Fro Ninja; Hey guys! WASSSUUPPP! And you don't even have to say it. I have been gone for a while. About 3-4 months of writers block, but who was counting tho right? Certainly not I. In truth, I was trying to update a my other stories as well as this one with a few more chapters, but since this was literally the last day of the month, I still felt I had to give you guys something in return for waiting so long. This chapter is pretty short, but keep on the look out for I will plan to update very soon afterwards. Without further ado, let's get to it!
I never have dreams anymore, at least, have the dreams that most people that I know have. I guess it would be something of odd stretch to say that I forgotten how to do so. Was it because I wished it? I can't look at it that way, trying to become the one true victim of my own problems. Even in retrospect, the dreams I used to have were always so far and between, I would always have trouble remembering anything about them. Except for one.
This one I could never forget, as it always manages to surface whenever I least expect. I remember almost like flickering pictures being flashed before my eyes, causing me to remember every detail of the scenes, whether I wanted to or not.
"Hurry up boy!" That voice was always the first thing that would shoot through my ears as the scene came alive in my head, the urgency in my grandfathers voice as we ran through what seemed like an endless forest path. I could feel the weight of unkempt and saggy clothes, and the scratches and marks left from falling over on my feet so many times while running. My baby brother Riley held fast onto my back, unsure of his situation.
I can call out credit to the memory of my 5 year old self for the recollection of such a scene, but maybe it was because th situation called for it. I
"They're catching up to us!" I could hear his voice reaching out to me, though his face was covered by the darkness that wrapped around the luscious greenery. It was even harder to see as my vision blurred from the tears running down my eyes brought about by my useless crying.
"Ahhh!" I yelped out as my face hits the dirt, resulted from my clumsy and uncoordinated steps. My grandfather grumbled loudly as he picked me up, scooping me in his arm.
"Dammit boy! You've gotta keep up! We gotta get as much distance from them as possible!" Who is 'them'? Who was chasing us that day? This is the part I always have the most trouble remembering? It was clear we were in danger, but from what? Suddenly the breaking noise of horse hooves shoot off in the distance, about a few miles south from where we were running from.
'They're getting closer I thought.' Why would I think that? My fear was more than obvious looking back in retrospect, which makes it a bit easier to figure how I could have forgotten such a thing that threatened the life of me and my family. My understanding of the situation caused me to fear for my life even more, along with my thoughts becoming clearer.
My grandfather looked down at me with mixed expression of paranoia and anger. "Which way boy?!" My finger instinctively pointed to a location further northwest of where we were running to, which if I recall was an old quarry of sorts that was used a hiding spot for many escapees in the past. Grandad headed down my conceived location without a second thought. Despite my age at the time, my grandfather was put my insight ahead above all, at least when the situation got became more than desolate enough.
The jangling sound of our cut chains echoed in my eardrums, adding to the cacophony of the thunderous foot steps that drew closer to our position. We were absent of such things around our wrists, yet we were paying the price of such an action.
Little by little, we closed the gap between the quarry and us. Before long, we had came to a clearing just a few seconds after stepping foot out of some thick bushes that lied just a few feet from where had taken out detour. Now this part...seems new to me. This must be a new memory that managed to surface back up. I scan the contents of the scene, matching the eye movements of Grandad and my younger self as they try to inspect the environment before proceeding. With an open area such as this, anything could jump and ambush us without much regard to prior observation. The air grew with more malicious intent as the hooves that had been hounding us for miles had stopped, with loud whispers taking its place. Grandad's grip on me and my brother tightened as my eyes tried to make sense of what was in front of my as the bushes rustled about, with voices filling the silence. Before I knew it, the scene begins to fade and distort, as if the picuture itself was being burned by an unknown fire. It had been so long that new or old no longer applies to the quality of these dreams, yet I only continue to have them as the most sporadic times. Do they have purpose towards my future, or are they simply ploys for trying to grasp an undesirable past? And the words, "never be afraid". Spoken by my grandfather with the most intended purposes of facing my fears, they continue to echo in my mind, along with the words spoken by my master, "Survival by any costs". The words meld like no other.
The origin begins to lose track of itself in the endless sea that is my unconsciousness.
Whose words? Are they his? I think to myself as a voice drags my out of my stasis.
Huey's eyes opened to the doting face of Cesar hovering directly above his, adjacent to that of Princess Jazmine, whose face resembled that of a dour puppy.
"He's coming to!" Cesar yelped out in surprise as his companions eyes opened more fully.
"Thank goodness you're okay!" Jazmin also offered her concerns to young Huey, breathing a sigh of relief. He took a thorough look at his surroundings before sitting up. He saw it was indeed nightfall, in the corner of his eye spotting the makings of campsite with a fire going on nearby. As he stretched his body upward, he felt a slight, but sharp pain go through it, pulling him back. His hands felt around his chest and face, coming to the sensation of bandages on them, fresh and neatly wrapped, meaning it hadn't been too long since his recuperation. The memory of what caused such injuries flashed in his mind, causing him to sigh heavily at such events. Cesar chuckled at him, noting his concern.
"It could have been much worse." Huey said bluntly.
"I agree." Cesar responded.
This wasn't the first time Afro had "disciplined" young Huey in such a manner, he had done so many times when his training first started, and he normally never does so without the intent of creating a better warrior out of him, and a better person overall. Though intially put off by the pain it caused, Huey learned to see it as a teacher offering yet another lesson to his student, albeit a more physical one than academic.
Huey and Cesar both cocked their hear at Jazmin, ready for her supposed naive question on how it could have been worse for him. To their surprise, it never came, as she looked at the both of them with inquisitive eyes, wondering what the problem was. Her eyes then shot open, hitting her palm in realization.
"Ahhh! I understand! He could have killed you. Is that what you meant to say just now?" She said with straight face, which wad pretty much brazen from the two could see.
"Ummm, well..."Cesar scratched his head, reluctant to tell the true meaning behind such words were to create the feeling of levity rather than addressing the worst possible scenario.
"Yes. That's exactly right."Huey nodded in agreement towards the statement, giving Cesar a slight shock.
Huey knew the Princess was not as naive or stupid as she lead on to be, an observation that had made itself clear more than once today. She, like any who had stepped within the boundaries of the land, knew of the terrifying strength of the Number Two, with such a reputation reaching the ears of even the most hardened soldiers of Zemuria, who all heard tales of man who fought with the strength of 300 warriors and offered no mercy to those who he came across, be they man, woman or child. Despite being barehanded, if he had even used half of his power, there was no doubt that Huey's injuries would have been a lot worse with the exception of killing him, striking a particular nerve or pressure point and making it so that Huey would never be able to wield a sword again, rendering him useless.
"But still, I have never seen a master discipline his student in such a manner. Such treatment is frowned upon on the knights in my country." Jazmin said with a somber tone, upset that she couldn't understand such a method of creating a better individual by breaking them down. Huey saw that and shook his head at such a thought, marking it as nilch.
"There's no use getting upset at something you probably can't understand." Huey said. Cesar gasped at such a harsh statement, and looked to Jazmin in concern. She had smiled, seeing the kindness hidden in his blunt words. Baffled that he was worried over nothing, he stood up to get a drink from the water jug sitting near a stump. Filling it halfway, he handed it back to Huey.
"Thanks." He gulped it down in one swallow, feeling the soreness of his throat, the slight pain made him spill some of it out of his mouth and drip onto his disheveled robe. Cesar gestured with two hands to take it easy, which Huey had ignored and continued on. The princess then stood up from her seat to go over by the campfire, pitching the logs with a nearby stick to allow the fire to breathe more. It amused her, looking at it for more than a few seconds, after setting the the stick down. Such a sight fascinated her, as was finding the beauty simply in the nature of all things.
Huey took a deep breath, setting the drink down and trying to sit back up, feeling the same sharp pain from a few minutes ago bounce up and down his body, making slow and careful movements to not pull anything.
"Feels like...he did more than I thought." Huey pondered while rolling his tongue around his mouth, feeling some extra cuts.
Cesar chuckled nervously.
"Well...Black Dynamite-dono did take some...liberties while you were unconscious and while Afro-dono wasn't looking."Huey frowned in disgust just picturing the person in question getting a bit overzealous with offering discipline to someone who is not even his apprentice, imagining his stone face break with a psychotic smile irritated him rather than send fear.
"Of course he did..." He sighed, and quickly discarded any anger he had. Why challenge someone at a game you have no chance at winning, he thought.
"If it were up to me, I would have joined in as well." A voice sounded out reaching Huey's ears faster than the other two, and spotted Zechal coming out from behind the tree with a handful of dry logs for the fire. "But us knights are taught to restrain themselves from emotion when it comes to fighting, as a testament to our training and discipline. Something you seem to be sorely lacking it seems." Zechal curiously looked at the injured Huey in the same way one looks at a ruined monolith. Despite his words, he still felt angry towards the apprentice's negligence to protect his charge, though the deserved intentions of such a treatment made him content enough to deal with it. The apparent shortcomings of a warrior according to his merit. Along with his obvious dislike for him, it was something that he couldn't help get upset about.
"But at least such actions warrant a natural outcome. Be thankful that you were not raised in the garrison. Your defiance would be seen as an inability to learn rather than a correction." Zechal chuckled in an insulting tone.
"Last time I checked, I wasn't your apprentice." Huey strained, though managed to stand up on his feet."And you're noones master." He stated with barely any subtly behind his words, putting forth their full intent. The Number Two's apprentice was known for a quite a few things, with his sharp tongue usually being the first on the list. Zechal found such behavior amusing however, almost happy even that someone so young could have such an unrestricted temperance, taking it as a personal challenge.
"Now theres something we can actually agree on there. If you were mine, you would be BEGGING for death to come quicker than seeking it out on the battlefield. Your lack of proper discipline makes you incapable of moving forward as a warrior, or a samurai as you so call it."
"You keep speaking of discipline. Why? You keep trying to pick a fight with all of us simply out of spite of who we are, instead of cooperating, and you call us undisciplined?"
"Indeed. Why should I hold back in such a regard. A good warrior never suppresses his true thoughts, even when among those he's allied with, or in this case, would be a betrayal to his true nature as a force to be reckoned with"
Huey shook his head at such arrogance, though he kept his calm demeanor. He knew what Zechal was trying to do, and refused to be brought down to such a level. Discipline or no, he was fully aware when to repress and when to be inhibited.
"There's a huge difference between one that speaks his mind when needed, and someone who doesn't know when to stop talking even when surrounded by his betters."
"My betters?!" Zechal flared his teeth at the young one, more than upset with what was said. "I dare you to say that again, you savage whelp!" Dropping his firewood on the ground, he marched over to Huey.
Cesar hastily stepped in between the two.
"Easy Zechal-san. That's enough. It would bring you no pleasure nor honor to challenge an injured person, I'm sure" He did not have much cause to resort to physical intervention, not from knowing Huey could handle himself in a fight but he would know better to run his mouth when being faced down by intimidation. Zechal on the other hand was an unknown to him, although his impulsiveness was astute observation that has come up more than once today.
Jazmin sighed in an annoyed manner at the sight of Zechal attempting to get a feared reaction out of an unflinching Huey. She knew better than anyone that his scare tactics, rarely if not ever worked on anyone, and was even less likely to work on someone of his caliber.
This fact probably struck clean to Zechal himself as he found himself backing off from his stance.
"Hmph. You are not worth it." Zechal snorted with his nose in the air, almost as if he snatched a victory from a sleeping lion."Your steward brings up a fair point. There would no point in fighting a pup that's still licking his own wounds given to him by his own master."
"Child?" Huey scoffed."You don't look that much older than any of us."
"I am a royal knight of the Kingdom of Esmaria, and a guardian of the future queen of the entire regime. When I was your age, I was already leader of my own garrison, and before that I defeated three instructors at the academy where I was already considered a prodigy by many. I have proven that I am worthy of being called a man time and again." Zechal boasted as he walked away to pick up the dropped pieces of firewood.
"Your a man in your country? As for here? You were just ready to fight me just ten seconds ago." Huey fired back at him, who was quiet when realizing his poor choice of words. Jazmin giggled upon realizing them as well.
"I had done so, because if you weren't so focused on your precious honor and succeeding your braggart of master, you wouldn't have been so negligent in protecting the princess, your charge!"
The true topic finally rears it head, Huey thought to himself. He braced himself for, taking a deep breath, and quick glance at Jazmin, who herself had caught it from the corner of her eye and stepped forth to address it.
"Zechal, as I've been telling you for the past few hours, I was fine in Master Huey's protection."
"You were covered in blood when we found you! You'll forgive me if I don't believe such a statement." He said as he picked up all the rest of the logs, and dropped over right next to Jazmin.
"It was only a couple of stains." Jazmin muttered below her breath as Zechal began to dust off and tidy up her appearance, much like a doting mother on her child.
"Besides, why are you defending him anyway? He is a stranger, and a foreigner at that!"Pointing over at the target of his accusation in question. Huey snapped with confusion, looking at Zechal with a curious expression.
"A foreigner? Me? Surely you must be talking about yourself as well. A person from a strange land that has parts unknown to him, seeking a greater purpose in his duty. That's what I am as well."
Zechal frowned at him, almost to the point of disgust with his response.
"That's where you're wrong. I come here to serve my duty yes, but I also come from a background whose lineage could be traced back from when the lands of the earth were still one, and civilization didn't even have a name for society itself. My ancestors had been in service to the crown since before my father was born, amd I'm simply the next in line for such a responsibility. I know what my purpose, and what it requires my actions to be. You on the other hand, are someone who is searching for purpose by associating with a vagabonds, who claim to be doing what they do for the good of the people, yet they serve no higher power but their own ego."
"My point is...I know who I am. The question is, can you say the same?" The air suddenly grew thicker as the silence filled with a thick layer that one could practically see it. Huey offered no response, staying still for a moment before walking over to his sword that was leaning over by a tree just a few feet away and taking it in his hands. He strained feeling the weight on his sore muscles, but got over the sensation rather quickly. The sword came out of its sheath, with the steel blade still somewhat stained from its previous conflict with its victims blood, which was only so since neither Afro, Cesar, nor Black Dynamite had cleaned it for the apprentice.
A blade is your own life. Wash it, sharpen it, brandish it. Do not think of it as simply an extension of your will, but a reflection of what you truly want to see in yourself. He thought of words spoken by his master when first receiving it just barely a year ago, even still adapting to its weight.
He looked at the stained blade, it was clouded and dirty, with the young samurai unable to himself clearly like he was once able to before today's event. He sighed deeply, noticing the trouble that he couldn't put into words before placing it back into its sheath.
Zechal scoffed at his reluctance or rather his futile attempt to show off something with his sword. Huey then held his sword above his head, squinting his eyes to focus his sights on locating the moon beyond the tree branch leaves.
"When my master gave me my sword, he told me...that a sword is not simply an extension of my will, but a reflection of what I aim for, who I want to become. Everytime I clean my sword or just look at it, I can see myself as clear as day. I know who I am at that moment. A person who seeks to learn the ways of the sword, so that he can be a samurai that fights for his own loved ones, and to seperate himself the bonds that once held him down, grasping true freedom. But right now...my swords dirty, I haven't cleaned it all day today, so I can't see anything. But despite that...I know exactly who I am, and what I choose to become. Even if my eyes cannot see my own reflection, my heart will continue to tell me who I am."
The young knight rolled his eyes, clearly flippant in his mind, though part of him wanted to believe him.
"And what if your heart betrays you in what you seek? What then? Will you cower in fear simply because you lost your way?"
"I will not." He then placed his sword at his side, tying it to his hip. "I will never be afraid" Such words sent chills down Huey's spine, being that they were the first time they have ever left his lips despite only hearing them in a dream, almost as if another voice spoke through him.
Cesar and Jazmin were taken aback by the young one's speech, almost smitten by how such words could be formed by somone with such little means of truly expressing himself fully. Not even Cesar who had known Huey the longest had never heard him speak in such a manner. Jazmin smiled brightly with confidence, as if she always she always knew this was a trait that was tied to him.
"I will protect those that I have been charged with. Cesar, The Princess, and even you." Zechal scratched the back of his neck, sucking his teeth before sitting down on the ground, refusing to argue anymore with Huey or to even acknowledge such a heartfelt statement.
"Do as you must, samurai. It's not like I can stop you." He bashfully turned his back on him, not wanting to show his face."Besides, it's clear what honor means to you people, I know better than to interfere in such things that I know nothing about, and that I don't want to know about."
"Honor can mean many things to a warrior Zechal-san." Cesar cleared his throat. "To a samurai, it simply means serving a purpose that is more than himself. Whether that be for his lord, a loved one, or one that they swear the most absolute loyalty for. Even if it means giving up his or her life for them. Nothing gives them more pleasure to know that they have died for something to take place for the sake of the future, and that they had a role to play in it."
"Sounds like a bunch of hogwash to me. What's the point of seeking pleasure in death even after swearing your loyalty. Nothing is worth dying for, no matter what you might think!" Zechal exclaimed.
"But have you not sweared your life to your kingdom as you keept stating? To protect your liege with every fiber of your being."
"It's not the same! I do so because it's my birthright, my inherited duty to serve the crown. I have no choice but to abide surely, but I do not go around seeking death, knowing that my life is forfeit to some superficial lord or some materialistic desire!"
"But to serve your king, means that the honor of giving your life to his cause is no your own, therefore it falls to you to accomplish it any cost."
" A knight protects by fighting his kings enemies, not by throwing his life away in the middle of battle like some blood hungry vandal!"
Cesars eyes popped wide open in surprise. "That is most peculiar Zechal-san. For someone who boasts as well, I was not expecting you to have such a low opinion of your fellow warriors."
"You people are NOT my fellows!" Zechal schreeched out. "And why do you keep referring to me by that title, and give the others different ones?!"
"Because you are not worthy of my respect." Cesar flatly said, upsetting him even more.
"Not worthy?! What makes you think I want your respect huh?! And besides, you don't even fight, so why would give a damn about you?!"
The two started to ramble on, Huey and Jazmin watched them with content eyes, not even batting an eye as Zechal started to throw sticks and twigs at Cesar, who dodged them ease. Huey then walked to the campfire, sitting next to Jazmin, who scooted over to give him space. Both of them looked out at the fire, even counting the sparks fly with the chaos going on in the background.
"By the way, where did Sensei and Black Dynamite go?" Huey asked as he looked around the camp. Jazmin giggled at his sudden aloofness, finding it oddly amusing.
"After all this time, you are just asking that?"
"Well I was having such an engaging argument with your vigilant guardian, I felt inclined to at least hold off on all worthwhile questions." The deadpan sentence reached the princess's ears, taking it as simply another individual expressing himself, an action she herself knew all too well.
"Suffice it to say, he is more...level headed than this. It seems being in another's territory has him a bit..."
"Paranoid?"
"Well, I was going to say overly cautious."
"So paranoid then? Next thing you know, he's going to start arguing with me about domestic issues and policies, and won't even bother to cover for an objective argument."
Jazmin rolled her eyes in agreement." Politics definitely isn't one of his well versed fields of study. He finds this progress more than needless. Simply put, he can't comprehend how people can settle formal disputes with mere words, and come out unscathed in some manner." Huey grimaced for a brief second, noticing the irony.
"But he serves under a politician..."
"Strangely enough, he doesn't see me as such. Merely a noble soul who performs actions to uphold the name of their fathers, much like him. Actually, call it cocksure, but I have truly never delved into his reasoning until you brought it up." The princess rested her chin on her hand, gazing at the flames."Perhaps his thought merely reflects those of my country. I have not done anything to justify my title holding besides it being my birthright." Huey placed his finger to his chin, sinking into minor thought before grunting affirmatively. Jazmin looked at him in confusion.
"So that's why you're on this trip in the first place." He said in his usual blunt manner, though the words themselves were enough to surprise her. Despite her not trying to hide her intentions, he was the only one to have figured it out so quickly."You want to prove to your country that you can be independent without relying any officials debating on what to do or how to handle it. You would just handle it yourself. This isn't just on behalf of your kingdom. You have your own personal ageda, don't you?"
"Does...that upset you Master Samurai?" She said in deep concern."I have no ulterior motives than to aid my father and my kingdom in this time of need. Very soon, we will be going to war, and we will need many resources at our disposal than just our own. We are a strong people, but we are quickly reaching a breaking point within our infrastructure. We're too busy fighting among ourselves in squabbles made up of sullen pride and faux patriotism values. I have known about this country for quite some time, and their willingness to help others has been...futile to say the least. But I feel that..."
"You can do better somehow?"
"I have virtually no general experience of traveling outside of my kingdom. A lot of knowledge only originates from my studies and other fabricated tales, so I have no way of knowing how my mission will turn out. But I assure you, I have only the most noble of intentions of venturing here, hiring you all as my escorts to what seems to only be a very minuscule window of opportunity for the both of us. If you wish, throughout our journey, if you have any questions about anything, I will answer to best of my ability. If not..." Her gaze looked on Huey's brazen face, not taking her eyes off him for a second. He responded in kind.
"If not?" He asked.
"Then you can...smack me on the wrists!"
"What?" He responded flatly. She suddenly grabbed his wrist and lightly tapped her index and middle finger on the back of his hand.
"It's a punishment my mother did for me as a child whenever I couldn't do something that was told of me. It hurts quite a lot. If it comes to it, I give you permission to enact such a thing on me."
This girl...can't be serious, can she? Huey thought.
"I am very serious Master Samurai! Anytime I step out of line also applies." He was silent, absent for an answer in both thought and speech, even still attempting to process it all clearly, since all the tension in the air was cut with a blade that was sharper than any he had ever seen. While he didn't even know her for a full day, she has already shown more sides of her than he was expecting out of a mere escort. He had no reason to believe, let alone listen to anything she could say if it didn't have anything to do with the mission, though he did so anyway. Not even that, his eternal guard never seemed to work on her. Why was that? Was that simply the effect she had on others that sat below her, or was it something else?
Huey gave a deep sigh, turning his head back to the campfire.
"That won't be necessary. I'll trust you to answer honestly."
"Really?" Her eyes lit up.
"Really. I'm still on a journey to prove myself as well. So it's not like I don't understand what you're going through. If you can give me answers when I have questions, you can count on me to protect you with everything I have."
She gasped with glee, placing her hands together tightly against her chest.
"Thank the gods. I offer my gratitude Master Samurai."
"Just call me Huey."
"You mean...address by your name?"
"Yeah, just call me Huey. I'm nowhere near a master, and I can't call myself a samurai until my own master says I'm worthy."
"Very well then...H-h-h..." She stuttered in her pronunciation, even blushing beet red as the words tried to slip out of her mouth. Until finally."H-Master Huey..."
"Close enough..." He said shaking his head in compliance. This was a test that required more patience than he was capable of. "Anyway, as I was asking you -sensei and Black Dynamite, where did they go?"
"They went back to where those farmers were. They wanted to ask some more questions on the bandits that attacked them."
"Makes sense, seeing as how we already intervened." Huey chided.
Jazmin hung her head down low. "I aplogize for getting you involved. I fear my impulsivness still has yet to wear down even after coming here."
"You're definietely right about that one." He said nonchalantly."But they would have died if we hadn't done anything..." He said shrugging his shoulders. Her frowining broke with her usual smile after hearing his somewhat diluted words of comfort. She didn't bother saying thanks, knowing that it would probably break him even further, or even end up taking a punch from Zechal."Anyway, let's just hope they make it back soon..." Huey set down another log on the fire as he saw the flame dying down, making it rise once again."We still have a long way to go after all."
The two sat listening to the back ground noise of Cesar and Zechal straining their own throats out. Within the shadows, behind the bushes, a figure lurked around, watching the kids by the campfire.
Chapter 8 END
Fro Ninja; Well, that's about it for now! See you guys soon, and remember, One Love!