Ballu was surprised, to say the least, given that he didn't know Yusef had a son.
"Yusef doesn't have a son, you're spouting nonsense!", said Ballu with an inquiring face.
"He must have sensed my killing intent, and he should be on his way here. Ask him when you see him. But I warn you. DO NOT, say that the bloodlust was mine. He doesn't know I developed one and, if he knows, his cute little boy has developed such a strong bloodlust, he's gonna go insane. ", Iono said while crossing his arms and staring down at the puma.
"Ballu, look at me, I repeat, DO NOT mention anything, or I swear, I'm coming for your head in a few years.", he said while he released just a bit of his killing intent.
Cold shivers run down Ballu's spine, and he nodded his head, knowing that if he really was Yusef's son, Iono could not only, hand his ass to him in a few years, but Ballu couldn't even touch him, given that he technically is Yusef's subordinate.
"Now kitty you are gonna stay here, and tell my dad that you didn't know I was his son, and the killing intent was you. Both of us walk out of this intact. My father is kind, he'll overlook this.", said Iono with a smug grin.
"Oi, boy. Don't you dare call me kitty again, or I'll rip you to shred's even if you were a god's firstborn for all I care. I may submit to Yusef, but I've got my pride. I'll fight with my life on the line for it, and believe me, you do not want to test me. ", said Ballu with an alluring light in his eyes. This was pride! He was the King of the Forest! "I bow to the strong, but my pride bows to no one". That was his last phrase.
Imposing.
"Very admirable, Ballu. As expect from the Black panther of Nundram.", Iono said with a satisfied smile.
Nundran was the name of the vast forest, that they were currently in. It was a very famous forest, mostly for its size, but also the unknown dangers and powerful creatures, hiding in its midst. Ballu was the famous guardian of the forests, aka The Black Panther of Nundram. Although in front of Iono, he's but a mere housecat, for the people of the Eastern Kingdom, he was a fearsome existence.
After a few minutes of staring contest between the huge puma, and the oversized four-year-old, Yusef appeared like a ghost, with a purple longsword in his hands.
"Iono! Are you okay? What happened here, I sensed heavy killing intent. "
Then he turned and saw Ballu looking at him. He felt like there was something wrong with his old friend. "Ballu? What are you doing here? It's rare for you to come out. What happened? ", he asked.
Ballu and Iono, exchanged a glance, and then Iono opened his mouth first to say, " Nothing dad, just a misunderstanding. Ballu here didn't know who I was, and I've been making noise here training. It seems he wanted to scare me away, but I told him I was your son, and problem solved. "
"That's right Yusef. I didn't know you had a youngling! You are supposed to say something. We're old friends, don't leave me in the dark!"
Yusef realized immediately what happened and said, "Well if all is good, then let the matter rest.". He then turned to Ballu and said, "I'm sorry old friend, Anna and I having been having so much to deal with, regarding this little monkey over here, and I've rarely gone out to interact with anyone. Anyway it's good you've met him, I was going to introduce you anyways, since I want you to look after him."
"Look after who? The Devil? Looks like Yusef really doesn't know a thing. Better keep my mouth shut!", Ballu thought to himself.
"Of course Yusef, do you even have to ask? I'll look after the kid, make sure no accidents happen. ", he actually said. "Make sure I save whoever crosses his path.", he added inwardly.
"That's reassuring! Thank you Ballu. Now Iono! ", he yelled while turning to face his son.
"I know you want to train, but do you have to annoy everyone? First of all, I didn't even know you trained, where did you even get the idea? I thought you were just lazing around in the forest! And why didn't you come to me for help? ".
Yusef was a bit hurt his son, was training without consulting him. He had gifted Iono a toy sword, when he turned three, and he had been waiting excitedly, for when Iono was old enough to train. Anna was obviously adamant about not letting a four-year-old yield a sword.
She was okay with the forest, because she knew that, every single creature was aware that Yusef was close, and they wouldn't dare hurt a human in the South of the forest. Yusef training him with the sword, would obviously be much more dangerous.
"I'm sorry dad, but I don't really like the sword, and honestly, I have a goal. Dad, I want to surpass you. You are strong, really strong, but I want to be stronger. I can't be stronger than you, if you train me. It doesn't feel right.".
Iono did his best impersonation of a four-year-old saying that, and actually sounded convincing.
"So that's why he was training alone... ", Yusef thought to himself.
"So that's why Yusef doesn't know his son is evil incarnate... " Ballu thought to himself.
"Honestly son, you've surprised me. I didn't know you had such a goal, but-", he kneeled in in front of Iono , so he could look him in the eyes at an equal level, instead of looking at him from above. "Let me tell you a secret. We share the same goal. What I want for you, is exactly the same, as what you want for yourself. I would be nothing but excited for you to surpass me, and I have no doubt that you are a talented little monkey.
I also understand, that you want to surpass me yourself. I don't know where you found such self clarity, but I do know that you are as stubborn as your mother. I won't ask you to come train with me, but I will say this. If anything ever happens to you, think about you being alive first and foremost. I've been through enough to know, that this world isn't a beautiful place, and the first day I saw you I swore, I would protect you from anything that may come. Iono, I know you want to be strong, but being alive is more important.", he said looking proudly at his son.
Iono was a mess inside. Remembering his father's death, he almost puked, after hearing his sweet words. He run and hugged Yusef tight.
"Hoho, what's this little monkey." Yusef said while hugging him back.
"Dad, I want to train with you. It's okay, I'll also train by myself, but I also want to train with you. " Iono said tearing up a bit. "Is this really a dream? This might be Karma for all the lives I took. I'm sorry Dad! ", he added inwardly. Yusef's death kept replaying in his mind over and over, making Iono appreciate, even the fake moments he had with him.