A/N: I wrote this in the middle of the night while listening to that dumb Sushi Striker theme song on repeat. It was just going to be a oneshot but it was so short and disappointing that I decided I had to do more chapters in order to salvage it as a whole. Whether that will work remains to be seen.
One after the other Min Min's arms flew through the air, extending with speed that turned the noodly appendages into pale blurs, and one after another they missed their target, returning to the ramen girl's sides only to be sent back out again. On the left arm was a dragon head that opened its maw to spew hot lasers, and on the right was a chakram that whistled and swung in a wide arc. Neither tool was able to keep up with the large but incredibly fast-moving shape Min Min was struggling that pin down. Her opponent continued to dance just in and around the range of her fists, only taking a few measured potshots back at Min Min. That fast-moving, fast-talking shape.
"How cool is Twintelle, though?" hummed Mechanica, punctuating the sentence with an effortless flick of her controls that moved the mech away from the charged laser sweep by Min Min's dragon fist. "I mean, the on-camera persona is one thing, but in person too she's just so elegant and confident and... you know? I haven't met anybody who just has this 'I'm going to win' vibe like that..."
Min Min huffed to herself and reached out her grasp with both hands together; Mechanica sent one hammer-fist forward to knock the lighter arms away. Min Min easily sidestepped the hammer's impact. The girl was still talking. "But I still think Ribbon Girl will win it all! She's got the experience and she's got the guts to go all the way. It's gonna be tough no matter who you are, but I one hundred percent believe in her. I just can't believe I'm here to see her." Another casual dodge of Min Min's attempt at a strike. "What do you think?"
"I think we are sparring," replied Min Min shortly, her words accented. She dropped into a crouch and flexed her left arm, the coils of the noodle twisting and suddenly hardening into green dragon scales. With firey power swirling around it, the dragon fast released an intense laser burst at Mechanica, while Min Min released the chakram arm in a wide arc.
"Oh, whoops!" Mechanica deftly weaved around the incoming blows and sent her hammer-arm at Min Min. Min Min leapt up and delivered a slicing kick as she moved, knocking the large hammer down and stopping it cold. She landed ready to release another two-armed offensive, and was just letting her fists fly when she realized Mechanica's second hammer was already coming to greet her where she landed.
Wham. The powerful blow connected, knocking Min Min off her feet. She tumbled to the ground in a heap, letting herself lie there more out of frustration than injury. She blew some locks of hair out her face and looked up at the sky for a moment, fuming a little. The momentary reverie was interrupted by mechanical clanking noises and the sound of rushed footfalls. "Oh my gosh, are you okay?" exclaimed Mechanica, hurrying to Min Min's side. "I didn't hurt you, did I?"
Min Min couldn't resist chuckling at the girl's sudden fretting. "I'm fine." She got to her feet. "It's a fight. You have to hit opponent." Her dragon arm let out a puff of smoke as she gave it a shake.
"I know, but..." Mechanica bit her lip. "I mean, am I doing a good job? I've never really sparred before, just practiced on my own. I feel like we weren't, I don't know, sparring right. "
Min Min shook her head. "I was..." She chewed on her word choice. "Distracted."
"Distracted?" Mechanica repeated. "Oh man, I was talking too much, right? I shouldn't be talking during a fight. I wouldn't during a match, and stuff. I'm just still way too excited about being here and everything, and..."
Min Min let the girl trail off before saying, "No. More distracted by your machine. Piloting skills. You keep up, easy." Well, that wasn't untrue at all, she supposed, but...
Mechanica was blushing. "I mean, it's really nothing," she rambled, glancing at her shoes, "I just tried to design it based on watching Arms matches with all the fighters showing me everything they can do, and I just need to make something that can mimic the skills they all have... you all have." She looked up. "I should have said, how cool it is to meet you too, and um, just, hang out with you and spar and stuff. Since we're both newcomers and all. And your fighting style is really cool."
The ramen girl sighed. How could she be mad at that kind of honesty? "Thanks." At least I made "cool" list with Twintelle and Ribbon Girl.
"I was watching your exhibition matches yesterday, you know," Mechanica went on. "I spent the whole time tuning my mech. I learned a lot. I think it's in really good shape now for"—she inhaled—"tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," agreed Min Min, the word heavy. "Give it your best."
"I never give it anything less!" Mechanica quipped with a smile, but it faded quickly. "But... I don't know if I can make it that far. Everyone is so amazing."
"I have a feeling you make it farther than you think." She meant it. The girl was so in sync with her mech it moved like it was part of her. Min Min didn't have much fighting experience herself—unless you counted beating up flour sacks in the back of her noodle shop—but she did have a natural sense for the flow of a fight. And she could tell there was something special in the way Mechanica connected with that machine.
"That's nice of you," said Mechanica, laughing it off a bit. "I'll try. And it's okay if I get knocked out early. I'll definitely be back next year, too. Still, I hope... I want a chance to really go up against everybody, you know? I'll make what rounds I get count, I guess." She gave Min Min a small smile. "I'll see you tomorrow morning, okay? I hope we can get together and walk through all the first time stuff."
Mechanica turned to leave, but found herself stopped by coils of noodle that wound their way over her shoulder. Min Min couldn't help herself. She tugged the girl into her, giving her a gentle hug for a moment before releasing her.
She turned away to hide a flush of embarrassment as Mechanica looked on, nonplussed. "I know you do great," she said into the air. "And you stay sharp. I'll meet you later on and I won't be distracted then." And she walked off, leaving a somewhat frazzled Mechanica gazing after her.