Lucifer of Rikkaidai
Chapter 10: Akaya and her Babysitters
"Oi, oi, this is bad…" Niou was troubled as the girl plopped into his arms. He piggybacked her and carried her things to her house. He rang the doorbell; a woman with straight hair unlike Akaya came out and greeted him.
"Akaya!" Her mother frantically yelled.
"She fainted on the way home. She's been training hard lately." He said, handing her Akaya's bags. "Where's her room? I'll take her there."
"Come this way." She led him upstairs into Akaya's room; Niou put her on the bed gently, and straightened his back.
"Thank you so much."
"No problem."
"You are… Niou Masaharu-kun, correct?" She smiled.
"Yes ma'am."
"I've heard interesting things about you from Akaya." She smiled and said, putting her hand out. "I'm Kirihara Sachiko. Nice to meet you."
"I'm Niou Masaharu; it's my pleasure." He shook her hand and bowed courteously.
"Would you like to have some tea?"
"I would love to, but my mother expects me home for dinner so…"
"Ah, I see. Then shall we go? I'll see you out."
Niou took a last peak at the girl in a worry before heading out, which Sachiko did not fail to notice. She liked the boy since he reminded her of Azuya, who had the same rattail as him.
"Then, good night, Mrs. Kirihara." He bowed and left.
"Good night." She smiled, and closed the door. 'Huhuhu, she does have a great team.'
Akaya opened her eyes and it was still a bit dark outside. When she checked the clock, it was about 6 o'clock. She pulled herself out of the bed, and it stung everywhere so badly. She got changed and went jogging nonetheless; Sanada mentioned that stamina is just as important as skill in tennis.
When she came in the house, her mom frantically yelled her name and dashed over to her.
"Akaya! Where were you?"
"I went jogging."
"Young lady, you fainted yesterday! You should be in bed!"
"Nah, it's fine. I got a good night's rest, no worries." She grinned, and her mom sighed at her stubbornness.
"Well, come eat breakfast after you take a shower."
"Yes ma'am!"
Akaya took a shower; even when she was soaked in hot water, it was painful. She looked at herself in the mirror; there were at least five bruises on each arm, three on her body, and more that she couldn't quite count on her legs.
She came down and grabbed some breakfast.
"Akaya, when you meet Masaharu-kun, do thank him since he brought you all the way home." Sachiko said as she put the fruits on the table.
"He brought me home?"
"Yes. He piggybacked you and carried your bag. What a nice guy."
"Oh… now that I remember, he was the last person I talked to before going to sleep."
"Exactly. Sheesh, dad would freak out if he finds out that you come back home unconscious and in bandages."
"Hehe. By the way, when's dad going to come back?"
"He's in England right now; he'll come back in about two weeks or so."
"Alright."
"Anyways, I'll have to thank Masaharu-kun and Renji-kun. Actually, why don't you invite your teammates over? I'll prepare some hotpot for you all. And I want to see this Genichirou-kun as well; Mrs. Yanagi next door always praises him so much and it sounds like he's taking care of you a lot."
"Yeah he definitely does." Akaya said. "When are you thinking?"
"How about this Friday dinner?"
"Okay~ I'll ask the senpai-tachi. Oh and by the way mom?"
"Yes?"
"We eat a lot. And I mean, a lot."
"The district tournament date and place has been decided." Sanada announced and everyone smiled confidently. They were gathered by the tennis courts before the practice began "It's starting next week Thursday. Everyone, you know our rule—to never lose, and to aim for the 3rd consecutive victory in nationals." Everyone nodded.
"We will go at our usual pace. From now on, we will not accept losing against other schools, no matter how superficial it is." Yanagi spoke, and everyone of course nodded. "Alright then. Go and practice." With that everyone split up to practice.
"Akaya." Sanada called her before she left.
"Yes fuku-buchou?"
"For the district tournaments this week—I want you to play singles most of the time." Sanada spoke.
"Really?!" She exclaimed in happiness. She thought she'd be the reserve (if Yukimura was there) or play doubles the entire time, but they were actually giving her a singles spot. "You're putting me in singles!?"
"Yes." Sanada nodded. "I'll put you in doubles once in a while to have Yanagi test some things out, but you'll be playing singles most of the time. But if you lose in the district match…"
"Shame's on you." Yanagi concluded.
"Alright! I'll do my best!" She exclaimed and clenched her fists.
"Now, go practice." Sanada strictly said. "I want you to improve as much as you can before the match starts."
Akaya put on a big, big grin. She ran up to Sanada and Yanagi and gave them a bear hug.
"I love you senpai-tachi! Hehehe!"She said and ran off very happily. Sanada and Yanagi had a faint smile on their lips from the cute kouhai's action. The club members saw this; they sort of thanked Akaya. Ever since she came, Sanada's been less rigid and harsh with them.
"She really is hard-working, Genichirou." Yanagi said.
"Aah."
"According to Niou, she fainted from fatigue yesterday."
"…hnn." He replied, but he had a slightly concerned look which the data master did not fail to notice. He watched Akaya run a lap with Niou and Marui; then she tripped and fell. Sanada flinched, taking a step forward from worry, but was relieved as Akaya laughed, scratched her head smugly while Marui and Niou scolded her, and stood up to run again.
"She's quite the handful…" Sanada mumbled and sighed and Yanagi just chuckled. Sanada has become her second father lately.
After practice the regulars all got feedback on what they needed to work on by the Data Master Yanagi and Sanada called it a day afterwards.
"Ah, I almost forgot." Akaya said, earning everyone's attention. "My mom wanted to invite you all over for a hotpot dinner on Friday after we visit buchou. Can you all make it?"
"Hotpot…" Marui first drooled. "I'm down!"
"I'll go." Niou said.
"Hm. Akaya's mother invited us all; it'd be a shame to refuse." Sanada said. "Very well, we shall go after visiting Yukimura."
"Thank you for having us!" The regulars all bowed and said with their loud voices after Akaya's mother opened the door.
"My, what an energetic bunch! Come in!" She greeted happily and they all walked in after taking their shoes off.
"You guys must be hungry! Hurry, the food's ready."
"Thank you very much!"
They all sat down around a large dining table in the kitchen.
"Let's see… I've already met Renji-kun and Masaharu-kun."
"I'm Marui Bunta! Nice to meet you." Marui said cheerfully and bowed.
"So you're the one that makes really good cake!" Sachiko said with much enthusiasm. "I have to say I'm very impressed."
"Ahaha, thank you!"
"Oh, I'm Kuwahara Jackal. Nice to meet you Mrs. Kirihara."
"Jackal-kun? What an interesting name!"
"I'm half Brazilian."
"Wow, that's awesome!"
"I'm Yagyuu Hiroshi. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you as well. Akaya praises you all the time about how much of a gentleman you are." Sachiko giggled.
And last it came to Sanada.
"My name is Sanada Genichirou. Thank you for inviting us over, Mrs. Kirihara." He said very courteously.
"So you are Genichirou-kun! My, Akaya sure talks a lot about you!" Sachiko beamed. It seemed that Sachiko has taken quite a liking into the Rikkaidai regulars.
After the introduction they all had a delicious hotpot dinner Akaya's mother prepared for them.
"Man that was so good…" Marui said, patting his belly in delight.
"Mrs. Kirihara, your cooking is very good." Sanada said and Sachiko laughed, happy to be complimented.
"Come again and I'll make you guys more food! I trust you guys a lot for always looking out for Akaya. She can get very rowdy and wild sometimes, but she's a sweet girl."
"What do you mean, rowdy. I'm always well-behaved." Akaya scoffed.
After cleaning up the dinner table they all sat around in the living room and chatted while eating some desserts.
"Akaya, I just got a call from work and I need to cover a night shift. I'll be back at about 4 o'clock in the morning so go ahead and sleep first." Sachiko said while hurriedly grabbing her keys.
"Okay~ bye mom!"
"You guys enjoy yourselves! Ah, Renji-kun, remind Akaya to switch off the lights before going to sleep!"
"Yes Mrs. Kirihara."
"Thank you for inviting us! Have a safe trip!" The regulars all said.
They all said farewell to Akaya's mother and sat back down on the couches.
"Let's watch a movie!" Marui exclaimed after noticing a shelf full of movie DVDs. He walked over to the shelf and pulled one out.
"A horror movie is the best for teammates to bond~"
"H-Horror…?" Akaya gulped although keeping a straight face. She was not the best with ghosts and monsters. She could deal with monsters in games but she definitely couldn't handle horror films.
"Hm. If it can really strengthen the bond as a team, I suppose it wouldn't hurt." Sanada agreed.
"I'm okay with it." Jackal said and Niou nodded along.
"I certainly don't mind." Yagyuu answered.
"I can collect some good data from you guys' reactions." Yanagi nodded along.
Akaya gulped once again. Now she really didn't have a choice.
"Alright which one… oh hey, it's this one! I heard this one was good." Marui pulled out a certain DVD. "You guys haven't seen this one right?"
"Nope."
"I-I'll go get some snacks and drinks." Akaya left to the kitchen as an excuse to run away. She grabbed some chips, cookies, and candies and took out a box of can of sodas. Even though she took out everything she just stalled time in the kitchen.
"Do you need any help?" Gentleman Yagyuu and mother hen Jackal came over to help Akaya carry things back to the living room. Now she couldn't even stall time in the kitchen.
The three of them walked back with snacks, set it down on the table, and sat back on the couches. Akaya creaked over to her spot and froze up as Marui pressed the play button.
'I can't believe they're making me do this…!' Akaya wanted to cry inside. She glanced around the room; Yanagi, Marui and Sanada to her left and right, Yagyuu, Jackal, and Niou on the other couch. They all looked pretty relaxed unlike Akaya who was barely managing.
The lights were all turned off except the ones coming off of the TV screen and it made the room even creepier. Akaya glanced to her right and found Sanada watching with the usual stern face and glanced to her left and found Yanagi quite indulged in the movie.
"…I love you." The blonde actor in the movie said to the beautiful actress and they soon started taking things to the next level.
They were all into it, but then thing gradually got more explicit. The couple's breath and noises from them kissing rang out in the living room and Sanada cleared his throat a bit.
The screen blurred out and started getting more explicit as the actor started taking off the girl's shirt and her bra, revealing a nude body. They were definitely going way past third base.
"WH-WHOAA!"
"COVER HER EYES!" They frantically yelled as Marui jumped in front of the TV, covering it with his body while Jackal waved his hands up and down in front of her in hope to blur out the monitor.
Meanwhile, Sanada had quickly covered her eyes before the woman took off her bra while Yanagi blocked her ears. Perverted noises and moans rang out in the room.
"W-Wha! I wanna see!" Akaya tried to struggle free. She was curious.
"Absolutely not!" Sanada blurted out.
"Whoo~" Marui soon forgot about his role as a screen blocker and whistled as he munched on his popcorn.
"MARUI! SKIP THIS SCENE RIGHT NOW!" Sanada yelled, tightening his grip around Akaya's head.
"Oi, Marui, move a bit, I'm trying to see too." Niou complained, trying to get a good view of the screen.
"Don't let Akaya see this!" Jackal yelled in panic.
"Kirihara-kun I am now speaking in order to cover up the moaning noises the couple is making right now although Yanagi-kun is covering your ears but I'm just making sure since covering your ears doesn't fully block the noises what I am telling you now is completely pointless because again I'm just trying my best to cover up the noises so that you can stay as the sweet innocent junior of the team I will keep on speaking until this scene passes by" Yagyuu rambled on and on.
"You're doing great, Yagyuu!" Sanada exclaimed.
"I wanna see, what's happening?" Akaya said way too innocently for the two protectors-of-innocence to remove their hands.
"T-This is something you must learn from y-your mother, Akaya!" Sanada stuttered.
"Hm. The probability of Akaya asking her mother while re-playing this scene tomorrow is 92%." Yanagi said, breaking a sweat. "That's certainly not good."
"I can't hear you senpaaai!"
Crazy, frantic, and rather embarrassing minute passed and the scene changed to the same eerie, creepy setting it had been before.
"Jeesh, I wanted to see too, what was it, fuku-buchou?"
"…Ask your mother later." He replied, patting her on the head and looking away.
Then soon Akaya forgot about her curiosity as the movie got tenser. An unknown presence was lingering somewhere in the dark and Akaya's body grew tenser.
"Nnngh…!" She whimpered and unknowingly grabbed onto the closest object, which was Sanada's arm, and tightened her grip.
"WAAGH!"
"AAAH!"
"HOLY SHIT!"
Finally the ghost popped out, scaring everyone except for Niou. They all flinched as a group, except for Niou. Even Sanada flinched although he didn't make any noise.
Akaya desperately rolled up into a ball and buried her face and every possible part of herself into Sanada, fighting her tears from escaping her eyes. The movie continued with the jump scares until the very end and made everyone restless.
The ending credits rolled and Marui turned on the lights, brightening the atmosphere in the room.
Their eyes all pinned on Sanada and Akaya, where Akaya was holding onto Sanada like he was the last strand of hope remaining before the doom. Jackal took out his cellphone to take a picture of the much adorable scene.
"Akaya, the movie's over." Sanada said, bending down a bit to see her face. She peed up and looked around nervously.
"Boo!"
"AAAAAGHHH!" Marui scared her from behind and without much fight Akaya jumped right back into Sanada's arms, flailing and wailing.
"Marui! Tarundoru!"
"Hehehe. It's so fun to scare people after a horror movie though."
"F-F-F-Fuku-buchou…!" Akaya looked up, her eyes moist and about to let out tears.
"It's okay, Akaya. The movie's over." Sanada patted her head and said reassuringly.
"Marui-senpai! You scared me!" Akaya then jumped out of the couch, swinging her fists around and charging at Marui who quickly dodged.
"That was some interesting data I was able to collect." Yanagi said.
"I-I am never watching horror movies again."
After cleaning up the regulars all got ready to leave.
"Akaya, make sure you get plenty of sleep for training tomorrow." Yanagi said as he stepped outside. "And make sure to turn off your lights."
"Okay. Thanks for coming over senpai-tachi."
"Bye Akaya."
"Make sure to lock your door too."
Akaya closed the door and locked it; she turned off the lights to the living room and went upstairs to her room. She got ready to go to sleep and lied down on the bed.
'But what if scary things are in the room…!' She couldn't shake off the thought. She was startled when her cell phone rang. It was from Niou.
"He-Hello…?"
"Can you sleep?"
"U-Um, I don't know."
"I knew it. You're scared to sleep, right? I knew it the moment you clung onto Sanada like a sloth."
"I-I couldn't help it! It was scary as shit!"
Niou's low chuckle rang out from the other side.
"I'll keep talking to you on the phone until you go to sleep. It'll make things less scary right?"
"I-I guess, but you should sleep too senpai."
"I usually sleep way later, don't worry about it. Are your lights off?"
"N-No…"
"Then turn it off and go to sleep."
"Okay." Akaya turned off the lights on the side and lied down, then put him on the speaker phone.
Meanwhile, at Yanagi's residence—
Yanagi dialed Akaya's number and was greeted by an automated voice message without it even ringing. He then began calculating possibilities and called Niou's number. He also didn't pick up.
'Hou… so that's how it is.'
"Hey senpai, what was that thing you guys made a fuss about before the scary things started popping up? Why do you guys want me to ask mom?" Akaya asked.
"O-Oh. That's because… well your mom should probably know the best about it. We don't know much and can't explain too well." He tried to explain without stuttering too much.
"Huh. My mom does?"
"A-Anyway! Just listen to me talk and try to sleep."
"Alright."
Niou talked about school and his new tricks that he was coming up with. Akaya listened but being a heavy sleeper, fell asleep within just a few minutes.
"…And I think I'll try it first on this one guy from the guy from the soccer club, you know the one that annoyed you…"
"…"
"Akaya are you sleeping?" He whispered. Hearing no answer he smiled and sighed in relief. "Good night, Akaya. Have a sweet dream."
Niou hung up. He paused a moment and thought of what he had just said. His cheeks then grew pink.
'Th-That's something you wouldn't say to someone normally. Good thing she was asleep.'