"About my brother, Youhei Sunohara," Sunohara heard his sister, Mei Sunohara, say from his hidden position near the soccer club's clubroom. "We would like you to let him back on the team." At this point, she was practically pleading to the club members, the desperation in her voice very much apparent to all those present.
Sunohara had already been aware of his sister's plot to allow him to rejoin the soccer team. And even though he had, earlier this morning, taken the necessary steps to facilitate his rejoining of the soccer team by talking to one of their junior members and setting up a meeting, he could not bring himself to talk to those same people who had hazed him all those years ago.
'It's no use, anyway,' he thought as he leaned back against the wall, shutting his eyes. Why would they even take him back in the first place? He was the "scourge" of the team, having cost them entry into a rookie competition whilst also fighting with each and every single one of the team members.
Sunohara never really understood his own sister sometimes. Why did she have to be so doting and insistent on changing him? He would never outgrow his delinquency. This is, after all, who he was. Someone who's only ever pissed on every chance life's given to him.
'So then why does she keep trying?' his mind prodded.
If only he knew the answer.
Sunohara's prior musings regarding the soccer team were only confirmed as insults such as "pest", "dropout", and "piece of trash" were hurled his way by the members of the team.
Yet, he noted, despite all of that, his sister, Nagisa, and Okazaki all came to his defence.
Why?
The soccer team was right, after all.
His own friends, and his sister, who stood up for him, had no idea that he wasn't putting in the amount of effort that they were. While they were working as ball boys for the intentionally ill-mannered and malevolent soccer team, solely for his sake, too, and had later been ordered to clean up the field, he just idly stood by, watching them from his hidden position.
Opening his eyes, Sunohara sighed. This was all just pointless. Hopefully his sister would just give up and go back home. He didn't need her assistance, anyway. He quietly stepped out of his hiding place, ready to return to his dorm room.
As he began walking back to his dorm, Sunohara stopped in his tracks when he began to hear Mei cry out, "My brother will come, he definitely will come!" with such certainty that even he, for one moment, believed that he was a better person than the man currently standing in his place.
In spite of the mocking replies of the soccer team, his sister continued to passionately repeat the phrase. Did she really believe in him this much?
'Just leave it, already, Mei,' he thought, gritting his teeth and continuing on his journey back to his dorm room. 'There's no point. Those bastards will continue defending their fucked up "traditions" until the end of time.'
And even if they did change their ways, they'd still never accept him. That was the reality of the matter.
Despite his sister's continued pleas and sobbing, Sunohara did not turn back. After all, she'd give up soon… right? She had to.
He stopped, yet again, after hearing insults hurled again by the soccer team, this time towards his sister.
Clenching his fists, which quickly began to turn lily white under the pressure at which he was gripping them, Sunohara grit his teeth. Insulting him was one thing, but his sister as well?
Did those guys have no standards whatsoever? He already knew the answer to that, though.
Suddenly, he heard his sister crying out at a much louder rate as the captain of the soccer team began taunting and harassing her.
That was enough to set him off.
Immediately turning around, Sunohara's shoes pounded on the dirt-covered floor. Nobody was allowed to bully his sister, especially not when he was around.
Swiftly running into the clubroom past an enraged Tomoya Okazaki and frightened Nagisa Furukawa, Sunohara lifted his left foot up to kick the soccer team's captain square in the jaw, watching in a satisfied manner as his sister was freed from the captain's grip and the black-haired teen dropped to floor with a cry and a thud.
Beyond enraged, Sunohara, whose eyes were wide open and engulfed with fury, yelled, "Don't make Mei cry!"
He paused, once more taking in the sight of the sorry excuse of a captain on the floor before narrowing his eyes and turning around to face the bewildered group of people behind him. He heard Okazaki and Mei both gasp in shock.
"I won't forgive anyone who makes Mei cry!" He clenched his fist, daring the rest of the members of the team to come at him. He had never felt more ready and exhilarated for a fight in his life.
To his right, one of the club members began to approach him in a threatening manner, exclaiming, "Why you-!" before Sunohara swung his right fist which connected with the teen's jaw, immediately sending him down.
Hearing the soccer team member behind him grunt, Sunohara instantaneously turned around, ducking under the player's head as he sent his fist flying, which hit the position at which Sunohara once stood. Quickly lifting his head up, which collided with the player's chin and sent him reeling back momentarily in pain, Sunohara was unable to react quick enough to notice the foot of the other club member behind him as his right abdomen was hit, sending him flying into the wooden table in the middle of club room.
At that moment, he heard Mei cry out, "Brother!" while Nagisa cried out, "Sunohara!"
He quickly recovered, staring at the soccer player in front of him with pure hatred in his eyes, much to the shock of the club member behind him whose smirk had quickly disappeared as momentary surprise had taken over him due to the rate at which Sunohara had recovered.
Sunohara spit out a glob of saliva which had formed in his mouth. He wasn't out of the fight yet, not by a long shot.
Preparing himself for round two, Sunohara threw himself at the club member with shaved hair. He wasn't done with the bastard just yet. Sending a kick into the middle of the player's abdomen, which saw the guy's back forcefully slammed into the wall of the clubroom, Sunohara soon found himself besieged on all sides by the club members.
One of the stockier members of the team, dropping the bottle in his hand, had sent a punch aimed at the back of Sunohara's head, which collided with his right ear, causing a momentary ringing in the organ. Another member sent a kick flying towards his left hip, which saw Sunohara forward. Despite that, however, he was still willing to fight, and heard Okazaki yell, "Don't forget I'm here, too!" as the navy blue-haired male sent a left hook flying towards the stocky player's head, momentarily incapacitating him as he connected with the table.
Sunohara turned around, coming face to face with the club member that had kicked his left hip, and ducked as yet another punch was sent towards his head. Bringing his head back up, Sunohara sent his fist into the player's stomach, hearing the male opposite him cry out in pain as he was temporarily unable to breathe.
Noticing a momentary lull in the fight, at least on his end, Sunohara approached the team captain, who had slowly begun rising up from his position on the floor. The captain, noticing Sunohara towering above him, looked up with pure hatred in eyes whilst Sunohara met his gaze, emotionless. The two seemed to be challenging each other before the captain, in a state of adrenalin and rage, went flying towards Sunohara, who sent another kick to his jaw, sending him back to the floor, rendering him unconscious.
The blond-haired teenager then turned around, grabbing the arm of long, red-haired soccer player who had attempted to take him out from behind. He then headbutted the teenager's head, sending him reeling back in pain.
'Heh, that hurt me as well. Though, it felt good, if I'm being honest,' though Sunohara.
Despite not having properly fought in who-knows-how-long, much less having fought together, Sunohara and Okazaki were able to both hold their own against the soccer team, who now numbered five members willing to fight.
As Okazaki sent the stocky team member flying from the club room, (almost in a rather comical manner, Sunohara noted, had it not been for the fact that they were fighting for something very serious) Sunohara followed his lead as he ran on the heels of a team member with short hair who was attempting to attack Okazaki from behind.
'Good idea,' he thought as he briefly wrested with the short-haired player, who had tried to punch him in the face, before using his left elbow to send another team member, who had followed them all outside, to the ground. Behind him, a soccer ball went flying. 'This'll give us more space as opposed to that cramped club room.' He quickly pulled back his left arm, punching the short-haired player opposite of him into the dirt.
Sunohara realized that they had to wrap this up quick, as the adrenalin in his body was quickly wearing off, resulting in his gradual exhaustion. It didn't help that he was all scraped up and bruised, either.
Hours later, after the fight was over, Sunohara, as he was laying down, heard one of the team members exclaim, "You guys are insane," in reference to their actions during the fight. Another one added, "They've got crazy eyes!"
Sunohara didn't even have the energy left in him to smirk, only staring at the cloudy sky, which was unrelenting in its distribution of rain, and raising his hand. Without thinking he asked, "Okazaki… did we win?"
His partner-in-crime, not turning to look at his blond-haired friend, replied, "I don't know."
Sunohara clenched his fist.
"...but I don't think we lost, either," he heard Okazaki continue.
Sunohara opened his hand, taking a look at his fingers, then shifting his gaze to the gloomy sky above as he heard his sister cry somewhere near him.
Just as he was about to ponder the merits of picking a fight with the soccer team, as he himself wasn't even sure at this point if he had done the right thing, he heard Okazaki distastefully say, "You idiot," as though he was spitting out the words with all of the hatred he could muster.
"Who are you calling an idiot?" Sunohara asked in a harsh whisper, narrowing his eyes, though unwilling to turn towards his fellow delinquent.
"Who else besides you?"
Sunohara gave a dry laugh of contempt. Just who the hell does Okazaki think he is?
"Apologize to Mei," Okazaki suddenly stated.
Sunohara dropped his hand to his sides, bemused. 'That came out of nowhere,' he thought.
"Why?"
"This could have all been avoided had you behaved properly," answered Okazaki, staring at the sky in an emotionless manner. Unrelenting in his criticism of his blond-haired friend he continued, "You really are a worthless brother."
Sunohara glared at the sky, his blue eyes filled with disdain towards Okazaki; towards the soccer team; towards this entire situation, doing his utmost to ignore his sister's sobs.
"Are you picking a fight?" he called out, curious as to see what his friend's reply would be.
"Basically," the navy blue-haired boy laying next to him lazily stated, not missing a beat.
They both rose at the same time, with Sunohara clutching his right shoulder during his slow ascent, eventually turning to face Okazaki, who had already fully stood up. Both of them gazed at one another, their eyes unreadable.
"Tomoya!" Nagisa began, attempting to dissuade her boyfriend from fighting her friend. "Sunohara!"
"Stop, please stop!" pleaded Mei, crying into her hands.
The two males, ignoring the pleas and cries of the females beside them, stared at one another for what seemed like an eternity.
Time slowed down for Sunohara as he stared into what could be counted as his closest friend's eyes.
He thought back to when they'd first met, that time in front of the faculty room.
Okazaki, who had been sporting similar bandages to Sunohara, had nearly passed by the faculty room before noticing Sunohara's own condition, which was very much similar to his.
Just like right now, they'd stared at each other for a long while before finally cracking up. 'Damn,' thought Sunohara, clutching his stomach from all of the laughter, 'this guy really looks like an idiot with his face all bruised.'
Eventually, though, they stopped, and were forcibly sent to detention by their homeroom teacher, Koumura, who had supervised them for the duration of their punishment.
During their time in the classroom, Okazaki and Sunohara discussed the reason as to why they had detention. Sunohara had explained his fight with the soccer club.
"Yeah, it was pretty insane," began Sunohara. "I kicked a table, sending one of the upperclassmen sprawling on the floor, and then threw a soccer ball at another one, eventually knocking him out with a left hook. He gave a goofy, closed-eyed smile.
"Is that why you're so beat up at the moment?" Okazaki queried.
"Hmph. You try kicking the collective asses of four upperclassmen who play soccer, then you can talk," said Sunohara, folding his arms, closing his eyes, and looking away, in an over dramatic fashion.
The blond-haired freshman then opened his eyes, turning towards the navy blue-haired male sitting adjacent to him. "Say, Okazaki…" he began.
Okazaki raised a questioning eyebrow.
"Why are you here as well? Got into another fight?"
Okazaki nodded. "Yeah. I got into a pretty bad fight with a few guys who were talking about me behind my back." The male sighed, leaning back in his chair. "When I told them to piss off, they began to provoke me. I snapped, punching one of them square in the jaw. Before I knew it, they all ganged up on me."
Okazaki opened his eyes and smirked. "Though, despite not 'winning' the fight, I would say that I was able to hold my own against the assholes."
Sunohara smirked back at his new friend. 'Heh. This guy isn't half bad…'
Thus, a friendship was born between the two delinquents.
Snapping out of his stupor as Okazaki yelled, "You flaming idiot!" and ran towards the blond-haired boy with his right arm raised, Sunohara, who was in shock, was unable to defend himself from the punch and was sent flying to the floor.
Okazaki, not letting up, ran after his friend, positioning himself on top of him.
Swinging his left fist at his friend's face, Okazaki asked, "Do you have any idea what Mei went through because of you?!" He punched Sunohara with his opposite hand.
"You're supposed to be the one watching after her!" the navy blue-haired teen continued, punching Sunohara in the cheek, yet again, with his right fist.
As Okazaki got ready to punch Sunohara, yet again, with his right hand, the blond-haired male was able to react on time, quickly catching his friend's fist. "Why you…!" Sunohara was enraged at this point, and the punches to his face certainly didn't help the situation.
As the two teens struggled against each other, with Okazaki attempting to punch Sunohara whilst the latter was attempting to throw the former off of himself, Okazaki continued, "You're Mei's older brother! Think about her!"
"I did!" Sunohara indignantly stated.
"Don't lie to me!" Okazaki yelled back at his friend, not believing a word of his lies. "She was hooking up to a guy like me, and you didn't even give a shit!" The two continued to wrestle.
"You didn't worry about her!" The former basketball team captain drove the point home.
Nagisa and Mei, both of which were intensly watching the fight, stared at the two boys in shock and awe.
"I did!" yelled Sunohara, yet again. "I sure did!," he repeated, unwaveringly.
"Then why did you leave her?!" asked Okazaki, ready to punch his friend yet again, this time with even greater force. "If you have an excuse, say it!"
'I trust you, that's why, dumbass. You're my friend for fucks sake,' the former soccer player thought.
"I thought it was fine if it was you!" yelled Sunohara, eyes wide as he strained his vocal cords.
Okazaki stopped, a dumbfounded expression forming on his face.
Sunohara took the opportunity, sending his left first flying into his friend's left cheek. Okazaki went flying backward, sprawled onto the ground.
"I was planning on hiding and watching to the end," said Sunohara, lowering his voice.
He got up and tackled his friend.
"But because you were being so pathetic, I had to come out!" Sunohara's voice was laced with venom as he accused his friend of cowardry. He sent his right fist flying into Okazaki's right cheek, watching as his friend cried out in pain.
"Tomoya, Sunohara!" Nagisa's voice cut through the infighting between the two males.
"Please stop it!" pleaded Mei, yet again, directing her words to both of the men.
Ignoring their pleas, once more, Sunohara gripped Okazaki's collar, yelling, "You should have protected Mei!" Raising his left fist above his head and punching his fellow delinquent in the left cheek he asked, "Isn't that the boyfriend's role?"
"You…" Okazaki was astounded at his friend's ignorance. "Sunohara!" he yelled, with a vengeance, as he pulled himself up and swung his right fist at his friend.
Sunohara was sent back, though managed to regain his balance. Meeting Okazaki's angry gaze he spoke, lowering his voice, "You love Mei enough to break up with Nagisa, right?" Not waiting for his friend's reply he raised his voice, "Then get your goddamn act together!" and charged, tackling his friend to ground once more.
"Brother, Okazaki!" yelled Mei, in shock.
Nagisa stood up, running towards the two. Right before Sunohara was about to punch Okazaki, yet again, she pleaded, desperation oozing from her voice, "Please stop this, both of you!" Her eyes were closed, with her fists clenched.
Sunohara, shocked, turned his head leftward, staring at the petite girl. 'W-when did she…?'
"Nagisa? Why are you here-?" Before he could finish the rest of his sentence, he was sent backward as the navy blue-haired teen punched him with his right fist.
Sunohara's eyes immediately refocused on the male opposite of him, and he began, threateningly, "You've done it now!" as he began to get up.
Before he could get any further, though, Mei ran up and hugged him, yelling, "Stop it! That's enough!"
Opposite him, Nagisa slowly hugged Okazaki's left arm.
Mei held on tightly to Sunohara's left arm, all but burying her face into his chest. "Brother! Brother!" she kept crying, her never-ending tears mixing with the never-ending rain. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry…" she went on, weakly.
Sunohara could only stare at her in shock.
'Why is she crying? This isn't her-'
He stopped, Okazaki's words flashing through his mind.
"You're Mei's older brother! Think about her!"
"You didn't worry about her!"
His eyes returned to their normal size as he realized his mistake.
'No, Mei, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for being such a worthless excuse of an older brother. Okazaki's right, I should've been more active as your brother and should have actually looked out for you.'
"Mei…" was all that came out of his mouth.
He put his left arm around his sister, patting her on the head before fully embracing her, cradling her in his lap.
Nagisa and Okazaki simply watched.
Mei's cries continued to pierce the silent night.
The four students had eventually went home, with Mei leaving Sunohara's side in order to go back to the Furukawa Bakery, at which she was temporarily staying.
Finally making his way back to the dorm, successfully avoiding Misae, Sunohara, after taking a quick shower, changing his clothes, and applying bandages to his face, laid down on his bed.
"Am I really this much of an idiot?" he asked out loud, to no one in particular.
He grit his teeth. "I should've been a better brother to Mei."
'I could've been a better brother…'
Sunohara buried his eyes in his hands. This day did certainly not go as he planned. While, yes, it was true that he was able to beat the shit out of the soccer club members (for the second time, he proudly noted), and he was able to reconcile with Mei, it was also true that what Okazaki had said was correct. This whole thing could have been avoided had he just been a better person.
'I have to work towards becoming a better person. I'm not… I can't…'
Tears started leaking out of his eyes faster than he could wipe them away.
"I can't remain a delinquent forever…" he whispered, his voice hoarse. "I need to get my act together."
A short while later, Sunohara fell asleep.
The next morning, Sunohara was yet again woken up early by Tomoyo.
"School's going to start soon, and you'll be late…" Tomoyo stopped. "Eh? Are you alright?" The grey-haired female gestured towards the various bandages on his face, concerned.
"I'll be fine…" The blond-haired male said in a serious fashion, which was uncharacteristic with how he usually behaved. "Don't worry about me, Tomoyo!" He gave her a goofy, close-eyed grin.
The athletic girl sighed. "Whatever, I've got to head to school. See you later."
"Bye bye!" said a now enthusiastic Sunohara.
After she left his room, closing the door, his face fell.
He still had to resolve the issue between himself and Okazaki.
Eating a quick breakfast consisting of instant ramen, then getting dressed in his school uniform rather quickly, and finally heading out, Sunohara began to ponder what he would do.
After a few minutes of puzzling over the matter, he sighed. Whatever, the issue would most likely work itself out when the time came.
As he continued walking on the path to school, he came to a crossroad at which he saw Okazaki and Nagisa walking together, the former basketball player's face similarly bruised and bandaged up just like his.
The two stared at each other, intently, for what seemed like an eternity.
Nagisa looked at Okazaki, then at Sunohara, worried another fight would break out between the two.
Then, suddenly, without even thinking, Sunohara, unable to hold himself back, began cracking up as he looked to his left, away from both Okazaki and Nagisa.
Okazaki looked to his left, away from Sunohara, as well. He was unable to hold himself back.
Eventually, the collective giggling of the two delinquents turned into full on laughter as Okazaki faced Sunohara, mouth wide open, laughing. He began to clutch his gut due to how much he was laughing.
Sunohara, turning to face his friend at the same time, laughed with his mouth open before closing it by clenching his teeth. Though, somehow, laughter continued to leak out of his mouth. Tears began to form at the corners of his eyes.
'God, we both probably look like such idiots right now,' thought Sunohara.
'Although, I honestly couldn't care less about how I look.'
Suddenly, the Fujibayashi twins, both of whom came from behind Okazaki and Nagisa, and Kotomi, who came from behind Sunohara, appeared next to the group of three.
Kyou, examining the two males, asked, "What happened to your eyes?"
"They look horrible," commented a clearly worried Ryou.
"But they look like they're having fun," pointed out a surprised Kotomi.
Sunohara and Okazaki paid the two no heed as they continued laughing, their bodies shaking with ecstasy.
Nagisa looked up at Kotomi, then smiled.
'It seems as everything turned out alright in the end, huh?' thought a relieved Sunohara.