Gethii watched her go, then looked down at Leonotis, who was still gazing up at him with open admiration.
"Can you teach me how to be a swordsman?" Leonotis asked, his eyes gleaming with excitement.
"What?" Gethii asked, taken aback. "You want me to show you?" He pointed at himself, then at Leonotis, a look of incredulity on his face. "Yeah, hard pass on that," Gethii said, shaking his head.
"Please—" Leonotis began, his voice laced with desperate hope.
"Nope. Now go read one of your books on death or something," Gethii said, waving him away dismissively.
"Why not—"
"You're a creepy pain in the ass."
"I don't remember—"
"Listen, I get you've got amnesia, kid," Gethii interrupted, cutting him off with a weary sigh. "But just because you don't remember being a pain in my ass doesn't mean I don't." He turned and walked back into the clinic, flopping down onto the couch with an audible groan.
Leonotis watched as the man, seemingly unfazed by the boy's presence, promptly fell asleep. He wondered, a hollow ache beginning in his chest, what he had done to make Gethii dislike him so much. He walked out of the clinic, his gaze drawn to his unfamiliar house across the street. Then, he turned and walked down the road. The village was small, a handful of homes, most of them empty or abandoned. He saw a man walking on the side of the road. The man saw Leonotis, turned sharply, and quickly walked away, as if fleeing a plague. This wasn't the only time it happened. Anyone Leonotis saw either ignored his greetings or shouted at him to leave them alone.
Leonotis ended up back in the field next to his hut, a deep ache settling in his heart. Everyone in the village seemed to hate him for something he couldn't even remember doing. He wasn't even sure if he deserved their hatred. The only people who seemed willing to talk to him were Chinakah and Gethii, and even Gethii seemed to despise him.
"Just who exactly am I?" Leonotis whispered to himself, a tear tracing a path down his cheek. "Everyone in this place hates me."
"They don't hate you. You've just always been a pain in the ass. Though their tune might change once they hear about what happened to you last night," Gethii's voice rumbled, startling Leonotis. He hadn't noticed the man approach, his presence as silent as a shadow.
Leonotis wiped his eyes, turning to face him. "How come Miss Chinakah and you are willing to talk to me?"
Gethii leaned against a nearby tree, shrugging. "Chinakah is basically a saint who loves every living thing. And your little tricks never worked on me, kid," he said, a faint smirk playing on his lips. He sighed, rubbing his head. "Alright, look. You have amnesia, right? So until you get your memory back, I'll be your friend."
Leonotis's face lit up, a sudden surge of warmth displacing the cold ache in his chest. "Really? Thanks!" He quickly wiped away the remaining tears. "Are you going to show me how to use a sword now?"
"What? Are you still on about that?" Gethii groaned, looking utterly exasperated. Then, a flicker of something, perhaps resignation, perhaps amusement, crossed his face. "Fine, but only for today... And you gotta call me Master Gethii from now on," he declared, a challenging glint in his eye.
"Master Gethii!" Leonotis said immediately, his voice filled with unwavering conviction.
"Okay..." Gethii trailed off, surprised at how readily Leonotis accepted his demand. "I don't have any practice swords, so we're going to have to go to a tree and get a branch. Something we can use as a wooden sword."
Gethii walked to a nearby tree and, with a practiced snap, broke off a sturdy branch. Leonotis, inspired, began searching for his own. While walking to a tree, his foot hit a branch on the ground. He bent down, picked it up, and his eyes widened.
"I found one!" he shouted, running to Gethii, holding out his discovery.
"Whoa, that almost looks like a real sword," Gethii said, impressed despite himself. The branch was surprisingly straight, with a natural curve that resembled a hilt. "Where did you find it?"
"On the ground by the trees!" Leonotis said, grinning from ear to ear. "It's a great stick, huh? I'm going to call it my tree-branch sword."
"Calm down, kid. It's just a stick," Gethii said, though his gaze lingered on Leonotis's "sword," looking dissatisfied with his own, much less impressive branch. "Alright, let's get started. Now, try to hit me."
Leonotis gripped his "sword" with both hands, his new master's words a challenge. With a fierce, determined look, he lunged, a clumsy, uncoordinated attack. Gethii, with an easy, almost lazy sidestep, avoided the strike, looking unimpressed but ready to instruct. The first lesson had begun.