Before the great city-state grew in a near land, his people were mighty, and traded their services for pay and trade goods and technology. He set paw on a ship licensed by Ashanti and Khoisan merchants, who had a new plan, to go east for spices and valuable cultural goods. Bought to their service for aeolipile engines for drilling and pumping, steel, and arquebus. The old men scoffed and shook their gray manes at them, but he knew what the future meant. He was the only easterner there, all the rest were cheap and common far nothern mammals, the ones from what were considered the savage lands, this place known as Europa; though they were civil and cordial. Some even spoke pieces of Maa, but were more handy with the Swahili trade tongue. He had a long journey to learn a new form of speaking, something called Nipponese.
The only easterner. Ever, it seemed. The far northerners did the dealing with the Nipponese, by intermediaries from the Middle Kingdom and the camel and fennec traders. No Nipponese had ever seen one of his land, least of all a Maasai lion, they knew only stories of jungle lions of the near continent. Tall, strong, in his red wrap and with a mighty spear. Unique. Special. That was why the Daimyo requested his presence. Bought his service. In the back of his mind he knew he was never seeing Ngorongoro again. He accepted a new name, for a new part of his life, Shishisuke. He was given swords for his waist, a home, the honor bearing weapons for the Daimyo. The job had not changed. He was a protector. To the bloody end. In the end, it was only him, thrown to the wind by a traitor who didn't see him as worthy of dying like his patron.
Thrown away into the mountains of the north. Truly to never see Ngorongoro again. But between every mountain, a valley. And the ronin Maasai met other Nipponese who had never seen his kind, suffering the chaos of the war of unification. In a small shrine, a small woman, dumpling plump, bright as polished steel, smiling with snaggle teeth and overflowing with love for the collection of villages the shrine served. Her charm was infectious. No land or swords bought his skill. He gave it. He would never see his home. He would make her home his home.
The Maasai yojimbo listened to the cries of fear behind him. The bandits had come again. They thought in the chaos of war they would find soft prey, as ever. He held those before him in contempt. No one would sing and leap to this legend, not in Kyoto or Ngorongoro. But it was right. And when all was said and done, when the shogunate found the villages so many years later, they would find mighty tanuki with deep black manes surrounding their heads and mahogany dark lionesses, dumpling plump with puffy tails.
"Wait... was there really one of my kind in your country before the city-state came about?"
"Yes! Very famously. Because he was like you they think he was Maasai, and his name was Shishisuke. But his end was never known. Maybe he did that."
"I think he would. Dark mane lions like me look good with little dumplings with crooked teeth and canine wagging tails."
"Ah! N-nu-kun... we should go. Ame and Bela will be meeting us. I hope the like our costumes. Ame will understand, but we will have to explain to Bela."
"You go ahead. I love hearing you tell it."
Happy Halloween! Some cute couples costuming from Nuka and Kaho. He's dressed as an historical figure from Japan, and Kaho is using her Miko attire for a costume, weaving a happy ending for the poor soul. Oh and... the bulge is from the artist, and I super duper appreciate it.
Nuka (c) Disney
Kaho is mine
Art by
\n\t\t\t\t\t4pcsset