[Word Count: 600]
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Chapter 3: Age Three – The Smile That Cuts
The village square was built around an old, dead tree. The children called it "The Skeleton Tree."
Kaizen called it something else.
> "A throne."
He said it aloud one day, sitting on the exposed root with his hands clasped behind his back, the way kings did in the stories. Aiyona stood beside him, silent as always, watching the other kids play.
Kaizen wasn't playing.
He was learning.
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Psychological Games Begin
By age 3, Kaizen spoke like a sharp knife wrapped in silk.
He smiled constantly.
Always kind. Always charming.
But he used those smiles like tools—cutting where they needed to cut.
The other children didn't know why they listened to him. They just did.
He started small:
Convinced one boy to trade him toys daily in return for "training advice."
Made two girls fight each other by whispering lies into their ears.
Framed a rude older boy for stealing medicine.
Each time, he won. Not because he was strong.
But because they trusted him.
Because he looked innocent.
Because he made them feel seen.
And behind him, Aiyona watched with reverence.
Not jealousy. Not hesitation.
She wasn't just following Kaizen now.
She was learning from him.
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Village Elders Start Noticing
"Strange boy, that Kaizen," the baker said one morning.
"Too smart for his age," the priest muttered, watching Kaizen walk with clasped hands, his posture too elegant for a toddler.
"He'll be trouble," said the old hunter.
"Or a savior," countered his wife.
But no one could prove anything.
No one could explain why small problems kept appearing… and Kaizen always seemed to have the solution.
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Aiyona's Loyalty Deepens
That winter, Kaizen got sick.
A terrible cough. High fever. Nothing life-threatening, but enough to leave him bedridden for days.
He slept alone in a tiny room. Cold. Silent.
When he opened his eyes on the second night, Aiyona was there.
Sitting in the corner.
Awake. Unmoving.
> "You'll die if I'm not here," she said simply.
Kaizen coughed. Smiled faintly.
> "Afraid to lose your test subject?"
She didn't answer.
But the next morning, the fire was already lit.
His food was warm.
And her eyes never left him, even when he pretended to sleep.
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Hint of a Power
It happened one evening.
He was touching the bark of the Skeleton Tree. Alone. Curious.
A strange warmth spread through his fingers.
A flicker. A whisper.
A memory.
He saw a flash of the boy he'd framed last month—punching another kid in the face.
He felt it in his arm—the motion, the anger, the moment itself.
It passed quickly.
Too fast to explain.
> Was that... from me?
He didn't understand it yet.
But something was waking inside him.
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Final Scene: The Game Begins
One of the village kids—a loudmouth named Doma—called Kaizen a "fraud" one day.
Said he was creepy. That he tricked people. That he'd expose him.
Kaizen just smiled. Said nothing.
The next day, Doma tripped during a village ceremony. Fell face-first into the elder's soup bowl.
Everyone laughed.
He was banned from the year's festival.
No one suspected Kaizen had anything to do with it.
But Aiyona did.
She watched Kaizen closely, her voice quiet as they sat on the Skeleton Tree together that night.
> "Did you make that happen?"
Kaizen tilted his head. Smiled warmly.
> "Did I?"
She looked at him for a long time.
Then smiled back. For the first time in her life, it was genuine.
> "I want to be like you."
Kaizen's smile widened slightly.
> "No… you'll be mine."
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