Chapter 108: True Home, Family and Reassurance

Chapter 108: True Home, Family and Reassurance

___________ POV Narration ___________

Ken took a deep sigh as he walked the winding roads of the Dark Brotherhood's Mountain Range.

He exhaled, his hot breath coming in contact with the cold air and turning into steam.

The assassin had taken off his mask a while back, he didn't like the feeling of steam turning to water within his mask and getting his hair mask and face wet.

Out of principle, he had once again overgrown two bangs of hair to completely cover the upper part of his face.

Most of the children didn't know what he looked like without his mask. Not even Yue or Tatsukio. And Ken didn't want to give them a scare first thing in the morning.

Ah, he could already feel them. The walls of the place that was now his home.

The Dark Brotherhood compound had grown significantly over the years, it's now impressive stone walls stood tall and protected them perfectly against any wildlife.

The walls were adorned with watch spots, in which Saburo's clones resided 24/7.

There were also plenty of seals around the walls and beyond.

Ken stepped into the range of their detection array long before he had even reached the walls, the Brotherhood knew he was coming.

The Blind Swordsman could feel the children bustling and doing their best to form some sort of greeting after Tosho had most likely let them know of his approach.

Feeling their excitement when returning home had become somewhat of a therapy session for the blind monster.

But this time, that excitement and happiness were tainted by different emotions as well...

Anguish, fear, jealousy. Several of the children, especially the older ones, were starting to lose their excitement.

Ken had somewhat expected that to happen at some point. After all, the children were bound to grow up.

But not in this way. He didn't want their happiness to turn into bitterness and jealousy. He wanted it to remain unchanged if possible, only change their excitement into respect.

He had fostered an atmosphere within the brotherhood that he had hoped would hold out without any issues.

But now?

'I guess teenagers are more prone to senseless drama...'

In truth, it was Ken's mistake to not have expected that.

He didn't have much experience in raising children, nor did he have any examples he could use when it came to raising teenagers.

Tosho wasn't much better, as he was a child soldier turned village drunk turned bounty hunter/assassin.

Akira was also an orphan, with plenty of issues and not a lot of maturity.

And Saburo... Well, it was unlikely that the Strawman even cared for the well-being of the children enough to help, if he even knew how to.

'Maybe we should look into someone that has more experience with raising children... But where do I even find that?'

The nature of the Dark Brotherhood was already shady enough. Essentially scouting out only young orphans to join them most of the time.

Where exactly was Ken supposed to find someone trustworthy enough to want to join such an organization and have parental instincts and knowledge good enough to take care of multiple children?

Well, it was more realistic to think about hiring several people. But that only made things worse.

There was also the fact that Ken didn't like the idea of an untrained person joining the Dark Brotherhood, it was simply going against his ideals.

Even if he was trying to work towards changing his thoughts regarding Shinobi, he still didn't think that it was wise to allow civilians to join his organization and potentially put them in danger.

So the list of requirements for a caretaker was growing larger and larger, and the list of potential candidates became near nonexistent...

There was also the option of inviting the caretakers and training them, but there also existed chances that other villages would take advantage of that recruitment and send spies to attempt to join.

After all, most civilians in nearby villages just wanted to live a calm life. Unbothered by shinobi and their wars.

It certainly didn't help that the Brotherhood had already created a safe zone for the villages, so it was unlikely that any of them saw the need to join the bounty-hunting organization.

So the brotherhood would have to look further out. Things were complicated overall.

'Well, I can think more about that after we recruit the next batch of children... For now, let's see what worries the children have.'

The assassin stepped through the gates with confidence, his mask hanging off his belt, visible as he had opened up his coat.

As soon as the children's eyes landed on him, he could feel many of their doubts and worries fading away.

"Be it budding romance..." As he said that, the Assassin pointed towards two of the older children, Kurou, a 13-year-old young boy, and Yuka, his 14-year-old girl counterpart.

The two of them couldn't help but blush, as their hidden relationship was immediately revealed to the rest of their family.

Their reactions alone told the rest of the children that Ken was actually speaking the truth. Seeing them turn red like tomatoes was both amusing and shocking.

"Or a hidden rivalry..." He then pointed to two of the other children. One of them was a 12-year-old little girl called Uta, while the other was another 12-year-old girl called Kaoru.

They both scratched their heads at about the same time, both looking to the side sheepishly.

"Although you cannot see me or hear me, I am there with you, and I am proud of you. Whether it's your progress in training, or in making friends with everyone else.

Honestly, just sensing you all interacting with each other is always enough to warm my heart. I can't help it... You are all my children at the end of the day..."

That last statement seemed to seal the deal for them. Many of them, especially those mentioned, ended up tearing up as well.

Even Morita, who seemed to have been repressing it for a while now. But he was, at the end of the day, just a 14-year-old child.

He felt comfort as his father's rough hand ruffled his hair.

Maybe to some, Ken's watch would feel invasive. Maybe it even sounded creepy.

But to them? It was the furthest thing from that.

They trusted their Father enough to not even think of it as creepy.

No, they were all moved by his passion, by his warmth. By his smile.

In the end, the little attention they were constantly fighting for as of late... They all had it.

Their Father was always watching. Be it through good or through bad. He was there.

The only people not surprised by this were Tosho, Yue and Tatsukio, they all smiled warmly when seeing the happy cries of the children.

Tatsukio and Yue both learned of his watchful eye during their training.

Their Teacher would occasionally stop and look to the side, and tell a random Saburo clone the state of one child that needed help.

Tatsukio still remembered the first time it happened...

He had just finished sparring with Ken when they were developing the 'Flash Step'. And Ken stopped abruptly and spoke out.

"Saburo, Ume just tripped and scraped her knee on the ground... Go take care of her."

It was only later that Tatsukio learnt that Saburo and his clones, the man that he thought was always helping them, were normally too preoccupied to pay attention to them.

And the only reason he was tending to them with such care, the only reason why most of the time he would reach an injured child before they even got off the ground, was because Ken was ordering him to.

Of course, there were also times when the Second Blade was attentive. But they mostly only happened when Ken was away, as the scientist trusted Ken to look after the children and inform him most of the time.

Yue had found out in a rather similar manner.

Needless to say, their teacher was a monster. But he was also a good father, or at least he tried to be.

Morita seemed to have forgotten any complaints he might've had, so he ended up just wiping his tears away and looking at Ken with a resolute gaze.

"Thank you, Father..." Was all he could muster before the Blind Swordsman just patted him on the shoulder and chuckled.

"No need to thank me, you've all worked hard enough to deserve this much.

But if you ever happen to have a complaint while I'm away. Never be afraid to tell me. Fear has no place in this family..."

Ken left the children with that line before he turned and started walking towards his office.

No one stopped him, Tosho ended up just nodding to the children before following his Leader's steps.

Needless to say, morale was now at an all-time high.

__________________________________________

Hope you liked the chapter!

Yeah, more nice moments with the brotherhood, felt the need to delve further into the children and their experience

Story Shoutout!(send me a DM if you've got any interesting story for a shout out, have little time for reading as of late) : The Last Observer

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