Chapter 81 - Come Back in May...

“No smoking.” Ekyt said flatly to the two at the counter. “Right, sorry.” Puff. He blew smoke in Ekyt’s face. “Uh-huh. Glad we understand each other.” Puff. “Maybe you didn’t hear me…” Ekyt said, forcefully nice. Puff. Reaching below the counter, his hand found just what he was looking for. Puff. “I asked you not to blow the smoke in my face.” Puff. FWOOOOSH! The fire extinguisher blasted the man off the stool, knocking him to the floor. The man ran, stumbling, out of the room, while the guy next to him chuckled. “You know, that’s a good disguise.” A familiar voice said. Ekyt reared back. “Relax. It’s me; er, us.” Espio and Greg..

“It figures a ninja would crack my disguise.” Ekyt said ruefully. “Well, it was this kid here…” Espio pointed at a grinning Greg. “The point is, you can’t hang up your coat yet. We need you.” Ekyt reached into the man’s box of cigarettes, snapping them in half angrily. “And what is it I’m needed for?” “You’re not going to listen to us. So, we’re going to stay here, train with you, and keep an eye on you, until you’re ready to hear us out.” Espio said firmly. Greg nodded apprehensively. Not seeing any point in arguing, Ekyt gestured toward the stairs. “Two guest rooms.” Espio threw a knife, which Ekyt caught lazily. “That should cover our bill.” Espio said as Ekyt yanked the money off it. “You’re just lucky I can catch a knife like that!”

Linda twirled the sai absently. “This doesn’t fit!” She said angrily, throwing the sai at a poster of Ekyt. She didn’t realize she had. She stopped to read it. “Missing…Eighteen…American, Caucasian…known as “Eykt…”” Tiffany (Shadowthe_Hedgehog) Flash (Flashthehedgehog), Klein (ShyWanderer43), and Amy exchanged glances. “Um, how about some food?” Flash said hopefully, pointing at the pizza place.

Ekyt flicked the sucker (lollipop, whatever you call it personally –NG random fact!) as he noticed that joker’s lighter on the counter. Suddenly he saw…pink? “Crap…I can’t face her anymore…” Thinking quickly, he flicked the lighter, lighting the sucker at one end. “Help you?” he said jovially. He saw Tiffany’s eye twinkle in his direction. She knew. “Yeah, we need…” Flash stopped. Ekyt yanked the sucker out of his mouth and threw it down. He pulled off the disguise. Everyone but Tiffany looked shocked. “Ho-boy…Akward moment…Uh, burgers?” Flash suggested. No one nodded this time. Linda pushed her way to the counter. She didn’t look surprised either. “We need to talk…back alley…now!”

Ekyt strode outside; it was a nice night. Crisp air blew the scattered newspapers around. “How’d you know?” Ekyt asked. “I thought that the disguise would last more than two weeks.” “I had help.” She said quietly. Another Ekyt walked out from the shadows. “She needed to know.” Ekyt stared angrily. “What do you want? She broke up with me, that’s all she wrote. I did what I thought was right, now why can’t the past rest?!” Ekyt spouted. “Because without the past the future will never come to pass.” Ekyt heard himself say. The older him, as he saw now, flicked aside a toothpick. “That’s not my concern.” Ekyt said, waving a hand. “I think it is.” “And I think you’ve got a big mouth.” Ekyt said savagely. “Are you going to hit me? That would be your mistake.” The older Ekyt said back. “Okay, c’mon, let’s talk this out…” Ekyt normally would have listened. Instead. He tackled his older counterpart.

Without giving it any thought, the older him dropped down and monkey-flipped Ekyt over. He hit the telephone poll with a hard “THUD!” and slid down. “I didn’t come ten years to fight you…” Ekyt’s foot answered. A block, followed by another throw, into a brick wall. Pain shot through Ekyt’s body as he landed hard. “I’m you! I know everything you know, but I’m older! I know more! You have to trust me!” Ekyt answered with a punch. The older Ekyt went for a leg sweep, but stopped when Ekyt jumped, instead planting the foot on his chest, knocking him back again. Ekyt flung his legs out behind him as he hit the building, giving him a springboard. The older Ekyt side-stepped him and rode him into the fence. Ekyt went through the wooden fence. He got up again, bleeding from the lip and a gash across his back. “Are you done?” The older Ekyt asked quietly. “Great, I have a martial arts master to live up to now!” Ekyt kicked the dumpster in frustration.

Linda had watched quietly. Now she decided to say her piece. “Look, I know you’re upset…give me time, maybe I can forgive you in a few months…May?” Ekyt smiled sarcastically. “Oh, so you’re giving me a probable ultimatum. You said you can’t forgive me; fine. But don’t rub it in my face. You’re beautiful. It’s like I’ve told everyone, you could do a lot better than me…a scrawny kid who makes pizza. From a vigilante to a pizza maker…You made your choice. I can live with it, and I’m not blaming you. I’m outta here.” Espio’s knives tore into the hem of his coat; then the sleeves. It pinned Ekyt to the fence. “You’re in on this too?!” Ekyt snarled. “You need to talk this out.” Espio told him calmly. “No. Why do all of you insist on making me relive all this?!”

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