Handling A Rude Cousin II

Even though Dara managed to dodge the straight lunge that was aimed at her, the sharp air surrounding it took out a little chunk of her large afro hair.

Her narrowed eyes revealed anger rather than surprise as she stared at Ayo.

"Are you foolish? Do you want to die?" she snapped.

'Uh oh... that didn't go as planned. I just wanted to fake it, but she didn't fall for it, so I had to commit...'

Ayo mumbled, "I apologize..."

She touched her hair with dismay, "Is your apology going to get me back my hair?"

Ayo fell silent for a moment. "I didn't mean to. I was just hoping to make things better from now on..." He trailed off, regretting his impulsive action.

"You want to be a good cousin after all this while? I guess the fact that you lost your memory is a good thing. Tell me, how did you learn martial arts? Your mother never thought of you, and you treated my Mom and me like a piece of trash despite us always reaching out to you."

"I'm not that guy anymore... just think of me as a new person from now on..." Ayo suggested inwardly, the thought pattern was not only beneficial to them alone, fact was it would make it easier for him to navigate this new life.

Dara crossed one leg over the other and regarded him. "Are you deliberately ignoring the question about martial arts?"

"Ah, my bad. I don't know, I just kind of know how to do it..." Ayo replied cryptically, unwilling to reveal the truth, if he was to talk about where he had learned the move... how was he supposed to do that without having to talk about how great of a warrior he was in his past life. 

He'll rather not touch the topic at all. 

"Fine... I'll give you a chance to be a good cousin..." She hesitated, her voice growing soft, "...I've never really had a male around me either, so it's fine." She muttered, her face slightly blushing.

"Then, can we go and eat?" Ayo smiled, trying to break the ice.

"Don't get giddy with me, you bastard!" She retorted and playfully kicked him in the butt.

He staggered forward, pretending to be unharmed, giving a fake smile.

'I'll focus on how wonderful her mother is...' He thought to himself as he forced the smile and left her room.

"How is she?" Shola asked anxiously.

"She's good..." Ayo replied, offering her a reassuring pat on the head as he approached her.

His unexpected affectionate gesture left Shola pleasantly surprised.

"You must have been through a lot. You can depend on me now." He assured her as he sat down.

She tilted her head, dazzled by his words. 'Is this a blessing or a curse?' She wondered privately.

Dara joined them a few minutes later, offering apologies for her earlier behavior. The three of them enjoyed a jovial breakfast, with Ayo's attempts at humor successfully lightening the atmosphere, even if his jokes weren't particularly funny.

...

In the late afternoon, Ayo reclined on a cream-colored three-seat couch, one hand tucked in his trousers, scratching his butt, and the other holding a remote control as he aimlessly flipped through TV channels.

"There are so many enjoyable things here..." He remarked with excitement as he continued to surf the channels.

[Daily Quest Alert!!]

[You have less than two hours to complete the quest]

He glanced briefly at the notification but decided to focus on the TV.

~beep~

The door beeped, and his aunt returned, carrying bags of groceries that he didn't bother to help with.

"You seem to be enjoying yourself..." She noted as she walked past him, heading to the kitchen to put the groceries away.

Ayo glanced at her, appreciating her figure as she moved, her hips swaying gently.

He struggled to keep his thoughts in check.

"By the way, I stopped by your school... the principal mentioned your suspension for using violence on your teacher. He was willing to pardon you, but I thought you needed some time away from school. However, you can't afford to miss school. This is your last year in the senior class. You need to start preparing for WAEC and JAMB to get into a good university, just like your mother always wanted. You may not be skilled in martial arts, but I believe in your intelligence. Strive to be the most brilliant person I've ever seen." She concluded as she put on an apron and prepared to start cooking.

"Thank you... by the way, where did Dara go?"

"That girl practically lives in the gym. I just hope she makes more friends when she starts university. Oh, you might not remember, but Dara is seventeen years old, one year and one class ahead of you. She got into a federal school in Abeokuta."

'Abeokuta is the capital of Ogun state, known for its prestige in Nigeria. She seems really proud of her daughter.' Ayo glanced at her briefly and returned to what he was doing.

"Right, now that you've learned a bit about martial arts, do you maybe want to start training? I'd be happy to help you." She suggested.

"No, training is too strenuous and painful. I never want to go through that hell again." He replied.

She was taken aback by his response, and her voice trembled as she muttered to herself, "Again? I don't even remember him training at all."

She began to cut the ingredients for the dish she was about to prepare.

[It seems the user has no interest in completing the Daily quest]

[Time limit will be shortened to ten seconds]

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...

[Quest Failed]

[Initiating Realism Trauma]

"Wow... You stabbed me..." Ayo looked down at his bleeding stomach, holding it together with his hand covered in blood. In front of him were a pair of leather boots and a somewhat familiar floral fragrance.

'What in the world...'