1.5...

"What do you mean you're leaving!?" exclaimed Kairi in shock. She stood and watched Ashitaka silently continue knotting the straps on his breastplate. "Well, if you have to go, at least let me come with–"

"No!" the Samurai of the Wolf said sternly. "I need you to stay and look after the dojo."

"Master, some one else can do that. I am going to come with you," Kairi declared.

"Listen Kairi, I appreciate your concern, but I have to do this alone. Each Samurai must find their own path to honor, you know that. This is mine," Ashitaka said looking deep into Kairi's green eyes.

"And my path to honor is to go with you Master and give you company on your path, not stand here and wait," said Kairi. My path is being at the side of the man I love, Ashitaka, thought the young Samurai of the Owl.

Ashitaka stood for a minute, thinking and continuing to look into her eyes. There was some form of passion burning in her eyes, as if the journey was something that she lived for. As if it was something that she would lay her own life down to protect. "Get your things, we leave in an hour. Also, tell Reece he is in charge, and tell him to have Boxman lead the kata every day."

Sorry for the short one. I decided to split the section here while I try to write the next. Plus, it was getting to be too long of a wait for the next part. At least, I think so.

1.4...

The storm continued as it had for hours. A cool, musty breeze slipped into the room from the window, obviously released from the constant rain turning the soil into mud outside. The dojo still sat in the ruins of the old Dragon City where real roads were hard to find. It was always a humble building, the "first-floor" consisted of a single room where occasional training was done. Well used exotic weapons lined the walls in hopes to be picked up and worked with. In the back left corner of the room, a thin oak ladder was standing, leading up to the attic where Ashitaka's bedroll and quarters were. His only possessions were a single half-burnt candle, the holder it rested in, and the wooden box it sat on.

The candle silently burned, projecting dancing shadows about the gabled room, fighting the darkness and cold outside. Ashitaka sat in a corner of the room in a lotus position, eyes closed, doing his best to meditate and clear his ragged mind. The bandaged chest of the Samurai rose and fell slowly in a vain attempt to control breath. Only did the steady rain on the roof ease the warriors heart. He had always loved storms. The awesome power always humbled Ashitaka and reminded him of nature's shear command of the world and creatures in it.

Suddenly, the Wolf Samurai felt a strong and familiar presence in the room. It had slipped in like the sharpest of daggers to his heart. Finally, he thought. "There is no need to do that anymore...Nesh," Ashitaka called to the shadows of the room. A slender figure slipped into the candle light, cloaked in writhing darkness. "You still shroud yourself in shadows?" the Samurai asked calmly.

"Shadows are my only true allies Ashitaka," came an even response. He hasn't changed, Nesh thought to herself. It had been a year since she had seen him, and the familiar mix of utter love and absolute hatred returned from the depths of her heart. There was nothing like looking at that lean body of his. Battle scars adorned his chest and his arms. Nesh knew many of them were given to him by her, a gift to remember her by. His strong jaw and hard features gave him the warrior look. She had always adored his short shaggy brown hair with its two gray stripes running down the middle of his head. His strong, yet warm blue eyes had always captured her heart. It was those eyes that made him transparent, betraying his every emotion to the trained eye. Especially in lovemaking and battle, Nesh thought to herself. And it was only in those two environments that they had ever shared any form of intimacy.

"Did you send him?" asked Ashitaka bluntly.

"Our son?" replied Nesh, playing dumb.

The Samurai ignored the ploy, "He said he came on his own. He is too young for me to believe that, he has a lot to learn." Ashitaka opened his eyes and looked at Nesh, "And I don't mean that in a physical sense. He has all the fighting skill he needs."

"I had nothing to do with him coming to you, although I did enjoy seeing him try to stand up to his father."

"It pains me to see my own son act the way he is," Ashitaka remarked. "He has potential for great things. But those things can only be unlocked through honor, discipline, and an understanding of himself."

"I could never understand any of that," Nesh said honestly. "I was created to be a killer with everything I needed to know already a part of me."

I remember, Ashitaka thought. He recalled the end of his childhood at the age of three when his father was killed by the woman in writhing shadows. "Our past is a complicated one Nesh, and I do not wish it to stand in the way of his choices. I want him to find his own path, his own truth. That is when he will be strongest."

"You know that the next time you two meet, one of you will die," Nesh gave evenly.

"No," sneered the Samurai. "The blood of Sosetsu, my father, still runs through him. A small part of his heart still feels that anguish every time he dishonors himself. No matter what he does, he will always feel that. I believe he has begun to realize that."

"Ashitaka," giggled Nesh, "your son cares not of honor. It is that oversight that will kill you. Like always, you trust others far too much. Just like that half-rate wizard and flighty fey that betrayed you in the end."

Almost to quick to be seen, the Samurai was on his feet, his katana in hand. Restraining himself and clenching his teeth, Ashitaka replied, "You know nothing! If it weren't for them, I would not stand before you. Take you tricks and traitorous ways and leave this place."

Nesh snickered, "It is always so easy to get a rise from you. As I taught our son long ago, manipulation is always half the battle."

"This is how you repay debts? I remove your master, releasing you from slavery only to be goaded," snapped the Samurai.

"I owe you nothing Samurai!" sneered Nesh, no longer laughing. "It is you and this entire forsaken world that owes me. I gave you all the means to defeat him. Without me, you are nothing!" After a pause to compose herself, the shadowy figure continued, "Face it Ashitaka, we are two parts to a whole. I need you, and you need me. You are my entertainment, and I am your informer."

"If you do not change once and for all Nesh, that tie will have to be severed," Ashitaka replied quietly.

"We shall see my love," the figure cautioned as she melted into the shadows amid the dancing candle-light.

1.3...

All the Wolf Samurai could do for a time was stare at the man on the ground. The man wore standard ninja garb that consisted of a black face mask revealing only the eyes, black garb bound in certain places with material so as to make less noise, and a black sash most likely containing shiruken. The one thing that was not standard was the katana sheath hanging from the man's black sash and the katana currently sticking through Ashitaka. This weapon choice was done deliberately to mock the Samurai, Ashitaka decided.

"Who sent you?" Ashitaka asked calmly. Silence was the answer he received. "I know it wasn't your mother. As far as I'm concerned, she gave up that life a year ago. Unless there is something I don't know," Ashitaka looked deep into the eyes of his son. There was something strange about those eyes. Slight variations in color continually swirled in the irises of this man. Strange... maybe products of the magics that aged him so quickly?

"Master, we have to do something about that wound!" came a distressed call from Kairi.

Ashitaka just stood staring and thinking quietly to himself. My wounds can heal Kairi. They are the least of my concerns. "What is your name?" murmured Ashitaka to his son in a low growl.

Silence.

"Do I not have the right to know my own son's name?" snapped the Great Samurai.

"You don't have the right to live," came a response from behind the mask.

"I have never lived. I have only served. I will continue that way until I die."

Silence.

"I am going to ask one more time. Who sent you?"

The assassin finally stood up, his back to his father. Slowly, he pulled the wakasashi from his left shoulder and dropped it to the ground. "No one sent me. I am here of my own accord... to kill you. Today I have failed, but next time I will not," replied the attacker nonchalantly.

"Next time, my son," said Ashitaka sternly, "I will cleanse you of your dishonor."

"Dishonor?" chuckled the assassin, now staring at Ashitaka. "Like you should talk father." At that, the assassin walked past Ashitaka, grabbed the hilt of his katana buried in his father, and cruelly yanked it out. Ashitaka gave a grunt and fell to one knee. "You see father? You aren't invincible," remarked the attacker who vanished into thin air.

1.2...

Sorry about the no paragraphs. For some reason I can't seem to get them to stay indented. It will have to do for now. To the story:


And yet, typical of the Great Samurai of the Wolf, Ashitaka began to think only of the safety of his students. Selfish was never part of this hero’s vocabulary. Maybe that was what made him good at what he did. It was something his father had always stressed when training Ashitaka. My life is only to serve. Therefore, my life is always forfeit and less important then those in need. And that was his life. Not his thinking. Not his belief. His life. The life of a Samurai. Ashitaka had been selfish once and the consequences were immediately clear: the steel blade that shish kabobed his heart and left lung.

Then, he noticed the situation change. Kairi’s right hand, very slightly, tightened around the naginata slung over her shoulder. Ashitaka knew his attacker had noticed, and heard him begin to slowly slide some metal object from leather in sync with Kairi’s grip. In a split second, the attacker was on the ground with a broken left arm and a wakasashi sticking through his shoulder.

Using all of his senses, Ashitaka had “heard” the movement of the arm about to throw something at Kairi. The attacker, however, had made a rookie mistake. Instead of making a throw in a lateral sweeping motion, the attacker had made it in an overhand motion, bringing the arm over Ashitaka’s left shoulder. Ashitaka caught the arm mid-flight and smashed it down on his left shoulder with enough force to snap the elbow the wrong way. Holding onto the now limp arm, Ashitaka threw the attacker over his shoulder, unsheathing his wakasashi with his right hand in the process. Once the attacker was sprawled on the ground, the wakasashi found its new home in his left shoulder.

Maybe not so professional, Ashitaka thought. My son has a lot to learn.

1...

Has it all been worth it? So many sacrifices and things lost to “the cause.” In the end did that cost outweigh the outcome? Will there ever be peace in a heart that has known nothing but violence for a lifetime? Can the pieces still be put back together to make a whole again? What would father have done?

These were the thoughts that plagued him everyday. If he closed his eyes, the burden, the pain, the sorrow would come flooding back, drowning his heart and mind in sadness and despair. Sleep was out of the question for the weary warrior, and meditation became harder each day. A mental battle was being waged, harder than any battle or physical test he had ever endured. He felt as if he were in a pitch black room without a weapon being tortured by the shadows that snickered and sneered at his helplessness.

“What’s troubling you master?” the Samurai of the Owl, Kairi, asked. “Were my kata satisfactory?” Sweat glistened on Kairi’s petite delicate face. Her fair-skin was contrasted by her dark brunette hair in a messy pony-tail. The rest of her body was covered in the lacquered plates of her samurai armor and the gi underneath. The armor itself bore the owl sigil of her ancestors, the ancient samurai long extinct. Kairi’s naginata was slung over her right shoulder, the weapon she had chosen for herself. Ashitaka wondered how such a small girl could wield such a long spear-like weapon. But, all that mattered was that she was comfortable with it.

Coming back from his thoughts, Ashitaka looked over his students. They were all standing, waiting for him to say or do something. Then, his gaze shifted out over the landscape. The small hill and plains surrounding it were bathed in sunlight. The deep green accented by the light blue of the sky. Summer is so beautiful here, he thought.

A familiar feeling suddenly rushed over Ashitaka. He hadn’t felt it in some time which made it difficult to place for a few seconds. The sudden burst of agony, and the gasp from his students quickly reminded Ashitaka of what he was feeling. Physical pain. He slowly looked down to the last twelve inches of a blood soaked katana protruding from his chest. Quickly, Ashitaka’s instincts went into action assessing the situation. One known assailant. Professional. Ashitaka hadn’t heard or seen the assassin, and obviously neither had his students who stared at him in shock. His body told him the blade had gone through his heart and left lung. He would be hard pressed to fight in this condition.

A gruff voice from over Ashitaka’s shoulder stopped him from thinking, “I will finish what mother started. I will never be as weak willed as her or you. The Samurai must be removed no matter the cost. I am the chosen one, the one to complete the mission.”

Just a start. Enjoy.

The happenings...

So it's been more than a few days since I have updated. I've been pretty busy despite the fact that I haven't had a job for about 3 weeks. Let's see. I managed to acquire a full-time job at Micro Center in Downers Grove which I start Monday. Also, I have been applying to different police departments. I took all the testing for Warrenville and I am waiting for a response. I am in the process of applying to Northlake and Glen Ellyn. Things are finally moving forward in life or at least that's what I am hoping. Also, I have begun school back at College of DuPage.

As far as "fun" stuff, I have been playing a lot of Diablo 2 for one reason or another and running some D&D in the 8 Towers Campaign that I have been adding to.

So that is what is happening at this point. A lot of just hanging out and waiting for something to happen. New posts should be coming soon as I hope to begin a fan-fiction on here. Some of you know of which fan-fiction I speak, some of you do not. I hope all of you will enjoy it.