Chapter 10

Later that night, there was a huge party to celebrate the defeat of the Oda army. Ryu took a good look around at all the people and sighed in relief that he had finally earned a break from the war. Unfortunately, he knew it would only be a break. After all, he was immortal. He would live on long past his wife and his people as long as he continued to protect those most precious to him.

But he was perfectly fine with that. It only meant that one day, he would have more people to protect and that he may one day return to the battlefield. For once in his life he could let loose. He could finally be a part of the joyful laughs, which he loved to hear from his people. He could finally have feelings much deeper than he imagined.

He resigned from the battlefield that day, broken and defeated after the unexpected incident with Hideyoshi. But certainly, much wiser. He had learned so much from his journeys and now that he could live happily with his people, learn much more from them.

A smile broke out across Ryu’s face and for the first time that he could ever remember, he laughed, loudly and happily.

One year later, Mikoto gave birth to Ryu’s child and together the two raised him. He became a great man and Ryu was very proud of him.

You see, there is a lesson to learn from Ryu’s story and that lesson is that love is the most powerful thing in the world. It causes people to protect those that they love and love can also change the world. Ryu had a gift and the only way to truly show appreciation for a gift is to use it right, to use it for noble purposes. And that is exactly what Ryu did.

However, this has all been simply a prologue to the real story, for you see, Ryu is immortal and his biggest challenge is yet to come.