Chapter Two

'Guardian'

The merchant arrived at his working place.It was past afternoon,still raining.He removed all of the things in his wagon and pulled Shakan and threw him down. "Oye!!Get up!!",the merchant yelled.He dragged him to his warehouse and threw him down."Listen up,you gotta do everything I say you got that?Now stand up" "Eyy,what's with the kid?",a friend of his approached,he was brown haired. "Our new slave,got him from the head of the village of Weist,for five hundred gold coins" "Is he worth it?Five hundred?" "It was the f***king head of the Weist what was I supposed to do?Plus...we might need a spare hand" "Oye I said stand up you shit!!",he yelled,Shakan struggled to stand,but he couldn't. "It seems like he can't,its like he's weak or something" "Mmm,okay kid listen up,you gotta get those fifty boxes by the wall inside and drag them all outside beside the wagon.When you done I'll give you a piece of bread and some water",the merchant ordered. "Slave or no slave he's just a piece of scum,I've got some deliveries to take care of",his friend left. "Now get to work!!",he yelled as Shakan began to crawl to the boxes pushing them with his feet every single one of them outside.Night arrived,he was given a quarter piece of bread and a cup of cold water.He fed himself inside the warehouse at night but he was never full.The food he was given wasn't enough.He was shivering,it was chilly in the warehouse,he looked for something to cover himself but there was nothing.He finally found a cloth,but it was wet,with urine.He realized that he had no choice and he covered himself and drifted to sleep.He woke up the following day and he was assigned another task for the day.A month passed,same routine same food.On the next day afternoon.He was sitting leaning with his back against the walls of the warehouse,awaiting for his boss to arrive.He was a bit sleepy,his eyes were semi-closed.People were walking by looking at him,others were laughing at him.A woman of early thirties walked by.She was covering herself with a cloth from her head to her feet.She halted and looked back at him for a moment with a sudden glare.She turned around,she approached the entrance of the warehouse,she looked around then she returned outside,she kneeled and faced him. "Hey,....kid,what's your name?",she asked.Shakan slowly faced her.Then he faced back down."Are you working for Hechert?",she asked.He didn't respond.She narrowed her eye brows."Can you walk?",she asked.He shook his head.She lifted him up,he fidgeted and started to panick."Calm down,kid,I'm not gonna hurt you",she said,she entered into a nearby alley. "Oye!!",a male voice called out behind her.She stopped. "There's only one person who talks like that",she said."Herchert" "Kashirama,to what do I owe this pleasure?",Herchert the merchant asked.She turned around. "Don't mind me I'm just passing through",she said. "I don't mind at all,but you might have a possession that belongs to me",Herchert replied. "Care to elaborate",she said. "That piece of scum in your hands,...he's mine" "Him?Why?What kind of work does he do for you?" "He's my slave" "But he doesn't have the strength to work nor to walk" "Oye!!Is that my problem?",he asked.Suddenly Kashirama's face changed.Her face glew with anger. "Listen here Herchert,find another one because this one's coming with me" "I'm afraid I can't do that",he said as four of his men approached behind him backing him up. "Are you serious right now?You really wanna pull this stunt?" "You might be a badass but five against one is like a wolf against fifty sheep",he said with a grin.She placed Shakan down against the wall of a building. "Five against one?I'll take those odds",Kashirama said.The four guys stood forward,withdrew their machetes ready to attack.Kashirama grasped her katana sword by her waist and stood her stance.There was a sudden moment of silence.Then she launched with an intense massive speed from her position like the wind as Shakan covered his eyes blocking the wind.Herchert was completely shocked staring at her already in front of him with her katana red sword pointed below his chin.He then saw his four guys behind her bleeding,then they all dropped down. "Oye oye,you've made your valid point okay,no wonder they call you the great launcher",Herchert said with his hands up."He's yours,that's what you desire huh?But for your own information,the kid's feeble and useless,good luck with that piece of crap".Kashirama walked back and picked him up. "No....he's strong",she said looking back at him over her shoulder then she left while Herchert was left with a surprised face about her response.Kashirama took him to her home through the woods.She was holding him like a baby in her arms,Shakan looked up to her while she was walking. The sight of her was truly magical and he was somehow amazed by her beauty.The sun hid in the clouds for a couple of hours.She arrived home and placed him down.She lived alone.She took off her cloth,revealing her beautiful brown long hair. She had two rings on her right hand,the silver one on her fore finger and the gold one on her middle finger.There were red marks and burns on the same arm up to her shoulder.She placed the back of her hand on Shakan's forehead testing his temperature. "Mmm,fever",she reached a bowl of rice and made him sit.She cupped his cheek. "Hey,everything is going to be alright,eat this...I'll pour you some water too.Its just,my leftover rice from last night,I wasn't really hungry,I had just killed a demon so,my appetite was...kind of stifled",she poured water into her wooden cup and gave it to him.He started to eat."I'm going to gather some herbs for your fever alright,stay here,you're safe,don't go anywhere....alright?",she said and he nodded. She departed and faded into the woods.After a couple of hours she arrived back,she saw him laying down and she sighed with concern. "Heyy,I'm back,I've got your medicine",she said preparing the herbs.She boiled them and poured the water into the cup. "Drink this...",she made him drink.He drank and frowned with disgust attempting to spit. "Uh huh,I know its distasteful but you gotta drink the whole thing otherwise you won't survive the sickness,...when I get back I want to see that cup empty alright?I'm gonna make a hot bath for you,..you reek",she said as she stepped outside.Shakan finished his cup and Kashirama returned back. "Mm,well done kiddo,now time for a bath...can you wash yourself?",she asked and he shook his head with a bit of sadness."Alright,not to worry,I'll wash you then".She arranged his water and began to wash him deliberately with a towel. "So,any family?Mother?Father?Siblings?",she asked and he looked aside."Oh....its okay if you refuse to talk about it...uhm hey,what's your name by the way?",she asked.He grabbed a piece of soap and wrote his name down. "Shh Sha Shakan,Shakan,woah,that's....a beautiful name",she said and he smiled a bit.It was actually the first time he smiled.He touched her right hand which was holding a towel and brushed her rings along with her burn marks on her arms. "Oh...these?Well,its..kind of a complex matter,I'll tell you all about it when you're older",she said.Days passed staying with him,feeding him,teaching him to read and to write as well.Five years passed and he was thirteen years old,strong and fit just like any other boy,he could now stand,walk,run and talk as well. His face was in its right place of a healthy kid with his beautiful green eyes and his red hair which was curly in style.He started to assist around her house and inside with her works.While he was alseep at night he heard someone entering in the middle of the night,it was Kashirama.It seemed like she was injured at the back of her right shoulder. "Kashirama?",he spoke. "Hey hey,you awake?Sorry for waking you up",she said and sat on her chair with a candle on the table with some herbs and a bandage and her red katana sword on the table with blood on it. "Are you hurt?" "I'm fine,go back to sleep",she said rubbing her wound groaning a bit. "What about the rings and those burns?You said you will tell me when I'm older,I'm older now",he said. "No,not yet,when you're a bit older",she said. "But why,just tell me I won't tell anyone" "I said when you're older!!",she yelled,then she sighed,"I'm sorry,its just,...I'm going through a lot right now.I promise,I'll tell you everything okay?Now go back to sleep",she said and he went to sleep.Another five years passed,he was now eighteen and Kashirama was now forty-two years old. His existence wasn't known by his parents nor anyone who knew him in the past.They were both sitting having their lunch at noon.The weather was fair and the birds were chirping in the forest nearby.Shakan drank his tea and there was a sudden gloomy expression on his face then he placed the cup on the table. "My parents still live,...I think",he said as Kashirama froze with her cup on her lips.She placed it down and faced him paying attension. "I have no sibling,I was the only child born in the family.My village is the Weist.Since swordsmenship is compulsory in that village my parents had high hopes for me of being a strong swordsman,but I disappointed them.I was born a delicate pitiless child,I had no strength.It was like I had no bones at all and my face was like an atrocious little monster",he explained.Kashirama listened with concern on her face. "My parents hated me,even my own mother.My father sometimes beat me for unessential motives,he was the head of the village and they both didn't feed me like I should have been fed and yet food was always sufficient since he was the head and since they were both the survivors of the day of the red sky. Everyone despised me,other kids bullied me and then out of the blue I found myself being sold to a filthy merchant by my own parents.Giving me away,like a piece of garbage.So I started working for him,since I couldn't walk I pushed them boxes I was assigned with my feet and my reward was a piece of bread and water. Another day I was resting against the walls dosing wanting to sleep,waiting for the merchant,that is when you found me and I'm so glad that you did",he explained facing down in his cup.Kashirama took a moment of silence while shocked.She then placed her right hand on the table. "You see these rings?My late father gave them to me when he breathed his last breath.They were forged by a demi-god called Pathius and Siere,they were created for war between demi-gods ages ago.Word has it Siere offered Pathius her silver ring to use it during the demi-god war battle along with his gold ring.Pathius's hand was cut during the war and his hand which had the two rings fell down to the land of men in times of war. My father was in that war of men on earth,he removed the rings and hid them,he was quite aware of their power so he did not use them because his heart was not fit to use their power.My father the god of launch,that was the name he was given.He launched with massive speed like light,he was the most powerful swordsman in all nations. So he trained me every single day for me to master his ability to launch.My mother was devoured by the Demon King together with my little sister,my precious sister",she clenched her fist facing down. "That is why my father trained to a pulp.That is why I trained to a pulp,I'm going to avenge them both and every other individual who was devoured and free their souls so that they can rest in peace.This silver ring on my fore finger represents the silver blade of the demi-god Siere,also called the silver tongue sword.Its extremely sharp and it strikes without mercy.This gold one on my middle finger represents the golden sword of the demi-god Pathius,also called the golden angel",she explained. "Woah,I bet they're really stupendous yes?",Shakan said. "I wouldn't refer them as that",she said as he narrowed his brows a bit."This is the outcome of using the swords when your heart isn't compatible of using them",she showed him the burn marks on her arm.He touched them,they were no regular burn marks,they were red and pink in colour. "I used them once,at first,I wanted to believe that I was compatible,that my heart was compatible of wielding the swords.I was only a teenager,driven by hatred.Revenge,that's the only thing planted in my mind.I used the swords for a week,I ignored the after effects of the burning pains,killing demons with the swords. Hell they're freaking badass alright,but they're heavy.So I renounced my use of them after a week,I couldn't stand the pain no more.Plus if I had kept using them,they would have killed me slowly and I would have gained nothing. That is why I combat with my katana instead,created by a great blacksmith,a friend of my father's.Every single day I go into the woods searching for a powerful demon that can lead me to the Demon King.But its not that convinient.These perky demons are entirely committed to their freaking boss,they won't spit a single thing about him or where to find him.His minions keep on getting in my way and its infuriating",she said. "Oh,so yesterday?-" "Was one of my nights yes,I was injured while battling this huge demon tiger.It scratched its claws against my back shoulder.I will not stop until I set them free.As long as I'm still breathing I'll not stop",she said and there was a sudden silence between them.She finally stood up and collected their finished cups and plates. "Training starts tomorrow",she said walking away. "Wait what?!"

Luckily Shakan has been adopted by a well known brilliant sword wielder Kashirama and helped him regain his strength throughly.With Kashirama's aim to pass the rings to Shakan.Since he was unfortunate with his body,will he be able to learn how to use a blade?

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