AKIRA SIGHED  as ,  once again ,  he was too slow .  â  how am i supposed to beat the star of the track team with a time like this ?  â   he asked ,  almost ready to give up -------------    but he couldnât .  both his and ryujiâs reputations were on the line.
      if only heâd kept his mouth shut ...  but really ,  what was he supposed to do ?  that asshole wouldnât leave them alone ,  jumping out of the way when they walked by or pretending to have been stabbed when akira brushed past him by accident .  as if he didnât have enough of a reminder of how fucked up his life was !
      no ,  akira had had enough and he challenged the guy to a race ------  if akira could beat him at his own game ,  it would shut him up .  but ...  akira had never been one for running .  sure ,  he was quite capable in the metaverse ,  but that was joker ,  not him . Â
       the match was scheduled for after finals - he had only three weeks left and if he didnât start studying soon ,  he would risk his grades as well .  thankfully ,  ryuji had agreed to coach him .  still ,  akira wondered if the help would be enough to earn him the win .Â
       panting ,  akira trotted over to ryuji and grabbed both his water bottle and the towel from the otherâs hand .  â  how â bout some ramen ?  â
       @fatewept // random semi-plotted starter