The Cloaked Samurai

"My lady! You appear so much like a man!" Maemi gasped, standing back and staring at you and the samurai clothing.

"Of course, sweet maiden," you said in a deep voice, bowing. She stifled a giggle.

"But enough playing around. Guard my room from a distance if you can," you instructed, smoothing your sleeve. "Don't be obvious about it, but make sure no one tries to check on me until I get back."

"Yes," Maemi nodded. You carefully sneaked out of the house and managed to make it to the dojo once again undisturbed.

"Hello!" Farrah greeted you. "I will be helping to teach the lesson today. We've come up with a teaching plan based on your desire to protect." She took you to the room used for the lessons and led you through another door to a small outdoor garden facing the forest with a path leading to a nearby stream.

"Sit here and meditate," she commanded. You did as she said, crossing your legs and closing your eyes.

"Guess I didn't really lie to Mama yesterday," you thought. "But what does this have to do with fighting? And where is Farren?"

Something suddenly whacked you hard on the back of your head. You feel forward and opened your eyes. Farrah was standing over you with a bamboo pole, shaking her head.

"Keep meditating, and next time, dodge my attack," she sighed.

"I would if I knew you were going to do that," you muttered.

"I shouldn't have to tell you," she said, walking away. You returned to your former position, closing your eyes and listening carefully. All you could hear was the stream and an occasional breeze scattering cherry blossom petals into the air.

Whack! Another blow came out of seemingly no where and caused you to teeter over. You didn't even bother to open your eyes.

"Try again," Farrah sighed. There was silence again. You were tense and alert, determined to catch her this time. A sickening crack sounded as the bamboo pole collided with the side of your head. You managed to keep your balance this time.

"You have to sense it! You're not even trying," Farrah scoffed, walking away. She was silent though. You could never hear her coming. Every time you thought she was approaching, it was just the wind ruffling the leaves. You ducked at every small noise. Soon you could hear Farrah laughing.

"You look ridiculous, keeling over like that every few seconds. Just relax and sense it," she said. Even so, she managed to hit you another time and a few more times after that.

Finally, after receiving another blow, you opened your eyes and stood up.

"This is impossible!" you protested. "You're asking me to do something that can't be done!"

"Looks like you're ready for part two of the lesson," Farrah smiled. She began to walk along the path and motioned for you to follow. As you reached the stream, you could see Farren sitting beside the water. He was meditating, completely relaxed and completely still. Farrah thrust the bamboo pole into your hand.

"Try to hit him," she instructed before leaving. You walked towards Farren, but he suddenly said, "No. I can hear you coming. Try again."

You frowned and avoided everything on the ground, making no sound as you approached.

"No. I can still hear you," Farren said, his eyes closed the entire time. You tried again.

"No. Try again," Farren said. You attempted the same thing again.

"No."

You made your movements fluid like you had the day before as you went towards him.

"No. Water is to be used during offensive fighting, not before it."

Over and over, you would sneak to strike him, but he would always say, "No," before you could reach him. You became frustrated again, but you didn't want to give up.

Finally, you stood completely still, breathing heavily. Your knuckles were white from gripping the bamboo pole so hard. You listened to the wind, and how you would feel it before you actually heard it. The wind was silent, but the trees gave it away a split-second after it began blowing.

"Maybe... I should try moving like the wind. And just like the wind, he'll feel me before he hears me," you decided. You closed your eyes and took several deep breaths. You opened your eyes and in one motion, you pushed off from the ground. In an instant, you had swung your bamboo pole at Farren's head. To your surprise, however, he ducked forward, and you missed. You landed on your feet, still blinking in surprise.

Farren opened his eyes and smiled.

"Good," he praised, standing up and taking the bamboo pole from you. "Return to your meditation."

You went back to your original spot and sat down, getting comfortable. You felt more confident this time and more relaxed than your former bundle of nerves. You closed your eyes and listened peacefully to the sounds of nature.

An unnatural breeze suddenly disturbed you, creating a prickling feeling from overhead. You ducked forward. You could hear someone walking away, so you sat up straight again. Another breeze came from the right, and you swerved left and out of the way. Finally, you sensed someone approaching from the front. Your hand shot out and grabbed one end of the bamboo pole. Your eyes opened as you stood up and took a step back in the same motion, yanking on the pole. You stared into Farrah's astonished face as she stood empty-handed in front of you.

"I think Akio is finished for the day," Farren said from nearby.

"Thank you, teacher," you bowed.

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You slipped back inside the house and into your room. You changed quickly and called Maemi to come take your clothes.

"_____!" Kioko hurried up to you. "Mama told me not to bother you, but it's been so hard to keep this to myself!"

"What is it, Kioko?" you asked, smiling at your sister's excitement.

"The wedding date has been set! Just twelve days!" she gave a happy giggle.

"Oh," was all you could managed to reply. Kioko stopped laughing.

"You're still upset about the whole thing, aren't you?" she sighed, putting a hand on your shoulder.

"No! I'm so happy for you!" you reassured her.

"But you'll miss me, and you'll be lonely," Kioko said sadly, looking away. "I feel terrible for leaving you, and in some ways, I don't want to get married. I'll be a princess, and I'll lose many freedoms. But most of all, I'll be very lonely without my dear sister." She paused before continuing. "You know that I won't have as much freedom. All I'll be able to do is sit around and write poetry and talk to the servants."

"But I'll send you many letters!" you grinned. "You won't have enough time to read or reply to all of them! And you'll have your shamisen, right?"

Kioko nodded although her eyes were shining with tears.

"You said you had a new song you were working on. Come play it for me!" you begged, dragging her down the hallway. "And you'll have to teach it to me, of course!"

It was very quiet, but you could've sworn you heard Kioko whisper, "Thanks, little sister."