OBTICEO

Chapter 30: UNRESOLVED ISSUE

I sat down next to Gio after he stopped me from smacking Aes' head off of his body.

He just laughed at me and put the cold compress on my cheeks, I tried to snatch the compress from him but he insisted that he wants to do it for me.

Ten minutes before the start of the fight of the second duelers for today, we headed to the bench. I brought three cold compresses full of ice. I also made Aes carry a small cooler just in case we ran out of ice. Aes also brought himself one cold compress. Gio and Chylus started warming up, I cheered for Gio and Chylus. Of course, I'll cheer both of them, they may be going against each other but that doesn't mean that I can only support one. It is given that I should support Gio more since he is my cellmate but this is me being their co-trainee. Were all on the same team so we should all cheer for one another. They are both my teammates so I'll cheer for both of them. And by cheer, I didn't mean all that fancy girly stuff they do back in Elletra, by cheering I meant saying positive things to ease their mind. They may look really calm but I know that they're nervous inside. Typical men and their idea of always needing to look strong and tough. Honestly, I don't know what's the problem if a man shows different expressions other than being tough and manly. It's better to show your weakness sometimes, that way they can release negative vibes instead of keeping it all inside them.

"I see that you're all excited to see the next fight. Let's start!" Soren smirked after saying. He just arrived and he's already ready to start the next round.

Cal who was sitting next to me and went down to sit beside Soren. The bench is like a set of stairs but wider and longer since it is a bench after all.

I looked at Gio once more and mouthed good luck. He smiled at me so I smiled back at him. I fixed the cold compress that I put on my thighs, I put one in each thigh and let it stay there while I carry the third cold compress and press it on my cheeks.

"Whose your bet?" Aes started. What's up with these bets. It'll only make the one who was picked less feel awful.

"Stop it!" I tried to stop Aes but like what I said, he's not thinking right anymore so he insisted to continue the bet. They aren't betting anything they are just voicing their opinion on who they think will win. Or maybe who they want to win.

"Chylus" Ry and Cal answered the same person at the same time. I looked at Ry first and saw that he was only looking at the two duelers in front who are still warming up cause I saw them doing stretches. I turned to look at Gio and saw that he is also looking in front.

"How about you Soren? Who are you betting on?" Aes asked Soren but the latter did not even bulge. Aes then turned to me and smiled.

"He's betting on Chylus. How about you Mady?" I was surprised when everyone looked at me. By everyone, I meant every man, even Soren looked in my direction with a visible smirk on his face. It's like they all wanted to hear my answer.

"Gio" I answered without hesitation. I mean, going back to what I said earlier, I don't have to pick, I'll support both Chylus and Gio but I'm closer to Gio and besides if I didn't bet on him, no one will. They all picked Chylus, maybe because everyone is aware that he was at the top of the class. But I trust Gio, I know he'll do well. Maybe he will not win but I trust that he will do well and pass the exam.

Everyone is now focused on the two. Soren gestured for them to start. I felt anxious, I was feeling nervous for him.

They both forwarded and attempted to punch each other but both were able to avoid it. It was a miss. Gio was quick enough to lift his leg and tried to kick Chylus but the latter successfully blocked the kick. Chylus then hit Gio's leg with his elbow. I'm sure that hurt a lot.

Gio quickly regained himself, he does not have any time to endure the pain, he needs to fight back.

Gio forwarded and released a punch on Chylus, the latter lean to avoid it but Gio was quick enough to switch weights and lifted his uninjured leg to kick Chylus. Chylus stumbled and Gio did not stop, he went near him to give him a combo, Chylus received every punch. His lip is now bleeding.

I was expecting him to look in pain but he wasn't. He smirked at Gio and both of them looked down. I lowered my gaze to see what they were looking at.

It was Chylus' foot. His foot is stepping on Gio's uninjured foot. Chylus started punching Gio but this time, he was not aiming at his head. He was hitting Gio on his abdomen, Gio tried to free himself but it was no use, he avoided Chylus' punches but it was not successful either. Chylus is stepping on his foot making it hard for him to move his lower part of the body.

I couldn't believe what I was seeing, they weren't simply fighting their destroying each other. I couldn't believe what I'm seeing before my eyes, it was too brutal. Their duel was on an extremely different level than both me and Aes. I didn't want to look, I badly want to divert my attention to something else but I couldn't do it. I don't want to see but I want to know what was happening, there is no better way to do it than watching.

Gio fight back, he delivered several punches to Chylus, some hit the latter some, he successfully avoided.

Gio finally got out from Chylus he immediately kicked Chylus on his thigh to make him fall. Chy fall on his knees but sooner he was able to drag Gio with him. Chylus was in a position similar to mine. He's on top of Gio, giving him powerful punches but Gio is strong enough to change their position, he's now on top of Chylus doing exactly what the other one did. They were like that for a couple of minutes until Soren shouted for them to stop.

"Looks like the two of you have some unresolved issue. Good thing neither one of you died. Your time's up. Stand straight and hear your evaluation" Issue? I can't sense if Soren was making up stories or if he was basing on facts. If ever that they do have an unresolved issue, then I have no idea. I don't know if I have the courage to ask Gio about it.

"Okay, where do I start. Well, both of you moved at the same time. I admit you showed a lot of your strengths during this fight. I am aware that both of you excel in this field my only advice would be patience. Have more patience. Both of you moved without thinking that results in both of you having bruised lips and eyes, and to mention that your cheeks look swollen, not that much but a bit swollen. Think! Don't make an irrational decision, it will be the end of both of you" I agree. They looked really reckless a while ago. It's like they were in hurry to make their opponents lose. The fight was intense but it wasn’t a good one. They moved without thinking, their punches were strong but still lacks that impact to be called well-skilled, they fought without thinking.

"24 points for Gio, 26 for Chylus" Cal annoyance his scoring for the two.

"I agree, you were both hot-headed during the fight. It was intense but it didn't look like it was from a trained fighter. It looked like a street fight" that's the word I was looking for. Streetfight, it looked like a street fight. It was intense and rugged. It lacks the impact of a skilled fighter.

"Gio, your strength is admirable but you lack a defense mechanism. When you attack, always, always prepare for counterattacks. You let an intruder emotion ruin your calmness. Think, always think. Don't just randomly throw punches. Think! And Chylus, your idea of locking Gio in place was brilliant but again, you let emotions take over you. The impact, the strength, everything that is necessary for delivering attacks, I did not see any of it. Your attacks are strong but it was empty. Yes, you both were able to cause injury to one another but you could have done better than fighting like kids who argued about stupid reasons" the two looked at Soren with glaring eyes. If looks could kill, Soren’s body would have been sinking to the bottom of the ocean. I'm confused. They are talking about something they only know. I can't understand. All I know is that there is this misunderstanding between Gio and Chylus that everyone except me, knows. This is one of many disadvantages of arriving late, you'll miss all the fun and drama.

"Both will have 25 points. For me, you both lose. Caligo?" Soren called for Cal's attention to ask who he thinks won the duel.

"I think Chylus won" as expected.

"Then congratulations Chylus, you are going home with 71 points while Gio will end with 49 points. Dismissed!" Soren walked out.

I quickly replaced the ice from all three cold compresses with new ones as Gio walk back to the benches. He was limping a little but I think he'll be fine.

I tossed one cold compress to Chylus and mouthed 'Congratulations' he just gave me a small smile and a nod.

I diverted my attention to Gio, I press the cold compress to his swollen cheek and the other one to his eyes.

Our eyes met when he held my hands, he smiled brightly at me not minding the pain it causes.

"I'm fine. Thank you!"