Virtuous Son
Chapter Two: An Unexpected Visitor
Izumi stood in the kitchen, stirring a pot of rice in a smooth motion, before seeing Sig and Justin enter the living room, both dressed in hunting clothes.
"We're heading out." Sig announced. "Figured I'd take Justin hunting; give him a feel for the outdoor."
"Sounds fine to me." Izumi nodded. "Just make sure you're back by dinner."
"Yes, mama!" Justin declared happily.
The two men soon left the house, the housewife feeling something warm inside her chest.
It had been several weeks since Izumi had found Justin and taken him in. Since then, Justin had been put to work after his recovery, cleaning around the house, inside and out, as well as other chores, and soon enough, Izumi had started trusting him more, even getting used to the added company once more. Even more, it felt nice being referred to as 'momma'. Sure, he wasn't the same blood, but she appreciated having him around.
But during those weeks, she had gone around Dublith, going to every person in the town, asking anyone if they knew who Justin was or where he came from. So far, she didn't manage to get any answers.
Regardless, it didn't matter too much. She didn't mind the company. She liked being called mother after so long.
Meanwhile, Sig and Justin were out in the forest, hunting knife in Sig's hand while a bow and arrow were in Justin's.
"What're we hunting for?" Justin asked, breaking the silence.
"For deer." Sig answered. "It's the last animal meat I need for the shop."
"Got it!" Justin said cheerfully.
The two moved onward, Sig keeping a careful eye on his surroundings, before soon spotting the target; a large-antlered deer, just several feet away from their position.
"Found it." Sig whispered. "Remember, just like I taught you."
Nodding, Justin got in a low crouch before drawing his bow, notching the arrow and aimed.
"Remember to keep it steady." Sig said. "A miss will startle the deer and cause it to run."
Controlling his breathing, Justin steadied his aim before firing, the arrow hitting the deer right in the neck, the animal letting out a cry before toppling over. Justin whooping loudly before running over, with Sig following behind, standing over the helpless body of the large deer.
"It sucks, but that's life for you." Justin declared before looking up at the large man. "Right, Papa?"
"That's right, kiddo." Sig nodded. "And we'll make sure the meat doesn't go to waste."
Sig approached the deer and brought out his hunting knife and knelt next to the deer, before then driving the knife into the beast's neck, killing it. After wiping his knife, Sig made to pick the carcass up, but stopped when he saw two large bears approach, both snarling and eying the deer corpse with hungry eyes.
One of the bears immediately charged at Sig, but the large man easily grabbed the beast and threw it over his shoulder, taking a quick glance to see Justin struggling with his, the bear trying to bite at his head. Grabbing the bear by the neck, Sig pulled out his knife and stuck it in the bear's throat, killing it. Looking back over, and his eyes nearly widened as the young man easily kick the bear off before then jumping on its back, wrapping his arms around in a head lock before snapping its neck.
Sig's eyes were wide with surprise at such strength, watching the young boy get up, breathing heavy, before he suddenly picked up a large rock and started bashing the head in.
"Boy!" Sig called, trying to get his attention.
Justin didn't listen, only kept bashing the head of the carcass.
"BOY!" Sig roared, finally walking up and grabbing his hand, making him drop the rock. "It's over!"
He then pulled him into a hug, the boy's breathing slowing down into a slow, steady pace, yet shaking slightly.
"We've got what we came for." Sig said calmly, before hefting the two bears over his shoulders. "Let's head home."
Nodding, Justin was silent as he carried the deer carcass, the two walking in silence before finally arriving at the butcher's shop, the two setting the animal carcass' inside before entering the home, seeing Izumi in the kitchen, just now finishing cooking.
"Welcome back, boys." She greeted. "How'd it go?"
"We caught bear as well." Sig said simply.
"Well, go ahead and get cleaned up." Izumi said. "Dinner's all set."
Justin walked up the stairs in silence, Izumi looking with a curious look, before turning to her husband.
"He lost control." He said simply. "Just kept smashing the bear's head in until I stopped him."
Izumi sighed at this. In the few weeks since she had taken Justin in, Izumi had done her best to instruct him in self-defense. Nothing flashy, but simple ways of hand-to-hand combat, but once they had started getting closer to the more advanced maneuvers, Justin had started getting more frustrated with every mistake he made, leading him to losing his temper.
Granted, he had gotten better, learning faster, but his temper was still there, one could even call it overkill.
In other words, over doing it.
"I'll talk to him."
The housewife then went up the stairs and to the room that was cleaned out to serve as Justin's room, where she saw the boy sat on the edge of the bed with a downcast look, clearly showing his frustration.
"You lost control." She stated. "How many times are we gonna have this talk?"
"Those bears were attacking us." Justin countered, looking up at his adoptive mother. "And don't pretend you don't ever get angry in a fight."
"Anger can be used as a weapon." Izumi explained, leaning against the door frame with arms crossed. "If you can control it; direct it at something. You clearly can't."
"Not so!" Justin denied, taking clear offense to what he saw as condensation. "I've been practicing those martial arts stuff you taught me, I KNOW I've gotten better!"
Izumi wasn't convinced, but decided to entertain the notion, pushing herself off the frame and stood before the boy, "Alright, take a swing at me."
Justin blinked at this in confusion, "You want me to hit you?"
"Try." Izumi stated, her arms still crossed.
Unsure, Justin swung a light right hook, only for Izumi to swat it away with a hard smack from the back of her hand, making him yelp slightly.
"I said hit!" She commanded. "Not tickle!"
Shaking off the surprise, Justin threw another one, harder this time, only for Izumi to swat it away again, "Again!"
Slightly annoyed, Justin swung again, only for the same thing to happen, "Weak!"
His irritation grew as the same thing happened, "Too slow!"
His anger grew, "Again!"
"STOP IT!"
With that scream, he swung again, harder this time, only for Izumi to swat it away, Justin losing his balance and falling over, breathing heavy, before Izumi got down to her knees and pulled him up, looking him in the eyes.
"You can get lost in your anger if you don't control it." Izumi stated firmly, a hand gently caressing Justin's cheek. "And right now, Justin, you're not ready."
Justin's expression softened, before lowering his head, his eyes downcast.
"Go get washed up and come down for dinner." Izumi said calmly.
Nodding, Justin left the room in silence, and Izumi watched him leave for the restroom, sighing before heading for the dining room.
After dinner and everything was cleaned up, Izumi was tucking Justin into bed.
"We'll practice more tomorrow." She told him. "Have patience."
Nodding, Justin lied down and closed his eyes, Izumi turned off the lights and shut the door to allow the boy to sleep before heading into the living room where Sig was sat in, reading the newspaper.
"Still haven't found anyone that may know him?" He asked.
"Not even anyone missing a kid." Izumi sighed before sitting down next to her husband. "And setting up the posters around town haven't yielded any results."
"I'm sure we'll find some answers soon." Sig assured, gently holding his wife's hand. "Besides, even if nobody claims him, his company is a nice welcome."
"Yeah, you're right about that." Izumi admitted with a nod. "Still, I can't help but feel like he needs those answers."
Justin woke up in the middle of the night, his tired eyes scanning his darkened room before letting out a tired sigh.
"I gotta pee."
Throwing the covers off, the young man got up, slipped on his slippers and quietly stepped out of his room, climbing down the stairs and to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. After relieving himself, he flushed the toilet and proceeded to wash his hands, before taking a moment to look in the mirror, his reflection staring back at him with eyes filled with uncertainty before he sighed.
"Mama's right." He said quietly. "I'm not ready."
Justin made to go back to his room, but stopped when he heard a loud creaking noise from above. Looking up, he stood completely still and silent, as the creaking from what sounded like heavy footsteps on the roof. The sounds stopped over the front door. There was silence, Justin starting to think that it was over…
BANG BANG!
Justin nearly jumped at the loud banging on the door.
"Get out here!" He heard someone shout from outside. "No point in hiding anymore! I know who you are and WHAT you are!"
Justin nearly jumped, backing up a bit at the yelling, whoever was outside banged on the door again, causing Justin to panic. What should he do? Should he run? Wake Izumi? Looking towards the door, Justin thought about turning them away, maybe they'll leave once the misunderstanding was cleared.
Finally working up his courage, Justin slowly approached the door, though the yelling never did cease, "Just come on out! No need for this to get messy!"
Breathing in the releasing, Justin opened the door to see someone he never met before; a pale-skinned androgynous teenage young man with a lean, muscular build, having long, wispy hair, violet eyes with slit-like pupils, and wearing a black crop top and skort, along with a matching headband with an curious triangular symbol on it.
Justin stared at the young man quizzically at first before stepping out and shutting the door behind him, the young man staring back in kind, those reptile-like eyes staring back at him.
"Thought you'd be bigger." The boy commented, looking Justin up and down. "But you're definitely the guy."
Justin looked back at him with a look of confusion, "Who are you? What do you want?"
The spike-haired boy only laughed at the questions, making Justin feel uncomfortable, before he inched closer, "I think you already know the answer to that, big boy."
Instinctively stepping back, Justin felt an uncomfortable chill run up his spine, feeling malicious intent emanating from the unannounced visitor. He doesn't understand how, but it's there.
"I don't know who you are or what you want, but I assure you, you won't find what you're looking for here." He calmly said. "You should leave."
The boy frowned, Justin anxiously waiting for a reply, before he once again busted out laughing, "Wow! I can't tell if you're playing dumb or just plain stupid!"
Justin cringed a bit, as the boy stepped closer, "Father talks nonstop about your kind; how you're so much better than us, more enlightened, so much smarter." He then gestured to the town behind him. "And yet, you hide out in this backwater town like a coward."
Justin felt something within himself, something screaming at him internally that this stranger was dangerous.
"You're making me very uncomfortable." Justin stated. "Please leave."
The stranger only gave a blank look, Justin silently hoping he would just leave…
Smack!
Justin recoiled in pain, a hand covering the side of his face that was just backhanded, eyes wide at the boy that gave a malicious grin.
"Do I look like I give a shit?!" He shouted, looking down at him.
Justin looked back in momentary shock, before feeling something bubble up inside. He wasn't sure what it was, but it was clear that it was telling him that this stranger that just struck him. He felt his blood boil, he felt heat well up inside.
He felt angry.
Mustering his courage, Justin stood up at his full height, standing a head taller than the stranger, a strong glare on his face.
"Leave. My. Home." He growled angrily.
The stranger only chuckled in response, "Gonna have to do better than that, big guy."
He then swung at Justin three more times, before throwing a fourth fist…
Only for Justin to catch the fist, before twisting the arm, much to the stranger's surprise.
"I warned you."
Pow!
A single fist from Justin was enough to send the stranger tumbling to the ground. Justin then turned to return inside, but stopped when he heard the stranger chuckling madly. Having had enough, Justin walked over and yanked the stranger up by his arm.
The stranger then snapped his head up, malice and insanity in his eyes.
"My turn!"
Justin didn't have a chance to respond in any way when he was hit with an uppercut by the stranger, sent flying before landing in the yard of an unoccupied house, crashing into the dirt. Pushing up a bit, Justin looked over his shoulder to see the stranger standing on top the house, a malicious grin on his face before he jumped, Justin rolling out of the way before the stranger driving his knee into the dirt where Justin once was, the boy scrambling to his feet and backing up, picking up a nearby woodcutting ax on instinct.
"Think you're hot shit, big guy?!" The stranger yelled, his face riddled with malicious glee. "Come on then!"
He then charged forward, a fist reared back and aiming for his face, but Justin managed to roll out of the way, the stranger's fist splitting a tree in half, before he then swung his leg, Justin ducking under the kick that chopped down another tree. Deciding to retaliate, Justin swung his weapon, and buried the ax head into the stranger's neck…
…the stranger looked back at him blankly before smiling.
"Were you expecting me to drop dead?"
Shocked by this, Justin didn't have time to react before the stranger swung a fast punch, slamming Justin against a wall before pulling the ax out of his neck, then hurling the ax towards him, Justin moving his head to the side before the ax soon buried itself into the wall behind him.
"Is that the best you can do, little man?!"
Justin tried to get back up, but the stranger was faster, grabbing his leg and pulling him hard before swinging him into a wall before proceeding to spin then release, sending Justin flying into the air before hitting the roof of Izumi's house, the stranger following shortly after, sitting on top and his hands wrapped around Justin's neck, choking him.
"Just tell me what I want to know, pain stops," He cackled madly, as Justin struggled to pry his hands off. "That simple!"
He then raised his fist, Justin moving his head to avoid the punch, which busted through the roof. Nearly gasping, Justin looked down, seeing the pieces of the roof land on Izumi and Sig's empty bed.
"Quite the large bed." The stranger snickered. "Living with someone?"
His protective instincts kicking in, Justin turned him over with a shout, both landing atop the roof of Sig's butcher shop, Justin getting on top and raining punches on the stranger, one punch after another in the face, his anger overriding any fear he once had.
"LEAVE! MY! HOME!"
With a roar, he slammed both fists into the stranger, the two falling through the roof, the stranger grabbing Justin from behind and suplexing him before kicking him back outside, knocking over or breaking anything in the way.
Justin soon enough got to his feet, a hand pressed against a knocked over lamp post, before he heard the mad cackling of the stranger approach.
"Struck a nerve, did I?"
Having had enough of his taunting, Justin grabbed the lamp post with both hands and swung, hitting the stranger square in the chest and sending him flying into a wall, but he didn't relent, charging in and tackling him, smashing through the corner of a building, then a wall, before finally stopping at a cliff wall, before the stranger brought both fists down upon the boy, dropping him to the floor.
"Slow and weak." He taunted with a grin. "I came looking for the Virtue of Justice, but you're just broken!"
Justin was confused by this; Broken? Virtue? Justice? Nothing of what he was saying made sense.
In addition, Justin saw the stranger's wounds start healing up, every bruise, every cut, gone. Now he looked the same as he did when he first arrived!
"Wanna try again?" The stranger offered with a taunting grin.
Justin glared at him, "You talk too much."
Getting back to his feet, Justin went back to punching him, before the stranger dodged and got around him before delivering a quick series of punches of his own before shoulder tackling him into the cliffside wall, burying him deep within.
Justin breathed fast, trying desperately to keep his anger under control, but what the stranger said next made that impossible.
"You won't cooperate?" The stranger sneered. "Fine. Then maybe whoever you've got stashed in that house will."
That comment truly set Justin off. After everything that Izumi and Sig did for him, after the few weeks they had allowed him to stay with them, treated him like family, he refused to let anyone hurt them.
At that moment, he let his rage erupt like a volcano.
"RAAAAAAAAAAAAHH!"
With that feral roar, his body coated in blue energy, he busted out of the rubble and punch the stranger hard in the face, sending him flying into a stone pillar, before running up and punching him again, through the pillar this time before throwing him back to the cliffside, then picked the stone pillar up and rammed the stranger through the cliff.
"Come on! Who're you scared I'll find?!"
Justin only kept ramming him with the stone pillar and into a wall before the stranger broke the pillar and shoulder tackled him, pushing him back, but Justin continued his feral assault, punching and kicking, even picking up anything he could get his hands on, anything large, and threw them at the stranger.
He wanted this man gone.
He wanted him dead.
Justin then knocked him down before grabbed his legs and swinging him around, the stranger only laughing like a maniac, before Justin through him into a rock wall, then rammed his knee into his face before pulling him up and slamming him into the wall, punching him several times before punching him once more, before pushing him to the ground, then grabbed hold of the boulders and pulled, using every ounce of strength to cause an avalanche, the massive pile of boulders crashing down upon the stranger, burying him.
Breathing heavily and thinking the fight to be over, Justin staggered away from the pile, intending to head home…
"Leaving so soon?"
Upon hearing that, Justin spun around to see a large ape emerge from underneath the rocks, holding a massive boulder over his shoulders, before hurling said boulder at him, Justin throwing a fist and shattering a boulder, before seeing the ape morph into a large falcon, flying in the air before diving down at him and morphing back into the stranger's original form, throwing a fist, but Justin managed to catch it before throwing a fist in turn, but the stranger caught it, both engaged in a grapple, trying to overpower the other.
"When Father sent me here, I just wanted answers!" The stranger sneered, his violet eyes glaring into Justin's dark eyes. "But you just had to act tough, act proud!" His mouth twisted into an insane grin. "Well, throw whatever you have at me, I'll keep comin'! That broken body of yours will give out!"
He then headbutted Justin, pushing him back a bit, before then turning into a large vulture and grabbed Justin by the neck with his talons before flying up high, the boy trying his best to break free, before the vulture then released him over a great height. See the cliff rapidly approaching, Justin dove down and dug his fingers into the cliffside, slowing his fall before stopping altogether, then slowly climbed up and pulled himself back onto solid ground, shaking at the sight of his hand; there was torn flesh and broken fingers, a miracle he didn't feel any pain, even more of a miracle that it saved his live.
"Your struggle is pointless, kid!" The vulture yelled, gaining the boys attention. "Try as you might, but your efforts will be in vain!"
"What're you talking about?!" Justin demanded.
"Oh, still trying to act stupid!" The stranger scoffed. "Just look at yourself!"
Confused, Justin looked down and was shocked to see his wounds healing, even his hand was starting to heal back to its normal state.
"What is…?" Justin muttered in confusion.
"God, you're a bad actor." The stranger muttered. "This could've been so much easier if you'd just give me what I want, but no!"
He then dove for his target, Justin rolled out of the way of the attack, the stranger reverting back to his human form, facing Justin with a mad grin.
"Let's end this!"
Izumi knew that there was something going on when she first heard the banging on the front door, but didn't listen to her gut when the noises ceased, believing them to have lost interest, but the minute she heard what sounded like sounds of fighting outside, she woke up Sig and the two made for Justin's room, only to find the boy not in his room.
"Sig, come on!" Izumi called her husband. "I don't know how, but Justin's fighting somebody!"
"On it!" Sig declared, grabbing a shotgun from the kitchen.
The two stepped outside in time to see Justin charging with the stranger in his grasp, faster than they could react.
"Somebody picked a bad time to start a fight." Sig commented.
"Justin, you better be okay." Izumi growled, as the married couple gave chase.
"LEAVE ME ALONE!"
Justin threw every attack he could think off at the stranger, having had enough of this man trying to hurt him for reasons he cannot understand, but at this point, he didn't care.
Now, he fought with killing intent.
Justin proceeded to pull another large rock from the ground and through it at the stranger, who only smirked as he dodged to the right, the boulder flying past him before crashing into the ground before charging forward, raising a fist, Justin ducking underneath to dodge before kicking him in the head, knocking him down, before grabbing his leg and throwing him towards the cliff. The stranger dug his fingers into the dirt to stop himself and got up, only to be tackled to the ground by Justin, who then proceeded to put him in a headlock, wrapping his legs around his legs to restrain him.
"This isn't over, you hear?" The stranger sneered, trying to reach up to gouge out Justin's eyes. "I'll be back, and there will be others hunting you down!"
Having had enough, Justin grabbed the strangers head and twisted, snapping his neck. Letting out a few breaths, he threw the body over the edge, laying on the edge, taking deep breaths before struggling to his feet, dragging himself back to town.
"Who was that?" He said to himself. "Someone from my past? Did he know who I was?"
Getting closer to town, Justin collapsed to his knees, his exhaustion draining what energy he had left, before he saw Sig enter his field of vision, the large man running up to him to help him up.
"Izumi, I found him!" He yelled. "He's over here!"
Izumi soon appeared before running to the boy's side, "Thank God you're okay, kid!"
Justin weakly looked up at his adoptive mother, before giving a weak smile, "Mama…I won my first fist fight. Are you…proud of me?"
Izumi looked at him in silence for a moment, before smiling, "I sure am, kiddo."
As the couple carried the boy home, Izumi looked back, wondering who Justin was fighting and why, before facing forward, unaware of a cloaked bald man watching from a distance, his gaze glued to Justin.
"Greed will want to know about this." He said to himself before scurrying off.
And there's the new chapter! I apologize for the delay, I've been doing a lot of overtime at work these past few weeks, but I've made it work somehow, working on these stories during my breaks. I hope I'm not rushing things, although I do want to get to the main plot, but I hope you all remain patient with me!
Anyways, as always, I hope you guys enjoyed this, and continue to stick around for more! As always, reviews are greatly appreciated!