The Legends of Nachi

Chapter 3 - The Knight Of The Village

Takeo, Chika and Yamigo were walking around the village. The previous day was Takeo's, the youngest of the three, birthday. The three 11 year olds made their way to the north entrance to the village so that Takeo could look for food that the people of the village could eat.

Takeo had grown out his hair by this point. Yamigo thought he was stupid for it.

"Why did you grow your hair out, Takeo?" He asked.

"Because I felt like it." Takeo answered back.

"But you look like a girl and it's also dumb for a guy to grow his hair out." Yamigo retorted.

"So? I feel comfortable this way. Besides, I look sexy when I tie it up." Takeo responded.

"Prove it!"

"Alright." Takeo proceeded to tie his hair up.

"Well as a straight male I can't say much about it. What do you think Chika?" Yamigo asked.

"Personally I'm not head over heals for it. But you do look a lot more attractive like that." She answered.

"See?" Takeo smirked at Yamigo. The three of them talked for a bit until Takeo decided to head out finally.

"Wait!" Chika grabbed his shoulder. "Aren't you going to wait around a little longer to get to see The Hooded Hero?" She asked.

"As much as I'd like to, it's my job to provide food for the chefs of the village to cook. I can't just sit around and stop people from being able to eat because of someone else being here." Takeo responded as he left the village. Chika and Yamigo just stood there.

"Well it's his loss." Chika said before walking away. Around an hour later, The Hooded Hero made an entrance through the southern gate. He looked up to see royal guards making room for him to walk down and the King standing at the end, waiting for him. Chika and Yamigo were watching from a distance. Before he could even take one step, a bunch of fangirls and fanboys gathered around him. They acted as if he was a God of some sort. But they harassed him as if he wasn't worth of such a title, even if the questions they asked were treating him as such.

"Can I have your autograph?!" "Can I see your sword skills?!" "Will you marry me?!" were just a few questions he was asked. He didn't speak. He remained silent. Royal guards were threatening to attack of they didn't get away from him. They never attacked. Chika and Yamigo continued to watch.

"Jeez will they ever give him a break?" Chika asked rhetorically.

"If they act as if he's a God then why don't they treat him like one?" Yamigo questioned rhetorically. Eventually, The Hooded Hero did something to stop the fanboys and fangirls from standing near him. They all backed away scared. Chika and Yamigo gave an awkward little wave as he walked by. The Hooded Hero looked at them and then continued walking.

As he got to the end, he was greeted by the King. The Hooded Hero bowed down to him to show his respect.

"Thank you for attending this ceremony! We are all here today to celebrate the courageous actions of The Hooded Hero. He has saved people countless times. The Hooded Hero is a member of the village, like all of you hear today. I want you all to treat him as an equal to us. No matter how badly you might love him!" The King announced. Everyone nodded.

"Now, my daughter, Princess Kazuko, will dub The Hooded Hero as a Knight that will forever serve the village." The King pointed next to him. There was no one there. Princess Kazuko came running towards The King and The Hooded Hero.

"Sorry, Fa- I mean, your majesty, I had to prepare for this." She said.

"It's okay. Now dub The Hooded Hero as the knight that will forever protect the village." He asked of her.

"Okay." She looked at The Hooded Hero. "Mr. Hooded Hero, sir. I, Princess Kazuko, am going to dub you the knight that will forever protect the village. With accepting this role, you promise to protect the village from any harm that is to come it's way. No matter how difficult the task may be. You must accept the fact that you may lose your life trying to do such things, but you are ready to face this. If you do not accept these rules, speak now." The Hooded Hero remained silent. The princess lightly touched his shoulders with a sword. "Point your sword to the sky to allow the Gods and Goddesses to know that you are the protector of Nachi." The Hooded Hero raised his sword and it began to glow. He had been accepted.

"Thank you, Princess Kazuko." The King said. "This concludes the ceremony of the knight. The Knight of Nachi." People started clapping as The Hooded Hero stood up and headed to the outskirts of the castle.

Around one hour later, the King walked into the castle with The Hooded Hero. Chika and Yamigo listened in to their conversation through the castle walls.

"Hooded Hero. I really don't know how to thank you enough. Please, tell me who you are so I can thank you properly!" The King requested.

"If I show you, promise not to tell anyone!" The Hooded Hero demanded. Chika and Yamigo thought his voice was familiar. They didn't know why though.

"I promise." The King responded. The Hooded Hero pulled down his hood. At first, the King was scared, but later on, he was relieved. Around 5 minutes later, The Hooded Hero left the village to go somewhere.

8:00pm December 4th X506

The sky was dark. Takeo had not returned yet, Yamigo was sleeping and Chika was sitting down near her brother. Her parents didn't care for her or her brother. They just let them do whatever.

Chika's brother started shouting at her for no reason. "Why are you even alive?! If you weren't alive, my parents wouldn't have to work all the time and they'd care about me! I hate you! Die you worthless piece of-" he didn't even finish what he had to say before Chika left the house. She ran out of the village and to the top of the waterfall of Nachi. She cried her eyes out.

"I don't get it!" She yelled, thinking no one was listening. "Why does he hate me?! Why does almost everyone hate me?! I've done nothing to them! Why am I always blamed?!" After she was done yelling, she began to calm down.

"Why do I feel so empty...? Why do I feel that if I died, no one would care... Takeo and Yamigo wouldn't even realise... They'd just live their lives normally without me..." Chika stayed on the edge of a cliff next to the waterfall. The rocks were a little shaky but she stayed there.

The rocks began to crack. Each one falling into the lake below. Eventually, Chika fell too. She would have died that day. But she was saved. Before she hit the ground, someone grabbed her wrist and pulled her onto solid ground. Chika looked up and saw The Hooded Hero.

"D-Did you save me?" She asked. She saw that he had a mask that covered his mouth and nose. The Hooded Hero nodded.

"Thank you, Hooded Hero!" She said. The Hooded Hero handed her a card saying "Call me Danuja."

"Okay. Thank you, Danuja." She smiled at him. He looked back at her. The two of them sat down in a place where the ground wasn't shaking.

"Say, Danuja, why do you never talk?" Asked Chika. Danuja passed her a card saying "Silence is a way to identify someone. I don't like people knowing who I am."

"But you're okay with me knowing your name?" Chika questioned. Danuja wrote on a card and passed it to Chika. It said "I feel it would get awkward with you always calling me The Hooded Hero. It's just such a long and boring name. Besides, I want to have a friend that's actually human."

"Wait so you don't have any friends?" Chika asked. Danuja handed her a card saying "Nope. My only friend is my horse named Aika." The horse suddenly appeared with a carrot in it's mouth. She'd almost finished it so Danuja gave her another one. The horse smiled and then walked over to a nearby tent and slept in the hay next to it. Danuja got up and went inside the tent. There were 2 sleeping bags. He got in one of them and Chika got in the other. Not long after, they fell asleep.

The next morning, when Chika woke up, Danuja was no where to be seen. She decided to head back to the village, hoping he'd show up. Once she made it back. She saw that Takeo had returned with loads of food. More than he has ever brought back before. Everyone was happy. Takeo looked at Chika and smiled. He asked if she was okay. When Chika said yes, Takeo looked at her like he knew something she didn't. He smiled and then went back home.

End of Chapter 3