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?"
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