The wind blows softly as the sun shines bright. A beautiful village can be seen in the distance. The scenery gives light to all that is there. Meanwhile, a kid within the village can be seen sitting in his room by himself.

He lies down on his bed looking at the ceiling, with minimal sunlight beaming into his dimly lit room.

He pulls his blanket over himself, covering his basic black and blue pants, then covers his black shirt. His short black spiky hair lays flat on his pillow, as he shuts his eyes, covering his dark blue eyes as he thinks to himself…

"Being here is so boring. Death runs everywhere, even though we have a significant amount of protection at this village. But then again, why should an 8 year old me be worried about death. I'm gonna die from an empty stomach if I don't eat."

He yawns and gets up out of bed before walking to his balcony, looking out into the rest of the beautiful village.

"Mother…where are you? Where could your soul have run off to?" He thinks to himself…

He gets up and walks out of his room, which leads him outside. He walks down a set of stairs then into his fathers room. He opens the door but sees no one in sight

"Father?" He calls out.

He walks into the room and doesn't find anyone in there, besides his three year old brother Kuro lying in bed. Kuro's short black hair brushes up against his pillow, still remaining quiet, leading Jack to walk over to him. Picking him up and holding him in his arms, he tells him…

"You're awfully quiet, Kuro. Are you hungry?"

Kuro looks up at Jack, showing his innocent black colored eyes looking back into Jack's, before nodding his head in affirmation.

"Let's get you some food." He says, as he carries him out of the room.

He walks outside into the most occupied part of the village, leading him into a crowd of people.

"We're at the center of the village!"

He exclaims with excitement…

Jack would look around as people would walk everywhere with their supplies, friends, and loved ones. Kuro sees a sushi shop and stares at it. Jack notices and looks at the sushi shop

"Bowa Boa's Sushi shop huh? You want sushi?"

Kuro smiles and nods. In turn, Jack would smile and take him to Bowa Boa's Sushi. Jack sits down at the table which is soon followed by a tall middle aged woman with a purple and gray outfit walking up to them. Her white apron covers the outfit while her black hair lies down past her shoulders. She stands and looks over at the siblings with her lively brown eyes before greeting them.

"Oh hello there, Jack! I see you've brought Kuro with you. Your father must be having a meeting right now!"

She smiles back at the two siblings, excited to see them doing well…

"You're exactly right, Bowa Boa!"

Jack responds.

"And what shall I get for you two?"

"Just the regular. It's for my brother here. I don't have any money to feed myself. So, I thought I could use the rest I have to feed him. Besides, he's never had sushi before."

Jack's words hit close to home for Bowa Boa, as she would then respond…

"Is that so? Well, aren't you such a kind older brother!"

Jack smiles in response to her words as she goes to the back of the restaurant and makes the sushi. Jack looks at Kuro before thinking to himself…

"Kuro…"

He closes his eyes and imagines himself running away from a crossfire. He gets swept up off his feet by his father and rushed to a safe cover spot. The setting changes to the sight of a flat out war zone. The sky remains cloudy, as destroyed buildings and dead bodies can be seen. All the while, the area remains smoky and chaotic. 

A younger Jack would question his father as to why things are the way they are…

"Why are we doing this? What's the point?"

His father turns and looks at him with a look more serious than ever. His blue eyes stare back at him while his long, black hair blows in the wind. His outfit is silver with a golden belt on his waist, giving him a look more defining than ever. As he looks on, he would soon turn and run back into the battlefield. Jack stares on, looking very disoriented. He begins to hear the echoes of soldiers calling his fathers name

"Konori!! We have just been authorized to fall back! Our commander has new plans!"

"No…not until my son, Jack is safe!" 

Konori…the father of Jack would respond.

"Failing to evacuate can lead to certain death, and I will have to evacuate the little one. Konori…I don't want to leave you behind."

Konori would coldly respond…

"Go! I'll be back."

Before turning to look at the soldier. His long hair sits on his shoulders, sweat dripping next to his teal eyes, his black armor covering his arms, legs, and chest. He smiles at them and waves.

"This isn't the end, I will return to the village. But this battle is for our alliance. Nothing more, nothing less. Now if you will, fall back now. I'll draw them in!" 

"I hope you're right Konori…"

The soldier looks at Jack with a reluctant look on his face, knowing that at any moment, his father could be killed. But before anything else could be thought of, he gestures to Jack to follow him.

"Cmon Jack, let's go." The soldier says, as he leads Jack to extraction

Jack, being worried, nods and listens, running to the soldier, followed by the both of them evacuating. As this goes on, this memory starts to fade while Jack begins to ask more questions.

"Dad…but why…?"

Jack's voice begins to echo in his mind while the memories of his final words to his mom can be heard.

"Stay with us mom! Stay with us!"

Soon after, it would be Konori's voice that would echo in Jack's young mind.

"This isn't the end, I will return to the village. But this battle is for our alliance. Nothing more, nothing less."

These memories fade to black as Jack still remains concerned

"Father…"

But before he knows it, he snaps out of it, as Bowa yells Jack's name.

"Jack!"

"Oh, sorry Bowa Boa. I was just thinking about something, that's all."

Before anything else is said, he looks and sees that Bowa Boa didn't just make a plate of sushi for Kuro, but made one for him as well.

"More? But why?" He asks.

"You care about your brother. You care about him more than you care about yourself. In my eyes, you're a true elder brother."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

Jack questions.

"Do you love your brother?"

"Of course I do."

Bowa Boa puts her hands on her hips and responds…

"When you love someone with all your heart, you'll do crazy things just for their well being. You'll do everything that's possible, just to show what it truly means to live purely in this life. Even if it means fighting them."

Jack is taken aback by her words and nods in agreement.

Bowa Boa smiles

"That's the spirit!"

Jack chuckles and smirks for a moment and his smirk turns into a concerned look. Bowa Boa would take notice of this sudden change.

"What's wrong?" She asks.

"I wonder…why is father so busy? What is he so busy with?"

"Well…I don't have the answers for that. I'm only a cook." 

Bowa Boa laughs.

"Yeah…you're right. I apologize for asking you about such a thing."

In that moment, Jack feels her hand placed on his shoulder, forcing him to curiously look up at her.

"Your father does so much for you, especially for your little Kuro. Your father does everything he can just to make sure that you're okay. And I can see that you're already doing the same thing with your brother. You may not think that he wants to take care of you, but what he sacrifices…what he's able to do behind closed doors…that's what truly matters."

Jack stares off into space with a saddened look with a dissatisfied expression as Bowa Boa continues…

"Wherever you look in this world, there will always be opportunities to be made. It's about what you do with those opportunities that truly makes a difference!"

"I guess…" Jack replies.

Kuro gets done eating his food and wants to get going.

"You're done already, Kuro?"

Kuro smiles joyfully and nods, making Jack smile in response as he begins to carry Kuro once more.

"I'm sorry Bowa Boa, but I have to leave now. If I don't, he'll get irritated."

"Wait!" Bowa Boa exclaims.

Jack curiously turns and sees Bowa handing him more money than he had originally given her. This only raises more questions.

"But why? Why give me money? I don't deserve it."

"Hmmm well you see Jack, I can't have you walking around on an empty stomach. You have to take care of Kuro while your fathers gone. For a while, you've been doing that very well. You even manage to take care of your brother more than you take care of yourself. Out of respect, I'm honored to lend you more money, in hopes that you take care of your little brother along with yourself."

A bright smile runs across Jacks face as he looks into her eyes

"Thank you so much Bowa Boa!"

With that being said, he walks up to her and takes the money that she's handed out to him. Jack turns back around and walks away from the shop. As he walks away, he turns and says his goodbyes to Bowa Boa. Not too long after, a group consisting of three masked men stalk Jack as he walks around the village with Kuro. One having a red devil mask, another having a green demon mask, and the other having a white joker mask.

"What now?" Green mask asks.

"Let him pass us. Our way of this mission is how we take action." Red mask responds.

"Understood!"

The man in the joker mask informs the group of Jack's capabilities, saying…

"So he's the son of Konori…How unfortunate. I've heard he mastered ninjutsu at the age of 7." 

"Then there's no need of showing mercy." Says red mask.

"Then this should be quick" Green mask assures.

"Don't underestimate your victim guys." Joker mask warns…

As they finish with their exchange of words, they emerge from the shadows and surround Jack from the front and back. Gripping their weapons, they slowly walk towards Jack. Jack grabs Kuro and puts him down before looking back up at these mysterious individuals. Kuro stands far from Jack, in a safer area right before Jack begins to take out his sword.

"You're Konori's son." Says Joker mask.

As he says this, Jack begins to think to himself…

"Just who are these people? What do they want from me?"

Jack steps forward and questions the masked men.

"Yes I am. Why?"

"Well…you are his son after all." Joker mask replies.

"What does that mean?"

"It means we will take you in for questioning! Surrender!" The devil mask exclaims.

Jack gives the three masked men a serious look before taking his sword halfway out of the holster before he coldly says…

"Bring it."

The masked men take out their swords and charge at Jack. But noticibly, he would stand has ground, preparing for the fight. The masked men attack would Jack but he dodges, slides and flips over every attack thrown at him. The masked men all charge at Jack, but he swiftly jumps into the air, and turns his head to see Kuro looking back at him, in awe. He smiles at Kuro and turns his head back at his attackers. White joker kicks Jack in the stomach, flipping him over, but he lands on his feet.

"This is your last chance, kid. Come with us and the little one wont get hurt." Says the Joker mask.

These words only infuriate the young Jack, hearing threats being thrown at his little brother.

"Leave my little brother out of this you stupid masked people!"

He then goes on the assault and charges at white joker. Both Jack and the white joker clash swords and begin a great duel with rapid attacks being sent from one to the other. The other masked men stand back and watch as all of this unfolds. Jack and white joker continue with their one on one sword duel, both of which would flip around evading attacks. Jack would begin to think to himself as he fights on.

"He's fast…this guy is making me more mad."

Jack's arm that wields his sword, would engulf itself in bright blue flames, and would then spread to his sword. Notably, his eyes would turn to a brighter shade of blue, almost glowing. With this being done, their duel would continue but not for long. Jack would knock the sword out of white joker's hands and kick him to the ground with ease. He points the sword back at white joker, with a serious and determined look on his face.

"That's as far as you will go."

But suddenly, Jack would drop to his knees, holding his head with one hand and grunting. His bright blue eyes begin to flicker while he starts breathing heavily. He closes his eyes for a moment before reopening them, revealing them to be going back to their natural shade of blue. The white joker notices this, saying…

"What a turn of events. Well in that case…"

He takes his mask off, revealing it to be his father, Konori, smiling joyfully.

"Hey there silly!" Konori says.

Jack is completely caught off guard, having a very shocked look on his face.

"HUUUUUUUHHH?????!!!!!!! HEYYYY!!! WHY DID YOU DO THAT?! I COULDVE KILLED YOU?!" Jack yells.

"Oh come on! I had to do it to test if your training paid off." Konori says, while chuckling nervously.

"You even said you'd hurt Kuro…" Jack responds, with a saddened tone.

"Well, I didn't hurt anyone, did I?"

"YOU KICKED ME IN THE STOMACH!" Jack yells back.

Konori laughs before saying…

"It was a soft kick, and besides I kinda wanted to play with you due to how gullible you really are."

"I'm not gullible, and that kick wasn't soft! It was…it was…softly…hard. Softly hard." Jack responds, with a confused tone.

"You know that doesn't make sense right?"

"HA! Just like your face!" Jack proudly exclaims.

Konori's teammates take their masks off and laugh at him.

"HEY SHUT UP!"

"I was joking!" Jack chuckles.

Konori rubs Jack's hair then picks Kuro up, holding him in his arms.

"We should really get something to eat, shall we?" Konori insists.

"But we just ate." Jack replies.

"Oh? Bowa Boa?"

Kuro and Jack both nod their heads in affirmation to his question.

"ICE CREAM IT IS!" Konori says, with excitement in his voice.

"LETS GO!" Jack yells.

To which Konori would respond as Kuro would joyfully laugh…

"YEAH!"

Konori walks off with Kuro in his arms while Jack walks next to him, joyful that their father is there to spend the rest of his day with them.