Chapter 24

CLASH

Alley was watched from afar along with Pac and Hunter. They made an outdoor facility just for this, Alley began to realize how much it was needed. "They have been going at it for two hours now." Pac stated as he checked his phone. "I've been keeping track."

"Have either one tired out yet?"

"Nope" said Hunter.

Alley was amazed at the results. Her mother was just starting to train in Boros's power, thanks to Luna she was getting the hang of it. The two would spar often and it allowed Luna to go all out. No one has been able to keep up with her or handle her abilities until now.

"Mom hasn't been struggling, she's not out of breath or even tired when done. The first time around I remember her saying she was wiped out from the first session. Now… she can keep up." Hunter said. "Shit, even mom has gotten stronger than us!"

"Not only that…" Alley said as the ground suddenly trembled.

The dust kicked up as the room filled with smoke. When it settled, their mother stood over Luna who was a good ten feet into the earth! "Damn…" muttered Pac.

Luna was no worst for wear. In fact she was amazed. "Wow mom, you got really strong!"

Their mother smiled as she helped Luna out of the hole. "You have been a fantastic teacher."

She then noticed the triplets watching on. "Sorry, we went a little overboard…"

"It's okay mom, at least you have mastered the power right?" asked Alley.

"I think so…" she looked to her hands and checked herself. "I am not tired, I don't feel strange, and it just feels natural now. Your father's suggestion worked quite well."

"So how far can you go? What phase of power can you accomplish?" Alley asked.

"Phase three… like me!" Luna said proudly.

"Damn it" cursed Hunter. "Boros, nearly all of the S Class… not to mention, mom has to be a lot stronger than she appears, I mean, she and dad are constantly canoodling!"

"Ew… image…" Alley muttered. But she never took that into consideration either. Her mother still has absorption powers, when her father gets stronger, does that mean she absorbs that strength too? It was something to look into no less. But for the moment, Alley was content to see her mother was able to control what was given to her.

She knew her mother was very capable too, yet never realized she could be much like her father at the same time. It took her longer to master something, yet the moment she did, she became a force to be reckoned with!

"Well I think that's all for me today…" her mother announced. "I better check on your father and the six…"

"Dad's taken them back home to train. Tank Top Master offered but was insisting they wear a tank top to do so." Said Pac.

Melee sighed. "I know the meatheads mean well with that, but not everything requires a tank top…"

"Besides, did I hear once that the Tank Tops exist because they looked up to your family?" asked Hunter.

"The Brawlers? Yes, Tank Top Master told me that, truth be told too, most of the men in the family did wear tank tops… because there was NO t-shirts on the supercontinent that would fit their arms!" she explained. "Still, to get the notion that the power is in a simple shirt?" and shrugged her shoulders to it all. "I better check up on them… Oh… Alley, I do have a favour to ask of you."

She was all ears as her mother explained the odd favour…

#

Garou kept watch as the kids began to understand the concept of working out. For today it was mainly stretching and getting their endurance up. Of course he worked along side with them to show how it is done, not to mention, the kids still have the 'monkey see, monkey do' habit. Garou went a lot slower for them and didn't go all out to say the least. However, he could already hear the frustration in their voices. Mainly Yuuma wasn't a happy camper.

"This is pointless!" he protested. "Dad, this is going to take way too long!"

"You have to start off slow, get your body use to working out and then you increase the tension on it. If you go too fast, too much, too soon, you are going to hurt yourself and won't be able to grow stronger. You want that?" he demanded.

Garou knew he wasn't like his teacher, Silverfang. The old man was gentle and nurtured those around him slowly. He understood the pace of his students and what each could handle. Garou was so use to his own children just seeing him do something a few times before picking up on it rather instantly afterwards. The six however were a whole different matter.

Tempest and Titan were willing to put in the work, Athena, Yuuma and Yuki not so much. Rimuru was trying his best to keep up with his older brothers, but they were just too into the work out that he couldn't maintain their pace. "Okay, so we know the keeners…" Garou muttered to himself.

"Dad… is this all necessary?" Athena asked. "I mean… I want my own strength too, but… this seems pointless to me as well."

He nodded in understanding. "You are also working with boys too, it can be a little intimidating, perhaps we should see if Alley or your mother will help you train. There's also Eclipsa… she maybe better for the task. Luna might go a little too hard on you."

Yuuma however appeared to have had it. He got himself up off the ground and decided to stop. "This is getting me nowhere. Father, how can I wait to grow stronger when Amai Mask is already beyond what I can do!" he demanded.

"Amai doesn't know you can turn human… does he?" he asked.

Silence befell the kids. "We… took out a monster the first day we were human… people recorded us doing it… he may have seen it by now…" said Titan.

"Shit…" muttered Garou.

"I'm taking a break…" Yuuma announced as he turned his back to it all. "This is getting boring…"

"You say that now…" warned Garou.

"Whatever…" Yuuma tucked his hands into his pockets before be walked back towards the house, slouching in defeat. Garou knew that look too, after all, he's been there before. He turned to the others who were quickly trying to look away.

He sighed aloud. "I think we have done enough for now, go ahead." He said.

They were reluctant to stop, yet he could see it in their eyes, they all felt defeated before trying. However Tempest and Titan stayed. He looked down at the two of them who were avoiding eye contact with him. "Let me guess, you want to keep going?"

"Can we?" Tempest asked. "Dad… we're the biggest out of our siblings, we're the strongest too… we have to be in order to protect them"

"I can't bare the thought of seeing someone I love get hurt…" whispered Titan.

Garou nodded to their conviction, but he had to correct one thing about it. "There's nothing wrong with your idea. However, consider this. If you continue to fight their battles for them, they will never be able to defend themselves." He explained.

The two paused to his words, Tempest appeared to have realized what he was saying. "If we continue to defend them, they will never be able to defend themselves if we aren't there…" he said.

"I… never thought about that," said Titan.

"Now you have. I will train those who want to train. I ain't going to force anyone to do what they don't want to do. HOWEVER, if they want to get stronger, they got to really want it. They have to understand it is hard work and dedication. I didn't get to where I am over night. Like I said before. I've been training since I was a kid. Worked my ass off day in and out to get what I wanted."

The two nodded. "I want to keep going please." Tempest stated.

"Me too dad, if you will allow it."

He smiled. "Okay, we need to get your endurance up, since you can only do so much before tiring out. This is going to seem stupid at first, but trust me?" he asked.

The two nodded without hesitation. "Come with me."

#

They stared down.

The dreaded steps down to the bottom of the mountain were the bane of their existence, even as serpents, the stairs are horrible to deal with. "Wait, you want us to…" asked Tempest.

"Yeah, up and down the stairs, if you two can do this twice a day. You will build your endurance. Soon it will become an easy task to complete. Don't worry. I'll do this with you as well." Garou vowed.

Tempest took a deep breath but nodded. Titan sighed and agreed as well. "Okay, first lap, let's do it!" Garou remembered the time he first took these steps up to the dojo. He was young, just got his ass kicked by his schoolmates and had enough of it. For one so young, he knew he had to get stronger in order for it to stop, and did the only thing he could think of. He found Bang. Yet the trek to get to him was one not taken lightly by an eight year old. He climbed the stairs despite how sore his body was, how tired he became. He knew if anyone could make him stronger, he resided at the top of the mountain.

He was so desperate at the time.

It wasn't long until Garou felt his feet hit the final step, he turned and found Titan and Tempest close behind, yet they were out of breath and panting. Neither one were use to their legs just yet either, so the trauma was understandable. Still, he waited for them until they hit the last step. They collapsed and sat on the ground, catching their breath to it all. "Dad… that's a lot of work… to build endurance…" said Titan.

"Are you going to give up now?" he asked.

"No" said Tempest. "No we are going to see this through. You said this helped made you stronger, so it will help us!" he protested.

"Good attitude. Wait a moment, rest your legs and catch your breath, we will go back up when you are ready, and you will have the first of two laps done for the day."

"Wait… I thought going down was a lap!" said Titan.

Garou smirked. "Think again"