《Ascension of the Strongest》


 Pride of the Family

    ¨C Mom, I''m home! ¨C Magatsu shouts to his mother, who is cooking something in the kitchen as he rushes to his room, not listening to Agatha''s answer.


    He drops his overused, camouflaged backpack on the floor of his modest black room with a thud before immediately changing into his dojo uniform, the one Master D. gave him as a gift.


    He hears his mother knocking the wooden door.


    ¨C Aren''t you even going to eat? ¨C She asks, concerned.


    ¨C Don''t worry mom. I already ate at school, and also brought a quick snack, so no worries. ¨C Magatsu says while jumping a few times. This time, he''ll break his own record, reaching the dojo in mere eight minutes.


    ¨C Ok, honey. Don''t be reckless. Last time I had to explain myself to the principal and that wasn''t very nice, you know.


    ¨C And I already apologized. Come on, mom, give me a break! ¨C He says with asarcastic voice while leaning his head back. She knocks the door with quite some force this time around.


    ¨C I''ll get you when you get out of there, you little...


    Before she has time to finish the sentence, Magatsu opens the door and gives her a deep kiss on her cheek, forcing her to blush while rubbing the place.


    ¨C Oh... Someone''s excited. ¨C She asks while looking to her son, a 15 years old boy with short, messy black hair, navy blue eyes, tanned skin, a slim but muscular body, and a consistent blissful smile that he feels proud of always wearing no matter what.


    He opens his arms wide. ¨C How could I not be? Today''s the day Master D. will personally test his students! It only happens once every year, and I''m more than prepared for this time!


    He rapidly punches the air several times in front of him before finishing with a high kick, around the same height as his not so tall mother. She sighs.


    ¨C You know that if you want to defeat your father, you''ll have to get through him first, right..?


    The air suddenly gets considerably heavier with the mention of Magatsu''s father, but he quickly dismisses the tension with a chuckle.


    ¨C I''ll worry about that later. I have more important stuff to deal with right now. ¨C He then grabs an apple he took from school from his room and bites it, savoring it with a pleased face. ¨C But now, I have a record to break.


    Before he leaves he checks himself. His attire, a black gi with a black belt around his waist, doesn''t have anything off about it. His running shoes are properly laced, something he dislikes seeing. To him, laces are annoying and ugly, but he still didn''t have the chance to grab a pair of laceless shoes yet, so he contents himself with what he has.


    ¨C I love you, son. ¨C Agatha says while leaning for a kiss on his forehead. He chuckles innocently while rubbing it.


    ¨C I love you too, mom.


    Now in the front yard, Magatsu stretches his legs, ready to start running. He, however, is stopped by someone on the other side of his neighbor''s fence.


    ¨C I give you ten minutes, at least. ¨C A girl with a wild long white hair with a blue tip calls him before he has time to leave his front gate. He looks at her with a challenging expression, his smile fitting it perfectly.


    ¨C Ten? Sasha, I''m gonna finish this in 8 minutes flat. If I do, you''ll have to go out on a date with me.


    Sasha laughsmockingly at his request.


    ¨C Dude. No way in hell I''ll go out on a date with you. You''re just not my type. ¨C She lays her chin between her open index and thumb while looking to Magatsu with her light green eyes from top to bottom, slowly nodding at the end. Magatsu didn''t know what that meant but didn''t care much either.


    ¨C Well, I have no time for this. It''s already 1:00 PM and I don''t wanna waste any more time here. See ya later.


    Magatsu gives her a wink while still smiling. He doesn''t see it, but her cheeks turn a mild pink for a split second. She mumbles something to herself while entering her house.


    ¨C Knock someone out for me, ok?


    ¨C I''ll think about that. ¨C And with those words, Magatsu does one final stretch before looking straight to beyond his front gate, a wide smile across his face.


    ¨C Eight minutes... I can do this.¨C He thinks while taking a deep breath.


    Then, with one impulse, he crosses the front gate, around one meter tall and made of steel, with a single jump that easily doubled its height.


    After landing on the sidewalk, he starts mentally counting while sprinting forward with olympic speeds.


    Throughout his race, he dodges several bystanders with sidesteps, an incoming car with a front flip and even tries to outrace a bicycle. The latter didn''t quite work as he still wasn''t fast enough for that.If you discover this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.


    And after a relatively short race, he finally reached his master''s dojo.


    Unfortunately for him, it took more than eight minutes to get there.


    Not being able to stop the momentum of his speed, Magatsu simply jumps high up, climbs the house''s front and soon reaches the dojo''s rooftops.


    Despite being an official dojo, it really looked like a normal two-story beige house that had its first floor modified to have as much space as possible. Pretty standard, nothing fancy.


    ¨C Come on, Magatsu ¨C Don, a boy taller and bigger than Magatsu calls for him while coming outside, tightening the knot of his belt around his white gi. ¨C , Master D. is about to start his lesson. Stop fooling around and come in already.


    ¨C Right, right... ¨C Magatsu isn''t paying him much attention, instead mentally cursing himself for being so slow.


    ¨CNine minutes! A bit faster and that would have been a solid eight! Dammit!


    He knows that those things won''t matter once he is actually down there, his fists clashing with someone else''s, so he takes a leap and falls hard on his feet on the sidewalk, the impact generating a loud thud. He turns around after sweeping his legs with his hands and enters the house. It didn''t have a yard.


    Once in, he sees a couple of parents chatting here and there, a lot of students warming up with quick jabs and kicks and even jogs around the over 50 meters square green room. Their sweat kind of proves to Magatsu that he really is gifted with something none of them have because even after that long race from his house to here he still isn''t tired one bit.


    ¨C Alright, students. ¨C Hearing his master''s voice fills Magatsu with an extra pack of determination and excitement as he fidgets in his spot. ¨C I know all of you have been waiting for this, so let''s avoid wasting too much time with formalities and dive straight to the fun stuff.


    ¨C About time, dad. ¨C Coming from upstairs, Master D.''s son, Shinda, walks down with a smirk.


    Master D. had quite a reputation for being quite strong, and being his son gave Shinda loads of privileges and advantages over others. Because of it, he always looked down on others as commoners and never trained with any of them.


    Except for one.


    ¨C Come down here, you punk. ¨C Magatsu says while pointing his index to him. ¨C You''ve been slacking off. No need to be ashamed, you can tell us.


    Everyone let a quick laugh slip as Shinda straighten his eyes while taking the final step from the staircase, now standing on the first floor.


    ¨C Me? Slacking off? Good one, Magatsu. ¨C He crosses his arms while tilting his head sideways. ¨C Can I say the same about you?


    ¨C In your nightmares!


    Now close enough, they both go for a manly bro hug, three taps behind each one''s backs.


    ¨C Are you ready? ¨C Shinda asks while cleaning some nonexistent dust from his shoulder. Magatsu answers with a wide grin.


    ¨C You bet I am. Shame you won''t take part this year.


    ¨C I get to fight my old man almost every day, you know. Today isn''t special to me like it is to you. Heck, not even the others are thatexcited about this, because they know how bad they''ll get their asses handed to them by my father.


    ¨C That is no way to talk about your colleagues, son. ¨C Master D. scolds his son, who merely shrugs in return with a smirk.


    ¨C Sorry, sorry.


    ¨C Anyway. ¨C Master D. loudly clears his throat, gaining everyone''s full attention.


    Magatsu takes a closer look at his master''s outfit, a japanese male black kimono that had several white and grey illustrations of things such as dragons all over the place. It felt comfortable, despite not being very stylish. Regardless, it fitted his old age quite well.


    Seeing Shinda''s gi revealed that it had a similar white dragon behind on its back, and was looser than what people would normally wear. Magatsu always wondered how that never got in their way when it came to fighting, or even normally moving around.


    ¨C Come here, students. Before we begin the annual graduation exam, we must first, as usual, have a quick warm-up spar with a desired opponent of a similar level. I hope you already chose who you''ll fight this year.


    Magatsu took a quick glance around him. In total, thirty teenagers and young adults were there, not including the parents further in the background nor himself, meaning that someone would be left out.


    And honestly, he knew who it would be.


    ¨C Obviously, there is the exception... ¨C Master D. weakly says as he gestures at Magatsu while not trying to show just how big the gap between him and everyone else was.


    Magatsu frequented D.''s dojo ever since he was a toddler. He was given special and exclusive treatment for being a Wind Adept, something they discovered when he first had an outrage over something and manifested his strength with a barrage of unnaturally fast punches for someone his age.


    And because of those two little factors boosting his potential, Magatsu was fated to be stronger than the norm.


    People just didn''t expect him to be somuch stronger.


    At age ten, he almost caught Master D. off guard and knocked him out. Was him a bit faster, he would have pulled that off. D. never lowered his guard while around Magatsu after that.


    At age twelve, three years ago, he fought half of the dojo and almost won. He only lost because one of his opponents was a Fire Adept. Magatsu could never see a fiery flying kick coming. After that, he re-challenged the boy and won easily.


    And last year, he was ganged up by some random hooligans inside school grounds that didn''t like how he always smiled. All of them went to the hospital and he gained a three days suspension for going a bit too far with them.


    Because of his considerable experience and natural potential, Magatsu could top any of his colleagues in a fair 1v1, and with where he was sitting he could even defeat all of them at once if the right moves were done at the right moments.


    Keeping that in mind though, Master D. had a back-up plan.


    ¨C And because of it, for this warm-up section, Magatsu will fight my son. Shinda, forward!


    That was quite expected by Magatsu. After all, he was the only one there who could match him, and given that even though he wasn''t going to do the trial he still was wearing his gi something definitely smelled fishy to Magatsu.


    None of that made the news less exciting.


    ¨C You and me? ¨C Shinda says with a disdainful smile. ¨C Come on, Magatsu. You know you can''t beat me. Remember last time?


    ¨C Last time was a fluke, you lucky bastard. ¨C Magatsu''s smile fails slightly for a second as he falls for the taunt. ¨C This time, nothing will hold us back. I''m so gonna wipe the floor with you.


    Magatsu was already bare-footed, one of the dojo''s rules, and readying a fighting stance, his legs spread open and leaned slightly, his arms just as further from one another, his right one in front and his left one next to his head. All of it was done in a sideways pose like he was imitating the stance of a crab.


    ¨C Right. ¨C Shinda cracks his neck with two heavy side tilts. Quite cool, actually.


    He doesn''t take a fighting stance from the get-go, annoying Magatsu.


    ¨C Take this seriously, Shinda.


    Everyone else was already far away with their partners, their fights breaking out with fists clashing with fists. Shinda laughs.


    ¨C Please, Magatsu. I am taking this seriously.


    He slowly copies Magatsu''s pose, only mirrored.


    Another glaring difference was that his hands had a blue feeling to them as if Magatsu was seeing a photo with a cold temperature.


    Shinda was a Water Adept.


    And Magatsu didn''t have full control over his own powers yet.


    This would be a tough fight.

 Decade-Long Rivalry

    Magatsu starts the fight with a right jab after a short dash. Shinda leans back to dodge it, using Magatsu''s momentum to throw a right hook of his own.


    Magatsu is hit dead on the face but follows the impact''s direction to ease the damage. As his head is naturally dragged to the ground by Shinda''s fist, he uses the opportunity to land a kick with the back of his left foot with a body twirl. It hits with force.


    Using the twist to his favor, both his feet already on the floor again, Magatsu prepares a left, heavy punch, but Shinda is already preparing a similar attack of his own. Both fists clash with force as both boys shake their hands with pained smiles.


    ¨C Damn, take it easy, Shinda. ¨C Magatsu says with a playful tone. ¨C This is just a spar.


    ¨C If you want to defeat my dad, you''re gonna have to do so much better than that and you know it. ¨C He retorts while readying the stance he shares with Magatsu, the latter doing the same


    This time, Magatsu goes for a barrage of weaker blows as he dashes forward with speed, taking Shinda by surprise. He proceeds to throw punch after punch as Shinda is hit by a few of them.


    After the seventh blow, Shinda starts to take the fight a bit more seriously and channels his Affinity to cover his body with a funny, thin and persistent light blue veil. It feels wet to touch.


    After that, all of Magatsu''s attacks become way too weak to deal any substantial damage, so he changes the strategy and goes for a right punch. Shinda easily dodges it by crouching and uses the opportunity to sweep Magatsu''s legs with a kick.


    Magatsu foreshadowed this, so the punch he threw wasn''t packed with a lot of force, and thus, momentum, giving him enough time to dodge the swipe with a short leap.


    Once with his feet touching the ground again, he spins his right leg in a near-full 360 degrees around his body, aiming a heavy blow against Shinda, who is still crouched.


    Since Shinda sees that he has no time to dodge, he uses his arms to block the blow as best as he can. Since it''s him it works, but if that was someone else it would have broke their arms with ease. A shockwave is sent across a few meters around the clash.


    Now with both of them standing straight again, Magatsu takes a deep breath.


    ¨C Tired already? ¨C Shinda asks. ¨C Damn. And I was the one slacking off.


    ¨C Shush, I just got started. ¨C Magatsu says while wiping a sweat drop from his forehead.


    Their fight proceeds for the next three minutes or so as Magatsu occasionally remembers some of the things they used to do when they were younger.


    Ever since Magatsu was introduced to Master D. when he was 4, he and Shinda grew side by side as if they were brothers.


    They always did about everything together. They trained together, which explained why their stances were similar, they pranked a bunch of people together, and most importantly: they challenged each other as often as they could.


    Shinda would constantly brag about how much more powerful he was in comparison to his friend, and always prove his point with various feats, but he was always secretly happy that there was someone his age that could somewhat match him, unlike everyone else he had met before.


    From age 12 onwards, he discovered which Affinity he had and practiced day and night to have control over it. Magatsu knew he was a Wind Adept, but he couldn''t freely control his Affinity no matter how hard he trained.


    Sometimes, it felt like something was restraining him from accessing the damn thing.


    The gap between them, however, slowly disappeared as Magatsu proved from a very early age to have potential even greater than Shinda''s, given how fast he was improving while under Master D.''s tutelage.


    But every time Shinda triggered his Affinity, his already insane strength would almost double, topping Magatsu with ease.


    And it wasn''t being different now.


    Despite being raised in similar backgrounds, Magatsu and Shinda''s differences were evident once they started fighting.


    Shinda had better technique and endurance, allowing him to keep with his current pace for as long as a whole hour without getting tired, and unlike his friend, he could top the entire dojo all by himself if he wanted, with a lot of struggle, of course, but still.


    Magatsu was mildly but consistently panting as Shinda finally grew tired of overusing his Affinity. It was, after all, extremely exhausting to keep up with it. He hadn''t mastered it quite yet, so a lot of energy leaked from him every time he triggered it.


    ¨C Tired? ¨C Shinda asks Magatsu with a smirk.


    ¨C Perhaps, why you ask? ¨C He answers with a wide and excited grin, ready for round two, when Master D. kicks in.


    ¨C You should rest, Magatsu. I''ll start the trials in six minutes. Shinda, accompany him upstairs and give him a glass of water, would you?


    ¨C In the best part! Damn, dad. ¨C Shinda says with an annoyed tone as he snaps his fingers. ¨C Whatever. Come. Mag. ¨C He wastes no time in sprinting upstairs, Magatsu right behind him.


    At least he was faster.


    ¨C Damn ¨C Magatsu starts to brag while walking down the corridor aside Shinda. ¨C , not even with a head start you''re faster than me in a race.


    ¨C Shut it, you. ¨C Shinda says while playfully punching his friend''s arm.


    The second floor, like the first, was primarily brown, white, black and green. All doors were made of paper and were sliding ones, not regular wooden ones. The house overall somewhat resembled a japanese-styled one.


    After taking a left turn, they enter the green kitchen and Magatsu drinks a cup of water with satisfaction, his friend drinking three.You could be reading stolen content. Head to Royal Road for the genuine story.


    ¨C Ah! ¨C Magatsu says while wiping his mouth. ¨C That was good. ¨C He looks up to the analog clock hanging above the sliding door, thinking about how long these five minutes are going to be.


    ¨C Chill, Mag. Dad won''t go anywhere and you still have five minutes.


    They take their time going back to the main floor as they realize everyone is already finished with their warm-up matches. In one corner, the floor had burn marks scattered around, obviously Louis''s fault.


    Now standing in front of Master D., Magatsu patiently waits for the time of the beginning of the trials as Shinda merely watches from a distance while talking to a girl that was watching with everyone else. She was laughing from something he told her.


    ¨C Alright, students ¨C Master D. starts his speech. ¨C , I''m sure all of you are warmed up and ready for this year''s trial.


    Magatsu didn''t notice it at first, but not all students were taking the trial with everyone else. Someone in the background asks.


    ¨C What is the trial and how does it work?


    ¨C Glad you asked. ¨C Master D. addresses his son. ¨C Care to explain to them, son?


    Taken aback by the request, Shinda grunts mildly for a second.


    ¨C Fine. For the scrubs that don''t know what the trial is, it''s our way of telling if a person is skilled enough to receive an official diploma.


    ¨C Quite rude and bare-bones ¨C Master D. continues. ¨C , but thanks anyway. The trial happens every year on this day exactly, and everyone is free to take a try. Just be wary of how challenging it is.


    ¨C What do we have to do to pass? ¨C The same person asks.


    ¨C Simple. You must fight me. If I find you skilled or strong enough to receive the degree, you pass.


    ¨C Funny how you make it sound so easy, dad. ¨C Shindajokinglysays with a smirk smug.


    ¨C For those who are attempting this year''s trial ¨C Master D. starts to finish his explanations. ¨C , you already know how things work, so I''ll save time with formalities. As usual, ten minutes max for each one of you.


    After that, he calls one of the students, a girl, to take a step forward.


    She fights fiercely with all of her skills (Magatsu finds them quite impressive), and it seems that she has Master D. cornered.


    Obviously, he was merely defending and dodging throughout the entire fight, not raising a single finger against her.


    Eventually, the ten minutes mark ends and after mumbling mental notes to himself, D. scratches his thick brown beard and nods slowly. No one really knows what that means, so they just wait for the next one to be called.


    One after the other, all 30 current disciples took the trial before Magatsu''s turn finally came.


    He could barely hold his excitement as he was finally going to officially challenge his master.


    ¨C Take it easy with our old man, Magatsu. ¨C One of his colleagues spoke, gaining chuckles from his friends. Magatsu merely rolled his eyes sarcastically while smiling.


    ¨C Focus, Magatsu. ¨C D.''s voice gains his full attention as he prepares his fighting stance once more, ready to strike. ¨C Come when you''re ready.


    That was everything he needed to hear.


    Without wasting time, Magatsu leaps with blinding speed against D. while aiming a left punch, but the latter easily dodges his strike with a sidestep.


    Magatsu twirls his body and goes for a left hook. In comparison to his previous spar, this one was considerably faster but still didn''t make much difference as D. leans his head back to dodge it.


    This fight would be even harder, despite D. holding back, given how incredibly in shape his muscles were for his age of 50.


    Magatsu proceeds to throw punches and kicks against his master, all of which had been blocked with either his palms or legs. Something he was noticing is that D. was, at least, putting considerable effort into blocking his attacks if compared with his other students.


    ¨C Not bad, but you can do better. ¨C D. says as he aims a left karate chop against his apprentice''s chest. Magatsu barely has time to block it with his right hand as one with the other hand is aimed at the side of his neck.


    He manages to backstep it in time to jump high in the air, aiming an aerial straight kick to D.''s face. His master leans his upper torso to the right while grabbing his student''s leg and hurling his back against the ground. Magatsu grasps for the air that leaves his lungs.


    ¨C Up. ¨C D. calmly says as he waits. Magatsu jumps while still laying on the floor by pushing his upper back and hands against the ground to gain enough impulse to stand on his feet without having to move around the floor.


    ¨C Didn''t think you would fight back this hard. ¨C He says while moving his shoulders with hard movements back and forth, cracking his back a few times.


    ¨C This is a trial, Magatsu, and I must properly scale myself to my students'' level to properly give them their notes. You''re quite ahead of your friends, so naturally, your turn will be harder than theirs.


    ¨C Yeah, yeah, so I was told. ¨C And with that, he goes back to trying his best against his master while enjoying every second of it.


    Everything he wanted was to challenge his master in a fair 1v1, but deep down, even now, he knew that D. was still holding back.


    He wanted to fight him at his fullest, and one day he would get that privilege.


    It would be necessary if he wanted to stand a realistic chance against his father.


    Magatsu''s trial ends rather quickly, for him at least, as he pants heavily from the fight. His master was struggling, to some small degree, to breathe as well, which made Magatsu extremely happy with himself.


    He had made his master breathless.


    ¨C And that ends yours and this year''s trial. ¨C Master D. excitedly says while taking mental notes of his fight with Magatsu, leaving the latter quite anxious for the result.


    ¨C Damn, Mag ¨C Shinda says while walking over to his friend. Everyone else was either going over to their families, friends or taking the time to think. ¨C , that was intense, and I bet the others are thinking the same. Looks like we have our front-page story ready to be printed.


    ¨C Knock it off, you. ¨C Magatsu slaps him with the back of his hand while grinning. His limbs were shaking with the excitement and tension of the recent fight.


    ¨C Now, give my father the time he needs to come up with everyone''s results. That shouldn''t take more than a few minutes.


    Magatsu sits down on the first degree of the staircase, his friend aside him, as they have some small talk to spend the time. They mainly focus on a specific prank they pulled off on the bakery when they were 9 that might or might not have cost both of them one hundred push-ups.


    D. had gone upstairs to review everyone''s scores, and thirty minutes later he comes down with audible footsteps.


    No one wastes time with getting in their respective positions while waiting for their master to come.


    Once close enough, Master D. clears his throat loudly and starts to speak.


    ¨C Alright, I have come with my conclusions on everyone''s score this year, and I must say I''m quite impressed. This is the first time so many people actually manage to pass at once.


    ¨C Nah ¨C Shinda interrupts. ¨C , you''ve been growing softer on them, that''s all. Means you''re getting older, and that''s something good I guess.


    ¨C Perhaps. ¨C D. contents himself with that one word before continuing. ¨C Now, I''ll name those who managed to pass. For those, come here and grab your diploma with well-earned pride.


    He takes several scrolled pieces of paper from inside the large sleeve of his kimono, wiggling it around to everyone.


    One by one, he calls the name of 9 different people, each call followed by a short round of applause.


    ¨C ...And finally, Magatsu Astarosa. A step forward to receive your well-deserved reward. ¨C D. says with a wide, warm smile.


    As Magatsu goes to fetch his diploma, he hears his master asking him the same thing he asked everyone else.


    ¨C Do you wish to hear out loud how well you performed?


    ¨C Sure thing. ¨C He says after thinking for about three seconds.


    ¨C I must say, I am impressed with your performance. Out of everyone who did the trial this year, you''re the one that passed with the highest score.


    Magatsu hears some mumbling across the room but doesn''t pay it too much attention as he slowly and proudly holds his diploma high above his head with a wide grin.


    He had finally graduated from the dojo.


    But most importantly, he was a step closer to defeating his father.


    Meanwhile, Agatha was speaking with herself while combing her hair in front of her emerald-green mirror.


    ¨C I''m pretty sure my precious little gift got his hands on his degree by now. Yes, son, grow stronger, rise to your father''s level so you can kill that damned backstabber for...


    She looks to herself in the mirror, seeing the face of an animal. She breathes in and out deeply, recomposing herself.


    ¨C Calm down, Agatha. Be patient. Your little gift will take care of him in due time, and when the day finally comes... Ah, I can only imagine how satisfying it''ll be to see his face when he loses to his son.


    ¨C He''ll pay for what he did to me, big time.

 One Step at a Time

    ¨C Of course ¨C Master D. speaks loud enough for everyone to hear him. ¨C , just because you didn''t make this year doesn''t mean you can''t try again the next one. Train harder and remember: there''s more to life than just being good at fighting.


    ¨C Yes, master! ¨C Everyone says in unison.


    After a few more minutes of discussions, at least half of everyone go home since today was just the trial and not a regular training day.


    Magatsu was about to go home when he was stopped by Shinda with a hand over his shoulder.


    ¨C Where do you think you''re going?


    ¨C Home? ¨C He answers with a puzzled expression. Shinda laughs.


    ¨C Dude, you''re not going anywhere anytime soon. You promised you would help me with my training today, remember?


    Magatsu quickly searches inside his memories, finding the thing his friend is talking about after about three seconds. He does a dumb face while snapping his fingers.


    ¨C Ah, right! I remember. Man, do I have to do it now?


    ¨C Definitely. ¨C Shinda bluntly answers while dragging his friend to the center of the dojo.


    Two hours later.


    Both boys fall tired on the wooden floor while breathing quite heavily. Magatsu didn''t expect Shinda''s little training section to be so hard, not after the previous one being relatively simple and easy.


    ¨C Well ¨C Shinda says while wiping a sweatdrop. ¨C , that was perfect.


    He stretches his back by curving it with both hands on its sides. Magatsu stretches his'' by interlocking his fingers, stretching his arms forward and pushing his back up with force.


    ¨C Let''s not do that again for the next few weeks. This is a bit too intense for just two hours, even for us.


    ¨C Right, right. ¨C Shindamockingly waves one hand while pocketing his other. Why did his gi have pockets? No one knew nor bothered to ask.


    Not that he would answer, anyway.


    Magatsu went home walking since he was still tired from both battles he had plus the two hours training he did with Shinda.


    He used the time to look around.


    His city, Mashifu, was a regular small town that didn''t have many things to do to pass the time. If it wasn''t for the holy grail that was the internet, a lot of the younger people would die of boredom.


    Most houses around his neighborhood were two-story tall and had bright colors that varied between the green, orange and blue.


    It was a sunny day with some pure white clouds here and there. No signs of rain, which made Magatsu relieved.


    After a six minutes walk, he sees a little park with a bunch of kids playing. What catches his eyes, however, are a group of five kids surrounding one girl...


    The city didn''t have trouble with kidnappers, so the kids were free to play around as much as they wanted if their parents allowed them to, so no adults were seeing that.


    Seeing that made Magatsu''s usual smile fade for a split second as he furrowed his eyebrows. He would enjoy finding out what was happening.


    ¨C Hey, kids. ¨C He introduces himself with the most polite smile he can give. ¨C Care to tell me what''s going on?


    ¨C Scram, idiot. ¨C The supposed leader of the group, 11 years old apparently, had a smirk smug, which was annoying to look at. He had red hair and both his shirt and shorts were white with red sideway stripes.


    ¨C Yeah ¨C Another kid, 9 years old, supports him. ¨C , no one called you here.


    Magatsu then hears the girl sniff. He didn''t see it first, but she had signs that she was crying, despite being untouched.


    She had light blonde hair, pale skin, and a fitting blue dress with a fake white flower resting on the left upper part of her chest, near her shoulder, and simple dark blue sandals.


    A closer inspection revealed that the girl had pure white eyes that blended with her sclera. They were incredibly beautiful and somewhat ominous at the same time, giving the apparently 12 years old girl a really cool and cute look.


    ¨C Shut up, no eyes. ¨C One of the bullies barks at her, giving an idea of what was going on to Magatsu.


    The thought made a switch flip inside his head as he started to struggle mildly to keep his charismatic and everlasting smile on his face.


    ¨C Come on now. That''s no way to treat a friend, much less a girl, right?


    ¨C And what do you know, loser? ¨C The red-head says.


    ¨C Yeah! Show him, Bernard. ¨C Three from the other four kids say almost at the same time.


    ¨C You don''t want this, Bernard. ¨C Magatsu soothes his voice tone the best he can. ¨C Stop it before someone gets hurt.


    The boy is visibly angry with Magatsu when he snaps his fingers.


    Suddenly, all five boys with ages around 8~11 surround Magatsu with menacing faces, or what they try their best to make look like ones.


    ¨C Give up, idiot. ¨C The red-head smugly says. ¨C This is five on one, and...Unauthorized use of content: if you find this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    Magatsu had enough of that and swept the legs of all boys with a spinning ground-level kick. One right after the other and with no time to react, all of them fell either on their butts or arms.


    ¨C Hey! ¨C A police officer was walking by when he saw Magatsu sweep kicking the bullies. He was now running with an annoyed face.


    ¨C You''re in trouble, big time. ¨C Bernard says while standing up, his friends following him.


    Once close enough, the officer inspects the scenario with a glare. He then addresses Magatsu with a reprehensive tone.


    ¨C Why did you hurt these young boys? Do you really think just because you''re a fighter you can do this kind of stuff with others?


    ¨C You don''t know half of it, officer. ¨C He says while doing an innocent smile. He then proceeds to explain what was going on.


    When the officer heard the story, he too grew furious with the boys as he inspected the girl with caring hands. Magatsu was curious to see if she was really blind and noticed that she could follow the guard''s movements with her eyes.


    He was still skeptical, though.


    ¨C Oh my god, are you...? ¨C The guard is bewildered with something that Magatsu doesn''t know. When he turns to the boys, all of them get scared with his glare. ¨C Did you actually torment Aliodi''s daughter?! Do you have any idea what he could do to you if he found out?!


    Oh, that man.


    Magatsu feels proud of himself for stopping the bullies from proceeding with their annoyance section. Hadn''t he, bad things would''ve definitely happened to them, much worse than a mere leg sweep.


    ¨C That old man can''t touch us! ¨C Bernard starts. ¨C And... ¨C But is stopped by the guard.


    ¨C Silence! I had enough of your shenanigans! All six of you are coming with me.


    ¨C Wait ¨C Magatsu gets caught off guard by this. ¨C , why me?


    ¨C I need you to come with me to answer a few questions and confirm some others.


    Magatsu was quite annoyed with this, but if he had no choice, better get the thing done with as soon as he could.


    ¨C Actually, officer ¨C The girl speaks up for the first time. Her voice is fragile and soft, making Magatsu grow even angrier with the boys that tormented her. ¨C , this person was trying to protect me, so could you not take him with us?


    ¨C I... I see, Mrs. Aliodi, but he still needs to come with me, and...


    ¨C Please... Don''t make him have to go through this after what he did for me. ¨C She rubs the ground with the tip of her foot, both her hands behind her. ¨C For me...


    She had really convincing eyes, Magatsu noticed.


    The officer lets a huge sigh out before adjusting his cap.


    ¨C Alright, alright. You heard that, kid? You''re good to go.


    Magatsu looks to the little girl with a wide and thankful smile. He was assuming she was blind, but she seems to be seeing him as she smiles back, warming his insides.


    He wasn''t fully sure of what to make out of this, so he just assumes she can''t see properly or that the boys were making fun of her eye color.


    Not wanting to stay there for much longer, Magatsu sprints towards home but a bit faster than when he went to the dojo.


    Once there, he goes straight to the shower, and once out he grabs something to eat. A ham sandwich Agatha prepared while he was taking a bath. He was rolled in his black towel.


    ¨C Thanks, mom. ¨C He shouts while going to his bedroom.


    His house, unlike others, didn''t have two stories, so it was considerably larger, and his bedroom was the furthest room from the house''s entrance.


    Once there, he unwraps the towel from around him and puts on his favorite set of clothes: a black and tight elastic shirt with a dark red circle in its back, fitting synthetic black pants, laceless black shoes, and fingerless black leather gloves.


    He really liked black, despite some people taking it for the color of evil or whatnot.


    His skinny muscles were prominent and visible through the shirt, and the attire perfectly fitted his slim, average-sized body.


    ¨C Nothing to do, let''s see if something interesting happened... ¨C He mumbles to himself while checking the news up online on his computer.


    ¨C Dear ¨C Ten minutes in, his mother calls him from the living room. ¨C , you have a visit.


    Once there and now with a half-empty pack of chocolate biscuits in his hand, he notices his next door''s friend Sasha sitting down the couch while chatting with Agatha.


    Her hair was really wild, somewhat resembling a hedgehog, and the white with blue tip fitted both its style and her appearance really well.


    Magatsu noticed that it has been cut if compared to how long it was literally a few hours ago. It was now shoulder-length.


    She had bright blue and charming eyes, a slightly tanned skin, and used a loose blue cotton shirt with different tones of blue blending over each other, slightly dark orange legging pants, and green sneakers with short white socks.


    Something that Magatsu always found both funny and adorable about his friend is that Sasha was shorter than most girls, barely reaching his shoulder.


    That didn''t stop her from being extremely athletic and with her body in shape to run a marathon if needed.


    ¨C Sup, Sasha. ¨C Magatsu greets her with a wider than usual grin. She waves two fingers at him.


    ¨C Yo.


    ¨C We were just discussing how well you probably did today, son. ¨C His mother says while excusing herself. ¨C But I have a little something to do in my room, so mind yourselves.


    Yeah, of course she had.


    Now alone with Sasha, Magatsu''s heartbeats quickened a bit.


    ¨C So, you wanted to congratulate me?


    ¨C Actually ¨C She corrects him. ¨C , I knew you would pass. So did your mother. Why do you think we weren''t there?


    ¨C You were probably busy with something, and my mom usually doesn''t care much about how my training sections go. ¨C He shrugs with a smirk, both hands instinctively going for his pockets with his thumbs hanging from its edges, just how he likes.


    ¨C And how long did it take for you to get there? ¨C Sasha asks with a smirk smug. Magatsu fakes a cough.


    ¨C Nine minutes.


    ¨C Didn''t hear you. ¨C Shejokinglysays while pressing her ear with an open palm, suggesting for him to speak louder.


    ¨C Nine minutes. ¨C He looks to the closed brown wooden door.


    ¨C You said eight, so no date for you.


    He doesn''t look at her just yet, clearly thinking about something as he furrows his eyebrows.


    ¨C What? ¨C Sasha asks. He takes one deep breath.


    ¨C I was thinking about what that diploma really means, you know. I mean, sure, now I''m officially allowed to take part in any small and medium scale tournament, but that''s not what I''m looking for.


    ¨C Then what is it? ¨C She is legitimately curious about the answer he might give. Magatsu''s smile is faint, but still there.


    ¨C I''m going to fight my father someday, and I need to grow as strong as I can to do that.


    ¨C Why so? And is he powerful?


    ¨C I don''t know myself ¨C Magatsu shrugs with a raised open palm. ¨C , but my mom always told me about how strong he is with all the things she saw and heard him do.


    ¨C Anything that comes to you right now? ¨C With that question, Magatsu''s eyes glimmer for a second as his expression becomes an awed one.


    ¨C She told me that he won the Brotherhood League all by himself three times in a row.


    ¨C Damn! ¨C Sasha is impressed as she thinks about how close to impossible winning that tournament alone would be. ¨C Who is your father?


    ¨C Good question I totally don''t have the answer to. ¨C Magatsu sarcastically says with a smirk.


    He wasn''t being fully honest here. He did know who his father was, kind of, just not personally.


    He also didn''t really know how he looked beside his mother''s descriptions since she didn''t have pictures of him. Weird, he always thought.


    ¨C Lame. ¨C She remembers something while snapping her fingers. ¨C Oh, remember that one time you and I teamed up against Shinda and still lost? We were, what, 8 or something?


    ¨C Oh, that! ¨C Magatsu internally thanks her for changing the subject. ¨C I remember. You were using a broom as an ax, which gave him a hard time considering how dangerous anything can be in your hands...


    Their talk keeps going like that for the following hour as both of them enjoy themselves with each other''s presence.


    Magatsu enjoyed being around Sasha, regardless of the reasonor the fact that he was just 15.


    Sasha enjoyed being around Magatsu, regardless of the reasonor the fact that she was two years older than him.


    Neither of them was fully sure of what that feeling meant, but they always shrugged it off as what someone feels when they are around their friends.


    They weren''t totally wrong.

 Sudden Request

    After Sasha went home, Magatsu decided to spend the rest of the afternoon thinking about what he would do from there onwards.


    He had his dojo''s official diploma, so there was no reason for him to keep going there, so the best course of action would be to search for a new place to train in.


    The question was: where?


    ¨C Dear ¨C His mother calls him from outside his bedroom. ¨C , dinner''s ready. Come already before it gets cold.


    She doesn''t wait for an answer and goes back to the dining room to eat.


    Magatsu checked his computer for the time. It was 8:00 PM. He sure lost track of time with his thoughts.


    Now sitting with Agatha, Magatsu asks her about his little issue. She takes a bite from her meal, which was spaghetti with steak bits.


    ¨C Listen, dear, I think you should invest more in your Affinity. Your body is already in good enough shape, right?


    ¨C But that''s just it, mom. ¨C He says. ¨C I don''t know anyone in town that''s both a tutor and a wind adept, or at the very least knows the more advanced stuff of the wind Affinity.


    ¨C Ever heard of research? ¨C She points her fork at him. He snorts lightly from that, for no particular reason.


    ¨C Sure, that. Guess I should start tomorrow, then.


    ¨C But obviously, you''ll go to Dedalus and talk to him about this, right? ¨C She questions him with a puzzled face. He nods.


    ¨C Of course. But all of that is for another day. Now, I''m hungry and tired, so excuse me.


    After that, they eat the rest of their meals in silence.


    Once done, Magatsu cleans the wooden table covered with a large orange cloth and goes to his bedroom. After taking his shirt off (he didn''t like sleeping with it), Agatha enters his room without knocking, starling him.


    ¨C Come on, mom. Knock before entering.


    ¨C I''m your mother, dear, and you shouldn''t have secrets to hide from me, of all people. ¨C She says while walking towards him.


    She was proud of having a son with such a build. He wasn''t jacked, but his muscles were in incredible shape for someone his age and size.


    Once close enough, she hugs him tightly with a deep, joyful smile.


    ¨C I just wanted a hug. Is that too much?


    ¨C No, it''s not, but knock next time, alright? ¨C He answers while letting her go. She kisses his forehead.


    ¨C Goodnight, son.


    ¨C Goodnight, mom.


    She exits his room, leaving him alone inside it.


    Something interesting about his room was that, despite having a bed, he actually slept on a red net he gained from his mother. To him, it was everything a bed wasn''t: comfortable, malleable, and portable. He took it everywhere every time he had the opportunity.


    Now on it, he closes his eyes and slowly reaches the dream realm.


    The dream he had, however, wasn''t quite pleasing.


    It involved a tall, muscular man revolved in shadows standing menacingly in the background of an already not so good dream.


    Throughout the whole experience, turning his head and seeing the figure there made Magatsu feel uneasy, especially when he woke up and remembered those moments, specifically, but not the rest of the dream.


    Now up, he stretches himself, goes through his normal morning routine and goes to school.


    In the meantime, Sasha was practicing with her wooden sword in her house''s backyard.


    She was excellent with any kind of weapon and had a preference over axes over anything else, but her parents always told her she had to be a swordfighter.


    She didn''t dislike it, but she would rather use something else. Something more aggressive, more radical, less traditional.


    An ax would be perfect.


    Dwelling on those thoughts for longer than intended, she shakes her head and keeps swinging the round practice sword around with impressive precision and speed.


    After all, having an Affinity with earth gave her this advantage when it came to weapons, or tools in general.


    She does various vertical and horizontal swings followed by straight stabs and finished with a spinning strike. Despite not being an Adept, merely having the Affinity already gave her an edge.


    After thirty minutes, she stops to drink some water and rest. Being all alone was more than just physically tiring.


    While sitting down on the grass while bathing herself with the early morning''s sunlight, she thought about how lonely it was to have an entire house all for herself and not be able to share it with anyone else.


    Her parents were extremely wealthy and even well-known among several groups of people, but she always rejected them as persons and examples of what she should do with her life.If you find this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the infringement.


    She, at the young age of 10, made a deal with them, saying that if she managed to beat her school''s local tournament, they should promise her she would gain a house and live on her own.


    Sure enough, winning it wasn''t difficult, and her prize was freedom from their grasp at age 14. By then, she was old enough to do pretty much everything she had to keep the house clean and not starve to death.


    Unfortunately for her, one of her cousins would occasionally drop by to make sure everything was in order. They didn''t fully trust her just yet.


    But he would mainly appear to check her sword fighting training. Her parents told her that she had to practice no matter what she did, or else they would take the house back from her until she made 18, which by now would happen in only a few months.


    After that, she would be free to do whatever she wanted with her life without her parents tormenting her every second.


    Thinking about that put a smile on her face as she thinks she had enough rest and goes back to training with her sword.


    While his friend finally graduated, and thus no longer needs to go there, there Shinda is, still under the tutelage of his father.


    It''s not like he ever needed anyone else''s training. His father was, after all, considered one of Mashifu''s most skilled fighters.


    But knowing that his only equal and friend would go somewhere else to practice techniques he is likely to never get the chance to even see kind of annoys him, making him lose focus during his studies with his mother.


    ¨C Focus, son. ¨C She knocks her wooden pointer stick on the blackboard, gaining her son''s attention once again. ¨C I don''t think I have to remind you of...


    ¨C No, you don''t. ¨C Shinda quickly finishes for her as he yawns deeply. Being homeschooled by his mother wasn''t something he enjoyed, but it was far better than having to stand other people''s annoyances, especially the teachers'', while barely learning anything for hours.


    After the agreement he made with his mother, she was more than glad to teach him what he needed, even though she didn''t know much of what she was teaching herself. In the end, the internet had to save them more times than one, but neither she or he minded.


    Barely ten minutes passed as Shinda drifts back to inside his head. He wondered what his friend would be doing in school.


    Magatsu had quite the surprise during snack break.


    The girl he had helped the day before was there eating a sandwich all by herself. Seeing no reason to ignore her, Magatsu decided to give her some company. Being alone was, after all, a big toll for anyone, especially young people like her.


    ¨C Hello. ¨C He greets her with a wide smile. She looks from her sandwich to him. ¨C Mind if I sit here?


    Her face sparkled with awe as she nods while giving space for him to sit.


    ¨C Thank you for yesterday. ¨C After about a minute of silence, she timidly tells him with a faint but warm smile. Magatsu''s grin grows wider as he feels good about himself.


    ¨C It wasn''t much. I''m the one who should be thanking you for convincing that guard of letting me go. You saved me a lot of time and I owe you one.


    She looks to him and smiles.


    Magatsu notices something weird after a bit too long and asks her.


    ¨C Why are you in high school at this age?


    ¨C I... might have skipped a few of the earlier degrees. ¨C She kind of loses interest in her sandwich, it hanging loosely in between her hands.


    ¨C Impressive. What about friends? Isn''t it a bit lonely here all on your own?


    ¨C I''m... ¨C Her voice is faint, the words not coming out. He notices it and supports her.


    ¨C Come on, you can tell me. I promise I won''t make fun of you.


    After a few seconds, the girl nods while speaking again.


    ¨C I''m not good at making friends because of my behavior issues.


    ¨C Come on, a sweetheart like you? I doubt.


    ¨C You have no idea...


    Without realizing, they spend the next few minutes of break chatting about some trivial stuff before the bell rings. Before Magatsu leaves though, he remembers that he has no idea of what her name is.


    ¨C Awkward, but what is your name again?


    She giggles, making Magatsu feel warm inside. Seeing her, or anyone for that matter, smile and laugh like this always made him feel happy with himself. Now, it was no different.


    ¨C My name is Juno Aliodi. ¨C She politely and gently bows. ¨C And what is yours?


    ¨C Magatsu Astarosa, pleased to meet you. ¨C He offers her a handshake, one she takes with pleasure.


    ¨C Well, gotta go back to my class. See you again later.


    After that goodbye, both of them go to their respective classes. The rest of the school day ends rather slowly for Magatsu''s taste, but it ends nonetheless.


    Once outside, he sees Juno waiting while standing against a lamp post while fidgeting back and forth with her hands behind her, a smile across her face. She seemed excited.


    He doesn''t notice it a first, but she, despite looking at his direction, isn''t looking at him specifically. That raises his suspicions of her being blind once again, but he still has no idea of how she reacted to him earlier, making him keep his suspicions under check.


    Once he approaches her enough, she finally starts looking directly at him with an innocent and happy smile.


    ¨C You actually came!


    ¨C Of course. So, mind if I accompany you home? ¨C He asks her, but she shakes her head.


    ¨C You don''t have to. You probably know who my father is, right? ¨C She asks him.


    ¨C Disarm Aliodi, right? ¨C She nods with a hum. ¨C What about it?


    ¨C He always sends someone to pick me up a few minutes after school ends. I actually... Uh...


    Magatsu raises an eyebrow with her sudden shyness. She swallows nothing before finally speaking.


    ¨C I''d like you to come with me to my house if that''s not a problem.


    Magatsu doesn''t quite get what she means with that, simply nodding reassuringly.


    ¨C Not one bit, but it would be nice if you told me why, exactly.


    ¨C Can we talk about it once the car comes? ¨C She asks him politely. He contents himself with a shrug.


    ¨C No biggie. I can wait.


    Five minutes later, a black car appears from a left curve, soon stopping in front of them. She opens the door and enters the backseat, gesturing for Magatsu to do the same.


    He sees no reason to not enter, despite something ringing on the back of his mind (a gut feeling involving his mother teaching him to never take rides from strangers), as he does so.


    Three minutes later, he looks at her with a smirk.


    ¨C Now, we''re in the car. Why did you want me to come with you?


    ¨C Honestly, it''s not me that wanted to see you. ¨C She admits with a defeated face. ¨C It''s my father. After I told him about what you did, he demanded to know who was the boy brave enough to get out of his way to come and save me from those meanies.


    ¨C Why didn''t you come to talk to me about it earlier? ¨C He asks her. She looks somewhere else with an embarrassed face.


    ¨C I was going to do that. Eventually... but still.


    Magatsu laughs lightly.


    ¨C This should be interesting. ¨C Magatsu rubs his chin with three of his fingers. ¨C To think that Disarm himself would want to talk to me. Damn.


    Seven more minutes pass before they finally reach Juno''s house.


    The house looked like a big deal from where they were. It was, much like other houses from the city, two-story tall, but it had a grey paint and was visibly larger. It also had a really big front yard, enough to fit another house.


    ¨C Someone''s rich, ay? ¨C Magatsu mocks her. She rubs her arm with a nervous smile.


    ¨C I wouldn''t put it that way.


    Once outside the car, they enter the front yard and walk calmly. The grass smells like the wilderness, giving Magatsu a funny feeling of excitement.


    Now inside the actual house, Magatsu sees that it really isn''t that big of a deal. It looked like other houses, except that it was bigger. From where they were, the living room was occupying a lot of the first floor''s front half of the house, the kitchen further inside it, and the rooms upstairs being out of sight.


    From said stairs, a large man without hair walks down with heavy steps as he has a gentle and welcoming smile under his thick light grey beard.


    He was wearing livid red pajamas with a coat of a darker red over everything. The whole thing was made of cotton, making it feel warm and cozy to wear. So were his slippers.


    ¨C Dad! C''mon, we have a guest! ¨C Juno awkwardly yells at her father while trying her best to avoid eye contact with Magatsu, who can''t decide if he should laugh or not.


    The man known as Disarm laughs loudly after setting foot on the first floor.


    ¨C Welcome, champ. ¨C His voice is comforting to listen to as he speaks. ¨C I was waiting to talk to you. Please, follow me.

 Setting New Heights

    The living room was actually split in two. One of its halves was the dining room, with a rectangular, darkened, and polished wooden table and padded blue chairs, making a nice blend with the house''s blue walls.


    The kitchen was right next to it, divided by a marble counter, likely used as a cutting board. It had orange tiles covering some of the walls, the uncovered parts being yellow. The pieces of furniture that stored the kitchen utensils were red and were hanging on the walls.


    Everything felt warm to look at. It also had a faint smell of cooked meat lingering, probably from a recent lunch.


    After welcoming Magatsu to sit on the dark orange couch, on the other half of the room, and said couch with its side facing the Tv, Disarm sits on the one in front of him, also orange but also larger. A small glass table was between them.


    ¨C I don''t think I need to ¨C Disarm starts. ¨C , but it would be rude not to, so introductions are in order. My name is Disarm Aliodi. Pleased to meet you.


    ¨C Mine''s Magatsu Astarosa. ¨C He offers a handshake with a polite smile.


    Magatsu didn''t know why, but Disarm did a surprised face by raising both his eyebrows in astonishment. It only lasted a second before he leaned forward and gave him a strong, manly handshake. Magatsu shakes his hand with a pained smile.


    ¨C Ouch.


    ¨C Yes, sorry about that.


    As he says that, Juno timidly sits next to him, almost going unnoticed by Magatsu.


    ¨C So ¨C Magatsu starts. ¨C , I heard you wanted to talk to me. What about it?


    ¨C I did indeed. ¨C He smiles deeply with whatever thoughts he might be having about now. ¨C And it might interest you as well.


    With that, Magatsu raises an eyebrow. Disarm chuckles.


    ¨C Yes. So, my daughter kind of liked how you protected her from those randoms yesterday, and... ¨C He is interrupted by Juno, who pushes his side with an embarrassed face.


    Magatsu snorts quickly, struggling to not laugh.


    ¨C Anyway. ¨C Disarm continues. ¨C And she eventually found out about your training with Dedalus. Basing myself off of that, I figured I could offer you something.


    Magatsu''s interest in the conversation was immediately increased, now all of his attention to it. He nods, gesturing for him to keep going.


    ¨C Naturally, I''ll gain something from this as well, but we''ll get to that eventually. What I want is to accept you as one of my students once you graduate from the old man''s academy. What do you say?


    Magatsu wanted to say yes right away, but he somehow managed to control himself and take a deep breath. He had to show some professionalism.


    Mainly to himself.


    ¨C Turns out I already graduated. Heck, I just did that yesterday.


    Disarm blinks once, surprised with the news. He smiles deeply.


    ¨C If that''s the case, we should go and take a look at everything you''ll need to know and have from now on, and...


    ¨C But I didn''t say yes. ¨C Magatsu politely interrupts him. ¨C At least not yet. I have things I need to sort out before starting anything, and one of those things is to talk with Master D. as well as my mother.


    Disarm scratches his beard with a somewhat downed face, but nods regardless.


    ¨C That makes sense. Yes, yes, of course you do. In any case, do what you must and return here tomorrow. If anything, call me.


    He tells Magatsu his house''s phone number. After he notes it down on his cellphone, Magatsu keeps conversating with him for a few more minutes about various trivialities before standing us.


    ¨C Thank you for everything, Mr. Aliodi. You can be sure I''ll consider all of this when I get home.


    ¨C No formalities are needed, Magatsu. ¨C Disarm raises his hand in a friendly manner. ¨C There are no issues with you calling me my first name.


    Magatsu nods and offers another handshake. After that, he walks to the exit, Disarm and Juno right behind him.


    His walk back home would take a lot of time, so he used the opportunity to train his speed and stretched his body.


    His backpack would get in the way, but he looked at it as just another handicap to help him improve even further.


    After leaping once, Magatsu starts sprinting with incredible speeds, faster than anyone he knew. Faster than even his own Master, who was too old to run around as he did.n


    It barely took him sixteen minutes to get back home as he sprinted and dodged several obstacles, such as people, cars and bicycles, dogs and cats, and even some dudes moving pieces of furniture for someone. His backpack was bumping back and forth on his back all the time, but he didn''t care much.


    Once home, he greets his mother as usual. She, however, took note of his late arrival, even if it wasn''t a big time gap.


    ¨C Did something happen? ¨C She asks him from the kitchen while doing the dishes. He loudly answers without stopping walking to his bedroom to grab a towel.


    ¨C I''ll explain to you in a bit!


    After leaving his backpack in his room and taking a bath, Magatsu lays down on his room''s net and waits for his mom to come. Once in, she sits on his bed.The author''s narrative has been misappropriated; report any instances of this story on Amazon.


    He then explains to her everything he went talked about with Disarm, about the invitation and about how he wanted her opinion on the matter.


    She does a thinking face for a solid thirty seconds before opening her eyes with a serious expression.


    ¨C Is this what you want? So long as you grow strong, I don''t really care how you get there, so I''m fine with it. And since you finished Dedalus'' trial, you''re no longer his official student, so I think that it would only be natural if you wanted to learn with someone else. After all, it all culminates to the same goal...


    ¨C Defeating him. ¨C Magatsu finishes for her. She nods, still with her serious expression, but shortly after lets it go and smiles.


    ¨C Well. If that''s what happened, you have my permission to train with whoever you feel comfortable with. I trust you''ll make the right choices and grow really strong. ¨C She stands up and prepares to walk outside the room. ¨C If you need me for something else, I''ll be in my room.


    About a minute after the conversation, Magatsu goes to Master D.''s dojo to talk with him about the news.


    Once there, he sees that there are not as many students as yesterday, but some of those that earned their diplomas came back for some reason. He doesn''t pay that much attention as he walks straight to Dedalus, who''s supervising a quick spar between two girls.


    ¨C Oh, hello Magatsu.


    ¨C Yes! ¨C Magatsu instinctively answers the way he learned how to before faking a cough. ¨C I mean, good afternoon. I came here to talk to you about something.


    At some point during his explanation, Shinda comes from nowhere with a spin-kick aimed at Magatsu''s back head. He reacts to it in time by ducking and immediately aims a straight kick to Shinda''s chest, who blocks the attack with both his hands. They both smile challengingly.


    ¨C You need to work on your greetings. ¨C Magatsu says. ¨C People don''t like to be assaulted with random kicks like this.


    ¨C Yeah, I love you too. ¨C Shinda sarcastically says while pocketing his hands inside his camouflaged black jeans. His white shirt was sleeveless and his shoes were green, but also camouflaged.


    Sometimes, Magatsu wondered if he ever wanted to enter the army, but he would always shrug him off with a laugh and a "that would never happen". He just liked the style.


    ¨C Ahem. ¨C D. clears his throat, gesturing for Magatsu to keep from where he stopped. Shinda was interested in it, so he stood there and listened.


    ¨C I see. Well, I see no issues with you training with someone else. In fact, I''m actually very happy with the news. Knowing that you won''t just slack off all day or just come here and do the same thing again and again like a certain someone.


    Dedalus looks to his son, who looks away while whistling.


    ¨C In any case, go and grow as much as you can, Magatsu. Be strong and make both me and your mother proud of you!


    ¨C Yes!


    After a few minutes of looking around, Magatsu calls Disarm to ask him if he can go there now since it''s not even 3:00 PM yet. He says "of course", so Magatsu doesn''t waste time in going home and sprints straight to there.


    ¨C Already reaching for something else, huh? ¨C Shinda talks to himself as he sees his friend run to Disarm''s house. ¨C Not that I''ll let you catch up to me this easily, though.


    After a couple of minutes, Magatsu reaches Aliodi''s property and stops for a bit to catch his breath.


    After knocking the door a few times, Juno opens for him with a welcoming and even satisfied smile. Magatsu doesn''t see much in it and smiles back.


    ¨C Come in. ¨C She welcomes him in while backstepping to give him space to enter.


    Once there, he notices that Disarm had changed to his normal attire.


    He had an incredibly athletic upper torso with muscles in shape coming from the sides of a red tank-top. Funny enough, his belly was still somewhat visible from where Magatsu was standing, making an odd but interesting contrast with his muscular arms.


    He had dark orange shorts over large (but not necessarily muscular) legs and green slippers.


    All and all, he was a fairly old, strong man that had became a father and shifted his focus from training to family, but still kept some degree of working out.


    ¨C My dojo is in the building next to here, the one you saw before entering. ¨C He says to Magatsu while pointing to his left side. ¨C Let''s say hi to my students.


    They go outside and walk a few meters to a large, one-story light brown building. Inside, almost everything was made of wood with its main color theme being a dark one.


    Disarm''s dojo had, at least, 70 students doing various things such as running in circles, doing stretch sequences, or sparring. Their uniforms were either dark brown or dark red, while Magatsu''s was black.


    ¨C You sure have a lot of students, huh? ¨C Magatsu says with a whistle. Disarm stands proud.


    ¨C Most of them just come to learn the basics, which are taught in roughly a year, but at least 10% come to stay. The two biggest examples are those two over there.


    Disarm points to two persons, a boy and a girl and both around 18, that were instructing the other students with commands, and finger snaps. Their uniforms were of a lighter tone, hers red and his, brown.


    Both had similar sizes and body builds, as well as the same hair color, green (likely tinted. It was growing in popularity to do so). Hers was lighter and was tied in a ponytail for practical reasons while his was darker, short and shaggy.


    ¨C Those are Ramon and Vanessa, my currently two top students. After they graduated, they liked being here so much that we came to an agreement where I would pay them as my assistants. They''ve been doing it for a year now, and I must say, it saved my life.


    ¨C More like killed your size. ¨C Juno taunts him between teeth before quickly looking to somewhere with her hands behind her back, an innocent smile on her face. Disarm straightens his eyes while looking to her, but contents himself with a short and audible hum.


    ¨C Sassy. Just how I like it. Anyway, let me introduce you.


    He screams their names, gaining instead the attention of the entire dojo. Ramon and Vanessa quickly run to him and greet at the same time.


    ¨C Good afternoon, Master Aliodi.


    ¨C I already said you can call me just Disarm. Geez... ¨C He scratches the side of his beard. ¨C But that''s not important. What is important is who is aside me, because he''ll be joining us, starting today.


    They both look at Magatsu with wide-open eyes (likely from the rush they were just in). Magatsu introduces himself.


    ¨C Nice to meet you, Mr. Astarosa. ¨C They both say in unison. Magatsu nods.


    ¨C Just Magatsu is ok.


    ¨C He came from Dedalus'' dojo, so he already knows a thing or two, but you still should show him how things work here. ¨C Disarm says. ¨C Especially you, Ramon.


    ¨C Right away, Master. ¨C He answers before looking to Magatsu with a smirk. ¨C Come, we''ll show you how things work around here.


    Before the tour starts, Magatsu asks them something.


    ¨C Are you two siblings? I mean, I could be wrong.


    ¨C Yes, we are. ¨C Vanessa locks Ramon with her arm while rubbing his head hard. ¨C But this little bastard here is adopted. Doesn''t stop me from doing things like this.


    ¨C Knock it off, you. ¨C Despite sounding annoyed, he can''t stop smiling and chuckling.


    At least they have a strong relationship as siblings.


    ¨C Anyways. ¨C Ramon struggles free from her grip and wipes some nonexistent dust from his brown gi. ¨C Wanna change into a gi? We could borrow you one.


    ¨C First, I want to see what you guys are made of. ¨C Magatsu answers while rubbing his chin with his index. ¨C Care to give me a demo?


    They look to each other with raised eyebrows before nodding.


    ¨C We won''t fight ourselves, nor you, so you''ll have to content yourself with them.


    They both point at the students, who were now back to doing whatever they were doing. Magatsu looks at them with puzzled eyes, analyzing their strengths and skills as best as he could.


    ¨C I don''t think I''ll have to change into a proper fighting attire for this. Bring it on, I''ll fight any of them. ¨C He smiles joyfully while cracking his knuckles. ¨C This will be fun.


    ¨C Calm down, boy. ¨C Vanessa places a hand over his shoulder. ¨C Here, we don''t fight randoms just because they asked us. You have to prove yourself first. Here, I''ll show you what you have to do.


    She takes him to further inside the dojo, where he is greeted by some of the students that were sparring.


    Magatsu wasn''t seeing it, but Disarm was looking at him with heavy thinking eyes. Inside his head, he was wondering if his last name was just a coincidence or if it truly belonged to the man he thought it did.


    He was a bit nervous with this thought, so he decided to shrug it off to a corner for the time being. It wasn''t important right now.


    Astarosa...

 First-Hand Demonstration

    After Magatsu is introduced to the dojo, Ramon gives some explanations.


    ¨C As the newcomer, Magatsu should go through the initialization, right?


    Everyone says yes with enthusiastic expressions. Magatsu feels out of place and asks.


    ¨C What kind of initialization?


    ¨C It''s fairly simple. ¨C Ramon explains. ¨C You have to do a series of physical tests to be analyzed and properly ranked.


    ¨C Since you already graduated from another dojo ¨C Vanessa says. ¨C , we''ll make things extra harder for you. I hope you''re ready to fail miserably.


    ¨C I''m ready to punch someone. ¨C Magatsu fists his left palm with an excited grin. ¨C What should I do first?


    ¨C There will be three tests: strength, speed, and skill. ¨C Ramon says while raising the corresponding number of fingers. ¨C Which do you want to start with?


    ¨C Whatever is fine by me. ¨C Magatsu answers while stretching.


    ¨C So we''ll go in the order I gave you. Strength first. So, see that sandbag over there?


    He points to a rustic and beaten-up punching bag, one of many, that was hanging from the ceiling. Magatsu nods.


    ¨C Usually, we tell people to hit it, but since you''re a special case you''ll do something else. Wait here.


    After saying that, he walks to a wardrobe that was in one of the dojo''s corners and grabs a big, heavy-looking crimson punching bag from inside. He asks for another boy to help him with it.


    After placing it in front of Magatsu with a deaf thud, he thanks the boy and addresses him.


    ¨C Your first test will be hitting this bad boy as hard as you can. Don''t hold back and hit it whichever way you want.


    ¨C That''s it? ¨C Magatsu asks while approaching the sandbag to inspect it with his hand.


    The thing was as large as a door and around the height of a grown-up man, far outclassing all of the other punching bags there, and felt harsh and heavy upon contact. It was still sandy to touch, so inside was obviously sand, but there was probably a lot of it.


    ¨C Whenever you want. ¨C Ramon says while taking a few steps back.


    Magatsu doesn''t take the challenge seriously and throws a somewhat strong punch with his right.


    Have it landed on a normal sandbag, the thing would be sent back a good few meters, but this one barely moved.


    With that punch, Magatsu tried to estimate the weight of the thing, but couldn''t figure it out and guessed it was around 100 Kg.


    ¨C Alright ¨C Vanessa claps her hands once. ¨C , that was a decent shot. Now, onto the next...


    ¨C Wait. ¨C Magatsu quickly cuts her. ¨C Just one shot?


    ¨C Why, yes. ¨C Ramon says with a tone that suggests that that was quite obvious. ¨C Or you''re going to say that you didn''t take it easy and that you want us to let you try again?


    ¨C As if. ¨C Vanessa sides with him. ¨C No, kid. Here we don''t go easy on anyone, especially people that don''t take fighting seriously. You had your chance and you wasted it. Now, onto the next challenge: speed.


    Magatsu''s usual idle smile fades for a second with the anger that built up inside him with how unfair that sounded, but he contents himself with a sigh and asks something to Ramon.


    ¨C Want some help with this? ¨C He gestures at the sandbag. Ramon shakes his head.


    ¨C You don''t have to. Focus on your challenges and let us take care of the rest.


    From the distance, Juno mildly shakes her father''s side.


    ¨C Shouldn''t they give him another chance? I mean, he...


    ¨C Isn''t taking this seriously, that''s what. ¨C Disarm cuts her while crossing his arms. ¨C I can see he is a bit overconfident in his skills. That or he underestimates us. Either way, that''s not something a fighter should ever even consider doing, and Ramon and Vanessa are properly addressing this issue.


    Juno looks at Magatsu with expectancy in her pure white eyes but struggles a bit to focus on him from that distance. Forcing her sight gives her a quick and mild headache, something that Disarm notices with her mild pained expression.


    ¨C Don''t force your sight like this, sweetie. Your glasses will come tomorrow, so don''t push yourself. ¨C He gently shoves his elbow against her arm with a smirk. ¨C Instead, if you want, you can get a closer look.


    ¨C Stop it, dad! ¨C She shakes his arm off and pouts while looking to somewhere else with an embarrassed face. ¨C It''s not like this.


    ¨C Of course, of course. ¨C Hejokinglysays while turning his focus back to Magatsu. Now, they were next to a wall.


    ¨C Ok. ¨C Ramon starts. ¨C For this one, you''ll have to run around the dojo. Give it your...


    Still kind of upset with the previous experience, Magatsu doesn''t let him finish and immediately starts sprinting with his top speed.This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience.


    The dojo was as large as Magatsu''s house, if not slightly bigger, and he easily finished running around it in fifteen seconds, all while dodging several students, columns, sandbags, and various other objects.


    All the students stopped doing what they were doing to see him go like a wild ostrich. Once he finishes, he takes one deep breath and stretches his back by moving his arms around.


    The students couldn''t stop staring. Ramon and Vanessa had shocked expressions. Even Disarm was impressed with his speed.


    Juno blushed for two solid seconds but controlled herself and hoped nobody saw that.


    ¨C Onto the next challenge? ¨C Magatsu asks Vanessa with a smirk. After a second too long, she answers.


    ¨C R-Right. Onto the next challenge. ¨C She then shifts her attention to the rest of the dojo. ¨C And the rest of you, back to training!


    ¨C That was impressive! ¨C Ramon says with raised eyebrows. ¨C I never saw someone your age run so fast before. Are you a wind Adept, by any chance?


    The question makes Disarm increase his attention to Magatsu.


    ¨C To all effects, I am. ¨C Magatsu says before looking to his hands. ¨C But I have zero control over it, so all I have is my Affinity.


    They both look at each other with confused faces.


    ¨C How can you be an Adept without having control over your Affinity? That''s impossible.


    ¨C I think I know what he''s talking about. ¨C Disarm speaks up while approaching them, Juno right behind him.


    ¨C What do you mean? ¨C Ramon asks.


    ¨C Magatsu. ¨C He addresses the boy. ¨C Have you triggered your Affinity at some point, but became unable to tap into it for some reason?


    The boy nods. Disarm continues.


    ¨C And the reason for you not being able to trigger your Affinity anymore is because it first happened in an accident?


    Magatsu nods again, surprised with how precise Disarm is being.


    ¨C How do you know all of that?


    ¨C I know some people that went through the same thing as you. Adepts are born as Adepts, and those who aren''t have to work extremely hard to trigger their Affinities. The problem is when the trigger is stimulated by an accident or traumatic event. Then, the likelihood of the person losing the grasp of how to control it exists and it''s really high, especially with the former.


    ¨C So which one was your case? ¨C Vanessa asks Magatsu. ¨C Accident or traumatic event?


    He thinks for a few seconds about if he should tell them or not. Not seeing reasons not to, at least not to Disarm, he speaks.


    ¨C When I was younger, I saw some kids bullying a dog for being disabled. They were in five or so, and my friend Shinda wasn''t around to help me, so I had to do something all by myself. Back then, I wasn''t anywhere near strong enough to deal with five kids around my age at once, so I lost...


    Before he continues, he notices Juno mumbling something.


    ¨C Wanna say something? ¨C He asks her, catching her off guard.


    ¨C Erm... I wasn''t... I mean... ¨C She loses herself in her confusion, gaining a chuckle from Magatsu and Disarm, the latter encouraging her to speak. ¨C I was finishing your sentence for myself. You would say something like "and then I triggered my Affinity and defeated them", right?


    Magatsu nods with a surprised expression.


    ¨C Nice prediction skills you have.


    ¨C Thanks... ¨C She timidly says while looking somewhere else.


    ¨C Anyway. ¨C Magatsu continues. ¨C After they fell unconscious, my mom figured I could and had to train and discover how to do that again, but it never happened again. Still, the trigger was enough to give me a boost and place me ahead of others my age.


    ¨C Interesting. ¨C Disarm says while turning to go back to the entrance, giving them a good space to train. ¨C Anyway. Keep doing your thing.


    ¨C Alright ¨C Ramon picks his lead. ¨C , let''s continue with your challenges. This time: skill.


    ¨C So now I''ll fight someone. ¨C Magatsu already looks around to see potential fighters but receives a let-down from Ramon.


    ¨C Far from it. No, you''ll do something else. Just give me a moment.


    He goes back to the wardrobe where the huge sandbag, as well as other stuff, is and grabs five wooden blocks. Once back to close to Magatsu, he starts explaining.


    ¨C For this one, I and Vanessa will throw these things at you and you''ll have to deflect them. Fairly simple, right?


    ¨C Ok. ¨C Magatsu says while spreading his legs a little and lowering his torso, also a little, his arms next to his chest. ¨C Bring it on.


    Ramon and Vanessa throw, one right after the other, the wooden cubes high up towards Magatsu.


    He left punches the first, right punches the second, spin high kicks the third with his right leg, uses the momentum of the spin to left hook the fourth, and finally grabs the fifth mid-air before tossing it against the floor.


    Both siblings were impressed with his display of skills. A few students clapped a few times to his performance, gaining an embarrassed look on his face.


    ¨C C''mon guys, no need for that...


    ¨C Now, that was some next level skill performance. ¨C Ramon says. ¨C Damn.


    ¨C I''m impressed myself. ¨C Vanessa says while nodding to herself and silently clapping. ¨C You have the moves.


    Magatsu''s embarrassment stacks, giving him small, mild red cheeks as he looks down. It''s been very long since he was last praised like this, and he truly enjoyed hearing those words.


    In the distance, next to her father, Juno enjoys herself with the sight, but only internally.


    Ramon and Vanessa look to each other, then to Disarm, who nods in approval as if he knew what they were thinking about. They nod in return.


    ¨C Magatsu ¨C Ramon says. ¨C , we think you should try the first challenge again. That performance doesn''t stack up to what you showed us just now, so it wouldn''t be fair to not let you show us what you truly can do.


    Magatsu''s eyes light up a bit as he hops a few times with excitement.


    ¨C Can I help you bring it here? ¨C He asks.


    ¨C Nah. I wanna hold the surprise for when you deliver the blow. Don''t spoil it for me.


    With that, Ramon goes to grab the sandbag again. Once he places it in front of Magatsu, he steps back.


    Magatsu takes a deep breath. Then another. He was extremely focused right now, and that made something interesting happen.


    If the others could see it, they didn''t know, but Juno notices a thin, weak but persistent gray veil cover Magatsu''s entire right arm. When she looks up to her father, he nods with a satisfied smile.


    More than half of the other students stopped doing what they were doing to see what would happen. Their eagerness was almost breathable.


    Then, after inhaling deeply, Magatsu shouts loudly while sending a heavy punch with his right against the red punching bag.


    The impact sends the thing flying over twelve meters away, it falling with a loud but blunt thud as it drags itself for another meter.


    After about three seconds of silence, Disarm loudly and proudly says while walking over to Magatsu, a wide grin on his face.


    ¨C Now that''s what I call a punch!


    ¨C Damn, Magatsu. ¨C Ramon says while offering him a fist bump, one he gives with pleasure. ¨C That was impressive!


    ¨C I''m speechless. ¨C Vanessa admits with a defeated face.


    Now close enough, Disarm gives Magatsu a tight fatherly hug, squeezing him hard and scaring all air from his lungs. After putting him back on the ground, he says.


    ¨C I don''t remember the last time I saw someone your age with this much potential. I mean, this is on a whole other level. You''re almost as potentially strong as Edgar!


    ¨C Edgar? ¨C Magatsu asks while massaging his chest.


    ¨C His top student to date. ¨C Ramon answers. ¨C The guy is a prodigy and is only in his mid-20s. Some even label him as one of the twelve strongest men currently alive.


    ¨C Then how come that I never heard of him? ¨C Magatsu asks. Disarm answers.


    ¨C He is really reserved, so he does a good job of keeping his profile low. That doesn''t stop other people from posting and talking about him though, so he doesn''t go fully unnoticed.


    ¨C But anyway. ¨C Magatsu says. ¨C How well did I do?


    Disarm, Ramon and Vanessa all look to each other before nodding and looking to Magatsu.


    ¨C You''re inside the "above average" category. ¨C Disarm says. ¨C Congratulations, you''re the currently third best student, losing only to Ramon and Vanessa, and you didn''t even start the actual training.

 Strong Bond Between Old Friends

    Unlike what he wanted things to go like, Magatsu went to Dedalus'' dojo after being congratulated a bit more. He would only be able to participate in the training sections tomorrow.


    This time, he didn''t run. Instead, he walked like a normal person.


    After a few minutes, he got there and shared the news with his master, who was instructing some students with their training.


    Surprisingly, Shinda was also taking part in the training. He, naturally, also heard the story, as well as some other, older students.


    ¨C You just finished my old man''s training ¨C Shinda says with a smirk. ¨C and was already accepted by another dojo? Damn, Mag. If you keep going like this I''ll have to actually take my training seriously.


    ¨C If that''s the case I think I''ll try even harder. ¨C Magatsu says while flexing his right arm. Shinda tries to punch him, but he catches it with his left hand.


    ¨C Try harder.


    ¨C Anyway. ¨C D. says. ¨C I''m more impressed that you got scored so high by Aliodi of all people.


    Magatsu does a confused face with the compliment.


    ¨C What do you mean by that?


    ¨C He used to be notorious for always ranking newcomers as rookies or amateurs at best for having incredibly high standards. The only person that was ranked "above average" was Edgar when he was still under his tutelage.


    ¨C Guess all old people soften up with age, huh? ¨C Shinda comments with a shrug. He immediately gains a lightning speed karate chop from his father on the head. ¨C Ouch!


    ¨C Not allold people. Now back to your training. ¨C Dedalus then looks to Magatsu. ¨C And you are welcome to come here whenever you want, but I don''t have anything else to teach you in terms of skill. It''ll be for the best if you find your own way of training. Perhaps Aliodi could teach you something interesting.


    After that, Magatsu bows lightly and walks back home.


    After another handful of minutes, he gets back home. As soon as he steps in his yard, he is suddenly attacked by Sasha, who jumps from the other side of her fence with her training sword in hands.


    Magatsu barely has time to dodge as he wasn''t expecting it, but she doesn''t give him time to breathe as she does an upward diagonal strike, then a spinning one, Magatsu barely has time to backstep it.


    Using the opportunity, she strikes his legs with her wooden sword, causing him to fall, and pins him down with its tip against his chest.


    ¨C What''s up with people greeting me with attempts to hospitalize me? ¨C Magatsu sarcastically asks with a grin.


    ¨C Good afternoon too. ¨C Sasha says as she helps him up with a hand. She then rests her sword in her shoulder while adjusting her hair with her free hand and a head swing ¨C You should work your reflexes out.


    ¨C Yeah, right. What was that for, anyway? ¨C Magatsu crosses his arms. She shrugs.


    ¨C Just seeing if you haven''t been slacking off with your training. ¨C He half-closes his eyes, one more than the other, while tilting his head a little. She snorts with the expression.


    ¨C Sure. Wanna come in?


    ¨C Why not? ¨C She says while accompanying him.


    Once Magatsu tries to open the door, he notices it''s locked. After unlocking it, he greets his mother as usual, but she doesn''t answer. Sasha leaves her sword next to the exit in a corner.


    ¨C Looks like she isn''t home. ¨C He points out. ¨C Wanna eat something?


    After getting her a sandwich he made, they spend the next two hours or so in his room while talking and doing random stuff with Magatsu''s computer.


    They both enjoyed the time they spent together, even if it was something they were already used to.


    Somewhere outside of Mashifu


    ¨C So, how are things doing back in that boring city? ¨C A man asks another from behind a white wooden door.


    ¨C Nothing worth mentioning. ¨C The other man answers. ¨C The most interesting thing that happened these days was my son getting in trouble for being the pest he is. Seems like a teen taught him a lesson for picking on Disarm''s kid.


    ¨C Aliodi? Did that kid have a death wish? You really should learn how to be a parent, Santurn.


    ¨C Like you had the right to say anything in this regard, Astarosa. ¨C The man says with a rather annoyed voice tone. ¨C Last time I checked, you weren''t a very good father yourself.


    ¨C Shut it. ¨C Astarosa barks back. ¨C I guess I''ll pay ''em a surprise visit. Yes, this should be interesting.This novel is published on a different platform. Support the original author by finding the official source.


    ¨C Aliodi won''t enjoy seeing you. ¨C Santurn says, to which Astarosa disdainfully reacts.


    ¨C As if I cared. Anywho. ¨C The door half-opens, but before anyone comes out Astarosa''s voice can be heard again. ¨C I''ll be going. Time to pay my son a visit.


    Back at Mashifu


    After Agatha came back, Sasha excused herself home.


    ¨C Where were you? ¨C Magatsu asks his mother, who was wearing a long, fancy fitting red dress and make-up. Spotlight for the word fancy, considering that they didn''t have the cash to spend on things like that.


    ¨C I met a close friend of mine. ¨C She answers while taking off her purple, round earrings. ¨C Why do you ask?


    ¨C All of that for just a friend? ¨C He looks to her from top to bottom with his arms crossed. She does a confused face.


    ¨C I like to be well-dressed, and you''ll be too once you find someone you find pleasure in calling "a close friend".


    ¨C If you say so. ¨C He shrugs while hiding a thought he didn''t want to think about, not right now at least.


    ¨C If you''re going somewhere, lock the door. ¨C Agatha says while walking to her room to get changed. He hums and goes to his room to work out for the next two hours.


    Once finished, Magatsu was shirtless, with (also black) shorts, bare-footed, and sweating.


    Unlike normal people, he didn''t use equipment to work out, instead, only his body and what he had inside his room to help him.


    After checking the time, 5:12 PM, he went to have a shower. A rather short shower later, he puts his normal clothes back on and goes for a walk before calling it a day.


    When he walks by his mother''s room, he hears her giggling to someone else''s voice, a male one. Magatsu raises an eyebrow to why would she invite someone there instead of meeting that person herself, but decides to stop peeking to avoid getting in trouble.


    Once out, he is startled by a tap on the shoulder. Immediately twirling his head to see the hand''s owner, he sees Sasha smiling kindly at him.


    He found her green eyes incredibly hard to not look at. They fitted her wild hair in a unique way he couldn''t explain.


    ¨C Were you waiting for me? ¨C He asks her, to which she friendly punches his arm.


    ¨C You wish. I was doing a little something when I saw you coming out. Doing anything interesting?


    ¨C I''ll just have a walk before calling it a day. ¨C He answers while walking again, she right behind him.


    ¨C I''m free right now. Mind if I follow you around like a parrot? ¨C She jokingly asks while chuckling to herself. He laughs while answering.


    ¨C If it''s you, not at all. Just make sure to bring your wallet. I''m not paying for your expenses.


    He waits under a tree on the sidewalk as she goes back home and grabs her purple wallet.


    After that, they go to the Park where a bunch of people, mostly students already outside of school, are having their own fair share of fun.


    The park itself is rather simple with a lot of grass surrounding a cobblestone road, some trees and benches scattered everywhere and the food stands making them company. It was a sunny day with some harmless clouds here and there as the sun was setting.


    Once he buys her some ice cream (she convinced him to let her spare her cash, somehow), they take a seat on the grass, under a tree, and enjoy the moment.


    After about a minute, Magatsu tries to chit-chat.


    ¨C Why are you so short again? ¨C The question is so blunt it takes Sasha a second longer to properly react. She then punches him in the arm, but a bit harder than usual.


    ¨C I would be careful when choosing my words if I was you, Mag. ¨C She says as he rubs his arm with a faked pained smile.


    She moves her hair around with her hand and a head swing before answering him.


    ¨C First: I can reach your elbow, so I''m not thatshort. Second: I can''t control my genetics. I was born like this, you idiot. ¨C She pokes his head while saying that part. He can''t help but laugh, making her chuckle as well.


    ¨C Well then ¨C He asks something else. ¨C , what about your hair?


    ¨C That''s easy. ¨C She moves her hand across her hair while answering. ¨C My parents always wanted me to be, on the surface, a pretty little princess for everyone to admire. Since I don''t like them that much, I took a more radical approach and let my hair grow as much as I could. I then tinted it white and added a little charm with the blue tip. ¨C While saying that last part, she holds her hair with her free hand.


    She, luckily, didn''t see Magatsu staring at it with wide-open eyes for a second too long. To him, they were so cool.


    ¨C Speaking of which. ¨C Magatsu points something out after taking a bite from his ice cream. ¨C I never heard you speak much of your family other than some not so cool stuff. What''s the big deal?


    She looks at him, wondering if she should reveal this much, but shrugs the thought away. He was a close friend, and there were no secrets between them. She takes a bite of her own ice cream before answering.


    ¨C They''re... Something, I guess. My family is quite a big deal in what they do, and money isn''t something they''ll be running out of anytime soon, but that''s where the interesting stuff about them dies out. My father is just some other generic tycoon while my mom milks him in every way she can ever since they were married. My siblings followed her footsteps and live with what my father give them. ¨C She points to herself with her thumb while smiling proudly. ¨C But not me, oh no sir! I wanted to be something else, something better. Then, I made a deal with them to let me live on my own after I was 14.


    ¨C Is that why I never saw Mrs. Ashley in your house anymore? ¨C Magatsu interrupts her with a question, to which she nods with a hum and another bite from her ice cream. ¨C You could have told me that earlier instead of just leaving me in the dark. I liked her.


    ¨C You never asked. How should I know? ¨C She sounds offended, but it''s more than obvious it''s faked. ¨C Either way. One of my cousins, from that day on, became my "supervisor". Every so often, he would come to see if I was doing what I was supposed to, mainly my sword practice. Too bad for him, the next visit will be the last.


    ¨C Because you''re making 18 in a month or so? ¨C She nods with a proud, satisfied smile.


    ¨C About time. Never gonna have to hear from them again, unless something happens. But like hell I would ask any of them, especially my father, for anything. I''ll die before that day comes.


    Magatsu didn''t pick it up, but in Sasha''s voice there was resentment and genuine anger, even if only some of it.


    She was good at hiding her emotions.


    After their ice cream ends, they tell themselves some lame jokes until Sasha asks him something he didn''t see coming.


    ¨C Hey, Mag. Mind if I rest on you?


    Caught off guard, it takes him an extra second to answer.


    ¨C Uh... Sure. That would be... nice. ¨C He nearly whispers that last part as she wiggles around, dragging herself closer to him as she rests over his shoulder.


    She could see with the corner of her eye that he was blushing while constantly looking at her. The reaction she was looking for.


    ¨C Tell me something. ¨C She says. ¨C Do you like me?


    He looks to her, no longer blushing, while considering which words to use.


    ¨C I really like you, like a lot. Sometimes I catch myself thinking about you for no apparent reason... ¨C He stops for a moment. ¨C I hope that didn''t sound cheesy or weird.


    She chuckles before looking to the distance, to where she sees a couple, much like them, sitting on a bench and kissing.


    Deep down, she wanted that to be them. Naturally, she wouldn''t say that out loud.


    Little did she know that was exactly the same thought Magatsu had about them.

 Step Beyond the Basic

    After a fun sunset with Sasha, as well as a handful of jokes, both teens go back home to rest.


    Tomorrow would be a fun day for Magatsu.


    After waking up, Magatsu changes into his usual attire and goes to school. Once there, however, he doesn''t find Juno anywhere for some reason and since she didn''t have friends he couldn''t think of anyone he could ask about her.


    Not thinking about it, he goes through with his morning as usual and, once it''s over, goes back home to grab his gi, then straight to Disarm''s dojo, all while sprinting as fast as he could, in part, to practice.


    Once there, he is greeted by Ramon with a welcoming handshake. When he looks around, he realized Disarm isn''t anywhere.


    ¨C Where''s Disarm?


    ¨C Mr. Aliodi usually doesn''t instruct normal, daily activities by himself, not after we came in. He only shows up when something interesting happens or is about to. ¨C He notices Magatsu carrying his gi in his hand. ¨C Didn''t have a bag to hide that?


    ¨C Not one small enough. ¨C He answers while excusing himself in. He goes to the bathroom and gets changed into his gi, already prepared for the day.


    Something that surprised him when he came out was Disarm''s sight on the entrance while wearing the brightest red someone ever wore in a gi before. Juno was next to him in her normal clothes while looking around, and only stopped when she found Magatsu. When she noticed he was looking, she looked to someone else, successfully avoiding an embarrassed face from appearing.


    ¨C M-Mr. Aliodi?! ¨C Ramon says with a surprised face. Vanessa has the same reaction when she notices who just entered the dojo.


    ¨C Just Disarm. ¨C He says while laughing. ¨C And of course it''s me.


    ¨C But why are you wearing your gi?


    ¨C I''m going to be today''s instructor. ¨C He waves his hand to everyone''s awed faces as everyone hypes up. It seems that he didn''t teach them in a long time.


    Juno slowly approaches Magatsu before greeting him.


    ¨C Hi.


    ¨C Hello. Why weren''t you at school today? Something happened?


    The question makes her feel uncomfortable as she changes her weight from one foot to another.


    ¨C Can we not talk about that? ¨C She asks as politely as she can. Magatsu nods with a slight shrug and walks to Disarm with expectancy in his eyes.


    ¨C So, what are we learning today?


    ¨C Simple. ¨C He addresses Ramon. ¨C Ramon, grab some chalk for me, would you?


    Ramon rushes to the wardrobe and takes a broken white chalk.


    ¨C Thanks. ¨C Disarm says while approaching a wall, everyone already around him. ¨C So. Before anything, I''d like to talk about Elemental Affinities. ¨C Most students nod, but some look to each other with confused faces and raise their hands.


    ¨C What''s that? ¨C Disarm looks at them as if they had just grown a second head.


    ¨C You''re telling me you don''t know what an Affinity is? Well then, today''s class is for you.


    He clears his throat and starts explaining.


    ¨C Ok. Everyone in this world is born different, and a lot of things are important factors when it comes to defining their main personality traits. One of those factors is a person''s Affinity. ¨C He draws a poorly done blank stickman on the wall. ¨C Much like the main elements, there are four Affinities a person can be born with and said Affinity is completely random upon birth. It''s impossible to tell which one a person will have until they take their first breath and they are completely free from genetic heritage, meaning parents'' Affinities will have zero impact on their child''s one.


    Everyone nods as Disarm draws (or tries to) artistic representations of the elements around the stickman.


    ¨C Naturally, an Affinity will not 100% define someone''s personality, but it''ll be a core aspect and you can easily tell how someone will behave based just on that. First, we have fire. ¨C He draws a circle around the fire draw. ¨C People with this Affinity are intense, passionate about everything they do, and honest. It''s nigh impossible to find someone with this trait that''s corrupt. However, they are hot-heads and are easily irritated, especially with touchy or specific subjects. Fighting wise, they are naturally stronger than others and usually have no obvious weaknesses.


    Two kids on the class look to their hands with wide grins across their faces as they fist bump each other.


    ¨C Then, we have water. ¨C He draws another circle around the water draw. ¨C These guys are a pain. They are naturally better with learning things, regardless of what, and are usually pure at heart. They''re troublesome, however, because they''re extremely likely to be deceiving when it comes to their real intents and can be easily corrupted or infected with false ideals.


    ¨C Wouldn''t that make them kind of self-contradictory? ¨C A girl asks while raising her hand. Disarm nods.


    ¨C That''s the weird, fun part. Go figure. Either way, fighting wise, they tend to get flashy with their moves, making it a tad hard to predict what they''ll do next.


    After that, he circles the earth draw.


    ¨C These bad boys are my favorite. Those born with earth Affinity are usually as dense as someone can be. They''re hard hitters in every regard, meaning you could throw the worst insult at them and they would, under normal circumstances, keep their cool. The problem with that is that they can be cold-hearted to more touchy or sentimental subjects and are nonchalant about things that don''t interest them.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    By instinct, Ramon, Vanessa, and Juno all look to him, gaining a surprised look from his face before he bursts in laughter at himself.


    ¨C And that explains that. Fighting wise, they are weapon geniuses.


    Magatsu rubs his chin as he thinks about how literally everything can be dangerous when under Sasha''s possession.


    ¨C And finally, wind. ¨C He circles the wind draw. ¨C They are carefree, laidback and open-minded when it comes to most things in life. They are also notorious for rarely attaching to things or staying in one place, always wanting to move around and about. ¨C He looks to Magatsu. ¨C They are the easiest to deal with in most regards, but they are usually unstable and contradictory, making them dangerous to deal with when they''re undergoing severe pressure and/or stress.


    Everyone nods, with some people looking to Magatsu the same way as Disarm did. He looks around before raising his eyebrow.


    ¨C What?


    Ignoring that, Disarm continues. ¨C Fighting wise, they''re fast, much like our friend here.


    Everyone nods as Disarm starts to erase his draws with his hand.


    ¨C That''s just the basics, though. The best part of all of this is when someone becomes an Adept.


    Almost everyone looks at each other with confused faces. Including those who didn''t were Magatsu, Vanessa, and Ramon.


    ¨C I figured you would have this reaction. Well, to put it shortly, an Adept is someone that can trigger their Affinity to tap into its power in a, let''s say, cool way. Like this.


    He raises his left hand as it slowly gets covered by stone, like it was a piece of armor, starting from the tip of his fingers and going all the way to his elbow. Everyone does awe faces at the sight in front of them. Even the already mentioned three are surprised by the demonstration.


    ¨C Since I''m an earth Adept, I can control earth to do things like this. I can also materialize tools and weapons made of any kind of stone. And if I struggle hard enough... ¨C After saying that, he frowns while forcing something, his petrified arm shaking mildly. Then, the stone that surrounded his arm gains a gray color as it starts to do blurry reflections of people and objects around it.


    His arm was now surrounded in steel. Everyone did awe faces again while clapping with excitement.


    ¨C I had my fair share of time to practice and get to this level. Something you should also keep in mind is that this is how I used my Affinity power because I don''t like using weapons, so I made my whole body a dangerous one. ¨C He flexes his muscles with that last statement as the rest of both his arms find themselves surrounded by steel.


    ¨C What about becoming an Adept? ¨C Magatsu raises this question because he thought Disarm had forgotten to address this detail. Mr. Aliodi nods while pointing at him.


    ¨C I was getting there, but thanks anyway. You see. Like some heard me yesterday, Adepts are either born as such or have to train extremely hard to trigger their Affinities. If neither is the case, you still have a slim chance to trigger yours by undergoing an accident or traumatic event. I, obviously, don''t recommend neither of those methods to anyone, especially to any of you.


    Magatsu rubs his chin while thinking to himself if he would be able to trigger his Affinity again, and if, when. His train of thought is interrupted by Disarm as he claps his hands, the sound of metal with metal being made as both his arms go back to normal.


    ¨C And that ends my 101 on what are Affinities. ¨C He then rubs his hands together in excitement. ¨C Now that that boring thing is out of the way, let''s get our real training started. And that includes you two. ¨C He says, with a smirk, while pointing to both Ramon and Vanessa.


    With that, everyone cheerfully follows Disarm''s training instructions for the following two hours. To Magatsu, it was roughly the same in terms of difficulty, but it was definitely different, something else, from Dedalus'' way of teaching.


    Speaking of which.


    Inside Dedalus'' dojo


    ¨C Sup, D. ¨C A tall, muscular man greets Dedalus from near the dojo''s entrance with a smug smirk, both his hands inside his pockets. The Master nods with a satisfied smile.


    ¨C It''s nice to finally see you again, Yinsak.


    Yinsak Astarosa, Magatsu''s father, had long (for a man) and spiky black hair that nearly reached his shoulders, sharp dark blue eyes, and a strong, split chin. His clothes were, to put it simply, a copy-paste of Magatsu''s, except for his shirt: the already mentioned was made of cotton but was tightly close to his chest. His pants were made of synthetic fabric and his shoes were laceless. Unlike Magatsu though, instead of black, his attire had a mix of grey, white, and dark green all over it.


    ¨C What brings you here? ¨C Dedalus asks him as Yinsak looks around to see D.''s students.


    ¨C I''m here to pay a special someone a surprise visit, but I can''t find him anywhere. If that''s the case, I don''t have any business here, so I''ll get going.


    ¨C Leaving already? ¨C D. asks with a disappointed voice tone. Yinsak raises an eyebrow to this. ¨C Why don''t you stay for a bit? You just came.


    ¨C Sorry, pal, but I have some important business to attend to. ¨C He, quite rudely, says before turning his back.


    His name, however, is called by Shinda, who had just changed into his gi and was coming downstairs.


    ¨C Yinsak, if I heard right. Who do you think you are to disrespect my father like this and leave like it wasn''t a big deal? I demand you to...


    Within an instant, Yinsak goes from being with his hand near the doorknob to having his entire body facing Shinda''s front, his eyes wide open.


    ¨C You? Demand? From me? HA! ¨C He leans his torso back with both hands on his stomach as he ironically laughs before wiping a nonexistent tear from his eye. ¨C Ah, you crack me up. Real talk, kid. I do whatever I want with whoever I want, and Big D. over here is an old friend of mine, so he doesn''t mind me doing that.


    He kneels a bit, his hands over his thighs, to be on the same height as Shinda as he pokes his forehead with his index.


    ¨C So I think you should mind your manners while talking to others. Especially when "others" include me.


    Shinda''s lip edge quivers as his fist closes tightly with the raising anger from inside him. He, however (and somehow), manages to calm down enough to take a deep breath and ignore it happened.


    ¨C Come on, Yin. ¨C D. says. ¨C Let my son be, just this once.


    ¨C As if. I want apologies, and I want them coming from his mouth. I''m not leaving until I hear the magic words. ¨C He finishes his sentence while standing straight with both arms crossed. To Shinda''s surprise, he was quite intimidating.


    Regardless, he wasn''t ready to kill his pride like this and refused to do so by disdaining Yinsak. Arms still crossed, he waited patiently for ten seconds as the scene didn''t shift to what he wanted, so he looked to Dedalus.


    ¨C Either he does it by free will or I''ll force him. ¨C Dedalus lets an annoyed sigh go.


    ¨C Do as you must. It''ll be a good reality check for him. Just don''t break anything.


    Shinda only has time to see his father with a skeptical face before Yinsak snatches his left arm from where it was and pins it against his back. Then, he sweeps his leg, forcing the teenager against the ground as Yinsak''s leg weight is pressed against Shinda''s back.


    Shinda yelps in pain as Yinsak forces his arm more and more.


    ¨C Say it or I''ll break it.


    After resisting for another five seconds, Shinda almost cries as he reluctantly apologizes.


    ¨C I''m... Sorry...


    And with that, Yinsak quickly leaves him laying on the floor with an injured arm as he walks to the exit, satisfied. Before actually leaving though, he looks over his shoulder.


    ¨C Be humble and lower your head when speaking with someone stronger than you. I''ll let you have that attitude again when you grow strong enough to force me into accepting your sass. ¨C He shifts his attention to Dedalus. ¨C You really should educate your brat better, geez.


    ¨C But who are you after, anyway? ¨C Dedalus asks him with a skeptical voice tone. Yin smirks with a raised eyebrow.


    ¨C Try to guess. You''re smart, or at least was named after someone smart, so this shouldn''t be hard for you to figure out. ¨C And with that, he finally leaves the building behind him.


    Defeated, humiliated, and at the verge of crying with how his pride was stepped on, Shinda sees the man before him walk away.


    He would pay for that, even if it costed Shinda''s arm. He would make him pay.

 Worst First Date

    Standing there, Yinsak thought about if he should knock the door. Agatha was in, but he didn''t know or care enough. He was more worried about how she would react to suddenly seeing him after over 15 years.


    Luckily, he didn''t have to. A rather short girl, for someone her age at least, approached him from the other side of the fence while holding a training sword.


    ¨C Excuse me, are you looking for someone? ¨C Sasha asks while analyzing the man before her. Yinsak takes the opportunity while hiding as much as possible, not knowing if she knows who he really is.


    ¨C I''m looking for a boy named Magatsu. I heard he lived here and figured I would drop by to... ¨C he thinks about a lie as fast as he can, but still stutters for a second too long. ¨C thank him for something he did for me a good while ago. Is he home?


    She tells him where Magatsu went to, not seeing why that would be a problem. Yinsak nods with a smirk and thanks her before turning back to the street. Before he has the opportunity to actually leave though, she calls him.


    ¨C It would be a tad too rude to not introduce yourself, don''t you think? My name''s Sasha Ashlair, by the way.


    He looks over his shoulder back to her while grinning with his eyebrows together.


    ¨C Yes, it would. I owe you no more than my thanks, so don''t bother me again.


    He wanted her to fall for the taunt.


    She did.


    After leaping over her fence, she now stands in front of him while smirking herself, her training sword over her shoulder.


    ¨C I''m sorry, but I''m not letting that one slide. Besides, why are you looking after Magatsu again? Something about that explanation of yours sounded fishy.


    ¨C Ah, don''t think too hard on it. I''m just someone that wants to thank a friend. ¨C Yinsak playfully says while opening his arms. She had skeptical eyes while tightening the grip around her handle.


    ¨C Still, I''m not letting you go unless you apologize. ¨C She now points the sword against him. ¨C I''m not fond of disrespectful morons like you and by the looks of it, you don''t have much of a choice.


    Right after stating that, Yinsak yanks her wooden sword with a blinding hand swing. She almost trips forward while realizing what just happened, looking to her hand in disbelief.


    ¨C You mean this? ¨C With that, he tightens his grip so hard the sword crashes in two. ¨C Not anymore.


    Laughing and satisfied, he walks between the small fence that decorated Magatsu''s yard. Sasha looks to her now destroyed sword laying on the floor, not even bothering with following someone that could move that fast.


    At least now she had an excuse not to keep training.


    The class was close to ending. Good grief, Magatsu thought as he did his final push-up after doing around 500 as Disarm''s challenge.


    He changed his mind about this being relative to Dedalus''. This was notoriously harder in almost all regards.


    Now sitting down, he hard breathes while looking to Ramon next to him, who was forced to do 700. Vanessa had an easier time and only did 400. Everyone else did between 50 ~ 100.


    ¨C Why he went harder on us? ¨C Magatsu asks Ramon, who raises an open palm.


    ¨C Most of the others are here to just learn martial arts or get fit and will leave after one or two years. We''re here to stay for as long as we need, and you''re a special case for him. Now knowing that you''re a dormant Adept, he''ll do anything to trigger it again as soon as possible. At least that''s what I think.


    Pondering on the answer, Magatsu doesn''t notice the man that just entered the dojo while looking around. He was too busy focusing to do that.


    Disarm, on the other hand, stopped what he was doing right away as he scowled at the sight of Yinsak, with said man grinning at his reaction.


    ¨C Yo, Diz. Long time no see. ¨C Yinsak waves two fingers at Disarm while walking towards him with one of his hands inside his pocket. Aliodi dismisses his students.


    ¨C Why are you here? And don''t "Yo" me. I''m older than you, so show some respect.


    ¨C Yeah, yeah. ¨C He disdainfully waves his hand at Disarm while still looking around. More times than one, he laid his eyes on Magatsu but didn''t recognize him at first. ¨C To cut the story short, I''m after a person and heard he could be here. Name''s Magatsu. Could I have a quick word with him?


    Inside Disarm''s head, something lingered but he didn''t know what it was exactly. It was a funny feeling scratching the corner of his head that he couldn''t fully grasp.


    ¨C When you of all people look after someone, things usually end badly for the other guy. You honestly think I''ll just let you "talk" with one of my students?


    ¨C As if I needed your permission. ¨C His eyes were now locked on Magatsu as he rubbed his lips with his index. ¨C He kind of looks like me, if you look hard enough.


    That sentence immediately made whatever was inside Disarm''s head ring like a bell as he finally pieced everything together. Magatsu Astarosa. Yinsak Astarosa. How didn''t he notice that earlier?


    ¨C Is he your... ¨C But before he could ask, Yinsak places a finger over his lip.


    ¨C Shh. I have a strong feeling that he doesn''t know who I am because he looked at me a few times and didn''t react in any way. Let''s keep it that way, for now at least. It''ll be a good joke.If you come across this story on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    Disarm knew Yinsak wasn''t necessarily a bad guy but also knew how dangerous he could be when fighting. Still, this would be a good opportunity for Magatsu to experience a real fight. And if things got out of hand, he could always jump in the middle.


    Twenty years might be a long time, but the gap between them should still be relatively small.


    Now standing next to him, Yinsak helps him up while smirking. Not knowing what''s really happening, Magatsu takes his extended hand and wipes himself with his hand.


    ¨C Yes?


    ¨C Hello, Magatsu. ¨C Said boy widens his eyes a bit at the fact that a man he never saw before knows who he is. Yinsak continues. ¨C I''m here to ask you something.


    Weirded out by all of this, Magatsu scratches the top of his head as he thinks about who this random is and why is he asking him something like they were acquaintances.


    ¨C I mean, why though? Do I even know you?


    ¨C I think you do but also don''t. Either way, will you?


    After a few seconds of thinking, Magatsu shrugs his shoulders.


    ¨C Whatever. What is it?


    Without warning, Yinsak swings his leg against his son''s head, who manages to dodge it by crouching. He then takes a leap back and readies his stance.


    ¨C What was that for?! ¨C He yells. Yinsak grins smugly.


    ¨C That was a test. Your reflexes are something, but you could have blocked that if your timing was better. ¨C Yinsak now cracks his knuckles while approaching, only to be stopped by Ramon and Vanessa standing in his way.


    ¨C Sorry ¨C Vanessa starts. ¨C , but we''re not letting you hurt one of our friends just like that.


    ¨C Yeah. ¨C Ramon continues. ¨C And you owe us explanations.


    ¨C I owe you nothing. Move aside while I''m still feeling uninterested in you two. ¨C He threatens a sudden step forward, starling the siblings, who take their own fighting stances. Magatsu, however, steps in without warning with a flying kick aimed at the man, going right between the two.


    Yinsak merely tilts his upper torso to the side as Magatsu harmlessly flies by his side, soon falling crouched.


    ¨C You know ¨C Yinsak doesn''t look back to his son. ¨C , I could have easily countered that move of yours because of how slow it was.


    Slow?


    Hearing someone call him slow irritates Magatsu, making any trace of his usual idle smile fade as he furrows his eyebrows together with annoyance.


    ¨C If that was slow ¨C He says while standing up and readying a right punch. ¨C , then how about this?


    Without looking back, Yinsak sidesteps the attack while elbowing Magatsu''s gut. He leans with a hand over the hit area.


    ¨C Yeah, that was also slow. But I''m feeling like giving you another free shot, so try again. ¨C Now facing his son, Yinsak opens his arms while waiting for the next attempt, which comes rather soon.


    Magatsu throws a flurry of punches against him, all either dodged or blocked. He then tries to swipe Yinsak''s legs with a spinning motion, failing as the man leaps to dodge it. Magatsu then tries to fake a left hook and misses on purpose to spin kick him with the back of his right foot. Yinsak blocks it, holding his son on the spot for a few seconds before gripping his ankle and making him fall on his back.


    While gasping for some air, Yinsak takes a step too far and forces his feet against Magatsu''s chest, who was still on the ground, causing Disarm to lose his cool as he storms towards the fighters.


    ¨C That''s enough, Yinsak!


    ...


    Yinsak...


    Yinsak Astarosa...?


    ...


    Magatsu''s mind went blank after hearing the name of the man that he was fighting.


    His entire life he had been training for the day he would defeat his father, yet there he was, getting toyed with like a child.


    Thinking about how utterly weak he was in comparison to his father made Magatsu, for a second, lose all hope and wish that everything just ended there and then, but it was all replaced with an inexplicable and uncontrollable rage as his eyes darted Yinsak so fiercely he got taken aback for a second, loosening his weight just enough for Magatsu to break free of it with a loud roar. Yinsak tripped but stayed on his foot.


    Now standing and taking advantage of his father''s distraction, Magatsu throws a straight punch against him. His father, however, already had his guard on and reacted to it with a jab of his own, sending a considerable shockwave across the entire building as their fists collide.


    Yinsak is surprised yet again with how much power went into this punch Magatsu threw but kept focused and ready for anything he could do.


    Sure enough, his son relentlessly assaults him with punches, kicks, highs and lows, evasive footwork and false swipes, all for thirty solid seconds until he eventually grew tired and couldn''t keep up with his frenzy for longer.


    Yinsak, during all this time, didn''t throw a single punch against him, merely dodging and blocking all of his son''s effortless attacks. Now, standing proud and smugly in front of him, Yinsak crosses his arms as Magatsu tries his best to both catch air and death glare his father.


    ¨C This isn''t going anywhere, not like this ¨C Yinsak says with a smug smirk. ¨C , so I''ll just call this a day. Still, I can''t stop thinking about how mad you got from just figuring out I was me. What was that about?


    Not giving him an answer, Magatsu keeps glaring him while recovering as much energy as fast as possible, all while thinking about all the things he did to his mom in the past.


    ¨C "When I got pregnant, he said he didn''t want to raise a family and abandoned me, alone, unemployed, and with a child to raise."


    ¨C "I still remember how he would yell at me for not being a good woman, for not being the lover he wanted me to be. He would leave me all alone desiring him while he would enjoy himself with others, making my poor heart suffer so much..."


    Not capable of thinking about all the terrible things Yinsak had the nerve to do with his mother, Magatsu shrugs the thoughts away and starts breathing through his teeth, his fists tightened and ready to punch. His father, however, had other plans.


    ¨C I believe I should pay your mother a visit. I got the feeling that...


    ¨C YOU WON''T TOUCH HER!! ¨C Magatsu cuts his father with a yell as he dashes forward, ready to strike.


    Unfortunately, his father had made up his mind and had made what he wanted here. Already with another place to go to, Yinsak sidesteps and chops Magatsu''s back neck, dropping him unconscious. Ramon and Vanessa immediately run to his aid, only to be stopped by Yinsak''s flying leg, almost hitting them.


    ¨C He isn''t dead, geez. Give the boy some time to rest and cool his head. ¨C He twists his neck with a hand over it, a cracking sound following it. ¨C If anything, you should thank me for stopping when I did or he would have just kept coming for me.


    Meanwhile, Disarm watched the whole ordeal with his arms crossed and a furrowed face. He really wanted to jump in but also realized it would be for the better to let Magatsu handle this on his own as part of the training.


    He also figured that if he jumped in something bad would have happened to either him, his student or both. He wondered how much more powerful his former friend had become.


    ¨C Either way, you know I didn''t do more than just give him a love tap, but now I couldn''t care less. ¨C Yinsak addresses Disarm with a forced yawn, showing how bored he was. ¨C So I''ll get going. If you''re lucky, you won''t see my face ever again, or in another twenty years.


    And with that, Magatsu''s father leaves everyone with a mix of feelings and expressions: fear, admiration, anger, as he walks through the front door without even looking back.


    During all of that, Juno was still there, watching and secretly rooting for Magatsu during his training when Yinsak came and started fighting him. She was there when he did his best but failed miserably to hit his father even once. She was there when he lost control and went on a rampage.


    Something she would never admit out loud is that she enjoyed herself while close to Magatsu, but that feeling went way up with Magatsu''s rage, almost turning her on. Strong, fierce, handsome (in her opinion), and violent, at least when the situation called for it.


    Yes, she thought, she would have fun with Magatsu, a lot of fun. She just had to make sure he wouldn''t figure this side of hers out.

 Tense Aftermath

    After being out for around five minutes, Magatsu slowly opens his eyes while looking around alarmed in search of his father. The siblings were next to him while Juno and Disarm were at a fair distance. No one else in the dojo was allowed to keep their training before Magatsu woke up.


    ¨C Where is he? Where''s... ¨C Magatsu asks but fails to pronounce his name.


    To be fair, he always hated his father, even though he didn''t even know how the damn guy looked like. His mom always told him how bad of a person Yinsak was back in the day, and after this first experience he was sure the man was downright evil.


    ¨C That Yinsak guy left after knocking you out. ¨C Ramon fills him in. ¨C It would be dumb to go after him, especially after seeing you fight him and lose like that.


    Immediately after saying that, Vanessa elbows him, forcing an oof from him. Magatsu, meanwhile, remembered the beating his father gave him and how humiliating it was with furrowed eyebrows.


    ¨C So ¨C Disarm, now closer, addresses Magatsu. ¨C , how was that?


    A short silence followed as Magatsu struggled to find the words before standing up, no trace of his smile anywhere to be seen as he gave everyone a disappointed look.


    ¨C Overwhelmingly disappointing. I need more training, much more. ¨C He closes and opens his hands as he looks to them. ¨C And I need it as soon as possible.


    ¨C No ¨C Disarm disagrees. ¨C , what you need is a day off of rest. I smell vengeance in your intentions and I''m not teaching you squat until you calm down. Go home and only come back when you clear your mind.


    Magatsu had a lot of things racing inside his head, but he nods and thanks him for today''s class. As he was about to leave, he noticed Juno there in the background just staring at him. When she realized he was seeing her, she looked somewhere else with an embarrassed face.


    Not minding that, Magatsu left everyone behind as they were already preparing themselves to keep going with the training to go home. Juno went back into staring at the door for a few more minutes. She had a lot of things going inside her mind as well.


    Back at his house, Magatsu sees Sasha and some of his other neighbors in his yard, the door to his house slightly open. His mind immediately screams Yinsak as he now power walks through everyone, only stopping when Sasha tightly held him back by his wrist.


    As he looks at her, she merely shakes her head with a sad face. The message was clear: don''t enter or you won''t like what you''ll see in.


    That only made his worries increase as he begged with his face for her to let him go. She took an extra second to do so as he internally thanked her while nodding with a weak smile.


    Once actually in the house, he notices that lots of objects, mainly fragile ones, were flung against the wall and were in pieces on the floor. Some pieces of furniture weren''t in their best state either. The living room was, to put it short, a complete mess.


    Agatha wasn''t anywhere to be seen as he looks around in search of his mother. He then hears sobbing coming from her bedroom and immediately dashes to it.


    Not wanting to wait, he bursts through the door and...


    ...


    Magatsu hears the police car sirens loudly announcing their arrival outside as he freezes to the sight in front of him.


    A man he never saw before was lifeless on the floor with his neck twisted in 180 degrees. Agatha was holding his still somewhat warm hand against her face with one hand as she cried her soul out, her other hand struggling to grasp her chest.


    She looked up, immediately letting the unknown man go as she rushed to Magatsu''s legs with a desperate hug. He naturally kneeled and hugged her, both of them with their eyes closed. In a whisper, he asks her.


    ¨C Mom, what... what happened? ¨C Between barely controlled sobs, she answers.


    ¨C It was him... Your father, he came in and... And then John stood for me, but your father, he... With just one move, he...


    The words fail to come out as she loses herself in another burst of tears and sobbing. Magatsu doesn''t dare to move an inch as he stays there for her.


    Two police officers soon enter the room but don''t do anything, giving mother and son their time to sort this out the best way they currently can. One of them goes for his radio.


    ¨C Central? We have a case of murder, if not manslaughter, in our hands...


    Magatsu didn''t pay attention to what he said next as he focused all of his into comforting his mother.


    That afternoon was a long and tense one.


    After about an hour, Agatha finally calmed down enough to talk about everything that happened to the police, or almost.


    She refused to describe Yinsak. The words simply wouldn''t leave her mouth, so it was up to Magatsu to do so. He had the image of his father fresh in his mind, but nothing about him was found in their recordings, meaning he wasn''t from that city or maybe even state.


    After the whole procedure went about, Agatha, Magatsu, Sasha, and Dedalus were all outside the police station in the evening while waiting for their ride home.


    ¨C I must say ¨C Dedalus speaks. ¨C , I knew Astarosa had some issues as a teen, but I never took him for a killer. Looks like twenty years changed him for the worst.


    Sasha was looking at Magatsu with sad eyes while he lingered inside his head. She has apologized to him a few times for not being strong nor fast enough to protect his mother from Yinsak, but he dismissed her with a hug as he told her what happened a few minutes prior. During the explanation, Dedalus was already there and was impressed at the fact.


    Still, looking at Agatha''s heavy eyes meeting the ground made Sasha feel like that was her fault, like she could have done something to prevent it from happening. Noticing her friend''s expression, Magatsu snaps from his trance and holds her hand reassuringly with a timid smile, giving her shy light red cheeks as she gave another smile back.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    Despite that, Magatsu still didn''t want to leave his mother''s side and Sasha was ok with that and let his hand go with an encouraging expression.


    The rest of the wait was silent among them, the sounds of some cars and their horns and mild footsteps in the distance filling the rather awkward monotony.


    It took around a week for things to start going back to normal.


    Agatha was still struggling over her boyfriend''s death, naturally, but having her son there to support her made everything much easier. She would enjoy seeing Yinsak choke in his own tongue when the day came.


    Shinda was now training full time, with or without his father''s help, skipping his homeschool classes and sometimes even eating or sleeping. He was getting obsessed with Yinsak, yet, didn''t know said man was his best friend''s father. Dedalus figured it would be for the best not telling him that.


    Sasha was aware that her cousin would show up at any point up until the end of the month, so she was alert and ready for any surprises. Still, she had been thinking a lot about Magatsu lately, more than she would want to openly admit. Some guilt still weighed on her, which made her extra supportive when it came to anything him related.


    Yinsak himself was nowhere to be found despite the police''s efforts. It was almost as if he had just disappeared from the world. Magatsu figured it would be for the best if they didn''t find him.


    He wanted to take care of his old man himself. Now, it was beyond personal.


    But naturally, he himself had to grow stronger. Once he heard from Dedalus that Shinda was training like crazy, he decided to do a little daily training of his own and started wearing weighted pieces of equipment scattered across his limbs and torso, totalling an extra 30 Kg to his weight. It wasn''t easy, but it sure would be worth it.


    That wasn''t what his new friends thought of it.


    ¨C I don''t think doing that will do you any good, Mag. ¨C Ramon says with a puzzled face as he hears Magatsu''s plan to get both stronger and faster. Vanessa agrees with a nod and a hum.


    ¨C If anything ¨C She says. ¨C , it''ll only get in your way.


    ¨C Are you 100% sure of what you''re saying? ¨C Magatsu was skeptical about what they were saying. Truly, he wanted to hear Disarm''s word on the matter, but he was working outside with something, apparently important. After a mild grunt, Vanessa says a bit annoyed.


    ¨C Of course I am... ¨C She stops to think about something for a few seconds with furrowed eyebrows. ¨C Wait, actually I''m not entirely sure. ¨C She looks to her brother, looking for help. He shrugs with a nonchalant hum.


    ¨C I myself never heard of something like this before, but again, I could be wrong. In any case, don''t do anything dumb before consulting Mr. Aliodi, Mag.


    The boy copied his friend''s previous response and asked for them to keep going with the class. That afternoon, everyone had a quick spar with a colleague. No one wanted to go up against Magatsu for obvious reasons, so Ramon volunteered to be his partner.


    With both of them now standing in the middle of the dojo, those who have ended their matches were with expectancy in their expressions as they waited for either Ramon or Magatsu to pull the first move. Those who didn''t were stopping what they were doing to give this its fair share of attention, only to be severely scolded by Vanessa, who threatened to punch their heads if they stopped again.


    Now standing in front of his new friend, Magatsu spreads his legs and pulls his pose as he watches Ramon do the same. His, however, was way different.


    He, like Magatsu, had his legs spread, but his upper torso was leaning forward and his hands were slightly open and in front of him, moving back and forth rhythmically. He kind of looked like a sumo wrestler.


    After a few seconds of tense silence, Magatsu takes the first step by leaping forward with his right arm ready to throw a hook. Stopping right in front of Ramon, he swings it, only to have it deflected by Ramon''s open palms to the side. As Mag keeps going with his momentum, Ramon grabs him near his shoulder and kneels him hard on the gut.


    Taking a step back, Magatsu grins excitedly as he checks the hit with his hand, realizing Ramon is way stronger than what he looks.


    Now extra careful, Magatsu takes small steps forward with his fists ready to counter anything. Anything except Ramon''s sudden scream and jump. Startled, Magatsu takes a second too long to react to Ramon''s weird body slam as both of them crash on the ground, Ramon on top of his opponent. He then quickly stands up and grabs his friend by his gi and spins around with him, hurling him against a pillar with force. Said pillar shakes with the impact.


    ¨C What the hell is wrong with everyone I meet? ¨C Magatsu complains as he, now standing, cracks his back with a pained face. ¨C Don''t anyone knows how to hold back?


    ¨C You really want me to hold back after seeing what you''re capable of? ¨C Ramon retorts while placing his hands on his hip. ¨C Think again, wise guy. Now come, we''re only starting.


    Now leaning forward again, Ramon waits for the next move. Magatsu decides to run straight forward, leaping midway through. Still mid-air, he does a somersault kick aimed to Ramon''s head, one said boy blocks with his crossed arms, not without struggle.


    Magatsu takes the advantage and uses his friend as a platform to jump back a little, dashing forward as soon as his feet touch the ground. Still recovering from the previous impact, Ramon doesn''t have time to block, so he tries to dodge the incoming tackle. Turns out Magatsu was faking it to see what he would do.


    As Ramon tries to go to his left, Magatsu abruptly stops and spin kicks his legs in a sweep with the back of his foot, causing his partner to fall with his hands in front of his face. Already up and ready, Ramon keeps waiting for Magatsu''s next move with an excited expression, both his eyes and teeth wide open. Magatsu is taken aback by his sudden expression change and starts laughing loudly.


    ¨C You won''t come? ¨C He asks smugly but doesn''t gain a response. ¨C Well then, block this!


    Magatsu proceeds to run in circles at high speeds around Ramon, slowly approaching him with each lap. Now within punching distance, he tries to hit his friend from behind but is surprised when Ramon quickly turns around, grabs his incoming fist, and hurls him hard against the floor. He then holds his arm, slowly twisting it, gaining Magatsu''s yelp as he twists himself to try to ease the pain.


    A few more seconds pass before Magatsu glares his friend with a determined look. He then tries to use his free hand to do something, only to be stopped by Vanessa''s foot over his hand. Confused, he looks at her.


    ¨C Quit it before he breaks your arm like the maniac he can be at times. ¨C She says while looking at her brother with half-closed eyes. He nervously laughs but doesn''t lose the grip on his friend''s arm.


    After resisting for a few seconds, Magatsu hits the floor three times. After being helped up by both siblings, Ramon pats him in the back with a reassuring smile while Vanessa claps her hands while shooing anyone too close.


    ¨C I don''t remember the last time I had that much fun. You''re the real deal, Mag.


    ¨C Still, I lost. ¨C He says while pouting a bit. ¨C Next time, I won''t use the weights.


    ¨C As if it would make any difference. ¨C Ramon jokingly punches his friend in the arm, gaining one in return before they do a manly handshake.


    Truly, a friend Magatsu was proud of having. Speaking of friends, he wondered how Shinda was doing.


    Meanwhile, somewhere far from there


    ¨C I''m pretty sure you won''t be showing up in the city again for a very long time now that the cops have your face on their records. ¨C Bruno, Yinsak''s supposed friend, sarcastically tells the man, gaining a bark as a response.


    ¨C You really think I had the intention to kill that guy, don''t you?


    ¨C Knowing you, probably not, but that won''t matter much to them. What will is that you did, so you better watch yourself out when wandering around.


    Now looking through the window of his apartment, Yinsak pockets his hands with a wild, excited grin.


    ¨C Oh ho ho! ¨C Bruno forces a laugh as he rubs his chin. ¨C Who''s in your mind now?


    Looking at him with the same expression, Yinsak smugly says. ¨C Why do you believe I owe you explanations about everything me related? Shush before I kick you out through the window.


    Curving his lower lip and raising his hands in defeat with his eyes closed, Bruno stays silent for the rest of his saying.


    Yinsak, meanwhile, was wondering if his other children had as much potential as Magatsu, as well as about the discussion he had with his former lover.


    Thinking about it, he never understood why she always treated their relationship as anything serious and stable back in the day when he very clearly didn''t have intentions of raising a family, ever.


    ¨C Why do I always pick crazy women? ¨C He asks himself but gains a response anyway.


    ¨C Maybe because you''re crazy yourself?


    Now looking at Bruno, Yinsak takes his hands out of his pockets and slowly approaches him. Bruno, not wanting to deal with his friend''s shenanigans, ran through the white door without looking back.


    Sighing with relief, Yinsak returns to linger inside his thoughts while looking through the window.

 Surprise Visit

    Another week has passed since Magatsu''s spar with Ramon. They challenged each other at least twice, Ramon being the victor of all matches. Magatsu even considered calling Shinda to join the fun, but Dedalus said he''d rather train on his own. Knowing how stubborn his friend could be, Magatsu gave up on the first try.


    Said boy was struggling to effectively use his Affinity in combat as he tried, again and again, to come up with a way to reduce the stamina consumption, failing miserably so far. He had to spend, in total, five days recovering from overworking, gaining scolding looks from his parents. He ultimately didn''t care about that as only one thing was in his mind.


    As for Sasha, she was still waiting for the day, or time, that one of her cousins would show up to check on her. Inside her house, she was preparing a really big sandwich for her to eat for lunch as she watched the news on the Tv. Nothing interesting, as usual.


    She was humming her favorite song while adding the condiments when someone knocked on her door.


    ¨C I''m coming! ¨C She shouts while cleaning her hands on her apron. Once there, she sees someone she didn''t expect to anytime soon, if ever.


    ¨C Sasha! ¨C A tall woman with black hair held in a ponytail, brown eyes, and dark skin greets the girl with a strong, breathtaking hug while smiling deeply. Sasha pushes her back.


    ¨C Knock it off! Someone could see us.


    ¨C Like I care. If I have to, I''ll tell everyone around this neighborhood how much I love my favorite cousin. ¨C Now letting her go, the woman joyfully rubs the top of Sasha''s hair with a grin.


    She had a white shirt with a blue jean jacket over it, ripped jean shorts, navy blue sneakers, a yellow bracelet, and a wedding ring. She was taller than Magatsu, meaning Sasha herself didn''t even reach her shoulder.


    ¨C Yeah yeah, I know. ¨C Sasha takes the woman''s hand off of her head while welcoming her in. ¨C Come in already. I''m starving and ready to dig in a sandwich I''m making.


    ¨C This early? ¨C While walking inside, the woman looks at her cellphone to see the time. ¨C It''s not even 1:00 PM yet.


    ¨C I like to have my meals early, Selena.


    Now back to what she was doing, Selena sits against the counter on the living room on a seat while watching the humongous 30 Cm sandwich her cousin was preparing. Her mouth got watery as her eyes widened.


    ¨C Not only do you eat early but also this much. While here I am trying my best to maintain a healthy diet to keep this body, you can eat about anything and maintain yours. So not fair.


    Sasha chuckles while finishing her sandwich, cutting it in two and cutting yet another small piece from one of the halves, offering it to Selena.


    ¨C Want some?


    ¨C Nah. I''ll have my meal when my lunchtime comes.


    While eating for the following twenty minutes or so, Sasha and her cousin filled themselves up with what was going on with their lives. They had to since they were pretty much the only ones from the family that liked one another. To them, everyone else was so snob and cocky it was annoying to even stay near.


    ¨C Damn, things got out of hand quickly here. ¨C Selena says after hearing about Yinsak and his past actions. Neither of them knew he was Magatsu''s father, though. ¨C And I thought my life was intense.


    ¨C It is, definitely more than mine. ¨C Sasha says before taking the final bite of her lunch. After that, she sucks her lips with pleasure. ¨C All I do is go to school, come back and train or... ¨C She stops mid-sentence while thinking about the fun times she has with Magatsu. Selena notices the sudden change and furrows her eyebrows.


    ¨C Hiding something, from me of all people?


    ¨C No, not really. ¨C She lies. ¨C When I''m not training I just spend my free time with some friends, and...


    ¨C "Some", or "a"? ¨C Her cousin cuts her while smiling smugly, almost as if she knew the entire story just from looking at Sasha''s body language and expressions. Said girl gets a bit desperate and tries to get away with another lie, but Selena is smarter than this.


    ¨C Aha! I knew it! Not even you can escape the joys of love. So, who''s the lucky bastard?


    With an embarrassed face, Sasha looks to the window to her yard, only to be surprised with the sight. Magatsu was coming from school and getting his stuff to go to the dojo. Selena notices her cousin''s expression change and looks to the same direction, grinning widely at the girl.


    ¨C Guess I found my answer.


    ¨C C''mon, Selena. ¨C Sasha tries to clean her name out of this one. ¨C You honestly think I would date anyone just like that? I mean...


    ¨C Wait ¨C She is cut once again. ¨C , isn''t him that boy Magatsu I used to see you playing with when you were kids? Damn, he grew a lot! I almost didn''t recognize him.


    Selena kept messing with Sasha about that for another two minutes, Sasha constantly laughing nervously at some more spicy comments. By the time they end, Magatsu sprints with his gi under his arm to the dojo.


    ¨C A fighter, just how your dad would like. ¨C Selena says while sighing. ¨C The love of my life is an engineer, so some from our family keep picking on me because of it. ¨C She messes with her ring for a bit. ¨C But quite honestly, his job pays our bills and I couldn''t ask for someone more romantic than him. And between you and me, if that means annoying my old man I''m taking that any time of the day.


    Both girls chuckle at the comment. Sasha couldn''t agree more.


    ¨C But you know I didn''t choose him because he is a fighter.


    ¨C Of course. Like someone like you would ever do that. I know there''s a catch. The best relationships always do. So, what is it?


    ¨C I think I''ll keep that one for myself. ¨C Sasha proudly says while smirking a smug. Selena contents herself with a chuckle.The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.


    ¨C It''s been how long since I last saw you? Two years? Three? You grew a lot in so little time it''s ridiculous, and you grew to be so like me it''s scary...


    ¨C Anyway. ¨C Sasha breaks the silence that followed while stretching. ¨C I''m pretty sure you want to do something other than stay here and chit-chat. Wanna race around the city block? If you win, I''ll pay you your lunch.


    ¨C Hm?! Mind your tongue, girl, because I have a good memory and I always charge my debts. ¨C Now standing, Selena stretches herself like her cousin.


    As soon as they leave the front door, Selena starts sprinting, soon followed by an annoyed Sasha. They both leap over the front fence Selena with far more struggle than Sasha, and run around the city block in around three minutes, dodging people, objects, and whatnot. Once back to the front yard, they both stop to catch their breath as Sasha smiles proudly.


    ¨C Looks... like... you need to practice more. ¨C She says between heavy breaths. ¨C You barely reached your 30s and I''m already faster than you?


    ¨C Shut... up! ¨C Now standing straight, Selena closes her eyes with both hands on her hip. ¨C Not even with a heads up I manage to beat you.


    ¨C Someone here had to practice every day, you know. ¨C Sasha says with a grin. After a good laugh between them, they both enter the house.


    ¨C So ¨C Selena starts after sitting down on the couch, a glass of water in her hand. ¨C , about your training. How is it?


    ¨C Going alright, pretty much. ¨C Sasha sits next to her on the same couch but drinks an isotonic drink instead. ¨C Nothing worth mentioning.


    ¨C Good, because I think you know why I''m here. ¨C Sasha nods with a more serious face, only to be surprised by Selena''s response. ¨C That''s not the case. I won''t test you, not me at least. It''ll be Jeffrey this time.


    Selena had some sadness in her voice and face while saying those words, worrying Sasha a bit.


    ¨C So you just came to visit? You could have brought your husband, I wouldn''t have minded.


    Her cousin shakes her head slowly. ¨C That''s not it. I was supposed to be the one to come and test you, but our parents decided we were too close and that this detail could affect my judgment, if not something more serious. So while I was coming, they called me and told me they would instead send Jeffrey to inspect you.


    ¨C At least he is kinda cool too. ¨C Sasha says. ¨C If they were to send, say, someone like that pervert Jeremiah, I would nail his head across the street the second he tried something funny.


    Selena holds in a chuckle before saying. ¨C Either way, he should arrive by the end of the afternoon. Get rid of him and you''ll finally be free to do whatever you want.


    ¨C So... ¨C Sasha looks to her cousin with expectancy. ¨C What are you doing for the rest of the afternoon?


    For the rest of the afternoon, Sasha and Selena had as much fun as they could by gossiping a bunch of facts, sometimes lies, about things they heard, going to the movies, and messing with Magatsu when he came from his daily training. Selena kept making fun of the fact that he was using weights around his body to train but he just laughed along. After all, he didn''t even remember her and was already enjoying himself as if they were childhood friends.


    Selena even said hi to Agatha, who was much better in comparison to two weeks ago. Almost no traces of the incident remained in her voice or posture, almost as if the thing didn''t even happen.


    That''s when Magatsu had an idea. He decided to take them to one of his favorite places around town. Sasha knew where he was going to so she encouraged her cousin to come. It was on the very top of an abandoned energy tower. High up there, he made a makeshift floor with wooden planks and anyone that wanted to go there had to climb it. Since it was dangerous, he agreed to carry Selena on his back, saying he already did it with Sasha before, but she said he didn''t have to.


    Sasha was on Magatsu''s side, so two on one didn''t give her an option.


    ¨C But I''m taller than you. ¨C She argues. ¨C Won''t that be an issue?


    ¨C Not one bit. ¨C And with that, Magatsu gestures to his back. She sighs and obliges.


    Now midway through the 50 meters climb, Selena starts to feel a bit dizzy while looking down.


    ¨C I''m starting to regret coming here.


    ¨C No time to chicken out now ¨C Magatsu tells her without stopping his climb, Sasha right beside him. ¨C so might as well hold tightly to me and not look down again.


    Not risking another peek, she does as he says and stays like that for the rest of the climb. Once up there, she sighs with relief while holding her chest with anxiety.


    ¨C Fear of heights? ¨C Magatsu asks her, to which she nods. He grins. ¨C You could have told me when you saw the thing from down there. I would have taken you somewhere else.


    She shakes her head and takes a look at the sight before her. Since it''s the end of the afternoon, the sunset is in its peak in the horizon ahead, making one of the most beautiful scenes either Sasha or Selena ever saw before.


    The Sun was getting close to saying it''s goodbye as its reflection blended with the city''s famous Summoner''s Lake further ahead, a really big green colored lake that lots of people used to swim, fish, or just enjoy themselves. The cozy orange and yellow of the Sun could be seen across the entirety of the lake as well as some of the green land that surrounded it.


    ¨C This... is... ¨C Selena tries to find the words, but didn''t think anything she could come up with would make just to how amazing the scene was. Yet, Magatsu finished for her.


    ¨C Breathtaking? ¨C She slowly nods with an awed face.


    ¨C If anything from my ride to here was worth something, this sure is the best.


    ¨C Glad to hear that. ¨C Magatsu says with a smile, one she returns.


    After that, the three of them stay up there watching the sunset go until the sun was completely engulfed by the limits of the horizon, slowly giving space for nighttime to greet the city.


    ¨C Well, it''s sure getting late. ¨C Magatsu says while looking around and down from the platform they were on. ¨C We should go back. Your other cousin, Jeffrey, was it? Could show up anytime now.


    After agreeing with him, Selena takes another deep sigh and holds tightly to Magatsu''s back as they swiftly climb down and back to safety. Once back to ground level, she internally thanks the fact that she won''t have to do that again in a very long time, if ever.


    Their walk back home was considerably long but filled with topics to talk about, mostly trivial, such as favorite dessert or favorite past-time.


    Once there, however, the three of them realize someone waiting in front of Sasha''s house with his hands inside his pants'' pockets. The guy was odd to look at.


    He was taller than Selena, had shaggy discolored hair, dangerously sharp black eyes, pale skin, and a tattoo of what seemed like black flames in his neck that seemed like they were coming from further inside his back. His attire revolved around a long sleeved white silk shirt with an in-built hood, one that he was wearing, ragged large blue jeans, and black shoes. A closer inspection revealed a cigarette in his mouth and the face of a 20ish years old that barely slept the past few days.


    ¨C What am I looking at right now? ¨C Magatsu asks with forced disbelief, almost sarcastically. ¨C Is he your cousin?


    Both girls nod with ashamed faces.


    ¨C One hell of a family you ran away from, eh, Ashlair?


    ¨C Don''t refer to me by my last name, you moron! ¨C Sasha punches his arm with an annoyed face. He laughs. ¨C You know how I don''t like it.


    ¨C You can say that again. ¨C Selena agrees with her friend. Now close enough, Jeffrey acknowledges their presence and raises his head.


    ¨C Oh, welcome back, Sasha, Selena. ¨C He greets them with a small smirk, his cigar in between his mouth, before he looks to Magatsu. ¨C And who would this one be?


    ¨C Magatsu Astarosa. Pleased to meet you. ¨C He extends his arm for a handshake but doesn''t gain one. Instead, Jeffrey takes his cigar with his fingers and blows a cloud of smoke in the boy''s face, who coughs while wiping the air in front of him.


    ¨C Jeff, what was that for?! ¨C Both Selena and Sasha, the latter especially, shout at the same time. He shrugs and puts the cigar back in his mouth.


    ¨C What was what? I''m smoking and he is near me. Speaking of which, scram, kid. ¨C He raises his eyebrows as he says that. The comment makes Magatsu internally flinch as he struggles to keep his cool. Ever since the incident, Magatsu stopped smiling as often as before, and right now, any reasons to do so were nonexistent. Still, he forces one and looks inside Jeffrey''s eyes.


    ¨C In any case, you''re in my friend''s way. Care to get out? ¨C With the statement, Jeffrey lets an annoyed grunt out as he furrows his eyebrows to the boy in front of him.


    ¨C Mind your place, kid. My business here is with Sasha and if I decide I''m in the way, I''ll decide if I''ll move or not.


    Magatsu breathes heavily through his nose at least once while closing his eyes. He didn''t want to break his jaw, not in front of Sasha anyway.

 Unfriendly Relative

    The tension was rising, making everyone around Jeffrey uneasy.


    Magatsu was uncertain of how powerful the guy was, so he decided it would be for the best to leave him alone for now.


    Sasha and Selena were still angry at how he treated their friend but weren''t surprised. That was one of their least favorite cousins for you.


    Everyone but him was sitting on the couch. He had finished smoking before entering but was already readying another cigar.


    ¨C Uh, Jeff ¨C Sasha politely addresses him. ¨C , could you not smoke inside my house? The smell is horrible and...


    He completely ignored her as he lights the thing up, takes a deep cloudy breath in and slowly lets it out, the cigar in between his fingers.


    ¨C You were saying? ¨C He nonchalantly asks her, annoying Magatsu even further. When Sasha saw her friend''s shaking fist she reassured him everything was alright by placing her hand over it. They looked at each other in the eyes and he understood the message right away, sighing with defeat.


    ¨C In any case ¨C Selena speaks up. ¨C , you should get over with what you came here to. I bet you don''t want to stay in such a poor place like this neighbor for long, so might as well get going as soon as possible, right?


    After thinking about what she said for a second or two, Jeffrey blows another cloud of smoke before saying.


    ¨C You''re right about that. In any case, let''s get this over with. Where are your training grounds? ¨C He asks Sasha, who points at her backyard. ¨C So let''s get going.


    And with that, he starts walking towards said location, the hand that didn''t have his cigar half the time inside his pocket. Once he was far enough, Magatsu growled mildly with annoyance.


    ¨C I wanna punch him in the face. The guy is just as bad as... ¨C He interrupts himself for a second. ¨C Yinsak.


    ¨C I know ¨C Sasha says while standing up. ¨C , but you either get used to it or move to somewhere else like I did. In any case, I''ll get changed and grab my stuff. Once this ends, I''ll never have to even think about them again.


    She then goes to her room to get her training clothes. In the meantime, Selena looks at Magatsu with half-closed eyes, a playful smile on her face.


    ¨C So, how are things going between you and Sasha?


    The question catches the boy off guard as he looks at her a bit startled.


    ¨C What do you mean?


    ¨C Oh, you know what I mean. You can''t hide how you look at her, how you act when addressing her. When it comes to stuff like that, your body always betrays you.


    Now at the verge of sweating, Magatsu looks somewhere else with a nervous face.


    ¨C It''s not what you think...


    ¨C Right, and Jeff is actually a nice guy but is misunderstood by others. ¨C She sarcastically says while chuckling to herself. ¨C Let''s make a promise. If you tell me how you feel about her, I won''t share a word of what you say to anyone.


    Magatsu looks at her with doubtful eyes for a bit, his eyebrows furrowed. After three seconds or so, he looks down to between his legs.


    ¨C I... don''t feel comfortable talking about this.


    ¨C No one does, not in their first time. ¨C She reassures him. ¨C Come on, before she comes back. I wanna know.


    Magatsu looks at her with weirded out eyes.


    ¨C Wait, you just want me to say it because you''re curious? Now, that''s a good one. ¨C He then stands up while twisting his neck around, soon walking towards the yard. Defeated, Selena sighs with a sad smile and follows him.


    A few minutes later, Sasha appears with her fighting attire: a boxer-style outfit consisting of a short shirt, showing some of her belly, shorts, small leather gloves, and a hair tied in a straight spiky ponytail. The whole thing had a black with dark blue details for its colors.


    ¨C Weird. ¨C Jeffrey comments while eyeing her cousin from top to bottom. ¨C That isn''t what one would usually wear to sword train...


    ¨C Not like that matters to you. ¨C Sasha quickly cuts him while grabbing two training swords, throwing one to him.A case of content theft: this narrative is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.


    She doesn''t waste time in readying her stance, both her hands holding her sword. He just stays there while loosely holding his sword with his right, his left doing nothing.


    ¨C Won''t even take the damn thing seriously, will you? ¨C Magatsu asks him with an annoyed voice tone. Jeffrey ignores him, again.


    ¨C Don''t hold back. ¨C He says while taking a step forward. Sasha takes one back. He frowns at this. ¨C The hell? I thought this was a spar, so why are you backing off?


    She never had the opportunity to fully know Jeffrey, so every time she saw him he was either dating his girlfriend, smoking or beating people up. All she knew is that her parents told her to stay away from him, but it seems that he changed. If so, only a bit, because for her he is still the same threatening-looking guy from before.


    Naturally, she wouldn''t say that out loud.


    ¨C It''s nothing. Just warming up. ¨C She says while twisting her neck and wiggling herself before finally starting the match.


    He doesn''t let her start and takes another step forward. This one, however, is immediately followed by a short dash. Jeffrey aims a poke to her chest, one she deflects with a side swing. He isn''t affected by it as he swings his sword sideways, aiming for her chest. She manages to block it in time.


    She pushes his sword away and takes a step back, followed by a downward strike to his neck. He sidesteps it with a short leap and goes for a sideways swing, hitting her as she couldn''t get rid of her momentum in time. She yelps but continues to try and hit him.


    Things keep at this pace for about a minute before Jeffrey changes his posture, raising his sword high above his head with his left hand in front of him. Magatsu immediately took him for a videogame sword fighter and internally laughed at the thought. Sasha, on the other hand, took that as a real threat and grew more anxious.


    ¨C Either you end this or I do. ¨C Jeffrey says while taking a short step forward. ¨C And you don''t seem like wanting to pull the trigger, so I might as well do it.


    Now taking things a bit more serious, Jeffrey twirls his body and crouches slightly before dashing forward with extreme speed, catching her off guard. He threatens a straight poke aimed at her chest, one she reacts to in time by readying her sword to parry his, but he abruptly stops right in front of her and dashes to his left, surrounding her and soon reaching her flank. This, she can''t react to, gaining another sideway strike to the gut. Magatsu flinches at the sight.


    Jeffrey isn''t planning on giving her time to breathe as he pokes her again on the back, forcing her to thrust her waist forward. She tries to use the opportunity to strike him with a spinning move, but he sees it coming and leaps to safety.


    She is now hard breathing as he merely takes one deep breath.


    ¨C Gotta give you some credit, you''re doing quite alright against me. Looks like you weren''t slacking off with your swordplay like the others thought. ¨C He walks around with his sword resting on his shoulder, a small smirk across his face. ¨C Still, I feel like you''re not quite there, you know? Like something is missing.


    ¨C How would you know? You never care for anyone that isn''t you. ¨C Sasha says with some annoyance. Jeffrey chuckles once at the comment.


    ¨C So that''s what you think of me, huh? That''s a half-truth. I really don''t care, don''t get me wrong, but I do pay attention. So, is it because you like using those silly axes or something?


    ¨C I don''t think I have to tell you, so why should I? ¨C She retorts. The adrenaline was rushing through her head and she wasn''t thinking straight. She gains another chuckle from her cousin.


    ¨C Didn''t your parents teach you manners? Geez. Lucky for you, I''m not here to tell how you should behave or not, so I''ll pretend you didn''t talk like that just now. ¨C He readies the same stance from before. ¨C And I''m not done here. Prepare your gut.


    She obliges and their spar continues for another three minutes, their swords constantly hitting one another with force. At some point, she hit him once in the leg, but he overreacted on purpose to distract her, piercing through the opening she gave him.


    Jeffrey was enjoying himself with this, his smirk growing more and more as he hit his cousin again and again in various places or against her sword. If there was something he liked doing as a teenager, it was picking fights, and sparring with Sasha like this was giving him such nostalgic feelings he struggled several times with properly holding back so he wouldn''t break something when landing a hit, or the sword itself if they collided.


    Sasha, however, was growing more and more tired of both the fight and Jeffrey''s constant cocky attitude in general. It seemed like the fight wasn''t going to end until sunrise when Selena pointed out the obvious.


    ¨C Jeff, remember you came here to check on her skills, not to show off. If you did your job, end this and go home already.


    His smirk slowly went away as the realization came to him. For as much fun as he was having, he wasn''t here for that. He forces a cough and stands straight, his sword resting in his right hand.


    ¨C There''s that. I mean, things could keep going, I wouldn''t mind, but I don''t think Sasha over here can''t keep up with me. In any case, let''s stop.


    Sasha smiles after hearing that. Now, all she had to do was wait for him to send his report to her father and that would be the end of it. No more of her family coming to check on her to see if she was keeping up with her sword training or whatnot.


    ¨C So? ¨C Selena didn''t see many of her family members often, but Jeffrey was someone she had enough of for a lifetime. She asks him, rather annoyed. He shrugs while throwing the training sword on the ground.


    After a few more minutes, Sasha accompanied Jeffrey to outside with her friends, both of them with pleasure to see him go. Before he actually left though, curiosity took the best over Magatsu as he had to ask.


    ¨C Hey, what''s up with this weird tattoo on your neck?


    He was already with another cigar in his mouth as he looked at Magatsu with furrowed eyebrows before shrugging.


    ¨C Good luck figuring it out yourself, failure.


    ¨C Way to behave like an adult, Jeff. ¨C Magatsu mocks him, gaining a glare that sends a chill down his spine.


    ¨C Show the manners your mother didn''t give you, you brat. You''re lucky I did what I came here to.


    Finally, he starts walking away, not turning back. If it was possible, a vein would have popped from Magatsu''s forehead with how angry he was. After Jeffrey was long gone, he turns to Sasha with an annoyed expression.


    ¨C One hell of a family you have.


    ¨C You haven''t seen half of it. ¨C She and Selena say at the same time, the former a bit embarrassed.

 Father-Son Time Out

    The sun hasn''t even risen when Sasha was preparing herself to go to school, Selena ready to depart as well. They were standing in the front yard, just standing and doing nothing when Selena hugged her cousin with a warm smile.


    ¨C You should call me, you know. ¨C She says. ¨C I missed you in these past three years, so think about buying a phone, alright?


    Sasha nods with a hum, soon breaking the hug. Selena gives her a final kiss to the forehead before walking to get her airplane back home. After another minute or so, Sasha nods to herself and goes to school.


    In the meantime, Marina, Shinda''s mother, was watching her son''s obsessive training section from a safe distance.


    She had her son''s face (or the other way around, since she was his mother) except older, dark skin, curly hair, and light gray hair. Unlike her husband, she didn''t like faking her age with ink.


    She always said her husband should consider adding morning classes, but he always said they weren''t necessary and that his morning was his and no one else''s. Because of it, the dojo was almost empty, if not for Shinda training with nothing but elastic shorts.


    Something Marina, his mother, noticed in her son was how big his hair is if compared to a month ago. He would always keep it extra short, military-style, but it was now quite big and curly, like hers. Still short if compared to regular women, but still.


    ¨C Dear ¨C She says while approaching him. ¨C , why did you come down here to train, again, if we still didn''t go through our daily class? I''m pretty sure we already talked about this.


    He stopped kneeling a punchbag to address her. ¨C I know, I know. I''ll end this real quick and go up so we can...


    ¨C No ¨C She cuts him, annoyed. ¨C , you''ll come up now. Your father and I talked about that Yinsak guy and what he did to you and I understand that you want to do something to stress out, but it has been over two weeks now. Besides, I think you''re just using this as an excuse to skip class.


    ¨C No, mom, I''m not. ¨C He now turns his body to her. ¨C I''m just taking my training more seriously like dad always wanted.


    ¨C Taking your training seriously doesn''t mean skipping your daily classes, eating, and resting like you did a few times now. Now, let''s go up and go through with your class. And I won''t say it again.


    With that, she walks upstairs, leaving her son to think if he should risk an extra minute or just oblige. Choosing the latter, he goes upstairs and bumps into his father leaving the bathroom with his emerald green bathrobe.


    Once in his bedroom, Shinda changes into his normal clothes and calls his mother, soon starting his homeschool. But, of course, his mind wasn''t there.


    As Marina taught him something geography-related from a book she was reading, he was thinking about how his time would be better spent if he trained. He let that appear in his face as his mom scolds him.


    ¨C I know what you are thinking about, Shin. You better pay attention to the class or I''ll smack your head with the ruler.


    Scared to contradict her, he nods and tries to pay attention to what she''s saying but soon drifts to inside his mind again. As she said, Marina hurls her wooden ruler against him, knowing full well he would either catch it or dodge. To her surprise, he didn''t either of those as the thing hit his forehead with a thud, slightly tilting his head back.


    ¨C I''m sorry, son. ¨C She quickly rushes towards him, her thumbs already rubbing the hit area. ¨C Did it hurt?


    He laughs a bit while placing her hands down. She holds his shoulders and shakes him back and forth violently. ¨C Don''t scare your mother like this! I thought you would dodge that.


    ¨C Sorry. I was spacing out a little.


    ¨C A "little". ¨C She repeats, a bit annoyed. She then stands up and goes back to her book.


    The following three hours go by as he does his best to take notes on what was being taught. After it ended, it was lunchtime. Dedalus didn''t bother in waiting for his family, a plate of spaghetti and meatballs already being dug down.


    An hour later, Dedalus opened the dojo to greet his students and prepare the daily training. Shinda, naturally, was among them in his gi.


    After the usual warm-up, Dedalus separated them into two groups where one would train their bodies and the other would practice their techniques. Shinda was on the latter, so he didn''t waste time in picking someone to spar with. His father warned him before he could do anything else.


    ¨C Take it easy on them. Last time, Brian almost knocked his head hard against the floor because of your little stunt.


    ¨C I know, I know. ¨C Shinda mockingly waves his hand, dismissing any need for warnings. He then readies his stance and taunts his partner, who does the same.


    At first glance, there wasn''t anything wrong with their training, but Shinda was struggling to hold back. Again. It didn''t take long for D. to realize something was wrong with the expressions Shinda''s partner was making every time a blow struck.If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.


    ¨C Son, I think you had enough training for a day. Chris, you can go. ¨C He dismisses the boy, who gladly runs to somewhere else. Shinda frowns at his father''s suggestion.


    ¨C What do you mean? I barely started.


    ¨C And you almost sent another one to his house with a broken rib. Honestly, ever since Yinsak did what he did to you you''ve been doing nothing but training and we already discussed how overdoing anything isn''t healthy. ¨C He rubs his brown beard with a frown. ¨C I''m afraid I''ll have to prohibit you from training altogether if things don''t change.


    Surprised ad his father''s comment, Shinda grows desperate and annoyed at how his father is treating him like some lowkey rookie that doesn''t know what he''s doing.


    ¨C If they can''t handle me, maybe I should...


    ¨C Or ¨C He is cut by his father, who seems a bit angry. ¨C you could try your luck with something a bit harder. I think I''ve been taking you lightly for way too long now and I don''t plan to keep with this for longer.


    Shinda flinches with his father''s sudden stance. Not knowing how to react to this, he just stands there with a dumb face.


    ¨C What are you doing, dad?


    ¨C If you eager so much to grow stronger might as well sooner than later. ¨C He drags himself forward, not taking his feet off the ground. ¨C And I''m not willing to let you hurt your friends, my students, for the sake of some cheap training.


    ¨C You think I''m stupid? ¨C Shinda sarcastically asks while taking a step back as his father drags himself even further. ¨C I don''t stand a chance against you.


    ¨C Neither you do against Yinsak and that didn''t stop you from trying your luck against him, did it? Now come.


    ¨C But, but... ¨C Shinda tries to find an excuse to not fight with his father of all people, but not because he knew how powerful his father was, it was because of how relentless he could become when he was heated up.


    At the age of twelve, Shinda invited Sasha and Magatsu to try and fight his father. He was confident the three of them could force him into giving up but he soon regretted his poor decision making when his father failed miserably to hold back despite they still being kids. Sasha didn''t leave bed for the rest of the next day, Magatsu dislocated his arm, and Shinda himself was unconscious for three days.


    Naturally, Dedalus learned how to hold back against opponents like them. What happened only happened because of a miscalculation from his part.


    Shinda, however, neither did know or care. That also somewhat influenced his decision to not take part in the trial to graduate from Dedalus'' dojo.


    But his pride was bigger than his fear and that wouldn''t let him back off now, not in front of so many people who stopped doing what they were doing to see what would happen.


    ¨C You, my son, is scared? ¨C Dedalus asks with a mocking tone before laughing. Some other people laugh as well, making Shinda muffle a growl.


    ¨C I don''t think so. ¨C He answers while taking the stance he shares with Magatsu.


    Right now, a lot of things were racing inside his mind, but he couldn''t afford to worry about them, not now. One second of distraction could cost him a broken arm or another three days in the dreamland.


    Dedalus dragged himself once more, but this time was properly corresponded by his son, who took a step forward of his own. Now centimeters from being withing punching range, father and son look at each other in the eyes before Shinda took the initiative by dashing forward with a left punch ready to be thrown.


    Dedalus catches the flying fist with his own left already flying towards his son''s face, who barely manages to lower his head in time to dodge. When he tries to pull his fist back, he is instead pulled towards Dedalus, who repeats the previous attack, this time landing in his cheek with force.


    Not wanting to take another blow like that, Shinda tries to knee his old man''s thigh, but the attack is parried by his own knee. He tries again, and again, failing both times. He decides to use his free hand to throw another punch, but (somehow) didn''t see his father''s reaction coming. Now with both hands rendered useless, Dedalus headbutts his son, who yelps.


    Dedalus can see that his son struggles to think straight and go all out, so he lets him go.


    ¨C I can see something is wrong with you. Either you talk or I punch my way through it.


    Shinda realizes what his father is talking about and almost smacks himself for being so reckless and stupid. He then leaps a few times while loosening his limbs and neck while trying to focus on the task at hand: fighting his father, who was far from being a pushover like his old man''s other pupils.


    Now taking things seriously, Shinda triggers his Affinity, soon surrounding his entire body with a persistent blue veil of energy. Some of his colleagues do awe faces at the sight.


    Knowing he won''t be able to hold this thing for long, Shinda doesn''t waste time in dashing forward, this time much faster than before. His father wasn''t taking him easily and predicted his next series of attacks, properly parrying and dodging all of them:


    Shinda went for a quick and short flurry of punches, followed by a right hook, a left uppercut, a leap with a kick, while still mid-air a spinning kick with the side of his foot, and finishing with a right jab while still mid-air.


    Now smiling, his father finds himself satisfied at the exchange and decides to end the match by using his open palm instead of his closed fist to suck all air from Shinda''s lungs by hitting him in the gut and pushing him backward with high pressure.


    To Dedalus'' surprise, his son didn''t fall, instead, sliding while standing slightly curved forward with a pained face and both arms on the hit area. Now smirking proudly, Shinda readies his stance and calls for his father with a hand motion, who obliges.


    Their fight kept going for another five minutes where powerful blows were exchanged but in the end, Shinda couldn''t land even a single successful hit on his father, who kept dodging or parrying his son''s attacks.


    Shinda, who was dead tired from having to keep up with his triggered Affinity for so long, drops on the floor from over-exhaustion. Dedalus went to take him to his room while his other students kept training, where he had a long time to rest.


    While still standing there, watching his son recover from the spar, Dedalus thinks about just how much more powerful his son managed to get in just a few weeks, and by himself nonetheless.


    And all thanks to Yinsak''s "help".


    And speaking of which.


    ¨C So ¨C Yinsak asks a tall man wearing an overcoat, a hat, and sunglasses. Where they were was quite cloudy, so the sunglasses were probably there to just hide his face even further. ¨C , did you find what I asked you to look?


    ¨C Not yet. ¨C The man says while moving around the chair he was on. ¨C The Astarosa family doesn''t tend to leave traces of their more shady work and digging in without getting caught is as hard as it sounds.


    Yinsak was staring at the mirror of his apartment and couldn''t agree more. Still, he would find a way to teach them a lesson for what they did to him years ago, even if it took his entire life.


    ¨C By the way, Russ ¨C He addresses said man with a confused look. ¨C , why are you dressed like a clown? If you want to go unnoticed, you should blend in, not stand out.


    ¨C But I do look cool, right? ¨C He asks while messing with the tip of his hat. Yinsak shrugs nonchalantly.


    ¨C Just do your job, weirdo.

 Love Birds

This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.

 Sin of Arrogance

    It''s been a long while since Yinsak felt the uneasiness he was feeling. Knowing that his family was doing their little schemes made him lose some good nights of sleep thinking about how he could interfere. Not because of some noble cause, but because he wanted to hear them beg on their knees after all of the years he had to withstand them.


    His thoughts were interrupted by a knock from his door.


    ¨C Come. ¨C He says while straightening himself in his seat to get comfortable.


    Russ, the man he had a quick conversation with a while ago, comes in while adjusting his overcoat. He addresses Yinsak with a smirk.


    ¨C Good grief you''re as much of a vampire as you are a dick. Ever heard of the outside world?


    ¨C Yeah. I also heard of the afterlife but never had the chance to visit it. ¨C He answers with a twisted smile. ¨C Maybe I could ask you to check the area ahead of me.


    Russ sweatdrops at the comment before taking a seat next to Yinsak.


    ¨C So ¨C Yinsak starts ¨C , what are the news?


    ¨C I thought of a theory, but it''s a bit of a stretch, so I don''t recommend thinking hard about it just yet.


    ¨C Oh no, please, tell me. Last time you left one of those out I lost a decent chance of attacking them head-on. I''m tired of these wild goose chases that usually lead me to dead ends.


    ¨C In that case ¨C Russ says while grabbing a small laptop from inside his coat. ¨C , let me show you this.


    He opens his modified purple and red laptop, taps in his password, and does some clicking before turning the screen to Yinsak. On it, several darkened pictures of people coming out of a black car. Four photos in total, all from the same moment but different angles. The people in it were a tall, old man, a woman with around the same age, and two younger-looking women.


    Yinsak frowned. ¨C It''s them alright. Where are they in these pics and what about your theory?


    ¨C It costed me a special drone I had, but I managed to take those from the outskirts of Mox.


    ¨C Mox?! ¨C Yinsak raises from his chair surprised. ¨C Are you sure?


    ¨C Woah there, Yin. ¨C Russ quickly explains himself. ¨C I know what you''re thinking, but hear me out. This is where my theory comes to play. I think they came to this place on purpose. Up until these particular photos, I never saw them anywhere near Mox, so I''m safe to assume that they figured something out and are trying to lure whoever''s after them to there. I mean, just think about it. It would be too obvious and risky for them to have their secret schemes and meetings in the same city they live in.


    ¨C My old man doesn''t care if he''s a bit careless or not. ¨C Yinsak angrily says. ¨C The damn bastard is too full of himself to think anyone would even consider opposing him, let alone actually pull something off. How did I miss something so obvious like that up until now?


    ¨C Reminds me of someone... ¨C Russ doesn''t have time to finish his sentence as Yinsak death glares him, who flinches for a second. ¨C I... don''t think this is time for me to make jokes, is it?


    ¨C Not at all. These photos are from when?


    ¨C Two days ago.


    ¨C Then I''m going right now and you''re coming with me. ¨C Yinsak walks past Russ, heading towards the door. ¨C Lock the door and bring the key to the amusement park''s entrance in thirty minutes. I''ll meet someone there.


    Not waiting for him to respond, Yinsak closes the door behind him and power walks to said place while calling someone through his phone.


    ¨C Baxter? Of course it''s me, you glutton. I''m going to the amusement park and I expect to see you there waiting for me. ¨C He hangs up while reaching the elevator of the apartment.


    Once where he agreed to go to, Yinsak sees a man waiting for him while leaning against a lamppost. Said man was no older than 20, had the sides of his head shaved, and brown eyes. He was wearing a shirt and pants that were a number larger than him and made of cotton, as well as slippers. One could easily mistake them for pajamas.


    Baxter was eating an ice cream sandwich and drinking some soda when he spotted Astarosa come with a serious expression. He kept eating, not caring much for his tension.


    ¨C Did you just woke up or is this one of your jokes? ¨C Yinsak sarcastically says. ¨C Either way, it''s not funny.


    ¨C As if you cared. ¨C Baxter shrugs while taking a sip from his soda. ¨C Besides, they''re not pajamas. I personally ordered them to be designed this way.


    ¨C You''re right, I don''t care. Anyway, the first thing I wanna discuss is...


    ¨C Where''s Russ? ¨C Baxter cuts Yinsak, who growls mildly. ¨C I thought we would wait for him.


    ¨C I told him to be here at this time. If he doesn''t show up, you can fill him with whatever he misses. In any case, the first thing we''ll do is...


    ¨C Don''t start without me! ¨C From a distance, Russ shouts while running. Yinsak''s impatience is visible but he takes a deep breath and waits. Once the trio is finally ready to start, Yinsak tries to start again.


    ¨C Ok. As I was saying...


    ¨C Why an amusement park? ¨C Cut again, this time by Russ, Yinsak death glares him, making him flinch for around two seconds. ¨C I.. I was just wondering why you chose an amusement park over anything else for us to hold this meeting.If you spot this story on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    ¨C Because it''ll be less suspicious, you animal. If three people, one of those people being me, went to some dark corner to have a conversation, someone would most definitely find it weird and tail us. At least here the worst we need to worry about is with who''s around us.


    With that said, he gestures towards the entrance to the park. ¨C Now let''s get going. And you two better pay attention to me because I won''t repeat myself.


    While walking around the park like normal people, or as normal as three grown-ups, one wearing pajama-like clothes and the other going as an 80s detective could look like, Yinsak explained to the other two what he had in mind.


    ¨C This will be a two-part plan. First, we have to go to Mox and investigate my old man''s hideout from up-close. This will be easy, considering that his security, if any, will be just cannon fodder.


    ¨C Shouldn''t we focus on going undetected? ¨C Russ points out. ¨C I mean, out of us three, you''re clearly the strongest. I can''t put up a fight even if I wanted and Baxter is as lazy as he is a glutton.


    Ignoring the taunt, Baxter takes a bite from a pie slice he bought while at it.


    ¨C As if I would bring you of all people with me. Nah, you would just drag me down like an anchor.


    ¨C So why the hell am I coming?


    ¨C You''ll be our driver.


    After swallowing, Baxter speaks right before taking another bite. ¨C Keep going.


    ¨C The second part is to get as much evidence as possible. So, did you make the special camera I asked you to?


    Russ pulls from somewhere inside his overcoat a small, cute-looking camera. ¨C This bad girl is as hard as steel, waterproof, and unhackable. Also, you can only access its content with a password.


    Yinsak snatches the camera from Russ'' hand and spins it around to check it. The camera is dark red, barely fits in his hand, and only has five buttons.


    ¨C It also has a touch sensor. ¨C Russ finishes explaining how the camera works. ¨C That''s how you''ll put in the password to access the gallery.


    Yinsak finally turns the thing on and takes a few photos, as well as a two seconds video to test it. ¨C So, what''s the password?


    Yinsak enters the password Russ gives to him and checks the recordings. The quality is top-notch and the frame rate is passable. ¨C Perfect. ¨C After pocketing the camera, he continues. ¨C This is a stealth mission, so only I and Baxter are enough on the actual fun part of it. Russ, like I said, you''ll be our driver.


    ¨C Good to know that in advance. I''ll be sure to bring a game or two to keep myself busy. ¨C He cracks his neck. ¨C So, when do we start?


    ¨C Right now. ¨C Yinsak bluntly answers. Baxter raises an eyebrow.


    ¨C You''re kidding.


    ¨C You wish. Go get your stuff, we leave in two hours.


    ¨C But Mox is, like, a four hours car trip from here! ¨C Russ points out.


    ¨C Can''t we do that tomorrow? ¨C Baxter sighs while scratching the cut part of his head. Yinsak then knocks both men''s heads, gaining their yelps.


    ¨C That''s exactly why we''re going right now. If we don''t fool around, we should get there by 10 PM.


    Russ growls with annoyance but he obliges for not having a word on the matter. Baxter doesn''t waste time going back home to grab his stuff.


    ¨C We''ll meet at the city''s south entrance. ¨C Since Russ is the one driving, he gives them their meeting point. ¨C There, you''ll see me in a red pickup truck.


    Each of them heads to different directions. A little over an hour later, they meet in the designated area. Despite being one of the city''s main entrances, the place was rather empty, barely having cars coming back and forth.


    Once the trio quickly greets each other, they enter Russ'' pickup, all sitting on the three-people seat, and they start their travel.


    ¨C Well ¨C Russ starts. ¨C , since this will be a rather long trip, I downloaded a handful of songs. Here.


    He plays a playlist from an old-looking phone that was being used as the vehicle''s radio. The music has a strong vibe to it, sounding like heavy metal. Not ten seconds after it started, Yinsak stopped it.


    ¨C I''d rather go deaf than having to listen to a minute of this garbage people call "music". Don''t you have something decent?


    ¨C You clearly have no taste for music. ¨C Russ says, visibly offended, but Yinsak grabs his own phone and replaces Russ'' phone with his. A few seconds later, jazz starts to play.


    ¨C Now, that''s more like it. ¨C He says with joy in his voice. Russ pauses the music not long after it starts, gaining Yinsak''s glare.


    ¨C My car, my rules. Now, either we listen to...


    Baxter, who was eating a slice of pie, again, takes Yinsak''s phone out and plugs his own while shaking his head.


    ¨C You two are old in both age and music taste. Who listens to jazz like this these days? And heavy metal? Really? Here, let me show you two what music is about.


    Then, a genre that neither men aside him ever heard of before starts playing. It''s beats resemble those of hip-hop but also has a tint of lofi to it.


    ¨C It''s a mix called lofi hip hop. You can thank me later.


    He then leans back on his seat and closes his eyes while taking another bite from his pie. This time, his companions do the same with relaxed expressions.


    ¨C This "lofi" sure is something and also kind of resembles jazz. ¨C Yinsak says.


    ¨C And the hip hop beats give it the hype it would otherwise lack. ¨C Russ finishes for him. ¨C Ain''t good old rock, but it''ll do.


    They spend the rest of the trip without exchanging many words, switching to other music genres along the way.


    After a long trip, they finally reach Mox. Yinsak gives Russ directions to the supposed hideout, a place he is well aware of, and once there, they stop the car a good 100 meters away from an empty area with trees all around it.


    ¨C All I see is green and brown, Yin. ¨C Russ says while leaving the car, soon followed by the other two. ¨C Let''s look somewhere else.


    ¨C But weren''t you the one that took the damn pictures? ¨C Yinsak asks him.


    ¨C Yeah, but I also ran for my life when they found my drone out and I didn''t take the photos here. It was over there. ¨C He points to his left and spins his finger, generalizing the area.


    ¨C In any case, you''ll wait for us in the car. The actual hideout is in the underground and the door is hidden. Give me a second to see if I still remember where it''s supposed to be.


    While looking around for a concealed submarine-like trapdoor, neither of them realized they were being watched by a shady figure from a considerable distance. Said man takes the opportunity to throw two knives against a focused Yinsak. Unfortunately for him, the Astarosa had sharp reflexes.


    To everyone''s surprise, Yinsak grabs both knives with each of his hands while grinning. ¨C I figured you would come out sooner or later. Come on, don''t be shy or I''ll have to go there myself.


    ¨C Who you''re talking to and where did those knives come from?! ¨C Still shocked, Russ asks with more authority than he actually has. Instead of an answer, Yinsak merely looks to a tree to his front.


    From there, a man wearing military-style clothes falls and, while still crouched, smirks smugly.


    ¨C Looks like I''ll have to ask for a higher paycheck. You''re not worth the price they gave for you.


    ¨C A mercenary. ¨C Yinsak growls but doesn''t drop his grin. ¨C My father wouldn''t even think twice about dealing with me personally if he suspected I had something to do with the whole spying schtik. Who hired you? My sisters? Perhaps my mom? In any case, I suggest you drop the tough guy act and leave while I still feel like letting you go.


    ¨C Do you realize who you''re addressing?! ¨C The mercenary shouts with annoyance while unsheathing a machete. ¨C You''ll die so fast you won''t even have time to...


    The man didn''t have time to finish his sentence.


    With a blink, Yinsak appears behind him and elbows the man''s back with force, causing a sickening crack. The man immediately fell unconscious, his machete falling from his hand.


    After a while, Baxter speaks.¨C A bit overkill, don''t you think?


    ¨C Is he alive?¨C Russ asks concerned. Yinsak merely shrugs nonchalantly.


    The man growls weakly, answering Baxter''s question. After that, Yinsak calls for him and they return with their search.

 Secrets Within Secrets

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 Digging up the Past

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 Invitations

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 Rise of the Challenger

    About fifteen years ago, a fragile-looking black-haired boy was running from a group of bullies that were chasing him since he left school a few minutes earlier.


    It had been like this since ever. Always the same bullies, always the same scenario, always the same outcome.


    He had spent a good portion of this childhood running, so running away from his chasers became something he grew used to doing. Still, they were a group and he was just one person.


    Because of it, that time around they decided to have him surrounded. They had run for ten solid minutes before they finally reached the boy they were after.


    Because of the trouble they gave him that particular day, the beating was considerably worse.


    The boy could barely move. It took a stranger''s help for him to go back home.


    Too bad his family wasn''t of no help whatsoever. To them, he basically didn''t exist. Their attention belonged to his younger siblings, who had become the family''s reason for pride. Despite this, the boy never hated them, knowing it wasn''t their fault.


    Regardless, humiliated and fragilized, the boy had almost given up all hope when he found out about a place where he could go to become stronger.


    Once there, he opened Disarm''s dojo''s door and stepped in. The uncertainness in his eyes was visible as he looked to the other kids and teens training under the Master''s tutelage.


    Disarm noticed the boy''s presence and welcomed him with a welcoming smile.


    ¨C Are you Mr. Aliodi? ¨C The boy asked timidly. Disarm nodded.


    ¨C You can just call me Disarm. So, what do you want?


    ¨C I... ¨C He stuttered a little before Disarm decided to pat his head.


    ¨C Breathe in, out, and spill whatever you''re thinking about.


    The boy did what he was told and managed to say what he wanted with some determination. ¨C I want to become stronger, Master Disarm!


    Now a grown-up man, Edgar Maelstorm was anything but the weak and insecure boy he once was. Perhaps still a bit too shy for his own good, but no more than that.


    His hair had become a dark grey due to how intense his training schedule was. His deep blue, almost always half-closed eyes were intense despite looking tired half the time.


    He was wearing a brown leather button jacket over a dark purple undershirt, heavy fabric dark brown pants, a black leather belt, and black boots. He also had a short colorless scarf around his neck.


    Now standing before Yinsak, he crosses his arms. ¨C I''m listening.


    ¨C Good. I''ll just cut to the chase.


    He then walks to the tent''s entrance, grabs something near it from outside, and comes back in. It was Russ'' laptop.


    ¨C What''s that? ¨C Edgar asks.


    ¨C A laptop, if that wasn''t obvious enough. ¨C Yinsak mocks him while opening it. ¨C What''s in it is what will interest you.


    He then shows the screen to Edgar, who, after a minute, widens his eyes with shock.


    ¨C Is this real?!


    ¨C As real as you and me. ¨C Yinsak then closes the laptop. ¨C I''ll go after more people to try and convince them to help, but not before getting an answer from you. I''ll be honest here, out of the bunch I thought about, you''re the strongest and most capable. Without you, things will be twice as hard at the very least.


    ¨C Who have you already contacted?


    ¨C Katrina, and I''m going after Saikyo, Ware, and Giovanni.


    Edgar thinks hard about this with his eyes closed. This takes a while before Yinsak starts to slowly tap his foot against the ground with impatience.


    ¨C I don''t have forever, you know.


    He then opens his eyes again with a rather sad expression.


    ¨C I won''t be able to help you with this one. I have something I need to get done with here, which is why I came here in the first place. Worse, I have no idea when it''ll end.


    Disappointed but not surprised, Yinsak sighs. ¨C I figured something was fishy the second I noticed how easy it was to find you.


    ¨C Besides ¨C Edgar points out. ¨C , you''ll have Saikyo''s help and he is no pushover.


    ¨C Yeah, right. ¨C Yinsak laughs once. ¨C So much for "the world''s strongest". Well, if you''re not helping, I''m outta here.


    Not wasting time, Yinsak leaves both monks and Edgar behind. After a short while, the Chief asks for the other monk to leave the tent, which he does with a bow.


    ¨C So, where did we stop?


    ¨C About your daughter, Tom. ¨C Edgar says. ¨C You were talking about how the mafia got their hands on her.Support the author by searching for the original publication of this novel.


    ¨C Right, my precious Emilia. So, I''ll have some of my men taking you to where their headquarters is but you''ll be on your own from there.


    ¨C It''ll be better this way. Anything else I should know?


    The Chief shakes his head with a worried expression. ¨C I''m counting on you, Mr. Maelstorm. Please, bring her back safe.


    ¨C I''ll do my best, Tom. ¨C Edgar finishes reassuringly.


    Meanwhile, from outside the tent and concealed from anyone that mattered, Yinsak listened to the end part of their meeting with a grin.


    It looks like he will have fun. And a lot of it.


    Inside a comfortable-looking room filled with crimson velvet and firearms, ten heads could be counted. One of them, a tanned girl around nine with messy long honey blonde hair and messy clothes, was timidly sitting in a chair near a corner while the other nine, all men with colored suits, were discussing something.


    ¨C I still want to know why you thought kidnapping her was a good idea. ¨C One of them says.


    ¨C And I want to know why you still question our boss'' orders, you retarded. ¨C Another one complains. ¨C He could have you dead if he wanted, so you better-


    ¨C Shut up. ¨C The only one wearing white says with authority and annoyance. ¨C I don''t want that old man''s money because that''s something he doesn''t have. I want what his people, what he keeps secret from us.


    ¨C Could you at least tell us what that is? ¨C One of them asks, to which the white suit man draws a pistol, pointing it at him. Everyone flinches.


    ¨C I could. Still want to know? ¨C The man he was pointing the gun towards shakes his head in silence. The white suit man pockets his pistol again. ¨C Good. Now, stop making stupid questions before I get you replaced.


    ¨C Still ¨C Another man risks. ¨C , I don''t think he''ll give what you want away just like that. It has been a month already.


    ¨C I know. The problem is the forest that covers our only way through to their village or else it would have already been mine. The abominations that live there are not something our mercenaries can or want to deal with, no matter how much I offer them.


    ¨C So we''ll just stay here and wait like idiots?


    Before he could get an answer, the door to the room is suddenly opened by a mobster with a desperate look to his face.


    ¨C What? ¨C The white suit man asks.


    ¨C W-We''re being attacked! ¨C He shouts, causing eight from all nine men to move around with worried expressions.


    ¨C By who? ¨C One of them asks.


    ¨C And does that matter? ¨C The white suit mobster asks. ¨C Load your guns and take care of them.


    ¨C Him. ¨C The man near the door corrects him. ¨C We''re being attacked by justoneman... It''s... It''s Yinsak Astarosa!


    The worry in the men''s faces is replaced by horror as they don''t think twice about grabbing various kinds of guns from anywhere, mainly sub-machine guns.


    Meanwhile, through the door and inside a casino, Yinsak was relentlessly beating the equivalent of an army of mobsters since everyone that wasn''t one had already run to somewhere else. Half of them were armed, and those who weren''t were using things such as pool sticks and broken bottles. Naturally, those were as good as nothing against someone like Yinsak.


    In the meantime, a nearby jukebox was, rather comically, playing funky jazz as Yinsak dodges his way through gunshots with sidesteps, body twirls, and backflips.


    At some point, he decides to kick a pool table''s edge, flipping it sideways and using it as a makeshift shield. He then kicks it hard, sending it flying against a group of shooters, rendering them useless.


    By now, anyone that was a real threat had been taken care of. That is until the eight men that were having their discussion earlier appears from a corridor, slamming its door open. Three of them don''t waste time in aiming their guns and opening fire, but Yinsak blitzes with a dash to closer to them.


    Without an opportunity to open fire without harming themselves, all of them decide to hit Yinsak with their guns.


    The first three swings their guns as clubs, hitting each other in the process as Yinsak ducks to dodge. Using the opportunity, he quickly hits all of their guts with force. They all fall with pained faces as one of the remaining five tries to kick him. He counters the kick with one of his own, sending the man and two others flying back inside the corridor.


    Now with more space and fewer people to get in the way, the final two open fire at a dangerously close range to Yinsak. Yinsak simply crouches and leaps forward with blinding speed, yanking both men''s necks with his hands. He squeezes them with force, forcing them into dropping their guns to try and break free from his grasp, before knocking both their heads against each other, dropping them unconscious on the floor.


    ¨C Well, that was something. ¨C Yinsak says while stretching.


    ¨C Don''t you dare move from there, you punk!


    The white suit mobster comes from a door at the end of the corridor with the girl with him. He had a gun pointed to her head.


    ¨C You won''t pull the trigger, Lackster. ¨C Yinsak casually says while pocketing his hands. No matter how fast he was, Lackster could always pull the trigger as soon as he noticed him doing any sudden move.


    ¨C Don''t test me, Astarosa! I already had to deal with your family''s shenanigans the last time they were here. I won''t withstand yours as well.


    ¨C Oh, so they did come here. Interesting. ¨C Yinsak points at him with a smirk. ¨C Would you be so kind as to tell me what they came here to do?


    ¨C Don''t push your luck, you pig! She might be valuable, but definitely replaceable, so I would watch my words if I were you.


    The tension stays as it is for a few more seconds before Yinsak sighs. ¨C A hand would come in, well, hand, you know?


    ¨C Who you''re talking to?! ¨C Lackster angrily asks before something appears from behind him from seemingly nowhere.


    Edgar then karate chops his back neck, dropping him unconscious. Lackster both drops his gun and loses his grip on the Chief''s daughter. She immediately uses the opportunity to run and hug Edgar''s legs with a frightened face.


    ¨C I thought I have told you this wasn''t your business. ¨C Edgar says rather annoyed. Yinsak shrugs.


    ¨C I wanted something to keep myself busy. Taking down this town''s mafia proved to be quite challenging, actually. ¨C He twists his shoulder with a hand over it by spinning his arm.


    ¨C That or you''re growing old. Regardless, what do you think will happen to the people from here because of your stunt?


    ¨C Maybe. And who cares? In any case, now that I helped you, you have to help me.


    Edgar sighs loudly. ¨C You''re impossible.


    ¨C Dad! ¨C The girl the "duo" rescued runs to Tom''s arms with watery eyes, an expression the Chief also had. The entire village was clapping with joy at the sight.


    ¨C I don''t know if I''ll ever be able to repay what you two did for me. ¨C The Chief says while still hugging his daughter. ¨C You have our deepest gratitude.


    Yinsak closes his eyes while poking inside his ear with his finger. A satisfied smile was on his face.


    ¨C What did the mafia want with you, anyway? ¨C Edgar asks. Tom looks around rather anxiously.


    ¨C That''s a secret, even among most of my people. I''d like to keep things this way.


    ¨C Now I''m curious. ¨C Yinsak says. ¨C No hints or anything?


    ¨C I''m really sorry.


    ¨C Whatever. I already got what I came here for, anyway. ¨C He then looks at Edgar with a smirk. ¨C Right?


    ¨C I''ll think about that.


    ¨C In any case, give me your number so I can call you when I''m done with the others.


    They share their numbers before Yinsak waves his fingers. As soon as he turns around, he feels someone small hugging his legs. When he looks down, he sees Tom''s daughter smiling at him.


    ¨C Thank you, Mr. Astarosa! When I grow up, I want to be strong like you so I can protect my family!


    Yinsak does a tired face for a few seconds while remembering something before messing with her hair while smiling. She then goes back to near her father.


    Once Yinsak climbs his way back to town, he sees Russ eating a hotdog while leaning against his pickup truck.


    ¨C Let''s get going. ¨C Yinsak addresses him. ¨C Next is Saikyo.

 Heart Strings

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 More Invitations

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 Midnight Assault

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 Closer to the Truth

    ¨C Spill it, old man. ¨C Yinsak harshly demands from his father, who chuckles.


    ¨C What are you talking about?


    ¨C Judging by everything so far, you knew I was coming. Stop wasting my time.


    ¨C I have no idea what you are talking about, son. ¨C The man sarcastically says. Yinsak frowns, visibly annoyed.


    ¨C Dexter Astarosa. ¨C Edgar suddenly says while taking a step forward. ¨C We''re not here to play mind games, we''re here to put a halt to your little schemes. Spare us the trouble of having to torture you for it.


    ¨C Oh, please, boys. ¨C Dexter suddenly opens his arms, the cup of wine in one of his hands. ¨C It wouldn''t be fun if you didn''t try, right? Come at me to your hearts'' content.


    ¨C So, how should we do this? ¨C Edgar asks Yinsak. ¨C You hold him and I do the asking, or...


    ¨C Don''t interfere. ¨C Yinsak simply says while taking a fighting stance. ¨C Whatever happens, I want you to just stay and watch. You hear me?


    Still not understanding what he means, Edgar starts to ask. He interrupts himself when he notices Dexter handling a syringe filled with a black liquid he took from anywhere.


    ¨C What''s that you have? ¨C He demands an answer. Yinsak elbows his side. ¨C What?


    ¨C I said don''t interfere.


    ¨C Well said, son. ¨C Dexter says before injecting whatever was inside the syringe in his arm.


    ¨C What''s that? ¨C Edgar asks, a bit concerned.


    ¨C A stimulant, similar to morphine.


    ¨C And you''ll just let him use it? ¨C Edgar asks as Dexter slowly raises from his chair. The tension around the air grows as he starts to tense his muscles while stretching a bit.


    ¨C I want a challenge, not a beatdown. ¨C Yinsak says while slowly recoiling away from his father, who was now approaching him menacingly.


    ¨C How long has it been since we last fought? When you were ten? Eleven? It''s been so long I can''t even remember how many bones I broke. ¨C He cracks his neck with a side move, the sound echoing through the room. He then does the face of someone who just remembered something. ¨C Oh, and you should watch out for Andrew.


    ¨C Wait. ¨C Yinsak furrows his eyebrows. ¨C Andrew''s here? ¨C Now addressing Edgar, he says. ¨C You should go back and check the others out.


    ¨C Are you sure?


    ¨C Just get outta here.


    Edgar does as Yinsak recommends and goes back. Dexter chuckles.


    ¨C Now it''s just you and me, son.


    ¨C Won''t be calling me "son" after I break your spine in two, old man. ¨C Yinsak menacingly says while forcing one of his feet forward. Dexter just stands there, waiting for Yinsak''s first move.


    In the meantime, the man known as Andrew Astarosa kept himself busy with the rest of the group.


    He was large, had dark skin, a weird blonde mohawk, and was wearing nothing but pants. That exposed his stupidly large muscles to the group of five that had to deal with him.


    Saikyo, as usual, was the first to try something. His struggles were in vain as Andrew knocked him back again and again with arm swings. Ware, who was acting weird again, tried to go for precise strikes but the Astarosa wasn''t giving any obvious or safe openings to be exploited.


    Which left Katrina and Giovanni with their weapons while Baxter went somewhere else for reasons. But again, it''s not like Andrew would just let them hit him without doing nothing.


    Giovanni was trying not to kill him (or his teammates by accident), giving him opportunities to dodge his shots and toss things at him as often as possible. Whenever Katrina approached, he would swing his arm to try and swat her. She would, naturally, dodge those attempts, but dodging wouldn''t give them the win.


    From a distance, Giovanni tries to come up with a plan.


    ¨C Saikyo, distract him. Katrina and Ware, flank him. If he tries to move, I''ll shoot him.


    He looks at his gun with the silence. He was running out of bullets and had to use them more sparingly if he didn''t want to drag the attention of anyone outside the mansion.


    His teammates follow his instructions, Saikyo with noticeable reluctance. He goes for a direct approach, something Andrew tries to intercept with a straight punch. Saikyo blocks it with his crossed arms in front of him but is pushed back anyway.


    Still recovering from the momentum, he doesn''t react to Katrina''s blade in time, which hits his leg, forcing him onto one knee. He screams in pain while trying to hit her from behind but Ware disables his right arm with precise strikes to near his shoulder.


    It wasn''t like he couldn''t use his left though. Ware realizes this a bit too late as he gets struck by a clean left hook to the jaw, falling unconscious to the side.


    Katrina was hitting him with her false blade to not kill him but he eventually grabs it with his left and uses it against her, knocking her out as well.


    Now standing up, he speaks for the first time. ¨C A papercut to the leg and some minor bruises. Pathetic.


    He then starts to approach Saikyo while limping a bit, who didn''t back off, instead, suddenly dashing towards him, moving to behind him and grabbing his neck in a chokehold.


    Andrew punches Saikyo''s face hard a few times, eventually knocking him out as well. By the time such happens, he starts feeling his right arm again, spinning it a few times to test it.


    ¨C Now, the kid. ¨C He says while approaching Giovanni.


    Right at this moment, Edgar jumps from the third floor all the way to ground level with a loud thud. Both men still up are surprised by his sudden arrival. He then looks to his fallen "teammates", then, to Andrew.


    ¨C Andrew, wasn''t it? Impressive, considering even Saikyo fell. Looks like Yinsak''s strength is a family thing. ¨C He then takes a fighting stance while smiling.


    The man, who didn''t take the compliment well, dashes towards him.


    Tired, Yinsak struggles a bit to keep his breathing in check. Even more tired, Dexter struggles to stand on his feet, dizzying like he was drunk.


    ¨C Well, would you look at that? ¨C He says while rubbing his mustache with his fingers, a satisfied smile on his face. ¨C Guess I''m getting a bit too old for these spars.


    ¨C "A bit" is an understatement. ¨C Yinsak mocks him with a grin of his own. ¨C And I''m not done here.


    The room was, surprisingly, barely touched. Almost everything was in its place, except for the carpet and a few furniture. Their clothes were resembling old rags but they were on regardless.


    Yinsak, true to his word, goes for another round of attacks. Punch after kick, a barrage that was barely blocked by an extremely tired Dexter.


    Eventually, Yinsak does manage to land a decisive blow: a spinning kick to Dexter''s jaw, sending him to the left. Cracks form around the wall he lands. On the floor, Dexter eventually wiggles around to sit, blood coming from his mouth.


    ¨C I think you''re really excited to see me like this, right, Son?


    ¨C All I know is that you still didn''t tell me about your plans. ¨C Now approaching him, Yinsak grimaces. ¨C Tell me before I kill you.


    ¨C Go on, good luck. ¨C Dexter mocks him. His muscles that up to this point were tense and ready for combat now loses all energy. Clearly, the stimulant he took earlier wasn''t what one would call longlasting.


    Meanwhile, Edgar watches as Andrew misses blow after blow. He dodges all of them effortlessly, almost as if they were in slow motion. For as powerful as he proved to be to the others, Edgar still was on a whole different level.


    Tired of waiting for anything else to happen, he punches Andrew on the gut hard, causing him to cough saliva and bend forward. Another clean uppercut to the jaw sends him flying. While still mid-air, Edgar jumps with a flip and spin kick his torso, sending him towards the front door, which opens wide with his impact as he flies to outside.


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    ¨C Well, that was something, I guess. ¨C He says to himself before looking to his fallen comrades.


    One by one and with Giovanni''s help, he aligns them against a wall. Saikyo is the first to wake up, suddenly, randomly punching the air in front of him with fury. When he notices who''s there, he stops while grunting, a hand over his head.


    ¨C Where''s that brute? I have things to settle with him.


    ¨C Not gonna happen. ¨C Edgar says while noticing Katrina opening her eyes, also grunting with annoyance. Ware soon joins them.


    Once everyone awakens, Edgar leaves them under Giovanni''s care to go check on Yinsak. With a blur, he sprints back to the third floor where Dexter''s room is.


    Inside, an unconscious Dexter could be seen near a sad Yinsak, who had some blood on his hands.


    ¨C Did he at least tell you? ¨C Edgar asks, not concerned with the scene. Yinsak nods slowly.


    ¨C "Project C-9" is an experiment they ran on children and teens to try and turn them into cyborgs. Part of their plan to try and trigger multiple Affinities within people.


    Edgar widens his eyes, shocked. ¨C Cyborgs? He can''t be serious.


    ¨C I''m pretty sure his nearly lifeless body is enough evidence that he wasn''t lying, Edgar.


    ¨C And where is it?


    ¨C Somewhere inside the basement.


    ¨C But what if he did lie? ¨C Edgar insists. Yinsak ignores the repeated question while walking to the door.


    Once both men reach the ground level, they notice Baxter appeared again. He had a livid red apple in his hand, a bite mark on it.


    ¨C Good timing, you. ¨C Saikyo, who had a lot of bruises and scratches, addresses him, annoyed. Baxter chuckles.


    ¨C I didn''t want to fight with an empty belly so I hunted the kitchen for sweets. I ate an entire package of cookies before finding this apple. It''s so sweet I couldn''t just let it go.


    ¨C We could have died there, you know?! ¨C Katrina shouts, angry. In her hand, a throwing knife ready to be used. Baxter raises an eyebrow.


    ¨C You mean Andrew? Pff. He isn''t really challenging once you figure what you''re supposed to do.


    ¨C Which would be? ¨C Yinsak, surprisingly, is the one to ask. There was something behind his voice that no one noticed.


    ¨C You just have to bait him into attacking before you. He has huge gaps between his attacks that anyone with half of a brain could figure out.


    ¨C Which they didn''t. ¨C Yinsak says, talking about the others from the group. ¨C Because that''s not something you just figure out by some dumb luck. You would have had to know that beforehand, which obviously didn''t happen. Now tell me, how did my old man know exactly when we were coming?


    ¨C Thinking about it ¨C Giovanni starts. ¨C , it can''t be coincidence that he hired extra guards on the same night we prepared to come and assault his house.


    ¨C And Andrew doesn''t live here. ¨C Yinsak complements. ¨C In fact, he never comes unless someone calls him. Which my old man did because he knew we were coming.


    Katrina pieces everything together as realization strikes her, it visible in her face.


    Without waiting for anything else, she hurls one of her knives towards Baxter, who barely has time to dodge, his eyes wide open.


    ¨C Are you crazy?!


    ¨C No. ¨C She bluntly answers while preparing another knife. Ware, who still seems like he didn''t get what''s going on, tilts his head slightly.


    ¨C Why are you attacking Mr. Astarosa?


    ¨C Because "Mr. Astarosa" here is a rat. ¨C She says, not getting her eyes off of her target, who was still eating his apple. ¨C And I''m not letting him get away with it.


    ¨C Yes, you will. ¨C Yinsak says while taking a step forward. Before she can protest, he snatches her blade from her hand and throws it towards a wall, where it stays.


    He then looks to Baxter, who wasn''t eating anymore. In his face, something resembling embarrassment. ¨C I figured you were the traitor a while ago. To be honest, all you did was give me a more interesting night.


    ¨C To you, that is! ¨C Katrina shouts, angry. ¨C You think we''re all fighting machines who enjoy the "thrill of the battle" or something? ¨C She then combs her hair with her fingers, exhausted. ¨C I just want this night to end so I can die in my bed for a day or two.


    ¨C I got to fight Andrew ¨C Saikyo speaks. ¨C , so I think tonight was productive.


    ¨C See! ¨C Katrina says while gesturing at the bald man with a hand.


    Yinsak contents himself with a nonchalant shrug while addressing Baxter again. ¨C They want your head for what you did. I couldn''t care less. There is something you can do to "sort things out", if you will.


    Without really looking in his eyes, Baxter asks. ¨C Which is...?


    ¨C Everyone. ¨C Yinsak now addresses everyone else. ¨C Your assistance is no longer necessary. From now on, those who stay will do so without my consent or acknowledgment and won''t receive anything out of it. If you still want to deal with my old man personally, he''s unconscious in the third floor. And by the looks of it, my sisters won''t come back. That''s all.


    ¨C What about me? ¨C Baxter asks.


    ¨C I was getting there. You''ll help me deal with what''s underground.


    ¨C Why him? ¨C Edgar asks, apparently offended. Yinsak shrugs.


    ¨C Why not? The thing shouldn''t be an issue for me, according to what my old man said.


    ¨C But aren''t you tired? ¨C Ware asks, noticing Yinsak''s subtle body language.


    ¨C As if. ¨C He then cracks his neck with a side move. ¨C Now, are you coming or will you grab another jar of cookies?


    Not waiting for a response, he starts to walk away. Baxter, still a bit embarrassed, follows him. Edgar sighs.


    ¨C Guess that''s that, then. Well, I''m going. Don''t know about you bunch...


    Suddenly, the front door slowly opens. Through it, a boy in his late teens with neon-blue short hair and eyes makes himself present. His clothes resembled those of hospital patients.


    ¨C Looking for someone? ¨C The newcomer asks with a joyful face.


    ¨C Is he an Astarosa? ¨C Katrina asks, her guard up.


    At the mention of the name, the boy''s face, for a second, darkens. That startles everyone.


    ¨C I''m anything but one of those, Mrs. ¨C He recomposes himself quickly, his joyful face still there. ¨C Why, are you looking for them?


    ¨C Not anymore, at least. ¨C Giovanni says, still skeptical about the teen. ¨C And who are you?


    ¨C Hmm... ¨C The boy places a finger under his chin, a thinking face forming. ¨C I think it''s Prometheus Cossack Ninth.


    ¨C Weird name to give someone... ¨C Edgar states. The boy starts laughing.


    ¨C The scientists said the same thing to Dexter when he renamed me.


    ¨C Wait, what? ¨C Edgar asks while furrowing his eyebrows.


    ¨C Also, I''ll have to deal with you bunch. Boss'' orders.


    Right after saying that, the boy blitzes through the room, easily closing the gap between him and Edgar. Then, with a hard and unexpected punch to the gut, the grey-haired man falls on his knees with his arms on his belly. No one noticed what happened until he held a scream in with a loud grunt.


    Not giving him an opening, Prometheus slams his fist onhis back neck, dropping him unconscious. Not once his expression changed, one of joy.


    Then, while looking around, his smile widens. ¨C Who should I go for next?

 Another Level of Power

Taken from Royal Road, this narrative should be reported if found on Amazon.