"So," I glanced up at Nishita as the elder teen draped himself over my shoulder. "You going to enter the tournament that's coming up?"
I pushed him off and shrugged. "Maybe. Soccer is starting back up since the weathers warming up, so I might not have the time."
"I bet you're just scared that I'll beat you like I did last time."
"That wasn't even a real tournament! And we both know I'd kick your ass if I entered."
"Not for long if you run back to soccer."
"Please, if Ryuuji managed to balance both soccer and this, so will I."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that." I turned and scowled at our teacher. Ryuuji taught the white belts, and ever since Nishita and I had moved up in rank, we'd also changed teachers. Hijari-sensei was alright, as far as teachers went, but a real stickler for the details. "Ryuuji-kun had gotten his black belt by the time the serious matches and training for soccer started up. He was able to train on his own without coming here.
"You, however, are only a green belt."
"We're going to advance to purple soon though!" Nishita said happily.
Hijari-sensei shook his head. "That may be so, but it's at the purple and blue belts that things get hard. Many students have quit at that stage, or taken close to a year to advance."
"Why is that?"
"When you advance to purple, and then blue, you may start to feel you are becoming better – which you are. However many let that arrogance go to their heads, and believe they're ready to advance sooner than they are. This causes them to lose patience with what they learn and throws off their forms. Purple and blue belts are right between the white and black belts. They help mark the transition from beginner to advanced. Some believe they are the hardest belts to overcome."
"So that means Nagumo won't be able to advance if he tries to do both soccer and martial arts." I growled at taller teen.
"Not necessarily," Hijari-sensei smiled, amused. "It simply means he'll have to work harder, and it may take him longer to advance than those who commit their entire time to martial arts."
I folded my arms over my chest. "I'm not quitting soccer."
Hijari-sensei raised an eyebrow. "I'm not asking you to. I'm simply stating the facts as they are."
"Nagumo!" We were interrupted by Ryuuji, who bounded over happily. "The school's soccer tryouts are next week. Do you think you'll be able to make practice then?"
"That depends on when they end, but I'll try."
Ryuuji's green ponytail swished back and forth as he shook his head. "Don't force yourself. If you're tired after tryouts, then coming to practice won't be a good idea." I frowned but nodded. Ryuuji only ever had me stop or skip practice if I was going to get hurt or accidently hurt someone else. He was better at seeing my limits then I was.
His eyes lit up again as he asked, "Are you going to participate in the tournament this weekend? It's before tryouts, and I think you could do really well! You've gotten so much better since you joined!"
I glared suspiciously at him and the grinning Nishita. "Is this some ploy to get me to participate? Even if I win the tournament, I'm not going to quit soccer."
Ryuuji blinked and tilted his head like a confused puppy. "Why would you quit soccer? You love it."
I stared at him for a few moments before turning to the other two and gesturing towards the green haired teen. "How does one argue with that?"
"You don't," Hijari-sensei laughed.
"It's Midorikawa-sensei's finishing move," Nishita said, slinging an arm around the highly confused teen. The youngest huffed and folded his arms.
I sighed and shrugged. "I suppose it won't hurt to give it a shot. It'll be my first actual tournament." I sent a look to the brown haired teen who grinned widely.
Ryuuji grinned and clapped his hands. "I'll go register you after practice today then!"
"Are you going to compete as well?"
"My tournament's not until next weekend, but I'm going to participate as a judge at this tournament."
"They split up the black belts from the lower belts for tournaments?"
"Not all the time. This is just a larger tournament, so there are more participants. It'd be too difficult to have everybody go the same weekend, so they split it up. Green belts should start sometime late afternoon on Saturday. There are always a lot of beginners at these tournaments, so they should take all of the morning. There's also a break for lunch, so the higher belts won't go until either later in the evening or the next day."
"Not to mention," Hijari-sensei cut in, "That black belts tend to help judge the lower belts matches so more can be done at once. To keep the matches fair for the black belts, only those either not participating in the tournament or specialized referees are able to judge, so less matches take place at once."
"It's more common for really big tournaments to be held over holidays or breaks, so more people can participate, but it's not unheard of for them to be split up between weekends like this."
I folded my arms in thought. "How is it that we never found out about you doing this?" Ryuuji furrowed his brows in confusion. "I mean, I've been doing this for a few months, and Gazelle is already on my back all the time about where I disappear to. Not to mention the others. You've been doing this for, what, years now? How is it that we never noticed?"
The green haired teen shrugged his shoulders uncomfortably. "It was easy for me to kind of fade into the background. You all were always so hyped up about soccer, and that was all anyone ever really did or talked about. All I had to say was I was going to the library, or to the park, or even to a friends, and everyone would lose interest. It's like, if it wasn't about soccer, nobody cared."
I rubbed the back of my neck. "I guess we were all a little crazy about it, weren't we?" I gazed upwards as I felt heat in my cheeks. "We didn't mean to…ya know…belittle you or anything. Well, the others didn't I'm sure. I probably did because I was an ass, but still. Sorry."
"Awwww!" I growled and shoved Nishita away, my face growing even hotter. "How sweet Nagumo-chan!"
"Don't call me that Damnit!"
Arms wrapped around my waist before I could punch the conceded jerk who was laughing his ass off. "For what it's worth," Ryuuji whispered, "I don't think you were as much of a jerk as you make yourself out to have been." He grinned up at me. "Thank you though."
I hesitantly patted his head a few times before pushing him away and clearing my throat. "Ya, well, that's what older brothers are for. We may be jerks and assholes at times, but that doesn't mean we don't care."
The smile Ryuuji gave me then was happier and brighter than I'd ever seen him smile before. I didn't feel like I deserved it, but it was nice. "I didn't know you were so cheesy Nagumo-chan!"
"Damnit!" I turned and started chasing the brown haired bastard. "Don't call me that!" I could feel the heat in my face as Ryuuji and Hijari-sensei laughed behind us.
Double checking I had everything I need, I zipped my bag closed and slipped out of my room. Ryuuji had already left, since he was helping judge from the beginning of the tournament, but he'd told me I didn't have to be there until lunch.
It took about an hour to get to the venue by train, and I was running early. I wanted to have enough time to check out some of the earlier matches and warm up. Jamming my shoes on, I sighed when Gazelle spoke up behind me.
"Where're you headed?"
"Out."
"Out where?"
I turned and frowned at him. "Out. Don't you have someone else to bother?"
The bastard smirked and crossed his arms as he leaned against the wall. "Nobody else has been sneaking out almost every day these past few months. So Burn, where have you been sneaking off to?"
"One, I haven't been sneaking off anywhere. Two, where I go and what I do are none of your business. Three, you're going to make me late, so I'm leaving now."
"Meeting Ryuuji?"
Pausing, I narrowed my eyes. "What makes you think I'm going to meet Ryuuji?"
Gazelle rolled his eyes. "You either leave with him, or you come back with him. Obviously whatever secret you're hiding includes him." He smiled mockingly. "What's the matter Burn? Are you that desperate for friends?"
I growled. "Lay off Gazelle. Ryuuji doesn't deserve your shit."
He looked surprised before pushing off the wall and stepping closer. "What's going on with you? A few months ago you wouldn't have cared if I said that, let alone call him by his name."
"Yeah, well a few months ago I learned what a fucking dick I'd been. He didn't – doesn't – deserve it." I turned and put my hand on the doorknob. Scowling at nothing, I muttered, "Neither did you or the others. Sorry."
I didn't wait to hear his reply and instead bolted out the door, not stopping until I'd reached the train station. Finding the correct one, I hurried and boarded before it left. I'm pretty sure my face was red. I don't know what came over me back there. "He's never going to let me forget that. I just know it."
Sighing heavily, I tried to get Gazelle out of my mind so I could concentrate on the tournament. Ryuuji had said it was a knockout style. So if I lost once, that was it. At least I would be ranked with other green belts in my age range. Having to fight an adult or a little kid wouldn't have been fair. Unfortunately, Nishita was placed in the age range above me, so I wouldn't get a chance to whip his ass in the tournament.
I was actually pretty curious how many people would be there. Ryuuji had said it was a bigger tournament, so that probably meant quite a few people would attend, but how many would actually participate was beyond me. I suppose I'd just have to wait and find out when I got there.
I'm pretty sure my jaw dropped again. This place was huge. Like, professional soccer stadium huge. We were competing here?
"You're gaping." Flushing red, I glared at Nishita. The bastard had probably waited just for this moment. Chuckling, he jabbed a thumb over his shoulder. "Come on, we need to get you checked in. Have you eaten yet?"
"I can check in just fine on my own! And I brought my lunch."
"But what if you get lost in this big crowd?" He wrapped an arm around my shoulders and forcibly led me to the table where I needed to check in. Thankfully they had separate tables for the different belts, so it didn't take long, and soon I was back to gaping as we actually went inside the tournament hall.
Everywhere you looked there were matches happening. At least half the seats were full, some being participants, others spectators. I caught a glimpse of who I thought was Ryuuji, standing off to the side of one of the matches. When one of the girls landed a kick, his right arm shot out to the side, a white flag in his hand.
Nishita nudged me towards some empty seats. "Midorikawa-sensei should be getting a lunch break soon, if you want to wait."
"Has he been doing this the entire weekend?" I set my bag down in the empty seat next to me as I watched the matches. "You'd think he'd get tired of it."
"You mean you don't think he enjoys watching people try and repeat basic moves and sloppily attempting to hit their opponent over and over for hours on end?" I rolled my eyes at his grin. "Obviously he must be having a blast."
Ignoring the older male, I found a fairly empty section to sit and wait for Ryuuji to finish up. Absently watching the matches going on, my mind wandered back to earlier. Had he actually apologized to Gazelle? Why the fuck had he apologized to that bastard? He apologized to Ryuuji because the green haired teen had never done anything to deserve his anger. Gazelle and the others though, always found a way to piss him off. He shouldn't have to fucking apologize to them. So why had he? He wasn't getting sentimental was he? Maybe he'd hit his head during practice.
"If you think too hard your brain will explode." Frowning, I attempted to elbow the taller teen in the side, but Nishita just laughed and moved away. "What's got you so spaced out today? Scared you're going to lose your first match?"
"Like hell."
I saw Nishita's frown from the corner of my eye but ignored it. I wasn't in the mood for his shit. "Are you sick?" He put a hand on my forehead and I swat it away. "Seriously, what's wrong with you today?"
"That's what I want to know," I muttered to myself. Letting my head fall down between my knees, I let out an irritated sigh. "I don't know. I just…Gazelle was being a dick this morning when I was trying to leave."
"Isn't that normal?"
"Yeah, but…he made a stupid comment about Ryuuji and I told him to knock it off. He blew up at me about it."
"And what? Did you punch him?"
Groaning, I glanced up at the brown haired teen. "I apologized to him." The older teen's jaw dropped and his eyes went wide.
"You apologized? You? Are you sure you aren't sick?"
"Nagumo's sick?" I looked up at Ryuuji who worriedly leaned forward and pressed our foreheads together. "You don't have a fever. Are you feeling alright?"
Lightly shoving Ryuuji away, I grumbled to myself. I shouldn't have said anything. Maybe I was getting sick. "I'm fine."
Nishita leaned over to Ryuuji and stage whispered, "He said he apologized to Gazelle before he left."
I growled at the older teen as Ryuuji looked surprised before he smiled happily. "That probably made Suzuno really happy."
"Ha? That bastard is never going to let me live it down."
Ryuuji shook his head. "Hitomiko-san told me that when you were younger you and Suzuno were really good friends. Ever since you started training, he's seemed a little lonely." Lonely? Why would that bastard be lonely? Shouldn't he be happy that I'm not around as much? I must have looked as confused as I felt, because Ryuuji explained, "Suzuno still considers you a friend."
"How would you know?"
"Because if he didn't, why would he care so much about where you're going?"
"To annoy me?" Ryuuji simply smiled and sat down, pulling out his lunch. Pulling out my own, I thought about what he'd said. I thought we were rivals. Rivals couldn't be friends. Pausing, I glanced towards where Ryuuji and Nishita were happily chatting. No, that wasn't true. Nishita was his rival, and as much as he's a bastard, he's still my friend.
Was that how Gazelle saw him? A rival who was also a friend? Frowning, I shook my head and forced myself to eat. I'd think about him later. For now, I had to focus so I didn't get my ass handed to me in the first round.
I growled as Nishita shoved his medal in my face again. "It's just a fucking bronze idiot."
"Jealous Nagumo-chan?" I quickly flipped my middle finger at him before shoving my hand back into my pocket. I'd rather not get hit for doing or saying something inappropriate in front of children. Again.
"Fourth place is still good for your first tournament," Ryuuji said.
"What did you get in your first tournament?"
"Second place." Seeing my glare, he quickly waved his hands and shook his head. "But there were only two of us in my age group! So really it was last place!"
Nishita laughed and wrapped an arm around Ryuuji's neck. "And what about the one after that?"
Ryuuji flushed and looked down. "…Second place."
"Out of how many?"
"…Fifteen."
Growling, I stomped away from the tournament area. Ryuuji and Nishita followed slightly behind me. It was only once we got to the station that I asked the green haired teen, "Are you going to try out for soccer this year as well?"
Ryuuji hummed slightly before shaking his head. "Soccer is alright, but after the whole Aliea thing, I don't think I want to keep playing competitively."
"Aliea thing?" Nishita asked with a raised eyebrow.
"Don't ask," I told him, "it wasn't a very good time." Glancing sideways at the younger male, I couldn't help but say, "Gran will probably be upset."
"Hiroto is a big boy," Ryuuji answered, much to my surprise, "He'll get over it. Besides, I think he and Osamu already had a feeling that I wasn't having as much fun as them."
"I've been meaning to ask," Nishita cut in, "But what's with these names? Gran? Gazelle?"
I rolled my eyes while Ryuuji gave a vague explanation. "There was a…phase at the orphanage where we all picked what our names would be if we were…aliens. Nagumo still uses those with some of the others that annoy him."
Nishita grinned as he nudged me. "Alien names? Really? What was yours?"
"Like hell I'm telling you. As I said before, not our best moment." I could see Ryuuji opening his mouth and slapped my hand over it. "Don't you dare tell him."
"Oh come on Nagumo-chan, I sure it isn't that bad." The grin on his face said otherwise. "Maybe I'll drop by your place and ask around. I'm sure this gazelle person would me more than happy to share."
Damnit. The bastard would too. Grumbling, I reluctantly told him. "Burn."
Nishita blinked a few times before his mouth began twitching. "Burn. Seriously? You choose burn as your alien name?"
"Ryuuji was Reize."
"But yours was burn! Burn!" Gritting my teeth as the older teen nearly doubled over laughing, I balled my hands into fists.
Before I could open my mouth to say something it was Ryuuji who lightly smacked Nishita's shoulder. "It really isn't a very good memory for us." Well, I didn't give a shit about it, but then again Ryuuji had had the worst job there. At least I didn't have to destroy schools. Unfortunately because of that there were a lot of people pissed off at the green haired teen.
"I'm sorry Midorikawa-sensei, but…burn." I glared at him and he raised his hands with a heavy sigh. "Fine. I won't tease you about it…too much."
I growled, but Ryuuji tugged my arm back. "Nagumo, our train is here." The bastard would get off this time. Next time I saw him though…
So here's another part. I don't know if/how I'll continue this, but I figured since I got a good response from the first part, I'd give you a little more. Let me know what you thought!
