Ripple
A Grave
By Marie Nomad
A lone figure stood in the old graveyard as he knelt down. He could not believe that this had happened. Why did he come back like that? Why did he demand to finish his training in his condition?
His idiot apprentice had come to him demanding to finish his training to defeat a great evil in Japan. There was a fighter that he couldn't defeat. He tried to get his state of mind changed but he couldn't. Not even he could perform miracles.
He should have done this years ago He foolishly thought that his apprentice would change especially after Tomoe but he didn't. Finally, after a night of meditation, he went ahead and gave lessons on the last two moves.
The first move went well and his apprentice did fine. Unfortunately, it was the second and fatal move that he couldn't achieve.
The last move, the succession move required a great amount of will to live, something his apprentice didn't have. He didn't want to live. His idiot apprentice had nothing to live for.
That was the reason, why the Hiten Mitsurigi went uncorrupted for so long. At least, it didn't create any more manslayers but now he had to find a new apprentice to pass down his teachings and maybe next time he would be successful and his new apprentice would succeed him like Hiko had succeeded his master.
Hiko sighed as he poured the last of his sake onto a set of swords that he set up over the grave. Maybe, in his next life, he would have some sense of peace.
He stood up and walked down the mountain. He has a great evil to stop.
To Be Continued…