Samurai Awakening Read online

  Grandpa and Masao shared a pained, sympathetic glance with each other before returning their gazes to David.The silence was broken only by the light scraping of the wind against the shoji paper doors and insects buzzing in the afternoon heat. Rie pinned Takumi in a complicated hold.

  “David, there is another sacrifice, one that among all the Jitsugen Samurai will affect you the most. You cannot leave Japan. The Kami that saved you is part of Japan,” Grandpa said carefully. “While it would not be as problematic say, in the rest of Asia or the Americas, Japan is a series of islands. You must return to a Japanese island within twelve hours of departing, or your Kami, and thus you, will die. From what I’ve read, you will probably find it very hard to actually leave in the first place. If you do, you must return before the cycle ends.”

  David tried to process Grandpa’s words. He was far past disbelieving, yet they never revealed the whole picture. As hard as he tried, he could not wrap his mind around the idea that he could never return. It was as if Masao had taken his sword and stabbed him right in his gut, letting him bleed out slowly. Panic rose within him. He wanted to run, to scream, to rage, and cry.

  David ran. He flew through the forest, tears blinding his view as thoughts of betrayal, lies, and anger raced alongside him. He followed no path, when he met the gray stones of the outer wall he scrambled up and over, scraping himself but ignoring the pain. The forest stretched out before him no matter how hard he ran. He did not stop until his muscles rebelled against the abuse and gave out on him.

  It was nearly evening when his body finally began to recover. Looking around David found he was near the stand of trees where he had hit his head during their Golden Week trip. With a sigh, he sat up and tested his limbs. His legs still stiff, he pulled himself over to the stump and fell into a dark brood. Rie found him there, just before sunset. David sat as still as if he were a new sapling from the old, his head in his hands.

  “Now you know,” she whispered coming up behind him.

  “Now I know what?” His anger, usually held so deep within, flared.

  “You once asked me what it’s like, to be a Matsumoto.” She spoke quietly, sadly, yet her steps were graceful as she placed each foot closer to him. “Now you know.”

  “Do you know what they mean by Jitsugen, David?” she asked, her feet moving without sound. “I know you know it means true, but it’s more than that. You will hold lives in your hands. Can you sacrifice everything you have for those lives? It’s a lot to ask, but still less than what the Kami that saved your life did.”

  “What of my family? I have a sister and a father that expect me to come home in less than a year. I’m an exchange student. What happens after this year?” David asked, avoiding her eyes.

  “I believe it is an American expression to ‘cross that bridge when you get to it,’ no?” she said, smiling tentatively.

  David would have cried, except all his tears had already been shed. ‘So I can’t go back? That doesn’t mean I can’t still talk to them. They could visit me,’ he thought. ‘Arizona is just a place, they are still my home.’ David leaned back, his head resting against the tree. ‘I fit in better than I did back in the States, at least now that I understand Japanese. Is a life of service too high a price to pay for my life?’

  While he pondered, a shadow of a voice inserted itself in his mind and said, ‘Japan is your home now, be calm, and do not worry.’

  The voice was familiar, as if from some long forgotten dream, but the words faded as he became aware of Rie sitting tentatively next to him. David felt his concerns blanketed by a warm wash of relief and reassurance, as well as other emotions that were harder to pin down. Although unable to explain why, he no longer feared the future.

  “I know it’s unfair.” As she spoke, she stared off into the trees. “Even if you don’t learn from Grandpa and my parents, if you got up and never returned to the Estate, if it was possible for you to return home, it’s too late. Evil would seek you out. I don’t know how they will deal with your family or the exchange program, but you need the skills they can give you. You aren’t alone. Takumi and I have been training all our lives, for you, though we didn’t know it.”

  ‘See? You are not as alone as you think.’ The voice slid through his mind like a whisper, barely brushing David’s consciousness. David shook his head, uncertain if he had even truly heard anything.

  “I must help you bear your burden,” Rie said, her voice barely audible as night fell. Suddenly standing, she seemed more her old self. “Come on, come back with me.” Rie picked David up off the stump with uncanny strength and grace. David felt like he should be embarrassed being picked up by a girl, yet he could not help but feel only gratitude.

  “So who won,” he asked noticing a few new bruises on her arm.

  “I did, of course,” Rie said smiling. “That’s why I got to come find you.”

  In the dojo, David found the elder Matsumotos waiting for him. After a few words with Rie, Grandpa turned to David.

  “I am truly sorry, David, but it is critical you accept the difficult with the good. From now on we will practice summoning the honshitsu so that you will be able to hold it long enough to forge a Seikaku. You must accept who you are, and know that within you lies great power, but also great evil if you choose.” His voice sharpened as he stared at David. “Japan is at a crossroads. Evil is coming, and you must be ready. I ask again, David, do you accept the path of the Jitsugen Samurai?”

  Although he could not explain why, David was at peace. While he still felt no closer to being a Jitsugen Samurai than he had on his first day in Japan, neither could he dispute the changes that had begun to affect his body and mind. He had a chance to be more than he was.

  ‘Why not take it? What kind of person would I be if I ran away scared? All my life I’ve been afraid I might fail. Isn’t this worth the effort? Don’t the Matsumotos deserve as much from me as they give themselves? What would Jess say if I ran away?’

  “I won’t do this blindly,” he said. His acceptance gave him a new confidence. “What am I? What do the Kami have to do with me? Why will I be responsible for others’ lives?”

  Masao stepped out of the deep shadows within the dojo. “Let’s go for a walk.”

  Together with Grandpa and Masao, David walked through the garden towards the torii gate. The two older men were silent until they passed beneath. In the darkness, it was like a gray shadow above them.

  “When the metal pierced your heart, you died,” Masao said as he walked. Without giving David time to think, he continued, “Combined with the Shinto summoning chants, your sacrifice pulled a part of the Golden Tiger Kami into you. Just as Ninigi pulled part of Amaterasu into him. In a sense, a new Kami was created. It kept your essence from departing as would normally happen when one of us dies.”

  “So I’m a ghost then?” David asked, trying to understand. Despite talking about his death, he was somehow comfortable with the idea.

  ‘Better to be alive as something else, than all together dead,’ he thought.

  “No, you still have a body, don’t you? The new Kami did not just join with you. It joined itself to you and the honshitsu.”

  “So then all my improvements, with running and badminton, it’s all because a ghost is in me?” He was suddenly worried that all his hard work had been for nothing.

  “No! A Kami is not a ghost. A ghost is a human spirit that has left its body. There are both good and bad. A Kami is something more. Our oldest records say they were the souls of the planets and suns, vast beings.”

  As he spoke, David remembered that Masao and Grandpa were not just swordsmiths and kendo masters, but Shinto priests as well.

  ‘I still can’t believe that Masao of all people actually has a bit of a soft side,’ he thought.

  “The ancient Kami separated, creating new Kami. In the process, they diminished. The strongest of the new Kami were Water, Wind, Fire, and Earth. They multiplied and spread throughout the world. The Greeks called
them Titans. But like the ones before them, they weakened with each separation. Eventually they lost many of their powers, with only a few retaining any influence over their brethren.”

  At the clearing, the elder Matsumotos turned, walking away from the shrine into the forest. David followed, curious. After a short walk, they came to a bulbous rock wall with myriad protrusions, caves, and crevices. Before one, Grandpa touched a stone and a wall moved aside, revealing a decrepit wooden shrine. Grandpa bowed then clapped twice and bowed again. Then Masao reached reverently forward and opened two large wooden doors. Within, David saw four metal sculptures that seemed to be made of different metals. Each was exotic yet exquisitely detailed. The swirls of color running through them seemed to shift, just as his honshitsu had glittered in the Dojo.

  “Each is a depiction of one of the Elemental Kami. As they diminished from separating, they became dependent on other means to survive,” Masao whispered. “Water and Wind found a way to grow, but always in balance. Earth was more conservative and retained more power, while Fire became jealous and in its haste became so diminished that now it relies on both Wind and Earth.”

  Without warning, David summoned his honshitsu. Unlike before, the honshitsu did not fall. Instead, it hung in the air glowing, as if basking in the presence of the statues. In return, the statues gleamed brighter in the starlight. David almost thought he saw the Earth statue smile. Through it all, Masao continued talking.

  “It is our good luck that the Earth Elemental was careful. It separated slowly and carefully so that when it eventually created the first Zodiac Kami it was still potent. Twelve animals so powerful that cultures around the world still speak of them. The Zodiac Kami were able to create the dumb animals with only a minimal cost on their part. Relying on procreation, the animals flourished with the Kami to guide them. After being created many of the new animals found new homes with the Wind, Water, and even Fire Kami.”

  Finally, with a last flash of light, David’s honshitsu disappeared.

  “Over the millennia the animals changed, and while they contained only the barest spark of the original Kami they came from, they never diminished or grew in power.” Grand­­pa clapped his hands and bowed to the statues before closing the shrine. Together the elders guided David back towards the Estate.

  “When you died sacrificing yourself for another you proved yourself. Even though Grandpa was never in danger, even though the Kami had been going for the shrine and metal, you proved yourself a worthy protector for the newborn Kami because of your intentions and your actions. The new Kami chose you. And while the old Kami diminished, the new may grow to be even stronger than his predecessor. In return, you will become stronger, smarter, and essentially one with the new Kami as it matures. You will live longer, and when you die, the Kami will remain and continue to protect Japan.”

  “And you know all this because your family has been teaching Jitsugen Samurai since the first Emperor?” David asked dubiously as they passed beneath the torii gate. “If the Kami will make me stronger has all my work been for nothing?”

  Laughing Masao gestured to the garden.

  “Do you think this garden became like it is through magic or destiny? It took hard work, skill, and thought. Your Kami, whatever it is, will make you stronger, but not for a while yet. Your recent improvements are all within your normal ability and are due to your hard work and our training. When you come into your own as a Jitsugen Samurai you will be far more than you are now. It will require as much a sacrifice on your part, as it did for the Tiger Kami. Never forget. A god has entrusted part of itself to your care.”

  David noticed the twins watching him and the elders from the doorway of the dojo. As they stood beneath an elegant pine tree, the moon began to fade behind the tree line.

  “You need time to think this all over, but remember: Secrecy is critical to protecting you, this family, and your Kami. You must promise not only to tell no one, but to be more careful. Now that you can summon the honshitsu, that does not mean you should.”

  Masao and Grandpa left David to think in the garden. Takumi and Rie both joined him, watching as complete darkness enveloped the Estate.

  “I never really thought an actual Jitsugen Samurai would pop out of the stories and into real life,” Rie sighed. Above the stars appeared, radiant in the sky.

  “Who won this round?” David asked, noticing both were even more scuffed up than before.

  “Mom,” Takumi said. “She got annoyed and chucked a tray at us.”

  “I have a feeling I’m not going to have much time to read anymore,” David said wistfully. He was just able to catch Rie’s eyes flick to the forest as a wry grin spread over her lips.

  David went to sleep that night trying to grasp everything Masao had told him. He could feel the metal’s essence now that he knew it was there, slowly burning in his chest. If he wanted to, he knew he could probably call it back. Exhausted, David closed his eyes, willing himself to sleep. Oddly, he felt himself start to drift off almost immediately, a happy change from the weeks of nightmares and sleepless nights. As his mind relaxed, his consciousness drifted away.

  ‘At last. We begin.’

  Beach Birds

  May,

  You would have been frustrated too. Finally understanding the reason for your existence, only to be trapped in an invisible cage. Not a bad motivation to break free. And as with so many things, a little motivation…

  As the clock near his bed counted towards four, a lone mouse ran along the farthest corner of David’s room. In an instant, David was out from under his sheets, his ears twitching along after the sounds of scampering feet. His body tensed, neck snapping to take in the slightest sound. David flew off his bed just as Takumi entered.

  “This is a nice surprise. It usually takes me at least ten minutes to get you up,” Takumi said. David’s head swung around to look at his host brother. Then the alarm sounded. Shaking his head, David stood and turned it off. Reaching up for a pull chain, Takumi turned on the light.

  “What’s in your hand?” Takumi asked, noticing the squirming gray fluff. David looked down at his hand then yelled and dropped the mouse. Jumping back, he crashed into his closet. With a shrug, Takumi left David to get ready for their run. “Hurry up or you’ll be late.”

  Although jittery from waking up with a mouse in his hand, David made it to where the twins were waiting on time. Even though there was no school, they still practiced early on the weekends. Since the incident at the police station, Grandpa also had David practice summoning the metal every evening. Since it was Saturday, after badminton practice and lunch, they went back to the Estate so that David could have even more training.

  The practices taxed his concentration to his limits. Whenever there was an external stimulus, like being attacked, David could quickly summon the metal. Unfortunately, he still had trouble calling it into existence when left alone. Holding the honshitsu required colossal amounts of endurance, and he was still having problems holding it for more than a few minutes, even after a week of training. Still, he enjoyed the work. Every time David summoned the metal, it seemed different, reflecting light in new and interesting ways. Luckily Grandpa was there to help him. He was a steady, if demanding teacher who allowed nothing but David’s best.

  Even with his tough schedule, David was able to find a few hours of freedom. He used one of them to find Rie. After his run-ins with Natsuki, and his acceptance of a future as a Jitsugen Samurai, David knew he had to integrate into Japanese society far more than he had. Natsuki made it all too clear he still had far to go, and that bowing was one of the most obvious skills he needed to master to clear the barriers between his past life and his new home.

  “I’m glad you finally asked someone about this, but why are we meeting in the forest?” Rie asked. She shifted and stood a bit away from him.

  “Don’t laugh. I didn’t know who else to ask. So what do I have to do?” David said.

  Standing under the shade of a large tree, Da
vid learned the difference between a slight head nod and a low formal bow, about how low to bow in different circumstances and to different people.

  “Bow from your lower back, keep your spine straight, no not like that,” she said, laughing despite an obvious attempt to stay detached. Finally, she gave up, placed her hand on his back, and then pushed him over. Once he bent from his lower back, instead of just curving his spine, she moved on to the more subtle differences. She even showed him the difference in bowing between girls and boys, pointing out how he should keep his hands to his sides, rather than folding them in front, as she did. They ended with Rie giving him different scenarios. He grew suddenly self-conscious as he continued to bow, her almond eyes never leaving his.

  “Well it looks like you have the basics down. I think if you remember those you won’t insult anyone else,” she said, smiling at him after his last bow. “You know you’re actually a pretty quick study. I’ve been bowing my whole life, and you have got it almost as good as me.”

  Relieved, David promised to help her with anything she needed in repayment. Together, they waded through the thick trees towards the main house and dojo for their next practice.

  In addition to working with Rie, David decided to find out more about what it meant to be a Jitsugen Samurai. The Matsumotos refused to tell him anything else, so he often practiced summoning the honshitsu in front of the mirror in his room, despite exhausting practices with it every day. Other times, he would walk through the forest, trying to find other new connections like the one where the honshitsu resided. He was convinced there was more within him than the Matsumotos would tell him. He abruptly stopped when one time he caught his image in the calm waters of the brook. He seemed to shift for the barest moment and something dangerous flickered in his eyes. From then on, David avoided the forest and the few mirrors in the house as much as possible.