76 Quint Rauss [2]
The man smiled devilishly. His hand tightly gripped Quint's neck while the boy was gapping for air. His face was already red, his hands desperately hit the man's arm. However, it didn't give any effect to the man, he didn't even flinch.
Quint's sight was slowly getting blurry as he almost lost his conscious due lacking of oxygen. Seeing that, despite the smile still retained on his lips, the man's eyes actually changed a slight. A split second later his face turned into pain as suddenly the boy grabbed his thumb and pulled it away from the boy's neck.
The man shouted in pain but he still retained his grip. He only forcefully released it after a pop sound following an unbearable pain he felt. As the man stepped a back, the boy rolled his body. and stood up.
While still panting for breath, Quint looked at the man with much tense on his face. His every muscles were ready to defense the man's attack. But to his surprise, the man just laughed heartily while wrapping his now broken hand with his other hand. The man's body was so relax, not even had his spangle on.
"Haha.. very good, Boy.. very good," the man said, genuinely flattered Quint. However, the boy replied with a vigorous attack toward him. Quint launched hist fist, aiming for the man's crotch.
Noticed the boy's attack, the man didn't panic at all. He merely stepped a back then stretched his left arm, holding Quint's head. Quint's height barely touched the man's thigh, thus with the man holding his head like this, Quint's fists and kicks only hit the empty air. But that didn't stop Quint. He was continuously hitting the air with his fists and kicks.
Seeing that, the man laughed again. "You fool," He said then flicked Quint's forehead. Al though only a flick, it caused Quint startled and made a few steps back. There was a vivid red mark on the spot he was flicked.
Quint stepped forward, ready to attack the man again. Once again, the man flicked him, this time on his shoulder. There was immediately a sting pain bursted in Quint's shoulder. However, Quint ignored the pain and barged toward the man yet again.
"Are you still angry to me ?" the man asked after flicked Quint again on his neck.
Quint paused a second before answering, "No." He was honest. He wasn't angry even though the man was almost killed him. "But.. I don't want to die. That's why I must kill you," he continued solemnly.
The man laughed heartily again before flicking his finger onto Quint's cheek. "You stupid boy. If I were really wanted to kill you, would I now be just flicking my finger ? Beside, if I really wanted to kill you, I wouldn't choke you. It was giving you too many chances to survive. I would prefer to just twist your neck, or stroked you right in the head, or just squeezed your lung."
The man's explanation stunned the boy as his brain was trying to digest it. The man was right. If he intended to kill him, he had been dead now. The man's power was way beyond his. Thus, he would be so easy to subdue and terminated him in instant.
"Then.. then why you choked me ?" Quint asked, still standing on his spangle.
"I heard you were special, that you have profound initiate power," the man answered him.
"I don't know about that," the boy replied in confusion.
The man nodded. "I knew you didn't know it.. or maybe not remember it to be precise. That's why I pushed you to the corner of your death to wake it up. What did happen back then ?"
The boy shrugged his shoulder. "I heard a voice," he answered then glanced to the man. "It told me to attack your thumb."
The man laughed again while reflexively rubbed his injured thumb. His thumb had been broken in the past. That's why, it became his weakness, al though of course no one knew about it.
"Your initiate power is precious. But since it only occurs only when you were nearly dead, you can not solely depend on it," the man explained to Quint.
"Couldn't it be improved ?" Quint asked. The man smiled to have his question.
"Smart boy," he praised Quint. "The answer is it can. But it depends on your strength, both your physical and your spiritual," he continued.
"Can you teach me ?" Quint asked naively.
The man laughed again and patted his head. "That's why you are here, Boy," he said.
Though his face was still solemn, there were glimmers in Quint's eyes. "I want to be strong. I want to protect mother," he said.
The man stunned for a second then smiled. "Alright, then.. Let me first see what you got."
The man stepped ahead and started to flick his fingers again onto Quint's face and body.
"Auch.. auch.." the boy frantically moved to dodge, but he failed.
"Try your best to defend yourself from this attack," the man ordered while keep attacking Quint with his flicks.
Hearing the man's words, Quint no longer just dodging, he started to attack the man's fingers and hand. But the man dodged so swiftly. He merely moved his fingers or at most his wrist. He didn't even move his lower arm nor elbow.
Thirty minutes later, Quint's body slowly slanted down to the ground. The man quickly stretched his arm to catch Quint's head before it hit the ground.
"Tired ?" the man asked. Quint stubbornly shook his head al though he didn't even have energy to open his eyes. His cute face were almost all covered up with red mark of the flicking. The man chuckled. He snook his other arm below the boy's ankles then carried him to a room.
The room similar to a treatment room with all the medical scent fulfill it. Despite having a bed, the room had a tub inside it. The man put Quint inside the tub. He then opened the faucet that now pouring a warm water. While waiting for the water to fill the tub, the man opened a cupboard then took a clear-glass bottle that fill with a brown powder.
When water in the tub had fully enveloped Quint's body, the man closed the faucet then poured the brown powder into the water. He used his healthy hand to mix the powder until it is fully emerged with water.
Quint sighed in his sleep to feel the sensation his body had to absorb the medical warm water. The man rubbed the boy's hair gently. The boy slowly opened his eyes.
"Just rest now. Your body is healing," the man said. The boy only glanced at him before scanning his body that was now soaking under the brownish water. There were comfortable tickles and pricks all over his body.
Still rubbing Quint's hair, the man continued, "Using attack to defend is not wrong. But it requires so much energy. You will get tired easily."
"I don't know how to defend," the boy said in whispering tone.
"I will teach you. But before that, you need to learn from the very basic."
The boy nodded. "I will do what you say, Mister.."
"You are my disciple now. Call me Master," the man rebuked him.
"Okay.. Master.." the boy said then closed his eyes.
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"What are you doing ?" a little girl voice was heard. Quint opened his eyes and looked down to his second elder sister.
"I'm practicing," he answered.
The girl frowned then went away from him while shouting, "Mommy... Quint does something weird again!!"
Quint narrowed his eyes. He didn't know what his sister though to be weird. He merely practiced the fourth position of basic flexibility. It had been four months after the first practice. He needed to practice all nine position of basic flexibility to make it perfect. Only by then his master would teach him next lesson. Before he closed his eyes again, his mother came.
The woman gasped but then chuckled. She was surely not expecting her son was five feet above the ground by stretching his legs in between the living room's lintel, positioned himself almost diagonally while his upper body was straight, making an almost perfect perpendicular against his legs.
"Why don't you come down and have lunch first, Sweetie," the woman said to him lovingly.
"Okay, Mot.. Mommy," he replied. He didn't know why, but he was still awkward to call this woman 'Mommy', but he didn't want to disappoint his mother, so he obediently agreed once she asked him. The woman smiled widely to hear it.
"Come," The woman raised her hand to help him, but the boy just jumped down on the floor. He then walked before his mother toward the kitchen where both of his sisters had sat in front the dining table.
:How's your practice ?" his mother asked while putting chicken salad on top of a plate in front of him.
"I almost perfecting my basic flexibility skill and Master said my strength has increased two level," Quint excitedly said.
The woman smiled to him. "I'm glad you like it."
"Mommy, when we go shopping for school supplies ?" His sister asked while munching her salad.
"Hmm.. how about tomorrow.. ?" her mother suggested. The girls shouted happily to hear that.
"Btw, Quint. You will also go to school next month," His mother said to him. The boy just stared his mother blankly.
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Quint Rauss timidly walked through the school's aisle. At first he walked with his two sisters. But once they met their friends, they were so excited thus forgot about him and left. He now walked toward a row of lockers at one side of the aisle. There were several opened lockers. He chose one almost at the end of the row..
"Hey, that's my locker !" A voice shouted from a distance. As Quint turned his head to the voice, a huge boy walked toward him.
"My sisters said that at first day, any opened locker is idle," Quint naively said.
"But that locker is mine !" the huge boy said in annoyance.
Not wanting to make a fuss, Quint just nodded. "Okay," he said, moving his stuffs to another opened locker a couple lockers away from his original picked one.
"That is mine !" A boy beside the huge boy claimed. Quint furrowed his eyebrow, but once again moved his stuff to another locker.
"That is also mine !" Another boy claimed with a muffled chuckle. Quint knew that he was being bullied now.
"Which one that is idle then ?" he asked calmly.
"None of them is for you," the huge boy answered then laughed.
"Then I will take whatever locker I want," Quint said then moving back his stuffs to the first locker, one that claimed by the huge boy.
"Hey !!" the huge boy shouted angrily. "You dare ?!!"
The huge boy launched his fist toward Quint. However, Quint dodged it by moving his upper body back almost 90º, hence instead landing on him, the fist was punching the opened door of locker. The fist was so strong that it closed the locker with a loud bam.
"You dirty slanted eyes !!" the huge boy cursed Quint in anger then punched him, targeting to his stomach. Once again, Quint merely dodged it by making few steps back. The huge boy put his whole strength into the punch, thus when it hit nothing, he lost his balance and fell down.
"Hey !! How dare you bully my brother ?!!" A familiar voice was heard. Quint saw his eldest sister was rushing toward him.
"Brother ??" the boy that accompanied the huge boy asked in disbelief.
"Yes, he is my little brother. Do you have problem with that ?!" His sister answered angrily. Both of her hands were in her hip.
"How could you have a slanted eyes brother ?" the huge boy asked, not forget to slip a mock in it, while slowly stood up.
"Huh ! so what if he has small eyes ? He is my brother. Period." His sister said harshly, as if wanted to challenge anyone who disagreed with her. The boys were silent. It was obvious that they were afraid of her.
His sister turned her head to Quint. "Did they hurt you ?" Quint shook his head.
"Good. Put your stuffs to any opened locker as you like," the girl said lovingly while flashing her dagger sharp glance toward the boys. Quint glanced toward his sister gratefully. He promised to him self, that he would protect his sister for the rest of her life.
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Quint rushed home excitedly. Today his school was dismissed early, except for the sixth grade, due to an urgent teachers meeting. Quint was so excited because it meant he could practice earlier. Since he had to go to school, his practice time was automatically being cut.
When he arrived at his home, instead of entering the main house, he went to the side house where his master lived. But the house was locked. With a little disappointment, Quint walked toward the main house. His master never locked his house when he was inside. Thus, it meant that his master was not in the house.
Quint entered the main house and decided to go to the kitchen to greet his mother. When he was a couple meters from the kitchen door, he heard some noises from the kitchen. The noise was not near cooking activity's sound. But then he heard his mother's muffled scream.
Carefully, Quint approached the kitchen door. With his body pressed on the wall, he merely stuck out his head to peek. He saw his mother was laying on the kitchen island with both legs stood up straight to the ceiling. She shook her head right to left, like trying to escape from a man who stood in front of her, with his top was pressing her and his hand muffled her mouth. The man was his master
