The recruiters were not taking kindly to Benji's pleas to recruit him, and rightfully so. It wasn't as if he deserved to be recruited. He was just a scared boy who'd freeze in the face of danger.
But being afraid meant one was alive. And staying alive was the most basic thing required to fly after your dream. If Benji failed to get recruited this day, Baru and his squad would soon find him, and punish him for "turning his back" on Codix and Edden, taking away the most basic thing he needed to fulfill his dream of becoming a grand skymaster.
That Benji could not afford. It was miracle enough that after all these years he finally got freed from the chains of those criminals. It would be truly ungrateful of him if he didn't respect this miracle by doing everything in his power—so not that much—to make something out of it. Therefore, he clung onto the recruiters, not letting them get away from his pleas.
"Please, sir," Benji voiced his request for a third time, hands joined toward Nyku. "I beg you to recruit me…! I'm willing to start even as just an errand boy—even as a cleaner. It would be still much more than what I deserve."
"You got that right," Sonya said, folding her arms. "How pathetic can someone be? You are clinging to something that doesn't even exist. Even if a miracle were to happen, you still wouldn't be able to convince my father to recruit a pathetic loser like you."
Her words cut deep into Benji's already existing wounds. Though these sorts of remarks were not new to him—because of Codix and Edden—they still hurt.
Nyku sighed, placing a hand on Benji's shoulder as he shook his head. "Listen, boy," he said tiredly. "Do you not understand the simple fact that we are here to recruit only brawlers? On top of that, it is not like I'm against you getting recruited." He sighed again. "It's like you're trying to find a fish in the sky. As I told you yesterday, if you want to get recruited into Aegis this bad, participate in the next annual recruitment program."
Tryst frowned from a short distance to the left. "That's pretty reasonable, Benji," he said. "As Legion Master Nyku said, he's here to recruit only brawlers and the recruitment program of next year is where you can get your fair chance of being recruited. Why must you be this persistent to something that clearly cannot be the way you want it to be?"
Because Benji was desperate, and there was hardly anything more agitating than reason in desperation. No one here could grasp the murky situation that he was in. If he failed to get recruited, he would surely be eliminated by Baru and his men. If he told the skyguards about this, it would only be a matter of time for them to link Benji with the same people who most likely would kill him in the following days.
'Why does it have to be like this?' Benji thought, looking at the floor, biting close his lips.
"You didn't even do anything that could increase your chances for a special recruitment," Nyku said, shrugging. "I hope I was finally clear this time, boy, so DO NOT do this again."
Tears formed in Benji's eyes, his body shuddering to fight against sobbing.
"See!" Sonya said, bringing her father's attention back onto Benji. "He should plan for being something other than a skyguard." She looked at Benji with stern eyes. "Be sure to not show up to the recruitment program as well. We don't need losers to protect the people. We need brave skyguards…" She trailed off as Tryst approached Benji.
Benji's eyes lingered on the handkerchief offered to him by Tryst. He looked up at the bearded man, wiping away his tears.
"Tears blur our vision," Tryst said kindly. "But sometimes we don't need eyes to see. Maybe this is not one of those times, Benji. Maybe you need to see what you want to blur, only then will you be able to act accordingly."
Surprisingly, Tryst's words didn't come out as condescending to Benji. Rather…they seemed to be the exact opposite—uplifting, even.
Benji accepted the handkerchief, wiping the tears beneath his spectacles. Tryst's words were impactful enough for Benji to wipe away the tears of his failure, but the emotions that they carried stuck nonetheless.
Heart sunk, Benji felt as if he was shrinking by the moment. The already limited possibilities for his future were fading slowly in his mind.
"You should leave now, Benji," Tryst said, patting his arm. "I might need to stay behind, you know. Head over to Junia's—"
"Get the heck out of our way, loser!" Sonya said in an annoyed tone. "Have your little panic party over on that corner!"
"Sonya," Nyku said, placing a hand on her shoulder. "No need to be so harsh. He's just a kid."
"Hmph!" Sonya turned her head away. "You'll never be a skyguard, because you're just a pathetic and scared loser—!"
"SHUT UP!" a yell sounded from a short distance.
Sonya's face paled.
Benji felt a strong wave of energy sweeping past him. He nervously glanced over his shoulder.
Nyku's step fell back. "This much pressure?"
Benji gulped as his eyes fell upon the figure behind his back, eyes widening. 'What're you doing…Ryuzio?'
###
Ryuzio pulled himself behind the corner after finally finding Benji. 'So this is where you were.' At another glance, he found Benji joining his hands toward a man in a skyguard uniform, standing next to another skyguard. He immediately identified both of them as the skyguards Benji pointed to, near the start of round 2 of Hitryel's fight. 'They're the recruiters!'
For some reason, Tryst was also beside Benji. But that wasn't anything to care about.
Because it was time.
Ryuzio fired up his Ether, flowing it evenly throughout his body. "Should I use that new punch I've been working on?" he asked himself. "Nah! I need to master it first." He clenched his fists.
"Dragon Cloak!"
The Scalemark on his right shoulder flared brightly, Scales erupting out of it.
"Dragon Gauntlet!"
The Scales spiraled down his arm, enforcing his fist with a glove made of several plates of Ether, locked together into place. The same fist he'd throw at the recruiters, before kindly asking them to recruit Benji. An awesome plan, indeed.
He walked out of the corner, sliding his left foot forward, standing sideways, right fist pulled to his side, left palm covering it. "Okay…" He tried gauging the distance between himself and the bearded skyguard. 'I don't wanna hurt him… I have to do it just right—'
"Hmph!" the skyguard girl said, turning her head away. "You'll never be a skyguard, because you're just a pathetic and scared loser—"
A nerve popped up beneath Ryuzio's headband, and unconsciously he poured a little too much Ether into his right fist.
"SHUT UP!" he yelled, a wave of energy erupting out of him, freezing the skyguards where they stood.
Ryuzio launched his right fist to the girl's face, Gauntlet of Ether shooting past his extended right arm. "Dragon Bullet—!"
"No!" Benji yelled as the Ether-fist shot toward the skyguard girl's face.
"Heh?" Ryuzio saw the trail of red flames through the air. "Did I put too much Ether into—?"
Ryuzio's eyes widened with disbelief at what he saw.
###
"No!" Benji yelled, knowing Sonya wasn't the one Ryuzio meant to punch.
Ryuzio's Ether-fist shot toward Sonya's face. Benji had seen Ryuzio knock guys like Codix and Edden with this punch, so he knew the damage it would do. Sonya was in deep danger.
Tryst's face showed that he had no idea about what was going on; he hadn't seen Ryuzio do anything like this, after all.
Benji gritted his teeth, after discovering in this stretching moment the fear on Sonya's face. Nyku stood behind her, frozen. Combat wasn't really a big part of Security Force, but if Nyku wasn't going to save his own daughter, then who would? He was a skyguard. He was supposed to protect—
Sonya's eyes watered as the Ether-fist almost punched her in the face—
Seeing this, air choked out of Benji's lungs. He cursed himself after he found…
"What the freak am I doing—?" His body had moved before he could answer this question.
Benji jumped, pushing Sonya away, the fist of burning red Ether ramming clean into his face, shattering his glasses to pieces, cracking sounds from inside his skull haunting his ears.
He crashed into Tryst, who held him up, blood gushing down his nose, the stinging numbness from the pain of the punch making his quivering hand instinctively reach for his face.
The extended Ether-fist turned into a thousand red wisps after the hit, fading into the air.
Through the dirty mix of tears and blood that trailed down his face and wetted his lips, Benji blurted in his pain the only thing in his mind, "Why…Ryu—"
Ryuzio showed his tongue, pointing at him with an offended look. "Who are you!" he said loudly. "I wanted to hurt them so bad because I'm a Volant and I HATE skyguards! But you saved them from my attack!" He stomped on the ground, in what was supposed to be frustration. "I didn't know a skyguard like you was also here. Oh, well… If I ever see you again, I'll definitely punch you even harder!" With that, he turned right and ran headfirst, vanishing behind the corner.
"What…just happened…?" Tryst said underneath his heavy breath.
With Ryuzio gone, only pain and tears accompanied Benji. 'Why…Ryuzio…' he thought, tears running down his face. 'I knew I was a burden to you…but you didn't have to make the reveal this hard—"
"Sonya!" Nyku shouted, holding his crying daughter off the floor. "Are you alright?"
Tears dripped off her chin as she leaned on her father, getting to her feet. "O-Of course! W-What would happen to me?" She rubbed her eyes, shielding her face with both hands, hiding away her tears.
"Master Nyku!" a voice sounded, and in the next moment, Commander Myles showed up to the scene. "I personally came here to report you a latest development regarding Payback Baru because you refused to respond to my calls. But right after I passed through the gate, I saw what just happened! I would go after the criminal, but I didn't see their face. I can treat you if you're hurt, Master!"
Benji did not have enough life left in him to even consider the idea of getting away from the skyguard who'd definitely capture him. And after hearing the name of Baru he felt even weaker. His frail body felt like a sack of shattered stones—heavy and in pieces. Though, he was sure his face wasn't the only thing Ryuzio broke with that punch—
"Forget about me, Myles!" Nyku said quickly, handing Sonya to the green-haired commander. "Take care of my daughter, alright? Make sure she gets immediate attention." With that, he turned to Benji—
Benji eyes squished in pain as Legion Master Nyku embraced him, crushing the air out of his lungs. "A…c…k…"
Nyku pulled himself away from Benji, placing hands on Benji's shoulders as they met eyes. "I thank you from the bottom of my heart, son, for the act of bravery you just performed!" he said, eyes watering. "If you hadn't taken that punch, I don't want to imagine what would've happened to the precious face my dear daughter." He blinked tears free as he lowered his head. "How can I ever repay a man like you, son? How can I ever give back to a man who saved the life of my daughter from a criminal brute?"
Benji slowly raised both of his quivering hands.
Nyku lifted his head, tears running down his face. His jaw dropped in disbelief as he saw Benji joining his hands together.
"Please…recruit me…sir… Please—"
Nyku embraced Benji again, crying on his shoulder. "You don't need to join your hands for something so small, son…" he said, sobbing. "You saved my daughter's life… Asking to get recruited in return is practically nothing compared to that…"
Benji did not want to take it the wrong way, so he held in his tears. Which didn't work. Nyku pulled himself away, meeting his eyes again.
"Say your name, son."
From the depths of what he had left in him, he uttered but a single word, "Benji…"
"Benji!" Nyku announced. "I officially recruit you as a skyguard in training of none other than my own Legion 88! From this day onward, I'll take care of you as not only a skyguard under my command, but also as my own son!"
Benji took the deepest breath he'd ever taken.
"Aa-ha-uh!" Benji cried with his eyes squeezed shut, tears dripping off his chin, head turned up toward the ceiling, snot running down his nose, his mouth widening. Though his eyes were closed, he was able to picture clearly what Ryuzio had said to him…
'I'll get you recruited today, no matter what! I promise!'
'He really kept his promise…!' Benji thought.
His whole body was shook, but he could take ten more of these shocks. Just when he thought his eyes could not produce more tears, they erupted. 'Is this why you punched me…Ryuzio? Did you know this would happen?'
"Myles!" Nyku ordered. "Help Benji!"
"Yes, sir!" Myles said, pulling away from Sonya, making her stand on shaky feet, tears still trailing her cheeks. "Right away!"
Benji kept crying loudly, nose running.
Tryst cleaned Benji's face of the various fluids—continuing to hold him on his feet—ruffling his light blue hair with a proud smile.
'I have to thank Ryuzio someday…'
"Congratulations, Benji," Tryst said, smiling. "You're one step closer to becoming a grand skymaster."
Through his damp eyes, Benji looked at the bearded man. "You…know…my dream…?"
"I've always known," Tryst said, embracing Benji. "And I'm proud of you, young man."
Benji gritted his teeth, holding in his emotions to not dirty the great man's shirt with his tears and snot.
"This way, recruit," Myles said, turning Benji away from Tryst. Myles placed a hand on Benji's forehead, closing his eyes. His hand started glowing with a soft green light. His face wasn't glowing with a red one; he was just holding his breath.
Benji gasped as a warm and comforting feeling took over him. His eyebrows rose as his nose started aligning the right way, the stream of blood from his nose getting patched up—
Myles jumped back. "It's you!"
Benji touched his face, noticing it had returned to the way it was before Ryuzio's punch—or at least very close to it. 'He healed me…!"
Myles turned to Nyku, a finger pointed at Benji. "This is one of those two intruders that I reported to you yesterday, Master—!"
Nyku smacked him on the head. "No, he's not!" he claimed loudly. "He's Benji, a skyguard of Legion 88. In fact, he's a skyguard in one of the three squadrons that comes under your platoon, Commander Myles. Got that, soldier?"
Myles gulped. "Yes, sir…!"
Benji bowed, now able to stand on his own feet. "Master Nyku," he said softly, eyes still watery. "I'm really grateful for your kind words and above all else for recruiting me into your Legion." He lowered his head further.
But please, excuse me; I have a very important thing that I must do, so please give me permission to step outside this building…even if for a single moment…"
"Go ahead, Benji!" Nyku said, patting his shoulder. "You have my permission."
Benji looked up, a faint smile forming on his face. "T-Thank you, sir…Legion Master."
###
The parking was lit by the setting sun.
"Yo, Hit!" Ryuzio called, waving his hand at his first squadmate, who was standing by some vehicles in the parking. "I'm here!"
"What in smoke are you shouting for, idiot!" Hitryel said in an annoyed tone. "The sun hasn't set, I can see you clearly! Skyguards are looking for us, remember?"
Ryuzio rubbed the back of his head as he approached him with a smile. "My bad."
Hitryel wore a dark blue jacket over his white shirt, though his jacket was almost too perfect-sized—not baggy at all. He wore jeans and had blue and white sneakers on his feet.
"Whoa!" Ryuzio shouted, only now noticing what Hitryel was riding on. "It's your bike!"
Hitryel smacked him on the head as he inspected the front parts of the vehicle. "I told you to keep it down!"
Ryuzio tugged on Hitryel's jacket, eyes sparkling. "Hey, Hit, let me ride this thing!"
"Maybe some other day," Hitryel said, putting a key between the handles of the two-wheeler. "Right now, we need to get away from here. Fast. We're going east. I know a place we can hide in until all this cools down."
Ryuzio puffed his cheeks. "Lame."
Hitryel turned the key, the lights to the front of the vehicle lit up. He throttled the right handle, and the vehicle roared. "Get on."
Ryuzio grumpily got onto the bike, arms folded. "Do you even know how to start this thing?"
"Of course I do, you idiot!" Hitryel shouted, glancing over his shoulder.
"Hey, Hit…" Ryuzio whispered, leaning closer to him. "Keep it down…"
Hitryel flushed. He turned forward as he muttered to himself, throttling the right handle of the bike a couple more times, and starting the vehicle—
Ryuzio patted Hitryel's back, the other on his head. "Let's go! A skyguard is after us!" Ryuzio was really surprised to see Benji running toward them—even more surprised to find his face fixed up, no blood, no wounds.
Hitryel turned his head toward Benji. "He can't be a skyguard."
"But he is," Ryuzio said with a smile. "And he's going to become a grand skymaster!"
Hitryel raised a brow. "Is that so, huh?" He smiled.
Ryuzio reached into the pocket of his jacket, fishing something out.
Benji almost caught up to them. "Wait, Ryuzio! I wanna thank you—"
Ryuzio slapped the blue-haired skyguard on his left cheek. "Sorry for breaking your glasses, Ben—!" Ryuzio grabbed onto Hitryel as the front wheel of the vehicle lifted.
The bike shot off from the parking soon as the wheel hit the pavement, leaving Benji behind.
###
'I barely understand your punch, Ryuzio…' Benji thought, reaching up for his left cheek with a hand. 'But now this slap—'
His eyes widened when he found something stamped onto his cheek. He peeled it off. It was a note.
Benji started breathing heavily as he unfolded the note—
It was the same note Benji had left in Ryuzio's pocket the night before.
Benji's tears dripped onto the unchanged words written on the note.
'I don't deserve this…' he thought, sobbing. 'You gave me this much, Ryuzio… And then you say this…'
Eyes welling up, teeth gritted to keep them from chattering, he raised his head to gaze at Ryuzio, who was riding off into the sunset. He gripped the note tightly, the words written on it pulling on his emotions. He wanted to say so much, yet he could not express it. However, one thing he always knew how to express was gratitude. And he owed a lot of it to the man who would become the Sky King.
"Thank you, Ryuzio!" he whispered. "THANK YOU!"
The words written on the note, the final words of "Luminary Sunrider", echoed in his head.
'A farewell of today is but a greeting of tomorrow. So even if neither you said it nor I, no matter our sides, for as long as the sun shines, we shall always be friends.'
###
"By the way, Myles," Nyku said, turning to the bearded commander. "What was this latest development that you wanted to report to me so urgently that you came running."
Myles gasped, putting a hand on his head. "Right! It totally slipped out of my mind."
Nyku and Sonya eyed him as his expression darkened. "What is it?" Nyku asked.
"Master Nyku," Myles said, tucking his chin. "Payback Baru was spotted in the eastern side of District One."