The Steadfast Samurai

The Steadfast Samurai is a short fiction.

Annotated Story
It is believed in Rokugan that a mother is in close contact with the spirit world during childbirth, and it is the father's duty to distract evil spirits during the birth. Most commonly this involves wandering the house crying out, wearing a padded Kimono]] to give off the appearance of pregnancy and labor pains.

This story is about the birth of twins, Omosa and his brother. Omosa's brother was born with no difficulty, but Omosa attracted the attention of the spirits his father had failed to distract, and the mother nearly died giving birth to him. The father named him Omosa, meaning heavy. Upon his gempukku Omosa took the name Mirumoto Tokeru, and eventually became his brother Mirumoto Ryudumu's most trusted lieutenant. Ryudumu was not much of a commander however, and his soldiers would mock him behind his back while admiring Tokeru. Tokeru however always supported his brother, never once betraying him. When Ryudumu finally married, he became instantly jealous of his brother Tokeru as his younger wife eyed Tokeru. Ryudumu challenged Tokeru to a duel to the death, and although Tokeru could easily have killed his brother he chose to loose. Tokeru's death is among the most tragic and heroic of the Mirumoto family history, and he is remembered on the third day of the Month of the Rat every year.

Characters
n/a

Not Present, But Mentioned

 * Mirumoto Tokeru - Omosa
 * Mirumoto Ryudumu