The Battle of the Warriors

Chapter 3

Of Goodbye and Unshed Tears

Third Person POV.

As the day started, with birds and other plant life started waking up, blooming and raising their lazy heads to greet the sun, a really, really, really fast object flew past them in a blinding speed, almost crushing them, turning them into stew and minced salad. Hongki was running furiously in his pajamas, trying to get the frustration out of his head. He knew that when he was running, his tears ran as well, flying away from his face. But, what was he running from, you ask?

Sungmin was once again, a cheetah. When Hongki had declared yet another of his childish race –a race Sungmin always puts himself into – he practically flew out of the house, pondering on whether to go by air or land. But, of course, Hongki always hated it when he cheated by flying, and he liked fair play. So, once his mind was set, he flew out from the house, a little bit behind his friend, before jumping into the air, landing on his feet with all paws and claws, tails and whiskers.

His feline eyes adjusted themselves to the surrounding, and it took him awhile to get use to his different body mechanisms. It was hard to cope as an animal, mind you.

So, as the two ran their bottled up emotions out, Sungmin the cheetah had no idea where Hongki was bringing him. They had completely set off in a different route from that morning, where they had to get to the tree house. They headed east, where the woods were much deeper, and the trail wasn’t really that clear. The duo seldom head east, because on the borders five miles away from their house, was where another bigger party of Crocells lived.

This time, the bunny-now-cheetah focused on Hongki’s running, falling back abit to follow the other child-like Crocell, instead of running against him. He didn’t know Hongki’s exact plan, and he wasn’t sure if it was the right thing to do.

What if they got caught or something? There are some Crocells who act as Guards, bringing peace to their land if they needed to. What they were doing wasn’t exactly called a ‘crime’, per say, but with the Kaymis's ever changing rules, who knows?  And trust them when they say ‘It’s not good getting caught by a Guard; you’ll risk wasting away your life, damned to wash the Capitol’s floor for a thousand years.’

And boy, Sungmin really did not want Hongki to spend his years scrubbing floors.

As he tried to focus more on where Hongki was bringing him, he noticed how far they’ve went, and how much the sun had risen again. There wasn’t much time left, why does the Runner want to waste their time now?

They were deep in the woods, with flora all around. Sungmin was already panting through his jaws, and feline teeth, paws sore from all the running, his fur caught with all kinds of twigs and leaves. He panted lightly, but his feline adrenaline rush was still high in his blood, and that’s what kept him going. It was quite hard to get through the thick foliage; in fact, Hongki had to stop occasionally to stop himself from bagging into trees. That appeared out of nowhere.

Soon, they reached a steep path, but for those two talented Crocells, what was a steep slope to them? That’s right; it was nothing. They flew uphill effortlessly, without so ever batting an eyelid.

Minutes, ten minutes, twenty minutes passed. Finally, the sun rose up, high enough to hide behind the clouds again, dotting the sky with pink and orange. They were still deep in the forest, with little light streaming down from the tree tops.

Finally, they were a good fifteen miles away from home, with only a handful of hours left until Cars would arrive at their footsteps. They reached a clearing, sort of. Okay, just a patch of the forest with less trees and more space. Hongki finally stopped for good, smiling down at Sungmin’s pretty cat form. He resisted the urge to scratch the Kitty’s ears, like he did numerous times, but failed.

Sungmin wanted to growl at Hongki’s hand scratching his head when he was by the elder’s side, but through his feline eyes, what he saw made him want to cry inside.

It was a beautiful sight, nonetheless. A small patch of land, with grass that reached up to a Crocell’s knee. Flowers blossomed everywhere, ranging from red to black to colors that didn’t even had names. The flowers resembled tulips, really big tulips. The whole field was covered with them ever so beautifully. When they looked up, they could see a patch of the sky, painted by the sun with red, pink, orange and purple. The air seemed much fresher than it did, and much less suffocating.

Sungmin spaced out for a while before remembering that he was still a cat. When he took a few steps back and changed to human form again, his eyes had the familiar turquoise glow to it.

It meant that his emotions were flowing free, of course.

What emotions? He did not know.

The Animal Shifter stood there, eyes wide open, jaw slack (although it did seem like a smile) and bubbling with joy. He didn’t know why, and he didn’t want to know. All of this was distracting him from his upcoming Battle. He needed the distraction pretty bad, too. And, all thanks to Hongki, he was successfully distracted.

“It’s so… beautiful…” Sungmin gasped, in a little whisper loud enough for Hongki.

The elder Crocell grinned sheepishly; ruffling the younger’s black hair affectionately, already expecting what sort of reaction he’d get from the bunny. “I know… I found this place a month ago, I think. I always wanted to show it to you, as a present or somethin’, but it always slipped my mind… I think I was chasing a deer, or something, but I ran off trail and I found this.”

Sungmin punched the brunette’s arm playfully before sighing contently at the beautiful sight. They shared another few more minutes in silence, loving the view they had. More birds started to chirp, and it was soon noon. The both of them let their hearts wander off, leading to thoughts about the other when they were not around. How were they gonna cope with it? Sungmin in battle, Hongki like a lost puppy, worrying over Sungmin. How were they gonna live like that, even if it was just a few months? The negative thoughts made their eyebrow crease, and Sungmin and Hongki avoided eye contact.

The silence was soon broken, with Hongki’s first words.

“You have to win.”

Sungmin furrowed his eyebrows, not really getting what Hongki had said, because he was still distracted by his own thoughts.

“Huh?”

“I said, ‘you have to win’ the battles,” Hongki stated. “It’s not a question, Sungmin. It’s a must.”

The bunny broke from his trance when he interpreted the request made. He looked up at Hongki, who was still avoiding his gaze. He could tell that the elder was still mad at him for getting chosen, but it was law, and fate. If he’s chosen, he’s chosen. What more could he do?

The younger brunette sighed, turning his attention towards the Battle, again. What were his chances of surviving? It there were only nine other players, he could have had an opportunity to become Victor. But ow that there’s nineteen, his chances decreased from zero to none.

Maybe, just maybe he could win.

Maybe.

After all, all those years of training in the woods must be something, right? Yeah, perhaps he could use his skills to good use. He’s an Animal Morpher, too. So, that would be a plus. He had been learning some martial arts before with Hongki, and those would come in good use, too. That, and he’s good with the arrow and bow, so hunting for food wasn’t a problem.

“Listen, Sungmin. They might put you into a forest this year, from what I’ve heard. If it really is one, you’ll get your chance to hunt, and you can roam free as an animal. You remember that they’ll keep some weapons hidden right? They’ll be scattered all over the place. Search for them, you have to! There’s might be arrows too, Min-ah. If there isn’t any, you know how to craft one yourself. You can’t possibly die from hunger, right? You can hunt, too. Just think of the others as animals and hunt them down, one by one. Don’t simply make allies, remember that. They might kill you in the end.”

Sungmin watched with wide eyes when Hongki grimaced a little as he gave those tips while trying to hold back some tears. He must’ve been burning inside, too; knowing Sungmin had to hunt down their own kind, who might have been their friends in the future.

Hongki finally turned to an awe-stricken Sungmin, and playfully pinched his cheek as he fought back all the pain he was hiding well.

“You have the chance to win, Sungmin. You’re much more trained to live like a hunter; they’re not. Just this once, Min-ah, I want you to win. You and the other lucky one, come home safely, okay?”

The younger looked down to his feet, not knowing what to say, so he just nodded.

“Sungmin, look at me.”

He tried to ignore Hongki, but as much as he tried to ignore the order, he could not disobey his hyung’s order. When he looked up from his feet and into the elder’s eyes, small pearls of tears were streaming down Hongki’s beautiful, flawless face, but yet he was smiling. He was smiling, at a time like this? His eyes were glistening with tears, yet he seemed rather happy.

“I know you can win this. Promise me you’ll win this.”

The Animal Morpher controlled his tears well, because they were about to fall, too. You see, Sungmin here doesn’t like making promises he couldn’t keep, especially when they are serious cases. They’d be nothing but a waste of hope, and a waste of promises. He never liked promises, well, because… Because he’d never made a promise to anybody before, and nobody ever asked him to make one, and that’s practically why he doesn’t like promises. When the elder Crocell asked him to make a promise, he couldn’t help himself but to nod his head, muttering a low “I promise, hyung” in return.

And that’s a promise he intended to keep.

::::::

The sun was finally setting, and the two had to run back home, this time, making it a real race. Sungmin didn’t care what Hongki’s rules were, he needed to fly, to be able to stretch his wings. When he was flying mid air, as a swift (the fastest flyer he could think of) he tried to race past Hongki, who was running as fast as… well, as fast as Hongki. The black swift, three times larger than most, glided down effortlessly, with luck on his side, as the current of the wind was helping him. He tried to spot Hongki, who was running so fast he became invisible. The race just got real.

The swift glided faster, wanting to beat Hongki for one more time before he had to prepare for the god damned Practice. They would be trained for a week by a trainer, and on the fifth day, they had to show off their best skill to the Judges. The Judges would then give marks, and perhaps, they might have a higher chance of winning if they score higher marks.

Now, back to the race, they were almost nearing the log cabin they’ve built, and Hongki was half a mile behind. Sungmin glided down to earth, flapping his wings furiously. He landed on a tree, still a bird, and hoped off as human, clothes magically intact. HE grinned when the elder Crocell was nowhere to be found, and with that, he ran into the house, just a short jog from the tree he landed on.

Once closing the door, he smiled victoriously, trying to picture Hongki’s reaction to his defeat. He turned to his living room and jumped up in surprise, a small squeak leaving his lips.

Hongki was sitting cross-legged on one of the stools, close to the fire-place, sipping his tea, like a boss.

“Tea, my bunny dearest?”

Sungmin wrinkled his nose in disgust, his heart still racing from the small fright and from the race. How was Hongki able to defeat him, when Sungmin was in the lead? He sure as hell saw Hongki chasing after him, not the other way around. Hongki could only chuckle at Sungmin’s cuteness overload, standing there like a little lost puppy-rabbit mix. He sipped his tea, sighed in content and grinned at the bunny.

“I was actually home before you came. I saw you flying, and you were like, waaaaay behind, and I reached home first, so I decided to make tea.”

Sungmin scoffed in dismay, glaring at the winner of the race halfheartedly.

“Once I win the Battle and come back, I’m sooo going to kick your .”

This caught Hongki off-guard a little, but his grinned widened when Sungmin confirmed that he was going to give it his all for the upcoming Battle of the Warriors. Even though he didn’t show it, he felt proud that it was Sungmin who has gotten chosen.

“Yes. You must come back alive to kick my . And I’ll look forward to that, bunny.”

::::::

When his conversation with Hongki was interrupted by his current position, and 3 hours left until Cars would arrive at their porch, Sungmin decided it was time he prepared for his leave. He went to his room, showered (more like scrubbed off every spec of dirt, and removing more than four layers of skin) and changed into a pair of leather pants, and a plain black, long sleeved shirt. He combed his black hair neatly, and even brushed his teeth. Twice.

He didn’t bother with having any food, because he knew he would be lavished with it later, in the capitol. That’s one of the good things about getting chosen, he thought; the Chosen ones have exactly a week to ‘enjoy’ life, stuff themselves to the fullest. But that’s most of it. They had to train for their first ever battle, and food is the main source of energy, no?

Sungmin came out from his room, looking sparkling clean (he’s actually red from all the scrubbing before), ready to be sent to the capitol to kick . He quietly entered the living room, where Hongki sat, who was humming to himself.

“Wow… Sungmin…” Hongki gasped, when the bunny came into view, looking much more dashing than he was.

It’s been a while since Sungmin had made himself look presentable again. All those years of hunting, the only things he wore were boots, a pair of khakis, and a worn out shirt. They never used their money unless it was a critical matter; clothes weren’t one of them. The outfit he wore was actually a gift from Hongki, like, what? A decade ago? They were as new as it was back then, and not a wrinkle in sight.

The Animal Morpher grinned, a blush creeping into his cheeks.

“Thanks, Hongki hyung… It was your present for me on my birthday, when I turned 900, remember?”

This time it was Hongki who grinned, still gawking at how… beautiful, the bunny looked. Sungmin had his fringe kept a little too long, as it almost touched his twin doe eyes, slightly covering them. He heard his own heart race when he looked Sungmin up and down, and suddenly there’s a y aura emitting from the younger. His lips parted when he saw the skin-tight black shirt perfectly showed the abs he had formed over the centuries, and not to mention those arms. Too bad they were covering the milky skin Hongki knew the boy had. And that pair of pants just made Sungmin look even hotter, showing of those muscularly long legs. Sungmin looked absolutely…

“Eeeww… hyung! You’re drooling!”

Sungmin giggled like a man at the sight of Hongki gazing at him like he was prey, mouth agape. Hell, he knew he looked smokin’ hot, but seriously, Hongki was his best friend, and they’d seen each other .

Loads of times.

Hongki subconsciously wiped the ‘drool’, looking away from the younger. He turned to grin at Sungmin again, who was waiting at the side of the door, for his transport to arrive. There was a moment of silence, and that made him realize their current situation; Sungmin is about to be thrown into battle, Hongki would be alone, devastated, not knowing if Sungmin will make it back alive.

“Sungmin, about what I’ve said before. I meant it.”

The one mentioned raised his brows, waiting for the rest of the story.

Hongki sighed, but tried his best not to show his emotions.

“I meant it when I said you must win the battle.”

“Hyung… I said I’ll try, but you know that I don’t make promises.”

He watched as more tears flowed free from Hongki’s eyes within those 24 hours. Hell, how did he have any more tears left to cry? His own lips were quivering as well, as a pang of anger, sadness, pain, and guilt ran through him. ‘Promises were nothing but a waste of hope.’

“I know you can’t promise me, but I want you to do it anyways. W-win it for me, Sungmin ah,” Hongki stuttered.

They were so engrossed in their own thoughts; they totally forgot that their time was finally up.

Sungmin had to go.

A shiny white limo was parked outside his cabin, and it made no noise or whatsoever, unlike those soft purrs the cars usually made. So, a loud honk from the limo startled them, making Hongki jump. Sungmin recognized the car easily, since there was a lot of it roaming in the city, but he had never seen one up-close before. He’d seen them only on television, or newspapers

But another loud honk and a tug from Hongki brought him back to reality. The elder’s eyes were flowing free, pain and fright evident in his eyes. He had his fingers twisted in Sungmin’s shirt, not wanting the younger to leave. No, he really didn’t want him to leave. What if he can’t make it? What if he doesn’t win the battle? How is he supposed to live without the younger Crocell?

“Sungmin… don’t go…”

It took Sungmin one second to think through that one sentence, and another second for Sungmin to pull Hongki in a rib-crushing hug, his fingers through the elder’s hair.

And crash his lips into Hongki’s.

He pulled apart from the kiss when a longer honk was heard, inwardly cursing at their current position. Never had he ever kissed another Crocell, so it was considered that his first kiss was given away. Hongki’s expression was somewhat laughable; his eyes bored into Sungmin’s, his lips parted like an idiot.

“Hongki, listen carefully. Do not let yourself starve. Do not hurt yourself. Make sure the fire is out every night before you go to sleep. Make more traps, and go hunt every day. Feed yourself. Trade the leftovers with Hankyung. Wash your clothes. Get enough sleep. Do not worry about me; I’ll be just fine. If you are watching the games, please, do not cry for me, or whatever that may happen. If you hurt yourself, I’ll personally send something to kick you.” Sungmin took a deep breath from his super long speech, glancing at Hongki, who was still staring at him.

“Sungmin…”

The younger did not wait for the elder to finish before interrupting. “Do not mourn for me if I don’t make it. Live life as it is, make more friends. Hongki, live life for me. You have to let go of me, if I don’t make it.”

A large Crocell, who is Sungmin’s , dressed in some sort of Pilot get-up calmly walked towards the doors of their cabin. He waited patiently for Sungmin to finish off the last words, before giving up and entering the house, uninvited.

The youger Crocell glanced at the big, tall before returning his attention to Hongki, still too startled to speak.

“I have to go, Hongki. Promise me, that you’ll do what I had ordered, and I’ll promise you…”

Sungmin pressed his lips against Hongki’s opened ones again, making his head swirl from the weird, fluffy feeling. He detached himself away from Hongki, grabbing the elder’s attention with his eyes. No, he did not want to leave Hongki’s side, but he knew he must. If he didn’t, they’d pull him out by force, anyway. Sungmin could only guess what sorts of emotion ran through the elder at that moment, because sure as hell, he did not plan on kissing him.

The bunny threw one last, sorrowful glance at Hongki, and finally smiled, for the last time that day.

“…I’ll promise you, I will win the battle.”

A sudden thought of death brought the young Crocell close to tears. When he walked out from the house, he planned on running away the last minute with Hongki. But he knew it was a futile attempt, no matter how it went.

When he got up the car, taking his seat in the back, literally using all his strength to part with Hongki, he watched as the elder drop down to his knees on the grass through the windows, and had a very strong urge to comfort the other. Hongki had tears running down his cheeks and jaw line, and he looked so wrecked, it tore Sungmin in half. He mouthed a ‘stay safe’, and prayed that Hongki caught it just in time, before the car starting flying away.

The ride to the capitol took only more than three minutes, in fact, the ride was so smooth he didn’t even feel it. It was way faster than flying. Perhaps the car used teleport? Who knew. The inside of the car was fancier than the exterior, by the way. But let’s not dwell on that matter.

During those three minutes, the bunny couldn’t help but release the tears he had managed to hold in for so long. His small whimpers and sobs were heard throughout the whole ride, and he looked just as broken as Hongki did. He took a seat close to the window, jus so he could lean on it for support. The big, bulky was kind enough to remain quiet for the whole ride, not wanting to pain the bunny further. He even gave him his handkerchief as an ‘apology’, too.

As the car seemingly stopped, Sungmin’s cries softened, and they somehow finally vanished. The pain and remorse soon turned into one of nervous and fear. He was finally nearing the Gates of the City, into the heart of Sapphire, and this was no time for him to be crying. The view was nothing new to him, just way more Crocells walking around, and bigger, larger buildings. But nothing can compare to the beauty of the Capitol. That huge thing was a skyscraper compared with the surrounding buildings. Exactly 60 stories tall, which is, in fact, really tall.

The Gates of the City swarmed with Crocells, some stood as guards, while most of them stood as crowds. The Crowd held flags, with no design on it, just a plain, red flag. They chanted, shrieked the names of the players, wishing them good luck, giving them their support. The Crocells never, they mean never, like to see one of them leave to play a game they don’t like. And sadly so, this is the only way they can show to give their blessings.

Many of the rock shapers there created a very own seat for themselves, high above the crowd. Some were flying, floating, on the top of the roofs of buildings. Some created clones of themselves, stacking above one another, cheering them on. There were cars in both in front and and at the back of Sungmin’s personal limo, and maybe the other Chosen ones were in them.

The twenty cars were then parked outside the main of Sapphire itself, the Capitol. One look at it made Sungmin gulp. His heart thumped faster against his rib cage, and his palms were sticky with sweat. Hell, how was he suppose to survive this?! The pure pressure and anxiety was just enough to kill him.

So, this is where it all ends, eh?

“…You may come out now.”

Sungmin snapped his head towards the unfamiliar voice. It was his personal , smiling down at him, with the door of the car open, waiting for his passenger to come down. The bunny looked through his tears and tried to focus his gaze at the kind driver, and even gave him a small smile in return and a tiny ‘thank you’, too.

Putting a shaky foot out of the car, the Chosen Crocell found it hard to stand up, but he managed it. Once out, he took a shaky breath and opened his eyes.

He was once again, awestricken by the beauty of the Capitol. It was picture perfect, not a speck of dust in sight. The halls seemed to be glowing, and the large, wide beams made of marble that supported the roof of the entire building were magnificent, as one would describe it as. The beams were huge, standing more than 60 foot tall, making Sungmin feel as small as they want him to.

Sungmin watched as other Chosen ones came out of their car and into the grand hall, one after another, and a few of them with their faces flushed, fresh out from crying. Ryeowook wasn’t one of the few who cried, in fact, he seemed more astonished by the interior decorations than he was supposed to. Heechul muttered some incoherent under his breath, looking absolutely striking in white short shorts, and a pint sweater to go with it. He flipped his yellow blond hair to the side, trying to get it out of his face. Leetuek was one of the few who had tears streaming down their faces, but he looked very handsome in an outfit something like Sungmin’s. The elder Crocell held small whimpers, and he looked so torn apart, and it reminded Sungmin of Hongki.

Hongki.

Although it’s barely been an hour, Sungmin realized he missed the elder dearly.

Was Hongki going to be alright?

He snapped out of his trance when a Ryeowook shuffled over to him, reaching out his hand. A hand shake? Seriously? How can he shake hands with this boy, who looks so pretty and petite, and kill him later in the games? See, this is why most Players don’t make friends with one another. They make allies, yes, they try to form a pack, so they can kill more. But in the end, they are forced to kill each other off, anyway. They try to ignore feelings, killing mercilessly, do what it takes to survive. That’s an unspoken law.

Sungmin cocked his head to the side when Ryeowook just gave him a shy smile.

“I’m Ryeowook.”

The bunny tried to hide his emotions, but he could not help it when a smile graced his lips. So, he was going to have a friend, eh? At least he will have someone to lean on. Only just for a few days, that is.

He reached his hand out, shaking the awaiting hand in front of him.

“Sungmin.”

Ryeowook smiled, partially because he finally made a friend, and partially because the friend was Sungmin. The elder of the two looked by far the friendliest within the 20 of them. The younger didn’t really realize what he had just done, and it’s better if it stayed that way. The two Crocells dropped their hands and postponed their chit-chat to another time, because there was Joon, walking down the beautiful staircase with hands behind his back, followed by many other Guards.

Joon’s eyes widened to a smile when he saw the twenty waiting Crocells, all standing with each other awkwardly not knowing what was next.

“Ah, you are all here. Err… okay. How do I start this again? Oh, that’s right!”

With a clap of his hands, a few dozen of Waiters came out from nowhere, already placing the long table in the middle of the hall, laying table cloth and then 21 chairs (carved with the finest wood), and the best utensils they can offer. Soon, the fragrance of food struck their noses, each of them taking deep whiffs on today’s menu. The food was placed onto the mahogany table, dish after dish, without stopping. Each dish made the Chosen twenty’s mouth water, and made their stomachs growl. The never ending dishes were still coming and coming, and each dish seemed to be tastier than the previous.

Joon chuckled to himself at the sight of the Crocells in front of him eating with their eyes.

“Go ahead and sit, fellas!”

Upon hearing the command, the Crocells sat themselves on the nearest chairs, not caring if they were stared at by strangers. They’ve never seen such good food before. It was probably the things they eat over at the other planet, hence why most Kaymises are fat. All they usually get to eat are bread, rice, occasionally ice cream, if they had the money. But money ain’t cheap, and they have better things to buy than food.

Ryeowook practically dragged Sungmin to one part of the table with most food on it. He ignored the elder’s yelps; all he cared about was how hungry he was. It was one whole day since Wookie had eaten anything, and he was really this close to dying of starvation.

They all took their seats, unsure of what to do next. The Chosen Ones avoided eye contact with one another, save Ryeowook and Sungmin, who seemed to get along quiet well. They stared at the food, waiting for at least a few of them to make the first move. They all waited, just in case Joon wouldn’t let them eat, or punish them for being disrespectful. They sat there, gawking at the food like vultures eyeing a dead carcass. Tummies grumbled, but none of them will give in until the leader gave his rightful orders.

Joon merely grinned at them for being so damn silly. The last few batches of chosen ones they’d had were never this patient. Usually they would be digging in by now, or even tackling the Waiter with the food still in his hands. For the last few thousand years, he’d never seen such considerate Crocells, and he was lucky that this batch was genuinely different.

The leader’s grin widened when he had finally said the words that made the 20 Player’s day better, for what it was worth.

“Dig in!”

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________

So… I don’t know what to say about this chapter. I’m not proud with it, I’ll tell you that much. It’s been too long since I last wrote.

Why? Because I was buzy, that’s why. :D

Anyway, hoped you enjoyed this chapter, because I didn’t.

Comment and Subscribe, and share the love, people. -Lulu