Like Father, Like Daughter

Chapter 5 : Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

Chapter 5 : Let's Get Ready to Rumble!

As the sun started to descend over the horizon, the sound of laughter erupted from the Diaz living room, where a pile of candy and snacks was currently taking over the coffee table. Spread across the couch like a cat in mid-stretch, Hekapoo lazily reached out to the pile as she recounted the events of her work.

"So what happened next, mom?" Seraph asked, eyes shining eagerly.

"Well, Prince 'Veggiehead' thought he was 'too good for paying' and that he had what it takes, so I let the bozo pick his own challenge. Fat lot of good that did for him," Hekapoo said dismissively, popping a caramel into her mouth with a short chuckle. "Didn't even last a few hours before I had to fish him out of a bog and send him back home. He went crying to his mommy about how his cape was 'completely ruined, an utter travesty,' she said dramatically, mockingly raising her hand to her brow.

"Really? That quickly? I thought he would've lasted half a day at the very least," Marco said, nibbling on a caramel as he shook his head in amusement.

On this late Friday night, Hekapoo had dropped by for a visit after a long day of work. Almost a week had passed since Seraph's arrival, Hekapoo was pleased to no end to hear how well she had been doing. She had been worried that, with how little social interaction Seraph had gotten back home, her little girl would have had trouble fitting in or get bullied, but it eased her heart that this wasn't the case. And now, after several full days, both relative and not, of work, it was nice to finally relax with her daughter and Marco.

Plus, the snacks were a nice bonus.

With Quest Buy's rather complex and often annoying return policies, it had been a hassle for the household to grind away at the massive mound of munchies, and after a few short reminders of why letting Star near too much sugar was a bad idea, everyone agreed it would be best to try and give the bulk of the snacks away. However, Marco still made sure to keep at least a few candies for Hekapoo. After all, Seraph's sweet tooth had to come from somewhere.

"Besides that, nothing really new has happened." Hekapoo shrugged nonchalantly and let out a tired yawn. "Just been monitoring interdimensional rifts activities and helping with the Battle Nexus Tournament again. You know, the usual."

Marco blinked at her. "Wait. The Battle NexusTournament? What's that?"

"Yeah mom, what is that?" Seraph sat up curiously, candy wrappers crinkling in her lap.

"Huh? I thought I...Oh, right, never really got around to telling you. Well, anyways, the BNT is this competition where fighters from all over the multiverse come together every ten years to duke it out to see who's the best. I personally don't really get why watching people punching each other in the face is so popular, but hey, someone's gotta keep a nexus point from collapsing in on itself."

"Hm..." Rubbing his chin silently, Marco furrowed his brow, not looking anywhere in particular. "So, how does the tournament work? Is there a bracket system or something?"

"Eh, it's more of a free for all thing at the start, then there's a whole lotta matchups after-wait a minute." Hekapoo paused, her eyes focused on the contemplative look on Marco's face as she sat up slowly. A few seconds of silence passed by as her eyes narrowed, Marco still stuck in his trance.

"Huh? Is something wrong mom?" Seraph asked curiously, breaking Marco out of his thoughts.

Hekapoo was silent as she continued to squint at Marco, who only shifted his eyes between her and Seraph in confusion. "...Sweetie, please excuse me and your father for a bit. I think we might need to talk about something."