A/N: This is a sort of Yowamushi Pedal AU, but can still be read even without watching the anime :) I tried not putting any of the more technical stuff down (like cadence, no way I'm explaining that), but basically, bicycle races are set up in teams of 6. There are three types of cyclists, the climbers (climb up mountains), sprinters (on flats), and the all rounders (ace types). Pulling is when you ride at the front of your team or someone, this has more strain on the one pulling because of wind resistance, while the rest of the team has it easier. The interhigh consists of 3 days, the times carrying over from the 1st day to the next. The goal on the 3rd day is the final finish line. On the third day, teams and individual members drop like flies haha. Tour de France is like the Olympics for cycling.
ps. all of this info is practically from YowaPeda so take with bucketloads of salt. also this is un-betad so be warned ; u ; Lastly, thank you for reading! I'm definitely going to make a gif set of this one day... when I'm not to busy with acads haha :)
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Rin Matsuoka slams a fist into his locker room in anger. The rain had pelted them, the air scorched their lungs, the mud soiled their feet. They had practiced and endured, 1000 fucking kilometres and yet, and yet…
"Shh, it's ok Rin." Makoto touches a gentle hand to his back. Sousuke sits at a far corner, a towel over his head. Haruka just stares at him, face expressionless. The four of them stood together in the darkness of their locker room. That year, none of them qualified.
Vibrations are felt under Makoto's hand and he knows. Salt water touch the polished floor, and Makoto knows.
"Next year. We'll definitely make it next year. The four of us."
That was their first year in the Iwatobi highschool bicycle club.
.
In their second year, Sousuke had to have a major surgery and wasn't able to participate. He was the best among the four of them, he actually qualified, he was chosen. But it wasn't possible. He was injured.
And so the third years took the next best option. They took Rin.
And it wasn't his fault. No, it can't ever count as his fault. It was those bastards from Hiroshima. They were the ones who made him fall. They insulted his friends, insulted Sousuke for his injury.
That day, he would have won the second day of inter high. They could have won the interhigh.
If only he didn't fall.
That day, they ended up at 19th place, with only a single third year pushing his way to the finish line.
Rin screamed and shouted, throwing his bike down and his cleats across the floor.
'If only I didn't fall, If only I didn't fall, If only I didn't fall.'
That day, Rin Matsuoka storms out of the tent, a senpai's punch to his face, screaming "I'm quitting cycling!", and Makoto following suit, trying to talk him out of his rage.
Haruka just stares at him, face expressionless.
.
Their third year comes, and finally, finally, it was their turn to be at the Interhigh. Sousuke is back and ready to compete again, and Haruka and Makoto were as ready as possible. Even the 2nd years, Nagisa and Rei were well aware of the interhigh.
Because, this year, they were going to win.
Rin rides his road racer, sleek red Pinarello, down the road, not even caring to look at his cyclometer, which was reaching 70 kph. His muscles burn with every push of the pedal, and his lungs ached for air. But as his heart raced, as he went faster, it also sunk deeper. Because after all… he quit cycling competitively.
While pedalling aimlessly, he finds he's near the Iwatobi campus, and decides to change course. He wouldn't dare look at them, gearing up for the event. He wouldn't dare spare another look at that bicycle club.
He keeps his pace at 60 kph, still at a sprint, but that's what he was good at. He was a sprinter, an all rounder. He was the ace.
But that all ended when he fell.
And as the guilt racks his conscience again, he doesn't notice the sound of gears and the strained pull of a chain behind him.
A blue road racer passed him, and he'd know it from anywhere. A blue Scott, so fast it looked like it was shining in the light. Rin would know it from anywhere. No bicycle, no cyclist, had looked like they were shining to Rin, all except one.
Haruka looks back and says one sentence.
"I'm going to need an ace assist."
They bike in silence. His muscles hurt, he's almost at his limit. But seeing him in front makes him feel like a flame is lit in his heart. And he smiles again.
"I'm the one who's going to need an ace assist!"
.
It's unfair, Rin thinks as Haruka rides before him, how the wind simply parts with Haruka, how it seems to embrace him, not mock him with a wall of gale. It's unfair, he thinks, 'How can he be… shining?'
It's the final leg of the race, the last kilometer to the finish line of their last Interhigh race. And they're there, the ace and his assist, on the verge of collapsing, but pedalling with all their might.
Their teammates have pulled them thus far. Sousuke winning the flats on the first day with his amazing speed. Nagisa pulling them up the mountains, enduring the climb. Rei winning the sprint on the third day with his perfect form. And finally, Makoto keeping them at the front, when Nagisa and Rei fell back the pack. All for the sake of their jersey to pass through that thin line a kilometer ahead.
And that's what they're going to do. What Rin's going to do this time around.
Haruka used to say, that he only cycles free. That he never cared about time, or placements. He just wanted the wind his face, the rush when his heart burned as he pedals. He feels like mermaid in water. Like he's in his natural element when he pushes the pedals to move and his surroundings become blurry because of the speed. But this time around, he feels a different rush, of something chasing him, like a shark gearing to eat his prey.
That's when he realizes, that he's fastest when someone's chasing him. That he's fastest with Rin at his back.
And suddenly, the air feels different, like it's hot against his skin. He feels the best with Rin at his back.
500 meters left.
They've passed everyone. The next to them were probably at least 30 seconds away. But why was it that Rin doesn't slow down? Why was it that he keeps pedalling, faster, and faster, enough for his leg muscles to tear and break. He looks forward, and he sees the reason why. In front of him, was shining radiance, that one star he can't just seem to reach.
And he realizes, that he's fastest when he's chasing after someone. That he's fastest when he's chasing after Haruka.
100 meters left.
Rin detaches from Haruka's support and pedals hard and fast. He doesn't want to be chasing after Haruka forever. Now it's time for Haruka to chase after him.
Haruka looks at the side and sees Rin inching closer, closer, and he's awed by how Rin cuts through the wind like a sharp blade. He can almost feel the wind push him, but that doesn't stop him from pedalling further.
50 meters left.
They're neck to neck, the crowd cheers for the both of them, but neither of them hears it through the thumping of their heartbeats in their ears. Their thoughts consist of one thing.
'I'll be faster than him!'
The race ends and the crowds cheer. The winner has his head raised up, arms extending to the heavens, while the loser faces the ground, hunched back in desolation.
They stop meters away, and Aichirou and Momotarou greet them with water and towels.
"S-senpai!" They were crying.
It takes a while for it to sink in. Iwatobi highschool bicycle club wins the interhigh.
They did it.
Finally.
Rin looks up after so long. He stares at Haruka, moisture straining in his eyes.
"Next time, I'm going to be the ace, ok?" He raises a shaky fist to Haruka.
And Haruka shakily bumps it with his own.
"Yoroshiku."
.
"It's the 2025 Tour de France, and I'm here with this years winner, Mr. Matsuoka! What can you say about the race sir?"
"I dedicate this race to my one and only, My Shining!" The red head says, proud into the sea of cameras.
A ways beside him, there's the silver medallist, beaming with a pink tinge on his cheeks.