Student

"So, tell me, how have you been?" Mifune asked me while we both sat upon the veranda of his rather large home, drinking from steaming cups of tea with blankets thrown over our shoulders to shield us from the harsh cold that was seemingly always present in this land.

Taking my eyes off of the slowly falling snow I looked at Mifune-sama, who was smiling slightly at me with a knowing gleam in his eyes.

Turning away from him and looking back out at the beautiful garden, consisting of needle trees and stones arranged in a weirdly harmonious fashion, like only a real artist could manage, all covered under a small sheet of freshly fallen snow, I thought about my time here so far.

Judging by the gleam Mifune-sama had in his eyes he assumed that I liked it here very much and had fit right in, and thinking about it now I had to admit that I truly liked it in this land and amongst these incredibly dedicated men all around me.

I had never seen such devotion in any human before, who was as wholeheartedly dedicated to what they were doing at all times. Be that working in some administrative fashion, as a scholar, artist, soldier, cook or craftsman. All I had met so far shared that dedication and somehow that dedication had managed to waft over from the people to the land, which was practically brimming with barely concealed potential.

You could feel it in the air with every breath you took and under your feet with every step through the small village I know lived in.

I had thought much on the why about that dedication I could feel humming in the air at all times and I had come to a two-fold conclusion.

One: the people themselves. No matter where I looked I could not spot a single individual that didn't work on whatever with everything they had and saw it as normal.

Two: their philosophy. You may argue that both are two sides of the same coin, and you would be right in that assumption, but to me it helped in my understanding of the why to separate those two.

As far as I had understood, the people here followed one very special philosophy, namely if you do something do it right or don't do it at all. But what I hadn't come to understand yet is how that philosophy had come into being in the first place.

Turning back around I regarded Mifune-sama for but a moment and immediately spotted that same dedication around him that I had observed in all the other people in this place, that same maddened passion to just DO.

Thus, instead of answering his question I just couldn't help but give one of my own in turn, even though I knew it was rude of me to do so.

"How? How is everybody in this place so focused and dedicated to literally everything? How do you keep being so focused all the time without snapping?" I asked and at my question Mifune-sama's smile grew even wider than I had ever seen on his features before.

"Heh, you don't waste any time do you, Makoto?" He returned and I couldn't help but blush a little at this small admonishment, well aware of the fact that I had it coming with my rudeness.

Turning away from me, Mifune-sama looked out into the garden before us just as I had done just seconds ago and seemed to think about his words carefully.

"As you well know by now, all those that live in this village are members of the military in some form or another. Even though all men here serve in different capacities there is one factor that unites all of us, one thing that we all have in common." Mifune-sama spoke after which he turned around and smiled at me with an expression on his face I had difficulties placing.

But before I could clearly delve into the meaning behind his facial expression, Mifune-sama continued.

"We are all Samurai. But, different to what most people believe or think to know for a fact, being Samurai does not only mean to be a warrior. It includes it but isn't indicative of being a Samurai. Samurai means both to serve and to protect. Hence, being a warrior isn't the only way to be Samurai.

As such, and in order to serve/protect that which you hold dear or cherish the most, all those who are serious about their duties and the honour in fulfilling them, develop that single-minded passion and focus you have observed all around the village.

However, not just anybody can simply be that focused from one moment to the next. That's simply not how the human mind works, especially not young ones. No. Those you have observed are the ones that have developed such focus only after seeing what may take from them that which they hold closest to their hearts. Something you have in common with them. They went to war." Mifune-sama explained and I hung on his every word.

I had thought about something very similar already but I hadn't had any evidence to proof that theory before. Now however, I knew. And it was a sobering thought.

Having observed me closely, it came as no surprise to me when Mifune-sama spotted the smoothening of my facial features and the disappearance of all feelings formerly displayed on my face.

"Yes, I see that you've realised. War has that effect on people, and you have been to war at a younger age than most. I have no doubt that your experience will shape you in one way or another up to your later moments in life." Mifune-sama spoke while turning away from me once again, after which he blew out a small billow of air from his mouth that swiftly formed a cloud of white mist, causing us both to look at it as a form of distraction.

"War is like a ravenous beast. As it takes men for fuel, so does it take from those it doesn't manage to swallow, simply by consuming their innocence, which leaves behind a man devoid of childish happiness. It lays bare our souls right before us and uncovers things about us that men usually take decades to discover about themselves, if they ever do." And I knew Mifune-sama was right when he said those words.

Whenever I had a moment to myself, I would usually just think about random things or none at all. But since I had been to war, my thoughts had never been as vibrant and exuberant as I could remember them being when I was still younger. So full of glee and excitement at the smallest things. Now, those formerly vibrant colours had dulled and taken on a more serious tinge.

"While some of those who've been to war decide to never witness something of that kind again, or altogether turn their backs on violence and the martial way by becoming pacifists in most cases, some have chosen to take that experience and, instead of finding other ways to prevent war from breaking out once more, taken to honing their skills in the martial way to such a degree that they can prevent war from consuming their charge which they have chosen to protect.

It is a very human thing to do after all. Either you run away in the face of a threat or you stay and fight it head on. There is no shame in running, mind you. But sometimes you just cannot run from danger. That is why some have chosen instead to prepare for the eventuality of war coming for them and their charges once again." I wondered, what should I choose? I didn't yearn for war. I knew what it was like and I had been horrified by that experience.

Furthermore, those I would have chosen to protect lived far, far way from this place, if they were even still alive at all, and I had no clue how and where to look for them.

So, why would I stay and fight? It seemed only logical to find some other way in order to stop war from even breaking out again.

And yet, I knew war would come for me again one day. After all, I had been part of a war for the most asinine of reasons to begin with, which spoke volumes about those that had the power to go to war and send innocent men to their deaths, simply so they could indulge themselves some more in one way or another.

Even here, at the northern most top of the world that I knew of, could I really be sure that war wouldn't come for me again? No, I could not. And the next time I wouldn't be as lucky as I had been the last time. One spear to the chest, one sword to the neck and that was it. It was frustrating, infuriating and sobering how helpless I was at preventing war from approaching once more. Thus, I knew what I needed to do, if only to be more prepared for when the moment arrived that I stood there once again amongst other men, fighting for my life as I had only weeks ago.

"I see you have come to a decision." Mifune-sama spoke, looking at me with eyes that seemed to known far too much for my liking, as if peering right past the mask I had in place to hide the turmoil of my inner world.

"Am I right in my assumption that you have chosen the martial path then?" I nodded only once and that was all that was needed to convey my message to Mifune-sama who turned back around towards the garden with a rather sombre look on his face.

"Be here tomorrow at dawn. I will educate you to the best of my abilities." And with those parting words that left me feeling a little numb, Mifune-sama stood up and went back into his home for the night. I meanwhile, walked almost mechanically back towards my home only a few minutes away from Mifune-sama's.

It seems like I've just become Mifune-sama's student. 'Bummer that.' I thought to myself while a small smile had blossomed on my face.