Disclaimer: No sorry, still don't own the slayers. Wish I did though

A new town, and a new mentor

The next morning, Eruk woke up when someone was knocking on the door. "Eruk?" it was Sylphiel "are you awake?"

He sat up and rubbed his eyes "I am now" he said, raising his voice a bit to make sure she could hear him through the solid oak, the door was made of. "Oh, I didn't mean to wake you" she said as she entered the room. "Don't worry about it Sylphiel" he said " I wouldn't want to sleep all day anyway".

She came into the room. She had a new pair of boots for him. " I saw that the first pair of boots I gave you were a bit too big" she said "try these instead".

Eruk got up and the two of them had breakfast. After the breakfast Sylphiel started her little tour of the town. The town was small, and all of it looked pretty new. The only buildings of special interest were a small library, a small military garrison, and a few shops, where the townspeople could buy whatever they needed. There was also a small blacksmith. The building that held most interest to Eruk, was the military garrison. Sylphiel noticed his focus around the military compound. "You seem to have a special interest in the military?" she asked her companion. He looked at the sky and answered "not an interest as such, but I was just thinking, that a bit of military training could help me get a bit stronger, and more able to take care of myself".

Sylphiel nodded, " I think that's a good idea, Eruk. I happen to know the man in charge of the combat training. Let's go see him right away".

They went into the large stone house. Eruk noticed that many of the soldiers were sending them some strange looks. He didn't think much of it though, he thought that the looks was because he was a stranger, or maybe they were looking at his female companion. He couldn't blame them, whatever the reason was. He then decided, that most of the soldiers were looking at Sylphiel. He made a quick glance at her, she was a very attractive girl. Even though she was almost as tall as him, it suited her nicely. She had a very nice figure, and her long dark purple hair was the perfect frame for a calm and nice face. She really was beautiful, but there was something about her that seemed to give her a sad aura.

They entered a small courtyard. An elderly soldier was sitting in the shade of tree. He looked like he was sleeping. Sylphiel suddenly started giggling, she made a motion whit her hand, indicating that he should stay where he was. She tiptoed over to the sleeping old man. Careful not to make any sound she bent down and picked a few stands of grass. Very slowly she tickled the mans nose, trying to get him to sneeze. It didn't take long before she succeeded. Sylphiel took a deep breath "Sleeping on the job, are you?" she shouted. She tried to keep her voice deep and commanding like a superior officer. The poor old man jumped to his feet, making a salute in a random direction. "I'm sorry, SIR" he mumbled, still sounding like he were more asleep that awake. It looked hilarious, both Eruk and Sylphiel started to laugh.

The old man turned around and saw a laughing Sylphiel, then he started laughing himself. " So my dear niece" he said" you come here to make a fool of your old uncle?". Sylphiel had trouble answering him, she vas still giggling from her small prank.

She looked at him "Sorry uncle, but we need your help". The soldier looked at her, then she gestured towards Eruk. "It's not me who needs your help, but him", Sylphiel explained. Her uncle looked at him, "you are the one they found in the forests, right?" he asked. Eruk just nodded, and started to explain his idea about having some specialized training. "Right" the old man said nodding, " you have a name, boy?".

Eruk didn't answer at once, there was something in the old mans voice, that made the question sound like a command. "Well…" he started " I don't remember my real name, but Sylphiel has decided to call me Eruk, sir". The old man looked amused, "so my dear niece has named you after her father, eh?". He looked at Sylphiel, his eyes were laughing. She blushed a bit, and looked away.

He turned back to the young man "well, you can call me Gen" he said, " so you want to be trained by me?" Eruk just nodded. "What kind of training did you have in mind?" Gen asked him. Eruk didn't expect that question, and stood silent for a while, he the said " I just want to be able to take care of myself". Gen laughed a bit " I understand. You have any kind of training in fighting?" Eruk didn't know how to answer that question. "Uncle" Sylphiel said " he doesn't remember anything from before captain Reynold, and his patrol found him in the forest". Gen looked at him for a while, then nodded " come back tomorrow, boy, and we'll try to figure out what kind of training you need". Eruk smiled, "thank you, sir". Sylphiel started to walk towards the barracks again, When she passed Eruk, he turned and followed her. Just as they were about to enter they heard Gen yelling " HEY BOY!!, you take GOOD care of my little niece now, ya hear? Sylphiel almost choked " UNCLE!!!" she shouted back, her face beet red. The old man stated laughing out loud, " Just a little payback, for your little prank before". Sylphiel was speechless, and pulled Eruk with her inside the compound.

They decided to walk around town some more. As they walked, a thought popped into Eruk's head "Sylphiel?" he asked " I just came to think, I don't have anywhere in this city to go, would it be okay for me to keep borrowing the room in your house?" She looked at him, kind of surprised " I haven't exactly thought of you doing anything else, of course you can stay for as long as you like." She then looked down and added, very low " I kind of like to have company for a change". Eruk didn't hear that last comment. But even though she said it was no problem for him to stay, he didn't feel right about it. "I know, I don't have any money to pay you, but perhaps I could help out whenever you need it, in exchange?" She agreed, a little help now and then would be nice.

They got back to the house. Sylphiel went into the kitchen and started preparing dinner. Eruk went along with her, " I said I would help out, now how about I help you making dinner?" She shook her head " you don't have too help, if you don't want to". He saw her surprise and explained, "this is as much for my own sake, you see….. I don't remember how to cook, that is, if I ever knew how".

She laughed a bit at his embarrassment, but proceeded to explain the do's and don't of cooking. The both of them had a great time making dinner, It wasn't without trouble though, Eruk had some trouble with the different spices, but it was, despite of the small accidents along the way, a fairly successful dinner.

The next day Eruk, got up early and went over to the barracks. There he found Gen waiting for him under the same tree as yesterday. "So, my young friend has finally escaped the clutches of my beautiful niece" He said. Eruk was once again taken by surprise, by the old soldiers straightforward manners. "Umm… yeah, something like that, I think…" he managed to say. " Hey I'm just kidding kid, relax" Gen said, "now on to business".

He led Eruk into an armory filled with weapons. " Eruk's eyes went wide with surprise, he had never seen that many weapons before, at least, as far as he could remember. " Now boy, its time to find a weapon that will match you" Gen told him. Eruk wasn't sure what he meant by 'matching him. When he didn't respond to his comment, Gen stated to explain "You don't seem to understand, so let's start with some basic theory. I believe that if you are able to match your choice of weapon, and your natural abilities, you get the best results". Eruk nodded, that seemed to make sense. "now as far as I can see, you are not suited for the heavy weaponry". Eruk agreed.

He walked inside and started looking the different weapons over. Some of them were pretty old, and others were brand new. He picked a sword up and made a few swings. Gen nodded, his new student definitely had some skill. Eruk stopped swinging the sword and put it back, while shaking his head. The sword was a nicely crafted weapon, but it somehow didn't have the right feel to it.

Gen waved him outside. Eruk stopped looking at the weapons and followed the soldier. "It seems you are having a hard time deciding, boy". Without any warning he picked up a staff he had kept hidden near the tree. Eruk froze in his tracks. Gen made a blow aimed for the younger mans head. In the last possible moment Eruk snapped out of his trance like state. He just managed to dodge the blow. "What are you doing?!" he shouted. Gen readied his weapon for another attack "What does it look like, boy? If you can't pick out a weapon for yourself, then I'll have to do it for you! Now fight me!". Eruk readied himself for the attack.

"You got some talent boy" Gen tossed the staff to the ground. Eruk whipped a thin trail of blood from the corner of his mouth. A frown formed on his face "What are you talking about, old timer?" he growled. Gen crossed his arms "You wouldn't be standing if you didn't have some kind of training". Eruk lowered his guard and dropped to one knee. Despite what the old man said, he had still taken quite a beating. "It has been awhile since I've seen moves like that" Gen nodded in acknowledgement. "You don't look like it, but you are pretty fast" Gen continued to analyze him "I think maybe you would be best off by using some sort of light weapon, like a couple of daggers or a short sword, maybe…." The old soldier went back to the armory. "Now where did I put those…? I swear, those

recruits are going on serious clean-up duty!". Finally in the darkest corner he found what he was looking for. He stepped outside and held his finding out for Eruk to see. "Maybe you could use these" he held up something that looked like a pair of leather gloves. On closer examination, it was a pair of wristblades. "Judging from the way you fought me, I must say that you are a pretty good fighter, and these will help you when facing an armed opponent"

Gen tossed the weapons over in front of Eruk. Slowly he bent over and picked them up. "This looks like it might work" he thought, as he put on the gloves and secured the blades with a leather string. And thus, the training began.

The first weeks of training was not combat training, but more like a combination of movements and regular workout to build his strength. Gen took it easy on his young student in the beginning, but gradually pushed Eruk's limits further and further. Eruk could feel how the training worked, felt stronger for each passing day. He still helped out at Sylphiels house, but because of his increasingly tough training he had less time. He also spent long time in the town library, trying to find something that looked familiar to him. Sylphiel didn't seem to mind at all, she was just happy that she had a friend. They had grown close over the spring, it was summer now.

He still didn't remember anything from his past, but he was beginning to adapt to his new life as "Eruk".

Authors notes: Wow, I got my very first review!! Thanks a lot Airi-chan, hope you'll enjoy the rest of the story. So Eruk got himself some weapons. Not exactly the kind of weapons you would expect to find in a slayers fic, but I just wanted to give him something out of the ordinary. Swords can get so boring sometimes.

What'll happen next? Will Eruk and Sylphiel keep living in New Sairaag, or will something happen? Only time will tell.

This chapter was a bit short, but the next one will be longer.