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    It was raining heavily.  The tears of heaven beat down on the 
heavy brow of the Earth in waves, and it seemed like it would never 
end.  Lightning flashed through the sky and the rolling roar of 
thunder pounded a heavy stacatto beat after it.  The sky rolled and 
pitched like a thick black brew in the sky, pausing every so often to 
spew out a wave of more rain and lightning before relenting for a few 
moments more.
    Jubei Kibagami was not very comfortable.  In fact, Jubei was very 
uncomfortable.  Of course, sitting in seiza for most of the day would 
do that to someone.  He had come many miles to visit Zamura-sensei, 
and it seemed the men guarding the small dojo that Zamura-sensei 
lived in would not let any man through without proof of their 
worthiness.  Jubei said he'd do anything.  They told him to sit in 
seiza for one day with neither food nor drink.  Jubei agreed.  He had 
been sitting in the pounding rain ever since.  Every so often, he 
thought he saw the shadow of a short wizened man come to the window 
and pause for a moment before disappearing again.
    The storm's center was coming closer.  Jubei could feel the hair 
on the back of his neck start to rise ever so slightly.  The air even 
smelled different.  Jubei squared his jaw, clenched his teeth and 
closed his eyes.  Jubei had set hismind to meeting Zamura-sensei.  It 
was an honor to be granted an audience with Zamura-sensei, and it was 
an even higher honor to receive even the smallest piece of the vast 
knowledge he possessed.  Jubei had hoped that Zamura-sensei would 
explain a technique he had heard people speak of.  Only Zamura-sensei 
would know of it.  Only Zamura -sensei was known to be so proficient 
that it was the only technique Zamura-sensei had ever needed in his 
days as a samurai.
    The storm began to wear away at his resolve.  The chill from the 
rain was starting to seep into his bones, and his legs were becoming 
numb from the rain and the position he was in.  A small sneeze 
escaped his lips.  Lightning flashed.  The shadow of the man appeared 
again, only this time, the door creaked open ever so slightly.  As 
the thunder rolled over Jubei like a monstrous wave, he caught the 
sound of a young child, complaining to their parent.  A cloud passed 
over the moon and everything became dark.  He heard  the sound of the 
door being thrown open and the pitter-patter of small feet.  The 
cloud passed again and Jubei suddenly saw the face of a young girl 
looking directly at him.
    She tugged on his sleeve.
    "Yukiko!  Come in this instant, you impudent child!" a matronly 
voice carried through the rain.  
    The young girl tugged on Jubei's sleeve more insistently.
    "Ne, you'll get sick if you stay out here!  Come inside where 
it's warm," the young girl protested.
    "I must stay here to be able to see Zamura-sensei," Jubei said 
quietly.  "Please go back to your parents.  You must not disappoint 
them."
    The young girl stared at Jubei a moment before a man sprinted 
outside and dragged her back indoors.
    "You shouldn't approach strange men like that!" the man scolded.
    "But he's a good man, 'jisan," the child protested as he hurried 
her indoors.  Jubei watched a moment later as the doors closed behind 
them.  They opened a moment later and a man walked out to Jubei and 
helped him to his feet.
    "Zamura-sensei will see you now," he said.

    The tatami mats were warm under Jubei's legs.  The smell of the 
place was of fragrant blossoms, and it soothed his nerves.  The 
candles placed around the room lit the room and gave it a warm glow.  
The clean, dry gi he wore, warmed his chilled body, and quieted his 
shivering.  The opening of the door behind him caught his attention.
    "I must apologize for the way my students have treated you, 
Kibagami-san.  My students informed me that a beggar had taken 
residence outside the dojo.  I was unaware of your identity until my 
granddaughter went out to meet you," and old man said as he calmly 
walked around the table in front of Jubei and sat opposite it.  He 
set the tray he was holding down on the tabletop and smiled amicably.
    "Iie, Zamura-sensei," Jubei replied with a deep bow from seiza.
    Zamura returned the bow with a curt nod of his head.
    "You may dispense with the formalities here, Kibagami-san."
    "Doumo arigatou gozaimasu," Jubei said with another bow.
    Zamura laughed and waved it off.
    "Iie, iie, Kibagami-san.  I am old and I've long lost the need to 
be humored by such honorific formalities."
    Jubei nodded curtly and smiled.
    "I take it my granddaughter, Yukiko, surprised you, ne.  She is 
an excellent judge of character.  I do not qorry about her quite like 
her mother, though I will admit that I spoil her too often."
    "She is quite headstrong, isn't she?"
    "Of course.  She takes after her mother," Zamura said proudly.
    Jubei chuckled.
    "If your daughter is reflected in your granddaughter, you must 
have had your hands full as she was growing up."
    Zamura laughed and nodded vigorously.
    "But of course!  I had a devil of a time trying to keep her from 
acting too much like a tomboy.  Sometimes I still see that part of 
her come out, though I see it with fond memories now."
    Jubei nodded in assent.
    "Would you care for some cakes?" Zamura asked politely.
    "No thank you, Zamura-sensei.  I am quite comfortable."
    "Surely sitting in seiza has cramped your legs, Kibagami-san.  
You need not show such stringent form in my presence.  Please try to 
be as relaxed as possible," the old man replied.  "So what is it that 
brings you to my humble home?  A chance to train?  Perhaps the 
inclement weather?"
    "As you have guessed, I have come here to request that you 
instruct me on the art of battou-jutsu," Jubei replied.
    "Sou ka," the Zamura replied with a fond smile.  "It has been a 
long time since I have actually trained anyone in swordsmanship.  How 
do you know that I have not lost my touch, eh?"
    "You know better than I, Zamura-sensei, that swordsmanship to us 
is like walking.  We will never forget it, even when old age might 
try to prevent us from exercising it," Jubei replied with a grin.
    Zamura-sensei laughed heartily.
    "You are most astute, Kibagami-san; and you are quite correct.  I 
have still practiced my swordsmanship to this very day, though I 
doubt that I am beyond my prime."
    "But I'm looking merely for instruction, Zamura-sensei.  Nothing 
more than a chance for you to look at my forms and tell me what you 
think."
    "Ours schools are so different, Kibagami-san.  I have never 
trained you before, and I know that you have never visited the only 
other Musoshinden dojo that my foremost student instructs at."
    "That may be so, Zamura-san, but surely you know of your own 
reputation as a swordsman."
    Zamura chuckled.
    "So you seek me out to critique your nuki, ne."
    Jubei smiled and nodded.
    "Perhaps," Zamura mused.  "Would you care for some tea?"
    "That would be very welcome, Zamura-sensei."
    Zamura pushed the small tray towards Jubei and smiled.  Jubei 
nodded curtly and politely made tea for the two of them, taking the 
event very seriously and focusing intently on the task at hand.
    "I can see you must be quite focused as a swordsman.  Most that 
have come by do not make tea quite as well as you do, Kibagami-san," 
Zamura noted as Jubei politely offered a cup of tea.
    "Iie," Jubei said with a smile.  "I am hardly an expert at making 
tea, let alone any good at it."
    Zamura chuckled and waved off Jubei's modest and took long sips 
of his tea, savoring the warm liquid.
    "Kibagami-san, know that the greatest men to ever prepare tea 
were better samurai than most swordsmen I have ever met," Zamura 
stated after a moment of silence.
    "I...I don't understand, Zamura-sensei."
    Zamura chuckled and sipped his tea.
    "Someday, you will, Kibagami-san."
    The room fell into a deep silence as the older swordsman focused 
on his tea.
    "It is quite cold out tonight, isn't it?" Zamura noted after a 
few minutes.
    "Indeed.  I never expected the storm to come upon us quite like 
it did."
    Zamura nodded silently and continued drinking his tea.  Jubei 
poured himself a cup and savored the warm, mellow liquid.  A few 
moments of silence elapsed as the men silently sat drinking tea.  
Zamura set his cup down and opened his mouth to speak, but hurried 
footsteps in the hall cut him off.
    "Sumimasen, Otousan, but we can't find Yukiko anywhere," an 
attractive woman said as she slid the door open.
    "Nani?" Zamura said as he quickly got to his feet.
    "Yukiko's disappeared.  She said she wanted to go play with the 
new puppies, but she's wandered off and she's not in the house," the 
woman said anxiously.
    "Did you look in the garden?" the old man asked.
    "Iie, the puppies were brought indoors earlier before the storm," 
the woman replied.
    Jubei got to his feet.
    "Is there anything I can do to help?" he asked.
    The woman responded before Zamura could answer.
    "Please see if you can find my daughter.  I haven't a clue where 
she's wandered off to and I'm worried she's been hurt."
    Jubei nodded and followed Zamura into the hall after Zamura's 
daughter.  He nodded as Zamura hurried his daughter along one hall 
and then pointed Jubei towards the end of the house.
    "She may have gone outside?  Who knows?  The garden is out there, 
and the dojo past it.  If she is there, please help her.  She is my 
only grandchild, Kibagami-san."
    Jubei nodded and wandered down the hall to the rear of the 
house.  A large open room met his eyes as he opened a sliding door.  
It was quiet and the candles burned in large numbers around the 
room.  It cast a warm glow around the edges of the room.  The center 
looked fairly bright as a large lamp burned brightly.  Lightning 
crashed outside, and thunder quickly followed.  Jubei looked around 
the room and noticed some small smeared prints, in the corner, around 
the other doors leading outside.  A servant walked in demurely a 
moment later and began wiping the smears away with a slightly damp 
cloth.
    "Chotto matte kudasai," Jubei said hurriedly, striding over next 
to the woman.
    She looked up quickly.
    "Un," she responded with a nod and backed up a few inches.
    Jubei looked at the smears.  He couldn't tell what they were from 
anymore.  He mentally cursed his failure to notice them earlier.
    "Where did those tracks come from?" he asked the woman.
    "I don't know," she replied.  "I think they might have come from 
one of the puppies.  Zamura-sama's granddaughter came here rounding 
up the young puppies to bring them by the hearth so that she could 
play with them in the warmth of the fire there."
    "But she's disappeared," Jubei said curiously.
    "I-I have been in the kitchen tending the other puppies for his 
lordships granddaughter.  I apologize for my ignorance.  Is there 
anywhere that hasn't been checked yet?"
    "Not yet.  I'm not sure if they've checked outside."
    "I don't think Zamura-sama's granddaughter would be foolish 
enough to go outside."
    "She did when I was in seiza out there,"  Jubei said evenly.  He 
quickly threw open the sliding doors and hopped onto the walkway on 
the vernanda.  He strained to look into the pitch black of the 
night.  The stacatto static of the pouring rain drowned out his own 
thoughts.
    A flash of lightning lit the garden up in a flash of white.  
Thunder rolled through the garden like a wave, barreling down on 
Jubei, and forcing him to take a step back.  He stepped closer to the 
edge.
    "Get me my sword," he said on a whim.
    "But-"
    "Just bring my sword to me.  I will take the blame for the 
dishonor," he said evenly.
    The woman nodded and hurried out into the hall.
    "Damn this weather," Jubei mumbled to himself.
    Lightning flashed twice more, and the garden lit up once again.  
Jubei stared ahead as the light played off the rock lanterns and the 
glistening rocks.  A few small bonsai peppered the sparse garden.  
Some trees had broken in the heavy winds and fallen over the short 
walls and into the garden.  It was a mess.  A giant roll of thunder 
swept through again, followed by a wailing wind.  Jubei braced 
himself as the wind blew a wall of water at him.  A moment of silence 
elapsed.
    "Taske-" a voice cried out in the silence, barely audible over 
the slamming rain that cut it off.
    "Chikusho-!" Jubei cursed.
    The servant bolted into the room with his sword.  He snatched it 
out of her hands and hopped over the rail, and into the garden.  
Jubei almost fell to the ground as the rain pummeled him into near 
submission.  He could feel the gi turn from a light wool to a heavy 
deadweight on his body.  He scrambled, slipped, and crawled towards 
the place where he though he heard the sound.
    "Where are you, dammit!"  Jubei muttered.
    Jubei slipped on another rock and fell over as a gust of wind 
blew him off his feet.  He braced himself as he reflected off the top 
of a stone lantern.
    "Katte ni-"
    "Tasukete!" a voice cried out hoarsely a few feet to his side.  
It came from behind the lantern.
    Jubei struggled to his hands and knees and peered past the 
lantern.  A large tree had fallen over, but remained braced by the 
lantern and one of the larger bonsai behind it.
    "Yukiko, stand back!"
    "Hai!"
    A bolt of lightning ripped through the sky, and the flash of 
light illuminated the garden again.  The tree was crushing the 
bonsai.  There wasn't much time before it fell and crushed whatever 
was under it.
    "Are you trapped?  Is the tree pinning you under it?" Jubei 
shouted.
    "Iie, I can move!"
    "Move away from the lantern!" Jubei shouted.  He grabbed the 
branches to his left and shook them.  "Move as far this way as you 
can!"
    Jubei could barely hear some struggling.
    "Hai!" Yukiko shouted out above the din.
    Jubei lashed out with his sword just as a bolt of lightning shot 
down from the sky.  He ripped through the tree's foliage with little 
difficulty.  He could hear Yukiko scream as the foliage slowly 
descended down on her.  Jubei stumbled forward and grabbed as much of 
the tree boughs as he could, hefting them up as high as he could 
manage.
    "Quickly!  Get out!" he yelled.
    He heard more scrambling, and then a pair of hands grabbing the 
legs of his hakama.  He felt Yukiko scramble through his legs and to 
her freedom.
    "Arigatou gozaima-"
    Jubei interrupted her by grabbing her hand and quickly hauling 
her towards the sliding doors to the house where everyone had 
gathered.
    "Wouldn't want you to get sick, ne," Jubei noted with a laugh.
    Yukiko giggled.
    "Hyaku, hyaku," Yukiko giggled as she quickly took the lead.
    An enormous bolt of lightning ripped through the sky, tearing 
through the clouds.  A deafening wave of thunder rolled through the 
garden like a tsunami.  There was a flare of light as a nearby tree 
was set ablaze in the rain and started to topple over.  Another bolt 
of lightning rippe through the sky, splitting the tree in two and 
sending one part down and into the garden towards them.
    "Get back!" Jubei shouted, dragging Yukiko back and behind him.  
Jubei waited a split sceond before his sword flew from the saya.  
Jubei poured his heart and soul into the strike, splitting the 
falling tree in midair.  Yukiko needed no prompting for her to scurry 
through the rain and dodge the burning timber as it fell around her.  
Jubei followed quickly behind her.
    Yukiko scrambled through the railing and into the house, as Jubei 
hopped the railing again and slipped and stumbled into the house.  
Zamura handed him a large towel as he tried to wring himself as dry 
as he could.  Yukiko's mother wrapped her daughter in a large towel 
and buried her in a fierce hug.
    "Not so hard, 'kaasan!" Yukiko protested, struggling out of her 
grasp.
    Before anyone could say anything, she opened her kimono and out 
hopped a wayward puppy, who stumbled around before shaking itself 
off.  It shivered quietly as Yukiko grabbed the towel and started 
rubbing it down.
    "Yukiko-chan!" her mother exclaimed.  "All this for a puppy?!?"
    Yukiko shot her mother a withering glare.
    "Chi-chi couldn't find him, so I went out to get him!"
    "You could have killed yourself!" her mother admonsihed.
    "So what?  I had to get him before he got hurt!"
    "It wouldn't have mattered if Chi-chi had five or six puppies, 
Yukiko-chan," her mother noted solemnly.
    "Yes it would have!  It would have mattered to him!" Yukiko said 
forcefully as she held out the dry puppy.  It whined quietly and 
looked up at Yukiko's mother with wide eyes.
    Before Yukiko's mother could say anything, Zamura put a hand on 
her shoulder.
    "You are a wise child, Yukiko-chan," he said with a small grin.  
"Now go bring him back to Chi-chi, ne.  I am sure she's worried about 
her little one."
    Yukiko nodded and giggled.  She ran off to find the family dog as 
a number of servants hurried after her with dry clothes and towels.
    "Otousan!" Yukiko's mother exclaimed.
    Zamura simply put up a hand defensively, silencing her.
    "It mattered very much," he said quietly.  "To the little one."
    Yukiko's mother stared at him for a moment before blinking.  She 
smiled and sighed.
    "Hai, Otousan.  I guess it did," she said.
    Jubei raised a curious eyebrow as she made her way out of the 
room.  Zamura chuckled.
    "You will understand soon enough," Zamura said quietly as he made 
his way out of the room.  Jubei followed silently behind.
    "I am in you debt, Kibagami-san, as is my daughter and my 
granddaughter," Zamura said as he approached a room.  He bowed deeply.
    "Iie, iie," Jubei said with a chuckle.  He bowed deeply in return 
and toweled his hair.  "It was the least I could do."
    "The least you could do?" Zamura said, arching his eyebrows.
    "Two lessons in one day, Zamura-sensei.  I am quite honored.  I 
only requested one," Jubei replied.
    Zamura grinned broadly and nodded.
    "Sou ka," the old man said.
    He opened the door and ushered Jubei in.
    "Do you have any plans for tomorrow, Kibagami-san?" Zamura asked.
    "I don't believe so," Jubei replied after a moment of thought.  
"Perhaps some traveling, but nothing pressing, Zamura-sensei."
    Zamura nodded.
    "Sou ka.  Perhaps, if you have the time, you might spend the 
morning with us and have breakfast?" he asked.
    "I would be most honored," Jubei said with a bow.
    Zamura laughed and waved it off.
    "Iie, iie, Jubei-kun.  Please stay at my request.  I have 
something to show you tomorrow that you might be interested in," the 
old swordsman said with a smile.

    The next morning Zamura took Jubei to see the family dojo.  The 
ronin ended up staying a week.

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