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blue-and-dog · 4 years

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More Sengoku Basara OC Writings!

Dinner Time (Nanahime and Yoko)

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The pirate queen, scourge of the seas! Feared by all! She challenged the gods and won! She crushed her enemies! She commanded a crew of the finest, the strongest, the bravest!

She stood at the helm of her mighty ship—terror of the seas! Now that none in Japan stood against her, there was no choice but to continue to new lands! Adventure awaits!

With a crouch, she prepared to leap from the helm into the seas—

“Yoko, get down from there! Preferably not by jumping!”

Yoko snapped back to reality, the little girl crouching down to see her mother’s slightly-agitated gaze.

“Y’know, we specifically told you you’re not allowed to jump from the roof after what happened last time.” Nana held up her arms as she drew closer. “C’mon, I’ll catch you. Just climb; it’s time for dinner.”

“Comin’!” Yoko turned around, beginning to climb down and letting go; Nana caught the six-year-old under the arms with a grunt.

“Geez, you’re gettin’ heavy....” she laughed a bit, setting her down and taking her hand. “Okay, let’s go before the food gets cold.”

“‘Kay!” Yoko fell into step beside her mother, humming a bit as they headed into their home. “Think daddy’ll be back tonight?”

“Mm...probably not. You know your dad; he could be another few days, another few weeks, or show up within an hour.”

“I wonder if he’ll bring me a neat shell again this time,” Yoko thought out loud, “I don’t mind if he doesn’t, though.”

“Just want ‘im home in one piece?”

“Mm-hmm. Then we can wrestle again.”

“Am I not a good enough wrestling partner anymore?”

“That’s not true!” Yoko immediately replied, flustered, “You’re still fun! I like to wrestle you!”

“I’m just teasin’, squirt.” She messed up her daughter’s hair a bit. The pair said hi to passing crew members and guards as they went, before finally, Nana used her free hand to slide open the door to where they would be dining: a large, square room with a single round table in the middle and three somewhat-flat cushions (though one of the regular occupants was currently away). Waiting at two of the seats were a hearty bowl of steamed white rice, and somewhat-neatly assorted fillets of fresh ocean fish—Nana had even cut off the tail fin of the fish and stuck it near the far right of Yoko’s rice, having given it a bit of a whale shape (never mind that whales weren’t fish).

“Dinner!” Yoko cheered, immediately sprinting to her spot and jumping onto the little cushion meant just for her; the cushion slid a bit, but snagged on the wood floor before it could send the girl careening across the room. Yoko immediately snatched up her chopsticks and went to pick up the tail fin and pop it in her mouth—

“Ah, don’t eat that part. That’s for decoration.”

“Oh. Okay!” Yoko set it aside, instead swiping up the rice bowl and digging in voraciously.

“Please don’t choke.” Nana sat down with a laugh and a sigh, beginning to eat her own portion of the meal. After a while of eating in silence, Yoko swallowed a mouthful of rice, taking a deep breath.  ”Mommy, what kinda stuff do you do as daddy’s first mate?”

“Hm?” Nana had a fillet halfway in her mouth. Chewing and swallowing, she cleared her throat. “Well, lots of things.”

“Like what?”

“Let’s see...” she put her chopsticks to her lips as she thought for a moment. “I’m head of the household, officially, so I handle anything goin’ on around the house. I also handle inventory for your daddy’s ship; make sure the crew has enough food and supplies. Lotsa physical work, too, like helping with building and maintainin’ the fleet. Then there’s handlin’ relations with the clans your dad allied with—“

“Those are the days you gotta dress up nice, right?”

“Ugh, yeah. Anyway, there’s all that, and basically keepin’ your dad from doing anything stupid. ‘Bout a fifty percent success rate, there.”

“And you gotta make me little brothers so Daddy has heirs, right?”

Nana paused as she looked at her, then squinted. “You were supposed to be asleep when we were having that conversation.”

“I know how babies are made, mommy. You told me.” Yoko stuck her nose up, “Don’t be surprised.”

“Listen here, you...” Nana started, then snickered. “You’re gettin’ too old, too fast.”

Yoko let out a giggle, then went back to eating, while Nana watched for a moment.

Those big green eyes, full of curiosity. So familiar to her.

Sometimes, when Yoko looked up at her mother with those big green eyes, Nana could see Fukurou there, for one, fleeting moment.

How would you feel, seeing your daughter now, Fukurou? she thought.

“Mommy?” Yoko spoke up again. “You’re not eatin’.”

“Oh, you’re right. Whoops.” Nana popped another fillet in her mouth.

“It sucks Daddy’s not here to eat this with us.”

“He had plenty of food packed; I’m sure he’s fine.”

“But it’s not like when you make it fresh! Daddy’s missing out!”

“Look at you, worrying over your dad. He’d be so flattered. Complete turnaround from when you first met him.”

“Really? I can’t remember a time I didn’t like Daddy.”

“Ohhhh, there was a time when you didn’t like him at all. You were really young, though; I’m not surprised you don’t remember.”

“How old was I?” Yoko leaned in a bit, now at full attention.

“Mm....” she swallowed some rice. “...three? It wasn’t long after Mommy and all her friends decided to become pirates. I think I was working on something that required two hands, but you were being clingy and wanted me to hold you, so I was managing with one hand. The cap’n—your dad, as you now know him—came by, saw what I was doing and asked if I wanted him to hold you while I was finishing up. I told him it wasn’t a good idea because you got fussy with people you didn’t know, but he insisted it’d be fine. So, I decided, fine, I’d let him hold you for a few minutes. Well, no sooner do I pass you to him and he says hello, that you scream, ‘NO!’ and—“ she started to cackle, “You smacked him in the face as hard as your little hand could. Which, luckily, wasn’t very hard.”

“I hit him!?” Yoko sounded distraught. “I’d never hit daddy if we weren’t playing!”

“Well, he started laughing after that and just held onto you despite the fact you started squirming and flailing—I think he kinda saw you as a challenge. Did seem kinda disappointed at your reaction, though.”

“When did I start liking him?”

“I’d say about a month or so later. I was talking to him about something, and you just walked over, looked up at him and said, clear as day, ‘Aniki, up!’ and held up your arms. I swear, he must have been waiting to hear that, because he scooped you up immediately. Plus, scored him some points in my book, with how much he took to you after that.”

“Is that when you fell in love with him?”

“Mm....nah. I can’t really pinpoint a time that happened. That’s the thing about falling in love, kiddo; sometimes, it’s just kinda...there.”

Sometimes more than once. And with multiple people. But she doesn’t need the details.

After dinner was eaten, Yoko scurried off while Nana went to wash the dishes. As she entered the empty kitchen, she went over the dinner conversation in her head, and again, her mind went back to Fukurou.

“Hey, if it’s a girl, let’s name her Yoko, okay?”

“Yoko? Not against it, but why?”

“We can use the character for ‘ocean.’ We met on the beach. It fits, yeah?”

“Yeah...you’re right, it does! That’s actually pretty cute.”

She smiled a bit. Him and his symbolic names. Such a dork.

He was her former lover.

He was exuberance and life and adventure all rolled up into one. Never sat still, never stopped thinking of new things to do. Never stayed in the same place. Always found something to love about the places he went.

As she finished drying the dishes, though, she paused. A pang in her stomach, and it wasn’t the food doing it. With a sigh, she headed back to the quarters she shared with her husband, going to the closet where she kept her few belongings. Sliding it open, she pulled out a small leather pouch, opening it and dumping the contents into her palm—a round, amber stone on a leather string—the string was long since broken. Raising it to eye level, she turned it over in her hand, a frown crossing her features.

The kid’s doing fine. We all are.

She closed her fist around it, giving it a squeeze.

I promise, I’m okay.

She sat against the wall, staring across the room blankly for a while, still holding the stone in her hand.

She wasn’t aware how much time had passed, until Yoko opened the door again.

“Mommy, I’m going to bed! It’s story time!”

“Huh?” Nana snapped back to reality. “Oh...! Right. Sorry. Are you all set?”

“Mm-hmm.” Yoko nodded, lying completely.

“Hey.” Nana crouched in front of her. “Are you lyin’ to me?”

“...no.” Yoko looked away.

“You didn’t wash up!” She put her hands on her daughter’s cheeks. “You gotta wash up, kiddo! Or else you could get sick, and that would be,” she smushed her cheeks, taking a faux-sinister tone. “Sooooo baaaaaad.”

“Stoooop!” Yoko whined, pulling away. “I’ll go wash my face, fine!”

Nana laughed as Yoko scurried off, heading to her daughter’s room—the room was filled with odds and ends; various little “treasures” Yoko had picked up from playing with friends, going on “adventures” with her parents, or just wandering around. But displayed proudly on a small shelf were four seashells, each different shapes and colors—gifts given to her by her stepfather...her “daddy.”

“Here I am....” Yoko arrived moments later, crawling onto her futon.

“Alrighty, so what story do you want?”

“...actually...instead of a story...”

“Hm?” 

“...can I ask you about my daddy? The daddy who made me?”

Nana felt her stomach flip as Yoko asked. “...you wanna know about your birth dad, huh?”

“You don’t gotta tell me everything if you don’t wanna, but....I at least wanna know what he was like.”

Nana didn’t know this feeling. It wasn’t dread. She knew Yoko would want to know more eventually. Fukurou didn’t live to see Yoko; didn’t get to watch her grow. And as those big green eyes stared back at Nana...

“...well....I can’t deny you that, huh?” Nana smiled a bit. “...okay.”

One day, Yoko would have to know what happened. But...at least for now, she could tell her who he was.

#sengoku basara #chosokabe clan #sengoku basara oc #writing #fanfiction #senbasa #capcom #original character #nanahime

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