Prologue
New characters in this story: Katsuichi-Sensei, who was the teacher who had trained Usagi and his current pupils Shunji (also created by Stan but I couldn't find a good picture of him) and Waytiki (my creation).
Preparations
"A preliminary answer from the council has arrived," Pau announced on the next morning during breakfast. They had visited a few more parts of the station, yesterday and Usagi had slept in the park with Tomoe. In two beds, this time.
"And what do they say?" Tomoe asked.
"They follow my path of thought in principle but could not yet agree on which procedure to implement. Therefore, I was advised to begin the general preparations and wait with the detail planning. They told me, that they will have looked at and prepared all information within ten days and come to a decision soon after."
"You still haven't told us what this is all about," Usagi demanded.
"As long as I don't know what I will be able to do, that doesn't really make much sense, now does it?" Pau explained.
"And what will you do now?" Tomoe wondered.
"Now I can start with a few simple things. That includes looking up the whereabouts of all concerned people, put any special equipment into my storage, and more things like that. And we should do a follow-up examination of you both."
"What is that?"
"After a healing, one should do another examination to see how far and well the healing went. For example, sometimes, one injury hides another. That hidden injury will show up in the follow-up examination."
He led them to the healing tanks, again, and Usagi stood on the examination socket once more. The circle of light moved along his body and Pau showed the results. First, the old, injured body of Usagi showed up.
Then all healed injuries went away. Only the scar over Usagis left eye stayed and some marks along his spine. "I left the scar over your eye alone but I can heal that as well, if you like." Pau must have seen the look in Usagis face to have to drown again in that strange liquid(1). "Don't worry," he laughed, "that can be done without the tanks. And it won't hurt."
Earnest, Usagi refused the offer. The scar was now part of himself. But the other marks made him worry. "These are call chakras," Pau explained, "energy centers. With most people, some or all of them are blocked in one way or the other. This means that your life force can't flow unimpeded in your body. In my culture, we pay heed to these things because they can be the source of many spiritual and psychological problems or point to them. Your 7th chakra is completely blocked, for example, which means that you are oppressing or ignoring your sexual necessities."
The conversation was now touching topics, Usagi did not want to discuss in public and even less before Tomoe. He started to say something but Pau continued. "This will not kill you but it takes a bit of your available energy and will prevent that you can reach your equilibrium. It is your decision to do something about this or not."
"Tomoe," he went on, "looks like a twin in this respect." The copy of Usagi was replaced by Tomoe. Similar spots were marked on her.
"Then I can now ...?" she asked with a hoarse voice. Usagi had no idea what she meant but he felt that it was very important for her.
"Yes," Pau answered softly and waited until Usagi did embrace her.
He just held her and that seemed to help. He didn't ask any questions. Tomoe would explain whatever was necessary when she was ready. Until then, he would protect her.
Spiritual Healing
Pau brought them back into the park and left them alone. Tomoe was still very quiet and just stared into the small lake, softly embraced by Usagi. Some time later, she disengaged from the embrace and asked Usagi for a bit of time on her own. Usagi rose, hugged her once more and then went away without looking back. Tomoe waited until he was out of sight and then told a robot to bring her to Pau.
Pau sat in a room with a very large pedestal like the one in the healing room. Chairs were standing around it and on one of them, Pau sat. When she entered the room, he looked up. For a short moment, she could see many faces of people along with explanatory text. Lord Noriyuki was there, the Shogun, Lord Hikiji, Usagi and herself. The pictures were connected by lines who again had text next to them. Then the image vanished and was replaced by a waterfall, who was flowing through a calm, green scenery.
She didn't know where to start, so Pau began. "You're unable to decide."
All she could do was nod. "On one hand, you don't want to neglect your duty before your lord nor your feelings towards your true love."
"What should I do?" she asked desperately. "If I decide for Usagi, then he would either have to stay at Lord Noriyuki's court which he doesn't want or I would have to leave the court which is something I can't."
"And I also can't imagine to live without him anymore ...," she added with a low voice.
"Bushido(2)," Pau said.
"Bushido," she answered. She sat down on a free chair and stared into the moving picture of the waterfall but didn't see it.
"Have you thought about discussing this with them?" Pau inquired.
Tomoe laughed without humor. "Both would be happy to sacrifice their right hand for me just to see me happy. Alone to speak of it would force them to do something that they would not want. I can't do that to them."
"But you also should not leave it that way."
"I have no intention to," Tomoe sighed, "but what should I do? All I could would only change the person that is suffering but it won't end it."
"Would you like me to talk to Usagi?" Pau offered.
"Would it change anything? Even if you would ask him, the result would be the same."
"Well, I wouldn't ask like that. I would just ask if he could imagine to live at Lord Noriyuki's court. Maybe, he has a completely different view on all this than you. While you think that it would be his demise, he might actually like the idea to have a place he could call home."
"He would never serve another master after Lord Mifune," Tomoe replied crestfallen.
"Despite the fact that Katsuichi-Sensei lives on the land that Lord Hikiji calls his domain, no one would suspect that he serves Lord Hikiji. Maybe you should give this some thought: Maybe your fear that it cannot become real is the reason for your worries," Pau suggested softly.
Tomoe let her head hang. Pau waited patiently until she called herself to order. "I'm in your debt."
"No, not really," Pau disagreed, "I already planned to talk to him. Actually, I will just do so right now. In the mean time, I would propose that you take a long walk through the park and sort out your emotions and thoughts. No matter, how things will turn out, it will be to your advantage."
Tomoe nodded, left the chair and followed a robot outside.
After some time, Pau said aloud. "And you thought, you had problems."
From the next room, Usagi came, fuming. "Why did you do this?" he demanded with a strained voice.
"Sometimes, a kick in the butt is better than a slap in the face."
Usagis eyes opened wide. "What's that supposed to mean? She trusted in you! You have abused her trust in a most dishonorable way! And me, too!" He shook in anger.
"I'm no messenger," Pau answered patiently. "There is no point in running back and forth between two people just to repeat to one side what the other should tell them directly. She had to tell you this but couldn't. Because you are the cause of all her troubles,"
Usagi opened his mouth to object angrily.
"Would Lord Noriyuki deny your relation?" Pau beat him to it.
"Anyone else? No? It's just you! Bushido! Ha!"
"And at the same time, you realize that you cannot become a true master of the sword as long as you're so unbalanced. And why are you? Because you suppress some parts of your self so much that you yourself sometimes wonder if they are still there!"
"Hellooo!" Pau shouted, "she is hurting, Usagi. Just like you. Because you want it that way."
"I can't ..." Usagi began.
"Oh, there is a new law of nature. Ronin can't love. New to me. You found it? Am impressed. Surely, a lot of your kind will be much more happy, now."
"You don't want," Pau retorted, "There is no one driving you. No one, who demands that you live the way you do. Only you. Surely, master Katsuichi told you this more than once: For all your deeds ..."
"only you yourself are responsible," Usagi finished the sentence. 'Could it be? No!'
"What happens if I get killed? She is suffering, I agree. But what is this pain to what she would have to endure then?"
"Unfulfilled? Asking herself for the rest of her life, if there had really been no chance for your two, if she just had put a little bit more effort into it? Asking herself where she went wrong? If it might have turned out different, had she been with you?"
Usagi turned away. He could not stand it anymore. He went for the door, but it stayed shut. Trapped. If he had had a weapon in this moment, he would have used it. Like a cornered animal, he stood. Ducked. Ready to attack.
"What is it now? Surely, it's Lord Noriyuki's fault," the words continued to hammer at him. "Surely, things were much easier if he were not there. Or Hikiji. If he just left you alone, stopped trying to kill Noriyuki or you. Surely, it's his fault." Pau grabbed him and Usagi did strike him with all his force. He shouted and kicked. No matter how, he had to silence Pau. Punched. Kicked. Shouted. Wept.
When he came to his senses again, he found himself in the corner of the room. Pau sat again at the pedestal and added more text. New faces had appeared, were connected with others, the connections documented.
"What do you want? Why do you do this to me?" Usagi demanded with a cracking voice.
Pau chose his words carefully. "If one of you two dies, the other will die, too. The only thing that is separating you is your fear that the other could be hurt. But believe me, it's worse to live with the question if you could have done better than with the memories of happy hours together and the question, if you could have done better."
Suddenly, Pau looked tired: "I have knowledge, that could kill, Miyamoto Usagi. No martial arts. No weapons. Knowledge. To posses this knowledge makes one want to die. To stop knowing. To forget. I cannot forget. I'm remembering clearly and precisely every mistake that I ever made and believe me one thing: I would be dead for a long time, if I had not used every opportunity to oppose this horror with something nice. If I hadn't made every wound bearable with the memory of the wonderful time with someone else."
"Hikiji could torture and kill you and probably would if you ever fell into his hands. But the relationship to Tomoe would allow you to survive anything. And it's your only way to achieve real mastership. As long as you oppress important parts of yourself, you're denying yourself your self."
With a muted hiss, the door opened. Usagi looked into the corridor. At last, he could go away, escape this torture. Have peace. He turned.
"The thought to loose her is unbearable for me," he began with a low voice.
"And the thought that she is suffering, also," he added.
He sat down. "What should I do?" he asked desperately.
"Go into the park, take her head into you hands, look deep into her eyes, tell her that you love her and kiss her," retorted Pau.
"And if she became pregnant? It would ..."
"Oh yes," Pau interrupted, "and stop coming up with new excuses."
"She won't become pregnant," he added.
"The strange behavior in the healing room," Usagi remembered. Pau just nodded.
Both sat silent for a moment. "Are you still accusing yourself for the death of Lord Mifune?" Pau asked then.
Usagi sat, motionless. "What?" he replied weakly.
"You are still believing that you could have saved him, don't you? If you just had discovered the true character of Gunichi(3). That his death was your fault, somehow."
Desperate, Usagi asked himself, how Pau knew. And he realized that again, he evaded to deal with the problem at hand. To face his fear.
"I ...," he started.
"That is the reason, why you don't want to serve another master. After all, you have already failed once. You think. You're afraid that it could happen again. That you could let someone down. That you could be hurt, again. Therefore, you turn away."
Usagi could not believe how accurate Pau did find his weak spots. Again, like a few days ago, a black flood of dark, horrible emotions shot up from the depths of his soul and raged in his head. And he gave in. Did not try to withstand. Like a freak tide, it rose before him and crashed down on his self.
Oddly enough, when it was over, he was still there. The wave had washed over him and had disappeared. He was almost sure, if he had tried to resist, he would have been broken. But as it was, the wave had just ripped at him, pulled him along for a distance but in the end, he still stood. Unhurt. And another injury on his soul had been healed.
Without saying anything, he stood up. There was no need for words anymore. He went to the park, found Tomoe, took her head tenderly in his hands, looked deep into her marvelous eyes and simply said: "I love you." Then they kissed.
The next morning, they woke up in a tight embrace. Tomoe had no idea how Pau had achieved this and she could not care less. She was happy. And Usagi, too. They had come to a decision.
While they did wash each other, Tomoe confessed to Usagi, that she had been wounded a long time ago. That Pau had examined her and told her, that she could not conceive a child. That he had healed her. Usagi did not reply, just kissed her. She just wished, they could stay like that for the rest of they day. Hand in hand, they appeared for breakfast.
As always, Pau was already there. "Did you sleep well?" he asked.
Usagi nodded. "Not much, though," he added smiling.
After breakfast, he asked a question that he pondered about. "Tomoe told me that you have healed her but to me, you said that she cannot become pregnant. What is correct?"
Pau smiled amusedly. "Both. Theoretically, she can now conceive a child but her body has still to adapt a bit," he explained and passed a small pill to Tomoe.
"When you swallow this, you will be able to become pregnant." To answer her unspoken question, he added: "which means, of course, that you can wait."
Tomoe relaxed visibly. "Then I will wait until I have talked to my Lord Noriyuki," she replied and stored the pill away carefully.
"When we talked to the robot about you a few days ago," Usagi started, "he said that you are sometimes accepting pupils." He looked at Pau openly.
"Would you accept me as a pupil?" he asked.
Pau returned his gaze and answered: "No."
The disappointment showed clearly on Usagis face. He opened his mouth but Pau continued: "Unlike the customs in your culture, I don't assume responsibility for my pupils. My pupils must already stand on their own feet and they must have some specific qualities. You are standing on your own feet and you have most of the necessary qualities but something is missing."
Usagi waited patiently for Pau to continue. "I could explain to you what quality you are missing, but since it is missing, you would not understand. Therefore, I propose the following: I will give you three tasks. After every task, you can decide if you want to go on or not. If you have fulfilled every of the three task to your own satisfaction, I will accept you as my pupil. Do you accept these rules?"
"To my satisfaction?" Usagi asked to reassure himself.
"I'm not educating toadies or people who adore me. All my pupils wield enormous powers. They must be able to decide for themselves and that is one of the necessary qualities to be able at all to become one of my pupils."
Usagi bowed. "I accept," he answered seriously.
"So be it." Pau remained silent for a moment. "Your first task is to make Kenichi to forgive you."
Usagi swallowed hard and took a deep breath. That would be hard work. Kenichi and he had never liked each other much. With time, this had only become worse. "And my second task?" he asked with a hoarse voice.
"You will receive your second task after you have fulfilled your first one. No," Pau anticipated Usagis protest, "it would be futile for you to know. You cannot fulfill it before the first one and it would only distract you."
"You have the potential," Pau went on, "to become a pupil of mine. But you don't have the necessary maturity to be able to decide this. After you have fulfilled your three tasks, you will be able to see the consequences of your decision. Only then, I will be able to accept you."
The next days passed with more preparations and Tomoe and Usagi spent a lot of time together. Then, the day came when the council told Pau their decision. During dinner, Pau informed them.
"The council has checked all information that I passed them and sent a detailed plan for my mission. Now, we can start. I already have all the equipment, I'm going to need. You must tell me now, what should happen with your daisho(4)."
"I would be glad if you could hone and grind them but their soul must not be touched."
"What about the handles?"
"Well," Usagi hesitated, "You can wrap them anew or replace them completely," he decided finally.
"Tomoe?"
"The same, please," she smiled.
"I will pass your decision on," Pau promised. "Now, all that is left is to assemble the rest of your equipment. That, we'll do tomorrow."
The next morning, Pau met them in the park.
"How do you talk to the robots?" Usagi wanted to know. "I've noticed that they sometimes seem to react to your commands without you saying anything. It's as if they read your mind."
"Well, in a certain way, this is the case. I've been living with robots for such a long time, now, so they know me pretty well. Moreover, the station itself is watching us all the time. That's why usually, not many words are necessary. But I can also communicate in a different way with the station. It's not really mind reading but comes very close."
"The station is watching us?" Usagi asked, now a bit uneasy.
"Of course," Pau answered evenly. "Your discomfort comes from the fact that you're afraid that this knowledge about you could be abused, but that cannot happen. The surveillance only serves to protect us. The station does hear what you say but it also forgets immediately, if it's not directed to it. In this sense, the robots are part of the station."
"That means that we could call for a robot if we were walking around without one and the station would send one if we got lost?"
"Yes. Or you could ask the station itself where you are and how you get to your destination. Furthermore, it is performing all kind of safety functions. For example, it's impossible to hurt someone. The station will intervene if you fall off a bridge or someone attacks you."
"And what exactly happens in such a case?" Tomoe asked curiously.
Pau looked briefly at her, grabbed her and threw her against the wall, headfirst. She shrieked in surprise, tried to turn in flight to lessen the impact but it already was too late. When she was already expecting a hard impact with her head, she felt a sensation of movement. She slowed down. Smoothly, she was put down on the ground on her feet again by some invisible force.
"Sorry," Pau said dryly. "A similar technology like the one in the trainings room is used here. It prevents that one can jump off a bridge, climb over a railing or run into a wall. In addition, any armed person will be suspended immediately."
Usagi was petrified. Pau was incredibly quick. Paus attack on Tomoe had almost been over before he had noticed that Pau had moved at all. He unsnapped and helped Tomoe up, who was still shocked. It was strange. Sometimes, Pau was so perfectly normal and then, so immensely alien. Maybe, Pau was right and he was not yet ready to become his pupil.
Pau waited patiently until they had recovered. Then they went on. "This way, our privacy is protected and still, there can't be any accidents."
Usagi pondered about this. "But doesn't this also mean that one doesn't care for these things anymore?"
"Of course. No one, who has grown up in this environment, would have felt fear, when he is being thrown against a wall. In your world, this would be a deadly mistake. That is one reason, why the duration of your stay here is strictly limited. If you would stay here for too long, you would become unable to survive in your own world. The same applies to me. It always takes some time until I have adjusted myself and I begin to behave, well, normal."
He smiled. "But it's not so bad. Afterwards, we'll have a good laugh at all those little goof-ups I'm going to make."
They arrived in a large room, in which many crates of all sizes where stacked. Pau stood before some of them and touched them whereupon they vanished. When he had everything he wanted, he declared: "Now, I'm ready. If you two need something, this is your last chance to ask."
Usagi looked down on himself. "Well, I can't return in these clothes. Everyone would immediately assume that I've raided a wealthy merchant."
"And what would you like instead?"
"Usually, I wear black hakama(5) and a blue kimono with a white lining."
"With a mon(6)?"
Usagi thought about this for a moment. "No," he finally decided, "my service under Lord Mifune is now part of my past."
A robot brought a new set of clothes out of a lid in the wall.
Unhappy, Usagi looked at the bundle. "It looks like what I asked for but the material is much too expensive for me. Would it be any problem to make the same clothes from a plain cloth?"
"Not at all," Pau laughed and a robot returned only moments later with a new set. Woefully, Usagi looked after the wonderful clothes he had to leave behind but called himself to order. There was a place in the world for him and this just wouldn't fit into it.
Pau listened to the exact description of Tomoe while Usagi changed. A robot brought what she had asked for. While she gave the waiting robot her old clothes, she asked: "You did already know what we would ask for. Why did you still ask?"
"Why do you think I knew what you would ask for?"
"Because the clothes were already prepared. Otherwise, the robots would not have been able to bring them so fast," she said triumphant.
"Oops, you got me there," Pau laughed and said something to one of the robots but too low for Tomoe to understand. When she had changed her clothes, robots gave them new shoes and they were ready to leave.
"One moment, please," Pau asked and positioned Tomoe and Usagi before a couple of crates. A robot said: "Done." Puzzled, they looked at Pau who smirked.
The robot went to the lid, took something small out of it and offered it to Tomoe. She took it. It was a neatly folded cloth. She looked at Pau. "Unfold it," he proposed.
Carefully, Tomoe did this. At first, she could not recognize what it was, just some kind of pattern but then, she saw the whole thing. The pattern was her and Usagi, standing in their new clothes before the crates. It looked very much like what she would have expected to see when she had been at the place of the robot.
Like an artist, who had baffled his audience with a nice trick, Pau bowed and they all laughed. When they had calmed down again, Pau explained. "All that we need is created the very moment we need it and it's broken up into it's parts again, when we're done with it. This saves a lot of storage space. Ready?"
Both just nodded.
Stories
It was quite like the transmitter. One moment, they were still standing in the warehouse, the next one next to a path. No one else was around.
Usagi was happy to have real ground under his feet, once again. The life in the station had been very pleasant, no question, but it had also taken its toll. The strange environment and the ongoing surprises had gone on his nerves in the end.
Pau let a long, thin box appear and passed it to Usagi. Curious, he opened it and there his daisho was. Carefully, he sat down and took the katana(7) out of its padding. The handle was anew and the scabbard, too. With a competent movement of his thumb, he loosened the sword and drew it slowly. The resistance of the lock was very good and it did glide almost noiselessly out of its new scabbard. Concentrated, he examined the blade. All nicks and scratches had been removed and it gleamed as if it was new. He looked along the length and noticed that the cutting edge was completely even. When he started to check the sharpness with his thumb, Pau called him back.
"Beware," he told Usagi, "the blade is now really sharp. Try it first with something less valuable than your thumb."
Usagi already wanted to retort that he actually had some experience with sharp things but decided against it. From the box, he took a sheet of paper that is usually used to clean the blade and brought it into contact with the blade. Without any resistance, the blade cut through it. Usagi had to admit, that it was a lot sharper than he had expected. He could even put the paper flat on the cutting edge and see how it broke apart in the middle under its own weight.
"The surface is treated. It will stay sharp for a long time and it repels dirt. Now, it's no problem anymore if someone touches it with his fingers. Or, to be more correct, it's no problem for the blade. For the fingers, this is a different issue ...," he chuckled.
"You should just take some care if you engage with someone else. It might happen that you just cut through the sword of your opponent, now. If you want, you can give me the box back."
Accurately, Usagi put the katana back in its scabbard and drew the Wakizashi(8). Like the katana, it had been cleaned and sharpened. From the box, he also took the cleaning material and closed it. The swords, he stuck behind his belt and the box, he returned to Pau who let it vanish again. The cleaning materials went into his pockets.
Usagi went away for a short distance and into the basic stance. With a flowing movement, he drew his sword and began to move through a few patterns. Immediately, he felt the familiar weight of the weapon and the perfect balance it now had. The sword had been balanced and cut the air with exact arcs. He was pleased. With a last movement, he inserted it again in its scabbard and walked back to the others.
"Thank you," he said to Pau, "for this most wonderful present."
"I'm happy that it's to your liking," Pau answered.
In the mean time, Tomoe had finished her inspection of her weapons and gave her box back, too. "Where are we?" she asked. "It looks very similar to the area near White Heron Castle of my lord."
"That's right," Pau confirmed. "I thought you would want to return to your Lord as soon as possible. He has met your men already and awaits your return. Usagi and I will begin to prepare everything for my intervention."
To leave Usagi so soon made Tomoe sad but she realized that Usagi would not be able to relax until he had completed his tasks. She worried what would happen if he failed.
Or succeeded.
"Will you attend upon my lord?" she asked hopefully.
But Pau shook his head: "It's not yet time. But I will wait here if Usagi wants to meet him." He looked at Usagi.
Usagi also looked unhappily. He knew, a visit at the castle of his friend Lord Noriyuki would not make the leave easier for him. So he kissed Tomoe goodbye: "I love you. As soon as this is over, I'll return as fast as I can," he promised.
"Take care, Usagi," Tomoe replied, "and you, too, Pau. I want to see you both again untouched."
"Don't worry," Pau smiled, "I will prevent him to avoid his marriage by death, sickness or other excuses."
One last time, Tomoe kissed Usagi, then turned briskly and left in the direction of the castle. Usagi looked after her, until she was out of sight, but she would not look back. Patiently, Pau waited until he was ready.
Again, the landscape changed. They were in a narrow valley which Usagi remembered only too well. This was the place where his master Katsuichi had sent him as a pupil to fetch water. Curious, Usagi looked at Pau but Pau just sat on a stone and seemed to enjoy the silence. Only the quiet murmur of the stream could be heard.
Usagi looked up to the sun. It was already high in the sky despite the fact that they had left in the morning. "Shouldn't the sun be much lower?"
Pau shook his head. "We have left late in the afternoon."
"How can this be? We just got up?"
Pau shrugged. "The day-and-night-cycle of humans depends very much on the sun but it's not exactly the same. If you're on your own and the rhythm is no longer corrected by sunrise, then you're staying awake longer," he explained. "Every day, things shift a bit more. If we had stayed at the station two more weeks, both rhythms would have matched by accident again and you would not have noticed but," he laughed friendly, "until then, you would have had completely sissified."
Usagi was about to ask what they were doing here, when a voice called down the mountain: "Eoo!"
A bit up the narrow trail that Usagi had walked twice every day, a little boy stood with a bucket. 'Something like that, I must have looked like,' Usagi realized. The boy waved and Usagi waved back.
Shortly afterwards, the boy had arrived at the bottom of the valley where they were standing. "Hello," he greeted them, "I'm Waytiki, a pupil of Master Katsuichi. And you are?"
"I'm Miyamoto Usagi, a former student of your master. And this is Pau Tai ... a friend," Usagi said after a slight pause. Pau nodded friendly but remained silent.
"Usagi-San!" the boy exclaimed excited. "My master has told me a lot about you!"
'Uh oh,' Usagi thought. "Really?" he said aloud and a bit reluctant.
The boy looked around conspiratorial. "He must be immensely proud about you! He's always saying that we should follow your example. But don't tell him that I told you," he pleaded.
Vividly, Usagi could remember what usually had happened to him. Being called a fool had been the most harmless punishment. The permanent strikes on his head, when he had not been attentive, had had their impact on him. He wondered why Master Katsuichi had sent the boy to fetch water this late. He had to go only in the morning. And of course, when his master had caught him off guard and he had spilled the water.
"How is he?" he asked politely.
The boy made a sad face. "Not very good," he admitted. "He is very old. The others don't tell me but I don't think he will live long," he continued with a sad voice.
Alarmed, Usagi looked at Pau while the boy filled his bucket but Pau didn't seem to notice.
"Shall I carry it some way for you?" Usagi offered, when they started to climb back to the top where Katsuichis hut was.
The boy thought about this. "No, thank, you, " he replied. "My master has asked me to fetch water and somehow, he always seems to know when I cheat."
That was something else that Usagi also remembered only too well. Since that time, he had learned some of the tricks his master had used to teach him but when he had been a child, he had always been baffled when his master had detected again when he had tried to avoid a chore. Still, he felt this aura of superiority. He noticed that he liked the boy. Many things about Waytiki made Usagi see himself. Worried, he wondered if Katsuichis health was really that bad and what would happen to his pupils if he died.
On the way, Usagi had to answer all the questions of Waytiki. If he also had to walk down to the river with the bucket every day. If the master had also called him a fool all the time. If he had been as stern to him. Why he had accepted Usagi as a pupil after living for such a long time solitary and withdrawn from the world. When they finally reached the top, Usagi was more exhausted from all the talking than the boy who had carried the bucket all the way up.
At the top, Shunji already waited for them. "Usagi!" he called and came running to meet them.
"Shunji!" Usagi greeted the pupil of Katsuichi happily. "How is he?"
With a quick glance at Waytiki, Shunji replied carefully: "Not well."
"Can I see him?" Usagi asked worriedly.
"Of course. Come." Shunji led them to the small hut in which their master lived.
Katsuichi lay very still on his bed. Usagi was startled when he saw him. He had become really old. When Pau entered the hut, Katsuichi opened his eyes and turned his head to look at him with a strange look on his face. Then he noticed Usagi. "Usagi," he said with a weak voice, "I'm glad to see you."
Usagi sank on his knees and bowed before his former master. "I'm glad, too," he replied.
"What brings you here?" Katsuichi inquired.
Usagi looked at Pau, who was looking uninterested through the window. Katsuichi noticed the glance. "You are a priest, aren't you?" he asked Pau.
Pau turned his head and looked back expressionless but didn't say anything. "Have you come to hold my obsequies?" the master added.
"Sensei!" Waytiki exclaimed.
"In fact ..." Usagi began.
Pau shook his head. "I'm a priest of the Goddess Ookaa'h. We believe that death is part of life and needs no special attention."
Amazed, Usagi asked himself how Katsuichi had known that Pau was a priest.
"My name is Pau Tai," Pau introduced himself. "I accompany Usagi a short while on his way."
"Can you heal?" Shunji asked.
"If that is wished," came the oracular reply.
Katsuichi looked at Pau with a strange expression in his face. Then he said: "I would be in your debt if you could help me. There are things which I still have to arrange."
Pau bowed: "As you wish. Please leave us."
Before he knew what he was doing, Usagi found himself half out of the door. All of a sudden, Pau radiated authority. He pondered if he should try to resist but decided against it. Along with the others, he went outside and they watched the sun go down. Out of the hut, quiet murmur could be heard. Then ... something ... happened. Usagis neck hair stood on end. Nothing could be seen but everyone noticed it. After that, their conversation died.
After the others had gone, Pau knelt besides Katsuichi and took his hand. He turned the inside of his hand upwards, held it in one of his hands and laid two fingers on the pulse. Silently, he felt. "Three days," he offered after a while and Katsuichi nodded determined. One after another, Pau laid his hands on the chakras of Katsuichi and did what he could.
When Pau finally left the hut, the others rose and looked at him worriedly. "He is sleeping now. Try to be quiet when you go to sleep, later," he avoided their questions.
The others tried to press some more information out of him but he didn't reply. Silent, he sat under a tree and stared into the clear evening sky.
"Who is he?" Shunji finally asked Usagi.
Initially, Usagi did not know what to answer. "He has saved my life. More than once," he replied eventually.
Shunji looked inquiringly at him. In the end, Usagi gave in. "What should I tell them?" he called at Pau.
Pau turned his head a bit, answered the look and said slowly: "Whatever you deem appropriate."
'Very helpful. Thanks a lot,' Usagi thought. "The whole story is a bit complex. I've seen things in the last few weeks that I've not really understood myself nor that I could explain them."
He sighed. "The Taja ninjas had captured me and ... forced me to join their training."
"They have trained you to be a ninja?" Waytiki asked surprised.
"Err, no. Ninjas were trained on me. I was just their sandbag," Usagi replied glumly.
"And why didn't you try to escape?" Waytiki inquired.
"They have bound me at night and even then, I was never alone."
"And he rescued you?" Shunji wanted to know.
Usagi nodded. "He has rescued me and leveled the whole castle. He let an overhang, about 200 steps wide, crush it. Just like that." He laid his flat hand on the ground.
"It took probably a whole day until the dust had settled."
Shunji and Waytiki stared dumbfounded at Usagi. "He had broken off an overhang 200 steps wide?" Shunji finally managed weakly. "Just like that?"
Sourly, Usagi grimaced. "Just put his hand flat on the ground and the overhang broke off."
"How did he do that? And what happened to the ninjas?"
Usagi shrugged. "That was even more strange. He came into the castle with one ninja as company. A few moments later, they all just did what he told them. I haven't noticed how he did that."
"And what happened to them? Did they die with their castle?"
"No, he did something else with them, but I haven't understood that. In any event, they are not running around anywhere."
"But you didn't see it, did you?"
Usagi shook his head.
Shunji looked at Pau with screwed-up eyes. "Then it could be possible that he is lying, what do you think?"
Humorless, Usagi laughed. "No. Yes, it could be. He wouldn't need that, I don't believe it and even if he did, no one could change anything. His powers go way beyond what we can imagine."
"I've seen other priests but Pau seems to get his powers directly from his Goddess. Other priests pray but he can actually do the impossible. Do you notice anything about me?"
Shunji examined him more closely. "Well, I've noticed that you are much more calm and at peace than I remember. In former times, you have been stiff and somehow tense. Now, you're much more relaxed."
Usagi nodded. "The ninjas had cut out my tongue, so I could not kill myself. In the course of the training, I have broken my arm and two fingers. I had lost an eye and a couple of teeth. An ear had been cut off. They have not been nice to me," he finished soft-spoken.
"He healed all that? He did let grow a new tongue and teeth? And an eye?"
Musing, Usagi nodded again. "He had also healed many wounds on my soul. That is why I'm more myself than I've ever been before."
Impressed, Shunji and Waytiki remained silent. "Will he help our master?" Waytiki finally asked hopefully.
"No," came the even answer from Pau. They looked at him. "Katsuichi has reached the end of his way. I will not put your wishes over his."
"But ..." Waytiki became desperate and Usagi held him back. "Master. He can't simply die like that," the boy cried.
"Not tonight. But soon." Then Pau went back into his silence.
Sitting under the tree, Pau spent the whole night. The two pupils went silently into the hut to sleep there and Usagi lay down under the canopy. When the sun came up again, Pau still hadn't moved.
"Sensei!" came a cheer from the hut.
"Good morning Waytiki. Shunji," came the even voice of Master Katsuichi.
"Usagi-San," Katsuichi greeted his former pupil when he stepped outside into the sunrise.
"Katsuichi-sensei(9)," Usagi bowed. "I'm happy to see you're feeling better, today."
"Did he spend the whole night there?" Katsuichi asked.
Usagi looked over to Pau. "Yes," he nodded.
They went over to him. When they approached, Pau looked up and rose. "Master Katsuichi," he bowed slightly.
"Brother Pau," Katsuichi did greet back. "I'm in your debt. You have given me the opportunity to settle my affairs."
"I've never met someone like you before," the master continued. "Are all priests of Ookaa'h like you?"
Pau simply nodded.
"You came for Usagi," Katsuichi stated.
Thoughtfully, Pau looked at Katsuichi. "My Goddess has pointed him out to me. Now, I'm walking a distance of his way with him."
"Usagi told us that he leveled a whole mountain," Waytiki blurted.
Katsuichi didn't seem to be very surprised and Pau also gave no comment to this.
"Since you are a friend of Usagi, you're welcome," he said instead. "Will you stay?"
Pau looked at Usagi. "Until he leaves."
Katsuichi turned to his pupils. "I see that the sun is bright on the sky and you're idling around."
"Already gone," Waytiki exclaimed, grabbed the bucket and was on his long way down to the river to fetch fresh water.
"I beg your pardon, sensei, but my worries for you distracted me from my duties."
"Fool. Your worries won't help you if you're not able to use your sword. Maybe I could not rise from my bed in the last days but even from there, I could hear how awkward you were stumbling around," Katsuichi reprimanded him.
"Yes, sensei," Shunji said and fetched his bokken(10) to start his exercises. Pau was again sitting under his tree and continued to hypnotize the horizon.
Katsuichi sat down next to him and Usagi followed his invitation. "Tell me what happened to you since we met last time," the master asked Usagi.
Usagi sorted his thoughts for a moment: "Lord Hikiji has extended his powers once more. I fear that soon, he will be able to overthrow the shogun(11). The only question everyone is asking is if he will wait until he can overthrow the government effortlessly or if he will sacrifice thousands of lives in a battle."
"You should never forget that Lord Hikiji is a masterful strategist and captain," Katsuichi replied. "He will wait with his attack until he is sure of his victory but not a moment longer. Even if he is your enemy, he is still brilliant."
Usagi didn't want to accept this like that: "He kills without remorse and only his lust for power is deer to him. If the land should fall to him, we will experience a time of fear and despair."
"Maybe, but the land will prevail."
"It's not the fields I'm worried for. It's the people who live on them."
"Your worries speak for you, but they must not blind you. Avoid to hate Lord Hikiji or you will suffer for it in the end."
Katsuichi took a stone from the ground and passed it to Pau. "Would you please break this for me?" he asked.
Pau took the stone in his flat hand and touched it with a finger of his other hand. Instantly, the stone lost its shape and ran as sand through his fingers. Pau dispersed the rest on the ground and dusted off his hands. Aghast, Shunji looked at the small pile of sand that was all that was left from the stone and Usagi asked himself how Katsuichi had known that Pau could do that. And why Pau had complied to the wish.
"Do you know what makes Pau up?"
Usagi could imagine some answers but probably, his master aimed at something else. So he just waited for him to continue.
"He can do this, but he does only if he wants to. I'm positive that it's impossible to force him to do something like that. No matter whatever you might try, he will not give in to pressure. But you are still not placid enough. I guess he has started to heal you but you must go on on this path. Otherwise, you will always be vulnerable. And Shunji, I see that you've already finished?"
"Oh, err, no," Shunji stammered and continued his exercises nervously.
Katsuichi sighed. "Shunji, you really must work on your concentration. If you can be distracted that easily, you will not live long."
Pau rose. "Waytiki will be back shortly. I'll fetch some vegetables from the garden for breakfast."
Katsuichi nodded his agreement and Pau went to the small field. The master followed him with his gaze. "He really is outstanding. His charisma is very unusual. It should be much stronger but instead, it feels almost weaker than that of Shunji. Even Waytiki has a stronger presence."
"How did you know he was a priest?" Usagi wanted to know.
Katsuichi was surprised: "You didn't know?"
"Not until he told me," Usagi admitted.
Katsuichi thought for a moment. "He was unarmed and his unusual charisma told me that he has worked a lot on himself and his soul. Usually, only priests do this. You all were very excited and nervous but he was as cool as a cucumber."
"Since he is a weapon, he can afford to not carry one around," Usagi fancied a bit uneasy.
"Has he really leveled a whole mountain?"
Usagi hesitated with the answer. "Not really a whole mountain. He has ... broken off an overhand about 200 steps wide."
"Amazing," Katsuichi commented. "I'm wondering why he did that."
Usagi nodded. He had asked himself the same question. This instant, Pau returned. He brought some turnips with him and went into the hut to fetch some plates. Then he started to clean the vegetables. Skillfully, he removed the earth and the paring with a knife.
"Excuse me," Shunji asked humbly, "but wouldn't it be more simple to remove the dirt by magic?"
Pau looked at him friendly. "What does "more simple" mean? For me, the most simple way would be to ask you to clean it for me. Or I could use magic but then, I would have to use all my concentration. When I do it this way, my hands are busy and my thoughts are free. Is that more simple?"
Shunji pondered about this for a moment, then thanked Pau and continued his exercises. He could not see it, but right then, there was pride in the gaze of Katsuichi.
When Pau had finished his work, Waytiki arrived. He must have ran all the way to be back so quickly. Pau took the bucket from him and emptied it. Waytiki was already opening his mouth in protest when he saw the ball of water form in the middle of the air. Pau took the bucket again and concentrated. Suddenly, low plashing could be heard and before Paus feet, a runnel swooshed. Against all laws of nature, it floated in the air. From his position, Usagi you see Paus feet below the river. Pau washed his hands in it and then dipped the bucket several times into it. He added the water to the ball until it reached a respectable size. Then the runnel vanished and Pau gave the bucket back to Waytiki who stood there with his yaw dropped.
While the others were still digesting what just had happened, Pau split a smaller ball of water from the large one, washed the vegetables in it and cut then into smaller portions. Then he went into the hut and came back with a large tray on which fresh buns, the vegetables, cheese and some fruits were arranged neatly.
Katsuichi and Usagi laughed, thanked Pau politely and set down to eat. The others needed a moment longer but the flavor of fresh buns broke their spell quickly.
The day went by in a flash. Pau and Katsuichi instructed the pupils and Usagi had to tell Katsuichi in all detail what he had experienced in the last two years. Pau prepared the meals. In the evening, Katsuichi had to admit that life as a hermit lacked a bit on the culinary side.
Later in the evening, Waytiki and Shunji pressed Pau to tell them stories from his life. Pau told them how he had met Käl, one of his best pupils ever. Käl had already been a mighty warrior and he could never accept that Pau was better than him. Therefore, he never skipped a chance to beat him. It was hilarious to hear how they had argued who had fended off how many attacks lately in the middle of an ambush. How the bandits had attacked unable to continue with the raid despite the fact that they had been a large number and Käl and Pau had been busy with something else. "... Of course, I protested. 'You're not going to count that unskilled thief. I didn't break his fingers intentionally. Instead, he did break them himself when he tried to withdraw his hand from my pouch when I grabbed at it!'"
"'Really,' Käl replied, 'Well, in that case we also can't count the bandits that ran away when I roared!'. 'Roared?', I laughed, 'With that stench that is coming out of your big mouth, you could wither plants!'. 'WHAT?' he roared, 'I will not stand to this!' And with that, he grabbed one of the bandits and breathed upon the poor fellow. Käl has a very large and impressive set of teeth. Anyway, the bandit blacked out when Käl put his head almost into his mouth. 'See!', I called, 'Didn't I tell you?' And like that, it went on for a while."
"Every now and then, the bandits shot some arrows at us but in the end, they had to leave frustrated and empty-handed. Well, that's when things really started. All night, we disputed who had told the better horror story to raise their fears," Pau laughed.
"And since we couldn't agree, we decided the next day to hunt the bandits down and let them decide. Therefore, we turned the whole forest upside down until we found them. Of course, they tried to resist. You can imagine their faces when we finally had rounded them up and demanded to know who of us was more terrible! Of course, they couldn't choose because they feared what the loosing party would do to them. In the end, they begged us to kill them or hand them over to the police."
"That, we didn't want. Such an effort to pull the whole bunch through the forest. So we refused and told them, that we just might let them live if they would hand them over themselves." Pau drank from his bowl.
"A few years later, we passed the same area and the people told us stories about this strange forest that could turn bandits into law-abiding peasants!"
Waytiki and Shunji were convulsed with laughter and Usagi pleaded that Pau should stop or he would surely die. They wiped tears from their eyes. Pau just smirked. "Yeah, that was quite a story, but tomorrow, I'm going to tell you something really funny!"
"Please no!" they complained without much conviction and went to bed. For a long time, one or the other could be heard chuckling.
The next day, Katsuichis health was a bit worse again. He sat below the canopy and directed his pupils. Throughout the day, Pau surprised them with small tricks and illusions.
In the evening, Katsuichi took Pau besides for a short stroll. Out of earshot, they talked.
"I've been ready for this for some time, now. Therefore, I sent for Master Teroschi a few months ago. I hoped he would accept my pupils and my duty. But to this day, I'm waiting for a reply."
Paus face didn't give away what he thought. "Teroschi will not come."
"Then he must be dead."
Pau simply nodded.
"And ... he is not ready, yet." Katsuichi didn't speak the name.
Pau remained silent.
"I'm sure that your mission is more important than I or anyone else could imagine but my responsibility for my pupils weighs heavy on me. Therefore, I have to ask: Are you willing to accept the responsibility for them?" Katsuichi asked sternly.
And Pau answered: "Until I've found a suitable master for them."
Visibly, Katsuichi relaxed. "I thank you. Now I can leave in peace."
"Tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," Katsuichi affirmed.
On the next day, Katsuichi felt extremely well again. With an easiness that he had lacked for some time, he taught calligraphy to his pupils. In the evening, he called them and Pau to meet him. Usagi stood a bit offside and watched. "Nothing on this world lasts forever and even the heavens change. This is my last day on this world and I don't regret anything," Katsuichi began.
He went on: "Yesterday, I spoke with Pau Tai and he could tell me that Master Teroschi is no longer among us and you will be without a master, tomorrow. Fortunately, he is willing to accept the responsibility for you until he has found a master worthy of you." Pau pledged to it solemnly.
"You have my thanks, Pau Tai."
Waytikis eyes were full of tears and Katsuichi hugged him. "Mato Waytiki, I want you to know that I was proud to be your master even if it was only for a short time. Don't cry for me, I had a full and satisfied life and my death will be light."
"Shunji, there will be a time when you will have to decide. When it is time, you must decide on your own and not let your past drive you."
"Usagi." Katsuichi remained silent for a moment. "You were the greatest of my pupils. No one before and no one after you equaled you or even came close. I see your potential to achieve great deeds but like Shunji, you will once reach a forking in your life. Even if both ways look passable, choose with great care because one will cost you more than you could ever imagine."
"Pau Tai. It was a great honor for me to have met you and I'm thanking you for everything you did for me and my pupils and for what you will still do. For your mission, I wish you luck and success." Katsuichi bowed deeply.
"Master Katsuichi," Pau bowed slightly.
Katsuichi sat up again and went into his hut alone to die. The others stayed outside in the night and were lost in their thoughts. Pau held Waytiki in his arms and comforted him. Eventually, Katsuichi breathed his last breath and it was over.