Chapter 6 (Updated)

My name is Hino Akira, I came from a relatively well-off family. We never had to worry about not having enough to eat for winter, not having a place to stay, and not having new clothes to wear. No... we had all that. We always had enough food for seconds, we had a house that wasn't all that huge, yet it wasn't small enough to call it cramped. We had new clothes to wear, every year.

I have 2 sisters and 3 brothers, and I was the eldest among them all. Father and mother always tried to look optimistic and happy in front of us, but only I knew the worries that plagued their mind.

Demons.

Yes, you heard it, Demons. Horrifying creatures that only feed on humans as their main source of food. They only prowl hunt the night as the sunlight is their greatest enemy. Even the slightest touch of sunlight is enough to evaporate low-level Demons into specks of dust within seconds.

It was on a winter night when I overhear my parents arguing with each other, I had woken up due to the loud winter gale pounding on the window. And that was when I learned about the existence of demons.

Both mother and father were respectable swordsmen who fought against demons in their prime. After deciding that they've had enough killing demons, they got married and retired in a small village.

Both of their families had a tragic ending related to demons, but we're not going to talk about that.

The next day after the argument, my father and mother told me and my brothers and sisters to gather around a wisteria tree in our front yard.

They gave us wooden katanas and started to teach us swordsmanship. The heavy katana in my hand weighed me down as I struggled to swing it even once.

My siblings weren't doing better than me either. After a grueling hour, father finally allowed us to rest.

Over the years, we continued honing our swordsmanship, not wanting to let our parents down. We were taught breathing techniques and sword styles that complimented our fighting style. I learned the breath of the fire and sword styles that complimented the breath of fire.

I learned how to run while carrying my katana, I learned ways to strengthen my breath, and body tempering techniques as well. I and my siblings also got our real katanas made of scarlet crimson ore and scarlet crimson iron sand. Everything seemed to go so well...

Until one day, Father motioned for me during one of my training sessions. I walked over to my father. Age was starting to catch up to him, his face was no longer youthful, his shiny black hair had strands of white within them.

"Is there anything you want, father?"

He looked me in the eyes for a good minute before throwing me a book.

My hands caressed the book, feeling through the pages as I examined the condition of the book. I had a love for books when I was young, but because of all the sword training, I've faced since young. I never had time to pick up another book since then.

The covers felt rough and the bindings were worn out. I can see that even though the book is old, it was still kept in a really good condition.

The title of the book is 'Breath of Sun: Flash Dance'.

"Practice it, young Akira. Practice this move until you completely master it. Only when you completely master it will I give you the second form of the breath of the sun. You have been honing your sword skills, yes... but whats a swordsman without a sword skill?"

He stood up and walked back into the house.

Just as he reached the door, he turned his head back towards me.

"Our family's third breath of the sun user. The past two users have never even gotten close to mastering the first form. Don't let me down, son."

With that said, he stepped into the house and closed the door.

I stood in a daze looking at where my father's previously disappearing figure was. I then looked back down at the book, still held tightly in my hand.

'I won't let you down oto-san. I will be the first in our family to master the first form of the breath of the sun.'

I made my first promise, and I will strive to keep it.