Three weeks have gone by since the defeat of The General, the appearance and retreat of Sparrow and the end of the invasion.
Under normal circumstances reconstruction would be quick, but too many were dead or injured, they couldn't rebuild as they normally would.
Luckily, none of Shu's friends died, at least the one's he's met with, he still hasn't found Ean or his family.
Currently, all of them were staying in what used to be The Sukeki village, they had built some shacks for the injured and those that were healthy built themselves houses.
About 60 people were roaming the village, about 15 of those already started planting fruits and vegetables, they used their sanctuary energy to increase the growth of the plants, giving them quick growing crops for their current temporary place.
Now Shu found himself behind his new home, sitting on the ground with bandages all around his chest and arms; he was tending to some flowers, slightly caressing them with his thumbs.
" Grow.. "
He whispered, spreading his hands a little, trying to use his sanctuary energy to make the plant spring out of the ground but it wouldn't budge, so he raised an eyebrow and tried again.
He started to tense the muscles on his forearms and hands, trying to make the flower grow, but it wouldn't work, so he sighed and took a deep breath.
" I guess the injuries I got before are still affecting me even now; I suppose it makes sense though, I've completely lost my ability to regenerate "
He said to himself, looking down at his hands before closing his eyes for a second, trying to focus and get his energy out, but it was of no use.
After a few seconds he opened his eyes, looked down at his hands one more time and proceeded to stand up
" Maybe I'll have to wait a month for me to be able to make a full recovery "
He whispered just to walk into his new home from a back doorway, entering very carefully, it was still very barely early in the morning so he was making sure not to wake any of his family members, but to his surprise Ayami was awake, preparing breakfast in the small kitchen
" Hello darling "
She whispered, stopping everything she was doing, smiling at her husband whilst patting her hands against the apron she was wearing
" Good morning love "
Shu replied as he watched her slowly approach him, spreading her arms apart, going in for a hug which Shu gladly accepted and corresponded
" Did the children wake up? "
Shu questioned just for Ayami to shake her head whilst breaking away from the hug
" No they haven't, it's still 5am, I doubt any of them will wake up any time soon "
Ayami explained just to receive a small nod from Shu who was walking toward a chair, sitting down on it to then look over at his wife and smile a little
" Come here Ayami "
He ordered just for her to raise an eyebrow, just to listen to him, walking to him but before she could say anything she was pulled onto his lap, and held against it
" Hey! "
She replied, chuckling a little as Shu just hugged her tightly, sinking his face into her back
" You smell good "
He whispered as she just sighed and caressed her husband's head a little
" You have to be careful my love, you're injured "
Ayami replied, with a soothing and low tone whilst kissing her man on his head
" You look very beautiful today, I like how your apron matches with your white nightgown "
He whispered, complementing his beautiful wife whilst she slowly twisted her body a little, making it so that her chest face him.
Shu looked up at her and placed his hand on her thighs, staring at her eyes while doing so.
Ayami leaned down, placing a soft and tender kiss on Shu's lips which he corresponded to with just as much affection and warmth
" I love you "
Ayami said as soon as she had broken away from the kiss, resting her forehead on Shu's head, just for him to place his hand on her head
" Should we have another child? "
Shu questioned, just for Ayami to smile as she just placed her hand on his chest
" Let's talk about that some other time yeah? Right now I need to make breakfast and you need to focus on making a full recovery, although our kingdom is destroyed you're still a king my love "
Ayami said whilst kissing Shu's cheek, getting off of his lap, and just when she was about to step away Shu patted her ass, making her blush a little before turning to look back at him, glaring a little whilst pointing her finger at him.
He sighed and stood up from his chair, stretching his arms out yawning a bit just to stare at his wife for a few seconds
" Ayami I'm going for a walk "
He announced just to receive a quiet okay from her; once she had replied the man left the house, standing at the front for a few seconds, placing his hands on his hips, looking at the village they had built in that small amount of time, just to start exploring, walking around with a smile on his face and a feeling of nostalgia in his heart.
He started to remember his younger self, when he was a teen he didn't last long in this village he still remembered how amazing the people were, how welcoming and fun they made this small place seem.
He remembered his first encounter with Ayami and his first battle in the village, it all came back to him very slowly; and although they were mostly happy memories, there was also a little void, the void which the death of Ayami's mother had left on both him and his wife.
Although he wasn't as attached to Elena as Ayami was, his memory of her was very warm so her death impacted him a bit; apart from that, all his other memories were warm, back then he was so full of joy and adventurous desire.
Before he could remember more of those thoughts however, one of the guards at the front door rushed toward Shu
" Your Majesty!! Your majesty!! "
He yelled as Shu just raised his hand, looking at the man with confusion
" What's wrong? What happened? "
Shu replied as the man tried to catch his breath, using all his power to stay composed
" The search team found him "
He said, making Shu raise an eyebrow
" We've sound Duke Ean! "