"No, you absolutely can't do that." Night Owl responded briskly.
Kemino thought he heard him wrong, considering that as an incogitant remark from Night Owl.
Night Owl saw his facial expressions and said again firmly, making his statement clearer. "Kiddo, I'm not just jabbering on here. I'm dead serious. You can't teach him that skill or anything related to vampires."
"Sir, sparing my life is one thing. Now you are going to judge me on how I teach my students. I know what is really good for my students. Just because you are stronger than me, don't you think you have crossed a line here, and moreover, are you trying to besmirch the reputation of me being the martial master?" Kemino asked, looking at him unfavorably.
"You are wrong again. I don't really think like that. Then, I am pretty sure to show my real identity to you." Night Owl then removed the black hoodie, showing the face covered with a grotesque-looking shinigami mask.
"Seeing the grotesque-looking mask, Kemino caught off guard and left him agape. "Ah!" He then collected himself a bit and said aloud word by word, "You are...you are a Hunter."
"Yeah, but I prefer the term Protector more. You know 'Hunter'; it sounds more kinda….um… prehistoric." Night Owl said jokingly.
After learning that he was defeated in the hand of an expert from the Hunter-slash-Protector family, Kemino now felt better, feeling less embarrassed than before.
The Night Owl removed his masked face and finally revealed the face that had been causing the evil people to fear during the night on earth.
"So, it's you all along. I just can't believe it!" Kemino exclaimed once again, seeing the face of the infamous Night Owl.
"Haha… bahaha," Night Owl laughed hysterically and said, "See that face you make? I get you big this time, right? Haha…."
"Mr. Bradford, did any of your family know that you are the infamous vigilante, and the savor of the Defect, the Night Owl?" Director Kemino asked, now feeling all relaxed his katana returned to the fountain pen's form and he kept it inside his shirt.
"Well, my wife knew about it and, in fact, it was her idea to begin with. And I keep it a secret from my kids. I believe that we are going to be interacting more from today onward. What do you think, kiddo?" Night Owl, also known as Jeremy, smiled amiably.
"Ah-kiddo?"
"What is wrong with that, kiddo? Age-wise, even your great-great-great-grandfather used to call me, great-grandpa Jeremy. Now, do you think it's fair for me to call you kiddo?" Jeremy responded calmly.
"Really, you knew about my ancestor who makes the first bloodline contract with Hunter's family?" Kemino was all hooked up with the sudden turn of the event, feeling intrigued by his words.
Jeremy said and sat down over the wooden. "Yeah, I know him very well; a really promising good kid. Oh, and by the way, you must feel proud of calling kiddo. 'Cause I never call to anyone of your ancestor before. You are first, kiddo." And he added, "Sit. Now, we have a lot to catch up on."
Kemino followed, as he was told obediently. His behavior was all courteous, unlike how the two interactions were when they were on the earth. "Sir, please, forgive me for my earlier discretion."
"Never mind. We may have brushed off earlier in the wrong way. But I was just simply testing." Jeremy waved his hand as if he didn't care at all and he asked, "Do you now understand why I came here?"
Kemino didn't respond with haste as he kept pondering for a minute and finally opened his mouth with surprise all over his face. "It's regarding Bobby. Don't tell me, he is also from..."
"Protector family." Jeremy breezed in before he finished his word. "Now, it's all clear. Let's come to serious business here. Kiddo, you can't teach him anything related to vampire families. You know the rules about the six olden families too, right?"
"But, ah, he also has the noble-level vampire bloodline." Kemino felt frustrated as he knew clearly that the skills belonging to an olden family can't be used by members belonging to another family according to their agreement that had existed since the time of their progenitors.
"I think you missed something when you were testing your disciple not too long ago," Jeremy mentioned while looking at him kindly.
The look on Kemino's face read puzzled, and he asked, "Missed? What did I miss?"
"After Bobby used his last strike. I didn't feel any vampiric presence from him afterward. Now, he is a pure human again." Jeremy recalled the event after Bobby went all out with his last sword attack.
Kemino asked, again. "Are you sure?" Seeing that Jeremy nodded his head, he finally added, "Then I might have missed that part."
"Now that we have covered a few things, let's talk about the lesson you will be teaching him." Jeremy finally turned the page of the discussion he was supposed to begin with him.
Kemino breezed in abruptly, saying, "I know what you are trying to tell me. But, I'm sorry. I can't teach him the inherent knowledge of the Hunter skill that had been imparted to my family. And I believe you must also know my reason quite well, too." And he suggested, "Sir, why don't you teach your technique to him? I think you will do better than me. Or is it because you don't want to reveal your identity to him yet?"
Jeremy smiled wryly and began to explain patiently, "No, I can't. His potential and nature of skill are nothing like mine. If I can say truthfully, then it looks just like my big brother's sword style. I understand your condition perfectly. But don't worry, I came prepared." He then took out a black medallion from his pocket and fling it with his finger, which was then rocketed and entered into the head of Kemino through the forehead exactly where the greenish tattoo of the grotesque-looking shinigami face was.
The next few couples of three minutes, Kemino sat over the wooden floor in a lotus position, shutting his eyes and comprehending all the inherent knowledge that had been passed down through their bloodline. The tattoo on his forehead started to shine, and then it turned azure in color, and he opened his eyes.
On observing that the integration of the black medallion went through perfectly, Jeremy smiled from ear to ear and asked, "Do you understand now, kiddo?"
"Yes, sir, I understand." Kemino responded calmly, and he asked, "Do Bobby have the same bloodline of our sire that made bloodline contract with my ancestor?"
"Yeah, you can say that." Jeremy replied and omitting the next statement inside his head, "Actually, it's more than that. And I don't really like to freak you out anymore. I think I've made enough of a surprise today. Hee-hee-hee, actually, Bobby is the only son of your family's master."
Kemino pondered deeply and muttered to himself as the move of Bobby began to collide with the familiar move in his mind gradually, "Haha…ha, now I understand why his signature move looks so familiar to me. Hahaha… 'cause it is exactly the basic form of my Dragon Beheading Skill."
"Yes, you are on the right track now. I think you can take it from now onward." Jeremy chuckled, and he hit lightly over his back.
"So, that means all along he is my real young master," Kemino said. Then he clenched his hands and said sadly, feeling disappointed to himself, "If I knew of this earlier then, I would never have let anyone bully him before."
"You don't need to feel bad about that. Actually, I was always by his side and I let it all happen because I like to temper his will from the lowest point of his life. And ha-ha-ha, then your young miss Diana happened to have the same notion as mine. That girl is pretty good for a vampire. I really like her." Jeremy explained, explaining his plan for Bobby as it was always his plan. "Oh, and by the way, since you have finally found your young master. What happens to the Carver family? Are you still going to give service to them as their head Butler?"
"I didn't think that through," responded Kemino and he stated, giving a determined pledge. "But one thing is for sure; I'll always be loyal to my young master. It's the undying mandatory rule of my Otsuka family to give our fealty to our master and his bloodlines."
"Mind my suggestion."
"Please, do, sir."
"I think it'll be more fruitful for you to stay in your current position. In that way, you can help your young master. Hee-hee-hee, then the Carver family of the vampire will be in check and Bobby will have one strongest family from the Vampire side." Jeremy suggested without beating around the bush.
Kemino pondered deeply once again, and he nodded his head, agreeing to his suggestion reluctantly. For someone of a straightforward nature like him, it was like a sneaky move that undermined his inner nature, but he thought about the bigger picture in hand and finally agreed to his words.
This 𝓬ontent is taken from fre𝒆webnove(l).𝐜𝐨𝗺