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Hikaru - Masamune Legend Chapter 1: The Curious Marten
Hikaru and the Sword of Light - Legend of the Masamune Chapter 1
<<<Next: Chapter 2 – Finding A Master | Prev: Japanese Tales 1 – Yuki the Spirit Cat>>>
Main book link: bit.ly/3wnkZWQ
Beneath the golden gleam of the full moon, Hikaru the marten came into the world, named after the hope that he had a bright and promising future. His fur was of a mostly creamy-yellow hue, contrasted with his russet-brown paws, and his eyes were a shimmering shade of amber. He was raised in a modest town, Nodoka Town, filled with traders and travelers who dropped by for a visit or settled down. The residents found countless ways of happiness, and even though it was a small community, many of the town's traditions revolved around peace, with samurai guards protecting the delicate strands of the peoples' livelihood.
Among the numerous guards was Hikaru's father, a noble katana-wielding warrior brave enough to take on anyone who dared to threaten the peace of the town. His mother, on the contrary, was a seasoned seamstress and found pleasure in sewing kimonos for him. She would typically select brighter hues of colored fabric that were soft to the touch so that Hikaru could wear the aesthetic clothing comfortably. Every kimono came with a cotton obi, a traditional cloth belt, securing the outfits to his body even if he was running around chaotically in it.
At the age of six, he embarked on exploring the world around him with a sense of curiosity. Day to day, he would roam around town and greet the neighbors, skipping while cheerfully smiling along the way to get others in similarly high spirits, waving all around at them. Since it was generally safe around Nodoka Town, his parents had no worries about him venturing around by himself.
Moving along the same path every day, he would first visit the artisan shops nearest to his home. Poking at some of the small intricate wooden contraptions, he would be fascinated by their odd movements and the way his interactions with each one would produce different outcomes. Some contraptions mystified him as he wondered how they worked, constantly moving by themselves without any touch but solely by thickened wooden pieces as weights.
The next stop on his daily escapades was the hunt for snacks. Being personally close to the renowned confectionery stall owner, she often gave him sample packs of her baked goods to munch on. Today was no different. Hikaru was presented with a small paper bag of cookies by the generous owner, who met her with gratitude through his beaming smile for her gifts. Sitting on a wooden log bench outside the stall, Hikaru eagerly unrolled the pack and peered inside to check out what had been prepared for him. On this day in particular, he was given a new variety of biscuits. They were sweet and buttery, melting in his mouth and sending tingles across his tongue on every piece he popped inside.
From a distance, the confectionary stall owner would observe to see his reactions to the treats, fine-tuning the tastes of her snacks whenever necessary. Most of the time, Hikaru would be seen savoring every bit of the sample snacks, licking his paws in satisfaction. Only on exceptional days, he would be seen wincing slightly in response, prompting her to private an alternative snack to compensate for his current snack, one whose flavors he was familiar with. Hikaru was the confectionery's little taste tester and he did not mind playing this part-time role one bit.
Continuing his journey through the town's many pathways, Hikaru made his way to the shallow drainage canals between the two halves of Nodoka Town. He was always bewildered by how clean the crystal-clear waters were that it could accommodate koi fishes, even if that was not his first time there. He stared at the fishes as they swam through and a thought went through his mind.
Bending down and plunging a paw into the water, he gently prodded the fishes with his brown digits, wiggling them around like bait to get the attention of the fishes to gather them in a dense group. As he withdrew his soaked paw from the water and stood up, shaking the water off the fur of his wet paw, bumping his back into someone. Startled momentarily by the accidental collision, he immediately realized who it was.
"Hikaru! Stop poking at the poor fishes!" His mother scolded, holding back a little on the tone of her voice. He dipped his snout in silence, feeling a sense of guilt. "Come with me to the market. I'll need some help picking up some ingredients for our meals."
As his mother took him further down the path into the heart of town, they were welcomed by the sights of the vibrant shades of fruits, fish, and vegetables in the bustling food market. While she was picking out some fresh fish and various greens to put in her cane basket, she tasked Hikaru with finding some ripe peaches from the stalls around the corner. Making use of his nose to sniff out the aromatic scent of peaches, he found his way to a wooden crate full of bright pink peaches. Selecting a pawful of good ones, his mother arrived sometime later to pay for the peaches, adding them to her already half-filled basket.
"That's it for now. You may go again, but be sure to return by sundown!"
"Alright, Mom!" Hikaru replied before dashing off to the edge of town.
Heading up to the nearby hill in the afternoon where he typically frolicked, he had a good vantage point of Nodoka Town from above. The town appeared like tiny houses to him from his perspective. On the hill, a lone Sakura tree stood and rained petals sometimes when he visited, representing the small beauty aspects of the town. Hence, he made it a pastime to come to see the tree. Scanning the ground intently for the "perfect" stick, he selectively picked one out as his makeshift sword for the day.
Waving the stick around wildly in the air, he would imitate his father's sword techniques after watching him cut through sturdy bamboo like paper for years. Swinging them in the likeness of his father, he was amused by the whooshing sounds it created when the stick cut through the air. It was the only way that he could practice the strokes of the sword as an amateur samurai. After his "training" on the hill, he would normally end up dirty with smudges on his fur and kimono, messes that his mother could handle without any grumble.
On Hikaru's eighth birthday, his mother sewed a rag doll resembling a white bipedal cat, created with the scraps of fabric leftover from creating the kimonos. He instantly found a liking to the doll as his bushy tail wagged in happiness. From his father, he was presented with a samurai's tanto, a small close-combat knife, passed down through his family for generations. It was kept in a cloth scabbard, and it was easily attached to Hikaru's belt. As he whipped it out for a look, there was a word in kanji for "Bravery", etched into the steel.
"Be careful with the knife, Hikaru! Use it only for self-defense!"
"Alright!" He replied, sheathing the tanto into the scabbard on his belt, skipping outside the house while holding the cat doll close to his chest in a paw. Running to the usual training spot on the hill, he was more excited now with the two gifts in his grasp. He could not wait to play with them, even though one was a sharp and dangerous weapon for his age.
Whipping out the tanto in one paw and the cat doll in the other, he played with both and pretended like the doll was an actual samurai. "Whoosh! Swish! Swoosh!" Hikaru uttered to create the accompanying sound effects of the "sword" as he swung the doll around, his imagination taking him into his fantasy daydream world. "And she begins the ultimate battle between light and darkness, taking on the almighty evil Sakura!" He narrated every movement aloud as though he was telling of a legend, slashing the bark of the tree with the sharp edge of his short knife, leaving cuts on the tree. With a final slash of the tanto, he finished off his small fantasy session by carving the kanji of his name onto the tree, immortalizing it forever.
Just as he was done playing for the day, a deafening explosion was heard coming from behind, followed by a shockwave that trembled every tuft of fur on his body and down his tail. Swiveling his head to the source of the explosion, he discovered that Nodoka Town was now engulfed in a blazing inferno, plumes of smoke billowing up into the air like an ominous blanket of darkness. As the smoke blocked out the sun, the sky darkened with a foreboding ambiance that surrounded the unfolding event. Keeping his tanto and clasping his doll in his arms, he sprinted home, hoping to find his parents for help.
When he returned to Nodoka Town, his house was already alight with ravenous flames, eating away at every piece of material that was once home. Bursting through the wrecked door, his father was on the ground, fallen to an intruder who pointed a grayish katana inches away from his face. As for his father's katana, it had been shattered into fragments right beside his body. However, Hikaru's mother was nowhere to be found in the broken house.
"No, Hikaru! Get away!" He shouted, lifting his head the best he could while avoiding the sharp tip of the blade, distressed by how close Hikaru was standing to the intruder. "Interesting… Someone you love dearly is here… More satisfaction for me when I execute you!" He mocked, turning to Hikaru with a visibly crazed grin, his red piercing eyes glinting through the darkness of his bamboo hat that veiled any other distinct features of his face.
As the intruder approached him, he inched away through the door frame in fear, retreating into the flaming streets of the town. The intruder continued to follow, his eyes still locked on young Hikaru, finding it amusing to intimidate the little helpless foe. Raising the katana behind his back, he slashed at the air, causing his flaming house to burst into a giant fireball. "Father, no!" Hikaru cried, gripping harder on the cat doll in his paw as the situation turned tense. Pulling out his tanto in desperation, he attempted to defend himself with his tiny blade compared to the intruder's katana.
"What are you going to do to me, little one? Stab me to death?" He teased with a sinister cackle, admiring the reflection of flames in the grayish metal blade of his katana, turning to glare at Hikaru to terrify him further. "Your town's warriors are pathetic compared to me! Yield and face your end!"
Trembling in fear, he stood frozen in place, refusing to move a muscle or blink. The intruder charged toward him for the final blow, his voracious fangs showing through the shroud of darkness. Closing his eyes, Hikaru raised his tanto to his chest, bracing for the inevitable and hoping it could lessen the pain in the process.
In an instant, a white figure appeared, intercepting the incoming edge of the sword with her bare paws that appeared to be both translucent and glowing. Her body was clothed in a dark blue silk robe with gold trimmings, holding back the immense strength of the intruder. Hikaru was unable to identify who it was with his eyes remaining half closed in fear. "I don't think so!" The figure yelled with a strong feminine voice, unleashing a strong gust of wind from her arms, pushing both the weapon and the intruder back to buy some time for their escape.
The figure turned to Hikaru, placing a paw on his shoulder and teleported him away from the blazing town. In the safety of a forest clearing a considerable distance away, they were sheltered by the thick woods. Opening his eyes for a glimpse of his savior, it was a white cat resembling the rag doll he had. Kneeling to look at Hikaru eye to eye, the white cat wrapped a paw around his shoulder.
"Are you okay, young one?"
He nodded anxiously in response as he put away his small weapon and hugged his doll, his body still shaken from the encounter. Knowing that he was in safe paws now, he passed out in the cat's arms.
<<<Next: Chapter 2 – Finding A Master | Prev: Japanese Tales 1 – Yuki the Spirit Cat>>>
Main book link: bit.ly/3wnkZWQ
<<<Next: Chapter 2 – Finding A Master | Prev: Japanese Tales 1 – Yuki the Spirit Cat>>>
Main book link: bit.ly/3wnkZWQ
Beneath the golden gleam of the full moon, Hikaru the marten came into the world, named after the hope that he had a bright and promising future. His fur was of a mostly creamy-yellow hue, contrasted with his russet-brown paws, and his eyes were a shimmering shade of amber. He was raised in a modest town, Nodoka Town, filled with traders and travelers who dropped by for a visit or settled down. The residents found countless ways of happiness, and even though it was a small community, many of the town's traditions revolved around peace, with samurai guards protecting the delicate strands of the peoples' livelihood.
Among the numerous guards was Hikaru's father, a noble katana-wielding warrior brave enough to take on anyone who dared to threaten the peace of the town. His mother, on the contrary, was a seasoned seamstress and found pleasure in sewing kimonos for him. She would typically select brighter hues of colored fabric that were soft to the touch so that Hikaru could wear the aesthetic clothing comfortably. Every kimono came with a cotton obi, a traditional cloth belt, securing the outfits to his body even if he was running around chaotically in it.
At the age of six, he embarked on exploring the world around him with a sense of curiosity. Day to day, he would roam around town and greet the neighbors, skipping while cheerfully smiling along the way to get others in similarly high spirits, waving all around at them. Since it was generally safe around Nodoka Town, his parents had no worries about him venturing around by himself.
Moving along the same path every day, he would first visit the artisan shops nearest to his home. Poking at some of the small intricate wooden contraptions, he would be fascinated by their odd movements and the way his interactions with each one would produce different outcomes. Some contraptions mystified him as he wondered how they worked, constantly moving by themselves without any touch but solely by thickened wooden pieces as weights.
The next stop on his daily escapades was the hunt for snacks. Being personally close to the renowned confectionery stall owner, she often gave him sample packs of her baked goods to munch on. Today was no different. Hikaru was presented with a small paper bag of cookies by the generous owner, who met her with gratitude through his beaming smile for her gifts. Sitting on a wooden log bench outside the stall, Hikaru eagerly unrolled the pack and peered inside to check out what had been prepared for him. On this day in particular, he was given a new variety of biscuits. They were sweet and buttery, melting in his mouth and sending tingles across his tongue on every piece he popped inside.
From a distance, the confectionary stall owner would observe to see his reactions to the treats, fine-tuning the tastes of her snacks whenever necessary. Most of the time, Hikaru would be seen savoring every bit of the sample snacks, licking his paws in satisfaction. Only on exceptional days, he would be seen wincing slightly in response, prompting her to private an alternative snack to compensate for his current snack, one whose flavors he was familiar with. Hikaru was the confectionery's little taste tester and he did not mind playing this part-time role one bit.
Continuing his journey through the town's many pathways, Hikaru made his way to the shallow drainage canals between the two halves of Nodoka Town. He was always bewildered by how clean the crystal-clear waters were that it could accommodate koi fishes, even if that was not his first time there. He stared at the fishes as they swam through and a thought went through his mind.
Bending down and plunging a paw into the water, he gently prodded the fishes with his brown digits, wiggling them around like bait to get the attention of the fishes to gather them in a dense group. As he withdrew his soaked paw from the water and stood up, shaking the water off the fur of his wet paw, bumping his back into someone. Startled momentarily by the accidental collision, he immediately realized who it was.
"Hikaru! Stop poking at the poor fishes!" His mother scolded, holding back a little on the tone of her voice. He dipped his snout in silence, feeling a sense of guilt. "Come with me to the market. I'll need some help picking up some ingredients for our meals."
As his mother took him further down the path into the heart of town, they were welcomed by the sights of the vibrant shades of fruits, fish, and vegetables in the bustling food market. While she was picking out some fresh fish and various greens to put in her cane basket, she tasked Hikaru with finding some ripe peaches from the stalls around the corner. Making use of his nose to sniff out the aromatic scent of peaches, he found his way to a wooden crate full of bright pink peaches. Selecting a pawful of good ones, his mother arrived sometime later to pay for the peaches, adding them to her already half-filled basket.
"That's it for now. You may go again, but be sure to return by sundown!"
"Alright, Mom!" Hikaru replied before dashing off to the edge of town.
Heading up to the nearby hill in the afternoon where he typically frolicked, he had a good vantage point of Nodoka Town from above. The town appeared like tiny houses to him from his perspective. On the hill, a lone Sakura tree stood and rained petals sometimes when he visited, representing the small beauty aspects of the town. Hence, he made it a pastime to come to see the tree. Scanning the ground intently for the "perfect" stick, he selectively picked one out as his makeshift sword for the day.
Waving the stick around wildly in the air, he would imitate his father's sword techniques after watching him cut through sturdy bamboo like paper for years. Swinging them in the likeness of his father, he was amused by the whooshing sounds it created when the stick cut through the air. It was the only way that he could practice the strokes of the sword as an amateur samurai. After his "training" on the hill, he would normally end up dirty with smudges on his fur and kimono, messes that his mother could handle without any grumble.
On Hikaru's eighth birthday, his mother sewed a rag doll resembling a white bipedal cat, created with the scraps of fabric leftover from creating the kimonos. He instantly found a liking to the doll as his bushy tail wagged in happiness. From his father, he was presented with a samurai's tanto, a small close-combat knife, passed down through his family for generations. It was kept in a cloth scabbard, and it was easily attached to Hikaru's belt. As he whipped it out for a look, there was a word in kanji for "Bravery", etched into the steel.
"Be careful with the knife, Hikaru! Use it only for self-defense!"
"Alright!" He replied, sheathing the tanto into the scabbard on his belt, skipping outside the house while holding the cat doll close to his chest in a paw. Running to the usual training spot on the hill, he was more excited now with the two gifts in his grasp. He could not wait to play with them, even though one was a sharp and dangerous weapon for his age.
Whipping out the tanto in one paw and the cat doll in the other, he played with both and pretended like the doll was an actual samurai. "Whoosh! Swish! Swoosh!" Hikaru uttered to create the accompanying sound effects of the "sword" as he swung the doll around, his imagination taking him into his fantasy daydream world. "And she begins the ultimate battle between light and darkness, taking on the almighty evil Sakura!" He narrated every movement aloud as though he was telling of a legend, slashing the bark of the tree with the sharp edge of his short knife, leaving cuts on the tree. With a final slash of the tanto, he finished off his small fantasy session by carving the kanji of his name onto the tree, immortalizing it forever.
Just as he was done playing for the day, a deafening explosion was heard coming from behind, followed by a shockwave that trembled every tuft of fur on his body and down his tail. Swiveling his head to the source of the explosion, he discovered that Nodoka Town was now engulfed in a blazing inferno, plumes of smoke billowing up into the air like an ominous blanket of darkness. As the smoke blocked out the sun, the sky darkened with a foreboding ambiance that surrounded the unfolding event. Keeping his tanto and clasping his doll in his arms, he sprinted home, hoping to find his parents for help.
When he returned to Nodoka Town, his house was already alight with ravenous flames, eating away at every piece of material that was once home. Bursting through the wrecked door, his father was on the ground, fallen to an intruder who pointed a grayish katana inches away from his face. As for his father's katana, it had been shattered into fragments right beside his body. However, Hikaru's mother was nowhere to be found in the broken house.
"No, Hikaru! Get away!" He shouted, lifting his head the best he could while avoiding the sharp tip of the blade, distressed by how close Hikaru was standing to the intruder. "Interesting… Someone you love dearly is here… More satisfaction for me when I execute you!" He mocked, turning to Hikaru with a visibly crazed grin, his red piercing eyes glinting through the darkness of his bamboo hat that veiled any other distinct features of his face.
As the intruder approached him, he inched away through the door frame in fear, retreating into the flaming streets of the town. The intruder continued to follow, his eyes still locked on young Hikaru, finding it amusing to intimidate the little helpless foe. Raising the katana behind his back, he slashed at the air, causing his flaming house to burst into a giant fireball. "Father, no!" Hikaru cried, gripping harder on the cat doll in his paw as the situation turned tense. Pulling out his tanto in desperation, he attempted to defend himself with his tiny blade compared to the intruder's katana.
"What are you going to do to me, little one? Stab me to death?" He teased with a sinister cackle, admiring the reflection of flames in the grayish metal blade of his katana, turning to glare at Hikaru to terrify him further. "Your town's warriors are pathetic compared to me! Yield and face your end!"
Trembling in fear, he stood frozen in place, refusing to move a muscle or blink. The intruder charged toward him for the final blow, his voracious fangs showing through the shroud of darkness. Closing his eyes, Hikaru raised his tanto to his chest, bracing for the inevitable and hoping it could lessen the pain in the process.
In an instant, a white figure appeared, intercepting the incoming edge of the sword with her bare paws that appeared to be both translucent and glowing. Her body was clothed in a dark blue silk robe with gold trimmings, holding back the immense strength of the intruder. Hikaru was unable to identify who it was with his eyes remaining half closed in fear. "I don't think so!" The figure yelled with a strong feminine voice, unleashing a strong gust of wind from her arms, pushing both the weapon and the intruder back to buy some time for their escape.
The figure turned to Hikaru, placing a paw on his shoulder and teleported him away from the blazing town. In the safety of a forest clearing a considerable distance away, they were sheltered by the thick woods. Opening his eyes for a glimpse of his savior, it was a white cat resembling the rag doll he had. Kneeling to look at Hikaru eye to eye, the white cat wrapped a paw around his shoulder.
"Are you okay, young one?"
He nodded anxiously in response as he put away his small weapon and hugged his doll, his body still shaken from the encounter. Knowing that he was in safe paws now, he passed out in the cat's arms.
<<<Next: Chapter 2 – Finding A Master | Prev: Japanese Tales 1 – Yuki the Spirit Cat>>>
Main book link: bit.ly/3wnkZWQ
Category Story / Fantasy
Species Mustelid (Other)
Size 120 x 120px
File Size 19.7 kB
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