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Kenji's story - part one

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KENJI'S STORY part 1


INTERLUDE: "You are the one!"

I was asked to tell the truth and nothing but it. Many times individuals stepped up and asked me to do so. And many times I refused it, the second the question appeared. Sometimes I neglected it because of this certain lack of trust into others, sometimes out of shame and despair on my hands. Sometimes I simply not wanted to. Even to you I refused to tell, though you asked me several times my little fella. But I think you are worth to read this story one day and so I try to memorize my life for you. Beloved Sasa after everything you did for me and I have done for you this will be the story you will be reading after my final passing. I truly think you are the only one on this rotten, broken and shattered world we live in who has earned the right to know the truth. I am sorry right now not to be able to tell it to you face to face, but sometimes even I, bold as I am have troubles to face my past. You asked me several times about my nightmares, remember? And I said to you that the dark gift haunts me this way. You nodded and wrapped me with your warm arms. The greatest gift in my whole life I have to admit. So for the true friend, and the only one I found and kept, here is my story. You will be the only one to know Kenji like he used to be. What drove me the years before we met? Well the rest is and shall remain in your memories, not to fool your thoughts.  So here we go my beloved…


CHAPTER ONE: "The prize that's worth me!"

Sleep is your friend, it helps you to recover. Well that's totally true, as long as you are no vampire. In my fault sleep is something dark, without dreams at all. But when they appear, nightmares are haunting me from my innermost self. Episodes about the life and death of others and, sadly, episodes about my life and death. You must know that killing rips your soul apart. Every time I took a life something left me like a scar on the face you cannot wipe away even though you try. The soul remembers well. Everything you did will be falling back on you some day. Luckily human nature does not provide most of them with a life term too long. Have you ever imagined how it would feel to see and feel everything over and over again? How hard can the revenge of your soul be?  I know your dreams are dark caves with no dreams in it, and I have to admit I envy you for this. In my fault, as I killed for living and still hurt for surviving the mountain of knifes with the destination towards my heart is enormous. 500 years of slitting throats, cutting hearts and pure homicide do not pay off very well. But I have a story to tell so let's start it. I was born in summer 1502 A.D. to use your timestamp. I don't know my birthday for sure, like many people of my time, math, like reading, were no common goods provided to everybody. My parents were fishermen, not wealthy, but owners of many kids.
Loving parents not to blame them, but dumb really, really dumb. They could not feed their first three Kids and so they decided to get some more. For I was the oldest of this bunch of starving hungry lads, but still too young to give my father a hand, their situation became more and more desperate. What to do? Seven little mouths at home and nothing to feed them. As I said they became more and more desperate at this time.
1506, I know this date from a signed contract I found, a man appeared at our village. He stood at the market place and told the people passing by that he was in need of a fine young man to teach him his art. And, and here it becomes my story, he was willing to pay for his apprentice. He would be in the pub right down market square if someone would be looking for him. With this statement spoken he turned on his heel and left the square, heading towards the pub just like he said before. And though I was too young for fishing, I was not too small to not go to the market with my dad and ripping guts out of fresh fish. So after half a day of getting smelly things out of dead things, my father took my hand and led me into that pub. I recall it a nice feeling, the place was interesting and new for me, due to the fact that I was forbidden to enter those places myself at that age. I am always struggling when I try to recall this episode, but I will try to. The room was steamy and full of smoke. Darkened wood dominated the room like it was at many local pubs those days at the shore. 

The man sat lonely at the rear left corner of the room a bottle of sake in front of him. His clothes were made of common cotton and nothing on his appearance was outstanding in any way. Except his face. There were wrinkles everywhere and a bunch of scars on his left cheek. Even later on he never told me what demolished his face this bad. The grip of my father's hand got stronger as he led me straight to the old man's table. They exchanged a few sentences I cannot recall, though I tried several times in my life. Then the old man stood up and moved surprisingly smooth my way. His hand came forward right to my face, like a rattlesnake attacking. Her grabbed my chin and looked deeply in my eyes. I was frightened and tried to not to show him.
"Fear is something you have to accept young one!" he said.
"But how?"
"That's what I will teach you!" A slight smirk appeared on his face, giving him the look of a shrunken apple. "The boy is accepted!"  I looked to my father suddenly unaware what to do or say.
He looked at me, with a sight I can't forget: "Son I have to do this to save all of us! Go and serve your new master. As much as I hate doing this, the much I need the prize he is willing us to pay!"
As tears began to fill his eyes he turned around and left me alone. With my new master like he said. I wanted to follow him unwilling to stay but within the blink of an eye the old man's hand gripped my arm, again at unbelievable speed.  
"You are mine!"

So I was sold against my will. I didn't understood why I was traded for money and why my father left me all of the sudden. Of course I know today, but deep inside myself there is still this little sting remaining saying love betrayed me for the first time at the age of four. My father sold me like he sold fish every day. I never saw him again, though I tried several times. But as you know times go by and stings are shrinking smaller. But they never go away.

CHAPTER TWO: "This is what it takes!"

I am getting off topic. I wasn't the only young man to be bought that day. Four other young boys were selected the following days and together we left the village of my birth. We spent several weeks on journey, walking through no man's land. The walk was hard and for a person this old my master walked at a ferocious speed. He did not talk to us all the time, despite for the command "follow me young ones!" at the start of our journey.
We ate rice and drank water. At night we slept on the bare ground with no sheets or anything to keep us warm. At night the master left, for about two to four hours and came back again, always with something to eat at his hands. Toshi, the son of our blacksmith asked one time where he went. And again the hand shot forwards like a lightning and struck his nose to pieces. No one of us four ever asked again. In common the four of us made friendship quite fast.
There was Toshi, Sasu, Tenchi and of course me. Sasu was the son of a fisherman, just like me, a year older and very strong but, and this I have to admit, dumb like a dead fish. Tenchi on the other hand was the son of a beggar and collected by the master for a few coins and a bottle of sake. He was quite happy with his fate, especially with the fact that there was food on a daily basis. That was something he had never known before. Due to the fact that we were forbidden to speak during the time master was present, we spoke during his nightly journeys. All of us were desperate to know where he would lead us to, not knowing anything about the world at this young age. The wandering kept on going on, the landscape began to change.
First we walked in the shallow lands at shore, now the mountains appeared at the horizon. The walk became harder quick and Toshi soon began to get weaker. Nevertheless our master kept on walking the same speed he did the whole journey. So I and Sasu started to drag Toshi further, not willing to let him down. As the master recognized this he turned around, speaking for the first time since our journey started.
"Leave him alone, he has to be strong, only the strong survive!"
So we let go and things were going the way they were. Toshi fell back and got out of sight. I wanted the master to slow down and begged him to wait for Toshi. He turned around shook his head and kept on walking. Unaware of what I was about to do I ran in front of him and kicked his leg. Again his hands came at the speed of sound, lifted me off the ground towards his face.

"He is too weak you have no right to fight for him. You are mine, I bought you and I teach you my ways. So if you want to fight there will be plenty of time. For now stop whining about weak ones and start to face the truth of life!"

Dazzled by this speech I fell back turning my head into the direction Toshi had to be. Why I asked myself had our master sacrificed Toshi? Sasu and Tenchi looked at me irritated like me. But we kept on walking. Where Toshi ended? I cannot say. He disappeared at the horizon and like so many other persons in my life, just got lost. So we walked on and our mood got much darker by that time. The first few nights we were hoping to see Toshi keep up and finally make it back again. Tenchi even cried the first night. I couldn't cry I was simply unable to do so. Even if I could what effort this could have had? Toshi was gone, and like master said, he was not tough enough. Today I know this feeling belongs to me like no other. This certain feeling of being left, this wish to cry my heart out, and the inability to do so.
Finally we arrived at the "fort" how I like to call it. It was placed on a rather big plateau at the flanks of the mountains, completely made from wood with a temple like roof. Palisades all around place secured the fort from wild animals and the looks of others. In there were three houses. One was the Masters Dojo he lived and teached there. It had big windows with real glass! Never in my life seen that before. The second house was for storage and the few pigs master held. The third one was our residence. A dorm for the pupils and scholars. Despite my thinking there were seven other faces staring back on us. So we weren't the only ones going to be teached. The following years we trained what master told us.
In the early morning we got up and prepared everything for breakfast, fed the Pigs, done the dishes and then we marched to the Dojo warming up. Master arrived with the lessons of the day, mostly acrobatics, pain denial, cane fighting, speed and strength lessons. Then lunch had to be prepared. In the afternoon master taught us how to read and how to write, geography, history and etiquette. Next to the afternoon lessons we got lessons in throwing knifes and how to use the bow. Then Dinner time. After that we had lessons in common hand to hand combat. This went on day in day out. Master took no day off and neither did we. No matter what the weather was or in which condition we were the training kept on. In the beginning we fought mostly with canes, at the age of six the canes got replaced by blunt swords, at the age of seven we trained with sharp ones. Injuries were normal and master taught us how to handle them, how to avoid being taken out by pure pain. We were told never to give in to agony.
Also the agenda slightly changed at this time. We learned how to disguise ourselves, how to hide in the shadows, and how to take out a person twice the strength we had. Finally at the age of eight, it was winter and the snow was about knee height, master commanded us to get to the training ground outside the Dojo naked and only the long sword in hand.
For the indoctrinated pupils we were, we followed the command within the blink of an eye. The cold was something we already knew and our bodies pretty much got used to it. Then our master appeared. He was wearing black silk clothing and held a few silk ribbons in his hand. "I have taught you for four years by now. And this is the day the gods will choose who of you will be my apprentice furthermore. There are nine graves ready and the nine of them will be filled today. Only one will survive, only one will have what it takes!" He commanded us to lower our heads. We did and he blindfolded us with those ribbons he held. Then he placed us at different locations on the former training and now soon to come battleground.

"Only one can survive, and now I command each and every one of you to do everything necessary to be that one! I want you to fight your first combat!"

I was afraid like never in my further life. I saw nothing and there were nine other kids with equal abilities trying to kill me for their own sake. I tried to relay on my senses, hoping this will give me an indication where to find my former comrades. But the snow diffused all noise so I had to guess where to strike. Then I was hit in the back. Poor strike, not much force, but the pain was enough to make my fear become pure rage. Like my master said afterwards I became an instant nemesis for all others on the battleground by letting my dark sides go. I blocked sliced and kicked the others only desperate to save my life. I didn't even stop by the time I was the last boy standing, not knowing I was the surviving one. Out of nothing the master's voice came: "Down with the sword, you got what it takes!"
For I was used to follow the commands given by his voice I dropped my sword. "Unfold your eyes!" he commanded. I did and then I saw what I had done. The bodies of my comrades and, yes they were, friends lay shattered and broken on the battlefield. The pure brutality overwhelmed me. The next hours are ripped out of my memory.
Maybe I fell unconscious maybe the mind did not cover what the eyes saw, the next thing I remember was the Master handing me a brand new forged sword with the words: "You got what it takes, so now be my apprentice!"

Yes beloved Sasa this was the first time I was forced to kill. I think my relationship to comrades got lost in this fight. And I think my master wanted this to happen in my soul. For a long time, until these dreams caught me up again I buried this memory deep in my mind. Not to think about it works for anybody but me. The faces of Sasu and Tenchi still haunt me in my dreams.

CHAPTER THREE "This is what I am!"

In the meanwhile some months passed where my master ordered me to clear my mind for the things to come. The feelings disappeared step by step, for I was locking them in the farthest corner of my mind, not to be forced to think about it. So time got by. Someday my master handed me the contract my father once signed.
"You are now no longer a pupil, so you can sign your own contract." He said to me with the first smile on his face in four long years.
"So this is your contract. You will be serving me at my tasks in all the land, and I will provide you the deeper knowledge of my work. You shall speak to nobody about this; you shall never ask the sense of my commandments. I will provide you shelter and protection and you will serve me well. If you are willing to do so, sign this contract with the blood the ten of you have spilled in your battle!"
His friendly voice stunned me and I signed. "So go now and prepare your things for we are leaving this place by sunset tomorrow." Now there was this commanding voice again. "Go to sleep!" And I went. The next day I woke up much earlier than I was used to. With things already packed I did what I was doing for the last four years. I went to the stall and fed the two remaining pigs. At this time my master was calling and I left to meet him.
"How can I be of service to you?" I asked slightly bowing down to show my respect. "Wait here and be ready to leave!" Spoken this he turned around and fetched some of his petrol cans out of the stall. Right after this he took some cotton strips into the filling hole, lit them and threw them onto the roves of the houses. Immediately they cached fire. I seemed to have a question so he told me before I was even able to speak: "We are not coming back, we have got no past, and from now on we are serving again. You for the first time, me for another period! Every time you leave a hiding spot even such good one like this was, burn everything behind you, so you can be sure nobody can track your steps by looking at your remains!"
His eyes became rubies in the light of the fire. "Understood?" he asked. "Yes, master!" I replied. And so we left.

On the march to a destination unknown he told me to watch our surrounding closely. At night when we were resting he often asked me for a certain detail he found on the way. I has to recall it and name it then. Also we trained on the way. He used to attack me out of nothing and I had to defend myself. This he told me was to keep me alerted and in good training for our work. Some afternoons we rested earlier then before and he gave me some lessons in disguising. I had to learn to play the flute, and when he was playing I had to learn how to dance. "This is your disguise, as long as you are so small. Nobody expects you to be dangerous at all if you are dancing and fluting for money."
Like you know Sasa I play the flute rather well, this was the origin. He fed my mind with everything he thought was necessary. After some time we arrived at a city. "Now we are in the first place to work, look and listen closely and fit in the picture I am giving!" Our work is all about the things people see in us!" It was a pretty dirty work though. After having trained this long to fight and survive, our work was waiting in the first place. Sometimes we just spotted people in order to tell other people, sometimes we just waited for another job. My age of nearly nine summers helped us a lot to get into some places more easily.
An old man and a preteen seemed to be no danger in any way. Way of target! My master liked to play the drunken old man or the old storyteller in order to get into reach of people.  When we were not waiting our jobs could be, well fast executed to be frank. We went in, got to our victim under disguise then waited for a good moment and we struck within seconds followed by fast leaving the place undetected. If this worked well we were able to stay at the same place and eventually do another job or two. If not we had to fight our way out and leave the city immediately. But the ability of common people to remember is short and we had just to think of a new mask, to avoid being chased too long.
In that old days information was not sent around the world within seconds. I knew there was something I liked about the middle ages! Some things were indeed easier these days.
But I am getting off course. I was getting better and better with every job we did. And we did many jobs. Assassination, robbery, spotting and scouting, hijacking and most common stealing. Well I improved in many skills mother would have beaten me for. But who to blame? Me? My master? Father? Well I blamed nobody, this was the life I knew and I became what my master wanted me to become.  This went well for a long time and I became quite familiar with my master. Why not? He was the only one I had a relationship to and I wanted to relate to somebody. Though I knew he forced me to kill my mates once, I stuck closely to him. But it went on like any story of a villain. We became more and more famous. The last thing you want is to get your face noticed in public.
First our employers did not want to interact with us anymore, then we got chased one time right after coming to town. So one day in the woods my master said: "I got to dismiss you. For your face is no longer appropriate to my duty I want you to be gone at sunset! Our journey has come to an end. Take this money and find out who you truly are!"
And with no further undo he rolled to the side and slept away.

I was mad like hell. After everything we had gone through after all this jobs and all the hunting and chasing and standing in for him, he dismisses me like this? Why? This Bastard and his training, his abuse of my childhood. Everything came to the surface now within a few moments. I was 14 at this time and my muscles were hard and though I was mad as hell I got unknown strength. I jumped onto the guts of my master, chocked him and yelled with all the fury I was capable of: "I know who I am! I know where to be! I know what you made out of me! And now you will regret it!" With this said I smiled evil at him and sliced his throat with my knife. "No more killing for you, no more kids in disguise!" I stabbed the knife through his neck, grabbed the money and left the scenery without looking back.
This one is the first part of the commission for :iconstaineddragon:!

Its relatively long for a Yaoi story and relatively short for a novel, but hey thats called artists impression, right? Some parts are quite open just to use them lateron in some short story maybe.

It features Kenji a vampire chara of :iconstaineddragon: and it is all about his childhood and how he started to become the person he became.

Enjoy it!


Despite of the person dedicated NO one has the permission to use, duplicate or change anything on this story. I hold every copyright, only shared with :iconstaineddragon:
© 2011 - 2024 LordVallon
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Syrrhaal's avatar
I surely enjoyed what you got here up of Kenji. I know the character and knew his story from Alex already and you surely gave a good touch to it adding details and emotional background behind it.

I enjoy your style it makes it like a tale the reader can follow and imagine giving enough space for them to imagine the moments. I especially enjoyed the way you made it variant and used many different words to give more aspect to one feeling without make it sound repeating and that way "boring". Also well put together the reader easily can follow the thoughts behind the acts and can feel together with the character and see part of his development well!

If you seek for critique I only could mention one thing for it.
I little bit missing the persona behind the story. It is well written and you got details and emotional reactions well behind the scene but it feels like a story being told by a storyteller more than Kenji himself.
A bit miss this persona behind the words. It is greatly written and well captured but often I can't really feel that Kenji tells this story it gives a feeling like he would read it from a book certain parts to fill out the holes. I think giving personality behind a writing is rather hard.

I could suggest you to read a bit Terry Pratchett's discworld and Neil Gaiman books because these two writers the ones I value as they can personalize their books and suit it the way their characters seeing it and give lots of hint to the persons who reading it of the personality and style.
Discworld is a funny easy way written story and currently they making movies of it and Neil Gaiman already got movies of his books such as Stardust, Coraline and an early made 5 episode long Neverwhere but some news says they might redo it as one whole movie too. Don't have to read all enough few pages to get the taste of their way personalizing their stories to make them fele like the character behind thinking it/telling it. )



ps: I could show you a story my partner wrote to me of my character. Nothing erotic in it more like a cult got over the demon forcing him to obey and how he breaks out and paying back everything.
He could get the character well and the style made me feel that it is actually Syrr telling the story the way he would use the words and see the whole even if it was told in third person view. I value how my partner writes but he not writes often but it maybe could give a bit sight what I am trying to tell with my odd use of English language.