The sky was dark gray as the heavens were open, drenching the earth below mercilessly with rain. Lord Akihito Xesibe stood in silence, letting the rain fall upon him. He couldn’t feel the cold of the rain, protected by the warmth of his own body trapped within the cocoon that was his armor. The damp cold couldn’t chill his face, as the onyx full face mask attached to his helm guarded it. The only facial features unobscured were his light brown, almond-shaped eyes, focused upon the three horses approaching him slowly.

There were men settled upon each horse that approached the liege lord. Seated upon the first and third horses were men that belonged to Lord Xesibe’s household guard. The guardsmen wore black armor accented with bright gold — the colors of the Xesibe family mon. The man mounted upon the horse between them was a criminal awaiting execution that morning for his crimes. The reins of his horse were being held by the guard to his right.

The criminal who sat mounted before Lord Xesibe was a farmer who had grown too greedy for his own good. The man had seen his neighbor, a fellow farmer, had a prospering ride paddy that produced a plentiful bounty of rice and wanted seedlings to transplant to his own paddy. When the other farmer did not wish to give away his best seedlings, the offender slew the victim out of a fit of rage with a pitchfork. The farmer’s wife had witnessed the murder, and the murderer took advantage of the woman to silence her. He silenced the woman, but another farmer witnessed the crimes and he informed the local doshin of the slaying and rape himself. They found the man hiding in a local drinking establishment, drowning himself in cups of sake over the remorse he apparently felt for his crimes. The doshin were ready to subdue him with force, but it turned out to be unnecessary as the murderer came willingly. They jailed the man for three days, which he accepted peacefully, before being transported to Lord Xesibe.

Lord Xesibe nodded to his men and watched as they dismounted from their horses, silent still.

The guardsmen stepped over to the criminal and assisted him off his horse, making sure not to pull him down too fast so he didn’t fall face first into the muck or rile any of the horses.

Once the murderer was on his feet, his eyes turned downward, gazing at the wet mud beneath his feet.

Lord Xesibe could feel the shame and guilt radiating off of him like the sun beating down upon him on the hottest summer day. If the man was there for a lesser crime Lord Xesibe would’ve possibly taken pity on him, but that was not the case that day. The offenses the man committed were heinous and unforgivable, and there was only one punishment for crimes as horrible as his.

Death.

Lord Xesibe continued to study the man for a moment longer, then motioned his head to the ground. “Put him on his knees.”

The two guards nodded to their liege’s orders. They each placed a hand on the man’s shoulder and guided him down onto his knees before the daimyo.

Lord Xesibe looked back over his shoulder.

Behind the liege lord stood his eldest son and heir, Akihiko Xesibe.

Akihiko was a young man of the age of fifteen years and was tall for his age. He had light brown eyes that were kind and frank — untouched by the true harshness of the world. His skin was a beautiful, deep brown, like the winter bark of a cherry tree. His hair was black as night and kissed his shoulders ever so gently, recently cut by the boy for training. Anyone who saw young Akihiko standing next to his father would think they were twins, Akihiko being the spitting image of his lord father.

Young Akihiko had come at the request of his father, who thought it was time for him to understand what it meant to be daimyo, and the things he would have to see and do as his successor one day. His mother, Lady Hinata, attempted to protest his lord father’s request, feeling that he was too young to see an execution and his father should wait another year, but Lord Akihito reminded his wife he was Akihiko’s age when his father died in combat and he assumed leadership of Clan Xesibe. He reasoned that he could die the next day and as his heir, Akihiko needed to be prepared to take charge of their house upon his passing. Without further protest, Lady Xesibe allowed her lord husband to take their son to witness his first execution.

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The young man shivered. Unlike his father, young Akihiko only wore a simple yet beautiful jet black montsuki which bore the golden mon of Clan Xesibe — a plum blossom with two katanas crossed over it — one on each side of the chest, one on each shoulder, and one on his back, a white-striped jet black hakama, matching black tabi socks, and plain yet functional lacquered zori, and he could feel the cold of each drop of rain that came down.

Akihiko’s eyes connected with his father’s in that moment. He nodded at him.

Lord Akihito took that as a good sign, and he nodded back to his son before turning his sight back to the man sitting on his knees in front of him. He trained his eyes on him, studying him in silence as he brought his right hand down to the saya against his hip. He rested his thumb on the tsuba of the hilt momentarily, before pushing it up out of the saya with a metallic pop. “Toru Mbotho,” Lord Xesibe addressed the accused. “I charge you with the heinous acts of murder and rape. How do you plead?”

The convicted man looked up at the liege lord before him, his eyes only briefly connecting with the noble’s. “Guilty.”

Akihito’s stern gaze bore into the criminal’s eyes and he could see that he truly regretted the crimes he committed and knew he must pay for them. There was no pity with the lord’s eyes. He brought his left hand across his body and took hold of the tsuka, pulling the katana from its sheath with one swift motion. He took his other hand from the sheath and brought it to sit above his left hand on the hilt of the sword. He held the katana before his masked face, eyes still focused on the accused before him as he spoke.

“In the name of Lord Tamotsu of the Clan Qadi, Shogun of the Qadi Shogunate, by the word of Akihito of the Clan Xesibe, Daimyo of the Golden Coast, I sentence you to death.” He took a step to the side, lined himself up with the side of Toru Mbotho’s body.

“Do you have any last words?” Lord Xesibe asked.

Toru Mbotho shook his head to the Lord’s inquiry.

Lord Akihito raised his katana high above his head.

Toru Mbotho closed his eyes and lowered his head, hanging it in shame as he waited for his death to come.

The samurai lord released a sharp kiai as he brought down his sword, cutting the man’s head off with a swift stroke of his blade.

The head of Toru Mbotho bounced against the wet mud with a squish before rolling off to the side. Blood sprayed into the air as the headless body it spurted from fell forward into the mud. The blood continued to rush into the mud and tangle with the rain as it wet the earth beneath it.

Lord Akihito regarded the lifeless form of the executed as he ran the edge of his blade along the corner of its saya before sheathing it. He lifted his eyes to his men.

“Burn the body.”

“Yes, my lord.” The two men responded before moving toward the felled corpse.

As the guards approached the body, Akihito turned toward where he had last remembered his son to be, finding him there again. He brought his hand to his face and pulled his plated mask to the side, allowing him to speak as he approached his son. He placed a hand on the young man’s shoulder.

“That was grim business you had to see,” The noble Lord told his son. “But this comes with being daimyo.” He explained to him. “There will be days where you will need to take a man’s life to keep order. Maybe even more. Serve needed justice. You must be able to separate your personal feelings from this act.”

Young Akihiko nodded silently to his father’s words.

The liege lord could see that his son fully understood his words, but also struggled with what he saw. He tightened his grip on the boy’s shoulder. “You will get used to the sight.” He assured him. How long would it take for the boy to adjust to such things? Only time could tell.

“Come,” Akihito guided his son back to their horses. “Let’s get you out of this miserable rain.”

Father and son made their way over to their horses. Their horses stood nearby, side by side. They mounted them before heading off back toward their family manor.