Agreement

They arrived at Natasha's house and Matteo rushed as much as his body allowed him to have a seat on the sofa, he released a sigh of satisfaction as he could finally rest his body. He noticed that after his battle with the mysterious person, he was taken by an abnormal fatigue in a way that even standing up was a real challenge for him. Natasha had advised him to stay for some more time in the hospital, at least until he would regain the energy to walk by himself but for some reason, he didn't want to reveal, he insisted on leaving until she finally accepted.

" I told you it would have been better to stay at the hospital " Natasha didn't miss to lecture him after seeing him panting as if he has been working out all day, while laying his head on the headrest of the sofa, his eyes closed. " Why were you so in rush, they would have come to visit you anyway? "

Matteo preferred to ignore her, he didn't want to reveal that he was still a little bit scared to fall asleep, as he knew that back in the hospital his exhausted body would surely not have let him stay awake.

When he opened one eye to peep at what the others were doing he saw that Jamal was staring at him as if he just read on his thoughts, he didn't know which expression should he take to seem natural and he was not sure either if he subtly implying him to start telling what happened.

When he was about to give in and start talking Natasha placed on the small table, just in front of him, a porcelain plate filled with cookies, she went back and forth between the living room and the kitchen each time carrying items such as cups and a container. She poured tea in the cups and served everyone while particularly insisting with Matteo.

She helped him to hold the cup of tea and after she made sure he could hold it by himself she handed him a cookie, " eat, you need some glucose to refill your body in energy " she told him with a severe tone.

He took it hesitantly, " may I know what are you mad for? "

As soon as he pronounced his words she suddenly turned her head to glare down at him, Matteo moved his sight towards the other people in the living room and stared as to ask them what did he do wrong but they looked as confused as he was, obviously they, too, didn't know what was going on, however, no one dared to ask her anything, they even tried to change the subject of discussion.

" Oh yes, Natasha, you want me to tell you about the amazing things that happened in today's event? I know you'll love hearing that " Carla said with great enthusiasm.

Natasha sighed, she turned, leaned over to take a cookie, and went to sit beside her, after she took a bite of it she replied, " wait until tonight I'm sure it will be better hearing the story at that time... besides, we have something more important we need to discuss right now, " she gazed back at Matteo but now with a calmer expression, like if she was just inviting him to talk.

The boy glanced at Carla as to tell her that it was all fine and that he was thanking her for having, at least, tried to come to his rescue.

" Since you came back victorious I suppose you figured out the weakness of your enemy, right? " Jamal started interrogating him. Matteo may not know it, but Jamal has been holding back to question him for a moment as he didn't want to rush, he just left from his biggest battle furthermore he was apparently very tired, he had to go easy on him, " so what was it? "

Matter glanced at Lina looking a bit confused and doubtful, he started wondering if he was just trying to start the conversation or if he genuinely didn't know and that Lina hadn't revealed to him the mysterious enemy's secret. The latter seemed to have guessed what he was thinking, after a quick smile she shook her head negatively to let him know that he was ignorant about the key that helped the boy to win.

" Well, following Lina's advice I forced myself to review the events of our first encounter with that mysterious enemy to figure out some clues that could help me to find a way to defeat her " Matteo started his story after he took his time to savor the cookie he had in hand and empty his cup of tea, " at first, I couldn't get any clue the images I was seeing where just... I couldn't focus so I kept trying again and again until I somehow got used to it. From there, I started to notice things, for example, the fact that she tried to make me believe that she had control over the entire space and that in that dimension she had all powers by appearing just in front of me, summoning invisible cords and weapons to tie me up and torture me. Thinking back at them, all those extras actions seemed like they were just there to show off, but when I remembered what you told me I started to suppose that maybe it was more to scare me than impress me. That maybe she wanted to make me believe that I couldn't do anything there since she was the one having the control, so I made up my mind, took a deep breath and I gave it a try ".

" So just like that, you went to challenge her? With those few suppositions? " Natasha asked with a scolding tone.

" Of course not " he immediately replied, " I had more pieces of information I was certain of, one was that I was sure to have a great ability in that dimension, and two that particular ability was one of the very things she tried to hide from me so I started filtering. When she was holding me that first time, I remember having tried to summon weapons, too, to free myself and maybe fight her head on but I couldn't, no matter how many times I focused to do so, I couldn't erase her weapons either and forget about the insane super strength that could have been a great help, therefore after I continued to work my brain with the pieces of information that I had left and I ended with the single idea that I could somehow manipulate the space we were and only then I went to challenge her ".

" But, but that was still not enough certainty to go challenge such a powerful foe " Natasha still complained.

" I took the risk like every man has to, in certain moments of their lives, " he replied and glanced at Jamal who showed a bright smile to let him know that he was proud of what he had accomplished.

" And? Did it work out? " Carla curiously asked, as she didn't like when stories were left incomplete, when everyone looked at her she panicked thinking that she said a silly thing and added, " yeah I mean yes it obviously worked out otherwise you wouldn't be here safe and sound but I wanted to ask- "

" Yes, I see what you mean " Matteo tried to calm her down, he sighed before he replied " well, it did, pretty much easier than I thought. I just had to convince myself that dimension was my domain, that I had full control over it and I could do what I wanted to do, from there I just had to imagine myself in another place and her somewhere far from where I was and " he snapped with his two fingers " just like that I found myself exactly where I was aiming to be ".

" But how did you beat her if you could only teleport yourself in other places? " Carla came again with another inquiry.

" I remember he said that she could stay in that dimension only for a limited period of time, so I guess he kept changing place until her time ran out " Natasha casually responded after she took a sip of her tea.

Unconsciously all eyes turned toward Jamal, they seemed all interested in his opinion but he didn't bother to respond, instead, he kept a serious look on Matteo waiting for him to tell his own story. People followed and they reverted their attention to the boy.

" Well," he replied a little hesitant " it's true that I first intended to keep running away until the end but then an idea came to me which was to completely ban her from that place ". Everyone looked at him with a mix of curiosity, surprise, and confusion in their expression, Matteo went on explaining what he did " when I realized that dimension was not her domain but mine I started to think about that fact, and a question arose in my mind, how did she do to appear there back then? How did she proceed to have access to my head? I thought there must be some kind of link with what she can connect with me so I tried to figure out ".

He paused when his eyes crossed Lina's while she was smiling, he was not sure but she seemed to already know what he was about to say and that she was glad that he found the right answer.

He glanced at Jamal then at Natasha while he was talking, " that day I used my power to connect with an undead... I figured out it was that day she got access to my mind, there must have been traces of her powers in the corpse and when I used my power on it those traces stayed inside my body, kind of like a little part of herself in me. Therefore, given that during our duel I tried to detect that presence of her in me to cut off the link, I tried to focus on remembering that feeling I got that day I connected with the undead to maybe find the same feeling in my mind and I have to admit it was pretty difficult since I was trying to fight her at the same time but in the end, I successfully found the link what was left was just to destroy it and I would be able to banish her from my head ".

" Now I can say that the risk was worth taking it " he added after finishing his story.

Everyone seemed happy and enjoyed his victory against his enemy, except Jamal. The latter kept staring at Matteo with a serious expression until he got noticed and quickly the room became quiet, the four people were staring at him trying to guess what he was thinking until he finally spoke. " You nearly died in the process, didn't you? ".

Everybody turned shocked eyes toward the young boy. " It did work, no? That the essential- "

" You almost killed yourself, didn't you? " Jamal repeated more insistent.

Matteo bowed his head like a kid who just got caught doing a bad thing and his silence was saying that Jamal's suspicions were right. " I didn't imagine that the counter strike, after what I did, would cost me so much energy " he explained calmly.

" You knew it, didn't you? " Jamal then interrogated Natasha.

The woman didn't try to deny even though her expression was saying that she was quite ashamed of herself. " When he woke up his nose was bleeding and after the nurse finished checking on his body she told me in private that he almost reached a critical state and that his body was abnormally too weak compared to his last analyzes ".

Matteo now understood why was she so angry earlier. He almost died in her watch.

" Never. Do never do such thing again, do you hear me? " he told him.

" But- "

Jamal cut him abruptly with a dry tone before he could finish as he repeated " I tell you to never do such thing again, prioritize your life before anything else no matter the situation... even if it means letting me down ".

Jamal's words put them in an awkward mood, the four of them would glance at each other wondering if they should say something but in the end, no one could comment as they rarely saw that so serious part of his personality. His face took a normal expression and the tension there quickly dropped, " finish eating and go immediately have some sleep " Jamal ordered Matteo.

He looked like he wanted to object but was too shy to do so, Jamal put a hand on the boy's shoulder as to tell him that it was all fine, he sighed before he repeated with a calmer tone than before " eat and go to sleep, I know that you're afraid to close your eyes, maybe you're not sure that she indeed got exiled from your head but believe in yourself and think about your health in first, did you heard me? "

Matteo nodded diligently, he took one last cookie before he stood up to go upstairs to sleep a little.

" Wasn't it too harsh to tell him that? " Lina dared to ask. Jamal looked at her as to tell her to explain her question. " You literally told him that if one day he's given the choice between his life or saving you he must abandon you no matter," she told him with a tone of reproach.

" Yes, I meant it " he replied serenely, " and I don't think I went too far, I mean, it's just common sense to prioritize his life over mine and that's valid for you all, " he then turned his head to talk to Carla and Natasha, " on the battlefield we may be confronted with situations of crisis so I'm telling you if something was to happen don't dare to try 'brave' things like sacrificing your lives to save me. In your mind, it must be your lives before anyone else's ".

The way the two women glanced at each other seemed to tell that they were finding it hard to accept that order but knew that they had to.

" But what about you? " Lina came again, she looked at him and it was hard to tell if she was angry or just serious in her sayings, " does that rule apply to you too? "

He sighed and looked up as if he was trying to avoid the question but he could feel how insistent Lina's eyes were, " Yes " he finally said ending up shocking everyone except Lina who kept a calm gaze at him, he turned his head to look straight into her eyes and he added, " in my mind, it's your lives before anyone else's ".

...

Natasha came to open the door to the visitors and after quickly welcoming them, she immediately returned to the living room. Volga and Andre followed her quietly though they were obviously confused, there all the four people, Jamal, Lina, Natasha, and Carla were sitting each of them in their side busy faking doing something important.

Volga looked at them trying to figure out what was going on.

" Hey... " she tried to catch their attention, but only Carla turned her head, the young woman seemed like she was out of the problem, she was sitting on the floor in the center of the room beside the small table where were some half-empty cups of tea and a plate of cookies with only three cookies left, and on contrary to the other three who had pissed off expressions Carla was just cool to see. " You are acting like kids from a kindergarten who just got over an argument. Act like the adults you are and tell me what happened " she said to Jamal, Lina, and Natasha deliberately trying to provoke them.

Seeing that no one was responding Carla shyly spoke up and said " in fact... they did have an argument earlier ".

Volga grabbed her head disappointed by the absurdity of the situation " and can you be a nice sweetheart and tell me what it was about? " she asked again.

Carla was about to respond when Jamal interrupted her, he coughed before he turned and replied " don't mind it, that's not that important ".

Volga considered him for a moment not buying it at all, " hmm I see, again another secret, huh? "

" No no no, that's not it, I swear " Jamal was trying to correct his mistake after he realized what she was referring to.

Volga waved her hand as to say that it was all cool, " anyway, can you please take a break in your argument so we can finally discuss the reason we are here? " she asked them.

The attention of everyone was reverted toward the young man standing silent besides Volga, Andre. He had his face turned toward the floor while his hands were crossed in his back, it was like he was waiting to receive a sentence he already knew.

" We had an agreement if I don't mistake " Jamal started " with conditions you willingly accepted, am I wrong? "

He silently nodded while in his face one could how hope was fading away. He was not really disappointed with himself or his performance since he knew he gave everything he had in the duel, more than once he went beyond his limits but his only regret was that all his efforts were not enough to make him be recognized by Jamal.

" So I suppose that the answer I will give you will not raise any complaints, right? " Jamal added ending up unconsciously increasing the young man's stress.

Andre clenched his fists and did his best to stay calm, [ whatever he will say I just have to bear with it and move on... I can do it] he told himself so he could get the strength to keep a straight face.

" But before that I want you to tell me something, now you have grasped a small insight of what a battle looks like do you still think you have what is needed to set foot on the field we will be going? "

" Honestly... " Andre bit his lip as an expression of his frustration, but he knew he could not lie, " I don't think I have the level required ".

Jamal nodded took a deep breath before he responded, " so in accordance with our agreement you won't be coming with us in this mission, what you will do afterward depends on you and will no longer be my responsibility ".

" Wait! " Carla objected, she walked near Jamal and Andre and told the former " I wanted to ask you to let him come along ".

Everyone was surprised as due to her quite shy behavior she rarely showed a so bold expression before Jamal. " Didn't you listen? He himself recognized that he's not enough for what is coming what do you want to do? " Jamal replied.

" I-I know, I heard him very well but... he is just trying to find himself, I mean what is the point of trying to preserve his life when he doesn't even feel like he's living... I mean it's like you're protecting an empty shell " she tried to find the best words to convince him about what Andre was fighting for.

" Carla, listen- " Jamal attempted to make her understand his decision but she wouldn't let him finish his phrase and would stick to her position.

" He is not worthless! " she said, almost shouting " I'm not saying that he can stand and win against one of those... one of them but he is enough strong to not let himself be killed, I know it since I was the one fighting him. He will not be a dead weight so please, let him come along ".

Everybody looked at Jamal and the insistence in their eyes let him know that they'd already chosen their side, he kept silent for a moment until he finally gave up and said " alright alright, you win he is coming with us ". At that moment, they looked like they all wanted to jump in the air and shout "hooray" to express their happiness but were all containing themselves. Jamal sighed and added " however, I want you to promise to take full responsibility for protecting and watching over him because since now he will be your subordinate, alright? "

Carla was surprised by this compromise but still managed to take a serious face and accept his condition.

" Well, since you have been accepted in the team you can sit comfortably while we will explain to you the entire situation " Jamal invited Andre.

The young man couldn't believe what just happened and had all the difficulties containing his joy. He tapped Carla on the shoulder and when she turned around he tried to articulate some words to express his gratitude. The latter was still wearing a serious expression on her face when she responded, " I didn't do that out of pity for you, I took your side because I believe in you and the sincerity of your goal so don't let us down ".

Despite that his gratitude toward her just increased, he showed her his most determined expression, nodded in a formal way while shouting " Yes! I will do my best! "