Masanori and I didn't talk much for the rest of the trip. Mostly because he was knocked out cold, snoring in the carriage. I tried to doze off for a little bit, but his snoring felt as if it were making the cart rumble. The carriage ride was pretty blissful. I hadn't been too far from my home city. When I went to look for other elemental craftsmen I only went to one small town on the outskirts of Japan, maybe two hours away.
The military base we were traveling to was called Shōryū Fortress. It quite literally looked like a fortress, and I had visited the fortress before when I was a kid. It was also the place where my father was assassinated. The first time stepping into the base wasn't going to be easy, but this whole thing wasn't easy. Not only was this base the place of my father's death, but it was also where the Shōgun spent most of his time. Couple those together and you'd figure this wasn't going to be the best experience, but I was going to try and put my vengeance behind me for now.
At least the outside was nice. The subtle breeze played through the leaves of the various trees outside. Small birds and animals could be seen running and flying past us as we rode on the bumpy gravel road. Little glimpses of travels from my childhood flashed through my memory—jumping on my father and laughing as he tickled me in the carriage. He always used to take me with him on business that he had to do at the Shōryū Fortress as long as it didn't include violence.
As I reminisced of fond memories and watched as Masanori sprawled out on his seat, we finally came to a halt. The small jolt didn't make Masanori budge and he kept snoring. Now that the carriage wasn't moving and making noise, his snoring seemed to get even louder.
Daigo and I just let the dude sleep as we got my luggage out of the carriage. Afterwards I knew someone had to wake him from his coma. I gently nudged him, which didn't seem to work, and yelled at him.
"Wake up, Gramps," I yelled.
Daigo stood patiently behind me with his smile that never seemed to disappear.
"Is he always like this, Daigo?" I asked.
Daigo replied, "I would say if the Karo isn't sleeping, then he isn't in his true happy place, sir."
I rolled my eyes and decided to just kick Masanori really hard in the ankle. Suddenly he jolted up screaming, "Ow, that really hurt."
It was safe to say that Masanori wasn't always the greatest person to look up to.
"Holy shit, are we here already?" Masanori asked.
I replied with sarcasm, "No, Masanori. You're still sleeping."
"I wish," Masanori said.
The two of us walked to the front gates from where our carriage was parked. As we did, Daigo told us he would see us later after he took care of my luggage, the carriage, and the horses. I was really glad I wasn't having to deal with everything he had to. When we got to the front gates, a pair of Samurai in black and red armor, donning a faceguard that covered their entire face, stood guard. Their faceguards were crazy but actually stoic, showing little to no emotions.
The guards didn't say a word and didn't break their positions to look at anyone. One of them simply raised a hand, which signified the gatekeeper to open the front gate for us. Guess that is what happens when you work directly under the Shōgun.
"Don't think too much of it, Rei, but you are going to receive weird looks from others here. Our main forces of elemental Samurai train and live here. You are new and they will see your sword at your hip. Proving yourself to your comrades will be important, and as of right now you are new, so you have proven nothing," Masanori explained.
And so I did. Men just going about their day on the military base glued their eyes to me, it seemed. The entire military base was full of men who had A-type personalities. Everyone thought they were better than the other guy, and very few of them actually were humble.
Masanori and I walked through the open area of the training grounds which led to the barracks. On each side of me were Samurai training on straw dummies with practice swords, dueling against each other, or practicing technique lines in rows. Foot soldiers of the military didn't have to have elemental blades, and after Masanori's explanation, it seemed as if elemental blade users had really diminished due to their war against the Mongolians and the Chinese. The rows of Samurai practicing were foot soldiers without elemental weapons, most likely each one of them hoping one day a blade would choose them.
Masanori kept showing me around the base. I walked through the dining hall, a large room that could fit hundreds of people lined with wooden tables. According to Masanori, breakfast, lunch, and dinner were served at specific times and if you were not here for those times, you missed out on food.
"I forgot how big Shōryū was," I told Masanori.
He replied, "It has changed so much since I was a young Samurai just getting started on my journey. A bigger dining hall, the area of the training grounds has massively expanded, and the barracks as well. Just like you, I barely recognize it sometimes."
As Masanori and I walked out of the dining hall and towards the barracks, a young man approached us rather quickly. He had a sword on his hip—it was elemental. He was surrounded by a few men who seemed to be a little older than him, but none of them had elemental blades. He had very short brown hair and his clothing was red and gold. It seemed as if it were of high standard like Masanori's clothing.
As he got closer, he started to speak, "So, I heard you are the famous Hayato Kazehara's kid."
The guy seemed snobby. You could almost smell the nepotism radiating off of him.
"Yeah, that's right," I said. "And who the hell are you?"
The look on the guy's face went from cocky to completely enraged very quickly.
While he spoke, spit came spewing from his mouth with each word.
He stated loudly, "I am Imperial Prince Tomotaka, son of the Emperor, you low-life trash."
"Geez man, those are some harsh words coming from a prince. Aren't you supposed to be all proper?" I said sarcastically.
Prince Tomotaka's blood began to boil and it looked as if he were going to explode.
Masanori said, "You should probably just walk away, Rei. This isn't a great idea."
Prince Tomotaka, almost shouting as I began to speak, said, "It seems that the Karo knows his place. Maybe you should know yours."
I smirked and glanced at Masanori. He shook his head at me and then it seemed as if he remembered who my father once was. As he did, all he could do was just place his face into his palms.
"I know my place, and it's most likely a battlefield wherever the walking safety risk known as Prince Tomotaka isn't," I stated.
Masanori whispered, "Great, now you've done it."
Prince Tomotaka, now fully engulfed in rage and screaming, yelled, "You and I are dueling now, worm."
Prince Tomotaka just started walking away from me fast and angry. I decided to follow him, with Masanori trailing behind, warning me of the risk dueling Prince Tomotaka.
"The last thing I will do is let people walk all over me. It doesn't matter his status, sir," I told Masanori.
The prince and I walked onto a practice field very similar to the one I battled Masanori on. I could tell the clay on the field was older, however. It was used, and many sparring battles took place here.
The prince stood on one side and I the other, staring at each other, both of our eyes filled to the brim with determination. He wanted to win because he believed I was lesser than him, but I wanted to win because no one deserves to be belittled by someone based on their class. I wanted to teach the snobby prince a lesson.
Both of us slowly took our swords out of their sheath like we were luring beasts out of their cages. I watched as his blade lit up. The color was just of normal light radiating from the blade.
"This is my blade Kōmyō-no-Hikari and its element is light," said Prince Tomotaka.
As I drew my blade, its color of purple and black both lit up, the purple illuminating my body and bouncing off. It made it seem as if my hair had streaks of purple. I felt again the lightness of wind take over my body and the battlefield beginning to slow down. I didn't just keep my eye on Prince Tomotaka but I watched as other Samurai began flocking to the area to see who was stupid enough to duel the Prince.
One advantage I had was the amount of studying I did while with Master Tanaka. He made it his mission that I learned the ins and outs of every elemental blade possible of being crafted just in case one of those elements chose me. I knew exactly the boost in power the prince received. He had heightened awareness and perception. The blade didn't enhance his strength or speed but his eyes became powerful. Prince Tomotaka would be able to gauge my movements and tell when I would go in for a strike. This meant that I had to trick his vision in order to get in a blow.
I moved first and whispered, "Sure step," as my footsteps barely touched the ground, moving with absolute control to the prince's left and right attempting to fool his gaze.
The prince's eyes lit up with his sword as he stood still and followed my movements. I got close to him and slipped around him, circling his body, attempting a quick strike to the back—fast and controlled with amazing precision.
As it looked like my strike would connect with his spine, his body twisted fast.
CHING!
Our swords knocked together as he blocked my blow. I knew it wasn't going to be easy, and I needed to test his ability. My ability to move through the wind itself made it look as if I was dancing through this battle, and all the prince had to do was study my dance.
I exhaled sharply, jumping backwards and taking three more steps to the prince's right. I was still looking towards the prince's back, but strangely I still felt his unnerving gaze. I attempted to leap in the air and strike downwards. My jump felt light as I tapped into the wind itself. My blade was raised and ready for the strike, but I knew I had to fool my opponent. I didn't strike downward. I dropped my blade, catching it with my left hand, attempting to slash his body, hoping it was enough to trick his sight.
CHING!
He blocked it again. It felt as if my attacks were of no use. He knew which attacks I would use before I could do them myself. This was the incredible power a light blade gave its user.
As I moved around the battlefield trying to analyze the prince for any weaknesses, I remembered something Master Tanaka used to tell me during battle.
A memory flashed in my mind of sparring with wooden swords with Master Tanaka at my family home. Sweat had been beading down my face as I attempted to best Master Tanaka in our sparring match, but nothing worked. Master Tanaka read each of my movements perfectly and blocked every one of my attacks. It was a similar situation and the type that would make any Samurai feel useless.
After the defeat to Master Tanaka, he told me something important, "You know I used to block all of your father's attacks when he began his training."
At the time I couldn't imagine Master Tanaka, a swordsmith, beating my father in combat even when my father was still young and untrained. Especially because it was said my father was always gifted.
I asked Master Tanaka how my father overcame his struggle though.
Master Tanaka replied, "He stopped fighting the battle in front of him and started fighting the one inside himself. Your father was born for the element of Wind, but he didn't understand it at first. Wind doesn't force its way through a wall—it finds the opening. The moment he stopped swinging blindly and let his instincts guide him, he stopped being predictable… and I couldn't block him anymore."
I figured out my problem. I didn't put my full trust in the wind current carrying me through the battle and my moves were forced. The more I focused on the element of surprise, the more predictable I became.
I stepped back in front of the prince. He still stood in front of me calm and collected. He had barely moved an inch during our bout. I, on the other hand, started to feel the effects of the battle. That must have been his strategy—tire me out until I was unable to counter his own strikes and then he'd be able to beat me.
I took a deep breath and put my blade out in front of me, gripping it tightly. Sweat dripped down my face and onto the floor, but I didn't care. The prince wouldn't make his move first, which meant I had to. As I took another deep breath and my heart rate slowed, I held my father's blade in my right hand extended out and crouched down, ready to charge forward towards the prince. His illuminated eyes watched every action I took meticulously. I couldn't brute force my way through his defenses.
"Nageki no Ken, Sure step," I said as my blade illuminated purple brighter and so did my eyes. I was under complete control and focus as I launched forward towards my target directly, my blade still pointing directly towards him.
CHING! Our blade met once more, but I didn't let off on the pressure. I attempted to strike once more.
CHING!
Again.
CHING!
Our blade met another six times and with each strike I watched for any signs of weakness. On the seventh strike I saw my opening. As if I had an eye watching over the top of the battlefield, I saw how his blade blocked my strike—pushing my blade downward, which made me have to re-raise my blade to attempt another strike. It was all in how he blocked my attacks. Each block pushed my blade into total disadvantage, making it difficult to recuperate from the attack, which in turn gave him time to watch and block my next one. He wasn't faster than me, he just knew exactly how to put himself at an advantage every time I swung my sword.
CHING! The seventh strike hit his sword and pushed my blade downward, except this time I didn't instantly bring my sword back up for another strike. As he was still recovering from blocking my strike, I didn't try to recover at all. I stayed close to the ground, sweeping my feet behind the prince—our backs now back-to-back in one movement. My blade was now raised in the air and the tip of it was slightly pushed into the back of his neck. All the prince could do was stand there as he was unable to predict my final attack. I pushed the tip of my blade a little closer to the back of his neck, blood slightly dripping out onto my blade.
I didn't feel good. I felt amazing, and the battle felt exhilarating. This was my ability to feel and let go. When my eyes fail me, I let the grieving wind guide me. My fighting style, Kage-Kaze-Ryū. Once I began slowing down and watching my opponent, the gaps in his defense opened right up and I was able to catch him by surprise.
The prince, out of pain and anger, yelled, "Okay, I give up."
The crowd of people the fight brought were full of Samurai and workers who were shocked at what they had just glimpsed. I walked away from the clay battlefield and towards Masanori.
"You are starting to come into your own, Rei," Masanori said as Daigo came running towards us.
Daigo, out of breath, said, "Sir Masanori, the Shōgun would like to see both you and Rei at once."
Masanori didn't say a single word and just started walking towards the Shōgun's chambers.
I ran towards him, catching up, and asked, "What is the problem, Masanori?"
Masanori replied, "Honestly, who knows, but for your first day here you definitely put on a show." Masanori slightly chuckled, saying, "Don't worry. Follow me and gather yourself. You are about to meet the most powerful man in all of Japan."