Irony: The
Detail
Part 3: Kaibutsu
Cold wind blew across the land, and seeped into the caves at the base of Mount Fuji. Deep within these caves was a small home area, decorated with small trappings, salvaged from the now extinct manji village. Dimly lit with small manmade torches, this dank area was Yoshimitsu's new home for the time being. It was inhospitable and lonely, but it would only help to remind him of what he was trying to achieve. Revenge would not leave his troubled mind.
He began to train furiously since that time had passed. For days at a time he would practice one handed sword techniques with his remaining arm, fumbling awkwardly at the air with the hand he rarely used. Eventually he had gotten better, within a week of work. To build strength he would do one handed pushups among other strength training exercises. He would often loose track of time during his training sessions, and would go for days at a time. He did not eat, but he was constantly nourished. He did not sleep, yet he was never tired. Only once a week did he ever rest his body.
Yoshimitsu's old outfit was stuffed in an old burnt trunk. He trained bare backed, not bothering to work in his traditional garb. His chest and shoulder stump were wrapped in bandages, and a cloth was tied around his head to conceal his eye. Sometimes he could feel the empty space in his eye subtly fill in, but he never dared to inspect it out of disgust. Most of the time he simply ignored it.
There was definitely something wrong with him, but he did not notice. His body got stronger, and his mind fiercer. Slowly he seemed to forget those he was to avenge, and just focused on the revenge itself. The voice that told him to rise before was whispering ideas of hate in his mind as he trained nonstop. The voice murmured rumors of a weapon, capable of giving him all the power he needed.
Initially, Yoshimitsu ignored these voices entirely deeming them as hunger pains, or fatigue getting into his head. But as he grew stronger, the voice stung in his mind. A sword was beckoning to him, never leaving him alone and constantly pestering his mind. It promised him power to complete his vengeance, and assured him that his quest would end only in failure otherwise. It was then that he decided to investigate, only to quell this inane rumor, and put his mind at ease.
Yoshimitsu dawned
another manji outfit, and set out across the land to find rumors of
this magic sword. He challenged various local warriors to duels
(which he quickly won), and ask them for information. Most of the
time, he came across nothing. But little by little, and name
reoccurred, a legendary blade, known as the Soul Edge. The ultimate
weapon, born of the gods, hidden in the west. It would be difficult
for Yoshimitsu to travel to the west, his homelands he hardly
remembered, but it was made even more difficult when he was told that
many warriors sought out the blade.
Plans began to form instead
of training. Yoshimitsu would have to stowaway on a ship, and cross
China to find his destination, all while being undercover. When his
mind was made up to seek the blade, the voice went from harsh, to
seductive and sweet. The voice told him names of warriors, warriors
he was sure to meet, warriors that he was to kill to get his prize. Yoshimitsu was apprehensive to outright kill in cold blood, but the
voice would remind him of his vengeance.
Another aspect of the journey that worried Yoshimitsu was his current disability. He could handle the sword again but he was at a large disadvantage missing an arm and eye. But just as his fears would arrive, the voice would strike them down, assuring his strength and hatred was deep. He had no room for fear, the voice told him. He would be fighting Spartans, samurai, knights, barbarians and other ninja.
Yoshimitsu created a new outfit to operate in while he was in the west. It was slightly darker than usual utilizing negative colors, lighter in weight (with reduced armor), and more menacing. He had carved a white demonic mask to wear, to draw fear from his enemies. He would have no allies in the west, and would make no room for mercy. As symbol of his pride, he also wore his sashimono on his back. His foes would know who beat them.
He packed little provisions, and left his cave as it was, with his altar and cot still there. He forgot to pray on his way out, but it wasn't unusual. Since he started training, he had frequently forgotten prayer. A boat heading towards China was quickly found, which he had stowed away on. His stealth was masterful, and he was never discovered.
The voice had proven itself a useful instructor to Yoshimitsu during the sailing. In an instant he knew the various languages of the west, and was taught which language to address each warrior in. This kept his mind off of the boat itself. Yoshimitsu had not sailed in years, and being back on the ocean that swallowed his family was an uncomfortable notion. He would quietly meditate to calm himself.
When he reached mainland, he quickly set off, searching for people who had information. He challenged countless warriors across China and even in the west, none of them were the ones he sought. In frustration, he killed many would be warriors not even considering what he had done. The voice he heard was too distracting. He became locally referred to as "a one armed demon". He had the strength of a samurai, but the speed of a ninja according to eyewitness.
Just when he was passing out of China, he finally ran into one of the warriors told about by the voice. A young Korean girl, wielding (what he perceived to be) a naginata-esque weapon. Her sheer spunk alone had slightly agitated Yoshimitsu and even more so the voice in his head, calling her words "self righteous bile". Yoshimitsu kept his words short, speaking in his false voice, only asking questions about the Soul Edge. She had heard the small rumor of Yoshimitsu, and found him. What the two did have in common, was that they were searching for the Soul Edge. The voice alerted Yoshimitsu that she was not worthy to find the weapon.
Quickly, Yoshimitsu engaged the girl in battle, expecting to kill her in one strike. But his one armed lung was blocked, and blocked perfectly. Yoshimitsu was very pleased to have found a warrior to give him a real fight. An intricate dance of slashes and blocks were exchanged by the two. She tried to take advantage of his unarmed side, but Yoshimitsu was fast and deceptive. The voice in his head raged furiously out of control, telling him a plethora of "violent things to do to her". But it was the voices hatred that made Yoshimitsu loose his focus, and take the blunt end of the girl's weapon to the side of his head. The girl was ready to deliver a critical blow to him, when he regained his wits, and delivered the hilt of his sword sharply into her gut. While she was toppled over, he sharply kicked her unguarded head, knocking her down and out.
Yoshimitsu was ready to pierce his steel through her neck, when the voice came back, egging him on to complete his task. The voice even spoke her name, Seong Mi-na. But it was that which halted Yoshimitsu. He knew her name now, and suddenly her face and voice took over his subconscious, etching them into his memory. Killing someone whose name he knew seemed very wrong. He was a ninja, but he was rarely forced to kill, except those lives he recently took. He didn't seem to remember THOSE. The voice in his head tried to beckon him, but it faded away suddenly. A small ripple of mercy splashed through him, and he sheathed his sword. He would not kill this girl. He would find his answers without her.
He left her, continuing his journey. He had the names of the other warriors, he would seek them out instead. At this point, he nervously acknowledged that there could be an outside force involved in his mind. He had not initially noticed this voice, but during that fight he felt that it more than ever, clearly hearing its distinct voice. The voice was one he had never heard before. But it would come back from time to time, and seduce him into a false sense of inner peace once again. His encounter with the Korean would not stop his slaughter of lesser warriors.
He rarely needed to eat or sleep while he traveled, so he could gain great distance over short time. He felt an irritating sting of some kind of infectious activity occurring on the stump of his missing arm, and within the socket of his missing eye. He would not shed his disguise regularly though, so he never checked. Any wounds he received in battle would not stay visible on his body long anyway. His strange new physical prowess was something else he was beginning to realize.
His travels took him into the west, looking for the sword. He fought more small time fighters, but would occasionally run into targets the voice was telling him about. At one point he was challenged by an arrogant Samurai, who was named Mitsurugi. The battle was quicker than before, and it actually resulted in Yoshimitsu loosing. Mitsurugi had impaled Yoshimitsu all the way through his chest, and left him for dead. Yoshimitsu could not fight the swordsman with one arm. The talented samurai just had a bigger range of motion. He survived the wound however; it fully healed within a day, something that upset Yoshimitsu. He was happy to be alive, but worried that such a fatal blow could not disarm him even for a few days. Yoshimitsu would remember the arrogance of the Samurai Mitsurugi in any case.
After more traveling, he began to follow a path of massacres. Whole armies and even worse, villages lay in ruins, survivors claiming one man had done it, wielding the "Sword of Salvation". In a normal situation, he would have stayed behind to help survivors. Seeing dead armies was one thing, but ravaged villages were a catastrophe. Farmers protecting their land lay beheaded, their young sons next to them, split in two. Wives, daughters, workers, guards all shared the same fate. Yoshimitsu followed these war zones, the voice distracting him from all the carnage, keeping him from praying for the lost souls, or helping the survivors like he usually would. All of his apathy was working against him. Slowly, Yoshimitsu was loosing his humanity and his identity he wanted to keep so greatly. He slowly forgot all about Kaori and his lost sister, and only focused on the Soul Edge. He had dropped to a new level of existence, only knowing obsession, pride, and anger.
His third major encounter was different. This warrior, had found HIM instead, a kunoichi, by the name of Taki. She was a more traditional ninja, something the manji clan had looked down upon. They resorted to cheap illusion trickery and stealth based clothing to do the job. The woman vigorously attacked him not wasting any time and aiming at vital points right away. Yoshimitsu's katana successfully blocked them all, and after the final one had stopped, he swiftly kicked his leg into the side of her knee, sweeping her. Instead of delivering a killing blow to her back, he backed off. He was very impressed by her performance. Her quick, 'get-the-job-done' logical way of fighting reminded him slightly of Kaori, who had since left his mind. She cursed and grunted getting to her feet once more, shooting Yoshimitsu a scornful glare. The voice, even louder than before, had commanded him to clear his mind and focus.
She was also quick to insults during their fight, constantly calling him a 'demon'. Yoshimitsu was under the impression that she was referring to his mask. As well versed as Taki was at ninjutsu, Yoshimitsu's improvisational skill was greater. She was sloppy, and as the battles progressed longer, she ran out of techniques to surprise him with. Yoshimitsu had bested her, knocking the weapons out of her hand, and grounding her. He kept a firm foot on her stomach, to keep her from moving. He was about to kill her too, something the voice was delighting in perhaps too much. It was then that Taki referred to him as a demon once again, with much disgust in her voice.
Yoshimitsu had laughed coyly at that, retorting with the words:
"You really think that I am a demon? I' am no demon, I am Yoshimitsu! Had enough?!"
These words confused her. She explained to him why she had sought him out, before he could impale her. She had sensed the demonic aura of the Azure Knight, the man wielding the soul edge, and slaughtering the innocent. Conveniently, Yoshimitsu recalled all of the carnage he had seen of the villages (a ploy used by the voice to only make him angrier). Yoshimitsu moved his foot up to her chest, violently pushing down, his anger fueled by insult. He jammed his blade down, right next to her head, missing by less than a centimeter.
"You dare imply that I am the same as the murderous barbarian ravaging those people?! There is no worse insult, you lowly assassin whore!" He hollered at her, his voice changing drastically from his eccentric calm demeanor, to a deeper voiced growl. He almost sounded like a different person entirely (a talent that the manji could achieve through training).
"Your aura is deformed, warrior!" She said through stifled grunts. "I sense the taint of the blade itself in your body, exerting force on your mind!"
Then, she looked up at him, accidentally catching his good eye through the unforgiving mask. The look in her eyes was the look of sincerity. And the evidence he had been trying to ignore of his indoctrination built up. He released his foot from her, and she stood. She was calm, realizing that she had reached his mind. Yoshimitsu sheathed his blade after that, fearing that any more fighting could worsen his condition.
He was amazed that this lowly ninja could sense auras. He knew that Emiko could, but he had never learned how. Taki talked him out of his frenzy, erasing the voice entirely from his head, her words and chants therapeutic and purifying. This time the deranged voice would not come back. Taki had urged him to seek further purification after she had calmed his mind. His aura was almost exactly like the Azure Knights she observed, something that greatly troubled Yoshimitsu. He had vowed to her that he would correct his problems, and she believed his sincerity. Taki needed to move on, but she was intrigued, and stayed to converse for a few minutes. She had never met a manji before as they were very secretive. She knew he was a manji by the way he dressed and spoke. This was the first time she had fought a manji ninja, so she had no way to read his techniques initially. He had mentioned how he was impressed by her techniques, them being a lot less flash than what he was taught. She saw the importance of being able to fool the enemy into trying to guess attacks, but told him that she was no good at that kind of thing. Through their talking, he had learned what she was journeying for, and wished her luck. Eventually, she kept moving on. She was trying to reach the sword too, but not for the same reasons.
Yoshimitsu found himself a sanctuary, to meditate. It was a secluded babbling brook, with a small waterfall nearby, a perfect natural place. For the first time in a month, he had removed his mask and armor. Some small patches of facial hair were growing on his face, and his hair had grown slightly longer. He had not removed his bandages yet though. It was there that he began to meditate on the rocks near the brook. It was the deepest meditation he had in his life. Suddenly, all the things he forgot came back. Kaori returned to his memories, as did the memories of his family, repressed childhood memories of the ship. He had remembered his battle with Oda, and why he was all the way in the west at all. He recalled that his sister was still lost in Japan, and he never went to see her. But most of all, he remembered the blade that had disarmed him. He had felt the hatred radiating off of it when he saw it, hatred similar to the one he had used as a weapon. He realized that the blade must have been Soul Edge, or part of it. He suddenly could clearly see all the dead left behind from the Soul Edge. The massacred villages he passed, terrible destruction rained down by the Soul Edge. He even remembered the small amount of slaying he did himself to find the Soul Edge. The voice in his head was the voice of the sword, trying to complete itself. Yoshimitsu had become a pawn of darkness, and he was too weak minded to see it, until now.
It was amazing to him that he could simply forget his purpose. The swords power of control was definitely dangerous. He considered Lord Oda once again. Could he be just another pawn of the sword, and his quest for power was the Soul Edge itself trying to dominate? That would mean that his beloved village was just another massacre, no different than the ones he had passed. The images he previously didn't appear to notice flooded him. He had stepped over bodies, ignored wounded survivors; something that he felt was unforgivable. What was worse, he had killed warriors in cold blood. The first time he had killed in cold blood, and he had done it soullessly. It disgusted him. The very thought of acting in such a dishonorable way left a sour taste in his mouth. He had been raised better than that.
He realized how easy it was for a sword of such power to seduce powerful warriors into its legion. Already this Azure Knight was collecting kills for it, spreading its terror all around. This sword could take over the hopes and dreams of all, ruling a greater part of civilization with an iron fist. Yoshimitsu saw its evil taint in his meditation, and decided that such a weapon should be destroyed. They could not rely on gods or miracles to rid the world of this evil, it would have to be humans themselves. Hours passed, and he broke out of his meditation. After that, he had fallen asleep. He had not slept in over three weeks.
His dreams were not his own that night. He saw memories, but memories of another. He saw things play out from the point of view of the Azure Knight himself. More deaths, and various fights of faces he recognized, but didn't know. A blonde Grecian woman kept reoccurring in the Azure Knights head. Whoever this poor soul was, the sword had him too, and would not let him go. From all the death he saw, Yoshimitsu knew from that point on that killing would not be his way. He swore off the murder of others forever during that dream. A pain in his head would awake him.
He woke on the ground, rubbing his head. His head was aching monstrously, coming from his eye. He sat up, feeling weighted down on one side. He looked over, and saw another appendage splitting from his body. It was a brown, fleshy arm, disfigured and unnaturally large, with clawed hands. The voice had been silenced, but the Soul Edge would not stop in tying to gain another obedient disciple. Yoshimitsu let out a terrified shout, and instantly reached for his sword, as his own new arm wailed and slithered out of control.
Using the blade, he
sliced the arm off while grunting through the pain. But being
removed from his body would not stop it. It slithered and crawled
towards its previous owner in retaliation. Yoshimitsu wildly slashed
and hacked it, desperate to kill it. Eventually, the gnarled arm
ceased to be. He collapsed back on his rear, the sheer disturbing
incident enough to make him loose feeling in his legs. Sweat poured
down his face, as his eye stared at the bloody mess. That was
growing out of his body, but something about it was so foreign and
foul. He quickly shed the bandages around his eye just to be sure,
for he could not deny the same stinging sensation from his arm
existed around his face.. When he pulled them away, and vision on
the blind half of his face was restored. Quickly finding water to
see his reflection, a glowing eye had grown in the empty scratched up
socket. It was yellow and demonic, matching the large eye on the
side of the Soul Edge. But it was not doing anything out of control. In fact it acted just like his regular eye, albeit with a yellowish
tint to its color. Slightly glad to have his vision restored (and
fearing he would further injure himself if he cut it out), he did not
remove it.
But he knew what was going on with his body. There
were shards in his body, he remembered. Now they were permanently
wedged in. Yoshimitsu's meditating opened his eyes to many things,
such as the Soul Edge's indoctrinatory control over certain hosts. Sensing that he had found out and loosing its voice in the process,
the Soul Edge in his body made a drastic move, and attempted to
physically overtake his body. The problem was, the shards were too
small to take over entirely. It could only control one large arm.
He wrapped up his stump again, trying not to panic. It would grow back in time, and he needed to find a way to stop it. All he could think to do was return home, and attempt to find a holy man to quell the virus, or remove the shards at risk. At the same time, he would tie up loose ends if he could. He quickly suited up in his attire again, and quickly started heading back east, as fast as he could.
He was fueled by fear this time, instead of hate. Already he could feel the stinging growth on his arm. He stopped for nothing, not food nor sleep. In this time, he had noticed some abilities of his new eye that would come in handy. Anyone he would momentarily pass, he could see their auras with the Soul Edge's eye. Also, at times the vision of that particular eye would switch its perspective. Sometimes the eye would see what the Azure Knight's sword was seeing. When Yoshimitsu would learn to control this, it would make following the swords heinous activities much easier. But at the same time, unknown to Yoshimitsu, the sword knew that he could watch, and yet it could do nothing about it. But the sword could do the same thing back to him. It could see what he was seeing at times too.
Eventually Yoshimitsu returned to Japan. His cave was just how he left it, with his altar and cot still there. He quickly disrobed from his outfit to check the growth. His eye had remained the same, thankfully. But his arm was already trying to regroup itself. It was a mere fleshy atrophy trying to wiggle itself into growing faster. Yoshimitsu had very little time before it got out of hand again, and he began to think of various spiritual advisors to help him. He could think of none in his panic, and began praying in front of his wooden altar. He received no epiphanies, or spiritual advice. In frustration, he hit the altar cursing its uselessness, while brushing the growing brown flesh on it. It made the flesh shrink, and retract to a single point. It was blessed with positive energy, making the soul edges growth retracts into hiding. This gave Yoshimitsu an idea. He could halt the growing, and not compromise his situation at the same time.
Slowly his eccentricities began to arise again. A fantastic, foolish plan formed in his head. He could still fight with two arms, and stop the soul edge form controlling his arm. He carved bits and pieces of that alter off, and began to construct a sophisticated device from it. It would appear the Soul Edge's affect on his brain gave him some uncannily clever intellect. He had constructed a prosthetic wooden arm out of the altars wood. Perhaps the blessed altar would have some use.
He attached the detailed wood to his arm, and it fit perfectly. It wasn't much, but he could feel its purity keeping the soul edge growth at bay, but not destroying it. But that was not the only good thing to come out of his experimental replacement. Before he could realize his eye noticed the wood, and began to glow. A few seconds later, the arm itself glowed brightly, and then diminished back to normal as if nothing had happened. Yoshimitsu blinked confusedly at this occurrence, as it only lasted for three seconds and ended anticlimactically. To his amazement, the arm began to move. He could control this wooden arm like his old arm, all the finger movements and motion retained. He could now fight with two hands again.
Out of the tragedies and journeys he experienced, he became a stronger warrior, channeling the strength of the Soul Edge to become his own. Slowly, Yoshimitsu forgot his revenge plot against Oda Nobunaga. It would make him no better than the Azure Knight to kill him. In any case, the real culprit behind his clan's massacre was the Soul Edge. He made it his mission to see to it that it would eventually be destroyed, even if it required him to secretly guide others to its destruction.
From that day on, he never again forgot his family, and their senseless destruction. He never forgot the faces of those he slew, and the faces of those he wished he could have helped. He would never forget the face of the first worthy warriors he faced. He would face Mitsurugi again in the future, in an attempt to quell his arrogance. He would become good friends with Taki, the woman who saved him from the Soul Edge. He would become the target of hatred from a bizarre mute named Voldo, who would attempt to steal his sword. The man was utterly creepy, and even dressed in a more ridiculous fashion than Yoshimitsu. But he never planned to reveal his face to them, remembering the shame he felt as a displaced man with no real home.
He also changed in another, more noticeable way. He began wearing bright colors again, with ridiculous outfits to accompany his blissful and delightful manic-ness that he put on in the West. These strange looks were perfect to distract the unaware warriors of his meddling in things. He became positive and eccentric again, perhaps to hide his true fears. He never again killed a warrior either. He was skilled enough to merely disarm his opponents, but never kill them. He faced many of the important fighters multiple times. He was tricky, and never severely harmed them. A few of them debated whether Yoshimitsu was real or merely a dream. He would always offer words of wisdom to the warriors who would listen to him. He would eventually find his long lost sister "Setsuka" on the battlefield, pursuing none other than the arrogant samurai Mitsurugi in her own scheme of revenge, weaved by the Soul Edge. It seemed that many of these warriors' fates were intertwined by destiny, including his own.
In the time to come, Yoshimitsu would shape the important events of the battles. He secretly worked undercover, using the Soul Edge's own eye against it, and the Soul Edge had not acknowledged him as a threat yet. Every time he would meet a warrior, he would throw them awry with clever words, and direct them towards the destruction of the Soul Edge. He continuously found himself leading a group of Chinese warriors in the right direction after discovering one of them wielding the Soul Caliber, the Soul Edge's opposite. He would put on his 'act' for them as well, occasionally speaking serious to them to appeal to their trust. The only other time he spoke normal was in the presence of Taki.
But eventually the Soul Edge would catch onto Yoshimitsu's secret meddling. This was answered by his new servant Tira, who acted obediently, but would serve as a stepping stone for the Soul Edge to gain another more powerful ally. The sword had worked her in Yoshimitsu's direction, alerting her of the secrets he held. It intended for Yoshimitsu to eventually kill her, making his mind weak to the indoctrination of the Soul Edge, and add him to its list of powerful slaves. Ironically, it was Taki who saved Yoshimitsu's mind a second time.
Even now, his story is not completely finished. There was still more to do, the Soul Edge was only gaining power it seemed. Yoshimitsu would not rest until all traces of the blade were gone. But as the fights went by, his real self was getting revealed little at a time. The Nightmare knew, the girl Tira knew, and now Taki new. Soon he would not have a shadow to hide behind.
