The Weight of a Promise

The sun had not yet fully risen when Satsu woke up, excitement pulsing in his chest. Today would be another day with the Ebony Wings, his new family in the Brotherhood.

 He quickly put on his clothes, carefully equipped his gauntlets and ran to the small area where his family was sleeping. His mother, as always, was already up.

— Already awake, my son? You've barely slept. — She smoothed back a lock of hair that had fallen over his face, the worried look of any mother who sees her son off into the unknown.

— I'm fine, Mom. Don't worry about it.

She sighed, pursing her lips in a familiar expression.

— I know you're strong, Satsu, but... please be careful. Things are dangerous out there.

— I promise I'll come back in one piece. — He smiled, trying to dispel her worries.

She hugged him tightly.

— I trust you. But never forget that you're my son, and that means everything to

me.

Satsu kissed her forehead, his heart warmed.

— I'll make you proud.

After hugging his father and little sister, who was still rubbing her sleepy eyes, Satsu hurried off in the direction of the Brotherhood headquarters.

At the entrance, his friends were already waiting for him. Haruto, as always confident, waved enthusiastically.

Akira made jokes, while Hana gesticulated dramatically as she told some exaggerated story. Daichi laughed out loud, and Kaito watched silently, with Hungry peeking out of his pocket.

— Look who's here! — Akira exclaimed. — I thought you'd lost your way, Satsu.

— Or that the Hungry One had eaten you — Daichi joked.

— You're impossible — said Satsu laughing.

Haruto approached with a proud smile and held out a piece of paper with an official wax stamp.

— It's official now, Satsu. I've registered you as an interim member of Ebony Wings!

From now on, you have access to all the resources of our humble guild.

Satsu's eyes sparkled.

— Really? That's... unbelievable. Thanks, guys.

— Officially welcome to the gang! - said Hana with a dramatic gesture.

— I'd say it will inspire my next poem.

— Someone shut the poet up, please," Akira joked. Satsu smiled, but his expression soon became more serious.

— But... what is my role here? I don't even know what my skills are.

What if I'm a burden to you?

Haruto placed a firm hand on her shoulder.

— Don't worry about it. We'll help you discover your skills. The real strength of a guild lies in cooperation, not rankings.

Satsu relaxed a little.

— How do guilds work? I still don't understand. — Haruto smiled.

— The Brotherhood leaves us free to form new guilds, as long as you have more than four years as an adventurer. Each guild can have members of different ranks, but that's what defines their classification. For example, our guild has ranks D, E and F, but there are others made up only of ranks A, B, C and even S. They give us special missions when necessary, but when they don't, we can do whatever we want, from patrolling to helping an old lady cross the street.

— What if a monster appears that's too strong? — Satsu asked, worried.

— We can team up with other guilds to form a stronger team.

But, of course, the reward is shared between everyone.

Satsu frowned.

— How do we know where to patrol? What if there's already another guild there? Haruto laughed.

— Good question. The Brotherhood assigns us territories where no other guild is operating. And guess ? Our territory is... Soraoka.

Satsu was silent for a moment, absorbing the information. He felt a mixture happiness and sadness.

— The slum where I live? Of course, nobody wanted to protect the "nobody"... Haruto put his hand on her shoulder again.

— So we'll protect them. They're nobody to us. — Satsu nodded, determined.

As they entered the mission hall, Haruto began to speak, his voice soft but charged emotion.

— You know, Satsu, I was like you once. Full of doubts, thinking I no place in the world. - He paused, looking down at the floor.

 — I had a sister, Miyu. She was... everything to me.

Satsu looked at him, curious.

— What happened to her?

Haruto took a deep breath, as if reliving a painful memory.

— Our village was attacked by monsters. They came at night, without warning. I was a Brotherhood soldier at the time, but... — He closed his eyes for a moment.

— When we called for reinforcements, they said our village had no "strategic value". Miyu... she died in my arms.

Satsu felt a lump in his throat.

— Haruto, I... I don't know what to say.

Haruto looked at him, his eyes filled with a mixture of pain and determination.

— Don't let anyone tell you that saving a life is insignificant. Sometimes it's all that matters. I founded Ebony Wings to make sure no one else went through what I did.

Satsu nodded, feeling the weight of Haruto's words.

— I understand. And I'll do what I can to help. Haruto smiled, putting his hand on Satsu's shoulder.

— I know you will. And that's why you're here.