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Cyrum’s bazaar was bright and buzzing with activity. And as the three of them pushed through the crowd, with Millenia and Elena taking turns pulling him this way and that, Ryudo felt a sense of nostalgia was over him. Honestly, it was kind of odd. Two years ago he’d been involved in a series of events that had culminated in a brief episode of Hell on Earth, and honestly he still had trouble thinking about it sometimes. But even though his last visit to the festival had been in the middle of all of that chaos, at the moment he was finding it to be a pleasant (if… complicated) memory. It was strange to push through the general hustle and bustle, with everything (including himself) so different and yet so familiar.
Things began to feel a little bit too familiar, however, when Millenia and Elena both, laughing and breathless, plopped themselves onto a bench and asked Ryudo to go get them drinks.
“Oh, no.” Ryudo said. “I remember how this went last time. No.”
“Oh, hush,” Millenia waved a hand at him, laughter in her voice. “Neither of us is going to disappear on you.”
“Yes,” Elena agreed, smiling comfortingly at him. “We’re both already here this time, and we can both spend time with you without needing to kick the other out.”
“So get,” Millenia put a hand on his back and pushed him away. “I’m thirsty.”
“Alright, alright, I’m going.” Ryudo sighed. He turned and headed back into the swell of people, leaving the two women chatting on the bench.
Familiar, and yet unfamiliar, huh. There was at least one big difference, Ryudo noted with irritation: the crowd this year seemed to be much larger and much more… impenetrable. He’d seen the juice stand already. It was exactly where it had been two years ago, in fact, so Ryudo didn’t need to hunt for it. And yet, it still took him a good fifteen minutes to reach the damn thing. Finding something normal to drink was about as difficult as he remembered it to be, too.
But once he’d found something for each of them and payed, Ryudo realized that the real challenge had only just begun. Because if getting through the crowd had been tough before, getting through it with three drinks in hand was going to be nearly impossible.
Fuck.
But Ryudo was a geohound, a professional completer of difficult tasks, and he was not going to let a rowdy crowd stop him (even if he was going to grumble about it for a minute first). With a combination of dexterity and determination (and maybe a bit of excessively forceful elbowing), Ryudo navigated the mob and finally returned to the bench.
Only to find neither of his companions there.
Great.
With a sigh, Ryudo took a look around. That was when he saw it: a few yards off, a portion of the unrelenting crowd had formed into a circle, and they appeared to be watching… something. Drinks in hand, he headed over to investigate.
The group was in fact watching something, and when Ryudo saw what (or rather, who) it was, he had to refrain from groaning out loud.
In the center of the circle stood Millenia. Upside down. She was there, vertical, but upside down. It took Ryudo a moment to realize she was doing a handstand (and was, in fact, doing a rather good job of it).
Next to her, another person was also holding himself upside down. The man was struggling to hold his pose, however. And even with the wobbling and the inversion, Ryudo couldn’t shake the sense that this person was familiar, somehow. After another moment of examining his lavish outfit and outrageous hair, it finally hit Ryudo.
He fought back a groan.
Hemble.
Ryudo didn’thave much time to ponder the situation, however. After letting out a cry, Hemble came tumbling down, landing hard on his back.
With a good deal more grace, Millenia’s lowered her feet to the ground and hopped upright, raising her arms triumphantly. It was then that Ryudo noticed Elena, standing on the inside of the opposite side of the circle, clapping and cheering with the majority of the crowd.
“Thr-three out of five!” Hemble shouted as he sat up on the ground.
“Oh, give it a rest.” Millenia rolled her eyes at him. “Just admit that you’ve lost.”
“No! I… I-” At this point Hemble noticed Ryudo pushing his way through the crowd. Recognition came over his features.
“You!” Ryudo jumped back as Hemble shouted, shoving his finger in the other man’s face. “You’re the one that was here with that girl before! I, I knew it!” Hemble turned back towards Millenia. “You’re a fraud!”
Ryudo was about to comment that whatever his presence had to do with their bet, it didn’t change the fact that Millenia had apparently beaten him twice in whatever contests they’d chosen, but he never got the chance.
“Excuse me!?” Millenia sneered at Hemble. “Who are you accusing of being a fraud?” Hemble seemed startled by her forceful reaction, but he recovered quickly enough.
“You! You claimed that you were in a relationship with this woman,” Hemble aimed his index finger at Elena, “but just a year ago she was together with this man, and here he is again, with drinks for two, no less! I think you’re trying to make a fool of me, with your, your, false romance!”
“You wanna bet?”Millenia smirked this time, deviously, and before Ryudo could react she moved. Her hands were on Elena’s waist, dipping the other woman back. Ryudo saw their eyes meet for just a second in silent conversation. They both smiled, just a tiny twitch of their lips.
Millenia kissed Elena.
The crowd broke into raucous laughter and cheering. Hemble, for his part, just gaped. Ryudo fought back another sigh as the two women held each other, lips only parting after several moments.
“Buh- Whuh…?” Hemble looked between Millenia and Ryudo in confusion. Millenia giggled. With one arm wrapped around Elena’s waist, she walked over to Ryudo.
“Thanks, dear,” She said, grabbing one of the drinks (his drink, he thought irritably) as she linked her free arm with his. She leaned in and kissed him on the cheek. Ryudo rolled his eyes, handing one of the other beverages to a giggling Elena. Hemble continued to gape.
“Better luck next time?” Ryudo said offhandedly before Millenia turned the three of them away. Ryudo thought he could hear the beginnings of Hemble throwing another fit, but he didn’t bother to look back.
Somethings were different, but some things never changed.