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𝟏𝟖 || 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐒𝐏𝐎𝐑𝐓𝐒 𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐀𝐋 𝐏.𝟐 ||

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Right as the principal began speaking through the microphone, announcing their gratitude for everyone that came to participate in the festival, Hakkai turns to face Takemichi with indigo irises set aflamed.

    "Do you know how this thing works, Michi?" He asks, leaning in close to Takemichi's ear so no one else can hear them.

    Feeling a little guilty, Takemichi shakes his head no.

    Look, it's not his fault he wasn't paying attention in class when the teacher was talking about the festival! Hakkai kept throwing tiny paper airplanes at him that he made out of those small postcards they snatched from the teacher's desk. The only thing Takemichi was able to catch from the teacher's mouth was the fact that their parents could participate in the events as well!

    Instead of looking frustrated with Takemichi's incompetence, Hakkai giggles quietly which earns a few odd looks from their classmates.

    "You're funny Michi!" He says as he pats the smaller boy on the back.

    That...that wasn't a joke though...

    "But the first part of the festival is just students only, then the second part is students and parents," he explains, emphasizing the key points with his fingers bending into cute bunny ears. "Classes play against other classes in their grade level in events like Tug o war, Obstacle courses, hop scotch, memory games, and many more!"

    Takemichi tilts his head. "So...we won't be playing against Mikey, Kei-Chan, Haru, or Yuzu-Chan?" He asks with a disappointed grimace on his face.

    "That's right! And it's probably a good thing we don't either..." Hakkai's expression fell as he chanced a glance over Takemichi's shoulder. Following Hakkai's gaze, he spots the troublesome trio rounding up a bunch of kids from their class like a pack of dogs herding a group of sheep.

    Those poor souls...

    "...they get really competitive, so it's good that we're not going against them..." Hakkai mumbles with sweat dripping down his forehead. "And Yuzuha..." Takemichi perks up at the mention of the older Shiba.

    "Yuzu-Chan? What about her?"

    Hakkai audibly gulps and reaches up to scratch the back of his neck nervously.

    "She's more competitive than Mikey, Keisuke, and Haru combined."

    WHAT?!

    Takemichi looks over at the class Yuzuha is in and sees her conversing with a few shaken souls, no doubt threatening them to do their part and not mess up. God, just peering at their pale faces and trembling figures is enough to cause chills to run up the smaller boy's spine. What would have happened if she was in their grade? Would she boss them around the same way she's ordering her classmates? If they were in the same grade but different classes, would she rain hellfire upon them?!

    Takemichi's gonna give himself a headache if he keeps thinking about this...

    The only thing that matters is that they are safe from Yuzuha wrath.

    "Wow," is the only thing Takemichi can bring himself to say. Hakkai, bless his kind soul, nods in understanding as his gaze had already switched over to his sister.

    "I know...she's a monster..."

    Takemichi doesn't even wanna know the lengths Yuzuha is willing to go to win gold. It's probably best not to ask...

     "Um—anyways," Hakkai draws Takemichi's attention back to himself as he continues his explanation. "The top three classes from each grade will either win bronze, silver, or gold medals from how many points we get!"

    "How do we get points?"

    "By winning games!" Hakkai easily answers with a bright smile. "We just gotta do our part, work together, and win!"

    Work together and win!!!

    Takemichi likes the sound of that.

    "Let's make a plan with our classmates!!!" Takemichi exclaims with stars shining in his eyes as he jumps up and down in excitement.

     Hakkai, on the other hand, doesn't look too enthused by his idea.

    "Huh? We don't need to work with them! They'll slow us dow-" but Takemichi isn't gonna have any of that today.

    Instead of listening to Hakkai's demeaning comments, Takemichi turns on his heel and begins approaching his classmates with his killer smile, bright eyes, and excited pleas of being able to work together.

    ...and it worked?

    All of his classmates he was able to talk to agreed with the curly haired boy with excited smiles, some of them even shared some small ideas of their own with the boy that could help them win certain games.

    Takemichi couldn't believe he used to be scared of his classmates, that seems like so long ago, but look at him now! He's creating a small army of enthusiastic kids who are all thirsty for VICTORYYYY!!!

    By the time Takemichi was done talking to all of his classmates, the principal had wrapped up everything she needed to say, and had declared the start of the first game.

    Sadly, Takemichi was too busy hyping up his classmates to hear the title of the first game.

    Whoops.

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"YOU GUYS WANNA KEEP YOUR LUNCH MONEY RIGHT?! THEN GET TO PUSHING!!!"

    Keisuke listens from the back of the line with Mikey as Haru orders their classmates around, throwing threats right and left to get them to push the ginormous red ball across the field faster.

    "MY GRANDMA IS FASTER THAN YOU THREE AND SHE'S ALMOST DEAD!!!" Haru screams at the scrambling children, no doubt having a little bit of fun threatening the kids pushing the red ball. Keisuke knows that he himself is having a blast watching the other kids piss themselves trying to fulfill Haru's commands.

    Mikey though? Not so much.

    Despite the fire that lit up behind his endless black irises, his mood dropped unexpectedly once the first game was announced. He kept sneaking glances over at the groups of kids in Takemichi's grade in longing and he clung to Keisuke like a sloth, seeking comfort from his best friend.

    And Keisuke allowed him. Afterall, he's never been one to say no to Mikey.

    "Cmon Mikey! Stop moping around you big baby!" Keisuke scolds as he's forced to drag the boy up the line as it slowly gets shorter and shorter. It's almost their turn to push that gigantic ball and they won't be able to pull their own weight because Mikey's feeling a little sad.

    (Keisuke feels the same way, but he's not as overdramatic as his blonde haired friend)

    "I'm not moping."

    "Then get off! You're making my arm sweaty and gross." Mikey pouts and clings tighter to his arm to Keisuke's dismay.

    "No."

    An annoyed groan escapes Keisuke's lips at his friend's stubbornness. He's just about to shake Mikey off his arm when something, or someone, speaks up from nearby.

    "Aweee, are you Mikey's new mommy Kei-Chan?"

    Keisuke immediately perks up at the condescending voice. Whipping his head around, he spots Yuzuha smirking at him from the next line over.

    This bitch...

    "What'd you just call me?"

    Her smirk widens.

    "What's wrong? I thought you liked being called Kei-Chan! Did something change?" She asks with the sort of innocence a toddler might use. A demon toddler.

    A toddler that deserves to rot in the deepest pits of HELL!!!

    Before Keisuke could retort with the most ruthless, absurd comment in the world, Mikey pulls him back.

    "Oh hey Yuzu-Chan! I totally forgot you were here!!!" Mikey mocks with a dark glint in his eyes. Switching his gaze back over to Yuzuha, the girl's face had contorted into a look of complete disgust and offense.

    "You can't call me that!!!" She shouts angrily, earning stares from both her classmates and parents watching from the sidelines.

    "Why not?"

    "Because I said so!!!"

    That's when Mikey's face drops into something dark and unreadable.

    Chills run up Keisuke's spine at the sight.

    "Then don't call Keisuke Kei-Chan. Only one person can call him that and one person alone," Keisuke's eyes widened at the implication behind Mikey's possessive tone.

    Takemichi.

    Only Takemichi.

    Before Keisuke can question his friend, Mikey tilts his head and sends Yuzuha his signature closed eye smile.

    "K?"

    The brown haired girl trembles and shakes in anger, without a doubt infuriated by Mikey, by Keisuke, by everyone, and Keisuke can't help but watch the madness unfold.

    "SHUT UP YOU DIRTY BOYS!!!" She screams, completely red in the face. She reaches up and tightens the green headband wrapped around her head, eyes blazing with fury. "THIS IS WHY NOBODY LIKES YOU GUYS!!!"

    "And this is why Takemichi likes hanging out with us more than you!"

    "SCREW YOU MIKEY—"

    "HEY!!! YUZUHA SHIBA, WATCH YOUR LANGUAGE!!!" One of the teachers shout from the front of the lines, getting countless kids and parents to turn and stare at the angry girl. Yuzuha's eyes widened, her teeth visibly grinding together in embarrassment by all the attention she was able to attract.

    She turns her head and gives Keisuke and Mikey the meanest glare she can muster, only adding more tension to the already suffocating air.

    "Whatever. I'll just win gold and once Michi sees how awesome I am he'll abandon you two like broken toys!!!"

    THAT'S HER PLAN?!

    The fire that had once been distinguished returns with a blazing fury, filling his veins with adrenaline and anger.

    One look at Mikey reassures the black haired boy that his friend was feeling the exact same way.

    "Eat shit and die, Yuzuha," Mikey mumbles darkly—quiet enough for the teachers not to get on to him, but loud enough for the brown haired girl to hear.

    She smirks.

    "Eat shit and live, Manjiro."

    "CMON MIKEY!!! SNAP OUT OF IT KEISUKE!!!" The two boys snap their heads around and catch Haru sending them a look of annoyance and determination. "It's almost our turn to get the big ass ball across!!!"

    "LANGUAGE HARUCHIYO!!!" One of the teacher's shouts, earning an eye roll from the buzz cut blonde.

    "Yeah, yeah, sorry miss," Haru dismisses with a smirk. He reaches forward and grabs Mikey and Keisuke, yanking them up to the front of the line.

    "Ready?"

    Mikey and Keisuke smirk along with him.

   "Ready."

    "Awesome—NOW PUSHHHHHH!!!"

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Keisuke, Mikey, and Haru all send the seething brown haired girl sly expressions by the end of the first game once all the points were tallied up.

    The boys' class is in first place, while Yuzuha's is in second.

    They still have a few more games to participate in before the first part of the sport's festival finishes up, but the fire hasn't once left their small tiny bodies.

    They were gonna fight till the very end.

    No matter what.

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The first game, which consisted of pushing a huge red ball across the field and back to their teams, had all of Takemichi's classmates blood pumping.

    They might've only finished in third, right under Senju's class, but their spirit hadn't deterred in the slightest. In fact, it only rose once Takemichi began shouting more and more words of encouragement to his overly excited classmates with Hakkai very reluctantly joining in.

    Takemichi has a really good feeling about this. About everything. To getting his classmates to work together, to getting third place in their first game, everything was surprisingly going their way! He just hopes it'll last that way long enough till the last game.

    He really really hopes it does.

    Why?

    Because he wants nothing more than to bring home a medal of any kind to his hardworking mother.

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"...Um Rika? Takeomi? I think your kids are threatening their classmates to work together..."

    Katsumi watches as Rika sighs with exasperation before grabbing a water bottle from her bag.

    "Yeah—there's nothing I can really do about that. At Least they're in a better mood?"

    "Hm...I guess you have a point—oH SHIT!!!" Katsumi shouts, observing the way Haruchiyo nearly knocks his own teammate out by head butting them. Well damn.

    Katsumi turns expectantly at Takeomi, waiting for the oldest Akashi to get onto their younger sibling, but the teenager just laughs and throws the boy a thumbs up.

    "YEAH!!! DO WHAT YOU GOTTA DO HARU!!!" Takeomi shouts, earning glares from the other parents and staff who had the misfortune to watch a kid almost get sent to the infirmary over a little bit of competition.

    Katsumi knows the kid is fine—hell, the eight year old child literally stood up and brushed it off like it was nothing—but she can't help but imagine her child being in their place.

    Would he have gotten a concussion? Brain damage? A very bad headache? Develop migraines?

    Every passing moment fills the young lady with more anxiety than she wants to deal with.

    She's supposed to be having fun not—not worrying over silly things...well, they're not really silly, their rational fears to have as parent, but—

    "Hey Katsumi? You good?" The young lady perks up at the sound of Shinichiro's voice right next to her ear.

    Turning her head around, she faces the teenager and takes note of the worried expression on his face.

    It truly boggles her mind how...considerate this kid is despite not having an ulterior motive. Really weird.

    "Yeah...just still shell shocked by your new hairstyle."

     "H-Huh?!" He exclaims, immediately running his hands through his black hair, which is now void of any hair gel or hair spray. It looks soft to the touch, healthier...a bit like Wakasa's in a way but just less fluffier. "Does it not look good?!"

    His question startles a laugh out of Katsumi.

    "It does look good!!!" Katsumi reassures in between giggles. "I'm just so used to seeing that ugly ass pompadour glued to your head—"

    "Ok, let me stop you right there, pompadours aren't ugly, and—" everyone burst out laughing before Shinichiro could even finish his sentence. Katsumi wishes she could feel a little sympathy for the embarrassed black eyed teen, but really? 'Pompadours aren't ugly' her ass!

    "Your pompadour looked like a damn helmet!!!" Takeomi belts out while laughing, earning a sharp glare from Shinichiro.

    "Stop lying you fiend—"

    "It was all bunched up like a bird's nest!!!" Rika joins in with her hands covering her mouth as she tries to control her own laughter.

    "You too!? I thought you were better than this Ms.Baji—"

    "Built like a whole tumbleweed..."

    Shinichiro snaps his gaze to Katsumi in disbelief as more snorts and cackles leave her lips.

    "OK—SINCE WHEN WAS IT 'BULLY-SHINICHIRO-O'CLOCK'?!" He nearly hollers while crossing his arms in front of his arms like an annoyed little kid who had just been told that they were being sent to timeout.

    "Since you decided to defend that ugly ass haircut!!!" Takeomi fires back at him, earning hyena-like cackles from Rika and Katsumi sitting next to him.

    "Just be glad I didn't go bald!!!"

    "Hell, even that would've been better than that damn pompadour!" Rika hollers. Katsumi nearly folds into herself from laughing so hard; she has to grab ahold of Rika's shoulder to keep herself from falling forward onto the blanket they were all sitting on.

    All the nerves she had felt before were blissfully whisked away by the company of two delinquents and a sleep deprived mother in her mid twenties.

    They're an odd little group if the weird and scandalized looks from the parents were anything to go by, but maybe that's what makes them...click. Even Takeomi was becoming less unbearable the more time she spent with him and that was saying something.

    Katsumi allows her body to crumble against Rika as Takeomi continues to chew Shinichiro out about his old haircut.

    ...maybe it's about time to give that whole 'friends' thing a shot.

    If her own son could make friends then surely she could too, right?

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"H-Hey Michi!!! Funny seeing you here!!!"

    Takemichi turns around and spots Senju nervously scrambling up to him, her brows scrunched up in worry and sweat.

    The boy tilts his head, very confused in every aspect.

   "Um...yeah, we go to the same school...and we're in the same grade..."

    "Y-Yeah! Isn't that crazy—" she throws an arm around his shoulder and draws him in close, shielding both of them from the prying eyes of kids from other classes. When Takemichi glances over at the girl and takes note how her expression changed from nervous to downright horrified. "—you gotta help me out here, Michi!!!" She pleads, desperation dripping into her voice like an endless faucet.

    The notion causes his heart to lurch.

    Takemichi immediately nods his head, throwing the whole competition aside, and listens closely as Senju rambles his ear off about the terrible predicament she's in. Who cares if their classes are going against each other? If Senju needs help or something then she sure as heck is gonna get it! Besides, what kind of friend would Takemichi be if he brushes her off?

    "I know we're playing against each other but—but I think our classes need to work together to beat the ones that are in first place..." Senju tightens her grip around Takemichi's shoulders,  drawing him in even closer. "This is the last game and I promised big bro Take that I'll bring home gold!!!" Ah, so that's why she looks so desperate...

    "Let's go talk to Hakkai about it!" Takemichi suggests, watching as Senju's face lights up like a handful of fireworks.

    "So you'll help me?!"

    Takemichi grins.

    "Yeah—of course I will!!!" He exclaims proudly as he wraps the slightly smaller girl into a tight hug. She wastes no time in reciprocating the action by holding him tight. "Don't worry Sen-Chan, you can always count on me!"

    She freezes up.

    Takemichi can feel her heartbeat increase with their bodies being flush together in a warm embrace.

    He spots a creeping red rising and covering her ears.

    Oh no.