Am I Not The Hero?

Chapter 3 - Ravi Aldine

They walked through the gate to find a stadium filled with people. He spun around himself to take it all in. The music that had been playing stopped, and Saxtan stepped onto the now floating platform in the middle of the Arena. He started talking about the tournament and who is participating in this particular fight, nothing of interest to Ravi. Esmeralda walked over to him. "Ravi? Did you notice? They got one more team member, so we might have to change our plan." "That's not good, Akira! Z! Come over. We have to talk about the plan again."

Z started the conversation, "So? They have one more team member. What's the issue?"

"The issue, my dear friend, is that we don't know how he fights and therefore nothing about how we could win against him." Ravi tried to explain to them.

"You said you're, and I quote, 'the best fighter Pravda has ever seen', right? So how about we three stick to the plan, and you take care of the new guy? Or does anyone have a better idea?" Everyone stayed quiet. "Lovely, then let's get into position. They're waiting for us."

Ravi was nervous. He was never nervous before a fight. But considering what's on the line for him, it makes sense. Well, it would make sense to anyone else but not to Ravi; no, he was having a full-blown existential crisis at that moment. "You're going to be okay, Ravi. I'm- we're with you," Z said to cheer him up, "I don't need you, I don't need any of you. I am perfectly fine by myself. Are you implying that I'm not? Or that I'm weak? Do you even know-" "Dude, what's your deal?" Akira interrupted him.

He didn't know; he didn't know what 'his deal' was. So he just glared at Akira and kept quiet. Which turned out to be the perfect timing since one of the guards was walking towards them anyway. "If you guys are ready, I'll inform the headmaster, and then we'll be ready to start" the team nodded, and the guard wandered off again.

Only a few moments later did Saxtan begin speaking through the speakers once more. "Citizens of Pravda and Visitors, are you ready for the fight of your life?" A little bit overkill Ravi thought, but that's what Saxtan did at events like these: get the crowd riled up so they will bet even more. "I hope all of you placed your bets then because, in 30 seconds, you won't have the chance to do so anymore."

Ravi shifted his gaze away from the stage to the other team, only to find someone already staring at him. The new team member; he was blond, a bit taller than Ravi, and looked strangely familiar. The guy must have realized that Ravi caught him staring since he looked away, avoiding Ravi's gaze. And that's when he remembered; it was the same man that helped him with his panic attack in the alley. "I think I do know that new team member, guys."

"Lovely, so you'll be able to beat him then?" Z asked in return.

"Of course, I'm an Aldine. I win every fight."

Akira overheard this and rolled his eyes "you better, or we're going to have a problem. This is my last chance, so don't fuck it up for me." Ravi didn't bother to ask what he was talking about. 

"Time to bet is officially over, so the fight countdown starts now!" They had fifteen more seconds, and Ravi used the time to stretch one last time, he had already pulled a muscle once, and he didn't want that to happen again anytime soon.

"Three, two, one." Everything felt like it was happening in slow motion. He, Z, and Esme started charging forward while Akira drew his bow and shot the first arrow. The person he aimed at used their shield to block it off. Which was good; the arrow was supposed to only be a distraction so that Z would have the perfect chance to hit them. And it worked; they fell to the ground before getting the opportunity to attack someone, which officially disqualified them. If everything went so well, they would have a real chance to win.