by N. Y. Weaver
in his castle he found peace and serenity in his solitude.
The towering, brilliant white castle stood at the peak of a large hill, its numerous black rooftops piercing the deep blue sky above. Scattered throughout the intricate maze of defensive mechanisms that previously defended the castle grew many sakura trees, each spring blossoming beautiful puffs of pink cherry blossoms. In the highest chamber of the castle sat a young Musashi. Gazing through his window he looked intently into the menacing dark blue mountain ranges that loomed in the distance beyond.
In the mornings as a teenager he would often walk to the mountains and the sit by a great waterfall, reading and meditating until the roaring of the water on the jagged rocks below drowned out everything else. On one particular morning Musashi was swimming in the tranquil pool created by the waterfall and felt something protruding from the pool’s floor beneath his feet. Dragging the heavy, long object out of the water and onto land he found himself holding an ancient and powerful-looking blade, yet so heavy he was barely able to wield it.
During the spring-time the Shogun’s daughter Lan would travel from Kyoto to visit Musashi. They were friends from long ago when Musashi’s father used to meet with the Shogun and they maintained their friendship despite his death.
“Lan, you’ll never believe what I found a sword at the waterfall last week, I found a sword!” Musashi said excitedly sitting on his bed with his friend.
“A sword, show it to me!” Lan replied.
“I was thinking about becoming a swordsman, like my father was.” Musashi said as he retrieved the long curved blade from beneath his bed.
Lan studied the heavy sword’s engraved golden hilt and meticulously examined it’s delicately patterned edge. She screwed up her face slightly and she placed the sword on the bed.
“He was not a good man Mumu, don’t become like him. Things like this only lead to evil and darkness. You’re too good to be a swordsman.” Lan said.
“I’ll still be good, just bad to bad people! And I can so be bad, there’s always a little darkness in the light, that’s what a shadow is silly,” Musashi laughed “Just watch I’ll be the best swordsman that ever lived!”
The boy quickly became a man. Following the footsteps of his ancestors and studying their works, Musashi trained in seclusion as a samurai. His arms grew stronger, his legs became faster and his mind became clearer. With unequalled dedication he developed unheard of techniques and over time he and his sword became one. The great Himeji castle remained unchanged. The cherry blossoms died and blossomed sixteen more times and during the end of the sixteenth spring in 1864, they came.
The skies were still black as the morning had yet to arrive when the heavily armoured General Sun and his team of warriors crept through the open unguarded gates of Himeji Castle. The warriors scattered across the grounds, seemingly knowing the elaborate layout of the castle’s foregrounds while the General headed for the front entrance of the castle. Dodging dead-ends and traversing steep inclines he was soon shouting to the window of the highest room of the castle where he knew Musashi slept.
“Musashi, wake up! It is I, your uncle General Sun!” he shouted into the night air.
“Let us go for a quiet early morning walk to the waterfall. It is time for us to settle our differences. It is what your father would have wanted; we are family after all, nephew!” Sun shouted to no reply.
From behind the armour-clad General a silky voice began to speak.
“General, we both know that is not what you intend to do here,” Musashi said calmly as the General turned, his iron plated amour clanking loudly. “You have come to kill your own blood, so you can claim Himeji Castle for yourself, you needn’t say more.”
“Then we shall take this path,” Sun said grimly “BURN!”
Across the castle’s grounds the cherry blossoms were set ablaze by the General’s six elite warriors. The pink slowly shrivelled and turned to black in the licking flames as grey smoke rose above the castle.
“What have you done?” cried Musashi drawing his great sword in a furious flourish. The General took a step back, momentarily stunned before returning to his large, menacing stature.
“You really thing you can kill me and all my warriors?” the General laughed cruelly.
Musashi lunged forward, striking in rapid succession only to be deflected by the General’s fortified armoured forearms and impenetrable chest armour. With a sinister scowl the General aimed a heavy blow to side of Musashi’s face, knocking him back violently. Recovering Musashi spun, to see the shadowy silhouettes of the General’s team of six warriors watching attentively.
Two giant goons named Gog and Magog stood out immediately, clubs in hand and grins on their distorted troll-like faces. A swordsman leaning on his sword, two archers perched on nearby walls and an elegant lady carrying a spiked-mace completed the rest of the team.
“Lan?!” Musashi cried as he recognized the lady with the mace.
“I’m the shogun’s daughter Mumu, I have to assist the daimyos, I’m sorry.” Lan said looking at her feet.
“Without Lan’s knowledge, we would never have known how to get through to the castle. She was my little spy,” the General smiled maliciously “Now dispose of h..”
Before the General could finish his sentence Musashi had knocked the General of his feet and dashed off to the nearest wall. Traversing up the wall in an instant and obscured from view by the smoking sakura trees and darkness of the night he rapidly sped towards an archer expertly firing arrows in his direction. Time become secondary as Musashi approached the archer, dodging arrows with the grace of his movement. Finally reaching the archer, Musashi swung his sword, slicing through the sleek bow which obliterated into a million fragments. Keeping the momentum of the moving sword via a circular motion above his head Musashi beheaded the archer before manoeuvring forwards off the wall.
The General’s swordsman then moved forwards oozing with both boredom and overconfidence. Using his sword as a makeshift pole vault the sword master rapidly somersaulted towards Musashi. Musashi took a low defensive stance and as the sword master was in the middle of his final flip towards him Musashi speedily kicked his sword from below him. The sword master screamed in agony as Musashi’s own sword pierced through the overconfident sword master’s heart as he fell to the ground. A whistle of an arrow narrowly missing his ear alerted Musashi to the immediate impending danger and turning his head in the direction of the sound he saw the two large goons slowly advancing.
Sprinting straight towards the goons Musashi began to become a blur. Quickly reaching the giant enemies he swiftly spun and delivered a devastating kick to the knee of the slightly smaller goon named Gog. The goon collapsed to his knee, allowing Musashi to leap onto his back, from there leap onto the Magog’s shoulder and from there leap onto the wall on which the second archer stood. Running full speed on the narrow wall Musashi swung his blade through the blaze of a burning sakura tree so that its flames jumped towards and momentarily disoriented the archer. Shattering his jaw with blunt edge of his blade he robbed him of his large bow and proceeded to shove him off the wall headfirst to his death.
Using the stolen bow and his sword as a makeshift arrow, Musashi fired his sword into the head of the Magog with a sickening thud. Jumping down onto the back of the Magog, Gog swung his club furiously in Musashi’s direction. Musashi pulled his sword from Magog’s head and jumped to the ground, leaving the smaller goon to knock his ally to the ground. Red dripping from his sword and club wounds, Magog lay dead spread out across the grass, a small puddle of blood forming around his head. Gog dropped his club, fell to the ground and began to weep into his hands for his friend.
In the corner of his eye Musashi saw Lan and the General escaping into Himeji Castle. Musashi followed the pair into the castle where he heard them hurriedly ascending the castle’s main staircase. Musashi followed and then slowed to a walk as he saw the two enter the highest chamber of the castle, his own room.
“Mumu, you w
ill understand one day why I had to betray you.” Lan said with tears in her eyes as Musashi entered his room.
“Please spare me, you can kill Lan the spy, but we can both leave this room alive,” the General pleaded as he backed towards the furthest wall of the room, “Musashi, it might not seem like it but I’m the one who can save you! The Emperor will soon be assassinated, the shogun will fall and the samurai will be abolished. If you join me I can make you a General like me!”
“The shogun will never fall, your lying!” Lan sobbed despondently.
“I will never join you. But I will not kill you. I have killed needlessly too many times today. General Sun, if you vow to never harm a person again and leave this land and never return I will allow you to leave.” Musashi said slowly.
“You have been very wise today, after all we are family.” the General said happily as he approached to embrace Musashi.
At the last moment General Sun snatched Musashi’s sword and brought it to the swordsman’s throat. But before Musashi or the General could make a move, Lan powerfully swung her mace into the General’s head, so forcefully that his body flew through the room’s window and into the night air. Grasping at the air above him as he fell, his screaming abruptly ceased and gave way to a loud crash.
Lan lay down on