Chapter 2

--3RD POV--

"How many times must I tell you?! Going into the forest alone is dangerous!" An elderly man yelled down at a young Taiyo covered in cuts and bruises. Taiyo could only lower his head and listen to his Grandfather's words. "You're only 6! A child as young as you has no place in fighting monsters!" The old man shouted again.

His Grandfather's hands caressed his forehead as he let out a deep sigh. "I know you're doing this for Bell. I admire that Taiyo. As well as appreciate your effort. But are you willing to let your brother grow up without his elder brother?" He said as he took a seat on the bed behind him.

"I'm old Taiyo. You're older now so I won't sugar coat it. I'm not gonna be around forever. These old bones can't keep running out and saving you." He said, only making Taiyo feel more guilty. "But you're a strong boy. I know that Bell will be in good hands whenever I kick the bucket." The old man sighed with a relieved smile.

He ruffled the smaller males hair. "Even though you're not fit to hunt any monsters now, put some muscle on those bones and you'll be able to at least kill Goblins." He chuckled. Taiyo looked up at his Grandfather, first surprised, then smiling. "Yes sir! I'll be the strongest guy around! I'll beat up monsters so easy that I could do it while dancing! It'll be a spectacle!" Unable to contain his excitement, he jumped to him feet, and darted out the door to go hunt for meat. This time, sticking close to the village.

His grandfather lied down, his smile never fading as a few tears leaked from his eyes. "I hope I get to see the day, Taiyo." He whispered to no one.

--6 months Later--

"297, 298, 299, 300!" He shouted before collapsing to the ground, sweat dripping from all over his half-naked body. He had been swinging his Grandfather's old, cleaver-like blades in a striking motion daily, slowly but surely building his strength. And it showed.

The boy had gone from a relatively small build, to a boy stronger than most of the adults in the village.

He had pride in his strength and body now. And that strength led him to become somewhat of a narcissist. Not overly so, but definitely still noticable.

His chest heaved up and down as he'd tried to catch his breath. 'Still haven't fully adjusted to it..' He thought to himself.

He was referring to the "Sound Breathing" techniques. His grandfather had mentioned them once when he agreed to let Taiyo use his giant blades in his practice, and he didn't stop pestering him about them since. However, before he could learn that, he was forced to learn "Total Concentration Breathing". And all his Grandfather said about him learning that was it was "Necessary to maximize the Sound Breathing's effectiveness."

So for months on end, Taiyo trained his total concentration. Practicing with both of these, 3 hours for each everyday. It was hard, but Taiyo was prepared for the challenge.

Taiyo sat up from the grass, stretching his body before picking up the blades. He'd usually pass out from straight exhaustion in the pasture, but recently he'd gotten somewhat used to the muscle numbing training.

Taiyo rested the giant blades on his shoulders before he began walking home. All he wanted to do now was rest his tired, aching body, and eat. "Stay away.." Taiyo's ears perked up. It was distant, but he knows exactly what it was. Taking a deep breath, he shot off into the forest, the shouts of a feminine voice slowly getting louder. "SOMEONE PLEASE, HELP ME!"

The shouts came from a well that was in the middle of the forest. before it was over run, the well was used as a secondary source of water.

Taiyo jumped on to it's stone foundation before glancing down. Around 10 feet deep, and it was empty, all except for the girl at the bottom slowly being surrounded by goblins. 'Looks like it's time I see what Sound Breathing can do.' He thought with a smile, jumping up, and descending into the Well. "Sound Breathing, first form: Roar!" He shouted as his blades connected with the Goblins head on, killing the pack.

What Taiyo didn't notice however, was that the bottom of the well was moreso a cave. Infested with Goblins. His eyes widened a bit before a small smirk crossed his lips. "U..um.." A small voice came from behind him. He slightly turned his head, still facing the Goblins, as to see the person he'd saved.

She had mostly black hair with yellow bangs, tied in a small, messy ponytail. Her wide eyes were a golden brown color. She wore a pink dress, along with a pair of black sandals.

Before she could say anything, a Goblin launched at him. Without a moments hesitation, he sliced the Goblin in two, spraying blood on the others. The girl made a Yelp of surprise and fear as the upper half of it's body landed not even 3 feet from her. That one action, threw everything into chaos. The entire horde charged at him, each Goblin armed with a small dagger.

Taiyo took a defensive stance in front of the girl. "Hey. Stay right where you are. This'll take a while." Taiyo stated with a smile.

While he was confident in his fighting abilities, he'd never fought such a large amount of monsters at once. On top of that, his entire body was aching all over, despite him not showing it.

Swinging one of his horizontally to his left immediately cut down several goblins like butter. He turned to his right and slammed his foot into singular goblin, sending it crashing into the horde. He exhaled a bit, sweat slowly dripping from his forehead. He couldn't draw this out.

He had a limited window, just enough time for one more attack. 'Sound Breathing, second form..' He started. His left foot slide back, one of his blades were in a reverse grip. He brought them both to his left side and lowered his posture, before disappearing; shocking the Goblins, and the young girl behind him. "Accelerando." His voice was heard again, but from behind the Goblins this time.

Before they could make a move, they were all cut to ribbons, leaving nothing but Valis behind. Taiyo raised up from his lowered posture, exhaling completely. His knees nearly gave out before he caught himself, pushing through the fatigue. Ignoring the Valis, he made his way over to the small girl, holding out a hand. "Enjoy the performance?" He asked with smile.

Taking it, she looked up at him in confusion, before nodding. "Y-yes. It was beautiful. Thank you.." She paused as if she were waiting for him to reply. "Taiyo. Taiyo Cranel." He said as his smile grew, making hers grow as well. "Makio Kobufune."

"Well Makio, let's get you home." He said as he began to pull her up before hearing her wince in pain. He looked back at her with a neutral expression. With a quick glance at her posture, he deduced that her leg was the issue. She was leaning a bit and looked to be only supported by her left leg. Without a word he knelt down in front of her. "N-no it's.. I'm fine Taiyo." She said as she tried to straighten her posture, but to no avail. "C'mon, my old man won't be happy if I'm any later home." He said before his head turned to her. "Besides, what kind of guy would leave a girl that can barely stand, let alone walk, on her own?" He asked with a small smile.

After a few seconds, she gave a small sigh, eventually giving up and resting on his back. He tucked his arms under her knees and went for the well. He leapt from side to side of the well until he eventually reached the surface. "Now, where's your place, Makio?"

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"Taiyo?" Makio said softly. Taiyo didn't slow down, nor did he look back at her, but he replied none the less. "Yeah?" He asked. "You think we can, be friends?" She asked with a bit of hesitation. "Sure." He answered almost immediately, catching her a bit off guard. "Who'd say no to a pretty girl like you?" He asked (with rizz). She gave no reply as her face turned red and she buried it in his back. Despite all his running and jumping, she was surprisingly comfortable on his back.

She started to doze off. Once Taiyo heard her light snore, he slowed down a bit. 'Feels like I'm gonna pass out any second...' He thought as he took large breaths of air. 'Better wrap this up and head home. Grandpa's probably worried.' He thought.

After 5 minutes, he'd finally made it out of the forest. He was immediately greeted by the sight of 2 worried adults standing in front of a farm. "About time..." He mumbled to himself before walking down to them, Makio still sleeping on his back. "M-Makio!" The woman shouted. She looked almost identical to Makio, but her hair was completely black. The man was completely blonde, and he rushed toward Taiyo next to the woman.

Taiyo raised a finger to his lips. "She's sleeping. Wouldn't be nice to wake her." He said quietly. In reality, he just didn't wanna be around when the mushy emotional reunion started.

The teary-eyed parents nodded before profusely thanking him, and gently removing her from his back. They invited him inside, to which he accepted, simply to get water. "Is that really enough? We may not have much, but you can join us for dinner. It's the least we could do." The father said with a small smile, his eyes still puffy from all his crying. Taiyo shook his head. As empty as his stomach was, his grandfather had probably gone out looking for him my now. "I'll have to say no. My granddad is waiting for me. The water was more than enough." He said with a sigh.

The expressions of both parents briefly turned sad, before smiling softly again. "Well, please join us for dinner sometime in the future." The mother said, placing a hand on the boy's shoulder. Taiyo nodded with a small smile. "Will do ma'am!" Taiyo said before giving a 2 fingered salute. "See you then." He gave his goodbye, and darted out the door before they could respond.

He'd spent way too much time away. His grandfather was definitely worried sick by now. Taiyo ran, not stopping once, not until he was home. Running past monsters, not even attempting to engage them. He didn't wanna waste a second.

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Taiyo eventually reached his home and was surprised to see it surrounded by villagers. 'Looks like an angry mob, but without the torches and pitchforks...' Taiyo thought to himself with a small smirk. "So!" Taiyo shouted, grabbing the crowds attention. "What's going on here? A celebration?" Taiyo asked with a lighthearted tone. The atmosphere around him changed completely when he saw the faces of the villagers.

Their faces of sympathy.

"Taiyo..." The voice of his elderly neighbor said softly. Taiyo thought of her as a guardian, maybe even a parent in some instances. "It's your grandfather... I'm sorry.."