Traversing the slums, Tanabe, Rai, and Milu, made their way through the twisting alleyways.

Tanabe couldn’t ignore the deteriorated surroundings, accustomed to the comforts of his home, this felt wrong.

Halting at a metal vent, Rai removed it, gesturing for everyone to jump in.

Sliding down, they landed in a hamper filled with blood-stained towels.

“Gross,” Tanabe said.

Rai leaped out, prompting the others to follow.

Rowdy cheering around the corner, indicated the fights were still going.

Milu, determined, clenched his fist. Luck was on their side - the final match hadn’t started yet!

Down the hallway, they encountered a crowd surrounding a caged arena. TVs were suspended around the room above them.

In the cage, two men were fighting.

Rai and Milu climbed metal fencing nearby to get a better view, while Tanabe stayed below.

“There he is,” Rai pointed out one of the combatants, Banu, a masked fighter with a rather large frame.

Slamming his opponent heavily into the ground, the crowd erupted as Banu emerged victorious.

“Who’s next?” Banu roared, as others dragged his opponent out of the caged arena. “Is anyone worthy of Banu?” he snorted, eyeing a Golden TV with the silhouette of someone petting a cat.

The cage opened, shifting everyone’s focus. The crowd, silent at first, started to get rowdy as they either couldn’t see who had entered the ring or, were enraged by who had entered the ring.

“This some type of joke!” someone shouted.

“The hell are children doing here!”

Tanabe looked up and noticed the two he come with had disappeared. Climbing up the same fencing, he peered over the heads of everyone into the arena; and, to his surprise, Rai and Milu were standing in it!

“Get lost,” Banu warned.

“Nice to meet you too,” Rai replied.

Milu kicked a rock on the floor and it bounced off the back of Banu.

“Listen fatty,” Milu said, “fight us, or give us the belt. We’re short on time.”

“He’s not actually going to fight them, is he?” someone in the crowd questioned, they were still kids after all.

Banu, motionless, suddenly smashed his fists into the ground, narrowly missing Rai and Milu!

They both shared a confident smile.

“Slippery little runts,” Banu growled. He charged at Rai, but Milu, sliding in, knocked Banu's legs out, causing him to topple over. Banu reached for Milu’s leg, but narrowly missed.

“Over here!” Rai said, running at the downed Banu.

Banu reached his hand out. If this twerp thinks I’m afraid of a little punch, he’s in for a rude awakening. When he gets near I’ll snap that little neck. “Got you!” Banu said, but Rai slid under his arm, avoiding him.

Energy built up in Rai’s hands, creating a crack in the ground from a newfound pressure.

“He can use flux force too,” Tanabe said, observing Rai.

Pushing off the ground, Rai’s foot smacked Banu’s face, sending him flying into a plank of weapons.

The crowd fell silent.

As Banu rose, his mask fell from his face, causing many people to gasp.

“Screw you!” Banu yelled, frustrated by their reaction to his face. “I outta kill the whole lot of ya,” he said grabbing a club from the shattered weapons rack. A peculiar aura covered Banu as he charged at Rai, before swinging down at him.

Rai, skillfully evading, slid across the dirt floor, but shock set in as he realized Banu’s blow left a small crater in the ground, causing him to retreat next to Milu.

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“He doesn’t seem to be a special grade. What do you think?” Milu asked.

“You know what I’m thinking,” Rai said slamming his fists together.

“Yeah, let’s kick his ass,” Milu stated.

Gathering flux into the club, Banu swung at the arena’s surface; chunks of wood and dirt exploded forward.

“Watch out!” Milu said, but they couldn’t evade in time. Rocks slit the edges of their outfits, leaving many minor wounds, some deeper than others. Banu sent another attack flying their way, but Rai and Milu split, narrowly avoiding the attack.

Rai grimaced from the pain. Banu’s command over flux force surely added a new layer of difficulty. He tossed a rock he picked up from the ground, causing it to bounce off a wall and hit Banu in the back of the head.

Milu, appearing from behind Banu, kicked him immediately after, adding additional force to the blow, nearly rendering Banu unconscious. “Dammit,” Milu said, realizing Banu was still standing.

Swinging the club violently back, Banu collided with Milu’s stomach, sending him straight into the cage of the arena they were fighting in.

“Milu!” Rai shouted. Using the surrounding dirt, Rai dragged his feet across it, pushing a cloud of dirt into Banu’s face, and making it much harder for him to locate him. After many flux-concentrated blows were delivered, Rai, nimble as he was, lost his balance tripping over a mound of dirt.

Seeing his chance, Banu raised his club to the sky.

“Rai,” Milu uttered, still recovering from having the wind knocked out of him.

“Die!” Banu screamed, his club crashing down.

A sudden cracking sound resonated throughout, and dust brushed over everyone, blinding the outcome of the match. When it cleared, Banu lay unconscious, and Tanabe stood over him.

“What happened?” many questioned.

“Banu!” Some men yelled, entering the cage and cornering the boys.

Tanabe stood firm, while Rai and Milu crouched into fighting positions, but before anything could escalate further, a loud bang, followed the collapse of many walls.

“Freeze!” police shouted, rushing the building and causing a panic.

Distracted, the bandits lost sight of the three boys in front of them, and before they knew it, they were surrounded by police.

As for the tvs suspended around the room, they had canceled their stream the moment the explosions sounded.

From a smoky hole, an old hunched man, and a stern-looking young man emerged. They walked through the chaos calmly, like another stroll in the park. Entering the arena, they received the report of the current situation.

“Good work, we’ll take it from here,” Chozu, the older of the two said. Tux, the younger, looked at the ground where a golden notebook lay partially hidden by the unconscious Banu. “Unfortunately, no Renna,” Chozu said.

Tux didn’t respond, instead narrowing in on the conversation nearby.

“I’m telling ya! There were three of them. Little monsters. Minus I reckon,” a drunken man claimed.

Gasping for breath, Rai and Milu found solace in their narrow escape.

“Tanabe, that was amazing!” Rai said.

“Did you grab it?” Milu asked Rai.

“Grab? You were closer, why didn’t you grab it?” Rai argued.

“I was supposed to steal the mask,” Milu said, holding a mask up.

“Oh yeah,” Rai said.

“Idiot”

“Yeah, well I’ll get you back once I'm an elite,” Rai said.

“As if. That’s going to be me. You’ll be lucky if they even let you into the exam,” Milu snickered.

“What you say?” Rai said gripping Milu’s shirt.

“Whose shirt do you think you’re tugging on?”

Both were ready to scrap when Tanabe suddenly burst into laughter.

“What’s so funny?” Rai asked.

“I’m really glad I came out tonight,” Tanabe said, still chuckling. “Only those who have been knighted can be considered an Elite. I'm also aiming to be the strongest.”

“Looks like we have ourselves a three-way race,” Rai said.

They glared competitively at one another, fire burning in their eyes.

Nearing the shack with the hidden basement, Tanabe asked, “Which kingdom do you reside in Rai?”

“This is my home. I stay at an orphanage south of here,” Rai revealed.

“Sorry, I didn’t know...”

“Meh, it’s fine,” Rai dismissed. “It won’t be that way for long.”

“We’re here,” Milu said, approaching a shack.

The luminite wedged in the port was beginning to dim.

“Thanks again for before,” Rai said, reaching his fist out.

“No problem,” Tanabe said, bumping his fist against Rai’s.

Tanabe and Milu disappeared into the portal; within seconds the luminite drained and the portal vanished.

The plants merged with the machine shrunk, their color fading once again.

Walking the lonely streets back to the orphanage, Rai was lost in thought about their fight earlier.

“Street rat,” a familiar voice interrupted.

It was Tux, Captain Nosey... “Man am I tired,” Rai said, yawning as he walked right past Tux.

“A little late for a kid to be strolling Nitehood don't you think?” Tux asked.

“A little creepy to be following a kid this late, don't you think?” Rai replied, casually continuing on his way.

Frustration spread across Tux’s face, but he controlled his temper. Pulling out a golden notebook from his pocket he concentrated flux into it. “Ahem. ‘One day I'll be the strongest Eli-’” Rai’s hand nearly snatched the notebook away, but Tux pulled it out of reach.

“Give it back!” Rai shouted, attempting to grab the book again.

“I found it at an illegal martial competition. These fights can be punishable by up to 50 years in prison, to life, depending. You wouldn’t happen to know how it got there would you?” Tux pressed.

“Course not,” Rai hesitated, sweat dripping down his temple. Swiftly swinging his leg, Rai hit Tux directly between the legs, causing him to drop the notebook. Snatching it mid-air, he sprinted into the alleyways, leaving Tux behind.

“Street.. rat..” Tux groaned in pain, unable to move.

Miles apart between himself and Tux, Rai quietly approached his foster home.

The place housed twelve children, including Rai.

Gently lifting the window, he slipped in, tiptoeing to his bed, and sliding under the covers while replacing the pillows underneath.

“Did you win?” a voice came from the bed next to his.

Rai turned over to face his little sister Takara, who was only five years old. “You know it.”

“Brother’s the strongest,” Takara said.

“That’s right, and one day when I join the elites, it’ll be nothing but warm showers and all the food in the world.”

“Ice cream?” Takara asked.

“Lots,” Rai assured.

“Yum,” Takara said, yawning. Her eyes, steadily closed, before finally dozing off.

Rai looked at the ceiling, contemplating the future. One day, just wait.