[Inka’s Perspective - Flashback]

  Twenty years ago... Ten years after the Lord’s death...

  Time passed with the speed of light, or perhaps the slowness of a tortoise; I could no longer tell. A decade had passed since my lord died. All the Samurai who served him that night were dead, and no one remained but me. I am the sole witness, the sole survivor, and the sole disgrace. I thought all the time: I do not deserve to avenge my lord. Revenge is for the strong, and I am just a hiding Kappa. My existence and my life are just a walking shame.

  Since that day, I believe Inka the Samurai died with his master. I turned into Inka the Drunkard. I would drink, and drink, and drink. I stole sake from taverns, fled to the forest where my lord saved me—the Blue Forest—and drank until I lost consciousness, until I forgot his face.

  One day, Morito visited me. He found me lying among empty bottles. He didn't scold me. He sat beside me and began drinking with me in silence. We stayed drinking for hours, or perhaps days. Then he looked at me with his withered eyes and said: Will you not be angry with me for lying to you about your lord selling you? I laughed with a hoarse voice and said: If you hadn't lied... something worse would have happened. I would have gone back and died with him uselessly.

  You gave me a reason to live, even if it was a reason built on hate. I raised the jar and said: In the end... shame is shame. Even if the world changes around me, I am still that Kappa who ran away. I looked at the sake bottle, then at Morito, who looked tired and aged for the first time, and asked: Morito... how... how do you live like this for centuries? How do you endure all this loss? He looked at the horizon and said coldly: How would I know? I just... haven't died yet.

  Ten years ago... Twenty years after the Lord’s death...

  Time passed quickly once again. I had become a very famous thief for stealing sake. The Ghost of the Blue Forest. And my lord’s son, Ieyasu, had become the Shogun... the ruler of Nippon. I had nothing to do with him anymore. I was just a sake thief. What an irony of fate, my lord! You wanted me to become a Samurai who protects the country, but here I am... a thief fleeing from your son’s guards.

  One day, I saw an injured old man in the forest. He had been attacked by a boar. Usually, I left people to their fates. But this time... for some reason... I couldn't leave him. His wrinkled face and kind eyes reminded me of someone. I carried him and treated him in my secret cave. When he woke up, I thought he would flee from me when he saw my green face. But he looked at me in shock and said: A Kappa?!! Kappa, you really do exist! I said with boredom: Yes, I exist. Don't shout. The old man laughed loudly despite his pain and said: I don't believe this! I won the bet! You bastard brother, come back from your grave and give me my money! I told you Kappa exist! ??? The old man looked around me and saw the piles of stolen sake bottles. He whistled in admiration and said: You have a lot of fine sake here... will you drink a few cups with an old man nearing death? I said sharply: It is my sake. Why are you the one inviting? He laughed and said: It doesn't matter whose sake it is; what matters is whom you drink it with. He tried to stand to take a bottle, but he groaned in pain and fell to the ground. Curse that boar... I swear it's the largest wild boar my eyes have seen.

  I sighed. I stood up, went, and brought him the sake. I said threateningly: You won't tell anyone about my presence in the forest, will you? He laughed and said: And who would believe a Kappa exists in the forest, and is the same famous sake thief everyone talks about? They'd think I’ve gone senile. (Everyone in the taverns thought the thief was Morito or a ghost; no one suspected a Kappa).

  We began drinking. We drank... and drank... and drank. For the first time in a long time, I talked with someone. I broke the barrier of silence I had imposed on myself for two decades. I, who was atoning for the sin of my survival by drinking sake alone.

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  The old man asked me while we were drunk: Kappa... are you hiding here because you are weak? I laughed mockingly: I am weak? Do you think a few Samurai can hunt a legendary Kappa who trained under Morito for twenty years? The old man laughed: Then... why do you hide in the forest and only steal sake? That's a waste of talent. I looked into the cup and said bitterly: I am atoning for my sin. Sin, huh? The old man took a large gulp and wiped his mouth. Kappa... if you truly want to atone... you must help those in need. You really are a fool. What? Atoning for a sin? While you drink the finest types of sake and live in a safe cave? You live better than the Samurai! This isn't atonement; this is a picnic! He looked at me seriously and said: I heard from a devout monk that any sin, no matter how great, is forgiven if you sincerely help those in need for ten years.

  I looked at him and scoffed: And how will I help those in need? Those needy people will throw stones at me the moment they see me. The old man gave a cunning smile and said: Of course... with the help of this old man. I will be your face, and you will be the hand.

  Since that night, the routine of my life changed. I didn't do this because I was kind... was it because I wanted forgiveness? Or perhaps because of the sake. But... I was a frog bored with the swamp. I wanted to change this pattern; I wanted to break it. I started stealing food and money, not just sake. And the old man spread my name: Inka. The thief who helps those in need. He steals from corrupt nobles and gives to the poor.

  Those last ten years... were special. For the first time in my life, I felt proud to be a thief. To be a frog. To be useful.

  This is the end of my story. It was a short and simple story, wasn't it? Nothing epic, no battles with dragons, and not the story of a new Guardian of Nippon. I didn't even reach the strength of one of the fingers of the old Guardian, Morito, to succeed him. Perhaps I disappointed you, my lord... for I wasted most of my life stealing sake, drinking it, and fleeing.

  But my lord... I did one thing I am proud of. At the end of my life... I helped some people. Even if they didn't see my face... I heard them from afar. A few hungry children, smiling while holding rice balls, shouting to the sky: Thank you, Inka!

  I understand now, my lord. After I did this... I understood why you were kind to me. Did you feel such a warm sensation when you were feeding me when I was young? It’s a feeling better than sake.

  Thank you, my lord. And I am sorry once again for not protecting you, and for not being the Samurai you wanted me to be. But my lord... I will never apologize for being a thief at the end of my life. Therefore... do not be angry with me up there when I reach you... for I desperately want to talk to you, and I carry many stories for you.

  [Dream’s Perspective]

  I dreamed of a more distant past. Not Dio’s past, but my past... before I was Dream. I remember that unending ash. A gray world... no sky, no earth. Cold ash falling in absolute silence, covering everything. No beginning, no end. I remember it with terrifying clarity, as if it were yesterday.

  I was standing there again in the dream, amidst the desolate stillness. Is that my home? My subconscious asked this question, perhaps because I felt something from that Kappa before he died... his feeling of the cave as a final home. Is that gray void my cave?

  I woke up suddenly. I opened my eyes, and the colored world rushed back to invade my sight. I looked around quickly... Inka’s body was gone. It had disappeared completely, and nothing remained but the trace of my dried blood.

  How much time has passed? I asked in a raspy voice. The system (404) replied in my head: < A full week has passed while you were unconscious. The body was in hibernation mode to repair critical damage. > I asked sharply: Where is Inka’s body? 404 replied coldly: < I have no data. Visual sensors were damaged during your unconscious period. >

  I stood on my feet. I checked my body; it had fully recovered, muscles taut and energy flowing through them as if I hadn't been on the brink of death moments ago. After this fight... I have become stronger.

  I looked at the empty spot where the body was again with coldness. Unfortunately, he did not accept my entry into his memories. The body is gone; I cannot turn him in to become a Samurai.

  I shrugged my shoulders, brushing off the dust. But it doesn't matter. There are many others. He was nothing but a thief... and thieves are plenty. I moved again with steady steps. I left the forest behind and proceeded toward my mission, which was still in its beginning.