Chapter 87: Break The Ice

They entered into the large, square, white room, its roof extending high up into a glass ceiling which the teacher stood on to spectate the matches. The floor was divided by a black line, with 4 foam dodgeballs set up at an equal distance from each other along the strip. However, as the two looked around, they couldn't see anyone else in the room but them. No opponents in sight.

"Listen up! I'm going to explain the basic rules of dodgeball for any idiots in the class. 

Rule 1, if you get hit with a dodge ball, you're out and you have to stand along the wall until your teammate finishes or gets you back in. 

Rule 2, if you step over the line, you're out. 

Rule 3, if your teammate catches the ball while you're out, you may come back in, and whoever threw the ball is now out. 

Ruel 4, the use of Springs are permitted. You can try doing whatever you to those balls, but they're not gonna break, trust me," she puffed out a cloud of smoke from her cigarette as she finished explaining, one person raising their hand, who could be heard echoing across the building.

"Um! If you get hit in the head, are you still in..?" He asked.

"Huh? The hell, I know you're all wimps, but are you serious? Of course not, if you get hit in the head, suck it up and sit down. You're gonna be rangers dammit, if you can't handle a foam ball, I suggest you quit right now," she answered, the question seeming to irritate her greatly.

"Miss Zophia!" Sho raised his hand. "It would seem as though my teammate and I don't have any opponents. What's up with that?" Sho yelled out, catching Zophia's attention.

"Oh, you two get a by for the first round. We have 15 teams so it wasn't even. And I don't want a team to complain about being against you two first, so I just gave you the freebie," she announced.

Rein and Sho both looked at each other in bewilderment, the door to the next area suddenly opening, telling them to go over as they had already won the first round.

"Ok then..?" They reluctantly crossed through the door, then sat down on the soft floor of the next room in wait for the tournament to start, holding out until the next team finished their matches.

In the meanwhile, the two sat there awkwardly, not saying a word to each other, hearing the teacher count down, signaling the beginning of the first round. They could hear balls being thrown, impacting against the metal walls of the facilities, some voices echoing throughout the entire building as they lay there patiently.

Suddenly, Sho broke the ice.

"I don't think I ever apologized for my actions Rein. I'm sorry for what I did, it was unbecoming of a prince," he expressed as Rein turned his head to him.

"Oh, well as long as Chloe forgives you, I've got no issues… Though speaking of Chloe forgiving someone…" Rein opened the class list once again and saw who Chloe was paired up with.

"Damn, well I hope her grudge against him doesn't hinder their performance," he thought in his head, Sho sounding a confused gesture as Rein was thinking to himself.

"I don't know for sure, but I don't think the princess harbors any negative feelings towards me, though I could just be delusional," Sho stated.

"Oh, alright then. Then I've got no problem with it. Though, I am surprised you stayed after that, haha. I was expecting you to return to Econica or something," Rein mentioned.

"Oh, yeah that. I was contemplating it, but honestly, after what Zane said… I couldn't help but want to stay, just in case. I hope it's okay with you, I know she's rejected me already, but I also want to be here to protect her," Sho's resolve shone through, Rein reacting in a confused manner.

"Huh? Why would you need my permission to do that?" Rein asked, not knowing that he knew about his relationship with her.

"Oh, I haven't told you already? She said that she's fallen in love with you… Hold on, did you not know that? Are you that dense?" Sho professed.

"Wow, she said that? She's grown a lot of guts… Obviously, I knew, I was just surprised that she told you. Though, I don't plan on making it a secret," Rien explained as he stretched backward, his head sleeping on the soft floor.

"Ok then… Don't worry, I won't make any moves on her. Her safety is at the top of my priority, I won't get distracted with anything else. If an official attack declaration was made on Cornear in my absence, I think my dad can handle it."

"Top of your priority, huh? I wonder what's at the top of mine," Rein thought to himself, not being able to conjure up an image of his needs after what happened in Aquifa, his mind still jumbled in confusion.

"Well, do you have a strategy for dodgeball? Anything in mind?" Sho asked.

"Strategy? Haha. Nah dude, let's just wing it," Rein sat up, scratching the back of his hair.

"Are you serious? I didn't peg you as that sort of guy. I thought you were the meticulous and careful type," Sho laughed.

"Yeah, when I need to be meticulous or careful, I am. We should have a guaranteed first place if nothing goes wrong," Rein said as the teacher coughed to silence everyone, beginning to raise her voice as the sound of dodgeballs dissipated.

"That's the end of round 1! All the matches are over, the winning teams should go through the proceeding door when it opens," Miss Zophia announced, the other door in the room opened, revealing Rein and Sho's opponents.

Rein heard Quint's voice from the other side, arguing vulgarly with his teammate, seeming as though they had just lost.

"You fuckin idiot! Why the fuck didn't you catch that!? Are you braindead or something?!" Tanaga chastised.

"Huh?! How the fuck was I supposed to know it would ricochet?! Maybe if you didn't get out in the first 10 seconds, we would've had a chance!" Quint retorted, raising his voice as he growled.

"Ricochet? That must mean our opponent is…"