Crono's Story by Traum

Chapter 1 Cris

I'd waited; no, absolutely craved for this moment, ever since I'd first met Triono. I clenched my hands into fists, took in a deep breath, and slowly fell into my fighting stance. Across the dimly lit street he did the same. I could see, as always, the mistakes in his form, the openings and weak points in his stance, but this time, they were far less noticeable, almost... hidden. His face was calm and emotionless, as it always was when we fought.

I knew that this would be it: The final battle between us. It was just something I instantly realized when our eyes locked across the street. One of us would perish that day; there was no way out of it. His aura was far more powerful than I'd ever felt before, and I could tell that, unlike in past meetings, we were almost equally matched.

We stared off for a while, neither willing to make the first move. He and I both knew that patience was not always his most dominant quality, but now he was different. He had complete control over his emotions, and a sort of quiet calmness had enveloped his body. I knew then that he would not allow himself to slip like he had before, he would control himself, at all costs.

I suddenly remembered his final remark from the last time we'd met. I'd told him, as he was pulling himself up from the ground, that maybe he needed to train just a bit harder next time to beat me. He'd given me an astonished look and said, "I don't train. I fight. I've never trained, and I never will." I had considered he might have been serious back then, but he had such a huge increase in power this time, I knew he must have been lying.

I decided to crack the invisible ice, and find out if he had been serious at the same time. "You must've trained really hard to get as strong as you are now."

His face remained motionless as he replied, "I thought I told you, I don't train. I fight, I heal, I eat, I sleep and then I go fight again. But I don't train, and if I kill you today, I'll never have to."

I tried to discern if he was lying or not, but I just couldn't read him. If he was hiding anything, he concealed it within himself far too well for me to uncover. After several seconds of careful evaluation, I decided he must've been telling the truth, albeit a little unbelievable.

He continued to stare at me across the street, his eyes hesitant but confident. An old newspaper quite comically flew between us, and with it, the tension between us rose. Our eyes were intent on each other's; nobody in the world could break the concentration we paid to each other.

In quite a strange moment, Triono suddenly began chuckling, then laughing out loud, before finally roaring with laughter. I didn't quite understand what was so funny, but I had a feeling I wasn't supposed to. Very un-expectantly, he began the battle the instant he stopped laughing. He rushed straight at me at a very quick pace, which I assumed to be his fastest speed. I quickly calculated the time it would take him to reach me, and formulated a counter-attack. But then halfway across the street, he turned on the jets and went into his highest speed. Before I could think of counter-attacking, he'd shot off from the ground and sent a wild hook at my head.

I was extremely surprised by his speed, and just barely managed to duck under his blow. I tried to reply with a quick jab at his stomach, but he deftly hopped back, out of the blow's path. While I was slightly impressed by his newfound speed, he must've thought I was absolutely flabbergasted. He just stood there, his guard down, his head open to attack, and I just couldn't resist such an opening.

I shot at him with a jump-kick, hoping to gain some sort of a definite advantage before he could try another attack. Unfortunately, he brought his arm up just in time and managed to block most of the attack, but he also nearly lost his balance and was forced to take a few steps back to regain it.

I touched to the ground and he looked straight at me with an astounded look, like he wondered how I could try such a daring attack. I decided to test his confidence and said, "Nice block, but you know I could've finished you right there if I wanted to."