A RWU side story one-shot. I was practicing some Kento and this little fic on his life before becoming a Ronin came up. We don't really know what he did before he became friends with the rest of the guys, and he's such a gregarious guy, I thought he'd lead an exciting life, as teenagers go. And I was stupid enough not to have incorporated the fact that Kento does have other friends (actually, lots of friends) into RWU before we actually get to meet them. :sweatdrop:
But, as I commented to one reviewer before, "Demons take precedent over relationships at the moment," and that includes social lives and social circles. Besides, I reasoned that Kento's not really the type to always talk about his friends. They're there when they're there and not there when they're not, and I doubt he'd bring up at a Ronin meeting the success of his latest video game party. Just a hunch.
Note: I'm not describing his friends in great detail, other than 'honorable mentions' cause it's Kento's POV. He knows how his friends act and doesn't need to overanalyze it unless the subject came up. So if you want to know more about his previous social circle, you'll have to wait till they make an appearance in RWU.
Also, if you can't place it, this setting is in the TV series during one of Kento's solo episodes, when he and Rowen were walking the subway tunnels before they were split up by Dais.
"Kiss the Sky"
A RWU side story
By Little Ucchan
The click of armored feet echoed down the subway tunnel; Rowen's, then his own, then Rowen's again. They've only walked for a grand total of two minutes, but already the silence between them was driving Kento insane. Here he was, with the only person he actually knew before the Dynasty invasion, and they had nothing to talk about.
Kento frowned and opened his mouth.
"Not now, Kento," Rowen said.
The Chinese boy promptly shut his mouth with a startled sputter. "How the hell'd you do that?"
"You usually start a conversation after this amount of silence."
Kento huffed and crossed his arms over his chest. "Well excuse me, Mr. Genius, for trying to pass the time."
Rowen didn't say anything more, to the other boy's chagrin. Kento huffed again, blowing air up at his bangs before continuing their trek in silence. It only took a moment more for his mind to wander.
Surprisingly, the first thought his brain latched onto was not Dynasty related at all. Kento himself was shocked at the memory that came to mind of a few months earlier, before the proverbial shit hit the fan, when he was in Atsu's garage, practicing with the rest of his friends the new song Spike had written.
He remembered he had not liked the song in the beginning. It was a divergent from the normal, punk style rock they had been practicing. And since Spike was in one of those nostalgic moods, and he was singing it, he was going to wind up leading the band down one of those softer rock trends for at least the next two weeks. Kento wasn't about to stand for that and he and Danny, his fellow punk rocker in crime, had tried to screw it up with every sharp string and heavy note they could conjure up between the two of them.
But in the end, the soul of the song had won, and Spike's original take on the lyrics had convinced everyone else that there was no other way that song could have been sung. And the way they had first played it, after Kento and Danny stopped being such a bother and followed Spike's initial lead like they were supposed to, was the way they ended up playing it from then on.
Kento smirked, his eyes softening as the song played back in his mind, and he felt the beat of his drums echoing through his body, from his arms to his feet and back up again to his head. A deep rumble emitted from his throat, and what started as a soft hum turned into whispered words that drifted languidly down the tunnel as his mind replayed the memory and his body relived his past.
"Where are you going ruffian? Wind chaser?
Where is your destination, drifter? The stars?
Is it wrong to have no direction? Is it wrong to follow your heart?
They tell me where to go, what to do. They've forgotten what it feels like to fly.
They tell me I am on the road to ruin, because they cannot kiss the sky."
"One of Spike's songs?"
Kento blinked and looked to his left. Rowen had slowed down his gait to walk beside him, and the archer was looking at his companion with curious interest.
Kento scratched the back of his head and looked up at the ceiling. "Uh, yeah. We were practicing, you know, before I had to come here."
Rowen nodded, understanding the boy's meaning. All of them had been doing something, before they had arrived 'here.' "Is it ready?" he asked after a moment.
"To perform?" Kento scoffed at the suggestion, but he remained meek with his next words, even a bit shy. "It's close. We might try it out at The Ringo… one day."
There was a pause from Rowen, and Kento found himself wanting to get out of the spotlight of the conversation as he waited for the archer to say something more. For some reason, the subject of his music life always stirred mixed reactions from him. He was excited enough to ramble on about it, but at the same time very reserved about who he told. Like Rowen, even though the blue-haired boy knew about his hobby already.
Kento was still trying to sort out his thoughts on the subject when Rowen finally smiled, an idea coming to mind. "Hey, maybe when this is over, we can invite the rest of the guys to the club and watch you perform."
"Me? Perform?" Kento shouted in surprise. His voice easily carried down the subway tunnel, and if any Dynasty soldiers had not been aware of their approach by then, they did now.
"Why not?" Rowen demanded, forcing down his impulse to twitch. "You guys are good enough. I've heard you."
"Then you're tone deaf, Rowen, cause when you heard us, we sucked the big one."
"Does it matter?" Kento looked at his companion. Rowen raised an eyebrow in response. "Well does it?"
In his heart, it didn't. In his heart, performing for a live crowd, no matter how small, was all that mattered. He didn't need to tell Rowen that. He knew it.
Satisfied with his point, Rowen picked up his pace, reverting back to his no-nonsense Ronin mode. Still, his voice held a playful edge, remnant of their conversation. "When we find the rest of the guys, I guess I got to tell them that our victory party's already been planned out."
Kento snorted. "Not much of a victory party if I have to work."
"What are you talking about?" Rowen demanded lightly. "You're the one who's going to be having the most fun."
Kento's lips twitched up into a grin as he folded his hands behind his head, just imagining the crowd, the heat of the lights, and his drums. "Yeah. I guess I got the better part of the deal, huh?"
-FIN-
