Just outside the large city of Tayon, a refugee camp bustled from sunrise to sunset.
Tents stretched across the fields, smoke drifting from dozens of cooking stations as volunteers hurried back and forth, carrying supplies. The battle against Greyvus ended weeks ago, but its scars remained. An entire city was destroyed and families lost homes, after all.
So, the people of Tayon did what they could.
Inside one of the larger tents, chaos reigned.
Elaine stood over a massive iron pot, stirring soup with both hands. Steam rolling past her face as meat and vegetables bobbed along the surface.
"More salt," a cook called out.
Elaine nodded immediately, "r-right!"
Nearby, Ai Mei stood before a grill. Or rather, standing at a crime scene disguised as one. Several pieces of meat launched from the spatula, landing on the dirt.
Ai Mei froze.
Everyone did.
Crim looked over to her, "Mei…"
Ai Mei slowly scooped them back up, "it never happened."
"It literally did…"
"So…?"
"We all seen it."
Ai Mei pointed her cooking tool to Crim like a sword, "silence!! Let the grill master work!"
Crim sighed, "you suck at cooking, Mei Mei."
"I have many talents, thank you very much."
"And cooking isn't one of those, from what I just witnessed."
"Well…nobody asked, red head."
Crim merely chuckled as white flames gently flickered from his palms, perfectly cooking another batch of meat without burning them. Across the tent, Ai Mei spotted Skysin carrying a stack of bowls.
Ai Mei's hazel eye lit up, "Sin!"
Skysin looked up.
Ai Mei dramatically pointed toward the serving tables outside, "work those bowls and plates!"
"You got it!"
The moment those words left his mouth, Skysin vanished. A gust of wind swept through the tent. Bowls, plates, spoons, and forks all disappearing in the blink of an eye.
The cooks blinked.
"Where'd he go??"
Outside the tent, Crim stepped forward, carrying trays of food. He cupped a hand around his mouth, "alllright everybody!! Hold your hands out!"
The refugees exchanged confused looks.
"…Why?"
"Just trust me!"
Slowly, hundreds of hands rose into the air.
Silence. Nothing happened.
FWOOM!!
A breeze swept throughout the camp.
Food, everywhere. Bowls of soup in one hand, plates of meat appearing in the other. Bread, drinks, everything the people needed on tables.
One old man nearly dropped his plate, "great Malerenz!"
A teenager stared at his food, "when did I get this??"
"I dunno!!"
"I swear my hands were just empty…"
Nearby, a little girl looked up to her mother, "mommy…"
"Yes, sweetie?"
"How they do that?"
The mother gazed at the meal, baffled, "I have no idea."
Several yards away, Skysin reappeared atop a supply crate, rubbing a finger under his nose, "food delivery complete!"
The crowd erupted into applause.
"Amazing!!"
"That was SO cool!"
Ai Mei crossed her arms proudly, "that's my employee."
"You don't pay me."
"I pay in compliments, Sin."
"So, I'm still dead-broke."
Crim chuckled, and Elaine smiled softly as she watched the refugees eat. She was happy, hearing the laughter, knowing people were comfortable. And for now, that was enough.
The refugee camp buzzed with life. People sat around tables discussing plans for the future. Some spoke about rebuilding elsewhere, Others debated traveling to neighboring towns. However, quite a few had decided to remain in Tayon. After everything that happened, it wasn't hard to understand why.
Tayon opened its doors without hesitation, after all.
Children ran through the camp's dirt pathways while workers hauled supplies between tents. All running to an open field, where a group of kids gathered around a wooden court.
The game itself was simple.
A leather ball, two poles with hoops and backboards.
Hoops!
The rules, however, had completely fallen apart when Skysin got involved.
The speedster dribbled the ball between his hands. Faster. Much faster. Then somehow, extremely too fast. The ball itself became a blur.
The kids all stared in disbelief.
"…"
"…"
"I CAN'T EVEN SEE THE FRIGGIN' BALL!!!"
"That's so unfair!!"
"Is he cheating??!"
Skysin grinned like a supervillain, "never seen handles like these, huh? CHECK THIS OUT!!"
The ball vanished beneath his hands.
BRRRRRRRRRR
The sound alone was enough to make several kids dizzy.
One rubbed his eyes, "I think the ball ascended…"
"No! Look!" Another pointed, "there's like…seven of 'em!"
"I counted eight!"
Crim stood on the opposing team with his arms crossed. An eye twitched. Following the ball looked less like hoop-ball and more like tracking a fly with a personal vendetta. "Dude…"
Skysin continued dribbling, the ball was now producing enough wind to flutter nearby tents.
"C'mon man…!"
The children were cheering.
"WHOAA!!"
"DO IT AGAIN!!"
Crim pinched the bridge of his nose, "you realize this isn't hoop-ball anymore, right?"
"You right."
"Thank you."
Skysin spun the ball on his finger, pointing to himself, "it's art."
Crim's expression grew flatter, "you're the perfect reason why the rule book exists."
One of the kids tugged on Crim's sleeve, "Mr. Crim."
"What's up kid?"
"Can you stop him?"
Crim eyed Skysin, who was dribbling the ball between his legs, behind his back, spinning, and possibly to another dimension.
"Just give me a sec, I gotcha."
"Kay…"
A second later, Skysin darted forward as he laughed manically, back to moving to the basket.
The children lunged after him and Crim groaned, chasing after him as well, "dude that's cheating, asshole!"
"YOU'LL NEVER CATCH ME!!!"
Around the camp, people paused from their work to watch. Some leaned against supply crates. Others sat on barrels or folding chairs. Conversations about rebuilding and other topics were put into the background. Everyone's attention drifted toward the court.
The chaos.
Skysin.
The speedster continued dribbling, weaving through children with ridiculous footwork and control of the ball.
He glanced at a kid on his team, "you're up, squirt!" Skysin passed the ball, perfectly rocketing from his hands into a bounce pass.
The boy caught it, "got it!"
He pushed forward until a defender stepped in front of him.
He quickly passed the ball. Another kid caught it.
Then the second.
Then the next.
The ball bounced and flew around the court as they pushed to the basket, children scrambling everywhere shouting and laughing.
"Over here!!"
"I'm open!"
"Pass! Pass!"
The ball then returned to Skysin. The moment it touched his hands, Crim stepped up. And the camp collectively leaned forward, immersed.
The duel had begun. One more score and they'd be equal for the game point if Skysin made a three-pointer.
Skysin grinned, "you can't stop me dude."
Crim folded his arms out, "yeah right, dumbass."
A few kids giggled.
Crim pointed at the lonely basket behind him, "go ahead and drive. See what happens."
"Yeah?"
The challenge hung in the air. The kids all eagerly watched.
Skysin began to dribble again.
To the left.
The right.
Between the legs multiple times.
Behind the back.
Normally, nobody could stay in front of Skysin. But Crim wasn't normal.
Every fake, feint, sudden burst, Crim matched it. The crowds' eyes bounced back and forth as they watched.
Wherever Skysin went, Crim followed with ease.
"Dude…"
"Dude."
"Quit matching my goddamn moves!"
"Stop being predictable!"
Skysin looked offended, "my moves are art."
"Yeah right. You can't even get to the basket!"
Skysin tipped his head, "who needs to drive when I can shoot too?"
Skysin dribbled between his legs and took a step forward.
Crim reacted.
That was all Skysin needed, and the boy smiled.
A step-back just behind the three-point line.
The entire camp seemed to have frozen.
"Check this, NERD!" Skysin leaped and set off a jump shot!
The leather ball arced high into the air as everyone watched it with anticipation.
The kids.
Workers.
Refugees.
Even Ai Mei looked from the food tent.
The ball dropped.
CHU!
Nothing but net.
Silence for half a second.
"OOOOOOOOOHHHHHHH!!!!!"
The camp exploded.
Children jumped into the air.
"HE MADE IT!!!
"NO WAY!!"
"LET'S GOOOO!!!!"
Skysin sprinted around, high fiving everyone on his team, "that's what I'm talking about!"
Then Skysin made a victory dance. It was horrible to say the least. It looked like someone was fighting invisible bees while trying to not spill soup.
But the kids copied him anyway.
Crim and his teammates just stared, all having the same expression. One that said they were considering violence.
One kid pointed to Skysin, "I hate 'em."
"Me too."
Crim crossed his arms, "I've known him for a little while now."
"Does it get better?"
"Nope."
Crim stood at the opposite end of the court from his goal, holding the ball. The score was tied now. Game point. One basket decided everything. The entire camp had unknowingly gathered around by now.
Workers stood with boxes in their arms.
Chefs peeked out from cooking tents.
Parents watched from folding chairs.
Kids crowded around the sidelines.
Even Ai Mei and Elaine had stopped what they were doing to watch.
Skysin grinned, pointing to him, "don't screw it up."
"Oh yeah?"
"Just letting y'know man." Skysin jabbed his thumb at himself, "I'm one hell of a rebounder too."
A few kids nodded, "yeah!"
"Too good at it."
Crim scoffed, "who the hell said you'd have to rebound?"
Skysin raised a brow, "what?"
Crim bounced the ball once as he stepped forward and shot!
Everyone just watched as the ball kept rising into the air.
One kid tilted his head back, "is it supposed to go that high?"
"I don't think so…"
Crim merely stood in utter poise, hands tucked in his pockets.
Watching.
Waiting.
Skysin pointed upwards, "that shit is broke as hell."
The ball reached the peak of its arc and began to fall, descending towards the rim. Towards destiny!
CLANG
The ball struck the front of the rim.
Half the crowd had winced.
Skysin grew smug, "see? Told ya."
The ball dropped back down, hitting the back of the rim and bounced again. The crowd all held their breath as they watched it roll around the metal ring.
Once.
Twice.
Three times.
And it went in!
For a moment, everyone was quiet. As if their brains were processing what just happened. Was that actually real??
Skysin just stared at the ball as it rolled across the ground, "no…"
Crim folded his arms, a smirk on his face.
Skysin blinked again, "no fucking wa—"
The camp erupted!
"OOOOHHHHH!!!!!"
"HOLY SHIT!!!!"
People jumped to their feet.
Kids screamed.
Workers threw their hands into the air. One guy even dropped a crate, but nobody cared.
Crim's teammates swarmed him, nearly knocking him down. All while Skysin remained frozen like his own ice. Completely motionless.
A kid walked past him, "sorry Sin…"
Another patted his arm, "tough loss, huh?"
One shook his head, "should've played defense, dude..."
Skysin's eye twitched, "that was luck."
Crim smiled, "it went in."
"Luck."
"It counted."
"IT'S LUCK!"
"SCOOORE BOOARD!"
The crowd laughed.
Skysin dropped to his knees like a dramatic actor, "MY LEGACY!!!!"
Crim and Skysin's argument continued all the way back toward the food tent. Skysin looked like someone ate all his food, "luckiest shot of the century, I swear…"
Crim looked mildly offended, "what? Nah, I'm just a shooter, dude." He shrugged, "whenever I shoot, it goes in."
"IT WAS LITERALLY A FULL-COURT SHOT! Even the best players in HOOP-BALL HISTORY can hardly make a shot like that!"
"Shooter."
"Shooter my ass."
"Sounds like someone's ass is hating."
"Sounds like someone got lucky, jackass…"
Ai Mei rubbed her forehead, "and so it begins."
Elaine giggled from her sister's exhaustion. They seen this enough times to know where this was heading. Three hours from now, they'd still be arguing. Five hours, they'd try to recreate the shot. Tomorrow, there would be teams.
As the boys bickering went on, an elderly man walking with a cane approached the tents as well. Grey hair. Fine black clothing, a collared shirt and slacks with dress shoes. Dark brown eyes with a warm smile and wrinkles on his aged face.
Several volunteers greeted him with respect as he passed.
"Lord Alfonse."
"Good afternoon, Lord Alfonse."
The old man nodded to them before stopping in front of the group of teens. "Ai Mei, Elaine." Alfonse's smile widened, "it's good to see you two here."
Elaine straightened, "Lord Alfonse."
Ai Mei offered a respectful nod, "it's nice to see you too, sir."
Skysin squinted, leaning toward the sisters. He pointed his thumb toward the newcomer, "Hey…" Skysin whispered, "whose wrinkles over there?"
"…"
Crim immediately covered his mouth, shoulders beginning to shake.
The old man looked confused, a bit taken aback, pointing to himself with a small grin, "wrinkles…?" Alfonse asked himself, aloud, "am I that old?"
Crim bursts out laughing from that.
Ai Mei slapped the back of Skysin's head, and Crim went dead silent like a cricket.
"OW!"
"You idiot!" Ai Mei nagged, "he's the lord of Tayon City, nimrod!"
Skysin poked a lip out in deep thought, "oh…" The young man then straightened himself, coughing into his fist, and bowed like a noble, "your wrinkliness…"
WHACK
"DAMMIT MEI!!"
Alfonse laughed, "oh, leave him be, Mei Mei. I've been called far worse by others. I know he means no harm."
Skysin raised a finger, about to say another stupid thing, but one glare from Ai Mei shut him up in an instant.
Skysin's finger drooped like a balloon. "Never mind."
Alfonse stood in quietness, merely staring at everything going on around him. The children playing, families eating with laughter. It was peace. Alfonse's expression softened, looking to the group of teens, "you've done more for these people than you realized. The people of Tayon won't forget it."
The sisters smiled, Crim gave a small nod of agreement. Skysin pointed back to the hoop-ball court, "does that mean my three-pointer is officially recorded in Tayon history??"
Alfonse blinked.
Crim groaned, "dumbass…"
Ai Mei covered her face as Elaine giggled.
Things weren't perfect. But it was good enough.