Four days had passed since Akairo started training with Zabu and the time had come for him to participate in a Gauntlet match.

He sat in the changing room with crossed arms and closed eyes as he psyched himself up.

His appearance hadn’t changed all that much but he felt a lot sturdier.

Zabu had also forced him to get a haircut meaning the hair from the back of his head to his temples was gone, leaving only the hair at the top which was bound in a ridiculous bun.

Akairo wanted to complain about how weird it looked to him but Zabu looked so happy with the result that he chose not to.

His face was still hidden behind bandages although Zabu had gotten him dark grey ones because he thought they looked cool.

Akairo let out an exasperated sigh because it seemed as though most of the decisions Zabu made hinged on whether something was cool or not.

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Akairo stood up alongside a tall woman who was clad in shiny silver armour which was lined with feathery engravings and wore a helmet which had a plume made of long white feathers.

He assumed that she was a Valerie – the guardians of Babilu who were said to be able to fly although Akairo worsened what she was doing in the Gauntlet.

He shook his curiosities and followed her into the Arena while taking deep breathes in an attempt to calm his racing heart.

He then joined her on the platform and the crowd reacted somewhat to here presence but Akairo focused on what Zabu had told him before they arrived at the coliseum.

“Evade your opponent for as long as possible.”

He nodded to himself and just as the referee signalled the beginning of the match, the woman dashed towards Akairo while raising both of her fists and screaming at the top of her lungs.

Akairo fearfully dashed backwards and watched as she sent two quick jabs at the space his head occupied a moment earlier.

She let out a grunt before dashing towards him again.

Akairo dashed backwards again but gasped upon seeing that the woman wasn’t attacking.

Instead, she continued running towards him.

Akairo quickly realized that he was very close to the edge of the platform and so, just as she launched one of her fists forward, he ducked, narrowly avoiding it and dashed to the side.

He then scurried onto his feet and watched as the woman turned to face him.

Her eyes then flashed white and with a single swing of her fist, she sent forth a wave of force.

Akairo hurriedly dashed to the side, narrowly avoiding being blasted off the platform but at this point, the woman was charging towards him again and her eyes were glowing white.

Akairo assumed that she was gonna try and get close to hit him with a wave of force at point blank range and so he quickly backed away to the other side of the platform making the woman chase after him.

She seemingly lost her temper and so, while still chasing him, she swung fist again, sending forth a wave of air.

Akairo dashed to the left only to be punched in the left arm by the speeding woman sending him crashing to the ground.

The woman raised her fist again to finish the job but even though he was in excruciating pain, Akairo rolled away and crawled into his feet before dashing to the other side of the platform.

Enraged, the woman dashed towards him again but just as she reached him and just as he prepared to dodge away again, the referee signalled that the match time had run out and so the woman stopped mid swing.

“Draw!” The referee announced and although Akairo was relieved he to be able to stand, the same couldn’t be said for his opponent who looked at him with a look of disgust.

She walked up to him and stated him down since she was a head taller than him.

“Why did you even come here if all you’re going to do is run away?” She hissed only for the referee to push her away.

“Hey, calm down. Match is over. Step off the platform and remember, any violence beyond the match is severely punishable.” He said and it seemed, for a moment, that the air got heavier and colder.

The woman scoffed before making her way back to the changing room.

Akairo whimpered out a sigh before cautiously following her.

At this point, his heart was racing so quickly, he could feel each beat at the tips of his ears.

People in the changing room commented on his match but Akairo ignored them while removing the protective suit and changing back into his clothes.

He then returned to the lobby where a visibly upset Zabu awaited him.

“What did she say?” He asked as Akairo reached him.

“She asked why I came if all I was gonna do was run away.” Akairo reported while rubbing his left arm.

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As advertised by the coliseum representatives, he had sustained no physical damage but he could still feel the pain that he would had he been actually struck by a member of the Valkyries, although the silver colour of her armour indicated that she was a junior member.

“I see. Well, what she doesn’t know is that you’re actually just going out there to train and I must say you did alright.” Zabu said while turning around to leave the coliseum.

Akairo wanted to ask how he could improve but he reasoned that Zabu was going to teach him eventually-

“Aren’t you gonna ask how to get better?” Zabu asked as Akairo walked behind him in the crowded area outside the coliseum.

“How do I get better?”

“Well, first off, don’t be so reserved. You want something. Ask for it. If you can’t have it, ask why. I can tell you spend a lot of time in that head of yours. Sometimes the best thing to do is let go and ask away. Ain’t no shame in it and as for how you can improve, let’s start with the way you moved back there. You may have successfully avoided getting hit most of the time but your movements were far to erratic and quite frankly, unnecessary but that’s understandable. You are a novice after all. As you get better and better, you’ll see that sometimes, all you need to avoid an attack is a single swift motion that allows you to avoid getting hit but also keeps you within range of your opponent so that you can counter attack. The way you dodged made it so that you were safe, yes but there was not much you or her could do to progress without once again closing the distance. Today, after a healthy dose of running, we’ll have a mock fight where we’ll cover everything I spoke about.”

“Mock fight?” Akairo asked as Zabu stopped by a hotdog stand at the side of the road.

“Yes. We are going to fight and I will only be allowed to hit you four times while you try avoiding my attacks.” He clarified while ordering five hotdogs for Akairo and one for himself.

The two got their orders and continued towards Zabu’s house.

They eventually reached it and by this time, Akairo had finished his hotdogs.

Zabu led the young man into the garage where he lightly stretched.

“Alright, are you ready?” He asked with eyes that glowed dark blue.

“Wait- are we starting now?”

“No. Run a bit while I warm myself up.”

Akairo nervously nodded before running around the inner perimeter of the parking lot.

Zabu eventually signalled that he stop by raising his right hand and it’s here that Akairo noticed something odd about the man’s shadow.

Even though it was bright outside as light from the afternoon poured into Babilu, his shadow was ink black and swayed unnaturally.

“Evade me for as long as possible.” Zabu said before dashing towards Akairo and before the boy could even blink in fear, he punched Akairo in the chest, shattering several ribs and sending the boy flying backwards.

Akairo fell to the ground and let out a gross squawk as blood and stomach acids fell from his mouth.

“Mmm... Maybe that was a little too hard.” Zabu said while walking up to Akairo who choked on his own bodily fluids.

Zabu’s eyes flashed green and he placed his hand on Akairo who let out a gasp as his body forced itself back in shape.

Broken bones fused, torn tissues were repaired and lost fluids were restored.

This regeneration was followed by an overwhelming sense of relief but that relief was quickly replaced by fear.

A fear which made Akairo quickly crawl away from Zabu who stood above him as his shadow emanated deep blue waves of light.

“That was the first out of four. If we’re gonna do this, I’m gonna need you to learn that every fight could be your last. Even in the Gauntlet. Something could malfunction and your body may end up taking all of the damage. I want you to be able to avoid taking damage entirely. So, if you still want to train with me, stand up. However, I completely understand if you don’t and if so, you are free to leave.” Zabu said. His voice sounded thunderous to Akairo who’s heart fearfully raced in his newly rebuilt chest.

Tears fell from his eyes as he thought back to Zabu’s punch.

He then thought back to that cursed day and thought further back to when he first burnt.

Embers began forming along side his every breath but, with s twisted face and gritted teeth, he stood up and widened his stance.

“I’M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!” he yelled but gasped immediately after upon seeing that a single tear had fallen from Zabu’s left eye.

A warm smile formed on his face as he gently wiped it away.

“Alright.” He said before walked towards Akairo who hurriedly dashed away.

“Keep in mind your surroundings. Always watch the space within which you are fighting. You almost fell off the platform by yourself but what if you were on a cliff.” Zabu said before rushing towards Akairo again.

He raised his right arm to punch Akairo again but the boy turned to his right and dashed away only for Zabu to grab his collar and force him into the ground where he stomped on his face, crushing the front part of the boy’s skull.

Akairo saw nothing but blackness and felt nothing but pain for a moment that seemed to last an eternity.

He then gasped as his face was reformed but just as his vision returned, he broke into tears and started wailing as though he was a small child.

“Get up.” Zabu said while stepping away.

“Get up!” He barked prompting Akairo to crawl onto his feet.

He then faced Zabu once again but whimpered upon seeing that the man’s shadow had grown to encompass the entire garage.

This made the air colder and far heavier but Akairo stood up regardless.

“That was three!” He snapped with a twisted expression. His voice sent out waves in his shadow which threatened to knock Akairo backwards but he stood regardless.

“What mistake did you make back there?” He asked.

“I-I- I don’t know.” Akairo whimpered.

“You turned away from your opponent. Never turn away from your opponent!” Zabu snapped before dashing towards Akairo again.

The boy took a deep breath before keenly watching each of Zabu’s steps.

However, the man did not raise any of his hands to attack and instead ran straight towards Akairo who dashed to the side only for the man to follow him in a sprint that made Akairo scream out in fear, but he kept moving and his heart fell as Zabu jumped towards him while swinging his right leg.

Akairo stumbled and fell backwards, narrowly avoiding getting his head kicked but just as Zabu spun in the air, he landed on Akairo’s chest and with the force from his run, crushed the boy’s ribs again.

Akairo couldn’t even make a sound as his body fell limp beneath Zabu’s cold blue gaze.

A gaze which quickly turned green.

What followed was regeneration and clarity but at this point all Akairo’s could do was lie down and cry.

Zabu grabbed the boy’s collar and lifted his head.

“Why do you want to fight?” Zabu hissed.

“S-s-s-“ Akairo stuttered.

“ANSWER ME!”

“SO THAT I CAN RUN AWAY!” Akairo cried.

“Away from the pain and fear that has chased me my whole life!”

Zabu’s face twisted. His eyes then darted around for a moment and he opened his mouth to say something but the words never came.

Instead, his eyes flashed green again.

What followed was even more relief in Akairo’s body but he still remembered the pain.

Zabu helped him into his feet and took him back to his house all while the boy wept.

He allowed him to sit on the futon before preparing some food.

As for Akairo, the young man sat eerily still with eyes that sat half closed in their sockets.

His tears had stopped flowing but the pain and terror still filled him.

Zabu eventually brought Akairo some food but the closer Zabu got, the clearer the memories of pain became.

“Eat up.” Zabu said prompting Akairo to do so with trembling hands.

Zabu sat next to him and deeply sighed.

“The world is a dangerous place.” He said while Akairo ate.

“If you and me are gonna do anything, regardless of our individual goals and ambitions, I need you to know how to protect yourself but it isn’t going to be easy. Are you ready for that?”

Akairo’s head hung and his eyes remained on his food.

“Akairo?” Zabu called prompting the boy to raise his head all while a twisted scowl formed on his face.

A burst of embers then left his mouth as he said the word “Yes”.