"I don't understand why you insist on returning to a life that doesn't distinguish you from others. If we proposed eternal life to everyone around, they would accept it immediately, except for a foolish boy like you. Thanks to these snakes, I have lived a full 800 years."
"What!!! Did you say 800 years? I marvel at how you managed to live all these years, sharing this world with so many fools. To me, this immortality is a curse, not a gift. I envy everyone I cut down with my sword, ending their unfulfilled dreams, if they exist at all. At least they can find peace from pursuing them. I can't imagine living for so many years."
"Truly, it's an astonishing thing. So many people die in this world with dreams left unrealized. No one can live without purpose, my boy. Isn't it time to reveal your purpose and what you strive for?"
I seek the path of the sword, to become the greatest swordsman, to have my own crew, to fight against the strongest armies, to live the adventure of achieving this and to duel anyone who stands in my way. I want to achieve this as a person without the curse of immortality. I am excited about it... With this curse of immortality, that path becomes easier and dull.
"Ha ha ha, then all you have to do is catch the signal when your time comes, my boy. No one will tell you."
"Stop throwing yourself on my back, sister. I'm in the middle of discussing something important..."
"Ugh, oh, ha, eeeh."
What are those noises you're making in my ear? You've filled my ear with your drool. Go on, you can go play with the neighborhood kids.
"I have a secret! I found a big piece of onigiri (rice ball) by the side of the road. Do you want it with some tea?" She held up her hand to show what she was carrying.
"Sister, you're making me angry. That's not onigiri; that's horse manure. Now get up and wash your hands!" I grabbed her wrist and made her throw it away...
Ugh, you've made me gag from the stench of your filthy hands.
"What are you doing!!! Not in that damned drink! That's a sake barrel."
"Listen, you old witch, my sister may seem like a child in her appearance and behavior, but she is already twenty years old, just like me. I often wonder why this is the case—I'm cursed with immortality, and she's without reason."
"One, two, three, shhhhak!" The sound of water splashing.
I was going to do what I thought the best samurai would do to atone for his mistakes: stab myself in the stomach and die with the honor of a swordsman. But life is damned strange, isn't it, old woman?
"And you thought that wouldn't help? Ha ha, ha!"
Mmm, delicious! You make onigiri quite well, you damned old hag. You're older than the devil himself, yet you fear death, don't you? Where do you get the energy to live forever! Eight hundred years—you're older than some countries in the world...
"I am a witch, boy. I cannot die until I protect the souls of everyone, those poor wretches like you who make mistakes."
Oh! Now I'm starting to lose my mind. Who the hell asked for protection? Who asked for that?
"The first time my gaze fell upon you, my boy, your eyes were pleading for salvation."
________________________________________
In an old dilapidated horse cart, I make my home with my sister. I don't care about owning a place, nor do I strive for one. Let me lie down for a bit to catch some rest... but there's no rest for me. I want an effective way to make my brain stop thinking...
What's the point of wailing over the killing of some fools, dear Brando? If you want to be free, you must relinquish your sword. Repentance, my boy, comes at a price... The old hag's words ring discordantly in my ears...
The old woman's foolish thoughts swirl in my mind—repentance, putting down the sword. Who wants that? I'm waiting for the signal you spoke of, you damned witch.
"Knock... knock... knock..." A strong knocking at the cart.
I already said that I'm tired and won't play with you, sister. Let me get some rest.
"Hurry and save her, Brando... there are many of them... they've invaded the market... your sister!" The fragmented words of an old man with a stall in the market.
I rushed alongside the old man to the market, where everyone gathered as if a carnival had come to the village...
My sister was on all fours, picking up the candies thrown at her by a short-haired person with a circular earring, placing his foot on her back... a humiliating sight before all, and everyone was too cowardly to move.
"Well done, you didn't waste any time getting here. My name is Goji, the vice leader of the Kazakura-kai gang."
No one dared to question the damned savage with the wheel in his ear. "Get your foot off my sister and let her go. If you don't continue this nonsense, I'll let you leave with the fools you brought with you."
"You'll let us go? Oh, how kind of you, bald one! We're all so happy; let's all go home. Cheer up, guys, you've been pardoned!"
"Hah, we're not leaving so easily. You killed my brother, and we came here to make a deal. You shouldn't show such baseness and disrespect! Perhaps we should have a little fun with your whore." He grabbed my sister by her hair and forced her to stand.
He caressed her face. "Soft skin, but dirty. She looks beautiful, don't you think?"
"Yo-ho, yah-ho, oh... Brother, brother, who lent you that shirt?" My innocent sister made strange sounds, unaware of what was happening and how dangerous the situation was.
"Here's the deal for you, pal. You'll fight us all here tonight. If you manage to defeat us, we'll free your whore and drop all charges against you."
You have that.
"I've changed my mind; this seems like a bad idea to resolve our differences. Let's try something else?"
Listen to me, you failure! You told me which gang you belong to? It doesn't matter; no one cares. You won't leave this place alive. I've changed my mind too.
"Don't worry about us, we'll dissect your backside... but it seems you don't want to fight. Let's withdraw and take your sister with us. It will be a long night for her."
The scoundrel Goji stuck out his tongue and began to tease my sister, dragging it along her neck as she laughed at the sensation she felt.
"Shut your mouth, you bastard! I said I would fight you unarmed, she's not part of this. Let her go now, you cheap scoundrel!" I couldn't intervene because the man in front of me was a stranger, and I had no idea what he would do if I made a move.
"I'm tired of your nonsense. Are you really the swordsman I've heard about, spouting rubbish again, unarmed! Trying to belittle me? I gathered twenty men just to fight you!"
The scoundrel continued to harass my sister, his hand lingering on her chest.
"Listen, you bastard, get your hands off her! Let's fight; set your terms."
"Damn it, I overestimated this man. I don't want to waste any more time on someone like him. I'll let the girl go."
Everyone present turned their gaze to the path of his hand, including me. He reached for his sheath. "This isn't my fault; I warned you beforehand. I didn't get to have some fun with her." He ordered my sister to come toward me.
He shoved her away and repeated, "Heaven above and the gym below." Slaaaash! (The sound of cutting.)
Yes, he cut my sister with his sword. I couldn't save my innocent sister from a monster like him. She doesn't even know why she lived or why she was killed.
It all happened in a matter of seconds. I ran toward her, tears in my eyes, and threw myself over her. The scoundrel Goji thought he had gotten away with his deed and stabbed me in the back, the sword piercing my body and leaving it lodged inside me.
"I'll see you later, my friend. Are you satisfied with this, you fool? You didn't fight with honor; you chose to throw yourself and chase after your sister in the afterlife."
Ugh... ugh... I coughed violently, blood spilling from my mouth. I stood on my feet; he didn't know I was immortal, and a stab from a pathetic sword like his wouldn't faze me.
With bulging eyes, astonished at the sight of me, he exclaimed, "What the hell are you, some kind of zombie?!"
I stepped toward him with heavy strides, the sword still lodged in my body. I placed both hands on his shoulders and pulled him toward me, as if embracing a dear one. I wrapped my arms around his body until the sword pierced through him...
In the few seconds he had left, conscious before leaving this life, I didn't let him escape unscathed. I took my hammer, the Kabutsushi, and placed it behind his neck. With my other hand, I grabbed his earring and yanked the blade toward me. There it was—his head torn from his body in my hands...
I'll take it with me and adorn the front of the cart where I live.
"My word to you, all the new friends who have come to this place today: I am here to help you catch up with your leader in the other world. When you see him, give him a bouquet of flowers from me."