Chapter 2: "I'm Starving!"
Morning light spilled through the cracks in the wooden shutters. The house was quiet… until it wasn't.
Kaito sat up with bedhead like a storm had rolled through his skull. His eyes were glazed over in a daze, blank as a cloud, but his mouth slowly curved into a big, dumb smile.
"Hehehe… I'm alive!"
Then his stomach growled.
Loudly.
He jumped to his feet with zero balance and way too much energy for someone who nearly drowned the day before.
"FOOOOD!! Where's the food? I'm dying!""You were dying yesterday, idiot…" came a tired voice from the next room.
Master Rimoriya Haku sighed as he stirred a pot over an open flame. He hadn't even had time to process the boy's recovery before the hurricane hit.
Kaito burst into the kitchen like a wild animal.
"WHOA, that smells amazing! Can I have some? Wait—don't answer, I'm already eating it!"
Before Haku could lift the ladle, Kaito had already grabbed the pot — THE ENTIRE POT — and was chugging soup straight from the side.
"HEY!! You brat!! THAT WAS FOR BOTH OF US!!"
Kaito wiped his mouth with his sleeve, beaming.
"Mmm… perfect! Got another one?"
"You bastard!! What am I gonna eat now?!"
The old man looked like he was ready to toss his sword at the kid's face. Kaito just gave him two thumbs up.
"Train me and feed me, and I'll be the strongest warrior ever!""You'll be the first warrior to die from food poisoning if you touch my pot again."
The energy in the room was chaos—but a strange kind of warm chaos.Haku stared at Kaito for a long second… then sighed again.
"You've got the spirit, I'll give you that. Just not the brain."
Kaito blinked.
"Wait, was that a compliment or an insult?"
Haku turned his back.
"...Both."
Kaito wiped soup from his chin and spotted a sword on the wall.
"Hey, are you gonna teach me how to use this thingiey or what?!"
Before Haku could respond, Kaito grabbed the sword.
Big mistake.
The blade slipped from his grip the second he lifted it — flipping high into the air, spinning like death itself.
SHHHING—WHOOSH!
It sliced down… missing Kaito's head by inches, stabbing into the floor right next to him.
He froze, wide-eyed.
"WHOA. That's sharp. Be careful, old man."
Haku's eye twitched.
"YOU be careful, idiot!! You nearly took your own head off!"
Kaito laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his neck.
"Okay, maybe I need a little… training."
Haku groaned, then gave in with a long sigh.
"First things first. You don't start with swords. You start with your hands."
"What? My hands can't cut anything!"
"Exactly. But they can learn everything."
⚔️ Montage Begins ⚔️
Epic music (in your head) kicks in.Kaito's face is determined.
Push-ups.10… 100… 10,000.With Haku sitting on his back drinking tea.
Punching rocks.Hands bruised.Again. Again.A small crack. A deeper one.Kaito yells like a maniac:
"RAAAH!"
Punching trees.The leaves fall off.So does the bark.Eventually, the whole tree does.
Flicking boulders.One flick — it wiggles.Another — it tumbles.
"Whoa... my fingers are kinda awesome."
Digging and planting — bare-handed."Why am I farming?!" Kaito shouts, covered in dirt.Haku:
"Discipline. Control. Patience. And lunch."
By the end of it, Kaito is slumped on the ground, drenched in sweat, muscles trembling.
"I'm gonna die. I died. I'm dead."
Haku stands over him, arms crossed.
"Good. Then you're finally ready to start."
Kaito's eyes twitch open, fire burning in them.
"Haku…"
"What?"
"…I'm still hungry."
"YOU BASTARD—!!"
[END OF CHAPTER 2]