Chapter 22: June 20th, 1645

“Your overhead block is too far out,” Kiyoshi said as he looked at Tatsu. He held his sword upward to block. “You need to have it closer but also keep the 45-degree angle. This ensures the opponent’s striking blade slides off as you counter with the other blade. It also gives you a chance to get out the way quicker.”

Tatsu stood in his human form not far from Kiyoshi at the beach near the village. Kiyoshi held his bokken as he would occasionally swing, showing off certain moves while watching Tatsu utilize two bokkens of his own. The beach sand was soft to stand on. A fisherman in his small raft watched the two men spar together. The sparring was vital as they taught each other new moves on how to fight and protect the village from any harm that may come across. The winds would blow into their kimonos as the smell of the salty water blasted their noses. The tide would occasionally throw water unto their feet before receding back, leaving the wet sand to stand on. All in all, it was another peaceful day in the village.

It had been a week since Tatsu had gotten married. The days became typical for them. Tatsu had settled into the village as he ignored the rest of the other locales in the area. He accepted his new life from whatever his past life was. Listening to Kiyoshi’s words, Tatsu adjusted his wrist and arm to move the blade to point in a more 45 degree instead of the 30-degree angle that he had.

“There, that is better,” Kiyoshi said as he saw the blade switch. With both hands, he swung his bokken straight down onto the overhead wooden blade of Tatsu’s sword as it struck and slid down. “Notice that I have left myself completely vulnerable to a counterattack from your other blade?”

“Yes,” he replied back.

“Now stab with your other blade,” Kiyoshi commanded.

Tatsu did so as he used his other blade to go straight at Kiyoshi’s hip. The moment he did, Kiyoshi made a rotational move that maneuvered his back towards Tatsu, but he jumped forward and turned around to face him once again.

“That is a quick maneuver to help you get out of the way of a two-bladed fighter,” Kiyoshi said. “The way of the two swords has significant strengths that you are learning to fight with. There are ways to counter it, though. It is always important to learn other types of fighting styles out there. The method that Musashi has taught you is excellent. In time you will be unbeatable; however, even he would eventually lose a duel if he kept fighting. He is correct that you must accept the inevitability that death may await you in battle.”

“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.

“Kah, kah, kah, such feistiness for a human. Maybe it’s losing the leg that makes you so wiggly. Don’t worry ... this is where I let you go. Sit and watch the duel between us, little woman. You will watch your husband die.”

“Let her go!” Tatsu ordered.

“I think once I kill you dragon, I will chop her other leg off and watch her crawl back to the village with her hands. That is what you deserve for doing what you did to me almost 50 years ago.”

The stranger dropped her to the grass and dirt as she landed with a thud. She yelped a little bit but seemed fine for wear. Her kimono was torn a little bit, and her one leg made her fall to the ground. She watched Tatsu and smiled at him.

“I knew you would come for me,” she told him.

Tatsu simply smiled a little bit as he kept his focus on the stranger. The stranger himself walked and stopped starring at his face to face at a reasonable distance of 15 feet.

“I think I have let you suffered long enough without your memories, dear dragon,” the stranger said. “Yes, I know you are using a human form. Your Haru didn’t tell me, so don’t look at her. I know who you are.”

Tatsu kept a grip on his emotions. He was calm as he spoke to him. “How do you know that I am a dragon besides possibly hearing...”

“No, I know that you are what you say you are. You wouldn’t have reacted the way you did at the beach earlier towards me if you hadn’t suffered memory loss. Dear Haru,” the stranger looked at her. “Do you know your husband is a dragon under human disguise?”

Haru nodded her head at him. There was a smile on the stranger’s face. “Good, then we don’t need our disguises, do we? We can fight freely in our true forms then. Tatsu ... such a name ... you change first.”

Tatsu put his hands together as the bright light emitted from his hands. As the light cleared, he stood as the eight-foot-tall dragon. His blue scales were giving off a darker color as the sun continued to go down. The sun was getting close to setting. Tatsu’s wings stretched wide open as his tail slashed the dirt. His black kimono still had his two swords ready to be used.

“Haru,” the stranger called to her. “Do you know what his true name is? It will be fun to watch you react to it instead of me just telling him.”

“No, his name is Tatsu,” she replied.

The stranger smiled again and pointed his hand at him. “He is Ryujin! Come on ... you tell him what that means.”

Haru’s eyes widened a little bit upon hearing it. “Ryujin ... Watatsumi ... the dragon god of Japan. That is what you are,” she said as she looked at the blue dragon.

The dragon looked at his scales; his dragon-like eyes radiated a new glow as the revelation of knowing what he truly was. He tightened the grip of his hands as he put his hands to his swords, ready to pull them out.

“Why tell me this?” Ryujin asked.

“Simple, killing you would be too easy. I want you to realize that the moment you die by my hands. In the last few seconds, before you stop breathing, you will realize that even being the mighty dragon that you are is still no match against me. You will be nothing but a failure in the end. Then your beloved wife will cry and crawl back to home.”

The stranger pulled out a small clear crystal in his hand. He used his fingernail to tap it as a small glow came from it. He then tossed it into the forest as he looked back at Ryujin.

“What was that?” he asked the stranger.

“Doing you a favor. After I kill you and cut off your mate’s other leg, the Coalition of Deities will show up. I will be long gone as they find your corpse. Maybe they will help her ... or at least most of her, kah, kah. Of course, they should be coming soon. I used that teleportation crystal. Knowing them, they will send a team this way soon.”

“Why do all of this? Why do you want to kill me?”

“Hmmm, enough of the disguises,” the stranger said as he held his hand up towards the sky. A dark flash emitted from his body. It seemed to eat the surrounding light around him as his shape changed. After the flash ended and light flooded the area, what stood before Ryujin was no human.

What stood before him was an eight-foot-tall, muscular bird-like human. He was covered in black feathers. He had a gray-colored beak with large wings on his back. He was firm, being the same height as Ryujin was. The bottom of his feet ended in talons that were similar to a crow. His white and black eyes would stare into Ryujin with a fierce intensity.”

“My name is Akitsushima, the Tengu, and I am here to avenge my brother’s death. I was able to talk to the other survivors, and they all showed that my brother was with you when he died 50 years ago. You came back, but he didn’t. You kept persisting in going after that creature when you were told to pull back. My brother ... followed you. He never returned thanks to your stubbornness! He has paid for his loyalty with his life while you got away free from any harm. There will be no forgiveness in my heart. Instead, I will watch you struggle to find yourself again as I gut you!”

The tengu held out his hand as a large pillar of smoke developed from his feathery black hand. The smoke went far outstretching as a large sword was materializing. After the smoke cleared, Ryujin saw this bird-like creature brandishing a massive long blade. The sword was abnormally large, with the blade measuring out at least 12 feet long. The blade was so large that the Tengu had the back of the blade resting on the back of his shoulder as his other hand was free and pointed to the ground.

“Do you like this sword, Ryujin?” Akitsushima asked him. “This sword is yours. Crafted by the greatest out there, this Normitsu Odachi was yours that you used for over hundreds of years. I ripped the tracking jewel that was on it that would lead it straight to you. I found the sword sticking out of the dirt, and I knew that you were alive out there somewhere. The sword and its jewel, led me straight to you in which I will use it to cleave you into tiny pieces.”

Ryujin had enough of this. He pulled out both of his swords from their scabbards and assumed the two-handed fighting stance that he was trained with.

“Kah, kah, kah,” the tengu cawed at him, showing his true laughter. The sounds of the earlier laughter were that of a crow cackling at him the whole time. Ryujin held his ground and kept his stance as he focused on the massive blade-wielding muscle bird. “Two little swords... , watch as I cut you down to size. I can hit you anywhere you go, and there is nothing you can do to stop me.”

Ryujin had one blade pointed up while he had his other sword kept close to his waist. He made slight adjustments to his clawed feet as the tengu began to walk to the side with the odachi blade still mounted over his head on his shoulder, ready to be swung.