It wasn’t long before Diamond Tiara arrived on the scene with Silver Spoon to witness Keiji’s defeat at the hands of her father’s boss.
“Keiji?! Keiji!” she called out to him and gasped as soon as she saw Applejack carry him to the nearby medical station located near the fairgrounds. She immediately ran over to see how he was doing and followed them into the tent. “Is he okay? What happened to him?!”
“Easy now, let him relax,” Applejack warned her as she placed Keiji down on one of the medical beds and ushered Tiara away while the nurses began to work on him. “I think he’ll be fine. As far as I can tell, it’s just some muscular damage.”
Diamond Tiara sighed as she stormed out of the tent. “Argh…this is my fault. If only I was there for him. If only I had some sort of power to keep him safe.”
Silver Spoon arrived a few moments later and tried to console her. “Di…you can’t reasonably take care of everyone. Life doesn’t work out that way.”
“I don’t care,” Tiara replied with a low huff, “If I can’t keep him safe, then dad’s gonna just see this as yet another dangerous city that we’ll have to move away from.”
Applejack walked out of the tent and joined them, adding in her own perspective, “Say what now? Every city in the world’s got its own form’a danger. Ain’t no place truly hundred-percent safe.”
“Yeah well he did it before, and I’m sure he’ll--”
But before she could finish that sentence, Mr. Rich appeared from around a corner and quickly ran over to hug his daughter. “Tiara…I’m so glad you’re safe. Listen. We can’t stay here. It’s way too dangerous for you. I saw what happened to that boy you like. I’m sorry but--”
“Augh!” Tiara broke free of his embrace and hissed at him, “This is exactly what I was talking to them about just now! As soon as you think danger is coming, you wanna uproot my entire life to some remote island! I don’t wanna do it again, dad!”
“Sweetie, please,” he tried to plea with her, “I just don’t wanna see you get hurt. After all, that man was one of my old business partners. But now it seems like there’s more to him than I thought.”
“W-well, we can figure it out and put him behind bars!” Tiara insisted with a desperate tone as her voice broke. “Plus, I can fight too!”
“I don’t know…” Mr. Rich shook his head. “...It’s not like you got any crazy magical powers like this one over here,” he gestured his hand towards Applejack.
“Hey now, ya don’t need superpowers’ta be a powerful person,” Applejack countered, “After all, don’tcha control half the darn city? Can’tcha just hire the entire police force and get ‘em’ta investigate?”
Rich raised a brow and asked, “And what stake do you have in this, Ms. Applejack?”
“They know what happened to mah parents. Someone from there was involved in mah folks’ passin’,” she went on, “Our families have been close as honey and flies for years. Seems like the Hishimas are threatenin’ us both. Which means we should work together, yeah?”
“Hmm…”
Applejack would explain in more detail. “You use yer influence’ta get what info ya need…” she then cracked her knuckles, “And I’ll wipe ‘em off the map lickety-split. Ya won’t even need’ta fear fer yer family’s safety. I promise.”
Caught between Applejack’s reasonable offer and his daughter’s pleading gaze, Mr. Rich eventually caved and accepted her words. “Alright. I trust your word, Applejack. You ain’t exactly the type to lie.”
Applejack would remove her hat and solemnly swear, “I swear on mah pa’s hat and my ma’s jam. I will do whatever it takes.”
“Alrightty then…” he then turned to his daughter, “Ya got five minutes to speak to him before we head home for tonight, hun.”
Tiara hurried into the infirmary where Keiji had properly been taken care of with bandages along his abdomen and arms.
“Keiji…”
The vampboy sighed as he sat up and placed his forehead in his palm. “Hey…got my ass kicked…ow…”
“Everything feeling better?” she asked while sitting in a chair next to the bed.
Keiji sighed and continued. “Nah. I mean, I’m gonna live but…I’m starting to realize just how bad I am, Deets.”
“...whaddya mean?”
“Shinji fought me to a standstill,” he explained, “I couldn’t land a single hit on him. And then his old man comes out of nowhere and utterly wrecks me in one hit.” With his face resting in both hands, Keiji had started to…sob? “And then they just walked off. If they really wanted, they could’ve destroyed you guys while I would’ve been helpless. I…I’m just not good enough…”
“...” His lack of confidence was staggering. Enough to put Tiara into a silence as she looked down at the floor--her eyes darting back and forth as she tried to figure out what to say. That’s when it hit her.
“Keiji…why do you fight the way you do?” she finally asked after a moment of silence, “With the overconfident tone and hammy callouts? I…just realized I’ve never stopped to consider why you’ve done that.”
Indeed. Such a question took a moment for Keiji to process. But once he did… “You wanna know why? I do it because I’m…afraid of the possibility of losing. After being beaten down by so many people in the past and treated like garbage by my own biological family, I…guess I use that to cover up how scared I really am.”
Tiara placed her hand on his. “...I think I get it now. Fear is what drives you. But Keiji…I’m here for you. You don’t need to be afraid anymore.”
“...You mean that?”
“Of course I do,” she insisted.
“Me too,” Silver Spoon added as she walked into the tent seconds later. “Sorry. I just couldn’t help but overhear. I’m right with you both no matter what. You’re my best friend, Di and I don’t wanna see you sad. And Keiji…” she paused for a moment, then went on. “I’ve seen how much you care about her, but you need to start caring more about yourself too. Even if you are afraid, you shouldn’t let it get to you.”
For a moment, Keiji was unsure as to what she meant. “...and you’re saying that because…?”
Silver Spoon would sit on the opposite side of him and explain. “Because you don’t have to worry about anyone abusing you here. We…like you and value you. And we don’t wanna see you hurt. Right, Di?”
“Right, Silv,” she added, “You hear that, Keiji? We know you’re amazing, so you don’t have to feel afraid when you’re out there, okay?”
“I….you…” Keiji forced a smile on his face as he held both of their hands. “You two…are awesome. Thanks. I think I’m starting to get it now. I have a lot of thinking to d--”
“...”
“...”
And they interrupted him with a quick kiss to his cheek--both girls smooching him on the sides of his face. Tiara on his left, and Spoon on his right. The end result was a shocked Keiji whose heart began to beat in a rather rhythmic fashion…but it wasn’t painful.
After what felt like forever, both girls backed up and gave him some space.
“...That should drive the message home, I think,” said Tiara, “Come on, Silv. Let’s get going before my dad freaks out. See ya soon, huh Keiji?”
"See ya, big guy," Silver Spoon waved.
As they both left, Keiji sat alone and thought to himself about what he had just experienced.
“...I have to be strong…not just for them. But for myself.”