AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“You’re getting their attention,” Gpidod said. “And that’s never a good thing.”
For the first time since I carried out my idea, I began to feel nervous. Maybe she was right. I was new here. What did I know?
“I just wanted to help him,” I said. “If he becomes Champion, he can Claim me.”
“And even if he does, what then?” Gpidod’s sudden shift from romanticist to realist was jarring.
“I thought you believed in love and romance?”
“I do,” Gpidod said, looking at her feet. “But it never lasts. Not here. Not at Ikmal. Enjoy the moment while you have it. Never expect anything more.”
And with what I suspected were tears in her eyes, she turned on her heel and marched away.
Something had happened to her, I realized. Something painful that had just begun bubbling to the surface. I was about to follow her, talk to her, maybe even rub my cheek against her shoulder the way she always did with me…
But then the siren wailed and Ohara’s next fight was about to begin.
It was faster than the first round, and the opponent struck Ohara with a blast of wind that sent him hurtling through the air and into the wall.
“Please,” I prayed under my breath. “Please tell me you got my note…”
After a grueling first five minutes, the tide began to shift the way it had during the first bout.
Ohara used a shield to deflect the worst of his opponent’s special wind ability — and I clapped happily as it was the strategy I’d passed on to him, although he could have just as easily come up with it himself — and then attacked once the other inmate had run out of breath (literally).
After that, Ohara shut the alien down, bludgeoning him with cries of “Yield!” as he had the first round.
Then, once the fight was over, Ohara turned toward the Prize Pool and bowed.
Yes! He actually bowed!
To me!
I was sure of it!
I informed Gpidod, who seemed to cheer up when I told her, and I hugged her close and planted a kiss on her cheek.
“What did you do that for?” she asked, perturbed.
“For the same reason you do this,” I said, rubbing my cheek against her arm.
She just stared at me. “You have an itch too?”
Then her furrowed brow broke into a beaming grin and we both fell apart, laughing so hard tears leaked from the corners of our eyes. I couldn’t believe I had actually managed to find laughter in a place such as this.
The other Prizes came over to share the joke but no matter how many times we tried to explain it, they didn’t get it. You just had to be there, I suppose.
I watched the following fights and made notes on each contender who Ohara might have to face next. As the rounds drew closer, there was less and less time for me to scribble down my ideas.
I hastily handed them to the guard, flashed more boob, and he took them away.
With each success, Ohara bowed to the Prize Pool — which amazed Gpidod no end as no fighter ever gave us much attention (during the fights, at least).
And with each round that passed, a deeper and deeper rock formed in the pit of my stomach as Druin got closer and closer to squaring off with Ohara.
Ohara had a hard time with a powerfully built freiza, who harnessed the power of ice and froze him in place more than once and launched a horrifying attack on him while his limbs were pinned down.
I could barely bring myself to watch as I peered through my fingers at the display. He always managed to escape by beating his opponent back, but it was a long and grueling fight.
