JustPaste.it

Saji was born in feudal Japan in the year 1305 AD. At this time the noble class known as samurai were on both the military and political rise and were beginning to hold a far stronger place in Japanese culture itself. He grew up in feudal japan under the reign of a new Emperor that had taken the thrown by force. This Emperor in particular was a high ranking samurai and thus brought in his clan as the new form of military. It was issued in a new age that was ruled by the samurai and governed by very strict laws, usually disobeying them leading to death or other forms of strict punishment. Around this time as well though black smiths were beginning to developed a two-layer structure of soft and hard steel for use in swords. This structure gave much improved cutting power and endurance, and the production technique led to Japanese swords (katana) being recognized as some of the most potent hand weapons of pre-industrial East Asia. The blade itself though was only given out to members of the lords clan upon discovery of it, making it difficult for any type of a rebellion to happen.

Saji himself was the son of a high ranking noble and was raised in the inner most sector of the Emperors city and domain. His father was a political adviser at the time and soon found himself under a contract to the Emperor. After many trips to the Emperors palace his father decided to ask one of the Emperors Generals if his son would be able to join the factions of samurai that helped keep order in the realm. Around this time Saji was only 16 though so any thoughts of him becoming a samurai were quickly dismissed. It was only after a great deal of bargaining and influence that he was given a chance to be tested. The tests themselves measured a persons will, strength, and raw skill without any formal training before hand. Up until this point Saji had been kept at home and only taught arts of knowledge and beauty, never before had his hands grasped a sword until this point. When he did get tested though his performance was phenomenal, almost as though he had been born to use the katana. Passing all of the requirements in flying colors he was quickly enrolled into the faction and trained to become the samurai his father had always dreamed of.

Now Saji wasn't a particularly out going individual. He was raised very isolated from the society, only ever really being allowed outside to tend to the garden or to learn about the insects and animals that roamed in the holding areas. This left him as very reserved, quiet, and highly curious of everything. When he was forced into the test and then training the world took a very different turn for him. Before he was taught about the beauty and complexity of the world. Now he was only taught the art of war and crushing another soul without mercy. The effect his military training had on him was by no means a vibrant mark on his personality but it what it did do was hone his thinking to a lethal level of sharpness and accuracy. A interesting note though was that during his training as a samurai he held a great interest for the weapons that they used, never using one more so then another for favoritism. He seemed to use each weapon to gain a advantage against one that would be at a disadvantage if it were to face it, capitalizing on peoples favoritism of only a few particular styles of battle. After only a short time he seemingly mastered each of the traditional weapons in the samurais arsenal and a large number of sword arts that were being taught, even creating his own in the few bits of spare time that he received.

In only a few short years Saji finished his training and was hand picked by the Emperor himself to be a member of his personal guard, made up of only the finest soldiers in all the land. Well the Emperor seemed to hold a great interest for Saji, usually asking him questions and attempting to prod him for personal details, the young samurai never really returned the Emperors admiration much more then any normal soldier would. He would never question the Emperors order though and almost always completed it without any hesitation. However around this time there were many rumors circulating about the Emperor, one of the strongest being that his corruption was beginning to plague the land. Since Saji was located so securely inside of the palace though he never saw signs of such plague or corruption. In fact out of the entire personal guard Saji held the Emperor in the highest regards. Even at that point to Saji's legendary skill in the art of battle was beginning to spread and a legend was found, or perhaps created, that the only savior to a land plagued by evil must be a legendary samurai. Many years past and as this legend grew the Emperor began to grow suspicious of Saji, wondering if he was truly the one that was to end his reign. After a quick decision he brought Saji's father in for questioning, which is where Saji's history turns for the worst.

Originally Saji was never told that his father was being brought to the palace for questioning as he was under to much suspicion at the time to be told. It wasn't until one of his fellow personal guards informed him of this, most likely out of a sense of friendship, that he learned of the Emperors action. Sneaking into the hall that his father was being questioned at he bore witness to his own fathers trial. All of the nobles of the region as well as generals of the Emperors army were there as well as the Emperor himself. Well a normal questioning would be nothing more then inquiries and intimidation by the time Saji had gotten there he witnessed a hideous form of torture being used on his father. The man was tied up from each limb and stretched out over a roaring fire, slowly being turned and lowered closer and closer into the flames. During this event the Emperor continued to shout and ask him if Saji was truly the chosen one, to which his father would give no reply. After mere minutes of this torture his charred body was fully cast into the pit and the trial was dismissed, leaving the Emperor infuriated that he had learned nothing. Saji himself though was left in utter shock at this betrayal but made no movement against the Emperor. It was only when he was informed that his fathers house had been burned down and it to be believed that his father was caught in the inferno that Saji decided it was time to venture to the outside of the palace, and learn if the rumors he had been hearing were true. He did this in secrecy, leaving one of his fellow guardsmen in his place for the short time he was gone. It was only after seeing the rolling plagues and the starving population that he did return.

What happened next is very blurry in history and smudged with rumors and legend, however the truth to it is far simpler then you might believe. You see due to the Emperors growing suspicion of Saji he was kept under nearly constant watch and restriction. Even when he was to meet with the Emperor personally to be informed of a mission all members of the guard were brought without telling Saji, this was in case he was going to try to kill the Emperor of course. It wasn't until they were on a carriage ride to the outskirts of the palace that Saji made his move. After conspiring with one of his fellow guardsmen Saji had him hire a large group of bandits to pose as a distraction. Hiding them inside the city walls they ambushed the Emperors carriage and forced the Emperor to flee on foot with only a few of his guards men in tow. Saji as well as two others were by the side of the Emperor as he attempted to retreat to his home, however he would not get this far. In a matter of seconds Saji dispersed his guards men before shoving his katana through the still beating heart of the Emporer and leaving his corpse to rot in the middle of the city. Saji though, after a few short moments of consideration, decided to leave his sword embedded inside of the Emperor before fleeing the palace and becoming a Ronin. This meant that whoever discovered the body would know without a doubt what had happened there, and who had killed the Emperor. Unfortunately for Saji though, he would not know any kind of peace even after the monsters death.

Skip ahead to the year 1330 AD, only a few short years after the murder of the samurai Emperor. He had been succeeded by his son, a hot headed and short tempered man of military power. When he had been informed of Saji's betrayal and the murder of his father he was enraged and grasped the throne before any of his siblings could question it. This man even went so far as to kill off all of his relatives to ensure that he and he alone would hold the title of Emperor. Even though he managed to claim this power so easily though the one heavy fact still wore in his mind, the murder of his father. As he pushed his military to conqueror far off lands the new Emperor would start to hire mercenaries and all brands of warriors to find and kill Saji. After a short time the new Emperor even promised a kings fortune for the one who brought him the Ronins head. However no matter how skilled, exotic, or blood crazed the men were very few returned from their quest, even fewer that had come into conflict with Saji.

At that point however it had become glaringly clear on where Saji had chosen to hide and why so few people were able to find him. Off the coast of Japan there was a isolated island that was plagued by constant storms and rumors of terrible sea creatures. In order to get there people must be forced through these trials, leaving them usually ragged and will broken by the time they managed to reach the island, if they even made it that far. Once on the island though they would find a metropolis of dangerous animals and insects, calling their home in a deep bamboo jungle. Only the strongest and the bravest would ever make it to what Saji would now call home, a small hut that was connected to a large cave system in the middle of the island. There he lived off of the land itself and only ever ventured onto land to resupply his weapons or to get medicine. After a few more years of continous failures the new Emperor held a military campaign to kill ronin once and for all, taking his fleet of ships to the island and surrounding it before his army marched ashore.

There the soldiers would spend months hacking away at the lush forest, creating many paths in attempt to find Saji's hut. Many of them became sick and even wounded as they were forced to kill the wild animals that roamed there and deal with low food supplies. This brought moral to a all time low as they only just managed to find the ronins hut. All of this time though Saji had heard the men, seen their fires, and had been given plenty of time to prepare the area. Some of the first people to set foot on his grounds were met with pit falls, bear traps, and many other obstacles. You would think though that simply alighting his hut with flames would be enough to force him out, but after many attempts of this it did nothing more then burn it down and reveal the cave entrance. It took a week to clear away the traps before the remaining army could access the cave. At this time though the general was still hanging behind his men, not wanting to take part in the bloody killing until the very end, so when he sent most of his army into the caves to drag out the traitor he was met with a nasty surprise.

The cave system itself held many twists and turns that could lead to almost anywhere. One of these particular turns though lead to the lake that was near his hut, a sort of escape route. After his hut had been burned down Saji retreated to this particular cave and waited until the new Emperor sent in his men to swim through the cave and resurface from the lake, seemingly having been their the entire time. Dressed in his armor of the past and hold his weapons tightly he would rush the dumb founded new Emperors guards, cutting them down before the had a chance to even react. However all of the time and physical strain of the encampment had taken its toll on Saji and his breathing was already ragged as his final opponent fell. The new Emperor realized that if he was to get his revenge now would be the opportune moment, pulling out his massive nodachi as he approached the ronin.

The battle was short but bloody. Saji was forced onto the defensive as he only slimly dodged the massive blade, unable to make a clear counter attack. The more he was forced to dodge though the harder it was to predict where the next strike would come from. His mind was racing as it came to the realization that he might be killed before he was able to get a chance. This left only one final option in his mind. As the new Emperor let out a bellowing roar he would slash downwards into Saji's shoulder, cutting part of his torso as well as his left arm off completely. It only took a few seconds though before the new Emperor realized what Saji had done as his no dachi butchered through the ronin. His eyes would slowly gaze down to see Saji's hand tightly grasped around his katana, stabbed through the heart just as his father had been. The large body fell backwards in only a few seconds as Saji dropped to his knees, katana still in hand as it dripped with blood. He was no fool though, he knew that his wounds were fatal without a doubt. After a few final moments of thoughts he would plunge his own weapon through his gut, performing seppuku, and finishing his own life. What the ronin didn't know though was that he had broken the line of corruption and allowed a proper Emperor to take the throne, one that would bring Japan back to the forefront of power and influence once more.