AKACHI: Egg Or Chicken

AKACHI: King's Pawn Serpent Gambit

Chapter 0: Day and Night

Somewhere In the heart of isolated Central Africa, in the foothills of the dicey ridges, a young boy, eighteen, is hunting for his next meal. Akachi was a skilled hunter and a survivor in a world where only the fittest could.

His demeanor was calm, slow, and steady breaths as he moved through the tall grasses and dense undergrowth. He spotted a group of wild hares grazing peacefully. His heart quickened with anticipation, his muscles tensing as he prepared to make his move. With a bladed stance and a slight bend in his knees, he held a thin branch in his hand, sharpened to a deadly point.

Taking a deep breath, he positioned himself downwind from his prey. Akachi wipped his hand explosively with his shoulder and hips rotating to provide momentum. The release was premeditated while being quiet, and it sent the spear made of a mere thin branch hurtling through the air while he landed on his front foot. The sharpened tip finds its mark with deadly accuracy. The hare fell to the ground and the rest ran away.

Slinging the dead hare over his shoulder He began the long trek back to his cave, a sanctuary somewhere hidden in the mountains. The journey was arduous, and uphill. Even the sun showed no mercy, beating down on his back as he navigated through the rugged terrain.

At last, an abode was carved into the rocky hillside. He sat beneath the shade of an ebony tree, the cool breeze rustling the leaves above him. With a weary sigh, he wiped the sweat from his brow with the dead rodent.

He took a long swig from his water bottle, relishing the cool liquid as it washed away the dust and grime of the day.

He skinned the hare with his knife, cleaned it with water skewered it onto a stick, and placed it between the two sturdy stakes that he had driven into the ground and put on the fire. He let the meat cook in the makeshift pit and went to lie down again.

The smell of the cooking meat wafted through the air.

Just as he was settling in to wait for the meat to cook, he heard a rustling in the bushes nearby. Akachi tensed, his hand instinctively going to the knife that hung at his waist. But to his surprise, a one-year-old leopard cub emerged from the shadows. The cub, whom Akachi had named Kimo, approached him slowly, his golden fur glinting in the fading light.

With a soft mewl, it padded over to him and nuzzled against his leg. He reached down and scratched the cub behind its ears, feeling the soft fur beneath his fingers.

The cub let out a small purr in response, its tail flicking back and forth in excitement.

"You come back, Kimo," Akachi said, his voice filled with fondness. "And once again, you have not caught anything. But that's okay, we have this meat to share tonight."

Kimmo lay down under the tree and Akachi rested his head on his back. The boy and the cub were simply seeking solace in each other in a world that often felt cold and indifferent.

As the evening descended, painting the sky with stars, the meat was finally cooked. Akachi carefully removed it from the fire, placing it on a flattened stone and cutting it into two equal pieces with his knife. Kimo, eager to eat, moved towards the meat, but Akachi held him back.

"Not yet, Kimo," Akachi chuckled, his eyes twinkling with amusement. "It's still too hot. Patience, my friend."

Kimo growled in protest, his hunger getting the better of him. Akachi laughed and playfully chased the cub around, their laughter mingling with the crackling of the fire. Finally, they sat down together and enjoyed the roasted hare, savoring the taste of the meat under the starlit sky. It tastes even better when you are hungry.