112 5.1 A New Leap, A New Era, A New Dimension, A New Adventure Awaits (2/2)

”Haizz... I think you're right, Hiko-sama. At least, this kid would be a servant for the household. Nothing more, but at least he could still survive until his ripe age.”

”I see potential in him, Miroku-san. If he is able to survive the ordeal that the whole village had gone through, there must be a miracle that kept this kid alive. Let's report that there are no survivors in the village that had been pillaged. The rest of you hear me, there are no survivors in the village and no one had seen me with this child, do you understand me? ”

”Yes, we all hear you, Hiko-sama.” chorused the men in the ponies as well as the rest of the Samurai on foot.

Later I learnt that the village was earlier pillaged by bandits due to the worsening weather, and the bandits had to survive somehow and had been targeting the small village for some time.

Since it was not armed with any soldiers, it took some time before it was totally overrun. The men of the villages were killed, and the women were carried off by the bandits by a wagon, bound and gagged.

The children were either killed off or simply left to die in the freezing weather. I was the only one that survived after being left half submerged in the snow of a half-burnt house that once belonged to a person named Himeko. Don't you find it a bit cruel?!

Later I learnt that I was an adopted son of Himeko, a childless spinster who had been living all her life here in this village and worked as a tailor to serve the community. Her only means of livelihood had been destroyed in a glimpse of a second the moment the village had been pillaged.

All her precious bundles of cloth and embroideries had been taken away and Himeko's fate was sealed from the day she was gagged and bundled in the wagon with the rest of the women. Only God knows what happens to Himeko since Mr Director doesn't indicate any further episodes about her at all.

By the way, Mr Director, would you be so kind as to put a few gold coins or a bundle of silvers with me next time so at least I have a proper start in this new series? I've truly got nothing now and it's really pathetic, you know!

The group of Samurai on both foot and ponies soon trudged on slowly on the winding path and reached a small clearing some 3 hours later. We stopped and the burly man named Hiko-sama scooped me and dropped me on my feet. There was a flowing stream nearby and soon the group of Samurai made camp.

One of them made a small fire soon to warm ourselves as dusk was approaching soon. The ponies were tied up together and were fed with some hay that was carried on its back. I counted a total of 5 Samurai warriors in the group and I asked them what I could do to help and I was handed a small axe to help chop some deadwood and branches to keep the fire roaring through the night.

I went off a short distance away and chopped at some deadwood from some trunks that had toppled to the ground. I chopped away and cleared the small twigs from the trunk. After I had made a pile of twigs, smaller branches and trunks in 3 separate groups, I took 2 pieces of twine and tied both ends of it to 2 pieces of stick. I then laid the two sticks that had been tied to the twine and dumped the twigs and small branches on it. I took the two sticks and bundled the wood together like as if I'm carrying a shopping bag.

”You see, this kid got potential. He got brains by the way he carried those wood to us instead of carrying them bit by bit in his arms. Hey kid, come here after you're done. Tell me about yourself!”

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The burly man, named Hiko-sama called me over once I had carried the wood over to the fireplace. I went to him and bowed slightly.

”Hiko-sama, thank you for rescuing me from that village. I am called Himura Kenshin and I do not have a recollection of my living parents or any other siblings at all. I am an adopted son of Himeko-sama, a childless spinster whose main livelihood was tailoring and embroidery and I had been living with her since I was three years old.”

”Himaru-kun, how old are you and which year are you born? You don't seem to be quite shabby in terms of your kimono you are in.”

”Hiko-sama, as far as I recalled, I was born on June 20th, 1849 and I am 11 years old now. I was also self-taught at home by my mother, in Hiragana and Kanji and was instilled with some herbal medicinal knowledge by an elderly woman called Kaede-sama from that village.”

”So you were able to make some medicinal herb pastes and pills as and when needed? Very good for you to have that kind of understanding, Himaru-kun.”

”Thank you Hiko-sama, I was also taught the basics of forging and blacksmithing as well and able to forge simple tools and repair weapons if need be. But it was a simple knowledge and the work over the furnace was hard.”

”Oh.....thats very good to hear Himaru-kun. You at this young age is able to perform basic blacksmithing and forging, so you were able to forge from pig irons or from raw ore?”

”Hiko-sama, I am able to identify the ores and I had ever mixed those ores to become iron, steel and copper ingots. I also learnt the art of smelting so it's much faster to forge weapons or tools if the smelted iron or steel was poured into the mould.”

”Haa...! Haa...! Haa...! You heard that guy! This boy is a gem in the rough... He would be valuable in our little village and would fit multiple roles in his life later on. So tell me, Himaru-kun, what would you like to do 5 years down the road?”

”I would like to be a level 5 blacksmith, a renowned pill maker, a great alchemist, a superb wizard, a wise mage, an invincible andgreat swordsman and I'd like to earn a gold coin every hour, every day!”

Damn...! Am I asking too much in this series? Back to reality... Sigh...!

”I would like to seek redemption for the ones who perished in my village and seek justice in the path of a Samurai... Hhhhuuaarrgghhh....!”

I hollered at the end of the sentence to make it sound serious enough and flexing my muscles in a kind of Hulk Hogan pose.

”Haa...! Haa...! Haa...! You are full of ambition, young boy... But I like the way you think and the experiences that you got. How come you mention about being a wizard and a mage... Do you dabble with runes and incantations of some sort?”

”I won't be able to show you just yet, Hiko-sama. It would be a spoiler too early in this series and people who read this would already know the plot of the story in the next few 10 chapters or so.”

”Hmm, that's right...” as Hiko-sama rubbed his shin when he thought about it. Oh yeah, I forgot to add something, at this moment, nine if the Samurai had removed their helmets and mask yet as they gathered around to listen to my story.

”By the way, we would be travelling for another day after the break of dawn before we reach our village. I am sure you would be of use over there and get accustomed to the culture there quick, you understand, Himaru-kun?”

I nodded in acknowledgement and excused myself to carry on with my collection of the chopped trunks. I bowed slightly to Hiko-sama and was wondering do these people never take off their helmets and face masks when eating or drinking? Or somehow use a straw to suck on their food and drinks through the tiny gaps in place of their masks?

I wonder what Mr. Director was up to in making the lives of the Samurai difficult.