Tin Pin Turnabout:

A Sauce Project Production

By EeveeGen9988 and Chronic Guardian

[Shibuya Operation - Story Storm]

Chapter 1: Set

"...He's right in his room, Yoshiya," his aunt said kindly, brushing the wall slightly before she rapped on the door. "Sweetheart? One of your cousins came to see you."

"Thank you, Auntie Chise," chimed Joshua with a grin at the older woman. "I don't think my visit will be long, so expect that I'll be out of your hair within an hour or so."

Aunt Chise slowly turned to him, her long, dirty blonde hair shifting as she shook her head. "To make a special trip, just to be around for an hour seems to be quite a waste, Yoshiya. Would you care to stay until after lunch?"

"Mmm… that offer seems tempting…" The ashen blond giggled. "And I would hate to disappoint you, so I guess mother and father wouldn't mind the delay."

"Then I will let them know for you," replied his aunt before pressing her hand to the wall more. Joshua hesitated from entering his cousin's room before he heard her speak again, "Do not fret, I know my way around." With that, she began to amble away.

The ashen blond watched her go for a little while before he drew open the door and stepped in.

"J-Josh?" came a murmur from the boy sitting on the carpet, raising his head as Joshua approached. Joshua noticed that his cousin was wearing his favourite silver long-sleeved shirt with blue-grey pants today (not to mention his yin-yang pendant), which was a miracle that the petite blond managed to find the suitable pairing of clothing for the first time in a while. As Joshua situated himself on his cousin's bed, Joshua watched as his cousin flusteredly repositioned himself to face Joshua. "Wh-What are you-"

"I believe you said I was welcome in your home anytime I wished," drawled Joshua with a smirk, stretching slightly as he went on, "As that is the case."

Slowly his cousin flushed, fiddling anxiously with a light honey-coloured pin with cloudy wings. "Y-Yeah, I did."

"You don't even seem pleased that I'm here, though…" noted Joshua, breathing out a deep sigh. "What a shame…"

"N-No!" Ayumu shook his head as he yelped, twisting around to stare widely at Joshua. "I didn't expect you, that's all! I didn't mean-"

Joshua merely chuckled, placing a hand on the petite blond's head, silencing his stutters. "I'm only joking... hehehe~"

Blinking, stray tears trickled down Ayumu's face before nodding, seemingly uncertain. Ayumu soon got up, crawling onto his bed to join Joshua before staring at him tearfully.

"That wasn't funny!" Ayumu's voice cracked.

"Look, I didn't mean to hurt your feelings or whatnot," replied Joshua whisking his hand into his shirt pocket, then lazily waving the envelope in front of Ayumu's face. "But I'm sure you'll be happy to know I have a little insight into the next big thing in Tin Pin."

Without a second wasted, Joshua watched as Ayumu's face morphed into astonishment, his blind eyes flashing as Ayumu exclaimed, "Really!?"

"Right in this envelope here." Joshua's lavender eyes warmly watched as Ayumu gaped with awe. "You'll have to thank my Pinheads Weekly membership for the deed."

One would think a professional invitation would be exaggerated for an event such as for Tin Pin Slammers… Although, when you're talking about an event that wanted Yoshiya Kiryu to attend, Joshua wouldn't be surprised that it would be presented to him on this type of silver-platter. It was as though they were ready to roll out the red carpet upon his arrival, and that thought entertained his fancy well.

"Did you open it already, Josh?" gasped Ayumu eagerly as Joshua drew it back to wave it side-to-side with a small grin. "Is it another Traditional Slamdown- o-or a Quick Fling Tourney?" Scooting closer, Ayumu sat up taller and leaned on Joshua's back and shoulder, peering over from the corner of one of Joshua's eyes. "A Slammerai One-Shot...?" breathed Ayumu quieter in wonder.

Joshua snickered, merely brushing Ayumu off with little effort, slowly swerving to see Ayumu silently gazing back with his head tilted slightly. "Of course I opened it, Ayu… I can't just read paper with my mind."

"Josh-" Ayumu whined with an annoyed expression flashing across his face briefly. "I-I'm not a girl..."

"But Ayumu… it's cute, you're cute, and I'm not even saying it outloud in public like last time," sang Joshua while Ayumu puffed out his cheeks. "Even the nickname is cute~"

Ayumu crossed his arms, not looking any happier as he mumbled, "...I'm not a girl…"

Joshua giggled at that. Even if Ayumu never liked that nickname… his cousin always seemed to live up to its effeminate implications from how he always reacted to it. Joshua couldn't imagine any time that he would drop the nickname, it felt almost wrong.

"I mean, c'mon… No one can read minds, why would a flimsy sheet be any different?" Joshua shrugged, soon closing his eyes. "Anyway… It's none any of those things."

Ayumu relaxed slightly, blinking as he breathed, "Then what is it?" He stared blankly at Joshua.

"Well… to streamline this lovely letter," drawled Joshua haughtily as he hummed, he wagged the envelope again before chirping, "Picture us- stars of a premier championship…" Joshua slurred a bit before lazily adding, "...and maybe a third partner."

"Wait- do you mean a three person Tin Pin match!?" Ayumu blinked his eyes widely, resting his hands on Joshua's arm as he leaned in closer. "They never had-"

"And now they do," finished Joshua amused. "They really couldn't help themselves from latching onto me, Ayumu… so I must appease their expectations."

It was a while before Ayumu frowned, blinking before he murmured, "...Wait, are you asking me to…"

"Join the dearest Yoshiya Kiryu, rising-star and future title holder of being the Pin King?" asked Joshua as he held onto his chin, giggling for a moment from how Ayumu was behaving before nodding, "Yes, I do believe that is the case, dear cousin."

Ayumu widened his eyes. "Really?" He slowly looked away, soon murmuring nervously, "But wouldn't I hinder your chances at winning…?"

Joshua raised an eyebrow. "Why would you?"

The slightly messy haired blond slowly looked towards the various pins that laid in a dysfunctional mound. "I-I've never…" Ayumu bit his lip. "And there's so many people…"

"Pssh, don't tell me you're scared of a crowd of people," groaned Joshua, adding a facepalm for effect. "You've been in thousands."

Ayumu lowered his head, trembling as he meekly mumbled, "B-But that's different…"

"No it's not."

"Y-Yes it is…" Ayumu's voice sounded like it was full of tears. "A-And I'm not good."

"Look, you're pretty good, and I'm at least good enough to play for both of us, so please let your doubt out the door, dear cousin," began Joshua with a smile. "This will be a fun little chance for you and me and-" The ashen blond flicked his hand with a tut, "Our lovely third member to give it our all, as well as give the crowd a taste of our flair." He shook his head. "You don't need to show off, yours truly has that covered. All eyes will be on me, so you can be cute- and you can even smile and wave at the crowd if that flatters you. There's no team that will defeat us when I'm on the team, so messing up shouldn't even be on your mind."

Ayumu blinked, his eyes seemingly straying on his pin in his hand before looking up again. "W-Will people like me?"

"Everyone should love you, you're my cousin," Joshua breathed with a giggle. "You really need to embrace the crowd more than shrug it off like someone we know…" He narrowed his eyes at the thought of his other cousin, casting it away to focus more on what truly mattered; Ayumu and the championship.

Immediately Ayumu brightened at that, shifting as he soon asked, "Have you gotten another person yet to join us?"

Joshua smirked. "Not just yet…" He ruffled Ayumu's hair, lazily continuing as Ayumu made a face at the treatment, "I had to let my favourite cousin know first."

For a while, Ayumu was quiet, blushing while fiddling with his hands for a while. After it became apparent that Ayumu didn't seem to want to respond to that, Joshua believed his cousin was thinking of their third partner. Which was good… as long as that didn't include their other cousin. The idea almost made him scoff, but he luckily held it back. Ayumu should know by now that being around their other cousin made any situation worse, especially when that arrogant, self-absorbed, two faced… Joshua cut himself off from that line of thought to stop the slow growing scowl on his face. Even if Ayumu was blind, Ayumu would still be able to sense his seething feelings on the matter.

The ashen blond nonchalantly took in Ayumu's mismatched pins on the floor instead, wondering if playing some practice matches with his younger cousin would suffice if Ayumu were to do well in the championship. Although, that pin Ayumu always clung to and brandished would be hard to seperate from his grasp, seeing as Ayumu cherished that pin the most. Joshua tapped his chin, taking in the fact Ayumu never seemed to want to play any matches without it, so Joshua would have to help Ayumu find pins that would back it up in the case it failed to do perform adequately during the matches.

When Joshua glanced back at his cousin to suggest this, he noticed Ayumu looked nervous about something. He merely smirked as he spoke, "What's on your mind, dear cousin?"

"I had a thought about who should be our other member," mumbled Ayumu without even looking up. "I-If that's okay with you."

Smiling warmly, Joshua placed a hand on his younger cousin's shoulder and chirped, "I believe whoever you think should join us would be acceptable, as long as they have some experience with the game."

Nodding, Ayumu replied nervously, "Th-They do."

"Well, don't be shy," Josh giggled. "Who has the honor of joining—"

"Could we call Rue?"

Joshua kept his smile on by sheer force of will. "...Perhaps. Although, he is pretty busy this time of year with all those north regional slam-offs. Is there anyone else you know? What about that girl with the gloves. What's her name again?"

"Actually…" Ayumu tapped his fingers together and frowned. "I just saw Rue yesterday. He said he'll be in town for the next few weeks."

"Then he's probably on break. We shouldn't disturb him in the middle of something like that," Joshua said, nodding sagely as he rested a hand on Ayumu's shoulder and mentally scrambled for more plausible excuses. There had to be someone else they could call. Maybe he could convince the judges to accept a stuffed promotional costume as their third member… "Professional players do need their rest, you know."

"Well then you can cover for him, right?" Ayumu insisted. "You did say you could play well enough for the two of us. If I just practice a little then you won't have to worry about me as much and just focus on him."

"...And you're sure we can't get the gloves girl?"

Ayumu looked down and hunched his shoulders up. "Can't we play as cousins? I mean, we never…" he trailed off and shook his head.

They sat for a beat more of silence before Joshua sighed, got up, and headed towards the door. He heard Ayumu call out for him, but the elder cousin continued on until he arrived at the household's landline phone. He knew Auntie Chise wouldn't mind him using her phone (especially if it was this important)… Gritting internally, and cursing with each number's dial tone, rings soon greeted him.

After waiting for not too long—although he wished it could have lasted for longer—Joshua didn't allow the person he was calling to draw a breath to speak, and he drawled lowly, "Cousin… I happen to have a proposal for you."

Despite how he loathed what he was doing, he couldn't help but feel pleased when from the corner of his eye he saw Ayumu's bright smile.

CG's Apologetic Author's Notes:

Hello all! I was actually more of a "guest editor" for this chapter, so I'll try to keep my bit brief. Eevee did most of the heavy lifting, including the fantastic build up to Ayumu asking for Rueban as the third member. And even though this is her first work in a while, I really hope you've enjoyed her take on young Joshua as much as I have. He may not be as well spoken as his present day counterpart, but he's certainly got that signature snottiness going on. We figured he'd dull it a little since he's dealing with family here (figuring out an alternate dynamic for how Josh treats people he actually likes in general is… difficult), but he still needs to have that recognizable modus operandi, almost as a nervous tick.

That said, the last parts of this chapter (Probably the parts I had the most influence on) might have my characteristic obtuseness as an added "bonus"(?). I feel like my writing in general suffers from too much implication and underdevelopment as I try to give readers a kind-of-sort-of treasure hunt with a half-drawn map to figure out what I really mean. Hopefully I can suppress that when my part comes around next chapter.

Speaking of next chapter (and story structure in general), we'll be cycling the three Kiryu cousins for the remainder of the story. For those of you not in the know, that means Rueban (Josh's grandnephew from Hybrid::Mixed Feelings) and Ayumu (Josh's half-brother from A Fall into Honour/Unsealed Fates). In that sense, this might feel more like using the TinPinVerse as a backdrop to crossover Hybrid and AFiH, but we'll try to keep it fairly self-contained. Personally, I feel Another Day stories need to stand on their own even if they're technically permutations of the original. If we ever stray from that, feel free to call us (or, more specifically, ME) out on it. As an aspiring writer, I relish the challenge.

That said, I like how Eevee's set up the situation in this first chapter, introducing you to Ayumu and setting up both the physical conflict of the three-on-three tourney and the emotional conflict of Josh's extended family dynamics. Especially since these are people who were raised around Joshua, I think he can't get away with as much , so he's adopted slightly different tactics for dealing with them. Joshua may always be a manipulative little fill-in-the-blank, but he's not omnipotent and he's not made of stone. I love moments in the original like when Joshua realizes the Wizard went easy on him in the Black Skullers showdown because they show Joshua dropping his facade, if only for a moment. Although it may be vanity to say so, I really hope we can capture a little more of that with this work.

But I digress. Next week I'll put my writing where my mouth's at and attempt to give you a worthy follow up as Josh and Ayu head to the tourney and we meet the much-speculated-about cousin Rueban. In the meantime, why not check out another [Shibuya Operation - Story Storm] entry like Aviantei's Yěhuā or Eevee's The Fallen? Or, if you're still just in that TWEWY mood, you could go check out the Hyoxjnn's X Day's Marked. Rumor has it he's gonna be releasing a "Gaiden" epilogue "soon". The next chapter of Hybrid might happen sooner, but you don't want to read that unless you care about angsty OCs and super overwrought world mechanics like "how the heck did Composers even become a thing?" and such. Whatever the case, make sure you go get something warm to drink and have yourself a happy new year. Who knows? KH III might even come out this time. ;)

Yours,

-CG

[12.30.17]

…

EeveeGen9988's Attempt At Author's Notes

Hello there, people. Like CG said earlier, I haven't really worked on stories for quite a while, but it was really refreshing to shove my writing skills back into gear, even if they're rusty. =3

It was fun to reimagine characters in the Another Day universe, although it was slightly harder to integrate Ayumu into it. In Ayumu's home universe, nicknamed the EeveeVerse by the nice guy from the notes above (AKA the universe that Unsealed Fates and A Fall Into Honour takes place in), how he would be able to cope with his blindness was the hardest to reimagine to suit the Another Day universe. Although, I feel as though we found a good way to tackle this. ;3

I can't wait for the later chapters, when we get to see the "great Rueban Kiryu". To be quite honest, Rueban Kiryu intrigues me, and is one character who I believe that I still have trouble figuring out his motives and personality for. As hard as this is to believe, I like to think of Rueban as a character I want to figure out the mystery of his character. As well, I can't wait to have a spin at writing Rueban… or at least trying to. *rubs back of neck*

And making up a younger Another Day Joshua wasn't actually hard. I mean, he's basically a younger version of himself but different (maybe, maybe not…?), so yeah… *rubs back of neck*

I know I don't have too much to say, but I hope you enjoyed the chapter! =3

Hope to see you next week to witness CG's turn to take a whack at this story! *waves and hands CG a pencil*

- EeveeGen9988