Rogue Heroes - The Awakening

Knowing Friends and Foes

"Mr. Ratnaparkhi isn't here, ma'am?" Nimit asked Pratiksha once they all had settled down.

All the friends facepalmed at his question, whereas Yuhan just sighed, shaking his head in disappointment. While Nimit earned a smack on his head from his mother, making all of them giggle.

"Why did you call me 'ma'am, beta?" Pratiksha asked, changing the topic.

Nimit just scratched the back of his head sheepishly, not knowing what to say.

"You'll don't have to feel awkward in front of me," Pratiksha said, smiling sweetly, "I may come from a high-class family, but... I am indebted to all of you, kids, for getting my Yuhan out of his seclusion. I owe you."

"Please don't say that Aunty," Aryan replied immediately, "We just did what friends are supposed to do. And as it is, the first credit goes to Nimit only, as he was the one to relentlessly pursue Yuhan to join our group."

Parthvi smiled at her son's maturity and caressed his head lovingly.

"And it is good in a way that we don't have Mr. Pradip among us. I am sorry to say this, Pratiksha ma'am, but he indirectly works for our enemies," Ashwin added in a grim tone. A gasp escaped her lips, hearing that.

"He works for the Asuras?" Bali asked, with wide eyes.

"We are too much in open to using that word, Bali. We don't want the world to know what awaits them. So let's resort to calling them enemies," Ashwin said. The friends were surprised to find it sound like Viren in class. Friendly yet strict enough to not let them forget their boundaries.

"We wouldn't have resented you so much, if you had used that tone earlier with us instead of showing your arrogance," Daksh murmured spitefully. Yet, due to the pin-drop silence in the room, it was heard by all. Nimit and Bali snorted, while Yuhan and Aryan had blank looks on their faces. Sachit ignored it, while Kimaya looked a bit disappointed at her brother's despise. The elders looked worriedly amongst themselves, as they knew about Ashwin's real identity as well.

Ashwin chuckled humorously and said, "Vasu was right after all. I'll need a lot of time and patience to teach you all discipline. Nonetheless, I am known to achieve what I want, at any cost."

He said the last statement, looking vindictively towards Daksh. In response, Daksh starred back with equal vindictiveness.

"Stop it now, Daksh. Enough of it," Kimaya finally intervened.

"Exactly. We have more important things to discuss than this. Mumma, for whom does Dad work? I have no clue," Yuhan asked, turning towards Pratiksha.

"He... he doesn't have regular clients," Pratiksha said thoughtfully, "but... yeah... yeah, he has recently started working for that... that famous businesswoman... What was her name?... umm... D... Diti... Diti Prajapati, yeah... Diti Prajapati."

The friends were looking at her with wide-open eyes.

"So whatever Devraj said, was true. Asurmata herself is here," Sachit said, breaking the silence.

"Asurmata? As in the mother of Asuras?" Parthvi asked in a panicked tone. Paresh gave her a side hug, however, he looked terrified as well.

"This is just the start, Parthvi ma'am. You all need to stay strong, or your children won't be able to focus on their responsibilities properly. You have to be their strength," Ashwin said, looking at all the elders.

"Mr. Sharma –"

"Gurudev," Ashwin cut Sachit in middle. "You will call me 'Gurudev', henceforth, as I will be your teacher."