“People that are incredibly strong pique my interest. Sadly, you are not one of those people….”

“As I said, nothing but luck on his side…”

“I’m your tenacious foot soldier and nothing else…”

As I floated absent-mindedly, for some reason, some of the criticisms against me from other people as well as myself began to rise to the surface too. But just as easily, the people in my life that had faith in me began to surface as well.

“I believe in you, Bossman!”

“It’s important to not only fight, but know what you’re fighting for. Don’t ever forget that…

“There’s one thing you have an abundance of…”

Whose words were those? Who told that to me?

I suddenly began to hear the distant chanting of the crowd as I was still submerged, half-conscious in the water.

“Mir-a-cle! Mir-a-cle! Mir-a-cle!”

“Determination.” The voice became as clear as day as I recognized it as my instructor. “And that’s the most consistent thing to rely on. Don’t waver, trainee!”

Right…I won’t waver. Never have, have never will.

I opened my eyes. As I did, I saw the rising submarine about to pass by me. Before it could, I latched onto it with a strike of my pickaxe as it surfaced.

Rono Ecluse

The current situation that wasn’t playing in my favor whatsoever…was Gollie’s defeat. His gigantic unconscious body was laid out across the entire arena. I briefly scanned the area for Bossman, but witnessed nothing of note other than the chanting of “Miracle” by the crowd. Bossman either won or tied. Hopefully it’s the latter so I have no interference.

Because I destroyed the control panel, the slot that held the bomb was now deactivated. I removed the bomb from the spot and was about to begin defusing when I heard someone board the platform I was on. I looked at the opposite end and saw a beaten and bruised Bossman. He looked as if he was on his last leg, but I shouldn’t underestimate him.

I was right to think such a thing, because he took off in a sprint and charged at me, ready to take me down. I only had enough time to throw the bomb into the air and clash blades with him. I have to end this quickly. The more our weapons clash, the higher chance there is that he could finish it with that special move of his. From what I know of, he’s at one. From this point on, I won’t let him hit me.

He did a violent swing at me that I sidestepped and spun my staff around to hit him in the side of his ribcage. He jerked to the side and winced in pain. At seeing this, the crowd stopped cheering. Bossman showed no sign of stopping as he quickly recovered, so I continued my attack. As the bomb I threw in the air dropped.

With every exchange we had, it went the same. He would quickly recover and attempt a blow, I would dodge the blow and counterattack, and he would immediately get up to recover. Round and round we went in this cycle. I couldn’t even take my eyes off of him because he would hit me with a devastating blow if I focused on the bomb. How is he so resilient?

My next attack snapped his face toward one direction as blood and a couple of teeth shot out and landed into the water. The crowd gasped at this injury that he’s gained and I gritted my teeth in frustration. Why won’t he go down?

In this little platform…this little island…I felt the most isolated I have in my entire life. The entire crowd already decided who they cared about. I was just an obstacle. A stepping stone. I was standing in hero’s way…

“Boooo!” a shout of discomfort came from the crowd and many more voices soon followed. At this point the entire arena was booing the results thus far.

When did I become the bad guy?

Mr. Ecluse

“GO Ro—ack!” I tried to scream out Rono’s name. After all, I’m his father. I’ve watched him grow to this point. If I’m not there for him, at this crucial moment, he’ll fall apart again! But my voice is already coarse and weary. I don’t have the same vocal chords I used to. Besides, this crowd would just drown me out. I want to be there for him one last time. I want to pat him on the back and tell him to get back up. I know I need to let him grow on his own but I can’t help it. Life’s been so unfair to us. He deserves a bit of help.

I clasped my hands together in prayer. If I can’t do it, God please give him the strength the continue.

“RONOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!”

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I immediately looked up. The entire crowd fell silent at the loud, booming voice that could be heard. I found the source of the sound all the way at the opposite end of the arena. It was a young Haustorian man in the trainee section. I didn’t even know Haustorians were allowed to become CTs.

“ARE YOU GONNA LET A BUNCH OF RANDOM PEOPLE AFFECT YOU?! THEY DON’T KNOW RONO ECLUSE! THEY DON’T KNOW THE MAN WHO PROTECTED AN INNOCENT MOTHER AND HER CHILD! THEY DON”T KNOW THE MAN WHO STOPPED MULTIPLE TERRORIST ATTACKS! THEY DON’T THE MAN WHO WORKED HIS ASS OFF FOR A YEAR STRAIGHT JUST TO BE IN THIS ARENA! NO MATTER HOW HARD LIFE TRIES TO HIT YOU! NO MATTER WHAT PEOPLE SAY! NO MATTER THE RAIN OR SUNSHINE! KEEP FIGHTINGGGGGGGG! SHOW THEM WHY YOU’RE HERE!”

Upon hearing what beautiful words this man had to say about my boy…I began to get a bit emotional as tears began to stream down my face. That’s right…they don’t know him. They don’t know how hard he’s been fighting for a place where he belonged. A place where he felt valued as a person.

Those are your friends aren’t they Rono?

I remember you talking about them.

The kind girl with the pink hair, Annabelle.

The giant that would encourage you to push just a little further during training.

The rich kid that turned a new leaf allegedly because of you.

The Rosarian that loved talking about the intricacies of stematas.

The Haustorian girl who you said would boss you around, but means well.

And finally, the larger than life trailblazer, Arno Achebe. You met some good friends, Rono. I can tell because of that smile on your face right now. So go. Do what you have to and finish this.

Rono lifted his staff into the air. He was going to go for one final swing. Agathor did the same. This final exchange will decide the match, and it was apparent that everyone could tell because they all fell silent. The two swung their weapons and the match was decided in an instant.

“A-Another critical hit by Agathor!”

My jaw dropped as I saw the devastating impact of Agathor’s weapon destroy my son’s right arm.

Rono Ecluse

I didn’t even feel any pain when it happened. None of it felt real. Not until I looked over and saw the reality of the damage done to me. Everyone in the crowd were just as surprised at my injury as I was. God, just looking at it made me feel like my head was constantly spinning and a pit in my stomach was getting deeper and deeper.

“S-should we call this…?” Nellie could be heard muttering through the microphone.

“No. Keep watching.”

Maybe this sudden development would be enough of a distraction to put the defusal code into the bomb. I dragged my feet over to the bomb before dropping to my knees. I began to input the code, but felt my body get pushed off of the platform and into the water. Before plummeting and sinking into the water, I saw Bossman collapsing onto the floor.

Oh…he was on his last leg too…

===

I opened my eyes to the ceiling of a hospital room. A sight like this is pretty much familiar to me at this point.

One thing that’s unfamiliar though is seeing my dad as a visitor. Usually it’s the other way around.

Wait there’s a lot more people here than I thought.

And am I seeing things…OR IS ARNO WORKING A GRILL IN MY HOSPITAL ROOM!?

“Oh Derris~! Let’s ditch this place and go out to eat!” Therese was linking her arm with Derris’, but he looked uncomfortable as he rejected her “Absolutely not. You’re the enemy.”

“The food was really good! I’m gonna go to the restroom real quick.” Gollie nodded to Anna before getting up. Speaking of Anna…

I checked my right arm. As if nothing happened, it’s still there. Health Maiden doesn’t have the ability to replace entire body parts, so Anna must’ve done it. I’ll have to thank her sometime…but not today.

I saw a plate with a hamburger on it making its way toward me and when I looked to see who was passing it to me, it was none other than Bossman.

“Arno felt bad, so he invited all of us to come and eat with you. He didn’t want you to wake up alone and I honestly agree.”

“YO JACK! I’M RUNNIN’ OUTTA BEEF HERE! Aren’t you my assistant?! Are you an idiot sandwich?!”

“N-no Chef!” Jack gave an earnest salute with sweat beading down his face.

“Then do me a favor, yeah? GET OUT AND GET MORE BEEF!” Arno pointed outside the room door and Jack barreled through it and took off running.

“He’s really getting into the role…” Bossman said before trying to pass the plate to me.

I immediately turned around. I couldn’t do this. I can’t meet a single one of their gazes. I lost. They’ll move on and become amazing CTs while I’ll be left in the dust. They’re simply people who were meant to be CTs.

“You did amazing out there, Bossman.” I said “You pretty much already solidified your title for yourself. ‘Miracle Agathor’ has a bit of a ring to it. You guys are amazing…all of you. I don’t stand a chance when I’m side by side with—”

“Rono!”

I was pulled back over to see everyone looking at me, Arno included. “This isn’t Goodbye, okay? It’s just See ya later. So don’t beat yourself up…meet us on the Elizabeth! Try again next year!”

“What great friends you have, Rono!” my dad chuckled and said. “Whenever you want to look away, they’ll force you to get right back on track!”

Tears began to stream down my face, but I quickly wiped them off and said “Yeah. They’re the best!”