Onwards to the next chapter!!
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Third POV:
"I'm definitely going to run the next one..." Yukihime grumbled when the thought of not running hit her. "Yeah. Yeah. Just watch." Keito said to her in annoyance of her grumbling. She huffed. Teito chuckled at their one-sided argument and patted Yukihime on the head. "Don't worry, you'll be able to soon." He said and Yukihime smiled back at him and hugged him tightly. "Tei-Nii is still the best brother." She said purposely to tease Keito. "Seriously?! I thought it was equal!" He burst. Yukihime just turned her head towards him and stuck out her tongue, teasing Keito more. Keito got Yukihime to let go of Teito and put her in a headlock. "You little...!" Keito exclaimed with a ticked mark on his forehead. As always, she was used to the headlocking and just laughed.
Teito just chuckled at us then turned to the stage. "Hey, let's just watch." He said. The two youngest Kazuma siblings turned to the stage as the competition was about to start.
-with Riku and the others-
"Teams, line up in running order!" A official holding a red flag on the left and a blue on the right up said. The right stood Honan Stride Club, with the relationer, Nana, nearest to the man. Following her was Riku, Hozumi, Heath, Ayumu and finally, Takeru. On the left side of the official stood the Saisei Stride Club, with their relationer, Shizuma, nearest to the official, followed by Asuma, Bantaro, Tasuku and finally Kaede.
The teams then went their separate ways to their different locations.
-Riku & Asuma-
The two stood at the start as they were the ones to start the race. "Hey." Asuma called to Riku ad they were stretching, getting ready to start the race. "Hmm?" Riku hummed in reply. "This might be a bit weird to ask before running, but..." Asuma trailed off. "What?" Riku asked, getting a little impatient. "Are you Yagami Tomoe's otouto?" Asuma asked him. "Ah-" Riku started in surprise at the question. But before he could answer, Asuma exclaimed, "Ah, sorry! This really isn't the time for this. Forget I said that. Today we run with nothing weird on our minds. Got it?" "Uh, yeah..." Riku said, looking confused. "Yosh! Bring it on!" Asuma exclaimed competitively. "Yeah! I'll take it right past you!" Riku exclaimed, still sounding slightly confused at his friend's outburst but went along with it, getting pumped for the competition.
-With Bantaro & Hozumi-
"Sup, Hozumi!" Bantaro exclaimed, the first thing he said once he saw Hozumi, raising his hand. "O-Oh, hi..." Hozumi stuttered in surprise at Bantaro's outburst, but greeted him back with a raise of his hand as well. "The sun is so bright, it's summer-like out here! Aren't you hot in those jerseys?" Bantaro asked Hozumi while blocking his eyes from the sun. expressing that it was hot. Hozumi looked down to compare at their jerseys. Bantaro was wearing their sponsor's jersey while Hozumi was wearing their school's jersey. "Y-Yeah, but those are the rules of this sport. Saisei's jerseys are pretty cool, huh?" Hozumi said a little upset. "I know right?! Oh, just call me Ban-chan!" Bantaro exclaimed in agreement, ignoring Hozumi's tone completely. "Ban. -chan. I like how excited you are." Hozumi commented.
Bantaro looked at Hozumi and realised something, making him stared intensely at Hozumi. He moved his face closer to Hozumi and continued to stare, making Hozumi uncomfortable. "Hey, Hozumi, do you have like, a sister who models or something..?" He asked. Hozumi jumped in surprise and shouted, " No! No, I don't! I totally don't!"
-With Heath & Tasuku-
Tasuku was just staring at Heath and when Heath noticed it, he turned his head to face him. "What are you staring at?" Heath asked. "I don't like you." Tasuku said bluntly, glaring at Heath. Heath narrowed his eyes and said, "You want a fight?" Tasuku merely scoffed at the statement and replied, "Hah. Reiji-san must win. Therefore, I must beat you. End of story."
Heath scoffed back. "Fine then."
-With Ayumu & Kaede-
"Kadowaki-san! Pleasure to be here with you!" Kaede said enthusiastically to Ayumu while Ayumu jumped slightly in surprise at the outburst, but replied, "U-Uh yeah, same here." "I need to ask you something..." Kaede started as Ayumu looked at him confused. "Kuga-san! Why is Kuga Kyosuke-san not here?!" Kaede exclaimed as he got closer to Ayumu while Ayumu shrunk backwards. "T-That is... a little difficult to answer." Ayumu stuttered out a reply and pushed up his glasses. "Why?! Is it a secret?!" Kaede continued his outburst and Ayumu swore he heard drum-like sounds in the background as Kaede got closer. "Well, not really-" Ayumu tried to explained but was cut off by Kaede. "Could it be that he's a secret weapon-type thing?" Kaede exclaimed. "Well, not really that either--" Ayumu continued, trying really hard to explain the situation but again was cut off by Kaede. "So we're simply not worthy, is that so?" Kaede said, ignoring whatever Ayumu was trying to say, while Ayumu was trying to get Kaede to listen. "Hello...? Can you hear me?"(A/N: *sings dramatically* I'm in California dreaming about who we used to be. I just had to do it! XD)
Ignoring him once again, Kaede exclaimed, "I understand! I will drag him out today!" That day, Ayumu was mentally squashed by Kaede. "I, Kadowaki Ayumu, outpaced in a conversation like this...?!" Ayumu exclaimed as Kaede had imaginary sparkles around him.
-With Takeru & Reiji-
"Hey there, good to see you. Didn't expect to be able to run with you so soon." Reiji said to Takeru and reached out his hand for a handshake. "Sorry, I don't do that before a match." Takeru apologised monotonously and refused Reiji's handshake bluntly. However, Reiji just said pulled his hand back and was unaffected, chuckling lightly. "How very stoic. Very cool." Reiji said. "Why was the match opponent suddenly changed to you?" Takeru asked as he stood at his full height. Reiji just sighed and reached for his fringe, playing with a few strands of his hair as he replied, "Just what the Stride Association wanted. I feel bad for the other school, but personally... I'm glad I could face you here." Reiji then looked at Takeru in the eye. "Same." Takeru said.
"By the way, why didn't Hime run?" Reiji asked. "I don't know. Her brothers didn't let her." Takeru replied monotonously. Reiji smirked at that. Heh, I see. Seems I'll get another chance in the future. Reiji thought. The look on Reiji's face made a slight shiver go down Takeru's spine. Senpai, what did you do? He thought.
-With the Kazuma siblings-
*Achoo* A sneeze came from Yukihime and a shiver went down her spine. "Yuu? Daijoubu?" Teito asked her sister and Keito looked concerned at her. "Hai, daijoubu. But i feel someone was talking about me and I have a bad feeling about this.
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"Stride fans, here and watching us on broadcast, welcome to Inogashira Park. The moment is here!" The announcer started. "One of the most anticipated matches of this Kichijoji Spring Stride Festival is about to begin!" He finished and the crowd went wild. Fireworks blasted into the air, making a loud sound, signaling the start of the event.
"Tei-Nii, Kei-Nii. I'll be going over to see how Nana-chan is doing before the race starts." Yukihime told her brothers and with their approval, made her way to where Nana was while her brothers stood with Dan-sensei.
When she reached, she saw Nana and Shizuma greeting each other. "Nana-chan!" She exclaimed as she went up to hug her kouhai. "Yuki-senpai!" Nana said in surprise at her senpai's appearance. "Why are you here?" She asked her senpai curiously. "Moh~ Can't I just come to wish you good luck?" Yukihime pouted at her kouhai. "I-Iie, it is perfectly fine! Gomenasai!" Nana stuttered in apology. "Haha, daijoubu, daijoubu. I was just kidding. But I see you are good to go. So good luck!" Yukihime said and smiled, patting her kouhai gently on the head. "H-Hai! Ganbarimasu(A/N: Ganbarimasu: I'll work hard)!" Nana said in excitement.
Yukihime then turned to Shizuma and said, "Konnichiwa, Shizuma-san." "Konnichiwa, Yukihime-san. I see you are well." Shizuma replied. "Hai. Well I'll be off. Ganbatte Nana-chan." Yukihime said and walked off. "Hai! Arigato senpai!" Nana said. Yukihime just waved her back hand at her and smiled, looking forward, back to where her brothers and Dan-sensei were.
Nana and Shizuma took their seats and got ready for the race.
It's okay. I think we were able to set up the running order with everyone's characteristics in mind, though Yuki-senpai dropped out at the last minute. Nana thought to herself. Now...
"On your mark..." the announcer started. All we need is to connect everyone, just like we practiced! Nana thought and closed her eyes to pray.
"Get set..." the announcer continued. Asuma and Riku were at the starting point, getting ready to start of the race. Then, finally the buzzer blared, signalling the start of the race, and the two runners were off!
Riku had a fast start, so he raced further than Asuma. He's fast...! Asuma thought as he tried to catch up to Riku. But Riu was not slowing down as they ran onwards.
With Shizuma and Nana, Shizuma complimented them, "A good start." He stated as he looked at Nana. But he noticed she was tense, concentrating fully on the race.
Back with Asuma and Riku, they had just turned a corner to where the obstacles stand in their way. Not bad. First, I run safely. Asuma thought as he continued behind Riku, strategizing. Riku jumped over the lower obstacle and continued running, but Asuma, he jumped up to the higher block and jumped off it, doing a front flip to land. The crowd cheered for Asuma. "Asuma of Gal-stan did it! He cleared all three obstacles, getting closer to the bridge." The announcer said.
Riku ran as fast as he could to keep the distance. 120 to go..! He thought.
80 to go...!
50! Takeover zone...! I see it! He thought in happiness as he reached the takeover zone. But as he thought that, he lost his attention on running slightly, slowing himself down, allowing Asuma to catch up to him.
"Asuma, go." Shizuma said into his microphone. Nana looked at him in realisation of his plan. Alright! Full voltage! Asuma thought and started to speed past Riku. Shima- Riku thought as he stepped his foot in front of Asuma, trying to block his path but Asuma seemed to know it was coming and went in the opposite direction, speeding past Riku, down the slope.
Nana looked at her screen in distress. No...! Nana thought.
"Chiyomatsu, set." Shizuma said, causing Nana to lose her focus slightly. "Kohinata-senpai, they have the lead. 2.3 seconds..." Nana said to Hozumi through the microphone.
"Got it!" Hozumi said in reply, excited, getting ready to run. "Looks like we have the lead, huh?" Bantaro said, jogging lightly, also getting ready to run. He then got into position. "We've only just started." Hozumi said. "Later!" Bantaro exclaimed as he sped off first.
"3. 2. 1... Go!" Nana exclaimed to Hozumi and he was off.
Nana looked at the screen tensed. "Are you tense?" Shizuma asked. Nana turned to him and replied, "Uh,hai." He smiled at her as the runners made the connection. "Both schools have relayed successfully!" the announcer said and crowd cheered once again.
Shizuma pointed at his earpiece. "Listen. Can you hear how much fun they're having?" Shizuma asked Nana. She then listened carefully to the breathing of her team members and her eyes widened in realisation.
Back with the runners, Hozumi and Bantaro were racing now. "Let's enjoy this, Ban-chan!" Hozumi said and jumped over one of the gimmicks. "It's like a forest of tricks." Bantaro said as he swung from pole to pole and then did a front flip yelling, "Yee-haw!" The crowd was going wild as the race went along. Yukihime and her brothers were smiling. "They came a long way." Yukihime smiled affectionately at the team. "This will be the team you will be running with now onwards." Teito said to his sister. "Yeah." She replied．
Back with the runners again, Bantaro was doing flips and turns off the gimmicks along with Hozumi. "Sense of balance, A-OK! Everything going perfectly!" Bantaro exclaimed. "What a crowd-pleaser." Hozumi said and jumped from a vertical pole and onto a gimmick, sliding down it after.
I can feel it, they're having so much fun..! Nana thought to herself and looked at the screen. Shizuma just smiled at her, happy that she didn't feel tense anymore.
Hozumi, you weren't able to do anything. Bantaro thought as he ran in front of Hozumi. We're on a narrow bridge now, no chance of overtaking...! Bantaro thought naively. "Naive." The Kazuma siblings said in unison as they watched the screen with a smirk on their face. And it seems that Hozumi realised too as he smirked.
"Sakurai-san!" Heath said through the earpiece, breaking Nana out from her thoughts. "Hai! Hasekura-senpai, set!" She instructed. Shizuma looked at her in curiosity, then realised their plan.
Relation, coming up! Bantaro thought. "Chiyomatsu, he's coming." Shizuma said to him through the earpiece. But it was too late. Before he could react, Hozumi had jumped off the ledge of the bridge and landed in front of Bantaro, then swinging off, surprising him. "Shortcut?!" Bantaro said surprised.
Heath ran to meet up with Hozumi as the latter fell into a roll just as the former reached him, their hands clapping together, completing a relation. Heath ran off.
Shizuma looked at the screen surprised by the bold move the Honan Stride club had done, but then smiled at the competition placed in front of them. "You got us." Shizuma said to Nana. "If he had slipped, he could have been out of the race. Back to square one it seems." He continued.
Tasuku had caught up to Heath and purposely banged onto his shoulder, as they ran side by side. Kuso, what's up with this guy's build?! Heath thought irritated. "It seems I need to train Heath more. "Funkotsusaishin." Dan-sensei said and pushed up his glasses.
Heath had a slight shiver down his spine. He ignored it but felt that he had to deal with it later as he continued to run. Tasuku kept knocking into him purposely, like threatening to knock him down. I can't run alongside him... How about in front?! Heath thought as he gritted his teeth as Tasuku ran in front of him slightly. Heath turned to the right and tried to go in front of him. I repeat, TRIED. Tasuku had blocked him before he could even run in front of him. My strength is defense. Tasuku thought. That and, blocking and... Heath tried to overtake him again but didn't notice a road block in front of him, making him knock into it. Take note. That's what we call 'counter hit'! Tasuku thought. Heath continued to run forward, not giving up. Damn it, he is running off...! He thought and gritted his teeth more.
The two ran as they neared the takeover zone.
"Sugoi..!" Nana exclaimed in admiration. "Senoo is perfectly prepared to face Hasekura-san. This part of the race is ours." Shizuma explained with confidence.
I can't lose in this petty match. I can't let Reiji-sama down! Tasuku thought as he sped up.
With Ayumu, he was getting ready to go as Nana said through his earpiece. "Kadowaki-senpai, they have the lead, 2 seconds!" What? Captain? Ayumu thought in shock as he got ready. "Set!" Seriously? He thought again as Kaede took off beside him.
"3. 2. 1... Go!" Nana said and he ran off. He spotted Heath and relationed with him. He followed behind Kaede and ran with all his might. He's fast... But I can't let them grow their lead! Ayumu thought determined to keep up his current speed.
We connected... We can still come back. Nana thought as determined. Kaede looked like he was having tons of fun. He was flipping and jumping through the gimmicks. Ayumu looked at how good he was and his eyes widened. The crowd cheered for Kaede. "There he is! Okumura Kaede's stellar performance! He shows his awesome tricks in front of the crowd! Always the entertainer, even in battle!" The announcer spoke through the system.
"Come on Yumu-kun! You can do this!" Yukihime whisper-yelled as she watched the screen with focused eyes. "You really want to run and beat them right?" Keito asked his younger sister. Yukihime nodded. "They look so cocky, well other than Asuma-san and Shizuma-san." Yukihime replied then scoffed. "I'm sure you'll get to run soon." Teito said and patted his sister on her head. "I know. I can feel it to." Yukihime smiled and said. The three siblings looked back to the race on the huge screen. Soon! But this time ganbatte minna(ganbatte minna: all the best everyone)! Yukihime thought as she focused on the race again.
With the relationers, Nana looked at the race in amazement. "He takes the match seriously, but also doesn't forget to exhibit his skills!" The announcer said. "This is Saisei! This is Gal-Stan!" He continued.
Back to the race, Ayumu looked like he was having trouble. I can't do this... I am no match for these guys... I don't have their talent... Ayumu thought as he was going to run into the gimmick in front of him. He reached out his hand, but instead of jumping over it, he just tapped it and went around. He was losing his confidence drastically.
Nana looked at what he did in surprise and looked back at her screen. He was slowing down. No, Kadowaki-senpai, don't give up! Nana thought, pleading. Yukihime looked at the screen wide-eyed then looked at her hands, squeezing them tightly together. Onegai! Don't give up! She thought.
"Keep up your pace, senpai!" Nana exclaimed to Ayumu through the earpiece. But Ayumu's pace still slowly slowed.
"I'm sorry. It seems the match is over." Reiji said to Takeru. "We are four seconds behind! Fujiwara-kun, set!" Nana told Takeru. Takeru looked unaffected by Reiji's statement and he got ready. "Ja, see you later." Reiji said but Takeru was yet again unresponsive as Reiji ran off.
"3. 2. 1. Go!" Nana exclaimed through the microphone and Takeru ran.
"Suwa Reiji has turned the final corner!" The announcer started as Reiji was seen running the final lap. "The goal is straight ahead! It's his final dash into the applauding crowd!" The announcer continued. Riku had ran close to the screen to see if Takeru was on, but to his disappointment, Reiji was on and he was in the lead.
As Reiji was running, he thought that Takeru would never catch up to him. But he was so wrong. "He's coming...His coming from behind you!" Shizuma told him through their earpiece. Reiji looked back and true enough, Takeru was catching up to him.
They crossed the finishing line. While had reached first? Honan or Saisei?
The timing showed that Takeru had crossed the finishing line 0.4 seconds slower than Reiji. Close enough. Yukihime thought and shrugged, walking somewhere, her brothers following behind her.
"It's Saisei! Suwa Reiji, the final runner, wins the match!" the announcer said as the screen showed that Saisei had won and the crowd cheered wildly, already expecting that Saisei would win. "Fujiwara showed an incredible chase, but still couldn't make it!" The announcer continued, praising Takeru slightly.
Takeru fell to the ground and rolled on his back, taking in huge gulps of air into his lungs. "Fujiwara!" Riku exclaimed as he ran to where Takeru was with a bottle. "Fujiwara, are you okay?!" Riku asked Takeru. "Here, water." Riku said as he lifted Takeru's head up and let him drink some water.
Reiji just turned to look at Takeru with slightly widened eyes, how had he caught up in such a small amount of time? Then he smiled.
Instead of letting him drink the water, Takeru poured the water onto his head. Takeru shook the water off and stared back at Reiji.
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Back at the waiting room, the Honan Stride Club, with the exception of Yukihime, sat in the room. "Though the time difference was only 0.4 seconds, in essence, we were absolutely destroyed." Dan-sensei said. The whole room was in major depression state, and with what Dan-sensei had said, it just added oil to the wound. Riku looked at Takeru, who had a towel over his head, clearly depressed. His clenched fist made it even clearer he was upset and Riku was aware of that.
*Slam*
Everyone except for Takeru looked at Ayumu, the one who hit the table, as he stood there with his fists on the table and head down. "I'm sorry... it's my fault." Ayumu accused himself. "No, but..." Nana started but was cut off by Dan-sensei as he said, "Kadowaki, don't be so full of yourself." Heath took the tablet and switched it on to Show the timings of everyone in the team who ran today. "If you look at the time record, you were close to the best." Heath explained. Ayumu had gotten a good 50.78 seconds. "You did well, Captain of the Shogi Club." Heath congratulated him. "Good job, running genius!" Hozumi said to Ayumu and lightly hit him in the chest with his fist.
Ayumu smiled lightly in thanks. "Kendo Chorai. We've only just begun." Dan-sensei said. Hozumi looked down, slightly depressed again. "But now that we've lost our sponsors, we can't join any official matches..." Hozumi started. But as he was about to continue, the door slammed open to reveal Heath's sister and president of the D's fashion company, Hasekura Diane carrying a box.
"I'm coming in!" She announced AFTER she bragged in. Everyone in the room was surprised at her appearance. "Big sis...?" Heath stuttered. Diane slammed the box on the table and on top of the box was a word 'runruly', after, she slammed her handsome the box, surprising and scaring everyone in the room.
"Attention! I have started a new brand for you guys!" Diane announced. "Eh?!" The team exclaimed in surprise. "It's called... Runruly!" Diane said as she took out one of the jerseys. It had a white base with blue and red stripes along the shoulder blades. On the right chest was the logo and on the left was the Honan Stride Club name.
"Wow!" Hozumi, Ayumu and Nana exclaimed in excitement while Heath just looked at the jersey in surprise. "But why...? We lost..." Riku asked Diane in curiosity.
"Cause the sponsor of Saisei is the rival of Diane's company-""and she is pissed that they had won." Yukihime said the first half and Teito said the back while Keito just stood behind them as they walked into the room. "Eh?! Yuki-senpai, Teito-san and Keito-san! We were wondering where you guys went." Nana asked them. "How did you know that anyway?" Diane said with a pissed face at the memory. "S-E-C-R-E-T!" Yukihime said and winked, making the boys in the room blush, with the exception of Dan-sensei and her brothers.
"Kawaii!! And Teito-kun and Keito-kun! You guys are back!" Diane said in realization as she hugged the poor Yukihime tightly. "Hai. We just arrived today." Teito said nonchalantly. "Anyways, go and try on the jersey! I made a special one for you, Yukihime!" Diane exclaimed as she let go of the suffocating Yukihime and took a jersey out of the box. It was a similar jersey but the sleeves were up to her elbows. "By the way... If you wear that and lose, you are all dead!" Diane said menacingly as the team shrunk back at Diane's anger, well except for Yukihime who was trying out the jersey, not bothered by Diane's aura at all.
"Wow, cool!" Riku exclaimed as he put his arm through the sleeve of the jersey. "Exactly the right size too!" Nana said as she looked down at her jersey. "Made to order?" Takeru said in realization and surprise. "I love it! Arigato Diane!" Yukihime exclaimed happily as she danced around. "Now I won't have any constraints and run freely!" She continued. "Awww, Anything for my cute snow!" Diane exclaimed hugging Yukihime and running her cheek against Yukihime's, making the latter groan in irritation. This caused the others to laugh.
"Anyways, where did you and Keito-san and Teito-san go, Yuki-senpai?" Nana asked Yukihime. "Ah~ We went to get you guys this!" Yukihime exclaimed as she took out a bag. In the bag were wrist bands for sports. All the wrist bands were blue, red and white in colour, and there were each of the club members names on each of the wrist bands. "Just in case you guys felt down!" Keito said. "It was all Yuu's idea." Teito added. The two were seated by the table looking at the commotion.
"Eh?! Arigato senpai! Teito-san, Keito-san!" Riku and Nana exclaimed cheerfully and gratefully. "Oi, oi, Yuu. Did you have to do that? We feel fine." Heath said. "Oh, so Heath-kun doesn't want ut huh?" Yukihime said with a teasing smirk. "I-I never said I didn't." Heath said and looked to the side blushing slightly, making Yukihime chuckle and her brothers smirk. The team put on their wrust bands including Yukihime. "Sugoi! The wrist bands and jerseys are so comfortable!" Hozumi exclaimed. Takeru, Nana and Riku nodded in agreement. "With these jerseys and wrist bands, I can probably win in Shogi too!" Ayumu said confidently.
Heath pointed at the logo on the jersey and asked, directing the question to Diane, "Are you sure you want your logo to be so small?" "Stop being so pettt and grow a pair." Diane replied nonchalantly, holding a Shogi piece with a King on it, where it came from, no one knows. "Stop referring to the pair!" Heath exclaimed sweatdropping. Pair? The Kazuma siblings thought in confusion.
"You all are the real Runruly logos." Diane said. The team just stared in awe. "So deep though." Yukihime mumbled so softly that only her siblings could hear. But apparently Diane caught on. "What did you say?" Diane asked with her dark aura rising again. "N-Nothing... Please continue." The siblings stuttered out in unison, sweatdropping as well. Diane turned back to the others.
"The age of gloomy blues are over. The new age Honan Stride Club is sun-shining white!" Diane finished. All of them stared at her in awe, including Yukihime, while her brothers were smiling confidently. "So it's starting." Hozumi started. Heath closed his eyes and smirked. "Yeah."
"What is?" Riku asked Nana. "I don't know." Nana replied. Dense first years. Well I can't blame them. They have only been here for a few months. Yukihime thought and shrugged. Ayumu chuckled darkly, catching the attention of the first years. "East Japan's biggest summer Stride event... Titled-" "End Of Summer." Takeru interrupted Ayumu from saying the competition name.
Suddenly a siren rang out. "Stop! Signature phrase thief!" Ayumu said, holding Takeru again. Dejavu? Yukihime thought as her brothers snickered at the scene. "This team is interesting." Teito commented. "I know right!" Yukihime exclaimed and grinned.
"Also known as EOS." Heath said, cutting the siblings' conversation. "The trial tour to determine the competitors start nest month." He continued.
"Next time, I want to win." Riku announced making the others look at him. "Next time, I will beat Saisei!" He said again but now louder and more determined. Everyone looked at him in excitement. "Of course! I'll be running next them too." Yukihime announced and pat Nana on the head and her thumb on her other hand pointing as herself. "Honto, Yuu?" Heath asked her. "Yeah, if I don't run next, I think I might never run again." Yukihime explained. "Eh?" The kouhais said in confusion. "Ah! Don't worry about it, it's nothing serious." Yukihime said, waving her hands in front of her. The rest didn't seem convinced but let here win that round allowing her to sigh in relief. Let's work hard, ne?" Yukihime said.
"Right!" The whole team replied. The two older Kazumas sat and watched in happiness that their sister found what she wanted to do.
-outside-
The door to Saisei's waiting room opened to reveal the members of Gal-Stan. "What's the noise?" Kaede wondered out loud as he walked out of the room. "They seem upbeat, after losing like that." Tasuku said unamused, following behind Kaede. "The famous Honan Academy finnaly returns?" Reiji said from inside the room and stood up from his seat. "They seemed a little unbalanced for that." Shizuma said and followed behind Reiji as the last person to exit the room.
"But Honan has Kuga-san! I mean, not today. Did he have a cold?" Kaede guessed as he turned to look at the Honan waiting room. "I have to cheer him up!" Kaede exclaimed and was about to enter the room but was held back by Asuma and pulled back. "Calm down now!" Asuma said. "So Honan didn't bring their best team today?" Bantaro asked. "Perharps, Hasekura was the only third-year student there." Tasuku replied as the two walked along, ignoring Asuma and Kaede's fight.
"But the two first-years really had something." Asuma said. "Huh?" Kaede said in confusion. "One is from the Under 15 competitive scene. The other is Yagami Tomoe's brother." Shizuma explained, but the last sentence caught the attention of the rest. "Whoa, serious? Which one?" Bantaro asked in surprise. Asuma smirked. "The one I ran against." Asuma stated. "They are not the only ones. Have you guys heard of the 'Wind's Snow' a.k.a. Kazuma Yukihime?" Reiji asked them, gaining their attention.
"The fastest female in the history of Stride?! The one who can outrun even the fastest runners but has yet to beat Yagami Tomoe?!" Kaede exclaimed. "Eh?! She is the girl from before right?" Bantaro realized, referring to before the race started and they were still in the waiting rooms. "Wow." Tasuku said.
"This is going to be fun." Reiji said and they walked off.
Almost time... Yukihime thought as she looked at her team with a smile. Time for Wind's Snow to get back in the scene!
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I am SO SORRY for not updating in so long! I have been having A LOT of homework and tests, PLUS I am going to have my mid year exams soon so I am feeling so damn stressed right now! T-T
When I am done with my exams, I might (probably will) update weekly so I hope you guys still support me! Wish me luck people, exams are horrible!
Now to prevent myself from ranting off again, I am going to be off now. Bye bye.
Oh, and of course, THANK YOU GUYS FOR THE 1K+ READS ON THIS STORY AND ALL THE VOTES! lOVE Y'ALL!
-Shino