"Masanari... Come eat. There's food please eat before you leave." Adam looked at the woman standing in front of him. "Yes, mother. Thank you. It looks amazing." He sat down and picked up the chopsticks eating happily. He looked up as he saw his father entering in and sitting at the head of the table. "Husband. Are you sure he's ready? He's only eight."
"Wife. For him to bring honor to our family, and to grow up learning to serve our lord. Its best for him to start learning now." He looked at his father, nodding. "He's right mother."
"Yes. You'll bring great honor to our family, and also to the both of us." He smiled and looked at his plate. "It seems, I've become this Masanari person. Something happened when Grant stabbed me. What about that voice I heard?" He sat in thought.
"Masanari." He looked up. "Yes father."
"Before we leave today, we must go to the family shrine, and pray for blessings and safety in our travels to Kurama." He nodded. "Yes father." He looked at his mother with a smile. "Don't worry. I'll be back to look after you all. I'll become the strongest samurai and serve our lord to the best of my ability. I'll never dishonor our name."
"Good son. I know you haven't met the young lord, but he's the one you'll serve and protect with your life. Serving him is serving this family. Never forget that." He nodded. "What is the young lord's name?"
"Motoyasu... But you must refer to him as lord, never by his name. Also, those of his blood you must serve." He nodded. "I'll train hard for this family, and to also keep the clan protected."
"See wife. That's why he needs to go to Kurama. He must be ready to serve both lords Oda and Motoyasu..."
"Yes... I can see and hear that... Especially in his voice... A strong conviction is there I can feel it. He'll leave Kurama as a warrior suitable for both Oda and Motoyasu."
"Son... Come back to me alive... That's all I ask." He smiled at her. "That I will. I've finished eating. May I go prepare my prayers?"
"Yes... Go prepare Masanari. We'll leave as soon as we're done." He stood up and bowed at his parents, turned the corner and stood in his room grabbing his chest, calming his racing heart. "She said I was eight, what has really happened to me? Who have I become?" He shook his head. "Too many questions. They spoke of Oda. I guess they're talking about Nobunaga." He smiled. "To be alive, and around seeing that man almost unify Japan." He frowned. "Doesn't he get assassinated at some point?" He shook his head. "I can't think about that at the moment. I still don't know who I am, and where I fit in this place. It seems my family serves the Matsudaira clan. I don't even remember that clan in my studies. It must be a small clan or something."
"Son..." He turned and looked at his father standing at his door. "Yes father..."
"We must go pray, come with me." He nodded and followed his father, walking to the shrine in silence. "Good son. At Kurama, you'll also start to learn our family heritage, and you'll be key in passing it to your sons in the future. Its a secret. If you share these secrets with people from outside the family name you'll bring dishonor to yourself, and our family... Understand." He nodded. "I shall keep my family secrets."
"Good. Now face your ancestor kami. When I join them, you'll also have to face myself and your mother." He nodded and bowed to the shrine offering incense in prayer. He took a step back and turned to see his mother holding something in her hands. "Son. This is for your journey. Wear it and never take it off... It'll keep you safe." He nodded and let her put on the string necklace with a charm at the end of it. He watched as she put it under his clothes and patted his top. "See... No one can see it. It has to be near your chest at all times... Understand me son?"
He nodded. "I'll keep it safe. Father is also with me. I'm sure he won't let anyone hurt me at Kurama."
"Cough... Cough... Come son... We must depart. It'll take time to get there, and we can talk of many things on our trip." He nodded and hugged his mother. "I'll be back. Stay safe." He turned and followed his father out of the shrine, with his packed bag and left the compound in silence. He walked alongside his father in thought, looking around at the trees and blue sky. "Its a pity this place will turn into a mega city in the future."
"Son. What are you thinking about? You seem to be losing your focus a lot recently." He looked at his father shaking his head. "I'm just thinking about what comes in the future."
"What do you see in the future for this place son?"
"I see all these trees and paths destroyed, with large cities covering the land. Lanterns so bright, that you can't see the stars at night, and the noise that comes with it. That's what I see father. What do you see father?"
"I see one thing. I have one focus. I don't have time to think of things far in the future, my job is to keep my lord safe. No matter the cost. That's what my focus is, and why I serve. There's honor in that. For thinking of the future, you should leave that to the monks you'll meet." He nodded in thought.
"Father... What's at Kurama?" He saw his father stop walking, turning and looking at him. "You'll see when we get there. That's the place where we learn, the family truths, and secrets are there. Come we can't speak of this here." He followed his father in silence until he saw the sun start to set in the distance. "We'll camp here for the night. Go start a fire, and I'll see to our food and your training."
"Yes father." He cleared the ground under a tree and started to set up a fire. "Good spot for the fire son. View of the path, also hidden from sight. The fire makes no smoke. Very impressed. I have our food for tonight, so I'll show you how to prepare them, and then you'll be able to survive in the future without going hungry." He watched in silence as he saw his father skin two rabbits and place them on the fire to roast. "Roasted rabbit. Delicious. If we had some lemon juice that would make the taste much better."
"Lemon juice?"
He nodded feeling his face turn red. "I heard my friends talking about when eating rabbit, you need to add some juice of lemon to make the taste more exciting."
"I see... Next time we can try. For now its time for sword practice. Stand up." He nodded, and put his hand on his sword sheath and the hilt of the sword. "Draw...' He drew his blade in silence listening to it leave its sheath. "Too noisy... Sheath, and draw again. There can be no sound when you draw your blade."
"Yes father. After I learn to draw the sword, will you teach me batto?"
"Yes Masanari. Swallow steps at a time. No frog hops. I'll also teach you kenjutsu... You'll be a demon on the battlefield. But for all of these things to work, you need to focus on your mind, and drawing your blade. Again... I heard it."
He stood there, for what seemed like hours drawing his blade in silent concentration. "Stop for now, come eat, and than back to drawing practice." He nodded and sheathed his blade, kneeling next to the fire, eating the rabbit meat in silence. "Son... There's something that you must know."
"Yes father..."
"Even your mother doesn't know this information. You're the age of eight, so you must know, and you're my son... So there's no choice for you not to know." He nodded. "Our family is special in Iga. I can't say more than that for now, however in the future, if you feel your future wife and family are in trouble, send them to Iga. They'll always be protected there. Even yourself will be protected there. At Kurama, you'll learn more about your family, and the power of the Hattori family name." He smiled. "I'm a Hattori? I like where this is going."
"What is that son?" He shook his head. "Nothing father... I was just absorbing the information you told me."
"Good don't forget those words. Even though we don't live in Iga. Its our home always for anyone that has the name of Hattori and our blood."
He smiled at his father. "I've finished. I'll go back to training..."
"Good son... Let me watch you draw." He walked a few steps away from the fire and spent hours drawing his sword, and sheathing it again. "Father... How does this skill help in battle?"
"Hahaha. You just want to see my skill with it." He smiled, nodding and sheathing his sword. "Here... Hold this branch of bamboo, and don't you dare move." He nodded and held out the branch of bamboo, and focused on his father. "See my stance... Legs apart and slightly bent... My waist and body clear of the path of the sword... My mind and sword are one... Listen."
'Thud.'
"I didn't hear anything..." He watched as half of the bamboo branch fell to the ground in surprise. "I didn't even feel any wind from the cut father. Its as if you cut the wind so no one could feel the incoming attack. I also didn't even see your body move in that attack. You drew the blade and sheathed it, before I had a chance to blink."
"You'll get to that stage later. All you need to do is focus on drawing your blade in silence." He smiled and let the branch he was still holding fall to the ground. "Come its late. Rest now, and than we continue our walk towards Kurama." He nodded at his father and knelt on the ground, looking at the fire. He turned, looking at his father. "If I'm going to bring my family honor, I can't just spend my life sleeping. I'm young, full of energy, and I need to become a strong samurai."
"What do you want to do?"
"Father, you can rest. I want to train more, and keep training until my arm falls off from fatigue." He stood up and stared at the bamboo branch his father had cut without a sound, grabbing the hilt of his sword he pulled it out in an arc. He shook his head. "That was too noisy. If I'm going to be as good as my father, I need to be able to do this." He bent his legs and cleared the path of the sword. He pulled on its sheath slowly feeling the motions in his body, and listening to the blade.
"That's a good start. Slow first, learn and feel your body as it moves through the motions of drawing the blade. Once you know those movements, and feel them you'll be able to draw it without a sound." He nodded, sheathing his sword and tried again this time with his eyes closed, listening to his body. "This movement is similar to one I use in martial arts. I can mix them together, also I need to focus on breathing as well." He tried again and smiled as he felt his body move the way he wanted it to move. "You're getting it son... You make me proud, and I feel proud to call you son. If you can master this by the time we get to Kurama. I'll teach you how to attack with the sheathed blade." He smiled at his father bowing.
"Thank you for your praise father. I feel happy to know that I bring honor to you and the Hattori family name." He closed his eyes and went through the movements with his body in silence before trying to draw the blade again. He touched the hilt with his hands, and controlled his breathing. "That's it. Control your breathing son... You're almost there." He opened his eyes, and watched the leaves move slowly in the wind as he focused his every being in pulling the blade out of its sheath in silence.
"In one night, you were able to get this far. I'm very impressed at your rate of improvement, you must be blessed by the kami when you use the sword. I wonder what other blessings you've been given by the kami." He looked at the sword he had pulled from its sheath in silence and looked at the father. "Since I'm the one protecting the young lord, I'll use any weapon I can get in my hands to keep them safe."
"Good son... The sun is about to rise. At least get some rest, before we start to travel again. We'll talk about Bushido as we walk, and in the night batto." He smiled as he sat down near the fire closing his eyes. "This person is from Iga. I'm going to meet him. I hope. I'll actually see him use his spear. Also my father seems very strong in the use of the sword. I'll learn all I can from him."