thief_uchia: So how has people been?
Nyukisan10: well, here goes the next chapter, review please!!!
The Gentleman J: I thank you for your comment. I didn't realize that I wasn't really focusing on the action/putting in too much thought. Hopefully, this chapter will fix that. I've also looked over the spacing issue, so I hope it's fixed (crosses fingers), but we'll just have to see about that. I don't mind the criticism, J. It's rather refreshing to see honest responses than the genetic, "I really like this fic, please update." And thanks for reading it so fast! :D As for Sena being loaned… it's rather embarrassing how close you got to the actual idea! Perhaps the plot's an easy read?
albinochilde : Thanks! But I'm not too sure about the pairing. We'll see how it turns out, won't we?
iamalex117 : Ah, sorry. As thief-uchia stated earlier, she's more used to writing one-shots. So I guess she's really getting into the wonders of chapter-fics (also known as cliffhangers)? But yes, no matter where, Sena starts out as the manager. :3
StunningSpellRocks2345 : Thanks.
As usual, we don't own.
Enjoy~~
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Chapter 3: The Man Wrapped in Chains
Sena looked down at the hastily drawn map, scratching the back of his head. So if I take a turn here, then I should end up at the store. But… He looked up from the map, frowning. He glanced around, but no matter how he turned the map, the streets and the map just didn't match up. Sena sighed. "Did I take a wrong turn?"
Completely forlorn, he began to look around frantically. Sena took a quick turn, looking for the kindest-looking people to ask for help, but ended up bumping into someone else. Sena stumbled and then steadied himself. Looking up sheepishly, he said, "S… sorry."
A rather evil looking human wearing the Zokugaku uniform glared down at Sena. "Huh? Watch where you go!" He growled, a rather long tongue flicking around. Li…lizard?! There were other thugs behind this lizard-human hybrid, leading Sena to believe that the hybrid was the leader of the group. This meant one of three things for Sena. The first was that Sena was about to become beaten badly. The second was that Sena could become their new gopher. The last was that Sena could run for his life.
Ah, I must have done something wrong in my past life. Sena silently prayed to whatever deity was up there to protect him. Then he turned to the lizard with a polite bow, apology streaming out of his mouth. But when he peeked up, he noticed that the thugs were creating a tighter ring around him, blocking all chance of escape. Some were even cracking their knuckles, chuckling in anticipation. Sena gulped. There goes the rest of my life…
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Ikari was not having a good time. Just yesterday, he had finally returned to school after suspension only to be suspended that same day. And then there was today. He was bored out of his mind and the arcade owner had just kicked him out… Again. It wasn't Ikari's fault that the stupid machine couldn't keep up with his strength! How was he supposed to know that the machine would break after one kick? He certainly didn't see it coming.
So Ikari walked down the street, fuming angrily. People knew better than to get in the way of the white-haired boy and kept their distance. Of course, all but one group. Ikari prided himself on being strong and scary. In fact, he prided himself on being able to scare away adults with just one look. The fact that this group was not disappearing after Ikari had appeared did not make him happy. Not one bit.
Then Ikari saw the white uniform. He frowned. There was only one kind of white uniform that Ikari recognized with one glance. And that was the uniform of his school: Oujou. A bunch of nobodies were bulling a student from Oujou. The fuming hot-headed delinquent became easily more enraged.
"You!" Ikari screamed. "You think Oujou students are play toys?!"
To say that none of the thugs expected the punch was an understatement. And to say that Ikari had a hard punch was also an understatement. The first thug fell to the ground, couple of teeth falling out as well. There was a slight pause before the leader, the lizard-human also known as Habashira Rui, turned to face Ikari. But by then, Ikari had moved on to another thug, knocking the next guy completely unconscious as well.
"Kill him!" Habashira shouted, Sena completely forgotten. In fact, most of the thugs forgot that Sena existed. They were too busy trying to fight against the Prison Chain Ikari.
Letting out a soft sigh in relief, Sena quietly sneaked away. He didn't get too far before the infamous delinquent proudly threw his head back and turned to face where Sena used to stand. By then, most of the thugs were on the ground or running the opposite direction from Sena. Ikari grinned heroically. But then he paused. Where'd that kid go? He looked to the left then to the right. And when he spotted Sena, trying to sneak away… let's just say that there were few things in the world that Ikari could forgive.
"You little coward!!!" Ikari screamed. "Grow a backbone!"
Ikari ran after the boy, his arms posed to punch that little chicken. Ikari expected the little coward to tuck his tail in-between his legs and run. What Ikari didn't expect, however, was the speed. He paused for just a second, but that second was more than enough for the speedy younger boy. Ikari gaped as the smaller boy made his way across the street in record time. Is he on the track team?
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Sena slowed down when he realized that he was no longer followed. He looked around, just to make certain that no one was following. No thug that way, no lizard-hybrid this way, and definitely no crazy Oujou student in any way. Sena let out the breath that he's been holding. Smiling more cheerfully, Sena took a step forward. Then he paused. Sena looked around again, but this time, he wasn't looking at people. This time, he was looking at land mark.
"Ah crap…" Sena mumbled to himself.
Since Sena was completely distracted, it only makes sense that Sena was caught. Ikari's tackle brought Sena to the ground. And with a loud sneer, Ikari questioned the brunette, making certain that Sena was paying attention. "Are you an Oujou student or not?!"
The question was so random, at least to Sena, that he stared blankly at Ikari before slowly nodding his head. Ikari, looking further enraged, brought up a fist. Sena flinched. But the punch never came. In fact, there was a frustrated growl before Sena was pulled upright.
"Then look, kid! You can't be a whimp! Number one thing about Oujou is that it's the toughest school in the nation!" Ikari began his speech.
Sena blinked. Really…?
"Grow a backbone, got it? You've got enough speed to fight those idiots, so why didn't you?" Ikari jabbed a finger at Sena's chest, making the younger boy flinch. "You've got to use everything to your advantage, got that?"
This speech seems familiar for some odd reason…
"Hey, you even listening to me?!"
Sena quickly nodded. "Yes, I'm listening, er…"
"Ikari," the delinquent snapped. Then he paused, glancing around. They were in a rather dark looking street. Bunch of neo signs began to turn on, due to how late it was getting. People began to slowly walk around, dressed in rather questionable outfits. Ikari patted his chin thoughtfully. "Any reason why you stopped at the red light district?"
"EH?!"
After a few moment of explanation, and a lot of patience from Sena, Ikari finally took the younger Oujou student to the sport shop. There, they quickly purchased the item in question and began the perilous journey back to Oujou. Or at least that's what it felt like to Sena. Walking around with a rather bored looking Ikari, apparently, wasn't too smart. But then again, walking around Ikari at all wouldn't be smart at all. Most people stayed clear of them, and Sena found himself mentally crying. What did I ever do? Well, at least I'm not a gopher… He looked over to the prison chain Ikari, slightly guilty that the older boy was carrying all of the items. Sena had protested, but one look from Ikari's glare and Sena's will crumbled to pieces.
"Judging from these shoes," Ikari began, trying to clear away the awkward silence between them. Not that he cared or anything, but his underclassman looked rather freaked out and it wouldn't do to get expelled for scaring a little kid. "I'm guessing you're in the soccer team or something?"
"Ah, no. I was trying out for the American Football team," Sena shyly explained.
"American football? What's that?"
Here, Sena was completely stumped. Takami or Sakuraba hadn't stopped to explain anything to him. In fact, they said something about experience being the best teacher or something. Well, if they need someone fast like Shin, then it must have something to do with speed. But everyone's really tall, too. Maybe it's a sport about height and speed? Sort of like basketball?
"Actually," Sena admitted. "I'm not too sure. They never explained it to me."
"What? So you're playing a sport that you have no idea how to play?"
"I'm not really a player," was the shy answer Ikari received. Ikari rolled his eyes. "What? Too scared to actually play?"
Sena nodded with a sheepish chuckle. Ikari would've thrown his hands up with a frustrated growl if it weren't for the cleats in his arms. But by then, they were at Oujou's school gate. With an annoyed sneer, he shoved all the cleats in Sena's arms and left. Sena, after struggling with the sudden appearance of the items in his arms, managed to croak, "Thank you, Ikari-san!"
"There you are!" Koharu's voice rang out.
Sena tried to look around the cleats. "Koharu-neechan!"
Koharu took couple of the cleats from Sena so that the smaller boy could see properly. Then she began lecturing. "What took you so long? We were about to send out search parties for you!"
Sena quickly apologized. Then he apologized that he couldn't bow properly without dropping the cleats. Koharu rolled her eyes. "Forget about it," she said. "Just make sure to apologize to Takami-san and Shin-san. They've been waiting very patiently for you."
"Eh? For what?"
"A test. To see which position you should play," Koharu answered as she rolled her eyes. Clearly, she thought that this was a rather stupid idea. After all, Sena had said that he wanted to be a manager, not a player! But Takami could be devilishly persistent when he wanted to. Or was that persistently devilish?
With a soft, "Oh," Sena followed Koharu towards the football field. The sun was beginning to set, and the lights were on. Few of the members were on the field, doing what seemed to Sena like a mass tackling fair. Sena gulped. Here goes nothing!