A/N: I felt the show could have been better, so I figured I would do a rewrite to it. Do expect the comedy to be severely toned down though, as I felt that was one of the shows issues where they wasted so much time on comedy that it took away from more things they could have been doing. I'll be replacing Asuka with Masaya as the protagonist in this rewrite, because I felt he should have been the protagonist in the show, not Asuka. The Rika undressing scene, saving that for episode 2, and giving Rika a proper introduction in episode 2, unlike the anime's poor way of introducing her with an instant fanservice scene.
Disclaimer: I don't own Ao no Kanata.
Episode 1 Rewrite:
Masaya was very gifted in FC, impressing his peers with his skills. He even won a tournament. But like a storm covering the bright sun, he at one point showed cold feet and lost. Subsequent events led to his adandoning the sport.
Time-Skip years later:
Masaya currently attends a place called Kunahama school. Right now, he just came out of his house and walked alone.
'Every day is the same,' Masaya thought to himself. 'I take classes, hear about a sport I don't want to be in, and hang out with some friends. Boring...will anything ever change? Well I can't say I'm totally bored, but I just feel...almost like I just go through the motions. To make matters worse, I still have that dream with all of my past events that lead me to quit. Will I ever be freed from those painful memories?'
And this isn't the first time such thoughts have drifted in his mind. He has had these thoughts many times, yet still never getting the answers he wants.
"Yo Masaya!" a female's voice rung out casually, walking up to him.
"Huh, oh Misaki," Masaya said, then sighed. "You want to fly, right?"
"Yep!" Misaki said with a slightly lazy voice before letting out a yawn.
'I've grown used to this,' Masaya thought to himself. 'Normally I try to avoid flying to school, but I give up with how persistent she is. Doesn't mean I like doing it.'
So they went to a flight pad, pads used to fly from that point to the next destination that has a flight pad. Getting on one, they took off on their Grave-Shoes.
"Still not content, I wanted more udon!" Misaki groaned: It was her favorite food.
'Your obsession with that food is as bad as 'that girl's' obsession with you,' Masaya thought, sweatdropping. 'The irony is they kind of are alike in that regard.'
The two flew to school as the chirping of birds can be heard, soaring across the skys. Thanks to the Grav-Shoe technology, people could fly around freely with no worries of getting hurt. Humans had Jetpacks long before these shoes, but the Grav-Shoes don't run out of fuel thanks to this new advanced technology of anti-particles built into them. And it's much more comfortable wearing simple yet advanced shoes that do the same thing a Jetpack would, but less casualties.
After getting to school, Masaya and Misaki walked to the gates after landing on a flight pad. They were somewhat still early, so they didn't need to run to class. After walking in, a yellow haired girl with two ponytails came running up and clinged to Misaki.
"Morniiiing!" the girl said dramatically with an adored expression.
This girl went by the name of Mashiro. She has a strong obsession with Misaki to the point Misaki is put off by it and tends to get annoyed by it, or shoe Mashiro out of her space. Masaya himself just finds her silly, yet she was fun to talk to.
"And you too," Mashiro said, as if she had almost forgot Masaya.
"Morning," Masaya said politely.
Mashiro was generally never that bothered by Masaya being alone with Misaki. She knew the guy well enough to know he wasn't the type to try taking advantage of her senpai. While she wished he could be more sociable, when you peel off his somewhat indifferent attitude, he was a nice guy who cared about his friends. While she hanged out with Misaki more, Mashiro always made it her duty to hang out with him at times, as he was her friend too.
After this, they went to the classroom, and was met by Madoka.
"Morning," Madoka greeted them. "Say, we're having some repair work done on my brother's trailer club, so could one of you help me out later?"
"Not a chance," Misaki declined immediately.
"Same," Mashiro said, thus all eyes fall on Masaya.
"M-me!?" Masaya said, taken off guard. "Find someone else."
"Please, it would help having an extra hand to cover onii-chan's clumsiness!" Madoka begged him.
"...Fine," Masaya sighed.
"Good boy," Mashiro said teasingly, petting his head with a grin, while he made a groaning sound.
"Right," Misaki also partly grinned in amusement.
Masaya said nothing, enduring all of this. "Quiet down all of you!" Aoi's voice rung in, walking in. "Class was going to start a minute sooner, but a new student arrived late, so I tried to delay as long as possible. That said, I have our new student."
A pink haired girl lively waltzed in, placing herself next to Aoi. She had a wing piece on one side of her hair.
'Hello everyone!" she started, very friendly-like. "My name is Kurashina Asuka, pleased to meet you all!"
She went into a ramble, but Aoi stopped it by telling her to pick a seat. So she went over and sat in a seat behind Misaki. Once lunch break came around, Masaya left to go eat by himself like he had a habit of doing. Mashiro came over to the classroom, then left with Misaki and Madoka after a few minutes.
Getting outside, they saw Asuka sitting by herself eating. "She's certainly very happy for someone who just entered our school and has no friends here," Madoka pointed out in surprise. Misaki said nothing as she stared at Asuka. "Well let's introduce ourselves to her."
So they walked up to her, causing her to face them. "You guys are...?" Asuka asked with a few blinks.
"Ah forgive me!" Madoka apologized. "My name is Madoka."
"I'm Mashiro," Mashiro introduced herself.
"Misaki, Tobisawa Misaki," Misaki said. "And if I recall, you're Kurashina, right?"
"Yes!" Asuka said with a friendly face.
"Want to eat together?" Madoka asked.
"Mmm, it's no problem," Asuka welcomed. As they chatted, Asuka asked something lingering on her mind. "How are you guys flying to school?"
"Eh?" Madoka asked. "You don't know?"
"Huh? About what?" Asuka tilted her head.
"Grav-Shoes," Mashiro stated.
"Hmm...no I don't know," Asuka said, garnering incredulous looks from the other three girls.
"Wait right here," Misaki said, getting up.
"Where are you going?" Mashiro asked.
"To get Masaya, he's a lot better at explaining this than us," Misaki stated before leaving.
"Masaya? Is he one of your friends," Asuka asked.
"Yeah," Mashiro said, then muttered. "If only he would hang out with us more though."
A bit later, Misaki found him eating in a spot that had no people around on the other side of the building.
"You want me to explain what Grav-Shoes are to that new student?" Masaya asked.
"Yeah, she's really curious, and you're better explaining this than we are," Misaki said.
"I see, alright," Masaya said, getting up and following her back to the group. Getting back, he took notice of Asuka. "Nice to meet you, I'm Masaya, Hinata Masaya. Kurashina was it? You wanted the Grav-Shoe concept explained?"
"Mmm," Asuka said, an anticipated look now on her face. So he gave a detailed explanation, and she took it all in. When done, she was hyper excited. "Awesome, I want to try one!"
"Wait till after school," Masaya said. "The girls can get you a free pair. If that's all I was called here for, I'll be leaving." So he walked away. 'Don't want to delve any farther into this, lest I get caught up in this sport.'
"Thank you very much!" Asuka yelled at him as he walked off, and he in turn put a hand up next to his head to say she was welcome.
"And here I was thinking he might get a little more sociable," Mashiro groaned.
Misaki stared at him just before her attention was diverted. "He's going to the trailer to clean it up," Madoka said. "Truthfully, we still don't have enough club members for the FC club to be recognized and started."
"I'll join then," Asuka offered, if it would help Madoka out: The girl was kind enough to introduce and chat with her, so the least she could do is help her out.
"EH!?" the other three yelled in shock.
"Are you crazy, you don't know the first thing about playing FC!" Mashiro pointed out in astonishment.
"Ahee," Asuka rubbed her head with a hand in embarrassment.
'Man, what a carefree girl,' Misaki smiled a bit.
Masaya hinted at FC a bit in the conversation, but he quickly steered away from it and just explained the Grav-Shoes. Hence Asuka still had no grasp on what FC actually was.
Masaya on the other hand was in the trailer, cleaning with Shion. 'Why am I the one even doing this?' Masaya wondered in thought.
"This is depressing, isn't it?" Shion asked him with a sad-like smile. "I'm the only one still in this club, and no one else wants to join. I really wanted to enter this year's tournaments, but..."
"It's too early to give up, there's still time," Masaya said. "Of course whoever joins should at least be okay. A team with no experience at the last second before the tournament would be a disaster."
"Strange, you sound as if you've played FC before," Shion said thoughtfully. "I've just got this feeling based on what you're saying."
"Don't read too into it, I'm not experienced," Masaya said in a voice indicating he wanted the subject to drop. "Anyway, you'll get members soon, just hang in there. Don't forget Madoka is trying to help you out."
"You're right!" Shion flew into his overly dramatic demeanor now. "I can't let my spirit give up so easily!"
Masaya smiled a bit at his fast recovery, then focused on his job, cleaning the floor and stacking up some boxes. As he did, he wondered what Asuka was doing right now. She seemed so thrilled about the Grav-Shoes after all. No doubt she's probably hanging out with his friends.
Later on as the sun started to sit, Asuka was with the girls, but walking by the beach. Just then, they spotted a debate between Shion and a blond haired girl with a cocky look. Hearing what was going to happen due to Shion losing, Asuka impulsively came forward and declared to challenge Satou.
"Oh? Challenging me with such guts must mean you're very confident," Satou said, interested. "How long have you played?"
"Never!" Asuka said dead serious.
"Wha, you've never played FC!?" Satou asked in bafflement, and Asuka nodded.
"Yes, so please teach me FC!" Asuka pleaded.
Satou sighed. This wouldn't even be a match if Asuka didn't know what the game was and how to play it.
"Very well," Satou said after taking out a portable chalkboard, and then started drawing as she talked. "FC, short for Flying Circus, is a sport where you score points on buoys. However, there is more to it then that. As you race each other to buoys, you can either take a shortcut to the next buoy, or try to outrun that person to the current buoy instead. Next, let's talk about Dogfighting. Dogfights can be started at any point. One or both players engage each other with their palms to knock the other off balance. In this window of opportunity, you have a chance to touch their back. Doing this gives you a point, and there is no limit to how many times you can hit them there for points. Next, each match has a time limit where the match is finished after 10 minutes, but don't mind that. Matches usually finish within the 10 minutes anyway. Are you following so far?" Asuka nodded loyally, prompting Satou to continue. "Next, Dogfights are not simply charge and hit. You can do fancy maneuver and turns to get them off guard for a point, or even use it to fake them out and head to the buoy before they do. Finally there is the option of trying to escape dogfights. Although Dogfighting is always an option, that doesn't mean you should take the bait or try to. It's all up to you what you do at any point. Well, that about sums it up."
"For a girl who sounds arrogantly proud, she knows her stuff," Mashiro muttered.
"I heard that!" Satou eyed Mashiro who yelped and hid near Misaki in fear.
"Y-yes, I understand!" Asuka said, though a bit nervous.
"Don't worry," Satou said with a finger to the air. "I'll make this easy. You only have to score a single point to be considered the winner."
"Really!?" Asuka asked in surprise.
"Yeah...but I, Satouin, intend to make sure you don't!" Satou said with confidence. "One of you three, coach her at once!"
"What's with that super commanding attitude?" Mashiro muttered, having come out from behind Misaki.
"Can't be helped, looks like I'll have to do it," Misaki sighed.
"You have Grav-Shoes, do you not?" Satou asked Asuka, who shook her head. "Hmm, yes wait here, I'll be back with a spare."
Masaya on the other hand was out on a last day jog. Later on, as he headed towards the area where the girls were, he became increasingly concerned. Asuka was playing in a match against Satou. He was well aware of how good she was. So as far as he was concerned, Asuka taking her on was akin to foolishness.
"You guys!" Masaya yelled coming into their view. "What is this!?"
"As you can see, a match," Misaki stated as if it was obvious.
Masaya looked up at Asuka's poor performance. Observing this, Masaya felt the need to want to help her out. He hesitated about this, but Misaki, handed him the earpiece while giving him an encouraging smile and nod.
"Why did you-" Masaya was going to protest, but Asuka's happy voice entered the earpiece in his hand.
"Hinata-san!" Asuka sounded happy. "I'll be in your care!"
"Y-yeah!" Masaya said. 'Well...guess one time won't hurt. Besides, Kurashina really seems to need the help.'
Once he fully put the earpiece on, Mashiro eyed Misaki with annoyance. "Why did you hand it to him?" she asked. "You know better than that! That guy doesn't like to pl-"
"Listen up Kurashina!" Masaya's determined voice came in right after that. "Follow my orders carefully!"
"...Wow," Madoka said, astonished. "He's, so-"
"Pumped up," Mashiro blinked in amazement. "What happened?"
Misaki smiled at him as he gave orders to Asuka.
Finally, to even Masaya's surprise, Asuka did an Air Kick Turn, touching Satou's back and winning as a result. Shion demanded to know her name in wonderment, and she stated it was Kurashina Asuka.
Episode 2 Rewrite:
Shion, who is Madoka's brother, had just gone into one of his overdramatic speeches due to the fact Asuka beat Satou just now. Masaya had taken over to coach Asuka in the match, and Shion was very happy at how well he seemed to perform as the coach. To his shock, the gang ran away in the midst of his speech as it started shifting to his own happiness.
"...But I wasn't finished," Shion said, let down.
Back with the others, who started walking now that they were out of his range.
"Thank you!" Asuka said politely to Masaya.
"Mmm," Masaya said. 'Why did I even jump in and help? It wasn't something I had to do. It was just a match with nothing at stake.'
Masaya looked in deep thought while Misaki and Mashiro looked at him with curiosity. Following this, they went to a food shop to eat. Masaya of course wasn't that interested in their conversations, but he still added his two cents occasionally. After that everyone went home and it grew dark. Masaya sat on his bed with a hand to his cheek, wondering why he jumped in at all. This stayed on his mind all night.
The next day, Masaya was heading to school on his own this time. Sometimes he went with Misaki and Mashiro, but today he was just by himself. This time, he avoided flying to school, as he dislikes using his Grav-Shoes in general. He only did it before because Misaki asked him to. He sighed as he walked, feeling bored. Getting to school, he went to and sat in his respective seat in class. Madoka then came over, excited about the fact Asuka scored against Satou. Masaya watched on with little care. Asuka then faced him.
"I look forward to your care!" Asuka said formerly.
"Huh?" Masaya blinked.
"We're joining Madoka-chan's brother's club!" Asuka said excitedly. "That's why-"
"Right, with you coaching her-" Madoka started with a finger pointed up.
"I refuse!" Masaya suddenly snapped, making her lower it.
"Eh?" Madoka asked. "Why?"
"With you guys joining the FC club, I'm no longer needed for this," Masaya argued.
Asuka stared at him with curiosity. Why was he hesitant about this?
Misaki eyed him, saying nothing. In truth, she knew he once played FC, but he's never told her why it was he quit and is hesitant to play. However, when she asked, he seemed more closed up, so she felt it best not to pry.
Later after lunch break started, Asuka stopped him before he left to eat alone.
"Please wait! During that last match," Asuka said, recalling. "You looked like you had great experience, just like Madoka-chan's brother said. But, why is it you don't want to keep coaching me?"
"I told you already-" Masaya started, but Asuka felt hurt.
"That's a lie!" Asuka slightly raised her voice. "Because...even that guy noticed your experience. Do, do you not like me?"
"Wrong," Masaya started, now feeling a bit bad. "I have my own reasons why I don't want to. I'd...rather not talk about it."
"I see," Asuka said understandingly. "Well if you ever change your mind."
With those friendly words and expression, she went back to the others. After a few moments of staring, Masaya left. Going outside and sitting at a slightly high up place, he looked at the sky.
Flashback:
"Sensei, sensei!" a small kid Masaya yelled, running up to Aoi.
Aoi blinked. "If memory serves, you're Masaya aren't you?" she asked, hearing of his reputation in the school.
"Yes!" Masaya said. "Please, will you teach me your moves?"
End of flashback.
Snapping back to reality, he noticed the girls walking in the hall from his view outside. Looking at Asuka, he sighed.
"I just can't do it," Masaya said gently with a smile. "Those days are long over."
He ate by himself, relaxing as the wind blew his hair. Afterwards, school resumed. Once school ended, the girls went to the trailer, and Misaki asked Asuka for a match, but since Asuka returned the ones Satou lent her for the match yesterday, she couldn't play. Furthermore, she seemed in thought at the moment.
"Earth to Kurashina," Misaki said, waving a hand before her.
"Eh? Oh sorry," Asuka said.
Misaki quickly deduced she was thinking about Masaya. "Come with me," she told Madoka.
Out of the trailer, and now alone, Madoka asked. "So what's going on?" she asked.
"Hmm, if I was to guess, I think she wants Masaya to join the club," Misaki deduced. "And him not here makes her not as happy."
"Really?" Madoka asked. "But he didn't seem very positive about the idea of joining."
"Yeah," Misaki said. 'But...that guy.'
Thinking back to yesterday and how much he was beaming with life when he coached Asuka, made her happy. It was unlike him to be so lively like that. She wanted to see more of that Masaya. He was her friend, and she didn't want him to just be left out of such a fun club. The girls then started practicing, doing rather poor, minus Asuka who could only watch.
Later, once it grew dark, Masaya was at his house, when a knock to the door got his attention. Opening it, he was greeted by a nervous looking girl with purple hair. She was holding a bucket of food.
"H-hello!" the girl greeted. "I'm Ichinose Rika, your new next door neighbor."
"Y-yeah, I'm Masaya, good to meet you," he said politely, and then pointed at the bowel. "But what's with this food?"
"I was giving it to you for courtesy," Rika said nervously, but starting to relax. 'Oh good, it looks like my neighbors won't be scary.'
"In that case, thank you," Masaya said with a sweat drop.
After she left, he plopped in his bed and got a good night's rest.
Meanwhile, Misaki was still up in her bed.
'How should I try to get him to join?' Misaki thought. 'Asking won't work...'
Just then an idea crossed her mind. It was a setup, but maybe it could work at some point. The next morning, Misaki talked with Madoka on the phone about her plan, to which Madoka was on board.
Masaya got up and left, but not before seeing Rika undressing by accident due to her curtains not being shut. Quickly turning and running with a red face, he didn't look back.
'Now she probably thinks I'm a pervert!' Masaya thought.
It was Saturday, so they had no school. He planned to simply relax at home, but was texted by Misaki, who needed him for something. Getting to the four girls, he spoke. "You called me for something?" Masaya asked.
"We need to pick out a pair of Grav-Shoes for Asuka," Misaki said.
"Judging by her movements yesterday, she probably would fit the all-rounder," Masaya said with a hand to his chin in thought.
"Alright, then let's go," Madoka said.
"I'll go with you guys," Masaya offered.
"Why?" Madoka asked. "We can find any set of all-rounder Grav-Shoes."
"There's a specific one I have in mind for Kurashina," Masaya said.
"Oh," Mashiro grinned at him.
"Aren't you a gentlemen," Madoka too grinned at him.
Misaki had no reaction, but if one looked at her eyes, she wasn't exactly amused.
"What are you two going on about?" Masaya asked, then ignored them. "Anyway, there's a specific set I want to get you."
"I got it," Asuka said, trusting in his judgment.
Getting to the place, they were greeted by a shy girl, who welcomed them in the place. After getting inside, they were greeted by the man in charge by the name of Hayato.
"You, it's not like you to come in here, Masaya," Hayato said, perplexed.
"I'm just here to help out a friend," Masaya said.
"Really?" Hayato asked him.
"The two of you know each other?" Mashiro asked.
"Yeah, I was on the same team as him-" Hayato started.
"Enough!" Masaya cut him off mid sentence in a raised voice, and changed the subject immediately. "Getting back on topic, do you still have that 'set'?"
"I see, you're still..." Hayato said in a lower considerant voice. Hayato could see Masaya still to this day didn't want to return to FC. He then looked through some boxes, and finally found one. "Is this it?"
"Yes," Masaya said, taking the box and handing it to Asuka. "These All-Rounder Grav-Shoes are a special one that I recommend."
"Thank you!" Asuka said, thrilled to have her own Grav-Shoes.
Masaya in turn smiled at the girl. 'She really is like how I was starting out,' he thought.
After getting to the trailer, Asuka learned to turn the Grav-Shoes on. Just being able to fly through the air made Asuka let out so much excitement. Masaya then left on his own, but Misaki followed him.
"Thanks for helping her out," Misaki said, thankful for his generosity as they walked.
"No problem," Masaya said. "I'm glad to see she's having so much fun."
"Me too," Misaki said, and then asked with a considerate look. "Wasn't your heart on fire when you took over and coached her? The excitement that came from the match?"
"Don't know what you mean," Masaya said in denial, so Misaki dropped it with a "It's fine".
Later next morning, Mashiro went and got Misaki, who was only half awake.
"Senpai is always adorable when she's drowsy!" Mashiro praised while helping her get dressed. "You can't even get yourself properly dressed because of your low suger in the mornings. But that's what one of the many things that makes you cute. Alright, we're off!"
"Have a good day!" Misaki's Grandmother waved as the two ran out.
On their way to school, they ran into Asuka, who was flying poorly.
"...What's with that stance?" Mashiro asked, sweat dropping.
"Ah, well it's the only way I can stay balanced," Asuka said.
Misaki watched her in silence while Mashiro had more to say. "Geez, I guess what happened against Satou was just a fluke," Mashiro said.
Misaki had mixed feelings on that. While it did seem true, she also thought Asuka really did have potential. In fact her sole reason for joining was because she was intrigued by Asuka. It was a bit regrettable though that perhaps Asuka really was just average.
Getting to school, they all went and took their seats.
"What?" Masaya asked, noticing Misaki's gaze on him.
"Nothing," Misaki said non-caringly and looked out the window.
Masaya blinked, curious what that was about, but let it go.
After school, the girls practiced up in the air. Masaya had no idea why he came over to the ocean just to watch, but he did.
"In need of practice aren't they?" Aoi chuckled at their inflexibility.
"Yeah, they need to first get used to playing in general, improve their performance," Masaya said as he watched.
"Perhaps you should tell them that," Aoi subtly snuck in, as she herself didn't feel fit to coach them.
"I'm just an outsider," Masaya said and then left, but Misaki didn't miss that in her training.
As the day growed darker, Masaya was doing some jogging before heading home, and stopped at the beach noticing Asuka train in the air to see how she and the others were doing.
Flashback:
"Alright!" the kid Masaya yelled, starting to keep up with Aoi's patterns in the air.
"Heh, I see you really are a prodigy like the rumors say," Aoi said as they flew in the air together. "Let's sail even further than this!"
"Yes, Sensei!" Masaya yelled with happiness.
End of flashback.
Masaya didn't know it, but he was smiling as he thought of the past. He then kept running, leaving them be. Misaki had been observing him since he stopped, and noticed what looked like sadness in his eyes, contradicting the smile that was on his face.
The next day, Misaki finally put the plan she thought up in motion after school. Asking Asuka if she'd like to practice with her, Asuka agreed. Misaki filled Aoi secretly in on the plan, to which Aoi was interested and agreed to help. They went to a spot at the beach Masaya often seems to jog past, and hoped he would show up by chance. Calling him to the place and then asking him to coach Asuka is too obvious a setup he'd see through, so him showing up on his own seemed more wise to them.
Masaya eventually showed up as he jogged, and stopped on seeing them. At the moment they were about to do another practice match, but hadn't flown in the air just yet. Masaya was about to keep jogging away, but Aoi stopped him.
"Wait, can I ask you a favor?" Aoi asked him, giving Misaki a quick subtle glance to signal her.
"A favor?" Masaya asked and then looked on as Misaki had Shion agree to coach her.
"Don't you think there is someone more fitting than me who should coach Kurashina for this match?" Aoi asked him. After a few moments, Masaya sighed in frustration, turned around and went over to near the water. "Apologies for the sudden push."
"This is the last time I'm doing this!" Masaya said in annoyance while his eyes twitched and he put on the earpiece used for communicating to his teammate with. 'I really don't want to do this...but I guess one more time.'
Hearing Masaya behind her, she faced him. "Coach!" she said in an even better mood. "Once again, I'm in your care!"
"Y-yeah!" Masaya stuttered. 'Well, here we go.'
Once Misaki and Asuka were signaled, they went up in the air to the starting point with their FC clothes and Grav-Shoes. They then took off at Shion's signal.
"Don't pursue her!" Masaya warned Asuka. 'Asuka is still a beginner, so it should be assumed she won't fair too well in a Dogfight with Misaki. She was lucky to score against Satou at all. But we can't count on that Air Kick Turn happening again.'
"Yes!" she answered and went to the other buoy via shortcut, and waited for Misaki.
"It's like Tobisawa said, he's more livid," Madoka noted, watching the usual unmotivated guy become more determined.
Aoi chuckled. "That part of him never changes when it comes to this," she said. 'His passion for FC.'
From here on, Asuka tried her best, but Misaki scored point after point. Asuka started panting.
"Don't push yourself!" Masaya yelled.
"One point," Asuka said, getting his attention. "Just one point!"
Masaya stared with amazement how she could keep going in this situation.
Asuka readied herself, and to their surprise, was successful and knocked Misaki off balance. But just before Asuka could touch her back for a point like she had wanted, time was up. To Masaya's surprise, he felt hot, and had this feeling of frustration.
"I was no good," Asuka said, flying down.
"Don't let it get you too down," Masaya started.
"Of course I'm down!" Asuka said in frustration. "That's why...please coach, please continue to teach me!"
"Eh!?" Masaya exclaimed, completely caught off guard. "I..."
"You're a man, aren't you?" Mashiro asked. "If so you can't refuse an innocent girl's request."
"Don't talk like you know me!" Masaya snapped at her, whom was taken aback by his anger. "Look, I just can't do it, okay?"
"Then how about until the tournament coming up?" Madoka asked, taking a less forceful approach.
Masaya's face sweated, evident he was struggling as to what to do. Finally, Misaki stepped forward a bit.
"I-" he started, but Misaki spoke.
"How about just giving it a try?" Misaki asked gently. "If you still aren't satisfied with it by the tournament, you can quit. What do you say, Masaya? Please?"
As he looked at Misaki, he looked at Asuka, who stared at him with pleading eyes. "Alright, I'll give it a try," Masaya relented.
"Yessssss!" Shion yelled, putting him in a headlock.
"Thank you, thank you very much!" Asuka repeatedly bowed in lightning speed while repeating the same words.
"I was worried there for a second, but all's well that ends well," Madoka said, happy.
"Mmm..." Misaki muttered, staring at Masaya with a tender smile.
Mashiro noticed this and blinked a few times, curious.
And so the day ends on a very positive note, with Masaya becoming the team's coach.
Aoi smiled at Misaki, grateful for her help and then looked at Masaya. 'This is just the beginning into his journey back to FC,' she thought.
A/N: I had a major issue with Asuka having flight school Grav-Shoes yet she didn't even know they could fly or people flew to school with them. So I made it make more sense and reasonable by having her not have them, and just walked to school for now until episode 2 rewrite. Satou should have been the one teaching Asuka about how you play FC instead of Misaki and Mashiro. Misaki hasn't even been playing FC for who knows how long, and Mashiro gave no hint of having FC experience. So all things considered, it would have been a lot better had Satou been the one explaining how you play to Asuka. I don't know if Hayato was on Masaya's team or not in the anime, but I thought it would be a nice touch regardless. I'll be blunt, I HATE episode 2 of the show, so I tried to fix it. Episode 1 had some things that bugged me, but nowhere on the scale of episode 2 bad. Chapter 2 will be multiple episode rewrites, because I am leaving in a number of stuff, hence there's no need for super short chapters. Episodes 3-6 will be in one chapter as such. Most of the left in scenes I will just summarize.
