The early morning sun starts to shine well, the reflection of which can be seen in the river water.

"trickle" "trickle"

"gurgle" "gurgle"

"chirp" "chirp" "chirp"

Hares, Squirrels, Tanuki can be seen running around, while doing their everyday activities.

Fishes jumping in and out of the river, cranes flying in and out.

Butterflies flying to and fro from various flowers.

Behind it, a red liquid slowly flowing. it came to a stop after that. Upon closer inspection, a body can be seen lying on the ground, on its back.

Takeshi had been lying on the ground for quite some time. After the leopard attacked him, he lost a considerable amount of blood which made him fall unconscious.

"Takeshi"

"Takeshi!"

"OI TAKESHI, WAKE UP YE LAZY BUM!"

"Huh?" Takeshi woke up and sat straight up, he turned his head to the left and right to see where he was.

The location seemed very familiar to him, it was one of the places he visited during his travels with his grandfather, Kiyomizu-dera in the capital city of Kyoto.

They were in the area outside the main stage, Kiyomizu-no-butai.

"Wait why am I here? I was supposed to be in Mt. Kyūkokuzan."

"Huh?? What are you talking about, we are still in Kyoto, we won't be in Mt. Kyūkokuzan in like the next three-four months.

Did you really forget what you said about fulfilling your wish after jumping off the stage, after Teranoda-San bragged about it?"

"Huh?" Some of the memories started flooding in.

"No, No, I... I remember I failed the first round in the trial, I was angry at myself for being weak and I went off for training."

"Hahh, kids these days, Day dreaming. We barely talked about the Trial yesterday and now you are already dreaming of failing? Geez, at the very least dream of winning it you brat, Humph."

Takeshi looked at his grandfather, dumbfounded. 'What's going on, I don't understand, Is this really happening? I saw my grandfather die in front of my own eyes, I met Kanroji-Sensei, I.. I trained with Kenichii, met Kaori, I.. I lost in the first match...

The gentle breeze was blowing, carrying petals along with it. The view of the beautiful pagodas filled the background.

The breeze caressed Takeshi and Tachibana as it flew.

Was this... all a dream like he said?

It all felt too real to be a dream.

No No, this is wrong, something happened to me, I..'

"I got attacked by a leopard and barely survived it."

"Huh?? what are ye babbling about now?" said Tachibana, munching on an onigiri.

"No, Nothing, I just..." Takeshi tried to contemplate the situation.

He gave Takeshi a weird look, his beard carrying the pieces of rice from the onigiri.

Takeshi noticed that his amber-colored eyes hadn't dimmed at all, despite his age.

Takeshi got up, went closer to Tachibana and touched him, he played with his grandfather's beard as always, something which he used to ever since he was a child.

"Y-You are real.

You are alive grandpa" Takeshi said as tears gushed down his eyes like a waterfall.

"What do you mean real and alive, Of course I'm Real and Alive, I'm Tachibana the Tireless you brat. And why are you crying like a little girl."

"Nothing, Nothing it's just.. Its nice to see you like this... Grandpa"

"Hehe, did you have a nightmare?"

"Well, yeah I guess, I-I'm not sure.

It all felt too real to be called a nightmare."

"Hahaha, It do be like that, I too used to have a lot of nightmares, especially at your age.

Being chased out of our own village by the nobles, having to see the village being burnt again or being taken as a hostage by the Shimazu clan.

Sometime later, it all went away, after my Sensei took me in. Although it was swapped with other nightmares hahaaha.

But in the end, that's all what they are, it is all things that we are most afraid of or will be most afraid of, should it ever happen."

Takeshi listened intently to him.

"But you know, the difference is, we may not have an answer or response to what happens in our nightmares, and we most probably may not in real life either.

But we have the option, to create our own answer to those difficult situations.

And you are the one, who decides how the answer should be."

"Hahaha, just take this for an instance, you would usually never listen to me so intently, and look at you now."

Takeshi stopped and paused for a while

"Grandpa?"

"Hmm?"

Takeshi suddenly took a step back and got into a fighting stance, despite having no weapon, he decided to use his fist.

Pretty ironic if you ask me, he is using his fist against a man who could or could not be, A Sword Sovereign level samurai, hilarious.

"Wait, no something's not right.

You are not my grandfather, No, No.

While you do sound like my grandfather, this is something that I have clearly heard about before. This was something he told me when I was younger, not when we were at Kyoto.

Also, My grandfather never told me about any of his names, I only learnt about the fact that he was called Tachibana The Tireless after Kanroji-Sensei told me.

Reveal Yourself, who the hell are you, and why are you impersonating my grandfather"

Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

"HAHAHAHA" Tachibana started laughing after Takeshi said all this.

"Oh my, I can't stop laughing, I didn't expect you to catch that small thing. Hahahah

My little Takeshi, at least I'm happy that you have grown enough in these past few months enough to be this intuitive.

Don't be mistaken, I'm your grandpa alright, or rather it is my spirit and memories inside your mind.

I just wanted to see how much you wanted to get back to the harsh reality you are currently facing, or whether you would choose to remain in one of the happier times in your life, like a coward.

I'm glad I raised you well, my boy."

"Huh??" Takeshi, looking more dumbfounded than ever, was trying to fit in the missing pieces.

"Brat, to put it simply, currently, you are on the verge of death, lying in front of the cave outside the forest, near the Kaisui River.

As we speak, blood is slowly flowing from your body and is getting you nearer and nearer to death's door."

"Ohh... Right Right."

'Haah, I never get tired of looking at your puzzled face, its exactly the same as back then, when you would climb over my shoulders and head.' Tachibana thought to himself as he looked at Takeshi.

He realizes that the boy in front of him is just the same for him, and he always will, no matter how much time has passed. But sadly, he won't be able to stay with him for long, even his spirit would have to leave him someday and he would need to live on his own, not that he isn't doing now, but he was concerned.

"So, how goes your training, Takeshi?"

"Well, you know full well how it is, right?

I'm unable to do it correctly, the first draw style, my legs won't move the way I want, and no matter how much I try and practice it, I'm not improving, I'm at a dead end, It's like the heaven's itself don't want me to become a samurai."

"Heaven's huh? That's a load of non sense if anything."

"Huh?? Then how do you explain my predicament."

"Takeshi, I know it is a major setback, I know how hard it is, and how frustrating it is, and how dejected you would feel if it was the case. Because, this isn't an issue that you alone bear."

"What do you mean?"

Tachibana shows him the original First draw technique to Takeshi.

It was flawless, the movements, the balancing of the body, and putting weight in each of those attacks, it was beautiful and fierce at the same time, right until the end.

At the last phase of the footwork pattern, Takeshi noticed that Tachibana's legs extended back, a lot more than it is supposed to, exactly like his, although the difference was, Tachibana could maintain his balance while Takeshi couldn't.

Takeshi's jaw dropped to the floor, he couldn't believe his eyes, his grandfather, who is said to be one of the best swordsmen there is, has the same defect in his leg's that he has.

"What? How? How is that possible?

You have the same problem as me."

"Well, it runs in the blood I guess, I'm not sure if my father or mother had this, but my son Keisuke, your father, definitely had this issue when he started to walk the path of the sword."

"So, How did you and my father overcome this? What did you do? Is there a secret Technique or instruction that can undo this or make me able to adapt to this better?"

Tachibana smiles at him as Takeshi launches his barrage of questions.

"Well, no.

There is no secret Technique or special instruction to overcome this.

And I don't think there is anything that can undo this. It is a physical condition we are born with.

What? After all this, you still want to go forward by resorting to use a shortcut to fix your issues?

If so, then that is how you are a disgrace to the name "Tachibana".

It doesn't matter how long it takes you, but you will find a way to deal with this, in your own way, in your own terms, if it isn't like that, then what is the thrill behind life?"

Tachibana smiled as he said all this, it was like a ray of sunshine that shone brightly, even after it was put out.

But, the thing was, he understood more than anyone that Takeshi needed this light, he never got to speak more than a few words to him before he died.

Even if he wouldn't be there for him for the rest of his life, he wanted to make sure that he set his grandson straight and through the path of the sword, in the right way.

He was happy for these small moments he gets here and there, but he always made sure to leave without any regret. After what he couldn't say to Ishida Yamaguchi, his Sensei, on his deathbed, he vowed to finish what was on his mind, before they leave for good.

"Well, that is good enough for a final farewell I guess? haha

I'm glad, I get to talk to you a lot. I got to talk a lot with Iwao too, but little did I know it would be my last time talking to him, But I'm glad, I go to have that talk."

"Wait Grandpa, are you leaving?" Takeshi asked him, as tears started to roll down his eyes.

"Ohh My Sweet boy, please don't look at me like that, I always get reminded of your face from seven years ago, so don't make this old man tear up okay? Hahaha."

Takeshi ran to his grandfather and hugged him, as he cried. Tachibana held back his tears as he hugged him back. This may as well be the last hug ever.

"Brat, you do realize you are still dying in the real world, you are not out of the woods yet."

"Ohh right" Takeshi said while he wiped away his tears.

"Well healing isn't technically my area of expertise, it's more of the thing that Kiyomi-san and Kentaro-san specializes in, But I'll try to heal you up a bit, just enough for you to be able to walk back to the academy."

"Woah you can heal?" Takeshi asked, with a eyes brimming with curiosity

"Not really, hahaha. It was something Kiyomi-san taught me and Hisakawa during our days in the Shogunate.

It's basically, simple healing using focused ki, it is not a long term remedy.

It will temporarily seal your wounds and heal them a bit, you will need to get treated properly after you get back to the village."

"Will I be able to use it too?"

"Of course, but you will need a stronger ki for that, but it's nothing you can't accomplish."

Takeshi couldn't see the healing as his this form of his body had no injuries, but he could see the white aura surrounding his grandfather's hands.

"Hmm, that should do it. Well...

Before I leave, here let me show you something..."

"What is it?" Takeshi asked intently.

"Wait, you will see it for yourself."

A brilliant white light flashed from behind Tachibana, engulfing him in it, blinding Takeshi.

What Takeshi saw after that, was something that would change his entire outlook on the world. Something which would prove to be pivotal to his life.

As the spectacle was nearing his end, he could no longer see his grandfather around him, but could hear his voice. Those were the parting words he had actually prepared for him.

"My boy, There is no shortcut to greatness, there is no shortcut to honor, there is no shortcut to power.

All three of these things, is something you achieve in life, by working hard, pushing yourself endlessly.

Of course, there will be setbacks, Life isn't a bed a of roses. But, that is the case for everyone, No one had it easy, Maybe some noble clans with their Godly privilege, sure, but for everyone else, whatever you see of them today, it is all of their blood, sweat and tears that they have shed over the years.

No shortcut in this world, can amount to that.

You might think, having a legendary sword makes you strong, No. It is but a means to enhance and further our ki and our control over it.

You will encounter a plethora of friends and foes, who all are as strong as you, or maybe even stronger than you, It is up to you, to do what you want with it.

Whether you wish to be strong, or you wish to be as you are.

While I always said I wanted you to become the next Sword Emperor and inherit Mizuko, it is but a dream of mine.

What I truly want is, for you to be happy. Happy in what you do, and what you choose to become.

Never leave anything out, only to be filled with regret later on.

Well, I guess this is it.

"Ohh right, tell Kanroji this "keep running, whatever happens, Don't look back."

Goodbye, my boy Takeshi

And don't you dare come to heaven without hitting my age at the very least. Hahaha"

"Grandpa wait-...."

Those were the last thing that Takeshi heard, before he finally opened his eyes.

He found himself surrounded by the smaller animals, which were licking and poking him.

Some of them even brought nuts and fruits near his body.

Seeing Takeshi wake up, they ran off, and hid behind bushes and grass.

He wiped the tears off his face and smiled at those animals.

They slowly started to come back near him.

Takeshi examines his wounds, and sees that the wound made by the leopard was closed.

He slowly recalled everything he saw in his dream.

He had a much more determined look. As he knew what he had to do next.

With much difficulty, he stood up, using his sword as a support and started to walk back towards the academy village.

Although Tachibana's spirit dissipated after using the last of his power to heal and show Takeshi what he wanted to show him, Takeshi felt as if he was still there, watching over him.

And he had to do whatever it takes, to make him proud. For that's all that matters to him now.

Tachibana was happy before he finally left, as his grandson was on the right path. Even if he didn't become a sword emperor or a fine samurai. he would still be happy. As long as he lived a good life.

He absolutely had no clue of what destiny has in store, for his grandson.

Be-beng, be-beng, plink...

Be-beng...be-beng... (slowly)

Plink...

...Plink... (fading)

(Silence)

To be continued.