Samuel is a nine year old boy who was born with a deformity on his face, a scar runs across his face from his left ear almost to his mouth. In his imagination he dreams that he is a Ninja warrior who suffered an injury while fighting his worst enemy... Hiroshi.

His parents have decided to move to another city and for Samuel this is his first day at school, he tries to hide behind his mother, he doesn't want to be seen, but he has no choice but to enter the classroom. His teacher welcomes him and the children look at him from their seats, some with curiosity, others with pity and a group of five children, with a mocking expression in their eyes and smiles.

Since that day, Samuel has had no peace at school and even less since the moment when to defend himself from the taunts of his classmates, he told them that he was a Ninja and that is why his face had the mark of the fights he had faced. The laughter was not long in coming.

“Hey Ninja! How did you do in the fights? hahaha did you win any of them or are you a loser”, shouted the biggest and most abusive of them, a 10 year old boy named Jorge. He is at least a foot taller than Samuel, who is slim and small for his age.

Miyadi is the school's math teacher, he is Japanese and came to this country twenty years ago. His childhood was very sad, continually pressured by his father who gave him a very strict upbringing in the military values of honor, country and the courage to face problems. His mother tried to appease this behavior, with her sweetness and affection, but these manifestations of love were not allowed to him, for his father they were signs of weakness.

At the age of fifteen, while training with his father in the martial arts, he suffered an accident. His body fell on the sword that pierced his hand, cutting his nerves. An infection in the wound, which was difficult to control, meant that weeks later his arm had to be amputated at the elbow. His father felt guilty for what had happened to his son and his health deteriorated until he suffered a heart attack. His mother decided with all the sadness that overwhelmed her, not to continue their lives in that place, she did not want to know anything about those customs that had destroyed her family. So one day, they left for a distant land where they began a new life. Miyadi studied to become a teacher, mathematics was his passion and he loved teaching.

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That day, leaving the teacher's lounge, she heard a commotion in the courtyard, and decided to investigate what was going on. When he arrived he saw several children shouting “Ninja coward!, Ninja coward!” and pushing a younger boy.

“What's going on here?” he said in a loud voice, but without shouting at them.

Immediately they all retreated except for the smallest boy, who was shaking from head to toe in fear. He noticed the scar on his face when he looked at him closely and knew that this was the reason for the teasing. But... why was he being called Ninja, he thought it was strange and wanted to know the reason.

“Hello! what's your name? I'm Miyadi your math teacher ”.

“My name is Samuel” and his voice was just a very low sound, a murmur that Miyadi could not hear.

“Speak louder, I didn't hear you”.

“Samuel, my name is Samuel”.

“Tell me something, why were the children shouting at you Ninja coward?”

Samuel didn't know what to say, he wanted to tell the teacher, but the words stuck in his throat.

“I know, said the teacher, you are a Ninja and that wound you have, you got it in a fight. Look at my arm, this also happened to me in a fight. I'm going to tell you a secret, but you know secrets are kept between friends. I am a samurai, like the ninjas, I am a Japanese warrior. And I lost this arm in a combat against my enemy... Akiro”.

Those words gave Samuel the peace of mind that the teacher was not going to reprimand him or take him to the Directorate and more importantly he found a person who understood him and knew that he was not lying. It was the honest truth, he was a Ninja. So he promised the teacher that he would not tell anyone.

From that day on, Samuel went to school with more confidence, but his classmates kept bothering him and he was so desperate that he told the secret that had been entrusted to him, he broke his word.

“The math teacher is also a Japanese warrior... just like me.”

Hahaha!!! how funny”, said Jorge while his friends doubled over with laughter.

“Okay we will believe you”, said Jorge, “but you have to give us a demonstration, we want to see you and the professor in combat”.

Professor Miyadi was called that same day to an urgent meeting with the director.

“Professor Miyadi! the children are saying that you are a Samurai and that you are going to fight against the boy Samuel. What madness is this, please explain to me. It is not possible that you are promoting violence in this school.”

Miyadi explained to the principal what had happened and he understood the reasons for what he had done, but they had a serious problem to solve.

Miyadi arrived home where his wife Elizabeth and son Akiro, named after his father, were waiting for him. He hugged them as usual and after the meal, he told them what was going on at school and asked for their advice.

“Dad I think you have to help Samuel, imagine how he will feel if he can't prove to those children what he told them. He will look not only like a coward but a liar.”

“I agree with what Akiro says. Now the question is how are you going to do it?" his wife tells him.

Miyadi thinks and says to them. I think my father can help me and goes to the room, he takes out from a trunk the Samurai suit and sword that he keeps very carefully, it is a family heirloom, it belonged to his grandfather and before him to his great-grandfather, called like his father, Akiro.

“Help me father to fulfill this commitment with honor, as you taught me. I did not understand at the time, but now I know that you were only doing what you learned, following the customs of your ancestors. It is not easy to change in such a short time, I wish we could have done it together.”

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All the students and staff of the school are invited for a match between Samuel and Professor Miyadi. That day they gather in the courtyard.

Samuel arrives accompanied by his parents, he is wearing the black Ninja suit he got as a birthday present. His face is covered by a black mask and in his hand he carries his plastic sword. He stands in the middle of the courtyard and confidently awaits the arrival of Professor Miyadi, because inside his suit he feels no fear.

A very tall man arrives in the courtyard, he is dressed in a suit composed of an armor of iron sheets and red leather, on his face a silver mask that covers his features with some horns also of silver color on his head. Pants that reach his knee and leather sandals. But most impressive of all is his long sword adorned with red leather that is held by the professor's one hand. He walks and stops in front of Samuel.

The whole atmosphere is transformed, they are in the courtyard of a martial arts school, in a traditional Japanese building made of wood and with large windows, surrounded by wonderful gardens where the cherry trees are in bloom. The soft breeze from the mountains caresses the faces of those present.

A voice like thunder is heard

“Greetings venerable Samuel! ”and the Samurai bows his body.

“Greetings venerable Miyadi!”, responds Samuel, bowing in respect.

The teacher and now Samurai Miyadi greets those present and begins to speak.

“This is a day to remember and learn from. We are here facing each other, with all our strength not only in body but also in spirit. We ninja and samurai are united in this moment of peace. Weapons must be put away. Enough violence against the helpless, against the weakest. We swear before these swords and the sacred spirit of our ancestors that no more fighting will be necessary, that we will protect and care for all who need it. The honor of a Ninja, of a Samurai... is his sword”.

“Let us raise all swords!... sorry hands and vow to fulfill this oath ”. And so it was done”.

After this performance, the students and all the staff of Los Jardines del valle school felt emotionally committed to this oath, they remembered it as in a fantastic dream. Samuel kept his promise and the Ninja suit was stored in a trunk in his room, because he knew he would no longer need it.

Professor Miyadi was happy, he had achieved more than he thought, his students admired and respected him and he had reconciled with the spirit of his father. This gave him great inner peace.

Thank you for reading my participation in The Ink Well Prompt #70.

Translated with www.DeepL.com/Translator (free version)