World of Samurai – The story of a Nameless Warrior

A creative piece that i have created, called The story of a Nameless Warrior, stirred my imagination to the maximum, proving that i can do things i was not aware i could do. I did not expect to be able to start such projects at the beginning, like using creative writing to create stories.  The story of a Nameless Warrior project story is mainly, about a boy named Hisashi getting through tough tests of life. He eventually becomes just as i imagined him to be – a strong, fearless, proud samurai warrior. More chapters are coming soon on the same article because i had time to write only three. Stay updated!

LIST OF CHAPTERS ARE AS FOLLOWING

• AUDIO BOOK VERSION
• CHAPTER 1 – A boy named Hisashi
• CHAPTER 2 – Sayonara minata
• CHAPTER 3 – Bandit attack
• CHAPTER 4 – The two orphans

AUDIO BOOK

 Chapter 1 – A boy named Hisashi

Some time ago, Hisashi, a young, quiet and handsome 19 year old lad from country side, started a new day of his life and began completing daily tasks that his dad gave him to do. The daily tasks consisted of taking care of several animals such as 5 horses, about 20 chicken and 3 cows, a task that seemed easy for the young Hisashi, that was still at an innocent age.

It was mid spring and the rivers, trees, mountains, flowers have awakened from their deep winter slumber. Wild animals were roaming about, sometimes even getting close to Hisashi’s hut but then going away just as fast. There wasn’t anything else to do to have fun, so Hisashi was only stuck with books and his animals. His dad was a strict man that did not accept excuses and sometimes punished Hisashi for not taking care of his duties. Hisashi never hated his dad, as he understood he became like that after his mom died when Hisashi was 6.

Their lives were fairly simple, managing to survive out of agriculture and food that animals provided. There were several plants that were used as teas and provided them with cures for a lot of diseases or pure physical pain. Hisashi’s dad was not very healthy, he had several heart aches in the past 3 weeks and his eyesight has diminished by a lot this year. Despite this, he still felt like he had to “train” Hisashi to be ready for this sick and maddening world. He feared he might not live too long to succeed. He was indeed a strict man, but the love for his son was infinite. The following day Hisashi woke up confused and not felt like he was at his normal state. The dream that he had past night was too weird and too surreal. The dream was about him having to face a mythological dragon with nothing but a katana.  Putting too much thought into the dream he had, he did not perform well in his daily tasks. His moves were sluggish and he could barely concentrate on feeding the animals. When the dream came once more the following night, he thought he understood that it was actually a message and kind of accepted it. The next day he could concentrate better on the tasks at hand.

The boy was very smart, he insisted that his dad bought him books as reward (instead of money) for doing double the work, taking  care of the crops and animals while his father was gone to the marketplace. The voyage took 5 days and when he returned, Hisashi was surprised to see his dad brought 23 books. The books consisted of sword art, self progression and zazen.

One day, when Hisashi woke up, he found his dad collapsed by the fireplace. Apparently he tried to put some more wood to keep warm throughout the night (the nights were really cold) and collapsed on the floor and was not breathing. This was a shock for Hisashi, as he did feel death has come to take his dad just like it took his mom. The medic then said his father died of a heart attack about 7 hours before hisashi got up from bed. Hisashi, now an orphan, filled with regret for not spending more precious time with his father, begun a new day, this time darker than any he has ever felt. During day, he would complete his tasks of feeding animals and harvesting crops whilst during night, he would cry and become depressed for being left alone, blaming himself for not being strong enough to have protected his dad.

Dark thoughts have invaded his mind but he has not forgotten that he has a purpose to keep surviving and he will figure a way to accept his dad’s passing. Two weeks have passed and Hisashi, calmed down a little, he remembered that his dad told him in the past that meditation, despite not being able to transform a person instantly, it helps with calming down the spirit that is hurt by the heaviness of life.

It was a cold day of autumn and Hisashi had to go to the market to trade some of dad’s belongings for food. The marketplace was filled with people that knew his dad and respected him and gave Hisashi their condoleances. Those actions came like something lifted stones from Hisashi’s small and hurt heart. On his way back, he felt like he found a way out of all this, that his decisions may affect his destiny from now on, and he might find peace one day. Little did he know that this day is no ordinary day. The bandits attacked the village, burning everything and killing many of the villagers. The only thing that was left of Hisashi’s house were his books and katana that were burried in a small wooden chest under the sakura tree near his hut. Fortunately he was away when the bandits attacked, but the aftermath left Hisashi thinking what should he do now that his house was almost totally destroyed. Depression got over him because his dad’s passing and the village attack were synchronized too perfectly in such a short amount of time. He covered the destroyed parts of the house with hay and drifted off to sleep. As if his dead father was aware of his son’s grief, Hisashi received a message:

Son, you will have to find peace. Remember what i taught you my son.. First comes the survival of oneself, then comes the self development and then finally peace. Don’t give up on your hope, happiness is for everyone. Goodbye my son and take care!

Hisashi was not sure if this message was certainly from his dead father, but nothing made him happier to think that it was.

 

Chapter 2 – Sayonara minata

Accepting his passing, he figured he should leave the country side and find a place in the forest . Abandoned his house but kept his dad treasure – a katana with a white hilt that was being kept for generations by his family and the book presents that his dad brought from the marketplace 1 month ago.

The first two nights were living hell. He barely had any food but he had to find a way to survive. He chopped wood with the axe that he took from the old house, made a fire and a small tree house in the forest he thought of living in. Giving himself a chance to let thoughts in, he got succumbed into their pressure, attacking him from each side, until depression forced itself in again.

Then, he gave up, something inside him snapped. He didn’t care about living anymore, life was way too purposeless, he felt helpless, like he had no reason to live. He started doubting that his Father even talked to him after his death. Out of anger on himself, he punched strongly the wooden log near the straw bed and blood started pouring out of his skin. He then fainted because the pressure of his very existence was too much.

When he woke up, he was a completely different person. As if his soul left his body, he completely changed his mind to a whole new level. His thoughts were as if deleted from his subconscious. He was no longer the old Hisashi that was until then. He remembered the dream that he had said said to himself:

So this was true after all. I am to fight that dragon,,, I realise now The dragon is my worst enemy, Myself. I will give up on myself .

The next thought that came to his mind was:

I WILL FORGE A DESTINY FOR THE NEW ME. FROM NOW ON I AM NO LONGER Hisashi but Mumei no senshi (Nameless Warrior)

Then he managed to look around the house that he built, he suddenly noticed the katana that his dad told him to take. He started whispering to the katana:

FROM NOW ON YOU SHALL BE MY COMPANION. YOUR NEW NAME WILL BE FORGED LIKE MINE. YOU WILL BE Namae no nai konpanion (Nameless Companion)

He drifted to sleep, confident and ready for anything that nature has. He woke up, gathered some fruits from deep forest, continued  building his small hut until he finished. After he finished his small living place, he started reading,  In the morning he would have gathered food, in the afternoon he would start training in the art of the sword and at night he would test what he has read through sword practice and deep zazen meditation. Reading has helped in keeping both – depression and loneliness away and he indeed forged a new path in this past miserable life that he kept living.

 

Chapter 3  Bandit attack

5 years have passed and Hisashi trained every day like it was his last. Sword has become an extent of his being, he no longer feared death as he found too much information and doing zazen every day helped him embody the spirit of a warrior.

Having to hunt, cut logs, bring water every day for 5 years forged his body into steel. He never had time to give way to thoughts so his mind was practically trained to withstand any intervention from their part.

One day, as Hisashi was gathering the crops he placed after cutting the trees around his house, he noticed movement behind the rock on the north side of the hill. The unknown entity then left without knowing he got spotted. Not much time has passed and by evening, a gang of 12 bandits closed in by the hill. Hisashi noticed their coming through his small straw hat but did not say anything.

One of the bandits (that looked more like their leader) said to Hisashi in an aggressive manner:

Oi, you there, give us all your food and valuables and we will make sure you have a quiet death!

Hisashi remained silent..

Then the bandit leader spoke to the rest and told them to charge. Four of them attacked Hisashi in a flash, the first two were cut by the same first stroke of his white hilted katana and immediately the other two were in shock. Hisashi remained his ground.. unmoving, fearless and scary. The bandit leader shouted for three more to attack Hisashi saying he must die. The first one attacked with a katana, Hisashi parrying his first shot and then slashing his enemy’s chest with a lot of blood coming out.

His blue kimono and black hakama got splashed with blood. He then launched a heavy horizontal slash with super speed, cutting  through the belly of the second opponent. Everyone else got terrified and were stepping back from Hisashi. The leader then said:

Bunch of cowards, i will show you he is no match for me!

The leader took his spear and katana and moved towards Hisashi. He launched a heavy thrust that Hisashi evaded, unsheathed his katana throwing the spear on the ground as if he tried to surprise Hisashi and got into position. Hisashi was as still as a lake. The leader threw himself and his katana at Hisashi launching a vertical slash. Hisashi launched a powerful thrust into the bandit leader’s neck which left his hands and katana blocked mid air. Hisashi took his katana out, made a swift motion to clean the blood out of his katana and then sheathed it back into the scabbard. The bandits retreated in absolute fear and  Hisashi went inside the hut to clean his katana and then start his meditation again.

The next morning he woke up and the first thing he did was to burry the bodies of the bandits fifty meters away from his hut.

 

Chapter 4  – The two orphans

It’s a new day, birds woke up early to sing. There were a bunch of other noises that small insects were making, the light of the sun was making everything around shine and Hisashi, he woke up and immediately prepared the first fire to boil some vegetables to eat.

One strange noise got Hisashi on guard. It was a dog, at first glance skinny, looking like he hadn’t had something to eat for days. Surprisingly, after being for so long with the animals he took care of when his father was still alive, he still had that love towards them remaining strong with him.

He promised that he would not hurt any animal unless he had to eat, thinking that natural cycle of nature can’t be broken by not doing so. So he called that dog to him and started petting his head. Dog waves his tail happily while Hisashi was asking:

What are you doing here. Did you get lost? Here take some food.

Not long time has passed and he suddenly heard a loud and sharp voice. It was the voice of a woman. Hisashi thought to himself:

But what is a woman doing in these dangerous woods?

Remaining thoughtful for few dozens of seconds. He just remained silent there waiting the woman and thinking she might be with other men that would mean danger.

The woman then stepped inside. Within few milliseconds, he grabbed the woman and asked her if she is alone or has anyone accompanying her. The woman was terrified to say the least, she thought it might be her moment of death. She answered in a very frightened tone:

I am alone, please I beg of you don’t kill me. I promise I will leave immediately and never bother you again. PLEASE DON’T KILL ME

bursting into tears as that terrifying moment seemed like an eternity.

Hisashi searched her emotions and let her go. Realizing she posed no threat he asked:

Who are you and what are you doing in these woods. Shouldn’t you be somewhere else? Like a village? To your husband?

The woman said, still unsure of her situation:

Thank you for sparing my life. I am an orphan. I ran from home because my parents were killed by several samurai nobles. It was when I realized I did not had any place anymore and I just ran. I got lost in these woods a day ago, fortunately I had my dear companion Kazumi.

Hisashi asked:

Is Kazumi this dog that came to me several minutes ago?

She nodded.

Hisashi asked:

What’s your name woman?

The woman said:

My name is Karu. And who might you be?

Hisashi answered:

I have forsaken my … real name long time ago. I am now known as Nameless Warrior and I just try to live my life alone in these woods. I defend myself with my Nameless Companion by my side and we won’t forgive anyone who would try to attack our territory. I am not used at all to speak this much.. In fact I haven’t been talking to someone in years.

Karu said:

Please good sir, can I stay here for the night, me and Kazumi? We will leave the first hour in the morning and we won’t bother you. I really have nowhere else to go for now. We haven’t eaten for 3 days. Please, I beg of you, don’t throw me out!

Hisashi did not really care about saying yes or no to her. It was enough that she posed no threat. He learned way too much about the fact that nature and humans are as one. As a beautiful ball of light molded together and shining like a very beautiful crystal.

So he agreed for her to stay as much as she likes, as long as she doesn’t get in his way. After such a long time thinking he was dead inside, some weird feelings started emerging. They were feelings of happiness, something he hasn’t experienced since his days at his dad’s farm.

Night came as fast as a beat of heart. Hisashi prepared a good meal just before they went to sleep. Karu went into one corner of the hut, trying to not get into Hisashi’s way as much as possible like they agreed. Kazumi sat beside Karu and fell asleep as well.

Hisashi sat in a very strange position, almost seemingly on guard at all times, just like it was required for all these years he was alone.

STAY UPDATED . CHAPTER 5 IS COMING VERY SOON