Classroom.
Koji leaned forward on his desk, eyebrows furrowed."What's going on between those two?" he whispered. "Just yesterday they seemed like best friends… and now it's like they can't stand each other."
Kousuke sat in his usual back corner, slouched into the seat like a shadow. Across the room, Yoko sat with arms crossed, pointedly facing away from him. And behind him sat Rei, calm and smiling, as if the tension didn't even exist.
Akira scoffed. "Maybe they had a lovers' quarrel."Rei giggled. "You boys are dramatic."
The teacher clapped her hands. "Alright, enough chatter. I've got news."
The room fell silent.
"You five—Kousuke, Yoko, Koji, Akira, and Rei—have been selected to represent Class 1-A in the upcoming school-wide tournament."
Yoko stood up immediately. "I'd rather not be on a team with her."Rei smiled sweetly. "Then don't."Akira crossed his arms. "And I'd rather not be on a team with this lazy idiot."Kousuke yawned. "Long as I get to sleep, I don't care."
The teacher continued unfazed. "Too bad. It's decided. You five are the official team for Class 1-A."
Koji threw up his hands. "Seriously?"
"Oh—and Kousuke," the teacher added, "you're the team leader."
Yoko, Akira, and Koji: "WHAT!?"
Kousuke blinked slowly. "Huh?"
"The first event will be Capture the Flag," she announced. "There will be four teams, each from a different class. You'll begin the match at your own base, where your team's flag is located. Each team will receive one map of the arena. That map will show the locations of the other three forts—but only the exact location of your own flag."
She paused, letting that sink in before continuing."To win, your team must score four points. Capturing an enemy flag is how you earn them. Each team's own flag is worth four points. The others? Worth two each."
A hand shot up."Wait," Koji interrupted. "So only our flag is worth four to us?"
The teacher shook her head."No. Your flag is worth four points to whoever was assigned to capture it. That's the only information you'll be given. You won't know how much your flag is worth to which enemy team."
A low murmur moved through the class.
"And yes," she added, "if an opponent who wasn't assigned to your flag takes it, you're still in the game. You can even steal your flag back. But—your team can only hold one flag at a time. No stacking."
A brief silence followed.
"The current score will be visible to all teams at all times. Any questions?"
Kousuke leaned back, hand half-raised."What's the time limit?"
The teacher raised an eyebrow. "Who said there was a time limit?"
Kousuke tilted his head, unfazed."Well… I'm pretty sure you all considered the possibility of a stalemate, right? So I'm guessing there is one."
A smirk flickered at the corner of her lips."You guessed correctly. The time limit is one hour. When time is up, the team with the highest score—or the most progress—wins."
Kousuke yawned. "Sounds… tiresome."
Yoko shot him a glare."Are you sure we can't at least change our leader?"
The teacher held up a hand. "Final decision. Now then, that's all for now. You have 20 minutes to prepare. Meet me in the arena."
As the class erupted into mutters and groans, the teacher thought to herself:Okay… I put him in a team full of people who hate to lose. I made them the class representatives. I even made him the leader. Now he'll be forced to take this seriously.
Hallway.
Outside, the five team members gathered in the hall.
Yoko crossed her arms. "We need to know you're going to take this seriously.""You're worrying too much," Kousuke replied.Akira folded his arms. "We need your word."
Rei stepped in with a smile. "There's no need to worry, guys. We won't lose—not as long as Koshi's on our team."Kousuke sighed. "You're annoying."
Yoko frowned. "Sorry if we don't believe you. This is the same guy who forfeited all his ranked matches and slept through the last tournament."Rei tilted her head. "Koshi doesn't care about rankings. And I heard you only won that tournament because of him."
Yoko narrowed her eyes. "And your point is?""He might not care about his own reputation," Rei said, "but he won't damage ours. For that reason alone, he won't let us lose. Honestly, I don't think the teacher realizes it—but making him our leader might've been the best thing she could've done."
"Whatever," Yoko muttered. "Let's just go."Rei smiled to herself. "You'll see."
Courtyard.
The team walked toward the arena… all except Kousuke, who drifted behind.
He stared out a tall window, distracted by the way the sun glinted across the campus trees. Lost in thought, he turned the corner—and slammed straight into someone.
Hot liquid splashed across white fabric.
"You need to watch where you're going," the boy snapped, brushing his now-stained shirt.
Kousuke tilted his head. "That's funny. I'm not the one with tea on me.""Oh? So I bumped into a smart-ass, huh?""Ahh, so you do admit you bumped into me."
Yoko called from ahead, "Kousuke! Hurry up or we'll be late!"
The boy squinted. "Wait. Kousuke? You're Kousuke?"
Kousuke didn't answer.
"I heard about you. You're the idiot who forfeited all his matches and ranked dead last.""Guilty.""But somehow, you still managed to make the top team in your class. Interesting… well, that just means I'll get to destroy you in one of these events.""Destroy me?""The next time we meet will be during one of these tournaments. And I'll make sure you apologize for spilling my tea."Kousuke raised a brow. "Can't wait."
The boy turned and walked away.
Yoko glanced back. "Who was that?"Kousuke shrugged. "No idea… but I think he really likes tea.""Whatever. Come on."
Arena.
The five reunited at the arena gates.
Rei raised a brow. "What took you guys so long?""Some jerk who likes tea," Kousuke muttered."…Huh?""Doesn't matter. We're here now."
Koji cracked his knuckles. "You better be taking this seriously."
From the center of the arena, an announcer's voice boomed."Well, it seems all of our competing teams are here. Can I have all team leaders meet at the center of the ring?"
The four team leaders stepped forward.
"Now, please introduce yourselves."
Otsuka stepped up first. "I am Otsuka. It's a pleasure to compete against you."
Next, a confident girl with violet hair. "I'm Sakurai. I hope you strong boys are willing to take it easy on a cute girl."
Then, a cold-eyed boy. "I'm Kikuchi. Let's have a fair match out there."
The announcer looked at Kousuke. "And you, kid? What's your name?"
Kousuke stared blankly. "I'm uninterested."
Otsuka scowled. "It's common courtesy to give your name before a match.""This is a complete waste of time," Kousuke said. "I just want to hurry up and win this thing."Kikuchi stepped forward. "What did you say, punk?"Kousuke sighed. "Can we speed this along so I can get back to my team?"
The announcer nodded awkwardly. "Right… your teachers should've explained the basic rules, but let me clarify."
"Each team's flag is hidden in a fort. Your map shows the exact location of your own flag, but only the fort locations of your opponents—not their flag position."
"You'll be notified when a flag is captured, but you won't know which team's flag it was. Also, you only get one map—lose it or get it stolen, and you're out of luck."
"Any questions?"
"So to win, we either capture our assigned four-point flag or two of the others. Got it." Sakurai murmured.
Kousuke shrugged. "Won't make a difference either way."Sakurai chuckled. "You sure are confident."
Kousuke stepped forward. "Kind of hard not to be. Even if the three of you combined your teams and came after us—it still wouldn't matter."
He turned and walked away.Kikuchi clenched his fists. "That jerk."Sakurai smirked. "I say we give him what he wants."
Team Zones.
The teams returned to their zones. Maps were distributed.
The announcer's voice echoed across the stadium:"All teams, prepare to begin. You will be teleported to the battleground in five seconds. When teleportation completes, the match begins."
A flash of light enveloped them.
Battlefield.
The five members of Team Kousuke reappeared on stone ground surrounded by dense trees and mountain paths. A glowing flag waved atop a tower in the distance.
Koji looked around. "So this is the battleground…"Akira pointed. "I'm guessing that's our flag."Yoko looked at the others. "So what's the plan?"
Everyone turned to Kousuke.
"You do have a plan, right?"
Kousuke stared. "Why is everyone looking at me?"He laid down.
Yoko seethed. "Because you're our team leader!"Koji facepalmed. "I knew he'd do this."
Kousuke waved lazily. "How about you take the lead, princess. Show me you guys are even worth being on my team.""Don't push your responsibilities on me!"
The announcer's voice rang across the field:"One minute in, and it seems Team Kousuke is already having a disagreement."
Kousuke tossed the map at Yoko. "Here. Go capture a flag or something."Yoko snatched it. "Fine."Akira muttered, "Useless."
Yoko scanned the map. "Looks like the 4-point flag is the farthest. We could go after the 2-pointers first."Kousuke replied, eyes still shut. "That means two trips, two fights. More work. Goal is to do it quick."Koji scoffed. "Just shut up. What do you know?"
Yoko paused. "…No, he's right. Our best shot is the 4-point flag."Yoko clenched the map tighter. She hated that his logic made sense.
"But what about our flag?" Akira asked.Kousuke sat up. "I'm not going anywhere. I'll guard it."Koji growled. "You really think we'd leave you here alone?"
Rei stepped forward. "I'll stay back too. To make sure he doesn't slack off."Yoko narrowed her eyes. "How do I know I can even trust you?"Rei shrugged. "I need this win just as bad as you. I'm not letting either of you mess it up."
Yoko hesitated. Then nodded. "Fine. Well, it's settled. Koji. Akira. Let's go get that flag."
The announcer's voice echoed across the field, sharp and excited."It seems Team Kousuke are finally on the same page. Their team is starting to head out!"
In the trees, just behind the flag tower, Rei walked beside Kousuke as their teammates pushed ahead.
"I know you have a plan," she said softly, voice nearly drowned out by the wind.Kousuke didn't look at her. "No idea what you're talking about."She smiled faintly. "They still don't believe in you. But after this match… they will."
Flashback.
Kousuke had already walked off, leaving behind nothing but tension and a half-empty ring.
Sakurai's lips curled into a grin. "I say we give him what he wants."Kikuchi raised a brow. "And what's that?""To be the center of attention."
Otsuka folded his arms. "And how do you propose we do that?""We form a truce," Sakurai said, flicking her violet braid behind her shoulder. "No one touches each other's flags—not yet. First, we take his team out of the game. Come on, boys. It's just a little team-up… nothing personal."
Kikuchi frowned. "Three teams teaming up on one? That's a bit… excessive, isn't it?""Not when the bastard walks around like he's already won," Sakurai snapped. "We'll send two members from each of our teams to meet at a rendezvous point. Three stay behind to defend our own flags. That gives us six attackers."
"And you think they'll only leave two to defend?" Otsuka asked.She shrugged. "They're cocky. Everyone's seen it. They'll probably push forward with three and leave two at base. We'll overwhelm them six to two and knock them out early."
Otsuka raised an eyebrow. "And after?""After we crush them, we go back to fighting each other," Sakurai said simply. "Whoever's flag they were after gets a free pass. The other two teams fight for it. Two two-point flags is still enough to win."
Kikuchi thought it over. "That gives everyone a chance, without letting his team dominate the game.""Exactly. Once Kousuke's out, it's fair. And personally," she added, eyes narrowing, "I just want to prove he's not untouchable."
Otsuka smirked. "You know what? I like it."Kikuchi nodded. "Same. I'm in."
Sakurai extended her hand.No one smiled, but they all shook on it.
Present.
The announcer's voice cut back in, confusion laced through his words."Okay, now let's check on the other teams… wait—what is this? It appears that two members from each of the other three teams are gathering in one place…"A pause."Could it be… a temporary alliance?"
Unseen by the rest, Kousuke let out a slow breath and glanced at the sky.
He didn't look worried.He looked bored.
"…How predictable."