He saw the cane come up, but it was too fast for him to dodge. It caught him in the face across his cheek and the side of his mouth. Neil stumbled under the force of the blow and crashed into the lockers. He didn't feel it; he couldn't feel anything but the fire eating through his skull. A sour flash across his tongue might have been blood but Neil's mouth was too numb for him to be sure. He brought a hand up instinctively to check his skull for fractures, but Tetsuji's cane caught him in the ribs next. Then his shoulder, and his arm, until Neil had no choice but to ball up and protect himself.

Tetsuji didn't stop beating him until he finally passed out.

-

The Ravens' afternoon practice ran for four hours, and Neil was in no shape for any of it. He'd been unconscious through the two hours the Ravens took for lunch; he only woke when Jean dumped a pitcher of icy water over his head. Neil was too delirious and sore to get changed out, so Jean had to force most of the gear onto him. Neil struggled, but Jean dug cruel fingers into Neil's fresh bruises to stop him. Jean had to haul Neil up to the court. It wasn't until Jean shoved a racquet into his hands that Neil truly realized that yes, he was expected to play.

They put him on as a backliner, and Neil failed spectacularly. He hadn't played defense in almost nine years and he was in too bad of shape to keep up with Riko. Every time Riko made it past him, Riko hit Neil with his racquet. Exy armor was meant to guard against fast-moving balls and body-checks, not malicious blows from heavy racquets. By an hour into practice Neil was stumbling over his own feet.

Every time Neil fell, though, Jean was there to pull him off the ground. Jean had nothing to say to Neil about his poor performance, neither encouragement nor harsh words. Maybe he didn't have the breath for it anymore. They were in this together, just like Jean warned Neil. Every time the other team scored they were both punished.

The rest of the Ravens were completely unsympathetic, even toward one of their own. This was how the team worked, and they accepted it unquestioningly. These five years might be a vicious nightmare, but world fame and seven-digit salaries waited for them on the other side of the graduation stage. They'd be set for the rest of their lives. As far as the Ravens were concerned, it was a worthwhile trade.