Ken swiftly reached for his weapon and fired behind him, but the old man was already in front of him. 'No matter how old I get, my skills are still at a good level,' said the old man. Ken realized that the man in front of him surpassed his own level. 'What do you want?' asked Ken as Makoto clung to him. 'Please, don't do anything to Ken-chan.'
The old man smiled; it was a smile filled with pain. 'I found you after many years, chosen one.' He embraced Ken, tears streaming from his eyes. 'Both of us have been searching for you, child.' Both of us? Ken had no idea what was going on, but this embrace was entirely filled with love; he felt it, along with the pain.
The old man looked into Ken's eyes. 'I knew I would find you.' Ken distanced himself from the old man. 'Hey, old man, who are you? Why are you looking at me like that?' It was the third affectionate gaze Ken had seen in his life. 'You, why... I don't even know you.'
'Yes, I know, child, you've never seen me, and I've never seen you, but if there's one thing I'm sure of, it's that you're the second chosen one.' Makoto tried to interpret the events in his mind. 'I have no idea what you're talking about.'
'I know, because after that day, all tradition, all history disappeared.' Ken didn't have time for this. 'Let's go, Makoto.' Makoto nodded, and they started to move away from the old man.
'I know your mother, Ken,' the sentence stopped Ken for the second time. He turned around and scrutinized the old man. 'She was there that day too. Like everyone else, she came to watch that magnificent performance.' Ken approached the old man. 'I think we need to talk. Tell me, old man, who are you and what are you? But first, let's go to a safe place, follow us.'
The old man nodded and followed the two in front of him. After passing many streets, they entered a small cabin. An old bed for two was laid on the ground, accompanied by an old table and two chairs. 'You two sit, I'll sit on the bed,' said Makoto, and they began to watch them. The old man and Ken sat facing each other.
'So you live here, at least you have a life partner, I'm glad about that, child,' said the old man, a smile appearing on Makoto's face. 'We'll talk about this later. Tell me what you want to tell,' said Ken, understanding that the old man wasn't an empty figure.
"Okay, child. That day was significant; new chosen ones were about to begin their duties. But that major unexpected event happened. Shi's owner split Katsu's owner in two. They turned into something else and disappeared along with two swords. Your mother was there; she was watching those events in shock. After that day, there were no chosen ones who were supposed to fulfill the gods' duties. My student Yu disappeared with the two swords."
The master's eyes filled with tears. "When the gods' duty wasn't fulfilled, the regions that needed revitalization remained lifeless, the growing darkness that needed to be eradicated continued unchecked. People suffered from hunger, resorted to looting the belongings of others from different regions as a solution, evil grew, and people attacked each other based on their needs. The existence of the soul was completely forgotten. Everyone looked at Yu as the last chosen one, the beacon of hope had dimmed, I was even on the verge of losing hope, until I saw Yasushi. I noticed the awakened soul within him, took him under my wing, didn't disclose why I brought him with me, trained him, and together, we searched for the other chosen one, which means we searched for you for years. However, there was no naturally awakened soul in anyone living in our region; the feared event happened to us. The other chosen one was in the other realm, so here, you're that person, Ken. It was really difficult to find you here."
"You found me just now?" said Ken. "You knew most of these things, didn't you? Your mother must have told you?" Ken slammed his hand on the table. "My mother always wanted to cross to the other side but couldn't."
"Hey, hey, old man, you might know Ken's mother, but how do you know he's her child?" asked Makoto.
"You've touched on an interesting point, dear girl. When I found Ken, I followed you both. I needed to gather the necessary information to communicate successfully with you."
"Look, look, I've got another interesting question: how can you be so sure that Ken mentioned being 'chosen'?"
"Hehe, you remind me of Yu. He used to get caught up in the details. Let's say it's a blessing given to us by the gods. For our mission," said the old man.
Ken stood up. "Ah, I'm sorry, old man, or should I say Master Shen, but I can't be chosen, I'm an assassin. You came too late; the time for your arrival has long passed. I'm sorry."
"But without you, we can't stop Yu. You have to take over the mission; chosen ones exist for this," the master insisted.
"I've given you my answer, Master Shen. I'm now an assassin; I can't be chosen."
"Ah, well then, child, we'll see each other for now," said the master, and he suddenly vanished; the door of the cabin was swinging.
"Hey, Ken-chan, come here," said Makoto, tapping gently on the bed. She was calling her man.
Ken sat beside her. "Hey, Makoto, don't leave me, please?" Ken rested his head on Makoto. "I won't leave you, my dear, you'll always be my Ken-chan."
"Never?"
"Yes, never. You'll be my Ken-chan forever." A gentle smile appeared on Ken's face.
"Hey, hmm, Ken-chan, how about shaking off today's exhaustion?" said Makoto, holding Ken's head and meeting his eyes; her eyes were burning with passion.
"Hmm, if you want," said Ken, and he took Makoto beneath him; their faces slowly drew closer to each other. It was a tiring day for the two companions.
"Ken-chan, you're even impressive while asleep," whispered Makoto. Ken opened his eyes on Makoto's chest. "A new day, Makoto, a new day to continue our mission to cleanse this land from filth."
"Then let's hit the road," said Makoto, got up, and put on her shirt, wearing her skirt between her legs. Ken rinsed his mouth and put on his clothes; they left the cabin.
"Oh, again?" said Ken. When Ken and Makoto turned around, there was another stranger appearing behind them. "You must be the other chosen one." The smooth-faced, long-haired man with a sensei hat on looked at them.