Hey everyone! Please don't beat me up for the long wait. I had writers block and then school became increasingly difficult and I started working at a job not too long ago so there were a lot of reasons why I wasn't able to finish this quicker. Anyway this chapter isn't quite as long as the last one but per request from sweetsugargirl02 I placed a few moment Ikki X Simca moments in there but there is still plenty of action so I hope that satisfies everyone. I tried to get more descriptive as far as the movements were considered but I didn't wan't the chapter itself to be too long so I took quite a bit out. Anyway I know I haven't run into this problem yet and I am extremely happy about that fact but as per usual if you don't like the pairing then please don't make a mean review. You can read it if you want just don't post anything mean. Thanks! Well everyone enjoy! Oh and please leave positive reviews that are conducive to me writing this story! I love positive reviews! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I unfortunately do not own Air Gear.
Chapter 8
Ikki soared through the air with great speed as he still struggled to make some space between him and his teammates. He finally turned around when they reached the junkyard to face his opponent.
Akihito's eyes were transfixed on Ikki as he turned to face him. He is dangerous and his attacks are precise, it will be difficult to get close to him but when I do I imagine that he will be at a disadvantage. The corner of Akihito's mouth curled upward in a sinister sneer.
Ikki watched and patiently waited for Akihito to attack first but he made no moves to do so. Well I have to do something. Ikki reflected on his fighting style and fighting spirit so far. He will most likely try to get close to me. If he has any tricks that are close up (which I am guessing he does since he hadn't used any of his tricks when I was attacking at a distance) then I will have to fight head-on. At least he won't suspect that I have any close range attacks.
Ikki and Akihito swiftly passed under the collapsing sign that read 'Junkyard' and watched each other expectantly. Akihito lurched forwards and slammed his fist into Ikki's stomach.
Ikki staggered and almost missed the old junkyard car that he has attempting to jump off of. He readjusted his stance and slid off of the hood of the car onto the other and then leapt back into the air.
Akihito was next to him faster than Ikki could have anticipated and swung his right fist into the side of Ikki's head. Ikki was thrown to the side. Before Ikki even reached the ground Akihito pulled back his left elbow and jammed it into Ikki's chest.
Ikki coughed up a bit of blood and crashed down into a pile of garbage nearby.
As the dust cleared Akihito watched and waited for Ikki to get back up and only saw a flash before the dust shifted upwards. Akihito prepared for an attack from above but was shocked when Ikki's foot pressed into his side. He didn't have time to readjust before he tumbled into an abandoned truck. He slowly staggered to his feet and leaned against the car to help keep him steady.
Ikki darted toward Akihito turned his body to the left and slammed his right foot into Akihito's chest. Blood spewed from Akihito's mouth from impact and Ikki brought his left foot up to the right side his head and sent him flying to the right. Akihito corrected himself by twisting his body around to change his direction. He hurtled towards a totaled semi and pushed his left foot behind him in order to bounce off of the grill of the red hunk of metal. His foot pressed into the grill and caved the front of the car inwards and then he bounded off back towards Ikki.
The two exchanged a flurry of attacks each landing a hit in every once in a while. After a while they both jumped back to catch their breaths.
A ways away from the two but close enough to see, the spectators had perched themselves on nearby roof tops careful to steer clear of the leaders and their teammates battles. Simca was among them. She contemplated running away for a while but decided against it. Ikki is fighting his hardest and I have to watch this. She was always watching him even during a time that Ikki himself couldn't recall. Even back then… She thought too herself … Even then he was always getting into fights.
Simca had been more than a little excited and she didn't even understand why. It was already time. The same time that she met that boy the day before and she was beyond ecstatic. It was the first time a boy besides Nike showed any interest in her and it was also the first time that said interest didn't make her feel uncomfortable and weird. She raced to that place with great speed. After everything that had happened it was the first time she had actually felt genuinely happy and excited. Even after what she had done to them, she shook her head clear of those thoughts and landed on a lamp post at her destination, that same lamp post as before but she didn't see him.
She moved down onto a bar that stretched out horizontally in the middle of the tall post. There she waited and waited. Finally feeling more than a little disappointed she stood up on the horizontal rail and turned to leave when she heard a crashing sound. Curiously she tried to peer around the building that obstructed her view but sighed in defeat when she concluded that she would have to move from her perch to actually find the source of the noise. With any luck it would be a stray cat or dog and maybe she could befriend it. At least then something good could have come from her coming out all that way.
She jumped off her perch and onto the building that had caused her to have to leave the lamp post and hopped onto a pipe on the side of it. She looked up and saw a small balcony and she leapt towards it. After a few minutes scaling the side of the humongous building she reached the first roof. The building was split up into several sections so it had many different roof levels. She tested the roof to make sure it was stable enough to walk on and carefully tiptoed to the edge. She could see a group of people standing around in a circle and because the roof was only three stories off the ground she could see the faces of the people who were facing her direction. Then a boy stepped to the side to say something to his friend which revealed what they were gathered around. There was a younger looking boy in the middle with jet black spiky hair that was hunched over on the ground.
Simca wondered if he was ok. He hadn't moved from that spot in quite a while then a voice rang loudly in the courtyard. "HEY!" She realized that the noise had come from the boy.
The young child stood up and wiped his bloodied mouth with the sleeve of his shirt. "I GOT SOMEWHERE TO BE SO CAN WE HURRY THIS UP?" It was then when he turned around to face what looked to be the ring leader of the group of kids that she saw him. Her breath caught in her throat as she could see the full extent of the damage the boy had endured. His lip was busted scrapes were all over almost every inch of exposed skin on his body and where there weren't scratches or scrapes there were bruises in all kinds of colors. He had a bit of blood trickling down from somewhere on his forehead but she also noticed a few boys off to the side that were laying on the concrete either unconscious or too in pain to move. A few of the kids had grabbed them and dragged them away and a new set had taken their places.
Simca watched in horror as the kids relentlessly beat up on the boy that had introduced himself as Ikki the day before. Unable to watch anymore of it she called out to the boys. "HEY YOU ALL DOWN THERE, I CALLED THE POLICE AND THEY ARE ON THEIR WAY!" The boys looked up in unison at her and the leader raised his hand into the air in a circle and all the boys took off running.
"This isn't over Minami!" The older boy shouted as he ran off with the rest of his group. After they disappeared the boy looked up at her and smiled before collapsing.
Simca watched the two fighting it out in the Junkyard. Nothing has really changed since then. He is still stubborn and won't give up a fight even though it may be his best option. The crowd cheered and roared loudly but she paid them no attention. You have to win Ikki. Please.
Ikki and Akihito were still trying to size each other up but Akihito made no move to show any of his tricks. Ikki stayed sharp; if he waited this long then he obviously wanted to catch him off guard. Akihito stopped abruptly and landed on a pile of garbage and Ikki did the same. "Hey!" Akihito yelled at Ikki. Ikki's eyes squinted as he looked at him sitting on his perch. "You know as soon as you lose I will have what I came here for right?"
Ikki glared at Akihito knowing exactly what he meant. "Why are you so fixated on her?" Ikki asked with genuine curiosity.
"She is mine. She is my property. I own her. We are one. Nothing can break the bond that we share and she will be mine again very soon." He looked up into the crowds waiting nearby and fixed his gaze onto one building but his prize was nowhere to be seen so he turned back to Ikki to see the expression that excited him the most.
Ikki thought back to a few minutes before he and Simca had arrived to the battlefield. He remembered how interested Simca was in the battle. Even after that before Ikki made his way to his comrades Simca seemed angry at his insistence that she should hang back but as soon as Akihito's hood was removed she disappeared. She is afraid of him isn't she? The last time I saw her anywhere near this terrified was when she was with Nike. He could feel that she was still nearby but where she was exactly was hard to pinpoint. He was only aware of one thing. If he lost then Simca would be in real trouble. He closed his eyes and lowered his head as he calmed and channeled his anger. Then he looked up at Akihito with eyes filled with resolve.
The wind began to pick up as they stood several feet from each other and Ikki pushed his hair back so that it wouldn't obscure his vision. It was only a second but Akihito was right in front of Ikki as soon as his hand slid across the top of his head. Ikki didn't falter and Akihito raised his right hand and balled it into a tight fist, then Ikki saw it. It was a millisecond of a moment but his eyes were sharp enough to catch the spikes coming from ridges in his gloves. He smiled wildly as his fists neared Ikki and then it was over. His fist connected with Ikki. He waited a while until he realized that Ikki's image shifted and then dissipated. His eyes widened but it was too late Ikki's cold steel like eyes appeared behind him. The hazel orbs appeared to have been glowing. Akihito could see fire swelling up and swirling into a funnel shape in Ikki's eyes, a literal fire storm. Ikki who had jumped into the air pulled back his right foot and twisted his body to the left unleashing a blow to the left side of Akihito's head that was propelled by Ikki's storm regalia. Akihito was sent sailing backwards and while he was still flying to the side Ikki was on him in seconds and launched a flurry of the 'Moon drop missile' into his abdomen. Akihito cried out as he crashed into a pile of garbage. He bounced up once and Ikki immediately grabbed his head and slammed it back into the ground. In reality Ikki wanted to use his full strength but that wasn't him. That wasn't how Ikki did things and he wasn't about to change that no matter whom he was fighting or how angry he was when he was fighting them.
Then he kneeled down next to him and pulled his hand back again and slammed it into Akihito's face. He watched him for a while until he was sure that he was out cold. He didn't usually resort to actual fighting but there was no way that he could let him get his hands on Simca. Ikki stood up and the weight of his numerous battles with Akihito weighed on him. His muscles began to ache and some of his blood tricked from his forehead. He stumbled slightly but continued on towards the 'Glum Slum' at full speed. He knew that this would not keep Akihito down for long and when he got up who knew what he would do. He didn't look like the kind of guy that loses and the trouble with someone who never loses is that when they think that they are about to they get kind of desperate and a desperate person is an uncontrollable and unstable person.
Ikki sped toward the 'Glum Slum' at an incredible speed for him. He wasn't quite as fast as Spitfire, Aeon, or Kazu but he was past his personal best. There was quite a bit at stake and he just knew that he couldn't lose. At this point he wished that he hadn't distanced himself so far from his team because he felt that a boost would be incredibly helpful but he kept on going. Soon he was able to see the fluorescent neon sign that was the last marker before the 'Glum Slum' but his teammates were nowhere in sight.
Thirty minutes before on the fourth floor of the mansion Kazu and Agito were still fending off their attackers. Both sides were weakened and some of the smoke cleared to reveal a woman with green highlights in her ebony hair and a very slim figure. Her chest was small and her legs were long which added to her overall height. Her left arm was bleeding from being hit with splintered wood and she was slightly hunched over from fatigue most likely. The other opponent was a boy that looked to be the same body size wise but his muscles were protruding from his arms, legs, and torso which made his skin look stretched to its limits. Agito wondered if the boy was or had been on steroids but it would do no good to ask them. Agito cursed himself for leaving his straight jacket at his place. "Kazu! We have to hurry this up, they will be here soon!" Kazu looked at him and nodded and they rushed at the two. The girl readied her chain for Agito but right before they reached them Agito and Kazu switched places so fast that there after images were still covering them long after they had switched. Kazu had jumped to the side to where Agito was and moved him to the other side and Agito caught himself by kicking out a gust of air towards the wall to steady himself and slow him down. The girl threw her chains out towards Agito but his after imaged vanished. She gasped and in seconds she was engulfed in Kazu's flames who had gotten behind her before she attacked.
She collapsed to the floor but one of her chains did fling back and hit Kazu. He wiped the blood from the cut on his mouth that the chain had created and turned around to face the overly muscular boy Agito was dealing with. His attacks were relentless. He sent a barrage of attacks to his enemy and then one landed a serious blow to the side of Agito's head. Agito jumped back and staggered as he tried to straighten himself. Then the muscular boy shot towards him again this time using his whole body in an attempt to flatten him. Agito shot upwards just barely missing his attack and jumped behind him. Kazu looked back at the other unconscious bodies that littered the floor and then he looked ahead down the hall. He felt a strange disturbance and in an instant he knew this battle had to be ended right that moment.
"Agito!" Kazu yelled over to his foul mouthed friend. "We need to go now!"
Agito looked at Kazu with an irritated look on his face. "What do you think I'm doing dumba a**?"
Kazu smiled at his friend's reaction. "I know you're just stalling and trying to make things more interesting so stop and come on! I think Ikki needs us!"
Agito turned back to Kazu as the muscular boy was trying to push himself out of the rubble. "Fine." Agito answered looking annoyed. The muscular kid finally dislodged himself from the broken wall and lunged at him. With what looked to take very little movement Agito jumped into the air and landed behind the boy once more. The kid caught himself before he repeated his last blunder and turned to face Agito. "Are you just going to keep running when your boss needs you?" The boy remarked with a smirk. Then he ran towards Agito again but this time Agito made no moves to avoid it instead he faced him head on. The boy smirked, "Do you think that you can take a hit from me now?" he said as he closed in on Agito.
Agito stood very still and shook his head. "Nope I can't… but it won't matter because your attack won't hit me." The boy's face reddened with anger as he drew closer to him. Then he raised his fist and pulled back. Agito still refused to move, instead after getting within three feet of Agito blood sprayed out of his body like a sprinkler and the boy fell to the ground. Agito walked over to him and surveyed his work. The boy had cut marks all over his body. Kazu skated over to him and smiled. "That was when you jumped behind him earlier right?" Agito nodded and turned to face the hallway. "Everything is taken care of on our end lets meet up with Buccha and Onigiri and see if they are finished and then we'll meet up with Ikki." Kazu nodded and they both shot down the hall with great speed.
It didn't take too long with them going as fast as they were to catch up to Buccha and Onigiri. The two were by themselves waiting for Kazu and Agito to come by. "What you guys are done already?" Kazu said to Onigiri who was sitting down eating a bag of chips. "Yeah we just used a bunch of the traps Ikki set up for intruders and I had to use my smell road again. We decided that it wasn't a good idea to let Buccha fight because he may have taken the whole place down." Agito and Kazu both nodded and then Kazu took a few steps ahead of the group. "We need to go now though. I feel like something is wrong." Everyone got quiet and looked ahead and nodded and then they made their way out of the building just as the G-men pushed their way in.
The group came up to the Junk Yard and they passed over it. Kazu worriedly scanned the scene around them and then something caught his eye. There in the rubble was a body. Kazu looked closer but was careful to keep his distance. Then he was able to identify the body as Akihito's. He noted that he was in pretty bad shape and even though he looked down for the count a rising fear within Kazu was telling him to catch up to Ikki. "Hey guys we gotta pick up the pace!" The other three looked back at him for a second, each one of them picked up the urgency in Kazu's voice and although they didn't know why he was so anxious they decided to follow his lead and off they went to catch up to their leader. We have to hurry up! I don't know why but I feel like if that guy isn't out for the count then we are all screwed. Kazu took one more look at the junkyard as they sailed past it then set his sights for the finish line where he was sure to find Ikki nearby.
Ikki was soaring through the air at great speeds. A part of him was enjoying the run and another part that was his voice of reason kept telling him to pick up the pace. He wasn't sure whether or not he should slow down to allow his team to catch up or keep going at the same pace and hope for the best. I could really use Kazu's speed right now and an extra boost from Agito wouldn't be too bad either. Ikki thought as he charged full speed ahead to the 'Glum Slum'.
Kazu knew that if it was just him he could have made it to Ikki already. Two out of his three friends weren't very fast or not as fast as they needed to be now and the closer they got to the finish line the more anxious Kazu became. Getting closer should give me peace of mind but it isn't. This is nerve wracking; we need to get to Ikki right now. They passed by the last marker in the run and Kazu looked back at his three friends and then made his decision. "Agito you come with me!"
Agito looked at Kazu and tilted his head to the side. "Why the hell should I?" He answered sharply.
Kazu shook his head and sighed. We don't have time for this! "It's taking too long to get to Ikki and we are his best supporters speed wise."
Agito watched Kazu carefully, it wasn't hard to see that Kazu was losing his cool but Agito wondered why. He saw Akihito laying down face first in the pile of garbage just like Kazu did so why was he so worried? They had a good lead on him already and there was no sign of Ikki which led Agito to believe that he was even closer than they were. Suddenly a shiver went up Agito's back. What the hell? He thought. He looked back behind them but there was nothing then he remembered when he saw Akihito laying in the trash heap. Even though he was out cold Agito noticed a distinct amount of bloodlust radiating from him. If he wakes up before we get to Ikki then that could be a problem. "Fine." Agito finally agreed.
Kazu looked back relieved and Agito reluctantly jumped onto Kazu's back. Then Kazu looked back towards the other two.
"Hey what's the big deal Kazu! How come you guys are going ahead of us?" Onigiri's brow squinted and he looked irritated enough to actually put up a fight about it.
Kazu sighed and got ready to explain but then Buccha finally spoke.
"Let them go Onigiri. Something doesn't feel right." Buccha looked back behind him and then nodded at Kazu. "Go on we will catch up later."
Onigiri had attempted to argue that splitting up was a bad idea but everyone's intense glares stopped his words in their tracks. Instead of arguing Onigiri looked down and turned his head to the side. "Oh alright then geez! Go!"
Everyone smiled at Onigiri and Kazu was ready to take off when he turned back around. "If you see Akihito don't do anything just let us know. Try to stay away from him okay?"
Agito nodded in agreement. "He's way too much for you dumb f***s so try and avoid him if you can."
Onigiri started to make an obnoxious comment in retort but decided against it.
"Alright we're off!" Kazu said as he readied himself for takeoff. Agito leaned forward in preparation as well and then they were gone.
It didn't take Ikki long too notice whatever was fast approaching and he took note of it. He didn't sense any hostility but he was still on guard none the less. Then when whatever it was had gotten closer he looked back to see where it was coming from. Then he spied it or rather, them. Ikki let out a sigh of relief when he recognized Kazu and Agito speeding towards him and then the worry came. They were speeding towards him with a sense of urgency and Ikki was afraid to ask why.
Soon the pair had caught up to Ikki and slowed down beside him. "Hey Ikki we are here to assist!" Kazu smiled wide at having finally reached his longtime friend and Agito sat up.
"Where are Onigiri and Buccha?" Ikki asked afraid to hear any answer besides that they were just too tired to go on.
Kazu matched speed with Ikki and raised his voice over the wind rushing past them. "They are fine we just decided to come up here and see if you needed any help but it looks like you took care of everything on your end."
Ikki was super relieved to hear that Akihito was still down and out but he wasn't safe just yet and he knew it. In fact even though his friends were talking to him normally he still felt a strange vibe in the air around them. He knew that his friends could feel the same thing he was feeling. Then the sound reverberated through their ears, the sound of other riders. They looked around and saw a few people bellow them, although they didn't seem interested in them at all. They must be heading over to the 'Glum Slum' we're close! Then he could see it, the neon lights illuminating the darkness of the night. He and Kazu speed up a little more, the urgency to reach the 'Glum Slum' was even higher than before.
Ikki kept adjusting his speed, trying to pull a little more from his storm regalia. Then he felt it. It was a little shiver at first but then the closer he got to the AT shop the more it grew. Then Kazu's phone went off. They all looked down at Kazu's pocket as he hurriedly pulled it out. He raised the phone up to his ear and hit send.
"Buccha what is it?" Kazu asked unable to hide or mask the fear in his voice as he tried to keep himself calm enough to listen to what they had to say.
"He got us man. He got us and is heading your way." Buccha replied.
Kazu could tell that Buccha sounded winded. Hell he sounded half dead. "He is awake and on the way?!" Kazu looked over at Ikki and back at Agito and the same look of dread he felt was mirrored in their eyes. "We told you guys not to fight him! Why did you do it?"
It took Buccha a while to get his voice together and when he did a small chuckle escaped. "We couldn't just let the guy get through and go after you guys. We are a team and we watch after each other…" Buccha let out a heart wrenching cough and blood shot out of his mouth. He smirked and continued on. "You better hurry up man he's fast and is f****** pissed so hurry up and finish this race. Even if only one member of our team makes it through it will still be our win."
Kazu listened until then the line went dead. He looked back up at Ikki and sighed "He is coming this way. He took out Buccha and Onigiri."
"Are they alright?" Ikki asked his eyes filled with anger.
Kazu shook his head. "Buccha sounded really bad and I didn't hear anything from Onigiri."
Agito looked behind him and saw sparks off into the distance he hopped off of Kazu's back and sailed beside him. "Here he comes!" Agito stated while taking another look behind him. This time there was a small figure he could make out with the sparks.
Ikki turned around with his heart seeping with anger ready to face Akihito. "Yo guys go on ahead I'll take care of him!"
Kazu shook his head and smiled back at Ikki. "Sorry man not this time. It only counts as our win if the leader makes it to the finish line." Kazu grabbed Ikki and Agito and shot off towards the 'Glum Slum'. "This is where I get off! Agito you know what to do and Ikki finish this thing! I will stop him from getting to you." Kazu shot forward with one more boost of speed and then unhooked his arms from around Agito's legs and quickly drifted behind them. "You better win Ikki" Kazu shouted back as his target quickly closed the distance between them. Kazu watched Akihito approach and closed his eyes. He inhaled deeply and smiled. His eyes shot back open and he charged at him at full speed.
Agito looked back soon after Kazu departed and watched as the sparks appeared right behind them again. "It's my turn this time crow! The finish line is right f****** there so even you shouldn't be able to f*** this up." Agito looked at Ikki who was a little bit in front of him and smirked.
Ikki turned his head back to object but Agito swung his left leg back and kicked a wave of air towards Ikki cutting off his words and sending him hurtling through the air. Ikki looked back for only a second and Akihito had already caught up with Agito. He forcefully turned back around and rode the air wave right up to the 'Glum Slum'. Right as Ikki prepared to land he heard Akihito's scream behind him. He was not too far away but he looked deranged. Ikki knew deep down that his body was too tired to fight with Akihito again. He had pushed himself several times and he wasn't sure he could do it again.
"SHE IS MINE! YOU CAN'T HAVE HER! SHE IS MIIIIINNNNNEEEE!" Ikki was only a few feet away from the 'Glum Slum' but he turned to face Akihito and spun around quickly in place. He quickened the speed until a small tornado shaped funnel appeared around him. Once it expanded in size Ikki lifted his right leg and kicked it out towards Akihito. The force of the wave sent Ikki hurtling back into the 'Glum Slum' sign and he skidded onto the train tracks and then shot off the side. Ikki didn't have the time to try and catch himself as he sailed over the edge. He closed his eyes as he fell into the enveloping darkness and then something caught his hand and swung him back over. Ikki opened his eyes and saw the world spin around him. He tumbled back onto the railroad tracks and slowly tried lifting himself up. He flipped around to see who or what saved him and in a flash it seemed his vision was filled with silver light.
When his vision began to clear up the figure in front of him holding him close came into focus. "Simca?" Ikki asked absently.
Simca smiled at him with tears streaming down her cheeks. "Why must you always put me through this?" Simca could no longer hide her tears and she raised her hand up to his face and slid it down the side of his cheek as she brought him closer to her.
Ikki watched as Simca held him while crying silent tears until his vision started fading and everything around him went black.
Once again thanks to all of the people who have read, favorited, reviewed, or all of the above so far! A big thank you to TheSkyKing and WolFang1011 constantly reviewing and give me solid advice from the start of this fic until now I hope you will continue to in the future! Thanks as well to FateBurn and sweetsugargirl02 for reviewing again on my last one! Oh and a big thank you to the new readers! I hope you guys like this story and will continue to read! Also just wondering but how long do you guys think I should make this story? I don't want to make what people don't want to read so please any feedback on that would be cool too. PM me or add a review if you want to! Thanks and I hope you enjoyed this fic!