Part V

"Well, guess my work here is done." Piros turned around and walked away.
"Where are you going?" Ratu asked out of curiosity.
"I'm going to the tournament. You are welcome to join me, as long as you don't steal anything." Piros replied without giving the runt a second glance.
"As if!" Ratu shouted as he bolted out of Piros's presence. Piros simply shook his head in disapproval while he headed on his way to the stadium.

The sailor that met Violet followed her to the city as he saw her walk by the market while she fanned herself. The Morean sailor watched her from afar as she turned to the left to search for the stadium. The sailor had aubergine curly hair, sky blue eyes, thick eyebrows, sideburns and an angular jawline. The man was in his early twenties, and he felt that his heart fluttered for the first time the moment that he looked at her violet eyes.

The captain was at the cockpit while the sailors got on board the ship along with the passengers that want to go (or return) to Mora. After the last passenger got on board the ship, one of the sailors asked the other. "Paarei, have you seen Jacinto?"
"No." Paarei replied with his usual scowl.
"He must've stayed in the city." Rangest said.
"Obviously." Rangest looked at the shorter sailor in disbelief for his snide remark.

Ruben flipped the mackerel in the pot. Once Ratu entered, his nostrils caught a pleasant aroma of cooked food. He looked at the kitchen while he saw the fat lard turning the the mackerel to add salt and oregano. He watched the fillet fish get put on the plate. Ratu licked his lips at the sight of it. He was about to grab the plate when Ruben slammed Ratu's wrist on the table. "Not so fast, runt."
The boy tried to move but the fat Cinnabarian had his wrist pinned in place. "I will allow you to eat the mackerel that I cooked under the condition that you compete in the tournament." The freckled ginger glared at him as Ratu glared back at him.
"As if!"
"Then starve!" Ruben II roared.
"If you want to compete so badly, why don't you do it?!" Ratu asked him.
"I got whooped by those two an hour ago! You were there, you idiot! If I got caught in a choke hold in less than a minute by those two shrimps, what makes you think that I have a chance at winning the prize money." Ruben reminded him.
"What prize money?" Ratu asked, Ruben used his free hand to show the flyer. The runt read the poster and snickered at the part where it said: We value camaraderie, courage and integrity above all. Neither he nor Ruben II were exactly the best example to compete since Ratu was a runty little thief and Ruben II was a fat cheapskate. "Three million rories!?"
"That's why I want you to compete, I want you to entertain the opponents long enough for me to find the prize money and steal it." Ruben explained.
"Aren't the ones hosting the event have guards protecting the prize money?" Ratu asked.
"That's where I come in. I'll disguise myself as one of the referees and make them fight against each other. Once they're focused on beating the snot out of each other, I knock them out, sneak in to grab the prize money, and I give you the signal for you to drop out." Ruben informed him about his plan.
"But there is one problem, I'm underage. Won't anyone find it suspicious that I'm the only entering the tournament to participate?" Ratu asked him, to which Ruben II gave a toothy grin.
"I'm the adult! I'll sign your form to participate in the match," Ruben let go of Ratu's wrist. "What are you for? Eat! Yer gonna need it for the tournament." Ruben II said as he grabbed his own dish and sat down on a stool to eat.

Violet was at the town square before she was at a nearby stand that had flyers and posters on display, one of them being a poster for the tournament, as she read the poster she didn't notice Jacinto coming closer to her. Ppalgan, one of the muscular men that wanted to participate in the tournament, bumped into the Morean sailor by accident. "Hey! Watch it!" Ppalgan snapped. Jacinto stumbled and regained his footing, as the young lad turned to look at Violet, she was gone.

Piros arrived at the stadium where the tournament was being held. The receptionist took a glance at the ruddy lad, "you must be Piros, I presume?" He approached to the receptionist that had a sandy long-sleeved tunic and a peachy complection.
"How did you know?" Piros asked.
"You're friend has requested me to save you a spot. Herring, I believe?" The receptionist gave that Buddha-like smile.
"Aren't you going to give me a ticket?" Piros glanced at the booth.
"That won't be necessary, your friend paid for your ticket firsthand." The receptionist placed a sign that said: SORRY, WE ARE CLOSED which was written in Aurebian, Gielician, Mandarin, Rumanian, Rossian, and Mori before he guided Piros within the stadium.

When Ppalgan arrived to the reception, he read the sign. SORRY, WE ARE CLOSED. "Sard! Coccinus!" he cursed before he stormed out of the stadium. Violet saw the angry Rubrum mutter profanities under his breath, before she walked to the Auctorian Stadium. He has no idea that he got spared from the trouble he would have to endure. Violet thought as she fanned herself, once arrived to the reception she spotted the closed sign that was displayed in the reception, one of the inscriptions was written in her native language.

Ratu and Ruben ate their fair share of the mackerel and got properly dressed to go to the tournament. The Cinnabarian combed his curly hair to look presentable while Ratu kept his rat tail hairstyle. Ruben II lent him his cudgel to fight, Ratu wore a crimson, white and maroon colored hanfu with waraji, a sandal made out of straws. Ruben II wore a sandy, peach, red and white colored hanfu with wori sandals as he wore a dab of cologne on his neck. "Hurry up, we are going to be late!" The runt warned.
"Quiet! Or I'll whack you with the cudgel!" Ruben threatened before he chewed on the mint on their way out while he closed the door shut.