"Oi..
Check thoroughly to ensure the fences are well set and firm.

We wouldn't want it to tear apart from one strong gust of  wind or a random animal attack."

"Yes sir!!!
They are well set, additionally the barricades which we've set up will provide extra safety, so there's no need to worry, sir."

"Good Good."

The man turns around to look at the arena and the surrounding places.

"Good God, dawn has barely broken and just look at this place.

It's teeming with the candidates and spectators."

"Hahaha. 
But of course, Isshiki-Buchou."

Murakami Masako, one of the Sensei's in the academy, walked towards Masanori Isshiki, the man in charge of the special constructions for the shogunate. 

A man of medium height, he is a handsome young man in his late 20's. He had medium length hair which was combed beautifully to the right side. 

He wore a blue and white striped haori over a hakama, which was the symbolic attire of his clan

Isshiki San was a man who is praised throughout the shogunate for their quality construction in very limited times. 

A moderately tall man, with medium-length grey hair, and a long grey beard, showing his old age. His cheeks are a bit hollowed, with wrinkles all over his forehead.

He wore a samue, over a haori and sported traditional sandals or geta, like everyone else. 

Hailing from a clan associated with Carpentry, he is one of the highly successful descendants of the Masanori Clan. 

He is often called Isshiki-Buchou because of his charismatic personality and ability to take charge of things even in the direst of situations.

Masako San, on the other hand, is one of the alumni of the Ancient Emperor Style Swordsmanship Academy. 

He graduated from the academy eight years ago and decided to assist his Sensei in molding future generations. 

He is a member of one of the nine noble clans currently in power —the Murakami Clan.

He is currently in charge of the second years and spear training in general. He was also the one in charge of handling resources for the trial.

"Ahh, Murakami-dono!"
Isshiki turns to face Masako as he hears his voice.

"This is one of the biggest tournaments in the shogunate, which ensures the admission of 8 top candidates into one of the top swordsmanship academies there is.

Not to mention a chance to be able to train under one of the three pillars of the Shogunate, whose strength are more or less equal to the Sword Emperors.

So its only natural that it would be crowded here, same as in other tournaments around the year"

"Ahh yes, learning under Kanroji-dono would be a dream to many a young fledgling out there.

But there seems to be more people this year than previous years right?"

"Well its around the same as last year, maybe a bit more because of Tachibana-Sama.
There are people here who came to pay homage to him as well, so."

"Ahh right, Tachibana-dono.
Last I saw him was during his announcement of him resigning from the Sword Emperor position.

Wait, that's not right...

Hmm, yes, I saw him again when he requested for my services during the first and second tournaments that were conducted here.

Ahh how many years have passed since that...

It indeed is a great loss for us."

"Indeed, the mark he left on our hearts and on this sacred soil, it will last forever."

"Speaking of, I heard he has a grandson, is it true?"

"Yes, it is indeed true. He was the one who carried his body to here.
They were on their way here, to enroll him in the academy.

Alas, fate decided to play games with him and pushed him into a sea of despair."

"How is he faring?
Is he taking part in the tournament this year?" asked a curious Isshiki.

"Yes, he is well
And yes, he is taking part in the tournament."

"Ohh, that is good to hear... I'm looking forward to what the grandson of Tachibana-dono can show me in combat!"

"Ahh, I'm afraid that might be impossible right now."

"Ehh? Why is that?"

"Well you see, Takeshi kun...
He never received training as a samurai from Tachibana-sama, or so I've been told by Kanroji Sensei.

He started proper training after coming here."

"Ohh, is that so?"

"Yes, so it will be impossible to see his talent in its entirety this year round.

Kanroji-Sensei let him take part in the tournament as he couldn't say no to his young spirit.

"He told me, 

'Since that is the case, I'll let him take part this year, He will get a clear idea of how the world is, how young samurai his age are and how much he should toil and strive, in order to come out on top'

I understood his intentions well when he said that, so I accepted his decision.'"

"Hmm, that is true, this will be a good test for him, a very valuable experience.
He will be able to utilize this and strengthen himself and prove his worth in the next trial."

"Hmm, Aren't you guys putting a lot of hope on this snot nosed brat just cause' he is Tachibana's grandson?"

Upon hearing this voice speak, Isshiki and Masako both turned to the left to see, a tall man, in his 60's, wearing indigo-dyed kimono with intricate patterns of intertwined dragons and was adorned with gold and silver threads. 

He had his katana attached to his obi, with his left hand holding on to the hilt. He wore a black kasa, which he pushed upwards to reveal his face.

His face was wrinkled, showing his age. He wore a smirk on his face as he walked towards them.

"Ahh, Yoshihiro-dono!" Isshiki said as he greeted the old man

"Well, Well, Well, I wasn't expecting the Shiba clan head to show up here." Masako smiled as he said this

"I snuck out, ehehe." said Yoshihiro as he laughed.

"Y-You snuck out, again?
This behavior is unbecoming of the clan head Yoshihiro-sama."

"What can I do, stay cooped up in my home all day?
That too when interesting things like this are happening all over the shogunate."

"Hahh, this old coot, I did not mean for you to stay cooped up. Come to events normally, LIKE ANY OTHER CLAN HEAD WOULD!!!"

"Huh??? Old coot, this brat, you want me to give you beatings on your ass again when you were a crybaby? Huh?"

"Ahh, there is no talking to this man" Masako let out a sigh as he said this.

"Well, back to the topic we were on, why do you think about Takeshi that way Yoshihiro-sama?"

"Takeshi?? Oh is that the name of the grandson?
Hmm, well, just because he has his blood, doesn't mean he's going to turn out just like him."

"Yes, I'm aware that its a bit too early to say that, but from what I saw during him training with another disciple here, he showed some promise, given its his first time receiving proper training and its only been a month."

"Hmm, well I wasn't exactly referring to that but that too was a thing to consider.
Well, let's see, I'll see how he fares in this tournament and how he bounces back from his inevitable failure."

'Hmm, a young boy who had to witness the death of his only blood relative right before his eyes.

Its only a matter of time, as soon as he is able to walk on his two feet, he'll be out there, in the world stage, seeking blood. 
There's only so much you can suppress within yourself, it's bound to erupt someday.' thought Yoshihiro.

"Well, there seems to be quite a few familiar faces here yeah?"

"Yes, a lot of them came to pay homage, rest are here for the tournament.

There are samurai from the main clans, and the former main clans as well.
Some dark horses who made a name for themselves as well."

"Hmm, yes i recognize the brats from the Minamoto and Fujiwara clans." Yoshihiro said as he scratched his chin.

"There's a younger cousin of mine taking part this year. I've heard he's really good as well."

"Ohh, from the Murakami clan eh? Hmm..."

"Minamoto Kiyomasa, Fujiwara Akiko and Murakami Kazuki are the three top seeds in this trial.

The Dark horses that Sensei mentioned would be the Nitta clan's Haruhide, the enigmatic Shirota from Mori and Matsunaga Yoshitaka

Yoshitaka could turn one of the biggest upsets in the tournament due to him using his set of weird and never seen before weapons from his arsenal."

The Trio turned behind and looked at curiosity at the voice that came in between their conversation.

A young man, with a scarf tied around his bicep. gleaming at them as he spoke. He wore clothes similar to Isshiki and wore a tired look on his face, covered in sweat.

"Ohh? And who might you be?"

"Ohh, me? I'm Shimura, Shimura Sasaki, I work with Isshiki-buchou." He said this as his eyes glistened with joy

"It's an honor to meet the Shiba clan head and Masako-Sensei!!"

"Oi brat, stop loitering around here and get your work done, butting into conversations, Hmph."

"Hahaha, let him stay, he seems to be quite knowledgeable about the tournament.

Tell me boy, are you a fellow following the path of the sword?"

"No, no, I am very interested in watching Samurai fight, I get to see a variety of trials, tournaments and duels around the shogunate, I make it a habit of knowing who all are taking part and their details.

It is nice to watch the action from the sidelines."

"HAHAHAHA
Boy, you do speak like an geezer, are you sure you aren't an old man in a young body?"
Yoshihiro asks the young man as he laughs.

"Well.." Shimura smiled as he scratched his head.

"Look who's talking about being a geezer." Masako said, in a low voice.

"Huh, what did you say you brat?"

****

Similar banter could be heard all around the arena, people talking about candidates, clans and general affairs

The tournament is about to start, the list of combatants and the order of the fights are all set and arranged. The Sensei's in charge, handled all of this well. 

The area surrounding the arena was buzzing, the crowd is really alive, talks about the first match, who they are going to be, the top seeds, etc.

A man, the designated announcer for the tournament started walking towards the arena and rang the bell he has on him. "Ding Ding Ding."

"WELL PEOPLE! ARE YOU ALL READY FOR THE FIERCEST TOURNAMENT IN THE SHOGUNATE???"

Crowd cheering ensued, there were people moving around to find their seats, some out to get refreshments and some continued on with their chats about general events, the sword emperors and the events happening in foreign lands.

The organizers involved with the arena setup moved around in the background, taking care of various things, making sure everything is going smoothly.

The announcer continued on as he explained various rules and the candidates. The Top favorite candidates to win the trial and details about them, including their clan, their age and their particular sword-style.

"AND NOW...

FOR THE VERY FIRST MATCH IN THIS SPECTACULAR TOURNAMENT OF AMBITION...

WE HAVE, HAILING FROM THE NOW RUINED VILLAGE OF HAGI, THE GRANDSON OF THE LEGENDARY WAR HERO AND FORMER SWORD EMPEROR TAKAHIRO TACHIBANA....

TAKESHI TACHIBANA!!!

AND HIS OPPONENT WILL BE... 
HAILING FROM THE KURASHKI VILLAGE, SEEKING TO BROADEN HIS HORIZON, THE NEXT IN LINE TO THE UESUGI CLAN.... 

UESUGI MASAYOSHI!!!"

The crowd cheered very intensively for both participants, with whispers here and there.
They were all talking about the young man, who is associated with Takahiro Tachibana.

His Grandson... Takeshi.

Most people weren't even aware of such an existence, as Tachibana vanished from the public eyes after the Great Raid of Yamaguchi Prefecture.

'whispers' "Is he really the grandson of Tachibana?"
"I don't think Satsuki and Keisuke ever had children, well at least not until they were in Kyoto."
"Is he an imposter? Trying to gain fame just because there is no one alive from that bloodline?"

Masayoshi and Takeshi both start for the arena.
Takeshi stops midway, as he ponders over everything that has occurred till now.

"What's wrong Takeshi?"

Takeshi, still lost in his own thoughts, didn't hear Kenichii ask him that.

He thought "Is this, really alright?
People don't know me here, No one knows me here.

I don't have an identity of my own. All i have is the Tachibana surname.

I don't have any special skills, talent or anything to be particularly proud of.

Ahh, who am I even kidding, I didn't even know about my grandfather after spending so many years with him.

Kaori... she was right. But I already knew that, B-But I'm not sure."

"What are you not sure of" Takeshi could hear a voice inside his mind, which spoke to him.

The voice spoke to him in the voice of his grandfather that he naturally responded to it in his mind.

"I don't know, everything?
Ever since you left me, everything is a mess. I.. I am not sure of myself, this sword, that I'm holding it in my hand, these people around me, the people who support me right now."

His mental image of Tachibana smiled at him. He responded:

"Hahaha boy
You are as naïve as ever.

You see, you don't need to be sure of everything around you.
Sometimes, you just move forward, trusting your instincts.
If you try to get the approval of everyone, you'll just remain doing that your entire life.

All you need is faith in yourself, your sword and the people who trust you.

Trust in yourself to trust in them.

That's the best thing to do.

These people who are talking ill about you, they are only doing so because they don't know you.

So what do you have to do? 
Show yourself to them, express yourself to them.

Even if you fail one time, it doesn't matter.

You can always pick yourself up, take back your sword and hone yourself.

Take the stone of failure to sharpen your blade, make your return with a more focused, improved blade.

But, in order for all that to happen, you have to take the first step."

Takeshi looks down, his face still in unease.

"But... I'm not you, grandpa,
I don't have the courage  to do this. I'm seeing all these people, standing in front of all of them, I don't know if I can."

"Brat, what are you, a girl?
Grow a pair already. Hahaha" 
Tachibana laughs as he says this.

"Whaa- 
Easy for you to joke around, you are a former Sword Emperor."

"Brat, you think someone put that title on my lap or something?
I took the first step, faced my challenges head on, and for the struggles in my life, I'll say even that title did not come easy. I snatched it because I wanted it.

So ask yourself Takeshi.

WHAT DO YOU WANT???" Tachibana screamed the last sentence out loud.
"Take your first step, and see what happens.
Keep asking yourself that question and you'll forge your own answer to it. That day, you will see."

"Takeshi!"
"Takeshi???"
Kenichii shakes Takeshi's shoulders to snap him back to reality.

"Huh what happened?"

"Huuh???
What happened you say?

Your match is about to start and you are spacing out?

I get it, you are tensed, but It'll be fine. you can do this. Ignore the crowd, people do be crazy like that.

Just remember what all we discussed, and keep a calm head and analyze your opponent.

And don't be hard on yourself if you fail, it's fine. You always another chance."

Takeshi takes a deep breath and nods.
"Hmm, yeah I got this..."
Takeshi walks ahead to the ring.

"I think."

Despite all the whispers going around, the majority were still cheering the participants on.
The arena was heating up, with excitement.
To what's about to come.

To be Continued.