Chapter Twelve: The Old man and his Surprise Trip

I woke up and saw my alarm going off. I immediately turn it off and check the time. It is 5:00 am and I forced myself to get up. It is much easier now than it was at the beginning. Since returning gave me the chance of sleeping once again, I had the temptation of just sped all day sleeping, but I knew I had to invest in myself if I wanted to have a future. The End was coming and there was nothing capable enough to stop it. I knew the hell it would be and what kind of monsters would be dwelling there, so if I wanted to protect my loved ones I needed to be at my top condition and for that I needed to start training now. I got a decent level by training when I was in my late thirties, but that was definitely not my maximum potential. I had already ended absorbing the genetic booster and had been training for the last six months every day. My body was extremely fit for my young age and I calculated that right now I was simply too strong and fast for someone my age. Of course, since it was just a foundation booster level F, I was not going to be a superhuman just yet. The immediate benefits of the booster would be the immunity and defense boost which would help me to withstand the cold weather and avoid most illnesses except for the typical flu that was a must to update your immune system. Of course in the long term I would still be stronger and faster than the typical person, but it would be at an Olympic athlete level. If I really wanted to break human standards I would need a level D or C booster, of course there was also the different exoskeletons and weapons, but KC had been extremely silent in the last months. I would lie if I said I did not care. I was worried about the lack of communication.

- "Have they forgotten about me? Did I do something wrong?"

The idea of having been cut off the system which gave me the booster scared me since many things depended on it. However, at the same time I just calm down reminding myself that there was nothing I could do and that I gained nothing thinking too much about it. In the end I needed to make plans for the future with or without KC. They were just an external help and a variable which I could not depend on completely.

- "I can only depend on myself"- I said to myself as I changed into my sweat suit and carefully get out of my room trying not to wake up my family.

I followed my typical training which I used in the End. Running around for 20 minutes at different speed including bursts of run with normal running. No jogging though. It was discovered in the future that jogging really did not help at all since jogging was not a natural movement. It was better to walk or run instead of jogging. Again there were many who disagreed but I only used what worked out for me. After the run, I return and start doing basic exercises to activate my muscles like push up, pull ups and lunges. After that I start doing my set of moves to practice my fighting system.

- "I really need to enter a Muay Thai and BJJ gym to work on my offensive and floor work"- I think noticing the typical weaknesses in my system who was created with the help of a master and had helped him survive in the End, but which also had put him in hard times against real masters.

His system worked there was no doubt about it, but not against real masters- They could easily see its flaws and pass through them. His typical problem had always been his defense and floor work. If he went to the floor, he would be finished since he never was good on it. So now that he had the chance, he needed to polish and perfect his system so it was a real master killer.

- "For now I have to use what I have hoping not to take too many bad habits which I will have to fix when I start my formal training…"

The first gyms for Muay Thai and BJJ will appear in two years after an increase in the interest of martial arts. There were of course already gyms in the capital, but there was no way I would be allowed to go there at my age and there were still restrictions on age due to the dangerous aspects of martial arts. I could enter Judo, Karate or Tae-Kwondo of course as a child, but the techniques taught were definitely not the ones I needed since they were tailored for children and not for real combat. So it was better to wait as I worked in my foundations with basic strength, speed, equilibrium, core, agility, and flexibility.

- "I wonder what my mother would think if she knew my plans for the future"- I thought as I went to the shower after finishing my routine of the morning.

After that, I changed and went to have breakfast with my family before going to the school

- "Have a nice day in your school, son"- my mother was always there to send me off with a Kiss.

I spent my day in school with Anggie. There were no more problems with Kori since he had been transferred to another school. In the afternoon, I spent time with Anggie doing homework and playing with my brother. I tried to spend as much time as possible with her since I knew that soon she would have to move to another city.

- "See you tomorrow"- she always said once she had to return home or when I had to go from her home like today.

As I walked home with my bag on the shoulder, I saw the newspapers in a newsstand and a smile formed on my face seeing the front page news. I bought a paper to read the details of the situation.

- "Government office starts investigation on Firendis Family due to suspicions on fund laundering, embezzlement and misappropriation."

The newspaper explained that the Milleiros family had found many workers who had been illegally transferring funds from the mining company and had asked the taxing office to help in the investigation. Since the government had also stocks on said company, it started an investigation and they found that these workers had connections with Firendis family and much of the stolen money had gone to the funds of campaign of Rufus Firendis who is trying to get a seat in the city hall of the City.

- "… This was another hit in a series of unfortunate incidents in many of the businesses of the Firendis family which include the last week's fines received in their restaurants and casinos due to serious sanitary and hygiene faults found by the Ministry of Health..."

It seemed my uncle had moved our family in a more aggressive stance and had taken care of the possible attacks and had made preemptive strikes on the Firendis. Of course, this was only the surface of the war and he was sure there was more blood running in the underground. However, this was not his battle yet and it would be unwise to get involved for now. His time would come when he would use not only the Firendis, but the other enemy families to advance in his position inside the family. However, for now, he should just study and get recognition on the things he could do.

- "Mom, can we talk?"- I asked my mother

She looked at me with curiosity and then she pointed at the chair next to her. I sat down and looked at her warmly.

- "So what do you want?"- she asked with a smile.

- "Am I so obvious?"- I asked feeling a little embarrassed.

- "I brought you to this world, so obviously I know you very well."- she said as if it were the most natural thing in world- "so what is it?"

- "I want to change schools next year"- I said with a direct and firm approach.

She looked at me with worry and maybe she remembered the day she noticed I was being bullied.

- "Have they brought problems again"- she asked with a dangerous look surely thinking about Kori or his father.

- "No"- I replied reassuringly- "Kori has been transferred and I doubt I will see him again"

- "Then why?"- my mother asked me looking at me with a confused expression.

- "I want to enter Saint Ferdinand School"- I said- "It's a much better school which will open better possibilities for me when I need to go to college."

My mom seemed surprised but also a warm spark on her eyes. After all it was the school where she herself had entered in her younger days.

- "You know it is difficult to enter"- she said like probing how decided I was in doing this.

- "And you know I am capable enough"- I replied with confidence- "I am studying already and with the correct references and recommendations so I'm sure I will have no problems at entering."

In my past life, I had been transferred after the beating Firendis gave me and it was a place where I had grown a spine after all the tests I had to pass. It was not a playground but a constant training ground where you had to excel at the mental, emotional and physical aspects. You could not be weak and if you were, they would simply beat you down into a tougher person.

- "I know you are"- said my mother with a proud smile- "in that case I'll start the paperwork… but once again are you sure this is not due to abuse, right?"

- "I promise"- I said looking straight at her eyes in order to show I was being honest- "I just want to be someone who can be a good professional and for that I need to go that school."

- "I see"- she said with a nice smile full of pride- "I'm glad you think about your future."

I always did. Truth to be told I could still get a fine future without going to that school. However, there was the point that I don't know how many changes this temporal line would have due to presence and changes in this life that he already caused and will cause. So, I decided that it was better to keep a line to avoid much change. So I would go to the school in order to keep that part of the original line. The change was unavoidable. The Firendis situation showed already that. I beat Kori and my family attack on the family showed that I can cause changes but at the same time I don't know the consequences of that, and I must ready for it. There were already changes in this timeline; for example, I will end this year as the number one student which never happened. Also, since I know my mother will lose her job next year, I asked her to start saving money just in case. It will be our emergency fund in the future.

- "Now it's my turn to tell you something"- said my mother with exhilaration all over her face- "magnificent news!"

- "Yeah?"- I asked not having seen my mother act like this in a while.

- "Good news, your grandmother has called you to spend time with her in mid-year vacations."- she shouted in glee.

I opened my eyes in surprise. My grandmother was the matriarch of the family and she was a cold and tough lady that led the family with a firm grip. I had seen her when she had readmitted my mother into the family and I was scared of her. I warmed up my relationship with her later in life before she died, but definitely this had not happened in my previous life. This was a big change.

- "I see…"- I replied feeling overwhelmed by the possible consequences of this situation

- "This is a great opportunity"- she said as she hugged me in happiness- "she must have heard about your participation in the last problem with Firendis and may want to talk to you about the future!"

My mother was extremely excited and I understood why, she wanted to be recognized by her mother. They had made up but were still kind of apart. This could be a situation to be able to get closer to her. If this made her happy I would definitely use the opportunity. Also, this could be a chance to advance in my stand within the family and create connections with my cousins who would be a strong support in the future.

- "Ok, when will we go?"

- "In the first day of vacation as soon as your classes end."

After that day all the attention from mom was put into making me the best presentable. We bought new clothes and shoes, I was taken to the barbershop for a haircut and I was made to memorize the rules of the family to visit her. It was after all a person who had all the power inside the family and there were protocols.

- "Are you ready?"

The day arrived and my mom, my brother and me went to the terminal to take a bus to the city where my grandmother lived. Due to health issues, she was recommended to move to a milder climate where she could have a better circulation and she had moved to another city where instead of relaxing and enjoy a retirement like most people her age would, she expanded the family businesses there with great success. Most of my uncles and aunts were there helping her and so we went to the terminal since it was a few hours away.

- "We will arrive to your Aunt Riza's, so please behave in your best since she tends to be very snobbish and critical."- my mother warned us.

I knew about my aunt Riza. Since young, she had been very picky and normally acted like a lady of high status. She had managed to marry a Mining engineer and so her economic position had always been good. As people who had too much money she also developed strange habits and gimmicks which made her and her family a little weird in the eyes of the rest. However, her heart was always ready to help the family and I always had a nice relationship with my three cousins and so I was happy to go there once more. Of course, I was going a little earlier.

- Hello lil sis- she said with a smile and hugged her.

My brother and I greeted her with the most respect and she kissed us both and welcomed us. Soon, the sisters started talking while they told us to go and play with our cousins. We went and they introduced themselves. Rico, Cesar and Helena who were in that order of seniority. I introduced myself and my brother and they smiled at us. We started to watch TV, but then a conflict started.

- "I want to see this program!"- said my brother with anger when my cousin changed the channel from the one he wanted to see.

- "That program is for stupid people so we don't watch it here"- said Cesar with a firm tone.

- "It's not stupid! - my brother shouted and I could see he was preparing himself to start a fight.

It was true that it was a stupid show, but it was because it was a comedy show. Of course, in that epoch many people had no problem in watching but certain elites thought that these programs made people stupid and they should protect themselves from what they called "brain poisoning". Even though I could not deny there had been trash TV programs, this one particularly was not one of them. Furthermore, it was a classic program that was watched even decades after it had stop streaming, even during the End. However, I knew this should not escalate, so I placed a hand on my brother shoulder and asked my cousins permission to talk in private.

- "It's not stupid…"- said my brother with teary eyes.

- "I know, but this is not our home"- I said placing a hand on his hair- "It's their house, so we must obey their rules."

- "Not fair"- said my brother rebelling to what he considered to be a grave offense against his pride.

- "Life is not fair, brother. If we fight now, we will make mom look bad… is that what you want?"- I asked making sure to see his eyes.

- "No…"- he said but I could still see the anger in his eyes.

- "Good boy, when we return home, we will see a marathon of the program to catch up, ok?"- I said and the little boy changed his expression immediately.

- "Really?"- he asked with excitement.

- "We will even prepare popcorn and French fries!"- I said and he immediately started to jumped in glee.

After that, my brother did not complain anymore and we just watched some documentaries that my cousins used to watch. My brother fell asleep but I watched the documentaries with interest.

- "You can play with that"- said my cousin who had to go- "I have to go to my Judo classes so feel free to use the console."

After playing a little, my brother and I went to the living room and started to do our vacation homework. As usual it seemed our teachers hated the fact that we had relaxing time and wanted to torture us with homework even during vacation, so I helped my brother after finishing my quota of the day. In that moment my aunt entered.

- "How responsible, I'm glad you are so good with your homework."

- "The faster we deal with the annoying things; the more time we have for what's really important"- I said citing another of the family mottos.

- "You are very correct"- my aunt said ooking at me with a curious expression- "I wish your cousins were as responsible"

- "They are amazing!" - I said with a humble tone- "they do much more homework and things than we do. They really work hard!"

My aunt smiled at the praises I said and she caressed my hair with a loving expression.

- "You have a lot to do?"- she asked looking at both of us.

- "We will finish soon."

- "After that we will go downtown to hang around, ok?"

- "Of course!"

My mother saw me with pride and nodded in approval. After that we went to have a walk with my aunt and we went shopping. My aunt insisted I had a new suit tailor made. They took my measurements and also my brother and they said they would be ready for the next day.

- "Thank you, aunt"- I said while thinking that it was kind of a waste to buy such expensive suit for a child of 8 years who would rapidly outgrow it. However, I would never dare to insult her by telling that in a loud voice- "I will use it for my meeting with grandmother in two days."

- "I'm glad you like it"- said my aunt extremely satisfied at my look.

After that, we went to eat, some shopping for the ladies, and to the arcade. It was a fun time and we returned exhausted. My cousins had already go to bed, so we did the same.

- "I really missed these days with family"- I thought just before closing my eyes.

Next day, I woke up early once more and started my routine in the top floor of the house. I did not know the neighborhood so I did not risk going running. When I was already doing my fighting techniques my two cousins were there and seemed very interested in my movements.

- "What are you doing?"- my eldest cousin Rico asked with curious eyes.

- "Exercise"- I said without stopping my movements since it would be a waste to stop at the middle of my set just to talk.

- "Is that a fighting style?"- Rico asked without losing any movement I was doing.

- "Yeah!"- I said while giving some punches to the imaginary opponent in front of me.

- "Does it work?"- asked Rico while smiling and I had an idea of where this was going.

- "It has already saved me once against a bully"- I replied finishing the set and relaxing a little while facing Rico- but it still has a lot of work to do.

- "Show me"- he said while getting closer. I just smiled and nodded as a signal.

My cousin threw himself at me and I barely had the time to react. He was a judo practitioner which specialize in grabbing techniques which was one of my fortes since I was not good at floor work I always fortified my defense to stop that from happening. I kept my distance as I block his grabbing techniques. I did not want to hurt him so I contained myself from hitting of kicking.

- "Your defense is really tight"- Praised Rico while trying to sneak his am under my armpit.

- "Your footwork is amazing"- I returned the praise while locking his arm and stopping him from adjust his stance- "I can barely keep up with you."

- "That's because I am trained, but you already have a very strong foundations"- said my cousin- "however, I also noted that you did not punch or kick."

- "I didn't want to use those techniques since you are only using grappling"- I replied calmly.

- "I see"- he said taking distance from me- "In that case let me add techniques then."

He changed his stance and adopted a karate position. I recognized the style immediately and so I immediately changed my stance to Muay Thai since it was the only style I knew sufficiently to counter the Kyokushin Karate my cousin was using.

- "Interesting"- Rico said as he showed an excited grin- "here I come!"

He immediately entered my range with a quick step and immediately punch to my chest. I reacted by front kicking his stomach. He saw this and immediately sidestep while still launching the punch. He was extremely quick, so I barely had time to block the punch with a cross guard. The impact was extremely hard so I knew that I would not be able to block it. I instead parried to the side and immediately kicked with a side kick directed at his abdomen. Rico received it, but I felt a hard resistance. As expected from a Kyokushin practicioner.

- "Nice Kick!"- He said before locking my leg with his arm. My leg was trapped and so I immediately sent elbow strikes to the head in order for his instincts to use the hand he was using to lock my leg and be freed.

However, he used the other hand to block my elbow strike and immediately ued it to passed it over my neck. He was trying to lock my head and sent me to the floor which would be the end of me. I immediately used my other leg to climb on his right thigh and used my both arms to clinch on him and put pressure on his neck and stopping him from locking my neck. He immediately released me and I also put distance.

- "You almost got me there"- I said to him while trying to assess what would be the best way to approach him next time.

- "Your reaction was very effective"- he said while also trying to analyze my movements.

After a moment we returned to the spar. Rico was simply amazing; his application of Karate / judo was absolutely practical. It was not the idiotic approach that many future practitioners would use in the future where they avoid contact in order to get stupid points. It was one of the reasons if not the most important one which made Karate a dead martial art with no practical use in real combat. Rico's style went for full contact, and even though it was obvious It was still immature, he was much better than the likes of Kori and oher adult Karate "entertainers." Kori would have been knocked out by my cousin in three moves. Another thing about the Kyokushin karate that my cousin also had was the conditioning of his body. He as just 13 years old, but his body already possessed a monstrous defense. Of course, this was just comparing to kids in our age range but he already was extremely resilient. Of course my body was also very strong, but this was due to the booster I had taken. If Rico had access to the same medicine, he would be stronger than many adults.

- "Shiooo!"- he shouted when a kick landed on my stomach.

I kept a defensive stance waiting to see how my cousin would act. He tested me with some punches and kicks which I easily blocked. Then, he tried some feints which were decent. I also counter attacked some times mostly with front kicks to his legs to measure my distance and gauge my other hits and sidekicks to his abdomen. He seemed to be having a good time.

- "You are smiling, cousin"- I said as I clichéd on him to use some knee strikes which he receives gladly.

- "You too"- he said as he threw some punches which I easily dodged.

I did not notice I also had a grin on my face and then I noticed how much I was having fun. There was a limit to how much you could train alone. Sparring was always indispensable for any martial art. I knew my cousin was not being serious so I also lowered my level so we could learn from each other. We had a decent spar session and after a quarter of hour we stopped and thank each other.

- "That was amazing"

- "You were not being serious"

- "You are better than many of my teammates"- he said- "by the way… what style was that?"

- "Muay Thai"- I said being honest since I just limited myself to use mostly that martials art in our sparring session. Since it was just a mild session I did not see the point of using the rest of my repertoire- "though I also used other techniques."

- "Mixed Martial Arts?"

- "Same as you"

- "My senseis of both were really angry at me"- said my cousin- "they think it's not a good idea to mixed things and should keep the style pure."

- "I think the user should be free to use whatever fits his own style"- I said remembering what my master said during the end- "pure styles are fine until they have to deal with their weaknesses and by then it could be too late."

My cousin smiled widely and it was pretty obvious he agreed with me. During the end not used pure styles since they were inefficient. Most people used MMA to perfect some specific points of their own styles.

- "It would be nice to have these sessions every day at this time"- I said and my cousin agreed.

The rest of the day we spent it by playing and doing our homework. Then we watched movies and went to eat outside. During the dinner we even made a spicy competition were my cousin won. My mouth ended up being on fire and I needed like 20 minutes to recover. For me who was accustomed to the bland and rough food of the End, spices were always overwhelming and chili even more so. That night we went walking again and to the cinema. That night my mom told me once again to be very careful during the visit to my grandmother the next day. I reassured her telling her I would never do anything that could embarrass her.

…

The next day I did my morning schedule as usual and sparred once again with my cousins both. Then I took a shower and dressed to go to see my Grandmother. My aunt would be the one taking us there. We went on a car until we were very close.

- "We'll walk from here"- she said and we entered a private neighborhood which was enclosed by metal bars all around the zone.

I immediately noticed that were not alone as various people were observing us from the shadows.

- "Is everything fine, Cristian?"- my aunt asked me seeing I was nervous.

- "We are being followed"-I said and she and my mom immediately smiled.

- "How many?"- she asked as if she were not surprised

- "Six… seven maybe…"- I replied.

- "Good job! You don't have to worry since it's our people"- my aunt said with a satisfied tone- "I see you have good senses."

- "Those are the ones that are bad at hiding"- I replied feeling more relaxed at knowing they were not enemies- "I know there are more but the others are really good and can't find them."

- "They would be fired if you were able to find them"- said my aunt as if stating something normal.

We arrived to the entrance and we entered a house which could be considered rustic and very old, but well preserved and clean. There were gardens of different flowers and trees surrounding the main building which stood out as a magical place. It was made mostly of polished stones with some places made of wood. The entrance was filled with security members all over the place and they opened the door to let us in. Even so, I could tell the security was ready to act at any moment. The gun laws were very tight on my country in that time, but certain organizations had especial permission and my family got the license using certain connections and favors. Once we entered the inside of the house it was full of cedar wood and polished stone and the floor was completely covered in carpet. I could see a lot of skylights and even a fireplace with chimney. The place exuded a cozy and warm environment that welcomed anyone who entered in it. We went up the stairs which was made of polished Mahogany wood and we soon arrived to the second floor where a lady was watering some plants. She stood with elegance and very straight. Her back gave an aura of strength and power. As if she could support everything and everyone around her.

- "We are here mom"- said my mom and my aunt getting closer.

- "Welcome"- my grandmother said with a smile

She elegantly turned around. Every move was planned and it was nice. She smiled warmly and then my aunt and my mother were received in a hug. I stayed at my position waiting and then she looked at me.

- "So you are Cristian"- she said and I felt as if I was being analyzed completely.

The matriarch of the Mireillos Family and the woman who was the column that prevented the family from falling out was in front of me.