Samurai Awakening Read online

  “OK you all know about the summer badminton competition coming up that we have been practicing for, right?” asked Tsukasa. “This time there will be both mixed and regular doubles teams, as well as singles. The regular doubles will stay the same. If you’re not on one of the competition teams come talk to me and find out who your partner is. From now on you will practice with your competition partner.”

  With a babble of conversation, the students filed away to find their partners or get new assignments. David weaved his way through the crowd easily, he was amazed at how training could make moving so much easier.

  “David, you are still pretty new so you will be in a mixed pair team, rather than singles,” Tsukasa said while checking his list. “Natsuki, you’ve been slipping lately so I’m putting you two together. You should balance each other out nicely. You did well together last time.”

  Instead of her usual indignation, Natsuki slumped in defeat. David was just able to catch a mysterious look pass between Mizuki and Kaeda before they turned and walked away, leaving Natsuki alone.

  ‘Great! Now we get to practice with Natsuki here and at home!’ Kou thought. David did not bother with a reply. Kou knew how he felt.

  “As if it things weren’t bad enough already. My friends are already getting upset with me for ‘spending every waking moment at Takumi’s with that gaijin.’ Now I have to deal with you here?” Natsuki said as they walked toward a court, a bit of her fire returning in David’s presence.

  “It’s not like it was my idea, though Kou seems pleased,” David whispered, trying not to provoke her at school.

  “Of course he would be!” replied Natsuki harshly. “We better win this thing or I’m going to take that chunk of metal you’ve been practicing with and bash one of you over the head with it. Be it Kou or David!”

  David and Natsuki began warming up with two other mixed-team students. Frustrated, Natsuki hit the shuttle with so much force that the strings on her racket broke.

  “Will nothing go right?” As she ran off the court to get a spare racket, David almost thought he heard her muffle a sob.

  By the end of practice, even David was starting to feel bad for her. Natsuki seemed depressed and when she left, it was without her usual escort of Mizuki and Kaeda. Despite his plans to help Rie later that evening, David decided to follow her home.

  ‘After all, we are essentially neighbors,’ he thought.

  Ghost in the System

  July,

  Even with the persistent feeling of danger, that which had prompted… us to follow the Matsumoto summons, I never realized how close the danger was, and how unprepared we would be…

  Although Natsuki lived just past the Matsumoto Estate, she always walked home with Mizuki and Kaeda. Since they lived in the same direction, but in a different part of Nakano Town, Natsuki always took a roundabout way home. David kept his distance as he surreptitiously followed her down the unfamiliar route.

  “Stupid Tsukasa, making me work with him,” Natsuki muttered, alone on the dusty road. “Oh, look at me, I’m so cute, I don’t have to work for anything. Jeeze, why isn’t Takumi the Jitsugen Samurai? And what is with Mizuki and Kaeda thinking we are dating, ugh! Like that would ever happen.”

  If she had known David was in the shadows behind her, she no doubt would have turned as red as he did hearing her mutterings. He almost turned aside, but doing so would have made his route even longer. As the road straightened, David had to slow to keep from giving himself away, letting Natsuki almost fade out of view and hearing.

  Halfway home, she must have realized she was taking the long way. David caught her stop and look around. She was in an odd part of town, where a park and an old section of forest cut into developed buildings and farms. He backed off as her gaze swept towards him.

  After waiting a few minutes, David crept around the tree he had hidden behind, and then followed the road as it curved around the forest. David was surprised when he could not see Natsuki ahead on the relatively straight road that followed along after the curve. It took him a few minutes and some advice from Kou to find Natsuki’s tracks off the road.

  By the time David caught sight of her again, she was far along an old forgotten path. The forest was close and dim, only her white uniform shirt kept her in view in the darkness. David quietly cursed as Natsuki easily navigated among the ancient roots, hanging limbs and bits of old crumbling ruins, while he stumbled along.

  ‘I can’t believe I’m stuck inside such a completely ungraceful being,’ Kou complained. ‘Let me take over before you scare everything away.’

  David ignored Kou, passing the edge of a particularly large mass of old stones. Farther in, Natsuki shivered and wrapped her arms around herself. David frowned. The close humid air beneath the forest canopy was warm, yet Natsuki looked as if she had just walked into a cold, frosty winter morning. David dashed behind a group of high ferns as she checked the area again.

  Off the path, the ruins suddenly formed into a recognizable pattern. Natsuki had walked right into the foundations of an ancient castle. Long forgotten, the forest had completely reclaimed the old burnt out battlements. The hills on each side of her were all that remained of a massive gate, now covered in dirt and plant growth. Shivering again, she continued forward more quickly, as if eager to escape the cold and dark towering trees around her. David followed.

  Before Natsuki could find her way out of the moss-covered gully of crumbling rock she stopped again. This time she huddled down into a crouch. She wrapped her arms around her bare legs and shivering so badly that David could easily see her shake from outside the castle. Ahead, a young girl with wild hair and old tattered clothing seeped out of a nearby stone. The apparition glowed dimly in the deepening night, her face vicious with curving lips and straight eyes. The obake raised one of its hands, revealing long waving fingers. The tendrils moved as if they were fluttering on a breeze.

  Natsuki froze in the chill windless night. David’s walk turned into a run. He knew the thing in front of Natsuki was an obake, a soul separated from its human body, but one that had not passed on. The thing was straight out of the Japanese legends he had found in the school library.

  The obake smiled, making its feral visage that much more horrifying. Its arms outstretched, elongated fingers groped in the night, searching out Natsuki. Closing on her, the obake swelled with the anticipation of a kill and the nourishment her soul would provide. Natsuki’s knees buckled as the oppressive weight of the obake’s will crushed her to the ground.

  The obake’s advancing figure was nearly indistinguishable from the air around it, yet David could see a savage hunger on its translucent face. Natsuki simply curled into as small a ball as she could as the obake held her in a stare of unbending will.

  David was still too far away. The obake was so close to Natsuki that the very air around her seemed to freeze in place. Frost littered the ground as the very air was turned to fog.

  ‘Let’s go,’ David thought. Kou caught his meaning immediately. David thought ‘tiger,’ but was out of synch with Kou. David convulsed but did not transform. Trying to settle his racing heart, David tried again. The obake’s ghastly hands reached Natsuki and stroked her, passing through her skull with each sweep. The horror of it rocked through him like a sympathetic wave.

  Kou’s claws sank into the air, yet they did not fall onto Natsuki. Instead, they were suddenly flung about as the obake screamed with a sound that threatened to sever their very soul. Kou, grown to the size of a small dog and full of muscle, struggled to pin the obake as it staggered away from Natsuki. Despite the obake’s lack of substance, as a Kami, Kou was still able to knock it around with his large paws. The obake’s translucent lips snarled, and she threw him off.

  With the obake distracted, Natsuki was released from its deadly hold. Moaning from the nightmarish images that had flitted through her mind while dominated by the spirit, Natsuki heaved, her body reacting to the mental abuse.

  “Natsuki, are you all right?
” Kou called to Natsuki while struggling with the obake. Seeing the fear in her eyes, like a mouse about to bolt, he spoke quickly. “Do not leave. I am going to need your help. This is an obake. Do you remember what Yukiko said about them?” Natsuki heaved again. Shuddering, she rolled away from the steaming puddle.

  Kou and the obake grappled amongst the high ferns, sending crickets and small animals running from the disturbance. They fought against the obake’s powerful attacks. Using speed and agility to combat the apparition’s vicious attempts to free itself, Kou became a blur of orange and black fur. Natsuki, her stomach finally empty, stood slowly.

  “You have to wield the honshitsu!” David called to Natsuki as Kou concentrated on the obake. She looked as if all she wanted was to flee. “We can’t do it alone. I can only keep it occupied.”

  Steeling herself, Natsuki took a tentative step towards the fight, then with more confidence moved forward quickly. Kou swung at the obake. Connecting with its head, it sickeningly doubled over the wrong way.

  “Here! Here! I’m here!” Natsuki waved her arms at the obake, throwing a fearful look at Kou as he disappeared behind a tree. The obake righted itself with a jerk, and immediately tried to attack Natsuki. From behind the tree, David sent his metal shard, the honshitsu, flying. Following close behind the metal, David changed back into Kou as they emerged from behind the tree. Aside from their first time, it was the smoothest transformation they had yet managed. Natsuki caught the metal just as the obake closed to attack her. Seeing the honshitsu, the obake stopped just short, confusion then fear rippling across its distorted features as Kou tackled it.

  “Now! Natsuki, do it now!” David said, his muffled voice struggling to make its way out of Kou’s mouth. The little tiger had its fangs sunk securely into the obake’s neck, yet David still managed to spur her into action. Natsuki raised the heavy metal shard over her head. Kou swung aside, keeping his jaws locked on the neck while Natsuki brought a sharp point of the honshitsu down into the center of the obake.

  Shock crossed the obake’s deadened eyes as they rolled down to take in the metal protruding out of it. Then, with a suddenly contented expression, the cold night air faded even as the obake disappeared. Kou’s whiskers twitched as a ripple ran through his fur to the tip of his tail.

  Natsuki collapsed. Kou, drawn by her distress, brushed up against her as she shook with an adrenaline release. When she had settled a bit, Kou turned and ran back into the forest. A few seconds later, David emerged buttoning his uniform shirt. Natsuki sat curled into a little ball, sobbing and alone in the dirt.

  “Natsuki-san?” David asked, gingerly stepping around her lunch. With no response, David frowned. Unsure of what to do he knelt next to her.

  ‘Try to comfort her. It must have been very traumatic. Yukiko said obake can call all kinds of images to their victims’ minds before they kill them,’ Kou said in his mind. ‘We felt only the barest edge of what she experienced.’

  David hesitantly stretched his hand out to pat her shoulder, but Natsuki looked up, her eyes red.

  “You were following me? I didn’t feel Kou,” Natsuki said, her face inscrutable.

  “Umm, Kou was worried about you, and uh, I needed to practice tracking so…” David waved his arms vaguely, trying to come up with a decent excuse.

  “It is a good thing we did too. Without you, all we would have been able to do is beat it up a bit, maybe scare it off. And if the obake had you on its own, well, they might find your body… eventually,” Kou said. David reached forward, helping Natsuki up off the ground.

  “My sword skills probably aren’t good enough on their own, especially wielding a big chunk of metal. Plus I might have been just as vulnerable to the obake’s aura as you.” David was confused by Natsuki’s expression and uncharacteristic silence. Just as he was beginning to fear she had been injured, she breathed deeply, steeling herself.

  “I guess I’ll just have to kick your butt harder in training then,” she said. “That way I won’t have to do your dirty work.” Natsuki’s sudden bravado never made it to her eyes. Kou caught the fear and subsequent relief that raged within her. She abruptly turned away. Kou kept his observations to himself, letting David stay confused for Natsuki’s sake.

  “You’re welcome, PRINCESS!” David shouted, annoyed she refused to thank him, even after saving her life. Natsuki jerked to a stop.

  “S-Stop calling me princess!” she stuttered. Without looking back, Natsuki left David in the ruin’s shadows.

  When David got home, his plans to help Rie were put on hold while he explained what happened to Masao and Grandpa. He met them in the dojo and they both insisted he tell them everything in detail after finding Takumi to listen in.

  “So you have dispatched your first obake, excellent. Just remember, not all of them are evil. The one that attacked you was probably an evil spirit, but others may be more helpful. I think the time has come for our Jitsugen Samurai to have a Seikaku,” Grandpa said. Although usually leaving most daily decisions to Masao, Grandpa’s suggestions still carried the weight of command.

  “Yes. David, you are now strong enough to hold the metal long enough for us to shape it. Although Natsuki is your Partner, she may not always be there, and if you meet another evil obake, you will not be able to dispatch it with Kou alone. You are probably tired. Get a good night sleep, and tomorrow, we will begin forging your Seikaku. It will be a difficult and long process. Prepare yourself.”

  ‘I guess we’ll have to ditch Rie,’ David thought as they headed to bed.

  ‘It cannot be helped. She did say it was just for her to practice after all. There is always next weekend.’

  True Sword

  July,

  David and I were both looking forward to forging a Seikaku. After the incident with the obake, neither of us was comfortable being so unprepared for the dangers ahead. David was especially eager for a way to protect himself that did not rely on Natsuki…

  The next morning David woke on his own with the early Saturday sun shining through the small window in his room. Surprised, David dressed and went in search of the Matsumotos. He found them sitting around the breakfast table drinking tea. Rie eyed him darkly.

  “Oh good, we were just about to have breakfast,” Yukiko said as she rose and headed for the kitchen. David smiled widely, grateful for the breakfasts Yukiko made every morning. He was also happy that since he began letting Kou hunt, his other half no longer influenced his food choices while human, though he could not always escape Kou’s disparaging comments. Looking around the table, David’s gaze eventually fell back on Rie.

  She looked as she had for the last few weeks, more subdued and calm than she had been, less interested in her old competitions with Takumi. David realized she had become almost quiet, fading into the background of everyone’s notice. When she caught him looking at her, however, her eyes blazed. He had let her down. She had been depending on him and he had not showed. He hoped she would give him a chance to explain himself, but knew it would be tricky since he had been with Natsuki.

  “David, how do you feel? Are you ready? Everything is prepared for after breakfast,” Grandpa said, his sudden and causal questions, pulled David away from his musings about Rie.

  “Grandpa is a bit excited,” Masao said. “He, we have waited our whole lives for this day. We are both expert sword makers, but today… Today is special.” Even Masao was unable to subdue his excitement. Always the serious one, David caught a glimpse of a much different man.

  Yukiko returned with a light breakfast for everyone. They ate and talked easily, though Rie seemed uninterested in the conversation. By unspoken agreement, no one lingered after they finished. Yukiko hurried to clear the plates, while the rest of the Matsumotos and David headed for the workshop.

  “David, Kou, the time has come to finally forge your Seikaku. Although Natsuki is your Partner, this secret is not for her. Takumi and Rie are here as observers. They have not yet completed their own swords, so they will not h
elp in the process,” Grandpa said once everyone was settled.

  “Takumi, Rie, learn from today so that you may teach your children,” Masao added gravely. “This is a singular event for the Matsumotos. It may turn out to be the highlight of our lives. It may also help inspire you when you make your own sword.”

  Grandpa gestured David over to the smelter, a fixture in the building made of clay and brick designed to draw impurities out of metal.

  “Unlike regular metal that must be treated, the honshitsu is pure. We will still need to temper it to varying strengths but this process at least we can skip. No one but your Partner will be able to hold the honshitsu in their hands, however, using our tools we will still be able to manipulate it if you keep it summoned. We will also have to split the metal honshitsu into different parts before folding them back together. This is where your multitasking training will come in hand. You will have to focus on each piece separately to keep them there,” Grandpa said as he peered at David, his gaze searching.

  “David, Kou, are you ready? We will work as fast as possible, but making a sword cannot be rushed. You must keep the metal summoned throughout the entire process. If either of you fail, we must start over.” Masao stepped close to David, appraising him with his deeply intelligent eyes.

  “I’m ready,” said David, suddenly confident.

  “We are ready.”

  Closing his eyes, his arms raising away from his sides, David summoned the honshitsu. He caught it lightly as it appeared before him. He had struggled for weeks, working to keep the metal whole as Grandpa tried to distract him. Finally, he felt the metal as an extension of himself. Keeping it sustained was no more taxing than holding up his arm.