"Hmm," Marcus replied with a hum as he got up and said, "I have to get back. Thanks for taking out the bullet."
"Not at all. It's the least I could do for you, especially when you saved my daughter," William said with a smile and he sincerely meant every single word.
Marcus then went outside the house while Nathasia followed him before saying to her parents, "I will say goodbye and come back!"
"Natty, wait!" Laina called out, but Nathasia had already gone out to follow Marcus.
She then looked at William and asked, "Why did you tell him he can come again? I thought we were trying to have no strangers over here and just live a secluded life."
William sighed as he said, "He is quite strong, it seems, and we could really use the help of someone in the military if things go sideways."
"But how do we know we can trust him? We barely know him!" Laina couldn't help saying it out in a confused tone. She couldn't understand why her usually cautious husband would take such risks.
"I know. I am just taking a gamble here. We do not have any better choice, do we?" William said with a shrug while having a thoughtful expression.
"Fine. But our daughter, sigh...she just seems too interested in that man. I wonder if it's because she's so young," Laina said with a tired headshake.
William softly chuckled, "Let it be. She is just curious. But for some reason, he seems quite reserved, and you know he didn't remove his scarf the whole time, right. It seems like he is quite sensitive about his identity."
"Do people in some military squads have to hide their identity?" Laina queried.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})William shook his head, "Not really. Maybe there is some other reason…"
Meanwhile, outside, Nathasia caught up to Marcus, "Hey! Stop walking so fast! Haa…."
Marcus stopped and turned around, "What is it now?"
Seeing the scarf on his face, she asked as she pointed at it, "Why are you covering your face? Are you shy? I noticed that you don't talk much, especially when you were inside my house."
"That's none of your business," Marcus curtly replied as he turned around to walk again.
"Gee, that's rude," Nathasia pouted, but then she rushed forward and stood before him, "Okay, okay. I am sorry for asking. But I had another thing I wanted to ask…" Nathasia clasped her hands together and fidgeted her body meekly as she asked, Can you teach me how to fight? After what happened today, I feel like relying on only guns is not safe. I want to fight off bad guys just like you."
"I can't," Marcus briefly answered, but Nathasia continued to stand in front of him with puppy eyes, "Pretty please...you can't ignore a cute girl like me, can you? It's a sin to ignore the request of a good girl like me. Please, I will listen like a good student and even call you 'Teacher' whenever you teach me. I will also pay you."
Marcus looked upward and let out a heavy sigh, "What do you even want to learn? I am sure your father can teach you, especially since he had army training."
Nathasia waved her hands, "Nah, he was just a doctor and not someone who fought in the frontlines. He only had basic training and only because it was part of some army rules. But I feel that you are way more skilled and trained, especially since you are in a very important squad now."
"You still didn't tell me what you want to learn."
"I want to learn the basics at least—hand-to-hand combat. Weapons anyway come second," Nathasia said after careful consideration.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})Marcus seriously said, "Fine. But only for thirty minutes and that too in the morning. And I don't need any pay."
"Wohoo! You are the best!" Nathasia shouted in glee, not expecting him to really accept.
"Before you rejoice, you do know that your parents also have to accept this. So meet me in the same spot in the woods tomorrow if they agreed. Anyways, goodbye for now," Marcus said as he began to walk away.
'Ah, right! My parents!' Nathasia knocked her head when she realized that she had not considered her parent's decision while asking Marcus. She, however, decided to try her best and convince her parents.
She then saw Marcus' back and said, "Marcus!"
'What does this girl want now...' Marcus exasperatedly inwardly sighed as he asked without turning back, "What do you want now?"
"You said there are no good men in this world, right? But I think that you are a good man and I am not saying this because you saved me. I already felt it when you saved that mother deer and its child. No bad man would care to save an animal, let alone a human. Now, you are the second good man I know other than my papa," Nathasia sincerely said.
Marcus slightly shook his head as a soft smile hung on his lips. Then he left without saying another word.
Nathasia ran back inside and explained what she proposed to Marcus.
"What?! You want him to teach you to fight? Absolutely not!" Laina immediately refused before Nathasia could even complete.
"Ma! Come on, don't you want your daughter to learn some skills to protect herself?" Nathasia pleaded.
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})"Why are you asking a stranger to teach you when you have your own father to teach you some? In fact, he did offer to teach you, but you said they were boring," Laina said with a narrowed gaze.
"I-I...that was different. Besides, Marcus is a good person, and he is more skilled and trained enough to teach someone else. Papa was just an army doctor, so, naturally, he wouldn't be highly trained."
"Ahem, I am right here," William coughed, wondering if these two considered him as air.
Nathasily awkwardly smiled, "Sorry, Papa. But can you please convince Ma? I mean, you know that someone who saved your daughter can't be a bad person, right?"
William waved his hands as he said, "Okay, here's what we will do. I will spar with Marcus, and we will see which one of us is more skilled and qualified to teach you."
He then looked at Laina, who was about to protest, "Nathasia is right. We can't forever keep a lookout for her. We have to let her learn to protect herself in this kind of world because we can only be with her for so long."
Feeling defeated yet again by the father-daughter duo, she could only go back to her room while shaking her head.
"Ooopsies, Ma is mad, I think…" Nathasia said as she bitterly smiled but was quite happy that she managed to convince her father at least.
She knew the spar was just her father's way to prevent her mother from protesting since she knew there was no way her father could win against an Ascended one like Marcus.
The next day, Nathasia and William set out to the woods together and came back with Marcus.
And without any surprise, Marcus was able to defeat William within just one move. But still, William was quite astonished since Marcus didn't win by using brute strength but only technique when he himself thought that he was quite good at martial arts.
Laina also noticed this and realized that the young man, Marcus, might indeed possess some great skills.
However, the two found it natural since Marcus was part of an important military squad.
Nathasia only seemed happier since her claim that Marcus was indeed skilled was right.
Laina somehow accepted it, and from that day onwards, every day, Marcus trained Nathasia for thirty minutes, not one minute more or less.
At first, Nathasia barely knew any counter moves, but after a month of training, Marcus found that she was making leaps and bounds in her training.
William and Laina also got slowly accustomed to Marcus teaching Nathasia, and seeing how she was improving; they felt that this was a good thing indeed to have such a good teacher like Marcus.
They also saw how their daughter was finding it fun and seemed to be livelier and happier than before.
Nathasia and Marcus began to talk like friends, but he still never took off the scarf covering his face. But the other three never asked him about it since they already knew Marcus doesn't want to reveal his identity for some reason.
"This time, I will surely get you!" Nathasia fiercely said as she charged at Marcus.
Marcus smiled as he caught both her wrists and turned her around while pulling her arms backward, locking her neck with her own hands.
Nathasia's back hit against Marcus' hard chest, and a smug voice sounded behind her ears, "Can you repeat what you said again?"
Nathasia's cheeks flushed, feeling her back sticking against his ripped body, "I never said anything!" She said in a flustered tone as she quickly squeezed out from his hold, wondering if her parents saw anything.
Thankfully, they seemed to be tired of spying on her after a month, while Marcus had no idea why she was checking if her parents were watching or not.
The training soon finished, and Nathasia invited Marcus for a drink. She also offered him a straw as usual so that he doesn't have to remove his scarf, but Nathasia was inwardly dying of curiosity to see his face.
However, unbeknownst to them all, a jeep with six men was approaching Nathasia's house.
