Chapter 9: The Aftermath

A few days passed by after that incident in the forest, Ken still hadn't woken up. It was unclear whether the Wolf King had been slain or not. The villagers stayed on high alert, but it was safe to the say that they weren't going to be in any immediate danger, especially after all the damage Ken dealt. However, Ken was still recovering from everything that happened in the forest. He lied in his bed wrapped in bandages. His finger twitched slightly.

His eyes opened, and he quickly sat upwards. You could say he woke up like one would after experiencing a nightmare, Ken wasn't aware of the amount of time that had passed and looked around noticing that he was back in his room did this mean he made it back safely? He tried hard to think about what happened and remembered a voice, but the more he tried to think about it, the more his head ached. He decided to forget it about it for now.

He slowly got up it seemed like his body had recovered a little in the past couple days. Ken lived in a fairly small house. The house consisted of three rooms, so if Ken decided to open that door, his mother was most likely going to be on the side. He was thinking about how he was supposed to explain his actions to his mother. She must've been worried about him. He didn't want to delay this any longer though and was ready to say what was on his mind.

Just when he was about to open the door, he saw the handle move. It was then he knew, something bad was about to happen. Before he was given a chance to step back, the door kicked open hitting Ken in the forehead making him fall. Ken's mother entered with a broom in both hands.

"I won't forgive anyone that tries to hurt my boy!"

After making her point clear. She looked down at the ground, her bold expression shifted into shock, when she saw Ken lying on the floor. In seconds it was like she turned into a detective, investigating the scene and body. As she started to piece everything together, she concluded that the culprit was none other than, herself! She stepped back.

"Impossible, how could I have killed my own son!"

"Hey! Don't rule me out as dead just yet, I'll have you know I'm still very alive."

"What!?!? You're still alive Ken, why didn't you say so sooner!"

"Maybe because a certain someone kicked a door open into my face and knocked me out!"

"I heard some sounds coming from inside of your room, so I thought maybe someone came to hurt you, it's been about few days since we've last talked, I assume you probably have some things to tell me?"

"That's right there's so much I nee-, wait did you just say few days?"

After that odd situation, Ken and his mother sat down at a table and started talking it was then Ken told her about everything that transpired inside of the forest. It was quite a tale to tell, but there was just one thing that didn't make sense to her.

"Ken, you say that you passed out in the middle of the forest, but the villagers found you just at that edge of it unconscious."

It was after she said that Ken was certain that someone else was in fact inside of the forest at the time and that same person rescued him, but who could this mysterious man have been, it certainly wasn't anyone Ken's met before. That led to Ken keeping quiet about it because he didn't want to worry anyone.

"Ah, I guess my head was a little fuzzy from all the fighting, so I guess I didn't remember it too well."

"Are you sure everything's okay Ken...?"

"Of course, I'm perfectly fine except for the massive bump on my head which you gave me!"

"You don't have to bring that up again. You know it was an accident."

A few hours later, Ken gathered the villagers up in one spot and had something to say to every single one them. He stood above every single one of them and readied himself. What came out turned out to be quite interesting.

"As of most you know I'm not really too good with words, but after that incident in the forest, it's clear that we as a village are too weak. So if it's fine with you before I go on my adventure, those of you who are willing, I want to train you and ensure the safety of the village to you. As it's likely, I won't be here next time something like this happens."

After what happened, the villagers knew they couldn't refuse, and from that day they trained together. Months passed leading into the winter season. Everyone was working hard to make sure they could all get stronger and protect the village from anything. Even in the ice-cold weather, they didn't skip a single day, including Ken.

Before they knew it a year had already passed by, it was back into the summer season.

There lied a boy resting under a familiar tree hiding from the bright rays of the sun. It was early in the morning, but the boy knew he wouldn't get the chance to do this again for a long time. Why? you ask. That's because today was the day Ken Ai would set out for his long-awaited adventure. He said but one thing before getting up.

"It really is a great day today to do absolutely nothing."