Footsteps would echo within the deep cave of which the mysterious individuals would occupy. The young boy would turn to look at the older and deep-voiced man, before advocating for the destruction of the Village of Tensen.
"Whenever you're ready, we can proceed with our plan against the Village of Tensen."
"It seems you're a little eager to get to the point are you? Well we can't do that yet." The older hooded figure responds.
"But now's the right time. Why say otherwise?" The young boy would ask.
"It seems you still remain simple -minded. Think of a pack of hungry animals." The older individual would reply, hinting at something more.
"I see…now I understand…we separate their troops from the village and begin our assault while they're busy biting bait." The boy responds.
"Precisely! You're finally understanding. Soon enough, we will all share the same mind. However, this process could take years." The man would say in a proud tone.
"Years?" The boy asks in disbelief.
"Indeed. We'll need to learn everything about their new and improved army. I don't know much as of now. But I know the process of preparing could take some years of research, and planning, to eventually execute. So for now, we wait." The older one would respond.
"When will we begin and how?" Asks the mysterious yet curious child
This would only bring an evil smirk onto the face of the hooded man.
Meanwhile, somewhere elsewhere within Amushi's yard, Jack could be seen with a smile on his face with his sword out, glowing in hand
"Don't hold back on me now Amushi!" Jack would insist.
"If it means to push your potential, then I'll do just that. Show me what ya got kid!" Amushi responds.
Jack runs and dashes toward Amushi, getting on the offensive before sending flurries of attacks at Amushi, but each and every attack would be dodged and evaded effortlessly.
"Don't tell me that mindlessly attacking is all you can do, Jack. If this is all you can do, you will never be a worthy opponent." Amushi says as he fights Jack
Jack grits his teeth as he's kicked back and into the air. He takes this moment to face his palm at Amushi. His veins would bulge in his arms and would emanate a cyan glow. Soon, a large amount of rocks would be sent flying in Amushi's direction. Amushi takes this moment to cut each and every rock thrown at him. But as he would assume that it's over, Jack closes his fist, detonating the rocks causing explosions throughout the area.
The area would be covered in debris, skewing Amushi's sense of direction. Jack flips and lands on his feet before throwing a kunai knife in Amushi's direction. This catches him off guard, as this just barely misses his head, scratching his mask in the process. Jack would then revert his sword back to its normal state before running into the pit of debris, slashing his sword through it, only for Amushi to jump into the air, making Jack miss him.
Hima, the mother of Leina, could be seen watching Amushi and Jack spar from her window while she holds her baby, Kara.
"This boy…I see something in him. I see a spark. This is the same spark I've seen in Leina and Senra. His potential is nearly on the same level as Leinas."
As Hima would continue to think, she would stop in her tracks from what she sees as the dust settles.
"Is he…smiling??" Hima would ask herself.
Jack could be seen smirking away as Amushi would gain distance from Jack's previous attack.
"I'll tell you one thing, kid. It seems I was a bit wrong about you. Keep this up and you'll be a formidable fighter." Amushi says with a smirk.
Leina, Senra, and Takemi would all watch in disbelief as this unfolds.
"He's smarter than he looks. He might be able to beat you in a fight, Leina" Senra says, teasingly.
"Keep dreaming." Leina coldly responds.
Jack runs up to Amushi before clashing swords with him. After some time, Amushi would catch Jack's sword in his hand before thrusting a huge punch into Jack's stomach, knocking the wind out of him as blood would pour out of his mouth. Jack would fly back and land on his back. Groaning, he gets up holding his stomach as blood runs down his mouth.
His younger brother Kuro would witness this. Tears stream down his eyes…
"B-Brother?" Kuro calls out, worried for his older brother's safety.
Leina would glance over at Kuro and notice a big change within him.
"His essence…it's abnormal and it's building up from seeing this! I've got to stop this before something bad happens" Leina thinks to herself.
Kuro could be seen with tears streaming down his face, looking back at Jack, scared for his well being. Before long, Kuro could be heard sobbing, Jack would look up, staring at his fearful brother, Kuro.
"Don't worry Kuro…" Jack says, reassuring Kuro that he'll be fine, as he wipes the blood from his mouth, taking on a more focused look.
"We don't have to continue if it's too tough of training. We can train another time. But in a real fight, you won't get any second chances. Not unless they're toying with you." Amushi says, laying the options on the table for Jack.
"You think I'm going to give up? Who do you think I am? You're talking to the son of Tensen!" Jack replies, being confident as ever, insisting on continuing this fight.
This brings a proud smile to the father, Amushi's face. Gripping his katana he would look at Jack before making his next move.
"But understand this kiddo. I'll be taking it up a notch from here on out." Amushi declares.
"Then I'll do the same thing!" Jack responds.
They both run at each other, weapons in hand, but before they could clash, a lone katana with a pink handle, would land in front of them, jamming into the ground. This stops them in their tracks and catches them off guard. Immediately after, Hima, the mother would teleport in between them, crouched down with her hair covering half her face, with her hand gripping the handle of the katana.
"That's enough." Hima says with a serious tone.
"H-Hima!" Amushi would say with surprise.
"What's wrong Mrs. Hima?" Jack questions.
Hima stands up and brushes her hair out of her face.
"This boy…I see his strength. However, at this rate, you'll only end up hurting him…Amushi." Hima says, staring back at her husband.
"You must've gotten it all wrong Hima, but if this is what you want, I'll engage no more." Amushi responds, adamant on the fight not being as severe as his wife believes.
"Hurting me? I'm just getting started!" Jack would respond, but can only hold his stomach as he begins to cough blood right after.
Kuro gasps at the sight of this while a wide eyed Leina can be seen running over to Jack and holding him in place
"My point exactly. You always tend to go a little too hard on them, Amushi." Hima remarks.
"Here Jack, this will help heal you. Be still…" Leina says as she places her hands onto the back of Jack.
"Alongside the healing, I'll be giving you some of my essence to make sure it heals fully." Leina would imply, as her hands glow a blue-like brown color.
"Purple…" Kuro says, staring off at Jack while he's still being held by Senra.
This peaks Jack's curiosity, making him ask more questions.
"What's so special about that Kuro?"
"Essence…in love!" Kuro says.
"What are you talking about Kuro?" Senra asks, not understanding what Kuro is trying to imply due to his young age. This makes him point at Jack and then Leina.
"Blue…red…" Kuro says.
This causes Leina to turn her head to look back at Kuro.
"Red?? My essence is brown…" Leina replies with a look of confusion. She begins to question Kuro in her mind.
"How is that possible for him to see? Can he really…see…" Leinas thoughts would be interrupted by Senras laughs.
"You're silly Kuro! That's brown and blue working together. Me and you know that now." Senra says with a smile.
Leina looks into Kuros eyes before coming up with her own hypothesis.
"Those eyes…must be different from the rest of his family's…"
"So this is what it's about huh? You shouldn't have to stop a fight like this. I'm only training him. Who's to say that he won't stumble across a guy that really wants to hurt him? What will he do then, if he isn't trained?" Amushi asks, questioning the validity of Himas suggestions.
"That is none of your concern." A man's voice from above them can be heard saying.
Everyone would turn to see Konori accompanied by Ren and Gendo, standing on the roof of the house, staring back down at them with their hair blowing in the wind.
Konori can be seen with a black katana at his left hip looking down at Jack with a stern expression.
Gendo would have no weapon but his fists, one arm being folded and the other being on his cheek. He stares on with a dissatisfied look.
Ren would stare down at the family with a cigarette in her mouth and a gun in her hand, to which a small flame comes from the chamber, lighting the cigarette ablaze.
"HEY GET DOWN FROM THERE! MOM JUST PAID MONEY FOR A NEW PAINT JOB UP THERE!" Takemi would say, balling his fist with a comically furious look
"So this is where the troublemaker is…" Ren says with a bemused smile
"Woah who are those guys? They look like enemies!" Senra says, grabbing a hold of her dagger that holds a striking resemblance to the dagger Leina had in the academy.
"You have a lot of explaining to do, Jack." Konori says as he jumps down from the roof, landing in front of Amushi and Ren.
"Please…step aside." Konori would kindly request, stifling his anger as he does so. The two parents would both follow his instructions, moving out of the way without saying a word.
As Konori walks up to Jack, he would stare down at him with a stern look. With Jack only being able to stare back at his father nervously.
"D-dad…these are my friends… they just wanted to help me…" Jack would nervously say.
"Do you understand the danger you could've put yourself in, being with these people?" Konori would ask, not hiding the disappointment in his voice.
"I-I'm sorry…" Jack says, looking down at the floor, hiding the look of guilt on his face.
"No more ice cream for the rest of the week. Now come." Konori would command his son.
Ren could be seen walking past the father and son, walking up to little Senra and giving her a mean look before holding her hand out.
"Give me the child." Ren commands.
Kuro cries and shakes his head, not wanting to be anywhere near Ren.
"Hold it right there miss! You're a little rude and I don't like that! You're going to have to get through me!" Takemi says, stepping in and swiping Ren's hand away.
This causes Ren to retaliate by back handing Takemi on his mask, shattering the part she hit. The retaliation, leading Takemi to be knocked off of his feet and sent backwards, as the fragments of his mask fly into the air. This makes Kuro only cry more, scaring him and hugging Senra.
"Get lost" Ren coldly responds.
Hima witnesses Ren's senseless acts right in front of her, causing her to fall into a fit of rage as the only thing that could be seen next is Hima kicking Ren deep in the stomach, sending her flying back and knocking the cigarette out of her mouth.
"DON'T EVER PUT YOUR HANDS ON MY CHILDREN, YOU SENSELESS BITCH!"
Himas veins would bulge in her face as her eyes would begin to glow.
"Takemi!" Leina yells out, running over to him and tending to him.
"Are you okay?" Leina asks, worried that Ren could've hurt him.
"Huh? Oh…I'm…okay." Takemi would say with his mask being cut down the middle, showing his young face. With this, Leina would get up saying absolutely nothing.
"Why must you be so difficult?" Ren asks as she gets up holding her stomach before pointing her gun at Hima.
Amushi would stand in front of Hima, blocking her shot, with Jack running over to Amushi and standing in front of him.
"That's enough Ren! You didn't have to go the extra mile doing this!" Gendo would say as he dashes over and lowers her gun.
"Agreed." Konori would calmly say as he turns and walks past Jack, while everyone else disengages. Konori could be seen standing over Senra, giving her a smile as he kneels down to her.
"Sorry about that. Ren is a bit dumb sometimes. Thank you for taking care of my son. I'll do my part and bring him home now."
"So this is Jack's father, the ruling general of Tensen…he's handsome." Senra says in her mind.
Senra would hand Konori his son. Kuro would smile as Konori's fingers would wipe away his tears.
"You betcha!" Senra says, holding a thumbs up.
"Dare you do something like that again, and I'll kill you!" Hima says, not holding back on her words against Ren.
"Control your kid and maybe I wouldn't have had to do that." Ren responds.
"You're a vile soul." Amushi says with anger in his voice
"Stop talking Ren." Konori commands.
"My apologies!" Ren would say in haste.
"Thank you all for keeping my sons safe. Jack needs to have a talk with his father. He'll be back…him and Kuro. That is…if I deem you to be worthy of the task." Konori would say to the family.
"I understand your concern sir Konori. The Hansura have targets on all of us as it is…but I doubt they will find us. As long as we remain to keep our identities concealed, they won't know. Especially if we keep our cards right." The father of four would say.
Amushi takes off his mask revealing him to be handsome, with white colored eyes, and a scar running diagonally across his face.
"So…what do you say? Do you trust us with him?" Amushi asks with his arms crossed and a confident smirk on his face.
"I'll think about it but for now, I've got to get going, let's go my sons." Konori says, as he begins to turn around while holding Jack's hand and carrying Kuro in the other.
"Farewell, all of you." Gendo would say before turning back around and walking off with Ren, Konori, and his sons.
As they walk away, the ground begins to shake and crack. Everyone turns to see Leina standing alone with her head ducked down, fists balled, with her hair standing up in a silent rage.
"How dare you…" Leina would say
"DON'T YOU EVER HURT MY LITTLE BROTHER!" Leina yells as she lifts her head back up. Veins could be seen bulging in her eyes, highlighting her rage.
She grabs hold of her katana and blindly dashes in Ren's direction, to which it would take both Amushi and Hima to stop her in her tracks. "That's enough Leina, it's over. Takemi is okay. So is everyone else…let it go."
Hima would say, holding Leinas arm staring back into her eyes.
"This power…this is Leina when she's angry?" Jack thinks to himself
The veins in Leinas eyes would relax, as well as her hair laying back down on her shoulders and back. With that, she falls to one knee staring into space and breathes heavily.
"Trust me…I'm angry too" Hima says, caressing Leinas shoulder.
"I should get going." Ren would say, turning back around and leaving. Konori would soon follow after analyzing this feat from Leina. Jack would be the last to turn and walk away.
"It's best if I don't anger her when we meet again. She's…much stronger than I am. That's for sure." Jack thinks to himself as he turns back around and walks away with his father.
Back in Jack's room, he lies down in bed with Konori sitting beside him.
"You know what you did was bad. But on the other hand I know you weren't thinking." Konori says, looking at Jack while Kuro sleeps in Konori's arms before continuing…
"I can't be too mad at you Jack. But you should know by now, that the Tensura clan have targets on their backs. Leinas family is the only Tensura I've allowed to roam freely in the land of Tensen. Even then, it's still a huge risk, given the circumstances of them being in the higher ranks of that clan."
"I'm sorry…I should have known…" Jack responds, looking at the ceiling.
"And don't think you're off the hook either. I've heard you've been slacking off and accusing people of doing things they weren't doing, putting yourself into detention for the rest of the day. I expect better of you Jack."
As Konori says this, tears begin to form in Jack's eyes, getting ready to fall from his eyelids any second.
"But don't get the wrong idea…I want to see you shine brighter than any star in the night sky. And you still have a long way to go. I can't be too stern with you. But one thing you should never do is blindly trust and follow people you have yet to understand. That in itself is a recipe for disaster. Do you understand?" Konori would ask in hopes his son would understand the gravity of his decision.
"Yes…I understand…" Jack responds.
"Good…so don't get the wrong idea. I'm telling you this because I want you to be safe and because you're my son. I'll love you to death and beyond. I don't want people trying to hurt you. Yeah you may be able to defend yourself but you're still a kid after all…a strong kid at that." Konori says, complimenting the strength of his son.
Jack couldn't help but smile, briefly closing eyes and reopening them to reveal that his tears flowed back into his eyes. Konori gets up and smiles at Jack, before hugging him.
"I'm very proud of you for being the strong son you are and taking care of Kuro while I'm working hard for this village. If I knew how to clone myself so I could be here for you, I would. So…take this button. It will alert me if you need me." Konori says, handing Jack a white and blue clicker.
"Really?! This button looks pretty cool ya know?" Jack says.
"Make no mistake Jack. You should only press that button if it's an emergency. You can even bring it to school. Besides, what are they going to do if you have it? Take it away? Not on my watch. I'll let them know when you get to school tomorrow. So do get some sleep. You'll need it when you wake up." Konori would say as he begins to stand up to walk out of the room.
"Thank you dad." Jack says with a smile.
"You're welcome, my son." Konori responds, not being able to help but give a delightful grin.
"Oh…also…be careful around that girl Leina. She carries something negative. I don't know what it is yet, but there's something off about her. You can be friends with her, but don't do anything stupid." Konori would say, in a more serious tone.
"Y-yeah! I'll remember that." Jack responds
"Also…I'll allow you to stay at Leinas place for now…" Konori says with his eyes closed
"REALLY?!" Jack says excitedly.
Konori would only nod and confirm this before continuing…
"And I will be having some of my high ranking guards defend you when I'm not here. They will be guarding you from the moment you walk to school and after you get out. They will also follow you even if you decide to go to Leinas place." Konori would say, revealing a new plan to make sure his son is kept safe and secure.
"Alright! Sounds like fun!" Jack says with a proud smile.
"Heh, don't give them too much of a hard time now. I don't need them coming back to me complaining about you two knuckleheads." Konori says as he chuckles nervously.
"We won't, I promise!" Jack assures.
"Alright! I'll leave you to sleep now. You need it." Konori says with a chuckle.
"Goodnight dad!" The young Jack would say.
"Goodnight my son." Konori responds with a peace sign and a graceful smile, before leaving the room.
Jack tucks himself into bed with his blinds open, looking out into the beautiful night sky that overlooks the entire village, with the moon shining overhead. With this, Jack begins to think to himself before he sleeps.
"So tomorrows going to be a big day huh? I love upgrades ya know? We'll see just how good these guards are. I still wonder about Leina…what could be so bad about Leina? She's so cool and smart and…kind of scary. BUT IN A COOL WAY! First it was Kuro calling her a monster, then Bowa Boa questioning her, then Kuro saying her essence is red when it's brown, and now it's dad. Kuro isn't even colorblind either…OH WHAT THE HELL. It doesn't matter. It's best if I get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be so fun! Time to see what tomorrow holds."
Jack closes his eyes and gets ready to sleep.
"Goodnight mom. I love you forever."
(Chapter 6 coming soon)