The Promise (An OPM Fanfic)

Chapter 1: Sonatina

It began about twelve years ago, where Sonic was thirteen and still stayed at the ninja village. He had just finished his training for the day when he suddenly noticed someone coming up from behind him. Instinctively, he swung one of his throwing knives at the unknown person who easily dodged the amateur's attempt.

Wait a minute... even if I'm only a trainee, no average person should have been able to dodge that! What's going on?!

"Ah! Can you be careful?" the person with a petite figure stepped out of the shadows with a confused look. "I'm not trying to hurt you! I promise!"

The boy with a topknot and purple streaks under his eyes focused his sharp gaze on the newcomer. It was a small girl with high, blue twin tails that became white at the end and reached her shoulders. Her eyes were strangely of two different colours: a bright blue right eye and a golden left eye. A long purple scarf was wounded around her neck. She looked as if she was just about the age of a kindergartener, and had a bright smile on her face.

Sonic looked at her for a moment before he scowled and stepped away. "Get lost. I have no patience for pipsqueaks."

Panicking, the girl's smile quickly faded and she yelled anxiously from behind him, "Um... Can I train with you?"

He raised an eyebrow at her. He didn't really want to entertain this kid, but maybe he should just play along to keep her from pestering him. "'Train'? I have just finished my training, Chibi. Plus, can you even keep up with me?"

The girl smiled again and flushed a little. "Well... I'm still not so good at combat, but they said that I should be able to 'stretch my potential'... or something like that. I wonder what that means."

"'They'? Who is 'they'? Where did you come from, anyway? You don't look like someone from the village," Sonic pointed out.

"I come with a group of peoples who travel around the world together to train to become powerful assassins!" she beamed innocently.

"... The hell? Do you even know what you're saying?"

"But that's what they told me!"

Sonic didn't know what to say. He had just met a random girl young enough to go to kindergarten who had just said that she was an assassin! What kind of reaction was normal for this kind of situation?!

"Fine," Sonic, who was still slightly dumbstruck, walked towards the girl and stared down at her. "I'll let you train here if you wanna, but don't expect me to train with you."

The girl looked a little disappointed, but then she smiled brightly and reached her hand out towards Sonic.

"My name is Sonatina! I'm eight years old this year! How about you, Onii-san?"

Eight years old, huh? That's interesting. It seems like she's older than she looks. But I don't have anymore time to entertain her.

Sonic turned to walk back to his village, replying, "I'm Sonic, thirteen years old. And don't call me 'Onii-san'."

Sonatina just stared at his back with her big curious eyes as Sonic walked away.