Chapter 42 - Not In The Mood
A/N : Aye here's a 3000 words chaps so gimme those stones guys! More seriously tho I just couldn't stop the chapter halfway. (Still serious about the stones tho... ahem)
I saw that a lot of people were glad about the 'mini survival arc', welp when I thought of that back then I didn't foresee this kind of reaction... I just wanted to write something else, develop Rumi's jealousy, reinforce Ryuko's position more etc...
Anyway now that's done, the future chapters would now speed up a bit, Momo came to light for the first time too, so things will change now...
Pic of the week.
Enjoy reading!
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The next day.
Ryuko was looking at the sun hanging far higher than the highest cloud she could see.
She was thinking about the stay of this peculiar group of travelers.
They were all coming from the mainland, and were kids of her age. Still, it wasn't the first time a group like this came.
But it was the first time she made friends with some people who won't even stay on her island.
'Maybe we'll meet later, who knows?' Refocusing, she settled down her gaze on those two friends of hers.
Rumi was lying on the hot sand warmed up all morning by the heat of the sun.
Kurai was next to her, he was observing the game, although he looked a bit absentminded.
It didn't mark Ryuko as something important, 'Stress?'
She shrugged, having full confidence in him.
The game was still continuing. The tournament started a few minutes ago, it was now nearly 12:30.
It was a simple tree-shaped tournament. And they had to play after this game against another 3-man team.
It was the first time that Ryuko would play volleyball.
Growing up, she didn't have much time to spend on hobbies or games.
Even though she was an amateur, she couldn't be underestimated.
Her abilities were far above the average little girl after all.
Finally, the first match ended. Since the tournament would be played in a single day only a winning set was required to bring victory.
From where Ryuko was standing, the team on her left won 25-22.
It could be said to be a very tough and tight game for both teams.
"Rumi-san! Kurai! It's our turn!" She called her mates and started walking into the volleyball field.
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…
…
"...Kurai ?" Looking at his side, Rumi was shaking his shoulder.
Shaking his head after coming out of his agitated thoughts, he eyed the bunny girl, "Yes?"
She only looked at him weirdly before standing up and following Ryuko, "We have to play."
"Ah, yes, I'm coming."
Sighing after he got up, Kurai joined the girls. 'Let's focus on this first.'
When he arrived everyone was already in place. Ryuko and Rumi were looking at him inquiringly.
To them it seemed like he wasn't in the mood to play.
Kurai simply nodded at them with a small smile to tell everything was fine and took his receiver's place in the back.
Slapping both of his cheeks, Kurai's smile became brighter 'I can't let them down. They waited for this tournament so much, the old man told me that everything was fine there… So I shouldn't worry.'
The opposite team had the ball, so he was the one who had the responsibility to receive their serve.
Keeping his grin, he declared loudly, "Come!"
Hearing him go back to his 'normal' attitude, Ryuko and Rumi shared a toothy smile too when they felt their blood boiling.
*Bip Bip*
Instantly after the referee whistled, the opponent served the ball with all his power.
It was a floating ball. One of the hardest to catch and it was going straight toward Ryuko's zone.
Seeing that, Kurai moved and expertly went where the ball's trajectory was pointing.
*Paf*
'Alright!'
He damped the ball's power perfectly and made a quick pass for the setter, Rumi.
She swiftly positioned herself near the net where the ball was going and made short eye contact with Ryuko.
Instantly, both girls' pace accelerated tremendously. Ryuko started sprinting forward, coming closer to the net while Rumi jumped high to meet the ball mid-air instead of waiting for its fall.
*Paf Paf*
Two distinct sounds were heard, Ryuko's smash and the ball touching the sand on the other side.
The others were flabbergasted in front of such play, so was the referee, who actually whistled a bit late because of the shock.
"Nice." Kurai gave a nod to the girls after bumping their fists together.
Since they scored, it was their turn to serve, and it was Kurai at the back, so after taking the ball confidently he raised his head once to look at the whole field.
Rumi and Ryuko weren't watching him, they knew that his serve would be flawless so they waited for the other team's return, if they ever had one.
Then, he threw the ball high and far, as it was spinning, Kurai too was taking big steps.
Even though he was running on sand, and his capacities were greatly diminished, he knew that it was largely enough for what he was about to do.
Just before he reached the red line delimiting the whole field, he sprung forward, his heels coming close to his butt while his back was arched backward.
His arms were armed too, since he was a righty his left arm was forward and the right one behind his ear ready to smash the ball.
And that he did, with a big *Paf*.
The ball flew straight toward the opposite field, describing a curve on the left which left everyone rooted on their foot.
"2-0!" This time the referee didn't let himself get flustered by the impressive plays of the Animals.
Kurai got the ball again and restarted his serves. As he kept going, Rumi and Ryuko didn't move at all because they knew that it was unneeded.
"3-0!"
"4-0!"
…
…
…
Just like how he and Rumi crushed their classmates during their PE class, the same thing happened here.
"25-0!"
The crowd had gathered around the game along the way, and seeing the perfect score they all started cheering and clapping.
"We shouldn't let you start at the back again!" The trio had left the field, directly after, Rumi couldn't help but grumble at Kurai.
"The last time we played I was the one getting bored!" He mischievously stuck his tongue at her.
On the other hand, Ryuko found their interaction very funny.
"You! Why are you laughing?!" That's why the rabbit felt obliged to mention it, feeling 'humiliated'.
"Nothing! Aha! I just feel like your bond with him is way stronger than what I thought." She told her sincerely.
Although Rumi blushed after the innocent remark, her character didn't allow her to run away from a word fight.
"Humph! Of course!"
Kurai didn't bother about them anymore and went to the next terrain for the other game.
Seeing that Ryuko used the opportunity to come closer to Rumi.
"I won't give up though, I intend to get closer to him than you!"
Showing off her determination in front of her 'rival', Ryuko left and followed Kurai.
"Wha-?! Oí! What do you mean by that?!" Rumi still had a mild blush on her face but Ryuko words were still ringing in her mind.
When she reached Ryuko's side again, Rumi took a deep breath and calmed herself. 'She won't be able to even if I allowed her. Our bond is deep, right?'
Shaking her head to erase the doubt still lingering, she confidently copied the dragon by approaching her ear too.
"Just try it, blondie, and I'll crush you!" She murmured with a sharp grin.
They bickered with each other like that until the next match. Even though Kurai was close, just in front of them, he wasn't particularly in the mood to hear them.
Most of his thoughts were about his family.
He knew that his father told him that his newborn sister was fine, even if the birth was premature.
But he couldn't help it, 'A sister, huh?'
It was the first time that he could truly call someone family…'No, now I have Mom and the Old man too, after so long I consider them as my parents.'
Then he recalled that those same parents wanted to keep the surprise the whole time, just imagining what would've happened if the birth wasn't premature infuriated him. 'Are they kids to joke about such matters?'
Hitting the sand with his knuckles, his face was adorning a scary grin, 'I'mma show you what's a real prank!' Even the girls on the side got goosebumps.
Rumi particularly, she felt like she knew this feeling. 'When Kurai's gonna do trouble?'
She shot him a quick look but he had hidden his grin albeit he was still punching the sand.
"Ya good?" She nonetheless asked him about his weird behaviour.
Kurai looked at her in the eyes, "Yeah, yeah, just bored, the waiting is killing me…"
And lied right through his teeth.
"Um."
Rumi nodded, not caring about his mood and went back to bickering with Ryuko.
The latter though answered him, "Don't worry, it's our time soon, we'll play the 1/8th final!"
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…
For their other game, just as Rumi said, the girls didn't allow Kurai to start serving again, feeling that he'll do everything in his power to crush the opposite team.
And thus leave them 'out' of the fun.
"Calm down, just throw the ball, it's a natural motion." Instead Kurai was now advising Ryuko, who was chosen to serve.
Nodding, the small dragon started to take deep breaths in.
Her blood circulation speeded, her irises were focusing more and more, she could feel the hot air on her skin and the small breezes of wind that were making her hair flutter. It was a breathing technique she had learned through Kung-Fu, thanks to her father.
'If only he knew why I'm using it… Aha!' She thought ironically.
Still, it worked greatly since she wasn't feeling stressed anymore. Even Kurai was impressed.
Mostly because he knew this technique too, and he was surprised to see it used by a 11 years old girl.
'Maybe I gotta re-evaluate her?' He shrugged and took his place, more confident in her.
Now that she was seeing him leave, the pressure increased, just like how Kurai didn't want to let the girls down, it was the same for her.
She absolutely didn't want to waste their efforts. She took another big breath in and out and all the abstractions of the mind slowly disappeared.
Right now it was only her and the ball, so she tried to remember Kurai's jumps. That was her base, the foundation of her own upcoming jump.
She could only take inspiration from the greatest after all.
In a single instant of time, she threw the ball high. Her team had the serve, the very first serve of the game, so she had to make it worth it to show the opposite team who they were.
Keeping her eyes on the ball, she was running with all her might, until her senses started ringing and she jumped, just before the red line.
At that moment, she thought that she had re-created a semblance of flight because she felt so free. Then when she reached the ball level, when it was going down, she hit it, copying Kurai's smash.
Unfortunately, even if she was a dragon she had less raw strength in her human form than him, and lacked technique too, so the trajectory wasn't nearly as perfect as the cat.
As Ryuko landed on the sand, she had her eyes on the ball, so were her two teammates. The ball curve looked dangerously low as it approached the net.
And Ryuko could feel it, she was nervously hoping that the ball wouldn't get stopped by the net.
Just then it touched the upper side of the net, the ball lost most of its momentum but just before Ryuko lost all her hope too, the ball managed to pass and landed 50cm behind it.
Even though it had lost its speed and strength, the ball continued its trajectory and landed on the opposite team's side.
*Bip Bip*
"1-0!"
The referee whistled in their favor because the opponents who were waiting for the ball to land in the back of their field were caught off guard by this play.
Even Ryuko was bewildered, for a moment she thought that she committed a foul but the next moment the ball managed to pass the net and she scored.
Kurai and Rumi came to bump fists with her.
"I know you didn't do it purposefully but a point is a point." Kurai grinned at her.
"Lucky." Though Rumi didn't hold back her comments.
Kurai flicked the naughty bunny ear after hearing her, "Don't let her trouble you, you're doing fine."
"Kya!!"
Smiling gently at Ryuko he then turned over to Rumi, "You, come with me."
He locked his arm with hers and went to take their positions again. "Oi! Bastard! Why are ya so rash with me and gentle with her, huh?!"
"Because she's more mature than you, heh"
He let her arm free while winking.
"Tch. Look who's talking!" She said after stretching her arm.
"Yeah, yeah, now focus on the game, Rumi-chan~"
Unwillingly listening to him, Rumi didn't notice the mild blush she had during the whole interaction, a blush which didn't escape Kurai or Ryuko's eyes.
'It's nice.' The dragon in question felt comfort after seeing those two beefing like always.
'Alright! Now I can't fail!'
Ryuko continued to serve and actually managed to successfully land another 4 points, bringing the score to 5-0 in their favor, but during the sixth serve the same thing happened.
The same thing that happened during her first serve, but this time the ball was definitely stopped by the net and stayed in their field.
*Bip Bip*
For the first time, the referee whistled against them, "5-1!"
The opposite team's faces were full of smiles for once too. Totally in contrast to Ryuko's who seemed to have lost all its colors.
As always after every point, lost or gained, their team grouped up to bump fists but Ryuko was way less enthusiastic.
"Sorry guys…"
"You bette—! Kyaaa! It hurts!" Before she could finish whatever she was saying, Rumi was bonked in the head by a dead serious Kurai.
His 'angry' look made her swallow her words instantly, still she could feel a weird and hot reaction in her core and cheeks. 'Wha—?'
Turning now toward Ryuko, Kurai encouraged the blond, "Don't worry it's only one point! It's not like we're losing."
"But—"
"And we're bound to lose some points in the tournament, winning 25-0 each time isn't realistically possible, alright?" Although he cut her short, Kurai kept his gentle smile on his face.
Ryuko on the other hand could only keep her head down, feeling ashamed of breaking the perfect score.
'I'm still not good enough, huh?!' Her thoughts were then interrupted by a warm feeling spreading atop of her head. Kurai actually foresaw something like that.
He had been dealing with the bunny for a long time, so he wasn't surprised by the blond girl's reaction.
"Don't worry, because I'm here!"
Ryuko still had her head low, this time not out of shame but because she felt her face getting hotter.
Fortunately her team managed to get the serve back directly, Kurai made another perfect reception to Rumi who sent it back to him. His smash then left the other team frozen.
"6-1" Shouted the referee.
Each time the team who didn't have the ball scored a point, they had to rotate their players. So it was now Kurai's turn to serve.
This time though, he threw his ball quickly and… Totally failed at it. Sending the poor ball flying way too far from the limits of the field.
*Bip Bip*
"6-2"
When they grouped up again to bump fists, Kuri shrugged his shoulders while sighing dramatically. "See, failing is normal."
Everyone on the team knew that he did it on purpose but no one said a thing. Even Rumi.
Ryuko had a smile in the corner of her mouth, she was looking at him thankfully, although Kurai was acting like he didn't see her and got back to his place.
The girls only exchanged a quick look before following him too.
"Hm."
"Hmph!"
For the second time of the day, it was the opponent's turn to serve, and just like the first time they got the wrath of the Animals back at them with an unstoppable smash from Rumi.
"7-2!"
After their rotation, it was now the bunny girl's turn to serve.
'Look at me now!' Her blood red eyes were more focused than ever, and her grin looked deadly too. Like a predator set free, she tossed her ball high up in the sky.
Springing proudly like the rabbit she is, Rumi hit the ball with all the dexterity and strength she could muster up.
She hit it so strong that it looked like the ball was on fire.
"8-2!" The opposite side didn't even have time to move because they had lost the point already.
"Hmph" Rumi harrumphed again, this time looking over both Kurai and Ryuko.
The carnage only started, the serves didn't stop, and the bunny never failed.
Instead of getting tired, it looked like she was hitting stronger and jumping higher. Her performance was awestrucking.
Finally, "25-2!" The referee whistled a last time. Rumi managed to score the rest of the points alone.
She went proudly next to her teammates, her bunny ears moving excitedly like a dog as if she was waiting to be praised.
Kurai and Ryuko weren't vain people so they were smiling at the cute sight, "Good."
Kurai patted her ears to stop them from moving more frenetically. It made Rumi feel like she accomplished her goal. But when she realised what she just thought, her face heated up fast.
Fortunately for her Kurai had already moved away, his head filled with other things.
Though, Ryuko was still standing next to her, with a wide grin.
Rumi quickly recovered her composure, "Ahem… That's how you do it girl! Hmph!" And she looked on the side with her hands crossed over her chest.
Her comment didn't produce the expected effect because she could see that Ryuko hadn't lost her smile. "Good job, Rumi!"
The dragon patted her shoulder before leaving toward Kurai too.
'What just happened?' So the rabbit was left alone in the blazing sun, pondering over another awkward moment of her life…
Until she was shushed out of the field by the referee because another game was about to start…