Kaizen pushed the wooden door open with his shoulder, muttering a quiet curse when it creaked louder than usual. His back ached, his legs felt like stone, and his shirt was sticking to his skin in places he didn’t want to think about. This raid would have been his best so far if those beasts hadn’t been so aggressive and powerful.
The moment he stepped inside, the smell hit him,pepper, spices, and something roasting over fire.
"Kaizen?" his mother’s voice came from the kitchen, sharp and a little too loud.
"Yeah, I’m back," he called, dropping his stuff right by the door. "Still in one piece. Mostly."
She appeared a second later, wiping her hands on her apron, and the second she saw the gash on his face, her eyes narrowed.
"Kaizen, what in the five realms happened to your head?!"
The heart of a mother, always worried over little things.
He shrugged, already unstrapping his cloak. "It’s just a cut. Barely bleeding now."
"Barely bleeding? You look like you headbutted a beast."
"Funny you say that, one of them tried."
"You look like shit," his dad said, walking over with a crooked smile and arms crossed over his chest. "So, successful raid or what?"
Kaizen grinned."We’re all alive, so yeah,"
His mother grabbed his chin before he could dodge, turning his face toward the light from the window. "Tch. You call this nothing? Sit down before you fall over."
He muttered something under his breath but didn’t argue. He dropped onto the old wooden bench and let her fuss over the cut. Honestly, it was still sore, but he wasn’t gonna admit it. The last thing he wanted was his parents telling him to resign as a hunter just because he always came back with wounds every time. After all, he had been the one who begged them to let him become one.
"Let me guess," his dad said, sitting down on the bench beside kaizen. "D-rank portal turned out worse than expected?"
Kaizen nodded, resting his head back. "Yeah. We ran into a group of beasts way tougher than what should’ve been there. Not just stronger, smarter, too."
"Exactly. Even Hawk was thrown off."
His dad frowned but didn’t say anything for a second. "You good?"
"Few bruises, sore ribs, but yeah. I held my ground."
His mom scoffed. "Held your ground, your face says otherwise."
"I didn’t die, Mum. That’s the important part."
She shook her head and walked off to get the salve. "Let’s just hope it doesn’t go worse than this one day." She muttered to herself.
Kaizen glanced at his dad, who had that look on his face, half proud, half worried but too stubborn to show it.
"You should’ve seen the others," Kaizen said. "We worked well together. Nobody froze. I actually got in a few hits. Even dragged a beast off the healer and and saved a teammate."
That got a raised brow. "You? Playing hero now?"
Kaizen rolled his eyes. "It wasn’t like that. I just... reacted, I guess. Didn’t think."
His dad gave a slow nod, arms still crossed. "Good. That means your instincts are waking up."
Kaizen didn’t reply, but a small grin tugged at his mouth. It was rare for his father to complement him, but anytime he did... Kaizen always felt.... fulfilled in a way he couldn’t describe.
His mother came back in, holding a little clay bowl. "Alright, sit still. This is gonna sting."
He sucked in a breath as she dabbed the salve onto the cut. It burned like hell.
"Goodness, why does it feel worse than before?!"
"Because it’s working," she said, like it was the most obvious thing in the world. "Stop whining."
He bit his bottom lip and endured it, trying not to flinch like a child.
A minute later, she pulled back. "There. Now go wash your hands. And don’t touch your face."
Kaizen stood with a groan, stretching his arms overhead. "Please tell me there’s food."
"There’s roasted yam and smoked meat," she said, already turning back toward the kitchen. "Eat it or starve."
"Best mum in the world," he mumbled. Starving was not an option, right now he could devour five people’s portion with how hungry he was.
"Flattery doesn’t make me cook extra." His mother shot back.
Kaizen made his way toward the wash basin, still grinning to himself.
His body hurt, and he probably smelled awful. But for once, he didn’t feel like dead weight. He wasn’t just the guy trailing behind anymore. He finally had gotten accepted.
And as he looked at his reflection in the washbowl’s surface, he thought,
Not bad. Not bad at all.
"You should know your place, you bastard!" the lady yelled, slapping Rael hard across the face.
His head snapped to the side, the sting blooming across his cheek. He stood there for a second, lips pressed together, jaw clenched so tight it felt like it might snap.
"I told you to clean the yard before sunset. Look at it! Disgraceful. Just like you," his stepmother hissed, arms folded as she glared at him from across with eyes of hatred. "All muscle, no brain. No manners. Just like your mother."
Rael’s eyes twitched.
She always dragged his mother into it every single time, and today, after everything he’d already endured, it hit differently. Even though Lara had tried her best healing his ribs, it still hurt a lot, his shoulder still felt stiff from the raid, and now this woman was talking like she had any idea what he’d been through.
He stepped forward, slowly.
"You wanna say that again?" he said, voice low, barely controlled. "Go ahead. Say her name one more time."
She flinched slightly, but only for a moment. Then she gave him a bitter little smirk. "Why? Gonna hit me? Like your kind always does when you’re angry?"
His eyes narrowed. His hands curled into fists at his sides.
He didn’t say anything. He just stared dead into her eyes, his fist already forming flames from barely contained rage.
"You think coming back from some pathetic little D-rank mission makes you a man now?" she sneered. "You’re still the same useless stray your father should’ve abandoned years ago."
The heat in his chest snapped.
He stepped toward her without thinking, voice raised now. "Say that one more time, I dare you—"
But then—The door creaked open behind them.
Her expression changed instantly.
She gasped loudly, staggering back two steps like she’d been shoved. Her eyes welled up with fake tears, and her voice went from sharp to trembling in a second.
"Rael, he....he threatened me again! He was yelling, and...and I thought he was going to hit me! He even shoved me hard I almost hit my head!"