“Alright! Thank you for helping me but could you please stop yelling?” Akairo cried as his ears rang.
“Oh- ok,” Zabu said before suddenly turning around and continuing to cook.
Akairo sighed while trying to shake away the ringing in his head.
He then frowned as he thought back to what happened in the alleyway.
“Why... Why did you help me?”
Zabu stopped moving completely.
A moment passed as the man stared at nothing but the wall.
His body then started quaking as he softly chuckled.
He sighed after getting the ominous laugh out of his system and turned to face Akairo again only this time he had a wide grin on his face.
“Because you are my ticket outa here, kid!”
Akairo frowned.
“I’ll explain everything in a moment. Lemme feed your scrawny ass first, hehe.” Zabu chuckled as he returned to cooking.
It wasn’t long before he was done and he handed Akairo a bowl.
Zabu’s serving was much smaller but he didn’t seem to mind.
Akairo eventually finished eating, Although he felt a little uncomfortable with Zabu staring at him the whole time.
Zabu took Akairo’s empty bowl and washed it and every other dirty dish before sitting in front of Akairo again.
Zabu then scanned the boy once before sighing.
“First, I’d like to teach you an important lesson: never, and I mean never, trust strangers. Got it?”
Akairo nodded.
“I’ve been err... on the lookout for a rookie myself and I know exactly who sent those goons after ya. It was that harlot, Blue Rose. As you probably know, she looks for rookies and tries to rope them into her scheme where she fixes matches by having them win or lose matches in her favour. What you probably didn’t know was that anyone who rejects her offer is usually randomly attacked shortly after and as if to add salt to fresh wounds, she offers them safety and a means to continuously participate in the Gauntlet while offering them scraps as a reward.”
Akairo’s eyes widened as he imagined just how terribly this could have all ended for him.
“Now, fortunately for you, I too was in the market for some talent and you seem like the right choice.”
“Why?” Akairo asked and this made Zabu breathe in deeply.
“Because you suck.”
Akairo’s shoulders fell.
“Hey, don’t take my word for it. Look at yourself. All skin and bone. I’d bet on your loss every single time if these were normal circumstances.” Zabu said while shaking his head and this made Akairo curl into himself even more.
“But alas, these aren’t normal circumstances and I have big plans for us, my boy. I want you... To win the Cardinal Championship!” Zabu declared while dramatically pointing at Akairo who simply tilted his head in confusion.
“My plan is simple: grab some twig from the street, plant it and water it until it becomes a great oak and eventually climb it to reach that which I so rightfully deserve! A penthouse on the Second Level!” Zabu grinned.
“But...” Akairo started to say while thinking back to his fight.
“What if this twig breaks?” He whimpered.
It’s here that Zabu smiled so warmly that it caused Akairo’s racing heart to ache but it was a pain that he strangely found comfort in.
“Trust me. I won’t let anyone break you.”
Akairo’s eyes widened only for a frown to form on his forehead.
“I thought you said I shouldn’t trust strangers.”
“What? I’m not a stranger! I’m the great Master Zabu!”
Akairo winced.
He wondered why a man who referred to himself as a master lived in such a small place.
He wondered where this supposed master’s students were.
“Ahem! Anyway, that isn’t important. What is important is getting you big and strong. I watched your match and whew boy, was it bad. You had the reaction speed of an overworked sloth but that can all be fixed with training but training means nothing without real-world experience. So here’s what we’re gonna do. You’re gonna come here every day and we’re gonna train until your bones develop stress fractures!”
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Akairo’s eyes widened as a vague feeling of dread crept over him.
“Then, when I think you’re ready, you’ll participate in a Gauntlet match. Those matches are great because you never know who you’re going up against and this teaches one to be prepared for anything.” Zabu explained and although this made sense to Akairo, he still wasn’t sure he could trust Zabu, even though he had saved his life.
“Still don’t trust me?”
Akairo didn’t respond.
“Mmm... What can I do to prove that I am indeed the trustworthy Master Zabu?” Zabu asked while tapping his chin with a finger.
Akairo did the same before thinking up an interesting idea.
“If you win a single Gauntlet match, I’ll be your student,” Akairo suggested.
He knew that there was a wide spectrum of people with different degrees of strength in the Gauntlet but if Zabu won to a mid-range fighter, learning under him would be beneficial and even if he lost, there would still be something Akairo could learn. But, if Zabu couldn’t even beat a low-level fighter, Akairo would have to apologize and find his own way to his goal.
Zabu tapped his chin again before nodding.
“Alright.” He said before suddenly gasping.
“My goodness. Look at the time. Let’s get you home. Where you do stay?”
“I stay at the site where the survivors from the Annihilation Events are being kept,” Akairo said prompting the strange man to hop onto his feet with a surprising level of agility.
He then nodded towards the door, prompting Akairo to stand up as well.
He led the boy out of his house and this revealed to Akairo that they were in a neighbourhood of rickety metal shacks that were stacked over each other in layers that reached all the way to the Inner Wall of Babilu although it was clear that they were in another part of the city.
Akairo looked up and saw the pale grey light of the morning sky seeping into even the bowels of the city.
“Come on,” Zabu said while walking to the right on a surprisingly clean but narrow concrete paved path.
“Good evening, Master Z. Where are you headin’ so early?” Someone asked making both Zabu and Akairo look up.
Peeking out of one of the stacked shacks was the head of a balding man. He held in his hands a cup and let out a yawn while rubbing his left eye.
“See this kid? He’s my big ticket outa here! Gonna make him the Cardinal Champion!” Zabu declared while wrapping his small but surprisingly muscular arm around Akairo’s neck.
The man eyed Akairo over and let out a scoff.
“Good luck with that.” The man said while returning his head into his home.
Zabu let go of Akairo before angrily shaking his fist in the air.
“You’ll see! Just watch! And remember: Always bet on Red!”
Zabu nodded to himself before continuing onto a narrow street of cracked concrete which led upwards all while receiving warm greetings from people and children who were beginning their days.
They all had smiles on their faces although their living conditions weren’t the best.
Akairo followed closely behind and quickly began to recognize several buildings which he passed on his way to the Coliseum.
He and Zabu walked in silence for the most part.
This gave Akairo time to think about just who Zabu was.
A strange small man who wanted to get out of the First Level for understandable reasons.
But, scepticism aside, he was strong.
Akairo remembered the night before and he knew for certain that it was. Zabu who had saved him.
He wondered why Zabu hadn’t participated in the Gauntlet by himself.
Surely, if he was as great as he said he was, he could have won many matches thus gaining the money he needed to achieve his goals.
Akairo didn’t know the answers to any of these questions but he also didn’t feel like he would receive an answer if he asked.
After all, they had just met and Akairo owed him a great debt, so he decided to remain silent.
They eventually reached the Site and stood on the mostly empty sidewalk.
“So this is where you live,” Zabu muttered.
Akairo nodded before turning to fully face him.
“Thank you for saving me. When should we meet tomorrow? Or is it today?” Akairo asked.
“Umm... Get some rest and meet me at the coliseum at four-thirty in the afternoon sharp, alright?”
Akairo nodded before making his way towards the Survivor Site’s guarded entrance but before he could get very far, Zabu called out to him, making him turn around.
“Umm... never mind, I forgot what I wanted to say, haha!” He chuckled before turning to leave while waving Akairo goodbye.
Akairo’s eyes narrowed in confusion.
He shook his head as he walked towards the gate only to stop again as one of the guards called out to him.
“Good to see you’re back safe, kid. I saw your match and... Don’t let one loss stop you from trying again, alright?” The guard asked with a weak smile.
Akairo nodded before making his way back to his tent and his chest ached as everyone inside gave him glances that ranged from concerned to uncaring.
He plopped onto his bed, took a deep breath and thought back to all that happened.
A lot had occurred since his arrival in Babilu but nothing had changed.
His goal was still very clear and maybe Zabu would help him get closer to his goal.
His body felt strangely invigorated which was odd considered what happened but he chose to take advantage of this state and so stood up and made his way outside to exercise.
He needed to become stronger and faster.
If not for his goal, he needed to do it for his own safety and so he did double as many push ups, sit ups, squats and many more exercises.
He then showered and joined everyone for breakfast.
He took a short nap.
This nap came with it visions of a cold, dark and comfortable place.
A place he felt as though he had been and so dearly wanted to return.
.
..
Akairo awake with a soft yawn.
The display on one of the tent’s walls showed that the time was half past three so he still had time to go to the Coliseum.
He got onto his feet and then stepped out of the tent to find that it still hadn’t stopped raining.
He took a deep breath before dashing out of the Site.
His steps were energetic and although his muscles were sore from his training earlier, he only ran faster.
It wasn’t long before he reached the coliseum.
Unfortunately, his enthusiasm resulted in him being a bit early so he sat on one of the benches in the lobby and it’s here that he spotted a certain woman only her hair was red this time.
Standing around her were three men only they were all covered in bandages.
The woman and Akairo locked gazes for a moment and she awkwardly smiled before leading the three men to another part of the lobby.
Akairo sighed and kicked his legs back and forth as anticipation filled his heart.
He glanced at one of the overhead displays and saw that several Gauntlet matches were in progress but before he could focus on any of them, someone to his left called out his name making him turn his head.
“Hey, kid.” Zabu greeted with a grin. He still wore the same dark robe from before only this time, he had a strange sheath around his waist.
It was an ornate combination of red straps and belts that held up two large swords that had strange hoops at their hilts.
“Prepare to have your mind blown!” Zabu said while wiggling his ridiculous moustache from left to right.