Episode 9 - Billiards-Jutsu!

Krak! The cue ball slammed into the racked billiard balls and scattered them across the table, two immediately flying into the far corner pockets. Ryoichi Kei straightened up, rested his cue on his shoulder.

"I'll be solids then."

Effortlessly, he sank another few balls, one after the other. Finally, he missed one, and the cue ball rolled to a stop on the table's green felt.

Ryoichi sighed, tossed his long hair aside. "Your turn, Ji-kun."

Jihara Akatsuki approached the table. The pool cue looked too small in his hands. He peered down it solemnly at the cue ball, carefully sizing up the lay of the table, planning his shot. He drew it back carefully, and paused for a moment before striking.

Then, in a single sharp movement, scratched along the felt, hit the cue ball off center, and made it hop across the table and crash into a pocket without hitting a single other ball. He stood back from the table with an embarrassed smile, ceding his place to Ryoichi.

Meanwhile, at the next table over, Yukimura Hisoka was studying the positions of the cue ball and her targets. Her eyes darted across the table, a thoughtful expression on her face, as though she was calculating angles of collision, simulating possible shots.

"Any time now, Yuki-chan," said Mizumigawa Shin, grinning confidently and leaning on her pool cue, waiting for her opponent to take her shot. Yukimura shot her a withering look, then, after a moment, rested her hand on the table, laid the cue between forefinger and thumb, and fired off a confident, solid shot. The balls careened around the table, rebounding at precise angles, and two striped balls sank into the pockets at the table's edges.

The next shot was more difficult. Yukimura decided she didn't want to risk going for another point, and instead made a careful shot that left Mizumigawa in a terrible position.

Mizumigawa looked askance at the table as the cue ball rolled into place, blocking all her potential shots. It would take a double-rebound at least to even try to hit one of the solid balls. But she just casually lined up a shot - right at a striped ball.

"Mizu-kun, you know you're solids, right?" Yukimura looked down at her skeptically.

Mizumigawa just smirked, drew the cue back, and struck viciously at the cue ball - it spun rapidly, swinging out to the side, and curved around the striped ball, smacking right into the solid ball behind it, knocking it into the far pocket. She looked up with a gleam in her eye - Yukimura's expression was frozen on her face.

Ryoichi sank the 8-ball with a flourish. "That's the game! Sorry, Ji-kun." The group of girls who had drifted over to surround him (Though I didn't actually see them arrive, thought Kotei Jin) giggled and cheered. Jihara gave another embarrassed smile as he gestured for Jin to take his place.

(Only Ryoichi saw, mixed in with the self-deprecating embarrassment, a faint flicker of disproportionate shame.)

Jin would be facing Ryoichi in this next round. As they gathered the balls from the pockets, he thought to himself that it was nice that even such a serious dueling team could take some time out to play a simple, relaxing game.

Jin took the first shot, scattered the pool balls. They bounced about the table, rebounded off each other - but none went in.

"Good break," said Ryoichi, turning from delivering what was apparently a hilarious witticism to his laughing herd of fans, "but you'll regret giving me a turn!"

He made good on his threat! He put away a series of balls in short order, only half paying attention to the game, keeping up his stream of banter with the crowd.

Jin was... impressed.

But still, it couldn't continue forever, and after the first few points he missed a shot, leaving Jin with a choice between several tricky shots.

Jin looked down his pool cue from different angles, trying to figure out which shot to go for. This one was at an awkward angle, that one was more straightforward but lay further down the table. He decided to go for the closer shot, and leaned in close to the cue ball, aiming carefully.

Suddenly, another cue ball clattered onto the table, smashing his out of the way, just in front of his face. The giggling stopped, and Jin looked up, startled, at the next table over.

"Sorry about that." A boy with dark, stringy hair hanging in front of his face was standing there, holding a pool cue and wearing a completely unapologetic grin. He'd been playing a round with a girl in a light-yellow sundress, and had apparently chipped his cue ball from one table to the other.

He drifted over to their table, picked up the ball. "Hey," he added, as though just recognizing them, "you guys are from Bosatsu Academy, aren't you?"

"Indeed we are," replied Ryoichi warmly.

The boy with the messy hair indicated the girl in the sundress with his thumb. "We're from Chikaku. I'm Kumoru Yuji."

The girl waved cheerily, a big smile on her face. "I'm Nanafushi Kazue-chan!"

Kumoru raised his head slightly as though looking down at them, a contemptuous smirk on his face. "So these are our first opponents in the championship."

"No," said Mizumigawa, stepping forward, "we're your only opponents. No way you'll make it past us!" She crossed her arms, grinning.

Kumoru laughed, harshly and too loudly. He drew himself up to his full height - he seemed to grow a foot at least - and leaned forward. "Look at you," he hissed. Mizumigawa's hands dropped to her sides, and the hair stood up on the back of her neck. "You're pretty tough, aren't you?" His voice had gotten lower, cold and deliberate. "What's wrong? You've gotten quiet. Why don't you show me your stuff?" He seemed perfectly still, but somehow he had gotten way too close. Still, except for his eyes, which darted and flickered about. "I want to see what you're made of." Everyone seemed to be frozen. The atmosphere had changed so suddenly and drastically, they were just starting to react when Kumoru grabbed Mizumigawa's wrist.

Krak.


In a flash, he lay sprawled on the ground, Mizumigawa standing opposite him. Her feet were spread apart, one hand formed into a fist, a fighting stance. A trickle of blood dripped from Kumoru's lip.

She whispered, "don't you ever touch me."

Then, everyone remembered how to move. Ryoichi and the others ran to Mizumigawa's side, Nanafushi to Kumoru's. She reached down to help him up.

He pushed her hand away, wiped at the blood. "Keep a leash on that one," he sneered, then pushed his way to his feet. "Now I'm really looking forward to this match." He narrowed his eyes at Mizumigawa. "I'm going to eat you alive."

She jerked her hand back as though about to strike again, and he flinched. Without another word, he turned and strode out of the room.

Nanafushi Kazue lingered for a moment, the same smile inexplicably still on her face. "Sorry about him! He can be sorta difficult sometimes, I know." She turned to follow him, and then paused, as though she had just remembered something.

"Oh... but we are going to eat you alive."

She laughed lightly, then sprinted after Kumoru.

The Bosatsu duelists looked at each other in silence for a long moment.

Slowly, Mizumigawa pushed her way out of the group, picked up a cue stick.

"Are we going to finish this game?"

Episode 8 - Training

Ryoichi clasped his hands behind his back. He paced in front of the lower-ranked duelists of the team, arranged in rows before him in the courtyard.

"When I say to begin, you will make your first throw. You will all throw simultaneously, then continue making new throws every second. Make your sequence as unpredictable as possible. If I do predict one of your throws," he paused menacingly, obviously enjoying this chance to chew the scenery, "you will give me ten pushups, then return to your sequence!" His head snapped towards them. "Begin!"

The students' hands descended in tandem; Rock, Paper, and Scissors flashing out in rapid succession. Ryoichi slowly stalked down each row, a cunning smile in his eyes.

"Scissors," he said. The boy in front of him had indeed thrown Scissors, the moment he had said it. He looked up at Ryoichi, who arched an eyebrow. The boy dropped to the ground, started his ten pushups.

"Paper," Ryoichi walked down the rows, "Paper," surveying his subjects, "Scissors," and with each word, "Rock," another one fell to the ground.

Then, he paused. He was watching the next student in line, a boy with a fierce, determined look. The next few throws ticked by - Scissors, Rock, Rock, Rock, Paper, Scissors.

Ryoichi grinned. "Pretty good," he whispered to himself, then turned his attention to the next student. "Scissors!"

~

Mizumigawa rolled out of the dueling arena and into the main office like a thundering stormcloud, her irritation practically forking through the air around her. She kicked the mini-fridge open, cracked open a soda, drank it in seconds, crumpled the can, and chucked it forcefully into the garbage, teetering the basket.

Jihara entered behind her, an almost embarrassed air about him. "You've become much faster, Mizumigawa-dono. It is very difficult to read you."

"One point! I got one measly point. I'm not fast enough." She drew herself up as tall as she could, looked Jihara in the eye. "But I'm going to beat you."

He blinked. "Ah," he started, but she was out of the door by then.

~

Behind the compound's main building and the duelists' dormitory, there was a small zen garden of low plants, winding paths, large stones, carefully raked sand. It was quiet and serene, insulated by some architectural means from the sounds of Ryoichi's drills in the courtyard.

On two large rocks near the middle of the garden, surrounded by sweeping waves of sand, sat Yukimura Hisoka and Kotei Jin. Jin tugged at the blindfold over his eyes, adjusting it, seemingly unable to find a comfortable way for it to sit on his head.

"Stop playing with that," said Yukimura, "you need to focus."

Jin lowered his hands to his lap, grudgingly.

"Ultimately, in the moment," she began, "Rock Paper Scissors isn't about your feelings. It's about your choices. Rock, no matter how forcefully thrown, cannot tear Paper. Paper, no matter how cleverly planned, cannot entangle Scissors. Scissors, no matter how sharp, cannot cut Rock."

"So why are we...?" asked Jin, trailing off and gesturing at the garden around them.

Yukimura shook her head. "This isn't about spiritual enlightenment. We're only here because it's quiet." She raised one hand. "I'm going to make a throw, and you're going to tell me what it was."

"How am I supposed to to do that?!"

"I don't care how you do it," she replied. "But I'd suggest paying careful attention. If you're not willing to do what seems impossible, you won't last long in the championship." A pause. "What did I just throw?"

"... I didn't hear a thing."

"Then keep quiet and try again."

Jin frowned, concentrated, reached out with his mind for the faintest sound, the tiniest vibration. Then, a faint rustle, Yukimura's clothes? The air around her hand?

"What did I throw?"

"... Paper?"

"How sure are you?"

Jin shrugged. "How should I know? It was just a guess."

"That was Scissors. Do it again."

Another faint sound, which Jin thought was slightly different this time.

"Paper?"

"Scissors again."

"This is pointless!"

"What's pointless," snapped Yukimura, "is guessing randomly. You'll never learn how to do it if you rely on chance! As soon as you start thinking like that in a duel, your opponent has the advantage."

Jin snapped back at her, "then why do you keep asking me what you threw?! There's no way I'd be able to do this so quickly! The only right answer would be for me to keep silent!"

Yukimura smirked. "Now that is a clever idea. You're right, don't bother guessing, just listen."

Then, "Rock." Another pause. "Rock. Paper. Rock. Scissors."

Jin simply sat there listening. His anger died down, and he became quickly absorbed in the succession of sounds.

Time passed, Yukimura making a series of throws at the blindfolded Jin, Jin silent and still.

"Scissors. Rock. Scissors." Then, suddenly, they said together, "Scissors."

"... Very good. I think you're catching on."

"I'm still not entirely sure what you've thrown," mused Jin, "but I think my guesses are better than chance now."

"That's enough for today, you two." Jin turned and peeked under his blindfold. Ryoichi Kei stood at the entrance to the garden. To Jin's surprise, it was starting to get dark. How long had he been training? "Good work, but you need to take a break sometime." Ryoichi gestured for them to follow with a slight incline of his head. "I'm going to go play some pool with Ji-kun and Mizu-kun. Want to join us?"

Yukimura stood, stretched. "Why not?"

Jin hopped up from his rock. He started for the garden's entrance, then stopped, turned to Yukimura. "Thank you for training with me, senpai."

She raised an eyebrow. "Training like this is useful, even necessary. But your best teacher will never be a teammate, or an ally, or a friend. It will be your strongest opponent, someone driven to find your every weakness."

Jin smiled and glanced at Ryoichi. "She's always this serious, isn't she?"

Ryoichi laughed. "Ha ha! Pretty much, yes." Yukimura frowned at them, half-seriously. "Now quick, we need to catch up with the others."

Ryoichi waited at the entrance for Yukimura as Jin walked ahead. He held up one hand to stop her as she reached him, not taking his eyes off of Jin. "He's good, isn't he?" His voice was quiet.

"He is." She also watched Jin. "I didn't expect him to do so well so quickly."

"Good enough for the championship?"

She shrugged. "Perhaps. No way to know yet." She looked up at Ryoichi. "You may have picked well this time."

Ryoichi smiled faintly, lowered his head in thought. Then, he started after Jin. "Come on, Yuki-chan."

~

"Bosatsu Academy." The boy wore a pressed white shirt, an expensive-looking haircut, an expression of long-practiced condescension that still looked strange on his youthful features. "They are to be our first opponents." His posture was rigid, his voice high and soft.

"Haven't faced them before," mumbled another boy. He had long, dark hair that hung untidily in front of his face, and though he was tall, his slouch brought him almost down to eye level with the first boy. He leaned against a wall nonchalantly.

"They're strong, but we've beaten stronger."

The slouching boy rolled his eyes. "So what's your point?"

The first boy glared. "I just want us to be ready. I've prepared reports on each of them, and you all should study them carefully before the match."

"Whatever. I don't need this stuff." He turned to leave. "I'm out of here."

The first boy pressed his hand to his forehead.

"Don't worry!" A girl, bubbly and smiling, with a brightly-colored sundress. "I'll make sure he reads it!" She giggled, and grabbed two copies of the documents. "Wait for me!" She ran out after the boy who had left.

The boy sighed. "Fine, go." He picked up another copy, flipped through the pages. He tapped his finger on a picture of Ryoichi. Then, he closed his eyes, let out a deep breath.

A thin smile slowly crept across his face. "These people... have no idea what they're in for."