Tin Pin Turnabout:
A Sauce Project Production
By EeveeGen9988 and Chronic Guardian
[Shibuya Operation - Story Storm]
Chapter 2: Launch
…
Although the year-round climate control that came with being a Kiryu made anything seem extreme by comparison, winter in Shibuya always managed to out stay its welcome surprisingly fast. To Rueban, it was kind of like the charm of his adoring public: novel for the first few moments, then regrettably inconveniencing for the rest. And yet, he treated both with the same patience and aplomb expected of his station. He stood up straight under his father's umbrella and stifled an unseemly sneeze as Joshua continued to test the bounds of "fashionably late."
Stealing a glance at his attending parent, the Kiryu boy calculated about another five minutes before he could play the "I'll catch a cold" card to push them indoors. His father would prefer to wait at the entrance, even for such an insufferable wind-bag as cousin Yoshiya, but he was still a reasonable man.
Besides, Rueban reminded himself, resisting the urge to huddle his arms and crinkle his winter coat, dear old "Joshua" isn't the only one we're waiting for…
Ayumu Ki, the youngest Kiryu cousin, was more or less the reason Rueban had allowed himself to entertain the occasion in the first place. Although Yoshiya probably still had some scheme or another tucked up his maid-pressed sleeves, Rueban trusted Ayumu's motives behind calling them all together. Maybe not so much his punctuality, but his heart would at least be in the right place.
Assuming Josh isn't just using him, of course.
Rueban closed his eyes for a second and consciously squelched the mounting distaste. He wouldn't put it past Yoshiya to pull a stunt like that, roping in Ayumu for another shot at humiliating Rueban and shifting the balance of power. As prodigy players in the Tin Pin world, they'd spent the last two years vying for sponsors and public favor. They were discreet about it, of course. People liked the idea of talented children, but they didn't really like to think about the implications. Twelve-year-old masterminds were delightful to wonder about, not be controlled by. And as stupid as people could be sometimes, they understood pretty well how to be difficult once they realized a child was pulling their strings.
There was still no finally-arriving Yoshiya when Rueban opened his eyes again. This had to be on purpose. Cousin Yoshiya was a lot of things, but he wasn't disorganized. Briefly, Rueban wondered if the other boy had taken a different entrance just to mess with him. He imagined that smug Kiryu smirk that they both did and both hated. Oh, you missed warm ups? His cousin's voice drawled in his head. At least we found our weak link going into this.
You mean the narcissistic toad sucking its own hindquarters? He countered with perfect composure. A smile wormed its way onto his face and he pretended to blow on his hands to cover it from Father. Thinking he would actually say something so crude was beyond unrealistic, but Rueban let himself savor the imaginary victory all the same. Hopefully it wouldn't be the highest point to his day, but the prospects weren't looking particularly promising at the moment.
The wind shifted to bring nearly-to-newly frozen condensation under the umbrella and Rueban thought about cutting the five minute wait to three. He decided against it. Bending the rules to match desire was something Yoshiya did, and Rueban already shared enough traits with that weaselly devil without adding to the list.
Seemingly conscious of his plight, time slowed to an antagonistic crawl as lighter snowflakes mingled with the general precipitation and messed with impact consistency. How cold was it, now? He closed his eyes again and thought back to the forecast on the morning news. Mother and father had been talking about how nice it was for the cousins to be getting together and Rueban had been duly distracting himself with anything available to keep from gagging. Although his parents gave him a generous shadow of doubt to hide in, they were still sharp enough to warrant a few extra caution levels. If they caught him thinking poorly cousin Yoshiya there would be a lecture.
...Mostly cloudy, with a chance of clear sunset, Rueban recalled after a moment. Maybe the clouds would empty themselves sooner than that, though. That would be a shame. Rueban took a guilty pleasure in cloudy skies; when they weren't pouring down on him, at least.
Sighing to himself, Rueban checked his phone again for progress on Yoshiya's deadline. They were just passing into the fourth minute when—
"There you are, cousin," Yoshiya greeted him from behind. After performing a one-hundred-eighty-degree heel turn, Rueban flinched as he found himself nearly nose to nose with his erstwhile relative. "Looking down on the unassuming masses?"
So Yoshiya had snuck in some alternate route. Well, that would have been nice to know half-an-hour earlier... Rueban forced the expected smile and bowed. "Something like that," he murmured back.
When he came back up, Yoshiya returned the expression before turning to Rueban's father. "I see you brought a chaperone." A patronizing smirk flashed across the elder cousin's face. Yoshiya had been attending his last year of tournaments without much adult supervision, and he obviously regarded the independence as a source of superiority.
"Came to see us play," Rueban explained. And some of us have parents who actually care about what their children are up to, he added silently. Not that you'd know what that looks like.
Yoshiya giggled and flicked at his sandy forelock. "Oh, so the pressure's on then. It would be an awful shame to waste an afternoon off."
"If you say so," the younger cousin said evenly, shrugging off the sentiment. "Anyway, seeing as we're a tad behind schedule—"
"Yes, let's head in," Yoshiya interrupted. "You'll miss check-in if you stay out any longer."
"...Right." Because you were too busy snickering at my back to do it for me.
Following Yoshiya, Rueban sighed a visible breath and tried to be happy he was at least leaving the downpour behind.
The afternoon's selected venue delivered the prestige of a junior tourney. As an invitational affair, Rueban had been hoping for more than a fold-out concession stand and ten-year-old battle tables, but that was probably more inexperienced sponsors than intentional disrespect. Pin-Heads Weekly had likely blown their budget on advertising, rent, and a prize pot big enough to attract big name slammers.
And if they pull this off, they'll still get away with it, Rueban reflected, giving the check-in committee a measuring look. Two of them manned a table near the south entrance Rueban came in from while a third roved between the alternate entrances to herd in stray slammers. They all looked fresh out of high-school, if that. However, for a news outlet covering a relatively small event, the reportable details were what mattered. They could edit out the tables and staff members and still hit the important part: a new champion and a new way to market Tin Pin. In that way, it was kind of brilliant to allocate funds like that.
Doesn't make it any less stingy…
Rueban smothered his pride with the assurance that next year would have to compensate for spectators. Northern tourneys were charging a small fortune for admission, and there was no way Pin-Heads weekly would say no to the business once word got out. And once other people were watching, there was an expectation of presentation.
In the meantime, he could at least win himself a title.
Ayumu was waiting for them near the check-in table. Rueban gave a small wave, entirely for the rest of the room's benefit, and tried to warm his demeanor before he got too close. The youngest Kiryu cousin wouldn't see the gesture, but he would sense the intent. He would also sense a whole phone book more than that if Rueban wasn't careful.
"Afternoon, cousin," Rue said, dipping his head a little as he closed the distance. "You wouldn't happen to be saving a spot in line, would you? I'm running a little late."
Ayumu frowned in response and Rueban immediately reassessed his approach. Had Ayumu felt something? The boy was a hopeless idealist and heavens knew wouldn't stand for any dissension in his family. Rueban would need to shift the subject to buy some time before Ayumu looked deeper.
"You're not here alone, are you?" That was good. It was a valid concern. Maybe Yoshiya could run wild in Shibuya, but Rue had a hard time believing Aunt Chise would allow the same for Ayumu. Well, unless Aunt Chise was trusting Yoshiya to look after him. Which would be an awful decision, by the way, but who was Rueban to criticize his elders?
Ayumu looked down and played with his pin pouch. "...Rue?" he asked. "Are you—?"
"Not to interrupt," Yoshiya cut in. Rueban belatedly realized that he'd lost track of his more mischievous cousin and tried not to flush with annoyance. "But we reeeally need to get to the tables. I believes these are yours, gentlemen?"
Josh held two ID lanyards between his cousins. Taking his and shifting a look to the check-in table, Rue surmised he hadn't actually needed to be present to claim his tag. So why hadn't Yoshiya just offered it at the entrance?
Because he's up to something, a little voice whispered in Rue's head. Because he's trying to make you think he just got here too.
Or maybe the gesture was more for Ayumu. But what would Josh gain by fooling Ayumu? And hadn't Ayumu come in with him? No, it had to be targeted at Rue, and it was most definitely intentional. Even if Yoshiya had come in through a different entrance, he would still be able to swing by the table on his way to get Rueban. The question was, how clever did he think he was being? Did he mean to get caught, or was Rueban actually one step ahead of him for once?
Beside Rue, Ayumu stiffened. Stopping in his mental tracks, Rueban reverted to the warmer thoughts from earlier and tried to pretend he hadn't been caught red handed. It was an admittedly stupid move considering he was dealing with a psychic, but the response was automatic at this point.
"Sorry," Rue murmured without breaking stride. "I suppose I'm being a little paranoid."
"...Why don't you trust Josh?"
Rueban glanced at their remaining cousin. Josh had advanced far enough ahead of them that he'd be out of immediate earshot, but he'd definitely notice if they delayed too long. Best to make this quick and head into the tournament. They could hammer out the family drama over tea after that was all settled.
The immediate and obvious response suffered a covert demise before it could fully formulate in Rueban's mind. Joshua was a cutthroat player, and that was putting it in polite terms. While it was possible he was only messing with Rueban, a number of less-than-legal alternatives also came to mind. Nothing culpable of course. No, Yoshiya Kiryu would never be stupid enough to leave implicating evidence. But Rueban still saw a correlation between the frequency of equipment malfunctions and Joshua's presence in a tournament.
"Because we've been rivals for a long time," he said instead. The thought was true enough that it would probably pass muster. Even if Ayumu could exercise a degree of mind reading, he didn't press too hard with family members. So long as the basic emotions and energy directions lined up, it would be believable.
Rueban forced himself to move on before the tell-tale guilt could surface. He couldn't afford to distract Ayumu at a time like this. As the youngest cousin's professional debut, he'd need all his wits about him, and maybe a word or two of advice. If Rueban could shift the conversation in that direction, he could essentially kill two birds with one stone.
...Or feed two ducks with one loaf. That metaphor seemed appropriately less violent.
"But we're on the same side for now," he went on, leaning in with a smile. "The ones we really need to watchout for are over there. Ever heard of Tatsuya Dan?" He pointed out a young man waiting near their assigned table, a significantly older than them, black haired, and decked out in sponsorship gear.
Ayumu didn't follow Rueban's finger, but his shoulders seized up a little in excitement. "You mean one of the five Tin Pin Kings?"
"Yep. Tough nut to crack," Rueban agreed. "However, we might have an advantage here. It looks like he's brought his little brother."
Beside Tatsuya, a younger slammer was leaning on the table. Even if Rueban hadn't read about the kid, the family resemblance was striking. Besides, what other second grader would be attending an invitational slam-off besides a Tin Pin King's wunderkind relative?
Unfortunately for Shuto, being a prodigy didn't mean being invincible, and it most certainly put him on Rueban's radar long enough to warrant an analysis.
"The younger one plays by instinct," he explained. "The older one will try to cover for him, but he's reckless enough that he should create an opening for us if we play defensively. I'll feint him in the front and you get him once he overshoots. Got it?"
"But what about Tatsuya?"
Rueban shrugged. "I'll run circles around him until you can back me up. Just focus on Shuto and—"
"But what about the other partner?"
Closing his mouth and exhaling slowly through his nose, Rueban sized up the third member of the opposing party as they arrived at the table. The third slammer almost certainly wasn't of the Dan pedigree, but he had to have some skill to be running with them. He didn't look familiar, but maybe that was just because he had his hood up.
Rueban idly wondered about the practicality of wearing a black hoodie indoors when the heaters were already working overtime to stave off the cold. Of all the things money was being spent on, at least they weren't skimping on keeping the building bearable...
"Josh can handle the third partner," Rueban said, nodding to himself. That should keep him and his shenanigans out of the way, at least.
"I'm handling who now?" Yoshiya asked, giving Rue a sidelong look. "Or is our roadmap to victory supposed to be a surprise for the star player?"
"Oh, my mistake," Rue apologized. His voice hit that satisfying balance between sincerity and condescension. "You're keeping hoodie occupied while we deal with the Dans. You can handle that, right?"
Yoshiya's eyes narrowed into a look that was almost searching before it turned smug. He chuckled. "Whatever you say, cousin."
Which was more or less code for, "excuse me sir, screw you. I'll do what I want."
Rueban reminded himself that he hadn't come to trade comebacks with Yoshiya and stepped up to the table without replying. He came to help Ayumu. So long as he did that, he'd done his job.
The referee, a larger man with deep set squint, clapped his hands together and smiled at the assembled six slammers. "Ah, everyone here?"
"Yeah! Totally, bro!" the seven-year-old Dan cheered, pumping a fist in the air.
A moment later, the rest of the table gave their more somber response. Rueban caught a glance from Tatsuya and put on a smirk. The older Dan would definitely give them trouble, especially once they started going after his brother. The more Rueban could disorganize that trouble with imagined plans, the better.
"Alright, well I won't burden you with the basic rules," the ref went on. "However, as the first three-on-three slam-off, there is a special progression rule we decided to implement: any team members eliminated in this round will not proceed to the next round. So make sure you look out for eachother! You don't want to end up facing a team of three alone."
Rueban gave a humorless smirk. Joshua might.
A second later, his mind turned the thought over for another possibility. Yes, Joshua might not mind having a team member eliminated. Especially if that team member happened to be Rueban.
The referee's professional excitement droned on in the background as Rueban's mind raced for counter options against Tatsuya, Josh, and the third mystery slammer.
He was still thinking when Josh nudged him, and an automatic "Ready" slipped out of his mouth before he could stop himself. It really had been a trap, and he'd stepped headlong into it. Still, there was one thing left he had to do.
Even with the world against him, Rueban had to protect Ayumu.
...
CG's Super-last-minute Author's Note
Life's been a little crazy, so this chapter is more or less publishing on time by the skin on my teeth. And not only am I following Eevee's fantastic setup chapter, but I'm also now looking at Avi's SOSS entry and realizing how far I have to go before I'm on that level. It's like… there's so much development I need, but the only way to get there is bumble through it until I can get it right.
...Or I could write my chapters ahead of time and actually have time for editing, but that would require time management.
Anyway, since I need to finish this author's note so the coffeeshop people can go home, I'm gonna try to keep it to the point and hit the highlights.
As the first chapter where we really delve into the Kiryu cousin feud, I tried to think about the differences between Rue and Josh and what really makes them clash. On one level, I think they personify two extremes with Rueban striving to be absolutely upright while Joshua takes the more unorthodox route to victory (inspired by Joshua sabotaging Shooter in week 2 of the original game). This also plays out in their relationship with Ayumu, with both cousins trying to compensate for Ayu but in totally different ways. Will this eventually be a key plot point? Oh, maybe. But in the meantime, I like to think I've stirred up a duality between the two cousins that makes them mirror eachother: similar in appearance, but opposite in action.
This chapter also had to establish a little about Ayumu's way of interacting with the world, since that's gonna be a key component in the next chapter. It's taken a lot of batting around with Eevee to figure out how a blind kid plays Tin Pin, but I hope the result is worth it.
It's also been a reeeeally long time since I've written a nice, punchy, compelling chapter as focused as this one. Or, as focused as this one was supposed to be. Writing long, world building sequences for Hybrid has really done a number on my development skills, I guess. Here's hoping I can get that back soonish.
Remember to go and check out the SOSS forums so you can support other writers that aren't going through crazy post-college crisis like me.
And I think that's about all you need to know. Oh, except for maybe this:
Slammer Profile: Tatsuya Dan
Slammerai King of Shibuya for the last two years and local favorite, Tatsuya has earned his place as a respected slammer through a mix of skill, strategy, and charm. His signature move, "The Tsuyanami" is said to be so powerful it was almost banned from tournament play. However, since the move relies on skill rather than illegal modifications, slammers everywhere must still face its wrath.
While Tatsuya is undeniably talented with Tin Pin, he can still get a little hot headed at times, especially when family is involved. After his younger brother Shuto dominated the junior league last year, both Dans qualified for the Shibuya Pro League, and Tatsuya has been as protective as he is proud. Although he's never played alongside Shuto, he's been known to stomp any player caught teasing his little brother.
Inventorywise, Tatsuya is sponsored by Tiger Punks and tends to sport their latest pins as a matter of contract. However, even on the sponsored scene, Tatsuya still manages to sneak in an underdog unbranded pin every now and then as an homage to his small beginnings. Regardless of the pin, Tatsuya is adaptable enough that his entire strategy can shift between ring-outs. This has gotten to the point that other slammers are reluctant to knock one pin out knowing the tables will turn with the next.
Despite his overwhelming success with Tin Pin, Tatsuya is rumored to be looking at colleges at the moment. If and when this comes to pass, the Tin Pin public has presumed he will pass his crown to his brother Shuto.
EeveeGen9988 Tries To Do An Author's Note
Hello, people! I hope you enjoyed this next part of the story! =D
CG always does well with developing plots and characters, so it's a pleasure watching him in action. He did very well with this chapter, including handling my OC, Ayumu.
I don't have much else to say, I think CG tackled all the points well.
Hope to see you again next week! =3
- EeveeGen9988