The War Cry of Overkill
“What... What exactly did we do wrong?” the student asked, sounding like he might start crying any minute. He was a big, burly man despite his pitiful tone. As he pleaded with the middle-aged woman sitting across the desk from him, his broad chest seemed like it might bust out of its uniform. “Madame Principal,” he said, “Our club has been operating in earnest all this time. Please believe me. It’s true.”
“I am aware,” the principal said sternly.
“So why are you closing us down? We’ve never caused any trouble for anyone,” the student protested. “We do repairs to the club building, tend the athletic fields, look after the cute little bunny rabbits...”
“I am aware.”
“We play with local children, pay visits to lonely senior citizens...”
“All admirable acts,” the principal acknowledged.
“And we serve the community in many, many ways. So why are you doing this? What did we do wrong?” he asked pleadingly.
“You want to know? I’ll tell you,” the principal said with a long sigh. “We’re shutting you down... because you are the rugby club.”
●
It was a quiet afternoon in the student council room. The vice president, Chidori Kaname, rested her chin in her hands and gazed blankly at slightly outdated LCD television. She was wearing her usual student uniform, with her waist-length hair fastened at the end with a red ribbon, and watching an old youth drama. Young men stood on a sunset beach, their eyes wet with tears, their hairstyles as cringe-inducing as could be. They were all dressed in rugby uniforms.
“Sir!” cried one of the young men to the inspiring teacher standing before him. “We were wrong! You really did care about us all this time... Please forgive us.”
The inspiring teacher nodded firmly. “It’s all right. I’m just glad you understand now. That’s all I ever wanted.”
“S-Sir!”
The young teacher patted the shoulder of the now openly crying student. “It’ll be all right. I know you guys. And I know you’ll win that match tomorrow!”
“But, sir...!”
“Don’t lose heart,” the teacher told him sternly. “Now, race each other... into the setting sun!”
“Y-Yes, sir!!!”
For no apparent reason, the young people suddenly took off down the beach, heading away from the camera, and then...
To be continued. The episode’s ending segued into a commercial for Nagatani-en Mabo Harusame noodles, starring Wada Akiko.
“Hmm... strong plotting,” Kaname muttered, folding her arms thoughtfully as if she was analyzing a piece of auteur cinema by the likes of Oliver Stone or Spike Lee. “A story about misfits who win the championship. The classic trio—effort, friendship, victory. That’s how the sports underdog genre should be,” she concluded in a self-satisfied tone.
Sagara Sousuke, who was silently reading in a nearby chair, looked up at her in confusion. “I don’t understand,” he said, with his usually sullen expression. “Is it that entertaining to watch the incompetent succeed?”
It was an absurdly blunt way of putting it. But then, Sousuke had grown up in war-torn regions overseas and still didn’t have much knowledge about everyday life in Japan. It was only natural for him to be unfamiliar with the tropes of the underdog narrative.
Still, Kaname felt a little indignant. “It certainly is,” she insisted. “If someone’s bad at what they do but charismatic and willing to work hard, you want to see them succeed. It’s human nature.”
“Hmm...” Sousuke mused, looking down at the novel in his hand. “Perhaps that is the national character.”
“What are you talking about?” Kaname squinted suspiciously at the book in Sousuke hands. It was a novel entitled Great Turnaround! The Silent Pacific War. She found herself lost for words.
“The first-year who provides our equipment recommended it,” Sousuke told her. “The genre is called ‘alternate history fiction.’ It’s a story of Japan somehow beating the United States in the Second World War.”
“Not sure I’d call that an underdog story...” Kaname muttered.
“But the weaker side wins,” Sousuke pointed out.
“Uh, sure, but—”
Before they could finish their debate, the door to the room opened wide and the student council president, Hayashimizu Atsunobu, entered. He was tall and slender with slicked-back hair, wireframe glasses, and a quiet air of authority about him.
“Hmm. Did I leave you waiting?” Hayashimizu asked, looking at Kaname and Sousuke.
“Yes, actually,” said Kaname. “Where’d you run off to after calling us in here?”
“The principal’s office. I was negotiating,” he said casually, slapping the bundle of papers that he’d been carrying under one arm down onto his desk. Then he sat down smoothly. Once seated, Hayashimizu broached the subject at hand. “I’ll tell you why I called you here,” he began. “It’s about our rugby club.”
“Um, we have a rugby club?”
“We do, although few people are aware of it.”
“Huh...” Kaname said, as wonderingly as if she’d just been told of a hidden tribe of headhunters in the Chinese countryside. “So, has the rugby club done something wrong?”
“They have. You see...” Hayashimizu went on to explain the situation.
The rugby club at Jindai High was small and weak. They’d existed for fifty years, and twenty years ago they’d almost made it to the championships. But they hadn’t won a single match in the past ten years. They were performing so poorly and showing so little competitiveness that last week, the teachers had decided to shut down the club.
“However, this act is a clear breach of the student council’s self-regulatory authority,” Hayashimizu said. “While I do believe the teachers have a point, I would like to avoid closing the club in this way. And so, I proposed a condition to the principal.”
“What’s the condition?”
“The rugby club has a match scheduled, next week, against the powerful Garasuyama High team. If they win, we’ll delay the club’s dissolution by one year. If they lose, they’ll be gone on the spot.”
“I see,” said Kaname. “Any chance they’ll win?”
“None. Their loss is all but inevitable,” Hayashimizu told her breezily. “Jindai is 0 for 49 in their most recent matches against Garasuyama. Additionally, there are only fourteen members in the club, and a rugby team requires fifteen players.”
“...That’s not much of a chance you’re giving them,” Kaname pointed out.
“Chances are not to be given,” Hayashimizu lectured, “they’re to be seized. How they approach the offer is up to them.”
“Well, I guess, but—”
“Still, I’d like to lend them a helping hand. I’ve decided to send a fill-in player and manager from the student council’s executive arm to aid them.”
“Huh?” Kaname’s eyes went wide.
“Didn’t you hear me? A fill-in player—” he pointed at Sousuke, “—and a manager,” he pointed at Kaname.
Kaname stared blankly at Hayashimizu’s index finger, and a few seconds later snapped back to her senses. “Why should we do that?!” she argued, rising from her chair.
Perhaps anticipating this reaction, Hayashimizu nodded knowingly. “I’m afraid I can’t see to it myself,” he confessed. “Starting tomorrow, I must lead the summit of the Tajiren, the Tama Regional High School Government Conference. It’s an extremely boring five-day meeting. Although, you could attend that in my stead if you preferred.”
“Geh...” She’d sat in on one of those meetings before and knew what a waste of time they were. All they did was go on and on about dull topics, like how to prevent teenage smoking. The thought of actually having to lead one...!
Having made her decision, Kaname decided to speak up. “All right,” she said grudgingly. “Darn it... By the way, Sousuke. Aren’t you against this?”
“No. I owe the president a great deal already,” Sousuke responded indifferently.
“Thank you, Sagara-kun,” said Hayashimizu.
“Not at all. It’s easily done.”
There was a curious relationship of trust between the two eccentrics. It wasn’t some sentimental idea of friendship or bonds. If pressed to give it a label, she’d call it a kind of sympathy; a mutual respect shared between two people who excelled in their respective fields, in a way that surpassed simple self-interest. Kaname idly considered how rarely you saw a relationship like that between women.
“If you two would head to the rugby club room now, then?” Hayashimizu suggested. “And Chidori-kun... take this with you.” He pulled a large golden kettle from under the desk.
“What’s this?” she asked.
“A necessity for all female managers,” he told her.
Kaname found herself speechless.
“And one other thing. Although I find your legs to be aesthetically beautiful...” Hayashimizu folded his arms and looked Kaname’s legs up and down. His gaze wasn’t lecherous; rather, it was more as if he was expressing disapproval for something that was out of place.
“Wh-What?” Kaname said, unconsciously tugging at her skirt.
“Your skirt is too short,” he said reprovingly. “A manager’s skirt should always be below her knees.”
“Isn’t that discrimination?”
“It’s not discrimination,” he told her, “It’s scrupulous attention to detail. When you grow up, you’ll understand.”
“Um, I think I’d rather not ever understand...” Kaname said, then stood up.
Kaname borrowed a longer skirt from the home economics club. She changed quickly, then headed for the athletics section of the club building with the kettle in hand.
“Chidori. Are you familiar with the sport of rugby?” Sousuke asked as they walked side by side.
Kaname tilted her head a bit. “Not really,” she admitted. “About all I know is it’s sweaty guys covered in mud, grappling and such.”
“Like martial arts, then?”
“No, there’s a ball involved, I think. But... Yech, I just hate this,” she said, looking openly disgusted.
Sousuke frowned as he watched her. “Why are you so upset? Have you been captured and tortured by rugby players in the past?”
“They’re not the secret police, sheesh... but I guess a war-addled fool like you probably wouldn’t know. I just kind of... expect it to stink.” Kaname had her own prejudice—a mostly correct one—that rugby was played by sweaty, stinky men. “A bunch of big, burly dudes packed into a filthy little room... I feel like I’ll get pregnant just being around them.”
“Is that what it’s like?”
“Mmhmm. That’s what it’s like,” Kaname confirmed as she stepped in front of the rugby club room door, which was situated in a corner of the club building. After a moment’s hesitation, she knocked.
“Yes?” came a rather polite voice from beyond the door.
“Um, excuse me,” she called back. “We’re here from the student council. We were asked to help you with your practice.”
“Ah... thank you for coming.” The door opened and a large student appeared. He was big and burly, but conspicuously well-groomed. “Chidori-san and Sagara-san, was it? Hayashimizu-senpai told me about you. You’re here to help us, aren’t you? We’re very grateful.”
“Oh, well...”
“I’m looking forward to working with you to beat Garasuyama... Ah, forgive the late introduction. I’m the club president, Goda Yu. It’s a real pleasure.” With that, Goda Yu beckoned them inside. “Step right in,” he invited them. “I’m sorry it’s such a mess...”
“Er...” Kaname was once again speechless, because despite Goda’s words, the room was sparkling. Every inch of it was clean and tidy. There were fine-grained wood furnishings, rattan furniture, and several potted plants. Multiple picture postcards were hung up on the wall, scattered about in a tasteful way. The lighting was gentle and calming.
Several club members sat around the spotless table, giving amicable smiles to Kaname and Sousuke.
“Um, is this really the rugby club?” she asked.
“It certainly is,” Goda said solicitously. “Why do you ask?”
“Well...” Kaname trailed off. She thought to herself, where are the mud-stained striped jerseys? The sweaty guys? Why does the room smell faintly of lavender?
“Please, have a seat. May I get you some tea? We have an herbal that’s heaven for stiff muscles and aching backs.”
“Um...”
“And we just sent one of our boys to pick up something from the Cozy Corner by the station,” Goda gushed. “Their chocolate gâteau is divine. Isn’t it, everyone?”
“Absolutely!”
“Ah, I can’t wait!” The rugby players nodded, grinning ear to ear.
As Kaname sat down, still a little numb, Sousuke nudged her from the side. “It seems like a fine place to me,” he observed.
“You’re not wrong there, but...”
“Rugby must be a very peaceful sport.”
“Something’s not right here,” said Kaname.
“Ah!” Goda was engaged in making their tea when he suddenly let out a cry.
Sousuke heard the reaction, drew his pistol, and automatically dove into action. Kaname lithely passed in front of him, and suddenly, Sousuke was soaring aimlessly through the air. He collided with a poinsettia head-first, and then fell silent.
“Oh, that was a close call,” said Goda, sounding alarmed. “Are you all right?”
“Be careful,” said one of the other club members, peering in concern at the smoke rising from Sousuke’s head. “We don’t want anyone getting hurt here.”
Meanwhile, Kaname—acting as if nothing unusual had just occurred—said, “What happened, Goda-kun?”
“Oh, nothing... I saw a spider and it startled me!”
Indeed, a spider about the size of a pinkie nail was crawling busily up the wall nearby. Kaname stared at it, dumbstruck.
“Wh-What should I do, Chidori-san?” Goda asked tremulously, wringing his hands. “I’d be scared to leave it at large in here, but I’d hate to kill the poor thing...”
“You guys really are in bad shape, huh?” Kaname let out a deep sigh.
The next day, they began their practice for the upcoming match against Garasuyama. The wussy-ness of the Jindai High rugby club was so strikingly singular that it could have been covered by the World Heritage Convention: the fourteen club members were uniformly big guys with strong legs, and they seemed sturdy enough... but they were simply too timid.
The team members carefully locked the door when they were changing. They cradled the ball like a newborn baby. Just before practice, they walked all over the athletic field and removed any rock larger than five millimeters in diameter, just in case someone might trip. They always called to each other multiple times before each pass, to make doubly sure no one got hit in the face with a ball. And as for tackling practice... apparently, that was out of the question.
“But why?” Kaname asked Goda, as the sun set over the field.
“Well, it’s quite dangerous, isn’t it? To jump on another person while they’re running,” Goda responded reasonably enough.
“This crap is why you guys never get any better!” Kaname shouted, her patience at its limit. She swung her fan and kettle around as she laid into them angrily.
Goda immediately looked to be on the verge of tears. “R-Really, there’s no need for yelling,” he protested. “This is simply how we’ve always done things.”
“And that’s why you’ve always lost!” Kaname exploded. “You guys have gotta get it together! Are you men or not?”
The rugby players shared a glance.
“What a horrible thing to imply, Chidori-san,” one member said disapprovingly.
“Exactly,” said another. “We live in the era of sexual equality.”
“Assigning gendered qualities to behavior is what leads to unjust discrimination,” they insisted.
“Th-These guys...” Kaname began to tremble. “Hey, Sousuke! Say something to them!” she shouted at Sousuke, who was in a corner of the field studying the rules. His textbook was the manga Chotto Yoroshiku! by Yoshida Satoshi.
“Mm-hmm. Play safe out there!” he replied, his eyes still locked on the comic as he took a bite of his fruit-flavored Calorie Mate.
“Oh, for the love of... Look, there’s just a week until the match!” Kaname yelled. “If you lose to Garasuyama, your club’s kaput. Are you okay with that?”
“W-Well...” Goda stammered. “I don’t want the club to be dissolved, obviously. But I also don’t want to hurt anyone...”
“It’s not about hurting people, it’s about winning! Your club’s existence is on the line here, so you’ve gotta pull it together! Practice! Practice your damned hearts out!” Kaname scolded. Then she banged her fan against her kettle, dutifully playing her role to the hilt.
“Y-Yes, ma’am,” he agreed shakily. “All right, fellows, let’s practice our scrum!”
“Very well!”
Given how big the guys were, it was smart thinking to work on their scrum, where strength was what mattered most. But...
The rugby players gathered in a corner of the pitch and circled up. Then they all looked down, folded their arms in front of their chests, and quietly closed their eyes. As Kaname watched them suspiciously, Goda began to speak. There was a solemn air about them. It lasted about three minutes, until...
“Um... What are you doing?” Kaname asked hesitantly, causing the silent group to suddenly all look up.
“We were praying to God to let us finish our scrum practice in safety. It’s far too nerve-wracking not to,” Goda responded sincerely.
They were in the shopping district after sundown, having entered a hamburger restaurant as a group.
“This is totally hopeless,” Kaname grumbled unhappily.
The rugby players sank despondently in their seats. “B-But... We really are doing the best we can,” Goda replied weakly.
“Your ‘best’ makes a koala look like a daredevil,” Kaname declared scornfully. “Don’t you guys have any fighting spirit? You look more like a support group than a sports team.”
“What an awful thing to say,” someone muttered. “And koalas are far fiercer than they seem, you know.”
“I don’t give a damn,” she told them flatly.
“B-But...”
“Don’t argue! Prove it with your actions!” Kaname stood up and pointed at Sousuke, who was sitting in the corner, silently reading his comic. “Look at that,” she told them hotly. “He’s hard at work memorizing the rules! He’s doing absolutely everything he can, even if it pains him! Right, Sousuke?!”
Sousuke kept his eyes on his comic. “Mm. This is very good,” he said, sucking up some of his medium-sized cola through a straw.
Kaname fell silent.
“He looks fairly content to me,” Goda muttered rebelliously.
“Guess he’s got his own priorities this time,” Kaname sighed, slumping over as she sat back down.
“Bwa... ha ha ha!”
“Hya ha ha ha!”
“Gwa ha ha!”
A chorus of laughter rang out. Kaname and the others turned to see a group of big men in the smoking section some distance away, pointing at them and laughing. Some had scarred faces, and some were missing front teeth. There were about ten of them in total, all dressed in slovenly, worn looking blazer-style uniform jackets.
“Who are they?” Kaname asked.
“Th-That’s... Garasuyama High’s rugby team,” Goda admitted.
“That’s them? Wow, they look tough...” Kaname looked on in open admiration as the Garasuyama High boys got up and moved to surround the Jindai team.
A man with a crew cut, who appeared to be the leader, leered down at Kaname. “Hey, girlie,” he said. “These losers ain’t gonna listen to you, y’know? Once a spineless worm, always a spineless worm.”
This was the part where she should have said, ‘That’s not true!’ but instead...
“Yeah, I think you’re right,” she agreed..
“We’ve had to practice with ’em since the days when we were both great teams, and now it’s just lame,” the leader said. “Know what I mean?”
“Yeah, I can imagine.”
“But next week, it’s all over,” he predicted. “We’ll beat the snot outta these assholes and put the whole lousy business behind us.”
“Sounds good to me,” said Kaname.
“I mean, trash is trash to the end, right? Wa ha ha!”
“Ha ha ha,” said Kaname, sharing a hearty laugh with the men.
Goda and the others grew visibly smaller under this treatment. Some of them were even on the verge of tears (although Sousuke continued reading his comic).
“You seem like a pretty savvy girl,” the leader observed.
“Nah, I’ve just got... you know, eyes.”
“You seem cool. Wanna ditch these bozos and hang with us instead?”
“Nah,” Kaname responded lightly, still smiling.
“C’mon, try us out,” the crew cut guy said invitingly, putting his arm around Kaname’s shoulders. “I know a great karaoke place. We’ll show you a good time.”
“Ah. Um...”
“Don’t be so uptight. C’mon!”
Not even Kaname could take this lying down. “Could you please remove your hand?” she told him icily. “I’m not a zoologist like Masanori Hata, and I don’t make time with gorillas.”
“Gorillas?” the crew cut guy blinked in shock. “You talkin’ about me?”
“Yeah. I’d heard they were on the verge of extinction in Rwanda due to the civil war,” said Kaname. “It’s a relief to find them still proliferating here! Aha ha.”
“Wah... wa ha ha.”
“Ha ha ha.”
Kaname and the gorillas shared another hearty laugh. Then there was a moment of silence, and...
“You bitch!” roared the crew cut guy. But just as he was about to twist Kaname’s arm, a tray went flying through the air at high speed, a corner of which hit the man’s temple with a bang. “Geh...” The massive man staggered for a moment, then collapsed.
“We’re having a meeting. Go away,” said Sousuke, the source of the throw.
“Y-You wanna do this?!” asked the members of the Garasuyama rugby team, who all immediately took on fighting postures.
Sousuke reached for the holster on his hip.
Kaname screamed immediately, “No guns!”
Sousuke froze, as Goda and the others shrank down. Then the men charged them and a battle broke out.
Five minutes later...
“Yeah, we can’t wait! And you better not run away, got it?!” the Garasuyama High boys jeered as they left the hamburger restaurant. Half of them were staggering, the other half striding proudly. The defining difference between the two groups was that the latter half had gone after the rugby players, and the former half had taken a beating from an unarmed Sousuke.
The result was, technically, a draw... but Goda and the rest of the team were still in a bad way. The only ones standing at the end were Kaname, who’d spent her time running around to try and stay out of the fray, and Sousuke himself.
“That was funny but terrifying,” Kaname said, shoulders heaving.
Sousuke looked at her with concern. “You weren’t hurt, Chidori?”
“No, I’m fine.” she responded breezily, smoothly moving away as she realized she was clinging to Sousuke. “But boy, what a bunch of jerks... Can’t even take a little teasing. You guys okay?” Kaname checked worriedly on Goda and the other boys lying on the floor.
“What... What did we do wrong?!” Goda asked in a high-pitched whine. “Those Garasuyama High rugby boys are so mean! We’ve done everything we can to make peace with them, but... but they keep beating the heck out of us!”
“Could you at least say ‘beating the hell out of us’?” Kaname suggested.
“Chidori-san,” Goda said. “I feel, for the first time, that the situation is untenable. I can’t let this be the end of it. I truly want to beat them!”
“A-Agreed,” someone else agreed. “I can’t stand it either.”
“I wanna win...” another sniffed.
“I don’t wanna lose our club...” a third sobbed.
The players, their faces stained with blood and tears, were in agreement with Goda.
At least they’re ready to put in the work, Kaname thought. But how are guys like these gonna beat those violent jerks?
Just then...
“Do you want to win that badly?” Sousuke asked.
“O-Of course... We’re human, too.”
“Do you really want to win?” he pressed.
“Yes. If we don’t... If we don’t...” Goda sniffled.
Sousuke turned around and placed a hand on his shoulder. “I’ll train you, then.”
Four days later they were on Mt. Takamaru, in Chichibu-Tama-Kai National Park, located on the border between Tokyo and Yamanashi Prefecture. It was a Sunday. They were in a heavy pine forest that ran along a treacherous slope, with no signs of human structure other than a few uncertain pathways leading up the mountain. Spring was still a ways away, and the air was cold.
“Kana-chan... are you sure this is the right way?” Kaname’s friend, Tokiwa Kyoko, whispered wearily. She had braids and coke-bottle glasses, and wore a down jacket and hiking boots.
“I think so. I think we’re close,” responded Kaname, who was also dressed for hiking. She was holding a portable digital GPS map that she’d borrowed from Sousuke.
“How are they training on a mountain like this? There’s no place you could even throw a ball around,” Kyoko observed.
“You’re right,” said Kaname. “They’re skipping school, too. I don’t know what he’s thinking...”
Sousuke and the other rugby club members had come to this mountain for a training camp three days earlier. Kaname had taken a pass on the training, but since it was Sunday, she’d come to check in on them.
Just then, a barking voice pierced the quiet of the forest. “You filthy maggots! Get those knees up! I said run!”
“Ah...” said Kaname. She could see Goda and the other rugby players stumbling through the trees with giant logs in their arms, dressed in fatigues.
“Look at you! Trash! I’ve seen worms I liked more! I’ve got more respect for the blood-sucking tick I pulled off my ass!” Sousuke screamed abusively at them. He was likewise dressed in fatigues as he ran along with the rugby players, holding a memo pad in one hand.
“Hahh... hahh...”
“I’m... gonna die...”
The players’ faces were stained with mud and sweat, twisted in fear and exhaustion.
“Listen up, ********! The more you suffer, the more I get my rocks off! Don’t just stand there swaying like some old man’s grimy ********?! You ****ing pieces of warmed-over ****! If you ever wanna get some ***** for those ********s of yours you better show me you can **** some ***** in the ****! You ****-slinging ********!” shouted Sousuke, mechanically reciting from his ‘indispensable phrases for training,’ eyes locked on the notepad onto which they’d been written.
Kaname and Kyoko were too stunned to react for a moment, then they both turned red.
“Sagara-kun’s such a potty mouth...” Kyoko said before trailing off.
“You think he even knows what he’s saying?” Kaname asked.
Right then, one of the rugby players collapsed. He dropped his log and fell onto the cold ground below. “I c-can’t take it anymore...” he said weakly.
Sousuke strode up to the man, who was lying there on all fours. “What’s the matter, Ishihara?” he jeered. “Giving up already?”
The man just panted and wheezed in response.
“I can see you’re every bit the pantywaist I thought you were,” he said dismissively. “Go home and cry to a picture of your precious H*ros*e Ry*ko!”
“Geh...”
“She’s definitely the kind of loose whore idol a coward like you would fall for. You hopeless little shitstain!” Sousuke’s borrowed words caused the player’s eyes to open wide.
“D-Don’t you badmouth H*ros*e!” As the man lunged at Sousuke, tears in his eyes, Sousuke stuck out a foot to trip him. “Grrk!”
“How many times must I say it? H*ros*e Ry*ko is a whore,” Sousuke enunciated. “If I’m wrong, prove it to me! Pick up that log and give me another ten laps!”
“D-Dammit!” The man must have really loved that idol because, despite the tears in his eyes, he started crawling towards the fallen log.
The rest of the club members were desperately running up the sharp slope. Sousuke watched them go with a glint in his eye, then walked up to Kaname and Kyoko. “You two. You found your way?” he said, suddenly back to his usual calm.
“Yeah. But... what was with that trash-talking? What’s with that notebook? Let me see it.” Kaname snatched the notebook he was carrying. It was scrawled all over with curse words, labeled Big Sister Mao’s Marine Trash-Talking Notebook (For training new recruits/To be shouted with all your heart).
“...What in the world is she...”
“It’s not an issue,” Sousuke told her.
“You really think this’ll work, though?” Kaname asked doubtfully.
“The exertion will bring them confidence,” Sousuke predicted. “The core of their weakness has nothing to do with skill.”
“Ah, you might be right... Say, are you hungry? Kyoko and I made rice balls.”
“Yeah, we made plenty. There’s okaka and salmon and umeboshi and...” Kyoko pulled some foil-wrapped parcels out of her pack one after another, her voice cheerful.
But Sousuke just scowled at them. “Hmm...”
“What’s up, Sousuke?” Kaname asked. “You already had lunch?”
“No... I’m thinking over whether it’s all right to give them a decent meal,” he admitted.
“Oh, come on. We got up early to make these! You can’t just turn them down now.”
“Hm, I suppose.” Sousuke nodded reluctantly. Then he shouted at the rugby players running up and down the slope, “Rejoice, you disgusting pigs! Your manager’s brought food! Your first meal in thirty-two hours! Once you finish, you can eat!”
The players paused a moment. Then, eyes shining, they began running with the sudden vigor of a pack of wild boars.
“Thirty-two hours?!” Kaname and Kyoko said in chorus, eyes wide.
“Yes,” said Sousuke. “But do you think perhaps I should starve them a while longer?”
It was the day of the match, on the Setagaya rugby pitch. The sky above was cloudy and gray, threatening rain at any minute. Unseasonable lightning rumbled in the distance.
The Garasuyama rugby team was lined up on the pitch, wearing all-black uniforms reminiscent of New Zealand’s powerful national team. The Jindai High team was nowhere to be seen. Kyoko and Kaname, standing off in a corner, were the only ones present.
“Heh. Think they chickened out?” the gorilla man said. The men standing around him cackled in response.
“Eh... doubt it, but...” Kaname mused.
“Ah, Kana-chan, they’re here!” said Kyoko.
Fifteen men appeared at the entrance to the pitch: Sousuke, Goda, and the rest of the Jindai High team. Covered in mud and fresh wounds, they seemed to have come straight from the mountain.
“Sorry for the wait,” said Sousuke, standing at the head of the team, as he dropped a large backpack onto the ground.
Goda and the others were silent. They looked exhausted, yet their eyes glinted with the light of determination. They were standing tall and glaring over the grounds.
“Um, Goda-kun,” said Kaname. “You okay?”
“Yeah,” he returned stoically, “I’m doin’ just fine.”
“‘Yeah?’ ‘Doin’’?” Kaname echoed incredulously, staring at him in shock as her team approached the Garasuyama High players.
“So ya came, eh?” said the gorilla man. “Better get ready. After today, your club’s kaput. So, no big deal if we send you all to the hospital, huh?”
Goda didn’t respond.
“We’re breakin’ every arm in the place,” the gorilla man said again. “Cry and scream all you like, ’cause the pain train ain’t gonna stop. Got it?”
Goda and the others didn’t look a little bit afraid. They just stood tall, glaring at the other team.
“Get ready!” the referee shouted, and the Garasuyama players moved to their own half of the field.
“All right. Let’s prepare for battle,” Sousuke said, and the group cast off their fatigues. Beneath them were sparkling new uniforms, featuring the crest of Jindai High sitting proud on the jerseys’ red-and-white-striped chests. The men formed a perfect line and stood at attention while Sousuke met them in a matching uniform. “You little maggots lived to see this day,” he bellowed. “You’re rugger men now!”
“Sir! Yes, sir!” Goda and the others responded with a shout so intense it could have cracked the ground below.
“Now, your greatest trial awaits! There’s no turning back! You stand between having everything you’ve ever wanted, and falling into the pits of hell. Well? Does that sound fun to you?!” Sousuke yelled.
“Sir! Yes, sir!”
“That’s what I like to hear. Now...” Sousuke nodded firmly and stood very still. Then, after a moment, he shouted again. “All right, maggots! What do you do?!”
“Kill! Kill! Kill!”
“What are you here for?!”
“Kill! Kill! Kill!”
“Do you love our school? Do you love the rugby club?! Well, you stupid bastards?!” Sousuke shouted.
“Gung-ho! Gung-ho! Gung-ho!”
“Okay! Then let’s get out there!”
Kyoko and Kaname could do nothing but watch, stunned into silence, as the Jindai High rugby club charged onto the field.
“This is some wicked brainwashing,” Kyoko said quietly.
“Yeah, but... does Sousuke even understand the rules?” Kaname asked.
Her fears would soon prove to be entirely justified.
The match began. As the ball flew out of the scrum, Goda scooped it up and passed it to Sousuke. Immediately, the Garasuyama forward line charged.
“Die!” said the gorilla-man, at the head of the group. He charged like a heavy tank, brimming with open malice.
“Sergeant, punt!”
“What does that mean?” Sousuke asked.
“It means kick! Kick!”
“Roger,” said Sousuke. The next instant he was in the air, where he hung like Ushiwakamaru or Crying Freeman until...
Crash! Sousuke’s dropkick hit the gorilla man in the face. The man reeled backwards, tottered a step or two... then collapsed on the field, his body twisted and twitching.
“Who’s next? Try me,” Sousuke whispered boldly.
Kaname charged forward and applied her fan to his head in the same instant the judge shouted that he was out of the game. Then she dragged Sousuke off of the field, which was wreathed in silence.
But after a moment, Goda shouted in a crazed voice. “Rrr... Rrrragh! The sergeant showed us how to do it! C’mon, you bastards, let’s keep it going!”
“Yeah!” cried the Jindai team, and the very air trembled at their cry.
Garasuyama’s players turned pale and began to back away.
There is a Chinese saying—shā yī jǐng bǎi—which translates into “kill one to warn a hundred.” In other words, the heartless execution of one man would steal away the morale of a hundred more. Sousuke’s aggressive act had the same result: the remaining Garasuyama players were terrified.
Goda and the others now played as wolves hunting down the cowering rabbits. They weren’t here to die in the name of victory—instead, they were here to kill. Their bloodlust was so strong that when one of them crushed another player with a tackle and noticed that he was breathing, he spat out the words, “Shit, he’s still alive.”
After Sousuke, four more players were disqualified for malicious rule violations, but the other team lost twice that many to injuries. Garasuyama was so intimidated by them that they couldn’t even land their penalty kicks.
Sixty minutes later, the match was over... and the Jindai High rugby club had won a resounding victory.
“I’ve never seen such a cruel and heartless event,” the referee would reminisce later. The Garasuyama High team—previously perpetual winners—would never recover from the shock, and went into a deep slump thereafter. The match itself would come to be referred to as the Nightmare of Futako-Tamagawa, and Jindai High would become the terror of the high school rugby world for years to come.
“But is this really an okay outcome?” Kaname whispered, as Goda and the others howled savagely in victory. “A week ago, they were saying they didn’t want to hurt anyone... It’s a little sad, actually.”
“Yes,” Sousuke nodded. “Battle is always an empty pursuit. That’s what their sacrifice has taught me.”
“You... don’t you dare put a moral on this!” said Kaname, whacking Sousuke over the head.
Meanwhile, Goda and the others fell on the cowering losing team. “You done already, assholes?! Get up and fight us one more time! Show us your guts, you *********! You got a little **** on your ****?! You don’t like it?! You don’t like it, you can **** my **** and call it—”
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