The Lonely Road

It began on a cold stormy night in a small village called Yousko, when a girl was born, little did she know that during a war, she would become the most feared swordswoman. Ami scrubbed the floor with anger, for the stains were being stubborn. She could hear the sounds of her brothers practicing their swordplay stupidly. Ami became bored of scrubbing the stubborn floors. Instead, she amused herself by watching her brothers play-fight. Her father noticed her shirking her chores again. Father: Ami! Ami: Yes dearest father... Father: Why are you avoiding your chores again? Ami: But Father these chores are so dull and boring. Father: I need you as punishment to take these barrels of rice down to the dojo. Ami: But Father, it's muddy outside and my kimono will get dirty from the mud. Father: You have to or double your chores, so I suggest you hurry up and get the those barrels or rice to the dojo! Ami: Alright, alright, you don't have to yell.

Ami's brothers, Kuabara and Kurama, stop their fighting to watch the argument that took place and laughed at Ami as she struggled to carry the barrels. Ami grunted as she forced one barrel over her shoulder and the other under her other arm. The walk to the dojo was dreary for the 6-year- old girl.

It started to rain again as she approached the dojo with ache. She knocked on the back door as usual when she visited the dojo, and the cook huffily answered the door.

Cook: What do you want? Ami: I came here with your rice, sir. Cook: Your late, come with me to the kitchen. Ami: Thank you kind sir.

After she exchanged the rice for pay, the cook informed her that she would have to cook the rice for the students because he was busy traveling downtown for herbs and spices. Ami turned from bad to worse when she heard this news, but at the same time she was sort of glad because that meant she could watch the students fight. While toiling over a huge pot, she heard the cracking sounds of wooden staffs. The students were becoming hungry by the smell of rice cooking from the kitchen, and one of them came to investigate who was cooking since he had saw the cook leave to go to town. The boy was astonished to find that a little girl was stirring a pot three times her size! The boy of course, being stupid, called the other students to him, which rallied a huge commotion over the pot of boiling rice. Ami was very flustered at this site. The students on the other hand, tried to get hold of the rice. Ami grabbed a long soup-ladle and took a big swing at the hunger-struck boys and managed to clear a couple of them out of the way. The boys were both astonished and mortified when they saw Ami with a huge soup ladle, trying to knock them away.