I was in shock as she suddenly called out for me in front of all the others. I looked at her with a confused, doubtful, and unclear face.
"What are you looking at with that kind of face? Get down there. A lady asked you for a request; you need to grant it," my grandpa said, turning back.
I didn't like him ordering me around and making me do whatever he wanted. I could've insulted him by ignoring him and leaving from there, but it didn't feel right in front of the other captains. So, I replied, saying,
"I would like to fight her, but you see, I got discharged today, and my mother wouldn't tolerate seeing me on a hospital bed the very next day. So, Kenji will fight with her in my stead. How does that sound?"
"Well, it's a shame that you couldn't fight, but we can't allow Kenji to fight in your stead, and Umemoto wouldn't like it. So, let's stop the selections here for today."
He said that and got up. All the other captains also got up, and the students gave their respects to the elders and left for the locker room.
When I also tried to escape, I was called again, this time by Grandpa Makoto.
He came near me and put his left hand on my right shoulder and said that he knew how I felt, but it was a courtesy to greet the remaining captains.
He took me to them. They were all sitting in their seats.
My grandpa came to me and introduced me to them. I bowed to them, showing my respect.
He then continued, asking if I knew them and which regions they were captains of.
I replied, saying yes. Starting from my side, the first one was,
'Koizumi Yamato', captain of Hokkaido.
'Tajima Tasuke', captain of Kyushu.
'Umemoto Ranmaru', captain of Okinawa.
'Goya Tomiko', captain of Tohoku.
'Kamoo Sumiko', captain of Chugoku.
'Enomoto Satomi', captain of Kansai.
'Juba Manami', captain of Shikoku.
I finished saying their names. Everyone's expression was saying, 'Not bad, he does know us,' except for Kamoo Sumiko's.
My grandpa's face was like, 'That's my boy.'
He then asked if I knew about my selection, and I replied, saying that I knew.
I got my permission to leave from there and met the three of them outside the stadium.
Kenji apologized as soon as he saw me. He didn't have much of an option or time to send me a text, as their mobiles were taken from them.
When I asked about the selection process, he said that they just divided them into two groups based on their physical tests. One person from a group comes and calls the opponent they want to fight, and the winner gets selected. If they challenge another person and lose, they lose their ticket to them. That's all.
I asked them if they got their tickets, and they said they didn't get their chance today, as the whole morning was physical evaluation and, in the afternoon, only three matches were finished.
I got the basic idea of the selections. They let them choose the people they hate the most or the people they want to defeat and make a clear statement that the strong survives.
They wanted us to have our fun crushing our competitors. Crazy old people.
I didn't want to bother myself with the process and spoke,
"I prepared gifts for you three. If you want them, get your tickets to China, as I got mine."
They were shocked to hear that.
Akiko complained about the old people not being fair. Keiko's face seemed like it was happy and, at the same time, not satisfied.
Kenji congratulated me and said that he'd get his ticket by tomorrow.
We both parted ways there as I took Keiko with me to watch a movie. It was our second date.
She didn't seem that happy as she was when we were on our first date.
I couldn't hold myself back and asked her if she was upset with me.
She replied, saying,
"No. Did it seem like that?"
"Yes, you were spacing out and not smiling. You would smile whenever you are with me, like all the lunch dates we had in the hospital."
"Oh! Sorry, I didn't mean to. I was just thinking if I will be able to pass the selection," she said with a worried expression and a low voice.
"You are quite strong. Remember that time when I fought with the three of you? I won because I knew your strengths, weaknesses, and methods, while you didn't have any info on me. And the last time we sparred, you improved your strength to the extent that you broke my sword. Even without Ki, you would have made a crack on it.
"See, you improved quite a lot, and don't be so hard on yourself. Have some faith in yourself, alright?" I comforted her.
"Yeah, but..." she tried saying something, but I broke her off, saying,
"No buts. Do you trust me? Answer yes or no."
"Yes."
"Then you'll win the match, so for now, focus on the movie and a little bit on me too," I said with a straight face.
She smiled and said,
"So, our little boy wants attention. Okay, come here."
I went near her as she asked. As I went near her, she grabbed my face with her hands and turned it to the side and gave a little peck on my cheek.
Soon after, she went back to watching the movie as if nothing happened, though her face was as red as an apple.
It made me a little happy seeing her expressing herself.
After that, she enjoyed the movie, and we returned home.
By the time we returned home, the other two ordered food, and we had our food.
Kenji couldn't eat quietly and asked why my grandpa was nervous when I mentioned my mother before.
Akiko also joined him, saying,
"Yes, I saw him tremble, and I thought I was mistaken, but after this, I can say that what I saw was real."
"I too want to know that," Keiko said while stuffing her face with ramen, her cheeks bulged out like a puffer fish.
I couldn't say no to that.
"You see, I don't know the details, but when my father was young, he went to India and met my mother there and fell in love.
"But my grandpa arranged a marriage to his liking and asked my father to come and marry the one he chose. But my father said that he would marry my mother and wouldn't return to Japan.
"So, to bring him back and make him marry the girl he chose, my grandpa went to India and met my mother along with my father and rejected her right off the bat.
"When my father asked why, he replied, saying that my mother was weak and said he searched for a strong girl that would suit my father.
"Then my father said that my mother was strong.
"But my grandpa didn't believe him and put a condition, saying if my mother could land a single hit on him, he would allow them to marry, and if she couldn't, my father should marry the one my grandpa selected."
"So, what happened next?" Akiko asked with unmatched enthusiasm and interest.
"What do you think? His mother lost," Kenji said.
"If she lost, then why are they married now?" Keiko asked, chewing elegantly.
"Right, how did your grandpa agree?" Akiko asked, spraying food that was in her mouth on Kenji.
"Your father must have done something right?" Kenji said while picking and eating the food that was sprayed by Akiko onto his face.
That was the first time for me seeing him behave like that. It was totally disgusting.
I wanted to move from his side but couldn't.
"Well, they both fought. In the fight, my grandpa tried to kill my mother and—"
"Now, I get it. Your grandpa tried to kill her, and your father brought that point up and said that he cheated and married your mother, right?" Akiko cut me off to say this nonsense.
"No," I answered.
"Then what?" she asked.
"If you let me complete it, you will find out," I replied.
"Okay, continue," she said.
"As my grandpa tried to kill her, she smashed him hard to the wall and broke his bones. He was hospitalized for about a month or two and got himself permanent damage," I concluded.
"So, your mother won, and she is super strong to send a captain to the hospital?" Akiko asked, surprised.
"Yes, and the one who taught me close combat was my mother," I replied.
"It must have been tough for her to win against him," Keiko said.
"No, from what I heard, she went easy on him and used Knuckles and didn't use any deadly weapons," I said.
"From whom did you hear this?" Keiko asked.
"My father," I replied.
"Your father?" Akiko asked.
"Yes, he has a habit of telling his past experiences as bedtime stories," I replied.
"You said your grandpa got permanent damage, right?" Kenji asked.
"Yeah," I replied.
"Is that why he limps?" he asked.
"You are a genius. That's right. He got his right leg damaged, and now he limps," I answered.
"No way!" Akiko said excitedly.
"Your mother is quite strong," Kenji said.
"No cap, she is," Akiko said, then continued, "Hey, is there any secret story about why your mother is that strong and now she is a housewife?"
"No, there is none," I said, pushing her away as she was all over my face.