World of Taroo

by Jimmy Eriksson

  Thano was highly amused by the little, fatter young man standing in front of him. He would be happy to teach him a lesson as he told everyone loudly. Jay and Senji looked on and were very calm as they had both seen how good Gon was and Jay specially knew as he had seen first-hand what Gon was capable of doing. Thano got ready, and everyone found it amusing and formed a circle that surrounded the fighters. He was taunting Gon and was telling him to attack while others began cheering. With not much entertainment around, many would look forward to seeing something interesting. Thano continued to tease and wanted the crowd to call his own name. Gon said to Thano that he talked too much and that he was waiting for him. Thano gave him what he wanted and rushed towards him right away. He would finish this quick, and then all the women would want to spend the night with him, Thano thought to himself. But it didn’t really go as he planned when he used a lot of power to try and hit his opponent.

  With a quick move, Gon avoided him, and as he passed him, he pushed Thano in the back. He went past where he hit one of the carriages standing there. Thano turned around holding his mouth and seemed to have hit himself as he hit the carriage. He had trouble believing what had just happened and touched his face to make sure he did not bleed anywhere. He looked upon Gon who had walked to the other side of the ring and was waving for him to come. The laughs were not as loud since there were few that saw the move from Gon coming. There were still some that thought that Thano got what he deserved that then looked with interest. Others told Thano to attack again and that’s when he became angry. He rushed to Gon head on once more not planning to repeat the same mistake. He released a fast and heavy kick and punched towards Gon which was easy for Gon to defend against. He moved to the side and blocked several of whatever Thano wished to use against him.

  It looked like Gon was toying with him, and Thano tried to insult him with words against his mother. Gon didn’t care and just kept a smile up which brought more anger to Thano. He must have tried to do something else and figured he could trick Gon, but he, unintentionally, let down his guard. This was something that could not be ignored by his opponent. Gon, without putting too much effort in his move, gave a slap over Thano’s chin. It was so loud that everyone could hear it, and made Thano move back. The slap was insulting and was hurting more than a punch, Thano thought to himself. The other men were observing the pair fight and couldn’t believe what they were seeing. Some could see how surprised Thano was and began to laugh at him. Thano was so angry that his head had a red colour all over it. He struck more to Gon who believed it was time to engage fully in the fight. He then began to attack and lets off kicks and punches that Thano had trouble to defend against. Because of his concentration being off and letting his anger take over, he ended up then getting hit a lot. Without warning, Gon let off a kick that hit Thano on the chest and that made him fall backwards.

  The noise from the other people had started to go in favour of Gon who was standing and waiting for the bald man to advance. Thano puffed for air and looked at his opponent who hardly seemed tired at all. He tried again to attack as soon as he got on his legs, but this time, when he attacked, Gon grabbed his hand. He twisted it so Thano bent forward slightly and also his knees to take away some of the pain. Gon, at the same time, also pushed him on the back and hurled him on to the ground. Thano was feeling embarrassed and shouted a name to the crowd. A spear landed in front of him, and he brought it up to then point it at Gon. Jay was ready to throw the staff to Gon but he said no. He then turned back to Thano to say to him that this was how he lost. He waved to him to come with his hand and said he waited for him to come close so he might finish this. Thano ran towards his disrespectful opponent, as he thought, and when he was within range, he stabbed the spear hard. His motive was to seriously hurt Gon, and if he happened to die, it was not of major concern, he thought to himself.

  Gon moved just enough as he needed to avoid the spear, and as he walked a step forward, he lunged a strike towards the bald man’s chest. It was so powerful that it made Thano lift both his legs up in the air to fall towards the ground. Before he hit the ground, Gon used his elbow to strike him in the stomach as he was falling. Thano hit the ground hard and was struggling for air again. Gon stayed looking at him for a couple of seconds then walked back towards Jay and Senji. As he came close, the crowd went mad and cheered for him. He took his bun from Jay and continued eating it. There was a lot of cheering, and some of the people came up and congratulated Gon on the victory.

  In the side view, Jay saw Thano being helped away by some of his friends that were looking in their direction. Many people that night talked to themselves about what happened as they go to sleep. The morning after, the three friends woke up and saw that many people already had started moving. They got ready as well for the ride to the great city of Shetana. Some of the people in the carriages said hello and they answered back. Gon seemed to be an overnight success and got some respect from other fighters that stayed close to them that night. There was no sight of the bald man known as Thano that he fought last night, and they thought he must have left early to avoid the ridicule from the other fighters.

  Finally, they reached Shetana and it was clear from the beginning that this was a wild city. There was a prison just outside the walls of the city that seemed to hold a lot of people and it looked full. It also looked like it was about to expand because much of the houses on the inside of the walls had been teared down. They could see people prepare for something big, and Jay believed Shetana might need a bigger prison after some things they had been told by others. They could hear the people inside from the windows that they didn’t want to fight in the arena. Senji asked if she really heard right, and Gon told her that depends on the crime but it could be the punishment for the crime they committed.

  The boys saw the bakery was open and the people coming out from the bars. They went further into the resting places that they could hire for as long as they wanted to stay and secured a spot which they paid with the gold they took from the bandits in the forest. They found a good place to put their wagon and where the horse had great shade from the sun. Senji wanted to go around, and the boys were excited to go as well. They walked around the very big city and saw many things that were different. At one point, a girl grabbed Jay and wanted him to come into the bar where she was dancing, but Jay politely said no and hurried back to his other two friends that were laughing at him. He said the girls in Shetana surely were very friendly and was a little red faced.

  In Shetana, there were many bad things with some crime and other pleasures but there was also the big arena that held tournaments between several different fighting styles and a lot of competitions. As they looked upon the impressive stadium, they saw a group of people standing on the side from them, and Senji recognised them right away. They were people from the followers of the Void temple that was demonstrating against the stadium and the city itself. They were behaving in a way she didn’t like and almost threatened the people there. She said she never had any problem with the city of Shetana, and when they asked her, when she first joined the temple, whether she wanted to come, she made an excuse so she didn’t have to attend. They had accepted her excuse, and she was free to continue to study herbs and try to find her way.

  As she looked over to them, she recognised some of them and told the boys that they should leave and pushed them both towards the arena. They walked around the arena that was open at the moment to the public. On the map over the arena, they could see the whole site of it. It had several big rooms for various competitions and the big one meant for a lot of people. The most famous ones were the two rooms located in the special royal part of the arena where 1 against 1 and 2 vs. 2 were fought. These were the ones that the two boys were interested in and wanted to test their strength but knew the chance to enter would be small.

  There were several pre-fights leading up to the main events, and these were of more interest as of then. As they walked around, they saw other people doing the same as them
and also spotted names on the walls in each room. The walls had different stats on the people that had fought in the arena. It was not allowed to kill anyone intentionally in the arena, unless both parties agreed to it earlier and it had been approved by one of the judges. ‘That’s why some of the weapons were made of wood, even if the both parties agreed to it,’ said a man who overheard them speak to each other. He told them that it was well still needed to be approved by the owners of the arena, and at the moment, only the prisoners got to fight to kill as they were seen as lower citizens.

  On another part of the wall were some of the winners from the previous years of competition that was held every year and was a high point in the city. The friends didn’t know any of the fighters but some of the kingdoms were known. The most successful kingdom that had won most in the group arena for several people was the land of Redonia. But Domoro was not far behind with several wins. A stone plate told about how the kingdoms sent the best of their soldiers to show their strength. The different armies were sometimes fighting there to test each other in combat. The fights were another two months away even if some started early to get people ready. The boys wished to see it when it began but the tickets were too much so they planned to come back another year when they had more money. They hoped to, at least, maybe they could prove their strength in one of the smaller competitions leading up to the big competition.

  At the openings of the arena, there were different stalls with people accepting requests about fighting in various rooms. Some of these rooms were for private betting and were the ones that sometimes were fought to death. They didn’t want to end up in these, so they headed over to those signing up people for fights in better rooms. Jay and Gon were very excited to be there in the arena to see everything so close. They were standing in the line ready to sign up to a match each in the small preparation fights. There were only two others before them, and Jay asked why there were so few. Both were a little worried because the two who were in front of them walked away looking disappointed. Gon hoped it was perhaps only for the main events and not for any of the smaller ones. But when they came up, they got an answer they did not want. The spots had all been taken and had been for some time. Then they learnt something that they could not believe they had missed. The boys were told that there were sign ups in every town and even in Dofamu where they lived. He told them about where in Dofamu that they could request to fight and Gon said he never went to that part of the town unless he had to. The man did tell him that the signups for the arena were only open for three days so perhaps they missed it. They learnt that the sign-ups to get in had almost ended as well.

  The man responsible for the fights did give them some hope still. There was only a small chance to come in, but he did not know if they were too late and they might have missed out on the fights. He pointed to a couple of people further away but told them some of the fights were a little rougher. Neither Gon or Jay wished to fight in the private rooms, but Gon still wished to just ask some questions. The man told them to otherwise try the next year when there was chance for the main events. The boys would be very disappointed if they missed out entirely and really wanted to be on the list. How could they know they could pre-book the fights from the town next to the small farm they lived in at. Perhaps, they were too busy to notice, Jay wondered, since they worked so hard to be able to leave. They only saw the posters but had missed the signups completely.

  They still wanted to try to get in to be able to test themselves even if the fights were going to be less professional and went to the other stall to see what they had. When they asked the old man doing the signups about the fights available, the boys got some happy news. The older man that took down names informed them that the fights in the private rooms were actually better as they would make more money on them. The fights were also closer to the big event, and if they won any of the fights, they get to see the main events as guests. When Jay asked if there was really no chance to fight in the main event, the man said no. He also added they might find it could be hard for beginners like them anyway. Gon blew himself up a little and said he could take on anyone. The old man told Gon he had the confidence but as soon as the fighters stood ready, it was not the same. He said he once fought as well but never made it past the second round. He told them again the private rooms were fine if they believed they were good enough.

  A few women walked by and they said hi to the old man that waved his hands to them. When asked if they fight in the private rooms too, the man told them no. He told them they were fighting in the team event but there were women fighting in the private rooms as well. He said the women were free to fight whoever they wanted, even if they usually chose to fight another woman. None of them wished to be put in a room without rules, but the old man told them he also had spaces in some of the pre-fights. When told about what the other man had said about it being full, the old man responded with that they only said that because they wished to keep down the numbers of fighters. They realised the old man might have some connections with some of the more powerful people in the city. He informed them that some people that he didn’t mention by name made their money by betting on the fighters, so the more fights, the more money. If someone would withdraw from the fights, then the old man would be the one to find a replacement. Gon shined up and asked if anything in the main event was available. The old man shook his head and told him the spots in the main event could only be given by the most influential people of Shetana.

  He could see they were eager to fight and felt the will of the teenage boys. He liked the boys and told them he had a few fights for them if they wished but the price was double. Gon looked at Jay and asked him what he wished to do. If they spent so much money, they would have to make sure they get jobs to be able to stay until the fights started. Jay looked at him and told Gon silently that they could use the money they took from the bandits to fill up with the money. Gon nodded and asked which fights were available. The relief rushing through them both was great when they learnt that both one hand-to-hand as well as a few sword spots were open for them. Without hesitating, Gon and Jay handed the old man the money. The old man signed some papers and handed them to the then overjoyed boys.

  While walking away, they read the papers, and Jay felt his heart pump very fast. From a bit further away, Senji had noticed the female fighters and looked upon the strong girls. She got embarrassed by them wearing very tight and revealing clothes. She turned her head and walked to meet the boys that were excited to finally be able to be put in a fight. Jay hoped that with the fight he joined he might come far as he had only weapons in his group. They left the arena and met a couple of people from the night before that told them they had picked up their papers that gave them permission to fight in the arena. They were in one of the better main events the boys would had loved to be in. Gon was happy for them but a little jealous and decided he must join the great game the following year.

  They left for the other part of the city that they planned to search for small jobs before the competition. The arena was not set to start their small competitions until many days so there was time to look around the city. They split up and searched the town for jobs and agreed to meet later for afternoon food. Gon went around to the market, and almost immediately, found a restaurant where he went in. The chef was busy and didn’t seem to be able to handle the crowd. There were many people eating and the restaurant smelled good. There were soups, buns, bread and cakes. He saw the chef was stressed and believed this would be a great time to ask him so he went up to the chef that sat down on a bag of flour. He asked if he might help him with cooking and told him about his skills in the kitchen. The chef was overjoyed to hear that Gon could cook and was offering help. He got Gon to work right away in the kitchen and said his name was Kuun.

  Gon had no problem with what he was doing and made food fast and very tasty, Kuun thought, after he tasted the food. Gon couldn’t believe his luck and couldn’t wait to tell his friends that he immediately got himself a jo
b. The rumour about the restaurant hiring a new chef that made even better buns and bread would soon spread around Shetana, he thought to himself. The city of Shetana was one of the biggest in the known world, and there was much to see here.

  In another part of the city, Senji was walking around in the city looking around at all the interesting things. She didn’t realise just how big the city was and hoped that she would find her way home again. Even if she had never been here before, she did know that the city could be rough on young women. This was why she had decided to enter into a district she knew to be a better one. Being a girl, she chose to walk in the calmer side of Shetana and soon found something that made her very happy. There was a clinic that focused on the herbs that she was studying. She walked in and looked around at the many herbs around the shop. She happened to see the same girls from the arena in there which didn’t really surprise her since they would also have to use the herbs for healing.

  Senji knew very well, after her studies, that some of the herbs had a better effect on girls than on guys. She asked the shop owner for a job, but the look from the owner turned it all bad and then he said to her that he had no room for children. He told her she should run away to her parents with a patronising tone. She was sad to hear that and the man didn’t want to listen to her, and that she looked too young. It didn’t even matter that she was considered a talent by the temple and was far in front with her studies. He didn’t want to hear her and only waved her off. She walked out from the clinic and felt sad because of having been asked to leave. She walked down the street hoping to find something else but didn’t come far until she got a hand on her shoulder. She turned around and there were three girls that were in the same store before and from the arena standing behind her.