Chapter 5: Awakening

"What is going on?" A man whispered to himself as he squatted on the roof of a temple overlooking Kyoto, a dark blue robe with a missing right sleeve hanging off his body, and a wide bamboo hat on his head.

He looked at the human child dangling off a building in the distance, tied by a rope that a Kamaitachi is slowly cutting. 

The man knew he should interfere, cut the yokai's head off, and save the child.

But something about the child intrigued him.

Maybe it was because the child was a spirit inheritor who never made contact with the supernatural? Maybe it was the sacred gear that the child didn't even know he had? Maybe it was just simple curiosity for the sake of it?

Nonetheless, the man knew that should actual danger befall the child, he would step in and save him.

He looked on as the sickle-nailed ferret-man leaned closer to the boy, he whispered something.

Something that must have awakened the boy's sacred gear it would seem, If the ginormous beacon of light that engulfed the kid was anything to go by.

With a light that bright and a pillar that large, all of Kyoto would be able to see it.

He'll leave his brother to take care of wiping the people's memories and hiding it from the world, He has an awesome new pupil to save.

And with a flash of lightning, the man was no more.

...

Chapter 5: Awakening.

...

The face of the monster that kidnapped me remained in my mind, the words he said repeating over and over.

"We remember what happened last time you were around" what was he talking about, this is my first time here.

"I'm going to kill you for what happened all those years ago" I still don't know what he's saying, Why would he want to kill me?

"I'll be taking your mother for myself." What followed was a bright flash and the words repeated.

I know I'm dreaming, he's been saying these words over and over and I still don't understand what's going on.

If only I could dream for him to "SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

And the man disappeared.

"Finally," I say to myself as I lay down on the nonexistent floor of this dreamlike abyss I find myself in "He stopped talking"

Now I can finally gather my thoughts on what the hell is happening.

Was this why I reincarnated into this world? Some secret group of super-powered individuals wants somebody dead, and apparently, that person is me.

"But why?" I couldn't help but wonder out loud, why would they want me dead?

"'I'm going to kill you for what happened all those years ago'" I don't know what happened 'all those years ago', but somehow I'm involved.

Is it my father? Did he earn more gambling debt and now The knife-fingered Yakuza is after me and mom?

It can't be that, the guy acted as if I Myself were there, so maybe there's something else.

"Let's think about this like an Isekai," I say as I try and remember shows with a similar prospect.

'The world is practically the same, so it's not a hard Fantasy or Sci-fi story.' That immediately removes the implications of Star-trek or Lord of the Rings.

'Maybe sort of like Harry Potter or Sekirei, where there's some sort of behind-the-scenes power, like a magical association of wizards or a secret laboratory creating perfect humans' This seems a lot more likely.

So some secret organization is trying to kill me for something I apparently did years ago.

Is it my father stealing some sort of super important vial from a secret facility and he placed it inside of me when I was an embryo?

"WHY IS THIS SO DIFFICULT?!" Why won't I wake up and get an exposition already?

...

I woke up dazed, tired, and confused.

I was in the hotel room where I went to sleep the night before, my bag was still there and everything.

'Was last night a dream?'

It can't be, I still feel sore around where the rope held me.

'maybe I'm imagining things?'

Maybe I am.

I go take a shower to cool off and calm down, and as I was taking my clothes off, I noticed something on my skin.

There's a tattoo of a small moth over my heart.

A tattoo...

On a 12-year-old kid...

'My Life Is RUINED!' I scream internally, because how could it not be?! My perfect attendance and score records that I studied hours to keep are now moot because I have a tattoo!

'I'm a delinquent now, aren't I?' Mom's going to kill me 'not that far!' Maybe Mom won't kill me.

Finishing the shower as quickly as I can, I put on a shirt to hide the tattoo and exit my hotel bedroom into the hotel room sitting area.

To find my mom talking with a mysterious stranger wearing what I could only describe as a weeaboo's description of what a ronin should wear.

As I take a few steps toward Mom, the man turns and smiles at me, 'creepy...'

"Oh Ken, I want you to meet Sano-san, he's here to speak with you," Mom said as she turned to look at me, the soft smile on her face the only indicator of her mood with her thick glasses hiding her eyes from view.

The ronin cosplayer, Sano-san, Took this as his cue to introduce himself.

"Hello Ken-kun, My name is Koto Sano, but you can just call me Sano," He extended an arm for me to shake, which I did reluctantly. 

"So, Ken-kun, You're starting Middle school soon, right?" Sano asks soon after I take a seat next to Mom.

"Oh Yes, He's such a smart boy, top of his class in everything, really," Mom grabs my shoulder and pulls me into a hug.

I melt into her, even with all the strange stuff that happened recently and with this Samurai cosplayer sitting in front of us, I can't help but feel bliss from her hugs.

There is no question, Motohama Kaho, is the world's best hugger.

"Is that so, And may I ask how old is Ken-kun?" Sano responds, never taking his eyes off of me.

Now that I'm sitting close to him, he smells kind of like salt water, I think?

"He's twelve, but he turns thirteen early in the year, May second is his birthday," Mom answers, Mom smells like Mom, there's no better way to describe it. 

Hearing that answer, Sano's mouth seemed to frown as if in disappointment, only to then shift through a variety of different expressions and emotions before finally landing on resolute.

"I have a proposition for you, Miss Motohama," He began, "I would like to give your student an Apprenticeship, its a work/study program that he would take during the holidays and weekends whenever he's available-" He continued to talk about the business he works for and said stuff like how I 'have promise' and how they would pay for school and- Wait what?!

"I accept," Mom says, taking a calling card from him before giving him her number, all while I sat there dumbfounded.

"Thank you very much," He bowed as he stood up, before turning to look at me head-on, "I'm looking forward to teaching you, Little Hero,"

"Little Hero thinks he can go around Kyo and nobody will stop him, we remember what happened last time you were around," He knows about last night!

Sano stops by the door to the hotel room, before turning back to look at us, "We hope you continue to enjoy your stay in Kyoto, Shin-corp will be paying for all of your expenses for the duration of your vacation," He winked at me "Have fun," Before leaving and closing the door behind him.

...

Suffice to say, the rest of our trip to Kyoto was nothing but the best hotels and restaurants.

And nothing else weird happened during our time there.

Two weeks left before Middle school starts.