《Strongest Footsoldier?》 1 Prologue Author: I''m using a translator for Italian words, so sorry if anything is wrong. Also, this is a prologue just to introduce the mc. The next chapter will skip to him already being in Japan, and the interesting event there. ragazzo -kid maestro - master/teacher del Fiore - of the flower ragazzaccio - brat ------------------------------------------------------------- -Somewhere in the Italian Alps- A young man, seemingly around the age of 15, in complete obedience, was kneeling down to an old man. The old man, with condescending eyes, stroked his beard a few times, as if contemplating whether or not to accept the situation presented in front of him. "You cannot be too haughty," the old man eased his face into a smile, "those will be the last words I teach you, ragazzo." The young man lifted his head, his golden hair parted, revealing his face. "Of course maestro, I''ve trained my whole life for this moment." The kid, was born and bred in the mountain ranges of Italy, and has never once experienced society for himself. Yet, among those rather heavy inexperiences, his face shone determination like no other. "I''ve taught you Japanese, Italian, and English," tears welled up in the old man''s eyes, "and those were enjoyable times." "Remember what I told you, ragazzo, always be aware of your surroundings." The old man turned around to hide his face, and continued, "And... I will keep my promise. I will give you a name worthy of your talent and determination." "Thanks, Maestro!" The "ragazzo''s" face brightened. The old man suddenly turned around, and smacked him in the face with his sheathed sword. The blow left the young man reeling, but, he gave himself a light pat, and recovered. "Don''t talk to me too comfortably ragazzaccio! Don''t slack off until the end!" The old man''s words reached the kid, and the young man immediately straightened up, "Of course Maestro!" "As for your name, it will be..." Suddenly, the old man was interrupted, "Maestro, wait! I will become a worthy successor to your Flower Sword Style, and after learning the techniques of the Japanese, I shall return to receive a name from you!" Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation. The old man laughed, "Ha! No, it''s alright son, Let me give you a name. I''m proud of you." To hear those words, the young man felt relieved, but insisted, "No, maestro. I have already decided that I will return with success. I will present to you, the blade of the Japanese." "Really, just let me give you a name." "No!" the ragazzaccio replied. The old man, now sweating profusely, looked very worried, as he dryly laughed. "Alright. Then let me give you a weapon then. I''ve taught you my way of the sword, which has both German and Italian roots, but keep in mind it will be different once you travel to your destination." "I understand." A few minutes after the maestro had gone to the shack, he returned holding a sheathed sword. "Here is a blade, which was smithed by me. It is designed to be used for my style," The old man emphasized, "DO NOT use this for anything other than my style. It will severely damage your arms." "You''ve told me that many times master. I will always keep that in mind." The maestro handed the young man the weapon, which then he looked at with awe. It was a simple design, with a double sided guard, and a leather-wrapped hilt. The pommel was in a spherical shape, with the natural sheen of steel. Unsheathing the weapon, one could see that it was double-edged, and had a simple wavy-stripe design. parts of a sword Fascinated, the young man swung it around, and came to a conclusion, "Maestro! This blade is amazing! Much better than the one we used for training!" "Alright, alright. Now let''s get going. We need to get to the port in three days." ---------------------------------------------- End prologue. Please give me some input as to what you thought. Let me know if the dialogue is too rigid. This chap was slow, and boring, but I just wanted to introduce the mc. Thanks for reading! Please comment/rate/favorite/follow (even though there isn''t much material... lol) Was adding a picture a good idea? 2 - A Travel Author: Here''s the next chapter! Any advice is appreciated! spada - sword --------------------------------------------------------------- The port being located in Venice, took Maestro and his apprentice two days to reach, on foot. The climb down from the mountain, into the city was a strenuous one, seeing as Maestro was already an old man, of at least 60 years. Having adopted the name Fiore for the time being (mainly because Maestro had insisted), the ragazzo showed the upmost concern towards the old man. If he died, he would get no name. That was his concern. With the idea of "caring for the elderly" out the window, young Fiore sped down the mountain, while Maestro struggled. Every few hours, Fiore would turn around to check if he was still alive. "Maestro, are you ALIIIIIVE?" "Shut it, ragazzo. Even if I look like this, I''m not as weak as you think," Maestro retorted. However, as a practitioner of the Fiore swordstyle, his body was as fit as could be, of course, at his age. The city itself was gated off, and two guards were watching the front, drunk, underneath the heat of the sun. The two husky men were lightly armed, with only a government-issue sword. A pile of cards were laid out on a short wooden box, with few bottles of liquor were tossed around. A glint in the eye of Maestro indicated his concern. Maestro informed, "Ragazzo, stay and watch the guards... corruption is a common sight nowadays." "Corruption?" Fiore''s questions were never answered, as Maestro had already headed towards the gate, holding some papers in hand. "You signore! Stop!" At the guard''s command, Maestro halted, only a few feet away from the city border. Maestro eyed the two men, and whispered inaudible words, into the ears of the first guard, the one with the half-shaven beard. The half-shaven guard smiled, papers in hand, and his face went red. Covering his mouth, only a light sound could be heard, "Pfff!" Fiore snickered. Since the men looked weak, he expected Maestro to finish them quickly. The guard stomped his foot, and kicked a bottle. With a light clink, the bottle was winged. Maestro swiftly dodged, showing no sign of his age. The young apprentice''s heart lifted in anticipation. A few seconds seemed like a few minutes. Fiore fixed his eyes on his master, and leaned in closer, rustling the bushes. Maestro''s eyes darted towards the ragazzo, and he then scowled. In that moment of maestro''s distraction, the guard reached for a bottle, and threw it, using his whole body as momentum. The old man was hit with the bottle in his gut, and upon returning to the ground, shattered into a million pieces. Maestro''s anger reached new heights, which in normal situations, would have prompted the ragazzo to his side. However, the faithful apprentice decided to heed his master''s words, and watch a true fight unravel. For many years, Fiore has only witnessed maestro''s skill in fighting animals, such as bears, so this fight was special. The master of the Flower Sword Style unsheathed his hidden blade from his back, and attacked. His movements were swift, giving him an ageless appearance. The blade was easily long enough to cut the bearded guard''s throat, but out of pity, Maestro slashed at his torso instead. His diagonal thrust landed, the sheer force of the strike throwing the man against the gate. In a mere 15 seconds, the "fight" was already over. An erie plea sounded, loud enough for the apprentice to hear, "PleAse.. Let ME LiVe... " The second guard''s face looked as if he had just survived an apocalypse. His face was covered with snot and tears, willingly forgetting about his comrade''s condition. If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation. The ragazzo''s face contorted with anger, and he allowed himself to be disgusted. "Don''t sully the name of our swordstyle!!" Fiore yelled, in a fit of anger. The ragazzo abruptly lifted himself up, and ran towards the scene. Maestro held out a hand, and beamed, "Ragazzo, I''ll take care of this. It''s late. Get to the Port , QUICK!" "Ohhh!" Fiore confirmed. Weapon in hand, The ragazzaccio sped towards his destination. A mere 5 minutes later, Fiore had reached the edge of the city, the port from where he would start his journey. "ALRIGHT, I''m here!" Two large boats were lined, facing the vast Mediterranean, and the skinny walkways that were lined in between the boats were filled with different things: one with many people carrying boxes and the like into the hull, while the other one had people of different ages boarding. The boats themselves were made of wood, but Fiore realized that he couldn''t manage to observe further. He needed to board, and quick, according to his maestro''s words. He noticed a bridge which spanned across both the walkways into their respective ships. He deduced, Maestro wouldn''t send his great apprentice into a boat filled with random commoners. So, the obvious choice would be to board the ship which has many strong men carrying heavy-looking cargo! Having decided, he whistled a tune and happily trotted over to the entrance of the hull of the second ship. However, at the moment he was going to enter, another man was about to exit. He had a dark complexion, and was wearing a bandana around his neck. He also possessed a strong build fitting for a martial artist. "Oi. Kid, Where are you goin'' aye?" Fiore confessed, "I''m getting on this boat." The man inquired, "Uhhhh.... Ya shure yer not in the wrong ship, aye?" "No, I''m sure its this boat." "This ain''t a boat kid, its a SHIP, and are you cargo or somethin''? If yer a new recruit, head o''er to the deck," the sailor insisted. Fiore saluted, "I look forward to a good trip!" and jumped a few meters into the air, landing on the deck of the ship. The sailor dryly laughed, and muttered, "We got real good recruits this time, eh?" -----------------------------------Maestro''s location------ Maestro straightened himself up, and watched proudly as his apprentice left. As soon as Fiore was out of sight, he relaxed, and admitted, "Well, that''s a load off me....Kid had some good points though." He sighed as he gave the two guards a hand to stand up. The standing guard wiped his sweat off, and asked, "How was that Maestro? Good enough for the 100 coins?" The half-bearded man against the wall retorted, "It better be. I was knocked against a wall for this!" Letting out another sigh, Maestro confirmed, "Yeah, yeah. Your acting was great. Worth every coin." The two guards smiled. One asked, "Will you be going now?" Maestro snatched a bottle of liquor off of the wooden box, took three big gulps, and after he swallowed, his face was grim. He coughed, "I hope that kid stays alive..." ------------------------------------------------------------ Chapter 2, done. I didn''t edit it, so please comment if you see any mistakes, or weird conversations going on. Hopefully this chapter gives you an idea of what Fiore and Maestro are really like! Next chapter will have some sailing, and discoveries, of a kind. Please give me your opinion! Rate/comment/favorite/follow!