Passing on the Torch
The garage.
Our safe haven.
Our home.
A place where we could go to be safe from the Rokkaku police, the Golden Rhinos and anything else Rokkaku Goji threw at us.
But right now, it is a place full of memories.
"YO! IT'S GREAT TO BE BACK!" A young man in a light blue hoodie with green hair and wearing narrow red sunglasses yelled out. Only to be shushed a moment later.
"YoYo. I know you are happy to be back, but be quiet. Our child is sleeping." A young lady said reprimanding him. She had light blue hair, was wearing a light blue backless dress with a high collar, with a thin strapped bra with red and grey cups on the outside. On her arms, she was wearing full length transparent sleeves.
"Sorry, Rhyth. Just happy to be back." Yoyo said turning to face her. She simply gave a smile before going next to him and leaning into him.
"I know. Just keep I down a bit." Rhyth said moving her head to give him a light peck in the lips.
"I see you two finally tied the knot." A third voice said from up above. The two looked up to see a young black man skating along the lines before jumping down and landing in front of them.
"YO! Good to see you Garam." Yoyo said going up to him and doing the same handshake they did years ago.
"Great to see you Yoyo. You too Rhyth." Garam said looking over the both of them.
"Same here Garam." Rhyth said with a smile.
"How long have you been waiting?" Yoyo asked.
"Not long. Only about twenty minutes. But time flies when you are skating as usual." Garam answered.
"Do you know when the other could be arriving?" Rhyth asked. Garam was about to answer only to stop when we all heard some arguing coming from the spot of the garage, we took to get to 99th street.
"Looks like Beat and Gum just arrived." Garam said with a chuckle. Which caused Yoyo and Rhyth to chuckle as well. They all knew those two would end up together. No matter how much they yelled and argued with each other, they were always close by each other. One might think all the fighting they do is unhealthy for their relationship; it was actually their way of showing love for each other. They even admitted it to the others. Well, Beat admitted it while Gum just chewed her gum and flipped us off.
"...Are you calling me stale piece of bread.!" Beat yelled out.
"Yeah. Got a problem with that!" Gum challenged. They growled at each other and silently dared each other to make a move.
"Hey guys. Mind keeping it down. My child is sleeping." Rhyth said getting their attention. They both stopped their fighting and looked at Rhyth. Casting a quick final glance at each other, clearly saying this was not over, they broke up their fighting and moved towards us.
"Hey Beat." Garam and Yoyo said at the same time. They both looked at each other and gave a slight chuckle.
"Hey guys. Still causing trouble?" Beat asked. Instead of answering, Garam just chuckled and Yoyo gave his signature Cheshire grin. It was no secret to anyone that they used to cause a lot of trouble together. Beat even joined them a few times. But that was rare as despite how skilled Beat was in skating, he was top-notch lazy. Turning around, they saw Gum now holding the child Rhyth had.
"That your kid Yoyo?" Beat asked.
"Yup. She is my daughter." Yoyo answered while taking off his glasses and wiping a tear from his eye. Seeing this, Beat gave him a light punch in the shoulder. Deciding to just go with it and relive more moments of the past, Yoyo faked pain which caused beat to laugh out loud. Only to get told to quiet down a moment later by both Gum and Rhyth.
"Beat. Got any idea on when the others are supposed to arrive?" Garam asked.
"No clue. Surprised Corn isn't here first. He was always first to get up and get everything started." Beat answered.
"Maybe he got held up by Roboy?" Garam suggested.
"Wouldn't surprise me. Roboy always was and will always will be an ass." Yoyo said supporting what Garam suggested.
"And you will always be the weakest of us all." A robotic voice said behind them. This caused them to jump in surprise with Yoyo falling down to the floor after losing his balance.
"Haha. Kneel before your master." The voice said again. Looking up, Yoyo saw that it was Roboy who somehow managed to sneak up behind them.
"Ha. Ha. Ha. You got us Roboy." Beat said unamused with a slow clap. Roboy seemed like he was about tome up with a comeback but was stopped when another familiar voice spoke up.
"Looks like I need to tone down your sarcasm dial again." The voice said. Looking towards where the voice came from, they all saw a young man with corn colored hair, wearing an unzipped gray jacket covering a yellow shirt, a cone shaped hat and pants that have red flame decals on the very bottoms.
"Hey Corn. Bout time you showed up." Beat said moving up to him and shaking his hand.
"Would have been here sooner, had this piece of scrap metal not complained the entire way." Corn said defending himself. Roboy looked pissed, well his version of pissed, and was about to say something when the sound of skates grinding on rails greeted their ears. Turning to where it came from, they saw that it was coming from the path they used to take to get to Rokkaku-Dai Heights. A moment later, two figures jumped from the pathway and grinded to the rest of the members. The figures being Combo and Cube.
"What up kids." Combo said once he reached the rest. His signature boombox resting on his shoulder.
"Hey everyone." Cube said with a wave.
"Hey Cube. Combo." Rhyth and Gum said greeting them.
"Hey there little princesses." Combo said. Reminding everyone of the nicknames he gave Gum and Rhyth. They both groaned yet chuckled afterwards.
"Looks like we got a true princess here though." Cube said motioning to the kid in Rhyths arms.
"Now she is a cute one. Who is the father?" Combo asked.
"Who do you think?' Rhyth asked while nodding her head towards Yoyo who was talking with Beat, Corn and Garam.
"I knew you two would get together." Combo said with a laugh, which caused Rhyth to giggle a bit.
"Well, it took quite a while to even work up the courage to ask me out in the first place." Rhyth said remembering the first time Yoyo asked her out.
"Who else are we waiting for?" Gum asked impatiently.
"Only four people it seems. Clutch, Soda, Boogie and Cube. They should be here soon." Cube answered.
"Hey everyone. Sorry we're late." A voice said getting everyone's attention. Turning to see who it was, they saw both Boogie and Jazz entering the garage.
"It's fine. Some of us just got here as well." Cube said to them as she moved up an gave a hug to both of them.
"We would have been here a lot earlier actually but this one still loves to compete even after all these years." Boogie said with nod to Jazz who just smirked.
"Don't act like you didn't like going down memory lane." Jazz said with a smirk to which Boogie just gave a chuckle in agreement.
"Who do we still have to wait for?" Boogie asked.
"Just Clutch and Soda." Combo answered.
"Figures. Those two are always late. Guess some things never change." Boggie said shaking her head.
"Somethings never do change." Combo said agreeing with her.
"Hey. We are right here you know." The voices of both Clutch and Soda complained. All the members just laughed at their expense.
"All right. We're all here. Let's get this show on the way." Corn said before heading over to the center of the garage where they used to dance and hang out before.
Moving all the couches and getting some chairs, they all made themselves comfortable. Once everyone was seated, they began discussing all that has happened since they all disbanded long ago while drinking some beers or sodas. From how they lived their lives and how they all missed each other. Though all were mostly interested in the lives of the ones who actually got together. Mainly on Rhyth and Yoyo as Gum refused to divulge anything and threatened Beat if he did so. Rhyth and Yoyo began discussing their lives together and how they are married now and have a child together. Afterwards, they began going down memory lane and all the precious memories, they had as rudies. And how after all these years they still listen to the music by Professor K. Which brought up a question that has been on all of their minds.
"Speaking of which, have any of you heard from Professor K? His music and station still play but he never talks anymore. It is almost eerily quiet without his input." Cube asked.
"No. It still bugs me that he isn't giving his usually wise pieces of advice. I even checked my old sources to see if I could find any information on him. But no one has heard from him." Yoyo replied.
"I hope he is okay." Rhyth said worried.
"Hopefully. Maybe he is planning something and will be back with something new soon." Jazz said taking a sip from her beer.
"That reminds me. Did you guys hear about some new mysterious figure going around Tokyo-To?" Combo asked.
"Yeah. He always in the background of anything that happens. Looking over everything creepily." Beat answered.
"You guys don't think that mysterious person is Professor K?" Boogie asked.
"Wouldn't surprise me too much honestly. I mean Professor K did always looked over us from his radio station and this mysterious figure the same. Not to mention, the mask/helmet the figure wears does resemble the Jet Set Radio symbol. It doesn't help that his outfit also has vinyls on his arms." Garam answered.
"Perhaps he moved on. Maybe he got tired from just being in his radio station and wanted to be more directly involved?" Boogie suggested.
"Well, either way. I hope he resurfaces soon and that he is alright." Corn said before standing up. "Let's have a toast." We all got up and moved closer.
"To The GG's." Corn said raising his drink.
"To the GG's." The rest said raising their drinks as well.
"To Professor K." Corn said raising his drink again.
"To Professor K." The rest said doing the same again.
"To JET SET RADIO!" Corn said loud and proud.
"To JET SET RADIO!" The rest cheered as well raising their drinks one last time.
"Alright guys. It's time to get some sleep. We do have an important meeting tomorrow." Gum said getting up from her spot.
"Your right. Night guys." Rhyth said getting up. She took her child from Yoyo before dragging him to their old rooms they had when they all lived in the garage. The rest just chuckled at that and went to their old rooms as well. As tomorrow is a really important day.
Next Day 10:00 A.M.
All the members of the GG's were in waiting in the same spot they were celebrating last night. They were dressed in their old outfits and even had their old headsets which allowed them to listen to the music Professor K on while they were skating and tagging up different parts of Tokyo-To. As they waited for the other remaining members to show, they began to reminisce in all the stuff and memories they did as rudies. Many good and many bad, yet despite that, they always stuck together. And now they are looking forward to many more adventures. Four members already experiencing the greatest adventure they could ever ask for. But before they could get too lost in their memories, the distinct sounds of skates grinding on metal greeted their ears. Looking around, they saw who they were waiting for to arrive.
"Good your all here." Corn said as he smiled and looked over all the people that just came. Remembering all the battles they had over the years and claiming turf to fighting each other in death ball. The people that came were the gangs Poison Jam, The Love Shockers, Doom Riders, Rapid 99 and The Immortals.
"So how long do we have to wait? We got other things to do." One member of Rapid 99 demanded.
"Kat. Behave." Cube threatened. Even after all these years, she still had clear control over Rapid 99.
"Fine. But seriously, how much longer before they are supposed to be here?" Kat asked.
"They should be here in about ten minutes. Though if they are anything like us when we were younger, then half an hour to forty-five minutes." Corn answered. This caused the other gangs to groan a bit but agree with the logic that they would most likely be late. Sighing, they all made themselves comfortable and find ways to distract themselves while we all waited.
Half an Hour Later
True to Corns word, it was about half an hour before they all heard the distinct sounds of tricks being done coming towards us. Getting up, they all readied themselves for what's about to happen. Soon, a whole group of people came into the garage running, doing tricks and grinding towards the them. What stood out about those people was the fact they were not using any kind of skates at all. A moment later and all the new people stood in front of the original gangs. Corn stepped up to get this meeting started.
"Didn't think you all would show up." He said looking over all the new faces. A young-looking male wearing a ridiculous orange mask stepped up. Taking closer look, it almost seemed as if someone took Beat and Yoyo and mashed them together and created him. The male took out a phone and turned it off before speaking.
"Are you kidding? None of us would dare miss out on the chance to meet up with the legendary Jet Set Radio gangs." He exclaimed. The others agreeing as well.
"Bomb Rush Cyberfunk I presume." A Lover Shocker asked looking over everyone.
"Yeah, that's us. We are the Bomb Rush Cyberfunk gangs." The guy answered.
"Let's cut to the chase. You all are about to take on a huge role replacing us and filling our shoes. You all think you are ready for this?" Gum asked. The new gangs looked at each other for a moment before nodding. Not convinced, they decided to put a test to see if the new gangs are truly ready for what's in store for them. Corn reached into his jacket and took out an old looking graffiti can. To many, it would seem as like just another spray can. But to the Jet Set Radio gangs, they knew it was special. It was the same spray can they used to call each other in and tag out when needed. It has saved their lives many times before hand.
"Do you, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk, take this spray can, the embodiment of the soul of the street, and use it defend and protect our culture?" Corn asked as he raised the spray can to them. The one in the orange mask raised his hand to take it. He seemed nervous for a moment and hesitated but steeled himself and grabbed it. But Corn did not let go.
"Once you take this, the responsibility of the streets and the culture will be on your shoulders. Do you think you can handle that?' Corn reminded and asked. The new gangs looked nervous for a moment before steeling themselves and look confident. The one in the mask seemed to contemplate this for a moment before grabbing the spray can and giving their answer. And he did that by tossing the spray can into the air and catching it as it fell back down.
"Yes, we can." He answered.
"Then congratulations Bomb Rush Cyberfunk. The torch had been passed from us to you. Now go and spread our culture and keep it alive." Corn said congratulating them. The new gangs cheered in celebration. That is, until the same guy asked a question.
"What are you guys going to do now?" He asked.
"Live our lives. We are now retired from being rudies and can live however we want. A couple of us even got married. Rhyth and yoyo even have a kid. Speaking of which, where is she?" Cube asked.
"In my old room. I put her there for a nap." Rhyth answered.
"So, what now?" One member of the new gangs asked.
"We end this meeting. And I say we do so in the right way." Beat answered.
"How so?" Another member asked.
"By dancing to the song that introduced us into the rudies life." Corn answered. He then turned and nodded to Roboy, who, surprisingly, did not give an insult and just took out a record to play. And the song that came on was a song they all knew.
Understand, understand
Understand, understand
Understand, understand the concept of love
Uh!
Understand, understand
Understand, understand
Understand, understand the concept of love
Uh!
Understand, understand
Understand, understand
Understand, understand the concept of, the concept of love
Ready to kick some, ready to kick some...
Both gangs began dancing to the music that Professor K always played when a new member joined. And as both generations of rudies danced, the older ones knew everything will be alright. They can live their lives peacefully now with knowledge that their culture of the streets will be preserved and is no longer on their shoulders.
After all, the torch has been passed down.
The new generation, Bomb Rush Cyberfunk now carries the torch.
To protect the soul and culture of the street.
And to defend it from those who wish to snuff it out like Rokkaku Goji,
But, little did both generations know, there is another who will be helping the new generation from behind the scenes. After all, he already did the same with the older generation.