A massive hand swung out, but another hand held it back—the burly man, wearing nothing but his underpants, tried to push the tanned man in front of him. "None of your attacks will work on me! Just give up!" he shouted, yet his eyes—those of the masked man—were still full of determination.
The man named Romeo pushed Caesar backwards, before running up and landing a blow straight to his stomach—he endured the pain as his hand struck what felt like rock-hard iron; his fist tried to pierce the invisible armour whilst Caesar was still laughing heartily at the futile effort.
But from the air, a man leapt and landed squarely on Caesar's neck—the grey-haired man tossed aside the crown on his head and struck the moustached man's skull repeatedly.
"Ouch, ouch—that hurts, you bastard!" he shouted, trying to grab the man, but he'd already jumped back down before his hand could reach him.
His green eyes met Romeo's black ones. "Aim for his head!" Hearing this, Romeo nodded immediately and the two of them braced themselves whilst simultaneously devising a way to take them down.
Elsewhere, arrows were being fired in rapid succession at the man in golden robes—Robin's mind was still too chaotic, causing his shots to lose the accuracy they'd previously possessed. "What on earth did that girl throw at me?" he muttered to himself.
However, those words reached Midas's ears; whilst pelting Robin with rubbish, he took the opportunity to complain. "We have to deal with that annoying brat every day, you know," he said before dashing towards Robin.
His hand shot out to touch him, but Robin held Midas's arm with his own before landing a punch squarely on his face. Robin's hand grabbed his shirt collar before he threw him with all his might onto the ground behind him, causing Midas to scream in pain.
"My condolences to you," said Robin, whilst the spectators around them cheered and jeered at them as if they were watching a football match. "This isn't the World Cup, you know."
Robin's instincts kicked in immediately; he yanked his foot off the ground and saw Midas's hand almost touching him. "Tch," he clicked his tongue; the bow was already aimed at his head and just as the arrow flew—it was caught straight away by Midas. Caught off guard, Robin had his leg swept out from under him by Midas, causing him to lose his balance and nearly fall.
Near them, the grey-haired man was kneeling with his hands clasped together—Romeo ran and stomped on his hands, causing him to leap high into the air; the grey-haired man then nimbly grabbed Caesar's hands—SMACK—his foot landed squarely on Caesar's face with tremendous force, sending him staggering to the side.
Romeo, landing behind him, immediately pulled open a hidden slit in his armour and slammed it down—directly onto his companion, Midas.
The ground shook and the crowd roared; Robin stepped back and tried to catch his breath. "You all right, mate?" Romeo asked the ginger-haired man.
"Been worse," replied Robin, still managing a smile even though his body felt as though it might collapse at any moment. "You… you still haven't told me your name," said the green-eyed man with a smile, as though he'd been waiting for that moment all along.
"Felix Purrington. Pleased to make your acquaintance, gentlemen," he said before removing his cavalier's cap—which featured a large blue feather—and placing it upon his chest.
Romeo and Robin's eyes widened in surprise when they spotted a pair of cat ears protruding from his head. At that very moment, the tail hidden beneath his clothes made itself visible. "…Are you a beastkin?"
"Yes, is this the first time you've seen one?" said Felix, before putting his hat back on. Romeo and Robin exchanged glances, as though seeking each other's opinion.
They nodded in unison—Robin's ears picked up a sound; he turned around and saw a woman with long purple hair and striking green eyes; she was wearing a long black dress; objectively speaking, she was absolutely beautiful.
But even the most beautiful rose has thorns. "You lot are absolutely hopeless," said the woman before pulling a red apple from her hand. She gazed at it slowly before, without warning, hurling it towards them.
Robin sprinted forward, wrapping both arms around Romeo and Felix and dragging them away from the scene as quickly as possible.
The apple shattered on the ground, releasing a green smoke bomb. Robin glanced back and realised immediately that it was poison—she'd come across something like it before. "Everyone, get away! It's poison!" Robin shouted, causing the spectators to scatter.
They were now a good distance away from the scene. Robin breathed a sigh of relief, and Romeo immediately patted her on the back. "Thanks, you saved us, mate!" he said, patting Robin repeatedly—so much so it was starting to hurt his back.
"You're incredibly quick; I owe you one," Felix said, though his praise didn't reach Robin's ears as he was still receiving hard pats on his back over and over.
They were in a leafy park; Robin immediately collapsed onto the ground and leaned against a tree nearby. "I'm so tired, Romeo, can you give me a massage?" It was just a joke that would usually be met with a firm refusal or a mocking reply, as was the norm.
However, he'd forgotten that the man in front of him had a heart that was far too pure—and far too naive. "Sure! This is your reward for saving us earlier!" he said before beginning to massage his shoulders.
"H-Hey, I was just joking—" before he could clarify, the pleasure stopped him—all that weariness slowly melted away. "Yes… Keep going…"
Felix, seeing this, chuckled softly; a long silence fell over the garden before a woman's voice broke it. "Felix?" The name immediately made the man turn; his green eyes met the woman's blue ones.
"Oh, Ciel! What are you doing here?"
"I'm the one who should be asking you that—what are you doing with… them?"
Robin opened his eyes and saw Ciel staring at him with a strange expression—not the usual hatred she directed at him, but more like awkwardness. After the incident at Mother's house, the two of them, who usually taunted each other, had clamped their mouths shut.
"Oh? Them? I received a request for help from an acquaintance to help them—that's why."