"It's not a doll," Hyūga Junpei shouted, and shoved his little sister out of his bedroom door. "And, no, you can't play house with it."
To forestall any further protests from her, he clicked the lock on the door, and leaned his head against it. Hyūga's temper had been getting out of hand lately. It had started when Kiyoshi Teppei had appeared three months after his surgery with a cocky smile and a form stating his intentions of joining the club. The idiot was still on crutches, but he spouted off nonsense about "having fun" and "protecting Serin." Hyūga was the only one who thought Kiyoshi joining the team as the manager was about as smart as giving an alcoholic a job in a bar. Everyone else was excited to have him back, so he'd stuffed down the emotions that came with the doubts he harbored, yet they'd begun spilling over at odd moments.
It wasn't really his sister's fault. Kagami had brought her a Barbie doll – at his behest – when he'd returned from Winter Break in America, and the particular figure she wanted to borrow was proportional to the very un-proportional doll. When he finally heard her tread away down the hall, probably to go tattle on his behavior to their parents, he sighed and turned his back to the door. The figure in question – Date Masamune – seemed to glare at him from across the room, where it lorded over the smaller figures in the diorama he'd set up on the bookshelf. It wasn't that he didn't trust her, but... it had been a gift from Kiyoshi to celebrate their victory at Winter Cup and it was more than just another figure. It was a collector's edition; it cost a small fortune;"he reasoned, "it, it, it… represents the end of an era – my last season with Teppei, the Iron Heart, as my Center.
But maybe it wasn't just his pent up frustrations with that jerk pushing himself, and then coming back months earlier than he was supposed to – if this heroic conceit ended up ruining Kiyoshi's chances of playing college ball, he'd kneecap the fool himself – but maybe, if he had to admit it, it was partially the fact that the same moron was spending so much time with Kanto-kun. Every time he heard that jovial voice call out her name – not Aida mind you, but Riko – it made his blood boil just a little more. He'd been hoping all these weeks that Kanto-kun's dad would hear that familiarity and quietly take care of him, but luck hadn't shined on him.
Hyūga pushed off against the door and went to the bookshelf. He wasn't this sentimental with anything other than his Sengoku Basara collection, and he was already anticipating the looks of recrimination he'd face if he continued to ignore his sister, and the looks of reproach he get from his parents for making them get into the middle of such a stupid debate. He picked up the figure and removed the loose accessories, still debating if he could allow her to play house with the distinguished Date Masamune. The last straw was his cell phone ringing. He knew by the ring tone that it was the idiot calling. If he was here, he'd say something stupid like, "figures are meant to have fun with." He let it ring, knowing that Kiyoshi would leave a message, and took the figure to his sister's room.