1 The Beginning

Authors Notes:

"" = Speech

<> = Other actions

<B> = Techniques

Floating aimlessly through an infinite void of absolute darkness thoughts passed through my head, how had I arrived here and how long have I been here? Frustration and confusion flooded me as I searched my mind for any recollection of what led me to this place, but everything remained a blank.

I was startled awake by the sudden <POP> accompanied by a voice. A person wearing a blueish-white robe exclaimed, "He's alright Miss!" There was the sound of tired and labored breathing before the labored voice spoke, "He shall be named Hikaru Tsukino." confused and tired I attempted to understand what was going on, but my eyelids betrayed me as they drooped closed making me drift off to sleep.

...

Life as an infant was, although uncomplicated, quite dull. I hadn't achieved much except for filling up my diapers and trying to vocalize, which only left me frustrated. All that I knew was that I was born in a place called The Land of Forge. It was apparently the place where the first katana was supposedly created and where most of the whole country got their weapons.

Overhearing one of the conversations that the matrons had at the orphanage, I was able to find out some stuff about my family. Before my birth, my now deceased father apparently wasn't acting himself and killed many people in cold blood after then being killed. This was pretty interesting and had me think of many reasons as to why he had done this, was it because he was angry? On the other hand my mother was apparently a skillful samurai who died during my birth due to the pain of birthing me and the stress of losing her husband.

...

Today was an interesting day, I had fully mastered crawling. Eager to move into walking and strengthen myself I began balancing myself in my crib. After a few years of doing so I had learned walking. "Hikaru! Put that stick down!" yelled the matron. Aw man, they had caught me again. I had recently been interested in swords and although I didn't have any, sticks would be decent replacements for now. I had wanted to practice some basic sword swings for myself, so I picked up some sticks from outside and gave it a go - suddenly feeling as if I had found a piece of my soul.

It had been 4 years since my birth, looking into the mirror I had prepared myself by tying my long black hair with purple highlights into a messy pony tail while wearing an average black kimono. Today was the day that I'd be going to the Academy, the place where one began their samurai journey. Making my way through the gently falling snow I reached a white and black building. Confirming my submission with the samurai guarding the academy I made my way inside the building.

Strolling to class 1A, I noticed it was a small group and more than likely the smallest group of students in this year. Consequently, they were forced to bring in an array of different children. Making my way up the staircase, I located the desk furthest away from the entrance at the left-hand side corner in the hope of not being seen in order to sleep and read during boring classes.

As the names were read aloud, two people from the class stood out to me. The boy had white hair and eyes so light blue they almost looked white, paired with pale skin and a navy kimono. The girl to his side had jet-black hair and dark blue eyes, accompanied by a light tan complexion and wearing a dark blue kimono.

From I could tell, these two people were the strongest ones here; they surely surpassed even me with my rigorous training routine of 100 sword slashes for every angle from 0+45 degrees up until reaching 360 degrees, in addition to a 500km run morning and evening. My body strength had greatly increased with this program, so if these two were stronger, I couldn't wait to witness their strength in battle.

Once roll call had been completed, everyone gathered at the back of the academy on a layer of flat snow. Instructor Kim's booming voice began to echo in the cold air, "Today we will be learning and practicing the 5 fundamental stances of samurai swordsmanship!, jōdan, chūdan, gedan, hassō and waki. "

Although the basic stances were good fundamentals they only helped beginners. I had decided to utilize onto a stance that I found to be useful, <The Standard Eight Wheel Pattern>. Although still sort of basic this technique was currently great as it could be useful in many scenarios, but for now I was learning to execute perfectly. <The Standard Eight Wheel Pattern> could also let me gather momentum into my swings, and with the practice that garnered from training these movements at the orphanage for a month using a stick I had become adept. The stick would become a blur if the pattern was done precisely.

"Alright everybody, take a sword from the rack" ordered Kim. Everyone then went to the sword rack and picked a sword their height. The sword was slightly heavier than the stick, but should still produce the same results. Instructor Kim then taught the fundamentals and walked around them while inspecting our forms. After doing so he told us to use the remaining time to practice, and that he'd still be able to teach anyone who didn't understand his teachings correctly, at that moment a few people went to him asking for guidance.

Looking over at the boy named and girl who's names I now knew to be Yukito and Keiko. They had asked the teacher if they could spar, of course they were allowed due to their mastery of sword techniques in comparison to the class.

Yukito had added a layer of frost to his blade, which seemed to increase the sharpness of his tanto. Keioko dodged and parried a few of his swings with some with her strength. I watched part of their sparring session before turning back to my training to speed up my movements. I was experimenting with a new sequence based on the fundamentals of <The Standard Eight Wheel Pattern>; I called it <(Sword Dance 1st Form, Crescent Dash)>.

The form would consist of me dashing at top speed and performing a wide crescent shaped cut starting from my top right with my blade placed horizontally, and making a wide arc towards my bottom right whilst dashing through the enemy. After the lesson and practice time that Instructor Kim gave to us we had lunch indoors, where I was silent, not talking to anyone and writing down possible future forms and maneuvers into my notebook.

...

Lunch was a blur, the only foods I had were an assortment of fruits. Then, after lunch I attended History class while generating possible ideas for my other Lunar forms. When the mundane lecture was finished, we were released from the academy. After taking a few steps on the cold and icy paths I heard my name being called, turning around it seemed that Yukito and Keiko were approaching me.

"Hey, we noticed you were the only one in our class with real fighting skills. Wanna come to one of the training grounds tomorrow after school?" Yukito asked me cheerfully. "Sure thing! An extra bit of practice and some sparring sounds great," I answered. Keiko quietly nodded her head in agreement. "See you there, then!" I shouted as I took off for the Orphanage.

As I opened the door to the orphanage to my confusion all of my belongings were waiting there against the wall. The matron then entered through another door.

"I'm sorry, Hikaru. We can't provide you a space here in the orphanage. We have filed an application for you to receive your own apartment in the center of the shopping district, and you will need to pay for it once you start gaining money as a samurai."

I nodded and replied, "I understand. I'll go to the apartment then." With that said, I gathered my things and left.

I wasn't surprised nor angry when I had to leave the orphanage. Overcapacity had caused a shortage of resources, forcing me out. As I walked to my new home, I took note of all the shops that could help me become stronger: the sword and armor shop, talisman shop, and most importantly, the meat shop.

The apartment was sufficiently livable with a lock on the door and three rooms. The bedroom and washroom were in separate sections, but the kitchen and living room were one unit. Although it wasn't perfect, I could manage; furthermore, the location was nice, as it faced the Academy and other parts of town since our complex was a little higher up.

A note on the kitchen table informed me I would receive $100 each month to cover my expenses and purchase new clothes. With that allowance, I went shopping for food and returned home with my bounty. Later that day, I cooked up some eggs with bacon bits sprinkled on top.

Then, having completed my exercise regimen, I continued on to the restroom. After taking care of what I needed to do, I put on my white and black pajamas and got into bed with the pillow providing a comforting welcome as soon as my head touched it.