ACT II: Kiro & Namaeda Growing Up
To prove the strength of a swordsman without hurting anyone, duelling competitions with wooden swords were held for young ones in clans to decide who could be eligible to become a Samurai class and don the uniform.
Kiro and Namaeda were eager to participate in these contests as they found comfort in duelling amongst each other.
However as it would turn out Kiro was far superior than all his peers and he quickly would reach the pre-final round where he would meet his brother Namaeda to duel, both brothers would go all out. Kiro didn’t want to lose his younger brother EVER since he already assumed a parental figure in Namaeda’s life, if Namaeda was ever troubled at the lake, Kiro would make sure the assault was paid heavy. Kiro in doing so performed the infamous Nuki Dou Giri (Heavenly Strike) against his brother knocking him to muddy floor and screeching in pain.
Kiro almost forfeit the competition seeing the state of his brother, he never wanted to see his brother in such a state of pain.
In the final round, came a rising star Oshikabe Hisahi. He had a dazzle in his eyes and looked Kiro with absolute cockiness and said “you seem too proud in your skills” to which Kiro smirks “Well that’s because I am the best” and turns out Kiro was right.
Oshikabe and Kiro duelled multiple times, with not a single victory for Oshikabe. He always lost. Even from wooden swords to deadly katanas, his fate never changed.
Oshikabe hated despite how good he was with the katana, he could never really catch up with Kiro in terms of raw skill, his strikes were just so elegant that Oshikabe just had to admit he was the stronger swordsman and he secretly admired Kiro for his techniques and skills.
Kiro and Namaeda would frequently spend their evenings staring at the clear rested flowing waterbodies nearby and be fascinated with nature itself. Namaeda would frequently ask his brother “why do we need to fight at all? can’t we all be in perfect harmony like the nature” to which Kiro attempts to reaffirm and promise “because humans are not like nature, some humans are bad people and bad people can’t get away for their behaviour so we learn to fight for justice.”
“Don’t you ever worry, I will always protect you.”
ACT II: The Tale Of Oshikabe
Oshikabe now aged 16, was granted his katana of justice. It was all sunrise and cool wind when he first used it to fight other swordsman and was approved of being a samurai class.
After a round of oolong-tea with his friends, they would continue practising their skills meticulously.
A couple of years later, Kagetora’s clan was now expanding their influence to reach Edo, not that it mattered to him anyways. He would daydream a top of a tree thinking about his life once he was married to a beautiful woman and if he could ever live in a proper home with a proper courtyard than the broken wooden home where he was raised by his mother widowed after their father had promptly passed away from compounding injuries.
Oshikabe wakes up the next morning searching for his friends besides the pond, only to find none had arrived and so he goes to the wartorn area where the clan fought and was horrified to find out the very brutal ways, his friend’s dead bodies laid on as waste to rot in Earth’s surface.
Oshikabe felt such a wave of powerlessness rising amongst him. He always blamed for not taking action when there was a chance to fight against injustice now at last, he couldn’t even save his friends.
He noticed that both Kiro and Namaeda fought under the banner of Kagetora, knowing very well that he was no match for Kiro, let alone the brothers together under the beast that is Kagetora. He decides to break the bushido and join a faction opposing Kagetora.
The leader of the faction wasn’t radical or brave enough to face Kagetora head-on which led to Oshikabe assassinating the leader and assuming the commander position and to engage in guerrilla warfare and light skirmishes to ensure that they wouldn’t face a puny death to the opposing clan.
They employed poison darts, assassinations, blackmail and manipulation to ensure that they would finally match Kagetora’s army.
Oshikabe knew that Kagetora would want Kiro to unleash an assault against their forces, eventually leading to their meet. Oshikabe knew well that it might be their last duel together, but for him fighting against Kiro was not a misfortune but rather an honour and was more than happy to have his life taken by the best swordsman seen thus far.
ACT II: Hana
Namaeda never felt any form of love from the clan, always felt excluded since Kiro was the centre of their attention. He was always just referred as Kiro’s younger brother yet not a single soul ever told Kiro that he was the elder brother of Namaeda.
One of the nights, bandits broke a nearby village trying to ransom whatever they could find and threatened with their katanas, Namaeda while strolling to clear his mind overlooks the scene and jumps right to it. With his valour and skill, the naginata quickly disarmed all the bandits, to find that they were holding an enchanting young lady captive. He frees her and she asks his name.
Namaeda was never so mesmerised by the appearance and voice of a woman before. Given that a clan was mostly ran by crabby men who only thought of their interests, it was only natural that he was seeking affection and attention elsewhere.
Hana seemed like a pearl plucked from the skies. Hair long like in the tales of Rapunzel. Coloured black as Ebony. Her eyes sparkled those of the rarest diamonds. Skin fairer than even Snow White. Lips matched those of Cherry Blossoms. Her radiating presence was just further amplified with her Kimono.
Namaeda would frequently go for strolls to see Hana and for the first time felt a sense of love. However with time spent increasing, it took a toll in his battle abilities to Kiro questioning him “What has gotten to your head? Why can’t you even strike a simple target?“.
Namaeda was worried if his brother found out about his affair with Hana. Most samurais and warlords are met with their supposed “lover” by arranged marriage, very few genuinely would love their partner.
Kiro eventually found out when he went to check on his brother, what he was upto strolling at night every time. Namaeda felt destroyed when he found his brother spying on him, thinking that his brother might report this to the clansmen however to his shock, Kiro actually approved of the relationship.
While disappointed initially, Kiro found solace in seeing his brother’s happiness he found in Hana. Someone who he could find comfort in and be honest with.
The two married in a shrine nearby to solidify their relationship.
A year later, when Kagetora was mobilising men for their conquest of Edo, Namaeda knew that he wouldn’t see her in a while but promised her one thing.
“Hana, don’t worry about me. I will always be by your side till death.” “I would make sure that you won’t even be scratched” “Once I’m back, we will be back to basking in the woods” “Remember” “I love you” “With all my heart and my soul” “And with every inch of my body”
ACT III: Honjō Masamune
Many years ago, when clan warfare had begun to decide the fate of Japan’s unification. A smart fellow named “Kagetora” decides that he doesn’t want to fight under the banner of any being and wants to carve his own legacy. He was already quite powerful with his unethical possession of a sacred yet mythical sword which was the Masamune.
Not a single being knows how he was able to acquire such a treasured weapon but they knew not to mess with him. Kagetora would form his own clan just in the outskirts of Nagoya. Having enough wealth accumulated from the pillaging and terrorising he had done a while ago, he was able to hire samurai to guard him and the quarters.
Kagetora was now ready to undertake a major mission to establish and put his clan on the map. Choosing to invade nearby province, he decides to now show his opponents to fear him. The opposing clan were also cruel in their own ways but were no match to Kagetora’s torture.
The opposing clan probably had the greatest asset that Japan would witness in a while, a swordsmith by the name of Muramasa, who was heavily influenced and inspired by Masamune’s blades and his work. Despite the clan throwing everything they had at the other clan, it seemed like there was a certain individual who was stopping them from their success.
That man’s name? Honda Yorikamora who was using Muramasa’s most feared blade in creation. Being an expert duellist himself, the blades seemed to have been filled with thirst for spilling blood. Kagetora attempted to fight the man by himself but nearly fell to his knees while fighting with his own forged blade.
Just as it seemed like it was the end of the road for Kagetora, he unsheathes Masamune.
Honda couldn’t believe what he was seeing but that was the mistake, Kagetora wasn’t in the mood to explain anything, he used all his strength to swing the Masamune inside his body till his intestines and gut would fall out. Since it was the first time he ever used Masamune in the battlefield. He was terrified at how glamouring and Earth-shattering this katana was. He later locked it in a secret safe, only to be used in critical situations.
Kiro’s father had been killed in war when he was just 4 and Namaeda was 2. Their mother feared the worst might happen if the clan starts searching in homes.
And as it would, the clansmen realized from the Last Names that these were the sons of the brave warrior and so the children were inducted into the clan and their Mother raped. As she was of the age to not bear children anymore, the clan decides to dispose her off.
Masamune’s true strength could only be visible to the wielder who understood the nuance of blades & cared for every fine little detail that made it so mesmerising yet terrorising.
Even if Kagawa fought with the Masamune, he could hardly harness its true power since he was an expert killer but not a duellist like Kiro.