Streets, Rogues, and Underworlds

Chapter 2

The first time I've ever held a katana in my hand was when I had first arrived in the Fujisato main house. I was born in Kyoto, the domicile of the Fujisaki Branch. Life was serene and happy until Yoshino-sama had decided to step into our front door and took me way.

I wasn't in the age to develop any ability in summoning yet but most of the children in the clan had already started training. Some of them had already begun by the ages of four to five, younger than I was then who had already turned six years old. This was to prepare them for when they finally come to age around ten to fourteen, when the ability to summon starts surfacing.

Yoshino-sama had taken me to a training room when he had placed a katana in my hand. Obviously it was too heavy for me to even hold on to then.

"Heavy, isn't it?" He had asked. I still remember how gentle he had sounded then. It was when he still had hope in me, thinking I would make a great protege. Oh how wrong he had been.

I nodded unable to bear the weight of the weapon but I had sized myself up. I was a young child who would do anything to impress the head of the clan. Yoshino-sama laughed.

"You won't be using it now but you'll wield this katana someday," He kneeled in front of me as he ran his hand on the sheath of the sword. He nodded at me urging to follow in his example. The sheath was cold and smooth. I ran my hand on the intricate designs of a sakura branch engraved beautifully on its surface, the blacksmith was truly an artist.

"Do you know why I'm fond of katanas?" Yoshino-sama asked.

I looked up at him. "Why?" I asked but I could still feel myself transfixed to the weapon at hand.

"It's a beautiful weapon. Elegant, graceful, robust. But yet with only a single swift of the hand: deathly. It enables it's wielder to kill just about anyone."

I never forget what he had said to me that day. He took the katana from my hand as he placed the sword back on its stand. That day, the young Atsuko, the young me, had vowed to do anything to wield a katana, to be as ferocious as the weapon she would wield.

The night is cold as I step out into the roof. I keep my footing as sure as possible, fearing I might slip on the ice and snow. A fall from this height to the ground below would surely breaks some bones, and the whole household will discover what I have been doing at night.

My katana is securely strapped behind my back alongside my pack as I creep through the roof, making sure I blend in among the shadows so the guards below wouldn't spot me.

The gardens look quiet and peaceful at night time. The only sound to be heard are the bamboo fountains moving up and down as the koi fish swim silently in the pond. A tree grows near the walls of the house and its branches have grown so large that one of them is long enough that I could reach it from the edge of the roof.

I check my surroundings making sure that no one is on the terrace below before I jump and land silently on the branch. It's all easy afterwards, as long as I'm quiet. The thick leaves around me give me cover and I slip quietly to the top wall before I jump and land on the other side. I'm out of the house and I make my way. I slip a black scarf on to cover the bottom half of my face, leaving only my eyes visible.

The Fujisato clan lives in a large, traditional japanese-style manor on the outskirts of Tokyo city. I make my way to a house nearby where a motorbike is parked right inside a storage building behind their house. I know the boy who owns it, we were friends in high school and I occasionally borrow his motorcycle for my joyrides to the city as long as I return it in one piece in the morning.

Tokyo truly never sleeps at night. It takes me almost an hour before I arrive to the busy metropolis. As I enter into the center of the city I'm immediately greeted with numerous neon lights and giant panels displaying the latest pop icons. I pay no attention to it as I make my way to Akihabara District. Akihibara had always been known to be one of the largest shopping districts in Tokyo. It used to host the post-world war black market after World War II which most people consider to had long disappear now.