So it Begins

Inei watches a news channel on his phone as he rides on the bus.

"In other news, Inei Hoshi has made headlines again today in college basketball for leading his team to the victory over their opponent 122-66, a fifty-six point win."

Inei has no reaction, turning off the news and going to his music, playing it through his headphones and looking out of the window. He sees buildings familiar to him, indicating that they have already made it back to the city they are from. He crosses his arms and leans his head back against the seat as he watches the buildings go by.

Exhaustion did not even catch up to me, I feel great. I feel like I have some energy I need to burn out. Maybe I will do visit that old man from the frat, maybe he will have some tips and training for me to surpass Rina.

The bus turns into the school and comes to a stop. Inei gets up, grabbing his bag and walking off the bus, the five girls waiting for him when he gets off. All five of them cheer and congratulate him, Inei smiling and nodding to all of them around him. Suddenly, Chura speaks out among the group.

"Let's get you home, I'll walk you since we live so close."

Aneko furrows her eyebrows crossing her arms at her.

"What does living close to him make you special to walk him home?"

Chura looks at her with confidence, crossing her arms and sticking her nose up.

"It is convenient for the both of us, where it is out of the way for all four of you!"

Yasu and Yui speak at the same time.

"It wouldn't bother me to walk with Inei to go that far!"

Inei looks at the girls in shock, Azami speaking up.

"Girls, girls, let's calm down."

Chura scoffs then turns her head from Azami.

"Don't even try that Azami. We all know you were the one who wants him to begin with."

Azami looks at Chura with irritation, her facial expressions indicating the anger with a soft voice.

"Excuse me?"

Inei then begins walking off, intending to go to the frat leader's room.

What a waste of time. I have no desire to stand and let them argue over who will take care of me. I can take care of myself.

Suddenly, Inei feels his hand in another, Azami's grip holding him from walking.

"Where do you think you are going?"

Inei turns his head, his eyes wide and his pupils small, indicating that he has no intention of slowing down. Azami sucks in a breath and lets go immediately. Inei standing still for a moment then turning his head forward and walking off. The girls silently look at each other then trail behind him slowly, keeping their distance as they feel his frustration and irritation radiate from his body. Inei moves his eyes as to look back at them, but does not turn his head or any part of his body other than his arms and legs as he walks.

Why are they following me?

Inei then reaches the classroom of where his frat meets. Inei opens his phone, it reading that the classroom he stands in front of is the correct room. Inei opens the door and goes inside, the girls following him in. He sits down and waits patiently, the girls following suit, silence among the girls after the large argument. A few moments pass and Azami leans over to Inei, whispering something to him.

"Inei, where are we and why are we sitting here? You need to be in recovery."

Inei quickly pulls out his phone, handing it to her. She looks at the screen.

"You all need to stop worrying about what I need. I independently took care of myself for a couple of years now. If you all keep fighting I will separate myself from all of you. You all are my friends, and that's what matters."

Azami sighs and hands him his phone back, whispering more.

"I understand that, Inei, I really do. I have no interest in you, I am your friend. You can't expect me not to fight for myself when they attack me saying so."

Inei does not react, then the door opens. The old man that is the frat leader walks in the door, a sense of shock on his face.

"Oh, hello. I was not expecting you to be here."

He slowly walks into the room and stands at the monitor, then begins speaking again.

"I normally do not even come to the meetings myself. I usually go home, where my training stuff is, but I decided to make a monthly stop to see if anything new would show up."

Inei then begins typing on his phone, then shows it to the man.

"Take me to your house; I want to train and better myself."

The old man stares at the screen for a moment, then looks up.

"I see, I see. I can't see the words, they're too small."

Inei furrows his eyebrows, Yui gently walking up to the man.

"May I read it? I will tell you what it says."

The man slowly looks to her and nods, handing her the phone. She reads the sentence out loud to the man; then old man reacting with enthusiasm.

"Oh sure I can do that! I have plenty to teach, come, come!"

He begins walking to the door, Azami quickly rushing over and holding it open for him, the old man stopping and patting her head.

"Thank you sweetheart, so kind."

He continues to walk, Azami staring blankly at Inei and the girls. They all look at each other and laugh, then stand up to follow the man. Inei furrows his eyebrows and follows as well. As they slowly walk behind the man, they make it to his house an hour after they left, his house being five houses from the campus. The old man opens the door for them to enter, the girls and Inei going inside. The old man walks in behind them and turns on the lights, a regular and small house is seeable. All of them look around with a look of dissatisfaction.

Seriously? It really is just his home. This man has gone insane.

Then the master standing next to his fridge places his hand on the side of it.

"You really think this is all I have?"

They all cut their eyes to him, as he strains a little, his fridge moving in hinges opening up a dark hallway. He begins into the hallway, the girls and Inei looking at each other. Yasu speaks up among the group, whispering softly.

"Should we follow him? It is kind of creepy, in all of my books this is the start of a kidnapping."

Aneko whispers next, everyone looking at her.

"Even if so, speaking from experience, Inei will save us from him. We will be fine, let's just go see if this man is truly what Inei is looking for."

They all agree, all the girls hiding behind Inei, lining up tallest to shortest. With Inei in front, Chura follows next, then Aneko, Azami, Yui, then Yasu. They make their way into the hallway, following each other in a single line. They reach an opening, Inei seeing an incredibly upgraded dojo with equipment as far as the eye can see. Inei is struck with its beauty as he feels pushing on his back, the girls beginning to panic that he is not moving. Chura begins shouting first, then Yui.

"What is it Inei? Is it a dungeon?!"

"A dungeon?! Is it seriously?!"

Then, Inei is suddenly under attack, he falls to the ground with someone pinning him down. He hears the girls gasp as he looks up, the old man holding him in submission. Inei grits his teeth.

This strength and power! What is wrong with this man?! He also feels so heavy!

Inei struggles for a moment, then taps out, the old man slowly getting off of him. The girls stand in shock after pouring into the room, Azami speaking up.

"Inei, are you okay?"

Aneko then crosses her arms.

"Well, looks like he's going to capture us."

The old man tilts his head, confusion on his face.

"Capture who? I only am doing demonstration. You must always be prepared for an attack."

Inei slowly gets up, stretching his arms and holding his shoulder. The old man watches, remaining still.

"You all have much to learn. I think the only one that saw me coming was her."

He raises his hand and points at Azami, Azami panicking as her friends look at her with curiosity.

"N-no I didn't! I just thought we were going into a room to train, I did not know you would jump out!"

The man's eyebrows show curiosity, he thens lowers his hand and grunts.

"I am master Tochi. My training is rigorous. I know that is what all of you are here for."

The girls chuckle nervously, Yui speaking up.

"Actually, we only came because Inei came."

Aneko speaks up as well.

"Yeah, I don't want to be messing up my hair because some old man wants me to do crazy training."

Chura then gets closer to Inei.

"I'll do the training if it means I get to stay here."

The other girls but Azami look at Chura, then Inei, then all shout at once.

"We'll train too!"

Azami rolls her eyes to her friends' reactions, then walks over to Azami, mumbling something only he can hear.

"Do not let any of them know I'm good at this, okay?"

Inei nods gently, the old man watching them. He then groans to himself and then speaks out loud.

"If everyone is ready, we can begin now. Line up!"

To his shout, they all line up side by side, standing up tall in fear. The old man examines them all, then walks back to his spot.

"I have gathered a reading of your potential. Do you wish to know who has the greatest potential, and who has the least? I will say, you will all be phenomenal fighters, but some will excel better than others. If I am wrong, I will cook whatever you want for you."

They all look at each other, Yasu speaking up.

"Readings? You did nothing but walk past us. There's no way you got any statistics out of that, I want to know your ratings."

The other girls agree, then the old man nods slowly.

"The weakest will be you."

He points to Chura, who frowns to the judgement. He then points at Yui.

"You will be second to last, but for reasons you do not understand."

Yui doesn't react, then shrugs. He then points at Yasu.

"You round out the bottom three."

Yasu furrows her eyebrows.

"How do you possibly know that?"

The old man ignores her then points at Aneko.

"You will be third strongest."

Aneko looks in shock, then smirks a little. He then looks at both Azami and Inei. He then points at Inei.

"You will be second. Leaving her to be the strongest."

Azami begins to sweat, the old man leaning towards her a bit.

"There's something about you..."

Azami leans back nervously, Inei putting his hand on the old man's chest, the both of them locking eyes with one another. The old man backs off, then smiles softly.

"Let us begin."

Inei and the girls sluggishly walk to Inei's house, each one moaning and groaning about their pain and aches, Inei doing so silently and with a straight face.

This old man is insane! I have not hurt like this in months! He really knows how to physically train the body!

They reach his door and he pushes it open, Inei's mother standing in the kitchen.

"Hello Inei! You're home late from the game, where were you?"

Inei stumbles in and so do the girls, Inei's mother's eyes lighting up with joy.

"Oh and your friends are here! You must of all had an eventful day!"

Aneko mumbles under her breath.

"You have no idea."

They all sit down on furniture or on the floor, Inei's mother looking at them with concern.

"Can I get anything for you all? Food or drink?"

Yui puts a finger up in the air being one of the girls lying on the ground.

"I for one will be happy for both with a couple of ice packs, please."

The other girls all agree, asking for the same, Inei's mother giggling.

"Of course! I will get it all set for you all!"

Inei's mom gets to work making food, bringing cups of water every girl and Inei. They all sit together around a table, silently looking at each other or at their phones.

Ever since the fight they all seem very at odds with each other, no one wants to talk.

Aneko slams her head against the table with fatigue, Yasu and Yui lying against each other.

Or they are tired from exhausting so much energy.

Chura pouts, her arms are crossing lying on the table, her head resting in her arms. Azami scoots to her and pokes her shoulder.

"Chura? You alright?"

Chura responds snarky.

"I don't know, you tell me top talent."

Azami crosses her arms, giving an annoyed response.

"What's your deal Chura? First you get snippy with me before and now you are here. Did I do something to you?"

Chura turns her head away, not responding. Aneko now getting involved.

"Azami asked you a question, Chura. You better answer her."

Chura slowly looks up.

"So is anyone that is considered "the bottom half" going to back me up here?"

Yasu and Yui both look at her, shrug, and lean back against each other. Aneko speaks again.

"Who cares what the old man said! He did say you would be the weakest but he also said he could be wrong, and he said regardless we will all be very strong anyway! We all have high ceilings, get over it Chura."

Chura snaps at Aneko.

"That sure is easy for you to say! I'm never good at anything! I'm not even good enough to keep my own family, I can't do anything right."

Chura then begins to try hysterically, burrowing her face in her arms that are resting on the table. Everyone stares at her in silence as she cries, Inei's mom coming in.

"Chura, what's wrong? Let's get some fresh air."

Inei's mother takes Chura by the arm, walking her slowly outside. The room falls to silence as the door shuts behind them, all of them looking down, Yasu finally speaking up.

"Well? Do you two feel better now? You made her cry."

Azami angrily furrows her eyebrows, but then looks at Inei who is staring her down. She then looks forward and takes a deep breath, exhausting and responding calmly.

"You're right. I will apologize to her when she comes back. I just wanted to make sure she was okay, just like I do everyone else."

Yui then speaks up, chuckling nervously while talking.

"I think we are all a little tired. Maybe we should all go to sleep as soon as Inei's mom finishes cooking and we eat it."

The kitchen rings out in a beeping sound, everyone looking at each other then looking at Aneko. Aneko's eyes open wide.

"What do you want me to do?!"

Yasu points at the kitchen.

"The two cooks are busy, you're the next in line, Inei's decree."

Aneko looks around frantically, then sprints into action, running into the kitchen swiftly. The girls all softly giggle at Aneko's frantic run, leaving Azami and the twins with Inei. Inei looks at the three, then sits straight forward and stiff, resting his arms in his lap that rest criss-cross, closing his eyes.

I need to meditate; I need to recover.

Inei blocks out all the noise, Azami noticing, then leans and hums in his ear, Inei not having a reaction. She looks after hearing the twins clearing their throats, both looking at her with curiosity, Azami rolling her eyes and leaning back against the chair behind her.

"Seriously you two? You realize that you are competing with each other for Inei, not me right? I do not like Inei that way, I promise. I was just testing to see if he was meditating."

The girls slightly relax, now both curious, Yasu speaking up.

"How do you know about meditation? I have never seen you do it a day in your life."

Azami shrugs.

"I do it in my room when I get home. Sure I seem crazy when I am out and about, but when I'm home by myself I am quiet, and honestly do not do much so I meditate to relax."

Yasu then prods a little more at Azami.

"You know Azami, I feel like there's more about you that we do not know than we do. You're always just the happy go-lucky type, that I did not realize how much we do not know about you."

Yui tilts her head, putting a finger to her lip and looking up.

"Hey, yeah. Yasu is right. We never have deep talks with Azami do we? She always listens but never speaks."

Azami sits silently, staring at the two of them who stare back at her, Yasu breaking the silence.

"If you do not have the hots for Inei, do you have a crush Azami?"

Azami shakes her head, not speaking but giving a response. Yui asks her the next question.

"Why do you hover around Inei so much then? I mean, I understand friends hang out, but it seems like you are always with him."

Azami grits her teeth, grumbling with her response.

"I advise you stop poking questions out of me like a bull in a bullpen."

Azami stares them down, Yui and Yasu then getting a sense of intimidation, a feeling they have never received from Azami before. They look at each other and then down, both answering at the same time with a hint of fear in their voice.

"We apologize. We will not ask anything more."

Azami grunts and nods, copying Inei's body positioning, closing her eyes and entering the state of meditation herself. The twins look at her and back at each other, frowns on their faces.

Inei opens his eyes to the sound of an alarm ringing by his bedside. He sits up and holds his stomach that is growling loudly.

What is going on? Was I not just at the table in the living room with the girls?

Inei gets out of bed and puts his clothes on, preparing to go train the second day. He walks out of the room and down the stairs, seeing all the girls sleeping either on the floor or on a couch. Inei shakes his head and goes into the kitchen, getting a glass of water. As he takes a sip, a voice startles him, making him choke.

"Inei."

Inei after chocking turns to see Azami standing looking at him, dressed in the proper appears to train as well. Inei finally catches his breath, Azami continuing.

"We need to do something about the twins."

Inei tilts his head, curious.

"They are on to me, about my capabilities. You need to keep them from asking me questions, you going into mediation last night put me in a place where I had no choice but to amass questions. I did not want to do it, but I had to intimidate them to get them to stop."

Inei looks at Azami with a sad look, then takes his phone and begins to type, handing the phone to Azami.

"Is it a secret worth keeping that you may have your friends mad at you over? Like you told me about arrogance; pride is no better."

Azami lightly tosses his phone to him, Inei catching it with ease, Azami crossing her arms, looking at Inei angrily.

"It's more than that, more than you understand. Fix it."

Azami then takes a hollow pot and walks to the middle of the living room where the girls are sleeping, and drops the pot. The loud ringing makes the girls begin sitting up frantically, Aneko and Chura screaming. They all breathe heavily with their eyes wide open staring at Azami who stands with a confident smile and her hands on her hips.

"Time to get up girls, it's time to go train."

They all groan as they stand up, wincing in pain. Azami tilts her head, Inei staring at her dumbfounded.

You want me to fix the problem when you act like you have trained everyday like this when everyone else is super sore.

Chura immediately jumps on Azami's case.

"How come you aren't sore and not miserable to go Azami? You worked just as hard as the rest of us."

Azami puts a finger to her lip, then shrugs.

"He said I would be the best so maybe that's part of it."

Inei stares at her with irritable eyes.

Seriously? That's your excuse? There's no way they buy that.

Chura immediately shrugs walking to get dressed

"Yeah you're probably right Azami."

Inei watches in disbelief.

Okay, it will only work on Chura. Everyone else it will never work.

Everyone gets ready and heads out together to the old man's house. There is complaining along the way but it is quickly overlooked by ideas of what the training will be. When they reach the house, Inei knocks on the door. The door flings open and Inei quickly puts up a block, blocking a shield that was flung at him. Slow clapping comes from inside the house.

"Very good."

The old man walks forward and takes the shield from Inei.

"You are already growing exponentially. We will continue with the training as scheduled."

He turns and walks back in the house, Inei and the girls following him in. They proceed to train throughout the day, only stopping to eat or drink. When they finish they are all breathing heavily, bent over or lying on the floor. Inei leans against the wall, staring into nothingness as he recovers.

This is horrible even for me, I can only imagine how excruciatingly terrible it is for the girls who are not athletic.

He glances at Azami who is breathing heavy.

No way. Is she, breathing heavy on purpose to fit in?

Suddenly Azami looks at Inei who looks away quickly, but ends up making eye contact with Aneko who is right in front of him.

"Hey Inei, how did I do? I bet you were watching me the whole time."

Inei blushes looking away from her, Chura stepping up now.

"Obviously he was watching me, because my figure is nicer in these clothes."

Aneko furrows her eyebrows.

"What are you willing to bet? I bet you wouldn't spar me right now for it."

Chura hesitates, making Aneko chuckle.

"That's right, your doubt will prevent you from being as great as me. You will not fight me because you know I will win."

Chura then begins shouting.

"That's not true! You cannot be anything better than me!"

The girls then go back and forth, getting in each other's faces with anger, then a loud shout shakes the room.

"Enough!"

The room rumbles and then comes to a stop, everyone looking at Azami with terror, Azami speaking loudly with anger.

"You girls need to shut your mouths, all four of you! Have you forgotten the whole purpose of being around Inei?! It is being his friend. If he dates you in the end; good for you! However, I am sick of all of you fighting with each other because you feel you need to get one over the other! Everyone shut your mouth until the master comes back, and remember, we are here to be Inei's friends, so quit fighting and act like adults and like friends should be acting!"

With that Azami storms off to a corner, getting in a fetal position and putting her head down. The room stays silent for a long while, then the master comes out.

"Who caused the house to shake?"

He reads the room then stares at Azami.

"And so it begins."