"Ya know, I've got a few younger cousins of my own I look after often. Perhaps if you're this good with children, maybe one day you could watch them with me," Nuna laughed. She had such a smile on her face.
"I wouldn't say I'm good with children. I just thought he could do it," Ryuma said. It was a bit embarrassing to be taunted over such a thing, Ryuma couldn't help but blush at the insinuation.
"Oh don't sell yourself so short. You were so calm with him. I think you'd make an amazing father," She said.
"Yeah… let's not mention fatherhood this early. I'm a bit too young for that,"
Nuna chuckled. "Ok. If you wish. I'll stop teasing for now. I wasn't aware you had a little brother,"
"I don't. This is Toga's little brother,"
Nuna knelt next to Nylo and had direct eye contact. "You're right. Now that you said it, I can see the resemblance," Nylo blushed in response.
"Yeah well… Ryuma's my big bro too," Nylo said.
Nuna smiled. "I'm sure he is. Mind if I tag along?"
"Sure I don't mind. It'll be fun with more people," Nylo said.
"Well then that settles it. Let's visit some stalls," Nuna said.
Now that he was reminded of Toga, he was now on Ryuma's mind. What was Toga's deal? Why was he trying to avoid him? Could it be because he went and upset one of the high edicts? After a bit of thinking, that couldn't be it. No way he'd be letting him watch over Nylo if that's what bothered him.
"Ryumaaa… are you there?" Nuna asked.
Ryuma snapped out of his thoughts. He almost forgot where he was and who he was with. "Oh sorry about that. Just had a bit on my mind," Nuna frowned. He didn't mean to worry her over it. "Nevermind about that. It looks like most of the stalls have been set up. Let's go enjoy ourselves,"
He grabbed her hand and pulled her along towards the food section. Nylo followed closely by. The three enjoyed some taiyaki, went net fishing, and played an assortment of minigames.
At this point in time, the festival was well on its way to having started, and the sun was setting to reflect that. Once the night hit, that's when the real festival would begin. All the lights that would shine in contrast to the night sky looked beautiful every year Ryuma came here. If nothing else, he always appreciated the scenery and the visuals he got every year. The Skylands was a place like no other. Even with the looming threat of the edicts, it was truly a culture all on its own here.
And so, he wanted to share a little bit of happiness of here, down with the lower world.
If only he could have graduated with everyone else. Ryuma looked at Nuna, and he just had an epiphany.
"Nuna. The graduation ceremony is not long from now. Shouldn't you be there!?" Ryuma asked. Nuna looked at him with wide eyes before looking away.
"Oh yeah! I forgot about that! Big brother's going to be there too right!?" Nylo asked. He put his finger on his chin as if something just now dawned on him. "Say big bro Ryuma. Shouldn't you be there too?"
Ryuma looked at Nylo. Of course he wouldn't know. There wasn't much time between the exams and the graduations to have properly informed him of anything. He wasn't told that he didn't pass.
"I mean… the ceremony is just performative anyway. It's totally optional. Who needs to through all of that?" Nuna said.
Ryuma could see that she was lying to herself. Of course she'd want to be there. Performative or not, most people's families would be there to see it. Why wouldn't she want to stand proud for her big moment?"
But aside from that, he had to set Nylo straight.
"Truth is Nylo… I didn't pass… I won't be graduating with the rest of the class,"
Nylo stood there and let that sink in. Once everything Ryuma said processed through, his face turned to that of anger.
"What are you talking about!? That's not fair! Ryuma's the best I know! How did other people pass and Not Ryuma!?"
Ryuma knelt and put his hand on his shoulder. "Nylo… not everything is going to work out the way you expect it to. The point is… I just didn't pass… that's all there is to it,"
Nylo looked down in shame. Of course he would. Nylo always seen Ryuma as a secondary older brother.
"But they must have cheated you somehow,"
"They didn't cheat me. They threw out the terms, and I accepted it. Part of being an adult Nylo, is accepting the results. So just let it go," He finally turned towards Nuna again. "Now we got to get you to that ceremony. You only get this day once in your lifetime. Don't throw this away over me Nuna. I'm not going to let you…"
"I'M NOT CELEBRATING ANYTHING WITH THOSE BASTARDS!" Nuna shouted.
It was enough to capture the attention of passersby. Ryuma for once, had a shocked expression on his face. He cleaned it up as best he could. "Nuna… did something happen while I was knocked out?"
It was the only conclusion Ryuma could produce as to why suddenly Nuna of all people held a disdain for the academy. So much so that not even somebody as nice as her could contain such anger.
He grabbed her hand a bit more forcefully than usual. "Nuna, can you please tell me what's going on?" she continued to look away. Nylo looked between the two of them confused.
Now that he thought of it, how exactly did the rest of the class react after he angered one of the edicts? How did the school act? How did he even get back home for that matter?
Everything on his end was drawing a blank, but Nuna had to have been awake for all of it. Did Toga's mood have something to do with it.
He started dragging both her and Nylo away.
"Ryuma! Where are you taking us!? Ow!" Nuna asked. "And why you gotta be so forceful?"
"Look. I'm not going to force you to be a part of the ceremony if you don't want to, but both of you got family that's in attendance. The least you could do is see them through it,"
He wasn't going to be the cause of Nylo skipping out on Toga's big day, especially when Toga was the one who won it for everybody. Furthermore, he damn sure wasn't going to hear it from Talo when he realizes that he was the cause of his sister's absence.
"But Ryuma," Nuna said.
"No buts!
He marched them all the way towards the stage where the ceremony was being held. Before he was let in through the door, two guards came to block his way. They were… academy guards.
"Excuse me. These two need to get into the venue," Ryuma said.
"These two are free to cross. You on the other hand aren't welcomed," One of the guards responded.
"You've already embarrassed the academy well enough. We'd have stripped you from graduating if we'd been able to. Face it kid, you've angered everyone. The students, the staff… the principle. We've been given strict orders to keep you from showing up, so I suggest accepting our generous offer, and beat it before somebody important shows up," The other guard said.
It was like this again. Why were they all like this? It's not as if any edict was here now. They were overcompensating in front of nobody.
Instead of voicing his thoughts, Ryuma just gave a short bow. "Very well. Sorry to bother you," He turned around to leave.
"Ryuma," Nuna called.
"Just go!" Ryuma said.
Despite everything, he had to accept this was his new reality. He supposed he was at least lucky enough to be able to attend the festival at all. Few people here even knew him by face when this many people were gathered, so that was likely the reason. This whole edict disrespect he caused was soon likely to spread amongst everyone here after, so how long was that going to last? How long, will his new norm come to fruition?
Ryuma was leaving the venue and exploring the rest of the festival with nothing but his own thoughts to keep him company this time.
"What in Gods hell was I thinking? I doubt this is something even I can recover from," Ryuma asked to nobody.
"Ya know wonder boy… that's the exact same question I had about you since yesterday. It's about time you started gaining some self-awareness,"
Ryuma turned to his right. There was only one person who addressed him as such. Clara was leaned on the wall in a shaded alleyway. You wouldn't notice if you weren't paying attention.
"Clara? What are you doing here? Shouldn't you be…"
Clara covered his mouth. "Do me a favor and just shut up and follow me. Will ya wonder boy?" She took his hand and guided him away from the bustling of the festival.
Out of all people, what could Clara have had in mind for him?