The King's Men

Chapter 3

After what felt like forever, the trio finally reached their first destination: the profiting town of Asara, just five miles away from the palace.

The town was bustling with activity, but there seemed to be a sort of tense atmosphere that, it seemed, only the trio noticed of all the newcomers.

"You guys notice it too, right?" Shayne asked his companions.

"Yeah," Ikuno confirmed.

"It's a bit hard not to notice," Hiroshi added bluntly.

"But it seemes those who aren't residents here don't notice it," Shayne said in a troubled tone.

In a nearby closed store, a crash was heard. Immediately, Shayne ran over there. There was a woman shivering on her knees, clutching her hands. A bowl made of glass was shattered on the ground.

Another man immediately ran to her side and held her close.

"What happened!?" Shayne asked worridly.

"I-it's nothing," the woman stuttered. "This is normal."

Hiroshi frowned deeply. "She's sick, isn't she?"

The man looked shocked, then glared at him. "No, she's not! She's just a bit clumsy! She's fine!"

Ikuno shot Hiroshi a glare then looked gently down at the man and woman.

"It's alright, we won't tell anyone. We are here to help."

The man looked at the trio of men with suspicion. He didn't want them around his wife, and he didn't want her to be taken away, too.

"How do I know you are telling the truth?" he asked.

Ikuno looked at Shayne for permission, and the teen nodded.

Ikuno walked forward slowly, taking one of his gloves off, and held out his bare hand in front of the man, where it could touch the man's forehead if the man leaned forward.

"If you want to know, you can touch my hand with your head. If you don't want to, you can tell us to leave."

The man looked nervously down at his wife. She looked up at him and nodded. He sighed and leaned forward to touch his forehead with Ikuno's hand.

Suddenly, a rush of images flooded his mind.

Images of a poor, sick town, another boy, and then a palace entered his mind. A young male and assassins trying to get that young male. The three growing up, then finally the rush stopped and came to a slow in normal timing.

He saw the conversation, and how worried Ikuno was when he heard the crash, hoping no one was hurt.

Finally, everything came to present time as Ikuno withdrew his hand, returning his glove to his hand.

The man knew that this was the legendary man who could - at will - share thoughts and memories with another if he wills it to occur when he touches his hand to another's forehead.

"Do you understand?" Ikuno asked kindly. The man hesitated, but then nodded. He knew that the king was a good man, and he also knew of the honesty his servant told of.

"My wife has the nearly uncurable disease that has been spreading around this town. If anyone finds out, she will be taken away to an island, where she will die if she's not cured by starvation for a week. The only other cure is a rare medicine that is extremely expensive. We don't have enough money to pay for it with all of it combined, including money we could earn later. And this is not mentioning money for food and other necessities."

The trio looked among themselves and nodded.

Grabbing a sheet of paper from his pocket and a pen, Shayne handed these things to Hiroshi, in which he wrote a quick note addressed to the new king, and sent it away via messenger bird.

A tense silence filled the air, the only sounds being the bustle of the outside crowd.

Finally, the bird returned with something in its messenger pouch.

Shayne opened the pouch to reveal a large amount of Taev leaves, a type of tea leaves that are very rare and hard to find.

The man gawked at the sheer amount of Taev leaves.

"But we only need one!"

"I figured you can use the others to sell cheaply. There are also a few seeds in there to plant it. This will not only help you, but also this entire town," Hiroshi said in a bored tone.

The man burst into tears.

"Thank you! Thank you so much!"

Shayne smiled. He knew that he and his friends did the right thing.

*timeskip*

After the cure was spread through the town, the man and woman came up to the trio, who had stayed in the store to make sure the leaves were sold properly.

"We never introduced ourselves," the now healthy woman said. "I am Asaka Nagasaki, and my husband is Waren Nagasaki."

"You saved our town, for that, we are very grateful," the man continued. "My wife and I were thinking, since she is healthy, she can stay with our son. Is it alright if I join you on your journey?"

Ikuno and Hiroshi almost rejected the decision, but knowing Shayne, he would say yes. Waren never gave them reason to distrust him, and he seemed to be very capable.

"Alright, but you must be careful. We are going to be going to very dangerous places, so you have to be prepared for the worst."

Waren nodded excitedly. "I'll go pack my things."

As he said this, unbeknowest to the five, a hand on the clock of fate shifted forward.