Capítulo 27: Competitor

Kazuya calmed himself and hid behind Mahiru and the others. He was taken by surprise but since mana was natural energy, it wasn't weird for a people to have it in them without being aware of it. What caught him off guard was the amount of mana in that girl's body was more than what she should have at her age on Earth. Some notes he read about in Natsu's research came to mind.

[Earthling Mana Theory]

[Mana should be present on Earth albeit on a lower supply compared to Edea]

[After learning and experiencing what I could here in Edea, I conclude that Earth's lack of understanding has lead to many misunderstandings. All living beings have mana. I believe that the people on Earth that can hold more mana than a regular person can are classified in Earth terms as 'Empowered Humans' in which I have classified them as 'Superhuman' and 'Supernatural' types respectively]

[Using Edea as an example, some are more talented in certain aspects. They develop themselves and use their talents as the base of what they wish to be. They are classified as warriors, magicians, archers and the like]

[The most common are the Superhuman types. Majority of them like here in Edea manifest the physical related talents. They are what we call 'athletes' on Earth. They are manifested by above the norm strength, agility, dexterity and the like]

[The rarer ones are the Supernatural type. In Edea, magicians for example are known as practitioners of forces unknown (the real ones anyway). These individuals are harder to identify as most hide their abilities while some are labeled as con-artists. Earth's people have a certain stubbornness about believing in only what they can see]

[It is the same for both worlds. Mana is the key and it plays a large part on how much capacity one has]

[Probably the biggest difference is that people on Earth have no knowledge of mana in it's entirety. Without the knowledge, and insufficient supply, the bearers themselves only have their instincts to guide them]

"(A talented athlete. It was no coincidence that the robot lost after all. I wonder what she's really capable of)" a faint smile formed on his lips. This tournament might have something that he could look forward to.

This wasn't the first time he encountered someone with an unusual amount of mana in their body. Tomoyo and Jirou were examples of natural warrior types with heightened physical abilities. Kyouko and Mei on the other hand were still unknown since the mana in their bodies were being steadily increased by the formation at the Kouzuki household.

Kazuya even took it a step further and increases it manually when they touch him. Together with the items he gave them which they proudly wear, it would take a lot of effort for them to get hurt. That is, if the damage wasn't life threatening,

He had yet to encounter one of the supernatural types mentioned on the book so he was interested in people who held unusual amounts of mana in their bodies. As he looked at the girl however, he was not expecting much as she was someone competing in an athletic competition.

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch old bat. I certainly have enough students that I don't need to take a job coaching kids at some school" Jirou taunted. He was merely supporting the team because Tomoyo had been there.

"So that's going to be your excuse this year?" the old man sneered.

"There hasn't been an excuse or will there ever be one. Do you dare tell these students how your win loss record against me is? Your attempts to annoy me with such trivial things don't suit your age you old bat" Jirou confidently laughed and starred him down. The results of their numerous bouts caused this conflict in the first place.

"You—" before he could continue, the black-haired girl poked him with her finger. "What is it Ayame?"

"I found him grandfather" she happily smiled affecting those whose attention was on her.

"You found him? What do you… wait! You mean…" his mouth gaped. No one knew what they were talking about but judging by prideful old man's reaction, it was something big.

"Yes" She walked out of their group and approached the team her grandfather was arguing with.

The Sacred Forest Academy's team made way for her since she did beat their ace player last year. She stopped in front of Kazuya who was still in his thoughts and grabbed his hand. He was already used to Tomoyo pulling him along whenever he was in this state so he assumed that his team was moving along. When he realized that something was different, he was already standing between the two teams. The girl pulling him bent down a little and touched his forehead with her lips.

"Huh? What was that for? Who are you?" he was dumbfounded by what just happened. He wasn't the only one, both teams were supposed to be rivals and yet this unexpectedly happened.

"My name is Kuronuma Ayame. Please take care of me from now on my future husband" she winked.

"A-ayame… are you sure? He's from the enemy team you know" the old man nervously asked.

"I felt it so I'm sure. Remember your promise grandfather"

"But he's…" noticing the logo of the Shiroyuki dojo printed on Kazuya's uniform he knew that things were going to get complicated. It was at that point that the Shiroyuki duo made their move. Tomoyo pulled the confused Kazuya from Ayame's clutches and used her handkerchief to wipe his forehead.

"What is the meaning of this old bat? Are you trying to poach one of ours? What does she mean by 'future husband'?" Jirou was trying to calm himself but he was already agitated.

"I don't have to explain anything to you. This is between me, him and my granddaughter" he crossed his arms and refused to listen to Jirou. Ayame on the other hand was agitated after seeing the meek girl she defeated in the previous year take away her man and wipe off her mark.

"Shiroyuki-san right? I know that I defeated you last year and hold a grudge but please do not interfere with my personal matter" she looked at the girl blocking her from the person she just declared hers.

*shake shake* Tomoyo refused and prevented her to advance towards Kazuya any further.

"Did you even ask what he thinks about it? This isn't about the competition so you have no right to interfere like this" Ayame moved forward but Tomoyo refused to let her through. Tensions were rising from both sides as the four refused to back down.

"I say. Aren't you people totally disregarding me on purpose?" A chilling atmosphere enveloped both teams. "It's true what Kuronuma-san over there said that I wasn't asked about my opinion but it also applies to her doesn't it?" he was in a bad mood. He didn't expect such a troublesome scenario to occur and he was unsure of what Ayame's intentions were.

"Do you not think I'm pretty?" Ayame looked at him with teary eyes.

"You possess an appearance above the rest. But what does have to do with anything?" Kazuya mercilessly retorted.

"You don't like me?" her eyebrow twitched. She was confident in herself but the younger boy in front of them clearly gave her no face.

"This is the first time we've met. I don't know you so why would I like you? What would you think if some random guy just forcefully pull you and kiss you out of nowhere?" Kazuya continued to vent.

"I…" she couldn't say anything after what he said. Surely, she would be mad if someone did that to her.

"I've been understanding enough not to immediately report you for harassment but please do not assume that I will let random strangers touch me as they do so please" he crossed his arms and stared her down.

"Kid, there are some reasons behind this so if you give my granddaughter a chance then…" seeing Ayame was at a loss, her grandfather started to mediate in her stead.

"That is your business not mine. I already have someone I am engaged with, so I have no interest in whatever reasons you may have" Kazuya refused to budge.

"You tell em Kazuya!" Jirou laughed out load. He appreciated this brave young lad that was not tempted in the slightest in the face of a pretty girl.

"Jirou you… is that why your granddaughter…"

"He's Old Kou's grandson" Jirou crossed his arms triumphantly. "Are you regretting what you said back then now?"

"Ugh… You just got lucky. This isn't over" He beckoned his own granddaughter over. "This is a complicated matter and you need to know the details later. Focus on the tournament for now"

"But grandfather!" She didn't want to back down. Especially in front of an enemy that she's already beaten.

"Back down for now. Since he's an old acquaintance's grandson then I can tell you about his family. Do you not want to learn all of this before making your move?" he mostly let this girl do what she wanted but she was not in an advantageous position at the moment.

"Fine…" she turned Towards Kazuya. "Can I ask for your name?"

"As long as you or your teammates don't get eliminated too early then you will find out even without me saying anything" he was annoyed at both himself and at the girl. He let himself get taken advantage of just because he thought he would be safe as he stood amongst his teammates.

"You're that confident huh…" a mischievous smile grew on her face. "then how about we make a bet? All I ask is you won't dismiss the idea of me as a fiancé candidate. The road is still long and who knows if you change your mind when the time comes" Tomoyo who had been wary of Ayame turned like everyone else looking for Kazuya's response.

"And if I win?" This tournament may have had a surprise but it still wasn't enough to shake his confidence.

"I promise to give you one request to ask me of anything that I'm able to do"

"Alright I will play along. You have yourself a bet" Kazuya moved to lead the team himself into the waiting areas.

"That boy really reminds me of his grandfather. I should have agreed to Kou's request"

"His boldness is like old Kou but that's where the similarity ends. You better remind your granddaughter not to be too careless about betting something like she did today. The boy is a good lad so you won't have to worry about him asking for something unreasonable" Jirou followed the rest of the team and didn't wait for a reply.

Everyone's morale was lifted as the members looked at Kazuya. He didn't have any problems exerting his dominance even in the midst of last year's strongest competitor. The seven members prepared themselves as the rest of the other members set up the school's banner on the stands.

"Coach what will be our team arrangement for the team matches?" the short haired girl Ainu asked as the team gathered. It was almost time to begin as officials started to make checks on different blocks.

"From First to Fifth seat; Ainu, Nishida, Sawada, Shiroyuki, and Kouzuki. For the first match. I will be moving Shiroyuki and Sawada around but this is what it will be like for majority of the matches. You don't mind taking the general's seat throughout the matches right Kouzuki?"

"I don't mind. Let the others get the experience I have little need for it" he agreed without hesitation.

"Hey Kazuya-kun, I have to say, you sure have a knack for attracting girls" Mahiru giggled as she looked towards the audience area. Mei and Kyouko arrived and were holding up their own signs with his name on them. They looked to where she pointed and Miyamoto's jaw immediately dropped as he saw the beautiful duo waving towards them.

"Kouzuki…" he couldn't help but swallow. "W-who are those beautiful women"

"My wives. Excuse me for a bit while I go greet them" everyone except the robot girl froze at his response. Tomoyo met Kyouko already so she knew that he was joking. Her only concern was the other girl who was lovingly referring to him as 'Kazu'.

He was immediately grabbed by Mei as soon as he was within her reach. She started taking several photos of him in his uniform and even took some with him sitting on his spot on her lap. She probably didn't notice it but the speed at which she grabbed him with was improving as the days went by.

"I thought we weren't going to make it but I'm glad we didn't get to miss your first match son" unlike her usual professional outfit, the two were wearing casual clothes which made them less intimidating and more approachable.

"It's okay mom. I probably won't get the chance to enter the team matches since I've been placed on the fifth seat"

"Oh? Then does that mean that you can sit here with your big sis? I've missed you a lot Kazu. We've been working hard to get a few days off and I'm so low on my Kazu energy!"

"A few days? The tournament only lasts for a day though"

"We're talking about after you win! We can celebrate somewhere nice with just the three of us" They planned to go on a trip together after the tournament to pay Kazuya back for leaving him alone for an extended period of time.

"Hey, don't give Kazuya too much pressure Mei"

"My Kazu won't lose to a bunch of kids right?"

"I'll do my best to live up to your expectation big sis" he preferred to stay humble.

"By the way…" She held him a little tighter. "Your team seems to have a lot of girls and they are staring at me for a while now"

"It's not just you. I feel their gazes too for some reason. Do they know who we are? I know Tomoyo-chan does, but I know she won't bother explaining" Kyouko noticed the gazes as well. She was afraid that her cover would be blown since she was featured in magazines even though they were mostly about business.

"Well I told them that both of you were my wives" he told them as if it was a matter of fact.

"Nice going!"

"You what!?"

"Hey Kyouko, is that little girl with the long ponytail the girl you talked about? The old man Shiroyuki's granddaughter?"

"That's her. Why do you ask?"

"Does she like my Kazu or something? Her eyes have been on me the whole time and she reacts whenever I hold Kazu close"

"You don't need to mind that robot girl big sis. She's like that to anyone who gets close to me that she doesn't know. Her grandpa Jirou did ask her to watch over me"

"Hmm…" Mei rested her chin on his head as she gathered her thoughts. Her intuition was telling her that it wasn't as simple as Kazuya had been assuming. She noticed Tomoyo's gaze flicker whenever she moved with him and she was someone that was close to Kazuya's mother. She wanted to clarify things more but an announcement gathered everyone's attention.

"[Attention all participants, We will be starting shortly. Please report to your respective waiting areas and standby for your school name to be called]"