"Finally. Finally I will be able to get out of this place. " Daigo had been thinking for several hours.
Today was the big day. On his 18th birthday. He had worked so hard to get to this moment. From an early age, his family had trained him. This training had greatly strengthened him. However, the young man had never been able to use his skills on the outside. Indeed, he was not allowed to leave the home. His parents and grandfather overprotected him. He had to preserve this event for his 18th birthday for some reasons his great-grandfather would have stated. Nevertheless, Daigo was now ready. His grandfather had forged him the best sword using the best heat conductors he could have found; his father had trained him in the family art of sword fighting and how to tame his powers; finally, his mother had educated him according to the customs of her country of origin and had taught him all the things she knew.
The new adult opened his eyes. He had heard noise in the living room. He straightened up and sat down on his bed. He was dressed in his white linen pajamas that his mother had woven for him. Daigo's hair was disheveled, probably due to the static electricity from the pillow. His face was quite thin, if a bit unremarkable. In addition, he had a fairly robust physique acquired through his daily training. His square shoulders made him imposing but that was offset by his pleasant face. Indeed, the young man had a certain aura of kindness and naivety. This was mainly due to her upbringing and the values her mother had passed on to her. In short, this is how our hero was. The boy overheard a conversation between a man and a woman. It probably must have been his father and mother as there were only 4 living in this "house". Daigo stood up and put on his sandals. He was the "star" today. He walked slowly down the hall to the living room. The torches then lit up. "Father must know that I'm awake now that the lights are on." he says to himself. The living room was the room adjacent to Daigo's bedroom, which was why his parents' discussion had woken him up. Our protagonist entered the living room. His father and mother were there, seated around the wooden table. The first was a fairly tall man, with a fairly normal physique and a face with pronounced features. He had short black hair and wore a necklace of wooden beads. Each had a different symbol. Indeed, Daigo's father had traveled the world and had studied in several martial schools. That's why he had combined all the techniques he knew to invent the traditional family sword style. He was dressed in a red tunic with white stripes at the ends and matching pants. In addition, his burgundy eyes stood out with his coat. He crossed his arms and spoke calmly to his wife. The latter had a very thin face, between graceful and cute. She had long brown hair and very white skin. Her amethyst eyes were shining in the dimly lit room. . This very charming physique gave her a very soothing aura that his son had inherited in part. Her mother spoke calmly, with a very soft voice. When the boy entered, the two adults stopped talking and turned to him. They both smiled at him then.
"Hello, Daigo." they said in chorus.
"So how are our 'key' doing?"
-Let's see, Yo, stop teasing our son, today is his big day; let him enjoy it fully.
-I'm just taking this day to share the last moments with the apple of our eyes, honey, you know very well that he is leaving today.
-That's not a reason to still consider him as a child, from now on he is no longer our little boy, he is an adult now.
-Tsubaki, I know that very well. I just wanted to make this joke for a while now.
-Let's stop procrastinating and come back to our hero of the day. Did you sleep well my darling? It's your big day so you better get some rest. I still don't realize that my little baby is finally flying from the nest. " she cried in a tone that was half sad and half proud.
"I think I'm all set, all the things you have taught me and given me, I will give you back a hundredfold. You will be the happiest parents in the world when I return.
-See how our child grew up, Tsubaki, I always knew he would grow up to be someone great.
-Children grow up so fast !!! " she lamented. The woman began to cry bitterly and her husband hastened to take her in his arms.
"You know, Daigo, it's very hard for us to separate us from you, but this trip is necessary. Not just for us, but for the good of all. There was a time when I myself had to make this journey. It will make you a lot stronger and you will change a lot. However, it is the most beautiful thing that has happened to me. That is… I met a lot of good people and among them was your mother. " Yo declared.
"Do not worry, father, mother, you know that it pains me to see you like this, I will be able to develop myself and fulfill the mission which was assigned to me long ago. I will become the best of men and bring you the perfect wife. " Daigo announced.
"Your mother and I both know you are telling the truth, and we trust you fully, you are our greatest treasure.
-Yo is right, don't forget us because we will be thinking about you continuously every moment. Now get your things ready, my son. We will meet at your grandfather's forge at noon. "
After hearing Tsubaki's words, the young adult nodded silently. He had the greatest respect and love for his parents. Not just his parents, for him family was everything. There was nothing else so precious to him. He then sped into the bedroom to prepare his package. Finally. He had been waiting for this moment since he was a child even though leaving his family upset him. Since his father and grandfather had traveled the world before him and had seen what they had become; he admired his progenitor's blade mastery and the dean's blacksmithing skills. He also wanted to become the best in his class, making his family proud was the most important.
Daigo changed, put on his favorite t-shirt, a white t-shirt with a circle with the number 5 in black in the center of the chest, and light brown fabric pants. Then he set about packing his bags quickly. He took with him all his clothes (he didn't own much) as his only possessions. Because he had never attached himself to objects, the boy took only the bare essentials. He had a little time left before noon. The teenager then decided to practice a little while waiting for the moment to go. He ran through the hallway and after a little while he entered a room to his right. It was a fairly large room, very round in shape and with a domed ceiling. The young man then began to do push-ups. Then, after doing his 500th. He picked up his favorite training sword, the one he had used since he was little. It was a replica of the weapon his father used, the only difference being that it was made of solid wood. Fighting had always been an obsession for Daigo, he loved to fight. It made him happy to learn from his father who excelled in this area. Because what motivated him was to surpass his master. He wanted to accomplish this not out of pride, no, he wanted to perfect the style his father had invented. Indeed, this style was very singular, it was based on many styles of schools from outside, but its real particularity was "flexibility". The latter was essential, it allowed its user to feel the fight and not to suffer it. In short, it was completely natural to give up your weapon and go into combat with your bare hands or to hold your sword by the blade. That was the great strength of the family style. Daigo had never managed to hit his father, either with or without a weapon. This powerful man had taught him everything and it was this royalty that guided the young man. The latter began to perform certain movements with his weapon, then others and more ... It was like a dance, both graceful and fatal. Daigo was like in some sort of trance. He then began to slow his movements slowly, then slowly resumed the pose he had initially. When he stopped, he was dripping with sweat. This martial choreography was extremely grueling. That's why the boy had made his body stronger. He wiped his forehead with the back of his hand and put the sword back where he had taken it. He then left the room to return to his room. There he looked at the clock, it was time. So he took his canvas bag in which his clothes were and went to the forge.
The new adult entered the den of metallurgy. It was unbearable heat. A deafening din echoed throughout the room. The noise came from the back of the room. There, a shirtless old man tackled his task. The person was beating the metal with great force. He had unusual musculature for his age, with a broad back and huge arms. The blacksmith turned around when he heard Daigo enter his workshop. He had a very long white hair and a thick beard of the same color. His square head, physique, and large size could be intimidating, but the teenager knew his grandfather was as tender as a teddy bear. The colossus stopped working and began to speak:
"How is my favorite grandson? Hope you are in good shape, like me when I started this same journey years ago! " the old one laughed.
"I'm in top form, Grandpa, I hope what you have prepared for me is ready! I can't wait to be able to wield your greatest masterpiece.
-Hahaha !! Glad to hear you say, my most beautiful creation is waiting to serve you young man, what pride to be able to contribute to the success of my descendant! After all, my most beautiful creation could change the face of the world if you wear it! Mouahaha !! Hohoho !!
-I expect no less from you, dear Papi, I am sure that it will be the asset that will allow me to reach the top and then, with this object, I will never be able to forget you. It will be a little what connects me to this place and to the moments spent with you. My motivation will come from there and so I will accomplish my task and come back asap.
-It's glad to hear you say it! But I think your parents have gifts for you too, they must have gone to get them. " Yoshimitsu assured cheerfully.
"Wait for me there, I will bring you your little reward with this step my boy. The Colossus walked over to a crevasse the size of the old man in the wall that seemed to serve as storage. He fumbled for several minutes, muttering under his thick beard. After a while, he put his hands on what he was looking for, which appeared to be a sword covered entirely in white cloth. The elder took off the garment and revealed what was hidden beneath. A magnificent black and silver sword was in the hands of the dean. It had a dark handle of medium size, with a rather large pommel at the end. Its rather fine silver quillons were curved and allowed a fairly free handling of the weapon. Finally, the blade was a little wider at the base and slightly serrated, the tip was thin and light. Daigo took the sword and then felt that the weapon was very light, yet it was not strong. "Nothing on this Earth could break this masterpiece, it is the sword of consecration," said the grandfather. "I named it Obsidian, the toughest object I've ever made," he says. The teenager thanked at length his grandfather who had given everything for him, it was the weapon that his grandfather had been forging for years and this, with the sole aim of one day ending up in his hands. The young man wrapped his new acquisition in his bag.
That's when Yo and Tsubaki walked in with items in their hands. The man brought what appeared to be a charcoal garment and the woman brought long gray sleeves. They positioned themselves in front of their son to give him their presents:
"Son, we have brought you more than useful things for your journey. These are gifts that we made together, your mother and I, just for you. First, there is this ebony colored coat which will allow you to protect yourself from the cold and bad weather, as well as from certain projectiles. It is very durable and light at the same time, we hope you will wear it often. Then there are those sleeves that your mom put all her energy into. They will be used to prevent you from touching things or beings without hurting them. Because you know better than we do, you do not yet fully control your powers. Also, as Tsubaki has breathed his power into it, you can remove them whenever you want when you consider them yours. We hope these things will help you and make you remember us every moment.
-Thank you very much, Father, Mother, for these gifts which will serve me daily. " he thanked, bowing slightly. He then took the two objects gently and placed them delicately in his bag.
"Take those diamonds and gold bars too. They must be heavy but it will help you anyway as you can exchange them for any currency.
-Thank you very much, I'll take great care of it, "Daigo promised.
"And above all, Daigo my dear child, never forget. You should NEVER tie your two bare hands, either directly or indirectly. It could seriously hurt you and the people around.
- I will make sure to see to it, dear family.
-Good, finished with the statutory declarations! What we really want, honey, is for you to make good friends and bring us the woman of your life! " Yo shouted happily.
"Don't forget to take good care of yourself and eat well, eh?
-Ahah, son, your wife is always so careful, isn't she? " Yoshimitsu laughed in his hoarse voice.
"You were in the same condition as she was several years ago when I left, don't you remember? Doting father?
-Uh ... It wasn't the same. " he replied in an embarrassed tone.
"Don't panic! Everything will be fine, you will see. " assured the young adult.
"I think I will have to go now or the farewell will become too difficult if we linger too long." he resumed.
The father, mother and grandfather after hearing this phrase rushed on him to share a big family hug. After giving everyone a hug, the boy picked up his luggage and looked one last time at those who had raised him. It was a silent farewell, disturbed by Tsubaki's tears, and the silent tears of the father and the Colossus. The teenager gave them a last smile and walked out of the now quiet room.
Daigo now had to get out of the foyer, he took the hallway and walked for long minutes. He was about to reach the exit of the hallway, a place he had never been able to see. "So much to discover awaits me, I can't wait to get out," he told himself. His life was going to change dramatically, the place he had lived in for 18 years was only going to be a memory. Her heart was racing. The excitement was felt in his walk. He was walking faster and faster, his step quickening. He even started to run. Finally, he reached the exit. He stopped and then glanced down this hallway. At the back of it, on the right, his only family must still be in tears by his departure. He was torn between regret at leaving his family and the urge to discover the stranger. The young adult pulls himself together. "This is the end of an era and the start of a new one," Daigo thought, stepping into the passage.