Chapter 37 - A Given Damascus Blade

Third person POV

 While his mother is cooking dinner, Htet took Akira and Hachi to his room upstairs, revealing his biracial identity as a half-Burmese. Upon seeing everything, Akira and Hachi are very amazed. There are writings in Burmese taped all over the walls, and it seems that they are wise sayings for Htet. Some traditional pottery from Myanmar is among in his collection displayed on the room's only bookshelf.

 "Wow, this is amazing," Akira commented in amazement.

 "Looks so interesting," Hachi added.

Htet then sat on his bed while the two youngsters sat on the floor looking at him.

 "So, are you two working for an agency or something?" Htet asked them.

 "Oh, yes, we are," Akira answered back, before biting his lip a bit. "How can you tell?"

 "Your clothes."

 "Oh, okay then," Hachi replied.

 "You guys are too young," Htet responded back. "I started joining a detective agency last year. At that time, I was a sophomore in high school."

Akira and Hachi are very surprised to hear that.

 "Wait, what?"

 "We just started working for one this summer!"

 "Wow, really?" Htet replied back. "Are you guys interested in the supernatural and solving cases?"

Akira then shook his head. "No, it's for revenge."

"Revenge?" Htet raised his eyebrow.

 "Some of our loved ones were killed by an evil corporation," Hachi explained in response.

 "Woah, for real?"

 "Yes," Akira responded, "my best friend got abducted and was found dead at a river weeks later, almost completely unrecognizable. This guy's parents died in a car accident that was likely to be staged by that same evil corporation."

Htet felt sorry for their loss. "Oh, I'm sorry."

 "You don't have to apologize." Hachi folded his arms while closing his eyes for a few seconds.

Shortly thereafter, Htet asked them for their names.

 "Oh, my name is Akira Baybay Satoshi-Cruz, of the Philippines and Japan," Akira replied with an introduction and a bow. "Nice to meet you."

He then directed towards Hachi. "This is Shimizu Hachi, my friend and adoptive brother."

 "It's my pleasure to meet you," Hachi responded with a slight, quick bow.

 "It's nice to meet you, Akira-kun, Hachi-kun," Htet replied back. "I'm Htet Kawa."

 "Wow, your name is amazing," Akira commented. "I'm a Filipino by citizenship."

 "Woah, a biracial foreigner?"

 "Yes, he is," Hachi explained. "His full name is Western-style that was adopted in the Philippines."

Understanding those new facts, Htet responded, "Oh, okay then."

 After that, Hachi stood up and walked to the closet. "No, don't open it!" Htet warned him. But Hachi didn't hear that so he just did it, causing a tall bamboo stick to fall to the floor, producing a slight noise. But, that bamboo stick had a blade fitted into one end.

 "Huh? A bamboo?" Hachi commented upon seeing that.

 "You had a literal bamboo stick?" Akira asked Htet.

Seeing that his two soon-to-be friends had revealed his secret, Htet had no choice but to admit it and explain it to them.

It turns out that the tall, sturdy bamboo stick with a blade on one end was his main weapon as a junior detective.

That blade was originally a kunai knife given by the father of one of his classmates at school, but he had a bright idea of making it as a blade for his bamboo spear weapon.

After that, Akira and Hachi are surprised to hear that Htet is a junior detective like them.

 "Woah, that was amazing."

 "Yeah, not gonna lie."

 "Really?" Htet asked.

 "Yes, in fact," Akira responded, "me and Hachi-kun became junior detectives a few days ago."

 "That short?"

 "Yeah, but the training is very hard, not gonna lie," Hachi replied back.

 "But it's worth it on our part," Akira happily added while lifting his finger for a few seconds. "It's a fourth step towards our quest for revenge."

 "Okay, what are the three previous ones?"

 "It's joining, the first case, and acquiring weapons," Hachi explained once more.

 "Oh, that makes sense."

After that, Akira took a closer look at the blade on Htet's bamboo weapon and saw the patterns on both sides.

He then saw that the steel used to make that blade was Damascus Steel, just like his Itachi sword.

 "Oh, is this blade made of Damascus steel?" he asked Htet.

 "What is that?" Htet asked back.

Since Htet doesn't know what Damascus steel is, Akira explained to him what it was, but not how it was made since it was confidential by the ones who rediscovered it.

Moments later, Htet got what he had said and was amazed by its sturdy and elastic nature, saying, "No wonder it can slice through hard materials."

He didn't include rock since it was harder for any Damascus steel-made blades to slice through.

 "Yeah, in fact," Akira said to him, "my Itachi sword is made of the same material as your blade is."

 "Oh, really? That's amazing!"

Htet said this with enthusiasm.

 "Yeah, it was," Hachi responded.

Akira then smiled in response.

 After all that, Htet shows his skills using his trusty bamboo weapon to Akira and Hachi, who are curious about it. Actually, Htet was a master of what he calls "bamboo combat", which is essentially just a traditional art of combat, but integrates the use of sturdy bamboo as weaponry.