• Chapter 1: The beginnings are always pleasant.

    “Zefu! Zefu! Where are you?”
    The lyrical voice could be heard across the village. Its resonating tone was pleasant and cheerful.

    “Zefu! Zefu! Your dinner is ready my child!”

    A small boy barreled through the door and sat at the table.

    “Sorry, Okaasan. I was held up a bit.” He said it with enough disdain that His mother looked at him. The child was or had been bleeding from his nose and forehead.

    “What happened to your face young one? Did you fall down?”

    It was a frequent occurrence since Zefu had been in the village. The other children bullied him. Though he had seen twelve summers and springs, yet he was still the size of a boy that had only seen eight years. He was constantly taunted and jeered. Some called him “baby”, others called him “alroka", the equivalent of b*****d. It was true that he did not have a blood mother but his Okaasan was his family and the only one that he needed.

    “Some of the other boys…” Zefu was cut off suddenly by his outraged mother.

    “Those boys need to be taught some manners. They should know better than that, yet they repeat it week after week. I will have a talk with their parents and it will be done for good.”

    “Okaasan!” Zefu said it with some earnestly.

    His mother looked up at him. The wounds as usual had begun to heal on their
    own. Slowly, but they were healing nonetheless. Zefu spoke up once he had gotten her attention.

    “Don’t say anything to their parents it will just make it worse. I can handle it. I'm feeling much better anyhow..”

    Zefu searched desperately for something to change the subject. His mother could see this and quickly dropped the subject as to not embarrass him.

    “You’re dinner is ready dear.”

    It was a modest meal for the time. Some rice and a bit of fish left over from the morning.

    “Itadekimasu”

    He ate it with some fervor and got ready to take off. The traveling master was going to be there that day. It was a rare treat and only happened once every four moons. It was also his chance to show the master what he had learned. He
    barreled out the door gi in hand shouting back

    “Thank you, Gota go!”

    Zefu’s mother was proud of her boy. She had found him so many years ago all alone. She remembered it so vividly.


    The memories flooded, the heat, the fire, the infant that was sitting in the center. Her hands were scared slightly from it. 15 years ago she had moved into the country with nothing but a bundle on her back. She had become an outcast in her home country. A mark on her arm was matched with a legend. She was to have an Oni, a daemon, for a child. Even at that time she believed them. She even thought it when she had found Zefu. What child could survive those flames? Flames that were hot enough to melt the very ground beneath him. And the two swords stuck in the ground at opposite ends of the crater were also peculiar. Still, the fear that brewed in her did not impede her judgment to save the boy. She took him the scorching heat burning her from all sides and searing her hands, and covered him in her cloak. There was no way that his child could be a daemon she said to herself. The child tugged on her dress slightly as she smiled.

    “Okaaaassaaaann!”

    She felt a tug at her dress once again.

    “Okaaasaaann!”

    Zefu pulled again to get her attention. She spoke quickly to avoid another tug.

    “What is it Zefu?”

    “The master he gave me a new belt! This time he said that he would come back every week to see to my training!”

    He held the golden yellow belt up to her in pride. It was one of his few pleasures. Yet his mother never understood why he never defended himself against the other boys. He always allowed them to beat him up and steal from him. She would never understand that mind of his. She would be happy for now just to have her Zefu.