Tin Pin Turnabout:

A Sauce Project Production

By EeveeGen9988 and Chronic Guardian

[Shibuya Operation - Story Storm]

Chapter 6: Strike

Brushing his finger lightly along Whimsy Flit's smooth surface, Ayumu bit his lip as he ran through his pin deck once again. Although, even with the five other pins he selected carefully, he could only pick at his pin collection again.

Ayumu couldn't decide if any of the pins were good enough to hold against his opponents, or if his nerves were taking control over his mind. Either way, the tournament would be starting at 10:30 am, and Ayumu had to pull himself and his deck together before it was 8. Sure… the competition wasn't for a while, and Ayumu had no clue which pins he would actually be using until then… But his morning errand would be foremost no matter what, even if it was a lot earlier than he wanted it to be. He couldn't waste time sleeping in today when the event was today. Ayumu knew this day was the cause of his anxiety, and it made him want to crawl back in bed pretending the event wasn't until the next morning. But it wasn't, and he knew Joshua or Rueban (most likely Joshua) would be at Ayumu's door knocking to rouse him from his bed.

Scooping out a few he had organized into specific groups, hoping they would mesh well, he quickly pulled on his jacket before searching for his pin case. His friend supplied it as a birthday gift years ago, a few months after they met, and Ayumu could never imagine transporting his pin deck without it. After finally locating it under his desk, he presumed it must have been knocked over at some point to his dismay. So without any more hesitation, he carefully placed his pins in the interior foamy molds.

As he came down the stairs, he tried his best to smile as he briskly entered the kitchen. Quickly, he pulled out the paper bag he prepared the other day, but widened his eyes when he heard his mother's voice. "Ayumu, sweetie… I need to speak to you for a moment."

Pivoting sharply, Ayumu shook his head. "I'm sorry, Mom… I don't have time right now. I need to head out." He sped to the safety of the door before his mother could utter another word.

It was just like his mother to stop him when he was in a rush, like she didn't care about what Ayumu was doing. Like his mother was making an effort to trap him inside like a bird when all Ayumu wanted to do was fly through Shibuya freely. He didn't have time hearing her strictly criticizing what he did, and he knew staying around would earn him that again.

Out in the streets, Ayumu picked out his path while sending out his senses for any signs of his cousins. He knew either of them would likely amble up and drag him to the event before Ayumu's daily deed was done. But right now, he needed his space. And after having Rueban seek him out two weeks ago, Ayumu didn't want any more prying attempts for information from his family…

Any more, and he would cross his breaking point.

Finding his friend wasn't hard, but escaping the thick-odour of secondhand-smoke made him almost feel like he was dragging himself from the backstreets. He could only wrinkle his nose, and hope none of it clung to his clothes, or others might suspect he was smoking or something… namely his mother. His mother hated smoking enough as it is, and when he returned home last time with the apparently offensive smell attached to him, she nearly spat out both of her lungs from the scolding she gave him.

With the delivery secured after finding his friend's sleeping figure, he walked to his next destination, his worrying taking rein each step he took.

Rueban said things would be fixed… but Ayumu could hardly ignore his doubts dancing to the beat of his heart. Everything seemed surreal, even after the television advertisement heralded Pinhead Weekly's Triple Tangent Tourney's revival. Ayumu blinked multiple times just to see if he was waking up, even going to the extent of pinching his arms over and over before he started preparing this morning every day after that advertisement. The petite boy couldn't tell if this was actually a nightmare or not considering everything kept going without finding himself back in bed weeks prior to today.

The uproar of obsessed fans alerted him, but he merely pulled up his hood and tried to step around them without bringing attention to himself. Rueban's going to hate this as much as I do…

But he stopped at that thought, finally allowing himself a chance to ponder why he wasn't the least bit excited for a Tin Pin event. He normally would be feeling the prickles of the thrill of the game, even after the events that took place that day his favourite pastime made him dizzy with mirth… But right now, all that he felt was a hollow weight pressing on his heart. He tried to think of something, something to inspire his excitement… but all he got was the dull ache of memories running through his head like erratic film. If it weren't for the fact this was the Triple Tangent Tourney reborn, he guessed eventually, he might have been happier.

Shaking his head as he found himself pushing into a nook in the auditorium, he breathed in and out as the painful memories continued. He wanted them to stop, but all he got was the pulsating anger from his cousins as he felt them drift further apart…

Ayumu jolted upon a weight resting on his shoulder. "My, my… enjoying the view?"

Slowly, the blind boy regarded the fact his first cousin had arrived… or did the slew of memories cloud his senses enough for Joshua of all people to sneak up on him? Ayumu had no clue, but merely shivered under the heat on his shoulder, realizing how cold he was at that moment.

"I…" Ayumu gaped slightly, his heart thudding before he tried to breathe out a response that wouldn't be mocked at, "How long have you been…?"

Why am I acting like this!? Ayumu scolded himself frantically as he slipped off his hood, stretching for recomposure as he heard Joshua giggle. Joshua might use this as an excuse to-

"Not long, I just got here," mildly purred Joshua, smooth as always. "If that lovely crowd out there hadn't demanded for my grace, I would have been inside nursing tea while waiting for your arrival, dear cousin."

"R-Right…" Ayumu frowned, lowering his eyes. Instantly, a part of him whispered what a liar Joshua was being, but that elicited his shock that he would think such a horrible thing. He shouldn't think that… but the voice in his head grew unfortunately louder. Trying to not listen to it, Ayumu focused on his cousin. "So you haven't checked in yet, then?" Ayumu asked quietly, trying to pour as much effort as he could inside himself to appear casual in front of his oldest cousin.

Joshua merely held a flicker of amusement, idly drawling out, "As a matter of fact, they haven't started yet. It is almost 9 o'clock, dear cousin…" Before Ayumu could respond to that, he felt Joshua lean over, ruffling Ayumu's downy hair with giggles. "I do think they're compensating for their mistake years ago, as they're being quite batty towards any player who nears the barricade they set up. Hehehe…"

Ayumu narrowed his gaze, ducking and sliding himself along the wall from Joshua. "Barricade?" Ayumu echoed coolly. "What do you mean, Joshua?"

"Aw… what happened to Josh, Ayu~?" Joshua whined airily, and Ayumu imagined Joshua was pouting to add to his teasing. "Your favourite cousin cannot help but feel hurt that his dear cousin would do this to him."

The psychic merely groaned, clenching his hands as he hissed out, "Your dear cousin doesn't want to be called that- ever!" He blushed, resuming his speech through a growl, "And I can't believe you're calling me that here…"

"Whoops~!" Joshua laxly shrugged. "It must've slipped my mind."

Huffing out a sigh, Ayumu merely focused on the area where a number of people were clustered in. "So, they have a barricade?" asked Ayumu curiously with a raise of his eyebrow.

"Indeed," intoned Joshua. "I personally think they're being protective of the equipment, especially after the malfunctions they had last time."

The blind boy remained silent when he heard that, shifting from the uncomfortable squirming that churned inside him. He couldn't help but be reminded of that match again, and wondered if it actually was malfunctions as Joshua had told him. But a little voice kept screaming "liar!" over and over, and Ayumu would have crumbled right then and there if Joshua hadn't wrapped his arms around him.

"It's been so long since we've last spoken, even played along with each other," whispered Joshua gently. "I even went the extra mile to ensure they understand any little kink in this event won't be appreciated… I don't want you to think they're going to make this event go downhill for us."

Ayumu shuddered at that, feeling even more awkward as he mumbled, "Yeah… I just needed space."

Especially now… Ayumu thought as he subtly tried to pull out of the unwanted hug. Stop babying me… let go!

"Ah, well... all in the past then." Releasing his grip to sink into the space Ayumu formally had been, Joshua merely giggled, "We're going to have so much fun today, dear cousin." But then something seized Ayumu's heart when Joshua voice lowered, "And as for our other cousin… I think you should be vigilant when he gets here."

Ayumu crossed his arms, partly hugging himself for self-comfort and partly from the ire that spiked just now. "Yoshiya…"

"Just to be clear, we're playing nice and all… but can you really expect him not to pull another stunt like last time?"

Ayumu couldn't help but regard that statement. Part of him knew Joshua was trying to rile him up against Rueban, but he felt torn between believing it or trusting in Rueban. He hated the fact he was actually considering this, but why wouldn't he when it happened? Whether or not Rueban was lying or Joshua was lying, whether Rueban was trying to sabotage the event or Joshua… Ayumu couldn't stash away the feeling he was being sandwiched and swallowed down by their rivalry again. And Ayumu wanted that to stop then and there.

"Joshua… Rueban promised me he's going to fix things," Ayumu murmured in annoyance as he closed his eyes. "I don't want either of you to act rude to each other, so can we just focus on other important things?"

Because if they didn't get their acts together soon, Ayumu might-

"Oh my gosh- Rueban Kiryu's under that disguise!"

Ayumu snapped open his eyes. Oh no…

"Girls- grab him!"

A boom of banshee-like squeals penetrated the walls of the building, and Ayumu frowned in a gape. The volume elevated before deafening at the slam of the poor glass doors almost cracking, announcing the arrival of Ayumu's distressed other cousin.

Ayumu could only stare in Rueban's direction, blinking as Joshua slowly began clapping. "Bra-vo, cousin… only you know how to rile up your fans without giving out a favour for the trouble."

Instantly, Rueban's mental guard flew up, but it only softened slowly when Ayumu shifted. Rueban must have noticed Ayumu, but all Ayumu could offer him was silence.

Despite the vestigial relief that Rueban arrived unharmed, the petite boy couldn't shake off his apprehension as Rueban approached him and Joshua. Even as Rueban slightly lit up with delight, Ayumu felt stiff as he nodded at his newly-arrived cousin.

"It really is hard to avoid them when they camp at the front door for the both of you, isn't it?" Ayumu breathed, not trying to let a laugh bleed into his voice. He stuffed his hands into his pockets, settling for a try at smiling as he mused softly, "I keep forgetting you two have a fanbase…"

"Having a fanbase only means you sign away your social life, cousin," Rueban pointed out as he began brushing his hands against something he was holding. "You should be glad yours is scarce."

"I don't think I do have one…" Ayumu frowned. "Who would want to root for a blind boy?"

When Rueban was about to answer that, Ayumu heard Joshua cut in, "Oh my cousins, don't think having a fanbase means you're in for a torture session…" A tinge of annoyance felt directed towards Rueban, and Ayumu frowned more at that. "Remember that as long as you give them anything worth their trouble, they will always give back."

Ayumu inwardly cringed at that. He wasn't much for parading around with strangers obsessed with him, pleasing and meeting the expectations of his cousins and the rest of his family was more than enough. If anything, that was part of the reason why he tried to blend in and out from crowds at the small events he's been to. The other part… he pushed that out of his head.

Before Rueban had a chance to speak again, a loud voice waved over everyone's heads. "Slammers, if you are now ready to check in, please head to the desks to your right. Further details will be given there."

The slightly messy haired boy blinked, feeling others weave towards the intended location. He slowly pulled out his hands as Rueban finally spoke, "So they haven't allowed us to check in yet?"

"Which is a shame, considering how easy it was to swoop in before," Joshua tutted, making a move toward entering the herd of Slammers. "But who is to question their policy?"

"...I think it would be wise if we all went," Rueban said.

Ayumu frowned deeper at that, shooting Rueban a look of disbelief. I thought Rueban promised he was sor-

"This is a public event, you know. So allowing them the ease of knowing they allowed all of the right people in would make this event a little less stuffy."

Huh? Ayumu blinked.

"It's one of their other newer policies, dear cousin," explained Joshua smoothly, and Ayumu then realized he was discomforted enough that Joshua was trying to soothe him now. "I'm not sure if you're aware, but a few weeks ago a Slammer was framed and almost banned because one of their rivals' fans went into an event posing as them." Joshua gave a giggle. "I'm sure Pinheads Weekly wants to ensure that every player here is who they really are. And our cousin is right. For all they know, I could be slipping in delinquents under the good of my noble name."

Rueban slowly made a nod at that.

"Oh, I-I see…" Biting his lip, Ayumu nodded.

A swell of guilt rushed through Ayumu, and he tried his best to not let that show. It was terrible that Ayumu almost accused Rueban of distrusting Joshua, and the blind boy scolded himself that he was quick to do that. It was something that happened a lot to him lately, and Ayumu was having a hard time breaking that habit. He knew his cousin meant well, but memories of the last Triple Tangent Tourney were rolling along in his head.

"Your little events you've been to don't seem to understand the importance, so be relieved you didn't run across the same issue, my dear cousin."

Feeling a hand clasp around his wrist, Ayumu felt himself be tugged along as Rueban mumbled, "We'll be dealing with the wave of fans if we don't skip along to the registrar, cousin…"

"Oh, of course."

As Rueban continued to guide Ayumu along, Ayumu freed his wrist, not missing the pang of Rueban's surprise. Ayumu felt frustrated that Rueban assumed Ayumu needed his aid, as he was aware of the potent mesh of auras clustered at their destination. Ayumu knew what he was doing this time, and he wished his cousin would respect that.

After they talked to one of the staff and received their lanyards, Rueban taking a bit longer due to his disguise, they were directed to go down a hallway to gather with the other Slammers in a room. Clearly, being shepherded here meant two things: the organizers were being protective of their equipment, like Joshua said; or they wanted to ensure they weren't mauled by the congregation of adoring fans, like Rueban implied. Either way, Pinheads Weekly were scared, and Ayumu couldn't help but feel unnerved at that.

"Slammers, it's great to see you've arrived safely." A man with a warm voice welcomed them. It had only been five minutes, after Rueban had returned from changing into his usual clothing, that the man speaking strode into the room. "My name is Takeshi Oshiro, and I'll be your announcer for the event.

"Now, I know you're wondering why I'm here instead of your usual event coordinator, but he's sick so I guess you're stuck with me," continued the man with a lighthearted chuckle. "Anyway- I'm going to walk you through some of the rules for our event now, just so you can concentrate on your pregame strategies instead of me shattering them with our rules. Sound good?"

A ripple of agreement passed through everyone, and Ayumu shifted from where he was sitting. I'm glad at least one of the staff isn't leering at us for once.

"You all know the rules already, but since I see some new faces this time around, let me give you a nice refresher…" Something crinkled before the announcer cleared his throat. "They're the mostly the same rules, especially the one where whoever is beaten can't enter the next round if they're on the victors' team. Oh- and our newest rule for the heck of it, unlike last time, is that each Slammer can use a maximum of two pins in each of the three rounds. But upon winning, those pins will become null and you will use two other pins from your pin deck until the final round is finished. If you use one pin from the last rounds, you will be eliminated right off the bat. And I'm sure our staff had asked you to show them your selection, right? If you didn't, you might not be playing today, so come with me so we can sort that out. We don't want banned pins slipping under our radar and popping onto the board, right?"

As Ayumu felt the man walk away, Takeshi spoke again, "And seeing as our twenty-four Slammers aren't all here yet, please let your friends know so we don't have any accidental eliminations. See you guys at Slam Time!"

So, they changed a rule… Ayumu thought worriedly with a grimace. As nice as it sounds, it's going to be hard for me to know which pins I've used already. Turning his head towards his cousins, Ayumu blinked. I might have to ask Rueban or Joshua to help me keep track if I don't want to be disqualified…

Ayumu wasn't a stranger to being in the crowd when he had been cheering for Joshua and Rueban years ago, but today, the blind psychic had to keep by the board at all costs. If he wasn't… Joshua and Rueban might tear each other apart. His paranoia wasn't misplaced though, due to the fact he's seen it first hand. But maybe, as long as everything went smoothly, as long as everyone got along, this Triple Tangent Tourney wouldn't be a repeat of the last one.

A flake of Slammers got up to go, and Ayumu merely thumbed his pin case as he became aware that Joshua and Rueban had slipped away as well. He frowned, but let them have their privacy. The urge to listen in was hard to ignore, especially when it had been a bad habit of his when he was younger that got him into trouble with his cousins once at the age of seven. Ayumu didn't think it was bad to mention how Rueban and Joshua thought about each other… Ayumu only thought at that moment it was funny how silly they were being towards each other. He never expected them to yell at him, or witness their auras transform into livid tempests that nearly made Ayumu faint on the spot from sensing. How could he forget the way Rueban wouldn't speak with him, and pretended Ayumu was a statue that wasn't interesting enough to acknowledge its existence of? Or how Joshua would simply once and a while remind Ayumu about minding his own business instead of being a stupid pest? Of course, Ayumu felt horrible that he invaded their privacy, and it took a really long time until they forgave Ayumu. Although, shortly after that, Ayumu noticed Rueban and Joshua didn't play with each other with the same bond as they shared before...

Ayumu merely began biting his lower lip to distract himself, opting to pick out the other teams.

He didn't recognize most of the current Slammers, but one or two felt familiar. He did detect that Tatsuya and his brother were here again, and that brought Ayumu to frown upon sensing their excitement. Ayumu wished he felt the same way toward the tournament, especially when he realized the former Tin Pin King had returned.

Tatsuya had been missing from the scenes when he left for college two years back, so Ayumu was wondering why the former Tin Pin King wasn't at the very least unhappy he wasn't playing with his crown on. If nothing else, he wasn't letting the previous outcome get to him. ...Ayumu wished he had the strength to do the same thing.

While at the same time, Ayumu was startled when the younger brother began to head Ayumu's way, buzzing with thrill… Oh no...

From what Ayumu remembered, this was one of Joshua's fellow Kindred Spirits. Ayumu knew he had to act amicable unless he wanted Joshua to be on high alert if Shuto thought there was something wrong with him, so Ayumu hoped the kid wouldn't snitch on him.

"Hey, you're Pink's other cousin!" chirped the ten year old almost bouncing on the spot as he cornered Ayumu. "Man, when was the last time we saw each other?"

"Last Tri-Tan-Tour," Ayumu mumbled, shifting to calm his nerves. "We were the first match."

"Oh yeah, Pink's team!" Shuto laughed and slapped Ayumu arm, causing Ayumu to wince. "I still can't believe you guys got disqualified because of the malfunction! That really sucked, and Tatsuya thought you guys should have gone on. But no one will get chucked, PHW got everyone's backs this time, bro!"

Ayumu pictured the boy was sporting a toothy grin, unaware of the implications of reminding Ayumu about their match.

Struggling out of that memory like a worm trying to avoid being stepped on in the rain, Ayumu nodded grimly. I really hope so…

"Alright, welcome to the Triple Tangent Tourney, everyone!"

Ayumu inhaled, keeping his gaze forward as the crowd cheered in response. He let the event coordinator's speech blur as he tried to focus on the flow of emotions coming from his cousins, hoping his own feelings would dissipate and synchronize with them.

Joshua's was hard to grip, but a swell of confidence was waving inside his composed self. While Rueban was easier to read, with a determined flame burning strong, however, the uneasiness worried Ayumu. Ayumu wanted to say something to Rueban, but Ayumu knew it would do no good if Joshua made fun of Rueban again… especially after Ayumu found out Rueban had worn a clown costume to sneak into the event with. But Ayumu felt Rueban had nothing to worry about, especially when his fans couldn't mob him now without being stopped by security... unless trying to fix their current situation counted for that. Which, Rueban shouldn't be concerned about either. Rueban promised him he'd fix things, and there shouldn't be a reason to worry about that.

"Our first matches of the morning will go on until the end of the second round, when we'll let you have an hour-and-a-half break to catch your bearings and catch a bite to eat too before we proceed to the finals. Then you guys can all go home after our closing ceremonies." Pausing as chatter wove through the crowd, he soon went on, "As our eight teams get ready, let's review our leaderboard, shall we?"

Takeshi had already gone over the times of the matches with them, so there wasn't really any point to pay attention. By now, Ayumu had grown used to the opening ceremonies from the various events he'd been to, almost able to recite each word if it weren't for the fact he would paraphrase the little details announcers stuck in. Most of the time, the little details were just slang and jargon meant to hit the high notes of the younger generation so they had a reason to be thirsty for more.

Ayumu merely fiddled with his pin case, mulling over his pins he had chosen previously. He kept an ear ready for the signal it was their turn to play, and thought over their strategy. Rueban was insistent on it unlike Joshua appeared to be, mainly deciding that staying alive was always the priority. As long as they covered each others' shortcomings, they would walk home shamelessly as family. However, Ayumu noticed Joshua's mind was wandering during their discussion, which concerned him. If Joshua didn't pay attention, Ayumu knew Rueban wouldn't take that lightheartedly. It might break the ice they barely kept afloat on…

"Honestly, Ayu…" Joshua said as he sidled closer to Ayumu. "Just relax already. Our opponents are mere amateurs, and their training wheels have yet to come off."

The blind blond grimaced, hoping that was enough to warn his cousin of what they talked about earlier when Rueban intoned, "And how would you know about that, cousin?"

"I may have noticed their Tin Pin Starter Kit packaging was thrown away after they registered their pins." Joshua let an airy giggle, "You would think primary school students have enough sense to step back from an official tournament if you're just starting out."

Ayumu turned his head to his oldest cousin, breathing out tersely, "It's odd hearing you say that, especially when you entered your first tournament promising me Tin Pin was a waste of time because you explicitly stated you hated it..." He inched sideways, smiling slightly with amusement. "When afterwards, giving autographs to strangers had somehow convinced you to sign up for the next tournament you vanquished."

A hand ran through Ayumu's hair, making Ayumu scowl as Joshua glowed with pride. "Are you suggesting I went in to appease my newborn fans, or was a Tin Pin overlord?"

"He may be suggesting that some rookies already have the makings for greatness." Rueban made a motion of a shrug. "And that what you said now doesn't match up to your first experience."

"Are you saying my reasons for playing then are just as senseless as theirs…?" slowly asked Joshua, his aura dimming drastically to a twitchy static of indignation. "For your information, I went in fully aware of the rules, statistics, and had a pin deck fleshed out unlike them… thank you very much."

Frowning, Ayumu nervously looked toward Rueban as he sighed, "Maybe, but you also had some generous support in that corner. And that's pretty vital for any player, as I see it. It would take an arrogant fool to suppose his skills are fully formed at conception." Rueban's already tense aura distorted despite how it struggled in remaining still and cool. "You would've floundered, and made a fool of yourself if we weren't there for you."

Their oldest cousin scoffed, "...And are you suggesting I ate out of the palm of your hand?"

"Quite frankly, that seems to be the case."

Right away, Ayumu felt a disturbance stir in the air between them, and it almost suffocated Ayumu as he felt their emotions surge in anger. Ayumu widened his eyes, breathing shakily as the urge to cover his ears and flee came as the previous Triple Tangent Tourney filtered over Ayumu's senses. No… don't do this! Don't do this- stop!

"Without further ado, our first two teams will get sorted around the battletable!"

Ayumu sucked in sharply, dazedly bringing his attention to Takeshi. "Introducing our first team- the Pink at his Primes!"

"He could have made do without adding the 's'…" mused Joshua somewhat in disappointment, tutting with a shake of his head, "He degrated the importance completely."

"Are we talking about the fact the name you chose isn't spotlighting you enough?" dryly asked Rueban with a sigh. "Remind me again to not let you pick straws next time."

"Oh, if you were around, I would have let you have some input. And seeing as you were running around Shibuya for our dear cousin, I had to make the sacrifice without delay."

Rueban quietly threw up a mental barrier in response.

Before Ayumu could react to this, he watched Joshua stride away, Rueban following behind. While their argument was averted, the sizzling sputters of their auras remained. And Ayumu couldn't help but keep standing stiffly in place.

Just now… he knew the match wouldn't distract their anger. Ayumu shouldn't have mentioned that. He was only trying to lighten the mood, but that wasn't good to do that to begin with! Ayumu's legs were numb- he was sick to his stomach- he was ready to throw up- his head felt fuzzy-

"Ayumu."

Flinching, Ayumu nearly choked on his own gasp. He was aware of Rueban's hand on his wrist, and he gulped in a breath of air upon sensing his cousin's royal purple aura wavy and concerned… a break from the sibilated bitterness. "Is everything okay?"

"I-I…" The blind boy grimaced, trying to inhale again… although it was shaky and that left him trying to breathe in more. With his free hand, he ran his hand through his hair, noticing he had cold sweat developing on his forehead. "Y-Yeah…"

"If you are not feeling up to par, we could vouch for our team to be shifted to a later-"

"I'm fine," insisted Ayumu curtly, wrenching his wrist away despite the lack of resistance. "It wouldn't be fair to the other teams, and there's nothing to worry about. After all-" Ayumu paused, soon murmuring with relief, "Everything will be okay… everything will be fixed…" He focused on Rueban harder while worming a smile on his face the best he could. "Right, Rue?"

The flicker passing through Rueban made Ayumu almost drop his smile. The strain was strange, it didn't make sense at all… If anything, it was like Rueban was hiding something from him. But Ayumu tried to shove those negative thoughts away, telling himself Rueban was just concerned still.

Rueban appeared somewhat tense when a new wave of emotion set in. "...If you feel like you can't continue, just let me know." Rueban was wary about Ayumu not telling the truth, and Ayumu could let that pass for now. After all, Ayumu was fine not having to rely on his cousins, especially when Ayumu could hardly bring much energy to trust them as well as he used to.

...Especially himself.

Ayumu nodded coolly. "You shouldn't focus on me. Just focus on the game, working with Joshua, and…" Ayumu narrowed his eyes, moving his gaze off to the side. "Fix things… please fix things…"

Tears almost ran down his face, but Ayumu fought against it as he turned around. He tried his best to walk casually in the direction of their first match, Rueban reluctantly following.

As Ayumu came to his part of the board, brushing his hand to ensure he knew where to insert his pins. He paid no mind to the announcer but to his frantic heart.

This is it… Ayumu thought uneasily as he opened up his case, lightly running his thumb along Whimsy Flit as he felt Joshua and Rueban loading up their pins. Everything will be different this time...

Bringing his hand to the opposite side of his pin case, he scooped the most left pins from their foamy protector before slowly sliding them into his launcher slot. We're in this together, and I don't want us to fall apart again.

As soon as clinking sounded, he waited for the launcher's locks to kick in before putting his pin case away. For a few seconds, he ignored his cousins' attempts to check on him in lieu of scanning the crowd. Are you here?

With a heavy heart the one he wanted to see most was absent, he turned his attention back as everyone's auras tensed. He gradually eased himself into grabbing his controls, he paid no mind to the braille instructions accommodated for him. Ayumu wondered briefly how long it would take for them to realize those were useless to him now; his instincts were sharper than those tiny dots.

Every number of the countdown cut through the air like a knife, and when it was time-

"Slam on!"

-he swiftly jabbed to stab, trusting the knife to make the mark.

CG's Wild-Eyed Author's Notes:

Okay, so… yeah. Crazy times. I mean, I'm feeling a little better at this point, so I can almost contribute coherently again, but almost 99.9% of this chapter is just Eevee going to town on the setup for the second half of the story. And mad props to her for finally giving some substantial length to our little story! I feel like Eevee embodies a lot of the traits I lack as a writer, and sheer ability to create content on a deadline is definitely one of them.

In other notes, if you recognize our dear MC for the Tri-Tan-Tour reborn then congratulations! You are officially better at remembering OCs than me. (Eevee had to remind me where I'd seen him before. I knew he sounded familiar!)

But most importantly, I like seeing how Eevee lays out the stakes for a situation and develops tensions between the characters' unique perspectives. In a way, you can tell a lot about a person by the conflicts that they focus in on! For example, you'll notice that one character I wrote sometime struggled against something or other. I'm sure it was important! And I'm sure it reflects back on me somehow. Unfortunately, I'm also fighting a headache right now because "taking it easy" isn't in my vocabulary and I haven't quite gotten better from last week yet.

You now have permission to shake your head and/or point and laugh.

Annnyway, my only worry now is following up this chapter with like 2000 words of Joshua grating on Rue's nerves and things going south again. Because, y'know, plot arcs are a thing. So until then! Stay healthy, everyone.

...I wish I had.

d-,ob

-CG

...

EeveeGen9988's Lethargic Author's Notes:

Well, the chapter might be late, but I had something important that needed to be taken care of in real life… *rubs back of neck* Sorry.

I wish I could say I'm a great writer, but if I were, I guess I would already have a novel out or something. *shrugs* Unlike me, CG has the skills to write one. And I also don't have enough stamina or energy to write a novel, and if I try, I scrap it fairly quickly. So, I'd say you should be clapping for CG, not me.

As well, I know he told you to shake your head and/or point and laugh at him… but don't do that, people. Please don't do that, I won't be happy if you do that. Human decency is a thing, y'know?