Sam was sitting on a log, skinning a rabbit.
"Yeah, that's the good shit."
After cleaning it up and skewering it with a stick, he was ready to heat it up by the fire.
Not far from him, he heard grumbling.
Curious—he went to check it out.
He found himself back at the place where he slept at night. The small cave by the cliff.
However, just outside the cave, was the kid who tried to make him a eunuch.
"Kota, right?"
The kid jumped up, scared.
"Wah?!? Oh… it's you."
After seeing Sam, he calmed down.
"What are you doing here? This is my bedroom."
Kota looked at Sam questioningly.
"What are you talking about? This isn't your bedroom! This is my hideout!"
Sam snorted.
"Great hideout. Well, sorry. I'm taking this cave since I don't want to sleep with the other brats. Deal with it."
Sam walked over to Kota and sat down right outside the cave, while Kota was confused as to why Sam was there.
"What do you want?"
Kota asked, feeling annoyed that Sam is intruding.
"I'm fixing me something to eat."
Kota's eyes shined at that. Feeling hungry himself. But his pride wouldn't allow him to get some.
He watched as Sam gathered some
Twigs and leaves and then he watched as he lit a fire with his army knife and some flint.
After a few minutes, he got a campfire going.
"And that's how it's done."
Sam said, knowing Kota was watching.
He placed the skewer over the fire and let it cook.
Kota looked at Sam like he was a badass.
"Whoah…"
Kota snapped out of his cranky attitude for a moment. Sam saw that.
Kota then snapped out of his reverence and looked away.
Sam rolled his eyes at the kids stubborn pride.
"So, what were your parents called?"
Sam came out and asked it, adjusting his skewer over the fire.
Kota kept looking away, not wanting Sam to see his sadness.
"…Water hose. They were the duo called water hose."
Sam hummed at that.
"So, a villain got them? That sucks."
Kota gritted his teeth.
"What sucks is that they put strangers above me!"
Kota spat out bitterly.
"I can't say I disagree with you."
Sam admitted, still focused on his rabbit.
Kota's eyes widened and he turned back around to look at Sam.
"Really?"
Sam nodded.
"Yeah. They should have prioritized you. They should have retired when you were born, if you want my honest opinion. But they didn't. I'm sure they didn't want to die. But if they ran away from that villain, and they lived, what do you think would happen?"
Sam asked.
Kota, once again, widened his eyes.
"They…they would…"
Kota couldn't figure out what to say.
"They would have been ostracized, and as a result, so would you. My biggest issue with the hero world, is that people use them and abuse them. Society treats heroes as tools. Entertainment. The moment one fails, the crowd turns on them. That's mob mentality. That's a harsh reality."
Kota felt some tears well up in his eyes.
"So tell me Kota. Could you look at your parents the same way if they ran away from that villain?"
Kota felt great sadness, because Sam was right.
If his parents ran away, they would be harassed and deemed losers. That would also affect him as well. And as much as he hated to admit it, he admired his parents for their heroism before they died. If they ran away, he doubts he would look at them the same way ever again.
Kota looked down, tears threatening to fall from his eyes.
Sam took off the rabbit from the fire and quickly put it out.
"Listen, I'm not saying your parents did the right thing by dying. I would understand if they retreated from that villain. Ordinary people may not understand, but running away is a viable strategy. I had to run away many times in my life."
Sam looked down, remembering the times he had to run away, otherwise he would have been killed.
He had to sit and watch innocent people die as he and his comrades watched from their hiding spots.
So Sam was not about to become a hypocrite and say running away would be wrong.
"Listen. Your parents aren't coming back. Neither are mine. Neither are all the people I lost. And neither is my childhood. We can't do anything about it."
Kota looked at Sam, listening attentively.
"The world doesn't ask permission before it takes what you love. Some of us, earlier than others. But it also gives us a lot. We just have to find it."
He thought of Rumi and their friendship. He even thought about the students that were growing on him. Sam lost too much in his life, but he was being given just as much now.
Kota looked down, contemplating Sam's words.
"Just think about it. What do you want to do? What do you want to be? Don't live in the past, kid. Look to the future."
Sam got up, taking a bite of his rabbit and walked away, leaving the kid alone.
Sam walked for a bit then stopped.
"I guess I'm not so bad with kids."
Sam felt his lip quiver.
He remembered his happiest moments with Zola, and how he imagined escaping Africa with her and one day having a family together.
"Tch!"
Sam clicked his tongue and stormed away, feeling sadness well up in him once again.
———
It was the third day, and everyone was doing their training.
Sam gave tips every once in a while, but he would mostly spend time alone.
After speaking with Kota, the kid didn't seem to be as hostile to everyone as he was before.
Sam was glad that the kid was finally starting to move on.
"Meow meow meow meow meow!"
Sam is brought out of his thoughts by one of the cat girls, Ragdoll.
Everyone was almost finished with their training, except for those who failed the practical. They would be continuing throughout the night.
"Tonight's going to be fun! We're putting classes against each other in a test of courage! I know you've been training hard today, and later you'll get to play hard! How's that for a reward!"
Ragdoll announced, trying to hype up the exhausted students.
They dragged themselves up and got back to work.
Sam just watched them all leave.
"A test of courage? What type of nonsense are you guys spouting now?"
Sam complained to Ragdoll, who cutely pouted.
"Hmph! Don't be such a cranky kitty! This is a fun little game they can play after all the training! "
Sam rolled his eyes.
He walked away from the green haired heroine, trying to not show his blushing face.
'That damn pouty face… it's too cute.'
Sam really had a weakness for cuteness.
He found a comfortable spot under a tree and sat down. He brought out his phone and tried texting Rumi again.
He tried talking with her throughout his stay at this place, but unfortunately, the service was terrible.
They talked for a bit before the connection would be cut, due to the awful signal.
Sam was feeling weird with Rumi. He has accepted he liked her, but he would be a liar if he said he didn't hold her somewhat responsible for that awful final test.
Despite the anger he felt, he couldn't bring himself to hate her. The thought of cutting her off bothered him greatly.
He sent her a few text messages and prayed they would get through.
After that, he watched as everyone—dog tired— started working on their supper.
Sam already caught another animal. A squirrel this time. He brought it to the camp this time and the students were disgusted seeing him gut the thing. Sam found those reactions amusing.
Now, Sam was just sitting and waiting for this test of courage.
He sighed.
"Test of courage. It's child's play for someone who has already seen evil given form."
Just thinking about "that" man brought a shiver to Sam.
Suddenly, his guard was raised and he once again felt like he was being watched.
He shot up and looked all around.
'Alright. Something is going on. Did they find me? Or am I just paranoid from thinking about Wushan?'
Sam shook his head, trying to calm himself down.
He sat back down, but his nerves couldn't ease up, no matter how much he tried.