Chapter 4 — An idealistic fool

The classes wrapped up an hour ago. Though quite a few students remained in Narukami High School for Team Trials, of course.

It was the same for Hinata's team, even though it was more like the opposite. They were taking part in a different kind of trial. To recruit Harumaki Yuuki, the new student who self-proclaimed himself the strongest.

In the farthest-away gymnasium, punches flew left and right.

A few slight squeaks from the floorboards testified to the speed of the clashes. And unfortunately, at the speed at which Ryûko's companions were falling one by one.

Akira landed brutally on his back, knocked down by Yuuki's right jab. Yôsuke and Waguri were already knocked out as well. Ryûko and Mori, meanwhile, were still on their feet, though how was anyone's guess.

Harumaki Yuuki, on the other hand, had his uniform as clean as the first time he wore it.

The silence of the gymnasium was broken only by the two girls' exhausted pants. But there's no time to be out of breath, with an eye contact, they coordinated an attack.

Ryûko took a step forward, daring Yuuki in a one-on-one. Which he accepted.

With a dash, Ryûko closed the distance. She leaned heavily on her right foot, changing her pace to deliver a spin kick, but Yuuki's fist was already inches away from her face.

Two ice spikes came out of the ground, forcing Yuuki to retreat, followed by Ryûko. She kicked and kicked in the void. It was like her every move was predictable.

Mori continued to support from afar. Her ice attacks flew in number at Yuuki, he had to take care of Ryûko while dodging the flurry of icicles. Those icicles were small but slow... Which only meant one thing.

"...So, she is out of stamina already."

These faint words reached Ryûko's ears. And with how Yuuki's gaze shifted to her teammate, it could only mean one thing:

"He's already figured out our plan... I have to protect Mori, otherwise..."

Yuuki dashed past Ryûko. Too fast! But she had to catch up to him, if Mori got down... It would be the end for them.

She reached out her hand, trying to grab Yuuki's uniform. Her arm extended as far as she could, she was there just inches away... Mori couldn't fall now, since Monday, they had never been closer. If she were alone again, if she had to shoulder that responsibility again, Ryûko would fail again...

"Ryûko, look out!!"

Mori's shout brought Ryûko back to reality. While dashing, Yuuki spun swiftly. It was bait, and Ryûko fell right into it. Once again, Yuuki was inches from hitting her. Before Mori stepped in, holding an ice shield.

As the punch landed, the shield shattered into pieces, and the girls got blown away to the wall. Falling flat.

Yuuki removed a few ice shards from his knuckles.

"Well, that should be enough for today."

The young man walked to the gymnasium's stage and sat down on the edge.

The fight met the same fate as yesterday's, and just like then, he had to wake for them to wake. He closed his eyes for a short moment, a calm breeze caressing his pale skin.

"Aren't you tired of losing time with them?" Yuuki's mind-mate cut through the silence, "Yuuki-kun has better things to do, right? We both know that they can't do it, so why give them hope?"

"It isn't about giving them hope. I gave them this opportunity out of respect, not charity. Besides, they weren't that bad today."

Yuuki opened his eyes, met by a single, well-crafted ice spear. A sign of Tsukishima Mori's consciousness.

Yuuki looked at the last place where he had hit them, and as he thought, Mori stood up. Ryûko leaned on her shoulder. Mori brushed sweat-damp strands of hair from her forehead.

The air was vibrating, awaiting the recommencement of the fight. When Yuuki de-escalated the situation:

"Hold on. I don't want to fight anymore."

"Huh?! Don't joke like that! We're trying our hardest, you know?"

Ryûko pouted. She was right, more or less, but Yuuki had his reasons:

"Tomorrow's the last day for registrations, and also your last chance to fight me. You should keep your stamina up for that. You did well today, it would be a shame if a lack of stamina caused you harm."

He made his way to the back of the podium, to reach for a first aid kit from behind the curtains.

"You can use this. I already called the school nurse just in case as well."

Mori let out a relieved sigh. She helped Ryûko get to the stage. Then, with Yuuki's help, she carried her unconscious teammates as well.

"Tsukishima-san, you did well today."

Yuuki's sudden compliment surprised Mori somewhat. She kept her composure nonetheless.

For Mori, nothing she had done was good enough. She was supposed to “carry” her team, and yet...

"You should have more confidence in yourself. I wasn't lying when I said you were the strongest in their group. When you stepped in to protect Ryûko, your speed really surprised me."

Yuuki's calm tone didn't really match his words of praise. But they still had an impact, they made Mori feel a little better, though the weight in her chest remained.

Yuuki checked the time on his phone: 5 p.m., the perfect time to grab sweets. Was there a better way to end a day of classes?

He was about to leave when Ryûko called out to him:

"Say, Newbie. Can I ask you something?"

With a soft voice, Ryûko avoided eye contact. Her gaze scanned the gymnasium, recalling the last fight.

"What is it?" Yuuki asked, waiting for Ryûko's real question.

"Tomorrow is our last chance. It went pretty badly since we started, but I can't help but believe in ourselves. Am I... stupid for believing in our victory like that?"

An unexpected question. Even though Yuuki's face didn't betray any emotion, hearing Ryûko ask that kind of question wasn't part of his plan for the day.

"Hm..."

He hesitated. Perhaps she was acting this way to elicit his sympathy, Yuuki's mind mate suggested. It seemed unlikely, as we were talking about Ryûko.

Still, for the first time, glimpses of doubt came from deep within the young girl's heart. Yuuki had to be honest with her, even if she wouldn't like the answer:

"No. As I said yesterday, your chances don't exceed 0.1%, since I'm taking your challenge seriously."

She let out a soft laugh.

"I figured as well."

Ryûko stretched lazily, her slim, athletic silhouette reflected in the shadow she cast on the floor in the warm neon light gymnasium.

A cute girl with beautifully cut short hair. But also a determined and somewhat nonchalant fighter.

This young girl, full of contrasts and prone to doubt, always had a smile on her face. A smile of hope.

"You are much stronger and have more experience than we do. But you know, I still believe in us."

Still in character, Ryûko's idealism was becoming almost caricatural. It seemed that her previous doubts had just vanished. What made her think that everything would turn out well?

"See you tomorrow, Newbie!" She clenched her fist towards Yuuki. "Be ready, we don't plan on losing!"

Still in character, Ryûko's idealism was becoming almost caricatural. What made her think that everything would turn out well?

Yuuki's intention wasn't to crush her hope for fun. Yet it seemed inevitable that the next day at the same time, she would be in tears over this failure.

"See you tomorrow."

On that note, Yuuki left the gymnasium.

"...We do not plan on losing!"

Ryûko often talked with "we" rather than "I". Yet, from the beginning, this has been solely about her, and she doesn't realize it.

Failure teaches us lessons. Maybe it's for the best that she learned that determination alone wasn't enough. The Erabareshimono no Kyousou wasn't a place where it was anyway.

In the night, in the middle of a park, lit by the blue neon lights of a few streetlamps. A silhouette struck relentlessly into the void.

With each blow, a slight sound of the wind accompanied them.

Another silhouette came out of the shadows.

"Isn't Ryûko supposed to be at home. There is this decisive fight tomorrow after all."

Tonakura Waguri had just called Ryûko, who, for the first time, had her hoodie donned properly and entirely zipped.

"Shadow boxing so late won't change anything, you know?"

The clock in the park showed 11 p.m. Ryûko's eyes widened slightly.

"Ah, why is it so late already?!"

Waguri threw a bottle, too far and too low for Ryûko to grab it. So she used her foot to cushion the bottle quite skillfully.

"Nice catch, I thought you were already washed."

"Of course not, I still played football last year!"

Waguri sat on a bench, drinking her soda. Ryûko looked at her silently as she was still wearing her uniform.

"Where were you? We left school hours ago."

"At a manga café. I didn't feel like going home, so I planned to sleep at Ryûko's place tonight, but guess who wasn't home when I came."

Waguri always spoke about it so casually, despite the seriousness of her situation. She should be as worried as Ryûko is, at least to some extent.

"What about you? Aren't you supposed to be weak to cold? Your face is all red."

Ryûko hadn't noticed it. But her body was tired. This entire week, she fought, suffered, and continued to fight just for that conviction of hers.

That's why she was still out here at that time, though.

"Our last chance is tomorrow, we have to be ready. I'm your captain, so I have to lead the charge and—"

"Ryûko isn't my captain. I'm not in your team for your stupid tournament, I'm just helping you to shut that guy up. So please, spare me your nonsense."

"Right..."

Ryûko sat right by Waguri, wrapping herself around her friend to get some warmth.

"Can you not?! I get that you are cold, but—"

Ryûko's eyes were locked ahead, she's been like that since Monday and their first fight with Yuuki. Every time, it's like she is only thinking about how to win and make Yuuki join their team.

"Do you want to recruit him that much? There are plenty of other people searching for a team right now. Besides, even if you recruit him, you are still one member short. You have to be six to have a proper team for the Erabareshimono no Kyousou, remember?"

No answer, Ryûko kept staring into the void.

"What a stubborn idiot. You know that your stupid friends will follow your lead anyway, but you do realise that you are taking a huge risk for no reason at all?!"

"It's for them... I'm trying so hard for them!"

Ryûko clung harder to Waguri. As rare as it is, Ryûko looked down.

"Oh yeah? So gaslighting them is fine as long as it's 'for them'? It doesn't click."

Waguri pushed Ryûkoo. She had that fierce look on her face, not the one she had all the time, but the one when she's really mad.

"You have been talking about them since the beginning, but turns out, it is all that Ryûko wants, and Ryûko does! Are you fine with forcing the others with that?"

Ryûko looked at the can she had just dropped on the floor. It was slowly emptying itself of its contents.

What Waguri had just said made a lot of sense; it was probably even true. A truth that Ryûko had already acknowledged and yet...

"Say, Waguri, do you remember why I can keep smiling every day?"

"Huh?" Waguri gave her a puzzled look, crossing her arms. "'Cause you're a hopeless idiot?"

Ryûko let out a soft giggle.

"No, not that. It's because one day, someone told me that my smile made them want to do it too. It's a dumb story, but it stayed with me 'til this day."

Ryûko changed position, facing Waguri's magenta eyes.

"I can't help it, I want everyone to smile. Yôsuke, Shin-chan, Mori, and you, too, Waguri. I'm so unlucky because I want Yuuki to smile too, now I have to give 1000% of myself to make him smile.. I know his wish, and even before I knew it, I planned to recruit him. And I'm sure that in the end, we will all be smiling together."

"It doesn't make any sense, you're basically saying that you're just being selfish?"

"Huh...? I mean, yeah. It's selfish. Jeez! We are childhood friends, and you still aren't used to it."

Ryûko teased with a smug look on her face. She got her nose pinched by Waguri.

"God bless me for trying to have a serious conversation with a simpleton like you."

She let go of Ryûko, who looked more cheerful than before.

"I entered the Erabareshimono no Kyousou for my father and for you. Because everyone's dream is as valuable as mine. If it wasn't for us, winning the Erabareshimono no Kyousou has no meaning. I believe in them, that's why I can't help but hope. Together we can recruit Yuuki, together we can win the tournament! That's the ambition I want to achieve with my kikai!"

Waguri's reaction was exactly what Ryûko expected: arms crossed, brow furrowed, and the look of someone staring at an idiot. Yet it made Ryûko laugh. That made Waguri sigh in exasperation.

"Here I thought I could make you face your doubts and give up. I don't even know why I tried..."

"It's because Waguri was worried about me. You are so kind!"

"I will kill you."

Ryûko picked up the can. It was her favorite lemonade, made by Lemonday. She took a sip, letting the sour taste of lemon assault her taste buds.

"So refreshing. Hey, Waguri, should we have a movie night at my place?"

"What about your important fight tomorrow?"

"Don't worry about it, we can skip morning classes, and it's gonna be fun since everyone's here already!"

"Hmpf. So you noticed?"

Ryûko responded with a nod, and from behind her emerged Yôsuke, Akira, and Mori.

"It will be fun!!"

She had sensed them from the start. They had surely been summoned by Waguri.

She gives herself this image of being mean, but she is always so kind. Ryûko thought as she patted Waguri on the head. Answered by Waguri's own type of pat, a rather painful hair pull.

From behind, Yôsuke slapped her back.

"You are always trying so hard for us, let us give you hope and bring a smile to your face, too. It would be unfair if you were the only one to have your dream come true, right?"

He was followed by Akira.

"Seeing you smile has always been my priority. I can't let you be the only one wishing for my happiness," Akira said, voice low. He was also scratching the back of his head.

"You guys..."

After Waguri let go of her, she could see the faces of her teammates. Like her, they were exhausted, yet they had come here just for her.

The last person to approach was Mori, who, without losing face, came over and stroked Ryûko's head.

"Ryûko has always been my hero. So please, let me repay my debt to you."

"You don't need to do that."

Using her fingers, she brought a smile to Mori's face.

"Your smile is enough... No, actually, I also need you to be overpowered for tomorrow... So can I have a little extra?"

Then, Mori hugged Ryûko tightly. Their embrace lasted several minutes, and Ryûko felt the warmth emanating from her friend. Just like that day, it was as if the cold air around her had disappeared. As the embrace ended, Ryûko lifted her arm up.

"Tomorrow is the last day before registration closes. I'll be doing my b- No, we will do our best and win, together!"

"Team Hinata is unbeatable after all, and we already promised that we would win."

Yôsuke doubled down on Ryûko's motivation speech. Tomorrow was the day. They had to face one last obstacle before they could start climbing the stairs to have their wishes granted.

"Harumaki Yuuki... Just you wait, we will win together. After all, you are also my dream!"

At the same time, on the 7th floor of the Hagahuchi complex. Yuuki sneezed for no reason while he was cooking dinner. The room was properly warmed, his clothes weren't light as well... Surely...

"Someone must be talking about me."

"Yuuki-kun... How can you believe in those superstitions?"

The following day would be Hinata's team's last chance to face Yuuki and get him to join their team. They now had to give it their all, using the evening to relieve the pressure.

They decided to follow Ryûko. This choice was both their biggest strength but also a potential downfall.

To be continued...