All eyes were on them, watching with restrained breath. The last decisive battle, which will decide the winner.

Both knew their teams were counting on them, which made Yuu in particular extremely nervous. He can't afford to lose. If Mino wins then, then he will be stalker –y again.

Yuu had a brief flashback of Mino's challenge in the parking lot and their Friday.

You snooze, you lose. I can think on that later. It's about time I dealt with Mino and went on with my life.

Yes, back to his stagnant life. He must admit that he had a soft spot for his kid, but the man himself was… now that he thought about him rationally, this was the first time someone pursued him and it was Yuu who turned Mino down.

His lips curled up into a grin. That fact cheered him up. Yuu glanced at his opponent who was sporting the most bored face he has seen on him. That was the face of someone who was arrogant, too sure of a victory. Yuu snorted, doing a squat.

The ref in red, An brought everyone's attention to her when she spoke up with her high – pitched voice. "The seventh match between Yuu Yanase and Kanade Mino shall now commence!"

Yuu's eyes widened when she reached for the whistle and brought to it to her lips. What?! This transcend is too abrupt!

WHISTLE

Mino moved faster as if he predicted that the refs would start the match without their approval for preparedness. He had good fifteen seconds head start before Yuu's muscle reflexes kicked in. He sprinted onward, going for the ball on the left.

Those refs did it on purpose, to make them make mistakes. Yuu wasn't about to give into team pressure. All that mattered was the ball. Being the taller one, Mino grabbed the middle ball and bolted to a more strategic, solid distance.

Yuu was a bit skeptic about Mino's tactical thinking. He could have grabbed two, why leave more potential shooting opportunities behind?

Maybe he's confident about that one shot. Either way, I'll have the last laugh.

From the corner of his peripheral vision, he saw the ref in blue raising whistle. They are at it again. He's almost touching the ball! Aaaaalmost-!

He threw himself at it, miraculously getting hold of it and rolled with it, standing up on his feet. Just when he stood up, piercing sound cut through the air.

WHISTLE

… And just like that, he was stuck in the dash zone, uncomfortably close to the other man, who was grinning in that creepy way of his. Yuu shuddered and it wasn't solely because of Mino's grinning. Since individual matches began, he found himself often rooting for the underdog.

Right now, he was feeling like the underdog. The feeling was fleeting and brief, but it crossed his mind. Yuu inwardly got pissed off at himself.

What the hell?! I am no underdog! I am the one with the killer move. It's better he's much more closer – he's a better target.

With that kind of mindset, Yuu braced himself for the beginning of match, which would commence soon. He glanced at the obnoxious women who shuffled their feet, one with slight frown (An) and other with eerie grin that could rival any seme's (Aikawa), both of them kept on glancing back and forth between Yuu and Mino and themselves.

What, this time around, they will actually call it fairly?

Mino was very collected as he stared at his opponent who refused to make eye contact with him. It's alright. He must be focusing. Every little misstep could cost them victory. This isn't something to be taken lightly. He wanted to win for himself, but also for the team that accepted him despite coming in the latest stage of training.

He gripped his ball so hard, his jaw tightly clenched as he glanced at the ref in red, An, curtly nodding.

Yuu did the same with Aikawa.

WHISTLE WHISTLE

Right after he heard the first whistle, Yuu began moving with the ball, doing a full cycle for that extra boost necessary for the total impact, but then, he noticed that he wasn't the only one swinging in place with right hand tightly gripping ball. Mino was doing the same and by the time they realized something funny was going on, they couldn't stop because of momentum (and neither had any other move), so both Mino and Yuu launched the attack. Their balls swished by each other, missing by mere inches in the air and avoiding collision.

Yuu saw Mino's ball, but it was as fast as his Cyclone Shot, if not faster.

I can't dodge this in time!

Still, he made an attempt at dodging, shifting his right leg more to the right, but - it was no use.

Suddenly, he was on ground, groaning. He got to feel the ball's harshness first hand. His head was spinning. Yuu tried to pull himself up, but he feared he might have gotten a mild concussion.

That jerk hit him in the face. He held back the bitter tears of disappointment, blinking to clear his vision. Yuu glared at the man, who was…. also downed…?

Did my ball connect?! Then, it's a draw?!

The evidence of his draw theory was lying one feet away from Mino who hardly got up on his feet, a huge red scrape was forming on his left cheek.

Yuu shook head, gritting his teeth. Damn it, they had the same move. How is that possible?!

Now what's he gonna do?

He turned for answers to the refs, who were arguing among themselves. "I am telling you! Yanase's ball hit first!" An exclaimed, flailing her hands wildly as Aikawa profusely shook head. "No, Mino's was way faster. Yanase was knocked out first!"

While they argued, Yuu managed to get up, wobbling a bit. How big was his surprise when someone held his hand to stabilize him. Yuu looked up, instantly flabbergasted.

What is he doing?!

He slipped his hand out from Mino's helping hand, stepping away from him. Yuu crossed arms and then, the volume was turned on drastically. Not only were the refs arguing, their teammates were speaking all at once, some angry, some less. As for him, he didn't know what he was feeling.

Relief or disappointment? It was somewhere in the middle. While the refs argued on, Yuu thought not for the first time this evening what he really wanted. When was the last he felt gratification while being around someone else?

Did he really want to cut ties with Mino?

What is wrong with me?! I shouldn't be faltering. I wanted him to stay away…

Then, he caught someone peeking through the door, which was left ajar. The big round eyes, it could only be…! He ran to the door and the peering eyes disappeared, but he pushed it open and saw him. So, he was right!

Yuu caught up with him, followed by Mino who shook head in disapproval. He knelt down, while Yuu looked on, curious as to why his kid was there. "Yamato! I told you to stay in car. Why did you come out?"

He pouted, glancing up at Yuu who raised a brow at the kid. "I don't want you and Onii – chan to fight."

Oh, he thought we're really fighting? We were, but not with intention of fighting to the death. Did this competition even have a point any longer? All other pairs have resolved their disputes (minor or large) in their battles, while I, I, I… don't see a point to keep up fighting, especially when Yamato is here.

Yuu squatted down, ruffling Yamato's hair. "Don't worry, we won't fight again."

His eyes lit up and even Mino looked taken back by Yuu's decision. "You really won't?"

"No, hurting each other pointlessly is counter – productive. We'll talk things out."

In fact, all others should do the same. We're all adults, the matches were a test. A test to see how far they would go for each other. I think all pairs passed the test, no matter who lost or won. As for me and Mino… we'll have a long talk. But first…

"We will?" Mino sounded too surprised and he couldn't blame him. Yuu just shortly nodded, standing up. "We have to inform them of our departure. Also, withdrawal."

It seemed like Mino understood what he meant. "I see. Then, let's go. Yamato, can you go back into the car? We'll be back shortly."

"O-okay…" He nodded, running off.

Solemnly, they turned back and walked inside the gym, where they bumped into the whole group (An and Aikawa were still arguing over who they think won), which waited for them with batted breath.

Yuu and Mino stood before them, clenching fists. As if on cue, they simultaneously bowed down. "I'm sorry but we can't continue, or how should I put it -"

"The results don't matter, talk it out. You all got what you wanted. You all wanted to see how far your lover would go for you. When I laid down after the double knockout, I thought that now, maybe I could have a talk with Yanase, because we're the ones that determine our future together. And I was right, he's willing to listen and I am open to listening, too. So, with that, see you all later, we're leaving. My son is waiting for us in my car." Mino's long monologue spread bright red on uke's faces as they got his message and semes just blankly stared as Yuu and Mino went to tribunes, getting their sports bags.

On the way out, they bowed again and left.

"THIS IS BULLSHIT!" Aikawa's rage erupted like lava from a volcano, consuming all in its path. It was wise of An to agree with her (even if she thought that Yanase and Mino were right). "Yeah, they can't leave like that! What about the last match?" An asked a rhetorical question.

Semes eyed their ukes with a keen eye, like a jeweler appraises a valuable gem. Each couple grinned, the bets and rewards forgotten. It wasn't really about the reward.

The group strut to the tribunes, where they collected their sports bags and walked towards the exit, where Aikawa barred the way. "Hold on! Where do you think you're going?"

Usami chuckled, grabbing Misaki's hand as they blatantly ignored her and walked off.

Takano raised a suggestive brow at Ritsu, who tugged his arm under Takano's as they left as second (or third) couple.

Aikawa's jaw dropped in sheer amazement as they all left, one after another. After Kisa and Yukina left, Aikawa's rage deflated, but some annoyance still lingered.

"How dare they call on us and ditch us like that?!" She had to let off some steam, because boooy, what the fuck was this evening about?

An put her hand on Aikawa's shoulder. "We should leave as well, Aikawa –san."

"Uhm… they left the key behind. Let's hope school staff is still around campus." An dragged a very, very disappointed Aikawa Eri from gym (they didn't bother putting away the balls) and went off to front desk, where they dropped off the gym key.

"Next time Usami –sensei asks me for a favor, I will triple his schedule as punishment for this major anticlimactic ending."

An would have laughed if she didn't feel a bit let down, too. Ritsu doesn't often call her up for something. Still, she can't lie; she had fun.

She nudged the older woman, who gave her a look as they walked out into the cold night. "Aikawa –san, I know of a new cinema that opened up recently and a BL movie premieres tomorrow. We could go and watch…?"

"That sounds nice! God knows I need more bishies and baras in my life."

An blinked. "Um… me too…?"

They continued walking together to the station, where their paths branched, but before they parted, Aikawa and An exchanged phone numbers and emails.

As for the individual couples, their night was far from over…

TO BE CONTINUED_