Prologue

".....Is he.....are you sure?

"....breathing.....look threatening."

Quick little snippets of conversation filled the waking youths ears as he slowly gained consciousness, the dark world around him slowly coming into light as he opened his eyes. The voices surrounding him became more pronounced every second that passed by up until the point where he could make out each and every person by the mere sound of their breathing and the slight shift of their weight against the snow-ridden ground. Neon blue hues opened up, greeting the surroundings with emotionless depths as the young man with dark hair, tinged with white tips, tensed up.

"We can't just leave him here," the young boy heard one of the men mutter, a deep voice filled with concern. "He'll freeze to death."

"True, but we could also be putting the village in serious risk," a much younger voice rebuttaled, bringing up something the child could only identity as polite logic with hostile undertones. "If he's a spy for any of the other nations then we may as well just ignore the boy. Logically, wouldn't it be better to just leave him?"

"Hold your tongue, lest it be cut out and fed to the wolves." another, more mature voice responded, easily drowning out the others. "Is that any way for a samurai to talk? Especially about a mere child?"

The prostrated youth kept on listening to the back and forth arguments, his body automatically prepped for attack should the need arise. He couldn't recall a single thing about his past nor where he was, his memories completely wiped with him unable to remember anything, but it appeared as if his own body could recall enough to put up an attack and defense should it require, his muscles tensing up.

With that realization, the boy decided to get off the floor, unwilling to die laying down when he had only just regained consciousness. His head hurt and was ever so murky, but his mind seemed more then capable of running diagnostics about multiple concepts at once without trouble. There wasn't any fear despite the lack of knowledge nor was there any apprehension residing within, it was as if everything within had been sapped, leaving only logic and deductive reasoning. Due to this lack of feeling, his judgment remained unclouded as he pushed himself off of the cold ground and onto his bare feet. The ground was unbelievably cold but that only cleared his mind further as he let out a small breath, hot air appearing before him in a small cloud.

The first thing the black haired youth did was scan his surroundings, his guard raised as he soaked in everything. From the group of nine grey armored warriors with katanas attached to their waists to the snowy environment that surrounded him, the small youth made sure to take everything in, leaving nothing out. Every small detail down to the footprints left by the warriors before him was taken into account as the child clutched the hilt of the katana tucked into the cyan and black checkered sheath tied to his black cargo shorts.

The moment the small youth had picked himself off of the ground, the others had already taken notice and readied themselves. The majority of them didn't appear to be very much affected by the boys presence, nonchalantly standing upright in a sort of relaxed pose, and those few that DID take hostile stances were much shorter then the others, just a bit taller then the boy himself. Most of them had masks that covered their faces but the youth had no real need to see the expressions of the men to sense that almost all of them, aside from the smaller ones, held no hostile intent.

(("Where.....am I?")) The boy muttered internally as he let go of his swords hilt, his body relaxing. (("Who are.....these guy?"))

The child wanted to ask the strangers some questions about his own whereabouts, already aware that they knew nothing about who he was personally based off their previous back and forth conversations. However, before he could manage to initiate any sort of dialogue, one of the taller warriors positioned near the front stepped forward, moving and kneeling down in front of the small youth onto a single knee. Grabbing the sides of his or her helmet, the figure pulled it off before tucking it beneath his left armpit, holding it there as he locked gazes with the small boy.

"Hello there, small one," the man said politely, soft brown eyes filled with curiosity. "You could be injured or worse so try not to move too much. Its pretty cold out here, especially for someone as young as you. My name is Tokugawa. Might I have your own?"

The small youth chose to keep quiet as he gazed over the man's facial features. A weathered face, brown eyes, slightly long salt and pepper hair, and a strong jawline with a distinct lack of facial hair. While none of what he observed helped the boy learn anything, he still committed the man's visage to memory as he tilted his head, neon blue hues staring blankly back at Tokugawa. A full minute passed without either side saying a word, most of them waiting patiently for the small youth to speak up.

"My.....name." The youth finally said, his first words spoken aloud since he had awoken. His voice sounded distorted and choppy, as if he had been punched repeatedly in throat before having all the liquid in his mouth dried up. It was a disturbing sound that grated against the boys own ears. "I....don't know."

"That so." Tokugawa glanced back briefly at his fellow warriors before shifting his attention back to the boy. "Do you know where you are or how you got here? Anything?"

"....No."

"Do you know anything at all about who you are? Anything at all?"

".....No."

Tokugawa nodded slowly at the youths response, as if he had already suspected as much. Rising to his feet, the older gentleman patted the small amnesiac over the head before walking back towards the group, strolling over to the rear where a large makeshift backpack was being carried by one of the shorter warriors. After a few moments of some rummaging, the elder man made his way back, this time carrying a thick coat in his hands, one made with grey and white fur lining the insides as well as the outside.

"Here," Tokugawa said with a smile as he threw it over the boys head. "Put that on. It'll trap what's left of your body heat and warm you right up."

The small youth almost fell over as the coat was unceremoniously draped over his head, it being far heavier then it had initially looked. After some fierce struggling and nearly tumbling into the snow, the child was eventually able to get the coat on correctly, slipping his arms through the sleeves.

"There you go. Doesn't that feel much better?" One of the other warriors asked, laughter evident in his tone. "It's a bit big but it should be much better then nothing."

(("It's....warm.")) The boy noted as he unconsciously tightened the coat around himself. (("Very effective."))

"Now that you have that, how would you like to come with us?" Tokugawa asked as he walked back towards his group, placing the helmet back on his head. "We were headed home anyways. I'm sure no one would mind you tagging along."

From the way it had been phrased, the black haired youth had clearly been given a choice, either to go with them or go off alone. Of course, there was only one right answer, one that was plainly obvious to see.

Going off on his own without the slightest idea as to where he was, or who he was, was basically suicide as he knew not of the terrain or any basic survival methods. Even without memories, he knew he needed to eat to live, to drink to live, to have a proper shelter to protect from the environment. He instinctively knew what needed to be done in order to stay alive and that going off on his own was asking for death. The ones in front of him had clothing, as well as possibly possessing food and water and most likely shelter from the way they had been talking earlier. The only option was to follow them even if it had meant tailing them.

"I...wish to go....with you," The boy answered, his scruffy, childish voice somewhat clearing up as his body began to finally restore its lost heat. "But...who are.....you guys?"

"Well, that's something I'll happily tell you about," Tokugawa said as he notably raised his chest, pride in his voice. "We're Samurai!!"