Strange ladies

Ayan finished his daily practices taught by the hermit in the evening.

'The side effects from the mercury treatment seem to have vanished completely though I still have to take that bitter medicine. My breath feels much smoother and calm these days. The flexibility of my body has also improved a lot.' Ayan reflected. 'Though the hermit calls this basic, it might not be as simple as it looks.'

His thoughts were interrupted when Sonia and Amelia returned, their hands full of shopping bags.

Amelia beamed. "We've got something you've definitely never tasted before."

Ayan raised an eyebrow, expecting food, but instead, Amelia took out several bottles.

"Alcohol?" he asked, puzzled. "But I'm not old enough to drink it."

"Who cares about the rules?" Amelia scoffed. "Time to experience the real world."

Sonia, arranging glasses, added, "Don't worry. No one's checking on us here. Besides, it'll wear off after a good night's sleep."

"Look, I got several spicy snacks to complement," Amelia added as she started pouring some wine into the cups.

Reluctantly, he took a sip under their encouraging gazes. He noticed a mix of several flavors, a fruity taste with some sweetness and some tingling sensation on the sides of the tongue due to acidity. Despite that, he still found the taste he didn't like, bitterness. He grimaced. "Why is it so bitter?"

"They say alcohol's bitterness washes away the bitterness of life," Amelia chuckled, offering him some snacks.

The conversation flowed as easily as the drinks, with Amelia continually topping up their glasses and opening bottles. Ayan, surprisingly, held his alcohol well for a first-timer, much to Amelia's amusement.

Sonia was the first to go down, and Ayan carried her to her room. Watching them leave, a sly look crossed Amelia's face. Once Ayan returned, she discreetly mixed a packet of white powder into his drink. Oblivious, Ayan took another sip.

Slowly, Ayan started feeling tipsy, he mumbled "It looks like I drank too much. We should also get some rest."

But Amelia opened another bottle and poured it over his glass insisting him to stay, "What's the rush? The night's not over yet."

As he got more inebriated, she finally asked what she had been waiting for. "What else do you know about the card? Do you know how to get one?"

In his stupor, Ayan answered innocently, "I do have some idea about it. I asked the AI, but it needed higher authorization to access such information."

"And did you figure out how to get that authorization?" she pressed.

"No… I think it's something granted by the secret organization," he replied drowsily.

"Secret organization?" Amelia's eyes lit up as she continued digging for more information about the organization and Ayan's mother.

Pleased with her findings, she casually asked sipping on the wine, "So, what else are you hiding? Why were you so moody today?"

"I'm not hiding anything else from you," Ayan sighed, his tone turning melancholic. "The reason I was gloomy was… just that…. Sonia stole my first kiss."

Amelia spit out the drink in her mouth. A strange glint flashed in her eyes and a mischievous grin spread across her face.

----

The next morning, Ayan woke with a pounding headache and the memory of the previous night felt fuzzy. The last thing he remembered was taking Sonia to her room. When he looked around, he found himself in Sonia's bed, in his underwear, with her sleeping beside him.

Heart racing, he quickly grabbed his clothes, put them on, and dashed to his room in panic. He took a refreshing bath and ordered a lemon juice to feel better but missing memory of last night and how he woke up still tugged at his heart.

Not sure of what transpired in the night, he was thinking of how to face the ladies. Determined to face whatever consequences awaited, he went to meet them.

Amelia greeted him warmly. "Sonia's still freshening up. Come, let's go for breakfast," Amelia said dragging him before he could speak.

"You sure aren't as innocent as you look, huh!" Amelia chided.

Ayan's heart skipped a beat. "But, I—"

"I know what happened between you two last night," she whispered, cutting him off with a wink. "But don't worry. I asked Sonia but she doesn't remember a thing, So you're in the clear."

Ayan wanted to explain, but before he could, Sonia joined them.

"What are you two whispering about?" she asked, eyeing them suspiciously.

"Nothing special. I was asking about his first experience…," Amelia replied playfully. "…with the alcohol."

Sonia gave them a curious look but let it go.

After breakfast, Sonia mentioned, "What are your plans for the day? I need to buy some clothes."

Amelia looked at Ayan and said, "Yeah, we should definitely go shopping. Ayan always wears his shirt and pants like a formal occasion. We need to buy some cool T-shirts for him."

They went to a shopping mall to buy clothes. Seeing Ayan struggling to choose his clothes, Amelia nudged Sonia. "I think you should help him choose his clothes."

"But, why me?" Sonia blinked in surprise. "You have more aesthetic sense."

"Oh, come on. Don't you know that he likes you?" Amelia chided.

"What?" Sonia was caught off guard by her sentence.

"Don't play dumb. Who would go and rescue some random woman in a raging river? He even came at night to fix your hand and climbed the hill to talk to you. Why do think he's hanging around with two unknown ladies if he's not infatuated with you?" Amelia blurted.

"But, he seems more friendlier with you than me," Sonia argued.

Amelia rolled her eyes, "That's because he feels awkward expressing himself with you since you move around with a stoic face."

Before Sonia could say anything, she pushed her towards him. "Just go and help him."

They spent the day moving around malls and complexes, choosing new clothes, and eating unique foods.

Later that night, Amelia dragged Ayan and Sonia to a few clubs. After some dancing, Amelia excused herself, leaving Ayan and Sonia awkwardly standing on the sidelines. Sonia sighed and decided to teach Ayan a few dance moves, trying to lighten the mood. Despite the tension, they eventually started enjoying themselves.

After the club, the three of them walked the quiet streets. Suddenly, the roar of a motorbike shattered the calm, and in a flash, a guy on the backseat snatched a gold chain from an old woman's neck. Hearing the woman scream "Thief!" and seeing the bike speeding away, Ayan stepped forward. With precise timing, he kicked, and the motorbike swerved right into his foot, sending the rider and his accomplice crashing into an electric pole.

People on the street gathered quickly, and the old woman started beating the thieves in a fit of rage. Ayan and Amelia were about to approach the scene, but Sonia abruptly pulled them both back and urged them towards the hotel.

"Why are you dragging us away?" Amelia complained. "We were just going to take a look."

Sonia shot her a serious look. "Ayan just kicked a high-speed bike off the road. The police will definitely get involved. He'll have to give statements and might draw unwanted attention. We don't need his strange abilities being exposed."

Amelia frowned but nodded in agreement as Sonia continued, "Besides, those guys might be part of a local gang. Do you really want to face their retaliation?"

"Your words does make sense." Amelia yielded.

"Let's just get a good night's sleep," Sonia suggested. "I haven't exercised much lately. How about we go jogging tomorrow morning?"

Both Ayan and Amelia agreed, and they headed to bed.

----

The next morning, while jogging down a quiet street, they heard the roar of motorbikes approaching from both directions. Within seconds, they were surrounded by a group of thugs wielding bats, pipes, brass knuckles, and knives. One of them pointed at Ayan.

"That's the guy who kicked our bike!"

Another thug chuckled darkly, eyeing Sonia and Amelia. "And he even brought some chicks for us to have fun with. Get him!"

Ayan panicked, worried about how to protect the girls. But before he could react, Sonia and Amelia exchanged amused glances.

"Just what I needed," Amelia grinned. "Sonia, you take the back. I'll handle the front."

Without waiting for a response, Amelia rushed forward, landing a knee to one thug's chest before he could swing his bat, dodging another's kick and taking down a third with a solid punch. Sonia, equally swift, tackled the ones at the rear, moving with deadly precision.

Ayan was utterly dumbfounded as he watched the ladies beat the attackers black and blue. He was amazed at how each of their punches and kicks were precisely connecting the men as if they'd done this countless times in their lives. In a matter of minutes, the entire gang was on the ground, bruised and defeated.

The leader, groaning in pain, looked at Ayan in disbelief. "What kind of man hides behind women? Fight me one-on-one if you've got the guts!"

Before Ayan could respond, Amelia pointed a gun at the man's face.

"He once faced an entire heavy artillery by himself. Bring one next time if you want to face him," Amelia spoke as if it's a trivial matter. "Now, f**k off before I change my mind."

Terrified, the thugs scrambled back to their motorbikes and sped off.

Amelia smirked, holstering her gun. "I may not be as strong as you, but I'm still pretty cool, right?"

Ayan was completely shocked. He looked at Amelia who was exuding vibes of a brave fighter, compared to the scaredy cat who cling onto him for safety. "Were you pretending to be scared at that time?"

Sonia answered for her. "Amelia's experienced a lot of bloodshed and violence growing up. She's used to fighting, but… she has trauma from gunshots and explosions. They remind her of her tragic past."

Amelia's smile faded at the mention of her past. Sonia wrapped her in a comforting hug and looked at Ayan. "Please, don't ask her about it. Let's just go back to the hotel."

Back in the hotel room, Amelia's mood lifted. "As you've probably figured out by now, we're not your average women. We're part of an international mafia. If you don't want to be implicated by our identities, feel free to leave."

Ayan hesitated but then asked, "That day, with all the gunshots and explosions… why did the news only mention a vehicle accident?"

Sonia sighed, deciding to explain. "Amelia's father is a big shot in the mafia world. There have been many conflicts between the mafia and international government agents, but most of it is kept out of the media. After the recent incident, there was an agreement between the mafia and the agents, which is why we've been laying low."

"We'll be changing hotels soon, and stay a bit low-key," Sonia added. "What will you do?"

Ayan, unfazed, replied, "I'll stay with you. I'm just looking to meet some mystics."

"Mystics?" Amelia scoffed. "You mean those old men with long white beards talking about heaven and miracles? Why waste time with them?"

Ayan explained that he had some incurable illness and how a mystic had healed him. Now, he was searching for a master who could teach him how to control his powers.

Amelia exchanged a glance with Sonia before nodding. "Alright. We've got nothing better to do for a few days. We'll help you find your mystics. But we won't be with you much longer—our visas are about to expire."

Ayan began visiting the mystics on his list, but each one either directly rejected him, told him to return in a few years, or claimed they were in seclusion. He felt none met the criteria the hermit had given him, leaving Ayan frustrated but determined to keep searching.

Amelia sneered, "See, your mystics are all fake. They only take those gullible ones and extract money from them. You're too bright for them to prey upon."