who obey the king are always our superiors, as a farmer that is my destiny.

    After our race, we dropped the sacks of rice in the granary and sat down on the gleaming green grass shrouded from the sun by the flowering kousa dogwood tree. Then I heard a faint ringing sound coming from the distance, behind the hills.
    'What was that?' I asked. The ringing sound came again.
    'I think its the town bell but I'm not sure,' Murahi said, coming out of the granary.
    'Oh, hi Murahi. How have you been?' I queried. Murahi is a close friend of mine, not as close as Yahiko, but very close nonetheless.
    'Hi. I'm doing fine. I just dropped off my last bags of rice.' The sound of the bell rang out again.
    'This might be something important if they keep ringing the bell that long,' Yahiko stated.
    'We'd better get going then. I wouldn't want to miss the news!' I said with increasing curiosity.

    When we arrived at Nagoya's town square, it was packed full of people. Peasants, samurai, scholars and even nobles were there. Most of them were richer than I was. The nobles were dressed in fine robes, made of expensive silk. Their clothing was embroidered with all sorts of drawings and expensive materials. To top it off, they all had golden jewellery. Most of the jewellery had jade, rubies or sapphires. I was envious, but I couldn't do anything because I was poor.

    The town square was surrounded by fully grown, enormous maple and yew trees. The ground was covered with radiant and colourful tiles. The tiles depicted the story of a dragon from the east helping villagers create the town of Nagoya. At the far end of the square was a stage, beautifully decorated with the clan's symbol, the dragon made out of finely cut jade, and some orchids hanging down from the stands. Under the clan's symbol was also the name of our clan, Tokugawa.

    A man named Kudo Akemi, who was one of the Daimiyo's retainers, walked onto the stage. He was a nobleman, but he wore something completely different from the rest of his fellows, a red coated samurai armour. He was holding his helmet in his left hand while he held some type of parchment in the other. Both armour and helmet were dyed crimson and tainted with gold, onyx-coloured beads fixed on the areas with metal.
    'Today your Daimiyo, Lord Tokugawa Aizen, has just received sorrowful news' Akemi announced, woefully.
    'He received a telegram from the Daimiyo of the Mori clan. It stated that since we were allied with the Hojo clan, they had no choice but to declare war on our lands.' There was a moment of silence followed by loud murmurs and whispering.
    'Today, we shall begin the conscription of men over the age of twenty and under the age of fifty to join the ranks. Sign your names in the conscription area left of the stage. There will be no exceptions, 'he added.
    'Say your farewells to your loved ones. We shall send the troops to battle and to repel the incoming Mori clan's army from the East. We will leave two days from now.'
    With those last words, he left the stage, leaving everyone shocked and horrified. Then I remembered about Kaoru, the woman that I loved! After I had signed my name to the conscription boards, I rushed to look for her among the crowds but she was nowhere to be seen. I will to find her, no matter the cost! I hastily galloped around town, in the rice fields, even in the wild forests, but I couldn't find her. I had lost all hope in finding her and, furthermore, I managed to lose my sense of direction in the thick dense forest.

    I tried to make my way back to town, but with no success. I was in the forest walking in circles for hours, but then I ventured into a cluster of cherry blossom trees. I didn't notice it before but someone was already here, looking at the trees. I walked closer and the person turned to me. I thought my eyes were deceiving me. Kaoru was standing under the biggest cherry tree, right in front of me. I walked up to her and held her hand. I looked into the mesmerising labyrinth of her eyes and I got lost in them.
    'Kaoru, I have something very important to tell you,' I said in a low voice.
    'What is it, Takezo?' she said. She had an angelic voice that hypnotized me.
    'I am going to leave in two days' time to join the army and fight but that isn't the reason that I wanted to talk to you.'
    'What did you want to talk to me about then?'
    I was getting really nervous when she asked that question.
    'Before I leave I want to tell you that I...' I choked and I couldn't talk. I was so nervous that it stopped me from saying one word.
    'You wanted to tell me what, Takezo?' she asked. I was still too nervous to speak but I had to try. I tried to forced my mouth to open with sheer willpower. It took a great deal of concentration, but I finally managed to talk again.
    'I love you, Kaoru. I always have and I always will,'I said, not believing that those words had come out of my mouth. She took my other hand and looked me straight in the eyes.
    'Takezo, I haven't always been truthful to you. The truth is I love you too.'
    My heartbeat started to increase. Blood was rushing to my face. The pink cherry blossoms started to fall from their branches and where carried by the wind. They were surrounding us with their radiant colours. They made the mood even more beautiful than it already was. I let go of her hands and embraced her tightly. Her body was so warm, and my heart was pounding hard just from touching her. I couldn't believe that I was holding her in my arms. I was so happy, but I wondered how long this happiness would last and it made me so sad that I wanted to cry. I caressed her rosy, soft cheeks and moved my lips close to hers. The moment that our scarlet lips touched, my body began to endlessly burn with desire. My heart began to beat ecstatically, like it wanted to brake out of my body. There was a moment of silence. As our lips moved away from each other, a small trail of saliva hung on between our lips. I moved closer to her.
    'I promise I will return and be united with you once more,' I whispered in her ear. She gazed at me. My eyes met hers passionately.
    'I will wait for you, even if you're gone for one hundred years, my heart will still belong to you,' she promised...