Accepting the Challenge

Inei's eyes snap open, Inei unwillingly getting up very slow. He moves his arms with a crunch like movement, Inei furrowing his eyebrows.

Her ice powers must be very strong, it is like I am still defrosting after all of this time.

Inei tries to force himself to move faster, but the faster he moves he begins feeling sharper pain through his whole body as if his blood is cutting him if he moves too quickly. Inei winces then moves very slowly getting ready for school. He walks slowly to the campus, the bell ringing as he reaches the entrance of the school.

Damn now Rina has made me late for class, I'm going to put her in her place next time I see her.

Inei slowly enters the classroom after walking through the halls, the instructor giving Inei a look that Inei never thought he would see, a look of disappointment in the classroom. Inei very slowly takes his seat, wincing a little as he moves his body, the girls noticing and watching him sit. As class goes on, Inei hardly moves his body, the professor glancing at Inei, then speaks loudly.

"It would be a great idea to take notes on this subject!"

Inei stares down the professor who continues with his lecture, Inei not moving a single inch of his body. Inei feels his phone buzzing in his pocket like a swarm of bees, but does not move.

I don't want to move, my limbs feel like they're shredding into pieces.

The bell rings for class to end, Inei very slowly getting out of his chair, the five girls walking up to him, Chura being the first to ask a question.

"Inei, are you alright? You're moving like you've been hit by a truck."

Yasu softly pitches in.

"I agree. You look like you need oil on your joints to be able to move."

Inei glances at them then proceeds to walk away, trying to get a head start on them.

Yasu has no idea how close of an accurate guess she has made, that's almost exactly what it feels like I need.

Azami then snatches Inei's hand and pulls, Inei wincing hard, Azami letting go quickly, nervously putting her hands in front of her body with straight arms, looking down and to the side.

"I'm sorry, I did not realize you were hurting that bad, what happened to you?"

Inei then slowly moves his arm away, walking in the same direction as before. The girls look at each other and follow behind him, watching as he very slowly walks to the study ground almost like a statue. He winces as he sits, the girls staring at him with confusion and concern. He very slowly lifts his arm in front of him, the girls sit with confusion on their faces. Inei, realizing they are not understanding to touch his arm, reaches for his backpack in pain, pulling out a pen and notepad. Inei robotically moves his arm with the pen making strokes on the pad. He then pushes the pad to the middle of the table, the girls trying to read his awful stuff writing, Yasu reading the writing out loud.

"I hove boon fenen? Those are not even words Inei, except for the first one anyway."

Inei furrows his eyebrows, looking at his writing. The girls try to decode his horrible note, time flying by as they try different parts of the note, Inei becoming more irritable as time goes by. Yui looks down to her phone and stands up with shock.

"Oh my gosh, Inei! It's time for practice!"

Inei shakes his head with little motion, his neck feeling like daggers stabbing into it, Yui taking his hand and pulling.

"I don't know what your problem is but you are going to accept it and come on, I have been waiting for you to come to practice all week! You did not even show up yesterday like you said you would!"

Inei winces at the pain as she pulls him along in a rushing fashion, feeling like he is swimming through razors. They rush across the courtyard of the school through the fraternity stands, Inei catching a glance at his frats leader watching him go by. Inei notices his glance then breaks eye contact when they reach the doors of the gym, Yui pulling Inei inside. They rush past the desk and to the court where Yui puts Inei in front of the locker room. She turns Inei towards her and pulls him down to her height, a finger in his face.

"I don't know what stunt you are trying to pull, but you told me and your teammates you were going to practice. You get yourself in that locker room and change right now or so help me; you will practice today, accept it."

Inei looks at Yui who stares at him with sternness, Inei fearful for what she will do if he does not listen. Inei slowly turns around and begins walking to the locker room, Yui shouting at him.

"Hurry up!"

Inei's skin crawls and begins walking faster, feeling his body tear to shreds inside. He puts his practice gear on as quickly as possible, coming out to see Yui completely dressed in her trainer outfit, the sleeves cut off and her purple sports bra visible through the cut off sleeves, she is putting her hair up while looking at him, holding her hair tie in her mouth.

"Inei! It is about time!"

She takes the hair tie and prepares her hair, smiling at Inei with a large grin.

"You ready to start?"

Inei looks at her, shaking his head with small range, Yui frowning.

"Inei, seriously, what is wrong? It is just you and me, talk to me about whatever it is."

Inei looks down and to the side, a small tear dripping from his eye, Yui noticing instantly and roughly runs into him, hugging him tightly.

"Whatever it is I hope you're okay. I don't want to see my friend cry."

Inei looks at her in shock, then slowly hugs her back, feeling warm. He feels his body change, becoming mobile and not stiff. When Yui lets go, Inei looks at his arm and hand in a regular motion, then lifts his arms up and puts them back down with ease. Yui looks at him with curiosity.

"That is a weird reaction to a hug, Inei. I suppose it helped you?"

Inei then nods to her, walks past her to the court, Yui following behind him, mumbling under her breath with a smile.

"I'm glad I could help."

Inei and Yui proceed with practice, Inei then practicing drills with the team and scrimmage, destroying everyone on the team while Yui sits and watches, hydrating with water. Inei finishes and walks over to Yui, sitting beside her, Yui getting up and sitting behind him, grabbing him by the shoulders and pulling him back, massaging his shoulders and her head rests in her lap. He blushes looking up into Yui's eyes who stare down happily to him, a soft smile on Yui's face. Inei then takes a deep breath, relaxing calmly while she massages him, then a voice breaking his zen.

"Inei, are we disturbing something?"

Inei looks up, his starting teammates looking at him with confusion, Takiya speaking up.

"Dude, were you not with Connor's sister like, two days ago?"

Yui tilts her head, Inei nodding to him.

"So now why are you being flirty with your trainer? Are you cheating?"

Inei shakes his head, then looks at Yui. Yui then smiles and looks at them.

"We are all just friends. Inei isn't dating any of us, not yet anyway."

She says the second part of the sentence with some intensity, the boys picking up her interest in him. Takiya then speaks on the starters' behalf.

"Well, alright then, we will see you tomorrow. Thanks for showing up at least once for practice. The bus leaves early tomorrow."

Inei nods and the boys walk off, Yui standing up and Inei watching, Yui grabbing a basketball off the court and passing it to Inei.

"Come on, Inei. Let's practice for a while longer."

Inei gives a small smile and gets up with the ball, dribbling the ball effortlessly between his legs walking behind Yui to the court to practice more. They continue to practice until they are the last two in the gym, even the coaching waving them goodbye and telling them not to stay too late. When they finish they go to their separate locker rooms, showering down and changing into normal clothes. The reconvene at the end of the court under the hoop, Inei handing his phone to Yui.

"Thank you, for helping me. My blood was frozen from something Rina had done to me, it was melting overnight but did not finish, giving why I was moving so robotic."

Yui looks at Inei, then smiles at him then opens her mouth in realization.

"Oh my gosh! "I have been frozen!" Thats what you wrote on the paper!"

Inei nods, then Yui crosses her arms, the expression of confidence radiates from her face as she leans on one leg with her arms crossing each other.

"That girl is going to hurt the next time she sees me because she is not going to get away with doing that to you."

Inei shakes his head, typing on his phone and handing it to her.

"Do not try to step up to her; she will beat you to near death. We learned martial arts at the same time and she would always beat me."

Yui looks at him with shock, not moving her body posture but changing her look.

"She beat you? A six foot plus super athlete?

Inei nods, Yui then becoming nervous, then stands up tall, her chin high with her eyes closed.

"Well, I would accept that challenge if it meant helping you, Inei. You're my friend and I won't let her do that to you again."

Inei looks at her with concern, shaking his head more, then Yui grabs his hand and pulls him, walking out of the gym.

"We can discuss it over a walk. You still owe me for the rest of the night."

Inei smiles, shaking his head as she pulls him along. The two of them then walk side by side around campus and then to the street. As they walk, Yui decides to begin discussion.

"So, Inei, what's the true story about Rina?"

Inei raises an eyebrow, side eyeing her.

"I mean, you cannot expect me to take her word for what happened. She is just rude! The story must be different and right for your side. I trust you way more over her anyway."

Inei closes his eyes, taking a deep breath as they walk, then continues walking as before. Yui tilts her head, leaning as their waking, her body forward but her head turned towards Inei.

"Still not willing to talk about that subject? It must be very sensitive to you, and I understand that."

They continue to walk down the street, then Yui asks more question.

"What if I ask you yes or no answers, that would help you respond to me right? I'm thinking you're not answering me because it's not easy to answer."

Inei pauses, then continues walking, nodding softly. Yui claps with joy, gritting her teeth with a smile.

"Yay how much fun! Will I be the first to know any of this?!"

Inei nods, Yuims excitement growing by the second.

"Okay good! My first question is, was some of the story that Rina told true?"

Inei does not turn his head, Yui watching him intently, nodding and turning into the park. Yui stares at him then catches up to him asking another question, this one nervously.

"Forgive me for this question, but did you treat her poorly?"

Inei looks at Yui, then a voice reaches their ears, goosebumps forming on Inei's skin.

"Of course he did, silly girl. And he is doing the same to all of you."

Inei and Yui stand on pathway with rocks, trees overlooking the pathway. Down the path Rina lands from the trees, squatting with one hand on the ground. She stands and puts a hand on her hip, a single streetlight in the middle of the two sides. Yui gets in a battle ready stance that Inei taught her, but she executes the stance poorly, Rina laughing confidently at her.

"Yui, do not insult martial arts like you are. Your stance isn't even fit for a six-year-old to have. If I were you, I would stand down. Baby boy next to you has never beaten me."

Yui glares at Rina, not budging to Rina's threats.

"Even if you beat me down I will not let Inei fight on his own."

Rina sighs and shakes her head, leaning it back still looking at the two of them.

"You did not tell her, really? That truly shows how much you do not care about them. You want a fight Yui? Bring it on."

Yui grunts then rushes Rina, Inei trying to stop her but with no success. Yui lunges at Rina, Rina taking a step to the side as Yui flies by. Yui turns, throwing strikes and kicks at Rina, who dodges and blocks all the attacks. Rina yawns then on one blocked punch, she pulls Yui's arm and clotheslines Yui, flipping her and making her land on her stomach, knocking the air out of Yui. Rina chuckles then is hit hard, being flung against a tree and hitting the ground. She looks up to see Inei angrily standing with his fist out, standing between her and Yui who is still catching her breath. Rina smirks and rushes Inei, jumping into a strike, Inei blocking it. He grabs her wrist and flings her away, Rina landing on her feet, countering with another rush. Rina and Inei then exchange punches and kicks, blocking and dodging attacks, some of Rina's landing on Inei. Finally, Rina kicks the back of Inei's knee then chops him on the back of the neck; knocking him flat on his stomach. Rina stands over Inei breathing heavily, giggling.

"Even to today you cannot beat me. I am to strong for you, you weak fool. You would have never been a good boyfriend because you can't even protect me, I would have to protect you. You're worthless."

Suddenly there is scuffling, Rina turning to see Yui weakly standing in a pose, purple aura radiating from her as she gasps for air.

"He, is not bad. He is a good guy."

Rina stands in shock, then readies herself, a white glow radiating from her. The air becomes colder around them, Yui not flinching. Rina goes to attack Yui, but she trips and face plants and looks behind her while lying on the floor, Inei having grabbed her ankle. Rina turns, Yui having closed the space, starting a kicking motion to kick her head. Rina's eyes shrink in fear then she slams her hand down, freezing the land below Yui's feet, Yui slipping and landing on her back. Rina then uses the ice to spin herself and kick free from Inei's grip, standing in the process. Inei then tries to stand quickly but Rina kicks him down against his shoulder, standing over him with her foot on his shoulder. She exhales then smiles.

"You both gave me a scare with that sneak attack. I will admit, you two together with no training to work together is quite impressive, but it does not change the fact that you just manipulate these women to hurt them."

Inei weakly grits his teeth in frustration, Rina then chuckling what tries to be angrily but ends up being cute, then maniacal.

"I have always beaten you, but I have always wanted to knock you out; cold!"

She laughs hysterically, even stepping off of Inei and walking off to the side, Inei sitting up watching her with confusion, Rina rubbing away a tear from her laughter, then shakes her head.

"That was so corny I couldn't do it. I'll just take my leave as it is. Oh,but Yui!"

Yui holds her hand to her head, the ice having melted from under her, wetting Yui's shorts. She looks at Rina with intense hate and despise, Rina smirking at her with arrogance.

"There is a reason I became so strong. Do not trust this man, he will twist your mind around until there is nothing worth coming back to."

Yui does not utter a word, staring Rina down, Rina's smirk disappearing.

"Despicable."

With that last word, Rina jumps into the trees, not to be seen again, snow flurries falling from the sky as she disappears. Inei gets up slowly then walks over to Yui, offering her his hand. She takes his hand and he pulls her up, Yui brushing herself off.

"You were not kidding Inei. She really is good, she's just very fast in my eyes though, she wasn't necessarily strong. A lot of my pain is from hitting the ground."

Inei nods, agreeing with her.

Yui is not wrong. A lot of pain too belongs to hitting the ground. Maybe she really isn't that strong and it's all in my mind.

Yui cuts off Inei's thinking, speaking up.

"It's surprising to think she took no damage from your punch, where did you hit her?"

Inei takes his hand and taps his chest, Yui squinting in annoyance at him.

"Why there? Did you want to feel her breasts again or what?"

Inei squints at her with annoyance as well, Yui crossing her arms.

"If you just want to feel breasts just ask me; I don't mind."

Inei doesn't change his composure then a blush paints his face, Inei looks away.

I was not even trying to feel her, it was just a for sure hit to punch her there.

Yui rolls her eyes then hugs Inei.

"I am teasing you haha. Thank you for stepping up for me as much as I did for you, that was very sweet."

Inei looks down with her only with his eyes, then hugs her back. Suddenly Inei's hand moves by another hand, touching something very cold and wet.

"Is my butt wet Inei?"

Inei is taken aback and jolts away from Yui, blushing deeply, Yui laughing loudly then softly punches his arm walking past him.

"Come on, Inei. Let's keep walking, let's use this snow as a romantic walk."

Inei watches her, rubbing his hand on his pants then catches up to her, walking beside her. She then holds his hand as they walk through the park. Yui then speaks up very suddenly.

"Can we run to the store really quick? That way we can get some medicine and I want ice cream too."

Inei looks at her and nods, then Yui lets go of Inei's hand running full sprint.

"Ready go!"

Before Inei knew Yui has taken off far, Inei then running to catch up to her. As they race, they take turns taking short cuts and taking the lead over the other. They finally reach the store, Yui ending in first, Inei coming in directly after her. She cheers then goes through the store. Inei slowly follows behind her, watching her grab medicine and ice cream, Inei grabbing a type of ice cream himself. Inei then notices.

She got the exact same ice cream as Yasu.

Yui places the ice cream and medicine on the counter, Inei following behind her and placing his ice cream on the counter too. The cashier rings up their items and Inei pays for it all. The cashier looks over to Yui, smiling to her.

"You got a gentleman, I'm happy for you."

Yui giggles then smirks to be sinister to Inei but friendly to the cashier.

"I'll pay him back later for all he does for me."

Inei blushes but by the cashier only smiles back, handing the items to Yui.

"Well make sure he is well treated, you wouldn't want to lose this one."

Yui looks at Inei with a large grin, Inei rolling his eyes and walking out of the store, Yui following behind him. As they walk back towards the park, they reach the opening and hear what sounds like someone slipping on gravel, then footsteps running off into the distance, softer as they run. Inei looks around intently.

Those footsteps were very fast, like an athlete level of speed.

Inei then feels his arm be hit by a soft punch, Yui walking past him and leading the way.

"It was probably some scared animal. Let's not worry about it."

Inei stands for a moment watching Yui walk.

That definitely was not an animal, but Yui is right. It is best not to worry about it.

Inei jogs to catch up, them walking slowly side by side, Yui breaking the silence.

"You have no idea how much I was waiting for this night."

Inei looks over to her, Yui not looking at him, keeping her eyes forward as she continues to talk.

"I have been waiting since Monday, when we said we would hangout this night. It almost feels surreal, especially since you haven't been showing up to practice, I was kinda worrying you wouldn't show up for practice to hangout tonight either."

Yui continues on, proceeding to talk more.

"That's obviously not the case since we are here now. I have to say, I am very glad, even having to have fought Rina. We really need to train to beat her."

Inei nods, looking forward.

Yui is right. She is going to keep pestering us until we get strong enough to beat her. Maybe on Sunday I will meet with someone to train.

Inei and Yui take a seat under a bench, a single streetlight providing view of the path, the stars and sky bright and vibrant. A cool breeze blows on them, Inei looking down as his hair softly waves in the wind. He texts on his phone and looks at Yui who looks back at him with a smile, her hair blowing in the wind as well. He hands her the phone, Yui reading it to herself.

"You and Yasu are a lot of like even for being different. You both are very caring in one way or another, and you both eat the same ice cream."

Yui giggles and hands his phone back to him.

"Thank you, Inei. Did Yasu tell you why it's our favorite ice cream flavor?"

Inei shakes his head, then she looks down, her smile now seeming sad.

"When we were younger, our mom used to take us to get ice cream every Friday night. Which ironically enough would be tonight. She would always get the cookies and cream ice cream and we would eat some of hers along with our own. Then, when she was no longer with us, I guess it is our self conscious way of cooping with losing her."

Inei looks at Yui with sincerity, Yui glancing at Inei and takes a deep breath, sitting straight up with a forceful smile.

"It's okay, really. It was for the best. I understand it was her time to go."

Inei then quickly types on his phone, handing it to Yui.

"Just because you understand that it was her time does not make it any less painful. I can see it in your face that it still hurts."

Yui chuckles nervously.

"Maybe so, but it's just from where I got hit. I'm okay, really."

Inei stares, Yui staring right back.

"Hey, Inei, do you mind closing your eyes for just one moment? I want to see something."

Inei softly nods then closes his eyes.

I cannot imagine what she would possibly want to see with my eyes closed.

Suddenly something soft pushes again Inei's lips, a couple of seconds go bye and the softness leaves, Inei quickly opening his eyes, Yui pulling away with a blush over her whole face.

"It is getting late, may you walk me home now?"

Inei sits in shock, then nods slowly, standing up and Yui follows, the both of them walking towards Yui's house.