Chapter 24: A Punishment

As Safa returned to the kitchen, she could hear the sound of talking coming from the other side of the door. Pushing on it, she peeked through a little gap to see what was going on, and she managed to catch the tail end of the confrontation.

She hadn't seen Simyon get hit, but she could see what was going to happen to him next and knew exactly what he was insinuating on doing. Her hands were shaking.

'These people, what is wrong with them!' Safa thought. 'They were targeting me, and now what? Just because Simyon is next to me, are they targeting him as well? Are people getting hurt all around me because of me?'

The look on Simyon's face, bloody, caused memories to flash of the noises she had heard while having sat, hiding in the cupboard. Then she remembered looking at Raze, the look on his face. This brought another thought to mind.

'He said... that if I want to stop it, then I need to fight back!'

With these thoughts in her head, she pushed through and immediately ran with all her might to protect Simyon. When she was close, she used the two-step shift to go past the two twins and threw a punch, landing right on Gren's face.

However, something felt strange about the hit; it didn't feel solid, as if her whole fist hadn't made a connection.

"It's you, you b*tch! I'm going to kill you!" Gren shouted at Safa.

Immediately, the two twins that had been bypassed, with furrowed eyebrows, came right at Safa. She turned around as she could see them approaching and avoided the first hit from Giyo.

However, she had moved right into Biyo, who ended up grabbing both of her arms. Trying to get out of the situation, she lifted her legs, preparing to kick behind her.

Before she could, though, Giyo slammed the side of her foot, kicking her shin.

Safa's face was full of pain, but next to no noise came out from her throat. Only small silent grunts were heard, like a soft whisper.

Gren slowly walked over as the two twins held her together. "Why don't you scream? Maybe someone will come and help you then," Gren said, as he readied his fist. He closed his eyes, focusing in a way that allowed him to gather more Qi.

"What are you doing!" Simyon shouted. "Are you trying to kill her? Stop!"

The sound of the doors flapping open were heard again, and immediately a wave of pressure was sent swirling into the room.

"What on earth are you all doing?" Kron shouted.

His voice alone created a gust of wind that was moving their hair, and with just his eyes bulging as they were now, one could tell how angry he was.

"Sir Kron!" Gren shouted and immediately went to bow down. He didn't lift his head, and soon the other twins had followed.

"It's not what it looks like, Sir!" Gren said. "It looked like Simyon was giving her a few tips about her cooking. She didn't seem to take it well when she suddenly hit him. The three of us heard the commotion and rushed inside; we were holding her back. Isn't that right?"

Gren turned to look at Simyon, who had managed to get his upper body off the floor and was leaning against the cupboards.

'That look on your face, I recognize it. You're telling me you're going to make my life hell if I don't go along with your little game. Haha, what an idiot.'

"No," Simyon said. "Sir, check the dish on the table. Gren came inside while we were cooking and ground up a type of mushroom, adding it to the food. He wanted to ensure that Safa ate it. I tried stopping him, and I ended up like this." With each word spoken, Simyon had done so with a smile on his face.

He was happy, he had finally told on Gren.

"That's not tr-"

"Enough!" Kron shouted, interrupting Gren before he could say anything more. He knew Simyon wasn't the type to lie. Why would he lie if his attacker was about to get away?

"There will be no meals for the three of you today. If you can't learn to use your fists properly, then you won't be allowed to use them at all. You are banned from training until further notice!" Kron ordered.

Gren wanted to argue back, he wanted to say something, but when he looked up from his bowing position and saw the look on Kron's face, he was frightened. An aura made him appear several times larger than he was. Fearful that saying anything else would worsen his punishment, he decided to remain silent for the time being.

It was midday, and Kron was in his office, sitting at his desk as he gazed at the ceiling. He let out a big sigh, thinking about what had just happened.

'Those mushrooms, they were poisonous. For a kid of Safa's size, a dose like that could have been lethal. Where did Gren even get something like that?' Kron started to shake his head, reminiscing about the day he first met Gren.

'I was concerned something like this might happen. I hoped that with some guidance, I could change him, but was he too influenced by his past? I was blinded by the talent he had and believed I could shape him. That is my mistake.'

'This is serious. If I were to expel him from the Orphanage, what would follow? Others might try to exploit him.'

Tapping his fingers, he pondered the best course of action, knowing the situation could deteriorate further.

The rest of the day continued as usual. Even Gren and the twins had to complete their chores, albeit more slowly due to their lack of energy.

Missing two meals for growing kids doing hard work was challenging. Both Simyon and Safa did their best to avoid the trio, and rumors amongst the other kids were circulating.

"I heard it's a love triangle; they're all fighting over Safa!"

"Nah, Gren's just upset because he's short. He's got all this pent-up energy."

"You mean he's just a jerk? Yeah, I'd agree with that."

Since the kids noticed Mr. Kron treating them differently, many were voicing their frustrations publicly, something they hadn't done before. With Mr. Kron's protection, which they previously doubted, they spoke their minds, and Gren heard every word. n(-01n

He ground his teeth back and forth as he polished the statue.

'Everything, everything that I built up, the respect they all gave me, it's all been ruined because of her!'

In the evening, Raze still hadn't returned from the Red Brigade, but the students continued their evening training. True to his word, the twins and Gren had been told to stay out.

The twins quickly went to bed, exhausted and hungry, while Gren couldn't contain his anger.

'I can't participate in training, and he's teaching all those useless fools who don't even know how to punch! Why? Why?' Gren started to take deep breaths and looked around until his eyes settled on a particular room.

Before he realized it, he had already entered and shut the door behind him.

"Arghh!" Gren screamed, as he lifted the chair in the room and smashed it to the ground. He then lifted his foot and slammed it onto the top of the desk. He was breaking everything in the room, everything that belonged to her, but his frustration still hadn't been satisfied.

Approaching the mattress, Gren started to punch it constantly, his hands shaped like claws. He tore right through the top layer, pulling out the stuffing bit by bit.

"ARGHHH!" Gren shouted as he continued his onslaught, eventually stopping, huffing and panting.

"All of this is useless. If I can't train or get stronger, I might as well leave." Looking down, something caught his eye. They were sparkling in a yellow color: beast crystals.