THE STUDENTS OF SIEKETSU I

THE STUDENTS OF SIEKETSU I:
AN AMERICAN SAMURI

Chapter one   the prologue
Feudal Japan
Onitoma Village
        She heard them coming. Time was of the essence. She would have
to work fast. “Sensei,” a young boy at her feet said, “what is
happening out there?” He was a young child not more than eleven years
of age. His face was innocent. His eyes were hazel and his hair black
as night. He clutched his sword in his hands. She knew he would do
battle if asked, but she could not allow that.
        “Hi, go lay with the others,” she told him. The boy, Hi, eager
to do as he was told, ran over to a padded area of the hut’s floor and
closed his eyes as he went to sleep. There were four other bodies next
to Hi. They looked as if they were sleeping but she knew the truth. All
five of them were in a deep meditative trance. She looked over the
bodies and items that had been place at their feet. Mieyo’s ring,
Tamashi’s prayer beads, Nami’s dagger, Tsuki’s pendent, and Hi’s
bracelet all lay at their owners’ feet. -Good everything is ready-, she
thought as she retrieved her sword. She removed an ancient scroll from
a chest that sat by the wall of the hut.
She looked over the bodies once more. They were like children to her.
She was sad at what was about to happen. It needn’t happen in her
opinion. She thought of each one. She was proud of them all. They were
her pride and joy. In a sense she was like a mother to them.
        She opened the scroll and chanted the words written on it. The
scroll glowed a bright green and blast of energy shot from it hitting
each of the sleeping bodies and items. One last blast entered her and
her sword. The light faded and her breath became short. Darkness crept
into her vision. She faintly heard voices shouting. They were near the
door. It was too late for them to stop her. There was an intense heat
as the hut was lit on fire. She saw a bright light as the angry flames
consumed her home, and then there was just darkness.
*******************************************
Present Day America (2003)
Blades of Honor Dojo
        The shouts and grunts of the training students were music to
Hiro’s ears. He looked over the rows of people. They all wore white
karate gis with colored headbands to show rank. They were all students
of the Kami Katana no Seitosa style of sword technique. This is
translated as the Devine Sword of Justice style. Hiro took in a deep
breath. The dojo stank of sweat and metal polish. He smiled; this was
more than he had ever hoped for. He had opened the dojo 2 years before
along with his first first-class apprentice, Alexis. He wore his sword
on his hip. It was held in place by a violet belt that matched his gi.
He wore only one of the two swords he had been given during his
training. The other was worn by Alexis. His was a wooden sword whose
power was greater than that of the steel ones like Alexis’s. The art of
sword smithing had been lost over the years along with the ability to
make high quality wooden swords. All the ones that were made in this
time were but mere practice ones. “Sensei, there is a phone call for
you in the office. It’s important,” his apprentice, Alexis, said. He
looked at her. She was younger than he but just as skillful. She was a
pretty girl who had the ability to blend in with any crowd. Here only
distinguishing mark was a tattoo of a blue crescent moon around her
right eye.
        “Who is it,” he asked.
        “It’s Ichiro-Sempai.” -Ichiro? What could he want? Was this a
message from his Sensei?- He walked to the office and picked up the
phone.
        “Yes…mmhm…. ok…I understand………Good bye.” He hung up and turned
to Alexis, “they found Mieyo. His real name is Ty Tokinota.”
        “Ty Tokinota? The Ty Tokinota?”
        “You’ve heard of him?”
        “Yeah, he only owns one of the biggest companies in the world!
Ever heard of Athena’s Kiss Inc.?” Hiro thought about that for a while.
        “Isn’t that the cosmetics and clothing company that just opened
up an outlet at the mall?”
        “Now you got it.”
****************************************************************
President’s office of Athena’s Kiss Inc.
Ty Tokinota sat at his desk in the large office. It was one of those
days where nothing out of the ordinary happened. He didn’t like these
days. They were too boring for his tastes. He took a pencil out of his
desk and through it at a corkboard in the far wall. The pencil stuck in
the center of the bull’s eye he had drawn. He repeated the process a
few time until he grew bored with that. The intercom on his desk
beeped. “Mister Tokinota, the mail cart is here and there’s a strange
envelope for you.” -Finally something interesting,- he thought.
        “Send it in, Sue.” His secretary, Sue, brought the small
envelope into the office. “Thank you, oh and by the way, you’ve got
that raise you’ve been asking about.”
        Her face brightened considerably, “Really, you mean that?”
        “Sue, you’ve been with this company since we first started and
you have turned down all the promotions I’ve offered you. This is the
least I can do.”
        “Thank you,” she said again. She practically skipped as she
exited the room. Ty smiled as he watched her leave. She deserved that
raise more than any one in the company. She was a single working mother
that was as loyal to Athena’s Kiss and Ty as she was to her son, Dave.
She was also as good a friend as any one he had ever met.
        He turned his attention to the envelope in his hand. It didn’t
have a return address and there was Japanese writing on the back. -
Wonder what’s in it,- he thought, -well only one way to find out.- He
opened it and a ring fell out. He turned it in his hand a few times. It
was a simple gold ring with only one word inscribed on it. The word was
not English he knew that. “Mieyo,” he said aloud. He knew he had never
heard it before but it seemed so familiar. The ring was also familiar
to him but he didn’t know from where. He shrugged and slipped the ring
onto his right ring finger. His eyes flew open as information ran
straight to his brain faster than lightning. Scenes flashed before his
eyes, his hands shook, and his legs seamed rubbery. Then as quickly as
it had started it stopped. He now knew everything that had happened. He
knew the meaning of his recurring nightmares. He was Mieyo! Then a
memory drifted to the forefront of his mind, not an ancient one but a
more recent one.
        He reached over and pushed the intercom button on his
desk. “Sue, What type of martial arts did you tell me Dave is taking?”
        “I believe it’s called the Kami Katana no Seitosa style, why?”
        “When he goes to his next lesson do you mind if I bum a ride?”
        “No, not at all. In fact if you wait until I get out he has a
lesson today.”
        “Thank you, you have no idea how much this means to me.”
***************************************************************
Later that day
David’s school
        The blue car pulled up in front of Jenny F. Snapp Middle
School. “What grade is he in,” Ty ask.
        “He’s in 8th grade. So why do you want to go to his lesson?”
She had been curious about that. -He’s been acting a little strange
ever since he got that letter-, she thought. “Are you interested in
learning how to use a sword?”
        Ty smiled, “that letter I got today was a message from an old
friend whom I haven’t seen in a long time.” One of the kids leaving the
building headed towards the car. It was Sue’s son Dave. He approached
the car and stopped looking in the window. He had a confused look on
his face. “I’m tagging along so I can talk to your Sensei,” Ty
explained.
        “You know Mitorshi-sensei,” the boy asked getting in the back
seat of the car.
“Yes, and I also know Alex. Hiro and I had the same teacher.” The boy
looked amazed. Ty also caught a surprised glance from Sue. “It was a
long time ago. What class student are you?”
Dave dug around in a duffle bag that was on the back seat of the car.
He pulled out a red headband. “I’m a class 4. Mitorshi-sensei says I
should be moving up soon. What was your class when you were a student.”
“I still am a student. Hiro is also still a student. We are both first
class apprentices. Our master had 4 apprentices and never gave the test
to us. Hopefully that will change.”
The car drove down numerous roads in Endicott, Endwell, and Johnson
City. The trip took about 10 minutes. The car stopped in front of a
pagoda style building. There was a hand painted sign on the
door. “Blades of Honor Dojo. Learn the way of the Kami Katana no
Seitosa Style.”
David and Ty left the car, waving good-bye to Sue. They entered the
building. Ty took his time, leisurely wandering from one display to
another. Two bookcase-sized displays were filled with all sorts of
trophies. Another stored pictures of the two instructors, a young boy
named Ichiro, and a painting. Ty stared at shock at the subject of the
portrait. “Like it? Alex painted it.” Ty tuned to see the
speaker. “Really looks like her doesn’t it,” asked Hiro.
“Yeah, it looks just like her,” agreed Ty. The painting was of a young
woman in her early thirties. She had long black hair and blue eyes. She
wore a white gi tied with a red belt that held two swords in place. One
sword was metal the other wood. A white headband held her hair back out
of her eyes. A red dot adorned the center of the headband and a
Japanese symbol was on either side of the dot, they were followed by
more symbols that told her title. The painting was entitled “The
Mistress of the Blade”.
“Come to my office, we can talk there,” Hiro turned to one of the other
people in the dojo. It was the young boy Ichiro, “Ichiro, cover my
classes. I need to talk with our guest.”
Ichiro looked at Ty, “Are you really Meiyo?”
Ty nodded, “it’s been a long time, Hi.”
******************************************************************
Blades of Honor Dojo
Hiro Mitorshi’s office
        Alexis set the tray of tea on the low table, bowed, and exited
the room. “She’s still eager to do as her master says, huh?”
        “Yes, she was always like that. Her loyalty is truly something
to admire. She’s become more cheerful since she heard that we found
you. I think it gives her new hope,” Hiro said sipping his tea.
        “You mean that Nami hasn’t been found yet?”
        “No, he hasn’t. As much as I hate complimenting him the one
thing he always did well was take care of her.”
“From you, that’s a huge compliment.”
        “Well don’t read too much into it. So, anyways, I hear that you
own your own company.”
        “It beats working at the noodle shop.”
        “Well, think you’ve got the time to teach. I could always use
another instructor.”
        Ty sipped at his tea. -One thing she hasn’t lost is her ability
to make good tea.- “Hhhmmm, well, it’s not like I have a choice. Tell
you what, I do it on one condition; you have a student here named David
Greene, I want him as my first student.”
        “David Greene… David Green… short kid… brown hair… class four?”
        “Yes that is him.”
        “He’s one of Alexis’s. You better talk to her about it.”
        “Alright. On a different note; do the students her know of the
apprental names?”
        “They do but I don’t make them call us the names. They know
that mine is Tamashi and Alexis’s is Tsuki. Ichiro has said he would
rather be called Hi, so the students respect that.”
        “I see. Now they have a new one to learn, Meiyo, for I shall go
by that just as we did in the old days.”
        Alexis had been on the other side of the door listening in.
Eavesdropping had become one of her most honed skills. This was a good
thing for her. She was able to get information before it was released
for everyone. Whether or not she did something about it was her
business. “What are you doing? Are you eavesdropping on Tamashi again,”
Hi inquired.
        “Well…I…ummm… you see, that is…” -Damn it I hate it when I get
caught,- “Don’t you have a class to teach?”

*******************************************************************
Blades of honor Dojo
Closing time
        Ty had stayed at the dojo until closing time. He had to sharpen
his skills up to what they used to be. Alexis watched him as he twirled
the blade one-handed, slashed the air, and went through the various
techniques he had not used for such a long time. -He’s as good as ever.
I wonder if we’ll need to use these attacks ever again in real combat.
I sure hope not. Life here is so much more peaceful.- Unconsciously she
played with the crescent-moon pendent around her neck. It was a
nervous habit she had formed after she started teaching at the dojo. It
was a part-time job for her. She was home schooled and her parents
worked around her job schedule. She had everything she could ever want…-
well almost everything. I wonder what Nami’s doin’ right now.-
“Thinking of Nami,” asked Meiyo.
        “I just wish we had found him,” she said quietly.
        “Hey, he isn’t out of reach. We all got here safely, who’s to
say he didn’t. Just think of it as him running late as usual. In fact,
it should not be too difficult. We all have the same bodies as before
after all. So we just hope he’s done something worthy of mention. If so
then we can track him down. Tamashi’s working on that right now.”
        “Do you think she’s also looking for him?”
        “I wouldn’t doubt it. In my personal opinion I think sensei
actually favored him a bit.”
        “You’re right, it’s just that…” she trailed off. Her eyes began
to water, “it’s just that it’s been so long. I don’t even have a
picture to look at.”
        “You still have your memories don’t you? That’s more than he’s
got. He’s probably got a feeling of emptiness and doesn’t know why.”
        “Yeah but…”
        “ A Yabbit is a small white animal that eats carrots, and it’s
pronounced rabbit.”
        Alexis looked as though she was going to say something but
Tamashi interrupted her. “I found him! He’s a junior at Union Endicott
High School. Hi was also able to obtain his home address!”
        “What!? You got to be kidding,” Alexis said shooting to her
feet. Tamashi handed her a small notebook. An address and name were
scribbled on the front. She took it and headed towards the door.
        “Tsuki, wait. Do it tomorrow. It’s already 5:00 pm; he’s
probably not going to be home. Plus don’t you want to think of what
you’re going to tell him? Remember he’s not going to know who you are.”
************************************************************************

Nami’s House, Endicott NY
        Tsuki waited outside the house. Even though she had tried to
prepare herself she couldn’t keep from being nervous. It had been such
a long time. How was she going to handle this? What’s he going to say? -
Oh man, Oh man, I’m gonna look like a freak! Ok, ok, just calm down.
All I have to do is get him to wear the sheath. Oh Crap! WERE’S THE
DAGGER?!- Tsuki franticly patted her pockets looking for the missing
weapon. “Oh, how silly of me. I completely forgot, I’m wearing it.” She
unbuckled the strap and held the sheath in her hand. -It positively
radiates his energy.- She approached the door and rang the bell. She
heard a dog bark and someone inside tell it to shut up. The blue door
opened and a pudgy teenager with dirty blond hair and hazel eyes looked
at her. -Wow this incarnation looks just like he did before the monk
cast that spell on him. Which means his other form will be restored by
the spirit of the dagger.-
       “Can I help you,” he asked
        “Well…umm…” -get it together girl-, “are you Joseph Nirchi Jr.?”
“Yeah.”
        “Ok this is going to sound weird but you are an ancient warrior
whose spirit was sealed in a dagger and kept for a few centuries. When
you put this on you will be restored,” she blurted out.
        He gave here a weird look. “What the hell are you talking
about?”
        “Here put this on,” she said thrusting the sheathed dagger into
his hands.
        “Hhmm an arm sheath and Japanese dagger, you don’t see these
every day. So if I put this on you’ll tell me what’s going on?” Tsuki
nodded. “Ok here goes,” he said fastening the sheath onto his arm.
There was a bright burst of light as his body was shaped and formed. He
collapsed on the ground holding his stomach. Then darkness consumed his
vision.

Author’s Ramblings:
        I have this section after every chapter. (A nasty habit I
picked up from fanfics.) Ok so this is my beginning. Like it? I hope
so. Well I don’t have much for the first commentary section but…. All
the chapters are typed on Microsoft Word and are 5-6 pages long.   And
chp 2 might take a while to finish too much writers block X.X