The Prince of Astoria-Chapter 61: LXI - The Kid’s Conviction

Etienne sat up in his bed and immediately fell backwards with a groan. Even with his eyes closed, he could feel the room spinning around him. He put the back of his hand to his forehead and found it was unnaturally sweaty and hot.

He groaned aloud once again and threw his blanket over his head.

"Good morning, Master Etienne," A familiar voice spoke, "I see you had quite the eventful day yesterday. Here, drink this."

Etienne could smell the aroma of soup wafting through the air. He forced his eyes open and spotted Gabe standing next to the bed, holding out a thermos and smiling.

Etienne groaned aloud once more and grabbed the thermos.

"Thanks," Etienne said flatly. He sat up fully and looked around the room. Despite having been back home for a few months now, his room still felt nostalgic. Etienne changed very little; the old posters and figurines from before his departure still sat in exactly the same place.

Etienne glanced at the end table next to him and something on it caught his attention. Still drinking from the thermos, he picked up the small folded note and read it slowly:

I had fun last night. See you on the next mission.

XOXO

Etienne’s eyes widened, and he stared at Gabe.

"Nairobi...came here yesterday?" Etienne questioned.

Gabe smirked, "Did she? Oh my Master Etienne, I suppose I misunderstood your relationship with Miss Nairobi."

Etienne sat in stunned silence for a few seconds and stared down at his bed.

Gabe stifled a laugh, "I’m sorry, sir, the opportunity was too good. Whatever naughty thing you’re imagining didn’t happen. According to Ms. Nairobi, you two went out for drinks after going to the museum, and then came back here. She slept on the couch, and you retired to your room. I cooked breakfast for her and gave her some paper to write that note. She left about an hour ago. Although that doesn’t quite explain the marks on your neck..."

Etienne shook his head slowly and sipped from the thermos, "We must’ve had a lot of drinks. I don’t remember anything after the museum."

Gabe sat down on the edge of the bed.

"If I’m being honest, I’m surprised someone as strong as you can get drunk. Can’t you heal anything? I would’ve assumed the moment your senses started being inhibited, your body would just heal itself."

Etienne put his hand to his temple, "Man, I wish. Remember Floren? Unfortunately, I’m not immune to or especially good at healing poison. Same thing with my internal organs; the healing on those is slow too."

He got out of bed slowly, nearly toppling over and looked at his unkempt appearance in the mirror.

"I remember Shu asked me something similar back on the island. It’s funny, I can remember every meaningless detail, every pointless conversation I had with Shu, except the one thing I need to remember. How I got back home."

Etienne stared at Gabe’s reflection as Gabe stood up and leaned against a wall.

"Seems like you think about him a lot," Gabe stated, almost with a hint of jealousy.

Etienne sipped from the thermos and turned to Gabe, "Every night, when I fall asleep, I have these vivid dreams...these memories of my time on Tashiro Island. Most of my dreams are about my ninja training, but recently, I’ve been remembering Shu. Maybe I’m close to that breakthrough."

Gabe stared at Etienne and bit his lip, "I want to hear all of it, Eti. I want to hear everything about your time out there."

Etienne nodded his head.

__________________________________________________________

1 year, 6 months

Etienne walked confidently through the forest, holding half of a wooden sword. His body was covered in barely visible, faint scars and bruises. He leaned against one of the skinny trees and rubbed a bruise.

"I’m getting hardier. Tougher. But this is still just physical training. I haven’t learned much swordplay," Etienne looked down at his blackened hands, "I still don’t know the purpose of these..." Etienne thought to himself.

He rubbed his arm one more time before trudging through the forest. He looked down at the short splintered sword in his hand for a while before tossing it into the forest.

He walked over the line drawn in the dirt and looked around.

"I still haven’t told anyone I can cross the line with no consequences. I still don’t know if that would be approved of or frowned upon, so it’s probably best to keep it a secret for now."

Etienne jumped between rocks and roots jutting out of the ground and nimbly made his way out to the beach. Etienne paused as he heard the sound of water rushing. He peeked through the trees and spotted Shu standing above a pile of similar-looking katanas. He swung one rhythmically towards the ocean.

"Your form is a little shoddy, but it’s getting better," Etienne popped out of the trees.

"Ikki-san!" Shu called out excitedly. He gathered up the sword lying on the ground and pushed it into Etienne’s chest.

Etienne examined Shu for a few moments. Shu’s appearance changed significantly in a short time. He was no longer an innocent, short adolescent kid, he was now a young teen with a wispy mustache.

"It’s only been what? A year since I first met him? Why does he look so different..." Etienne thought to himself.

Etienne grabbed the handful of swords and set them down. He grabbed one and held it up to the sun.

Shu smiled, "Father finally let me make some swords on my own. He’s getting older, so it’s almost time for me to take over the family business."

Etienne squinted his eyes and looked at the sword in the light, "Did you do this on purpose?"

Shu’s eyes widened, a bit of panic creeping in, "Did I do what on purpose? What’s wrong?"

Etienne looked at Shu with a grin, "The edge of this sword on the back instead of the front."

Shu scratched his head, "Dang it! Father told me to figure out what was wrong with these swords, so that’s really why I brought them out here. I can’t believe I didn’t notice that!" 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

Etienne looked down at the pile of swords, "All of these are the same way? With the edge on the back?"

Shu pinched his forehead and nodded slowly.

Etienne reached down and picked up another one. He held up it in front of him and swung it with one swift, fluid motion. The sword whistled through the air.

Etienne looked at Shu and nodded his head, "Besides the edge of the sword being on the wrong side, there’s no problem with this sword. In fact, I’d even say it’s expertly made. Great job, Shu."

Shu beamed with pride at the compliment, "Thank you, Ikki-san. I’m glad you said that. I need to get back immediately and make one with the edge on the right side..."

Etienne looked down at the pile and grabbed another sword, "Actually, do you mind if I take one of these?"

Shu nodded, "You can take them all if you want!"

Etienne shook his head, "No, that’d be rude. You used a lot of your shop’s materials on these, and I just need one, anyway. Let me test them for a moment."

Shu rubbed his chin and nodded his head at Etienne’s logic.

Shu examined the scars and bruises all over Etienne’s body as Etienne picked up the swords and swung them.

"You look a lot different from the last few times," Shu commented, "You’re not cut all over and you’re not bleeding for once. And those black marks on your arms...they’re smaller."

Etienne looked down at his arms for a moment. Shu was right, rather than going from his fingertips to his shoulders, the black ink extended from his fingertips to his elbows.

Etienne performed a few swift strikes with a sword before dropping it, "I’m getting used to controlling my chi, that’s why. The more I control it, the smaller these marks get. And when my control is better, I can heal myself more efficiently."

Shu looked at him in awe, "Woah, you can heal yourself? Like, you can heal any injury?"

Eitenne smiled and nodded.

Shu began to speak faster, stumbling over his words slightly, "So what if you were stabbed in the heart? Could you heal yourself from that?"

"Probably," Etienne thought to himself, "It would depend on how severe the stab is and how many other wounds I have..."

"Yup, I could heal from a stab to the heart," Etienne said aloud proudly.

Shu continued, "What about...a stab to the brain," He pointed to his own head, "Would you be able to heal from that?"

Etienne froze for a second and went silent.

"Probably not," Etienne thought to himself, "Unless the attack was super shallow, but even then I don’t think so."

"I think I could," Etienne lied.

Shu kicked the sand, "Man, you’re a lot more social than those other ninjas. I went to the forest one day to see if I could find you, and I thought I saw some of them scurrying but they refused to speak to me."

Etienne sighed, "Shu, please don’t go near the forest by yourself. Let me come out here to you."

"Do you plan to stay with them forever?" Shu questioned.

Etienne shook his head, "No, I don’t. Although I haven’t decided how long I’ll stay...or how exactly I’ll get back home. Actually, I do have one idea..."

"How?"

Etienne pointed past the forest, "On the other side of the island, through the forest, is the airplane I landed in. It crashed into an empty field in the ninja village, mostly undamaged. I think some of the passengers may have some money I could use..."

Etienne rubs his chin and looks at the ground, "But I don’t have my passport. And besides, taking money from dead people is really morbid. I don’t love the idea."

Shu closed the distance between him and Etienne. His expression became serious and he gripped Etienne’s shoulder, "Ikki-san, if I can find a way to get us to the United States, will you take me with you?"

Etienne looked at him, matching his serious expression and responded, "Yes. Yes I will."