"Otou-san???" Amara mumbled the words in pain, glaring at the sight of her father's remains.
She lingered standing at the sliding door, hoping this was a nightmare after all.
"Ojo-san!!!" Ohara called one of the chief's heirs, bending his knees and bowing his head on the floor outside the chief's room.
The high servant saw the fresh muddy footsteps from the door going to the staircase. He knows only Amara will be the first to arrive at the castle in this dreadful weather.
The young mistress lives a few houses away from the castle, a small cottage that chief Rokkaku gave to her daughter when she continued to refuse the offer to live with her father. He can't blame Takayori's first daughter for staying away.
The walls are thin and moans are loud when the night begins.
"Have you called the council, Ohara-san?" The lady asked with her eyes fixed at the two ghastly corpses.
Ohara stood up from the floor with grace, suffering the pain of losing his master didn't stop him from showing elegance and respectfulness. "I was about to call you, Umino-san,"
"Has any of my brothers heard about this?" Amara turned to face the high servant of his father.
"No, Umino-san. I called the council first," The servant proudly replied, knowing he had done what he thinks is right.
Rokkaku's daughter gracefully bowed her head to the high servant, "Thank you, Ohara-san. My family has relied on you for years. I hope you continue to help us in these hard times."
Ohara slightly arched his lips to smile as the heir of his master showed appreciation for his hard work, "It's my pleasure to serve the Rokkaku family, Umino-san,"
Amara checked her body from head to feet. Her disheveled hair and drenched kimono were gradually dropping water to the wooden floors of the castle. It would be an embarrassment to meet the council in such a way,
"I will change first before I join you at the chambers, Ohara-san." Amara leaned her head down as a farewell.
"A wise decision Umino-san," The high servant bent his body to reply.
The Koku Village council was composed of the three wealthiest families in the village.
Takayuki Mochizuki, the head of the Mochizuki family, owned vast lands for farming rice and crops. He essentially employed the other families as farmers and workers on his land. Of all the three councilmen, he has more influence in the village, second only to Takayori Rokkaku.
Takeshi Nezu, the head of the Nezu family, owned livestock, controlling mostly the trades for goods at the market. Of all the three families, Takeshi supported the Rokkaku family extensively. Believing that their family has yokai blood as well, Takeshi treats Takayori like a brother.
Hisoka Umino, the head of the Umino family, was a fisherman and owned boats where he let other fishermen borrow. Known for his family's beautiful descendants with clear blue eyes like the sea. Takayori sought to marry her daughter before the Kannonji Siege, but Hisoka declined for his yokai blood. He was forced to allow Rokkaku to have her daughter after two of the councilmen decided to go along with Takayori's plan.
"Ohara-san, we came here in the middle of the night against the stormy weather. I hope this has nothing to do with Takayori wanting to choose a Mochizuki woman on his own." Michozuki whined while smoking from a long thin pipe.
"I assure you Mochizuki-dono, this has nothing to do with that," Ohara-san replied, patiently waiting for the meeting to start.
Ohara served as an overseer to the council. Though he cannot vote, he can bring issues to the group that needed detailed attention.
"Will Hisoka-dono be able to join us?" Nezu asked, he sits informally at the cushion on the floor of the small chamber.
"Unfortunately, Umino-san is too weak to get out of their house. His granddaughter will be here any minute to join us." Ohara announced, both elders stared at each other with surprise.
"I saw Amara-chan yesterday, playing with her little brothers. She has grown well." Nezu recalled the image of the charming beauty the young lady has.
Nezu has a lot of wives like Takayori. Though the chief has not yet announced to make Amara available for marriage, he would be the first one to bid for the woman.
"I agree, Amara-chan will suit well with my grandson Moon Ken," Mochizuki commented, bringing the subject to his favorite grandson.
"Kenji is a man now, you should stop calling him little," Nezu suggested, showing a mischievous smile on his dry old lips.
"You are right, Moon Ken will be chasing kimonos in the streets, "sukoshi" might have a different meaning," Mochizuki cackled with the naughty insinuation of "little".
The small chamber was filled with crackling noise between the two old men. While Ohara stayed quiet in his seat. A council chamber is a secret place for the members to meet but it often ended with the two older men boasting about their wealth and woman or ridiculing other people.
Amara walks in from the shadows wearing a black crested kimono. She sat formally with elegance at the cushion with a crest of the Umino family. A three-wave of the sea with the sign of the moon above it.
With saddened eyes, she greeted the two elders by bowing her head to the floor, with her palms down on the floor in front of her body, "Mochizuki-dono, Nezu-dono, I hope you are both well today."
Both of the old men straightened their back and wiped the smiles away from their faces. The black kimono signified mourning and they wanted to give respect to the young lady's sudden situation.
'Is the old Umino dead?' Nezu wondered.
Ohara cleared his throat to get everyone's attention after Amara sat at the place where her grandfather used to sit. The high servant started the meeting.
"I am deeply saddened to announce the death of our beloved honcho, Takayori Rokkaku." Ohara lowered his head with pain in his brown eyes.
"How???"Nezu's furrowed eyebrows disgruntled his face from shock.
"I cannot give any details but the investigation will begin and we need a chief to make decisions immediately," Ohara replied with a strict voice, hiding the shiver in his tone.
He bitterly felt sad with the passing of the chief he served since he was young. His devotion made him disregard finding a family for himself. For him, Takayori Rokkaku is more than his master, he was like a son."
"The Takeda have been wanting to get our land but they were afraid of Takayori-sama. I am certain they have something to do with this." Michozuki complained, angrily yelling out his sentiment.
Nezu turned his body towards the young lady's direction and bowed to express his condolences to her loss, "Amara-chan, we are saddened by the news."
Amara leaned her head down to accept the elder's consolation. She didn't speak or tried to converse with the elders, as her grandfather taught her to be. The council is a room for men and their egoistic nature. A woman's voice will not be recognized until she proves her power.
"The next chief will be Rin from the Jinbo family." Ohara declared that made the two elderly groan with dismay.
"Isn't he the same age as Dai from the Ogawara family?" Nezu asked, his voice was roughly loud to express his dissatisfaction for the next leader.
"Was there an issue that one of them is not Takayori's son?" Michozuki commented, scowling his face.
"Yes, that's why we wait for a child to be given birth first before Takayori can sow his oats." Nezu retorted with a devilish smile.
"We need to declare the next chief immediately before the Takeda clan can assume control of our lands," Mochizuki yelled his hostility towards the shogunate clan from the next village.
"A Takeda emissary is here," Ohara informed the two elders about the visitor they had earlier.
"Who did they send, Ohara-san?" Nezu inquired.
"Nobuyuki Kawashima," Ohara answered back.
"He's a paid samurai and not part of their clan yet." Mochizuki turned to the elderly man, while he smoked from his long pipe.
"We should offer Kawashima-kun one of Takayori's daughters," Nezu proposed to the group.
Amara suddenly felt her heart skip a beat. The unexpected suggestion of the old man Nezu made her hands sweat from anxiousness. She had known Nobuyuki-san since she was 14 years old and she never thought of meeting boys until she met the young swordsman visiting their village.
"Amara-chan, how old is Fumiko-chan now?" Mochizuki inquired, turning the elderly's awful gust towards her direction.
"15 years old, Mochizuki-dono," Amara answered with a gentle soft voice.
"Just the right age for her to get married to Kawashima." Mochizuki retorted, huffing another fume out of his burning lungs.
"The sooner the tradition starts the sooner it will end," Nezu said, with his tired voice.
"What tradition Nezu-dono?" Amara asked the elderly. She never heard of any tradition of the Rokkaku family from his grandfather Hisoka or his father Takayori.
"Ohara-san will explain everything to you," Mochizuki answered, staring at the young lady with a ludicrous question.
Mochizuki shrugged his head. With Takayori actively occupied to make hanyo offspring, he forgot to be a dutiful father.