Defense is an often overlooked aspect of the Homestead. As chickens need fencing to protect from predators and the garden needs a fence to protect from herbivores, so too does a village need a fence. Though instead of wood and rope, a village's fence is often made of flesh and bone and steel and faith. Not all threats are physical and not all that can be lost is material.

- Kuya Tio on Community, Kuya Tio’s Guide to a Healthy and Happy Homestead.

I buried my head in my hands and groaned. I hadn't found the time to build a fence around the garden and literally everything I had planted yesterday had been eaten, the soil trampled with deer prints. It was a pretty solid hit to the gut and I needed to fence the plot in before the stuff directly sown into the dirt sprouted, but first, breakfast without looking too dejected and after breakfast, the festival.

The spring festival was very… un-festival like. Really just a village get together and feast. It started with the slaughter of a pig. Its throat was cut and blood collected into a pail. It was then gutted and cleaned. Hair shaved and singed away and internal cavity stuffed full of garlic and lemongrass. It was skewered with a spit and us men folk took turns rotating it over a bed of hot coals while the women seasoned and cooked the blood. The town square was a bustle of activity. Women in and out of the kitchens of the closest houses, children running circles around the square, and men at tables playing games either board, card, or dice. A large get together, not really a festival. It was one of those “Hey how ya doin’” type events that I never really cared for back home, but free food and a break from work. Practically every old man in the village quizzed me on my life which was tiresome at best and I lost a few games of cards before giving up. I felt an odd mixture of content, annoyed, and bored. Part of me, happy to take a day off, another part upset that I was here instead of home working. The only person close to my own age was Ate Wei Lin and I wondered if that had something to do with my lack of enjoyment. Obviously I was busier than hell trying to get the Homestead in order, but the only people I had met who were close to my own age were the Xiao sisters and Shinichi. I clearly needed to make some friends.

***

“So you plan to sleep in the chicken coop?” Saito asked, scratching at his beard in thought.

“Yeah, until I get the house built.”

“It's waterproof right?”

“Fairly sure it is.” I wasn't one hundred percent sure, the roof had been a massive pain in the ass, but we hadn’t had a good rain during the day since I had gotten it on. “I'd like to borrow some hay for bedding, if that would be alright?”

“Yeah that's fine.” Saito nodded. “About staying in there tonight though.”

I was half expecting the guy to say “no”, but the barn was starting to really smell and he did say he was going to kick me out after yesterday's festival.

“No.”

“Ah why?” I asked.

He looked at me quizzically, like I should know the answer already. “New place to sleep means poor sleep. You'll need good rest for tomorrow.”

Okay, now I was confused. “What's tomorrow?”

Saito blinked owlishly at me. “Militia training. Didn't Meng Su tell you yesterday?”

“Militia training? No. No one ever said anything about a Militia.”

Saito shrugged. “It's part of your corvée.”

Of course I expected a town on the very edge of the empire to have some defense, but I expected an actual military. It just never dawned on me that the only people out here to serve as the military were the people that lived here. “What am I supposed to do? As Militia, I mean.”

“We train once a week until harvest and once per month during the winter. One of the training sessions per month is done in the town with the rest of the Militia.”

“But we, like, if an army comes, we’re supposed to stop them?”

“Yeah.”

“Has that ever happened?”

“No.” Said Saito to my relief. “At least not in my lifetime.”

“So we never get called?”

“Oh we get called every other year or two. Monsters or outside barbarians.”

“And we fight them?” I asked, afraid to hear the answer.

“What? No. We protect the town until the military arrives. I suppose we fight them if they attack. Had a mountain troll once, that was scary, but the barbarians haven't caused any problems in my lifetime. Usually come to trade cattle for supplies just before winter sets in.”

“Oh.” I didn't have anything useful to say. I can't believe I've just been conscripted. Well, I guess it isn't actual conscription.

“Yep. We'll head out after breakfast and Wei Lin will have something good for use when we get back. Probably side pork.”

***

Militia training was nowhere near as bad as I had imagined. Honestly my mind had gotten the better of me and I spent the night imagining intense physical training, a lot of yelling, and getting pummeled by the other villagers in some sort of combat training. Saito and I left after breakfast. He was missing the spear, but wearing a large circle of bronze mirror armor that covered his chest and stomach. I didn't ask about it, unsure if I was supposed to get one as well. When we got to town, a large door was opened, a rack of spears were moved off to the side, and everyone was handed a spear shaft with a cloth ball on the end. I guess that made sense as you wouldn't want to stab your neighbors during practice. They also handed out large rectangular shields that when set on the ground, came up to my waist. We were then ordered to fall in line by a man who only went by Wu. This was the part where they planned to have a laugh at me. I had no idea what we were doing as the sixteen other men fell into a row of eight men two deep. They all laughed at my confused look and when I tried to stand next to Chao, I was told I needed special training to be on the end, and they laughed again. Wu yelled at them to stop screwing around and Chao moved over so I could stand between him and Saito. We then marched to an open area that I had previously wondered why the village hadn't turned it into more rice paddies. Now I know. When I say we marched, what I really mean is that we walked and tried not to break Rank. I've seen actual soldiers march. We were definitely not marching.

A large section of the day was dedicated to moving while staying in line. Move forward. Move back. Rotate left. Rotate right. Refusing the flank was difficult. Basically someone acted as a hinge and part of the line swung back. Considerably more difficult than it sounds. Bracing for a charge meant that the first line dropped to a knee, holding their shields in front of them and the butt of their spears dug into the ground while the guy behind you placed his shield over top of you. It made the line into a spiked wall of wood. War stories always focused on Samurai duels and generals doing clever shit, never the actual blocks of men. Now I know why. What do you do when faced with a wall of shields and spears other than press against it with your own wall of shields and spears, unless you have a mage. That's a scary thought. If we fight a mage we are literally supposed to scatter as fast as possible and hope we don't die. I hope to hells I never have to actually do anything more than practice this stuff.

As the day was winding down and my arm was hell’a freaking sore from carrying the shield, we switched to crossbow practice. That was easier than I expected. Put foot in loop at front, pull charging bar, insert bolt, aim, and fire. Most of the time was spent on how not to shoot your own people. Which mostly just don't put a bolt in until it's time to fire. I never hit the target, but that was apparently okay because if I ever had to use a crossbow it likely meant I'd be shooting at a block of people, not individuals.

All in all Malitia trying wasn't a bad experience and true to Saito’s word, Ate Wei Lin had made side pork for dinner. Don't ever let it get to my mother, but Wei Lin was definitely a better cook.

Unauthorized reproduction: this story has been taken without approval. Report sightings.

***

“Hey.” Said Ate Wei Lin.

I straightened up, my back popping as I did so. I was finally clearing a place to build a house. Unfortunately that meant I had to remove the tree stumps and that was an exercise in frustration. Wei Lin was somewhat dressed up and holding several strips of paper connected to strings.

“Um. Dinner will be early tonight because the village is heading into town for Ah, well, a night of remembrance, I guess. We don't really have a name for it yet. It's not really a festival, but every year after the spring festival we write the names of people we lost to the war and hang them on a tree in town. And then drink. There's lots of drinking. Have you lost anyone?”

“I've lost a couple friends. And my uncle, if he counts.”

Wei Lin tilted her head as she considered. “Yeah I think your uncle would count. A bit after the fact, but… So how many do you need?” She held up the strips of paper.

“Three, but… My friends were, on the wrong side of this.”

She shrugged. “Not everyone got to choose their side. How ‘bout you get cleaned up and you can fill these out at dinner.”

I felt weird tying the names of three people who didn't live in this town and fought on the wrong side of the war to the tree. I couldn't even really say they were close friends. Takao left on deployment one day and never returned. Kang was stabbed to death in the street outside a bar by the friend of a rebel he had picked a fight with. And I honestly hadn't been that close to my uncle. I tied my tags in a small cluster on the back of a rather old and knurled tree, trying to take as little time as possible. Literally everyone was here. Some tied on their tags and left. Others stood around and bullshitted with friends. I kept vaguely close to Saito after Wei Lin disappeared with a few other girls. The sheer number of tags hanging from the branches was gut wrenching when you realized each one was the name of a person that was either dead or exiled.

At some point the “who are you”s started and after explaining a half dozen times the “meet my daughter”s began. It bugged me that I had men literally throwing their little girls at me. It might sound like a fantasy in your head, but in reality it hit me as creepy. I got it. Most of the tags on the tree were men of my age. I was one of very few prospects in this town and Saito’s compliments on how hard I worked and my own admission that I wasn't seeking to court anyone until I could prove I could feed myself caused guys to try to sell me their daughter's like property. Maybe it was a cultural thing as this wasn't common in the city. Ayame was supposed to be kind and a great cook along with other positive wifely abilities, but looked just as displeased as Wei Lin had been with being marketed. Eiko was a bit younger and stared at me with doe eyes like I was some type of amazing catch, of which i was far more crept out than caught. Then there was Tung-Mei Wen. I didn't receive a sales pitch for her. Her father introduced the girl and walked off completely aware that his daughter was smoking hot. The primitive part of me said “yes, fuck that!” And very quickly convinced the logical part that I should at least get to know her for later when I did start looking for a wife. Then Tung-Mei opened her fucking mouth.

I watched myself in mild fascination as the same part of me that handled the baser instincts simultaneously screamed, “have sex with that” and “run for your life”. Seriously stepping back and analyzing your base feelings when you were in no actual danger was a trip. We mere mortals are fucking weird. Tung-Mei was babbering on about how her friends, family, and this town sucked as I looked for a way out. I was hoping I could spot Ate Wei Lin or even Saito and make an excuse to leave when someone poked me in the side. I looked down at my brown eyed, plain faced knight in shining armor, or more specifically a green long sleeved Ao Dai dress with asymmetrical flower embroidery.

Kaori pulled on my sleeve while looking at Tung-Mei and saying. “Sorry Ate, but I need to borrow Kuya Han. You're welcome to come with if you don't mind some heavy lifting.”

Tung-Mei scoffed and looked insulted. “Whatever.”

I was pulled away from the very attractive bitch.

“Fell into the trap huh? Pretty face, wide hips, and large breasts?”

“Yeah, thanks for saving me.”

“She's a bitch. You looked like you needed the help and I figured we didn't really get to talk during the planting. That much work isn't really good for chatting.”

“Really, you and Ate Wei Lin seemed to be talking just fine as I tried to keep up.”

Kaori laughed in a way that started as a chuckle, grew for a moment, then ended with a snort. “Fair point. Fancy a walk?”

“Yeah, I'm not exactly enjoying this.”

“To be fair, tonight isn't really meant to be enjoyed.”

“I guess that makes sense. Everything is either melancholy, or hi, meet my daughter.”

“Oh it must be so hard to have pretty girls thrown at you?” Kaori said, her tone implying dry humor. “My options are too young, too old, married already, or unable to give me children.”

“Sorry. The whole thing just kind of weirds me out.”

“Well that's how we meet. Keep complaining and I might take it personally.”

“No, that's not the same. Your father isn't tring to sell me on how good of a wife you'd make.”

“He would. I think. I assume Kiyoko was doing the job, no?”

“No. That came after a different conversation and she never said anything about you as a wife prospect. I mean I assume that was the point of an introduction, but there's no push behind it.”

We crossed over the bridge. The river water ran dark and quite underneath us as night set in. Lanterns lit the street and people wandered around and chatted as if they had nothing pressing to do.

“What was the conversation about and how'd it lead to me?”

“Sex.”

Kaori snorted. “Of course.”

“She offered sex and when I said no she offered to get me a different girl at a brothel.”

“So you're saying you didn't screw my cousin?”

“I did not. I'll admit I was tempted and she’s kind of hot, but I've got a reason not to. But then she points a finger at me and says, I've got a cousin about your age. And I told her I wasn't going to fuck her cousin either.”

Kaori gave me a playful glare. “Are you saying I'm not fuckable?”

I chuckled. “I'm saying I thought she was still trying to get me laid.”

“Ah, but are you sure that still isn't her plan?”

I had to think about that. “You don't seem the type.”

“You don't know my type.”

“Fair point.”

She led me down a tight alleyway and knocked on a door.

“Where are we?”

“My parent's shop. Kind of half tea house, half restaurant.”

A human woman opened the door wearing literally the same outfit as Kaori. She looked at Kaori and looked me up and down. “Who the hells are you?”

“Yuji Han.” I replied with a bow. She didn't return it, just blinked at me.

“Kaori? Are you on a date?” The woman asked teasingly.

“This is the last place I'd go on a date. Yuji will never be more than just a friend.”

I put a hand to my chest and tried to look hurt. “Ow, friend zoned already.”

Kaori snorted.

“I didn't like tails anyway.”

Kaori put on a fake expression of shock. “You racist bastard.”

We both laughed. The woman looked from me to Kaori and back again. “Yeah, I call horseshit. What do you want?”

“Tea please.”

“Seriously?”

“Booze if it's free.” Kaori shot back.

“Tea then, oh and I'm totally telling your mom you're dating a human.”

“Hey! No!” Kaori yelled, but the woman was already gone. “Damn it.” She grumbled.

“Better your mom than your dad I suppose.” I tried.

“Fuck no. If I tell dad this isn't a date he'll believe me. Mom's just going to harass me about it for the rest of the year.”

“Ah, well. Sorry.”

Kaori let out a sigh before the door opened and she was handed a tray complete with tea kettle and cups. “Thanks.” She managed before the door shut.

Kaori poured two cups in the dull lantern light of the back alley before handing me one. She held her cup up. “To those who never return.”

I returned the gesture and we both took a sip. “This holiday sucks.”

“To be fair.” Kaori said, pausing to take another sip. “The harvest festival is the only one worth attending. We, that is, most of my friends and I usually just sit in the back of the shop here and get drunk during the summer festival. If you're looking to actually meet some of the girls without their parents involved by then, stop by. Unless you were serious about that tail comment.”

I shrugged. “Honestly don't care for the tail. Not against it either.”

“Hrmph. Yeah well, fuck you.” She poured herself more tea and leaned against the wall.

“What's up for the rest of the night?”

“I'm going to stick around here in case things pick up. We're always open late for these things, but I don't expect much. We don't sell booze.”

Silence fell between us and I watched the moon slowly poke around the edge of the alleyway as we sipped our tea.

“How's the homestead coming?”

“Got the paddy and garden planted. Then the deer ate my plants.” I replied with a scowl. “Finally moved out of Saito’s barn and into the chicken coop.”

“Eeww.”

“No, I don't have any chickens yet. It's clean. I'm currently working on clearing a place for my house. I think I'm going to need a lot of help with that though.”

Kaori nodded along. “What kind of house?”

“Honestly, I haven't the slightest idea.”

Kaori snorted and drained the last of her tea. That kind of marked a natural end to this particular event and after a short pause where only the sound of insects and chatter of some distant people was heard I decided to cut it here. “I think I'll head home now.”

Kaori's content smile faded a bit, but she nodded. “Stop in sometime. I'm stuck here most days.”

“Will do. Good night Kaori.”

“Night.”

I retraced my path over the bridge, stopping at its zenith to admire the sound of the water and the paper lanterns someone had mounted near the riverbank. It was a long walk home in the dark, but I didn't get lost.