Facing the Past [Yoru]

I see you through the flood
See you through the fire
See you through the storms-a-raging

❧

It was a spur of the moment decision when Yoru walked up to Ryuusei one day and said “Come practice parkour with me at the park” without leaving a chance for refusal. It wasn’t at all posed as a question, but still, it made Yoru somewhat surprised when his demand was actually accepted.

He had known Ryuusei as a quiet, stoic, somewhat bored-looking guy, and it somehow irked him that the boy was barely showing reactions during conversations. However, the memory of the Kunshuu festival was still vivid in his mind and he remembered how revitalizing it was to see Ryuusei there, and work together with him. That might have been one of the reasons he asked for a parkour session, which, he suspected, would turn into either rookie practice for Ryuusei, or a simple show-off session for Yoru. He would be fine with either, so long as he could spend time with the boy and get to know his classmate better.

Sporting his simplest black shirts with a pair of khaki shorts and track shoes, Yoru arrived to the meeting point just a few minutes late. A set of belt-chains were tinkling at his side as he skidded to a halt near Ryuusei from behind him. A simple waist-bag was fastened to his belt, just big enough to secure his phone and a little bit of money in case they will need something to drink later. Yoru will DEFINITELY need something to drink later. He was obviously running toward their meeting point for who knows how long, and he was still barely getting a little sweaty. His hair was more of a mess than usual due to the run, but his eyes were ever sparkling with the same yellow hue, as if glowing from his own flames. His arms were bare, and a few healed burning marks were visible just above his wrists, but that was nothing unusual.

“Hey.” He panted slightly from his run and raised his hand for a greeting. While the park was not the best place for real freerunning, it had enough obstacles in forms of monkey bars, skateboard roads, benches and trees to provide some help for a little practice. For Yoru, it was simple, but for Ryuusei, it would be perfect for a start. “Ready for some running? You need stamina, and who knows, it might help regulate your breathing.” He had known from their first meeting that breathing was important for Ryuusei’s quirk, and what better way to enhance that than doing sports, especially running.

He leaped to a bench and jumped on its headboard with one swift movement, and turned toward his classmate, looking at him from there, balancing on the middle of his feet. “So, how much do you actually know of parkour? My guess is that you can at least run and jump.” He smirked, words intended to be teasing, but his eyes said that he was excited to have a potential partner in freerunning.

words: 496 ● Ryuusei Igarashi ● This will be awesome!

I see you through the flood
See you through the fire
See you through the storms-a-raging

❧

Yoru himself was already warmed up. Approaching their meeting point with a run was exactly for the purpose of loosening his muscles for more running to come, but if he was honest with himself, he never felt himself being not warmed up. Ryuusei’s responses weren’t quite eager, but that was nothing new from the always stoic classmate. It almost seemed like he was waving Yoru’s words off as an annoyance, but when the teasing began, a shit eating grin crept onto Yoru’s face. “Try your best, greenhorn!”

He barely looked around for a particular course to do, and settled his sight on something far behind himself. Still balancing on the top of the bench, he adjusted his stance to turn his body sideways.

“Do you see that fountain?” Yoru pointed toward a simple water fountain with a female statue in the middle some hundred meters ahead. There were various benches, and railings between them and the fountain. “Let’s race toward it. There is only one rule: avoiding obstacles is forbidden. You have to go above them. Or. You know. Under. Whatever. But you can’t go around anything that gets in your way. Got it? Go!”

And without so much as a warning, he leaped into action, jumping from the bench and kicking his body forward in a sprint. He wasn’t going fast enough to be impossible to pass, and he turned his torso halfway backward to yell another little tidbit.

“And do not worry about the people around, they usually don’t care to stop us anyway!” He turned back forward just in time to see the next bench getting near as he approached it, and without missing so much as a breath, jumped over it with a somersault. Reaching out, his fingers barely touched the backboard, his knees were pulled close to his chest but he never lost buoyancy. In a seamless motion his feet touched the ground again and he continued on toward a railing that reached past his waist. Going under it would have been the easier thing to do, so he vaulted himself over it, grabbing the top with one hand during the jump and yet again landing and continuing the motion as if there never was a jump at all.

He only barely glanced back to see how his friend way faring, because really, he didn’t want this meeting to be only about him showing off his skills. Okay, maybe he wanted that a little bit, but still.

words: 412 ● Ryuusei Igarashi ●

I see you through the flood
See you through the fire
See you through the storms-a-raging

❧

Rather than a headstart, he just wanted to start the run as soon as possible. Only a slight grin was the answer to Ryuu’s jab though. He said it was a race, but really, it was just a little fun with a friend, and in the meantime, maybe they can develop some much needed muscle on Ryuu’s body. That boy will need endurance if he wants to get the best out of his quirk that was heavily linked to his breathing.

He only had to sidestep one pedestrian and her dog to continue on without a problem. The next two branches were dealt with a haul, and as the female statue grew near, he stepped up on the edge of the fountain just above the knee-high water, watching Ryuu arrive from up above. At least NOW he was taller than his classmate, who was usually topping him by a meager five centimeters. Only barely panting from the run, but not at all breaking a sweat, he was waiting for his friend to gather himself.

“Well, if we consider how late you started compared to me, you might be right.” He made a point by checking an invisible watch on his wrist theatrically. “Maybe it is your reaction time that we should be working on, what do you think?” He wasn’t quite expecting a reply, so his eyes checked the surroundings for the next short course for them to take. He was taking his time, acting as if he was just now trying to think of the best possible route, but instead he was just giving enough time for Ryuu to catch his breath.

“Okay, next one is that way.” He pointed toward a currently empty playground with bars, swings and seesaws, the distance being about the same as the route to the fountain. “The bench just past that playground. The only additional rule is that you have to climb through the monkey bar one way or another. Ready?” A momentary pause. “Go!”

As there was only one railing and a broken bench in the way, the greatest obstacle was obviously the giant jungle gym itself. While the place was made for preschoolers, the bars were complicated the big enough for the two of them to climb through with a little trouble, although getting inside the bars would prove some difficulty. They were teenagers, and the gaps weren’t wide enough everywhere to let their shoulders fit through, though a more stubborn one would probably manage. Yoru swore not to try and get past the obstacle through the gaps again, as the first time he tried a few weeks ago, he tangled himself and ended up with a swollen ankle, a nearly dislocated shoulder, and broken pride when the two preschoolers and their mom were laughing at him. Yeah, that was something he wouldn’t risk, and decided it was better to bury even the memory deep into his consciousness.

Jumping up on the jungle gym’s side and crawling his way up and through its top, Yoru jumped with another flashier somersault on the other side of it, repeating a roll as he landed to soften his collision with the ground. He was uncaring about the state of his clothes, as he knew whenever he was out for a run, he would get dirty from the landings and the climbs either way. He was beside the bench when he turned around to check how Ryuu was dealing with the playground.

He had to admit, the other boy was more fit and determined than he gave him credit for. He assumed Ryuu to be the classical wallflower who would break a bone from the wind blowing his way, but he was really trying his best, and seemed to be willing to do more.

words: 629 ● Ryuusei Igarashi ● On to the second one!

I see you through the flood
See you through the fire
See you through the storms-a-raging

❧

Ryuu was honestly exceeding his expectations. As it seemed, he had some basic stamina for this kind of exercise, and he appeared to be barely out of breath after the second run. He wasn’t even that far behind either, which meant he was getting faster as he warmed up too. That, or he was just getting used to Yoru’s speed and adjusted his own accordingly. If that was true, this guy was hella adaptable as well, which was even more of a plus in parkour. Or in anything, really.

“Yoga is boring.” he replied automatically. Aside from that, meditation wasn’t his thing either, which was apparently a part of yoga. Last time he even tried to do it, he imaginarily re-decorated his entire room, planned his next day and decided what to cook that night for his parents before he opened his eyes and realized only one minute passed that he was supposed to spend with meditation. He couldn’t handle another second of that. “This is a good stress-reliever, and it also helps me work off excess energy in case my fire would burst out accidentally.” He explained casually, as if that was the most natural conclusion he could find.

“A rooftop run would be a bit much for you yet. I’m not even sure you can fall and land safely in case you trip.” His head was raised suddenly, as if he just realized what he said. “Wait, do you know the rules of safe landing at all?” He grabbed a fistful of hair on the side of his head. “Man, maybe I should have started with the safety measures. Oh well. You are better than you look, so maybe you can learn as you go. Anyway...” After he convinced himself that it was okay for Ryuu to learn by experience and figure out the safest ways of a freerun by himself, he looked around for the next direction they should be taking. His eyes settled on a stone wall just outside of the edge of the park, and he hummed to himself.

“So you want something more challenging, huh? Okay then. We will try to climb a wall.” Just like before, he raised his arm and pointed toward the whitewashed wall that was a bit shy of three meters tall, and was probably hiding either a house or the parking lot of a convenience store behind. In their way, there was only one bench and a rather long clearing of grass to reach their destination. “That is the goal.” He didn’t say that the rules were the same as before, as he assumed Ryuu would continue to abide by them. “Ready?” He stared at his classmate. Grinned. Wiggled his eyebrow. The boy should know what was coming--- “Go!”

Yoru jumpstarted, and he half-expected Ryuu to do the same as he was getting used to Yoru’s hyperactive nature of refusing to wait for his partner to act. This run was easy, the bench was only a thing to be jumped over, and the clearing was perfect to gain momentum to climb the goal. The wall was obviously the main obstacle this time. Yoru kept his pace steady and fast, gaining speed just a few meters in front of it so he had the buoyancy to run up it. The trick was to keep the pace and the leg movement and literally trick physics into letting you run vertically. He reached up when he could feel gravity realizing it made a mistake in letting him run upward and trying to crash him down. He grabbed the top of the stone wall and pulled himself up with ease, seating himself on top riding-style, legs dangling on either side of the wall.

Yet again, he looked back to see how Ryuu was doing, and readied himself to reach out and pull the guy up in case he needed help with the wall. He didn’t care about passerbies looking at him funny as he sat up there.

words: 664 ● Ryuusei Igarashi ● Third! Go!

I see you through the flood
See you through the fire
See you through the storms-a-raging

❧

Yoru quickly decided that safe-landing will be the next lesson in parkour for Ryuu. Even if the boy was rather good at following example and learning from experience, he could do without seeing his friend break a bone or two when he attempted jumps.

“I knew I can count on you.” He deadpanned when Ryuu mentioned he would tell everyone that it was Yoru’s fault he broke a bone in case an accident happened. But he knew a joke when it was told in such an obvious way, so he wasn’t able to keep up the pokerface for long before grinning.

As expected, Ryuu was not fooled by the sudden start a third time. For the first few moments, they were head-to-head, before Yoru picked up the pace and reached the goal at the first place again. Running, jumping, climbing, it was as if he was free, as if there was nothing he couldn’t overcome. Nothing could hold him back, nothing existed that could make him stop. Parkour meant freedom, and it was a representation of his own soul.

Once he was comfortable on top of the wall, he was ready to help Ryuu out in case he needed it. Ryuu was swift, he had the bodily ability to gain enough knowledge and experience in parkour if he was really interested, but as it appeared, he lacked exactly that – experience. Yoru was there though, reaching out for his hand when gravity wanted to take him, and pulled his friend up next to him on top of the wall. He let Ryuusei catch his breath, and he was also regulating his own breathing to a normal pace so they could continue going whenever they wanted to.

“Duh.” He answered, as if it was completely natural that he could do it easier. “I have been doing this for a while. If you turned out to be as good as me right from the start, I would be ashamed.” But there was no way Yoru would give up his crown when it came to parkour. This was a passion, a way of life, rather than a hobby.

He didn’t have to wait for too long before Ryuu asked about the next course of action curiously, but they were both startled by a crash and a scream coming from nearby. Just past the stone wall they were sitting on, across the parking lot was a convenience store, now with a broken door and a horrified-looking shop clerk in front of it. Yoru’s head turned just in time to catch a good glimpse of the man running away.

His blood froze, despite being of pure fire.

He knew that person. But that was impossible. He shouldn’t be here in Tokyo, least of all robbing a convenience store.

His eyes were blown wide, his body went rigid, but before he could find reasons or think about consequences, he acted, and leaped off the wall. There was no ready-and-go this time, and if Ryuu was any slower, Yoru would disappear from sight behind the corner of the store, right where the robber run off to.

His mind was blank while his body raced to catch up with the man. Just like Yoru, this person was utilizing his ability to jump over railings and steps to get as far away from the scene as fast as possible. But Yoru’s whole body was concentrating on catching this person, and he knew the area better. The way the robber went will be a dead end, another wall that would slow anyone down except a parkour expert. Yoru jumped toward the side, catching the end of a fire-escape to gain a higher ground, and by jumping from one step to another, he was able to get near the man, and with a last leap, land just in front of him before the robber would be able to climb the wall.

The shock was more than enough to halt the man in his escape, and Yoru stared him down, orange eyes shining brightly even though his flame was nowhere to be seen.

The robber was maybe a year or two older than him, dark-haired, face sharp, despite it belonging to a teen. He was taller by only an inch, though definitely bulkier compared to the more stringy Yoru. But still, he took a step back, staring at the U.A. student in disbelief.

“...Yokkun?!!”

He was hugging a smaller, packed bag to his chest, obviously filled with the loot of whatever it was that he robbed from the convenience store. Yoru only glanced at it briefly, and instead, kept staring at the man.

“Daichi.” Both of his arms were covered by stone. Yoru remembered that kind of skin transformation to be the man’s quirk, although back then he was barely able to cover one hand with the material. “What the hell are you d---?”

“Why’re ya here?!”

“I live here, damnit!” Yoru’s patience was thin. “What’re you doing here? What the hell? Why are you looting a convenience store?”

“You’ve no right tha’ judge me!”

”A robbery, damnit?!”

“Shut up!”

Daichi tried to get past Yoru and jump away, but the hero student wouldn’t let him off that easy. He would leap just in front of him to stand in his way. Yoru’s back was toward the dead-end of the alley. If Daichi decided to turn and run toward the exit, Yoru would be able to follow him easily, not to mention they would probably run into other people coming their way. He wouldn’t let this guy get away. Not without getting the loot back, and not without getting answers. “You had a hard-on for justice and now you are doing petty crimes? Are you nuts?!”

“You guys ran away from tha’ gang, so ya have no right tha’ say anythin’! Coward! Traitor!”

That was almost a slap to the face, but his flame crown was still not appearing. Just what the hell happened? They disbanded, everyone went on their way! There was no reason for an Okinawa kid to appear in Tokyo again after so many years! Daichi was the kind of person to save a kitten from a tree, and walk elderly people across the street. This guy, standing in front of him, running away from a crime scene with a packed bag was anything but the person Yoru remembered. It made him incredibly angry, so angry that it suppressed his emotions altogether.

He almost forgot about Ryuu, who was probably near them by that time...

words: 1086 ● Ryuusei Igarashi ● I had fun with this one, can you tell?

I see you through the flood
See you through the fire
See you through the storms-a-raging

❧

Concentrating on Daichi in front of him was the only thing Yoru was capable to do while his emotions were going haywire. Coward? Traitor? Him?! The gang disbanded, no one remained so there was no one to run away from. They decided consensually to stop their meddling after the incident, and never to talk about it again. The fact Daichi was here, doing the exact opposite he was so hellbent on when younger was an indicator of something going wrong. As if the whole world was turning on itself.

He saw movement from the corner of his eyes behind Daichi, and his eyes widened a fraction when his sight locked on Ryuu. Right. Ryuu was there too, but being the single-track minded idiot he was, Yoru almost forgot about him as soon as he sighted their robber.

How much did he hear? There was a reason Yoru never talked about what happened before he came to U.A., as he knew that vigilantism would fire his chances at being a hero. But really, more than anything, he was terrified of being judged for what happened back then, for what his young and impressionable mind thought he was able to do. With Daichi here, secrets were thrown into the open, a sleeping beast poked.

Ryuu, that stupid boy, image of the calm and collected mind already jumped into the conversation, and gained Daichi’s attention. The older boy’s head snatched Ryuu’s way, eyes wide. Feeling as a trapped rat, he wasn’t able to take a step in either direction without the need to get through either of the boys. He knew what Yoru was capable of. But he had not known anything about this new addition, and the unknown made him decide it would be risky to try and break through and go past Ryuusei. For now, he decided to stay put.

Hearing Ryuusei’s words, Daichi weighted his options, visibly thinking through the meanings and trying to gauge the consequences. The police arriving would be bad news for him. For a long moment, he watched Ryuu intently, but then a smile cracked on his face and a short laugh left him. “Hah, nice try! We’re always doin’ tha’ trick too, when we thought tha baddie was dumb enough tha fall for it.” His laugh turned into a snarl. “Guess what! I know all tha tricks!” He turned back toward Yoru, who stayed uncharacteristically quiet this time. “Who this, a new friend o’ yours? Ya makin’ a new gang or what?” He was seething, angry at the implications, showing teeth while spitting out the words.

Yoru was just as angry, taking a step forward and balling his hands into fists to try and hold back his flames bursting. “Shut yo mouth!” The gangly language resurfaced for a moment, but he switched his sight between Daichi and Ryuusei, trying to figure out what to do, and how to resolve this situation without digging himself deeper in front of his best friend.

Best friend, huh? Will he be able to think of Ryuusei as such after this shitty day was over? He glared daggers at Daichi to make him go quiet, but he should have known better that the daring stone-skinned guy couldn’t keep his mouth shut when his emotions riled up. “It’s just like ya to turn to new friends once tha ol’ ones are borin’, or, I dunno, got destroyed!”

“SHUT UP!”

Yoru leaped. His patience was thin, tried from seeing an old friend be anything but what he remembered aside from the passionate eyes and quirk used. Desperation drove him, because he wanted Daichi to shut up before he destroyed Yoru’s current life. Before Yoru destroyed his own life. Flames burst on his forehead and hands, urging him forward in his jump that must have been as surprising for Daichi as for Yoru himself, because the other couldn’t dodge him at all. Yoru tackled the other to the ground and grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, snarling down at him. He straddled Daichi’s waist as he struggled. “Just stay put!”

A growl, a shout was his answer. “You asshole! Grunt of the litter! No wonder Asaze left!”

Flames disappeared instantly just like candlelight in a storm. Daichi saw his chance and lashed out, smashing his stone-coated lower arm against the side of Yoru’s face. The flame-user fell against one of the many containers lined at the walls of the alley.

Without looking at the damage he did, Daichi jumped to his feet, and ran toward the exit of the dead-end, not risking going past Yoru and above the wall in case he was stopped easier. He decided to risk the unknown, and headed for Ryuu to tackle him, hurt him if necessary, and get out of the trap, out to the open street where he could run again and never be confronted by ghosts of the past, by emotions that he tried to bury deep under the reality of the present. It was just his luck that he met with Yoru, from all people. The person he never wanted to hurt, but still did in his sour desperation.

words: 857 ● Ryuusei Igarashi ● A wild Daichi attacked

I see you through the flood
See you through the fire
See you through the storms-a-raging

❧

Yoru barely heard Ryuu’s voice through the haze of rage and anxiety that rise further and further up as Daichi stayed at the scene. He tried to do everything to restrain the older boy and keep him down on the ground, to capture him, to shut his mouth or to potentially beat him unconscious to get it all over with. Daichi would just continue to spout the truth that Yoru liked to label as nonsense instead, but when one name, that name was thrown at him, all fire left his body. It was blown away in a wind that name kicked up. And so, Yoru was shown aside, and Daichi attempted his escape.

Being thrown into a container and blacking out for short moments, Yoru was unaware of what was going on with Ryuu and Daichi. He only saw Ryuu when he crouched down and addressed him with a simple apology. Yoru glared at him and almost yelled, but refrained when he saw the state his classmate was in. He blacked out only for moments, but Daichi was nowhere to be found, and Ryuu already looked like he spent all his energy on fighting off a bull. He couldn’t bring himself to bite off the guy’s head when he looked this miserable, and actually apologetic. “Why are you sorry?” He hated how there was an edge in his voice even though Ryuu needed his reassurance, even though he did nothing wrong. Yoru’s shoulders were shaking from the repressed fury and the rush of other emotions, and even when his friend extended a hand, he just looked away. He didn’t even notice how soft his voice was, even though Ryuu was always stoic and showed barely any emotions.

“Fine.” He growled, turned to the side, away from Ryuu, and stood up without taking his hand. He couldn’t do it. He could already feel his insides burning, and he was afraid he would scorch anyone that tried to come near. Why did Daichi have to show up? Why now, when Yoru had a stable, new life going on? Why did he have to remind him of something he tried to desperately run away from?

He turned his back to Ryuu and took two steps toward the dead end of the alley before stopping uncertainly. He grabbed a fistful of messy hair on his temples with both hands, hoping that it would stop him from thinking and feeling all this. Everything was surfacing with a rush, and he didn’t know if it would be better to run through the city and away from all this, or just burn himself up and scream in the middle of the streets.

He didn’t know what to do!

“Do I look fine?” He asked in the end, accusing. He didn’t want to be mean, not to Ryuu, but he couldn’t help it. He had no other way to reply, and he will hate himself for this forever. “Do I?” Yoru turned toward him with a powerful swirl, sparks of his flames falling from his fists when he released his hold on his hair. “Well I am not! This guy! This fucking guy shows up here and he is nothing like how he was and... And! I just, I just don’t get it!” He was so angry, so furious, so afraid and so, so uncertain that he wasn’t even sure what he was saying and to whom exactly.

“And he is saying all those things! What the hell! And you!” He had to get angry at someone. Daichi wasn’t around anymore, the older boy didn’t even let one punch hit him before running away, and Yoru was bursting from all these uncomfortable emotions, and he had to let it all out in some way. Ryuu was the unfortunate guy still around. And like the worst friend ever, exactly as Daichi said, Yoru just turned on him, because there was no one else around to be angry at. “You just let him get away!”

He meant none of it. He was like a scared animal trying to fight his way out of a desperate situation. He didn’t want this to happen, and he didn’t want to turn this furious heat against Ryuu. He was one of the few guys Yoru wished never to hurt, and here he was again... getting lost in passion and talking, yelling before thinking it all through.

Asaze... Why did your name have to come up right now?

words: 743 ● Ryuusei Igarashi ● I am so sorry! ;-;