Disclaimer: I don't own Ao no Kanata.
Weeks have passed, and Asuka and Masaya came back to the training area.
"Mashiro seems better than before," Masaya commented, observing her practice in the air with Misaki.
"Yep, apparently she understood her weak points, so she's been training to not only correct them, but get stronger," Madoka pointed out.
"That's great!" Asuka cheered.
"Oh yes, isn't there something you wanted to show the others now that you came here?" Aoi hinted.
"Show us?" Madoka asked, blinking.
"You haven't noticed?" Masaya asked, pointing to his feet.
"EH!?" Madoka yelped.
"However, I'm not going to interuppt their practice," Masaya stated. "So I'll wait."
Aoi knew a certain someone would be psyched to hear Masaya is playing with Grav-Shoes, so she phoned him up.
"Hello? Kagami-sensei?" Shindou asked.
"Yes, mind coming over for some assistance?" Aoi asked.
"With what?" Shindou asked.
"Masaya is playing with Grav-Shoes," Aoi told him gently while Shindou made a noise of intrigue.
"Interesting," Shindou grinned. "I'll be over in a bit." Hanging up, he thought. 'Hinata-kun is back in the sport...to say I'm fired up is an understatement!'
A bit later with the others, Mashiro landed, sweating greatly.
"Here," Madoka said, handing her some water.
"Thanks," Mashiro said, drinking it. "Haa."
"Trying so hard as always," Misaki said in an easy going way before looking at Asuka. "Asuka better watch out, because I've been training while you took a vacation with Masaya."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Aoi smirked at her.
"She's been training with me quite a bit, we weren't just relaxing the entire time," Masaya stated.
"'We', what do you mean by that?" Mashiro asked curiously.
There was no time for an answer due to a voice being heard.
"Good afternoon!" Shindou called out as he walked towards them in his FC gear.
"Shindou-san!" Misaki exclaimed.
"Kagami-sensei called, I heard some interesting news," Shindou said, grinning at Masaya.
"Masaya-san has started playing with Grav-Shoes!" Asuka revealed, shocking Misaki and Mashiro.
"He what!?" they both asked in the same shocked voice at her sudden reveal.
Ignoring their outburst, he walked up to Shindou.
"That said, is it okay to practice with you?" Masaya asked Shindou, who nodded. "The reason, is I want Shindou to imitate Inui's Birdcage."
"What?" Aoi asked in a not thrilled tone.
"See, in order to combat that Birdcage of hers, we need to recreate the situation with one of us," Masaya clarified.
"I get it," Shindou said, recalling his own match with her. Flying up in the air after turning on their FC Grav-Shoes, Shindou called out. "Anytime you're ready!"
"Let's go!" Masaya yelled, signaling Shindou to perform the Birdcage.
"It's just like that one time," Asuka said, remembering how Saki was playing.
"What's wrong?" Misaki asked an upset looking Aoi.
"Nothing," Aoi said. 'To even be using that...'
"Is there a way to counter it?" Mashiro asked.
"If there is, I don't know it," Madoka commented.
"Tch!" Masaya grunted, flying away but just like Saki, Shindou stuck to him like glue in a way that was forcing him to fly lower and lower near the water.
Masaya then spun to create momentum, then released it in a giant burst. This shot him away from Shindou, but Shindou caught up with an Elevation Burst and swiped him down.
"What did he do?" Madoka asked, pointing at Masaya.
"A move I taught him, Sonic Boost, similar to an Elevation Burst," Aoi started. "It requires extensive build up of momentum, and then you unleash it in a massive leap of speed. I take in your training, Masaya used it on you Kurashina?"
"He did," Asuka said, rubbing her head nervously. "But I'm still trying to do it."
'Now I'm in the situation Shindou-san was in in the last tournament,' Masaya thought. ''Lockdown' is the way I'd class this. You prevent the opponent from getting scores, while at the same time you yourself are in a position to get them off balance in the lock and score. Furthermore, since quite a number of moves like an Air Kick Turn require some distance, the Birdcage stops the use of them since they aren't in the position where they can use it in time. But, just hovering around them must have a weakness somewhere. True it creates a feeling of being trapped, and just moving in an opposite direction does not assure you can get out of it. This situation...I see, I got it, the weak spot of this entire move!'
Signaling Shindou to charge him, he did, but Masaya flipped over so that he was flying with his body facing upwards instead.
"...Why is he flying upside down?" Misaki asked, sweat dropping.
"Oh," Aoi said, now seeing the point.
"Isn't this where you try to run-" Shindou started, but was cut off by Masaya trying to swipe him. "Shoot!"
"Awesome!" Asuka yelled.
"As long as the Birdcage is in play, the person's back will always be in their view to touch at any time," Aoi stated as the others on ground looked at her. "When Shindou faced Inui, Inui locked him by staying on his tail without touching his back, and when he tried to escape she would stay right there behind his back or close enough to swipe at a moments notice so that she remained in control of him. But, because Masaya is flying upside down, Shindou's in a position where if he tries to attack, it would leave him open for an attack."
"Alright Masaya-Senpai!" Mashiro cheered excitedly, only to notice a stare from Misaki. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing," Misaki said, though her expression seemed a little annoyed at her.
Mashiro blinked before resuming attention on the two above players.
Meanwhile, Shindou was having to dodge each of his swipe attempts. At last, one of them got through, sending Shindou flying off balance. Taken out of the Birdcage, Masaya seized the moment and touched his back for a point.
Shindou recovered and grinned while giving him a thumbs up for figuring out the weakness.
Landing down, the girls ran up to them.
"Thanks to you two, we've got a way to fight against it!" Misaki said, grinning while punching one of her hands with her fist. "Masaya, what happened!?"
He looked fatigued and sat down. "Sorry, but that was pretty difficult to maintain for that long," he admitted.
"It could be dangerous if you don't strike within a set amount of time," Aoi said. "That means we have to bet on hitting Inui in that upside down motion in time when she locks one of you."
"In order to do that, I need you all to improve your stamina to maintain it," Masaya told them before facing Shindou. "I take it you'll tell Ichinose and Satou too?"
"Yeah," Shindou said in a tired voice. "Though, even with this ray of hope, Inui is not an easy opponent."
"Someone who beat Shindou-san like that is tough alright," Misaki said, before looking cocky. "But she's not invincible either."
"Even if you say that," Mashiro started, having doubts if they can beat her.
"It's alright, I'm sure we can win," Asuka said, remaining optimistic.
"In any case, there's still time till the tournament, so let's use the remaining time to make you guys stronger, and to prepare against Saki," Masaya stated with positivity.
"Yes!" the girls yelled.
As they all flew up for some practice, Shindou walked over to Aoi. "I can only imagine how you feel seeing your FC student back in the game," he said, smiling at her.
"It's so nostalgic for me," Aoi said, almost tearing up. "Even now, I can recall the happy times we spent together in FC. And now, he's freed of his problems and is back full swing. Happy, doesn't even begin to describe how I feel."
Madoka stared at her with interest before looking at Masaya in the sky. She couldn't deny she was curious about some of their tales together, but she knew that was a personal matter between them.
Once everyone finished, they went their seperate ways. Masaya had something to get at the store, while Asuka walked on the beach by herself. Mashiro and Misaki went to Misaki's house to hang out.
"Huh?" Asuka asked after some walking around, noticing a girl by herself near the water. Getting a closer look, she recognized who it was. "Inui-san!"
Blinking in alert, Saki turned around, and softened on seeing who was before her. "Shindou's semi-final opponent," she said. "Kurashina, Asuka."
"I saw your match against Shindou-san, you were so cool!" Asuka said excitedly, earning a curious look from Saki at the praise.
"Cool, is it?" Saki asked.
"The way you played was beautiful!" Asuka praised, drawing Saki's interest more.
'She's different from the others,' Saki thought. 'No dislike, or insults about my playing style.'
"Hey, let's meet in the tournament and have fun giving it our all!" Asuka encouraged, but Saki walked away,
"Sorry, but we aren't the same as you," Saki stated bluntly. "We're not playing for fun and games, we have a mission to complete." She then stopped, looking at Asuka with colder eyes. "Be warned, if we face one another in the tournament, I will use everything in my power to defeat you."
"Inui-san..." Asuka muttered before perking up. "Then I'll do everything in my power to defeat you and show you the joys of FC!"
'This girl...' Saki thought, fascinated by her. "This fun you speak of, let me see it in the tournament. I'm...curious."
With that she walked away while Asuka clenched a fist with a determined face.
'I promise, I will!' Asuka declared in her mind. 'You, and Irina!'