A month passed. Nova's training continued—running, body training, punching, and then dodging. He took a few rests in between too.
It was evening, and the sky was darkening.
"Huff… huff… I dodged almost all of them!" Nova exclaimed, panting heavily. He had gotten faster and more agile over the month.
"Yeah. You're doing great," his father replied with a proud smile. "Alright, rest tomorrow."
Nova's smile faded. "Aw… another rest? Come on, Dad, I don't need to rest!"
"Yeah, yeah… that's what you say every time I tell you to rest," his father chuckled. "Don't worry—we'll continue the day after tomorrow."
"Alright…" Nova sighed, smiling faintly. They went inside and had dinner. After a few hours of playing around and studying with his mother, Nova went to sleep.
The next morning, Nova woke up lazily. He ate breakfast and waited eagerly for his friends to call him. He always looked forward to playing with them on rest days since training kept him busy most of the time.
Knock, knock.
"Nova!"
Nova didn't waste a second. He jumped up and dashed to the door the moment he heard Tama's voice.
Soon, the group was running through the village, laughing and shouting, on their way to their usual spot—the oak tree.
"Uh, Nova…" Riku called out hesitantly.
Every kid except Nova stopped smiling; they knew what Riku was about to say.
"Hm? What is it?" Nova asked with a cheerful grin.
"Uh… never mind. I'll tell you later."
Nova's smile faded, replaced by a puzzled expression.
When they reached the oak tree, Nova noticed that everyone seemed unusually quiet.
"Hey, what's the matter? No one wants to be the Oak King today?" Nova said with a grin. "I'm gonna be king if no one wants to—heh." He gave a small chuckle and started climbing the tree.
"Uh, Nova…" Tama spoke up nervously. "I don't think it's a good idea to stay here. Let's go somewhere else."
Nova looked down, confused. "Huh? What's wrong with you guys? Did something happen when I couldn't play? Or… do you hate me for not being around lately?" He looked down at his feet, guilt flickering on his face.
Riku's eyes widened. "No! It's not like that, Nova. We don't mind you training instead of playing. We even want you to keep going for your goal."
Everyone nodded in agreement.
Nova looked at Riku, amazed—they actually cared that much. But before he could say anything, Riku continued, "But… we've been meaning to tell you. Actually—Ow!"
Before Riku could finish, a rock struck the back of his head.
"You kids again?" a rough voice called out. "Didn't we tell you this spot's ours now? Or was last week's beating not enough?"
Two older boys—around fifteen—stood there. One looked frustrated, the other smirked arrogantly.
They weren't huge, but to five- and six-year-olds, they were terrifying.
"Hey! What did you do that for?!" Nova shouted. "Riku, you okay? And what does he mean by 'our' spot?"
Riku looked down, unable to meet Nova's eyes. Holding the back of his head, he muttered, "As I said… we wanted to tell you. When you weren't here last week, we came to play. These two, from the main villiage residency, showed up and told us to leave. When we refused… they beat us up."
Nova's eyes widened.
"Since that day," Riku continued, "we stopped coming here. But today… without thinking, we came with you."
Nova was silent for a moment. He looked at their frightened faces.
"…Hey, it's okay," he said softly. "Let's just go from here."
The two older boys exchanged glances.
"Go from here?" the frustrated one sneered. "You think we'll just let you walk away after you brats disobeyed us?"
Riku's face turned pale. "Wait—please, it's not his fault! Nova didn't know! Just let us go!"
"Hey, hey, hey…" the boy stepped closer, brushing past Nova and placing his hand on Riku's head. "If we forgive you now, you'll just do it again. Then ask for forgiveness again. You think we're that stupid?"
Riku froze, terror in his eyes.
"Hey!" Nova shouted, stepping forward.
Thwack!
The boy backhanded Nova hard across the face.
"Ah!" Nova held his cheek, glaring up at him in shock and anger.
Riku's fists clenched. "I told you to let us go! You… you think I'll let you hit my friends again?!" His voice trembled, but his eyes burned with defiance.
"Hahaha!" the older boy laughed. "You think you're tough now? Guess last week's beating didn't teach you enough."
"I… I'm not scared of you!" Riku yelled, shaking.
"Oh?" the boy bent down, face inches from Riku's. "Then what are you gonna do? Beat us?"
"I will!" Riku shouted, sweat trickling down his forehead. "If you don't leave, we'll beat you up! Right, guys?"
The others froze—but then Haru stepped up, trembling. "Yeah! How dare you hit Nova! We're not scared of you anymore!"
"We won't let you hurt him again!" Tama added, voice shaking but firm.
Nova's eyes widened. He looked at his friends, stunned. They were terrified—but still stood up for him.
"Together… we can win!" Riku said, his voice stronger now.
"Yeah!" Tama and Haru shouted together.
"Together, huh?" the older boy sneered. "Alright, show me what you kids can do together."
The smirking one, who'd been silent, suddenly spoke. "Wait. They got all fired up because we hit this kid, right?" He pointed at Nova. "Then I'll beat him up again. Let's see how brave they really are then."
"No!" Riku tried to move, but the first boy grabbed him. "Stay right here, kid. Watch your little friend get beaten up. Try to help him, and I'll beat you too."
Nova stared at his friends. "Hey… it's okay," he said quietly. "Thanks for standing up for me. But don't worry about me." He smiled faintly. "Didn't I tell you guys I've been training? I can take a few hits."
The smirking boy stepped closer, cracking his knuckles.
"Training, huh?" he said mockingly. "Let's see how much that helps."
He drew his fist back and punched with all his strength—straight at Nova.
Wham!