Chương 28: Grandpa's final wish (FILLER)

Avery stared at the immobilized Mochi and Amelia, her grin slowly widening.

"Alright you two..." She turned toward Mamoon and Falla.

"Formation..." Her eyes sharpened.

"Zone of Death." Mamoon and Falla exchanged glances. Then nodded.

"Got it." The two suddenly leapt into the air. Mochi's eyes widened.

"Wait..." Mamoon and Falla began spinning rapidly, their bodies glowing with a strange spiritual energy.

"Magic Skill: SPIRIT ZONE!" A gigantic triangular formation appeared around them. The three points of the triangle began closing inward, trapping Mochi and Amelia directly in its center. The energy grew more intense. Amelia's eyes widened.

"Oh no.. this is bad..." Mochi struggled against Phantom Lock.

"C'mon..."

"Come on, body!"

"Do something!" His muscles strained. Nothing. The triangular formation continued shrinking. Mochi gritted his teeth.

"How the hell do I break free from this thing?!" Then.. His eyes shifted toward Mamoon and Falla. Something caught his attention. Their hands. Both of them had remained extended ever since they activated Phantom Lock. Mochi's eyes widened.

"... Wait a second." He looked at Falla. Then Mamoon.

"... Their hands."

"They haven't lowered them once since activating the phantom lock." Mochi's eyes sharpened.

"That's gotta be it." He immediately shouted to Julio and Tony.

"HEY!" The two turned toward him.

"Try to force one of those guys to put their hand down!"

"QUICK!" Julio blinked.

"... What?" Tony stared at Mochi.

"Why?"

"JUST TRUST ME!" Mochi shouted Julio and Tony exchanged a confused glance. Then Tony shrugged.

"Well..."

"If Mochi has an idea..."

"And it's about combat..."

"There's probably a reason." Julio nodded.

"Fair enough." Tony suddenly charged toward Falla.

"TAKE THIS!" Tony slammed into Falla's legs.

"WHAT?!" Falla lost his balance. At the exact same moment Julio charged Mamoon.

"GET DOWN!" Julio tackled Mamoon to the ground.

"GAH!" Mamoon's hand slammed against the ground. The Phantom Lock instantly disappeared. Mochi's eyes widened.

"I CAN MOVE AGAIN!" Amelia looked down at her hands.

"Me too!" But they barely had a second to celebrate. Mochi suddenly looked upward.

"... Oh crap." The enormous Spirit Zone was already descending. Amelia looked up.

"MOCHI!"

"I KNOW!" Mochi planted his feet. He cocked his arm backward. His fist began glowing with intense energy.

"MAGIC SKILL..." His muscles tightened.

"HAND OF MOCHI!" A gigantic spectral hand made of mochi from Mochi's arm, smashing upward against the incoming Spirit Zone. At the same time Amelia threw both hands forward.

"I'll back you up!"

"MAGIC SKILL: CRACKER WALL!" A massive golden cracker barrier formed in front of them. The Spirit Zone collided with both defenses. The entire street shook. Mochi's shoes dug into the ground. Amelia's arms trembled. The golden barrier began cracking. Mochi gritted his teeth.

"Don't you dare break!"

"DONT YOU DARE!" Amelia struggled to keep her barrier standing.

"Mochi!"

"WE'RE NOT LOSING!" Mochi pushed harder.

"FULL POWER!" Both of them screamed as they poured everything they had into their techniques. The Spirit Zone pressed down. The Hand of Mochi pushed back. The Cracker Wall held firm. For several seconds, it became a battle of pure endurance. Mochi's arms shook violently. Amelia's legs trembled. Their breathing became ragged. But neither backed down.

"COME ON!"

"KEEP PUSHING!" The Spirit Zone began flickering. Mamoon's eyes widened.

"What?!" Falla stared upward.

"That's impossible!" The energy began rapidly losing its power. The triangle fractured. Bit by bit.. Then CRACK If you encounter this story on Amazon, note that it's taken without permission from the author. Report it. The entire Spirit Zone disintegrated into particles of light. The remaining energy scattered through the air. Mochi and Amelia stood frozen for a moment. Then both collapsed onto one knee.

"Haaah..."

"Haaaah..." Amelia panted heavily.

"... That..." She wiped sweat from her forehead.

"... was intense." Mochi breathed heavily.

"Yeah..."

"You're right." For a few moments, they simply caught their breath. Then Mochi slowly pushed himself back onto his feet. Amelia looked up.

"Mochi?" He stared at Mamoon, Falla, and Avery. His expression was different now. The cockiness was gone. Instead, there was determination.

"Hey, Amelia?"

"Yeah?" Mochi clenched his fist.

"These people..." He looked toward Avery, Mamoon and Falla.

"... They're strong, don't you think?" Amelia nodded. Mochi's eyes narrowed.

"I underestimated them."

"I thought because we were putting up a good fight, we were already close to their level."

"But we're not and that's something we have to come to terms with..." He looked down at his fist.

"And honestly..."

"I think that's a good thing." Amelia tilted her head. Mochi's eyes lifted toward the sky.

"Because now I know exactly where we stand." His fist tightened.

"We're gonna get stronger."

"Stronger than we are right now."

"Stronger than the people standing in front of us." He looked toward Amelia.

"And one day..."

"We're gonna stand across from Rakai..."

"And we won't be wondering if we're strong enough to fight him."

"We'll know we are." Mochi's expression hardened.

"But we can't get there by wishing for it." He pointed toward Avery's group.

"We start right here."

"These guys are stronger than us."

"So let's beat them."

"Let's prove that F-Rank doesn't mean we're weak." He grinned. Amelia stared at Mochi. Then slowly smiled.

"Mochi..." Mochi grinned back. Amelia stood beside him.

"Alright." She raised her fists.

"Then let's do this." Mochi cracked his knuckles.

"Yeah."

"Let's finish this." Across the battlefield, Mamoon and Falla finally managed to shove Tony and Julio off them. THUD! Tony rolled across the ground.

"Oof!" Julio stumbled upright.

"That wasn't exactly what I had planned..." Avery stared at Mochi and Amelia. Then she looked at Mamoon and Falla. Her expression shifted from amusement... To genuine interest.

"They figured it out." Mamoon rubbed his shoulder.

"They realized we need our hands raised to maintain Phantom Lock." Falla frowned.

"And they had their allies interrupt us to do that..." Avery's lips slowly curled into a grin. She looked toward Mochi and Amelia.

"... Well, well." She cracked her knuckles.

"Things are going to get interesting." Avery looked at Mochi and Amelia for a moment before a grin spread across her face.

"Congratulations, you two." Mochi raised an eyebrow.

"You've honestly surpassed our expectations by a long shot." She cracked her knuckles.

"And for that..." Her grin sharpened.

"... we're going to beat you right here." Mochi's face lit up with excitement.

"I'd like to see you try." All five fighters dashed forward at once. The battlefield erupted. Avery swung at Amelia. Amelia blocked the first punch, but Avery immediately followed with another. At the same time, Mochi rushed toward Falla. Mochi's fist collided with Falla's.

"Gotcha!" Falla gritted his teeth.

"Not quite!" Mamoon suddenly appeared from Mochi's side. A powerful kick slammed into Mochi's ribs.

"GAH!" Mochi stumbled sideways. Amelia immediately fired a barrage of cracker shards.

"Magic Skill: Cracker Missile!" Avery weaved between the explosions of cracker shards.

"You're getting faster!" Amelia gritted her teeth.

"So are you!" The fight became a blur. Punches, Kicks, Magic and a hella lot of explosions Mochi and Amelia were giving everything they had. They were still outmatched physically, but they refused to back down. Mochi wiped blood from the corner of his mouth.

"... They're tough." Amelia breathed heavily. Mochi suddenly grinned.

"But so are we." He charged forward. Avery saw him coming.

"Again?" She planted her foot.

"You're getting predictable." She pulled her leg back.

"I'll kick you straight into the.." Mochi suddenly jumped. Avery's eyes widened.

"What in the?!" Mochi soared over her incoming kick. Avery stared upward.

"What is he doing?" Falla looked up. Mamoon's eyes widened.

"He's in the air!" Mochi looked down at them.

"I don't need to be stronger than you to beat you!" He twisted his body midair.

"I just need one attack that catches you off guard!" Avery blinked.

"... You literally just told us that." Mochi's expression froze.

"..." Avery smirked.

"So it isn't exactly going to catch us off guard anymore, is it?" Mochi's eyes widened. Then his grin returned.

"Oh yeah?" He suddenly shouted..

"AMELIA! DO IT!!" Amelia's eyes widened.

"Got it!" She thrust both hands forward.

"MAGIC SKILL: CRACKER BULLETS!!" Dozens of cracker projectiles launched toward Avery, Mamoon, and Falla. All three froze. They had no time to react Avery's eyes widened.

"... Wait." Mamoon looked toward Mochi.

"He wasn't attacking?!" Falla's expression dropped.

"HE WAS A DISTRACTION!"

"OH SH-!" The barrage slammed into them. Explosions consumed the three fighters.

"AAAAAAAGH!"

"GAH!" The three were blasted backward, tumbling across the ground before crashing down hard. Dust filled the air. Silence. Mochi landed gracefully. He looked toward Amelia. She was breathing heavily, her arms trembling from exhaustion. Mochi slowly smiled.

"... We did it." Amelia smiled back.

"We sure did." Mochi raised his hand. Amelia immediately understood. They high-fived.

"YES!" Tony jumped up.

"LET'S GO THEY WON!" Julio stared in disbelief.

"... They actually won."

"And against C ranks no less.." Mochi walked through the settling dust toward Avery. She was lying on her back, breathing heavily. Mochi stopped beside her.

"Alright." He reached down.

"I'll be taking that." He pulled the scroll from her grasp. Avery weakly opened her eyes.

"... You're..." She coughed.

"You're not going to kill us?" Mochi stared at her.

"... Kill you?" He looked genuinely confused.

"Why would I do that?" Avery's eyes widened.

"What...?"

"We tried to steal from you.."

"And attacked you.." Mochi tucked the scroll safely away.

"I don't believe killing people is the right way to handle this.. you know?." He turned away.

"We won."

"That's enough for me..." Avery stared after him.

"... You're seriously just leaving us?" Mochi looked back.

"Yep." He walked over to Julio and held the scroll out.

"I believe this belongs to you." Julio stared at it. Then slowly took it.

"... Thanks." His fingers tightened around the scroll. For the first time since they'd arrived in Nensho... He finally had it back. Behind them, Mamoon slowly pushed himself up. Falla groaned as he rolled onto his side. Avery eventually forced herself to her feet. She glared at Mochi and Amelia.

"This isn't over!" Mamoon stood beside her.

"You'll regret humiliating us!" Falla pointed toward them.

"We'll get you next time!" Mochi turned around.

"Sure thing..."

"We'll be ready." Avery gritted her teeth.

"Come on guys." The three Black Cats members began retreating down the street.

"This isn't the last of us!" Mochi watched them disappear. Tony walked over.

"... Think they'll actually come back?" Mochi shrugged.

"Only time will tell." Amelia smiled.

"Well if they do, we'll just beat them again." Mochi grinned.

"Exactly." Julio looked down at the scroll in his hands. His expression slowly became serious.

"... Now." He stared toward the distant city.

"Let's find the Everflame Palace." Mochi suddenly stopped.

"Wait a minute..." Julio turned around.

"What?" Mochi pointed at the scroll.

"That's a scroll, right?" Julio stared at him.

"... Yes."

"I thought we established that already." Mochi scratched his cheek.

"Well, if it's a scroll..." He tilted his head.

"Then there must be something inside it." Julio's expression remained indifferent.

"And?" Mochi blinked.

"And you don't wanna know what's inside?" Julio looked down at the scroll.

"Why would I care?"

"I wanted to destroy it so there's no point..."

"Whatever is inside doesn't change that." Mochi shrugged.

"Maybe."

"But still..."

"I think you should at least check." Julio stared at the scroll. For several seconds, he said nothing. His thumb slowly traced the edge of the golden casing.

"... Fine." He took a deep breath.

"I'll look." Julio carefully opened the scroll. The parchment unfurled. But there was nothing Instead... A single folded piece of paper slipped from inside and landed in Julio's hands. Julio stared at it.

"... A note?" Mochi leaned closer.

"Looks like it." Julio unfolded it. His eyes immediately caught the first line. He began reading.

"Dear Julio," Julio's eyebrow twitched. He continued.

"If you're reading this, then congratulations."

"You managed to open a scroll without somehow breaking it." Julio paused.

"... Seriously...?" Julio continued reading.

"I was going to write something wise and profound here, but you know me. I've never been very good at that sort of thing."

"So instead, I'll say this:""How's life treating you, kid?" Julio's expression slowly changed. The amusement faded. He kept reading.

"I suppose you're probably older now."

"Maybe you've got a job."

"Maybe you've got a family of your own."

"Maybe you've finally learned how to cook something other than burnt meat." Julio's lips trembled slightly. He could almost hear his grandfather's voice. That stupid joking tone. That laugh. That voice he hadn't heard in years. Then he reached the next paragraph.

"I'm sorry." Julio stopped. His eyes remained fixed on those two words. He swallowed. Then continued.

"I know I've given you plenty of reasons to hate me."

"I know what people say about me."

"And honestly..."

"They're not wrong." Julio's fingers tightened around the paper.

"I stole."

"I drank too much."

"I smoked when I shouldn't have."

"I allowed myself to fall into the hands of the devil""And I spent far too much of my life pretending I didn't have a family that loved me." Julio's breathing became heavier.

"But there's something I never told you."

"I wasn't staying away because I didn't love you."

"I stayed away because I was ashamed." Julio's eyes widened.

"Every time I looked at your mother..."

"Every time I looked at your father..."

"And especially every time I looked at you..."

"I saw what I had become."

"A disappointment." Julio's eyes began to water. He wiped underneath one of them. But kept reading.

"I didn't want you to see me like that."

"I didn't want my grandson looking at me and wondering why his grandfather couldn't get his life together."

"So I did what I thought was best."

"I stayed away." Julio's hand began trembling.

"I told myself I was protecting you."

"But perhaps I was only protecting myself from having to see the disappointment in your eyes." A tear rolled down Julio's cheek. He didn't notice.

"Do you know what hurts the most?"

"I wanted to see you grow up."

"I wanted to see what kind of man you'd become."

"I wanted to see you find something you loved and chase after it."

"I wanted to hear about your first job."

"Your first real accomplishment."

"I wanted to watch you become someone who was nothing like me." Julio's vision blurred. He blinked rapidly. The words became harder to read.

"And I'm sorry I won't get to see it." Julio's breathing hitched.

"If I could go back..."

"I'd do things differently."

"I'd spend more time with you."

"I'd sit beside you and listen to every stupid story you wanted to tell me."

"I'd let you complain about school."

"I'd embarrass you in front of your friends."

"I'd probably give you terrible advice and insist it was brilliant." A tiny, broken laugh escaped Julio. But it immediately turned into a shaky breath.

"I'd do anything just to have a little more time." Julio's tears began falling freely now. He desperately wiped his face. But another tear replaced it. Then another.

"I don't expect you to forgive me."

"You don't owe me that."

"And if you hate me..."

"I completly understand."

"But I want you to know something."

"You were never a disappointment to me." Julio froze. His eyes widened.

"Not once."

"Not ever."

"If anything..."

"I was afraid I'd become a disappointment to you." Julio's lips began trembling.

"So if you're reading this after I'm gone..."

"Please don't spend the rest of your life carrying the weight of my mistakes."

"Live your life."

"Find people who make you happy."

"Laugh loudly."

"Love deeply."

"And if you ever have a family of your own..."

"Give them the time I failed to give mine." The final lines were written shakily.

"I wish I could have watched you grow up, Julio."

"I wish I could have been there."

"And I'm sorry I wasn't."

"I love you, kid."

"I always did."

"Even when I was too much of a coward to show it."

"Yours sincerely..."

"Grandpa." Julio didn't move. The paper slowly lowered from his hands. His eyes were fixed on nothing.

"... Old man." He quickly wiped his face.

"Come on..." He laughed weakly.

"Don't do this..." Another tear slipped down his cheek. Julio wiped it away. Then another came. And another. He desperately rubbed his eyes.

"Why..." His voice cracked.

"... Why won't they stop?" Amelia's expression softened.

"Julio..." She took a step toward him. But before she could reach him Mochi extended his arm in front of her. He slowly shook his head. Amelia stopped. Mochi looked toward Julio. He didn't say anything. He simply let him have the moment. Julio stared down at the letter. His shoulders began shaking. Then his legs finally gave out. He collapsed onto his knees. The letter remained clenched against his chest as he broke down completely.

"I..." His voice barely escaped him.

"I had a change of heart..." He looked down at the scroll. His tears continued falling.

"I..." He gulped.

"... I wish to keep this scroll now." Mochi's expression softened. A small smile appeared on his face.

"Very well." Julio held the scroll tightly against himself. For the first time... He wasn't looking at it as something that needed to be destroyed. It was the last thing his grandfather had left him. And now... He finally understood why.