Chapter Two
Ryoga walked along a long stretch of road on his way to the Tendo Dojo. But in fact, it was leading him in the opposite direction of his intentioned destination, to a completely different part of town.
He thought he knew where he was going because he had wandered the town countless times before and thought he had formed an accurate mental map, but he was wrong. Instead, he came across the concrete enclosure to another dojo, the Hiroshi Dojo.
He had never seen this dojo before, but apparently it was very popular. When he looked through the archway entrance he saw that the entire courtyard was filled with students all wearing white gi's lined up in four lines listening to a tall man who was probably their sensei. Was this dojo new?
He stopped for a moment and listened to the lesson, but from what he heard -- it was child's play! What the sensei was teaching was the basic principles of martial arts and its acute applications. It was nothing new to Ryoga.
It looked like he had arrived near the end of their lesson, because soon the students dispersed and they entered the large, square dojo building in the back. The sensei did not follow them.
He turned and looked at Ryoga.
"You there!" he said to him. Ryoga jerked startled and pointed a finger at himself. "Yes… you." He smiled. "Please, come in." Ryoga approached him. "I noticed you were listening to the lesson."
"I was just passing through, I didn't mean to bother you," Ryoga said.
"It was no bother," he said. "Tell me, did it interest you?"
"It was mildly interesting, but nothing I haven't heard before from my father."
"Are you a martial artist?"
"Yes."
"What rank do you hold?"
"Rank? None."
"What is your skill level?"
"I just practice it, I don't measure my skill."
"What dojo do you belong to?"
"None, officially. But I often reside at the Tendo Dojo."
"So you're a student of Soun Tendo?"
"No, just an acquaintance. I'm a friend of the family."
"What's your name?"
"Ryouga," he said.
"I am Oro Hiroshi, owner of the Hiroshi Dojo. Welcome." He smiled friendly.
"I've never heard of this dojo before, is it new?"
"Yes, a few months now. I have over a hundred students, from beginners to advanced. I'm always on the look out for new blood, care for a tour?"
Ryouga shook his head. "No thanks, I train myself," he said.
"I never said you had to sign up, but if you're not interested then that's your prerogative."
Ryouga suddenly felt guilty. This man had offered to show him around his new dojo and he had flat out refused his kind offer? That's not the way a mature martial artist acted. He should have more respect for his elders. "On second thought, I'll take you up on your offer." If only not to sound rude.
Oro Hiroshi smiled. "Good, you won't regret it," he said.
He lead Ryouga across his spacious property and into his dojo. From Ryouga's perspective, it was twice the size of the Tendo Dojo. Next to him, next to the change rooms was a room designed for exercise equipment, and when he entered the actual dojo, near the back of the building, he couldn't believe how spacious it was. There was enough room to house twenty students at a time comfortably.
Something caught his eye and he saw several large glass cases of trophies standing up against the left wall. He wandered over and looked at them. From the inscriptions they were won by his students in several tournaments over the last five of years. "Impressive," he finally said honestly.
"My dojo has won over a dozen tournaments over the last five years," Oro Hiroshi said. "Unfortunately, I had to relocate due to problems beyond my control. But I won't get into that."
"But winning trophies doesn't make a martial artist, it takes dedication and equally hard work."
This time Oro Hiroshi was impressed. "You show wisdom, Ryouga!" he said. "A well balanced martial artist doesn't care about materialist wares and trophies to prove that he's wiser than his peers. Your father must be very proud of you?"
"My father is gone, he left a long time ago," Ryouga said with a thin frown. He hadn't seen his father is quite sometime, unfortunately afflicted with a bad sense of direction.
I suppose that's where I got it from? But he wasn't like that until he suffered a concession during a martial artists match. He had to retire after that.
"I'm sorry, what was his name?" But before Ryouga could say it, Hiroshi said, "Wait a minute! The face and eyes are a dead giveaway. I knew you looked familiar from the moment I saw you. You wouldn't be Taiotasha Hibiki's son, would you?"
Ryouga's eyebrows lurched in surprise. "Yes, that is father's name, but how do you know that?" he said.
"You're his son alright, you look just like him," Hiroshi said.
"My father always said I looked like my mother," Ryoga said.
"Father's always say that, it's a common trait among men," Oro Hiroshi said. "They never want to admit their son's look like them, because there's always something they dislike about themselves and they don't want to pass that trait down to their children. I knew your father all the way back in junior high school, we were classmates. He was an avid martial artist even back then, and he won a lot of tournaments. I was impressed with his talent. I bet he showed you a lot of his trophies, must like these?"
"He did, but he always said trophies don't make the martial artist, heart does."
"And he's absolutely right," Hiroshi said. "These are mere trinkets and bobbles won by my students, but I'm proud of each and every one. They tell me that all my hard work is paying off. And it shows that I'm giving something back to the community. I'm teaching kids that there is a better way to vent their frustration and anger in a world where darkness and despair looms around every corner."
"It's a cruel, dark world out there," Ryoga agreed.
"And why would you say something like that?"
"Because it is," he said. "And I'm trapped in it."
"A kid like you shouldn't feel trapped. Forgive me for being intrusive, but would you like to tell me what's bothering you?" Ryouga looked at him confused. "Your eyes say you're troubled about something. Perhaps talking about it would alleviate some of the tension."
Ryouga shook his head, and then proceeded to walk away. "Did I say something wrong?" he asked.
"It was nice meeting with an old friend of my father's, but I gotta go," Ryouga said.
"No, please stay," Hiroshi said. "It's been so long since I saw Taiotasha, I would to know how he died."
Ryouga looked back at him with sad eyes. "He died of a heart attack in his sleep," he said.
Oro Hiroshi sighed sad. "I'm sorry for you," he said. "I know how much is hurts to loose a father. My father died when I was only nine years old. It devastated me and I spent weeks alone in my room crying. I was angry at the world for taking him away from me. But I learned a valuable lesson from that experience, Ryouga, and this'll pertain to you as well. Whatever doesn't kill me, makes me stronger!"
"My father said that once when he broke his leg during a tournament when this sumo of a guy made an illegal move during the final match, but as the referee didn't see it he had to forfeit and lost the match. But a couple of months later when he was fully healed, he faced the same guy again and beat him. He was very proud of that and that's what I remember about my father most for, 'cause he never gave up!"
"Your father was a very courageous and an intelligent fighter and I owe him everything. He taught me everything I know. The last time I saw your father I decided to move here. I thought to give him a call just this week, but I got tied up with other business and I forget. I wish I knew of his passing, I would've come to his funeral."
"He's buried underneath a tall tree in the cemetery of my home town," Ryouga said. "And if I can ever find my way home again I want to go visit him."
Oro Hiroshi paused for a moment, then said puzzled, "If you can every find your way home again?"
"Yeah. I'm embarrassed to admit it, but I have a terrible sense of direction. I stumbled on your dojo by mistake. I was trying to find the Tendo Dojo. But I must've taken a wrong turn somewhere?"
Oro Hiroshi started to laugh. "You are your father's son," he said. "Taiotasha always got lost, too! When we were kids, I drew him a map of town. But he still couldn't find his way around. We tried everything to help him, but he was a hopeless case. Eventually he took classes to help improve his memory."
"Maybe there's hope for me then?" Ryouga said smirking.
"There's always hope," Hiroshi said smiling.
Just then, there was break in the conversion, as some of Hiroshi's students exited the change room. After saying good-by to him, they then left the dojo.
"Mr. Hiroshi, if you don't mind, could you tell me about my father?" Ryouga asked. "You know more about him than I ever did."
"What would you like to know?"
"Anything you can tell me. You two were childhood friends, you must have some stories?"
"I have lots of stories," Oro Hiroshi said. "Come in the house and I'll get you a cup of tea, then I'll tell you anything you want to know about your father."
Ryoga grinned, and then followed Oro Hiroshi out of the dojo.
To be continued…