WebNovels

Chapter 8 - Welcome to Zenkai

Itsuki stood at the gate with a smile on his face, waiting for Takumi and Kairo to join him. The carriage taking them to Zenkai Dojo still haven't arrived.

Suddenly, Dael Enther—Shion's father—came rushing to the gate. His face was pale and twisted with worry, eyes darting everywhere.

"Have you seen Shion this morning?" Dael asked, turning to face Itsuki.

"No, I haven't, sir. He wasn't in his room this morning?"

"I haven't seen him since last night. I've checked all the usual spots he goes to—he wasn't there."

Itsuki bent his head down, trying to recall when he'd last seen Shion yesterday.

Where could Shion be?

Wait... where was he when the rest of us went to Mrs. Etta's?

The thoughts in his head were blurry. He couldn't recall what had happened.

Almost like...

"HEY THERE ITSUKI CHAN!!" A loud voice came from behind him.

Takumi came from the Everytell Road, slightly adjacent to where Itsuki and Dael were discussing. Alongside him was Kairo, who was carrying a lot of luggage.

"Can you be less loud, Hoof Hoof!" Kairo said, panting.

They walked up to the gate, and Dael asked them if they had seen Shion.

"Shion? No, I didn't see him since last night." Takumi said, looking a bit worried.

"I didn't see him either," Kairo added.

"Maybe he's somewhere training?"

"Why would he be training?" Dael asked. "Didn't he qualify with you guys?"

Silence stretched between them.

The three boys looked at each other, then away.

No one wanted to say it.

"No, he didn't, sir," Itsuki took the liberty of saying.

Upon hearing this, Dael turned away. Holding his mouth, he started thinking of the pain Shion must have felt as he was left out.

Dael turned away, going to find Shion. As he walked, Takumi asked, "Do you need help finding him, sir?"

The three boys were ready to ditch their carriage ride to Zenkai just to go look for their friend, and Dael knew this very well.

"No, don't worry. I'll find him by myself, and when I do, he'll join you guys in no time." Dael said, smiling as he walked away down Everytell Road.

Shortly after, a carriage arrived with Sayaka already sitting inside. She lived in Corvaleen, a town beside Naiathe where Itsuki and his friends lived.

"Are you guys gonna stand there, or enter?" she said proudly, using essence to echo her voice directly into their ears.

The three friends loaded their luggage into the storage compartment at the back of the carriage. Once they climbed inside, the driver snapped the reins, and the horses began pulling them forward at a steady pace.

Itsuki thought to himself.

Are we doing the right thing?

Am I doing the right thing leaving Shion behind?

Questions flooded his mind that he had no answers to.

Three hours into the journey, Kairo fell asleep. Soon after, Takumi followed.

Itsuki and Sayaka stayed awake the entire ride. Itsuki bent slightly to set himself in a resting position.

Sayaka crossed her legs when she got tired and started reading a book.

Gradually, night fell, and they arrived at Zenkai Dojo—far, far from Naiathe, a place centered in the direct middle of Silverstone.

Tap! Tap!

Itsuki tapped Takumi and Kairo to wake them up. They had arrived.

Sayaka got down first to carry her luggage, and the rest followed. As they reached the gates of Zenkai, there were two guards stationed there who halted them.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen," the first guard greeted. "What can I do for you this fine evening?"

"We wan—" Sayaka started, but was cut off.

"We are students of this dojo. We were selected at the local trials in our district," 

Takumi said while winking at Sayaka.

Sayaka shivered, goosebumps rising on her arms at the wink. 

The guards checked their name lists, located their names, and asked them to sign.

Then one of the guards went to open the large twenty-five-foot gate, Without wearing any shirt.

He gripped the massive handles and, with minimal effort, began pushing the enormous gate open.

Itsuki, Kairo, and Takumi felt their pride shatter watching his strength.

"We could do that," Takumi muttered.

The three of them combined their efforts, pressing their shoulders against the gate to try and push it the rest of the way open but the gate didn't budge.

For the whole five minutes they stood there trying to push, it felt like the gate was pushing them back instead.

"Did he use a trick or something?" Kairo asked, already sweating.

"Probably. I mean, I'm stronger than him, so using a trick is the only explanation," Takumi added, smirking.

Itsuki and Kairo nodded their heads in agreement.

As soon as they stepped through the gates, they saw a tall, lean man standing before them.

He bowed with quiet grace, one hand over his heart, the other clutching a white top 

hat. He was dressed in a sharp white suit with a crimson tie.

"Welcome to Zenkai Dojo," the man said, smiling warmly. "I am Instructor Himons."

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