No Family of Mine

My father really took his time, another week went by before he finally returned with more guests. I was the first one to meet them, since I tried to develop my rhythms outside the town. "Dad! You are finally back! What took you so long?", "Hehe, finding that guy wasn't easy, you know? Anyway, let me introduce you. This is Yater, the master in the Art of Stealth. Next to him is Irwin, the master in the Art of War. Unfortunately, the master in the Art of Hidden Weapons passed away", father introduced.

"You have a lovely daughter indeed, Nex. What do you inten…", before master Yater could finish, master Irwin appeared in front of me, then punched me out of nowhere. His strength was nothing to scoff at. That punch alone made me fly away like a ragged doll. "Bam.. Ughh!… What the… hell are you doing!", I exclaimed with difficulty. Father didn't seem to care, as master Irwin appeared in front of me again. This time though, he kicked me upwards. "Argh!", another grunt escaped my mouth.

Before I was able to land, another kick landed on my body. "Eghh… cough… cough… grrrr…", the hatred deep inside me began awakening. "...I'll kill you…", a wicked voice sounded from my mouth, as my vision began changing. "Interesting", master Irwin said but didn't stop. He kicked me once more, which made me let go of any willingness to stop my anger from exploding. "Grrrr…", I growled, before rushing at him. This time, master Irwin didn't attack, he only defended himself.

"She's like an animal, and you said her state can change right?", master Irwin asked my father leisurely. "Yea, she will attack you for now. Though once she notices her inability to win, the rage will try to kill her instead", father replied, all the while my punches and kicks never ceased. No matter how much strength my body released, that man was like an impenetrable wall.

Master Irwin stopped defending, and tried attacking me once more. Before his punch arrived though, my father appeared between us. "That's enough. There's no need to make a huge scene here", he said while tapping my forehead. All the anger seeping from my body disappeared instantly. I felt a bit weak, but annoyed nonetheless. "Here, drink some of this, you'll feel better", father handed me some medicine, instead of explaining why someone simply attacked me.

"Nex, have you gone soft for the sake of your daughter?", master Irwin asked. "Don't try to jump higher than you can. She's only sixteen. You wanted to test her out, and that you did. If you want your ass handed to you, I can easily arrange that", he replied a bit dissatisfied. "Don't worry about him, Nex. That idiot Irwin was always hot headed... You do resemble your old man a bit, Anna. Don't worry, I'm not going to fight you. No need to be wary", master Yater said while approaching us.

"That's enough for an introduction. Let's head inside, I'll introduce you to others. Irwin, you can bully the grownups, so be nice to the kids", father said while caring me towards the gate. "Yea, yea. I went a bit too far, don't get mad", master Irwin replied.

"Dad, why did you bring such a weirdo here? The first thing he did was attack me…", I complained quietly. "Hey, hey. I'm not a weirdo. Do you know how rare people with your abilities are? I just had to make sure you were up to par", master Irwin said. "He is a bit right, at least about rarity. Our Arts are forbidden here in the Endrosian Empire. They aren't in the North, which is a perfect place for people like us to develop", master Yater added.

"Why are they forbidden?", I asked confusedly. "Because the Imperial Family is scared of us. They've been exterminating those who practice forbidden Art for ages. Yet, people like us exist. They should be especially scared of your father though", master Irwin explained. "So long they don't cause any troubles, there will be no need to pay them a visit", father said. "You could still pay them a visit, for old time sake", master Yater proposed, but father didn't reply.

We arrived at the crowded house of my great uncle and aunt. Father introduced everyone, while my great aunt began panicking about the wedding. "We can start the preparations, since I don't expect any other guests really. Just don't go overboard guys, there's no need for that", father announced, then got 'abducted' by my uncles and whoever else. My great aunt and other women surrounded my mother instead. 'Yea, somehow I expected that already. At least that brat Arche and his mother are not here', I thought.

"They left you all alone again, eh?", grandpa walked over. "I expected as much. It's their wedding after all. I don't mind though. We visited our family, I got to know my relatives and they will be officially married now. Moreover, I will get a sibling soon", I replied.

My parents were not in great rush with the wedding, but my great aunt was. She wanted for my parents to have the best wedding possible, since she acted a bit like a mother to my father. All was going well, until my aunt Diana and Arche returned. Everything sort of went downhill from that point. She obviously didn't like me or my mother, and neither me or my mother liked them. That wouldn't be an issue, if my father hadn't met them.

"This is my wife Diana, and my son Arche. This is Nex, my cousin", uncle Aron introduced them. "Nice to meet you guys. So this is your son Arche, eh? How old are you Arche?", father asked. "I'm eleven years old… Are you strong, uncle?", Arche asked. "I'm a bit strong, but what do you think? Am I stronger, or Aron?", my father replied with a question. Arche took a while to think about it, then replied, "Aron!". Uncle Aron seemed happy about that answer, but father didn't seem to mind. He then turned towards aunt Diana, "I hope you guys are doing well for yourself. I do have a question though".

"I'll answer if I can", aunt Diana replied a bit loftily. "Is that Aron's son?", father asked while pointing at Arche. "How dare you? Of course that's our son! Who else's son would that be?", aunt Diana replied aggravated. "Is that so? Aron, this ain't your son. She basically lied to you", father turned towards uncle Aron, whose face looked bad. "Aron! You will allow him to treat me like that?... How dare you accuse me like that? Who do you think you are?!", my aunt exclaimed.

"Nex, I'll let you take that back, and apologise", uncle Aron said seriously. "A son wouldn't reply by your name, he would call you 'dad' or 'father'. That alone wouldn't prompt the question, but made me suspicious. Hence the question to your wife. She's a bad liar, at least in my eyes. She's no family to me, what you do with that information is up to you", father replied. "You… You bastard! Taking a dirty Furian whore as a wife, and you want to…", before she could finish, my mother appeared in front of her. "The only whore in this town is you. I tolerated you for long enough, so don't push it. No one in this town will be able to save you otherwise", she said while staring at her.

"Aron, this woman is rotten to the core. I have no reason to lie, as both of them failed to recognise you as a father to that child. Love can be blind and you know that, since you know my story. That is the reason I'm telling you. What you chose, is up to you really. I'm not here to dictate your life", father added. "You… you will not believe those lies, right? Aron… Aron!", Diana asked. "Tell me, what reasons would he have to tell me that? Why didn't he question someone else, only you. Diana, tell me truthfully, is Arche my son?", uncle Aron asked.

"...How can you even think like that? I gave my life to you, we are a wife and husband. How can you question me?", she replied. "... I believe you, Nex. That kid is not my son", uncle Aron replied, making Diana's face change. "You fucking bastard! You piece of shit! How dare…", before she spouted more profanities, mother released her Aura. "Shut up whore. If my daughter wasn't here, I would turn both of you into bloody paste already", mother said angrily.

Father walked over to uncle Aron and hugged him. "I know how this hurts but you are a Wintersteed, you will get through it. Don't worry though, I'll make sure you won't see them ever again", he said then approached Diana and Arche. "I should give you the most excruciating death possible, but, we will not stoop to your level. You'll get to live with that brat of yours", father said, then touched Diana's and Arche's heads. Both of them fell unconscious to the ground. "I'll take them away from here, and make sure they will never appear around this place. I'm sorry you guys had to see this, but I'm even more sorry for you Aron", father said then grabbed both of them.

My other uncles and aunts took care of uncle Aron, who was devastated. Mother made sure I was alright too, since I had to see it. "I'm fine mom… I never liked either of them, and wondered how uncle could live with such people. Uncle Aron is kind, he didn't deserve such people in his life", I said. "Yes, it's unfortunate he had to go through this… Aron, come with me for a moment. I'd like to tell you something privately", mother said and took uncle someplace else.

My uncles, aunts and even great uncle were worried, but they didn't seem all that surprised. "You guys have been awfully quiet all this time", I said. "Well, we kind of knew this woman's character. We had some suspicions, but we chose to keep them to ourselves…", great uncle replied, disappointed in himself. "We didn't want to break the family, and Aron wouldn't listen to us anyway… He listened to Nex, because he knew your father had no reason to lie. Besides, your father was always his inspiration. If someone could convince him, it was only your father", uncle Norty added.

The whole incident was very sad, but only sad because uncle Aron suffered. No one cried or missed that woman and the brat. Not even uncle Aron tried to stop father from taking them away. 'I'm not sure whether father will leave them somewhere, or kill them outside. This angered him a lot, even I can tell. Mother was angry too… There's no doubt in my mind she would kill both of them, if me or father were not around', I thought.

Did they deserve death? I wasn't sure. They surely didn't deserve to be with us, as a family. They hurt my uncle, but didn't kill him. 'Would I kill, if someone hurt me like that?', I asked myself, but the answer was no longer that clear. My answer would be 'no' in the past. After witnessing everything, I wasn't so sure anymore.