It was one of the noisiest days in the Tobita Clubhouse, as the World Cup participants had declared an open practice session. It was Kaoru's idea, actually; she had observed that whenever the key players were left on their own they would each sink into their pools of depression --- and she'd follow them there, too --- so it would be best to let everyone else practice and keep the fighting spirit high. And she achieved the effect she desired. Although they weren't up against very formidable foes, Kouya, Jirou and Kyousuke were definitely working on their Gear Fighting tactics and skills.
The Furu siblings were becoming better and better at the sport, and Lilika, the deputy owner, was glad that there were other Gear Fighters they could send out to tournaments aside from the four pioneers. Even Yukihiro and Shunsuki were beginning to show signs of improvement; their interest in the game itself started to overcome that of their interest to hear Kouya talk and brag about his accomplishments. One of the members Lilika was worried about, however, was Midori. She was a difficult girl to put up with, yes, with her bossy, know-it-all attitude, but it was very unusual for her to just stay at a corner and tinker with her Gear.
"You don't plan on giving up, do you?"
Midori looked up and found the Gear Master standing nearby, his eyes examining her Gear critically. "Give up?" she asked, not believing that the dark-haired genius would even think of such a notion. "You must be out of your mind to even think about it. There are only two kinds of people in this world, Jin. Those who keep on fighting, and those who give up. And I will keep on fighting. I might have lost to you, but someday, I'll turn the tables around and you will lose to me." She then added to herself, And afterwards, I'll take care of Marume and Manganji.
He pushed his glasses higher up the bridge of his nose and thought of the suggestion he was about to make. She was an amateur, yes, but she was determined. And she might just be able to show him how to get his determination back, as that was what he needed. He had the will to fight, but that alone wasn't enough. He not only needed to win a couple of Gear Fighting matches during the World Cup, he also needed to win the battle against Kuroudo and his faltering faith. At that, he held out Dino Spartan. "Want another rematch?"
"Are you kidding?" She rose up to meet his challenge, carefully taking Vacuum Vortex from the table. "I'd like that."
-x-
Upon arriving at his house, Kyousuke directly went to his bedroom and flopped on his bed, exhausted at everything he did that day. He wasn't used to being at the Tobita Clubhouse from morning until afternoon and so he was stressed out, yet he admitted that, at some points during the day, depression released its hold on him and allowed him to have fun while training. While it was not a challenge to defeat Midori once more, he liked how fiery and passionate she was when it came to Gear Fighting. She was prideful, but although with reluctance she accepted the fact that he was more knowledgeable than she was.
Kaoru and Midori in a Crush Gear arena would definitely be an amusingly frightening sight. So much more if they team up. Even Takeshi won't stand a chance, he told himself, grinning mischievously at the thought. Though Midori was not as loud-mouthed as Kaoru, she certainly had the power of intimidation to use against the latter.
"Kiddo?" A voice called out from outside his room, and he groaned. Too tired to move, he stayed on his bed for a few more moments, but then his father began pounding on the door. Sighing, he pushed himself up, searched for his pair of slippers --- he even had to crawl under his bed to get the left one, thus taking up much more of his time --- and trudged towards the door, opening it wearily. As expected, he found his father smiling at him broadly, almost as if he hadn't been waiting for his reappearance.
"Yeah, what is it?"
The receiver of their cordless telephone was thrust into his hand. "For you. It's a long-distance collect call, so you might as well answer that now. You're paying for that." However, the serious look on the older Jin's face disappeared, and once again, the friendly demeanor leaked through. "Just kidding. But that really is a long-distance call."
The Gear Master shut the door, blocking his view of his dad with that of the wooden piece of wood, and finally answered the call. He was actually excited, though he didn't want to show it. He knew that Kuroudo must've regained consciousness already, as his operation was supposed to be completed a couple of hours back, and so if someone was calling him from abroad, it had to be him. "Hello? Kyousuke here." A pause transpired as the person at the other end of the line answered, and then his face showed disappointment. "Oh, hi. You called. Not like you to." It was then when a feeling of dread settled at the pit of his stomach. It wasn't his best friend who called, but rather, the raven-haired interpreter who was with them. She usually relayed the news to him through email, and yet, this time she actually called. That could only mean… "Is something wrong?"
After hearing Natsuuko's response, he paled. "What?!"
---
Author's Note: Ne, gomen nasai minna for the delayed post; as usual, I've been quite busy. Anyway, I would like to thank everyone who has stuck with me so far, I really appreciate everything that you've done for me. As for the next chapter… let's just say that it's time for some more Kuroudo angst. Hehe. XD