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From the Legend of Kaji Okada, Book One
Chapter One: Urchins of Maruishi
As a boy, Kaji Okada’s journey began as the son of lumber farmers living in the hills of Akatsuchi, in the Land of Earth. He was fascinated with ideas of a life of adventure from the books he read. But when Kaji struck out on his own to see the legend of the Hidden Stone for himself, he only found life as an urchin. By the age of 11 years, Kaji was a pickpocket on the streets of Maruishi, the Capital City of the Land of Earth. It was a metropolis hued from marble stone built on a mountain facing the northern sea. The city was as vast as the Hidden Cloud on its surface but also had a more secluded ward beneath it, carved into the mountain as an underground city district known as Arcadia. Within Arcadia, many magics were known to exist, predating even the earliest shinobi arts— though, that may be a tale I’ll save for another time.
There in Maruishi, the shinobi way of life was one kept in secrecy, generally separate from the public— which prospered as a mercantile city. As a mere boy with nothing more than a wish to find and join the shinobi of stone, Kaji lacked the resources needed to garner the attention of that elite organization. Alone and afraid, the raven-haired boy frequented the gutters and alleyways of Maruishi, turning gaunt and filthy. He made forts from cardboard boxes and survived on offerings from a fishmonger who never quite sold all his stock. Young Kaji was a clever boy though, and he began to learn from the other orphans, passing through crowds and taking riches from the upper-crust whenever they dared to wander through the merchant district.
He formed a trio with two children much like him; alone. The first was a slightly older girl with a foreign name and strange accent to match— Xinyue. She had blonde hair, a mocha complexion, crimson eyes, and an aggressive streak. Of their childish band, Xinyue often insisted on leading their activities, with Kaji usually complying quietly, and the third child, Heizo, nodding stupidly. He often wore a dusty cap to hide the lumps Xinyue gave him for disobeying her. And I’m not being rude when I say Heizo was dim, he just was a simple boy who really didn’t deserve the cruel city-life. And if my memory preserves, I recall him never being a child of many words. While he could speak, if he did the words were very soft-spoken, and few at that. Heizo found some measure of security by sticking with Xinyue, who often did the talking for him and much more. Though Xinyue often tended to just use Heizo as a tool when she schemed, and a scapegoat whenever they failed. She’d have him fall in front of a marked target and start crying, begging that he was lost and hungry (which was true), long enough for Kaji sneak up and pick their pockets. Then Xinyue would intervene and apologize on Heizo’s behalf before taking him away. Their schemes rarely failed.
But the most memorable time when they did fail was the same one that would change their lives. One night, a broad man of middle-age came into the slums of Maruishi. He was dressed in fine vestments usually reserved for the upper class. His hair was slick and combed back, and he wore a goatee trimmed with precision; all of it was silver sable. A reflection bounced off of his circle-framed glasses, hiding cold, steel-gray eyes. He walked with a cane aiding his steps and continued checking a glistening gold pocket watch like the white rabbit late for tea. The golden watch was like eye candy to Xinyue, who was first to mark him as an opportunity. She found Kaji and Heizo, who were huddled around a burning trash bin and together with the trio set to work.
The children only had that one play; so Heizo was sent around to cut off the stranger’s path and emerged from another alley, sobbing. The distraction almost always worked, with their marks simply ignoring the boy and carrying on if they had nothing to offer. But this time, the old man approached Heizo and began prodding at him with his cane rather than filthy his hands. “You’re not quite what I’m looking for, boy,” said the gentleman in an estranged, evaluating way. He tapped his cane on Heizo’s shoulder with enough force to make him with wince with pain, but the boy was stricken with fear and stupefied, standing and staring.
<I>“Run, you idiot” was what Kaji wanted to shout as he hid behind a few boxes, just a few yards from the stranger. Even Xinyue was slow to intervene and took her time in coming to reach for Heizo. “Oh, please don’t mind my brother, sir” she begged, perhaps using the word please for the first time since Kaji met the girl.
But as Xinyue reached for Heizo, that wooden cane snagged her wrist much faster than she could realize, and the stranger hoisted her off her feet by the elbow. “Now you’re more like it,” he said in that gruff voice growing excited. “Strong and independent— just what I’m looking for.”
Xinyue was defiant and tried to wrestle free from the wooden hook, but the stranger was much stronger and took her in hand by the collar. The girl struck and clawed at him for a moment, but he merely took the assault and revealed a pearly white, wicked grin. His delight made her scream in peril. Heizo continued to stare as if he was frozen, watching his adoptive sister of sorts fighting for presumably her life. The mountain of a man lifted his cane and swung it across Heizo’s head, bludgeoning and flooring him in case the boy might gather an ounce of courage. Hiding from the shadows, Kaji watched as Xinyue showed her closest to genuine panic for Heizo, and she scrapped like a wild beast at her captor. She fought and fought, long enough to cement an impression on the man before he proceeded to bash her unconscious as well. Then he dropped her, letting her limp form stack onto Heizo.
Terror washed over Kaji; he had only heard stories of stuff like this, but never imagined he’d end up in such a predicament. His friends— only friends were in peril, and if he didn’t act now he might never see them again, at least not alive. But before he found the courage to fight or even the instinct to run, that domineering figure began to turn and look for him. “I know you’re out there… I can smell your fear” he called. “Come, muster some courage or you’ll never your friends again. ‘I’ll leave you here to die.” Kaji didn’t understand the implications, and only registered terror and unending loneliness. All he knew there was life with Xinyue and Heizo; eating the fish heads without them just seemed like a worthless existence. So, knowing he could not win this fight, but fearing life alone, Kaji accepted his fate and stepped out of the darkness. He came forth, barefoot and in rags, sniveling and pouring tears. There was an iron rod in his hand behind his back but he dropped that as well. The rod rolled away along with his freedom, even though that seemed pointless in such a cruel life.
“You must be the smart one of the bunch” complimented the frightening man. “You’re an opportunistic little urchin— just like me when I was your age.”
Who knows what I would have become if that fateful night had never occurred, or if I chose to run instead. For all the strife I’ve suffered in this life, I am happy with the results as it brought me to your mother, and together we made you. I am certain that I would have never discovered the Hidden Cloud without taking this path.
-- The Legend of Kaji Okada Book One Timeline: Here
-- Topic Entered and Left: One Shot.
<FONTFACE fontface="georgia">A Letter for My Daughter said:
From the Legend of Kaji Okada, Book One
Chapter One: Urchins of Maruishi
As a boy, Kaji Okada’s journey began as the son of lumber farmers living in the hills of Akatsuchi, in the Land of Earth. He was fascinated with ideas of a life of adventure from the books he read. But when Kaji struck out on his own to see the legend of the Hidden Stone for himself, he only found life as an urchin. By the age of 11 years, Kaji was a pickpocket on the streets of Maruishi, the Capital City of the Land of Earth. It was a metropolis hued from marble stone built on a mountain facing the northern sea. The city was as vast as the Hidden Cloud on its surface but also had a more secluded ward beneath it, carved into the mountain as an underground city district known as Arcadia. Within Arcadia, many magics were known to exist, predating even the earliest shinobi arts— though, that may be a tale I’ll save for another time.
There in Maruishi, the shinobi way of life was one kept in secrecy, generally separate from the public— which prospered as a mercantile city. As a mere boy with nothing more than a wish to find and join the shinobi of stone, Kaji lacked the resources needed to garner the attention of that elite organization. Alone and afraid, the raven-haired boy frequented the gutters and alleyways of Maruishi, turning gaunt and filthy. He made forts from cardboard boxes and survived on offerings from a fishmonger who never quite sold all his stock. Young Kaji was a clever boy though, and he began to learn from the other orphans, passing through crowds and taking riches from the upper-crust whenever they dared to wander through the merchant district.
He formed a trio with two children much like him; alone. The first was a slightly older girl with a foreign name and strange accent to match— Xinyue. She had blonde hair, a mocha complexion, crimson eyes, and an aggressive streak. Of their childish band, Xinyue often insisted on leading their activities, with Kaji usually complying quietly, and the third child, Heizo, nodding stupidly. He often wore a dusty cap to hide the lumps Xinyue gave him for disobeying her. And I’m not being rude when I say Heizo was dim, he just was a simple boy who really didn’t deserve the cruel city-life. And if my memory preserves, I recall him never being a child of many words. While he could speak, if he did the words were very soft-spoken, and few at that. Heizo found some measure of security by sticking with Xinyue, who often did the talking for him and much more. Though Xinyue often tended to just use Heizo as a tool when she schemed, and a scapegoat whenever they failed. She’d have him fall in front of a marked target and start crying, begging that he was lost and hungry (which was true), long enough for Kaji sneak up and pick their pockets. Then Xinyue would intervene and apologize on Heizo’s behalf before taking him away. Their schemes rarely failed.
But the most memorable time when they did fail was the same one that would change their lives. One night, a broad man of middle-age came into the slums of Maruishi. He was dressed in fine vestments usually reserved for the upper class. His hair was slick and combed back, and he wore a goatee trimmed with precision; all of it was silver sable. A reflection bounced off of his circle-framed glasses, hiding cold, steel-gray eyes. He walked with a cane aiding his steps and continued checking a glistening gold pocket watch like the white rabbit late for tea. The golden watch was like eye candy to Xinyue, who was first to mark him as an opportunity. She found Kaji and Heizo, who were huddled around a burning trash bin and together with the trio set to work.
The children only had that one play; so Heizo was sent around to cut off the stranger’s path and emerged from another alley, sobbing. The distraction almost always worked, with their marks simply ignoring the boy and carrying on if they had nothing to offer. But this time, the old man approached Heizo and began prodding at him with his cane rather than filthy his hands. “You’re not quite what I’m looking for, boy,” said the gentleman in an estranged, evaluating way. He tapped his cane on Heizo’s shoulder with enough force to make him with wince with pain, but the boy was stricken with fear and stupefied, standing and staring.
<I>“Run, you idiot” was what Kaji wanted to shout as he hid behind a few boxes, just a few yards from the stranger. Even Xinyue was slow to intervene and took her time in coming to reach for Heizo. “Oh, please don’t mind my brother, sir” she begged, perhaps using the word please for the first time since Kaji met the girl.
But as Xinyue reached for Heizo, that wooden cane snagged her wrist much faster than she could realize, and the stranger hoisted her off her feet by the elbow. “Now you’re more like it,” he said in that gruff voice growing excited. “Strong and independent— just what I’m looking for.”
Xinyue was defiant and tried to wrestle free from the wooden hook, but the stranger was much stronger and took her in hand by the collar. The girl struck and clawed at him for a moment, but he merely took the assault and revealed a pearly white, wicked grin. His delight made her scream in peril. Heizo continued to stare as if he was frozen, watching his adoptive sister of sorts fighting for presumably her life. The mountain of a man lifted his cane and swung it across Heizo’s head, bludgeoning and flooring him in case the boy might gather an ounce of courage. Hiding from the shadows, Kaji watched as Xinyue showed her closest to genuine panic for Heizo, and she scrapped like a wild beast at her captor. She fought and fought, long enough to cement an impression on the man before he proceeded to bash her unconscious as well. Then he dropped her, letting her limp form stack onto Heizo.
Terror washed over Kaji; he had only heard stories of stuff like this, but never imagined he’d end up in such a predicament. His friends— only friends were in peril, and if he didn’t act now he might never see them again, at least not alive. But before he found the courage to fight or even the instinct to run, that domineering figure began to turn and look for him. “I know you’re out there… I can smell your fear” he called. “Come, muster some courage or you’ll never your friends again. ‘I’ll leave you here to die.” Kaji didn’t understand the implications, and only registered terror and unending loneliness. All he knew there was life with Xinyue and Heizo; eating the fish heads without them just seemed like a worthless existence. So, knowing he could not win this fight, but fearing life alone, Kaji accepted his fate and stepped out of the darkness. He came forth, barefoot and in rags, sniveling and pouring tears. There was an iron rod in his hand behind his back but he dropped that as well. The rod rolled away along with his freedom, even though that seemed pointless in such a cruel life.
“You must be the smart one of the bunch” complimented the frightening man. “You’re an opportunistic little urchin— just like me when I was your age.”
Who knows what I would have become if that fateful night had never occurred, or if I chose to run instead. For all the strife I’ve suffered in this life, I am happy with the results as it brought me to your mother, and together we made you. I am certain that I would have never discovered the Hidden Cloud without taking this path.
-- The Legend of Kaji Okada Book One Timeline: Here
-- Topic Entered and Left: One Shot.