Anchihiiroo - Origin of an Antihero

by Jeremy Rodden

  I cleared my throat to try to let him know that we were there. He made no indication that he heard me. I turned to Suzaku, who shrugged her wings. I sat down next to the monk, who I assumed was Anatta.

  Suzaku clearly felt cramped in the small cave and made her way back to the landing outside the entrance, where she could stretch out her wings without causing any damage.

  I looked at the monk again before curiosity led me to stare into the fire. The flame was nothing special, as far I could tell. It just looked like an ordinary fire to me. I couldn’t understand why the monk was so entranced. I sat down next to Anatta and tried to emulate him. It seemed the most logical thing to do given the circumstances.

  I am not sure how long I sat at the fire. At first, I just focused on watching the flames lick at the space above. I observed how the colors slowly changed from red to orange to yellow, as the flame got closer to the source of the combustion.

  I could smell the burning wood at the source and hear the small crackles from the fire. The heat was intense on my face, causing beads of sweat to form and quickly run down my skin. I even tasted some of the ash and smoke that rose from the burning wood.

  Thinking back to my training in the Buddhist monastery, I attempted to ignore the sensory overload of the fire and instead meditate with my mind’s eye. I tried not to focus on the perceptions that were being enhanced by my close proximity to a source that hit all five of my senses with such intensity.

  “Yoshi!” I heard a quiet shout from the entrance to the cave.

  I snapped out of my trance and felt a wave of vertigo hit me. I turned to the sound of my name and saw Suzaku’s head at the cave entrance. I looked at the monk, who seemed just as oblivious to the world as when I first sat down. I rose and felt tightness in my back and cramping in my legs.

  “How long was I sitting there, Suzaku?”

  “A few hours.”

  “Wow.” I rubbed the feeling into my legs and left the monk and fire to their staring contest. “What’s wrong?”

  “A bird just delivered a message for you.” As I reached the entrance to the cave, Suzaku pointed to a very harried carrier bird. “You’ve got some explaining to do.”

  “Why? What is the message?”

  Suzaku held out a message in her wingtip. “Pirates have kidnapped Gisei and say they will return her if you pay a ransom.” I felt my throat close a bit. “Why would they contact you, Yoshi?”

  I knew the phoenix didn’t expect an answer and already knew.

  She sighed. “Yoshi, you lied to me and Tsuyoi about Gisei? Did you get Gisei to lie to her family and village also?”

  A wave of anger rose up in me. “And did you know that she was sent to try to test my body? To see if I could control myself?” Suzaku nodded. “So you lied to me, then?”

  “Not really lie,” she started, “more like withheld information.” She grinned.

  “I’m not smiling, Suzaku. Ever since you chose to hatch for me, other people have controlled my life. Now the woman I love is in danger because we had to hide our feelings for one another to keep from being ripped apart by my destiny. I’m going after her, you know.”

  I heard a yawn at my back. Anatta was standing at the entrance of the cave. He covered his mouth with one hand and waved lightly with the other. “What’s up?” he asked.

  Suzaku motioned toward Anatta with her head. “You can’t leave. You have to finish your spirit training.”

  “Finish what? Learning how to stare at a fire and strengthen my spirit like this old guy?”

  Anatta responded, “I was actually just sleeping. And I’m not that old. When did you get here?”

  I slumped my shoulders. “Wait, so staring into the fire wasn’t some sort of test to see if I could strip myself of my senses and remind myself that they are not what makes me who I am?”

  The monk’s eyes perked up. “No, but that’s a really good idea.” He pointed at me and looked at Suzaku. “He’s pretty smart.”

  “Hardly,” Suzaku replied.

  “Look, I don’t care about my training, Suzaku. Master Anatta, I apologize, but even Suzaku said she has no idea how to train my spirit to be stronger. I can’t test it with mind games or physical trials. I can’t break it and rebuild it like my brain or my body.”

  I felt my emotions welling up. I was angry at being controlled. I was scared that Gisei was in trouble. I was sad that pirates, who had already done so much damage to people I cared about, were the cause. I made up my mind to leave immediately.

  “Maybe the real test of spirit is that I just have to live my life and trust that every experience I have is a small test that makes me who I am meant to be. What if life itself is the Great Spiritual Trial?”

  I began trudging down the small path on the side of the mountain that led to the base. I heard Anatta say something but didn’t hear what it was and didn’t really care. I had to save Gisei from the pirates.

  Part Six: The Revenge

  I only made it a few hundred feet down the narrow sliver of a path from Anatta’s cave before I heard the flapping of giant wings behind me. Suzaku flew next to me as I moved as quickly as I could without falling to my death.

  “You passed,” Suzaku said.

  “Passed what?” I asked, kicking a few stones off the mountain.

  “Your spirit training. Anatta said that you were exactly right and learned the lesson faster than any student he’s ever had.”

  I stopped. I didn’t realize that I had learned a lesson.

  Suzaku curled her beak into a smile. “That is why your spirit training comes last. It never is actually over. You realized that right away.”

  I shrugged and began walking again. I was annoyed that I had to come up to the mountain and leave Gisei to learn such a simple lesson.

  “Not going to ask me?” she questioned. I kept walking. “Fine, I will tell you. Yes, I knew that was the lesson you needed to learn.”

  I stopped walking. “Just like you knew how to solve the Color Cube and you knew Gisei was part of the test and you knew how to make your ashes into a workable material for forging, right?”

  “Yes.”

  “And even though you’re supposed to be my companion, you’ve never helped me with any of these things.”

  “If I told you the answers to any of these things, how would you have learned them? Think of who you are today because of the trials you’ve been through in the last few years. You’re a true warrior now, Yoshi.”

  I allowed myself to smile faintly. A compliment from Suzaku was rare. I made eye contact with the hovering giant phoenix and knew she was right. I quickly reverted back to thoughts of Gisei.

  “Are you going to stop me from rescuing Gisei?”

  Suzaku shook her head. “Why would I do that?” She smirked. I sensed a little more than just her normal snarkiness in the bird’s face. “Warriors are trained to fight bad guys. Let’s go wreck some pirates.”

  I smiled and leapt off the side of the mountain. Suzaku caught me by the arms with her claws and flew us both down to the river. We began our search for the pirates responsible for Gisei’s kidnapping.

  A quick stop in Kajiba led us to more information. Gisei had snuck out the night after I left and started making her way to the other side of the mountain. Pirates on the river attacked the boat she stowed away in and took her captive. Chichi, Gisei’s father, begged me to return her safely to Kajiba. I vowed to do so.

  Suzaku and I learned the pirates that captured Gisei were a small band of the main pirate force and made berth from Kaizoku Island, the only one of the Pirate Isles that fell within the outskirts of Animetown’s section of the Toonopolis Ocean. Suzaku flew us to the island without any further delay.

  We landed on the beach near a mid-size pirate ship moored to a makeshift pier. Suzaku stood next to me and looked excited. I was surprised.

  “You look like you’re ready to fight as much as I am, Suzaku.”

  “It’s been a while since I’ve had a good battle w
ith a hero by my side.” I felt my cheeks grow warmer. “No sarcasm, Yoshi. You may be an idiot, but I am proud to stand by you in battle.”

  “Then let’s get to it.”

  The pirates were not difficult to track. The boot prints on the beach led through a sparsely treed forest to a shantytown not far from the beach. The dilapidated buildings showed signs that they were only used occasionally, such as the obvious lack of attention to repairing broken windows and shoddy roofs.

  I stood in the center of the town and shouted at the top of my lungs, “I demand to speak to your leader.” The laughter and jeers I received through the doors of the buildings were not what I anticipated.

  One of the doors creaked open and a large white man stepped out. He wore a red bandana, sailing boots, and a white long-sleeved shirt. In the red sash at his waist, I could see the hilt of a rapier and the butt of a pistol.

  “And who be ye, boy?” barked the scraggly-bearded pirate.

  I faced the man. “I am Yoshi, sole survivor of the pirate raids on Hiun and Higeki of Animetown. I demand the release of Gisei of Kajiba immediately.”

  “Fancy that, eh? Well, I be Chuck Colson, first mate to Boreas, King of the Pirates.”

  He whistled. A rumble of activity in the buildings suggested the whistle was a call to action for the other pirates. Very quickly, a motley mixture of pirates surrounded Suzaku and I.

  “Lookee here, lads. Looks like we missed one when we sacked . . . what was the name of your hometown again, Yosh?” He grinned and showed off a mouth that was missing many teeth.

  I realized he was baiting me in an attempt to anger me. Tsuyoi would use this technique often to try to get me to forget about the training and fight with anger. Sometimes, she said, it was a good thing. Other times, it would get me killed. I knew this was no time to be fighting with blind anger.

  “I have no desire to play your games, fiend.” I unsheathed my Masamune from behind me and held out its long, gleaming blade. I positioned my feet for mobility, preparing for an attack from all sides.

  Chuck Colson brought a hand to his heart. “Ya hurt me feelins, lad. As for yer lass? We changed our minds on the ransom. King Boreas decided to take her home with ‘im. Thinkin’ he wants a new nursemaid for his wee daughter.” He laughed and pulled his pistol. “Guess ye can leave.”

  He fired a shot directly at me.

  I don’t remember how I did it, but time seemed to slow down as I watched the bullet fly towards me. I stepped back and sliced at the projectile with my sword. The Masamune cut it in two like an apple, each half falling harmlessly to either side of me. I smiled at the pirate.

  “Howdja? Whatdja? Who?”

  Suzaku rose to the air. “Whendja? Wheredja? Whydja?” she added. She cast a large shadow on the pirate square and spoke proudly. “You stand before Yoshi of Higeki, hero of Animetown. There is no greater warrior in our land and he is here to protect his people from the likes of you.”

  The pirates collectively moved their gazes back and forth between the giant phoenix flying above them and the swordsman that just cut down a bullet in mid-air. Most of the pirates were paralyzed, not knowing whether they should fight or run.

  Suzaku read their emotions the same way I did. She taunted them. “You can run now if you’d like.”

  The pirates began scattering like rats in the daylight. Chuck Colson was the only one who didn’t move. He still held his pistol in the position from which he had shot at me. I walked towards him and he fell to his knees.

  I pointed my sword at him. “Where are Boreas and the girl you kidnapped near Kajiba?”

  “D-deeper into the island through the thicker part of the forest. Boreas has a private house there.”

  I nodded and turned my back to the pirate and motioned for Suzaku to follow me. I heard Colson’s breathing grow heavier and his bulky boots scuffling along the wooden porch of his rundown building. I sighed.

  “Are you really going to try to sneak up on me with your heavy wheezing and clumsy feet?” I heard him fall back to his knees. “I didn’t think so.”

  Suzaku and I left the pirates otherwise unharmed. They were not the ones I was after and would hardly present a challenging fight. We passed through the town, feeling the hidden eyes of the pirates watching us leave.

  As we entered the thick part of the forest, I caught a familiar site that made me reach for the hilt of my blade: a figure clad in all black. A voice I had not heard since I was a child chilled me. “Do not be alarmed. I am not here to fight you.”

  The ninja stood in front of me with his hands held so his palms faced out, showing me that he was unarmed.

  I narrowed my eyes and spoke deeply. “But perhaps I am here to fight you, ninja.”

  “I’m not sure you want to fight one to whom you owe your life, Yoshi.” I grasped the hilt of my sword more firmly. “I have heard of your training and deeds since I last saw you, child. Do you remember me?”

  “Naito,” I said. “You were with the ninja leader, Kunoichi, the night Hiun was destroyed.You are the reason I was twice left without a home as a child and you claim I owe you my life?”

  “Yes,” he began, “I used my ninjitsu to block Kunoichi’s fireball that night. Do you remember the tree that fell on you?”

  I didn’t give him an answer but he took my silence as agreement.

  “She didn’t realize it at the time. I am not sure she ever did.”

  “Why did you save me?”

  “We ninja are assassins, not murderers. Kunoichi allowed her hatred for the pirates to drive us into a pointless war with many innocent deaths. Now that I lead the ninja, the war is over.”

  Suzaku chimed in for the first time. “Then why are you here on Kaizoku Island?”

  Naito paused in thought for a moment. Then he responded, “I was delivering a peace offering and truce agreement to Boreas. The Ninja-Pirate War has ended.”

  “What happened to Kunoichi?” I asked.

  “Dead,” Naito replied curtly.

  I released my hold on my Masamune’s hilt and looked down. I was happy that one of my revenge targets was dead, but I was also upset that I wasn’t able to be the one to kill her.

  I hadn’t noticed Naito sneak beside me until he put a hand on my shoulder. “I think you’ll find Boreas a changed man, Yoshi,” he said. “Age has wizened him and life has presented him with new purpose. You should talk to him.”

  I shook off Naito’s hold on my shoulder. “If what you say is true, I do owe you my life. That does not change my opinion of both ninjas and pirates. You are all murderers and need to pay for your crimes.”

  I read sadness in Naito’s black eyes. “Suit yourself, hero, but someone has to end the cycle. Let it be you and your legend shall be great.” In a puff of smoke, Naito vanished into the woods.

  Suzaku looked at me, and I saw concern in her eyes. “He’s right, you know.” I recalled Bikkhu Soohei saying something similar to me when I was a boy.

  I didn’t respond and began walking toward the Pirate King’s house. In a cleared section of the woods, I found it. The door was left open. I entered and found the man I had waited twelve years to see again. His hair was a mixture of the blond I remembered and white. He had lines of age on his face and around his eyes but the brightness of his green irises had not faded over the years.

  Sitting on his lap was a little girl. She had blond hair and green eyes like his. Maybe it was because of those eyes, but I hated her immediately. She was about four or five.

  “Hi, Yoshi. Naito told me ye was coming.”

  “Save your words, scum,” I snarled. “I am not here to talk to you. You killed my parents. You killed countless innocent people in your plundering and pillaging. You deserve to die.” I unsheathed my sword and held it tightly.

  Boreas didn’t disagree with anything I said. He placed the little girl on the ground and patted her head. “Zephyr, why don’t ye run along into the bedroom and play with those nice dolls Naito gave you.” Zephyr looked scared of m
y sword and seemed please to leave the room. She obeyed and left through a door behind Boreas.

  He stood up with much effort, his joints clearly not working as well as they once did. He kneeled in front of me and bared his chest.

  “I don’t deny any of those accusations. I’ve been a bad man. I beg of ye forgiveness and ask that I have a chance to redeem meself through teaching me daughter how to be a better person than I was and raise her to lead the pirates in a new direction.”

  “Why should I believe anything you say? Your pirate spawn will be just as evil as you.” I felt rage growing inside me. My heart rate was increasing and my skin was warming. I felt like I must have been turning red.

  “I’m not asking you to believe me, Yoshi. I’m asking you to give me a chance to prove that a wicked man can change.”

  I glanced at Suzaku, who gave a nonverbal ascent to the pirate’s words. I turned back to Boreas.

  “Where is Gisei?”

  Boreas looked down at the ground. “I hate to inform you that she is dead.”

  I looked at Suzaku again, my eyes wide with anger. Then I stabbed the Pirate King through the chest with my blade.

  “YOSHI!” Suzaku cried, as the pirate’s eyes widened in shock and pain. He gasped, a trickle of blood escaping the corner of his mouth, and fell over.

  I spat on him. “No amount of action can undo your evil past. Death is your only release.” I pulled my blade free from the Pirate King’s dead body and looked at Suzaku, who had tears in her eyes. “He was a wicked man and I wished for his death for twelve long years.”

  Suzaku wiped her eyes with her feathers. “You were destined to be great. You were supposed to be a hero.”

  “I never said I was a hero. You did. I wanted to be strong enough to get revenge. Now I am.” I stepped over Boreas’s body and began walking toward the door in the back of the room.

  “Where are you going?” Suzaku screeched.

  “To end the pirate spawn’s line.”

  Suzaku rose up in anger and nearly knocked me over with the gusts from her powerful wings. She flew to block my path.

  “I will not allow you to kill an innocent child, Yoshi. She has done no wrong.”