[Re-edited: 06/05/2024]
Damovotsk, Molkovia, Earth.
Demian's P.O.V.
As the two were on their way downstairs, Demian felt his phone briefly vibrate in his pocket. 'Is it Bryn?' He thought while checking the notification on his screen. "It's her..." He mumbled before opening the message and skimming through it instantly. Lifting his head, he then turned toward his Aunt. The woman switched her expression to curiosity so quickly that the young man, whose mind was busy with sensing his body to see if he could spot any improvement, did not register the change. Smiling at the redhead, he exclaimed. "Bryn's almost here. She just texted me." The news brought a delighted smile to her face, prompting her to reply. "That's great! I'm sure she'll be delighted to see you up and about!" While wearing a wry grin, he commented. "I wouldn't be so sure about that... Well, as long as she isn't too harsh on me..."
Not letting his Aunt say anything else, he only left the words 'I'm gonna cook' before walking at a fast pace toward the kitchen. The woman, who was about to say something, kept silent instead and went on to join her younger daughter on the couch. Noticing her action from the corner of his eyes, Demian let out a relieved sigh, thinking. 'Why am I feeling so emotional about Brynhild?' Scratching his smooth chin absentmindedly, the brown-eyed teenager pondered. 'Maybe it's the teenage hormones?' A smile surfaced along with that last thought before he started shaking his head slightly. 'Whatever, I'll deal with it later. I better start cooking or the girls will start complaining.' Having made his decision, he then started cooking a light meal for dinner.
'Remember that eating too much at dinner isn't good, Damian.' The memory of his previous life's mother suddenly appeared in his mind, bringing a warm feeling to his chaotic heart. "You're right, Mom. Light meals for the win." He mumbled as if she was by his side, teaching him step by step how to make something edible. It was not that she did not attempt to teach him how to prepare something better, but he clearly had neither interest nor affinity for the craft. As the meal began to take shape, the young man noted a slight increase in his cooking proficiency. It was objectively nothing to brag about. However, for him who previously lived on mac&cheese and delivery service food, it was pretty noticeable. In any case, his attention was only partially on the meal, the rest of it being on the two chatting women lounging on the living room's couch.
The reason for that was the secretive chatter and multiple looks the mature redhead threw in his direction. Feeling a bit puzzled, he wondered. 'Did she notice anything?' Reviewing his previous actions and comparing them to the way his 'Demian' 's side used to act, he immediately found differences. 'Dang it! Of course, she noticed something different about me! It's like I'm a completely different person.' Pausing for a second, he then corrected himself. 'Completely may be exaggerating. I guess I'm a lot more confident than I was previously... With how withdrawn I was, it's not exactly a hard thing, though.' The difference between Damian's and Demian's core personalities was clearly similar, maybe due to them being essentially the same soul with different sets of memories. The problem came with the fact that his Demian's side was more extreme in his antisocial tendencies, which influenced his Damian's side and created some confusion in his mind. 'Who am I really?'
Ten minutes later, Demian's ears caught the sound of the entrance door's unlocking mechanism, waking him up from his deep contemplation. Turning his head toward that direction, his gaze fell on the tall woman closing the door behind her. Standing at around 1m80, with bright red hair braided into a ponytail and striking blue eyes, his older cousin was not an average woman by any means. Her incredible muscular frame, in particular, coupled with her other physical attributes, made him recall those vivid descriptions he read in the past about the legendary female amazons. The cold expression she was wearing completed the look perfectly, bringing a wry smile to the young man's face. 'Maybe I'm biased about her...' He thought before noticing the woman's facial muscles relax slightly when her gaze fell on the other two women. With a slight upturn of her lips, she stated calmly. "I'm home." Standing up from the couch, the middle-aged redhead exclaimed while wearing a big smile on her face. "Welcome home, sweetie! Come sit with us. We're waiting for Demian to finish cooking."
Her words seemed to surprise the tall woman who fell into a brief daze before her gaze naturally moved from the two redheads to his direction. Freezing for a brief moment, her eyes seemed to become slightly misty, although it could have been a trick of light. That had to be it! Whatever it was, he did not have much time to focus on it since she started to walk quickly toward him, her sports bag forgotten on the floor in the entrance area. When the tall woman arrived right in front of him, the two started staring into each other's eyes for a few seconds, the young man having to lift his head a little for his gaze to be able to meet hers. At one point, he asked her, trying to get rid of the awkwardness he was currently feeling. "Hey, big sis. How was your day?" His tone was somewhat halfhearted, but the woman in front of him did not seem to care.
Instead, her following reaction made him freeze. "What...?" He mumbled, not knowing how to react to the sudden hug from the usually impassive woman in front of him. Despite the confusion he was currently feeling, his body responded naturally by returning the hug. To say he disliked receiving her display of affection would be a lie. Mixed emotions surfaced in his heart, while some of the resentment buried deep in his heart started disappearing. After an unknown time, Demian tapped gently on her back while saying. "I'm okay, Sis. I just need a few days and I'll be completely healed up. So there's no need for the worry." The two then let go of each other before the redhead observed his face for a brief moment and commented. "I doubt that kind of bruise will go away in only a few days." Smiling wryly, he replied. "Whatever the case, it won't take that long for it to disappear. I'll just have to accept looking ugly in the meantime."
Looking a bit doubtful, his older cousin said curtly. "Sure." Wanting to switch topic from his sore spot, Demian added. "By the way, I've started working out today. I've really started taking a liking to it. I even showed a bit of progress. Although it's entirely relative..." Despite being convinced of his words, the glint of amusement he caught in her eyes brought a bit of embarrassment to the young man, especially as a few old memories from 'Demian' resurfaced in his mind. With a very slight upturn of her lips, Bryn remarked. "I doubt you could notice any progress in one day. But as long as you persevere, you will." Pausing for a second as something seemed to come to her mind, she then continued in a firmer tone. "Just don't give up like the last few times. Understood?"
Nodding subconsciously, he replied confidently. "This time, it's different." Staying silent for a few seconds as she gazed at his face as if searching for something, she then said. "If you say so. I'll be keeping an eye on your progress then since you seem so confident about it." "No problem. I'll be relying on your teaching then." Looking slightly amused at his words, the tall woman asked rhetorically. "So I'm your teacher now?" Her question brought a few light chuckles from the young man who was about to answer jokingly when he suddenly remembered what he was doing previously. "Damn it! The food!" He exclaimed while swiftly dashing toward the stove to check on the preparation. When his gaze fell on it, a relieved sigh left his lips as his hands moved to turn off the stove. "Thank God, it's only a bit overcooked!"
His reaction seemed to amuse the three women who burst into laughter immediately. Turning his gaze toward them, he declared half-jokingly and half-seriously, while having his eyes narrowed dangerously. If you three feel like it's so funny, I'll just keep the food for myself." His 'threat', however, only worked on Seraphine who had a look of horror appearing on her face at the prospect. The other two simply looked at him with an 'I dare you to do that' kind of look. Snorting in a last attempt at defiance, he remarked in a defeated tone. "Fine! It was just a joke. No need for that kind of look." His exaggerated act did not last long, and a brief moment later an amused smile found its way to his face. "It's ready! Let's eat!" Agreeing implicitly, the other three helped him set the table before the family of four sat together at the dinner table and Demian exclaimed. "Приятного аппетита!" [A/N: Bon appétit!]
As the food started moving from their plates to their stomach, the four took turns describing their day until it was the young man's turn. When the latter began to share his newfound enthusiasm for working out and learning languages, the other three had a confused look on their face, which turned 'worse' when he also mentioned his intention of buying a guitar. Having lived for 30 years in his previous life, he could easily read others' emotions, especially when they were as obvious. He was aware that his attitude had changed greatly compared to his previous naive self, but trying to hide it would only impede his growth down the line. After all, his Perks determined not only an incredible physical growth but also a speedy one. That meant that trying to hide it from the three would ultimately fail miserably.
With that understanding, he readied himself for the questions that would definitely follow. Surprisingly, none of them commented on how strange he was acting today, despite having a clear 'You're acting weird' look on their faces. Feeling thankful for how empathetic the three were acting, he could not help but let out an almost imperceptible sigh of relief. Noticing the reluctance he felt about sharing what he experienced, he could not help but be thoughtful for the rest of the meal. His Aunt and two cousins did not press him for answers but instead chatted about random topics in the meantime. After dinner, they all cleaned and put away everything that needed it before they all went to lounge on the living room couches.
Feeling like it was the right time, Demian asked a question that had been on his mind since he woke up this morning. Turning his head toward Adeliya, he questioned. "Aunty, we need to talk about what happened. Or more like who those guys were." The relaxed expression on her face suddenly became serious at his words. Moving her face away from him, she then started gazing silently at the night sky through the bay windows. A few seconds later, she let out a helpless sigh before starting. "I didn't want to bother you guys with those people. To be honest, that guy should have been away in Molvograd and not here in Damovotsk..." Feeling intrigued, Demian insisted. "Who are they?" Shaking her head, a spark of anger was visible as her eyes moved to meet his. "The question is not 'who are they?' but 'who is he?'."
Taking a deep breath to calm her chaotic emotions, the mature redhead continued. "It dates back to the time I was a neurosurgeon in Molvograd. Years after Martin..." Throwing a glance at her daughter, she continued. "Your father, was killed in that battle." The look on her face seemed slightly melancholic to the young man. However, there was none of the sadness he expected to find. She resumed. "A few years after I started working at the 'National Molkovia Hospital', I had a new colleague surgeon. It was fine at first but he quickly began to pester me. Apparently. he felt that we were a good match, being both surgeon and all. HIs name was Christov Petrovich." The extreme disgust was all Demian needed to understand how she felt about the man.
"Is he the 'boss' those men were talking about?" Seraphine asked, prompting her mother to nod and clarify. "Exactly. I've heard them mention him before they turned violent." Thoughtful, he asked rhetorically. "I'm guessing you refused and he kept insisting, right?" Nodding, she explained. "Not only that, but he tried to do the same thing with many women at the hospital. That's one of the reasons why I left that city with the three of you." Rubbing his face frustratingly, he mumbled. "Why can't those types of guys take a hint, I swear..." Shaking her head, the older woman replied. "Because of their ego, I'm guessing. But that's not what's important here." Cocking his eyebrow, he stayed silent, waiting for her to elaborate. "The problem is that he shouldn't have been able to touch us."
Her words prompted Seraphine's question. "What do you mean?" The realization on Bryn's face helped him understand that there seemed to be some crucial information that Sera and himself lacked. Staring at the two youngest members of the family, the oldest redhead explained. "There are some implicit rules around here and Petrovich isn't powerful enough to break them. He's only been recently appointed as the head of Damovostk Public Hospital when the repairs ended, so he's got no connection in the city. What's bothering me is that I can't even find a reason why he would act against me. After all, plenty of young women would want to get into his bed just because of his status." Her words made him ponder deeply. At that point, Seraphine asked a crucial question. "Since that guy acted once, should we expect him again?" As Adeliya hesitated, Bryn interjected seriously. "Yes! Even if he doesn't come again, it's better to prepare for the eventuality." "In that case, you should bring Big Sis with you when you go to work, Aunty."
The redhead nodded at his suggestion, with Bryn asking her mother. "Do you think he'd do something when you're at your office?" Shaking her head, Adeliya replied. "There's no way. Unless, he's suicidal, and he didn't strike me as the type when I worked with him in the past." After they all agreed on the following steps, Bryn remarked. "By the way, I've got an international fight in Molvograd in a month. Why don't you guys come with me? It should be much safer." Thinking about how much he could progress in a month, Demian replied noncommittally. "I'm not sure if it's gonna be that much safer over there, so it's better to wait before deciding." After the three agreed, they all switched to lighter conversation topics before leaving for their rooms a few hours later.
Lying in bed, Demian felt mentally exhausted after everything that happened that day. Closing his eyes, the young man had a last thought before falling into a blissful sleep. 'I've got to get stronger quickly...'