5. The Master...

Suddenly,

Zaya came running into the room with Zairo. Fried chicken oil all over their faces.

"Dad, dad, dad!! I have a new friend, he gave me chicken, his name is Zairo." She sounded really happy about the chicken and her new friend.

"Zai, come over here and say hello this is Master Shinok," Kiara gestures him to come closer.

"Oh please, leave the master out of it. If anything, the young one is my master. I was made to serve him." Shinok humbly protests.

"Oh no, if he's going to learn from you, you're going to be his master. And considering your relationship with Virgo, he should probably call you uncle." Kiara states a fact, and Shinok knew better than to argue with the queen of arguments, so he just laughs it off.

"Good day sir my name is Zairo," he says grinning from ear to ear.

"Yes, young man it's very nice to meet you and I can see you already met my daughter Zaya. Kiara meet my daughter Zaya," he signals Zaya to come forward.

"Good day ma'am, I'm Zaya Zairo's friend." She gives a slight bow respectfully.

Somehow she really sounded super happy about being Zairo's friend.

"You're one pretty little flower." Kiara flatters, causing the child to blush.

"How did you get Zairo to share his chicken with you? He never gives anybody his chicken." She pats Zaya on the head.

"Maybe it's because I'm very pretty. To be honest I could get anything from anyone I know I'm really cute."

Kiara and Shinok couldn't help but laugh at what she was saying.

Both the children were too cute together and it made the adults laugh even more.

"She is definitely Rin's daughter." Kiara chortled.

"That she is. With every single fiber of her being." A gush of sadness filled his heart as the thought of his late wife came running through his head.

"Master I would love to stay with you forever!! I want to learn how to fight, how to use a sword, how to throw flying kicks, I want to do everything they do in the temple," he said in a way that you could actually feel his passion.

Before Shinok was able to give him an answer, Zaya says...

"If you really want to learn, you will have to start with me, I will be your first teacher, you will have to call me Master."

Zairo looked more than happy to have her as his first martial art teacher, so he politely bowed his head and shouts at the top of his voice...

"Master teach me!!" The adults in the room could not just stop laughing they were both incredibly funny and cute.

"Now my disciple follow me." Zaya leads the way, while Zairo as a good pupil obediently follows his newfound friend and master as they walk into the next empty room.

"I guess they already recognize themselves. Although I think the order is wrong. She's supposed to serve and call him master and not the other way around." Shinok jokes as the young man who brought Kiara to Shinok brings in tea for them.

"Thank you, Taero." Shinok says as the tea is placed in front of them, while Kiara flashes a smile of gratitude to him.

"Oh, please, he obviously has a lot to learn from Zaya. She is the master here. I'm just surprised he actually shared his chicken with someone." Kiara recounted, causing Shinok's chortle to echo in the almost empty room...

"You were right, Shinok, his abilities are getting stronger. It's getting harder to keep him safe alone."

Kiara confessed. A hint of distress could be caught in her voice.

"Some times, his hands emit lightning in his sleep, his wounds also heal up faster now, even the red hair on his head is increasing," she draws in a deep breath before saying the next words.

"It's like you said Shinok, he needs to be around someone of his kind. Someone who can train him on how to use his powers. No matter how much I try to deny it, he is still Akzarian. I can't keep that fact locked up forever."

He could see the sincerity in her eyes, like a mother kangaroo who was ready to hide and protect her child in her sac, away from every horror that lies in the world. She just wanted the best for her son.

"He needs someone who can show him what is right from wrong, he needs someone to guide him. He needs you Shinok, he needs a master who would treat him the way his father would have." She sincerely requested.

They trained together, dined together. They were closer than even brothers.

So no one would be in a better position to train the son of Virgo than this man seated right in front of her.

He looks at Kiara for a while and says.

"I'll be more than honored to serve the son of Virgo."

"Train, teach and tutor, Shinok. Not serve," she corrected him.

"Is there a difference? He mused.

"And besides he already has a master," he points at the direction where the two children had gone through.

"Zaya really seems to get along with him well. The truth is Zaya could use a friend, I sometimes feel bad for her." He confessed. "She has had to live a tough life without a mother, she has been surrounded by demon monks and martial artists all her life. So having you and Zairo here is definitely good for all."

*Meanwhile*

Outside in the training field, the gate to the temple suddenly bursts open, causing dust to rise high in the entire place.

The trainers couldn't see clearly. They gathered in front of the gates with their spears and swords in hand ready to fight back whoever was barging into their temple.

It was just midday but the clouds had suddenly turned dark, almost as if the sun had set. In the midst of the dust, they could see someone making his way toward them. All heads and hands up and ready for whoever it was.

At first, it felt like the shadow of just one man, but then it was like the deeper they looked, the more the shadow multiplied.

For the dust that had amassed was slowly giving way, and they were starting to see more and more persons emerge from the dusty shadows.

Taero who already understood what was happening, instantly headed for where Shinok and Kiara were.

"Master... Master... Master!!" He called out with much fear in his voice,

"He is here... Arguse is here."