Chapter 247

Hiccups POV:

It's been a week since my boar hunt and the girls showed how much they appreciated all I had done for them and since then not much has happened other than me just enjoying time with my families. One thing I am both happy and unhappy about is Brant's training has come a long way with him learning how to channel his anger into his attacks a lot better but the problem is he was pushing himself too hard again which is not something me or my wives were happy about. I wasn't happy about it since I knew pushing your body past its limits could be really dangerous and I did not want my son to maim or kill himself while his mothers weren't the least bit happy about the bruises that covered his body when he was done training for the day.

It was because of this we began discussing the possibility of a vacation with us talking about where we could go and for how long we'd be gone for. We eventually decided on Japan since although it hadn't been too long since I returned from that very land but I realized that although I'd travelled through the, my guard was always up due to being on an adventure so I never got to truly enjoy it. Besides that, I also hadn't had the chance to really enjoy the palace I had there since I hadn't even been to the palace since I first beat Akuhei. This led to us all leaving for Japan four days ago and I had to say those days had not been as relaxing as I originally thought it would be.

To begin with the palace was huge so it took some getting used to for everyone since the place was bigger than our home back on the island and had a lot more hallways and rooms, so it was easy to get lost. Along with that I'd been putting off dealing with all the items in the various storerooms that were crammed with various items for various things and I had no doubt that most of these items were stolen from various travelers and merchants. I ended up spending my mornings after breakfast and afternoons after lunch going through the various items and sorting them all out into three categories so I could handle the items easier. The first of these categories were, things to take back to the island which consisted of art works that caught my fancy, some weapons and various materials I could use in the forge or to make clothing. The second category was things that would remain here in the palace which consisted of things like spare blankets, cushions, ropes and things you'd expect to find in a storeroom. Then there's the third and final category which were things that I intended to sell at some point like pots, canteens, kitchenware, instruments and other such things that were pretty much just extra items.

While I handled this my family continued with their own thing with Brant and Chara exploring the palace with them occasionally getting lost in the long halls. They'd also spend a lot of time out in the garden playing among the cherry blossom trees that gently fluttered in the wind and when they weren't there, they'd be out having fun in the bamboo forest somewhere. All of this was done under the strict supervision of their mothers of course who would also join them in their games at times but one of them would drop by to see how my work was going with a something to drink or snack on while also making sure I'm not overworking myself.

Now the afternoon of the fifth day had arrived and I am happy to say that I was able to finally relax a bit with the storage rooms finally being emptied of anything that did not belong in them. This meant I was finally able to enjoy a little down time here in Japan and this time was being spent enjoying a simple walk through the garden and enjoying the beauty of the cherry blossoms while singing an old tune that I liked. Besides the tune I was singing I also enjoyed the sound of Chara's laughter as she ran away from Brant as they played their game of tag among the trees. It was then Chara ran towards me while looking back at her brother who was chasing after her but before she could run into me, I quickly scooped her up under her arms and spun her around as she laughed in joy. I smiled and put her down on the side opposite to the one Brant was on before she ran away from Brant again who was quick to chase after her while laughing.

It was then Toothless walked up from his spot underneath one of the trees and crooned while giving me a look that I knew all too well since I'd seen it enough times in the past. I smiled and patted his nose before I mounted him and said.

"Alright bud, let's go see what the land is like from above." He growled and nodded before we took off into the air to see what was going on around the area outside of the mountain that surrounded the bamboo forest.

4 hours later

It's been four hours since me and Toothless took off on our flight and since then I haven't really seen much other than the forest that surrounded the mountain so I decided we'd check things out a bit further away and found a large town. When I saw this, I decided it was best to check it out a bit and released some of my Scouter automatons to see what was going on in that town. It didn't take long to figure out they were preparing for a festival that would probably happen later this afternoon and I knew it'd be the perfect place to take my family for the evening since we did come here to experience the culture of this land. After that I decided to go in and check it out which brings us to now, with me making my way down the path towards the village with my grootslang coat taking the form of a kimono, my kappa shell helmet on my head and Toothless in my coats shadow.

I slowly made my way into the village and looked around to see various food stoles being set up along with a few game booths and a small puppet show for the kids. All in all, it looked like a good time and a perfect place for my family to enjoy a bit of fun while taking in a bit of the countries culture so I was definitely going to bring my family for a night of good food and fun. It was then I was brought out of my thoughts by an elderly man with a bald top, the hair around his sides tied into a ponytail and a long beard, wearing a light grey kimono with white wrap and getta shoes, walking up to me and saying.

"Hello stranger and what brings you to our little town?" I smiled at the old man not feeling any bad intentions from him other than curiosity.

"Me and my family, are camping in a clearing a few miles away and I was curious about what was going on in the town."

"Oh, we're preparing for our summer festival." I nodded. "So, if you don't mind a little more of this old man's curiosity, you don't seem to be from this land." I shook my head.

"No, me and my family aren't from this land but we're doing some travelling so the kids can take in some culture from other lands." He smiled before his eyes widened in realization and he laughed.

"Forgive me stranger, I've forgotten my manners." He then bowed. "My name is Daiki, a humble elder who has come to this village to meet with some old friends." I bowed back.

"It's nice to meet you Daiki, I am Hiccup Haddock, a Norseman traveler."

"So, will we be seeing you and your family at the festivities tonight?" I smiled.

"Seems like it'll be fun, so I'll discuss it with my wives."

"Well, I hope we will see you tonight." I smiled and nodded.

"I better head back now if I'm going to be able to make it back in time to enjoy the festivities." He then frowned.

"Just be careful my young friend, we've had reports of bandits roaming around and they might see you as an easy target." I smiled.

"And I'll enjoy teaching them not to underestimate their targets." With that said I took off out of the village to a place where I could release Toothless and then take off.

Late afternoon

It's been a few hours since I found out about the summer festival and flew home so I could begin discussing the possibility of going with the family and to prepare for the festival by putting on some local clothing. Now I was once again making my way down the path towards the village except this time I was with my family with Blanca wearing her normal attire, Astrid wearing a sky-blue kimono with a light blue wrap, Hadasa wearing a light green kimono with a vine pattern on it and a dark green wrap, Brant wearing a dark forest green kimono with brown wrap and sweet little Chara was wearing a pink kimono with a cherry blossom pattern and light red wrap. When we reached the entrance to the village I saw that it was a whole lot livelier than when I was here earlier with all sorts of stalls now open to sell their goods with games for the children to play and different types of shows for all to enjoy. Along with these stalls there were multiple decorations hung up all around the buildings with multiple lanterns of various colors and shapes lighting the streets that were filled with people in ceremonial clothing of various colors. I could tell the kids were amazed by the sparkle of amazement shining in their eyes while the girls were also showing their amazement at the various stalls and people. I smiled at their looks of shock and said.

"Come on all, let's enjoy the festival." They all shook out of their amazed stupor and we all rushed in to have some fun.

3 hours later

It's been three hours since we arrived and those three hours had been nothing but fun and educational for both me and my family since we'd learnt a lot about the culture and also got to enjoy a ton of games and food we'd never seen or had before. There was never a dull moment with us either enjoying some of the food at the stalls, playing some of the games or simply sitting down on one of the benches and watching the people go by. There were a few downsides though since we were foreigners, we caught a lot of people's eyes with a few of the men giving my wives looks I didn't like in the least but none of them approached us when I gave them a one eyed glare. Fortunately, those running the stalls didn't care about us being foreigners and were happy to do business with us with some even giving free food items to the kids saying how adorable they were.

Now the kids were sat down with a few other kids on floor cushions watching a puppet show with me and the girls sitting behind the kids on benches with the other parents enjoying the show. I kept a close eye on Brant and Chara who now had masks I bought them at the stall selling them with Brant's mask being a dragon mask and Chara's being a cat. I smiled since this was something I wanted for a long time but never got the chance and I'm not talking about seeing the puppet show or enjoying the festival but simply enjoy some of the worlds culture with my family instead of learning about it all alone. It was a lot nicer than I originally thought it would be and I knew we'd be doing this a lot more in the future since was something we all enjoyed. Sadly, it was then or peaceful time was ruined by the sound of screaming coming down the street, ruining the puppet show and my good mood since it meant there was trouble and I might have to be the one to deal with it. I turned to my wives and said.

"Stay with the kids, I'm going to go check this out."

They nodded and rushed down the street against the fleeing people who were trying to get into their houses or trying to find a way out of the village with a lot of them being wounded in some way. When I reached the end of the streets, I found a large group of men, all armed with various weapons with a large bald man with a dragon tattoo on his bare chest, holding a tetsubo over his shoulder, standing at the front of the group with a cruel smile on his face. It wasn't that hard to figure out these were the bandits I'd been warned about and now they were attacking the village during the festival where the people were carrying a lot of money for everything the stalls had. It was then the one leading the bandits pointed his tetsubo at me and said.

"Look at this boys, we've got a foreigner in this pathetic little village who must not have known that you're meant to run away from the armed warriors." I smirked.

"I don't run from a fight with warriors but right now, I don't see any warriors, just a couple of monkeys holding weapons." They all cried in anger and calling for my head which the leader was all too happy to allow.

"Kill him!" The men charged at me as I sighed.

"I can never get a break when I need one." With that said I ran at the charging men.

5 minutes later

I was surrounded by the bandits who were now laying on the ground with various bruises littering their unconscious bodies while I stood across from the leader who was the only one still conscious. The thing is though, he was now using his tetsubo to support his body that was now littered in bruises with a few cuts around his body with one wound above his right eyebrow bleeding into his right eye. I smirked at him and asked.

"Are you done?" He glared at me.

"How are you so strong?" I smirked.

"Sir, you are a normal out of the gutter bandit." I shrugged. "Compared to the other foes I've faced, you're nothing." He growled. "So, tell me, are you done?" He roared and lunged at me.

"I'LL KILL YOU!" I just held up my prosthetic and let out a puff of my knockout gas into his face before stepping to the side to avoid his falling body that was coughing and watched as he fell to the ground unconscious.

"Yeah, you're finished."

It was then the silence was broken by cries of joy and cheers mixed together with a lot of applause and I turned to see the entire village had gathered behind me and were cheering for me. I sighed knowing that my quiet evening with my family at the festival was just destroyed by all these people witnessing me saving them from these bandits in minutes. I sighed and tried to ignore them while I gathered up the bandits and tied them up using my bola's but as I did people began swarming me asking me where I learned to fight, thanking me for my help and other such things. This made restraining the bandits a whole lot more difficult, but I learned to block them out and continue working on restraining my defeated foes. I was brought out of my concentration though by someone pulling on the hem of my coat and turned to see a little girl in an orange kimono with a walking stick in her hand that was supporting her body that I noticed had an injured leg as she said.

"Thankyou for saving our village Mr." I smiled at her and gently patted her head.

"No problem little one but did one of the bandits do this to your leg?" She looked down sadly and nodded making me sigh. "Hold still a minute." She looked up at me confused as the two people who I believed were her parents walked up but before they could do anything, I pulled out my Gange water statue. "Don't worry, this won't hurt a bit." I activated my statue and placed a hand on her allowing it to flow onto her and heal her wound as both her and her parents stared in shock and wonder before the statue returned to me. "Your leg should be fine now but could you do me a favor and gather anyone else who was wounded by the bandits so I can heal them as well since I'm not one to leave people in need." She nodded and ran off as I ran a hand through my hair. "Well so much for an uneventful evening." With that said I got back to work on the bandits.

3 minutes later

Nobodies POV:

Hiccups family watched as he used his Gange water statue to tend to the people who were wounded in this attack by the bandits who were now locked up in the town's dungeon. Blanca smiled at the sight of the man she loved helping a child recover from the wounds the bandits inflicted upon his body, with Hiccup healing him with such a warm and kind smile. She was brought out of her examination when little Chara tapped her face from her place within Blanca's arms gaining her attention before she asked.

"What is it Chara?"

"Why are you smiling at daddy like that?" Blanca smiled at her and turned back to Hiccup who was now helping an elderly man.

"I am just admiring that smile on your fathers face." Her smiled shrunk slightly and turned to one of reminiscing. "I love many things about your father, but that kind and gentle smile is one of the things I treasure most as it is one of the things that made me fall in love with him." She gently began rubbing Chara's back. "And there is so much more that I learn about him with every bit making me fall even deeper in love with him with every passing day." Astrid then walked up nodding.

"I know that feeling all too well, he may be a goof at times, but I wouldn't have him any other way."

Blanca and Hadasa nodded but they weren't the only ones who were watching Hiccup at this time for in a back alley, five old men were watching Hiccup with a critical eye after witnessing Hiccups fight against the bandits and one of these old men was none other than Daiki. The other four men were wearing different colored kimonos with one wearing red with fire patterns on it, one wearing brown with stone patterns, one wearing ocean blue with water patterns and the final wearing steel grey with shuriken patterns on the wrap. It was then the man in red asked.

"Did you all see what I saw?" The man in orange replied.

"If you saw a foreigner take down a group of bandits in a way that involved using moves that were created and belong to our clans." The one in blue then asked.

"But how could someone, a foreigner no less, learn a move from each of our individual clans when outsiders are forbidden from living after witnessing even one of our clans unique combat moves." The one in steelgrey replied.

"I don't know but I believe it best we find out before ending his life." The one in orange then asked.

"But how could we do that when it was easy to tell that he was holding back against those bandits." It was then for the first time, Daiki spoke.

"Leave it to me, I have spoken with him before and will see if I can coerce a few answers out of him the next time he visits this village." They each nodded as the one in steel grey said.

"I hope you're right for I fear that should the techniques of our clans be taught to our enemies by him, then our foes will have no troubles in defeating our warriors and all our hard work to rebuild the five great clans from scratch shall be undone." The others nodded and then one by one, retreated into the shadows whileDaiki watched Hiccup help the people of the village recover.

"I am sorry Hiccup but if you prove to be a threat to all our hard work, then we shall have no choice but to kill you." He closed his eyes. "I will do my best to make it a quick and painless death for both you and your family." With that said, he to disappeared into the shadows.

1 hour later

I was sitting on a bench with my family with multiple villagers on all sides but I am happy to say, none of them were looking at us and were instead looking at the night sky that was now lit with multiple colored sparks made from the fireworks that signaled the end of the festival. I had to admit, despite the bandit attack we all had a pretty good time and knew we'd have to come visit this place again during the festivals since they were fun and Brant even won a little wooden pig for Chara and a small knife for himself at the ring toss booth. For now, though, I was happy to enjoy the firework display before taking my family home for a goodnight sleep after tucking the kids in to their own beds and then joining my wives in our own bed.

2 days later

I was once again back in the village but this time, I was alone with Toothless in my shadow cloak and my family back at home while I did a bit of shopping from the regular shops. Sadly, considering the events at the festival I got a lot of attention with the people bowing to me when they saw me and the shop keepers giving me big discounts on the things I bought from their stores. Now I was sitting down at a small restaurant, enjoying a bowl of one of the local foods, known as 'ramen' which I had to admit was pretty delicious and I was definitely going to need to learn the recipe. It was then I was brought out of my thoughts by a familiar voice asking.

"Mind if this old man joins you at your table?" I smiled and turned to see the smiling face of Daiki looking at him with his own bowl of ramen in hand.

"I don't mind at all Daiki." He smiled in thanks and sat across from me.

"Thank you for your kindness Hiccup but I was also hoping to ask you some questions about what happened with those bandits at the festival." I shrugged.

"I've got no secrets so ask away, but you may end up shocked with more questions and a large headache since that's what normally happens when people ask me questions that involve my fights."

"I have a great number of years Hiccup, at this point in my life, there is very little that would shock me." I looked at him uneasily.

"Well in my life, I guarantee that I've seen and done things that would leave you standing still as a statue in shock." He chuckled and sipped his drink.

"Then by all means, let's begin." And with that, our question and answer session began.

Back at the palace

Nobodies POV:

Chara was sitting in the middle of the garden while playing with her bunny and feeling pretty down since her papa was out in town, her mamas were busy preparing for tonight's dinner and her big brother was in the training room with Fire training with pole weapons. This left little Chara all alone with nobody to play with so who could blame her for being so down since back on the island, if everyone was too busy then she could still go play with the animals but here there was only the Koma Inu and they weren't too playful. It was then as she made her bunny bounce did a shadow land on her and she looked up to see Wind looking down on her before he kneeled and placed a hand on her head as if to ask her what was wrong. Chara frowned looked down as she said.

"I'm lonely, there's nobody to play with." Wind gently tilted her head up to look at him and gently shook his head to show he didn't believe her before gesturing for her to continue showing that he knew there was more to her sadness. "I keep thinking about daddy and how he took on those bad men in the village and how hard Brant is training since then and how I'm not like my big brother." She looked down again. "I'm weak and can't do anything to help fight." Tears began forming in her eyes. "All I am is a weak little girl who needs to be protected since I can't protect anyone." Wind gently tilted her back up and wiped the tears from her eyes before pulling out a single kunai before he offered it to her and she hesitantly took it before he stood back up and then threw a kunai at a tree and then gestured for Chara to do the same. "You want me to throw the knife."

He nodded before Chara did as she was told but her grip on the knife was wrong as was the way she threw the weapon, so it didn't even make it halfway to the tree. Chara pouted but Wind placed his left hand on her shoulder while offering her another kunai with his right and this time before she threw it, he adjusted her grip. This kunai did go further and although it still didn't reach the tree, Chara smiled before Wind offered her another kunai and although Chara didn't realize it at the time, this was the beginning of a long journey that would change her into the strong woman she was always meant to be.

Back with Hiccup

Hiccups POV:

I finished off my ramen as Daiki stared at me and said.

"So, you are telling this old man that the moves you learnt to combat the bandits were taught to you by the founders of the Rushing Water, Silent Wind, Flaming Forest, Crushing Earth and Metal Blade ninja clans?" I nodded. "The five strongest ninja clans ever to form in the land of Japan?" I nodded once more. "Forgive me for saying this Hiccup but that's not possible as the leaders were wiped out with their clans by-"I decided to cut in then and said.

"By the demon lord Akuhei." His eyes widened.

"You know of the demon lord and what he did?" I nodded.

"Hard not to when I'm the one who killed him, and it wasn't too long ago that he was revived, and I was forced to end him again." Daiki stared at me before shaking his head out of shock and disbelief. "Hiccup, even if that is true, how could you have learned from the ninja if they were killed."

"Akuhei was a demon lord and cruel one at that but he was also smart and knew he could use the ninja masters and their skills so he captured their souls and imprisoned them in bodies he made, enslaving them so they would spend the rest of eternity acting as his personal guard and assassins." I then smirked and picked up my cup of water. "At least until I killed him for the first time." I took a sip of my drink. "They pledged loyalty to me to thank me for killing their enslaver." Daiki sighed and shook his head.

"I am sorry Hiccup but I'm finding this hard to believe." I shrugged.

"I understand but, in my life, stranger things have happened." He raised an eyebrow. "Long story!" He nodded.

"So, do you intend to pass on these teachings to others?"

"Only my family members and even then, it's only done with the consent of my ninja since they are very secretive of their clans techniques and I respect that." He nodded.

"That is good of you but still I would have liked to see how the demon lord Akuhei was defeated." I smiled until I noticed the sun was going down.

"Maybe the next time we meet since for now, I have to get home before it gets dark." I stood up. "It was nice talking to you Daiki and I'd like to do it again some time in the future." He smiled.

"The feelings mutual my young friend." With that said I took off.

Nobodies POV:

Daiki watched as Hiccup disappeared into the crowd but as he did, he wondered if what he had been told about Akuhei being killed and the ninja masters now being under his command, was true. If it was then the secrets of the clans were safe as the masters wouldn't teach them to just anyone other than those who knew how important their techniques were to the clans. Along with this, if Akuhei was destroyed then all the lives that were lost when he attacked the clans may rest in peace with their deaths being avenged. Daiki knew there was good chance Hiccup hadn't been lying as he could hear his heartbeat and it did not increase the way peoples hearts do when they lie but he might have been using a technique to control his heartbeat so he could not be sure. For now though, he needed to inform the others and get their thoughts on what should be done next to handle this situation since if it were true, Hiccup could either be the key to fully reviving their clans or the force that will condemn them to be nothing more than names in a book. With this in mind, the elderly man took off.

5 days later

Hiccups POV:

It's been five days since I last saw Daiki and those days had been pretty peaceful with me just enjoying my remaining vacation time with my family. Now like all good things, our vacation in Japan has come to an end which brings us to now, with me and my family standing in front of the portal door and Chara giggling in my arms as I asked.

"Have a good time princess?" She nodded.

"Can we come back again?" I smiled.

"Of course, but let's stay home for a few more weeks before we decide to return." She nodded as we made our way through the portal door and through the door leading to my island as I muttered. "Back to the grind." And it was true since now vacation time was over and it was time to get back to my regular life but what it held in the future; I had no idea but that's what made life interesting.

AN: And that brings an end to another calm chapter which I hope you all enjoyed and will review kindly to since I won't be writing again until Sunday. Now you're probably wondering why, and the answer is I've put up a new poll which will be going down on Sunday night but what this poll is, is something you'll have to read for yourself and then vote on it. For now, though I feel that I should mention that I was a little worried that nobody liked the last chapter since reviews took so long but I'm glad you guys liked it. Anyway, till next time stay safe, review kindly and have a nice day.