Hiruma Ameno ooi - Chapter 1

Hiruma Ameno ooi

Chapter 1: “That rainy morning”

Katsu lies beneath the shadow of a tall tree, comfortably asleep as the breezy day makes his dark hair swirl. But the breeze starts to turn chilly, as the clear blue sky above is covered by thick-gray clouds. A few drops of rain wake up Katsu, warning him about the rain about to pour down. Looking up with discourage, Katsu gets up grabbing his bag and looking around for any shelter from the rain. He hadn’t noticed the small red bridge behind a patch of forest, and behind it the tall entrance building to a village. He runs away from the pouring rain crossing the bridge and entering through the tall wooden doors. The building was humid and chilly from the rain, Katsu could even see his own breath in front of him, as he walked forward into the passageway that lead into the village. But instead of entering the main street, he found himself surrounded by moldy-grayish graves. He stood there, his breath still fuming before him, wondering why would a graveyard be at the very entrance of a village. The place answered him as the rain echoed around him, he turned his eyes upon a monument that read: “Here lay the warriors who battled for our village’s peace. May they rest in peace and may visitors around the world know about the heroes of Tottori village”.

Woman's voice: Kenta! Where are you? Kenta!

Katsu turns around from his reading, to look at the young woman standing a few paces from him. She stood for a few moments looking everywhere, apparently flustered and worried. Her colorful clothes were completely soaked, making them opaque. Her bright and pale skin in contrast with her damp brunette hair, made her green eyes gleam. Katsu simply contemplated her in awe, and after a few seconds she turned and disappeared in between the graves; as if it had been an illusion. Katsu remained trapped in that bliss, still getting hit by the chilly rain. He was awakened by a distant cry. Coming out of his trance, he chased after the mournful weeping, deeper into the graveyard; and met a child also drenched in rain, crying desperately.   

Little boy: Mommy… I can’t find my mommy…
Katsu: Hey there little guy, do you want me to help you?
Little boy: I can’t find daddy either… mommy’s gonna be mad…

Katsu kneels down in front of the boy, taking him in his arms, and putting him on his shoulders.

Katsu: I’ll help you find them, but since I don’t know how they look like, you’ll search from up there, okay?   
Little boy: Okay, thank you sir…
Katsu: You don’t have to call me sir. You can call me Katsu. What can I call you?
Little Boy: You can call me Kenta.
Katsu: Alright Kenta, let’s go look for your parents.

Katsu starts to walk through the graves with Kenta sitting on his shoulders, looking all around the humid graveyard. It was empty; apart from a very old lady who couldn’t be anything buy the little boy’s great grandmother. The rain ceased, but a dense mist continued to spread trough the graves, making more difficult the search for anyone. 

Woman's voice: Kenta! Please, I can’t find my son!
Kenta: Mom! That’s my mom!

Katsu recognized the voice from the young woman he had seen before, and her slim figure appeared from the cloud of mist; running towards him and crying at the sight of Kenta in his shoulders. Katsu immediately took Kenta down and into his mother’s arms.

Woman: Oh thank goodness you’re alright Kenta! You should never let go of my hand like that, understand?

The young woman hugs his son tightly into her chest, kissing his forehead and cheeks repeatedly.

Kenta: I’m sorry mom
Woman: You scared me so much… But everything’s alright thanks to this young man.

The woman looked at Katsu with her bright green eyes, and he felt as if he was being mesmerized by them. He couldn’t believe such a beautiful woman could be a mother at such a young age.

Katsu: Oh, I… My name is Katsu Togakuchi. I’m sorry I took your child like that, since they’re not supposed to go with strangers… but he was so desperate looking for his parents, I just wanted to help.
Woman: It’s alright. I’m glad a good person like you found my Kenta. My name’s Yukari Momonari, how can I pay your bothering?
Katsu: No, no, it’s alright. I’m glad to see he’s back with his mother.
Kenta: Thank you Katsu-kun!
Yukari: Thank you so much Togakuchi-san.

The woman smiled warmly at him, and then turned away towards the back of the graveyard with Kenta in her arms, waving his hand at Katsu. The young man waved back, smiling too, climbing up the stairs that led to the village’s entrance. Just before entering the main street, Katsu glances back to the graveyard from the building balcony. Katsu leans on the rail, watching Yukari and Kenta stand in front of a grave in the very back of the graveyard. Katsu watches them for a few moments, until they turn away and start walking towards the entrance stairs. He remains on the rail, as Yukari and Kenta walk pass him into the village.

Yukari: What do you want to do now?
Kenta: I don’t know.
Yukari: Why don’t we go home and make the cookies your dad used to like?
Kenta: Yeah! And then we’ll take some to Kei-kun and Hinata-chan.
Yukari: Sure, let’s go buy the ingredients. I’m short on mint.

Katsu smiles as he sees them walk into the moving market.

Katsu: I better get going, I need someplace to eat and to stay for the night.

He then continues his pace into the village, entering for the first time to Tottori’s main street. As all the villages it was filled with noisy people, animals, bargains, food and different smells. That’s what Katsu enjoyed most of travelling through the country. Still in the midst of vendors and people shopping, Katsu glimpsed a small inn, hidden between many shops. He entered through the narrow guest hall, and into the restaurant. The bartender, quite an old man, greeted him with a smile as he saw him walk in.

Bartender: Good afternoon sir, may I help you?
Katsu: Good afternoon, yes. Do you have any rooms available for tonight?   
Bartender: Of course we do, and as you can see an accessible restaurant too. We’re serving lunch right now, would you like some ramen? It’s on the house, for being our first guest in the month.
Katsu: On the house? Thank you very much. Would you mind adding some sake?
Bartender: It’s our pleasure. A ramen dish and a bottle of sake!

The old bartender ushered a pretty girl into the kitchen, who was eyeing Katsu and giggling at him.

Bartender: So where are you from boy? We don’t get many young visitors as yourself here at Tottori.
Katsu: I’m the traveler who enjoys the experience of being a nomad. 
Bartender: So you keep constantly on the move?
Katsu: I’m not a delinquent or anything. I just don’t feel comfortable in one place, I like to change my atmosphere and my surroundings very often.

The pretty girl served his dish of ramen and his bottle of sake, with a flirty smile upon her face. Katsu smiled back charmingly, and the girl let out a giggle of excitement. But an old lady came out of the kitchen door, looking flustered and angry at the girl.

Cook: Yuki! Come back to the kitchen, now! 

The girl startled and ran back clumsily through the kitchen door. Katsu kept smiling as he started on his ramen dish.

Katsu: This is really good, and the sake too. That’s what I love about travelling, trying different ways of making the same dishes.
Bartender: If you’re looking for something to remember about Tottori village it’s definetly Momonari-san’s pastries.
Katsu: Momonari?
Bartender: Yeah, she makes the best sweets in the whole country. All the kids go crazy whenever she makes a new recipe or when the festivals start. Her showcase is always the most popular. 

The bartender smiled with pride when he spoke, but then his expression changed to sadness.

Katsu: What’s wrong?
Bartender: I was just remembering that the festivals are coming soon. It’s her son’s favorite time in the year. But Momonari-san’s saddest…
Katsu: Why?
Bartender: Her husband died three years ago, in these days, right before the festivals.

Katsu now understood the young mother’s visit with her son to the graveyard. They were visiting his grave.

Katsu: Oh…
Bartender: She has struggled raising that child on her own, and managing such a successful business. You should really pay her a visit and try out her mint cookies. They’re excellent.

The pretty girl peeked again from the kitchen doors, now looking really interested in Katsu’s and the bartender’s conversation.

Yuki: Those mint cookies were Nobu’s favorites.
Cook: Yuki! 

The girl scrammed back inside at the call of the angry old lady, causing Katsu to smile more broadly as he finished his ramen.

Katsu: Was Nobu… her husband?
Bartender: Yes. A really good man; did his best loving Yukari-san. We didn’t like him much when he arrived, being a ninja and all…
Katsu: Ninja? Did you say ninja?
Bartender: Yes, he was a ninja. I guess you don’t know about the great ninja war that occurred here in Tottori?
Katsu: No idea. Please, tell me.
Bartender: Well, our Lord Shifu always tried his best in keeping the village and the surrounding areas in peace. But an argument broke out with the neighboring village over territory. They were trying to invade us, using ninjas. So Lord Shifu hired his own army of ninjas to fight them off. We won and the argument was settled.
Katsu: So you hold those ninjas who fought for you as heroes in the graveyard that’s on the entrance?
Bartender: Yes, we do.
Katsu: And Nobu Momonari was one of them.
Bartender: Yes, but he didn’t die in battle. He fought and he stayed, marring Yukari-san short afterwards.
Katsu: And why didn’t you like him?
Bartender: Because ninjas are… well, let’s say, different from normal people. They are masters in deceiving. And we where afraid that he might hurt Yukari-san. But when we met him, and saw how he treated her, well, we changed our minds about ninjas.
Katsu:  If he didn’t die in battle, how did he die?
Bartender: Heart disease three years ago. Very unfortunate.
Katsu: Very ironic for a ninja to die that way. 
Bartender: Yes, I guess so.
Katsu: Thank you so much for the food.
Bartender: No problem. Would you like to check into your room now… excuse me, what’s your name?
Katsu: Oh, my name is Katsu Togakuchi.
Bartender: My name is Ozuma Hattori. Pleasure to serve you Togakuchi-san.

Katsu was taken to the second floor of the inn into the guest rooms. He spent the rest of the day napping, and only got down for dinner. Next morning he got up early, ate his breakfast and continued his tour around the village’s streets. The morning was really foggy and chilly as he continued going deeper into the village, the shops didn’t start opening for a couple of hours, so everything was deserted. He found an enormous tree at what looked as the center of the village, and a surrounding green park. Katsu smiled and entered the park as the fog consumed his silhouette. Dawn broke out and spread the chilly fog out of the streets. Katsu welcomed the sunlight as he sat on the top of the enormous tree, yielding a slim shinning sword. The noise of people starting to wake up and open their shops brought him out of his meditation. Getting up and stretching out, he disappeared once again into the park with a jump.