Before all this happened, it seemed that I would ruin everything I touched.. I wish I could say it was different now. I made a promise to my dad, right before he died, that I would never use the blade to hurt anyone.. Technically, I suppose i kept that promise. Even though I'm using his old sword to kill the one who killed him.. I want to take out the sword and break my promise, but this stupid metal ring on the hilt prevents me from doing so.. I want to hit this bald swordsman. I want to hit him so hard it shatters his bones.

I want to break him.

But I get ahead of myself, Ill start from the beginning..

My name is Dante, and I was born and raised in America. My father is a salesman and often heads over to japan to work with clients.. Im not exactly sure what he does.. He always dances around the question. He brings gifts back often for me and my mom for as long as I can remember. Because of that, I like to think im caught up on the Japanese culture. There's not a whole lot about me that stands out. Average size, average intelligence, even my hair is average. Dirty blonde, kinda short and swept over to one side. I'm a little bit awkward.. especially with the ladies. I've struck out with every girl ive set my mind too. But that's alright, im persistent. I get in trouble quite a lot. I'm cocky and enjoy fighting a little bit more than I should. I used to get picked on before my growth spurt, and always fraught back.. I get the crap kicked out of me a lot. Now that im about the same size as the bullies, i try my best to stand up for others.. Buuut that doesn't always end too well..

I tried my best to open the front door quietly.. Im home way later than my curfew.. Its fine. Dad is gone and moms probably sleeping. These crickets should hide the sound of the squeaky door anyway. Opening the door just wide enough to slip my head though the crack, I made a quick survey of my environment. Nothing.. Perfect. Im safe. With a grin, I tip-toe into the kitchen to grab some leftovers mom most likely left for me. It was the first day of baseball practice and.. Well the captain was talking crap about our infielder and. I may or may not have went after him with a bat. Maybe.
It was a dumb idea in hindsight.. There were about seven of them and one of me. But thats alright, they're in worse shape than I was. Both my eyes were blackened from being punched in the face repeatedly and I had a small cut above my eyebrow. My nose stopped bleeding on my way home, but I could feel the dried blood tail that ran down my face and onto my shirt.

The light from the refrigerator illuminated the rest of the apartment. It was very small, and because of that people would tease me for being poor. But that wasnt the case, we had a lot of money, we just didnt need a large place because my father would have to move every so often and he was gone a lot, so it was like I just lived with my mom. A small plate of mashed potatoes, corn, and steak caught my attention. It had a small sticky note on it.

"Turn Around" it said.. "huh, that's weird." i said as i stood up and closed to door. I turned to get a fork from the drawer only to be met with a small 5 foot 5 woman. "SWEET JESUS" I exclaimed. "How do you keep DOING that?" I said clenching my chest. It was my mother. She had this strange habit of sneaking around without making a sound. I hated it. "What are you doing. Its 2 in the morning." She said sternly, arms crossed. "and what happened to your face?" "Wow mom. Leave my looks out of this. Most people say i take after you anyway so you just kinda insulted yourself. Well, night!" I said turning away. She grabbed my arm before i took a step and spun me around. She was a strong little lady. "She pulled my face down to her level and studied the bruises and blood that had now been dried. Tears filled her eyes. "Mom seriously.. Its not a big deal.. Ill just take a shower and it'll be fine." she threw her arms around me and spoke with a catch in her voice. "Why do you keep doing this?.. What if something happens and you get killed? A mother should never have to bury her son.." "Im sorry mom.." I said warping one arm around her head and the other holding my plate. "I'll try to be more careful.." We stood for a moment in the dark. "K now let go. Its dinner time." A swift slap to the side of my head broke the silence.

"Hey buttface!" A voice breaks over the crowd as I walk into school. My mother used to be a nurse, so she fixed up my face as well as she could.. But not well enough I suppose. "Hey why dont you lay off.." I reply still looking at the floor. "I had a long night.." Because of my families moving needs, I don't usually stay in one spot for too long, and rarely make any good friends. I didn't even remember his name that morning. We exchanged some brief hurtful words jokingly, and continued with our day. I was zoning out it what I think was Spanish class when a familiar face poped up in front of the classroom door, snapping me out of my trance. I raised my hand immediately. "Yes Dante?" the teacher asked. "I need to be excused. Right now." I quickly said. "Well im sorry, but this is important information, you'll have to wait." he said as he turned his back to me. "I have diarrhea" I blurted out quickly. Everyone turned to look at me with a disgusted face. In my experience, you never have to explain that excuse, and nobody ever asks any questions. A sigh and wrist flick from the teach signaled me out. I grabbed my backpack and ran out the door, pencils and papers flying everywhere. And there, at the end of the hall looking in every classroom, was a man in a suit. "Hey creep!" I shouted at him. He quickly spun around to face me. "What are you looking for?" I asked. "I'm looking for a kid.. About your age. What is your name anyway you little snot-nosed prick." he barked at me. We began walking towards each other. "Dante!" I shouted back, gaining speed and dropping my backpack. "Got a problem buddy?" "I just might!" Said the man, as we now started running toward one another. "WHY DONT WE TAKE THIS OUTSIDE THEN!" We shouted at the same time. Mere feet from one another, I lept toward him, arm extended. He caught me, and held me tight so I couldn't move.. Looking down at me, I looked up to make eye contact. Being crushed, I let out a small peep.. "Hey dad"

My mother didnt tell me he was going to be home that morning. He said he wanted to surprise me and take me to play hooky and get icecream. Taking me in his expensive car, eating our sundaes, and laughing, I took a glance in the back seat of his car. A long gun metal grey thing caught my attention. "Hey dad, whats that?" I asked pointing in the back seat. He took a look and and turned back to face the road, turning slightly pink. "Its uh.." he said struggling to find the words. "Its just something i brought back for the house, its a decoration really." "Oh yeah?" i asked reaching back to grab it. "What Is it?" I picked it up from underneath his clothes in the back seat. "Its a sword you boob. Dont take it out though, its pretty sharp." As the last button up shirt fell from its sheath, i could finally get a good look at it. It sure was a sword. A katana to be exact. Its case was a matte dark grey, with black wrappings for the handle. As i looked up toward the hilt, I noticed something strange. A small metal ring was run between the guard and the sheath preventing me from taking it out. "I was going to, but it seems to be locked." I said in a cocky fashion. "How would you even know if it was sharp? Its not a lock thing on it." "Oh yeah!" He said with a chuckle. "Im not sure what I was worried about. Like i said, it was for decoration. Not for playing 'Fruit Ninja' in the yard. "Come on, please." I said replied.

Apparently my mom didnt know dad was coming home either. As we walk in the door, laughing away, my mother let out an excited squeal and hopped off the couch from watching her afternoon shows. They hugged for a while and she insisted he sit down and tell her all about his trip, as well as get upset at him for not bringing her icecream. Later that evening, I was sitting in my room and working on some homework when something caught my attention. From the open window, I head something stranger. It sounded like a short, sudden burst of wind, like something moving very fast. I stood up from my chair and walked to the open window and stuck my head out. I scanned the area, but didnt see anything.. And I heard it again. And again. Multiple times, very fast. I still couldnt see anything, but the sounds were getting louder and louder. And as suddenly as it began, it stopped. That was weird.. i thought as i went to close my window.. and then I smelled something. It was hard to explain.. but it smelled like.. Blood?

"Dante!" My mother called, "Come out here! we need to talk about something!" The smell had passed, and i was left with my head out the window looking like a crazy person. Shaking my head, i close the window and walk into the living room. "Sup" I say as if to announce my arrival. "Sit down a second," dad said as he stand in the middle of the living room, holding his hands and twiddling his fingers. He looked nervous. I sat down, very confused and slightly nervous. A moment of silence passed until i spoke up. "Sooooo.." "Okay here we go:" He said, beginning to pace. "So first things first, I know we haven't lived here very long, and I hate to have to ask this.." he said, stumbling over his words and pacing around the floor. I became increasingly uncomfortable. "So uh.. I just got a promotion at work and uh.. Well your mother and I think it would be best for us if.. Well if this time we all.. For the last time." "Move to Japan." my mother interrupted. "Seriously? My dad said, turning his attention to my mother. "You said i could do it! I was almost there!" "You werent following the script." she replied, "You gotta do it fast, like a band aid!" They argued to eachother as I zoned out, deep in thought. One last time.. I thought.. Then we could be like a normal family, and he would come home every night.. "Okay" I said, breaking up their argument. They turned to me. "What?" he said. "Okay. Lets do it." A smile crept over his face. "See? I told you I had this in the bag!" My father said with a giggle. "Youre an idiot." Said my mom as she walked toward me. "Im proud of you sweetie. We'll get packed up tomorrow." She said as she pulled my face down to hers to give me a kiss on the cheek.

So tomorrow huh.. I thought to myself. Thats when the real fun starts.