Rise: “I guess.”

A deep silence permeated their surroundings. Despite such an environment though; neither held and problems with it. In fact, they were both too busy taking advantage of the silence to recall what they knew, regarding that day.

These two obviously differed in tactics and personality. Most likely, it was due to their upbringing. What kind of matters would warrant worthy attention in Rise’s eyes, given normal circumstances? Just kick the doofus out and move on already! He was starting to rouse impatience deep within his heart. He didn’t know what happened that day. A normal ‘first day of school wasn’t nearly enough for him to care about their well-being, but that first day was entirely different. Although Rise’s ‘friendship meter only rose up a few points, under normal circumstances, it wouldn’t have risen at all. Only because he and Noel sort of fought together...okay, they didn’t fight together but they shared enemies that day! They had both been equally deigned as ‘targets’ and in that sense, a seed of camaraderie budded. Following this, the old saying rang true for his subconscious mind: the enemy of my enemy is my………………………..friend. Thus, that camaraderie bloomed for a few seconds, before he remembered the details behind his original distrust. The inward struggle of wanting to get to the bottom of this overall situation occasionally held priority over wishing to confront Noel about his origins and reason for attending school. He wanted to know if those people from earlier were behind this assault, but after remembering their desire to ‘rope him in’, such thoughts disappeared nigh-instantly.

Rise inwardly lamented Leos’s death, although he didn’t really recall the guy’s name. Death was a hateful thing, in his eyes. It was just far too easy to achieve, for mortals.

And in Noel’s case? his reactionary gaze was slightly calmer, as logical reasoning suppressed his inner - forming impatience. He was made aware of certain things that Rise wasn’t like how Leos’s death was all a sham or something, since it was stated officially that their two injuries were the only ‘casualties’ and no deaths were actually present. However…

...How could this be possible? What technique was used? An illusion trick? No, it couldn’t be! Illusions couldn’t be felt!

...Could they? Did the enemy use a trick to anger him in order to throw his fighting sense and emotional stability into disarray?

…

But that didn’t seem too right either. Why would an adult be THAT guarded against a 12 year old child? That’s just weird.

He couldn’t think of anything better to answer the inquiries deep within his soul, and so, his unanswered questions also bred a deeper level of impatience. It’s just, unlike Rise, he was much better at taking notice of the situation.

Once again, however, quick footsteps were heard. Except, these footsteps were incomparably faster in… uhm, comparison.

Noel: “Another visitor, huh? Haah.”

*CREEAAAKK*

A long and slender arm stretched out, moving in systematically with the door’s opening. This youth was only slightly taller than average. His fingers were thin and his body held clear healthy muscle, but it’s definitely been nurtured for the sake of running with minimal bodily resistance from unnecessary muscle or weight. His face features and hair were fairly common and close cut, respectively. On his head was a visor – a… very strange choice for head wear given they were beginning a cold fall season and the sun wasn’t particularly bright. Nevertheless, it was obvious this man was currently coming back from a run – he was wearing a very common track suit and given his super power, such a routine should have been an equally common sight. Beads of perspiration decorated his neck as his white towel in – hand, wiped them all away.

This young and stern-eyed youth, was named Momo Humphries.

Behind him, a four year old girl clung to his leg while drinking from a sippy – cup. He had been using her as added chest-weight for his jog. This much was clear, seeing that he still had her harness around his upper body like a vest. And within his hands, was a bag of cookies.

Momo: “…Although most of us in the chat group feel this is karmic retribution for your rude manners on that day, none of us would ever approve of a villain invasion. Besides. If I do nothing, then it would look like we were the biggest suspects behind your little ‘encounter’ with mercenaries. So here. *Throws* share them.”

Rise: “Hmph! You mean you’re not? Heh! could have fooled me, what with Harvey’s temperament, that chick Savanna being mentally unstable and your slow – ass throwing a tantrum after coming in fourth! How can I, or my teeny companion Noel over here, place our trust in ‘Kings’ such as you guys?”

Two fierce pairs of eyes glared at Rise, yet he ignored them both. Similarly, Momo’s younger sister nonchalantly grasped her brother’s pants tighter while drinking from her sippy cup, until she needed both hands to hold it and hesitatingly let go. She was clearly attached to her older brother.

Momo: “Haah…

That was… unsightly of me. But I’m mostly over it by now. I may not believe the outcomes, but I have to live with them either way. However…

Remember this!

*Glares*

Even if I am not the fastest kid alive, I won’t concede my title as the greatest fighting speedster among my own generation! As a Speedy hero, my battle sense in unmatched! And I’m going to prove this to every last hater in that stadium, very shortly. I wasn’t only chosen as a ‘King’ candidate because I was the fastest kid around. That was only a small part of it. I won’t lose – and I’ll regain everyone’s trust – including yours!

...Let’s go Moma. Momelia is still waiting for you at the stands."

Rise: “Hmph! Good luck, then.(Like I care about your puny feelings anyway)."

{‘Moma’? ‘Momo’? ‘Momelia’?}

Moma: “Hey! Big… Big Bwadder is besht! Y-Yu can’t say bad things ‘bout him!”

Noel: “…Ah, okay.”

Looking at that little girl’s angered gaze as her big brother picked her up and lifted her into the harness he wore, Noel couldn’t help but soften his gaze just a little bit.

{Two years ago, that little girl was about her age… she might’ve had similar outbursts and temperaments back then. At least, before she watched her father die in a puddle of blood. Blood which my… my hands spilled…

…}

-

As Momo left, he saw Savannah, that self – proclaimed second ‘King’ replacement in front of the Stadium talking to somebody. Wasn’t she supposed to have left long ago? He clearly went past her speedily after entering the Stadium, and she was already exiting back then!

…Of course, by running fast for a split second, his little sister almost threw up on him.

It wasn’t any of his business, so he was going to keep moving forward past them – until he got a good look at her acquaintance.

…Nilia! She was talking to the undisputed winner of their generation, Nilia Eseria!

Momo: “Is she here to prepare for her match? No, it couldn’t be. She’s still too early! She isn’t fighting as a ‘King’ because she hasn’t been inducted as one yet – although she’s technically been accepted already as Elijah’s replacement based on majority vote… it hasn’t been made an official title as of right now. Same with Savannah, although she’s still an uncertainty thanks of course to her bad publicity - so her originally concrete title is in question again.

Her status is not quite as concrete as Nilia’s; but just like Nilia, even though they’re likely to become ’Kings’, and are basically already Kings due to Hero Society’s majority vote decisions, they’re both only King candidates until the top heroes announce it. If I recall, Nilia is instead, taking part in the ‘Candidate selection’ matches to decide if an 11th or 12th King are even worth Hero Society’s careful nurturing, by comparing potential candidates with the real deal.

Her opponents are individuals scouted as potential candidates for a Generational Leader position! Basically, it will be a series of matches to show the unstable crowd that lost faith in us, their heroic Generation Leaders, what ‘level’ one must be at in order to be called a ‘Generation Leader’ at all! Same thing for our fights. Then, is she here to visit those useless kids? But didn’t she tell us to ignore them because they were just weaklings who only knew how to talk without the necessary power to back it up?”

...Let’s see!)”

However, the very moment he approached, he noticed Savannah looking down with embarrassment written on her face. The rustic red – head with rosy cheeks looked down, not daring to meet Nilia’s cold and untrusting gaze. Then, she quickly departed. She wasn’t needed until later, after all.

Nilia: “Momo. What are you doing here? And who is this little one?”

Momo: “this is my little sister Moma. Say hi Moma.”

Moma: “Mm – mm. She scawy…”

Nilia: “…Weakling.”

Moma: “Uww… UWWWAAAAAAAH!”

Momo: “Hey – Nilia, why on earth did you say that? She’s only four!”

Nilia: “Hmph! If she’s too afraid to even say hello to people, then she will turn into a timid stepping stone for the strong. When I was four, I wasn’t afraid of greeting adults. If she thinks I’m scary then fine. But to say it out loud without a care about offending me – this is the spoiled mindset of the weak! For the betterment of her future, I suggest you quell this spoiled and crybaby temperament of hers. Now if you’ll excuse me. Goodbye.”

Momo: “...She’s so weird. But, her strength more than makes up for her odd personality. I can’t beat her. And with her ‘strong over the weak’ mindset, obviously I can only make way and stay silent. Especially with that equally strange grandmother of hers backing her up, in this school. I need to at least, make sure I don’t lose a single match today. Especially not against Harvey!”

---