Chapter 3 - 3
Chapter 3:
Noboru was snapped out of his thoughts as a stone hit him. A few graduated magic knights had thrown stones at him. He put his hands up in defence as they continued throwing more.
"Stop," the 4 year old boy yelled as his hands and arms started to bruise and bleed.
"You have some nerve coming here, beast. After killing our people, my mom, you think you can walk here in our prince\'s body like you own the place?" Noboru was confused. He wasn\'t a demon. Noboru did what a 4-year-old would do and curled up, starting to cry at the accusations.
He heard loud footsteps as he peeked from a hole in his arms. Only to see a fist from the leader incoming as he was been punched. Noboru started crying harder.
"Please, please don\'t hurt me." Noboru cried out.
"Don\'t hurt you? Don\'t hurt you! After what you did! Did you spare our family when we begged you, monster!" the magic knight graduates team leader yelled out. Noboru sobbed before he was lifted by the collar.
"Don\'t go acting cute, boy. You\'re a monster, you don\'t trick anyone. Not me, not your mother, not your father. Not anyone here, apart from that traitorous former king you call a grandpa," he said, punching Noboru straight in the stomach, making blood gush out of his mouth.
Noboru looked around to see people pointing and laughing. He heard parents encouraging their children to do the same. Some grabbed stones as he braced himself, and they threw them at him. He ran to the shop, his hands and arms protecting his head. He made it to the shop and entered it, only to see the shopkeeper scowling at him.
"What are you doing here, beast? We don\'t serve your kind here!" yelled the shopkeeper as Noboru walked up to him, pleadingly.
"Grandpa said to come here and buy this," Noboru said, grabbing his money, but the shopkeeper grabbed him and threw him out.
"You think I want your cursed money! No, take the shitty item and get out of here," the shopkeeper said. He wanted to deny the beast brat the food and water he had, but he knew if Noboru died, the beast might take its power back from the twin saviors when it leaves their prince\'s body. The shopkeeper looked in anger as Noboru retreated with enough food for himself and that traitorous ex-king, Haruki. The beast dared to take over Noboru\'s body and assume their prince\'s name.
Noboru, after getting the food, ran home, getting hit by stones on the head because he was protecting the food. That was when he ran into them. His brother Kouki Chikara and sister Meiyo Chikara, along with their best friends Akari of the Himura clan, whose clan had the power of Soul Bonding, giving her the ability to form profound connections with souls, and Hakashi Tanaka, son of Takeshi Tanaka, whose clan allows him to absorb vital energy, aka lifeforce.
"Hey, loser, where are you running to? Why do you have to disgrace our clan by getting hurt so often? Can\'t you run properly, monster?" Meiyo said as she pushed him to the ground.
"Hey, sis, you know he\'s useless. He doesn\'t even have the power of the beasts, only the soul, unlike us. That\'s why Mom and Dad don\'t train him. Don\'t worry sis remember what\'s gonna happen on our next birthday. Actually, I think we\'ll keep our next birthday, the 5th birthday, the surprise mom and dad have in store for you, a secret" Kouki said, punching him in the face.
As their friends stepped forward, "Look at him, a disowned prince, no, a peasant getting his own food. What, don\'t have servants?" Hakashi Tanaka said in a condescending tone as he brought his foot down on the food, only for Noboru to get in the way, shielding it with his back as Hakashi continued to stomp on him.
"It seems the peasant knows his place, doesn\'t he, Hakashi? Being a stepping stone for your foot," Akari said as she kicked him in the stomach over and over. The others joined in, kicking and stomping on him for 10 minutes, making him bleed.
Noboru bled in multiple places, with the most prominent being the blood spewing from his mouth. After his siblings and their friends left, Noboru got up, painfully made it home. When he arrived at the door, he walked in to see his grandpa sitting down, still poisoned. When his grandpa noticed him, he rushed to Noboru\'s side ignoring the pain.
"Noboru, my boy, what happened? Don\'t tell me those wolves in sheep\'s clothing did this. Was it the citizens," Haruki said as Noboru gave him the food and drinks from the shop.
"Grandpa, I brought the food," Noboru said, making Haruki\'s heart beat. His grandson did it for him, all this damage for him. That\'s why Noboru went out without informing him. He could have sent out a summoned servant, even if it risked his health. He would rather give up his life than see Noboru hurt.
Haruki hugged Noboru. "Don\'t do anything without telling me again," Haruki said as Noboru nodded.
"Grandpa, why do the people hate me? Why do they beat me? Why did my brother and sister allow their friends to beat me and even join in themselves? Why are they so happy about our 5th birthday?" Noboru asked in pain as he cried. Haruki came up and hugged him silently but painfully, activating his omni energy, channeling it into magic, and using a higher dimensional healing spell. Somewhere from the 3rd to the 13th dimension, it was unknown, but the magical effects healed him instantly.
Haruki looked sadly at his grandson. He knew the reason. It was Kaito of the Danzo Clan\'s fault. The bullshit prophecy he claimed to see, which deemed his grandchildren Kouki and Meiyo as the ones who would have the power to rule over all dimensions, fulfilling his son\'s and daughter-in-law\'s power-hungry wishes of dimensional dominance. It made him angry that he knew what was going to happen on Noboru\'s 5th birthday. Hiroshi and Amaya were going to disown him. It would be the day we all will find out about the path Noboru chooses in retaliation and I will support him no matter which he chooses. Haruki thought.
"Like I told you, my boy, it\'s because of your parents\' selfishness. Now, how about I teach you how to manipulate omni energy?" Haruki said, knowing he had to divert attention from the subject. Even as a former king, he couldn\'t deny his son Hiroshi\'s laws set to make sure Noboru never found out about the plan Kaito and Hiroshi made. What\'s worse, the other elders of the Chikara Clan, the branch clan heads, and Haruki\'s own father the clans elder head approved of the plan for the sake of the kingdom they claimed. Haruki could have fought against after all Power is the strongest form of currency in this world but Founder of the Phoenix Clan and Haruki\'s grandfather S*** agreed.
"Okay, grandpa," Noboru said in a low, sad voice, making Haruki feel guilty. But to protect Noboru, he had to live by the few restrictions Hiroshi could put on him. Oh, how saying his son\'s name disgusts him after his son scapegoated Noboru, his own child.
His thoughts were interrupted when he heard a knock. "Come in," Haruki said. The catgirls in maid outfits walked in. One was Noboru\'s age, and the other was her mother. They were the maids of the castle, or Haruki\'s personal maids.
"Lord Haruki, Lord Noboru, here is lunch," Stella, the mother catgirl, said. She had pink hair, cat ears on her head, pale white skin, and a curvaceous figure. She was wearing a black and white maid outfit. Her daughter, who was the same but younger with pink hair and black hair tips, walked up and gently took the purchased food from Noboru.
"I\'m sorry, Lord Noboru. I wasn\'t here, so you had to go and buy the food and water, Mother and I were summoned by your father the King he wanted to offer mother something called a concubine position whatever that is but mother declined," said Rose, the younger catgirl. Noboru nodded before turning to his grandpa. He was calm like his grandpa he was not going to blame Rose for the citizens and his siblings and their friends actions.
"Grandpa, you said you would teach me how to manipulate omni energy. Can you show me now?" Noboru said excitedly as his grandfather chuckled.
"Sure, why not? Rose, why don\'t you join? I heard you wanted to be a magic knight too, but you weren\'t accepted by any trainers because they don\'t see potential in you and can\'t get fame or money," Haruki said as Rose looked at her mom, who nodded her head.
"Thanks, Mom," she said before turning to Haruki. "Lord Haruki, it will be an honor to train with you and Prince Noboru," the 4-year-old catgirl said.