He looked at his reflection while wearing the monks clothing. "What about my hair. It seems I need to cut it short." He frowned as he looked at his locks, the sign of a samurai. "If I want to look the part, I have to lose them." He got a knife and cut all his hair off to the surprise of the servants in the hot spring. "Why are you doing that?"
He looked at them smiling. "Its part of my training. Something I have to do." He scratched his scalp with a smile. "Now I really look the part of being a monk." He slouched a little, changing the length of his step smiling. "Here we go. I guess I'm going to be hanging around the temple this afternoon. I hope I'm not recognized."
He stepped outside of the springs, and walked among the students of Kurama. He enjoyed listening to their conversations, admiring the beauty of the mountain top, taking long breaths to enjoy the moment. "Gon negi. Don't you need to be at the temple now, since your classes are about to begin?" He turned and looked at the yellow masked tengu monk and nodded, lowering the tone of his voice. "I'm heading there now."
"How long have you been here at Kurama?" He smiled at the masked monk. "For about a year. I've mostly spent my time in prayers and meditation, and now I have a chance to see the beauty of Kurama, before I once again go into meditation."
"I understand. Well don't be late, you know what the smiling monk is like to gon negi if they're late to their prayers and blessings for Kurama." He nodded raising his right hand bowing at the masked monk. He turned, walking towards the temple with a smile on his face. "I think I got him convinced I'm somebody else."
"Gon negi. Wait I have another question for you." He stopped, turning and smiling at the masked monk. "Your name. May I ask what it is?" He looked into the eyes of the tengu monk. "He seems to recognize me, and is trying to figure out where he has seen me before." He smiled. "My monk name is Oyashiro." He smiled at the masked monk. "Since you've asked for my name, may I ask for yours in return?"
"You can all me Fuma." He nodded at the masked monk. "Well I must go back to my classes, and blessings before the smiling monk isn't smiling anymore." He turned, walking towards the temple with a big smile on his face. "That was a good name I think. I'm sure he'll forget all about me, since they're many junior monks here at Kurama, to learn from the smiling monk.
He stood in line with the other monks, copying their movements as they entered the temple. "This is easy," sitting down at a small table, hand raised in prayer waiting for the smiling monk to arrive in front of him. He sat in silence copying the others until he saw the smiling monk approach the front of the group, sitting behind a larger table.
"Hello to you all. Its another beautiful day to call on the blessings for Kurama. Lets start our lesson with our prayer." He opened his mouth and made mouth movements as the temple hall was filled with the sound of prayer. "This is easier than it looks. It seems I can do this disguise activity well." He focused to the front, using his peripheral vision to make sure his mouth movements were the same as the others.
He watched as the sun shined through the west entrance to the hall, while focusing on the others. "Since I'm in here, what do I do now since, I'm in disguise?" He glanced around, noticing that Sojobo had entered along with the yellow masked tengu. He ignored them, as they seemed to be searching through all the students. He frowned as he focused on his mantra mouthing in time with the others.
He heard the smiling monk stop, and stare at the both of them. "Hello to the both of you, as you can see we're in class at the moment. Perhaps you've also come to join in our class today?"
"No. Fuma here, said he saw a gon negi wandering around Kurama, looking like he didn't belong here. We were just looking to see if they're in your class now."
"As you can see, my students are all here." He saw an aid lean in and whisper into the smiling monks ear. "Hmm. I see. Misdirection. Would that be correct Sojobo?"
"That's correct."
"We'll have to see how they do. Students, its time to recite the blessing of Kurama, one by one. We'll start with the front row, until we get to the back." He watched as student by student walked up to the smiling monk bowed with their raised right hand, rolled a string of beads in their left hand, reciting the mantra. "I need to memorize it." He focused on their movements, their voices, and the words they said. By the time the fifth student had stepped in front of the smiling monk he had memorized the complete mantra, and steps he needed to take. He looked at the table collecting the beads and wrapping them around his left hand.
"Next row." He smiled, stood up and walked to the front, imitating the others that he had seen before, and recited the mantra to completion. Once he finished he did what the other students did, and stood in a line to the left of the smiling monk.
By the time night had fallen, all the student monks were standing to the left of the smiling monk. "Sojobo, and Fuma. You heard them all. So which one is he, or do you need further proof, that he isn't here?"
"He's here alright smiling monk, you know what his demon brain can do."
"Fair enough. I shall give you one more chance to identify him, if not than he passes his training." He smiled while keeping his head down. "How do you want to test my students here now?"
"A test of martial arts." He frowned. "Monks like these ones don't fight. What are they expecting from the smiling monk's students? Unless they actually do fight?" He kept his head down in thought reciting his kujiin calming his mind and heart.
"Fair enough. You may choose them at random." He watched as the both of them looked over the line of student monks, pointing at two random students. "The both of you. Let me see what you can do."
He saw the both of them walk forward and started to fight each other. He had to keep his head down as he watched their movements. "Its like a form of kung fu from all those movies, I've always watched. How can I dupe them with this?"
"Your students are not bad smiling monk. Enough. Next two step forward."
He smiled as he watched the next two spar with each other. "I have an idea on how I can do this. Thank you kung fu movies." He closed his eyes, and started to imagine his fight against his opponent using the moves he had seen in a movie.
"Next two." He stepped forward and raised his fists while wobbling on the spot. He watched his opponent run and jump at him, he fell to the ground letting the opponent fly over him while punching him in the leg as it passed. He rolled backwards and moved his hands like he was drinking from a cup. "I see one of your students has been learning from monks to the west."
"There are a few that do."
He rolled on the ground as his opponent tried to jump on him, sitting on a chair while leaning on a small table pretending to drink from a cup in his hand. "That's enough. Next two." He smiled standing up, bowing at his opponent and joined the others on the opposite side of the smiling monk. He let out a long breath as they weren't able to recognize him from how he fought.
"You've seen them all fight, so which one is he?"
"Do you know smiling monk?"
"Naturally, they're my students after all, I know them all quite well, the question is do you know?"
"Sorry. We can't find him in this group. You have talented students, we have failed in our search for him." He smiled as the smiling monk pointed at him. He took a step forward. "I wouldn't have known, it was you Masanari, if it wasn't for the fact that I've spent many years with these students. However, you've done well to hide from the two of them."
He bowed at the smiling monk, and the two masked monks. "Masanari, where did you learn to fight like that?" He smiled while bowing. "I haven't I just thought of something, and put it together. The both of you and the smiling monk, added the information to it, that I didn't know creating the ruse that I was experienced in fighting in a way the monks do in the west."
"Very intelligent. That demon brain of yours. I also see you cut your hair." He nodded. "Since you told me that I must be the person in the clothing, I had to do it, or people would recognize me straight away." He looked at Sojobo. "Does that mean I've passed your training in disguise and misdirection?"
"The disguise part yes. Come go change your clothes, you'll need to wear a hood over your head now, since you don't have hair." He nodded, bowing at the three of them. "Masanari wait. There's one thing I also need to mention." He turned, looking at the smiling monk.
"It seems you're able to pick up a lot of information just by seeing it or listening to it a few times. As someone from your family, that's a very useful skill. Train it, and develop it. Than you'll be a master in no time." He bowed. "Thank you, for your praise."
"You can go with the both of them now. I need to finish my class with my students here." He followed Fuman and Sojobo out of the hall and back into Kurama where the students lived. He opened his door, changing his clothes, while the two of them waited outside for him. He bowed at them. "Sorry for making you wait."
"With that hood on, you're really becoming like your father." He smiled at Sojobo. "I passed in disguise, now I need to learn about misdirection. How do I do that?"
"Easy. This is misdirection." He sidestepped a punch from the black tengu mask and stood in a combat stance facing the three of them. "Hahaha. You didn't get hit at all. Causing the opponent to focus on one thing, so they miss out on something else. That's misdirection. You've passed this training perfectly." He bowed at them. "Thank you for your lessons."
"Before we go, what did you learn today?" He smiled. "I learnt the name of the yellow tengu mask, as well as mantras used in the temple for blessing."
"We'll call it a mission complete that he learnt your name Fuma."
"Yes. I agree. I fell into his trap, and he got the words right out of me." He smiled.
"If you tell others of my name, I'll be back to take all your fingers. I mean it." He nodded. "I won't say to another about your name, how could I, you're one of my favorite teachers on Kurama. All three of you are my favorite teachers."
"Good save. I was about to cut you with my sword here." He smiled at Sojobo. "This place is going to be empty without you around in the future Masanari. I may have to go down to the valley, and see this coming war in the future. I'll have no one to spar with or fight with you gone." He nodded. "You'll always be welcome all three of you to my family. I guess my father has already spoken those words to you."
"Indeed he has. Also as a hint. He'll be coming again soon."
He smiled. "Did he say when?"
"On the eve of your fourteenth birthday. Its the test to be recognized as one from Iga." He looked at Sojobo, with a smile. "I'll be ready for any test that my father comes here with. "Don't worry, we'll also be preparing you for the test. He's told us what you'll have to do, so we have the training regime planned with you. Tomorrow at dawn yami training begins."
He felt his heart start to race when he heard the name yami training. He bowed, as the three of them left him standing in front of his small room.
"Don't forget to eat what I've given you. You're going to be needing everything it provides your body." He turned, looking at the bowl of rice and vegetables, he sat on the futon, eating it with excitement. "Tomorrow is going to be fun."