The Battle That Changed It All

Four months. That is all that was left of that year. One hundred twenty five days to be exact. Like the old saying goes, time flies when you are having fun, and it flew by for me that four months, almost as fast as a jet plane. I do not have a clear, concious memory line of that four months, but I do have memories of that four months. Clear memories, good memories, depressing memories, funny, happy, but mostly when I look back on that four months I am filled with sadness.

I know that after my dream about Shishimi dying I was very withdrawn and scared, however my lessons had become more aggressive. Kashii showed me more of her father's moves, and she taught me more of his wisdom and skill. One of the other lessons that she showed me has stuck with me, still to this day.

Kashii had made sure that I learned and showed repsect for all living things, animal or human, mineral or plant, and that I never took for granted that I would become a part of them in some small way. She made sure to remind me that after I died I would become a part of the earth, which in turn would be used to help nourish the trees and flowers, which would then feed the animals that would then take their turn and feed the humans. "Always make sure that you respect the nature of nature. Do unto it and others as you want them to do unto you. Know that all life is precious, however if confronted and cornered, well life can be taken away in order to sustain yours. It is a paradox that all we must live with, I try to say a prayer before I go to bed each night asking for my forgiveness for any wrongs that I might have done that day. It helps."

"It helps what Mother?"

"It helps me to sleep at night."

I was shown how to read movement and what to expect from it, I was shown how to interpret the wind and the stars, I was shown how to listen to the world and let it teach me what I needed to know. I was taught how to repsect life and the spirits that dwell within each person as they walk the Earth. I was taught that people are good and they are bad, you should embrace some and avoid others, however you should always respect them. No matter what, always respect them. Know that they have their differences and know how to deal with those differences. The most important thing that I was ever shown from Nakagana and Kashii was that when you meet a person for the first time always meet them with kindness and respect, for you never know if you will be the cause of them leaving the Earth. Always say a prayer or mediatate before going to bed, it helps you to go to sleep with good feelings, and it helps to release all of the bad. I was taught to never go to bed angry, for you will wake up two times worse than the night before.

That evening after taking a shower and washing off the sparring session that I had just had with Nakagana and Kashii I went into the dojo and laid the prayer mat down on the ground. I knelt on the mat and made sure that I was facing East as I was taught, I closed my eyes and started to think of all the things that made me happy and proud at that moment in my life. I was getting all of the good images I could into my mind so I could focus on them and try to avoid the negative images the world would throw at me.

I could see the radiant smile of my mother as she was watching me and Nakagana build her a raised wooden garden for her bamboo plants. I could feel the warmth of her hands as she embraced both of us to thank us for the hard work we did, I could smell the perfume of jasmine blossoms and lily that she used for her shampoo.

I saw Nakagan's eyes light up as he understood how powerful I had become, and how much I retained of his teachings. I saw the respect and glow inside of them from the day that he accepted me as his equal, no longer a student.

I could see Shishimi's face as it was in my dream, radiant, beautiful, statuesque, framed by sunlight. I felt her hand in mine and felt the warmth spread inside of me as she smiled at my, filling my eyes with the most gorgeous sight a person could ever imagine seeing.

I rolled the prayer mat up and put it away, tucked under my futon, then I blew the flame out from the latern. I looked up at the ceiling of the dojo and saw the twinkling stars inside the skylight, millions of bright tiny lights flashing for eternity. I could smell the comforting fragrance of the flowers from the yard. I closed my eyes and let sleep come into my body, slowly I drifted down into a soft cushion of comfort. I shot out of bed as the door to the dojo was thrown open making it come off of its track. "Yojiro! Wake up, grab your weapon, it is time!"

I was confused at first thinking it was a dream, but as my feet hit the cold floor I soon realized that this was no dream. The cold night air hit my skin and made goosebumps dance up and down my arms and all over my chest. I had my katana out of its sheath in my hand, pointed out and ready for defense, just like my father had taught me. "Father! Time for what?"

Nakagana looked over his shoulder towards me and gave me the most intense look I have ever seen in my life, his eyes were blazing, he was using the warrior sight, "Time for your training to be more than show."

Kashii burst through the door then, her hair that had been done in a bun when she went to sleep, was now bouncing in a long, flowing river of black down her back, a few wild strands were stuck to her head. Her cheeks were flushed, bright red spots on them, her chest heaving up and down as she breathed heavy and rapidly. She had a staff in each hand, once she was in and looking at me she threw one of them to me.

The second I felt the hard, polished, heavy wood hit my palm I knew what had to be done. I had to use all of my training and skills that Nakagana had taught me to keep myself, and my parents alive. It was a do or die, literally, situation that will be the most intense memory I will ever have. It was my first true battle, it was the fight that shaped my destiny, and chose my fate. I spun the staff around my hand and flipped the katana at the same time, I stopped both of them so that they were pointed out and away, ready for anyone and anything that would come through that door.

We waited for about a minute before anything happened. In that minute I was able to feel the electricity of tension course through my veins. The air seemed to be crackling with it, I felt the hairs on my arms stand straight up. I was tingling all over as I listened to every thing that I could all at one time. I was told to concnetrate on the sound of the breathing around you. Not only your own, but the others in the room with you. We were all breathing in the same rhythm, slow, intense, deep. Kashii had her bow out and an arrow drawn tight waiting for any movement to release it. Nakagana had both his katana and his father's in his hands, ready to battle.

Nakagana spoke in a calm and steady voice, using words that resonated through my soul, "If I do not make it through to the other side, it has been an honor to stand next to a warrior such as yourself my son."

In what seemed like an instant the wall of the dojo was filled with shadows as the battle began. Nakagana had dropped down into a crouch and was thrusting forward through two men as Kashii let her arrow slice the air and punch a hole in another man's head. She had another arrow notched and ready to go before the man hit the ground. I had thrust my swords forward, twisting, slicing, tearing through anything and anyone in my path.

I felt a sharp sting on my upper left shoulder, I felt the gush of warm blood start to flow down my back. I heard my mother let out a yell of pure rage as she dropped her bow and started slicing the air with her whirling blades. Arrows were being deflected in all directions as she used her blades as a shield, just as Nakagana had shown us to do.

I ran forward and to the left, jumping off the end of the dojo and flipped head over heels into the middle of a group of ten men. Two of them were ready and attacked right as my feet hit the ground, that was the last thing that they ever did.

As they approached me with their weapons up and ready to strike I remembered the one lesson that Kashii taught me earlier that year. Her soft, yet strong, voice filled my head with her words that saved my life that day, If you can see it in your mind, then it will be so. What I saw then was the heads of the two sword men flying through the air as their bodies fell with a thump at my feet. When I opened my eys after my last sword slice I saw that I had made it so.

The rest of the attack was cloudy, it was long, and I almost fell to the ground several times. The sounds of clanging metal, dying grunts, bow strings being plucked, the arrows zipping through the air. I heard my mother and father letting their warrior screams fill the air in between the clashing of swords and the thumps of bodies hitting the floor. I had just sent the last person's soul in front me free with a down slice of my katana when I heard Kashii scream in pain.

I spun around to see my mother fall to the ground with an arrow sticking out of her chest, her hand still clutching her sword. I saw her eyes open wide in surprise, her mouth a grimace of pain. Her long, dark hair was sticking to her forehead in small ribbons from the sweat and blood cacking her face. I turned in the direction from where the arrow came, pulling my bow and notching an arrow at the same time. I saw in an instant the shooter doing the same thing as me. I let my arrow fly, seeing his body falling down dead in my mind as I did, at the same exact time that Nakagana let his fly. We both hit the shooter in the head and watched him fall.

I went to go to my mother who was laying there hurt, bleeding, and now as I could see, crying. Nakagana went to go at the same time as me. Neither one of us saw the arrows fly through the doorway until it was too late.

I had been hit in the shoulder, a hot burning sensation shot down my arm. I spun out of the way with the arrow sticking out of me as I watched my father grow an arrow out of his neck. He fell over dead next to Kashii who saw the same thing as me. She screamed "NAKAGANA!" She then fell silent as another arrow hit her in the neck.

I watched all of this in stunned horror, everything started to move in slow motion, the only thing that I could hear was my heart beat in my ears. I looked at the door to see four approaching figures, all dressed in black, come towards me, their feet were falling in rhythm to my heart beat. I felt their hands close around my arms, I was lifted off the ground and carried out the door. I was dropped in the dirt, a dust cloud puffing up around me, at the feet of a silently standing man. Before I looked up at him I heard him light a cigarette.

I felt hands under my armpits as I was pulled to my feet and forced to stand in front of a man I had never seen before, however he seemed so familiar. He had an air of superiority about him that was intimidating, yet underneath all of that I could sense a feeling of fear from him. I could smell the fear and surprise coming off of him in waves, yet his face remained calm and expressionless. He took two drags off of his cigarette before he spoke to me.

His face was smooth and clean shaven, he had a full head of hair that touched the base of his neck in the back. It was shiny, thick and almost impossibly black. His mouth was a thin line of tightly drawn together lips in a shape of a semi-smile and frown put together. He was handsome and appeared to be about the same age as me. When he spoke his voice was deep, yet to my ears it sounded staged. He sounded to me like the fake radio announcer voices that fill the airwaves now-a-days.

He spoke slowly, not raising his voice, when he started to speak his mouth changed from its quasi-smile and frown to a slight grin, "Yojiro, right?"

I stared into his eyes not saying a word, not even moving my mouth. My feet were not touching the ground, his goons had me held up in the air.

He continued on with his fake voice, deep, slow and steady," I am going to guess from your silence that you are him. I thought that was you, but everyone had said you ran away so many years ago."

He stopped and looked at me, I know that he wanted me to say something, but I refused to give him the satisfaction. I kept looking at him not saying a word.

He continued on, smugly smiling, almost laughing to himself, "How did I know it was you, you ask? Well, I will tell you that at first I didn't want to believe it. But your moves and your hostility are a unique force unto themselves. They are legendary, they are incredible, and yet they are flawed. Still they told me who you are, and that was what was important to me. After all I have been influenced by your moves and your anger twice in my life. Do you know who I am yet? Have you figured out who I am? I would be hurt if you did not."

I refused him the answer he was looking for, I let him have his moment of gloating. I had an idea of who he was, however he looked completely different than the last time I had seen him. By the way he was acting I had a good idea of who he was, but in no way did he look anything like the boy that I had known him from.

"I am hurt by your silence, however I did not expect anything less. Then allow me to end your suspense and tell you who I am." He was walking back in forth with his hands held behind his back, like he was a college professor. "I am a person from your past that actually had a direct hand in your fate, your destiny if you will. The last time you saw me, and knew it was me you were looking at, you had left me bleeding and beaten. I was sixteen and you were fourteen I believe. My brother was the other person that you left bleeding and beaten on the ground with me. We had been caught doing something to Shishimi that we would have liked to have finished, however you had interrupted us. I have never been able to finish that. Years later my brother and I had tried once again, only to be stopped once more by someone. I never would have thought it was you. But when I was told by one of the witnesses that saw it all what you had done, along with your now dead father, I knew that you never left. You had just decided to hide in plain sight. Had I of known this earlier I would have ended your life when I took control of this town. I am Hakana Tenzo. I will be your tour guide through the rest of hell that your life will be. I will however save that for another night, until then."

When he said those last words his goons let go of my arms and dropped me on the ground. One of them stepped up behind me and hit me in the back ofmy head with the butt of what must have been a shot gun. Before I went unconcious I was not able to see what was happening, but I was able to hear. I heard Hakana tell his men to leave me where I was, don't touch the dojo, burn everything else. I tasted dirt as the dust of my home coated my mouth, tongue and throat as I lay there drifting into nothing. I heard one last thing before waking up with sun bruning my eyes. I heard the scream of Shishimi as she was being killed. She was screaming my name as she died.