“Break up? But…why?”

“I just think it’s the best action to take for both of our futures, okay?” She wouldn’t even make eye contact with me as she delivered the news. I immediately looked over at the smirking Julien.

“Arno, this is my choice and my choice alone.” Ori directed my attention right back to her. I understand what she’s saying, but everything was going so well. Why would she suddenly want to end things here?

“Ori, can you please just explain—”

“That’s all I wanted to tell you. Good luck on the fight tomorrow.” Ori turned around and left just as quickly as she came. Julien glanced at me, snickered, and then followed right after her. I closed the door, sat on one of the beds in the room, and then laid my entire body on the bed.

“Ouch. Are you okay?” Leo asked.

“Yeah. Fine.”

“You don’t sound okay.”

“Well I am. I’m fine. Just fine.”

“Listen man I get it, but try going through a divorce. It’s like that, but you also lose half of your stuff too.”

“Hm…”

“Right…well, get whatever feelings you have out by tomorrow, because that’s when things kick off. Night Night!”

Leo’s dog barked as he turned off the light. I was then left alone with my thoughts. Tomorrow I won’t be fighting my girlfriend. I’ll be fighting Ori Haustoria. The more and more I try to tell myself that, the more it doesn’t sound right to me.

Oh. I get it. It’s because I was so used to living with her by my side, I can’t even imagine what my life would look like without her. I’m terrified. For possibly the first time in my entire life, I’m scared to go to sleep and see what tomorrow brings…

===

“Peanuts! Get your peanuts and popcorn!”

Apparently tomorrow brings peanuts and popcorn in a combo meal for 4 Dol.

As well as an awkward air…

“Oh! I’ll have a combo meal! We’ll just split the popcorn and peanuts, okay love?” Julien winked at Ori.

“Fine.” She responded.

So it turns out that all trainees are ordered to sit in the same area in the bleachers while our colleagues went through their respective fights. I understand we have to sit close to each other, but do they have to be so close?! If you were sitting right behind us, here is what the seating order would be from left to right: Ori, Julien, Me, Leo’s pet, Leo. And then of course, there’s all the other trainees surrounding us. And the crowd itself surrounded them.

The only people who were actively moving around in the bleachers were news reporters and peanut and popcorn vendors. A little Haustorian boy with an entire array of popcorn and peanuts in bags came over and handed me a bag of popcorn at no expense. When I tried to give it back to him, he shook his head and said “on the house! Good luck today, Mr. Arno!

Of course. I’m not doing this just for myself. I need to get back to understanding that this is for everyone at zone four. I graciously accepted the popcorn, ripped the bag open, and consumed the entire thing in not even ten seconds. Afterwards, I slapped both of my cheeks as a wakeup call.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! I hope you’re ready for day two of these Cross Zone Finals, because I sure am! Make some noise!” Nellie Ruth announced with a smile on her face on the cleared out arena she was standing on.

The stomping that resembled thunder, and the cheering loud enough to reach the heavens made me realize there were a lot more people here on this second day than the first. I guess it’s natural. These are more concentrated fights with people you could root for as opposed to day one. Day one felt more like a battle royale.

“I can hear that excitement coming from each and every one of you! So let me explain the rules of these two on two battles, so we can dive right in! But before I can, please make some noise for my guests for today! First up is none other than the man that made this all possible! Without him we wouldn’t have the Elizabeth or even stematas for that matter! Please welcome Dr. Archon!” The crowd roared as the doctor responsible for the technology of the BCT entered the arena.

A man in a large white lab coat stepped to Nellie’s side. His hair was short and messy, but he was tall and had a worn expression. All of a sudden, a crowd of girls started…screaming for his attention?

“Man…is every leader in the BCT a total smokeshow? I thought this guy was in his late sixties! He looks younger than me!” Rono was gritting his teeth in frustration.

The story has been taken without consent; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

“Regardless, he seems pretty stress-free for the person who adopted Mikan.” Crystal was directly behind me. She almost made me jump with how close she was.

Wait…

Everyone turned toward Mikan, who was looking at the man with disgust. “It’s not like I’m trying to hide it. That man adopted me.” Her face contorted and twisted as she admitted.

“Family is important, Mikan.” Tomi looked at Mikan with an elegant expression. She was giving off the aura of an older sister scolding her sibling. “Especially if you haven’t seen them in years.”

“Right…”She cooled down a bit and relaxed her expression.

I’ve never seen someone more angry to see their father after so long. If I ever saw my father, I think I’d cry.

“So that’s how their dynamic works.” Gollie mentioned.

“And next, we have another special guest! He’s the lead of the BCT’s investigative team! He’s solved multiple cases yearly that were deemed unsolvable and busted several premeditated terrorist attacks this year alone! Please welcome The Trickster!”

Almost the entire stadium erupted in cheers as the man that gave Ori and I a beatdown yesterday.

“Usually I’m good at reading people, but I just can’t get a read on that guy.” I said.

“Since when were you ever good at reading people?” Derris gave me a side glance.

“Seriously Arno. No offense, but you wouldn’t even be able to read a room if there was writing on the wall telling you exactly what was going on.” Gollie added on.

“You guys make me out to be this stumbling idiot but I’m smart! Really really really really smart! Ori! Tell em—

Oh I forgot. We’re not…

A brief silence filled our section of the crowd before Crystal broke it saying “Awkward.”

“Crystal, we appreciate you trying, but you’re not joining the friend group.” Rono put his hand out in a halting motion. Crystal was immediately offended and you could tell by the look on her face. See? Turns out I can read a room.

“You honestly think I want to join your crew?! You got a couple of refugees looking to advance their people’s position in society, a spoiled rich kid wanting to prove himself to daddy, a man way past his prime trying to prove himself, that gentle giant over there probably probing us for information, and a girl that should’ve been in the medical field if she wanted to help people so bad. You guys all have selfish reasons for joining.”

Everyone in the zone one squad had a rebuttal to Crystal, but she ignored them all and stood up.

“What are you becoming a CT for, Crystal?”

With her back facing me, she shifted her head a bit toward my direction and said with a smile and her large ponytail swaying “For the love of the game.”

“Now it’s time for our first matchup of today! We’ve got an interesting matchup today as we witness trainees from zone one and two to fight zone one and three trainees. Let’s introduce our first duo: Annabelle Hotch and Crystal Vex!”

“Return!” Crystal lifted a card she held high in the air.

The crowd erupted as Crystal Vex appeared right in front of the three hosts in a blue flash of light. She waved to everyone as she put that card she had in her pocket. And right after her entrance, our friend stepped onto the stage. From the hallway, she stepped into the light and looked a bit under the weather. As if something was bothering her. Regardless, she slowly but surely stepped next to her teammate for today.

“ANNAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!” Some people around us jumped at Ori’s booming voice. I didn’t even know she could get that loud. “DO YOUR BEST! GOOD LUUUUUUUUUCK!”

Immediately after, all the other trainees from our zone start to scream out, wishing her good luck. Her expression changed from a drained one to a bubbly one, full of life and energy. Huh…sometimes I forget that Anna took a huge risk moving from one zone to another. It’s not just a financial risk either. She left behind a lot of family. In reality we’re all she has in zone one. Regardless of that fact, she’s fighting hard to stay here. Anyone could see that because of the score she got and how great she is with her stemata.

“Next up, let’s see that second duo! We’ve got Jack Rosaria and Remie Begnoll! Make some noise!” Nellie said as the crowd roared and Jack and Remie stepped into the spotlight. So apparently that Remie guy is Ms. Natalia’s brother. That means he must be pretty strong. As for Jack…wait, what is he wearing?

He had a large white leather shirt that draped over his shoulders and the top half of his body, leaving only his forearms and lower legs exposed. At every part where the shirt ends, there were vertically cut parts of the top dyed red that gave the shirt a feeling that it had hair. Hair that was swaying with every step he took. Speaking of hair, Jack cut the majority of his, leaving only the top left, with the hair tied in a ponytail. He wore what seemed to be a long sleeve with bracers under the shirt and long black pants.

Remie on the other hand wore his usual outfit. I would go further into detail, but everyone seemed more interested in Jack’s outfit.

And by interested, I mean angry.

“What kind of statement are you trying to make here?!”

“This is a Holian event!”

The cheers immediately turned into boos and curses as Jack and Remie stepped to Nellie’s side. I could tell that Remie was getting annoyed as he snatched Nellie’s mic and said “if he were to walk out in a suit, you wouldn’t bat an eye. You’re only making a fuss because it’s something you’re unfamiliar with. Jack discussed with me last night the history of the Rosarian people and the statement he wanted to make today: LOOK AT ME! Look at the final representation of a people you tried to eviscerate from this world! I’ll say this one time and one time only: someone’s display of their culture is not an attack on yours!” Remie shoved the microphone back to Nellie and crossed his arms. The crowd quieted in response to his lecture as Nellie got us back on track

“Right…Thank you, trainee!”

“Funny how he doesn’t mention the scenario in which that culture is directly harmful to your own.” Therese started. “For example, did you know that those savages—”

“Do you ever like, talk about anything else? What do you do outside of all the ‘war against people slightly different than you’ stuff?” Rono said very matter-of-factly and Therese stammered in response. “I-I have hobbies! I do! I like fishing and…stuff.”

“Pfft haha! I’m sorry! I’m so sorry!” Leo bursted into laughter, but stopped himself out of respect for Therese. Therese looked forward quietly, in an attempt to ignore the laugh.

“Now! Allow me to go over the rules, and we can get this party started!” Nellie Ruth pumped her fist in the air.