Tatsuo and Jayce are panting from their drawn out battle.

Jayce (thinking): Damn…! I’m actually tired…! This dude doesn’t seem to get hurt…! It’s either that or he just doesn’t feel pain…!

Jayce begins to question the mysterious boy. Who was he? And why was he so fixated on fighting him?

Jayce (thinking): Tch…! I wanted a fight, but this is actually more troublesome than it is fun…!

Suddenly Darren comes flying in with a kick which Jayce blocks with his arm. Darren darts back, pacing himself next to Tatsuo.

Darren: Sorry, something caught my interest.

Jayce begins to run towards the two.

Darren: … No time for talk huh…

Jayce narrows closer to the two. Darren and Tatsuo tense themselves up.

Suddenly, San appears between the three, startling them.

Tatsuo and Darren: San!?

San glares at Jayce with a saddened imposing stare.

San: Stop this Jayce.

San turns his head at Tatsuo and Darren – “That goes for the two of you as well.”

Jayce: San, what do you think you are – !!

San cuts Jayce off from his sentence, staring back at him pensively.

San: Jayce. Please…

Jayce angrily glares back until finally giving in. He reluctantly scoffs and silently walks away.

Witnessing their interaction, Darren looks in unexpected amusement.

Darren:… The hell? Just like that?

*Later in the day.

San escorts the two back to his home. Along the way, he berates them for ignoring his warning.

San: I thought I warned you folks about Punk Riot…!

Darren looks down in guilt while Tatsuo remains unfazed.

San: I’m sorry about what happened to your friend, but even then, you still shouldn’t mess with them!

Darren bows his head to San in apology – “Sorry for the trouble…”

Darren: How did you find us though?

San: Heymlir got me up to speed on what's been happening. He’s personally asked me to assist in arresting the core stealer! While I was doing surveillance, I just happened to come across you guys. It was a good thing that happened, who knows what would’ve happened had the fight continued.

Darren: Yeah, thanks San, we never thought we’d go against someone like that…!

San: Well...That’s just Jayce. He’s the leader of Punk Riot. Don’t mind him too much, he’s just misunderstood.

San: Me and him are quite acquainted with one another, which is why he chose to back off when I said so. Jayce was already a ruffian by the time I found him as a child. And his infamy around the city only grew from there.

*Flashback starts.

A young child with frazzled, curly hair in tattered clothes is holding onto a piece of bread. He bites down onto it, indulging in the plain food. A sudden voice brings him to an alert.

???: So you must be the child trouble-maker that people around the city have reported recently.

The little boy looks up to see a well built old man wearing a bright red cape along with fanciful armor standing next to him on top of a small pile of scraps. The old man smiles inquisitively at the boy.

Little Boy: Who the hell are you? Are you here to arrest me?

Old man: Me? I am--

Immediately the boy leaps high up into the air and throws a kick. However, the old man was quick to react and blocks it with his arm.

This tale has been unlawfully lifted from Royal Road. If you spot it on Amazon, please report it.

“What a rude boy” – The boy tilts his head back seeing that the old man remains to be unfazed, and instead is smiling snidely at him –“Absolutely no manners at all.”

The old man praises the little boy’s ploy of asking him a question to bring down his guard and attacking – “But also clever.”

The old man grabs the little boy by his tiny arm and brings him closer to his face as he squirms around, “But I think you would’ve had a better chance if you had tried to run away from me instead.”

Old man: Now back to what I was saying…

The old man raises the boy in the air as he makes a heroic gesture, “I am San Roswell! I used to be the leader of the guild Forest Grump! They called me The Highlander!” The little boy’s expression droops in embarrassment.

Little boy: So lame. I didn’t ask for all of that.

San lets out a hearty laugh, “Ha! Ha! Ha! Well, of course you’d say that. I am but just a piece of an era that used to be!” – He gently places the boy back down.

The old man’s action left the little boy visibly confused.

Little boy: You aren’t going to send me to the guards?

The old man looks at the boy in disbelief.

San: No. Taking a boy into custody? How ridiculous! I’d be ashamed to resort to such measures…!

Little Boy: Hmph! Say whatever you want, but I'm just gonna keep doing what I do. Even if you turned me in, I’d still keep going.

San: Hey. Don’t make me beat it into you boy.

San settles himself next to the boy and asks, “Where are your parents?”

Little boy: I got thrown out by them. My parents didn’t get along with each other because of me.

My father thought of me as a bother, but my mother loved me.

The little boy pauses for a moment. He then makes an offhand comment – “Or I thought she did.”

Little boy: My father attacked my mother. I didn’t like that so I beated him up.

The boy’s mind flashes back to the incident. The boy’s mother lays on the ground, her body twitching in small shivers. Blood seeps on the floor from her sprawled hair. Towering over the body is a man wearing a black suit holding a glass bottle that had recently shattered. He heavily huffs in anger, proceeding to kick the defenseless women on the ground while shouting slurs at her. The boy trembled in fear and horror as he witnesses the abuse transpiring before him while peeping behind a wall; but his expression quickly transitions into sheer rage.

Adrenaline rushes into him. His instinct overtook him. The boy picks up a nearby bottle and begins rushing towards his dad. Leaping into the air, the bottle smashes against the father’s head. The father staggers back discombobulated. This gave the boy an opening to grab another bottle and smash it against the shins. The boy cries out in anguish to leave his mother alone. The boy downs the man, getting on top of him. The boy begins to ruthlessly assault his father, all while cursing and threatening him.

Little boy: After that, my father got more angry and beated up my mom more. My mother then told me that I was a problem for the family, and then kicked me out of the house.

A woman with white bandages patched around her body, clearly from recent abuse, lowers herself to the little boy in school uniform. The woman scorns the boy pleading him to leave them. The boy looks down at his pitiful mother with a dejected expression.

San: I see...As I thought, you had it pretty rough…. I found it odd how there’s a lone kid roaming the streets without any parents….

“Why don’t you find someone to take you in? There’s plenty of nice folks here in Argonaut that I’m sure are willing to look after you despite your background. We even have an orphanage.” – San suggests.

The boy crosses his arms around his knees, “Nah, I like it like this.”

Little boy: Being free out in the open like this… Feels like home to me….

San looks at the boy in doubt, “Are you sure that’s just you running away instead and not wanting to get hurt again?” – San’s comment triggers the little boy. He immediately stands himself up.

Little boy: What?! What are you talking about?! O-of course I run away! It’s so I don’t get caught!

The little boy’s tone grows more aggressive, “But getting hurt?! From what?! Now I don’t need no stinkin parents or somebody to tell me what to do! I make my own choices!”

San: Ga! Ha! Ha! Sorry, I shouldn’t have said that! You’re just a boy, so maybe you don’t understand. There’s no need to try and act tough!

Little boy: Act!? Tch! I’m not acting!

But in the head of the little boy, a memory from the shred of affection that he last knew replays – The memory of his mother telling him that she loved him.

Little boy: Mom, did you and dad have a fight again…? Was it because of me…?

The mother props up a smile. Her hands reach down to the boy’s cheeks and starts squeezing them affectionately.

Mom: No dear, there’s no need to worry… Everything’s fine… Because I love you.

The boy grins merrily in response to his mother’s doting.

The further he remembers, the more agitated he becomes. Her words of, “I love you”, echoes inside his head.

Jayce: I know what I want! I’m fine with where I am!

More memories keep flooding into his head. Until finally, it loops back to when his mother was bowing to him, requesting to leave.

Jayce’s Mom: You...You are the cause for all these problems…! From now on you are not our child…!

Jayce’s Mom: Please… Just leave us.

Jayce remembers the mind of his younger self shattering when he heard those words. The feeling of utter betrayal. Finally, Jayce regains his mental composure. He scoffs at himself for remembering the events.

“Tch! I don’t like talking with you! I’m leaving!” – Jayce turns his back on San, marching off in a glum mood.

San watches as Jayce walks away in a silent pout. With a whimsical smile on his face, he puffs out a sigh.

San: What a rude boy indeed.

[https://i.imgur.com/y0ZphLn.png]