CH_3<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
I can find another bench somewhere; why not give it a shot.''</em>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
I don''t have a key</em>,'' Takuma squatted and pulled up the floor mat to check underneath but got dirt instead. There was a bulb with a cover atop near the door. Takuma jumped up and tried to reach around to find a key, but again he came down empty-handed. He sighed n-th time in the day and closed his eyes, trying to keep the frustration down and away from showing.
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
one week</em>ago used to be so dirty that it took aplete hour just to get it cleaned enough to see a decent reflection; getting it spotless was a mess of another magnitude. He lightly touched the small bruise on his shoulder from the taijutsu spar in the academy earlier in the day. Just like shurikenjutsu, Takuma was abysmal at best in hand-to-handbat and kissed the floor in every sparring match he had been a part of.
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
What the hell was that?!</em>'' Takuma wondered with his hand over his chest, feeling his racing heart. He had no idea and could only associate it with the boy''s poor health.
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
And that''s all it took for him to trash the ce.</em>'' Takuma was still resentful because it took him five days to clean the ce from top to bottom. But Takuma couldn''t me the boy— it was tough to muster enough energy and will to clean up after being beaten up and humiliated in the academy.
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
Seven years</em>,'' Takuma thought bitterly. Seven years from now, the main cast would turn twelve and graduate from the academy, and that would mark the start of a particrly dangerous time in an already dangerous world. Currently, he was ten years old, and the main cast was five years old— a five-year difference, not that it meant anything. ''<em>They must''ve entered the academy this year.</em>'' There wasn''t much interaction between different years, so he hadn''t seen the main cast. Takuma was tempted to go have a look, but he couldn''t find the time and energy.
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<div>
<hr>
<div>
Want to read ahead of schedule? Head over to Patreón [fictiononlyreader]. Link below.
<em>Note: All the chapters will eventually be posted on public forums.</em>