The Story of Ryujin

"I am always ready for it."

"Are you? It isn't just you that you must be ready for it. You must prepare for anything that the enemy will throw on you. He may target anything that you desire. He may target your family, your farm, your home, your property....the enemy will not always care for you. Anything can be used to destabilize you."

Tatsu nodded. "I understand. Musashi himself had stated something about that as well."

"He is wise. Shame that I never had a chance to really learn from him myself," Kiyoshi said. "At least you had a chance to learn and teach me some of his ideas and moves. Perhaps you will master a new set of moves that will not only allow you to fully utilize his style of combat but also allow you to switch up to different combat abilities as well. For example, the enemy may know how to defeat a man that uses two swords, and you can try to switch to different modes to confuse them. The moment that they get confused is the time they are most vulnerable. For example, when you punched me in the face in our duel so long ago, you genuinely caught me by surprise."

"Really?" Tatsu's brow lifted. "I thought you anticipated that?"

"I was trying to anticipate many things. You were correct when you told me that I was not throwing 100% of my effort into defeating you. I was not trying to throw the match as you told me, but.....I was thinking of Yua when I made my first swing at you. Then your fist came straight to my face, and it was a wakeup call for me."

Kiyoshi held his sword with both hands as the blade pointed straight up. He then held his combat stance straight as he directed Tatsu with his next move.

"You have a habit of never attacking first," Kiyoshi noted. "There are advantages and disadvantages to doing this. Fighting defensively is strength alone where your opponent leaves himself vulnerable and open. Sometimes they are more vulnerable attacking one another. I know two friends that were forced to spar against one another. They were ordered by their sensei to attack one another in a sparring match. For an hour, they stood with their blades touching against each other. They never swung their blades against one another."

"Wouldn't that be disobeying their sensei's wishes?"

"Yes, and our sensei questioned them. The two friends replied that by attacking first would leave themselves more vulnerable than simply attacking the other. I admit even our sensei was impressed with the wording they made. However, even with a story like that, you must anticipate that sometimes you need to swing at your opponent instead of making counter swings. Your opponent will simply consider that and begin to counter your counter swings as the fight progresses. This is the point that Musashi was telling you that it is important to agitate your opponent. Agitating them leaves them to making foolish mistakes. For example, I think Haru looks ugly for having one leg."

Tatsu's brow showed a little bit of anger on his face. Kiyoshi then swung his blade as Tatsu quickly blocked the edge. As he made his counter move to stab at Kiyoshi, he quickly got out of the way and swung hard straight at the tall man's head. Tatsu had one of his blades pointed straight at Kiyoshi's head, stopping before he stabbed him in the head. Kiyoshi had his blade inches from Tatsu's head.

"Notice that if this were a real battle, we would be both dead right now. A draw is still a loss for you because you would be dead in the end. I simply stated those words to agitate you. Even though I never met it obviously, I did that to distract your thinking."

Tatsu seemed to calm down. "I see now....this is what Musashi was telling me about why he believes in having a calm mind."

"It is important for all of us," Kiyoshi said as they backed up from one another to reset his stance. "I still lost that duel against you so long ago because I was not thinking clearly. I was thinking more emotionally as a result. Haru is a powerful tool not only to bring stability for your life, but it can be your greatest weakness too."

"Are you telling me that I shouldn't love her?"

"I am not saying anything of the kind. We are taught the importance of being with someone to care for. Sometimes we marry not because of love but because duty tells us to. Two people are usually arranged to marry and expect the other to love in time. The end result is the same, and that is having children."

"Just as Haru had told me......" Tatsu paused as he said that.

"I admit that even I am not too keen on this system as well. Yes, it is easy to say honor outweighs everything, and I will follow that to its end, but....remorse is the end result of doing that. I am happy to be with Yua, for example. Perhaps this village has a way of doing those things to you. If this were Kumamoto, I would have been married off to some rich woman, and that would have been that," Kiyoshi said as he turned to look at the village. "I am happy to be posted to this village. I would give my life over and over again to defend the people of this village if need be. You must do the same thing without qu......"

Kiyoshi paused as Tatsu noticed him do so. This caused him to shift his position to look at the direction of where Kiyoshi was looking at.

Coming from the northern side of the beach was a tall man. He was dressed in some blue kimono, walking barefoot on the beach towards them. He had short black hair and had a small beard on him. He carried what looked like a katana on his side.

"Do you know this man?" Tatsu asked Kiyoshi.

"I do not recognize him," Kiyoshi shook his head.

The man was big and solid muscle. He looked as tall as Tatsu was but was beefier. He was a man from Japan as the others were, but there was something odd about him. Tatsu was not exactly commonplace in height, and to see another man of similar mass was alarming just as well.

"Tatsu, let's get our swords before he gets any closer," Kiyoshi advised.

"I agree, we have another minute before he reaches the village."

Both Tatsu and Kiyoshi ran to the nearby grass where their real swords were at. They picked them up as they walked back to the coast to face this unknown stranger.

Kiyoshi had a firm grip on his katana as Tatsu went and had his in his scabbard ready to be pulled out. The stranger walked up to them and maintained a reasonable distance of several feet away from him.

The stranger was holding some sort of blue crystal in his hand. Tatsu watched in curiosity as the stranger held the crystal firmly while looking at both Kiyoshi and Tatsu intently.

"Identify yourself!" Kiyoshi proclaimed to the stranger.

The stranger himself seemed to ignore Kiyoshi. Kiyoshi kept his katana steady as the stranger himself saw something resonate from his crystal as he looked at Tatsu closely. A grin developed in the stranger's face as he focused hard at the Tatsu. He pulled out his katana and held it firmly ready for battle.

"There you are," the stranger said in a deep voice. "Interesting to see you like this...."

"Who are you?" Tatsu asked with a deep curiosity.

The brow lifted in the stranger's face as he looked at Tatsu hard. "You do not recognize me?..... What is this? How do you not recognize me?"

"Whoever you are, you have entered my village," Kiyoshi proclaimed. "Put your sword away!"

The stranger again ignored Kiyoshi. There seemed to be some agitation in his face. Tatsu looked at Kiyoshi a little bit and gestured to him to give him a minute to talk to this stranger.

"Whoever you are, my name is Tatsu. I live here. I....."

"You know who well I am," the stranger said as he put the crystal away in his kimono. "Do not play games!"

"You come to this village, with a sword drawn. You know me, who are you?" Tatsu asked.

The stranger seemed annoyed but tried to calm down. "This crystal.....it sent me to here. It belonged to his sword.....your sword. The crystal does not lie."

"Perhaps it is easier to explain it this way," Tatsu kept his face neutral to him. "I do not know who I am. I lost my memory over a month ago. I have been in this area ever since. You appear to know me, though. I would like answers."

The stranger nodded. A rather disturbing grin developed on his face though that seemed to catch Tatsu's attention. Even Kiyoshi readied himself.

"You would not leave your main weapon lying in the dirt so far away for me to find it if that were the case," the stranger noted. "I ripped the crystal from it and used it to track it to the original owner....., and that would be you. I know exactly who you are, and I have been waiting for hundreds of years to finally get my revenge."

"Whoever you are, this is your final warning," Kiyoshi told him. "Leave this area immediately! You come here and start threatening the villagers."

"You are here.....you lost your memory," the stranger said. "Yes, I suppose it makes sense. I suppose this....human is in the way, Tatsu. You know that isn't your real name. I know who you are, and I hereby challenge you to a duel."

"What?" Tatsu reacted. "I don't know who you are, yet you come here and challenge me to a fight?"

"That is correct."

Tatsu shook his head, "I will not....I don't know who you are and why you come out of nowhere to fight me."

"Fight me or everyone in this village dies."

There was no remorse in his face. Tatsu stared at his face for a little bit. He apparently knew what he was doing. Kiyoshi held his anger back as he was about to charge at him. The more and more he looked at him, the more and more Tatsu felt some sense of familiarity.

"Kiyoshi....he is telling the truth," Tatsu said. "I don't know why, but I believe him."

"Will you fight me or not?" the stranger demanded.

Tatsu thought about it for a moment. "I need answers. If I fight you, will you tell me the truth? You know my past."

"Kah, Kah.....," the stranger laughed in a strange way. "Of course, I will if you live that is."

"Then I accept," Tatsu nodded.

The stranger sheathed his katana into his scabbard. There was a devious grin on his face. "I am not entirely convinced that you are serious about this duel or not. I will give you a chance to prove it, though. This afternoon. When the sun is starting to set, travel south for hours of this village.....away from the others. If you do not show, I attack and start killing everyone in this village, starting with you. There will be....let's say an incentive to make sure that you show up for this duel. I have been waiting too long for this, and the fact is, I don't believe you will be there."

"I will be there," Tatsu said.

The stranger shook his head. "No, not good enough. You will be there, and I will make sure that you come."

"Why wait?" Kiyoshi asked. "Why not now?"

The stranger turned his body around and looked back. "I have....certain rules that I have to obey. Besides.....I am giving you and your village a chance to prepare to fight back. Why complain with such an opportunity?"

Kiyoshi watched as the stranger kept walking forward. This time he walked past them and proceeded southward. Kiyoshi shook his head as he sheathed his katana. Both him and Tatsu carefully observed as they watched him head away. They waited till he got a safe distance before they said anything to each other.

"Who is he, Tatsu?" Kiyoshi asked.

"I don't know, this man appears to be from my past, and he holds a grudge against me. His anger is restrained so hard that he means what he says about the village. He will kill everyone here."

"He will not succeed in doing that," Kiyoshi stomped his foot lightly into the dirt. "I will have this village armed and prepared for battle before he will ever succeed. Even a man of his size cannot take down an entire village."

"For some reason, I believe he can. I don't know why.....my memory though....ugh, I wish I had the answers. I know this, though; he will not succeed even if he tries because I will defeat him in the duel."

Tatsu looked at the sky to see what time it was. "I have a few hours to reach him. I keep walking down......"

He looked at the direction the stranger was going and noticed something that made him stop talking altogether. Kiyoshi noticed that he stopped talking.

"What is it?"

"He is gone....." Tatsu said.

They were looking due south, and he was nowhere to be seen.

"Impossible," Kiyoshi said. "He can't randomly appear and disappear at will like that."

"Why would he just vanish like that?"

There was a scream in the village as they turned their heads to it. They naturally ran to the village center as fast as they could. Their feet pressed hard into the dirt. Tatsu was ready for what was to come.

As they reached the town center, an old man was bleeding from a deep cut. He fell to the ground as a villager was tending to him.

Kiyoshi reached the older man first as he reached out to him. He pointed eastward from the village center. He was pointing at the house that belonged to Tatsu.

"A big man.....came out of nowhere.....he went to Tatsu's house," the old man explained. "He.....I don't know."

The older man said no more. Tatsu's eyes went wide, he knew what he meant, and it sent a shiver down his spine. He ran to his home near the forest entrance as fast as he could with Kiyoshi in pursuit.

By the time they were near his home, there was a second scream. This scream, however, was higher pitched as if it sounded like......

"Haru!" Tatsu yelled. "Haru!"

It was coming from inside his home. He knew Haru was inside. He reached the front step of his door first as he slid it open. Kiyoshi was directed to stay behind and watch the village in case he tried to escape from the home.

Inside the home, Tatsu could see him. It was the same tall stranger as before. He was holding Haru up by her arm and neck as he had his katana aimed at her head.

"Oh, there you are," the stranger said. "I figure I make sure I make my point that I am serious about this duel dear Tatsu.....kah funny you choose that name."

Tatsu stepped forward as the stranger put the blade close to her neck. She held back the urge to scream as the blade very lightly cut her in the neck. The cut was very light, with just a tiny drop of blood coming out.

"Not so fast!" the stranger said. "I figure I make my point and randomly choose the weakest link of this village. I figure that a one-legged gimp of a woman that no one will miss will work out in the end to make my point. What do you think, miss?" he asked Haru. "I want this Tatsu to come and fight me. I have to actually take a hostage just to ensure that he comes and fights me. Anyone tell you revenge is such a powerful thing?"

There was fear in Haru's eyes. She was doing her best to struggle but avoid getting cut at the same time.

"Let her go!" Tatsu yelled.

"If you want this....hmm....." he sniffed her closely. "What do you know? I randomly choose a person in this village, and I can smell.....you all over her. Kah, kah, kah, well now it seems fortune keeps finding me after all. Go and face me south along the beach. Come alone, or she dies by my hand! Failure to face me will be the end of your.....mate."

With that, the stranger pulled out some sort of crystal from his kimono. It was small and yellow as he dropped it on the floor. It radiated some kind of flash as he disappeared in a bright light along with Haru.

"No!" Tatsu yelled as the light faded into nothingness.

Kiyoshi came and walked into the room to see an empty home. He looked around and shook his head.

"I heard her and the man. Where did they go?" Kiyoshi asked.

"I know where they are. He used....magic to escape. Kiyoshi, get the village ready for battle just to be safe. You must stay here and safeguard the people. I must go and rescue my wife and kill this stranger before he becomes a threat to anyone else."

Kiyoshi smacked his side as he shook his head. "I believe you can take him down. That stranger is a coward for taking a hostage to force you to duel like that."

"I must face him," Tatsu explained. "Perhaps this is the test of all the training you and everyone else has given me. I must fight this stranger. I must go."

Kiyoshi paused as he looked inside the room. "I don't know what is going on, but I will get things ready. Tatsu.....may, you live or die with honor."

Tatsu nodded his head as he ran out of his home. Kiyoshi looked around for a little bit. He stepped outside to see Tatsu running at full speed away from his home, heading southwest towards the beach and away from the village.

"Impossible.....magic....." Kiyoshi paused. He sighed for a little bit as he was reminded about the village. "What do I believe?..... One man loses his memory, and another man wants to fight him. That is at least obvious to me."

He thought nothing more about it as he proceeded back to the village center, his one hand gripped to the handle of his katana.

*******

"I see the darkness everyday......" Tatsu said as he walked southward down the beach. He tried to keep his emotions in check. His adrenaline pushed him to no end.

"I must keep myself calm," he said to himself. "This is the enemy trying to hurt me. He cannot hurt me. I must remember my training. I must focus."

He controlled his walking. Tatsu knew that he was going to make it to the area the stranger told him to go. He would be awaiting, and he would be ready. He turned his head as he looked at the sun. The sun was getting lower and lower by the minute. The waves of the ocean continually splashed against the beach. He could hear the birds overhead as his bare feet walked across the sand.

"Who am I?" Tatsu tried to ask out loud. "I get the nightmares.....it never ends.....it never stops. I see others that are like me and others that are not like me. I see nothing but darkness like it was a giant mouth ready to consume everything. We are all alive, though...." He said as he looked up at the sky.

"I am a dragon.....yes, that is what I am," he said as he tried to reassure himself. "I might be the last, but I will keep living if need be. I must think of the good things. Haru.......yes."

He turned his head back to the village. It was nothing but a speck in his eyes now. He had gained so much distance, and there was not a person in sight. He turned his head forward as he closed his eyes.

"I must clear my mind. Where the darkness ends is waking up next to Haru every morning. She accepts me for who I am. She does not care who she is and what I am. That is the gift of humanity. Maybe we are truly alike. Maybe that was why I was out there in the heavens, ready to give my life. The humans are capable of great evil, but they are capable of love and understanding. It is the cycle of life. The concept of the yin and yang. For all good creatures, there is a little bit of evil, and for all evil, there is a little bit of good. It is balance, and that is what we have to struggle to achieve."

He stopped walking as he opened his eyes. There was nothing but forest to his left not far from the sands that he stood. Ocean waves would occasionally hit his feet. As he calmed his emotions, he felt that he could see everything more clearly. He felt that he could hear everything that was around him.

"I am at peace......I am ready to fight."

Tatsu turned his head to the nearby trees. Slowly a large man stepped out behind the trees. He was still holding Haru in his arms. He carried no weapon in his hand but still had her in his clutches. Haru's mouth was clamped closed by the tall stranger.

"Looks like he decided to show up after all," the stranger said. "As promised, I have done nothing to your mate. Don't worry, little gimp bitch," he directed his words to Haru. "Looks like your husband has come to die by my hands."

Haru practically bit into the stranger's hands, but it did nothing. He simply made that strange laugh again.