"NOW REQUESTING! RED DOGS WANTED! DO YOU THINK YOU HAVE THE FIRE, OR ARE YOU ALL PUFF AND SMOKE? AGES TEN AND BELOW!" There was a stall with a vendor screaming out the challenge.
Ryuma had a toothpick in his mouth from the teriyaki ball he ate from the last stall. Nylo, like his little mini-me also had one and was imitating Ryuma's every move as they walked across the festival.
"Hey Ryuma. I think I want to try that one." Nylo said, pointing at the stall who just announced the challenge.
"Oh! I see we have a young lively one here!" the announcer said. "If you can heat your meter towards the top, you get a prize. How about it?"
Ryuma looked at the other contestants. Some came close, but there was a clear barrier preventing them from making it all the way there. In truth, one would have to be gifted in the fire arts from an early age to be able to win this contest. This was little more than a way to grift money off folks who wanted to see their kid as something special. The chances of them making it at the age of ten and below was low.
"Sure, I'll spot ya kid." Ryuma said nonchalantly.
He placed a few pieces of copper teals on the table. The man graciously took it with a smile. "Come right on up young man. You may be our winner yet."
All placates, Ryuma realized. A way to get the children to believe they have a chance at winning. Regardless, he smiled when Nylo ran up to the giant thermometer and placed his hands on the metal plate.
"Ok young man. Hit it with your hottest fire."
Nylo did as he said. His hands started glowing red, and so did the plate. He tried to maintain this level of concentration, if only to increase the meter just that little bit much.
It stopped once it got to a certain point close to the top. Hard as Nylo tried to keep his concentration, the meter started fluctuating. Which meant that this was his limit. It dropped all the way back down when they realized that it wasn't going to go higher than that.
"AWWWW… YOU WERE SO CLOSE MY YOUNG FRIEND! THAT'S TOO BAD, BUT YOU'RE WELCOME TO TRY AGAIN ANYTIME YOU LIKE!" The vendor said.
Nylo had a down casted look towards the ground. Even though he failed, he was closer than Ryuma pegged him for.
"Hold on!" Ryuma halted the vendor and put more coppers on the table. "Let us get a second shot at this."
"Ryuma… we don't have to." Nylo said.
Ryuma turned towards Nylo and knelt to his level. "Don't worry little man. You did better than I thought you were going to do. I think you can do this. Go give it another try."
He didn't look nearly as confident as he did before, so Ryuma ruffled his hair. "You got this."
Nylo skeptically walked back over to the metal plate and put his hands on it again. He swallowed a lump in his throat, and for a second time, he heated his hands up with fire arts with the biggest flame he could muster.
The meter shot up further than it did previously, easily surpassing his previous record. From the looks of it, it was going to hit the bell at the top.
Right as it neared the end, it fluctuated just like last time. It was by a hairs breadth that it was just straddling the bell, so much so that he started to draw a crowd of bystanders to watch the kid.
Nylo struggled to keep the flame up. His hands started shaking, and he was sweating with heavy breaths. He finally lost all his strength and stopped the flame, causing the meter to go all the way back down.
"AWW HE ALMOST HAD IT!"
"WHAT IS THIS RIGGED GAME? NO CHILD COULD DO THIS!?"
"GIVE THE KID THE PRIZE ALREADY YOU CHEAPSKATE!"
The vendor held up his hands defensively. "Hey now, hey now. This is a legitimate stall. No funny business here." He turned towards Ryuma and began whispering. "Ya turns up kid. Can you so kindly beat it now before nobody wants to come back. You're kinda making my business look like a bully."
"Sure we can… but one last try." Ryuma urged.
"Forget it. Nope. Let somebody else go." The vendor said.
"Let's just go Ryuma. I don't want to play this game anymore." Nylo said. Ryuma could tell that he was fighting to hold back tears.
Ryuma knelt again. "Nylo. You wanted to join the order just like your big bro Toga, right? There's going to be walls and hurdles that you can't just go around. Trust me on this. Let's just try one last time. You were right there; I know you can do it."
Nylo looked up at him and pondered over it. He didn't even have enough time to give Ryuma a proper answer before Ryuma was already up and talking to the vendor.
"I promise you it'll be our last time if we fail. Just let the kid regain his pride a bit. Ryuma argued. The vendor stopped and thought.
"COME ON YA STINGY OLD LOON! LET THE KID TRY AGAIN! WHAT ARE YOU SO SCARED OF!?"
"Alright, alright. You get one last try!" He said it firmly with a matter of fact.
"You hear that Nylo. We got one more try." Ryuma said. He placed more money on the counter. Nylo went and put his hand on the plate again.
There was a deafening silence that followed suit. Ryuma went up close to him. "Ok Nylo. I want you to take a deep breath straight from your diaphragm. Feel the heat energy coursing through your body and raise the temperature level as you move it across your arms. Remember, we don't want more flames. We want a hotter flame."
Nylo closed his eyes. It got silent all around before he even did anything. He took a long, deep breath before igniting his hands again.
The plate burned so hot, it turned a bright red. The thermometer shot straight up without stopping or even showing signs of slowing. It hit the top and the bell rang signifying that it was a success.
There was a lag in between the people processing what happened before they began bursting in uproarious cheering. Some clapped, others hollered, there were even those who were piss drunk and just came to enjoy the spectacle.
"He actually did it…" The vendor said in disbelief.
"Way to go champ! I knew you could do it! We get a prize if I'm not mistaken. Am I right?" Ryuma smiled devilishly.
Most of the prizes up on the shelf were far more than what he paid for in the game. The enticement was all it was meant to be, but the reality of it was that he wasn't expecting any winners at his stall.
"Ughh… yeah, go ahead and pick anything you want." He was sweating profusely.
"It's your pick champ. You earned it." Ryuma winked at him
Nylo's smiled with exuberance and ran straight up to the katana. "I want this!"
"Ohh… not bad. I guess we're both katana wielders now, aren't we?"
Although it was just the right size for a child his age, he'd outgrow it in no time. It was meant to show off to kids his age more than actual use. It was still a dangerous weapon.
Ryuma looked at the crestfallen vendor who spent actual money on that weapon to be given to the hands of some child. He put an arm around his shoulder. "Relax buddy. I'm sure with great loss, comes great opportunity for rise."
He gestured over at the crowd. Many people were now holding their money, ready to use their own kid to try and win the game. The likely hood of a twice champion was unheard of so his luck should soon turn around. Best part yet, now that there was a winner, it felt less like a rigged game. He should make that money back within the hour.
"You're right. Thanks young man. I got some money to make. May you have a fair and blessed festival today." He said.
"You too old man."
Ryuma and Nylo walked away only to see a familiar blonde headed girl staring at them and smiling. "Nuna! Fancy meeting you here. I didn't expect to see any of the students this early."
"Yeah… well, I saw the whole thing. I didn't know you were this good with children." She seemed cheery in comparison to yesterday.
"Not really. I think they're just really good at learning."
Nylo looked between them both. "Ryuma, is that your girlfriend or something?"
Nuna looked away embarrassed. Ryuma had to cough into his own hand. "Let's just go with or something."
Nylo just shrugged his shoulders and ran forward with sword in hand. "Well as you can see, I'm a little busy baby-sitting. I'd love to speak with you another time if we can.
Before he could leave, Nuna grabbed his hand. "That's ok Ryuma. Two eyes are better than one. Why not watch him together?"