The sun begins to set as Leina, Senra, Takemi, and Jack can be seen walking through a more quiet part of the village, seemingly going back to Leinas place.
"How far is your place from here?" Asks Jack, waiting eagerly to meet the rest of Leinas family.
"We're almost there." Leina says, assuring Jack to keep his patience, with him responding…
"Good! My legs are starting to hurt."
"So…about that guy…the one named Kyuya right? Who is he?" Asks Leina, thinking back on one of her previous conversations with Jack.
"I don't know. When he looks at me, he gives me weird looks. He's also been asking me weird questions about your clan before I even met you."
Jack responds, scratching his head. This would lead Leina to think to herself.
"If I don't know who he is, how does he know me? How does he know about my clan? How does he know any of this? Who is telling him this?"
"That guy is a weirdo!" Takemi exclaims, with Jack following up with his own response.
"Exactly!"
Senra would listen in while she carries Kuro. She would then chime in, giving her input and her own idea involving Kyuya.
"Maybe I could talk to him and ask him questions. We need to figure out how he knows this."
"You could, but I don't know…I have a bad feeling about him. He could be a threat…he could be dangerous." Leina responds.
"Maybe…but it's important that our affiliation with the Tensura clan doesn't become widespread. If that happens…everyone will know." Senra would then say
"That means we could be hunted…I know." Leina says. Suddenly, Kuro can be heard crying while Senra holds him.
Jack would look at Kuro, with Kuro suddenly reaching out for Senra. Senra would hold Kuro in her embrace, doing her best to calm him down.
"What's wrong Kuro?" Jack would question with clear worry in his voice.
"Yeah what's wrong?" Senra asks with worry in her face.
"I want mama!" Kuro cries out.
Kuros words only bring silence to Jack, as he struggles to find a response.
"But mother…she's…"
"Bowa Boa!" Kuro would cry out.
"Right…" Jack would respond.
Kuros words would pierce his heart like a knife through butter.
"Your mom is that sushi lady?" Takemi asks curiously.
"No…she's not." Leina would respond.
Notably, Kuro's cries would seize. However, Leina would notice Jack standing still with his head down, not saying a word. With a worried look in her eyes, Leina would walk up to Jack.
"Hey, are you okay?" Leina would ask, looking down at him.
"What do you think, Leina?" Jack responds, his voice shaking and cracking as he lifts his head up to stare back at Leina, with tears streaming down his face.
Without any other words, Leina would reach and hug Jack wholeheartedly. Leina would whisper to Jack, keeping his personal life between themselves.
"I didn't ask for this either, Jack. But we have to be strong. For the village, for its people. I know you want to protect your brother. Your mother will never be forgotten. I bet she wants you to protect your little brother. You say it a lot. Do you want that for your little brother, Kuro?"
In response, Jack would wrap his arms around Leina and hug her tightly.
"Alright, so let's keep going. Besides, we're a team now Jack. You won't ever be alone again. I promise." Leina says, caressing Jack's hair.
"Th-Thank you so much, Leina." Jack would say with tears still streaming down his face.
"Take as much time as you need." Leina would assure Jack.
Takemi would lean towards Senra before asking her a question.
"Hey, is he really that embarrassed over Bowa Boa being his mother?"
Senra looks at Takemi before responding…
"Can you please be quiet?"
"Oh, right…sorry!" Takemi nervously responds.
Jack wipes his tears and looks back up at Leina.
"Are you alright?" Leina would ask.
Jack nods in response. A joyful look could then be seen in Leinas face. In return, Leina would let go of Jack.
"Good, because we're home now." Leina would say as they all stare at a large house up ahead. The house would seemingly not have any lights on.
As they reach the house, Leina would step up and give the door four rhythmic knocks. When this happens, the door opens, giving light to a man that could be seen wearing a joker mask that covers his entire face. Behind the man are seen to be lights that are turned on, highlighting the use of tinted windows on the house.
"Leina! I was wondering where you three ran off t- huh?" The man would look over to see Jack standing awkwardly and Senra holding Kuro in her arms.
"Leina, what did I tell you about bringing strangers to the house?"
The man says with a stern tone.
"He's not a stranger, he's a friend." Leina responds.
"A friend? Don't you remember what happened to Isa?" The man asks.
This question visibly frustrates Leina as she can be seen balling her fists.
"I thought you wouldn't talk about Isa…" Leina says.
The man would kneel down to Leinas level before addressing his thoughts.
"Leina, you're my daughter and I worry about you a lot. All of you. Even the people you bring here. I just want everyone to stay out of harm's way. Please, forgive me for my previous words earlier."
Leina turns, looking back at Jack and Kuro.
"This is our father. His name is Amushi!" Leina exclaims.
Amushi stands back up, looking back at Jack and Kuro.
"So, what are your names?" Amushi asks with authority.
"I'm Jack Sawlendore! And that's Kuro Sawlendore!"
"Sawlendore huh? You two must be the sons of Konori! Great! Come on in!
The kids all begin to walk into the house, with the door shutting on their way in.
Meanwhile, Ren could be seen smoking a cigarette near a bar. Soon, Bowa could be seen walking in Ren's direction with a completely different outfit on. She wears a dark purple cloak, with a pair of glasses.
"You must be bored, not having anything else to do, Bowa Boa. Care to grab a drink with me?" Ren asks.
"No thanks, I'm not a drinker." Bowa responds, trying not to engage in any conversation with Ren
"I should've known you'd say that. You're no fun Bowa." Ren would say.
"That's funny coming from someone who can't handle being told no." Bowa replies, as she begins to pass by Ren.
"Tell me…doesn't it hurt knowing that becoming a cook was your only way of coping with being a complete and total failure?" Ren asks with a sly smirk.
"You never fail to show me just how much you don't understand me. But that's fine. If it means I don't have to fight and go on missions with you anymore, I'd gladly be a cook for the rest of my life. Regardless, I protect Kuro with my life." Bowa would reply with her back still turned to Ren.
Ren would chuckle and inhale the dark toxic smoke, that would be her cigarette, once more before she responds.
"What are you gonna do? Offer food as a peace treaty?" Ren would ask condescendingly, laughing as she does so.
This would only irritate Bowa, causing her to turn around and look Ren in the eyes.
"Shut it, Ren! You act like we weren't in the same squad years back! Besides, I've been training for years! Even after the war! But even if I haven't, I'd still be well prepared to protect him!" Bowa exclaims with conviction.
"I admire that coming from you Bowa. You've only been protecting him for a few weeks, and to feel this strongly for him, I commend it. But how will you protect Kuro against The Branch of Grace?"
"The Branch of Grace?" Bowa would question, never having heard of such a thing until now.
"Indeed. They're a new kind of species with our DNA but not quite. We've only discovered them not too long ago, and I will admit, these creatures are more dangerous than we've originally anticipated. One of them being so strong, it took out an entire squad of scouts and our commander by itself." Ren would confirm.
"So you're saying, they're some sort of mutants in a way?" Bowa would ask with a look of curiosity.
"Correct! But these creatures pose a dangerous threat to outsiders, and not only do they eat humans, the first one we came in contact with was strong enough to obliterate three acres of land in a single attack. But make no mistake, we'll be sending more troops to that area. And this time, we'll be prepared." As Ren would say this, Bowa would only fold her arms, closing her eyes and shrugging, almost disregarding Ren's words completely.
"Oh please, I can take those things on, myself." Bowa replies. But this would only make Ren chuckle in response.
"Oh yeah? You and what army?" Ren asks, mocking Bowa's confidence.
"I don't need one. I'm not like you, Ren." Bowa comments, almost insulting Ren's strength, but it only makes Ren laugh.
"Oh really? You want to tell me that at your age? It's quite silly coming from you really." Ren would say, still downplaying Bowas words.
"Of course. After all…this isn't the only version of myself I can portray. You forget my control over my essence. It's far more controlled than yours, and you know it."
As Bowa finishes saying this, she closes her eyes before her body becomes coated in a purple aura. As this goes on, the aura would fade away and as this happens, Bowa would be revealed to look like a younger version of herself. Ren would be baffled, as she's seen her morph herself like this.
"You…can do that?" Ren asks with a shocked expression on her face.
Bowa would close her eyes and smirk.
"Don't underestimate me Ren. All your time serving this nation, you've always underestimated me. It's about time I show you who's wrong." Bowa says, turning back around and facing away from Ren.
"How nonsensical! My techniques are more well done then your cooking will ever be! Besides, you're one of the biggest failures this nation has ever seen. It's almost as if you're destined to fail! That's why you've been banished from fighting. Now you work as a servant of the village because that's all you can be. You were made to serve. Isn't that right, Akita Boa?" Ren responds, irritated and full of herself. But this response would only fuel Bowas anger towards Ren.
"I never wanted to fight, Ren. I was forced to. Don't you get it? I never wanted to kill anyone. So of course I was bound to fail. All I wanted to do was to feed those that were starving. So don't talk about me like you know who I am. Because I find happiness in feeding those that starve." Bowa says, turning her head to look back at Ren, her body still faced away from Ren.
As she intimidatingly stares back at Ren, she would give her final thoughts before walking away.
"And dare you call me by that name again, I'll carve out your tongue and make you say it again!"
As Bowa walks off, Ren could be seen with an angered look as she balls up her cigarette in her hand and burns it to ashes, using her essence. She opens her hand, allowing the ashes to blow away in the wind before giving her final thoughts.
"Once our search begins, we'll see how well you do against them." Ren says as Bowa walks off.
As this goes on, Jack, Kuro, Senra, Leina, Takemi, and Amushi can all be seen eating bowls of ramen at a large dinner table, as the night begins to approach.
"So…tell me, have you made any other friends while you've been at the academy?" Asks Amushi as he slurps on his ramen.
This would genuinely make Jack think for once. He crosses his arms and thinks to himself.
"Hmm…not really. I want to be just like my father! He's strong and smart! He took down the mighty Hanabi Makigore and saved everyone!" Jack says with a look very proud and determined.
"Ahh, I see! You remind me of my daughter, Leina! She wants to become a successor of our clan, climbing the ranks and becoming the strongest kunoichi. But of course, she thinks about her family first before that goal." Amushi replies.
"Family always comes first!" Leina would happily say.
"Always!" Senra chimes in.
"You never told us you'd be bringing company back home." A woman says in the distance.
As Jack would turn to look at the woman, he sees that she has brown eyes just like Leinas, and black hair. Her beauty would be truly telling. She wears a pink robe and walks towards the dinner table with a smile on her face, while carrying her third daughter. looks to be around Kuros age. The young daughter would look to have long dark hair with a blanket covering her body.
"HIMA! WHAT HAPPENED TO YOU PUTTING A MASK ON WHEN WE HAVE GUESTS?!" Amushi yells out.
This would only make Hima, the mother of Leina, chuckle as she walks over to rub Amushi's hair while she holds their baby.
"Hush, even you didn't know she would be bringing anyone home." Hima says, only making her stare back at Leina as she continues to share her input.
"Next time you will ask for permission to bring people home. Understood?"
"Yes..understood mother. Sorry about that." Leina responds nervously.
"Good!" Hima replies with a smile. She begins to turn, shifting her attention over to Jack.
"You must be Jack Sawlendore. Pleased to meet you! I'm Hima Tensura!" Hima says, waving at Jack.
"Yeah that's me! And over there is my little brother Kuro! He's three years old!" Jack would say, excited to meet another one of Leinas family members.
"Oh he's a cute little guy! And you said his name is Kuro? How funny! My daughter here is also three years old. Her name is Kara!" Hima says with a proud smile on her face.
"Kara huh? That's awesome! Ya know, Leina has this technique that I want to learn! She can fade away when things touch her! It's pretty cool ya know?" Jack says, determined to have new moves and techniques added to his arsenal.
"No…that technique is a hidden technique that derived from our clan." Leina says, eager to keep her ability special.
"Oh whatever! We can still train though! I'm pretty strong myself ya know? Look! I can show you." Jack would say with confidence.
Before anyone knows it, Jack's eyes begin to turn to a brighter shade of blue. But suddenly, Leina grabs Jack's arm and looks him in the eyes with a serious look.
"Not at the dinner table, Jack." Leina says with a serious tone.
"Right…maybe we should do this outside then." Jack insists.
"You heard him!" Amushi buds in.
They all finish up their ramen and begin to walk out of the house into their huge backyard.
"This better be good." Senra would say as they're walking out.
"It won't." Takemi says.
"Shut it Takemi!" Jack would reply.
"Honey, I'll stay inside with Kara. Happy training!" Hima would say to Amushi, waving at him.
"Thank you very much! We'll be back soon!"
As this goes on, a familiar looking kid in a cloak with a hood covering most of his face, can be seen in what can be assumed to be an underground laboratory. He sits on a chair with two hooded figures standing far ahead of him, faced away from him.
"I've encountered intruders." Says the boy
"Oh really? Where did these intruders come from?" Asks one of the hooded figures. His voice would be deep and menacing as he speaks.
"I don't know. They had white cloaks on with sound equipment around them." The boy would confirm.
"Those rats from the village of Tensen!" The hooded figure would exclaim with a noticeable build up of anger.
"Oro found them and slaughtered their squad. I left their bodies there as a warning for anyone else that wants to intrude into our territory." The boy would calmly reply. But this would only bring anger into the hooded figure that the boy is seemingly talking to.
"That's a decision only a fool would make. I'm highly disappointed in you. After the countless training I bestowed onto you, you still manage to give out our location. However, they are the people of Tensen. I wouldn't imagine them to be as dumb as I'd like to believe. Their equipment might have had their location monitored." The figure says.
"What happens if they find us?" The boy asks.
"Then we use Oro to buy us time while we demolish this place." The other figure would say. His voice sounded as if he were in his late teens.
"What about Oro? We can't just leave him here." Says the boy with a worried tone in his voice.
"Oro has fire power that no other one of his kind seems to have. So in that case, he will die here along with this facility, allowing us to escape." Says the older and deep voiced figure.
This causes the boy to grit his teeth, being unable to speak at this point in time.
"Do not weep for these creatures. They've faced fates far worse than death." Says the deep voiced figure.
"But he's like my pet." Says the boy, clearly disheartened by this news.
"This is reality. So take it all in, young one. There are more fascinating creatures in the works. But don't get attached to these worthless, mindless, pitiful creatures. This is what you signed up for. After all, there are far more intriguing creatures that will be far more formidable in the long run. It's only a matter of time." The deep voiced figure says.
The figure looks on at a nearly naked woman in a stasis chamber. She has scars on her arms and legs. She has long dark hair with short clothing, keeping her from being exposed, while a long tube is connected to her mouth and nose, allowing her to breathe.
(Chapter 5 coming soon…)