The previous part

Prologue

This part of the story is a Christmas present for my mother, who let me walk on my own legs. Thank you. - Christmas 2001

New characters in this story: Magistrate Kenichi, his wife Mariko and their son Jotaro. Furthermore, Jei, the Blade of the Gods, has a short appearance. Jei hunts down all evil people and kills them in the name of the gods. Up to now, Usagi just killed him three times (usually reducing Jei to a heap of dust) but Jei tends to ignore hints like that.

Sorrow

The next morning, they buried Master Katsuichi. The mood was low. Usagi knew that Pau would not do a service for the dead but he just could not think of anything he could have said. Pau watched them silently and unmoved. Finally, Usagi went over to him.

"I'm not very good with words," he apologized, "would you please say something so ..."

"Of course," Pau agreed, rose and came over to the tomb.

"Please, sit," he gestured. A bit uneasy, they sat around the grave in the grass. Usagi noticed that yesterday, they had sat the same around the fireplace. 'As if Katsuichi was still here.'

"A river," Pau began with a calm voice, "rises in a spring. As time passes, it wanders through the world, grows, meets other rivers, offers the living beings on his sides life. Sometimes, he stops in a lake just to go on as a mighty stream or small rivulet. Sometimes, it just seeps away, sometimes, it pours down as a wonderful waterfall. In the end, there is the sea. The essence of the river pours into an enormous, infinite sea of water. And even if we can't tell where the water of the river exactly is, we still know that is has to be there. Untellable from the whole but still there."

"Katsuichi is now somewhere, where we can't see him anymore. But just like we can't see the water of the river anymore, after it has gone into the sea, he is, unarguable, still here, because we remember him. Something from his life is inside of us and will go with us, an indivisible part of our selves. And just like the water in the sea will evaporate and come back as rain, Katsuichi is also part of the infinite circle of life. When it rains, we will know that, somewhere, invisible, a part of him returns. And so, our biggest regret is that he cannot answer anymore when we speak to him. But we will respect his wish to leave us as he respected our wish for knowledge. We will honor the part of us that is him. Your knowledge, that he gave as a gift, we will share with those, who have less than we have. We thank him for everything that he gave to us."

Pau remained silent for a moment. "Thank you, Master Katsuichi." Then he rose and went back to sit under his tree.

Usagi remembered how Katsuichi had accepted him. How enduring the training had been. That it had enabled him to walk his own way. For this, he thanked his master. "I thank you, Master Katsuichi," he said and felt the sorrow turn into calmness. He rose and sat next to Pau. Together, they watched the sun rise and fill the day with new life.

Shunji sat next to the grave and wrapped himself into sorrow. He did not understand what was going on. Next to him, Waytiki cried. Shunji was about to reprimand him because a real samurai must never let himself go that much when he noticed Paus gaze on him. The look went right inside his heart: "Don't request something from someone else that you are not willing to give yourself."

"I don't understand," Shunji moaned.

Pau nodded: "Knowledge comes with words but understanding comes with time. Give yourself more time and you will understand."

Shunji wanted to retort but Pau rose his hand. Pau was now his master and Shunji did yield, though unwillingly.

"Do you know the defense for a straight push?" Pau asked.

Shunji nodded and asked himself at the same time what Pau was up to. 'Why is he always talking in riddles? Can't he simply say what he wants?' he thought querulous.

"And Waytiki?"

Shunji shook his head.

"Why not?"

Shunji looked at him unhappily. When he noticed that Pau was actually expecting an answer, he managed: "He's not ready, yet."

Pau slanted his head. "That is correct. And so aren't you. Therefore, this will be your first task."

"Instead of Waytiki, you will go down to the river and fetch water. When you return, I want you to tell me what fear and sorrow have in common."

Shunji rose. He would not dishonor his master this early. Master Katsuichi had seen something in Pau that they hadn't and therefore, he would comply. But his thoughts were his own. He would not forget the humiliation. With a face of stone, he passed the ball of water that still floated next to the hut, took the bucket and went down the path without looking back.

With a thoughtful face, Usagi looked after Shunji. "Was I like that, too?" he asked Pau with a low voice.

"You still are," Pau teased him friendly. "All, that we see in someone else is just us. All that we say about others, we say to ourselves. All that we think about others are we ourselves. In the good and the bad sense."

Waytiki was still sitting next to the fresh tomb and cried. At last, Usagi went over to him and took him in his arms.

"Why does it hurt so much?" the small boy moaned and Usagi could not answer right away.

"Because he means so much to us," he answered finally.

"Does it always hurt that much?" Waytiki sniffed. Usagi just nodded.

"Then I want that never ever anyone dies anymore!"

"In that case, follow the path of bushido, the way of the warrior. Then you will learn to defeat your enemies without having to kill them," Usagi promised.

After a while, the tears stopped and the boy just leaned on Usagi. Finally, he lifted his head, left Usagi and sat in front of the grave. He bowed until his brow touched the ground and said quietly: "I thank you, Master Katsuichi." Then he stood and sat in front of Pau.

"Master Pau," he began, "I want to follow the path of Bushido. What do I have to do?"

Pau took his time to answer. "I would like that you call me Pau or Brother Pau, because I'm not your master and I will never be it. My task is to bring you to the new master which Master Katsuichi has chosen for you. But until we meet him, I will teach you all I can."

"To be able to achieve true greatness," Pau went on, "you must be one with yourself. You must have found your center and rest therein. If you're not balanced during a sword fight, then your enemy will easily push you over. The same applies if your soul is not balanced."

"I can show you an exercise that will help you to give peace and calmness to your mind. Would you like to see it?"

Waytiki nodded seriously. "Then join me. Usagi?"

Usagi rose and came over. Together, they went to a spot where the pupils usually did their exercises. They spread and started.

"It's called Tai Chi Chuan(1). It's said a master of Tai Chi is invincible but it's not actually a martial arts anymore even if some of the exercises have a lot in common with something you will use in combat. But we're going to focus on the meditative aspect of Tai Chi. On the part, that will make our Chi, our life force flow as it should which in turn will give us the strength to do what we have to do," he explained.

Pau went into the basic stance of Tai Chi, both feet parallel and about shoulder length apart. The knees were slightly bent. Immediately, Usagi saw the parallels to sword fighting. Effortlessly, he went into the same stance. Then, Pau put his right hand on his stomach. "Now we start to breathe deeply and evenly. Feel your breathing with your hand."

Calmly, they stood there and only their even breathing could be heard. Breathing was also of utmost importance during a sword fight, therefore Usagi found his own rhythm effortlessly. Patiently, he continued the exercise until Waytiki was ready, too.

"In the next step, we collect air with our hands and lift it." He moved his left hand to his right until the tips of his fingers met, the insides upwards. Then he breathed out and moved the hands up until he had exhaled and his hands had reached his throat. Then he turned his hands over, inhaled and let them sink down again. "And then, we pull it back into us," he explained.

After a short time, all could coordinate the movement with the breathing effortlessly. "Now we pick up a seed," he put thumb and index finger together before his stomach, "and hold it up to the light." Slowly, he moved his hand up until the arm was outstretched.

"Then we dip it into the earth." He let the outstretched arm sink to the side and made a circle with his hand until it was in front of his stomach again. "And since the furrow is so far away, we bow to the side." He repeated the exercise with the other hand and changed his weight onto the leg on the same side as the hand. "And the same happens to the furrow on the other side."

Slowly and evenly, his breathing came. With smooth movements, he dipped the seed in the earth to the left and the right, shifted his weight at the same time. Because of his experience, Usagi followed the patterns with ease but Waytiki seemed to have problems. His movements lacked the smoothness of the others. Eventually, Pau spoke to him.

"Waytiki," and Usagi could see disappointment spread in Waytikis face, "the reason, why you have trouble is that you concentrate too much on the earth-movements. Concentrate on your breathing, instead."

"But the movements are more complicated," Waytiki insisted.

"That's right. We breathe all day. It seems to be so easy. Therefore, we don't pay enough attention to it. In Tai Chi, breathing is of utmost importance. If you divide your concentration between your breathing and your movements, both will suffer. Since the breathing is the more important part, the movements will fail if the breathing is not correct."

"It will also help if you return to the basic stance, when you realize that you lost your rhythm."

Waytiki thanked for the explanation and returned to the basic stance. He closed his eyes and placed his hand on his stomach again. Then he began to concentrate on his breathing. When he was ready, he started again with the movements. Usagi could see that it went much smoother, now.

"Until Waytiki is ready for the next lesson, here is something for you." Pau went back into a new basic stance. His legs were slightly bent as before but one hand, he held over his head, open and with the inside upwards. The other was at the knee, also open but downwards. Then he started to move them towards each other until they met before him. There, he let them pass as if he held a ball in both hands. Finally, he finished in the reversed stance. Usagi asked Pau to show it again until he had seen what Pau did with his hands and then, tried on his own.

It looked a lot more simple than it was. The exercise was very difficult for Usagi. He was not used to such contrarotating movements and lost his rhythm in no time. He breathed deeply and went back into the basic stance and readied himself. Like Waytiki, he concentrated more on the breathing, now, and less on the movements and that indeed helped. Steady-going, he repeated the pattern until he was satisfied. Then he began to go through all the patterns sequentially. A nice warmth spread inside of him. He felt how he became one with his breathing, how the movements became part of the breathing and everything part of himself.

Meanwhile, Pau went through other, more complicated patterns full of elegance and calmness. Finally, he went into the basic stance and look to the path where Shunji came up the mountain with his bucket. Carefully, he placed the bucket below the canopy and went to the tomb of Master Katsuichi. There, he bowed and said: "Thank you, Master Katsuichi." Then he came over to them.

"Could you find an answer?" Pau inquired.

Shunji returned his gaze openly. "Fear and Sorrow both protect my life. They are like friends who care for me. But as little I must allow my friends to control my life, as little must I allow fear to control my life. At all times, I must be my own master, because no one else but me is responsible for what I do."

"I'm ready for my punishment," he added.

"What for?" Pau asked without looking surprised.

"When I started my way down, I have thought badly about you and with this, I dishonored the memory of my master. For this, I deserve a punishment," he confessed.

"Come with me," Pau asked and went to the hut. "Take the water and pour it on that stone over there."

Wordlessly, Shunji complied. When he returned, he put the bucket away and waited for his punishment.

Pau smiled. "You hate it, when you have to do something futile. You have gone to fetch water and watered a stone with it. As far as I'm concerned, you have been punished. Now, lets start with breakfast, I'm starving."

Returning Home

After the meal, they washed the dishes in a small ball of water that Pau split away. Then Pau asked Usagi: "Are you ready for your first task?"

Usagi thought about this and shook his head. "But I won't be more ready tomorrow, either," he admitted.

Pau smiled his strange smiley. "Then come. I'll be right back," he said to the two pupils and they vanished from the mountaintop. The landscape was replaced by the familiar looks of the hills around Usagis home village.

"I will follow with the others by foot. In a few days, we'll arrive," Pau promised.

Usagi thanked him. Then he went a few steps and stopped again. "Would you please take care of this for me?" he asked and handed his daisho(2) to Pau. As usual, Pau didn't seem to be surprised. He let the box appear again and Usagi did put his swords into it. Afterwards, he could never tell why he had done that, only that it seemed right at the time. Pau closed the box and vanished.

A moment, Usagi just stood there, then turned fitfully and went back to his place of birth. He admitted to himself that he was afraid. He was not sure if he could bring Kenichi to forgive him. But he would try.

After a short time, he had reached the top of the hill and could see the village spread below him. He realized that he had no idea what he should do. When Pau had helped him, everything had been so simple, so clear. But Usagi had no idea how Pau had helped him. Only that it worked. On the other hand, it would probably not help much to stand here all day and brood. Mentally, he gave himself a kick up the backside and went down to the village.

On the village square, a handful of townsfolk stood around Magistrate Kenichi and talked with him. Kenichi didn't look very happy. Usagi waited at a distance to talk to Kenichi when he was finished. Shortly afterwards, it occurred to him that he had no money on him. He cursed inwardly. In all the excitement, he had forgotten to ask Pau for some money. He took a deep breath. There was nothing to be done about this, now. It was not the first time he was in such a situation and he would find a way. But he also didn't fool himself. Surely, Pau would expect from one of his pupils to pay attention to such matters. In that moment, Kenichi appeared right in front of him.

"What do you want?" Kenichi requested coolly.

Usagi groaned inwardly. Things turned out to become worse by the minute.

"Err," he began, "I wanted to talk to you but I see that you're pretty much occupied here and maybe I should come back later ..."

"Tell me what you want and be gone," Kenichi spat.

Usagi was really uncomfortable, now. His thoughts raced and he tried desperately to think of something to calm Kenichi.

"Well?" Kenichi demanded.

But nothing would cross Usagis mind. Finally, he gave in. 'I will try nonetheless,' he thought, 'maybe I'll succeed anyway.'

He took a deep breath and gathered himself. Then he knelt before Kenichi, bowed deeply and said seriously: "I've come to beg for your pardon for anything I've ever done to you." Then he waited humbly, his gaze still fixed on the ground.

Of course, he had thought how Kenichi would react but he was surprised, nonetheless.

"WHAAAAAT???" Kenichi exploded. "You filthy ronin ... You actually dare ... after all this ... I could ... I will ... that is ... outrageous ... unbelievable ...," he shouted incoherently.

He grabbed Usagi and shouted in his face. Usagi didn't resist and did bear the hate humbly. Finally, Kenichi threw Usagi back on the ground. He shook of anger. His head had a dark, red color, slobber drooled out of his mouth. Horrified, Usagi looked at what he had awoken. Kenichi drew his sword and slashed at him. Usagi did not move. If it was his karma(3) to die here and now, he would accept it humbly. But the deadly slash did not come.

Finally, Kenichi did put his sword away. "No," he pressed out, "you won't get away that easily. You dead and I would have to endure the sorrow of Mariko and Jotaro. See their reproach in their gaze. Be gone! Or I'll have you thrown out of the village! You're not welcome here! Never again!"

Then he stomped away and Usagi was left behind. The other villagers looked embarrassed away and Usagi asked himself desperately what he should do now. If he would stay, Kenichis rage would only become greater. If he would leave, Kenichi would take his hatred into his grave. He sat down on the ground and began to breathe deeply to clear his head. He had to find a solution. He had to.

"Hello, Usagi-San," a friendly voice called.

"Jotaro," Usagi greeted the son of Kenichi and Mariko surprised.

Jotaro smirked. "When I just saw my father, so full of rage and anger, I knew that you're back," he laughed merrily but Usagi could not join in.

"Jotaro," Usagi pleaded, "please don't talk like that about Kenichi. You must honor your father."

"Well, I'm doing just that," Jotaro answered amusedly and Usagi asked himself if Jotaro knew that he was in fact his own son and not the one of Kenichi. 'Had Mariko told him?'

"But there is no rule that I have to do it in his preferred the way," he continued in his refreshing way. "Come, I'm inviting you. Let us drink something and then, you can tell me what happened."

Usagi looked uneasily in the direction in which Kenichi had stomped off.

"Don't worry," Jotaro laughed, "my mother takes care of him. He won't be back anytime, soon," and lead Usagi to the tavern.

'How much he has grown,' Usagi mused, when they entered the tavern. 'And self-confident. Once, he'll be a great samurai.'

Jotaro waved the landlord who brought sake(4). "Well?" he encouraged after the first sip.

Usagi had to collect himself. "I've come to ask Kenichi for his forgiveness," he explained simply.

Laughing, Jotaro almost fell from his seat. "That's a good one! I'll have to tell it to my mother tonight!" he snorted with laughter and wiped tears from his eyes.

"And since I know you well enough, I also know that you won't leave until you have what you want," he giggled, "and Kenichi knows that as well. The next days are certainly going to be interesting!"

"Jotaro, please," Usagi begged, "that's not funny at all! It is important! Really important! For both of us!"

"Well, there is still some way ahead of you," Jotaro meant and sipped. "The most simple solution I could come up with was to get Kenichi so drunk he would agree to anything one asks him for but you probably won't be satisfied by that."

He refilled their cups. "You both have a lot in common. Especially your stubbornness. I'm really unsure if it was at all possible to make peace between the two of you. Even if Kenichi would want that. What are your plans, now?"

"I don't know," Usagi admitted muffled. "I already expected that Kenichi would not be very happy to see me but this outbreak ..."

"One could hear him yell from one end of the village to the other," Jotaro giggled. He cleared his throat. "I apologize, but you must admit that there is a comic element in this situation."

"What should I do, now?" Usagi asked desperately. "When Pau did the same with me, it all seemed so simple."

"Pau?"

"That's a long story," Usagi tried to evade.

Noon had arrived. "Well, you can tell me during lunch." Jotaro ordered for them both.

Usagi pondered what he could tell. Finally, he began to report hesitantly. "I've been captured by the Taja ninjas. Pau rescued Tomoe and me."

"Any good, these ninjas?"

"Better," Usagi remembered grimly.

"Hmmm ... in that case, Pau must be incredible."

Usagi remembered a short but intensive training in the training hall of the station. "I've never seen anything like him. I'm sure that no one who could beat him with any weapon. He could cut you into pieces before anyone realized he has drawn his sword."

Impressed, Jotaro whistled. "Then he rescued you," he encouraged Usagi.

"And healed us. Physically and mentally. And that's why I'm here, to continue my healing. I must have my peace with Kenichi or all my efforts to reach my goal will be futile."

And that was true. Usagi wasn't here anymore because of the task Pau had given him. Succeeding in the task had become a triviality. To help Kenichi was much more important, now. He had had no idea what was going on in Kenichi but he suspected that his adversary had even more problems than he himself. Depressed, he realized that this was also his fault and he could not leave until he had helped Kenichi. 'No matter the cost for myself.'

"How did he heal you?"

Frustrated, Usagi shook his head. "I just don't know. All the time, I'm pondering about this but it just won't reveal itself."

"What did he do?"

"Nothing! He just sat there and talked to me."

"And what did he say?"

Desperately, Usagi tried to remember what had really happened that time. 'Had it been really only a few days ago?' he asked himself surprised. Aloud, he said: "Pau has the ability to say the right things. He just talks to me and suddenly, something inside of me gives way and everything comes up. All the horrible feelings, the fear and the hate and it's terrifying. But when it's over, I feel relieved. I'm really calm and relaxed. All I can feel is a small pang of sorrow that I didn't do this earlier."

"So he touches you with words?"

Usagi just nodded.

"Well, that is something you already know how to do. You say something and Kenichi explodes." Usagi just moaned. "I must admit that I had no idea that one could say something to Kenichi that would upset him like that. Lately, he's a bit irritable. The responsibility for the village weights heavy on him, right now. Lord Hikiji is up to something and he's afraid that there could be great suffering for all of us, soon."

"If Pau was here, he could just look at Kenichi, say something and it would be over. You should have seen him when Katsuichi died. He just said a couple of words and our sorrow went away. Damn, he's dead for only a few hours, now! And I'm all calm when I think of him. I'm still sad but that's nothing compared to how I would have felt if Pau hadn't been there."

"Where did Katsuichi die?"

Confused, Usagi blinked. "In his hut, you know, on the mountain."

"And Pau is where, now?"

"Huh? Back there, I guess. He told me that he'll follow with the pupils in a few ...," he trailed off and then finished slowly, "days."

"Hmmm..." Jotaro made, "When he comes here by foot, it will take him three to four days, right?"

Inwardly, Usagi moaned. Why couldn't he keep his big mouth shut. "Sorry, Pau," he said muted.

Patiently, Jotaro waited for Usagi to continue. Finally, Usagi went on. "He's kind of a wizard. A Priest, actually. I can't tell you much because, ... well, it's complicated." He sighed.

"But he's a friend of yours?"

Usagi thought about this. Then he shrugged. "I don't know if someone like him can have friends at all. He's got a lot of power, you know. Real power. He takes a stone, touches it and it turns to dust."

"But he still talks to mortals?"

"Yes," Usagi admitted, "he's really kind at all times. I've never seen him kill someone or something like that. He even took the ninjas out of their caste, before he broke off the overhang under which it had been."

"Not bad." Jotaro was impressed. "Sounds like someone I should meet. How large was that overhang?"

"About two hundred ken(5)."

Impressed, Jotaro whistled. "In a few days, he'll be here and you can ask him to clean up after you. And introduce me to him. I'm pretty curious how he really is, this Pau. And what are you going to do in the mean time? Unarmed as you are, you will probably not want to leave the village. Where is your daisho anyway? Did father take it from you?"

Horrified, Usagi realized that Jotaro was right. If he just walked out of the village like that, he could not even defend himself against wild animals. Or bandits who terrorized the area every now and then. And he also had no money. And Jotaro still waited for an answer.

"Pau has it. No," he answered the unspoken question of Jotaro, "I gave it to him out of my own will and freely. In any case, he'll be here in a few days and I didn't want to meet your father armed."

"Kind of a peace offer, then. My guess would be that the first thought of my father was that you're broke and had to sell you weapons, already. Do you have money?"

Usagi could only shake his head silently.

"I'm utterly impressed. Let me repeat: You have upset father that much that he'll kill you on the spot when he meets you next time. In a few days, someone will appear who could help but we don't know if he actually will do that. Maybe he just levels the village if something will have happened to you in the mean time. You have nothing to defend yourself and also no money to stay here. You can't leave and you can't stay."

Terrified, Usagi had to admit that he had given no thought to the idea what Pau would do if something happened to him. 'I hope that Pau will have mercy with the village if something happens to me but can I really endanger with the lives of these people so carelessly?'

"At least, things can't get much worse, anymore," he admitted without much hope.

Jotaro laughed out loud: "I'll believe that when everything is over."

"All right," he continued, "we'll do the following: I will tell the landlord to pack up some food for you. Then you can go down to the small temple a way along the main road and wait there. Meanwhile, mother and I will try to calm down Kenichi. If we succeed, we'll meet you at the temple. If Pau comes from Katsuichis hut, he should pass the temple. If not, he'll show up here in the village and ask for you and we'll send him to the temple. What do you think?"

"I'm in your debt," Usagi admitted. "I'll wait at the temple."

After the landlord has prepared something to eat, Usagi left the village again. He prayed that Jotaro would not have to suffer for his kindness and sneaked out of the village to make sure Kenichi would not notice him. Then he went to the temple that Jotaro had told him about.

For a while, Jotaro followed Usagi with his gaze and then went back to the house of his father, Magistrate Kenichi. He pondered how he could help Usagi but he also couldn't think of any solution. At home, he immediately noticed the tense mood.

"Where have you been?" his father asked angrily.

"In the tavern," Jotaro answered calmly.

"With Usagi." He spoke the name like a curse.

"With a friend of yours, father."

Kenichi was perplexed for a moment. "And the name of this friend?" he inquired untrustingly.

"Usagi."

Kenichi flared up. "How can you! This bastard has never been my friend and never will be! Do you remember," he worked up, "how often he had been here and every time, he brought trouble with him and disaster to the village. The Mogura(6) Ninjas! Jei! Hikiji!" he yelled.

Jotaro did not reply. It would have been futile to point out that these disasters would have happened without Usagi and the outcome would have been much worse if they had not had Usagis help. Worried, he noticed how his hatred changed his father. So he remained humbly silent.

"I demand that you never meet him again! Where is he now? I commanded him to leave the village immediately!"

"He's at the given-up temple a way down the main road."

Kenichi thought for a moment. "I demand that you promise me to never talk with him, again," he ordered sternly.

Jotaro was horrified but with a great effort, he held his face plain. From the corner of his eyes, he could see his mothers eyes open wide. 'What do I do, now?' He could not give such a promise and he could not disobey the wishes of his father. Finally, he sank to his knees and begged: "Please, father, don't force me to have to choose between the two of you."

He could not see Kenichis reaction to this. For a moment, only the heavy breathing of his father could be heard. Then Kenichi turned and stomped the stairs up. When nothing could be heard anymore, Jotaro looked up into the worried eyes of his mother.

"I'm sorry, mother," he apologized.

Mariko collapsed a bit. Grief was visible in her face. Jotaro sat next to her.

"Why does Kenichi hate Usagi that much?" he asked quietly.

Mariko looked at him strangely. "I can't tell you everything," she began and Jotaro waited patiently for her to continue.

And Mariko recalled: "I don't know how it all began but they could not stand each other, ever. As small children, they have often thrashed or played tricks on each other. When they grew up, it became better but only on the surface. Deep inside, the hatred was rooted deeply."

"When they were around your age, they went away to earn the topknot of the samurai(7). Of course each one of them was convinced that he was the better of them and when Usagi finally met Master Katsuichi, they parted almost as enemies. Later, when the training of both was over, they met again at an open competition. Usagi was the sole pupil of Katsuichi and Kenichi was the best pupil of the Dagora fencing school. At the end of the competition, only the two were left."

"Usagi won," Jotaro guesses and was quite surprised when his mother shook her head sadly.

"The Dagora fencing school was offended that Katsuichi had the impudence to show up with a single pupil at the competition. Since Lord Mifune was overseeing the competition, they could not turn him away, it would have meant a loss of face. And Kenichi was very proud. He promised to defeat Usagi or leave the school in disgrace."

"It wasn't Usagi who won but Kenichi who lost everything," she told. "Kenichi never recovered from this. He began to drink and it was Usagi who got him out of this. Then Usagi helped several times to save the village and always when Kenichi challenged him, he came off worst. When Jei captured you, it was Usagi who saved you. He was the hero and Kenichi only the Magistrate. And now ..."

"Now, you admire Usagi and Kenichi is only your father," she finished quietly.

Jotaro wondered if he should ask but in reality, he knew already what his mother had never told him: That he wasn't Kenichis son but the son of Usagi. So Usagi had also taken the wife and sole child of Kenichi. This way, Kenichi saw Usagi in him, every day. Jotaro began to realize what incredible pain his father was enduring every day. That and the responsibility as a magistrate. And something else, he realized, too.

"There is a greatness in him, he doesn't notice," Jotaro said. "That gives me some hope. But my heart bleeds when I see how they treat each other. We must find a solution."

Mariko remained silent. Eventually, she just said: "There is nothing we can do. Kenichi is the sole person who can do anything and he refuses to do so. As long as this doesn't change, neither Usagi nor you nor I will achieve anything. You know how stubborn your father can be and I fear that even you will not be able to talk him out of his defense this time."

Then both just sat there, muted.

Fate

"I sat in the midst of chaos and was sad. Suddenly, a voice said to me: 'Be happy and smile, it could be worse'."

"So I smiled and was happy."

"And it came worse."

When Usagi finally reached the temple, it was already getting dark. Carefully, he stepped into the abandoned building which seemed to be empty. Except for some cobwebs, nothing could be seen and the dust on the ground was undisturbed. Usagi looked for a somewhat clean corner and prepared a simple dinner. After dinner, he sat down to meditate. Maybe this way, he could find a solution to the tricky situation he had maneuvered himself into. Because the night promised to be cold, he started a small fire.

During the night, it started to pour down but the roof didn't leak and so Usagi didn't mind. Shortly after midnight, another wet figure stepped into the temple. Usagi didn't move. Noiselessly, the figure moved closer to Usagi. Shortly, before it reached Usagi, he suddenly opened his eyes and rolled over skillfully. Nevertheless, he would not have escaped the deadly slash if the figure had not stopped the attack.

"You are him and then, you're not," said a voice out of a tomb. "How peculiar."

"Jei!" Usagi pressed out. Then he saw the face in the flickering light. "Inazuma?"

It took Usagi a moment to wake completely. The figure didn't move, just watched him. 'Like an interesting insect,' Usagi could not help thinking.

Indisputable, it was Inazuma but the voice sounded like that of Jei, so cold and dead. And her eyes ... A shiver ran down his spine. 'What had happened to her in that night(8)?'

"The gods don't wish your death anymore," Inazuma/Jei said finally and put away her sword. She turned and went to the door.

"Inazuma!" Usagi called after her, "What happened to you?"

"I'm Jei," the figure replied without slowing down. "Inazuma is gone."

"Wait!" Usagi came after her and the figure actually stopped.

"What are you doing here?" he asked carefully.

"There is great evil here. It attracts me," came the answer with the terrible voice. Immediately, Usagi knew she was talking about Kenichi. His mind raced again and he forced himself to calm down. Somehow, he had to hold Jei back but there was nothing here he could use as a weapon. Again, he cursed himself for giving his daisho to Pau. 'What has come over me to do such a stupid thing?'

"You're not going to kill me?"

Jei looked at him with her dead eyes: "Not anymore."

He had to give it a try. Usagi did stake everything on one chance and threw himself into the dust before Jei. "I'm pleading for Kenichis life," he begged.

"No," Jei refused unmoved.

Usagi wanted to protest. 'But how should I force Jei?' "All I ask is a change!" he demanded.

"No."

"I can heal Kenichi from his hatred," Usagi assured, "just as I've been healed."

"Evil is healed by death," came the dark answer. While Usagi was still thinking how he could convince Jei, Jei continued. "I will grant you three days. Then I will put out the evil."

Usagi was so surprised that he stood perplexed while Jei vanished in the darkness again. Then he collected his belongings frantically, and stepped out in the pouring rain, to take the opportunity. He had to think of something or Kenichi was doomed. Jei had pursued himself for quite some time but unlike him, Kenichi was a sitting duck. He, Usagi had been able to run away but Kenichi couldn't. And Usagi had killed Jei so often, now, that he knew it could only give one a postponement until he rose once more from the dead and started after one again. Even Kusanagi(9) seemed to have only destroyed the old body of Jei. He must have become manifest in the body of Inazuma, who had laid sick in a temple nearby at that time. A few moments, he wondered how Sanshobo, the head priest of that temple would react when he learned of this. But first, he had to save a life.

While he ran through the stormy night, he realized that the task had become unimportant. It meant nothing to him anymore, if he succeeded or not. Under no circumstances, he would sacrifice the life of anyone just to complete a ridiculous task that would only nourish his own pride in the end.

The rain poured thickly and Usagi did not see very far. Only the mud under his running feet told him that he was still on the street. Others had better eyes and his sixth sense warned him only when he was already surrounded by ninjas. Like an ice-cold fire, panic raged suddenly through him. With his RYAAAA battle cry, he drew his sword out of its scabbard and attacked the first ninja that actually retreated while the uneasy thought prodded at Usagis mind that his hands were empty. His sole chance was to snatch a weapon away from one of the ninjas.

But the ninjas were good, too. Quickly, they realized that they surrounded a dangerous but unarmed opponent. With the help of their sharp swords, they held Usagi at bay until reinforcements appeared with blunt weapons and a net. Finally, they defeated Usagi but at a cost. Because he struggled so much, they did not roll him out of the net but bound it to a pole and carried him away effortlessly ignoring his futile attempts to break free.

And Usagi began to think if it could get any worse. If the ninjas killed him, Kenichi would die in three days by Jei. If they took him away, the same would happen but he would have to live with the memory of his failure. And if they didn't kill him ... He could not finish the thought. Forced himself to calm down again. Tried to get in control of his racing mind again. To be ready when an opportunity showed up.

Then the rain stopped. At least at this head. He turned his head to the side and saw the wall of a sedan chair. In the darkness, he could not see the crest. Usagi hoped that he could convince the person inside that he was just an old veteran back to his village. But the hope turned to ashes when the window in the wall opened and he could see the satisfied face of a large snake.

"Ah, Miyamoto Usagi," Lord Hebi, one of the main advisers of Lord Hikiji greeted him happily. "I would never have dared to hope to meet you here," his hissing voice said. He seemed to be enormousely pleased with himself.

Almost, Usagi was happy that the net held him upright because he feared that his legs would have given in. It would probably have been too much to ask that Lord Hikiji did not know who had thwarted his many plans. If he wasn't already on his way to admire his newest acquisition, he would be tomorrow at first light. "Lord Hebi, what a surprise," he retorted weakly.

Usagi could see that Lord Hebi had a whale of a time. To hand him to Hikiji on a plate would probably allow the lord to extend his influence on the Dark Lord even more if that was possible at all. If he was lucky, they would just kill him. If he wasn't, they would torture him, first.

"You will be pleased to hear that Lord Hikiji is already on his way to here," Hebi chatted with him. "I'll expect him to be overwhelmed if he learns that you are here, too."

"How fortunate for him," came the reply.

"Are you making fun of your lord? On whose land your home village lies?" Hebi hissed.

"Who, me?" Usagi replied innocently.

"Already your father was an impudent rebel who did not offer his Lordship the necessary respect," Hebi went on strictly. 'Right. And Hikiji beheaded him with his own hands for this,' Usagi remembered bitterly.

"It seems that your village only raises rebels and querulous people. Magistrate Kenichi is again late with his tribute. The day after tomorrow, Lord Hikiji will arrive with a part of his troops and answer this incredible affront."

"You will enjoy a seat in the front row," Hebi promised and closed the side of the sedan chair with a loud clack. His guards, picked Usagi up and leaned him carelessly against a tree. Again, he was exposed to the cold rain unprotected but a cold was his least worry, right now. 'How should I save Kenichi, now? Even if Hebi would let me talk a few words with Kenichi, I will never be able to undo all that had happened with two or three words,' he thought miserably.

'And what was Hikiji up to?' he wondered. 'What would he do to the village? Where was Jei? Surely, Hebi and his men radiated darkness that Jei must be able to sense them over the whole length of Honshu(10).' He pondered until exhaustion let him fall into an uneasy sleep.

With a kick in the side, he was woken up the next morning. They attached one end of the pole on a horse and let the other end drag over the uneven ground. If he let his head hang down, it was bearable but eventually, they pulled the net around his head and now he hit his head with every bump on the ground. He clenched his teeth so he would at least not bite his own tongue. When they finally arrived in the village, the back of his head felt like pulp and every hit sent a sharp pang through his head.

Slowly, Hebi crawled out of his sedan chair and did glide through the mud of the village square with visible disgust. The villagers had gathered and the magistrate stood in front with his family. Usagi did return his gaze unfaltering. 'If looks could kill,' the thought occurred to him, when he saw Kenichis face. 'Of course, Kenichi will make me personally responsible for this, too.'

Hebi waited next to his sedan chair until Magistrate Kenichi had thrown himself into the mud before him as the protocol requested. To see how Kenichi besmeared himself with mud, seemed to give him pleasure much to the displeasure of the villagers, who loathed him frightened.

"Lord Hebi," Kenichi began humbly, "welcome in our village. Your arrival was not expected by us. We did not expected such a high guest as you."

Hebi took his time to answer. With relish, he let Kenichi stew. When he finally decided that even the last villager had realized who was in charge, he rose his voice: "Magistrate Kenichi."

"I'm most regretful to tell you that Lord Hikiji is missing the taxes for this month."

Kenichi started to answer but Hebi went on: "And for the last month, too."

Kenichi waited and when Hebi didn't continue, he started again and again, Hebi ran over him: "And the month before that."

This time, Kenichi had learned his lessen. Motionless, he waited in the cold mud for Hebi to continue. Hebi again took his time.

"Now? Will you give me an explanation?" the lord demanded.

"I have no explanation, my lord. As it is expected from us, we did hand over the supplies," Kenichi replied humbly.

"Now, is that so? In that case, there must be bandits terrorizing your area," Hebi helped, "and as magistrate of the village, I would have expected you to inform us immediately about this. Do we have to assume that you neglect your duties?"

"Reports about ..." Kenichi started but Hebi cut him short once more.

"And when I came here," he said smugly, "I'm all of a sudden attacked by this ronin here. Even worse, there is a warrant for his arrest!"

Horrified, Usagi closed his eyes. This, he had not known. Even Kenichi had not said anything. Even Jotaro hadn't. 'But what did that prove? Hikiji would not hesitate to make something up.' Alone the accusation that he had attacked Hebi would cost him his head.

Sure, Kenichi had enough men to kill Hebi and his guard. But if it was true and Lord Hikiji was on his way here, then he would bring more men and burn the village down. Not to forget about the ninjas, that had caught him. Of course, they were nowhere to be seen but he would bet on his life that they were still around. No matter how he turned it, it looked very bad for Kenichi and the village. If it went well, about a third of the men of the village would survive the fight against Hebi but before the week was over, Hikiji would arrive with enough men to quell the now open rebellion.

He just was the cherry on the cake. In this moment, Kenichi was probably thinking along the same lines. Usagi looked over to Jotaro and Mariko. Both were waiting with the other villagers. Their faces were carefully blank but Usagi could sense how Jotaro had to keep himself in check. Like himself, Jotaro could not stand people who were cruel to the helpless. All he could do was hoping that Jotaro would control his urge or there would be a bloodbath, today.

If the situation had not been so miserable, Usagi would have laughed out loud. He was here for a day, now, and already the village was beyond hope. It was just a matter of time until Hikiji would arrive here to amuse himself with the main act of the spectacle.

"How can this be, magistrate?" Hebis voice cut through the air.

Kenichi started once more to answer and again, Hebi cut him short: "Could it really be possible that you're unhappy with the wise reign of Lord Hikiji?" he went on caustic.

Kenichi who wanted to avoid to cut Hebi short, waited until Hebi hissed: "Now? Are you already refusing to pay the proper respect to the head adviser to Lord Hikiji? Why don't you answer?"

Usagi felt dizzy. 'How could a person be so cruel? The next sentence, he's going to accuse Kenichi to interrupt him all the time!'

"I have no reports about activities of bandits or brigands in this area," Kenichi answered with an unnatural calm voice. "And I've thrown this ronin out of our village myself, yesterday. Since he carried no weapons on him, I didn't expect him to be threat to anyone. And lastly, I have overseen the handing over of the tribute in form of supplies for the highly regarded Lord Hikiji personally. As usual, we have escorted the delivery up to the border of our region to prevent possible raids."

"What happened to the delivery afterwards, I don't know," Kenichi finished. In this moment, Usagi could only admire him. He had himself under control. He offered Hebi no hole in his defense, answered respectful and diplomatic.

Nevertheless, Usagi had not much hope. Even if Kenichi could refute all accusations of Hebi, Hikiji would simply show up with a couple of "Bandits" tomorrow and the magistrate would stand as a liar and rabble-rouser. In the end, it would only postpone the inevitable. If only Pau had been here. Usagi just knew that he could have prevented the destruction of his home village. It would be a long wait. Hopefully, Pau arrived in time. If Hikiji arrived tomorrow and Pau the day after, he would only find corpses. Usagi asked himself, if Pau could bring him back from the dead. 'And would I want that?'

Hebi was pretending to think about this. When the wait began to become uncomfortable, he spoke again. "Well, my lord will arrive here soon with a large detachment of men. You will have to explain this to him. Although," his voice was full of mockery, "personally, I of course believe what you say."

"My actual task at hand," he continued after a pause for effect, "is to prepare everything for the arrival of my lord here. And of course, the ... execution of this ronin on the run. I'm expecting your full support."

"You can rely on me," Kenichi promised as was proper.

"First of all, I need a ... suitable accommodation. The journey was very demanding," Hebi hissed politely.

"It would be an honor if you would accept my house for the duration of your visit," Kenichi offered humbly.

"Please, lead the way."

Kenichi rose. His hands, forehead and legs were covered with a thick layer of mud. His face was made of stone. Without shooting a look at Usagi, he turned and waited patiently until Hebis sedan chair followed him. When he walked through the path the villages had cleared for them, someone gave him a towel with which he cleaned himself quickly in order to give Hebi no reason to humiliate him even more.

After a short time, they arrived at the house of the magistrate. Since the bodyguard took up position under the canopy, he had no choice but to knee once more in the dirt while Hebi did glide slowly past him to inspect his new home. After a while, Hebi let call for him. Quickly, he rose, cleaned himself again with a towel his son handed him, took off his shoes and quickly entered the house where Hebi was already waiting impatiently.

"It will do," he said patronizing, "but it's dirty." Kenichi looked at the wide mud trail that Hebi had left in almost all rooms, without showing anything in his face. He bowed deeply and promised to immediately send for someone who would clean the rooms properly.

"Very well," Hebi terminated the audience at last. "You may go now. Surely, you have important matters to attend to. I'll have you summoned if I happen to need something."

Kenichi bowed deeply and walked backwards from the room. Outside, he calmly put on his shoes back on and left his house. Then he began to give orders to the villages for the day as he usually did. When everyone knew what they had to do, the crowd broke up and Kenichi went back to his family. They walked a distance until they were out of sight. There, Kenichi leaned exhausted against the next wall. He contorted his face and hit the back of his head hard against the wall several times.

Jotaro and Mariko patiently waited until he had recovered. "I've ran ahead with a couple of people and have moved most of our personal things to another place. At least, you can change into clean clothes, father."

"Thank you, Jotaro," Kenichi nodded, "let's go."

After he had changed, Hebi had thought up new meannesses to humiliate Kenichi. It became a long day.

The same applied to Usagi. His clothes were still wet and he was miserably cold. But he kept his mouth shut because the guards were surely only waiting for him to deliver them a reason to harass him.

Around noon, a couple of villagers came with a few guards from the nearby forest. They had fell a large tree and brought it to the village square. There, it was erected and four thin threes were attached to it so that it could not fall down. Then Usagi was rolled roughly out of his net and dragged to the tree. Because of the coldness and the long time in the net, he could resist only weakly and even if he had been stronger, it would not have changed a thing. Unmoved, he let them tie him to the tree. His tormentors forced his arms back around the tree and tied them together. Then, they hammered a nail into the rope so he could not sink to the ground. If he would doze off during the night, he would sag and the pain of his arms being bent up behind his back would wake him. It would be a long night.

Late in the afternoon, Usagi saw Jotaro talking to a few guards who turned him away. He also saw guards taking position at the exits of the village and sending back villagers that tried to leave. Usagi didn't want to know with what harassments Hebi was plaguing the village. His fate was almost pleasant because he was used to make sacrifices. But most of the villagers were just peasants and the guards treated them like a pack of wolves would treat a swarm of chickens.

The night wasn't even remotely as bad as Usagi had feared. He could lean against the tree and prevent to sag, this way. In his mind, he went through the patterns of Tai Chi and that helped to recover a bit. The rest of the night, he spent meditating and the next morning, he was in a fairly good shape. He just had some bruises from a guard that had conscientiously checked if he was still alive.

Since it had not rained again, the ground was dry and solid again. Late in the morning, Hebi came over with Kenichi in his tow to chat with him. Usagi tried to satisfy Hebis sadistic pleasure and eventually, they left again. Nothing could be seen in Kenichis face but Usagi thought he had done an acceptable job.

A short while later, Jotaro came and the guards once again turned him away. Slowly, the situation drove him to despair. If he could only talk to Jotaro. That Jei was on his way here and would arrive on the day after tomorrow. That they somehow had to hold up Hikiji until Pau arrived.

In the afternoon, a group of villagers appeared outside of the village and were stopped by the guards. Usagi could see that the guards talked to the villagers and that they let them enter the village, eventually. Usagi wondered where they had come from. They had no tools on them and somehow, they didn't look like peasants. While he was still wondering what was odd, he realized what it was. Usually, one does recognize a warrior by his stride. A good warrior is always ready to move into a balanced stance and be ready to strike. For some reason, these walked like normal peasants. Therefore, it had not immediately come to Usagis attention that they formed a loose formation. If they were attacked, they would have been able to defend in all directions, scatter or defend each other. He wondered who these people were. They seemed to be unarmed but that didn't mean a thing. Probably some killers in the service of Hikiji or Hebi. He wondered what their business was. Time was the only thing of which he had plenty at the moment.

He watched them as long as he could. Interesting enough, they seemed to ignore the guards completely and turned to the villagers instead. They seemed to point them somewhere.

Shortly afterwards, they came back and Usagi could see that Jotaro had joined them. They surrounded him but he seemed to follow on his own accords. They went into the tavern and stayed there for a while. Then Hebi appeared with Kenichi and shortly afterwards, the whole group came out of the tavern. While Jotaro stayed behind with most of them, one separated from the group and bowed before Hebi. Hebi stopped. Then Kenichi went away and Usagi could see that he looked at Jotaro before he was out of sight. Hebi and the stranger walked a short distance together. The stranger showed Hebi a document and Usagi could see Hebis face darken. He hissed something and the stranger bowed deeply. He handed the document to a guard of Hebi and waited. Eventually, Hebi said something to the guard and both the guard and the stranger bowed. Then both came over to Usagi.

Usagi could not work out what was going on. Jotaro and the others were still standing next to the tavern. Ready might be the word to describe them. Finally, the guard and the stranger reached the guards around Usagi. The guard of Hebi said something to one of the guards of Usagi who agreed with a nod. Both guards stayed behind and the stranger approached Usagi. The guard from Hebi had a strange look in his face.

The stranger had a feline body. His face was unmoved but friendly. And the eyes, Usagi shivered. The eyes were completely blank. No life showed in them.

"Usagi-San," the stranger greeted Usagi and Usagis legs gave way. This voice. Never, he would be able to forget it. Panic strangled him and he shook so badly that his teeth rattled. It was the voice of Tse, the head instructor of the Taja ninjas. Usagis personal nightmare.

"Is something the matter?" the voice asked concernedly.

Usagi could not answer and the ninja patiently waited until he had himself somewhat under control again. His thoughts raced. 'How did he escaped Pau? Did he at all? Was Pau already here?' Usagi didn't dare to ask for fear to start a new catastrophe but he had to do something. Here was his chance to send a message to Jotaro and the others. 'But can I trust the messenger? And what about the other ears?'

"I have a message for you," the ninja finally said with his nice voice. "Pau has insisted that I retell it word-for-word. It goes "I can see everything you do.""

'Of course,' Usagi thought sheepishly, 'he watches me all the time. All my worries were completely unnecessary.' He gave a sigh of relief just to pause again: 'What was keeping Pau, then?'

He licked his dry lips. "When will Brother Pau arrive here?"

"The day after tomorrow, along with Lord Hikiji," came the polite answer.

'Good,' Usagi thought, 'then he surely knows what is going on here,' and scolded himself immediately. 'Of course he knows, what is going on. He can see it. But what will he do?'

"Is there something I can do for you?" the ninja asked.

Usagi thought a moment. "I'm very thirsty," he admitted finally and hoped that the harassment that would come from this would be bearable. For him and Kenichi.

"I will see what I can do. Anything else?"

Usagi just shook his head. To ask for the magistrate would only make Kenichis situation worse and to talk with him in this situation was ridiculous. Carefully, Usagi leaned his head against the trunk. He hoped that Pau could sort out this mess he had created.

A while later, a guard actually appeared with a bucket and wordlessly, gave some water to Usagi. He thanked politely but the guard did not reply. And so the second night came. And a strong urge to relieve himself. He asked the guards for a pot but they just mocked him. In the end, he had to urinate into his own clothes and in the morning, he smelled.

Since the guards got annoyed by his stench eventually, they fetched water and poured it on him. Now, he wasn't smelling anymore but he was cold. He should have asked for something to eat, too. And something else had changed, too: He could not lean against the tree anymore but instead he leaned to the front. They had tilted the trunk so he could not relax anymore. 'How could someone behave such unhonorably? To torment a defenseless prisoner?' Usagi just couldn't understand.

Another day crept by. Usagi got some more water and even food. "After all, we want you to die by the sword of the executioner and not from weakness," Hebi had told him cynically and had actually seemed to be disappointed when Usagi didn't seem to be annoyed.

The pack of ninjas was still hanging around the tavern. One of them could always be seen. Usagi was sure that they kept an eye on him but he could not think why. And what Pau had done to them so he could let them run freely.

The next morning, Usagi got his first cramps in the arms. The impossible stance took its toll from him. At last, the first advance-guard of Hikijis troops arrived. He came with more than a few men. The advance-guard was 20 men and when the rest arrived during the afternoon, they were over 120 soldiers and riders. That was a lot more than the village had inhabitants and Usagi worried what would happen, now.

In the lead of the main force, Lord Hikiji rode into the village. His men showed themselves conspicuously while Kenichi and Hebi greeted the Lord according to the protocol. Kenichi had begun to show nerves and Usagi prayed that he was able to hold on.

And there Pau was with the two pupils of Katsuichi. He stood unmoved under the rest of Hikijis retinue and Usagi began again to worry what would happen now. 'Will Pau intervene? Or didn't he care for the village?' Usagi begged silently for someone to come so he could send a message to Pau. 'But what should I say?'

Then suddenly, Hikijis warhorse stood before him. Usagi had to look into the sun to see him. Lord Hebi was very delighted and Kenichi was happy to be out of the focus of the attention for a moment. In the last two days, he had to tread very carefully, always wary to avoid any mistake that could be blamed on him and on the other hand, not to insult Hebi.

"Miyamoto Usagi," the voice of Lord Hikiji sounded.

Usagi cleared his throat. "Lord Hikiji," he answered, trying hard to at least sound respectful.

Hikiji looked at Hebi who began to relate with relish and with a lot of words how Usagi had ambushed them and killed several of his men. Unimpressed, Usagi waited for the farce to be over.

"Did it happen like this?" Hikiji asked Usagi.

And Usagi simply could not stop himself from saying: "Would it make a difference if I said he is lying?"

He could not see how Hikiji took it but Hebi was shocked. Kenichi closed his eyes as if he could not stand to see so much stupidity anymore.

Lord Hikiji said: "At sunset, you will be executed," and rode off.

Then suddenly, Pau stood before him: "Well, what did you achieve?"

Usagi, who was about to blurt out everything else, almost choked on his own words. "What?" he said feebly.

Pau smiled his enigmatic smile: "How much of your task could you complete?"

"Nothing! Hikiji will burn down the village tonight and the task is utterly unimportant. To hell with it. You must do something!" Usagi hissed.

Sympathetic, Pau shook his head and turned to walk off.

"Please," Usagi begged, "I beg you. Don't allow this village to be ruined."

Pau stopped again and looked at Usagi: "I can't do anything for you," he regretted, "as long as Kenichi cannot accept help, my hands are bound. Just as little as I could force Katsuichi to live, because you wanted it that way, I can force Kenichi to do something he doesn't want."

"But you could talk to him, like you did with me," Usagi called desperately.

"You wanted my help, he doesn't. Therefore, you're still the only hope for the village." He smiled encouragingly: "But you still have some time left."

Then he went definitively and left a drugged Usagi behind. Having almost reached the goal and now, everything would be ruined. And he was to blame. When the guards finally fetched him, he was completely apathetic. He was afraid that he would not find rest after his death but he just couldn't think about anything except that it was over.

The guards led the dirty ronin to the executioner's block where the executioner was already expecting him with his sword. When he arrived, he asked the executioner for a last wish. "I want to say goodbye to the magistrate and his family," he asked. A guard ran to Hikiji to relate the wish. He could see Hikiji nod and the guards led him to the place where the magistrate sat, next to Hebi and Hikiji. Pau was there, too. Calm and unmoved, Pau looked at Usagi. And Usagi could not feel anything, not even regret.

Two guards arrived with Jotaro and Mariko. Usagi could sense their nervousness with a strange clarity. Jotaro and Mariko had to give their swords to the guards before they were allowed to step forward. They were probably afraid that Usagi would pounce himself on Hikiji but actually, he wouldn't.

One look in Kenichis face told Usagi that he would not achieve anything here. Nevertheless, he bowed before the magistrate and asked once more for his forgiveness. Kenichi did grant it to him but Usagi could sense it was again just a show. Somehow, he just didn't reach Kenichis soul. So he turned to Mariko and Jotaro.

"I regret deeply what has happened and I would do anything just to put it right again." Then, he had no words anymore. Wordless, he turned and the guards followed him to the block. Stiffly, he sank to the ground, laid his head on the wood and no longer wanted to live.

And the executioner raised his sword.

And Hikiji nodded.

And Hebi smiled satisfied.

And Kenichi sat as if he was made of stone.

And Jotaro promised to kill as many of them as he could.

And Mariko closed her eyes.

And the executioner did strike with his sword.

And Usagi understood.

"Wait!" he yelled and everyone flinched in alarm.

Usagi could feel the cold steel on his neck but he was still alive.

Usagi looked up and the guards involuntarily stepped back.

"I would like to talk to the magistrate one last time," he asked gently.

In the background, he could see that Pau bent over to Kenichi.

A guard ran off.

Talked to Hikiji.

Kenichi rose.

And came over.

His face was an inscrutable mask, once again. Unmoved, he stood while Usagi rose awkward and fell on his knees before him. Since his hands were tied behind his back, he could not really throw himself into the dust before Kenichis feet. He tried his best.

Clear, his voice sounded over the square. "I thank you, Kenichi," he started, "I thank you for looking after my wife and child when I couldn't," and bowed as deeply as he could.

"I thank you that you have taken over the responsibility as the administrator for this village because I and not you should have followed my father. But I was not ready," and bowed as deeply as he could.

"I thank you for being a good father to my son," and bowed as deeply as he could.

"I thank you, that you have assumed responsibility for my duties when I could not and this way, protected those who are dear to me and who would have suffered from my decisions," and bowed as deeply as he could.

"I regret that I can only offer you so little in return as this. If I leave this world now, I don't hold a grudge against you anymore. I accept your contempt towards me as a small price for what I did to you and your rage as the compensation for what you did for me," and bowed as deeply as he could.

"I thank you, Magistrate Kenichi," he finished and bowed one last time.

Kenichi stood motionless. Like a statue. Awkward, Usagi rose again and went back to the block. He laid his head down once more and said simply: "I'm ready, now."

He closed his eyes and was ready to greet death. A sword cut through the air and a head fell. And another and another and another. One fell on Usagi. Calmly, Usagi looked up and saw Kenichi standing with a sword in his hand above him. He trembled. A strange, abnormal look in his eyes. Usagi could feel something was going wrong. Horribly wrong.

He tore at his ties and could loosen them as far that he could bring his hands to the front. He wrapped Kenichi in his arms. Kenichi dropped the sword and looked directly into Usagis eyes. And Usagi saw the insanity in them. Just as with him, a hurricane of unbearable feelings raged in Kenichi and tore at his soul. But something was different.

Usagi had faced his fears. If there was a threat, he stood up to it. So he had had the self-confidence to let loose when the hurricane had moved over him.

Kenichi on the other hand had always avoided his fears. For all his life, he had worn a mask, had evaded threats. And he could not cry. So he desperately tried to stop the hurricane instead of just letting it move away and that wrecked his mind.

"No!" Usagi yelled, "Kenichi! You must not brace yourself against it! You must let it out!"

But he could not. Instinctive, Usagi acted.

He cried.

Cried out all that pain.

His.

Kenichis.

He yelled and cried.

For a long time.

Until both of them sank exhausted to the ground.

The Second Task

Time had become irrelevant to Usagi. He just sat there and held Kenichi tight. His body and mind.

Ultimately, life returned to Kenichi. He leaned his head against Usagis and Usagi was happy for the contact. "I hate you," Kenichi whispered.

"I know."

"That was horrible," Kenichi said almost inaudible.

"I know," Usagi answered gently.

And held on tight.

After a while, Usagi felt that Kenichi lifted his head. Without letting go, he moved his own head a bit, so Kenichi could move freely.

He felt Kenichi looking around. "Where is everyone?" he finally asked and rested his head again on Usagis shoulder.

And Usagi leaned his head against Kenichis again. "Is that important?" he asked.

He felt Kenichi open his mouth but he said nothing. "Not really," he admitted after a while.

And returned the embrace.

"Not now," he added after another while.

And so, they sat a long time still on the ground.

Just held on each other.

Enjoyed to be together.

"I'm thirsty," Kenichi admitted a long time later.

"Me, too," Usagi answered.

"Are you as unwilling to rise?"

Usagi just nodded. He was so wonderfully tired and exhausted.

Someone splashed with water. "Here," said the voice of Jotaro.

Usagi felt Kenichi drink. Then a bowl touched his lips and he, too, drank. And still, he did not open his eyes.

Usagi could hear a faint clatter when Jotaro put the bowl on the ground. "Are you planning to spend the whole night here?" he asked, "I'll fetch you some blankets in this case."

"Pest," Usagi grumbled friendly.

"The spitting image of his father," Kenichi mumbled affirmative.

"Hey!" came Usagis indignant retort.

"Yes," Jotaro mocked them, "the worst from both. The stubbornness, the big mouth and the ability to get myself into trouble," he listed.

"Would you please kill him for me," Usagi giggled.

"Tell him to bow down so I can hit him. He doesn't listen to me," Kenichi giggled. "Somewhere around here my sword must lie on the ground."

"May I pass it to you, father?"

"See? That and all day long," Kenichi complained leisurely.

"You have my full sympathy, magistrate," Usagi comforted him.

"I hate you both."

"Why, I wonder? We're the most lovable persons in the whole world," Usagi mocked him gently.

Kenichi remained silent for a while and Usagi was content to hold him. Somewhere nearby, Jotaro sat on the ground and waited patiently. At this very moment, Usagi was proud of his son. And grateful.

"Thank you, Usagi-San," Kenichi at last spoke seriously, "once again, you have risked your life to help me."

"That's what friends are for."

Usagi felt his back turn wet. Soundlessly, Kenichi cried. And he just held him.

Eventually, sleep came.

On the next morning, Usagi was very stiff. Someone had wrapped them in a thick blanket that kept them pleasantly warm. Kenichi was still sleeping and Usagi didn't move in order to not disturb him. He just opened his eyes and looked around.

The men of Hikiji were still around but no guards were nearby. A couple of villagers went about their business. Next to the bucket, Jotaro sat wrapped in another blanket and meditated. The whole scene was unreal. 'Why didn't the other guards kill us? Has Pau still stopped them in the end? Why is it so quiet?'

His hands were still bound but the dead guards and the executioner had vanished. Somehow, this all didn't make sense but he didn't feel like burdening himself with wondering, right now. So he dozed off once more.

At last, Kenichi woke up and awoke Usagi again when he moved. He held Usagi a bit away from himself and looked around.

"Good morning," Usagi said to him and saw Jotaro open his eyes, too.

For a long moment, Kenichi just looked at him. "Thank you," he said finally.

Then he tried to stand up what turned out a bit more complicated than expected because Usagi was still tied up. Jotaro pulled out a knife and did cut the ropes skillfully. Kenichi stood up and went a few steps while Usagi tried to loosen his stiff muscles. Eventually, Kenichi came back and offered Usagi his hand. Usagi took the offered help and Kenichi pulled him upright.

"Good morning," Jotaro greeted them in his relaxed style.

"What happened?" Magistrate Kenichi wanted to know.

Jotaro was astonished for a moment, then he grinned wide: "You don't know any of it? Hmmm... where should I start?"

"Why Kenichi came when I asked," Usagi proposed.

Jotaro looked at Kenichi who answered, "When you made your request to see me once more, I was not very happy. A prisoner can't simply order a magistrate around."

He made a pause, remembered the situation once again. "Then this strange priest, that had arrived with Lord Hikiji, bent over to me."

"Brother Pau Tai," Usagi added.

Kenichi looked at him curiously: "You know him?"

"That is Pau?" Jotaro wanted to know.

Usagi nodded and Jotaro laughed: "That explains a lot."

Kenichi wrinkled his brow but went on: "He only said: "Once in your life, do the right thing even if it's wrong.""

He snorted: "I was already on my feet before I realized what I was doing. Of course, Lord Hikiji was besides himself and the whole situation was extremely tense. He knew that any further humiliation of me could be the final straw and the situation would get out of control. So he remained silent. But I could literally feel him planning to take his revenge on me."

With clouded eyes, he looked at Usagi. "Then I went to you. The next thing I remember is that I woke in your arms in the middle of the night. The great exhaustion in me and ..."

"The calmness," Usagi finished the sentence for him.

"Pau did this with me a couple of times," Usagi admitted openly. "Every time, it's like walking naked through hell. But it's been worth it every time."

He smiled embarrassed: "I'm sorry that it took me so long to find out what I had to do."

Kenichi made a face: "Did anything you attempted ever not lead into a catastrophe?" he asked sourly.

Usagi smirked: "I promise to try to save Lord Hikiji, next time," he retorted sharply.

Jotaro laughed out loud and even Kenichi had to join in. "Please, only after I'm gone," he asked.

Then both looked at Jotaro and he began to relate his view on the events.

"Well, Kenichi went to you and you started to thank him."

"Uh," Usagi interrupted him, "you heard that?"

"Well, I heard it loud and clear and I'm positive that everyone did as well," Jotaro answered without any special look on his face. Usagi swallowed.

"Then, you laid your head on the block and when the executioner raised his sword, Kenichi killed him. The guards immediately attacked him and he killed them, also. That very moment, no sound could be heard. But Hikiji remained passive."

"Lord Hikiji," Kenichi corrected him unmoved.

"He just sat there. This Tse, that always smiling stranger, who talked to you two days ago, stood right behind Hikiji. I've not seen anything but my guess would be that wasn't idling around there. Pau bent over to Lord Hikiji and said something to him which I could not understand. Hikiji looked around and then held his guards back."

He looked estimatingly at Usagi: "Of course, I expected that the guards would immediately attack and kill you but the whole time, they just stood there. It was as quiet as in a tomb. Then Usagi started to cry and yell. It was eerie. Everyone flinched with fright. That went on for a while. Then Pau said some more to Hikiji who broke up the gathering. He sent his guards away and everyone went home."

Kenichi shook his head: "That makes no sense. Why should Hikiji do something like that? He had us where he wanted us to be!"

"Lord Hikiji," Jotaro corrected him.

Kenichi just stared at Jotaro. "Of course," he said calmly and Jotaro could only gape in astonishment.

"Well, that's not the whole story," he said carefully.

"Aha," came it from both Kenichi and Usagi.

"I know everyone in the village," Jotaro did beat about the bush and kept them in suspense for a few moments longer, "and Lord Hikiji had given orders that everyone must be present."

Kenichi nodded: "I personally saw to it that everyone obeyed that order so he could not come at us because we didn't show the proper respect."

Jotaro agreed: "As far as I could see, everyone was there. Everyone ... and a couple of others."

"Others?" Kenichi asked who had enough. "What others?"

"Well, Tse brought a couple of friends with him. All of them were near Lord Hikiji." He mused dreamily. "Not that I would ever dare to think such a shameful thought in my life but if I wanted to try an attempt on Lord Hikijis life, I would distribute my people about like they were."

"And also many people next to guards had faces unrecognized by me. Surely, they were from the village; they wore the same clothes we do. I just happened to never have met them before."

"And then, there were a lot of shadows on the roofs of the houses." Jotaro thought for a moment. "I would guess around three hundred of them."

"Three hundred!" Kenichi called out surprised. "Where did they come from?"

Jotaro nodded. "And where did they go? They were there just for a few moments and then vanished without a trace. No matter, Hikiji was outnumbered by far. When he broke the gathering up, they all just disappeared."

Usagi once more met his fear. He still hadn't come to terms with his experience with the Taja ninjas. They had been roughly three hundred men and he was pretty sure that there was a connection. Thoughtfully, he looked over to the head instructor of the ninjas who sat apparently indifferent on the bench before the tavern. While he was still thinking if he should share his thoughts with the others, someone called his name.

"Usagi!" Waytiki called and immediately hung at him. Usagi knelt down to the youngest of the pupils. "I'm so glad that you're alright!"

In his tow, Pau and Shunji followed. Shunji greeted Usagi warmly, only Pau seemed to be somewhere else with his thoughts.

"I thank you, Brother Pau," Usagi thanked him formally.

Pau looked up surprised. "What for?"

"That you believed in me, when I did not."

Seriously, Pau looked at him. He hesitated with an answer and Usagi asked himself why. "I did not," Pau admitted.

Usagi looked at him questioningly.

"I did not know in advance," Pau explained, "if you would be able to complete your task or not. Probably there had been a simple misunderstanding. All I wanted to tell you is that I cannot intervene as long as Kenichi refuses help and that you were the only person that could hope to come through his carefully erected defenses. I wouldn't have been able to do this."

Usagi frowned: "But you could have talked to him?"

Regretful, Pau shook his head: "I would have had the ability but I wasn't allowed to use it. As long as someone refuses my help, all I can do is watch."

Usagi felt his legs give way. If Kenichi had not grabbed him, he would have fallen on the ground. "Then," he murmured weakly, "my home village had almost been destroyed, yesterday?"

"Yes," Pau confirmed his thoughts, "but that would have also happened if you had not been here. Looking at it from this angle, you saved the village. Furthermore," he went on, "Lord Hebi did spent a lot of time with imagining how you would die and that relieved Magistrate Kenichi."

"Whatever," he changed the topic, "Lord Hikiji is having breakfast right now and he is expecting you. I would propose that we go to the house of family Tao and you wash yourself there. After that, we go to see the lord."

On their way, Magistrate Kenichi wanted to know how Pau had got Lord Hikiji to cancel the execution.

"I told him that we're all very tense and it might be better if we slept one night over it. He had just had an exhausting journey. Later, we talked a bit."

"And your warriors?" Kenichi asked.

Pau looked at Jotaro. "The Taja ninjas?" he said and Usagi moaned under his breath. Pau laid a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "They always need a moment to adjust to a new situation. Therefore, I called them here just in case. But I was pretty positive that I would not need them."

He smirked. "Opposite to what some people want to believe, I wasn't threatening Lord Hikiji. If I had done so, he would have had to defend himself. As it was, he had a honorable route for his retreat and he is intelligent. He saw his chances and used them to his advantage."

In the meantime, they had arrived at the house of family Tao. Warm water, soap, towels and fresh clothing lay ready.

"And why were there no guards this morning, when we woke up?" Usagi wanted to know.

"I promised Lord Hikiji that you would not dash," Pau answered and offered both one of his energy bars.

Kenichi mustered it suspiciously. "Enough food for one day," Pau explained.

Usagi laughed. "How many did I eat after my first healing?"

"Three," Pau grinned quietly to himself.

"Incredible," Usagi chewed, "how much strength such a healing costs."

"Yes," Pau agreed, "especially if one takes into account that I had restored you to full health just a day before and your reserves should have been filled optimally."

They ate as much as they could while they washed, drank the rests down and were on their way, again.

When they approached the house of the magistrate, they met a group of riders that had a prisoner with them. The prisoner whimpered in fear and the guards pulled brutally on him. He was rabbit like Usagi with long ears and a light, beige colored fur. He was quite old, already. Full of sympathy, Usagi looked at him. 'What he might have had committed allegedly?' he wondered.

"Ah," the oily voice of Lord Hebi sounded out of the entrance, "Magistrate Kenichi. How pleasant. We were just about to send for you."

They bowed and Pau ordered his pupils to wait outside. In the room inside, Lord Hikiji and Mariko sat and talked to each other. They knelt down before Lord Hikiji and awaited what might come now.

"Magistrate Kenichi," Hikijis voice sounded, "please get up."

They sat up. Nothing in Hikijis voice suggested that anything unusal at all had happened.

"Deeply, we regret the incidents of the last few days," Hikiji started, "as it seems, we have come to the wrong conclusions from the facts that we knew and questioned your loyalty needlessly."

"As we have learned just a short time ago, the tribute which you had obediently delivered has been embezzled by one of our own people who, above all things, even attempted an assassination of my trusted adviser, Lord Hebi."

The guards dragged the old rabbit into the room who resisted weakly. They threw him on the ground before Lord Hikiji, where he immediately started to plead for his life tearfully. Hikiji regarded him with slight disgust and Hebi hissed outraged at the display. With a movement of his hand, Hikiji got rid of him.

"Owing to the fact that we could convince ourselves what an exceptional good job you are doing here, Magistrate Kenichi, we have decided to half the monthly taxes in form of supplies. In return, you will fortify the village and lay out the streets again."

He made a pause to let this settle in. Then he went on: "Is there anything else you would like to ask us?"

Kenichi hesitated a moment. Then he asked, who the prisoner had been.

Lord Hikijis face remained calm: "The prisoner was Hatoshi, who has worked for long years as an adviser for me. It seems that he had already made a lot of money out of my property in the past. Four days ago, he attacked Lord Hebi during the night. The guards spread but could not locate him again. Instead and unfortunately, they seized Usagi and because of the darkness, they mistook him for the attacker. So he was arrested and Hatoshi escaped in the darkness."

"In the end, the misunderstanding was cleared when the sword of Hatoshi was found after the attack. When Usagi was seized a short time later, he had no weapons on him which reassured the guards that they had in fact arrested the correct person. Since dawn, my men have combed the forest and finally tracked Hatoshi down. When he was seized, he had an empty scabbard on him which fits to the sword that had been found."

"Anything else?"

Kenichi bowed. "No, my lord."

"Then you're dismissed." They got up and left.

They remained silent until they were out of earshot. "And you really didn't put something into his food?" Kenichi wanted to know, finally.

Pau laughed. "Lord Hikiji is very intelligent and an excellent tactician. All I had to do was to make a few suggestions and to point out their advantages and disadvantages. Yesterday evening, Lord Hikiji did realize how tense the situation was. He knew that there could be a bloodshed and some of his men would die."

Pau smirked. "Not without reason, it is said that mercenaries are the most simple to defeat, soldiers are harder and one should stay clear from peasants that defend their homes. All he needed was a good reason to cancel the event without loosing his face."

"To have peace up here will allow him to turn to other, more pressing matters. The fact that he had shown true greatness here will get about to the other administrators and that's another advantage not to be scoffed at."

Usagi wanted to know if Hatoshi was really the person to blame. Pau looked openly at him: "Are you already missing the executioners block?" He didn't wait for an answer: "Hatoshi-san is not innocent." Usagi did without digging deeper.

In the tavern, the always smiling instructor of the Taja ninjas awaited them. "You may leave the village now," Pau told him. Tse gathered his men and was on his way.

"What did you do to him?" Jotaro asked uneasy.

Pau looked absentminded after them. "I erased some parts of his self and changed others. It's not that I actually force him into doing what I want, it's more that he wants to follow my every order."

Jotaro shivered and the others, too, didn't feel to well about this. "And he accepted this voluntarily?"

Pau looked straight at him. "Yes," he said and Jotaro stopped asking.

The next day, early in the morning, Lord Hikiji started off with his retinue. There had been only a few incidents between the men of Hikiji and the villagers. Hikiji had his men under control. Nevertheless, the whole village heaved a sigh of relief when the last soldier vanished behind the turn of the main road.

Also, no one lost a word about what had happened here two days ago. But behind his back, the villagers agreed that Magistrate Kenichi was much more relaxed and sociable, now.

Usagi really enjoyed to be at his home and in peace. He met a lot of old friends and acquaintances and sometimes Kenichi even accompanied him. Then, one could hear their laughter in the night when they related old stories with a bowl of sake in their hands.

Eventually, the time came to say goodbye. Kenichi accompanied Usagi to the village square where Pau and the others already waited. "Where will you go to, now?" Kenichi asked.

Usagi shrugged. "I have no idea," he admitted, "I've not yet decided to follow Pau or to go back to the court of Lord Noriyuki."

"You would offer your services to a new lord?" Kenichis asked surprised.

For a moment, Usagi remained silent. "Not yet," he had to admit, "but I think I will do this eventually. Tomoe is there," he said longingly and Kenichi understood.

When they reached the village square, Usagi saw that the whole village waited there. Surprised, Usagi looked around and then at Kenichi.

And Kenichi sank on his knees before Usagi and the whole village followed suit. All bowed deeply before Usagi who stood frozen. No sound could be heard when Kenichi spoke. "We thank you, Miyamoto Usagi, for helping us to protect our village."

They stood up again. "As long as I'm Magistrate in this village, you will always be welcome here," he added and the crowd cheered.

Tears stood in Usagis eyes and Kenichi hugged him. "I sure hope we meet again, soon. It's so incredibly boring here without you."

Despite being so moved, Usagi had to laugh: "Thank you, Magistrate Kenichi. This really means a lot to me."

"I know," Kenichi replied. Then he turned to Pau.

"Brother Pau," be started, "despite your words that you were not involved in saving our village, it's hard to believe. But I respect your wish and so, I wanted to thank you for the emotional support that you have offered to us in these troubled times. And personally, I would like to thank you for helping me to remember an old friendship of mine." Pau bowed.

"I've heard," Kenichi went on, "that you are accompanying these pupils of Master Katsuichi to a new Master?"

"That is correct," Pau confirmed.

Kenichi waved Jotaro to join them. "Then I would like to ask you to also take my son Jotaro in your care. I'm sure that I could not find a master that could compare to the one, Master Katsuichi had in mind."

Pau turned to Jotaro. "Do you accept?" he asked.

Jotaro nodded. "I do," he reaffirmed.

"In that case, I'm willing to accept the responsibility for him."

"I thank you." Kenichi turned to his son. "I want you to know that I'm very proud of you."

"Father," Jotaro thanked.

Then Kenichi turned one last time to Usagi. For a long time, he looked straight into his face and Usagi waited patiently. Finally, Kenichi hung his head. "I cannot," he admitted silently.

He took a deep breath. "Still, I cannot forgive you."

Understanding, Usagi nodded. "Take your time. I promise, I will return."

Mariko handed a bundle with clothes to Jotaro and food and a pouch with some money. Then she hugged her son and, with tears, said goodbye to him.

The villagers accompanied them for a while. Before they vanished behind a curve of the road, they turned and waved. Usagi felt as if he was walking on air. The day was bright and the air clear and pure. He breathed deeply and enjoyed what his senses offered him.

Then he remembered something. He spun and grabbed Paus arm. "Jei!" he cried out, "Inazuma! I've completely forgotten about her!"

But Pau only laughed: "Calm down. I've talked to Jei and he said that Kenichi was now safe from him."

A heavy weight lifted from Usagi. It would have been inconceivable if he had returned to the village next time and they had to tell him that Kenichi had been murdered by Jei a couple of hours after he had left.

Pau smirked. "I must admit that I'm utterly impressed by your ability to get yourself into trouble. Falling into the hands of three mortal enemies to within three days to save someone who hates you is an outstanding piece of work," he mocked Usagi.

They had a good laugh about this.

One week went by. They traveled south but made only slow headway. Pau insisted that the pupils in his care did not neglect their training. Usagi could enjoy watching his son fight. And he was very proud of him. Sure, he was still missing a lot of training and experience but one could already see that he would be one of the best, eventually.

And he did not begrudge Kenichi of the honor he would receive when Jotaro became famous. In the end, Kenichi had brought up Jotaro and he deserved it. In the evening, Usagi and Jotaro sat together and talked to each other. The others respected this and left them alone.

Pau showed them more exercises of Tai Chi and Usagi got new insights into his own techniques. Pau let him supervise the exercises of the pupils more and more often and Usagi realized how much a teacher can learn from his pupils. And how much fun he had passing on his knowledge and experience. Almost, he regretted that eventually, they would meet the teacher Katsuichi had chosen for them and he would loose them again.

Pau himself spent most of the time just sitting absent-minded nearby. In this state, he evaded answering questions or did not react at all. Even the probing questions of the pupils who would be their new master, he ignored. Finally, they gave up and trusted in Master Katsuichi to have made a wise decision.

But Usagi noticed a growing unrest in himself. He was astonished to realize that it almost didn't mean anything to him anymore that he had completed his first task. And that, soon and against better knowledge, he would ask Pau for his second task. He was afraid that it might not be as simple and harmless as the first one.

On the other hand, Usagi knew himself well enough to know that there was something inside of him that pushed him forward. He just wasn't ready yet to retire with Tomoe. A life in one place together with Tomoe was incredibly tempting but as long as this fire burned in him, their happiness would not last.

After another weak, he was ready. He came to see that he could not run away from the task. Did not want to. And that this was the reason for their slow progress: Pau gave him time to think. So Usagi went to the priest one evening and asked. As usual, Pau was not surprised and simply told him his next task. Usagi was dumbstruck.

Over the next days, Pau oversaw the training of the pupils while Usagi fought with himself whether he should accept his next task. Of course, he had thought about what it could have been but he had not expected this. It was a nightmare. He begged Pau for a different task, no matter what it was, but Pau insisted on it.

So Usagi thought if he could wriggle himself out of it, somehow. But just like with the first task, Pau would not measure him. He could not win with these tasks. He himself would set the stakes and he was honest towards himself that he would not be satisfied with less than be able to say he had solved it. It was driving him into despair.

So he began to ask Pau for more details about the task in order to be better prepared this time. The more he learned, the more horrible things became.

"Did I understand this right," he pressed out, "should I fail or not attempt to solve my task, Lord Noriyuki and many of his subordinates will die?"

Without a trace of sympathy, Pau just nodded. For a moment, Usagi hated him for this, but of course it wouldn't be Pau who killed Noriyuki or Tomoe. It would just happen, if he didn't do something. Pau just told him and he should be grateful, instead. This way, they at least had a chance. He sighed. 'Why has it to be so hard?' he complained to himself.

"I accept," he agreed finally, "I will save Lord Hikijis life."

And Pau nodded as if no other answer had been possible. Absent-minded, both looked into the sunset, each lost in his own thoughts.

Next part