Kaji's first steps into the world of the samurai

So, here was Kaji; after leaving his school and travelling ALL the way here, he contemplated the enormous doors that would welcome the mint-chewing flutist ninja to what he considered the wonderful world of the samurai.

His reasons for leaving the way of the ninja are...very particular, in fact. Let's go behind, to the day he left the ninja academy.

"What?! Are you serious, Kaji?!" Said the leader of his group, his eyes lid open, as he heard Kaji announcing his wish of becoming a samurai.

"Yep! That's right, Kazuhiko. I'll go and become a samurai."

"But you are an excelent shinobi! Why would you do that? His other teammate, Yuki, said.

"Well, actually, it is because there is something about being a ninja that I didn't like that much."

"And that is...?"

"We have to wait and be sneaky! You know how much I HATE to wait, don't you?! Besides, being always hidden and killing your enemy from behind is not fun at all! Aaahhh, geeeez! I only kept going because there was nothing better! But once I heard of the samurai, how they fight their opponents headfront, how they overpowered their opponents only by using their fighting skills! The moment I heard of them I said: THAT is the way for me!. That's why I'm leaving the academy and going to the land of iron, to learn the way of the samurai."

"Oh, yes, I had forgotten how you were, Kaji. Ok, then, good luck with that. I'll miss your flute.

"Only my flute?" Kaji raised an eyebrow as he took another leaf of mint to his mouth.

"And of course, you. I hope you go well there, Kaji." Yuki gave a last, very warm hug to Kaji, which he responded in the same way. Yuki has always been a very warm and tender girl. He really liked her, and hoped the best for that girl who has been kind with him and his siblings since they entered the academy.

"But don't think this will be the last you have seen of me, guys. Once I have become a samurai, I'll come back to take the Jounin exam, so wait for it! And take good care of my siblings in my absence, please. See you guys! I love you!" With this last said, Kaji left the academy and Kumogakure, as he gave his teammates one last melody and walked away to foreign lands.

Now he was there, in front of a big door, eager to take the necessary training to become a full-fledged samurai. However, before he could go on, he had to ask the two guards to let him in. He ate another leaf and went straight to the door.

"What brings you here, girly?" Said one of the guards. He was as tall as Kaji, and his face was obscured by a wide hat.

"Um...Firsthand, I must inform you that I am actually a guy, honorable sir; and second, I would like to see the local Devil so I can become a samurai, just like you."

"Being a samurai isn't any child's play, kid. It is a matter you dedicate your body and soul to."

"Why do you want to become a samurai?"

"Because I think it fits me better than being a shinobi, actually."

"Just that? Then leave this place, kid. This is not a place for you."

"Aw, c'mon! How can you say that without ever giving me a chance? Let me see the Devil and let them decide! Please?"

"Let him in." The voice of an elderly woman was heard from behind the guards. The doors were open, and they revealed a very imposing lady in her late sixties. She was short, about 149 cms, and her hair has been totally whitened thanks to the effects of time over her, but not even that or her face managed to hide her penetrating gaze that gave Kaji the chills. "Let's see what he can do."

"Y...yes, my lady!" Both of the guards said at unison and stepped aside to let Kaji in, who followed the old woman to a large room, adorned with several candles and an enormous steel statue of Hachiman, the god of warriors, who looked all over the room from the center of the back wall. The old lady sat down on a cushion, just in front of the statue, while she motioned Kaji to seat on the other cushion in front of her, with the colossus behind him.

"Take a seat, boy."

"It shouldn't be the other way around, lady?"

"How does it feel to have Lord Hachiman right behind you?" Kaji looked behind him and got an eerie feeling as he saw the enormous statue. The old lady snickered when he saw Kaji's face. "This way, I can totally make sure you will answer me with total sincerity, as you know Lord Hachiman is watching over us, specially over you, who wants to undertake the way of samurai. That's the reason we sit like this and not the other way around."

"Oh, good point."

"Now, you seek power, don't you? That's the reason you undertook the way of the shinobi. Why do you seek that power?"

Kaji thought for a moment in what could he say. There was one thing that he could tell, but another he had to hide, or else he could never get into the arts of the samurai. But still, he had to tell everything; Hachiman was watching over specially over him right now and surely the Devil would see through his cover.

"There are actually three reasons I seek power: The first one is vengeance: I seek to find the two people who murdered my parents and make them pay dearly for what they have done; and the second one is love: I want to protect the people I care; and the third one is justice: I seek to protect the weak, aid good and crush evil."

"I sense there is a fourth reason you may be forgetting about."

"A fourth reason? What do you mean?"

"Just imagine for an instant the moment when you finally have the cold-blooded scourges that murdered your family at your mercy, and you are free to punish them in the way you feel it's best according to the unforgivable sin they had commited against you...or imagine yourself stepping over the dying body of a depraved monster who just took away the dignity of a young, innocent girl; imagine his terrorized and pained eyes, as he slowly bleeds to death and begs you for mercy with his last breath...can you imagine it, boy? How does it feel?"

Kaji forgot the old lady and for a moment he saw himself in the situations the female Devil talked him about: He saw himself giving the cruelest of punishments to the ones that murdered his parents; then he could see the fearful look of that rapist as he slowly died thanks to the punishment Kaji had just given to such a filthy pig. He couldn't hide a small smile of pleasure in his face.

"That felt incredibly good, didn't it? I knew it: The fourth reason is power itself: You seek to overpower your enemies, even death, because you derive an indescriptible pleasure from that. You seek power because you want to be more powerful than anybody else so you can step over and humilliate those who dare to stand in your way."

If that was true, then it could get out of control and then he would crush even people who didn't deserve it. This only thought was enough to scare Kaji about what he would do if that ever happened.

"Scary, isn't it? But don't worry. I can see you are a good person, and so we will take you through the right path. Now, let's get started: Close your eyes and relax."

Kaji did as he was told, and then the old lady stood up and clutched his head with both of her hands. Kaji felt how he had something pulled out of his head, and how something else filled it instead. The rapid flow of information made him dizzy, and soon he lost consciousness.

When he woke up, he was on a bed, in an unknown room. The house seemed abandoned due to the state of the ceiling and the wall. To his side, on a table, there was a paper note adressed to him:

"The name you are looking for is Sadamune, but you probably already know that, don't you? They say vengeance is a sweet thing that poisons your soul. Will it, perhaps, be true to you? You are the only person who can possibly know that answer.

PS: If you see the actual leader of the samurai in your way, a man named Arik, you should ask him to train you further in your skills."

Kaji smiled at the note and stored it in his pocket. Then, he got out of the house and headed towards the exit of the Land of Iron, ready to go home, not without giving a last look back to the temple.

"Thanks for the hint, lady."

[exit]

I see nothing wrong with this!

Approved, otouto. <3