The sun shines, coating the village in its light. In the distance, Jack, Kuro, and their father, Konori, walk around the village eating their ice cream they had bought previously. Jack turns and looks up at his father, questioning him on his whereabouts.
"So…father…where were you?" Asks the worried Jack.
Konori looks on with a dissatisfied gaze before caressing his neck, and following it up by him giving a brief sigh before he answers Jack.
"Sorry Jack…I've been busy carrying out my responsibilities for the village and for its military. It's a lot to handle all at once…especially for one person."
But as Konori would give Jack his answers, this dissatisfied look he had from earlier would soon turn into a delightful smile, before he reaches down and pats Jack on the head before continuing…
"But that's what comes with being a leader. You'll know that feeling all too well, soon enough. Besides, you'll be the one taking my place in the end. Then, you'll be the leader that me and your mother always wanted you to be. It all starts here…" He says, pressing his hand against his chest, symbolizing that it all comes from the heart.
"Do you understand?" Konori asks.
"Yes father."
"Good…you'll think back on these words one day. I assure you. But right now, I'm concerned about your time at the academy. Is your teacher, Larro, giving you guys real lessons? Is he teaching you what you need to know?
Jack scratches his head for a moment before responding…
"He's getting there…we're learning about Kenshu: the molding of essence into your limbs and weapons."
"You mean to tell me that he taught you this, months ago right?" Asks Konori.
"Not at all…it's been much earlier than that. Kenshu is still hard to control…but I managed to use it for a short amount of time." Jack responds as he smiles back at his father.
"Yes, I've seen you pull this off when I tested you earlier. But that begs the question, when exactly did Larro begin teaching Kenshu?" Konori curiously asks.
"Yesterday..." Jack would say, thinking nothing of it while telling his father how much time it took him to learn this. However, these words would only shock Konori.
"Impossible! It takes months to learn how to use Kenshu properly. It took me nearly two months to learn Kenshu, and here he is learning it in a day! Although he still hasn't mastered it yet, this is still a formidable performance."
Konori stands there for a brief moment before responding to his son, who can be seen looking concerned by his fathers shocked expression.
"Dad, what's wrong?" Asks Jack.
"Nothing at all son. Your father is just taken aback by your potential. Kenshu takes months to even perform and years to master. And here you are, making use of it. I thought Larro would've taught you these things months ago. But whatever the case…"
He says before kneeling down to his son's level, locking eye contact and hugging him. This is followed by him continuing…
"I'm so proud of you Jack. Keep this up and you'll end up replacing me as the strongest in this village. But you must have the understanding that it takes a lot to lead The Village of Tensen."
Jack's curiosity only increases when listening to his fathers words.
"Dad, why are you telling me this?" A concerned Jack would question.
"I'm telling you this because I can see a great power within you. Even Kuro…you two have a great power that will far surpass mine. It's only right for you to have the leading role of our village. Besides, your dads only getting older. There's only so much I could do."
He would begin to softly chuckle while Jack would only get more confused about his fathers choice of words.
"What great power, dad?" Jack questions, with his arms folded.
Konori only chuckles at Jack's curious nature before answering…
"The great power that comes from the fire in your hearts. You will understand when you get older. You're a hard worker, passionate, and you're very intelligent. I haven't met anyone with the level of potential as yours in a very long time. I once knew a soldier with your level of potential. He saved my life during my time in the war. But there was a day he disappeared and never came back. His name was Hanabi Makigore."
His words strike curiosity within Jack, only making him ask more about this man.
"What kind of person was he, dad?"
"He was just like you…driven by ambition, determination, and a strong will to fight. Hanabi was confident enough to have two sons during the war. Sekido Makigore and Shiro Makigore. He was viewed as a great hero throughout the nation.
However, things changed when the war was almost over. He allowed his pride to consume him and envied me along with the higher ups of each and every nation. He wanted to end the war with the control of all nations in his hands. He wanted to control every nation alone and dictate the lives of the innocent, along with their military. His ideology only showed me the kind of person he truly was…and I wasn't going to allow that to happen. But neither would he allow me to stop him. And with that, we fought a great battle."
"Did you win, father?" Asks Jack.
"I did. Before I could restrain him, he managed to slash me across my stomach, before running away. After that, he was never seen or heard from again. Whatever the case, I still have the scar to this day." Konori says while zipping down his uniform to show his scar that goes from one side of his stomach, to the other.
Konori would continue by saying…
"This is why it's important to train and to increase your knowledge. If you fought Hanabi Makigore at the age I fought him at, you wouldn't make the same mistake I did. That's why you and your brother are important to the village. But to me, you and Kuro are more than just power. You are my sons, and I love the both of you no matter what."
Jack would smile back at Konori while zipping up his uniform.
"I love you too dad" Jack happily responds.
Jack's baby brother calls out to him out of nowhere…
"Big brother.." Kuro calls out.
"Oh, Kuro! What's the matter?"
"Ice cream!" Kuro says with his voice raised
"HUUUUH???!!!! HOW DID YOU FINISH YOUR ICE CREAM THAT FAST?!" Jack exclaims.
"Ice cream." Says Kuro, in a joyfully cute tone. This In turn is followed up with Jack responding…
"You're always eating up all the ice cream, Kuro."
Konori chuckles at the situation. Scratching his head, he'd soon stare back at Jack.
"Well then, it looks like I should head back and get some more ice cream for this kiddo. But for you Jack, it's about time you head to Tensen Academy."
"Aww man!" Says the displeased Jack.
Konori places his hand out, and in response, Jack hands him his sword.
"Good luck out there!" Says Konori, waving his hand out to Jack.
"Thank you." Jack would say with a smile on his face, before turning around and heading to Tensen Academy.
A large fairly built academy can be seen. Inside, Jack sits in class surrounded by other students. Larro, the teacher of this class, would announce the kids' lesson as he would reposition his glasses.
"With that being said, let's go over the basics of Kenshu and how the flow of essence works from your body, to your weapon."
Unfortunately for Larro, Jack would interrupt him, telling him about his new achievement.
"Larro-Sensei, I believe I mastered that ability! I tested that with my father!"
"It is a technique, not an ability Jack. As I've said before, Kenshu requires months of training. It wouldn't make sense if you could pull it off that quickly…let alone master it. Now, our lesson will commence…"
Jack crosses his arms, annoyed from being brushed off by his sensei. Two knocks on the door can be heard from behind Larro.
"Huh?"
Larro would walk over to open the door for whoever was behind it. Larro along with the entire class would be met with a slightly older looking kid with short, spiky, black hair, and eyes.
"Kyuya! You're late!"
Kyuya slowly looks into the eyes of Jack with an irritated look on his face, as if he already knew where and who Jack was. A feeling of alarm would mysteriously sweep over Jack as he tries to figure out who Kyuya is, and why he looked at him the way he did.
"I see." Kyuya says with a calm demeanor.
Larro smiles at Kyuya before telling him to take a seat.
"Why don't you take a seat, Kyuya?"
Kyuya sits down in the corner of the room by himself without saying a word. Jack would take note of this as he would then begin to think to himself.
"This Kyuya guy…he looks familiar. Have I seen him before?"
"You must know about the Tensura clan…don't you, Jack?" Asks Kyuya.
"Not that I know of. Why ask me out of all people?" Asks Jack, scratching his head as he does so.
Larro would announce the start of their lesson.
"Listen up! This is the part where we-"
"Hey, Larro-Sensei! May I take a step outside? I need to use the restroom."
Larro sighs, closing his eyes and nodding his head after being disrupted by Jack once again.
"Make it quick." He answers.
Jack would proceed out of class without saying a word. Meanwhile, Kyuya stares off at Jack, seemingly analyzing him as he walks out, and thinking to himself.
"To think Konori's son could be like this…"
Jack walks around looking for the nearest bathroom. As he does this, he begins to think to himself
"I have a weird feeling about Kyuya. Larro is also a little mean too. Will things always be like this between me and Larro?"
That's when Jack finds a girl across from him in the hallway. The girl looks around his age. She has brown eyes, and wears a black kimono with white stripes and fishnets on her arms. She has long black hair and she catches his eyes and tries to get a better look at her. When he does this he sees that she's sharpening a dagger that she seemingly possesses.
Jack is alarmed from the sight of this, knowing weapons aren't allowed in the academy, springing him into action, he says…
"HEY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?"
He runs to the girl and reaches for her dagger. but to his surprise, the girl catches jack's hand with quick reaction speed. She turns to look Jack into his eyes with an annoyed yet concerned look. Jack grits his teeth from all of this as he shakes away the girls grip, before dashing away from her to gain some distance
"JUST WHO ARE YOU? WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH A WEAPON IN THE ACADEMY?"
The girl can be seen not knowing what to say and runs away from Jack
"HEY! STOP!"
Jack, seeing this, takes action and runs after her. Jack runs faster than her and eventually tries to tackle her to the ground, but to his surprise she turns into dust, making him fall onto the floor.
"What the! What just happened?! She was right here! How did she do… that??"
Before Jack could get another thought in, Larro comes from behind him, with a look more annoyed than ever.
"You mind telling me what all that noise was about?"
Jack scratches the back of his neck and nervously responds…
"Ahehh…about that…"
Larro sighs and turns away from Jack.
"I can't be too stern with you. You're still a child."
"No! There was this girl! She had a dagger in her hand!"
"A dagger?! Where is she?!"
"I don't know but she has a black kimono on, with black hair and brown eyes"
Larro realizing who it is, just shrugs
"Hmf, I should've known it was her."
"What? Is there something wrong?"
"No, just get back to class." Larro responds.
Jack stands with a displeased look before heading back to class and sees Kyuya staring at the ceiling. Jack sits down and thinks to himself, saying…
"Hmmm…it's so unfair how Larro gets to look around but I can't! I guess it's not my problem anymore. But jeez, I wonder if he'll be okay."
The scene then shows the view of Larro standing in the empty hallway with an aggravated look on his face.
"This girl…Leina…does she understand that being out of class like this can result in major consequences? Then again, she's still so young, but yet she's so mature for her age."
Larro continues walking, looking around each and every spot but doesn't find anyone.
"Where could she possibly be?"
Before anything else could be thought of, the girl appears behind Larro with a concerned look on her face. Staring up at Larro, she asks him…
"Is there something wrong, Larro-Sensei?"
This takes Larro by surprise, causing him to immediately turn around to look at the girl before exclaiming
"Stay right there, Leina!"
He walks towards Leina and grabs her arm to look for this dagger that Jack had mentioned earlier. However, there was no dagger to be found.
"Huh??" Larro questions.
"Larro-Sensei…what are you doing?" Leina asks, almost as if she had forgotten about what happened earlier.
"A student of mine…Jack told me that you were walking around the hallway brandishing a dagger."
"What? A dagger. But it's basic safety protocol that there aren't any weapons being brought into the academy. I wouldn't do such a thing."
Larro would begin to rub his forehead, not knowing what to make of the situation.
"I guess you're right. Maybe he was just seeing things…but I can't see someone like him lying to anyone. That doesn't mean he doesn't spew nonsense from time to time. I'd be lying to you if I said he doesn't have his moments…"
"Wait…are you talking about Jack Sawlendore? The son of Konori?" Asks Leina.
"Yeah, it's him." Larro simply responds.
"I see…I'll be going back to class now. All I needed was water. Have fun wasting your time being miserable."
Larro stops in his tracks and turns and looks back at Leina, showing the anger in his face.
"Right when I thought you've learned to respect your teachers…you say things like this."
Leina only smiles and responds saying…
"What a hero you are. You sure do too much for someone with a forehead that big."
"What?! My forehead isn't big! Besides, it is my job to protect the students from the evil that lies in this world!"
Leina begins to talk in a mockingly tone, belittling the teachers words
"I am Larro! I'm the most important person ever! I will protect everyone from dangers and evil! Interrogation is also my favorite hobby! And I hate babies!"
Comedically, Larros eyes shoot open with shock as his face begins to contort. In response he says…
"PREPOSTEROUS! I'd never say such a thing!"
"You're a big liar Larro!"
"NONSENSE! I will have you sent to detention whether you like it or not!"
"What?! No fair!"
"GO!" Larro exclaims.
"Hmf fine!" Leina responds.
Larro loosens his grip on Leina, causing her to snatch her hand away from him. Larro begins to think to himself while carrying a dissatisfied look on his face…
"If this is how she acts, it only increases my concern on what her parents are like. What a hassle…"
On the other hand, Leina begins to walk to detention but not before she gives her final thoughts.
"I almost feel bad for Larro. He's always had a quick temper. Now stage 2 begins…"
Larro can be seen walking back into the class and gesturing to Jack to follow him outside the class.
"Hey, Jack. Come outside with me. We need to talk."
"Oh okay then.." Jack responds, curiously.
He gets up out of his chair and walks out of the class, which is followed by Larro giving Jack an angered look, almost as if he was trying to keep himself from raising his voice at him.
"What do you think you're doing?! Do you understand just how much trouble you could get yourself in?!"
These words only seem to confuse Jack causing him to scratch his head.
"What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about Leina…the girl you accused of having a dagger. She didn't have any weapon on her."
"There's much more to the story! I promise! She did have a dagger. I know she did!" Jack still persists, knowing he's seen a dagger in Leinas possession
"Jack, I understand how you feel. But maybe you were just seeing things. As a teacher, I can't allow you to accuse other students of things that aren't true. Not only that could get you into trouble, but if I were to punish her for that, I could also get into trouble." Says Larro, still dismissing Jack's observations, despite his level of confidence.
"But I saw it with my own two eyes! I saw it!" Says Jack, still pushing his narrative that Leina did in fact have the dagger in her possession.
"That's enough, Jack. Go to detention."
Jack says nothing more and ducks his head down. Without saying anything, he turns and walks to detention. When he gets there, he sits at a desk, not even looking at who else is in the room with him. He begins to cry with his head down, not caring about how he looks in front of everyone. Leina could be seen sitting next to Jack. Being confused as ever, she starts contemplating what to do in this situation.
"I know he was trying to confront me earlier. I can't make friends with anyone either…but why is he crying now? It wouldn't feel right for me to sit here and let him cry. I have to do something…" She takes a breath before calling out to Jack.
"Hey, are you okay Jack?"
Jack turns and lifts his head and he's met with the girl who got him in trouble.
"You!" Jack says, raising his voice
"You're the one who got me in trouble!"
Before Leina could respond, a woman assigned to keep watch of the kids, would raise her voice and talk over Jack.
"Be quiet! This is detention!" She says with an almost exaggerated level of assertiveness.
Leina would look at Jack, being more concerned than ever.
"If you were wondering, I'm here because I bad-mouthed your teacher, Larro."
"Just who are you, what do you want from me, and how do you know my name?" Asks Jack, still in distress.
"My name Is Leina…Leina Tensura. Larro told me your name after you accused me of brandishing a dagger. He never found such things on me. But I realized you're the son of Konori Sawlendore, the leader of Tensen. That only made me want to get to know you even more, because of what I'm experiencing." Leina calmly says.
"But why? And how did you know I'd be here? What experiences are you talking about?" Jack would ask. His curiosity is only getting the better of him.
"You sure ask a lot of questions, Jack. I knew you'd be here because Larro wouldn't just let you off the hook so easily. That's why I chose to be here too. I wanted to know more about you, but I didn't want you to suffer through this punishment if I wasn't going to get the same punishment as well." Leina responds.
Jack looks away from Leina, tears still forming in his eyes.
"Well I don't care what you want from me. Why get me in trouble like this? My dad is going to hate me. I'm going to be a disappointment. You just don't understand. I want him to be proud of me. Why take that from me?"
Leina realizes the mistake she's made before looking away from Jack. She would then give him her response, saying…
"I'm sorry Jack. I'm sorry…I feel the same way about my family too. I shouldn't have done that."
Jack wipes away his tears, and responds…
"It's okay Leina. Wait…you have Tensura in your name, right? Someone kept asking me about something called the "Tensura Clan." Do you come from that clan?
Leinas face only becomes more concerned, wondering who could be talking about her.
"Who? Who's telling you about my clan?" Leina questions.
"His name is Kyuya."
"Kyuya? I've never heard of him before." Says Leina
"He might be new…" Says Jack.
"Could be…but anyways, I'm Leina Tensura. I come from the Tensura clan. Our family escaped from our rivals not too long ago, thinking we could seek refuge in the Village of Tensen. So far, it's worked! But if I'm being honest here, I'm here so I can protect my younger siblings. I don't know what I could do without them. I love them so much. I want to become strong to protect my friends and family. I'm only ten years old…so I don't have the strength I need right now. I'm trying to work to achieve that."
This makes Jack feel something for Leina for once, causing him to tell her about his life as well.
"Hey I want to protect my brother too. His name is Kuro. He's only four years old. He can be very quiet. My father can be very busy, so I never really have time to talk to him. My mother died shortly after Kuro was born. I was never told how she died. All I know is that she was very sick."
Leina would be in disbelief after hearing talk about his life.
"I don't know what to say…that must be rough."
"It's okay Leina. Maybe we could work together, after all. What do you say? Friends?"
Before Leina makes her decision, she tells Jack a secret.
"My parents urge me to not make any friends. I don't know why. They told me I'd understand when I get older. But if we're going to be friends, can I trust you?"
"Of course you can! You're talking to Jack Sawlendore, ya know?!"
"Then you can definitely trust me!" Leina responds passionately.
"Friends?" Jack once again asks.
"Friends." Leina would say with a smile on her face.
Both kids simultaneously smile at one another, as their feud from earlier is forgotten about.
The scene would then change to what seems to be Jack's father Konori, sitting down at a desk. With his fists balled up as he's being given urgent news by a high ranking chief in the village who exclaims…
"I hope you understand what you're doing, general. Those creatures could still exist. If this is true, I'd say we should hunt them down as soon as possible."
A woman's voice can be heard responding to the discussion.
"He's right, general."
She is then revealed to be a tall woman with medium length blonde hair, wearing a black and gold uniform with black shades on. The man Konori's talking to, wears the same uniform as the woman. He has yellow eyes with short black and yellow hair.
Konori would turn his head before he lifts his arm, only for him to rub his long black hair chuckling as he does so. Konori would give a smile, responding…
"You two must've forgotten who I am. Rest assured, as long as they remain small in numbers, they won't be doing anything anytime soon. Besides, it's best we don't do anything until further notice. Our soldiers could be killed if we do that now."
"You can't save 'em all, Konori. That's what the point of being a soldier is. It's to enter missions and risk your life, not knowing if you'll come out alive or not." Says the woman, trying to persist in making these orders.
"Not yet Ren. You are correct about your statement…but you should know that being a high general also comes with being patient. Had I accepted that offer, they would find us out immediately, and they'd target the village right away. We can't risk that. The most I can do is send out scouts to set up equipment made to spy on these things. For now, we wait this out to ensure the safety of everyone here." Konori would say with conviction.
Ren would pause for a brief moment before affirming his belief.
"I will be leaving it to you then. Also, how is Jack doing? And where's Kuro?"
This question causes Konori to smile brightly before giving her his answers.
"I'm glad you asked! I left him with Bowa Boa. She takes care of him at her shop while Jack and I are gone. Speaking of Jack, he's doing great! He just learned how to use Kenshu!"
"I'm happy to hear that they're still kicking." Ren happily says.
"Thank you Ren!"
The man that Konori was talking to earlier, begins to stand up and walk out of the room.
"You're leaving too Gendo?" Konori asks.
"Only for now. I'll be notifying other officials of your plans. Also, Konori…"
"Yes?" Konori responds.
"About your wife, Shina Tensen…she made the right choice of giving you the opportunity to be the next high general for our village. May she rest in paradise."
Konori smiles with his eyes closed, thinking of everything Shina has given him and their family.
"Thank you, Gendo."
Gendo leaves the room, leaving Konori by himself, for the time being. He begins to think to himself, speculating on the "creatures" he and the other officials were talking about.
"It's only a matter of time before they figure us out, I fear. By then, we will all be prepared for what comes next. In due time…"