26 Meeting His Parents

Three days passed without Henry walking up even once. Once the healing was done, the system sent a small electric burst through his nervous system, waking him up.

'Healing has been successfully completed—no anomaly was detected in the limb. The host has fully recovered. Please note that the host has been accompanied for the last thirty-six hours,' the system notified him.

Hearing that, Henry yanked his eyes open and got up instantly, taking a combat posture. Next to him was a very familiar kid, sleeping tightly.

Jhonny was sitting at the cave entrance, rifle in hand, like he was guarding him.

Henry smiled gently. He then walked up to Jhonny and lightly shook him awake.

"Wake up, kid," he whispered.

"Mmm?" Jhonny mumbled.

"Just a few more minutes, Dad," he added, pushing away Henry's hand.

"I'm not your dad, kid. Wake up now," Henry said, nuzzling him again, chuckling.

"Mmm..." Jhonny grumbled, opening his eyes and remembering where he was.

"Oh, you're awake," he said, rubbing his eyes.

"About time," he added.

"Sure thing, kid," Henry teased him.

"What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be in town with your parents?" he asked.

"I was, till yesterday. I knew you'd be here once I found out that you hadn't come back yet. So, I came to check up on you," Jhonny said while looking outside.

"Thanks for the concern, kiddo, but I'm fine. You should stay with your parents, lest you lose them again," Henry grumbled.

"I already told you not to call me kid or kiddo. My name is Jhonny," Jhonny rebutted.

"Yeah, yeah, I know. I'm sorry, ki—Jhonny. Old habits die hard. Why are you still here, by the way?" Henry asked, a little nostalgic.

"I got here, and you were unconscious. So I stayed to keep you safe," Jhonny affirmed.

"Ahh. Thank you for that. You can leave now if you want. I'll be safe," Henry said, smiling gently.

Henry was a little conflicted right now. On one side, he was happy the kid had stayed here to keep him safe.

It made him feel a little less lonely. On the other side, he was feeling bad the kid, who had just regained his parents, had stayed next to him for a day.

His parents were probably worried to death.

Henry looked at Jhonny, waiting for the kid to hand him back the sniper and leave, only to see him looking troubled. He could clearly see the storm in the child's eyes.

"What's wrong, Jhonny?" Henry asked.

"I don't know, Henry. Can I call you Henry?" Jhonny asked, turning to look at him.

"Yeah, sure," Henry smiled.

"I feel like this is not my rightful place in the grand scheme of things," Jhonny continued.

"I feel like I should be doing more to help our race. Like I should try harder to save people in need," he said, lowering his head.

"Why don't you sign up to join the town militia then?" Henry asked.

"It's not enough," Jhonny said.

"I know I can do more than that. It felt right to me when I was helping you three days ago. It felt like the right thing to do," Jhonny said, looking back at Henry.

Henry could clearly see the conviction in his eyes. The kid believed everything he had just said.

His eyes looked resolute. Henry could already feel the kid had made up his mind.

Yet he couldn't help but try to change his mind.

"What do you want to do, Jhonny? What would feel right for you?" Henry asked.

"I want to join the military," Jhonny said sternly.

"I know I can be of use. Who knows, maybe someday I'll be helping reclaim what we lost and end this war," he added, his will steeled.

"Don't you think this would worry your parents, Jhonny? Don't you think they have lost you enough in the last week? I know from experience that your decision would more than likely destroy them," Henry tried discouraging him.

"No. This is my decision. I'm old enough to choose for myself. Please, Henry, take me back with you," Jhonny pleaded.

"I'll do anything. I'll obey your every command. I swear I won't step out of line, ever," he kept going.

"I don't know, Jhonny. I can't, in all good conscience, take you away from your parents. That would just be cruel," Henry said.

"Fine then! I'll go out on my own!" Jhonny shouted, rising up.

"I don't need anyone's help. I will fight alone!" he said, storming off.

Henry would not let him screw up his future; therefore, he decided to give him a good scare. He dashed after him like a bullet, catching up in a matter of seconds and knocking him to the ground.

He unsheathed one blade from his back and slipped it under Jhonny's chin. Jhonny instantly went pale.

"You know, Jhonny, I could kill you if I wanted. I could make you disappear without anyone ever finding you again.

"Do you think I'm the only one out there who's strong enough to do this? Have you not seen how strong the enemy was this time? Do you want to throw your life away at such a young age?" Henry told him, looking angry.

"Then train me! I can become stronger! I can help you defeat them! I don't want to stay here forever, knowing I could make a difference!" Jhonny yelled, tearing up.

The tears took Henry off guard. He was not expecting the kid to start crying.

Those were clearly tears of rage from being powerless in the hands of fate. Henry sighed.

He sheathed back his kukri and got up, lifting Jhonny simultaneously.

"Fine. But not without your parents' accord. And if you can't convince them, I'm knocking you out again and leaving you here. Are you okay with that?" Henry finally conceded.

"Okay!" Jhonny agreed.

"Oh, and by the way, this is for knocking me out," Jhonny added, kicking Henry in the shin.

"Argh! Why, you little shit!" Henry cried out, holding his leg.

Jhonny had already run away, laughing his head off. Revenge felt sweet to him.

Henry laughed it off. He knew he had deserved that one.

He returned to the cave to pick up his stuff, and Jhonny awaited him. He had pulled a bag from a nearby bush and thrown it over his shoulder.

"Well, you look awfully ready, don't you?" Henry asked, snorting.

"I told you. I was going to go out on my own, anyway. So, I already packed my stuff ahead of time," Jhonny answered, shrugging.

"Hahaha!" Henry laughed out.

The kid had even more spunk than he thought.

After gathering his stuff, they both left, walking towards Legacy Cave Town. On the way there, Henry and Jhonny had an idle chat to fill the time.

After a few hours of walking, they reached the cave entrance. They were stopped and checked quickly by the town guards and went on inside.

Jhonny guided Henry to his house. They got there shortly after, and Jhonny simply walked in.

Henry was hesitating to walk in, so he just stayed in the doorway. He heard a woman's voice from inside.

The woman, probably Jhonny's mother, had a furious tone. She kept admonishing Jhonny for a good fifteen minutes.

Henry just stood there, listening from afar. He had no intention of participating and, most likely, aggravating that conversation.

But not long after, he felt both his kukris leave their sheaths, and they ended up against his back. One was pointing to his liver; the other was positioned to go through the ribs and straight into his heart. He never even had time to react.

"Who are you, and what are you doing on my doorstep?" a man's voice came behind him.

The man's tone was cold and hard, clearly used to what would happen if Henry failed to give satisfactory answers.