Arc: Translated

Ebook cover for the arc

An AU, rendering the tenipuri storyline as a samurai story, because the manga actually makes all the sense in the world if you just give them swords.

In the years of Sengoku, the time of Warring Domains, a young samurai is sent by his father to take direct service with the lord of the Uesugi domain. This is the start of his journey.

Convex

Echizen cleans his sword and thinks about his new place. Drama, I-3

Ryouma sat in his rooms in the middle town, with his sword over his knees, cleaning it. His hands moved automatically, years and years of familiarity guiding them while his eyes rested on the blade without seeing it.

Unnoticed

Echizen escorts Sakuno and deals with a little trouble. Other sorts of trouble, he misses completely. Drama, I-3

Or, she admitted to herself with a silent sigh, maybe he hadn’t done it for her at all. He was a samurai, after all; she was young, but she knew how the men of her own class could be about fights and challenges.

Need Beyond Want

Echizen enters his first battle as a samurai of Uesugi, against the forces of Kaga under Tachibana. Drama, I-3

They would probably have been fine if Echizen’s opponent hadn’t seen himself about to be caught between the two of them and panicked. Momo reacted automatically to the man’s desperate, circling slash.

So did Echizen.

Hold

Tezuka tries to break through to Echizen. Drama, I-3

Ryouma knelt where he was, staring up at the General. He could feel the deadly thin line of Tezuka-dono’s sword against his throat. It didn’t move when the General spoke.

Washed Dry

Fuji decides to try his hand against Echizen. It provokes a lot of thought. Drama and Romance, I-3

Shuusuke felt a touch of excitement flicker along his nerves as they moved out into the open, feet scuffing up tiny puffs of dust to mark where they set themselves. Echizen was good. Not good enough to make Shuusuke lose, but perhaps…

Brittle Edge

An outsider samurai visits, looking for a challenge. Echizen
gives it to him and comes a little closer to figuring things out. Drama with Action and Blood, I-4

They met in the training yard.

"The kid again, hm?" Akutsu looked down at Ryouma with cold eyes.

Ryouma shrugged. "We didn’t finish, last time."

The Finest Things

Atobe deals with some trouble among his officers. AU, Drama, I-3

"How badly were Taki’s forces defeated?" Tarou-sama asked, evenly, eyes
on the men passing him.

"Completely," Keigo reported, keeping his voice dispassionate, no matter
how much he wanted to grind his teeth with frustration. "They would
have lost two out of three, had we been in the field."