Act IV: Stoic

     Rakushoda sits cleaning his sword.
     "Sir," a servant walks up to him. "He is here."
     "Thank you."
     Rakushoda stands up and walks to the Imperial courtyard within the castle. It is night and
fireflies are about. Rakushoda enters with his sword sheathed by his side. He stands in the center
of the courtyard. Another dark figure stares at him from across it.
     "You are the one noted with the best skill besides myself," Rakushoda announces.
"Come out from the shadows and into the moonlight here."
     A young man steps out. Younger than Rakushoda.
     "How old are you?" Rakushoda asks surprised.
     "I am 16," the young man answers.
     "You are nearly four years younger than I am," Rakushoda says. "And I am known as a
young phenomena."
     "Well," the boy says. "Here I am."
     "What is your name?"
     "My name is Kyonori Tsujimoto," the boy answers.
     "Hmm, well mine is Hirohisa Rakushoda."
     "I believe you already know that I know that."
     "That I do, just I thought you should be properly introduced to the man who will kill
you."
     "You are overconfident," Tsujimoto says.
     "And this coming from a young cocky kid?"
     "Come on," Tsujimoto says angrily. "I am here to fight you."
     Tsujimoto places his hand on top of his sword. Rakushoda observes it.
     "A ninja sword?" Rakushoda questions.
     "You asked for the best fighter of any style," Tsujimoto says. "I am a young master of
Ninjutsu, and a shinobi."
     "Well, I suppose I must know if I can face any style besides the common up-front ones,"
Rakushoda says to himself. "Let's begin."
     Rakushoda draws his sword and puts it in his common position to his right and behind
him. Tsujimoto bends down low, one hand holding the sheath and the other just above the
handle.
     Rakushoda runs forwards beginning to move his sword in the horizontal semicircle so as
to allow Tsujimoto's low position to come up from underneath. Tsujimoto does not draw his
sword, he sends a shuriken out and into Rakushoda's shoulder. Rakushoda flinches at the pain
but keeps moving forward. Tsujimoto bounces away and Rakushoda misses him.
     Tsujimoto ends up facing Rakushoda's back, he sends his sword into the same shoulder,
barely missing the metal in Rakushoda's neck.
     Rakushoda turns swinging wildly, but Tsujimoto jumps to the side towards a tree. He
quickly is up the tree. He jumps from it, flipping in the air, landing in front of Rakushoda,
ripping his sword out and into Rakushoda's right knee.
     Before Rakushoda can bring his sword down on top of Tsujimoto, he does a backflip and
lands a few feet away from Rakushoda. Rakushoda stands before him. Holding his shoulder with
his left hand, and balancing on his uninjured knee.
     "Your style is only on the right side," Tsujimoto says. "I have seen you work before. You
always wield that sword from your right side, and the extra amount of strength you suddenly put
in is from your right leg coming down hard when you move. I have taken both your right arm
and leg out of the equation. Now you can't win."
     "Don't be so cocky, kid," Rakushoda says. "You do not know me at all."
     "Oh?" Tsujimoto mockingly questions. "Then go ahead and attack me again."
     Rakushoda takes a few deep breaths, then he changes his grip to his left hand. He holds
the sword in just his left hand, with the blade going forwards rather than backwards. His right
hand rests in the air just above the blade. Rakushoda drops his right shoulder down, and pushes
off with his left leg in a sprint towards the boy.
     As he nears, he lifts the sword up in a vertical semicircle motion. He keeps his right hand
along with it. As he reaches Tsujimoto, He drops the sword down, stepping hard with his left leg
forward for power, in the same semicircle motion he came up with.
     Tsujimoto steps to the side to dodge, and he tries to send his ninja sword into
Rakushoda's right side. Rakushoda's right hand that is free since he is not holding onto the
sword with two hands this time, grabs Tsujimoto's wrist. Rakushoda lets his sword drop, and he
uses his whole body to force Tsujimoto to drop his sword.
     Tsujimoto drops his sword, and jumps backwards. Neither man has a sword.
     "You didn't win," Rakushoda says smilingly.
     "But you have no other weapon than your sword," Tsujimoto states.
     "So?" Rakushoda questions. "You don't have a sword either now."
     Tsujimoto throws both his wrists forward and sends out four throwing spears at
Rakushoda. Rakushoda jumps to his left to dodge, but two of the connect in his side. He falls to
the ground struggling to get up.
     "I win," Tsujimoto states as he picks up his sword. He walks over to Rakushoda and puts
the sword to his neck, where the metal is. "Now I will finish you off."
     Rakushoda takes the egotistical moment and kicks out Tsujimoto's leg. He grabs him in a
hold and forces him to the ground stating, "I am not without my own techniques without my
weapon. I know Ju-Jitsu."
     Finally Tsujimoto surrenders. Rakushoda stands up, as hard as it may be. He then says, "I
recognize that you won, kid. Even if your inexperience got the best of you."
     "You are not going to survive if you ever fight the people who taught me or are enemies
of me," Tsujimoto proclaims. "They, being older than I, chose not to get involved in this. I was
just one of the strongest who attempted this, the true strong ones are the serious ones who
weren't going to throw away their lives on a little recognition. But I was here to test my skills on
someone so accomplished like yourself, injured or not."
     "I see," Rakushoda says. "Well, then, I think I better learn a little more."
     "Well, I think I am going to get out of here," Tsujimoto says and then bows to his
opponent.
     Rakushoda returns it, "You were a good opponent, but if I ever see you again I will
avenge this defeat."
     "I will take that into consideration."
     Like a shinobi, Tsujimoto runs over to the castle walls and quickly scales over it.
     "He may have won," Rakushoda says to himself. "But he won't get the recognition. Of
course, I do not think he wanted it to begin with. Such is the life of a ninja."
     Rakushoda walks distressingly into the medical area of the palace. Doctors help him on
to a bed. They immediately begin dressing his wounds and removing the spears. Soon they finish
and Rakushoda heads to his room to rest.
     He lies in his bed thinking: I can trust what that man said. I am sure there are people
with great skill who did not want to get involved in anything the emperor had a part in.
Resistance is still high in the empire, and the best would not want to waste their time or life
dealing with me if they had a choice. I am going to have to adopt some of that young man's
technique. The whole idea of having other weapons with me. I must learn others. I must decide
how many I can bring and master them all. That way I will always be able to counter with
something. I was just lucky tonight that I had my Ju-Jitsu training to bail me out. Thank you
sensei for teaching more than just sword technique, but now I need to teach myself my own
technique for everything else.
     The sun rises, and Rakushoda spares no time getting to work. Against the wishes of his
doctors, he walks into a dojo the emperor had set up awhile ago in the palace. There were many
weapons to choose from. The first Rakushoda reaches for is a chain weapon.
     "I know how these work," he says to himself. "Let me see how I can make these work."
     Rakushoda holds the nunchakus in his hand and begins spinning it around. HE closes his
eyes, feeling himself moving with the motion. He picks the time, and lifts his arm up and catches
the nunchakus under his arm. He opens his eyes.
     "I can handle these," he says. He sets the nunchakus and reaches for a long wood
weapon.
     He holds the bo staff in front of him. He then slowly begins to twirl it between his hands.
He then stops it and holds it straight out in front of him. He then proceeds to see how he can
prod with it. He swings it up under his arm. He then holds it out on front of him.
     "This is a nice weapon," he says. "I like it's feel, but it needs to be more deadly. I know,
the naginata. It may primarily be a women's weapon, but I can easily strap it to my back and the
more blades the better. At least I think so."
     Rakushoda sets the bo down and reaches for another weapon that fit just in his hand.
     "I have easy control over these," he says. "They are small enough I can carry them
anywhere and get to them quickly. I will use these."
     He sets the handclaws down.
     "I think there is only one more thing I need," he says to himself again. "Shuriken."

     Rakushoda begins spending his days practicing. He quickly learns nunchakus and begins
using two of them. His skill builds with the bo and he soon begins using a naginata. He enjoys
finding out what handclaws can do. And as the days pass his throwing spears get more and more
on target.
     One day he gets called in to talk to the emperor.
     "Rakushoda, you have been diligently expanding your skills," the emperor says. "And I
think you are the one best suited to do this."
     "I will do anything you ask, my lord," Rakushoda faithfully answers.
     "I have instituted a new rule on peace," the emperor says. "I need you to make sure it
will be followed by individuals."
     "Yes, my lord."
     
     The next day, Rakushoda outfits himself, and his new ship, for his journey across the
empire to enforce the law.
     As he sets out into the setting sun his thoughts drift to his past:
     A young boy sits looking at a sunrise thinking,
     Peace. My heart deserves peace. I wish not to hurt, just to heal. The world deserves
peace. I must find a way to bring it. Perhaps, just maybe, through my sword. That is how.
     An older man, Rakushoda says to himself, "The sun sets on a dead philosophy. The
world wants peace? It never seemed to want it before. My sword, yes, it will bring what this
world needs. They will stop their quarreling, or else I will have the final say."