Let the Match Begin!

"Sorry for waiting. We we're late because—" as Satoshi tries to explain, he was cut off by the annoying Mitsuru. "You woke up late because you and Izu-kun had fun last night, no?" asked the curious Mitsuru. "Said the one who enjoyed his dessert last night," interrupted Haruki again. "Stop butting in, Haru!" exclaimed Mitsuru. "T-T-That's--" Satoshi was startled and started to panic. He blushed in front of the three. Then, Izumi smacked Mitsuru on the head. "Idiot, we're in a public place. We were late because I have no appetite earlier and Satoshi keeps insisting that I should eat," said Izumi as he glares dangerously at Mitsuru.

"Ugh, don't mind him, Izu-chan, Sato-chan. He slept with a girl from our department," said Haruki with an unwavering smile. "Now, let's go inside and look for a gift to Hiro-kun," he added. "Yeah, never mind this idiot," added Izumi as they walked inside the mall. "Hey! Wait for me!" exclaimed Mitsuru as he sprinted off to the three.

After the celebration of Hiroshi's birthday, they returned to school the following week. The four split their money to buy the final five volumes of Hiroshi's favorite manga and gave it to him. As the breeze of the summer season diminishes, the cool breeze of wind that comes from the north begins to reveal its presence. The students began to wear mufflers to keep themselves warm. The training hall was packed with fighters who trained rigorously for the upcoming match. Yuuji was one of the fighters with potential that could steal the spotlight from his opponent. Izumi strictly supervised Yuuji and made sure that he was ready to fight.

"Let us all have a 30-minute break. Please return after break time," instructed Akihiko. Yuuji approached Izumi, and they began to talk to each other. "Ne, ne, Ishikawa-senpai, who do you think will be the next captain?" asked Yuuji curiously. "I don't really care who will be next captain. Let the competition decide," responded Izumi with a dull expression. As Yuuji and Izumi were talking, Satoshi arrived and overheard their conversation.

"By the way senpai, is there, someone, you like?" asked Yuuji teasingly. Izumi almost got choked with Yuuji's question. His face turned red; he started sweating. "Wh-what kind of question is that?!" questioned Izumi while almost choking. "Eh? But you're already 21, you may have someone you like." teasingly responded Yuuji. "Well, he has. They have been dating for a year now," said Satoshi while smiling and handing the drink to Izumi. Mitsuru overheard the conversation and started teasing Izumi.

"Yup, it's been a year and a LOT happened between them. He is busy reading his manga and doing some fun stuff with him when he is off-duty." Said Mitsuru while laughing frantically. While clenching his jaws and hands, Izumi suddenly became calm and gave a dangerous smirk to Mitsuru.

"Mitsuru~ I swear that you can no longer use your rod after we go home. Be ready. Haruki and I will be giving you a different kind of pleasure, and you will surely enjoy it~" said Izumi with a threatening voice. Mitsuru trembled, and his face turned pale. Haruki overhears the conversation and begins to laugh in silence. He approached Mitsuru and whispered:

"Yeah~ I was so upset that you didn't come to our house that night. It seemed that you had some fun while I was talking to you. So... I think you deserve what you will receive from your dear friends. Get ready my sweet, handsome, and alluring Kurosawa Mitsuru~" added Haruki.

The two smirked devilishly. Mitsuru trembled more, and he ran as fast as possible away from the two. Yuuji was confused, so Haruki told him what had happened. When Yuuji found out that Mitsuru had sex. He started laughing hysterically.

"Well, you see, those three are a kind of… Brothers. It's so natural for them to know each other's secrets. Want some drink?" said Satoshi as he offered a drink to Yuuji. "So that's why he ran off earlier than us." Yuuji then started to laugh frantically. "Thank you, Iwamoto-senpai!" said Yuuji. "By the way, senpai, how did Shirogane-senpai meet his lover?" asked the intrigued Yuuji. "His lover was his high school sweetheart. They fell for each other because of—" as Satoshi was to give a full response, he felt something chilly.

"Spill the tea and you'll be dead tonight, Iwamoto-kun!" said Izumi as his veins became visible and smacked Satoshi. "OWW!" cried Satoshi. "Don't you go telling off anybody about my relationship!! You and Mitsuru are very similar. How about I'll perform a BDSM on you. You two will become my sub," said Izumi as he chuckled dangerously while shaking Satoshi and holding his training gi.

"Thirty minutes is over! Go back to your training!" instructed Akihiko. Izumi immediately let Satoshi go and put his arm on Yuuji's shoulder. "Forget what you saw, Ishikawa-kun. I will never do that to you," said Izumi with a gentle voice. "Y-yes, senpai," said the terrified Yuuji. "Ugh, as always, his façade is scary," thought Satoshi

The fighters continued their training. From the fourth years to the first years, they trained their body hard enough to be ready for the upcoming competition. The atmosphere in the hall is filled with raging passion and heat while outside; it is cool and calm. Birds were dancing and singing as there were no signs of rain. The training finished, and before they went home, Akihiko gave a few reminders.

"When the prefectural match will be concluded, the Martial Arts Tournament that will be held on the neighboring prefecture will commence, three weeks after. After we watch the matches of our first and second-year students, I will personally train the third years. If someone will qualify for the nationals, he or she will be the next captain. If more than one qualifies, then the last one who is standing will be the next captain. There is also an event for our sophomores and first years in the national qualifiers. If you are chosen upon the conclusion of the match, then you may join the training of our third years. That's all, DISMISSED!"

As the students go home, the afternoon skies are slowly engulfed in beautiful dark purple skies. It is also filled with twinkling stars. The cold wind whistled, and the night lights started to turn on. One week has passed, and the dawn of the prefectural martial arts competition for university-level has begun. The three decided to sleep at Mitsuru's place for tonight after supervising their juniors. This became their habit since primary school. When autumn turns colder, they sleep in each other's room together. Even though they now stay at the dorm, they still do this.

They were greeted by Mitsuru's mother, Sakura, and they told her that she should relax since they would be the ones who would be cooking dinner. Izumi and Haruki are excellent cooks, while Mitsuru is good at household chores. When they were finished eating, they went to sleep since they would be early for the competition.

The next morning, Mayumi was arranging the things they would need for the competition. The trio also arrived and helped her arrange.

"Good morning!" said Haruki while still yawning. "Good morning!" responded Mayumi.

"Is there anything we can help with?" said Izumi. "Oh, it would be a big help if you'll carry those punching bags. I can only carry the small ones though," responded Mayumi as she sighed. "Huh? You can't carry that? Come on! How come you can carry Haruki and manage to flip him down with ease during sparring?" asked Mitsuru as he laughed at her. "H-Hey! So early in the morning and you're being obnoxious again, Mitsuru!" said Haruki while his cheeks were being filled with creeping red pigments.

Mayumi's vision went blank and approached Mitsuru; without blinking, she grabbed Mitsuru's hand and locked it at his back, and brought him on his knees. "O-o-o-ow!!" cried Mitsuru as Mayumi held him still. "CARRYING IS DIFFERENT FROM FLIPPING DOWN AN OPPONENT GOT IT?! BESIDES, EVEN HE'S BUFFED, HARUKI'S LIGHT AS A FEATHER TO ME!" said the furious Mayumi.

"O-o-o-okay! Can you please release me now?! It hurts!" begged Mitsuru. The two continued to fool around, and Izumi and Haruki just watched them while laughing. When they were finished arranging, they waited for the contestants to arrive. "Oh, yeah? Where's Satoshi?" asked Mayumi. "I don't know, I've been contacting him, but it seems his phone is dead," said Izumi frustratingly. Mitsuru laughed at the corner as he watched his friend being frustrated because he could not contact his lover. "What are you laughing at, Mitsuru?" asked Izumi as he glared at Mitsuru. "Nothing. I was just laughing at my SNS status," denied Mitsuru.

"Speak of the devil, there he is," said Mayumi as pointing at the running Satoshi. "Sorry, I was late, something came up and I was tasked to take care of it," said Satoshi. "Well, as long as you're here, there's no problem," said Izumi as he smiled at Satoshi. After that, more of the fighters arrived.

Before they departed, Kenzo encouraged all the contestants. While on the ride, the students watched the calm and gentle sun rays touch the land and their bus and the gentle wind that dances beautifully. The scenery is full of red, orange, and yellow colors. As the bus moves, the students gaze at Mt. Fuji. They were mesmerized by its beauty, and the shining blue Fuji Five Lake emphasized the volcano's beauty even more.

After an hour, they reached the venue. The fighters feel the seriousness and tension in the atmosphere. The preliminary round takes place in a hall where spectators cannot enter. There are four blocks, and each block has a long and rectangular ring.

Before the first years and sophomores entered the hall, Mayumi gave them a hug and a warm message.

"This is your first match, but there are some of whom already have experience. I just wanted to say...

Good Luck, Everyone.

The gate of the halls started to close. A few moments later, the loud sound of the signal gun was heard. Followed by the loud and echoing shout of the facilitator saying:

"Let the match begin!"