Dinner, Drinks, and Chance Encounters

"Yeah, what Himeno-san said, I--" He suddenly frowned. "Wha...what do you mean 'for once'?"

Makie stifled the urge to giggle.

Midori also snickered into her food.

Saying nothing, Toshio went back to his food, taking a sip of his newly-served mug of beer to hide his embarassment. Makie, meanwhile, finished gnawing another rib down to the bone.

"Mmm...what about you, Midori-senpai?" she asked. "Do you know who your next match will be against?"

She shrugs as she kept eating.

"Whoever it is, I will kick their ass."

"Oh yeah? What if it's Makie again?"

At this, Makie almost choked on her meal.

"It won't be her."

Almost prophetic.

Makie chuckled nervously. "Of course it won't!" she said. "I'm not going to face Midori-san again any time soon?"

Toshio gave her a sly smile. "Maybe. But are you honestly telling me you don't want a rematch, Makie?" he asked. At this, his sister blushed, unsure of how to answer that.

"Ah, I'm just messing with ya," Toshio told her with a friendly grin. He flashed a glance at Midori again. "Besides which, if you two ever did fight again, sis, I'm sure you'd hold your own a lot better against Midori after your training."

Midori chuckled a bit at that.

"Speaking of training," Makie cut in with a sigh, "when are we starting? I want to get better but I don't want to go back into the ring unprepared." She unconsciously clenched her right hand. "I dunno...just the thought of going back in there after the last match...it makes me feel uneasy."

"5 AM. Tomorrow. Hope you are ready."