This is Getting Ridiculous

Ren would have the honor of fighting two matches in a row.

But to call them a fight would be unfair.

It was more like a circus.

A ridiculous display of absolute foolishness.

And it made Sakura’s blood boil.

While the woman and every other fighter approached their matches with—at the very least— the bare minimum amount of respect for one another and the tournament as a whole, the man made a mockery of the sport and the unfortunate men he was pitted against. Not once did Ren go on the offense. Not once did he so much as attempt to throw a punch. He only floundered around, narrowly dodging fists and feet while lecturing and pointing out his opponents’ flaws as they took shot after shot at the lumbering, jovial angel.

The first man he fought against took the sanctity of combat seriously. A little too seriously. So, it was no surprise when he had quickly lost his patience with Ren’s patronizing advice and rushed his attacks in an attempt to silence the insistent jabbering, unknowingly falling into the man’s trap. In no time at all, he found himself outside the boundary line for battle and disqualified.

It was…

Humiliating.

For everyone involved.

Well, almost everyone.

The second opponent had enough sense to learn from the first’s mistakes, and he chose to progress on the angel slowly, with control, while paying special mind to the placement of his body. However, there was only so much that anyone could tolerate, and it showed in his exceedingly erratic and frenzied attacks, losing concentration, and allowing himself to be pulled closer to the same fate that he had so far managed to avoid.

All the while, Ren hadn’t even broken a sweat as he pranced around in circles, every now and then meeting the vixen’s glares with a wink.

She couldn’t take much more of this.

“Ignore him.”

The rapid boil of her rage was pulled temporarily off of heat, and Sakura turned to the soft spoken boy beside her who was watching the match. “That’s easy for you to say.”

Zero turned his focus away from the fight and onto the woman. “I say that because he just wants your attention so that he can make you mad.”

“He’s doing a good job at it.”

“Then you’ve already lost, and we might as well just go now.” He waited for her rebuttal but was only met with silence and a somber frown. “You’re the stronger fighter, but you lack forethought and patience. The two things that Ren has an abundance of, and he knows it. He fully intends on doing everything in his power to rile you up before your match so that he can take advantage of you and do something stupid, like hold you down for the ten count, or just throw you out of bounds.”

The shame was strong. “I know,” the woman groaned. “I know that’s what he’s doing. Every time. I know better, but he always manages to piss me off. He’s so good at it. I just can’t help it.”

“You can.” He took her hand as his gaze bored into hers, the warmth of his skin and eyes transferring a sense of peace to soothe her. “You only need to stay calm, stick to the plan, and you’ll win.”

A sly smile crossed the woman’s lips as her arms entangled around his in the same way that Ivy’s were on the opposite side. “You know, I really like this manipulative side of you.” She rested her head against his shoulder with an almost sleepy content. “Just don’t ever do it to me.”

Zero kept quiet. Though it was with the purest of intentions, it was probably best he not point out that he had already done so.

It was fine.

A little help never hurt.

And she needed as much help as she could get.

The wolf demon who now sat next to Ivy due to Ren’s departure leaned forward to look around her to the devil and vixen. “Does he even know how to fight?”

The boy glanced at the woman, comfortably enjoying her taste of tranquility, and took it upon himself to answer. “He does. He just chooses not to.”

“Why is he even in the tournament then?”

“He’s bored.” A hefty price that the boy had had to pay for time and time again.

“Bored? I think there’s better ways to deal with that than to enter a tournament you have no intention in fighting.” Ahiga set his sights on the irritated vixen. “And that man’s your mate?”

The woman groaned at the interruption, the lovely warmth under her skin beginning to prickle. “He is.”

“How did he manage that?

“I’m still trying to figure that out.” Sakura stared blankly at the angel as he side stepped his opponent’s punch, the man stumbling forward and over the line to his defeat and to the boos of a disgruntled crowd.

The dwarf begrudgingly declared Ren the victor. Even though the fights were a complete and utter farce, there was nothing in the rules that stated that one couldn’t just lure their opponents out of bounds. And why would there be? What man in his right mind would enter a fighting tournament just to spend his time completely avoiding a fight?

It was an unprecedented scenario.

One they were all suffering through now.

But not Ren. The man was thrilled with the announcement of his second win, practically glowing while he sauntered back to the group, the jeers around him only making him bolder as he waved to the crowd.

Sakura may have chosen to sit away from the angel when she had the opportunity to do so, but now it was his turn to pick his seat, and he wasted no time in squeezing himself between the devil and demon, forcing them to break their contact so he could make contact of his own. A cocky grin graced his lips as he draped his arm around the woman’s shoulders and leaned into her. “Did you see that?” The man was much too proud of himself. “I won two in a row. Just for you. Aren’t you impressed?”

It was as though the woman had just woken from a pleasant dream, still able to bask in the last glimmers of its fleeting wonder. Just aware enough to what was transpiring around her. “It’s not really much of a win when your opponents are disqualified,” she said coolly.

“Doesn’t matter how you get there, a win’s a win.” His fingers followed the line of her jaw before poking her nose. “Besides, I don’t want to tire out too quickly. I’m saving myself for you, after all.”

She slowly exhaled, unfazed. “If you say so.”

This apathetic behavior was not typical of the fox demon, and it only made Ren want to get to the bottom of the source of it all the quicker. He had signed up for this affair simply to have a good time, but there was nothing enjoyable about this woman who was currently acting out in a way so unlike herself. By this point, she should be a disarray of raw emotion. Ready to bombard the man with her unrelenting hostility. Unable to focus on anything else.

Only on him.

The curve to Ren’s lips grew ever higher as he observed the woman who was treating him as a nonentity.

He was always up for a chase.

And sooner or later, he’d get just what he wanted.

A rough smack to the angel’s shoulder interrupted his plotting and he looked back at the wolf.

“Do the heavens actually fear you? Like, in all seriousness? Genuinely?” Ahiga asked, unable to connect the man before him to the legends.

Ren gave a halfhearted shrug. “That’s always been my understanding, though I do take a sense of pleasure in rebelling against their perceptions of me.”

“Rebelling, huh? Is that what you call rebelling? Running away from a man until you’ve exhausted him?”

“Well, yeah, kinda. Seems to be the opposite of what’s expected of a Fallen One, right?”

“It doesn’t matter what’s expected. You realize this is a tournament, right?” Ahiga told him, his tone hinting at disgust. “That means you have to fight.”

“I don’t know.” The man gave it due consideration, taking into account his last two matches. “It seems I’ve done pretty well without fighting so far.”

“That’s because you’re circumventing the rules. You’re not going to be able…” All noise puttered to silence as the dwarf called the next fighters, one being the wolf demon for his second match. “Looks like it’s my turn again.” He slapped his knees as he got to his feet. “Watch closely. I’ll show you how a real man fights.” His words only half directed at the angel while his eyes focused on the vixen.

“Can’t wait to see it! Good luck!” Ren called after, watching him enter the arena before turning back to the woman, uninterested in the wolf’s endeavor. “I like him. Cocky as shit. Just as a wolf should be.”

Sakura looked at him with confusion as she was starting to feel more herself and remember that she was not nearly as amused by their new companion. “Who is he? Why is he hanging around us? When is he going away?”

“I met him a while back after you broke his buddy’s arm, which you, of course, don’t remember. He gave me some info on your whereabouts. He’s a good guy.”

She wasn’t so convinced. “I don’t like him. He keeps looking at me. Trying to talk to me. Those young wolf men are always sleazy as fuck. Probably why I broke his friend’s arm in the first place.”

The man chuckled as his fingers walked along her bare shoulder. “Yeah they are, but that’s what makes them so charming. Besides, everyone here keeps looking at you. What’s the big deal? Just try to be nice. Don’t ruin this for me. After what you did to my poor, sweet Yuki, this one is the only friend I’ve got left.”

By no means would the woman ever consider Ren and Yuki friends, and she was pretty sure the silver fox wouldn’t either. It was even highly doubtful that the wolf saw things the same way that the angel did as well, but there was no use in pointing that out. However, it wasn’t a very nice thing to say either. “You know, Zero’s right next to you.”

He glanced at the devil. “That he is.”

“How can you say he’s not your friend?”

The man snorted at the absurdity. “Because he’s not. He’s my precious little gem. My everything. Isn’t that right, boy?” He received only a small, uninterested grunt from the boy in question which only encouraged him to pinch his cheek with affection. “Yeah… Papa loves you, too.”

Ivy peeked around the devil at the angel, shy and inquisitive. “What about me? Am I your friend?”

The man gazed adoringly at her, emanating pure love. “Of course not. You’re my most darling little girl. My other everything. I’d do anything for you, Little One. You just say the word and you got it.”

It sounded like an opportunity to the fae that she would be a fool to pass up. “Will you buy me new boots? And maybe a few new dresses?”

“Of course.” He grinned, completely smitten. “You deserve them after what you did in The Kingdom. You’ll have to wait until we get home though, and you’re carrying them back.”

Her ruby lips scrunched to the side, having heard these stipulations before. “You always say I have to carry them back.”

“And this time I actually mean it.”

“Okay,” she agreed cheerfully, knowing full well she wasn’t carrying anything back to the cottage. “But what if I find something really pretty before we make it back home? Do I really have to wait?”

Sakura watched quietly as chipper pair made their plans and the girl took every inch and extended it into a mile and beyond. There really was no arguing with Ren’s sentiment. Never had she herself considered Ivy a friend. She really was so much more than that. And despite her first initial moment of apprehension of Zero, he had almost instantly found his way into the woman’s heart and made himself comfortable right next to the girl. The two of them were special treasures, so cherished and loved. She would go to the ends of the earth to give them anything they needed. Protect them at any cost.

They weren’t just everything to Ren.

They were everything to her.