Kazuki slowly turns in his bed, under the warm covers. The sunlight filters through the windows. Kazuki turns around to avoid it as much as possible. The gentle light tickles the skin of the young boy's neck. Its soft warmth licks his face and wakes him up. He slightly opens his eyes and watches his room around. His eyes are partially covered by his messy hair. He stands up and looks around him, still in the process of waking up.
He stretches his arms and gets up off his bed. He lazily puts on a white kimono and leaves his room. On his way to the stairs, words of the day before come back to him. It was Father's day. It had been a while since the last time he had so much fun with his master. But what marked this day as a very important day is the discussion they had. The memories of his father that Tian-Han made. And the promise. The promise Tian-Han made when he took the young boy under his wing.
Kazuki goes down the stairs. As he arrives in another tiny corridor which leads to the main room, he sees Tian-Han quitting the kitchen with a teapot. The old man warmly smiles at the young boy, who answers with a bigger smile. Kazuki runs to Tian-Han and follows him into the main room. On the table, there is already some grilled fish, two plates, and two cups. Tian-Han puts a hand on Kazuki's head.
"I thought you would be tired after yesterday's festivity. So I didn't bother you with this chore. Now, let's eat.. son. We have a lot of training ahead."
Both of them sit at the table. They eat and drink peacefully. Kazuki's hairs get in his mouth as he eats and drinks. TIan-Han smiles and sights.
"Look at this mess, young man. I'll cut them right after breakfast, so you'll be able to see what you do."
They finish eating quickly. Right after, Tian-Han prepared a chair and went to the bathroom to take the tool he needed. In the meantime, Kazuki found a hiding place among some furniture to not get his hair cut by the old man. When the old man comes back, he starts searching for Kazuki. But he couldn't contain some silly laughs, which leads to Tian-Han finding him.
"- Ah ! You found me !
- Indeed. You're too predictable for me, little one, haha ! Now, stop playing. We got some work to do. Come over here."
Despites his pouting face, Kazuki lets the old man lead him by the hand to the chair and puts a towel on his torso. Tian-Han prepares everything needed on the kid's head and takes his scissor. He starts to cut with precision the hair of the young boy. Kazuki does his best to appear impassive, even though he actually hates it. The sensation of the cold metal and the hairs which are pulled. Tian-Han isn't very gentle when it comes to cutting hairs. As the scissors open and close with each precise snip, there's a crisp and clean "snip" sound. It's a short, sharp noise that carries a sense of precision and control in Tian-Han's hands. It fills the silence with a very regular sound, like the "tick" of time itself. It is a consistent and measured cadence as each section of hair is carefully trimmed.
After some time of carefully cutting and adjusting Kazuki's hairs, Tian-Han gives a mirror to the young boy. And with pride, he shows the new haircut.
"So, what do you think ?"
Kazuki considers it for a short time.
"I preferred them longer."
Tian-Han rolls his eyes with a smile.
"Ah, of course."
Kazuki sticks out his tongue and Tian-Han mimics shock to the young boy's action. Both of them burst in laughter right after. And when they calm down, Tian-Han starts to clean up the material and the hairs on the ground.
"Alright, wait for me outside. I'll show you some new things."
Excited, the young boy runs outside. Once in the yard, he feels the wind coming to kiss his skin. A cold but soft wind. Leaves float around him. He keeps running in a circle. He doesn't really have a reason to be so happy. For him, it's just a beautiful day. The sky is clear and the sun is rising, shining bright in the horizon. His laughter fills the air and echoes through the domain. He spins on himself. But as he is having fun, he pumps into something. A humanoid form, wearing armor. It stands there, before Kazuki, and casts a shadow over him. It doesn't move. Maybe it didn't really care about him. The sun prevents him from seeing what it is. He puts his hands to form a visor above his eyes. And then, he sees it. He jumps and his eyes widen in surprise when he realizes what he pumped into.