The two boys made their way to the park at a quick pace and, rather than going in through the main gate, Mako walked on the sidewalk along the park’s fence.

Seeing as Mako already had the destination in mind, Bill decided to not question him and just follow him wherever he may lead him.

After almost completing a full circle around the perimeter of the park, Mako went through a small entrance that was made into the fence of the park there as it almost looked as if a hole was cut open within the rebar frame of the fence, just a big enough to let a normal person through.

Going in, Bill noticed that this part of the park was cut off from the rest of the park by huge bushes as the hole in the fence was the only entrance to this place.

“We have arrived,” Mako said as he stopped near an old oak tree while staring at a small piece of rock that was in front of him.

At first, Bill didn’t understand what was so special about this place, but that all changed when Bill’s eyes landed on what was engraved onto the stone.

[ BELOVED GRANDMOTHER ]

[ AMY GREY ]

[ 2978 – 3096 ]

This was Mako’s grandmother’s grave as they were currently standing in a cemetery. Mako started to clean all the dust and leaves that had fallen on the tombstone, while quietly saying something to himself that Bill assumed could have been some kind of prayer, but he didn’t ask as it was his position to do so.

After cleaning the grave, and putting new flowers next to it that he had bought from Aunt Marie back at Bird’s Eye street before he had met up with Bill at the bakery, Mako proceeded to just sit in silence next to the grave for a couple of minutes before finally wiping his tears and getting up to leave.

Bill knew it was a sensitive topic so he didn’t bother speaking while Mako sat in silence looking at his grandmother’s grave, and stood there until Mako was done.

Mako tried to come to visit his grandmother’s grave at least once a month and just remember all those beautiful moments he had with his grandmother, and he would often cry but this time his tears were for another reason altogether as he knew this would probably be the last time he would visit her grave for a while as the Military trials were almost a month away and he would have to move by then.

During the remainder of the walk back home Bill and Mako didn’t converse much but before they arrived at the front door, Bill built up the courage to finally say something to Mako.

“Your grandmother has a very beautiful grave, she must have been a very important and loving character in your life. Listen, I am very sorry about the things that I said about her before. I didn’t mean a single word that I said.”

Bill apologized to Mako again to which Mako just smiled as he recalled one of the main things that his grandmother taught her and that was…

“It’s alright Bill, As my Gran-Gran used to say, forgive and forget!” Mako said as he recalled a very fond memory of him being consoled by his grandmother in the most loving manner imaginable.

‘I don’t deserve your kindness Mako, and even if it takes me a thousand years, I will pay you back for the generosity and mercy you have given me.’ Bill made a mental vow that he intended to keep till his last breath as he heard what Mako replied to his apology.

The boys arrived home and went to their separate rooms to freshen up.

**********

Before the sun went down, Mako wanted to complete a couple of chores, which Bill helped out with and since they were both ability users with better stats than normal, they were done with them in a flash.

As the evening came around, Mako and Bill were back in the forest sparring with each other again.

A giant chunk of earth lifted off the ground and broke down into several smaller pieces, each piece then being shot towards Mako at a fast speed, however; mako was able to dodge every one of them as they were still slow enough so that he could detect them with his perception and dodge at the perfect time.

“AAARRGHH! Stay still, will you!” Bill shouted in frustration as he wasn’t able to hit Mako once.

Using Bill’s annoyance against him, Mako smoothly transitioned from defense to offense as he bolted toward Bill with intense speed and conjured two small fireballs in his hand which he chucked on the ground near him.

The fireballs caused mini explosions and kicked up a lot of dirt and dust into the air, making a smokescreen in which he could easily get away from Bill’s line of sight.

‘I know I still can’t win against you because your defense is high, but if you don’t know where to defend from, it won’t matter.’ Mako thought as he approached Bill from the right, and as soon as he came into range.

[Flame Wheel has been activated]

It was becoming harder to see because some of the dust had gotten into his eyes, but Bill still was able to sense the heat from Mako’s attack just before it was about to hit.

Bill clicked his feet and a wall of earth erupted from the ground beneath him just in the nick of time and the flames were once again blocked.

“Humph! You are getting more perceptive of your surroundings, Good job!” Mako congratulated Bill as he slowly walked out of the smokescreen.

It was about to become night time so the boys decided to call it a day and head home to prepare for the night head.

“You sure you wanna go through with this? It is illegal after all so anything can happen.” Bill cautioned Mako regarding the plan.

“Don’t worry, Bill. I have prepared enough that I think I can handle those clowns.” Mako said with determination as he clenched his fist tightly.

“Okay then, you’re the boss!” Bill now agreed as there was nothing he could do about what decisions Mako would make but he would support him anyway.

Mako and Bill were walking down an alleyway while having their conversation, but instead of heading for their night shift at the bakery, they were making their way downtown along with Bill who looked quite different from the Bill that everyone was used to.

If someone was to focus carefully on his face, they would recognize him immediately but the key point of his character had been changed as he no longer had ginger hair because he had dyed them black.

This along with the fact that Bill was also rocking a face mask. It was safe to assume that no one would be able to recognize him.

The two boys arrived at their destination after another fifteen minutes. They were standing in front of the front gate of one of the most luxurious hotels in Emerald City.

Walking in, it looked as if Mako was entering heaven. Right past the main gates was a beautiful statue of some mighty warrior polished with gold.

“So this is the Emperium Hotel,” Mako said as he took in all the wonders and absorbed every detail while making their way to the main lobby.

After making their way to the lobby, Mako let Bill handle all the talking and he spoke a secret code to the receptionist, the receptionist handed him an elevator card that only had access to a specific floor.

Getting into the elevator, Bill swiped the card and the elevator was off on its way.

The Emperium Hotel was very massive with a total of 850 floors as the floor they were going was near the very top, on floor 790.

Walking out, Mako expected the same luxurious and furnished decoration he had seen in the lobby, but what he saw was a total disappointment.

The floor was bare concrete and the entire floor only had columns as there were no walls to speak off. There were massive crowds around several areas as cheering could be heard constantly.

Bill and Mako decided to go to one of these crowded areas when a host spoke loudly through a microphone.

“Ladies and Gentlemen! The Rookie Brawl will begin in 15 minutes as this is your last chance to sign up, cause the rewards are going to be totally worth it! So are you ready?!”

Bill and Mako were currently in one of those illegal fighting events that would be held in many different locations around the city as this was one of the jobs that Bill did while he worked for El-Diablo. He was one of the beginner fighters who was also an online sensation as he could even match and easily beat beginner level 3 ability users at such a young age. 𝒆𝙣𝒐𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝙚𝙩

Cracking his knuckles, Mako smiled as he walked over to the registration booth next to the announcement table.

“Time to get to work!”