"Oh, so you had your awakening yesterday?" His uncle, Jua Wapili, asked.

"Yes Second Father, hehee. I'm a full-fledged bloodline warrior now. A true man as you say."

Mwana couldn't help but reply with a smug look creeping on his face. He knew that undergoing awakening was a form of initiation and his strength would only skyrocket further from today onwards. However, his uncle's next words burst his happy bubble.

"No wonder!" Wapili exclaimed, "Weren't you squealing like a pig being slaughtered last night? Hahaha."

Mwana's face immediately changed, "Old man, I better not hear you ruining my reputation when you are out drunk with your buddies! And you Pendo."

"What did I do," Pendo said in a low voice while maintaining a pout. She only felt like she was getting caught in the crossfire.

"You talk a lot."

"Better remember, roaring heroically. Got it?"

"Got it." Seeing Mwana staring at her, she could only reply affirmatively. It seemed like this was a sore spot for her older brother. Though she was young and almost got tricked last night, after a while she had understood that her brother was just spouting nonsense. He had been as scared as ever.

Mwana still didn't seem satisfied and added an 'I am watching you' hand sign for good measure. He knew how easily rumors flew off Pendo's mouth when she was with her peers.

"Look how quick I went from Second Father to Old man! I'm I just a random old man now. Kid you really have a nasty attitude." Wapili said with an exasperated tone as if he wasn't the one who started it.

"Don't play the victim now, that's a bad habit of yours." Vua Moyo added while giving Wapili the side-eye. The latter could only halfheartedly apologize to his sister in-law as if she's the one he had wronged, not Mwana.

Mwana was still giving his uncle an intense side glare when he heard his mother's voice, "Go and wash up, get ready for school. Remember to put on the clothes I set for you for the ceremony later."

Mwana quickly finished up his breakfast and left the table running to the house he, his mother and sister lived in. It was only after he left that his uncle let out a sigh of relief. In fact, even as Mwana left, Wapili was still sure he was giving him an intense glare. 'What a scary kid.'

After Mwana took a bath and prepared himself, he looked at the clothes his mother laid out for him, 'Looks like today I'll be the best dressed in school.'

He was sure of that as most of the kids, whether girls or boys, just went about shirtless with animal skins or long cloth skirts. Some would just put on simple loin cloths and were ready for the day. It was only during the cold season that you would see the children wearing full robes from the neck down. Even among the adults in the village, it was not rare to see people in loin cloths as this was a blacksmith village. The hard smithing work really drove humans to put on as little as possible otherwise their clothes would be more drenched than river soil.

As Mwana walked out looking dressed to kill in his new outfit, he heard a swooshing sound from outside the homestead fast approaching. 'Oh no!'

A fast projectile that appeared only as a blur flew in from outside their homestead. It was extremely fast and carried a great wind with it. Mwana's third aunt, Jumatatu had just left the main house and was out behind her hut emptying the cooking pots and pans at the trash pit when the projectile nearly hit her. It only missed her by an inch before striking the wall behind her so hard that cracks appeared.

The projectile bounced hard off Jumatatu's hut before bouncing again against the homestead's wooden wall. It was only after tumbling a few more times that it became recognizable. It was a red spherical ball that seemed woven out of some type of reed-like plants.

Mwana stood rooted on the ground as he and the culprit stared at one another. The culprit was another child just like him, maybe a bit taller by an inch. Compared to Mwana's brownish-black locks with purple tips, this 'villain' had jet-black hair shaved almost to his skin. However, his symmetrical rectangular head-shape made it so that he was one of the few kids who actually looked good with their hair shaven almost to the scalp. Despite his hair being short, it almost covered his forehead so that everyone could tell that he would never deal with baldness in the future.

It wasn't just his hair that looked good; his brows were thick and sharp with abundant eyelashes. His jaws especially when they were clenched, appeared like the outline of clenched fists through his cheeks. This was a feature this 'villain' he was extremely proud of as it made him feel more masculine at his young age. After seeing the damage he had caused and Jumatatu's angry stare, he put on a sheepish smile.

His smile showcased his sharp canines and dazzling teeth that would normally endear anyone to him. This 'villain' also had on golden earrings with dove shapes curved on them. As for his skin, it was a bit darker than Mwana's; it was dark brown with a healthy glow as if the sun was shining from beneath it. One could almost see a golden halo around him making him appear extremely peerless. This 'villain' was Cheza wa Kijani, also known as Jua Cheza.

Mwana was especially jealous of Cheza's deep black hair in comparison to his own hair. He had never liked the brown in his hair which was especially prominent in the sun and would only appear fully black indoors.

Mwana couldn't help but think, 'Unfortunately these looks that any main character would envy, were wasted on a bratty joker like this.'

Cheza kept looking back and forth between Jumatatu and Mwana. Before either of them could speak, they noticed that at the spot where Cheza was standing, there is only dust. The 'villain' already ran! Cheza was moving swifter than the wind and in fact his feet seemed wrapped up by small air currents as he whizzed across the street. In an instant he had already moved past five homesteads weaving around them for cover indicating that it was not the first time he was caught in a situation such as this. However, when he looked back he was given a fright. He saw a slipper coming fast and homing in on him like a goleyo or a boomerang. Despite bolting away like an arrow, he couldn't dodge at all and got struck in his sorry behind. "Aiyo! My bottom!" 

At the same time Cheza had ran away, Jumatatu who had foreseen that took off her sandal and threw it at him with technique that Mwana had never expected to see out of his third aunt. Dressed in orange with a white cap, she looked like those Upper River Mambele throwers. He didn't know whether his aunt had played the sport in the past and maybe even achieved moderate fame in it.

"Chezaaaaaaa! No matter where you run, where you hide, I will find you!" Jumatatu screamed at Cheza who was already at the end of the village-street where their homestead was located. She was not angry. She was incensed! Completely infuriated! This was clearly not the first time such an incident had happened.

Seeing Cheza gone, she turned to Mwana, "Wololoyaye! I can't take this anymore. This is the sixth time. The sixth time! Is your friend trying to kill my old bones? Trying to put me in the grave early? That kid keeps coming over here because of you." She went on and on scolding Mwana on Cheza's behalf. Mwana could only stand there and get scolded quietly while secretly calculating his accounts against Cheza. It was only after an intense talking to that he was able to excuse himself and finally leave for school.

On the way to school, Mwana, Cheza and their friends would always play Hookball for about an hour before making it to school. For that reason, it was common to see children leave their homesteads an hour early before school opening times. Mwana was already carrying a bag on his back, a kikapu made of sisal woven in an intricate design. In the bag was his main 'job'. He ran swiftly along the village streets before jumping and running on the wall. When there were no more walls to run on, he would somersault and jump over the flat roofs as he ran to catch up with his friends.

New Words

Cheza – to play.

Mambele – a hybrid throwing knife or axe originating from the carved dagger. It was used by the Mangbetu. It is an iron blade with a curved back section and rearward spike with 4 blades in total, 3 on top and one to the side. The blades which are curved like hooks ensure more damage when pulled out of the victim.

Goleyo – a type of Mambele throwing knife used by the Musgum ethnic group

Kikapu – a Basket usually made of sisal reeds

Kijani – Green.

Wa Kijani – of the green. This is an Age Group representing Cheza, Mwana, Jana, and all other kids their age + or – about 3 or 4 years.