"What?!" Gwyn asked.
"We found him about 50 miles west of our border. It looks like he had a battle but the destruction is absurd it's like a meteor struck the earth" he told her.
Gwyn sped off to find her father. He couldn't be dead, he was the legendary Nobu Nato after all, strongest man in all Japan, they had to be mistaken. She was moving insanely fast and found the damaged area in no time. It's as if she could smell death around her, there was a an odour of blood, sweat and burnt flesh that sat lazily in the air. The ground looked black, it was burnt and had large webs of cracks all over it. All the trees nearby were decimated. It was eerily silent, all creatures great and small were nowhere to be seen. They had migrated, eager to leave behind the apocalyptic confrontation that spawned this disaster. There was a series of craters, scattered across the battlefield like stars across the night sky, in the largest one she saw her father. Tears flowed uncontrollably down her face, she rushed over to him. He was on his knees in a pool of blood with his Katana gripped firmly in his hand, his eyes were closed but his face wore a large smile.
'How could he be smiling at a time like this' she wept to herself.
He had multiple puncture wounds through his stomach, two large slashes along his chest and about ten arrows buried deep within his back. She fell on her knees and hugged him tightly.
"PAPA!!"
...
Days of mourning followed in the Nato clan, a large statue in his honour next to his grandfather's began construction immediately, a week after his death Nobu was laid to rest in a grand ceremony. Gwyn was absent, she locked herself in her room and refused to leave.
A few days later Gwyn Sat there going through her thoughts.
'Am I overreacting? He was 90, few men live to that age much less warriors who are always fighting'
She walked to her father's room and sat at his table.
'maybe I should let it go' she told herself.
"No! I can't! I can't!! I'll find whoever killed him and rip him apart slowly! I'll make sure he begs to die then when I'm satisfied I'll tear his throat out!" she said slamming her hand into the table repeatedly. A piece of paper rolled in the shape of a cylinder with a red string tied around it fell from beneath the table. Gwyn wiped her face, opened it and began to read through. It was from her father, it made it clear that she was chosen to be the new leader and outlined how it should be announced to their people, it also discussed how the rituals and ceremonies were supposed to be done in great detail.
"Did he expect to die or was he just being methodical and planning ahead?"
Gwyn went downstairs to drink some water and clear her mind, she saw her mother.
"oh, mom. Where's Nishi?" she asked
"He wishes to be left alone" she replied
Gwyn noticed that her mother was more dressed up than often, wearing a stylish purple kimono and large circular earrings
"Going somewhere mother?"
"I sent word to our ally clans. I'm meeting with their representatives soon, we must keep up relations until Nishi assumes the role of daimyo"
"... Nishi can't lead the clan" Gwyn barely squeezed out
"Excuse me?" she asked, that signature glare that everyone including Gwyn feared returned to her eyes.
"papa chose me"
"Did he now?" she chuckled, twirling the blonde strands of Gwyn's hair making her uncomfortable.
"Thats hilarious"
Gwyn took out the paper with her father's instructions and handed it to her mother. Hina was a taken aback by what she saw, her smile was slowly being morphed into an aggressive snarl the more she read. She quickly composed herself and looked up, she smiled again, this time not as genuine as before.
"Well, this is astonishing. Ming!" She called and one of her aids quickly appeared, he was bald and looked quite average.
"Call off the meeting. They can still come since their already on their way but we won't be discussing politics as I won't be available. Ensure their well taken care of and enjoy their stay, take them to a whorehouse and a nice restaurant. There's nothing men appreciate more than their stomachs packed full and their balls sucked empty with some fine sake to top it all off. " she added with a smile, as the servant went to do her bidding
"Why are you cancelling?" Gwyn asked
"Because, darling, you've been chosen to be your father's successor! It's wonderful isn't it? You'll be the first woman in that role. We simply must celebrate." Hina said
"Oh... So how big will this 'celebration' be? " Gwyn asked
"Quite small actually. Just the two of us, mother and daughter."
"That's... Odd." Gwyn responded slowly, it was the first time she heard her mother acknowledging her as her child.
Hina went closer to Gwyn and took her hands gently.
"I know I haven't been the best mother, but for what it's worth I'm sorry. I know it'll take some getting used to and I know your already grown up but please give me the chance to atone for my actions. I loved your father dearly, losing him brought me to my senses. He was a smart man and if he thinks you deserve a chance and your right for the role then I agree. I owe both of you at least that." She said softly.
Gwyn was speechless. Her mother apologising and accepting her? That was like a rock confessing it committed suicide. This was truly unexpected but she welcomed the opportunity.
"Of course mother, that would be amazing" she smiled. Her mother hugged her firmly, another first.
"Thank you, so I'm going to prepare a nice small meal for us. You can go on up to my room and wait for me."
Gwyn sat patiently awaiting her mother for the next 30 minutes. There was a gentle tap as the door slid open, Hina came in with two small cups of tea and a variety of small treats spread on a tray, she set it down before Gwyn, took a cup of tea and sipped.
"Dig in" she smiled at Gwyn.
They sat there eating in silence, occasionally speaking about the weather and the current state of affairs of the country and so forth.
Gwyn soon started to feel a bit nauseous, it could be seen on her face.
"Are you alright? " Hina asked with a concerned voice.
"Uh... I'm uh, fine." She barely got out. She stumbled to her feet and stood there wobbly, a single ill-timed motion and she would fall. She looked for her mother but couldn't see her, though she could hear her voice.
"Am I blind?!" She wondered, she found the answer herself however, she wasn't blind, she was facing away from her mother.
She couldn't think straight.
Gwyn turned around to see a Katana Swiftly approaching her face, she somehow managed to dodge.
Hina stood with a deranged look plastered all over her. A mixture of anger, disgust and delight resided on her face. She was angry that this disgusting daughter of hers was still alive, yet delighted as she would be able to end her in a more bloody, painful and violent fashion and no one was here to stop her.
"Woah... What's going on?" Gwyn asked, regaining a bit of control.
"That was all the poison in the armoury, it's used to kill entire armies, hundreds of men in minutes. It's poured into their water source, be it a river or pond it never fails. Yet all our supply was concentrated in your small cup of tea and your still able to move." Hina said
"But I'll put a stop to that soon!" She continued.
Gwyn finally realized what was happening. Her mother was trying to kill her.
"Mom please" she called out before dodging another attack.
"Shut up!"
"I'm sorry mother. I'm sorry I'm not what you wanted. I'm sorry I'm not a man. But don't you think you're taking this too far? It's been years now, my father accepted me, the people accepted me, you eventually had a son. It's over! Why can't you accept me too?" Gwyn cried
"You were a mistake" she replied as she kicked the table ahead slamming it into Gwyn's feet tripping her. Gwyn fell forward landing on the table breaking it, she laid there struggling to move
"You can still move which is impressive but your nowhere near your usual strength, your barely above average. I'll put an end to you here; ensuring Nishi gets leadership. A woman in that position could have some benefits I suppose, but our rivals would scoff at us if we put one in charge. They'd assume were getting soft and attack us, we aren't at our strongest at the moment either. Our best warriors are getting old, Nishi isn't at his best and Nobu is dead. He alone could scare off a challenge from multiple enemies. The sad truth is if a coordinated attack was mounted against us right now we'd lose. And if that happens it would be my fault, my fault for having you." She said as she walked around Gwyn who was still lying there.
Hina went forward, Katana raised. She would finish it with a single strike. Gwyn quickly turned and threw a cup at her, knocking the sword from her hand and cutting her wrist. Gwyn struggled to get up, she eventually managed to.
"I get it now. Your just insane" Gwyn said
"You little bitch!" Hina replied. She rushed forward grabbing Gwyn by the throat, tackling her forward until they smashed through Hina's bedside table and collided into the wall.
Hina held Gwyn against the wall choking the life out of her.
"I hate you" she said as she slammed Gwyn's head into the wall and tightened her grip around her throat.
Gwyn was losing consciousness, the effects of the poison were getting stronger and she couldn't breathe.
She was going to die. Then suddenly Hina stopped and slowly stepped back.
Why?
Gwyn looked down to see a bloody knife deep in her mother's lower abdomen, a hand gripped the blade firmly then twisted it.
It was Gwyn's.
It was nothing more than a reflex really, it's the way nature works. If you throw a rock it's going to fall, if you plant a seed it'll grow, if you provoke a killer he'll kill.
Cause and effect.
Hina continued stepping backwards and tripped over the Katana and fell over on an upright piece of the broken table that pierced through her. She coughed up blood then died on the spot.
Gwyn's head was spinning at this point. Where'd she even get the knife? She had no idea.
"Mom! Oh no! Oh no! I... I killed her"
Gwyn ran out the room crying and gathered a few things. She didn't even remember what she was doing, only that she needed to hurry. She put on her armor as fast as she could and ran downstairs. She continued until she was outside, only there did she stop. She looked at her house one last time and began to cry again.
"I can't stay here. I don't deserve to." She settled herself before continuing.
"I won't ever kill again, I'll never take another life" she said, then turned and ran towards the forest, leaving everything she ever knew and loved behind.