Head Start

On the day of the competition, the leaves continuously fell. As time went by, dark and thick clouds started to form, and in just a blink of an eye, tremendous rain poured all over the place. Akihiko and the rest went to the hotel they had rented during the competition.

The preliminaries were finished in the afternoon that day. Four students advanced to the final competition out of all first and second years who joined the preliminary rounds. This includes Yuuji. He and the others hurriedly ran from the hall to deliver the bittersweet news.

Yuuji is a bit sad. Akihiko was shocked by the news. He never expected their opponent to become strong in just a short amount of time. The rain and wind became more assertive as Yuuji delivered the information. It is so strong, and it is even on par with that of a category three typhoon. Before Yuuji could say that four of them advanced in the final round, an announcement was made.

"To all participants of our competition, our final match will be rescheduled after tomorrow. Please proceed to your designated hotel. Thank you."

After the announcement, Yuuji finally told everyone who passed the preliminaries. The whole club rejoiced, for four of them will enter the final round. The managers consoled those who didn't pass the preliminaries and treated them ramen and takoyaki.

Night falls, and everyone is finished eating dinner. The rooms were separated by year and gender. Everyone went to their room and did their leisure. Izumi peacefully reads at the corner; Mitsuru tumbles at the futon like a child. Haruki is doing his best, hiding his excitement from the anime he is watching.

Meanwhile, Satoshi went to meditate.

"Where you goin' Iwamoto?" says Mitsuru.

"Going to meditate. My body needs to be conditioned since I am not a fast learner. And you should stop acting like a child. Despite how many women you have slept with, you still act like one."

"Damn it. Okay. Okay. Fine. Just go and meditate you, perfectionist bastard."

The room bursts with laughter. Satoshi glanced at Izumi, and they made eye contact. Satoshi left the room without saying anything. Izumi giggled after Satoshi left the room.

The next day, the rain is still pouring hard, and the students are still asleep. Haruki is mumbling; his mind is filled with uneasiness as he dreams about a person smiling devilishly and holding a heart that's still beating. The pulsating movement of the heart made him nauseous in his alternate world and eventually woke him up.

"GIYYYAAAAHHHHH!!!!"

Haruki's scream woke everyone. He is trembling as tears fall continuously from his eyes. Izumi immediately went to his side and pat his shoulder. Izumi asked Haruki what was wrong.

"Why? What's wrong?" entreated Izumi.

"I don't know why I am running but when I reached somewhere that looked like the fighting ring--" Haruki stopped crying, and his face began to turn pale.

"Haruki! Snap out of it! What happened!" exclaimed Izumi.

"I- I saw a person... Th- that person is smiling like a devil and- and he is holding a heart. The h- heart was beating fast and I could hear the sound. It made me nauseous." said Haruki with a horrified tone.

"So, what happened next?" inquired Mitsuru.

"I don't know... I was woken up with that," responded Haruki.

Izumi turned pale, and he began to sweat. He kept his cool and said that he was okay. Mitsuru then escorted the two out of the room and led them to the comfort room. When they reached the comfort room, Izumi immediately went to the toilet and began to vomit. Haruki's senses come back as he sees Izumi sprint to the bathroom.

"Izumi! Are you okay?! I am sorry. I forgot that you didn't like those kinds of things!" exclaimed Haruki. Satoshi found out what happened and rushed to the comfort room. "Where's Izumi?!" asked Satoshi when he saw Mitsuru. "Wait, let me check on him," said Satoshi. "Woah, stop exaggerating Satoshi. Remember, your relationship is a secret. Do you want others to find out about you two?" asked Mitsuru. "So what?" said the agitated Satoshi. Mitsuru felt a chill in his spine. It's the first time he saw Satoshi act like that.

Izumi continued to vomit, and Haruki gently patted his back. After he vomited, he went to the sink, washed his face, and rinsed his mouth. Yuuji followed the four and witnessed the embarrassing state of the four. So, he went back to the room to fetch water. As he returned to the comfort room, he immediately offered the water to Izumi.

Satoshi apologized to Yuuji for seeing them in their state. Izumi reassured Haruki that it was okay, and he knew that he didn't do that on purpose. After that, the five went back to their room. Izumi and Haruki went to sleep next to each other. When they fell asleep, their roommates asked what had happened. Mitsuru then explained that Izumi cannot stand horror or things related to horrors, such as blood and severed body organs. He can only endure these things when he is in the Operating Room. As for Haruki, his dreams often come to life, but they differ from what he saw in his dream.

The fighters spent the whole day meditating to ensure that they were conditioned and prepared all the time. Some of them also went for sparring. By afternoon, the sky started to clear, and the seemingly endless rain came to a stop. Izumi woke up and meditated for a few minutes and watched anime on his phone while Haruki continued to sleep.

The next day, Yuuji was in the first match. His opponent is from their rival school. They swore that they would let Yuuji's university down on its knees. It seems like they have underestimated him a bit. He delivered a perfect blow in each body part that needed to be hit. His overwhelming strength made his opponent down in just a few minutes. He taunted his opponent and said:

"Lucky for you we don't have ki like the ones in Dragon Ball. If we had those, I would perform a Kamehameha and defeat you in a second."

His opponent looked miserable as he accepted his defeat. Yuuji left the ring gloriously while they announced that he was the winner. It was followed by a loud and glad cheering by the crowd. This is the first step to becoming like his idol, Izumi.

Meanwhile, Haruki and Izumi are still at the hotel and don't want to go out. They just used the television to watch the match. Izumi was overjoyed and delighted when his apprentice perfectly executed his move. Since they were only two of them in their room, Izumi shouted with joy and started to act infantile. "Woah, what's the news, Izumi-kun?" asked the curious Satoshi as he enters the room. "Well, my apprentice won, who wouldn't be overjoyed with this kind of news?" said the gleeful Izumi. Satoshi leaned closer to Izumi. "Well, I guess I shall reward you for being a good senpai, Izumi-kun," whispered Satoshi sexily.

Izumi then grabbed Satoshi's shirt, causing his face to get closer to Izumi's face once more, with their nose touching each other. "I am anticipating that award, Satoshi-kun," said Izumi in a cold, sexy, and deep voice. Meanwhile, Haruki is interrupted by the flirtatious atmosphere emanating from the two.

"Hello, Mitsuru? Call 119. I can't focus watching my anime since I am trapped inside a mountain of glucose that was supposed to be produced by sugarcanes," said Haruki after he took pictures of the two and while calling Mitsuru. "Oh, someone's jealous," said Satoshi. "Ugh, What a pain. I'll just go out to avoid too much sugar and sweetness in this room," said Haruki as he chuckled and before going out. "Hey! Wait for us! We'll buy some food, right?" said Izumi as he and Satoshi walked outside the room.