*Bump, bump, bump, bump.*
Damn, the air's cold, and my hands can't stop shaking.
Come on, Mataski, you can do this. Just breathe. I can feel my lungs getting stiffer by the minute, and my knees—if I don't make a move now, I won't win, and the kingdom will die because of me. I'll just have to end it in one strike.
"Mataski, it's time for dinner."
"But I'm not done yet. I haven't defeated the king."
"You'll defeat the king some other time. I need you to go get cleaned up for dinner. Now."
"And look at how dirty you are. You won't be sitting at my dinner table looking and smelling like that. At this rate, I can't tell you and the farm pigs apart."
"Sorry, Mother."
*Mataski's father whispers:* "Hurry it up, Mat, my boy. Before the food gets cold. You know your mother hates when that happens, and she always takes it out on me afterward."
"What did you say, honey?"
"Oh, I said that your food always tastes so good that he needs to hurry up before I eat all of it."
*A distress comes over Mataski's mother.*
"Toma, tell me, do you think our son will make something of himself someday?"
"If you're looking for my honest opinion, I believe that our son can do anything that he sets his mind to."
"Even after our kingdom falls and King Finly finally has his meeting with the reaper? A new king, his son, will take his place, and that king will rule this kingdom with an iron fist and a cold heart because that's the man he was raised to be."
"Mataski isn't going to have an easy life, no, not one bit, but he will survive, and he will come out on top because he's our son. He's also a Tenji."
"I see. His life will never be easy, but as long as we are good parents to him, he'll never have to worry. Even in this little house made out of stone blocks, it will be here even after we die. He will still have something to come back to. The rusty hinges on the front door, that no matter how much you change, always go back to being rusty. The weather changes so much that no normal person can keep up with it, but we do. We endure all through the winters, summers, springs, and rainy days. We work for the king as mere servants and make just enough money to get by. But we don't let it show on our faces, especially when we can't get our only child a good gift on his birthday. We choose to carry him on fishing trips and have fun with him to make up for all the things we can't do. And our son, he never complains; he never runs away. All he does is love us."
*Sniff.* "Damn it, I turned a simple question into a train wreck of emotion, didn't I? I'm sorry, honey."
"No, it's okay, Anna. It's not like we have all the time in the world with our son. So if you want to remember and talk about old times and our times now, including our troubles, guilt, and doubts, then go right ahead. Because I can't allow you to carry all that pain alone. I didn't marry you to be sad all the time, you know. So please smile. You are too beautiful to be crying. I love you."
"I love you too, Toma."
---
When I was a kid, all I did was play with my wooden sword, imagining myself as the hero who would save our kingdom from its evil king and free the people from all their suffering.
Only now do I realize that the people suffering were my mother and father, and I, just being born, became their savior—the only thing that brought them peace in this wretched world.
It may have been wrong of me to overhear their conversation that day, but it was something that I needed to hear, and I'm glad I did because my life was no sunshine and roses.
I mean, just look at my present circumstances.
---
*Mamosa, 1807, in the castle's courtyard.*
People of Mamosa, today is a special day. We have a traitor in our midst.
"Wow, did all these people really come here to see me? I must be famous."
"Silence, traitor!"
"Yeah, shut up!" *townspeople's voices* "You betrayed us all, and you're acting like you didn't do anything wrong!" *townspeople's voices*
"I never knew the people of this country felt so strongly about me. I'm touched."
"I won't repeat myself. Silence, you all! A man, a traitor of the kingdom, will be exiled today, and this is how you carry on in front of your king."
*Complete silence.*
"Damn, you really do know how to kill a crowd, my king."
"Mataski Tenji, today you are being exiled from the only home you know, the only place that gave you food, shelter, and a life, and you act as though you have not a worry in the world.
Is it that reality hasn't set in yet? Because a man like you—strong, not easily persuaded, honest, and one of my best swordsmen—you chose not to beg for my forgiveness but to be killed by my hands instead.
But I will not honor your request. You will instead be exiled from this kingdom, stripped of your title of commanding war officer, and your clothes and everything you own. The only thing I cannot take from you is your name, and if I could, I would have. The people of this kingdom must always remember the man who turned his back against them in a time of war.
Any final words?"
"No, I have nothing to say."
"Guards, get him out of my sight!"
*Crowd cheering* "Yeah, yeah!"
---
*Outside of the Castle gates.*
"Keep it moving, traitor. You're tainting the kingdom's soil by walking on it. Having someone like you around any longer would only bring more shame to the kingdom."
"Yeah, I don't know why the king didn't cut off his head when he had the chance. You didn't deserve his pity. Right, Ja?"
"That's right, Manny. A traitor like him—the only thing he deserves is my foot in his mouth, like this. Hah!"
"How do you like that, dead man? When Ja and I are done with you, that's what you'll be."
"The only dead men here are you two dumbasses. The only reason I haven't punched your heads in is because my hands are chained. Release the cuffs, and then we can have a nice little chat."
"You talk too much, dead man."
"Grah, grah."
---
*Mataski was beaten, bloody, and left in a forest a mile away from the kingdom. He is now a free man, shackles and all, but at what cost?*
*Sniff.*
Breathe, breathe, just breathe, Mat. It's almost over; just stay focused, son!
Mataski! What happened to him, Toma?
"Mom."
Honey, relax. He's going to be fine. We got attacked by a mother bear walking her cubs in the woods. I was cutting down a tree when I heard Mat yelling. I saw a baby bear cub hurt, so we bandaged it up, but its mother showed up and thought we were a threat. Before I knew it, I was hitting it with my axe, and Mat was already scratched on the head. The bear's in the back; I had no choice but to kill it. So, we've got dinner for tonight.
Mataski, how long are you going to sleep? You need to wake up. WAKE UP.
"AH, DAD!"
---
What's going on? Where am I? Oh, I remember now. Exiled. Those two guards beat me and left me here to die.
The only thing is, I'm not dead. Lucky me, huh?
God, you must really love me, don't you?
WHY CAN'T YOU LET ME DIE, HUH?
I wasn't able to keep my promise to her, so I don't deserve my life. AHHHH! *Sniff.* Just let me die, please. I'm already bloody and covered in dirt. My arms and legs won't even do what I want them to.
I'm a dead man already, so why, why me?
With nothing but resentment and nothing to his name, Mataski Tenji lay still on the forest ground, bloody and beaten to within an inch of his life. The only good thing was that the field he lay in was beneath a cherry blossom tree, so all he saw before losing consciousness again was a pink, showery sky and a bright blue sky.
---