Chapter One: Mitsurugi
The Kali-Yuga seemed to glow in the moonlight as it swung around gracefully. Killik, the rightful owner of the Kali-Yuga, was training at the best time: night. A trail of blue followed the staff wherever it went, then faded. Killik was so fascinated by his staff that he loved it, and trusted it with his life.
He jammed the tip into the ground and pole-vaulted to the other side. He started a random kata and performed various swings, thrusts, stabs, and special techniques. He ended the graceful kata with a shout of exhilaration. As the adrenaline rush faded away, and his breath started returning, he heard the sound of someone applauding something. He turned around to see a middle-aged man dressed in samurai armor. He had a katana loosely hanging from his red belt. The man scratched his beard and placed a hand on the hilt of the sword.
"Oh, there, young one!" he called. Killik stabbed the ground with the Kali-Yuga and leaned on the strong staff.
"And who are you, then, newcomer?" Killik replied, wiping beads of sweat off of his forehead.
The man chuckled and drew his sword. Taking this gesture as a threat, Killik pulled the Kali-Yuga out of the ground and held it in a ready position. The man stepped towards him, then rested the blunt edge of his blade on his shoulder.
"I'll tell you my name, and only my name, if you can prevail in a match against me." the samurai grinned, sliding his feet into a fighting stance. Killik narrowed his eyes and let a roar escape his throat as he thrust the Kali-Yuga at his enemy. The samurai lifted his sword, held by both hands, and easily parried the blow. He pushed the Kali-Yuga off of his blade and ducked down, slashing at Killik's feet. Killik pole-vaulted over his enemy and whirled around, stabbing at the samurai's neck. But the samurai was quick on his feet, and he twirled around to block the stab with the flat edge of his blade.
"Pretty fast!" Killik exclaimed. The samurai laughed.
"I haven't even shown my true colors yet, grasshopper."
Killik was offended by the name, and he cried at as he started his kata against the samurai. With each blow, the samurai was pushed back about a foot. He was able to block a few attacks, but not enough. When the flurry of attacks ended, both Killik and the samurai were out of breath.
The samurai wiped his mouth, where a streak of blood had fallen. He stood up and charged at Killik, stabbing out with his katana. Killik knocked the blade aside with the Kali-Yuga and thrust again, hitting the samurai on the shoulder. The samurai fell to his knees. A moment later, he stood up and sheathed the sword. Killik looked surprised.
"But...I thought you were powerful." he said. The samurai chuckled again.
"I can see that this pointless battle is taking a toll on both of us. I'm losing my pride as a Samurai and you are losing energy fast. So, there's no point in continuing this match." the samurai replied. He turned around and walked away.
"Wait!" Killik called after him. "You never told me your name!"
"Mitsurugi." the samurai responded, disappearing in the distance. "And don't you forget that."
Killik sighed. He looked at the moon, and gasped. The moon was gone. He didn't notice that the sky had turned red with the suns appearance over the far off mountains. He sighed again, realizing that his training time was over and he needed to get home.
Maybe tomorrow, he thought, and ran off towards his home village.