A rudie Christmas part 1
A/N: I still don't own Jet Set Radio… more's the pity. I'm still just playing with the characters.
Skating along the bus station in Shibuya-Cho Yoyo snickered as the pedestrians leapt out of his path with shrikes of outrage and fear. An indignant cry of "AH! HE TOUCHED MY BUM!" rang out behind him, causing the green haired youth to grimace and shout "Yo! I did not! Gross!" over his shoulder. Grinding a railing he skillfully dodged a large delivery truck that lumbered slowly along the packed road. Pausing near a small convenience store he spotted Combo and Cube across the street with their heads together. Dashing across the busy street amid honking horns and shaking fists with a wild grin he skidded to a stop behind the pair.
"So it will be ready day after tomorrow?" Cube asked quietly.
Combo nodded. "All I have to do is pick it up and we're ready to go. The only thing I'm waiting on is the bag."
"Yo guys! What'cha doing?" He called out while keeping out of easy reach of the dark young woman. Yoyo knew that she could catch him if she was irritated and really wanted to, but in his mind a head start couldn't hurt.
Combo opened his mouth to reply, but a look from Cube silenced him. The big youth shrugged good-naturedly. "Not much."
Cube turned partway to study the boy behind her. "What do you want, squirt?"
"I don't yo. …Get it? Yo instead of know? Ha! I crack me up!" Yoyo grinned. The grin faltered at their flat stares. Ducking his head he continued in a more subdued tone. "Um, I was just wondering what you guys were doing?" He scratched his head, further mussing his already unruly hair. "What are you going to pick up? And bag for what?"
"Doesn't concern you." Cube told him softly. She turned back to their large friend. "Let me know if you need me to help."
"Nah. I got it." Combo waved one hand negligently. "Go ahead and talk to…" He eyed the green haired boy briefly. "You-know-who. Tell her we will be ready."
"Right." Without even a backward glance, Cube skated off in the opposite direction.
"What's going on, yo?"
Ruffling the smaller youth's hair, Combo sighed. "Sorry kid. I can't tell you." He hated to keep anything from the boy, but this whole caper had been hatched by Cube and he didn't want to step on her toes. If she wanted to bring the kid in she would do it on her own. She certainly wouldn't give in to any pressure to do so from anyone, no matter how well intentioned they happened to be. "Gotta go."
"Where?"
"Back to the garage." Combo chuckled at the other youth's consternation. "I'm hungry." He started to skate away then stopped to look back over his shoulder. "You coming?"
With a defeated sigh, Yoyo shrugged. "Might as well. I'll never catch up to Cube now." He muttered.
That evening Yoyo sat up on the rooftop staring at the stars that twinkled above his head. From this vantage point he could see the reflection of the stars dance on the still waters of the harbor, a sight that he enjoyed. He liked the way the lights reflection shimmered and danced across the flat water. What could Cube be hiding, and why would Combo go along with whatever plan she had in mind? He may not be a leader, but the big youth could never be referred to as a mindless sheep who would go along with anything anyone suggested. Combo was usually the voice of reason if he thought a scheme would be too risky or endanger anyone whether they happened to be in the gang or not. Well, unless the ones to be at risk were the Rokkaku, an organization hell-bent on eradicating all rudies.
A sound behind him brought his attention around to the skylight the gang used to ascend to the rooftop. Ryth smiled as she spotted her friend seated near the edge. Sliding down to sit next to him, she wiggled her feet absently.
"What are you doing out here, Yoyo?" She asked quietly, secretly pleased that everyone else had stayed below in the large communal space the GG's called the "garage". When he wasn't chasing her with a rubber snake, the young girl, the second youngest of the gang, actually enjoyed spending time with her friend. More so when the others were off elsewhere doing who knows what.
The boy shrugged. "Just thinking."
"About what?"
He tilted his head slightly to one side. "I'm trying to figure out what Cube and Combo are up to."
"What? What do you mean?"
"I saw them in Shibuya-Cho earlier near the bus station." Yoyo told her. Scratching his chin he continued. "They were acting all secretive and stuff."
"Did you ask them what they were doing?" Ryth asked, leaning back on her hands.
"Yeah, but they wouldn't tell me."
"Well that isn't too surprising." A new voice called out softly. They turned to find Jazz climbing out onto the roof. She stopped a foot from the opening. "Am I intruding?"
Both rudies liked Jazz, who had proven to be an excellent friend and one who could be counted on to keep a confidence. Yoyo waved her over with a smile. "Pull up a shingle and have a seat."
She returned his smile, liking this slightly improved Yoyo. Whatever Cube had said to him weeks ago during the whole kitchen meltdown seems to have stuck. The thought of Clutch and Soda scrubbing away still made her chuckle. "Like I was saying, I'm not too surprised that Cube wouldn't say anything. She's scary private. And if she didn't want Combo to say anything then he would respect her wishes."
"That's true." Ryth agreed. The young girl quietly admired the way the half-moon shone on the older girl's white hair, and wondered if she herself would look funny if she bleached her own hair. "Why is she like that?"
Jazz shrugged, turning her face to the glittering night sky. "Who knows? I guess she just doesn't know how to trust anyone. Something drove her to the street."
"But we all came from horrible situations, right?" Yoyo drew his feet up to prop his chin on his knees. "For whatever reason, we all left our homes and families to live on the street."
Ryth shuddered at a dark memory that flashed unbidden across her mind, one of several that often woke her at night. She knew that nightmares plagued many of the others. It just happened to be one of the unspoken ties that bound the GG's together. While no one would speak of their individual pasts they all knew that the others accepted each other's quirks caused by their past experiences. No one would ask for details, not really, but they each knew that if someone needed to talk then someone would be there for them. "I know I can't go home again, even if I wanted to." She rubbed her arms briskly in an attempt to push her memories away. "But still, even though the rest of us don't talk about… you know… what made us leave our families we at least have an idea of where each other came from. No one knows where Cube is from."
"Combo is from Bantam Street." Yoyo said quietly, smiling slightly. "He sometimes tells me about the place when we are out patrolling. He said he would take me around sometime if we ever managed to get over there."
"I thought Combo and Cube both came from Bantam Street?" Ryth said quietly.
"No." The boy shook his head. "Combo said she showed up near his home one day and they just started hanging out."
"So did Combo say why didn't she stay with him?" Jazz asked, her brow furrowed slightly. "How did she end up leading Rapid 99 and then Poison Jam?"
Yoyo's head jerked around at this. "Cube led Rapid 99?"
"Well, yeah." Jazz drew her right foot up to prop her arm on top of it. "She first showed up and formed Rapid 99 with a gal who calls herself Queenie… no idea why she calls herself that. It's pretentious, really. Anyway, after a while she left and took over Poison Jam. Why do you think those two gangs hate each other?"
"Why did she leave Rapid 99?" Ryth asked. "It doesn't make sense. I mean, those gals have some pretty prime real estate with all the shopping and stuff. Why would she leave all that to move to the sewers? Ewwww!"
Jazz shrugged. "I don't know. They had a falling out or something. So did Combo say why she left Bantam Street?"
"No." Yoyo frowned, scratching his head he lay back on the roof. "Not really. Rokkaku took out a friend of theirs, a guy called Coin. I guess that's about the time she left to come here."
"From what Combo told me, they lost Coin over six months or so ago, and he came here pretty much right after that. Cube only showed up less than three months ago." Boogie called softly from behind them as she stepped out onto the rooftop. Smirking at their surprised expressions she told them, "Don't worry, everyone else is busy or out. I just thought I would see if you guys were doing anything interesting."
"We're just trying to figure out what Cube and Combo are up to." Ryth told her, hoping that the older girl would have some insight that they had not considered yet. "Yoyo saw them planning something earlier."
The voluptuous young woman plopped down next to Ryth and began toying with one of her dreadlocks. "That's strange." She admitted, perplexed. "They aren't usually the ones to scheme behind anyone's back."
"I know." Jazz agreed. "Or at least they aren't obvious and don't generally shut anyone out if they are planning anything."
The friends sat in silence for a time, each pondering their team mate's secret agenda. What could Cube and Combo be up to? And why would Combo go along with keeping secrets from the rest of them?
Yoyo had a sudden chilling thought. "Yo guys? What if they're going to rob someone? A bank or store or something?"
The girls shot him a startled look.
"What? That's nuts! …Isn't it?" Ryth asked quietly. "They wouldn't really rob anyone would they?"
"Combo would never rob anyone or let a friend rob someone if he knew about it." Boogie shook her head vehemently. "I mean, well, stealing some food or something is one thing but holding someone up for money? No I can't see him doing it."
Jazz turned to the boy seated beside her. "Did they say anything about when they were going to do this… whatever it is?"
Yoyo thought back to the conversation he had overheard that very morning, while the other three waited quietly. "Oh!" His head jerked up suddenly. "Cube said something about the day after tomorrow." He told them. "Something about would something be ready then, and Combo said it would, but he needed to get a bag."
"A bag for what?" Boogie muttered.
The four friends fell silent once again as the stars twinkled overhead.
"Why don't we just follow them?" Jazz asked. The others looked at her in shock.
A grin spread itself across Yoyo's face, and his gaze swept across the girls who answered his sly expression with grins of their own.
"Let's do this!"