Lightning flashed through the dark sky as Kazu sat himself at the computer desk in the corner of Spitfire's old apartment. He turned on the screen and was greeted as usual by the smiling face of the former Flame King.
"Good Evening Kazu-kun." The recorded voice said and Kazu nodded slightly at the monitor, even though he knew this wasn't really Spitfire.
"Good evening Spitfire…" he whispered before leaning down to gather the equipment he had gone to pick up today. After the fight in the computer realm, he had borrowed some of the equipment from Falko to try out for himself with his own computer, for training purposes of course. The other man had been happy to loan it to him and told him how to set it all up. As soon as all the wires were in place, he turned on the equipment and attached it the way he had been shown.
"This is a program I don't recognize…" came Spitfire's voice from the computer and Kazu jumped, surprised that the computer could recognize that and had a reaction to it.
"I-I borrowed it from someone. For training." He said, feeling as though he should answer. The Spitfire on the screen continued to smile at him warmly, making Kazu blush slightly. Lightning flashed again and thunder rolled in as a pop-up window appeared on the screen and Kazu entered the set up prompts. He was soon met with a start-up screen and paused, unsure if he was ready to try it yet or not.
"Well, I did borrow it…I'll have to return it soon…" he muttered, moving the mouse to the start button and clicking. A loud burst of thunder sounded from outside and Kazu jumped as lightning once again struck, sounding like the crack of a whip. Then, everything got dark. The lights flickered and before Kazu could react, he felt as if his mind went blank and he lost all consciousness.
Kazu groaned lightly as he squinted his eyes shut to avoid the light coming at him from all sides.
Wait. Light? Huh. It must be day already… He thought to himself as he willed his eyes open. What they landed on made him freeze and his mind went blank. He was staring up at a vast blue sky, hidden behind a few tree branches that were swaying in the wind and he could swear he heard birds.
"I must still be dreaming. Maybe I just freaked out when the power went off last night. I just have to lay down and relax and I'll wake up when I'm ready." Kazu reasoned with himself as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath.
"That's not what happened at all Kazu-kun." Said a familiar sounding voice and Kazu nearly had a heart attack as the breath he took turned into a small (and totally manly) scream. He jolted up and turned to find a younger Spitfire smiling at him as he leaned against a tree. His arms were crossed over his chest and a thick green band kept his wild red hair from his equally red eyes. Kazu could see his figure slightly through his light sweater and the jeans he wore and the flame regalia were strapped tightly to his feet. Kazu blushed lightly at the sight of the man but regained his composure enough to face him directly.
"What do you mean?" he asked and the younger Spitfire chuckled as he pushed away from the tree before walking over to Kazu.
"When the power was cut last night, you had already started the program. You were in the middle of the transfer anyway and the computer just rushed the job to finish before losing power completely." Spitfire explained and Kazu bit his lip, thinking it sounded like an alright answer.
"So, if the power is off, how am I here?" he questioned and the younger Spitfire laughed at him.
"Kazu-kun, do you not remember? This is set in the internet. Just because the power is out, does not mean the internet has stopped working all over. Your computer has just stopped receiving the signal for the time it is out." He said and Kazu blushed hotly in embarrassment. He should have thought of that on his own.
"Oh." He simply said and the younger Spitfire laughed, reaching out to ruffle his blond hair lightly. Kazu blushed even more at the action and vaguely wondered where his hat could have gone to. The younger Spitfire smirked, seeming to know what he was thinking as he pulled the white beanie from his pocket.
"By the way, I took this. You look better without it." He teased, waving the hat slightly in front of Kazu.
"H-hey! Give it back!" he protested, reaching for it only to have it yanked away from his hand. Spitfire chuckled as his red eyes glinted and Kazu felt his heart drop at that look. It meant the man was up to something. It didn't matter that this was technically not the Spitfire he knew, he figured they couldn't have changed too much.
"You have to take it back. You came here to train right?" Spitfire asked and Kazu nodded as the man stood, pocketing the hat and smirking down at Kazu. "I'll make you a deal. If you can catch me and take this hat, then it's yours."
Kazu smirked as he stood and look at Spitfire with determination.
"Wouldn't it just be easier to give it to me? I'm really fast you know." He replied and Spitfire laughed.
"Where would the fun be in that? Besides, I know you're pretty fast, but it takes more than speed to catch an experienced opponent." Spitfire said before darting away through the trees. Kazu smirked and got into position.
"I guess I have no choice." He murmured before disappearing himself into the trees. Colors swam in his vision as he raced forward, trying to find Spitfire in the maze of trees and bushes. At least the man gave him hints. A laugh in one direction, something on fire in the next and Kazu could have sworn at one point he was right next to him due to his voice being suddenly louder.
"He must be moving a bit faster than me…" he muttered, picking up his speed. As soon as he did, he was able to instantly see Spitfire riding backwards and smiling at him teasingly.
"Oh? Good job Kazu-kun. You've improved your speed." He praised and Kazu smiled at the compliment. "But you still haven't caught me yet." Spitfire added, taking a sudden swerve and Kazu had no time to brake before he smashed into a tree. His whole body protested against the pain as he flew backwards onto the ground and stayed there, almost afraid to move.
"Kazu-kun!" Spitfire yelled and Kazu peeked open his eyes only to have them widen in disbelief at what he saw. An older version of Spitfire stood over him, his black coat fluttering in the wind and his red eyes wide in concern as he kneeled down to the ground. "Kazu-kun, are you alright?" the older Spitfire urged and Kazu squeaked, jolting up into a sitting position and staring at this Spitfire incredulously.
"B-but wait! I just saw you go…and you didn't look like that! What is going on here?" he stuttered and the older Spitfire smiled at him warmly, the way the Spitfire on the screen usually did. Kazu blushed at the look he was given as Spitfire sat down in front of him.
"You didn't think that I had left a program version of myself here? Even after finding that nice little game on my computer? (1) Or did you simply forget?" the older Spitfire asked and Kazu bit his lip, his face heating even more. He had forgotten. Spitfire laughed and ruffled his hair. "Don't worry about it. You wouldn't believe the things that I forget! That's what being old does to you I guess." Spitfire joked and Kazu smiled.
"You're not that old." He replied and Spitfire laughed harder.
"Old enough Kazu-kun. Old enough. When everyone around me is in their teens and I'm in my late twenties, it makes me feel older than I am. (2)" He pressed and Kazu laughed at that.
"I would feel old too I guess." He admitted, staring at the ground. The two sat in silence for a while, just listening to the sound of the wind moving through the trees and birds singing from their perches. It was a comfortable silence though, not the kind that Kazu felt needed to be filled by useless chatter. Finally though, Spitfire sighed and stood, looking down at Kazu's questioning gaze with a smile.
"Now then, why don't we go get your hat?" he suggested and Kazu jumped up, smiling widely at the thought of reclaiming his stolen hat.
"Sounds like a plan." He answered and Spitfire grinned before speeding away to the left, Kazu right behind him. Kazu was rather surprised that he was keeping up so well with Spitfire. He knew the man wasn't going slowly for his sake, he couldn't be with the way he was riding. The man kept throwing out tips to Kazu as they raced along side by side through the trees and onto a flat brick road.
"Shift your right foot slightly inward Kazu-kun, yes exactly like that. See how the wind pressure has lessened on you? You're improving so much." He praised and Kazu smiled at each compliment. "Up here, we will be taking a left. Allow yourself plenty of time to turn in case you need to avoid something as soon as you enter that path. Don't rush into it." Spitfire warned as the two raced down a side street. Just then, a glint of red caught Kazu's eye and he came to a stop, turning around to see the younger Spitfire leaning again a wall, twirling Kazu's hat on his finger.
"This isn't very fair." He said, his eyes locked on the older Spitfire. "Two against one?"
"Actually, I'm just here to give advice." The older Spitfire explained, looking at his younger-self with a slight smile. "Besides, you were planning on cheating, right? You had no intention of matching up to Kazu's skill range." Kazu blinked as the younger Spitfire laughed and pushed away from the wall.
"Guess you caught me." He admitted and Kazu glared lightly. "But you know, without a challenge, there is no improvement. I simply wanted to help." He added, holding out Kazu's hat to the boy. Kazu sighed and stepped forward, reaching for the hat. Before he could blink, the younger Spitfire smirked and dropped the hat, using his now free hand to grab Kazu's own and pull him closer.
The blond yelped but was silenced when a pair of lips met his. His eyes went wide, his face heating up as he realized his situation. The younger Spitfire was kissing him in front of the older Spitfire, who was now gaping at the scene as the younger Spitfire broke apart for air, smirking at his other self. Kazu shook, his mind moving way too fast for him to keep up as the younger Spitfire laughed and released him.
"Good job Kazu-kun. You caught me." He purred before speeding off with another loud laugh. Kazu stared after him, his face still red before he turned to see Spitfire glaring at his other-self's back. Kazu blinked at the sight, not understanding what was going on.
"Come on Kazu-kun. Let's go somewhere a bit more suited for training." Spitfire said, his tone flat as he began riding away slowly. Kazu nodded, picked up his hat and sped to catch up, still confused.
Is Spitfire…jealous? He wondered incredulously to himself as he followed the older man.
Okay everyone! Explanation time! ^_^
Spitfire had left behind a program that allowed the team members of Kogarasumaru to plug in their READ cards and it would simulate a battle between that person and Spitfire. Spitfire would then grade them on their match and give them tips on how to improve. I thought it only made since that Spitfire would use a program similar to Falko's, and Kazu even says in the manga that the two are very much alike.
It is explained in recent chapters that all the original gravity children are in their late twenties, early thirties by now. Spitfire is one of the originals so I reference to that.
Younger Spitfire seems to be a lot like the older Spitfire, only a lot more *cough* sexual. (I get this from the innuendos from the manga.) So it seemed only natural that he would be the first to make a move on Kazu. ^_^ Plus, I think it's cute. Lol
I'm not sure about the power-outage thing, but I think it works like that. I know my computer quickly saves everything in the event of an outage so I don't lose data. As for the internet thing, I'm also pretty sure it works along those lines. Lol. People in California do not lose power because a tornado hit in Kentucky or Indiana or where-ever. ^_^
I hope you all enjoyed this first chapter! Next one will be up soon and as soon as I finish the next "Secret Garden" chapter, it'll be up too. I just have writer's block _ Until then! ^_^ Reviews are the best! XD