[1.9] The Beginning of the Association

Three men from the martial arts club made their way to Leonardo's hut in a forest called Thân Thiệ, not far from Seranjana town.

"Hey, how much longer until we get there? I'm thirsty," said an exhausted Britta, looking at Gilbert.

Jiyan, who was focused on looking at the map on her phone, replied, "Relax, relax, it looks like the cottage will be visible after this last turn."

The three of them continued walking until they came to a turn, they looked to the upper right.

"This path is troublesome, it's already passing rivers, climbing rocks and so on. When the hut is in sight, why go uphill again," Gilbert said with annoyance. Without further ado, the three of them continued walking to the cottage that was already in sight.

Inside the hut, Raka, Fauzan, and Steven are lazing on the sofa. Meanwhile, the women, Amelia, Laras, and Hana, are at the back of the hut sitting and gossiping. Meanwhile, Leonardo and Radit are chopping wood.

Jiyan, Gilbert, and Britta had reached the front of the cottage and they were in front of the cottage. They looked left and right, the cottage seemed to be devoid of people, but the cottage door was open.

Raka accidentally looked at the window and saw three people standing.

"Hey, bro, there's someone outside, check it out," Raka looked at Steven.

"Ah, never mind, no need," said Steven.

Fauzan was curious and peered into the window too. "Steven, hurry up, hurry up," said Raka.

Steven finally stood up with a slightly annoyed look on his face and headed for the front exit of the hut.

Steven looked at them and was a little surprised, "Uh, aren't you guys from the martial arts club?" he said.

"Ah, yes, we're from the martial arts club, here to see Leonardo?" said Gilbert.

In Steven's mind, 'It's crazy, just wanting to meet Leo to go to the jungle.'

"Come on, let's go in first," Steven said.

Then, Steven guided the three of them to enter the living room or lounge. Upon arrival in the room, Fauzan and Raka were a little surprised. Then Raka told them to sit on the sofa.

Fauzan put the drinks on the table. "So what's your business?" Raka said without beating around the bush.

"Ah, we want to meet Leonardo," said Gilbert.

"Only met him?" said Raka once again. "Yes," said Gilbert.

In Raka and Fauzan's minds, 'That's really good.'

And there was a moment of silence.

At that moment, Jiyan and Britta whispered to each other. "You see, it's silent, after all, I'm really here to meet him," said Britta. "Yes, for the sake of our cause, I think it's only natural," said Jiyan.

The women at the back of the cottage were curious about the familiar voices inside. They then went inside.

Upon entering, the women were shocked. "Uh, Britta, what are you doing here!" said Amelia.

"Amelia, Hana and Laras are here," said Britta.

Then they, the women, moved to the women's room to talk to each other.

In the living room or relaxing, Raka continued the conversation. "So, Gilbert, do you actually have something important to do to see Leo?" Raka said.

"We want to be his martial arts students, Leonardo!" said Gilbert with a slightly embarrassed look on his face but a little forceful in his enthusiasm. Raka, Fauzan, and Steven were silent at that.

"Wait, just come here for that? And why do you want to be his student?" Steven said curiously.

"Because he's great! Right Jiyan?" said Gilbert.

Jiyan nodded immediately after Gilbert said that. "Is he that good?" said Raka.

"Don't you know, Bang?" said Fauzan. Raka and Steven immediately looked at Fauzan.

"He has been a martial arts winner five times in a row for teenagers," Fauzan said.

Steven was surprised to hear that. Jiyan and Gilbert looked at Steven and made grinning faces.

"Huh... five times in a row huh. I can't believe I challenge him every time," Steven said, sighing in disbelief.

After the conversation, Raka invited the two of them to follow him to the backyard of the hut. Steven went out first to call the women.

Arriving at the back of the yard, Leonardo and Radit, who were still chopping wood, were a little surprised when they looked at the back door of the cottage.

"Ohoh... look, Radit, there's a visitor from outside the forest," Leonardo said.

"Leo, if you say so, we look like people who live in the forest," Radit said with a flat face.

Amelia, Fauzan, Laras, Hana, Steven, and Raka looked for seats, while Gilbert, Jiyan, and Britta faced Leonardo. Then they said a sentence simultaneously.

"Bang Leonardo... please make us your students." They shouted and bowed. Leonardo's face looked displeased.

"Huah... this must have been rejected," said Raka, who was sitting near the women.

"No!" said Leonardo, looking unhappy.

"Crazy... rejected immediately. Sadistic," Steven said. Then, Raka immediately continued Steven's words, "Critical attack... mentally destroyed!" he said.

Gilbert, Jiyan, and Britta who heard that were shocked. They had not expected her to reject them outright.

Leonardo, who had looked away, then looked back at the haggard faces of Gilbert, Jiyan, and Britta.

"What the heck are you disciples? Hah...! So you want to take knowledge from me, then when you feel strong, you show off and fight the weak?" Leonardo said sarcastically.

"Hey... hey, don't assume so much. Look at him, he's begging, at least give a decent answer," Steven said, a little annoyed with Leonardo's attitude.

Leonardo and Steven looked at each other with annoyed faces, then Leonardo looked back at the three of them.

"The answer is still no!" said Leonardo to Gilbert, Jiyan, and Britta.

"Why, we won't do that, we promise," Gilbert said.

"No," Leonardo said.

Radit then held Leonardo's shoulders, to face Radit.

"Leo, calm down. We can talk casually. Let's go upstairs first. Follow me," Radit said to Leonardo.

Leonardo obeyed and followed Radit's words. When Radit and Leonardo were no longer in the backyard, the atmosphere in the backyard became awkward.

When Radit and Leonardo went inside, Raka looked at Leonardo, in his heart said, 'Still remembering the past,' said Raka.

Radit and Leonardo were in one of the upstairs rooms. "Leo, why, what's wrong with you? Suddenly angry like earlier is not like your usual self," said Radit.

"Dit, you already know what happened to my old self, so why teach them?" Leonardo said.

"Yes, I know, but that was then, not now, so think again," said Radit.

"You and Raka, from then until now have always been annoying, yes," Leonardo said with a slight smile.

"That's who I am and don't confuse me with Raka," Radit said with a smile back and also a little annoyed. Amelia who saw Leonardo like that was a little worried.

"Ok, just tell them I'll tell them tonight. Let them stay here," Leonardo said with a slight smile.

"That's right, relaxing like this is good, thinking calmly is your usual character. Ok, I'm going downstairs to tell them," said Radit.

Radit returned to the backyard balcony and told Gilbert, Jiyan, and Britta what Leonardo had said. After Radit told it, the atmosphere began to return to normal. In the evening, all of them, except Leonardo, were in the backyard of the hut burning and eating food.

The day had passed, and night had fallen. A bright moon covered the quiet and peaceful forest. Except for Leonardo, they were all enjoying the food made by the women and Steven.

Not long into the meal, Amelia went inside to look for Leonardo. When she found him in his room lying down looking at his smartphone, she said, "Are you done with the drama?" she said.

Leonardo looked at Amelia who was wearing casual clothes and said, "Oh... you... so, you came to this room ready to serve me?" Leonardo said with a flat face that stopped looking at his smartphone screen.

"Hah... you pervert!" said Amelia in an annoyed tone.

"So, why are you here, missing me? Or worried about me? Huh... how could that be?" said Leonardo, who stood up and approached Amelia.

Leonardo, who approached Amelia and then cornered her against the wall, then looked at her and saw a little oddity in her face.

Leonardo realized that it was an embarrassed face. Amelia, who used to tease Leonardo a lot, now felt embarrassed and slowly looked at Leonardo.

Leonardo who looked at Amelia like that, he also felt embarrassed.

Before long, Amelia pushed Leonardo and moved away from him and said, "Fool! Who misses and worries about you? I came here to tell you to eat downstairs. If you don't come, a lot of food will be wasted. Hana has already made a lot of food! You pervert!" said an embarrassed and upset Amelia, and left Leonardo.

Leonardo who saw the incident immediately fell silent. "Eh???.... hahaha...." Leonardo chuckled and was also confused.

"Well, it looks like I have to go downstairs now, and should tell you that." Leonardo said as he looked at the window overlooking the backyard. Then, he walked towards the backyard.

Amelia, who arrived downstairs first, immediately sat down at the wooden dining table in annoyance.

Laras, who was beside her, saw it and said, "Why are you suddenly upset after coming in?" Laras said.

"There's nothing." said Amelia, who hid the things inside the hut.

Laras who saw his behavior became confused. Moments later, Leonardo appeared and joined her sitting on a large wooden tree trunk that had been carved like a seat.

Radit, who was beside her, said, "Is it getting better?" he said.

"Yes, already," Leonardo said.

Radit stood up and took the food and gave it to Leonardo. "Here, eat. This is very delicious!" Radit said. Leonardo who saw it then took it and immediately tried it.

"Hmm... what is this, it's really good." Leonardo said in a loud voice. Instantly, the others looked at Leonardo and smiled.

"How was it? The specialty is good, isn't it?" said Steven.

"Crazy, this is really good! The softness of the meat, the strong flavors of the satay and curry sauce. It's so good!" said Leonardo as he savored his meal.

"Hehe... Who cooked first? Me, the best chef in town!" said Steven proudly.

Leonardo who heard Steven speaking said, "What nonsense are you talking about? The one who cooks this good must be Hana, right?" Leonardo looked at Hana who was eating.

Hana heard that immediately looked at Leonardo and shook her head with a slightly disappointed face.

Leonardo then looked at Amelia. She spontaneously said, "No, not me." she said.

Leonardo then looked at Laras and in an instant immediately turned to Raka and ignored his gaze on Laras.

Laras, who was considered non-existent by Leonardo, was immediately angry and said, "What the hell, at least ask first!" he said. Hana immediately calmed the angry Laras.

"So, he did." Leonardo said pointing at Steven.

The women who were cooking responded by nodding with a straight face. Steven at that moment puffed out his chest and looked very proud.

"Damn, why do I feel annoyed," said Hana who was disappointed that her food was not as good as Steven who was a man.

Radit immediately approached Hana and said, "Your food is still the best number 2, really, here." he said.

"Number 2?" Hana who spoke so was immediately mentally hit.

"Eh, you're so mean, you don't know how women feel!" said Laras beside him.

"Eh, why am I the wrong one? Even though I praised him," said Radit.

They all chatted while eating until the food available there was all gone. After that Leonardo started talking about the problem of Gilbert, Jiyan, and Britta who wanted to become Leonardo's study students.

"So why do you want to be my students?" Leonardo suddenly spoke with a serious face. Gilbert, Jiyan, and Britta who heard that immediately looked at Leonardo.

"First Gilbert, why do you want to train with me?" Leonardo said.

"I want to be strong enough to protect my brother!" said Gilbert.

"Why?" said Leonardo spontaneously.

"That's because the only family I have left is my younger sister who is still in middle school. You know, we're orphans. We do have relatives, but our relatives don't care about us. In the past, my sister was almost set up by an acquaintance of my relative and after I found out, it turned out that he was just a perverted uncle. When I found out about it, I immediately chastised and threatened my relative, and I even hit the man for trying to take my sister away. Therefore, I have to be strong to protect my sister! You know, my sister is very, very cute! She's like a little angel that needs to be protected!" said Gilbert.

Others who heard this sympathized with her and found it strange that she was overly affectionate towards her sister.

Leonardo who heard that immediately smiled a little and said, "You siscon." he said.

Then next Leonardo will sing Jiyan.

"Then Jiyan, what about you?" said Leonardo.

"I want to be the champion!" said Jiyan loudly.

"Huh? What do you mean?" said Leonardo.

"Yes, I want to win first place in every competition because then I can make my parents proud," said Jiyan.

"Just for that?" said Leonardo.

"Yes, that's because all my family members are good at martial arts. My brother and sister are good at martial arts, but I am the only one without any martial arts talent. Therefore, I want to prove that I am also good at martial arts." Jiyan said.

"Heh...to prove that you're talented too...interesting," Leonardo said.

Then Leonardo next asked Britta.

"You're the last, what's the reason you want to be my student?" Leonardo said.

"Hm...I don't really know," Britta said.

Leonardo and the others hearing that were immediately surprised, "Ehhhhhh!?" everyone said.

"After hearing Gilbert and Jiyan's story, I was quite impressed, but you said you didn't know why you wanted to be my disciple, which makes Gilbert and Jiyan's story useless." said a surprised Leonardo.

"Yes, I was confused. I only entered this club because I wanted to join the others, because when I entered this school I was confused about which club to join since it was mandatory. I'm not talented in any field...but when I saw the martial arts club practice I was a little mesmerized by the seniors moving their bodies flexibly to defend themselves, so I got interested and entered the club. I also thought, I don't have any talent, but who knows I might have some talent here. But I was the weakest in the club. I can't be compared to Gilbert and Jiyan. They're both too good for me." Britta said.

Leonardo, hearing that, said, "Well, that could be an excuse... so, basically, the weakest person wants to be the strongest, yes," Leonardo said.

Leonardo, after hearing their three reasons, began to think whether or not they could become his students. After some time, Leonardo still felt indecisive and finally made one condition.

"Huh... like I'm still indecisive. Alright, I'll make the conditions," Leonardo said.

Gilbert, Jiyan, and Britta began to listen carefully. The others also listened carefully.

"There is only one condition, which is to fight Steven, one on one. Win or lose I don't care, I just want to see your intentions and abilities," Leonardo said, pointing at Steven.

Steven, who heard this, was immediately surprised. "Huh, what the hell, just making a unilateral decision. You have a grudge against me, don't you?" said an annoyed Steven.

"You fight with me a lot, even though you lose all the time," Leonardo said as he stood up and approached Steven.

"Teasing me?" said an annoyed Steven.

"No, it's a compliment from me," Leonardo said with a smile and walked into the cottage.

Gilbert immediately shouted, "Wait, Leo," he said. Gilbert, Jiyan, and Britta said in unison, "We agree to that condition," he said. Leonardo looked back and smiled.

"Heh... what do I think... why am I being ignored," Steven said.

"Hahaha... what a pity," said Laras.

"Ah... how about stipulating that the fight be held at Leo's training center at the peak of the boulder phenomenon passing through the planet Terra. That would be Sunday," Raka said.

"Ah, right, I agree. We'll also hold a joint viewing of the phenomenon," said Fauzan. Others also nodded.

"Do you want to come?" said Radit. Gilbert, Jiyan, and Britta said together, "Yes, happily!"

"Hey, what do I think? I haven't said yes yet. You all have a grudge against me, huh!" said Steven, angry at being ignored.

They all ended up spending their day off relaxing in the cottage until the next day. They all returned to their respective homes that afternoon.

As they were about to go to bed, Steven said something, "Hey, you guys forgot something," Steven said, coming out of the hut with food. "What is it?" said Radit.

"Already, don't ask too many questions, just eat this. This is a special meal made by Laras that was intentionally prepared for the last time. Yes, Laras!" said Steven.

Laras, hearing that, looked pleased.

They all took the skewered meat onto their plates, except Amelia, Hana, and Steven who already knew and pretended to take the food. After that, the others began to eat the food that looked attractive.

Soon, they all started vomiting and some of them looked like they were going to faint after eating Laras' food.

"Hehe, feel my revenge for being ignored," Steven said. Laras saw that they were confused about whether the food was good or not because the others didn't respond.