au meme #2: kiss my air treks.
Ah, crap. 8D; Why do I always only have like six hours left on a dragon? ahjkajwe. 
new egggsss... 8D;
For Anon (antanya!) here at the AU meme.
Kis-my-ft2 in the Air Gear universal *__*
who: Kismai, Ft2.
rating: PG.
notes: Air Gear is a fantastic series by Oh! Great (i'm not kidding, ogure ito is his pen name ♥) that you should read if you haven't, because it's a brilliant, fast-paced, action manga about GUYS ON SKATES. [scanlations|streaming] But not just any skates, Air Treks are to normal skates what a 4WD is to a bicycle. :3 The art is absolutely gorgeous and only gets better, and the character designs are some of the best I've seen anywhere. 8D *SPARKLES* Read! Read and fangirl with meee~ ♥♥ Apart from a manga, it's also an anime and two stage musicals. 8D Kamakari Kenta, KENN, and Kaji Masaki (who might be familiar if you were ever into tenimyu) voice/play three of the main guys. THEY ARE FABULOUS.
Actually, I lol'd really hard when this request came up, because I'd been thinking about it since before last December (←used to be a private post 8D *has many brainfart private posts like that*) but just never got around to writing it. :D :D KISMAI IN THIS 'VERSE MAKES SO MUCH SENSE, Y/Y?
✂
"K-to-the-A-WHY, I'm Kawai!" one of the two battle MCs shouted into his mic. He leaned back and let it rip: "EVERYBODY IN THE HOUSE TONIGHT, ARE YOU READY TO GET~ IT~ ON~?"
The crowd shrieked on cue, their screams reverberating around the concrete walls of the abandoned underground pumping station.
"You tell 'em how it's gonna be, Tottsu!" Kawai grinned, tagging his partner with a high five.
Tottsu took the floor. "Thanks, Fumi-kyun! Ladies and gentlemen, are you in for a treat tonight! Newbie team READY have thrown down the gauntet! Will they have what it takes to hold their ground, or are they set for incineration by our legendary FIRE BEATERS?"
At the mention of the crowd-favourite D-class team, the audience again errupted into epic screams.
"BRING ON THE CUUUUUUUUUUUUBE BATTLE!" Kawai hollered. "Let's hit the lights, Tsuka-chan! Let 'em see who they're here to see!"
*
"...I have a bad feeling about this," Tamamori said.
"Maa~" Miyata chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Pretty incredible, isn't it?"
"Understatement," Tamamori muttered, glancing sideways at where Senga was already sweating hard beside him, despite being READY's best Storm Rider by a long shot.
"When are they gonna put the lights on us?" Nikaido wanted to know.
"We're the challengers," Senga said. "So we'll be introduced after the regulars?"
Nikaido rolled his eyes. "Lame. Half the girls are gonna be passed out from lack of air by the time that happens."
Indeed, the audience shrieks redoubled as the in-cube camera feeds flickered to life, projected onto giant portable screens hung high above them all, and READY's opponents were introduced one by one, each waiting in their arena.
"...oh god," Tamamori breathed, fanning his face in a sudden fit of nerves. "They're real. Help."
*
"In cube four!" Kawai called. "Ironman of the Lightning Road, SO BAD HE'S GOOD, IT'S IIDA KYOHEI!"
On screen, Iida looked up into the in-cube camera. He gave a smile and a congenial wave. "Will you never tire of that pun, Kawai-kun?"
Kawai stuck his tongue out and Totsuka laughed. "Fumi-kyun likes to stick with what works." Then images from a second cube lit up the screens to more screams, and Totsuka raised his voice: "Follower of the Sonia Road, in cube three today is the one and only Yokoo Wataru!"
Grinning into the cube-cam, Yokoo struck a pose reminiscent of second-rate idol girls everywhere: one hand on his hip and a V-sign by his eyes.
"...he's skinnier than I thought he'd be," Nikaido frowned.
"He's Sonia," Senga said.
"~the Sonia Road puts a lot of pressure on the user's body," Miyata elaborated, volunteering useless information as usual. And then some not-so-useless: "Whoever ends up in the cube with him should try to draw their battle out and wear him down. He'll try to end it with a one-hit K.O. which will, um. Probably succeed. But don't lose hope!"
"I hope Senga gets him," Tamamori said.
Senga shook his head. "I want Mitsu or Taipi."
Nikaido gave him a strange look. "What's with the pet names?"
Senga's answer was cut off by a loud "Ehhhh~?" from the audience as a third cube lit up, seemingly empty.
"Pan the camera down, Gocchi!" Kawai shouted. And then, "Kitayama, get the hell up, you're on already!"
Reclined with his hands tucked behind his head on the floor of his cube, Kitayama cracked an eye open and gave the camera a sleepy little smirk. "I'll get up when my opponent makes me."
The resulting wave of shrieks was almost palpable, and Nikaido scowled. "He is seriously underestimating us, that bastard."
"...actually, I don't think so," Senga said, amending when Nikaido gave him a dirty look: "I mean, we're only F-class."
"Yeah," Nikaido said, "but we're up and coming F-class. They still only D."
Tamamori gave Nikaido a withering glance like he was an idiot, and Miyata chuckled nervously.
"What," Nikaido said.
"Ahh, how do I say this?" Miyata rubbed the back of his neck. "They're D-class, but they should be higher. I mean, it's widely accepted legend that Kitayama played at least a few B-class Disk games for some local team before he joined the Fire Beaters. And though Fujigaya's been a Beater since the beginning so he's never been above D-class, R.E.A.D. says he actually holds the longest max airtime of the four of them, so..."
"Crazy," Tamamori muttered.
Senga grinned, a trickle of sweat running down from his temple. "Probably, they just like to cube battle too much and made sure to lose enough official matches to not have to rise up to C-class..."
The audience errupted as the final cube lit up and the self-confident smirk of Fujigaya Taisuke splashed across the screens. "And in cube one, it's TAIPIIIIIIIIIIIII~" Totsuka and Kawai shouted in tandem as if the last Storm Rider needed no other introduction. Fujigaya waved, winked, and blew a kiss, garnering the loudest shrieks yet.
Nikaido rolled his eyes. "The only reason they like cube battles so much is because they're all camera whores."
"Ahh, that's kind of funny coming from you~" Miyata laughed, though remained unheard as the lights above the four of them blazed on and Nikaido grabbed Senga's hand and skated forward, waving at the crowd and jumping about.
"CHALLENGERS: TEAM READY!" the speakers boomed.
"We are going to die," Tamamori said.
"Probably, na?" Miyata grinned, figuring to hell with it and tugging Tamamori forward as well, toward the entrance of the cube-and-pipe labyrinth.
"Oh my god," Tamamori said, letting his skates do all the work as Miyata towed him into the arena. "Don't any of you care...?"
*
Miyata ended up in cube four.
"Ahh, Iida-san," he said, popping his head down through the pipe. "Nice to meet you."
"I've been told we're nearly the same age," Iida smiled. "No need to be so polite."
"Well, about ten months apart," Miyata grinned a gap-toothed grin, useless data always at the top of his head. He felt lucky. According to R.E.A.D., Iida had the lowest stats of all Team Fire Beat, with max air time at only about Nikaido's level and max speed lower than Tamamori's.
Granted, Miyata's stats were even lower than that as the worst out of all of Team Ready, but he'd take what he could get...
Iida meanwhile seemed to be scanning the back wall, and walked over to it.
"I'm, uh. Glad we get to fight~♪" Miyata said.
"Are you?" Smiling, Iida grasped some thin piping along the wall. It looked like the same stuff connecting the sprinklers in the ceiling of Miyata's school, breaking free from its wall brackets when he tugged. Then Iida gave a wrench and snapped the pipe from its connectors as well.
Miyata's smile froze.
"I'm glad we could fight, too," Iida said, and held out the pipe. "You seem nice. Use this."
"...thank you?" Confused, Miyata accepted the makeshift staff. It was a solid weight in his palms, the metal surprisingly thick and heavy.
Iida grinned. "Try to knock me out. If you can."
...
The battle ended with Miyata concussed and out cold on the floor despite the weapon he'd been given.
"Oooooh~ nasty," Totsuka said across the speakers. "Can we get some ice in there, please?"
As a couple of first-aiders scrambled down, Iida took the length of pipe out of Miyata's limp hands and attempted to fix it back to the wall lest Yokoo be annoyed at him for destroying their favourite arena. Again.
*
Tamamori ended up in cube three.
"...why me," he said miserably, forced to crawl through the narrow pipe leading into the cube wherein Yokoo waited, grinning, like a spider in its web.
Tamamori no sooner had his two feet back under him when Yokoo sprang.
Tamamori dodged the charge. Just.
"OH MY GOD," the speakers blared, "DID YOU JUST SEE THAT? WELL IF YOU DIDN'T, JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THE FACT THAT TAMAMORI'S STILL ALIVE! AMAZING."
"...Kawai is so noisy," Tamamori muttered, cheeks heating as the camera turned and he felt its focus.
Grinning, Yokoo skated slowly back to where he'd started. "Your reflexes aren't too bad," he observed, maybe a little impressed.
"Speed is my thing," Tamamori told him, straightening out his Ready uniform jacket. He kept his back to the cube wall.
"Once a fluke," Yokoo shrugged, and attacked again-
"-twice coincidence?" Tamamori asked, still alive seconds later. Fuelled by adrenaline, a small smile lifted the corner of his mouth.
Yokoo dropped from the roof with a spin, chuckling. "Yeah."
But then Tamamori dodged a third attack and Yokoo paused, leaning back against the opposite wall to massage his knee. "Not bad."
"...thank you?"
"You're welcome, Tamamori. But now, you die." Yokoo's ATs whirred loudly to life as if they'd only been sleeping before, and Yokoo grinned. "Crazy Yaiba~"
"...I have a bad feeling about this," Tamamori muttered.
(But that was okay: the next second he wasn't feeling anything much at all.)
...
Yokoo frowned, the arena and MC fading into white noise in his ears as Tamamori's Road caught his eye. He tilted his head, analysing the marks left by Tamamori's Air Trecks. They looked... oddly familiar.
*
Senga was perhaps the only one truly happy with his assignment, giving a little cheer- "Yes!" -as he dropped down from the pipe into the cube (nearly landing on Kitayama's stomach).
Kitayama cracked an eye open, a lazy grin on his face. "Well you took your time getting here."
"Sorry about that," Senga said, eyes wide with hope. "Do you remember me though?" It was obvious Kitayama would know his name from researching Team Ready, or even just listening to the MC if nothing else, but...
With seemingly much more effort than it should have required, Kitayama hauled himself to his feet. "Of course I do," he said. "Senga Kento, been on wheels since he was three, and switched to Air Trecks in his early teens. Best Under-18 technical Rider. Highest max airtime in the history of F-class..."
Senga beamed, "Yup, that's me!"
Kitayama's smile turned dark at the edges. "Also a natural idiot without a shred of killer instinct."
Senga's face fell. "Yup... that's me."
Kitayama stretched. "Honestly, I don't think your new team's going to have what it takes to rise through the ranks with you without a lot of directed training. They're nothing you can sharpen your fangs on, either."
Senga frowned. "Don't diss my friends."
Kitayama shook his head. "No, no, I'm just stating fact. Dissing sounds like this: Miyata's useless, and his stats are worse. Tamamori may be good naturally, but he couldn't outperform a housefly in the spotlight. And Nikaido, well." For effect, Kitayama rolled his eyes. "That kid has problems, let's leave it at that. See the difference?"
Senga frowned some more, his eyes shifting around, and Kitayama grinned. He already had the battle won from the turbulence on Senga's face. A Storm Rider needed a clear mind and heart, especially against a stronger adversary. "They're dragging you down," Kitayama continued, keeping his voice reasonable. And smiled. "How about you join us instead? If you win."
"...I don't want to," Senga told him. "I'd never betray my team."
Kitayama shrugged and cracked his knuckles. "Well, that's your loss."
*
"So, you followed me this far, huh?" Fujigaya said, turning around with trademark Dramatic Flair just as Nikaido entered the final cube.
Nikaido frowned. "What the hell're you talking about."
"What?" Fujigaya laughed. "You don't recognise me...? Ah, damn. And here I was, self-centred enough to think you guys were fighting us because of you and Senga."
Nikaido's brows knit. "...what?"
With a long-suffering sigh, Fujigaya flipped up the fur-lined hood of his team jacket, and made goggles over his eyes with his hands.
Recognition flashed across Nikaido's face. "He's you?"
"Nice to finally see your face," Fujigaya said wryly. "Or rather, nice for you to finally see mine."
"WHAT'S THIS?" Kawai's voice demanded across the speakers. "NOT ONE BUT TWO OF OUR BATTLERS ALREADY KNOW EACH OTHER?"
Fujigaya looked into the camera with wide eyes and a deliberately sweet smile. "Nika-chan's been following my Road every morning and didn't even realise who it belonged to! Isn't he the cutest?"
Nikaido scowled. If he'd known the mystery Storm Rider who flew over the rooftops by his house before school every day was such an obnoxious git, then he wouldn't have tried to learn tricks by copying him.
He had learned a few, though.
"I can do everything you do, just as well as you do it, up to the train line when you go down the tracks!" he declared. "Don't be so cocky about your Road."
"Up to the tracks?" Fujigaya grinned. "Aww, really? That's about half an hour, not too shabby. Though it's a shame that's where my warm-ups end and real practice begins."
"...what," Nikaido scowled, dropping into an aggressive crouch. "Screw you, I'll kick your ass for that."
"If you can," Fujigaya grinned, casually inspecting his fingernails. "You might actually have to if you want to hope for a draw, since Watta and Ii-chan would've accounted for your Tamamori and Miyata by now."
"Like hell," Nikaido glared. "It's only been like thirty seconds!"
"Yeah," Fujigaya laughed, "and all you have to do to last longer than they did is just keep on talking."
"What about Senga?" Nikaido demanded.
Fujigaya snorted. "If you beat me- which you won't -he'll probably be your last hope." He shrugged. "Mitsu likes to toy with the kids a bit more than he should. Gives out fans a little more to watch, you know?"
Nikaido scowled. "You talk too much. Let's go already."
Fujigaya grinned. "If you're sure, brat."
*
It was a four-over-four loss for Ready in what might have been record time, if Kitayama and Fujigaya believed more in quick kills than building audience appreciation.
"CLEAAAR OUT THE CUBES!" Kawai shouted. "THE VICTORY GOES TO TEAM FIRE BEAT, NOOOOO CONTEST! THANKS FOR JOINING US TONIGHT!"
"Party 'til dawn with Tsuka-chan and Gocchi on the turntables, or have a safe ride home for school tomorrow, folks!" Totsuka grinned, waving into the cameras as they flickered off. "Godspeed!"
*
They congregated 'backstage' in an old sinkroom beneath the battle cubes.
"How are they?" Kawai asked, leaning on Fujigaya's shoulder (because he could while Fujigaya was sitting down).
"They'll live," Fujigaya shrugged. Nikaido scowled at him from a seat across the way, and Fujigaya grinned back just to be annoying.
"Good, good," Kawai laughed. "Can't have you hauled up for homicide, can we? Ratings would go down."
Fujigaya rolled his eyes. "You're all about the ratings, aren't you?"
Kawai smirked. "Takes one to know one, doesn't it? I'mma go help Tottsu lock and load the equipment. Catch you later."
"Yeah."
*
Miyata was the last to revive, sitting up slowly. His head lolled to the side. "...ow? Oww..."
Tamamori stepped back now that Miyata was capable of holding his own ice (his hands were cold, darn it), and Iida handed Miyata another bag of peas. "Sorry."
"...mean swing," Miyata said pitiably, pressing the blissful cold to his head.
"Sorry," Iida repeated. "I didn't expect you to jump in the opposite direction I was going for."
"…what?" Miyata blinked slowly, as if Iida were incomprehensible.
"You dodged into his fist," Yokoo interpreted.
Miyata cringed. "Oh."
"Moron," Tamamori added, to Fujigaya's amusement.
Miyata looked around. "How did we do?" he asked, expression hopeful and completely at odds with the rest of his team's dour faces.
"How do you think we went?" Nikaido frowned, arms crossed.
"...ahh," Miyata said. "A loss, then?"
"Not just a loss," Tamamori said, "a miserable defeat."
Senga, in the corner, didn't take his eyes off the floor. "I'm sorry I couldn't even do anything, guys..."
Nikaido smacked him upside the head. "Stop moping, god. You lasted longest out of all of us."
"You said it was just 'cause Mitsu was just toying with me!" Senga said, depressed.
"Yeah, well..."
Fujigaya nodded. "He was, because you were fun."
Senga sighed. "What's gonna happen to Ready now?"
"Well, you didn't bet your emblem, so it's not as if you can't go on competing," Fujigaya pointed out.
"But we suck," Senga said, and not even Nikaido felt up to arguing with that assessment.
Over Ready's collective head, Fujigaya looked at Yokoo, then Iida. "Well, actually..."
Iida shrugged, smiling, typically amicable. Yokoo shook his head. "He'll kill you when he wakes up."
Senga blinked, looking up. "Nn?"
"Rubbish," Fujigaya said. "He's been talking about Senga since the first time we saw him. He wants him on our side."
Senga's frown matched Nikaido's. "I already told him no," he said, "if you mean Mitsu."
"Ken-chan's not goin' anywhere with you freaks," Nikaido added.
Benevolently, Fujigaya spread his hands. "How about a new offer, then? You can all join us."
"...that isn't very funny," Tamamori said. Miyata laughed, and then winced as pain lanced through his head.
"I'm serious," Fujigaya told them. They stared at him.
Iida smiled. "We don't have a data analyst like Miyata. He would be valuable."
"...'valuable'?" Miyata squinted, unused to hearing the word with regard to himself.
Yokoo looked at Tamamori. "Your speed isn't just speed, you know, and it isn't Flame Road's type of speed, either. You're another Sonia Rider like me."
Tamamori stared at him. "...how do you know that."
"I can read a path I've run before," Yokoo grinned. "Join us and I'll teach you 'til you can find your own way. With how you went today, I'd rather we be allies than enemies in the future."
"I..." Tamamori started, then glanced at Miyata who grinned awkwardly. Together, they looked at Nikaido-
Who crossed his arms and looked at Fujigaya. "And you'll teach me the Flame Road properly?"
"I'll even wait for you to catch up with me every morning, if you want," Fujigaya chuckled. "I usually go fly with Mitsu someplace, so you can come, too." Pointedly, he turned to Senga: "What do you think?"
"...but then Team Ready won't exist anymore?" Senga said, a little crease between his brows.
"Ken-chan..." Nikaido started.
"You'll all become Fire Beaters, of course," Fujigaya cut in smoothly. "You'll be provided with new uniforms and join us at D-rank - though you won't compete in the cubes until you're up to it." He grinned. "Can't have you brats ruining our reputation too early."
"It's a good deal," Tamamori said. "We'd learn a lot."
"...I don't think we'd get to D-class any other way for a few more years," Miyata said with a lopsided smile.
"It's... not that," Senga said. "I just… I don't want to lose our team, you know?" He looked worried and uncertain.
"Ken-chan, hey," Nikaido said, and waited until Senga's eyes rose to meet his own. "Ready's not going anywhere. We're all gonna be right here with you. That's fine, isn't it?" His grin turned just slightly sardonic. "You deserve a promotion more than all of us."
Hesitantly, Senga nodded. "Nothing's going to change...?"
"Nothing's going to change," Nikaido promised. Tamamori rolled his eyes, and Miyata nodded.
"...okay," Senga said, and then looked up at Fujigaya, managing a half-smile. "Okay."
"Awesome," Fujigaya grinned, and rubbed his hands together. "Fresh meat."
"..." Tamamori said.
"Fresh what?" Nikaido demanded over Yokoo's laughter, and Iida ducked his head with a grin.
"Welcome aboard. ♥"
new egggsss... 8D;
For Anon (antanya!) here at the AU meme.
Kis-my-ft2 in the Air Gear universal *__*
who: Kismai, Ft2.
rating: PG.
notes: Air Gear is a fantastic series by Oh! Great (i'm not kidding, ogure ito is his pen name ♥) that you should read if you haven't, because it's a brilliant, fast-paced, action manga about GUYS ON SKATES. [scanlations|streaming] But not just any skates, Air Treks are to normal skates what a 4WD is to a bicycle. :3 The art is absolutely gorgeous and only gets better, and the character designs are some of the best I've seen anywhere. 8D *SPARKLES* Read! Read and fangirl with meee~ ♥♥ Apart from a manga, it's also an anime and two stage musicals. 8D Kamakari Kenta, KENN, and Kaji Masaki (who might be familiar if you were ever into tenimyu) voice/play three of the main guys. THEY ARE FABULOUS.
Actually, I lol'd really hard when this request came up, because I'd been thinking about it since before last December (←used to be a private post 8D *has many brainfart private posts like that*) but just never got around to writing it. :D :D KISMAI IN THIS 'VERSE MAKES SO MUCH SENSE, Y/Y?
✂
"K-to-the-A-WHY, I'm Kawai!" one of the two battle MCs shouted into his mic. He leaned back and let it rip: "EVERYBODY IN THE HOUSE TONIGHT, ARE YOU READY TO GET~ IT~ ON~?"
The crowd shrieked on cue, their screams reverberating around the concrete walls of the abandoned underground pumping station.
"You tell 'em how it's gonna be, Tottsu!" Kawai grinned, tagging his partner with a high five.
Tottsu took the floor. "Thanks, Fumi-kyun! Ladies and gentlemen, are you in for a treat tonight! Newbie team READY have thrown down the gauntet! Will they have what it takes to hold their ground, or are they set for incineration by our legendary FIRE BEATERS?"
At the mention of the crowd-favourite D-class team, the audience again errupted into epic screams.
"BRING ON THE CUUUUUUUUUUUUBE BATTLE!" Kawai hollered. "Let's hit the lights, Tsuka-chan! Let 'em see who they're here to see!"
*
"...I have a bad feeling about this," Tamamori said.
"Maa~" Miyata chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck. "Pretty incredible, isn't it?"
"Understatement," Tamamori muttered, glancing sideways at where Senga was already sweating hard beside him, despite being READY's best Storm Rider by a long shot.
"When are they gonna put the lights on us?" Nikaido wanted to know.
"We're the challengers," Senga said. "So we'll be introduced after the regulars?"
Nikaido rolled his eyes. "Lame. Half the girls are gonna be passed out from lack of air by the time that happens."
Indeed, the audience shrieks redoubled as the in-cube camera feeds flickered to life, projected onto giant portable screens hung high above them all, and READY's opponents were introduced one by one, each waiting in their arena.
"...oh god," Tamamori breathed, fanning his face in a sudden fit of nerves. "They're real. Help."
*
"In cube four!" Kawai called. "Ironman of the Lightning Road, SO BAD HE'S GOOD, IT'S IIDA KYOHEI!"
On screen, Iida looked up into the in-cube camera. He gave a smile and a congenial wave. "Will you never tire of that pun, Kawai-kun?"
Kawai stuck his tongue out and Totsuka laughed. "Fumi-kyun likes to stick with what works." Then images from a second cube lit up the screens to more screams, and Totsuka raised his voice: "Follower of the Sonia Road, in cube three today is the one and only Yokoo Wataru!"
Grinning into the cube-cam, Yokoo struck a pose reminiscent of second-rate idol girls everywhere: one hand on his hip and a V-sign by his eyes.
"...he's skinnier than I thought he'd be," Nikaido frowned.
"He's Sonia," Senga said.
"~the Sonia Road puts a lot of pressure on the user's body," Miyata elaborated, volunteering useless information as usual. And then some not-so-useless: "Whoever ends up in the cube with him should try to draw their battle out and wear him down. He'll try to end it with a one-hit K.O. which will, um. Probably succeed. But don't lose hope!"
"I hope Senga gets him," Tamamori said.
Senga shook his head. "I want Mitsu or Taipi."
Nikaido gave him a strange look. "What's with the pet names?"
Senga's answer was cut off by a loud "Ehhhh~?" from the audience as a third cube lit up, seemingly empty.
"Pan the camera down, Gocchi!" Kawai shouted. And then, "Kitayama, get the hell up, you're on already!"
Reclined with his hands tucked behind his head on the floor of his cube, Kitayama cracked an eye open and gave the camera a sleepy little smirk. "I'll get up when my opponent makes me."
The resulting wave of shrieks was almost palpable, and Nikaido scowled. "He is seriously underestimating us, that bastard."
"...actually, I don't think so," Senga said, amending when Nikaido gave him a dirty look: "I mean, we're only F-class."
"Yeah," Nikaido said, "but we're up and coming F-class. They still only D."
Tamamori gave Nikaido a withering glance like he was an idiot, and Miyata chuckled nervously.
"What," Nikaido said.
"Ahh, how do I say this?" Miyata rubbed the back of his neck. "They're D-class, but they should be higher. I mean, it's widely accepted legend that Kitayama played at least a few B-class Disk games for some local team before he joined the Fire Beaters. And though Fujigaya's been a Beater since the beginning so he's never been above D-class, R.E.A.D. says he actually holds the longest max airtime of the four of them, so..."
"Crazy," Tamamori muttered.
Senga grinned, a trickle of sweat running down from his temple. "Probably, they just like to cube battle too much and made sure to lose enough official matches to not have to rise up to C-class..."
The audience errupted as the final cube lit up and the self-confident smirk of Fujigaya Taisuke splashed across the screens. "And in cube one, it's TAIPIIIIIIIIIIIII~" Totsuka and Kawai shouted in tandem as if the last Storm Rider needed no other introduction. Fujigaya waved, winked, and blew a kiss, garnering the loudest shrieks yet.
Nikaido rolled his eyes. "The only reason they like cube battles so much is because they're all camera whores."
"Ahh, that's kind of funny coming from you~" Miyata laughed, though remained unheard as the lights above the four of them blazed on and Nikaido grabbed Senga's hand and skated forward, waving at the crowd and jumping about.
"CHALLENGERS: TEAM READY!" the speakers boomed.
"We are going to die," Tamamori said.
"Probably, na?" Miyata grinned, figuring to hell with it and tugging Tamamori forward as well, toward the entrance of the cube-and-pipe labyrinth.
"Oh my god," Tamamori said, letting his skates do all the work as Miyata towed him into the arena. "Don't any of you care...?"
*
Miyata ended up in cube four.
"Ahh, Iida-san," he said, popping his head down through the pipe. "Nice to meet you."
"I've been told we're nearly the same age," Iida smiled. "No need to be so polite."
"Well, about ten months apart," Miyata grinned a gap-toothed grin, useless data always at the top of his head. He felt lucky. According to R.E.A.D., Iida had the lowest stats of all Team Fire Beat, with max air time at only about Nikaido's level and max speed lower than Tamamori's.
Granted, Miyata's stats were even lower than that as the worst out of all of Team Ready, but he'd take what he could get...
Iida meanwhile seemed to be scanning the back wall, and walked over to it.
"I'm, uh. Glad we get to fight~♪" Miyata said.
"Are you?" Smiling, Iida grasped some thin piping along the wall. It looked like the same stuff connecting the sprinklers in the ceiling of Miyata's school, breaking free from its wall brackets when he tugged. Then Iida gave a wrench and snapped the pipe from its connectors as well.
Miyata's smile froze.
"I'm glad we could fight, too," Iida said, and held out the pipe. "You seem nice. Use this."
"...thank you?" Confused, Miyata accepted the makeshift staff. It was a solid weight in his palms, the metal surprisingly thick and heavy.
Iida grinned. "Try to knock me out. If you can."
...
The battle ended with Miyata concussed and out cold on the floor despite the weapon he'd been given.
"Oooooh~ nasty," Totsuka said across the speakers. "Can we get some ice in there, please?"
As a couple of first-aiders scrambled down, Iida took the length of pipe out of Miyata's limp hands and attempted to fix it back to the wall lest Yokoo be annoyed at him for destroying their favourite arena. Again.
*
Tamamori ended up in cube three.
"...why me," he said miserably, forced to crawl through the narrow pipe leading into the cube wherein Yokoo waited, grinning, like a spider in its web.
Tamamori no sooner had his two feet back under him when Yokoo sprang.
Tamamori dodged the charge. Just.
"OH MY GOD," the speakers blared, "DID YOU JUST SEE THAT? WELL IF YOU DIDN'T, JUST TAKE A LOOK AT THE FACT THAT TAMAMORI'S STILL ALIVE! AMAZING."
"...Kawai is so noisy," Tamamori muttered, cheeks heating as the camera turned and he felt its focus.
Grinning, Yokoo skated slowly back to where he'd started. "Your reflexes aren't too bad," he observed, maybe a little impressed.
"Speed is my thing," Tamamori told him, straightening out his Ready uniform jacket. He kept his back to the cube wall.
"Once a fluke," Yokoo shrugged, and attacked again-
"-twice coincidence?" Tamamori asked, still alive seconds later. Fuelled by adrenaline, a small smile lifted the corner of his mouth.
Yokoo dropped from the roof with a spin, chuckling. "Yeah."
But then Tamamori dodged a third attack and Yokoo paused, leaning back against the opposite wall to massage his knee. "Not bad."
"...thank you?"
"You're welcome, Tamamori. But now, you die." Yokoo's ATs whirred loudly to life as if they'd only been sleeping before, and Yokoo grinned. "Crazy Yaiba~"
"...I have a bad feeling about this," Tamamori muttered.
(But that was okay: the next second he wasn't feeling anything much at all.)
...
Yokoo frowned, the arena and MC fading into white noise in his ears as Tamamori's Road caught his eye. He tilted his head, analysing the marks left by Tamamori's Air Trecks. They looked... oddly familiar.
*
Senga was perhaps the only one truly happy with his assignment, giving a little cheer- "Yes!" -as he dropped down from the pipe into the cube (nearly landing on Kitayama's stomach).
Kitayama cracked an eye open, a lazy grin on his face. "Well you took your time getting here."
"Sorry about that," Senga said, eyes wide with hope. "Do you remember me though?" It was obvious Kitayama would know his name from researching Team Ready, or even just listening to the MC if nothing else, but...
With seemingly much more effort than it should have required, Kitayama hauled himself to his feet. "Of course I do," he said. "Senga Kento, been on wheels since he was three, and switched to Air Trecks in his early teens. Best Under-18 technical Rider. Highest max airtime in the history of F-class..."
Senga beamed, "Yup, that's me!"
Kitayama's smile turned dark at the edges. "Also a natural idiot without a shred of killer instinct."
Senga's face fell. "Yup... that's me."
Kitayama stretched. "Honestly, I don't think your new team's going to have what it takes to rise through the ranks with you without a lot of directed training. They're nothing you can sharpen your fangs on, either."
Senga frowned. "Don't diss my friends."
Kitayama shook his head. "No, no, I'm just stating fact. Dissing sounds like this: Miyata's useless, and his stats are worse. Tamamori may be good naturally, but he couldn't outperform a housefly in the spotlight. And Nikaido, well." For effect, Kitayama rolled his eyes. "That kid has problems, let's leave it at that. See the difference?"
Senga frowned some more, his eyes shifting around, and Kitayama grinned. He already had the battle won from the turbulence on Senga's face. A Storm Rider needed a clear mind and heart, especially against a stronger adversary. "They're dragging you down," Kitayama continued, keeping his voice reasonable. And smiled. "How about you join us instead? If you win."
"...I don't want to," Senga told him. "I'd never betray my team."
Kitayama shrugged and cracked his knuckles. "Well, that's your loss."
*
"So, you followed me this far, huh?" Fujigaya said, turning around with trademark Dramatic Flair just as Nikaido entered the final cube.
Nikaido frowned. "What the hell're you talking about."
"What?" Fujigaya laughed. "You don't recognise me...? Ah, damn. And here I was, self-centred enough to think you guys were fighting us because of you and Senga."
Nikaido's brows knit. "...what?"
With a long-suffering sigh, Fujigaya flipped up the fur-lined hood of his team jacket, and made goggles over his eyes with his hands.
Recognition flashed across Nikaido's face. "He's you?"
"Nice to finally see your face," Fujigaya said wryly. "Or rather, nice for you to finally see mine."
"WHAT'S THIS?" Kawai's voice demanded across the speakers. "NOT ONE BUT TWO OF OUR BATTLERS ALREADY KNOW EACH OTHER?"
Fujigaya looked into the camera with wide eyes and a deliberately sweet smile. "Nika-chan's been following my Road every morning and didn't even realise who it belonged to! Isn't he the cutest?"
Nikaido scowled. If he'd known the mystery Storm Rider who flew over the rooftops by his house before school every day was such an obnoxious git, then he wouldn't have tried to learn tricks by copying him.
He had learned a few, though.
"I can do everything you do, just as well as you do it, up to the train line when you go down the tracks!" he declared. "Don't be so cocky about your Road."
"Up to the tracks?" Fujigaya grinned. "Aww, really? That's about half an hour, not too shabby. Though it's a shame that's where my warm-ups end and real practice begins."
"...what," Nikaido scowled, dropping into an aggressive crouch. "Screw you, I'll kick your ass for that."
"If you can," Fujigaya grinned, casually inspecting his fingernails. "You might actually have to if you want to hope for a draw, since Watta and Ii-chan would've accounted for your Tamamori and Miyata by now."
"Like hell," Nikaido glared. "It's only been like thirty seconds!"
"Yeah," Fujigaya laughed, "and all you have to do to last longer than they did is just keep on talking."
"What about Senga?" Nikaido demanded.
Fujigaya snorted. "If you beat me- which you won't -he'll probably be your last hope." He shrugged. "Mitsu likes to toy with the kids a bit more than he should. Gives out fans a little more to watch, you know?"
Nikaido scowled. "You talk too much. Let's go already."
Fujigaya grinned. "If you're sure, brat."
*
It was a four-over-four loss for Ready in what might have been record time, if Kitayama and Fujigaya believed more in quick kills than building audience appreciation.
"CLEAAAR OUT THE CUBES!" Kawai shouted. "THE VICTORY GOES TO TEAM FIRE BEAT, NOOOOO CONTEST! THANKS FOR JOINING US TONIGHT!"
"Party 'til dawn with Tsuka-chan and Gocchi on the turntables, or have a safe ride home for school tomorrow, folks!" Totsuka grinned, waving into the cameras as they flickered off. "Godspeed!"
*
They congregated 'backstage' in an old sinkroom beneath the battle cubes.
"How are they?" Kawai asked, leaning on Fujigaya's shoulder (because he could while Fujigaya was sitting down).
"They'll live," Fujigaya shrugged. Nikaido scowled at him from a seat across the way, and Fujigaya grinned back just to be annoying.
"Good, good," Kawai laughed. "Can't have you hauled up for homicide, can we? Ratings would go down."
Fujigaya rolled his eyes. "You're all about the ratings, aren't you?"
Kawai smirked. "Takes one to know one, doesn't it? I'mma go help Tottsu lock and load the equipment. Catch you later."
"Yeah."
*
Miyata was the last to revive, sitting up slowly. His head lolled to the side. "...ow? Oww..."
Tamamori stepped back now that Miyata was capable of holding his own ice (his hands were cold, darn it), and Iida handed Miyata another bag of peas. "Sorry."
"...mean swing," Miyata said pitiably, pressing the blissful cold to his head.
"Sorry," Iida repeated. "I didn't expect you to jump in the opposite direction I was going for."
"…what?" Miyata blinked slowly, as if Iida were incomprehensible.
"You dodged into his fist," Yokoo interpreted.
Miyata cringed. "Oh."
"Moron," Tamamori added, to Fujigaya's amusement.
Miyata looked around. "How did we do?" he asked, expression hopeful and completely at odds with the rest of his team's dour faces.
"How do you think we went?" Nikaido frowned, arms crossed.
"...ahh," Miyata said. "A loss, then?"
"Not just a loss," Tamamori said, "a miserable defeat."
Senga, in the corner, didn't take his eyes off the floor. "I'm sorry I couldn't even do anything, guys..."
Nikaido smacked him upside the head. "Stop moping, god. You lasted longest out of all of us."
"You said it was just 'cause Mitsu was just toying with me!" Senga said, depressed.
"Yeah, well..."
Fujigaya nodded. "He was, because you were fun."
Senga sighed. "What's gonna happen to Ready now?"
"Well, you didn't bet your emblem, so it's not as if you can't go on competing," Fujigaya pointed out.
"But we suck," Senga said, and not even Nikaido felt up to arguing with that assessment.
Over Ready's collective head, Fujigaya looked at Yokoo, then Iida. "Well, actually..."
Iida shrugged, smiling, typically amicable. Yokoo shook his head. "He'll kill you when he wakes up."
Senga blinked, looking up. "Nn?"
"Rubbish," Fujigaya said. "He's been talking about Senga since the first time we saw him. He wants him on our side."
Senga's frown matched Nikaido's. "I already told him no," he said, "if you mean Mitsu."
"Ken-chan's not goin' anywhere with you freaks," Nikaido added.
Benevolently, Fujigaya spread his hands. "How about a new offer, then? You can all join us."
"...that isn't very funny," Tamamori said. Miyata laughed, and then winced as pain lanced through his head.
"I'm serious," Fujigaya told them. They stared at him.
Iida smiled. "We don't have a data analyst like Miyata. He would be valuable."
"...'valuable'?" Miyata squinted, unused to hearing the word with regard to himself.
Yokoo looked at Tamamori. "Your speed isn't just speed, you know, and it isn't Flame Road's type of speed, either. You're another Sonia Rider like me."
Tamamori stared at him. "...how do you know that."
"I can read a path I've run before," Yokoo grinned. "Join us and I'll teach you 'til you can find your own way. With how you went today, I'd rather we be allies than enemies in the future."
"I..." Tamamori started, then glanced at Miyata who grinned awkwardly. Together, they looked at Nikaido-
Who crossed his arms and looked at Fujigaya. "And you'll teach me the Flame Road properly?"
"I'll even wait for you to catch up with me every morning, if you want," Fujigaya chuckled. "I usually go fly with Mitsu someplace, so you can come, too." Pointedly, he turned to Senga: "What do you think?"
"...but then Team Ready won't exist anymore?" Senga said, a little crease between his brows.
"Ken-chan..." Nikaido started.
"You'll all become Fire Beaters, of course," Fujigaya cut in smoothly. "You'll be provided with new uniforms and join us at D-rank - though you won't compete in the cubes until you're up to it." He grinned. "Can't have you brats ruining our reputation too early."
"It's a good deal," Tamamori said. "We'd learn a lot."
"...I don't think we'd get to D-class any other way for a few more years," Miyata said with a lopsided smile.
"It's... not that," Senga said. "I just… I don't want to lose our team, you know?" He looked worried and uncertain.
"Ken-chan, hey," Nikaido said, and waited until Senga's eyes rose to meet his own. "Ready's not going anywhere. We're all gonna be right here with you. That's fine, isn't it?" His grin turned just slightly sardonic. "You deserve a promotion more than all of us."
Hesitantly, Senga nodded. "Nothing's going to change...?"
"Nothing's going to change," Nikaido promised. Tamamori rolled his eyes, and Miyata nodded.
"...okay," Senga said, and then looked up at Fujigaya, managing a half-smile. "Okay."
"Awesome," Fujigaya grinned, and rubbed his hands together. "Fresh meat."
"..." Tamamori said.
"Fresh what?" Nikaido demanded over Yokoo's laughter, and Iida ducked his head with a grin.
"Welcome aboard. ♥"