Chapter 10

Setting In

So what was next? Sexing up Aki didn't work and blowing up the dishes only created a mild inconvenience for them. There had to be way though, there just just had to be. He couldn't just stand by and let his best friend marry someone he knew she didn't want to be with. With his brain pulsing and in the verge of a headache he finally got an idea. Since only one of them were actually married it was probably best to avoid his brother and sister for the moment, but maybe his cousin could help him. As he grabbed his phone though he began to have second thoughts about the whole thing.

"Come on Ryo, just find her number and call her. That's it contacts, there she is." he said as he pressed the call button over her name.

As it rang he sat down so his feet wouldn't get tired out, and as the ringing continued he began thinking about how he was going to tell her. She wasn't as pushy as his sister and not as serious of his brother, but she was his best option. Once the ringing stopped and she answered though he took a deep breath.

"Hello, this is Shara." she said in response to the call.

"Hey Shara."

"Ryo? What's my favorite little cousin up to today?" she asked curiously.

"Nothing much."

"Ah, the nothing much excuse. Alright spill it. What's going on?" she demanded.

And so with a deep breath he told her everything that was going on and everything that was to happen if he didn't stop the wedding. Of course he was wondering who she would side with, but being her cousin he had a good idea who that would be. Once finished though he waited for her response. Having not been in such a predicament he just hoped she could give him some advice.

"Oh...that's quite the situation, especially for you and your friends." she answered.

"Yeah, so can you help me out?"

"Yeah, I mean I would love to help but I really don't know what to say about that, maybe you should let it happen. There are plenty of more fish in the sea."

"Didn't you hear what I said? They aren't happy, neither of them. Both want to choose on their own, but the two stooges think it's a good idea for force them together like this."

"True, there's only one way I can see that you may be able to turn things around."

"What is it?"

"You'll have to fight her grandfather and place a bet that will end it all."

For a minute everything went silent until he told her exactly how he felt about her plan.

"Are you insane?! You expect me to take on one of the dark lords and to just walk away like nothing happened? No way, nope, you can forget about that!" he exclaimed.

"Well then you can either prolong the inevitable, or let them either let them sore. They'll either sore through the sky, or they'll fall to the ground and get eaten by the neighbors cat."

"How about no."

"Well then that's all I've got. You can either delay it, or let them go off on their own. Oh, got to go, boss needs his lunch. See ya when you get home." she said before hanging up.

And just like that she was gone. Great, that did absolutely nothing to help with their problem. As frustration began setting in he slipped his phone back into his pocket before slouching against the wall. So many things were going through his mind, but he had to choose something. Unknowing to him though as he stood up someone was watching him very closely.

"Attack!" he heard before something jumped on his back from above.

Oh, he knew what it was though just by his slightly high pitched voice.

"No, you can never take me alive!" he said playfully as he tried grabbing at the little boy.

Quickly though he found his arms being pulled back behind him before being wrestled to the ground. Did it hurt? Yeah, but compared to some of the other stuff he had been through it was nothing. As he laid there on his back he watched as the small challenger placed his foot on his chest to claim victory.

"Oh no you got me." he said as he pretended to die.

Being the youngest child in the Aono family young Shaun wasn't as strong as his older sister, but damn could he be aggressive when he needed to be. Heck, if he trained hard and long enough there was a good chance he could surpass his father. Still he was young and energetic, and if it entertained him to wrestle him to the ground he would gladly do it for the little guy.

"Oof, alright time to get off. What are you doing out here anyways? Wasn't your dad watching you?" he said before jumping to his feet.

"Yeah, but you told me you would show me that cool new move you learned over the summer."

"Really, must have slipped my mind." he replied as he dusted his jacket off.

"You'll show me?" he asked as his eyes lit up.

"Sorry but I've got other things I've got to tend to."

"Oh...but you promised." he whined.

Seeing as how young he was it wasn't that surprising that he was interesting in what others could do, but still he had others things he had to do. Then again it would only take a minute or so to show off.

"Alright, but I need a target." he said as he looked around the area.

"What about that pillar?" Shaun asked as he pointed to the decaying pillar to their right.

"Yeah, seems like a good enough target. Next I need a running start."

To perform his little trick he needed two things, speed and an electric barrier, both of which were pretty simply for him to achieve. Once he backed up all the way to the front of the castle grounds he took off as he picked up speed along the way. The faster he went the more electricity flew into the air around him, but instead he used it to form a protective barrier around his body. Once he was about six feet away from the target he kicked off the ground and curled up into a ball, turning himself into a loving cannon ball.

"Woooo!" he shouted as he impacted the stone.

In the instance upon impact the stone shattered into little pieces as he went flying through the air. How did it work though? Simple, alone there was no way Ryo could pass through without injuring himself, but with the barrier he didn't have to worry about that. He could literally become a living cannon ball.

"Bam! So how was that for a move?" he asked as he brushed the dust from his shoulders.

"Eh...I've seen better." he sighed in disappointment.

"Better? I just became a canon ball!" he exclaimed after having to waste some of his own energy to entertain him.

"But dad can do that with only his fists. I thought it may had been something a bit more like that." he explained as he turned to leave.

"Why you little...gah. Like he would know anything about training. Little squirt." he growled as he kicked a piece of stone.

As he stood there in his frustration he heard the voice of Kanji sneak up on him. He sounded rather distraught though as he approached him. What was wrong with him?

"Ah Mr. Keno how goes your morning?"

"Alright, and yours?"

"Fine, but if I may can we talk for a bit?"

"What about?"

"My son, he seems to have a lot on his mind at the moment, but he also seems rather troubled. Mind telling me what you think it could be?" he asked.

"I can do one better than that." he answered with a smile.

And so without much hesitation he began explaining the situation he and Kuruma were both in and how they both felt. It seemed to click with him as he continued to explain but could it really be so easy to pursue someone so formal like he was? Either way he had to tell him even if it pissed him off a bit.

"I see, my son hasn't grown close to his young bride to be."

"Yeah, so wouldn't it be better if he got to choose his own?" he asked as he tried to push him in the other direction.

For a moment it looked as if a window had just opened up for them both, but when Kanji spoke that window slammed shut and locked itself.

"Impossible, this is a great moment for both of our families but I assure you that he will grow to love her just as I had learned to love my wife, and my father before me, and his father. We all went through the same phase but eventually got through it and had beautiful families."

"Yeah but what if he doesn't? What if both he and Minami were miserable together? Would you really want that for your son?"

"Mr. Keno I assure you that I'll do whatever I can to help make them happy. In the mean time it would probably be best if you run along for now."

He could tell that he didn't want him there anymore, and unless he wanted Issa on his ass again it was probably best that he follow his lead.

"Yes sir, sorry for my rudeness." he said as he let out a deep sigh.

As he left though he felt his hand touch his shoulder gently to get him to stop.

"I understand your concern here and I'm glad you've connected with my son. So while you're here you may indulge in one of my servants."

"Indulge..."

It took him only a second or two to figure out what that meant before he backed away slowly. Nope, there was no way he could do that to any of them especially after what happened the previous day. As he tried to get those images out of his head he decided to head in and work his brain around a new plan.

"Come on think, maybe her father could help us, but then grandpa would intervene. Then there's everyone else, but yet again he wouldn't approve. Damn it why can't there be a straight forward answer to these kinds of things?" he asked himself as he turned the corner.

When he turned the corner to head inside though he was met with a nice, hard soccer ball to the face. With the ball on the ground and a big red mark covering his face he watched Oshira came running over.

"Yo Ryo I thought I heard someone back there. Whatcha been up to?" he asked as he scooped up the ball.

"Besides getting hit in the face with a soccer ball just the regular."

Oh yeah sorry about that. We were just having a little match against the girls was all. Guess I kicked the ball a bit too hard." he said with a nervous chuckle.
"A match?"

"Yeah Kuruma had a ball we could play with so we decided to have a little gender contest was all."

"And who's on the other team?"

"Mizore, Kurumu, Malon, and Minami."

"Oh well you're going to get stomped." he said one he said Minami's name.

"Ah but we have the next best thing."

"Yeah?"

"We have her old man. Say want to join in? We only have three people, the rest are off working and we could use a new set of legs out there."

"And yours isn't enough?"

"I may have the strength but you have the speed. So what do you say?"

At first he wasn't sure if blowing off some steam in a game of soccer was all that great of an idea, but then again he needed to take his mind off what had happened before. Plus it would be good exercise for when he returned to the E.D.F.

"Sure sounds like it could be fun." he answered.

"Great, but you need to know the rules first." he said as they began walking toward the group.

"Kick the ball into the opponent's goal. Done deal."

"You're half right there, but we decided to change it up a bit. When the ball is air born if one catches the ball in their arms you play it like football, but if it touches the ground you play it like soccer. Got it?"

"Catch, football, ground, soccer, got it."

"Don't let Mizore get near you. You don't want to become an ice cube." he said as they both laughed at that thought.

Meanwhile sitting up top on one of the lowest balconies Issa and his old friend were enjoying themselves a small glass of fine wine as they watched the youngsters play below. They seemed really energetic, but his eyes were focused on a particular two.

"Ah here you go. The finest wine we had in the cellar but I'm sure it'll do you some good." said Kanji as he leaned over the railing.

"Thank you." replied Issa as he took a sip.

As he sat back in one of the chairs though Kanji couldn't help but notice the look on his old friend's face. A look of both worry and confusion.

"You know that student of yours has learned well. He has the eyes of a warrior, maybe one strong enough to beat you one day." he teased as he took a sip.

"I wouldn't go that far, but he is a determined child I'll give him that." admitted Issa.

"Oh, yeah he seems to be that type. He seems to be a tough nut to crack but I'm sure you've done it a few times already eh?"

"Sure but discipline is key when it comes to his training. Even if it takes thousands upon thousands of tried I'll drill it all into that thick skull of his."

"Interesting, you're sounding more and more like a father by the second."

"Don't be ridiculous. He has his own father, but he promised that he would give it his all to control the blood and like hell I'm going to go easy on him."

Back down below though things were beginning to heat up as the boys took possession of the ball. With Diataro at the front of the line though he simply evaded the women headed his way, but there was still someone else waiting for him.

"You ain't stopping me, nope." he growled before giving the ball a good kick.

But just when it seemed they were going to score again Minami jumped up and grabbed the ball out of mid air before taking a mad dash toward their goal made from roots that Aki had made for them. All around them giant roots sprouted as to make sure no one fell over the side like before thanks to Aki. As she turned and twisted around everyone though a rush of wind blew past her as Ryo used his own speed to nab the ball from under her arm.

"See ya later suckas." he taunted as he went full sprint toward the goal.

However there were still two obstacles he had to get past. As he approached the ice faerie she made an attempt to freeze him, but instead he drifted over to the right and out of harms way as ice covered the ground, but just when victory seemed to be within his grasp their lovely succubus friend simply opened her arms up and with one grab she began suffocating him.

"Thank you." she said as he submitted, only to grab the ball from his hands.

When she saw Malon waving she gave it a good toss as she held her poor victim to her chest as the young witch used her wand to call forth a large hand made of wind. And just like that she blew through all their defenses, even Oshira who was built like a fortress, and with one good throw she managed to score the final point.

"Game, set, match." called Tsukune who was on the sidelines.

With the girls cheering after their victory it seemed they had more work to do if they were to beat them next time. As she watched on though Kurumu had completely forgotten about the poor electro she had smothered. He was no longer struggling as she let him go. As his body went limp he simply fell backwards as Minami ran over to see what was going on.

"Awe...sad that you lost?" she taunted before kneeling over him.

Nope, he as out, but that didn't stop her from smacking him around a few times. With each slap she could see his eyes opening up. Apparently he had grown someone tolerant to her heavy hits.

"Are you trying to knock me out?" he asked as he layed on the grass.

All she did was roll her eyes in response before helping him to his feet.

"Dude I told you to stay away from them." Oshira said.

"You told me to stay away from Mizore not her." he replied as he rubbed his eyes.

"Yeah but still you should no not to dive into the canyon."

"She forced me!" he exclaimed.

"Alright you two why don't you go cool off for a bit. Oh Oshira I think you owe me some money?" asked Minami.

"Money? Oh come on it's the last bit I have left."

"Uh uh you made a bet and you lost. Now pay up unless you want pet to get ya."

"Pet?"

"Yeah. Go get him Ryo!"

"Pet?" he asked in his confusion.

"I'm only playing." she said as she walked away with a giggle to follow.

"Huh, I guess I'll never get her." said Oshira as he shrugged.

"One day you will, one day you will." replied Ryo as they both walked back inside.