DAI NISSHOO: HIZASHIBURI DA NE… OGENKI KA?
Bugged, droopy eyes...
That's what Kouya got for not being able to sleep all night. He just lay there, eyes open, with a puzzled expression on his face...
At the breakfast table the following day, his eyes were all puffy, and was yawning so much, you'd think that he absolutely needed to gulp all the air in the room to keep from suffocating. His mom took special notice of this, since it was rare that Kouya would stay up all night for no apparent reason. As with most parents, she was concerned about her son's health and well being, but Mrs. Marino being who she is, couldn't resist putting a dash of subtle humor on some out-of-context parental advice...
"Son…" Mrs. Marino jokingly muses, chuckling. "...I know that Junior High is tough, but you shouldn't have to pull all-nighters just yet... That's what College is for."
"That's not it mom..." was Kouya's rather muffled and ineffectual reply. He didn't get the joke at all... he wasn't paying attention.
"Well, whatever it is," She continues, with a more serious tone in her voice this time. "...don't tax yourself too much, or you'll be sorry… the body has a way of paying back abuse, you know?"
"Yes... I know..."
Kouya stood up from the table. He wasn't able to eat any breakfast at all. He just picked up a sweet pear from the fruit dish on the table and walked or rather, stumbled towards the door. Again his mother blocked the path.
"Young man, you're not leaving this house until you eat something more substantial..."
Already used to this situation, Kouya reluctantly returns to the table, grabs a handful of the vinegar-laced rice balls and downed them all in one sitting. There were several grains stuck in his face, much like before.
"I'm leaving now..." mutters a still-sleepy Kouya.
"Later, son... remember what I told you about self-abuse… you'll get sick if you keep that up..."
The door slowly shutting was the only response that met her little reminder. Mrs. Marino sighs from frustration.
Outside, while slowly munching on the sweet pear, Kouya took out the challenge note from his pocket and reread it several times. He was dozing on and off while reading that he failed to notice that he wasn't going forward anymore, and that the letter was already lodged in his face… but still he unconsciously took steps in a futile effort to keep moving. A gargantuan individual blocked his path, in the person of Jirou Horiza.
"Kouya? Is that you? Why are you pushing me?"
"Hmmmmm?"
Kouya looked up when he heard a voice, but his eyes were closed. His facial expression was eerily blank, akin to that of a zombie. Jirou then proceeds to give his little friend a rather rude awakening… by shouting close to his ear.
"EARTH TO MARINO!!! WAKE UP!!!"
"Huh...? Wah...?" Reality slowly dawns to the still-drowsy boy. He can barely make out who shouted at him since he was still teary-eyed from all that yawning. He begrudgingly rubs his eyes and looks again...
"Oh… it's just you, Jirou..."
"JUST ME? That's a rather... um... NICE way to greet me a good morning, Kouya..." Jirou retorts sarcastically with a grin, whilst cracking his knuckles.
The popping sounds instantly jumpstarted Kouya as if by reflex, and he sheepishly smiles and slightly raises his hands in a defensive gesture. Jirou's tried-and-tested "Bully-Style Intimidation Approach" worked it's magic on him yet again, as usual.
"There... you back with us now?"
"Yeah..." Kouya replies, yawning. "I just wasn't able to sleep last night..."
Jirou kept on poking fun at him as they walked on to school.
"Well, how could you, especially since you're the only weirdo who got the lowest mark in the Literature exam?"
"Oh, for goodness sakes..." Kouya exclaims, slapping his forehead in exasperation. "...Won't you people let it go!?"
"Heh... It's the price of fame, Kouya..." Jirou wisecracks. "Why don't you take after what I do? I have pretty decent grades in all of my subjects, and I still go to baseball club, and then Crush Gear practice... my Raging Bullet is in good condition these days, much like myself. I'm able to balance all of my activities as best I can."
"Ah, save it..." Kouya wearily replies.
"Anyway, why didn't you sleep? Make-up Exams aren't for another week or so. I didn't figure you for the studious type... hahaha..."
Kouya bit his lip. That was a rather low verbal blow, but he held his ground and did not react. He can still remember the instances that Jirou gave him a whopper of a punch two years back. It was no picnic, and now that Jirou was bigger then ever before, well... you get the idea...
"It wasn't about studying..." Kouya clarifies, handing the note to Jirou. "I got this weird challenge letter yesterday in the clubhouse, and it's gotten me beat. I have absolutely no idea who sent it to me."
"Let me see..." Jirou reads on, and examines the letter left and right. He hands it back to Kouya and suddenly bursts out laughing.
"WHAT'S SO FUNNY!?!" Kouya angrily grills, veins popping on his forehead one after the other.
In between chuckles, Jirou responds: "It's a girl, Kouya. You've just been challenged by a girl… that's the funny part."
"Gah... Kaoru pointed that out to me that already... tell me something I don't know."
Try as he might to figure out who it was, Jirou also comes up blank.
"Who it is? Heh, you got me... But the fact that it's a girl really had me going back there. Remember the time you had to fight Momo What's-Her-Face in the Illusion Cup?"
"Yeah, but I only did it to get Kaoru back from them. Given the choice, I wouldn't want to do it again... it still feels awkward to fight with girls."
"So, what are you going to do? You'll just back out then?"
"That's the thing... I want to back out, but at the same time, I don't... Not till I find out who it is..."
Jirou gives Kouya a puzzled look and a shrug preceding his vague answer.
They eventually reach the school campus. Kouya and Jirou part ways near the entrance, for it was still early, and he had the usual baseball practice to attend first. Since nothing else really caught his fancy as much as Gear Fighting, Kouya did not sign up for any club in school. So in the mornings, he just sat in his desk, waiting for the first class to start. Now, he couldn't wait for it all to end. His patience was thinning way before it should...
"I want to get to the bottom of this once and for all..." He thought to himself repeatedly.
The duration of class almost felt like a blur. Before he knew it, it was already a quarter to 4. Seeing that it was almost time, Kouya ran like crazy to the school exit, stopping only to change to his outdoor shoes. Afterwards, he kept on running.
Meanwhile, Kaoru was also rushing while making several calls with her recently acquired mobile phone. She informed everyone: Jirou, Kuroudo, Kyosuke, and even Takeshi, to come to the clubhouse immediately. She also let Lilika in on the situation even if she was not able to go. As a force of habit, Kaoru always gave Lilika some updates on the daily goings-on in the Tobita Club, especially the challenge match-ups that Kouya constantly took part in.
Kouya was the first to arrive. He rested a bit to catch his breath, and proceeded to open the door. The clubhouse was dark like yesterday, and it seemed to him that no one was there yet.
He was wrong. Very, very wrong.
Inside the arena, there was a shadow standing on the left shoot-in point. This shadow was somewhat petite, exuding an aura of gracefulness that unnerved Kouya yet again.
"It's been a long time, Kouya," said a familiar voice.
Kouya could not believe his ears. Suddenly, he knew... "No... It can't be... my challenger is..."
As if on cue, all of the lights suddenly went on. Kouya was face to face with his challenger, whom he last seen watching him among the crowds in the Crush Gear World Cup Finals...
It was none other than Fuuko, Kouya's old classmate and good friend back in 6th grade. With her was her older brother Shingo, who first taught Kouya how it is to have heart in anything he does... especially towards Gear Fighting.
"Hi there, Kouya..." Shingo greets him with a wink and a thumbs-up. "how have you been?"
~CHAPTER 2 END~
Bugged, droopy eyes...
That's what Kouya got for not being able to sleep all night. He just lay there, eyes open, with a puzzled expression on his face...
At the breakfast table the following day, his eyes were all puffy, and was yawning so much, you'd think that he absolutely needed to gulp all the air in the room to keep from suffocating. His mom took special notice of this, since it was rare that Kouya would stay up all night for no apparent reason. As with most parents, she was concerned about her son's health and well being, but Mrs. Marino being who she is, couldn't resist putting a dash of subtle humor on some out-of-context parental advice...
"Son…" Mrs. Marino jokingly muses, chuckling. "...I know that Junior High is tough, but you shouldn't have to pull all-nighters just yet... That's what College is for."
"That's not it mom..." was Kouya's rather muffled and ineffectual reply. He didn't get the joke at all... he wasn't paying attention.
"Well, whatever it is," She continues, with a more serious tone in her voice this time. "...don't tax yourself too much, or you'll be sorry… the body has a way of paying back abuse, you know?"
"Yes... I know..."
Kouya stood up from the table. He wasn't able to eat any breakfast at all. He just picked up a sweet pear from the fruit dish on the table and walked or rather, stumbled towards the door. Again his mother blocked the path.
"Young man, you're not leaving this house until you eat something more substantial..."
Already used to this situation, Kouya reluctantly returns to the table, grabs a handful of the vinegar-laced rice balls and downed them all in one sitting. There were several grains stuck in his face, much like before.
"I'm leaving now..." mutters a still-sleepy Kouya.
"Later, son... remember what I told you about self-abuse… you'll get sick if you keep that up..."
The door slowly shutting was the only response that met her little reminder. Mrs. Marino sighs from frustration.
Outside, while slowly munching on the sweet pear, Kouya took out the challenge note from his pocket and reread it several times. He was dozing on and off while reading that he failed to notice that he wasn't going forward anymore, and that the letter was already lodged in his face… but still he unconsciously took steps in a futile effort to keep moving. A gargantuan individual blocked his path, in the person of Jirou Horiza.
"Kouya? Is that you? Why are you pushing me?"
"Hmmmmm?"
Kouya looked up when he heard a voice, but his eyes were closed. His facial expression was eerily blank, akin to that of a zombie. Jirou then proceeds to give his little friend a rather rude awakening… by shouting close to his ear.
"EARTH TO MARINO!!! WAKE UP!!!"
"Huh...? Wah...?" Reality slowly dawns to the still-drowsy boy. He can barely make out who shouted at him since he was still teary-eyed from all that yawning. He begrudgingly rubs his eyes and looks again...
"Oh… it's just you, Jirou..."
"JUST ME? That's a rather... um... NICE way to greet me a good morning, Kouya..." Jirou retorts sarcastically with a grin, whilst cracking his knuckles.
The popping sounds instantly jumpstarted Kouya as if by reflex, and he sheepishly smiles and slightly raises his hands in a defensive gesture. Jirou's tried-and-tested "Bully-Style Intimidation Approach" worked it's magic on him yet again, as usual.
"There... you back with us now?"
"Yeah..." Kouya replies, yawning. "I just wasn't able to sleep last night..."
Jirou kept on poking fun at him as they walked on to school.
"Well, how could you, especially since you're the only weirdo who got the lowest mark in the Literature exam?"
"Oh, for goodness sakes..." Kouya exclaims, slapping his forehead in exasperation. "...Won't you people let it go!?"
"Heh... It's the price of fame, Kouya..." Jirou wisecracks. "Why don't you take after what I do? I have pretty decent grades in all of my subjects, and I still go to baseball club, and then Crush Gear practice... my Raging Bullet is in good condition these days, much like myself. I'm able to balance all of my activities as best I can."
"Ah, save it..." Kouya wearily replies.
"Anyway, why didn't you sleep? Make-up Exams aren't for another week or so. I didn't figure you for the studious type... hahaha..."
Kouya bit his lip. That was a rather low verbal blow, but he held his ground and did not react. He can still remember the instances that Jirou gave him a whopper of a punch two years back. It was no picnic, and now that Jirou was bigger then ever before, well... you get the idea...
"It wasn't about studying..." Kouya clarifies, handing the note to Jirou. "I got this weird challenge letter yesterday in the clubhouse, and it's gotten me beat. I have absolutely no idea who sent it to me."
"Let me see..." Jirou reads on, and examines the letter left and right. He hands it back to Kouya and suddenly bursts out laughing.
"WHAT'S SO FUNNY!?!" Kouya angrily grills, veins popping on his forehead one after the other.
In between chuckles, Jirou responds: "It's a girl, Kouya. You've just been challenged by a girl… that's the funny part."
"Gah... Kaoru pointed that out to me that already... tell me something I don't know."
Try as he might to figure out who it was, Jirou also comes up blank.
"Who it is? Heh, you got me... But the fact that it's a girl really had me going back there. Remember the time you had to fight Momo What's-Her-Face in the Illusion Cup?"
"Yeah, but I only did it to get Kaoru back from them. Given the choice, I wouldn't want to do it again... it still feels awkward to fight with girls."
"So, what are you going to do? You'll just back out then?"
"That's the thing... I want to back out, but at the same time, I don't... Not till I find out who it is..."
Jirou gives Kouya a puzzled look and a shrug preceding his vague answer.
They eventually reach the school campus. Kouya and Jirou part ways near the entrance, for it was still early, and he had the usual baseball practice to attend first. Since nothing else really caught his fancy as much as Gear Fighting, Kouya did not sign up for any club in school. So in the mornings, he just sat in his desk, waiting for the first class to start. Now, he couldn't wait for it all to end. His patience was thinning way before it should...
"I want to get to the bottom of this once and for all..." He thought to himself repeatedly.
The duration of class almost felt like a blur. Before he knew it, it was already a quarter to 4. Seeing that it was almost time, Kouya ran like crazy to the school exit, stopping only to change to his outdoor shoes. Afterwards, he kept on running.
Meanwhile, Kaoru was also rushing while making several calls with her recently acquired mobile phone. She informed everyone: Jirou, Kuroudo, Kyosuke, and even Takeshi, to come to the clubhouse immediately. She also let Lilika in on the situation even if she was not able to go. As a force of habit, Kaoru always gave Lilika some updates on the daily goings-on in the Tobita Club, especially the challenge match-ups that Kouya constantly took part in.
Kouya was the first to arrive. He rested a bit to catch his breath, and proceeded to open the door. The clubhouse was dark like yesterday, and it seemed to him that no one was there yet.
He was wrong. Very, very wrong.
Inside the arena, there was a shadow standing on the left shoot-in point. This shadow was somewhat petite, exuding an aura of gracefulness that unnerved Kouya yet again.
"It's been a long time, Kouya," said a familiar voice.
Kouya could not believe his ears. Suddenly, he knew... "No... It can't be... my challenger is..."
As if on cue, all of the lights suddenly went on. Kouya was face to face with his challenger, whom he last seen watching him among the crowds in the Crush Gear World Cup Finals...
It was none other than Fuuko, Kouya's old classmate and good friend back in 6th grade. With her was her older brother Shingo, who first taught Kouya how it is to have heart in anything he does... especially towards Gear Fighting.
"Hi there, Kouya..." Shingo greets him with a wink and a thumbs-up. "how have you been?"
~CHAPTER 2 END~