Chapter 1 - The Orphanage

"NERUUUUUUUN"

There was a great scream heard throughout the orphanage.

It was nothing more than a dilapidated, old building filled with cracks and mold all over. Vines and brambles were growing among the rocks of the building. It was more like a medium size house, with a quite big yard for its size, filled to the brim with weeds and stones. There were several children of different ages playing, with their dresses that looked more like rags, however, much to the surprise of any interested onlooker, they were all smiling sweetly. Some of them had quite a shy look, however, others were quite the opposite.

From inside the house, a small boy was running for dear life. He was more on the average size, barely 5-6 years, with a dirty garment full of mud, and a face full of dirt. It was quite obvious, he was not fed to his utmost desire every day. Nevertheless, all of this couldn't hide the beauty of the young boy, with brown hair which fell all the way to his shoulders, and a deep and clear look, though quite mischievous and playful. Right after him, another boy was chasing him with all of his strength. The second boy was on the chubby side, and quite taller than the one he was chasing. He had quite an angry look on his face, which was red as a beet.

"How dare you put a cockroach in my meal... If I don't hit you today 'till I break a bone or two, my name will no longer be Sylvester".

Said the chubby boy.

The other children were looking flabbergasted at the scene, and most of them couldn't refrain from giggling and laughing. Silvester got even more flustered and red-faced. He was 9 years old, and currently, he was the biggest boy in the orphanage, and as such, the bully of the whole bunch of children. He frequently hit the other children so they would give him half of their meals, one of the reasons why he was such a fatty. He was quite strong for 9 years old though, endowed with natural great physical power, and therefore, being the biggest boy, he thought it was par for the course, to be the leader and ask for more from the others.

The other lad, Nerun, kept running till he reached a big rock of nearly 1 meter, right in the middle of the play yard. Then, looking straight at Sylvester, he said between giggles:

"If you wanna hit me fatty, you'll have to catch me first. You may be just a little bit stronger than the rest, but you are nothing but a turtle. I'm quite confident you won't touch even a curl of my hair, hahaha... The roach is your punishment for wanting to steal Miriam's food. Here, we're all supposed to be brothers, and yet, you keep messing around and fighting everybody all day long. You'll see when Elijah returns, I'll tell on you, and then we'll see who gets a broken bone".

At the mention of Elijah, Sylvester turned pale as a tomb. Although it was true, that he was the most prominent and strongest boy of the bunch, it was only because Elijah, the eldest brother had left the orphanage for the border a year ago. Silvester was deeply afraid of Elijah, not just because he was 4 years older, but because Elijah was quite strong and brave, and very protective of his little brothers in the orphanage.

When the other children saw the pale face of Sylvester, they cracked out loud. It looked like Silvester was one of the typical boys who bullied the weak while fearing the strong. With a face full of shame, he got even angrier and screamed aloud: "Nerun, Elijah left over a year ago, and it's not even sure he will come back. And even if he did, I'll make sure to trash you up real nice before he comes back".

Sylvester ran towards the rock and jumped quite high, up to 2 meters and threw himself over Nerun while making a fist and trying to punch his face.

- Crack -

Nerun flipped backwards and escaped the punch, which hit the rock and made quite a big crack which nearly went through all of it. The children were astonished while seeing that.

"Qi Force level 9. I can't believe Sylvester has reached the border to becoming a Qi master".

Said one of the boys whose eyes were wide open.

Sylvester saw the rock and even tho his hand was trembling, he was smiling to himself. Then he turned at Nerun and said: "Do you see Nerun? My Qi Force has been increasing quite rapidly. If I manage to catch you, I can promise that a broken bone is the minimum I'll grant to you".

"A broken bone you say fatty. Do you think I can't see the blood in your knuckles? I'm sure you broke your fat hand hitting that rock. Besides. What is all that strength good for, if you can't even reach me, oh mighty turtle". Said Nerun while mocking the proud Sylvester. The latter couldn't help getting angry one more time.

"THAT'S IT. You'll get what's coming when I get my hands on you. You can't escape forever".

"Now, who's breaking whose bones?

Suddenly a clear female voice was heard coming from the door to the backyard. A very beautiful young lady 18 years old was watching the whole scene while frowning. She had a very simple dress, with an apron on her and her skin was a bit tanned. However, that apparent simplicity couldn't hide her beauty and contour. Sylvester couldn't help blushing while looking at the young woman and started stuttering.

"Sis, sis, sister Maya.. The thing, is, ehm, you know, Nerun put a roach in my lunch"

"And that's supposed to give you the right to break his bones. You guys are supposed to be brothers. You must look after each other because you only have each other. Do not think that I've failed to notice that you keep bullying the rest of the children," answered Maya back.

"And you haven't even caught him trying to peep through the window while you were bathing," said Nerun. Sylvester turned pale as a corpse when Nerun said that and replied without thinking:

"How did you find out?".

"Is that true Silvester?"

Asked Maya while turning red as a tomato.

"This, eh, sister Maya, it was an accident, I swear to EON, I just wanted to get closer to the heat from the bathroom, I didn't know you were in there".

Answered a flustered Silvester.

"Liar. I saw you following her while you thought no one was watching. I was perched on the roof of the storeroom that points straight to the bathroom window". said Nerun. Silvester lowered his head, while Maya was with her eyes wide opened and filled with anger. Nerun was guffawing loudly.

"What are you laughing about Nerun? You just confessed to watching me as well. You are only about to turn 6, and you are quite the precocious pervert. That is without taking into consideration the fact that you are putting bugs in the food I make. If you like bugs so much, I'll start putting worms in your breakfast so you can enjoy them fully".

When Maya said that, it was Nerun's turn to become pale and started trembling. Nerun had no fear towards anyone in the town, except for two people: The Father of the Orphanage and Maya. He tried to justify himself.

"No, Maya, It's not what you think.... I, I, I was just playing with a ball that ended up on the roof of the storeroom and when I climbed to get it, I just happened to see the whole scene".

"You can't lie Nerun. Every single time you say a lie, you turn your eyes to the side. Remember I know you since you were in diapers".

Now all of the children were looking at Nerun and laughing their asses off. It was thus Nerun's turn to blush.

"Now come and receive your punishment along with Silvester".

...

Nerun didn't dare to disobey Maya. That night, both children were left with no dinner and were standing in the yard while holding buckets filled with rocks, 2 for Silvester and 1 for Nerun. Both were quiet, though Sylvester kept glancing at Nerun from time to time.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" Asked Nerun. Sylvester then stared at Nerun's eyes and asked seriously:

"How are they?"

"How are what? What are you talking about?" answered Nerun nonchalantly.

Sylvester couldn't help blushing again... He kept looking from side to side to make sure no one was listening and said: "You know very well what I'm talking about," while pointing at the chest area.

"What exactly are you talking about man? I mean, if you're not clear, how am I supposed to know what you wanna ask?" bantered Nerun back.

"Don't fool around Nerun. I know you understand me", answered Sylvester, getting more and more flustered.

However, Nerun kept insisting on saying nothing, despite Sylvester's insistence.

Sylvester was getting angry all over again, but then he calmed down, and whispered towards Nerun, "You know... Her breasts. How are they, you saw them, I know you did. Tell me what were they like, quickly"

Said Sylvester while blushing all the way to the neck. Nerun was looking at him with eyes as wide as saucers. Then he looked up like trying to reminisce something kept in the depth of his memory, and 2 small blood threads were coming out of his nose while smiling foolishly and saying: "They were magnificent and perky."

"Is that so?"

A cold female voice, that sounded as if it was coming straight from the depth of the arctic tundra sounded behind the kids. Both children slowly turned their heads around and started trembling uncontrollably as if they had seen a ghost and let the buckets in their hands go. Maya was standing behind the two with a couple of hot dishes while one of her beautiful eyes was twitching. She was doing her utmost not to kick the boys' arses.

She then threw both dishes on the cold floor and turned back to the house while saying: "You can both sleep outside in the yard tonight".

Nerun and Silvester were frozen still from the fear and when Maya slammed the door, they looked at each other. Then they started laughing and laughing while Silvester gave Nerun a thumbs up. Life in an orphanage can be quite tough. However, it was a weird thing. The children in the Radem Orphanage were radiating vitality and joy, even in this tough life they were given.