Chapter Text
Saki can remember the day he met Yoshi like it was yesterday.
Now, you have to keep in mind, the Foot clan wasn't always the formidable group it's known as today. Less than 50 years ago, it was nothing more than a small group of a little more than a couple hundred or so men and boys that all lived in a small, secluded village where Saki grew up. The Foot village.
Hidden from the rest of the nation, and determined to stay that way, the village was rather primitive in comparison to their rapidly developing country in the early 70s, the most advanced technology Saki could remember from his youth was a small radio that one of the women of the village bought to replace an old, broken communal one that had apparently been used over 30 years prior during the second World War.
They lived off of small rice pads owned by individual families, as well as fish that they caught in a nearby river. Every week, a merchant would leave to the closest town to sell their exports and buy goods they couldn't produce on their own (such as medicines and vegetables) to bring back to the village. Within their community, currency was rarely used; the residents instead leaning towards trading goods for labor and vice versa. While infighting wasn't uncommon, in the end everyone always seemed to be there for each other. At least, that's how Saki remembers it, for this didn't last long.
The majority of the people in this village were all trained from a young age, typically beginning at four years, in an ancient art unique to their culture. Much like the village's existence itself, this fighting style too was a secret from all outsiders. This technique is how they could dominate most enemies despite their inferior numbers. It's how they managed to keep this community alive and thriving for hundreds of years. The Foot village was one of the only places in their country at the time to be made almost entirely up of martial artists. Even their social hierarchy relied primarily on their prestige as a fighter, with the most skilled and experienced being their leader.
Despite the clan's small size, and their village's location being a secret, their skills allowed them to gain some level of notoriety among the Japanese underground. Of course, this didn't come without it's fair share of conflict.
When Saki was only seven years old, the warriors of the village left to go fight a neighboring clan. No one wanted the fighting to be too close to home, where it would risk their location being found and exploited, so leaving their home behind was the only way they could protect it.
With them, they brought their boy trainees to coach along the way. The youngest of those to leave were only five at the time, while the oldest could range anywhere from 50 to 75 years depending on their capabilities. The women, save for a few, stayed behind to care for the infants and hold down the fort with their own skills.
The only men left in the village, aside from those unable to fight, were Saki's sensei and the current Foot clan leader. The young Saki, despite being old enough to join the fight, was kept at the village to continue his special training. Training to become the next clan leader.
With the majority of the towns men and boys gone, there was much less people to work on domestic tasks such as farming, fishing, and caring for the infants who were too young to join their brothers and fathers. Saki's already busy life would grow even more hectic, often sacrificing what little free time he had (and sometimes having to sacrifice his precious training sessions) to help wherever he was needed. Though it was hard, he never minded, especially with how much many of the village's mothers appreciated having company around the same age as their sons who had gone off to fight.
That's how it was for half a year. Saki's days would consist mainly of training and helping out the townsfolk with their daily tasks. But one day, all of this changed.
"Don't be shy,"
His sensei, Hamato, spoke in a soft voice, eyes peering behind him where Saki could not see. He was getting ready to take his first walks of the day around town when he was summoned to the dojo. Sitting with his legs folded underneath him, and his hands in his lap, he watched intently as the scene unfolded before him.
Sensei spoke again. "Go on, introduce yourself."
Slowly, a small child emerged from behind the man's robes, eyes refusing at first to make contact. Both hands gripped shyly at his fresh Yukata and, if Saki paid really close attention, he could've sworn it was one of his old ones. The boy spoke, tone quiet but clear. "Yoshi."
"Yoshi?" Saki repeated back. He turned his attention back towards his sensei, waiting patiently for an explanation.
Their teacher laughed warmly and nudged Yoshi closer, causing the boy to finally look up. "Saki, this young man will be your new training partner. I want you to make sure he stays comfortable in his new home with us."
Even as a kid, Saki was something of a master when it came to masking emotions, but even this visibly shocked him to learn. Training partner? He peered back at the child slowly, examining his features for some kind of clue as to just who he was.
Now that he's made eye contact, it must've occurred to the child how rude his introduction could potentially have been read as, because almost immediately after their sensei stopped speaking he bowed his head deeply and spoke louder, "It's an honor to meet you."
It was a lot to take in at once. Now that he's gotten a good look at this Yoshi, he's pretty certain he isn't even part of the Foot clan. Isn't that against the rules? Why would his sensei bring in some random--
"A-hm."
Hearing his sensei clear his throat, Saki realized that full seconds had passed and he hadn't so much as reacted to this new information. He decided he would wait to try and make sense of everything, maybe question his sensei privately when he gets the chance. But for now, the reason didn't matter. All that mattered was this was happening, and he just had to go along with it. Saki rose to his feet and bowed his head in return, "My name is Oroku Saki. You can call me Oroku."
"Yoshi, you and Saki will be sharing a room for the time being until we figure out other arrangements. He will help you get adjusted to life in our humble village. I hope you two become good friends." Saki felt a hand come down on his shoulder from his sensei, his other one on Yoshi's, he continued, "Saki, training for today will be moved to this evening. Use this time to get to know each other. I'll go out and get an extra tatami mat while you do that."
Yoshi seemed to tense at the idea of being left alone, but sensei lightly squeezed his shoulder for encouragement before letting go and making his way out. "Be good." And with that, their sensei left.