Sakolomé had seen the plane crash into the forest and had rushed to the scene, hoping to rescue any possible survivors. In reality, there was only one man: a stranger with a rather unwelcoming appearance, but whose character proved far warmer than his appearance might have suggested.
After a few exchanges, and as soon as he learned that Sakolomé was a Satsujin, Ramos, the traveler, wanted to measure his strength. The two of them agreed on a friendly fight.
They faced each other in the tall grass, each silently sizing the other up. Before young Sakolomé, Ramos looked like a giant. On one side, a twelve-year-old boy who stood no more than one meter sixty-one; on the other, a man over thirty-eight years old, nearly two meters tall.
— "Are you ready, little one?"
Sakolomé nodded and leapt.
His first assault was a sharp kick, so violent that it gave rise to a shockwave, and the grass bent all around them. Ramos felt its power throughout his body, and smiled.
— "Not bad, little one!"
Sakolomé did not stop there. He launched a series of assaults, each harsher than the last, but Ramos followed them with ease, dodging or countering them without breaking stride.
Then Sakolomé gathered his energy in his right hand, from which red vapor escaped. He struck. Ramos managed to block the punch, but the impact was such that it lifted him off the ground and hurled him more than six meters away, where he crashed heavily.
Sakolomé froze, stunned.
— "Oops… Sorry, Mr. Ramos, I shouldn't have…"
— "Focus on the fight, my little Sako, it's nothing!"
Ramos got back up and assessed the damage: his jacket had been torn by the force of the blow, and a strange redness marked his chest. He looked at the child and smiled.
— "You're really strong, little one!"
*This kid is far too strong for his age. An ordinary human would not have survived such a blow: his body would have burst under the impact. Fortunately, I'm a mutant, and I'm used to this kind of attack.*
With a swift motion, Ramos tore off what remained of his jacket and stood before Sakolomé in a tank top. Then he took his stance.
— "Very well. Let's move on to the second round!"
— "Uh, sir… you're not angry, are you?"
The question went unanswered. In an explosion of force, Ramos had vanished.
— "Huh? Where is he?"
He appeared behind him, his massive arm raised, ready to crush the young Satsujin's skull.
— "Watch out, my little Sako!"
Sakolomé jumped and barely dodged. Ramos's fist came down on the ground and split it in two, and Sakolomé, astonished, gauged the superhuman strength of his opponent.
Without giving him a moment's respite, Ramos disappeared again.
— "No, not again!"
There was a dull impact. A monstrous fist sank into Sakolomé's stomach. He had seen nothing coming. The impact tore a spit from him and sent him more than eight meters into the open sky.
He recovered in midair and completed a backflip. He landed on his feet, one hand pressed against his stomach, his face twisted in a grimace of pain. He looked up to find Ramos, but he had vanished again.
— "N… no way… this is a joke!"
Ramos reappeared behind him and tried to crush him beneath his foot, like an insect. Sakolomé avoided it once again by a hair's breadth, and the earth shook under the violence of the blow. He turned around, scanned the surroundings: nothing.
— "This can't be true!"
Ramos appeared behind him, grabbed him by the hair, and lifted him like a rag doll.
— "Ha ha, you're too slow, Sako. You lost!"
He let him go. Sakolomé fell back onto both feet, staggering, and straightened himself.
— "You… you're very strong, Mr. Ramos!"
He was panting, completely out of breath. Ramos smiled.
— "That touches me, coming from a Satsujin, even a young one. Your punching power is remarkable, little one, but you're not very fast: you only see me at the last moment."
Sakolomé lowered his eyes, bitter. He could not deny the truth of those words.
— "I'm not going to give you too hard a time; you're still a child, and it's normal that you're not as fast. Train a little more, and speed will come with time."
Sakolomé kept his head lowered, as though resigned. Ramos looked at him and wondered whether he had been too harsh, whether he had touched a sensitive spot in the young killer. A strange silence settled between them, and the situation became awkward.
Sakolomé sat down on the ground. Then his stomach growled, at length.
— "Darn, it's crazy how hungry I am!"
Ramos burst out laughing.
— "Ha ha! Is it this fight that gave you an appetite, my little Sako?"
Sakolomé blushed.
— "No, Mr. Ramos. I've been very hungry for a while now. My mother had given me a basket full of provisions, but a bunch of monkeys stole it from me, and now I'm dying of hunger…"
His stomach growled again. Ramos stared at him and thought.
*Could it be that this little one has been weakened by hunger? And what if his abilities truly exceeded mine? Damn!*
— "Wait, my little one. I have some snacks in my plane. Don't move!"
— "What? Really? Mr. Ramos, this isn't a joke, is it?"
His voice trembled with excitement.
— "Of course not! Wait for me here."
Ramos climbed into his aircraft and came back out with a brown paper bag, which he threw to Sakolomé. The latter caught it in midair, hurried to open it, and discovered a veritable feast inside: hamburgers, hot dogs, sandwiches, and biscuits in abundance. His mouth watered.
— "Wow, wow, wow, all this? Can I eat everything, Mr. Ramos?"
Ramos nodded with a smile.
— "Of course, my little Sako. Enjoy, it's all yours."
Sakolomé's eyes sparkled with gratitude.
— "Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you! Let's eat!"
He threw himself upon the food with astonishing speed.
— "Ha ha! Slow down, little one, you're going to choke!"
But Sakolomé, wholly absorbed in his feast, heard nothing more. A few minutes later, everything had disappeared, and he found himself lying in the grass, his stomach round, sighing with joy and contentment.
Ramos, meanwhile, had resumed his repair. Sakolomé got up and came over to him.
— "Tell me, Mr. Ramos, how long would it take you to repair your plane?"
Ramos paused his work and straightened up.
— "No idea. It's worse than I thought. And the problem is that this aircraft is very expensive: I don't think I have enough money to reimburse its owner."
— "Uh… why are you talking about reimbursing?"
Ramos scratched his head.
— "Because this plane may never fly again."
— "Oh, is it that serious? But, you know, Mr. Ramos, my father is very good at mechanics. I'm sure he'll be able to repair it!"
He had said it with enthusiasm.
— "Really?"
— "Yes, I promise you!"
Ramos rubbed his chin, appeared to think for a moment, then gave in.
— "Very well, I accept. Where do you live?"
— "About ten kilometers from here."
— "What? From here?" Ramos exclaimed in surprise.
Sakolomé hastened to reassure him.
— "It's doable, I swear. I got here in less than two hours!"
— "And by what means of transport, exactly?"
— "I flew, myself!"
Ramos's eyes widened.
— "I knew the Satsujin possessed prodigious power, but not that they knew how to fly!"
Sakolomé straightened up with pride.
— "Oh yes, everyone in my family knows how to do it! And if you can't, I can carry you, it doesn't bother me!"
Ramos smiled and placed a hand on his shoulder.
— "This little Sako is truly adorable, and to think that idiots take you for monsters!"
He began to tickle him all over. Sakolomé burst out laughing.
— "Ha ha ha! Stop it, Mr. Ramos, or I… I'm going to throw up on myself!"
Ramos stopped immediately.
— "Oh no, that wouldn't be a pretty sight! It's generous of you, my little Sako, but I know how to fly too."
Sakolomé was delighted.
— "Even better, Mr. Ramos! You're incredible!"
Ramos turned toward the plane and observed it.
— "Night is going to fall soon. If we go now, it might be all right, don't you think, my little Sako?"
Sakolomé approved with a nod.
Ramos climbed back into the aircraft and came out with another jacket.
— "I still want to stay presentable. Don't tear this one, okay, my little Sako?"
Sakolomé blushed again and laughed a little, embarrassed, shy.
— "Well, you're the guide: let's go!"
— "O… okay!"
Sakolomé took off and floated through the air.
— "Follow me, Mr. Ramos!"
He rose into the sky, and Ramos followed him. They both sped along at a good pace, in complete discretion, hoping to find Sakolomé's father at home.