And finally, the twelfth day of Christmas!
Jan. 6th, 2010 06:17 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tallulahgsmy true love sent to me
twelve loyal friendships
I will now return you to your regular posting schedule.
[Title] Soul of the Streets
[Fandom] Jet Set Radio
[Rating] Generally G, or PG for language and slight implications of violence
[Notes/Summary] The GGs may be all about about anarchy, but they're also about loyalty. Titles of the ficlets taken from songs from the game's soundtrack.
"Seriously, Tab," Gum said through the bag of frozen peas she was holding to her swollen nose. "Why are you still here? You're enough of a dork the Noise Tanks would snap you up -"
"Thank you -"
"I'm not kidding. If you want to go, then you should go. Don't hang around here doing the rudie equivalent of bashing your head against a wall."
"If you think it's that pointless, why are you still here?"
"I hate losing."
"Ah. Should've guessed."
"I don't want to... I don't need you sticking around," Gum snapped, her grumpy tone only accentuated by her blocked nose. "I don't need anyone. Just saying. You could have it all. You'd be in one of the top gangs in the city and you'd have great nightlife and a shiny white jumpsuit. You don't need to be here."
Tab shrugged, unsure if she wanted him to spell it out or if she'd get mad with him for being sappy. In the end he just said, "Well, exactly. All the other perks make it sound a little tempting, but I draw the line at the jumpsuit."
***
"Did I mention," Tab said, slowly, and swallowed, face visible under his hat green, "did I mention I really hate frogs?"
"Ah." Beat glanced round the garage. Tiny green frogs seemed to be everywhere, like marbles spilt over the floor. "That's... unfortunate."
"Just a bit."
"No, it's not," Gum said. "It just means the two of us get to sort this out without you following us around spouting six million geeky facts about amphibians at us. Go out into the yard and check for any other booby traps, all right? Beat and I'll handle this."
"If I do that," Tab said, "you guys will make fun of me for eternity." He gulped as a frog hopped nearer to the toe of his skate. "Where the hell do you get this many frogs, anyway? What normal person has - has them just lying around?"
"The Poison Jam are not, by any stretch of the imagination, normal," Gum said.
"And as to the other thing," Beat said, "I'm the newbie here, I won't be making any fun of you. I can't answer for Gum, but rest assured that after this I will never mention this member of the amphibian class again."
"You know what I hate?" Gum said. "I hate cleaning up other people's puke. And the way you're looking, I'd say that's how it's going to go if you don't go back outside. I'll waive the right to mock in return for you not barfing over my skates. Deal?"
"Deal," Tab managed to say, and dived for the door.
***
"They took your dog, man?" Garam actually pushed his goggles back onto his forehead, the better, it seemed, to look concerned. "Well, hell, there's no way we can let that stand."
"That's what I said." Gum took off her helmet, shook out her damp hair, then jammed it back onto her head. "Those technofreaks are going down."
"Stop it, guys." Beat fought the urge to stare at the floor, shove his hands in his pockets. He found his eyes wandering to the window instead. It was getting dark. "They're better-equipped than us and they know the turf. I'm not risking any of you getting ten-tagged because of something I need to sort out."
"Oh god, he's going all shonen on us," Gum said. "Beat, when you're quite done being the lone wolf, can we please go out there before it actually starts to rain?"
"No, really. If you're gonna keep calling me leader man, then I can't lead you into things where it's not your fight."
"No, no, no." Tab was sitting on the stairs, rebuckling one skate. "That's not how it works. We're the GGs. We don't have any rules. We may call you leader man, but when it suits us, we descend into moblike anarchy. I think it suits us all now, right guys?"
"Besides," Garam said, "it is our fight, that's the point. They do something to piss one of us off, they piss all of us off. Not to mention, how're we gonna feel if you come back dogless and covered in paint? Like jerks, that's how."
"Exactly," Gum said. "And I hate feeling like a jerk. Come on, let's go. Leader man."
***
"Hey, Gum?" Mew stuck her head round the door, then scurried in when no paint cans were thrown at her. "I brought you stuff."
"Was it a spoon so I can dig my uterus out of my body?"
"Um, ew. Besides, a fork would be more practical. Here." Mew knelt down by the tangle of futon and pale, nauseous-looking rudie, and placed the tray next to it. "A hot-water bottle. Some extra strength painkillers. Glass of water. All Tab's old gaming magazines to read. A-and -" She winked. "A bar of extra strength eighty percent cocoa super deluxe chocolate!"
A hand shot out of the covers and grabbed the chocolate. Then, after a few moments, there was an indistinct mumble of, "Thanks."
"No problem."
"Hey -" Gum stuck her head out of the blankets. Her blonde hair was tangled and stuck to her forehead. "What did you tell the others? You didn't tell them the truth, did you? The last thing I need is for them to start getting all freaked out -"
"Hey, hey, I may act cute but I'm kind of smart," Mew said, tapping her on the nose. "I said you had stomach flu. They're keeping their distance, trust me."
"Phew."
"Ooh, can I stay and paint your nails?" Mew said, bouncing up and down on her heels. "It'll distract you, and you know you like it when it's done."
"You can take random swearing because those motherfucking painkillers will still take a good half an hour to work and may not even have any effect?"
"Uh, hello. I am a rudie."
"And you're not going to count this as a girly bonding moment? You know how I feel about those."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
"Okay, fine." Gum held out one hand. "Knock yourself out."
***
"Want me to get you a magazine or something?" Cube said. Her voice echoed in the almost-empty departure lounge. "It's gonna be a long wait til the gate comes up, I bet."
"I don't reckon anything'll be open right now."
"Chocolate? There's a vending machine there, and I've got some cents to get rid of."
"Hey, we could be coming back -"
"Combo, do you want the damn chocolate or not?"
Combo looked at her. Her mouth was twisted into a scowl, and her eyes glittered like her earrings did. He reckoned she was just waiting for him to tell her to calm down so she could really kick off. Maybe she needed a good row. But on the other hand, the airport staff had been giving them enough funny looks as it was.
"A Mars Bar'd be good, kid. Thanks."
He watched Cube walk over to the machine, a small skinny shadow in a baggy black hoodie. She was worried, he knew. But he also knew that she wasn't going to give in to it, not in front of him anyway. She might be snappy or talk about trivia or bitch about the uncomfortable seats, but she wasn't going to panic, 'cause if she did, she'd start expecting him to sort everything out. He knew, because he felt exactly the same way. Sometimes, you had to stay strong, no matter how much the other person cared about you.
***
"Seriously, man," Garam said, glancing quickly up at the sky again, "I reckon you better get out of here."
Slate snorted. "You came all the way down to Kibogaoka just to tell me to run away from the flying snipers? You really do underestimate my intelligence, dontcha."
"Look, Slate, just get your ass outta here before they arrive! They're taking potshots on anyone on wheels, no matter what they're doing."
Slate studied him, noticed how he never took his eyes off the sky, how he was holding a can of paint like he expected to have to crack someone over the head with it any minute.
"So why exactly are you here at all?" he said. "Wouldn't it be smarter for you to stay in Shibuya?"
"First off, Shibuya's gone to hell too, and second, I'm not going to let some crazy salarymen cover my home district with shitty advertising."
Slate considered this, then nodded. "Okay, fair point."
"And third," Garam said, "I know you're arrogant enough that staying home due to the low-flying snipers wouldn't be an option for you. So I came to say, don't you even think about trying something dumb."
"That's you GGs' job?"
"You got it."
Slate laughed. "Well, you better get tagging round here while you've still got time, right? I'll help you. It'll be like old times."
"You know I don't need your help," Garam said, but he grinned as he said it.
***
"Look, I'm serious," the kid said, straightening his red sunglasses. "Let me help you guys out."
"Look..." Beat could still smell smoke on the air. He glanced quickly over his shoulder, but as yet there was no firelight in the distance. "I appreciate the offer, uh..."
"Yo-Yo."
"Yo-Yo... but you're, what, twelve?"
"Hey, watch it. I'm thirteen."
"Yeah, and those guys have actual, real flamethrowers. I mean, we're just doing this because some - some friends of ours got caught up in it. It's personal."
"And it's not personal for me as well?" Yo-Yo said. "If you GGs get wiped out, I'm gonna be pretty freakin' pissed off."
Beat looked back again, but the street was still dark. "Oh, yeah? Why?"
"Then everyone'll go back to that dumb shit with the matching uniforms and rebellious conformity," Yo-Yo said. "And then what'm I s'posed to do? I like this hoodie. I don't want to have to give it up in order to have people watching my back. Okay, what I'm basically saying is, I'm your biggest fan. So, I'll add my strength to yours and then maybe you won't all get killed. Where's the problem, yo? You don't lose out at all."
Beat was about to start trying to explain that getting kids caught up in violent wars with corporate-sponsored assassins was something he felt edged into his personal moral grey zone, but then he realised the smoke stink was getting stronger, scratching his throat, and the crackling of the flames was getting nearer.
"Let's get out of here," he hissed, and when Yo-Yo kept following him, he didn't want to risk telling him to go away.
***
"I never, ever want to have to run away from explosions again." Tab yanked his hat off and mopped his forehead with it. "That was not an adrenaline rush, that was just fucked up."
"Yeah, tell us about it," Gum said. "It's like a war zone out there. By the way, care to tell me who the chick is?"
The girl standing in the doorway raised a hand. "I'm Piranha."
"Our eyes met across an exploding street," Tab said. "She expressed interest in joining a gang. An hour later I felt that by managing to not get blown up, she'd proved herself."
"Uh... Beat's not back yet," Gum said. "Soon as he does -"
"Nuh-uh." Tab took a few shaky steps forward, but stayed standing. "Sorry, but... I promised. We were in the bus shelter and some guy... he just stepped off the bus and there were those damn beeps... and I said something really crass about the graffiti, you know? About blood? And graffiti? And she was there and she just acted like everything was fine, she just grabbed my arm and got me to start running and then we went and we kicked ass and so I said, I said I'd get her into the gang -"
"Um, Tab, you kind of look like you're going to faint -"
"I said -" Tab jammed his hat back onto his head. "So I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to live with it, because I owe her."
"Okay," Gum said. "Okay. Tell you what, you go and sit down for a bit, right? And, uh, Piranha - let's talk. Tab's judgement's usually pretty good."
***
Gum finally found Cube sitting, knees to chest, on the garage roof, staring out at the haze of smog that covered Kogane-cho.
"The others are trying to find a pizza delivery place that'll deliver and aren't hiding under the table," she said. "Wanna come in and place an order?"
Cube didn't answer. After a few moments, Gum scrambled out of the skylight and sat down on the warm concrete, a few feet away from her.
"You said some shit like this happened in Grind City," she said at last, scratching at a mark on the stone. "Besuited nutters showing up and glueing ugly posters everywhere. That was - that was after Coin disappeared, wasn't it?"
"Mm." Cube's voice was croaky.
"Boy, you and Combo sure attract the rough types."
"It's that damn record." Cube huddled over even further, rubbed a hand across her eyes. "That one you found. It looks just like the sort of thing he'd pick up. If he'd just left it alone -" She swallowed. "Oh, great, now I'm crying. Did I mention I hate crying in front of people? It's... it's like my least favourite thing."
"S'okay. I suck at doing female emotions. I'll just look at the sunset and cough awkwardly until you're done."
"Hey, Gum!" someone hollered from inside the garage. "You found Cube? Are you guys okay up there?"
"We're fine!" Gum yelled back. "We're talking about boys. And clothes. And periods."
There was a yelp of panic, and the caller withdrew.
"They know I want pepperoni," Gum said, stretching her legs out and tilting her face to the sky. "They won't bug me for at least a few minutes. You just take some time out."
***
Combo had expected to be last in line as they dashed into the Rokkaku Group offices and began grinding up the stair rails ("Shall we take the lift?" Garam had asked, and Beat had said, "You crazy? We're not trusting ourselves to electricity when someone's opening a portal to hell on the roof"). What he had not expected was that Mew would be the one just in front of him.
"You okay, kat?" he called when they were about halfway up and the others were a couple of flights ahead.
"Uh-huh!" Mew sounded very perky. "Just... you know..."
"We can stop, catch our breath," he said, even though grinding didn't get you out of breath and Mew usually seemed to have limitless energy.
"I stop," Mew said, with a giggle that sounded like a sob, "I'll never get going again. I... don't think I've ever been this scared."
Combo nodded. He wasn't so much scared as spoiling for a fight, seeing as it was these guys who'd sent his life into a tailspin to begin with, but whatever Mew was powered by, it wasn't aggression.
"It's gonna be all right," he said. "I got your back, okay? You just stick with me."
Mew nodded, shakily, and stretched out her arms as she slid into a new move.
"I know you have," she said. "You're a good guy."
***
Eventually, the green-yellow evil-radiating cloud shrank and shrank and then it was just a regular grey-blue cloud, just like all the others.
"Hey, leader man," Slate said, "we should get going."
Beat nodded. The other GGs were already hurrying back to the stairs. He didn't want to lean out too far. It was too high, and you probably couldn't spot pavement pizza from this far up anyway.
"Hey," he said. "You think I killed him?" His paint can was still in his hand. It felt all clammy.
Slate reflected on the question for a few moments. Beat knew he'd take it seriously when most of the other GGs would either be all no way, of course not immediately or make a joke out of it.
Eventually, Slate said, "Well... sorta."
Beat nodded. He wasn't sure how to answer that. It wasn't like Goji Rokkaku hadn't been trying to kill them. And it wasn't like Beat had been trying to get him to fall off the roof, he'd just been trying to stop the guy. Most people would give up once their glasses were covered with paint and they couldn't see. Goji, on the other hand, hadn't come across as someone who would quit when the going got tough, so maybe Beat should've known better.
Damn it.
"You're not going to go all tragic hero on me, are you?" Slate said.
"I... dunno. I'm not sure I'm up to it yet. Still thinking."
"For what it's worth," Slate said, "I think you did the right thing. You know, stepped up to the plate and all. Some people I know would've let a lackey do it so they could point the cops in that direction if they had to."
"You - you thought I'd pull that kind of shit?" Beat turned to look at him. Lights from the other skyscrapers glinted in his eyes.
Slate shrugged. "I reserve judgement on most things. Observation prior to action's, like, a good thing. But hey, your actions impressed me. You did what you had to."
"Okay," Beat said, suddenly feeling tired and confused and sick of the smell of smoke. "Thanks."
***
"You guys are weird," Slate said.
"You say the sweetest things," Tab said, frowning as he angled his paint can. "What is it this time, the hat or the pet dog?"
"Just... you guys," Slate said. "In case you hadn't noticed, you're the most successful gang ever. There's loads of you, you own all three districts - although I bet that won't last long - and you saved the world from an evil corporation."
"And?"
Slate shrugged, lent back against the wall. In front of him, the sun was rising over the river. "And, you're the most non-ruthless, pleasant, mild-mannered, distracted-by-shiny-things rudies I've ever met."
"So we're the good guys. Don't they always win?"
"Your leader's kind of a dope."
"He's your leader too," Tab said. The hiss of paint. In the distance, someone's radio playing, and the smell of waffles. "You're not trying to convince me to mount a coup d'etat, are you? 'Cause I'm not into that shit, and Gum would kill me anyway."
"Nah. I just wondered if you'd realised Beat's only leading the most successful gang in Tokyo-to because you lot are the wind beneath his fucking wings or whatever."
"Hey, I'm a geek underneath the boiler suit," Tab said. "I don't think about politics like that. My head's full of equations and hot video game girls."
Silence for a second. Then Slate said, "Wow, you really are as loyal as you seem."
"You're the most cynical bastard I've ever met."
"Yeah, but it's good to know other people are still adorably idealistic. It gives me hope for the -"
"Get them!" A shout echoed across the yard, and both rudies glanced round to see a clutch of policemen running enthusiastically towards them. In perfect unison, they both leapt onto the wall and began to grind, Tab pausing for just a second to put the finishing touches to his tag.
twelve loyal friendships
I will now return you to your regular posting schedule.
[Title] Soul of the Streets
[Fandom] Jet Set Radio
[Rating] Generally G, or PG for language and slight implications of violence
[Notes/Summary] The GGs may be all about about anarchy, but they're also about loyalty. Titles of the ficlets taken from songs from the game's soundtrack.
"Seriously, Tab," Gum said through the bag of frozen peas she was holding to her swollen nose. "Why are you still here? You're enough of a dork the Noise Tanks would snap you up -"
"Thank you -"
"I'm not kidding. If you want to go, then you should go. Don't hang around here doing the rudie equivalent of bashing your head against a wall."
"If you think it's that pointless, why are you still here?"
"I hate losing."
"Ah. Should've guessed."
"I don't want to... I don't need you sticking around," Gum snapped, her grumpy tone only accentuated by her blocked nose. "I don't need anyone. Just saying. You could have it all. You'd be in one of the top gangs in the city and you'd have great nightlife and a shiny white jumpsuit. You don't need to be here."
Tab shrugged, unsure if she wanted him to spell it out or if she'd get mad with him for being sappy. In the end he just said, "Well, exactly. All the other perks make it sound a little tempting, but I draw the line at the jumpsuit."
***
"Did I mention," Tab said, slowly, and swallowed, face visible under his hat green, "did I mention I really hate frogs?"
"Ah." Beat glanced round the garage. Tiny green frogs seemed to be everywhere, like marbles spilt over the floor. "That's... unfortunate."
"Just a bit."
"No, it's not," Gum said. "It just means the two of us get to sort this out without you following us around spouting six million geeky facts about amphibians at us. Go out into the yard and check for any other booby traps, all right? Beat and I'll handle this."
"If I do that," Tab said, "you guys will make fun of me for eternity." He gulped as a frog hopped nearer to the toe of his skate. "Where the hell do you get this many frogs, anyway? What normal person has - has them just lying around?"
"The Poison Jam are not, by any stretch of the imagination, normal," Gum said.
"And as to the other thing," Beat said, "I'm the newbie here, I won't be making any fun of you. I can't answer for Gum, but rest assured that after this I will never mention this member of the amphibian class again."
"You know what I hate?" Gum said. "I hate cleaning up other people's puke. And the way you're looking, I'd say that's how it's going to go if you don't go back outside. I'll waive the right to mock in return for you not barfing over my skates. Deal?"
"Deal," Tab managed to say, and dived for the door.
***
"They took your dog, man?" Garam actually pushed his goggles back onto his forehead, the better, it seemed, to look concerned. "Well, hell, there's no way we can let that stand."
"That's what I said." Gum took off her helmet, shook out her damp hair, then jammed it back onto her head. "Those technofreaks are going down."
"Stop it, guys." Beat fought the urge to stare at the floor, shove his hands in his pockets. He found his eyes wandering to the window instead. It was getting dark. "They're better-equipped than us and they know the turf. I'm not risking any of you getting ten-tagged because of something I need to sort out."
"Oh god, he's going all shonen on us," Gum said. "Beat, when you're quite done being the lone wolf, can we please go out there before it actually starts to rain?"
"No, really. If you're gonna keep calling me leader man, then I can't lead you into things where it's not your fight."
"No, no, no." Tab was sitting on the stairs, rebuckling one skate. "That's not how it works. We're the GGs. We don't have any rules. We may call you leader man, but when it suits us, we descend into moblike anarchy. I think it suits us all now, right guys?"
"Besides," Garam said, "it is our fight, that's the point. They do something to piss one of us off, they piss all of us off. Not to mention, how're we gonna feel if you come back dogless and covered in paint? Like jerks, that's how."
"Exactly," Gum said. "And I hate feeling like a jerk. Come on, let's go. Leader man."
***
"Hey, Gum?" Mew stuck her head round the door, then scurried in when no paint cans were thrown at her. "I brought you stuff."
"Was it a spoon so I can dig my uterus out of my body?"
"Um, ew. Besides, a fork would be more practical. Here." Mew knelt down by the tangle of futon and pale, nauseous-looking rudie, and placed the tray next to it. "A hot-water bottle. Some extra strength painkillers. Glass of water. All Tab's old gaming magazines to read. A-and -" She winked. "A bar of extra strength eighty percent cocoa super deluxe chocolate!"
A hand shot out of the covers and grabbed the chocolate. Then, after a few moments, there was an indistinct mumble of, "Thanks."
"No problem."
"Hey -" Gum stuck her head out of the blankets. Her blonde hair was tangled and stuck to her forehead. "What did you tell the others? You didn't tell them the truth, did you? The last thing I need is for them to start getting all freaked out -"
"Hey, hey, I may act cute but I'm kind of smart," Mew said, tapping her on the nose. "I said you had stomach flu. They're keeping their distance, trust me."
"Phew."
"Ooh, can I stay and paint your nails?" Mew said, bouncing up and down on her heels. "It'll distract you, and you know you like it when it's done."
"You can take random swearing because those motherfucking painkillers will still take a good half an hour to work and may not even have any effect?"
"Uh, hello. I am a rudie."
"And you're not going to count this as a girly bonding moment? You know how I feel about those."
"Wouldn't dream of it."
"Okay, fine." Gum held out one hand. "Knock yourself out."
***
"Want me to get you a magazine or something?" Cube said. Her voice echoed in the almost-empty departure lounge. "It's gonna be a long wait til the gate comes up, I bet."
"I don't reckon anything'll be open right now."
"Chocolate? There's a vending machine there, and I've got some cents to get rid of."
"Hey, we could be coming back -"
"Combo, do you want the damn chocolate or not?"
Combo looked at her. Her mouth was twisted into a scowl, and her eyes glittered like her earrings did. He reckoned she was just waiting for him to tell her to calm down so she could really kick off. Maybe she needed a good row. But on the other hand, the airport staff had been giving them enough funny looks as it was.
"A Mars Bar'd be good, kid. Thanks."
He watched Cube walk over to the machine, a small skinny shadow in a baggy black hoodie. She was worried, he knew. But he also knew that she wasn't going to give in to it, not in front of him anyway. She might be snappy or talk about trivia or bitch about the uncomfortable seats, but she wasn't going to panic, 'cause if she did, she'd start expecting him to sort everything out. He knew, because he felt exactly the same way. Sometimes, you had to stay strong, no matter how much the other person cared about you.
***
"Seriously, man," Garam said, glancing quickly up at the sky again, "I reckon you better get out of here."
Slate snorted. "You came all the way down to Kibogaoka just to tell me to run away from the flying snipers? You really do underestimate my intelligence, dontcha."
"Look, Slate, just get your ass outta here before they arrive! They're taking potshots on anyone on wheels, no matter what they're doing."
Slate studied him, noticed how he never took his eyes off the sky, how he was holding a can of paint like he expected to have to crack someone over the head with it any minute.
"So why exactly are you here at all?" he said. "Wouldn't it be smarter for you to stay in Shibuya?"
"First off, Shibuya's gone to hell too, and second, I'm not going to let some crazy salarymen cover my home district with shitty advertising."
Slate considered this, then nodded. "Okay, fair point."
"And third," Garam said, "I know you're arrogant enough that staying home due to the low-flying snipers wouldn't be an option for you. So I came to say, don't you even think about trying something dumb."
"That's you GGs' job?"
"You got it."
Slate laughed. "Well, you better get tagging round here while you've still got time, right? I'll help you. It'll be like old times."
"You know I don't need your help," Garam said, but he grinned as he said it.
***
"Look, I'm serious," the kid said, straightening his red sunglasses. "Let me help you guys out."
"Look..." Beat could still smell smoke on the air. He glanced quickly over his shoulder, but as yet there was no firelight in the distance. "I appreciate the offer, uh..."
"Yo-Yo."
"Yo-Yo... but you're, what, twelve?"
"Hey, watch it. I'm thirteen."
"Yeah, and those guys have actual, real flamethrowers. I mean, we're just doing this because some - some friends of ours got caught up in it. It's personal."
"And it's not personal for me as well?" Yo-Yo said. "If you GGs get wiped out, I'm gonna be pretty freakin' pissed off."
Beat looked back again, but the street was still dark. "Oh, yeah? Why?"
"Then everyone'll go back to that dumb shit with the matching uniforms and rebellious conformity," Yo-Yo said. "And then what'm I s'posed to do? I like this hoodie. I don't want to have to give it up in order to have people watching my back. Okay, what I'm basically saying is, I'm your biggest fan. So, I'll add my strength to yours and then maybe you won't all get killed. Where's the problem, yo? You don't lose out at all."
Beat was about to start trying to explain that getting kids caught up in violent wars with corporate-sponsored assassins was something he felt edged into his personal moral grey zone, but then he realised the smoke stink was getting stronger, scratching his throat, and the crackling of the flames was getting nearer.
"Let's get out of here," he hissed, and when Yo-Yo kept following him, he didn't want to risk telling him to go away.
***
"I never, ever want to have to run away from explosions again." Tab yanked his hat off and mopped his forehead with it. "That was not an adrenaline rush, that was just fucked up."
"Yeah, tell us about it," Gum said. "It's like a war zone out there. By the way, care to tell me who the chick is?"
The girl standing in the doorway raised a hand. "I'm Piranha."
"Our eyes met across an exploding street," Tab said. "She expressed interest in joining a gang. An hour later I felt that by managing to not get blown up, she'd proved herself."
"Uh... Beat's not back yet," Gum said. "Soon as he does -"
"Nuh-uh." Tab took a few shaky steps forward, but stayed standing. "Sorry, but... I promised. We were in the bus shelter and some guy... he just stepped off the bus and there were those damn beeps... and I said something really crass about the graffiti, you know? About blood? And graffiti? And she was there and she just acted like everything was fine, she just grabbed my arm and got me to start running and then we went and we kicked ass and so I said, I said I'd get her into the gang -"
"Um, Tab, you kind of look like you're going to faint -"
"I said -" Tab jammed his hat back onto his head. "So I'm sorry, but you're just going to have to live with it, because I owe her."
"Okay," Gum said. "Okay. Tell you what, you go and sit down for a bit, right? And, uh, Piranha - let's talk. Tab's judgement's usually pretty good."
***
Gum finally found Cube sitting, knees to chest, on the garage roof, staring out at the haze of smog that covered Kogane-cho.
"The others are trying to find a pizza delivery place that'll deliver and aren't hiding under the table," she said. "Wanna come in and place an order?"
Cube didn't answer. After a few moments, Gum scrambled out of the skylight and sat down on the warm concrete, a few feet away from her.
"You said some shit like this happened in Grind City," she said at last, scratching at a mark on the stone. "Besuited nutters showing up and glueing ugly posters everywhere. That was - that was after Coin disappeared, wasn't it?"
"Mm." Cube's voice was croaky.
"Boy, you and Combo sure attract the rough types."
"It's that damn record." Cube huddled over even further, rubbed a hand across her eyes. "That one you found. It looks just like the sort of thing he'd pick up. If he'd just left it alone -" She swallowed. "Oh, great, now I'm crying. Did I mention I hate crying in front of people? It's... it's like my least favourite thing."
"S'okay. I suck at doing female emotions. I'll just look at the sunset and cough awkwardly until you're done."
"Hey, Gum!" someone hollered from inside the garage. "You found Cube? Are you guys okay up there?"
"We're fine!" Gum yelled back. "We're talking about boys. And clothes. And periods."
There was a yelp of panic, and the caller withdrew.
"They know I want pepperoni," Gum said, stretching her legs out and tilting her face to the sky. "They won't bug me for at least a few minutes. You just take some time out."
***
Combo had expected to be last in line as they dashed into the Rokkaku Group offices and began grinding up the stair rails ("Shall we take the lift?" Garam had asked, and Beat had said, "You crazy? We're not trusting ourselves to electricity when someone's opening a portal to hell on the roof"). What he had not expected was that Mew would be the one just in front of him.
"You okay, kat?" he called when they were about halfway up and the others were a couple of flights ahead.
"Uh-huh!" Mew sounded very perky. "Just... you know..."
"We can stop, catch our breath," he said, even though grinding didn't get you out of breath and Mew usually seemed to have limitless energy.
"I stop," Mew said, with a giggle that sounded like a sob, "I'll never get going again. I... don't think I've ever been this scared."
Combo nodded. He wasn't so much scared as spoiling for a fight, seeing as it was these guys who'd sent his life into a tailspin to begin with, but whatever Mew was powered by, it wasn't aggression.
"It's gonna be all right," he said. "I got your back, okay? You just stick with me."
Mew nodded, shakily, and stretched out her arms as she slid into a new move.
"I know you have," she said. "You're a good guy."
***
Eventually, the green-yellow evil-radiating cloud shrank and shrank and then it was just a regular grey-blue cloud, just like all the others.
"Hey, leader man," Slate said, "we should get going."
Beat nodded. The other GGs were already hurrying back to the stairs. He didn't want to lean out too far. It was too high, and you probably couldn't spot pavement pizza from this far up anyway.
"Hey," he said. "You think I killed him?" His paint can was still in his hand. It felt all clammy.
Slate reflected on the question for a few moments. Beat knew he'd take it seriously when most of the other GGs would either be all no way, of course not immediately or make a joke out of it.
Eventually, Slate said, "Well... sorta."
Beat nodded. He wasn't sure how to answer that. It wasn't like Goji Rokkaku hadn't been trying to kill them. And it wasn't like Beat had been trying to get him to fall off the roof, he'd just been trying to stop the guy. Most people would give up once their glasses were covered with paint and they couldn't see. Goji, on the other hand, hadn't come across as someone who would quit when the going got tough, so maybe Beat should've known better.
Damn it.
"You're not going to go all tragic hero on me, are you?" Slate said.
"I... dunno. I'm not sure I'm up to it yet. Still thinking."
"For what it's worth," Slate said, "I think you did the right thing. You know, stepped up to the plate and all. Some people I know would've let a lackey do it so they could point the cops in that direction if they had to."
"You - you thought I'd pull that kind of shit?" Beat turned to look at him. Lights from the other skyscrapers glinted in his eyes.
Slate shrugged. "I reserve judgement on most things. Observation prior to action's, like, a good thing. But hey, your actions impressed me. You did what you had to."
"Okay," Beat said, suddenly feeling tired and confused and sick of the smell of smoke. "Thanks."
***
"You guys are weird," Slate said.
"You say the sweetest things," Tab said, frowning as he angled his paint can. "What is it this time, the hat or the pet dog?"
"Just... you guys," Slate said. "In case you hadn't noticed, you're the most successful gang ever. There's loads of you, you own all three districts - although I bet that won't last long - and you saved the world from an evil corporation."
"And?"
Slate shrugged, lent back against the wall. In front of him, the sun was rising over the river. "And, you're the most non-ruthless, pleasant, mild-mannered, distracted-by-shiny-things rudies I've ever met."
"So we're the good guys. Don't they always win?"
"Your leader's kind of a dope."
"He's your leader too," Tab said. The hiss of paint. In the distance, someone's radio playing, and the smell of waffles. "You're not trying to convince me to mount a coup d'etat, are you? 'Cause I'm not into that shit, and Gum would kill me anyway."
"Nah. I just wondered if you'd realised Beat's only leading the most successful gang in Tokyo-to because you lot are the wind beneath his fucking wings or whatever."
"Hey, I'm a geek underneath the boiler suit," Tab said. "I don't think about politics like that. My head's full of equations and hot video game girls."
Silence for a second. Then Slate said, "Wow, you really are as loyal as you seem."
"You're the most cynical bastard I've ever met."
"Yeah, but it's good to know other people are still adorably idealistic. It gives me hope for the -"
"Get them!" A shout echoed across the yard, and both rudies glanced round to see a clutch of policemen running enthusiastically towards them. In perfect unison, they both leapt onto the wall and began to grind, Tab pausing for just a second to put the finishing touches to his tag.
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no subject
Date: 2010-01-07 02:09 am (UTC)One Americanism I feel compelled to correct you on is when you had Cube say, "I've got some cents to get rid of." It's a bit weird for her to say "cents" in that context; your average Joe America would substitute it with the word "change." :) THE MORE YOU KNOW!
no subject
Date: 2010-01-07 07:13 pm (UTC)I liked writing Slate, he was a good counterpart to some of the others.
Ooh, thank you for pointing it out! I never would've picked up on that on my own. *makes mental note* ^^
no subject
Date: 2010-01-07 10:02 pm (UTC)The only context I can think of the word "cents" being used nowadays is when you're reading a price off something...even then, the "cents" is dropped pretty frequently. Like, $5.99 would be spoken as, "Five ninety-nine," and the "cents" is implied. Same goes for "dollars" and any synonyms, but not as frequently. Culture is so much fun to explore :D
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Date: 2010-01-08 12:45 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2010-01-07 07:31 am (UTC)Say, you started playing JSRF, did you ever finish? When are we ever gonna get fic of that?
no subject
Date: 2010-01-07 07:11 pm (UTC)I have not yet finished because my X-Box went on strike and then I kept being too busy. I definitely want to go back to it - I was really enjoying it!