The Black Lotus Katana

(16 years and 2 months after reincarnation)

[Takina's POV]

"-I want the Severance blade, it is what I came here for."

"You want my sword huh?..." The old man make a troubled face as he scratches his chin.

"I can't have it?"

"No, sorry... I don't have the sword, I gave it out to an old friend of mine."

"An old friend?"

"Indeed. The Severance blade is a powerful sword capable of a multitude of feats, but it's most prominent power is it's ability to cut through almost anything. Such a blade would be too dangerous to be left lying around the castle like a broom, don't you think?"

"Yes...."

"For that reason, I gave it to an old friend of mine for safe keeping. He none other r than Takeda Shingen, the Daimyo of the Takeda clan to the south east."

"So the katana is now at the Takeda clan?..."

"Indeed. However, I don't think it'd be wise to just walk right up to the Takeda clan and ask them to give you the katana. There is a reason I sent it out to him for safe keeping after all."

"Then what should I do?..."

"First off, even if I have the sword I will not hand it out to just anyone else. Tell me, why do you seek the Severance blade?"

"....I have my reasons, but it is not one that should be shared with anyone."

"Then keep your secrets, I won't help you find the blade."

"No wait...!" I'd prefer to keep quiet about my goal here but I guess I have no choice huh?...

"...I'll say it, but I'd prefer to only share it with you."

"I see. Genji, can you leave us here?"

The young man who is watching our conversation nodded his head, an then exited the room quietly.

"So, what's your secret?"

"...I need the katana to severe a dragon from my body, I am a Dragonkin."

"A dragon huh? As the prophecy has predicted, humans with the power of a dragon will one day be born amongst humans. To see a Dragonkin with my own eyes...." He said as he stared at me once again.

"....Please don't stare too much. My soul is merging with the dragon soul and influencing my entire being, if I am merged with the thousand year old dragon inside I'll be a completely different person altogether."

"In other words, you'll die...."

"Exactly.... I wouldn't have barged in and demanded such a thing if it weren't for this situation."

"....Is it so bad though?"

"What do you mean?"

"The fusion of your soul... How do you know you will be erased when it happens? What if nothing will actually happen and you are just over thinking it?"

"....You don't know what you are talking about. You don't even know how it feels to sense the immense hatred to destroy humanity, and you don't know how out of control I feel when it happens...."

"I see.... It was inconsiderate of me to say that, sorry."

"....Its alright."

"But regardless, while your motivation for seeking the blade might be justified, why do you think the blade can seperate the dragon from yourself anyway?"

"But I've heard that it can?..."

"Perhaps.... however it is extremely difficult to seperate the soul itself. Cutting it out of your body or killing an immortal undead with it is easy, but splitting off chunks of your soul is another story entirely."

"I... I'll see what I can do when I got the blade."

"And even after you have gotten the blade, what are you going to do then? Stab yourself with it?"

"....I will seek out Amaterasu-sama, the Sun Goddess who will guide me through this."

"The help of the divines huh?... Very well, I shall assist you in finding the blade by contacting Takeda Shingen himself."

"Really? You seemed so against it I thought you weren't going to go along."

"I have my reasons as well, Takina. However, it is on one condition...."

"What is it?"

"You have to work under me and serve me as your lord for at least 2 years."

I'd rather not work under anyone, especially a sketchy lord like this old man who is oddly fond of me.... But it's not like I have a choice.

Even if I went to see his friend, I don't think they'll treat an outsider like me so well. Kenshin is already doing me a favor since he has the connections to find the katana. Network is important in anywhere after all.

But still, I have one more question.

"Why me?"

"I want you to become an apprentice of mine. It's a gut feeling of mine but... I see a certain aura in you that takes my interest."

"I see.... You are just like Lynn, who became my mentor for the same reason."

"Lynn? What do you know about the Magic Pioneer?"

"She was my mentor, and she is the one to tell me to find you for the sword.... 'Remember what happened at the Pacific Ocean during the Great War' is what she said."

"The Pacific Ocean, yes.... I owe her a favor there, and you being sent here must be a way of her telling me to pay her back."

"May I ask what happened at the Pacific Ocean?"

"It is a long story but.... she once saved me from the supreme demon lord Baal."

"I see...."

"That being said, can you use magic? If you are the apprentice of the Magic Pioneer then surely you will be extremely powerful and well versed in the arts of sorcery right?"

"I do have many knowledge in terms of magic, but sadly my ability to use magic was sealed away alongside my soul.... It was to protect and delay the mergence of our souls, it's inevitable."

It is still extremely inconvenient to not be able to use any magic, I am probably 25% as strong as my past self...

"I see.... So what is your reply to my offer? If you become my apprentice and my personal bodyguard, in two years time I will find the blade for you. Do you accept?"

"I do."

If he wanted anything else, I would've declined. However, he didn't wanted me to do much at all besides just guarding him and becoming his apprentice. I sense no hostility of ulterior motives in him.

Besides, he was a sword pioneer... If I became his apprentice I'd be able to personally learn from him.

"Very well. It is a pleasure to have you as my personal bodyguard, Takina- cough cough!..."

Kenshin coughed out extremely strongly.... He seems to be in pain.

"Cough!... Cough!..."

"Are you... alright?"

"Hah... This is nothing for you to worry about...."

"I see...."

"In any case.... your reward for helping the Tengu Village will be a permanent stay in the Shibata Castle until you stop working here."

"That is a very generous reward.... Thank you, Kenshin-sama."

"There's no need to thank me, you earned it. I want you to work for me starting at tomorrow, but the more important thing now is to give you a tour of this castle as well as a place to stay in. In that case, come with me."

He stood up from his place, and walked out of the room. I followed him and continued to the next room....

Kenshin knocked on the opened door as he walked in. On top of the room, I can see a sign that reads "Medicine Room" in kanji, this is a doctor's room.

Heading inside, I could see countless drawers and shelfs arranged at the wall, which that stores medicines. In the middle of the small room is a desk full of instruments that are making and brewing potions, similar to the one that Mom used to have.

In a way, this room resembled mom's alchemy work station.

Standing behind the desk working is a young lady with long black hair and dressed in a beautiful yukata.

"Oji-sama, I told you that you need to rest now.... You just came back from your travels-"

Kenshin just came back from his travel?...

"Enna, are you free for the moment?" Trying to change the subject, Kenshin interrupted her.

"Yes.... Who's that?" The black haired lady said as she look at me.

"This lady is Fujiwara Takina, from now on she will work as my bodyguard. Take her on a tour around the castle and get a maid to arrange a room for her.... Only then will I do as you say and rest in my room."

"Right, you better do what you promises." The young lady put down her things, then came over and took me by my arm. A very bold move.

"H-hey"

"Come with me."

She dragged me off to the hallways, leaving behind the old man in her medicine room.... She peeked backwards to make sure Kenshin didn't follow us, and then spoke to me.

"Can you please just don't try anything weird with my grand father? He's old, and he is sick, he doesn't need or want a mistress!"

"H-huh? Why would I want to get in a relationship with him?!"

"Why else would you be working as his personal bodyguard then? You are trying to con him into accepting you into his family and strike it rich."

"No seriously.... I am here for something else entirely, please don't disrespect my chastity like that!"

I mean it.... I am not that kind of woman, and I value my body a lot. I feel personally attacked when she think I'm some sort of whore like that.

"....I'll take your word for it but I'll be watching you."

"Don't speak as if you are older than me.... you are so disrespectful even though we are about the same age."

"I apologize for my rudeness earlier.... I only assumed the worst thing about you and frankly, I don't trust travellers that frequently visit this castle."

"Sigh.... We've left a bad first impression on each other, how about we take back our words and start all over again? I am Kirie-"

Opps, I forgot that I have a new name now.

"Ahem... I am Fujiwara Takina, I will be working with Kenshin-sama from now."

"I see. I am Shibata Enna, personal doctor to Oji-sama. Since he personally ordered it, I will give you a tour around the castle. Before we get started, do you have any questions?"

"I do actually.... I've been wondering, are you Genji's sister?"

I noticed that she has the same family name as Genji. Besides, Genji also calls Kenshin 'Oji-sama' which means that he is probably Kenshin's grandson.

"Indeed I am. I am Genji's little sister, we are related by blood and by name."

"I see... That answers all of my questions."

"It seems that you are acquainted with aniue, so I don't need to tell you that he's the retainer of the clan.... If you have any more questions then feel free to ask, for now let us get started on this tour."

______________

(Half an hour later....)

She led me around the entire castle, visiting most of the major facilities. It seems that most of the places in the inner castle is made for residence and quality of life because this building is used for housing.

"-This is the bath area, though there is only hot water during 6 to 10 p.m. at night. Any more questions?"

"No."

"Good."

As we continued on doing our thing, time flows by like the waterfall and we even started to talk to each other more without being awkward to each other.

"-You speak such fluent Japanese, are you perhaps acquainted with a japanese person?"

"Well, sort of.... I practised a lot using books." Of course, I am lying. The reason I can speak it so well is because I am an other worlder, but no one should know it for now.

"I see... You are quite the unusual one, a foreigner serving in a japanese castle and fitting in like normal despite standing out and having a different skin color."

"I hope you won't judge me just because I'm white...."

"No, obviously not.... At least in the Uesugi Clan, we are quite fond and welcoming to foreigners be them Chinese or Indian. You are obviously no exception, we treat everyone fairly."

"Thank you.... I was actually nervous that you'd not accept me just because of that reason."

"Don't worry about that. However if you want to feel more reassured and less anxious about 'fitting in', then we need to do something about your outfit."

"What's wrong with my clothes?"

"You'd stand out a lot wearing these kind of clothes here. While your skirt and your buttoned shirt looks nice, they are very clearly fashion from outside of this land. If you want to fit in here, you will have to wear the local clothing."

"Which means I'll have to buy a few casual yukatas and then a formal kimono huh?...."

"Correct, you are rather knowledgeable about japanese fashion as well. I can pick for you, and this castle's tailor is a very skilled one. Let me take you there and help you choose!"

"Hah?... You just want to dress me up for fun right?"

"Come on, what's the harm in doing so? Let a me, a local pick for you!"

"Sigh, if you insists...."

Somehow, I was forced into changing my attire by this girl who seems oddly fond of dressing me up like I'm a model.

She picked a few comfortable yukatas in vibrant color for me. Though the cost is lower than expected, these clothes still cost a lot. As she was picking....

"Takina-san, you are a swordswoman right? You'll be practising with Oji-sama and maybe even fighting against enemies for him."

"Mm hmm. He did say he wants to train me."

"I see.... Then how about this specifically designed short kimono?"

She says as she picked out a black colored kimono with red flower decorations on it. It's most odd feature is that it's unusually short for a kimono, reaching roughly at knee length.

"Hmm? Isn't this a bit too revealing for a kimono?"

"No it isn't. Many women warriors and even kunoichis prefer to wear these shorter robes for ease of movement, and it's suitable for formal wear as well. Perfect for someone with well toned legs like you."

"Is that so?..."

It does look good on me, but I'm quite unsure whether or not to actually pick this for my formal clothing.... Ah well, I'll trust in her words. "I'll have that one."

"Good. Shall I show you how to put on one?"

"Please.... I actually don't know how to wear a kimono."

After all, back on earth only the girls would choose to dress up in traditional clothings while boys just couldn't care less about it.

____________

(Later....)

(6:51 p.m.)

After my long time spent exploring the castle, I was tired. To help me with my dressing and as a way to rest for herself as well, she took a bath with me inside the clean and massive bathhouse of the castle.

Once we were done, we headed out of the bathhouse with me in my newly purchased kimono.... One that is made for ease of movement.

"....Does it is really alright for me to wear this?" I said to Enna as I walked out of the bathhouse's door.

"It is, you worry too much."

"Hmm...."

"Since it's your first day here and oji-sama seems to be alright, how about I take you out for dinner as well? As a way to apologize to you for my rude behavior, I'll treat you to this meal."

"Oh? Now we are talking!"

"Good. Let us head to the dining hall then."

"Where is it?"

"It's at the outer castle, one of the tower is built specifically for this."

__________________

(10 minutes later...)

(Outer Castle, Dining Hall)

We walked to one of the four outer towers, which is in reality a large dining hall meant for the samurais and nobles that lives here. Common folks can enter as well, and the entire place is swarmimg with people.

"Wow...." The entire dining hall is decorated nicely with lots of vibrant colors, carvings and lanterns, giving off a sense of grace.

"Welcome young lady and Enna-dono. How many person will be dining tonight?" A beautiful maid talked with us.

"A table for two please."

"Very well, follow me."

We were led deeper into the crowded dining hall and to a small ground leveled dining table. Two pillows are on the opposite site of the table, we are supposed to sit seiza styled here.

"What will your orders be?"

"Let's see.... Takina-san, do you have anything you want to eat?"

"Not really...."

"Then I'll decide. Two sets of soy sauce fish with miso soup, and a pot of green tea."

"Got it. Please enjoy your dinner."

"Thank you." (2x)

I remained in silence as I observed the dining hall. One peek at the bustling place made me caught glance at Genji, sitting at one of the tables alongside a few other person.

"Hmm...?"

"It seems that aniue is here as well."

Looking at Genji from a distance like this, I can clearly see his face now. He has sharp features and neck length black hair. His body is slim but muscular, and he seems quite attractive. "Hmm...."

"....Don't eye my brother like that."

"Sorry, but I was just taking a closer look at him since I never clearly saw him at all."

At the end of the hall is a small stage... No one is performing on it right now, but it seems that there would be shows to see there.

"Is this your first time attending a castle banquet like this, Takina-san?"

"I have been to a few banquets before back then.... It's just my first time in a Japanese styled one."

"I see... Are you perhaps a noble of a distant country?"

"Not exactly one, but I do have the bloodline of a noble household."

I am a daughter of the Barret family, which means I am technically a noble lady.... Not that I care about becoming a nobility though.

"What about you, Enna-san? Are you a noble of the Uesugi Clan as well?"

"Yes and no... You see, my brother and I are orphans adopted by Oji-sama. Our parents are nobles and they originally owned this castle, but they died during the civil war almost ten years ago."

"Sorry..."

"It's fine, I was really young at the time anyway... So young in fact I don't even remember my real parent's faces."

"I see... I can't relate, too bad."

Thomas's death hits me extremely hard.... I can't imagine being this apathetic about the death of one's parent, but I guess this is a side effect of it happening so early in one's childhood huh?

"However, I never forgot the lost of lives that happened in the war. I vowed to become a doctor just to prevent that..."

"I see...."

"The food is here." One of the maids interrupted our conversation as she put down a tray of dishes and rice on the table.

____________

(20 minutes later....)

After we had finished eating, we chatted a bit more while we sipped tea. Suddenly, the lights started to dim, someone had put out the lights.

"The light has darkened?..."

"The sword dancers are about to perform."

"The sword dancers?"

"It's a traditional dance around here... Explaining it is difficult, so you have to observe them yourself."

I looked to the stage, where the lights are blaring at full brightness to create a spotlight effect. 5 beautiful women dressed in miko (shrine maiden) robes walked on stage, with many instruments in hand, from fans to paper umbrellas. But all of them has katanas sheathed to their waist, and wore white colored full face fox masks.

"Hmm...."

"They carry swords even though they are women, and they also has colorful hairs that they dyed with. In some ways they resemble you, Takina-san."

"My hair is natural though...."

What's diffirent about these girl's clothes from actual mikos is that they arent wearing hakamas on their lower body.... Instead, they have shorter knee length skirts.

All of them has katanas that lacked a tsuba (guard), similar to my custom katana.

"The dance is about to begin.... It's a favorite of most of the folks here."

"Is it really that impressive?"

"Indeed, you only have to watch it yourself."

The performance begins with the start of the music, sounds traditional japanese instruments came from the back of the stage.

Once the music begun, no one in the large dining hall talked, it is as silent as a cinema.

Flailing their instruments around, the dancers twirled and spinned with graceful movements, matching the gentle nature of the music that plays on the background.... The entire dance itself is so beautiful that it's breath-taking, my eyes are completely drawn to the performance on the stage.

After about a few minutes, the performance ended with the five dancers on stage giving a bow before exiting the stage.

'Applause!' The entire hall erupted into a cheer as their performance finished.

"That was impressive..." I said out, still in awe of the show just now.

"Indeed. This is a traditional dance of this city.... Niigata is famous for it's performers and artists after all."

"So this is a vital part of your culture huh?"

"Correct. Dances like this help preserve our cultural identity and prevent them from being lost to time.... I guess mow that the show's over, let us leave and head back to the inner castle."

"Okay." I said as I picked up my handbag and got up from my seat....

"Wait, lady!" The voice of a woman yelled out from behind me.

"Huh? Me?" I said as turned around.... One of the dancers on the stage had ran up to me.

She has long dark purple colored hair and is slightly taller than me. Dressed in her dancer's clothes, she really stand out amongst the crowd.

"Yes.... Can you please come here for a moment? I'd want to speak with you."

"Okay....?" I said as I look back to Enna behind me.

"I'll head back first, goodbye Takina-san."

"You too Enna-san."

"Come.... To the back stage."

I followed her deeper into the dining hall.... On the way, I could see that countless other people were looking at us since we are drawing a lot of attention.

We reached the backstage, where I can see the other four performers just now and three other person playing their musical instruments.

"What's wrong bringing me all the way here?..."

"Lady, what is your name?"

"I am Ki- I mean, I am Fujiwara Takina."

"Just to make sure, you are a foreigner right?"

"Mmm.... Yes I am."

The woman looked to the back and nodded to the people behind.

"Takina-chan... Are you interested in joining the blade dancers?"

"Eh?" Me...? Blade Dancers...?

(Chapter end)