Chapter 1

It was a cold stormy night as the rain hit the window of a noble's home—the noble by the name of Ace Paquet. Ace was seated in his home office, which had more space than needed. He sat writing letters to each of the clans, encouraging wars between clans as if he were the King, using the stamp of approval only true royalty should have. Ace Paquet has been doing this for some time, causing trouble between the clans. However, his writing stopped as he felt the cold wind hit the back of his head. Then, before he could even turn around, a blade was placed on his neck.

"Ace Paquet, correct?" a voice was heard behind the man as he swallowed hard, "I-if you kill me, the king will behead you!" he babbled with panic. The man was stunned as he heard the voice behind him begin to laugh, "Oh really now? That's funny, considering King Zaire is the one who sent me."

"W-what? What do you mean!? He would never-" the man was quickly cut off by the other male's blade pressing against his neck, "You betrayed our King... therefore, he shall betray you. I may not know what you have done, but it must have been pretty bad, considering I'm killing a noble. It's my first time doing so as well. I'm surprised it wasn't hard."

''WAIT! Please have mercy on me! But, first, let me apologize for my wrongdoings!" Ace begged, which only gained another small chuckle from the other, "Too late to apologize, but I'll make sure to give the King your last words." without any more time to waste, Ace's head was sliced off his body in a matter of seconds. Blood splattered everywhere, getting the male's clothes and face covered with the red substance. This male, now covered in the noble's blood, was known as Sano Isamu. He is the son of the Clan Leader of the Chisato Clan. The Chisato Clan has always been loyal to the King. Therefore, Sano only carries out his duties as the Clan Leader's son. Sano never saw killing as his future, but it was the hand of fate he dealt with.

Sano grabs the head of the noble, placing it in his side leather bag. He made his way out of the window he entered and went straight back to the King. After he made it to the palace, he joined the throne room where King Zaire waited. Sano kneeled before the King and only stood once his majesty ordered him to, "I'm assuming you came here with good news and evidence?"

Sano nodded, "Your Majesty assumes correctly. The deed has been done," he answered before pulling out Ace's head and showing the King. A slight grin formed on the King's face as he waved his hands to signal one of his men to take the head of the noble away from Sano. "What were his last words?" the King asked.

"Wait, Please have mercy on me. Let me apologize for my wrongdoings," Sano copied Ace's words but in a more monotoned voice.

The King laughed, "Of course, he would say that. You have done great, Mr. Isamu. Take this as a reward" The King handed a bag of gold coins to his men, who then gave it to Sano. The male bowed with appreciation, "You are too kind." he lifted his head as he heard the King speak again, "Now go home and rest. I'm sure your father is worried about you."

"Yes, your Majesty, I shall take my leave now" with that said, Sano left the palace and traveled home on his horse. It took him some time before he returned to his village, where his best friend, Nakatomi Hachiro, greeted him. "Welcome back, Sano. How was your mission today? What did King Zaire have you do?" he questioned curiously as he had a towel ready, cleaning all the blood off of Sano. Sano found it very hard to tell Naka about some of his missions, but no matter how gruesome they were, Naka was the only one who wasn't afraid. Sano sighed softly, running his hands through his jet-black hair, "I had to kill a noble this time," he mumbled, trying not to get into the details.

A stunned look appeared on Naka's face as more curiosity grew in his goldened-colored eyes, "Really!? A noble?! I've never heard of such a thing... What has he done to be wanted dead by the King?" he asked. Sano shrugged, having no interest in continuing the conversation on this topic. "I don't know. I never get the details or the reasonings," he said bluntly.

"Just like a dog, blindly following one's master," Naka replied. Sano narrowed his eyes at the other, "Don't call me a dog." Naka smiled at the other's reactions, "Dogs are cute, though! Just like our Sano," he chuckled softly. Naka began to walk with Sano as they looked over the village, ensuring everything was going smoothly. However, the looks that Sano received from the villagers were unpleasant. Naka noticed these glares and glanced at his friend to see the disappointment, "Hmm... Don't mind them, Sano. They will never understand strength." Sano only nodded at Naka's words, not knowing how to respond.

"Miyasato still has not come back," Naka spoke, changing the subject. After hearing his words, Sano quickly looked at him, "She still hasn't returned?"

Naka shook his head, "I'm afraid not. You may not believe the legends, but they are true. That's why no one is allowed to enter that forest. Anyone who enters never comes back out." Sano sighed softly, rubbing his head in annoyance, "She probably just got lost. She'll be back soon."

Naka stopped in his tracks, facing Sano, "Just like Toma? and Isha? What about Mori?"

"Naka..."

"Sano, I'm serious! The Ancient Forest is a dangerous place, and one must not enter. Promise me you won't ever cross that line..." a sad expression came across his face, catching Sano off guard. He didn't want to make his best friend more worried than he was, so he agreed to the other's promise,

"Alright, I won't."

Naka gave a small smile in appreciation, "Good! Now, let's head home. It's late; I need my sleep" he waved Sano off before heading back home. Sano, too, went back to his home, where he saw his mom placing food on the table, "Welcome home, sweetheart" She smiled warmly, excited to see her son again. "Hello, mother. You didn't have to cook for me. It's very late out."

"Nonsense! How could I not wait and cook something for my hard-working son?" she pulled out a chair for Sano to sit down. A slight grin appeared as he appreciated the gesture, "Thank you, mother."

"Big Brother!" "Big Brother!" two little voices were heard, along with loud footsteps leading down the stairs. The two little twins tackled Sano in his chair, causing the three of them to fall over. Sano chuckled at the affection he was receiving from his little siblings. They were twins, a boy named Kaisai and a girl named Miura. Both love Sano dearly. "You two should be in bed," Sano replied.

"Exactly. I put you two to sleep not too long ago. So go back to bed," Mother responded.

"Aww... but can't we just play with him for a little bit before bed?" Kaisai asked.

"Your brother has had a long day at work. He is tired and hasn't eaten yet. You can play with him tomorrow." she replied in her motherly tone that Sano once received when he was their age.

"Big brother..." Miura looked at Sano with pleading eyes that even he couldn't deny. Sano sat up, pulling his little siblings up with him. He picked them both up, each in one arm, "We have to listen to mother, guys. I'll take you to bed, and tomorrow we can play. How about that?" he asked with a smile. The children cheered as he took them up the stairs and to their bedroom. Of course, they wanted to play with him, but getting put to bed by him was good enough.

Sano placed Kaisai in his bed and was about to put Miura in her bed until she stopped him, "C-can I sleep with Kaisai tonight?" she asked, gripping Sano's shirt tightly. Sano frowned a little, "Are you still having nightmares?" he asked. Miura nodded, "I don't get them when Kai is with me," she mumbled. Sano placed Miura next to Kaisai, and without hesitation, Kaisai grabbed Miura's hand, "Don't worry, I'll kill all those dream demons for you!" he smiled at his sister. Sano couldn't help but be proud of how well-raised his siblings were. He had to thank his parents for that, even though his father was hard at work most of the time.

Sano tucked them both in tightly, kissing their foreheads just like mother always does. He spoke his goodnight before leaving the room, bumping into their father. "Did you put the little troublemakers to sleep?" the man questioned. Sano nodded with a smile, "Yeah, they are tucked away in dreamland."

"Good, good. I heard that you did very well on your mission today. I'm very proud of you, Sano. I'm glad your skills keep improving every day" His father patted Sano on the head. Sano gently pushed his father's hand away, laughing softly, "It's thanks to you, father. Your training made me as strong as I am today."

The man chuckled, pleased with his son's words, "We should spar sometime. I'm a little rusty."

"I doubt that you could win. You're getting quite old, father," he teased.

"Age doesn't affect skill, son. You'll learn that the hard way the next time we battle," he laughed, "Eat your mother's food and head to bed. Goodnight, son!" he patted Sano's back before heading to his room. Sano did just as his father asked him to. He finished his meal before heading to the bathroom and changing his bloody clothes. Sano hated how his family was so used to seeing him with such a mess that they no longer questioned it. He took a bath before changing into clean and comfortable clothing.

He headed back to his room, lying down in his bed. Thoughts appeared in his mind, the mission he had today, the glares of the other villagers, the fact that people were missing from the village, and that stupid promise Naka forced him to make. It was a lot, but he could rest his mind and sleep peacefully. Sano fell into a deep sleep, but the sudden smell of smoke made him open his eyes. He sat in bed, covering his mouth as he began coughing. Sano's eyes and mind were still trying to process what was happening as he just awoke. However, he got up quickly when he saw the thick dark smoke seeping through his door. He got up quickly, keeping his mouth covered as he ran to the door. Touching the knob burned his hand, forcing him to pull it away quickly.

He turned to his window, but an arrow with fire came through his window, causing his wooden floor to spark up in flames. He had no choice. Using his body, he slammed through the door, busting it open. The hallway was covered in fire, bright enough to burn one's eyes just by staring, "Kaisai! Miura!" Sano hollered as he ran to his sibling's room, but the door was in flames. His father came bursting through his bedroom door, "Sano! Leave now! I'll get the Twins!"

"Where is mother!?" he questioned, but his father was too busy trying to get into the Twin's room, "Daddy!!" the kids cried, which only made Sano's heart sink. He had to trust his father as he didn't know where his mother was. He ran down the stairs, only to see everything in flames, "Sano!" his mother called out. She was trapped in a circle of fire in the middle of the living room. Sano could feel the smoke making his chest heavy. It was tough to breathe. He grabbed anything he could find to put on top of the fire, but nothing worked. Loud creaking sounds could be heard as the building started to fall apart.

Pieces of the ceiling came crashing down, blocking in his mother, "Sano! You need to leave!" she cried out, but Sano wasn't listening to her words. He wasn't going to leave his family behind. Sano crouched down on the ground, trying to find a way to breathe better, but it was all too much. He crawled on the floor, trying to find any way to help his mother. His eyes scanned his environment, catching sight of something Sano could use to cover his mouth. However, it didn't take long for more debris to fall and land on Sano, trapping his leg, "Ack!" he groaned in pain, "Mother! Are you okay?!" he called but gained no answer in return. His heart began to ache as he called out, "Mother!!" but still no response. His vision began to go heavy as the smoke filled his lungs. He felt as if he was being suffocated to death.