Beneath the Cherry Tree

The village's only cherry tree was in bloom again, as it was every spring. Hoshino Sakura sat beneath its branches, gathering the falling pink petals in her cupped hands. She was seventeen, and until that day she had believed the worst thing that could ever happen to her was missing one of her father's sword lessons.

When evening came, the sky turned crimson. But this was no sunset. The smoke rising beyond the hill carried the news that the village was burning. As Sakura leapt to her feet, the cherry petals slipped through her fingers.

By the time she ran home, it was already over. With his last breath, her father held out a long bundle wrapped in cloth. 'Never draw this,' he said. 'But if the day comes when you have no choice... remember, the blade will carry you, too.' Inside the bundle lay a black katana, cherry blossoms etched into its hilt.