"What is the situation here?" Minami, who can't believe that Junko opted to team with Kurono.
"I don't know either. But Junko and that Kurono guy seems to be on the same page here." Nene replied to her friend.
"Alright. Let's do this." Junko exclaim, motioning for her teammates to gather up. They reluctantly approach her, with Minami eyeing on the quiet Kurono.
"Hey Minami, focus."
Minami sighed, don't wanna argue with Junko.
"Fine."
"Seems like everyone is ready. Then, get into position. We're starting now." The PE teacher stand in the middle of the court, handing out bandanas to everyone.
Each team are identified by the bandana the members are wearing. The red team wore their bandana on the forehead, showing passions and hardboiled persona.
The other team, is blue. Showing freedom and never back down spirit. Except for the two in the middle.
Minami, with fire in his eyes, is ready to tear the other team down. Everyone in school knows that he's the ace when it comes to sport. Despite being on the blue team, his passion is beyond everyone in the place.
Then there's the one guy beside him.
Kurono, wore his bandana by the elbow. No passion, no competitiveness, no emotions.
These two's presences in the center are already putting the red team on edge.
"The hell is with those two?" One of the opponent is taken aback by the sight of them.
"Naruto and Sasuke?"
"No. That's Luffy and Law."
"Don't slow me down." Minami warned Kurono, but his silence is frustrating Minami even more.
'This guy. I should've been on the other team.'
"Hey Bakaboshi. Focus." Nene told her friend. Both she and Junko are behind the two, using them as shield. Junko has to make sure Kurono doesn't do anything stupid.
The teacher placed several balls in the middle of the court before walking out the line.
"Ready."
All the students assumed their stances. Except for one.
*BEEPPP!!!
And they go. All the front students rushed to the center, grabbing the balls and begin hurling at the opposite team.
Minami was the first one to reach the center, and begin his assault. Just like that, he eliminates the one in front of him.
"Eat this Minami!!" One of the opponent threw his ball at Minami's direction but he quickly dodged the oncoming strike. Then it hits him, Kurono was responsible for that spot.
Turning around, he sees Kurono just standing there, avoiding any assaults coming his way effortlessly.
It was chaos as more balls are thrown in the court by the teacher, increasing the chance of getting hit.
"Damn him." Minami ignore Kurono, resume his assaults on the opponents.
So far, the numbers eliminated on each teams are nine to six. With Minami held the most elimination by three. But despite his effort, his team is losing, and he knew who to blame.
"Oi you!!!" In the middle of dodging, he pointed at Kurono.
"Do what you're supposed to do!!!" Again, no answer by him.
"Bakaboshi!! Forget about him!!" Nene trying her best to strike the opponent.
Kurono, still dodging the barrage of dodgeballs, is pissing a lot of people, mainly the boys.
"Haki?"
"That guy is just showing off. Everyone!!! Give it your everything and blast him off!!!" One of the opponents, Takashi, ordered his team. And so, Kurono became the target of the enemies.
But their efforts were futile. Kurono is like a psychic. He foresaw every shots coming after him and elegantly dodged them all.
"Damn it. I can't hit him!"
But Kurono was missing the most important part. One of the shots that was attempted at him ended up hitting Junko behind him, eliminating her in the process.
Kurono turned, looking at Junko down on the floor. The shot hits her shoulder. And that's all it takes for him to be serious.
Junko gets up on her feet, walking outside the court, but the brief glance exchanged with Kurono is telling him that something is about to happen.
"Don't wor-"
She didn't even get to finish her comment, as Kurono take the ball in hand, hurled it at the opposite team. Gust of wind appeared after his throw, like a rocket shooting out of his hand.
The ball reached it's target Takashi, face first, knocking him out cold. That's a wake up call for everyone, about Kurono is a former delinquent spending time in juvenile centre.
His veins is showing from the arms all the way to the bicep. His eyes went from unemotionally cold to raging beast.
Minami noticed how reddish his hand was after the throw. Sports and physical activities tend to gather the blood at the targeted area. The match somehow stopped for a moment as everyone were trying to process what they just witnessed.
Takashi's body is build to withstand harsh labor. His father runs a rice factory, and helping his father after school is a routine for him. And now he just got knocked out by the new student in one shot.
He locked eyes with everyone on the opposing team for a few seconds, sending chills down their spines.
"Died."
That's not a word suitable for sports let alone school.
"Huh?"
Without warning, Kurono rushed over to pick up any balls he could get his hands on and begin his assaults. It was strike after strike, hitting his targets, mostly face and head.
It's like Hajime gunning the undeads in season two of Arifutera. But instead of bullets and undead, this is dodgeballs and students.
Within two minutes, he singlehandedly turned the table from eleven to six into eleven to eighteen, winning the bout.
His teammates were too stunned to celebrate. Even the teacher's speechless. Taking in the view of the injured students on the floor, Junko felt horrible. She went over and dragged Kurono outside.
"The hell are you thinking!?"
Kurono bowed his head in shame.
"My deepest apology. It is my fault that you got injured. I'll accept any and every punishment." This is what Junko feared the most. About how she's treated as a high up daughter.
"Lift your head. I don't want any misunderstandings spread around the school." And so he did.
"Just because I got hit, you try to kill them? How stupid can you get? It's a game Shun. Don't treat everything like it's life and dead."
"Protecting you is my job. And I have failed at it."
"Use you head. Dodgeball is like the one you saw on TV. They're my classmates, and so are yours. No more unnecessary violence in the school. You understand Shun?"
"Yes..."
During recess, Nene asks Junko a question that's gonna test her brain.
"Why do you called him Shun instead of Kurono?"
(In Japan, calling people by real name is only applied to some that's close. Junko and Nene called each other by the real names because they're close. But Junko called Akaboshi by his surname Minami instead. Junko called Shun by his real name indicates that she and Shun is close to some extend and that's what sparks the curiosity in Nene.)