Hachi was walking down an old forest path with his little fiddle stowed away at his side. The forest was a place of wonder. The year was 987, and the ongoing war between his native people and the invaders was taking away Hachi’s strength. The forest was his only source of relaxation, with the chirping birds and exotic creatures as his only company.

Hachi kept walking down the path until he found a site that he had  never seen before. It was a giant gaping hole carved into the side of a cliff face. From his point, Hachi could smell the sweet aroma of food wafting out from the cave. He also saw a small light at the far side of the cave. The smell was luring Hachi into the cave and he felt like he was going to drift off into a deep sleep. Hachi tripped over a rock and knocked himself back into reality.

“What am I doing?” Hachi thought to himself out loud, “I could be in an invader’s secret base!” Hachi quickly turned away and went back to the cave entrance, but before he left, he looked back at the light and the smell of the sweet aroma of food. “Well if I’m sneaky, I can get food for my people to help feed them,” Hachi thought to himself. Hachi sat on this for a moment and he thought long and hard. He would have to be as sneaky as a mouse and as silent as the wind to avoid detection. Hachi decided to leave all of his supplies outside of the cave entrance to make him more quiet when he walked, only taking his little fiddle for good luck.

Hachi started to tiptoe back into the cave with the most stealth he has ever had. When he reached the light he saw that it was a humongous fireplace with a pot suspended above the fire. Steam was coming out of it, making the room hot and humid. There was a giant kitchen next to the fireplace and it was filled with cooking supplies and different fruits and meats. In the center of the room, there was a giant wooden table set for a king with a bunch of different foods set out everywhere. Succulent grapes and blueberries, juicy turkey and ham, soft and fluffy buns and so much more food that looked so good. Hachi completely forgot about this place possibly being an invader’s base and he quickly started climbing the table’s legs and up onto the table. He saw that the food was really gigantic up close and that he alone could not take all this back by himself. He could have a little snack before he left though. Hachi grabbed out to take a small piece of bread before someone spoke to him.

“So, you like the food then, hmmm?” A deep gruff voice spoke, making Hachi jump and land on his butt.

“Who are you?” Hachi questioned, his voice a pitch higher

“My name is Ihcah,” the thing said, “the great cave beast.” Hachi looked behind him and he saw Ihcah standing in his tall glory, he was ripped all over and his hair on his head flowed all the way down to his shoulders and his belt around his waist was glowing with bright intensity. His teeth were as sharp as knives and his eyes were full of hatred and malice. Hachi quavered in the presence of Ihach, knowing that his end was near. Hachi completely broke down and started to beg for mercy.

“Please great Ihcah,” Hachi begged, “I’ll do anything for you, anything that you want, just let me live!” Ihcah thought about this for a moment.

“Play me a song with that little fiddle of yours,” Ihcah commanded, “play a song while I feast.” Hachi quickly got out his fiddle and he thought of an idea of how to escape. He knew many songs with many powers like healing, hurtful songs, and for this occasion, he needed a commanding song. Ihcah quickly started eating as Hachi started playing his tune, the sound of the fiddle was a mysterious one: it was quiet, but loud at the same time. It felt to Ihcah like he was slowly floating through time and losing consciousness. Ihcah quickly stopped eating and stood straight up on his feet.

“Now,” Hachi commanded Ihcah, “Lead me back to my village and bring this food with you.”  With that, Ihcah lifted the table up and lifted it above his head, throwing Hachi down on his butt again, and Ihcah quickly departed from the cave with Hachi in tow. From that day on, Ihcah would be Hachi’s slave and would help his village with the invaders and eventually drive them off, as well as helping with food. On the day Hachi died, he was known as “The boy who controlled the cave beast.”