Starring:
Date: April 26, 2013
Summary:
A servant of Kami-sama plants a seed in a bustling city.
"What If? Future Me - The Teacher"
A large city called Inpu
A Friday night affair
Out in the city heat
Always a party there
Along the sordid street
And it was guaranteed
The place to be was
Rocketown
Muga is a fairly ordinary teen of Inpu, not too rich, not too poor, with what many in the big city would consider an innocuous criminal record. He fills his days with carousing, always looking for something that can distract him from his incompleteness.
The drinks were two for one
Inside the crowded bars
The girls would make their run
Out on the boulevard
It was the idol place
We lived the ways of
Rocketown
It isn't always that way. At times he decides he's going to make something of himself, or find something that really matters in the world. It never lasts, though. Nobody around him seems to know where to look for meaning, and he's been burned by those claiming to.
Hang around by the street light
In the heart of the night life
That's how it goes in Inpu. Why should today be any different?
There came a certain man
A stranger to the crowd
We didn't understand
What he was all about
He walked a different pace
So out of place in
Rocketown
They made a fool of him
They teased him when he'd speak
But when they knocked him down
He'd turn the other cheek
He told me I could find
A life outside of
Rocketown
Muga feels a hand on his shoulder, and reflexively raises a tense arm. But he hears the murmured words, 'This way,' and something awakens inside him as the hand moves on. It belongs to a skinny man approaching middle age, marked by a blood-red bandanna. Muga trails curiously after the man as he moves along the street and speaks to people seemingly at random. Most rush onward. Some stare warily at him as he mentions things about them he couldn't know. A few react with downright hostility, and some…weep for joy.
Hang around by the street light
In the heart of the night life
Muga was headed for a party, but that doesn't seem to matter anymore.
What was his mission?
Where was he going?
Why was his heart light
Always glowing?
All I was missing
He stood there holding
What was his secret
Could I know it?
Muga spends the rest of the day pursuing the man, who continued his strange work. He spoke to individuals, or sometimes groups, and sometimes sang. He sought out those suffering illness or injury and healed them, usually with ninjutsu, but sometimes with just a touch or even a word.
Some didn't like him near
Some laughed and turned away
But me, I longed to hear
All that he had to say
He had a peace of mind
I couldn't find in
Rocketown
Muga finally catches up with the man in an alleyway away from the crowds. He asks why the man had singled him out with that phrase, 'This way.' The man smiles and shrugs, replying that Kami-sama told him to say that, and Kami-sama alone knows why.
When I reached down inside me
I could feel the emptiness
Perhaps, though, the man said, they could find out the reason together.
What was his mission?
Where was he going?
Why was his heart light
Always glowing?
All I was missing
He stood there holding
What was his secret
Could I know it?
The next few days are a rush of good works and learning. Muga accompanies the Teacher as he feeds the hungry, heals the sick, and tells anyone who will listen about Kami-sama's grace. Muga hears the message over and over, a strange tale of love that bears the burden of wrong and satisfies justice.
He said, "It's in the heart"
The change that comes to be
Now he had done his part
The choice was up to me
As we were standing there
He said a prayer for
Rocketown
As we were standing there
He said a prayer for Rocketown
He walked off silently
And prayed for me
And Rocketown
Near sunset on the fifth day, the Teacher says Kami-sama is telling him it's time to move on. Muga follows him out to the hilltop overlooking the city. The Teacher asks Muga if he knew yet the reason for Kami-sama's words. Muga said not really, but he was glad he'd listened. The Teacher gives Muga a book, with 'The Way' written on the cover. Facing the twilight-covered city, he sings a blessing over it. Then, he walks off, waving to Muga.
