Comments: Wow, I can't believe someone favorited this! Woot to first favorite and comments.

NOTE: "Home" from this point on will refer to the cave in the tree whenever it is capitalized.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What exactly am I looking for Master?" Akiza asked.

"Well, a hollowed out tree is probably the best form of protection, but I doubt you will find that," Akira explained.

"Where can I find something like that?" Akiza questioned.

"Look for the tallest trees, if they are on something like the side of a hill, then they are more likely to have some kind of empty space," Akira explained.

Akiza continued to wander through the forest. She was lucky that this one did not have many dangerous animals. The forests usually had dangerous demons or wild animals. She thought it was perhaps because the forest was not actually too far from where people lived, since she had washed up to it from the river. The strongest creatures tended to live far away from human civilization and people stayed away from those areas in fear of their own safety as well.

"How about there?" Akiza said as she pointed at a tall tree that stood out in the distance.

"The only way to know is to go look," Akira said.

As Akiza got close to the tree, Akira suddenly shouted to her, "Wait."

Akiza stopped and hid behind a nearby rock and looked over. She slowly and carefully walked towards the tree, looking in every direction. As she got close to the base of the tree, she noticed a hole created from the distance between the nearby rocks and the base of the tree. Looking inside, she saw a cave. The cave was formed as a result of the large rocks from the hill falling around the tree, but the tree was not knocked over, so the rocks just went around it. Inside, the bottom was covered by dirt.

"We don't know if anything lives here yet, so it is best to wait outside for a while to make sure that nothing else has claimed this as their home," Akira said.

"Okay," Akiza responded as she went outside. She hid behind a large rock and waited. She did not hear anything and waited for the sound or sight of anything. As it got dark, nothing returned to the cave.

"I think it is safe," said Akira. "Don't forget which direction the river is in. It will be important if you run out of water.

As Akiza heard this, she took a stick and drew an arrow on the dirt outside of the cave along with placing some rocks that pointed in the shape of an arrow. She figured that she should do this so that she knew the general direction of the river in case she ever forgot. "I better do this at the river too so I don't get lost," she thought to herself.

"But you must be careful just in case, take some of the fallen branches and cover the entrance so that even something passing by cannot see it," said Akira.

"Yes Master," responded Akiza as she began to gather the branches. She carefully got numerous small branches from the side of the tree and the nearby trees. She got in the cave and tilted them all so that it looked like they had fallen onto the side of the tree before heading inside the cave.

"Eat up and rest up," said Akira. "Tomorrow, you will begin your training. For the foreseeable future, this will be your home."

From her rings, Akiza took out some vegetables and water to start eating. As she ate, she began looking through her rings to see what she had available. There was a decent supply of food. There was a nice mixture of vegetables in the Emerald Ring and some meats in the Ruby Ring, though she had no means to cook yet. There was probably enough for at least a few weeks even if she could not cook. There were also a few sets of clothes in the Jade Ring. Some were sized for her parents and some were for her. The Jade Ring also contained some tools, such as pots, a knife, some scissors, silver colored tape, pens and paper, and a small mirror. Akiza realized that the rings must have been for an emergency, but she was lucky that she had it.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

As Akiza finished eating, she took out the mirror and took a good look at herself. She was a mess. Her blonde hair had turned black in many spots. It must have been messed up as she was wandering in the forest. Her brown eyes had heavy bags under them.

"You're going to be quite the beauty when you grow up you know that?" Akira said.

Akiza's face turned red as she heard those words. Her parents were the only ones who ever called her beautiful, but this was the first time a stranger said those words to her. "What are you saying?"

"Oh just talking to myself," Akira replied.

Akiza continued to examine herself. Her brown top and white skirt were torn in multiple spots. She looked at her thin arms and legs and thought about how frail she looked. She thought about how weak she felt as she woke up earlier as she took out a pan and some water to wash herself.

"Hey, be careful with that water, you need that for drinking too," Akira interrupted.

"I know," said Akiza as she poured some into the pot. She ripped part of her skirt off and used it as a towel to clean herself. Afterwards, she wiped off her hair and body before changing into the leather top and pants that were her size.

"Master?" said Akiza.

"Yes?" Akira replied.

"How do you know so much about me?" Akiza asked.

"Well that's because I can see everything you do, but I can also use the little internal energy that I can access to sense what is around me as well," Akira answered. "I will teach this to you soon as well as it is a very important skill."

"How do you know all this?" Akiza asked.

"There was another Hero who taught me," Akira answered. "Each Hero passes down their knowledge to the next in the form of the Hero's Seed. It takes the form of the flower, the eggs, and the library that you saw in your Dantian. The flower is proof that you are a hero. As you grow, so will the flower. The egg contains the four Heroic Spirits and the library is filled with the techniques that the Heroes of the past have acquired over their lifetime. This will all be yours someday."

"That seems like it is a lot to learn," replied Akiza.

"It is," said Akira. "But as you train, you will extend your life and you will have a lot of time to master these techniques. I will be your guide so that you will grow stronger and never have to fear losing those that you love again."

Akiza realized that Akira was trying to calm her. She had been nervous since hearing her parents had been killed, because everything felt like it was out of her control. But Akira was with her, answering all her questions and trying to reduce her worries. "Thank you Master."

"Keep your old clothes, we're going to use it for your training in the future," Akira said.

"Yes Master," Akiza responded."By the way, why do you call me Aki?"

"Isn't that what your parents called you?" Akira asked.

"Yes, but how did you know?" Akiza wondered.

"Did you forget? I can see and hear what you do, even if you did not know I was there. Now get some sleep, tomorrow is going to be a long day," Akira said.

Akiza thought about what a Hero could do. She dreamed about the things that she wanted to do. She thought to herself, "If I had power, I could have saved them. If I had power, I could save others."