The boring daily life of Crono Guardia[p,nk,io]

He woke up when he started feeling the intensity of the sun right through his eye lids. He smiled. It had been ages since he'd last slept so well. It probably had a lot to do with the amount of exercise he had done the day before. That stupid Lord. What a jerk. He had never met someone as rude and inconsiderate. Quickly, he stood up and started dressing up eagerly. He let go of a small, excited chuckle. He couldn't wait to show that pale-faced asshole what he was capable of.

The boy rushed down the stairs without even stopping to have something to eat. He would have a big plate of BBQ for lunch, he thought. That should do the trick. As he sped through the entrance door of the inn he heard the old man's angry voice behind him.

'Crono, you lazy brat! Where do you think you're going? You were supposed to clean the floors today!

'Sorry Magus-sama, no can do! I have to be somewhere today, it's really important!'

Damn that Magus. He treated him like a slave. The red haired boy had to work for him all day while he spent the day peeking on the female lodgers or writing more of those perverted books of his. Those stories that he had heard about Magus the Great Samurai were probably no more than folktales. The only fights Crono had ever seen the old man get into were the ones he consistently had with his mother, The owner of the inn. Those two really had a weird relationship…

As he ran through the crowded street, Crono couldn't help thinking about the unexpected set of events that had taken place the previous day.

'Crono, would you please take these suitcases upstairs while I show these charming ladies around?' The lechurous Ronin was being his usual self that morning. The red haired boy sighed, tired, and did as he was told. As always, he was being treated like a nobody. He picked up the suitcases and headed for the stairs. As he was leaving, however, he felt someone catching hold of one of his wrists. He turned around and was soon surrounded by a group of three girls, all of them stroking the young boy's silky red hair and tanned, olive skin. At this, Crono couldn't help but blush.

'Oh! Look at his cheeks, he's blushing!' said one of the girls.

'Kawaii!' the rest of them replied in unison.

'Girls, girls, please let me introduce you to Crono. This boy's almost like my own son. He has no parents, you see, but his father left him to me before passing away and ever since then I've taken care of the boy just as if he were my own flesh and bone. Right Crono-kun?' The old man asked, chuckling proudly.

Crono shivered at the use of the honorific. That was definitely not something Magus and him used. Not only that, His mother was still alive. Magus was only the acting manager of the inn, his mother was still the owner.

'Wow, but look at those muscles he has!' the first girl exclaimed 'Are you training to become a Ninja?'

At this, Crono lowered his gaze. His expression changed. When he spoke, his voice sounded much more serious. 'No' he declared, 'but I am a samurai! I may only be a low level samurai, but I will become much more.' he exclaimed, passionately.

'Well, I'm afraid you've touched his soft spot right there young lady. You see, our Crono has always wanted to do something great with his life. And ever since I told him that his father once worked for the feudal lord as a Samurai, becoming the best has been his one and only dream. It's nonsense, of course but…' Magus couldn't finish his sentence.

'OH SHUT UP WILL YOU? You don't know how far I am willing to go' Crono interrupted.

'Determinism is just so attractive in a man…' The young lady stated. 'Listen, my name is Sayuri, and these are my friends Tomoko and Ayane. We've just arrived here from the country side, and we would like someone to show us around. Would you like to be that person, by any chance?'

There was a short pause. Magus's face was now one of true disappointment. Crono smiled. This was revenge for all those stupid chores the old man made him do.

'Of course, why not?' he accepted, cheekily.

'You don't mind, don't you, Magus-sama?' Sayuri asked, sweetly. The perverted geezer couldn't say otherwise.

'Well, well, your lordship, you know why I am here, I suppose', the masked man asked. The young lord observed him with contempt. He refused to trust anybody who wouldn't show his whole face.

'Ne, ne your Majesty, I didn't come here to joke around. Your father is paying me a lot of money to train you in the art of war, but you don't seem to want to collaborate with me'

The black haired boy shrugged. If the man thought he would get a reaction out of him, he was wrong. He was already used to silence. The masked man sighed, resigned.

'Well. First thing's first, right? My name is Surge Guardia. From now on, you can call me Sensei.'

'Do I need to introduce myself too?' The pale faced boy replied, sarcastically. a look of iratation scrambled across his face.

'Ha ha! Sharp. Very sharp indeed. Let's see what we can make out from that, shall we? Get ready. We're going out.'

'And that weird building to your left is the Temple of Goddess Inari-sama. Think she's supposed to be in charge of rice and fertility but I'm not sure. Anyhow, moving on…' It was a hot summer morning in Konoha. People gathered around the water fountains and the fruit stalls, searching for something refreshing. The streets were full of beggars. This wasn't new. It had been like this since Crono was a kid and the boy had never really known any different. He led the group of girls into the town square. The imposing Hokage's building could be seen from beyond.

The atmosphere was hectic. The sounds of babies crying and animals groaning were the soundtrack of the city center. Everything was the same as usual. Or was it?

The olive skinned boy stopped immediately as he caught sight of the an carriage advancing through the narrow street with the insignia of the feudal lord upon it. His eyes widened. This was a weird sight. feudal lords didn't just simply decide to have a stroll around their domains!

People frantically made space for the Lord's carriage. Stallholders got hold of their products hurriedly and mothers grabbed their children by their hand and cleared out a space for whichever member of the governing family happened to be inside the vehicle.

Crono watched in amazement as two figures slowly descended from the carriage - first a tall man with long, pointed white hair and a masked face, then a smaller figure, with ebony black hair and translucent, delicate skin. Crono could identify the smaller figure as the Lord's son. Ever since he had hit puberty, he had become ever so popular among the girls. Crono's neighbour, Saya, was one of the girls who were absolutely crazy for him. Nobody had actually seen him in person up until now though. They had only been able to see him through paintings distributed by his family. Seeing him in person however was an entirely different thing.

The group of girls behind Crono shrieked in admiration. The boy cringed in disgust. How could they possibly be in love with someone that was so different from them? Crono couldn't understand.

Suddenly, the masked man spoke. His passive voice resonated through the now silent street. 'Well, this is it. These are the people you will need to protect once you become Lord.' The heir's expression didn't change in the slightest. Crono shivered. He had the expression of someone that's lost all hope. His eyes were somber and cloudy, and his gaze was fixed on something invisible.

The masked man sighed. 'I feared this would happen. Well then. I can't think of anything else that would get you going, your lordship. My job here is done. I will have to tell your father he will need to hire another trainer for his son.'

Enough was enough. The Red haired boy couldn't take this any longer. Without even thinking about it (this was something he seldom did) he jumped into the circle that had been provided for the Carriage.

'Hey you!'

The people gasped in surprise as the red haired boy stretched his index finger to point at the heir. The latter didn't even look at him in the eye. Instead, he smeared and turned around, starting to walk towards the carriage.

'Oh don't you dare walk away from me! Just because you're the Lord's son or whatever, doesn't mean you can afford to treat your people like this!' At this point, Crono had completely lost his temper. Injustice was something that affected him very deeply, and the Heir was about to discover this.

'Chotto matte Crono-kun'

'Forgive Crono, your Majesty, he's just my idiot brother…'

'Yes, he didn't mean what he was saying…'

The red haired boy ignored the words of advice coming from the rest of the villagers.

'Just because you're the Heir doesn't mean you can go around dismissing everybody else! Ma taku… I'll show you not to ignore me! One day your sorry life will depend on me!'

There was a long, tense silence. The type of silence that proceeds an important moment. And suddenly, the Heir spoke for the first time in a very long while.

'Those surely are big words for a loser like you' The Heir's words were heavier that any metal. They stroke Crono right in the heart. This wasn't going to end like this.

'Well I'm telling you your life will one day depend on me!' Crono screamed. His expression was so determined the Heir couldn't help but to raise an eyebrow in surprise. This boy surely did believe in himself. The Lord smiled.

'Hmm. So are you telling me that if we were to fight right now, you would win?' He asked his sensei's sibling.

'Of course I would, you teme!' The reply came in less than a second.

'There, there, Lord Xianian, this is neither the place or the time for this…' Surge-sensei had butted in at just the right time. 'But..' the teacher added mysteriously 'If you want to prove this passionate young man wrong, I suggest we take him to our training grounds and you fight there'

One could have cut the atmosphere in the carriage with a knife. Silence took hold of the air as soon as the vehicle started moving towards Guardian compound. Crono couldn't believe what had just happened. He was as nervous as he'd ever been. He kept twitching his fingers and his toes uncontrollably. He could feel the energy flowing through his body. He smiled.

Surge was sitting in between the two boys. He had a book within his hands. Crono turned his head slowly to the right, wanting to read its title.

'Bushi Ken Ryu…' he read, mentally.

He didn't manage to finish. He turned his head right back as soon as he caught sight of the small lord's eyes, staring right at him. Crono wondered how this boy really was. There was just something about him which made Crono feel… as though it hadn't always been this way for him.

Then again, this boy had led a completely different life. He had had everything he could have hoped for and more, while crono had had to make do with a bossy and perverted old geezer and a whole bunch of samurai stories about men who went to war and never came back and women who had been killed by their own babies. The red haired boy clenched his fists. He was going to show that arrogant lord what a poor village boy could do!

Soon enough the carriage stopped moving. 'Well boys', said the shogunate as he closed his book with his right hand. 'This is when the fun starts'.

The characteristic sound of the cicadas was the only noise that could be heard. The heat was intense, even asphyxiating. Crono was sweating. He could barely stay still. The sun's rays were reflecting on the surface of the katana he was holding. The red haired boy felt powerful with it, although it was so heavy he could barely hold it. He was surprised that his brother had given them real swords to fight with. It was obvious that he was serious. crono was starting to believe this man had no scruples whatsoever. This was going to be interesting.

The young lord stood a few meters away from him. The tip of his sword was still leaning on the surface of the ground. His posture was relaxed and he was smiling. Crono was disgusted. He was definitely going to rub that smile off his pretty face…

'Are you having second thoughts about this?' The lord asked, mockingly. 'This is your last chance to withdraw, looser'

'Screw you! Shut up and let's just start this!' Crono was really getting angry now. There was just something about his face that made him want to knock him out. It was that half-smile… Crono couldn't stand fake smiles.

'Right. Let's not delay this any further. The duel will start once I say…'

The dark haired boy didn't even let his sensei finish his sentence. He swiftly got hold of his sword and sprinted towards the red headed boy's direction. Crono barely dodged the first hit. It was obvious that this was not the first time the Lord picked up a sword. However, Crono was determined not to be a weak opponent. After all, he had managed to be initiated by his clan and knew more then just a few basic sword techniques. He hurriedly boosted his sword upwards and used it to dodge another hit. The Lord was fast too. He quickly turned around and hit Crono on the side of his hip. The Aonisaibushi could feel the heat of the blood slowly pouring down his wound. But he felt no pain. He had too much adrenaline flowing through his body for that. He had been wanting to train some wind chakra and attempted to infuse his blade with it.

'Are you finished yet?' Crono heard the Lord say.

'Save your energy', he replied.

Crono pulled his katana forward and almost hit the Lord's shoulder as a slight wind aura came over his blade. A few strands of silky black hair were carried away by the wind brushing past Crono's face. The Lord's response was quick. He hit Crono in the stomach with the side of his sword. The red haired boy dropped to the ground.

'So this was all you could do, looser… you sure have a big mouth then, talking about defeating me and then coming up with this.' The Lord chuckled and turned away. However, just as he was doing so, he felt the cold tip of a katana pressing the back of his neck. His pupils dilated as he let go of a gasp.

'Lesson one: never turn your back on the enemy'

The flaming haired boy had left a trail of crimson blood on the ground as he had silently approached the Lord's neck. Proudly, he smeared. 'Who's the looser now?'

'Well, I think it's time we stopped boys, don't you think?'

Crono woke up in a small, unfamiliar room. His vision was blurred and he couldn't remember how he'd gotten there. Slowly, he pulled himself upwards and tried to speak.

'Where? How? How did I…?' was all he could manage.

'You fainted, Baka.' The sound came from the left hand side of the bed in which the Red haired boy was lying. Crono immediately recognised that mocking tone. He grinned.

'Now I remember. I defeated you in battle, you jerk!'

'What do you mean 'defeat'? Who was almost killed this morning, looser?'

'Hey boys, let's not argue about this anymore shall, we?' Surge interrupted. 'Anyways, Crono's wounds are just superficial. He'll be up and about in no time' Leaning down into a whisper, he said into Crono's ear, "perhaps theta trance, would help".

'Great! I'll recover so that we can fight again! And this time I'll kick your sorry ass!' The village boy was already excited again.

'Stop bragging if you have zero abilities you idiot!' The Lord couldn't understand how someone could be so sure of himself.

'Well', the masked man interrupted the young boys again, 'I'm glad that you're so full of energy boy, because I've got big plans for you two.'

'What do you mean, 'big plans'? ' The Lord asked, arrogantly.

'I mean…' – the master took a deep breath – 'That from tomorrow onwards you two will be training together'

'What?' Both boys were equally amazed.

'I'm totally serious boys. I really think you complement each other very well and it is quite frankly very entertaining to see you guys interact…' the masked man chuckled. 'Xianian, you might think that you've got nothing to learn, but really, it's quite the opposite. You're fast, and you can control you sword fairly well. It seems you received some lessons from your brother…'

Xianian clutched his fists and averted the masked man's gaze.

'But, your technique needs a lot of improvement and you need to learn not to underestimate your enemy…' the masked man continued. 'And you Crono...' His brother now looked at the red boy lying in the bed below him 'You are not confident enough while using your katana. You're surprisingly fast, but your movements could be a hundred times faster if you just learned to control your sword better. Your determination is also quite astonishing, and it can sometimes play in your favour… however, you tend to underestimate your enemy, and that can also be fatal in battle. Your wind release could also use some additional training. Perhaps you may even be ready for Vorpal'

'I understand. So… when do I start?' Crono couldn't wait to start some formal training under his brother's tutilage, however embarressed from the scolding

'How about tomorrow?' Surge suggested.

'Tomorrow? Already?' The village boy couldn't believe it.

'Yes, why not. There's really no point in wasting time and I honestly have nothing else to do…' The teacher's smile could be seen through his mask.

Crono sighed. His brother was really a strange man, but he had the feeling this was the start of a new chapter in their relationship. An exciting chapter which would help him become the skillful samurai that he'd always wished to become. A great samurai, like his father.

'So, Xianian, are you ok with this?' The Guardia clan shogun asked.

The young lord grunted and then looked at Crono directly in the eye.

'You better not be a waste of my time, looser', was what he finally said.

'Just wait and see. I have so much more to give!' Crono replied, enthusiastically.

The Lord gave him one of his mysterious, half-smiles.

'Well, it's settled then. Crono, I will be awaiting for you at the entrance of the Training grounds tomorrow at eight o'clock. Don't be late!'

'Understood, Ni-san...i mean.. sensei!'

[3147 words so far]

All of that had happened yesterday. Crono could still barely believe that such an opportunity had arisen in such a short amount of time. He, one minute was sweeping floors and preforming other mienial tasks befiting a samurai of his low station and was now going to train under the tutilage of his brother, with the skills he learned allowing him to progress through the ranks, with the Fudal lord's youngest son…

An image of Xianian's face appeared before his eyes, his black hair waving in the wind and his mouth fixed in that scornful smile. Crono realised how little he knew about this mysterious boy. Then again, the Heir knew little about the red haired boy too. Surely, Crono thought, this would change from now on.

The boy listened to the bells ringing in the distance. It was already eight o'clock. 'Wait a minute', Crono thought, 'It's already eight o'clock, damn it!' Perfect, he thought. He was going to be late on his first day. He definitively would cause a good impression, hadn't surge informed their mother of the goings on for the next day.…

The Aonisaibushi increased his speed as he sprinted through the town square, trying not to stumble upon the busy crowds of people. As he was running, he caught sight of a long mane of pink hair through the corner of his eye. Crono gulped and turned around, intending to avoid the person that he knew was hiding behind that hair. 'Not today', the boy thought, 'I can't let her see me today.'

'CRONO!' The girl's strong and imposing voice was heard. She was only a few meters behind the samurai. 'DON'T RUN AWAY FROM ME IDIOT!', she shouted again, this time sounding really annoyed. crono shivered. He had to find a way of losing sight of the girl. After all, the boy had known Saya for many years and he was perfectly aware of how much she hated to be ignored. If she caught hold of him, things would get pretty serious…

Besides, there was no way he could tell Saya where he was heading. He hadn't been told to hide the fact that he would be training with the lord but Crono suspected that it wouldn't be too convenient if he didn't do so. The agreement with the Lord was something that no one else should know. Something between the two of them only. Well, his brother too, of course.

He turned around and started sprinting in the opposite direction, away from the guardia training grounds. Saya's voice could still be heard in the distance, but it was now fainter than before. Just in case, Crono continued running. 'I'm going to be really late now', he thought, regretfully.

Suddenly, the boy felt someone's hand grabbing him by the shoulder. Shocked, he tried to scream, but another hand was quickly placed on top of his mouth. He was dragged into an alleyway and held firmly. Crono tried to fight, but this person's grip was surprisingly impossible to defeat. After a few seconds, the person spoke right into the red haired boy's ear.

'You're late'

Crono sighed in relief. 'Damn it Ni-san, you really scared me there!', he blurted out, angrily.

The masked man chuckled. 'Well' he said 'That's what you get for being late and breaking your promise'

'you coulda told mom....' Crono rolled his eyes and sighed, resigned. However, he soon became aware of something. 'Wait a minute, Ni-san', he muttered. 'If I'm late, surely you're late too, aren't you?'

The Shogun took his hand to his head and smiled, embarrassed. 'Well, well, you got me there' he admitted, 'let's just hope that his Royal Highness is not too disappointed, shall we?' Crono sighed at his brother's attempt at sarcasm.

'You're late.' Xianian's voice sounded really irritated. The Lord was wearing a dark blue kinagashi*, loosely tied around his waist. His bare chest could be seen from below the kimono, that was worn out and even torn in some places. Crono was surprised by the Lord's choice of dress. After all, it wasn't suitable for a person of his stature to be wearing peasant's clothes.

'I'm really sorry, your Lordship, it just so happens that we got lost on the path of life', Surge-sensei declared, chuckling. An awkward silence ensued. After a while, Crono's remark broke the quietude.

'Well, never mind that, what's important is that now I'm here and ready to kick your ass!' he declared, proudly.

The young lord grunted, mockingly. 'I thought you would say something like that. You never learn, don't you?'

'And you think you know it all, don't you?' the village boy replied back.

'You know what I think?' The shogun butted in. 'I think we shouldn't waste any more time. Let's get started, shall we?'

Surge Guardia had taken his pupils to the forest surrounding the royal residency. The atmosphere was calm and the flow of water from the stream behind them was somehow soothing. Crono and Lord Xianian were sitting opposite to each other, on top of a pile of rocks, both facing their sensei, who hadn't yet spoken but who looked as if he would soon announce something important.

'First thing's first', he said, finally. 'If you're going to fight alongside each other, it's essential that you get to know each other considerably well.' Crono turned his head to look at Xianian, who was clenching his fists and looked quite nervous. The village boy wondered why this was so.

'So, it's time for you to introduce yourselves.' The teacher continued. 'You don't need to say too much; just your name, what you like, what you dislike, and what you want to achieve. It doesn't sound too complicated, doesn't it? Crono, why don't you go first?'

Crono's stomach tightened when he heard his name. He stood up in a flash and cleared his throat. 'My name' he said, 'is Guardia Crono. I absolutely love BBQ beef and samurai stories and I hate people who think they are better than anybody else. Right now, I'm a low , but in the future I'll become a great samurai and I will do important things. So remember my name!'

'Sorry' he said 'Could you… well… what was your name again?' His brother was obviously poking fun at him.

Crono's jaw dropped. The cheek of this him, feigning forgetting his name just after what he had said! Next to him, Xianian was chuckling. Crono was furious. The masked man had humiliated him and now this stupid Lord was… laughing? Come to think about it, this was the first time Crono had seen Xianian laugh properly. Sure, he was laughing at him and not with him, but still…

The red haired boy turned to face his teacher, furious. 'You know my name, ni-san' he declared, infuriatedly.

The teacher waved his hands in front of him, apologetically. 'Ne, Crono don't get mad, it's just some fun is all, and it's sensei now.'

Crono grunted and sat down again, mumbling. Surge Guardia now turned to his other student. 'Your turn, Lord Xianian', he said.

'You don't need to call me like that'. The young Lord spoke slowly and quietly. He was almost whispering. 'Just Xianian will do', he declared. Again, Crono was surprised by the boy's strange attitude. At the beginning, he'd hated the pale faced boy, but now… He didn't know what do think about him anymore.

Unlike the Samurai, Xianian didn't stand up to speak. 'I'm I am Xianian Satros. I hate many things, and I don't particularly like anything. As for my objectives, I only have one. I want to become stronger, and surpass my father…'

Again, silence took hold of the atmosphere. Puzzled, Crono was totally speechless. He cursed that boy for always being the centre of attention. However, he also couldn't help but feel that they were somehow… similar.

'Fine. It seems then that the matter is quite urgent for you two. Interesting.' The sensei stared at his two pupils and smiled. 'Let's get started then.'

'The concept is quite simple.' Surge-sensei's voice was calm and low, in harmony with the rest of the sounds of the forest. 'Both of you will be given a bokken for this today. We don't want any more open wounds, do we boys?' The sensei smirked. 'Your eyes will be covered with a piece of cloth tightly tied around your heads. Obviously then, you won't be able to see anything.' The teacher paused to examine his students' reactions. Both of them were looking at him with such focused expressions on their faces… Evidently they were serious about this. 'So' he continued, 'The objective is blatantly simple. You have to find each another.'

'Eeeh?' Crono didn't get it. Surely, they knew exactly where they were? What did the masked man mean by 'finding each other?'

'It's awfully simple Crono' Surge Guardia tried to explain himself better. 'For you to defeat Xianian in this exercise you will have to find him and subsequently touch him with your wooden Bokken. However, throughout the exercise Xianian will also be trying to find you to touch you with his bokken too so…'

'Whoever manages to find and touch the other person first without them noticing their presence on time, wins. Easy enough.' Xianian gave one of his half smiles. He definitively would not lose against the clumsy red haired boy beside him.

'Exactly. I think it's all sorted now then. The swords and the pieces of cloth are just behind you, on top of those rocks', the sensei explained.

'Smart ass…' Crono thought, as he observed the lord walk towards where the cloths and the wooden swords that had been laid on some rocks by the stream. Hurriedly, he followed the pale faced boy and got hold of his own sword and cloth, removing his own katana and setting it down. He untangled the latter and prepared to adjust it around his face. Before doing so, however, he looked at his opponent once again. This boy… Crono found him really irritating and yet… they were meant to be companions.

'Hey, Xianian.' The village boy interrupted the lord, who had kneeled down to examine his wooden sword. Satros Xianian looked up, unimpressed. 'Let's give our best, shall we?' The Aonisaibushi smiled broadly. The Lord raised one eyebrow, slightly surprised. Was this guy actually trying to make him feel better? But why?

'Of course, no cheating is allowed boys…' The shogun's voice distracted Xianian from his thoughts. 'I will personally tie the cloths around your heads and whoever dares to take it off during the challenge…' – the teacher paused – 'will be beaten like a log until they can no longer beg for their sorry lives.' The blue haired man said this with a sinister smile on his face. Crono shivered.

This was a weird feeling, not being able to see anything. Whereas before Crono had been enjoying the beautiful scenery and the vivid wild colours of the forest, now all he could see was just pitch black. The contrast was overwhelming. He felt powerless.

The orphan knew Xianian was standing right in front of him, a few meters away. He wondered what the black haired boy's strategy would be. Did he have anything planned? Probably, Crono thought. After all, the Lord was that kind of guy. On the other hand, himself… He was better at improvising.

'Are you really going to do this, idiot?'

Crono gasped. The remark had surprised him. Who had said that anyway? Xianian?

'You idiot, of course I'm going to do this!' he shouted back.

'What are you saying, dobe?' Xianian's reply clearly reflected that he was confused by Crono's outburst.

Crono frowned. Hadn't the Lord said anything? The village boy could have sworn that it had been him… It had to be him. After all, who else would –

'So boys, let's just start this before our emotions take hold of us, shall we?' Surge-sensei spoke firmly, establishing his authority. 'This is a time when you should be thinking clearly and logically, and above all, paying attention to your surroundings. Just like in battle, today you won't know where your opponent is hiding. Good luck. You may begin.'

crono's first instinct was to run. In a flash, he had turned around and had started sprinting away from his opponent. xianian had followed him. The samurai had felt him. Right now, however, he had no idea of where the xianian was. He had lost him completely.

'Damn it...' crono thought. He wasn't at all sure of what he should do. Was he supposed to wait for xianian to find him? Or was it better to just look for the lord himself?

The red haired boy inhaled deeply and tried to concentrate. After all, surge-sensei had said that he should analyse his surroundings. What could he hear? The most obvious sounds were those that one would expect to find in a forest. The mating songs of the birds, the water flowing in the stream, the wind…. Yes, the wind. It made the leaves in the trees rustle. Where did the rustling noise come from? Mainly from Crono's right-hand side. Did that mean that the deepest part of the forest –the part with most trees – was the one on the right? The red haired boy wasn't sure, but he at least had to try.

Haltingly, he turned right and started walking towards what he thought was the thickest side of the woods. There, he hoped he would find xianian.

'And then what, you smart-ass? What are you going to do? You think you will find him first?'

Crono felt a twinge in his stomach. It was that bloodcurdling voice again. The boy took his hands to his head and squeezed it tight. He wanted to make it stop.

Taking a deep breath, he continued walking, trying hard not to make much noise. Again, however, he wasn't sure of what he would do once he got there. He hated his brother for making them do such bizarre things.

To his surprise, Crono was scared. The village boy wondered why. At the end of the day, it wasn't like he was putting his life on the line or anything. Perhaps it was the fact that he simply couldn't see anything what really frightened him. After all, this did make Crono feel really defenceless.

'Behind you, you useless fool'

Instantly, Crono started running. He now was clearly hearing the sound of someone's footsteps on the grass. He cursed himself for not having paid enough attention. At this rate, he would be the one to lose… No, he just couldn't accept that. Crono stretched his arms, desperately trying to touch something. Soon enough, his fingertips got in touch with a rough surface.

'A tree trunk', he thought, as he slowly felt his way around the tree.

Almost immediately, he felt his opponent walking past him. The red haired boy remained completely still, his back resting on the trunk's surface. He held his breath for a few seconds. Then, he sighed in relief as soon as his enemy could no longer be heard.

'Pathetic… Just give up already, will you?'

'WILL YOU JUST SHUT UP?' crono couldn't take it anymore. Was he going crazy? Where these hallucinations? Why had he never heard them until now? He didn't understand what was happening to him.

The aonisaibushi heard the sound of a flock of birds hurriedly escaping from their hiding places within the trees. His heart skipped a beat and he gasped, horrified. He had revealed his position to the enemy with his screams. Now crono was going to…

The sound of footsteps was soon heard once more. crono's temples were beating painfully. He knew he had to get out of there soon. Rapidly, he began to sprint away from the noise. He felt anguished and wished to escape but he didn't know where he was going. On top of that, he kept hearing this horrifying voice but he couldn't determine where it was coming from. The village boy had the impression though, that it was coming from… within him?

Nevertheless, he didn't have time to stop and think about this. After all, crono knew that soon enough, xianian would be here to find him…

And suddenly, he felt it. His enemy was right there, right in front of him. Instantaneously, crono lifted his sword energetically and boosted it forwards. He was determined not to let his enemy's sword contact his skin first.

A sonorous thud was heard. Two hollow materials had met at the same time.

crono shivered as a wave of energy entered his body though his arms and gradually invaded his entire body. This, Crono thought, was xianian's energy. The feeling was beyond description. In a matter of seconds, the village boy felt that he had gotten to know xianian better than throughout the past hours. The energy that he had transmitted was somehow so full of rage and self-contempt. Almost too much too handle. However, he refused to move. Not until this was finally over.

'Ha ha. For some reason I was kind of expecting this to happen.' The sensei's mocking tone broke the sacred silence. 'This was very amusing. Amusing indeed. Alright boys, you can withdraw your swords.'

The boys and their sensei were back at the training grounds. The sun had already hidden behind the mountains and it was getting dark. It was amazing how fast time had passed, crono thought.

All in all, this day had been extremely intense. The village boy was absolutely exhausted due to the physical and psychological strains his mind and body had had to endure throughout the day. To think that he would have to repeat this tomorrow was quite hard to believe. Even so, crono was definitively looking forward to it.

The red head discretely observed his training companion through the corner of his eye. His facial expression was, as usual, almost impossible to decipher. People always used to say that crono was like an open book; so easy to read. With xianian, however, this was certainly not the case. The orphan wondered if the Prince had felt the same things that he had felt, back at the forest. Had he felt how the village boy's energy had taken hold of his body? In that case, how had he reacted to this? crono felt like asking the lord all of these questions. For some reason, however, he couldn't bring himself to do so.

'Well done boys.' As usual, surge-sensei interrupted crono's thoughts. 'Today you did amazingly well. Of course, this is only the beginning but…' The sensei lifted his gaze and looked towards the horizon, dramatically. crono frowned. 'I think today you've learnt quite a lot about each other.'

Crono's heart thumped. Did his brother actually know? The red headed boy bit his lip. Well of course he knew. He must have known. After all, he was the one who planned it all, didn't he?

'But' the teacher spoke once again, 'I have one more surprise for you two.' From a brown leather bag, the shogun got out a bundle of what seemed to be…red ribbons? crono examined them closer. No, they weren't just ribbons. There was something else entwined with them. Several golden pieces of what seemed to be a metal. Iron, perhaps?

'What are these things?' Xianian spoke casually.

'I'm glad you asked, Xianian.' The masked man smiled through his mask. 'These are weights. They are designed to build up the muscles in your arms, so that you can handle any type of katana swiftly and masterfully.' The teacher then proceeded to roll up his sleeves. He indeed had two sets of weights attached to each forearm. Crono raised his eyebrows in admiration. his brother was really quite unpredictable. 'You should initially start wearing one set of weights on each arm, as they are indeed quite heavy, although they don't seem like it.'

'Do we have to wear it at all times?' The red haired boy just had to ask.

'Precisely. In fact, I want to see you wearing them tomorrow, when you come to train.'

'No problem then!' crono had already recovered from that day's shock. Of course he still felt like he had to sort out many things. However, for now he just felt like relishing every minute of this brand new experience. He had decided that he would deal with all problems later on.

'Tomorrow at eight o'clock then?' The dark haired boy talked again. His teacher nodded. 'Don't be late again, will you?' He warned.

'Don't worry xianian, this time we really won't be!'

Crono walked to the back of the family's private dojo, only to find his brother sitting there. 'Crono, good... please come here' Surge beaconed him over.

Taking a seat in front of him, Crono asked him. 'whats going on, nisan?'

His brother would look at him intently for a few minutes before anwsering the question. 'Crono, I know you already know how to channel Lightning chakra, and it appears you have gained some proficiency with wind.'

Crono looked at his brother quizingly before he continued on.

'I believe you are ready to master vorpal release' he said, his tone very serious. Crono didn't know what to think, he had only recently gotten the hang of wind. Vorpal was normally reserved for intermediate samurai. Did this mean that his brother thought him ready for such a thing.

'you" he stammered for a moment with the words. 'think i am ready?' his eyes looking dead center into his brothers, who responded with a simple. 'i do'

Crono suddenly felt revigorated. and eager to learn. ' first, present your blade'. the blue haired shogun commanded.

removing the blade from his seated position crono placed the sword across his body. presenting it to his brother who promptly took the blade in his hand, the sword instantly coming to life with vorpal chakra. the high frequency vibrations caused by the multiple vortexes of wind that now covered the blade flowed brillantly.

'now place your hand on top of mine and focus your chakra' he said. Crono placing his left hand over his brother's right. instantly he could feel a surge of energy pulsating into him. he could feel the flow of the element surging inside him, this sudden jolt actually forcing crono to push his chakra into the blade, reflectively.

Surge held the blade vertically in the air. 'now, take hold of the blade as i let it go' Crono did as he had asked. amazed to see that even after releasing the blade, he was able to sustain the vorpal energy, however the overall force was significantly weakened, as to be expected.

'I have now passed this on to you crono, and awakened your latent abilities. remember this feeling, let it flow into you as you flow into it. ' the vorpal energy faded from the blade. Crono laid the sword down before leaping forward, wrapping his arms around his brother. 'thanks nisan' Surge guardia only smiled and nodded. proud of his brother.

[3,781 | 6928 total]

As he walked through the deserted dark streets of Konoha, Crono realised just how much his body was aching. The boy didn't really understand why. At the end of the day, it was not like he wasn't used to physical exercise. Magus sure kept him busy most of the time. He sighed. It probably had a lot to do with how tense he had been throughout the entire day.

his brother was really a strange guy… However, he somehow seemed to know what he was doing. His personality was a bit funny, but Crono trusted him, and admired him. The village boy was keen to discover more about his brother though. After all, if he was a samurai working for the Feudal lord, he might have…some other secrets he had been keeping? A twinge of excitement ran through the boy's body. did that mean that his brother would be stepping down from being the clan shogun soon?…Didn't he normally delegate this sort of stuff to his underlings?

However, the Aonisaibushi's excitement didn't last for long, as he soon reached the entrance of the inn. Nervous, the boy took a deep breath. He wondered how he would explain this whole situation to the old geezer.

'Well hello there Ero-sennin' Crono practiced 'if you are wondering where I've been, you don't have to worry about it because in fact, I've been… I've been…'

'Go on, I want to listen to the rest of it.'

Crono took a step back, shocked. Indeed, the entrance door of the inn was now wide open, and Magus was leaning on it, staring at the village boy right into his eyes. Crono gulped and avoided the old man's gaze.

'I'm waiting.'

The manager's voice was solemn and frightening. Crono couldn't remember the last time the old man had talked to him like that. Fair enough, the boy had just left without telling him where he was going and he had then spent the whole day away… Still, there was something in Magus's voice that was… different. Was it concern? Crono wondered. No, it was more than that. Fear?

'ARE YOU JUST GOING TO STAND THERE IN SILENCE AND PRETEND THAT YOU DIDN'T DISOBEY ME AT ALL?' The perverted geezer's face had gone red with anger and he had grabbed the boy by his kimono.

'IT'S ALRIGHT ERO-SENNIN I DID NOTHING WRONG, I SWEAR! NOW LET ME GO!' Crono had said this with his eyes tightly closed. This was bad. The old geezer was absolutely furious. The Samurai was very confused. Surely he hadn't done anything to offend Magus that much?

Within a matter of seconds, the innkeeper dragged the red haired boy into the building and slammed the door brusquely. He then let go of the boy's clothes and leaned on the walls with one hand. Crono sighed in relief as he slid down to the floor. His heart was beating soundly in his chest and it was so loud that it distracted him from everything else.

'I want you to go home.' Magus was almost whispering. 'We will talk about this tomorrow.'

Normally, Crono would have tried to argue with him. He would have protested and would have refused to obey him. However, at that moment the village boy realised this was not a good idea. He decided to shut up and swallow his bitter words… for now. With much effort, he stood up and started heading though the back toward his home.

A group of lodgers had come out of their rooms, awoken by the screams. They were now standing by the hallway, with confused expressions on their faces. Crono tried to calm them down, although his face was so pale that he probably didn't seem too reassuring.

'There, there, nothing's happening…' the village boy explained. 'It's just that the pervert- I mean, Magus, is quite angry at me, that's all…'

At this, Magus pulled himself together and accompanied his clients upstairs, to their rooms. At last, Crono was left alone. He sighed and took his hand to his chest. 'That was intense.' he thought. His head was aching terribly. 'I need to lie down.'

Nevertheless, just as he was heading towards his bedroom tiredly, he heard a single thud coming from behind him. Someone was knocking on the door. Crono frowned suspiciously. Who could it be? It was already very late.

Reluctantly, he approached the entrance door one more time. Indeed, what he saw once he opened it left him speechless.

'Ni-san' The red haired boy couldn't believe his eyes. 'Just what are you doing here?'

The shogun smiled and tilted his head. 'Well' he declared 'I came to see the innkeeper. Is he here by any chance?'

crono opened his mouth, but he words simply didn't come out. He wondered why everything seemed to be happening on that day.

'What are you doing here?'

magus's voice came from behind the young samurai. Again, the latter was scared by the old man's sudden interventions.

'Long time no see, Magus-sama. You haven't changed a bit, if I may say so.' Carefully, Surge Guardia entered the inn and closed the door behind him. Surge had called the old geezer 'Magus-sama'? 'Just how many things has Magus not talked to me about?' Crono wondered, annoyed.

'We have to talk, Surge. Now.' Magus's serious tone of voice greatly contrasted his brother's carefree tone.

'No problem', was the sensei's response.

'Not here though.' Crono frowned. Did the old man not want him to hear? Surely he deserved an explanation too?

'As you wish, Magus-sama. Let's go outside then.' With this, the teacher opened the door and walked out into the open, encouraging the older man to follow him. Hastily, the innkeeper advanced a few steps. Before leaving, he turned back and stared at his apprentice once again.

'I want you to wait in your room until I come back. Don't you dare follow us. Understood?' The red haired boy nodded. 'Good.' After this, he closed the door and left.

Both men had walked in silence for a while until they had reached a clearing outside the city centre. Here they hoped they wouldn't be disturbed. The fresh summer wind was shaking the grass, which smelled of peppermint. The crickets were singing in the background. Magus the innkeeper observed the man in front of him with suspicion. He grunted. He had been hoping this day would never come.

'What do you want?' he snapped.

'I'm hurt, Magus-sama.' The masked man's gaze was fixed in the horizon. 'I can't believe you didn't tell me about him…and his....gift'

'You want to know why I didn't tell you about the kid?' Surge turned his head and looked at his master in surprise. 'I didn't tell you because it's none of your business!'

'How can you say that master?' The younger man's eyes were sad. 'The boy's father, My father was your shogun... now I am your shogun. If you noticed something, you know what this means.....'

'it's something no one else is supposed to know!' The old man's screams were desperate. 'Something your father died to keep a secret!'

'And why is it that you found out?' Crono's sensei still didn't understand.

'BECAUSE SOMEONE HAD TO BE TRUSTED WITH IT WHEN YOUR FATHER DIED!' The master bit his lip. He had to control himself.

'So he knew then.' Surge's face was one of true realisation. 'their father knew he would die.'

Magus closed his eyes and tried to repress the flood of unwelcomed memories. 'He didn't know for sure' he said, finally. 'He just thought there was a possibility that he could, and you were too young at the time.'

'And what about Gina, our mother? I feel there is something about her that you aren't telling me.' The his brother's words hung in the air for a few seconds.

'There are some things that are meant to be kept hidden' was the old man's answer. His eyes were still tightly closed.

'I will sooner or later figure it out, master. However, even if you don't want to tell me about it, you will have to tell Crono. He ought to know, don't you think? It's his life, after all.' The young samurai had spoken as casually as ever. This greatly irritated his master.

'REALLY? SO THAT'S WHAT YOU THINK SURGE? FINE, TELL ME THEN, HOW MUCH DO YOU REALLY KNOW ABOUT THAT KID? HUH? DO YOU REALLY BELIEVE YOU KNOW WHAT'S BEST FOR HIM? I'VE LIVED WITH HIM FOR THE PAST SIXTEEN YEARS FOR GOD'S SAKE! YOU RARELY COME HOME FROM THE OFFICE, IT WAS IN FRONT OF YOUR EYES THE WHOLE TIME!' The innkeeper's gestures again seemed desperate.

'So are you saying that you never meant to tell him?' Surge stared at his master accusingly.

'I am going to tell him some day…but he's still too young to handle it! You see, Surge, there is much more to this story that what you may think! The secrets that are kept away from him could eventually destroy him! It's normal that I'm dead scared of telling him!' The old man looked as if he was just about to cry.

'I've been training with him, Magus-sama. I've seen him fight and I can tell you, he has the talent. Father's talent. I could make so much out of him, I swear… but he has to know the truth about himself first in order to continue with his training. He needs to be at peace with himself.' The young man tilted his head upwards and stared at the sky, immersed in thought.

'I want you to stop teaching Crono, Surge.' Magus spoke with authority. 'He just cannot become another weapon to be thrown around. I will not allow it.'

'You can't do this Magus.' The sensei spoke pleadingly. 'It's selfish. You can't pretend to control his life in such a way! The boy has dreams! And he has the potential and the strong will needed to –'

'To do what? To change this world? To make it a better place? Nonsense. I don't believe in that anymore. This world is rotten. And Crono is not an average kid. He could unintentionally be extremely dangerous…' The hermit cursed himself. He had said too much.

Surge took a few steps forwards, approaching his master. 'It's Gilgamesh isn't it. he is the reincarnation of the Kodenbushi and harbors his spirit'

Magus bit his lip so hard that it started bleeding. The taste of blood invaded his mouth. He had been keeping this secret for so many years and yet today… everything could go terribly wrong if he wasn't careful.

'LOOK, I DON'T KNOW HOW THIS STARTED, BUT I SIMPLY FORBID YOU TO TRAIN HIM AGAIN. YOU DON'T KNOW HOW DANGEROUS HE CAN BE IF HE IS PUT UNDER PRESSURE BY YOUR TRAINING! IN FACT, YOU KNOW NOTHING ABOUT THE KID AT ALL! SO RIGHT NOW THE BEST YOU CAN DO IS JUST LEAVE AND – '

The old innkeeper stopped screaming as soon as he became aware of the fact that the masked man was no longer listening to what he was saying. Instead, the young man's shocked gaze seemed to be focused on something which was seemingly a few meters...behind his master?

'Magus, what the hell is this?'

Crono's voice sounded frail and broken. Tears were running down his cheeks and he was clutching his fists. Suddenly, he turned around and started running away from the clearing and the two men.

'Damn it Crono! Wait! Please let me explain!' Magus screamed across the distance. When he could see that the boy wouldn't just wait for him, he began to run towards him, screaming his name again and again.

Soon enough, the masked man was left alone in the dark.

The boy was confused and scared. He didn't understand what was going on. Admittedly, he had never known too much about his past, but this… this was unbelievable. Magu's words resonated inside the orphan's head. 'You don't know how dangerous he can be…' That's what the old man had told Crono's brother.

'I'm dangerous?' Crono didn't want to believe that. He used his hands to wipe out the tears that were rolling down his cheeks. He was still running, determined to escape from everything and everybody. He didn't feel ready to talk about what had happened earlier on that day. He just couldn't face Magus… Not now.

But he was tired. Exhausted in fact. The bones in his legs ached every time his feet hit the floor. Suddenly, he felt a twinge of pain coming from the side of his hip. He remembered how Xianian had pierced his skin with his katana the previous day. 'I'm a damn mess' Crono thought, annoyed.

Behind him, the red haired boy could hear his guardian's steps. The old man was still chasing him. Every time he heard Magus call out his name Crono's heart skipped a beat. The boy felt nauseous. He really needed to stop and rest… However, he didn't allow himself to do so. 'I can't stop, I can't stop, I just cannot stop!' He repeated this sentence to himself like a mantra.

Nevertheless, it was useless. Soon enough, his knees began to wobble helplessly and his vision became blurry. As he fell to the ground, the boy caught sight of the young Feudal lord's temporary residence , which stood gloriously in the distance. Afterwards, he passed out.

The shogun sighed from his place at the top of a tree. It was already eight o'clock in the morning. Below him, a young, black haired boy was practicing his sword techniques. Again and again, the boy hit the air with his sword, each time employing a different movement. His dark eyes were fixed on his imaginary opponent.

Surge Guardia felt quite uneasy. Why was it that he was always the one in charge of delivering the bad news? He hated these types of situations. shogun's fate it seemed.

'I know you are there, Surge. You can come down already.' The lord had abandoned his training and was now looking upwards, directly into his sensei's eyes. The teacher chuckled nervously as he began to climb down the tree. The lord didn't take his eyes off the masked man. He suspected there was something strange going on.

'Where is the idiot?' xianian asked, furrowing his eyebrows. Surge sighed once again. The young Satros was such a 'straight-to-the-point' kind of person...

'Well' the teacher exclaimed, avoiding his pupil's accusatory gaze, 'I guess it can't be helped. I have to tell you the truth. Crono…will not be joining us anymore.'

Silence ensued. Xianian held onto his sword tighter. It took a while for him to process this new information. He didn't understand. That red headed idiot had seemed so excited and sure of himself… He was so keen about this whole thing… Even when he had been wounded he had insisted on coming the next day. And now he had dropped out. Just like that, without any previous notice. The Lord had so many questions to ask his sensei, but the words just wouldn't come out.

'Why?' In the end, this was all that the black haired boy managed to blurt out.

The older man took a while to answer. He wasn't really sure of what he could tell the boy in front of him. In the end, he decided not to compromise himself. 'I'm not sure' he declared, 'Crono didn't say anything.'

At this, the young lord frowned. The wrinkles on his forehead awarded him a fiercer look. 'Where does he live?' he asked, his usually expressionless face now clearly angry.

Surge's eyes widened. How amusing. He hadn't expected the boy to react in such a way. He wondered if he should let him play a role in this. On the one hand, the lord would perhaps only complicate things further… On the other hand, however, xianian would most probably find out where Crono lived by himself if he didn't tell him now.

'He lives at the Guardia head household, behind an inn in the guardia district. It's not very far away actually… Why do you want to know?' The shogun pretended he hadn't foreseen the young lord's intentions.

Without even answering surge's question, xianian turned around and started heading towards the his residency. His sensei tilted his head, fascinated by his pupil's sudden decisiveness. 'Where do you think you're going?' he asked the pale faced boy, again pretending not to know the young boy's real intentions.

The pale faced boy again didn't answer. Instead, he raised his hand as he was walking away and declared: 'I'm bringing that asshole back.'

Surge thought about stopping his student before it was too late. He shrugged. He supposed that would simply be too troublesome. And of course, much less interesting.

The lord walked through the busy streets of Konoha hurriedly. The city noise was something which startled him. After all, he wasn't used to being around big numbers of people. The temperature was unusually high, even for the summer. The young Satros protected his face from the sun rays by wearing a worn out piece of brown cloth over his head. At the same time, this cloth was meant to protect his secret identity, although most of these people had probably never seen a member of the feudal Family in their lives. Also, the lord was sporting his usual kinagashi, which was certainly not a piece of clothing that would immediately be associated with an feudal lord's heir.

The boy's throat was tight and he felt frustrated. Why on Earth was he taking this so personally? It wasn't like this was the first time someone had let him down… So then, why go after the idiot? The Lord had never done something so irrational. He thought about it for a moment. Why? Why was this boy different from, say, his father or his brother? They had let him down too, right? His father, swearing he would protect the nation and then being seduced by power and wealth, and his brother, making him believe that he was different from their father and then behaving just like him… He was used to those kinds of feelings. Disappointment. Loneliness.

So then why? Why had he refused to accept that the same thing had happened this time? He clutched his fists, overwhelmed by the rush of contradictory feelings. All of a sudden, he remembered the conversation he had had with the red headed boy the day before, just before they had started the blind-folded exercise. 'Let's give our best, shall we?' That was what that idiot had told him. After that, he had smiled. He had been trying to cheer him up, Xianian was sure about that. Just how childish was he?

But perhaps that was what just why the lord had found it so hard to believe that the aonisaibushi had decided to drop out. After all, the latter was just like a small child, so enthusiastic about the training, and so convinced that he would become a great samurai… Yes, that had to be the reason why he was so frustrated and confused. Someone like that didn't just drop out. xianian had to find out what had happened.

The problem was that he didn't really know where to find crono. According to surge, the village boy lived in the best inn in the city. However, the young lord had no idea of where that inn was located. He decided he would ask someone for directions. Indeed, he soon approached an old bearded man who was walking alongside an emaciated donkey. The donkey looked at xianian with its huge sad eyes, which seemed as though they were just about to pop out of their orbits. The young Satros shivered. However, he soon pulled himself together and, looking away from the animal, he asked the old man: 'Excuse me; I was wondering if you could help me get somewhere.'

There was an awkward silence. Seconds after, the old man burst into laughter, displaying his practically toothless grin. The lord didn't understand what had been so funny about his question. Gradually, the old man's laughter came to an end. Once he had relaxed, he spoke in a really strong rural accent.

'Oh God boy… Thanks for that!' he said 'It had been a while since I'd laughed so hard… 'Excuse me' you say… 'I was wondering' you say… so funny!'

Xianian raised an eyebrow. There really were some curious people living in the city. However, now wasn't the time to socialise. He had to find the inn where Crono lived.

'I'm glad that made you laugh mister…' the boy said, impatiently, 'however, I really need to get somewhere right now. And I would like your help, if that's possible.'

The old man giggled again. ' 'If that's possible' you say… Priceless! But of course I can help you boy. Just ask old Kentaro! He knows everything about this damn city! I come from the countryside, you see, but I've lived here for the past thirty years! Can you imagine? Thirty bloody years boy! How old are you? Thirteen?'

Xianian huffed, annoyed. 'I'm actually sixteen sir' he declared 'and I really don't have time to talk now, so could you please tell me where I could find the guardia clan head household?'

'the guardia district?' The man took his hand to his chin enigmatically. 'I see… that's a hard question. It really depends, you see?'

Xianian sighed. Why did everything have to be so complicated? 'What does it depend on? I don't understand' he muttered, irritated.

'Well, it depends on where you live. If you live in the eastern part of the district, you're probably going to say that the Clan's HQ is the head household, as the shogun sleeps their every night.' The old man took a deep breath and continued with his speech. 'If you live in the western part of the district, you will then surely say the shogun's actual home is the head household. It's behind an inn run by old Magus, Magus's a nice chap. A bit perverted, but then again, who isn't, at our age?' Kentaro the toothless man chuckled again.

The Lord decided this was going nowhere. He was definitely going to have to ask a more specific question. 'So, old man' he began, trying not to lose his temper, 'I will ask you another question. Have you ever seen a red haired, blue-eyed boy of my age living in any of those areas? This particular boy I'm talking about is quite flamboyant and loud. He's also an idiot who believes in himself too much. Have you seen this boy, by any chance?'

The old man thought about it for a second. After a while, his eyes widened and he banged his right fist into his left palm. 'Aha! I know who you're talking about! It's that red haired samurai who works for magus! What's his name? Caoki? Coboru? Cobuyuki? Meh, I'm terrible with names… Faces, that's what I'm good at!'

'It's Crono. Guardia Crono.' Xianian face was now completely serious.

'Exactly! Crono-kun! Bless him… He's a really nice kid, you know? In the future, he might inherit his brother's position as shogun and his mother's inn. They're a good business, inns. Everybody needs to stay in one from time to time after all and –'

'Yes well, I would like you to tell me where I could find Magus's inn, please' xianian interrupted. He really didn't want to waste any more time. He had to confront that idiot Crono once and for all.

'No problem' the old bearded man said, as he patted his ill-looking donkey on the back. 'In fact, it's just three streets away from where we are now. You simply have to turn right when you get to the end of this street and then just continue walking in a straight line until you see the sign. Say hello to the perverted-geezer for me, okay?' Kentaro the old man pointed at the young lord with his index finger.

'I will, don't worry mister. Thank you for your help'. With this, xianian left the old man and his donkey, determined to find Crono's home once and for all.

[3955 | 10,883]

This had to be it. Xianian raised his head and read the big, worn out sign that was hanging above him. 'The Great Samurai' it said. The lord sneered. That idiot had to next to a place called that.

The black haired boy lifted his hand and knocked on the door. He waited for a few seconds, tapping his right foot on the ground impatiently. From behind the door, he heard the voice of an aged man.

'I'm coming!' the voice said. The door remained closed. xianian knocked again, begining to get annoyed

'Yes, I'm coming!' The voice exclaimed again, this time sounding more irritated.

Soon after, the entryway was opened energetically by an old, white haired man who was wearing a plain red gown. The young Satros noticed he had big bags under his eyes. His confused expression reflected his disconcert.

'Welcome to 'The Great Samurai'. I'm Magus, the innkeeper. Can I help you?' The old man asked, suspiciously. His eyes were busy looking for any luggage that this boy might have brought with him.

'I don't have any luggage.' The lord had read the old man's mind. 'In fact I'm not here to stay. I just want to speak with someone who lives around here, that's all.'

The innkeeper's expression changed. He frowned and looked at the young lord directly into his eyes. 'Who are you?' he inquired, analysing the young boy's face carefully.

'I'm…' The lord was not sure of what he was for the red haired boy. 'I'm crono's… rival!' He smiled. Yes, that was what he was. So that air-headed bastard couldn't drop out yet! Not until the lord gave him his permission to do so at least!

'Well I'm sorry, but crono is not feeling well right now. You must leave.' The old innkeeper proceeded to close the door once again.

However, Xianian was still not ready to give up. In a flash, he leaned his hands on the door and pushed hardly, managing to catch the old proprietor unprepared. Soon, he was inside the building, trying to figure out where he should go to find his rival. Almost immediately, he caught sight of the narrow wooden hallway in front of him, and he began running towards it toward the house situated behind it. Nevertheless, he was caught before he could even take a single step. Furious, the lord tried to free himself in every possible way, kicking the old man and hitting him with his fists desperately. xianian even tried biting the older man's arms, but this was also useless. The young Satros was furious. How dare did this geezer not let him talk to Crono!? How dare did he grab the black haired boy in such a way?

'CRONO! CRONO ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME? I KNOW YOU'RE THERE!' The young lord shouted, hoping his screams would alert the red haired boy of his presence.

'YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE LIKE THIS YOU ASS-' Xianian's mouth was covered before he could finish his sentence. Frustrated, he continued mumbling loudly, determined to make some kind of noise. At some point, that idiot had to realise he was there…

The aonisaibushi opened his eyes gradually, only to close them again shortly afterwards. The intense light was hurting his eyes and he grimaced. He realised he was in lying in his bed at home. Crono couldn't remember how he had got there. In fact, the last thing that he remembered was that he had been running away, in the dark… He closed his eyes as the memories from the previous night started settling in.

'The secrets that are kept away from him could eventually destroy him!'

'Crono is not an average kid. He could unintentionally be extremely dangerous…'

'It's Gilgamesh isn't it. he is the reincarnation of the Kodenbushi and harbors his spirit'

The boy covered his face with his pillow, wanting to forget everything that he had heard Magus and his brother say a few hours ago.

Just then, he heard the strange noises coming from downstairs. Surprised, he remained completely still for a couple of seconds. Before long, those noises turned into screams.

'CRONO! CRONO ARE YOU LISTENING TO ME? I KNOW YOU'RE THERE!'

The village boy couldn't believe his ears. Was this even possible?

'YOU CAN'T JUST LEAVE LIKE THIS YOU ASS-'

Yes. That had definitely been the young lord just now. crono couldn't believe that xianian had actually bothered to come and look for him. The bastard. Why did he do such weird things? Hurriedly, the young samurai squiggled out of bed, opened the door of his room and ran across the yard to the inn, not even sure of how he would confront magus and his rival at the same time.

Xianian stopped moving as soon as he saw Crono crossing the yard. Shortly afterwards, Crono's figure appeared at the top of the last staircase. The young lord sighed in relief. 'At last' he thought, letting go of his arms.

The old man spoke first. 'Crono' he said, kindly 'go back to your bed, you're not feeling well.'

Crono couldn't ignore the purple shadows underneath the geezer's eyes. He sighed. How on Earth had things got so out of control? He had to settle things down once and for all.

'No Magus, I'm sorry.' The samurai declared, apologetically, 'I have to speak to xianian right now. I owe him an explanation.'

'Hell yeah you do!' the young lord exclaimed, taking advantage of the fact that the old innkeeper was no longer covering his mouth.

Magus groaned and let go of the black haired boy, who looked at him fiercely as he did so.

'I suppose' the old geezer said, facing Xianian 'you are Surge's other student then'

The lord grunted and avoided the old man's gaze. 'Yes' was his only reply.

'Indeed.' The old man now seemed slightly amused. 'Crono boy, I don't know how you do it.' Crono furrowed his eyebrows, confused. Magus continued: 'I let you out of the house one morning and two days later the Feudal heir himself is standing right at the entrance of my humble establishment. Just incredible.'

Crono's eyes widened. How had the perverted geezer known? Xianian's remark interrupted his thoughts.

'Sssh! Are you crazy you stupid geezer?' The lord whispered. 'Do you want everyone to find out?'

Magus chuckled. 'Don't worry boy, nobody would believe you were the Young lord even if you swore it on your life!' He then lowered his voice and whispered: 'The only reason I could tell you were the Feudal Lord's son is because you look so much like your bloody father it's scary!'

The young Satros stared at the innkeeper in amazement. Had this man really met his father? That was impossible. Or was it?

'Well, anyways, I think Xianian came here to talk to me about something, didn't you Xianian?' Crono was keen to listen to what the young lord had to say to him.

Xianian turned around to face the red haired boy. For a brief moment, he had forgotten why he had been so angry at him. However, his bitter feelings came back as soon as he heard the voice of the Samurai.

'You!' The Satros exclaimed, squinting his eyes. 'Do you think you can just decide to drop out from one day to another? What the hell is wrong with you, you dobe!? This hasn't even started yet!'

Crono gasped. So this was what the Lord had come to tell him? Surge must have told him that he would never be training with them again.

'Wait, Xianian, let me explain…' Crono tried to calm his rival down.

'No, you let me speak first!' Xianian was not in the mood for excuses. 'You told me that your dream was to become a great samurai like your father, right?'

Crono nodded silently. This was a side of Xianian that he had never seen before. Angry Xianian. He smiled.

'What's so funny you dobe?' Xianian closed his eyes and lowered his head. His long dark hair covered his face. The lord didn't speak for a few seconds. After a while, he lifted his head again, and speaking quietly, he added: 'I thought…well, the other day, I'd thought I'd felt it… when out swords contacted.'

The village boy stared at the young lord in amazement. So he had felt his energy too, at that moment?

'I felt it you know?' Xianian continued. 'That's why you better have a good excuse for not showing up today! Or is it, that you are one of those people who never mean what they say!'

Crono didn't answer immediately. He was overwhelmed by Xianian's harsh words. The truth is, the samurai felt very guilty. After all, he had somehow forgotten that the lord also had very important objectives which he needed to accomplish. Becoming stronger through training was therefore essential for xianian too. Crono needed to tell the Satros that he would not let him down anymore.

'Xianian.' The village boy walked towards the black haired boy in silence. When he was just a few centimetres away from the young lord, the samurai stretched his right arm, gently placing his hand on top of his rival's shoulder.

'xianian' Crono repeated. His voice was both assertive and calm. 'I promise. I never go back on my word.'

The lord scrutinised the red haired boy's eyes and saw nothing but determination in them. He relaxed. He had still, however, received no explanation for what had happened that morning.

'So, Crono, if you're claiming that you never go back on your word', the pale faced boy said, shaking the samurai's warm hand off his shoulder, 'why is it that you didn't show up today? surge told me..'

'Ah, to hell with my brother!' Crono interrupted 'The only reason I didn't come was because… I… I had to sort some things with Magus here. That's all.'

Xianian furrowed his eyebrows. Was that true? The lord supposed Crono still deserved some of his trust.

'Fine,' the black haired boy declared, finally, 'but this is your absolute last chance with me' he warned. 'After that, you're dead. I promise.'

With this, the young lord left the inn, slamming the entrance door behind him. A few seconds later, Crono was still staring at the closed door, astonished. What on Earth had just happened? And why had he enjoyed watching xianian getting angry? Magus's voice distracted the boy from his thoughts.

'Crono' the old man declared, talking a deep breath, 'we have to talk.'

'Not now, I have some training to do' he would reply, walking back to his home to get his katana. Magus would look down at the ground

Walking to his front yard, Crono would begin to train with the sword, not wanting to be surpassed by Xianian. Flowing his chakra through the blade, the sword became alive and overcame itself with it's own aura. Crono would then focus on the blade adding vorpal chakra to the aura that was formed. a high pitched sound quickly chirped passed Crono's ears.

'I have to get stronger' he would announce, focusing his blade while preforming various kata of different styles all the while maintaining the aura around his blade, stopping only shortly before the setting sun.

Crono reached toward a close line for a towel, and used it to brush the dirt from his face, he would be ready the next time he faced Xianian. Their earlier conversation had invigorated him in ways that he had yet to discover.

He knew Magus would need to speak to him... but... It would have to wait for another time. Crono hurriedly walked into his house, his mother had yet to arrive home. He would fix himself a quick bowl of ramen for dinner and without even removing his clothes, would pass out in his bed

[1,919 | 12,802 total 64 stats, 128 jp, learned wind element 4000/4000, vorpal element 2000/2000, SST vorpal infusion 2000/2000, Exit topic]

Approved, Holy crap what a story line! Good Job!