1 Shun's daily life

It was the middle of the night. The sky was completely dark, but it was far from quiet in this lawless realm. Wild beasts lurked, they were not the common beasts everyone thinks, they were humans.

In a very small hut, with walls that would collapse at any moment and a curtain for a door, there was a boy of about 12 years old holding a knife in his hand, keeping watch without taking his eyes off the curtain even though he looked very sleepy.

This 12 year old boy was Kimura Shun, his hair is dark and his eyes are blue in color, from his appearance he looked like a harmless and innocent person. However, he was holding a knife and standing guard.

Very close to him was a stone bed, where there was a woman and a small child. The child slept like an angel. The woman as she opened her eyes looked worriedly at the 12 year old boy with the cauldron in his hand and asked him.

"Shun, my sweetie, you can rest cof...I will keep watch for the rest of the night" Said the woman while coughing and looking in a very pitiful state.

The woman's full name was Kimura Aiko, she was the mother of the two children, the little one who was sleeping and the older one who was guarding the door.

Shun shook his head and said with a worried look.

"No, everything is fine, with your current state if some damn bastard comes in at night you won't be able to defend us, besid-"

"Don't say such swear words brat" Aiko said while reaching out her hand and pinched his cheek.

Shun while laughing replied, "Sorry mother it's because of this kingdom and its rude people." He said while making a saintly face.

Shun and his family live in the Frauce Kingdom in the East Blue. This kingdom is part of the World Government and is currently ruled by Queen Ban Dedessinée.

They reside in the poorest area far from the palace, where all the factories are and where there is no law.

"Don't try to make cheap excuses" Aiko said as she smiled warmly.

Shun quickly diverted the topic and said:

"It'll be dawn soon and I'll go out hunting. You should sleep for a while and not exert yourself. Today I'll catch a sparrow so I can sell it for a good price and get you some quality food to make you better."

When he was referring to a sparrow, he was referring to a mutant sparrow the size of a dog of about 15kg, which its beak had great power and was also very fast.

Aiko in a worried tone said:

"You can't Shun-kun, those birds are too dangerous for a 12 year old boy, can you get out-"

"Mother, I must, otherwise we will starve to death, in less than 1 week" Shun said firmly with a determined look.

Aiko sighed with a sad and dejected look, wondering how she ended up being such a useless mother who depends on her 12 year old not to starve to death.

Shun noticed that concern and with a smile added:

"It doesn't matter I really like to hunt and I get better at it every day, I won't get hurt, you know". He said while putting on a smug face.

"Okey I will trust you Shun-kun, my little brave one" Aiko nodded with a smile.

"Don't worry, you can trust me, mother. You take care of Jiro's little sleepyhead, don't let him get into trouble while I'm gone" Shun said as he looked at little Jiro sleeping carefree.

This little naughty boy was Kimura Jiro, Shun's little brother who was only 5 years old, he was a very naughty boy and was always getting into trouble, which his older brother was supposed to save them from.

"Yes, leave it to me Shun-kun" Aiko nodded as she closed her eyes to go back to sleep.

Shun stopped smiling and made a worried face. His mother became ill several months ago and still showed no signs of improvement.

The small time doctors he was able to hire to help were all either useless or scammers, he had to teach them a lesson so they wouldn't try to take what little money he was getting from him again.

Despite being only 12 years old, Shun had to take care of protecting and feeding his sick mother and younger brother from an early age. He has no memory of his father and his mother never speaks of him.

Because of this, from a very young age he had to go hunting in the forest, which is close to the wastelands, which is where he currently lives.

These lands are lawless areas, it is easy to find bodies lying in the streets in poor condition, or they want to rob you for a crumb of bread and even kill. At night, it is very common for several criminals and assassins to break into huts, since the only thing that separates the hut from the outside is a fragile curtain.

In addition to all this, there is the toxic climate that is breathed in the wasteland because of all the factories that are nearby, not only pollute the air but also the water that low-income people have to drink.

For this reason Shun has to show a strong character to others so that they see that he is not easy prey and if they mess with him, he must make them pay so that they do not think about it again.

In the wastelands Shun is known as a crazy kid. There are several rumors that someone once tried to steal his loot after a successful hunt and they never heard from that person again. That's why most people don't try to cross paths with this preteen.

Besides, not everyone can hunt mutant birds of about 15kg and the size of a dog in the forest of wild beasts and come out alive, so he has some respect for achieving such a feat with only 12 years.

At dawn Shun got up, left the knife on the side and went to the farthest corner of the hut, there he lifted a small wood where there were some worn bills.

*Mm only 500 bellys, it is very difficult to save and at the same time feed a family of 3* He thought as he sighed.

*A good doctor from the capital of the kingdom should be about 2,000 bellys, there is still a long way to go. If I have a good hunt I can get that amount at once, but it's very hard for those damn hawks to appear in the vicinity of the forest* Shun was devising what steps to take next.

The hawks Shun is talking about are much larger birds of the mutant sparrows and much fiercer, they specialize in speed, have superior strength to the sparrow and have a very tough beak that can easily tear off human flesh.

*Well I'll go into the depths of the forest, mother can't go on like this, she needs a doctor urgently, even if it's much more dangerous, the gains are greater* Shun thought as he convinced himself.

After pondering what to do next, he put the money back under the wooden slab.

"Mother I'm leaving, take care of Jiro and don't let your guard down" Shun said as he approached the door.

"Yes, Shun-kun don't worry, good luck today" Aiko replied as she stood up to greet him warmly.

Shun returned her greeting very happily, grabbed a black cauldron, strapped it on his back and walked out of the hut.