Okay, first off I'd like to say that I'm reeeeeally sorry for the huge wait on this. Also, thank you to the very many people that added this to their favorites/watch list.
"Right," Coach muttered, scratching his head, "We all know why you're here, Rai, but," he looked to the quarterback standing next to you "What about you, boy?"
"He followed me," you said, answering for Hiruma, "I've already tried getting him to leave, but you can see how that went. He wants to know where it's gonna be." Looking back toward Hiruma again, Coach raised an eyebrow quizically. "Why?"
"Curiousity," Hiruma answered with a smirk, "You asked me to let her train with my football team in the hopes that she'd actually improve," ('What does he mean by ACTUALLY?') "So I want to see whether or not it was just a fucking waste of time. You can't videotape the match, and there's no god-damn way in hell I'll accept just being told how it went!"
"So you're just gonna waltz right in there like you own the joint?" you asked, face smoothing over into an emotionless mask, "You don't want people seeing you in there, Hiruma. You're an asshole and somewhat of a punk with a lot of connections, but even you don't want that kind of reputation, and you won't be able to blackmail your way out of it."
"Che," Hiruma scoffed, sending you a look that practically screamed 'Dumbass!', "Who the hell do you think you're talking to, Damn Cat?"
Snirk!
You and Hiruma turned toward your coach -you with your mouth open as you were about to yell at the blond- to see the guy holding back a small fit of laugher.
"The hell's so funny, Fucking Geezer?"
"That nickname you gave her fits pretty well," Coach replied, then straighened out and asked, "And what's with what you just called me?"
"He comes up with a nickname for everyone," you replied matter-of-factly, "From what I've heard, they're all like that."
"Well then why's yours so mild?"
"It's wasn't always."
"Ah, so the people he likes get nicer nicknames?"
"Uh, I don't think that's it, on both accounts. His friend's nickname's just as bad as yours."
"Hmmm..."
"Oi!" Hiruma exclaimed, "I'm still here, dumbasses!"
You and Coach both turned back to the quarterback standing next to you, and upon seeing the peeved look on Hiruma's face you let out a snicker of your own. Which, in turn, earned you a glare from said teenager and a literal ass-kicking accompanied by, "The hell's so damn funny?"
Of course, you weren't about to take such blatant rudeness laying down, so you retaliated, thus starting a rather animated arguement between you and Hiruma. It didn't last very long, however, as it was interrupted by Coach's hearty laughter. "Hahaha! Alright, children, that's enough! We don't want to draw any attention to ourselves now. And Boy," he added looking at Hiruma, who twitched angrily at the nickname, "You'll stay with me when Rai leaves; I'll get you in there somehow."
"Speaking of leaving," you stated, voice and face smoothing over once again, "I need to go wait for the ride." With that you turned and started walking away, waving over your shoulder lazily. Once you were out of earshot, Coach turned to Hiruma with a smirk.
"Well aren't you two just cuuuuute!"
"What the HELL are you talking about?"
You, Hiruma, and Coach were in a small room waiting for the match to start. There were a few real fights scheduled for the day as well as yours, and since nobody paid to watch a newbie like yourself, you'd be going after everything else was over. At the moment you were sitting on a bench getting your hands bandaged by Coach while Hiruma leaned up against the wall in a corner.
"I've got a bad feeling," you said finally, looking pointedly at Coach. He caught on immediately.
"How long ago was your last dream?" he asked, tone serious. Hiruma looked between the two of you with interest.
"The most recent one was two nights ago. They're all pretty much the same. I hope the medical staff is good today."
Coach sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose in worry. Before he could reply, though, Hiruma beat him to the punch.
"What the hell're you talking about?"
"Funny," Coach said, smirk on his face, "You asked the exact same question when Rai left."
"You didn't fucking answer me then, either!"
You looked at them in confusion. "What're you talking about?"
Coach sighed. "Anyway, I need to check a few things. Boy, you can finish her hands, right?"
"Yeah, 'cause they do this all the time in football, Coach."
"Really?"
Cue facepalm. Coach then walked out of the room to go take care of whatever business it was he had to do, although you had an inkling he was going to try to get info on your opponent. Hiruma sat down on a wood chair that was also in the room and watched as you proceeded to wrap you hand. You knew he wanted an explanation for what had just happened, but you didn't particularly feel like giving him one, so you ignored him. Which resulted in an awkward silence between the two of you. Of course, Pixie Boy wasn't just gonna drop the subject.
"So what the hell was that all about?" he demanded, sending you a scrutinizing glare.
"Nothing that concerns you, Hiruma." The quarterback's glare transformed into one of annoyance. Seeing this you sent him a glare of your own and snapped, "If you want to know so badly then go blackmail it out of someone. That's your specialty, right? Finding answers? So please, let me keep what little dignity I have for a little long - Ouch!" During your rant you'd accidentally yanked the bandage so that it felt like it almost crushed your hand. Then suddenly -
Whack!
- right upside your head, accompanied by, "Idiot." Before you could finish rubbing the side of your head and commence throwing a smack of your own Hiruma' s way, you heard the sound of the chair being dragged across the floor. Looking up, you were surprised to find that Hiruma had dragged the chair in front of you and had sat in it.
"Now what?" you asked, seemingly worn-out from your ranting.
"Hold out your hand, Damn Cat."
'What could he possibly want now?' Casting the boy a dubious glance, you held your hand out to him before turning your head to look pensively at the smooth, concrete wall. Seconds later a start of surprise wracked through your body when you felt him take hold of your hand and startfinishing the wrapping."D-don't bother, I can do it..."
"At the rate you were going," Hiruma interrupted, "You'd have cracked every bone in your hand before the first match. Now shut up."
So you did, but you turned away with a small, exasperated huff and pout and an ever-so-slight blush on your cheeks. After that a silence lapsed between the two of you and Hiruma quickly finished the bandaging, moving on to your other hand.
'He didn't do too bad,' you thought, examining your hands when they were finished. "Thanks," you said, then stood, stretched a bit, and turned toward the blond. "I'm going to find Coach and see what he's been up to. Since you're here, I guess you can just do whatever you want."
~~Time Lapse~~
Your search for your coach had been fruitless, and out of sheer boredom you decided to meander about town to kill some time. Hiruma had decided to follow you and for once you didn't bother to question his reason, mostly because he helped you keep your mind off things. About an hour later you returnedd to the warehouse and to your little room, where Coach seemed to be waiting for you. He looked at you seriously as you came in and said, "Your match starts in ten."
A sudden wave of anxiety hit you and you stopped dead in your tracks, his words having hit you like a train. You quickly surpressed it though, and closed your eyes, letting your head dip down a little.
"What is she doing?" Hiruma asked, turning to Coach. The older man looked over at Hiruma for a moment before answering.
"Switching over," he started, scratching his chin, "Is the best way I can describe it. She said you saw her last sparring match; no boubt you noticed a change in her demeanor? The way she carried herself, the look in her eyes, her aura itself?" Hiruma didn't say anything in reply, so Coach continued. "I won't tell you all the details -partly because I don't know all of them, but also because it's not my place- but to put it shortly, she's getting herself ready. Just wait and see."
Meanwhile you were still standing there, as if you hadn't heard the conversation at all. Which was pretty much true. A few moments later Coach and Hiruma noticed a change, as if a totally different person were standing in front of them. Your stance was looser like you were ready to spring at anything that might become a threat.
"Rai."
Turning, your now cold, harsh narrowed eyes met the worried brown orbs of your coach. After hesitating for a moment in forming his words he finished, "Be careful."
The grin you sent back toward your coach left even Hiruma taken aback. It was a large, chesire-like smile full of... full of what? Hiruma had never really seen anything like it. He could only describe it to be one a wolf might bear on its countenence right before it got ready to tear the throat from an enemy that made its blood boil with rage. As a smile that seemed to say, "Don't worry, I'll only maim him a little." Then you turned and wordlessly walked out the door, heading toward the arena.
Hiruma turned to Rai's coach. "What the hell just happened?" he demanded. He found himself actually having to put an effort into remaining calm and it surprised him, since he didn't really know why he was upset in the first place.
"I told you already," the older man replied, "She got herself ready for what she has to face."
"And that's how she's been trained to do it?" the blond boy snapped sharply, glaring at the coach.
"Watch your mouth when jumping to conclusions, Boy! Of course I didn't teach her that; I'd never. No," Coach added sadly, "That was the man that trained her before me, the one that found her when she was on the streets. Now, let's get out there and watch. You'll have to ask her yourself if you want more answers."
With that they left the room, Coach closing the door behind them and watching Hiruma walk ahead and, despite everything, found himself smiling.
'Rai, you chose one hell of an oddball, didn't you?'