Stateside

Disclaimer: All recognizable characters are the property of Wataru Watanabe and Shonen Champion. I don't own them; I just examine all their possibilities.

Warning: Contains major spoilers for the end of the first Inter-High and also for Makishima's post-high school plans.

Author's Note: This is my second ever Yowapeda fic and my first one of this length and scope. I am still in the process of figuring out the characters and getting in tune with the plot so things might be a little off.

Prologue: How it wasn't supposed to finish

The sky was a gorgeous shade of blue today.

A few wispy clouds floated by and the leaves lightly shook with the breeze: the perfect moment of serenity, the perfect focus of concentration. Everything was quiet for a moment save for the light ringing in his ears. Somehow he remembered everything being loud just a few moments ago, but that didn't matter.

The quiet was broken with the first few yells, then the rumble of tense conversations all around. Most of the words were in English, a few were in Spanish, but they were just babble. He just enjoyed the hum of voices; it distracted him from the wave of searing ache now washing over him.

He figured his adrenaline was going to let up now, letting the wave of pain take hold over his body. He pressed his arm to his body, bracing against the hot pain shooting through his forearm. Every breath was like a knife through his body, he wheezed hard but it was not enough to draw in air.

He let out a few coughs, droplets of red flew out of his mouth and onto his white jersey. This was bad, wasn't it?

The voices grew louder, then one familiar shriek broke through the hum.

"MAKI-CHAN!"

Toudou? Toudou was right here?

"MAKI-CHAN!"

Toudou did you need to scream that loudly? He wanted to tell him to shut up but he could barely draw air to do so.

The vision of the sky was now broken with faces leaning in.

"Talk to me, man, are you okay?" one guy with a beard said.

The words sounded a little clearer around him.

"Five down in total."

"MAKI-CHAN!"

"Shit, what just happened?"

"We need an ambulance!"

"Holy fuck, dude, it just happened so fast!"

"MAKI-CHAN!"

"They just all went like dominoes."

"Yusuke look at me."

Another guy was leaning in his face, then he shone a light in his eyes. Makishima heard footsteps rushing up to him; a burly man and a woman with a black ponytail came into view; all wearing the same blue uniform and stethoscopes. There was a lot of tugging and touching, a lot of technical words being thrown around. He only now realized his helmet was off. His neck was now being held in place, something plastic was put on his face and it became a little easier to breathe.

"Maki-chan! Maki-chan!"

Toudou's voice was quieter, was he sobbing?

"It's okay, Jinpachi, he's in good hands," another voice said. "I just need you to stay still for me."

He wasn't used to hearing all of these American accents. He had gotten so used to hearing British voices, but the accents tended to change the more places he went.

Someone was now speaking over a megaphone.

"There's been an accident, the course is blocked. There will be a time delay until the course is cleared."

No, this was ridiculous. He had to get back up, how many spills had he taken since he started racing? He willed his body to make the attempt, though just a twitch of a few muscles sent waves of pain through his body. He let out a sharp groan that just made everything hurt worse.

It was getting cold. His jersey was off; it must have been the breeze. Makishima looked back up at the sky.

"This is Ambulance 10 with a patient in transport," a female voice said. "Twenty-three-year-old male, bicycling accident. Conscious, not alert; difficulty breathing..."

The skies were so blue. That was one of the first things Onoda told him on their first ride, probably his way of trying to make conversation.

Months later Teshima told him that Onoda fell into his arms after crossing the finish line, his energy sapped. Teshima told him Onoda looked up at the sky and said "I didn't know that we had such blue skies today." Teshima said he would never forget that moment, the story always stuck with Makishima. They rode with their heads down so long, that perspective made the victory sweeter.

Makishima stated up at the deep blue sky, though knew he wasn't going to make it to the finish line today. He and Toudou weren't going to finish another battle; they weren't going to seek out Tadokorocchi, who was far ahead of both of them. Did Tadokorocchi even know what was going on now?

Amid the technical babble around him he did make out a few clearer phrases, none of which sounded pleasant: "multiple rib fractures," "possible internal bleeding."

More jerking and shifting, he swore he heard Toudou sobbing. Something blocked out the sky; it was a little disappointing.

Everything was disappointing. This wasn't supposed to happen.

They were supposed to cross the finish line, they would find Tadokorocchi, then go to that restaurant Toudou was raving about. They were supposed to go back to Toudou's apartment; you could see the Golden Gate Bridge from the patio at the right angle.

They were supposed to go back to this glorious weekend together they had planned for months. They were finally in one place and talking like it was old times. Toudou and Tadokoro had to have that one-on-one talk that would set everything right. It was that talk Makishima knew he was too chicken to initiate in high school, the one that would try to put a salve on that mess he created in the first place.

"Yusuke, try to stay awake for me, brother," the burly guy with a gray buzz cut said.

It wasn't supposed to be like this.