Akio sat in the wooden training hall where children take their first steps on the path of the samurai. In front of him were two boys from his class, exchanging strikes with blazing eyes and hands gripping their bokken as hard as they could.
He wasn't thinking about laughing or talking during training specifically. He was planning inside: how will he apply these movements when his turn comes?
Beside the ring the instructor stood rigid. His eyes watched the duel and judged every strike and shift in their motion.
One of the two boys finally managed to topple his opponent after charging him and knocking his wooden sword to the floor. The instructor raised his hand and declared with a stern voice:
"Good… victory goes to Rabo!"
Rabo's eyes shined when he heard his name. He jumped from extreme joy. The hall echoed with applause. Children cheered and praised him. Then he returned to his place among his classmates with his head raised like a victor.
The instructor cast a sharp look toward Akio who sat alone away from the noise of the rest. Then he pointed to him and said with a commanding tone:
"Next!"
Akio stood slowly from his place and approached the middle of the ring. His eyes were glowing with excitement.
'Today will be my day of victory. I will prove to everyone I am the strongest in this school.'
His eyes met the instructor who told him sternly:
"Akio… choose your opponent."
A bright smile formed on his face. Then he turned to where Kora was sitting and pointed to him without hesitation and said:
"Kora… will be my opponent!"
The hall exploded with loud laughter as if they heard a childish silly joke. Kora smiled arrogantly then stood slowly and approached with superior steps and his hands in his pockets. He was taller and bigger built than before. He looked like a giant standing in front of small Akio.
Kora bent and picked up the bokken from the floor then swung it lightly to confirm his grip was firm. On the other side Akio was already in stance. His feet rooted to the ground and his golden eyes locked on his opponent with steadiness. His look was sharp and full of determination with a mix of childish excitement that never dimmed.
The instructor raised his hand and his loud voice echoed in the hall:
"Begin!"
Kora charged first. He did not give Akio a chance to breathe. His rough bokken strikes rained down on his opponent without mercy.
Akio barely raised his wooden sword to block the first strike. His arms shuddered from the impact and his grip almost slipped. He stepped back one step then another while Kora chased him with consecutive strikes with a provoking smile. In the middle of this duel Kora thought:
'Three years… and this idiot still smiles like nothing changed. Every day I see him I laugh at him more. Today… I will finally make him stop. He will cry and beg me!'
Kora charged brutally. His bokken swung overhead almost slicing the air in half. Akio kept retreating. His golden eyes were locked on the opponent not losing track of the blade at all.
Inside him there was a storm that never settled:
'I will make everyone acknowledge me as a professional duelist. Then I will become the Shogun. I will never fall to you Kora!'
A violent strike caught him from the side and hit his shoulder. He felt a sharp pain pulse through his bones. His small body staggered but his feet stayed planted. He lifted his head slowly. His painful features were still pulled into a confident smile. A smile no one understood.
Kora growled. He gripped the bokken harder until veins bulged in his hands. He threw his entire body into a savage assault. His strikes fell on Akio like angry rain. Each impact hammered his bones before his ears. With every step backward his back came closer to the edge of the ring.
In a quick moment, Kora delivered a brutal side strike that tore through Akio's weak guard and hit his side directly. His body bent from pain. Then Kora swung another bokken strike toward his legs to steal his balance completely. Akio fell hard to the ground. The hall trembled under his small body.
All eyes turned to him. Some gasped. Others burst laughing. But Kora didn't stop. He raised the bokken again high above his head. His eyes gleamed with cruel thrill. He wanted to deliver the final strike to Akio's face even after the duel ended. Akio's eyes widened as he stared at the falling wood. His smile that resisted everything finally vanished from his face.
But before the strike fell a sharp voice rang out:
"Stop!"
The instructor's whistle cut through the chaos. His strong hand seized Kora's wrist at the last moment. The bokken froze in the air an inch away from Akio's face.
Kora trembled as he turned slowly and saw the instructor's eyes fixed on him. Sharp like a blade:
"The duel is over… and you crossed the line."
Akio remained lying on the ground. His breathing was uneven. His eyes were staring at the hall ceiling. Without a smile this time. The instructor extended his hand to him. The boy hesitated for a moment then held it and stood slowly, then he withdrew with heavy steps to his place and sat silently away from the rest.
Akio left the hall with slow steps. Outside the sunset light slipped between the rooftops. He stayed silent the entire way like he was hiding another battle inside him. When he reached home he placed his hand on the wooden door handle and took a deep breath for a moment then pushed it open slowly.
Akio entered the house quietly. He removed his shoes and placed them beside the door. He walked toward the kitchen. There he found his father sitting at the table. In front of him was a small plate with two soufflé cakes and melted chocolate steam rising from them.
The moment Akio's eyes fell on the plate, he forgot everything. The shoulder pain. His classmates laughter. His fall in the ring. He jumped with excitement. His golden eyes sparkled like two stars and his voice rose:
"Soufflé! I am very hungry!"
He attacked the table without hesitation and devoured the soufflé greedily. He didn't even leave his father's share. Vanco watched him from the side with a smile drawn on his face.
Once Akio finished the soufflé he wiped his mouth with his sleeve quickly. His body felt overflowing with energy. He jumped with excitement and ran to his room to change clothes then rushed back toward the front door like a storm.
He grabbed his shoes quickly to put them on and snatched his coat hanging near the door then waved his hand shouting with overflowing vitality:
"Father! I am going to the forest!"
Vanco's voice came from the kitchen while he was still laughing:
"Alright. But don't be late. A storm is coming tonight."
Akio reached the forest he always escaped to when his chest felt tight. Between tall trunks he found his own world. A world that didn't mock or reject him. He ran towards the shallow lake where the frogs hop from one stone to another. He bent laughing while extending his hand to catch one. It slipped away and jumped far. His laughter grew louder as if he was playing a game with no end.
Then his ears caught a quick rustle in the grass. He turned to see a white rabbit dart away. He sprinted after it without hesitation running between trees and hanging branches. His golden eyes gleamed with a spark of excitement.
In this forest, Akio didn't need any toxic words or fake smiles. Here everything accepted him as he was. The frogs. The rabbits. And the birds watching him from high branches. They were all his real friends.
After he finished playing with the rabbits Akio sat on a smooth rock near the lake. He opened his small backpack and took out something he always kept like a treasure: a short piece of wood that he carved himself into the shape of a katana. He ran his fingers over its rough surface then swung it in the air like a real samurai fighting imaginary enemies among the trees.
His smile was different this time. Not a smile he forced for others. A pure smile from his heart. Here in the forest with the "sword" he made with his own hands, he felt for a moment that his dream of becoming Shogun wasn't very far.
Hours passed until darkness swallowed the entire forest. Only faint threads of moonlight and twinkling stars slipped through the branches. But heavy clouds soon covered the sky until all light vanished. The thunderstorm began. Lightning ripped the horizon. Then rain poured heavily striking earth and mud mercilessly.
Even though the path became slippery with mud and water Akio showed no fear. He looked like he was used to facing such adventures alone. He kept walking with hesitant steps toward home. Stumbling now and then. Standing up laughing to himself. Then continuing forward.
But after minutes of wandering through rain and mud Akio broke out into an open clearing with no trees. The sky above split with lightning. Bolts struck the ground around him like angry whips.
He continued walking. His blue hair stuck to his face from rain. His childish smile still on him. Until a thunder sound roared like nothing he had ever heard before. In a single instant a wild white beam shot from the sky and struck him directly.
A scream exploded from his throat. A sharp scream that pierced the entire forest and echoed between the trunks. His small body trembled for a moment. Then he collapsed to the ground motionless. Smoke was rising from his limbs. And a harsh burnt smell mixed with rain and mud.