Cypher had left his house early that day, just after sunrise. He knew that Alex lived in Seven City, on the outskirts that were the farming district. He didn’t however, know where exactly Alex’s house was. Thus, he had gone to one of the administrative buildings to try and discover that information.
The large white building was bustling with people, some were Conductors of various ranks, while others were merely normal people going about their day. Cypher walked in and headed toward the nearest help desk.
There were several of them spread out within the main hall of this building and Cypher was at a loss of which one to choose. After standing in line for about thirty minutes, he finally spoke with one of the representatives, and she directed him to the correct line.
Within another thirty minutes, he had acquired the information he needed on both Alex and Melodi’s homes, which he found strangely easy to acquire.
Cypher soon made his way past his normal haunts and found himself walking among various fields of growing crops. Summer was coming to an end, and soon, the harvest season would be upon the farmers of Seven City. There were still a few weeks left before their harvest would begin, and Cypher wondered how Alex would find the time to help his father bring in the crops.
After all, the Academy opened back up exactly at this crucial time. Cypher’s question was soon answered, however, when he caught sight of Alex working hard in the mid-morning sun. He had clearly been at it for a while, and several stacks of crops had been bundled up and made ready for shipment to the market district.
Alex wasn’t the only one working either, several other men helped him collect and inspect each row of crops before packing them away. It was a strange yield and Cypher had no idea what they were growing here. It looked like wheat, however, instead of the normal brown or green, it was a bright purple. Cypher could also feel that it was a plant in the third rank.
Most plants might not have battle prowess like humans or Zightbeasts, but they were still influenced by the Zight in the air just as everything else in the world was. Some of the more dangerous plants could even prove threatening for Conductors, but these certainly didn’t fit that bill.
Cypher could sense no danger emanating from them as he drew closer and waved to Alex. Alex took quick notice of him and jumped down from a cart, dusting himself off as he neared Cypher.
“What are you doing here?” Alex asked, and Cypher sheepishly rubbed the back of his head before answering.
“Well, I was thinking, it’s been five years since we last hung out. I was thinking that maybe we could do some catching up. I mean, if you aren’t too busy. I could always come back later or…”
Alex cut him off and laughed, his hands on his hips. He then looked at Cypher with a raised eyebrow and said, “Well, I suppose showing up late is better than showing up never,” Alex turned and yelled at one of the other workers, “Oi! Fred, I’ll be back later this evening. I’m trusting you with making sure things go smoothly here okay? Drinks are on me tonight as well!”
Fred smiled and waved Alex off, clearly used to this kind of thing. “Let me just run inside and tell pa’ that I’m running out for a while.” Cypher was a bit shocked that Alex was willing to just drop everything and head out like this.
He had imagined a bit more resistance than this and was baffled at Alex’s ability to, as far as he could tell, forgive him so easily. Alex soon returned, and he had changed out of his work clothes and into something more casual.
The two quickly headed away from the farm, and as they walked Alex asked, “So, what did you have in mind? Honestly, I’ve lived here my whole life but I’ve never spent much time outside the farm or market district,”
Cypher hadn’t actually given that much thought, and he felt a little stupid for overlooking something so simple. “Well, to be honest, I really don’t know,” Alex raised an eyebrow and glanced sideways at him.
“Hmm, well then, in that case, there’s something I want to show you,” he replied and the two soon headed out of the main gate and into a nearby wooded area. The trees here were thin but quite numerous, and as they walked Cypher started seeing more and more shredded bark on the trunks.
“What happened here?” Cypher wondered aloud, and Alex cleared his throat before stopping in front of him. Alex faced away from him and put his hands in his pockets, staring into the trees for a few moments.
“I come here often, sometimes to get away from everything but mostly to train. The trees here are quite sturdy and they recover quickly enough that it isn’t a problem to go all out on them. Most people just think that some wild Zightbeast rampaged through here.
“Anyway, I brought you here for a reason Cypher,” Alex turned around and faced Cypher with a stern expression on his face, “You just up and left for five years. I thought we were on track to be good friends, but if that is how you treat your friends I don’t know if that’s such a good idea.
“I mean, I get it, we only knew each other for a little while before you hospitalized me. But still, something clicked between us. You seemed really cool, and I admired the fact that someone so young had gotten into the Academy without being some spoiled noble brat.
“When you and I sparred, it was like nothing I had ever experienced before. Something opened up inside me and for the first time…” Alex paused and sighed, “It wasn’t easy growing up an only child, My mother died when I was two, and my father always refused to talk about it…”
Alex shifted uneasily as he spoke, but he quickly continued, “When we fought, you matched me blow for blow and neither one of us could gain the upper hand, even though by all rights I should have been able to. It was more than that though, when we fought I felt like you could understand me.”
Alex had pulled out his Scal’tar and was admiring it as he continued speaking, “Loneliness was something I understood well. Every other farming family in this area has multiple children. Our farm is an anomaly in that regard, and before I started training to become a Conductor most of the others shunned me and treated me like I was an outcast.”
Cypher could relate to that and flashes of his own childhood streaked through his mind.
“The moment we began battling earnestly, I could sense that you seemed to understand loneliness just as much as I did. That sparring session showed me that not only could I trust you, but that I could understand you.”
Cypher felt the same way. Alex had been his first friend, and at first, it had just been nice to meet someone in the Academy who was nice to him. However, after their sparring match, Cypher had indeed felt like something had changed inside him. As Jelroy had said, one could understand a lot about a person by which weapon a person chose.
However, in his mind, Cypher amended that to, ‘One could understand a lot about a person by which weapon they chose, but one could gain a true understanding of a person by battling them earnestly.’
Alex looked at Cypher with a hardened look and held his weapon firmly, “I won’t bore you with my life story, or my problems any more than I already have. I realize you’re trying to repair things between us, but can’t just forgive you for leaving like that. It wasn’t fair.
“So I’ll give you a chance. If you really want to be friends again, I want you to fight me. No holding back, and no sparring precautions. I want a real fight. I want a fight to the death!”
