The sun was warm on his skin, nourishing him with its light and energy. Kenji imagined the heat soaking into his body and shining down upon his inner self. With the Grass Energy that he absorbed from the private garden, it nourished him, encouraging growth and strength.
The sensation brought to mind the tangling growths, always blooming and reaching ever higher. However, before he could follow the thought, his father's voice interrupted him.
"Kenji, come sit with me a moment," the older man called out from the direction of the house.
Suppressing a sigh of irritation, Kenji answered him when he was sure it would not leak through his voice. He was a man now, a Warrior-in-training and he should act as such.
"Yes, father." Kenji responded respectfully.
He could faintly hear the man grunt at his words and Kenji imagined the eyeroll that likely accompanied it.
Kenji opened his eyes and blinked at the sudden brightness. He was sitting in his father's garden, surrounded by valuable natural treasures that the Warrior had collected or earned over the years. As a vassal of Warlord Motonari, he earned contribution on campaign when the kingdom went to war. This was where his greatest treasure were sourced from, though a few were won in duels and spoils of battle.
The garden was artfully arranged so that Energy was gathered and focused. It had to effect of making the area appear natural in its growth despite being entirely intentional. The formation had to be set up and planted by masters from the higher clans, bought with more hard-earned contribution.
The plants and stones were more alive in a way that their common counterparts could not match. They managed to soak up and emanate the Type Energy of the world, must like Warriors and Type Beasts were able to. Their colors were brighter and deeper, making the rest of the world seem dull by comparison. As if he were the painting and the garden the reality.
His father said that he was sensing the spirit of things while his mother told him that it was merely energy gathered and molded to a different form.
Kenji was not entirely sure who was more correct, though he favored his father's view. The idea of a world alive beyond the mere physical was appealing to him, as though there was more to explore and understand. Strangely his mother found the belief amusing as she released a fearsome cackle when she overheard their discussion on the topic while his father scowled at her reaction.
Standing up from his seated position, he carefully brushed the loose dirt clinging to him. He was largely bare, so that he could better feel the sun on his skin and the soil beneath his legs, or so his father claimed. Still, the rich soil clung to him and stained his underclothes. Only once he was sure that no dirt would fall off him did Kenji begin move.
The last thing he needed was for his father's bond to take umbrage with him over a speck of dirt that landed on a spiritual herb's leaf. Once was enough for him. Sometimes it was to forget that the Leavanny that helped sew his clothes held a Warrior's link and was experienced in battle.
Kenji carefully navigated through the small but populated garden. He was forced to follow a circuitous path in a series of exacting steps. He had to move with short strides, crouch, shuffle, and more lest he accidentally ruin the carefully maintained formation. Only his father and the elder bonds were allowed to care for the natural treasures. A single touch was enough to hurt the plants or himself.
After taking the final step, a high lunge to avoid a branch with long thorns extending upwards, Kenji sighed in relief. The entire path involved taking similarly odd or uncomfortable moves to avoid delicate and dangerous growths in the way. He was almost certain that some of them were only placed so that his father could laugh at him. Except that the older Warrior was forced to take the same route, contorting himself further due to his greater size.
Looking up, Kenji found his father sitting on the edge of a room with the walls pulled aside. The room was often reserved for mediation or private meetings. It was sign of respect that he was now being welcomed into it. The man had a stern face that was grizzled from years of battle and harder trials yet Kenji could still see the humor in his eyes.
In an effort to return the favor, Kenji maintained his placid expression and bowed deeply.
"This one thanks you for the opportunity to cultivate in your private garden." he intoned. The bow helped to hide the smirk that tugged at Kenji's face.
A slight cough had him quickly standing upright. Kenji had to clench to jaw in order to keep from grinning as he saw his father struggling to recover face. However, the older man gave in with a guffaw.
"Ha!" his father snorted. "You're too smart for your own good boy. One day it's going to get you in trouble." he said with a shake of his. "The guardians know it did me."
Kenji allowed the smile to bloom on his face only after his father gave in.
"And so the apprentice surpasses the master." he mocked with a laugh.
"Surpassed?" the man snorted. "The only passing you're doing is gas."
Kenji opened his mouth to respond but closed it sullenly when nothing immediately popped to mind. However, his father quickly reminded him why he was called away from cultivating.
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"Enough about that." he said sternly. "Make yourself comfortable. There is something you must learn, and learn well."
Kenji was not surprised at the sudden shift in tone and quickly sat down on the porch. While his father was often humorous, the man was a firm believer in being able to put the humor away when necessary. Before taking on his new name, his father would have rarely spoken to him like such.
"I believe it is time for your to learn more about your Insight." he started. When Kenji immediately sat straighter, he hastily added "Not your, mmh, perhaps a better word would be your will. How you see yourself and interpret your spirit."
Kenji sagged slightly but stilled before it could construed as disrespect. Before this, his father merely said that he would know when he was ready for his Insight and nothing more.
He heard his father grumble something under his breath as he searched for the words to explain what he meant.
"Ah, screw it." his father sighed.
Kenji hid a grin at the exasperated expression on his father's face. While Sato Isamu was a great Warrior and a good leader to his men, he was not a good teacher. Often his mother had to intervene to better explain something his father was trying to teach.
"Listen, I could feel you begin to understand something. I could tell that it would potentially affect your view of yourself, so to speak, so I stopped you." his father said frankly. "I have not told you my Insight, and nor will I. Not yet at least," he added with a pointed look. "But, I can tell you a bit of how finding one can be dangerous. How it can break you, even as it makes you whole."
Kenji furrowed his brow in confusion but did not interrupt. From everything he had heard, a better understanding of one's self was supposed to make them stronger, not weaker let alone crippled. His father commonly referred to it as Insight but there was a variety of terms he heard from others, ranging from a Concept to a manifesting of one's understanding. Ancient Sages even called it the Dao, a Heavenly understanding of the Original One.
Though he was far from being able to call himself a master, let alone a Sage.
"To me, I am a hardy plant." his father began, gesturing to the carefully raised plants sprouting from their fields. "Not a beautiful flower to be cared for with daily love and sweet words nor a tree unbowed from the harsh winds and fury of nature.
"I am a weed." His father declared proudly.
Kenji's mouth fell open at the unexpected announcement.
"Oh, don't look so shocked," he admonished lightly. "Weeds are tenacious, able to survive and persevere. Above all else, I am a survivor, Kenji."
His father lifted his gaze to stare at the distant forest that bordered their land. Kenji stayed silent and waited for him to continue.
The man did not. His eyes were clouded, with a slight frown pulling his mouth down. Without the sun on his skin, the wind was cool and raised the hairs on his body. Unlike his father, Kenji did not have a kimono to keep himself warm. He had to fight the urge to shiver and disturb the Warrior from his thoughts.
The two of them sat like this for several minutes before his father suddenly turned to look at him.
"You must first discover yourself and what you want to be before applying it to your cultivation. Otherwise, you will find yourself crafting a box where you intend a house," he father said. "It is possible to recover, of course, but it is difficult. For you will always see the box."
Kenji nodded in understanding. Even if he was not sure how it related to cultivation. After all, how does one accidentally see themselves as a box?
"Do not think of the color green." his father suddenly said.
Kenji blinked in surprise and opened his mouth to ask why not.
"Now, what color did you think of?" the man asked with a smirk.
"Green." Kenji said sullenly after a pause.
"It is similar with the spirit. Your willpower and energy reinforce your Insight, which is why it is crucial that you know who you are and what you want to be," his father instructed. "Do not attempt to cultivate for the next several days. Instead, meditate upon yourself. Ponder upon your past, present, and future."
"I will." Kenji said as he nodded slowly. He waited for his father to add anything more but, when he said nothing more, Kenji stood and bowed lightly. "Thank you for your words."
"Bah, enough of that." his father grunted.
Kenji hesitated before turning away.
"What of mother?" he asked uncertainly. "What is her spirit like?"
"I'm sure you're already aware of what her spirit is like," his father snorted. "But to answer your question, it's complicated," he finished with a sigh.
Kenji looked at the Warrior in askance.
The man waved at the seat Kenji recently vacated and he hurriedly sat down. It was rare for them to discuss such things.
"Her people are not like ours," he started. "They do not cultivate the way we do, or even battle as our kingdoms do. It was not until she arrived in this land that she formally established her first link."
Outwardly Kenji was calm but inside he was ecstatic. Not only was he learning more about Insights but, more importantly, he was gaining information about his mother's homeland. The two never talked about it, but it was clear to him and everyone who met their family that his mother was foreigner. Yet, to not discuss it was akin to a starving man being forced to watch someone else eat.
His father did not even approve of his mother teaching Kenji her native tongue let alone the bedtime stories that were so common to him in his younger years. So much so that he was forbidden to speaking the language or telling others about what she told him. The worry and fear that colored their faces at the time of the warning was enough to keep him silent.
Instead, he threw himself into learning the trade tongue used heavily in Fontaine. It was an acceptable alternative and would be useful when it came time for him to join the Warlord's army. His father began to speak again, pulling Kenji's focus.
"Not to say that she was weak, quite the opposite in fact," he said. "Where we fight with a handful of bonds by our side, they gather large teams." The distaste was clear in his voice, telling Kenji what his father thought of the foreign methods. "Their bonds are a false imitation of ours, where the people only take without ever giving anything in return."
It took Kenji a moment to understand but when he did, he was as disgusted as his father.
The link between Warrior and Type Beast was more than a simple bond of friendship, purpose, or even allyship. It was a connection that carved to the very spirit of the individuals linked together. Through that link, the two could share emotion, Energy, and sometimes even thoughts.
To make that link only one way was something even a Ronin would have second thoughts about.
"Your mother was quick to understand and worked to properly develop her bonds," he continued. "However, her Insight is her own to tell. It is just," his father searched for the words to say. "Just not the same foundation we have."
"What do you mean?" Kenji cocked his head in confusion.
"It's difficult to explain. And it would only ruin your own cultivation," his father shook his head. "Enough. I merely wanted you to be careful as you continue. If you're not, it could ruin everything you are trying to achieve. Remember what I said, and meditate before attempting to cultivate once more."
Recognizing the dismissal for what it was, Kenji stood and bowed once more. He stepped outside to clean himself. His mother would send him back into the gardens to work if he dared to walk inside as filthy as he was.