The Past Returns

Arthur was provided with a private plane, filled with anything one would desire but he did not care for any of it. His mind was troubled by what would happen next. He knew that this moment would come eventually but not this soon. When he got off the plane, the frigid air was familiar to him and it brought back memories he would like to stay buried. There were a dozen men in suits waiting for him by the exit and they escorted him to a black limousine lined in a convoy of black sedans.

The highway was empty and the convoy sped through smoothly. Arthur could see the neon colours that formed the cityscape. The many years in his absence, the city had changed dramatically with large skyscrapers now a common sight but the essence did not change much. It was still the city he had lived in for the majority of his life. It did not take long for the view to change from the dense concrete jungle to the countryside.

The winding roads finally ended and exposed a complex of beautiful traditional Japanese buildings. He had not been here for almost two decades, ever since that eventful day.

"This way, sir," one of the escorts directed him to one of the smaller buildings. Arthur recognised the man as the hooded figure he interrogated. The escort noticed the change in Arthur's facial expressions but he remained apathetic.

"It's already late, the boss will see you tomorrow morning. Please request if you would be in need of anything," the escort closed the screen panels as he left.

A small fire in the middle of the room gave the much desired warmth from the cold. A small kettle was hung above it. Arthur's feet felt comfortable from the rustle of the tatami mats. He felt at home but the home he no longer wanted. He went to the bath and noticed that the hot water was already prepared in advance. He carefully washed his body before entering the wooden tub. The heat from the water seeped into his bones and washed his concerns away, at least temporarily. After he left and went overseas, he rarely soaked in tubs anymore but instead just took quick showers. When he exited, he found a set of white robes prepared for him.

With the heat from the bath still relaxed him, he took out the futon and slept.

He dreamt about his past, from his experience as a kid up to the horrifying incident that made him leave. He woke up in cold sweat, huffing heavily. The glow of dawn diffused through the paper screen illuminating the entire room. He washed his face and before long, someone appeared by the door.

"The boss wishes to meet you now."

Arthur took a deep breath before exiting the room. They walked through the veranda that lined the rooms to a larger building. The escort opened the sliding door to a large hall, where a man sat in seiza at the end of the hall, flanked with half a dozen men of varying ages chattering among themselves.

'So this is the legendary Ghost?' They were excited to finally catch a glimpse of the infamous sword of the clan. His identity was so elusive that only the head of the clan knew his identity, now it is exposed to everyone.

"Good to meet you again, Arthur… or should I call you Takeshi-sensei?" the man in the middle spoke. He looked like he was in his 30s, tied his hair back in a topknot with a visible slash scar on his right cheek.

"Katsuo, I believe that I had made an agreement with your late father that I would no longer have any ties to the group. Why did you summon me back?"

"Sensei, you were a legend among us. The best of the best. It is a waste for you to rot in some foreign land. Come back to us and we will return the clan to its glorious days!"

"You know I left for a reason. I'm not coming back."

"Is it because of that day? Or because of that gaijin? Perhaps you have gotten weak," Katsuo gestured and one of the men by his side stood up. He bowed, took up a wooden katana and took a forward stance.

Arthur stood up, bowed and took a stance too, obliging the fight. He drew his right back and his both arms rose up, with his fists tightened into a ball. He was prepared but had an aura of relaxness. After a brief but intense standoff, the man charged forward as he gave a loud roar in the process and swung his katana with an overhead strike. Arthur sidestepped the strike to the left, grabbed the handle of the katana with his right hand and struck the throat of the assailant with his left hand in one quick fluid motion. The man gagged and Arthur took the man's katana in the brief moment his grip loosened. He quickly slashed in a diagonal motion, stopping just short of his face. The battle was over.

"Excellent! What a wonderful display of skill," Katsuo stood up and gave an applause. The defeated man stepped back, bowed and returned to his original seat. "But can you still live up to your legend?" Katsuo gestured again and this time an attendant came and gave him a real katana. A katana was also presented to Arthur.

"Let's put that to the test shall we?" Katsuo taunted as he drew the katana, giving off a flash of light.

Arthur bowed and drew his katana in return. Both of them took a forward stance, inching closer and closer, exchanging their focused gaze.

Katsuo attacked first, swinging a similar overhead strike but this time Arthur took a step back to escape from the attack range. The overhead strike suddenly switched to a forward thrust. Arthur narrowly deflected the stab with this katana. A small red line started to appear on his face before blood began trickling down.

That was close. He had improved tremendously since I last saw him.

Katsuo did not give Arthur room to breathe and continued with constant aggressive strikes. Despite that, Arthur kept deflecting and dodging the blows confidently .

"Hey old man, don't hold back!" Katsuo got a little angry with Arthur's defensive stance.

"Is that all you could do? Fine, I'll entertain your charades," Arthur gave a grin before counterattacking. Katsuo was taken aback by the sudden aggression but regained his composure quickly. Their duel was intense. The audience was engrossed in the battle, some of them could not even observe their movements, some even studied their technique.

However, all it took was a small opening, a minor mistake by Katsuo for Arthur to exploit. Katsuo swung his sword a little too wide and Arthur took advantage of the delay to attack first. His katana thrust upwards in the small window, before stopping right at Katsuo's throat. It's a checkmate. Despite that, when Arthur relaxed and lowered the sword, Katsuo swiftly disarmed Arthur with his katana.

"Yes, you've gotten weak, sensei. The old you would have finished me, no mercy. Do not get me wrong, I still need you. It was fun. It's been ages since I last fought someone of this caliber. People of this age had gotten weak. Stay by my side, Takeshi-sensei."

"You know I can't stay here. I left this world that day."

"This isn't a request. It's an order," Katsuo said, this time his tone is stern. "Stay here or you would like the clan to visit your dear little gaijin. Would you have preferred that instead?"

"Katsuo, how could you?! He isn't part of this!" Arthur was outraged.

"That's why it's a choice. Your choice. Ah, I would like to have a duel with you like that once a while too," Katsuo smiled as he walked away. The spectators followed behind him, leaving Arthur alone in the hall. He looks small compared to the large empty hall now.