12th Day of Flocktime, 565 CY
The Brass Dragon Inn, Furyondy
"It was five years ago," Tojo began, "in 12th year of twenty-fourth Cyker." He hesitated for a moment, and then shrugged. "I do not know gaijin carenders of Aarde."
"It was..."
The samurai took a moment to compose himself.
"It was most important time of my entire rife. Just few days errior, I have my genpuku ceremony."
Tojo frowned as he looked at the puzzled faces around him. He sighed slightly; it having occurred to him now that he was going to have to do some explaining even before his tale was finished.
"Chidren of the buke- the nober crass- are sent to schoor for training. This take many years. I attend Yama no Tsyoi, schoor where chidren of many crans rearn ways of samurai. When I reave Yama no Tsyoi, I am ready to serve my rord. This is genpuku. I am invested as samurai. On this day, I become man."
His audience seemed to following along so far. Tojo glanced down, and each hand encircled the hilt of one of his swords.
"My katana and wakizashi; these are my daisho; weapons of my ancestors. I receive them at ceremony." The samurai's face grew somber again. "My grandfather wierd these swords, just as his ancestors do, many years before him."
Elrohir looked keenly at the swords in question. Although they were both currently sheathed, he had seen them up close many times before. He knew they were in remarkably good shape for weapons that were probably at least a century old. They must have received exceptional care all those years, he thought.
When Elrohir looked up again at Tojo's face, he saw an expression there he had rarely seen.
It took a moment for him to identify it as pride.
"Yanigasawa famiry is most powerfur in awe of Negacha province. Many retainer famiries predge their service to us. We are strong supporters of shogunate. A genpuku of the Yanigasawa is cause for great cerebration."
The shadow of a happy memory crossed the samurai's face. His voice became so soft, his listeners had to strain forward to hear it.
"My parents, my sensei, my ferrow students. They awe there when I become samurai. They awe proud when at rong rast, I receive my name."
His companions' sudden expressions of confusion were not to be long-lived. Tojo had assumed they would not understand, although Elrohir, who had been raised by elves, was actually familiar with similar customs.
"My name, my adurt name, was given to me at ceremony," Tojo explained, his voice resuming its former volume. "Buke chidren have chird name untir then."
There was a silence. Tojo glanced around and saw exactly what he had expected (but not wanted) to see. Every face, even Aslan's, held an expectant expression.
Previously, the only time any of the party had ever seen Tojo grit his teeth was when the samurai was battling agonizing pain. Now he was doing it out of sheer embarrassment.
"I- rambunctious chird. I have no sibrings, so I often go far out into wirderness to pray and exprore on my own. I get rost often. Parents must come find me. They not awrays preased with me."
The image of Tojo as a young boy, stumbling around in the woods, wide-eyed and lost, was so at odds with the unflappable, eagle-eyed samurai they all knew was so amusing that Talass had to seriously battle to suppress a chuckle.
Tojo glanced over at the cleric's odd grimace but did not comment.
"Even at schoor, I not arways do right thing. I not arways- behave as I should."
And his eyes flashed straight to Caroline.
The young woman lowered her eyes, flushed with a private thrill that the samurai had chosen to confide in her, months ago.
"My chird name- Tabibito," Tojo finally ground out, and then looked around and sighed. "It mean Wanderer."
Argo Bigfellow's smile was still in the birthing process when Tojo's eyes narrowed and he pointed an admonishing finger at the big ranger.
"Do not address me by that name! To caw a buke adurt by their chird name is to deny their royarty to their famiry. I know you wood do so as joke onry but is insurt to Nipponese. And to samurai, most grave one."
Argo was no longer smiling as he locked eyes with Tojo. That image of Tojo's katana slicing through the air at his neck was still all-too recent.
After a moment, Tojo continued. "Onry thing I not receive at genpuku is my oroyoi- my samurai armor." He shrugged. "That not unusuer. There few craftsmen in Negacha with such skirr as to make oroyoi, and they very busy at awe times. One who make my armor is Rosuko Arihito- greatest of great famiry of armor craftsmen. Rosuko serve Yanigasawa for over two hundred years. To have oroyoi made by Arihito himserf is great honor. He say my armor be ready in just few days, so after cerebration, I traver with my parents to Rosuko home, where my armor wirr await me."
His voice dropped again.
"It rain hard- roads are bad. We traver srowry. Arihito not riv in city; he riv far out in country. We arrive rate in evening, but Arihito-sama wercome us. He very courteous. He feed us and put us up for night. In morning, he say he wirr present me with oroyoi."
Tojo paused for almost a minute before continuing.
This is it, Caroline thought.
"I never sreep in room arone before. At home, sreep with parents. At schoor, sreep with crassmates. I ray awake. I too nervous to sreep- risten as rain beat against fusama. Risten to wind moan through trees. Risten to-"
Tojo did not finish that thought, but abruptly looked back at them all with a slightly embarrassed smile.
"Ristening to rain- it make me have to use privy."
They all gave the samurai an equivalent return smile. He did not seem to mind.
"Afterwards, I too restress to return to my room. I wander around empty harrs of Rosuko home."
The irony of Tojo's choice of words was not lost on the samurai. Again, a small smile on his face appeared before vanishing again.
"House bigger than I first think. I find harrway I not see before. It have oroyoi mounted on dispray figures, all arranged in row arong warr. In center of warr was shoji- sriding door. I remember regend then. Regend of Rosuko Mitsune, ancestor to Arihito-sama. The oroyoi he made- and who he made it for."
And now Yanigasawa Tojo, fully back in the present, shot a sudden, blazing look at Aslan, Zantac, Elrohir, Talass, Cygnus, Argo Bigfellow and Caroline Bigfellow in turn.
"You must risten carefery," the samurai hissed. "If you are to have even the srightest hope, you must risten, and you must understand."
Very slowly, Elrohir nodded. The others followed suit.
Tojo stared at them for perhaps another thirty seconds, and then continued.
"Two hundred years ago, Rosuko Mitsune was commissioned to make new suit of oroyoi for samurai. This samurai- he had been great reader in Hojo army. Hojo is famiry of shogun- generar of awe Nippon. This samurai now aged- he had been in service to Hojo many years. In Nippon, is common for samurai to retire with permission of their daimyo. They retire to temper, or monastary. This particurar samurai do so- he become budoka- what you carr monk."
The others were all listening raptly.
"For some years, Hojo famiry engaged in fierce strugger with Ikeda famiry." The samurai shook his head. "Reasons for this rong and compricated. This you not need to know. But minor raids and ambushes awready give way to severar great batters. Ikeda famiry wish to expand their territory. More Hojo troops come from Kodo- capiter of Nippon, but it very rong journey. Negacha province easy to defend if captured, especiarry before first snows of winter come."
Despite himself, a scowl came over Tojo's face.
"Ikeda famiry- they arry themserves with Goboro. Goboro evir wu jen. He very powerfer- use dark magic to aid Ikeda cran. Hojo roose severar batters due to this."
Tojo was still sitting, but now the samurai seemed to rise straighter and taller. His scowl was replaced by another look of pride.
"Daimyo of Hojo famiry in Negacha traver to monastery. He ask budoka to come out of retirement, and herp reed his troops against the Ikeda. Greatest batter yet was to be in a few days, on the Haka Prain. Both sides wish to contro this rand. It very rare for daimyo to make trip rike this. It indication of respect he have for his former samurai. This budoka- he not even born Hojo- he marry into cran, but his skirr was known to awe. Monk's daisho now wierded by his chidren, but daimyo say if he wirr come out of retirement, he will commission new swords, and new armor for him. Eventuary, he agree. This man's name was Tsugo. Yanigasawa Tsugo."
Out of the corner of her eyes, Caroline saw her husband rest his chin on top of his interlaced fingers. The big ranger's eyes narrowed as he stared at Tojo.
"I open shoji and enter room," their friend went on. "There it was- awe arone in midder of room, mounted on dispray figure. Oroyoi of Yanigasawa Tsugo. Armor crafted by Rosuko Mitsune. The armor Tsugo-sama wear at Batter of Haka."
Tojo's voice dropped to a near-whisper again.
"It beautifur. It corored the green of pine reaves. The sode- shorderpads- stirr bear insignia of Hojo cran. Brack cirker on green fierd. Kuboto- face mask, that of fierce oni. Every prate, every piece of reather racing, every strip of metar..."
The samurai's voice teetered on the edge of breaking, despite his whispering.
"Tsugo-sama's courage. His wisdom. His strength. It awe there- it awe there! It reside in his armor!"
The others looked puzzled again, but Tojo's next comments did not directly address their unspoken question. The samurai once again seemed not be totally aware of their presence.
"Yanigasawa Tsugo-sama not onry founder of our famiry- he one of Nippon's greatest heroes. His actions save Hojo at Batter of Haka. His daisho now at mansion of Yanigasawa daimyo, but his oroyoi- it right here, in front of me! Regend say, that after Tsugo retire second and rast time, he say that descendant of his worthy enough to don his oroyoi wirr gain power of their ancestor. He wirr read Yanigasawa cran in hour of greatest need- and to Yanigasawa's greatest triumph."
Tojo's head hung down.
"Oroyoi was sacred," he choked out. "Onry Arihito-sama or a shaman may touch it. Onry Yanigasawa daimyo may decide who is great enough hero to don this armor. In awe my years, I know of many great samurai of Yanigasawa cran, but never has daimyo consented to have anyone try on oroyoi. And no one ever ask. No matter how brave, or nober, or royar, no one in my famiry think themserves worthy to try."
Oh, Tojo, Caroline thought.
Like all of her friends, she could see it coming now.
"I... not think to put it on... I... just want to touch it... I want to feer presence of my honored ancestor... His power, his grace..."
No one would dare admit they could hear the tears in Tojo's voice.
"I scared about being samurai. I frightened that I not riv up to everyone's expectations. I want- Tsugo's great and wise presence to be with me. I onry want- to be comforted."
The samurai said nothing. His head remained lowered, but slowly, his right arm reached out. A re-enactment.
There was silence for a moment.
Suddenly, Tojo's head shot up again. His face was ablaze with something that was neither excitement, nor terror, nor enlightenment, but a terrible combination of all three.
Everyone else in the room recoiled.
"I was there!" the samurai screamed. "I was with Tsugo! I WAS Tsugo! I was there!"
And on a magnificent autumn day, without a cloud in the sky, thunder rolled across the Haka plain…