As my dad and I ambled towards the training center, our hands firmly grasping the equipment, he inquired, "Are you excited?"

"For what?" I replied. "Don't tell me you forgot today is Okina tradition day," said my dad.

"Oh, right, my bad. I forgot," I admitted.

"Of course you did. How do you forget about a tradition in your own village?" my dad teased, his tone playfully chastising me for my forgetfulness.

"I'm sorry, Dad. It's just been a long day."

"Wow, using that excuse already? You gonna use it when I beat you?"

"Sure, old man. Don't pull your hip now. Wouldn't want you to go crippled," I playfully remarked.

"Very funny. You should be an entertainer rather than a swordsman. You're better at telling jokes than fighting," my dad responded, sharing lighthearted banter.

"Yeah, we will see about that."

Finally making it to the training center, my dad and I donned our training gear, preparing for the upcoming duel.

"Alright, old man, come on," I taunted as we both dashed towards each other. Our wooden swords clashed, and our footwork mimicked that of a dance.

As my dad advanced with an excessive flurry of strikes, I expertly dodged, nimbly pivoting off my foot to break the center line.

"You're too slow for me, old man," I remarked, a confident grin on my face.

"Really slow. Maybe I'm just moving too fast for your eye to perceive it," replied my dad, his response wrapped in the thrill of the spar.

Swiftly, my dad erupted with speed, rushing towards me with a slash that, if this weren't a sparing match, could have been lethal. In that moment, I acted quickly, slightly dodging it with only a hint of it grazing me. Losing my balance, I fell, and my dad, seizing an opportunity, rushed towards me.

Acting promptly, I hopped up, blocking his swift but precise strike. As our swords clashed, a glimmer of opportunity flashed in my brain. Looking down, I saw a chance to kick my father off balance.

Reacting swiftly, I dodged his next strike and swept his legs. "Yes, this is finally the moment," I thought to myself, adrenaline bursting into flames as I glimpsed my victory.

Suddenly, I was snapped back into reality as I fell on my back, the impact echoing through the village like a thunderous crash.

"Welp, at least now we know the almighty Achlys is good at falling down," my father said, laughing at my defeat.

"Very funny," I muttered, wiping the dirt off my back.

Just then, my mom appeared. "What are you two doing?" she exclaimed.

"Oh no, it was my mom," I thought as she rushed towards me and my dad.

"Are you stupid? Why are you sparring? He just got back."

"What? The boy's fine; you're doing too much. He barely had any blood on him."

"You're not even listening to me! Did you see his scars?"

"Yes, I did. You know, maybe if you actually thought more and stopped jumping to conclusions, you would—" stopping my dad from saying any more, I ran to my mom and began reassuring her that I was okay.

"Well, you better be. You shouldn't be doing this when you just came back."

"I know, Mom. I'm sorry, okay? But don't blame this on Dad. I wanted to spar; he didn't force me."

"Well, that's still not enough. You need to go back and lay down now. If I see you walking around this village, no more sparring, okay?"

"Yes, ma'am," I said.

Walking back to the nursery, defeated, I looked back to see my mom arguing with my dad.

"They always do this. It's so annoying," I thought to myself.

In my moment of pity, a thought rushed in. My mind lingered on the creature. I need to go see if it's alright; it's already close to dark. Rushing towards the nursery, navigating through the crowded streets of Okina, with people asking if I'm okay.

Finally li made it to the nursery I thought to myself, I ran inside my room.

Looking into my bag, I saw that the creature wasn't there.