Chapter 1: A Town Full of Believers.
My eyes opened, and I met the dark and damaged ceiling that belonged to my old shack that I had to call "Home." I sat up, letting out a long sigh.
"Get up, Tsuji." I muttered to myself.
I stood up from my bed, my bare feet meeting the earthly soil. I looked over the four shaky, wooden walls that provided protection from the cold rain. Our small room was a filthy mess, with the constant buzzing of flies, the smell of of rotten fish -- since we lived close to the river, and the oversized nightclothes that I wore, reeking since they haven't been washed in years. I walked across the room, not that it was a long distance, and opened a wooden box with a lock on it. I took out a rag and my father's old, black Sengoku. It was my only piece of clothing that looked half-decent. I looked at the other two woolen cots on the floor -- they were empty. My brothers must already be out in town. Two steps was all it took to reach the hole in a wall that I had to call a door, and I was outside, my body burning in the morning summer heat. To the right of my home was the river, where I walked over to bathe myself.
I set my father's clothing on the soft grass, neatly folded alongside my ragged pajamas. I took my dirty towel and dipped my nimble body into the river, the cold water forcing me awake. Washing my skin in the water, I watched the dirt and soot from yesterday's work as a blacksmith shop-cleaner trickle away from my fair skin and matted, long, black hair.
"Hey!" A nearby fisherman yelled at me from across the river, "I'm trying to make some money here, you know? Get out of the water, you're scaring away the fish!"
For a moment, I stared at him with tired, dark eyes. Reluctantly, I got out of the water.
"If a woman were there," I replied to him, drying my body and tying my hair up, "You wouldn't have said anything. You would have watched her bathe, admiring her beauty."
The man went back to his work, ignoring me. He knew what I said was true. I put on my father's clothing and set out into the village.
The village was a small little gem, surrounded by trees. Towards the river was the shops: a store for clothing, a market for food, and a blacksmith for forging tools. This part of the town also served as a hospitality center for the wandering samurai, offering food, a place to forge new katanas, and better clothing. Opposing the river was the deep woods, where the homes of the villagers were placed. A long pathway running down the middle of the village separated the homes and shops.
Throughout the small village known as Ise, there were two rules.
One: In times of war, all basic village necessities were to be offered to the samurai, who defended our country.
Two: All villagers were to follow the faith known as Shinto.
Shinto was the belief that behind every major movement in nature, there was a god or goddess behind it. These deities were known as the Kami. Along the pathway that divided the village, various shrines were placed, dedicated to various gods, the biggest one being the shrine dedicated to Amaterasu Omikami, the goddess of the sun. There were other Shrines similar, like Susanoo, the storm god, and Tsukiyomi, the moon god.
But I didn't believe in Shinto.
I made my way to the marketplace, receiving nasty looks from the other villagers. They despised me because I was a non-believer. If they could, they would kick me out immediately.
But they wouldn't allow it.
"Tsuji!" My brothers, Akaji and Kiyoshi Takeichi exclaimed, running to me happily, embracing me in a tight hug. These two were brought the village pride and joy, and were treated like royalty. They were constantly being well-fed and cleaned, so that they didn't have to live with their "horrible brother." It was also a great opportunity to try to convert them to Shintoism. They didn't change though. They would only listen to make the villagers happy.
"You guys are up early." I stated.
"We wanted to buy you some nightclothes!" Akaji, the middle child, said, showing me a shirt that was two sizes too small.
"Do you like it?" Kiyoshi, the youngest, asked.
I took the shirt, holding it up to the sun.
"It's amazing." I smiled. Their eyes lit up like stars.
"Yay! Tsuji likes it!" They cheered with glee, running in circles around me. I saw the other villagers watch us, their faces struck with pity.
"Poor things," a mother muttered to her child, "Never go play with those boys."
"If only those boys could grow up with proper parenting..." An elderly man muttered, purchasing an apple.
Our parents raised us until I was 13.
I remember it like it was yesterday. Our parents loved to take us on walks through the woods. We liked it too. We'd always go on Fridays in the afternoon to watch the sunset over a beautiful lake. One time, we decided to go at sundown to watch the moon rise. As we traveled down a path familiar only to us, we encountered wolves.
"Misako!" My father, Koda Takeichi, said while fending off a wolf, "Take the kids and run!"
Our mother did as she was told, hastily grabbing us by the hands and running. Along the way, a tree root tripped her, and more wolves came.
"Tsuji..." My mother cried because she had twisted her ankle, "Take your brothers and run... we'll meet you at the house later."
I did as I was told, having faith in my mother's word.
Father and Mother never came back. The house we owned was torn down when building the marketplace. The only reason why we're still here is because it was a part of my mother's will to allow us to have a place here. We were going to be given a place, but then I messed it up.
"Why should I believe in nature," I cried at the shrine dedicated to the sun goddess, "If nature was what got my parents killed!"
The villagers heard my sobs, and immediately despised me. While I held a grudge against nature, the Shinto believers believed that Nature made mistakes, just like humans, and they weren't to hold a grudge.
I had to build a home for my brothers on the small space we were given with no materials. I had to buy my own materials, all while also paying for food for my brothers. In the last five years, I had used up all of my father's wealth, gifted through his will. But it was worth the sacrifice, because my brothers were happy. Akaji and Kiyoshi barely remember their parents, so whenever they have nightmares, I tell them of how brave their father and mother were, and that they'd watch over them in their dreams. That helped them sleep peacefully.
As long as they were happy, I was alright.
My brothers' shining faces beamed at me.
"I'm gonna go get some food at the store, okay?" I said, taking the shirt, "Go have some fun. Remember-"
"Don't go into the woods, stay in town." They recited together, "We know!"
Happily, they ran off.
I continued down the path, eventually reaching the marketplace. I found a seller who was offering fish at a discount of five yen.
"Hi," I greeted the seller, "I'll have one fish please..." I placed five yen on the table.
The seller looked at me up and down in disgust. He placed a fish on the table.
"Ten yen." He took my five, "You need to give five more."
I looked him in the eye.
"Your offer says one fish for five yen." I stated, "Unless that's a mistake, then the fish is-"
"Ten yen. Take it or leave it." The seller declared.
I leaned in closer to him, whispering in his ear.
"Give me the damn fish. I know what you're trying to do, and it isn't gonna work."
"Are you threatening me?!" He exclaimed. All the eyes turned to me.
I sighed deeply.
"Fine, just give me my money back." I held out my hand, waiting for my cash.
"No refunds." He stated.
My eyes narrowed.
"Alright. I see how it is." I muttered.
"Pleasure doing business, sir." I said, grabbing the fish and leaving the seller.
"Hey! You took my-"
"-I paid for it." I retorted back, walking away. I made my way out of the marketplace and over to the blacksmith.
"Good morning, Mr. Hiro." I said to my boss as I walked past him, going straight to the fire where samurai weapons were forged.
"Hey Takeichi." He said, letting me cook the fish.
Mr. Hiro was a middle-aged man who used to be a friend of my father's. He was a kind man who didn't think bad about me, despite believing in Shinto. Although he couldn't give me a high-paying job because it would look bad on his business, he provided a small job for me to be able to pay for my brothers' food and shelter, and he'd secretly give me an extra bonus every month.
I placed the fish in the fire and sat down on the ground, waiting for it to finish cooking.
"How's the family?" I asked him.
"Good...my daughter is turning 16 today...gonna have a celebration later. You wanna come with your brothers?"
"I'm alright, thank you. It's probably best for me to not go." I thanked him.
"Hey...you're always welcome under my roof. It doesn't matter if you believe in Shinto or not."
"Thank you, but it'll be bad for your business if a villager sees me. Plus...your daughter doesn't know me."
"Oh she knows you, alright..." Mr. Hiro chuckled, "She sneaks out of the house in the morning to watch you bathe in the river."
"...I didn't need to know that, sir." I muttered, embarrassed.
"Haha...don't mention it to her if you find her someday...she'll kill me..." Mr. Hiro joked.
"Well, I'd suggest your daughter find another man," I said, standing up and getting my cooked fish, wrapping it in paper, "She definitely won't wanna be dating a dirtbag compared to the other men here..."
"Have a good day, Mr. Hiro." I said as I exited the blacksmith.
"She says the men here aren't as good-hearted as you." Mr. Hiro said, making me stop, "You will do anything to keep your brothers happy, while there are other men in this village that would rather keep themselves happy versus their sibling."
I looked back at Mr. Hiro, meeting his kind eyes.
"Tell her I say 'Thank you'." I said my goodbyes to Mr. Hiro and walked home.
When I entered the doorway, I gave a soft knock on the hard wood, signaling that I was home with food. My brothers' eyes became overflowing in happiness.
"Tsuji!" Once again, they ran to me, choking me in a tight hug.
"Ow-" I struggled to breathe, "I got food..."
"Food!" My brothers let go of me and sat themselves down on their cots. I smiled, breaking our meal into thirds and distributing them equally. I gave them the parts with the most meat, as I wanted them to eat the most.
"Thank you Tsuji!" They thanked me as I sat down. We all began to eat at the same time, conversing about our day, that was really just a few hours in the morning.
That was our life in our small town. Go out, get food, come back home, laugh. Although we didn't have much, we had each other. That's all that mattered to me. As long as Akaji and Kiyoshi were happy, I was happy. It was around noon by the time we finished our meal of the day.
"Hey," I mentioned, "Mr. Hiro is having a celebration at his house later today...his duaghter is turning 16. Do you guys want to go?"
My brothers both looked at each other, a wide smile on their faces.
"Yes!" They both exclaimed.
"Alright." I decided.
"Wait...but will you go too, Tsuji?" Kiyoshi asked me.
I looked down at my youngest brother.
"Kiyoshi...you know I can't be doing stuff like that..." I tried.
"You should come too!" Akaji pressed, "Why not?"
"Akaji, the villagers-"
"-Doesn't matter." He said firmly, "If you want us to go, you're coming with us."
They both gazed at me with hopeful eyes. I glanced outside the door. Villagers filled up the streets, coming to and from the shops.
"Listen...if there aren't any villagers by the time Mr. Hiro's party starts...then I'll go." I decided.
"Is that good with you guys?" I asked.
"Yes!" The exclaimed happily, "Thank you Tsuji!"
"Haha...Don't thank me yet." I muttered.
Time passed by as my brothers and I talked and talked in our small little shack. In the blink of an eye, the sun was already beginning to set. I checked outside. Sure enough, there were no villagers in the streets.
"Hey...I think it's time for Mr. Hiro's party." I whispered to them, their faces gleaming with excitement, "But we're gonna have to be quiet on the way there, okay?"
"Okay!" My brothers whispered back.
"Alright, let's go." I said.
We quietly walked across the village, being careful about not making any noise. If a villager found out what we were doing, it'd be over for Mr. Hiro's business. Eventually, we arrived at Mr. Hiro's home. Dusting off my Sengoku, I gently knocked on the door.
An old man peeked through the door.
"What are you kids doing here?!" He shouted at us. I had the wrong house. Backing up, we ran away.
"Stay away from us!" He shouted as we ran.
When we found refuge in our home, we all sat down, tired.
"Tsuji?" Akaji asked me, "Why do the villagers hate us so much?"
"Akaji...they don't hate you." I sighed, "Actually, they adore you and Kiyoshi."
"They... sorta hate me." My gaze directed to the ground.
"Why do they hate you?" Kiyoshi asked, "Is it because you don't believe what they believe?"
"Yeah." I managed, "But, that's nothing really...it's only me. They love you guys, so you don't have to worry-"
"But..." Akaji said with an unhappy, almost pouty tone, "Why can't they love you too?"
"Oh..." I met the sad eyes that belonged to my brothers, "They do love me. Mr. Hiro lets me have a job...I'm able to buy food and water..."
Despite what I said, they still looked sad.
"Listen." I said, "It doesn't matter if they love or hate me. All that matters is that I love you guys. That's all."
"Besides," I added, "Not everyone in the village hates me...you guys are villagers!"
"Oh yeah!" Their eyes immediately lit up again, relieving me, "We do love you, Tsuji!"
"See?" I said, "I'm not hated...as long as I have you guys, I'm all good."
By now the moon had fully rose. As we settled into our cots on the dirt ground, we drifted off into the world of dreams.
Little did we know then, that that night would be the last peaceful day of our lives...
For a while.
Chapter 1: A Town Full of Believers, END.
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