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A/N: YAY! I've been typing this story FOREVER. I was waiting
until I finished it to publish it anywhere, but I didn't know about
Actually, I'm already on Chapter Twenty-six and have
reached over 200 pages on Word. I've been writing this since Thursday,
February 27, 2003, 12:25 AM. Yeah, I know, I keep track of these kinds of
things. Anyways, please handle this story with care, as it is my baby and
I love it a lot. Writing this story has been my favorite past-time for
over a year. Please enjoy.
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Dedications: To Alaina, my bestest best friend in the entire
world! I miss you so much!
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PART ONE
NEVER TRUST A SAMURAI
CHAPTER ONE
IN WHICH I TELL YOU OF MY DEPRIVED CHILDHOOD
One day, suddenly, my parents were gone. I lived in a small dojo
in a forest, all alone with my father and my mother, both of whom were
master swordsmen. I had been training in the Onikushirutu style ever
since my eighth birthday three days ago.
They left the day my father had promised to teach me how to hold
my sword properly. My parents had never been really very close to me, as
they were very private people who focused mainly on their swordsmanship.
Many a time I had to tell myself that I was not just a distraction. In
reality, I knew I was.
They had always shunned me, and almost feared me, like I held
some greater power that scared them into eventually leaving me all alone.
Once, when I was six, I had finished eating breakfast and was
helping my father clean the dojo when I found myself alone in the
training room. I looked everywhere, but they were gone.
I had never expected them to leave me. I knew that they didn't
really love me that much, but I had never even thought about the
possibility that they would leave me with no food at that.
They took everything with them: food, clothing; everything
except my mother's sword, which she had told me she would give me one
day, and a short note saying only two things, one in my mother's
handwriting, and one in my father's.
My father had written: 'Hold the sword at stomach length, so
that your arms stretch until they are straight; never forget to keep your
legs bent just in case you might have to jump or dodge. This is the way
you hold a sword in the Onikushirutu style.'
My mother had written something quite different from my father's
school-like instructions. She had written something that sounded like
poetry: 'Though there is always a first drop of rain, it is only the
beginning of the storm.'
At the time I didn't understand it, for I was only about eight
years old. All I felt like was crying. I was hungry all day. At first I
thought that maybe they had only left to go buy more food, and I waited
for them to come home until early the next morning, when I fell asleep.
The next day I waited too.
.and the day after that.
It took me four years to finally realize that they weren't
coming back.
Over that span of time I had learned how to hunt with a bow I
made out of thin branches and my knife and I knew how to build a fire and
how to cook soup and other foods. I learned about the different plant
life as well.
Those four years were the loneliest of my life.
When it finally hit me that I wasn't going to see them again, I
went to sleep at four in the afternoon and woke up at twelve the next
day.
It was the best I'd slept in four years, and I could have slept
longer.
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Well, there's Chapter One. YAY! A plot begins to develop very
soon, so please don't just sigh and leave. Here's a preview of the next
chapter!
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At the screen stood an old withered man with a short
gray beard and a sack over his shoulder. He also had something sticking
out from his belt. It took me a moment to realize that it was a sword.
"Hello, young lady. Are you the lord Rokkaku's
daughter?"
"Yes sir, I am. I'm sorry, but he isn't here."
"May I wait for him?"
I looked at the ground remorsefully.
"That is something I stopped doing two years ago."
"Oh, I see. Then you are the new mistress of this
dojo."
I shrugged. "I don't know. This isn't really a dojo
anymore, considering that-"
All of a sudden, my sword was raised and I was
fending off the old man's sword in defense.
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*does a little dance* I'm so happy I decided to put this on the
site. If this pleases you, then review, but I won't pressure you into
doing so. Until Chapter Two, ja ne.