"chirp chirp"
"crackle crackle"

The dying remnants of an everlasting flame, lay on the ground, painting the ground grey.

A few embers still remained, hidden, hoping to be discovered by the wind.

Beside this was a sight of a young man sleeping on a futon, with his sword by his side.

The young man was seemingly tired, and it would appear that nothing short of an earthquake would be enough to wake him.

After the endless pursuit to swing a sword the way he intended, and that too being repeated over and over again, it was only natural that he would end up in that state.

For a wild animal walking by, it was a free meal waiting to be devoured. Okay, that's not the point.

Takeshi had been training continuously, swinging his sword till his body completely gave into exhaustion.

Six hours had passed since he fell asleep.

"Umm... Ugh...

What's going on?" Takeshi said as he rubbed his eyes, slowly waking up.

Suddenly, he opened his eyes and looked at the large grey rocks that made up the wall ceiling.

He remembered what had happened before he passed out due to exhaustion.

All those hours of training and effort...

And nothing changed for him.

Well, it's to be expected, you don't get to the top in one day. He was well aware of that.

He sat on his futon and tried to meditate. He focused on his breathing, slowly trying to control his ki.

Takeshi practiced controlling his ki daily. He was told that his ki is still very primitive and needs to be refined to a stage where it is flowing in a more laminar manner.

Of course, it won't be stable right away, it takes practitioners and warriors a long time to attain pure, stable ki.

And there is the rare case of the ki having an unruly flow to the point where it leaks without even the user intending for it.

Some time later...

Takeshi got up and came out of the cave, to get some fresh air and to feel the sunlight.

He then stretched his body and went to a location right of the cave, where the river was.

He got there, washed his face and body, and drank some of it as well. He then came back to the cave, where he changed into a fresh kimono and haori he had on himself. He then ate the food which was available for him and continued on with his sword training.

The entire day passed by, just like that. He involved himself in quite a bit of the training regime Kenichii had him do, in addition to the sword-swinging practice.

The next day...

Takeshi decided that it wasn't really a good idea to stay holed up in a cave and decided to explore the forest a bit. That way, he could collect food and some supplies, if necessary.

He didn't fix his hair and just carried his sword on himself and left for the forest.

The cave had a narrow opening, wide enough for one or two people to go in or go out. It was in an easily concealable cave thanks to its geographical location.

All you need to do is cover the mouth of the cave with some branches or anything green, and it'll remain hidden unless one inspects it closely.

Takeshi started to walk and decided to explore the north side of the forest.
He ran into a lot of wild animals on the way, some even dangerous enough to make him run for his life. He managed to evade a lot of them.

And now, he ran into a very particular and peculiar animal, one that he had never seen before. He wasn't sure what it was, but it definitely wasn't a friendly one. And it gave out a particular aura, which was enough to make Takeshi realize that this beast was indeed, bad news.

The instinct that struck him like lightning at this point was a bit particular, it was quite different from the one other life-or-death encounter he had faced alone before. His legs froze, it wasn't because he was scared to the bone, but it was something else altogether.

It took some time for Takeshi to adjust to this sensation and adapt to it, not that it made much difference. His natural response was to get away as quickly as possible. So, he ran in a quick burst and jumped into a thick bush, where he hid.

'Aahh, it was a good thing that I fell and hid from the view, if I had grabbed its attention while I tried to run away, either by seeing me or from the sounds I made while I did so, it would've been too late for me.' He thought to himself.

He crouched and observed this natural predator by peeking through the bushes. Turns out, it didn't notice him at all, it was after the prey it had been chasing.

This beast seemed really peculiar to him because, this one had physical features he hadn't seen before. Dark blue skin, three grey horns, two sharp teeth that pointed downward from its upper jaw, with drool dripping from it, four muscular legs with seemingly sharp claws in each of its toes, and a thick tail that split into four thin ones halfway in.

It turned its head to look at the prey it had been chasing, but had stopped as it sensed Takeshi's ki. But it returned to its chase, as it didn't see anything. It moved slowly to the front and suddenly spotted it, a couple of wild boars.

Takeshi slowly moved through the bushes to get a clear view of the predator and prey.

The beast paused every movement for a second and seemed to focus, and then kicked its front legs into the ground and pushed its back legs. As a result, it leaped into the air and was moving quickly.

Fascinated, both by the danger and the beast itself, he followed it, trying not to make much noise.

Which of course, he did, but let's just appreciate the thought and applaud the fact that he tried to follow the beast to his inevitable death... moving on.

Takeshi followed it, crouching and hiding in the bushes occasionally. The beast suddenly caught up with the boars, and it leaped again and extended its front legs to snatch the boar with its sharp claws. It was really surprising to see a beast that walked on all fours to extend its front legs to that extent.

Its jump was a bit premature, and it only managed to grab one of them in the pursuit.

While in mid-air, the front legs extended really well, and the claws attached to the toes extended as well, forming an arc. The claw suddenly retracted to its original position, and in the process, it forcefully tore the flesh from the boar's mid-section, splattering blood all over the ground.

The boar, which was running from its predator, let out a cry as its body was pierced and torn in half in such a short span of time.

The beast stopped in its tracks and took its time to tear the boar out, limb to limb.
Takeshi watched the whole spectacle and gulped his own saliva as fear had struck him now, seeing how fierce it had been, which went beyond his expectations.

'Okay, umm, now maybe a good time to run, I think I've had my fill of curiosity today.'
Takeshi peeped one last time through the bushes and stood up, still keeping his upper body in a crouched position, and started to walk slowly.

"crack"

The beast, which had finished eating its meal, suddenly heard the sound of the broken branch breaking into two as Takeshi walked over it. It turned his head and sensed the same ki signature again. It slowly walked towards the bush.

"Ooh boy, I'm done for." Takeshi's face was true horror—eyes almost popping out, jaws dropped, well not to the floor but enough to let a crowd in—the face of a man who intentionally walked into his deathtrap.

Yeah, right, late realization, but better late than never, I suppose.

Takeshi slowly stood up properly and moved forward, and by total, pure instinct, he turned his head back. At that moment, the beast and Takeshi both locked their eyes. Takeshi looked into the mystical red and black alternatively colored eyes, with a strange shape for its pupil.

"Oh crap."

Takeshi started to run as fast as he could. He could feel all the tension and stress creeping up on him as he ran. A better word for this would definitely be...

Fear.

"Huff, Huff." Takeshi kept on breathing heavily as he ran.
He quickly turned his neck to see if the beast was still chasing him.

And it was, most definitely, chasing him.

"Aaaaahhh!" Takeshi screamed automatically as he saw the beast coming after him. He tried to run faster, but realized that there's a chance that he might fall and invite death a bit faster.

He jumped through broken branches, rocks, and other debris, but the beast inadvertently caught up to him due to the way it moved.

As soon as the beast got close enough, Takeshi's body froze up again.

'What the hell happened now? Why can't I move? It was as if my body can't move at all. I can feel it, and I feel like I can move my body, but nothing is happening.

This is the same as before, it's something that the beast is doing, isn't it?

These were the thoughts that ran over Takeshi's head as he froze on the spot and stopped moving mid-air, resulting in him falling to the ground and rolling till he naturally came to a stop.

'This might really be the end, eh?

No, I can't let it end here, I have to try something.'

Takeshi tried to move and pick up his sword, but in vain.

Just as he was trying continuously to move his body, he suddenly saw the legs of a man above his head, in mid-air.

The man landed on his feet, took out his sword, and fought against the beast as it was about to pounce on Takeshi.

Takeshi, bruised a bit by his fall, was having a hard time, even after he was freed from his frozen state.

The man was wearing a dark blue, flower-patterned kimono. With medium-sized, straight hair which moved as he moved.

He could sense that the man who appeared out of the blue had a really strong presence, it wasn't as strong as the aura the beast was giving off, but just enough to deflect the beast's attention from Takeshi.

Takeshi started to fall unconscious slowly, due to all the pressure he had felt earlier, and slowly began to close his eyes.

'Who is that? Where did he come from, out of the blue?' These were the last thoughts that flew through his head as he watched the fight before his eyes gave in.

Some time later...

Takeshi slowly opened his eyes. It was all still a haze, but he could see that he was moving fast.

He realized that someone was carrying him, but was too tired to think about anything else and fell unconscious again.

Be-beng...
Plink...

*****

Be-beng...

"Ahh, ugh"

Takeshi slowly tried to open his eyes as he grunted.

His body was once again, covered in bandages as a result of the injuries he sustained during his fall.

But it wasn't too big of an injury, but it was hurting regardless.

There were bandages on his forearm, covering his elbow and his head.

"Ahh, not this again. Why the hell am I so fragile?" Takeshi spoke out loud as he touched his head to see where he had got hit.

Why indeed.

"Ou-Ouch."

"Ahh, you're awake."

Takeshi turned to the right after he heard a familiar voice, and saw Aiko coming into the room.

"Ahh, Aiko-san..."

"Well, at least you came back to the village in one piece, so you kept your end of the promise." Aiko said as she teased him.

"Umm, yeah, I didn't mean to do that, not like this." Takeshi replied as he hid his face using his right hand.

"Well, it's all good, you've come at a good time too. The other lazy bums are having their fill, come join them."

"Yeah, right, wait before that...

How the hell did I get here?" Takeshi asked.

"Ahh that, well apparently, Kiyomasa-kun was doing his training just outside the village. He said he sensed something unusual and told me he was gonna check it out.

And when he returned almost half an hour later, he was carrying you. He looked really sad too.

He said, "I missed my prey."

Sometimes I really think he's a wild animal inside, but no, that's not him. That title pretty much goes to the other oddball there."

"Ohh, okay.

Wait, this guy is one of the two ronin you mentioned?"

"Ahh yes. The one who rescued you is the far silent one, and the other is the actual wild one.

They're eating outside right now, why don't you come meet them? You could use some friends, you know?"

Takeshi looked at a smug-faced Aiko.

"Really? After you explained to me exactly what they are like."

"Hey, here I am, trying to get you some friends and get them off my hands, and you are accusing me? So not cool, Takeshi-kun."

Takeshi laughed as she pouted while saying this.

He then stood up, wore the haori, and got out of the bed.

Aiko helped him for a bit to walk, after which he was able to walk on his own.

He got out of the house and walked towards a small-time shack that was there in the village.

There they were, two men munching on food like it was going to be their last day on earth. Takeshi saw them sitting on a bench, having their meal, and saw their backs.

Among them was the man who wore the dark blue, flower-patterned kimono. Now that Takeshi can see a bit more clearly, he wasn't as tall as he was, but his body was really muscular.

While the other one was wearing a reddish-brown haori and had long, black hair, which easily extended to his chest region.

Takeshi realised from their strong ki that these two were indeed the people whose presence he had felt when he visited the village two days ago. The one on the right had a really unstable ki, with small fluctuations and no intent, and the other was a more focused one.

It was safe to say that the two of them were equally matched in their ki levels.

Both of them came from the back and stood before them, before she made Takeshi sit down on a bench opposite to the one they were on.

"Oi, lazy ass moochers." Aiko spoke in a commanding tone, as she placed both her hands on the bench.

"This is Takeshi, he's a Ronin just like you guys, of course, you've already seen him, Kiyomasa-kun.

Go on, properly introduce yourself."

"Hello, I'm Takeshi. I'm from the village across the river.

Thanks again for saving me earlier, Kiyomasa-kun." Takeshi bowed as he said this.

"Uwmm, Ims nwo pwoblemm." Kiyomasa said as he chewed on his food.

'Gulp' "Oi, who the hell are you? Are you someone who's been sent to assassinate me?"

The man in the reddish-brown kimono asked Takeshi.

"Whaat? No, no. I'm just a samurai like you are, I'm just here to train. But I got attacked, that's all." Takeshi waved his hands, trying to appeal his innocence.

"Oi, stop pestering him, you think anyone here would try to assassinate you?

They don't even know who you are, in fact they don't even care who you are." Aiko exclaimed, while making a disgusted face.

"T-That was hurtful, Aiko-San." The man responded.

"Well, you were asking for it."

"And even if they did, what assassin would announce firsthand that he's an assassin sent to kill you? Are you dumb?" Kiyomasa replied.

"Oi, Kiyomasa, that's it, come fight me, I don't wanna hear this kind of crap from a weakass third-world ronin like you." The man slammed his hand on the bench as he challenged Kiyomasa.

"Okay, that's enough, both of you.

And since you won't introduce yourself, I'll do it.

This is, well, the self-proclaimed next heir to the Minamoto clan.

Minamoto Seijūrō.

And as for him, well, he hasn't told anything about where he is from or what clan he belongs to." Aiko explained who both of them were, as she pointed her hands at them.

Seijūrō had a black and silver-ringed, alternatively colored eyes, a rather fair complexion, a well toned body, and a rather prominent jawline. He was quite the handsome guy.

Kiyomasa was no slouch either, he had his own features that made him equally attractive. He had a brown-colored eye and medium skin tone, but he had his own unique charm.

And these two, were among the nine samurai that made up the famous "Star Generation". This title was referred to the highly talented and skilled prodigies from the top clans as well as dark horses. Seijūrō was part of the prestigious Minamoto clan, which stood at the top of the nine noble clans.

As for Kiyomasa, he was a dark horse, a variable who made it to the star generation with his prodigious talent. These seven youngsters were considered the pride and joy of the empire, and were expected to lead their clans in the future.

Takeshi was in awe as he looked at Seijūrō again.

"Are you really from the Minamoto clan?"

"Hehe, yeah, why do you ask?"

"No, nothing, just something my friend told me that they don't really appear in public unless it's for something important."

"Oi, are you picking a fight with me? HUH?" Seijūrō makes an angry yet disgusted face.

"Of course this is important, I'm here for my training before I can enter that Ancient Emperor Academy."

Seijūrō said as he munched on three pieces of tempura in one single bite.

'Of course, eating like this is definitely important training.' The three of them thought about this at the same time.

"I wanna be strong enough to knock everyone out of the academy, and I'd really love to get a chance to fight the main Sensei there, hehe."

"Kanroji-Sensei?" Takeshi inquired.

"Yeah him, they call him one of the four blades or whatever, I wanna see it for myself, what that really is like. I bet he'd be a great challenge."

"Look at this lazy ass, he thinks he is good enough to challenge one of the war heroes, Humph."

"Are you also here to train for the trial, Takeshi-kun?" Kiyomasa asked and proceeded to drink some water.

"Yes, I attended the first trial of this year and I lost. I realized I wasn't strong enough for this, and then I had some circumstances due to which I had to drop out of the tournament.

And as such, I'm here."

"Ohh, I see." Kiyomasa nodded as he got lost in thought.

"Hahh, you lost once, eh? No matter, if you come for the trial that's scheduled in the next six months, then you'll have the honor of getting your ass kicked by me." Seijūrō chuckled as he said this.

"Uh-huh, thanks. I'll remember this favor, and I'll make sure to return it...
Minamoto Seijūrō." Takeshi spoke with a pause, with his tone changing after the pause.

"Ohh?" Kiyomasa's face suddenly lit up as he smiled upon hearing Takeshi.

Aiko noticed that the air had suddenly changed, she could somehow feel a suffocating pressure from either side.

"Okay, that's enough chit-chat, Takeshi. I'll bring your food, you eat it and take a bit more rest, okay?" Aiko broke their pauses and walked towards the shack.

'Hehehe, this will be interesting.'

'Hmm, I guess challenging him would be a good training opportunity.'

'Hehh, now that Seijūrō will have Takeshi-kun to waste his time on. I'll have the opportunity to train properly. Although...

I'd like to see if this guy's a good one or just another wuss.'

Be-beng...

To be continued.