NOVEL NEXT Chapter 2: Orphanage
After getting up, Kaida saw that it was already evening. The clock showed 6:30 p.m. He also noticed that he was incredibly hungry. Kaida thought,
'I haven't eaten anything all day. No wonder I'm so hungry. I need to grab something to eat. I also need to act like a kid. I hope no one notices any changes in me.'
He walked to the door and heard a couple of noises outside. Just as he was about to open the gate, it opened on its own, and the same old man came in again. This time, Kaida could perfectly identify this man as the caretaker of the orphanage and his legal guardian. Since the caretaker sometimes showed him favor, older kids got jealous and started a fight with him. Well, that was one reason, not all.
"Kaida, why are you standing here? Oh! Are you all right? Are you feeling any pain? Do you have a headache? Can you remember me?" the old man asked a series of questions, baffling Kaida a little.
"Yes, uncle, I'm all right. My headache is gone, and yes, I can perfectly remember you," Kaida replied, but suddenly his stomach started to speak for itself.
"Thank God you are all right. Now come, let's have something to eat."
After eating, the caretaker asked Kaida, "Do you want to go back to your room?" Hearing the question, Kaida thought,
"Uncle, I don't want to go back there. They will bully me and say bad things about my parents. Can I please live somewhere alone?"
Seeing Kaida's puppy eyes, the old man's heart melted, but pondering over the request, he began to think if it was possible or not since the orphanage building was not that big. All the usable rooms were filled, so agreeing to the request was not possible. The old man replied,
"Don't worry, Kaida. They will not bully you anymore. I will scold them very harshly if they do it again. Aside from this, there are no empty rooms, so giving you a room for yourself is not possible."
Kaida knew from the start that this would be his reply. The orphanage building was a two-floor building, with the ground floor used as a dining area and the first floor as sleeping quarters for all the children. But Kaida did not ask without a plan in mind.
"Uncle, can't I live in the basement? Nobody lives there."
"No, Kaida, you can't live there. It is basement storage, and what will you do if some accident happens when you are alone?"
"I will call you for help. Please, uncle, let me live there." Since he was just a child, Kaida decided he could be a little shameless to get what he wanted. After thinking for some time, the old man agreed.
(Yeah, I am calling him an old man not because he is old; it is just what everyone at the orphanage calls him, so I decided I would also call him that.)
So after agreeing to Kaida's request, the old man took him to the basement where a lot of unused furniture and items were present. Just when Kaida was starting to regret his decision, the old man opened a door at the side of the basement, revealing a small, cozy room. Seeing the room, Kaida asked,
"Uncle, if there is such a nice room present in our orphanage, why is no one using it?"
"Kaida, this is an emergency room present in all the houses in any ninja village. Since no one knows when something bad may occur, we have to be prepared. Leaving that aside, do you like your new room?"
"Yes, uncle, this is awesome. Can I live here?"
"Of course. Why do you think I would have shown you this room?" said the old man with a smile on his face.
"Thank you very much, uncle," Kaida said while hugging him. He was genuinely happy about this room since it was perfect for everything he was planning to become stronger. One might wonder why he wanted to become stronger, and the answer to this question was to become free and do whatever he wanted.
As he was terminally ill in his previous life, Kaida was unable to enjoy life and was forced to live his whole life inside a hospital room. Now that he was given a new chance, he would make sure to live his life to the fullest this time.
But now that he was in a world full of strong ninjas, one couldn't live a normal life without power as their life would depend on the whims of others. Just a side-effect of someone else's battle could kill you here.
Aside from this, as an otaku in his previous life, the concept of flying, running faster than a car, or using different types of jutsus was just too amazing to ignore. Kaida wanted to do that and much more as he grew up.
Now, with this room as his private training area, he could just start training here. Suddenly, the old man spoke, bringing Kaida out of his train of thought,
"Kaida, I want to ask you something."
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A.N.: Add to the library so that you'll be notified as soon as I update the next chapter! I will update a chapter daily for 5 days a week and an extra chapter for Saturday and Sunday if your support is good. Also, please share your reviews about the chapter in the comments. Both positive and negative ones are appreciated. 😊