Mount Takao, 2 December 2023

  "Master Tengen!" Minosashi shouted as he ran toward the old dojo made of cherry, maple, and bamboo wood. His attire was unchanged, but now he wore a bracelet on his wrist—made by his mother—to hold onto her memory. The wind blew through the mountain, stirring the trees. Chime bells rang with a soft, pleasing sound, mixing with Minosashi’s footsteps on fallen Sakura petals. His name, written in black ink on a red ribbon, was tied to one of the chimes swaying in the wind.

  Master Tengen, an old-looking man with a braided beard and long white hair that fell below his shoulders, was teaching several teenagers with wooden swords in front of him. His waist was slightly bent and he wore simple blue-gray attire. The sound of apprentice swings and shouts filled the dojo yard. When he heard Minosashi's voice, his eyes flew wide open.

  "Minosashi!? My ears hear true! It's you! It's actually you!" Tengen ran toward him, tears welling in his eyes. The wooden sword in his hand clattered to the ground. The students all stopped training the moment they saw their master like that—eyes wide, mouths speechless.

  "Master!" Minosashi's voice trembled with happiness. They hugged each other tightly, Minosashi grasping his shoulders, tears falling freely from his eyes. "I'm sorry, master... I'm sorry I didn’t write any letters or anything for ten years..."

  "It’s alright, my apprentice... You are here. That’s all that matters now." Tengen patted his back to comfort him.

  All the students looked on in awe. Minosashi. A legend they had only heard about. One student stepped forward, bowing with his blade in hand.

  "Master Minosashi. It is an honor to meet you."

  "Master Minosashi!? I mean... thanks... But no need to be so formal! I'm still nothing compared to Master Tengen!" Minosashi let out a soft laugh at his own words.

  "Well, well... Students, go back to your training. I might need a few minutes to discuss a matter with my best apprentice."

  ---

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  The dojo was filled with the names of old trainees and masters who had studied under Tengen’s lineage. Tokimo and Liniah were the only consistent names across eons. And now, Minosashi's name was the one that moved past their name-tags on the wall. Scrolls of countless techniques discovered by swordmasters in every era were written in ink on leather inside shelves at the very end of the dojo.

  The smell of steel blades and green tea filled the space. Tengen’s footsteps were soft as a feather, making no sound on the dojo floor. The song of Shima Enagas from the forest was a constant, pleasing hum.

  Tengen slowly filled a wooden cup with green tea.

  "Want some?"he smiled.

  "Yeah, sure. Especially if we’re going to the main topic." Minosashi returned his smile.

  "The ultimate technique of sword mastery," Tengen said, sitting beside him with a tray carrying two filled cups of green tea and a black teapot. "It was the only stopping point for them." He glanced at Tokimo and Liniah’s names. "They created a concept, not a technique. Something that was out of their reach. With two phases of training. The second one being the harder part." Tengen continued, then slowly sipped his tea. "Are you sure, Minosashi?"

  "I am, master. This is the only possible way I can prove my honor and love to him." His voice trembled as he continued. "And to her..."

  "Your farewell with your mother was a necessary step. It allows you to move on from the burden of a lie." Tengen’s eye glanced at Minosashi’s bracelet, a faint smile appearing on his face.

  "Master." He glanced up, his face a portrait of resolve and unshakable certainty. "I shall fulfill what my heirs couldn’t. And I will do it in my mother’s name. In my love for her. And my vengeance for my father."

  "Then, prepare yourself, Minosashi." Tengen stood up, moving toward a shelf holding two wooden katanas. "You will train with these two."

  Minosashi’s eyes widened. "Huh!? Wooden blades!? Master! I’ve been battling with steel for like many years! Now you give me wooden swords!? I’m not in my early teens!"

  "Minosashi. This technique requires you to battle with a wooden blade. And even if you are twenty-seven years old, you are still that clumsy idiot who shattered wooden swords because of his unnatural speed." He moved toward the dojo’s wooden gates. "Come. You won’t learn the technique by sitting there. The bamboo forest." Tengen gave him a knowing smile.

  Minosashi stood up, hurrying to catch up to his master, the green tea and tray forgotten in the dojo.

  ---

  Bamboo Forest

  "Well, Minosashi. Here is where you are about to train for the ultimate technique," Tengen said, pointing at several dummies armed with weapons and helms. Their motionless wooden bodies with drawn faces stared at random locations. Bamboo trees moved back and forth in the wind as the sound of birds mixed with their rustle.

  "Dummies? Seriously?! My father trained with them?!" Minosashi exhaled in frustration. "Fine, master. Tell me what I should do." He steadied his posture, both blades held ready to lunge.

  Tengen put his hand on his shoulder. "Count for yourself. Disarm them all in less than three seconds. And once you do, come back. No Third Eye allowed. Only blade mastery techniques."

  "Uh... Can I at least come back to get food?" Minosashi asked while holding back a laugh at his own question.

  Tengen squeezed Minosashi's shoulder for one last comforting moment, smiling at him. "Punishment is always a part of it."

  Then, he left the forest, but not before glancing back to look at Minosashi one last time. And there, he did not see the ghost of Tokimo, nor a vengeful son. The only thing he saw was a young, inexperienced boy of fifteen, holding two wooden blades in front of a dummy. A soft smile spread across Tengen's face as he left Minosashi with the wooden dummies in the middle of the bamboo grove.