Disclaimer: I don't own Ao no Kanata.
Mashiro and Misaki rejoined Masaya and co due to Misaki's upcoming match being near.
"Haaaa, all that udon hit the spot-nyaa!" Misaki said carefreely with her hands behind her head.
"Your appetite for it far exceeds mine," Mashiro said, smiling nervously.
"So next up it's Misaki-chan's turn!" Asuka stated with excitement.
"Too bad I won't face Inui yet," Misaki groaned.
"Well, you'll get to if you can keep winning," Masaya pointed out.
"And you know that Inui will dust the competition no problem, so it's all on you and Asuka to reach her," Madoka added.
"Hopefully Misaki-Senpai-" Mashiro started, only to stop on seeing two approaching people.
"Tobisawa!" Irina stated with a troubled look as she and Saki walked over to the group.
"Irina, Inui-san!" Asuka yelled, happy to see them.
Saki eyed Asuka for a moment curiously before the introductions were instantly stopped by the look on Irina's face.
"What's the matter?" Aoi asked, walking up to her.
"Be careful," Irina warned as the others but Aoi went "Eh?".
"Huh, do you think I'm going to lose or something-" Misaki assumed in annoyance, but Irina sharply cut her off.
"This is serious!" Irina yelled, causing dead silence from Misaki who was taken aback by Irina's panic of voice. "I don't know much about your upcoming opponent, but please, be very on guard."
"Why?" Misaki asked.
"Saki and myself came across an injured player who played a match against her," Irina started. "While I didn't see the match, the person who did play claimed that she was a cruel player. There were no bruises, but the boy was very fatigued, struggled to move, and may have hurt some of his muscles."
Aoi narrowed her eyes, not liking this one bit. "That girl, what's her name?" she asked.
"Kasumi Kurobuchi," Irina said, causing Aoi's face to grow angry.
"You know this person?" Masaya asked on seeing how upset Aoi looked.
"From what I've heard, she's a player who resorts to cruel means just to win a match, regardless of if she hurts her opponents in the process," Aoi explained with folded arms. "To put it simply, she's known for being aggressive to the point of being despicable."
Irina and Saki nodded, believing that based on what they saw.
"But, surely there can't be horrible people like that in FC," Asuka tried to reason positively, but Aoi shook her head in disagreement.
"I'm afraid life isn't that simple, Kurashina," Aoi stated.
"Tobisawa, I'm not saying you should forfiet, but if you face this person, there's a chance something bad could happen," Irina voiced in concern.
"She's right," Aoi said, looking at Misaki.
Misaki looked thoughtful as everyone looked at her in concern, including Saki. Finally, Misaki smiled positively.
"Then all I have to do is win before something like that happens," Misaki said.
"But," Asuka started, however, Misaki continued.
"It'll be fine, no way I'm going to lose before facing Inui," Misaki said confidently.
Everyone seemed concerned, but let it go seeing Misaki made a decision. Afterwards, Minori's voice rung throughout the tournament.
"Alright, next up the zipzapping Tobisawa of Kunahama school will go up against the aggressive Kasumi of Dougaura school in a few minutes!" Minori announced with hype.
"Better head over to the booths," Madoka said.
"We'll join you," Irina offered with a hand to her heart.
"Sure, that's fine, right?" Masaya asked Aoi, whom nodded.
The two groups then went to Misaki's booth side. Arriving, the other girl and her team had yet to show up.
Minutes went by, and still no sign of the girl. "Where is she?" Mashiro asked. "If she doesn't hurry, she'll be disqualified by default."
However, Kasumi then arrived moments later. Immediately, she flew up to the starting point.
"Here goes," Misaki started, but Mashiro grabbed her arm with a very concerned look. Smiling, Misaki rubbed her head. "It's going to be okay, I promise."
Mashiro, while still worried, perked up best as she could and nodded.
Misaki then flew up to the starting point where Kasumi was. Glancing at her, Kasumi evily chuckled before shooting Misaki a twisted smile while her eyes emitted intimidation. Misaki grew a bit scared from the feeling she got from her, but swallowed it and spoke.
"What's so funny?" Misaki asked in annoyance.
"You will be next on my fallen prey list," Kasumi started smugly. "I'll wear you down, nice and slowly just like the others."
"We won't know until we try," Misaki calmly retorted.
"Hmph!" Kasumi said, focusing forward now, as did Misaki.
On ground, Masaya and Irina's group watched on with tensed looks.
A person above them signaled the take off. The instant they started flying forward, Kasumi swiped her.
"Ah!" Misaki yelled, not expecting a swipe this quickly.
"Yikes, and Kasumi is already on the aggressive play!" Minori addressed.
"Quick, catch up with your Sonic Boost!" Masaya urged.
"Roger!" Misaki responded, using just one to elevate her back over to Kasumi, whom was thrown off guard. "Come, let's do some zipzapping!"
"Tch!" Kasumi grunted.
'I see, so Tobisawa knows the Sonic Boost too,' Irina thought.
Misaki and Kasumi then clashed on their way to the buoy, with Misaki getting the better of the scuffle.
"No choice, I have to let go of this one," Kasumi said, irritated by having to adandon a chase.
Kasami grudgingly took a shortcut to the road leading to the second buoy, while Misaki touched the first buoy for a point. As Misaki approached her, Kasumi became even more upset at missing a hit on Misaki, whom flew to the second buoy. This process repeated a few times until Kasumi devised an idea.
Right now, Misaki had 5 points while Kasumi had 0.
"Alright!" Mashiro yelled in confidence.
"Looking good for her," Madoka stated with a smile.
"Mmm, Misaki-chan is strong," Asuka said.
Aoi, Irina, Saki and Masaya weren't as happy, for they were worried about what Kasumi might do.
As Misaki approached Kasumi, Kasumi's expression changed.
"What happened?" Masaya wondered, noticing the change on the computer screen.
Misaki stopped near Kasumi. "Aren't you going to attempt to stop me?" Misaki asked, puzzled.
"Maybe I should give up the match," Kasumi lamented convincingly while concealing her face.
"Huh!?" Misaki asked, dumbfounded, before approaching to try encouraging her not to quit.
However, moments later, Misaki found herself yelling somewhat in fright due to how harshly Kasumi just swiped her. The force put in the swipe was a lot more than what people would usually do in FC.
"Senpai!" Mashiro yelled while Asuka and Madoka looked scared.
"That girl!" Irina said in anger, glaring at Kasumi on the computer screen while clenching a fist.
Aoi didn't say anything, but she was just as unhappy as Irina.
"Hey, are you alright!?" Masaya yelled with panic through the headset.
"Y-yeah!" Misaki stuttered with a clear shaken voice, before clenching her arm in pain.
"Not good, did she hurt her arm from that swipe?" Aoi asked in alert.
Before Masaya could direct another order, Kasumi flew behind a hurt Misaki and evily grinned.
"Fool, you're too soft!" Kasumi taunted, roughly smacking Misaki in the other arm rather than touch her back for a point. Delighting in Misaki's pain, Kasumi started striking anywhere but her back, all the while holding a vicous look. "C'mon c'mon 'zipzap' me as you call it!"
"T-this is bad!" Minori started, worried for Misaki. "Tobisawa went strong, but Kasumi's harsh play is taking a toll on her!"
Mashiro, Madoka and Saki held sad looks, feeling bad for Misaki, while Aoi and Irina grunted in disgust. Asuka on the other hand had widened glazing eyes, horrified by what she was seeing. How could someone play like this to where they would deliberately inflict harm on others?
"Such cruel swiping..." Masaya started in anger.
"Yeah," Aoi started before Mashiro was overwhelmed by emotion and prepared to turn on her Grav-Shoes to intervene. "Stop!"
"But she's-" Mashiro started, but Irina spoke up.
"I know you're worried for your friend, but if you go up there to stop the fight, your entire team will be disqualified from the tournament," Irina stated calmly, yet with a sympathetic voice.
Mashiro closed her eyes, about to cry, but Aoi put a hand on her shoulder. "Just believe in Tobisawa, that's all we can do for now," Aoi said gently.
'What can I do?' Masaya thought as his heart pulsed at seeing what was happening to Misaki. 'How can we bring a reversal...!'
Everyone watched as Misaki made it near at the buoy, but Kasumi swiped her down with a lot of force. Misaki thus roughly slammed against the buoy, forcing the contact system to yet again lighten the impact. But this impact created stress throughout her body. Furthermore, Misaki did not touch the buoy in the proper spot, thus no point was yet given.
Kasumi finally stopped after this. "Ahahahahaha!" she laughed at a weakened Misaki. "Go on Tobisawa, just give up, or better yet, beg for mercy!"
But, to her surprise, Misaki managed to straighten herself while looking at her with a soft look.
"Not yet, I won't let it all end like this," Misaki spoke, smiling at a now perplexed Kasumi.
"How can you be smiling in a situation like this!?" Kasumi exclaimed in frustration. "I've got you right where I want you, and at this rate, you won't even be able to continue! Unlike you, I'm not a carefree idiot! Win, I will never lose, regardless of what has to be done!"
Misaki stared at this girl, seeing a bit of the person she herself was before rejoining the club. When she lost to Shindou, she allowed herself to be consumed with rage, so much that she took it out briefly on Asuka, Shindou, Masaya and the team as a whole. Not to mention she took things too seriously just like this girl, even if not as extreme.
"Masaya," Misaki started, getting his attention. "Forget about points, I...there's something I want to do."
"Eh?" Masaya asked as she looked at Kasumi again.
"Hey, isn't there anyone you fight for?" Misaki asked. "Such as your teammates?"
"Those guys are just my support, they mean nothing to me!" Kasumi stated with a glare. "In fact I really don't need them to tell the truth."
"Do you really feel that way?" Misaki asked.
"What?" Kasumi asked with a surprised look.
"There was a time when I was like you," Misaki lamented with a sad look. "I only cared about myself over the team or anyone else. FC wasn't even for fun to me back at the time. Because it was the first time I've ever wanted to put so much effort into something. I believed I must win and stay the best of my team. That foolish thinking lead me down the wrong path. I hurt my friends because of taking FC too seriously, when I should have just been having fun. As someone once told me: Win or lose doesn't matter, FC is freedom!"
"I can't...see that thinking!" Kasumi roared, harshly swiping Misaki with enough force to induce some pain. "What fun, what freedom!? Victory is all that matters!"
After a second swipe, Misaki faced her yet again with a smile. "Then I'll just have to make you enjoy it," Misaki stated, still not getting upset.
"Don't joke!" Kasumi yelled in annoyance.
"Then vent out your anger, I'll take all of it!" Misaki yelled, making Kasumi charge at her.
With all her strength, Misaki blocked her swipe, then managed to get around Kasumi and touch her back for a point.
"Even in her condition..." Irina started with glazed eyes.
"She's still able to go on," Saki finished.
"Yes!" Mashiro exclaimed at seeing Misaki finally stop her.
Masaya directed no more orders, letting Misaki do what she was clearly trying to do.
"Why you!" Kasumi yelled, charging Misaki again, but Misaki started flying towards the buoy, leading to a brief race since Kasumi was missing her swipes. "How, how can you act like this despite everything I've done and said in this match!?"
Hearing her voice, Misaki could tell that she was actually a bit shaken.
"Because, FC isn't something to be used for hate or to be super serious about," Misaki started as Kasumi's look begun to become one of curiosity. "That's why, no matter how much you inflict pain on me, I won't do the same!"
Both touched the buoy at the same time, but something became apparent to the girls.
"That girl, she's not playing like before," Madoka pointed out.
"What could have changed?" Irina asked.
"Good question," Aoi said.
"I...I!" Kasumi struggled to retort her this time. "No, I can do this all on my own. Who needs friends or foolish carefree thinking!"
'I can do this,' Misaki resolved with unyielding eyes. 'Just like Shindou-san reached out to me, I'll do the same for this girl!' Though in pain, Misaki got in front of and blocked her. "Why don't you try it? Zipzap against me seriously."
"Fine, if you want to so much," Kasumi relented. 'What could be so interesting about this?'
The two stopped for a moment. They then started swiping, much as it ached Misaki whom fought the pain to prevent any worry from Masaya, Mashiro and the others. Kasumi dodged one, and on countering, Misaki dodged hers. Kasumi narrowed her eyes, wanting to best her in this clash. As this kept going, a strange feeling entered Kasumi's heart, one she's not felt before.
"This is fun, isn't it?" Misaki asked happily.
'What's going on?' Kasumi thought. 'This emotion...what is it? Am I enjoying this? No way. I've had dogfights before...yet why is this one...'
"Oh," Aoi said, grinning. "It seems like Tobisawa is starting to geniunly fire her up. You can tell she's not playing against Tobisawa like before. And..."
"She appears to be, having fun," Irina noted in shock, seeing Kasumi nearly smile.
"Yes," Asuka said, nodding.
Saki observed Tobisawa, facing any difficulty this person threw. A smile formed on her lips, finding Misaki really endearing.
"Y-you..." Kasumi started at Misaki.
"Even if I lost, I would be fine knowing I did my best against you," Misaki admitted. "Furthermore, we can only go so far by ourselves. What we can't obtain on our own, grasp it with those who care about you."
Masaya blinked, but smiled having heard those words from Aoi before.
"But, but if I lose, what would be left for me!?" Kasumi asked desperately, nearly tearing up as she swiped Misaki, but missed a touch, leading Misaki to get around and touch her back for a point.
"Then get better," Misaki encouraged as Kasumi gasped. "It's okay to lose, so long as you learn from it. Had I kept winning, I would have never been able to take a look at myself and see what I was turning into. You don't have to handle everything alone. Isn't that what your teammates are there for? Despite how you are, they haven't adandoned you. Isn't that proof you're not as alone as you believe."
"But!" Kasumi started.
"Because of having become part of a wonderful club, I had fun like I would have never believed beforehand," Misaki admitted. "Kasumi, won't you experience such enjoyable times? You don't have to play like you've done earlier in the match-just have fun."
Kasumi was struck speechless. Even now, this girl wouldn't give up on her and cared enough to want to have fun with her. She'd never came across someone like this before.
"Have...fun," Kasumi muttered as she closed her eyes which were growing tearful.
"And, haven't you started having a great time against me?" Misaki welcomed with a friendly face.
"I...I!" Kasumi struggled before finally giving in and letting it out with a yell, while her eyes stayed closed during it. "It's been enjoyable, I...I really have been having fun with you!"
Misaki smiled with an open mouth, glad to see this. Resuming, Kasumi, knocked her off balance, touching Misaki's back for a point before heading to the buoy. Seeing that, Misaki headed to the road leading to the buoy after that one. Once Kasumi approached, the two Dogfighted yet again, with points being scored to the back from both of them. However, they both held smiles on their face.
"Would you look at that, Kasumi has taken a sure change," Irina said, smiling at it.
"Yeah, you're right," Aoi said, smiling too.
"Go for it, Misaki-Senpai!" Mashiro cheered out.
"Amazing..." Saki muttered, having a hand near her heart.
"Just watching them is giving me goosbumps!" Asuka said excitedly.
Time was down to thirty seconds. "You're good, but I'll keep going till the last second!" Kasumi yelled, attempting the scissers.
"For everyone!" Misaki stated, referring to her friends, readied an Air Kick Turn with all of her willpower.
Launching, she collided with Kasumi's Scissers. The one to be knocked out of balance was Kasumi, prompting Misaki to fly behind her and touch her back for a point. The match then ended shortly afterwards.
"Tha...that settles it!" Minori yelled out in hype. "After such a rollercoaster of a match, Tobisawa will be moving on!"
"Alright!" Asuka, Mashiro and Madoka yelled with pumped fists: In the excitement, Asuka and Mashiro hugged for a moment.
"That Tobisawa," Irina said with relief. "She sure knows how to worry people, but that was a great match."
Aoi studied Irina, who was genuinly happy. Thinking on Irina's words to her again, Aoi came to a realization but didn't say it right now.
As Misaki flew down to her booth, Mashiro ran over and hugged her. "You did it!" Mashiro yelled out joyfully.
"Of course, did you expect any less?" Misaki asked proudly while rubbing her head.
As they congratulated Misaki, Saki stood a distance, smiling at the gang as a whole. Seeing them made her feel warm inside. They were such a fascinating group to her.
After a minute, Kasumi approached on her own. "Um...sorry," Kasumi apologized, lowering her head.
"No biggie," Misaki said with a fan of her hand.
"But I've been so mean," Kasumi admitted. "And as an FC player I-"
"Then start over," Aoi suggested, walking up to her. "If the you until now was a cruel player, then do so no more. Yes, the Kasumi who's known for playing in horrible ways dies right here, and in place the new Kasumi takes place."
"A new me?" Kasumi asked as Aoi nodded.
"If you truly want to walk a new path in FC, take that chance and do it," Aoi encouraged. "It's never too late to do so."
"I got it, I'll do it," Kasumi said with a smile on her face, which in turn lit smiles from everyone else seeing her truly remorseful and want to change. "Thank you, and you Tobisawa."
Misaki gave a thumbs up and a toothy grin. Kasumi then went over to her team. What she discussed as she left with them was not known, but she did look happy.
Once Kasumi and co left, Misaki could not maintain concsiousness anymore and collasped from fatigue.
"Misaki-chan!" Asuka yelled in concern.
"What happened!?" Mashiro asked in panic.
"Let's take her somewhere to rest," Aoi said, picking Misaki up and taking her to their personal FC waiting room.
Irina and Saki went with them after being given their permission.
"If only Saki could have faced Kasumi, Tobisawa wouldn't be in this condition," Irina said, blaming herself.
"No, it's not your fault," Aoi started. "Tobisawa took this on willingly."
"That's right, you came to us because you were concerned," Asuka told Irina with compassion. "I'm happy for that."
"Kurashina," Irina muttered, before smiling. "Thanks."
"For now, we'll just have to wait for Tobisawa to wake up," Aoi started before looking at Masaya and pointing in the other direction with a finger. "Mind stepping out for a bit? We need to check under her clothes to see if there is any specific spots where her muscles could be sore and hurt."
"I understand," Masaya said, getting up and walking out.
After he left, they begun removing some of Misaki's FC clothing to check.
Masaya on the other hand was worried about Misaki, but decided to sit down outside and have some soda to drink. While he sat and drunk while watching the sky, Irina came up to and sat next to him.
"Don't worry, Tobisawa isn't severly injured," Irina assured him.
"I see," Masaya said, relieved before Irina continued.
"But, she's going to have to be careful right now if she keeps playing," Irina stated. "Her muscles are pretty sore, and if she pushes them any harder, worse might happen."
"Yeah, she took a massive beating in that match," Masaya said, recalling all of it. "But, she fought through it all and reached the heart of that girl."
"Indeed she did," Irina said. "Tobisawa has a lot of guts. She faces all difficulties and never gives up."
"That might be her weak spot too though," Masaya said while Irina chuckled.
"Maybe so," Irina said, looking up towards the sky with him. "It's strange, at first I was merely intrigued by you guys in the last tournament, but the more we've been around and seen you, the more we've grown to care for you guys. It's rare I tell ya, for Saki to be this fond of people other than me. Then again, I'm not usually this attached to people either, yet I am just like Saki."
Masaya smiled at her while they kept watching the sky. He couldn't deny feeling fond of Irina and Saki either. They may be rivals, yet they had somehow become friends too.
They eventually returned to a now woken up Misaki, who was back in her FC clothes.
"Feeling better?" Masaya asked.
"Yep, good as new!" Misaki stretched quickly, only to wince in pain.
"Take it easy," Mashiro said putting a hand on her shoulder.
"Okay, our last match of the day will start in a few minutes!" Minori stated through the TV in the room. "Kunahama's Kurashina Asuka will face off against Arika of Shitou Suisan Academy!"
"Let's go," Masaya said as Asuka nodded.
Irina and Saki stuck with them, observing Asuka's match. Asuka easily dominated Arika, so it wasn't much of a match. With that over, Irina and Saki prepared to part from Masaya and co.
"Let's meet again tomorrow, and have fun," Irina voiced positively.
"Yes!" they all said, besides Aoi who simply nodded with a smile.
Masaya and Asuka headed towards his home, while Mashiro took Misaki home, and Madoka went over to her own house to make sure Shion was properly studying.
As Masaya and Asuka walked, something became apparent.
"What's wrong? You're pretty quiet." Masaya pointed out.
Asuka stopped walking, bringing both hands to her heart. "I still can't believe it," she started in a troubled voice. "That anyone could ever play like that girl did," Asuka started trembling. "I'm scared! I mean, FC is just for fun, right?"
"Asuka," Masaya muttered, seeing her tear up before pulling her close to him. "True FC is meant for fun, but there are some who hold different views of that. If that is the case, then what you should do, is follow the path you yourself believe in. Remember earlier? Misaki did exactly that against Kasumi. She remained strong, and touched Kasumi's heart through her earnest feelings and way of playing. That's why, just like her, keep pressing towards the future and touch people just like she did. You can't force a person to change after all, you can only do so by your own actions and the willingness to on their part."
"My own actions..." Asuka muttered before perking up and nodding. "I want to keep having fun, just like I always have. With Masaya-san, with everyone!"
"It goes without saying I feel the same," Masaya told her.
"Right now, I want to face Inui-san and have a blast!" Asuka stated with a confident expression as she and Masaya grabbed each other's hand.
"And I'll be right there guiding you in the match of course," Masaya said with a confident look of his own.
The two went to his home, with determination lighting up their hearts.