"Ha!" The syllable was drawn out and followed the sound of a body slapping against a thin crash mat. "Yuko! Tsuzukete Hajime!" These words were echoed elsewhere, where two youths wrapped in white, tied by black belts began to circle each other once more. Kicks, punches, the occasional sound of someone falling, along with the shouts of referees filled the hall in which the tournament was held, beneath the eyes of numerous spectators. Most of these people had eyes trained on one area, on one of the five matches occurring at anyone time, likely they were friends or family members. However there were others observing. This was the youth division of the contest, the quick paced heats, prior to the semi finals and finals. And later, there would be an opportunity to see skilled adults fight. Amongst the spectators that were two men; one who was particularly large, wearing a slightly confused expression beneath the brim of his cap and the other, who fidgeted beside him with twinkling black eyes. This young man was mumbling beneath his breath, fists clenched and eyes wide. Zee smiled, thinking this was how he and his brothers were during a rugby match. While it was true that he didn't really understand the terms or how the moves of the youth's fighting were scored, seeing Ichiro alight in his own element felt worth the trouble. He had been right to bring him here on this date. "Stop thinking that this is a date," Ichiro suddenly warned him, though his eyes had not moved from the bout occurring nearest them. "Two individuals going out," Zee drawled as Ichiro attempted to ignore the tremors trickling over his skin due to the deep sensual nature of the man's tone, "exploring each other's interests in the pursuit of a romantic partnership... that's called a date." "Two individuals hanging out," Ichiro attempted to rectify while giving him a look of incredulity, marvelling at the man's shamelessness. How many times did he need to clarify their relationship anyway before the man got the message!? "What pursuit of romantic partnership? We're friends, end of." Zee prodded his stubborn omega's forehead, marvelling that even such a small area of skin contact could send pulsing sensations of delight along his nerve endings. "I'm pursuing you. Stop denying this at least. I'm not your friend." Ichiro turned away, crossing his arms as he pouted; "What's wrong with just being friends with me? Why so serious? Does this really have to be more than that?" "Yes," Zee replied. He heard the Omega sigh, but noted his attention was captured once more by the youths participating in the tournament. Now just one match was occurring and the two boy's participating bowed to each other, before taking stances opposite each other. The match began, the first boy attempting to punch the second at chest level, but this was intercepted, the child aimed at side stepping as he directed the thrusting arm away, before attempting to kick the thigh of the other. This was dodged and the first boy took a step back before being pursued by the second child once more. Watching these two boys, in their safety headgear, attempting to land blows upon the other made Zandre draw comparisons between the battle between himself and Ichiro, neither willing to give in, with Ichiro trying to dodge the issue while he was on the attack, without his blows landing. He glanced back at the Omega, his eyes tracing the features of the man who hadn't realised just how much of himself was already etched upon Zandre's soul. There was a trace of melancholy that he hadn't noticed previously. "Everything alright?" Ichiro was startled from whatever thoughts were drifting through his mind at that moment and his lips curved, even as his eyes didn't. "I'm fine," Ichiro murmured into reply as the referee awarded the second boy two points for the kick that managed to land upon his opponents exposed waist. "Just thinking of some things." "Like?" "Like the last time I participated in a tournament," the sparkle in Ichiro's eyes faded slightly, causing Zee to frown, but he remained silent waiting for Ichiro to explain. "I was fourteen. I came second in my category." His smile widened as he reminisced then twisted slightly as more painful memories followed. "It was a week before my birthday and before my mother gave me this." He tapped the collar upon his neck. The second boy won the eight points needed to finish the match, beating the other youth by six points. The child's smile was bright and his family clapped and cheered for him, while the other by looked upset and disappointed. Still as he stepped down, he was greeted by companionable hugs and words of encouragement. "It's difficult to lose," Ichiro murmured, as he watch the boy who could only hope to win his next match for third place or not reach the podium in this tournament this time. "Trying to accept that you're not quite there, that there's someone better than you still, despite all the hard work that you put into training. Imagine then, if that person that you lost to was not actually an Alpha, like you assumed, but was actually an Omega all along." There had been excuses; that's why you lost to him, after all, hitting a weak Omega was like hitting a girl! You had to go easy on him! Oh and I bet his pheromones caused a distraction, so you didn't fight at your best! Never mind that a few of the girls in their club were better than those complaining boys, or that he hadn't had his first heat yet, so how exactly was he supposed to distract them with his smell? Parents got involved, should an Omega even be allowed to compete with their precious sons? As if he was walking seduction ready to drag them all down. That and omegas were weak, likely should be competing against the girls, but that wasn't fair to the girls as he was still a Male! Then came the question of validity for his medals, his trophies, even his grade as if he had cheated somehow to get them all! The karate federation that over saw the competitions and grading didn't take away his placements or belts, but the whole situation tainted his view on the sport, especially as his sensei encouraged him to retire rather than deal with any more fuss others were producing.