THE ETERNAL SWORDSMAN
Chapter 11: One of Shadows PART 2
The battlefield was silent.
What remained of the Hitorika headquarters lay in ruin: blackened walls, charred stone, the smell of iron and ash hanging heavy in the night air. Fires flickered in the wreckage, but even those seemed muted, subdued, as though unwilling to disturb the weight of the moment.
Juzou knelt beside Headmaster Hiyori's lifeless body. His hands trembled, not from pain but from something far more unbearable. His mentor's robes were torn, blood staining the fabric that had once commanded respect from every swordsman who saw it. The headmaster's straw hat his ever-present companion lay nearby, scorched, its brim split in two.
The man who had lifted him out of despair… lay dead.
Juzou's eyes darkened, drifting as if into a void. And within that void, the memories clawed their way back.
From the moment he was born, Juzou carried karma within him. Unlike other children whose energy remained dormant until awakening, his flow was active from his first breath. But his was not the balanced current of fate it was negative, corrosive, a poison that bled into everything.
Each time his parents tried to cradle him, he cried. Not the cry of hunger or fear, but a defense mechanism, his aura pushing them away. They never understood why, but unknowingly, his rejection shielded them. If they had gotten too close, the flow of negative karma around him could have opened a rift, calling forth a Hollowkind.
He grew into a strange child quiet, withdrawn, marked by unseen currents that warped the air around him. The other children avoided him. He avoided them in return. The silence became his companion, the weight of his own aura his prison.
But a few weeks before he joined the Hitorika Swordsmen, his emotions snapped.
The house trembled with the pulse of his fury. A rift tore open, spilling shadow into their home. From it came a Hollowkind, grotesque and shrieking, its claws dripping with void energy.
Before he could react, it struck.
His parents' screams were cut short, their bodies broken in an instant. The creature devoured their warmth, then retreated into the rift as suddenly as it had appeared, leaving only blood and silence behind.
Juzou did not weep. He did not move. He simply stepped outside and leaned against the wall of the house, staring at nothing.
He remained there for two weeks.
No food. No water. Not even rest. He did not close his eyes. His body rotted, maggots burrowed into his flesh, yet his karma kept him alive, knitting wounds, keeping his shell animated. But his soul was dead.
All he wanted was for life to end.
On the fifteenth day, a shadow fell across him.
A man stood there, the rain drops on his straw hat, his expression one of compassion rather than judgment. He saw not a cursed child, not a hollow husk, but a boy who had been left to die by the cruelty of fate.
Headmaster Hiyori.
Juzou did not lift his head, did not even flinch as the man approached. He was numb, blind to the world.
And then Hiyori spoke.
"I got you."
The words pierced him like a sword through stone. His eyes widened, breath hitching in his throat. As if for the first time in years, he heard a voice that carried warmth. For the first time, he felt… seen.
Hiyori reached out his hand, steady and unshaken. His lips curved into the faintest smile, one born of understanding.
That was the day Juzou felt alive again.
And now, that hand his salvation was gone.
"Juzou."
The voice snapped him back.
Master Kanyko stood beside him, battered and bloodied from the war, but upright, unbroken. His hand fell heavy yet reassuring on Juzou's shoulder.
"Don't worry, Juzou…" Kanyko said, his voice rough, but carrying strength. "We may have lost many, but we won the war. That's what Headmaster wanted. And… you got this ok."
Juzou's breath trembled, his chest tightening.
Kanyko leaned closer, his voice lower, almost like a father's whisper. "Only you can change your situation. Remember this it's okay to think about yourself. It's okay to be weak. To be selfish. To be human."
For once in his life, Juzou broke.
The tears came not for his parents, not for the childhood he had lost, but for the corpse of the only man who had ever loved him. His sobs shook against the silence, the firelight catching his tears like shattered glass.
The New Headmaster
Far away, Ukoten stood alone among the ruins. His long black hair swayed in the night breeze, blue flames curling lazily around him. His face was unreadable, his eyes veiled in shadow.
Not a single scratch marred him.
He spoke softly, almost to himself.
"Your sacrifices will not be in vain."
Two Months Later
The songs of victory echoed across the land. The frontline Hitorika Swordsmen were praised as heroes. But Juzou was no hero.
He trained until his body failed, only for karma to drag him back to life. His nights were haunted by whispers from the Raiken. His days bled into one another, his mind slipping deeper into madness. He ate little, slept less. He was living but barely.
One evening, a messenger found him.
"Speak," Juzou ordered sharply, his voice cutting like broken steel.
The swordsman bowed nervously. "Member Juzou Sasesage, I regret to inform you that you are no longer the PA of Division Four. Direct orders from new Headmaster Ukoten Senju."
The world tilted.
Juzou's expression twisted, veins bulging in his neck. His teeth ground as his aura darkened.
"Ukoten… that scum…" His voice rose into a scream. "UKOTENNN!"
He stormed the central hall, eyes bloodshot, his katana clutched in his fist.
"Senju!" he roared, his voice shaking the walls.
Ukoten was already waiting, as if expecting him. His posture was calm, arms folded behind his back.
Juzou lunged, his katana flashing toward Ukoten's throat.
Ukoten did not even draw. He caught the blade with his bare hand. Sparks screamed against his skin, yet not a mark appeared.
He knocked the weapon aside effortlessly.
"I knew this would happen," Ukoten said, his tone maddeningly calm.
Juzou's eyes widened. "He stopped my blade with his bare hand… without even coating in karma."
"DAMN YOU, UKOTEN!" Juzou screamed, unleashing his Raiken . Negative karma poured forth, grotesque Hollowkind arms and mouths spilling into the hall. They screeched, rushing to tear Ukoten apart.
In an instant, they were gone sliced into nothing. Ukoten had not moved.
"Betrayal," Ukoten whispered, finally drawing his blade. "I'll make this quick. You are an enemy."
His slash came, faster than lightning.
But it did not reach Juzou.
A yellow-and-black katana intercepted it, the clash shaking the hall with a thunderous crack.
Master Kanyko.
His face twisted with strain, his blade trembling as Ukoten's royal-blue-and-black sword pressed against it.
"Forgive me, Headmaster," Kanyko said, bowing his head even as he held his ground. "Forgive me for raising my blade against yours."
Juzou stared, stunned. "When did Ukoten move? When did Kanyko arrive?" He had seen nothing only the result.
Ukoten tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowing. "Be careful, Kanyko."
The floor around them cracked under the weight of their aura.
Then Kanyko's blade split in two, severed cleanly. Even he gasped in shock.
Golden karma flowed from his hands, mending the weapon, perfectly. He stepped back, lowering his sword.
"I cannot fight you," he admitted, bowing to one knee. "I hold too much respect for you, sir. But I beg you grant me time. Let me try to reach him."
Ukoten's gaze lingered. Then, finally, he nodded. "Fine. Do as you will. But understand this: Juzou is consumed by negative karma. If he goes too far… you must do the needful."
The words left Juzou speechless.
Later that night, Kanyko wandered the halls, troubled. His steps echoed as he muttered under his breath.
"I must speak with Juzou. He cannot be left like this…"
But before he could seek him, a shout tore through the air.
"Division Four Member Juzou Sasesage has left the headquarters!"
Murmurs erupted across the Hitorika halls. Shock. Confusion. Fear.
"Left? Alone?"
"After everything?"
"Why?"
Kanyko stopped in his tracks, his chest heavy. "Juzou… why?"
Elsewhere, Ukoten simply closed his eyes. "I knew this would happen."
Far from the Hitorika halls, Juzou walked the streets of Tokyo. His Hitorika uniform was gone, replaced by a ragged black coat and an ugly, dull-colored scarf wrapped around his neck. His hair fell in shadows across his eyes, his aura hidden but simmering beneath.
"Those who hold the most power…" he muttered, his fists clenched. "They're the real scum."
His teeth ground. His voice broke into a snarl.
"I hate you… Ukoten."
Back in the halls, Ukoten's voice echoed in memory.
"Kanyko. If Juzou goes too far… you will have to kill him."
Present.
Tokyo, Setagaya ward
Juzou stood cloaked in shadow, with his Ryomen tetsu ankraii, purple karma writhing around it.
Before him stood Hayate Senju, Hiruko Kyotetsu, and Master Hatake.
Hiruko's Moon blade gleamed faintly, his eyes hard. " come now old man I want all the smoke "
Hatake's silence was the sharpest of all his stance steady, blade ready.
Juzou raised his sword, voice heavy, unshakable. Ready to continue
And with that, the clash continue
TO BE CONTINUED…