I just decided that since Roy is my favorite Rival Schools character, it would be interesting to see him grow a little more out of his 'American-stereotype' attitude and mature somewhat... and to give some more details about his relationship with Tiffany!
This picks up roughly a year after Rival Schools: United by Fate, and disregards anything about Project Justice save the 'burning' stuff, since I couldn't pass up to consider this development for my leading character!
I don't own anything, alas!
Chapter 1 : Know Thy Enemy
"Hya, guys! Hya, Batsu!" The flashy grin on Roy's face as he grasped his friend/rival's hand was reciprocated by a reluctant smile by Batsu. As much as the two were similar in their hot-headedness, the American still was way superior in the self-assurance department.
The three Pacific High School students were the last group arriving at the informal reunion; the girls (including Kyoko, who was a grown woman, but sometimes could flash some girlish attitude under her no-nonsense attitude) had the idea right after Roy had announced that he would return to Japan. So, here they were, the same guys who, the year before, had been involved in the whole Justice High School incident. Even the two reformed bad guys, Raizo and Hyo, were there, although they looked a little bit awkward; the others had more or less forgiven them for their crazy plan to conquer the whole world, but they were still withdrawn. And maybe it wasn't a bad idea, since someone was way too much cheerful and loud for Roy's liking; like Tiffany, who was busy chatting at a painfully loud voice with Hinata, Natsu and Akira.
"So, you couldn't stay away from here, huh?" Batsu's tone and smirk were transparent. Roy huffed, and nonchalantly wiped off some hairs from his face. "Just making sure this place stays safe for a while." Surprisingly, it was Kyosuke who grinned and said : "Right!" He was faced by a threatening finger. "Don't begin again! I'm through with that 'life-changing experience' stuff! I admit I learned something the past year, but it's not such a big deal. So, shut up, or I'm going use you as a training bag!" The comment went out much louder than he intended, and so it was met by stifled laughter.
The situation was saved by Hideo, who frowned and said : "Hey, anyone knows that guy coming this way? Because I bet he knows one of us!" Everyone looked, and yes, there was a tall European man coming their way; his face partially covered by Ray-Bans, he was blonde (even if graying) and had a goatee, probably in his forties. He wore a shirt and casual trousers, and that was all. Roy looked around, but no one apparently recognized him.
The stranger stopped before reaching them and said : "Is there a Roy Bromwell amongst you?" His voice was deep and calm; the guy was quite cold. Roy lifted an eyebrow while taking a step forwards. "Looking for me, mister?" "In fact, yes. I would like to see if the rumors about your fighting prowess are true or not." The American grinned broadly : he never refused a good fight, and something in his bones was telling him the man was one of 'em. "I'm all yours!" Tiffany quickly spoke up, looking concerned. "Roy, wait! You don't know anything about this guy, not even his name..." "Hey, Tiffany, if he had wanted to tell me his credentials, he would've done it before challenging me. He prefers to stay in the shadows, right, Mr. Anonymous?" The man nodded. "And I frankly don't care; I only have to beat him into a pulp, not marry him!" Roy went on, cracking his fingers eagerly. The stranger exhibited a strange smile. "Self-assured... I'm not sure if it's a good thing or a bad thing.. we'll see!" he warned. Roy countered : "Yeah, yeah, just clamp your mouth shut and prepare to eat asphalt, 'cause I'm not gonna lose this match!"
And without further ceremonies, the blonde boy lunged towards his opponent, who had sprinted in a fighting stance, extending forwards his right leg and arm, careful to be balanced and to be adequately covered. Roy threw a quick blows, to test the man's reactions and defenses; he was pleased to see that his parries were quick and precise. This was going to be good!
A few minutes later, he was beginning to think that was going to be too good of a fight for his likings; he had used up a quantity of his repertoire against the mysterious guy, and he hadn't even flinched; playing defensive, he was waiting for him to tire, not even sweating; and the few times he had countered with an attack of his own, his sidesteps and his parries didn't do any good. All Roy had left were his special techniques; and he decided it was time to raise the bet. "Time to go down, punk!" He yelled. "Dynamite Straight!" The elder man merely smirked and easily dodged the attack. Roy panted and insisted : "Touchdown Wave!" His mouth dropped when he saw his enemy blocking the energy with a single hand. "You're though, I'll give you that! But I'm not gonna give up!" he said frustratedly. All he got for a reply was : "You won't need to!" This enraged him even further; time to use my ace in the hole! he thought. He quickly stepped backwards, gaining some space for the run-up. "Alright, your fight is as big as your talk is small... but this time, you're busted!" His knuckles went white as he gathered all the energy he had left. His voice was hoarse as he roared : "Triple Twister!" As he landed from the final jump, he was sure Mr. Anonymous was done for.
He never saw coming the low sweeping kick that knocked him out of his feet, nor the straight that sent him hurling backwards. All he saw was the cloudless sky... and all he felt was pain from his cracked ribs. What kind of power he has? I give him everything I've got... and in two damned blows I'm down! Roy cursed, closing his eyes as he winced when he tried to got up. When he opened them again, the victorious man was standing above him. His voice was dripping with contempt. "This is no good. While your technique and your potential are perhaps even better than mine, your attitude and your energy are in no way at my level. You were defeated even before this began!" "N-not true... Just need... to catch my breath... Agh!" Roy coughed as he failed again to sit up. The stranger knelt down and pulled down his sunglasses a little, so that the boy could see two bright blue eyes. "Don't fool yourself, Roy. While your talent is impressive, you are wasting it in fighting for laughable motives and to impress those who stand beside you. The only time you really were a true fighter was when you were investigating the Justice High School affair." Roy blinked. "How... how do you know? It was covered up..." "I have my ways. And that's not the point; the point is, I easily defeated you, while it could have been the other way around. And for that to happen, there's only a thing : ask yourself what is the meaning of being a fighter, and more importantly why do you fight. The answers you could find could amaze you!" The young American laughed disbelievingly, briefly. "You... suggesting me to go Zen? I don't believe in that Oriental stuff!" Mr. Anonymous stood up; and he sighed before saying : "What happened to your grandfather is awful, Roy. But you have to let go of this prejudice; you could find that Americans could learn great things from the Japanese culture... and vice versa." With that, he turned around and walked away, leaving a dumbfounded Roy. How in the hell could that guy know about his family?
A blonde head popped up in his vision arc. "Roy! You okay?" He huffed in annoyance. "I just got beaten up by an old-timer who apparently knows everything about him, so no, Tiffany, I'm not okay!" Batsu piped in, worried. "We better call an ambulance; that guy did quite a work on him!" Thanks for reminding me, Batsu! the young American thought, but he wasn't really pissed off at them. He was fuming at himself, not believing he had just been dealt the worst (and the first, by the way) defeat in his life.
Later, at the hospital, Roy was still brooding. He wouldn't be staying over for much, since his ribs would return as good as new in a few days, and the pain would go away pretty quickly, but his humiliation was getting the best of him. He had done nothing but snap at his friends and at the doctors for a good three hours, but they tolerated him philosophically. At last, he went silent. For ten minutes, he rested his chin on his chest.
Then, his head jerked upwards. His tone was now much more humble. "Hem... Tiffany... Just make sure my dad doesn't get any word about this. He would throw a tantrum, and I'm in no mood for one of those!" She smiled, understanding him completely : sometimes she had had the same exact problem with her father, not wanting her to 'get hurt' and stuff. "No problem. We'll keep our mouth shut!" Roy smiled a little, then he sighed and brushed his forehead with his hand. "Damn!" he muttered. "Ok, I can believe that guy was stronger than anything I've seen; I can take he's gone all Zen on me, like 'find your way', blah-blah-blah... But I'll be damned if I can figure out how the hell he knows what happened to my grandpa!" Bastsu said slowly : "About that... would you care to explain? Seemed like a pretty important thing to me!" And there was a general murmur of assent.
Roy turned abruptly towards him, and the look in his eyes made Batsu regret he'd spoken. But then, the American sighed and murmured : "Well, it's... uhm, it's... Oh, away with this! My grandfather was a Marine officer in World War Two; he lost a leg in Tarawa, in a battle that he always described as a living hell. He's not a bad person, but he told me his story pretty often, and... well, let's just say I quite didn't like the guys who in his tales killed many of his friends and mangled his leg!" His eyes were insisting on the sheet, not having the courage to look in their eyes.
Everyone understood at once; Kyosuke sighed and rubbed his eyes, muttering : "That's why you're so goddamn ass-tight when Japanese people and/or culture are involved, aren't you?" Roy nodded. After a few moment of silence, he said : "Look, guys, it's not that I'm racist or something, but I'll admit I came here not quite ready to keep an open mind to people like you, and eager to get back in America! I'm sorry, I've changed in that sense..." He paused, and looked down again. "Even if not nearly enough as it seems." Tiffany grabbed his hand, and exclaimed : "Don't be so hard to yourself, Roy! I mean, everyone in this room made mistakes sometimes, and we lived through it! To think that before helping you I could only think of parties and fashion..." she said ashamedly.
Roy took out a caricature of his normal, flashy grin and brushed his finger on her cheek, saying : "Well, Tiffany, you are at least admitting it. I never did, until today. And I'll say, it was time for me to acknowledge that!" He sat more upright, and his eyes were again full of their strength. "Screw it, that guy was right all along! I learned to fight just to impress girls and have a great physic, but for once I fought for something that deserved it... And when I did, I felt stronger, more powerful, I could push my limits way more than I could have thought possible! I let that sensation slip away... but you can mark my words," and his finger rose again, implacable and solemn, "I'm going to find a higher reason to fight! And when I do... no one will be able to stand in my way!" He grinned with the old self-assurance; for now he knew what he was going to do. And that it was the right thing.