Rise of the Crusader

Chapter 39: Raphael’s Group

“I lost again!” Bane exclaimed, with his eyes glued to the television.

Devon, who was sitting beside him, holding on to a gamepad flashed a light smile at Bane. He cracked his fingers, before then scooping the bucket of popcorn in front of him.

A few minutes had passed since Raphael went into his room, and during that minutes, Devon was able to pardon Bane, and play video games with him. As for Camille, she had been engaging in a conversation with Aiden, not until he went into Devon’s room.

“The gamepad is the problem, some buttons aren’t working... Do you have any other gamepad or if you are certain that you are really good, why don’t we change the gamepad?” Bane said.

There was an expression of disbelief on Devon’s face when he heard Bane. He then stared at the table, on which about three other gamepads were placed on, and he couldn’t help but shake his head.

Devon and Bane had played different games, and in each of them, Devon gave Bane a beat down. Bane wasn’t even able to win any of the games they played, and each time Bane lost, he would blame it on either the gamepad or come out with the excuse that he hasn’t eaten yet.

Bane had used the whole gamepad in the room, and yet he still suffered defeat after defeat from Devon. But this time around, he took his shamelessness to another level and demanded for Devon’s gamepad.

.....

“What do you say, Devon?”

Devon stared at Bane for a couple of seconds, before he then passed the gamepad to Bane with a rather confident look on his face.

“You still won’t win!” Camille, who had remained quiet the whole time suddenly, spoke.

She was, however, greeted by an intense glare from Bane. “We will see about that...” Bane muttered, and then clicked the start button on the gamepad.

Devon and Bane had gone through a few games before the both of them decided to stick to an arcade fighting game. And after Bane clicked the button, the game started immediately.

The character which Bane was using had the upper hand, once the game started, bringing a smile to Bane’s face. He continued to deliver all sorts of combos both hands and feet on Aiden’s character, and Bane was ecstatic.

However, after a few minutes, the tables turned, and Bane’s character soon found himself in a dire state. It seemed to be as though Devon had given Bane the upper hand intentionally to give him hope that he had a chance, and when the right moment came, he took the hope which Bane had away.

“Finish him!”

As that voice rang out from the television speaker, the character which Bane was controlling had his body covered in flames by the dragon that just appeared. And in merely the blink of an eye, it was only the ashes of the character that could be seen.

What followed after was the ‘Game over’ word that was displayed on the screen. Bane dropped the gamepad on the couch and moved towards the other couch.

Camille’s lips curved into a smile, she then moved towards the place that Bane was formerly seating and took hold of the gamepad. “Let’s play!” Camille said.

Devon’s eyes twitched when he heard Camille, it was almost as if he had heard the wrong words, and he couldn’t help but stare at Bane, who was just as surprised as he was.

“I choose this!” Camille didn’t wait for Devon to respond to her, and she chose the character that she was going to be using.

“It’s your turn to choose”

Devon gulped when he heard Camille, but this time around he didn’t stare at Bane, and instead, he selected the character he would be using.

The match was about to begin between the both of them when Devon’s room door was slammed open, and Aiden stepped out. With his placed inside pocket, Aiden walked forward majestically, with a prideful look on his face.

“Urgh!” Seeing how Devon, Bane, and Camille had eyes glued to the television, and weren’t staring at him, Aiden frowned deeply. He then walked over, and stood in front of the television, blocking the three of them view.

“Heyy... What are you...” Bane suddenly paused as he stared at Aiden, who was in front of him.

Whether it was Bane, Devon, or even Camille, they all had an appalled look on their faces as they stared at Aiden. Devon even went to the length of pausing the game, then seized Aiden from head to toe.

The smile which was on Aiden’s face after the saw how the three of them were staring at him widened. He turned around, allowing them to take a good look at his magnificence, before he then said, “So, what do you think?!”

Aiden seemed to be asking the three of them about their opinion, but the truth was, he didn’t really care what the three of them thought. Because he was absolutely certain that he looked ravishing in the clothes he had on.

“Hahahahahahahaha!!!!”

And about a few seconds later, the three of them roared out laughing. Bane laughed so hard that he fell from the couch on which he was seating on, despite that he continued to laugh like a maniac.

Camille and Devon were in the same situation, as they stared at the clothes which Aiden had on. It was only until after five minutes went by that the three of them stopped.

“Oh my god... You have got to be kidding me!” Bane stood from the floor and walked towards Aiden. As Bane then pointed his hand at Aiden, he couldn’t help but laugh once again. “What the hell are you putting on! This can’t really be your costumes, right?!” Bane jested.

They had all seen Aiden walk into the room with the bag in his hand, and when he came outside, he was looking completely different.

“What is wrong with my costumes?” Aiden innocently asked, staring at the clothes which he was putting on.

“Hahahahahahahahah!!!”

However, another roar of laughter erupted from Devon, Bane, and Camille’s mouths when they heard him. Bane was the first to quit laughing, he placed his hand on Aiden’s shoulder and said, “Everything is wrong with the costumes.”

“To be honest, even a homeless man wouldn’t pull up with something this terrible.” Bane jested.

Staring at Aiden who was putting on a spandex bodysuit, black loose leather jacket, black wavy shoulder-length wig, blue sunglasses, fingerless leather gloves, red shorts, and a red cowboy boot, Bane placed his hand on his mouth.

“Are you sure that this is really what you asked the academy to create for you?” Bane asked. And receiving, a nod of the head from Aiden, his eyes twitched.

He glanced at Devon and Camille before then saying, “Shit, you must have been high when you wrote this down.”

Aiden glared at Bane when he heard him, he then went back into the room, and after a short while, he came out back. This time around, he even raised his collars high, “You know what, you’re just jealous.” Aiden stated.

It was about a second after Aiden’s voice rang out, that Raphael’s room door opened, and Raphael walked out of his room.

Raphael had merely taken a few steps backward when he suddenly paused. Raising, and seeing how they were all staring at him, Raphael raised an eyebrow.

“Raphael, what do you think about my costume?” Aiden appeared in front of Raphael right away.

He then turned his body around, so Raphael would have a whole look at what he was putting on. And after that was done, Aiden stood with a smile on his face.

As for Raphael, he placed his hand on his chin, with his eyes moving from the gloves, the leather jacket all the way to the cowboy boot. Raphael then stared at Aiden and said, “It’s not that bad, so long as you are not going out in this!” Raphael said.

Listening to the first part of Raphael’s word, the smile which was on Aiden’s face widened, but when he heard the rest of it, that smile vanished immediately.

“Hahaha haha hahaha... Didn’t I tell you!”

Raphael glanced at the television screen, before then walking towards the door. He pushed the door open, and a delivery man was standing right in front of him. “Thanks!” Raphael took the pizza which he ordered and shut the door closed.

“The pizza is for everyone, not just for only me” Raphael exclaimed as everyone, including Aiden, was staring at the large pizza with their mouth wide open.

Raphael placed the gamepads on the shelf and then dropped the pizza on the table. “Here we go!” He took a slice from it and sat on the couch with a book in his hand.

The others stared at Raphael for a moment, before then taking their slice. Devon and Aiden were surprised because ever since Raphael came, he was always locked in his room, and hardly came out.

So, it came as a surprise, that he was seating in the parlor with them.

“Raphael, have you heard, you and Aliyah are in the same group.” It was Camille that spoke. Camille didn’t glance at Raphael when she spoke, and instead, her eyes were glued to the television in front of her.

As for Raphael, a bewildered look appeared on his face.

“Who is the third person?” Raphael asked.

“Becky” Camille responded.

Raphael’s eyebrows furrowed, he was about to ask who arranged the team, when he decided not to any longer. And instead, he took another slice of pizza, placed one leg on top of the other, and stared at the television.

As Raphael and Bane continued to watch as Devon and Camille battled it out, Aiden went back into the room, with a perplexed look on his face. “It can’t be that bad, right?” Aiden mumbled in a low voice.

GAME OVER!

A couple of minutes after Devon and Camille continued with the game, she was left frustrated, just like Bane. Camille heaved a deep, and then stood from the couch. “Enough of the game, let’s go!” Camille exclaimed.

Bane chuckled when he saw the look on Camille’s face. He, however, stood from his couch, “Aiden, it’s already time to leave!”

“Where are you guys going to?” Raphael asked, with a pizza in his mouth.

“We are going to the alley!” Camille replied, “We will be leaving for the Bass mansion by midnight, so we want to go train ourselves in the alley. I say you do the same also, or why don’t you come with us?”

Raphael glanced at Bane and Devon, who were both staring at him before he then said. “No, I’m good!”

Camille nodded her head when she heard Raphael, “Alright, then suit yourself.” She said, and once Aiden came out of the room putting on the casual outfit he had on earlier, the four of them left.

“Let me see what is so fun about these video games!”