The next day was cloudy; there had been a meeting set up put in place for when the Southern Snipers of Australia arrived in Japan. Kogarasumaru would accompany them and be with them for whatever lay ahead. They rode through Tokyo, until they got back to the Reds home ground at the school in which the location of the meeting was going to take place. It seemed the Reds gang would be accommodating the Australian team as a favour in hopes that they can watch them beat the two Westside Magpies riders and also weaken Kogasumaru somewhat so that they may possibly be able to challenge them once they were weakened.
The nerves hit Malin once more as they went through the Reds grounds and seeing everyone he had just eluded with the help of Ikki. He looked alongside him to see Ikki still confident as well as Agito, Kazu, Buccha and Onigiri-but it was the most comforting to have Blake with him at a time like this. There was nobody else he would rather be with than his best friend and when they got through this together-the experience they had would give them something more than a lot of training could back home. Malin and Blake had ensured Kogarasumaru that although the AT riders in Australia were not as vicious as Japanese riders, some areas of skills were much better than Japanese as they prioritised different aspects of riding. It was very crowded and when they got to the heart of the territory, they could see the four riders that had been sent to challenge them. Malin knew these guys were coming for them.
Ikki knew nobody would try anything as he had his whole team there and he started looking at these riders for any signs of weaknesses he could use later on. Daisuke of the Reds eyed Blake who had beaten him in a D Class Battle earlier and spoke, "The Southern Snipers are here to fight the Magpies riders."
"We have temporarily teamed up with Kogarasumaru seeing as though you are only here because our team isn't with us."
One of the Snipers started talking, he seemed to be the leader by the way he acted and spoke, "We only have four people here, so what are you suggesting?"
"We are using two members from them and both of us are riding-which in an alliance is perfectly fine to match up with under the conditions for a C Class Air Battle."
"So Malin, you once again look to someone else's reputation for support. It is a welcome challenge after you fly on the shadow of the Seer King-soon enough though you will have to fly on your own and fight your own matches." Malin got a little frustrated and Blake tugged on the back of his shirt to keep him at bay. Ikki stepped forward, "And who are you amateurs?"
Alex Davies-'The River' An average height guy with toned legs and very blonde hair that hung over his face. Although he wasn't the highest rated rider in the team, he was the leader on account of his ability.
Tim Naughton-'Mantis' A tall rider that received the alias Mantis from his physical likeness to the Praying Mantis and his riding strategy which based on the back of their fighting ability.
Greg Drew-'Tasmanian Devil' A very short rider that looked very aggressive. He had fangs and teeth that had been surgically put into his body that made him look even more intimidating.
Amanda Beck-'Cobra Lilly' A very pretty rider but with a look that showed she meant business. The only A Class Rider among the Snipers present in Japan and usually finishes her prey off before they realise what is happening.
Ikki's comment agitated Alex and he clenched his fist before smiling it off. "I got nothing to prove to any of you, especially Malin-seeing as though I have already bested him-but I suppose we can show the legendary Kogarasumaru what we are capable of. All of us here will surely win and claim worldwide status. C Class Battle here tomorrow, let it be shown around the world when a Japanese team loses to the greatest Oceania team in history."
Ikki wasn't finished getting into his opponent's head yet, "Isn't it true though that you haven't beaten the Magpies back home though? That isn't a very good record."
"I suppose you are right, but a single magpie is an easy target to bring down from the sky when you can see it. This is the whole reason why a Magpie will attack people from behind as they are too weak to do it from the front. So without your teamwork that you Magpie riders are so famous for only mean that you never have to take responsibility or blame yourself. So when the time comes that you have to fly for yourself, you wings will be too weak to carry you."
Ikki turned both Malin and Blake around and lead them out. Enough had been said they needed to go rest up and get their last preparations in before the match tomorrow; it was a neutral ground seeing as though it was two outside teams taking part-therefore no real advantage to either of them. They had already decided who was fighting, Malin and Blake had to take part as the only Magpie representatives there, but they had believed Ikki and Agito to be the next best candidates to fill in against their opponent's unique abilities.
Malin woke up in the middle of the night. He knew he wouldn't be able to get back to asleep on account he couldn't stop thinking about the match. He still couldn't believe he was going to be fighting alongside the next sky king and wondered how they were going to handle the Southern Snipers. He needed some fresh air so he quietly got up and went outside where it was quiet and peaceful. Looking up at the moon, he wondered how his friends were doing back home with the Snipers launching a minor attack on them there as well. "How are you going to fight tomorrow if you are this nervous? Fuck!" It startled Malin and he turned and looked onto the roof to see Agito sitting on the edge. "I always get nervous before a match-it means I care."
"No it means you are worried about letting us down and yourself down, you carry too much on your shoulders so piss it off before our match tomorrow." Malin had nothing to say and turned back to the moon. He heard the door open behind him and he assumed Agito had gone inside but was surprised to see Ikki outside standing with him. "You can't sleep either huh?" Malin shook his head and saw Agito was indeed gone now and hoped Ikki hadn't heard that. As if reading his mind Ikki said, "Don't worry about Agito-he says things like that when most of the time he means well, what he said isn't too far from the truth though, you carry a heavy burden on yourself you don't need to."
"I know it isn't like the burden of the next sky king but- "
"That is where you are wrong; there are no levels of burden or expectation. The burden to me is the same as the burden to you-everybody has them-everybody, even this River guy we are fighting tomorrow. But you should know, that the more pressure you put on yourself, the harder it will be, you have heard those words before haven't you?" Malin nodded, "My dad always taught me that."
"You can see things that nobody else can, you will soon be able to see the battleground in a way you never imagined, but you can see more-you can see the opponent which even I cannot do. May I ask what happened last time you faced the River?"
"It was a junior tournament, we were F Class Riders just coming into AT and it was us against them. All of our riders had gone and it came down to sudden death-for some reason I ended up getting chosen even though I am nowhere near as fast as Blake or some of my other teammates and was matched up against him. Anyway we started the race and he knew that because he was almost certain to beat me and how hard I needed to push myself to win-my eyes wouldn't be focused on him but on the road ahead. For this is the problem with ambition, it doesn't look behind it and after he had already been using his ability on me without me even realising it-he was able to take me out and win the match for his team. He has never let me forget it-ever and it didn't matter how many other tournaments we beat his team in, he always bought that one thing up."
Ikki laughed, "It sounds like he really got you-making sure you couldn't watch his body movements, not too bad. But there is one problem I see with this, a junior tournament is a junior tournament-it means nothing now. Tomorrow, I think you will have to prove yourself to everybody that you are worthy of flying." He turned around and went to go back inside, but before he did he said one last thing, "Don't be afraid of flying-don't be afraid of seeing how high you can actually go with your own wings and when the time comes-you will have to trust your instincts rather than your sight." He continued back inside and Malin felt so pumped up he could have ridden through a brick wall. It was going to be a very important match tomorrow against the Southside Snipers.
When the next morning came, everybody got themselves ready. There had been a lot of hype about Malin and Blake riding with Kogarasumaru. When the time came to leave and head to the battleground, they were all really pumped. Buccha, Onigiri and Kazu rode with them and together they arrived at the school grounds that the Reds were already at waiting for them. This time though, they weren't going to be in a D Class Battle, they would be in a C Class Battle and the poles were already set up for their match. It seemed that there would be 10 poles which were not going to be randomly knocked down during the match but remained upright. They were also much larger and wider than normal which would allow for a very open and interesting matchup allowing the riders more space to use their skills better. Malin was so nervous he felt sick, he looked at Agito who death stared back at him and then he looked at Ikki who gave him a thumbs up. He didn't want to let anyone down, especially himself. Blake patted him on the shoulder, "Let's enjoy it like it was the greatest match of our life." Malin relaxed a little and smiled and then answered back, "It is the greatest match of our life." Ikki and Agito looked ready for the match. They went onto their podiums and waited for the Southern Snipers to get a cheer into the stadium and set themselves up on their podiums. The place was packed out with people from everywhere, Ringo was there watching as well as some of the other Kings. Malin could make out Spitfire in the crowd as well as Yoshitsune the Rumble King and wondered who else was there watching on the internet around the world. His eyes met the River's and bad memories temporarily through his head. Finally after all the suspense, the match up between Kogara-Magpies and Southern Snipers began.