Chapter 291: Home Sweet Home

Other than the dust surrounding it, the blissful demon dojo seemed exactly like he remembered it. A beige and purple, now rather dusty, old, Japanese-style building adorned with various classical lights that shined on the otherwise dark sidewalk.

"So… This it? Is this where you used to live?"

Moby didn't respond to Jayden's question immediately as he was lost in thought staring at his old home.

"Yes… This is it… Come on, I'll show you in,"

He held her hands and walked her up the stairs towards the sliding doors that were obviously locked. 

So, Moby had to whip out a key from his inventory that he had not held in a very long time. 

Like butter, the doors slid open with a satisfying slam that left their vision and breath completely dusty. But, after the dust was gone, the entire room came into clear view… 

It was a wide-open spacious room with small windows on the top allowing for natural lighting to come in from the moon. The tatami floors were as clean as ever, with multiple different paintings and demonic statues filling yet not overwhelming the overall design. On the sides were a few shelves that used to house all the family techniques. But, they were all of course now in Moby's hands.

It was truly a beautiful and nostalgic sight. Despite seeing it so many times, he could not help but be in complete awe of the entire room.

Yet, eventually, his gaze landed and was fixated on one single spot.

In the middle towards the back, there was a small stand that held a picture along with various candles. On that picture were a family photo of him, his mother and his father.

Jayden still beside him checking out the room, Moby suddenly walked from her side towards that same picture as he picked it up, feeling slight waterworks well up in his eyes. 

He could never forget the bright smile his mother bore that extended up to the beauty spot on her cheeks, her bright green eyes and long, silky smooth hazel hair that he could still remember the feeling and smell to this day. She held him, who was seven years old at the time from under his armpits as he sat on his father's lean, muscular legs.

His father's face was well structured and his black hair was smooth and fell down towards his purple eyes, his face bearing a similar expression to that of his wife. If anything, he reminded him very much of his current self. And, there, on the lap was him, a seven-year-old child smiling and laughing, his features looking rather skinnier than usual. 

The picture in one of his rather shaky hands, he could not help but let out a single tear thinking about how things were, before he suddenly felt a touch on his hands and a hug from the back. 

"It's okay… Things will be alright…"

It was a warm feeling that Moby swore he would never get used to. 

Wiping away his tears and smiling, he held her palms back and spoke. 

"Sorry, sometimes I get lost in the moment,"

"Yeah, I can tell," She chuckled slightly before taking a closer look at what he held in his hands. 

"Damn… You were a really cute baby… Your mother is really pretty… So is your father… Handsome, not pretty of course. No wonder you're good-looking!"

"Thanks, I guess," He replied slightly awkwardly. "You really know how to bring up the mood do you?" 

"Of course I do! What did you expect?"

He set the picture back down on the table with unlit candles and looked back at Jayden with a smile.

"We can't stay here forever. I want to go see more things,"

"Okay! Lead the way tour guide!"

Holding hands, they walked all around the room admiring the architecture and the different pieces of art that as a child, Moby had the choice to sell yet chose not to out of respect. Although the dojo was in a Japanese style, his parents were not at all Japanese but simply liked the style and possibly even the culture.

After they were done there, they went through the door to the back of the room where they all slept and lived. The building itself was split into two complete halves, one for training and teaching and one for normal living with its own entrance on the other side. It was rather convenient for a family like the Kanes. 

The house itself was fairly simple, one kitchen, a small living room, one bathroom, and two bedrooms. 

As he entered the kitchen, it was dustier than he remembered yet just as empty. So, he decided to use his slight mastery over the water element to clean things up while he was at it. 

Next, was his parent's room where there was not much to look at other than a clean bed. The living room was completely empty in contrast to the other rooms that bore at least something. Moby had simply sold everything in there to survive...

Lastly was his own room. Normally, when a girl and a boy are in a boy's room, things begin to happen. Yet, Moby and Jayden had enough mutual respect to know that now was definitely not the time or place. 

The room itself was extremely empty as he had to sell many things to buy the essentials. The posters, cabinets, action figures, card collections, all of that was gone despite Moby remembering it. Only his bed and a certain metal box remained. It was the same metal box he had received his necklace in when his parents had died. Just looking at it made several memories reenter his mind and how he might have actually killed himself if it weren't for Avilia sucking off his negative energy.

And, almost like it was just for shits and giggles, he opened the box only to find it empty. Though, he could not shake this weird feeling rubbing him in the air… Yet, for now, he disregarded it as he and Jayden sat down on his bed and looked out through the windows showing the less than pleasant neighbour's house. 

There, Jayden asked him several things about his past where he answered honestly. He had nothing to hide after all. That was when she asked him her final question. 

"So… Do you think you're parents are still alive?"

He smiled at her words and looked out towards the moon from his window. 

"You know, I shouldn't bring my hopes up like that… But I do believe they might be somewhere out there. I don't believe they abandoned me… But they simply have bigger and better things to do and they trust me to do things for myself…"

"Yeah, I hope so too," She smiled back. 

"I was supposed to go have a meeting with the military about them a few months ago but they cancelled it until next month because of apparently a lot of peace meetings and turmoil with the shalkers… And I was looking forward to what they had to say…" Moby said what he said now recognizing that the military had in all likelihood no idea he was a demon and simply had some info they would like to either reveal or discuss with him about his parents. 

"Oh yeah, I always wondered why you never left… I guess things are getting pretty wild with our two races nowadays…"

As soon as Jayden finished her words, that feeling and cold chill that ran down Moby's spine increased even more. No way it was just a feeling… Something was definitely up. 

Abruptly, he shot up as straight as an arrow, startling Jayden who asked with concern.

"What's going on?! Something happened?"

"Don't worry, all is fine! I just want to check something,"

Instinctively, Moby walked out of the room and used his energy sense finding there to be absolutely no one. That was when he activated his eyes of sin that showed him something previously unseen… 

A purple mist leading him to a certain part of the dojo…

Jayden followed suit, seeing Moby walk towards the training area once more.

"Moby! What is it!? Talk to me!"

He slowly looked at her with wide-open eyes and spoke, pointing at the ground blow…

"There's something down here… I'm sure of it…"

Any woman in Jayden's situation would have called Moby crazy. Yet, she knew him long enough to know he was 100% serious. 

Although from the bottom of his heart, Moby hated that he was about to defile the very ground he and his parents used to train on. But, for the sake of his own sanity and curiosity, he decided to do it anyway. 

Infusing his hands with demon energy, he stabbed a hole into the ground and pulled out an entire plank of wood. 

And, just like he wanted to expect… He found something… A golden box which greatly took him by surprise and awe, so many questions running through his mind as his heart felt like it was ready to leap out of his chest. 

Slowly and carefully, he lifted the box out of the ground and onto the wooden floor with eyes of anticipation and nervousness, readying himself to open it. And, after taking a deep breath… He finally did it with Jayden peeking over his shoulders. 

"Here it goes…"

As he lifted the lid and placed it, the contents were more than clear… And even Moby was rather shocked to say the least…

There, in that box was a single, marvellously crafted, almost glowing katana that bore a peculiar aura that caught most of his attention. And, to the side of it was one other item that Moby felt like he recognized yet did not recognize at the same time...

"I-is that…"