It only took Ryuzio a moment to catch up to the tall man that ran off from the restaurant just now. Benji was too far behind, panting as he tried his best to keep up.
"What do you want?" Tryst asked, panic in his tone. "I don't have any money to give you, so please go away."
Ryuzio kept running after him. "I don't want your money, heavy guy. I just want you to get Ben and me inside tonight's main event."
The tall man glanced over his shoulder, confusion on his face as he slowed his pace. "You were chasing me just to get a couple tickets for Geraal versus Hystryk 3?"
Ryuzio slowed down to a halt before the bearded man with a smile. "Yeah."
Tryst exhaled harshly. "Thank goodness. I thought you were after this food."
"No, you can enjoy it," Ryuzio said, patting the man's arm. "But that may be too much even for me…or not… I don't know. Should I find out…?"
Tryst raised his eyebrows as he looked at the package he was carrying. "This isn't for me to eat. I was just dropping it off somewhere."
"I get it," Ryuzio said, nodding to himself. "Melga used to make me do stuff like that too."
Tryst chuckled nervously as he scratched a cheek. "So… It's not like retired professionals get extra tickets, but I do have a pass that lets me take a couple people along to see a fight."
"Awesome!" Ryuzio said, pulling his fists to his sides. "Now Ben can finally get recruited!"
"That's one thing I don't understand," Tryst said hesitantly. "Who's this other person you keep mentioning…" He trailed off as Benji appeared from behind Ryuzio, leaning forward with his hands on his knees as he stopped beside Ryuzio.
"This is Ben," Ryuzio said with a smile, holding up the blue-haired boy by the back of the neck of his cloak. "He wants to become a grand skymaster—"
Benji started panting loudly, cutting Ryuzio.
"Heh…?" Ryuzio said, confused. "Anyway, this is Ben, and he wants to become—"
Benji panted even louder, exhaling hot air with loud noises—
Ryuzio smacked him on the head, still holding him up. "Let me talk, Ben!"
Benji rubbed his head with a hand, stepping away from the confused tall man while showing him a forced smile, taking Ryuzio a few steps away, before turning his back against Tryst.
"Don't tell him my dream, Ryuzio!" Benji whispered loudly, cupping his mouth. "He's the former ABC Heavyweight Champion of Imperos, Tryst Bracken. I don't want him to think that I'm full of myself or talking down to him."
Tryst scratched his beard anxiously. "You guys… Hey…?"
Ryuzio sighed, shaking his head. "I don't get you at all, Ben. Before you said your dream is to become a grand skymaster, but now you're ashamed of it?"
"I'm not ashamed at all, Ryuzio," Benji said, eyebrows coming together. "It's just that…I don't think announcing your dream is a good idea. You instantly become an easy target by revealing your dream. People can throw dirt at your dream, make fun of it, shoot it down. But if you don't tell it anyone, you can keep it safe. That's why I never tell my dream to anyone."
"You told me," Ryuzio said flatly.
"That's different."
Ryuzio sighed, turning away. "Alright, I won't tell your dream to anyone."
Benji sighed of relief, lips forming a faint smile. "Thank you for understanding…"
With that, they turned the other way to walk back to the bearded man—
Benji jumped backward, flailing his arms before falling onto his butt.
Ryuzio pulled himself away after bumping into the tall man.
"You have no balance at all, young man," Tryst said, pulling Benji off the ground. "You've fell twice in front of me now, so I don't even wanna imagine how many times you fall on the daily."
Benji laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "I…just…wasn't expecting you…Mister Bracken…"
"Tryst is fine," Tryst said with a shrug. "So, you two wanna get into tonight's title fight?"
"Yeah!" Ryuzio said loudly, raising a hand.
"Don't mind him, Mister Tryst," Benji said, unable to look into Tryst's eyes. "He's new to Sonas, and doesn't yet understand this whole thing…"
Tryst raised his eyebrows, stroking his beard as he studied Ryuzio. "You don't say…"
"That has nothing to do with anything!" Ryuzio shouted into Benji's ears, making him jump away. "We'll go to tonight's fight no matter what!"
Tryst started laughing to himself.
"Huh?" Ryuzio turned toward the tall man. "What's so funny, heavy guy?"
Benji lunged toward Ryuzio, pulling on his jacket. "Watch your mouth, Ryuzio! This isn't your average—"
"I like that fire in you, kid," Tryst said, nodding to Ryuzio. "If someone is crazy enough to ask me to take them to an event, then I'm crazy enough to do it!"
Ryuzio's lips curved upward, jaw loosening. "Awesome! Let's go, then!"
"Don't let that fire burn unnecessarily, however, young man," Tryst said, patting Ryuzio on the shoulder. "Sometimes, to not do anything is the key."
Ryuzio picked his nose with a pinky. "Uh-huh. Now can we go?"
A bead of sweat trailed down Tryst's cheek as he let out a nervous chuckle. "We have a couple hours to go. Geraal versus Hystryk is the only fight tonight, so we have to wait."
"Lame," Ryuzio said grumpily. "What do we do until then?"
Benji gulped, gazing at Tryst with twinkling eyes. "Can I… Mister Tryst…can you give me your… Can I have…an autograph…Mister Tryst…?"
Ryuzio folded his arms, looking at Benji with confusion. "You forgot how to speak Selesion again? You're dumb, Ben."
Tryst nodded at Benji with a gentle smile. "Of course. Where's the pen and paper?"
Benji's expression froze, the chilly evening winds blowing back his hair. "I'm…so stupid…" His face reddened as he squatted in a dark corner. "I'm pathetic."
Tryst walked over to him with concern. "Whoa, no need to get so upset, boy. You can have it later. For now, let's just decide where we're going to meet."
Benji got up and stepped closer to Ryuzio, cupping his mouth. "I still can't believe how you walked up so nonchalantly to the greatest heavyweight and asked—rather DEMANDED—him to take you to the main event."
Ryuzio's eyebrows furrowed as he tilted his head in confusion. "What's the big deal?"
Benji sighed, shaking his head with a palm over his face as he pulled himself away. "I fail to understand how you can't comprehend the simplest of things."
Ryuzio turned to the tall man. "Say, heavy guy, where are you going, then?"
Tryst showed the package he was carrying. "I have a delivery to make, as I said."
"Then I'm coming with you," Ryuzio said with a smile.
Benji almost fumed out. "You definitely meant, 'MAY I come with you, MISTER Tryst?' Right, Ryuzio?"
"You're coming too," Ryuzio said, flicking up Benji's glasses, and then poking his eyes. "I promised to protect you from Baru, yeah?"
Benji's body stiffened, Ryuzio's fingers remaining in his squished and watery eyes. "Right… Baru…"
"Baru?" Tryst said, intrigued. "I guess it makes sense that you kids would be afraid of the rumors around that criminal."
"Afraid?" Ryuzio said loudly, eyebrows slanting down. "I'm not afraid of anything! And don't call me a kid when you got scared just because I was running after you!"
"Who wouldn't get scared when they see an unknown kid running after them with a big smile over his face during a chilly evening, right?" Tryst said with a laugh, before his expression hardened. "But I was not afraid of you, boy. I was simply afraid of the possibility of you trying to steal from me. Because if that happened…I would've been forced to defend this food."
Benji set his jaw, sweat sliding down his face, shoulders closing inward.
Ryuzio smiled, tucking his chin, as he felt Tryst's Ether. "You're tough, heavy man."
"If it was any other time," Tryst said, turning away, "there would've been no reason for me to hit a boy like you just to defend some food. But this is different. I got people counting on me. And I can't let them down."
Ryuzio stared at the man's wide back as he walked on.
Tryst glanced over his shoulder. "What's holding you up?"
Ryuzio smiled, following Tryst.
"Please," Benji said as he followed with a wince, "no more running! I'm practically dehydrated and on the verge of collapse."
###
As soon as they entered the street Tryst took Ryuzio and Benji to, all the people around the neighborhood waved at the bearded man with cheerful smiles, some as they passed, others from their doorways.
"This is why they called him the 'People's Champion'!" Benji said, voice shaking with eagerness. "I refuse to believe this is real! We're standing so close to THE Tryst Bracken!"
"There was security to this place," Ryuzio said, walking beside the man who was waving back at the people.
"For them, of course."
A lady with a baby in her arms stepped closer to Tryst with a faint smile. "Where have you been, Tryst? The kids have all gathered in the park already!"
Tryst smiled back, pinching the cheeks of the baby she carried. "Did Uncle Tryst take too long? Are you going to get mad at me?" Why was he talking to the baby when the woman was the one who spoke? Odd.
The baby smiled back with delight, their toothless mouth opening.
Tryst laughed back. "You love Uncle Tryst, don't you? But not more than he loves you—!"
The lady holding the baby chopped at Tryst's head. "Where's the stuff you promised them? And who're these two?"
"Um…" Tryst said, pulling his face away from the baby, turning to Ryuzio. "Guests."
The lady gave Ryuzio and Benji a welcoming smile. "If that's the case, then enjoy yourselves while you two are here."
Ryuzio nodded with a smile. "Yeah!"
Tryst continued walking down the road after pinching the nose of the baby. "Too bad Uncle Tryst can't take you with him. This party won't be able to handle your wholesomeness. Maybe next time, alright?" He waved at the baby and the lady holding her.
The lady held the tiny arm of the laughing baby, waving it at Tryst. "Say bye, Uncle Tryst."
"Goobabli Goobee!" the baby said, smiling.
Ryuzio laughed as he continued behind Tryst with Benji. "What a dumb baby, can't even talk—"
Benji jumped and smacked him on his head. "She can listen, you know."
"Hey!" Ryuzio said loudly, rubbing the back of his head.
"You know you were wrong—"
Ryuzio flicked up Benji's glasses, poking him in the eyes.
"OW!"
Ryuzio laughed.
###
The park ahead of them was filled with many children. Some of them were playing on the several different rides, some sat by the benches, simply talking. Others just stood around in groups.
"Hello there, big boys and big girls," Tryst greeted them with a smile after he entered the park. "Look who is back!"
The face of every kid in the playground brightened, smiles taking over their expressions. They rushed toward the bearded man with joy in their steps.
"Uncle Tryst!" they called in unison.
Tryst kneeled with one knee on the ground, patting the heads of the kids that surrounded him. "Slow down, people. I've got enough head pats for everyone."
"The mark of a true champion," Benji said with a smile, a kid pulling him down by the cheek. "No matter the age, everyone recognizes Mister Tryst's greatness—" A kid climbed on top of another, yanking off Benji's glasses from his face, before they both ran off. "Hey, come back here!"
Ryuzio laughed, turning toward the bearded man. Seeing the man having trouble in patting all these kids, Ryuzio decided to help him. He squatted, patting the head of a kid with brown hair and tan skin.
The kid slowly turned his head toward Ryuzio.
Ryuzio smiled—
The kid punched him on the face. "Who the fluck are you to touch me—?"
Ryuzio smacked the kid on his head. "Why did you hit me! I just wanted to help the heavy guy!"
A little girl with blonde hair hid behind Tryst, pointing at Ryuzio with a tiny finger. "Uncle Tryst! He just hit Kaleb—"
Ryuzio turned toward her sharply, pointing a finger back. "This guy hit me first—"
The boy jumped and bit Ryuzio's finger. "Don't point at Teena, you jerk!"
Ryuzio retrieved his finger from the boy's mouth after smacking him on the head again, blowing on his finger right after. "Are you crazy! You just bit me!"
Benji was still running after the kids that took his glasses. "Hey, you two, give those back to me, I said!"
"Hehe!" the kid who had the glasses said with a laugh. "Who're you talking to?"
"That's right!" said the kid running beside him. "I bet you can't even see us!"
Ryuzio pulled up a sleeve, getting ready to fight with the brown-haired kid. "Don't you know that you shouldn't hit others for no reason!"
"Why're you crying, huh?" taunted the boy, while rubbing his own head with watery eyes. "Do you even know how to make a fist?"
Tryst sighed after witnessing this chaos in the park. "You two are also just kids, after all…" He got off his knee, lifting Ryuzio off the ground and walking away. "I'm sorry that Kaleb hit you. He's not exactly accepting of strangers, especially men."
"Put me down, heavy guy," Ryuzio said, flailing his arms at Tryst, who dodged every hit effortlessly. "All I did was pat him!"
Tryst dropped Ryuzio next to a bench, sighing. "Kaleb… He hasn't had the best exposure to older men, you know. His reaction comes from someplace else, so don't take it personally."
Ryuzio straightened his back, looking into Tryst's eyes with lips in a straight line. "Okay."
"Hey," Benji said with a quivering voice, running after two small boys. "Stop, please! I don't have any money to buy new ones!"
"Then catch us!" said one of the little boys.
The boy beside him laughed. "He can't even run faster than us—"
Tryst picked up the boys off the ground, sighing. "This is not how you welcome others, Gav, Marvi. Now return big brother his glasses."
The boys puffed their faces. "Not fair. This is cheating."
"That means we won, Gav," the other kid said.
The first one's eyes widened. "You're right." With that, he handed Benji his glasses.
Benji immediately started inspecting them, before sighing of relief. "They're fine…" he said with a sigh of relief.
Tryst put both the kids down. "The next time you do this, forget about the action figures that I promised to buy you."
The two boys had arms around each other's shoulders as they walked away to the food package while laughing.
"You can't fool us, Uncle Tryst," said one of them. "No matter what we do, you'll get us everything that you promised."
"He said he wouldn't let us enter the park if we didn't stop fighting each other," said the one beside him. "But here we are, invited to Kaleb's party."
Tryst's head fell. "These kids sure are catching up fast."
"Party?" Ryuzio said, ears perking up. "So why're we not even excited?" With that, he ran toward the kids around the food package. "Hey, I don't wanna see anyone being quiet! This is a party! Let's sing and dance!"
The brown-haired kid pointed angrily at Ryuzio. "Who even invited you? Get lost—"
Ryuzio picked his off the ground, putting his on his shoulders. "Who's next?"
"Put Kaleb down," the blonde kid said nervously. "Or else I'll tell Uncle—"
Ryuzio picked her off the ground as well, putting her on his right shoulder, the other kid on the left. "Anyone left?"
The kids around him looked confused.
Kaleb pulled on Ryuzio's ear. "Put me down, you jerk—"
"Now that we have the lame ones out," Ryuzio announced, "let's have fun!" With that, he started wobbling around with a big smile, trying to dance with the two kids on his shoulders.
"You look funny, big bro," a kid wearing a cap said, laughing. "That's not how you dance."
"You think you can do better than me?" Ryuzio said with a smile. "Then let's go. Show me."
The kid laughed, started to move around his shoulders. "But I can't dance to the fullest without music…" He trailed off as a soft tune started going though the air of the park.
Ryuzio looked over to Benji with a smile. "Good job, Ben. Now we all MUST dance." He felt the tugging on his ear softening up as returned to the kid with a cap. "Let's go."
The kid laughed. "Now look at me! I'll show you how to dance." With that, he got to the ground, doing some tricks with his legs, before getting back onto his feet and moving his arms in rhythm.
"That's nothing," another kid said. "Watch and learn." With that, he did a flip, before glancing at Tryst
Tryst was laughing to himself. "That was really dangerous, but I'll ignore it this time. Good job."
Soon, every kid in the playground started dancing to the music of Benji's tonepod.
Tryst started handing the kids different snacks, giving each kid something they liked. "Don't move around too much while you eat, and all the trash goes into the bins, do we understand?"
"Yes, Uncle Tryst," the kids said in unison.
Ryuzio glanced over both his shoulders with a smile before putting the two kids on their feet. "You must be hungry too, yeah?" He called for Tryst, gesturing toward the brown-haired kid and the blonde kid right after. "Don't forget about them."
"Of course not," Tryst said with a smile, handing the little girl a bag of snacks, and then turning to the brown-haired boy. "How can I forget the reason for this celebration?" With that, he handed the boy a bag as well.
Kaleb grabbed the bag, pulling out a bunmeat from inside. "Thank you, Uncle Tryst! This one's my favourite."
Ryuzio's stomach growled. "Oh, man, I forgot I was hungry."
Tryst offered a bag to him. "This one was for me, but I have to somehow repay you for doing all this…" He trailed off as he found Ryuzio turning away.
Ryuzio walked toward the blue-haired boy. "I wouldn't want anyone to take my bunmeat." He sat beside Benji on the bench. "Why didn't you dance, Ben?"
Benji rubbed the back of his head, chuckling nervously. "Someone had to play the music, right?"
Ryuzio turned his head toward the kids having fun. "Guess so."
Tryst sat beside him, drinking from a cup. "I genuinely am thankful to you two."
"No problem," Ryuzio said with a smile. "Just don't forget to get us into the event."
Tryst sipped his drink. "You bet."
"Mister Tryst," Benji asked nervously. "Can I ask you why you didn't return even after your shoulder got healed?"
Tryst stirred his drink, looking into it. "It was not worth it." He gulped down the entire drink. He leaned forward, arms on thighs. "That injury didn't force me into retirement. It just confirmed that my run was over."
Benji stood up, turning to Tryst. "That's not true! Before your final fight, you were at 12 continuous wins, and 8 of them were title defenses! If only you'd come back, the heavyweight division wouldn't have become like it is now."
Tryst leaned back into the bench, snorting a chuckle. "An ABC fan, I see," he said lightly. "You sure know you're stuff, and maybe you're even right. But I didn't start fighting for the belt, or the recognition." He faced Benji. "I appreciate your passion, kid, but honestly…I didn't start fighting for people like you."
Benji's hands fell to his sides. "You're saying…you don't like your fans?"
"Like is too strong of a word here," Tryst said, head falling back. "I certainly don't mind the fans. I wholehearted appreciate everyone who supported me and continues to do so. But all I'm trying to say here is that I didn't come into ABC to become the 'People's Champion.'"
"What did you come for, then?" Benji asked softly, as if let down, sitting on the bench with a lowered head.
Tryst smiled, pointing at the laughing kids. "This is why I risked my life on a regular basis. I wanted these kids to have what I personally didn't have growing up. I bought this street so that these kids can grow up in an environment that was considered too lavish by the people around me back when I was their age."
Benji's eyes widened as he continued to stare at Tryst. "You bought this ENTIRE Street? This is SONAS! And DISTRICT ONE at that."
Ryuzio smiled, looking at Tryst. He decided the man was a good person.
"That's where all my fight money went," Tryst said contently. "But of course, the bills didn't stop when I stopped fighting. The real amount to sustain all this was close to a 100 million splinters."
Benji's eyes almost popped through the lenses of his glasses. "One hundred MILLION splinters? That's way too much money."
Tryst smiled at him. "That's why I'll always be grateful to the one who helped me reach this amount."
Benji gulped. "Someone helped you?"
"Yeah," Tryst said, looking fondly at the stars. "It was a young man from the mountains who came down three years ago to take on the best brawler this land had to offer. I only helped him with his registration with the ABC, which is quite difficult, but not THAT big of a deal. And in return, that man decided to handover all his fight money to my cause."
Benji's jaw loosened. "That's why the divisions, especially heavyweight, are so bad now. Everyone fights only for the money nowadays. I can't see any active brawler being the one that helped you."
"You'd be mistaken, then," Tryst said, facing Benji. "Because the man who helped me to raise 100 million splinters is none other than the current Light Heavyweight Champion of ABC Imperos, Hitryel Hystryk."
Benji's head cocked forward, eyes fattening. "He doesn't keep his winning money? I thought he'd be filthy rich!"
Ryuzio's lips instinctively curved upwards, and before he knew it, he was smiling like a dummy. "That confirms that he's awesome! Okay, I've decided!"
Tryst and Benji turned toward Ryuzio as he suddenly blurted this statement. "Huh? What've you decided?"
Ryuzio smiled. "I'm gonna make the champ guy my first squadmate."
Benji jumped away with shock, both hands on his head. "You're crazy!"
Tryst's jaw loosened, face reflecting confusion. "Squadmate? What do you mean by that? Only Volants use that term to refer to their partners. Why're you using it…um…? What was your name again?"
"I'm Ryuzio Smyte," Ryuzio announced with a big smile. "The man who's gonna be the Sky King!"
"WHAT!" Tryst said, sharply jolting onto his feet.
Benji looked away, holding his head. "I know, Mister Tryst, this boy is crazy!"
Ryuzio laughed, resolute to make this Hitryel guy his first squadmate.