Rays of the Sun {Closed}

[Mōri Motonari]

It was odd for Motonari to be outside of his camps or castle, but after returning to his family after a very long time being away, the man had been convinced to stop working by his wife and to spend time with his family. And where else but on the beach!

He didn't like the idea of people possibly seeing him with them, because, as he stood now, it endangered them, in multiple ways. One, it was simply that they were out in the open and not within the safety of the castle walls and, two, there was the possibility of someone seeing Motonari care about people besides himself. Just about everybody thought he was a cold-hearted, scary, brutal dick for good reason. It was because he purposefully created that image over the years, to secure his land and protect his family. There would never be a repeat of what happened to his eldest son. Motonari would never allow it. Couldn't.

But even the icy Lord Mori was unable to resist and melted at his young daughter's urging and begging along with his wife. And so Motonari took his family to a more secluded area on the beach with some of his most trusted men and soldiers to keep them safe. His wife, Myōgyu Fujin, cradled their youngest son against her bosom. She sat on cloth laid out on the sand, cooing at the infant. She was a beautiful woman, regal in every sense, but there was a rare warmth about her. Her eyes glittered in the light, dazzling like her sweet smile. When Motonari looked over at her, his gaze couldn't help but linger, and he sighed, closing his eyes.

Their three eldest sons were gone, still at a camp as they were generals, but their six other children ran about, his older daughter and three other sons playing in the water, splashing one another and giggling and shouting all the while. Motonari could hear Fujin's bell-like laugh at seeing her children have such a good time.

At feeling a tugging on his sleeve, Lord Mori blinked and glanced downwards, finding little Kikuhime. Her fair brown hair was pulled in pigtails and her large brown eyes stared up at her father, and he looked down at her.

"Pway wif me, Daddy" she asked (although it was more of a demand), pouting her bottom lip.

Motonari glanced over at his men. "Uhh..."

Her big eyes only seemed to get bigger and they wavered. "Pweeaaase...!"

He looked back down at her, getting those puppy eyes. Normally Motonari had no problem with that, puppy punting a specialty of his, but... well... this was his little Kikuhime, and she moved forward, clinging to him. Lord Mori stared down at her, glancing over at his men, and either side of the beach, and back down at the child.

Fuck.

Motonari shifted uncomfortably. Maybe if he was around her more he could resist her charm, but... she really was adorable. Kikuhime had her mother's eyes and lips... The man sighed heavily. He was known for quite literally walking over his men and being this brutal leader, and yet... how could he say no?

"Alright," finally answered the Lord. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, beginning to continue on, wanting to lay down rules, so to speak, "But we wi-"

"EEHEEHEE! YAAAAAY!" squealed the little girl, and suddenly she yanked down on his arm. Only because of surprise did he lean down and suddenly she kissed his cheek and pinched his cheeks. Motonari blinked, and before he could really react, Kikuhime began to try to climb on top of him. "THANK YOU, DADDY! Heeheehee! Wets pway! Pway pway PWAY!"

The constantly level-headed, impassive man was clearly stunned. He had no idea how to react and stayed in his position, with widened eyes and a slightly gaping mouth as Kikuhime was jumping up on him. If anyone else had even remotely tried to do any of that, they would have been bitchslapped and punted to the sun, but... it was his little daughter, and despite what he may claim, she was precious to him. So then how in hell was he supposed to keep up his appearance with all of this damned... adorableness?! Some of his men were looking over at him, and Motonari tensed.

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!

"Kikuhime-" his voice was stern, but was cut off when his daughter exclaimed she "wuved" and "missed" him, and giggled cheerfully, clearly enthusiastic at the opportunity to spend time with her constantly busy father. His mouth snapped closed at her exclamation, the beginning of that stern command dissipating.

She finally finished clambering onto his back. "ONWARDS!"

Kikuhime giggled and clapped her hands, hugging his back and neck.

"...."

Motonari twitched. The ruthless and genius warlord was defeated... by a little five-year-old girl, who giggled and was demanding a ride. Her arm was outstretched and pointed forward.

"GO GO GO!"

Godddamnit. He could practically hear his top general internally chuckle at Motonari, and there was no doubt those few soldiers were gaping. Lord Mori would need to use his Abuse Boots on them later to make sure they would never ever dare speak of this day to a soul...

[Azai Mana]

When it came to beaches, there were two main locations that stuck out in the minds of many within the country: the sun-blessed shores of Chugoku, and the carefree Shikoku shoreline. For Mana, whom had been recommended to take some time to experience either beach by a recent acquaintance in Omi, she had no interest in boarding a ship at this time just to frolic around in Shikoku. Thus it came to pass that she headed west, bound for the Mori-governed region of Chugoku.

Mana spent the first day getting situated in her rented room at an inn, then exploring the town. On the morning of the second day, after enjoying a quiet breakfast, the former enforcer departed in search of the beach. It took until the early afternoon to find, though at least the journey wasn't dull.

Her arms folded beneath her bosom, spear strapped to her back - the points were concealed by a sack tied off at the opening, Mana meandered onto the beach, where, surprisingly... Not many people were present. Infact, it seemed rather vacant. While this was not a complaint for the recovering amnesiac, it was confusing, and conflicted with what she'd heard back in Omi. Perhaps she'd come on a slow day, or there was some other event happening? Mana shrugged to herself; if people weren't here, they weren't here.

Sitting on the warm sand, the snowy girl gazed out at the ocean. Boats and a few ships were sailing further off, going to and from the port, or across the horizon, et cetera. She'd only been on a boat once, back during her stint in Ise. It was peaceful, riding atop the water. To think that the world had progressed so far as to travel along the great oceans, to the point of foreigners from a place other than neighboring China or Ryukyu were able to land on their country's shore... It was truly amazing.

Coming out of her thought processes, Mana heard the jovial, energetic voice of a child off toward another end of the beach. Curious, she glanced over and saw an unexpected sight. There, standing guard over what she theorized to be a noble family, were a group of soldiers, and just beyond them was a man carrying a little girl on his back. She couldn't rightly place his expression from this distance, but it seemed... Uncomfortable.

[Mōri Motonari]

{I apologize for taking so long. I had several things to figure out and do, one of which was figuring out Motonari's children. Eh heh~ Sorry about that. ^^;}

Kikuhime kept kicking her heels and clapping, demanding cheerily that he go, and so Motonari dashed forward before she would begin calling him horsey, or something as equally embarrassing. He held onto her so that the little girl wouldn't fall off, but his speed didn't seem to deter her. In fact, Kikuhime only grew more excited, and the other children seemed to notice them. And, of course, they wanted in on the fun.

After running around for a minute or two, Motonari halted, really wanting to be done with this embarrassing act. He turned his head to look back at his daughter, who pouted, and began, "Alright, Kikuhime-chan. It is time to get do-"

But as soon as he stopped, his other children charged towards him. Motonari only had time to blink and turn his gaze towards them as they shouted, and soon enough they all surrounded and tackled him. His sons and daughters were giggling and, with all of their weight combined and being surprised, Lord Mori toppled over, and his children essentially dog-piled him.

"AGH-!"

Lady Mori blinked and stared wide-eyed at the scene, before erupting into sweet laughter. But she knew Motonari had an image to uphold and that this was overwhelming regardless, and so the saintly, regal woman chimed, "Children~! Children~! Let up on your father now~ You don't want to suffocate him, do you~?"

That seemed to do the trick, the mother knowing precisely how to work her children, because all of the kids gasped, fearful of suffocating their dad (even though, of course, he would be fine), and they scrambled off of him. Motonari stood up, brushing the sand off of his dark green kimono, before gazing down at the children. They seemed fearful of being harshly reprimanded and yelled at, and huddled together, shrinking down. A few, long moments of silence passed, before a soft, drawn out sigh released from the daimyo. He simply waved them off, telling them to go have fun, and with beams of relief and joy, the bounded off.

Motonari ran his fingers through his brown locks, scratching at his head. Little bits of sand fell down as the daimyo headed towards his wife and baby. He would plop beside her, cool gaze moving towards his men, who were actively avoiding looking at their lord. Smart men. That still wouldn't save the non-generals from his Abuse Boots. Motonari then looked at his wife, who was smiling sweetly at him.

After a moment of silence, the man's gaze softened slightly. "Thank you, Fu-chan."

"Even my great Lord needs saving sometimes~" responded the woman lightly, smiling up at her husband.

His hand slid over to her lap, rubbing the top of her thigh before taking a hold of Fujin's hand, the man smiling in the slightest as he peered within her eyes. After taking in the sight of his baby and wife, his eyes slid over to his other children and scoped the area, taking in the beautiful, sparkling sea. But as his brown eyes moved down the beach, his brows furrowed. There was a fair woman overhead, and his eyes narrowed a little.

He murmured a little tensely, remembering distinctly ordering that no one besides them were to be at this section of the beach, "... Who is that?"

A hand instinctively moved to his god-sword, and Fujin shifted at feeling his tension, asking him what was wrong. Her gaze would follow his and at seeing the stranger, she would place her dainty hand over his on the hilt, smiling softly at him. Her voice was extra soothing, the woman wanting to dispel her husband's unease, "She is merely a girl simply wishing to have some fun in the sun, as we are. Please, do not worry yourself, dear."

Just to try and prove her point, the angelic woman would lift her hand up while cradling her baby, waving at the white-haired girl further down the beach, motioning her forward, her smile and body language warm and welcoming, quite the opposite of Motonari's.

Tag: Azai Mana