2 Chapter 1
It started with a decision. Yet then again it always does. My decision was to make ends meet being underemployed while saving money for a master's degree. My name is Rin Kamiyama. Currently now I'm twenty-three, underemployed as a martial arts teacher. I practiced many martial arts but my specialty is kenjutsu.
I was born in the United States but I was sent back to Japan at high school. But now I'm back here again to pick up on my masters degree studies. I managed to finish college and my first year in my masters but got caught up with tuition fees. Hopefully with all the funds I've saved I'm able to study again after the end of the year. Now I'm living in an apartment around East LA, hopefully being able to get by. There are some this world you cannot choose. But we deal with them in the end.
What remained now is for me washing my kenjutsu uniform with the other parts of me as i was wearing a tank top and boxers. A use coin operated washing machine and a dryer all together cost me $1.50 so it was alright. Other than that there was still rent that cost fifteen hundred, food bills, and gas money. But good thing I was able to afford long sleeves and sweatpants. With all the saving I got...I just got from the bargain bin and that's that. I then go into my room, finding my roommate Tyrell sleeping at the couch. Tyrell Powers works at a night job as an engineer. At Sundays he would be up helping out his dad at the local black church. Around the Christmas season he invites me to celebrate the holidays with his folks. We barely talk but he's good company.
After a bit of cleaning and chores I take out my weapons collection and clean them. Most of these are based on the different types of martial arts I've studied. Tyrell then wakes up in shock as he soon noticed the gun on the table. He then backs away, only to remember the gun was mine. "You know, freaking out like that won't do you good. It's just a thing." I said. "I wasn't trained like you. I grew up in a pastor's family." He told me. I then chuckled as I put down my gun. My tea was ready and I looked at the clock. "Shouldn't you be getting ready for work?" I asked Tyrell. He looked at the time and he busted out of the couch in shock. The man bolted into his room and got ready. I on the other hand turned on the TV and watched my anime subscription as I enjoyed my tea.
My life was rather a plain one with nothing else rather than my martial arts. The day then ends after Tyrell goes to work. Fast forward to mid-morning and I'm already at the martial arts dojo. Mitsurugi dojo was owner was no other than my uncle, Ryuji Kamiyama. He came from my dad's side, hoping to make off from the American dream teaching kenjutsu. The man was pretty right. Lots of people would pay to learn how to use a sword, especially a katana. I actually was a student of his when I was still in Japan. Surprisingly I ended up being one of the senior teachers of his dojo. I've been working there ever since.
The day usually starts with me wearing my gi and hakama. These were my normal attire. Soon the students come with their white top gi and a black hakama. Since I was an instructor I had to wear all black. But since I was baby-faced it was hard for people to take me seriously. As I was warming up for the first class calls me out with a whistle. "Rin, warm me up will ya?" He asks in Japanese with a Kansai accent. My uncle then tosses me a boken. Normally we don't do any bouts in kenjutsu but it just more meant for the two of us to get our blood boiling. It was also a good motivator for the students too, to get them pumped for their next lesson. The both of us stood at opposite sides of the mat. We had no armor; it was just our wooden swords and wit. The old man takes a coin and flips it up the air. The coin lands at the floor and a surge of energy fills our bodies. We charged against each other and the duel began.
The both of us let loose our sword swings, hoping to get a hit. With each stroke gave us more bloodlust. Every attack and counter was given with such speed and no feelings of giving in. Parrying and blocks were helpful but speed was needed to execute techniques. What people don't know is that a katana does not require strength but agility and speed to cut. Once you get that down, your movements will not only be effective but as fast as lightning.
The both of us kept fighting on as we were even matched. Techniques were soon controlled by instincts as my mind took over. My uncle almost hit me but I managed to avoid it with a dodge roll and follow up with a horizontal slash. Barely my uncle stabbed his wooden sword at the ground and managed to block it. My mind started to tremor and my heart raced as all I could do was pause. My uncle then started to look at me. "What are you waiting for? Let it take over!" He shouted me. I then jumped and readied my sword. In a brief moment I dashed towards my uncle and came with him with all I got. Something took over in me as I started to use different styles to fight. The only problem was that they weren't mine. As I parried, I did flips and dodge rolls to avoid attacks. Some of my attacks even lead to the point I did a forward flip with a vertical swing. But the final blow was struck. With a single slash I disarmed my uncle and his blade flew in the air and hit the ceiling.
The bout ended with the wooden blade at his neck. My uncle raised his hands and showed defeat. The tremors in my head gave me a headache and I kneeled at the floor. My uncle helps me up and lets me stand. "You're getting better." He complemented. But as I was on my two feet, the fluorescent beam dislodged and shattered at the floor. The whole class screamed and our class was delayed. I did get better....just not as intended.
It was only around lunch that I was given a breather. I stopped by the local cafe and ordered a sandwich. After that I stop by the dojo and eat with my uncle. He was having some take-out from last night. There he poured me some green tea on a mug. The taste was refreshing but it gave me another headache. My uncle seems to notice this and puts his lunch aside. "So, are these visions getting stronger?" He asked. I nodded my head. He sighs and leans back on his chair. "So… do you meditate like I tell you?" He asked. I nodded my head and confirmed. "It's hard to admit it but it gets scary." I told him. He looks at me in silence. My uncle then gets up and tosses me some keys. "Shut the blinds at the dojo and light some incense sticks." He tells me, "The students won't be coming for a while so it's a good time to meditate."
I did as my uncle instructed. With the blinds down the whole room was pitch black. The only light in the room came from the candles my uncle lit and the embers of the incense. My uncle was a monk before he became a martial artist. Eventually it lead to him to learn of his past life. Somewhere around the lines we had a bloodline of Buddhist monks and Shinto priests, some of them being in the line of Onmyouji.
My uncle then brings a chime and a bell. He then bends a knee and kneels besides me. "Are you ready?" He asked. I nodded my head in agreement. I then sit down and crossed my legs. By the first ring of the chime I closed my eyes. My state of mind reaches a state of silence. It was nothing but a void. The smell of incense and the light of the candles started to fade till it reached a pure black void. The room started to fill with color as my memories started to unravel. It all started out the same. There were six memories of five different lives. One of a large scale war with guns and artillery shells. The second was of almost the same but with swords and muskets. The third I was jumping off of rooftops in the midst of darkness. The fourth was of me on horseback. As for the fifth, there were two memories. One was a boulder descending towards a cave and another of a man staring at a river reflection. But the other side being a dark figure with four horns.
But as the memories ended, I then recalled to the second memory. Again a war of muskets and swords. But the memory continues on as the battlefield started to actualize. The sound of cannon fire and horses rang my eardrums. The clanging of swords and the rivers of blood flowed that it refused to be absorbed by the soil. I soon realized I was holding katana and noticed what time it was as I saw the black uniform I was wearing. It was there I realized that I was at the Bakumatsu, the final years of the Edo period.
The memories started to become suffocating as my body charged on it's own. A strange sword style that I strangely recognized came from my hands. I was a tempest of destruction as not only I managed to not land my attacks but deflect bullets. But it was at this moment I let my guard down and was shot at the throat. My subordinates attended to me as I was drowning in my own blood. There I heard a name, my old name.
The candles then extinguished on their own and my eyes opened. We were startled as the room went back to darkness. "Well this is unexpected." My uncle said.
The lights started to flicker. Soon the flickering started to rush till the candles embers started to become brighter. It was then the the flickering stopped and a sudden flash comes. A sudden surge of white light burst at the air and formed and appears an Asian woman with a black and white kimono. "I am the Goddess Tsukuyomi" The woman said. The woman then comes to me. As it got closer I started to feel its warmth. "Tragic Hero of Lost Souls, you are called to serve the gods once more." The she says, "I give you your power. You have died with honor for so many, hopefully you live as long as we promised for this life."
A crystal ball appears of gray mist circling inside it. It soon brakes and the mist enters my body. As it enters I felt my body change. But as all of it was absorbed, a brief second the woman disappeared. I then heard my heartbeat strong and my chest tighten. I fell at the ground and fell unconscious. What the hell was going on?
