DAI SANSHOO: GAAAN!! MAKECHAUTA!!!
Kouya Marino was still in shock.
As far as he can remember, Fuuko hardly showed ANY sort of interest in Gear Fighting. Only her father and brother were involved with it somewhat, but Fuuko? None whatsoever, or so he thought...
He finally got to ask the question that was running through his head:
"S-s-since when did you get into Gear Fighting, Fuuko?" Kouya inquired skeptically.
"Oh, about a few months after you got you got the World Cup championship..." was Fuuko's no-nonsense reply. "I noticed that there were really very few girls in the Gear Fighting platform, and since you got to where you are now because of your hard work, I thought I'd give it a shot too..."
"And she got pretty good at it, I might add..." Shingo interrupts. "When we moved to Kawasaki, she met some girls in her class in Junior High who were also interested in Crush Gear to the point of fanaticism. They later formed a group, which they christened the 'Amai na Densetsu Gumi', or the Sweet Legends Team."
"So far, we've been winning several tournaments in the Kawasaki Area..." Fuuko continues. "When the next Asian Cup rolls around three years from now, it'll be a cinch to get in!!!"
Kouya is befuddled. "How come I've never heard of this Sweet Legends Team?"
"Our website is still under construction..." Fuuko responds with a smile. She then points to her brother. "Aniki is doing everything he can to promote our team, but despite the fact that we're pretty active in tournaments, the rest of the Gear Fighting community doesn't expect much from us. That's why we were never featured in any magazine articles whatsoever."
"Anyway..." Fuuko adds. "I want to know if I'm really Asian Cup material, and the best way to do that is to match wits with you, Kouya... that, and... um... I really wanted to see you again."
Kouya cannot help but blush. "Oh... um... uh... well then, I'll prep up my Garuda Phoenix and be on with it... just give me a sec..."
Kouya digs into his Gear Carrying case and brings out his Garuda Phoenix, fiddles with it a bit, then ascends the shoot-in point opposite Fuuko. He still could not believe it: Fuuko was now into Crush Gear? He wonders if he should go easy on her a bit...
Then, as if reading his mind, Fuuko calls out to him: "Don't hold back on my account, Kouya... I can hold my own in any Gear Fight... I'll really be disappointed if you lose on purpose..." She ends saying this with a wink.
Shingo proceeds to the middle part of the arena. "I'll act as the referee here... We'll have best two out of three rounds, and each round will last three minutes… ring out spells instant loss... Gear Fighters, set up..."
Kouya's mind was racing with conflict. Despite the fact that Fuuko had told him not to hold back in the match, he really wanted to... "Perhaps this was the reason why this is so awkward..." Kouya thought to himself. Nonetheless, he sets up for a normal release...
On the other side, Fuuko positioned her Gear in her left hand and readied for a rather peculiar release... Her right hand was on her hip, while her left hand was raised beside her head, almost as if she was waving...
Finally, after a few tense moments, Shingo signals the start of the first round.
"...Ready... GO!!!"
The buzzer sounds, and the timer starts, counting the first few seconds. Kouya and Fuuko threw their respective Gears in the arena at almost the exact same time.
"GARUDA PHOENIX!!!"
"STRIDING UNISUS!!"
Kouya, caught off guard, dropped on the floor. "Wha-what kind of name is that?"
"You like it?" Fuuko asks, rather amused at Kouya's odd reaction. "I named it after two of my favorite mythical beasts… the Unicorn and Pegasus. "
"Uh... I see..." mutters a freaked out Kouya.
The two gears circle each other. Because Kouya acted rather hesitantly, the Garuda Phoenix did the same. Both Gears size each other up, moving around the center of the arena at half speed. None of them seemed to take the initiative to attack. The whole thing was comparable to a dance...
As all this is going on, Fuuko continues with her team's etymological origins...
"Our team was called as such because aside from being a team composed of cute little girls, we're also big fans of mythology... All of our Gears are named after wondrous creatures of myth, and since I was the standout among the group, I was allowed to represent two creatures rolled into one. Allow me to show you why... STRIDING UNISUS, ATTACK!!"
In response to the sudden command, Fuuko's gear suddenly charged towards the Garuda Phoenix. Because of the lack of stability brought about by constantly moving in a circular fashion, it was bumped out of the arena with the greatest of ease. The Garuda Pheonix landed on the outside perimeter overturned, it's motor gradually dying down until it finally stops after a few painful seconds…
Kouya could not believe his eyes. He never had a chance to act. It was all a blur.
"Uh... I... I... don't believe it..."
"Ring out!!" Shingo cries, raising his hand. "Winner: Fuuko!!"
At that very same moment, Kaoru burst into the door, with everyone else in tow. They were all surprised to find Fuuko, of all people, in the arena, but not half as surprised as Kouya was when he got beaten without a fight... like some inexperienced greenhorn.
The first round was over, and Kouya had lost. The counter displayed 2:53.66, which means that it only took her approximately 7 seconds to beat him.
"This can't be happening…"Kouya thought to himself. He could not take it… As he looked at Fuuko, there was a noticeable change in her body language, especially in her eyes. He had to face reality: This was no longer the Fuuko he once knew.
She was now an up-and-coming Gear fighter, and she just won a round against the current champion.
"Tee hee..." giggles an amused Fuuko. "I told you not to go easy on me... Don't say I didn't warn you..."
Kyosuke, who was behind the newly arrived audience, adjusts his glasses and gives a no-nonsense quip: "As usual, Kouya made himself look bad... remember when he fought with that girl's brother?"
"I HEARD THAT!!" Kouya calls from the arena, rattling Kyosuke and making him lose his train of thought.
Takeshi, who was unfamiliar with the situation, cannot help but shrug. Kuroudo silently concurs with Kyosuke's statement, and Jirou tries to give Kouya a bit of a morale boost.
"Come on, Kouya!! That was just a lucky shot!! You'll surely get her in the next round!!"
Kouya himself was beginning to have doubts... the situation is pretty grim, considering that he never even got to act in the previous round. If that happens again... it's all over.
"Can I really win this...?"
~CHAPTER 3 END~
Kouya Marino was still in shock.
As far as he can remember, Fuuko hardly showed ANY sort of interest in Gear Fighting. Only her father and brother were involved with it somewhat, but Fuuko? None whatsoever, or so he thought...
He finally got to ask the question that was running through his head:
"S-s-since when did you get into Gear Fighting, Fuuko?" Kouya inquired skeptically.
"Oh, about a few months after you got you got the World Cup championship..." was Fuuko's no-nonsense reply. "I noticed that there were really very few girls in the Gear Fighting platform, and since you got to where you are now because of your hard work, I thought I'd give it a shot too..."
"And she got pretty good at it, I might add..." Shingo interrupts. "When we moved to Kawasaki, she met some girls in her class in Junior High who were also interested in Crush Gear to the point of fanaticism. They later formed a group, which they christened the 'Amai na Densetsu Gumi', or the Sweet Legends Team."
"So far, we've been winning several tournaments in the Kawasaki Area..." Fuuko continues. "When the next Asian Cup rolls around three years from now, it'll be a cinch to get in!!!"
Kouya is befuddled. "How come I've never heard of this Sweet Legends Team?"
"Our website is still under construction..." Fuuko responds with a smile. She then points to her brother. "Aniki is doing everything he can to promote our team, but despite the fact that we're pretty active in tournaments, the rest of the Gear Fighting community doesn't expect much from us. That's why we were never featured in any magazine articles whatsoever."
"Anyway..." Fuuko adds. "I want to know if I'm really Asian Cup material, and the best way to do that is to match wits with you, Kouya... that, and... um... I really wanted to see you again."
Kouya cannot help but blush. "Oh... um... uh... well then, I'll prep up my Garuda Phoenix and be on with it... just give me a sec..."
Kouya digs into his Gear Carrying case and brings out his Garuda Phoenix, fiddles with it a bit, then ascends the shoot-in point opposite Fuuko. He still could not believe it: Fuuko was now into Crush Gear? He wonders if he should go easy on her a bit...
Then, as if reading his mind, Fuuko calls out to him: "Don't hold back on my account, Kouya... I can hold my own in any Gear Fight... I'll really be disappointed if you lose on purpose..." She ends saying this with a wink.
Shingo proceeds to the middle part of the arena. "I'll act as the referee here... We'll have best two out of three rounds, and each round will last three minutes… ring out spells instant loss... Gear Fighters, set up..."
Kouya's mind was racing with conflict. Despite the fact that Fuuko had told him not to hold back in the match, he really wanted to... "Perhaps this was the reason why this is so awkward..." Kouya thought to himself. Nonetheless, he sets up for a normal release...
On the other side, Fuuko positioned her Gear in her left hand and readied for a rather peculiar release... Her right hand was on her hip, while her left hand was raised beside her head, almost as if she was waving...
Finally, after a few tense moments, Shingo signals the start of the first round.
"...Ready... GO!!!"
The buzzer sounds, and the timer starts, counting the first few seconds. Kouya and Fuuko threw their respective Gears in the arena at almost the exact same time.
"GARUDA PHOENIX!!!"
"STRIDING UNISUS!!"
Kouya, caught off guard, dropped on the floor. "Wha-what kind of name is that?"
"You like it?" Fuuko asks, rather amused at Kouya's odd reaction. "I named it after two of my favorite mythical beasts… the Unicorn and Pegasus. "
"Uh... I see..." mutters a freaked out Kouya.
The two gears circle each other. Because Kouya acted rather hesitantly, the Garuda Phoenix did the same. Both Gears size each other up, moving around the center of the arena at half speed. None of them seemed to take the initiative to attack. The whole thing was comparable to a dance...
As all this is going on, Fuuko continues with her team's etymological origins...
"Our team was called as such because aside from being a team composed of cute little girls, we're also big fans of mythology... All of our Gears are named after wondrous creatures of myth, and since I was the standout among the group, I was allowed to represent two creatures rolled into one. Allow me to show you why... STRIDING UNISUS, ATTACK!!"
In response to the sudden command, Fuuko's gear suddenly charged towards the Garuda Phoenix. Because of the lack of stability brought about by constantly moving in a circular fashion, it was bumped out of the arena with the greatest of ease. The Garuda Pheonix landed on the outside perimeter overturned, it's motor gradually dying down until it finally stops after a few painful seconds…
Kouya could not believe his eyes. He never had a chance to act. It was all a blur.
"Uh... I... I... don't believe it..."
"Ring out!!" Shingo cries, raising his hand. "Winner: Fuuko!!"
At that very same moment, Kaoru burst into the door, with everyone else in tow. They were all surprised to find Fuuko, of all people, in the arena, but not half as surprised as Kouya was when he got beaten without a fight... like some inexperienced greenhorn.
The first round was over, and Kouya had lost. The counter displayed 2:53.66, which means that it only took her approximately 7 seconds to beat him.
"This can't be happening…"Kouya thought to himself. He could not take it… As he looked at Fuuko, there was a noticeable change in her body language, especially in her eyes. He had to face reality: This was no longer the Fuuko he once knew.
She was now an up-and-coming Gear fighter, and she just won a round against the current champion.
"Tee hee..." giggles an amused Fuuko. "I told you not to go easy on me... Don't say I didn't warn you..."
Kyosuke, who was behind the newly arrived audience, adjusts his glasses and gives a no-nonsense quip: "As usual, Kouya made himself look bad... remember when he fought with that girl's brother?"
"I HEARD THAT!!" Kouya calls from the arena, rattling Kyosuke and making him lose his train of thought.
Takeshi, who was unfamiliar with the situation, cannot help but shrug. Kuroudo silently concurs with Kyosuke's statement, and Jirou tries to give Kouya a bit of a morale boost.
"Come on, Kouya!! That was just a lucky shot!! You'll surely get her in the next round!!"
Kouya himself was beginning to have doubts... the situation is pretty grim, considering that he never even got to act in the previous round. If that happens again... it's all over.
"Can I really win this...?"
~CHAPTER 3 END~