WHILE OTHER KIDS IN THE VILLAGE were off playing games and causing trouble for their parents, Calissa led a different kind of childhood that wasn’t by any means normal. She spent every morning taking language and etiquette classes with her new master, and after lunch they would spend every afternoon doing combat training. After supper she would do more language lessons before going to bed early to wake up at sunrise to do it all over again the next day. Alfred was so committed to the process that he wanted his daughter to do it every day without any breaks, but Miyamoto didn’t agree with his zeal and insisted that they take every Sunday off to relax. The warrior explained that one day of was needed to remind themselves why they’re working so hard to protect. A day of play and rest was needed so that the mind could rest and be ready for the next slate of lessons that were to come. Over the course of the next several months, Miyamoto never left Alfred’s house as he kept a low profile, restricting Calissa’s training to their backyard. The warrior also used seeds he had brought from his homeland to start growing his own gardens in the back area behind Alfred’s house, which slowly started to make the area look like similar to the home he had left behind. Whenever it rained or snowed, Alfred would clear the dining room and the lessons would go on indoors. Nothing would stop Miyamoto from his duty to turn the child into a warrior many would fear and respect. She had taken to the lessons rather well for a girl her age, dedicated to do well by her father and village. The young girl was also taking in all of his culture like a sponge, wearing the same robes, eating the same food and living every minute the way her master did. Yet it was almost a year after the man arrived, that her master decided it was time to go outside and do something normal.
Alfred had fallen ill, and while it was just a minor cold Miyamoto decided that he and Calissa should go to the shop to get some medicine for him.
“You don’t have to go,” Calissa said, “I can do it.”
“I’m sure you can,” Miyamoto agreed, “But your place during your training is by my side at all times. This is how the training never ends, as everything we encounter is an opportunity to learn.”
“I see,” Calissa said, “I can still show you the way.”
“I would appreciate that,” Her master said, “Lead the way, little one.”
The were both wearing their robes, and Miyamoto was even wearing his hat to conceal as much of his face as he could from those looking on. Despite the attempts to shield himself from the others, the people in town still stared at them both as if they were from another planet.
“What are they looking at?” Calissa asked, in her master’s language.
“They are scared,” Miyamoto answered, “They tend to fear what they do not understand. It makes them nervous and possessive of their cultural standards.”
“That’s weird,” Calissa said, “We don’t post any threat them.”
“We know that,” her master continued, “But their fear is irrational and comes from a position of ignorance. To not mind them, for they know not where their fear originates. They just know that it’s there and that’s why it controls them.”
“I feel like an outsider in my own village,” Calissa said, not used to the feeling.
“I suggest you get used to it,” Miyamoto said, “The warrior’s path is often a lonesome one, with only other warriors who understand your burden. The people do not understand because they are unaware of the real enemy, and the real horrors that reside in the real world. The monsters that would devour them without a second thought. Just the knowledge of that would drive them mad, so they ignore it all.”
“Doesn’t seem like a noble way to live,” Calissa said, “I don’t like it.”
“For some people, survival is the only goal.” Her master replied, “We strive to larger goals that makes their even possible to begin with. They have no idea what efforts and sacrifices were made just so they can live in peaceful bliss.”
“But you know?” Calissa asked.
“I do, and so does your father.” Miyamoto answered, “We bleed for this peace, and I will bleed for it again if I must. We lost good men during the great wars, and their lives will have not be lost in vain.”
“How did you and my father become friends?” she inquired.
“How all warriors from different lands often do,” her master replied, “We united to defeat a common enemy, and bonded over the great success of that alliance.”
As they entered the town shop, Calissa was all smiles as she hopped over to the counter to greet the shopkeeper with a warm smile.
“Hello, Grayson!” she called out.
“Hello, Calissa!” Grayson said, returning the smile. He then noticed the man with the hat standing behind her. “And who is this fella?”
“He’s with me,” Calissa said, “He’s my new teacher.”
“I see,” Grayson said, looking back at her. “What does he teach?”
“I can’t tell you,” Calissa said, “It’s a secret.”
“I see,” Grayson said, playing along. “And what can I do for you both today?”
“Dad isn’t feeling well,” Calissa informed him, “I need to get some syrup and tea so that we can get him back on the mend.”
“Alright, I can certainly help with that.” Grayson said, as he grabbed a small bottle and another box which was the tea. “This is your dad’s favorite tea, so he won’t fight you when you serve it to him. It’s just as good as the others and will make him feel better as well.”
“Thank you!” Calissa said, handing over some of money.
The two of them left the store and were walking back to the house when someone crossed paths with Miyamoto and wouldn’t get out of his way. The man even pushed the warrior without provocation, and that made Calissa nervous as to what might happen next.
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“Your kind is not welcome here!” The man roared at the foreigner.
“My kind?” Miyamoto replied, “And what kind might that be?”
“You know what I mean,” the man said, and he took a half assed swing that wasn’t very difficult to avoid.
Miyamoto didn’t harm the man, but he did catch the punch, and flip the arm behind his back. He then applied a great deal of pressure, which caused the man to scream out.
“This is a simple hold,” Miyamoto said, “But with a flick of my wrist, I can break your arms in two places. Do you want that?”
“No!” The man called out.
“Very well, but I leave you with this,” Miyamoto said, as he leaned in to whisper something into his ear. The people watching looked on as the words said to the townsman caused his eyes to pop open, and he started to turn white. Second later Calissa’s master released him and nodded to indicate it was time to go. The man who tried to hit Miyamoto didn’t say a word after he was released and instead chose to run away like the coward that he was.
“What did tell him?” Calissa asked, “What could you possibly say to generate such a reaction? Did you threaten him?”
“I did not,” Miyamoto said, even showing a small grin. “You must learn little one that if you truly want to scare someone, simply tell them the one thing they never want to hear even though they might need it.”
“And what is that?” Calissa asked.
“The truth,” her master answered, “Something that is indisputable is more fearful because it cannot be dismissed or shrugged off. A simple truth is a hundred times more powerful than deadly lie. Because that statement is true, it will gnaw at him for quite some time, like a splinter in his mind.”
“Is that considered cruel?” the young girl asked.
“Maybe,” Miyamoto said, “But that depends on how the person responds to it. He is fearful not, but in time that truth might motivate him to act and do better by himself and this town. Or he can remain in fear and hide, but in order to do what is right sometimes you need to hear the unforgiving truth.”
“And what truth did you tell him?” Calissa inquired.
“That is between me and him,” Miyamoto replied, “I might tell you in time, but you’re not ready for it just yet.”
“I thought you were going to hurt him,” Calissa admitted.
“I had no intention,” her master assured her, “The man was drunk and frustrated. He meant no harm and was looking for something to dump all his sorrows onto. Sometimes the people we swear to defend require protection even from themselves. Once he sobers up, we’ll see what kind of man he is.”
“I am curious to see what happens myself,” Calissa said, smiling back.
When they returned to the house, Calissa and her master started to use the things they purchased as the store to make lunch for her ill father. They planned to make a warm soup that would compliment the tea and place the medicine in there for him to easily ingest. Yet while they were preparing the food, there was accident that caught the two of them off guard. Calissa was chopping up the vegetables for the soup when the knife seemed to slip and go in a different direction than intended. As a result, the young girl cut across the back of her hand instead of the vegetable which resulted in a major gash on her hand. There was blood all over the place, and the girl screamed which caught the attention of her master. He ran over to inspect the wound, which was quite deep and could possibly cause a lot of nerve damage which was what he was worried about the most. He grabbed a towel and placed it on top of the cut.
“Keep pressure on it!” Miyamoto ordered, “I’ll get my medical kit and we’ll do what we can to fix it!”
Calissa did as she was told and pressed hard down on the towel that was turning red as the blood coming out was just soaking it. He whimpered a little bit as she patiently waited in the kitchen for her master to return with the medical kit. Yet when Miyamoto did return with the kit, something had changed. Calissa was no longer crying, and the color was returning to her face.
“What’s going on?” he quickly asked her.
“It stopped hurting,” the girl answered, “I don’t feel it anymore.”
Miyamoto didn’t like the sound of it, because to him that might mean she was losing feeling in her hand. He raced back into the kitchen and put the medical kit he traveled with beside her arm. As the towel was slowly removed from her hand, there was another surprised waiting for them. The bleeding had stopped, and the gash had disappeared. Her hand looked like nothing had happened at all. He grabbed another towel and cleaned the blood off her hand to confirm the wound was gone, and the skin on her hand was no longer broken.
“This is not possible,” Miyamoto said, as he continued to inspect. He had seen the gash for himself only moments before, it had looked real and it didn’t appear to be an illusion, as the child was genuinely crying out in pain.
“Where did it go?” Calissa asked.
“I’m not sure,” Miyamoto said, as he thought about it. While still holding onto her hand, he grabbed the knife off the table and looked back at her. “I need to conduct an experiment, and this is going to hurt a little bit.”
Before Calissa could reply, Miyamoto took the same knife she just cut herself with and stabbed the back of her hand, driving the blade deep in again. There was blood coming out again as before and the young girl cried out the same way she had the first time. This time after all the screaming that was going on, Alfred had managed to get out of bed to see what was going on and was shocked to see the blade sticking in his daughter’s hand.
“Hey!” Alfred cried out, “What are you doing to her?”
“Come over here!” Miyamoto called out, “I only want to do this once!”
Alfred came over to aid his child but watched in shock as his friend yanked the blade out, which even the most novice of medic know makes the wound worse. Calissa was still crying but at only again lasted a few seconds like before, as the pain stopped like it had the first time. She looked down at her hand and was finally able to see with her own eyes how the pain went away. All three of them watched in awe as the wound started to heal at a very accelerated rate. The skin slowly reattached itself, and the bleeding stopped and second after that there was no evidence the wound was ever there like the previous time. Miyamoto inspected the hand again and looked the little girl in the eyes.
“Same as last time, right?” he asked her, “The pain just went away?”
“Yes, but how?” the young girl asked.
“That’s a good question,” Alfred asked, “What the hell was that?”
“It has to do with that wolf,” Miyamoto said, still checking the skin as the spot he just stabbed was blemish free. “Unless they are struck down by weapon that is specifically constructed with a rare alloy, the Hakken cannot die.”
“Hold on," Alfred said, having a hard time believing it. "They're immortal?"
“Technically, yes.” His friend confirmed, “But how this was passed along to your little one here is the real mystery. I will need to think about it.”
“Is this magic?” Alfred asked, “I knew healers who could do that kind of regeneration, but this looked natural.”
“It did, very similar to how the Hakken heal.” Miyamoto said, looking back at the young girl who appeared frightened. “Are you alright, little one?”
“Am I a wolf?” She asked him.
“I don’t believe so,” her master replied candidly, “Do you feel different when the moon is full?”
“No,” She answered.
“I haven’t noticed any signs either,” Miyamoto replied, “Your mother was attacked by this Hakken, and usually that is enough to turn people into one of them if they managed to survive the attack. I will need to speak to your father about this and get more facts about what happened that fateful day. Only then we can try to figure this out together. How does that sound?”
“Sounds alright,” Calissa said, looking down at her still stained arm. “Can I go clean up and change?”
“Yes,” Alfred said, and the two men watched as she left to use the bathroom.
“You look better,” Miyamoto said, as he gestured to one of the chairs beside the table. “Take a seat, my friend. I’ll finish making lunch, but while I do so I want you to tell me what happened that day the Hakken attacked. This time, however, tell me everything. Do not leave out a single detail.”