"Can I at least give you a gift?"
Fukuoka asked, with a nervous smile, his heart pounding.
"I don't know..." Britney replied, hesitating.
"Come on, girl, accept it!" Jade encouraged, giving her an elbow nudge.
"Okay, I'll accept your gift," Britney relented, begrudgingly.
"Close your eyes!" Fukuoka ordered, holding his breath, he leaned in...
When Britney closed her eyes, Fukuoka pulled her into a deep, awkward, French kiss!
"That's the spirit! Now that's attitude!" Yagato yelled.
Yagato was laughing uncontrollably while Nubaro was beating him up.
Everyone stood open-mouthed. The silence was so dense you could hear the wind.
"Yoshi, I want one too!" Jade demanded, flushed.
"Next time! Today I have pickle breath!" Yoshi said, totally embarrassed, hiding his face.
Britney raised her hand and SLAPPED Fukuoka across the face! The sound echoed!
"YOU FREAKING PERVERT! LET'S GO, GIRL!" Britney exploded, tears of fury and humiliation streaming down her face, and she ran off.
"And there goes my ONLY CHANCE to have a girlfriend..." Fukuoka muttered, touching the sore spot where he was slapped, his soul practically leaving his body.
"Don't worry about it! There are plenty of girls nearby! Less stressed ones!" Yagato tried to console him.
"You never said, Fukuoka, that you were part of the LGBT Community!" Nubaro blurted out.
"LGBT Community?!" Fukuoka asked, confused.
"Yeah: Gay, Lesbian, etc...!" Yagato explained.
Fukuoka's eyes WIDENED until they almost popped out of their sockets. His face went white, as if he had just been hit by a 1000-ton blow.
"I AM NOT GAY!" Fukuoka screamed, his expression like someone who had just been accused of theft.
"You're not?" Nubaro asked, doubtfully.
"No!" Fukuoka shook his head frantically.
"Then why did you go on a date with Britney?" Nubaro questioned.
"But Britney is a WOMAN!" Fukuoka yelled, pointing his finger.
Yagato began to guffaw, rolling on the floor.
"Actually, Britney is trans. Sorry, I thought you'd figure it out. I didn't think you were that clueless. Didn't you see her steel muscles?" Nanai revealed, shrugging.
"I thought she just liked to work out hard!" Fukuoka defended himself, almost crying.
Yagato started jumping up and down, shouting.
"YOUR FIRST KISS WAS WITH A MAN! YOUR FIRST KISS WAS WITH A MAN!"
"My first kiss was with a man..."
Fukuoka repeated, with a calm and frighteningly empty voice, not believing the sound coming out of his mouth.
And then, it hit him. He realized the scale of the tragedy and screamed loudly, as if the world was SPLITTING IN HALF:
"MY FIRST KISS WAS WITH A MAN! NOOOOOO!"
Back in the room, he kept repeating the same thing, touching his own lip as if it were contaminated.
"I kissed... a man," Fukuoka repeated, his voice choked up, like a little girl throwing a tantrum for candy.
"GO TO SLEEP, YOU ANNOYING GUY!" Yagato grumbled, throwing a pillow.
"What are you doing here?" Fukuoka asked, startled.
"Nubaro kicked me out of the room! So, I'm sleeping with you tonight,"
Yagato explained. Yagato was sleeping in the same single bed as Yoshi.
"Move over, you pest! Is the whole bed just for you, or what?!" Yagato complained, pushing Yoshi.
"Actually, the bed is MINE and was made for only one person, not a couple!" Yoshi retorted, annoyed.
Fukuoka slept on the top bunk. Yagato and Yoshi, on the bottom.
Until Fukuoka woke up screaming:
"NO...!"
"What happened?! Did a thief break in?! And my wife, she's all alone and so defenseless!" Yagato bellowed, sitting up startled.
"It was just a nightmare..." Fukuoka said, out of breath.
"So, my wife is safe?" Yagato asked, nearly asleep again.
"Yes," Fukuoka answered.
"Then, if my wife is safe, I'm going back to sleep," Yagato declared, collapsing back onto the bed.
Yagato began to snore like a jackhammer.
"Are you really okay?" Yoshi asked, his voice low and genuinely concerned.
"Yes, I'm fine," Fukuoka lied, the tremor still in his voice.
Early in the morning, Sensei Yagato ran to his and Nubaro's room. He knocked on the door urgently.
"NUBARO! NUBARO, MY LOVE! OPEN THE DOOR!" He begged. "Let me in, I have to change my clothes to teach the class!"
She opened the door with a look of fatal judgment.
"Did you apologize to the boys?" Nubaro questioned, arms crossed.
"I did!" Yagato whined, faking tears and falling to his knees on the floor.
"Then, you can come in," Nubaro conceded, with a minimal smile.
"Let's do that QUICKLY, there's still time!" Yagato whispered, a mischievous glint in his eyes.
"NO," Nubaro answered dryly.
7:00 AM.
Fukuoka, Nanai, and Yoshi were passing through the courtyard when they saw the scene: Ryo and Oxigu's training.
The synchronization of their movements was PERFECT, as if the two were ONE being. They moved in a combat dance, shirtless, their defined muscles and sweat gleaming in the morning sun. Their long hair flew in the wind, giving them a wild appearance.
Fukuoka, Nanai, and Yoshi stared at them, and a nervous laugh escaped Nanai's lips.
"Who are they?!" Fukuoka asked, his eyes glued to the unbelievable strength.
"They came from an indigenous village in Brazil. They are said to possess a superhuman strength that transcends," Nanai explained, his tone filled with admiration.
"Incredible! So much lightness and brutal strength!" Fukuoka murmured, but quickly shook his head.
"But I STILL haven't forgiven you for yesterday, Nanai!"
"Sorry, but it's not my fault if you LIKE my trans friend!" Nanai said, dripping with mockery and giving a wink.
"LIKE A TRANS WHAT?! You're the one who TRICKED me! I'm... I'm..." Fukuoka choked, unable to say the word "straight" with conviction.
Nanai stepped forward, took Fukuoka's hand, and held it tightly, looking deeply into his eyes.
"We are in the 21ST CENTURY, Fukuoka! You don't need to hide who you are anymore!" she said, with a false, dramatic seriousness.
And with a mischievous smile, Nanai released Fukuoka's hand and ran off like lightning!
"NANAI, WAIT UP! I'M GONNA GET YOU! You're gonna regret this mockery!" Fukuoka yelled, the comical fury propelling him to run furiously after her.
"WAIT FOR ME! DON'T LEAVE ME ALONE!" Yoshi screamed, running desperately after the two.