It was a dark and stormy night in the land of Umatochi, ruled by the kind and benevolent Solar Empress Celestia. A young peasant boy was walking down the street in his quiet little farming village to look for his father. His father had gone to the tavern in town square and hadn't been back home since.

The boy walked into the tavern and looked around to find his father. He saw regular townsfolk, travelers, some samurai, even a ronin sitting in the darkest corner of the tavern. The building itself was dimly lit by candle light. Eventually, the boy spotted his father passed out in one of the booths in the corner. Sighing, the boy went to his father and calmly shook him.

"Father, wake up. We have to get home. Mother is worried about us.", the boy said in a calm voice. The father raised his head and gave the boy a tired and sad look.

"I'm drunk on sake again, aren't I?", the father asked with a noticeable slur.

"Yes. Now come on. We've got to get home to Mother."

"I'm so sorry I'm like this!", the father started blubbering. "I wish we could live better lives than those of peasant farmers. You could get yourself a fine education and I could get your mother that lovely yukata I saw earlier today. Blue's your mother's favorite color."

The boy sighed and gave his father a small smile. "I know, father. We'll make enough to buy it for her one day."

As the father-son duo were about to walk out of the tavern, a bright bolt of lightning accompanied by the clap of thunder stopped them in their tracks. The rain became more intense, battering the roof of the building so violently that no one in their village was going to sleep tonight.

With a groan, the boy set his father down onto the nearest seat and table. The older man fell asleep as soon as he sat down. His son sat down next to him.

"Looks like we won't be making it home in this weather.", the boy conceded. "If only there was something to do until the storm lets up.".

"Then how about a story?", a strange voice suggested.

The boy was startled by the reply and quickly looked around the tavern for the source of the voice. Soon enough, he saw the mysterious speaker.

It was the ronin the boy saw earlier when he entered the tavern. He was roughly the same age and height as his father. He had a long and thick beard, tanned skin, sharp green eyes, a tattered straw hat, wooden sandals, and a sheathed katana in his right hand.

The boy had heard of ronin before. Not many people trusted ronin. Ronin were former samurai who were either dishonored or samurai who have lost their masters. With no lord to serve, ronin simply wandered. They usually became mercenaries, bandits, or bodyguards for yakuza bosses. It was rare for ronin to travel to these rural areas.

At some point, the mysterious ronin stood up and walked over to where the boy was sitting. He sat down right across from the boy and gave him a smile.

"Well? Since we've all got nothing better to do until the storm goes away, how about I tell everyone a story to pass the time?", the ronin offered. The boy looked a bit nervous.

"I wouldn't want to impose upon you, Ronin-san.", the boy replied.

The ronin could only laugh. "No need for fancy honorifics, kid. I'm a dirty ronin, not some stuffy samurai. And besides, I have a name. The name's Okami Tetsuda. You can just call me Okami."

"Okay, Okami. If you're offering, I'd like to listen to your story.", the boy said, wanting to be polite to this armed ronin.

The ronin positioned himself to where he was looking the boy right in the eyes. "What story would you like to hear, lad?", Okami asked.

"I guess... stories about heroic samurai.", the boy replied.

It looked like Okami had just tasted something sour.

"Samurai stories, huh? Eh, I don't really like the samurai.", Okami simply stated.

The boy was stunned. "Nani?! How could you not like the samurai?! They're brave and honorable warriors who defend the land from her enemies. The samurai are not only strong, but also kind and gentle.", the boy said with all the passion of a cultist. Okami snorted.

"Kid, in case you didn't know this, I used to be a samurai. Trust me, not all of them are as honorable as you think. I once saw a samurai chop a little girl's head off just because she accidentally scared off his horse!", Okami relayed to the boy.

The boy didn't know what to say about that. An honorable samurai killing a little girl for an accident?

"However, as much as I hate most samurai, I will admit that there is one group of samurai that are truly honorable. Samurai who truly embody Bushido.", Okami said with reverence. Now the boy was interested.

"Who?", he asked.

"The Elemental Samurai.", Okami answered.

The boy was confused. "Who?"

Okami became just as confused as the boy in front of him. "The Elemental Samurai. The greatest band of samurai to ever live? Heroes of the Crystal War? Saviors of Umatochi? The brave souls who defended our land from the Crystal Empire? You mean to tell me that you've never heard of the Elemental Samurai?".

"I'm sorry, but no. I've heard stories of brave samurai before, but I don't remember either of my parents mentioning a samurai group called by that name."

Okami gave the boy wide eyes and an eager grin. "Well then boy, are you in for a treat tonight."

Suddenly, there was a small cough coming from behind the ronin. He looked behind him to see that everyone else in the tavern had gathered around to listen to the story of such brave heroes. Okami smiled and switched seats to where he was facing the gathered patrons.

"Everyone gather around, and I'll tell you the story of the greatest heroes Umatochi has ever seen. This is the tale of the Elemental Samurai!"

Author's Note

Hey everyone! This is my story about the main Six as samurai who fought the Crystal Empire, led by the evil Sombra Khan. I hope you enjoy later chapters. By the way, "Umatoshi" is the combination of two Japanese words ("uma" for "horse", and "tochi" for "land"). It literally translates to "horse land".