A/N: I like to think that Kitagawa Daiichi and Karasuno High are within walking distance, so that might explain things a little more clearly.
This is the chapter considered the Season Finale. Which means it is super, super long, just for you, dear readers! This will be the end of Season One of Kindergarten Bully (yey)!
Some people revel in taking risks, and some go through life taking no risks at all.
— Nicholas Winton
"Did you get enough money from your piggy bank for the bus fare?" Taiga asked Jun'ichi as they sat down in their classroom. They were met with friendly smiles and waves from all of their classmates. It was nice to be popular.
Even when those smiles and waves quickly disappeared to frowns and scowls when they thought the twins weren't watching.
The twins could hardly be angry at each other for long. In this cold, unfeeling world, they only had each other and knew it. They lived off of each other—one could not thrive without the other.
"Enough for one person," Jun replied, patting his wallet. There were hundreds of yen shoved in their by their stepmother—they weren't allowed to use it; it was only to show that their family was well off.
"Same for me," Taiga said, giving her brother a small smile. "I can't wait until tomorrow."
"Still, though... we really gonna skip school for this tournament? Kaede's mother is going to kill us." Jun'ichi rubbed the back of his head, his eyes uncertain. Taiga sighed. She knew how terrified of their stepmother he was—even more so than she was. Her shoulder started to ache again but she ignored it, frowning at Jun.
"I don't want to listen to her anymore." She crossed her arms and leaned back in her seat. "She has the audacity to portray us as the perfect children in a perfect family... The other kids don't know about what she's really about. If they did, they wouldn't even talk to us. And, honestly? I wouldn't mind that. I just... don't want to listen to her anymore."
"Taiga!" Jun exclaimed, horrified. "Do you know what she'll do to us if she finds out—"
"I know!" Taiga snapped. "But I've had it up to here," she stretched her arm up as high as she could reach, "with that woman! In fact, after the tournament, I'm not going home."
"Eh?! Taiga, your impulsiveness is speaking again!"
"But it could work," she argued. "We don't have that much stuff anyway, except our uniforms and your soccer jersey. We could pack quickly this afternoon and never go back."
"But where will we go?" Jun wanted to escape Kaede's mother as much as his twin—he was eager to hear her ideas, though skeptical.
"We could rent an apartment or something—"
"We're twelve," Jun deadpanned.
"We can figure something out though," Taiga told him, tapping her fingers on the table. "Please, Jun. After the tournament, we don't go back home, okay?"
"No..."
"Please!"
"No!" Jun cried worriedly.
"Think about it. We could steal money from her to last us for a while and get jobs."
"We're not thirteen yet—"
"We will be soon! Next week, if you haven't already forgotten. Then we'll be eligible to get a job!"
Jun sighed. He knew there was no use stopping her. But to go through with this childish, impulsive plan... He bit his lip. He couldn't just go home and let Taiga fight for her own survival by herself, could he?
"Fine," he agreed reluctantly.
"Yes! Thanks, bro."
Naoko glanced over her shoulder to see Takashi crossing his fingers and muttering something under his breath, his eyes closed.
"Kishiyama-san?" she tapped his arm politely.
"Ah!" Takashi straightened his back and opened his eyes. "I'm not sleeping, Shouta!"
"I'm not Yamada-san."
Takashi laughed nervously, rubbing the back of his head. "Y-yes, I can see that... sorry, Makoshima-chan, I'm just so incredibly nervous right now." Tears of hopelessness comically flowed down his face, causing Naoko to sweatdrop. "I may be the vice but I'm also the team's weakest link..." He looked at his fingers, which were twitching erratically, testimony to his nerves.
"Don't fret too much," she told him, turning away to face the front of the bus. The entire martial arts club was coming along to support and cheer for their team of three. The school had kindly let them borrow one of its buses for this special occasion. "Worry is essentially a control issue, Kishiyama-san."
"Hah? What do you mean by that?" Takashi blinked at her in confusion. A few of the other club members were also paying close attention to their conversation, Shouta included.
"It's trying to control the uncontrollable. Parents worry about their children because they cannot control them. We worry about the economy because we cannot control it." She turned her head just a tad to eye him. "We cannot control the future so we worry about it."
"I... see where you're coming from," Takashi admitted before Shouta rudely butted in.
"Oi! What are you trying to pull? Acting all serene and perfect like that. You telling me that you've never had to worry about anything before?" he growled. "Tch, princess."
"You're wrong in that assumption," Naoko rebutted, keeping her eyes focused on the front. "Yamada-san... I worry about a lot of things."
"Oh, yeah? Like what? Because you don't seem to be worried about the tournament at all. Does this mean nothing to you? Is it just some kind of game you're playing with us—"
"Game?" Naoko cut him off, finally making eye contact with him. "I can assure you, Yamada-san, this is no game." Her lip curled upward in a slight sneer. "It's never been a game to me."
"What the hell are you trying to say—"
"Yamada, that's enough," the supervising teacher barked from his seat at the front of the bus. "Stop trying to pick fights with your own teammate."
"Hrr..." Shouta shut up, though he definitely wasn't being a happy camper about it.
In her seat, Naoko clenched her fists, her knuckles turning bone white from the action. Shouta was wrong. This tournament wasn't just nothing to her.
Not long after, the bus arrived at the Sendai Martial Arts Stadium, situated smack dab in the middle of the city. The boys—Izumi had been the only girl in the martial arts club before she left—all gathered their belongings and supplies and filed out of the bus. Some were carrying bottles of water while others possessed basic medical supplies like bandages, gauze and ointment.
Naoko was the last to come out of the bus, just after Takashi, who had stopped to help a younger boy who had dropped two water bottles on the floor.
They entered the stadium, some of the younger boys "oohing" and "aahing" at even the most basic things. One could tell that they had never been outside of the country before—one boy even mistakenly thought a normal cell tower was Tokyo Tower.
"We're not even in Tokyo!" an exasperated Shouta pointed out when the boy had said that. "Next you'll be saying that Shanghai is one city away from Sendai."
"It is?" the oblivious boy gasped.
"No, it's not!"
"Oh..."
"Alright, boys." The supervisor clapped his hands together. "All of you to the bleachers. We're in the front row seats. I'll pick one student to stand in the arena with me so they can help out. Yamada, Kishiyama, and Makoshima, all of you get changed and prepare. Then go to the competitor's area."
"Yes, sensei!" all three of them chorused, though Naoko's cheer was a bit lackluster.
The girls change rooms was a further one corridor down from the boy's change rooms so she had to leave the boys before continuing on her own, not that she minded. It was decidedly more peaceful without Takashi and Shouta, especially the latter, who didn't really know when to shut up.
Naoko was walking into the female change rooms when a smaller figure bumped into her.
"Geh!" the smaller figure—a young girl with long brown hair—cried, recoiling. "S-sorry!"
"What were you doing in there?" Naoko asked, looking down on her with callous eyes. "You're obviously not a competitor." She wasn't dressed in any kind of uniform or gi; she wore a black shirt, a beanie and a grey skirt and was carrying a lumpy backpack.
She lowered her gaze nervously. "... My brother dared me to go in. I didn't do anything weird though." The girl looked up, a defiant spark in her eyes. Naoko cocked her eyebrow at that. The younger girl obviously didn't like older authority, though Naoko was probably only older than her by a few years.
"I believe you," Naoko answered, stepping around her to enter the change rooms.
"Ehh?! You do?!"
Naoko stopped in her tracks. "Yeah."
"... Thanks. I'm Koharu Taiga, by the way. Don't tell on me, okay?" Then she ran off to a snickering young male with the same color hair as her, barking insults at his gleeful face. "I said shut up, Jun!"
Naoko disappeared into the change rooms as Taiga and Jun'ichi walked away.
"Stop laughing!" Taiga yelled at him, ticked off. "You sadist!"
"I can't help it! Haha—your face was hilarious!"
Taiga stuck her tongue out at him. "Whatever." They turned around the corner and it was Jun's turn to run into someone. "Sorry," Taiga apologized for her brother, hardly giving the stranger a second glance.
"Yeah, sorry," Jun added without even looking at who he had bumped into.
"Oi." The person he had bumped into grabbed his shoulder and squeezed. Hard. Jun flinched at the amount of pressure.
Taiga whirled on Jun's attacker, a girl with short blonde hair and cold blue eyes. "Hey! Let him go."
Izumi sneered at them. "You fucked with the wrong person, today, kids. I am very, very pissed off today."
"Whatcha gonna do to us, huh?!" Taiga snapped, grabbing Jun's arm and trying to pull him out of Izumi's grip. "Hit us?! Well, do it then! We're already used to it—"
Suddenly, a small hand clutched Izumi's shoulder and forced her to turn around. Izumi released Jun, the boy falling backward onto Taiga, who frantically pushed him off her before helping him up, her chocolate brown eyes wide.
"Are you okay?" Taiga demanded.
"F-fine," Jun stuttered, pale.
"You," Izumi hissed hatefully, jerking her shoulder out of Naoko's grip. The raven-haired girl regarded her with equal poison in her gaze. "What the fuck are you doing here—" With a shriek of rage, she raised her hand into the air, as if to slap Naoko.
Naoko folded her arms, her eyes defiant. "Go ahead."
"How dare you—"
"Yo, Izumi, what are you doing?" Tori appeared, her hands in her pockets and an unlit cigarette between her pursed lips. "Why the hell are you attacking another competitor?"
"Competitor?" Izumi parroted, confused. She hadn't been paying enough attention to notice that Naoko was dressed in the official gi for Aobajosai. "What are you—" She smirked cruelly. "Oh. So those losers recruited you, huh? Oh how the mighty have fallen."
Naoko returned that smirk. "That's funny, coming from you. Have you met yourself yet?"
Taiga tugged Jun's sleeve, gesturing with her thumb that it was time for them to leave.
Any humor Izumi had disappeared as she pinched her features in a horrible scowl, Tori giving her a sideways glance as she did so. "That will change. Now that I know you're here... it's time to right what's wrong. You'd better not get eliminated before the final round. Don't get too thirsty, yeah? Coffee and sports drinks aren't all that it's cracked up to be. Come, on Tori!"
"Er, okay," Tori said, looking confused as Izumi dragged her away.
Naoko growled under her breath as the two girls left, knowing all about their scheme. Tossing her sports bag over her shoulder, she followed them to where all the other teams and competitors were gathered. There were a few snack stalls there which offered vegetarian alternatives as well as a variety of meats. Naoko glanced around, searching for Takashi's silver hair and Shouta's dark one.
They found her first.
"Makoshima-chan!" Takashi called as he weaved his way through the crowd to get to her. "There you are." He chuckled. "I actually saw you from a distance and you looked so lost that it was really cute."
"Oi, stop flirting and get one of those complimentary sports drinks," Shouta barked, glaring at his subordinates. "Everybody else is drinking them."
It was true. The brand of sports drink that they left on the tables for competitors were a pretty expensive brand.
"Get it yourself," Takashi huffed, pouting. "I'm not your errand boy."
"I was asking nicely, Bakatako!"
"I am not a stupid octopus, thank you very much!" Takashi all but shouted at Shouta. "And you weren't asking nicely at all!"
"I'd avoid them if I were you," Naoko said to Shouta. "Do you not remember what I told you?"
"Yeah, and I think you're full of shit. Don't try to stop me."
She shrugged. "No one's stopping you from taking one. I was just saying, Yamada-san." Then you can see just how full of shit this entire competition is thanks to Tori and Izumi.
Shouta growled and crossed his arms. "Well, if you put it that way, I'm not that thirsty after all. Happy?"
"I don't really care either way," Naoko deadpanned.
"On second thoughts, I am thirsty!"
... Just make up your mind already. Shouta was going out of his way to disagree with her and, frankly, it was getting old.
Shouta stormed off, a dark cloud hanging over his head. Takashi sighed and turned to Naoko.
"Sorry about him," he apologized, biting his lip. "He's not usually this antsy. It's just that—well—Aobajosai hasn't won a martial arts tournament in years. And his dream is to win the tournament. It's his last year, you know. He won't have any other opportunities to bring glory to the school after this one."
"I'm aware," Naoko answered, leaning against the wall. "And we will win."
"Hah... yeah, I guess. We're certainly not the best in the prefecture but..." His gaze steeled over. "We can sure as hell try to be."
Naoko had no doubt that they would.
There was a small tuck shop which served the best tasting pork and beef curry and rice in the town, situated between Karasuno High and Kitagawa Daiichi. Students from both schools often went there during lunchtimes to mingle and eat the delicious pork curry.
Sumire, sitting on a two-seater table across from Kageyama, shovelled a spoonful of rice and curry sauce into her mouth, watching Kageyama eat from underneath her bangs. Though it might not look it, the two were actually having an eating competition. If one spilled any of the contents onto the table or floor, they automatically lost, hence why Kageyama and Sumire were eating as quickly and cleanly as they possibly could. It was considerably slower than what their pace would have been like had that requirement not been there, so they actually looked somewhat normal among the crowd.
Kageyama glared at Sumire through his own bangs, a bold declaration in his piercing stare. I'm going to beat you.
Sumire returned his glare with one of her own. Not if I can help it. Then she kicked his leg beneath the table, causing him to nearly fall out of his chair as he tried to avoid the blow to his shin.
As expected, he kicked back, and Sumire was doing her best to evade his shoes as she vacuumed up the curry.
When she had returned to her own home yesterday, she had gotten quite the scolding from Naoko, spending most of the duration of her lecture shamefully fixing her gaze on the floor and counting how many tiles it had.
After that insightful (see: horrible) lecture, Naoko immediately sent her up to her room like any good parent would. Sumire had yet to tell her about the condition of her violin. About the Koharu twins who had so cruelly played a part in its destruction.
Honestly, now that she thought about it a little more, she was more scared for the twin's safety than anything else. If Naoko ever found out about their involvement—and she likely would very soon after the martial arts competition—the twins would probably—
"I win!" Kageyama boasted, lifting his chopsticks in the air in triumph. His cheeks were stuffed full with meat and rice, making him look like a human-chipmunk hybrid.
Sumire swore loudly, gaining some odd looks from other patrons. "Dammit, I was distracted! The sun was in my eyes!"
Kageyama glanced outside the shop window before giving her a wry look. Outside, it was totally grey and cloudy and threatened to rain soon. The sun couldn't even be glimpsed under the thick, unwelcoming blanket of clouds.
"Did I say sun?" Sumire chuckled nervously as she finished the remnants of her bowl of curry. "I meant... fun. Yeah, I was having so much fun eating that some of the sauce got in my eyes."
"And you say you're not a dumbass," Kageyama mocked. "Face it, I won and you lost, twig."
"I'm smarter than you are!" Sumire pointed out, narrowing her eyes. "Remember when I helped you study for that math test?"
Kageyama flushed slightly. "Shut up, dumbass. I failed anyway. That was probably your fault."
"I'm sorry I am unable to cure chronic stupidity," Sumire said dryly, cocking an eyebrow.
"Tch!" Kageyama scoffed. "And to think I was actually going to—" He cut himself off. "Never mind."
"Going to what?"
"I said shut up!"
"No, you didn't, you said 'never mind'!"
"I—"
"Excuse me? Are you Kageyama Tobio?"
Sumire and Kageyama turned their heads to the right to see a girl with lavender hair standing before them, hands behind her back. She didn't hunch and she stood like a proper young lady.
A perfect housewife, Sumire and Kageyama both thought at the same time.
"Yeah," Kageyama answered. "What do you want?"
"Don't be so rude, Tobio," Sumire scolded.
"My friend wanted me to give you this," the girl said, ignoring what had just transpired and giving an envelope to Kageyama. "Have a nice day." She bowed to them once before disappearing into the crowd, many of which were now getting their umbrellas out in preparation for oncoming rain.
"What is it?" Sumire asked after Kageyama had opened it, tossing the envelope aside on the table.
Kageyama's eyes moved left to right and back again as he read the letter. "It's from Annoying Girl—I mean, Honda-san," he told her, looking slightly confused. "She wants me to meet her at the cherry blossom tree at the back of the school after last period." He shrugged. "I have volleyball practice after school so I won't go." His gaze shifted to the large bag he had sitting at his feet. "You're coming to practice, right? Noya and Daichi enjoy having an extra libero around; so do the others."
Sumire nodded, stifling a giggle when he accidentally referred to the girl as "Annoying Girl". "Yeah, though Naoko-nee's making me call her as soon as school is over to tell her where I am..." She heaved a sigh. "Not that I blame her. Naoko-nee's always right about these things." She frowned. "Also, you should go just to see what she wants. It'd be rude to stand her up."
"But I don't want to go," Kageyama complained, the side of the letter crumpling in his stern grip. "It's probably just going to be her trying to make me talk to the other dumb people in my class."
"Aren't you a ray of sunshine?" Sumire remarked, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "Look, just go see what she wants and then come to practice. It probably won't take that long so stop being such a baby."
"Baby? I'm not the one who cried into my arms two nights ago," he reminded her, wincing when he realized what he had just said. "Sorry—"
"It's fine," she said quietly. "I know I was being a baby."
"Hey!" he snapped, causing her to jump. "You have to come to practice after school, okay?!"
Sumire, wide-eyed, nodded. "I said I was coming, didn't I? Why do you want me there so bad anyway?"
"Because I—" He cut himself off again with a huff. "Never mind! Just be there."
"Okay, okay!" She held up her hands in surrender. "I was already planning to come so it's no problem."
Suddenly, thunder boomed, rain beginning to fall from the clouds in a gentle patter that gradually became heavier and heavier. Neither Kageyama or Sumire had brought umbrellas with them to the store.
"Dammit," Kageyama cursed. "We're gonna have to—"
"Run?" Sumire finished, getting out of her seat at the same time as Kageyama. He put his school bag on and picked up the bag that he had placed on the floor when they arrived. "Wanna race?"
"How the hell is that going to work? We're going two different directions, dumbass."
"That sounds like the talk of someone who knows he's going to lose," Sumire taunted, smirking.
He narrowed his eyes. "You're on."
"Call me when you get back to your school! Unless I call you first," she added smugly, knowing that Kitagawa was closer to the tuck shop than Karasuno.
Without warning, Kageyama suddenly ran out of the store without even a second glance. Sumire gawked at his boldness for a few seconds before running out and into the rain herself. All the way back to Kitagawa Daiichi.
By some miracle, Kageyama called her just as she was pulling up at the school gates of Kitagawa.
"How?" she muttered into the phone.
"Longer legs," he reminded her. Gods, she could almost hear his pleased smirk. "Runt."
She snorted as she walked back into her school building. "Whatever. See you after school. And don't forget to meet Honda."
"Hey, Shittykawa, I need to talk to you," Iwaizumi said as he dragged Oikawa away from their lunch table and to a more secluded area.
"Eh? At least let me grab my lunch, Iwa-chan—"
"Later," he told him. "Just come with me."
"That's pretty gay, you know!" Makki called, exchanging an amused glance with Mattsun.
"Not as gay as what you do in your morning routine," Iwaizumi answered back over his shoulder, Oikawa snickering at his retort.
"He's got you there," Mattsun said as Iwaizumi and Oikawa made their exit.
"That was rather questionable," Oikawa remarked as they finally stopped in front of the gym. He wriggled his eyebrows. "Is Iwa-chan going to confess to me?"
"It's not me you should be worry about," Iwaizumi replied, leaning against the wall of the gym. "Shittykawa, I'm going to ask you a question and you're going to answer me seriously."
"When do I not take you seriously, Iwa-chan?" Oikawa asked loftily.
Iwaizumi deadpanned at him before saying, "You're not gay, right?"
Oikawa stared at him, deliberating the answer. "I don't think so. Why? You're not actually coming on to me, right?"
"For the last time, no. That aside... I want to talk to you about Makoshima."
"Which one?" Oikawa answered smartly. "There are three you know."
"Tch, you know exactly who I mean so drop the act. It's annoying. Makoshima called me last night about..." He trailed off, unsure of how to continue. In what way could he possibly word what Tadashi had confided to him about his situation.
Iwaizumi felt minimum guilt as he contemplated on how to tell Oikawa about Tadashi's intended confession. If Iwaizumi kept his silence, he knew for sure that Oikawa would use the confession as an opportunity to rip down Tadashi. That was just how he was. He couldn't stop Tadashi from confessing. But the least he could do was ensure that Tadashi got a gentle letdown.
"He likes you," Iwaizumi chose to begin with, gauging Oikawa's reaction. When the brunet remained eerily silent, Iwaizumi continued, "He's going to confess to you this afternoon, probably sometime during practice when all the other guys aren't around." It was a known fact that Oikawa sometimes stayed later in the gym to practice his flying serves. Taking Oikawa's silence as another opportunity, he pounced, "And when he does, you're not going to be a bastard about it, do you hear me?"
"Iwa-chan—"
"I'm serious. And don't give me that kindergarten bully bullshit, because you're a fucking nineteen year old man and you're going to act like one, do you hear me?"
Oikawa blankly stared at his best friend. "Fine. But that doesn't mean I have to like it." He shuddered. "The White Monster likes me? No surprise there—everyone does—" Iwaizumi scoffed. "—but... it's strange. Weird. Unworldly." His eyes widened. "The work of aliens."
Iwaizumi snorted. "Does everything have to relate back to aliens with you?" He narrowed his eyes. "You're not lying to me, right? You're going to let him down gently and—"
"I get it, Iwa-chan!" Oikawa huffed, pouting. "Besides, I said I'd quietly hate him now, not actively witch-hunt him. I'm pretty sure rejecting his advances in the most ruthless way possible would count as actively witch-hunting."
"Good." Iwaizumi nodded. "And if you do, I will know, and I will punch you. Multiple times," he added as an afterthought.
Oikawa chuckled lowly. "So mean, Iwa-chan... But Mako-chan's punches hurt more than yours."
Iwaizumi held up a fist. "Wanna bet? I'm sure if that's the case, you won't have any problem taking mine."
"Ack! Noo, Iwa-chan, sorry, sorry!"
With a small grunt, Naoko slammed a roundhouse kick into her opponent's belly, sending him flying across the ring. He landed in a curled up position, unconscious, his eyes rolling to the back of his head so that Naoko could only see the whites of his eyes as she approached him. Callously, she grabbed him by the foot and dragged him off the stage, all without blinking an eyelash.
There was no place for hesitation or second guessing in the ring. If her opponent hadn't been disqualified before, he surely was now.
The judging panel, a group of old men, named her the winner. She would move onto the next round, where she would be facing another young man.
Preliminaries were one round ago, and the Aobajosai team members had all made it in. Both Shouta and Takashi had won their after-preliminary first matches as well.
Naoko's jaw clenched when she saw the quality of everyone's performance in the ring—or lack of thereof. Thanks to whatever drug Tori's likely influential mother had spiked the coffee and sports drinks with, the martial artists were now moving sluggishly and clumsily in her unaffected eyes. She was sure that, now that they were knowingly under the influence of these drugs, they would see things a lot differently.
She had watched Shouta fight before she had been called up; he was just like the rest of them: slow, ungraceful and shaky, though he likely had deluded himself into thinking that he was performing at his peak—same went for the other influenced fighters.
It was pathetic, really. She had hardly used up any of her energy fighting her last two opponents. Now that she was off the stage to make way for other fighters, she did a couple of stretches on the sidelines, preparing for her next match.
"Hey." Takashi sidled up next to her. "You ready? You're facing that big guy over there."
"Yeah," she replied. "I know. And I am. Are you ready? Your next opponent is pretty big as well." Not that that really meant much. Skill, stamina and technique mattered more than size.
Takashi nodded eagerly. "Shouta's fighting right now. You want to see?" He pointed to a far away ring where two figures were duking it out.
"No," she answered truthfully. "I—" One of them fell of the stage and she was sure it was Shouta. "He lost."
"What?!" Takashi hadn't been looking, having glanced off momentarily. "Are you sure that was him?!"
"Yes. The one that fell off was wearing the same gi as us."
"Dammit!" Takashi pinched the bridge of his nose. "Now what?"
"We keep going," Naoko told him, looking over to where her next opponent was giving her the evil eye. "Aobajosai will take the championship."
"You sound awfully sure of it."
"I am."
Because she would meet Izumi in the finals. Whether it went one way or another, it didn't matter—Aobajosai would win.
Takashi was called up to his fight just as Naoko was by the officials. Naoko silently wished him good luck as she got up on the ring to face her next opponent. A rather bulky young man who looked like he practiced judo.
He began to trash-talk her, but his words hardly penetrated. Like the rest, he had emptied out a sports drink bottle, and it was just history from there. If only he hadn't touched the liquids he might have actually stood a chance.
Takashi won his match too, which made Naoko wonder if he had drank any of the drugged drinks. She didn't remember him ingesting anything except some water and pork, but she might have missed it.
By the fifth round, Naoko was already getting bored of things. After the fifth round would be the quarterfinals, then the semis. Then, finally, the grand final, where she and Izumi would fight it out once again in a rematch.
With this in mind, she ruthlessly struck her opponent with a hard body blow. Spittle flew out of his mouth as he was flung backward by the amount of force she had put it. He rolled once, then twice, before coming to the stop at the edge of the ring. Just like she had done with her previous opponents, she mercilessly kicked him out of the ring.
Now that the quarterfinals were approaching, it was announced that there would be a ten minute break for the competitors to rest themselves. The man Naoko had knocked out cold was carried off in a stretcher as Naoko climbed off the raised stage and to a sullen Shouta and smiling Takashi.
"Did you win all your matches?" Naoko asked Takashi, largely ignoring Shouta for the most part.
"Yeah!" he replied, smiling. "Which is pretty weird, considering..." He twiddled his thumbs. "I thought these were the best martial artists in the prefecture. But from the way they were performing... I bet our club's first years could take them on."
"Mm." Naoko took a swig of water. "It is strange, isn't it?" Out of her peripheral vision, she spotted Tori going off with another woman, who looked to be her mother. "Excuse me, I'll be right back." She put down her water bottle, grabbed her phone from her bag, and followed after the two females, who had disappeared down one of the corridors that led to the back of the arena.
Quietly, she stalked them until they stopped, the woman grabbing Tori by the arm and speaking in a harsh tone. It was then Naoko turned on her phone and began to record, hidden by a wall that was sticking out.
"You were supposed to make sure that all of them took the drug!" she shouted at Tori, digging her false nails into her arm.
"I tried!" Tori snapped, pulling out of her mother's grasp, wincing when her mother's nails scraped across her soft skin. "I offered the sports drinks and coffee to pretty much everyone and even offered sex to those who refused! I thought I covered everyone, okay?! Who didn't take the drugs, anyway?"
"Aside from Izumi, two," the woman snarled, looking as if she were about to slap Tori across the face. Naoko scowled. She wasn't even concerned that her daughter had just literally told her that she was selling herself to men just to get things done. "That black-haired girl," Naoko's grip on the phone tightened, "and the kid with glasses. They look weak as hell but they've managed to beat all of the good ones!"
"You said they're weak, right?" Tori said, trying to appease her mother. "Which means they probably don't stand a chance against Izumi. All of them were seeded into separate blocks anyway..."
"Who cares?! One of them will still face Izumi in the finals!" The woman massaged her temples. "Calm down, Yuki," she coached herself. "Everything will still work out fine. I bet way too much money on that girl. She will win. If she doesn't... someone will pay."
"Whatever." Tori rolled her eyes.
Naoko stopped recording. That two minute recording alone was already enough to incriminate them, especially once she reported to the officials that the coffee machine and sports drinks had been tampered with. She quickly fled the scene, already hearing the high heels of Tori and her mother clicking her direction.
"Where were you?" Takashi asked when Naoko returned. "You were nearly gone the whole break time."
"Bathroom," Naoko lied easily.
"Oh yeah?" Shouta narrowed his eyes at her. "Then why did you go to the furthest one if you needed to go that badly?"
"I never said I needed to go badly," Naoko pointed out, raising an eyebrow. "Shouta, I know that you're upset that you lost—"
"Fuck being upset! I'm pretty damn fucking pissed—"
"—but when this is all over, you'll still get a chance," Naoko finished.
"What? What the hell are you talking about? Are you frickin' shitting me right now? This was my last tournament and I blew it! So can you stop trying to rub it in my face?!"
"When this is all over," Naoko started again, "you'll still get a chance. You know why? Because they'll have no choice but to do it all over again when I'm done with them. Don't argue with me. Just wait for everything to fall into place."
"You're not funny—"
"I'm not trying to be."
"Guys," Takashi sighed. "Please don't fight."
Just then, it was announced that the quarterfinals would begin shortly. Takashi and Naoko glanced up at giant screen near the top of the stadium, stating their opponents. It seemed like the separate blocks had all come together as one now. She would be facing some random while Takashi...
Takashi would be facing Izumi. The only other person other than he and Naoko that hadn't taken the drugs.
"Shit," Takashi was cussing, his eyes wide with fear. "There's no way I can beat her—"
"You won't beat her if you keep telling yourself that," Naoko interrupted his ramble.
"Hate to say it, but she's right," Shouta agreed, scowling at Izumi's picture on the screen. "Go out there, Takashi, and give her a good old punch in the boobs for me."
Takashi's jaw slackened. Then tears began to pour down his face like a waterfall. "Shouttaaaaaa!" he wailed, collapsing into Shouta's arms.
"Ack! Get off, Bakatako!"
"You do careee!" he continued to sob, grasping Shouta's school uniform (he had changed out from his gi after his loss). "Shouttaaaaa! You can call me a stupid octopus forever as long as you careee!" He pumped his fist, suddenly all fired up. "I'm ready! Win or lose, I'm going to punch in her in the boob!"
Naoko sighed as Shouta face-palmed.
In his passionate declaration, he had said the last part of his sentence far too loudly. A few of the rare female martial artists looked at him with pure disgust as they did their stretches. Even Izumi was staring at them funnily.
"Keep your voice down, idiot!" Shouta barked, whacking Takashi comically across the head. "Now they all think you're a pervert!"
Takashi's nose began to bleed as a look of pure bliss came over his features. "Well..." A small amount of drool dribbled from his lips. "They wouldn't be wrong."
Naoko didn't need to be a rocket scientist to come to the conclusion that Takashi was probably thinking about having his face smothered by disproportionately large breasts.
"Alright, Casanova," she deadpanned, grabbing him by the ear and pulling him to his allocated stage. "Get out there and show that bitch what you're made of."
"Okay!" Takashi all but yelled, still fueled by the thought of suffocation by boobs.
Thanks to her opponent being drugged, Naoko easily defeated him and moved onto the semifinals. After taking another drink of water, she went over to where Takashi and Izumi were fighting.
The silver-haired boy was unnaturally serious while fighting; he was just like her in that respect. From the expression on his face, she knew that his mind was no longer on boobs but on winning instead.
But as hard as Takashi tried, Izumi wasn't letting up. She didn't even seem to be trying, something which infuriated Takashi, his attacks growing more reckless and sloppy.
"I've had enough of this!" Izumi suddenly snapped, grabbing Takashi's incoming fist. "It's time to end this."
Naoko grimaced. She had seen her use this move before. She knew from experience how brutal it was. During their last fight, Izumi had used it on her, and Naoko had only just managed to roll out of the way in time.
Viciously, Izumi flipped Takashi onto his back with great force, effectively stunning the boy. Then she jumped as high as she could into the air, forming her arms in an 'X' position.
There it was.
The Heavenly Cross Attack.*
Takashi was doomed as Izumi successfully struck him with her crossed arms. His face slacked. Then his entire body. Soon, he was out cold. Izumi stood up triumphantly and held her fist up into the air, causing a great uproar with the audience.
It was over.
Naoko could hear Shouta cursing all the way from Aobajosai's bench as Takashi was carried off in a stretcher. Luckily, he was already beginning to show signs of stirring. The blow Izumi had dealt was not as severe as when she had tried it on Naoko.
Her lip curled upward as the semifinals were about to start. Again, she quickly defeated her opponent, knocking her out cold and possibly breaking her nose with a deft punch to the face.
On the other ring, she could see Izumi doing the same with her opponent, though the snake part of her toyed with the unfortunate boy a bit before dealing a hard blow that sent him out of the ring.
"And what a knockout!" the announcer—it was still the same guy from all those years ago; he looked exactly the same except for the fact that he was now growing a mustache—cried out into his microphone. "Which means Chiyoko Izumi will be continuing on to the finals, facing off against Aobajosai's last representative: Makoshima Naoko!"
"Hey, Makoshima," Shouta called to her as she took one final drink of water before her last match. "Make her pay for what she did to Takashi. And try to hit her boobs."
Naoko gave a small smile, knowing that it was his way of saying good luck. "I will."
"For both?"
"You'll see."
She and Izumi were called up to the ring, where the announcer proceeded to tell the audience all about them, just like the last time around.
"Watch, ladies and gentlemen, as history plays out before us once again!" he commentated. "For the first time in nearly seven years, people, Chiyoko Izumi and Makoshima Naoko have returned to the ring to fight it out once again! Last time, it ended up with Makoshima taking the victory... but will history truly repeat itself? Or will Chiyoko be named as this year's winner?!"
The girls, the one scowling and the other frowning ever so slightly, bowed to one another, though not very deeply.
"Let's not wait any longer, folks! Battle... BEGIN!"
"HAAAH!" Izumi yelled as she charged at Naoko, her clawed hand flying past the black-haired girl as she evaded her attack. Her nails scraped Naoko's cheek, causing a shallow scratch, but other than that, Naoko was still unharmed. "STAY! STILL!"
Naoko blocked the next barrage of blocks Izumi dealt her, feeling her arms ache as Izumi pounded her forearms with her fist. She leaped backward and then pounced forward, kneeing Izumi in the gut with a devastating blow.
Izumi flew backwards and landed gracefully on the balls of her feet, her facial features contorted in a perpetual snarl. She leaped for Naoko again, assaulting her with a volley of kicks and punches.
Silently, Naoko blocked all of them, hitting Izumi across the face with a flying elbow when she retaliated.
"HRR!" Izumi growled and they began to exchange blows. Neither of them budged as their fists flew and were blocked. "MAKOSHIMA!" With a sudden burst of energy, she broke through Naoko's defenses and landed a brutal uppercut.
"FINALLY!" Izumi screamed, taking advantage of a stunned Naoko to land several more breaking strikes across her face. She mercilessly pummeled the winded girl, even resorting to uncouthly slapping her across the face multiple times. "YOU—" Punch. "—HAVE—" Crack. "—NO FUCKING IDEA—" Bamf. "—HOW LONG I'VE WAITED FOR THIS MOMENT! YOU HAVE HUMILIATED ME FOR THE LAST TIME, MAKOSHIMA!"
She punched Naoko across the cheek and her head snapped to one side, hanging low. Her entire form was hunched over, her long hair having come out of her ponytail and falling over her bruised face.
"AFTER ALL THESE YEARS, I'M STRONGER THAN YOU NOW! AND THE STRONG—" She panted excitedly, her eyes wild with ecstasy. "—ALWAYS WIN! SO WHAT DO YOU SAY TO THAT, BITCH?!"
"Shit!" Shouta cursed. "This bitch is batshit crazy!"
"Yamada-senpai, I'm scared!" the student assistant that the supervisor had brought down with him cried. "What's going to happen to Makoshima-senpai?"
"I don't know, kid," Shouta grimaced. "I don't know." It looked to be all over. Everything came down to Naoko and... she wasn't going to win. It was all over. And, at the end of the day, all Shouta could put on his resume was "worked really hard to win martial arts tournaments but never got to win" in a classier manner.
Screaming in triumph, Izumi launched one last punch at the seemingly already defeated Naoko.
The crowd gasped.
The announcer nearly dropped his microphone.
Tori's mother chewed her nails, her daughter by her side.
Shouta held his breath.
And Takashi, who had been discharged from the medical bay, watched with wide eyes as he made his way back to the Aobajosai corner.
"What?" Izumi muttered, feeling a squeezing pressure on her balled up fist. Her pupils dilated in shock. "Impossible!"
Naoko, having caught Izumi's punch, stood up straighter, her hair falling behind her into place.
No one could blame Izumi. It really was impossible. How could she still even be standing after Izumi's devastating assault? She held her head up, allowing everyone to see the already forming bruises on her face. There were a plethora of them—on her cheeks, near her eyes, her jaw—and yet her eyes were shining with defiance.
Naoko tugged the fist and Izumi toward her, causing the shocked girl to stumble.
"N-no," Izumi stuttered. "T-this isn't possible—"
Naoko punched her square in the face and Izumi felt her nose break and her cheekbones fracture from the sheer force of the attack. The crowd was hanging in awed silence as Izumi fell backward. In the movies, it would have been in slow motion.
In reality, it only took seconds for her to land on her back, her eyes rolling toward the back of her head as she lost consciousness.
"That," Naoko panted, "was for Tadashi."
It was over.
And it had only taken one blow.
Slowly, Naoko raised her fist in the air.
The crowd exploded with noise.
"AND SHE HAS DONE IT, EVERYONE!" the announcer all but screamed into his microphone, his mustache swishing in excitement. "FOR THE SECOND TIME, MAKOSHIMA NAOKO HAS WON AGAINST CHIYOKO IZUMI AND BECOME MIYAGI'S CHAMPION, THIS TIME AS PART OF THE ADOLESCENT DIVISION!"
Naoko didn't know how it was even possible for the crowd to roar even louder than they had been before. They got up and stomped their feet to make even more noise, some of them even threatening to fall over the protective railing as they cheered and cheered and cheered.
She released a shuddering sigh as her arm trembled from keeping her fist up in the air for so long. All of a sudden, Shouta was on stage, shouting like there was no tomorrow and lifting her into the air and onto his broad shoulders. Tears were streaming down his face in quite possibly the manliest way possible, Takashi also bawling his eyes out.
Aobajosai had won.
It almost made her feel a little guilty about what she was going to do next.
Shouta let her down as the announcer asked her to say a few words, shoving the microphone into her face as he joined her on the stage.
"Now, don't be shy," he coaxed, a massive grin on his face. "You gotta say something, am I right?"
Naoko nodded shortly. "I'll make this clear and quick," she boomed into the microphone. "This competition has been rigged."
"What?!" Shouta and Takashi exclaimed.
The audience gasped collectively as well, shocked.
Tori and her mother began to pale.
"Erm," the announcer stammered uncertainly, "what do you mean?"
"Check the coffee machine and the sports drinks and you'll find that they've been spiked with some sort of anti-performance enhancement drug. I also have evidence on my phone of a condemning conversation between two of the conspirators."
Murmurs began to circulate, and the judging panel looked greatly scandalized.
"I don't want to have to deal with any legal issues," Naoko continued, her voice unwavering. "I only stumbled upon this scheme by circumstance. I'll have the recording sent to the esteemed judging panel. The voices you will hear belong to Toriyama matriarch and her daughter."
"You lie!" Tori's mother shrieked, drawing attention. Security immediately began to restrain her. "I'll have my lawyers destroy you—"
"We'll see who has the last laugh," Naoko cut her off. "Because the evidence against you is damning at the very least."
"It's true!" Tori suddenly wailed, ignoring her mother's furious glare. "I can attest to that. I'm sorry everyone, but my mother...!" She began to cry, burying her face into her hands, her purple bangs falling across the side of her face.
"Damn," Shouta whispered, awed. "So this is what she meant when she said..." He scowled. "Oi, princess! That was a real dick move! Why didn't you reveal this earlier, huh?!" He spoke loudly enough that everyone heard him.
"Because," Naoko was still speaking into the announcer's microphone, "it was personal." Her gaze flicked to where an unconscious and terribly injured Izumi was being tended to. She pushed the microphone away from her mouth and walked to where Shouta was standing. "Don't you think it was for the better though? At least now..." She glanced around the stadium. "You'll have a chance to actually win by your own means."
Shouta gaped at her for a few seconds before steeling his gaze, his mouth set in a thin line. "I'll hold you on to that."
Naoko nodded before walking back down to the Aobajosai section. It was time to let the adults take over from here. The officials were already dealing with the Toriyamas. All Naoko needed to do now was send the recording to the judges and then she would be done with things.
She did just that in the short span of five minutes, one of the officials approaching her for a copy of the audio via email.
"Makoshima-san," the supervisor said, his eyes warm as they walked to the bus. The rain had cleared and it was now sunny. "Good job out there."
"... Thank you, sensei."
"Hey, princess!" Shouta called, all of his club mates behind him. "We got something to say to ya."
Naoko paused, waiting for Shouta to call her out on whatever flaw she might have made. Her face was aching and her arms were sore. Whatever insult or put-down Shouta had to say, she hoped that it would be quick. All she wanted to do now was sit down and take a nap.
To her surprise, all the club members began to fan out, lining up alongside Shouta and Takashi.
"Guys," Naoko started, "what are you—"
They all bowed to her at the waist collectively. "Makoshima-san! Thank you!"
Why are they thanking me? It's my fault that they didn't get to do this properly. "Why?" she uttered. But her question went unanswered as they all gathered around her and nudged her onto the bus, chattering excitedly.
"Man, that was great, beating Izumi like that!"
"S-senpai! You're so cool!"
"Is your face okay? You took quite the beating."
"I'm fine," was all Naoko could respond. "It'll heal."
"You didn't even punch her boob," Shouta complained as they took their seats on the bus. "How lame."
"I was considering to do that," Naoko admitted with a small, wry smile. She lowered her gaze and breathed out a sigh. "But she's been humiliated enough. There wasn't any need."
"I beg to differ, but whatever. Your call, princess."
Naoko nodded slowly before closing her eyes, drifting off to sleep.
Tooru... I did it.
Tadashi's heart pounded as he watched Oikawa leave the gym to go for a water run. It was time. He looked over to Iwaizumi and shouted, "I'm going to the bathroom!"
Iwaizumi's eyes flashed knowingly. "Don't take too long."
Tadashi gave him a nod and jogged out of the gym. Luckily, Oikawa hadn't gone far outside. He was at the water fountain, filling each bottle of painstakingly for his teammates.
Oikawa tilted his head back and yawned, and Tadashi could feel his heart skip a beat.
Before he could change his mind, he forced his legs to walk toward Oikawa. But not before he texted an apology to Naoko.
I'm sorry. I'm confessing to Oikawa today. Please don't be angry.
Where is he? Honda thought worriedly, biting her lip as she stood by the old cherry blossom tree. Did he get my note?
A mop of black-hair appeared in the distance and Honda's breath hitched. Her legs froze up as Kageyama continued walking toward her, hiking up the small mound the tree was planted on and stopping in front of her.
"Your letter said you wanted to meet me here," Kageyama said awkwardly, not knowing what else to say.
He was cute like that, in Honda's opinion.
"Yeah," Honda said softly. "Kageyama-kun..."
Tadashi gulped as he tapped Oikawa on the shoulder.
"Hm? Dashi-chan? Why are you here?" Oikawa blinked in confusion.
"Oikawa..."
I'm sorry. I'm confessing to Oikawa today. Please don't be angry.
Naoko's heart stopped when she read those damning words on her phone. As soon as the bus doors opened, Naoko dashed outside without even a word of goodbye to the martial arts club boys.
"Makoshima-senpai?!"
"Oi, princess, where ya going?!"
"Damn, she runs fast!"
No! Naoko screamed in her mind, the bruises on her face aching as the wind blew against them. Don't let me be too late! She couldn't bear the idea of her brother confessing to Oikawa. This was a mistake. When he had confessed to Ichirou, it had gone all wrong. She couldn't let history repeat itself. And... and...
What if he says yes?
Her heart skipped a beat when she realized that... that...
She didn't want him to say yes.
Naoko ran even faster to where the volleyball club's gym was, peering inside. Neither Tadashi or Oikawa were inside. She could have sworn Iwaizumi looked at her for one brief moment before she left.
Where else could they be? She ran into the school building, searching the side which leaned toward the gyms. She exited through the side door, which opened up to an outside stairwell. And below—
Her breath hitched as Oikawa's eyes met hers from ground.
"Kageyama-kun..." Honda blushed, her eyes becoming hooded as she looked at the ground. "I like you. Will you please go out with me?" She looked up at him hopefully, her eyes sparkling with hope.
"Oikawa..." Tadashi bowed to him. "I-I have feelings for you! Will you go out with me?"
Oikawa stared at the boy bowing before him before moving his gaze upward to stare at the stricken Naoko. Her eyes were wide with fear and—was that devastation?—as she watched the scene unfold hopelessly. Her face was totally bruised, which made her look even more pitiful.
He got the message pretty clear.
Please don't hurt him. Whatever you do, please don't hurt him.
Iwaizumi's voice rang in his head.
"Don't give me that kindergarten bully bullshit, because you're a fucking nineteen year old man and you're going to act like one, do you hear me?"
Please don't hurt him. Whatever you do, please don't hurt him.
Oikawa held all the cards now.
"Dashi-chan," he started, stopping abruptly as he contemplated on how to continue.
Naoko was still staring at him, hoping with all her heart that he wouldn't be mean about it.
Please don't hurt him.
Exhaling, Oikawa gently touched Tadashi's shoulder. It was strange, touching his longtime enemy, but it'd have to do. "I'm sorry, but I cannot accept your feelings. I don't feel the same way about you as you do about me. I..." His gaze flickered upward momentarily, "already like someone else. But thank you for confessing."
Tadashi's eyes were devastating to look into. He slowly stood back up to his full height. "O-oh," he stuttered, struggling to find his voice. "Okay. Thank you anyway. We can still be friends, right?"
The words came to him far more easily than he was comfortable with. "Of course." Oikawa didn't know whether he was lying or not. Do I really want to be friends with him?
Maybe it was time to put the past behind them.
"I'm sorry for what I did to you back in grade school," Tadashi apologized, his entire body shaking, suddenly bowing again. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry."
Oikawa felt Naoko's gaze bore into his head. "I..."
Tadashi continued to bow.
Naoko didn't stop staring, her entire body tense.
"I forgive you," Oikawa finally ground out.
"... Thank you." Tadashi rose again. "Oikawa... is it okay if I go home instead? Naachan's bus would have arrived by now and..." he trailed off, unsure of what to say, his eyes shining with tears.
"I understand," Oikawa said evenly.
Tadashi gave him a weak smile. "I'll see you on Monday."
So he wasn't going to come practice on the weekend either, Oikawa noted.
"See you then, Dashi-chan." He paused, wondering if Tadashi ever liked that name to begin with, but changing it now might hurt him even more.
Then he was gone.
Oikawa could hear him cry softly to himself as he went away. He looked up at the stairwell, where Naoko had visibly relaxed. She descended the stairs, stopping a few feet in front of Oikawa.
He tried not to look too shocked when she bowed to him.
"Thank you, Tooru."
Before he could reply, she was gone as well, chasing after her brother, leaving Oikawa to grasp what exactly had just happened. He smiled to himself, though it was not proud or smug—it was genuine, solemn, and maybe a little sad as well.
You're full of surprises, aren't you, Mako-chan? I think that's what I like about you the most.
After filling up the rest of the bottles, Oikawa walked back to the gym, humming quietly but happily.
Kageyama stared at her. So this was what she had called him here for? A... confession, was it? He had never had anyone confess to him before. It was a new experience for him.
"Um..." Kageyama lowered his gaze uncertainly. "I'm sorry, Honda-san, but I don't like you that way." And I don't think I ever will. But Honda didn't need to know that last part.
"Ah." Honda wilted visibly, though she plastered a smile on her face to try and hide the pain. "Um, Kageyama-kun... I'm just curious when I ask..." She sighed. "Why don't you?"
Well, maybe because she was an annoying busybody who kept sticking her beak into everybody's business but Kageyama certainly wasn't going to tell her that. "Because..." Sumire came into his mind. Annoying, short, self-proclaimed introverted Sumire. What was that feeling when he thought about her? She made him happy, just like volleyball did. Even more so at times. What did that mean? Did it mean that... that... "I think I like someone else."
"Oh." Honda smiled sadly. "I understand. Have you... confessed to them yet?"
"No," Kageyama said shortly.
"Well, you probably should then. That's what you do, you know, when you like someone. You confess to them." She shook her head. "You're so clueless sometimes, Kageyama-kun. But any girl would be lucky to have you. I'm sorry that it wasn't me." She chuckled lowly. "I went through a lot of lengths to try and get to you, you know."
"Oh," Kageyama said, feeling a bit awkward at not knowing how to respond. "So I should confess?"
"Mmhm. I'm sure Sumire would appreciate it."
"Are you sure—wait." He narrowed his eyes at her. "How did you know?"
Honda giggled. "It's so obvious. She's the only girl that you ever interact with. And no, your mother doesn't count. So go get her, okay? Before someone else does." Her heart ached but she was surprisingly fine with that. If Kageyama didn't like her back... well, she couldn't do anything about that, could she?
"Thank you," Kageyama blurted. "For telling me that. I'm going to go tell her now."
"You do that. I'll see you on Monday, Kageyama-kun."
"Yeah. See you."
As Kageyama walked away, Honda sighed to herself and pressed her back against the tree, glancing up to look at the soft blue afternoon sky.
Despite the earlier rain, it was a beautiful day.
"Sumire!" Kageyama shouted as he entered the gym, the bag he was holding bouncing on his leg. His face was fixed in a glare, which was unsurprising for everyone.
"Kageyama?" Sumire blinked at him. "How did things go with Honda?"
He ignored her, taking out what was in the huge bag. A sleek violin case. But it was what was inside it that was important. Without wasting time, he clicked the case open and pulled out the black electric violin Sumire had always wanted.
By now, all the Karasuno boys had stopped laughing at Noya's new and improved Rolling Thunder and were staring at Kageyama and Sumire.
"I like you," Kageyama declared, holding the violin up to her. There was no going back now. "Go out with me."
There was a hush. Even Tsukishima looked mildly surprised at Kageyama's sudden and blunt confession.
All eyes were on them.
Slowly, Sumire took the violin from him, running her hands down the sleek bow and instrument. Then she set it aside, looking up at him. He had the most utmost look of seriousness on his face.
It was cute, if she had to be honest with herself.
Grinning, she replied, "After this, there's no way I don't like you back. Where do you want to go?"
The Karasuno boys went ballistic, Noya and Tanaka cheering Kageyama on and slapping his back, much to the surprise of the setter. Hinata was doing something similar, practically bouncing around him.
They crowded Sumire as well, Tsukishima sneaking in an insult or two through his congratulatory words. Yamaguchi was much nicer about it, even giving her a small hug.
Sumire smiled to herself, flushing as she picked up her new violin and held it close to her heart.
It was a beautiful day.
"What kind of run down shop is this?" Jun exclaimed as he and Taiga entered the Sakanoshita Store.
"The only one in the area that will hire two thirteen year olds like us," Taiga replied.
"Twelve," Jun corrected.
"Whatever."
"Hey, what're you kids doing in here?" A scary-looking man with dyed blonde hair swept back in some kind of headband entered the store.
"We're here to seek work," Taiga explained. "And... possibly, refuge."
"Refuge?" Ukai Keishin raised an eyebrow at them. "Don't you guys have a home?"
"No," they answered in unison. Where they came from, there was no home. There wasn't a home without a heart.
"Then how the hell have you been surviving?! Your parents—"
"Are dead," Taiga finished. They might as well be if their father let their stepmother get away with hitting them.
He scowled at them. "One night. Only because it's getting late. First thing tomorrow, I'm calling your school. Kitagawa, right?"
"How did you—" Taiga slapped a hand over her brother's mouth but it was too late.
Ukai smirked. "Just a hunch. But thanks for confirming it."
Suddenly, Jun's phone rang. He paled when he saw who it was from. "It's from Kaede's okaa-san."
Taiga swore and snatched the phone from him. "I'll handle this. Hello?"
"Where the hell have you been?!" their stepmother shrieked. "I will hit you with your father's belt when you get home!"
"I'm at the Sakanoshita Store," Taiga said boldly. "We're going to work there and live there." She passed a pleading look at Ukai, who looked outraged. "Please," she mouthed to him. "You don't want us around, kaa-san, you've made that clear," Taiga went on before her stepmother could start screaming. "So just let us go, okay? We'll be living with a man called..."
Ukai sighed in defeat. From what he was hearing, these kids really needed the support. And he had room at his place since it was just him... there was booze and cigarettes, but that could easily be cleaned up. Besides, it wasn't as if they were little kids... they were going to work here too. He grabbed the phone from Taiga. "Ukai Keishin. I'll look after your children from now on, ma'am, if I have your permission."
It was silent on the other end.
Then she screamed, "Fine! Just take the stupid brats! God knows that I don't care! They were just burdens anyway!"
That was all Ukai needed to hear. He clicked the red button. "She said yes." He narrowed his eyes. "But you'd better prepare to pay your dues. In exchange, you're going to work here at the store for free, got it? And if you misbehave, I'm kicking you brats out." Yeesh, I'd better not end up regretting this.
"Right!" the twins chorused, grinning.
This was the start of a new life for them.
"I'm going to my room," was the first thing Tadashi said when they got home, Naoko closing the front door behind them.
"Okay," she answered quietly.
As soon as he was gone, she could hear weeping coming from his room. Sighing, Naoko tossed the keys on the kitchen table and removed her jacket.
Then she walked to Tadashi's room, knocking on the door once before entering. Her brother was curled up on the bed, sobbing into his knees, his shoulders wracking with each sob.
Quietly, she climbed onto his bed and held him tight, rocking him back and forth. She remained silent the whole time, even when he finally cried himself to exhaustion and fell asleep in her arms.
It was the least she could do.
A/N I literally spent the entire day working on this so I hope you like it. Taiga and Jun will only be background characters from now on. Keishin has taken them in. Which, if you think about it, wouldn't be that strange. If two abused children came to me and sought refuge, I would give it to them in a heartbeat. While Keishin might be lazy and crude, he's also kind and caring.
And the confessions...! *clutches heart* Hope the execution wasn't TOO cringey.
*Heavenly Cross Attack is a move that Namu, from Dragon Ball, uses. I really delved into a bit of Dragon Ball with this chapter. Especially with the format of the tournament.
This is the end of Season One! Season Two will consist of arcs 4, 5, and 6. That's right, I added and extra arc! Before we get to Tadashi's birthday arc, we'll have a more fun and slice of life-ish arc! Because, well, spoilers, the birthday arc is kind of heavy. I still have yet to further plan more arcs after Cho's reward or decide to end it there.