The two men were facing each other as if time froze in place for a few seconds, they both had their weapons readied. They were waiting to see who would have the first thing to say in the battle that has been taken too far already to be stopped. It could be risky though, one wrong move and the fight could be over for one of them before they would even have time to realize, a wrong move and the weak point of one could be revealed to his opponent. Even though they stood motionless and apparently do nothing as a third party would say, they were actually battling, not in the material plane though, it was a psychological fight, one that would mostly decide the outcome of the sword-to-sword duel. The two participants were very different, both in appearance and fighting style, their weapons of choice were different and relied on different abilities from the wielder; one was massive and more muscular, wielding a longsword. He relied on his uncommon strength to slash his opponents down, he wore common clothes with the fur of a wolf covering his very broad shoulders, the face of this man was frozen in a frown, he seemed to be very upset and very angry that someone had the guts to challenge him. His name was unknown though people suspected him for several acts of theft as well as for several attacks on the people of the village.
The other fighter was smaller and more ‘styled’, he was dressed in a Japanese traditional suit, involving a kimono, a hakama and an obi to hold his clothing together. He wielded a katana and relied on speed and agility as well as on his educated mind and spirit to defeat his opponents. This man was named Takezo, and was a ronin, a wandering samurai who might had decided to help the villagers and deal with this threat.
It all happened a day before when Takezo arrived into the village, it was the first human settlement he had seen for a few days so far, and he thought that he could spend a night there, socialize with the commoners, learn about their native culture, a thing which he always considered interesting. After all, he embraced the path of a wandering samurai just so he could learn more things, and be forced to deal with some situations from which he will gain some more experience that will improve his abilities as a man of arms and not only. He was following the Way of the Sword. But he also focused on mental and spiritual training.
The inn of the village seemed like the best choice for him, even though he didn’t like crowded places too much since it was not hard for him to gain unwanted attention; his unusual and extravagant, as some would consider, way of clothing played a major part in this problem of his. The man had no choice this time, so he moved towards the entrance, firmly opened the door of the building and stepped inside. To his relief there weren’t too many people in the inn upon a first glance, only some commoners and the staff working at the inn. Since he had little too no money with him, he decided to ask for a cup of refreshing green tea, it didn’t cost too much, thankfully, and tea was something he always enjoyed very much. It relaxed him.
While he was sitting at his table, delighting in sipping from his cup of tea, someone approached him, it was a woman, she sure looked like she was an inhabitant of that village. She was a short woman, little over the age of 40, probably in her mid 40s at most, or at least that was what Takezo thought. Like he expected to happen, he attracted attention, the woman looked very intrigued by him and couldn’t help but scan over his clothing and attire for a few times, before she addressed him:
“Are you looking for a place to stay in for the night? I can offer you a room. It is way better than any of the rooms here at the inn” Her tone was firm, she seemed like she was determined to make business with this man.
“And how much it would cost me? I am asking you because I can barely afford one here at the inn, not to mention one that claims to be better.” Came the reply from Takezo, he was polite while talking to the woman, and his facial expression didn’t show that he was a little surprised by the sudden appearance of the woman. The cup of tea remained in his hand, and his light brown eyes locked on the face of the woman for a bit.
“It is free of charge. Come, let me show you, I promise nothing bad will happen to you, and yet again you look like someone who could take care of himself, am I right?”
Why was she so hospitable to him, he could not understand, a lot of time passed since someone treated him like that, unless this woman wanted to achieve something from him, but he figured that it would be worth it if he would go and have a look at what this woman had to offer. A slight nod was given, and after taking the last sip of tea he stood out, he had paid for the tea earlier so he wouldn’t have to worry about it, instead he was following this woman. Once they were outside and after they departed quite a bit from the inn, she would address him once more.
“I will be honest with you, I am afraid to live in my own place for awhile now, some attacks had been reported here lately, and mostly single women are targeted and people who cannot defend themselves. It will feel safer for me and for my children if a warrior such as yourself will stay with us for awhile. Please take up on my offer, I can offer you shelter and some nice meals.”
Takezo had to admit, the offer sounded very good, but the food and the shelter was now the last of his concerns, he didn’t like the fact that some man would attack helpless people who did nothing wrong to him. He gave another nod, and his answer will come short as he was in deep thinking for now.
“Very well, I accept.” Receiving this answer, the woman smiled faintly for the first time in a while and walked with him towards her home, it was a modest medium-sized house, and it had an extra room which will become his, at least for the night. Two children, a girl and a younger boy were waiting in the door way and like their mother they both seemed happy and satisfied that Takezo decided to stay over for the night, and came to greet him. He found the girl to be very pretty despite the rough life that she was forced to endure as the daughter of a peasant. But what happened to their father, where was he? That was a question that instantly traced his thoughts, but after all, it was not his business so he decided not to ask that aloud, even though he was curios.
The wandering samurai installed himself and his few belongings into the room that was offered to him, though he kept the sword with himself, then returned into the main room, where the woman of the house was preparing the dinner already, inviting him to sit down at the table where the head of the family should stay. This embarrassed him slightly, not used to be treated like this, nor he felt worthy of occupying that seat, even if it was for one time only. However, in the end he could not refuse the woman, and took a sit on that chair.

The dinner was served shortly along with a glass of milk, it was very delicious and enjoyable, like he had never tasted. The girl was a little shy, but on the other hand, the boy begged him to tell them some stories, things he experienced as a traveler. The sparkle from the boy’s eyes showed that he was dreaming to become a warrior as well. Takezo gladly accepted and revealed some of one of his adventures to them, a short story about him while he was still in the services of his clan. The Phoenix clan of the Rokugan Empire.

“Ah, the Phoenix Clan…” The body said, and even if he had no idea what that was about he could already picture himself there.

“Tell us… why are you wearing a skirt?” The girl blushed after she asked that, thinking that Takezo will be offended by that question. Instead, he chuckled slightly and stood up from his chair.

“It is not a skirt, it is called a hakama, and all men of arms from my home country wear it, see right here…” He traced one of the hakama’s pleats with his right index finger, of all the hakama had seven deep pleats, two on the back and five on the front. He continued: “… these pleats represent the virtues considered essential by the warrior who wears it, in my case this one is called Jin and represents benevolence, the other one is called Gi and represents honor and justice, the next one Rei representing courtesy and etiquette, and of course there is Chi: wisdom and intelligence, then there is Shin, sincerity…” He traced each of the pleats with his finger, the Shin was the last one, before he turned, he had two more pleats on the back to show them. “…Chu and Koh, loyalty and piety.”

He retook his seat at the table and smiled to them, at their innocence and at the way they reacted to his stories, they seemed very intrigued and they weren’t the only ones, their mother also. It was already late, the woman cleaned the table then they all went to sleep for the night, so far everything seemed normal, the village was peaceful and the full moon illuminated it even through the night.

“I am afraid I cannot let you leave this place alive since I had vowed that one of us will never leave this place again, but I am offering you an alternative, a honorable death, kill yourself and save anyone else from trouble. After all you are hurt, do you think a limping man would stand any chance against me?” Perhaps the last statement and the alternative Takezo offered to his opponent might seem a little crazy, but for him it was something normal, where he came from people were offered a chance to commit suicide in order to save their honor. The thug thought didn’t seem to enthusiastic about the offer, instead he got even more angry. “I am Attila, and no kid such as yourself will end my life, after all who do you think you are? I shall kill you.” But what upset him the most was that this child managed to get him limping the other night, his sword had made a pretty nasty cut upon his ankle, it barely missed his Achilles’ heel, after all that was what the samurai targeted, he wanted to rend the thug immobile, but failed. Attila remembered the scene perfectly.
It was the other night when Attila left his cave and went straight for the village, he was wearing his usual clothing and the trophy consisting of a fur of an wolf. He planned on targeting at least a villager and their house in order to steal some valuable things and sell them for money, also he was pushed by a strong desire to impose his domination and fear amongst the citizens of the village and so far he did a very good job at it. Attila’s target for the night was a house, he had been seen before where a single woman lived with her two kids, it was a perfect target, no one could raise a finger against him, he could steal whatever he wanted and delight in frightening them. Only if he had the slightest idea of what was going to happen and what expected him there.

Meanwhile, Takezo, the children and the woman had all went to bed. It has been a pleasant night for the wandering samurai, he enjoyed the company of the hostess and her children, especially the boy who made him remember some of his childhood days when he was aspiring so hard to become a warrior like his father was. Though the thought about that thug the woman was talking about still worried him slightly, he would do his best to protect this family as in exchange for their kindness. The warm and comfortable bed made him fall asleep so very soon. He kept his katana within reach just in case an unwanted event would occur.

He wouldn’t even be able to enjoy his sleep for too much before some strange noises woke him up, it seemed like someone was forcing the entrance into the house. There was a big chance that the thug he had heard about chose this house as his current target; Takezo didn’t even have to wonder why them, the thug probably watched upon the village for awhile now and knew who would make an easy target, that only proved what much of a coward he was. The sheets of the bed were flinched away and the samurai climbed out of the bed slowly, his right hand reaching for the sword, and grabbing it, the weapon was is in sheath, he had no reason to pull it out yet, he might be wrong about the noises he had heard outside.
Attilla managed to get into the house, unheard, or so at least he thought he did. By the time he began to search up the house for valuable things he would stumble upon a man, standing in the doorway of a room, he had a sheathed, curved sword of sorts and seemed to gaze deeply at his form, he didn’t even blink, was he some kind of statue meant to scare off people like him? He would laugh but didn’t want to risk waking up the inhabitants of the house, instead he walked closer to this man, and accidentally bumped into a chair. The loud thumb made by the falling chair was enough to alert everyone else from the house. Both Attila and Takezo cursed in their thoughts, neither of them had that in plan. The samurai had to act fast before any of the children or the mother will walk in into the room, giving Attila the opportunity to use a human shield. The fact that he was a coward was proven so he would pretty much do that without a second though.

It was only when Takezo moved and pulled the katana out of its sheath the thief realized that he wasn’t a statue. He cursed loudly and frowned upon the circumstances he was put to deal with now, and like a barbarian in an access of fury he charged at Takezo, empty handed, thing which caught him on surprise. The powerful arms of the man wrapped around his much smaller and slender form, and squeezed him powerfully, moreover he was thrown against a wall of the house. Landing hard onto the ground, Takezo felt a slight pain pounding through his veins as he shook his head, he had to regain his composure and deal with the threat once and for all. A quick plan was worked into his mind while the beast of a man was preparing yet for another attack, he was coming to kick him. But his foot would only connect with the blade of the katana instead with the desired target: the stomach of Takezo, the one who stood in his way and caused him so much trouble already. The blade inflicted him a pretty nasty cut, but thankfully missed by an inch his Achilles’ heel. In an excess of fury and pain Attila bumped into the wall with his shoulder, causing the house to become unstable for a few seconds, though Takezo managed to get to his feet, but when his opponent wasn’t in the mood to fight anymore, he was pushed against the same wall.

Meanwhile the little girl woke up and got out of the room to see what was happening outside, she was so terrified that she fainted.

Before Takezo could even notice the enemy lifted the little girl under his shoulder and made run of it, she was in the wrong place at the wrong time. He didn’t manage to do anything about it though. Something fell violently into the back of his head, his vision became nothing but a blur and soon it turned to darkness. He blacked out.

Takezo woke up in a bed, the same bed that he was supposed to use the other night, did he just have a terrible nightmare? No, that couldn’t be, and the headache he was running was a living proof that something bad did happen the previous night. He barely managed to sit up without collapsing back into the bed. A hand went slowly to the back of his head, to rub it slightly, but to no good, it only inflicted him even more pain than before. The pain, it just pounded into his ears like the rhythm of some annoying drums, something wasn’t right, how had he ended up like that, what did it happen, and the most important questions of all, what made him pass out? But the answer would come on itself, he suddenly remembered: The girl! His eyes snapped opened and seemed like they were going to burst out of his orbits as he stared blankly at the window ahead, it was almost noon, and the pain was now the last of his concerns, probably when the house became unstable some sort of object hit him over the head.
In a matter of a few seconds he jumped to his feet, downed the glass of water and grabbed his katana, both left for him on the small table of the room.

Soon he found himself in the dinning room, there was a woman and her boy crying, Takezo recognized the two, they were the ones he supposed to protect, along with the other girl, but he had failed, the girl was now in the hands of some sick criminal. He felt so ashamed of himself that he couldn’t even address the woman clearly. “I apologize, I shouldn’t have allowed that to happen, but I swear on my life, on my sword and on the honor of my family that you will have her in one piece before tomorrow. Now excuse me, I have to get ready.” Without waiting for a reply from the woman he walked out of the house and took a moment to gaze around, he wanted to find a nice place in nature where he could meditate and prepare to go after the criminal, he had left a trace of blood in his way, so tracking him wouldn’t be much of a problem. Takezo’s words brought a small glimmer of hope onto the woman’s face.

“Please, bring my baby back…” That being all she managed to say before the oriental warrior left her house. He was a noble spirit and would fight for justice and for good as many times he should be, and whenever the opportunity arose; he was still learning though. In a self-directed opinion he was far from being a great warrior, far from the Perfect state of mind and body he hoped to achieve, but that would be possible only through both: hard training and meditation, if done properly. He was not aiming to become a paladin of good though, due to his personality and a strong tendency of guiding by his own rules he will forever remain a neutral persona, more of a judge type, initially he will treat anyone equally be them good or evil.

Takezo left the village and disappeared into the surrounding forest, not stopping before he found a nice and clear opening, it seemed like the perfect place to meditate and get ready for the fight ahead. The base of an oak tree was his chosen spot, sitting down with his legs crossed, Indian style. His hands joined together and same went for his fingers except for his thumbs which were pressed against each other. His tongue was tipped up into his mouth and his chin rose slightly, he had taken the best of the positions in which the inner energies of his body, or ki (chi) as it was called, would form a perfect circuit within him so he could get in harmony with them and direct them to certain parts of his body and mind. The samurai was in his own world now and he would be found sitting like that for at least a couple of hours, not doing anything else, moreover he ignored or simply didn’t feel the bugs that seemed to bother him every now and then. But he was like a statue or more appropriate just like a tree and the insects would soon lose interest, or consider him just another part of nature, so he would not be stung or bitten by them.

During his meditation he reviewed all the events that have occurred since the confrontation between him and the thug, he tried to see where he proceeded wrong so he would not do the same mistakes again. This was very important to him, it was a way of analyzing himself and notice the things which needed improvement.

Not before the two hours passed was he ready to proceed further with this. His light brown eyes snapped open, and his body began to move for the first time, pushing the man to his feet, a few bones cracked as he stretched out, at first he found the cross-legged position to be very uncomfortable, but in time he got used with it. The samurai adopted the strategy of waiting, he let the dust settle, his opponent will gain a false self confidence and will let his guard down, attacking the mind of a man could be more devastating and more efficient than any of the physical, not well judged attack.

Soon he would leave on the trace of Attila, following the drops of blood left on his way as he made his escape last night. As Takezo expected, finding him would not be a hard task at all, and wouldn’t take too long before the challenge will come, one of them will not live see another sunrise. A honor was as stake, a promise was to be fulfilled, and destiny was to be followed, he would close his eyes with no sadness, and embrace the sweet scent of death if that was what fates had in store for him. He believed in Destiny, but also believed that a man could wind his own destiny if he knew how and came to understand the principles of life, and ultimately death.

Following the path made by the traces of blood, Takezo would soon stumble on a cavern of sorts, ‘sculpted’ by the nature itself into a small hill, the bloody footsteps lead deep inside the cavern, no doubt that this was the shelter of the savage man, soon to be for the second time Takezo’s opponent. So for so good, he was probably still inside and probably would not go anywhere for now, the warrior took his time in getting ready for the fight, Attila was no opponent to be underestimated, he had a lot of strength and unlike many knew how to put it to good use. Several cords were pulled out of his obi, three at number, one he used to pull his hair back and tie it into a pony tail. The hakama was tucked up through the belt and the long sleeves of his kimono were tied back with the rest of the cords, so none of them would get in his way, or bother him the slightest will facing his adversary.

“I, Miyagi Takezo of the Phoenix clan from the Rokugan Empire, I challenge you to a fight, either you will show up and stand like a man, or either I will come in after you.” Takezo wanted to make the fight fair, he wasn’t adept at sneaking behind people, striking them by surprise or to attack a helpless foe, the Bushido code didn’t allow any of that and he will insult himself, his family and his sword if he would ever to do. The same way of dishonoring will be the result of him not taking this fight to the end, he will either defeat his foe and keep up his promise, or will either die honorably for the cause.

Attila managed to escape that damnable house without losing his life, the anger that he experienced currently was nowhere close to any that he had felt the previous time, that mysterious man, the one that tried to protect the house, wounded him pretty badly at his foot. And, as an act of revenge he kidnapped the little girl, planning on doing something bad to her but was not sure what yet. Up to a point the plan was worked up pretty well, unfortunately he failed to take in consideration that what he just did will bring him even more problems, the hardest that he encountered so far, one that will decide if he was to breath the air of another morning. Another major fact he failed to analyze was the path of blood he had left behind, endangering his secret location to be revealed, if any decided to follow him and try to put an end to his days.

He woke up in the noon at the sound of someone calling out to him, it was the voice of a man, though he didn’t quite understand what he was saying. He decided to investigate, but not before taking a look around him, the girl was still sleeping or more likely she was in some kind of shock caused purely by fear.
Last night before falling asleep he managed to bandage his foot and stop the bleeding, it still hurt him a lot, he was still limping but at least he wasn’t bleeding anymore. Slowly he stood up, grabbing his longsword, his face showing big confusion. What was happening outside? Well, he will soon find out. In a couple of minutes he was outside, his eyes enlarging when his gaze fell on the samurai, the man who had been causing him a lot of problems so far. His face narrowed into a deep frown, his shoulders were rolled backwards and he stood tall, gripping the hilt of his longsword with great power, he felt like the rage accumulated within him will soon explode, he could not stand the face of this young man anymore, in contrast with him Takezo was much younger. The third major mistake Attila would make is by underestimating his adversary. But after all, that was what Takezo was aiming to, to push Attila to make those mistakes which would ultimately lead to his demise, the criminal would never know that he was to be defeated partially by himself. The longsword was soon prepared with its tip heading towards his adversary. That was the moment when the fight became inevitable and imminent.

Both understood what was going to happen, and both chose to say nothing for a couple of minutes, they just stared blankly one at another, studying, analyzing, winding strategies, they both wanted to win as much, but the samurai had some slight advantages. His opponent was limping, and he has already managed to get the upper hand against the mind of his opponent, he also had the element of surprise on his side, had plenty of time to prepare for this, unlike the other one who just woke up. After those couple of minutes passed, a dialogue was changed between the two at the initiative of the younger man who was suggestion a simpler alternative to the fight, giving his opponent the opportunity to save the tiny honor, if any, which he managed to gain so far in his unorthodox life. But Attila simply laughed in his face and thought that the samurai was crazy, he was very determined to win, and that pretty fast, so he will have time to deal with the little girl. Wicked thoughts pierced his mind about what he could with that girl and what he could do to get rich over the night. HE will have the first thing to say in this fight, he will make his opponent kiss the dust in one blow, he just had to aim for a sensitive spot.

His feet were pressed hard into the ground and the pain that was pounding through his wounded leg went ignored, he entered a state similar to the rage ability of a barbarian, he was purely guided by instincts towards his foe. He was not aware of his surroundings anymore, a tunnel-like vision formed around his target, everything was a blur, except for the man who he planned on getting killed. The longsword was gripped with both hands, and lowered to the right side, Atilla was going for a diagonal cut, one that was backed by a lot of brute strength.

On the other side, Takezo remained calm and collected, focusing on the approaching form of his attacker, he had but a couple of seconds to decide how to evade the cut and counter-attack powerfully and effectively, he didn’t plan on fighting defensively, so he will need to think up a way on how to get into an attacking position, and that like really fast. He decided not to try to block the incoming attack, it was very powerful and he risked not only to get some tingles into his arms but also to break his sword, and without a sword he will not be able to continue the fight. He had to target the attacker himself in order to get out of this tight situation, then he knew! Instead of waiting, he left, running towards Attila, planning surprising him with this move, and moreover mess with his mind, making him the victim of a great confusion. Attila didn’t know when to release the sword upwards anymore and slice his opponent, they would soon be inches close from each other and he wouldn’t have time to release the attack.

Attila blinked and missed the momentum of the samurai, then he felt a sharp stinging pain into his right hand and a small bone snapped, some of his fingers went numb, making him twitch slightly, almost letting go of his sword. He couldn’t explain what happened, but the one he wanted to attack was nowhere in front of him, actually he was behind as he would soon realize when glancing over his shoulder. But he didn’t bleed either, so what could have happened earlier.
Takezo actually hit his opponent with the hilt of his sword, over the right, exposed hand, that strike would probably weaken his grip and demoralize him greatly, he was still untouched, unlike the other who was limping and now couldn’t feel two of his fingers. The barbarian turned around, only to see that Takezo was preparing yet for another attack, the katana was coming fast at him, but he managed to jump back just in time to avoid having a limb severed from his body. But the pressure that suppressed against his leg upon landing onto the ground after the leap, made him wince in pain; he could not stand his own weight anymore and fell onto his knees, the tip of the sword resting against the ground.
He cursed himself and the warrior ‘dressed in a skirt’ and with his last powers empowered by rage, he pushed himself up into the healthier foot and balanced around trying to stab the approaching Takezo through the chest. But he didn’t manage too much, he wasn’t even close since Takezo was vigilant and very aware of the things which happened around him, he could fight and sense his opponent not only with his eyes, but with all of his senses. The samurai managed to sidestep the coming sword and walk behind wielder for the seconds time. After missing with the last of his swing, Atilla collapsed in a kneeling position, head bowed down, breathing out of control, he had no energy of making another move, he was not even able to move his hands, his eyes or any of his limbs, he just stood there awaiting for his death.

The fight was good as over. Takezo released the cord to let his hair loose once more before moving one foot behind Attila, the day of judgment had come, he will be both the judge and the executioner. The katana was gripped hard with both of his hands, and lifted up over his head, then the deadly swing was released powerfully and precisely. In a flash of a second the head of the criminal was severed from the man’s body and was rolling at his feet, his eyes remaining opened, starring up at his executioner, it was all over now, much too quick – much too soon.

In return, Takezo starred at the head, deep into the still wide opened eyes, and for a moment he was taken far away. He could see himself as a child once more, and started to relive some of the most remarkable part of his live, it was the day when his father, a well-known and well trained samurai from the Rokugan empire received an unusual letter from his lord which worried him greatly. He was accused of some acts that Takezo never thought him capable of, his father along many others had fallen into the disgrace of their lord and they’ve been ordered to them commit seppuku. Seppuku was a ritual suicide, the accused one was given the chance to commit a ceremonial suicide instead of being executed by the men of the lord and lose their honor in the process. Seppuku was done only by the bravest of men, and woman samurai were allowed to do that only with permission from a higher authority. He was forced to commit the most common form of seppuku, the obligatory one, used as a form of capital punishment for disgraced samurais, especially for those who committed a serious offense such as unprovoked murder, robber, corruption or treason. But Takezo’s father did nothing of those, he was attacked by a group of other warriors from another family, and killed them in self-defense, but only later he found out that he killed the son of an other important role. His fate was good as sealed, he was in a big problem and probably the witnesses would know to tell who exactly he was, he was a well-known man.
There was no way of getting out of this, and his father would never run away from his responsibilities, he will rather die than get his honor dirty, he had three sons, Takezo being the second, the honor of the family had to remain clean. And perhaps he did committed those acts he was accused of since he made no objections against the decision of the lord, he had three days to prepare before the ceremony, with that being everything that letter was about. By taking a deep breath, he went to announce his wife and his three sons about what was going to happen to him. Even though he didn’t show it, deep inside him he felt a great sorrow for not being able to see his family anymore, to love his wife and see his sons grow into powerful warriors as they all aspired to become. He had to be strong like he always was, and had to be a good example for his boys, he trained them himself, teaching them the way of the sword as well as how to educate their spirit and mind through meditation and studying the world around them or learn from the others. The bokkens (wooden katana, usually used for training) with which his sons were training were also made by himself, in his free time he liked to craft wooden swords and sculpt small figures of people or animals from a piece of wood.
He spent those three days just with his family, gave the last pieces of advice to his three sons on how to become a skilled warrior, and how to avoid getting into situations similar to which he was forced to deal with at that moment. His two swords, a katana and a wakizashi, will be left as legacy to one of his three sons who will prove to be the most worthy, but not before many years will pass and each of the three will go on different, separate ways, they were to return whenever they felt ready and worthy to wield such weapons. The two swords combined represented the Ancestral Daisho of the Miyagi family and they were passed away from generation to generation to the most worthy of the members. A samurai who loses his ancestral swords is dishonored until he can recover them.

The third day came fast, since from the first hour of the morning a convoy of four warriors awaited in front of the Miyagi estate for Takezo’s father to get ready. He was escorted to the stronghold of his lord, the ceremony starting as soon as they were there. The man was bathed and dressed in white robes, his favorite meal was served to him, he was treated like a lord, but once he was finished with his meal the main instrument of the ceremony was placed on his plate, it was a tanto (a curved knife/dagger), the one that will release his spirit from this world. Taken into another room, he will await in a sitting position. The last moments of his life were quickly flying by him. Takezo’s father was allowed to ask for a second, a kaishakunin, and that was his best friend, he will also play an important role in the ceremony.

He opened his kimono, took up his tanto and in a flash of a second he plunged it into his abdomen, making a left-to-right cut. The cutting of the abdomen released the samurai’s spirit in the most dramatic fashion, it was an extremely painful and unpleasant way to die, but at the moment of agony his best friend cut off his head with a smooth and clean swing of the sword.

Takezo saw everything that had happened to his father through the hole in a wall, as he managed to sneak into the stronghold, in a room next to the one his father was taken. The death of his father left a large scar into his soul and traumatized him a bit. He ran off, no, that couldn’t be his father, he didn’t want to admit the fact that he will never see his parent again, he loved him and how he was gone. What on the earth could he do to deserve that, Takezo was too young to understand, but will soon learn the ways and the principles that have damned his father to a most dramatic death. He will soon learn that he died to preserve the honor of the family, for him, and for his two brothers so they would be able to get proper training and fulfill their dreams.

But that didn’t stop there, the lord decided to confiscate more than a half of the family’s estate and wealthy things, leaving them without a father and without much of their fortune. Since the three boys were too small to be the head of the family their mother took up the role of their father. When Takezo was in his teenage years, his mother remarried with another samurai, he could not accept that so he left on his own, and since then he has been traveling high and low, returning every once and then to visit his mother and take gather some supplies, mainly clothes. Even if he lived outside his home realm for so long he still didn’t give up to his traditional clothes, and the best kimonos and hakamas were made only from where he was, so that was just another reason to return.

Takezo blinked, his mind focusing once more on reality rather than on old memories, he didn’t understand why he had to relive that day once more, it was painful even now after so many years, but the way this criminal died reminded him of that day, Attila’s execution was similar to the one his own father had to endure. Slightly disturbed by his memory and thoughts, Takezo shook his head then pulled a nice and clean piece of cloth from his obi with which he will wipe off the blood from his katana before returning it into the wooden sheath.

“May you find peace in the afterlife!” Takezo whispered, starring at the dust for a few seconds, then closed his eyes, he was offering the man a small prayer, at least that was what he could do after killing him off. But he deserved it, so Takezo didn’t feel any remorse about it. The life of the little girl and of many other villagers were more important than his. Taking one life away to save many others wasn’t that bad.

Now it was time to walk into that cave and retrieve the girl from wherever she was. Thankfully, there wasn’t too dark inside and after a few seconds of looking around he spotted her, sleeping into a dark and humid corner of the cave using fungus as a pillow. She was probably in some sleeping stance caused by terror, he will try to wake her up, but not right away, he had to carry her away, as far as possible from the sight of the beheaded man, seeing him wouldn’t cause her any good at all and would even worsen her situation.
She wasn’t too heavy, so the samurai managed to pick her up in his arms and carry her out of the cave. No wonder she was shivering in her sleep, the cave was very cold and humid, but as soon as the rays of the sun began to ‘kiss’ her small form her muscles will start to relax. Takezo carried her in his arms on the way that was leading back to the village, he gave a second thought on trying to wake her up and decided that he should bring her home first, he couldn’t be totally sure that she will calm down when she will see him. And she needed to be tended to in order to recover and that as fast as possible, and her mother was probably the one who knew best how to do it.

Soon he will be in front of the main entrance of the house in which he was hosted for a night. From the very first step he had made into the village since his return with the girl and until he arrived to his destination curios gazes were thrown into his direction by the commoners, but he ignored every each of them. Some of the people even gathered together in a small mob, and followed him closely from behind though they had a safe distance just in case the ‘strange-dressed’ man would turn around and question their actions. They just didn’t want any problems. They didn’t know who this man was and what he was doing with that little girl in his arms, not many of them knew about what happened the other night, the encounter and the outcome of the attack caused by the thug. They just called him “The Strange-dressed man”.
Takezo kicked the door open with his right foot, and entered the house. Big was the woman’s surprise when first seeing the warrior entering the building with her baby girl in his arms. She was safe, her answers had been answered to, she couldn’t help but shed some tears of pure joy, before coming to greet him. “Thank you… thank you…” she said, and she went on repeating the same thing all over again with a trembling voice in a fainting tone. She was drained of powers, she looked much older now than she looked the other day, the thought that she might lose her daughter devastated her, but now everything was in order once more, thanks to this young man. Takezo walked into the girl’s room and placed her down onto her bed so she could rest and let her mother take care of her properly, she was on safe hands now and was most than sure that she will recover pretty soon.

“My task here is done, I’ve kept my promise, thank you for letting me stay in for the night and for your kindness, it’s been really appreciated.” Said the man as he stood tall once more, stretching his back. “Also the problem with the thug has been resolved, he will not bother you anymore too soon.”
As in reply, the woman nodded and gave a sincere smile, then asked him to at least have lunch with them before he will have to leave, it was nice to have him around but she also knew that he was a wanderer and his place didn’t belong there. He was destined for far greater things than living in a village like that where he wouldn’t be able to do anything but being a farmer or an animal breeder.

After giving some thoughts on it, Takezo decided to stay for lunch, having another good and healthy meal before taking off into the unknown was a good idea. In no time the lunch was served to him and the woman returned to tend to her daughter, while her other child, the boy was doing some chores around the house, he was also glad that his sister was back and felt like crying, but he couldn’t do that in the presence of the warrior. how could he aspire to became like that one day if he was going to cry for every thing terrible good or bad happened to him? His name was Robert, and lately he had a strong desire to become a warrior, to wield a sword and battle against evil, to protect hopeless people, and this desire became more pronounced since the attacks of the thug over the village he lived in.
Watching him brought even more memories to Takezo, but he shook his head a few times before he would have to experience another flashback and relive another remarkable day of his life.

He opened his journal and pulled out a blank piece of paper from it before he would start writing something on it, it looked like a poem of sorts. Once he was done, he folded the paper several times and called the child over, offering him the piece of paper as a departing gift. “Follow your dreams, guide by this poem and learn to understand it.” The samurai flashed a small smile and got a bigger one in return from the boy. “Also tell your mother that I thank her for her kindness, I am afraid I cannot stay anymore.” With that being said and done, he stood up, patting the head of the child several times before making his way out of the building and on the streets of village. Soon he will blend with the commoners and he couldn’t be seen anymore, not before he will exit the village at least.

It was almost at the sun set when Takezo left the small village nothing but a memory behind, he was satisfied with himself. He could feel how he was becoming better with each new thing he learned and each new battle he brought to an end into his favor, yet he was far from settling down somewhere, he was still young and with a lot of potential. One thing bothered him though, he could not take his thoughts of the criminal he earlier killed and why his death had so much effect on him, why did he have to relive that day when his father was forced to commit suicide?

He stopped in his way, and released his sheathed sword from the cord that held it to his hip, he lifted it with both of his hands a stared deeply at it. He traced with his eyes every curve and every design that sword had, that katana was nowhere as good, sharp, keen and balanced as the one left legacy by his father, it was just some ordinary one made by an ordinary blacksmith, nothing special. He now felt a strong desire within him to go back home and prove that he is worthy of wielding such a weapon, but no, he was not ready yet, but what if one of his brothers already proven himself worthy of having those two swords? He shook his head and sighed softly, returning the sword to his side, and tying the cord back around his waist, before resuming his journey into the unknown.

The night would catch him unprepared and he had nothing to set up a camp with, instead he found shelter at a base of a very old tree, and set up a fire with little pieces of wood he had found around him, thankfully they were dried and the fire started quickly without giving him any headaches. After a good night spent into a warm and cozy house now he was back to sleeping outside and endure the forces of nature. Every now and then a curios animal would come to check him out, but he tried to avoid fighting them for as much as possible; the fire also served as keeping the animals away other than offering him warmth through the night. He sat there, with his back leaned against the tree trunk and his knees pulled close to his chest, he was looking at the moon, contemplating it and the surrounding realms, the moon of “Arda” what did it hide, what mysteries and secrets did it know and only kept for itself? If only he would be able to understand the language of the moon, he would give anything just to see at least half of the things the moon did. Through so many years since he has been away from home and in a constant journey, the moon was the only one who remained by his side, when the sky was not clouded it appeared every night to keep him company and illuminate his path.

He fell asleep, the small sound of the burning wood cracking beneath the fire being his lullaby. And in the morning he will wake up at the sounds of the crickets, with a hand always gripping his sword tight through the night, he developed this certain style of sleeping, with the weapon always within his reach, he could never be sure of what might happen to him while sleeping in the middle of nowhere. The fire died out soon, it didn’t last for too long, but fortunately the weather was warm so he wouldn’t have to worry about freezing through the night, and start another fire.

Takezo stood up and took off on foot once more, he had the strange feeling that someone was following him but couldn’t tell exactly what, he even heard a few strange noises like several branches were cracking beneath the feet of someone or something. He perked his right brow slowly and slowed down his walking pace, trying to figure out whatever was following him, but he didn’t want to raise suspicions either, he wanted the element of surprise on his side, like he usually liked it. He was in the middle of nowhere once more, the closest human settlement being the village which he had just left behind, and because villagers were very fond of small ‘patches’ of earth they owned, Takezo didn’t even think that one of them could follow him out of sheer curiosity like they did earlier in the village. So he continued to walk aimlessly, apparently undisturbed and not worried about that feeling haunting his being or about the instinct which was telling him that he could be probably followed by someone. Perhaps his mind was playing tricks on him, he was probably tired and in need of a rest. He could use another session of deep meditation but it was not the time for doing that, and it was not the place either. The lands he was traveling through at the moment became more and more dangerous as he advanced, by every step he made. The forest was dense and dark, and he could not be sure what kind of creatures it sheltered. One of his hands rested on the sheath of the sword showing that he was alerted, keeping it close to him to make sure he will not be surprised by something without having his weapon within reach.

It was almost noon, the sun radiating as much power and heath as it could for this time of the year, though that didn’t affect the forest too much, the trees were very tall and very dense, shielding the lower parts of the forest from getting any of the sunrays. There weren’t many kind of plants growing on the humid and cold soil, just a lot of mushrooms and fungus which didn’t need too much light in order to survive, there weren’t too many animals either, just different types of snails and reptiles. But not even the reptiles liked to stay there for too long, they were cold blooded creatures and needed sun to warm up. It was only then, when he took notice of those things happening around him, Takezo realized that probably he shouldn’t go further, it was pointless and he could get killed by some kind of beast. He was just a human and was not able to see in darkness either, he would just throw himself in the claws of the danger. He stopped and turned around on his heels heading towards another direction, but not returning to the village he left a little while ago, he took on a more domestic path, which will lead him to a not so creepy place, hopefully.

Suddenly, a high-pitched scream would pierce the dense forest as well as the ears of the samurai. His head twitched in the direction from which the scream was coming, he was trying to figure out the exact location from where it was coming. Then he could clearly hear someone crying out for help. Without a second thought he took off running towards the source of that scream, he was moving pretty fast, avoiding any branches or smiliar sort of things so he wouldn’t trip on accident while he was on the way there to save the endangered person, and soon he will emerge into a small opening. The source of the cry was a boy who was about to be attacked by a bear, the bear wasn’t that large but was powerful enough to hurt the boy pretty bad or even kill him.

Takezo blinked, taken by surprise by the scene displaying before his eyes, especially by the face of the boy who looked so very familiar to him. To boy looked exactly like Robert, the son of the widow woman who had sheltered him for a night, it was either him or either they looked very much alike. Nonetheless, Takezo leaped and placed himself between the boy and the bear, with his sword already out of its sheath, pointing towards the maw of the beast, he didn’t plan on using it unless necessary, probably the bear had a good reason of being aggressive, it was probably protecting its territory. Takezo also kicked the ground before him, trying to scare off the beast.

“Run, get out of the way!” said Takezo to the boy and in return he nodded and hid behind a tree and will remain hidden there while Takezo dealt with the threat, the bear was very aggressive, it was probably hungry or bothered by something. A beast as powerful as a bear would consist a problem even for a skilled warrior such as Takezo, he didn’t know yet how would he manage to scare him. Perhaps a few swings of the swords in front of him and it will run away, but no, he thought better on that and came up to the conclusion that will only enrage it even more.

“Easy now, easy… we mean you no harm.” He was trying to communicate with the bear and calm it down, even though he was nowhere close to have the abilities of a druid. While saying those words, he backed away slowly trying to get away from the imminent encounter with the bear. The bear would shake his massive form for a few times when it seemed likely to attack, it suddenly lost interest, turn to the left and disappear far into the forest. Takezo couldn’t explain what happened but he was grateful for whatever made the bear change its mind and go away. They were now out of any danger, and a sigh of relief escaped Takezo’s lips. He then turned and looked at the boy, sliding the sword back into its sheath once more.

“What are you doing here all by yourself, shouldn’t you be home with your mother and sister?” Everything was clear now, the boy was Robert indeed, and he was very far away from home, was he the one who followed him all the way there? “Well you are very lucky that you didn’t get killed already, and also for not getting in any sort of trouble so far.” The child was not even in his teenage years, he was about the age of eleven and traveling all alone could be very dangerous.

The tone of the man wasn’t to the child’s liking, he pouted and looked at the ground, kicking the dust off with his right foot, he acted like any boy of his age would act. “Take me with you, I want to become a warrior just like you, take me as your apprentice…. Pretty please.” He looked up at him, his eyes enlarging slightly, trying to give him the puppy-eyes, but they didn’t affect the man. Takezo shook his head and frowned slightly, crossing his arms over his chest.

“No, your mother is probably worried already, how could you do that to her, she was just about to lose your sister and now you are running away from home.” He made a step forward and grabbed the child by his right shoulder. “Come, I am taking you back home!” The boy struggled in the hard grip of the samurai and his eyes began to water slightly. “No, no, let me go, I already talked to my mother, and she said I could go. I don’t want to be a peasant for the rest of my life, please take me with you.” Takezo was slightly impressed by how this boy talked, it sounded more mature than he looked and he wasn’t the ordinary boy of his age. Robert even had a quarterstaff located on his back which was small and light enough to suit his diminutive form. e was about 4 feet and 4 inches tall, had short black hair and his small eyes were hazel, he wore his usual peasant and dirty clothes, he didn’t have too much time to change before leaving off after the warrior.
“Hmm…” Takezo fell in deep thoughts, if the boy was speaking the truth then what was he supposed to do now? He had never tried to teach someone the way of the sword before even though he was pretty capable.

“If you are not speaking the truth than you will get in a really big trouble, little boy!” The boy was released from the grip as Takezo moved around. He circled the area for a bit as he was trying to figure out what to do with the boy, should he take him along, well he didn’t have too many alternatives for the time being, he couldn’t simply leave him there all by himself, he could get himself killed, for a few days at least they will walk together. “Fine! You can accompany me, but only until I decide what to do with you, just try not to get in my way, and don’t get into trouble, I have enough problems myself.” The boy grinned widely, that was what he wanted to hear from the samurai, he truly believed that he now had a chance of becoming a true warrior and battle evil people. The thought about his first adventure that was about to begin made his heart beat faster than before, he could feel it in his neck and hear it in his ears, he was so eager to begin that took off quickly after Takezo as he began to move once more.

He was going to resume the path he had chosen earlier, but wasn’t entirely sure where exactly he was heading. He now had the fate of the boy in his hands, should he accept him along as his apprentice and give him the chance to get proper training and become a good warrior, but was he capable of learning the way of the sword and understanding the principles of a disciplined warrior, the same that Takezo was guiding by? Was he capable of enduring the hard training days and do the bidding of his teacher no matter what it was.
Robert was trying his best to keep up with the quick pace of the samurai, but he didn’t complain about it, he was too busy keeping that wide smile on his face than to worry about anything else. “How should I call you, mister?” He asked, with a little hesitation in his voice; he froze in place as Takezo threw him a glance over his shoulder, the eyes of the man penetrating through his.

“My name is Miyagi Takezo, but from where I come from a teacher is called sensei. You could either call me that or either Takezo-sama.” With those words being said, Takezo accepted the little boy as his apprentice, figuring it would be good to give him a chance to fulfill his dreams, only time will tell if Robert will be able to become what he wished to become. But things could change, his decision wasn’t a final one, and probably will become one once they would be in a human settlement once more, when he will have more time to think. Also, accepting him along didn’t mean that they will be permanently together, Robert will be sent to fulfill some tasks, send messages or retrieve some things for his master, he will have to travel long distances and learn to take care of himself and how to not get into trouble. Of course he wouldn’t have to walk through the unpopulated settings, so he will be safe from bears or other animals.

“Alright, Takezo-sama.” The boy replied, nodding his head, he was happy now, he could already see himself as a warrior, fighting alongside Takezo, he hoped one day will become even better than him.

The landscape would soon change as they continued to walk, there wasn’t too much to talk a bout so a silence had installed between the two. Takezo was walking ahead and the boy was following. The forest wasn’t that dense anymore, the trees weren’t so tall and there was more vegetation, even a couple of trees here and there with soothing-smelling flowers. The chirping of the birds could be heard echoing throughout the whole setting, it was a nice change, and made the samurai relax a bit. Soon they will reach to an important highway between two large cities. They walked along it, a few signs pointing out the directions towards a city, Takezo just followed the road, paying no mind to the signs for now. The only reason he was heading towards the city was because he had to meet with someone and the kid needed new, clean clothes which would fit him better, and maybe even a wooden sword, perfect for training.

After two more hours of walking they will step in one of the largest cities in the whole realm, it was the city of Lómëdor, it was a very crowded city with many buildings, the village in which the boy lived was nothing compared to this city, even Takezo hadn’t seen anything like it the past few months. It reminded him of his home somewhat.

“Wow!” was everything the boy managed to say, he didn’t even know where to look, his gaze was traveling from a building to another, from a people to another, everything just captivated him and had a very powerful impact upon him. Not once in his life did he see so many people in the same place.

“Go look around the city and find yourself something to dress and a some of food, make sure you pack the food properly for the journey which awaits us ahead. I have to see someone here, we will meet when the sun sets by that fountain.” He pointed towards a fountain located in the middle of a marketplace. There were many merchants selling all sorts of things, including food and clothes, so the boy had plenty of places to choose from.
Robert nodded, but had a slight hesitation, he didn’t really want to be on his own through this large city, though he didn’t have any choice, he knew that he had to listen to his master since he probably knew better; the boy was used with doing chores around the house he lived in with his mother so he didn't mind at all. Soon they went on separate ways but only after Takezo gave a few coins to the boy so he could do the shopping. They wouldn’t know of each other before the sun will set. The boy looked pretty delighted while browsing through the markets, it was hard to decide on a certain outfit, nevertheless he had all the time in the world. While on the other hand Takezo had to go meet someone. They will stay over for the night and leave the next day, he didn’t like settling somewhere for more than a night or two at most.

Another small chapter of the wandering samurai was coming to an end, he will soon move on, towards a new adventure, towards a new challenge, and will be facing more things from which he could learn to improve his skills. But now something was different, he had gained an apprentice the little boy named Robert, the responsability was much greater. It was to see if the boy would be talented enough to wield a sword and understand and later share the principles which guided and ruled all of Takezo's life. Only the time will tell.