Samurai Awakening Read online

  ‘Well? What do you think? We will have to tell Masao of course, but if there really is a pack of ōkami running around, then it might be worth… the risk. We can always take care of him if he gets out of line. I would say get the information and then have Grandpa confirm his identity. Masao did say not all are bad.’

  “If you’re really a Matsumoto why didn’t you come before now?” David asked aloud.

  “Because I wasn’t aware of them, or you, until recently. You’ll hear the news soon, one of your classmates has disappeared.” The voice spoke simply, almost a whisper.

  Stopping, David dropped his head, his Seikaku coming down with it. Suddenly, he flipped the sword behind him changing it into its elemental form at the same time. The surprise at having it actually work almost caused him to drop it, but Kou was there to help. David thrust the Seikaku’s point behind him into the tree. In response to his will and the Seikaku’s power, the tree opened revealing the misty outline of a young man, strikingly similar to Takumi.

  “Tell me what you know. I’ll leave your fate to the Matsumotos.” David turned to face the obake hidden within the tree. The Takumi lookalike’s misty features gulped. The tip of the Seikaku was inches from his face.

  Lost and Broken

  July,

  Ryohei proved a valuable addition to the Estate. While a bit eccentric, apparently so was I. He kept to himself, except to occasionally follow us in the forests. After his arrival, it was hard to imagine the Estate without him…

  David strode through the Estate with Ryohei the obake while the peal of Takumi’s hammer rang through the trees. Luckily, he had been able to struggle back into some clothes before leaving the forest proper. Ryohei ignored David’s sword and stared in awe at the buildings around him, drinking in the comforting similarities, and examining the changes.

  Despite the late hour, David found and roused Grandpa at the retirement cottage. When the twins had been born, Grandpa had moved to a small building near the gate so that Masao could raise his children without a third generation living directly with them. Despite his symbolic separation, however, Grandpa was still master of the Estate.

  After hearing Ryohei’s story, Grandpa left to gather the Matsumoto Family Histories. He quickly found that Ryohei Matsumoto had died during an accident when forging his first sword. Convinced of the obake’s identity after a lengthy questioning, Grandpa agreed to let him stay, provided he helped where he could and did not try to feed off anyone on the Estate. In return, the ghost of Ryohei was able to be a part of the Matsumotos again. Since Ryohei had already told David all he knew about the pack of ōkami, David let his Seikaku fade away. Ryohei decided to haunt the Matsumoto Garden. It too was his favorite place on the Estate.

  “It is troubling that there is a whole ōkami pack,” Grandpa said as soon as Ryohei was gone. “I will check into Ryohei’s information on Misaki immediately.” Frowning, Grandpa wandered out to the kitchen for tea. David followed him towards the main house. Instead, of entering, he headed for Rie’s room. When he knocked on her door, he was surprised at the immediate response. She was already awake.

  “Rie, I have some bad news,” he started. She simply stared back stonily. “I just found out that Misaki has disappeared. You know it’s strange, but when I delivered the last package of metal, there was just a note on her door telling me to leave it. Do you think she’s been gone since then?”

  Her eyes unfocused as if she was trying to gaze through him. For the briefest moment, David thought he saw her brown eyes glisten with a tear. Then just as suddenly, her door slid shut between them. David tried to get a response but was left with the sounds of her scraping around the room.

  ‘I hope she’s alright. We should keep an eye on her, just in case she tries to go find Misaki on her own.’ David and Kou’s thoughts were so coordinated that they blended. David turned and headed to his room so that he could sneak out. Although he knew Masao was with Takumi, he could not be sure that Yukiko or Grandpa would not be keeping an eye on the doors.

  In the deep of early morning, David snuck out of the main house via his improvised trap door. Turning into Kou in order to maximize their stealth, Kou grabbed David’s bare clothes, and like a shadow, ran through the Estate. His paws kept time with the pounding of Takumi’s hammer. Kon climbed a tree near the main house, and then transformed to keep from waking Natsuki.

  ‘It’s amazing what a ghost showing up can do.’

  ‘Yes, and it should be interesting having him around. I assume you will want to play a prank on Natsuki?’

  David’s laugh came out as half a growl.

  ‘I don’t know, she seemed pretty freaked out the last time,’ David thought, letting the incident in the ruins play through his mind.

  ‘You should have asked Rie about the strange note right after you got it… or investigated more.’

  ‘Rie’s the one who wanted me to keep it secret. I figured the note was there because Misaki had better things to do than wait around for me to show up.’ As the time passed, they listened to the familiar sounds of night on the Estate. David yawned at the monotony, and decided to find out more about Kou. ‘So tell me more about Kami… What are you exactly?’

  ‘We are as in the dark about our origins as humans. Thanks to the Matsumotos we know some of our history, and my own memories as part of my… father… answers some more of what you are asking.’

  ‘But don’t the Japanese worship Kami? Are you gods?’

  ‘It depends on how you define a god. We are spirits that have the ability to affect the physical world. We guide and care for our charges. The water Kami stay in the water, fire in fire, air in air, and earth on land.’

  ‘What about you? Why are you with me?’

  ‘My predecessor, the Golden Tiger, was the original Zodiac Tiger. The Matsumotos do not even know that, by the way. He and the other zodiacs…’

  ‘Wait, I thought there were only twelve zodiac animals total.’

  ‘You humans always mix things up. The others were conveniently forgotten so they could fit your calendar. Anyway, the zodiacs were the first animal Kami, diminished from their Elemental Kami ancestors but still strong. Most of the original zodiacs diminished as they procreated until their offspring became just dumb animals, with only the slightest spark of life in them. The animals could no longer split themselves, but flourished by finding mates. Afraid of falling to the level of the animals, a few of the zodiacs split rarely, until they found that if they entered a human they could incubate their offspring until the new Kami emerged more powerful than before.’

  ‘Then why aren’t there more Kami running around?’

  ‘Why else? Evil. Whether the humans corrupted the Kami, or the Kami corrupted the humans is not known. What is known is that the corruption occurred and resulted in the evil things that roam the land today. Ōkami, oni, yūrei, and the many monsters you read about are due to corrupted Kami. The Kami swore never to possess another human… That is until part of Amaterasu’s predecessor, a powerful Kami, was accidentally pulled into Ninigi during the Matsumoto ceremony. Ninigi’s sacrifice proved he had no corruption, making it safe for the Kami to grow again. Since then only the Matsumotos know how many human-Kami joinings there have been.’

  ‘Why me though? I mean, I get that there can cannot really be all that many people being killed at shrines, but still.’

  ‘There are actually quite a few shrines in Japan, almost too many in fact. Since there are so many not all have regular Kami visitors, but there are enough that there is a good chance someone, somewhere will end up dying near one. The circumstances and person dying matter though. The Zodiac Tiger was there because he was listening for the Matsumotos’ call. The Kami feel a responsibility for the world. We swore to fight the evil that was unwittingly unleashed into it, but we can only do so much alone. Together with a human, we are far stronger than either half. Evil has returned, so when you sacrificed yourself, the Zodiac Tiger gave part of himself to create me… us. Evil has been gro
wing in the world, and now it is back in Japan. We must fight it, we will be strong.’

  ‘What about humans? Aren’t we descended from apes? I mean how does that fit into your story?’

  ‘It is not a story. Humans involved a disturbing piece of our history… but it will have to wait. Rie is coming.’

  David suddenly saw a shadow slide out from beneath the main house. Still early enough not to wake Natsuki, he changed into Kou. They watched as Rie ran swiftly through the shadows. Dropping carefully to the ground, Kou made it to the wall just in time to see Rie slide through the stream and under the wall.

  She moved through the darkness purposefully, not even taking the time to watch for pursuers. Neither David nor Kou were sucked into underestimating her. David clearly remembered their time in the mountains, and knew if he tried to track her without Kou, she would know he was there far before he got close enough to see her.

  Kou waited until Rie was well past the wall before going under himself. The forest was pitch-black. No moon shone through the trees and the stars were hidden by thick clouds overhead. The only light came from the slight glow of Nakano Town.

  ‘It is a good thing we do not have to rely on your sight or we would be as blind as… well, a human.’

  Kou padded after Rie swiftly but more silently than the barely-existent wind. The stream curved through the forest heading to its mountain source. Rie continued walking along the water until she reached a curve, then stepping out she headed quickly into the hills. Kou continued to follow, giving her more lead as the trees thinned slightly.

  Turning into a vale, Rie suddenly disappeared from view. Kou hurried forward coming around the corner seeing an open area behind a low hill, with the beginning of a tall mountain behind it. There was no trace of her.

  Unlike the Seikaku, Takumi’s sword required the full process to create. When David arrived at the dojo a bare hour after returning to the Estate, only Grandpa was there.

  “Takumi is taking a break. He finished the first stage of the sword a couple hours ago. He will continue after he rests so as not to make any mistakes. Unlike a Seikaku, normal swords do not need to be finished in one sitting. I tried contacting Misaki’s parents, but they were out. I called Yonamine and he confirmed she is missing, though they think she just ran away. She apparently left a note. Natsuki should be along shortly and then we can begin.” Grandpa sat as usual behind a low table drinking tea, fresh from finishing his own morning practice while David had been running.

  Natsuki arrived shortly after David. Late and sleepy looking, she tossed David an annoyed scowl.

  “You were running around with Kou again last night weren’t you? I barely slept with all the crazy dreams I was having.” Natsuki yawned widely, trying to shake off her sleepiness. Grandpa raised a gray haired eyebrow at David.He answered with a guilty smile. Shrugging, Grandpa turned to the pair.

  “Since Takumi will not be joining us this morning, I would like you two to finish up your basics and then spar,” Grandpa said. He raised his hands to stop their simultaneous reactions. “I know. Your last time did not turn out so well. But you have only spared with Takumi since. I want to see how you two are really doing.”

  Without Takumi and Rie, Natsuki lead basics. David furiously kept pace, aggressively anticipating Natsuki’s movements to the point he kept her moving faster and faster to outdo him. By the end they were both drenched in sweat, something neither had encountered for weeks.

  Grandpa merely sat on the sidelines chuckling to himself as Natsuki and David fought, their wills striking with every step, punch, block, and kick. Trying to hide her fatigue, Natsuki turned briskly and walked to the back of the dojo to collect her practice sword. David simply stood lazily, smiling, pretending as if he had been waiting for hours.

  “Well? What are you waiting for, go get your sword,” Natsuki said with as much distain as she could muster. With a smile and a wink, David summoned his Seikaku. Instantly, he was ready for sword basics, his blade in hand.

  Natsuki stood slightly dumbstruck as out of nowhere Grandpa let out the loudest, hardiest laugh David had ever heard. David was so surprised his concentration faltered and the Seikaku disappeared. Natsuki and David turned in unison to stare as Grandpa rocked forward, pounding the low table before him.

  “That was hilarious, I was just about to tell you off for wasting time, and sure enough, pop… out comes the Seikaku,” Grandpa said rocking with his laughter. “Of course you should practice basics with it. Ah the look on your face was priceless Natsuki-chan.”

  Turning to look at each other, both David and Natsuki burst out laughing at Grandpa in return. Once everyone had settled down, David re-summoned his Seikaku and they worked their way through sword basics at a normal pace.

  Once they finished all their basics, they returned to the back rooms and donned their armor. David’s was painted in the black, orange, and white stripes of a tiger. Grandpa had replaced his old mask so that even in human form he had the fierce visage of a growling tiger. As David and Natsuki squared off to spar, armed with the lighter bamboo swords, David’s eyes glazed to orange.

  “Try not to knock David down so much this time,” Kou said, making David frown awkwardly. “It hurts.”

  “Sure, tell him not to fall down, then there won’t be a problem.” Natsuki smiled behind her helmet and mask as they squared for battle. Shaking his head, David attached his mask, securing it with ropes under his chin, then smiled, taking full control from Kou.

  At Grandpa’s signal, the pair came to attention, bowed, and readied themselves. Another signal unleashed twin attacks. Just a month before, Natsuki had easily knocked David down repeatedly. With the mid-July sunrise streaming through the open doors, David stood physically fit, with two and a half months intensive training, and the ability to multi-task, thanks to Kou and his evening lessons with Grandpa. None of it stopped Natsuki from getting in the first blow. Her years of training more than made up for the year she had spent flitting around with the class representative. Natsuki had worked just as hard as David, and was in better shape beforehand.

  She caught him along the arm, raking down along his armor before David was able to deflect her sword away from his body. Unperturbed, Natsuki used the momentum from David’s deflection to start another attack. Natsuki was, however, unprepared when he suddenly dropped and turned his sword, flipping in an imitation of the move he had used on the tree in which Ryohei had hidden. The tip of David’s bamboo sword caught Natsuki right in the solar plexus, driving her breath out, despite the armor. David was up and away again before she could recover.

  ‘Attack.’

  ‘Not while she’s down.’

  Grandpa called a halt to check on Natsuki.

  “Not very fair using that trick on her. You only thought of it because you saw me,” Ryohei said, his shadowy voice echoing through the dojo as he glided out of the wall behind Natsuki. Turning, Natsuki’s eyes went wide in shock and fright. Backing away and into David, Natsuki grabbed him, pulling him in front of her as a shield.

  “It’s a… g-ghost. Hurry David, kill it, kill it, kill it!” Natsuki said, her voice increasingly shrill.

  “I guess that wasn’t the best way to introduce myself,” Ryohei said as he floated in front of them, his translucent hand scratching the back of his head in embarrassment. Due to her connection with David and Kou, Natsuki was fully capable of seeing him. David sighed, then transformed into Kou, brushing up against her until she calmed enough to listen to Grandpa.

  “Do not worry Natsuki, this was Ryohei Matsumoto. He found David in the forest and we agreed to let him stay at the Estate. He is not evil, not like the obake you met.” Grandpa spoke soothingly, seeing the fear in her eyes.

  “I think I’ll just go back to the garden. I didn’t know you met one of the others. Just thought I’d say hi,” said Ryohei, gliding back out of the dojo.

  ‘Well, you did want to play a trick on her…’

  ‘That was your idea. I didn’t want to sc
are the wits out of her in the middle of a sparring match!’

  Natsuki eventually settled down, calmed by Kou and Grandpa’s words. David looked around for his armor so that he could get re-dressed after changing back into his human form but could not find it anywhere. Only the gi he had worn beneath it remained on the floor.

  “Go ahead, change back,” Grandpa said impatiently.

  Kou eyed Grandpa carefully, and then rolled his shoulders for a shrug. Before he transformed, David made him turn away from Natsuki, his paws awkwardly trying to cover himself. Relieved, David reappeared with his Tiger Armor firmly in place over his human body, minus the cloth barrier that had been between his skin and the armor. Natsuki still sat on the floor staring off into space.

  “Your armor is special. I’ll explain later,” Grandpa said, gesturing pointedly at Natsuki.

  ‘You are going to have to push her buttons to get her mind off Ryohei.’

  ‘I doubt it is Ryohei she’s thinking about. But hey, pushing Natsuki’s buttons? That’s easy.’

  “Well I guess I won then, too bad, Natsuki,” David said, putting on the best smile he could muster. Natsuki stared at him for a second before comprehension overcame her fear and she started to stand.

  “No way you win. You only got me one time.” Natsuki’s voice rose as she spoke. Anger colored her cheeks as she watched David smirk.

  ‘More. Use the princess bit.’

  “Well I just figured the princess wanted a rest, you have been sitting for quite a while after all,” David said, waving his hand and rolling his eyes to give the show a final touch. Natsuki slammed her helmet back onto her head and picked up her bamboo sword in one fluid motion. She advanced without even commenting of the fact that David still had his armor on.

  ‘I hope you’re satisfied,’ David thought. Kou purred within, letting him know that he was.