Samurai Son Read Free Page B

Rokuro’s lessons.
    The bird cawed once as he stood there, uncertain.   It is not far, little samurai.   I promise you will enjoy what I have to show you.
    It wasn’t every day a crow talked to him.   Curious, Akira took several steps forward despite his pain and followed the bird as it encouraged him higher up the mountain and deeper into the forest.   The road dwindled and became a footpath.   Akira wondered if anyone would look for him.
    After what seemed a very long climb, the path broke out into a fairly flat meadow.   He stopped to catch his breath and saw the bird watching him.   He bent down and rubbed his legs again.   He hoped it wouldn’t be very far.   But just as he was about to give up, he saw the bird fly down from the tree.   Much to his amazement, the bird grew.   It took on the body of a man but had the wings and head of the raven.   It was dressed like a samurai with an overcoat and trousers and carried both swords tied to its obi.
    Akira stared.   “What manner of creature are you?”
    The bird-man laughed.   “I’m a Karasu-tengu.   Haven’t you heard of one?”
    Akira blinked.   The word Tengu sounded familiar, but for what reason, he couldn’t imagine.   “I don’t know,” he said truthfully.   “I think I’ve heard of them, but I can’t say.”
    The Tengu seemed to not be affronted.   Instead, he considered Akira with his bright yellow eyes.   “You’re not doing well at martial arts?”
    Akira shook his head.   He knew it’d do no good to lie to this creature since it was obviously kami.   The creature was a shapeshifter and could have watched him practice with Rokuro.   “It’s not that I’m terrible,” he said.   “It’s just that Rokuro sensei demands so much from me.”
    Two wooden bokken appeared in the Tengu’s hands.   He tossed one to Akira, who caught it, much to his surprise.   The Tengu slid the bokken in his obi and stood ready to bow.   Akira faced him and together they bowed.   Both Akira and the Tengu took the ready stance.
    The Tengu began first with a simple attack, choosing an overhead strike similar to those that samurai often used.   Akira stepped out of the way, as Rokuro had taught him, and made a basic counterattack.   The Tengu nodded and repeated the attack.   Akira countered again.
    The Tengu sped up the attack and forced Akira to move quickly.   His arms ached as he blocked and countered each attack.   It seemed so basic, yet Akira felt slow and clumsy.   The Tengu moved quicker, and Akira overcompensated and lost his footing.   He fell into the dirt and dropped the wooden sword as he did.
    “You’re slow and stiff,” said the Tengu with an appraising eye,
    Akira grunted as he got up and dusted himself off as best he could.   His clothes were dirty but thankfully not muddy.   The Tengu’s voice held none of the harshness that Rokuro’s had.   “What should I do?”
    “Get smoother,” the Tengu remarked.   “Do you stretch?”
    Akira nodded but the constant training made him sore despite the stretching.   The Tengu bowed and put the bokken in his obi.   Akira started to bow, but the Tengu motioned him forward.   Akira slipped the wooden sword in his belt and approached the kami.   The Tengu rubbed his arms with his claw-like hands.   They felt rough and powerful, and Akira fought the urge to run.   Instead, he stood there as the Tengu put pressure on his muscles with his long nails.   The pain was excruciating, but Akira could soon feel his muscles relax under the creature’s hands.   Then the Tengu worked on his legs, especially the leg that collapsed under Rokuro’s attacks.   The pain subsided and Akira felt as though he could stand and his leg would hold his weight.
    “How do you feel?”   The Tengu cocked his head to study Akira.
    Akira slowly stretched and found the knots were gone.   Though still stiff, he was nowhere near as inflexible as he had been.   “Better.”
    “Good.