Benjamin and Tammi: The Quest for the Sword of Nobunaga

By JOHN CHARLES HANNERS

Book Summary


Benjamin and Tammi Townsend were still searching for their parents. What had happened to them. They had found out that their parents were not deceased and were still alive. After defeating the evil Koranga during their first quest they must defeat the evil Nobunaga to get closer to finding their parents in this new quest. They must find the special samurai sword that will help them defeat all the evil that they encounter. They must travel through a portal that leads them to Old Japan.
Benjamin and Tammi had learned along their second quest that they had gained new powers that were not common to the mortal man. These powers were different then the ones they had obtained during their first quest. They would need to use these powers along with the help of others to defeat Nobunaga. What will Benjamin and Tammi do and will their new powers defeat the evil Nobunaga? How will they find the portal that leads them back to Old Japan? Will they find their parents this time or will they have to wait for another quest?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Apr 8, 2011
• ISBN: 9781462814428

JOHN CHARLES HANNERS

Autobiography: John Charles Hanners continues his writings on the adventures of Benjamin and Tammi. This is the second book that involves the quests of Benjamin and Tammi. The first book “The Search for the Pendant of Koranga” was just the start of what he hopes to be an adventure that everyone can enjoy. Mr. Hanners continues to live in Northern California and lives with his older son. He works as a Mechanical Manufacturing Engineer at a High-Tech Laser company which he enjoys very much. He enjoys playing golf with his younger son, going to the movies with his older son as well as spending time with loved ones.

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Copyright © 2011 by John Charles Hanners.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

This book was printed in the United States of America.

To order additional copies of this book, contact:

Xlibris Corporation

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Contents

CHAPTER ONE

The Glow

CHAPTER TWO

The Trip

CHAPTER THREE

The Pond

CHAPTER FOUR

The Thief

CHAPTER FIVE

The Powers

CHAPTER SIX

The Sumo Match

CHAPTER SEVEN

Master and Disciple

CHAPTER EIGHT

Back to the Castle

CHAPTER NINE

Nobunaga

To my mom, sister, brother, and kids for supporting me in the completion of this second book of the series.

CHAPTER ONE

The Glow

Tammi left Benjamin’s room wondering what the significance of the glowing samurai soldier’s sword on Benjamin’s bedspread meant. She thought maybe this was some sort of sign that would help find her parents, but she was too tired to think about it for now. She just wanted to get in her cozy bed and take a nap, or maybe just sleep all night.

Benjamin reexamined his bedspread. He rubbed the image of the samurai sword again to see if it would glow. Nothing happened. He thought that maybe he was dreaming. Of course he wasn’t, he thought to himself, because he knew that Tammi had seen it also.

Maybe if I look closer I could see some details. Maybe this was a sign to find our parents since Koranga had mentioned that they were still alive, whispered Benjamin.

Benjamin put his face up close to one of the samurai swords to see if it would glow again, but nothing happened. He then walked over to his desk and tried opening one of the drawers. It was stuck, so he had to pull hard just to get it open. As he opened it, he fell back on his butt. He got back up while grimacing and rubbing his behind. He then opened the drawer and grabbed a magnifying glass from underneath all the stacked papers and went back over to reexamine the sword.

I still can’t see anything glowing. I’m sure this was the right sword, well, I guess I’ll worry about it tomorrow since I need to get some sleep, whispered Benjamin.

He threw the magnifying glass back on his desktop and then went into the bathroom to change into his pajamas and brush his teeth. He grabbed his pajamas that were hanging on the wall hook attached to the bathroom door. The pajamas were a striped green-and-white flannel material that he loved to wear because he thought that they were so comfortable. He didn’t care that the green stripes were faded and that it looked like he was wearing a prisoner’s uniform. That’s what Tammi used tell him all the time. After brushing his teeth and washing his face, he decided to tell his grandparents that he was going to sleep. He went halfway down the stairs and stopped to yell out something.

Hey, Granny and Granddad, I am going to sleep now. I’ll see you tomorrow.

Okay, dear, but I thought you were just going to take a nap. It is kind of early to go to sleep, replied Granny.

Well, both I and Tammi are very tired from the camping trip. We thought we would just take a nap but my guess is that we will probably sleep until the morning. You know us kids, we can sleep a long time. And I think Tammi is already sound asleep.

Okay, we’ll see you in the morning, dear.

Benjamin woke up early the next morning so that he could figure out what the glowing samurai sword was all about. He couldn’t get that glowing sword out of his mind. He hopped out of his bed and looked at his bedspread but nothing was glowing. He decided to get Tammi to come over and help him out. He first went to the bathroom to brush his teeth and wash up. He changed into his worn out jeans and T-shirt and ran over to Tammi’s door.

Hey, are you awake? asked Benjamin as he knocked on the door.

Yeah, wait just minute, shouted Tammi.

Tammi had put on her pink slippers and pink robe and went over to the door.

What’s up?

Hey, come over to my room and see if we can get that samurai sword on my bedspread to glow again.

Okay, I will be over there in a minute. I guess I wasn’t dreaming about the glowing sword. Let me brush my teeth and change into some clothes first.

Sounds good, just walk in and I’ll be sitting at my desk.

Tammi finished cleaning up. She put on her blue shorts and a bright yellow blouse with a designer logo on it. She walked over to Benjamin’s room and noticed that his door was slightly ajar so she opened it and walked in and saw Benjamin sitting at his desk.

So what’s going on? asked Tammi. Man, your room is always messy.

Ah be quiet and just come over here and help me get this samurai sword to glow again on my bedspread, replied Benjamin. By the way, could you shut the door so Granny and Grandad don’t walk in. Make sure you lock it.

After Tammi closed the door, she walked over to Benjamin’s bed. Benjamin then walked over to his bed from his desk. They both looked at the samurai sword that they thought had glowed. They wondered how they would get it to glow again.

What do we do to get it to glow, Benjamin?

I am not sure, but when it glowed the first time, I was already in the room and then you came in. Let’s just wait a few minutes.

How will it help by waiting? I think we need to do something else.

They sat there for about a minute but nothing seemed to happen. They wondered if anything would happen at all.

Oh, I think you are right, well, let’s both touch it and see if anything happens, said a disappointed Benjamin.

Which one of these swords do we touch? asked Tammi. They are all over the bedspread with the samurais holding them. Also, I think you need to straighten up your bed since we are not sure which sword it was.

Okay, I know that my bed is a mess. Let me straighten the bedspread out. I hope that will help us find the right samurai with the right sword.

Both Benjamin and Tammi touched several of the samurai swords with their fingers to see if anything happened. Nothing happened and they were still confused. Maybe they were both hallucinating, they thought.

Do you think we were just imagining this? asked Tammi. Maybe we just wanted to find the next clue to our parents that we just imagined this. Maybe we were so tired that we thought it was a new clue.

I don’t think were hallucinating. I really think that this was the next clue to our next quest so that we can find our parents, answered Benjamin. We just need to figure out how to get one of these swords to glow. Maybe we picked the wrong sword since I am not sure which one really glowed.

Well, what was so different from now and before when the sword glowed?

There was really nothing, just that my bed was a mess. But that shouldn’t make a difference. I think we just need to find the right sword. Benjamin smiled.

They looked at the neatly laid out bedspread. They figured that they could look at each samurai soldier holding a sword on the bedspread to see if there were any differences between them. Tammi searched at the bottom half of the bedspread, and Benjamin looked at the top half of the bedspread.

Hey, look at this one over here, said Tammi excitedly. This samurai’s sword is shaped slightly different, and it looks like there is small writing on the sword. All the other samurai soldiers look the same, but this one sword seems to be different.

Yes, that definitely does look different than all the other samurai swords. Let me go grab my magnifying glass, and we can check it out.

Benjamin looked on top of his desk top and couldn’t seem to find his magnifying glass. He knew he had thrown it back on the desktop. He looked around the desk and noticed that it was on the carpet floor behind the desk; it must have slid off when he tossed it on his desk. He grabbed his magnifying glass and went over to the sword that Tammi had found and looked at it closely.

This sword looks different than the one I looked at previously with my magnifying glass. I can see Japanese characters on the blade of the sword. And the shape of the sword is slightly different.

Maybe the glowing only happened that one time. Maybe it was a clue to keep us looking at the bedspread to find the correct sword, said Tammi.

You could be right, Tammi. Go grab a piece of paper and pencil for me from my desk, I want to write this down.

Tammi ran over to the desk and found a pen on top of the desk. She then pulled a tablet from the desk drawer and ran back over to Benjamin.

Here you go.

Thanks, replied Benjamin.

Benjamin looked again closely with the magnifying glass and wrote down the Japanese characters he saw on this particular sword.

I am not sure if I wrote these correctly since my handwriting is pretty bad. We may have to have Zack come over and look at it or try to figure it out from the Web.

Oh yeah, I forgot that Zack knows a little bit of the Japanese language. But he may not be proficient enough to figure this out, replied Tammi.

I will have him come over anyway since we will probably need his help for this next quest, said Benjamin.

Benjamin gave a call to Zack to see if he could come over.

After ten minutes passed, the doorbell rang and Granny answered it.

Why hello there, Zack, said Granny. You know where everybody is so just head on up to their rooms.

Thanks, Mrs. Townsend, replied Zack.

Zack ran up the stairs and into Benjamin’s room. Both Benjamin and Tammi were sitting on the bed.

What’s up, guys? asked Zack. Are we ready for our next quest?

Never mind about the quest and just come over here and check this out, asked Benjamin.

Benjamin handed the magnifying glass to Zack and asked him to check out the writing on the sword.

Wow, this looks very interesting. This is so cool.

Yes, what do you see? asked Benjamin.

I see some Japanese characters on this special samurai sword.

Well, duh, we know that. But what does it mean? replied a sarcastic Tammi.

Oh, you want me to translate this for you? replied Zack.

Of course, dummy, why do you think we asked you to come over here? Tammi smiled.

Hey, don’t call me dummy or else I won’t help you, replied Zack as he gave a mean look to Tammi.

Okay, I’m sorry. Just tell us what it means.

Well, I really don’t know what it means. It is mostly in Kanji characters, and I am not very good at reading those characters. I can read some Japanese Hiragana and Katakana characters, said Zack.

Well, a lot of help you are, said a disappointed Tammi.

I know that I have seen a picture of this type of sword before. It has a special shape and the handle is unique. It looks like a sword made by one of the famous sword makers either Masamune or Muramasa, said Zack. And from the looks of it, this is the only different sword that is on your bedspread. All the other swords look exactly the same.

So what does that mean? And how do you know about Masamune and his sword and the other guy, Muramasa? asked Tammi.

Oh, I remember my dad talking about Masamune and the type of swords he made. Masamune was considered the greatest sword smith in Japan during early fourteenth century. We actually have a couple of old swords that my dad has, and one of the swords looks like the one on your bedspread. Oh yea, there was another sword maker named Muramasa that was supposed to be his disciple. I don’t know a lot about him, and I only know a little about Masamune. I just remembered those names, said Zack.

That’s cool and interesting! replied Tammi.

I bet these Japanese Kanji characters are probably another hint that will lead us to our parents, said Benjamin as he pointed at the sword.

Why do we have to get all these hints, clues, and riddles? Couldn’t someone or something just tell us where to find our parents? replied an upset Tammi.

Not sure why you guys have to go through all of this, but I’m sure there is a perfectly good reason. And besides, it is pretty exciting. I think somebody or something is playing with your minds. And I know you will find out the real reason at the right time. Like Koranga mentioned in that last quest, there is this evil super demon out there that probably has control of your parents and other demons, answered Zack.

Yeah, you are probably right, Zack. By the way, can you write the characters down so we can try and translate it? replied Benjamin.

Zack took a pencil and paper from Benjamin’s desk. Benjamin held the magnifying glass while Zack wrote down the characters the best that he could.

Let’s get on the computer to see if we can find these characters and translate it on the Web, said Tammi.

Zack looked closely at the characters to see if he recognized them.

I’m not sure if we will be able to get the exact meaning from the Web without someone else telling us what it really means. It is hard for me to figure it out, so we may need to try and get somebody else to help us.

They went over to Tammi’s room to see what they could find out. Tammi booted her computer up and then brought up the browser. She looked to see if she could find characters that looked like the ones they wrote but the problem was that they couldn’t find all the characters together to put a meaningful sentence together. There were just too many different types of Japanese characters to put together to figure it out.

I don’t think this is working, said a frustrated Tammi.

All of a sudden, they heard a voice coming up toward Tammi’s room.

Hey, Tammi, are you in your room? shouted the voice.

Who could that be? asked Zack.

Oh, I think it sounds like our neighbor Sally, answered Tammi.

Ah man, it’s that nosy girl from across the street, said Benjamin. Do we have to deal with her again? She’ll end up liking someone else if we take her on the quest.

Ah be quiet Benjamin, snarled Tammi.

Sally knocked on the door, and Tammi opened it up.

Hi, Sally, what’s up?

Oh, your granny let me in and said that you were up here. By the way, I have some cool news to tell you about the neighborhood. Can I come in?

Sure, come on in.

Sally walked in and noticed that Benjamin and Zack were in there also.

I see the boys are here. You guys must be plotting your next exciting quest. Sally smiled.

Oh be quiet, Sally! We are just chatting with Tammi, replied Zack.

By the way, what do you want? asked a sarcastic Benjamin.

If you want to know, I just came to tell you that a very nice-looking family just moved in down the road from us. I think they are Asian or maybe Asian American. I saw them unpacking but haven’t had a chance to go talk with them. I did see one boy in front of the garage. I figured we could all go together and introduce ourselves, replied Sally.

Hey, maybe they are Japanese! said Zack.

Why do you care if they are Japanese? asked a curious Sally.

Uh, no reason, just a guess.

Zack didn’t want to tell Sally the real reason for wanting a Japanese family. He was hoping