Top Of The World

“I… I can’t believe it…” Mike could only stutter before his idol, a mix of shock, excitement, confusion and even frustration arose within him. “Messeo… in the flesh… but…”

“Wanna check for a holographic disguise?” Meanwhile, Leo, or rather, Messeo let out a friendly grin – his real grin for the first time.

“I… I…”

“Tch, give me that,” Zain could only shake his head in disappointment as he took the pair of glasses from Mike quivering hands. Putting on the device, the young man took another look at the figure before him for a quick second, before letting out a sigh.

“Yup, that’s you all right. No signs of disguises whatsoever.”

“Told ya.”

“Well, out with it, Messeo. Why are you even here in the first place?”

“No need to change the way you address me, by the way,” Leo commented, before turning to a still-flustered Mike. “You’re a fan of mine, right, Mike? Do you know how that autobiography ends?”

Faced with a sudden question, Mike stuttered. “U-Um, yes, sir! Of course I remembered! The ending was when you won your first championship, right?”

“That’s true,” nodded Leo. “But of course, that’s not where my story ends, seeing that I’m still competing even now. So let me ask you this, Zain, Mike: do you know why I ended it that way?”

“Um… because that’s the best part to end?” Mike reluctantly gave a guess. Truth be told, the boy was a bit dissatisfied when he had known of Messeo’s autobiography, for he knew that the greatest player in the world had many, many more exciting tales that he could tell the populace.

“Hmmm…” the man pondered for a while, before slowly nodding his head. “Thinking it that way isn’t wrong, I’d say…”

Before he could continue, however, Zain had already interrupted with his own theory. “… Because nothing exciting would happen after that event, right?”

“Zain, what are you talking about?” The mere thought of Messeo’s life being “uneventful” struck a nerve in Mike as the boy quickly retaliated. “He’s Leonardo di Messeo, the greatest of all time! How could anything that—”

“How did you know?” Mike didn’t get to finish his sentence, as Leo’s question was more than enough for a confession.

“I’ve only known ‘Messeo’ through a few pieces of news here and there, but from what I’ve seen, ‘he’ has never looked like the type to enjoy life with anything he did. On the contrary, when I fought you as ‘Leo’, even if all you did was fooling around, I could tell that you’re living every moment of it to the fullest.”

“Did anyone tell you that you’re great at reading people?” With a smirk on his face, Leo remarked.

“Let’s say it’s a talent that I only recently remembered.”

“Well, you’re right,” Leo let out a bitter laugh, turning his gaze towards the night sky. “I once inherited my parents’ dream to make it big, but when I stood on the top of the world, winning title after title, it turned… tedious, you know?”

“So, you wanted to do something else?”

“Yeah, that’s why I assumed this identity of Leo and made the Mountain Lion Gang. I want to taste the feeling of being alive again.”

“But… how do you escape the populace?” Mike, finally calming himself down, asked.

“Oh, that? It’s simple; I just used a body double,” Leo let out a chuckle. “With the same kind of holographic disguise from Bruce that you see. And regular folks don’t have those fancy glasses of yours, kid.”

While Mike scratched his head in embarrassment, Zain wondered a different matter – or rather, the main question at hand:

“But even with all of that… what brings you to this? Why getting yourself involved with the matter of the Infinite Prison? Surely it can’t be just that you wanted to try something new, right?”

As the question left Zain’s mouth, Leo’s smile soon retracted. With a melancholic look, he turned to Zain and answered with another question of his own:

“That part about me being saved by someone that I told you just now… that part was actually not in my biography. In fact, that part was kept a secret to everyone else in the world until now… Do you know who he was?”

Zain traced back the words he had heard. And soon enough, his face paled in distress.

“A rebellious teenager that dyed half his hair white… don’t tell me…”

“That’s right,” nodded Leo. “If the being known as Kuroshi Ryuuro saved your life, then in a similar manner, the one who saved mine was none other than Musuhito Ryuuhan.”

“But that’s impossible,” though it was himself that started the theory, Zain couldn’t help but deny it. “Sure, I’ve only met him once, but Ryuuhan was in his early twenties at most when I saw him. I know you’re over thirty thanks to the news, so how…”

“I don’t know either,” Leo shook his head, interrupting the young man. “But he’s had the same look from when we met for the first time until now.”

“… And how do you know Ryuuro?”

“Well, how else?” Leo only showed a smirk. “Ryuuhan told me. Everything from his intentions to your situation. I didn’t take Bruce’s request, Zain. I was sent by Ryuuhan himself.”

As the final words left his mouth, Leo was met with a blitzing punch from Zain, with the latter forcefully pulling Mike away from the contractor as far away as possible. However, the man soon showed that his reputation as the world’s best wasn’t just for show, as he escaped the attack with incredible footwork before sending a kick right back at his assailants.

“Calm down,” Leo said. “I’m not here to hurt you, remember? This is just a talk between us. Nothing more, nothing less.”

“Why should I believe you?” Zain scoffed at the claim, immediately arming himself in his Bitleo suit once more.

“Look, if I was really out to get you, then why would I show my real face?” Leo waved his cat-eared helmet as an answer. “Wouldn’t it be better if I just attacked you while I still have my helmet on?”

“Fine. You have one chance.”

“Okay,” finally, Leo could breathe a sigh of relief. “Like I said, Ryuuhan to me is like Ryuuro to you. That man saved my life, so it’s only natural that my contractor work was mostly through him at first. But…”

“But?”

“That man… has changed,” Leo shook his head in a mix of disappointment and regret. “When we first met, he was a weird guy, but filled with ambition and genuine kindness. But ever since he became the World President, he’s been… different.

He seemed… more upset? I don’t know what went over him, but it had looked as if he had seen a nightmare one day. Ever since then, he’d been wringing himself through all kinds of work. And even NLS, his own creation that he once made so that anyone could play with all their heart, was bastardized into something filled with danger and risk.”

“Do you know what he said when he called me to take the job?” Leo suddenly broke into laughter – a grudge-filled, bitter laughter that sent a chill down Zain and Mike’s spines.

Without waiting for an answer, the man continued. “Become humanity’s champion, Messeo, and put an end to this threat once and for all.”

“Humanity’s champion?” Both Zain and Mike sounded at the same time.

“It was around a year ago, when you escaped the Prison,” Leo answered. “Losing you has sent his plans to a disarray, so he decided to look for an alternative. Can you believe it? When he said that NLS was his backup plan all along. Then what were those dreams and aspirations that he told me before? What was all of that testing and developing for?”

“Leo…” Zain could only exclaim in pity.

“I’m no hero, Zain. I’m just a poor guy who wanted to make it big. And now that I’ve made it big, I just want some thrill in my life. I don’t need to go on a quest to vanquish evil, or train to be the champion of humanity. I just want to have fun playing the games that I like.”

With a gesture to the young man, Leo concluded:

“And if I’m guessing correctly, you’re different, aren’t you?”

Faced with the sudden claim, Zain paused for a moment. In his mind, memories of his time in the Infinite Prison, as well as his time outside the real world, rushed back. His experience with the other inmates, with his best friend – own past, his benefactor, and his current friends.

In the end, Zain let out a light smile.

“Yeah, I guess I am… but what about it?”

“Do you remember what I said when we first met? I’m a fan of you, I mean it. I might be the best, but I’m not the type to shine brightly, to be the guiding light to others… That’s why I wanted to see for myself, what kind of person you are.”

“… Quite the selfish motive you have there, Greatest of all Time.” Zain couldn’t help but grin as he heard the reason.

“It’s the privilege of being on top,” finally, Leo grinned back.

“And? What do you think of me now?”

The best player in the world answered with a laugh. “You’re someone that I want to beat. For real this time.”

“So you were going easy on me.”

“Naturally. Our final stage can’t be that shitty arena.”

With a grin, Zain jokingly asked. “What do you have in mind, then?”

As if waiting for that question, Leo gave the young man a small flyer he had prepared beforehand. One look at the content, and Mike was already gasping in awe:

“Th-this is…!”

“I’ll be waiting at the top,” with only a single wave goodbye, Leo turned away and left the scene, right as the sky turned to the color of the crimson dawn.