The Wandering Hero:The Wings of Deceit

Chapter 53- Akio Hayato

I heard the elevator leave when I walked out into the hallway. I was thankful that the elevator had left me. I didn't want anyone to try and help in me. It was my fight and my fight alone. I didn't want anyone to help me. I remembered the death of my brother clearly. It was late one night and we had our usual argument. The argument for him to leave the triad before he got himself killed or before they killed him. Once again my words fell on deaf ears. It was until later that night when one of his friends in the triad blamed him for something he didn't do. He tried to tell them that he wasn't the one who did it. But they didn't listen. My brother did his best to defend himself but it was useless. Rumor had it that the triad still used the old trial by combat system used in feudal japan. Meaning that my brother was given the chance to leave with his life if he was able to defeat their executioner. My brother did his best but was ultimately defeated. I found all of that out from one of his friends who later told me what had transpired a few weeks after they delivered my brothers severed head to my doorstep. Needless to say the man I never saw the man deemed the executioner but my brother's friend described him in great detail. It was thanks to him that I was able to identify the man before me. "You're the one they call the executioner aren't you?" I asked him. He simply nodded in response. "Do you remember killing someone by the name of Ken Hayato?"

"He must have been your brother then. My master told me that I would be able to crush the brother of the traitor. There have been many traitors in recent weeks but I remember your brother well. When faced against me, many simple give up their life to me without even trying to fight back. But not your brother. He fought with all he had. Had it been up to me I would have spared him."

"But you didn't. You slaughtered him in cold blood."

"It was either kill him or be killed myself. That is the way of the triad. If I had spared him they would've tortured him to death. An honorable death instead of an honorable one. You should be thankful that your brother did not suffer before his death."

"It doesn't matter anymore. He's dead and you're still alive. Something that I plan to fix." I said. There was a katana on the nearby wall. I grabbed it and readied myself for battle.

"Very well. Let us begin" said the executioner. He too grabbed a katana off the wall and swung it at me. I parried his blow and made a swing of my own. He parried my blow just as easily as you would parry the strike of a small child. We exchanged a few more blows and it became apparent that he was the better swordsman out of the two of us. He managed to cut me in several places while I barely made a single scratch on him. The longer we fought the greater the gap between our skills grew. He was used to using a variety of weapons while I did not. If I was to win I would have to be smarter than he was. I began to take a good look around my surroundings. I didn't notice when I first approached him that we were in a circular room. Torches were lined around the room giving it light. It was then that an idea came to me. An idea that just might create the chance I needed to kill the man who killed my brother. I parried another one of his strikes and headed towards the wall. I could hear the executioner right behind me. I smiled to myself and prayed that my plan would work. I grabbed a torch off the wall and swung it at the executioner. He backed away from the torch and blocked my strike soon after. I treated the torch as a sword and used it to attack the executioner with both the katana and the torch. I started to push him back but my plan was far from over. He soon was able to sense the rhythm of my attacks like I knew he would. I then threw both the katana and the torch into the air. For a brief second he watched as both flew into the air. In that brief moment I had charged him with my family heirloom. Using the hilt I hit him in the stomach forcing him to bend over. I dropped my heirloom and grabbed his head bringing my knee up to his face. I could feel the nose breaking from the contact. He stumbled back from me in an attempt to put some distance between us. I grabbed him by the leg and in one fluid motion broke it at the knee. He dropped his katana at this point he had to use his hands to support himself. I picked up his katana off the ground and was ready to deliver the final blow when he did something that made me hesitate. He smiled.

"Do it. Put an end to this life of mine. I have no reason to continue on with this life. Kill me and take your vengeance on me for taking your dear brother away from you. I have long since waited for the day that I would die for cause known as vengeance."

"What about your family? You do have a family don't you?" I asked.

"My wife and child left me long ago. Called me a monster. But I had no choice. If I didn't follow my master's orders the he would have killed me with his own hands. I'm not even sure where they are now. You remind me of my wife. She had the same eyes as you do. So pure so honest. How I miss my dearest Sakura Muto. She was the love of my life. Her and little Aki. I can only hope that they are safe and happy wherever they are." I dropped the sword in my hand, my entire body shaking.

"I will not arrest you. However, you will pay for your crimes and for those you have murdered. You will pay for your crimes in the legal system."

"Your mercy knows no bounds. I must thank you. May I have the name of the man who bested me in combat?"

"My name is Akio Hayato." I said. I walked over to the elevator tears in my eyes. The executioner began to say something. Something that I couldn't hear over the elevator door closing. Tears streaming down my face as I struggled with the fact that I almost killed my father.