The Adventurous Gamer Ninja - Daichi Hekima [Vol. 01]

Chapter 5 - Ambitions

Kensei was watching young Daichi's face intently. He saw the myriads of emotions and expressions flashing across his face. Kensei sighed to himself.

'This kid is smart and intelligent, and perceptive far beyond his age, but he is a total newbie when it comes to controlling his facial expression and emotions.'

Kensei was a bit surprised at how quickly Daichi went from panicking to suddenly keeping a calm face. But he didn't think much of it. He asked with a smug tone. "You wanted to see how I'd react, didn't you? Isn't that why you said I'd make a good pirate? Am I right?"

Daichi was surprised even more. He didn't think the old man would figure him out so quickly. He nodded his head.

"Yes." That was the only answer he gave.

"So what now?" Daichi asked cautiously.

"When I woke up this morning I didn't think I'd be adopting a genius." Kensei said.

Confusion ran across Daichi's face. "Genius? What are you talking about?"

"Kid. Let's not beat around the bush. We both know you're much smarter than those your age. You're keen and perceptive and have a maturity that's not seen in a 5-year-old. Well, most 5-year-olds anyway." Kensei said as he recalled the faces of the handful of geniuses he had met over his lifetime. And the smile was back on his face.

Daichi was listening to him with the same calm expression but he was relieved inside. 'Oh thank god. He thinks I'm a genius and not a spy. I can work with that. But I need to know why he adopted me. What he wants from me. Lets see if this old man is willing to give me the answers.'

"I have two questions. Will you answer me honestly?" Daichi asked politely.

"Go ahead." Kensei nodded.

"Why did you adopt me?"

Kensei's face turned slightly solemn and had a sad smile on his face. He sighed and answered. "You remind me of my son. His name was Hotaru. He was killed in the nine tails attack 5 years ago. He and I had a... strained relationship and over the years we drifted apart. When I saw you a week ago with Aiko buying groceries, it looked like I was looking at a young Hotaru. You have such a resemblance to him, I thought you might be his son."

"But judging from your expression, I'm not, am I?" Daichi asked.

"No. I had Aiko run a blood test. You're not his son.... Listen Daichi, you may not be his son but I've decided to adopt you nonetheless. I know we may not be related by blood but from now on I am your grandpa. And I expect you to call me as such."

"So your reason for taking me in is because I have a resemblance to your long-dead son!?" Daichi then smirked innocently and continued. "Are you sure it's not because you're getting old and you need someone to take care of you?"

"Ha. I'm still in my 60's brat. It'll be a couple dozen more years before I would need anyone to take care of me." The tense atmosphere between the two instantly disappeared.

Kensei said with a laugh. Then he said, "He was smart and cheeky just like you. While not a prodigy he was definitely above his peers. So you see it's not just your looks that resembles him. Now you know why I chose you."

Daichi nodded and smiled at him. "Thank you for giving me a home... Now for my second question. Why did you decide to test me just now?"

"I've seen orphaned children lead a difficult life. They are extremely cautious towards new people. They are also a bit smarter and more mature than the children of their age. But I doubt they'd be capable of assessing the advantages and disadvantages of an unknown situation and make hard, smart decisions. Especially when they only have a limited amount of information. And to do it all in the span of a few seconds while keeping a cool face? Very few kids can do that. So I wanted to see which one you were. A cautious slightly more mature child or a genuine genius."