"Hah!" Michael took his opportunity, as the teams filtered past each other on the way out of the stadium, to taunt Mad Hatter. "Told you we’d kick your asses."
Ryouma stopped to watch, Fuji-senpai and his brother pausing beside him.
Hatter looked Michael up and down with a glint in his eye. "Technically, in fact, you have not."
"Hiding behind technicalities, now, huh?" Michael was obviously enjoying himself a great deal. Tachibana-san was rubbing his forehead, though his small smile said he wasn’t as exasperated as he tried to sound.
"Michael-kun…"
"What?" Michael grinned. "It’s true."
Hatter flexed fingers that were suddenly full of… playing cards? Ryouma frowned, puzzled. Yukimura-san, though, made a fast snatch for Hatter’s wrist. Hatter gave him a deeply disappointed look.
Yukimura-san shook his head. "I’m pleased with the performance of my team, Hatter-san. If the results don’t entirely satisfy us, then we’ll have to make sure they come out differently next time. It’s well."
Hatter sighed, and the cards vanished. Ryouma was really starting to wonder how he did that.
Michael’s brows were nearly in his hair. "Never thought I’d see the day you had two masters, Hatter."
One corner of Hatter’s mouth lifted in something that was not a smile, and he turned slowly back to face Michael.
"I wouldn’t borrow too heavily on reflected glory if I were you, Michael," Lucifer said from behind the smirking angel.
Michael whirled with a snarl. "You looking for another fight right now?!"
Lucifer lifted a brow, the curl of his mouth far more amused than Hatter’s had been. "If you like. Little brother." Four black wings swept open behind him.
Ryouma sighed. This would have been the perfect opportunity for Lucifer to take his advice. Oh, well.
Michael tensed up even more, and his wings unfolded, too. Fire licked around him.
"How… tense. Brothers, hm?" Fuji-senpai stirred beside him, looking speculatively at the two. His step forward, however, was checked by Yuuta’s very tight grip on his arm.
"Aniki, you’re not allowed to get yourself killed before I beat you at tennis," Yuuta stated, not taking his eyes off Lucifer and Michael. "So don’t suggest what you’re about to suggest, okay?"
"You have to admit, it works," Fuji-senpai said, reasonably. But also quietly.
It looked like they had noticed anyway. Lucifer looked from Fuji-senpai and Yuuta back to Michael, and laughed softly.
Michael’s jaw dropped. "You… what… what the fuck?!"
"Hm." Lucifer took a long step towards him and cupped the side of Michael’s face with one hand.
Michael vanished in a skyward flash of wings and sputtered swearing. Lucifer calmly folded his wings back in.
"Excellent suggestion," he murmured, glancing sidelong at Fuji-senpai. "I can see why you like this one, butterfly."
Hatter smirked, leaning against Yukimura-san, and Fuji-senpai looked like he was considering whether to take that as a compliment or not. Tachibana-san, on the other hand, had his arms crossed and was looking disapproving.
"That was unnecessary, Lucifer-san," he said, quietly.
Lucifer tilted his head, examining Fudoumine’s captain. "Perhaps. But if he truly wanted to fight me again, he could have done it by now." He turned and walked away, merging into the crowd just as a blond man and woman fought their way out of it to congratulate Tachibana.
Ryouma shook his head, sparing a moment to be glad Seigaku’s angel didn’t have as many Issues as the rest of them. Maybe he should add some psychologists to The Plan.
End
