Off-Campus Hakuren Dorms, 03:00, Next Day
Blinking his bright orange eyes in the darkness of his room, Leonidas was accustomed to the same sight he saw every night.
Practically devoid of any personal belongings, Leonidas looked from his plain blue bed that had a single pillow on it, at the sparse room. If it weren’t for the closet that had 3 sets of overly large clothes and a small bag that had his tablet charging besides it, it would be almost impossible to determine whether or not someone actually lived here.
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
The clock hanging across the room was loud, but the constant tick had a hypnotizing allure that soothed Leonidas so he buried himself even more tightly under his blue blanket and watched it peacefully.
Tick Tock Tick Tock Tick Tock
After 60 ticks, the larger arrow moved slightly. Watching the arrow continue to move, Leonidas decided to play the game that he had learned when he was younger.
Tick One Tick Two Tick Three
Counting along with the ticking of the clock in his head, Leonidas knew that once hit 60, the arrow would move again. Then once he restarted 60 times, the smaller arrow would move.
Fun.
One, Two, Three…
One, Two, Three…
One, Two, Three…
Leonidas was good at counting and he was good at waiting. He wondered for a brief moment if anyone else knew such a fun game existed before his mind found its way back to the large clock on the wall and resumed the game.
One, Two, Three…
Fifty-eight, Fifty-nine, Sixty…
One, Two, Three…
05:58
Seeing the small arrow begin to approach the six, Leonidas felt a pang in his heart. Like every other night, the game eventually had to come to an end but for some reason he still felt a twinge of sadness that they would have to part until the next night.
05:59
In the last minute, it always seemed to Leonidas that the arrow would begin to move slower, as if it too was not willing to let the game end here, but inevitably the small arrow hit the six and Leonidas took off the blanket that he had wrapped around himself. Getting up with smooth movements he approached the clock that was placed slightly above his head on the opposing wall. Touching it gently with his left hand, he stroked the clock while thanking it internally for keeping him company through another night.
It was time.
Getting on all fours, he stretched his arm underneath his bed and felt around a little until he heard the crinkle of a foil bag and felt the small bag in his hand.
Opening the bag of kinoko no yama[1] he popped one in his mouth only to feel slightly disappointed. It was his favorite cookies n’ cream flavour. He had put them the furthest in the back meaning it would be time to restock soon. Rolling it around in his mouth for a little longer to savour it, Leonidas felt the sweet chocolate melt before looking forlornly into the bag that seemed to be getting smaller and smaller each year.
Perhaps he should start eating two bags in the morning?
No.
Shaking his head at the devil’s temptation, Leonidas finished up his breakfast before entering the bathroom to wash up and get ready for the day. Changing into his school uniform, he then grabbed his bag and tablet from his desk before walking across the hallway and pressing the keypad to unlock the door.
Beep Beep Beep
Like usual, Ryoga had left with his clothes strewn all over the room alongside unclean dishes and other miscellaneous items that cluttered the room and gave it a very chaotic feel that matched the older boy’s personality.
Putting on some gloves, Leonidas dexterously finished cleaning all of the dishes Ryoga had left for him before turning on the stovetop to prepare some rice and eggs for the older teen so it would be ready by the time he finished his morning run. While the eggs sizzled in the kitchen, Leonidas adeptly began organizing the room before making the bed so neatly that not a single wrinkle could be seen.
Beep Beep Beep
Hearing the door open, Leonidas knew that meant Ryoga was home and quickly took the egg off the pan before scooping out a bowl of rice and setting it on the table alongside some fruit.
Retreating to the side of the small table, Ryoga roughly sat down in the chair that Leonidas had pulled out for him before accepting the napkin and utensils that Leo had brought for him.
Munch Munch
As Ryoga continued to eat with gusto, Leonidas’s orange eyes nervously followed the movement of the older boy’s chopsticks as they continued to grab everything that was in sight on the table.
Burp
Finishing the meal, Ryoga turned to the green-haired boy before commenting
“Congrats, you’re not completely useless after all.”
Hearing the high praise leave Ryoga’s mouth, Leonidas felt a wave of relief run through his body. After creating such a mess at the gym last night, he had worked especially hard to make sure the meal was even more perfect than usual. Bowing his head, his long hair draped over his shoulders and blocked his eyes and Leonidas replied gratefully,
“Thank you Katata-sama”
Giving the dirty dishes to Leonidas who had already held his arms out in preparation for that, Ryoga turned around to head to the bathroom before yelling over his shoulder
“I hope I don’t have to remind you what else you have to do today”
“I’ll begin preparations immediately, Katata-sama”
Hearing the shower turn on, Leonidas rushed to get the frozen fruit and protein powder for Ryoga’s daily protein shake and then quickly went around to get Ryoga’s clothes, cleats and other equipment for practice later. Finishing just in time, Leonidas hurriedly followed Ryoga out the door knowing the older youth hated having to give reminders that it was time to go.
As the duo made their way onto the bus, Leonidas clenched his fist tightly.
Success.
Leonidas was especially on edge today after the mistake he had made yesterday and was relieved that everything had gone well this morning. Sitting back in the seat, Leonidas closed his eyes to sleep. Ryoga hated detecting any small movements while he was sleeping so he made sure to sleep as well, in order to reduce his movements. Luckily, Leonidas was a quiet sleeper so the two continued to snooze peacefully as the bus got closer to the school.
Hakuren Outdoor Field
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“Ughhh”
Looking at the scoreboard that remained at 0-0, Haruka whined to Suzaku who was casually walking back to the benches along with Daigiichi and the other Eisei members.
“I can’t believe we lost!”
“We didn’t lose Haruka, it was a draw!”
Scowling at Daigiichi who had replied enthusastically and had an idiotic happy-go-lucky smile on his face, Haruka yelled back
“That’s the same thing as a loss you baka!”
“What?! I’m not a baka! A loss means we had less goals than them but since we had the same amount of goals that means it’s a tie! So you’re the baka, not me! Baka, baka, bakaaaaaa”
Speechless that Daigiichi had actually said something that was semi-logical, Haruka decided to pretend she didn’t hear that and jumped on his back to beat him up.
Watching the lively Eisei members across the field, Mika felt a shiver run down her spine and looked behind her only to be met by the sight of Seiryuu casually eating a granola bar while walking up to her. Narrowing her eyes at the Eisei striker who was noticeably absent in the practice half-match between Hakuren and his team just now, Mika commented with a bit of sass in her voice
“You’re a bit late”
“Can’t be late if you never planned on showing up”
Swallowing the rest of the granola bar, Seiryuu’s relaxed attitude clearly showed that the Eisei captain had indeed never intended on showing up to his own team’s practice match.
“Then to what honour do we have for the number one striker to so magnanimously show up now?”
Ignoring the sarcasm that was laced in her voice, Seiryuu simply replied back
“Checking up on you of course, don’t be too touched”
Unable to prevent herself from rolling her eyes, Mika was about to scoff when she heard a voice calling out to her
“MIMIIIIIIIIIIIIIII-CHAAAAN!”
Oof
Letting out a small breath, Mika felt herself wrapped in the arms of the taller girl and struggled to catch her breath as Tsukishiro clung to her like some sort of octupus.
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“I’m so excited to get to play with you and all your cuties today!!”
Hearing the white-haired girl’s words, Seiryuu couldn’t help himself from interrupting the conversation between the two girls heatedly.
“Wait, you’re going to be playing too?”
Turning to Seiryuu who had an almost deranged look in his eyes, Tsukishiro cocked her eye slightly and answered while playing with Mika’s cheeks,
“Of course, how can I resist a face like this?”
Hearing the Hakuren captain’s reply, a sinister grin emerged on Seiryuu’s face as he turned and looked for the dog boy who was currently getting ready for Raimon’s practice match with Hakuren.
“Hey you”
Thinking that he had misheard, Galahad was startled to turn around and see the blue-haired captain from Eisei next to him and looking inside his bag that he was just about to close.
“Give me that”
“Excuse me?”
“That”
Motioning to the extra uniform that Galahad brought with him, Seiryuu impatiently held his hand out with a look in his eyes that indicated he wasn’t going to ask twice.
“Why do you need it?”
Growing frustrated at the blonde boy’s dithering and delaying, Seiryuu replied sarcastically
“To warm up my dog, obviously to play soccer!”
Not really sure what he was planning and not really carrying, Galahad handed over his extra uniform to which the older boy just grunted in thanks and began changing into the Raimon uniform.
Tsukishiro and Mika who had followed Seiryuu looked at the Eisei captain quizzically, while Mika ignored Galahad who was standing in front of Seiryuu, trying and failing to block her sight.
“Considering how you’re putting on that Raimon uniform Mr.Seiryuu, I’m surmising that you intend to play on the field with us but I have no recollection of you asking either of our teams for permission”
“Oh please, Mika. Let’s be honest, I’m doing you guys a favor, you can hardly call ourselves a team with one forward and Tsukishiro, you owe me”
Looking at the older girl for confirmation, Tsukishiro just shrugged her shoulders like it didn’t matter to her, to which Mika sighed before going over to Aphrodi to ask for his permission.
Listening to her explain what was going on, Aphrodi nodded his head in understanding before looking Mika in the eyes and saying
“Sounds like an excellent idea to me, you can learn a lot fighting alongside someone who you only viewed from the front before”
“Understood”
Not missing the flash of disappointment in her eyes, Aphrodi’s voice dropped as he took a more serious mood.
“Don’t underestimate him Kuroha-san, he acts freely because he has the strength to back it up. Seiryuu is one of the most talented strikers I’ve ever seen. In my mind, there’s no doubt someone like him goes pro.”
Nodding her head, Mika took another look at the blue-haired boy who was currently warming up alongside Galahad and reminded herself to put aside any thoughts besides soccer for now.
Clap Clap
“So everyone knows the rules right?”
Pausing to make sure all eyes were on her, Tsukishiro took a glance at the two teams who had gathered on the pitch before continuing.
“This will be a 45 minute first blood match where the team that gets the first goal wins. If no one scores by the end of the allotted time, it will end there as a draw.”
Making sure everyone had heard her, Tsukishiro gave a look of satisfaction before getting back into her position.
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Kicking the ball to Seiryuu after the kickoff whistle, Mika watched as the blue-haired striker charged his way through Hakuren’s side of the field. As usual, due to his strength he aggressively began to make his way through the Hakuren defense but unlike the preliminary teams, Hakuren was famous for having the best defense in the nation so it wouldn’t be so easy.
Seeing he was about to be cornered by a three man mark, Seiryuu had no choice but to pass it back to Serika who had already moved up, predicting that this would happen. However, as soon as she received the ball a girl who looked like she was on the verge of tears dashed in front of her.
Narrowing her eyes at the approaching Hakuren midfielder, Serika clasped her hands together.
OLYMPUS HARMONY!
“What?!”
As soon as Serika thought she had evaded her, the Hakuren girl quickly caught up and stole the ball back from behind her.
“S-Sorry, but I won’t lose to dribbling like that!”
Quickly turning around, Darika gave a short pass to her right.
“Itsuka!”
“Nice one Darika!”
Beginning their counterattack, the Hakuren offensive lineup nimbly made their way through Raimon’s defense leading to the ball ending up with a very short girl with vibrant red hair. Jumping up into the air, she began to spin from left to right while her legs became surrounded in a stream of ice. Reaching the top of the stream of ice, her foot began to glow with a blue light as she kicked the ball forward.
ICE TORNADO!
Seeing the cold shoot spiral towards him, Galahad readied himself before dashing towards the approaching ball while covering himself in a midnight-black armour made of shadowy tendrils.
TOTAL ECLIPSE!
“Ughhhhhh”
Gritting his teeth together, sweat began to bead at the top of his forehead but there was no way he was letting this through. Letting out a roar, Galahad was finally blown back by the force but the ball had significantly lost speed and landed gently in Hyun-Ki’s hands.
Huff Huff Huff
Panting after being blown back by the blast, Galahad quickly got his bearings and was relieved to see Hyun-Ki giving him a thumbs up while holding the recovered ball.
“Gabriel-senpai!”
Receiving the ball carefully from Hyun-Ki, the Raimon defenders swiftly moved the ball upfield until reaching Mika who was deep in Hakuren territory. With a few quick feints, Mika was left facing the last person between her and the goal.
“Hey b*tch, I still haven’t thanked you for yesterday”
Looking forward, Mika’s bright purple eyes met with clouded, red eyes that were attached to a face with a dirty sneer plastered on. Opening her mouth to reply, Mika continued to stare down the Hakuren defender.
“No thanks are necessary, though I would presume by your usage of ‘b*tch’ that your thanks is not from sincere sentiments”
Continuing to contest possession over the ball, Mika did a rapid feint and managed to get some distance from Ryoga but was surprised to see him do a quick pivot on the toes that let him recover. Hurrying, Mika quickly kicked the ball into the air to start ‘Pandora’s Box’ but was surprised to see Ryoga following closely behind her in the air. Mika then quickly outstretched her foot trying to kick the ball first but only managed to graze it, while Ryoga who had jumped with more force did an aggressive bicycle kick. Spinning, he kept the ball securely trapped with his right foot and landed softly. Also landing, Mika tried to rush and follow after him when she heard a voice yell out from behind her
“On your left”
“Tch.”
Ryoga gave a dirty look at Seiryuu who had covered for Mika and was now standing in his way.
“Get out of the way, you f***ing piece of s**t”
Charging forward, Seiryuu easily received the shoulder tackle from Ryoga and mockingly rebuked the defender.
“If your soccer skills were as good as your trash talk you might actually be a challenge Ryoga”
Fighting over the ball shoulder to shoulder, Seiryuu managed to finally knock back Ryoga and kicked the ball without hesitation into the air.
DRAGON GENESIS!
“Well isn’t this rude. How come you’re all having fun without me?”
Pouting, Tsukishiro gave a look of disappointment mixed with betrayal at the three players who had been battling intensely over the ball and stamped her foot as she saw the two dragons begin to fly in her direction. Completely unsatisfied at being left out of such an entertaining exchange, Tsukishiro decided it was time to join in before it was too late and the fun ended.
Jumping up, snow and ice began to gather around her as she spun in the air and gathered the snow around her foot. Tilting her body sideways and with impeccable timing, she gave a harsh kick to the ball leaving behind a trail of ice.
ETERNAL BLIZZARD~~
HAHAHAHAHA
Letting out a crazy laugh and filled with exhilaration, Seiryuu felt the adrenaline course through his body and crouching, he jumped up into the air to meet the attack shoot straight on.
TENKUU OTOSHI!!
With the ice blue blizzard meeting the planetary descent, purple and blue auras began to clash in the field and blow away the surrounding players. Forced to a knee, Ryoga muttered under his breath
“What the f**k are those crazy b*****ds doing? Have they lost their minds??”
Mika felt like she had to agree with the older boy for once. It was crazy enough that Tsukishiro had actually used an attack shoot to counter Seiryuu’s initial ‘Dragon Genesis’ but then for him to even think about trying to counter that head on with another shoot hissatsu was insane. To be able to match the timing of the opposing shoot and incorporate that into their own was almost impossible.
BOOM
Unable to withstand the power, the two auras both exploded and the leftover energy sent the ball barreling towards the bench, heading straight towards a boy holding a tablet who was apparently watching the game while taking notes. Recognizing him as their tour guide from yesterday and the boy at the gym, Mika gave a shout with all her might.
“TSUJO-KUN!! LOOK OUT!!”
Preparing herself to watch the impact, Mika tried not to wince but instead of seeing the boy thrown backwards she was stunned by what happened instead. Dropping his tablet, Leonidas’s eyes widened a little before his body rotated slightly to the left allowing the tip of his right foot to hit the ball directly sending it flying backwards to the other side of the field.
….
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Rushing over to check on the young boy, Mika bent over to ask him
“Is your body in good condition Tsujo-kun?”
Picking up his fallen tablet, Leonidas began to type into his tablet and she read
[Yes, thank you for asking. Please don’t concern yourself with me]
“I see…well if you feel injured later please head to a clinic”
[Understood, thank you]
Satisfied that he seemed unharmed but curious as to why someone with such skill wasn’t playing on the Hakuren team, Mika headed back to meet with her teammates who were all either laying down or drinking water after the difficult match. Well, except for one person.
“Ahhhh”
Mika eyed the blue-haired captain who had let out a long sigh of satisfaction as if he had just relieved himself of a heavy burden. Ignoring him, she continued to walk closer to Aphrodi who was gathering all the members for a meeting.
“I hope this was a good learning experience for all of you. It’s rare that you get to fight a team as strong as Hakuren Jr.High so I want you to strike while the iron is hot. Take a break for 30 minutes and then I want you all to resume free practice for the rest of the day. You should know what you need to improve the most right now”
Nariko opened her eyes wider as if she couldn’t believe what she had just heard.
“Seriously, more practice? I thought I’d be seeing other faces twist in pain, not mine…”
Seeing the disgruntled faces of the Raimon players who seemed to be in agreement with Nariko, Aphrodi narrowed his eyes and crossed his arms together in front of him.
“Oh? So this is the level of soccer you’re satisfied with? If you are, then you’re free to head back to the hotel and rest but frankly if Seiryuu hadn’t joined there’s no doubt you would have lost within the first 15 minutes.”
LIstening to those words, Galahad stood up clenching his fist in frustration. Head down, it was difficult to see his eyes but everyone could feel that the usually warm and sunny teen was feeling frustrated by the results of the match as he muttered
“I’m going to practice…I don’t want it to end here”
The air turned heavy, as Aphrodi and Galahad’s words stuck themselves in their heads. Watching the members get up to begin stretching and preparing for practice, Aphrodi gave a nod of approval before motioning his head to Ikue to prepare some towels and water for the players.
One Hour Later, Mountains Behind the School
“AHGGGGGG”
Letting out a groan, Mika launched another fierce kick up the slope leading to the soccer ball meeting the falling snowball in the middle[2]. Unfortunately, it was yet another failure as she saw the large shadow loom over head and then…
oof
Popping her head out from within the snowball that had just buried her, Mika glared intensely at the blue-haired striker who was standing at the top and giving her a mischievous smirk.
“Are you certain this is the exercise you used to perfect Dragon Genesis? It seems highly implausible for a human to kick a ball with enough force to break through a falling snowball of that mass and volume.”
“Are you really questioning the person who you just begged to train you and then graciously agreed to your little request?”
Shutting her mouth, Mika dug herself out of the snow before sitting down to rest for a bit. This was already the 19th time she had been buried in the process and was shivering due to the cold. Rubbing her hands together she looked resentfully at Seiryuu who had just slid down the slope to sit next to her and appeared quite warm and comfortable.
As the two silently sat immersed in their own thoughts, Mika broke the silence and turned her head to face the rival striker.
“I failed as a striker today. You and Tsukishiro both outperformed me by far, I wasn’t even able to overcome Ryoga while you did it with ease.”
“So I guess if I can do something easily then it should be extremely easy for you right?”
“Ah no…erm….”
Resting his hands behind his head, Seiryuu leaned back and closed his eyes while telling her
“I thought I’ve told you already. You have no tenacity, you’re indecisive and your soccer has no passion at all behind it. I feel like I’m playing with an animal up for the chopping block when I clash with you. It’s already given up. That’s why Ryoga rolled over you today and until you figure it out you’re always going to be stuck in the little league”
Taking in the older striker’s words, Mika acknowledged his analysis of her playing and opened her mouth to reply back but was unsure of what to say.
“I…”
Seiryuu looked down at the black-haired girl sitting beside him, who was struggling to find the words to speak and was about to tease her but stopped himself upon seeing her face appear even more tense and uneasy than before. Sighing, he brushed his hair back and brusquely addressed Mika
“Just say whatever you have to say, don’t keep it all bottled up inside like an idiot”
“...I still don’t have the answer to your question. I have asked many people why they play soccer and while the answers varied they all point back to one word : fun. It seems that they have all found ways to derive enjoyment from playing this sport in one form or another. Can this “fun” truly be powerful enough to sustain their will to play soccer? I just… can’t seem to understand them.”
Checking to make sure Seiryuu hadn’t fallen asleep considering this was the first time he had allowed her to speak uninterrupted without adding in some quip or other witty comment she looked up hesitatingly before continuing
“Is that also why you play soccer Seiryuu? For ‘fun’? Someone once told me that they liked soccer simply ‘because’ and that was suffice for them…”
Snorting, Seiryuu’s eyes darkened as he looked forward and avoided Mika’s eyes.
“Of course not. Do I look like a child to you? Well… I suppose there may be a few people sick enough in the head to think that…”
Sitting back upwards, Seiryuu’s eyes flashed a dangerous blue that made the hair on Mika’s neck stand up warning her Seiryuu was actually being serious for once.
“Mika, why do people play soccer?”
“.....”
“There’s only one reason : soccer is played to have winners and losers. Anyone who tells you differently is delusional or a liar and at the end of the day, all it boils down to is one team standing atop the other. You already know that all of the first human civilizations were hierarchical in nature…that’s because humans were born with a perpetual and restless desire for power after power—”
“That ceaseth only in death”[3]
Not even blinking as Mika finished the quote, Seiryuu just nodded silently while continuing
“We can pretend that we live in civilized societies that have been fully ‘modernized’ but people will always find a reason to fight and lord their superiority over people weaker than them and I…I’m not going to be one of the losers anymore. Being weak is the most pathetic thing a person can be and I’m going to keep winning until everyone else is kneeling beneath me”
Taking a moment to soak in everything Seiryuu had just told her, Mika’s mind went back to the practice match just one hour ago. Seiryuu’s greed to score was indeed suffocatingly powerful…but she didn’t feel any fear as she recalled the clash of purple and blue tearing apart the field as the hissatsus clashed in front of her eyes. Instead, they were almost enchantingly beautiful, as if they had cast a spell over her very soul. It was as if from his shoot, she could feel Seiryuu’s desire to dominate over everyone else on the field and his narrowed eyes emanated an overwhelming desire to win at all costs.
It was no wonder Seiryuu had become the top striker in Japan with that type of drive. In comparison, even to herself, she seemed pathetic and her soccer, lifeless. Why was it so difficult for her to find a reason to play soccer while it came so easily to everyone else. What did she want from playing soccer? All she knew right now…
“I want to…”
Not even realizing that she had already opened her mouth to speak, Mika spoke whilst staring directly at Seiryuu
“I want to play soccer with you”
“Oh?”
Smirking arrogantly, Seiryuu gave her a look of bemusement before taunting her.
“Didn’t we just play together on the same field an hour ago Ms.Kuroha? I would hope you aren’t having memory issues at this age”
Ignoring the obvious teasing in his voice, Mika had a solemn look while continuing.
“You…you were the one who wanted to fight me first.”
Recalling Tsukishiro's white hair flying in the air while she met Seiryuu’s ‘Dragon Genesis’ head on, Mika subconsciously clenched her toes in her shoes while continuing boldly.
“So don’t look at anyone else. I’m going to get stronger, so don’t look away from me”
“Is this jealousy I hear Ms.’Jealousy is An Emotion I Have Yet to Experience?”
Jealousy?
Falling silent, Mika wrapped her arms around her knees lost in thought. Jealousy is an emotion derived from insecurity over the lack of possession of something that someone else has. Having grown up with everything, it was logical that jealousy was a novel concept to her but now…
“Yes I suppose this is what people refer to as ‘Jealousy’, so take responsibility Mr.Seiryuu. I shall be expecting you to wait for me in the Finals, understood?”
“And just who do you think you’re talking to, Young Lady? Between the two of us, I think I should be the one worried here”
“A reasonable statement considering Raimon’s current strength… thus let us both make vows to each other to meet again in the finals”
Sticking her pinky finger out, Seiryuu couldn’t help himself from letting out a small laugh of disbelief at the childish behavior.
“And what exactly is this supposed to be?”
“I was recently informed that the linking of the fifth digit of the hand amongst peers signifies the promise of a fulfillment of an agreement between two parties”
“I see…”
Linking his finger with hers, Mika gave a satisfied nod of approval before standing up and pointing her index fingers towards the top of the slope.
“Now please resume the training Mr.Seiryuu”
Watching Mika get into a ready position with a resolute appearance and noble demeanor, Seiryuu felt the edges of his lips turn upwards.
“Hey, Mika”
“Yes Seiryuu?”
“You would never eat a meal without hors d'oeuvres right?”[4]
“Of course not.”
“Then don’t compare yourself to Tsukishiro’s soccer, it’s too…light so don’t doubt yourself.”
“......”
Unsure of how to react since this was the first time he had said something relatively positive in nature about her since they met last year, Mika just stood there while Seiryuu stretched his arms out behind him. Relaxing his face, Seiryuu looked upwards while he made his way back to the top of the slope. It looked like this year’s Holy Road was shaping up to be more interesting than last year’s after all…