CHIEF

Parental Guidance 18+

The rumbling roar of thunder hides the loud moan that filled the vast room. And the still darkness concealed the shadows of two killers fighting their earthly passion. The soft thick futon that covered the tatami floors cluttered erratically below the bestial motions of the bare man on his knees. Sweaty. Vigorous. Satisfying.

The woman on all fours cried in delight. With every deep strike on her torso that compelled her to stride in the rhythm of their vicious lust. She clawed, she bit, she licked every inch of the man. Worshipping every scar that embodies his strength. 

The garish howl that came out of his mouth when he reached his peak echoed through the wooden walls and ceilings. His crimson irises rolled forcefully into his eyelids reaching for the sight of paradise as a hanyo (half-demon) like him would never catch a glimpse.

The heaven bestowed flashing lightning to strike down the filthy earth. And a holy arrow darting down from high above the dark stormy clouds aimed beautifully at the heart of the demon spawn. The unclad woman underneath him was impaled by the pointer that passed through the fair muscles of the hanyo. Alive, she wailed in pain but was ignored. Slowly losing her rosy essence on the tatami floors. 

Before the last whiff of air blew out of her mouth, she wrote the name of their killer in kanji with her blood. But the overflowing thick crimson liquid flooded the word away, never to be caught by any eyes again.

Silent footsteps came rushing through the wooden floor of the hallway where the sliding door of the chief's room laid. A man clad in black tsumugi (male kimono) bent both of his knees down the floor and bowed his head in front of the door.

"Takayori-sama, forgive my intrusion. But the Takeda Clan's emissary awaits for your word at the gathering hall." The old man's ringing voice clearly announced his message.

But the apparent silence from the other side of the room was its only response to the courier.

"Takayori-sama???" The man with thin gray hair and a thick black mustache above his lips recited the chief's name once more.

The stillness of the tatamis on the floor appeared suspicious with the long pause. The servant's eyes narrowed when he lifted his head and moved his hand to reach for the door.

He hastily slid the door fully open, making a loud sound when the wood hit the other end. The dim wide space stink of iron and burned flesh. When the lightning struck the muddy ground once more, the bright flash illuminated the room and revealed the naked corpse of his master.

"Takayori-sama???" The broad eyes of the messenger trembled at the sight of death.

His master's rigid body rested above the mistress's bloody carcass. The iron arrow that pierced the chief's heart still glows hot red in the dark. He quietly stepped towards the blazing pointer and when he touched it, he felt prickling pain after burning his finger.

"Ohara-san???" A young man in black hakama emerges from outside the door.

His eyes opened large staring at the corpse of their village master.

"Seiichi-kun!!! Tell the Takeda emissary that Rokkaku-sama left and he will meet him at the next full moon," Ohara ordered the young man with a soft voice almost mumbling the words yet his tone was clear to discern.

"B-But…b-but... Ohara-san???" Seiichi Saito stuttered as his quivering body sensed the fear of an imminent war against the families of the village.

"Do what I say Seiichi-kun!!!" Ohara strongly urged the young man to do his bidding, "No one else, other than the Shingeno families in this village must know about this," The old man's eyes fiercely stared at the young servant.

Seiichi bowed his head and hurriedly sprinted back, scrambling on his feet to reach the gathering hall fast.

Ohara turned his head and studied the rigid body of the village hero. He examined every angle where the arrow could have passed through the castle that killed his master.

'Did an assassin from outside the village do this? Or someone close to Takayori-sama?' Ohara asked himself.

Takayori Rokkaku would have evaded a simple attack like this in any weather. The chief had skills more than any shinobi could do. Born from a demon womb, Takayori had a heightened sense of smell that could reach the mountains and body agility as a wind. His extraordinary regeneration helped him greatly in battle at the Kannonji Castle siege.

With this kind of strike, the assassin could be a demon slayer from the shinobi clan at Iga province from the north. Only they have the skill and information to kill a demon. 

While the Koka shinobi clan uses dark arts in their ninjutsu, the Iga use balance in elements of nature. They were protectors of holy relics from the goddess Amaterasu, one could even say that the arrow that penetrated through the heart of their hanyo leader came from the deity herself.

"Only a fool will kill a hero," Ohara muttered in the air while examining the two bodies laid in their blood, gleaming like black paint in the dark.

Meanwhile, Seiichiro gasped for air when he reached the hall of the Konninji castle. The Takeda clan emissary humbly sits on the floor holding a porcelain cup while a female servant carefully pours "sake" for him to take a sip on.

Seiichiro bent both of his knees and bowed his head on the floor before greeting the emissary, "Kawashima-san…"

The emissary slightly leaned his head down to accept the young servant's humble greeting. Then took a slight drink of the sweet sake from the cup before raising his question, "Where is Rokkaku-sama?'

"The master is not well right now… I-I… I-I m-mean… H-He's indisposed right now." Seiichiro looked away from the visitor's stare, his forehead beginning to sweat against the cold air from the stormy evening.

Kawashima glared at the clear fermented drink on his porcelain cup."You mean your master is eating another pussy right now???"

"That's vulgar!!!" The servant suddenly exclaimed, his cheeks redden from the image of a woman that passed by his thoughts.

The emissary gulped after taking a great amount of sake from the cup. The alcohol warmed his guts and he became more confident with his words, "What's vulgar is your master sleeping with all the women in this village and your council let him."

Seiichi felt silent from the directness of the samurai. His face frowned from the truth of his words that no one dared to oppose.

"Tsk!" The emissary sneered and turned to the young lady holding a bottle of their best sake. The servant gracefully poured the wine from its porcelain container to his small rimmed cup called choko.

A man in black kimono stepped towards them. He bowed his head low on the tatami floors before stating his message.

"Kawashima-kun, I'm sorry for waiting for Rokkaku-sama." Ohara gracefully said while he sat opposite the emissary, "We received a message that one of his wives is in labor and he needs to be there to protect his child."

"Is that so, Ohara-san?" Kawashima retorted, rubbing his fingers at his thin beard on his chin.

"Yes, Kawashima-kun." Ohara nodded and forced a smile on his face as a reply to the samurai warrior sent by a shogunate clan.

Nabuyuki handed the choko to the female servant and bowed his head. "Please tell Rokkaku-sama my deepest wishes for a fortunate delivery of his new child. And tell him I will be back for his answer on the next full moon."

"I will. Thank you Kawashima-san." Ohara leaned his head down to show gratitude for the fair intentions of the emissary.

Nabuyuki bowed for the last time as a farewell to Rokkaku's high servant before reaching for his katana resting beside him on the floor. He stood up from his spot and fixed the "fukaamigasa" on his head and wore his "mino" around his shoulder.

He headed towards the door of the castle with a notion that a set of eyes watches his every move. Not daring to show any defying action, he walked through the heavy rain outside the castle. When he reached the pathway down to the humble houses that surround the palace, he turned his head to glance at the massive structure once more.

"Their chief is dead." He concluded from the phony smile and apprehensions from the two servants of the Rokkaku family.

He veered around and began to stride hurriedly towards the direction of a small cottage where one of Rokkaku's offspring lives. His life will be in danger if he doesn't seek protection from one of them.

The streets of Koka village will soon be filled with blóod fighting for the position of the next leader and the child he's going to meet is more likely to achieve it.

π - π - π - π

[REFERENCES]

*Hanyō - (half-demon) are supernatural beings that are a hybrid between human and demon. Hanyō is usually the child of a demon and a human, though humans can be transformed into hanyō.

*Amaterasu - is the Japanese sun goddess, daughter of creator deities Izanagi and Izanami, and central to the Shinto religion. It is from her the Japanese nobility claims descent and their divine right to rule.

*Sake - is an alcoholic drink made from fermented rice.

*Choko - small porcelain cup used for drinking sake

*Fukaamigasa ­– is a straw hat shaped like a bowl with a flattened top. The tip of the hat looks like a small tied-up tail. It is used by samurai in feudal times.

*Mino - is a traditional Japanese garment, a raincoat made out of straw. Traditional mino is an article of outerwear covering the entire body, although shorter ones resembling grass skirts were also used to cover the upper body.