Chapter 41: TO FULFILL A PLEDGE

Kim sat there quietly watching the rest drink cold water from their cups. The water had arrived in two thousand five liter containers. The containers were shaped like pieces of a puzzle as if they were designed to be stored that way. However, this was not the time to be thinking about that. He had a match today and had promised to win it in record time as well.

" Looking forward to how you can win in record time," Mwas said with a bit of sarcasm in his voice. Shiru was about to rebuke him when Thia interrupted. " You don't have to win you know," he said quietly. " If only I didn't let thirst take over me this wouldn't have happened," he continued wallowing in self pity. 'Its so like you to blame yourself over everything' Kim thought as he slowly drank his water. "I'll try my best so don't worry about it ," he said warmly. Mwas flinched. He had heard those very words before. Words that he had blatantly ignored and trampled on over and over until... He gulped down his cup of water in a hurry and slumped back into his bed, thinking of the past.

The rest of the day passed smoothly as they fitt the puzzle containers into different shapes and sizes. They made a table, a few stools to sit on and rows of racks going up. They were deeply engrossed in it that they hardly noticed Albert arriving. " It seems you've made yourselves quite at home," his cold sharp words pierced through the room, freezing everyone. They turned and looked at him. He looked at them amused. They looked like children being caught doing something wrong. However he didn't come here to entertain them. He came here to fetch them

* * *

A few hours ago...

Albert sat in his father's office impatiently. He had been summoned here urgently but, looking at how casual his father was doing ignoring him, made him seethe inside. He didn't show it. " It seems your little exploits have become more than just 'little', " Allen, his father said in a calm yet gruff voice.

Albert jerked upright. As always his father's network of spies never ceased to amaze him. " I didn't know it would reach your ears, father," he said with a hint of sarcasm

. Allen smiled indifferently. It was a smile that always got under Albert's skin. " Isn't it a father's duty to know everything about his children,"? he asked in a quiet, fatherly manner. Albert looked at him suspiciously. Whenever his father used the words 'father's duty' , one of them, Alvin and him, would eventually end up severely wounded and mentally scarred.

* * *

He again looked at everyone inside the small cubicle and sighed. " I need you to defeat the bots in the three matches you're participating today," he said coldly. Everyone gasped. " Fine, " Kim said nonchalantly. "What"?, Thia asked. " There's no way you can fight three matches successively its- , " Shiru began but was interrupted by Kim. " I need to keep my end of the deal," he said determinedly, leaving no room for argument. "Heh cocky as always," Mwas scoffed. Kim glared at him then said," At least I don't fly off the handle," while shrugging his shoulders. Both boys glared at each other, hate overflowing. Albert looked at the boy again and asked," Are you sure about this"? Kim nodded, his eyes barely leaving Mwas. " Better not disappoint me," he said vehemently. 

He turned and headed outside towards the Unda. He was on edge and that irritated him. Reason? His father. He had decided to join him in watching the matches out of' curiosity'. He knew his father too well for it to be mere curiosity. That was what he was afraid of. 

A few minutes later...

He sat down next to his father in the VIP area of the Unda arena. Alvin was also there. To an outsider, it seemed like a normal father and sons' outing. Nothing could be further from the truth. This was no family day out, this was a test, a very hard test.

The ītha bots were the first to arrive amid subdued cheers from the crowd. They sat in their section and waited. Their opponents, the four teammates and the old man entered next. The crowd went wild. People screamed in sheer happiness.

 At first, Allen looked disinterested. 'Those are villagers eh?' he thought feeling disillusioned. He was about to leave when he saw him, the old man. He stared at him in sheer surprise but it was soon replaced with suspicion, 'How the hell was he alive?' he wondered..