Chapter Seven: Sparring
Thirty years ago in Kyoto:
Chisa's family situation had changed greatly since she had her disagreement with Jin-e. Her father, who made gears for watches and clocks, had connected with a prolific watchmaker who paid him a good sum for the high quality, handmade gears he produced. His brother had gone into business with them as well, producing springs. Their financial situation had greatly improved and they moved onto a large swath of land with a substantial home; they took the liberty to hire a few individuals for house staff.
The hired cleaner and cook was a woman named Udo Aiko, Jin-e's mother. Chisa had tried to tell her parents that she wasn't a very nice person but her parents said she did good work and worked for relatively cheap. They weren't so wealthy as to not try to get a bit of a bargain and Ms. Udo was one of the few willing housemaids nearby not already hired.
Chisa no longer attended the same school, as her parents found alternate education for her. Her sister, now eighteen, had become pregnant out of wedlock and they were also hopeful to keep their entire family situation a bit more private. Occasionally though, Aiko would bring her only child, Jin-e, with her to work as childcare simply wasn't an option.
Jin-e was still holding a bit of a grudge for Chisa, although it had been two years since she had tattled on him. His mother had hit him that night again and that was not an experience he was interested in reliving. When she was around, he would usually go to play with her brother, who had better toys than he had at home, and one of their favorite games was to play samurai with sticks from the tree outside. He became decently good friends with Chutaro.
On hot summer days, the boys would sometimes go to a nearby pond to either swim or catch frogs and beetles. Once, Chisa found a large rhino beetle that she was excited to show the two. Chutaro was immediately jealous, but Jin-e decided to respond. It was a really neat beetle.
"Ok, I like that one a lot. Where'd you find him?" Jin-e inquired.
Chisa, shocked that he actually responded, said "How do you know it's not a girl!" And laughed.
He smiled a bit. This was the first time Chisa had seen him smile ever. She decided to not push her luck and headed back to where her mother was helping care for her sister's new baby. She didn't care much for babies, but she certainly cared for her sister and was interested in why everyone was keeping it a secret.
The next day, she overheard the boys discussing beetle hunting again. Jin-e had asked if they should let her join them, to which Chutaro gave a resounding "absolutely not". She didn't really want to hang out with the two of them, but since she was pulled out of her previous school she hadn't gotten to play with many children her age. The boys decided to play samurai instead, which a girl of course could not join. Chutaro was uncoordinated and rather lazy; his new, more well-to-do lifestyle afforded him no favors. But even at a young age, Jin-e was fast and tough. He had to be to make it at school and in the neighborhood in which he lived, which was known as one of the more tough areas of town. They didn't play samurai often because Chutaro generally "died" and got upset.
On this day however Jin-e was a bit sore and tired. He had gotten into a fist fight the night before with boys twice his age and didn't fare well. They caught him in the neck and shoulder and kicked him in the stomach. His mother, who said she was embarrassed of him, threw a sake glass at the wall behind him, narrowly missing the top of his head. He stayed up that night worrying she would be back to his room to berate him some more.
He wasn't able to move quite as quickly as usual and Chutaro hit him in the same shoulder he had been hit in the day before and he yelped and grabbed it. His opponent took the opportunity to hit him in the ear, causing it to bleed. No sooner than that happened, Jin-e grabbed the stick and jabbed Chutaro in the shoulder, which made him cry. He ran into their house and tattled on Jin-e to their father who, knowing that his son needed to toughen up, assessed the damage, saw that nothing was wrong or out-of-place, and told him to go back to play.
Their father went out to check on Jin-e who was kicking stones into the pond. "You know, I was bullied in school too. Standing up to them will sometimes cause them to bully you more, but so does doing nothing. When you get older, you have two options: The first is to become a bully yourself; someone who hurts others to manage their own hurt."
"And the second?" Jin-e inquired.
"The second is to be someone who stands up for themselves without causing so much pain and to stand up for others who aren't ready to stand up for themselves."
Jin-e looked pensive for a moment. "But how can I do that? I'm just a kid."
"You can stand up to those bullies now, and stay that way as you get older. Fight for a just cause. Do you know what you want to become when you get older? I'm assuming it's not a person who makes watch gears for a living." The older man laughed.
"I want to become a samurai…but I know I don't have the blood for it. I think anyway. I don't know my father. He could have been anyone. And I know that my mother doesn't have the money for me to enter training. I want her to be proud of me for sticking up for myself."
"If you had the opportunity, would you study swords and become a dedicated student?" Chisa's father looked serious.
"Yes, but like I said, I don't have the money…and even if I did there's no way they would accept someone like me." Jin-e kicked another stone into the pond.
"There's a nearby school I would like to take you to tomorrow if your mother will allow it. The dojo master there is known for taking on unique cases. If you promise to me that you would be dedicated, I will pay your tuition."
"Sir, you couldn't do that. And my mother would never allow it…" Jin-e really hoped he was wrong.
Mr. Kitagawa spoke to Aiko that day. With Jin-e in school, she had free childcare, more money to spend on booze, and frankly she was excited at the prospect of Jin-e being able to overcome any weaknesses he may have. Mr. Kitagawa took Jin-e the next day to visit the dojo, where he went through a few guided exercises determining agility and reflexes. They were not impressed at how tall he was for his age (this made him an easier target), but saw that his size truly did not impede him much. The master saw a fire in his eyes that he had rarely seen in his students, possibly making him a project for a technique that he was considering passing on to the next generation.
And with that Jin-e entered the school of Nikaido-Heiho.
