"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