The Worthy Warrior
“We are saved. It is NARAYAN again. He saved us all. What’s more, he is one of us. Yes, people, you got to believe me. He is a human and he single handedly took down a huge Asura by just punching and kicking him.” A soldier says gleefully to the civilians. Amrita and Gaurav look at each other. “I am not surprised that he is human. I had a feeling he is.” Amrita comments. “We still cannot take away the fact that he came when it was most required. He is taken this battle personally. Why wouldn’t he? This is human kind we are talking about.” Says Gaurav. “They say that while fighting, his helmet came off. Few of them say that he is simple man, not so attractive… looks like your next-door neighbor yet his fighting skills is something that even a regular soldier does not possess. I guess talent or skills do not depend upon a person’s look. It is all about perception.” Says Priya. “You hear that, Amrita? My girl here is ‘praising’ him. I am feeling threatened… and I am not joking.” Says Gaurav with a wink. Amrita giggles while Priya frowns at Gaurav. “Well, my jealous lover… there are multiple reasons why I am praising him. What do you say we go meet him?” Asks Priya. Amrita is thinking the same. She really wanted to know who this man is. The curiosity is indeed high considering the man said about avenging Sneha’s death. “That man knew Sneha. He said about avenging her death. He must be someone from our company. I am not able to figure out who could it be.” Says Amrita. “We might recognize him if we meet him. Let us go.” Says Gaurav. They walk to the part where a lot of people are gathering around to catch a glimpse of their savior. Amrita and Gaurav could see the Major’s squad members, Amrish and Javed trying to tell the people to maintain distance. The trio somehow catch a glimpse of the man being attended to his injuries by a military doctor. Amrita is the first to gasp in surprise. She recognizes him. “Gaurav, it is… it is the same man.” She starts. “Who? Who is he?” Asks Gaurav. “Think. Think hard. That man… in the cafeteria. Remember, Sneha telling me that a man was constantly looking at me. We even looked at that man for a while to see what he was doing. He felt uncomfortable when we were looking at him and then he walked away.” Amrita tries to explain. Gaurav thinks and then remembers. He looks at the man again and it is clear that he could not believe it. “He is the one! He is the savior!” Gaurav exclaims. As the doctor leaves, Mohit stands up and spots Amrita. Both of them just stare at each other… while Amrita feels guilty for having a bad notion about him, Mohit wanted to speak to her. Major Robert spotted this and came close to Mohit. “No doubt she is friend of yours. Why else would you have looked at her and speak about vengeance?” The Major asks. “We are not that close. I am just a stranger in her life. Besides, she has a different taste… and a list of people in the celebrity category. I am nowhere in that list, not even in the garbage section.” Mohit answers. “Well, you have now gained access to that list. Tell you what, after everything that has happened, there is no list now. You are the one and only.” Says the Major. Mohit does not respond to that. He continues to look at Amrita and then turns away thinking, “Nothing really changes. It is always the same.” The Major is quick to realize that there is an invisible barrier… of fake thoughts and fake friends list, of a slight misunderstanding that needed to be destroyed. The ice needed to be broken and the only way it could be broken is by communication. Without hesitation, he walks up to Amrita and with a smile, asks, “Would you like to speak to him? After all, you do have a lot of questions?” Amrita hesitates, she responds, “I don’t think he would want to. Why would he? We made fun of him. We all had a bad notion about him. I… I never realized… that…” “We are humans. It is natural to have a perception about someone. However, a time comes when our perception changes. Sometimes, that change occurs because of that one person who is willing to do anything to change your perception. And that is the moment when true friendship begins.” The Major says. Amrita looks at the Major and then back at Mohit. She is still hesitant but Gaurav supports the Major’s words. “Major Robert is right, Amrita. We are at fault for having a wrong perception but now we know the truth. Let us make amends.” Gaurav says. Amrita finally agrees, the Major escorts Amrita, Gaurav and Priya towards Mohit. The latter is surprised by this and stares at the Major. The Major walks up to Mohit and whispers in his ears, “Might I suggest a Christian wedding? I can be your best man.” Mohit continues to stare at the Major. With a smirk, he replies, “I have a better offer. You are dancing in my wedding along with your boys.” The Major walks away from there but not before answering loudly, “Then we have a deal, Bro. We have a deal.” Mohit then turns to Amrita. While Amrita is looking straight at him, Mohit couldn’t look into her eyes now. Mohit is however the first to start talking, willing to break the ice, “I guess… you all recognized me. And Amrita, I am… sorry if I did something that made you feel… you know… uncomfortable.” Amrita is not able to believe the fact that the one who took down so many Asuras is the same man who is now not even able to look at her eye to eye. Gaurav understands what Mohit is talking about and starts to giggle. “So, you accept you were stalking her?” Asks Gaurav. “I wasn’t actually but… yeah, well… I did try to follow her wherever she went. I am also a regular reader of her blog. I am her fan.” Mohit replies, still having a hard time trying to look at Amrita. “You were there when Sneha was killed? Where were you and… how did you get this armor?” Amrita Asks. Mohit is about to answer but there are surprise visitors and no doubt, they had the same question too. “Mind if we join in?” It is Ankit along with the Colonel. “Mr. Roy, Colonel Sir… you people… I mean, is there a problem?” Mohit asks. “Come on, son. With people like you, Ankit and of course, our dear old Major over there… Problem has a problem with us.” The Colonel answers with a chuckle. “I, for once, had an intention to confront you considering you are wearing an armor which is unregistered technology. Things have changed. We are all in this together now.” Ankit responds. “I had a hunch about that, Mr. Roy. The way I have received this ‘gift’ is beyond anyone’s wildest dreams. Never did I imagine that I would get to see something that I have only witnessed in video games. I should take a break from streaming for a few days when things go back to normal.” Mohit says. The Major and his squad join in just in time to hear about Mohit being a streamer. “Streaming? You mean Video Game Streaming?” asks Prateek. Mohit looks at Prateek and then at everyone. It is obvious that they are confused and therefore, decides to reveal everything. “How many of you heard about NERDYGAMERX1990?” Mohit asked. While the Colonel and Major are unaware, to the others it did a ring a bell. “NERDYGAMER… Wait, yes… I know. That same guy who has about a million followers on a popular streaming network. I am a regular follower. I play games myself and might I say, I dream to be a streamer like him… provided I get time from my duty.” Says Prateek. “Yes, I know him. Of course, he is one of those streamers who hasn’t revealed his face yet to the world. He hardly uses a camera, hardly says a word on the channel yet his gameplay on some of the most popular videogames are talk of the town. Every day, the average viewer count is around 150000 to 160000. I even did a column on him on my blog.” Amrita states. “Well, I am that guy.” Says Mohit, and the others gasp. “No way, you… you are… NERDYGAMER! The man with million followers! One of the highest paid pro-gamers on the world!” Prateek reacts in surprise. “Could have been billion followers now if the Asuras didn’t attack. Such a shame!” Mohit responded with a weak smile. “We have a millionaire standing in front of us who kicked the ass of the Asuras out there. That doesn’t mean that we can take away the credit from the army.” Ankit comments looking at the Colonel. The Colonel nods in agreement and says, “Certainly not but it goes without saying that his presence did motivate our boys to fight on. You need someone to stand up to what is right and what is wrong and Mohit did the same. Yet, video games do not make a soldier out of a man. Those are and will always be for entertainment. So, Mohit, how were you able to take on those beasts?” “Well, time for another reveal. Sir, I am also a martial artist. I have trained myself in judo and krav maga.” Mohit replies, and the others look at each other. “Strong and Silent type, that is a dangerous combination.” The Major comments. “Questions will keep pouring in, Mohit. We have time before we all get down for some serious talk on our next step, so you better reveal everything.” Ankit says. Mohit turns away from everyone, he sighs deeply and starts to narrate everything about how it all started.