It was the morning before the face off with Emil, and on a day where I would have valued uninterrupted rest the most, my phone went off. Because of course it did.
I grumbled and pushed the button to turn on the screen, and my tired eyes were blasted with beams of unholy OLED light. I cursed myself for not turning the brightness down the prior night and found that I had a message from none other than Cynthia.
I forgot to mention that you will need to bring your own attire to compete in the gauntlet. Considering all that I’ve had my hands full with recently, this was the last thing on my mind, and I admit it escaped me. To make up for my mistake, I placed some money in your account. It should be enough to purchase something to wear. I don’t have the time to make it to Valport today, so you’ll need to do it yourself. You are capable of shopping for yourself, aren’t you?
I rolled my eyes at her patronizing attitude and the lack of an apology for ruining my morning. All I wanted to do was wallow in bed for at least a day, but the blonde who had promised we were “in this together” had seemingly left me out to dry yet again.
With that thought in mind, I texted the person who hadn’t left me out to dry despite her insanity.
Not so good morning, Eva, I texted my mentor. Cynthia just told me that I need to buy some athleticwear for the gauntlet tomorrow. I don’t know where to start. Can you help me?
She responded very quickly.
I love hearing from you first thing in the morning, you know that Shinsuke? Buuuuut, I’m afraid I can’t help you today! I’m busy putting together some last-minute materials for you tomorrow. I will send you the address to the place I buy my athleticwear from, though! You can’t go wrong with their selection. Good luck! <3
Her reply disappointed me a bit, but I thanked her. Having a place to go to get the clothes was at least a helpful start. And so, I allowed my blankets to swallow me up and deposit me on the floor. I rose to my feet lazily and threw myself together with the enthusiasm of someone getting ready for a double root canal.
I eventually found the will to exit my apartment and came face to face with Mizuki in the outdoor corridor. She seemed confused but pleased to see me.
“Good morning, Shinsuke,” she greeted me. “What are you doing up so early?”
“I could ask you the same question,” I chuckled.
“I didn’t sleep much, so I decided to do some chores this morning. What about you?”
“Apparently, I need an outfit for the fight. I’m heading to a store Eva recommended to buy something. Did you want to come along?”
Her eyes lit up and she replied, “of course!”
“I was hoping you’d say that.”
My childhood friend joined me, and we made our way to the subway. Across the city, we quickly found the store that Eva told me about and stepped inside. It was a place called the Concrete Jungle. It was indeed an athletics store and had the trademark smell of one. I had only ever been in a few similar stores a handful of times in my life, but the smell of those kinds of places was always undeniably distinct from the smell of walking into any other kind of store.
One thing that did set the place apart, however, was its aesthetic. It was jungle themed, with lots of indoor trees and plants, and the colors green and brown as far as the eye could see. It was a pretty unique look for a store, I had to admit.
“Well, here we are in jock land,” I observed.
“But haven’t you become quite athletic lately, Shinsuke?”
“Not by choice.”
My body had indeed become used to being in motion thanks to Eva’s training regimen. But, deep down, it wept as much as I did for the days of lounging around on the couch downing pudding cups.
We walked through the aisles until we reached the male apparel section. All different forms of athleticwear one could think of hung from hangers on round, steel racks, or laid neatly folded on wooden setups. I didn’t know where to begin.
“So, is there something specific you’re looking for?” Mizuki asked as she sifted through the hanging clothes.
“I have no idea. I don’t care, honestly. It really doesn’t matter.”
“Of course it matters!” she insisted.
“I’m afraid I don’t follow.”
She stepped away from the rack and approached me, her eyes meeting mine with determination. “I hate that you’re mixed up in this royal melodrama, but now that you are, this is your chance to improve life for your family. The money you could win from this could change everything.”
“Not just for me, but for you and your dad too, Mizuki. And I could help Eva too...”
She smiled and nodded. “Exactly. This means a lot, so you should buy something that really speaks to you. If you go into battle wearing something that inspires you, it will mean so much more than something you just bought on a whim. These things matter.”
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I hadn’t thought of it that way, but she was right. In fact, she had already taught me that lesson in a way.
I played with the loop on the choker around my neck and said, “yeah, it does matter. And this choker proves it. Throughout all of this, I always feel like you’re never far away from me because of this gift of yours.”
“Really?” she asked with shimmering eyes. “I’m so glad you feel that way, Shinsuke…”
“I do. And whatever we buy here will carry memories of our trip today, and it will be special for that fact alone. I can’t think of anything more empowering than that.”
“Me either, Shinsuke…~”
The sight of Mizuki’s warm smile invigorated me to step up the hunt for my combat attire. If life were a film, it would have been the perfect moment for a good montage, one that would speed things along and end with the two of us triumphantly holding the perfect outfit above our heads. Life isn’t a film, however. And, in reality, we searched through rack after rack of clothing and turned up absolutely nothing. Neither of us liked any of what was available, and in the blink of an eye, an hour and thirty minutes had flown by.
After so long of browsing endlessly, we decided to take a break.
“For such a nice place, the selection here sucks,” I whined and plopped down on a bench.
“It really isn’t great,” she agreed. “Everything has looked uncomfortable or not well suited to you. Maybe we should ask if there’s more in the back.”
As we pondered what to do, some screaming kid came darting past us with his mother in tow. The loud brat stepped on my foot as he dashed by and he tripped over his untied shoelaces, knocking over a clothing rack and sending it careening down onto me. The weight caused the bench I was on to tip over and I hit the floor and drowned in a sea of athleticwear.
“Oh my gods! I’m so sorry!” the mother cried as she continued past us, still in pursuit of her demon seed that recovered from his fall like it was nothing.
“Shinsuke, are you okay!?” Mizuki asked, digging through the mess of clothes to find me.
I rolled out of the mess and got up. “Yeah, just fine…”
I dusted myself off and found Mizuki entranced by something draped across her hands. Curious, I asked, “what’s up?”
“Shinsuke,” she started, “try this.”
She handed me some kind of black sports jumpsuit that had red accents running throughout its form. It was sleek and felt surprisingly comfortable to the touch. But I couldn’t help but feel ridiculous thinking about myself in a jumpsuit.
“A jumpsuit? Don’t you think I’d look stupid?”
She shook her head. “Not at all. Please try it on.”
I analyzed it in my hands again and nodded, deciding to trust her sensibilities.
I entered the changing room and slipped the suit on. It was a lot more comfortable on my body than I anticipated. Despite the suit appearing to be skintight, it wasn’t restricting me the way I expected it would. In fact, moving around, it felt like it offered the right amount of mobility I would need in a fight. To top it all off, I loved the way it looked on me. I already found myself in the colors black and red quite often, so the look was a natural fit to my tastes.
I stepped out of the changing room, and Mizuki’s face immediately shifted into a smile. She looked me up and down and said, “I knew it. It’s perfect on you.”
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“Thanks, Mizuki. I have to say, you really did choose well. I love it.”
“Here, try these too,” she said, handing me a pair of matching black and red gloves. Of course, they complimented each other perfectly.
Once we found a pair of boots to match, we both knew that we had what we needed.
“Wow,” I uttered, observing my reflection in a tall mirror. “I couldn’t have asked for anything better than this. Thank you so much, Mizuki.”
She giggled and glided her finger across my choker gently. “Of course. I always know what looks good on you.”
“I won’t doubt that ever again.”
***
After buying the clothes, Mizuki and I left the store and made our way back to the subway. As we sat, waiting patiently for the next train back home, I couldn’t help but notice that I kept ending up in the center of her crosshairs.
“What’s up?” I asked.
Her lips curved into a melancholic smile, and she replied, “I was just thinking about how much I miss doing things like this with you. You’ve been so busy lately…I miss you.”
I felt Mizuki’s words deep in my heart. Before the madness of the gauntlet consumed my life, days out running errands for my parents, or her father were the norm. We spent every day together, whether it was lounging on the couch watching TV, playing games together, or dinners at my place. Ever since I had rescued Cynthia from that burning car, I hadn’t found enough time to spend with Mizuki. And I hated that more than words could explain.
“I’m really sorry, Mizuki. I miss you too, I really do. But the nonstop training and this whole gauntlet nightmare has been dominating my life. I’m just exhausted.”
She shook her head. “Don’t apologize, Shinsuke. I understand. But I do want to spend more time with you.”
“Me too, Mizuki. Whatever happens with this fight, I just hope things calm down so we can hang out the way we always do.”
“The fight will be just fine, I believe in you,” she assured me. “It’s just like you told me, we’ll get through this together. One step at a time.”
The sentiment comforted me more coming from my childhood friend than it ever could coming from anyone else. But I was also reminded that I wasn’t the only one between the two of us fighting a battle. Mizuki was still wrestling with the trauma of abandonment, and I had been so busy that I hadn’t checked on her in far too long.
“Hey,” I started, “how are you holding up, by the way? You know, with your mom…”
She frowned and looked down at her knees. The smooth blackness of her pants absorbed her gaze like a void. “It’s on my mind a lot. And I still have problems talking with Evangeline.” She ruffled her hair and dragged her fingers down the sides of her face. I began to worry, but it seemed like her demeanor reset, and she was calm once again. “But I’m fighting it, I really am.”
“And you have no idea how proud of you I am for that, Mizuki. You’re stronger than you know.”
She smiled and said, “I’m proud of you too, Shinsuke. You’ve done nothing but work hard this entire time. You’re strong too.”
I put my hand on her shoulder, and she looked up at me. Our eyes met, and the look in hers made my heart jump a bit. I never felt pure affection as intensely as I did with Mizuki, and it always felt like we could communicate so much without saying anything at all.
She moved a little closer to me, our gazes still linked. She inched towards me, as if she had something more to say, but the train arrived, and she stood up abruptly.
“L-Let’s go home,” she said, holding her hand out to me.
I took it and stood up with her. “Yeah, let’s go home.”
We boarded the train, and despite the hustle and bustle of the packed car, I was focused. The store bag in my hand was a stark reminder of what was to come.
This is it.
I was one sleep away from the face off with Emil. After that, the fight was on.
There would be no more delays. The moment of truth was fast approaching.
This was the last stop.