My Heart Won't Skip A Beat
A/N: Please do not take any of the language in this story personally; some of the language in this piece includes prejudice words like, 'limey' and 'mick'. I do not mean to use these words in an offensive matter towards the readers. So please, do not flame me for that use.
~*~*~*
Deception was a cruel way to tell this boys life. So young and for what? To say that his life was worth nothing but to serve others and though he had such a life planned for himself. it would never come. He could only blink out the tears of fear that he had for the future.
So young.
His parents died not even a year ago, from a new decease called cholera that was spreading around the village. Of course, most of the village folk could not afford medication from apothecaries, so they all died. And please, do not think of their deaths as one plethora of people that died at once. Think of it as each person, dying one by one.
His parents were nothing but a poor mixed couple, taking care of there only son, hoping that if he were to face hardships, he would be ready. The boy was half-Irish from his father, and half Japanese from his mother. He could remember grasping onto his mother's life, begging her not to leave him, begging her to stay and take care of him. Nevertheless, as the clutch of his mother's hand began to loosen, he knew he was alone.
However, this boy was a survivor. This boy was not meant to die, and he did not want to either. He had the will. A will like no other, and this power to live slept inside an eight-year-old orphan boy, who could only watch.
"Don't cry," said one of the women, surrounding him with there arms, "We'll all be together, we won't let you go, Shinta." The boy could only clutch to the woman's arm. The wagon shook uncontrollably as it rolled over rocks and sticks. He shut his eyes tightly buried his face in the woman's thin arms. His tears soaked inside the woman's clothing.
"It will be alright, Shinta, you will see, don't worry. You will see." the woman began to run her fingers through Shinta's thick mass of red hair. As the jabbering of the people in the wagon stopped, as well as the wagon, Shinta looked up, and saw only what he was going to become.
"All o' ya! Ou' da wagon!" Shinta felt a hand wrap around his arm and tanked him out roughly. A man picked him up and set him on the ground. Shinta looked around in his environment, he was infront of a very large house, and to him it was like a castle! At least he thought it looked like a castle from what was described to him in his father's stories.
"Awight! Al' o' you r' gonna stand in a strai' line, and you r' gonna let Mr. Yukishiro pick one o' ya! Naw, do as I tell ya! MOVE!" All of the people formed in a long line across the front of the yard. Shinta just stood, baffled, until a man yanked him from where he was standing and brought him into the line. The man who had been telling them all these commands walked towards the line of people. He walked up and down the line making sure that none of them escaped Shinta looked at the man, as he finished inspecting the people, he turned around and Shinta saw the Kanji symbol 'slave trader' on his back. The slave trader was probably the most hideous man he has ever seen in his life. The slave trader had a large built, and had scars all over his face and a huge nose with hairs sticking out of it. He also had gray hair sticking out in all sorts of directions. The slave trader turned around and noticed that Shinta was looking at him.
"What 'r ya lookin' at ya filth?" he charged towards Shinta and picked him up by his collar, "Lookin' at me face eh? What's wrong? Don' like it? 'Cause I think that I am pretty attractive don' ya think?" the slave trader through Shinta to the ground and said, "Get Back 'n line!" Shinta did as the slave trader said and scurried back in his line.
Shinta could here many moans of tiredness out the many slaves. However, as a man walked out of the castle, they all stopped in either fear, or of a great deal of respect. The man looked in his late thirties, he had black hair that was slick back and a nicely shaven mustache right under his nose. He was dressed in clothes that Shinta has never seen before, so he knew that this man must have been rich. The man walked up and down the selection in front of him, and stopped right in front of Shinta and stared. Shinta stared up at him and backed away.
"It is alright boy I am not going to hurt you," he said in a passive voice, "What is your name?"
Shinta stared at the man, and said in a very low voice, "Shinta, my name is Shinta." The man smiled at him and said, "And what are you doing here Shinta? Why are you in such a horrible predicament?" Shinta just stared at the man, he did not know what 'predicament' meant, but he was not going to question the man either. Therefore, he answered him as best as he could, "My parents died from a decease call cholera, and so did the rest of the people who lived in my village, that man over there," Shinta pointed to the slave trader, "he took me away."
The rich man slowly nodded his head, "I see, how old are you, Shinta?"
"I'm eight," he said, still so timid.
The rich man smiled and stood up, he grabbed Shinta's shoulder and pulled him out of the line, "500 yen for this boy," the rich man yelled out to the slave trader. The slave trader smirked, "He ain't worth 500, why would you want a runt like him? He ain't worth nothin'," the slave trader pulled a piece of straw out of the wagon and put it in his mouth, and began to chew on it.
"1500."
The slave trader's eyes bulged, "1500? Are you out o' yer mind?" The rich man grabbed Shinta's hand and squeezed it, "If I were out of my mind, would I even be able to afford such a child?" Shinta looked behind his shoulder to look at the woman who said that they would always be together. The woman had tears rolling down her eyes; she smiled and mouthed the word, 'go'. Shinta looked back up at the trader, "Why de 'ell would ya want this scrawny little rat? Look a' 'im, he's pathetic. I 'urd 'bout his parents, he is nothin' but a half-breed, filthy Irish mick!" The slave trader spat every time he opened his mouth. Shinta hid behind the rich man and his eyes were still set on the slave trader.
The rich man glared at the slave trader, "I do not care what his heritage is, and no boy deserves such life. He is the only child in that group of people, and I show pity towards him. I want to give this boy a life," the rich man stared deeply with a cold glare in the slave trader's eyes. The slave trader knew that the argument had to end there.
"Fine," he said, "If he is worth so much to you, then I want 5000 yen for him," the slave trader took the piece of straw out of his mouth and threw it to the side.
"Then it is a deal," the rich man said, nodding his head, "You will have your money by next week, now please get off of my property." The slave trader glared at Shinta with icy stare.
~*~*~*
Shinta entered the castle and it was the most beautiful place he had ever seen. The windows had beautiful, red velvet curtains that were tied apart with two gold ropes. There were mirrors and portraits of people a long the halls of the castle, and there was even carpeting! The rich man grabbed Shinta's hand and pulled him lightly to start walking; Shinta squeezed his hand as tight as he could, and said, "Is this is castle?" The man smiled and gave a small chuckle, "No, this is not a castle, it is a mansion, and there is a great difference between the two."
"What would that be?" Shinta said out of pure curiosity. He looked up at the man and tilted his head to the side. The man smiled and stumbled when he lost track of what he was thinking. He picked up his balance and looked down at Shinta and said, "Well, they have two completely different structures, for example, a castle has many more wings and different stories and towers. A mansion has about six wings maximum and it looks more like a large house with many balconies." Shinta looked at him utterly confused, but he was not going to ask any more questions, because he knew that he would not understand.
The rich man led Shinta to a very large, very detailed, embossed door.
"Shinta, before I explain things to you, let me introduce myself, my name is Hiro Yukishiro; I am a government official, and I run the foreign trade office. Inside here, is a friend of the family, and he is very anxious to meet you, don't be nervous." Mr. Yukishiro opened the door and Shinta looked at the man infront of him, he was laying down on a sofa with his feet on it, leaving dirt on as he got up. He was a very muscular man, he had long black hair that was tied back in a low pony tail, and he had a huge cape around his shoulders.
"Shinta, I would like you to meet Seijuiro Hiko, he is going to be your sensei," Shinta looked in awe at the man for he looked extremely powerful, and he was so tall. The man walked around Shinta staring icily down at him.
"This is the boy I must train?" He kneeled down to Shinta's height and grabbed his chin and turned his head side to side, "O boy. we have a lot of work to do," he heaved a heavy sigh and put his hand over his face. He stood up and walked towards Mr. Yukishiro, "How old is the boy?"
"He told me he was eight," Mr. Yukishiro said, staring down at Shinta.
"Well, at least he has a good age to start. What's his heritage?"
"Half Irish and and half Japanese."
"Irish eh? Not bad, atleast I know he is going to have some muscle when he is older," he walked towards Shinta and kneeled back down to him, "So kid, do you know why yo are here?" Shinta shook his head very slowly.
"Alright, I see you are the silent type, but then again I already could tell just by looking at you. But that's alright, your timidness won't exist anymore when I am through with you." The man patted Shinta on the head as he stood up.
"When do you want to start the lessons?" Mr. Yukishiro said.
"Tomorrow, I'll be here at the crack of dawn. Make sure he's ready." And that was the last thing he said, and with that, he had left through the doorway. Shinta just stared, panick was overflowing inside of him. What was going on?
"Mr. Yukishiro!" Shinta cried, "What's going on? Who was that man, and whay am I here?" Mr Yukishiro just smiled and said, "You are to be a samurai, and you will be the best of the best."
*~*~*~
A/N: I hope that you all liked it, I tried to put as much detail as I could. If I have any spelling or grammar error pelase tell me.
A/N: Please do not take any of the language in this story personally; some of the language in this piece includes prejudice words like, 'limey' and 'mick'. I do not mean to use these words in an offensive matter towards the readers. So please, do not flame me for that use.
~*~*~*
Deception was a cruel way to tell this boys life. So young and for what? To say that his life was worth nothing but to serve others and though he had such a life planned for himself. it would never come. He could only blink out the tears of fear that he had for the future.
So young.
His parents died not even a year ago, from a new decease called cholera that was spreading around the village. Of course, most of the village folk could not afford medication from apothecaries, so they all died. And please, do not think of their deaths as one plethora of people that died at once. Think of it as each person, dying one by one.
His parents were nothing but a poor mixed couple, taking care of there only son, hoping that if he were to face hardships, he would be ready. The boy was half-Irish from his father, and half Japanese from his mother. He could remember grasping onto his mother's life, begging her not to leave him, begging her to stay and take care of him. Nevertheless, as the clutch of his mother's hand began to loosen, he knew he was alone.
However, this boy was a survivor. This boy was not meant to die, and he did not want to either. He had the will. A will like no other, and this power to live slept inside an eight-year-old orphan boy, who could only watch.
"Don't cry," said one of the women, surrounding him with there arms, "We'll all be together, we won't let you go, Shinta." The boy could only clutch to the woman's arm. The wagon shook uncontrollably as it rolled over rocks and sticks. He shut his eyes tightly buried his face in the woman's thin arms. His tears soaked inside the woman's clothing.
"It will be alright, Shinta, you will see, don't worry. You will see." the woman began to run her fingers through Shinta's thick mass of red hair. As the jabbering of the people in the wagon stopped, as well as the wagon, Shinta looked up, and saw only what he was going to become.
"All o' ya! Ou' da wagon!" Shinta felt a hand wrap around his arm and tanked him out roughly. A man picked him up and set him on the ground. Shinta looked around in his environment, he was infront of a very large house, and to him it was like a castle! At least he thought it looked like a castle from what was described to him in his father's stories.
"Awight! Al' o' you r' gonna stand in a strai' line, and you r' gonna let Mr. Yukishiro pick one o' ya! Naw, do as I tell ya! MOVE!" All of the people formed in a long line across the front of the yard. Shinta just stood, baffled, until a man yanked him from where he was standing and brought him into the line. The man who had been telling them all these commands walked towards the line of people. He walked up and down the line making sure that none of them escaped Shinta looked at the man, as he finished inspecting the people, he turned around and Shinta saw the Kanji symbol 'slave trader' on his back. The slave trader was probably the most hideous man he has ever seen in his life. The slave trader had a large built, and had scars all over his face and a huge nose with hairs sticking out of it. He also had gray hair sticking out in all sorts of directions. The slave trader turned around and noticed that Shinta was looking at him.
"What 'r ya lookin' at ya filth?" he charged towards Shinta and picked him up by his collar, "Lookin' at me face eh? What's wrong? Don' like it? 'Cause I think that I am pretty attractive don' ya think?" the slave trader through Shinta to the ground and said, "Get Back 'n line!" Shinta did as the slave trader said and scurried back in his line.
Shinta could here many moans of tiredness out the many slaves. However, as a man walked out of the castle, they all stopped in either fear, or of a great deal of respect. The man looked in his late thirties, he had black hair that was slick back and a nicely shaven mustache right under his nose. He was dressed in clothes that Shinta has never seen before, so he knew that this man must have been rich. The man walked up and down the selection in front of him, and stopped right in front of Shinta and stared. Shinta stared up at him and backed away.
"It is alright boy I am not going to hurt you," he said in a passive voice, "What is your name?"
Shinta stared at the man, and said in a very low voice, "Shinta, my name is Shinta." The man smiled at him and said, "And what are you doing here Shinta? Why are you in such a horrible predicament?" Shinta just stared at the man, he did not know what 'predicament' meant, but he was not going to question the man either. Therefore, he answered him as best as he could, "My parents died from a decease call cholera, and so did the rest of the people who lived in my village, that man over there," Shinta pointed to the slave trader, "he took me away."
The rich man slowly nodded his head, "I see, how old are you, Shinta?"
"I'm eight," he said, still so timid.
The rich man smiled and stood up, he grabbed Shinta's shoulder and pulled him out of the line, "500 yen for this boy," the rich man yelled out to the slave trader. The slave trader smirked, "He ain't worth 500, why would you want a runt like him? He ain't worth nothin'," the slave trader pulled a piece of straw out of the wagon and put it in his mouth, and began to chew on it.
"1500."
The slave trader's eyes bulged, "1500? Are you out o' yer mind?" The rich man grabbed Shinta's hand and squeezed it, "If I were out of my mind, would I even be able to afford such a child?" Shinta looked behind his shoulder to look at the woman who said that they would always be together. The woman had tears rolling down her eyes; she smiled and mouthed the word, 'go'. Shinta looked back up at the trader, "Why de 'ell would ya want this scrawny little rat? Look a' 'im, he's pathetic. I 'urd 'bout his parents, he is nothin' but a half-breed, filthy Irish mick!" The slave trader spat every time he opened his mouth. Shinta hid behind the rich man and his eyes were still set on the slave trader.
The rich man glared at the slave trader, "I do not care what his heritage is, and no boy deserves such life. He is the only child in that group of people, and I show pity towards him. I want to give this boy a life," the rich man stared deeply with a cold glare in the slave trader's eyes. The slave trader knew that the argument had to end there.
"Fine," he said, "If he is worth so much to you, then I want 5000 yen for him," the slave trader took the piece of straw out of his mouth and threw it to the side.
"Then it is a deal," the rich man said, nodding his head, "You will have your money by next week, now please get off of my property." The slave trader glared at Shinta with icy stare.
~*~*~*
Shinta entered the castle and it was the most beautiful place he had ever seen. The windows had beautiful, red velvet curtains that were tied apart with two gold ropes. There were mirrors and portraits of people a long the halls of the castle, and there was even carpeting! The rich man grabbed Shinta's hand and pulled him lightly to start walking; Shinta squeezed his hand as tight as he could, and said, "Is this is castle?" The man smiled and gave a small chuckle, "No, this is not a castle, it is a mansion, and there is a great difference between the two."
"What would that be?" Shinta said out of pure curiosity. He looked up at the man and tilted his head to the side. The man smiled and stumbled when he lost track of what he was thinking. He picked up his balance and looked down at Shinta and said, "Well, they have two completely different structures, for example, a castle has many more wings and different stories and towers. A mansion has about six wings maximum and it looks more like a large house with many balconies." Shinta looked at him utterly confused, but he was not going to ask any more questions, because he knew that he would not understand.
The rich man led Shinta to a very large, very detailed, embossed door.
"Shinta, before I explain things to you, let me introduce myself, my name is Hiro Yukishiro; I am a government official, and I run the foreign trade office. Inside here, is a friend of the family, and he is very anxious to meet you, don't be nervous." Mr. Yukishiro opened the door and Shinta looked at the man infront of him, he was laying down on a sofa with his feet on it, leaving dirt on as he got up. He was a very muscular man, he had long black hair that was tied back in a low pony tail, and he had a huge cape around his shoulders.
"Shinta, I would like you to meet Seijuiro Hiko, he is going to be your sensei," Shinta looked in awe at the man for he looked extremely powerful, and he was so tall. The man walked around Shinta staring icily down at him.
"This is the boy I must train?" He kneeled down to Shinta's height and grabbed his chin and turned his head side to side, "O boy. we have a lot of work to do," he heaved a heavy sigh and put his hand over his face. He stood up and walked towards Mr. Yukishiro, "How old is the boy?"
"He told me he was eight," Mr. Yukishiro said, staring down at Shinta.
"Well, at least he has a good age to start. What's his heritage?"
"Half Irish and and half Japanese."
"Irish eh? Not bad, atleast I know he is going to have some muscle when he is older," he walked towards Shinta and kneeled back down to him, "So kid, do you know why yo are here?" Shinta shook his head very slowly.
"Alright, I see you are the silent type, but then again I already could tell just by looking at you. But that's alright, your timidness won't exist anymore when I am through with you." The man patted Shinta on the head as he stood up.
"When do you want to start the lessons?" Mr. Yukishiro said.
"Tomorrow, I'll be here at the crack of dawn. Make sure he's ready." And that was the last thing he said, and with that, he had left through the doorway. Shinta just stared, panick was overflowing inside of him. What was going on?
"Mr. Yukishiro!" Shinta cried, "What's going on? Who was that man, and whay am I here?" Mr Yukishiro just smiled and said, "You are to be a samurai, and you will be the best of the best."
*~*~*~
A/N: I hope that you all liked it, I tried to put as much detail as I could. If I have any spelling or grammar error pelase tell me.