"Aaron, Aaron," Mike bellowed. "You’re spacing out again"

"I wasn't spacing out," I retorted. "I was simply lost in thought."

"Well, snap out of it and we have work to do. It's already two o'clock, rush hour is imminent, and this establishment will soon be teeming with customers."

"I'm aware," I acknowledged as I headed towards the kitchen to ready for the impending influx of patrons."

My restaurant may not exude a luxurious aura, yet it does not matter as customers come for the food. I have savored my own dishes countless times and they hold significant value to me. The rush hour was relatively brief, but it left me drained and longing to end the day when someone arrived.

"Excuse me, I am looking for the manager" she asked with a strange voice, it was soft and gentle but I could tell it wasn’t real.

"Well you are looking right at him," I replied.

"Great because that's who I'm looking for”. she said with enthusiasm."I was advised that if I want the best fried chicken around here, then I should ask specifically for you."

"In that case, please thank whoever suggested that to you and let me get right on it." As I headed towards the kitchen to prepare her meal, something felt peculiar about her demeanor. Perhaps it was merely my imagination due to having had some shots earlier; however, upon hearing her whisper "I've found him", doubts started creeping up on me regarding this woman's true intentions. Hoping against hope that my past would not catch up with me through her arrival at my establishment today,I stared at her intently even though Mike thought otherwise: "She's beautiful alright; no need to keep staring- gives off creepy vibes".

As soon as she finished eating the roast chicken, which took considerable effort from myself alone in preparation,she promptly left.I fervently hoped never again will our paths cross since she seemed like trouble - either overthinking or maybe intuition told of an impending calamity.

The stress-filled workday ended. I began locking up. It wasn't long I started heading towards home, I became aware of being followed by someone unknown.Attempting several turns did nothing as he persisted doggedly behind.Finally luring him into an alleyway where upon he fell into a trap set by myself,I confronted him:

"Who are you? What is your business?"

"I just want us to talk," he pleaded.

"I am afraid listening isn't one of my strong suits."

Without further ado,I lunged forward launching a punch,but he deftly blocked while jumping back declaring:"Fighting is unnecessary unless provoked".

I laughed madly upon hearing this sentence. "So you think you can beat me easily, do you?"

"Yes, I do"

"Then let's test that theory, shall we?"

Without saying another word, I rushed at him unsheathing my kunai from my arm strap, slashing at him with my kunai and he dodged just as I had predicted. I quickly aimed at his stomach to make him think I was going to hit him and just as I had hoped, he concentrated his defence at his stomach only to feel a painful impact on his face.

My father used to assert that a man's fighting ability could be judged by his initial punch, and he was not mistaken. It became evident from the outset of this altercation that the opponent possessed only basic knowledge of martial arts as evidenced by his efforts to evade it.

"What in God's name! You've hit me on my face”, he moaned.

"I believed you declared victory would be yours."

"Enough, all of you," she interjected sharply.

It can be vexing to disregard one's intuition, only to have it materialize into reality. I discerned that she was a harbinger of misfortune from the very first glimpse, and lo and behold, there stood my purveyor of fried chicken, emerging from obscurity.

"Ah, my esteemed purchaser of fried fowl," I remarked.

"My name is Lily," she replied in a voice that was both calming and commanding, betraying the weight of her leadership role and personal struggles.

"I see you took out Luke with ease," she gestured towards Luke, whom I presumed to be her second-in-command.

"I am here, you do realise that right." Luke interjected.

"If it's not too much trouble, would you excuse us for a moment?" Lily requested politely but firmly as she sought a private conversation with me."

"Why?" Luke inquired, instantly realizing his mistake as he was met with a fierce glare. "Fine. No need fir the death stare."

"What do you want with a solitary restaurateur such as myself?" I questioned.

"So you believe that a lonesome restaurant owner can accomplish this task," she retorted, gesturing towards Luke. "You are greatly overestimating the capabilities of a mere restaurateur."

"I don’t have any business the both of you nor do I want to," I declared, turning away from the group. "It's about your father," she interjected, and a multitude of emotions coursed through my body: fear, trauma, anger, pain. However, I maintained an outward composure and concealed any hint that hearing my father's name alone instilled terror within me. "My father is dead;died in a car accident ," I retorted. "I am not referring to your adoptive father but rather your biological one," she clarified. "He is the one who expired in a car accident

"So that was the story you told everyone just so that you could as you say it have a normal life, How amusing!. You should know that our world would be much safer if he were indeed killed in such an accident. Are you aware of what he has transformed into?"

"What do you mean by that?"

"So, are you implying that you were not aware of your father's tyrannical actions in which he has enslaved multiple clans?

“I always knew my father was merciless but never did I imagine he would go to such lengths for power. He is willing to resort to mass murder just to obtain more power. Honestly, I am not surprised. He was a terrible father who made sure I witnessed the execution of anyone foolish enough to betray him or cross him”.

"I assume this means you are unaware of the rumor about him searching for the elemental champions," she said.

"Are you serious?" I laughed so hard that I fell down. My father has always been a man of reason and reality; he does not believe in legends or myths. So, it came as a shock when I heard that he was looking for mythological guardians with powers bestowed upon them by gods to protect the earth. "Are you certain my father is seeking out a myth?"

"That is not why we're here; we're here because we want you to join our resistance."

"No."

"Please."

"No."

"People will die if we don't fight back."

"Do these people matter to me?"

"Well, no..."

I smiled at her and said firmly, "No." She sighed and pulled out a piece of paper from her pocket. "This is where we'll be staying. If you change your mind, come meet us here." Taking pity on her futile efforts, I took the paper knowing full well my answer would remain unchanged.

As I turned away from her into the darkness of the alleyway one last time, Luke and Lily were engaged in conversation behind me.

"Do we really need him?" asked Luke.

"We do, and you know why," replied Lily.

"He still gets under my skin though," complained Luke.

"I couldn't care less; if it bothers you too much then feel free leave," retorted Lily bluntly before adding snidely: "So rude."

\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*

As I approached the threshold of my abode, a multitude of thoughts flooded my mind: the state of affairs at my restaurant, the current status of my financial situation, and the absurd proposal presented to me by those foolish individuals who believe that I would abandon everything I have worked tirelessly to establish in order to engage in combat with my own father. Retrieving a key from within my pocket, I proceeded to insert it into the lock when suddenly - as if anticipating my arrival - the door swung open and revealed an unexpected figure.

Lily Castine was a slim light woman. She possessed a slender stature and was quiet busty. She had dark hair, brown eyes and had the face of an early teenager.

She was an ex-military woman and her time on the front lines had given her trauma but that did not make her stand down. Eventually she decided to settle and have a calm life and so she departed back to her home town only for her to find out it had been overrun-ed and taken over by the Harauki clan.

She swore that no matter what she would liberate her town and so the Archangels, a rebel group with the sole purpose of defeating the Harauki was created by her.

Now, she faces her most important mission-convincing the son of the tyrant that enslaved her home to join her and even though her first meeting with him didn’t go as thought she had hope.

After their encounter with Aaron her and Luke had decided to spend the night at a nearby motel.

They arrived at the poorly structured motel and entered to check in. They met the receptionist

“What do you want” he said tiredly and frustrated as if he hated his job.

“We would like a room please” Luke said.

The man turned to his back, picked one of the several keys that hung on the wall and handed one over to Luke. “You’re in room 206”.

“Thank you” Luke said, “Would you mind giving us directions”.

“Go out, take the stairs, first door on your right”.

They walked outside and viewed a janitor but paid no attention to him. They walked up the staircase and Lily looked down at the janitor once again only to notice something on his neck. It was a snake. She realized immediately that they were in imminent danger.

“We need to get out of here” she said to Luke who was surprised at current demand.

She held Luke by the hand and dragged him down the stairs. She looked at the janitor who pretended not to notice them and maneuvered their way to the back of the motel.

“The Harauki, their here” she said

“Wait if they found us, what of Aaron”

“Well,we just have to have hope that the future leader of the Harauki can take of himself”.

\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*\*

I opened the door slowly and hoped that I had just forget to lock it. I entered my apartment and looked around and smelt something. Someone was in the kitchen cooking and whatever the person was cooking had a very arousing odour. I then remembered that there was an intruder in my house and pulled myself back to reality.

I headed to the kitchen while holding my kunai. I kicked-open the door an threw my kunai at the first figure I saw. The person easily dodged it and continued cooking.

I started assessing the person and I assumed the person was male due to the lack of bulging in the chest region.

“Assessing me already. You truly are the future king of the Harauki. Don’t worry you won’t find anything”.

I was stunted. I have always been able to assess everybody but he was different. It was like he taught himself how to hide everything that could give him out.

“What do you want”, I said trying to buy time.

“Your father wants you”, he said while bring out a transparent plate from the cabinet. “Food for the road”.

“I am not going back”, I said.

Upon hearing my statement he burst into laughter. “Once the Harauki wants something they send me their harbinger to deliver it for them and I always do no matter what. So now lets stop the chit-chat and lets skip to the part where I try to take you, you struggle but eventually I defeat you and I drag your stupid ass back to the door step of the clan.

He was not lying. Based on my lack of training, my fatigue and his own personal skill that I am not aware of, it was obvious that I was going to lose.But I was not going down without a fight.

I rushed to the kitchen to get a knife for defence but he was faster and caught me mid-way. He held my hand, dragged me towards him and used his other hand to punch me in the face but luckily I defended. He released my hand and hit me in the stomach and the impact sent me flying backwards in the direction of the kitchen.

I felt pain in my stomach but I was closer to the kitchen, closer to my goal. He jumped up and raised his leg. He was planning to hit me in the face. I quickly turned away and slightly missed his kick. I got up and ran to the kitchen and threw random things at him - pots, pans, knifes, fruits, even chips. Most didn’t hit him but the ones that did slowed him down.

I looked to my right and there it was, the box but it was on top a cabinet. I stretched my hand towards the box and fell it down and some of the items it contains fell out and with that I felt fulfilled. The only person that can save me now is Lily.

I turned to him and immediately he landed a punch on my face. I fell to the ground and passed out and unfortunately my life was in Lily’s hands.