Original Stories Fan Fiction ❯ Cove ❯ Righteous Path I ( Chapter 40 )

[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]

Seita started out pure. He too wanted to get stronger. His village had nothing to offer. Longing for escape, Seita packed up his bags and left without turning back. Along the dirt road heading north, he stopped at checkpoint gate. An old man leaned against the post, smoking a pipe.
"Excuse me," Seita said. "Do you know where the greatest master in this region lives?" The old man pointed his pipe down the road.
"There?" Seita asked. The old man stuck his pipe back in his mouth. The hopeful student nodded.
"Alright," he said. "Thank you." The young man walked away with doubt in his mind. When he took one more look at the old man at the checkpoint, he found that he had vanished. Seita tilted his head with a puzzled look on his head. What the hell was that? Not knowing what else to do, he continued down the dirt road. Maybe something would come out of this lead. If not, he could find someone else to ask. Seita went grim at that last thought. Ask someone like who? The young man hung his head.
However, the old man did turn out to be somewhat useful. By sundown, Seita came across a dojo in the woods. He blinked with amazement over his face. Holy crap! That old geezer was right! The young man made his way up the hill and up to the dojo. He knocked on the front door. At the time, he didn't notice a young girl taking down clothes from the line. If he had, the mess of sparks would've started earlier.
"Coming," a hard, grappled voice shouted from inside. Seita looked up when the door slid open. A big man dressed in a traditional kimono narrowed his eyes at him.
"What do you want?" he asked. Seita stood before him with resolve.
"I've come here for you to teach me how to fight," he said. The master didn't look impressed at first.
"Why should I?" he asked.
"Let me prove myself to you in a duel," Seita offered. "I believe I am worth of you to teach me."
"Is that right?" the master asked. "Come with me and prove it." The duel ended in a draw, but Seita ended up being the man's student.
It's hard to say how the boy became corrupt. It is believed the moment his master's niece gave her body over to him in exchange of learning how to fight, he became tainted with carnal desire. However, the clearer answer is a craving for more power. His master owned a sword that was passed down from generation to generation. Initially, it was supposed to go to Kasumi. But when her parents died, the uncle kept it for himself when he took Kasumi in. When Seita first laid eyes on that sword, his heart instantly fell in love. His desire to claim it grew stronger when he learned that no one would be inheriting it.
"Master, could I have that sword?" he asked. The uncle gritted his teeth with his back turned to the student.
"Why?" he hissed. Seita shrugged his shoulder at the older man.
"Well, you don't have any heirs to it and I would hate to see it not used, so I thought..." he said. The older man whipped around to him with fire in his eyes.
"No!" he snapped. "You are not to have that sword ever!" Seita gave him a blank stare.
"Why not?" he asked.
"That sword is mine and it will be buried with me!" the uncle snapped. "You will never touch! Now don't ask about it again!"
Kasumi shuddered in her bed as she remembered what followed behind. She couldn't get the image of blood splattered everywhere no matter how hard she tried. The Seita she came to know in her bed die in the slaughter that night. Remembering all of that pushed her back to original mission. Kasumi drew open her eyes.
Seita, this has gone on too long, she thought. I have to stop this now. Wait for me.