บท 112: Back Home
The North was rather vast, and my house was located at the other end. The journey alone took us over a month, since we had to run. My parents didn't come to pick us up, and Turry wasn't available to me. Nevertheless, after that month of travelling, we finally got back home.
The house I grew up in changed a bit. It was bigger, and there was another house standing next to it. Turry's shed got larger too, and my father's gardens had plenty of herbs growing in them. "I'm back!", I shouted from afar, even speeding up a bit. Once Frosty came into my view, I knew my parents had to be home. My sibling had to be there as well, and I couldn't wait to meet my younger sister or brother.
"My daughter is…", my mother didn't manage to finish, when she saw the state I was in. My armour ripped in many areas, scars visible everywhere, especially the one on my face. She didn't try to say anything else, but simply disappeared from my eyes. Clanging noises came from behind me, prompting me to turn around.
My mother actually attacked the two masters, and they didn't seem to be in good spirits. There were a few of my mothers appearing and disappearing, attacking the two masters furiously with the daggers. Moreover, her Aura was really intense. I could tell she was really angry. "Hey! Wait a minute! You guys agreed!... Bam!", master Yater got hit by my mother's punch. She wasn't weak at all, and didn't even consider stopping for a second.
The two masters had issues dealing with her, even after using their own Arts and Auras. "Nex! We don't want to harm your wife. You agreed to the training, so why are you trying to complain now!", master Irwin protested. I gloated a bit, since they treated me poorly all that time. "Hehe, good job Fox. They have a hard time dealing with you. You are making loads of improvements. That's enough though, you'll wake up the baby", father said while appearing next to me.
When he mentioned the baby, mother finally stopped. "I'll let you off this time, but believe me I'm not done with you yet", she warned them, then walked in front of my father. "Deal with those things, or I'll make you pay the price", she said seriously, while pointing at my scars. Father tried to appease her anger, but she only punched him in the stomach, then came over to hug me.
"My little daughter… We missed you so much", she said, refusing to let me go. "I'm fine mom, just a bit tired from the journey. By the way…", Curly got scared of my mother, and climbed to my back refusing to go out. I managed to grab and introduce her, "This is Curly, you scared her a bit with that sudden outburst. Curly, this is my mom, don't worry she's really nice… Although stingy".
"Oh, you got yourself a marten?", she asked, before taking a look at her. "What a cute little thing you are, I don't mind such nice animals around. You are welcome to stay with us", she added. "..Arf", Curly barked quietly, afraid that my mother would do something. "She seems quite intelligent, but very suspicious of others. Did something happen to her?", father asked.
"I'm not even surprised you were able to figure this out. Yes, some people captured her a long time ago, and she was treated badly. We met inside the forest, and now she'll stay with me forever. After all, we formed a Blood Pact", I explained. Father grabbed Curly from my hands and examined her. "A pine marten, and an intelligent one too. Not bad at all, I'm sure you'll be happy living with us", he said before letting her go.
"So, the two years passed. How did she do?", father asked the two masters instead. "We are sure you can already see the difference, but her progress was really good. Though she didn't break past the Half Step, she's not that far away. Either way, we made her a warrior, like promised. She is able to take matter into her own hands, the naivety is gone. I'd say, that's already a success", master Irwin replied.
"Not bad at all. I didn't expect for you to break that Half Step, but I'm still surprised you got this close", he said to me, but then looked at the two masters. "I appreciate what you did, but the state of my daughter could be a bit more… Presentable, right? Anna, how about I show you some Arts mastery? They guys should be great targets", he added.
"Oi! Wait a minute Nex! That wasn't the deal! We have no way of winning against you!", master Yater exclaimed, while backing away. Father only smirked, and appeared in front of them. "Don't worry, I'll not kill you. You are the two precious Arts masters after all… First, the Art of Hidden Weapons. Something you haven't had a chance to witness…", "Seriously! Wait a minute!", master Irwin cut him off, while releasing his Aura to the max.
"Sleeping Blade Forest", father said, and motioned his finger upwards. Hundreds of bright daggers rose from the ground, and shot upwards at the two masters. They had a hard time dealing with just one technique my father used, and I knew this wasn't a joke to them. Their faces looked ugly. "Nex! Give me a break! Deal with Irwin, instead of me!", master Yater exclaimed. "Yater you fool! You were there too, don't put the blame on me!", master Irwin argued back.
Once the daggers disappeared, the two masters were visibly a bit tired from defending. Especially master Yater, who wasn't as strong physically as master Irwin. "This was one of my techniques in the Art of Hidden Weapons, but I'll spare them from the others. Instead, Let me show you the real Art of War", father said. "Nex! You bastard! That was your idea!", the two masters protested, while the grin on my face got bigger and bigger.
"Yes, show me the real Art of War! I want to see!", I encouraged him. "Traitor!", master Irwin exclaimed, while my father extended his hand upwards. "Sword of Rage", these three simple words made the whole area change its mood. Madness and pure rage could be felt in the air. I could even feel my own Aura awaking a bit. A large sword appeared in my father's hand, and when he swung it, the two masters could only run.
"Booom!", the attack was so powerful, the ground split from it. This wasn't some simple hole, it was a fissure, reaching how deep was everyone's guess. The two masters were haggard, they escaped that attack but even then barely. "You already saw the Art of Stealth, right? Well, I can do many things with that, but there's no need to show off", father stated. The two masters could finally take a breather, but then complained to my father. "Hey, wasn't your baby asleep?".
"I appreciate your concern, but there's no way to wake him up right now. I made sure no noise could get there. Anyway, that is that. Fox, you too, give it a rest. I'll deal with those scars, so don't worry so much. I knew she would be in danger, but again that was the point of this exercise. Look at her, didn't she grow up a lot? She's no longer your little Anna, she's already a woman", father said.
All of that wasn't important, because father revealed one crucial thing to me. "I have a brother?", I asked. "Yes, you have a younger brother. Moreover, we chose the name you thought of. Dante, it's a good name, isn't it?", mother replied with a smile. "Quickly, show him to me! I've been curious all this time!", I exclaimed.
"He's cute, I'll tell you that much. You guys too, come and have a look at my son. Besides, I'm sure you'll have some questions for me", father invited the two masters. My brother Dante was asleep inside the house. There were additional rooms already, and he had his own room prepared. "This is my brother?", I asked shocked. He didn't look like me or my parents. His hair was silver, and he couldn't be older than two years.
"Normally, I'd like him to sleep a bit longer, but his sister finally returned… Dante, wake up. Your sister is here", mother said quietly. "Hmmm… mama?", he asked, a bit disorientated. "Come here, your sister is back. I told you about Anna, remember? Here she is, your sister", father picked him up, and carried over to me.
That's when I noticed his eyes. "He is my brother after all. Little Dante has mom's eyes. Hey, I'm your big sister, Anna", I introduced myself. Dante seemed a bit shy, this was to be expected, since he never saw me before. Father handed me my brother, and showed me how to hold him. "How old are you?", I asked. "Hehe, give him a break, Anna. He's only one and a half years old. It's gonna take another half a year perhaps, before he will speak…", before father could finish, Dante exclaimed "An an!" and hugged me.
"Hehe, how adorable. He calls you An an", mother smiled. I tried to teach him my proper name, but he simply called me 'An an'. "We talked a lot about you, so he knows that Anna is the name of his sister. Seems like he wanted to meet you as well. Come to dada, I'll show you your uncles as well", father explained before taking him away from me.
The two masters played nice, since father would probably beat them up if they tried to scare him. "You are surprised about his eyes, right? We were a bit surprised too. Your father actually shed a tear that his son would look more like his mother", my mother said. "Does that mean I'm more like my father?", I asked, a bit annoyed. "Hehe, in a sense, yes. Dante doesn't have the anger you do. Moreover, I'll be able to teach him some of the Furian techniques, since his eyes are the same as mine… Are you jealous? Oh, come here. You are still my lovely daughter", she replied before giving me a hug.
At least that was good news. My brother wouldn't struggle with the same issues I did. No sister would wish such things upon her brother. "Though I must say, you aren't so stingy to my brother, as you were to me. That's a bit unfair", I complained. "Haha, take that complaint to your father. He'll probably spoil him", she replied dismissively.
With my brother awakened, we tried to spend more time together. I also introduced Curly to him, but he was a bit afraid of her at first. Curly was good at sucking up though, so he accepted her as a friend rather quickly. Even my father got familiar with Curly. She fit really well into our family. "I'll visit Turry, since I haven't seen him in years. I'm sure he missed me a lot", I announced, but my parents grinned for some reason.
"Yea sure, go visit him. Take Curly with you as well. They can get accustomed to each other", father said, but his grin never disappeared. 'I wonder what they are hiding?', this was something I'd find out real soon.
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