historical

Tihana stepped to the front of our small, two-man group.

- Are you really gonna hide behind a girl? - asked me the leader of the jerks.

- What the heck is she even wearing? - One of his lackeys pointed out, half laughing.

- If you want, I can bash your face in with this shield - she responded.

- Hey, be careful! - the leader warned her, switching his focus of attention. - We are gentlemen, but if you push, we are gonna disarm you, and tie you up.

- She is kind of acute - another lackey pointed out. - How old are you, cutie?

I didn't say a thing, but my eyebrow climbed up my forehead, again. The jokes and harsh words were fine, but if they tried to do something dirty to her, I would tear them apart.

- I'm out of your league, shitface - said Tihana.

- Calm your girlfriend down, or it's going to be you, who pays for her insults - the leader warned me.

I ignored him completely, but it kinda surprised me, that he chose to call my fake daughter my girlfriend. She was much younger after all, but then I realized that because of all the upgrades, and all the skills I had, I was definitely not looking the way I normally would.

Those thoughts actually consumed me more than the whole incident.

- Talk with me, not him! - Tihana took another step forward, challenging the guy.

This made the whole group respond. They surrounded her, with the only guy in normal clothes staying behind. He watched carefully, though.

The leader decided to take action shortly after, but for some reason, he chose me as his target, not her. He passed by Tihana with one athletic jump, landed right next to me, then tried to smash the ring at the end of his halberd into my face. I moved instinctively and avoided it with ease. He then tried to smash the side of my head, by changing his attack a bit, but I avoided it too.

I didn't say anything, just watched him, but his aggression brought me back to reality.

He then tried to punch me, and kick me, but nothing could land. Meanwhile, Tihana got completely surrounded. I don't know why she didn't just bash at least one of those guys with her shield. I guess she was too afraid of using her strength and injuring them, or even worse. Because of that, they grabbed her shield, and then her hands.

I noticed it from the corner of my eye, and I also noticed the looks on their faces. It was obvious that they would soon grab the other parts, which - I'm not gonna lie - pissed me off.

As the new punch came my way, I used a very tiny bit of my speed and power to grab it, and pull the guy, so he lost his footing and landed on his face, straight on the ground, surprised by the sudden move. I passed by him, running, and got to the first of the guys surrounding Tihana.

He had to be aware that I was coming, maybe notified by one of his fellas, but he tried to turn around, just to get grabbed by the shoulder, and tripped, as I blocked his legs with mine, then directed his fall utilizing his weight, and got to the next one.

One by one, they got knocked down on the forest litter by my strange, and very tight movement. I was practically sticking to them and making them trip over their own legs, or pushing them in a way, which made them lose their balance.

In a span of maybe two breaths, there were only three people standing. Tihana, me, and the other guy in casual clothes, who actually started to move, seeing what just happened.

- You are asking for trouble - he said to me, then lowered himself in rapid motion, and jumped forward to hit me with an uppercut.

He was fast. Faster than the speed I just displayed, but still not even in the same realm of my true capabilities, so I avoided his attack with a fancy turn of my feet, then a few next ones which followed, as he turned the single punch into a full combo.

I read him like I would read a newspaper, then interrupted his moves with my own, basically sticking to him, and interfering with what he wanted to do at the moment when the moves were being born.

I finished him by just placing my food behind his leg, and twisting my body, to make him land on his ass.

- You say? - I finally responded, then turned to Tihana.

Her eyes were open wide, despite me coming to her rescue. The whole situation put her in a state of shock.

- How dare you! - screamed the leader in the fancy armor, as he picked himself up from the ground. - Do you have any idea who my father is?!

- Are you ok? - I asked my fake daughter, ignoring him.

More than my words, his tantrum brought her back to reality, and she confirmed with a nod.

- I'm right here, and I would never let them touch you, but I needed you to know that things like that might happen now and then, so you should be ready to take care of yourself. Do not hesitate. If they go after you, kick the shit out of them - I told her. - Even if you break some bones, it's still their fault. So don't be afraid.

She nodded rapidly, as she completely regained her senses, clearly learning the lesson which came out of this situation. I knew it immediately. All her persona was telling me that.

- I'll make you regret this! - screamed the guy, still not getting that we didn't give a shit about his threats.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah... Just fuck off before I'll change my mind, and decide to beat you up for real - I replied, finally giving him the attention he so desperately wanted to get.

My eyes switched to him, and he immediately knew, just from my look, that I was no longer in the mood for jokes. The whole group retreated shortly after, as soon as they picked themselves up.

Tihana, despite the situation, still wanted to go into the cave, so we did.