Turning Swallow
Summary:
OR, One morning, four-year-old Sasaki Kojiro remembers a life not yet lived, and decides to do something about it. History changes. SI!Sasaki Kojiro. Expect general lightheartedness, but dark topics when the time comes.
CH. 11 START
The build-up to Seigen's funeral was less of a race and more of a slow march. The knowledge of Seigen's death dispersed through the Toda Dojo first, before gradually making its way out to Ichijodani. Regardless of how he wished for his death to be treated, Seigen's passing was a big deal. As the lord of both the Toda Clan and the Province of Echizen, Seigen had left a large power void where he'd once been. Kagemasa was next in line, and needed time to adjust to the large shoes he had to fill. A few days passed as Kagemasa got things in order. The funeral itself was a quiet thing, attended only by the people of the Toda Dojo and the denizens of Ichijodani Castle Town, though only those who knew him personally were allowed to get anywhere near the body. All in all, Kojiro, the Toda Dojo, and the Toda Clan got to say their goodbyes face-to-face, while the rest of the town had to bid farewell from afar. As per the old man's own wishes, his body was buried within the zen garden that he'd maintained most of his life. The coffin was to be placed in the middle of it, in a patch of dirt that'd previously been home to some outdoor furniture.
Normally, if a samurai died, their weapon would be sold off to recoup the money lost from their death. Seigen's blade received no such treatment, instead receiving one final cleaning, before being coated in choji oil to prevent it from rusting, before the oil was powdered off. Once this was complete, the blade was placed next to Seigen's body, so if Seigen's spirit had need of it beyond the mortal coil, it would be there for him. Seigen had been dressed in his finest clothing, a kimono made from silk dyed black and gold, reminiscent of the sheath of the wooden sword that the old man had given to Kojiro so long ago. Kojiro was the last to approach the body, pulling his wooden kodachi from his waist, before placing it on the opposite side of Seigen's blade. He'd polished it with a few layers of fresh wood lacquer, to ensure that it would last as long as possible before decay got to it. He rose after placing the blade down gently, before noting that Seigen still looked to be at peace. His body was the same as it had been a few days ago, given that Kagemasa had had the body embalmed immediately.
Seeing that no one else seemed to have any more words, Kojiro shut the lid of the coffin, sealing it tightly. He retreated, and watched idly as a Buddhist priest did Seigen's funerary rights. The priest spoke a prayer, burned some incense, then slapped an ofuda, a talisman, on the coffin, before declaring that the ceremony had been completed. Kojiro was one of four to step forward, along with Kagemasa, Kagekatsu, and Kisai to lower the body into a stone chamber. It was there as an extra layer of security for the body. Wood, no matter how treated, rotted, so the stone was there to prevent moisture and bugs from getting to the deceased. The coffin dropped into place with a gentle thud, and Kojiro helped shove a stone lid onto the chamber, before burying the stone with loose dirt. The soil was patted down and just like that, the funeral was over.
A few days passed without incident, before Kojiro visited the grave site again. He strode through the zen garden wistfully, before coming into the clearing where the grave had been. Built atop where Seigen's grave was, stood a miniature Buddhist pagoda, carved and crafted from gray stone. Resting in a small alcove was a headstone, bearing the words, "Here lies Toda Seigen, founder of the Toda Dojo. Samurai, Father, and Grandmaster."
Kojiro made to approach the grave, caught in a strange sort of reverie, until he was startled by a deep voice.
Kagemasa stepped from the nearby house, nodding as he approached, and said, "Kojiro, in the flesh! For a few days, I had feared you would follow in my brother's footsteps."
Kojiro didn't dignify the dark humor with a proper response, simply snorting at the crude joke.
He shook his head before actually answering the implied question, clearing his throat and replying, "I dare not do such a thing. His last true demand of me was to live long and live well. What a selfish man. I just needed some time to get my affairs into order. Say farewell to the rest of my generation, you know?"
Kagemasa stared at him in the same considering manner that Segien often had, and asked, "You are certain that you are well?"
Kojiro nodded affirmatively.
Kagemasa frowned, then inquired, "When will you be going, then?"
For a moment, Kojiro felt like a child that had been caught doing something naughty, before regaining himself. Aloud, he replied, "Soon enough, as soon as I saw my final farewell."
He casually patted the kate-bukuro at his side, this era's small bag equivalent hanging from his waist. Within it were a few sets of spare clothing, as well as some mon strings, the current currency. He figured that he'd simply buy some rations in town, and hunt or forage if he ran out of those.
Kagemasa acknowledged the reply, before raising a bag that he'd been holding onto. It was tossed to him.
"There's a Toda Clan crest in there," Kagemasa explained, "yours. You'd have gotten it anyway, since Seigen basically adopted you. There's some more clothing and extra money in there, as well as food and a map of the region. I'll be waiting at the Dojo Gates. Do what you need to and come after you're done."
Without even waiting for a reply, Kagemasa turned to leave, leaving Kojiro alone with Seigen's grave. He put the bag down, before walking over to the headstone and placing a hand on it, much like Seigen liked to grab his shoulder. He squeezed tightly, trying to vent unspoken emotion, but failing.
He sighed, speaking to empty air, "I had so much more to say to you, Father. But, you're not here anymore, are you? I'll keep them to myself for now."
Kojiro fell silent, staring at the silent stone of the tomb.
He wiped dust from his eyes and announced, "I'll be going for now, old man, but I'll return eventually. See ya."
Having said all that he felt really needed to be said, Kojiro picked up his bags, slinging them over his back and trodding towards the Toda Dojo's exit. Like he'd promised, Kagemasa was waiting at the Gate. He was alone, with the rest of the Dojo, standard guards included, still in mourning.
He handed Kojiro a long, thin thing, before revealing what it was.
Kagemasa spoke gruffly, "This is a wasaga, an umbrella. It looks about to rain and I'd hate to see you scamper back so quickly due to the weather."
As if to emphasize that point, the sky rumbled with distant thunder. The sky overhead was dark and overcast, and on the horizon, Kojiro could make out quickly approaching rain clouds. The scent of rain filled the air, and he made sure to thank Kagemasa for the gift. With the food given by Kagemasa, enough to last two weeks, Kojiro didn't need to stop and buy food. It was fortunate too, since the stores were all shutting down on account of the weather. During this season, when it rained, it rained hard and the store owners must've felt that the business wasn't worth the danger.
Kojiro locked eyes with Kagemasa and made a promise, declaring, "Farewell, Uncle. You and Father raised me as if I was of Toda blood. Should you or the Dojo require my aid, call and I will answer. Should I do so too late, be assured that I will avenge you, and rebuild what I can."
Kagemasa nodded firmly, face set in a serious expression. Kojiro began to walk off, only turning his head slightly to listen as Kagemasa yelled, "Kojiro! If you ever need a place to go, the Toda Dojo will always be open to you. No matter the circumstance!"
He smiled gratefully, though Kagemasa wasn't there to see it. The sky rumbled once more, and just as rain began to fall, Kojiro opened the umbrella with one smooth motion. Instead of calling over the weather, he just raised an arm above his head, closing his fist before pumping it once. Then, he hardened his eyes, looking to the world beyond. With stormy sky serving as a foul omen, Kojiro walked through the streets of Ichijodani for the first time in his life, before stepping out of the fortified gates of the only place he'd ever been able to call home and into the wilderness of Feudal Japan.
As Kojiro stepped onto the dirt road that was rapidly turning into mud, Kojiro grinned. In spite of the missing creature comforts of a nice stationary bed, outhouses, and dry socks, Kojiro was excited. This was the start of an adventure, his first steps into a new and unfamiliar world. If there was Embodiment, this supernatural power, just in Ichidojani, what was there in the rest of the world? He strode along, whistling happily despite the hazards of weather and road. Even if Kojiro could have made it through the storm based on will alone, he had no real wish to, instead making his way towards a small clearing by the roadside. He slipped beneath the canopy of a great tree to wait away the rain and dry off. About an hour passed and the rain stopped, prompting Kojiro to pull himself from his meditation. Without digital media to entertain him, the best he could do was improve himself. He rose from his sitting position with a clear and refreshed mind.
His clothes were still slightly damp, but the spring shower had passed, leaving the afternoon sun in the sky and a muddy road on the earth. As he walked, his clothes began to dry; Kojiro decided it was high time to check his map, now that he couldn't see Ichijodani behind him. He'd gone down the main road heading away from the castle town, and according to the map, if he followed it all the way down, he'd reach a place called Ono, which seemed to be a town of agriculture and forestry. It looked like a good place to resupply, but considering how far east he had to walk to get there, that seemed like a bad idea. If he was going to get himself famous, he needed to go to a place with plenty of people. The only place that came to mind was Kyoto, where lots of power, be it political or physical, was concentrated. To get there, he had to head south, which highlighted Ikeda as the most ideal next stop. To get there from where he was though, he needed to cut straight through a dense portion of forest, which he had no interest in doing. So, rather than waste his time traversing woods, he would head to a small nameless outpost along the Asuwa River. From there, he could ride or follow the river South, until he reached Ikeda. Mind made up, Kojiro kept walking.
Midday came and Kojiro had made huge progress, given the fact that the rainstorm had made him stop. He reached a sign that told him that Ichijodani was now half a day's travel away and that the outpost was reachable by the day's end, so he was excited. He was about to keep moving, but before he could do so, his instincts screamed at him and he leapt backwards. A 'snick' caught his ears and Kojiro glanced down to see that an arrow was quivering in the ground. Had he been a moment slower, he'd have been dropped by the arrow, with an injury in his gut or his leg.
A cocky voice filled the road and a man of about thirty swaggered into sight, flanked by two others. One of them was equipped with a bow, while the remainder of the men wielded wood-cutting axes. The one who seemed to be the leader stepped forward, saying something, but Kojiro ignored him. He was barely a day's travel away from Ichijodani, a samurai stronghold, and already there were bandits? They weren't even ronin. Had his Father's death destabilized the region so rapidly?
Kojiro interrupted the man, calling out, "Who do you think you are, to rob another in the territory of the Toda Clan?!"
The leader looked infuriated, but the man with a bow answered his question when he reached over to his partner and snickered, cruelly mocking Kojiro.
The man spoke, shouting so Kojiro could hear, "The boy thinks that the Toda Clan will come sweeping in to save him! Boy, don't you know that the Toda's Clan leader has gone and died? About time too, the old bastard. "
Kojiro frowned. Were all people of the lower classes so uncouth? Really! Kojiro cut that train of thought off before he could get caught up in it. He'd been raised to believe he was superior to the lower classes, yes, but that didn't mean that the lower castes were powerless. His memories told him of things like the French Revolution. He liked his food supply steady and his head attached, thank you very much. No, it wasn't all lower class people, just the scum in front of him. They'd even been willing to insult his Father not long after his death. That insult had to be paid back.
Still, his modern morals thought to give one final warning, so Kojiro called out, "Don't come near me! I'm armed. This is your only warning."
The men cackled as one, but the leader continued to walk forwards. He laughed in Kojiro's face, stopping five feet away. He patted his check cockily, boasting, "So what if I do? I'm twice your height/ Hell, that sword is bigger than you are. Tell you what, if you drop that sword and those fancy clothes, I might let you live."
The man licked his lips with lust? Kojiro almost gagged. Yeah, that was definitely lust. Even beyond that, judging by that face, even if he did surrender, he wouldn't be treated well. Kojiro's eyes hardened, all thoughts of diplomacy leaving his body. The man remained ignorant to the change, stepping forward and reaching out for Kojiro's shoulder. Kojiro categorically refused to be touched by filth, so he made to draw his sword. The man only grinned wider, unable to even consider that he could be hurt. Kojiro took the man's arm off at the shoulder in the blind of an eye. The arm fell to the ground with a splat, sinking into the muddy ground. The man stood still, shocked his gamble hadn't paid off, and reached for the place where his arm had been. The wound hadn't even begun to bleed yet, only doing so when time seemed to unfreeze and the man dropped, screaming his head off.
The man bit out orders through his tears, crying, "GET THE BRAT!. KILL HIM!"
The two men behind the leader had frozen in shock as well, only to be broken out of it by the screaming. The one with a bow made to notch an arrow, only to fumble it and let the arrow fall. The other man yelled angrily at his ally's injury. Kojiro didn't bother with another warning, simply stepping forward and cleaving upwards. The weapon the man had tried to meet Kojiro's nodachi shattered like glass, the wood splintering. The nodachi was merciless, severing the man's thumb, index, and middle fingers. The bandit's palm was ruined, but Kojiro kept walking, using the hilt of the nodachi to knock the man out. The thrum of a bowstring warned him of danger and Kojiro brought his sword up in a long-practiced defense. Almost by accident, the swing split the arrow in two, the two halves of the projectile falling to the sides. Seeing this, the bandit archer blanched, dropping the bow to scramble for some accessory around his neck. Kojiro approached slowly, perhaps the man was praying for mercy? If he was, he'd get none.
The bandit wasn't begging for mercy, the accessory turning out to be a whistle. He blew on it, and Kojiro leapt forwards to stop him, failing to stop a shrill blast of sound from splitting the night. Kojiro grimanced and cut at the man's throat. The whistle-blower went down, gurgling for breath. Even as the archer fell, Kojiro didn't let down his guard. The whistle was meant to alert somebody, thus meant reinforcements. From the woods, five more men stormed out. They stepped onto the road, only to see Kojiro there, standing over the bodies of three of their comrades.
A wave of palpable anger emanated from one of them, who drew a katana of surprising quality from his waist. A ronin, Kojiro surmised, the actual leader. Three men charged, while the other two began to sling arrows at him. Two arrows went wide, as the archers tried to avoid hitting their allies. The three closed in and Kojiro hardened his heart. There could be no mercy. A swift cut opened the leading goon's stomach; he fell to the ground desperately trying to keep his organs in place. Kojiro raised his blade to meet the ronin's strike, deflecting it. By the way the man's sword didn't go flying, the ronin was actually trained. He grinned at Kojiro's failure, before spitting in Kojiro's direction. Kojiro slashed at the man's head, but the man blocked, using his strength to counteract the momentum of the larger sword. Kojiro utilized the only strategy he could and slammed a front kick into the ronin's balls. The man's sword fell into the dirt, and he dropped. The archers took this opportunity to fire, gaining a clear line of sight, but Kojiro was still playing dirty. He reached down, grabbed the ronin by the collar, and pulled his mass into the path of the arrows. His human shield went limp, the two arrows in the ronin's back crippling him. He moved towards the last of the three men who had charged at him, and the last one moved towards him as well. He screamed, though Kojiro couldn't tell if the scream stemmed from anger or fear. Likely both. A moment later, Kojiro and the bandit met in battle, and the next, the bandit was on the ground. The bandit's right leg had been all but dismembered. Kojiro raced towards the archers, managing to take one mid-draw, cutting through the thin bow and its string. The cut took a forearm with it, and Kojiro stabbed his nodachi into the ground, before grabbing the man by his good arm and swinging the bandit into his friend's arrow. Kojiro pulled his nodachi from the dirt, before stalking towards his foe. The man dropped his bow, shivering not from nighttime cold, but fear.
The bandit screamed, "Mercy! Please! I have a wife and children!"
Curiously, Kojiro inquired, "Did your victims say the same before you killed them?"
The man paled, before laughing in maddened fevor, saying, "I get it! You're no boy, you're a demon! The sword! We should have known!"
Kojiro shrugged, looking himself over. He looked enough like a demon, he supposed, given the blood that wasn't his. He slicked his hair back, grinning maliciously at the man.
He chuckled darkly, voice lowering, "Looks like I've been figured out. Now, answer my questions, and maybe I won't eat your soul, 'kay? How many of there are you?"
The man nodded frantically, and practically spoke without prompting, given how eager he was to answer, "H-how many? There's no more. You killed the rest. Just me. Please don't kill ne."
"How long have you been active?" Kojiro asked.
The man spoke more confidently, assured he wouldn't be killed immediately, "A few months. We heard Toda Seigen had died and decided to start getting more active."
"Now, how about-?"
The conversation soon came to an end, and the man smiled in relief, asking, "You'll let me go, right? You promised?"
Kojiro smiled cruelly, "I said that I wouldn't eat your soul."
It was a promise Kojiro was technically fulfilling, given that he couldn't eat souls. The man wasn't worth sparring, regardless. He'd abandoned his children and wife to live a life of banditry. Hell, he'd even stolen money from his parents as he was leaving home. His parents were already too old to work and had been planning to use that money for the rest of their life. He'd squandered it in a week. Worse, he'd been planning to rape a girl the bandits had captured. Kojiro ended the man quickly, cutting off his protests by decapitating him. He turned toward the woods, where if he squinted, he could make out a small campfire. He made his way towards it, keeping his blad out just in case the bandit had lied to him. As he entered the clearing, his eyes darted around, before spotting the girl who'd been taken prisoner. She was gagged and bound to a tree trunk, forced to stand. With his blade, he severed her ropes and plucked the cloth that was being used as a gag from her mouth.
The girl collapsed to the floor, staring up at Kojiro in fear and awe.
In a breathless tone, she asked, "Are you a demon?"
Kojiro groaned.
