The Hand of Death

"Do you want to keep the fan?" I asked hopefully. In Giapan the custom is to offer a gift

three times in order to prove you want the person to have it. I thought that custom was stupid and

she knew it.

"No, it was bought with your money. You should have it."

"But I bought it for you. I just did not know how to give it to you." I said.

"No. No, the pain of my son lying to me every day of his life for the last two years is

just too great," She said.

I made a face. "Well maybe this will help soften the blow."

She beamed suddenly. "Alright then."

She flipped the fan open and admired it for several moments before flipping it closed and

setting it aside. She began pulling things out of the box and examining them. She set these in a

small neat pile; my knife, the pair of small komainu lion dog statues and a little Buddha statue I

had purchased. Then she stopped to look at the bottom of the box. In the last two years I had

managed to amass a little over 3 Kaiki in silver and copper coins. A Kaiki is a gold coin

equivalent to 10 silver Genbo. She sifted through these for a few moments and looked up at me and cocked her head to the side.

"Well. I guess I do not have to worry about feeding you for a while."

I really didn't know what to say to that. After a little while she started putting things back in my box and had me put it away. After I had finished she said, "I really do not know what to think about all of this Hiro. Your father will be home in a few days so the decision will have to be his."

This frightened me. I had only met my father a few times in my short life. I honestly

didn't know the man, or what he would think was honorable. I bowed to her and left.

I continued my training during the short time I had before his arrival. But now, I would

tell my mother where I was going. I don't know what she thought but she never tried to stop me.

When my father came home she called me in and sat me down on the cushion between them at the dinner table. She told him what I had done, including my deception to her and the Yamabushi monk, and of course the treasure in my room. I sat there trying not to tremble. My father, a large man, eyed me skeptically. My father was a well-known and well-loved man in our city. I had even heard the heimin and hinin speaking of him on occasion. He was known to be a pleasure to be around when he was happy and a nightmare when he was mad. I - was - terrified of him. When he rose he told me to follow. I did. We walked through the castle for what seemed a long time. Eventually we came to what looked like a Dojo. My father told me to stand in the middle of the room. He went to the far wall and grabbed a bo staff from it.

"Can you use this?"

"Yes, Father." I caught the staff when he threw it.

"Show me."

I went through the kata brother Yuri had taught me. Spun it in my left hand and brought it

behind my back still spinning it to my right hand. Going through the strikes and blocks, the kata

took several moments to complete. When I finished, my father gave me two tonfa sticks. I took a

quick breath and spun them in my hands, going into the strikes immediately. Finally coming to the blocks and finishing again. Then the triple pronged sai and its kata. I was becoming tired. Then nunchaku. I bounced the right one off the side of my head but kept on with the kata. We were there a very long time. I hadn't noticed that a crowd had gathered behind me near the doorway, samurai mostly. They all quietly watched. After he made me go through the entire kata of Kara-Te, he gave me a knife and pointed at the wooden man on the wall.

"Chest!" He said.

I threw the dagger ten feet to the target. Its tip sunk into the circle representing the man's heart. That's when I realized we had a large audience. They began to cheer and applaud. Father's expression never changed. He handed me another knife as they quieted.

"Head!"

I threw again burying it between the target's eyes. Again the crowd exploded in excitement. I wanted to smile but was too afraid of what my father might think. He handed me the third knife.

"Groin!"

I flipped the knife in the air from my right hand to my left, catching it and throwing in one motion. It spun beautifully through the air and buried itself in the dummy's groin. The noise from the crowd was incredible! All of them were complementing Father and talking in amazement amongst themselves. I was very still as my father looked down at me with a stern expression on his face.

"Hiro, you are a son any father would be proud of."

I was so happy I almost cried as my father picked me up and carried me to his friends. They congratulated my father and I, saying how great I was and how fortunate Father was to have such a skilled son.

I was seven.