PREQUEL: TALE OF MUSASHI (CHAP6)

It’s been four years since Musashi went through his Karasuyama ritual. Many things have changed, as the name ‘’Musashi’’ is now known in the Dojo.

Musashi, who spends his mornings in the Death Forest, came back to the inner castles for his calligraphy lessons. On his way to the Head Master, he was stopped by the same kid every time: Masato.

‘’Yo, Freak. Where were you?’’ Masato smirked as he leaned his back on the wall, crossing his arms. Musashi didn’t pay any attention to him and kept walking. This irritated Masato a lot, and he yelled.

‘’FREAK! You think you’re better than me? Let’s duel!’’ Masato got his katana out of its sheath. Musashi heard the sound and stopped. ‘’Are you scared I will beat you, Freak?’’

Musashi looked back, smiled, and continued walking. Masato didn’t know how to react. For him, his smile was the creepiest he had ever seen. Genuinely smiling at a fight is not normal, or so Masato thought.

A new morning came, and with it another disciples’ duel in front of the Head Master. This time it was Musashi against Masato. The murmurs started as the two got ready.

‘’Masato is the son of Lady Mei, who lives in the inner castle with the Head Master.’’

‘’But when you compare him to other disciples, he isn’t the best. However, Musashi is another case. In only four years, he established himself as one of the strongest new disciples.’’

‘’Indeed.’’

The two disciples got in the middle and bowed to each other. Koji, who was the referee, spoke.

‘’As a custom, before every duel, the fighters need to state their names.’’

‘’My name is Masato Karasuyama!’’ Musashi nodded. Masato tried his best to hide his anger by gripping his wooden sword hard.

‘’Now…Fight!’’

Masato immediately dashed at Musashi using The Walk of Death. In a blink of an eye, he disappeared and appeared to his right.

‘’You’re done!’’

Masato swung his sword fast. Musashi, without even looking, evaded it. Masato continued his barrage of swings while Musashi, still in the same place, evaded every move.

‘’W-Why can’t I hit him? DAMMIT!’’ Masato started to doubt his abilities as he backed down.

Then, he saw a smoky dark aura lurking from behind Musashi. Masato couldn’t stay focused. Sweat kept pouring down from his forehead. Musashi then started walking forward. With each step, the smoky dark aura got bigger until it filled everywhere. Masato couldn’t see anyone else but Musashi coming towards him.

‘’I-I can’t move. Why? WHY? Dammit! MOVE!’’

Finally, Musashi got in front of him. Masato locked eyes with him and saw his dark eyes. In a moment, Musashi’s dark eyes spun spirally and turned red. They were like a pool of fresh blood that Masato could smell. His terrified face was reflected in his eyes. As he breathed heavily and started to feel dizzy, Masato couldn’t keep himself composed and yelled.

‘’AAAUGH!’’ Masato immediately let go of his wooden sword and got on his knees.

‘’Winner: Musashi.’’ Koji said.