"If they misbehave, we'll leave," Dash said before getting out of the car for a family dinner with his parents and siblings, whoever wanted to see him.
Devon stepped out of the car before Dash could open the door for her. She looked at the huge house and, before entering, took her boyfriend's hand to silently give him the support he needed.
As they entered, Frederick looked at his son and his girlfriend and stood up to greet them. "You've come earlier than we expected. Please, have a seat."
"I brought you a gift. This wine is from Japan and is made by a lesser-known craftsman, but the taste is top-notch." Devon handed Frederick a bottle of wine, which he received with a big smile.
"Thank you very much. Please have a seat. Dinner will be served shortly."
Devon and Dash sat in the living room, where they were later served a drink and appetizers, and Elena, who came downstairs with her children to meet her son,.
Elena smiled faintly and said, "We're very happy you've come. So, you've finally decided about leaving martial arts?"
"It's not quite like that. I'll try to qualify to win a gold medal, and then I'll see which path suits me better." Dash felt a bit strange because his family was treating him differently.
Life took many turns, but he never thought something like this would happen. Devon was even more surprised by this.
"And you, Devon, what plans do you have?" Elena looked at Devon, who had been silent all this time, so she asked in a less interrogative way.
Devon looked at Elena and simply said, "I didn't plan on winning a gold medal, but if there's a chance, I'd love to do it in a discipline like Taekwondo."
"I thought you only learned Karate and Kung Fu." Frederick didn't know Devon also knew Taekwondo; the rules of each discipline are complex, and when a fighter knows about everything, confusion can arise in fighting.
"You're not wrong twice."
"That's fantastic." Elena admired Devon for her character; she never had any problem seeing her as her daughter-in-law and wouldn't start now, given that things had never worsened.
"Brother, you came."
Dash looked at his siblings, who had big smiles on their faces, and stood up, walked towards them, and greeted them properly. They weren't guilty of his problems with their parents; the last thing he would do is direct his hatred towards them, a hatred he didn't have right now.
"Well, let's have dinner."
Devon smiled faintly; she walked towards the kitchen with Elena while they talked about some things, and Dash, on his side, asked, "How's school going?"
"Everything's going great. Nobody bothers us knowing you're our brother."
"Yeah, even there are younger siblings of other people who know you for beating them to pulp."
Dash raised his eyebrows and said, "Don't say that at home; Mom might give you away."
"Yeah, brother, when will you teach us a deadly move?"
"You don't need to learn from me to know that; just attack the genitals if they're men and hit the nose if they're women." Dash's simple words piqued his siblings' interest.
But at the end of the day, he didn't tell them some things. The problems they could face in a fight should be avoided at all costs because it's not worth it.
Dash nowadays is focused on video games and online debates, with Devon insulting the biggest idiots they could find online.
Everything was much quieter after the last tournament. Many of those who trained at Sakura Bushido would now compete professionally, hoping to become great fighters.
For now, Dash had dinner with his family, which wasn't the best of all, but they had never abandoned him, not now and certainly not in his past life.