— vingt-six ; twenty six —

THE EDGAR ALLAN RAVENS versus the Cincinnati Lions match was being hosted at Castle Evermore, and the campus went all out trying to vamp up school spirit for the start of the Exy season.

Despite how depressive the colours could be, red and black was all over the place. Streamers were drawn up between lampposts and tangled in the branches of trees and giant red banners with black print declaring GO RAVENS! and CHEER FOR EXY hung from every building. Henri felt sorry for the people stuck hanging those things up overnight. The marching band were decked out in their black and red uniform as they did rounds around campus, rallying students with the haunting Edgar Allan fight song. Someone had dyed the pond by the English building with streaks of red.

The Ravenettes, the Edgar Allan cheerleaders, were everywhere shaking fluffy pom-poms and flaunting their school spirit with as much gusto as possible. Henri could hear them from about ten miles away because of their loud exclamations and the air horns that someone had made the terrible decision of giving to them. Somehow, they got even more excited every time they spotted one of the Ravens set to play today and ran over to spread the spirit to their players. Kit in particular loved this, revelling in the attention from pretty girls, but Henri was not a fan. With the Ravenettes came even more attention from students around them, as if being forced to wear his Exy Jersey wasn't bad enough.

"I'm taking it off," Henri muttered, as he walked to the lunch with the Solberg cousins. He was beyond grateful that they weren't required to attend lectures in the afternoon — even though first serve was only at six, traffic around Castle Evermore would be backed up from noon onwards and the Master wanted them within the walls with plenty of time. "I swear to god, I'm taking it off."

Loren smiled. "I don't think you can take it off."

"You're not taking it off," Soren said.

"Yeah? Watch me."

Soren shot him a withering look. "Stop being an idiot. Wearing the jersey on game day is tradition and if you take it off, you'll just draw even more attention to yourself."

"Is that even possible?" Henri grumbled under his breath, and was rewarded with a flick to the forehead from Soren. "Did you just flick me?"

"You're a Raven now. Attention is something you need to get used to."

"That doesn't mean I have to — hey!" Henri scowled at him and rubbed his forehead when Soren flicked him, again. "Stop fucking flicking me!"

"Then stop whinging and shut your mouth."

As if the stares following them weren't bad enough, three cheerleaders rounded the corner and spotted them before Henri would dive behind a tree. That's when Henri realised he recognised one of them. She looked different, her dark curly hair braided back with  silky red ribbons and decked out in a cheerleader uniform, but recognition dawned on her face when she saw Henri.

"Zena?" he said in disbelief.

"Hey," she said, giving a half hearted wave of her pom-poms. "Spread the cheer spirit and all that."

One of the other Ravenettes snickered. "Convincing."

"Since when were you a cheerleader?" Henri asked.

"Since...two days ago? My roommate Orla dragged me into this," she sighed, jabbing a thumb at the Ravenette who had laughed. She waved in greeting. "I needed to sign up for an extracurricular, and it was this or book club. Last time I read a book was for high school so..."

"Figures," Henri said. "You didn't strike me as the cheerleading or bookish type."

"Yeah, not really my kind of scene." Zena nodded to Loren. "Loren, right?"

"Yeah," Loren smiled.

"And the Exy teammate," Zena added, considerably less friendly as she turned cold brown eyes on Soren, eyeing the jersey he was wearing. "Still an asshole?"

Soren gaze was just as unwelcoming. "Of course."

"He's nothing if not consistent," Henri added, just to break the frosty tension in the air.

The third Ravenette chuckled nervously and looked at Henri with blatant curiosity. "Sorry, you probably get this a lot, but are you really Jean's brother?"

"Yeah," Henri replied. "I am, and I do get that a lot."

"Isn't that so strange?" Orla nudged Zena in the side. "First you hook up with Jean Moreau, and then you end up working with his brother! Such a small world."

"Orla," Zena hissed. "Shut up."

Henri stared at her. "Wait. You hooked up with my brother?"

"This is why I didn't tell you," Zena grimaced, shooting an exasperated look at a sheepish Orla. "It was just a short and unimportant thing last year. I didn't want to make it weird between us if we had to work together."

"Maybe you should have thought of that before making out with Henri in the middle of your shift," Soren said derisively. "That's a pretty surefire way to make it weird."

"Soren," Henri groaned, but it was too late. The damage had been done. Orla wasn't the only one who gasped — the third Ravenette looked scandalised and Loren's eyes widened to the size of saucers.

"Seriously?" Orla said. "Both brothers, Zena? You're unstoppable."

Zena heaved a sigh. "It wasn't like that, okay? He was just helping me get Tom off my back. He followed me to the bar like the creeper he is and it was the only thing I could think to do. There's nothing going on between us."

Henri could see that was a conversation that couldn't be salvaged, and seeing as he didn't want to deal with two Ravenettes demanding answers, he left Zena to handle the fallout and dragged Soren and Loren to the dining hall. The quicker they had lunch, the sooner they could escape the campus to Castle Evermore where he wouldn't have to deal with anymore people. Henri might have had a go at Soren for purposefully bringing up the awkward situation if a small, smug part of his wasn't pleased that it clearly still bothered Soren.

That he even got jealous was the only sign that he gave more than two shits about Henri, and while it wasn't much, he was willing to take what he could get.

— — — —

In the hours leading up to serve, Henri could feel the stadium above their heads filling up with spectators. They were cooped up in the Nest but the essay on Spanish Literature he was trying to focus on was long forgotten at the thundering rumble that shook the bedroom. Henri glanced up, wondering whether there were earthquakes in West Virginia, only to realise the distant rush that sounded like running water was voices. Henri could imagine the fans that had come to see the Ravens and the Lions flooding in through the doors, filing into the expansive stands he'd never seen filled before.

"Is it always like this?" Henri wondered.

Soren was staring at the ceiling too. "No. You should hear it it when Court play here. You feel like you're about to die."

Henri glanced down at the piles of homework he'd been hoping to finish before the game so he had a free weekend and shoved it all aside. He turned in his chair to look at Soren. He was sat at his desk too but he still looking up, as if imagining how the stadium would appear tonight. Henri didn't think Soren had done a single productive thing since they'd gotten back, besides flicking half-heartedly through the Cincinnati line-up which he already knew back to front, off by heart. He couldn't possibly have finished all his assignments from the week but he seemed to have realised before Henri that he wouldn't get anything finished.

"Are you nervous?" Henri asked.

"No."

"Liar."

Soren narrowed his eyes at him. "You said it yourself. We could bag a win against the Lions in our sleep. This is nothing more than a necessary hurdle to pass."

"That doesn't mean you're not allowed to get nervous," Henri pointed out. "Just admit it. This is your first time playing a game since your loss to the Foxes, isn't it?"

"Shut up and go away."

Henri knew a dismissal when he heard one and left the room before Soren bit his head off. He'd gotten pretty good at knowing when he was allowed to push the boundaries and when he had to give him space, and two hours before their first game of the season was the right time to back off. He spent the rest of the time pretending to watch a movie with some of the others in the living area, too preoccupied with the increasing volume above them to understand a single thing that happened on screen in that time.

Half an hour before serve, they'd all changed out and made their way towards the court. Henri could feel him blood humming with every step and forgot how to breathe for a second when they finally stepped on the inner court. Even empty, Henri had been impressed by the stadium. This was an entirely different thing. Every single seat was filled, blurring into an indistinguishable mix of red and black near the rafters, and the sound was incredible. The Ravenettes were already ruling up the crowds, cartwheeling and tossing pom-poms, and the Ravens mascot was running laps around the length of the court.

At their arrival, the crowd went wild. If Henri thought it was loud before, it was a cacophony now. The marching band kicked into action, the dark melody blasting through the air, and all the fans were on their feet to stomp in time with the Ravens fighting song. That's when the Mexican wave began — all the fans closest to them stood, and the ripple passed through the whole stadium, red and black and red and black. Henri didn't realise he'd stopped until Soren paused by his side.

"They're here to see you," he said.

Henri looked at him incredulously. "No, they're here to see you. I'm not even playing tonight."

"They don't need to see you play," Soren said. "They just need to see you. Your presence is enough to prove to them the Ravens will make a comeback."

Soren continued past him to inner court and Henri finally unfroze his feet to follow him, still staring around him at the stadium that would be watching tonight. As the Cincinnati Lions flooded on through the opposite inner court, a blur of white and green, the Ravens began throwing boos and yells their way. The Cincinnati marching band began playing their fighting song only for the Edgar Allan song to promptly drown them out. As the mascots began taunting each other from across the court, the Master gave them a talk that was more of a threat than inspiring.

"This team here, they're as insignificant as a flea on a dog to us," he said. "More insignificant than that. They are moderate in their ability, which means you won't exert your energy beyond the minimum. The odds are obviously in our favour and no one is expecting a loss here. A minimum of a five point gap is expected. Now move out for laps and warm up drills."

Soren led them on court, twenty black clad players, and the Lions in the opposite direction on the inner court. The team sizes were roughly similar but Henri could imagine that was disconcerting for the other Ravens, considering their team in previous years would have easily outnumbered the Lions. Henri was delegated to the back along with the other freshmen but he didn't mind, jogging alongside Loren. The court he'd been practicing on for months felt like a different place now that it was packed. Then they were back on inner court to prepare for serve in ten minutes.

"Dealers," Soren said, and Henri instinctively looked up despite the fact the address wouldn't be relevant to him, seeing as he wouldn't be playing tonight. "Watch out for Deniker, their newly recruited dealer. He was a football player and built like one too, along with a tendency to aggressive checks. Otherwise, this is too easy."

Henri watched as they filed on, racquets ready and helmets on, and a small part of him wished he was up there. He knew he wasn't good enough or ready to play with the Ravens, but it didn't stop him from wanting it more than he expected. He comforted himself with the bleak knowledge that eventually, he would have to play, or Ichirou would take him off the team himself with a bullet to the head.

Soren won them first serve, so the Lions took home court. From the first whistle, it was clear who would be dominating the game. All Summer, the Ravens had been pitted against themselves, rivals of equal footing who clashed on court. Now they were a united front against a weaker team and the Lions didn't stand a chance. Their defence was torn to shreds by Soren and Jude, who despite whatever personal conflicts they might have off the court, worked in tandem on it. Henri pushed down the ridiculous jealousy threatening to flare — when it came to Exy, Soren would always be professional and Henri would hardly want anything else.

Because the backliners fell apart and the goalkeeper couldn't hold the goal alone, the Lions strikers barely got a chance to touch the ball and the Ravens kept slamming goals home. It was so abysmal to watch Henri almost felt sorry for them. They were putting up a good fight, but the only player who seemed capable of even touching the Ravens was Deniker. He was the biggest player on the court and didn't hesitate to throw his weight, whether it was barrelling through the Ravens defence or strengthening his own. Alixis held her own well but by half time, she taken a fair amount of knocks.

"He caught my shoulder against the wall each time he checked me," she said through gritted teeth, carefully rolling it as if to check for any soreness. "It's probably nothing, but it hurts like a bitch. Asshole."

"It could be something," Soren said. "Go get it checked. KJ will be on for you in second half anyway."

The brusque way he dealt with it and moved on in the next second made Henri think that it wasn't necessarily concern for her wellbeing that had him sending her inside, where the first aid team was waiting ready at all times. The Ravens had plenty of players to spare and it wouldn't bode well to lose one of their best ones to something as simple as a shoulder injury. That, and the fact Alixis and Soren weren't exactly best friends — Henri couldn't imagine he would care what happened to her if it didn't affect the whole team.

The Ravens weren't concerned when they went into second half pulling ahead at 7-2, a practically impossible score to come back from, but the Lions weren't giving up that easily. They had fresh players and fought the Ravens with a vengeance that sent the game quickly spiralling into violence. Henri wished he could be surprised that the first fight came from Jude, and clearly Soren felt the same, because he yanked him back before the referees could approach and chewed him out himself. Soren's quick intervention meant the Ravens had managed to avoid a yellow card, as the referees deemed his reaction appropriate, but it only went downhill from there.

Then, with a quarter of the game left to go, was when the tension finally blew over. KJ and Deniker had been sniping at one another for the entirety of second half, exchanging insults that Henri didn't need to hear to know they were rude, and tripping each other up whenever possible. Their checks began to toe the lines of legality and even though the referees let them get away with a yellow card each when they finally brawled, Henri didn't think it was finished yet. KJ caught the next rebound Xander aimed off the plexiglass, twisting and barely carrying the ball for more than two steps before passing off to Soren.

It was obvious he'd lost possession but Deniker rammed into him anyway, seconds after the game had continued, slamming him into the wall so hard Henri winced a little. It was so blatantly a foul that the crowd roars of outrage almost drowned out the referees whistle to bring the game to a halt, and that's when Henri saw KJ hadn't gotten back up.

"Motherfucker," Aria growled, banging her racquet against the wall. "He should go to hell for that stupidly illegal foul."

"Shit, he still isn't up," Matthias said worriedly.

The referees had run on court, two of them scolding Deniker for his reckless playing and the other waiting to see whether KJ could continue playing. He made an attempt at standing up, leaning heavily against his racquet, but even from where Henri was standing he could see the limp in his gait. The ref blew the whistle to indicate he be sent off and Xander jogged to catch up with him, pacing him to the inner court with an arm around his waist for support.

Henri glanced back at the Master along with the other subs, waiting to see who he'd send on as a replacement. The obvious choice was Alixis, but Deniker had already put her out of commission. The medical team had said her shoulder would be fine but they'd wrapped it in gauze as a precaution and warned her not to strain it any further tonight, unless she wanted to risk permanent damage. Henri scanned the other Ravens dealers, wondering which one would be best suited, when he felt the Master's black gaze on him.

"Four," he said. "Get on."

It took Henri a moment to realise that was his number and he blinked, certain he must have misheard. "What?"

"Do not make me repeat myself," the Master said. "You will replace KJ for the final quarter."

Henri wasn't the only one shocked by his words. They were all staring at him, as if they expected some explanation as to why the Master was putting forward their most recent and inexperienced sub to play in a game. It was pretty much unheard of. No, it was unheard of. For another team, maybe not, but the Ravens thrived on discipline and experience with time. Henri lacked both those things and there were other dealers who'd been playing far longer than he had who should have been put on first.

"No, Master," Alixis said, leaping to her feet. "Send me on instead, if you have to. My shoulder — "

"You are not risking an injury for your pride," the Master snapped. "Sit down."

Alixis sank back down to the benches, looking a little as if she had been slapped, but quickly snapped out of her disbelief to scowl at Henri. He might have been worried at the repercussions from the Ravens at this unexpected and somewhat unfair decision, if it wasn't sinking in that he was really being sent on to the court. Even if he didn't want to, the Master would not take no as an answer now that he had made his decision.

"Are you sure?" Henri asked, before he could stop himself.

"Do not question me."

He slowly reached for his helmet and racquet, which he'd brought for the sake of it rather out of an expectation he'd be using it. He could feel the others watching him but ignored them in favour of stepping on the court, just as Xander and KJ reached the door. The latter was still limping slightly and his expression tight with pain.

"Where are you going?" Xander asked.

"On the court, apparently."

"No," KJ said, realisation dawning on his face. "You can't be going on for me. That's not possible."

Henri shrugged. "I don't make the decisions, I just follow them."

"No," KJ repeated, moving as if to grab Henri but wincing in pain before he made it more than one step. He leant heavily against Xander with a breathless grimace and glared at Henri. "Who the hell do you think you are? This is the first game of the season, the Master would never — "

The sharp trill of a whistle cut him off. The referee was waving an impatient hand in a gesture to hurry things up.

"KJ," Xander said quietly. "Come on."

KJ gave him one last scowl that made it clear this wasn't the last time he'd be complaining about this and let Xander lead him to inner court, leaving Henri with no choice but to take his position on the Ravens court.