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Samurai 7: Warriors Of Rock	By : roryheadmav Category: +S to Z > Samurai 7 Views: 1999 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own Samurai 7, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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- 2
DISCLAIMER: This story is a non-commercial work of fiction
based on the anime/manga Samurai 7. Original copyright of Samurai 7 belongs
to Akira Kurosawa, Shinobu Hashimoto, Hideo Oguni, MICO, GDH, GONZO. Absolutely
no monetary gain has been made with this work.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: If you're a Samurai 7 fan, then
you would know that it was based on Akira Kurosawa's great film Ichinin
No Samurai (The Seven Samurai). Great was the film's appeal that it
was remade into a western The Magnificent Seven starring one of
my all-time favorite actors Yul Brynner. Needless to say, Kurosawa's vision
is translatable into alternative universes. I am doing that for this story.
If you're looking for sword fights, evil Nobuseri, you won't find it here,
so please don't give me any bullshit about canon. Still, I hope you'll
give this unique alternative story a chance. I promise you won't regret
it.

SAMURAI 7: WARRIORS OF ROCK

© April 18, 2006 By Rory V. Pascual

CHAPTER ONE: My Life (As I Know
It)
"Kirara! Komachi! Aren't you girls
up yet? You'll be late for school!"
The horrified shrieks coming from
the bedrooms upstairs were a deafening answer to their dutiful father,
who was at that moment, distributing octopus wieners and other goodies
into two bento. Somehow, this domestic routine reminded him of the anime
he had been watching with his youngest daughter last night. Before he even
realized he was doing so, his mind was playing a blow-by-blow narrative
of his mundane existence.
My name is Shimada Kanbei, 42,
a widower with two young daughters studying in a public school in Akihabara.
I'm an accountant, working at the New Accounts section of a bank and�
A small bundle of energy dashed into
the kitchen and plopped down into her seat, devouring with the lightning
speed of a hi-powered vacuum cleaner her breakfast of fish and eggs. "Why
didn't you wake us up, Daddy? Oooh! And I'm on cleaning detail this morning."
"I've been knocking on your door
every ten minutes. It's not my fault that you slept so soundly. The price
you have to pay for watching TV all night," Kanbei mildly scolded the little
girl.
Inside his head, he introduced, This
little munchkin is Komachi. She's only twelve years old, but she knows
quite a lot for a kid her age. A bit precocious. She kind of reminds me
of me when I was her age. All fire, passion and curiosity. Good thing she
has her big sister to look out for her.
There were soft choking noises, and
Kanbei saw that Komachi was slowly turning blue. He gave her three hard
whacks in the back to clear her airway. "I told you to eat slowly."
Then, he felt soft lips plant a kiss
upon his cheek. "Good morning, Daddy!" Kirara greeted her father as she
settled down in her seat before Komachi.
This is my eldest daughter, Kirara,
Kanbei gazed at Kirara fondly. Sixteen years old, and she's growing
up into the spitting image of her mother.
"Aren't you going to join us, Daddy?"
Kirara inquired.
"I already ate, Honey," Kanbei replied
as he tied up the bento in colored cotton towels. "I'm in a hurry as well.
I have to be at the bank early."
Komachi noticed the packed lunches.
"But you only made two lunch boxes, Daddy. Where's yours?"
"You're not saving up on money again,
are you?" Kirara asked suspiciously. "You don't have to make all these
sacrifices for us. Komachi and I can get by on a smaller allowance."
Komachi nodded in wholehearted agreement.
"We don't want you to get sick."
Quite thoughtful, aren't they?
Kanbei gave his kids a reassuring smile. "Oh, it's nothing like that. Your
Uncle Gorobei has been sharing his lunch with me. Being a bachelor, he
always prepares big lunches, which he can't eat all by himself."
Kirara, however, was not convinced.
"Next time, Dad, I'll find a way to wake up ahead of you and make you a
bento. I don't want you going hungry. And I'm definitely not certain about
what Uncle Gorobei's been feeding you. Knowing him, it's probably sandwiches
and snacks."
"What's wrong about sandwiches and
snacks?" Komachi asked innocently. "They're delicious."
"They're not healthy, chibi."
"Who're you calling 'chibi'?"
"Now, now! That's enough," Kanbei
placated his squabbling children. "Are you two done? You'd better get going
or you'll be late."
Kirara and Komachi downed their milk
in one long gulp. Kanbei escorted the girls to the front door where their
school bags sat ready and waiting at the stoop.
"Bye, Daddy!" Kirara kissed her father.
Komachi suddenly pointed a finger
at her parent. "Don't forget, Daddy. You promised you'll help me practice
the dance number for our class program tonight."
Kanbei scratched his head. "Do I
have to? You'll end up with crushed toes."
"You're not fooling me, Dad," the
little girl said knowingly. "Sis and I know for a fact what a good dancer
you are."
"But definitely not the dances you
kids are doing now. Hip hop, is it? It's more like hip pop to me. It's
not good for my lumbago."
Kirara looked at her father meaningfully.
"I think we can make an exception just this once, Daddy."
Kanbei knew what his eldest daughter
was implying. "Oh, all right!" he said, albeit a bit grudgingly.
With a happy whoop, Komachi leaped
into her father's arms and gave him a slobbering smack on the cheek, at
the same time, giggling as she was tickled by Kanbei's beard. As he set
her down, the two girls headed off for school, waving happily to him.
Going back inside the kitchen, Kanbei
finished cleaning up the dishes. Glancing up at the clock, he gasped, seeing
the time.
"Shit! I'll be late again!" He cried
as he quickly put on his jacket and donned a pair of white gloves.
He next grabbed his briefcase, giving his tie a few quick jerks in front
of the mirror. Running past the cupboard, Kanbei picked up his wife's picture,
pushing his glasses up the bridge of his nose to get a good look at her
beautiful face.
"See you later, Maeko," Kanbei whispered
as he kissed the photo lovingly.
With ponytail flying behind him,
Kanbei dashed out the door.

~~~~~~~~~~

"Late again, I see, Shimada-san."
Kanbei kept his head bowed as he
said, "I'm so sorry, Ayamaro-san. I had to take care of my girls."
This is my boss Ayamaro, President
of Kougakyo Savings and Loans, Kanbei made the mental introduction.
He's a very powerful man in the financial world, but he possesses the
appearance and heart of a big, fat toad.
Ayamaro clucked his tongue disapprovingly.
"I think your daughters are old enough to take care of themselves. To be
honest, they should be taking care of you. After all, you're the breadwinner
in the family. They should consider the impact their irresponsibility would
have on their father's job."
Kanbei felt a chill in his blood
at that veiled threat. "Please forgive me, sir. I promise it won't happen
again."
"Oh, Father! You must understand
Shimada-san's position. It's not easy raising two pretty daughters in these
times. They need to be protected from lowlifes."
Oh, no! Not him! Kanbei groaned
inwardly, but there was no mistaking the sleazy figure that was ambling
towards them. Ukyo�Ayamaro's only son, and the bank manager. This slimeball
has the hots for my daughter Kirara. If there's any lowlife she needs protecting
from, it's him!
There was a smug grin on Ukyo's face
as he looked at the man who was groveling before his father. "Shimada-san
had loyally served this bank for twelve years. Surely he can be forgiven
for his�few transgressions."
"It would've been better if loyalty
equaled quality of service," Ayamaro criticized hotly. "During the past
two years, he was only able to seal three contracts for our bank."
"Ah, but those are big contracts!"
Ukyo pointedly reminded the older man. "I doubt if we could've gotten them
without Shimada-san, especially the Okamoto account."
The bank president shook his head.
"Sometimes, Ukyo, I think you're too kind to your underlings." He turned
once more to Kanbei. "I will not tolerate any more tardiness, Shimada-san.
The next time, it won't just be a deduction in your pay. Be thankful that
my son favors you. Now, get to work. I expect those financial reports to
be on my desk within two days."
"Two days?" Kanbei blurted out, remembering
how thick those files were. "But that's impossible! I�"
"No arguments! If necessary, do overtime."
Ayamaro was about to walk away when he paused. "Don't expect any overtime
pay. You have to make up for all your lates."
When they were finally alone, Kanbei
bowed to his immediate superior. "Thank you, Ukyo-san."
"Anything for the father of my dear
Kirara. How is she, by the way?"
"Uh�she's well, sir. She's been getting
high grades in school."
"As to be expected, since she is
such a smart girl." Ukyo became serious. "But I can't defend you all the
time, and�" He grinned lasciviously. "�You know that my favor comes with
a price."
"Yes, sir. I know that," Kanbei answered
grimly.
Ukyo patted the older man's back.
"Very well then. Ganbatte ne, Kanbei-kun!"
Gazing at Ukyo's departing figure,
Kanbei swore, I will never let my daughter fall into the hands of a
sleazy bastard like you!
Feeling miserable, the poor salaryman
entered his little cubicle, only to groan at the sight of the folders stacked
up on his desk. It seemed as if the files had gone forth and multiplied
in the thirty minutes that he'd been late.
"OI, KANBEI!"
That loud, cheerful voice nearly
caused Kanbei to spill all the documents on the floor. He lifted his head
to glower at the dark, impish face that was peeking at him from the top
of the cubicle's partition.
"Gorobei! You scared the shit out
of me!" Kanbei briskly rubbed his pounding chest. "Don't do that? Did you
see what you almost made me do?"
"Sorry about that, pal." Gorobei
ran his hand over his finely trimmed silver hair. "I just thought I'd show
you my new do. Add this�" He put on a baseball cap backwards. "�And I look
perfect for the audition tomorrow night."
Kanbei breathed out a sigh. My
best friend Gorobei�He's been with the bank for much longer than I have.
At age 45, he is still harboring showbiz ambitions. When we first met,
he wanted to become a Las Vegas magician. Now he's set his sights on becoming
a rapper for a rock band.
Hearing that exhalation, Gorobei
inquired, "And what happened to you? Got chewed out again by the Toad?
I swear Ukyo has been moving the hands on the Bundy clock deliberately
to make you late."
"Sorry, Gorobei, but I can't go with
you to the audition tomorrow night. I seriously doubt if I can finish all
this paperwork by then."
"You can, if I give you a hand."
"But I just can't have you helping
me every time I'm in trouble with Ayamaro or Ukyo. It's not right. This
is my problem after all."
"Don't worry about that. We're friends,
aren't we? And you are helping me to fulfill my dreams. That
counts a lot in my book." Gorobei pressed his palms together in desperate
pleading. "Onegai, Kanbei! Say you'll come with me to the audition." As
further enticement, he produced an enormous bento. "I'll even throw in
lunch for a full month!"
Kanbei could not help but chuckle.
"Oh, okay! Now go back to work before Ukyo sees us."
Gorobei gave him a perky salute.
"I'll walk you home tonight."
"Hey! I'm not some schoolgirl to
be�" But the older man had already ducked back down into his cubicle.
Kanbei sat down and opened the first
file, but his mind was elsewhere. So I'm helping you with your dreams,
huh? He mused wryly, as a sense of sadness and longing filled his heart.

~~~~~~~~~~

Later that evening, Kanbei was gaping
aghast at the music video that Komachi was playing for him.
"NO! NEVER! ABSOLUTELY NOT!" he exclaimed
in sheer vehemence. "I will not have my little girl dance to a song flaunting
a part of the female anatomy that she doesn't have yet!"
Komachi's face scrunched up in a
grimace. Peeking down her dress, she mumbled resentfully, "Thanks for reminding
me of that, Daddy."
"Now, now, Komachi!" Gorobei gave
his favorite goddaughter a reassuring hug. "Give it a few more years and
those molehills are going to change into lovely lady lumps for sure."
Komachi instantly brightened up.
"REALLY?"
Kanbei was about to utter a dissenting
retort, but Gorobei pointed a finger right between his eyes. "As for you,
stop being a prude!"
Hearing that last word, Kanbei's
hackles rose. "WHO'RE YOU CALLING A PRUNE?"
"I said 'prude'. P�R�U�D�E. NOT prune.
Do you have your hearing aid turned up?"
"I don't have a hearing aid!"
At once, realization fell upon Gorobei.
"Oh, now I understand." He turned to Kirara, who was putting the tray of
rice balls on the table. "Has another word been deleted from the dictionary
again?"
"Sure looks like it, Uncle Gorobei,"
said Kirara, trying in vain to hold back her giggles.
Gorobei grinned at his seething friend.
"So I take it 'raisin' has been banned too."
Kanbei snorted. "I'm afraid I can't.
Komachi likes them too much. I don't know why. They look like giant ticks
to me."
"Oh, Daddy!" Komachi exclaimed, pulling
out a tiny box of the dried fruit. "You just don't like them 'coz they're
wrinkled."
When Kanbei turned as red as a sugar
beet, Gorobei knew his mischievous goddaughter had hit the nail right on
the head.
"Kanbei, my dear friend, my great
pal," Gorobei began, clapping a heavy arm over the younger man's shoulder.
"Why are you so steamed about the aging process? You know we get those
wrinkles eventually." To Kanbei's trepidation, Gorobei yanked back his
bangs to peruse his forehead. "Waaah! You've got one deep crevice here.
And, it has Ayamaro's name written on it!"
Kanbei twisted his head away. "Knock
it off! You're not the one people are calling "Ojichan' or "Ojisan'."
"Blame that on your appearance. Thick,
out-of-style eyeglasses, stiff, starchy shirts buttoned up to the collar�
You look like a dorky accountant."
"But I AM an accountant!"
Before Kanbei could even blink, with
the deftness of hand that his friend was notorious for, Gorobei swiftly
unbuttoned the top three buttons of his shirt.
"You should show some skin," Gorobei
scolded him. "Your skin is so nicely tanned."
"Stop that!" Kanbei swatted his friend's
hand away and quickly buttoned up his shirt.
"You are such a prude!"
"I'm not a prune!"
Kirara could not help interjecting.
"He said 'prude', Daddy."
Komachi thrust her hand in her father's
face, a tiny raisin between her fingers. "Want a raisin, Daddy?"
Kanbei buried his face in his hands.
"You're all ganging up on me!" he wailed.
"I don't see any tears," Komachi
peered up between her parent's fingers.
"Oh, Dad! Don't be so melodramatic!"
Kirara exclaimed, although she was close to laughter.
Kanbei cleared his throat and assumed
a stern form. "Komachi, for calling your poor father a 'raisin', I absolutely
forbid you from dancing to that obscene song."
The response he got, however, was
unexpected. "Oh, goodie!" Komachi squealed gleefully. "That means I chose
the right group to join."
"HUH?" Kanbei blinked owlishly at
his youngest offspring in confusion.
"I figured everyone in my class would
want to do 'My Humps' because it's so popular," Komachi patiently explained.
"But I wanted to do something different." With a click on the remote, she
moved to the next video, which caused her poor parent's jaw to drop.
"BELLY DANCING? BUT THAT'S WORSE!"
Gorobei took a swig of his beer.
"Looks like you have no choice, my friend. It's either you go belly with
Shakira or humpy with the Peas. Take your pick."
Kanbei groaned in surrender. "I suppose
'Whenever, Wherever' is the song you're going to dance to. Oh, all right!
I give up!"
Grinning, Komachi and Gorobei exchanged
high fives. "Show your Uncle Gorobei what you can do."
The child was only too happy to do
so. Turning up the volume, she proceeded to demonstrate her group's dance
number. Her movements around the midsection, however, lacked the fluidity
of the singer in the video, and her arms were like the swaying branches
of a tree.
"Wait, wait!" Gorobei said as he
got to his feet. "Let me show you the right way to do it."
Kanbei's eyes rolled upwards as his
friend began to dance. If Komachi had been stiff, Gorobei was worse. His
body moved like a cedar tree in a hurricane. His hips moved in jerks that
they could hear his joints popping. To Kanbei's dismay, Komachi was aping
her uncle's absurd version of a belly dancer. Kirara had already escaped
to the kitchen, where the usually prim and proper girl was roaring with
laughter.
Salvation came in the form of a small
flowerpot that flew threw the window and hit Gorobei on the side of the
head. This was followed by the angry cry from old Manzo next door.
"Katayama Gorobei, you sick pervert!"
Manzo yelled from his window. "Stop making a public spectacle of yourself
or I'll have you arrested for indecency!"
Gorobei recovered quickly, crawling
on the floor towards the windowsill. Waving his fist, he shouted back,
"Manzo, you old fart! Who are you calling a 'pervert'? Why, I ought to�"
Whatever else he was going to say
melted into thick caramel ooze down his throat when he beheld, not the
cantankerous buck-toothed geezer, but a blushing young woman.
"Good evening, Gorobei," the woman
greeted shyly.
"Honoka-dono!" Voice dripping with
chocolate syrup, Gorobei gushed, "You're so lovely tonight."
Mizuki, Honoka's younger sister,
popped up beside her sibling. "I saw what you were doing, Komachi. Gambarre!"
"Arigato!" Komachi waved to the High
Schooler.
That's my neighbor Manzo, Kanbei
introduced. He actually has three daughters but his eldest Shino ran
off with a U.S. serviceman from the air force base in Okinawa. Now, he's
rather overprotective of Honoka and Mizuki. Can't say I blame him. If you've
got a guy like Gorobei running after your dear daughter, even I'd be raising
hell. Then again, Manzo is a brazen coward, so I honestly believe that
Honoka's good as taken. Poor Manzo.
Gorobei eased his goddaughter aside
so that he could get a better view of his beloved goddess from the bank's
Legal Department. "Will you be going to the bank early tomorrow? I can
make you a delicious breakfast."
"HONOKA! MIZUKI! GET AWAY FROM THAT
WINDOW THIS INSTANT!" What old Manzo said next caused Gorobei's face to
darken. "And don't you eat anything that fool's cooked! Whatever he's got,
it might be contagious!"
"Manzo, what have you got against
me, huh?" Gorobei roared back, especially when the old man stuck his tongue
out at him.
As a final sally, Manzo called out,
"Kanbei-san, make sure you put that creature on a leash!"
"Hai, Manzo-san!" Kanbei answered
obediently, sipping his tea.
Gorobei glared down at his friend.
"What do you mean 'Hai'? That's why you're turning into a prune. You love
sucking up to nasty old guys!"
Kanbei exhaled in weary exasperation
as he stood up. "I'm not sucking up. I just want to make sure I keep my
job."
Returning from the kitchen with a
pitcher of orange juice, Kirara heard what her father said, and she looked
at him in concern.
Starting the video from the top,
Kanbei proceeded to explain to Komachi her mistakes. "You are not moving
your hips right, Komachi." He laid his hands over her waist, sliding a
bit lower. "Imagine these bones here are pens and you draw circles in the
air with them. Relax your body. It should feel like you're moving in water."
Komachi obeyed her father and, to
her delight, she discovered that she could do it.
"Good, now I want you to do the same
with your tummy. Imagine it to be moving like flowing waves. No, that's
not good enough." Kanbei placed his hands over his daughter's belly and
her lower back. "Now, try again." He smiled, feeling his palm bobbing over
Komachi's abdomen. "Of course, you do the same flowing motions with your
hands. Just relax your wrists. Next, belly dancers don't have both feet
pressed flat on the floor. It's always with heels lifted and�"
"HOLD IT!"
Father and daughter turned to Gorobei.
"How can you explain it to my goddaughter when you don't show her how it's
done?"
"Are you telling me�" Kanbei pointed
to himself. "�To belly dance?"
"I think that's what I was saying."
Komachi was delighted by that suggestion.
"Oh, Daddy! It would really help me a lot if you showed me. Please dance
with me, Daddy!"
Kanbei scratched his head. Why
do I get myself into these things? Sighing, he got to his feet. But
as he took his place beside his youngest daughter, Gorobei went over to
him and proceeded to tie up his shirt into a tight knot just below his
rib cage.
Grinning lasciviously, Gorobei ran
his palm over Kanbei's washboard belly. "You got a nice tummy, Kanbei."
He even poked a tiny finger into his friend's navel. "Oooh! An itty bitty
belly button! Kawaii!"
Kanbei choked out a "Knock it off!"
before Gorobei could do any more poking at his tickle spot. Starting the
video again, he said, "Let's take it from the top! Komachi, just do what
I do."
As the music began to play, Kanbei
recalled the steps in his daughter's dance. Closing his eyes, he allowed
the music to fill his mind and guide his body through the sensual rhythm.
Lost was he in the dance that he did not notice that the ribbon that secured
his ponytail had come undone, causing his grayish brown tresses to tumble
down in waves.
Kanbei was unaware that, while he
and Komachi danced, Kirara and Gorobei watched him, mesmerized. Especially
Kirara.
It has been twelve years since she
last saw her father like this � totally abandoned to the music, body moving
with the tempting grace of a siren, hands flowing with sinuous fluidity,
subtle hip jerks and twists that were more than just an invitation to dance
along with him. If he were to sing, Kirara knew that she would be seeing
that man who had not only captivated her mother's heart, but also the hearts
of hundreds of thousands in this country.
The music came to a close and Kanbei
opened his eyes. He immediately noticed his eldest daughter's intense stare.
"You're fantastic, Daddy!" Komachi
exclaimed, awe-struck, completely oblivious of her father's past.
"Yeah!" Gorobei echoed in wholehearted
agreement. "If you could sing, I'd drag you to the auditions. They're also
looking for a lead vocalist. I swear you'd put J. Lo out of work!"
Kanbei cleared his throat as he yanked
his shirt back into place and fixed his glasses. "Don't be stupid. At my
age? I don't have the iron-clad guts that you have?"
"At YOUR age? Does that mean you're
finally admitting that you're a prune?"
"SHUT UP!" Kanbei turned to his little
girl. Patting her head approvingly, he said, "Keep practicing, sweetheart.
Daddy's just going to get a breath of fresh air."
Komachi played the song again as
Kanbei went out the door.
Out on the porch, Kanbei gazed into
the evening sky. Although the moon was not visible, twinkling stars dotted
the celestial canvas. Somehow, those stars brought back a distant, yet
powerful memory � a sea of people waving lighters in the air. The flickering
flames of those lighters looked like tiny stars.
There was the soft squeak of the
door opening. Kanbei did not have to guess who was behind him.
"That was one hell of a workout!"
He laughed. "I'm practically out of breath, and my back's aching. I never
knew I was so out of shape."
"Audition?" Kirara quietly asked
her father.
"Your Uncle Gorobei begged me to
accompany him to an audition for a rock band tomorrow night," Kanbei answered,
not looking at his daughter.
"I see. I'm sorry, Daddy. I thought
you were�"
"Kirara� It's been twelve years.
During that time, have I ever broken the promise I made to you and your
mother?"
"No, Daddy. You haven't."
"And I'm not about to do so now."
It was then that Kanbei turned around to draw Kirara into a comforting
embrace. "You and Komachi are very precious to me. I will not lose you
two to fleeting dreams."
"I know, but�" Kirara leaned against
her father. "Daddy, I know you wanted�it�so much. Even if you don't talk
about it, I know how much it hurt to give up the dream that you were so
close to fulfilling. Now, Uncle Gorobei is working hard for his dream.
Don't you envy him, Daddy? Do you have any�regrets?"
"The loss of your mother was my biggest
regret," Kanbei admitted to her. "I will not make the same mistake with
you two." He gave Kirara a loving smile. "Sweetheart, I will not exchange
this life I'm having now for anything in the world. As long as we're together,
that's all that matters to me."
Kirara sighed in relief as she hugged
her father. "I love you, Daddy."
"And I love you too, Kirara."
With his daughter in his arms, Kanbei
turned his gaze back to the heavens, and the stars that continued to beckon
to him, even if twelve years had gone by.
And that is my life so far,
Kanbei concluded his mental narrative. I'm just an ordinary guy, living
for his two children. But despite the things I said to my daughter, why
do I feel so empty inside?

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Samurai 7: Warriors Of Rock