Forty years had passed.
Forty years of loneliness, of solitude, of quiet and isolation. Years with days that had no noise and nights with no sight. Forty years since he held a responsibility he wished to keep. Forty years, and some odd days.
And now, forty years later, he was caring for the well-being of seven little ones. Girls, dressed in the rags of his armor and quiet as the still air.
They walked across a long plain of land, the tall grass of the earth swaying with their own weight. Rolling hills flowed around them, disappearing into blue horizon. Across the plain, only the sun and clouds high above moved of their own accord.
The grass moved to match the wind.
Like the reeling waves of the ocean, the blades of grass dipped and swayed. They whistled a gentle tune as the wind swept past them, turning the endless plain of green into a relaxing song. It was good that it was relaxing.
The little ones needed to relax. He and they had traversed through the forest for days.
He could recall rousing the children from their slumber, so terrified were they at having hands upon them he could do little more than merely speak the names they knew. They had awoken quickly, adopting positions he knew well, but stances he did not until years after their age.
They had continued to trek through the forest giants, listening to leaves crackle beneath their feet and the scratching of wood as the trees heeded to the wind high above. They had followed the river to fish, and he did so again as they trekked.
The same little ones who were so eager to help before continued to do so.
Ashi, sharp banged and single spiked child, was critical of her wounds and scars. Mars to her otherwise flawless skin, the unfortunate future for children raised in darkness. She thought of them as weak, hiding them quickly and silently. Jack saw, but said nothing.
Ahi, the daughter two spikes to her hair, watched as he prepared and filleted the fish. She mimicked his actions, attempting and failing to do as he did. It was the first step to becoming a master. Her questions were innocent and naïve, as were meant to come from a child.
Adi, the child with bowled hair and wide eyes, asked many questions whenever they stopped. She asked of why the fish swam with the water, why they were following the source of clear liquid, why the forest giants never fell, and where they were heading. He could answer all but the last.
For he could not answer a question he did not know the answer to.
They followed the river through the grand giants of the woods, watching as the giants turned hulks, then from hulks to new grown trees, finally reaching clearings where only the fragile saplings were tasked to grow. The river did much the same.
The river changed from the wide berth of chilly water, shrinking in width the further Jack and the little ones walked beside it. It became bearable to walk through it. It then became possible for him to lie over it. Soon the littles ones could as well.
Too many splits in the water path, too many changes to sustain itself. It tried to change too often, and now the stream offered nothing for the trees around them.
As the river turned to mere trickles of water, the forest giants, proud and tall, turned to saplings, short and meek.
But they kept walking. They kept moving.
The land was cruel and the future unkind. No goodness would come to the little ones to walk through the forest again, to endure the cold knights and hunt on fish that no longer came. No life existed in the woods otherwise, nothing Jack could depend on.
The bird he had seen was the last of its kind. No deer dared to trek in the quiet woods and no wolves wished to hunt in barren land. The fall chased away life, warning of the coming cold of winter. So, though winter would not fall in so short a time, it would be slowed either.
Now in a plain beyond the forest, surrounded by plains of grass on all sides, Jack moved forward with the little ones in tow. He walked through the plain, grass reaching his knees and tracing the metal of his armor. His boots lightly crunched the blades with each step he took, marking a line through the glade.
The little ones, in a single file line behind him, followed his path carefully through the blades. They had no need to, no requirement or request, but neither did they have a reason not to. They simply followed as they saw without question or complaint.
It was something Jack knew only time could cure. The cruel truth of time and its future.
The grass swayed with the wind, heeding the demand of nature that surrounded it. But just as the great forest giants shed their leaves for the coming cold, so too did the grass show signs of the changing seasons.
The would-be green blades, were tanned or gold, the vibrancy of life fleeting with the chill that crept through the air. A sign of life's age, its passing, disappearing into the cold as hope did into the future.
They would turn white with the snow that fell. White as the barren end to his home after it was razed by the forces of Aku. Dead as the people he had abandoned in his foolish quest!
Jack shook his head, dismissing the memories as best he could. The wind hid his grunts of annoyance, his position in front of the children hid his sins.
They had to keep moving, to find someplace to rest. The open lands they were in were prime to many dangers, dangerous enough for Jack to keep a sharp eye upon the rolling grass.
The whistling of the wind through the golden blades passed his ears, like the gentle lullaby that would so often be sung to little ones before they rested. He could see the rolling hills moving, the grass upon them bending and swaying in time to those near them. It truly was a sea of gold and grass.
Endless as Jack saw the plains to be, he knew it could not be. All things ended, all journeys ceased, and so he knew something lay at the end of the untouched plain. Be it the sea, another forest, or civilization remained to be seen.
He looked back at the little ones, continuing to follow him dutifully and without question. They tugged at the rags they wore, the remains of his under-armor. They were not comfortable, hardly broke the wind, chilling the little ones. There were no forest giants in the rolling hills and swaying grass. There was nothing to protect them from the chill of the air.
But they did not complain aloud, not even a whimper. Only uncomfortable tugs and glances to one another was all they did. Nothing more, nothing like a child.
Jack sighed lightly, a noise that was swallowed by a new breadth of the wind. At times such as these, he would continue on until he found a means to eat or place of rest. Be it days or weeks, he would not complain. But little ones were not so capable.
They were too young to be in the open in this way, too exposed to be expected to endure the lands. It was not on them to survive, but on him. And he knew there was more to be done than to feed and protect.
The day was early, but he was not sure how long the children could last. Jack had seen the monsters that had raised them, the cruelty placed upon them. To force them to move, no matter the reason, was cruelty.
He could not, and would not, be the same as the monsters of the shadows.
"What is that?" He heard one of the little ones, like Adi, asking.
Jack turned to her, seeing her hand held out and pointing upon the horizon. He turned to follow her hand, wondering what he had missed. His gaze fell to a spot of the horizon between two hills of the plains, the berth allowed from the angle they had walked from. It was small from a distance, an illusion that would vanish in time, but one that showed what the little one had seen.
The dark tip of a long spear.
It was another illusion, Jack knew, crafted by the distance from which they stood. Eyes narrowed, gazing upon the single spot of darkness, he suspected what it could be. It was not a familiar site, but neither was it knew. There were many dark objects in Aku's land.
But if it was what he suspected, the top of what he thought it could be, it may just as easily have been a haven for he and the little ones, or a trap. It was impossible to be certain, a fool's errand to judge.
"I believe I know," Jack spoke simply, to answer the little one. He nodded towards her, smiling as best he could through his beard and the wind. His gaze returned to the far-off point, feet already moving through the golden grass again towards it.
He heard the children follow close behind him, wind still blowing as he trekked through the field, cracking the blades as he walked. It was little effort to walk up the hill, one of many along the long plains, but one that hid from view the dark point behind it.
It took little time to ascend, and at the apex, he saw what he suspected.
A city.
A city made of spires of darkness, alight with flames and a matching red glow. It was where the blue of the horizon grayed into blackness and fell from view. It was too far away to see even a soul, but still from so far the monoliths of the city clung the ground as they reached for the sky.
It was a city like the many that scarred the world, born of Aku's malice and greed. Tall dark structures jutting from the earth, aiming to the sky with sharp tips and malicious intents. Where the forest giants stretched and brushed against the clouds and blue above, the monoliths and behemoths of the city scraped and scratched.
It was a hideous thing to behold, ungraceful and damning of the nature that surrounded it. The grass and forest trees gracefully welcomed the coming cold, nurtured the life within them. But city beneath was opposed to all things, fighting the nature it was built upon.
Opposed like the black spires that held the heads of his family and friends, carried like trophies for all along the horizon to see. Blood dripping down and giving life the nest of monsters and darkness that nurtured off the death of the innocents.
And it grew because he had done nothing and continued to do nothing! Because he would care more for seven children without homes or family than the people of his homeland that were suffering through torment and despair!
That was what awaited in the city. More pain, more hopelessness, more reminders of his unforgiveable past!
And yet… it was the place of refuge Jack knew the little ones may need.
"What is that?" Jack shook the visions from his mind, seeing Adi standing on the hill next to him, alongside her sisters. The grass encroached upon them, stopping at their chests. Her hand was held out once more, the point of her curiosity clear.
Jack knew what it was, but not how to say it. His hand rubbed at the beard, pushing at the fibers until he held his chin in his palm. What words could a child hear of monsters and darkness that would not torment their minds?
"It is… a city," he spoke simply, an honest answer for an honest question. "And we may find clothing and comforter there." Perhaps one, but doubtfully the other.
"Clothing?" Another of the little ones asked. Jack looked towards her, farther than Adi and between Ashi and Ahi.
Her face was the same as her sisters, but her hair was longer, the longest. Even for a child, it fell to her shoulders and melded completely together. No stray bangs or curved spikes. Just long hair and wide curious eyes gazing up at him.
"Yes," Jack repeated looking down at the girl. "Clothing is… what you are wearing." At the mention of their current garments, the long-haired grabbed at her garb. It was only enough to cover the torso of her already lithe frame. Hardly enough in any circumstance. Not nearly enough for little ones preparing for the coming cold.
"Are you wearing clothes?" She asked now, pointing towards the metal on Jack's arms and torso. He watched her thin eyes trace his frame, staring at what he wore as if he had donned it for the first time. The wind was all that spoke during that time.
"Yes," he answered simply, simple answers for simple questions. "But the air is cooling, preparing for the coming winter." All sets of eyes turned to him, twisted heads and odd looks towards him. A few of their small heads bent in the same manner as the swaying grass.
"Do clothes help fight the cold?" Ashi asked, the girl with the sharp hair asking. "Are they strong?" It was an odd question to ask, but Jack knew the girl could not know the answer to. Not when her home was in a mountain of darkness, between walls of red rock and black shadows, with monsters befitting Aku's name.
"Some clothes, yes." Jack nodded, thinking of his own words as he did so.
The clothing would help fight the coming winter cold, to break the wind and warm the skin. The children did not have the endurance for the cold, they were not warriors befit for nature's force. They were little ones, meant to be protected by their elders, by him.
Jack did not wish to venture into the city, the mar of Aku's presence upon the land. It was a place that embodied all that he had fought, that was a monument to all that he had failed.
Darkness that swallowed light, greed that poisoned the souls of the just, a place void of joy, of contempt for the good and honest. Children were not meant to venture to such a place, to dwell in such forsaken realms.
Even now, staring at the dark city upon the horizon's edge, Jack could hear the deep rumble of contempt waft from the city, beckoning the corruption of those doomed to dwell within. It was the warning of the shadows to those without, the only rule of nature it attempted to mimic.
The chill of fall warned of the cold of winter. The rumble of the city cautioned of the evil within.
The forest giants and tall grass shed their vitality to prepare for winter's snow, to sleep through the long cold. It was a graceful act, beautiful to witness even in the darkness of Aku's world. The silent law of the land he could not rule. The city held no such beauty.
To prepare for the city, those within had to shed their honesty and hide their hearts, to endure the corruption of Aku's malice. There was no grace or awe. Only pity and malice. No future. No hope.
Jack had to endure the city, for the little ones he now cared for. Cared for like the family he had abandoned to the talons of Aku's grasp, to be disemboweled and piked for the treachery of not heeding the demon's warnings.
He quickly shook his head, letting the whistling wind and bladed grass remind him of where he was.
"Let us go," Jack spoke to the children once more, all seven pairs of eyes turning towards him as he did. "It will take some time to reach the city." And it would, without a vehicle to ride or transportation to borrow.
His feet marched forward again, crushing the golden grass that seemed to darken with every step. Every step towards a treacherous mare on the land, dark as the sins of Aku's world. His footsteps made way for the girls behind him, following in step once more with him.
There was much he had to remember about the dark cities, Jack knew. Details he had witnessed and heard throughout his cursed time in Aku's world, history that he could not afford to repeat.
But Jack knew what was important, as he guided the children through the golden grass, as he approached the city of darkness and dread. He knew the simple fact he could not afford to forget.
The little ones needed him.
The trek within the city was far from silent, though not a word was spoken.
Jack could not recall a moment of silence in any city he had the misfortune of being in. No matter the time, day, season, or event, there was always more noise within the city than all parts of nature combined.
Yells and jeers filled the air of every street and corner. Angry words with harsh implications being thrown and tossed around as if they were fall leaves. Curses that would make a mother's heart turn and father's eyes burn being forced onto silent passerby's and the meek leftovers. The only words returned where the same in kind.
The curses and yells were drowned out here and there by sirens and horns blaring from every corner of the city. If not from the vehicles tall and wide enough to be confused for homes, then from buildings with broken windows and flickering lights.
They were sounds that echoed and carried through the maze of the city streets, coming from every angle and every height within the dark place's encroaching walls. The horns that came from the behemoth of vehicles on the main streets were just as loud and rumbled just if the horns that blew from the cars that flew high above
The sirens far off in the distance was too easily ignored, too easily thought secondly off. Sirens meant to call for help being ignored within a city vast and citizens numerous. Ignored like the words being thrown and the darkness creeping forth.
But it was of little wonder why they were ignored. To help another you needed hope. To help another you needed peace. And such was a commodity not offered in Aku's dark city, anywhere within his now forsaken land.
No peace could be had in a city where no solitude was present. Motion was too constant in unpredictable, a travesty to nature and to time. Shadows that loomed and swayed from vehicles high in the sky, lights that burned through day and night, monoliths that stood without changing seasons. None of it was naturally, and all of it was beckoning a dark god, the dark god.
The walls of the buildings were too high, the vehicles that drove and flew were too large, the sounds they all made too loud, none of it was fit for life to endure. No life that wished-for peace.
Perhaps that was why those that endured the city had either no life or seemingly mimicked it. It was fair that only those who had no life nor soul lived in a place that stole both. The mechanical bodies of robots that stomped down the street without care for those around them. Or alien forms that had more eyes than limbs and enough mass to swallow a bike.
They crowded and suffocated those around them, heedless and careless of who got in their way. They were in a greater variety of forms than the number of leaves on a tree. The color of their skin, the texture of their skin. The color of their eyes, the shape of their eyes. The high of their body, the size of their bodies. Even with decades behind him, Jack knew he had not seen them all.
And now, in a city fashioned in Aku's liking, he walked through the mess of evil and darkness, towing seven little lives that deserved so much more than this dreary place.
His steps were slow and controlled, eyes focused on the bodies around him. The bodies that bumped into him, that attempted to roll over him, the loose hands he had to bat away, and the beggars that reached for his mane like a lifeline. He denied them all.
He denied them as sirens blared without answer, as horns coursed with yells of rage, as the high metal walls of the dark monoliths cast their shadows downward, and as only the red lights of the city's power shined downward.
Red like the walls of the mountain he had rescued the children from.
Jack had stolen them from a place of darkness and torment, only to bring them to the haven for those who dealt in such deeds. Beneath his messed beard, his lips turned in disgust at himself. Disgust at himself and for the sins he had let fester in this world of evil.
Streets packed with malice and corrupted life, but void of any compassion. Filled with vileness, but empty in hope. Hollow streets were all that remained. Hollow and empty like the vacant alleys that lined the thin sections between the dark monoliths of the city.
Just hollow streets aside tall buildings, filled with dark and vast alleys that beckoned him with red eyes and fiery tears. Tears that reflected the dark red light of Aku's city upon every drop that burned the ground.
Jack ignored it the best he could.
You brought this madness!
He walked further ahead, turning neither head nor ear to the alley. It fell out of sight quickly, swallowed by the monolith it rested besides, vanishing behind the crowd that surrounded them. But another was fresh to approach, just as they passed the same tall dark building.
This is all that remains of our home!
Black claws spread from the new alleys shadow, encroaching upon the light, but fleeing at its touch. Jack narrowed his gaze, but did not stall his feet. He could not stall, though he could not run. He could only endure. Even as the next alley passed.
We are the ones who bear your sins!
His teeth grit, feet hammering forth. He could not run from his sins, no one could! But they were his! Even if… even if his people were… there was nothing he could do! It was Aku's fault! Aku!
Yet you did nothing!
Tug
Jack stopped and turned at the small but noticeable force.
He came face to face with one of the little ones, gripping the small amount of fabric he had left. Her hair was tall and pointed, immediately telling Jack it was Ashi, the first of the children to have talked to him. The first to share words and concerns with him.
And now, she stared up at him her thin eyes and wide gaze.
"W… they could not follow." Her words came so quiet Jack nearly missed them, overburdened by unneeded sirens and horns around them. But even so, it was all she said. And the meaning of her words too quickly came to light.
Jack looked about her, amid the feet, hooves, tentacles, and pegs of metal that walked around her, he looked at the scarce amounts of sidewalk he could see, and the little of the red light that was cast downward.
And he saw only Ashi. He did not see any of the other girls.
Jack swiftly lifted her up, holding her to his chest. She was stiff as a as board, and just as quiet, but spoke no word of protest or distress that he could hear. It would be heedless if she had.
His eyes focused through the mess of the crowd, through the lifeless and the soulless, through the red and black of Aku's city. He searched for the little ones, the children wearing rags of his armor.
There.
Ahi and Adi were standing together next to a building, backs together and watching the crowd with terrified eyes. Jack wasted no time in reaching them, kneeling and scooping them up as swiftly as he could.
Stiff as the metal they were leaning against and far opposite the color, they were safe in his arms. Nestled aside Ashi, held like large fruits on a barren island, Jack kept looking.
He ignored the sounds, the sirens, the blares and horns. They were a distraction. The children were too small to make more noise than a city of the walking damned.
There.
Jack saw two more of the girls, one leading the other into an alley of darkness that consumed the soul! His pace quickened.
The one leading had hair of horns and wild bangs to match. Her pace was quick, matching the robots and aliens far larger than her. She was leading the other little one, the one that had curiosities about clothes in the field, with hair smooth and long.
They were quick, but Jack was faster, faster and worried.
He reached them before they could vanish into the evil pit of fiery eyes and dark memories. The one being led grabbed onto him eagerly, wrapping her tiny arms about his leg. The other stared up at him, eyes wet and glistening the in the dark red light of the corrupted city.
Jack knelt, motioning with his head as he did so, eyes never leaving the frightened children. She looked at him, over his long mane and beard, before quickly moving behind him. She climbed his back as she would a wall, grasping at the tatters of his armor for support.
The other child, with long hair and curiosity for clothes, was far more careful with her movements. She climbed on his arm, close to her sisters nestled against his chest. She settled only when she sat upon his shoulder, arm wrapped about his head, hand clinging to his dark hair. He didn't care for his own discomfort.
He cared only for the last of the children, the little ones he did not have in his grasp.
His feet move as his eyes darted about, moving and stopping at a pace that left only scattered images to his mind. Crowded streets. Tall buildings. Abyssal alleys. Packed streets.
There.
Jack saw two more of the girls, the last of the girls, neither's name he knew. One of messed hair and no pattern to it. The other with hair like hair like horns, no bangs below above her eyes.
Jack didn't blink as he approached them, for fear that they would vanish into the crowd once more.
The one with messed hair was standing in front of the other, arms held out and looking about without direction. The other with horns for hair was kneeling, picking at something Jack couldn't see. They were at the edge of the street, at the curb and barrier between the walking dead and metallic carriages.
Jack moved quickly towards them, feet stomping on the ground and careless for tentacles or hooves he trampled on. He ignored just as readily the shouts of dissent.
His vision became tunneled when he saw someone push the girls into the street.
A shout left his lips, unheard in the city of blaring horns and far-off sirens. It was a shout of denial, of rejection for what he knew would happen, what would come if nothing was done.
The crowd was parted by his body, pushing past them with a force he cared not to measure. The little ones in his arms clung to him tightly. He trusted their strength.
His foot landed in the street in front of the horned girl with a bangles forehead. Before she could look up at him, he pushed her back on to sidewalk, out of harm's path. He did it again to the girl of ruffled hair girl, though she jumped at the contact to his leg. He cared little as long as they were safe.
And they were.
Both of the little ones, the last of the children, were out of the path of the motorized vehicles, now only an obstacle for the cramped sidewalk to worry for.
Jack was quick to kneel down next to them, to look them in the eyes. The one who was leaning down in the street was clutching her hands to her chest, but stared up at Jack with a gaze that matched her sisters.
Without word or direction, the girl climbed his frame, crawling under his arm to grab at the armor that wrapped around his torso. Jack nodded as she climbed, turning his eyes to the last of the children.
The girl with ruffled hair looked at him, eyes narrowed in a way that was so opposite her sisters. Jack did not speak a word, not a shake of his head, but she wrapped her arms about his arm and climbed in the same way that her sister had, climbed in a way that put her on his shoulder.
Her arms did not wrap around his head or hair. She simply gripped the metal of his sode. It was an awkward position, but she was there.
They were all there.
The seven little ones were in his arms. Two upon each of his shoulders, two holding to the Do along his chest, and the final three nestled within his arms.
They were light, but heavy together. They were weak, but gripping with a force that didn't want to let go. That was good.
It was good that he had them again, good that they were not abandoned to the evil of the city, good that they were found… but it brought a new thought to Jack's tortured mind.
He had nearly lost them.
It was a cold fact that cast a frost across his back. He had nearly lost the little ones in a city of darkness, where they would have no chance to live. They were nearly taken from him, taken because he had let go.
It was another sin upon his mountain of failures, another reason he was the cause of the future he know moved through, a piece over the everlasting chain of damnation and regret. He was the reason the children were almost swallowed by the city of…
No.
Jack stopped, shutting his eyes and gritting his teeth. He bared the weight of the children, clinging to his frame and waiting in his arms. He endured the people that moved around him. He could not endure another moment in his thoughts alone.
He couldn't afford to risk such thoughts now. His sins were worth his life, and his life would be given in payment, but not now. He would fall on his sword one day, letting the samurais of the past reclaim the soul that had failed in the oath he had sworn to uphold, but that day was not today.
Jack could not afford it, because today the children lived.
He could not falter until they were safe.
A slow breath left his lungs, unheard through the cacophony of Aku's corrupted city. Enough to calm his nerves, enough to steady his legs.
Jack stood tall again, ignoring the passerby's that knocked shoulders and bumped waists. He paid no mind to the dark buildings or loud cars. He paid only mind to the seven children he held and carried.
The seven most important reasons he had to find what he needed then leave the city.
They were all that mattered.
Jack continued to walk again, measured steps in a crowded dark city. His path was unknown even to him, but the destination he sought known in his mind. He need only find it.
He focused on the path ahead, not the road behind.
The road that carried a dark shadow… and a wolf's bloodied nose.
Jack walked for some time through the dark streets of Aku's city, ignoring the crowd of the lifeless and soulless, dismissing the horns and sirens, and playing ignorant to the yells and cries of attention. They amounted to little.
He continued to move his feet across the concrete blocks and over metal crates. He paid no mind to the darkening skies so high above, the dimming of the red lights so much closer, or the fatigue in his legs. They did not matter at all.
They were all meaningless things in comparison to the children he continued to carry. The little ones he had saved from a mountain of red death, of worship for dark monsters and darker arts.
It had been scarcely less than a week's time since then, seven rises and sets of the sun and moon.
And yet, he knew only a few of their names.
Adi, Ahi, and Ashi. The children he knew by name. Four distinct names for four distinct girls, sisters wearing similar garbs, similar eyes, but different hair. An odd trait to differentiate them by, but it was all that was clear right now.
Adi, an inquisitive youth who questioned all that he had shown. The forest giants, the clear waters, the endless plains, and the city they now journeyed through. Hers was a mind for the world around her.
Ahi was one who spoke only when food was shown. Wonders of the fish Jack had caught, curiosities for the plants he had picked. She studied him as he cooked, even as her sisters huddled and waited.
Ashi, the most dismissive of her state. Jack had watched the other little ones care for their wounds. Rub at them, nurture them, but Ashi did none of that. She endured in silence, dismissing his curiosities until asked directly. She had a warrior's mind, but already a damaged past.
But though Jack knew them, he knew little of their fellow sisters. A few traits, but hardly names.
Jack knew the one with ruffled hair, nesting on his shoulder, was one who challenged most the world around her. The first to enter the water, the last to follow directions. She was not one, he could tell, who would jump when asked.
Jack knew the girl with long hair, sitting upon his opposite shoulder, was interested in the rags she wore, and those of her sister. He had seen her adjust and play with the battle designed fabric, though he was sure it was for discomfort. That was one thing he hoped to fix.
Jack knew the child horns and bangs was taller than her sisters, in the same way the scabbard of a sword was longer than the blade. She at the most at meals and slept the longest at nights. There was little else for him to note, but even she was not the grandest mystery.
Jack knew the girl with horns in her hair and no bangs on her forehead was the quietest and most reserved of the little ones. She had asked not a word. She focused on no things. She did nothing Jack could say he understood. But she was only a child still.
They were all only children. And losing children in such a world was as unforgivable as his sinful past.
Jack would not, could not, bear the same trial twice. And so, he would do what he hadn't done before.
He continued to walk in the streets, continued to walk even as the crowds thinned to barren streets and lights faded into glows of red. He walked as the darkness of the city was overcome with an even darker night.
But he still kept walking, knowing what he needed to find. Perhaps though… he need not do it alone.
"… Little ones," he began to speak to the girls, feeling their attention turn to him at the words. "May you… assist me?"
He could feel their heads turning, so closer and in such direct contact with him. Thin eyes gazing at one another in confusion, looking to him for more to be told.
"With who?" Ashi asked. Who? It was an odd question to hear, not what. Perhaps they did not know. Perhaps or not, it did not matter.
They simply did not understand.
"Not who, no who." Jack clarified. "I am looking for a store." Their confusion did not seem to dwindle even with the clarifications. "It is… a place to buy new things."
"What things?" Another simple question. However, Jack now had a simple answer.
"I am… we are looking for a clothing store." His words were focused as he spoke. "Better items for you to wear."
"Clothes?" Avi asked, the child curious about fabrics and clothing. "Like those?" Jack looked at the child on his shoulder, seeing her arm pointing across the now darkened road.
A shop sat across the street, so far different and yet so at him in the vile city.
It was not made of dark metal or inglorious red lights. It was fashioned of concrete and brick, metal rods across the windows and about its frame.
It had no ominous glow or deadly gaze. It was muted in comparison to Aku's treacherous city.
But it did have a single sign above its doorway, one that showed exactly what Jack wanted to see.
CLOTHS FOR MOTHS
Jack did not understand the name. But he knew the details.
He understood the worn fabric that was 'lain' over the sign, a detail for art as he was once told. Jack understood the dress at the end of the sign, held up by wings, was meant to entice the eyes, though he did not understand its connection to the 'moths'.
All he cared now about was the cloths. The cloths in a store that was not emanating malice and distrust.
Jack had walked some distance to find a store such as this, one that didn't care the taint of Aku and was not burdened with the cacophony of the street.
It was long enough to feel as if the day had turned to night, but to tell such things in a city of crimson blackness was nigh impossible. And in truth, it mattered only a little. Only as much as the little ones cared.
The store for clothing was far from perfect, but closer to it than any other he had seen in the unforgiving city. So, it would do.
Jack stepped forward towards the shop, little ones following silently behind him.
Ring-Ring
The bell above the door rings as Jack steps through. His elbow pushing the swing door to the side. He shuffled in side-ways, carrying the little ones in his arms and over his back. He felt a small amount of relief to feel wood beneath his boots.
The shop was smaller than what he already believed it to be. A single room with a ceiling his raised hand could reach. Though it would be difficult with the little ones in his arms.
Though what Jack desired now was at hand. Clothes. There were several rows of clothes available.
Thin steel racks, so much lighter than the dark steel that lined the walls of Aku's tainted city. Thin pieces of metal holding up clothing that befit the dark city, but then just as easily holding articles that appeared so out of place.
Unlike many of the stores Jack had seen throughout the many vile cities dotting Aku's land, there was no pattern nor reason to the clothes he saw. Size, color, and even shape, all varied within the store.
But there were clothes, and he needed to provide for the little ones.
"May I help you?" A voice spoke to him, a voice to an owner he had not yet seen.
A small turn of his head, careful for the little ones still perched on his back and shoulders, let him gaze upon an elderly man. Doubtlessly the shopkeeper.
Shorter in stature, wrinkled in skin, but still possessing a smile Jack was sure the vile city would have stolen some time ago. Despite the later hour still, the man was in a store without another customer, looking at Jack with a careful gaze.
"… Yes," Jack spoke carefully. "I am… looking for clothing." The little one on his shoulder perked at the word, her grip on his hair becoming stronger. It was evident to Jack, at least.
The old man gazed at him, his thin eyes, surrounded by tells of his age. The gaze shifted between Jack's own and those of the seven little ones perched variously around his body.
A slow smile drew itself on the man's lips.
"I suppose I can guess why you need them." His voice slowly let out. A hand bearing the age of the shopkeeper extended to his humble store. "Please, feel free to browse what I have."
"Thank you for your kindness," Jack returned respectfully, bowing his head the little he could without fear of the little ones falling. He did not want them to fall… but they did have to walk now.
Kneeling, Jack let the little ones in his arms find their footing, each spreading out like leaves dropped into a pond. The two on his back crawled down the remains of his armor. And, in time with them, the two on his shoulders jumped off to the floor.
The little still pooled around him, wide eyes peering about the store so different than any place Jack believed they had seen. It was not a mountain interior, not a forest deep, and not a vile city. It was a humble shop with a humble owner.
"Go on," Jack encouraged them, still on bended knee. "Find something you like." The little ones looked back at him, a few of their heads swiveling back and forth about the store. As he expected, not a word was shared between them.
Instead, in pairs, they journeyed into the small space, moving about the metal racks and staring at the stacked clothing. Ashi and the wild-haired little one together, Adi and Ahi side-by-side, and the little ones with horns of hair.
But one of them did not venture into the store.
Oddly to Jack, the little one who had seemed the most excited by the idea of clothing.
The child with the longest hair stayed by Jack's side, her eyes staring imploringly at the store, but hand gripped tight to Jack's own tattered clothing. He was not sure what action to take.
If she did not seek out the store, he would have to find something for her. But if she did not like it, he would be doing the little one little justice. But more than most else, he was not sure how to act in such an alien situation.
How did he encourage one to pursue what excited them?
"Overwhelmed?" The shopkeeper asked, stealing Jack's attention. He looked at the elderly man, who had his own eyes on the little one at his side. "I see a lot of little girls come into this store, nervous and waiting for permission on what to take and see."
Jack listened to his words, imagining the children so misfortune to live within Aku's vile city. But similarly, so fortuned that a man such as this was welcoming to them.
Welcoming in words, in smile, and humility. Warm and inviting.
"So many of them are so overwhelmed… they have to wait just to know what they want." The elderly shopkeeper stepped around the counter he was at, walking towards Jack and the little one by his leg.
Jack could feel the long-haired child grip his cloth a bit tighter, stepping closer to him all the same. He could not hear the other little ones speak, only glance to ensure they were still about the store.
"And I can tell you are… much the same… very much so. I am sure you would care greatly for what you wear… between a dress, a skirt, or a blouse as well." Jack felt his face scrunch up, beard scratching at his skin. He believed a few of those were synonyms.
But a small glance downwards showed the little one's wide eyes were far from unnerved. If anything, the words a spell she had sought to hear all her life. It the only manner in which Jack could describe the blissful expression across her young face.
He felt it trickle over the vileness of his sins.
"Oho, a curious one, aren't you?" The old shopkeeper, short as he was, bent down to reach eye level with the young one. He had sincerity in his eyes, Jack could tell. He had lost such a thing in his own.
He felt the little one grab at his legs, hiding behind him as the old man kept gaze on him. Jack did nothing, as there was little he could do.
"No need to be shy. I'm far too old to be dangerous." Even his laughter was slow to come out, as if each chuckle required his own breath. Still, the little one with long hair and neat upkeep did not move. "But I can tell you have an interest in clothes."
The shopkeeper, instead of speaking more, merely held out a small piece of ribbon. Forked on both ends, colored red, it was very simple.
Jack felt the little one look closely at it, head leaning out from behind his leg, hesitant steps being taken. The old man was patient, neither pushing nor encouraging her further.
Her sisters watched on the same as Jack, all silent as the little one moved towards the ribbon. Jack was nervous only for the shopkeeper. He would not let anything happen to the little ones.
Slowly, as if watching the leaves on a tree turn color, the little reached out for the ribbon, tiny hand gripping the fabric. The old man still did nothing more than smile and wait.
And, with that patience, Jack watched the little one grab the ribbon, holding it up to examine.
"It's a nice ribbon, isn't it?" The man asked, eyes on the little one. "Do you know what a ribbon is for?"
The little one shook her head, her long hair moving with the motion. Jack said nothing. Lessons were to be learned, not told.
Jack stole a glance to the six other little ones, watching the wild-haired child and Ashi grabbing at a gown that was thrice their height and as wide as they were tall. The other simple continued to walk and stare.
"A ribbon is decorative." Jack turned to see the old man holding the ribbon in both hands now, wrinkled thin fingers twisting the fabric as he spoke. "When it is tied properly… it can be the centerpiece of an outfit, showing just how simple… yet beautiful, the wearer is."
He finished his words with the ribbon tied, a simple bow now around his fingers. The loop for which was held up by opposite hands, presenting the thin and well-tied fabric to the little one behind Jack's leg.
With the object presented to her, she tentatively reached out for it, hand grazing at the billowy fabric. Her hand tentatively rolled about the loops and curves, as if she were grasping a fragile flower from the woods.
"Go on," the shopkeeper encouraged. "I am sure it will be… very suiting for you." The little one looked at the elderly man, hands freezing at his words.
But as her gaze fell back to the ribbon, she carefully pulled it off his aged fingers. She pulled until it was grasped in her own hand, the large loop beneath the tied bow grasped tightly in her tiny palms.
"A ribbon can make… simple things look grand," the shopkeeper continued. "But it can also… keep fragile things together." Of that, Jack understood. It was like a bandage, though not made of material that would hold a wound in place.
Or, for a small child, her long hair.
Jack took to his knee again, his larger hands gently taking the bow from the little one. She did so after a moment of hesitance, eyes on Jack. Or, more appropriately, the tied bow he had taken from her.
"Please hold a moment," he instructed carefully, hand gently lifting her long hair. Her posture stiffened at the touch, but carefully, he continued. He continued by lifting her longer hair and feeding it through the loop of the bow.
He continued the motion, feeding and leading her long dark strands through the thin and tied material. He continued until the bow was taught and her hair held high.
Jack stopped when the little one sported a new ponytail, held up by the shopkeepers bow.
"I was right… that does suit you," the elderly man said. Jack could agree. If not for the appeal in appearance, then for the shimmering smile the young girl wore.
It was worth staying in a vile city to see.
"What is your name… if I can ask?" The shopkeeper continued, thin eyes on the little one.
"… Avi," the little one spoke. It was a name Jack committed to memory. The man smiled and nodded at her simple word, content with what he heard.
"Thank you for the ribbon, kind sir," Jack bowed his head once more, thanking the man with words and action. His eyes caught Avi staring at him, before turning and mimicking the action. Her now ponytail waved with the action.
"It is nothing…" the old man dismissed, crimpled hand waving like a stiff flag. "Please, feel free to look for clothes that suit you… little Avi." The little one nodded, turning and moving into the store with a vigor Jack had not seen her sisters share.
How odd it was, to see a child so eager to do something so new.
Jack stood to his tallest as he took note of the little ones in the small but humble shop, ensuring no actions were being taken that were inappropriate. Aside from their continued silence, he saw none.
"They are precious… are they not?" The shopkeeper questioned, eyes upon Jack now. Jack nodded in agreement, standing to his tallest once more, once more towering over the elderly man.
"Yes, and you are excellent at speaking to them," Jack noted to the old shopkeeper. The old man nodded, eyes shutting for a bit longer than a blink as he did so.
"I believe I am. One of the few benefits to old age." Jack was sure he was older than this man, yet he had no such skills. "It does help that the sister from the orphanage comes here often with her little ones."
Jack blinked, looking at the old man. An orphanage? In this city of darkness and Aku's taint. The idea of one existing, surviving, was nigh an impossibility.
And yet, he had no reason to doubts the words of the kind soul before him. If the children, so corrupt and harmed by the shadows of the mountain, were able to smile as Avi had, then a brave woman of the cloth could raise children in a city just as vile.
"Young man, you look familiar," the shopkeeper approached closer to Jack, looking up at him with a squint to his eyes. Jack frowned beneath his beard. "Have I seen you before?"
"I… do not know." In truth, Jack did not. It had been many years since he had seen those whose lives he had scorned. "Perhaps I have a… familiar face?" Jack rubbed his hand down his haired chin as he did so.
The old shopkeeper nodded slowly, eyes shutting as if in thought.
"Likely true, very likely." He noted with small breaths. "It does not help that my eyes are beginning to fail me. Even your children all have the same face." Jack blinked, looking at the little ones about the store.
Only Avi was searching the clothes with interest, tiny hands grabbing at the different fabrics, studying them with an intensity a scholar would envy. The others were in pairs together, never drifting far between the faux isles, but still speaking hardly a word.
But they did have the same face. Only different hair about them.
"They do," Jack noted in return, eyes not leaving the girls. "I believe they… were born at the same time."
A soft silence followed his words, long enough for Jack to turn and look at the shopkeeper again. The old man had wide eyes on the girls, wrinkled skin folding as he blinked.
"Their poor mother…" the old man spoke listlessly. Jack frowned at the statement.
There were many things Jack felt for the mother of the children, but sorrow was not among them. Human though they were, they had forgone their strength for darkness. It was his duty now to ensure the same did not happen to the children.
And for that, he needed new clothes. Rags would not befit the little ones for any longer.
"Well, I see little Avi is… eager," Jack looked at the little one as well, seeing her compare the different clothes against one another, pulling at the angers until the metal clinked together.
The smile was still vibrant upon her face. It allowed a smaller one to crawl over Jack's own.
He watched them, all of them, for some time. He watched the little ones busy themselves around the shop, teaching each other as they explored the humble store.
He watched to ensure they did not damage what was not theirs, and that they understood what they were gazing upon. Simple clothes, simple fabrics, but all so much better than the rags they wore.
Before they left the store, he would ensure they had something to wear.
"Thank you once more for your help," Jack spoke to the shopkeeper, his eyes still on the children. "I… may need your assistance in deciding what they should wear."
"Hmm… that should be no issue," the elderly man spoke. "I am sure we can find something for them to wear. After all… it would be inappropriate to leave the littles ones… so unkempt." Of that, Jack had full agreement.
Ring-Ring
Jack heard the bell of the store ring, seeing the shopkeeper turn to greet his new customers. He did the same.
And then he fell into a crouch.
The new arrivals were not humble customers. They were not shoppers. They were not anything that was meant to be in such a humble and simple store.
They were wolves. Wolves in black leather, with sharp teeth, with razor claws, and feral grins. Wolves with ears tall and sharp and rows of teeth to match. Wolves in numbers that would have them rule the woods. Or… a part of Aku's vile city.
They were wolves that struggled through the door of the store, with frames taller than Jack at his tallest. They were holding tools in their paws.
Some had masks that made them look like demons of the shadows. Some had metal adorned about their body. Some had drool dripping from the edges of their maws.
But they were all staring forward with wide and savage eyes.
They were eyeing the little ones behind Jack.
"Hey. Hope ya don't mind the late hour." One of them spoke, the one in front, the one that had gray fur and a scar about his ears. "Just saw somethin' we liked and thought we'd drop in… for a bite."
Chuckles and cackles followed in the numbers behind him, numbers in wolves that continued to grow, as if spawned by the shadows of Aku's corrupt land. They likely were, and continued to be.
Jack grasped at nothing at his back, reaching for nothing at his waist. Everything was lost to the mountain and the woman of dark shadows. Everything was left so he could take the children.
But the wolves did not lack in tools, just as they were not short on malice.
"I-I-I have… have… nothing here!" The old man hastily spoke, his short breath doing no favors to his panicked speech. Jack could tell without sight the man was ill-prepared.
"Heh, we ain't here for rotting meat," the wolf spoke again, bestial eyes narrowed at the elderly man. "We're in ta the prime cuts and fresh flesh!" His claw waved at Jack, behind Jack, at the little ones, to all the little ones.
Jack could feel them behind him, all abandoning the clothes they were gazing at to reach him. That was good. That was the only thing that was good.
With a scowl hidden by the depths of his beard, Jack kept his narrowed eyes on the wolves still, looking for any and all ways to leave the store, or dispose of the foul beasts. But none were obvious.
There was a single door guarded by a growing row of wolves. There were no exits that he could take the children and flee to. He had no weapons to reduce their growing number.
The situation was bad, and becoming worse.
"Please kind… kind… kind sirs, just…" Jack heard the man fumble for words, his speech too rushed and situation too tense. "Allow me… allow…"
"I was tryin' to give ya a hint to move, rot flesh," the wolf spoke again, stepping towards the elderly shopkeeper. "But I guess you'll need an of how!"
The gray wolf reached forward, paw easily gripping and lifting the elderly man.
Jack just as easily gripped the wolf's wrist and elbow, twisting them both with a single push.
CRACK
"YAAAAGH! AGGH!" The wolf howled as he released the man, steeping away and grasping at his now broken limb. A limb that swung unnaturally at its break.
Jack stepped away from the group at the action, watching as they bared their weapons and snarled at their prey. Maws yapped and braked at him, slobber and spit flying about the entrance of the once humble store.
A fight was coming, and he was not ready.
"Children!" He yelled behind him, hoping to whichever deity watched their lives to do its duty. "Hide yourselves!"
To the wolves, it was the call to strike.
"Kill him!" The injured gray wolf howled, his only good arm pointing a vicious claw at Jack.
They descended upon him like the wave of the ocean. A desire to swallow and consume him complete, to leave not a trace of the Samurai behind.
But he was a rock through time and season. The demands of an ocean, of any weight, meant nothing to him. Not when he swore to break the forces that threatened the little ones.
A wolf pounced at him with maw open and razor teeth seeking flesh. Jack dipped to the creature's left, grasping at his outstretched arm and pivoting on his heel. The beast swung and slammed into a tray of clothes, knocking him and the articles over.
Jack jumped at the impact, dodging another of the leather clad wolves. The beast flew beneath him as Jack hung in the air above, but only for a moment. Just as quickly, he outstretched his legs, using the force of his descent to crack the wolf's head. A yip of pain was all he heard.
He bent left, right, over the fallen beast, dodging the claws that swung through the air as his blade did long ago.
CHINK!
Jack snarled through the thick of his beard as a metallic tool beat off a piece of his armor, sending the metal into shards along some far wall. He quickly slammed an open palm into the attacking arm, dislodging the tool from its owner.
"Take him down! Kill tha' guy!"
And the wolves headed their leader's call.
Jack picked up the discarded weapon, holding it as the wolves began to descend.
He kicked upwards with his foot, planting the base of his boot on the jaw of a beast. He rolled with the momentum of the creature, throwing it over his head and into a cart of clothes.
He swung out with the jaded weapon he had acquired, feeling it ring as it connected with one of another's beast's tools. Sparks flew, so he struck again. Sparks continued, so he struck again. He sliced at fingers, and the howl of pain followed.
Jack raised his arm as he felt another blow coming, but was stuck when the attack was not a blow, but a grab. A grab that had one of the large paws of a leather clad wolf grabbing at his much smaller arm.
His momentum was rocked and thrown to disarray as he was thrown into a wall of the once humble store, wood splintering behind him and denting his already ruined armor. Clothes fell from their shelves and the lights flickered with the force.
But it was no time to rest.
When gravity returned Jack to the ground, he took off in a sprint again, gritting his teeth behind his thick beard, raising his tool upwards for a mighty strike.
He swung down with the force and speed accumulated through years in a vile land, striking at a wolf in the growing pack.
TWANG
The steel tool shattered at the impact, as did the guard the wolf wore. Sparks flew at the sight of the impact, reflecting off his narrow eyes, eyes focused on the wolves that hurried about him and the store.
They were not stopping, so he could not either.
"YAGH!" Jack yelled as he spun his body, delivering a hard kick to the beast's gut. The maw of the wolf lurched at the force, sending him flying backwards into his compatriots. The hole he had created was quickly filled, however, with angrier and larger numbers.
But Jack was not done.
His fist struck out at another feral beast approaching him from behind, striking at the crux of the raise arm and rendering it useless. Just as quickly, he grabbed at the leather collar of the beast, falling back until the beast fell with him.
His feet pivoted, turning his fall into a spin and continuing the grasp the beast. It made the monster a weapon, one that he released towards the ever-growing crowd of his fellow wolves.
But Jack was not done.
He ducked and swayed two blows from two different beasts, taking a third blow to his leg he could not avoid. A grimace of pain, hidden by the thick of his beard, was all that he showed.
He lifted his leg up quickly, letting it slam into the sensitive space between the wolf's legs. A yip of pain and tears of fury were nothing to Jack, not when he grabbed the wolves head with both hands and slammed his knee into the beast's elongated maw.
He threw fist and foot at the other two beasts, flipping through air with the training of decades in a tainted land. The monsters took the blows without guard and flew into rails of clothing because of it, sending the humble apparel into messy heaps.
But Jack was not done.
He landed on hands and knees, shooting forward to avoid the slamming of some heavy tool another wolf held. It splintered the floor where he stood, sending chips and slivers through the air, entangling them in Jack's mane and beard.
But he was quick to leap backward, jumping onto the tool the wolf had used and rushing up the creature's hairy arm. A quick backhand slammed into the beast, dislodging the tool from his grasp. That was good.
Jack flipped over the handle and the falling beast, grasping it in his hands mid-twist. It was heavy, hard to pull, but that meant it would hurt to strike. That was all he needed.
His feet hit the splintered wood of the store's floor and immediately fell further into a duck, avoiding the reach of another wolf's claws. Jack twisted with his motion, pushing with one foot and pivoting with the other.
It raised the club from the floor, sending it into the beast that had attempted to harm him.
It struck with the force of a car, splintering and shattering the little armor the wolf wore, before sending him through the crowd of wolves and one of the shops few windows beside its only entrance.
But Jack was not done.
Narrowed eyes tracked feral gazes, counting the beasts that had stormed the store.
Monsters in flesh and metal, fools of mind and soul, darlings of Aku's dark regime. Jack knew no mercy for them.
"The hell is this guy?!" One of the wolves shouted.
"A freakin' beast! He's a monster!"
"Those kids ain't worth it!"
"That's it! Amscrate dogs!" A leader of some sort shouted above the others.
And like a drawing tide, the wolves began to fly.
Jack held his position, knees bent and club in hand as they departed the store in rapid number. They jumped through the broken window, plowing through the too-thin door, and doing all they could to avoid the former samurai.
They left the damage of their deeds behind. Their paws tripping over the discarded tools and knocked over railings, ripping at the fabrics and clothes that now lined the floor, destroying what little humility and grace the store had left.
But they were gone, gone as quickly as they had come.
And when they had all departed, Jack knew he was done.
A slow breath of relief came from him, the battle now done and his health no worse than before. A stray mark upon his leg, damage to his already ruined Do, but little more than that.
His eyes shut for a moment, focusing his mind and finding the poor amount of balance his soul still had, the fine point the taint of his sins had not yet grasped.
"Children, it safe," Jack spoke to the store, awaiting the little ones to come out from their hiding. It would do little good to find clothes in this store now, but finding a new store was far simpler than returning life.
And yet, he heard nothing.
No clothes or fabrics billowed with movement, no tiny legs beating across splintered wood, no moving metal from crumpled hiding places, nothing.
Jack felt dread.
"Little ones… little ones!" Jack called for the children in the now broken store, the now destroyed shambles of a once humble abode. The silence returned his call.
His body felt cold.
"Little ones! Ashi! Avi!" He called the names he knew, called to them as he feet quickly beat across the broken wood floors, searching across the strewn clothing and unconscious wolves.
He could not find them.
"Adi! Ahi!" He called again, throwing the clothes about as searched. His hearing dulled as he hurried about the store.
They were not in the clothes. They were not in the alcoves. They were not beneath the bodies. They were nowhere.
The children were gone.
And if they were not in the store, there remained only a single place for them to be. It was the place Jack could not image them to be alone.
The children were gone into the city.
The children were gone into the city at night with monsters at their heels.
And he had let it happen.
He had lost the little ones once more. He had lost them! He had lost them!
You lost them!
Jack whirled back into the shop, seeing the strewn clothing, broken frames, and twisted corpses beneath bloodied rubble. Decayed and torn skin framing wide and bloodless eyes, staring at him, amounting to his sins!
You lost them again!
Like you lost us!
You failed them!
You failed again!
Accusations upon words spilled out and filled the room, every eye staring at him, detailing the sins he had failed to prevent, at the atrocities he had just allowed. The children were gone and he had not done enough!
"No! I-I tried!"
You never tried!
You failed to even try!
You failed in all that you swear to protect!
"No! No!" Jack screamed again. They were safe for now! They had gotten away from the wolves! He could… He could!
You will never find them!
You will lose them, and they will be lost the same sins you created!
The twisted and mangled bodies atop the pile of strewn clothes accused him without rest, their incessant strengthened by the truth of what he saw. The truth of all his failures.
And his eyes fell to the lone shop-keeper, the elder whom had offered his store to a man and little ones in a city of evil.
An old man that no longer spoke and no longer moved. An elderly shopkeeper Jack had failed.
The elder now broken in the corner of his store, abandoned as the souls Jack had failed to save. Already near as forgotten as the past he never returned to.
The old man… beneath an ominous figure of green.
A green omen with horns as twisted as Jack soul. With a glare as piercing as his failures. With a steed that he could not outrun.
With a future Jack could not accept.
"GaaaaAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHH!"
Author's Note:
I've been taking some lessons in writing, and one of the suggestions was having a purpose for every chapter. If a chapter is useless, don't include it. Useless does not mean not progressing the plot. Useless is having no additional depth to any part of the story.
So, my goal with this update, and all others on all stories, is to detail out what I am trying to show in each chapter. I'll do it at the end to avoid spoilers, and hopefully to get people reading more interested in where my mind is at (if you like that sort of thing).
For this update, I wanted:
Jack to show his inexperience with children
Emphasize the subtle differences in the girls, without uselessly naming them (damaged and all)
Contrast the serene natural forest with Aku's city
Set-Up for a beatdown
Also, as may be obvious, I am writing four stories, and all have fairly lengthy chapters. To compensate for this, I'm alternating my writing schedule to have MagicTale and Your Father's a Hero come out one month, the Unknown Legends and Man of Focus the other. This happened last month, and no YFaH and MagicTale this month.
So on that schedule, it'll be October by the next update… though I do hope earlier.
Unless you guys what me to put one or two stories on hold. They you have to tell me which ones!