Sweet Fizzy Citrus!

Author's Note: Enjoy the story and R&R.

Disclaimer: I do not own anything related to or of Cap Revolution Bottleman DX.

Pairing: Pre-slash Cota x Ponta.

Summary:

Sweet baby Jesus, it's sweet fizzy Citrus!


"I'm sorry for hiding this from you until now, Cota-kun. I'm Citrus."

Cota had only one thought: Sweet fizzy Citrus! Learning Bottle King was even a thing was still a recent thing for Cota, and to find out the strongest Bottle Battler of them all had been right next to him (like Dean Kochaka said on his channel) this whole time? HOLY CAP!

Citrus gave Cota one push of the thumb to spur him toward his goals.

Cota's heart was in the game before his head.

The Bottle King really was waiting for him at the end. For his super hero.

From the start, Citrus was on top of Hocari Machiko's plot to destroy Bottle Battling and recreate it. He retrieved Origin from Hocari Ryo and ensured Colamaru reached Cota's hands, and also motivated Cota to take up Bottle Battling officially.

Of course it was Ponta! Who else had ideal access to plant Colamaru in his locker and later leave Citrus' cap?

Citrus Pain. That's what they called it. It was the first he was hearing about it.

It was ever since Cota reached out for that small light that shone within the landfill – the silver lining of having to pick up garbage after collapsing the bridge – that he found something he could get sucked into.

Bottle Battler and Bottleman began as blank slates, and were infused with colour by the interesting opponents they faced. They drank each battle's EXP and improved, evolving together into an inseparable, explosive team.

Cota owed his excitement to Ponta. Because of what Ponta did for him, what he was always doing for him, and what he was doing for him to this moment, Cota had discovered his fizz.

Ponta was close. Always behind Cota 100%, closer than any of his friends and allies.

But whuh, how crazy was this? Citrus' shocking return to the Bottle Battling world!

Now, Ponta was an awesome guy. Don't get a bad impression of Cota. Ponta was fine. But Ponta/Citrus was fine! From his goofy but adorkable hair bun to cool bleached dreads? From red, orange, yellow, green, and white tracksuit to a black shirt with cut off sleeves, and all the bare arm that entailed?

Holy cap, holy cap, holy cap!

And this was Ponta! He tripped more traps on the battlefield laying down a picnic blanket! He had difficulty running, you'd never mistake him for an athlete! Nobody would've seen this coming!

Bottle Battling, cooking, and an expert in disguise! What couldn't his senpai do?

The question before Cota wasn't collecting the most points to defeat B-DACT. With the long-lost rightful Bottle King on their side, how could BMA lose? Kurenai Haku was in tears, and Kinjishi Leo would finally get that fight with Citrus he'd been roaring for, which he missed out on when Citrus went missing!

Except Cota didn't believe BMA or B-DACT were right or wrong. They shouldn't have to choose between the two.

The question wasn't the aforementioned debate of what his senpai couldn't do, either.

The question was: What was Cota going to do now that he knew Ponta was Citrus? Okay, maybe that and what Cota was prepared to let Ponta/Citrus do to him.

Despite Ayata's opinion B-DACT was wrong and his insistence his Master disqualify Haku quick, Cota's attention hadn't left Ponta. He still had his buzz from skydiving into the Special Bottle Royal. Add that to the onigiri, orange muffin, orange tea, and miso soup Ponta fed him en route, and it was a recipe for distraction!

Ponta did promise to tell him the special recipe for his rice balls!

It didn't take Energy Brave, Akaushi Tsubasa's drink of choice, to give Cota wings.

But Ponta/Citrus was staring at him with this frightening intensity. Haku's dark switcheroo didn't phase him at all, yet Ponta's switch to Citrus mode did. An air of disenchantment and sad anger in Citrus' posture Cota wouldn't in a million years equate with Ponta, the gentlest, laxest, slouchiest dude he ever had the pleasure of being bros with.

Machiko's hostile methods were such an affront to the purity of the sport, even Ponta couldn't let her power grab stand. In the process, B-DACT had dragged BMA's conduct down with them.

What happened to Bottlemanship? To fun and participation and community? Those were the lessons he'd hoped to pass on to Cota, and Cota absolutely didn't disappoint.

Ponta/Citrus wasn't just mad Machiko triggered a war between BMA and B-DACT. Her orchestration of events almost led Cota to burst while connected to Colamaru through the Vital Sync system and go on a rampage, making this confrontation all the more personal.

She'd attempted to corrupt his pupil with the same gimmick she was bribing Bottle Battlers with now to fill B-DACT's ranks.

She'd made Cota doubt his ability and license to have fun, making him back out of Bottle Battling.

An angered Ponta was a formidable Citrus.

So no, Ponta/Citrus wasn't staring at Cota with sour green eyes of a dragon released. His stare was meant for Machiko and Leo and Haku for throwing everything into chaos. Registering Cota's discomfort, he flowed smoothly from stern and serious back to the smile Cota thought he knew. The smile which caused Cota to feel the fizz!

Oh. Cota's tongue was genuinely fizzing with bubbles like he'd guzzled a can of sparkling water. Mitsuya and Iroha were seeing this, right? Ponta was Citrus! And say what, what, what? Cota was thirsting for him on livestream?

A volcano inside him. A comet. Energy. Splash Volcano, Splash Comet, and Splash Volcano Energy!

The echoing eruption, an improvised Square More!

He'd hit the Deluxe Target.

"Ponta, my man!"

Ponta, my man.

Hurry up, world! Coga Cota wanted everyone to stop arguing and get back to having fun! He wanted to fizz battling his man the Bottle King!