Chapter 1

Hiro always loved playing with wooden swords and wanted to become a Samurai so he could protect his mother no matter what came their way. He practiced every moment he could, but he especially loved practicing at night under the moonlight. As his mother watched him practice hard and never give up until he was so tired he went to sleep as soon as he'd lie down. He would always listen as his mother would hum softly as she laid down with him and call him her 'Moon Samurai'.

"sigh ... good night my Moon Samurai" said his mother

and he kept practicing every day and night getting stronger and faster, he would do more and more moves and practice dodging rocks his mom threw when he asked her. "so I can get faster mom" he would tell her.

As the years passed they lived a relatively peaceful life with Hiro getting faster and stronger each day he practiced. He never left anywhere with out his wooden sword, his mom would always ask why he would carry it everywhere. "to protect you with mom" he would tell her and she just smile at him.

7 years later...

As the full moon filled the night sky, Hiro was laying under the stars gazing at them and the beauty of the Full Moon. All of a sudden he heard a great cry through the calm of the night. All of a sudden flames burst out and ravaged through his village killing many, but the screams were not from the fire but from the villagers being murdered by Bandits!

Bloodthirsty bandits ravaged the village stealing and killing anyone who tried to stop them, Hiro ran through the night and into his burning village. Fire raging around him he called out for his mother desperately trying to find her, everywhere he looked there were people laying around either dead or crying over their loved one who were killed. He kept running trying to find her and he suddenly stopped as he saw his mother lying on the ground blood covering her body, he ran to her body lying on the ground trying to help her away from everyone so they wouldn't hurt her more.

As he dragged her out to a clearing in the plains behind a barn. He pulled her up against him trying to keep her safe and not wanting her to die, he was crying uncontrollably as he held her. She looked up at him and reached out to caress his cheek with her hand he cried feeling her hand against him as she lay dying covered in blood.

She looked up at him and told him what a 'good boy' he had been to her and she loved him very much.

"Hiro I want you to always be the kind and gently boy I know you are, don't let my dying hurt your attitude towards other people. Not everyone is as bad as those bandits, Most people are very kind and gentle and I want you to be the same my son" she said

"Mother please don't leave me I need you!" cried Hiro

"please Hiro be brave and always remember to be kind always" she said

Hiro closed his eyes his tears blurring his eyes he couldn't respond to her he wanted revenge for what those bandits did.

"please promise me you will always be the kind boy I love and raised" she asked

"I promise mother" said Hiro

his mother looked lovingly at him wishing she could spend a little more time with him and that she hadn't been torn away from him so abruptly. But she knew he would keep his promise and the kind gentleness she loved about him ... just like his father...

"Hiro you will always be my special little boy and always know I love you more than anything in the world" she said

"I know mother I'll keep my promise no matter what, and I will always love you and never forget you ever!" He said

he held his mother in his arms as she lay dying watching as his village burned up in the night sky, he held her close to him as she slowly started to close her eyes she said one last thing to him

"you protected me my Moon Samurai, always remember you protected me from being hurt anymore by those men."

He nodded his head as she closed her eyes and her hand dropped from his cheek, he clutched his mother closer to him closing his eyes as his tears burned in his eyes as he cried all night long holding his mother feeling her get colder as the sun came up. He dug as deep a grave as he could and buried his mother putting as big as a rock as he could lift on her grave so he could find her, he kept a simple silver necklace of his mothers around his neck so he could keep her close to his heart everywhere he went.

So it was he set out to find a place to stay and keep his promise to his mother, He'd search village to village helping and working where he could earn his way. Never staying more than a few months to save enough money to travel further on to his next destination Which brings us to where our Samurai's Legend begins.