SYN OF CLARINES • Akagami No Shirayukihime

C H A P T E R | 01

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'It has been five years today, Shawn.'
"Hey Syn!" I turned around to see one of my regular customers, Reiji. He's 30 and one of the kindest people. I smiled at him. "Hey Reiji." I gave me a pitiful smile in return. "Today's the five year anniversary ain't it?" I looked down at the grip of the sword I was making.

"That's right, but knowing him he would want us to celebrate and continue with our lives." Reiji laughed wholeheartedly. "You're damn right there! Why don't you come down to the Inn and celebrate with the rest of us? Shirayuki can come too."

I looked back up at him. "Thank you but I think I'm going to visit him instead." "Alrighty then, but don't stay out too late. It's a cold night." I waved at him. "Will do, have a good time." Once he left I finished the sword's grip and put the rest of the sword together, standing it up next to the others.

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I sat infront of Shawn's grave.
'Beloved Husband and Friend.'
"Oh what I would do to have more memories with you, Old Man." I looked up at the sky. "But then again it has been ten years since we met. I remember that day so clearly."

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Shirayuki and I had lived with our grandparents for a good five years. I was super cocky. I had about a year's worth of combat experience from our Father and I thought I could take anyone down, granted, I was only ten years old. I would regularly go down to the Inn bar and ask random strangers to fight me. Being the little ten year old I was, most wouldn't even answer me. A few however would give in and play along with me but it they would only last a few minutes due to them not being real fights and the guys just thinking I was playing.

Until one day this old looking man came up to me. "Are you the little kid asking to fight people?" Her looked down at me as if I was nothing, a serious look on his face. "So what if I am, Old Man." He looked super pissed in that moment. "You Brat! Well come on then. Let's see what you've got."

{Sorry, Im really not good at writing fight scenes}

In the end I got put in my place, laying on the floor and the man was still standing and laughing down at me. He then stopped and gave me a smirk. "You've got fire kid. Much like your hair. What a weird colour." He stopped and thought to himself for a minute before speaking. "Alright! From now on you'll be my apprentice!"

At the start it wasn't anything like I had thought. He would make me do constant errands for him or be his messenger. While we did have the actuall hand-to-hand training occasionally. After that though, I realised it was because he wasn't just training me to be a swordsman or a blacksmith, he was teaching me how the business works and so much more.

After my time at his shop, I would come home and imediantly tell my granparents and Shirayuki about what I did that day. I found a great passion in all of it. All the while I did this, our Grandparents would teach Shirayuki about being Herbalist, she was so passionate about it, it always made me smile.

When I was nineteen I was already a little famous for my work. I would often travel with Shawn, but we only stayed within the region. Shawn explained to me that he wanted me to take over the business for him when his time came. I agreed because he was like a father to me and by asking me that, it was like he was putting all of his trust in me.

The next year when I was twenty, Shawn feel ill and way laying in his bed for three weeks. He said that his wife had died years before, so they didn't have any children, and that he considered me his daughter.

He started coughing up small specks of blood, not visible at first but the colour would spread. "Syn. Come here." I walked over to his side and held his hand. "Try not to talk, okay."
He shook his head. "Nevermind that. Now, I love you so much. If i had a daughter I wish she was like you." We both chuckled, his sounded more like coughing. Both of us in tears.