It was like he was watching world champions duking it out with everything they've got. Featherweight's speed with the power of a heavyweight, nimble, flexible, and exceptionally skilled. It was a fascinating match to say the least.
In Leo's eyes those were the cream of the crop. 'This is what peak performance looks like!' Leo thought. But was it though?
Is this what peak fighters would do? Meet up in a shabby skyscraper to fight for some rich folk? Leo couldn't believe it. This was a city of barely 1.5 million inhabitants. It was a lot but not the kind of city that inhabited the richest men alive.
Of course, one doesn't need to be the richest to buy a fighter, but to meet up here? Even Leo in his past life wouldn't have fought in such a shabby place like this.
In the formed ring the two fighters created some distance to take a breather. Wounds covered both fighters, they were panting, but the two didn't seem to be bothered too much as they regained their breath rather quickly.
The atmosphere was at its peak, the well-dressed fine men in the crowd were excitedly shouting as the two savage warriors were calm and collected.
The two rushed each other. The taller one used his range and started with a quick jab to the face. He felt it connect but it was like punching a pillow. As the tall fighter retracted his arm, the head of his opponent didn't come to view, instead it looked like the whole body got bigger.
He moved his left hand to shield the left side of his face and started to rotate his upper body to the left so he would generate more power with his right hook. But before he went through the motion, his opponent was already up close.
The smaller fighter had moved closer with his opponents jab and shot out a fast but seemingly unassuming elbow brushing against the chin of the taller one. The taller one was completely dazed as the light in his eyes seemed to have dimmed a bit. The smaller one, however, didn't stop as he used his gained momentum to rotate further and transition into a tornado kick.
With the inner side of his foot, he kicked the taller one off his feet sending him flying a few meters into the air before crashing onto the cement floor.
The referee called the match. It seemed that the businessman that hired the taller fighter was really upset as he started cursing.
But it looked like he was more upset that the other guy was laughing at him. They exchanged some words, but the three kids were too far away to hear anything.
After a short while, the adults started to leave. The tall fighter was carried out on a stretcher and was being looked after by one of their medical professionals. Leo didn't say anything as he got up and went inside the room where the fight just took place.
He looked at the damage the fighters created, be it the cement pillar or the ground that was blasted open by an axe kick.
"This is insane. Even that last kick. He barely stepped back but was able to hit it perfectly. How could he even generate such a force, able to lift his opponent into the air in such a narrow space?" Leo mumbled to himself. "S-so this is what you like?" Sarah asked as she picked up a piece of the former pillar. She gulped. It seemed like the brutal fight had shaken her up a bit.
"Partly, yes. Thanks for taking me here. I appreciate it." Leo uncharacteristically said solemnly after he turned to Sarah. "N-no worries. It is not like I like you or something!" She said something completely unnecessary.
"I- *sigh*. Whatever let's get something from the kiosk near the park."
"Awesome! We can buy some worms for Fred there." Jack made himself known as he petted the Frog with one finger.
"Their worms are not the kind you want to feed Fred with. We need some real worms from the ground." Leo explained.
"Nice. I love digging in dirt." Jack said happily.
"Why can't I doubt you?" Leo sighed out.
The three quickly descended the stairs. Before they could go to their bikes though, Sarah's dad stood there leaning against his car with the bikes lining beside him.
"Can you explain yourself Sarah Therese Campbell?" He said as he watched them approach. Sarah was instantly cowering behind Leo. Jack had left midway towards a small patch of grass and started digging.
"Oh. We should have hidden our bikes! They could have been stolen. So, are you here to drive us around?"
"Young man. I think you should stay quiet, while I talk to my daughter." Sarah's father said sternly.
"Talk? Sounded like an incoming lecture."
"You little… Do you even know what would have happened if they had found you?" Sarah's father asked him threateningly.
"Probably nothing much? They would have sent us out? Probably the worst thing they would do is scold us like you want to do right now?"
"…Aren't you smart-"
"You on the other hand, would be in real trouble. Leaking out information about an illegal fight? It took me some time to squeeze out that information out of Sarah, but if I could do it others probably could have done it as well. Even if your leakage were unintentional, boy that could have ended ugly for you and Sarah, but don't worry I got you covered. I won't tell a soul." Leo rattled down with a smirk on his face.
Sarah had a shocked face with her jaw wide open. She couldn't believe that he would talk with her father this way.
The adult of the group was silent for a moment as he considered what Leo said. "Wait. How would anyone know that Sarah got to know this kind of stuff? If you had to press her into leaking it, it means she was tight-lipped, so no one would know that she knew!"
'Goddam. Why is he using logic, shouldn't he be flustered, begging me to keep it a secret?' Leo's brave façade faltered for a second, but he regained it quickly.
"*Cough* Why would I have pressured her if I didn't know she knew. Something like this can slip out easily. For example, when she teases me about knowing a secret." 'Of course, that never happened but the possibility that it could have happened was there.' Leo added in his mind.
"I- Maybe. Still, although it would only have been bad if someone else got to know about this fight beforehand, since it is already over and there is no evidence of a fight, I would barely get in any trouble for it, now."
'Barely? So, you would get in some trouble, right? Hehehe.'
"Oh, you are underestimating the loss of trust. Who knows if your boss decides to hire a new man for your job? Apparently, the head of the security can't even hide a secret from a child."
"Leo, ehm could you stop bullying my dad?" Sarah asked unsurely. She thought she was about to get scolded, now it is her dad that is getting scolded. She doesn't know who to root for.
"Sarah the adults are talking. And Leo, you don't have to worry about my job. I am quite secure in my position."
"Hm, then how about this. I ask of you something and you decide if the effort to fulfill it does not exceed the trouble you would get. Don't forget I am being generous here, after all I am putting the cards into your hands."
Considering the flow of the conversation, Sarah's dad already knew that Leo wanted something from him, but now that he could decide if he wanted to fulfill Leo's request, he didn't even need to think about it and just accept those terms.
"Indeed. Alright, you have yourself a deal."
"I will tell you my request when I have thought of something. It was a pleasure doing business with you, Sarah's dad." Leo smirked as he went for a handshake.
Even though it appeared that Sarah's dad was now the one with the advantage, Leo could still threaten him some time later and since Sarah's dad had already given in once, he will more likely give in again in the future. If you want to rip somebody off completely do it in baby steps, chip away their resistance bit by bit.
'… Sarah's dad? That's right!! Isn't Leo still a child, he probably just wants some candy. I guess I will just play along.' Sarah's dad thought relieved. He shook Leo's hand before gesturing to Sarah.
"Come on. We are going home. Don't think you will get off scot-free." Sarah pouted but she quietly walked towards the car as she knew that she was in the wrong.
"Oh, and Leo, my name is Mike. See you when you have decided what you want to eat." Mike said as he put Sarah's bike into the trunk before sitting behind the wheel.
'Eat? Who said anything about eating?' Leo thought confused.
"See you Monday, Leo and third wheel!" Sarah said as she gave a small wave towards the two boys before disappearing behind the car's door with its tinted windows.
"Bye!!" Jack, who was covered in dirt, said grinning widely as he aggressively waved at the car. Leo waved her off as well.
"So, do you still want to get to that kiosk?" Leo asked Jack as they sat on their bikes. "No, I don't have any money with me, and I want to get some worms. I know that there are some in my garden, so I think I will be digging today."
"Thought so, you do you. I will be doing some research."
"Oh! Like you did on that girl we saw in the magazine."
"*Cough* I don't think I will do that kind of research again for at least 6 years. No, I wanted to look up something else."
"Oh. Alrigh', see ya at school!" Jack said before taking off on his bike.
Leo watched Jack drive off before catching up to him. "You know that we are going the same direction for some distance, right?"
"Eh? Hehehe. Of course!" Jack nodded sagely with his eyes closed resulting in him almost driving into a lamppost.
"…"
'Now that I think about it. Aren't our parents a bit irresponsible for letting us wander around on our own? Well, I did say I would visit some friends. They probably think I went to their house or something…'
After coming back home Leo went straight for the family's PC, it is still the early 2000's, after all. Leo didn't want to touch a PC this young as he knew that he would get addicted fast, but now was different. He did it out of necessity.
Fortunately, there were plenty of search engines he could use. He quickly started browsing through articles and forums.
He had already noticed that the entertainment was a bit different compared to his past life, but it was still similar enough that Leo would just think of them as well-made rip offs or animated fanfictions. In most cases it was actually better than the original. It was quite fun to watch actually.
Now that he thought about it. The action movies were excellently made as well. The choreography was phenomenal, of course, Leo used to think they were a bit over the top and unrealistic. Maybe it wasn't the movies that are wrong, but it was he with lame expectations!
Why watch tv but not use the internet you ask? The internet still isn't that popular among children. So, of course, he watched tv, he didn't want to come across as uncultured by his peers! How else would he keep up with their stupid conversations about which superhero beat who?
He didn't want to be an outcast, who becomes more and more asocial because he thought he didn't need to converse with people the same age as him since he was more mature than they were. It would only cause others to think of him as rude, arrogant, or just plain weird.
Of course, most importantly was the fact that experience changes the brain's neural structure. Meaning the more social interaction he has, the more his brain adapts to having social interactions.
Fortunately, with his past life he already has plenty of experience in many things and therefore a good head start on everyone else, assuming his memories had already changed his brain's structure like it normally would have.
Clearly, he wasn't willing to let his social skills die off as they would be very useful in the working world.
Why did he not have conversation with adults then? Well, he could, but the body starts from zero and so does his brain. It wasn't only pragmatism that he wanted to have children as friends. His brain demanded it despite him having adult memories.
Leo shook his head as he tried to concentrate on his newly self-assigned mission again. Well let's take a closer look at the world, shall we?