Everything is exactly the same. Blood, death, screams, and something new. The smell of fire. Something is burning, but whether it be a village or flesh, it remains unknown to me. Once more, I use my blade for its sole purpose: killing. I step in front of my last target, and slay him with a single down stroke of my sword. .At last I turn away, my hands and arms are stained with the blood of many men, my bright scarlet hair billows wildly around me as I walk forward into the beckoning darkness.
Once more I bolted straight up out of bed, panting like a dog on a hot day. I surveyed my surroundings. Good, it didn't seem like anyone was up yet. Taking a few cautious steps, I slowly crept over to my window and saw the reason why. It wasn't even daylight yet! The land outside was bathed in a mysterious silver glow, the clouds from the evening had departed, and a glittering shaft of moonlight had found its way into my bedroom. Turning away from the window, I started back for my bed. I don't know how long I lay there, tossing and turning, resetting the sheets because they had gotten too crumpled from my continuous rolling around in bed. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity of wasted effort, I jumped out of bed, tied my hair back in a braid, put on a deep purple kimono, and walked outside.
The air around me was beautiful, draped by a thin lilac mist, and smelling faintly of cherry blossoms. I stood out front, taking everything in, when a hand descended on my shoulder. I let out a yelp of surprise, and a hand was slapped over my mouth.
"Quiet you moron! Do you want to wake mom and dad?!"
Kenji. Forcing my bunched up muscles to uncoil, and my ever beating heart to still a moment, I turned to face my brother.
"Did you have to scare me like that?! What's wrong with you?!"
"Me?! What wrong with me?!" You're the one up way too early in the morning, staring out the yard, and you're asking if there's anything wrong with me?!"
Crossing my arms over my chest, I ground my teeth, and tried backing off a littler bit. After all, he had been worried about me, and further more…
"Why were you up Kenji? Shouldn't you be sleeping too?"
Kenji sighed, and plunked himself down on the step.
"I was, until I heard somebody moving around, but we don't know who that was, do we?"
He looked up at me, eyes sparkling with a sarcastic playfulness, sadly it didn't amuse me. Growling, I spat back;
"Oh yeah? Go back to bed, if you want to play these stupid games!"
I began walking back into the dojo, when Kenji grabbed my arm. I turned to look back at him. My smoldering violet coals met his glittering sapphire crystals.
"Just why were you out of bed in the first place?"
We stood there for a moment, Kenji holding my arm, and me staring back at him not sure how to answer. After about a minute, I ripped my arm free from his grip and stormed off.
"That's none of your business, now if you'll excuse me, I'm going back to sleep."
As I stormed off, I heard Kenji mutter "Whatever." before he went his own way. When I was back in my own room, I flopped down on my bed. Geez, what the hell was wrong with me? It was just a stupid dream, why was I getting so worked up over it? I took off my kimono. I'll put it back on when the sun's up. I told myself, while I donned my pajamas, and got back into bed. I will say this much though, for the few hours that I was able to sleep, there was a sweet utter blackness of a dreamless sleep.
* * * * * * * *
"Kids! Come here for a minute! There's something I want to tell you!"
Kenji and I both glanced up from the floor which we both had been scrubbing. Kenji looked at me curiously.
"What do you think mom wants?"
Looking back at him I shrugged.
"Who knows? I just hope it's not something bad."
I told him, dropping my wet rag into my bucket. Kenji helped me up and gave me a vindictive smile.
"Yeah, like another baby, one of you is bad enough!"
I hit him on the head, laughing.
"Well for your sake let's hope that mister! Although that would be kind of gross, considering how old they are now."
Kenji made a mock shudder.
"Yeah nasty."
We raced to the old training room of the dojo where mom was standing in the room's center, holding something that resembled a sword shaped stick. Kenji and I glanced down at the strange object mom was holding, then up at her. Mom's eyes were shining with anticipation. My brother cocked his head to one side.
"What gives mom? Why are we in the training room? And what's that thing you're holding?"
Mom smiled, attached the stick to her hip, and patted Kenji on the head.
"Ah, my poor naïve son. Don't you know what this is? I distinctly remember teaching you about the Kamiya Kashin style when you were younger, you too Tori. This is a specially designed sword my father, and I myself used to use. Kamiya Kashin style-swords that give life."
Memories came crashing down on me. Sitting on my mother's lap as a kid while she told us stories of her father's teachings, and her first apprentice, Yahiko Myojin. Although, I didn't recall much, the one thing I'll never forget is that my father who had been an assassin during the Baku Matsu revolution, also accepted mom and grandfather's practices. Still, I could not comprehend what it had to do with us.
"Well, yeah sure we remember, but why have you called us here?"
I asked. Mom smiled, walked back to a rack which held similar sword like things, and came back, holding them out in out direction.
"Because Tori, I want to teach you, and your brother the Kamiya Kashin style."
I jerked a little, dumbfounded. There was no need for swords! Even wooden ones that were meant for protecting people! Kenji, who stood beside me had the same shocked look on his face.
"M-mom? Are you sure? There's no need to learn swordsmanship any more. Everything is in peace now."
"That might be true, but there is no telling when a new threat might pop up. Besides, what your mother is doing is only natural, that it is."
We both wheeled around to face dad, who had crept into the training room. He was smiling in the caring, and sensible way that all parents do. My father walked briskly into the center of the room, where the three of us stood. He handed each of us our swords, and stepped back.
"Now comes the time when you two must learn to use a blade, and not the other way around. The blade can also use you, for many years swords have been used for killing, that they have. What your mother, and your late grandfather teach was, during the Baku Matsu Revolution, scoffed at, but in times like these, peaceful times, but where rebel groups still lurk in the shadows, has been brought to public. Kenji, Tori, you must learn the ways of the Kamiya Kashin style."
With this said, dad took a step back, as did mom. They watched, waiting to see our reaction. I lifted the wooden blade to my face. Why was my heart thumping so fast? Kamiya Kashin style-swords that give life. The sword in my dreams delivered only death, not protection. So why, when I held this blade in front of my face, did the old feeling of desire, and blood lust well up within me once more? My brother, just stared at it, as if he'd never seen it in his life before. Which is a lie, because we've always seen thses things ever since we were kids. I turned to face my mother.
"So, how do we get started?"