The sound of beer clashed as the foam within them splattered to the sides of our mugs and onto the table uncaringly. We cheered at our simple meet-up; this was only the second time since the Kingdom's Guild Draft five years ago that we had spent time altogether like this.
Everyone was in casual attire today; apparently I didn't get the memo. Though, I suppose the Black Wolves uniform was more on the casual side anyway. I sat there with my jacket off, and for once I was grateful I just wore sneakers today.
Whether it was just me and Ryo, Rex and Snow, or mixed up between us four, it was always incomplete without Zeno with us as well. Out of the five of us, he was perhaps the busiest of us all. In fact, he spent more time outside of the Kingdom than he did within it. I wouldn't be surprised if by tomorrow's time, he would be off once again.
"Speaking of which," I said as we gulped, "Zeno, you've been here for over a week now. When are you heading out again?"
He finished his mug and placed it gently on the table, wiping foam from his upper lip. "Whatever do you mean, Greed?" he replied.
Bewildered, I asked again, "When. Are. You. Heading. Out? Should I spell out the words for you as well?" I jabbed.
He chuckled and said so casually, "I'm not."
I blinked, and so did Snow right next to me. Ryo sat to my other side and continued chugging his beer—the last to finish… he was a lightweight compared to the rest of us.
I faced Ryo next, "You know something, don't you?"
He burped and said, "Ah, Zeno? Yeah, he's gonna stay until the Tournament to train!"
"YOU WHAAAT!?" Snow, Rex, and I said at the same time, almost hovering over Zeno, who nervously shooed at us.
He cleared his throat, "It's true! It will probably be the longest I've stayed in the Kingdom since becoming Vice Captain. I'm not only here to train, but also to bond with my crew." He controlled the mood, shifting it to a more serious matter, "You see, ever since becoming the Vice Captain, I haven't exactly earned the respect of my peers for a few reasons: When I was appointed I was fairly green still." This was true. Zeno was the first out of us five who became a Vice Captain. Next it was Ryo, then Snow and Rex simultaneously, then myself. "And I am away most times. In all honesty, Captain Tubolt only promoted me so that I could work under Arcane King Daz in his place as one of his select mages. It was his way of extending his services to the Valley as a Guild. But… at the time, I was also one of the newest members, so to become Vice Captain before many of their senior members didn't help my credibility."
"Do not worry, friend!" Ryo said cheerfully, "You are a strong mage. You wouldn't have been promoted so soon otherwise! You forget that all of us had to go through something similar. We were all novices together after all. Now look at us!"
"All except Dweeb! What, weren't you like the Black Wolves' second member aside from Asura? Yeah, there wasn't much choice there." Rex joked.
"Third, actually, you ass." I retorted.
"Oh, that's right. I forgot the 1st Exec was Asura's first, then Code, and then you. Silly me." Rex scratched his head as he proceeded to jest. He then saw the waitress and ordered more beer all around.
"Anyway, it's good you're gonna be here. Means we'll be seeing more of you until the Tournament!" Snow followed after, "Speaking of which, Dweeb, are you?—"
He saw Ryo wave his hands at him before continuing. He gestured with a straightened hand to his neck, not to speak of what he was about to ask. But I already knew…
"All good, Ryo. We can talk about it, I guess…" I said to him.
They all perked their ears as I prepared to speak.
"I'm j… ng…" I said under my breath.
"You're what!?" Snow shouted.
"I said I'm joi…ng…"
"Speak up, you loser!" Rex shouted next.
"I said I'm fucking joining! I'm gonna be in the fucking Tournament!" I yelled at last. The tables near us turned their heads as I did, chattering amongst themselves afterward.
Blank stares met me from all four of those idiots…
"YOU ARE!?" they shouted in reply.
I rolled my eyes at them, "Keeper, is it that big of a deal?"
"Fuck!" Rex yelled, throwing his hands over his face.
Snow chuckled maniacally and replied, "Pay up, shitbag!"
Rex pulled out his wallet and took out a wad of eterna, handing it to Snow hesitantly. He grabbed it aggressively and started counting in front of him.
Snow then looked over to Zeno and said, "You too, pretty boy. You really thought I forgot?"
Zeno nervously twitched an eyebrow, and slowly, but surely, he pulled out his wallet and politely handed Snow a wad of eterna as well, to which he snatched it from him unforgivingly, counting it along with Rex's stack.
"What the fuck are you guys doing?" I asked calmly, confused.
"See, Ryo. We could have split this fifty-fifty if you had agreed to it! But someone was too chickenshit to bet!"
"You guys' fucking bet if I was gonna join the Tournament!?"
They ignored me once more as Snow continued to brag about his earnings.
Rex slammed his head down onto the table, visibly depressed. But as the round of beer came, he shot up and chugged it before the waitress could even place the rest down. Zeno looked inside his wallet with a face like he was questioning his life decisions.
"To any case," Ryo spoke, "I'm glad Daz was able to convince you!"
"So, you knew?" I asked sidelong.
Ryo scratched his head nervously.
"He almost killed me, you ass!" I yelled, even though he was right next to me.
"Oh? I had no idea you guys fought. He merely told me he was going to try to convince you to join the Tournament. He didn't exactly get into detail with how he was going to do it."
I didn't explain it to Ryo, nor did he pry, so I left it at that.
When our food came, we dug in and bantered, chugging away our endless supply of beer all the while. Ryo had stood up and moved over to where Rex and Snow were, talking about some sport I knew nothing about in the Ocean Kingdom called 'Boko'. I had lost interest and just watched them argue from the side.
Across from me, Zeno sat quietly. Both his hands were on his beer mug, sitting up straight. I glanced at him and started up a topic… "So, uh…"
He faced me and smiled, waiting for me to speak. I had a feeling he already knew what I was going to bring up, but he was polite and let me gather my thoughts to at least utter a few words.
"Belle and I—"
"I know." He said with a soft interjection.
I raised a brow, surprised he did. I had a feeling Ryo had slipped up somehow. At least he only did it with not-so-sensitive information. However, this wasn't something I wanted people to know right away. Especially with Zeno, he had been very fond of Belle since she had made her appearance randomly at the Kingdom's Guild Draft, then made it into the Snow Lily Knights as their immediate Vice Captain, not even a member to start. A goddamn Vice Captain upon draft at only seventeen years of age. Then, a few years later, she started her own Guild—the Golden Rose Knights. When I thought back at it all, her and I had never even interacted until the most recent Kingdom's Guild Meeting just a few weeks ago. Only then, when I was able to hear her voice speak only to me, when her eyes only looked to me, did I realize something was up. It was as if she was waiting for the right moment. And now here we were.
"Congratulations. Ryo accidentally shared that with me, but I had a feeling that might have been the case eventually." He reassured.
"You did?" I asked curiously.
"Without a doubt." He stared at the reflection of himself through the beer left in his mug. Reflecting his short reddish-purple hair and his eyes that were always closed while he smiled, in view at last, revealing their red and blue hue—never once becoming purple.
"I always come close, but never become," he said almost under his breath.
I simply listened. Elbow propped on the table, and fist holding up my head.
"My mother had blue eyes, and my father had red. You would think that when their child was born, his eyes would simply be one of theirs, or perhaps even a rare case, and become purple. Instead, I was given both shades, and depending on the light, my eyes were either a full red, a full blue, heterochromatic or simply both at the same time on both eyes. Never once would they ever turn purple, though. Ironic that I get drafted into a Guild that is wholeheartedly that color." he lifted his head and held that cheerful smile he always had, "I bring this up because it's been a recurring pattern in my life. Every time I get close to something, whether it be a goal or… a person… I always fall short."
Zeno was always the softhearted one out of the five of us. He was intellectual and poetic. I often admired that about him. I almost chuckled at the way he was talking about himself at this time. But I empathized with the point he was trying to make. Still, I couldn't help but crack a joke, "At least your hair turned out purple… even if it is the wrong shade."
He chuckled gleefully, "I bet you didn't even know it's dyed."
"No shit?"
"No shit. Look at my roots, they're dark brown."
"Fucking Keeper, they are!"
He smirked and sat back, pausing for a second before continuing his thought. "When I first saw Belle at the Kingdom's Guild Draft, I fell in love. She was the most beautiful girl I had ever seen."
I was idle now. Letting Zeno get this off his chest, listening intently as any close friend should.
"Even when I finally became the Vice Captain, I never once took my eyes off her. She kept soaring higher and higher. From immediate Vice Captain of the Snow Lilies, to then the Captain of the Golden Rose Knights, and then being the only other Guild stationed in a whole Sub-Kingdom to protect. She became the Valley Kingdom's beacon. Earned the title of 'Princess of the Valley'. Even from afar, I watched her. Even while I was away, I was always up to date with the things she accomplished—I even knew immediately that she had become an SS Rank mage after defeating a Colossal Sand Dragon on her own. I witnessed the whole thing…"
So did I. From the Black Wolves garden that very day. I just hadn't realized it at the time. I was amazed. I knew he liked her, but not this much.
He went on, "But even as I got close to her and even, dare I say, confessed my love to her… while my eyes were on her the whole time… her eyes were always on you."
I got goosebumps hearing this from Zeno. While I was ignorant and forgot, Belle never once gave up. She watched from afar. Waiting. Becoming. Because she couldn't directly confront me due to her curse. When the stars aligned and she was able to come in contact with me that day, I can bet she was elated. I would be, too. And that made me feel ashamed of myself.
"The way she looked at you… It was like you were her long-lost lover." The irony behind those words was unbeknownst to him. "It was like there was no one else aside from you that she wanted… I was jealous of that… Keeper, I was fucking jealous of you, Greed. And when I found out that she finally got her wish, it was sweet and bitter news to swallow. Sweet because I was happy for you both, bitter because I wanted it to be me."
The silence between us was deafening. I even noticed Ryo, Rex, and Snow tone down their chatter next to us, but they were respectful and left us alone. Ryo even started up different topics in an attempt to distract. Snow and Rex followed his lead without question.
"Again, I fell short. Just like my eyes, so close… but never truly becoming purple."
I felt his sadness. And still I did not speak. The stage was his and his alone. And I, and I alone, was his audience.
"Please don't mind me," he said lastly, "I just wanted to get that off my chest. Truly, as a friend, I hold no resentment toward you. You, Snow, Rex, Ryo… you're all the closest friends I could ever be blessed with. If there was anything I achieved, it was you all." He said with radiant glee as he finished, "This is going to sound silly to you, Greed, but the main reason I want to attend the Tournament is so that I can win and become a Captain of my own Guild. Those were the conditions for the winner, from what I heard."
Finally interjecting right then, Rex said, "Not if I win first."
"Ha! You? Win the Valley fucking Tournament? Over my dead body!" Snow jabbed.
"I thought we didn't talk about death among us, you prick!" Rex replied.
"I merely was using it as a marker for your accomplishments, meaning I'll be long gone before you ever get to that point!"
"You're a true asshole, you know that? I hope we get to face each other in the ring so I can shove that stupid prickly hair of yours up your goddamn ass! You dumb-butt-sniffing-indoor-sunglasses-wearing-biohazard!"
"Oh, I hope I get to face you, too, so I can shove that stupid bandana—that I bet you never fucking wash—down your gaping throat you dick-sucking-toilet-smelling-broken-winged-skyrat!"
They both stepped over the table where our food was, both visibly buzzed, foreheads pressed, arms locked, and wrestling as they did. This would have been considered a scene if it weren't for the rest of the customers and even the staff, glued to the television screens at this time. Something had clearly gotten their attention more than us…
Ryo tried to break them up as Zeno laughed loudly. I smiled and simply sat back watching them all.
At the end of their quarrel, Ryo made his way over in the middle of us all and stuck out his fist. We all had stopped what we were doing and looked him up and down.
Wiping his bloody nose—that he somehow had—Rex threw in his fist next, then Snow, and then Zeno. They all waited for me as I took my time with this once again, just like before.
"Come on, friend. Don't tell me you're too cool for us now?" Ryo snickered.
"I think that's the case, bro got an Acting Captain role and thinks he got us beat!" Rex teased.
"I hope I get to fight you, too, Dweeb. Remember the first time at the draft? I smoked your ass!" Snow reminisced.
"You can't let me lay my feelings on the table without any form of reciprocation now, can you, Greed? After all… I need to witness the strength of the one Belle fell in love with. Otherwise, I'll assume you're just all talk and no spine." Zeno playfully taunted. That same closed-eyes cheer he was known for beaming at me as he did.
I closed my eyes in turn and sighed, sticking out my fist finally along with theirs.
"I'll give it my best, I guess… just don't come crying to me when you lose to a mage who can't use magic."
They howled at that like a pack of wolves. If I had a say, I'd recruit them all into the Black Wolf Knights. Until then, it was just a sweet dream.
When our fists were all locked above the center of the table, Ryo said lastly, "I'll do my best as well. Let's see how much you all have truly grown!"
"Divided by Guilds, United by beer!" Rex shouted as he tossed up his mug and we all followed suit.
Just like when we had done this after being drafted into our respective Guilds, this was our pact. A pact to give each other a run for their eterna in the coming Valley Tournament.
I didn't care much about it at first, but for them. For my crew. Even for myself. It was going to be a Tournament worth writing in the Valley history books.
Little did I realize at the time, after whatever was just on the screens, all eyes—from the other customers, to the waitresses and chefs—were on me.