Kaya stood at the harbor pier, his eyes fixed on the distant sea.
The bustle of the harbor seemed to fade into insignificance around him, leaving only the sound of waves lapping against the shore.
Lights gradually came on throughout the town, adding a faint glow to the pitch-black night.
His gaze remained on the far edge of the sea, though he could barely make out any movement on the distant waters anymore.
This was already the 109th day. Since day 90, he had come to sit quietly at the harbor after his daily training, watching the ships come and go as he waited for Kite to return.
"Hey, kid! Waiting for your master again?"
The speaker was a middle-aged dockworker. He had been about to finish work when he spotted Kaya standing on the wooden railing.
"Yeah, Uncle Jerry."
Kaya smiled at him, then turned back to gaze out over the dark horizon.
Uncle Jerry took out a piece of bread and tossed it to him.
"Stop waiting. It's so late, I doubt any more ships will dock."
Kaya caught the bread and took a bite. "It's fine. I'll wait a little longer, then head back."
"You little rascal." Uncle Jerry shook his head helplessly. "Don't stay too late. I'm off to the tavern for a drink."
"Go ahead." Kaya waved the bread in his hand. "Thanks."
Late into the night, the exhausted boy finally closed his eyes and fell fast asleep against a barrel.
The harbor was quiet, with no sound but the wash of the waves.
Footsteps gently broke the silence, and a tall, slender figure appeared nearby.
Seeing Kaya curled up in sleep, Kite felt a pang of sadness.
He slowly approached, crouched down, and picked Kaya up, taking care not to wake him.
Strictly speaking, after all these years of training, Kaya could sense danger even in his sleep and wake in response. It was an extremely important part of his training.
Only in an atmosphere where he felt completely safe would he sleep so soundly.
Kite found a decent-looking inn, gently laid him on the bed, then closed the door and left.
When the first rays of sunlight spilled into the room, Kaya squinted and stretched. "That was such a good sleep."
"Huh? Wait a minute! Why's it so soft under me?"
His usual sleeping bag was never this comfortable.
Kaya sprang out of bed.
"Who am I? Where am I? What's going on?"
As he stood there, bleary-eyed and puzzled, the door suddenly opened to reveal a familiar face.
"All right, stop looking so surprised. It's me."
Kaya was overjoyed, but his face remained perfectly calm.
"Oh, it's you. Back so soon? Why didn't you stay and have fun a little longer?"
His mouth was probably the only stubborn part of him left.
Kite was in no mood to bicker. He took two things from behind his back and tossed them onto the table.
A closer look revealed that one was a necklace made from a blood-red crystal strung on cotton cord.
The other was a slender object resembling an intricately crafted handle, about the size of a small flashlight. It fit easily in one hand.
Kaya picked it up and examined it intently. It was wrapped in thick leather, its surface covered in intricate patterns, and felt very good in his hand.
"What's this?"
Even after studying it for a while, Kaya still couldn't figure it out.
Kite picked up the blood-red crystal necklace Kaya had ignored.
"This is the weapon I had made for you."
"Huh?????"
Kaya gaped, utterly bewildered.
"H-how do you even use this thing? It's tiny and short. A wooden stick would be better."
Disappointed, he tossed the so-called "weapon" back onto the table.
Kite seemed to notice his disappointment but said nothing. He simply put the necklace around Kaya's neck.
Back when Kite had rescued Kaya from the water, the boy's small hand had been clenched tight, as though protecting some priceless treasure. It had not loosened even during his prolonged unconsciousness.
Only after Kite had worked desperately to save him did his hand slowly relax as faint breaths returned. That was when Kite discovered that what he had been clutching was a blood-red crystal.
Kite knew it must have been extraordinarily important to Kaya before he lost his memory, so he had made it into a necklace.
Kaya did not refuse the pendant, allowing it to hang around his neck.
Kite said, "You haven't even looked at it properly. Come on, come outside. I'll show you."
They stood on a patch of grass outside town. Kite picked up the "flashlight" and flicked it toward a tree trunk ahead.
A long whip shot out from the end of the handle and wound tightly around the tree. Kite gave a hard backward tug, slicing the entire tree in two, before the whip smoothly retracted into the handle.
Kaya stared at the sight, dumbfounded and openmouthed. It took him a long while to recover and wipe the drool from the corner of his mouth.
"It's that powerful?" Kaya excitedly ran over to the tree.
The cut across the trunk was perfectly smooth, as though made by professional logging machinery.
"Master, Master, give it to me! Let me play with it!"
Kaya turned and tried to snatch it.
Kite said, "Didn't you hate it? I was about to throw it away."
"No, no! Anything my master gives me deserves to be treasured, even a sheet of toilet paper." Kaya looked utterly sincere.
"..."
Just as Kite was left speechless by the little opportunist, footsteps came from behind them.
Leading the group was a man in his sixties, with a dozen or so burly men beside him.
He pointed at Kite and said, "That long-haired man in the hat broke my fruit tree! Grab him!"
The two exchanged a glance.
Kaya had already backed up a few steps, ready to bolt.
"Run!"
Before Kite had even finished the word, the two moved in perfect sync-turning, pushing off, and vanishing!
Who knew how many villagers' chickens they had stolen to perfect an escape routine like that?
They quickly disappeared without a trace, leaving only dust swirling in the wind and a dozen or so villagers standing there dumbly, the backs of their heads drenched in sweat.
On a barren, low hill.
Feigning composure, Kite folded his arms across his chest and lectured as though nothing had happened. "I put a great deal of effort into having this weapon made for you. With just a light flick, the whip will extend rapidly as though it were alive, wrapping around your opponent or striking them. You can freely adjust its length to suit your needs, up to a maximum of twenty meters."
"But! You'll have to train hard before you can control this weapon."
"Then how do I retract the whip into the handle like you did? Is there a button or something?"
Kite rushed up to Kaya and jabbed his forehead hard several times. "Do you think I'd give you a weapon that crude?"
Straightening up, he continued seriously, "That takes training too. The basic principle is releasing force and drawing it back."
Kaya looked utterly lost. "What does that mean?"
"Releasing force and drawing it back are ways of controlling your own strength." Kite picked up the whip's handle and continued, "Releasing means concentrating your strength in the handle and applying it outward so the whip shoots out and extends, quickly making it ready for combat."
With that, he flicked his hand to the right, sending the whip out of the handle.
"What about drawing it back?"
"There are two main aspects to drawing force back. First, while you're releasing force, once the whip reaches the length you want, you have to start drawing that force back. Keep the force you released and the force you're drawing back balanced for about two seconds, and the whip will stay at that length for an extended period. If you want it longer, release more force. If you want it shorter, draw the force back until it returns completely into the handle. Does that make sense?"
Then Kite rotated and swung the handle with an extremely small movement, and the long whip instantly retracted into it.
"My brain and ears understand, but my hands don't quite get it."
"That's where hard practice comes in. So, starting today, your weapons training officially begins."
"Wait, Master, I have another question." Kaya raised his hand like an obedient student.
Kite looked at him approvingly. "Go ahead."
"Why did we run away after you broke someone's fruit tree? That's not how you usually teach me to handle things."
Thump, thump, thump!
Kite lowered his fist and walked down the hill as though nothing had happened.
Kaya stayed rooted to the spot, clutching his head miserably.
"Aren't you coming?" Kite glanced back.
"Here I come!"
Before you continue