Secret and the Sword

                                   Chapter One

 

One day not too long ago, Matsu fired up his bike and took off on the road. He would pick up Nishira for the forth weekend in a row. She had been staying at her grandfather’s, and loved riding motorcycles and was pretty good at hanging off the back. Matsu was hoping on this day, he would be able too test ride her grandfather’s Dragon Bike.

Later that morning three superbike companions, were quickly winding up the canyon, and sparking their pegs through the corners. Suddenly a cloud of a hundred bats darkened the sky. A mile up ahead around a hair pin corner, a black 57 Cadillac like a predator that watched from above, waited idling along a guard rail. The three riders were dicing and carving through the twistys, and hung their bikes into a soothing graceful slide. The Cad accelerated for the turn, two sharpened swords quickly folded out from the bullet style bumper. Just as the riders were grinding pucks and sliding the turn, the Cad was jamming in their lane, and bashed the riders hard, sending them and their bikes over the rail, flying off the cliff to face their death.

Off into the dirt shoulder the Cad spun a U-turn, dust whirled up from behind it’s wing finned tail. A black clothed Ninja jumped out with motor pulley rope, after hooking it to the guard rail repelled rapidly down the sheer slope. After a few moments he climbed back up, shaking his head no. He gathered his equipment and jumped back in the Cad, as it burned em off, disappearing on the mountains road.

Later on, a young attractive girl named Nishira, relaxed against a boulder, staring out from the edge of a mountain’s summit. In the parking lot her lavender pearl colored sport bike cooled in the early afternoon breeze. It was the perfect view over looking a layer of spooky clouds, that swirled through the forested valley, with two lanes descending to the reflecting city below.

Like a bird of prey that was circling above, a patrol car slowly cruised the parking lot, stopping only to take license plate numbers of the few groups of sportbikes that were randomly parked around.

Then a distant bellowing howl sounded from the lower valley’s twisting road, as a speck of a bike could be seen apexing through the turns. Soon the sound became louder as the shifts and acceleration echoed through the canyon.

The patrol car pulled up next to a tree hiding from the oncoming machine. The sound roared through the summits long straight away. Then downshifts dropped in lower octaves, as the motorcycle casually zoomed by. The patrol car decided to pull off the other way. A moment later the cycle returned to park right up next to Nishira. It was her friend Matsu on his freshly flame painted sportbike. He had seen the note left on Nishi’s door, ‘I‘ve got my own bike, went for a ride, I don‘t need you anymore.’

He was surprised to see, Nishi had really gotten herself a sportbike. Though she always claimed she would have a bike someday, after she turned eighteen. He apologized for forgetting her Xmas party, he gave her a belated Xmas and Birthday hug. Then they exchanged thoughts, as they absorbed the coolness of one another’s machines.

Nishi became silent for awhile, looking at the city below. Then she spoke of her haunting memory of discovering her grandfather Toshi, slain by a sword, lying on his garage’s stone floor. Matsu described seeing Toshi’s garage vandalized, ransacked, and all torn apart. His ‘Zen book of Motorcycle Masters‘, and ‘the Sacred Four Tablets’ were gone. His treasured tool box, and the ‘Scrolls of Four Elements to Ride’ were gone. Undoubtedly the killing thieves motive was to steal his ultimate creation, for his ‘Dragon Bike’ was also gone.

Nishi stared down as a pouring tear flowed from her cheek. She told how her grandfather’s Dragon Bike, was made from the four elements of the earth. A secret method used by their ancient family of master swordmakers. That her grandfather’s process of using spiritual sand of iron and ore, combined with forging of aluminum, titanium, modern fabrication, along with other spiritual secrets of old lore, created the strongest materials man could ever adore.

Matsu agreed that his Zen master Toshi was an extraordinary motorcycle craftsman. He had built a beautiful, light, strong, ferociously fast, and powerful machine. Toshi claimed it was immortal, would never become old, having a heart, with even a larger soul.

At that moment a sportbiker pulled in the parking confused asking those around, if they had seen a group of five ride by? That he seemed to have lost them. He then rode off in a wheelie, back to where he had came.

Nishi began telling of her uncle Yoshisada, who had flown from Japan to attend the funeral. Devastated by the act, sent his force to search for Toshi’s assailants. Yoshi knew it was the swordsmiths of old Yasutsuna clan of Hoki province, makers of the new Yasu superbike. Throughout the centuries many attacks upon their Amakuni family bloodline for possession of the secrets of Shinto steel. The clan had failed once again, to obtain the secret and the sword. For there were writings left on Toshi’s wall of a deadly threat. Her Uncle warned her that she was in great danger, that she could be captured dead or alive, for the exchange of the secret and the sword, and she must return with him to Japan.

Matsu didn’t want her to return to Japan, explaining she would be safer in America? She replied, ”I must return with my Uncle, though it will be sad being so far away from you.” Matsu realized their friendship had grown into something very special. He had been suppressing his secret desires for her, the thought of her leaving sent a dagger deep in his heart.

They decided to take a ride together to the summit cafe. Her bike was hard to fire up. It bellowed black smoke and sounded like a gargling gargoyle. She explained ever since the funeral, it started running worse and worse. Matsu crouched down and checked for an electrical problem. All of a sudden a black Cad pulled in the parking area. Two dark clothed ninjas jumped out and ran towards them. One Ninja attacked with twirling nunchuks at Matsu as he tried to stand up, and was hammered on the head knocking him back Nishi reached for a flap on the side of her bike, as a Ninja threw a net over her and tossed her into the Cad. The nunchuk Ninja jumped in, as the Cad burned em in reverse running over and slamming both bikes to hell, as they sped off.

                          

 

Matsu’s bike was crushed, he jumped on Nishi’s bike cranking the starter it blurped out smoke not wanting to go. Matsu mumbled to himself ‘Don’t do this to me, ride the earth like the wind, fire, and sea.’ The bike fired with a howling roar, its headlights swept back with a yellow glow, it’s body became green as it flowed into a dragon with its claws down low. With a vicious screaming roar and a hot torching flame, a smoke burning groove followed as he tore across the pave. In no time at all he was swooping up on the Cad, as it slammed on its breaks in a screeching skid.. Matsu locked it up and plowed into the rear, smashing himself to bits against the Cads finned tail.

Red and yellow stars swarmed around the cloud clearing sun, as Matsu awoke with a headache, and looked up from the ground. He heard Nishi voice and saw her pretty eyes and cute little smile. “Matsu are you okay? You were pegging it way too fast with me on the back. We low sided, as I slid out on my butt, you got stacked agianst the guard rail hard with a loud thump.”

Matsu slowly sat up as his spinning world cleared, “ My bike! Where are the Ninjas are they near? Nishira replied, “No Ninjas around here! Are you sure your okay to ride? Remember you will never win, without fully mastering the Zen. We better head home, and let’s not mention this when we return Toshi his Dragon Bike, our Christmas eve party will start early tonight.”

After picking up and mounting the machine, he noticed it hadn’t a scratch and still had a shining gleam. He coasted to the roads shoulder, as they prepared to split the scene. Nishi hugged Matsu around his back and whispered in his ear, “Only thirty six hours till I turn eighteen.

Just as Matsu turned to give her a kiss, a 57 Cad swept around the corner with a near miss. It had bright red and white paint, a red ribbon reef hung from the grill above the plate. With a grip of the throttle he started the bike, as it growled with a loud rap, just below the bars in the faring was a flap. He opened and placed his hand on a woven hilt handle as the engine really roared. No doubt he was now in possession of a Shinto steel sword. Matsu thought, as he began to feel, he must protect Toshi and Nishira just in case this tale was real. For now he had a quest to do much more, to become a master of the Dragon that shielded the sword. 

 

                                                                    Dallion 7th