Same Day
Kagura slammed her hands on the counter like she had just uncovered a national conspiracy: "We've been attacked."
Silence fell over the cafe.
Everyone turned.
Chifuyu: "What."
Diego: "Who."
Yuji: "Where."
Kagura pointed dramatically at the tablet in her hand: "Our ratings."
Caesar: "Our ratings?"
Kagura spun the screen around: "Someone gave us a one star."
Ariel: "One… star?"
Caesar: "That's not good, whoever did that must be a scumbag."
Beatrice: "We have over three hundred five-star reviews."
Esmarie: "And like… twenty four-stars!"
Shinatsu: "It was inevitable if we're being honest."
Marlon: "The world's full of haters."
Chifuyu: "Yeah, it's actually surprising we only have one."
Nicholas: "What did it say?"
Kagura: "'The food was mid. The drinks were mid. The joint is overrated with a bunch of snot-nosed Hunters.'"
Everyone couldn't believe their ears.
Yuji: "Even I have to admit that guy's spouting a bunch of nonsense."
Beatrice: "How cruel. Has he no
Chifuyu: "Let's find this jerk-off."
Kagura: "This is straight up slander."
Ariel: "He won't get away with this."
Diego: "This clown is gonna get what's coming to him."
Caesar: "We track him digitally."
Nicholas: "What's the username."
Esmarie leaned over Kagura's shoulder: "It's 'VolleyKing12.' Good grief, he's giving a bad look to volleyball players around Shioto."
Three hours later, Odd Jobs had turned into a full-blown investigation unit.
Phones out searching Shiogram.
The atmosphere was intense.
They searched.
Scrolled.
Compared.
Usernames.
Profile pictures.
Captions.
Until—
Shinatsu put her phone up: "…Found him."
Everyone crowded around.
On the screen was a high school boy.
Different profile picture from the review.
But the face—
Clear.
Identifiable.
Unmistakable.
Chifuyu: "The fool shouldn't have put his face as his review picture."
Diego: "He's basically asking for this."
Marlon: "How should we kill him?"
Nicholas: "Let's not kill him…"
The mood shifted.
Dark.
They had begun scheming deviously on how to get back at this person.
Caesar: "We find out where he lives and throw eggs at his house."
Esmarie gasped: "That's so mean!…I like it."
Ariel: "Then, we replace all his shampoo with mayonnaise."
Yuji: "Take all of his chocolate and sweets."
Chifuyu: "He's on his high school volleyball team." He pulled up the local league website and scrolled, "…Got it. Game tomorrow at 3:30."
Marlon: "I like the way you think."
Esmarie: "Oh this is perfect."
Shinatsu was already moving: "We need a sign."
She pulled out cardboard and a marker and wrote "YOU SUCK #12"
Nicholas: "So we're going to publicly embarrass him."
Caesar: "This'll ensure he never pulls a stunt like this again."
Beatrice: "I like it."
Nicholas: "You do?!"
Esmarie raised her hand excitedly: "Wait! What if we ask our customers to come with us?!"
Diego: "…That's genius."
Kagura: "YES."
Chifuyu: "This is coming along greatly."
Yuji smirked slightly: "We'll side with the opposing team."
They stood together.
Unified.
Like a villain group from a superhero cartoon.
Chifuyu: "We execute Plan of Hatred tomorrow."
Everyone nodded with an evil smirk.
***
Game Day
They gathered.
And somehow—
It was more than expected.
Over one hundred people.
Customers.
Friends.
Regulars.
Diego looked around: "…We built an army."
Kagura: "Off to war we go."
They marched.
Toward the school.
Like a movement.
Chifuyu stood at the front: "Listen up!"
Everyone quieted.
Chifuyu pointed forward: "If he misses a spike or a receive, we cheer!"
Crowd: "YEAH!"
Chifuyu: "If he passes the ball or scores, we boo!"
Crowd: "YEAH!"
Chifuyu: "If he's serving, we boo!"
Crowd: "YEAH!"
Chifuyu: "If the other team scores or blocks them, we cheer!"
Crowd: "YEAH!"
Chifuyu: "If he gets a spike blocked—"
Crowd: "WE CHEER!"
Chifuyu: "If they lose the game—"
Crowd: "WE CHEER!"
Chifuyu grinned: "Feel free to call him out and tell him he sucks!"
Crowd: "YEAH!!!"
They entered the gym.
The game had already begun.
The moment they sat—
It started.
"BOOOOO!"
"YOU SUCK #12!"
"WRONG SPORT!"
"TRY BADMINTON!"
The energy shifted instantly.
The opposing team looked confused. But they shrugged and smiled, going with the flow.
The home team panicked under pressure.
#12 missed a receive.
The gym exploded.
"LET'S GOOOOOO!"
"BENCH HIM!"
"IS THIS YOUR KING?!"
The referee glanced over.
But there were too many of them.
First set—
7–25.
They were destroyed. It was 1-4 when they got there, and their presence not only acted as a buff for the away team, but an unbelievable pressure for the home team. Chifuyu and Kagura stuck his hands up and tongue out devilishly. Ariel, Shinatsu, Esmarie, and Beatrice became cheerleaders for the opposing team.
The team huddled.
Shaken.
Confused.
Broken.
Chifuyu raised a hand: "Tone it down."
It was unlikely, but the ref could call the cops on them if they got too out of hand. The group quieted slightly.
The damage had already been done.
Second set—
Moderate chaos.
Strategic hate.
"Nice try #12!"
"Almost had it!"
"Not really!"
They still boed and cheered in moderation.
The team couldn't recover.
Momentum gone.
Confidence shattered.
Score—
25–13.
Final whistle.
Game over.
Everybody stood up and congratulated the enemy team. The boy looked at them with great disdain, he got his just deserts.
Outside—
Diego stretched: "That was incredible."
Kagura wiped a fake tear: "Justice."
Marlon nodded: "We should do this again if we get another one-star."
Shinatsu: "Sure but it'll be bad for business if we get another one-star."
Esmarie: "I almost feel bad."
Ariel: "I don't."
Yuji: "Me neither."
Nicholas sighed with a smile: "…We're terrible people."
Beatrice: "It was a necessary evil."
Caesar: "Plan of Hatred—successful."
Chifuyu: "Good job, people! Free drinks for everybody!!"
"WOOOOOOOO!!"
Marlon: "He'll think twice next time."
Kagura: "No one disrespects our cafe."