The Ranch

Character Development (1)

The worker takes pride in his work and often tries to enlighten whatever soldiers he can get his hands on. He talks about the miraculous efficiency of the farmers, their amazing product output, and their contributions to the island. He also mentions that the island uses renewable energy and recyclable trash that gets decomposed for the growth of the garden. Everything on the island is one-hundred percent eco-friendly thanks to previous generations of scientists and farmers working together for the sake of growth and improvement.

The worker brings Pierre and Tih to a nearby grove of apple trees. Handing the two pruning shears, he explains exactly where to cut before leaving to work on something else.

Pierre takes the tool and starts cutting half an inch above the fruit, leaving just a little bit of thin branch. Tih copies the workers movements and cuts with Pierre.

In the middle of their work, Tih hears a snap and soft curse. Tih looks over to Pierre.

"It's jammed." Pierre answers Tih's stare.

Tih hands his shear to Pierre. Pierre tries to refuse with the excuse," I don't like owing favors." Pierre also thinks it's inappropriate as the boss's subordinate.

As he's about to pass the borrowed tool back, Pierre watches as Tih easily snaps the flexible branch with his fingers. The redhead's words get stuck in his throat.

"You-Boss...Boss is really amazing. I'm the weakest among the five aces, but I'm still among them. Yet, when I look at you, calling us "Aces" is a little...arrogant to say the least. I swear, I'll extort whoever gave us these nicknames.

Ah! But don't get me wrong Boss. My talents have always leaned more towards the business market. In that department, I'm absolutely confident in my abilities! Just watch, by this time next year, I'll be a prominent figure in the market!" Pierre tries to sell himself by making the boss aware of his capabilities. He, himself, is the most aware of his strengths and weaknesses. Comparing his fighting skills with the others is suicide, but that's mainly because his focus isn't on a fighting profession like the other four.

The newcomer's tournament was mainly used to draw attention and good merit he could use for later business ventures. If he wants to partner up in future ventures, he'll need a good reputation. After all, who would trust some newbie with no credentials and no success under his belt?

After staring his case, Pierre keeps the pruning shears that are completely unnecessary for scissor-finger Tih and the two continue working.

After plucking a couple rows of fruit, the worker comes back to check on their progress. An astonished expression appears on the man's face. He stares at the plucked trees that would usually take a whole group of people to finish in the span of time he was gone.

"You..did you two do all of this by yourselves?" The worker looks at the two with slight suspicion.

Pierre answers with an embarrassed look," yes." Only he knows his boss did most of the work. He collected apples so fast, he only needed a minute per tree.

"That's..then I need to thank you. You saved me and my coworkers a lot of time. I'll write you credit for a weeks worth of food. To redeem it, go to the barn whenever and show them your ID."

Pierre happily accepts the reward, giving himself a couple days worth of credits and his boss the majority. His boss was the one that did all the work and he is at the very least, a fair businessman.

With that, Pierre goes on his way and Tih is left alone once more. He heads east, hopping over the raging river and hopping through the mountains. He plans to continue practicing with the grappling gun.

Along the way, he spots Abel and Basile in the direction he's heading into. The others also notice him once he gets close enough.

"T-Boss?" Basile corrects himself.

"Do you come here to train as well?" Abel asks.

Tih nods, answering the question.

"Then...do you want to train together?" Basile finally realized how powerful Tih was during the obstacle course. Training with powerful people increases the efficiency at which one trains. It's also easier for one to test their limits and push through to new heights when facing stronger opponents. Basile think about such things while popping a chocolate in his mouth.

"My sister says training with other style will help improve my own." Abel says after listening to the empty space next to him.

"How flexible are you?" Basile asks Tih. Flexibility is an important component of many fighting styles. A limited flexibility can also limit the types of techniques and their power.

Tih tilts his head in confusion.

"Do you not stretch?" Basile looks at Tih with untraceable surprise. Deciding to test him out, Basile goes straight into a split. "Like this." He motions Tih to copy him.

Tih copies Basile, his legs form a straight line parallel to the ground.

"Then, how about this?" Basile stands before bending backwards and making a bridge.

Tih follows, going even further and slotting his head between his legs.

They continue this copy and paste of stretches for the next hour, with all three of them participating. Tih unknowingly surpassed the both of them in flexibility.

After finishing, Basile suggests," Should we try sparring?"

"Boring." Abel shuts down his suggestion.

"Then what?" Basile looks slightly ticked off.

Abel turns to the empty space at his side before stating,"Tag."

"That works too." Basile complies, not willing to argue over something so trivial. "Boss, do you want to be 'it'?"

Tih is familiar with this game, but he's only played a few times before being kicked out by the children at the orphanage. Although it's been a while, he continued watching the other children play from the trees, so he knows the rules.

Tih nods. It doesn't matter to him.