Status Quo rule no. 47 - Syndicates can ‘purchase’ Hirou wielders from their families as long as the child is older than six.

Mike shot a fireball at Skye which she avoided with ease. Jumping high, she twisted her body midair, and landed on her hands then shot an electrical wave through her leg while pushing herself back to her feet. She shot another wave at Mike who redirected it with his fire. 

Mike was a Red and manifested a power similar to fire. It was the hardest Hirou to master and to control, it also was rare and extremely powerful. Because red Hirou was so potent, it would discharge rather quickly and that made it difficult to use to the full extent in battle. Nevertheless, when wielded with precision, Red Hirou became a formidable and perilous force, as evidenced by the burn scars Skye had acquired during her training with Mike.

Mike threw a couple of fireballs again as she shot herself up with her Hirou, trying to evade them. But she was too slow and got hit by the flames. Her specialty was close combat and speed, so evading Mike’s fire only made it harder for her to land a proper hit. And so, the floor met her face. She cursed at the pain with clenched teeth. 

“You’re not concentrating, Skye! If it wasn’t Mike you would’ve been dead right now!” Amit yelled at her.

He was right. 

The last time she was that unconcentrated was in her first year at the UA. She was sure she knew it all, hated that she was there, and wanted out. Bothering with the fight was pointless in her mind, the struggle just wasn’t worth it. She missed her mother, missed her previous life, and hated this one. What was the point anyway? Being stuck in Bradley’s clutches was her fate no matter what she did. 

Since then, a lot has changed. 

When Bradley brought her to Amit, he didn’t have a lot of kids with him. The previous Chrono leader didn’t put a lot of effort in expanding his Hirou fighters potential, and didn’t bother with port. He was more into minor crimes, only to keep Chrono afloat. No one of the syndicates’ leaders back then took him seriously. 

Now however, the gym was packed with Hirou wielders. Bradley had three UA training gyms in his possession and Amit got to coach the wielders Bradley believed would win him the port. The gym itself also changed in the past eleven years. The Cage technology had improved, the dressing and shower room renovated. 

Bradley controlled the port for seven years out of his fifteen as the head of the Chrono syndicate, brought back the glory Chrono once had had, and made a lot of money from it. 

Everything was simple, known, until something new changed the course of events. 

Skye wanted to ask Amit about the man with the white Hirou but he would definitely tell Bradley about it, and it wasn’t the best of options. After all, Bradley was his half-brother. 

She stood up and wiggled her fingers, letting small electrical sparks fly from them. Amit grunted in response. Instead of ignoring the grunt, as she usually did, she fisted her palms, letting the room fill with sparks.

Alexa, the most powerful UA fighter in Chrono, turned her head as the lights in the gym glistened from Skye’s electricity. The vine from her yellow Hirou rose up, and caught a few shards that fell from a broken lamp. Skye rolled her eyes and shifted her focus back to her own training. She would have her chance to beat Alexa’s ass later on. After she deals with Mike and his fire.  

Mike smiled at her and lifted one arm up, creating a ring of flames above his head. With a deep inhale, Skye launched towards him as he threw the ring at her. She jumped through it as the ring slashed the air, and shot an electrical ball towards his face. With a shield made of fire, he blocked the hit. 

There was no time to contemplate on that. She pushed herself back while shooting another wave. Mike dashed from side to side, the electricity wave barely touching him as another ball of red fire flew in Skye’s way. With a shot of electricity, she broke the ball in half while panting hard. A spinning kick to his liver was her next move, but Mike turned quickly and grabbed her leg for a sweep. Skye caught his arm, and right before falling, sent a wave at him. He fell onto the floor as the wave clashed in his side, cursed, and jumped back up.

“Much better!” Amit shouted.

Despite the praise, it was pure luck and nothing more. Skye’s head was occupied with too many thoughts. 

Earlier this morning, another UA fighter was found dead, this time one of the possible winners of this year’s league. 

It was the first time they killed a high profile UA fighter. So of course, as a survivor of the same attack herself, Aiden came to her apartment last night. He was worried, more for his head than Skye’s, and wanted to know more about her own attack, digging up some details that perhaps had been missed or went unnoticed. But she didn’t want to tell him more. The syndicates’ leaders demanded answers and didn’t like the fact that their fighters were killed. Social media was also all over the deaths along with mainstream media. 

People, especially the ones in the upper city, discussed the rights of the fighters, wanted some new rules and protection for them, and began to worry about the fates of the residents of lower Bayport. New social rights movements and organizations started to pop up, gathering followers and attention. Those organizations would expose their teeth once in a while, and the UA would let them slide or somehow make them disappear. Those groups rarely did more than rant on social media and make petitions that weren’t enough to poke the bear. 

This seemed to change quite a bit considering the recent events. 

The people in the organizations and movements went on demonstration on the streets of upper Bayport, mostly students, waving cardboard signs about injustice, bad treatment, and other nonsense. It was easy to worry about others and criticize everything online from the ivory towers they lived in, but not one of them would dare to step foot and do more than protest near the safety of their homes. Not to mention, they wouldn’t dare to come near the slums in fear for their life or their clothes getting stains.  

And yet, the UA hasn’t made an official statement so far and ignored the angry masses, which made the people riled up even more and demand for answers and solutions. 

Ironically enough, the same as the UA, the people in the lower city ignored them as well.

The league was too public of an event, and after the few first deaths and the lack of response from the UA leadership, the media started to question the situation as well, and wonder whether the era of the UA was coming to an end. It was a risky move coming from the mainstream media, however the UA leadership kept their mouths shut, leaving the people of the Bayport in the dark. 

It was dire for the syndicates, the UA, and the police. Upper and lower departments worked hard on the case while the syndicates pushed for it to get resolved as quickly as possible. Of course, the syndicates had their own investigation going on, but this one was hidden from the public.

Mike shot another ball at Skye. She barely evaded this one, bringing her back from her ruminations. They had been fighting for quite some time, and her discharge seemed closer with every attack made. Panting and gasping, Mike cleared the sweat from his forehead and blew air at his face. 

Amit clapped his hands, signaling for them to stop the fight. 

“Good job, love. You’re getting better,” Mike said.

“Shut up,” she said, still panting.

“Did Aiden come to interrogate you last night?” He took a towel to clean his forehead.

“Why would you think that?”

“You look more annoyed than usual.” He chuckled. 

Skye rolled her eyes. “Maybe it’s because you keep throwing fire at me.”

“Rest is over! You have one more fight left for today. Stop wasting your talent on useless talking.” Amit shouted with an irritated voice.

“I need to fry him with my talent.” Skye muttered.  

“Sorry, love, but leave the burning to me.” Mike stepped closer and leaned his head on her shoulders.

“Mike, you’re heavy! Stop it!” She almost fell under his weight. 

“Yo! Amit!” Mike shouted and shot a tiny fireball at Skye’s stomach. She fell on the floor and cursed while coughing hard. God, this was painful.  

“Skye can’t fight anymore.” He smiled. Amit who raised a brow at him, then waved his hand, gesturing for them to leave the Cage.

Mike helped her up while she groaned at each move. The burn at her stomach itched, the urge to gag intensified as she rose to her feet. 

Inhale. Exhale. Repeat again. Slowly, the nausea stopped. 

“Feeling better?” 

“Fuck you.” She hissed.

“Sorry, sorry. Let me buy you some beer later.” He paused when she showed no emotion to his apology. “Comm’n Skye, I’m sorry. I was tired, and you seemed tired too.” He scratched the back of his neck. 

Skye just waved her hand at him as her eyes landed on Alexa. She quickly turned her gaze away, her yellow vines enveloping her body. She was tired and panting but Amit insisted on her to keep going while she, like a loyal dog, did as she was told.  

“We’ll grab that beer later. I’m tired and thanks to you, I need to deal with a minor burn on my stomach.” 

“I’m sorry. Let me at least take you home,” he said with worried eyes. Mike sounded like the sobbing child who was just sold to Bradley by his father. Eleven years later and he still looked at her with those childish and embarrassed glances. 

“Why?”

“Why not? There is someone killing UA fighters and we can’t be too careful.”

“I’m good.”

“Skye, please.”

“Okay, fine.” She rolled her eyes again.

Getting a ride with Mike was always tiresome, the man refused to shut his mouth, but she needed that friendly face before confronting what waited for her later tonight.