Scenario 2: More Than Just an Apprentice
"Oh~ Looks like it's almost time~ " Ramuda said after the announcement echoed all through out.
"Well, we should head to our waiting rooms by this point." Jakurai said. He then looked at Ichiro. "I'm looking forward to our battle, Ichiro-kun."
Ichiro nodded. "Sure thing, Jakurai-san!"
Samatoki was about to leave too before leaving a message.
"Well bastard, you have to get through "MAD TRIGGER CREW" first!" Samatoki yelled at Ichiro with the latter not responding.
One by one, the other teams left, leaving "Buster Bros!" and Yuuto.
"Nii-chan, they said it's about to start, let's go!" Jiro said, but he still had something to say. "Still, that Samatoki Aohitsugi… Talking to Nii-chan like that… It really pisses me off." He said with a frustrated face.
"It doesn't faze me." The oldest brother pointed out. "That's why, Jiro, no matter what anyone says, you shouldn't be bothered by it either." He continued.
Jiro then looked amazed at the statement. "That's just like Nii-chan…! I'm definitely gonna become as great as a man as you!" He stated. But as soon as he did, Saburo spoke up.
"Jiro, it doesn't matter if you're mad or not about what Samatoki Aohitsugi said, but you should stop acting in a way that makes Ichi-nii look bad." Saburo pointed out.
Yuuto looking at the younger Yamada brothers looked sort of concerned. 'Uh oh…'
Jiro looked pissed. "Huh? When'd I do something to make Nii-chan look bad?"
"There's no way Ichi-nii would ever take that guy's words seriously." Saburo answered Jiro's question. "You talk too much to Ichi-nii without knowing a thing. That's why I hate brainless dolts." He continued.
The face of the middle brother grew more and more mad at the little brother with each word that comes out of the latter's mouth.
"What'd you say…?!" Jiro threatened.
"A person who growls back at the growling dog is on the same level as the dog! It's just like you!" Saburo retaliated.
"Saburo…! Bastard...! As soon as you open your mouth…!" Jiro growled. After then, he grabs Saburo as if he was gonna actually punch him.
Yuuto still standing there, scrambled his thoughts on what to do. After all, this is Chuuoku. 'Oh no… What can I do…? They're gonna hurt themselves if this atmosphere keeps up…'
"There's no way I'mma let that slide! I'll show you who's the better of us here!" Jiro yelled.
"Oh, just you try it! But, I don't think a brainless dolt who resorts to violence could ever beat me." Saburo yelled back at Jiro.
Just as a fight was about to erupt, Ichiro stepped in.
"Jiro, Saburo!" He yelled before he hit the top of Jiro and Saburo's heads. Needless to say, both stopped the physical throw down before it became worse.
"Ow!" "Ouch!" The 2 of them yelled in pain. Yuuto sighed in relief.
"You guys, we're finally here, so don't go starting a fight here now!" Ichiro said towards his brothers. "Jiro, Saburo- I'm happy that the both of you are thinking about how I feel."
"Nii-chan…" Jiro mumbled.
"Ichi-nii…" Saburo mumbled.
"But, right now, instead of thinking about others, think about yourselves." Ichiro continued. "How you're going to fight in the upcoming battle, what kind of rap you want to show- focus on that. Got it?"
"Nii-chan… Yeah, I understand." Jiro nods as he said so.
"I'll remember that, Ichi-nii." Saburo also agrees.
"Yeah, that's right my little brothers!" Ichiro said. "Right… Now, that's been said…" He said as he turns to Yuuto again. "I have to clarify who exactly this person is."
Yuuto overheard what Ichiro said. "Wh-What…? What do you mean by that…?"
Ichiro clarified his statement. "Hey, Yuuto. You said DJ ROKURO was your master, right?" He asked and Yuuto nodded. "Yes…"
"But, rumors had it that DJ ROKURO wouldn't be taking on any apprentices." Ichiro stated. "What kind of relationship do you have?" He continued. Yuuto looked confused at the statement. 'Huh…?'
"You…" Jiro went closer to the conversation. "Don't tell me you didn't just come up with something in order to get close to Nii-chan. Cause if that's the case, don't think you'll get away with it!" He declared as he went closer to Yuuto.
"I don't like agreeing with Jiro, but if you want to get close to Ichi-nii," Saburo also approached the 15-year old. "I'm not going to just let that happen. Don't you have any verification that you really are his apprentice?" He continued.
Yuuto saw that he was backed into a corner, physically and truthfully. What can he prove? All he can do is say so.
"I'm not lying…" Yuuto mumbled out loud.
"If you're not lying, prove it." Jiro argued. "After all, it's easy to just say whatever you want." He continued.
"I'm… I really am his apprentice…!" Yuuto retaliated.
"If you really want to make a case for yourself, throwing back the words said to you isn't how you do it." Saburo argued. "I said we need verification."
Yuuto looked defeated. He never expected someone who's just a year younger than him get this hard into his thinking. After a bit, he just doesn't know what to say or show to them. It was then Ichiro stepped in again.
"Hey, you 2 sound like you're ganging up on him. After all I was the one who came up to them in the first place." Ichiro said towards his brothers.
"That…" Saburo hesitated for a bit. "That might be true, but…"
Ichiro reassured. "Right? He wasn't the one that approached first, so don't go accusing him like that."
Jiro meanwhile, looked defeated at Ichiro's words. "Ugh… G-Got it, Nii-chan."
Ichiro then approached Yuuto after letting go of some of the tense air. "So then, do you have some time?"
Yuuto looked hesitant at first but thought the decision through. "Yes, I have some time."
"Well then, let's chat." Ichiro said.
"Well… For a start… Why are you asking about Ma- I mean, DJ ROKURO?" Yuuto asked.
"I'm DJ ROKURO's… ah, Doudantsutsuji-san's acquaintance." Ichiro answered. "It was around 3 years ago. I went to an anime festival and Doudantsutsuji-san was the DJ there." He continued.
This raised an interesting question for Yuuto, in terms of Ichiro's personality. It may be the same festival he went to. 'Just want to make sure…'
"Ichiro-san, do you like anime?" Yuuto asked.
"Yeah, I love anime! The songs from that time really got stuck in my head…" Ichiro answered for a bit before asking Yuuto a surprising question. "W-Wait, were you there too?"
Yuuto smiled a bit. 'It seems like it's the same festival.' He chuckled a little bit before answering. "I was, but I don't remember seeing you among the crowd." He continued with more. "Although I don't watch anime as much now, I had some songs that Master played."
The talk went for a while. Yuuto would point out some impressive mixing and scratching skills from his master and Ichiro talking about the songs in general and some stuff about the selection of songs. Yuuto then felt some comfort while talking to Ichiro, something that he hasn't felt in what felt in forever.
"Right? Remember the next song too?" Ichiro asked.
"Yes. It was a surprising choice too. It didn't feel like it could be the next song, but I guess the fade and scratch mixes made it possible." Yuuto answered.
"Wow… Looks like you notice things like that…" Ichiro said in awe. "Still… I didn't think that they'd be playing that there…" He continued.
While the 2 were talking, Jiro was just there standing listening to the conversation with a slight hint of frustration on his face while Saburo looked quite annoyed.
"...Jiro." Saburo called out.
"...What." Jiro responded. Saburo then looked like he's furious. "It's your fault, Yuuto is hogging all of Ichi-nii's attention cause of you! How are you gonna fix this?!"
"HA?! How's it my fault?!" Jiro yelled out loud towards Saburo.
"It's cause you started going off on him, Ichi-nii got even more interested in him!" Saburo retaliated.
"Aren't you the same?! Asking if they had "verification" or something… Using hard words like that!" Jiro argued.
"Hah! If you think "verification" is difficult, then you're definitely an idiot beyond help, Jiro." Saburo pointed out.
"What was that…?!-Hey, no goin' off topic! We should be talking about him, not me!" Jiro said.
"Ichi-nii's interested in him because you're just too stupid… That must be it!" Saburo pointed out silently, but fortunately, Jiro overheard the statement.
"I can hear you Saburo! What kinda trash you spouting?!" Jiro yelled out.
At that point, Yuuto overheard Saburo's statement before Jiro shouted and pointed out to Ichiro. "Uhhhh… They're fighting again…" Yuuto pointed towards Jiro and Saburo as he said. Ichiro then went to them to dissolve another fight.
"Hey, you two. Are you arguing again?" Ichiro said. "Give it a rest-" He was interrupted by Jiro.
"Nii-chan! The anime festival you're talking 'bout is the one from the videos you showed me, right?" Jiro asked.
"Oh, glad you remembered!" Ichiro smiled. Yuuto moved closer to the conversation for the sake of having a presence. "That's right, they played songs from the anime you like, so I said you should watch it." Ichiro continued.
Jiro nodded. "And then we started talking about DJ ROKURO, so I…" He was then interrupted by Saburo trying to get Ichiro's attention. "...Ichi-nii! I want to see the video too." Saburo asked.
"Oh, I'm glad you're interested in it! Then, I'll tell you the name of the festival later." Ichiro said. But Saburo looked like he wanted it now.
"I can check it out now! We can watch videos from my phone." Saburo assured. And at the sidelines, Yuuto checked his own pocket. 'Yup. My phone is still in my pocket…'
"Huh? I don't think you have to watch it right now, but…" Ichiro wondered first before answering. "Well, why not. The name of the festival is Anime Festival 00 ~Twilight Party~. Can you find it with that?" After Ichiro said the festival's name, Saburo typed the name into his search and the a video about the festival appeared first in his screen. "Ah! Got it!"
"Yeah, that's the one." Ichiro clarified.
While Saburo was scrolling through the video, Jiro brought the real topic to the talk.
"H-Hey, Nii-chan." Jiro called out.
"What's up?" Ichiro asked him.
"I don't think that I can trust this guy after all." Jiro said. Yuuto looked surprised. "Because I did some research too! About DJ ROKURO…" Jiro continued.
'O-Oh… I guess Master's more popular than I thought… And here it is to bite me back.' Yuuto thought.
"I looked into DJ ROKURO and all, but I've never heard a thing about his apprentice." Jiro stated. "As I see it, I think they're just trying to get close to you Nii-chan." He continued.
"I definitely haven't heard of any apprentice." Ichiro also pointed out the same point. "I've talked with Doudantsutsuji-san several times as well. I've never heard of this person's name."
"Then…!" Jiro was then interrupted by Ichiro.
"Then again, that guy doesn't talk much about himself much. He likes to talk about music though." Ichiro contradicted. "That's why I'm not sure if this person's telling the truth or not."
Yuuto overheard the statement. 'I do like music! It's just…'
Saburo then invaded the conversation. "…Jiro, did you really look him up?"
Jiro looks at Saburo with a questionable look.
"If you've really looked him up, then you must suck doing so." Saburo said. "You can find info on this person online."
"Really?" Ichiro and Yuuto asked in surprise. Ichiro for the fact info exists on Yuuto. And Yuuto for the fact that he's surprised that the media knows about him. Saburo then showed Ichiro his phone.
"Here - it says that DJ ROKURO took a kid under his wing, Ichi-nii." Saburo started to explain. "It's not as in-person with him per se, but… Someone close to him, connected through music, mentions it in a different interview."
"...Heh, then it looks like they're really referring to Yuuto." Ichiro looked at the screen and read the article. ""He doesn't know that DJ ROKURO doesn't really want to be known as a 'master', but he still calls him his apprentice" …huh." Ichiro read out loud.
"If you're gonna say you've done the research, at least find an article like this, Jiro." Saburo faced Jiro as he said this.
"Ugh… Then, it's my bad." Jiro apologized. "For calling you a liar."
"Yuuto." Ichiro called towards the boy. "I apologize as well, so forgive me. It was wrong of me to question your ties to Doudantsutsuji-san like that." He apologized.
"Jiro-san, Ichiro-san, it's okay so don't worry about it." Yuuto said. But then he looked at Saburo too. "Thank you too, Saburo-san."
"...Eh? What did I do?" Saburo asks.
"Well, I didn't know about Master's interviews, so in a way I have to thank you." Yuuto explained with Saburo just staying silent before mumbling out. "…Alright…"
Saburo then cleared his throat. "Ichi-nii, we're over talking about this now, right?"
"Y-Yeah. Seems so." Ichiro agreed.
"Now that we know who Yuuto is, we're done with him now. Let's head to the waiting room-" Saburo was then interrupted by Ichiro.
"Now, don't be in such a rush." He said. "They said we've got 30 minutes left, so that's still 30 minutes to spend."
Saburo looked hesitant to argue. "Yeah… But…"
"Then let's talk a little more with Yuuto." Ichiro added to his original statement. "It was fun to talk about anime festivals. And I have a lot of respect for DJ ROKURO. He performs for a lot of events as a DJ, not just anime festivals, and his skills are the real deal. I want to hear more about him from this apprentice of his."
"...If you say so, Ichi-nii." Saburo said as he continued to stand in defeat.
"By the way, I'm guessing from the article, but is Doudantsutsuji-san your foster parent?" Ichiro asks Yuuto. The latter then jerked his head up a little bit after hearing about the question.
"...It's something like that." Yuuto responded as he fiddled with his headphones.
"What do you mean by "something"?" Jiro asks.
"He… He doesn't really act like much of a parent…" Yuuto explained.
"Hmm… So it's not the smoothest of relationships?" Saburo wonders.
"...Not really…" Yuuto mumbled.
"Looks like you've got a story to tell." Ichiro notices. "If it's okay with you, tell us more about it."
Yuuto looks at the "Buster Bros!" before thinking and telling them about his past. 'They don't look bad…'
"Alright. I'll share." Yuuto said.
"I'm a war orphan for as long as I remember. I don't remember anything about my family or any relatives or even if I had some in the first place, that's why "Yuuto" is my only name. The last thing I remembered was waking up near the streets and around later was when I met Master."
"...I see. A war orphan, huh?" Ichiro restated.
"Then, what were you doing before DJ ROKURO took you in?" Jiro asks.
"I don't remember the things before I woke up on the street, even though my memories on that part are blurry right now, but I survived by myself at that point." Yuuto explained.
"...Eh? By yourself…?" Saburo asked. And Yuuto nodded.
There was a short silence in the air before Ichiro spoke out.
"I'm sorry for bringing back some painful memories." Ichiro apologized. "But now I understand… Why Doudantsutsuji-san started taking care of you."
"When Nii-chan asked if he was your foster parent, you reacted kinda strangely…" Jiro pointed out. Yuuto jerked his head a little bit before he started fiddling with his finger-less gloves. "Hey, are you okay…?" He called out to Yuuto to ask, but Saburo furiously looked at him.
"Jiro. That's probably something that they don't want to talk about. I think…" Saburo said.
"I-It's okay." Yuuto stuttered.
"Jiro, Saburo." Ichiro called out to his brothers. "Didn't I say I know DJ ROKURO?" He then continues.
"Though it seems like he's unapproachable, once you talk to him, you'll realize that he's a good ol' guy. That's why, I don't think you need to worry about that."
"I wasn't worried…" Jiro mumbled.
"Y-Yeah. We just met Yuuto, so it's not like…" Saburo mumbled out loud.
The 2 stayed silent in emotional defeat, Yuuto noticing. 'Did they care for me…? Maybe…? Are they the same…? That's likely.' Yuuto then smiled a little without anyone noticing. Ichiro then laughed for the 2 brothers.
"Haha! You two are so kind." Ichiro pointed out. "I know how you felt when you hear about Yuuto's situation." Jiro and Saburo didn't respond while Ichiro looked at Yuuto again.
"I've got an idea as to why you were hesitant when I asked if he was your foster parent." Ichiro said. "Doudantsutsuji-san doesn't meddle in your life too much. Kinda like he tells you to just do what you want, right? But, he'll help you out when you're in real trouble. Right?" He explained.
"...That's right…" Yuuto mumbled out loud.
"If it seems like that even a little, then that must be how it is. I'm sure of it…" Jiro said.
'Wait…' Yuuto thought. Then his face changed to a shocked expression.
"H-How d-did you know?!" Yuuto yelled for the first time in the entire conversation between him and "Buster Bros!".
"Of course Ichi-nii knows…" Saburo explained. "…Ichi-nii is like a parent to the both of us."
"Well, it's not like the situations Doudantsutsuji-san and I have are the same." Ichiro explained. "But I can understand how he feels."
"I think that guy's a proper parent to you, huh?" He continued. "And since you're calling yourself Doudantsutsuji-san's apprentice, you look up to him, don't you?"
"Yeah, you a DJ? You must be since you're his apprentice, right?" Jiro asks.
"Well..." Yuuto was about to say something, but decided not to.
"Still, I haven't heard your name anywhere…" Saburo said.
"That's why they're still an"'apprentice"." Ichiro added. "There's still learning to be a DJ."
"It wasn't in the article earlier, but I don't think Doudantsutsuji-san would actually accept an apprentice." Ichiro continued. "Are you just calling yourself that?" He asked Yuuto and all of a sudden he turns away for a bit before admitting.
"I-It's embarrassing to admit but…" Yuuto sort of mumbled out before Saburo told him something.
"It's nothing to be embarrassed about." Saburo said. Yuuto then looked at him. "Having someone they look up to… Even I have someone like that."
"Saburo-san…" Yuuto mumbled out before silently saying "…Thank you…"
"What?" Saburo asked if he heard something before Yuuto stuttered saying that it was nothing at all.
Yuuto then overheard a small group of girls down the hallway.
"Huh? Aren't those guys over there…"
"Aren't they "Buster Bros!"?"
"Should we talk to them?"
"There's a group over down the hall…" Yuuto pointed out.
"Really? Well then, let's walk and talk." Ichiro stated.
Another part of Chuuoku, "MAD TRIGGER CREW" were on their way to their waiting room…
"Tch. Just wait Ichiro, your ass is gonna get beaten…" Samatoki growled.
"Samatoki, save your energy when the match actually starts." Jyuto advised.
"Shut it, damn cop." Samatoki growled.
"I would listen to the glasses guy if I were you," A voice boomed.
"Huh? Who's that?" Rio wonders.
"After all, I would love to see your ass get beaten by someone else this time." The source of the voice appeared.
It was a boy in a blue scarf and some sort of clothing that resembles a school uniform, the most prominent feature of his is that he has red markings at the bottom of his face.
"You…!" Samatoki growled at the boy.
"Woah… Calm down "Mr. Hardcore". I know you're extreme but don't do it here." The boy explained. "You remembered what happened the last time you did so, don't you?" The boy continued.
"Samatoki, you know this boy?" Jyuto asks.
"...It's none of your damn business, Jyuto." Samatoki said. "Why are you fucking here?" Samatoki stares down at the boy.
"Just finding a place to watch the semi-finals." The boy doesn't look back at Samatoki and walks past him, Jyuto and Rio. Before he leaves their sight of view, he stops.
"Oh, and just a little update: I have a new speaker. Way more powerful than before." He declared. Samatoki glares at him as he said that.
"See ya, Aohitsugi." The boy left.
"Samatoki, who in the world was that?" Jyuto asks.
"Didn't I say it's none of your damn business?!" Samatoki yelled.
"Samatoki, calm down." Rio said. "Although that boy gave quite the stand down towards Samatoki… I have respect for him."
"I have to agree." Jyuto said. "But there must've been an event that happened."
"Whatever. All you have to know about that fucking brat is that I hate him." Samatoki said. 'Good fucking God that he doesn't have a team yet.'