A Bro's Life (AGG-ish Anime Bro Quest)

"So, if I do this," the girl from Susanoo High, her name is Susuki, performs the kata you just demonstrated, "I could counter an Ippon?"

You nod while holding up a thumb, "Yeah...at least if it's coming from the front. If the opponent manages to get behind you or on your side, then you'll need to improvise."

She nods, her auburn hair shaking with the movement. The cinnamon smell of whatever she uses to get those curls in her hair hits your nose. It's a welcomed reprieve from the general stale air that permeates this stadium. Susuki straightens up, her karate gi fitting her well even outside of the fight. She pumps both of her fists while giving you a confident smile, "Alright then! Just you wait! Next time we fight, I'll be the one to throw you to the mat!"

You chuckle and cross your arms, "That so? Well I'm looking forward to seeing that. Just come on by Raijin whenever you get a moment. I'd be happy to help ya test your skills."

"Huh. You know, you're not that bad a guy for someone going to a snooty place like that," she shrugs while one hand goes to an earring on her left ear. A cheeky grin comes over her face as she leans forward on the balls of her feet, "Think I could convince you to drop that place and come over to Susanoo? I promise it'll be worth your while."

You raise a hand and shake your head, "Sorry, have to say no. Can't leave my brother alone at Raijin."

Her expression falls but she's quick to recover. She gives you a light punch in the gut that doesn't even hurt, "Aw well. Can't fault a girl for tryin'. See you around, Nagai."

She turns and waves back at you while walking over to her teammates. The two guys had been standing around while watching the two of you talk. You wave back, thanking her for stopping when you flagged them down earlier. Wasn't easy either. Had to fight your way through your club who had stopped to give you congrats and pats on the back, and dash over to the locker room you were all put up in to get Yato out. Didn't feel right without the dude on your hands. And you wanted to let him know all about your fight.

Which you told him about as you ran through the stadium, dodging around corners and people coming out of the stands for breaks, trying to find the girl. Thankfully, there were a few Susanoo students who were happy to give you directions. They were pretty good sports all things considered.

Only when Susuki is out of sight does Yato make his presence known, "Well done, Lord Hayato. Speaking to a defeated foe after battle is a great way to prevent hatred from festering after defeat. However, are you certain it was wise to teach her a that move? She will likely use it on you should you ever meet each other in combat again."

You shrug while turning around and starting to walk to your next destination, "Kind of the point of telling her. She was actually pretty good in that fight. I want to see her get better, so we can fight again."

"Hmm, you truly enjoy combat that much, Lord Hayato?"

"Yes and no," you admit with another shrug. You're glad that there aren't too many people in these halls. Would probably be bad for people to see you talking to your hands like they were alive. You start scratching at an itchy spot on your arm as you continue to speak, "Fighting just because the two of us want to test each other, get stronger, improve our skills, or just want to have some fun? That's cool. I like doing that. Fighting to actually hurt each other or specifically cause someone trouble? I'd rather avoid that if I can."

"But you make exceptions for those who wish harm on others? Or you and your brother?"

"Oh yeah. Sort of. Like...fighting people like that isn't fun necessarily. Because it's...well...dangerous."

"And sparring isn't?"

"It is. But there's always this feeling that if anyone gets hurt, it's accidental. You know, something that can just happen while you're fighting," you go quiet as you see two other students approaching you. They both have these long red tassels that they hold in one hand to keep them from dragging on the ground. It's a guy and a girl talking about...something or other. You're unsure and they go quiet as they pass you by. You give them a polite wave but they don't return it.

...Eh. Put it outta your head.

"Anyway," you continue when you're out of ear shot, "if anyone gets hurt in sparring, it's nothing that was done on purpose. It can be serious, but people usually don't go into a spar with a plan to do something like that."

Your expression falls a bit as you move to your next point, "But an actual full on fight? One where both sides are trying to hurt each other? That usually ends poorly for everyone involved."

"Could you explain further, Lord Hayato?"

"Well...uh...look, I won a lot of fights growing up. But even when I won, I usually came out of it with some injuries that needed time to heal. Rarely did I get away unscathed. Bet that would've been the case during the raid if you weren't there. You get what I mean."

"Hmm...I believe so, Lord Hayato."

"Cool. Why are you asking anyway? You're not usually this talkative?"

"I have realized that we have not truly had time to talk at length. I do not blame you for this, but myself. After all, I have made no attempts to change this situation. Thus, why I am trying to do so now," you swear you can hear Yato's conviction in his voice when he finishes.

You nod with a small smile on your face, "Well, that's good to hear. But, if you think I'm neglecting you just let me know. I-"

"You have not neglected me at all, Lord Hayato. Believe me."

...You feel like he's telling the truth. Don't even need to try to feel it.

You shrug, "If you say so."

"Thank you. Now, if I may ask, where are we going next?"

You smile while standing a bit straighter, "I'm going to find the locker room where our so called 'Rival School' is."

"You speak of Jindai?"

"Yep."

"That is the school filled with nothing but females, correct?"

"Uh huh."

"And why are we going to meet them?"

You scratch the back of your neck as you walk, "The first reason? They had their bouts before I went out. But I wasn't allowed to see what happened. So, I don't know who won. This way I can find out who I might be fighting for the finals. The second reason is because they honestly caught my interest when I met them outside. Wanted to go see how the rest of their school is."

"Truly? Those are the only reasons."

"I guess," you shrug. Then you snap your fingers, "Oh wait, no. I also wanted to check and see if it's really true that everyone in that school wears something on their heads. And if the tournament officials let them wear them while they fought."

Yato is quiet for some time. In fact, he's silent for far longer than you expected.

You raise an eyebrow, "Something wrong, Yato?"

"...Lord Hayato, may I ask you something that might be considered personal?"

"Uh, sure, Yato. What is it?"

"Do you see yourself as attractive to the opposite sex?"

You almost trip over your own feet. You only stop yourself by placing one hand on a wall to your right. Your head whips all around you, trying to see if anyone else is around. Thankfully, it seems that you're still alone with your thoughts and Yato. After breathing a sigh of relief, you straighten yourself up. Then you bring Yato to your face and hiss at him, "What the fuck, dude!? Where the hell did that come from?!"

"It is an honest question, Lord Hayato," Yato doesn't sound ashamed in the slightest, "One born from what I have observed of your own actions and reactions regarding Lord Yamato and yourself."

"What the heck are you talking about?" you ask, not sure where he's going with this.

"My Lord. You are likely aware that Lord Yamato has multiple females who likely have romantic feelings for him surrounding him almost at all times. Such as Yameko, his Club President, and more recently the Bakeneko?"

"Yeah. Pretty sure anyone with a brain could notice that. Why my bro hasn't I have got no clue," you roll your eyes in frustration. With how smart he is, you'd think he'd be able to notice that stuff.

...Then again...it is Yamato you're talking about.

Did whatever happen to make him the way he is, also limit his ability to notice other people's affection?

That would be...pretty bad.

You can picture Yato nodding in your head, "I see. I see. Then tell me: Why can you notice that...but you can't notice when you do the same thing?"

"...Huh?" you're honestly confused.

"Lord Hayato. Females think you are attractive."

"...Nah," you wave Yato's words off, "Can't be. Girls? Like me? Please."

"Ritsuko comes to mind as an example."

"Well...yeah...I guess-"

[Ritsuko SL Level: 5/10]

"-but I don't really know if she feels the same way," you say while shaking your head. Your mood falls a bit as you say that, but it's the truth. You continue, "As far as I know, the two of us just have similar interest. She probably doesn't like me that way. And I wouldn't expect her to."

"...Alright. Then what about during your battle when you were changing uniforms. You spoke of a female who acted as your second and held your gear. When you were changing, she became flushed and her brother took her to the nurse, correct?"

"Yeah."

"And, according to you, she became flushed only after you took off your clothes and exposed your chest to her, correct?"

"Where are you going with this?"

"My Lord, please, do this task for me. Think of that moment in your mind. Picture it."

"Ooookkkk?" still confused you do as Yato asks. It isn't that hard, considering it happened just a couple of hours ago. When you've firmly got the image in your head you speak up, "OK. Now what?"

"Now, take a moment and switch places with that girl. Imagine you are the one standing there, holding her gear, and in front of you is a powerful and muscular woman who has just taken most of her clothes off. How would you feel in that situation?"

"Probably embarrassed and a bit hot under the collar cause I'm watch-"

You eyes shoot open as realization finally dawns on you.

Oooohhh....

So....so that's why Fujuki looked flustered.

"I shall take your silence as confirmation that you have finally understood what I am saying," Yato responds, his tone triumphant yet calm.

"Ye-yeah," you say, trying to avoid letting your slight embarrassment show on your face, "But...well...uh...OK. You're right. But...I still don't really...think it's true."

"Why ever not? I can understand not noticing it while you're in battle. Then the only thing that matters is victory. But, outside of battle, why do you ignore it?"

[] You don't really know. It's just not something you fully understand or really accept.

[] Being honest? You don't really care that much about it. Oh, the feelings of embarrassment and otherwise are there. But you've got enough on your plate. You don't need to add worrying about how girls see you to that.

[] Cause you're not that great. You mean, you certainly look good in a physical sense. You don't doubt that. But outside of that? You're not that interesting. You're just a guy who likes to fight and can memorize stuff real good. Any girl who got with you would get bored real fast.

[] Cause you're...scared. You're not proud of it, but you're scared of trying to get with someone in that way. You're scared you'll fuck it up, or you won't and they'll just leave you cause...who knows what reason? You're just not sure if you're up for feeling that.

"Why the heck are you asking, anyway?" this entire line of questioning seems to have come out of left field. The last person you expected to be talking about stuff like...this with is your freaking possessed gloves.

"Simple: To assist you in getting a mate. As your Retainer, it is my duty to ensure that-"

And ignoring everything Yato is saying...now.

---

Finding Jindai's locker room proved to be pretty easy. Just had to ask a few people where all the girls with animal ears were. They pointed you right to it.

When you arrived though, there was someone standing outside the door.

[] Well, a couple of someones. The three girls you met when you first arrived at the Stadium to be precise. And they looked....upset. Well two of them did. The last one was trying to cheer the other two up. Didn't seem to be working. (Gain A New SL with one of the girls; Learn about Jindai in the Present Day; ???)

[] It was the "Headmistress" of the Club. Yukinori you think her name was. She was standing outside with...is that a cigarette? Where did she get that? (Unlock Yukinori SL; Learn about Jindai's Past; Learn about her and Sensei Hazma; ???)

---

So, by "this week" I apparently meant "tonight".

Yeah. I started writing and couldn't stop until I got this in. I just really liked writing this exchange between Hayato and Yato. I know it's supposed to be focusing on Jindai, but I just couldn't let this go. Hopefully people don't mind.

As for the choices, the Jindai ones are pretty self explanatory.

But for the ones before that: No, they won't lock you out of anything. The choice is to decide a bit more of Hayato's character, since I like letting you guys do that even as the Quest goes on. And it helps me figure out how I'm gonna write some of the events going forward. Though that is why there's no write in option. These are the ones that I could actually imagine interesting story beats for down the line.

Also, don't think this means I'm NOT going to write an update focusing on Jindai. I am. It'll just come after this one. Which means that I'll be closing this vote on Tuesday night.