Bitter Ends; Your Reasons:

"I'm sorry."

Gouten stares.

They make eye contact. They make eye contact for several long, silent moments. Several long, silent moments of looking at the look in Gouten's eye.

"...Gouten?" Bosch says, looking a bit paler.

"I wouldn't worry about it," Gouten says easily after a time. "I'm not sure I'm the one you should be apologizing to, though."

Bosch grimaces as though he tasted something sour. "I know. I just - I feel bad. I was just so frustrated and blew up. I try to never let my emotions get the better of me but -"

Gouten cuts him off. "Again, I don't think I'm the one you owe an explanation to." Golden eyes look to the left of the gym and towards the heavy bag. Tiko is there with another trainer, working on her strikes and posture. Sweat makes her skin glisten from even this far, and before long, Bosch's eyes land on her too. He doesn't look away when Gouten does. "She's right there."

"I know."

"Then go."

A frustrated sound escapes the back of Bosch's throat and his lips turn downward. "I'm being serious. Not everything is as easy as you make it out to be, y'know?"

"No," he concedes. "It isn't. But this is -" he takes a moment to gesture around them. Young men and women are going about their day, ignorant of Bosch's plight. Tiko is no longer wailing on the heavy bag, having moved on to some form of wrestling. Gouten has completed his stretches and now stands up to his full height, tilting his head down to look Bosch at the side of Bosch's face. "- just another day. Nothin' extraordinary about it. Sometimes, things really are as easy as they appear."

"Just another day, huh?" Bosch says in a strange tone that Gouten can't place. "Ignorance is bliss, I guess."

It's Gouten's turn to frown. "What do you mean?"

"Nothing. You're right. I just -" Bosch sighs and suddenly looks a lot older than he's supposed to be. "I should just do it, huh? Do you, uh, think she'll forgive me?"

Gouten shrugs. "Won't know unless you try."

"I could've guessed you would've said that."

"I've been told I'm a pretty good motivational speaker."

"You've been lied to." Bosch says flatly, but his words are lacking any heat. Gouten snorts. Bosch finally tears his eyes away, and gives Gouten a hopeful look. He walks away without another word, while Gouten begins his regiment. Rotations, extensions, something weirdly called "cat and cow", all done dutifully. After a few minutes, he realizes that the collar of his shirt is wet, the fabric sticking to his skin, and he frowns. His body always ran unnaturally hot, so the perspiration isn't surprising. The start of this is the opposite of high-intensity - there's no cardio and every movement is slow and methodical - but it doesn't stop him from working up quite the sweat.

Lowering himself to his knees, he continues through the motions. Weirdly, it reminds him of the some of the repetitions Ms. Felecia would have him do with her after a... particularly bad day. It's easy to lose himself in the memories of it once he gets into it and lets his mind go.

A whistle startles him out of his trace sometime later.

Gouten pushes himself to his feet, wiping his forehead and rolls his shoulders. He glances down at the source to see Luke waving his arms around.

"Alright, listen up. We've got an exercise coming up. Nothing serious, all weight lifting and strength training."

"Coach..."

"Don't worry Bosch! I promise you that this is a way to get stronger!" Luke says, patting the man hard on the back. Bosch stumbles forward with hopeful and expectant eyes. "Everyone gets down here. We have a limited amount of weights, but a lot of time. Pick a teammate to be a spotter and get to it."

Gouten hums when Luke looks directly at him.

"Since you and Tiko are the strongest, you two will be a group." Luke announces, chuckling to himself when more than a few people groan.

"But coach -"

"Coach Luke, those two are -"

"Ah-ah-ah," Luke wags his fingers and smirks. "Coach's orders. Tiko, Gouten. You're with me. Everyone else, partner up."

"Up and hold... hold... hold... keep holding... hyup."

Gouten thrusts his hips forward, slamming into the bar and guiding it with his hands. He keeps it close to his torso, letting the strength from his glutes and core carry to a resting position on his collarbones.

"Front squat, pause at the bottom."

Keeping his breathing even, Gouten slowly sinks to the floor. He half focuses on his balance, while the other half is focusing on the music playing in his headphones. He technically has heavy weights on - according to Tiko at least - but they don't feel particularly so. Stopping at the bottom, Gouten knows not to go as low as he can. Doing so would give him rest, and defeat the point. Instead, he dips ever so slightly below parallel, pausing to keep the weight on his thighs.

"Jump."

He pushes off the ground, keeping the weight secure in his hands. His feet land, and he bends his knees to absorb the shock. He gets back into a standing position. Shaking out the weird kink in his knee, Gouten lets out a breath and looks over at Tiko. Her eyebrows are nearly in her hairline.

"More weight?"

Gouten snorts. "Your call."

Tiko walks away and returns with a few more plates, carrying several in each hand. Gouten shamelessly looks impressed.

"Alright. Let's go." She says, sliding the plates on while he holds the bar still. She takes note of his reaction - or lack thereof - and blinks. "Guess you're not built like you're carved out of stone for nothin'. Go. Down. Left leap. Right leap. Jump Squat. Down and pause. Stay and hold it. One-Mississippi, two-Mississippi, three-Mississippi, up and press. Back squats. Lunge about twenty. Good mornings until I say stop..."

"Having fun there? I didn't peg you to be such a taskmaster, Tea." Gouten says, voice lacking any real strain.

"If you have enough energy to make jokes, I'm not going hard enough." Tiko shoots back, a competitive grin finding its way to her face. It looks both out of place and natural at the same time. Something cold runs down Gouten's spine.

Tiko takes Gouten through another three sets, each shorter but more intense than the last. By the time he finishes the last one with a few barbell curls, Gouten feels a bit fatigued. His body faintly aches. He didn't get a chance to set the bar down once, and he's fairly certain that his palms are red and raw with each adjustment he was forced to make with his grip. "Eighteen-Mississippi, nineteen-Mississippi, twenty-Mississippi. Okay. Drop it."

The bar crashes to the ground. Gouten puts his hands on his hips and starts to pant. He wants to lay down, admittedly, but the floor is hardly welcoming. It's covered in sweat and scuff marks from his sneakers, and he knows he'd be exaggerating if he fell to his knees.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're freakishly strong?" Tiko asks, throwing a cold towel over his shoulders and forcing a water bottle into his hands. Gouten uncaps it and chugs most of it in one go, and then pours what remains over his hair.

"Few times, actually. Your turn."

"Don't hold back because I'm a girl, y'hear?"

It's now Gouten's turn to sport a competitive grin. "Wouldn't dream of it."

True to his word, Gouten doesn't hold back. The sets are slow and measured, using less weight and less reps, but no less intense. Never once does a single complaint pass through her lips and they go through each set, and by the time they finish, Tiko feels ready to collapse. Pride and willpower keep her on her feet, but she's swaying and nearly falls over when Gouten removes the bar and hands her a bottle of water.

"Anyone ever tell you that you're freakishly strong?" Gouten parrots, chuckling under his breath when Tiko starts choking on her water.

"You got jokes."

"I've been told I'm a funny guy."

"Well, you've been lied to." Tiko giggles, shooting off a single-handed finger gun.

"Funny, Bosch said the same thing." A smooth topic change in his opinion. He couldn't honestly say he cared that much about whether or not Bosch apologized, but he meant what he said when he told him that Tiko was owed an explanation. She doesn't bristle or grimace at the man's name, which is good.

"He did, did he?" She ducks her chin into her chest to hide the ever growing smile. "Did y'know he apologized?"

"He did?" Gouten says while he feigns mild surprise.

"He did! He was a bit awkward but I could tell he meant it." She says with a content sigh. "He didn't say much, but I could tell something was bothering him. Did he, uh, mention anything to you?"

'He didn't have to,' Gouten thinks to himself. He could see it clear as day on his face. The frustration at his situation, the impatience, the single-minded desire to get stronger. The drive. There was a tragedy in there, somewhere. He made a mental note to look up Nayshall later. "No," Gouten says, when he realizes he hadn't answered her question. "He didn't."

"O - Oh. Okay."

Gouten, seeing the worry on the girl's face, places a hand atop her head. She blinks in surprise, but makes no motion to move him. "I'm sure he'll open up eventually."

"And what if he doesn't?"

Gouten makes a face, remembering what happened when he didn't. "Then he'll crash." He says simply. "And we'll be here."

Tiko's shoulders slump, and she doesn't look convinced but Gouten's words seem to be enough. "...you know, I've noticed you tend to do the 'head pat' thing. I'm not a cat, y'know?"

Gouten moves his hand and Tiko grumbles.

"Ope, I didn't say to stop."

Gouten chuckles that time, and Tiko joins him in the laughter. "Whatever. Let's go find Bosch and get something to eat. I'm starving."

"What? You want some gore-o's?"

"Eat healthier, I beg of you."

They don't find Bosch.

According to Luke, Bosch approached him after the training, disgruntled, and he sent him on his way to complete a solo mission.

"Nothin' serious." Luke clarifies. "Just a few punks in Beat Square. Bosch should be able to handle that with no problems."

Tiko pouts, while Gouten shrugs.

"For now, you two can go hit the city yourselves. Go around, see sights. Catch a few fights."

Gouten's stomach growls.

" - get a bite to eat," Luke continues without missing a beat. "Just be back by sundown. I have another team exercise lined up, and I need my top students there for that."

Luke shoos them away without fanfare, and before long, Gouten and Tiko find themselves once again lost in the seemingly never-ending concrete jungle of Metro City. Unlike before though, Gouten chooses the place to eat. It's not too far away from Buckler, but it's far enough that he and Tiko get in a good amount of conversation. She steered the conversation, mostly, and he would only respond with grunts or hums, and occasionally chime in himself.

"That place looks nice," Gouten suddenly says, gesturing to a place across the street. It stands out between the repetitive brick and mortar, a building painted in several shades of greens and whites, outlined by greenery and flora. It carries a scent of nature and fruit, and is a very welcome sight among the mundane. "Hoppin' Mad, huh?"

Tiko's eyes light up, "Ooh! I've walked past this before but I never went in! Let's go!" She squeals and grabs Gouten's wrist with a surprising amount of force and drags him across the busy asphalt.

The inside is nicer than Gouten expected, following the theme of a tropical rainforest with leaves and a light mist at the door. The scents of fruits, nature and vanilla, assault all of Gouten's senses, and he allows himself to get lost in the comfort. Before he realizes, he and Tiko are seated and a sharply dressed waiter in dark, forest green is taking their order. "Excuse me, sir...? Oh, no."

Gouten blinks once. Twice. And then a third time when the image doesn't change.

"Caesar...?"

Caesar looks as though he's being held at gunpoint. Tiko smiles at him. "Say, fancy meeting you here."

"Yeah, I, uh, work here. Part time." He's holding a pitcher of water and two glasses. "I brought some water and an extra glass. I, uh, didn't know what you two wanted, so I figured that I can't go wrong with water, right?" Gouten doesn't answer, but the amusement is clear on his face. Tiko's smile gets wider.

"Thank you. I'm thirsty, actually."

Caesar nods and places the glasses down. "If either of you want anything else, flag me down, okay? Feel free to ask. And, uh, are you two ready to order?"

"We haven't even gotten menus yet." Gouten says. Caesar looks down at the table, which is devoid of any menu or meal selection. A bead of sweat runs down his face.

"I'll be right back."

"I think he likes you," Gouten says, grabbing his glass and bringing it up to his lips.

"Y'think?" Gouten nods, an impressive feat considering he's sipping water. "How can you tell?"

"He's really nervous and won't look you in the eye." He explains, setting his water down. "I've heard that means he either likes you romantically, or you're some kind of celebrity."

"I'm not a celebrity," Tiko half-defends, half-jokes. "But, uh, you think he's into me like that?"

Gouten hums and tilts his head off to the side. Tiko follows the gesture, and sure enough, she can see Caesar, working another table with none of the awkward anxiety he displayed mere moments ago.

"You're staring, Tea."

"I think he's hot." Tiko says out of the blue. "I - I mean, from an objective standpoint. He's pretty attractive. People like, uh, all kinds of people, y'know? He's got the... green hair and eyes, and, uh, he's not built like you, but you're built like you. Not that I don't think you're - I mean, objectively, he's good looking and -"

"'Cuse me, friends. I've got your menus." Gouten and Tiko both look over to see a different waiter, equally sharply dressed, holding up two sheets of laminated paper in front of their face. They gradually lower them, androgynous face and rainbow hair bouncing as they set the menus down. "Sorry 'bout Caesar. He gets a bit jumpy sometimes."

"It's fine, we know him."

The waiter smiles, "Figured. He only gets like that around friends."

"Thanks for bringing these," Tiko says, her voice the embodiment of relief. "Can you give us a minute?"

"No problemo." Tiko looks at Gouten when the waiter struts off.

"That's the owner, y'know?"

Gouten makes a noise as he flips over his menu. Tiko continues to talk as she grabs her page.

"Yeah, I looked up the place's social media page while we were sitting here. They're an artist too, apparently."

"That would explain the nice pieces around the place. Think they'll be upset if I took one?"

"They're for sale."

"That wasn't my question." Gouten jokes.

Tiko blinks and then laughs. "There shall be no robbery here, thanks. I don't want to get banned from the place."

"Coward."

"How am I -"

Bang! Bang!

"Oh, geez, sorry Caesar!"

Gouten and Tiko turn at the same time to see Caesar laying on the ground with various drinks and foods covering his shirt all the way around.

"No, no. My fault, boss. I wasn't looking..." He and Tiko make direct eye contact across the restaurant for what seemed to be several long, agonizing seconds. "Sorry!"

Caesar bolts off and Gouten takes another sip of his water.

"Told you."

"Zip it."

If there was a word for Gouten to describe his life in Metro thus far, it would be monotonous.

For the past three days, it'd been a steady schedule; wake up, shower, head to Buckler and train in whatever unorthodox way Luke had planned for them, grab a bite to eat and then go home.

There was little room for variation in his admittedly loose schedule, with the only real excitement coming from whatever new place Tiko had dragged him and Bosch to for that day. One day - exactly following their dinner at Hoppin' Mad, to be exact - there was an issue with some people that Luke had apparently hired to fight them as they left the restaurant. In that fleeting moment of combat, Gouten, for the second time since coming to Metro, felt in his element. The danger, the combat. It gave him a feeling he hadn't felt in years. And then it ended, and the repetition resumed.

He hadn't thought about it much, admittedly, but moments like these - where he, Bosch and Tiko are all mindlessly wandering the streets of Metro as per Luke's instruction - made him start to long for days long past.

He had expected their usual routine, but seeing Luke in Beat Square. He's not wearing his usual Buckler Gear, but instead a more casual orange camouflage jacket with sleeves rolled up beyond his forearms, and jeans with combat boots.

"How's the city treating you?" He says casually. "Getting some practical experience on the streets?"

Bosch places his hand on his hip and grumbles. "Coach, are we really getting stronger by running around like this?"

Luke feigns offense, "You doubting the wisdom of ol' Luke Sensei, huh? Let's see where you're at then."

"What do you mean?"

"Don't worry about taking turns - let's go."

"Are - are you serious?"

"Seriously serious."

Gouten and Bosch immediately take their stances, a sharp shift in atmosphere nearly making Tiko drop her bag of cookies. "Wai - wait a minute!"

But they don't wait. The second Luke raises his guard, Bosch is already upon him with a series of strikes aimed at his head and chest. His style is different than Gouten remembers from the previous days - tighter guard, squared shoulders, more confidence in his attacks - and catches Luke by surprise. He puts more effort into his defense than he'd seen him do before with any other student besides Tiko and himself. Bosch doesn't slow down in the slightest, even with Luke slips under his jab and drives his fist into his side.

Another brief exchange gives Gouten an opening, moving from his spot near Tiko to behind Luke in a single, quick step and sending a missile-accurate kick to the man's temple. Luke, surprisingly, ducks without looking and returns his own elbow, a dangerous golden glow shrouding his whole arm while he does.

"Nuh-uh!"

Gouten makes an 'x' with his arms over his chest to block the blow, and his eyes go a bit wide when the force of which still sends him sliding back a full two meters. He clenches his fists and shakes the pain away. He looks up in time to see Bosch being thrown over Luke's shoulder and directly at him. "Really?!" Gouten braces his legs and catches the man mid-air, scowling when he sees Luke's arms starting to steam.

"Sand -"

Bang!

"Make-shift weapons," Luke says, holding up his arm over his head to block Tiko's attack. An icy blue glow freezes the weapon in place. Where she found a hollow metal rod, he had no idea, but he couldn't help but to praise her quick thinking. "Good idea. Would've worked on anyone else, though." Quicker than his size would have you believe, Luke disarms the girl in the blink of an eye and grabs her by the forearm. A perfectly performed judo throw has Tiko's back slamming into the unforgiven concrete, knocking the wind out of her lungs.

Luke smirks, sensing Gouten approaching before his eyes can see him and attempts to pull his arm back to block, but Tiko's grip is iron-clad.

Like before, the force Gouten punches Luke with is like thunder, louder than anything else on the busy city streets. People turn around, cars stop dead in their tracks, and a single man riding his bicycle crashes into a stop light pole. Luke reels backwards, stumbling on his feet and in one fluid motion, Gouten has Tiko on her feet and ready for another go.

Only, another round doesn't happen. Instead, Luke laughs, ignoring the small stream of blood dripping from the side of his lips.

"I'll never not be amazed at just how hard you can hit," he says, wiping his face with the back of his glove. "Something tells me you could hit harder though. Where's Bosch?"

Gouten, having grown accustomed to his coach's sudden shifts, points to a place behind Luke, where Bosch is trying to uproot a park bench to use as a weapon.

Luke squints. "Did you tell him to do that?"

"I'm sure Buckler would've covered it."

Luke's expression goes flat. "Well, no. We don't. Bosch! Get over here. I wanna talk! Anyway, Just came to check up on you. You three check out the city, see the sights, rack up some wins... and then you come back with the confidence to challenge your lovable coach."

Tiko looks shocked. "Wha - you challenged us!"

Luke continues on as if she hadn't spoken. "Guess that practical training paid off in spades, right?"

All three adults look between each other. Tiko and Bosch seem to want to argue, but words fail them. Gouten is surprised that Luke considers this training at all.

"If you want to make it in this world, you gotta do what you gotta do. Grind like crazy, and not let up. Even for a second. The road to the top is long, trust me, but..." It's at this point that Gouten feels less as though Luke is talking at them, and more directed to a single, green-eyed man between them. "You just gotta take it one step at a time. It's a long road filled with ups and downs." His eyes flick between the three and land on Bosch, lingering longer than he needed to. "That first step you guys took just now? That's somethin' right there. Something to be proud of. You three are great students." He turns and gives them his signature smile and thumbs up. Tiko pumps her fist while a faint grin sneaks to Bosch's face.

"Hah, you know what? You three make a damn good team. I don't think it'd be the worst thing for you three to take on the world together."

Tiko nods and beams, looking between the two men with wide, expectant eyes. Gouten's expression gives nothing away, but he nods - so shortly that she nearly misses it - while Bosch... looks down and away.

"Together?" He whispers. Something weird is written in his expression; the look of a man who was older than he should've been, who carried a burden heavier than he should've had.

"Absolutely!" Luke says jovially, missing the man's tone and expression entirely. "Do some training like we did at the gym and around Metro City. Then you three can travel the world. You can really get to know each other and take on all comers! Seriously, you'll have a blast! You have my seal of -"

Bosch cuts him off. "I'm sorry, I can't. I - I need to be strong and I need to be it now."

"Bosch," Gouten mutters.

"I'm not like you..." He growled out, taking a step back to give Gouten an intense glare. "I can't go around treating this like a damn game!"

Luke recoils and Tiko steps forward with her hand on his shoulder. "Bosch..."

He pulls away, keeping his eyes leveled with Gouten's the entire time. "I just can't, okay? I'm not like you!" After a long, tense moment, he looks over to Luke and his anger breaks. "Coach, I'm done with the course. I got..." he looks down at his wrapped fist, dirt and grim muddying the otherwise pristine white tape. "...things that I need to take care of. But you're right. This did give me confidence, so thanks." He turns to Gouten again, his expression lacking the heat it did moments ago. "Our only fight ended in a draw. I wish we could've had a rematch." He doesn't wait for anyone to speak after that, instead opting to take off in the other direction without looking back. Tiko calls out to him, but her words fall on deaf ears.

For what seemed like an eternity, no one said anything. Gouten stares off, expression guarded, watching Bosch vanish in the sea of people. Tiko bites down on a quivering lip. Luke sighs and runs his hand through his hair.

"I've seen plenty of people come and go over the years, but that's the first time I've seen it happen like that," Gouten's barely paying attention, but Luke continues on. "Seemed like something was really nagging at Bosch. But chasing after strength in a mad rush is a recipe for disaster. Let's hope he doesn't stumble down any rabbit holes..."

"...I'll talk to him." Gouten says, walking away. Memories cloud his vision of a time long past. No, I need to be strong for Bison! What if he comes back!?

Bison's dead, boy. There's no one to run from.

You don't know that! I need to be strong! I'm not losing anyone to him or anyone again!

He blinks and suddenly, he's no longer in Metro City, but instead in a seedy alley in Hawaii behind the building his mother used to warn him about. He can see himself, encountering the strange man and vividly remembers the ensuing fight.

So, you want to be strong, huh kid? How badly?

"You think you'll find him?"

"Someone has to."

Bosch ran, and ran, and kept running until he was clear of the skyscrapers and highrises and the day was starting to bleed into night. When he finally allows himself to stop, he's in a part on the other side of town that he doesn't fully recognize. There's less people here, more building degradation, more potholes and a stronger stench that assaults his senses the more the wind blows.

A group of people are giving him strange looks, but he ignores them all in favor of his phone.

"Hey, Kalima. It's me. Yeah. I, uh, left Buckler. They're not what we thought they were... I know. I know. How's Yua?"

Bosch, having been so lost in his phone call, completely misses the group of shady, box-wearing men beginning to surround him on all sides.

"Hey! Yer not from around here." One of them shouts, startling him.

"Wha -?"

"That's a nice phone you got there," another one says, flicking a knife out. "Hand it over."

Bosch scowls at them, hangs up and puts his phone away. "Who the hell are you?"

"We're Mad Gear, and you're in the wrong part of town, bucko. Now, you can hand the phone and your wallet over and we'll let you leave. If you don't, well..." He stops and gestures all around and Bosch finally realizes his situation. "You get the idea."

"I'm sorry but it's not happening. I've come too far to be beaten by punks like you."

"Heh... we were hoping you'd say that. Get 'im boys."

Bosch tightens his stance and prepares for combat, but when one of them takes an advancing step forward, everyone freezes. A feeling washes over them all, Bosch included. A sensation that robs the body of its ability to move, one that makes the joints go stiff and a cold sweat dampen one's clothes. Muscles tense, and Bosch has to scream at his body to turn towards the source.

"Go away." Gouten says, his tone low and threatening. His golden eyes are faintly glowing and each step he takes only makes every nerve in Bosch's body want to run away. "I won't ask again."

He doesn't have to ask twice. Everyone scrambles, some falling over each other as they do so, and in a matter of seconds, the streets are completely clear, save for the two men. Gouten and Bosch regard each other, wordlessly, for a moment.

"What was that? How'd you do that?" Bosch asks, raising an accusatory eyebrow.

Gouten ignores the question. "I just came to talk."

Bosch scoffs. "You? I didn't peg you to be the talking type. Did Coach send you? I'm not joining the program again, alright? I don't have time for silly games."

Gouten rolls his eyes, "As if I care about whether or not you join the program again. I just - what are you doing? Ever since we met you've had this look in your eyes, like you're just itching for something to happen."

"I told you already, I have things I need to take care of. Not that you'd understand that."

An uncalled dig that makes Gouten's eye twitch, but he doesn't let the annoyance change the topic at hand. "What makes you think that? Do you think I don't know what it's like to want to be strong?"

"How could you know? You're already strong! You can fight Coach, and - and you can beat me. And you just walk around with so much strength. I'm not like you. I wasn't born with strength, okay? Some of us aren't able to have their heads in the clouds all day. Why are you even here?"

"I'm here to talk -"
"No, I mean here. Why'd you even join Buckler? Do you even care about being strong?"

"I - I..." Gouten's eyes go wide and everything hits him at once.

"See...?" Bosch finishes bitterly. "You don't know. This -" he gestures around them, "is just a game to you. But it's not for me. For me, it's -"

"Listen. You're right." Gouten concedes, "I'm not like you. And I never will be again. But I was once, and let me tell you right now; the price of power isn't cheap." It's Bosch's eyes that go wide this time. "I know what it's like to run around in circles looking for something you can't find. Hahai i ka mahina. You know what that means? It's Hawaiian for 'follow the moon.' That's all I ever did at one point. I kept chasing something deep down I knew I'd never get. No matter how many times they told me to just wait for a second, I still did it. You ask me why I'm here and yeah, maybe I don't have an answer for that but I'll ask you, where are you going?"

Bosch's mouth falls into a thin line and he looks down at the floor with his hands on his hips.

"Look, I don't know what you're going through. I'm not going to tell you to stop. I'm just telling you to slow down. Talk to Tiko. Talk to Coach. Hell, talk to the one guy at the food stall for all I care, but you chasing the moon won't go how you think it will. Let people help you."

There's silence after that, an awkward, heavy silence as Gouten's words hang in the atmosphere. The streets are empty at this hour.

Then out of nowhere, Bosch makes a loud, frustrated sound and storms over to a nearby wall and buries his fist into the bricks. It cracks.

"God damn it! What am I doing? All my life, I've only ever had one goal; to stop that man and save Nayshall. And no one has ever made me second guess that. Why the hell do you have to be the first?!"

Gouten says nothing. He stands there, several meters away, with his arms crossed and his head tilted down at an angle, but his eyes never leave Bosch.

"You can still save Nayshall," Gouten says, after a while, his tone strong and resolute. "But you don't have to do it alone. You don't have to run into something you're not ready for. Looking for strength is a dangerous game where no one wins."

"Easy for you to say."

No, it really wasn't.

"I don't want you to run off and do something you might regret, but you're speeding down a road that has no good endings. I don't know what it was that made you think you need strength that badly but maybe I've been there too. You don't need to be alone, dude." Gouten, in a last ditch effort, extends his hand much like he had done before at Buckler. But gone were the feelings of trepidation and hesitance.

Then, breaking the quiet, Bosch's phone rings.

"Hello, Kalima? No, no. I'm fine. I just had an... issue. Yeah." Bosch goes silent for a moment as Kalima speaks, then his eyes shift. "No, I understand. I'll see what I can do." He looks down at the phone screen long enough for the screen to fade to black. "I'm sorry but... no. No. It's far too late for that." Bosch turns around halfway and looks out to the night sky. "I have to do this."

Gouten inhales and breaths out a deep, long suffering sigh. "If you say so. I just hope you find what you're looking for." Gouten turns around fully, sticking his hands into his pockets to grab his headphones and begins to walk away. He doesn't look back, even when he hears Bosch whisper something to the wind.

"Yeah, I hope so too."

Slipping his headphones on, Gouten takes a deep breath and exhales, watching his breath appear as a white mist and float upwards. Strange, he hadn't thought it was that cold. Bosch's words echo in his mind, stubbornly refusing to get out.

'Why did you even join Buckler? Do you even care about being strong?'

He scrolls through his phone and mindlessly hits play.

I'm losing time again, trying to figure out who I am

Here's a rope, let's see if I will sink or swim

I quit my job again, to try to figure out if this life is a life I want to live.

"Oh well," he says to himself, gazing up at the night sky. There's no stars that he can see, and the moon is little more than a speck in the distance. "Whatever happens, happens."

A/N: Thank you for reading. I'll opening a small Fighting Game server if anyone's interested. As I can't post links on FFN, just find this story on AO3 and the link will be there. So far, the games are Street Fighter 6 and Third Strike, King of Fighters, BlazBlue, Guilty Gear, Skullgirls and Tekken. Hope you enjoyed.