Reno smiled as Zero gaped open-mouthed at the game of sorts that was taking place in front of them. He waved a hand in front of his face, "You with me Zero?"
Zero blinked and shook his head as if to clear it, "Yeah, what?"
Reno laughed, "You're staring and you're starting to drool."
Zero quickly wiped his hand over his mouth with a frown, "I am not!"
Reno laughed, "Your cat is getting away."
Zero gasped and grabbed the cat by the tail, "Come back Spike!"
The cat hissed and clawed at Zero's hand. Reno quickly pulled Zero's arm away and shooed the cat, "Get lost ya nasty thing!"
The blonde sighed as the cat trotted away gracefully, "I thought he liked me."
"Cats don't like anybody Zero." Reno ruffled blonde spikes, "Don't worry about it okay? Just watch your game, maybe we can figure out what the rules are." Zero nodded glumly and went back to watching the game as instructed.
"Hey!" Reno whipped around quickly as two of the teens they had met earlier walked towards them.
He relaxed when he recognized them and nudged Zero in the arm, "Pence and Olette, right?"
Zero chewed his lip and nodded, "Yeah I think those were their names Axel."
Pence and Olette smiled happily at them and Olette gestured towards the game, "It's Hayner's turn next. Are you gonna root for him?"
Reno shrugged, "He any good?"
Pence nodded, "He got third place in last years tournament."
"Only third?" Reno laughed as he watched the two combatants in the ring knock each other senseless, "As angry and violent as he seems to be I'd think he'd win for sure."
Olette giggled, "No, there are angrier people out there."
"How do you tell who's winning?" Zero asked suddenly, his eyes glued to the game in front of them.
Pence blinked at him and then smiled, "You see all those blue and red things they're knocking off each other? The one with the most at the end wins. You lose if you run out."
Zero nodded his understanding, "Do you play?"
Pence laughed, "I'm no good. Can't run fast enough to get the orbs or hit hard enough to knock any off. You look like you'd be good though."
"Me?" Zero raised an eyebrow.
Reno grinned, "Think they'd let him try?"
Zero shook his head, "I don't even know the rules!"
Pence laughed, "It's simple. Hit the other guy, get the orbs, and stay in the ring. If you lose all your orbs, you lose. Simple!"
Zero frowned at the ring, "I won't be any good."
Reno ruffled his hair, "Come on Zero, you'll do fine!"
"I'll go ask if you can play!" Olette beamed and ran off, Pence trailing behind her.
"Axel I don't want to do this!" Zero whined once they were out of earshot.
Reno rolled his eyes, "You were all excited about the game a minute ago."
"I wasn't playing then! It looks like it hurts." Zero winced visibly as one of the competitors was knocked to the ground, red orbs flying everywhere.
Reno laughed, "You've gotta get used to hurt kid, remember those black things? You're going to end up fighting a lot of those when you join the Organization."
Zero frowned, "I can hit those though, they don't look like people!"
"So you've got a problem hitting other people?" Reno raised an eyebrow, "You were all ready to pound me into the ground just an hour ago."
Zero blushed, "That's different, you were hurting me."
"These people will hurt you if you don't fight back." Reno gestured towards the ring where red and blue orbs were scattering in all directions.
Zero frowned as Pence and Olette came back into view, "They'll let you play!" Olette beamed and grabbed Zero's wrist, "Come on! We'll get you set up!"
Reno laughed as Zero was unwillingly dragged towards the ring and introduced to the announcer. He saw them hand him a bat and he held it nervously, his eyes darting towards Reno for support every few seconds. Reno smiled and gave him a reassuring wave, screaming, "You'll be fine."
Zero tightened his hold on the bat as the announcer called him into the ring and handed him an orb. The orb dissolved into Zero's palm and he did his best to stay calm, "What'd you do?"
The announcer smiled and explained, "Those are your orbs, you get hit and they scatter. You can just run into them and you'll pick them back up. Try to gather all your opponents orbs to win."
Zero nodded and adjusted his grip on the bat, "Okay."
The announcer stepped back and began talking, but Zero wasn't listening anymore. He wiped nervous sweat from his brow and shot Axel a worried glance, wondering why the red-head was letting him do this. Axel had been so concerned about the cat hurting him, but he was smiling and waving when he was about to have someone beat the tar out of him for a few blue shiny things? He really didn't get Axel at all, but he liked him anyways.
His opponent faced him and his arms trembled as he lifted the bat in front of him, his attempt at a fighting stance rather pitiful. He looked at Axel for some kind of hint at what he should do and Axel rolled his eyes before miming what stance he should take. Zero nodded and adjusted his stance, facing his opponent with only a slight amount of confidence.
Author's Note: Gosh this chapter took a long time to write and post didn't it? Sorry about that. R&R! Helps me write faster ;)
