*Hiro*

"Can't believe I lost again!" I yelled, setting my head on the grass. After our battle with Wahkan and Xian, I went to the nearby park to cool down. Though it wasn't helping me at all.

Wiping my tears away, I pushed myself up. Needed to find a way to vent off this steam building up or else I would blow up.

My teammates must've been embarrassed after my pitiful performance.

The park was huge, at least it was for someone my height.

I sighed. The kids at school now had ample fuel... I would never live down the title of 'fiery shrimp' at this rate.

"Mi-mister! Look o-out!" a voice called out. Something struck my forehead. "S-sorry mister."

It was a little kid with light green hair.

"Pardon my son," a black haired man said, running over. He was tall and good looking. The opposite of me...

"It's fine," I said, trying my best to smile. In reality I was mad, but I wasn't going to take out my anger on a little kid. I wasn't that lame.

Jumping up, I three the disk at the man.

He caught it without even jumping for it. "Hey, you were the one who fought Nyima just now, aren't you?"

"Nyima? Oh, the big-bosomed blue-haired girl! Yeah, I fought her. She was surprisingly tough," I said, crossing my arms.

"Ahh, you the one who was screaming!" Another kid who looked identical to the one who hit me on the head ran over to us. Following him was a little girl and a light-brown-haired man with golden eyes who looked like he could be the other man's brother.

"Reminds me of a certain someone. Huh, Hideo?" the arrival said, turning to look at the other man.

The black haired man grumbled. "Shut up, Silas!"

Silas snickered as he took the little girl's hand. "Anyway, I'm going to go buy Rika some ice cream. You want anything?"

"I-I want vanilla," the boy who hit me said.

"Chocolate!" the boy's twin said, smiling.

"I'm getting strawberry," Rika said, jumping up and down.

"I want the usual," Hideo said.

"Alright, got it!" Silas said, turning around.

"Sy, there you are!" a blue haired girl yelled, waving as she jumped over a line of two-foot-tall shrubs.

"Marina, what are you doing here?" he asked, his face reddening.

The boy who didn't hit me giggled. "Seems that uncle's girlfriend is here."

"Kaze, don't tease your uncle," Hideo said, trying not to laugh.

Turned my back to them and went on my way. Felt as if I was interrupting on a family moment. Plus I needed to go find Kagu and the others.

"Wait!"

I looked over my shoulder. "What?"

"Cheer up."

My eyes widened. "Uh... no offense, but why do you care how I'm feeling?"

He averted his eyes. "Well, I know how it feels, to lose. I also know how it feels to be looked down on for being... well, not as tall as others in my age group."

My eyes glanced up and down at the six-foot tall man. "You were short?"

"Hard to believe, huh? But, yeah. I was short even up to my late teens. Maybe one day you'll be as tall as your peers, or taller."

My lips wobbled up and down. "Me, tall?"

"I said 'maybe', but it is a possibility. Just eat healthy."

"I will!" I said, pumping my fist up and down. "I'll eat whatever I must in order to be taller!"

"That's the spirit!"

My stomach grumbled. "Uh, but first to find my teammates, they got the food money."

"Sure brings back memories," a beautiful white haired woman said.

Hideo blushed. "I rather not remember... though it seems that destiny is bent on reminding me..."

Why didn't he want to remember? Was he ashamed of his past self too?

My eyes darted to the blue sky above. It felt so far, yet I couldn't help but reach out for it.

"You like the sky?" the woman asked, walking over to me.

Did I? Sometimes it felt like it taunted me with its height. But was it even possible to reach the skies? I was gifted with fire powers, not wind, so attaining said heights wasn't for me.

My eyes turned toward Hideo. "Say, mister, what power do you have?" I asked.

"Me? I got wind," said as he threw the disk in her hands into the air.

"Wahh! Not too high, Papa!" the more confident twin yelled as he tried desperately to jump."

He snapped his fingers, causing a small flame to dance on them. "I can also use fire like you."

"Wow..." Something was off about the flames... they didn't feel like magic. Rather they felt like something else all-together.

"Papa is a show off," Kaze said, snickering.

"He sure is," Koukyuu said, petting the kid's head.

Hideo grumbled.

I snickered and turned around. "Thanks for the pick-me-up!" I yelled before rushing off. Though I had no idea where they could be... But moving was better than staying put, right?

"Hey, Hiro," a voice called out as soon as I was at the opposite edge of the park. I yelped and jumped back. Hanging upside-down from a tree was a man with monkey tail. "Kagu is looking for you."

I took a deep breath. "Don't scare me like that!"

The athletic looking young man snickered as he pushed himself up. "You scared Kagu and the others as well. Now let's get going, I'm starving!"

I blinked. "You haven't eaten?"

He snickered. "Nope. They wanted to wait on you."

I sniffed. "W-why?"

He tilted his head to the side. "Well, the food wouldn't be good if someone is missing. It's tastier when shared with friends."

I lowered my head. "They... see me as a friend? I thought I was a pest to them..."

A monkey-like laugh echoed in the air. "You can get on their nerves at times, but you aren't a pest."

Tears threatened to drip out.

The man jumped down from the tree. "You do have to learn to control your outbursts better. You used up too much magic in your rage-fueled attacks. If you had fought with a calm mind, I'm certain you would've done better."

He was right... I used more energy than I should have per attack. In my anger I couldn't aim as correctly as I wanted either.

"Well, our time in these games are coming to a close," the man said, putting his hands into the pockets of his black pants. "The only major event remaining is the survival one, but we failed that one."

"Sorry, coach Sun..."

He smiled. "Instead of apologizing I want you to work hardest. You do dream of becoming the next Magus Maximus, don't you?"

I nodded. "Yeah! Once I do no one would dare make fun of me."

"Then work your hardest in preparation for next year. I'm certain you'll meet some of the same people you've encountered during these past few days."

Next year... those in Tozan Hoshi who desire to become the Magus Maximus would get a chance to face off against one another.

"Thank you for having confidence in me, sir!" I said, bowing my head.

He snickered. "What's with the sir? Even coach is too much for me. I rather you call me by my name."

"I can't do that, sir."

Coach sighed. "You sure would fit the military. Actually, you remind me a bit of a certain hot head I used to know."

"Was he strong?"

"Yeah. Very. Well, enough talk! It's time to go fetch us some grub, am I right?"

"Yeah!" I said, raising a fist into the air.

Coach flashed me a toothy grin.

"There you are!" a voice called out. It was Kagu.

"Hey, we were just about to head over there. Just needed to give the squirt a talking to," Coach said, ruffling my hair.

I slapped his hand away. "Don't call me squirt!"

He smiled. "What did I just say?"

I gulped. "Redo?"

He laughed. "Sorry, bud, but no redos. But you'll get a chance soon!"

I grumbled...

"Come on squirt," Kagu said, waving at me.

I opened my mouth but bit my tongue.

"Please don't call me that," I said, trying my hardest to speak calmly.

"There you go! You're learning!" Coach said, wrapping his arm around me. "Hey, Kagu, how much money do we have left on our food budget?"

"We got a blank check. The queen didn't put a limit on it. She did say to not go wild, though."

"Hmm, wonder what her definition of wild is," he said, scratching his head.

Kagu snickered. "It'll be best to ask her, don't want to give her a heart attack."

"Yeah, that would be bad."

"I want pork chops," I said, rubbing my stomach.

"You should consider eating veggies too," Coach said. "Eating only meat isn't good."

"Yeah, a guy called Hideo told me something similar..."

His gray-hazel eyes widened. "Did you say... Hideo?"

"Yeah, you know him?"

Coach nodded slightly. "Yeah..." The usual cheer in his eyes seemed to vanish.

"Is he an old friend?"

"I rather not talk about it."

"That only makes me more curious," I said, grumbling.

Kagu glanced over her shoulder. "First that boy who looked like Dan, and now Hideo... Then again, perhaps that's not a coincidence after all."

"You don't believe in coincidences," Coach said as we crossed the street.

She snickered. "True. Everything is inscribed in the tablets of destiny. This was meant to be. Now, is an encounter between us also in the cards?"

"Is it?" I asked.

She laughed. "Not sure, but it's fun to consider."

"Fun?" Coach asked.

"Yeah. There's no harm in meeting him, well, not for me. He has no idea who I am."

I tilted my head. What was she talking about? She's Kagu, second-year student at Aster Academy. What else was there to know?

"If you say so," Coach said. He stopped as the wind rustled. His eyes shifted toward Silas. "He's here too?"

"That guy? Yeah, I saw him with his brother."

"Wonder who else is here..." Kagu said, grinning. She grabbed Coach's arm and ran.

"Hey, wait up!" I yelled. My feet calm to a halt as soon as the wind shifted once more. Chills ran down my spine. It felt as if a pair of eyes were on us...

"Psst, Hiro! Hurry up!" Kagu yelled from afar. Coach was nowhere to be seen. Had he gone ahead by himself?

Was Coach avoiding Silas? But why? Whatever happened between him and the brothers must've been serious. Ahh, maybe he owes them money or something! Hmm, but neither one gave off shark loan vibes...

So what was it?

"Hiro?" our team's leader yelled again, further away.

"Coming!" I yelled, rushing after her.

*Silas*

"Sy, are you alright?" Marina asked.

My eyes remained on Hiro and Kagu. The guy they were talking to... No, that was impossible.

"Sy?"

"Huh?" I asked.

"You zoned out just now," she responded.

"Are you tired, Uncle," Rika said.

I rubbed my forehead. "Yeah, a bit." I wasn't able to sleep yesterday at all. Hideo kept waking up in the middle of the night, screaming. Those memories Aida conjured up weren't leaving him any time soon.

Perhaps it was for the best that he didn't see the guy who looked like our missing brother, else it might've been worse. But that guy just now... The one Hiro was speaking to, he looked just like that dark haired monkey boy...

I shook my head. My fatigue must've been getting to me. I was starting to see things that weren't there.

**Solar Note: Hope that you enjoyed the chapter ^_^. Thoughts? Theories? Predictions?**