The Sports of This World

All breaths were halted as a ball was thrown up in the air. What followed was a tall and handsome boy jumping perfectly—it was as if he were flying. As he lifted his arm and opened his palm, like a whip, he slapped the ball, sending it toward the wooden ground so fast that the air was ripping.

The people around him were amazed, as the boy finally landed, “Like that?” Kaus asked, a warm smile coming over his face. The instructor teaching Kaus the basics of volleyball had his mouth wide open, not even registering the boy’s question.

But as Kaus was being bombarded by admiration from his peers, Iscodaya was sitting in the corner of the building known as a gymnasium. His face was a bit upset, “I swear that walking beacon.”

But as the Prince was murmuring by himself, someone familiar came up to him, “Iscodaya!” A voice called out, it being one Iscodaya recognized. As he turned, he saw the human girl known as Kei, an inviting smile on her face.

The two didn’t have a good introduction, with Kei weirding out Iscodaya. But when she apologized and showed him her lunchbox while explaining it to him, he noticed that she wasn’t such a weirdo.

Plus, she was a very valuable asset in terms of gaining information about this new world. When Kei approached Iscodaya, her black hair styled into a bob cut, and hazel brown eyes were still something the young Prince was very susceptible to. During their lunchtime talk, he barely made eye contact with her, but now that they were closer to each other, while standing up, both Kei and Iscodaya noticed that she was slightly taller than him.

Though Kei’s intrusive thoughts almost came out of her mouth, she chose to suppress them. She then handed Iscodaya a long green pole with a net at the end of it, “I don’t have a partner in badminton, mind if we partner up?” She asked, her smile making the Prince’s cheeks a little red.

But as he took in her words, he noticed a new one, “Badminton?” He asked, his brow rising, “What’s that?” Kei looked at him with disbelief.

“You don’t know badminton? It’s like, one of the most popular sports in the world?” Hearing this, Iscodaya began to worry, thinking that she might catch on to his true nature.

“I-I wasn’t really taught a lot when I was a kid, I stayed inside for most of my life,” he responded, his gaze gazing at the ground while his hand scratched the back of his head.

Kei’s questioning look turned into one of pity, “Oh… I see, sorry for asking,” she apologized, her tone going down. Iscodaya internally sighed, as his lie managed to get him out of that position.

But as the young Prince saw that Kei’s mood was really down, he saw something about her face, guilt, an expression he knew far too well. “B-but!” Iscodaya stammered, causing Kei to turn to him, “Y-you can teach me, if you want to.”

But as those words exited Iscodaya’s mouth, Kei’s face beamed, “Of course,” she exclaimed, causing the young Prince to recoil. She gave him the stick, as she grabbed his hand and dragged him into a long, hanging net.

As Iscodaya stared at the stick, he asked, “What is this used for?”

Hearing his question, Kei’s face beamed with excitement, “That is a badminton racket, you essentially use it to hit this.” From her hand, Kei revealed a strange object, a half ball, with the end of it having a lot of feathers, like an arrow, “This is a shuttlecock, you hit it with the end of your racket, like this.” Kei turned away from Iscodaya, throwing the shuttlecock in the air, she waited for it to go down, and as it was in perfect range, she whacked it with her racket, sending the shuttlecock flying like an arrow, “You basically have to hit it above that net, and make it land on the other side, but of course, other players are going to be playing so it’s competitive.

“Oh~” Iscodaya expressed, clearly intrigued with the sport, “Can I try?” He asked, his curiosity showing in his eyes. Seeing it, Kei couldn’t help but smile.

“Of course.” She handed him the shuttlecock, and as Iscodaya threw it into the air, he prepared to hit it. With perfect timing, Iscodaya managed to strike it, sending it… a few meters away. Kei’s excited smile turned into a worried one, as she looked upon Iscodaya, his gaze looking at his arms, muttering to himself, “H-hey!” She called, patting him on the back, “That was your first time, at least you hit it.”

But as Kei was trying to encourage Iscodaya, two girls approached the duo. “Hey Inoue! We don’t have an opponent. Would you care for a two-on-two?” one of the girls asked, causing Kei to try to encourage Iscodaya to do it again. She finally convinced him, asking the two girls to take it easy on him.

They agreed, as the game started. The two girls began first, with one of them doing a pretty good serve, just dropping the shuttlecock on the net of the racket, and tapping it strongly. Kei quickly responded, sending the shuttlecock back, but the two girl’s defense was good, countering quickly.

“Iscodaya!” Kei called, but she didn’t have to worry about anything as Iscodaya already hit it; though it didn’t go far, leading to another good counter. But as the shuttlecock went back and forth, something bizarre was happening.

“W-who is this guy?” One of the girls asked, sending the shuttlecock at Iscodaya at full power, but the young boy merely swung at it. But due to his lack of power, it was immediately hit again in a matter of a split second. But Iscodaya had already comprehended it, blocking the shuttlecock with ease.

This went on for the whole match, with the two girls sending the shuttlecock with all their strength, only for Iscodaya to easily block it. So as a pretty strong hit by Kei sent the shuttlecock flying over the net, the two girls were too tired to get it, as it landed on the wooden ground.

“I-I think we’re done here Inoue,” one of them remarked, her face completely drained of all confidence.

“Yeah, g-good match guys,” the other one added, and both of them started to walk off.

Kei watched awkwardly as their figures blended in the crowd, “So Iscodaya?” She called, her head slowly turning to the boy, “Are you like… a secret pro at badminton?”

Iscodaya turned to her, as she fully took in his physique. Iscodaya had a thin body that almost looked a bit frail, but he still looked athletic. But as the young Prince observed how Kei was taking in his body, he turned a bit red, “Hey,” Iscodaya called, his voice stern but also embarrassed, “Don’t look at me like that.”

Kei wondered what Iscodaya meant, but then realized he might be a little insecure about his body, “Oh, sorry sorry,” she apologized. The two continued to play badminton, with Kei and Iscodaya going against each other.

But as the bell rang, indicating the end of the period, Kei and Iscodaya both waved each other off, with the young girl walking to a group of students. As Iscodaya began to evaluate all that he had learnt, Kaus walked up behind him, a playful smile on his face, “Hey your Majesty, I noticed you were playing with that girl for the whole period.”

Iscodaya’s eyes rolled at his blade’s comment, “Because a certain somebody left me by myself.” Kaus’ gaze shifted away as he felt Iscodaya’s growing temper.

But as they walked back to their classroom, Kaus saw the way Iscodaya was walking, and he knew exactly why, “These shorts are truly indecent aren’t they your Majesty?”

The young Prince nodded, his face a little red, “I couldn’t agree more, it’s so degrading to show off so much skin.”

“Yeah…” Kaus remarked as a silence came over the two. But inside of Kaus’ mind, a intrusive thought exited his mouth, “But those gir-”

“Bite your tongue Irom.”

“I’m sorry your Majesty.”