Wounds were bandaged and healed by herbs that thrived in the sunlight. Our strength only grew in the training arena.

It may have only been for two nights, but our stay at the temple of the sunlight warriors was more reinvigorating than what was ever imaginable.

Sora shot his false arrows across the training arena's open courtyard, where Anzen dodged and weaved with a small bit of trouble. After being hit from such a devastating ranged attack, Anzen seemed hellbent on training his evading skills, even when he most likely still should have been resting.

I felt my legs holding my weight well. The blow from the skeleton creature was all but healed with the monks' medicine, and our previous wounds were finally given the attention they deserved as well. Lee walked over to me, watching Anzen and Sora train.

Lee spoke, eyes watching Anzen dodge the many blunt wooden tipped arrows. "He reminds of Mahiro."

Anzen raised his arms, shouting to Sora in his usual sarcastic manner. "With that aim, you couldn't even hit the ground!" Immediately after taking his attention to his banter, a blunt arrow hit him squarely in the chest, bringing him to lose balance and fall to the ground.

Lee spoke once more. "On second thought..."

I grinned at the set of events that unfolded before me and looked over to Lee. "I could see why you would say that at first glance. But once you get to know him, they aren't all that much alike."

Lee nodded his head. After a pause, he spoke once more, this time solemnly. The type of solemnity I wouldn't have expected from him before he had his Ember. Gaining that responsibility and spending weeks with the monks seemed to have matured Lee. He talked softer. "I miss them both, still. Mahiro may have been somewhat distant, but he made sure we kept ourselves focused. And I feel kind of lost without Yasuo."

I sighed. "I understand. I've lost many people I cared about in my time. Some I will never be able to see again. But I know from experience that it will get better." I thought for a second, then spoke. "A good person leaves an imprint on the people they’ve touched. Once they pass, you'll always feel like something is missing. But an even better person leaves a part of themselves with the people around them. Engraving their ideals and thoughts into your heart. It's your job to let it in."

Lee leaned against the wall in thought. I turned back to watching Anzen slowly begin to best Sora, only to become overconfident and fall back to where he once was.

After a moment of watching or two, Hayato walked over and spoke. "Kenshi. The monks say they want you to come."

I knew what that meant, so I followed Hayato briskly down the paper walled and wooden-floored halls towards the stone outer layer. Through a doorway at the far end of the hall, there was a bright orange light. I could feel the heat engulfing me before we were as far as twenty paces towards it.

---

The raging fire's embers only burned hotter. Hands that had held a hundred swords hammered at the steel. Eyes that had witnessed a hundred campaigns appraised the reforming tool of death. An ancient community of century-old warriors working together to reforge a sword of justice.

The steel tempered once more. The blade sharper than what it had ever once been. The golden accents refinished and shining as bright as the sun. A scratched and clawed engraving taken back to the state it was once in.

One side read, 'Demon, shroud in the dark. May steel devour you with zealous purpose.' The other side of the sword finally recovered to its state of old, reading, 'Man, made whole in the light. May love guide your hand in your righteous quest.'

It was almost completed. The handle was made new, as was the dirty and splintering sheath.

Then, it was finished. The katana gifted to me by Amaterasu herself, forged by my father and his companions made once more. And as strong as it was the day I had received it.

Mishima's soot-covered hands handed the finished product to me. I took it out of its sheath and admired the mirror reflection of the furnaces glowing fire. It was mesmerizing. It was sharper than any sword I had seen before. It was perfect.

Mishima nodded. His charcoal body was still full of strength, showing his complete commitment to his craft and beliefs. "I know our skills can't match that of your father's, but we tried our hardest to make it shine as bright as it once did. We want you to remember that you aren't a samurai of the Shogun. You are a samurai of Amaterasu, a warrior of the sunlight. We wish you find great strength in this thought. You will need it for the days ahead."

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I bowed slightly. "Thank you."

Mishima fruitlessly tried to brush the soot off his forearms, and instead just shook his head. "Prepare your things while I wash. You all need to leave soon if you want even the slightest chance of beating the Shogun to the palace."

As Mishima turned, I stopped him. "Wait, what do you mean by beating him there?"

Mishima grinned with a small hint of slyness to it. "You told me about the Shogun moving towards the palace while I was resting from reforging your sword yesterday, so I asked some of the other monks to watch the palace with their magnifying glasses and spectacles. They're close, but I believe in your determination and your familiarity with that mountain. I think you could possibly still beat them."

I couldn't decide if I felt excited or if I felt intense anxiety and urgency. "But you said that they already passed your village days before we arrived... And on top of that, why didn't you tell me sooner! We've spent an entire day waiting for this sword to be completed when we could've been going!"

Mishima spoke calmly, wiping the sweat off his brow and replacing it with black ashes. "The yokai have only been swarming to the palace more than usual, slowing them down to a crawl, especially since they insisted on riding in their carriages and carrying their overly large supply wagons instead of moving by foot. And for your second question, I had only learned about it a few minutes ago once I had finished your sword. Total concentration was needed so the other men didn't disturb me, and they didn't disturb you because they knew you would try to rush yourself before you were ready. You need rest and a sword by your side if you were to even climb the mountain."

I took a deep breath. My newfound urgency made me seem more distressed than I really was. "I understand. But that does mean we need to leave as soon as possible. I've rested and I have a sword, so have Hayato and Anzen. We're ready."

Mishima nodded. "If you're certain, gather what you need to your horses and I will meet you after I've cleaned myself."

The ancient warrior waved as he grabbed his kimono hanging next to the doorway and walked to, if I remembered correctly, the washroom.

I looked back to Hayato, who was leaning against the far wall waiting for us to finish speaking. He spoke as I turned to look at him. "Time to pack, then?"

With a quick nod, I started to walk down the hall back to the others. "Indeed."

I returned to a stalemated Anzen and Sora, both sitting on the ground out of breath, and a meditating Lee, focusing on seeing forward with his ember. Before I even opened my mouth, Lee spoke. "I already know what you're about to say, and I've already told Sora and Anzen."

My head tilted in pleasant surprise. "That's quite a convenient ember."

Lee smiled. "I can only see about five seconds when I'm not meditating, but like this, I can see up to a few minutes, even. So as well as being convenient I was also just a bit lucky for when I decided to practice."

"All the same, it's saved us time. Let's move."

With a surplus of grunts and moaning, Anzen and Sora arose soon after Lee.

We ran through the halls until we met with our rooms. We gathered our things. Swords, bows, an ungodly amount of arrows, food, tents to sleep in. Then we took those supplies and put them on the back of our horses. Within minutes, we were ready to leave.

As we moved our horses from the stables to the road, and subsequently the entrance to the temple, Mishima and the other monks of my childhood waited to see us.

Mishima walked over to Hayato and Anzen atop their horses. He bowed formally. "I wish you both good health on your journey." He then turned to Lee with a bright smile. "It was an honor for us to train you and your exemplary ember. Before you arrived the halls were deathly quiet, and I know we'll all miss the spice of youth you brought to our home." Then to Sora, to which his smile softened to something more resembling a smirk. "I've never seen someone read so much of our library so quickly, nor have I seen a better shot. Just remember to smile more, or else your face is going to stick that way." Sora smirked slightly, straining somewhat to keep it from becoming more, causing Mishima to laugh loudly as he moved to the final horse. The man who reminded me so much of my late father looked me in the eyes as he reached into his kimono. Pulling out a strand of silky red fabric, he spoke. "I know you were with the Shogun when your mother died, but I wanted to tell you that she was never disappointed in you. This is a piece of cloth from her finest kimono. She thought that you could use it to tie your hair into the same topknot you always wore it in, and as I can see still wear it in..." He looked down at the shiny red strip of cloth. "It's been something close to eighteen years now, and I've still kept it waiting for you." He placed the cloth in my open palm. I couldn't help but notice the vicious burn scars from losing my ember all down my hands and arms as I looked at the beautiful red. Mishima continued. "Your father was the strongest and most determined man I've ever known, and your mother was the perfect counterweight of reason and patience. I see both of them in you, and I'm sure they're looking down from the heavens with pride. Now go. Go and make them even prouder."

I quickly unwrapped and untied the plain white cloth from my hair and quickly re-did it with the cloth from my mother. Putting my hand on the katana gifted to me by Amaterasu, crafted by my father. I then had something to remember them both by. I smiled towards Mishima. After a brief pause of us just looking at each other, I quickly leaned down and hugged him. Mishima always was with my father and I. Once my father passed and I decided to climb that mountain, he was the one that showed me what I needed to survive. I didn't know if I would ever see him again, and I wanted to make sure this goodbye was better than the last.

We turned our horses to the road, looking up at the towering Mt.Fuji right in front of us as we started to trot forward.

Father, Mother. I'll make you both proud.

And Amaterasu? I won't leave you to hide from the creatures of the dark any longer.

No more waiting.