Me: Wow that was a devastating chapter 69! :( Poor Momo, will she be able to recover? What are Tohru's real motives? Will Shizuru finally get her act in gear? Will Niou finally stop being a douchebag? Nobody knows except for me! *throws confetti in the air* Thank you everyone for your beautiful compliments and reviews! I wish I could send you guys cookies but that would be weird so I'm sending digital cookies! :) Although this is where things start changing especially in the Goodwill Games line up! Now, I don't own Prince of Tennis! I only own the OCs!
Chapter 70 – Selection for the Games
Kajimoto quietly walked around with Momo and glanced straight into the sky, inhaling deeply. He couldn't help but wonder at who had attacked Rin and why. The black haired acrobat was so lovable and kind; well, he could be biased but nonetheless – she would never be the type to starts fights. Even her teammates were mortified by the damage! When he had passed by the clinic, the tension and the murderous intent swirled up thickly that he wasn't sure if it came from the team or from one person alone. The Jyosei Shounan captain remained silent for a moment before swinging himself onto a tree; sitting on one of the branches and watching the clouds float aside.
"I guess you saw Rin in the infirmary."
Kajimoto nodded stiffly at the violet haired Shinigami, biting his lower lip guiltily. "Y-Yeah..."
"I know Rin can be an extremely affectionate girl and may have the maturity that of a six year old but even I know that she didn't deserve that," Momo cast her gaze towards the sky, shaking her head. "This training camp is driving everyone insane..."
Kajimoto chuckled humourlessly and leapt off the branch, landing inaudibly on the ground. "You have no idea. Oh by the way, I heard Hoshimura Florence returned?"
"Yep, you got that right, Taka!"
Momo and Kajimoto turned around and found Wakato strolling around with his hands stuffed into his sweat jacket.
"What in the world are you doing strolling out around alone? You know it's not safe ever since the attacks started occurring," Kajimoto frowned slightly at the Changeover specialist. "Are you insane?"
"The room was kinda stuffy so I decided to go stroll around a bit. Anyway, I heard Hoshi-chan came back but she went to talk to Miho and the others," Wakato frowned slightly as he continued walking with Kajimoto. "So, what are you gonna do now?"
"Me?" Kajimoto stared quizzically at his friend. "What do you mean what am I gonna do?"
"Are you going to let Rin stay completely beat up or are you gonna find the bastard who turned her into a meat chop," Wakato raised an eyebrow at his captain before glancing at Momo. "Wait a minute, aren't you...?"
Momo nodded curtly at Kajimoto's teammate, keeping a calm composure. "Yes, I am Rin's teammate."
Wakato chuckled lightly and nodded, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly. "Well, there's that and aren't you Sengoku's girlfriend?"
"Ye," Momo immediately stopped herself from finishing her sentence while trying to regain her composure.
The wound was still fresh.
She could feel her heart pounding angrily against her chest and her blood boiled at the mere idea of who the culprit was. She was definitely sure that it was his sister this time! Who else could want Sengoku in such a creepy obsessive way that made Seigaku's Mouri Enma look like a sweet cuddly ball of fluff? However, the yelling match resounded loudly in her mind as she tried to stop herself from trembling.
"No, not anymore," Momo bitterly shook her head with a weak smile. "Why?"
Wakato's eyes widened before he started twitching awkwardly. "Eh? But who would dump a modern day Yamato Nadeshiko who still has the capacity to kick ass in all her finery?"
Momo chuckled lightly and shook her head. "People always look for the skeletons in the closet and forget to look at the good things."
Kajimoto sighed deeply before glancing at the cameras, suddenly having an idea hit him. "Hold on, can't we find out who attacked Rin through the cameras?"
The violet haired Shinigami glanced at the cameras and narrowed her eyes at it for a moment before her eyes widened. Of course, Hitomi could easily hack into the cameras! Her boy problems can be dealt with later but dealing with the idiot who decided to bash Rin outside of the game was going to take priority. She clenched her hands tightly into a fist, with her knuckles turning white.
"And I know just the person who can hack the cameras into nothing," Momo chuckled lightly with a triumphant smirk, running and dragging Kajimoto along. "Come on, follow me!"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Shizuru on the other hand had already made her way towards the computers with Natsuki. She remembered the horrible story that the Shitenhouji captain had told them regarding her cousin. Who knew that Sengoku Tohru was crazy? She knew Naomi had some psychotic tendencies but she had recovered after realizing her own insecurity. This one actually knew she was mentally unstable and knew how to use it to her advantage! The brunette female bit her lower lip; Tohru could easily eliminate anyone of choice and still be let off scot free due to her mental instability.
"It's kinda funny how that gal can be ah purdy talented lawyer," Natsuki hooked up her iPad to the mainframe and began clicking on the keyboard. "She may sound like she got a couple nuts and bolts lose from her noggin' but ahm purdy sure that the mafia would really love her as a part of their lil' gang."
Shizuru nodded stiffly. "She makes the Yakuza look like amateurs based on what you told me."
"Like ah've constantly said, sugarcube," Natsuki attached her tablet to the computers, hacking through the computers with a couple of programs. "She makes the Yakuza look like a bunch o' furry lil' puppies. This ain't her first rodeo."
Shizuru glanced around before disconnecting a few cables and redirecting it into Natsuki's tablet. "Are you sure you could use the information from them?"
"Ahm purdy sure it would work as long as there's good Wi-Fi," Natsuki began typing away as fast as she could, looking through a list. "Okay, ahm purdy sure somethin's missin' from these files."
Shizuru loomed over her shoulder. "What is it?"
"Despite her so-called whacky tendencies and days she threw her eighteen pence down the drain, she has no psychiatric records whatsoever," Natsuki narrowed her eyes darkly, lacing her voice with her thick Kansai accent. "But there are some who…"
"Who shouldn't snoop around in places they shouldn't."
Natsuki felt her blood run cold as she looked up and found Tohru smiling sickeningly sweet at her. Shizuru quickly prepared to grab Natsuki and make a run for it, watching the orange haired girl's movements carefully. The brunette could feel the sheer fear that Natsuki felt and the psychopathic glint in her eyes. It wasn't as bad as Naomi's when she had faced her. She had seen psychopaths and frankly, it wasn't on her favourite things to deal with. She continued to keep her beady gaze on the Yamabuki captain as Natsuki remained completely frozen in place.
"Well then, you actually dragged another player with you," Tohru smiled sweetly and folded her arms, narrowing her eyes and lowering her voice into a deadly hiss. "And who might you be?"
Shizuru kept her gaze steady, fighting back her urge to break the girl's face for what she had done to Momo. "Someone you clearly don't want to mess with."
"Hey! What's going on? Someone broke into the profiles room!"
"Get them out of there!"
Natsuki snapped out of her daze, snorting in annoyance. "Tch, Shizuru – we have to go!"
Nodding quickly, Shizuru quickly pulled out a couple of smoke bombs from her pocket and smashed it on the ground. Tohru staggered back and let out a yelp as the two captains slipped down the corridor and into another hallway. The Yamabuki female captain snorted in annoyance as she glared holes at where Natsuki and Shizuru once were. It infuriated her to no end; she knew how Natsuki was able to see through her but that other girl – the mere look at her composure infuriated her! Worst part was, she wasn't even in any recognizable school uniform and had been walking around in normal casual clothes. She barely had seen the girl but for Natsuki to know her and for her to be able to enter the tennis camp, she should be one of the higher calibre players. But whatever it was, she could still find out who this person was. A slow smile crept up her lips as she began looking around; no traces – she clucked her tongue in annoyance. However, if she was with Natsuki, Tohru chuckled in amusement. That narrowed down the friend list a bit.
This should be easy.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Tezuka groaned in pain as he got up, noticing that his entire waist had been bandaged. He remembered getting attacked from behind along with some childish laughter but his whole body seemed to wrack in agony. He glanced around and found himself in another room as he found a bluenette sitting on the bed, watching movies on her laptop.
"Yukimura," Tezuka raised an eyebrow as the head suddenly swivelled to reveal the younger sister. "Oh, sorry – I didn't know…"
Ai grinned childishly. "It's okay! A lot of people mistake me for my brother from behind! How are you feeling, Tezuka-kun?"
Even their mannerisms were almost the same.
He could imagine the bluenette captain of Rikkai Dai doing that same smile and doing the exact same thing that Ai was doing. After staying with Sanada for awhile in the same room, he had also discovered many things about the other members from the team. Jirou had managed to sleep through everything and anything but at night, he was pretty much active. He seemed narcoleptic only in the morning only because of the many things he loaded himself up with at night. Despite his so-called bubbly-ness, Jirou actually had gotten serious at one point and even started reviewing for SATs. Most people would do that during high school years but Jirou had been starting off in middle school. Sengoku did give pretty good advice for how to tell Shizuru again and ask for her response but he wasn't sure whether or not it was a good idea to listen to him considering what had happened the other night. Sengoku's eyes were tear-stained and his body seemed to shudder before he started rampaging and attacking his bed. It was something the Seigaku captain had not gotten accustomed to and the rest of them just called it in while the orange haired vice-captain sobbed himself to sleep.
"If you're looking for Shi-chan, she's not here," Ai grinned while popping another caramel candy into her mouth, offering him her bucket. "Candy?"
Tezuka politely shook his head. "No thank you, Yukimura-san."
The bluenette blinked several times before grinning in delight. "Okay, more for me!"
The bespectacled male let a chuckle bubble from his throat as he tried to imagine Rikkai Dai's demi-god to be similar to his younger sister. The resemblance was uncanny; same blue hair and same blue eyes that could make an opponent think twice in challenging her. The only thing he noticed differently was the personality such as he could never imagine Yukimura eating an entire bucket of diabetes in one sitting. Secondly, bouncing happily on the bed like a child while watching My Little Pony. The mere image of Yukimura Seiichi doing that sent shivers down his spine. Too creepy.
"She likes you. You know."
Tezuka blinked several times as he suddenly found Yukimura Ai sitting in front of him and staring at him with her bright blue eyes. He moved back slightly, blinking at the other girl as she folded her legs into an Indian sit. He swallowed hard for a bit as she inched a bit closer and tilted her head innocently to one side, grinning.
"You know, Shi-chan's not really good with her emotions either. She always thinks more with her head than her own heart," Ai jumped off the bed before pacing around like a teacher disciplining a student. "It is also imperative that as much as possible you bring her to a place that she cannot escape. Shizuru-chan always has a tendency to run away from something she knows is beneficial to her but detrimental to the expectations of other people."
Tezuka nodded slowly as Ai placed her candy bucket aside.
"She knows who attacked you yesterday and she's definitely going to get to the bottom of it," Ai's composure became more serious as she began contemplating. "Shizuru-chan actually has this one-track mentality. She doesn't stop until she gets there."
Tezuka smiled lightly; that was one thing he did admire about her.
"But I'm not sure how she plans to handle Sengoku Tohru-chan. She did go on a psychopathic yandere warpath and Shi-chan may not be a yandere but Tohru-chan just hit one of her berserk buttons," Ai tapped her chin contemplatively, imagining Shizuru in her head. "Shi-chan does have her crazy moments and her obsessive moments but it's only when she really wants the success and victory really badly. Or someone she cares about gets hurt badly. Ever wonder why the Hyotei Tennis Team is virtually untouchable?"
Tezuka nodded stiffly; well, he always thought they were just that close.
"Other than their skills that make them demons, they all have a berserk button," Ai cheerfully smiled, enumerating each. "Kobayagi Ayane's always angry so it isn't much. Nagisaki Mai is a known sadist. It's in the rule book for every genius to make their captains suffer at one point of the day and make them grow white hair. But the one you should be scared of are Kurenai Shizuru, Sanada Momo, Uchiha Isane and Getsugan Kiyone. Those four I haven't seen angry yet. Hikifumi doesn't get angry though, she just gets angsty. Shimohi Rin's a bit of a cry baby and Yamaguchi Hitomi – I'm pretty sure she'll just drown you in data."
Tezuka thought about it carefully and realized she was right. The four mentioned were the only ones he had never seen crack under pressure. He had heard stories of Momo nearly falling into it but the other three were barely told about. But he knew stories about Sengoku Tohru from Fuuka who had eloquently described her as a "fuck starved cocker spaniel on steroids and meth". However, what he did not understand was why he stabbed her. It made no sense! He had no close relations with Sengoku or anything.
"She's really protective of her brother but she knows not to attack the male players. I think she thought you were Gen-Gen," Ai contemplated for a moment before pulling out a piece of paper and scribbling things down. "She probably wanted a chain effect and wanted to use Gen-Gen as a catalyst to have Momo abandoned by her family and stuff. But the thing is, she attacked the wrong person and angered the wrong person while she was at it."
"How do you suppose Shizuru-chan plans to go around it," Tezuka raised an eyebrow at Ai.
Ai swallowed hard and shook her head fearfully. "And that is the part I definitely don't know."
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
Niou quietly began walking along the pathway, kicking a soda can on the ground. After hearing that his good friend had left the camp, the Trickster found himself at the end of his ropes. Akutsu had stayed around Isane 24/7 and she was learning really fast from the brutish male. He had never heard her talk coldly before and if he had to be honest…
If she wanted revenge and she needed someone to teach her, she found the right man to do so!
Akutsu knew no mercy and basically bashed his opponents into the ground without any further questions. As far as he knew, Yamabuki's own demon basically was brutish both on the court and off. While Isane had such a meek and sweet nature (frankly, he found that more refreshing than most girls since he wanted to see what made her tick), Akutsu now turned her into some major bad-ass and her serves broke through three planks of thick wood! Shishido had spoken to her a couple of times and she was pretty cordial about it.
Even if Shishido did throw her chocolates down the trashcan, she at least tried to warm up to him.
However, what he couldn't understand was how Isane warmed up to Akutsu and how the said brutish man had gained some overprotectiveness over her. Then again, she did have this vibe that made males want to protect her. Then again, there could be more than what meets the eye. He hadn't known that she was part of the National Shooting Team until he had seen her win that pack of cards in a carnival for him and also when he had seen the medals decorating the living room of her house. All her brothers were gun specialists and her own father was the police chief. He had never seen her mother though.
"Anyway, how am I going to get close to her now," Niou frustratedly raked his fingers through his silver blue hair, kicking the soda can high up into the air. "With Akutsu looming around her like a hawk, it's almost downright impossible to get close to her. Tch, puri~."
As the can fell to the ground with a loud clank, the Trickster found himself completely at a loss on what to do. He never found himself backed into a corner like this. It was usually his own opponents that were backed up into a corner while fighting him. He chuckled in amusement; then again, he always loved a good challenge. Akutsu simply involved himself in the challenge as an obstacle is all. But he was going to need help and Yagyuu made it clear he didn't want to be included in whatever hare-brained scheme it had to do with his love life.
"I know just the person," Niou chuckled in amusement before walking towards the courts, seeing a familiar dash specialist training and walling some shots. "Oi, Shishido!"
Shishido glanced back at him, only to see the face of the Trickster. "Tch, gekidasa daze. Can't you see I'm busy?"
"Can't you multi-task and hear me out," Niou chuckled and folded his arms, leaning against the wall. "I have a proposal for you."
Shishido scoffed and continued walling. "I'm not getting involved in that kind of crap."
Niou chose his words carefully, knowing one statement could set the dash specialist off. "Aren't you getting annoyed with Isane-chan being protected all the time?"
Shishido suddenly stopped before narrowing his eyes at him. "Since when could you call her by her first name? Secondly, Uchiha made it clear – she doesn't want to hang out with a two-timing backstabbing asshole like you. And third, why the hell should I help in whatever scheme you have?"
"Two-timing yes, backstabbing no," Niou narrowed his eyes a bit to meet Shishido's glare. "I do admit I was a bit of an asshole…"
Shishido raised an eyebrow at Niou.
"Okay fine, I screwed up a lot," Niou groaned in annoyance, swallowing his pride. "But point is – are you going to let Akutsu keep her away from you?"
Shishido remained silent for a moment while listening to Niou's reasoning. He wasn't sure either as to why the Trickster would want to work with him but whatever Isane wanted was her business. But the mere idea of her hanging out with someone that increasingly dangerous kind of person sent shivers down his spine. He wouldn't mind though that she gained a backbone or two but turning her into a rough and tumble type of girl wasn't really on his to-do list. She was already cute enough as the tomboy that she is!
"Fine, what do you have in mind," Shishido raised an eyebrow at the Trickster.
Niou chuckled smoothly as Shishido placed his racquet and tennis ball down. "You see, the selection is coming up and obviously we're going to have some rest time. So we're going to find a way how to insert ourselves into her daily schedule. Akutsu can't be with her all the time but we can at least see what they do together to know what they don't. After that, we're going to have to see what she thinks about us first and then we start figuring out the moves from there."
"We can also try gaining her attention from the opening ceremony and I'm pretty sure we as people are going to have an after-party," Shishido chuckled lightly while folding his arms. "She sang that Spice Girl song with the other girls the last time right? Well, I was thinking something along those lines also."
"You singing Spice Girls," Niou nearly hooted in laughter, shaking his head. "No, just no."
"I didn't mean sing Spice Girls too, you idiot," Shishido face-palmed at the mere idea. "But there are some songs that could get my point across and knowing how the teams are, I'm sure there is going to be a karaoke session somewhere around here and there."
Niou nodded lightly before looking far ahead. He didn't imagine that chasing a girl from another school would prove to be this tedious. If it was, most people would have given up. But not him! He always loved a decent challenge! But then again, this was no longer a game to him. Sure, Isane had some instances in which she was shy and completely spineless in terms of her confidence. He wasn't exactly the most decent and perfect boyfriend material either, being known as a playboy and all. But then again, Niou curled his hands into a fist while biting his lower lip. He had to prove to her that he could make her happy. All he needed was one more chance and Shishido was just going to have to be the catalyst for it. After they factor Akutsu out of the equation, it was an open field for both of them.
"ALL TENNIS PLAYERS PLEASE REPORT TO THE LOBBY, THANK YOU!"
Niou and Shishido exchanged glances and ran towards the lobby; what was going on now?
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
"Today we begin the selection of the players for the Goodwill games! One for the men's team, the other for the women's team and the segregated team," Ryuuzaki began pacing around while looking into the sea of expectant faces of each player. "The segregated team apparently has a special rule which also allows segregated singles matches in which a member of the men's team can play against a member of the women's team. Eight players will be selected for each. Four for doubles, three for singles and one for reserve. Now, here is the thing – players can also be repeated for the mixed matches. The scheduling is that the segregated matches will start first before the mixed matches will be held the following day after. Any questions?"
The people exchanged glances with one another with murmurs of no's coming back and forth.
Ryuuzaki-sensei smiled in approval. "Alright, I will say a list of names for each team. Starting with the men's team!"
Everyone remained silent for a moment, waiting for the announcements.
"In no particular order, Sanada Genichirou…!"
"Oh yeah, fukubuchou got selected," Kirihara punched the air with a huge grin on his face, over the huge applause.
Niou chuckled in amusement and watched Sanada slowly make his way towards the stage, folding his arms. "Way to go, Sanada."
"Atobe Keigo!"
Atobe chuckled in amusement as if it were no surprise to him at all, flipping his hair back. "Arn~, ore-sama already knew he'd be selected."
Oshitari shook his head while exhaling with a deep sigh. "That's Atobe for you. Being the pompous bastard that he is…"
"Well, with the way he plays – no kidding," Shishido snorted in annoyance. "Of course he'd be selected!"
Hiyoshi narrowed his eyes into a glare. "Gekokujo…"
"Ore-sama knew he'd be selected, nah, Kabaji," Atobe chuckled while slinging on his Regular's jacket.
"Usu," the big sophomore nodded in agreement.
"Shiraishi Kuranosuke!"
The Shitenhouji team howled in response as they started congratulating Shiraishi.
"Way to go, Shiraishi," Kenya grinned with a congratulatory smile, punching his shoulder. "I knew you had it in you."
Zaizen rolled his eyes with a sarcastic snort. "Sure you did. But duh, it's Shiraishi-buchou. Who else would have been selected," throwing back his thumb, "Did you think he'd select Hitouji and Koharu back there?"
Hitouji puckered up his lips with a pout, throwing his arms around the tensai. "Awww, you don't have to be so mean Zaizen!"
"Tooyama I'd still believe," Zaizen snorted sarcastically while rolling his eyes, placing back his headphones. "At least the brat can kick better ass than you."
"Kikumaru Eiji!"
"N-Nyah, I got picked," Kikumaru gaped at the results, pointing at himself.
"Way to go, Eiji-senpai," Momoshiro whooped and punched the air, hugging the acrobat.
"Yatta," Kikumaru grinned and gave his trademark 'v' sign to the whole Seigaku team. "V for victory! I'll bag us that gold!"
Echizen chuckled lightly, lowering his cap. "Mada mada dane, Eiji-senpai."
Fuji chuckled lightly. "Saa, it looks like we're going to have quite a fight, ne, Tezuka?"
"Ah," the bespectacled male nodded stiffly before checking his shoulder; he could pull off a good game.
"Sengoku Kiyosumi!"
Yamabuki team members whooped in delight but Sengoku remained silent. Somehow, the orange haired male couldn't get over what had happened that night. Sengoku remembered how he broke down and how Momo had been trying to get him to listen to what she said. But he was glad somehow his sister had been watching over him. He may be lucky on the tennis court but would it hurt to ask if he had been lucky also in love?
"Sengoku!"
The orange haired male snapped out of his daze, shaking his head. "Ah, yeah! Lucky!"
Dan cheered in delight. "YEAH, WAY TO GO SENGOKU-SENPAI!"
"You're a dimwit, now get up there," Akutsu shoved him forward with an annoyed snort.
However, there was someone who noticed something was off with his tone.
Momo stood among the other females from Hyotei, watching Sengoku trying to cover up his morose tone. She had dated him for a couple of months and she basically knew most of his behaviours and mannerisms. Although, what she couldn't understand was what did Tohru have against her? If anything, Sengoku was the one who threw himself into the danger! She never asked Sengoku to take the blow for her nor save her from that samurai fortress. But whatever it was – it hurt still that he could not trust her despite everything. No, she shook her head defiantly. That was one thing she couldn't concentrate on!
"Kirihara Akaya!"
Rikkai Dai glanced in amazement as their rookie got selected. The Ace of Rikkai Dai gawked in astonishment as Niou pushed him forward while Yagyuu closed his mouth for him.
"I-I got in? I GOT IN," Kirihara whooped for joy as he started running towards the stage.
"So much for quick reactions," Niou chuckled in amusement, folding his arms.
"I don't understand why Kirihara-kun found it so hard to believe," Yagyuu adjusted his glasses on his nose.
Jackal shrugged lightly, folding his arms. "Maybe it's because he expected maybe Yukimura to take a slot or Yanagi."
"Tezuka Kunimitsu!"
Everyone remained silent as murmurs started going around. Of course Tezuka got in! The only reason why he couldn't have possibly got in was due to his injury courtesy of the Hyotei captain himself. The bespectacled male remained silent as he emotionlessly made his way to the stage.
"Saa, of course Tezuka would get in," Fuji smiled lightly, nodding. "It's only right considering he was the one who led this whole team on straight to the Nationals."
Momoshiro nodded in conviction, looking at his captain take his place next to the other players. "Tezuka-buchou has always been the strongest among us and he'll always be!"
Kaidoh hissed in agreement. "Fsshu…"
Inui looked at his data books, chuckling. "They would be utterly blind and brainless to not recognize his talent."
"… And Echizen Ryoma as reserve!"
Everyone gawked at the results; not because of the people but Echizen on reserve? Since when did that happen? The freshman didn't look particularly pleased about the idea either. But then again, it was better than nothing. The prodigy grinned as his senpai tackled him and sent him running towards the stage as well. However, people weren't surprised by the selection of people. The people that were called walked up stage as they all stood next to one another. Atobe glanced at the sea of faces and saw Ayane's expectant look. He was glad at least he had shown his major plan to her and how he planned to squash Vera although she had given him a black eye for it. He shook his head with a chuckle; was it always going to be violence with that girl?
"Now, that's for the men's team! For the girls' team," Ryuuzaki-sensei flipped over the paper and looked over the list of people. "Souma Fuuka…!"
The red head female captain of Seigaku cracked her knuckles with a grin of delight. "Oh yeah!"
"Amakusa Natsuki!"
"Heh, ah was purdy sure ah was already a part of this team," the Serpentine Princess brushed back her charcoal grey hair with her eyes amber eyes gleaming with delight, snickering in triumph. "It's show tahm!"
"I knew you could get in," her vice-captain, Taroujima Aya chuckled lightly before beckoning her to the stage. "You better head up there."
Fukuhara Erika nodded in approval while tousling around her blue streaked white hair. "Go get 'em, captain."
"Yukimura Ai!"
"Yay oh do we get to play the whole team," the female demi-god bounced up and down with a childish cheer beaming on her face. "Oh and I love parties! Are we gonna have a big party later…!"
Sarah rolled her eyes with a defeated sigh, pointing to the stage. "Sweet baby Jesus found in the manger, go!"
"Kurenai Shizuru!"
The Corpse Princess smiled shyly before nodding determinedly. "Here we go."
"Hoshimura Florence!"
Jyosei Shounan's captain and speed demon smiled curtly. "Well of course I'd get in. What kind of imbecile would think I wouldn't?"
"That utterly depended on your medical condition, Florence," René chuckled slightly while making some hand gestures.
"Kobayagi Ayane!"
Everyone's eyes widened; another Hyotei player? The tangerine haired vice-captain shook her head in disbelief before pulling her face in surprise. She? It was her first time to be selected for the Goodwill Games like this! She gawked with a stupefied look on her face as she slowly sauntered up the stairs.
"YAY! WAY TO GO YANE, REPRESENT THE FRESHIES," Kiyone grinned triumphantly, flailing her hands in the air.
Vera on the other hand glared darkly at the Queen of Hearts that managed to make her way into the roster. She folded her arms with an annoyed snort while looking at both Atobe and Ayane. She still couldn't understand what was the difference between them both other than that Ayane had watermelons for boobs. She clenched her hands tightly into a fist while recalling her match against Ayane in the Regionals. How did she still manage to get in with a loss tainting her perfect record?
"Kobayagi is better than you in terms of skill, Vera. And should I also add in character," Atoli rebuked the blonde from her thoughts, folding her arms.
Vera seethed angrily at the capped tensai of Seigaku. "What do you know?"
"What I'm saying is that you're all bark and no bite," Atoli rolled her eyes in annoyance, narrowing her gaze at the blonde girl. "Even I don't understand what made Fuuka-senpai keep you in the team but frankly, your behaviour is annoying. The one who's actually suffering for your stupidity is Sakuno-chan. She has more talent than you and she's stuck dealing with you because she's the last person who'd want to bludgeon you with her racquet."
Karin lightly chuckled with a dark snicker, looking through her own set of notes. "Indeed, Sakuno had grown a bit ever since Ayane had become her roommate. It's significant improvement from before."
"Getsugan Kiyone!"
Now it was the sandy blonde volleyist's turn to leave her mouth hanging open like a fish. "W-wait, what?"
"GET UP HERE KIYONE," Ayane grinned in delight as the smallest member of the Hyotei female tennis team made her way through, blubbering and stammering.
"B-b-but, h-how did I get in? I didn't even do anything," Kiyone blinked several times in disbelief and gawked with a stupefied expression, shaking her head. "WHAT DID I DO? I MUST'VE DONE SOMETHING WRONG!"
"Nagisaki Mai!"
The red haired tensai smiled in amusement before walking towards the stage. "Well, I guess that's to be expected considering three out of four had been chosen."
Haruka bit her lower lip, looking at the whole set up. "Wow, four from the team. Obviously those four would be the ones taking the four slots."
"Obviously, they are the best and what propelled Hyotei to the nationals," Hitomi chuckled lightly, folding her arms. "So there are seven players – the last slot goes to…"
"And Sanada Momo for reserve!"
Momo's eyes slightly widened at the result; she didn't see that one coming. If she thought about it carefully, she was certain either Atoli or Sarah could have secured the spot but turns out she got it. Or maybe one of Shitenhouji's players, Momo mused darkly while making her way to the stage. She glanced at the people standing on stage, majority being the big guns of the different teams. However, her eyes couldn't leave the hurt and crestfallen look of the orange haired male. Even though his face seemed to be jovial, she could see the pain in his eyes. The Shinigami bit her lower lip anxiously while walking up the stairs and passing by the male's team. He didn't even want to make eye-contact with her as the violet haired female tennis player steeled herself and faced the crowd. Everyone wasn't too surprised either except for the tiny freshman from Hyotei who had been panicking on what she had done.
"Noooo, how did I get in," Kiyone yanked her hair, running around in circles until Ayane had clobbered the backside of her head. "Noooo, ow!"
Ayane had promptly slapped the girl in the forehead. "Kiyone, calm yourself down! It looks like we're going to be doubles partners for this!"
"Now that I think about it," Momo glanced at the other members of the female roster, analysing them one by one. "Most of us are singles players. Who are going to be playing doubles? As far as I know, the reason why they're the big guns is that they can play well on their own."
"Ah hope you don't start doubtin' us, Sanada," Natsuki chuckled lightly, drawling with her thick kansai accent. "I reckon that Florence and ah can take down a good doubles pair. Besides, why are ya doubtin' us now? A captain can't just play one kind of game."
Fuuka rolled her eyes with a sarcastic snort, folding her arms. "There's also the famous Phantom Pair if you haven't noticed."
Momo's eyes widened in realization; the red head had a point. They had Hyotei's two best pairs of the past and present sitting right in the team: Mai and Shizuru, the Phantom Pair and Ayane and Kiyone, the Diamond Pair of Hyotei. Why they decided to use diamond over gold and silver wasn't really much of her concern but she glanced at the coaches – is that what they're targeting for? It made a whole lot of sense considering that the Hyotei Tennis Team's main asset was the flexibility of their players except for Kiyone and Ayane. They were still working out the kinks there but at least they had back-up players to rotate. No wonder Shizuru found it easy to decide the roster. Either way, she knew her teammates could handle themselves very well in any kind of match.
"Besides…"
Momo swivelled her head towards Fuuka as the red headed captain grinned at her.
"What makes you think Mai's been her only doubles partner?"
Ryuuzaki-sensei counted them one by one, nodding in self-assurance. "For Mixed Matches, we have Akutsu Jin!"
The grey haired teen blinked several times in disbelief before letting out a disgruntled snort. How the heck did he get picked? A lot of the people from Yamabuki suddenly swivelled their heads towards the brutish male as he shoved his hands in his pocket begrudgingly before sauntering towards the stage. He chuckled darkly, looking at the other coaches. He can play Singles but doubles not too sure about it. Then again, if they paired him up with the Sniper – he would be perfectly okay with that. She was a good service player and excellent at baseline. Besides, she kind of grew on him like some awkwardly tall little sister he never had.
"Tch, this should be amusing," a cruel smirk curved up the male's lips as he folded his arms, looking at the crowd.
Many of the people had half-expected for Akutsu to turn around and leave. He wasn't really into tennis but his physical composition made him completely unpredictable and a fearsome opponent. Akutsu basically had trashed anything and anybody and Kawamura could see that Akutsu had a complete look of disinterest on his face. But nevertheless, his skills were terrifying. If Akutsu had more dedication or actually liked the sport, Kawamura knew he had the chance to become a National Ranked player. And if he did, he definitely knew Seigaku was going to have a problem.
"Uchiha Isane!"
Isane's eyes widened to the size of dinner plates; how did she get in? They could have picked someone else! Rin seemed to be a better option until she realized Rin was still recovering from the beating. Did that render Haruka useless however? She didn't know for sure but she definitely thought that even Hitomi had a better chance of getting in than she did.
"What? Since when did that lanky silver haired weirdo get in?"
Isane swivelled her head towards Inuzuka Miaka who snorted in annoyance, folding her arms.
"As far as I know, she can't even hold her ground against a singles player! What makes you think she's going to do well now," Miaka scoffed in annoyance, rolling her eyes at the Sniper. "Besides, you got all the big guns of Hyotei already taking up five slots! She's just going to be extra baggage!"
Isane narrowed her heads as her hands suddenly clenched into fists. Something in her decided to snap. She remembered all the times she had fought in the matches for Hyotei and won some of them and maybe have lost some. She was a Queen of Hyotei before, known as the Artemis! How could she have forgotten that one moment that they had wiped the slate clean of the other players? Before the juniors came in, she remembered the times she and Momo bagged the gold as either singles or doubles while Haruka and Rin knocked down the Doubles players easy pickings. Hyotei had never become part of the rankings due to having fan girls as players but ever since Naomi had usurped the last captain, things had changed. That meant she had capacity to change too! Akutsu had given her a whole load of drills that people would have called unorthodox but it worked for her and she was definitely not going to let that go to waste.
"Extra baggage," a determined smile suddenly curved up the Sniper's lips. "I think you should be thinking twice about that statement. At least I don't need to be on a leash all the time."
Haruka gawked at the sudden confident smirk on the tall girl's face as Rikkai's Wild Dog blinked several times in disbelief. When did Isane learn how to backsass? She was the sweetest thing on the team! In fact, if there was anyone one wanted to go to for a counselling session asides from Shizuru, Isane was the next best thing! The pale pink haired dragon dancer glanced at Akutsu standing on stage with an approving smirk. Whether or not he was being a good or bad influence, she couldn't completely determine but whatever it was – he may have some good considering the way Niou had just gone behind her back and ditched her.
"At least I don't lose control and start attacking people like some wild animal," Isane took a step forward with her head held high, smiling determinedly. "I know I'm not the greatest player but that doesn't mean I can't fight back."
Akutsu smirked in approval; with the way he drilled her, he could only guess that his brashness was rubbing off on her.
She took her stance on stage, narrowing her eyes particularly at Miaka. "So, if you can't back up your own statements – I do suggest you snap your trap shut before I put a tennis ball in between your eyes or in your mouth. Whichever I feel is preferred."
Everyone fell silent and ooh's and aah's echoed throughout the stadium. Akutsu couldn't help but be proud of the tall lanky girl. She finally gained some backbone to be confident without her gun. Normally, he had to put a rifle in her hands to make her become more confident. But now that he had trained her using his own training menu, she had slowly become faster and stronger even to the point of smashing a dent into huge metal trash cans. Something that nobody expected to see not even Hanamura. He knew her captain was going to get a kick out of what she could do now. Niou on the other hand couldn't believe what he had heard. The Isane he had come to know and love had changed into someone with more self-assurance and he couldn't stop himself staring at her confidently gleaming emerald green eyes.
"Good job, Sniper," Akutsu chuckled with a smirk, nodding at her. "You ready?"
She smiled lightly and prepared to give him a bro fist. "As ready as I'll ever be."
"Exactly what I wanted to hear," Akutsu grinned widely and gave her a bro-fist in response.
Heh, this chick has come a long way. I won't be surprised if Rat-Tail and Gangster Boy have their jaws hitting the ground.
"Fuji Syuusuke!"
The smiling tensai of Seigaku chuckled lightly before walking towards the stage. "Saa~, I guess I better head up there then."
"Yay Fujiko," Kikumaru whooped in delight as the effeminate tensai made his way to the stage and stood next to Isane. "I wonder who else is going to make it in."
"Oshitari Yuushi!"
The kansai prodigy from Hyotei chuckled lightly with a slight drawl, running his fingers through his blue hair. "Well, that was unexpected. I thought I'd be segregated into the other group."
Gakuto shrugged lightly before realizing the disadvantage. "Yuushi, whatever you do – don't look at their legs."
"That's depending if they even have nice legs, Gakuto," Oshitari chuckled lightly before shaking his head. "You make me come out to be some lecherous pervert or something…"
Shishido scoffed with an annoyed snort. "That's because you have a tendency to be one. I caught you looking at Shimohi's legs one time."
Ohtori laughed sheepishly, lowering his voice into a whisper. "I caught him also once looking at Shi-chan's legs…"
That set Shishido off. "YOU WHAT…!?"
The bespectacled kansai prodigy raised his hands in defense. "Hey, you have to admit – her legs are very nice and toned…"
"YOU PERVERTED BASTARD, LEAVE SHI-CHAN OUT OF YOUR ROMANTIC FANTASIES AND FETISHES," Shishido shoved Oshitari towards the stage with a click of his tongue, narrowing his eyes. "Just get up there and don't make a fool of yourself. Tch, gekidasa daze."
Oshitari smirked lightly before making his way towards the stage and stood next to Fuji. "Well, it seems like we may end up playing doubles with one another."
"That's quite an interesting thought coming from you, Oshitari," Fuji loosely chuckled before waiting for the next set of people to be called.
"Fukuhara Erika!"
Shitenhouji's second angel smiled lightly before trotting towards the stage and taking her place next to Fuji. "Okay! I'm ready!"
Natsuki looked at how many players belonged to Hyotei and so far, they had all their big guns playing. Although Momo was not considered a Queen now, her past reputation made people think twice in underestimating her. If she was able to give the former captain of Shitenhouji a good run for her money when she was still in first year then, by all means – she still had capacity to fight. That basically made the juniors more terrifying and although she had never faced the tensai or the two newbies personally, the mere idea of them being known as queens meant that they trumped Momo.
"Shibuya Rangiku!"
Fuuka chuckled as Seigaku's female rookie was called up stage. She hadn't been called the Wraith Child for nothing; her skills had been tailored to combat Shizuru's psychological attacks but she knew better. Karin could never account for the experience that Shizuru had gone through in order to become that talented. But whatever it was, she wanted to know also why Echizen had been placed as reserve. It didn't make sense to her; he's the one who's been winning and he's more BAMFed than the rest of the players. Tezuka may be talented but Echizen was slowly catching up to him. Fuji had won many matches but there are times he did make slight mistakes and the sorts but Echizen easily and quickly retaliated against almost anybody.
"Sheesh even the two brats got chosen," Vera spitefully spat at the image of the female freshman happily jogging up the stage and taking her place next to Fukuhara Erika, rolling her eyes haughtily with a spiteful snort. "I at least keep my head on my shoulders when we play unlike the little bitch."
Enma stared emotionlessly, sewing up her voodoo doll before swatting it.
"Ow," Vera blinked several times as she rubbed the sore spot on her cheek. "Who in the world did that?"
The Gothic Lolita of Seigaku remained silent as she continued making more adjustments to the small with a small smile curving up her lips. This would be a nice present for Kobayagi-san.
Karin however found herself looking at the other players. "Hmmm, something doesn't seem right…"
"Like why all the big guns were focused heavily on the segregated teams more than the mixed," Hitomi glanced at the selection of people, narrowing her eyes.
The Hyotei Mastermind kept on thinking to herself and wondering why majority of the players that had been selected were majorly singles players or could at least play a decent doubles game in exception to the Kobayagi-Getsugan pair. Then again, she knew that also the Phantasm Pair was possible but were they able to keep up their capacity for Synchronization after the whole Naomi debacle? The blonde female tousled around her curls a bit before running the calculations on the notebook, looking at the possible make-shift doubles pairs that could be created.
Rangiku happily skipped along as Ryuuzaki continued announcing the names:
"Ohtori Choutaro!"
Ohtori's eyes widened also to the size of dinner plates as he gawked. "Um, m-me?"
"Oi, Chouta! Don't just stand there," Shishido shook his head while lightly pushing the tall sophomore, laughing lightly. "Get in there!"
The grey haired male stumbled along in shock and surprise as he made his way towards the stadium, scratching the back of his neck sheepishly.
The capped dash specialist clapped for his partner but his eyes were more focused on Isane who seemed to get along extremely well with Akutsu. The scary part was knowing why they got along well. He didn't act like Sasuke or Itachi; he was definitely sure of that. However, the way they exchanged topics in a conversations really got his mind reeling and his nerves wracking. What exactly did that grey haired bastard do to get Isane to be so confident and sure of herself when her teammates couldn't even get her to play Singles unless she was the very first match?
"Wow, majority of them were from the women's team," Gakuto blinked several times while looking at the selection of people.
"No kidding, they were the champions after all," Shishido smirked confidently, folding his arms. "This tournament's going to be easy pickings for them!"
"And for the last member, Marui Bunta for reserve!"
All the Rikkai Dai members blinked several times in amazement and astonishment. However, Trickster knew that the Magician had left due to sorting out some things but that didn't mean he had to stand behind and not join the whole bonanza. Besides, it gave him a chance to be paired up with Ayane for crying out loud and he threw that chance out the window? Was he that much of a dimwit, Niou groaned inwardly while shaking his head with an annoyed snort. Niou quickly pulled out his cellphone and began dialling a couple of numbers. He better get his hands on Marui now and fast before everything else got ugly.
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
After the whole ceremony, everyone was given the day-off to relax a bit. The others who had been selected started training and pushing themselves on their own terms. Tohru skipped along happily while walking with her younger brother. Sengoku always had this magnet for bad luck when it came to girls. She knew he had the looks, the personality and his brains were not to be laughed at. However, girls took advantage of people who had soft hearts. She herself knew that.
Kiyosumi's so sweet and kind… Why…? Why do people always want to hurt him?
Ever since they were young, Sengoku always had this way with people that made people want to pinch his cheeks and cuddle him all day. However, what irked Tohru was how that managed to attract someone like Sanada Momo who was the farthest thing from gentle and kind! She narrowed her eyes at the idea of the girls cuddling her younger brother. He always ran to her when he needed help but when other girls started appearing in his life, his dependence on her just vanished. He didn't talk to her as much, he barely called up and all her times in Yamabuki often had her friends confirming whether or not he was dating some other girl that he found. She hated that; most of the girls just harmlessly flirted with her brother and then he started getting worked up all over it.
"Those wenches never liked my little brother," Tohru smiled slowly with a bittersweet tone, clenching her hand tightly into a fist. "They just wanted to use him. My brother does have the looks and status after all."
"Wow, didn't know someone like you had fucked up tendencies."
Tohru swivelled her head up and found Inuzuka Miaka sitting on one of the branches of the trees, crunching on an apple. "Ah, Rikkai Dai's Wild Dog – what are you doing up there?"
"Waitin' for my partner, I'm gonna give him a better spine than usual," Miaka chuckled lightly in amusement while tossing the half-eaten apple in the air, catching it again. "And shouldn't you be worrying about your own team? I don't even get how the female Yamabuki team got in when their players can't even measure up to the mini girl from Hyotei playing singles with a hand tied behind her back."
Tohru smiled slowly and serenely. "Well, I don't understand why you're in the position to say that when you didn't even get selected to play as part of the segregated or the mixed matches team."
"That's because there were other big guns that I know could trump me. Sanada definitely has the power for that and I'm not belittle her juniors either," Miaka leapt off the tree and landed on a squat, slowly rising to face the orange haired female with a feral glare. "Look, I don't know what your problem is but even though Sanada and I don't get along – but fuck off and mind your own goddamn business. Your brother ain't 3 years old. He's a bloody fucking 14 year old. He should know at least what he's doing. By the way, she knows. Those photos were so fucked up that I thought it just had been copy pasted on the damn thing. I've been friends with a Trickster and even I know the shitty difference of photoshop and reality. Frankly, he told me that even a six year old could do a better job."
Tohru laughed sultrily before tossing back her hair. "Oh really? You're just a mutt, why should I listen to you?"
"Because if there's one thing I know about Hyotei, you fuck one, you have the whole vengeance squad out to screw your ass," Miaka cracked her knuckles before turning around from Tohru. "Take it as a warning. Don't fucking care you do with yourself. Just don't mess up the games and the players. If you do, hah – I can only imagine what the Angels of Tennis are gonna do to you."
"Inuzuka-san!"
Miaka swivelled her head and found Ohtori walking towards her. "Jesus, what took you so long? Walked your pet barracuda or something?"
Ohtori scratched his head sheepishly. "A-ah, no – coach wanted to talk to us and gave us the schedule for other meetings and deliverables."
"Eh, makes sense," Miaka brushed it off before patting the tall sophomore on the shoulder. "Goddamn, you're a giant! How the hell did you grow this tall?"
Ohtori shrugged lightly. "I really don't know. I just got this when I got to second year."
"Jesus, you make ants look like dots," Miaka nodded before glancing at Tohru. "Look, you don't wanna take my warning fine. But just know that the Queens of Hyotei are not gonna stand for what you're doing. Shinigami is actually very mild compared to what those four can do to you. Don't forget you have dragons lying in wait to chew out your innards."
"Heh, but what they don't know won't hurt them," Tohru chuckled lightly before walking past Miaka. "Now will it, Inuzuka?"
Walking away from Tohru, Miaka glanced one more time before walking with her partner. She knew Momo since they were grade school and although their sense of competition was rather insane; she would rather be the one to beat Momo than have this wannabe weirdo interfere. She smiled cruelly for a moment, thinking what she could do to Tohru. Momo and she did get along at some point – it's just that traditions made things a whole lot harder since the Inuzuka's were vassals to the Sanada. But then again, the female Sanada never abused that position. Everyone to her was equal regardless except when they were talking to someone who's really a moron and jumps over a cliff before he thinks. But judging on the way Tohru had spoken to her, Miaka knew she was on her blacklist now.
"Inuzuka-san, are you okay?"
Miaka glanced at the tall sophomore and saw the worried look on his face, smiling. "Nah, I'm fine. Don't worry."
He laughed softly before holding her hand. "I know you're worried about Sanada-senpai but please don't forget to care for yourself too…"
"I won't," Miaka snickered lightly before realizing that he was holding her hand. "Eh? Why are you holding my hand?"
"Oh sorry," Ohtori prepared to pull away, shaking his head. "Well, usually that calms you down when you're angry… I'm sorry…"
"No," Miaka smiled lightly and continued holding onto it. "It's fine."
She couldn't help but be utterly nice to her partner. There was something in him that made her lose her mean streak. Other people would have called her a bully but he had a complete calming effect and when she did have outbursts, he often sat her down to talk to her. At least he started treating her that way. She often did find his reactions cute even when a frog landed right on his head one time. He literally yelped and started dancing around before she knocked the frog clean off his head with a tennis ball.
"It's funny how all this drama began happening," Miaka snorted with a slightly amused chuckle. "Your friend, Kurenai – how long has she been pining for that other guy? She's stuck debating over her feelings with that four eyes from Seigaku right?"
Ohtori nodded lightly and sighed in defeat. "Yeah, she's admired Tezuka-san for a really long time. From there, she started really liking him. She never did have the confidence to walk up to him and tell him."
"And he only finally gained the balls after something probably happened. Something really fucking drastic I'm guessing," Miaka snorted in laughter when they made another turn and found Niou strolling along. "Oh, look who it is. It's the Trickster himself."
"Hey Wild Dog," Niou gave her a high five before shoving his hands into his pocket. "So, you wanted to meet me out here?"
"I need you to relay a message to Sanada. Tell him to tell his cousin that she better watch her back especially in that match-up. Knowing Sengoku Tohru, she's not going to stop with simply breaking her up from her brother," Miaka glanced back at the area she had confronted Tohru in, feeling a foreboding chill run up her spine. "I honestly don't know what that kid's got in mind. But whatever it is – it's gonna be one hell of a ride."
"No kidding, puri~," Niou narrowed his eyes with a darkened glare.
Momo and he go way back ever since they were in elementary school. Sanada himself had said that Niou had been an extremely bad influence and contributor to the said violet haired girl's life. He even thought that she and Niou were going to end up together. The silver blue haired male smirked while tousling around his rat-tail. He liked Momo like a little sister; he couldn't be the same with his older sister who constantly dragged him to many fashion stores that would have a credit card begging for mercy. Thankfully, she had put up her own fashion store and started working out pretty well. But he started to miss the dynamic kind of sister he had before she became a fashion whore. Momo on the other hand wanted a brother she could talk to and the two teens meshed perfectly. Soon, Marui got added to the mix and three of them became an inseparable triple. It was kind of what Shishido, Shizuru and Ohtori had as the Silver Triple.
"So, what do you intend to do about it," Miaka folded her arms, narrowing her eyes. "Me? I plan to catch her in the act itself. I'm going to find a way how to make her make that mistake."
"Of doing it out in the open? Good luck, but apparently," Niou narrowed his eyes at the mere thought of Tohru abusing Momo. "This isn't the first time she's done it."
"That makes things even more complicated then," Miaka thought about it carefully.
"What if we show it in a tennis match?"
The two Rikkai Dai students swivelled their heads towards Ohtori. "Say what?"
The grey haired towering sophomore glanced back before shrugging. "Maybe her real personality will come out when she's under pressure?"
"I think she's too smart for that but I didn't know you had that in you, Ohtori," Niou chuckled mischievously, getting hit with an idea. "Well, I do have a plan but I need to know what her captain thinks first. I don't want to screw up with her teammates and have them all after me. As is, I'm still trying to ask her to forgive me…"
Miaka chuckled with an amused snort. "Oh, that's right. You screwed over Uchiha. You're basically and tentatively on their blacklist. I'm surprised her captain or her vice-captain hasn't killed you yet."
"I'm surprised her brothers didn't put me on the sex-offenders list. But it was still bad enough," Niou gazed at the ground with a forlorn look, biting his lower lip. "I just want one moment where Akutsu isn't there and I can talk to her. I just want to make things right and I can't have that capped bastard getting her when I…!"
"Wow, you're deep," Miaka ran her fingers through her hair and shaking her head before grinning at Ohtori. "Say, you up for a little psychological warfare?"
Ohtori swallowed hard. "Can I just be the bystander?"
"How about," Miaka chuckled lightly before grabbing his arm and Niou's. "No?"
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
That's Chapter 70! The first chapter update for the new year! Please don't forget to review! :)