Homare

"Wake up, Azuhi. Your father must be on his way home."

I woke up the moment I heard my mother's words. Throwing aside my blanket, I jumped out of bed and rushed toward the kitchen, where she was preparing breakfast for me—and supposedly for my father as well.

"I'm so excited to meet Dad!" I exclaimed.

My father was the greatest warrior the Yamamoto Clan had ever produced. I admired him deeply and respected him more than anyone else in the world.

"Gosh, Azuhi, I don't understand how you can be so carefree," my mother said with a worried sigh. "Aren't you concerned about your father at all?"

"Worried?" I repeated before laughing. "Mom, you know Dad has never lost a battle in his entire life."

And it was true.

My father had never suffered a single defeat on the battlefield. No matter how heavily outnumbered his forces were, no matter how exhausted or weakened they became, he always emerged victorious. He fought with the heart of a true warrior and the spirit of an unbreakable leader.

To me, he was invincible.

One day, I wanted to fight beside him. I wanted to witness his greatness with my own eyes instead of merely hearing stories about it. I wanted to become a warrior worthy of standing at his side.

I finished my breakfast hastily and rushed outside the moment I was done. Grabbing my wooden sword, I headed straight for the training dummy in the backyard.

I wanted to become a great samurai like my father.

No.

I wanted to become even greater than him.

I swung my wooden sword exactly as Father had taught me before he left to fight against the Sukehiro Clan, the Yamamoto Clan's greatest rival. Strike after strike landed against the dummy, but it barely moved.

The sight irritated me.

I wanted to destroy it completely before Father returned. Then I could show him how much I had improved while he was away.

I raised my sword once more when suddenly the loud thumping of drums echoed throughout the village.

My eyes widened.

"Dad is back!"

Without another thought, I dropped my stance and sprinted through the garden, past my house, and toward the village entrance, where crowds had already gathered to welcome the returning warriors.

"Excited, huh, Azuhi?" a familiar voice called out.

I turned to see Sota standing nearby. His father was General Nagi Takehashi, my father's closest friend and most trusted commander.

"Heck yeah!" I exclaimed.

I squinted my eyes, trying to catch a glimpse of Father among the approaching riders.

Then I saw him.

Riding proudly at the front of the procession, Father sat atop his horse with his glorious katana hanging at his side. The moment my eyes landed on him, they lit up with joy.

Beside him rode General Nagi Takehashi.

I glanced over at Sota and saw that he looked just as excited as I was.

The villagers erupted into cheers as the samurai entered the village. Smiles covered the warriors' faces, and the sight could only mean one thing.

The Yamamoto Clan had won again.

Thirty-two victories in a row.

As Father's horse came to a stop, he dismounted gracefully. The instant his feet touched the ground, I ran toward him like a man possessed.

I couldn't stop myself.

Leaping forward, I wrapped my arms tightly around him.

He laughed and effortlessly lifted me into the air.

"There, there, little champ," Father said warmly. "How have you been?"

Then he kissed my forehead.

For that brief moment, with the villagers cheering around us and the banners of the Yamamoto Clan waving proudly in the wind, it felt as though nothing in the world could ever go wrong.

After Dad put me back on the ground, I immediately turned to Uncle Nagi.

"So, Uncle Nagi, how have you been?" I asked.

"Fabulous as always, young Azuhi," he replied with a wide smile as he pulled Sota into a hug. "Nothing can go wrong when I'm with your father."

I listened eagerly, my eyes practically glowing with excitement. Uncle Nagi continued telling me stories about the battle and how fearless they all had been on the battlefield.

"Alright, Azuhi, enough for today," my father interrupted gently. "Just like me, Nagi and the others are very tired, and we don't know when we'll have to fight again. Let's head home, alright?"

His voice was as sweet as ever.

I wanted to hear more, but I couldn't say no.

I waved goodbye to Uncle Nagi and Sota, and Dad and I continued our journey home on his majestic white horse. The animal was enormous, making me feel tiny every time I rode with him.

As we approached our house, I spotted my mother standing outside. She was rubbing her hands together anxiously, but the moment she saw Father, her nervous movements stopped.

Dad and I climbed down from the horse, and this time it was Father who rushed forward.

"Kanae!"

He ran to her and wrapped her in a tight embrace, as though he never wanted to let go again.

"I'm home, Kanae," he said, his voice exhausted.

That surprised me. Just moments ago, he had sounded so energetic.

"Welcome back, Yami," Mother replied softly as she ran her fingers through Father's long, silky hair.

The two stared at each other for a moment before sharing a kiss.

Meanwhile, I pretended not to notice what was happening.

"Wow," I said loudly. "I never noticed how green the grass in our garden is."

The two lovebirds immediately burst into laughter when those words reached their ears.

"Oh? Is that so?" Father asked, trying—and failing—to hide his grin.

"Very interesting observation, Azuhi," Mother added with a playful smile.

I crossed my arms and looked away dramatically.

"Someone has to appreciate the grass around here."

Their laughter only grew louder.

For the first time in many days, our home felt whole again.

We all went inside the house and sat down for breakfast. Calling it breakfast would have been an understatement—it was practically a feast. Mom had prepared it specially for Dad, considering he had been away for several weeks and had likely spent most of that time fighting on the battlefield.

The dishes laid before us included steamed rice, miso soup filled with tofu, green onions, and seaweed, grilled fish as the main source of protein, and onigiri and tamago as side dishes. The aroma alone was enough to make my stomach growl.

Dad ate like a man who hadn't seen food in decades.

"Eat slowly, honey. The food isn't going anywhere," Mom said, wiping a grain of rice from his lips.

Dad immediately blushed and obediently slowed down, which only made me chuckle.

Meanwhile, I had already finished my meal. I sat impatiently, tapping my foot beneath the table while waiting for Dad to finish. All I could think about was training.

Finally, Dad gulped down the last of his water and gave me a wink.

Let's go train.

That was all I needed.

We both thanked Mom for the food and stood up. Dad calmly walked toward the backyard while I practically sprinted ahead of him.

"Honey, at least rest for a few hours," Mom called out, clearly annoyed.

"Oh, come on. What's the fun in that?" Dad replied with a smirk.

Mom sighed before smiling to herself.

"These two..."

When we reached the backyard, Dad glanced at the training dummy.

"It's in the same condition as when I left," he said, sounding slightly concerned.

His words hit me harder than any sword ever could.

"I really don't know, Dad. I try my best," I muttered, feeling embarrassment wash over me.

"How about you show me, Azuhi?" Dad asked with an encouraging smile.

The embarrassment immediately faded.

I grabbed my wooden sword and rushed toward the dummy. With all my strength, I swung and struck it directly in the middle.

Nothing happened.

Well, almost nothing.

A sharp pain shot through my wrist.

I winced and grabbed my arm.

"I think it's because of the wooden sword. I can't cut through the bag."

Dad's expression immediately turned serious.

"No."

The single word caught me off guard.

"I've seen your technique. I know exactly what's wrong."

My eyes widened.

"What is it? Please tell me."

Dad walked over and picked up the wooden sword from the ground.

"Watch closely, Azu. The difference isn't in the posture."

He paused.

"It's in the intent."

Then he turned toward the dummy.

For a moment, everything became silent.

Dad's eyes locked onto the target.

The air itself seemed to grow heavy.

Then—

A flash.

That was all I saw.

One moment Dad was standing beside me.

The next, he was standing behind the dummy.

A second later, the dummy split cleanly in half.

My jaw dropped.

"What...?"

I couldn't even process what had happened.

"What was that?"

I hadn't seen the swing.

I hadn't seen him move.

I hadn't seen anything.

This level of speed...

Is he even human?

How is that possible?

The distance between us suddenly felt greater than the distance between heaven and earth.

To think I could ever compete with him...

What a foolish dream.

My knees gave out beneath me.

I stared at the ruined dummy while the overwhelming gap between us crushed my spirit.

Dad immediately rushed toward me.

"Easy there, champ."

He caught me before I could fully collapse.

At that moment, the pain in my wrist returned with full force. My vision blurred, and everything went dark.

________________________________________

When I opened my eyes again, I found myself lying on my futon.

"Dad?" I whispered.

He was sitting beside me.

"Yes, sweetheart," he replied softly. "Is your wrist feeling better?"

I nodded.

Relief immediately appeared on his face.

"I'm glad it's nothing serious."

For a few moments, neither of us spoke.

Then I finally broke the silence.

"Dad..."

"Yeah?"

"I want to become great like you."

A warm smile appeared on his face.

"Of course you will, Azuhi."

He gently placed a hand on my head.

"I'll teach you everything I know. But first, you need to recover."

His voice softened even more.

"For now, just get some rest."

He leaned down and kissed my forehead.

I closed my eyes.

For the first time that day, I wasn't thinking about how far ahead of me he was.

I was thinking about how lucky I was to have him as my father.

And with that thought, I drifted back to sleep.