Chapter 3: Chapter 3
Demetrius woke up disoriented, realizing that he was no longer in his mother's comforting embrace.
Instead, he found himself in a dark and suffocating space, triggering memories of his past life and his profound fear of confined spaces.
These fears stemmed from his childhood, where his parents would frequently lock him up in small, dimly lit rooms.
Overwhelmed by his phobia, Demetrius did the only thing he could do in that moment - he cried.
He cried for what felt like an eternity, but eventually, the enclosure surrounding him vanished into thin air.
As the darkness dissipated, Demetrius was met with an unfamiliar sight.
Before him stood an elderly man of Asian descent, who appeared wary and kept his distance.
Moments later, the old man approached him cautiously and gently lifted him into his arms.
Confused and disoriented, Demetrius contemplated how he ended up in this situation.
His gaze fell upon a dilapidated ship, and suddenly, it dawned on him that it must have capsized, along with his new mother, if she had indeed been on the ship, potentially dead.
Though he had only known her for a few days, Demetrius couldn't help but feel a sense of loss.
He reasoned that his mother had likely created the enclosure he had been in, ensuring his survival.
If only she had survived too, he might have known what it truly felt like to be loved by parents.
Suppressing his emotions, Demetrius resorted to indifference as a coping mechanism, fearing that allowing himself to feel too deeply would cause him to shatter.
While Demetrius was lost in his thoughts, the old man had carried him to his village.
It was there that he decided to first bring Demetrius to his wife before introducing him to the rest of the community.
Upon arriving at their modest home, the old man called out to his wife, Chise, announcing his return.
"Chise, I am home," the old man, whose name was Ryuu, called out.
"Ryuu, you're back so soon," an elderly lady responded, emerging from the house.
Observing them closely, Demetrius's curiosity took hold as he realized that he must be in Japan.
The language they were speaking was familiar to him, thanks to his extensive exposure to anime.
He had unwittingly picked up some knowledge of the language along the way.
Chise noticed that Ryuu was holding a baby wrapped in cloth and looked puzzled. "Whose child is this?" she asked her husband.
"It's a child that I found washed up on the shores during my morning walk. I believe there was a shipwreck during last night's storm," Ryuu replied.
Curiosity piqued, Chise probed further, asking, "So, what do you plan to do with this child?"
Unsure of how to express his desires, Ryuu invited Chise to join him inside the house. Demetrius, meanwhile, remained quietly attentive, soaking in everything unfolding before his eyes.
"Why did you bring me inside?" Chise inquired, puzzled by the sudden change in surroundings.
"Look, this is what I found with the child," Ryuu replied, revealing the gems he had discovered alongside Demetrius.
Chise gasped in shock and almost yelled. The value of the precious gems was significant, potentially putting them in great trouble.
Ever since their own son had gone missing, they had managed to live peacefully on the outskirts of the village.
Panic and concern washed over Chise as she realized the implications of their discovery.
"Sssh," Ryuu attempted to calm his wife, his tone hushed.
"Quiet, Chise, do you want everyone to know that something is going on here?" Ryuu said, his voice filled with concern. Chise quickly covered her mouth with her hands, realizing that they were being too loud.
"I know you're surprised, but I was thinking that we should adopt this child," Ryuu continued, his voice softening.
Chise looked at him, her eyes widening in disbelief.
"But, this might be the child of some lord. Though his skin colour, eyes, and hair are a bit different, how else would you explain these precious gems?" Chise exclaimed, pointing at the bag of precious stones that were found with the baby.
She then looked into the curious eyes of the child, who seemed to be silently observing her.
"I don't think this child is from around here, maybe from another far off province," Ryuu replied, his voice filled with speculation.
"So, what do we do?" Chise asked, her voice laced with concern.
"I say we adopt the child first. This is a remote village far from the big city, so I don't think many would pry too much," Ryuu suggested, trying to reassure Chise. "Besides, this child has blessed us with these gems."
"Okay, I trust you," Chise replied, her voice wavering slightly. She was old, what else did she have to fear, she thought to herself.
"Here, I need to go and get some milk and report to the village head about this so we don't get into trouble," Ryuu said, handing the baby to Chise.
He walked up to a corner of the house and carefully removed a tile, revealing a hidden compartment. He placed the bag of gems inside before leaving the house.
Chise sighed, realizing that her morning had taken an unexpected turn. She looked down at the baby in her arms, feeling a mix of emotions.
"What do I even call you?" Chise muttered softly, her voice filled with affection. She needed a name for the child since he didn't have one.
"Zen, Ryujin, Ryugen... Ginryu," Chise whispered, mentioning different names to see which one the baby would respond to. As she mentioned "Ginryu," the baby seemed to react.
"From now on, you will be named Kuroki Ginryu. Welcome to the family," Chise said, her tone filled with warmth.
As soon as she said that, Ginryu's eyes briefly took on a reptilian like feature, but Chise dismissed it as a trick of the light, attributing it to her old age.
"What a cute boy, just like my son," Chise muttered, her voice tinged with nostalgia. She remembered her son, Ryuunosuke, who had run away from home to become the vassal of some lord. They hadn't heard from him since then.
"My son was so cute when he was little, I don't know why he wanted to wield a sword as he got older. Maybe it was due to my bad parenting," Chise said, tears streaming down her face. She found herself reminiscing about the past and the choices her son had made.
Ginryu, sensing Chise's sadness, tried to comfort her with his baby babbles, but Chise couldn't help but feel a mix of emotions overwhelm her.
"Can you understand me? Are you trying to comfort me?" Chise asked Ginryu, hoping for some sign of understanding.
In response, Ginryu simply babbled, unable to articulate his thoughts.
"What am I saying?" Chise muttered, feeling a bit silly for talking to a baby as if he could comprehend her. "My age must be catching up to me."
"Let's get you changed and cleaned up," Chise said, regaining her composure. She carried Ginryu to the bath, already filled with hot water. Then she dropped Ginryu on a futon and went to get some cold water from storage, she needed warm water to bath him.
'Sigh, finally alone. So my name is Ginryu now. Not bad if I remember correctly, it means 'silver dragon'' Ginryu thought to himself, getting lost in his introspection.
As Chise returned, she couldn't shake the feeling that this child was somehow special. Little did she know, their lives were about to be intertwined in ways they couldn't even begin to imagine.
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HungryMushroom
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