6. joining hands (the world is not without hope)

"There is no way we can win against Fifth Sector."

The first step to an insane breakthrough is a process of being infected by insanity-- kind of like a zombie apocalypse, just get bitten once and you no longer have to fear. 

In that case, Kirino volunteers to be patient zero.

-

-

-

And then came the practice match.

Tenma shows up with Shinsuke, and they're both covered in scratches and wounds. Oh dear lord, who let the children fight a war last night?

"Captain!" Tenma says immediately upon entering (and causing everyone muted heart attacks in the process), "I've made up my mind. I'm still going to play all out today, even if I have to do it myself!"

"Me too!" Shinsuke says, apparently infected with protagonist disease, "please don't stop us!"

Kirino watches from his spot on the bench as Kurama's jaw drops, and Minamisawa instinctively grabs the forward by the scruff before he goes over there to rip their juniors a new one.

Shindou sighs. He expected this.

"Okay then, no," he says, "both of you are sitting out."

They make synchronously despaired wails at the unexpected (absolutely expected. Kirino wonders why they didn't just do this the first time around) countermeasure to the situation. Seriously, if they know they're going to misbehave, obviously, they'll have to sit out. 

They weren't going to win anyways, so they're not missing out on anything.

The managers sigh at that, because, really, what were they expecting? 

Kirino chuckles. "Isn't it fine, let them play."

"Excuse me Kirino, no."

"Boo to your tyranny, Shindou."

Ichino rolls his eyes at them. "It's the Coach's decision, guys," he reminds them, "even so, we only have a defender position left, so if anyone's playing..."

"Ichino, can you play defender?" Coach Kudou suddenly speaks up, and his suggestion makes the enire room come to a startling halt. A loud confusion ensues as Coach Kudou turns stoically to Tenma. "Matsukaze, you're in."

"Eh?"

"Huh?"

"Wait--"

Even Kirino's taken by surprise. The entire team is bowled over by the unexpected decision, and Shinsuke makes a whining noise of very friendly frustration.

"Yes, I'm playing!" Tenma cheers, because he's an idiot that doesn't know how to read the mood.

"Oh, darn it! I'll make it next time, Tenma!" Shinsuke, another idiot that doesn't know how to read the mood, challenges back.

Minamisawa doesn't even look over when he grabs Kurama by the scruff again, but it doesn't stop the little forward from snapping, "oh, you two brats be quiet!" he hisses, "wait, Coach! Why are we having Ichino switch positions instead of Tenma?"

"Ah, Kurama, calm down," Hayami says, though Kurama only hisses at him like a grouchy dog in response.

Ichino was a Midfielder first, a Forward second, and definitely not more of a Defender than any other player on the field. Shoving him all the way back to make space for Tenma was just rude.

(Especially since this is his first match in the First Team uniform, as awful as the score setting may be. It's just-- upsetting, and they all understood the frustration.)

But the coach was speaking, so you really shouldn't question it.

"I just thought it appropriate," Coach Kudou says, sitting down. He picks up his clipboard and turns his attention fully toward it. "I'm not obliged to provide any explanation for my decisions. Just go out and get in position."

"Huh?!" Kurama snarls, looking like he's ready to fight-- so Minamisawa tugs him back a little just in case.

"Kurama," Shindou chastises him, "he's the coach."

"I- It's fine!" Ichino speaks up, though he sounds in a panic. "It's not like we'll get to do anything solid, so I'm fine kicking back into the defender position, it's not going to make the match any worse than it is, anyways..."

His comment really soured the mood further, but it worked to quell the heat in the conversation.

Kurama begrudgingly accepts it, and turns away with heated vigor. Minamisawa sighs, giving them all a dismissive shrug before following along.

"It doesn't have to be terrible!" Tenma snaps, and all eyes in the team turn to him.

"Uhm, like you have a place to talk?" Kurama yells from a distance.

Ichino and Shindou then try their best to ease the situation, but Kurama's a step from a fit and Tenma is too pure to be embarrassed by his own declarations (though he adds an intense apology to Ichino for stealing his spot in between) then he yells louder about his desire to change the score order today.

(Kurama's water bottle goes flying into the air, and Minamisawa doesn't catch it in time, so it socks Tenma right in the face. Hayami squeaks, Shinsuke yelps, and Akane takes a picture. Amagi has to step in to restrain the snake boy, and Aoi is now fussing over Tenma's new record of injuries. Midori wants blood, and Kurama is happy to give it.)

Kirino can't help but revel in the chaos.

Of course something has to ruin the hilarity, though.

"Oh? What's this? There's a commotion happening on Raimon's bench! Could something be the matter?"

The announcer and the crowd have already taken notice, and everyone in the team freezes where they stand, suddenly realizing they're in the face of a large TV that's marking their major movements herein.

A good number of them look at the ground, and Kurama's anger dissipates.

"If you're done being children, get in position," Coach Kudou reminds them.

This time, they don't protest as they leave. Sangoku pats Ichino on the shoulder, Minamisawa takes Kurama by the arm, and Shindou turns wordlessly to the field, stopping only to talk to Eito's captain about the score order.

"Kirino? You can play today?" Coach Kudou asks, noticing Kirino hasn't gotten up from the ground yet.

Mid-stretch, Kirino turns to the Coach. "Yeah," he says, standing up and bending his knees once more for good measure. "No problems at all."

"It seems like the brawl has tided over! Will that affect the match, I wonder?" the commentator dismisses, "Raimon versus Eito, coming together again for what will be one great practice match to see! Now, both teams are in position..."

Kirino tunes him out. Setting into his position, he finds Ichino much closer than he usually is. None of them have the fire in their eyes that Kirino's used to seeing, and that kinda hurts.

He shakes his head, knowing that he'll get over it, and it's only temporary.

"Let's do this!" Tenma declares, his voice a little thing in the distance-- but it makes Kirino smile anyways.

"Kirino."

He jumps, hearing Kurumada's voice beside him.

"You're not planning anything dumb, are you?"

Their bulky defender is giving Kirino a stern eye, and Kirino can't help but fidget. Kurumada has always been passionate and vocal, so him showing an observant, disciplined side was rare-- and often, meant that the situation was too serious for the alternative.

It's seconds before the whistle, and Kirino realizes he can't lie to Kurumada.

"Sorry, Kurumada-san," he says, scratching his cheek bashfully, "but what can I say... I quite like spoiling my juniors."

Kurumada has a second to register the words before the whistle blows, and the game begins. Kirino pointedly ignores the senior therein as a messy exchange of offense and defense occurs.

-

Then, predictably at the five-minute mark, Shindou loses the ball to a clumsy cut.

"Eito's #7, Fukuro makes a nice cut! #9, Yukiji, is headed up-- but oh! There's Raimon's ace Defender, Kirino!"

Kirino stands before him. Eito's #9, Yukiji, blinks in surprise, but immediately recovers, moving their hands forward for their Hissatsu.

"Future Eye," they whisper, eyes glinting slightly green and blue as they scan each step.

Kirino scoffs. He's faced this many times, and he knows exactly how to thwart it. He doesn't even need a hissatsu for this.

So Kirino goes forward-- and Kurumada yells out, his instincts flaring at the thought of what the defender could possibly be planning. 

"Kirino, wait--!!"

And Kirino, startled by the sudden call-- stumbles. His foot hesitates as it falls, and he sways slightly as his leg falls short of a landing. It's no big deal, though, a quick extra step is enough to get himself back into pace.

But his opponent falters. 

A flimsy hissatsu as it was, Future Eye's calculations had been completely interrupted by the slight misstep. He stops dribbling for a second, hesitating for a moment too long as he's unsure how to continue from there.

It would have been too suspicious to deliberately miss the steal there, so Kirino scoops the ball out of his feet and into his own.

Kirino smirks, passing it quickly to Hamano.

"My bad," Kirino says to the boy, barely giving him a glance.

"Ah, yeah," the boy responds, hesitant. He doesn't say anything else, nor does he suspect a thing-- he just turns around as #7 cuts a pass from Hamano to Shindou once again. This time, when he heads for the goal, Kirino doesn't stop him.

And he scores, while Kirino stands oftly to the side, looking in the wrong direction, not posed to defend.

"GOAL! Eito Academy gets the first point!"

Kirino hides a smile.

-

Akane happily looks through her pictures.

"What're you doing, Akane?" Midori asks.

Akane beams, showing the girl a closeup of Kirino, looking regal and distant, wiping off some sweat at his chin.

"Kirino-kun is pretty, too," she says, as an explanation that explains nothing at all.

(She doesn't show them the full picture, showing the dread as Amagi looks away, the resignation as Sangoku prepares to receive it, and Kirino's body, poised in any way but to face the opponent's shot.)

"Ah, okay." Midori and Ms Otonashi give her weird looks, but they don't question a thing.

"Oh, that's a really nice picture!" Shinsuke says, "I'm surprised you managed to get that in all the running around that's happening."

"That's right," Akane says, standing up to address Coach Kudou and Ms Otonashi, "can I be excused for a while? I forgot my extra films at the lockers."

"Wait, you can't go back to the lockers now," Ms Otonashi reasons, "at least wait for half time?" Akane immediately deflates, eyes watering in the most kicked puppy manner in the world, and Ms Otonashi feels her entire conscience waver. "No means no!"

"It's fine," Coach Kudou says.

The managers, teacher advisor, and Shinsuke whirl in unison, horrified.

Immediately sparkling, flowers blooming, Akane stands up. "Then I'll be going," she reports, "thank you, Coach Kudou!"

Ms Otonashi's eyes jump from Akane to Coach and Akane again, "wha-- wait! Coach, are you sure?"

Coach hums, eyes not leaving the game. "Just be back by half time," he says over his shoulder.

"Huh? Surely it won't take that long--"

"Understood," Akane salutes, "I'll be off, then."

Ms Otonashi barely has a second to blink before Akane is gone, Shinsuke, Aoi and Midori's jaws are on the floor, and Coach Kudou is still stoically observing the match.

"Coach Kudou!" she chastises. "You can't just give her permission to leave in the middle of a match, it's unprofessional!" she says, as if she had a place to lecture the coach about professionalism.

"It'll be fine," Coach Kudou assures, but doesn't elaborate further. "She'll be back soon, and we won't even know she's been gone."

Akane passes by Tsurugi as she goes.

The striker gives her a curious glance, but pays her no heed. He walks toward the bench to the wary glances of the managers and Shinsuke, but he knows he doesn't need to explain himself as he leans against the wall, watching the match with muted curiosity.

-

Tenma watches miserably as the exchange happens, quickly this time. It's pathetic-- no hissatsu are even being used, yet the balls are passing hands easily.

No one's trying and it's just stupid how no one ever notices. It's not even pleasant to watch, it's just a bunch of kids kicking the ball around pretending to try.

(Tenma grips his fists, irritated.)

"This is wrong!" Tenma snaps when Ichino lets the ball leave his feet again.

Shindou turns, alarmed at the sudden declaration. Yukiji makes his way toward the goal, and Tenma swirls toward Shindou, his voice slightly below a yell.

"This isn't soccer!" he yells. "Can't you hear it? Soccer's crying!"

Shindou only cringes back, unable to shout anything in response.

"OH! What's this! Kirino was at the mid field just now, but somehow he's made it all the way back before the goal!"

Heads turn. Sangoku's eyes widen.

Kirino raises a hand, and lets out a deep, hollow breath. The fog rises, and he swipes, letting it fill the air. "The Mist."

Yukiji hesitates, flabbergasted by the obstruction-- and then the ball is gone from under his feet, and he yells out in frustration, swiping his arms around desperately in an attempt to get his vision back.

"And there it is! Kirino Ranmaru's infamous defensive hissatsu technique, The Mist! He steals the ball right back from under Yukiji's nose!"

Kirino emerges from the mist, dribbling forward without looking back.

"Wait, Kirino?!" Kurumada calls out, "hey!"

"You're kidding me," Hamano sighs.

Hayami cringes, knowing exactly where this is going to go.

"Kirino!" Kurama yells out.

Kirino dismisses them, maneuvering around the court and then passing it to Ichino. Ichino receives it with just about as much surprise as the rest of the court.

Their eyes meet, and Ichino fists clench. Kirino directs his gaze to the crowd-- and Ichino nods, just subtle enough to be barely seen.

Then Ichino moves, dribbling up the court with renewed vigor in his steps.

He comes across the captain of Eito in his way, but Ichino doesn't falter.

"Right, it's almost half time, so let me have this," Saewatari, the captain of Eito, grounds out. "Be good now."

Ichino's eyes narrow. "Unfortunately," he mutters-- and with a roar, he charges forward, bursting past with a gust of wind just behind him-- "you're full of openings!"

And he swirls, bringing the ball high and center to the middle of the field.

"Wha-- Ichino, not you too!" Hayami has his hands in his hair.

Tenma doesn't let the chance slip by. 

"Go, Tenma!" Shinsuke stands up from the bench, yelling out loudly for him-- and Tenma jumps to receive the ball.

"Captain!" He heads the ball to Shindou.

Shindou receives the ball at his chest, eyes wide. "Wh--" he's at a loss for words, "don't fool around, you three! We can't just--"

"Hand it over!" Saewatari yells, and Shindou jumps at the sharp volume, passing the ball on instinct.

He realizes his mistake when the commentator speaks over his thoughts.

"Huh?! Raimon's Captain, Shindou, passes the ball right over to Eito's captain? What a waste! Was it a pass miss, I wonder?"

Saewatari may have realized his own mistake there, but he doesn't let it affect him. They have seconds left before the half is over, and they still haven't gotten their second goal in yet.

(It's not a big deal, but the coach values his calculations. All of Eito knows that the Coach's temper is at its worst when they don't fulfill the quota correctly. And when the coach's temper is in disarray, so are their scores and ratings and everything that matters about their academic record.)

Saewatari passes it to Yukiji, who makes it to right before the goal again--

--only for the whistle to blow.

"And the first half ends at 0 - 1 in Eito's favour! Will Raimon be able to catch up?"

A swear crosses the air, and Saewatari shoots a horrid glare at Shindou before marching off to his bench.

Shindou tenses-- and looks away, guilty.

-

"Nice to meet you."

Endou jumps, surprised by the girl's voice behind him.

The girl was one of Raimon's managers, she had shown up on the screen briefly as they walked in. She held a camera and smiled kindly, like she couldn't hurt a fly.

"Uh, nice to meet you too?" Endou asks. It's rare that anyone talks to a total stranger in the audience stands, so this just reeked of weird. "Uhm.. you're a Raimon manager, right? Aren't you supposed to be down there, on the bench with the team?"

"I'm Yamana Akane," she says, like that's the problem here. Then she raises her camera, "I came to take some wide court shots."

Endou is still confused. "Oh, I... I see," he gets that part, but he still doesn't understand why she would come specifically to his watching spot, and even talk to him.

She proceeds to take some pictures, looking through the shots, and takes a few more.

"Uhm," Endou speaks up again, hesitantly because he felt like he was interrupting the girl's concentration as he spoke, "wouldn't pictures from the bench be clearer?"

"Yes, they would," Akane replies, almost immediately, which makes Endou even more confused. "But I should get some varying angles, or my pictures will be traced."

Endou has no idea what that means.

"Uhm, sounds like a great idea," he finishes lamely. He still doesn't know why this girl talked to him, why she's doing everything she's doing, and why she's standing beside him instead of every other spectator in the audience.

"Thank you," she simply says, and continues taking pictures.

This is the most awkward situation Endou has ever experienced.

-

"What the hell was that for, Kirino?"

Kirino returns to the bench only to be met with a whole team's worth of anger. Ichino hides behind him, but Tenma stands proudly with Shinsuke by his side.

Akane returns just then, her camera in hand as she takes in the new situation with a worried furrow between her brows.

Ms Otonashi tries to quell the tension, but there's little she or the other managers can do. Coach Kudou isn't moving, like he's expected this, and he's just waiting for the flood gates to open and hell to descend.

"Ichino, you too. I thought you were better than condoning this."

"Tell me you guys were just joking around," Hayami says, hopefully, "and please don't do it again? Please?"

Ichino falters, genuinely hesitant.

But Kirino doesn't. "No, I'm serious," he says, and everyone hisses or gasps at him. He steps beside Tenma and slings an arm around his junior's shoulder. "I'm on Tenma's side for this."

Tenma and Shinsuke look at him like he's a godsend.

"You know we can't do that, Kirino," Shindou says, his voice stern. His posture is stiff, and his brows are furrowed, "as Captain, I won't allow you to do whatever you want."

Kirino's surprised. He actually used the captain card on him.

(But Kirino knows that it's not a show of discipline or anything. Shindou's a coward. He's saying it, feigning some sort of authority-- because he knows that Kirino is the only person his captain card will never work on.)

(That's why Kirino always has to do the hand-holding for him.)

"I can do whatever I want," Kirino says. A wave of energy churns forth, rising as a dark blue wisp breathing out a declaration against the wind. "And I will."

Tsurugi turns abruptly to the conversation, feeling the Keshin's pulse wash over him with warmth-- a very unsettling warmth-- and his breath holds.

Shindou steps back, the energy startling his senses in the same haunting way. He doesn't seem to know what it is, though, so he's stunned.

But the other people in the team don't seem to notice it.

Tenma doesn't show any indication of noticing the energy. He just looks at Kirino, near tears, "you understand right, Kirino-senpai?" he says, "we can't let Fifth Sector keep doing this--"

Amagi interrupts. "Are you insane, Kirino? You're supposed to be the sensible one here!"

"And you're roping in Ichino to help you, is that it? What's gone over you? Are you sick? Because you're sounding delusional right now."

"Are you listening to yourself, Kirino?"

"Ichino, we know you're beyond this nonsense."

"Stop talking about things like going against Fifth Sector-- we all know that's never gonna happen! Do you want our club to be disbanded?"

"If we just shut up and follow the score order, everything will be fine! Don't ruin it!"

"Don't blame him!" Tenma raises his voice, "don't you get it? Kirino-senpai and Ichino-senpai want to play soccer properly too! What's so hard to understand about it?"

"That's enough from you," Minamisawa finally speaks up, irritated, "not everyone is a selfish bastard, Matsukaze!"

Tenma flinches back, as if he'd been burned.

Even Kirino cringes at the words.

"Hold on. Minamisawa, you need to calm down--" Hamano speaks up, but Minamisawa dismisses it. If Minamisawa is angry, who knows what he'll say.

If Kurama was one that let his anger release in small periodical spurts, Minamisawa was the sort that let it accumulate before inevitably exploding.

And though Minamisawa could always reign Kurama in with a word or a tug, it doesn't go the other way around.

"Unlike you, I don't particularly care for soccer," Minamisawa steps forward, sizing up the first-year and coming uncomfortably close, his voice raising to an undeniably furious decibel, "you can take your soccer is crying nonsense somewhere else because you're not trying to save soccer or anything here-- you're just ruining it for everyone right now!"

Tenma's eyes widen, and a broken whimper rips from his throat. Kirino's eyes narrow-- because Minamisawa or not, how dare he.

The resulting silence is expected. It's true, but Minamisawa never knows how to sugarcoat things.

"Who's ruining soccer for everyone?" Kirino asks, grasping his jersey, right over his heart. "It's not Tenma, it's not me, it's not any of us-- it's Fifth Sector. We all know that, so why do we keep denying it? Is it because you're scared?"

"You're insane!" Minamisawa snaps.

"Kirino, can you think about what you're saying? Tenma is one thing, but you know exactly why we shouldn't," Amagi says, "even if it's you--"

"Even if it's me, what?" Kirino challenges, "you won't let me do it? You'll leave me alone on the field to get my just desserts? Then why didn't you do that in our match against Tsurugi's team?"

Amagi flinches. "That was different!"

Kirino grasps the chance. "How is it different?!" he raises his voice, letting the burst of dark energy pulse out once again.

Brynhildr's wave captures them in a trance they don't quite recognize for what it is, and Kirino puts his foot down. The voice inside of him screams to their souls, a loud and glaring, yet entirely wordless declaration-- rise up, the wind of revolution is with you!

"We've opposed them once. Are you saying we did it just to go right back to obeying them? Because if that's what you're saying-- all of you are insane!" Kirino says, "We can only go forward from here. So why are you backing out?"

Their silence is pleasant to his ears. Kirino said his piece, churning out his inner Jeanne with all of the bonded energy they've shared.

He is going to start this revolution and no one is going to stop him here. If their wide-eyed looks and slightly agape mouths are any indication, it's starting to work.

(The seeds he's sown are starting to sprout the flowers of desire.)

"Ah, ah," Tsurugi interrupts the tension, sounding almost pensively sarcastic-- but Kirino is surprised to see his terse shoulders, and the slight stiffness in his tone. "Is Raimon Eleven gonna tear each other apart here? Maybe you should've let my team take over to begin with. Raimon's soccer is over, you don't even have teamwork down."

There's a painful, realizing silence after that.

Although the quiet almost seemed like a bitter admission of defeat, Kirino can't help but feel that something else was in the air right then and there.

Something that sounded like a unanimous declaration of hell fucking no.

They would listen to Fifth Sector, if only to retain what little pride they had. For their future, they would think, for the grades, for the record.

But one thing they've realized is that much more than anything, they stayed in the club for each other. So each of them could save face-- for companionship, so they could all feel that at least they weren't alone in this shitty situation.

Maybe the logical situation on day one was to let Tsurugi take over, to relieve them of all this pain, and set them free.

But no.

No, they didn't want that.

They hated the painful score order, the agonizing match, and the upsetting everything about modern soccer-- but much more than all of that, they hated Tsurugi.

They'd rather die than listen to any of Tsurugi's snarky demands.

(That, at least, was something they could unanimously agree on.)

-

"He's insane," Minamisawa says, still seething as they get to their positions on the court. "Both of them. All three of them. Four. Five including coach."

"I guess they went crazy somewhere in between all the set matches," Kurama replies, sarcasm slurring his words. "Hard to blame them."

The whistle blows, and the second half begins. Minamisawa passes to Kurama, and Kurama sets his foot on the ball contemplatively.

"But you know, Minamisawa," he says, catching the boy's attention mid-run. Minamisawa turns to see Kurama with a bright grin on his face. "He's got a point."

Minamisawa watches Kurama take confident strides forward.

A second later, Minamisawa swears under his breath.

"I guess you're right," he scoffs. And he goes up, following the forward's lead.

"Raimon's two top formation advances on the field! This is the first time we're seeing them in unison this match!"

Kurama rolls his eyes, passing it to Minamisawa and back, bringing the ball up swiftly with just the two of them. They blitz past the Eito forwards before swirling back and passing it strong to Shindou.

Shindou understands immediately, and he's horrified. "Wait! Minamisawa-san, Kurama, what are you--"

"C'mon Captain," Kurama hollers, "you're lagging behind!"

"I'm not patient enough to tolerate any more of this nonsense," is Minamisawa's input, "hurry up, I've had enough for today and I just want to go home."

"Pfft," Hamano says, coming beside them, "you know the clock isn't gonna go faster, Minamisawa."

"Shut up, Hamano. If I don't release my anger here, you're the next target."

"Oh, not Kurama?"

"Excuse me?"

"Wait, Hamano-senpai, you're going, too?"

"Matsukaze! Hurry up and bring the ball here before I change my mind!"

Tenma's face lights up. Shindou's jaw drops, and Kirino smiles. Things are going really well, bonded by mutual hate instead of the conflicted passion in the first time round.

Tenma takes the ball, and his dribbling is stable. He cuts past Eito's midfielders, making their way through with Hamano and Kurama.

"Go for it!"

Kurama sets his hands on the ground and spins. "Sidewinder!" he roars, calling upon the serpentine illusion as his will rages through the court, churning right through the line of defenders.

Eito's goalkeeper doesn't even have time to react before the ball spears through the goal, the whistle blows, and the crowd cheers.

"Aaand GOAL!" the commentator is utterly ecstatic, "Kurama swoops in for a brilliant score! Raimon has caught up! Can anything stop them now?!"

Horrified silence sinks through the court, and utter dread fills their chest. Within it, Tenma cheers, and Kurama huffs contentedly. Aoi and Midori cheer, and Coach Kudou smirks.

Tsurugi's jaw drops.

"Hey, stop screwing around!" Saewatari snaps, confronting Shindou. "Whatever you're trying to pull here, you better stop if you know what's good for both of us!"

Shindou's fists are clenched.

"I don't like this either," he admits, his eyes resolved, staring straight at Saewatari. The other captain flinches. Shindou turns around, "unfortunately, we just saw it happen."

Saewatari blanches, "you're kidding! Are you guys insane?"

It's ironic how he's using the exact words they've used against Kirino. It's as if they've only had one argument for their case to begin with. Shindou stews on that, and he can't help but laugh miserably to himself.

Well, if they're screwed anyways, there's nothing he can't do.

(Are you insane?)

"Yeah," Shindou admits, his face screwed with a pained smile. 

He looks over the crowd again-- to Tema jumping with joy, to Kirino and Ichino's pleased smiles-- to Kurama and Minamisawa knocking fists, and Hamano patting Hayami in the back with one of his mischievous grins. 

And he sighs, his tone full of defeat.

"I think insanity's the trend now."