#owin

Owin

James Steel hadn't expected to find world class bladers in the local tournament. Really, he was just there to take a break and instruct his students on what common mistakes not to make and perhaps to scope out some new talent.

He had had to bite the insides of his cheeks so that he wouldn't shout about all the mistakes the competitors were making. Those kids were the same age as his own students. Sure, they were kids but if they were serious enough about blading to enter the tournament, they needed help.

Perhaps he should put out some more flyers and take in some more students. More students would take more time out of his schedule, especially ones so young, but there was nothing that felt better than to help kids reach their full potential.

"Rip!"

He came to a stop, watching as a kid tried to knock over a can. It was one of the competitors of the tournament that had occurred today. He tried to connect the fluffy brown hair and the dark skin to a na—

Right. Owin. The one who almost reached the quarter finals.

"Ah, man!" the kid said as he jogged over to collect his bey. "What am I doing wrong?"

James decided to speak up. "For one thing, your shoulders are too tense."

"Huh?" The kid looked around and finally spotted him. "Who're you?"

James shrugged. "Just someone who likes beys."

The kid's eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"An alley isn't really a great place to train. Tell you what, kid. Come to my gym and I'll help you."

Owin leaned forward, eyes lighting up. "Really? You're a bey teacher?"

"Yeah. The name's James Steel."

It took a while for Owin to convince his parents, but he soon became a member of the Dungeon Gym.

-------

Toby

When the door opened, James had to pause for a while. The storm outside was so intense that he'd given his students a day off. They all loved a vacation too much to show up, not that their parents would let them even if they did.

Did something happen?

He left his work room and came to a stop. He wasn't sure what he had expected, but it wasn't a small kid drenched from head to toe. Their eyes met and the kid froze as though he had been caught stealing. Through chattering teeth, he stammered an apology, already half out.

"Hey, wait."

The kid froze once more. James did not like the way his fingers tensed around the doorknob.

"Come on in."

Within an hour, Toby became a member too.

-------

Bruce and Brad

"We're the ultimate tag team!"

He watched the two kids who had just come in, his lips twitching in amusement. Kids were adorable sometimes.

"We've come to challenge your gym," the blond one said.

"Go ahead and try," Owin said. "Toby and I will take you on." He turned to his self-proclaimed partner. "Right?"

Toby turned to James in confusion. "I thought battles with outsiders weren't allowed."

"Well, yeah, but these two asked me instead of just barging in here, so why not? You kids need a challenge every now and then."

Needless to say, Toby and Owin won the match.

------

Zeo

"Toby, how come you're late today? You're never late."

"And who's that?"

"Are you a blader, kid?"

James suppressed an infuriated sigh. He left for two minutes and they skipped their training. Kids.

"Hold it!"

They all jumped and turned to him with panicked looks.

"All of you, back to training."

With a startled, "Yes, sir," they all scrambled to the nearest task, not even minding that he had told Owin to do the shadow launches and Brad to do the push-ups, not the other way around. And why on Earth was Bruce doing balance training?

"Sorry I'm late, Coach," Toby said. All the fear from the first night was gone and Toby boldly met his eyes.

James nodded. "Don't make a habit of it." He turned to the other kid and the small brown haired boy tensed a little. "What's your name?"

"Uh, I'm Zeo Abyss. I'd like to join too, please."

"Zeo, huh?" He needed to see his skill level. "Give me a shadow launch."

Zeo did as he was told, his stance a little off because of the suddenness of the command.

"Very well, then. Welcome to the Dungeon Gym."

-------

Masamune

"I take my eyes off of you for one second and you forget all about training."

The new kid — someone clad in red — furrowed his eyebrows. "Don't be such a grouch."

James raised an eyebrow. None of the kids he's recruited so far had done something like that. Interesting kid, that one.

"No one's battled me at all since I came here! I'm cramping up for goodness's sake!"

Another one who liked to battle. Well, the gym was open for anyone who wanted to join. James just wished that the kids would learn to ask him directly instead of just bringing in strangers or battling anyone who showed up.

Zeo encouraged the new kid and Toby warned him about the strict training, but it only seemed to make him want to join even more. At least, not until after he had joined and been given the task.

Honestly, no kid had ever complained about the training exercises that much, not since or after. But Masamune had spirit, James would have to give him that much.

----------

King and Chris

Following the repairs that came after the Nemesis Crisis, James was relieved to know that Toby, Zeo and Masamune especially — what had he been thinking, going head first into a fight with the freaking god of destruction anyway? That kid would be the death of him one day — could take it easy for a while.

Not that it stopped them from training so much, but that was just what those kids were like. So were King and Chris, apparently.

Speaking of which, he had something to say to the two of them.

"Why do we have to sign this?" King said, looking at the contract as if he was actually reading it, though James knew better than to think he was.

"With this, you'll be an actual member of the gym."

True to himself, King grinned. "Cool!" He scribbled something at the sheet which James was sure was barely legible even though he had yet to see it.

King handed the form back and— Yup, this kid's writing was horrible.

"Hurry up and sign, Chris!" Masamune said, throwing an arm around the blond precisely because he knew Chris hated that.

"Yeah, what're you just staring at it for?" King added.

Chris turned to the two of them and then to him. Swimming in his eyes was— Wait.

Oh, no, he didn't.

"If you're thinking about leaving, kid, then so help me—"

"No way!"