Chapter 39 : Their Past

On a field outside the Dojo, Raka was sitting cross-legged with closed eyes. He was surrounded by four white belt disciples. His mood was calm, it was as if he was blending in with his surrounding.

Suddenly, one of the disciples clenched his fist and threw out a punch toward Raka's face without any warning. Eyes still closed, Raka moved his head to dodge the punch. Even though his reaction was a bit late, he managed to dodge it by a hair's breadth.

Unfortunately, it wasn't over. Another disciple threw another punch toward his back. Because of the angle of the punch, Raka had to expend more effort to dodge this strike. Still in his cross-legged position, he crouched down until his face touched the grass to dodge the punch by another hair's breadth.

After successfully dodging the attack, he returned to his former position while still closing his eyes. Beads of sweat could be seen on his forehead. This training wasn't something ordinary and it naturally required him to maintain his concentration at his peak.

It was at this moment that another punch silently moved toward his face. This punch didn't have the slightest trick. Without any angle, nor fearsome power, the punch looked very ordinary. The only special feature of the punch was that it didn't emit any sound at all.

Raka twitched his eyebrows for a moment. He was unsure whether there was a punch coming to him or not. Right when the punch was about to hit his face, his body suddenly jerked and he abruptly moved his head toward his right side.

Alas, the punch was already too close. It cleanly hit Raka's left cheek, sending him tumbling backward with a thump.

"Ouch.. Ouch", Raka opened his eyes and growled at the disciple who punched him earlier, "Is there a need to punch that hard? This is bullying!"

"Oops! I thought you could dodge it", The disciple grinned bashfully, "Let's just start over, I promise to decrease the power!"

"Yeah Raka, we'll decrease the power." Another disciple said to him while smiling apologetically. But suddenly, that expression changed into one of an evil smile, "After all, this session will last for another hour. We can't let you pass out early, right?"

The two other disciples were also grinning. It looked like they were already itching to punch Raka.

Gulp...

Raka shifted his eyes toward an amiable-looking man who was leaning his back on a wall. His eyes silently pleaded for help, but unfortunately, the man only shook his head helplessly. This time, even Banu, his senior apprentice brother, couldn't help him.

He shifted his eyes again toward the four disciples who were acting as his 'sparing partner'. They were older than him by a few years and were considered the elites of this Dojo. They had won countless championships and won many medals. However, they didn't really care about being a champion. What they really wanted was to be the personal disciple of their teacher, Mr. Romi. That was the glory.

Unfortunately, that position had been snatched by Raka. At first, they were unwilling. However, after seeing Raka's prowess and talent, they had somehow softened up a bit. Deep in their heart, they knew that Raka really was the most suitable one.

Still, that didn't lessen their anger. At a time like this, when an opportunity presented itself, they would use this chance to wholeheartedly 'treat' their junior apprentice brother.

With a pleading look, Raka tried to somehow beg his senior apprentice brothers for their mercy. Unfortunately, that only made them more excited. It looked like they had a bit of sadistic personality hidden deep inside their hearts...

Seeing the scene played in front of him, Raka could only close his eyes and pray for his fate.

..

"So? How is it? Have you made any friend?", a loud voice accompanied by a hearty laugh could be heard inside a cafe.

"Ssh. Don't be that loud. See, everyone is looking at us..", Ragna asked his uncle to restrain his voice. This place was a quiet cafe after all.

"Yeah dad, lower your voice a bit!", Nina glared at Mr. Romi. It seemed like she was also embarrassed by his father's behavior.

Aunt Mira only smiled while watching the scene in front of her. Ever since Raka moved out, the atmosphere inside the house had been a bit gloomier. She was very happy to see Raka. In her eyes, he was an integral part of the family.

"Good evening, here's the menu. Do you want to order right away?" A short haired waitress with eyes covered in her bangs came while bringing a menu. Her beautiful eyes glanced toward the guests. When she saw Raka, her eyes brightened with a bit feeling of surprise, "Eh. Raka.. It's rare to see you here with other people"

She looked toward Raka's family, they seemed a bit familiar but she couldn't recall anything.

"Hi, Dania. Guess who they are. You have met them before, this is my family", Raka cleared her confusion while smiling.

When the group heard Dania's name, they were surprised. Dania was Raka's best friend in middle school. They were often seen playing together and were often visiting each other's house. Naturally, Raka's family came to know her. She was a kind hearted girl despite her shyness.

Dania was a bit flustered, but she quickly regained her composure and greeted them, "Hello Mr. Romi. Mrs. Mira.. and Nina. I'm sorry I haven't been able to visit all of you these years"

Knowing the fact that Dania still remembered their name made the groups have a better impression of her. Especially Mrs. Mira whose eyes brightened when she saw how beautiful Dania currently is...

They exchanged a few more words of pleasantries before picking the menu. None of them brought the topic of Dania's sudden move years ago. They all knew that she was also helpless about that matter and couldn't be blamed for any fault.

The truth is, no one was at fault...

On that year, Raka got into a fight with an upperclassman who was pursuing Dania. The upperclassman was harassing her with his status and authority, making her feel pressured. Raka, being her best friend, naturally couldn't accept it. The upperclassmen brought his gang to teach Raka for a lesson. Unfortunately, the one who they faced was Raka, the rising star of the Purgatory Dojo. They were beaten up until they were hospitalized for a few days.

This matter caused a huge ruckus back then. One of the upperclassman parents was in an authoritative position in Indonesia. They demanded Raka to be expelled and punished. They also pressured Dania and her family. Left with no choice, Dania's parents decided to move away, abandoning the problem and Raka. Dania tried her best to persuade her parents, but in the end, she couldn't change their decision.

Raka was left with no hope that time. He didn't want to complicate his family into the matter. Despite his effort in handling the matter alone while concealing the fact, the matter was still known by his family after a while.

Knowing that Raka's guardian was only a martial arts teacher. The upperclassman's parents tried to pressure him more. They even tried to use their connection to implicate the Dojo.

However, who was Mr. Romi? When they knew that their opponent was the Purgatory Dojo Master, they immediately apologized in a pitiful manner. Even Raka's upperclassman was being forced to kneel in front of Raka to apologize for the matter. In the end, everything ended peacefully without Mr. Romi having to do anything.

Of course, Raka was kept in the dark regarding that matter. Mr. Romi only told him that he had a few friends with greater authority and he managed to ask for their help. After all, in Raka's eyes, Mr. Romi was only a martial arts teacher despite his heaven-defying strength.

Even though the matter ended peacefully, Raka still felt guilty toward his family. He never wanted to cause any trouble to them. In his eyes, his family was already kind enough to let him live with them. Coupled with their warm attitude, it all made him even more reluctant to inconvenience them anymore.

That was the reason why Raka stopped going to the Dojo. He wanted to start pursuing education wholeheartedly. He wanted to be a rich man with great authority so that his family would never be bothered by his problems anymore. As long as he had a healthy and fit body, that was enough for him.

Unfortunately, what Raka didn't know was that Mr. Romi had more authority and power than he could imagine..

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Please remind me if I had any grammar mistakes!