Arno

“Rock, paper, scissors for the last hamburger!”

“Or I could just take it from you…”

“You would take away a hospital patient’s meal? Have some heart!”

As Rono and Derris debated over who was getting the last bit of food I cooked, I began walking toward the exit where I saw Ori and Julien. Ori seemed to be really enjoying the burger. With every bite she took, her face lit up more and more. I couldn’t help but comment on it as I took a seat next to her. When I did, she averted her gaze from me.

“Remember when you had those steamed hams for the first time and you begged me to make a one for one recipe at home? I never really got close to the exact thing, but I think I made something good regardless.”

Regardless of my comment, she still gave me the cold shoulder. I kept trying to press her for details regardless of it though.

“Ori, when are you going to talk to me? Is it something I did? Because if it is, I need you to talk to me about it. How else am I going to learn?” I joked. “I’m stupid, remember? You’re the brain to my brawn, so I’m lost without you.”

Ori began to hang her head low, her hair getting in the way of me seeing her expression. When it did, Julien wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close to his chest. “You didn’t hear her last night, man? She said it’s over.”

“I want to hear it from her mouth!” I raised my voice and once I did, all side conversations in the room quickly dropped into a pit of silence. Everyone was listening now, but I didn’t care.

“Ori, after the Fall, it felt like it was us against the world. In that chaotic landscape, you were my only peace! You felt the same way…right?”

Ori tore herself away from Julien and stood up “You…were nothing but a convenience. A stepping stone for me who overstayed his welcome. With the Fall…with navigating a broken Haustoria…with working in zone four…this entire year being trainees…you were just an easy chip to use. And now I’m throwing that chip away.” On saying that, Ori took her leave out of the room. As the silence in the room became deafening, I couldn’t help but think about how she specifically mentioned all of our hardships and purposefully put that spin on it. I don’t buy it for a damn second! What the hell is going on?!

“Atta girl! She really is something else, isn’t she?” Julien broke the silence and I immediately grabbed him by the collar of his shirt and pinned him against the wall.

“What did you do?!”

“Is it really that hard to believe that your little romance just dies here? After all, you guys spent a lot of time together. Maybe she just needed some time to reflect on what all those years meant to her.” He said with a sly grin.

“I hope we all had a wonderful break after that dramatic finish of the last match!” Nellie was announcing through the intercoms and most likely the rest of the arena. “This match is bound to be just as interesting, if not, even more!”

“It’s showtime, loverboy. Make sure to put on a one of a kind performance.” Julien said from his elevated position. Even though I was the one holding him up, I could tell he was looking down on me in every sense of the word.

I have no choice…in this fight I’ll beat him and figure out what’s wrong with Ori!

===

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“I, Nellie Ruth, am more excited than ever to announce our penultimate battle of the second day of the crosszone finals! We have the first two Haustorians trainees in history going up against one another, but only one will walk out a CT. Not only that, but we have a dog. That’s right! A dog has a chance at becoming a full-fledged counterterrorist today. Not only that, but the controversial Julien Ferritin is also a major player in this match! Stay seated for this battle like no other! Remain seated for: Arno Achebe and Leo Poliark versus Ori Haustoria and Julien Ferritin!”

The crowd gave a round of applause that wasn’t as thunderous as previous matches, but there were people interested nonetheless and their interest could be heard even in the hallway leading into the arena Leo and I were waiting in.

“Arno Achebe…I have a question for you.” Leo said. Is he going to ask about my dedication to our victory? Even now, I wouldn’t be able to give him a surefire answer—

“Why didn’t you guys invite me to your hospital room cookout?” Leo grabbed onto the bottom of my training uniform’s shirt…are you serious?

“Sorry. It was sort of a last minute thing.”

“I could tell! I went to the restroom and by the time I got back, everyone was gone! Aren’t we friends?! Invite me next time to a hangout event—OUCH!” As Leo was clinging to me, his dog Bonnie bit him in the arm to get him to stop. When he finally let go of me, she started barking at him.

“Alright, alright I get it. I’m being too pushy.”

Interesting…Bonnie acts like guidance for Leo. Kinda like Ori would with me. Watching them go back and forth like this makes me miss her…

“Hey Leo…you said you were divorced, right?”

“Yeah?”

“You think there’s a chance of you getting back with your ex?”

“Hell no. That ship has sailed.” He said definitively. “But luckily, you didn’t mess up as badly as I did. There might be a chance. So do your best here and talk it all out with her afterwards.”

“Got it…”

“Alright my lovely audience! It’s time for this battle to commence! Fighters! Please step out and begin your battle!”

It’s time to get started…whether I’m ready or not, this match that decides Ori and I’s future begins now!

“Blazing Soul!”

“Bonnie, Lion!”

With my battle mantra, my armor encompassed my entire body. And on Leo’s command, his dog Bonnie turned into a Lion that he hopped on and urged me to get on as well to preserve my stem energy. As I did, we exited that hallway and ran into the blinding light that we had to shield our eyes from for a brief moment. When our eyes finally adjusted, it was revealed that we were running through what looked like a city. Buildings and shops of various shapes and sizes. It very much reminded me of the way zone one was laid out.

“This is trouble.” Leo immediately said.

“Already?”

“The previous arenas had way less land to cover than this one. Finding the bomb would be like finding a needle in a haystack. Even if we didn’t spend the majority of the time fighting the enemy team, looking for the bomb would take up all of our time.”

So that just leaves one option…

“We just have to get the information out of them.”

…

“Right?” I’m on the right track, right?

“Right. I’m just thinking. They have no incentive to approach us. A common strategy in these matches has been to play keep away with the bomb. If their lose condition is losing the fight and letting information slip, then their best play would be to not approach us. Bonnie, Hawk!”

Bonnie transformed entirely from a Lion to a Hawk, but kept roughly the same size. This is something else that I remember Leo telling me about. Although it expends more stem energy, Bonnie can transform into different animals but change the size to whatever she sees fit. As we took off and soared in the air, I took mental note of the majority of the arena. It really was close to being exactly what zone one looks like. I wonder if we would be able to see Mr. Terrance’s house if we looked hard enough.

The usual cityscape was now far below us and the business district could be seen in the far distance due to how big they look compared to the standard buildings. They had four and even five more floors compared to the usual one floor building.

“Hey, Leo! Change course for those buildings over there! Ori would definitely be in one of those buildings! She needs the height to see the battlefield!” I said as I yelled over the rushing winds.

“No problem! If we can get the info out of her it’s an automatic win—” I pulled Leo by the collar backward and blocked an incoming attack with both of my fists in a cross. When I finally registered the attacker, I noticed it was the foot of Julien Ferritin. On his wrist, I could see what looked to be a blue wristband. I could assume that’s what his stemata is. He probably used it to help him get up here. But if that’s the case, does that mean his stemata really doesn’t have anything to do with Ori? Those things Ori said…

Did she actually mean it?

“She said she’s good, man. So how about you back off?”