“What’s wrong, kid?” Munisai finally noticed and turned around, not quite understanding what spooked the boy.
“...”
Lawkey stood in place, ready to swing his blade at any second. He only moved his eyes around, trying to cover all grounds within his view.
He’s serious! Something must have happened! Munisai thought as he quickly took a look around too.
In the distance, they could see Hideyoshi and his family looking their way, but both of them knew it couldn’t have been him. He wasn’t a fighter, as Hachi said, he had barely held a weapon in his entire life.
Lawkey waited for something to happen, for an attack to come his way at any moment.
But nothing came, and the aura subsided as quickly as it rose. He realized he wouldn’t be able to figure out where it came from now and it didn’t seem like whoever was exuding the pressure had any intention of attacking at this moment.
After relaxing his body and taking one last look around, noticing the less threatening glares, Lawkey quickly resumed his walk, not waiting on Munisai this time.
“Let’s go, I’m getting annoyed the more I stay here.”
“...”
Munisai watched the boy walk past him, his frown evident on his face.
Hah, this isn’t going to be easy… He thought to himself while sighing.
After walking past the village’s entrance, Lawkey remembered something he had realized back there.
“Wait! You all said this place was hidden from the rest of the world right?” He asked, coming to stand next to his new mentor again.
“Yes?” Munisai looked at him, wondering where he’s going with this.
“Then how come these Keymen or whatever came to help? How would they even make it here that quickly?”
“What, you don’t know that either, kid?” Munisai asked, stunned again by the lack of basic knowledge this boy had about the world.
I guess it makes sense if he grew up on the battlefield, but if Sasaki and other adults were around, shouldn’t they have taught him all this already?
Munisai thought to himself, wondering what kind of relationship the boy really had with Sasaki and her gang. He had heard of rumors of her joining some kind of mercenary band that functioned similarly to a guild, but he didn’t know much else beyond their name either.
I’m sure it was something like… The Phantom Rogues… He reminded himself.
“So, what if I don’t know? Are you going to tell me or not?”
“Did you see that odd door structure back there?”
“The one with the Key logo or something? Are they related?”
Lawkey answered with another question.
“They sure are, they are called ‘Locks’, they are apparently a very well known and useful means of transportation outside of this continent. But for Tartarus, they mainly only do trade, deliver occasional services or even post newspapers that include bounties and quests. Many adventurers use those to make a living nowadays, and even I partook in my early years as a swordsman.”
Munisai explained, trying his best to mention the most important points out of the top of his head.
“Oh? So would they be able to trade pancakes then?” Lawkey asked, his priorities never wavering.
“Is that really what you’re worried about, kid? You’ll have to ask them, but know this, no matter what they say, take it all with a grain of salt. They only care about one thing-”
“Ah!! That’s right! I remember now!” Lawkey shouted suddenly, cutting Munisai off, “That key logo thing, it’s on the key coins, isn’t it? I guess that’s why the money is called Keys, I never knew…”
“...”
Munisai simply looked at the boy figuring stuff out that someone his age should’ve long been aware of by now.
“If you ever have more questions, let me know, kid.” He advised, then walked on, “For now, let’s head back home. I don’t want Jun to wait too long, she must be worried.”
“Ah, sure… I don’t want another bucket of freezing water dropped on my head either…”
“...”
Munisai made no apologies for his daughter, knowing full well it wouldn’t be the last time.
**👑**
“Here we are.”
Munisai stepped into his property, seeing Jun’s figure in the distance standing in the doorway.
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
Lawkey hadn’t had the chance to properly see the place from outside until now, but only now from his current view could he realize how wide Munisai’s house really was.
It was a modest building, just a wall with smaller windows spanning across it from side to side, only to be interrupted by the entrance door positioned in the middle. The rooftop seemed to be covered with roof tiles that stuck out all the way to the entrance with a slight curve.
Above the entrance, on those roof tiles, was a big sign with some kind of logo on it. It seemed like a combination of the Kage Clan logo that Lawkey had seen around, and two training swords crossing behind it, making an X. Lawkey recognized it as the same logo Munisai had on his coat the first time he met him.
It must be for the school he talked about… He figured.
“Welcome home.” Jun said, bowing slightly, partly to hide her worried expression, and another out of respect.
She wasn’t wearing her kimono anymore, and donned what seemed like a light blue Keikogi, the traditional outfit for training in Dojos.
Her hair was now tied in a short ponytail behind her head, held together by a lavender-colored ribbon she had finally received after all the chaos interrupted the exchange last time.
“Thank you, Jun.” Munisai responded, pushing Lawkey in front of him. “We’re home.”
“...” Lawkey, for his part, stayed silent.
They quickly made their way through the house, catching Jun up on everything that had happened so far.
Munisai felt like he had noticed a slight smile when his daughter heard the boy would be staying with them for the time being, but she quickly recovered her composure.
Eventually, they made it to the room where Lawkey had woken up after his short coma.
“You can have this room.” Munisai said, having walked into the room first, “If you need anything, come to me anytime.”
“...”
While Lawkey took a proper look around, Jun hung back behind them.
“A whole room just for me?” Lawkey asked, not used to this kind of treatment.
He quickly noticed the well-maintained futon, and the two luminescent rock-like lamps in the corners. He guessed Jun must have prepped the room in their absence just in case.
“Our healers did all they could, but you need more time to fully recover.” Munisai explained, then looked over to his daughter, “Jun will show you around when you’re ready.”
Jun stood at the door still, not interrupting the conversation.
“Make sure to get some more rest, kid.” Munisai smiled gently, “Your training starts soon!”
Lawkey wasted no time and immediately plumbed himself on the futon, spreadeagled.
“Oh!! This is actually really comfortable!” He smiled, an expression of pure bliss forming on his face.
“...”
Jun to the side, finally noticed a chance and walked closer to the boy lying on his new futon.
As Lawkey noticed her, she put her hands on her waist and looked down at him.
“Since you’ll be living here from now on, you’ll have to help out too!” She demanded, “I won’t let you slack off!”
Jun took her duties extremely seriously, to the point where she was known for being the most reliable. She did her best to help her handicapped father as best she could. She wouldn’t want him to end up strung along by a boy’s recklessness or lack of effort.
“Don’t worry.” Lawkey sat up on the futon and grinned from ear to ear, “I take my responsibilities very seriously!”
Hearing that, Jun reflexively raised an eyebrow, not having expected it to go so well.
Munisai watched them with a soft smile on his face.
Then…
“Just make sure not to get in the way of my training.” Lawkey blurted out as he lied back down, both hands behind his head.
“What?!” Jun snapped, “I am the top apprentice in the dojo and your senior! You should show me some respect!”
image [https://i.imgur.com/Pr6No04.jpeg]
“Why should I show respect to someone weaker than me?”
“Weaker?! I’ll show you who’s weaker right now!”
“Oh, yeah? Now we’re talking! It’s a duel!”
“Let’s go!”
“Alright, that’s enough! Time for dinner, then everybody goes to bed.” Munisai clapped his hands together, announcing the end of their quarrel.
Seeing Jun upset at him and her father trying to remedy the situation, Lawkey was reminded of a similar situation he experienced in the past.
A night around a campfire, with the Phantom Rogues.
They had been talking about a lot of things, most of the adults were long drunk, and eventually, the topic of discussion landed on how boys should catch girls’ attention.
While some proudly showed off their physique, cheering for muscles, others insisted on just plain good looks. Before any more ideas popped up, someone forced their way into the discussion, someone who was on the other end of the spectrum.
“Don’t listen to those idiots, little Law!” The tipsy Sasaki stood proudly, puffing up her chest, “If you want girls to like you and be nice to you, you have to notice the little changes they make to their appearance! Hey Jay! Where are you at? You agree with me, right?!”
While everyone just simply laughed at her, making her upset, it was her exact advice that eventually helped them gain her favor once more after showering her with compliments about her appearance.
While at the time, Lawkey didn’t understand what she meant, never guessing he would ever need to, he found himself relying on that advice now. If he wants to avoid any issues while staying as a guest in their home, he would need to make sure Jun isn’t constantly angry at him.
“...”
“Um…” He hesitated, his cheek turning slightly red as he scratched it, “your hair suits you like that…”
“Eh?”
Jun took a step back, the heat rapidly rising in her face.
That was the last thing she expected to hear from him again…
She quickly turned away, her ears red as a tomato.
“Whatever!”
“...”
The others could only stand in silence after that.
**👑**
As the day came to a close, Lawkey had crawled into his futon, slowly getting himself to sleep.
In the corners of the room, he was instructed to cover the luminescent rock-like lamps with a white cloth to make sure the room was dark enough. Deep down in the ravine, it was even harder to tell day from night when the rock cliffs shined brightly without pause. They were simply a little brighter during the day, which didn’t amount to much.
All the villagers could do was make sure all light was blocked from coming into their homes when they knew night time would be.
Lawkey didn’t understand most of it, but he complied and did as instructed anyway. Now, he lay there, making sure his chest box and sword are at arm’s length next to him.
He held up the two tassels that were previously tied to his sword’s handle, looking at them with narrow eyes.
“Jay, Sasaki, …” There were other names he wanted to mention, but he stopped himself, “I found some nice people. I’ll be staying here for a while to become stronger.”
He brought the tassels closer to his heart, holding on to them tightly.
“And when the time comes…” A single tear ran down his cheek, “I will be sure to find and-”
Before he could finish his promise, Lawkey’s consciousness was dragged down into the depth of darkness.
His daily nightmare had revealed itself.
WHAT IS LOST, CANNOT BE SAVED!!
He found himself covered by darkness all around him.
Reddish black shadowy arms that seemed more bloodthirsty than usual clawed at him.
Chains of the same color wrapped around his body, holding him in place again.
IT IS YOUR FAULT IN THE FIRST PLACE!
THERE IS NO FIXING WHAT HAS ALREADY HAPPENED!
He grabbed a handful of chains with one hand, and a black arm with the other, desperately fighting for his freedom.
image [https://i.imgur.com/SP1aTn9.jpeg]
STOP YOUR FUTILE ATTEMPTS AND GIVE UP!
Suddenly, his head was forced down, making him lose his grip.
What seemed like a floor of shadows beneath him began to suck him in, the reddish black arms dragging him down.
TAKE RESPONSIBILITY!
EMBRACE IT!
He felt the grip on his neck, getting tighter and tighter with every second.
His vision got blurry, more arms clawing at his face.
Just before he completely lost his vision, he saw it…
image [https://i.imgur.com/odDNS8h.jpeg]
OTHERWISE, EVERYBODY YOU LOVE WILL JUST DIE!
The same reddish black chains wrapped around both Munisai’s and Jun’s lifeless bodies…
AGAIN AND AGAIN, FOREVER!
image [https://i.imgur.com/AfAgWVo.jpeg]
“?!”
“Hah… Hah…” He couldn’t control his breathing, nor his racing heart that threatened to pierce his rib cage from the inside.
Before he realized it, his entire body was drenched in sweat, making both his futon and his yukata practically damp.
Having already woken up that morning, hours before anyone else, he made a vow to himself right there and then.
“I’ll train as hard as I can and learn what I need to…”
“After that…before anything can happen again…”
“I’ll leave alone.”
----------------------------------------
image [https://i.imgur.com/KQmIY8F.png]