Chapter 22- A Spark of Hope

"Felix!"

"I got it!"

Felix slammed aside the spear thrusting towards him with his fists, slamming them into the ground, causing a large pillar to burst from the ground. Dairokkan escaped with his shadow form.

Yokubo jumped off the pillar and sliced downwards with her knives when the Assassin re-appeared, cutting vertically down his back. Dairokkan whacked her aside with his spear.

Dairokkan grunted with anger, saliva dripping from his mouth. Something had changed. Something-

Enteico elongated his sword, slamming it down on the Assassin. Dairokkan dodged the massive claymore about to crush him and drove his spear at the left side of his chest.

Enteico yelled and pushed forward, turning his claymore into a rapier. The sharp point cut across Dairokkan's face and neck. Dairokkan retreated, trying to avoid any further damage.

The rapier glowed once again, healing Enteico. The pain still lingered, but it didn't matter to Enteico. All that mattered was that Keith would see another day, come hell or high water.

Keith jumped with Yokubo, striking Dairokkan from above. The attack was not successful, but Keith smiled at the woman beside him.

Just like old times.

Yokubo looked at his smile and rolled her eyes. "I swear to god, Keith. If you're getting horny in the middle of this fight…"

"For once, nope. Just happy that we get to do this again."

Yokubo attacked, allowing Keith to roll over her and strike Dairokkan.

The man was losing blood from multiple wounds, but he still refused to surrender.

The pieces had shifted. He could kill all of them, though it would take time to understand their moveset. He bit his lip in excitement, drawing blood as he managed to pierce through Felix's vest of armor.

Yokubo rushed in to help, but Dairokkan began spinning his spear once again, the point rapidly cutting against Yokubo's arm. She dashed away to avoid the attack.

Enteico grabbed Felix and dodged Dairokkan's attack by an inch, dragging the blacksmith to safety.

"I better get a raise for this," Felix grunted, getting back up after taking a health potion.

"If you can find any money left, you can have it. The gear was pretty pricey." Enteico said, eliciting a groan from Felix.

Dairokkan was waiting for something to click. An opportunity to present itself…

"Mr. Keef, behind you!"

Keith jumped over the spear thrust while Dairokkan vanished.

Yes. Yes…time to prove yourself useful, little girl. Show Keith how futile this fight is. Suffer for me.

"He's going after Zimmi!"

"Don't let him close!"

Felix and Enteico rushed to stop Dairokkan, who brutally slammed their defences aside. His target was set, the goal was in sight. Nothing would stop him now. Even if he lost, he would take Keith's hope down with him.

Yokubo and Keith rushed back to defend the kids from Dairokkan. Enteico and Felix struggled to keep up as the Chief Assassin grew more violent and vicious in his attacks.

"There's gotta be a way…" Keith muttered. Dairokkan was too fast for their attacks to do any lasting damage. If he felt threatened, he could escape using his shadow form.

Keith felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. Dairokkan was using a lot more power to handle his spears. He warped closer and closer to them, while Enteico and Felix desperately tried to distract him.

Keith knew it was pointless to ask Zimmi to leave. She wouldn't listen. She was just as stubborn as he was. But, maybe…

Ruh slammed his fist into the ground, protecting Zimmi, Yokubo and Keith from the buzzsaw-like spears slicing at them, thirsty to spill blood, ravenously seeking to tear through flesh like the fangs of a beast.

"Kid, I need your help," Keith said.

Yokubo and Zimmi looked at him in surprise as he explained what he needed.

"Keith, any ideas?" Enteico asked, whacking Dairokkan with a sledgehammer.

"Buy me some time!" Keith yelled.

"Enteico, look out!"

Dairokkan trusted forward, making Enteico use his swords to slice against the spear, the metal screeching as it furiously fought for dominance. The spear broke through, cutting through Enteico's collarbone.

"F…ugh..we'll try!" Enteico grunted, rushing to help Felix.

Yokubo stood up, but Keith pulled her back down. "I need you to stay here, get them to safety if this doesn't work."

"But…" Yokubo said.

"Please. I want you three to stay safe. Please, Yokubo." Keith said.

Yokubo locked with his eyes again.

"That's so nice and mushy! Could you hurry the fuck up though, we're in the middle of fighting for our lives here…" Felix said, grabbing a spear that was tossed towards his head. Dairokkan punched him from below and took the spear back, cutting into his ribcage with a sickening shlink of metal and flesh.

Yokubo nodded. Zimmi looked at Keith as he asked her for help once again. She shook her head and her hands began to tremble once again.

"I can't…I can't…I'll hurt someone…I don't want to hurt any…anyone…"

"Zip It, look out there! Do you see how many people are getting hurt?! All your friends, Bob, Silvia…none of them deserved to go through this! You didn't deserve to go through any of this!" Keith yelled.

Enteico gulped as a spear pierced through his shield. "Guys, I don't mean to rush you…but some help any day now would be fine!"

"No, please…I don't want to be a…a murderer…please Mr. Keef!" Zimmi cried.

"Kid, I'm not asking you to become a murderer, I'm asking you to stop one-to help me stop one!" Keith said, holding her hand tightly.

"It's ok, we're here Zimmi. Nothing's going to go wrong. Just…" Yokubo said.

"YOU DON'T KNOW THAT! NONE OF YOU KNOW THAT! I CAN'T WATCH ALL OF YOU DIE! I DON'T WANT TO BE ALONE AGAIN! PLEASE! PLEASE! I DON'T WANT TO HURT ANYONE AGAIN! I CAN'T…I CAN'T-"

"ZIP IT! Shut up! You can!" Keith said, grabbing her by her shoulders.

"I can't…I won't…I…I'm…can't…" Zimmi sobbed.

"Yes, you can! I don't care if you think you can, I know you can! You don't want us to die?! Then you need to help us! Kid, you're the one person who I know that showed me there's still some hope to redeem myself! You see him, out there?" Keith pointed at Dairokkan.

Zimmi nodded. "He destroyed my life. He's the reason I was alone for so long, so afraid! Imagine how many other lives were ruined by him, but you…you have a chance to stop that from ever happening again! So, I'm begging you to help. Not for me. For all the others who couldn't fight, but who still lost everything!" Keith yelled desperately.

Zimmi's eyes welled up with tears. Yokubo placed a hand on her shoulder, making Zimmi look up at Keith, wiping her tears away. She felt a surge of power, confidence and of determination as she nodded at Keith, crackling with energy.

Enteico was beaten up, bruised and cut everywhere. His potions had run out.

An image popped into his head. His friends at the bar, sipping on drinks.

What would have been good times.

Dairokkan walked over to the merchant, kicking him in the stomach, making him roll across the ground.

"You…hehe…think that there's some way that ALL of you can just go home, all fine and dandy?! This is not some happy ending, where all of you get away through the power of friendship! You…WILL ALL…DIE!" Dairokkan yelled, plunging the spear into Enteico's chest.

Enteico jerked up in pain before a trickle of blood ran out his mouth. He laughed, spitting out blood.

"Nice try. Not…ngh…going to die anytime soon." Enteico said.

Dairokkan ripped the spear out, making Enteico scream in pain. "Then I'll let you bleed, like a stuck pig."

Dairokkan had his victory assured. But the pieces were too random. Enteico's presence had shifted the balance. Behind the ocean of nothingness in his mind, he sensed something lurking, swimming around, waiting to strike.

Something that had been broken, but took the pain and made it into their strength.

Something dangerous, determined to end this battle once and for all.

Ruh blasted his barrier away from him with a kinetic punch, kicking up a pile of dust and rubble, clouding the Assassin's vision.

The sound of chains alerted him. Dairokkan barely had any time to react.

A blast of force threw the Assassin off his feet, hurtling through the air. His body was numb with pain.

Landing awkwardly, Dairokkan tilted his head to gather as much information as he could sense on his new foe.

Chains clinked and crackled with electricity while the wind flapped a black jacket against a man, who walked with purpose.

And then, the ground vibrated violently.

Dairokkan jumped immediately, unsure of the strength of this new power.

"THIS ENDS HERE, DAIROKKAN!"

A voice rattled Dairokkan's eardrums, descending from what seemed like the very heavens above, trembling with a vengeance for what they had lost, yet with a blazing, inextinguishable passion to protect what they had found.

Keith walked towards him, sparking and exuding a massive amount of blue electricity that surrounded his Blades of Alysides. The energy ran through the chains, crackling with each step that Keith took.

Yelling out in effort, Keith jumped and slammed the Blades onto the ground, causing another burst of blue electricity to course through the floor towards Dairokkan, rapidly zipping towards the Assassin.

Dairokkan sprinted and clashed with Keith in the air, the electricity shocking him through his spear. The energy sent him crashing into the ground.

Keith chased after Dairokkan with his Blades sparking and colliding with the metal of the stadium support beams. Dairokkan vanished into the shadows. Keith closed his eyes, waiting for the right moment.

Wait for it…wait for it…

Keith pulled the trigger, unhooking the chains.

Dairokkan emerged a few feet away from Keith.

Keith grabbed the chains, ignoring the burning pain in his arms, spinning both chains around him. The metal sparked brightly, bursting out two chains of bright electric energy that created a bright tornado of energy, lighting up the dark stadium, previously illuminated by the sole lone light from the moon.

Dairokkan got stunned by the electric chains that grew up to the size of the tournament ground, blowing him off his feet from the electric feedback.

Ignoring the ringing in his ears, Dairokkan got back up, rushing towards Keith in his shadow form, before jabbing at Keith with his spear.

"NOW!"

Without any warning, Enteico stopped Dairokkan's attack with his shield.

With one, hand, he clutched the slightly healed wound on his chest, using his other hand to shield Keith.

Felix slammed his fists into the ground, hurtling massive boulders of rubble at Dairokkan, who barely managed to dodge them. He was disorientated from Keith's electric attacks.

The dangerous creature stayed silent, yet there were other yells of fury bursting instead, working in tandem to slay Dairokkan.

Yokubo appeared in front of Dairokkan, her knives screeching against Dairokkan's spear.

Enteico howled in anger, slashing his sword through Dairokkan's stomach, spinning back for what appeared to be another attack. Dairokkan raised his staff to block it.

Enteico smirked, morphing the sword into a shield and holding it flat above him.

"Keith, finish it!" He yelled.

Keith landed on the shield, while Enteico pushed him upwards, launching him into the air. Keith spun and twirled through the air, his chains a trail of bright blue energy that followed behind him while he soared above Dairokkan.

The Assassin merged into his shadow, deciding to retreat.

"Oh no, you don't! You're not dodging this one, Dairo-cunt!"

Felix slammed his fists, causing a large mass of rock to spike towards the fleeing shadow, forcing Dairokkan to revert back to physical form, before Yokubo's projectile flew through his chest.

Dairokkan stood, wobbling unsteadily. He could still escape…he could still fight…

The creature finally broke its silence. It came from above, floating below the dark, star-spotted night sky, its silhouette lit up by the pale glow of the moonlight.

Keith spun forward in mid-air, aiming at Dairokkan, his Blades crackling behind him with a final burst of energy as he lit up the sky; a shooting star amongst the darkness.

A small, distant voice rung out in the back of his head.

New skill unlocked.

The air fizzled with blue sparks as the electricity crackled with increased intensity, buzzing around his gauntlets.

Yokubo looked at Keith, unconsciously holding her breath as a distant memory resurfaced briefly in her mind. Zimmi had an awestruck smile on her face that was much bigger than the others looking alongside her.

Keith spun the electric chains in the air before hurling them at Dairokkan, rumbling with a thunderous booming shockwave, rapidly hurtling towards the Assassin.

"LIGHTNING RAY!"

The chains shot towards Dairokkan. He held out his spear with his hand against the deadly tail of the creature, whipping towards his skull.

The chains burned through his hand and skull, killing him while he shuddered violently from the sparking electricity frying his body.

Keith yanked his chains back, severing Dairokkan's head from his backbone. He landed in a crouching position, with the chains of his Blades wrapped around the gauntlets.

The electric energy fizzled briefly before it disappeared.

Dairokkan's head smashed on the ground with a fleshy, cracking thud.

Keith felt the world fade around him when he looked up at the sky, his hands quivering, exhausted and wounded as he slowly succumbed to the fatigue.

It was over.

It was finally over.

________________________________________________________________

"I hope that one day, you'll understand…"

An old man clutched his hand tightly with a tear in his eye.

"I'm so proud of you, my boy."

The old man turned around and stood up, walking away into the darkness.

Keith opened his eyes.

The soft sunlight spilled in through the blinds covering the windows. The first thing that he heard was the noises of life. After what seemed like an eternity of bloodshed and battle, the sound of birds chirping and people laughing outside reached Keith like a slow melody.

His body ached all over, his jaw felt heavy as he yawned, breathing in the cool air, blowing towards him from the tiny hum of a spinning fan. He realized that, for the first time in years, he wasn't outside his barn. He had slept in a soft bed with a fluffy pillow underneath his head.

His left arm was covered in bandages, but he was surprised when he turned to look at his right.

Yokubo was asleep, her head on a desk with his right hand entangled in hers. A strand of purple hair covered her right eye. Keith slowly moved it away from her face and tucked it behind her ear. Yokubo stirred slightly but didn't wake up.

This story has been stolen from Royal Road. If you read it on Amazon, please report it

Something moved underneath his bed.

Keith shot a quick look around, searching for his gauntlets to defend Yokubo when a tiny head peeked above the bed.

"Shhhh, she's sleeping, Mr. Keef. Hehe."

Keith let out a sigh of relief and smiled as Zimmi tried to climb onto the bed, but kept slipping off as she was too short.

"Hup…mmm. Hup…hmph. Why did they have to make your bed so tall, Mr. Keef?" Zimmi pouted, trying to jump onto the bed.

Keith looked at a small stand nearby, dripping a slow stream of health potion, connected to a tube injected into the large cut across his stomach. He knew that the wound would eventually heal, but it still stung like hell.

Yokubo woke up, blinking her eyes sleepily. She saw Keith awake and smiled warmly at him, still sleepy.

"Hey," Keith said.

"Hey…" Yokubo said, before realizing that she was sleeping with Keith's hand in hers. She withdrew it immediately, her smile becoming a scowl instantly.

"Not a word about this to anyone." Yokubo snarled at Keith.

Zimmi looked up at Yokubo, opening and closing her hands, asking to be carried.

"Up! Up!" Zimmi smiled as Yokubo carried her to sit onto the side of Keith's bed.

The mattress creaked and bounced softly as Zimmi swung her legs, shifting around, making Keith slightly wince in pain.

"Easy there, kid."

"Oops. Sorry, Mr. Keef."

Keith noticed Yokubo wasn't looking at him, but forced to fixate her gaze on Zimmi, ignoring Keith.

"Are you ok?" Keith asked her.

Yokubo looked at him in surprise. "Y…yeah, I'm fine. I got the wounds tended to a while ago. Nothing big." She stuttered.

"That's…that's great. Uhh…what about the others?" Keith asked.

"They're fine. They're waiting downstairs." She said bluntly.

"Ok. That's good. That's good to hear." Keith nodded.

The three waited for the others to continue their conversation, unsure of what to say.

"Man, that sure was one hell of a fight," Keith said, faking a laugh.

"Ye! It was so cool! You guys were all about to lose…and…and Mr. Keef nearly died because he wasn't strong enough to beat the bad guy…" Zimmi said.

"You really don't mince your words, do you?" Keith chuckled.

"But…But then, everyone else showed up. And then…And then I helped you with that awesome power-up! I didn't even know I could do that! You were like…WHOOSH…and then…and then you just…KABOOM!" Zimmi smiled excitedly.

"Heh, yeah. I wouldn't have been able to do it without you guys."

Zimmi looked at Keith, unaware of Yokubo's glance at Keith. "Yeah, it was super-awesome teamwork! As always, The Super Powerful, Awesome, Cool, Sick, but the good kind, Protectors, especially Mr. Keef, saved the day!" She cheered.

"Definitely need to work on that name." Keith laughed, immediately wishing he hadn't when a rocket of pain shot through his stomach.

"The Assassins are gone, most of them are in custody, but some have retreated back to the clan HQ. We won't be hearing from them for a good while until they recuperate. Thankfully, without Dairokkan to lead them, they'll be more focused on licking their wounds than revenge." Yokubo stated.

"Serves him right. Chasing after all that power eventually brought the clan down with him. It's a good thing Zimmi helped me beat the shit out of him; asshole's six feet under now." Keith laughed.

Zimmi's smile disappeared. "Y…yeah…I did…didn't I?"

The little girl hopped off the bed and walked to the door, opening it.

"Wait, kid. Where are you going?" Keith asked.

"Oh…I'm…umm…going to tell the others you're awake. And…I…I need to find Ruh. He said he'd be in the cafeteria downstairs." Zimmi said, forcing a smile before closing the door behind her.

Keith let out an annoyed sigh.

"I did it again, didn't I?" Keith mumbled.

"Oh, you noticed." Yokubo scoffed.

Keith didn't reply. He squinted between the gaps in the blinds covering the window. It was bright outside, but not particularly sunny. Although he'd beaten Dairokkan, the hardest part was yet to come.

Just breathe. Just breathe and get it over with.

Enteico and Felix walked in through the door, with Zimmi and Ruh behind them. Ruh pulled out some chairs for them to sit near Keith's bed.

"About time you finally woke up." Enteico grinned.

"Sorry, I was a little busy healing from the giant fucking wound across my chest, dickhead." Keith rolled his eyes, smiling.

"While you've been napping, we've been assigned to cleanup duty. How many Assassins did you kill in the orphanage, for god's sake? We had to haul so many of them out of the place before cleaning it up." Felix mumbled.

Zimmi shifted uncomfortably, staying behind Ruh while keeping her eyes fixed on the floor.

"I…don't know. I wasn't thinking straight." Keith said.

"It doesn't matter. You rest up and we'll be outside if you need any…" Enteico said, glaring at Felix.

"There is something I need to tell you. Something important…I…need you…e-especially Yokubo…to listen to what I have to say." Keith said, the hollow pit in his stomach slowly growing.

Enteico sat down waiting for Keith to continue. Yokubo stood with her arms folded, waiting for Keith to finish what he had to say, so she could leave. Maybe she could find a job in the Central Kingdom…

"I need to tell you…about what happened. Why I…why he's gone…"

Yokubo's train of thought screeched to a halt. She turned to Keith, her eyebrows nearly leaving her forehead. She fell back into her seat. Keith was shaking again but smiled when Yokubo held his hand, pleading him to continue.

"I swear to god, Keith. If this is another one of your fucking pranks…" Yokubo, smiled with tears in her eyes.

Keith began laughing softly as well. "While that would be bloody hilarious, I'm done with running away from my past. I'll tell you…what happened that day. If you end up hating me…or, by some miracle, if you choose to forgive me for what I've done…then I'll accept either outcome. I just need…to tell you…"

Yokubo squeezed his hand lightly. "The fact that you're trying to is more than enough. Take your time and we'll get through this."

Enteico smiled briefly. Zimmi peeked above Ruh's shoulder to look at Keith as he spoke, finally deciding to face the demons that had haunted him.

But this time, he wasn't alone.

________________________________________________________________

Keith rushed to catch up with Yokubo and Francy.

"Hey, wait up!"

"Come on, slowpoke! You're going to miss it!"

The two dashed ahead, scaling the walls and using the rooftops.

Keith grinned and ran on the ground, unbuttoning his jacket with one hand, creating a trail of shadows that stretched towards the council tower.

He popped out on the other side, jumping over a wagon full of watermelons.

"Sorry, late for graduation!" Keith yelled back at the man.

"Don't worry about it! Good luck giving the speech, Keith!" The man smiled and waved at him.

Spee-Oh shit.

Keith had forgotten that since he was the student with the highest grades overall, he was given the honor of giving a speech to mark the graduation of his class. They had made jokes about how Shujin would cry when it was done, not because of the fact that the class had grown up, but because of how bad the speech would be.

Unfortunately, Keith had forgotten to even think of a speech this morning, delaying it repeatedly.

Keith panted, wracking his brain for some inspiring crap that Shujin would probably tell him, something about the clan and how honored he would be to become their leader…

Which was highly unlikely, considering that he dreaded the rapidly approaching day that he became of age to take over the reins as leader of the Assassins. Shujin was having a hard time recently trying to rein in the council.

Their thirst to form political connections across the kingdom often came with a heavy price to evict, execute and destroy, with no questions asked, against Shujin's wishes

The clan despised Keith's different nature and the way he chose to do missions his own way, against the code of the Assassins.

The way he saw it, if he was forced to kill someone, the code could go to hell.

"Aww, man. He beat us again!" Yokubo groaned, panting as she approached Keith.

"You can't use the jacket, that's unfair!" Francy said, clutching his knees.

As the three walked into the giant dojo, sitting on the floor, waiting for Shujin to arrive, they were aware of the fact that there seemed to be fewer Assassins than usual.

That's strange. There were no missions that gramps approved today.

Shujin had made it a point that all missions would be held off for the day and all Assassins, especially the parents of the graduates, would attend the ceremony. They sat behind the students, some parents smiling happily as they hugged their children.

"Hey, guys!"

Tiana rushed to greet them, hugging Yokubo tightly.

"Dang, did you get a haircut? Who're you trying to impress?" Yokubo said, nudging her lightly.

"W…What? No-no one…Oh! Hi…Francy!" Tiana said.

Francy made a light squeak as he realized the girl was speaking to him. "Uh…hi!"

There was a murmur of voices that rose from the crowd behind them. Keith realized that the time for the ceremony to begin had finally come.

A small group of children re-enacted the first mission of the first Assassin of the Alysides clan, dressed up in small outfits, making dramatic fighting noises as they continued.

The crowd clapped half-heartedly, except for Yokubo, who cheered for the kids loudly, whistling and clapping hard.

The shoji doors to the dojo slid open.

All the Assassins stood up in respect when Shujin entered the dojo, his white porcelain mask covering his face with his beard poking out from underneath. He stood in front of the crowd, wearing a light grey and green kimono.

"Please, take a seat."

A child ran up the stage, lifting a chair to offer to Shujin to sit on, but Shujin politely refused, sitting on the floor as the other people gathered at the Dojo instead. Taking off his mask, he clapped his hands for the ceremony to begin.

He began announcing the children who had passed the previous grades and their notable achievements in their respective skill fields. Francy asked Yokubo about the mission she was assigned to last week.

"Oh, it was just a small surveillance mission, nothing too major. A small encampment near a town. Strangely, I think it belonged to the Kyrios." Yokubo said.

"Kyrios? But why? We've been on good terms with them for a really long time, or so gramps says, anyway." Keith whispered, trying to not disturb the ongoing ceremony.

Francy shrugged. "Beats me. Maybe they did something that broke the peace treaty we had with them?"

Yokubo shook her head. "If they did, Shujin would immediately do everything in his power to negotiate. The Kyrios are peaceful people and good allies; they're just misunderstood because they're different. Like us."

"Except we kill people, so I don't think there's any misunderstanding there," Keith mumbled.

Yokubo tried to change the subject. "What about you guys? I heard you two completed your last assignments as well."

"Guard duty. It was soooo boring. There was nothing to do. The only fight I had that day were the mosquitoes." Francy groaned, making his two friends laugh.

"What? They were huge! Mosquitoes don't get that big, man. I'm telling you." Francy said.

"No, no. I'm sure they were cunning and deadly foes. Damn things always manage to escape before we can smack them. I can't wait until the supply of the new repellant comes in from the Central Kingdom next month. Seems like those things adapt to them every year now." Keith said.

"What about you, tough guy? I imagine you got something exciting." Yokubo said, smiling at Keith.

"Well, I got to do some recon on a target."

Yokubo and Francy whistled, clearly impressed.

"Thank you, thank you. But it was nowhere near as fun as the others make it out to be. Had to watch a guy take a lot of pee breaks and shit so many times. He does not eat well. I think he went 5 times in one hour." Keith mumbled.

Yokubo and Francy laughed, shushing Keith before Shujin stood up to announce the graduates of the last class on the list, flashing a smile at Keith before he cleared his throat.

"For outstanding performance in the combat and surveillance skillset, please give a round of applause for Miss Yokubo Susanoo!" Shujin announced, his voice a booming surge of thunder rumbling through the dojo.

A round of applause and cheers immediately erupted as Yokubo stepped up to receive her award and graduation honors. She bowed briefly in front of Shujin, before shaking his hand, smiling.

Keith saw her briefly glance at him since he was clapping so hard that his hands began to sting. She fiddled with the sash on her yukata before composing herself and walking off the stage back to her seat, in silence, yet with a shy smile on her face.

"Next up, for unwavering dedication in recovery and brilliance in rescue missions, please put your hands together for Miss Tiana Tasukete!"

The crowd erupted into applause, with Francy cupping his hands to clap louder as Tiana walked onto the stage. She seemed to be perspiring quite a bit.

Once she was off the stage, she joined her parents, who hugged her to congratulate her.

Keith looked at Shujin, who announced each name from his class, with each student and each round of applause slowly fading away. For many, it was the beginning of something new. A lifelong dream to become someone valuable to the clan.

For Keith, it was the mark of change. With each student that received their honors, with each person that shook Shujin's hand; Keith decided to steel his heart, remembering their smiles of happiness on this day.

Because one day, they would leave on a mission and never return.

Because with each student that shook Shujin's hand, Keith saw one of his friends signing their own death warrant. He had to remember them as the people they were today, shining in the brightest light, with the world they knew cheering for them, smiling for all the years of hard work finally paying off.

Before all those smiles were buried beneath a casket.

To many people that day, Shujin was the happiest person in the world. He was a proud father to many, watching them take their opportunity to finally go out into the world and make a difference.

But not to Keith.

Keith had never seen his grandfather more heartbroken in his entire life than that day. The way he stood proud, yet his shoulders slouched over, wrinkles lined near his tired, deep-seated eyes. Perhaps it was his age, perhaps it was the constant tirades against the Council's decisions without his approval, or perhaps it was the fact that the time had finally come for him to step down as leader of the Assassins.

In a way, this would be the last time he saw his students for the kind souls he had shaped them to be during his time teaching them before the clan changed them into someone…else.

"Next, for exemplary adaptability in the field of battle, the highest ranking in stealth training, breaking previous records, give it up for Mr. Francy Lecroix!"

Francy stood up from his seat to receive his honors, pausing briefly as Shujin waited for him with a warm smile. The audience half-heartedly clapped and cheered, noticeably less enthusiastic in their applause this time around.

As Francy stepped up, next to Shujin to receive his award, the applause died down. Francy tried to ignore the growing silence and shook Shujin's hand.

Until Keith stood up on his chair.

Keth clapped and hollered wildly, cheering for Francy like a madman. Yokubo and Tiana cheered loudly alongside him, whistling with their fingers.

The sudden resurgence of the applause prompted the other attendants to cheer much louder the second time around. Francy looked up at Keith standing on his chair, the light from above casting a shadow on Francy, making Francy smile as Keith held up a thumbs up.

Sitting back down, Shujin cleared his throat before speaking to announce the final graduate.

"For outstanding performance in all fields, mastery of the shadow art basics, weaponry and, above all, leadership amongst his peers by walking the right path with them, not above them, please give a round of applause for Mr. Keith Alysides!" Shujin said, his voice wavering as he spoke.

Keith felt Francy patting him on the back, with all of his friends congratulating them as he stepped up. Keith bowed briefly in respect, taking the certificate from his grandfather before holding out his hand to shake Shujin's.

Shujin grabbed Keith and held him in a warm, tight and proud embrace. Keith felt slightly uncomfortable being in front of so many people, but a tingly feeling spreading through his body, comforted by the man who had raised him.

"I'm so proud of you, my boy. Also, your zip's down." Shujin sniffed.

Keith dropped his certificates in horror, quickly looking down at his pants, before realizing the trick his grandfather had played. Most of the people in the audience began to laugh with Shujin while Keith rolled his eyes with an annoyed smile.

Yokubo stood up from her seat, still clapping, long after the rest had stopped.

________________________________________________________________

"Alright, now that all that humdrum's done, let's eat. I'm starving." Shujin said, smiling at the two young men looking at each other's certificates.

"Man, I can't believe it's actually done. We're done with school. I bet that real life's going to be awesome. So much freedom and so much stuff that we can do with what we've learned." Francy sighed, taking the keys and opening the door to their house.

"Yeah, but it doesn't matter even if you become the most powerful Assassin, you're still going to be Francy pants to us." Keith snickered.

"Dude, come on. You started with that insult nearly a decade ago. Don't you think it's about time that you came up with something more original?" Francy groaned, kicking off his shoes.

"Hey, if it ain't broke, don't fix it." Keith shrugged.

Keith flicked on the light switch, illuminating the room in a hazy peach glow, momentarily flickering. He dropped the certificates on the table in the living room, nodding at Shujin.

"Speaking of which, do you think that I should cook today?" Shujin asked out loud.

"Oh, no, no. You two go have a wash and get changed. I'm going to cook some egg fried rice with some butter chicken." Francy said, pushing the old man away from the kitchen.

"Are you sure?" Shujin asked in a non-concerned manner.

"Yeah, you two might be the most skilled Assassins, but you both are terrible at cooking." Francy scowled.

"Aww, come on, man. I make a mean omelette." Keith said.

"Yeah, emphasis on the mean part of that sentence. I mean, who the hell cooks an omelette with the shell pieces?" Francy asked.

"It adds extra crunch, you just hate it because it's different and you can't understand my genius. One day, mark my words, I'm going to make something spectacular that everyone will buy and it'll taste absolutely delicious." Keith said.

"I can tell you that it's not going to be omelettes, that's for sure." Francy snickered.

Shujin placed a hand on Keith's shoulder. "Alright, alright. Let's leave Francy to make his food while we go get changed. Haven't had some creamy, tender butter chicken in a while. You going to make it with some naan?"

"Yeah, there should be enough ingredients to make the dough. You want it buttered up or plain?" Francy asked.

"Ahh…butter. I'm going to die soon anyway, might as well eat some good shit before I start eating actual shit in hell." Shujin mumbled, stroking his grey beard with a smile.

The two young men didn't say a word and walked away from Shujin.

Keith headed to the upstairs bathroom, while Shujin used the one downstairs. Opening the door, he let the water trickle down his arm, checking the temperature, before he walked into the water, soaking his floppy mess of hair.

Yokubo kept telling him to either cut it or comb it, but he decided to just let his hair "do its own thing." Keith waited for a beat, the soft beat of the water hitting his skin, droplets rolling down his back and falling into the water pooling around his feet.

He reached to the right, grabbing the shampoo that Yokubo had recommended for him. It read; "Shiny, silky and smooth hair." The label had slowly peeled off with use. Keith felt the shampoo ooze into his hands, before he applied it to his hair, frothing and foaming with bubbles.

After a few minutes, Keith turned off the water, rinsing the soap and shampoo off his body. He grabbed a comfy black and red t-shirt with a pair of black pants. There was a souvenir that Shujin had brought back from his visits to the town nearby, occupated mostly by Kyrios. The red manta ray figurine glimmered atop his closet.

Keith opened his drawer, grabbing the papers that Shujin had showed him the other day, with a smile. It was about time that they finally showed this to Francy and Keith could not wait.

Shujin and Keith came downstairs, where Francy had already served the food, fresh off the stove.

"Hoooh, boy. This smells so good. You know Francy, your cooking reminds me of all the times I had with my late wife." Shujin said, sitting down, swallowing the pool of saliva collecting underneath his tongue.

"Hopefully not all the times with Grandma…" Keith said, making Francy snicker and Shujin lightly smack Keith on the head.

"Don't be daft, Keith. There was always something more fun for your Grandma than cooking in the kitchen if I was behind her." Shujin said with a smug grin.

Keith and Francy visibly gagged, making Francy choke on his drink of water, beating his chest violently. Shujin rolled his eyes.

"Oh, so you can make jokes at her expense, but I can't?

"Yes! Because it's weird! I don't want to think about you and…ugh…" Keith groaned in disgust.

"You're old enough to drink alcohol, Keith. You should know that even old people get it on sometimes." Shujin said, moving his shoulders and eyebrows up and down.

"Aaaand I think I lost my appetite," Francy said, slowly placing the piece of naan back on the table.

"Nice, more for me." Shujin laughed, making the other two smile. Francy was glad that Shujin was in a relatively good mood today, but Keith knew exactly why the old man was so happy.

After eating their dinner, Shujin patted his stomach, satisfied.

"That was such a good meal, my boy. I feel like I should almost thank you for it." Shujin said.

"Thanks, Shujin. But, knowing you, it'll probably be some prank that you'll give me in return, so I'll just opt for cleaning up the dishes." Francy laughed softly.

Shujin grabbed Francy by the arm, not allowing him to leave the table. He looked at the young man with tired eyes, asking him to sit back down.

Francy looked at Keith, who nodded without a word.

"So, this is serious?" Francy asked.

"Yes. It is. Francy, I have something to discuss with you." Shujin said.

Shujin leant closer to Francy, with a serious expression on his face as he spoke in a low voice.

"Your last name is weird as fuck."

Francy blinked twice, before bursting out laughing. "Yes, I'm aware. You and Keith have made that very evident, with you going after my last name and Keith for my first one."

"I have no idea what you're talking about, Francy-pants." Keith snickered.

Shujin's face still stayed serious and unwavering as he spoke. "Listen. You've been with…no-you've been a part of our family for years now. You were so little when I found you, you could barely speak. When you first told me what your name was, I thought it was absolute gibberish, until I realized it was actually your name."

"Is there a point to this, Shujin?" Francy asked, annoyed but still smiling.

"Yes. I've seen you grow up into someone spectacular, helping those in need, going above and beyond your own desires. Though I know that there is a deep-seated feeling inside that you still need to prove yourself…"

Francy scoffed, letting out a soft laugh. "I don't know what you're talking about…"

Shujin grabbed his hands, clutching them to his own, frail, cracked ones.

"You have, Francy. Though you may not see it now, one day, you will. I know this."

Francy's smile faded. Now his concern was growing by the second, glancing over at Keith, who handed Shujin a booklet of papers and a pen.

"W…what is that?" Francy asked.

"I'll show you in a second. Like I was saying, you helped me through a lot of things…and Keith too. We probably would've starved to death or would still be eating take-out to this day if you didn't learn how to cook." Shujin smiled.

"Heh. I'm sure you…you guys would've managed." Francy said, his voice hoarse.

"No. No, we wouldn't have. You're more important than you realize; especially to us." Shujin said, flipping over the papers.

"Which is why Keith and I were going over your name the other. We both laughed at how ridiculous it was…" Shujin said.

"Which was very ridiculous," Keith added, making Francy shake his head in annoyance.

"Before we decided that it didn't fit you."

Shujin handed over the papers to Francy, who looked through it, reading through the immense paragraphs the document had. As he kept reading, his eyes widened.

"This…y…This is…"

Francy put his hands on his forehead, trying to hide the tears threatening to fall from his eyes. Shujin took his hands and placed them on his lap, above the papers.

"Thank you. Thank you for everything, Francy Alysides."

Francy's hands began to quiver along with his lip. He tried so hard…so hard not to cry, before breaking down, tears dripping down his face as he sniffed into Shujin's shoulder.

"Shh…Shh…it's ok, my boy. You'll always be a part of this family. I promise."

Francy swallowed to get rid of the lump in his throat, trying to speak, to thank the old man, opening his mouth, only for no words to come out. Shujin hugged him again, smiling at Keith, who was trying to look away from the two, hiding his face.

"Alright…Francy…uhh…just sign the papers and we'll head to the council tomorrow to get them approved with Gramps," Keith said, rubbing his nose and sniffing.

"Man, I never thought I'd see the day when you cry." Francy chuckled.

"Think of it as my present, dickhead. You only get to see it once in a lifetime, brother." Keith said.

"Brother…huh. Much better nickname." Francy smiled.

"Don't get used to it. I'm feeling sappy today, so I'll go back to calling you Francy-pants tomorrow." Keith said, heading off to bed once Francy signed the papers.

"Well, it was good while it lasted, I guess." Francy chuckled.

Keith's hands began to tremble, he couldn't breathe. He was having a panic attack, sweat running from his brow.

Yokubo sat on the bed next to him. "It's ok. It's ok. We're all here. What happened next? Go slowly and take your time, we'll help you out. Trust me."

Keith nodded, smiling at Zimmi's concerned face.

"I'll be fine, kid. Don't worry." Keith reassured her.

"Does…does this story have a happy ending?" Zimmi asked, meekly.

Keith looked at the pale white sheets on the bed. A dark cloud rolled over the sun, covering the warm light.

"I wish it did."

A knock on the door in the middle of the night echoed through the house.