Chương 121: [You're Both Idiots]

As Leo walked back along the tunnel towards the waiting area, he thought back on the earlier part of the fight. About how annoyed Klaus's sudden accusation had made him. It wasn't just the fact he'd called Leo 'someone undeserving of Shai', or claimed he was a 'nobody'. It was the way he spoke about her. How he acted the same way she'd described people did when they wanted to get close to her. Man, that must suck when it comes from your friends. Best to avoid mentioning it if I can.

It's sorted now and it's only going to make things awkward between them. As long as he doesn't do anything weird I'll leave it be. Leo reached the waiting room and made his way up the steps to a wall of noise from the group. Phil got there first, an excited grin on his face.

"Mate. Nicely done. I can't believe you won without having to land a hit. You looked so much better out there."

"Wasn't intentional," Leo said.

"His own issues put him on the deck half the time. Didn't see the need in making it worse."

"That's fair. Made you look like someone schooling a student which is pretty funny," Sam said.

"It was a little disappointing to be honest. The last point was good, he'd got his head sorted out by then. Before that though it felt like he wished the weapons were real or something. It was crazy." Shai stepped forward when the lads moved back.

"Well fought, Leo. Klaus is good. I don't know what had him acting the way he did but you handled it well. You showed even if he fought like the last point all match, you'd have likely won anyway. You deserve to be in the semi-finals," she said with a soft smile.

"Cheers," Leo said, smiling back before the smile changed to a wicked grin.

"Who are you going to be supporting in the semi between me and that idiot?"

"Hey. Fuck you, man," Phil barked. Shai looked between the two of them, crossing her arms as her soft smile sharpened into something a bit more mischievous.

"Well," Shai said, tilting her head toward Phil.

"As his trainer, it's my professional duty to back my fighter." She shifted her gaze back to Leo, her eyes sparkling.

"But Phil losing after he's done nothing but claim he's going to win the whole thing for the last two days is funny; which makes me want to pick you."

"Traitor!" Phil yelled, throwing his hands up. The group settled back into their spots along the viewing step and the questions started properly. Phil wanted a full breakdown of every point. Luka wanted to know what was said on the floor. Torren was curious about the first exchange and why Leo had been slow off the mark.

"He more or less snarled at me just before the fight started. I was like, WTF is his problem, and suddenly he ran at me. Didn't bother to do anything but swing like a mad man," Leo said.

"Threw me off for the first point."

"We saw that. Klaus is usually the total opposite of that," Kai said.

"Yeah. In his first round he was clinical. He seemed annoyed in the second but that could have been something the other guy said to him. When I got out there the dude was seething. When he looked at me it was like I was to blame for whatever was going on." Kai nodded slowly.

"What was he saying to you?" Luka asked.

"We could see him talking. Couldn't hear it from up here." Leo was quiet for a moment.

"He had something personal going on," he said.

"It was affecting his head. We talked it through." Phil looked at him.

"That's it?"

"Yeah. Not my problem to tell really." Leo didn't look at Shai. He could feel her eyes on the side of his face.

"Yeah, fair enough. Anyway," Phil said, "You ready to lose? You've had a good run so far man, but it ends here." Leo laughed.

"You realise you're making the hole bigger, right? Put down the shovel dude. I promise I won't make a big deal out of it when I send you back to everyone knowing you're going to have to explain what just happened."

"I don't. You're going to come up here and tell them I was right all along." If you discover this tale on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen. Please report the violation.

"Keep dreaming dude. You're about to lose to a weeb with a big ass katana, while the cat girl who trained you is cheering on your opponent. It's like something straight out of an anime." Sam and Luka laughed while Shai rolled her eyes. Torren looked between them with an amused look on his face.

"It should be an interesting fight. I think as long as you both fight to the best of your ability, you can both hold your head up high."

"Nah, screw that," said Luka with a chuckle.

"Winning is secondary now. One of them losing to the other is going to be worse than me going out in the quarters. Both of them are going to be massive dicks about it if they win, regardless of what they say." Leo and Phil grinned at him. He was right and they both knew it. Shai rolled her eyes again but she was smiling.

"You're both idiots."

Parmo listened as the crowd speculated over the reason behind Klaus's' defeat, the rumours going around about Leo and Shai and the general atmosphere of the festival in full swing.

"That was unlike him," Rika said, her eyes still on the arena floor.

"Klaus is one of the more composed fighters in the village. Whatever was going on with him today was not normal."

"Leo seemed to sort it out though," Parmo said.

"Whatever was being said down there, you could see it sinking in as the fight went on. Any ideas?" Rika was quiet for a moment.

"It might be exactly what people are saying it is. He had a thing for Shai." She paused, thinking it through.

"I never really noticed before but thinking back — when Shai would run training sessions, if Klaus was in her group he worked harder than he did for anyone else. At least I think that was the case." She frowned slightly.

"If that was because he had feelings for her it would make sense. For him to lose it like that here though, he must have seen something up there that told him what things are like between them. And he didn't like it."

"So all of that was jealousy?"

"I think so. I don't know for certain though." She turned to look at him.

"I want to speak to Shai about it. See what she thinks."

"That's not a good idea," Parmo said.

"Why not?"

"Because we don't know for certain. Think about what you're walking up to her with — festival gossip and a theory. What happens when you bring that up?" He looked at her.

"She's going to be unhappy about it either way. It looks like Leo sorted whatever it was during the fight so just leave it. If something comes of it she'll speak to you herself." Rika looked at him for a moment then smiled.

"Fine." She settled back in her seat.

"What did you think of the fight though? Leo did well, right?"

"He was unreal," Parmo said.

"The difference between his first fight and that one. All of them have come on so much just today."

"Do you think he can beat Phil?" Parmo thought about it.

"I'm not sure. That first point — Leo got caught out by Klaus coming at him like that. Phil fights like that all the time but with actual thought behind it."

"That's true," Rika said.

"But then he beat Locke and Locke fights similar to Phil."

"That's fair. Maybe he's used to that style by now and makes it look as easy as that fight did."

"Don't let Phil hear you say that." Parmo laughed. Rika glanced at him after a moment.

"Are you enjoying the festival?"

"Yeah," he said.

"It's been great. The food, the atmosphere. All the stuff I've never seen before — the dragons, the slimes, all of it. It's been cool as fuck." Rika smiled.

"Good. I'm glad you're having fun." She looked back at the arena.

"It's nice being the one showing you things for a change."

Mike had a good view from where he was sitting. The section above the tunnel was set apart from the main stands — not quite a box at a football ground but close enough that he'd noticed the similarity the moment they'd been shown to it. Merin was to his left, Yara beside him, Koss on the end. She'd had a grin on her face for most of the afternoon that had nothing to do with the fighting.

"What do you think?" Koss asked, nodding toward the arena below. Mike laughed.

"Blows the UFC out of the water." Koss looked at him.

"Sorry. Unarmed fighting sport back home. Two people, different martial arts, trying to either knock each other out, force a surrender or win on points. Good fun but this —" he gestured at the arena "— this is something else."

"Well that's good then." Koss smiled.

"Your lads have really made a name for themselves today. When the people from the other villages learn where they're from it's going to do you a lot of good. The fact they're skilled in combat, have been good sports and are fun to watch." She paused.

"Phil likes to show off. That's pretty popular as well. People love it when someone plays to the crowd."

"Yeah," Mike said, grinning.

"That's him alright." He looked back at the arena where the orc with the mutton chops was telling the audience about the 10 minute interlude.

"Who do you think wins the final, Yara?" Yara had been watching the tournament carefully all afternoon.

"Either Gomir or Sam," she said.

"Leo and Phil are skilled but Gomir has experience and Sam seems to be the better fighter when it comes to planning. When two fighters are close in ability that usually makes the difference." Mike nodded.

"That's fair." Merin had been watching the stands as much as the arena.

"Back to what we were saying earlier," he said.

"A few months, depending on what happens with whatever is causing trouble in the north. That's how long before word reaches the core and they send an investigator. They come every few years anyway but it's been a while and something like this will be enough to remind them we exist." He glanced at Mike.

"Word will slip when they arrive. There's nothing we can do to stop that."

"Makes the decision about the town easier to sit with," Mike said.

"We were never going to stay hidden indefinitely. The lads being here today at least gives us a head start on how we're introduced." He looked at Yara.

"Your idea about reaching out to the other villages is a good one. Everyone in this part of the border knows something is going on up north. Offering them fast communication is going to land well."

"There are a few people here today with some sway in their own villages," Yara said.

"We can speak to them later this afternoon. They won't react badly to learning about Monkhaven — if anything they'll appreciate the extra security, especially after today."

"Yeah," Mike said.

"Let's hope so." Koss had stopped watching the arena. Her eyes were on the viewing area where the fighters were standing. Mike watched her smirk and wondered what she was thinking.