Time passed in a blur for Aleks and his companions. After the attack the sailors held them in high esteem and went out of their way to make their journey as comfortable as possible. One evening as they sat together, they were surprised when master Takashi joined them. Usually the master would meditate on his own at night, leaving them to their own devices. Making space for him in their circle, he sat in a comfortable cross legged position. For the new students, this was the first time that they had a social interaction with their master. They had their curiosities, for Takashi was a man shrouded in mystery.

Sensing that they had questions, Takashi said:” You may ask.”

Hesitantly Damon asked.” Master, I do not wish to be rude. A lot of us have been wondering, where are you from and why did you come to Athens?”

“You not rude, good question.” he replied with a smile,” it is long story so prepare yourself.”

Nodding excitedly they listened as their master told them his story. Around twenty years ago, he lived on the island of Japan in a town called Nara. They were a well off merchant family with a house close to the emperor's palace. They traded in all things exotic which included Takashi's favourite: exotic food. That is where he found his love for food. The daily tasting of all different types of food made him so happy, and unfortunately, extremely fat. He was so large that he had trouble fitti-

“Wait a minute, master was fat?” Aleks exclaimed. It was the first time that he heard this part of the story.

Shrugging, Takashi continued. On one fateful day, the emperor requested an exotic lunch for his guests that he was hosting. His family was contacted and they readied a feast for him. Over thirty different dishes were created ranging from the common whale to a cow that they had imported from the Tang dynasty. The cow was Takashi’s idea, as he had fallen in love with the texture of red meat. At that time the killing of most mammals was prohibited and some shrines punished one for consuming beef by demanding they fast for one hundred days. When the emperor received the exotic dishes he became enraged when he saw the red meat on his feasting table, immediately calling for those responsible.

Takashi’s and his family, the Hattori’s, were presented in front of his throne. The emperor scanned over the group before his eyes fell on Takashi. Curiously he asked why there was a sumo wrestler present. Hearing that he was not a practitioner of the sumo martial arts, the emperor laughed at him and humiliated him in front of his family. After he was done, he made a decree. They are to be exiled from Japan effective immediately.

“You were exiled as well master?” Luke asked, surprise evident on his face.

After the decree was made, they were forced out of the country and entered onto the mainland of the Tang Dynasty. Luckily they had made many contacts in their years as merchants, and called on a few favours. On their journey, Takashi witnessed a single monk fighting a band of ten highwaymen and was mesmerized by their skill. He joined their order and said farewell to his family. His family continued on their journey to go deeper into the continent, in search of a place they could call their own. Takashi trained under these monks for ten years and became exceptionally skilled, learning their mysterious ways. During this time he did not lose his love for food, but he was forced to give it up temporarily, as the monks had the same opinion on food as Japan’s emperor had.

When he finally finished, he set off from the mountain where he trained, now a middle-aged man with a body strengthened by martial arts. He traveled through the Middle East where he met many different cultures. Sometimes his journey was peaceful but mostly it tested his fighting prowess. After traveling through the Byzantine empire he came upon a battlefield where he saw Greek warriors fighting against a superior number of soldiers. Amazed, he saw their warfare tactics and decided to visit their land.

“Wait master, you were in Byzantine? That’s where we fought! What year was this?” Charon excitedly said.

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“It was around eight-twenty.” Takashi replied.

“That was not us then, we fought there seven years later,” Nike interjected.

Takashi continued. After arriving in Athens he did what he normally does, tested the city’s cuisine. Finding it adequate he walked down one of the streets where he saw an appalling scene.

Aleks grimaced at this.”Master. You do not have to tell them this.” he looked away. After seeing the rest of his comrades questioning looks he continued.”It is where Master saved me, and where my father died. . .”

They nodded in understanding and empathy before Takashi continued the story. After saving young Aleks he accepted him as his disciple and taught him martial arts. He was a quick learner and time passed quickly as he enjoyed every moment. One day a letter came from his family saying that they had settled in Francia, where they had a cattle farm.

“Master, why did you not tell us earlier, we are sailing past Francia as we speak!” Luke said excitedly.”You can meet up with your family, it’s probably been close to twenty years since you have last seen them!”

“I do not wish to be a burden.” their master humbly said.

“Nonsense! You are anything but a burden.” Aleks said.”Luke, get the captain and tell him we’re stopping at the coast of Francia.” he told him.

A few shouts later and their course was set for Francia, where master Takashi would reunite with his family.

After a week had passed, they arrived at their destination; A small fishing village on the coast of Francia by the name of Witsant. It was a quaint village dotted with large sandbanks, forcing them to anchor some distance away. When the inhabitants saw their ship, they were awed that such a large vessel would travel to their home. They disembarked on one of the sandbanks and walked onto a large beach leaving a track of footprints behind. They met up with some of the villages’ inhabitants and tried to communicate with them, but to their disappointment, none of them understood Greek. According to one of the more experienced sailors they were speaking a West Franconian dialect that he unfortunately did not understand. After a lot of hand gestures and pointing they eventually reached some kind of agreement. They would stay at their village for a few days while master Takashi would visit his family.

Naturally, master Takashi’s students wanted to go with him, but he adamantly refused because it was something that he wanted to do alone. Unhappy about not getting to see their mysterious masters’ family, they could only accede to his will. Gathering on the outskirts of the village they held a farewell for their master. The sailors with tankards of ale in their hands, waved goodbye, always happy when they had a reason to drink. Takashi’s students cheered “good fortune” to their master while the villagers looked curiously at them. When their master disappeared from sight Aleks sighed.

“I know it is only a few days but I already miss him.” he said

“Agreed, he had become such a huge presence in our lives, it feels weird that he is gone.” Luke added.

“Stop your crying.” Ikaros interjected,”He’s just gone for a few days, he’ll be back before you know it.”

“Stop acting tough Ikaros, we all know you are going to cry tonight.” Thanos said with a grin.

Laughing, they walked back into the village and entered the only tavern. Like the rest of the village, the tavern was on the shabbier side, making Aleks’ home back in Athens look good in comparison. A few tankards of ale later and they were having a great time. They talked about life and cracked jokes at the others’ expense and after their seventh ale, they were quite drunk. Being fit causes alcohol to get one drunk a lot quicker, and they were extremely fit. To the entertainment of the villagers and the numerous sailors, they started enacting great plays from Greece as the sun set on the horizon, casting its rays over the shabby village and the single church at its centre.

When the darkness finally settled, Luke and Aleks were barely conscious and sat on their chairs slumped against the walls. Thanos and Kastor were attempting to arm wrestle for what seemed to be the thirtieth time. Charon and Nike, the only single men from the warriors, were trying their luck with some of the village girls, getting jealous stares from the young men of the village. The young men were smart enough not to antagonise the visitors as they were built almost twice the size than they were. Damon, Horus and Ikaros, the men with wives, were passed out on the very table which they performed their various acts on.

Aleks was still struggling to stand when they heard a scream from outside. With renewed vigour, he redoubled his efforts and swayed to the tavern door. He opened the door as the rest of his conscious comrades stared drunkenly in his direction. Peeking outside, he was in time to see a man brutally decapitated by a manically grinning bearded warrior carrying an axe and shield. The warrior turned and made eye contact with him.

“Huh?” Aleks intelligently mumbled.