RE:load

“Sorry we’re late!” Hurried footsteps echoed down the corridor, a few seconds later the two first-year high schoolers appeared at the bottom of the staircase in the hideout. The other three, Saikoro, Takeshi, and Hikari, had been sitting around speaking mindlessly on mundane topics. Their attention turned to the two. Nao was catching his breath, breathlessly scolding Ikumi for being too careless on the stairs once more—it was only a matter of time before she fell down them, he swore by it.

Both held two neatly pressed black dresses on hangers, along with white aprons and matching frilly headdresses. Their school bags were slung over one shoulder letting both students have one of their hands open, presumably because the girl of the pair was insistent they always held hands as they walked together.

“School held us in.” Nao explained with one final huff and set his things down in the corner.

“It’s no problem,” Saikoro waved his hand back and forth easily, eyeing up the matching dresses and raising an eyebrow. Then flashing a grin to his younger brother. “Can I ask?”

“No—!” He protested quickly, sticking his tongue out at his brother. “It’s none of your business!”

Unfortunately, he was interrupted by his usual overly excited friend.

“We’re running a maid cafe!” Ikumi held her dress up to show it off to the group. “Our class is doing it for the school festival! We’re gonna make cakes and stuff!”

Saikoro snickered, clapping his hands together. “Uwah! That’s so much fun! I’m surprised to see Nao so willing to participate...” He stood up, ready to taunt his sibling in every way possible.

“Didn’t you say before? ‘School festivals are stupid!’” Carelessly he threw his arm over his shoulder and messed up his soft brown hair.

“It’s for a girl, yeah? That's the only way you’d join! You’re tryna impress someone!”

“What!?” Nao almost choked as he gasped, however his eyes darted to the direction of someone, then back quickly to his brother. Nao broke away from Saikoro’s annoying hug and tried to cover his cheeks, which are now tinted the brightest shade of red.

“It’s not that at all! I-I don’t like anyone! I just wanted to wear the dress!”

As fate would have it, Nao was once more called out.

“Yukkun totally has a crush! I see him doodling hearts in his notebook all the time!” Ikumi doomed him with her comment, poking at his red face happily.

“He covers it up so I can never read the initials! But I’m gonna find out soon!”

“Oh, that's so sweet! You should tell us about her, Nao.” Hikari added with a soft giggle, laying her hand over her heart. “Young love is so precious.”

“It’s no one!” His voice threatened to break, the tone laced with begging. “Can we please drop this!?”

Hikari (his savior) stood up to intervene, thinking of a quick way to change the subject. “Alright, alright!” She paused for a moment, humming as she did so.

“What day is it? The festival? We should all go!”

The two teens looked to her, their expressions lighting up, Ikumi seemed to look the happiest about the comment. “You really wanna come, Hikarin?!”

“Of course! It sounds fun!”

Not even stopping to breathe, Ikumi rushed her words out, reciting all the details at once without a second thought.

“It’s in a month from today! It goes all day too, so you can come at any time! We’ll save a good cake for you. You two as well!” She turned to Saikoro and Takeshi, who both grinned and held a thumbs up.

“Sounds great!” Hikari mused, petting the now-out-of-breath girls back. “I promise we’ll all be there.”

“Then,” Saikoro clapped his hands. “With that settled, shall we start our meeting?”

In unison, everyone nodded, determined to start their usual training.

~

“That’ll hurt in the morning for sure...” Hikari grumbled, rubbing her arm as she flopped down on one of the couches along with everyone else.

As always, training was merciless.

Having been the only one with experience in rap, Ikumi was appointed the role of “coach” towards the others and though they had been together for a short time, she felt everyone was making stable progress. At least from what she had observed.

For beginners, they picked up on the concept of flow quickly and had begun to develop a style for themselves. It was impressive for starters, and further confirmed the idea that they really were the best—brought together only by fate!

However, they didn't come without faults, and for that reason, she had gotten into the habit of being stern in her training.

To her, sparing was the only way to get the results they wanted. The others agreed of course, it seemed like a good idea. Battling each other would give them a chance to get a feel for their own mics and to get used to the feeling of taking hits in a safe area… but none of them seemed to think that their self-appointed coach didn’t want to hold back.

And that was a mistake, really.

“You all did super good today.” Ikumi hummed, by this point, she was the only one who didn’t look completely exhausted. By some miracle, she was standing straight with barely a hair out of place.

Traditions formed fast in the group and as per tradition, to congratulate them, she reached into her bag and took out four packets of melon bread and tossed one to each of her friends.

“Koro is right, I think we’re ready!”

Nao tore into the bread quickly, taking a mouthful and swallowing it down within a matter of seconds.

He looked up towards her then to his brother and quirked an eyebrow. “Ready for what exactly?”

Saikoro was too focused on his own snack to respond, taking much smaller bites and covering his mouth with his hand delicately as he chewed in an attempt to always look cute.

“Oh! He asked me to get us a spot in the next underground battle.” Ikumi spoke up, setting herself down on the armrest next to Hikari.

“We’ll be fighting against this one team, I think they’re called Orizon? They’re pretty weak and they haven’t placed before so I think we can beat them easily—”

“W-Wait, we’re actually going to battle?” Hikari paled, looking at the microphone sitting in her lap, hesitation settling into the pit of her stomach.

“I-I mean I knew we were going to, but… now? Are we really ready for that?”

Nao nodded along as Hikari spoke. “Yeah… going against other people is great and all but we’ve only ever fought each other…”

With a reassuring smile, Saikoro put the worries of the other two at ease. “We can do it for sure! We have each other's backs! Plus, how can we know if we’re ready to fight other people unless we actually fight other people?”  

The proposal made sense to an extent and seemed to encourage the weary gang easily—all except Nao who still seemed hesitant. Saikoro bit into the bread he was gifted and tossed his arm over his brother.

“No need to be nervous! If we lose, it’s no big deal either.”

“Not that we’re gonna!” Ikumi insisted, grinning as wide as ever “Right, guys?”

The expression on Naos face turned more worried, but he nodded along with the others who began to chat happily amongst themselves. All anxieties transforming into excitement.

~

After the practice, Saikoro left with the two girls.

Being out past curfew was dangerous and he knew the backroads well enough so he could easily sneak them back into their own divisions.

As for Takeshi and Nao, they stayed behind.

Nao didn’t like being in the car with his brother (who would always swear to be a good driver) and Takeshi had decided their little hideaway was a good location to study, it was quiet and away from any distractions—aside from Nao’s nervous expression that remained as he looked through meaningless images on his phone.

“Is everything alright, Nao?” He looked up from his books, keeping his finger in the place he was reading so he wouldn’t lose his spot.

“Ah—” He looked up from his phone, nodding quickly. “Of course, yeah, everything’s fine… I’m just a bit…”

“Nervous? There's no need to be. In the battle, those who lose are just as gallant as those who succeed! In fact, being in battle in of itself is a triumph—”

“It’s not that.” Nao laughed, enjoying Takeshi’s idea of a pep talk nonetheless.

“I don’t mind if we win or lose, we’re new to this whole thing and we’re still learning, but…” He shook his head. “I just know that some of us aren’t as good at… dealing with failure.” Nao rubbed the back of his neck, looking towards the roof which had a small crack running along it. His eyes followed the path it created absentmindedly. “It’s nothing to worry about though, I’m sure, she’s probably grown out of it anyway.”

“If you insist.” Takeshi nodded and turned his attention back to his book, never the kind to pry or nag someone to talk.

“Yeah… she’ll be fine. Then,” Nao stood up, picking up his school bag and the black dress as he did so. He turned on his heels and made his way to the bottom of the staircase before glancing back at Takeshi, his expression shifting into a plain smile and a simple wave.

“See you later.”

“You sure we should be doing this?” Nao asked as he watched the other four position the shiny red phone booth near a steep slope.

Ikumi shared glances with the others before she made her way towards her friend.

“It’ll be fine…” She said with a reassuring smile as she placed her hands on his shoulders and guided him towards the phone booth.

“Besides, we only live once! Now get in!” Without waiting for his protests, she shoved him in.

“Quick! Everyone get in! There’s no backing out now!”

Listening to her orders, Saikoro grabbed Hikari and Takeshi, dragging them into the phone booth. Ikumi ran to the back of the booth and gave it a hard shove, pushing it to the very edge.

“Grab my hand!” Saikoro shouted out, offering his hand out to her.

She grabbed his hand and was quickly pulled in just before the red phone booth went sliding down the slope.

“T-This was a bad idea!”

“Woohoo! This is our best idea yet!”

~

Jyuto stayed seated in the driver seat of his cop car with a bored look on his face. He’d much rather be at home relaxing on his couch instead of being on watch for any speeding vehicles.

A sudden crackle came from his walkie-talkie, “Anything on your end, Iruma?”

“There’s nothing so far. Who’d even be speed—” He got cut off when he heard faint screams that were getting closer by the second.

“Hold that thought.” He released the button on his walkie-talkie and watched as a familiar, shiny red booth went zooming past his car. “...I’ll get back to you.” He spoke into the black box. His son was in so much trouble when he caught up to them.

~

Ding-dong.

“Coming!” Ichiro patted his hands dry on his jeans before he went to open the door. He expected to see his daughter standing there, and he was right! But beside her there was also a certain police officer. His eyes were wide in shock as he bore into Jyuto before switching gazes to his daughter, who had a nervous grin on her lips.

“H-Hey, Dad…”

He had no words. Why was his daughter with this cop!? What did she do? Jyuto placed a hand on her shoulder while clearing his throat.

“I’m here to drop your kid off. Apparently she and several friends of her’s decided it was fun to go on a little high-speed chase.”

Jyuto glanced back at his cop car with the phone booth hooked on to it. At the backseat of his cop car there were the other four troublemakers, shoving each other around for more space. (His son doesn’t deserve the passenger seat.)

“Just be thankful that it was me who caught her and not some other cop.”

“Yeah, yeah, thanks again.” Ichiro quickly led Ikumi in and closed the door behind him.

“We tell nothing to your mom. You know the drill.” He had done much worse in his past… but who was he to bring it up now?

With her head lowered, she nodded. “I know.”

The air between father and daughter was tense until she lifted her head to look up at her father. “Want to know how fast we were going?”

It was on a Friday afternoon that they first ever got together.

Saikoro stood in their new-found base, a long-abandoned subway station that was somehow left unguarded by Chuuoku officials.

A dark space hidden under the city, out of reach of GPS tracking, cameras and guards… it felt like a haven once you ignored the damp dripping walls and occasional scurry of rodents.

“I’ll give it a makeover someday.” Saikoro mused to himself, a calm smile on his face.

“I’m sorry for the intrusion…!” A mousy voice spoke up, Hikari descending down the pair of stairs and into the cold area they had claimed as their own.

She was still adorned in the frills of her maid dress, a brown coat sitting on her shoulders to keep her warm from the winter outside.

Saikoro turned to her, a bigger smile growing over his face as he bounced towards her

“You’re Hikarin, right?! My name is Saikoro! You met my baby bro!” His voice filled with life and colour as he spoke. “You’re the first to arrive! How wonderful!”

“I am?” She swallowed, no wonder it felt so quiet and creepy on her way down. “Are we just waiting for um…” She tried to recall the name. “Nao… are we only waiting for Nao?”

“Nope!” If possible, stars would be lacing his speech. “We’re gonna be a big team, Hikarin! Isn’t it exciting?!”

“Hikarin…” She let the name linger, laughing a little. “How many of us are there then?”

“Five!” Saikoro held his hands up, showing her the number in case she misheard.

As if clockwork, an echo came down the stairs.

“Ya-chan, slow down! You’ll—I’ll fall over!”

“Chill out, Yukkun!” In a burst of energy, two high school children appeared—still in uniform and all.

Nao was being dragged by his friend, who was presumably far more energetic.

“Ah, they’re here!” Saikoro chirped, Hikari examined the two—today Nao wore a uniform to match his friend’s: a white blouse, a skirt, and a bow, both light blue. She then found herself staring at the mentioned friend, her eyes moving down slightly. This girl was only in high school but already so, so much bigger than her. How unfair!

“Heya!” The shorter of the pair spoke up, grabbing Hikari’s hand (and attention) by shaking it rapidly. “My name’s Yamada Ikumi! Nice to meet you!”

She tried not to crumble under the pressure of the handshake. She was only in high school and so much stronger than her as well. “A-ah… yes… nice to meet you Yama-”

“No, no! Call me Ikumin! Or Iku if ya like!” She insisted, freeing her grip. If Hikari hadn’t been a nurse, she would have sworn her hand was broken.

“In that case, it’s nice to meet you, Ikumi.” She bowed slightly. “My name is Izanami Hikari.”

“Then!” Saikoro threw his arms over the two girls. “We’re just waiting for one more person~ How exciting!”

“—-Sorry for the intrusion.” As if on cue, a tall boy entered the room. Hikari craned her neck up to meet his face, finding herself slightly daunted.

“It's no problem!” Saikoro sang, rolling on the balls of his feet happily. “For those who don't know, this is Takeshi”

“Nice to meet you.” Hikari bowed her head quickly, the other two giving him a quick wave.

Takeshi scanned the room, pushing his glasses up on his face. “It's nice to make your acquaintance, I presume we are all a team now?”

“Correct!” Saikoro cheered once more, charisma filling the room “This is it! All five of us!”

He stood in front of them all, determination glowing in his eyes.