And the new chapter is here! Ah, this story drives me so, and I gotta say, I love all the headcanon I get to make.
This chapter's particularly emotional, so be prepared for feels, and be prepared to feel cheated at the end. xD
Nevertheless, do what you usually do.
Read, review, and most importantly, enjoy! :D
- KILL AVANT KILL -
EPISODE 6: WHY CAN'T WE BE FRIENDS?
The art of stealth was not something that Omiko Hakodate was particularly well-versed in, but it seemed that desperate times called for desperate measures.
Like a shadow, she made her way through Honnoji Academy's grounds, unseen and unheard. It was a wonder even to her what could possibly be driving her to be such a ninja, but she could only assume that it had something to do with the dangerous task she had set out to do.
A few hours from now, at the exact end of the school day, the Ensemble Escalation would start, and Omiko would have her chance at winning a prized One-Star uniform. The very thought of facing Takaharu in combat, since she assumed she could wipe out the other No-Stars easily, made her extremely anxious. She longed to face him, to show him just how much more she cared about tennis compared to his love for boxing. It didn't matter that she was his friend, and one of the only people to call her by her first name.
She blinked, trying to shake away such thoughts as she stood behind a large concrete support, hidden from a group of laughing No-Star students passing by.
When they were gone, she looked around from the corner, her telescopic eye attachment focusing on the goal just some five hundred yards up ahead.
A monumental building that had been constructed just before Omiko, Takaharu and the other No-Stars had been allowed to arrive in the slums below, Uzu Sanageyama's Athletics Dojo/Office served as the Elite Four's personal training ground and home. For whatever reason, he preferred to stay within the actual Academy grounds, as opposed to the wealthier district below where the other members of the Elite Four called home.
But Sanageyama's reason was of no interest to Omiko. No, she was far more interested in something else entirely.
It took almost fifteen minutes to dodge and weave through the campus grounds, but somehow, Omiko managed to make it to the Dojo's door without being unseen. Once she was there, she made a quick motion to look back and forth, before disappearing behind the green entrance door.
Closing it behind her, she could only wonder why it wasn't locked, or why the front of the Dojo didn't have more adequate security. An image played in Omiko's mind, of her encountering Sanageyama in training, without so much as a shirt on, kendo sword in hand and his muscular body drenched in sweat.
Her face flushed red at the thought, perhaps as she felt a mix of fear and embarrassment for imagining such an image.
Perhaps he was simply the only defense he needed for his own dojo. Omiko gulped at the mere notion of having to fight one of the Elite Four. She would be dead and uniform-less in seconds, no doubt.
So instead of focusing on such disheartening thoughts, she continued, making her way through Sanageyama's Dojo seemingly undetected.
Of course, the twin-tailed tennis player couldn't help but admire his perfectly kept abode. As she passed one particular wall of shelves, she noted an astounding amount of trophies that seemed to cover almost every sport in existence. Though Sanageyama spoke at length about the kendo art being his favorite, it seemed from this wall of awards that he had tried his hand at just about every sport there was to try, and even some Omiko didn't even recognize.
The Dojo/Office was huge, as far as Omiko could tell, as she passed at least another four rooms and still felt she was getting nowhere. Stopping for a moment, she looked to her left, and felt just a bit of heat residue in the air coming from what looked like a small onsen room. Amazed at the sight, she poked her head inside, noting the extravagant setup. The water was cool and clean, and the atmosphere was wonderful despite being inside such a plain room. Even the rocks set up around the pool seemed extravagant, as if Sanageyama had made this place to perfectly emulate the feeling of being outdoors.
As she looked down at calm water of the onsen, Omiko almost felt tempted to get in for a quick dip. But as she saw her own teeth in the reflection, she felt suddenly unsettled, and then remembered her mission. Clearly, there was no time for distractions.
Finally, after another ten minutes of searching, and a long walk through Sanageyama's spacious personal gym, she found exactly what was looking for.
The door to his office was unlocked, much to her surprise. As she took her first step inside, Omiko half-expected to be attacked with all manner of booby traps, but even as she flinched, nothing came at her.
When she was finally able to relax, realizing there were no traps set to kill her, Omiko's telescopic eye focused in on the small space in the far wall across from her. It was none other than Uzu Sanageyama's mail box, which was filled each morning by an unlucky No-Star whose sole job was to never be late with their mail, lest they face Ira Gamagoori's wrath.
Omiko began to tremble as she approached. In one hand, was a small, quaint envelope. Within that envelope was a handwritten turquoise note, in which Omiko admitted completely that she had strong feelings for Uzu Sanageyama. This was her confession, and the thought of placing this letter in the Elite Four's mailbox for him to find later was just as scary as the thought of his reaction upon reading it.
But despite her fear, Omiko gritted her teeth, and continued her approach. It felt like an eternity just to cross this small office, before she found herself standing in front of the mail box. Her shake had stopped, but Omiko could still feel her heart beating furiously in her chest. She moved her hand holding the envelope, fingers trembling as she prepared to place it in the box.
But as the terrible moment of anxiety seemed just about to end, Omiko's telescopic attachment spotted something just out of the corner of her eye. Almost instinctively, the scope focused in on the object in question.
It took her a second to take in, but once she realized what she was seeing, her grip on the letter began to falter. Slowly, the small envelope fell from her hand, swaying like a feather before falling to the ground.
Reality finally hit her as she gazed at the simple photo stand sitting on Sanageyama's desk.
How could she have been so stupid, so utterly blind to this possibility? She was nothing but a No-Star tennis player, and she should have thought about this before being so reckless. It was the most obvious notion of all, and it had slipped right under her nose.
A tear welled in the blonde's uncovered eye, right before she angrily crushed her letter and threw into a nearby trash bin. Cursing herself for being so naive, Omiko could only hope to shake these painful thoughts out of her head, and focus on Ensemble Escalation. The time for mourning had to be short.
She couldn't lose just because she had been in such a silly girlish fantasy.
After all, however in a million years could she ever hope to compare to the beautiful princess in the picture on Sanageyama's desk.
Omiko could have sworn that she felt Satsuki Kiuryin's commanding gaze emanating from that photo portrait.
It sent a chill down her spine, and it reminded her once again that the Student Council President was above all.
Even where love was concerned.
Omiko felt lethargic, almost to the point where she almost didn't want to take part in the Ensemble Escalation anymore.
Since realizing that to compete for Sanageyama's feelings would be to compete with God herself, Omiko felt drained and without purpose. The warm fuzzy feeling of thinking about the Elite Four member's cocky grin and handsome visage was gone, to the point where Omiko felt as if Satsuki herself had ripped all these pleasant emotions out of her.
Not wanting to think about Sanageyama, and trying her best to keep all terrible visions of Satsuki Kiryuin out of her head, Omiko's wandering thoughts settled on the only person who didn't make her feel uncomfortable.
And as she guessed, that one person was practicing hard, landing blow after blow on a new punching bag.
She didn't immediately say anything when she saw Takaharu. Instead, she observed his poise as he delivered an onslaught of blows to the bag, gritting his teeth with a combative glare in his eyes.
In some ways, he was very much like Sanageyama. Sure, he was shorter, but Omiko remembered that Takaharu's smile was very pleasant as well. In fact, the gap in his teeth made him look kind of cute.
And when she looked at him punch, she could see the twisting and turning of his built torso, which was just as impressive as Sanageyama's despite being smaller. Thoughts of the onsen at the dojo came back to her, and Omiko had to stop herself when an image of the Takaharu relaxing with Sanageyama in hot water came to mind.
Taking a deep breath, she expelled such thoughts and stepped out into the open. After delivering a few more blows to the punching bag, Takaharu finally looked to one side and notice her.
She was quick to seem confident, despite the mental unrest she had been carrying for the last half-hour.
"Better not tire yourself out too much." she joked, masking her conflicting emotions. "I do want a challenge today, after all."
Taking a deep breath and putting his arms down to relax, Takaharu nevertheless remained serious and stalwart as he replied.
"Don't you worry." he reassured. "You'll get one. I just hope that you have the liberty to waste time by visiting me here."
Omiko gritted her teeth, caught off-guard by his words and still reeling from her failed confession. "I wasn't here to visit you, for your information. I was just walking by and I wanted to make sure you weren't slacking off.
"In your dreams!" Takaharu shot back, anger and jealousy rising in him. "Who do you think I am; that cocky Two-Star you keep drooling over? You think because he said a few nice things to you, he'll give you a One-Star Uniform, just like that?"
Takaharu narrowed his eyes. Though he was fueled by jealousy, and mostly angry at Sanageyama for being the object of Omiko's feelings, he still allowed himself to channel all that anger at Omiko herself.
Takaharu didn't even realize the weight of his next statement.
"You forget that not everyone feels bad for you because of your freak bite radius!"
It was this insult that sent a painful spike right through Omiko's heart. Her original intent of being nice to Takaharu with playful banter dissipated in an instant.
The memories of being Jaws-chan flooded back in an instant. Instead of seeing Takaharu in front of her, she could see an orange-hued scene. A memory exploded in her mind, and she imagined herself, a small blonde girl with pigtails with a cute overbite.
But this was no sweet childhood memory. She remembered herself a dirt road by a rice field, crying as a group of boys laughed their heads off at her expense.
They repeated Jaws-chan over and over again, their voices in chorus. Every word was like a slap to Omiko's face, and as the little girl she once was, she could only pray silently for them to go away and leave her alone.
From the exterior, Omiko only showed an expression of pure shock. It took Takaharu a few minutes, but soon realized his mistake in the words he had uttered.
Unfortunately, Omiko's expression changed from pure shock to pure anger before he could even try to open his mouth and apologize.
"I don't need his pity, and I don't need yours. And I don't need anyone's help, not ever! I'm going win by myself, with my racket!" she declared, the hurt and pain she was experiencing very clear.
She seemed ready to rip her hair out, and when her composure finally broke, Takaharu saw the tears welling in her eyes as clear as day. They even managed to blur her telescopic attachment, much to Omiko's frustration as she tried wiping them away, but to no avail.
"I thought you were different, Takaharu-kun. But look how quickly you proved me wrong." she said, in a low tone of voice very unlike her.
"You can call me any name you like. You can torture me like those bullies did when I was six. You can even laugh at me." she declared, defiant in her stance despite the tears in her eyes."
"But I won't lose to you. No matter what!"
Stunned by her display, Takaharu couldn't really say anything in response. Too absorbed in his own realization of all the horrible things he had uttered, the boxer simply stared ahead as she turned and left.
When the twin-tailed blonde was gone, Takaharu went on his knees, gazing at the ground as if unable to believe she had just left like that.
He didn't get it. How could things get so emotional like this? They were supposed to rivals this whole time, weren't they?
Both of them were essentially on athletic scholarships, here to show off their skills in their respective arts.
Both of them hailed from rural parts quite far from Honnoji Academy, and came from families with little money.
They were very similar, that much was true, but they were just rivals. Rivals interested in showing the perfection of the art of tennis and boxing respectively. Nothing less, nothing more.
But the more Takaharu thought about it, the more it was becoming clear that perhaps there was something more than just a simple rivalry.
And the very thought scared Takaharu more than he would admit.
Having a rival who you were friends with was bad enough.
But having a rival you had romantic feelings for?
That was much worse.
It was no surprise that Takaharu and Omiko remained silent next to one another, as they stood together and waited for Satsuki to make her appearance and announce the start of the Ensemble Escalation.
They waited with the countless No-Stars in attendance, but it was no secret that for this particular round of the competition, it would be only those under Sanageyama's Athletics clubs that would be allowed to participate. And out of those ten lucky No-Stars, Takaharu and Omiko included, the one who made it to the top of the Covered Conquest Tower, constructed specifically for this event, would be the one who would win the prized One-Star Goku Uniform for themselves.
Of course, only one could win it. Gamagoori made that clear to all those in attendance as he began to speak.
"STAR-LESS PLEBIANS! BE AWARE THAT EVEN IF YOU MANAGE TO MAKE IT TO THE TOP, ONLY THE ONE STUDENT WHO REMAINS STANDING WITH THE GOKU UNIFORM IN POSESSION WILL BE GIVEN THE HONOR OF OWNING IT!"
His tone lessened, surprisingly, as he continued. "Satsuki-sama has other matters to attend to today, so I leave it Sanageyama to formally announce the start of the event. I wish only the strongest, the best of luck."
Sanageyama seemed to take his cue almost instantly, smiling to himself as he cut across to the front of the waiting participants. In an instant, Takaharu and Omiko were down on their knees, ready to break into a sprint at but a moment's notice.
"Well, as much as I miss Satsuki-sama's guidance, it'll be a nice change of pace to run things for once. I'm sure you're all as ready as ever?" he asked, though he knew the answer all too well.
Omiko and Takaharu nodded in unison. Sanageyama grinned, happy to see that his two most promising hopefuls were primed and ready to go.
"Alright!" he exclaimed, his jacket billowing around him as he put on a triumphant stance.
"IT'S TIME TO SEPERATE THE REAL ATHLETES FROM THE CHILDREN!" the Elite Four member announced, in a display of enthusiasm and spirit that surprised Gamagoori especially. An aura of green fighting spirit blasted to life around Sanageyama as he crossed his arms, putting even the annoyed Omiko and Takaharu in momentary awe.
"As chairman and advisor of all Athletics clubs, I hereby announce..."
He raised his arms, and his fighting spirit seemed to flare up with them.
"..that Honnoji Academy's First Annual Ensemble Escalation..."
Muscles tensed as Omiko and Takaharu prepared themselves.
"BEGIN!"
The word was the trigger the boxer and tennis player had been waiting for.
They started up so fast, in fact, that the wind-force created from their running actually managed to knock aside three of the other No-Stars. The unfortunate individuals were sent flying off into the sunset, their chance at a winning a One-Star Goku Uniform gone just like that.
Sanageyama simply laughed in delight as Takaharu and Omiko simultaneously ran past him, the wind blowing back his hair and the folds of his jacket. Next to Gamagoori, Inumata began typing away rapidly on his laptop, eager to record the miles per hour of the contestants. Gamagoori watched with diligent eyes, seeing promise in Takaharu and nothing but arrogance in Omiko. Next to Inumuta, Jakazure simply looked on, her snarky smile making it seem she was uninterested, when in fact she was very much eying the action going on between Takaharu and Omiko.
Of course, she had little to no idea just how intense it was between them.
For the boxer and the tennis player, from the moment Sanageyama had announced the start of Ensemble Escalation, the concept being friends meant nothing
Because in that moment, it was only Takaharu and Omiko against each other.
Boy against girl. Boxing against tennis. Racket against gloves. Terms didn't really matter at this point.
What mattered, was that by the end of this, one of them would have that One-Star Uniform waiting atop the Covered Conquest Tower, and one of them would have nothing.
Thus, there was but one thought that crossed both of their minds at the same time.
The star would be theirs, and no one, not even their so-called friend, would stop them.
And that's what I call a cliffhanger! I'm horrible, I know.
So what does this mean for our intrepid tennis player and boxer? Will Takaharu ever be able to admit his true feelings? Will Omiko ever forgot her past as Jaws-chan? Will the author ever finish this story?
Alas, only time will tell. You'll have to stay tuned, and wait for the next chapter. ;)