1

Yoshiga trees were wonders of nature that never ceased to amaze. After passing by these behemoths from the Trail over the years, I had started to view them as part of the landscape my eyes naturally skimmed past. It was nice to feel that majesty and unbelievable scale one can only get when standing before one of these trees. To stand in the absence of shrubbery and other vegetation under the endless cool shade provided by the gigantic canopy. And look up the daunting two-hundred meters of sheer white bark before a single branch or leaf could be seen. The awe was testament to the power of nature. Yoshiga trees, like humans and all other life, never truly stop growing.

Before the tree, there was a square wooden gazebo with yellow tiling lining its roof. In a wicker rocking chair in the gazebo was an old man who was wearing a rough looking brown short sleeved shirt and some pants that stopped halfway down his calf. He had a gray scraggly beard with moppy gray hair and brown eyes. His only distinguishing feature was an ornate ivory flute that he wore around his neck.

Behind the old man in the back corner of the gazebo, a young woman hunched over a desk. She had a professional demeanor about her. Her white collared shirt's sleeves rolled up and her focused gaze looking through a pair of glasses at the assortment of papers in front of her. She brushed her blonde hair out of the way as she looked at me.

As I reached the top of the gently sloping hill and stepped upon the gazeobo's wooden floor, the old man looked over and asked, “What do you need?”

I felt a bit nervous. Since I started living with him, my grandfather's friend Obi always supported me. But when I brought up joining the Yoshiga Initiative, he mentioned a variety of reasons not to join. He talked about how much more secure and safe it would be to live and work with him. He told me that I had no training and that I was young. Obi even mentioned how interfering a House member could be especially dangerous. While he did not stop me, I knew he disapproved of the choice. Yet here I am and ready to take the leap. Some part of me understands why few people have joined the new initiative. The new government of the Ouros Territory was trying its best with all the new programs, but they were new and people were already accustomed to the Houses even if they had their grievances with them. This Yoshiga Initiative represents a new opportunity not just for me but the exact idea the recent wars were fought for. To no longer rely on the whims of the Houses and for people to finally have a neutral party that can assist everyone equally.

Stepping up to the man, I replied, “I want to join the Yoshiga initiative.”

The old man looked me up and down, before he grunted and with a giant smirk said, “Be on your way then.”

He pointed to the woman behind the desk and I moved forward. There is no one else out here right now which made this a lot less awkward to be honest.

I looked over to the woman in charge and without even looking up from her papers she asked, “May I ask your age?”

“I am fourteen years old.”

She then asked, “Can you read and write?”

“Yes.”

“Have you received any Gatyri training or are you able to control your chakra?”

“Um, I can sense chakra, which I think is kinda important.”

She paused for a moment then said, “A useful ability, but no you can not control your chakra. On the other hand it will make training you worthwhile. As the director of this branch, I believe you are fit to join as a prospective Gatyri for the new Yoshiga initiative. To finalize may I ask your name and proper spelling.”

“Kell. Uh, K - E - L - L.”

“No House name?”

“No.”

She smiled at my answer and then said, “This paper holds the tenets and guidelines for full members.” She then slid a piece of paper forward to the edge of the desk. On it were the rules for the program.

The paper read, “1. Complete the mission as stated.

2. While operating in your full capacity as a member of the Yoshiga initiative the use of lethal force is under your discretion, but should only be used when judged necessary to complete the mission.

3. While operating in your full capacity as a member of the Yoshiga initiative you may at your discretion arrest persons given reasonable suspicion including members of recognized Houses.

4. Members of the Yoshiga Initiative do not have the authority to execute or convict any person; that power is solely within the purview of the courts.

5. Members of the Yoshiga Initiative must answer to an appointed director; who has the power to instate, promote, and discharge members.”

Having an actual paper that said what I could and could not do was new to me. I had met the sheriff of a small town once. The sheriff had told me that when he had been appointed, they told him he had free reign to ensure justice and safety of the community. But then again the sheriff only watched that small town and its surrounding area. This Yoshiga Initiative may have a vastly different scope. And now that I thought about it, I wondered how much area the program was supposed to manage.

After letting me glance at the paper, She said, "For now you will be a trainee, so most of that guiding paper does not actually apply to you. As a trainee you will mostly engage in training and perform small missions when needed. So any questions?"

“Yeah, I was wondering what area does this branch of the program cover? There are a few Yoshiga trees in the area, so is the area divided around for each tree or...?”

"At the moment there are only five branches in total for the Yoshiga Initiative. This will of course change in the future, but for now each branch has an entire county in its purview. With Pasture county being our branch's area. All the other Yoshiga trees in the area simply serve as relay points for this branch."

That is a great deal of area to manage. Pasture county was nearly one-hundred kilometers ( 62 miles ) wide if travelled along the Trail. And it was three times as long extending northward. Each county was around a fourth of the entire Territory's area which was a lot to cover. Luckily Pasture county was the smallest. The other three counties were twice as big and had a lot more people.

Suki then asked, "Any other questions?"

I answered, "No, I think that's all for now."

“Well, welcome Kell. I am director Suki and Imoto over there will now show you to the other trainees.”

The old guy, Imoto, grunted in acknowledgment and slowly rose from his rocking chair. This had gone better than expected. I began to follow Imoto as he led me past Suki’s desk and to the other side of the Yoshiga tree. This was my first time right next to one of them and while their height was staggering their trunk size was also a lot wider than they appeared from far away. The trunk had to have a width of 20 meters since it took us a while just to walk around it. I idly touched the white bark and was surprised to find that it looked smooth and had strange fuzzy hairs like the skin of a peach.

When we reached the other side of the tree, Imoto slowed down and in a low voice said, “I’ll tell ya. The only reason you’re here is because no one else is. Since I'll be trainin' you, I'ma let you know that in the past two years, only two others have joined and stayed. And both of ‘em only joined a week ago, so let that sink in. We got a lot of work to do and few hands to help. Damn House bastards won't let us have no funding and most people pretend we don’t exist. So know what you’re getting yourself into.”

I quickly responded, “Yeah, I know.”

“Good.”

We walked in silence. I knew what I was getting into. After the war, everyone knew that the Houses would have their privileges curtailed. But in the end that did not help. The law may limit their influence on paper, but the Houses still had the money, the power, and the people to do what they wanted. I don't want to become content with how things are right now. My grandfather had always told me to never settle. And since no one else will, I guess I need to become the one that brings stability to the Territory of Ouro and in the future maybe all five territories. So many areas infested with bandits, places where Houses are once again openly feuding between each other, all the roving disgruntled soldiers from past wars, the grain hoarders keeping the price of food high, and just sheer terribleness of everything. This Yoshiga program is a small step towards a hopefully better future.

We came to a stop near a camping area beside a large stream. The small clearing had a small fire pit and two tents. It was at the edge of the Yoshiga tree's canopy, so the forest began in earnest past the stream of the camp.

Imoto gestured towards the area and said, “Get comfy. The other two will be back soon. Rest up, training’s in the morning at the tree and I need to get you up to speed.”

With that he left. First I unpacked what was in my backpack. While putting the backpack down, I looked it over to make sure it was in good condition. It was less a backpack and more a cheap sack of cloth with some string and a button to keep the lid closed, but it had served me well all this time. The cloth material had faded from its original tan to a more dark brown, but besides that it seemed fine even after years of travel. Unhooking the string from the button, I took out my tent, fishing equipment, survival equipment, my trusty knife, and toiletries like my dental-powder. Lastly I unfolded my tent and set it up around the fire pit next to the other two tents.

After setting up, I got up and grabbed my fishing equipment. As I got ready, I looked myself over in the reflection from the stream. My bright pink eyes and pink hair looked as stand out as ever. I think my grandparents and I are the only people with pink hair that I have ever seen. A sad consequence of being the last of a family, an all too common occurrence for families and Houses after the wars.

After looking at myself, I got moving with fishing line, hooks, my trusty knife, and my pack. It was past noon, so I decided now was a good time to get used to the area and catch some dinner. First, I foraged around the area for fruits and vegetables. Since it was nearing the middle of spring, I got lucky with a decent amount of berries. Along the way I grabbed a stick that would be good to hold the line. After cleaning the stick up, I attached the line and found some worms as bait. I sat a bit upstream from the camp near a cluster of rocks in the stream and focused on catching whatever I could. The water here was fast but I managed to catch about three small fish in a few hours. I grabbed the materials for a fire and after finding my flint, I cooked the fish and berries I found.

It was a simple meal, one I have gotten used to over the years since it costs nothing but time. While I was eating, Imoto meandered into the clearing with two others.

On his left was a tall boy with four swords strapped to his waist. The boy’s skin was a reddish tan and his hair was short, black, and spiky. He was wearing only a pair of linen shorts which displayed the myriad of scars criss crossing his arms, chest, and even his feet. With his muscled arms crossed, he had an intense aura about him. His brown eyes were staring me down with a focused expression.

The girl to Imoto’s right was a startling contrast to the boy. She was probably my height and wore a very noticeable black eyepatch over her left eye. She had her light blue hair in a ponytail. Her brown pants and belt were covered with leather sheaths for a variety of knives and she wore a brown leather vest which probably had a lot more weapons on the inside if the way it hung heavily on her shoulders was any indication. Despite the eyepatch she looked friendly. Her smile and one grey eye appearing inviting.

Imoto slapped the boy’s shoulder and said, “This is Roen,” he turned and slapped the girls shoulder saying, “and this is Devanna.” That was it. Imoto promptly turned around and left without another word.

Devanna smiled and said, “As Gatyri Imoto said, I’m Devanna, but you can call me Dee. What about you?”

I answered, “I’m Kell. Nice to meet you.”

“Nice to meet you too Kell. I see you’re eating. Mind if we join you? Me and Roen here, recently joined, so it's nice to see another new face. We can eat and get to know each other?”

I didn’t mind, so after they got their food from their tents we ate together around the fire. As we ate, my eyes could not help but wander towards Dee’s eyepatch and all the scars on Roen’s body.

Seeing my occasional glances, Dee said, “Don't worry. People always find it awkward to ask, but I don't mind explaining. You see when I was young my House selected me for training as a Gatyri. I was young and like most kids my age did not follow the advice of my elders. So of course, there was a training accident with some knives that hit me right in the center of my left eye. Luckily it didn’t go all the way through, and I’m here today, but it did damage my eye beyond repair. It is not a pretty sight, so the eyepatch is there to cover it up.” Dee turned to Roen and said, "And Roen here is not much of a talker. But from the few days that I've known him, I believe I've got an idea about the scars. In my opinion he may be too enthusiastic about his swords. He polishes and trains with them for hours every day. So when he told me that most of the scars were inflicted by the swords he carries, I believed him."

Roen slowly in a monotone voice said, “That is not entirely true, Kell. I told Dee that my scars are from the swords I carry, but these swords were not always mine.”

Dee seemed shocked and quickly said, “Oh, that is new! Roen, please tell us the tale of how you acquired your swords.”

With a faraway look, Roen said, “I come from the Territory of the Tiger in the south. Since my legs could carry me, my family trained me to be a warrior, a true Gatyri. But as all from the Tiger’s territory know, in life you must work and fight for every grain of salt mined and ounce of spice grown. The fighting between Houses in the Southern territory was always severe and the recent wars made it only worse. When it came time for me to fight, I -” Roen for a moment seemed sad for a moment, but quickly his face gained resolve and seriousness as he continued, “I was honourable and showed mercy to those that deserved it. In exchange for my mercy, I was bestowed the very swords that caused my scars. And as punishment, I was disowned by my House. With few options I came here far from my past and hoped to do some good in a territory where Houses at least try to remain cordial.”

After a silent pause, Dee responded, “That could not have been easy, talking about your past. Thanks, Roen for telling us that. To reciprocate that sincere honesty, I guess I should tell you guys about why I’m here. While I did mention I am from a House, who’s name I can’t mention due to my, my secret, my uh, my mission, my secret mission. My secret mission from my House. You see, my House wanted to support the Yoshiga Initiative, but did not want to be marred by politics and the opinion of other Houses, so they sent me as an anonymous Gatyri. But that’s semi-secret, so keep that between us alright.”

After finishing, Dee turned to me and asked, “So what about you, Kell? Why'd you join the Yoshiga Initiative?”

I decided to share in this little ‘bonding moment’ we were having. Gathering my thoughts I explained, “I was raised by my grandparents, I don’t belong to any House at least not an existing one. My grandparents are old, way too old to be raising me and they knew it. One day my grandfather sat me down and told me that he’s dying. My grandparents are traditional and proud, so they wanted to go to the Library of the Aso Territory and have the history of our family written before they go. My grandfather had no money or anything to leave me, so he brought me up here to the Territory of Ouro and arranged for a friend of his to watch over me. But before he left I remember he said to me, ‘You’re young and got your whole life ahead of you. Listen to an old man like me when I say, never settle. I spent most my life leading wagons up and down the Trail for merchants and Houses. And I regret never doing more and always letting others dictate the world I live in, so don’t settle, Kell.’ So here I am, trying to do what he never did.”

Roen nodded his head and in his monotone said, “An inspiring sentiment.”

After that the conversation petered off, and eventually we all went to our individual tents.