The birds sung a merry tune and the leaves glowed with a bright green colour. The rain the previous night had washed the foliage making them brighter.
Waking up, he rubbed his eyes and sat up drowsily as he breathed in the fresh air.
His body ached and was hurting all over. As he moved to stand, his legs shook painfully and ached in protest.
Steadying himself he walked to his table and sat down on the chair.
At that moment, he heard some noises coming from what seemed to be the kitchen as he heard pots being handled. The pleasant aroma that came with it confirmed his thoughts.
Despite his condition, he bolted to the door and pushed it open swiftly as a realization came to his head. Hoping fervently he called out.
"Mum?"
"Oh you're awake"
Was the reply. It was feminine, but it was not his mother's voice. Walking to the kitchen he stood before the door and looked in.
"How was your rest? Come, have some breakfast, I made rice balls".
She smiled at him warmly. She was not wearing the uniform he had seen her wear, instead, She was wearing a green kimono with flowers strewn on it and the helm was coloured light green. Her dark hair, now dried up coupled with her smooth skin added to her good looks and increased her beauty tremendously.
'Wait, but if she is here, then... '. Zhang thought. His face grew gloomy and the light in his eyes dimmed. That means what he experienced was not a dream but reality.
Then he really saw his Mother die and his brother get eaten.
'Wait, if I remember clearly, I passed out. How did she get here. I know I must have ran far from here'.
Zhang was puzzled.
"You're doing that thing again, zoning out" She said while dropping the rice balls carefully on a plate.
"You did it last night too, when I killed it, you just stared at me"
"Or maybe I'm just too pretty" She giggled after a brief thought.
Zhang became flustered and he blushed slightly.
"Sorry" Zhang muttered.
"If I may ask, who are you and how did you find my house?". Zhang asked while keeping his gaze down.
"Xadia" She said while lifting the tray containing the Plate of rice balls.
After cleaning himself up, Zhang sat at the table and helped himself to a rice ball which was dropped on a plate.
"And about how I found your house, I just followed the footsteps you made". She said before taking a bite out of the rice ball she was holding.
She ate with etiquette, but in a carefree way. Like chewing with her mouth closed while resting her elbows on the table.
'Followed my footsteps?. But there were leaves and all' Zhang thought as he looked at her again.
She seemed perfectly ordinary and if he didn't see or know that she killed that thing, he would have believed her to be the daughter of some rich man who was very tender and gentle.
'Maybe cause of the rain, the footsteps would be glaring anyway' he reasoned.
His eyes widened as another realization came to his mind.
'How did I get here' He looked at her once more.
'Did she carry me?!'.
He reached for a rice ball and munched on it slowly. His face brightened up a little as the warm, tender taste caressed his taste buds.
'Beautiful, Kind and Great Cooking skills!'
He soon reached for another ball and dug into it rather hurriedly. As he was eating, she stood and went into the room that was meant for guests.
'So she found the guest room huh. Guess that was were she got that kimono from.' He thought As he ate the last of the three rice balls.
His Mum always kept spare clothes in the guest room for when they had visitors. Depending on the guests to come, she would place extra clothes for them.
The last visitor they had was a traveling female merchant, had stayed there for the night.
The sound of the sliding door announced her return.
Now she was dressed in her grey leather armor and her Katana,stationed on her waist belt.
"You need to leave here. Come on, I'll escort you to the town" She said as she walked towards him.
"But I don't know anyone in town." Zhang muttered.
"Oh" she said with a surprised look.
'Don't know anyone in town? How is that possible' Xadia thought unbelievably, but she didn't show it.
"I want to ask you something" Zhang said lightly.
"What is it?"
"The bodies you found. Where are they?".
"....I burnt them" Xadia said after a brief hesitation.
"O...Ok"
She was prepared for complaints but what he said surprised her. Most folks would get mad about it and curse and threaten her, although she did it for them. Even she had did it before.....
Standing up he walked towards her briskly and knelt down on one knee before her.
"???????"
"Please teach me" Zhang pleaded.
She was surprised again. Not only wasn't he angry at her, but he wanted to learn from her too.
"Teach you?" She asked.
" Yes. Swordsmanship" Zhang clarified, thinking she didn't understand.
"If I had been stronger, my mum and brother would not have died so easily. As the older brother I should have been the one who charged to that creature, not my younger sibling" Zhang said regretfully while holding back the urge to cry again. Afterwards he narrated all that happened to her.
"I can't teach you how I fight" She said bluntly.
Zhang felt as though he was hit by a log. But what she said next calmed his fears.
"But I can teach you what you should know in order to survive. So if you're willing, you're gonna train like hell".
Zhang unconsciously gulped.
....
Zhang was swinging the wooden stick with all the strength he could muster. Since she was a female, he expected her training to be quite feminine and easy but she proved him wrong.
Apparently, she was taught by man so she her fighting strength and techniques were on par with and even better than an average samurai.
"Gah!"
Zhang exclaimed painfully as he fell to the ground. He was breathing hard and his arms felt like they would fall off.
It was the second day of training and it was getting intense.
In the mornings, he had to hold his breath while his face was submerged in water, then afterwards, he would jog to the town and back.
Afternoons he would swing his wooden stick like a Katana as much as she wanted, Night training was a nightmare to him as he would be led deep into the forest then asked to come back to the house.
She usually followed him, and when she was satisfied with the distance, she would run back to the house asking him to keep up to her. An impossible task for him.
The thing that edged him on, was his fear of the dark forest, and everywhere he looked, he seemed to see a dark hungry figure just waiting to attack him and tear him to shreds.
He slid the door tiredly and walked in with aching bones and stressed muscles. He lied down quietly on the bed and stared at the ceiling.
'Ah, my journal' Zhang thought as he stood up again and walked to the table. Sitting on the chair he opened it and started flipping the pages, reading the contents silently.
Most entries were about his family and tears rolled down his cheeks as he remembered the happy and silly memories.
"Don't worry Mum, Eric-san, I'll get stronger and make you happy, wherever you are".
He made a note to himself. To get stronger so he could protect those close to him, and prevent others from going through the same fate.