What Goes Around...
[A/N:
I hope these chapters don't feel forced. I'm trying to give as much necessary time with the characters as I can, but it's hard when I have to remember that three of the main ones are at this point 8. I have a lot of plans my brain constantly goes through for when the plot truly starts to happen, but until that point in the story, I'm mostly going with whatever flow I have at the moment.
A small reminder, I am just a few weeks away from my first day at University, so I will try to make time for this story around that and my job, which I don't have now but will be getting soon.
Same as before, I don't know when I will upload next, but hopefully, it won't take me too long to get the next one out. I wish you all well until then! ]
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"Alright, I think we can end it here for today. Don't want to go overboard, now do we?" Overboard seems to be a very broad term for my father, because even after training for 2 years I have been unsuccessful in hitting him even once, and every session ends with more bruises than I can count. As frustrating as it is, a small part of me wonders if it is just because I don't have the capacity to have as monstrous strength or speed as Maxwell does. Finally, after 2 years, I thought there would be some results, but I feel just as slow as ever.
"Dad, how are you and mom so fast and strong? On the TV the Huntsmen don't seem to be able to match up to you two."
"Well, I guess I should've expected this sooner or later, but the reason we seem so much faster and stronger is because we are. Our bodies aren't like the others'."
Seeing my opportunity to learn more, I did what a child does best and asked, "But why?" Sighing at the fact he wasn't able to come up with any reason to not tell me, he sat down and crossed his legs, and in response, I sat up and also crossed my legs.
"I was going to wait until you unlocked your aura to tell you that part since you need it for it to work, but I guess telling won't hurt. The reason we're different is that the Chrono family's training method includes the lost art of physical reinforcement."
"So it's only something you can turn on and off?" Giving a small chuckle at my response, he lightly rubs the back of his neck, something I noticed he does when he is deciding whether or not to explain something to me.
"Not quite. What we do is basically force our bodies to be better - stronger; the reason why no one else seems to do this is because it's dangerous. Putting the body into danger, for instance, in a death match against a Grimm, where you trail the line of life and death just enough for your body to pull through without dying. The aura would then attach to that strength, assuming it will need it for later, and boom, enhanced body. Though it gave an immense advantage to those who succeeded, it would often just lead to permanent injury, and in many cases, it would lead to death. And so, it was slowly forgotten."
"Then, why did you do it?" If it was so dangerous, then why would he have risked being maimed, or even dead? That's when I noticed his eyes slightly glaze over, no longer looking at me, but through me; it was like he began reliving his past, and it was the same look I would have when I would remember my own past. "Dad, are you okay?" Though I knew it wasn't that simple, it seemed to break him away from his thoughts, which in itself can be challenging.
"I'm okay son, just trying to remember why I did it. It's because my father trained me, and his father before him. It's a long-standing Chrono family training method that goes back to the patriarch of our family."
"Patriarch?" I knew a little about the history of Remnant, but from what I know it was rare for a family to be long-lived enough to deem an ancestor a Patriarch. It means that the family history is not as long as I think it is, or the Chronos have somehow stood the test of time in a world seemingly hellbent on killing its living occupants. Every time I learn more about our family history, it brings more questions than answers, but any time I bring it up I'm told 'When you're old enough', so I guess that's a later-me problem to solve.
"It's nothing, now go wash up, the girls are coming over in a bit." And with that, my tired body suddenly seemed to gain some of its lost energy as I almost skipped to the baths. It was a strange feeling, and part of me didn't like it, but whenever I would be around those two my day would seem to brighten up; even if it was already a good day it would just seem to get better.
With my cold bath done, I walked through the door into the house, and I was instantly hit by the smell of my mother's cooking. With the sudden realization I was starving, I eagerly made my way to the set dining room table, and that's when I noticed more than one person in the kitchen.
Now bringing out several plates of food were my mother, Trivia, and Ivy. I can only assume it's through motherly powers, but while the two girls were carrying a single plate each, Amelia managed to effortlessly balance four plates in her arms, and seeing the two of us finished training she smiled, a smile that no matter how many times I saw I would never get used to how warm it felt.
"Argy!" Hurriedly putting the plate safely on the table, Ivy ran around the table to hug me, which despite feeling nice hurt, because my muscles were already screaming at me, and Ivy's hugs were something she put her full strength into. Close behind her was Trivia, who calmly pulled me into a light hug, having seen the pain that was on my face when Ivy did so.
"It's good to see you two as well, but I'm very hungry, so imma stuff my face!"
"I haven't seen you in a month, and the only thing you can think about is your stomach?!" While Ivy wasn't as childish as other children our age, she did have her moments, and I guess after her trip to see relatives in Atlas the other kids there must've rubbed off on her.
"Awe, did someone miss me? Must be from how perfect I am." After slight teasing, some mock haughtiness, and some punches that hurt more than they normally would've, we all sat down and merrily ate the food.
*Ding*
The sound of Trivia's notifier went off as we finished eating, and we all looked to see what she wrote. As she raised her scroll to ask her question, the look on her face seemed a little nervous, though about what I can't say.
{Mr. Chrono, Argento, what kind of training do you two do? Whenever we stay the night I see the bruises on Argento's body, so I couldn't help but wonder…}
Reading the question, I first smile warmly at her using the app I created for her. A little while back I noticed a problem, Trivia would always have to raise her hand, make noises on the surfaces around her, or have someone else get everyone's attention when she had something to say. So, I decided to dust off some of my university skills from Earth and dip my hands back into Coding. It was simple, I just had to make an app for her scroll that allowed her to type into it, and when she was done typing she could press the 'send' button and noise would be made dependent on the volume of her scroll at that time. I remember finishing it for her 7th birthday, and the smile she gave was worth more than any amount of money could ever be.
After the fuzzy-feeling memory passed, I strained to keep a smile on my face, but I guess it was about time one of the two brought it up. I had told them I train, but at the time neither of them seemed too keen on joining me. Though I guess this was about two years ago.
"Oh yeah, I've been wondering about that too. Wouldn't training normally start when one reaches one of the schools or academies?" Putting her finger on her chin and tilting her head ever-so-slightly while asking this question, she seemed just as interested in this subject, even though she hasn't shown much interest in combat of any kind.
Lightly rubbing the back of his neck, Maxwell looks at me, then looks towards my mother, who gives him a nod. Sighing while getting up, he simply states, "Follow me." and begins walking towards the training room. Once Ivy realizes where we're going, her eyes seem to sparkle with curiosity.
"Ooh, I've always wondered what this building was for. I could never figure it out, but now I finally get to go inside!" With Ivy squealing like a fangirl, we reach the entrance, and following tradition, we all take off our shoes and continue in our socks. When we enter the room itself, it seems most of the interest was in the design being culturally different from what either have seen before. With the wall of weapons and strange floors, it looked like the perfect paradise for a combat nerd.
"This, obviously, is where we train. On the wall, you'll see that some of the weapons have a green plank hanging from them, while the rest of them have a red plank. The green plank means that Argento here has fought using said weapons with enough skill to be considered adept. For his age, this is quite the achievement, but if at any point we go back to a weapon and he isn't skilled enough anymore, the plank is flipped back onto the red side." Neither of the girls knew how hard it was to learn a weapon, but considering any person they've seen fight would use a select few weapons, they could only guess it wasn't easy, and seeing about a dozen weapons flipped to green meant I spent who knows how long learning the ins and outs of said weapon.
*Ding*
{So, all he's doing is learning how to use these weapons? Then why does he always look so hurt?}
"Well the most effective way to learn and remember how to use a weapon is to beat it into your body, but I make sure to go light on him."
'That's light?' With an image of my thoroughly bruised upper body popping into both of their heads, they seem to shiver at the thought of it being any rougher, but if one was to look into the eyes of Trivia they would see a look of determination in them.
*Ding*
{Mr. Chrono, Mrs. Chrono, I have a request for you.}
"Yes, dear?" With an almost precognitive look in Amelia's eyes, she urged Trivia to continue.
{Could I request that you train me? It doesn't have to be the same or as often as Argento's, but I want to learn to fight as well!}
"No fair Triv, if you're going to train with Argy then I will too!"
Hearing this, Maxwell held an apprehensive look on his face, but before he could say anything, Amelia walked forward with an understanding smile blooming across her face.
"If you two girls would truly like to train, then I would be happy to train you. It may not be the same as those two meat heads' training, but I can promise you that you will be able to fight for what you hold dear once we're finished."
As Trivia and Ivy's faces lit up at this, Maxwell couldn't help but smile, and muttered "It seems history truly does repeat itself." Looking up at his smile, I couldn't understand what his words meant, but what I could see was a husband lovingly staring at his wife. I am always immensely happy when I see the amount of love my parents hold for each other, but I can't help but feel a sting in my heart each time. For I once had that same look for someone who I thought felt the same, but she didn't.
Betrayal is all that awaited.