Chapter 43: A Tournament's Beginning and an Idiot's Stupidity
Yeah Sqweebs, back in High School, I did a martial arts bit for a talent show and a lot of people thought it was all acting. Luckily, the judges let me redo my performance, but this time I took volunteers from the audience. They were those "Imma knock yo ass out in one hit man, I ki' ya!" types. Idiots. I'll admit to showing off. They were just horrible fighters. I quoted Vegito once. Let's just end that little spiel with the fact that after years of martial arts training, I was probably where Konata is, give or take. All of that while I could have been singing the Song of the Hero from My Bride is a Mermaid XD. Getting a bigger crush on Tsuki? Sorry man, she's married! Yes Flygon, things are heating up! Like you wouldn't BELIEVE! ERMAHGERD! Riku said ERMAHGERD! It's one of my friend's favorite memes hehe. Universal Lizard, I guessed it was you when I saw what you said about Konata and Kagami getting back together. I'm glad you're getting the references, and I do have quite a few more I can do. Except the Avengers one... lol. By the way, I don't mind the mistake, it gives me an extra review :-D I'm glad my chapters are worth the wait, hopefully I can get them out a little quicker though... HolyRiot, glad I could fill your tank! Sage of the Luckiest Stars? I like that title... Stealthmomo! I'll keep this going if it kills me! The updates may spread out a little, but always know that I'm working on it! Believe it or not Stealth, you are kind of right. Komi, I'm glad you like the story :D Actually Duffquick, I've been using that very strategy for a very long time, I've found I come up with some of my best stuff while I'm away from a computer or in bed at night! For example, that little bit with Matsuri where she gave a "What the hell, Tsukasa?" was thought up during one of my insomnia spells. And I hope you read this GhostPheonix, that means you liked the story enough to make it this far! BlackLuigi7, you haven't reviewed in a while... Four months? Was it something I said? I'm trying to keep this short :P Now, I must get on with the chapter. Tally Ho!
POV Konata
"So what do you wanna do Kagamin?" Konata asked.
"I dunno. Where-"
"What's this?" Tsuki shouted. Konata looked over and followed the voice. Kagami followed Konata back to a room she didn't know the girl had. She never had the need to go back that far, they passed Konata's room on the way. Konata arrived to see the door open to a small practice room she used.
"Man, I haven't been in here for more than a couple minutes in a while." Konata smiled, looking around the room. "This is where I got my weapons that I used in the tournament." Konata said.
"Your knives?" Kagami asked.
"Oh, you watched it?" Konata asked, lighting up a little.
"Yeah. It made me realize how stupid I was with this whole fight we've had." Kagami sighed. She looked over at a wooden construct. "What is that anyway?" She asked.
"Ah, this." Konata walked over to the wall mounted dummy. "This is called a Muk Yan Jong." She said. There were several wooden rods jutting out from it, three where arms could potentially be, and one bent where a leg might be. It was mounted to the wall by a very large wooden frame. "This took me a long time to get down." Konata smiled to Kagami.
"Why have I never seen this room?" Kagami asked.
"Why would you want to? It's small, stuffy, and not too interesting." Konata shrugged.
"Are you kidding? It's really interesting! You know how cool this is?" Kagami asked rhetorically.
"I didn't know you liked stuff like this." Konata smiled. "Well check THIS out!" Konata spun on her heels and started hitting the dummy. Kagami watched as Konata's left arm would strike a rod with her forearm while her other would hit the dummy directly with an open palm. Her arms curved around the rods and struck them both. One slid back and grabbed it as Konata leaned back and kicked the bent rod. She got a bit faster and a bit faster.
"That's cool Kona... It looks like your arms are like a liquid or something!" Kagami commented on Konata's fluidity of movement. Konata stopped and turn back around, hitting her chest proudly.
"Like I said, it took me a long time to get down, but once I got it, I got it good!" Konata said. She smiled a bit wider. "Wanna see me go all out?" She asked slyly.
"Sure!" Kagami smiled. Konata nodded. Her smile was suddenly replaced as her face made no emotion whatsoever. She spun and faced the dummy. She breathed in through her nose, and out through her mouth. She placed her forearms on separate rods. In a burst of motion, her arms began twisting, turning, striking, grabbing, and... She kept speeding up... Kagami literally couldn't follow what Konata was doing any more. There was a constant hammering of the wood as it was continually struck. Kagami leaned over and looked at Konata's face. There was no emotion, no sign of pain or struggle as she plateaued off at her maximum speed. After about fifteen seconds, she disengaged and stumbled back, hitting the ground on her rear. "Whoa..." Kagami muttered.
"Too cool!" Tsuki said excitedly. Konata's calm disposition broke as she rubbed her arms.
"Oww~..." She muttered before standing back up.
"How have you ever lost a fight? Ever?" Kagami asked. Konata giggled.
"Because they were better fighters than me. They do exist Kagamin." Konata said.
"Still... So how hard can you hit?" Kagami asked, remembering the kid's broken ribs that Konata had caused.
"Yeah, if I'm right, none of those strikes were particularly strong. It was mostly about deflecting and keeping a close, steady barrage of hits going, right?" Tsuki asked.
"Observant Tsuki." Konata smiled. Tsuki posed as if this were the highest praise she could have received. "Would you like to see my hardest?" Konata asked.
"Sure!" Kagami said. She seemed extremely excited about Konata's hobby, something Konata herself was finding gave her no end of joy.
"Tsuki, do you mind if I demonstrate on ya? I have a pad you can use!" Konata dug out a pad with about three inches of protection.
"Eh, sure... Why not?" Tsuki smiled nervously as she accepted the pad.
"Just hold that in front of your chest there, like that..." Konata positioned the pad for Tsuki. She placed her fingertips on the pad and breathed deeply again. "This is called the "1 Inch Punch". It's one of the strikes that made Bruce Lee famous." She said. Once again, emotion left her face as she began concentrating.
"Wait, wait, the one inch punch?!" Tsuki suddenly panicked. Suddenly, Konata's entire body seemed to burst into motion as she punched Tsuki on the pad on her chest. Tsuki was sent off her feet and sent rolling into the wall. She got back up coughing and holding her chest. Kagami's mouth was gaped open.
"What was that?" Kagami shouted. Konata smiled at her girlfriend.
"It's called the "1 Inch Punch". It's extremely complicated to explain every mechanic of it to someone who hasn't had the training for it, but basically using this technique, I can probably kill someone with that single strike." Konata smiled. "It took me about a year and a half of practicing constantly to get it to the point I have it to now." Konata said.
"Wow... That's insane Kona..." Kagami blinked several times.
"Man, that hurt!" Tsuki complained.
"I never thought you to be the action genre type Kagamin. I know you like shooter games, but I didn't know that carried over to martial arts..." Konata smiled.
"I dunno, something about people bashing other people's heads in is kind of interesting... You know?" Kagami asked.
"I understand! I like action movies too!" Konata said with a smile. "I always used to watch action movies when I was a little girl along with all the anime. I guess the combination of the two is what made me want to practice martial arts so bad. Luckily, Dad happily went along with it."
"So you started Wing Chun when you were really young?" Kagami smiled.
"Kind of. I started with Karate, but that's more based on strength and muscle power than I could handle at the time." Konata said. "Once, a man came from a different school and fought my Karate master." She reminisced.
"Who won?" Kagami asked. Konata smiled.
"Master Liu." She said. "After he won, I asked about the martial arts he practiced. He told me he was using his main martial art against my teacher, but that a friend on his taught him something he thought would be better for me. He told me that Wing Chun was a kung fu that was invented by a woman. Because of that, it mainly uses redirection, finding holes in the opponent's defense, keeping a constant barrage of attacks and..." Konata thought for a moment. "You could say geometry."
"Geometry?" Kagami asked.
"Yeah, there's a lot of triangles in Wing Chun. It emphasizes speed over strength." Konata said.
"But you can still kill someone with that punch of yours." Kagami said, almost a question.
"Well, you also learn to generate power in a way other than using your muscles." Konata said. "If you contract your body at just the right time, your striking power increases exponentially." Konata said. To demonstrate, she walked over a pad that was on the wall.
"Wait, why didn't you use that for your "1 Inch Punch"?" Tsuki shouted. Konata turned and flashed a cat's grin.
"'Cause if I punch a wall with that power, I'll break my hand!" She said. "Besides, you can take it. I gave you a pad." Konata said, waving dismissively as she turned back to the pad. "Now, pay attention to the sound." She said. She straight punched the pad to hear a quiet thud. "Hear that? It was very quiet because I just hit it. But..." Konata punched again, but used what she said earlier. There was quite a satisfying thwap from the pad this time. Konata shook her hand around. "Ow! It's more powerful." She said, flailing her hand around in an attempt to ease the pain.
"Oh~..." Kagami said. "You okay Kona? Do we need to get some ice on that?" Kagami asked.
"No, no, it's okay!" Konata stopped her hand, though it was still throbbing. "Sorry I kind of wasted a lot of time on this, but I like Wing Chun, so when you looked curious..."
"Wasted time?" Kagami asked with a smile. "Time well wasted isn't wasted at all, Kona. I had a lot of fun learning about this, thank you for showing it to me." Kagami hugged her Otaku. The girl tensed up under her hug. Kagami broke the hug quickly. "Kona?"
"Sorry Kagamin, but..." Konata trailed off, holding her arms up. They were bruised all over from the beating she had given the dummy earlier. "I didn't think I went hard enough to bruise me! I don't bruise easy..." She said. Kagami sighed in relief and smiled, though she did feel guilty. After all, Konata had gone her best at Kagami's request.
"That's okay, I thought maybe you were uncomfortable with me hugging you..." Kagami sighed. Konata's jaw dropped.
"What? Never!" She threw her arms into the air for emphasis. Kagami giggled at how cute her girlfriend was.
"You two are so cute together!" Tsuki squealed, forced to be quiet because her breath had yet to fully come back. Kagami gave a worried look to the girl and then a confused one to Konata.
"Kona?" She asked.
"She knows, I might have... let it slip by accident..." Konata rubbed the back of her head.
"So you're okay with her knowing, but not your own Dad?" Kagami sighed.
"Kagamin, I didn't tell her on purpose!" Konata said.
"And she still accepted you. What does that tell you?" Kagami asked.
"It's different!" Konata protested.
"It's the same and you know it." Kagami said. Konata was about to come back with a biting retort, but caught herself before she delivered it. Instead, she breathed and rethought what she was going to say.
"What do you want to do Kagami? I don't really have money." Konata said. Kagami smiled and held up her purse.
"I do. Mom ended up being able to buy a new car. With the money you gave her." Kagami emphasized the third sentence. "You really are generous when you want to be Kona..." Kagami added with a smile as she hugged Konata more lightly than earlier so as not to hurt her. "She gave the money that was left over to me so that I could use it on me and you." Kagami said happily.
"You shouldn't have accepted it." Konata said.
"I didn't at first. She insisted though and my Mom is... persuasive..." Kagami said.
"So when did this happen? Do I get to see the new car soon?" Konata asked.
"I dunno when it happened. And you can see it any time." Kagami said. "And I'm sure if you learn how, Mom would have no problem letting you drive it." She added.
"That's cool." Konata smiled.
"Yeah, but that leads me to another question." Kagami broke the hug and looked at her girlfriend. "You actually won the tournament?" She asked.
"Yeah..." Konata scratched the back of her head.
"Didn't Tony compete?" Kagami asked.
"Yep!" Konata smiled.
"How did you beat him? Did he give up to you or what?" Kagami asked.
"You mean you didn't watch that?" Konata asked.
"No, I stopped after your fight with the old man." Kagami said.
"Well, he agreed not to use his powers. The only thing that was still active was a spell that kept us from being killed." Konata smiled.
"And you were able to beat him... I have to see that!" Kagami shouted. "Maybe we can go to my house and get the tape!" Kagami said excitedly.
"Sounds like a plan." Konata smiled. Kagami was suddenly a great deal more excited.
"Or maybe we can go to your school! Can I watch you fight?" Kagami asked.
"Wow, you seem... way too enthusiastic about this..." Konata said.
"But I love action movies and stuff!" Kagami said. "So that you can do this kind of stuff is just pure awesome!"
"But I have a tournament tomorrow Kagamin~!" Konata hugged and started rocking back and forth, attempting to take her girlfriend with her. Kagami giggled.
"Then don't fight fifteen people this time!" She scolded, bopping Konata on the nose for her silliness.
"You really want me to fight again?" Konata asked.
"As long as you don't get hurt." Kagami hugged Konata back now and began rocking with her slowly.
"There's no guarantee that I won't. Bad luck can hit at any time, I'm no exception to that rule." Konata said.
"Well maybe you could fight your old master?" Kagami suggested.
"Just because I'm better than he is doesn't mean it's an easy fight. I could get hurt." Konata said. Kagami looked her in the eye.
"...Say that again." She said.
"I could get hurt." Konata repeated. Kagami seemed to study her for a moment. After a moment, she seemed to come to a decision.
"You're not being entirely truthful, but you obviously don't want to fight. It's okay." Kagami rested her head on Konata's. Konata thought and sighed.
"Alright. But you're the only one that can watch. It's a policy my master has." Konata said.
"Really?" Kagami pulled away so she could look in Konata's eyes again.
"Yeah. It's so if he wins, his opponent isn't embarrassed and if he loses, he isn't. My old Karate instructor refused his request to fight in private, so he got embarrassed." Konata said.
"I get to see you fight again?" Kagami seemed excited.
"Of course, this is under the assumption Master Liu is even up to fighting. He was hurt pretty bad in his fight with Shífēn. You saw his limp when we went there last." Konata said. Kagami sighed.
"Yeah, I remember." She said. Konata, still hugging Kagami around the stomach, began hopping up and down.
"Let's find something else! Something that isn't gonna hurt anyone!" Konata said in her best child-like voice. Kagami found she couldn't resist the small girl and giggled at her cuteness.
"Alright, you win." Kagami rubbed her lover's head lovingly. "I want pocky though." She said compromisingly.
"Deal." Konata giggled. "You going to bed Tsuki?" Konata asked.
"Yeah, my head is booming again." She sighed, a hand on her head. "It feels like... like I'm not here. I'm somewhere else, but not here." She muttered.
"No problem, more time alone with my Kagamin!" Konata chimed. "Let's go!" She grabbed Kagami's hand and started heading out.
"You two leaving Konata?" Sojiro asked as they made their way past into the living room.
"Yeah, soon. Just gotta get something!" Konata said over her shoulder as the two entered the kitchen.
"What are we doing in here Kona?" Kagami asked, having been pulled in. Without a word, Konata opened one of the drawers next to the refrigerator and reached in. She pulled out a box of pocky.
"Here ya go Kagamin!" She spun on her heel and handed the box to her girlfriend.
"Why thank you, oh wonderful Otaku!" Kagami bowed. "So you just have this lying around?" Kagami smiled, opening the box and pulling out a pocky stick.
"Of course." Konata smiled and walked out of the house with her Tsundere. "You may come over at any second, I have to be prepared!" Konata said dramatically.
"Ha ha." Kagami ate another stick. "Say what you want, I deserve this for losing so much weight." Kagami said.
"Ring ring ring." Konata said as they walked.
"Huh?" Kagami stopped eating and looked at her.
"That's your internal alarm clock. I have to fill in since yours is broken." Konata giggled. Kagami blinked, letting what her girlfriend said sink in.
"HEY!" Kagami shouted after a moment of comprehension. Konata giggled as she started scurrying away from her Tsunraging Tsundere. Kagami ran her out the door. Sojiro looked at the almost visible trail the two had left and chuckled.
"Those two are really good friends." He smiled as he returned to his previous activity.
Konata leaped over another blast of fire. She dodged to the side as Kagami roared. She laughed.
"I'm sorry Kagami-sama!" She laughed, barely keeping ahead of the flaming Tsundere. "Don't spill the Pocky! It'll be a waste!" Konata laughed. At the mention of Kagami's Pocky being gone, she calmed down.
"You're right, I can't lose it, it's my only box!" Kagami said, screeching to a halt. Konata suddenly turned around and glomped onto Kagami.
"I can has pocky?" Konata looked up, putting her best adorable face on. Kagami looked down at her and was hit with the cutest expression she had ever seen Konata make. Her face, her entire body more than likely following, turned beet red as she beheld her lovable little loli. She pulled out a pocky stick and held it up to Konata's mouth, unable to form words at the moment. Konata bit it out of Kagami's hand, but the younger girl was too much in her cuteness stupor to even get upset about it. The Otaku hummed happily and rubbed her head into Kagami's stomach. The taller girl couldn't help but let out a squeal as she hugged Konata with all her strength.
"You're just too cute!" She practically shouted.
"Oi Hiiragin! What's up!" Misao came running up. Kagami gulped, nervous about their current position. "Pile on Hiiragin~!" Misao shouted as she glomped Kagami on her chest, just above Konata. Kagami almost fell over backwards from the combined might of her tiny terror of a girlfriend and her verbally abundant best friend.
"Hey, don't just climb on people!" Kagami squirmed out of Misao's grasp. However, in doing so, she reluctantly had to let Konata go, who also had to let Kagami go.
"But Chibi did it." Misao shot Konata a dirty look. In the eye that was facing away from Kagami, she winked. Konata crossed her arms and looked at the brunette.
"Ferret Face, I've know many people. You are not among them." Konata said, sticking her tongue out.
"So mind if I tag along with you guys?" Misao asked Kagami. "It's on my way!" Misao chimed.
"What is?" Kagami put her hands on her hips challengingly, since Misao couldn't know where the couple was going. Especially since the couple didn't know where it was going itself.
"Where ever you're going! That's just the nice kind of girl I am!" Misao chimed. Konata opened her mouth, but was suddenly interrupted as a woman walked by. The woman was quite well endowed. Kagami sighed in frustration and turned her attention back on Misao to hopefully distract her from Konata's perverted stare.
"Sure. I don't know where we're going, but you're more than welcome to come along." Kagami said, half because she wanted to see Misao and hand out with her a bit more than she had been recently, and half to spite Konata. Who was still staring.
"Cool!" Misao cheered and hugged Kagami. Still a bit peeved at Konata, Kagami didn't put up any resistance. "Yay, you never let me hug you Hiiragin!" Misao cheered again. Konata, the woman passed, turned quickly back to her girlfriend.
"What'd I miss?" She asked meekly, knowing she was in trouble. Kagami sighed.
"Misao is coming with us." She said.
"What?" Konata shouted. "Ferret Face is coming?"
"Well, maybe if you had been paying attention, you could have objected. I didn't know that would be a problem." Kagami began walking off, causing Misao to let go. Now that the two were behind her, they looked at each other, grinned, and snickered just quietly enough for Kagami not to notice. They followed their Tsundere.
POV Tony
Tony walked along the sidewalk. He had long since stopped his training. He wasn't sure if it had been the mental strain of keeping up with his draining spell for so long, or if it had been the fact that he was on the verge of an existential crisis, but his head was pounding. For the past few months, he had been so sure that he could love no one other than Tsukasa. But with recent events... Had he loved Tsukasa simply because she was one of the first girls he had met? Because he simply didn't know any other girls? He could see himself being with her for the rest of their natural life, then fighting across the afterlife to be with her there, but was it that way with other girls and he didn't know it? He wasn't sure anymore. Maybe he didn't actually love Tsukasa. Maybe he didn't know what love actually was.
I have to get home. Tony thought. I have to think. I hope Masutā is still there. I need his advice. Tony thought to himself. He looked into the reserve of energy he had in his ring now. Compared to his normal maximum, it was an extreme amount. He tapped into it and began running at his full speed. He arrived at home very quickly and walked in. He sighed in relief to see his brother in the living room. "Aniki..." Tony said. Masutā didn't turn around to address him.
"Yo! What's up? You sound depressed." He asked.
"I don't know what to do about Tsukasa. I'm so confused." Tony sighed as he sat on the couch. Masutā leaned forward in his chair.
"Tell me all about it Otōto." He smiled sympathetically. As Tony told his story, his brother stayed genuinely interested in it, actively thinking about every new detail Tony presented. He told his brother of his meeting on the subway and his encounter with Tereya just recently, leaving nothing to question. Finally, he finished his story, even more uncertain than before.
"And now I don't even know what's to become of us." Tony finished. Masutā mused over the subject for a few moments, quietly contemplating the situation.
"So, basically, you talked to another girl, a fan of yours, and became fast friends. You named a move after her, and Tsukasa got jealous. You didn't let her know about the fact that you named it as such because it wasn't perfect because you didn't think you had to. You just met up with the other girl again and are now questioning your relationship with Tsukasa." Masutā summed up.
"Pretty much. What do you think?" Tony asked. Masutā thought for another moment.
"You're kinda right." He said. Tony looked pleased.
"I knew it!" Tony cheered.
"You're also an idiot." Masutā clarified.
"What?" Tony asked.
"Well you're an idiot, but it's kind of worked for you here." Masutā clarified. "You see, by being an idiot and not backing down when you should have, you've brought some pretty powerful questions that you'll need to answer." Masutā said.
"What do you mean?" Tony asked.
"It's time for you to look inside yourself and ask yourself the big questions. Are you truly happy with Tsukasa? Would you truly be happy with Tereya? Is your future with either of them?" Masutā began asking, growing in volume and severity with every question. Tony grasped his head.
"Aniki!" Tony groaned.
"Who are you!? What do you want?" Masutā shouted. Tony jumped to his feet.
"I DON'T KNOW!" Tony shouted in frustration, throwing his arms down. The strength of his frustration was so great, the power short-circuited and the lights shut off. Tony sighed and clapped twice, commanding the power to return. At a cost of energy, it obeyed.
"You have to think about these things Otōto. What do you want from life and why? It will not be a pleasant experience but when you come out of it, you will be the man you were always meant to be." Masutā said. "You'll be much happier than you've ever been. You're at a crossroads now Otōto. You can make or break several lives, no matter what your decision, and it isn't one to made lightly. If you choose Tsukasa, be prepared to accept it for everything that it is, including what it may mean to Tereya. If you choose Tereya, I'm sure there will be at least one life gone." Masutā said cryptically. "And you have to think about Tsukasa and how this will affect her. I've seen you two together. She loves you. She's happy with you. But this decision can't be made for her or Tereya's sake. It must be for yours only." Tony sighed. He stood up.
"I need to go think..." He sighed as he turned towards his room.
"It's a lovely night for a walk. Why don't you join me? It would clear your head." Masuta said.
"Thanks, but Miyuki wouldn't want to see me after my fight with Tsukasa." Tony walked into his room.
"Or, just stay in your room and sit in the dark. Whatever makes you happy Ototo..." Masuta sighed. ...Wait, how did he know Miyuki was going to be there?
Tony walked into his room and plopped on the bed.
Hey kid, how's it going? He heard a familiar voice ring in his head.
Hey boss, what's up? Something I need to know? Tony asked.
Huh? No, just... checking in. Hachiman said.
Oh, well... Okay. What's going on? Tony asked.
Not much. So what's going on? Hachiman asked.
Well, I'm in the middle of a crisis and I don't have time to think it out. I have a tournament tomorrow and I can't just not go since Konata and Tsuki are on my team. It's always harder to blow off obligations when you're letting others down... Tony sighed.
Tsuki? Hachiman asked.
A... girl I met yesterday... Tony mumbled in his mind. How do you not know who she is? Wouldn't you know, like, everyone?
I'm not entirely sure... Hachiman said. In any case, tell me about this crisis. Hachiman said. Tony sighed and began to tell his story. Since it was from his memory, Hachiman got the entire picture. Every emotion, every sight, everything from Tony's point of view. Tony felt oddly at peace speaking with the God. He felt relaxed, like he could tell him anything. And so he did. He told everything.
POV Kagami
Kagami kept walking ahead of the two secret friends.
"So where we goin' Hiiragin?" Misao asked.
"I was thinking we could go watch the video of Kona fighting Tony." Kagami said. While she was still pissed at Konata, she couldn't stay angry. After all, it was one time. So what if Konata had been ogling one girl once? Yeah. It won't happen again. Kagami smiled to herself.
"Chibi fighting? Why would you want to see her get her tail kicked?" Misao asked. Konata smirked and Kagami giggled, knowing Misao would know soon enough. They arrived at the Hiiragi Household and walked in.
"Onee-chan~!" Tsukasa ran over and hugged Kagami.
"Hey Tsukasa!" Kagami chuckled. "You get your project finished?"
"No, it's gonna take a while to finish. I hope I can make it!" Tsukasa said.
"Make what? What are you two talking about?" Konata asked.
"What are you making Imoto?" Misao asked.
"Something for Kan-kun." Tsukasa said.
"You forgive him?" Konata asked.
"Well, we can talk it out, ya know? I'm sure we can just sit down and talk, right? He's an adult!" Tsukasa said.
"Tsukasa, you can't say stuff like that!" Konata protested.
"Why not?" Tsukasa asked.
"When you say it like that, i makes it automatically not true! At this moment, Tony's probably commenting on how childish he'll act if he meets you again!" Konata whined.
"Well I'm going to risk it!" Tsukasa said. "He's smart." Konata sighed.
"Whatever ya say Tsukasa!" Konata sighed.
"Wait, did Imoto and whatshisnuts have a fight?" Misao asked. Konata, unable to keep it down, burst into laughter at her nickname for Tony. Kagami put her hands on her hips at her girlfriend. Tsukasa mimicked her sister and gave a look at Misao. "What? I don't know his name! Aren't mad at him anyway?" Misao and Konata shrunk as they were silently scolded.
"I thought it was pretty funny..." Konata commented.
"Thanks Cheebs..." Misao mumbled.
"So what, are you two friends now?" Kagami asked.
"What? Friends with the Ferret Face?" Konata looked at Misao with disgust. "Why haven't we replaced her with a better form of plant life?"
"Are you saying I'm stupid?" Misao shouted challengingly.
"I'm not saying you're a complete idiot!" Konata said.
"That's better!" Misao puffed out her chest victoriously.
"There are some pieces missing." Konata turned back to the twins. Misao turned back.
"You want some of this?" Misao shouted.
"Gladly!" Konata shouted back. Of course, the two had no intention of actually fighting. Acting as if on cue from the two, Kagami stepped in.
"Hey you two! Cut it out!" She shouted.
"Imoto, what's all the shouting?" Matsuri poked her head in the hallway.
"Nothing, don't worry about it!" Kagami said, clearly embarrassed.
"Well keep it down, we couldn't hear the T.V." Matsuri pouted. She brought her head back into the living room and continued watching Television. Kagami stayed looking at the door before creaking her head forward, coincidentally looking at Konata.
"You two got me in trouble." She said, now annoyed. Misao walked around her to Konata's side. The two bowed overdramatically.
"We're sorry Kagami-sama." They apologized in eerie unison. Kagami sighed.
"I guess it's okay, but you two need to calm down." She said. Misao turned to Tsukasa and repeated her apology.
"I'm sorry for calling whatshisnuts, whatshisnuts Imoto." Misao apologized.
"His name is Tony." Kagami informed.
"Alright then." Misao sighed. "Imoto, you and Tony have a fight?" Misao asked.
"Yeah. We're gonna talk it out though." Tsukasa said.
"So do we want to go watch? I think I've got something we can watch it on in my room!" Kagami said.
"What are you watching Onee-chan?" Tsukasa asked.
"The tournament Tony and Kona fought in recently! Tony had some pretty cool fights if you want to watch!" Kagami invited.
"Sure!" Tsukasa chimed.
"Well cool! We just gotta get the tape out of the living room!" Kagami poked her head into the living room. Her sisters and mother were currently watching a game show, her father at work in the shrine. Kagami sneaked over to the player and clicked the eject button.
"Whatcha doin' Imoto?" Matsuri asked. The three other girls poked their head into the room.
"Getting the tape of the tournament!" Kagami said as she took the tape out and started retreating from the room.
"Oh, I saw that! I never knew Konatan was such a badass!" Matsuri said.
"I didn't get to see the last fight though, so don't tell me anything!" Kagami said.
"I haven't seen it at all!" Tsukasa said.
"Then don't say anything at all!" Kagami said.
"Let's go, I wanna see Chibi get beat up!" Misao cheered as the girls left the room. Matsuri and Inori looked at each other and shrugged.
Kagami, Misao, Tsukasa, and Konata all walked into Kagami's room. Said Tsundere put the tape into the player and turned on her television. The four sat on her bed and faced the set. Konata and Misao sat behind Kagami and Tsukasa. The tape started and opened on Konata standing opposite a large man, mostly unarmored except for the shoulders. He had a two handed ax while she had two knives. Konata looked up to the camera and winked. Misao playfully punched Konata in the shoulder, a smile on her face. When the man threw something green that, upon hitting the Otaku, caused her to gasp and cough, Misao's smile turned upside down.
"Poison? A dirty trick?" A man shouted. Misao and Tsukasa both turned to Konata, then to the television version of her, then back to the real life one. They turned back to the television just in time to see Konata take a fist, causing her to be thrown to her back. Konata felt arms around her shoulders. Confused since Kagami's back was in plain sight, she looked over. Misao was hugging Konata, more as a sort of security that Konata was, in fact, there and alright. Konata couldn't help but be a bit happy to have the girl legitimately be concerned for her. Tele-Konata tripped the man and caused him to start to fall, making an attack on his way down. When the ax neared Tele-Konata's head, Konata felt Misao's hug strengthen a little. Suddenly, Tele-Konata burst into movement. The ax was in the ground and Konata's knives were at the man's neck. Misao quickly let go when she saw Tsukasa turn around, but the two of them were both looking at the blunette, mouths agape. Konata blushed a little, scratched the back of her head and averted her gaze.
"Damn Chibi, that was insane!" Misao said. Tsukasa, hearing Tony being announced, had turned back to the television before she could comment. "Can't believe I almost tried to fight that..." Misao chuckled.
"That would have ended badly for you." Kagami said over her shoulder.
"Yeah, no kidding..." Misao said as she returned her gaze to the television. She saw Tony cut through the man's sword and armor.
"Go Kan-kun!" Tsukasa cheered. Kagami glanced over at her sister, happy that her twin had seemingly forgiven her. Now, unless Tony acted like a four year old, the entire argument was likely to blow over. She turned back and saw Tele-Konata standing across from a large, armored man with a large mace. That fight passed much the same as the last one. Misao hugged onto Konata when she was hit by the mace, and tightened her hug when she was being held by her hair. Then, like the previous fight, Tele-Konata burst into movement, tearing off the man's helmet and using it as a weapon to force him to drop her. Once on the floor, Tele-Konata let loose a serious series of punches. Misao let go and looked over at the Otaku as did Tsukasa. Tsukasa looked back and watched as Tony dominated an archer.
"Your boyfriend's pretty crazy Imoto." Misao threw an arm over the younger girl.
"He is a good fighter..." Tsukasa smiled. Tony walked back out along with another man the two had seen in passing during his fights. The two traded blows with Tony gaining the advantage. Suddenly, the man held up a hand and a light shone from it, causing the image on the camera to distort. When it was finally back to normal, the man was clad in armor that looked much different. Wings of light sprouted behind the man. The man suddenly exploded forward, effectively disarming Tony and sending him into retreat. After that, the only attack he made failed miserably. After only five moves of explosive power, the man's image distorted again and he reappeared, just as exhausted as he had been before his transformation. Misao's jaw was on the bed, having never seen this stuff on television. Kagami and Tsukasa had, however, been more accustomed to this kind of thing. Kagami had already seen it before and yawned. It had been a very long day of cycling. She leaned back a little onto her elbows, slightly hoping to fall asleep. She loved seeing Konata fight, but she had no desire to see her almost get killed again. Another yawn and she found it spread this time. Konata, Misao and Tsundere all yawned as well. Hands grabbed onto Kagami's head and pulled it into a heavenly pillow. She was gone in less than a second. Konata, petting Kagami's head now that it was in her lap, laid back and went to sleep. Misao and Tsukasa, determined to stay awake to see the end. Tele-Konata came out to fight an old man. Misao smiled and looked over at her friend only to see Konata asleep with Kagami asleep in her lap. Her heart dropped.
What's going on here? Chibi and Hiiragin? Misao thought, a few tears making their way to her eyes. She sniffed and wiped her eyes. "Hey Imoto..." She tapped Tsukasa on the shoulder. Tsukasa turned back drowsily.
"Misa-chan?" She asked.
"I gotta go, alright?" Misao said, trying to keep her mood out of her voice. She was failing miserably, but Tsukasa was luckily too out of it to notice.
"Okay Misa-chan..." Tsukasa mumbled. Misao scrambled out of the bed and out of the room. She closed the door and leaned against it. It had shaken her quite a bit to see her new friend and Kagami in such a position. After all, she was rather confident she loved Kagami. Misao pushed herself off the door and walked to the entrance to the house. She sneaked out of the house and began to run. She wasn't even sure where she was running to, she just had to run. Running would clear her mind. It always did. Ever since she was young and her father had gotten her into running, it had been what helped her cope with life's problems. Her brother forcing her to eat bugs and beating her up? She ran. Ayano dating her jerkass of a brother? She ran. Kagami beginning to go over to Konata's classroom instead of hanging out with her and Ayano? She ran. Her closest friend, Kagami, replacing her with Konata as a best friend? She ran. Now, Kagami potentially being lost to her forever was just one more problem added to it all. She had to run. So she ran.
POV Hachiman
It amazed the god. As distraught as Tony was, he had been relaxed enough in Hachiman's presence to fall asleep. Hachiman chuckled.
"Hachiman, what intrigues you so about these mortals?" Amaterasu asked. "Why is it that you care?" She asked.
"I've got reasons." Hachiman answered simply.
"You will not elaborate further?" Amaterasu asked, easily frustrated with the inadequate answer.
"I don't need to." Hachiman said. "And how about you? Did you really give Tsukasa the piece just to one up me?"
"I have my reasons as well." Amaterasu said.
"And you're not gonna elaborate any more, are you?" Hachiman asked.
"I do not answer to YOU!" Amaterasu yelled in torrid fury.
"I simply asked a question." Hachiman said. "Now you merely understand where I'm coming from. Let them gather the pieces if they can. Who knows? Maybe they were meant to." Hachiman said. "Hey, maybe they're prophesy children!" Amaterasu rolled her eyes.
"Do not act as if there is some prophesy for them to take part in. That is much too cliche." She scolded. "WE are the ones made to avert disasters. You would do well to remember that." Amaterasu said in a tone that signified the conversation over. Hachiman sighed.
The Theatre of Tsukasa's Mind
Tsukasa was simply in darkness. However, she heard something. It was a voice. Again, it was definitely female, but it was clearly not Amaterasu. This voice was much more... melodious... Much more... Serene. When she heard it, no image came to her mind. The voice also gave no clue as to the age of the speaker. It said only one thing.
When despair grips you, sing my song.
And then it was gone. And Tsukasa was alone again.
In the Morning
Konata blinked herself awake, still drowsy. She looked over to see Tsukasa asleep and could feel Kagami still asleep in her lap. She then noticed who was missing. Misao was gone. She looked at the time to see not only was it now morning, it was a very close to tournament time. Konata jumped from the bed and shook Kagami and Tsukasa.
"Guys, it's time for the tournament, let's go!" Konata shouted. The three ran out of the room. Everyone was surprisingly awake.
"Hey guys, want to see another tournament?" Kagami asked.
"What?" Miki asked.
"Kona, Tony and someone else are all on a team in a tournament!" Kagami said excitedly.
"Well cool, when?" Tadao asked.
"In half an hour. At the same place the World Tournament was at." Konata said. Everyone jumped up.
"Well let's go! Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Inori shouted as everyone started running.
"Can we take the new car?" Konata asked. Miki smiled.
"Certainly." She said. The family got into the new van. Konata looked around and smiled. It was a nice family car. They were at the arena in short order. Oddly, Tsuki was already there in the clothes she had been in two days prior minus the belt.
"Hey gu-..." She caught sight of Tsukasa, who approached the girl. They raised a hand in unison, waving it. They extended their hand symmetrically. They cocked their head to the side, all in complete symmetry.
"Who are you?" Tsukasa asked.
"Tsuki. You?" Tsuki asked.
"I'm Tsukasa." She answered.
"Rings a bell. But we're going to be late." Tsuki said. Konata, now that she saw the two juxtaposed, saw all the minor details that made Tsuki different from Tsukasa. She was about an inch taller. She was slightly better endowed. Tsuki turned and the lot, after explaining their relation to the front desk, entered the tournament. With only moment until their match started, the lot of them looked around while Konata and Tsuki entered the arena.
POV Tony
Tony woke up from his troubled sleep. His waking problems had followed into his dreams and transformed them into horrible abominations that put nightmares to shame. Not a second of the night had sluggishly passed without both of the girls being on his mind. He sighed and looked at the time. His first match was in five minutes. He sprang from bed.
Damn it! He shouted in his head. He looked inside his ring to see the large amount of energy. He put it on and ran to his dresser. He threw on the first outfit he grabbed and thought for a moment. He apparated.
In the Arena
Konata and Tsuki walked into the arena to see two boys and a girl.
"Where's Ryū Tora no Kami?" Akira asked.
"I'm not sure, can we participate without him?" Konata asked, hoping to stall enough time that Tony could get there in time.
"Well, the rules allow for you to start a match with less than three people, but if the absent person shows up in the middle of the match, they still can't participate." Akira said. Suddenly, Tony apparated into the arena.
"There you are you bastard!" Konata shouted. "We were trying to call you all day yesterday, where the hell were you?" Konata shouted.
"Call me? Why?" Tony asked. Before Konata could respond, Akira interrupted.
"Team Taiseishiki versus the Fire Ferrets!" Akira shouted.
"Fire Ferrets?" Tsuki chuckled. "That's a pretty silly name."
"Don't underestimate them. That's a very amateur mistake." Konata scolded the girl.
"Yeah, I know. I'm just excited!" Tsuki said. Meanwhile, Tony was scanning the audience. The very first thing he noticed was that there was now a glass wall separating the people from the fight, but it had small slits in it to allow for noise to pass through. Tony smiled.
"Go Tony!" He heard a familiar voice shout. He looked over further to see Tereya, sitting very embarrassed as her friend shouted. His curiosity getting the better of him, he looked closer at Tereya's right arm, as both of her hands were in her lap. Unfortunately, she had a long sleeve shirt on and anything of her arm and hand were both hidden by the small wall that was in front of them. Tony sighed, disappointed that his curiosity would not be sated, and looked back over at the Hiiragi family. Tsukasa still looked very mad. Tony couldn't help but feel disheartened.
I can't believe he looked at Tereya before he looked at me... Tsukasa huffed, her arms crossed.
"Tony, before it starts, Tsuka-" Konata started.
"Fight!" Akira shouted, surprising the two and causing Konata to curse. Suddenly, things got very hot, causing Tony to jump. He landed ten feet to his right to see one of the boys with his fist outstretched. He punched with his other fist as fire erupted from it.
Damn! Tony jumped again. The hell is up with this guy? He wondered. Tony looked over to see the other boy was attacking Tsuki, chucking plates of rock at her. Konata was locked in battle with the girl, who was slinging water around at her. These were the only observations Tony could make before he had to dodge another fire blast.
"You're pretty fast!" The boy firing at him shouted. Tony landed.
"You ain't seen nothin' yet." He smiled.
"Then let's spice things up!" His opponent shouted. Lightning suddenly sprouted from his fingers and shot at Tony.
Damn! Tony thought. With the sudden influence of Sage Mode and his reflexes taking over, the world slowed down to the point where he could see the lightning coming to him. On instinct, Tony leaped over to Konata.
Konata took her stance, waiting for Akira's signal. It looked like the other team had chosen opponents and she would be fighting the female.
I wonder if she's a martial artist. Konata wondered. Konata would wait for the female to attack her.
"Fight!" Akira shouted. The girl lashed out from across the ring, a whip of water throwing itself at Konata. The Otaku growled and rolled out of the way.
So that's how it is! She thought as she popped back up. She ducked to dodge a whip above her, then jumped to avoid one from below. She drew her butterfly knives. These aren't going to do me much good, I'm fighting water! Konata cursed in her head. At least those two have powers... She let her thoughts distract her for a moment. The whip came across her cheek, knocking her to the ground. She rolled on her shoulder and got up, learning from her mistake. She emptied her mind completely, focusing on nothing but her fight. Her opponent whipped the water at her. Konata raised her knives and slanted them towards the water. The liquid hit the metal, putting a downward thrust on Konata. She used the momentum to go under it and move forward, gaining ground. She turned around and saw the water snaking back at her. She swung her knife so that the water would hit the flat of the blade. It rebounded off it and snaked back around. Too close for her to block, she closed her eyes to prepare for the hit. There was a burst of heat around her that made her skin flush red. She opened her eyes to see Tony in front of her.
"Hey, fighting a flamethrower, you?" He asked.
"Water gun." Konata responded.
"Want help?" Tony asked.
"Thanks, but I think your hands a little full. At least Tsuki is doing well." Konata commented.
"Yeah." Tony agreed.
Tsuki cracked her neck as she waited for the girl announcing the tournament to announce its start. She decided she would do her best to take out the male across from her, then help out her friends. She began focusing energy into her right index finger.
"Fight!" The girl shouted. Tsuki's opponent stomped the ground, causing a plate of stone to rise up. He punched out, sending the plate spinning at her. She pulled the trigger and blew the rock out of the air. His jaw dropped comically. He shook his head and kicked another plate at Tsuki.
"Spirit gun!" Tsuki shouted, blowing it out of the air again. She was sent off her feet as a section of the wall smashed into her side. She rolled onto her feet and ran up, ducking under a projectile and side stepping another. She jumped into the air. Coming down, she drew her fist back. The boy put his arms together, bringing two giant rocks in front of him to protect him. Tsuki empowered her fist with energy, forming a sort of dark claw. "Shadow Claw!" She shouted, breaking the rock and hitting the boy in the face. He bounced a bit back and bounced to his feet. Tsuki turned and saw the predicament her teammates were in. "Fist of the Beast King!" She shouted, sending a blast of energy in the shape of a lion's head to intercept the girl. She saw it coming and made a shield of water that barely stopped the blast. Tsuki smiled, but got hit in the cheek with a rock. Konata cringed at the sight, but otherwise was enjoying the very small respite Tsuki's attack gave her.
Konata ran over and closed the distance between her and the girl before the girl could retaliate. Konata swung her blade with the sharp end facing away from her opponent, determined only to bruise her, not cut her. She caught the girl across the hip with her left blade and kept her right blade back in case her opponent countered. The girl stumbled back and swung a blade of water at Konata. She crossed her blades to cut the water off. She controls the water with her hands. If I can stop them... Konata smiled. She ran up. The girl thrust her arm out, sending the equivalent of the water spear at Konata. The Otaku ducked down and slid on her knees across the stone, skinning them badly but ultimately accomplishing her goal. She got in close to the girl and sent the metal bit on the back of her blade jabbing into the girl's armpit. The girl gritted her teeth and almost howled in pain as the water splashed to the ground. Konata rolled on her shoulder and sprang up directly behind her opponent. She rolled across the girl's back and caught her arm between the metal bit and the actual back of the blade on her right knife. She raised it up and turned, violently thrusting the hook into the girl's other armpit. To complete the combo, Konata swung around and dropped to the ground. She rolled on her back and grabbed onto the girl's leg, pulling it with her and forcing her to take a knee. She landed on her knee, directly into Konata's kick. The girl was sent onto her back, stunned temporarily. Konata rolled back onto her feet and looked to see how the others were doing.
Tony ducked under a lightning bolt. His opponent let loose a torrent of flames at Tony as he came back up. He gasped as he was caught off guard. Flame enveloped his upper half as he shouted in agony.
"KAN-KUN!" Tsukasa shouted, hitting against the glass. The fire ceased to show Tony with his arms crossed and his shirt burned off. He blinked and looked at himself, his opponent just as stunned. There wasn't a burn on his body. Tony had felt the heat and practically felt the flesh being seared from his bones, and yet his body remained intact. Actually, now that he thought of it, most of the pain he felt was simply because he realized he was being engulfed in flames. The fire itself had been extremely uncomfortable, but bearable. He huffed.
What the hell... He wondered. Beast. He smiled. That just turned the tide of this whole battle! Tony thought in a shout. He ran up, ducking under another fire blast. While the flames didn't seem to harm him physically for whatever reason, he still didn't want to get hit where he didn't need to. Besides, if he got hit on the LOWER half of his body, that would raise a whole set of other concerns... However, he smiled as he remembered Tsukasa's shout. She does still care... He sighed in relief. He remembered he was still in the heat of the fight and pushed off the ground with his hands to send him in the air. He flipped, looking at the audience. He glanced Tsukasa, who noticed him looking at her. She stuck out her tongue. Tony sighed. However, he refused to let her win. He formed his attack as his opponent began a flood of fire. Tony thrust his attack in front of him, causing the fire to be forced to the sides of the boy. Tony hit the boy in the chest. "TEREYA!" He shouted.
"HRAH!" The boy was sent into the ground. Tony landed on the ground and looked at his attack's namesake. She was blushing while watching him. He swiped his thumb across his nose a couple times, causing her face to flush more. Konata stumbled back closely to Tony.
"You're making it worse." She said gravely.
"She started it." Tony said.
"What are you, four?" Konata asked. Her instinct caused her to duck as a spear of water flew over her head. She came back up and spun around. "Haven't had enough, huh? Help Tsuki!" She shouted.
"Oh, no rules?" The girl smiled. She side-kicked, flames sprouting from her foot. Konata dove to her right, out of the way. The girl kicked a rock up and kicked it at Konata. She blocked the rock with her knives, but it caused her arms to jam up. Another rock came, causing Konata to duck under it. It was at this point Konata wished she could pull a Spirit Gun. Speaking of which...
Tsuki jumped back and fired a Spirit Gun at the rock flying towards her, causing it to explode in midair. Darn it! At this rate, I'm gonna run out of energy and I haven't gained any ground since he got back up! Tsuki cursed in her head. She finally saw an opening and aimed, but was caught off guard when a large rock hit her in the side, sending her to the ground. The boy picked up a giant rock and held it nearly over her.
"Give up, I don't want to hurt you more!" He shouted.
Gah! What do I do? Tsuki wondered. What would Dad do? She thought.
"You let down your guard!" Tony shouted as he flashstepped below Tsuki's opponent and kicked him in the jaw, sending him into the air. The rock the boy had been controlling fell to the ground harmlessly. Tsuki watched Tony in awe. "Not done yet!" He shouted as he leaped after the boy. He kicked his opponent in the stomach hard enough that the boy was sent further into the air. "Try this!" He shouted as he kicked the boy once again. This time, he vanished. He then appeared behind the boy. "You still have a ways to go." He mumbled as he grabbed onto the boy from behind. "Primary Lotus!" Tony shouted as he spiraled down to the ground. The second before impact, the two vanished. Tony cut the attack and landed, tossing his opponent to the side. "Give up, I don't want to hurt you more." He smirked. Tsuki was lost for a moment.
"Wow... He really is pretty good at this..." She commented, rubbing her side. She looked over at Konata and shot over.
The final opponent was sending rock after flame at Konata, who was reduced to dodging most of the time. The girl whipped out with more water, causing Konata to block. The water splashed against her knives, causing it to splatter all about. Her opponent smiled as she clenched her fist, forcing the water to become ice shard. She brought her arms together in sort of a hugging fashion, causing all of the ice to move to impale Konata only enough to disable her temporarily. Konata crouched down and raised her knives to block what she could, but Tsuki appeared over top of her. She began spinning very fast.
"Eight Trigrams Palm Rotation!" She shouted as energy surrounded them. The second the icicles made contact with the spinning mass of energy, they broke and vaporized instantly. As soon as all the ice was gone, Tsuki knelt and cut the energy supply.
"Thanks Tsuki." Konata smiled.
"No problem... Think you two can handle the rest?" Tsuki asked. "Kinda out of energy here." She chuckled humorlessly.
"Sure thing." Konata smiled. "Kan-kan!" Konata shouted to Tony.
"Gotcha!" Tony shouted back, running up. Their opponent started chucking rocks at him while he merely punched through them. While she was distracted, Konata began to sneak up on the girl. She was now flaring fire, whipping water, and erupting earth, all with the sole intention of beating Tony. He dodged, ducked, dipped, dived, and dodged each blast. "How about a little fire scarecrow?" Tony shouted, deciding to take the old saying seriously. He breathed and felt his heart beat. He felt the warmth from it. Tony punched, pulling from the heat inside of himself, causing fire to spring to his fist and flare ahead of him. He smiled. It's weird. Fire is coming with less energy than before... He thought. He punched several more times, fire shooting from his fists each time. He was forced to stop as his energy began to run low. A small amount of fire before used to tire me out. Do I just have that much more energy now or is there something else? Does it have to do with the fact that fire doesn't seem to hurt me anymore? Tony wondered. Tony rolled under the fire blast and pushed off the ground to avoid a giant piece of rock that was shot at him. Landing on his feet, he saw a spear of water coming at him. On instinct, he reached into his heart's heat and breathed fire, evaporating the water before it could cause harm. The girl brought a large boulder up, clearly irritated with her failure to beat Tony. She kicked the human sized boulder at him. He hummed and opened his hand. Tereya. He formed in his hand. If I hit the boulder with this, it'll explode and still hit me... Tony thought. He spun his arm and pitched the attack once the boulder got within ten feet of him. As he predicated, the ball began to lose cohesion the second it left his hand. It hit the boulder and burrowed into it, where it dissipated violently, causing the boulder to explode in front of him, just far enough that none of the pieces hit him. The girl flared her nostrils, looking extremely irritated. That is, until she saw Konata directly below her. She gasped, caught off guard by her appearance and stance.
"You're in range of my divination." Konata said, looking into the startled girl's eyes. "Eight Trigrams, two strikes!" Konata shouted. She sent one strike into the girl's stomach hard enough to send her off her feet. She hit the girl again before continuing her attack. "Four strikes! Eight strikes!" Konata said, doubling her strike count with each attack. "Sixteen strikes! Thirty-two strikes! Sixty-four strikes!" Konata shouted, performed each attack. Every time, she would keep hitting the girl with as much force as all of the previous times. "Eight Trigrams: One hundred twenty-eight strikes!" Konata shouted one final time, barraging her opponent with a series of powerful strikes. The girl was sent rolling away, coughing. She was obviously finished.
"Winners! Team Taiseishiki!" Akira shouted.
Tsukasa, Kagami, and the rest of the Hiiragis along with Miyuki and Masuta came down to congratulate the team on winning. Or at least, most of them. Tsukasa marched directly up to Tony.
"How can you use that move in front of me? Do you have no feelings?" Tsukasa shouted at Tony. The boy was slightly taken aback by the sudden vituperative assault.
"Tony, change subjects." Inori warned quickly.
"What are you talking about Tsukasa?" Tony asked. Tsukasa's nostrils flared in a sign of extremely rare anger.
"And that... That..." Tsukasa swept her thumb across her nose.
"Can we do this when we're not in front of a thousand people with millions of people watching from home?" Tony asked. Tsukasa looked like she had been struck. Tereya and her friend began to approach, but stayed a little back to avoid confrontation.
"What, just avoid the situation again? ..." Tsukasa was speechless. "Are you embarrassed of me?" She seemed very offended.
"No, it's no-" Tony tried to discount the theory, but he was swiftly cut off.
"I hate you! We're..." Tsukasa started. Tony twitched.
"Tsukasa, think VERY hard about what you're about to say to me." He said coldly.
"Through." Tsukasa said, her voice cracking. Tony exhaled.
"Have it your way." He sighed and walked past the small crowd.
"Ototo!" Masuta shouted, starting after him. Tsukasa glared at him until he stopped short of the exit.
"Tereya, would you like to go out with me?" Tony asked, resisting the urge to glare back at Tsukasa. Tereya blinked, seemingly stunned by this turn of events
"Why?" She asked. It seemed her normal shyness was all but gone for the moment.
"You're incredibly nice, super pretty, and I would like to get to know you very much." Tony said honestly. He eliminated everything that could suggest he was being in any way vindictive from his tone and demeanor. At this point, he wasn't entirely sure if he was being exactly that, or if he was genuinely over Tsukasa by this point. Maybe he was angry with Tsukasa. Maybe he legitimately wanted a relationship with Tereya. Tereya blushed.
"I'm not just revenge? I just saw Tsukasa break up with you." Tereya asked through her blush.
"No you aren't. You need more confidence." Tony smiled almost bitterly. Tereya sighed.
"Okay... When do you want to go?" She asked.
"Well, I still have several more days of tournament, so would you think today would be good?" Tony asked. Tereya thought. "I could get ready in the time left if you could." Tereya nodded.
"I think I could... Say eight?" She asked.
"Yeah." Tony agreed.
"Where do you want to meet?" She asked.
"How about the subway? I'll be on it before you, so you won't look out of place. It's really the only place I know that you know." Tony said. "Then we can decide where we go from there, since we're already going to be on the subway." Tony said. Tereya nodded.
"Alright then... It's a date..." She said. Her friend looked like she was going to burst.
"Until then." Tony smiled, again unsure if he was truly happy. Tereya nodded and turned. To Tony's frustration, she turned in a way that continued to keep her arm hidden from view. He turned to face the small crowd behind him. Most of their mouths were agape. Tsukasa ran out of the pit in tears while Kagami and their parents chased her to do anything they could. Tony felt horrible very suddenly. Matsuri walked up to him.
"I tried to help you." She said gravely. "But you have to work with me. You were in the right until today." Matsuri shook her head sadly and left the pit. It did nothing to help his mood, though he knew that had not been the point. Matsuri had had the exact opposite intention. Inori was the next to walk up.
"Now, it would be too late to change subjects." She sighed. Tony looked back at those remaining. Masuta, Miyuki, Tsuki and Konata. The latter was the first to approach him.
"Kon-kon?" Tony asked. Konata walked up, unsure of what she was going to do until she got there. She looked up into his eyes. After a moment, she drew her hand back and slapped him with what he knew was everything she had left.
"You're an asshole and you went too far." Konata said. With that, she walked out. Tony felt alone. He sighed and looked at those who remained. The remaining people, along with Tony, began to walk out due to the fact that people still needed to fight.
"Did I?" Tony asked.
"Let's do a head count." Miyuki said. She sounded her polite self more or less, but Tony could hear she was furious. "Tsukasa, the girl who loved you; Kagami, her twin sister; Matsuri and Inori, their older sisters who tried to help you; Miki and Tadao, their parents who accepted you as their own; Konata, your sister and YOU, big fella, you've managed to piss off every single one of them." Miyuki said. The fact that she referred to them each by first name showed the true depth of her anger. Tony knew she considered Tsukasa as close a friend as he considered Konata, so it was understandable.
"Tsukasa started ih-" Tony started.
"Look, you're missing the point!" Miyuki snapped. "There is no throne! No version of this where you come out on top! Maybe you go out with Tereya and maybe you have a good time, but that isn't going to change that Tsukasa will cry herself to sleep every night until this is resolved because of you." Miyuki said. Tony knew that words had abandoned him with all of his friends. Miyuki breathed heavily with irritation. Once they were out, she turned and looked Tony in the eyes. "That might even be the best thing that she does. But you know what the worst of it is?" Miyuki asked. When Tony failed to answer, she continued. "The worst of it is that I pity you." Miyuki said. Tony made the best effort he could, but could only find one word.
"Why?" He asked weakly.
"Because." Miyuki said, looking him deep in the eyes. "Because you truly loved each other, and so you could have been truly happy. Not one couple in a century has that chance, no matter what the storybooks say. So I think no man in a century will suffer as greatly as you will." Miyuki said with uncommon spite. She turned on her heel and walked away. Tony sighed.
"Either of you have anything to say?" He asked Masuta and Tsuki.
"You'll do the right thing." Tsuki said. "I'm sure of it." She said confidently.
"How do you know? What IS the right thing?" Tony asked.
"You'll know it when it comes." Tsuki said. She sighed. "I better go. You and your brother need to talk." She walked away.
"Aniki... What do I do?" Tony asked.
"I can't tell you that Ototo." Masuta sighed. "What do you value? Love? Happiness? Sincerity?"
"I value my friends." Tony answered.
"Obviously not, you just lost them." Masuta said. "Look, one thing I've learned is that the only thing a man has is his values. When he sells those out... There's nothing left..." Masuta said. "Just remember all of this once you're on your date with this girl. I hope she was worth what you just lost." Masuta said. "Now, I've gotta see a girl about a wolf." He walked away, leaving Tony truly alone. Tears finally rolled down his face. He walked home.
Luckier Channel
"Luckier~! Channel~!" Akira shouted. "Hiya Luckies~! I'm your navigator, Akira Kogami!"
"And I'm the assistant, Minoru Shiraishi!"
"So, what does everyone think about this chapter?" Akira asked.
"I think Tony's an idiot." Minoru said.
"Agreed." Akira nodded.
"Better wrap this up if we want to catch the movie..." Minoru said.
"Yeah, the Avengers is playing, I wanna see it so bad~!" Akira said excitedly.
*Music Tone*
"YAY! Let's go!" Akira shouted.
"..."
*End*
Aftersection
Sorry, this really took way too long. My college and job are quite time consuming, ya know? And my car got totaled, so that doesn't help... Hopefully, the next chapter won't take as long as this one considering about half of it has probably been written already for about a month or two. Through the method Duff suggested XD Thank you all for reading and please, please review!