Firey Remembrance
Chapter 2
The sun gleamed down from the cloudless sky over Eiyo. It was a perfect day for the blitz-ball tournament that had been held every year in Eiyo for over a century. The crowd bustled around the entrance of the stadium, buying items from the various merchants so they could better support their team of choice. T-shirts, photos, flags, balloons, and even blitzballs sporting team logos were sold to those who had money to spare.
"Thank you!" Alexander chimed, taking the envelope from the merchant he and Hikou had sought out. He scurried out of the line and returned to Houjun and Hikou's side. "There, I've got them."
"Let me see," Hikou practically pleaded, peering over the instructor's shoulder as he broke the wax seal on the back.
"You bought trading cards?" Houjun asked, trying to get a look as well.
"The Reikaku Riptides set," he said, eyes gleaming as he looked over the cards. "See, this one's Kouji Daigo. He's the team captain." He held the card up for Houjun to see. The rougish-looking player had blackish-blue hair and jade-green eyes. In his picture, he was wearing a long, sleeveless red jacket over an open white shirt and black pants that tucked into mid-shin length black boots and a pair of fingerless, black gloves. The jacket had a high collar on it and around his neck was a black choker that had a green stripe in the center, matching the tattoo that all of the team players had on their left arm just above the elbow. It was a way of allowing the rest the team to dress casually yet maintain a bit of uniform. Around his forehead, almost completely covered by his unruly bangs, was a braided leather-like headband, which was one of his trademarks. "Then this one's Sakata Ri*, she's the second best player on the team."
"And the player you've had a crush on for quite some time," Hikou pointed out with a grin.
"Shut up," the blonde snapped, his face turning red. Houjun smiled and took the card from his teacher so he could look it over. She had mid-back length hair that faded from blonde to blue and greyish-blue eyes. She was wearing a white zip-up vest with red trim and a high collar over a short-sleeved, dark purple shirt. Her snug black pants had a red stripe running down the side and were tucked into black boots that were not only laced, but had three buckles on the front and a zipper on the side. White gloves with trim like her vest completed her outfit and, like her captian, she too had the black and green tattoo.
"She has the same last name as I do too," the summoner observed with a smile, handing the card back to his teacher. "Who else is on the team?"
"Well," Alexander began once again, "There's Sanosuke Sagara*, Nasch Lumatsuku*, Haruko Harahana*, Watari Yutaka*, and Viollet Aria*. Sanosuke is the goalie."
"Hey," Hikou said, pointing at one of the several moniters that hovered in the air. "Looks like they have the line up posted." On the screen flashed the five team symbols: The Konan Wingblades, the Kutou Resisty(1), the Hokkan Shellshockers , the Sairo Windsteel , and the Raikaku Riptides. Above each team names was a yellow line, four of them leading to two boxes, the last leading to a third box above the one on the left.
"Ah, the first match of the day is Konan versus Hokkan and the second it Sairo versus Reikaku," the blonde stated
"And Kutou goes against the winner of the first match in third," Hikou nodded. "I hope they lose bad this year."
"So do I," Alexander agreed.
"Um..." Houjun raised his hand. "If you've forgotten, I didn't get to come to the match last year."
"Oh yeah, we aren't supposed to talk about last year's match around you," Alexander laughed lightly. "Sorry about that."
"It's not our fault you got sick," Hikou teased.
"It is too, Mr. It's-Not-Contageous," the smaller teen huffed.
"He told me it wasn't," Hikou retorted, pointing at Alexander.
"It wasn't supposed to be," the blonde sighed. "I apologized, didn't I?"
"Still," Houjun muttered, crossing his arms.
"Come on," he smiled, taking the teen's shoulder. "We have to go to the locker room now if we want to meet Kouji before the game."
"Don't change the subject, I'm still mad at you!"
"Come on, Jun," Hikou smiled, pushing him from behind. "I'm not going to miss an opportunity to meet the team because you're in a mood."
"Cut it out!"
~*~*~*~*~
From the shadows, a pair of amber eyes watched the trio. A soft smile spread across their owner's face as he leaned against a wall and sighed quietly.
'Found you,' he thought. He waited until they had left before emerging into the light. Flame-red, unruly hair gently moved like fire in the wind and he looked up at the blitzball stadium. He wore a long, black trench coat that had a blue lining over a white shirt and pants that tucked into knee-length boots. A metel fan rested against his back, held in place by a gold-colored belt that crossed from his right shoulder to his left hip. He nodded after a moment and approached the entrance.
~*~*~*~*~
The locker rooms were located beneath the bustling stadium. It was a more relaxed atmosphere for the most part. The players were going over strategys and last minutes preparations for the tournament. The average player was required to be able to hold their breath for at least five minutes. The more experenced players could usually stay underwater for an hour or more. This was a necessary skill, since the game was played within a large sphere of water that was created using a technology that allowed liquid to keep an even surface tension.
"Hey! There you guys are!" a voice called out as Houjun, Hikou, and Alexander entered the hallway. Before they could figure out where the voice came from, Kouji was before them, a wide smile on his face.
"Yer the summoner, right? Houjun, was it?" He grabbed the stunned teen's hand and shook it vigerously. "I was worried dat ya wouldn't get here before the match. I'm Kouji Daigo!" He looked to Hikou and Alexander before lunging at them and shaking their hands as well. "I'm so honored ta finally meet you guys. Da whole gang's anxious ta greet da summoner I'm supposed ta protect. Come on!" He whirled around and darted off ahead of them, stopping before the door at the end of the hall.
"Knock knock! Who's dere? Kouji! Kouji who? De team captain, dat's who! Oh, why didn't ya say so? Come in! Thanks!" After his speech, he burst through the door cheerfully. "They're here!"
Cautiously, Houjun peered through the door while Kouji and Alexander entered first.
"Aww, he's shy," Sakata cooed, smiling at him. A young man with shoulder length dark-brown hair and gray eyes tilted his head slightly and motioned Houjun into the room. Out of all the players, he was dressed simply in a white, button-down shirt and black pants and was barefoot.
"Don't be shy," he coaxed gently.
"Yeah, we don't bite or anything," another player laughed. He had chocolate-brown hair that was sweapt up in a sort of cowlick and brown eyes. He wore a sleeveless yellow shirt and pants of the same color as well as low-cut red shoes.
He nodded, feeling a bit akward as he entered the room. He wasn't used to the idea of sitting in a blitzball locker room just yet. Kouji was at his side in an instant and guiding him to a seat. "Lemme introduce ya to my gang," he grinned. "This is Viollet," he said, pointing to the boy in the the white button-up shirt," and that's Nasch," he pointed to the boy with the strange hair style. "Over there is Watari Yutaka, and next to him is Haruko Harahana." he gestured to a man with golden hair that was pulled back into a messy ponytail and wearing blue shirt over a black turtle neck. Beside him stood a girl with short pink hair, a pair of goggles on her head. She was dressed in a red leather jumper over black pants, a white scarf, and red gloves "And the quiet guy over there is Sanosuke Sagara," he pointed to an imposing man with spiky brown hair. He wore a fighting gi with the top open to reveal his lean, muscular physique. His abdomen and forearms were wrapped with white athletic tape and a long strip of red cloth was tied around his forehead, the ends hanging loose behind him as he sat meditationg. "And then there's Sakata Ri, my second in command."
"Hi," she said, smiling at him.
"Oh...uh, hi...everyone..." he smiled. "Um, I'm Houjun Ri, and this is my teacher Alexander Howell and my guardian Hikou Mizuka." Hikou nodded, looking over the team, trying not to grin like a maniac. Alexander was trying, with less sucess, but mostly was stealing glances at Sakata.
"So, you get to travel around with this cutie, huh?" Haruko teased. Houjun shifted a bit uncomfortably. Kouji laughed and patted Houjun on the back.
"What about you?" Sakata asked, looking up at Alexander.
"W-who, me?" the blonde stammered, a slight blush coloring his cheeks..
"Yeah, are you going with them or what?"
"Oh, no no, I'm just their escort until they leave with Kouji from Reikaku. Then I return to the shrine."
"Oh," she said, looking away.
"Anyway, you guys should get to yer seats. Da first game should be startin' soon," Kouji pointed out with a grin.
Houjun nodded and bowed to the team. "Good luck in your match."
"Yeah," Hikou added, nodding to Kouji. "We'll come by after your first match."
"Great!" Kouji grinned. "I'll look forward ta it."
"Um..one last thing before we go," Alexander began, pulling out his trading cards. Smiling happily he handed them to Kouji. "Can I get your autographs?" The emerald-eyed man laughed and took the pictures.
"No problem at all," he assured the blonde. "We'll give dem to ya when ya come by later, ok?"
~*~*~*~*~
Houjun plopped down in his seat and looked around. Since he was a summoner, Alexander, Hikou, and he had been given seats one section back from the front, which were the seats with the best veiw of the entire field. The water finally took its shape and was set for the game. Circling the field was a ring where the players entered the water at. Just as the atheletes for the first match entered the water, something caught Houjun's attention: a man with blonde hair that sat in a box above the field.
"I don't believe it," he muttered.
"What is-" Hikou stopped, seeing what Houjun had. "Isn't that-"
"That's Summoner Nakago, one of the most powerful summoners around at the moment..."Alexander said. "I didn't know he he was going to be here..."
"And the Wingblades score the first point!" the announcer called, snapping the trio out of their temporary daze.
"Aw man," Hikou sighed. "And we missed it. Let's worry about summoners and other stuff later, alright?"
"Yeah," Houjun agreed, tearing his eyes away from the blonde summoner.
During half-time, Alexander and Hikou left to get some snacks, leaving Houjun to watch their seats. The summoner took his time to look around the stadium a bit more. Everyone seemed to be having fun (everyone except the Hokkan fans, as Konan was leading 3-1). He streached his arms over his head and yawned, relaxing in this atmosphere. It had been quite a whle since he had been in a crowd as boisterous as this, let alone by himself. He sat back and closed his eyes for a moment, taking it all in. He never wanted to forget this day. The journey ahead would definatly test his courage and determination. He didn't want to think too far into his journey, though.
"Are you alright?"
The voice startled him from his thoughts and his eyes snapped opened to meet a pair of amber eyes. For a moment, he felt like he couldn't breath under that startling gaze.
"Ah...yeah...I'm fine..."
"That's good," the young man replied with a smile, revealing elongated canines. "Ya had me worried fer a minute."
"Oh, ah...sorry." He took a slow breath to calm himself. A thought struck him as he gazed at the other man. "Have...we met before?"
"Hmm? I dunno, maybe," he replied. "The name's Genrou, by the way. You can call me Tasuki, though."
"Ta-su-ki..." Hooujun said slowly. 'That name is...so familiar...where have I heard it before...' "It's nice to meet you, Tasuki. My name's Houjun."
"The pleasure's mine, really." He stood up and nodded at him. "Looks like yer friends're comin' back, so I'll let ya be. Maybe I'll see ya later after the game, huh?"
"Uh..that...that would be great," the summoner replied with a smile.
"I'll look forward to it, then." Before Houjun could reply, Tasuki turned and left as quickly as he had appeared.
"Who was that guy? Was he bothering you?" Hikou asked quickly.
"We shouldn't have left you alone, really," Alexander apologized.
"Huh? Oh, no, he wasn't bothering me, really. Just talking," Houjun replied, smiling. "I'm fine" 'from the waist up,' he thought, leaning forward a bit. "Looks like they're starting again."
"Yeah, just in time," Hikou grinned.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It was going to be longer, but I decided to break it up.
The winner, by the way, was Sansele. Yes, Julious is from Angelique ^_^
Also, Eeyaatoe gets a cameo because she was nice to me ^_^ Unfortuntly, the part with the cameo is being pushed back a chapter because of how I broke it up. This is a good oppurtunity, however, for a new contest and more cameos ^_^
There are astriks (*) next to the names of the Reikaku Riptides players. Whoever can tell me where at least three of them are from/who they are, they get a cameo along with Sansele and Eeyaatoe in the next chapter. ie, the one who guesses the most correctly gets a cameo. Brownie points if you know who Viollet Aria and Sakata Ri are since they are friends of mine. If you guess, tell me what team you would most likely cheer for, too ^_^
(1) You'd have to have seen the episode of Invader Zim my room mates and I have seen ^_^ Back Seat Drivers From Beyond the Stars
If I get lots of reveiws, I might get the next chapter out soon ^_~*