Time passes by and Kenji keeps growing, but lately he seems to be getting out of hand.
"I don't necessarily think that killing people is a bad thing." He says.
"Kenji stop being a brat. You are a kid, what do you know about life?" Yahiko counters him.
"Oh, and you know a lot about life? You just got married and you think you can lecture me? When you have your kids, got teach him about your ideals, don't come here and preach to me." Says Kenji haughtily.
"Grrrr, you brat. Didn't you pay attention to your mother when she taught you how to use the sword?" Yahiko retorts angrily.
"And what if I didn't?"
"You brat!" says Yahiko, "I you can beat me in a fight then I will stop 'preaching' and respect your ideas, but if you lose you will stop spouting non-sense. Seriously, who does this kid think he is?"
"Agreed. If I win, you stop preaching. I don't even let that man that calls himself my father tell me what to do; why should I let you?"
Kenji may be a genius, and his fighting skills weren't bad, but Yahiko had more experience, and maybe he also had more resolve to teach Kenji a lesson that lead him to victory.
"Damn it!" Kenji cursed.
"Here." Yahiko told Kenji. "I would stop preaching." And extending his hand to the boy, holding his sakabato, he brought it to Kenji's face.
"What is this?" Kenji asked, half-awed, half-uninterested.
"This," Yahiko started, "belonged to 'that man that calls himself your father', and I will now pass it on to you."
Kenji had wanted a "real" sword, not his father's old sword, a sword that couldn't cut anything, but there was nothing he could do, he had to accept it.
He took the sword with out a word, a haughty air about him and walked away with a dignified stroll.
"That boy." Murmured Yahiko.
"You did good." A voice said behind him. He turned around to see his wife, Tsubame, standing there.
"I don't know. That boy is so difficult to read. You can never tell what he is thinking."
"But he's a good boy." Tsubame said.
"Yeah, I guess you are right."
Kenji stared at the sword with contempt. He had never liked his father, and only put a half-hearted effort because of his mother. He had tried to love that man, but something about him, his mannerisms made him reject him. They had gotten somewhat closer during some time, but all that had fallen apart when his "father" had refused to teach him the Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryu.
In his young heart, after discovering about his father's past, a past he couldn't believe belonged to the same man; he had become fascinated by the Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryu. He wanted to learn it, it was a style much more interesting than his mother's boring Kamiya-Kasshin Ryu.
He loved his mother, no doubt, but he just didn't agree with her ideas. They were too dull. He didn't believe in her 'swords that give life' motto. He felt that his life was boring, and he had truly believed in his pre-adolescent heart that by learning his father's techniques, his life would become more interesting and maybe even come to love this man that gave him life, but he had refused.
'I told Yahiko this ten years ago when he first came to live at this dojo, and I will say it again, become strong using the Kamiya-Kasshin Ryu because the Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryu will die with me.'
That day, what little respect he held for his father withered away.
But that was five years ago. Now at his fifteen years of age, he had inherited a useless weapon, but he had also learned the Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryu. Nobody knew, but Kenji had learned the Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryu by only hearing about it. He was a genius, but he kept that a secret.
'Not until the day that I can face that man and beat him. Until that day comes, nobody will know that I have taught myself the Hiten-Mitsurugi Ryu.' He had promised himself that.
He sat alone, pondering about his life, when his mother and father walked in.
"I am so proud of you!" his mother gushed. His father stayed back, a smile on his face, while his mother hugged him.
"You have officially become a man." His mother said. He forced a smile.
A man? Not with that sword.
If it weren't for his mother, he would have walked up to that man and return his useless sword to him, but he couldn't, it would break his mother's heart. His mother still believed that they had a good relationship.
"Father, one day I will be able to stand tall and challenge you. Until that day comes, this sword would not truly be mine. Not until I can beat the original wielder of the sword." Kenji tells me, a smile playing on his lips. I can see clearly the mischievous glint in his blue eyes, the sly smile on his lips. I know what those words are truly saying. He doesn't want that sword; he hates it. He only mentioned the sword to give him a reason in front of his mother to challenge me.
"Oh, isn't that wonderful?" Kaoru asks me, "that he wants you to give him the sword."
I smile one of those fake smiles that I long ago learned how to make.
Yes, of course.
