Chapter 27: His Master

Little Roy is kneeling down with both knees, facing downwards at the floor of his house, and waiting for the man's response. The man who calls the boy. The man has a beard, his hair and eyes are the same as Roy's, and with a serious expression on his face. The man looks at the child and switches his gaze to the sword that he is holding. Then the man looks at Roy again. They approach him. Roy is still kneeling and looking downwards, but this time, more intimidated by the man in front of him.

"Stand up, Roy.", the man ordered.

"Yes, father.", Roy followed.

Roy stands up, still looking down while trying to avoid eye contact.

"Raise your head.", Roy's father ordered again.

Roy looks at his father's eyes. Roy's father is met with seriousness coming from the boy. Though afraid, Roy never looks away at his father. Roy's father smirks, respecting his action to stay brave, and then he looks at the sword that he is holding. The smile disappears and becomes even more serious.

"Your mother and I talked about something last night, and...we decided that you are ready... Since you're the oldest among your little siblings, you will eventually take my position in this clan...and become the new wielder of the Demonic Saber.", Roy's father said to his child.

Roy gulps upon hearing this, deciding to stay quiet, and continues to listen. Roy's father shows him the Demonic Saber.

"This, Roy is our family's treasure. Something that was given to. Something that we must guard. Something that we...must pass on to continue our legacy as wielders of it.", Roy's father added.

Soon his father starts walking around and stops at the window, looking at the village while having some thoughts in his mind. Roy continues to stare at him in silence.

"My grandfather passed this to my father, and my father gave this sword to me, and now...", Roy's father turned around to face him.

"Now, it's yours, Roy.", Roy's father extends it to the little boy.

Roy slowly approaches him and uses 2 of his hands to hold it. The boy's father let's go it. Little Roy is then is overwhelmed by Demonic Saber's weight but soon manages to carry it.

"I-it's heavy...", Roy commented.

"Yes. Yes, it is. When you understand the true meaning of wielding this sword, it would become even heavier than it is, but as an Abellona, you need to bear with the burdens and bear the pain because these things would only make you stronger. Remember this, Roy. Remember this.", his father lectured Roy.

"Yes, father!", Roy responded.

Roy's father smiles at his response and then he looks away.

"I already assigned you to someone who can teach you how to become like us.", Roy's father said.

"Who, father?", Roy asked intently.

"He's your uncle and my brother. Abellona Bakin. One of the only men I could trust to handle you.", his father answered.

"You're not going to train me yourself?", Little Roy asked this sadly.

Roy's father looks at his pleading eyes and then he shakes his head. After that, the boy's father looks away and crosses his arms.

"You know that I'm always busy, Roy.", Roy's father replied.

"Ri-right... I'm sorry for asking a stupid question, father.", Roy was downed by this.

"Go find your uncle. Tell him it's time.", his father ordered him.

"Yes, father...", Roy weakly replies and exits the room.

Roy, carrying the Demonic Saber, starts searching for his uncle who is his new master. The boy steps out of his house and then heads in a certain direction while carrying the heavy sword he navigates through people after people. It's a busy day today, after all. When Roy gets there, he sees a very huge man standing there, guarding the place. The guard of that bar. The minute the guard sees Roy, he instantly knows why the boy's here.

"Looking for your uncle again?", the guard asked.

Roy nods. The man just closes his eyes and just shakes his head while smiling. Then the guard opens the door.

"Follow me.", the guard signaled Roy to get inside.

Roy does what he is told. The very large man walks inside and so does little Roy. Inside, are drunken ninjas after drunken ninjas having a drink after a stressful job that they are given. Among the chattering, Roy hears his uncle and follows it. The huge man sees this and follows the boy, just to protect Roy from these drunken men and women. Suddenly someone grabs the Demonic Saber while it's still in Roy's hand.

"Hey look! I've got a new sword here. Thanks, kid. I'm in need of one.", one of the drunken ninjas said to Roy.

Roy tries to pull it back, but the grip of this man won't budge. Not until the guard intervened. The guard manages to take the Demonic Saber away.

"Go buy your own sword. This one is already owned by this boy over here.", the guard scolded the drunken ninja.

Then the guard gives it back to Roy. Roy smiles in appreciation. The guard smiles back as well. After that, Roy turns around to continue searching for his uncle.

"Chug chug chug chug chug!!", suddenly a bunch of people started yelling.

People start crowding in, blocking Roy from going there. The huge man grabs Roy by his pits and places the boy on his shoulder. Then what Roy sees surprised him.

Roy sees 2 men, drinking straight from a bottle. One is obviously struggling while the other is handling it like a pro. After a few seconds, the pro won. The pro drinker then smashes the empty bottle against his head and lets out a victory cry. The crowd cheers him on. It breaks into pieces. The bottle that is. The other guy passes out, spilling the content of the bottle on the ground.

"Uncle! Uncle! Uncle Bakin!!", Roy shouted to him, but the crowd was too loud for him to be heard.

"Hey!! EVERYBODY SHUT UP!!!", the huge guard yelled at everyone.

It works and makes everyone silent. It also makes everyone look at him and Roy.

"Hey, Uncle Bakin. Your nephew is calling you.", the guard said while giving Roy to him.

"Ah, Roy-boy. What brings you here?", Bakin asked the hovering boy.

Roy shows the Demonic Saber to him. Bakin's eyes widen and then he closes them and chuckles.

"I guess it's time...", Bakin then carries Roy.

"Hey, everyone! Remember this day! Because this is the day that my nephew over here becomes one of us!!", Uncle Bakin shouted to everyone.

All of them roars in response, agreeing with that statement.

"I'll show you all, that this kid will become one of the most powerful ninjas in the entire world!!", Bakin declared.

The crowd yells even louder, cheering both of them on.

"Now! I'm going to leave but before that!", Bakin said.

Roy's uncle then grabs a beer at a random table and drinks it, finishing it in seconds. Uncle Bakin lets out a satisfying groan and then he throws the wooden mug away.

"Alright! I'm out! See you all soon!!", Bakin waved goodbye to his friends.

Bakin leaves the building while carrying Roy. Roy pinches his nose. The boy doesn't like the smell of alcohol at all. Along the way, his uncle starts talking to him.

"Hey, Roy. Since we're going train from now on, you can only call me Master, ok?", Bakin said.

"I can't call you Uncle again?", Roy asked.

"Well...it depends on the situation, but for the most part, you can't. You can call me Master, or Master Bakin. Just as long as you show respect and that's what I'm going to teach you first. Respect and discipline.", Bakin replied.

"Hmm...ok, Unc-....mmmm...Ahem, Master Bakin.", Roy calls him master.

"See! You're already acing it with flying colors.", Bakin praises Roy.

"Hehehe! Thank you, Master Bakin.", Roy happily thanks him.

________________________________________________________________

"Master? Master?! He's your master, Roy?", Varari exclaimed.

Varari is shocked by what she heard from Roy but not only her; Yua, Sara, and Alvin are surprised by this as well. They're surprised and shocked at the fact that there is someone who teaches the Ultimate Ninja.

"Yes. Believe it or not, I'm his master. Actually, one of his masters. To be exact there are 3 of us teaching Roy at the same time. Well, used to... Speaking of which, hi! I'm Abellona Bakin. His uncle.", Bakin explained.

"Uncle?!", Varari exclaimed again.

"Woah! Not only a master but also an uncle?! That's sorta weird. Sorta.", Alvin commented.

Sara looks at Roy, who is still kneeling to this man, afraid and concerned.

'If Roy-san, one of the most powerful ninjas to exist, bowing down to someone, then how powerful is he? Hold on a second! Is this the same master that Roy-san was telling me before?', Sara thought worryingly.

Yua then suddenly approaches Bakin. This catches the attention of everyone, except for Roy who is still kneeling. Yua then bows to Bakin. After that, Yua smiles at Roy's master and uncle.

"Hello! I'm Himara Yua, I'm Roy's best friend.", Yua proudly declared to him.

"Best friend, huh...", Bakin muttered.

Suddenly Alvin bumps Yua out of the picture, knocking her to the sideline. Alvin then puffs out his chest.

"Best friend? I'm his #1 best friend. In other cases, hi! I'm Alvin Johnson. Nice to meet you!", Alvin extends his hand towards him.

Bakin looks at Alvin's hand for a second. Surprised to see a foreigner. Then Bakin grabs Alvin's hand and does a handshake.

"A foreigner... Didn't know Roy-boy had a foreign companion. Nice to meet you too!", Bakin said in response.

Both Alvin and Bakin then let each other go. Bakin soon faces Sara. Sara appears cautious.

"So, who might you be missy?", Bakin asked.

"Sara.", Sara replied.

Roy notices this, noticing that Sara tells Bakin her first name and not her family name.

'She didn't let me say her first name, but she allowed it to my uncle. Not even letting him know her last name. This just proves my theory even more...', Roy silently thought.

"Well, hello, Sara. And who you might be sexy?", Bakin then flirted Varari.

Varari looks away for a second, ashamed that she knocks Roy's uncle onto the ground.

"Listen, I'm really sorry that I...did that to you...", Varari asked for forgiveness.

"Oh, no worries! I'm much tougher than you think. Anyway, what's your name?", Bakin asked again.

Seeing how forgiving Bakin is, Varari feels a bit relieved and becomes more confident in her introduction.

"I'm Kage Varari. A good good friend to your nephew. For now...", Varari seductively said.

"Kage? Are you from the-"

"Yes, I'm from the Violent Darkness Clan. I used to, that is.", Varari answered quickly.

"Hmmm... Interesting friends you've got here, Roy-boy.", Bakin commented.

"Yes, I have, master.", said the still kneeling Roy-boy.

"You can stand up now, Roy-boy.", Bakin replied.

"Thank you, master.", Roy said as he stands right back up.

Roy looks at him with worried eyes, having something in his mind. Roy then decides to speak about it.

"How did you find us, master?", Roy asked.

"Hahaha! Do you think you can keep the news of you defeating 50 plus ninjas a secret? And not to mention, you were on the news as well. Ha! Fat chance, Roy-boy.", his uncle explained.

Roy looks down to the ground again, feeling disappointed in himself to let them find him and his family. Roy then sighs.

"Does father know? Does he know that we're here?", Roy asked as he looks away.

"Roy, you should know at this point that if I know then he definitely knows where you all are living. Well, we don't know specifically where you live but we know it's from this city.", Bakin replied.

Roy sighs again and facepalms with a clear expression of disappointment to himself. Roy's actions in the past bring him the consequences on a silver platter.

"Great... Is that why you're here, master? Are you trying to take us back?", Roy interrogates him.

"I don't think so. I mean, he sent me here, but he was vague about it.", Bakin answered.

"Hm? What did he say to you, master?", Roy asked again.

"He told me to look for you. That's it. He just told me to find you and I did. I think what he meant was to look over you since you have a big target sign on your back from the Violent Darkness Clan.", Bakin answered.

"I see...", Roy decided to let this go for now.

After that conversation. Bakin walks past all of them, going towards the center of the area. After that, Bakin looks at them.

"So...you were all training, right?", Bakin asked.

"Yes, yes we were.", Yua answered.

"And Roy-boy here has been teaching you all?", Bakin asked again.

"I was not the only one teaching them, master. Varari also helped me train them as well.", Roy steps forward.

"I see... Well then, you three. Fight me.", Bakin pointed at the trio.

This confuses most of them. Except for Roy, he knows why he wants to fight his students. Alvin and Sara remember a few seconds ago that their master was bowing down to this man. This causes them to hesitate for a second until Yua accepted the challenges proudly.

"Alright! Here I come!!", Yua yelled as she charges in.

Yua sprints getting lower and aiming for the legs with a sweep using her leg to which Bakin jumps over. That wasn't all Yua has though. Immediately after, Yua stands up and targets his face with a punch. Using his hand, Bakin blocks her attack. Again, and again, Yua tries to hit her target but Bakin just stands there and blocks her barrage of attacks perfectly. Then Yua pitches in a tactical front kick. Yua manages to budge Bakin, but it doesn't seem to hurt him at all. Instead, Bakin just smirks and points at both Alvin and Sara.

"Come on, you two. Are you going to become a bunch of cowards and leave her alone?", Bakin taunted them.

Alvin scratches the back of his head and then he takes a deep breath. Not letting his pride tank anymore.

"Well, mama raised no coward.", said Alvin, running into battle.

Sara looks hesitant but seeing both of her friends fighting the master of their master brings her courage if only a little bit. Sara sprints into the fray as well.

Alvin throws a right hook at him, but Bakin masterly evades it. Alvin throws a left hook to Bakin, but he dodges it expertly again. Alvin does a right uppercut next, but Bakin grabs it. Then Roy's master smirks.

"My turn.", Bakin said.

Bakin pulls him near Alvin and head-butts him. This dazes Alvin. making him vulnerable. Bakin charges in but Yua and Sara manage to defend Alvin by changing Bakin's focus towards the both of them.

Yua tries to dropkick him, but Bakin manages to raise his arm and block it. Bakin did, however, grunt in pain but mid-air, Bakin grabs one of Yua's legs and throws her aside. Finally, they're face to face. Sara and Bakin.

"Come on, use your ki or magic. You have an overwhelming supply of it.", Bakin called her out.

Sara doesn't say anything. Instead, Sara gets into a stance without powering up. Bakin just scoffs it off. Then Sara charges in. Punch, punch, kick, punch, punch, kick. Sara does this a couple of times but not a single one hurts the man nor tickles Bakin. Bakin is truly Roy's master.

Then Bakin moves Sara's body onto an awkward position by leading where her fist is going, grabbing Sara's arm and pulling it somewhere, making her fall to the ground. Bakin then goes in to punch Sara's face. It's about to connect until...

"What?!", Roy was shocked.

Roy senses a ki skyrocketing from their direction. Then Sara suddenly moves out of the way by rolling and quickly gets to a lower stance up. After that, Sara punches Bakin's gut. It hits its target! Sara manages to land a hit on Roy's master, but it isn't over yet. Sara then stands up to twirl for a roundhouse. This time, Bakin blocks it, but it creates distances between both of them.

Bakin rubs his stomach before raising a hand, halting the fight. Then Bakin stands up properly while smiling.

"I'm impressed, Roy. I didn't think you could be this great of a teacher. I say this because this is your first-time teaching someone, let alone three, buuut it seems like I was wrong. Good job, Roy-boy.", Bakin gave Roy a thumbs up.

"Ye-yes... Thank you, master...", Roy said as he bowed.

Yua and Alvin then run up towards Sara, happy and proud of her. Congratulating Sara for landing a great hit on Bakin which hurts Roy's master.

"Woah, Sara! I didn't even think you could do that! Have you been training in private as well?", Alvin pats Sara on the back.

"Yeah, you're awesome! Maybe we could spar with each other, Sara.", Yua suggested.

"Hahahaha...thanks.", Sara replied awkwardly to them.

Roy stares at them. Specifically, Sara. What Sara does earlier is suspicious.

"I'm proud of you, Roy-boy.", Bakin said as he wraps his arm around him.

However, Roy decides to not let this go. It's time to confront Sara about this.

"Thank you, master. But excuse me, I'll be talking to one of my students.", Roy said as he removes his arm around him.

Roy heads toward them, interrupting their conversation.

"Ichika, mind talking to me in private?", Roy asked Sara.

Both Yua and Alvin are confused by this sudden invitation available only to Sara. This catches Sara off-guard but manages to reply.

"Ye-yes! I don't mind at all.", Sara replied.

"Good, follow me. Except you two. I will know if you try to eavesdrop on us. I'm talking to you Yua.", Roy warned.

"Awww...", Yua whined.

Roy starts walking in a certain direction. Sara quickly follows Roy. They both go deeper into the forest. Things start getting darker and darker. Trees start getting thicker and thicker, making the way narrow and dark. The silence is scaring Sara with each footstep getting heavier. Sara's heart starts beating faster and faster. Sara begins sweating and feeling dizzy. Sara is also breathing faster and faster. As is if Sara's remembering something. Something horrible. Roy notices this and stops to check on Sara.

"Ichika? Are you ok?", Roy asked.

Sara leans onto a nearby tree. Roy's worried about Sara. Roy doesn't think this would happen. Roy then tries to place his hand on Sara's shoulder.

"Get away from me!!", Sara yelled at him, slapping his hand away.

Roy's shocked by this and keeps his distance, not wanting to scare Sara even more. Sara realizes what she has done makes her go back to reality. Sara then sits down on a ray of light, calming herself down. Roy sits on the grass beside Sara but keeps his distance from her.

"I'm sorry... I... I'm sorry...", Sara started tearing up which she immediately wipes it off.

Roy sighs. Roy has no idea that Sara would be like that. To say the least, it's stressful in the situation he's in. How could Roy ask the question after seeing that? Roy can't but Sara is curious enough to ask as well as wanting to change the subject.

"What were we going to talk about, Roy-san?...", Sara asked not wanting to make things awkward.

Roy looks at her and places his hand on his face. Sighing next, and then Roy stands up. Roy looks away for a couple of minutes to gather his courage and then faces Sara with a serious look.

"Why didn't you tell me you were a ninja?", Roy asked.